Week of Sep. 5

New to What I’m Listening To…? Start here.

We’ve got another mild week when it comes to my listening list. My routine has changed a tad since I started this series, so I’m not able to dive into talks and poetry like I used to. Hoping to adjust that in the coming weeks. This week, I got lost in two audiobooks which means that there’s no Spotify playlist this time around. Here’s what I was getting into:

I blew through two audiobooks this week both by the amazing Helen Hoang. I read her first novel a few months ago and was delighted when I saw that she had two more books of similar loveliness. Stick with me here— with titles like The Bride Test and The Heart Principle, I would want to put these into my “Snack Reads” category, but that would be a complete disservice to what Hoang does.

Her books navigate love, acceptance and belonging in the most loving and insightful ways. Each book leads you through the lives of folks who have been/are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and what it looks like to tackle family and relationships. They are moving and powerful and delicious. They’re everything I want in a novel. Why aren’t there more??! Jk, I know she’s only human…still crossing my fingers we see more novels from her though.

I caught one conversation from On Being and I’m super glad that I did. In a season where I feel hope is really hard to hold, hearing Ai-jen Poo and Tarana Burke talk about holding fast to hope and channeling radical grace was a godsend. Give it a listen.

Book Club:
N/A

Snack Reads:
N/A

Deep Dive:
The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang (audiobook)
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang (audiobook)