Issue No. 70 — Hockey players, my dilemma with Las Vegas hotels, and daily pockets 👛
I'm re-entering my reading era
Lately, I've been working on getting back into the habit of reading regularly. I used to be an average reader as an early teen and then an avid reader of fan fiction during my late teen years. However, as I got older, a growing self-consciousness about my reading choices led me to stop reading altogether. I read the odd self-help book here and there because I felt like I had to. And, of course, I grabbed design and business books if they happened to pique my interest. However, somewhere along the way, I stopped reading just for fun.
As I so often mention, we have the tendency to convince ourselves that every pursuit must be purposeful, intellectual, and not at all embarrassing. Like ever. So it’s no surprise I especially feel this way about books. I’ve been sharing all almost all of my thoughts and experiences online since 2020 — it’s only natural I am constantly spiraling over how I’m perceived. All my decisions are based on the same question: what does it say about me?
Technically, that’s a good question to ask yourself — of course, you want your life choices to be primarily guided by your personal values and beliefs. Yet, I've come to realize that not every decision qualifies as a life choice, nor should it be treated as such.
That’s why, after being bombarded with #booktok videos on my For You page, I finally picked up a Kindle. I decided I would be engaging in fluffy, light reading — embracing the joy that books bring without the pressure of what it might signify. I have not read a single 5-star book, nor do I feel the need to.
Two weeks ago, I surprised myself by picking up my most “embarrassing” book yet: Icebreaker by Hannah Grace. I’m even more surprised by the fact I’m sharing it here. It’s a book with no plot at all, most say. And while I am definitely inclined to agree, I was very glad to be introduced to the world of hockey romances regardless. Mind you, I don’t know a single thing about hockey. Only about 200 pages in did I finally figure out what a “puck” is.
That said, after I schedule this newsletter, I will be picking up my Kindle for the night and finishing my second hockey romance book. I’ll let you guess which one it is. But hot hockey players aside, the primary reason for sharing this ties back to last week’s newsletter about actively exploring new hobbies this year. Because so much of it is actually learning to get over that embarrassment stage.
For instance, if you’re trying to become a film enthusiast, I hate to break it to you, but you will not do so by watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and pretending it’s your favorite movie ever. Maybe your favorite movie is To All the Boys I've Loved Before, and as long as that motivates you to keep watching more movies, you’re already well on your way to becoming a film enthusiast. The same applies to every hobby that ever existed. So, learn to embrace these three things despite the embarrassment:
The process
Your preferences
And the outcome, whatever it may be
This Week’s Digest
This past weekend, I went to Vegas with Lola on what we called, in true entrepreneur fashion, an offsite for our super secret friendship brand. When we were looking for hotels, we quickly realized all hotels look the same in Vegas: ostentatious yet extremely dated and, frankly, a little unnerving. We ended up staying at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and were very pleased with our choice. Look at how cute our room was!
Coffee Receipt Stories is another fun website I’ve selfishly kept a secret for a few months now. I haven’t managed to read through all of them yet, but just the concept itself has me in a chokehold.
The next book on my coffee table wishlist is Can I Ask You A Question? by Jennifer Venditti. The book dives into Jennifer's unique approach to casting, providing a behind-the-scenes look at her work for popular shows such as Euphoria and Uncut Gems.
“Deinfluencing” has been quite the trend recently, but if you take a look at the numbers, you’ll quickly realize that the influencing industry is only growing. In her Vox article, Rebecca Jennings explores the lie of "deinfluencing," and one line, in particular, caught my attention: Young people know that where there’s money to be made, people will find a way to make it, and if it’s not you, it’ll be somebody else. This raises the question for me: Is influencing as a job the problem, or do we simply need to become more conscious consumers?
Given that I’m re-entering my reading era, I’m determined to fully embrace the Kindle aesthetic. Initially, I went for a basic case and screen protector just to test the waters and see if I really enjoyed reading on a Kindle. Now that it’s confirmed, I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect stickers to decorate it. So far, I have only found ones I like in Redbubble, which I totally forgot existed until recently. That said, do you have any sticker shops you like? I need all of the cool girl finds I can get.
From My Bookmarks
Fish Oven Mitts
Courtney didn’t know what she was doing when she introduced me to the world of fish oven mitts. I’ve always been a little put off by fish — I mean, who can blame me? But these are the cutest ever, and I am adding them to my list of functional and beautiful yet completely unnecessary items that I will inevitably buy one day. Although surely beautiful is not the right word 😅
Occur Daily Pocket
I came across this shop on Instagram and am obsessed with the concept of a daily pocket that you can just move from bag to bag. The older I get, the more I enjoy collecting different kinds of bags for every occasion. However, I often find myself reaching for items in my bag of the day or night only to remember I left them in another bag, so this “daily pocket” seems very intriguing.
Paradiso
I’m visiting a friend in Barcelona in a few months, and it feels like everything I come across now is somehow connected to Barcelona. While I do not plan to visit this bar for one of their popular events, I hope to stumble upon it during one of my walks so that I can appreciate its simple yet stunning storefront from the sidewalk.
Thanks for reading!
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