• Raconteuse Radio

    Season 2, Episode 028: My First Time

    Guilliean reads her creative non-fiction piece of the same name. Stream it and read along with the text! The first time I had a transformative bowl of killer ramen was the day after my first date with my boyfriend. Being American, all I knew was Maruchan. However, my genetic disposition for heart disease put the swift kibosh on that. But, at its core, I knew ramen was soup. I was raised on soups and stews. I could get on board with that. My handsome date advised adding black garlic oil to whatever ramen bowl I chose that day. I didn’t…

  • Tsundoku

    Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

    I bestowed Ray Bradbury with the honorary title of being the grandfather of my literary aesthetic: cinematic absurdism. I found an essay (an interview, really) in this book where he states “All my stories are cinematic. … I may be the most cinematic novelist in the country today. All of my short stories can be shot right off the page. Each paragraph is a shot.” Ray Bradbury I knew there was a reason why I enjoyed his work so much! That is how I approach my writing: every dialogue break, every inch of white space, is simply a subtle stage…

  • Tsundoku

    Unbound Feet by Judy Yung x A Larger Memory by Ronald T. Takaki

    Happy Lunar New Year, one and all. May the Year of the Tiger bless you and your family this year. In celebration of this event, I’m sharing a review of the books Unbound Feet: A Social History of Chinese Women in San Francisco by Judy Yung and A Larger Memory: A History of Our Diversity with Voices by Ronald Takaki. The thesis of Unbound Feet is that a storied and engaging history is found through the lens of Chinese American women, and their voices are as valid as any other. The thesis of A Larger Memory was that by telling…