2018 Favorite Books, Songs, and Movies

A wonderful place to read - Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle

2018 List of Some of the Things I Enjoy Most - Movies, Books, and Songs

Favorite Movies: 

1.     Black Panther 

2.     Green Book

3.     Crazy Rich Asians

I love movies that make me laugh and cry. These movies are infused with many lighthearted hilarious moments and incredibly moving scenes as well. Green Book is truly one of the best films I have ever seen and gives me hope for building meaningful relationships between people of different backgrounds. It's based on a true story about a black prize-winning concert pianist who tours in across the racially-segregated South. His private driver for the tour, a bouncer from Little Italy, helps get him out of sticky situations and the two become lifelong friends. 

I love how there are really strong female characters in both Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians, I especially love King T'Challa's sister Shuri and her technical finesse - building the most advanced weapons that the rest of the world doesn't know about. I've looked up to Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwon for quite some time especially after watching his talk at Google on YouTube, where he talked about how challenging it is for Asian families to support children with creative endeavors. The movie has gotten a lot of hype and does not disappoint. Crazy Rich Asians is gorgeous and fun. Also, the characters are rich - not like wealthy (LOL) but rich as in well developed, deep, and interesting.

Favorite Books: 

1.     The Big Picture by Ben Fritz

2.     Homebody by Joanna Gaines

3.     The Customer Centricity Playbook by Peter Fader and Sarah Toms

I picked The Big Picture up at the library on a whim and then devoured 300 pages in 2 days. It explains the backstory behind a lot of the trends we see in Hollywood in a really dramatic, entertaining, and easy to understand way. I read The Magnolia Story and found Chip and Joanna to be very inspiring and relatable. I'm really enjoying her newest book about creating spaces that explain your unique story. The Customer Centricity Playbook was recommended to me by Neil Hoyne, the Head of Consumer Analytics at Google. Some marketing campaigns seem like magic but there's a lot of technicality behind it. The book breaks down how companies optimize their business strategy to maximize Customer Lifetime Value. 

To be honest, some of my favorite books that I read this year were published before 2018. In case you are curious, I highly recommend the following: The Imperfect Disciple by Jared Wilson, Principles by Ray Dalio, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance, and Grit by Angela Duckworth.

Favorite Songs:

1.     "All the Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and featuring SZA 

2.     "Ramenez la Coupe a la Maison" by Vegedream

3.     "The Ways" by Khalid featuring Swae Lee

Indeed, I have two songs off of the Black Panther Soundtrack on my top 3 list. Truth be told, I have all these songs on repeat all the time. "All the Stars" speaks to my heart, especially the line where Kendrick raps "a small percentage is who I'm building with" after rapping about his disdain for fake friends and those who feel entitled towards him. The chorus where SZA sings "all the stars are closer" represents to me relentless hope, and that feeling never gets old. I love Khalid's jazzy voice in the song "The Ways", which is about Nakia. In the movie Black Panther, her passion for helping others inspires King T'Challa to change Wakanda's foreign policy. She is a true power girl.

After watching the 2018 World Cup, I would often play songs that remind me of the French victory, such as "Ramenez la Coupe a la Maison" by Vegedream and "Magic in the Air" by Magic System. I’m a pretty big fan. At one point in the summer, I stayed until 3AM one night binge drawing Kylian Mbappé.