Dec. 4, 2023

CED in 3: Justin Weller

Summary

Each week, we ask a member of the college grad student community to share 3 picks related to one of their passions. This week, Justin Weller, a Student Affairs Administration M.A. student, shares 3 book recommendations.

I challenged myself to read one book a month this year and I have already accomplished that goal. As a result, I wanted to share some recommendations of the books that I read this year:

  1. Yellowface by R. F.  Kuang: Yellowface is the story of June Hayward, an aspiring author, who seizes the opportunity to publish a deceased classmate’s novel as her own, facing controversy for cultural appropriation and plagiarism despite using an Asian-American pseudonym. This book was my favorite one to read this year.
  2. Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo: This story details the high school romance of two women in 1950s San Francisco. The forces of Cold War politics and anti-Chinese sentiment play critical roles as the two navigate their romance. This story illuminated a narrative of intersectionality not found in modern LGBTQ+ stories and truly was a page-turner.
  3. I‘m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy: This memoir follows the untold story of McCurdy’s experiences through the “iCarly” and “Sam and Cat” series. McCurdy documents the painful experiences her mother put her through to become famous on Nickelodeon. This was another favorite read of mine this year.

Missed the last CED in 3? Theresa Murphy, a HALE PhD student, shares 3 picks for Irish and Irish-American literature