Instagram story viewer> @minhstant> Posts

Minh

@minhstant

71

followers

74

following

DNF

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

one of the most grotesque, disturbing books I've read in my life. it was phenomenal!!!! definitely check it out if you don't easily get squeamish

croissant prep

me this semester hopefully. taken in Sunset State Beach by @minhstant

18

1

2 months ago

Salt was pretty good I'd read it again if I were locked in a cage with nothing else to do and it was the only book available. by @minhstant

25

2

3 months ago

The children yearn for non-curated Instagram feeds

One of my favorite reads of all time. Less than a quarter of the way into Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here, I knew the book would easily become one of my favorite nonfiction reads of all time. As an immigration paralegal, I had already been drawn to the subject matter; it was mind-blowing to find out how drastically legal pathways for asylum and citizenship have mutated in the past few decades. It was equally shocking to see what holdovers we still rely on. Even outside of my own interest, the book does a great job of shedding light on the complexities of the immigration.

Jonathan Blitzer's chronology of the Central American refugee crisis is clear, easy to follow, and revelatory. He recounts this history through the lives of influential political players and the people affected by their decisions. I grew attached the many different perspectives featured in this book. I always appreciate when nonfiction humanizes its subjects and Blitzer's book goes above and beyond at this. It read like fiction at many points. Given how much airtime the topics of illegal immigration and gang violence take up in our modern political climate, I can't recommend this book enough. I absolutely loved it. by @minhstant

36

1

a year ago

The Overstory got a reluctant five stars from me. Happy men's mental health month too. by @minhstant

32

2

a year ago

1. The Emperor of Gladness made me cry so hard I almost threw up. Five stars, easily.

2. Khalûna with my babyboy

3. Bánh Đúc Tôm Thịt (steamed coconut rice cake with toasted shrimp)

4. The catastrophic death of Jetset by @minhstant

27

4

a year ago

There goes Mr. Four Star Reviews giving another nonfiction book four stars wow how shocking.

I’m genuinely afraid of leaving a public review of this book on Goodreads because it’s environmental lawyers, podcasters, and scientists duking it out in the Community Ratings and Reviews section. “Abundance” was, at its core, a quintessential Derek Thompson book; a simplification of a broad phenomenon supported by compelling case studies. (I’m sorry, Ezra Klein, for being unfamiliar with your work).

The book’s Introduction presents a cloyingly optimistic depiction of 2050. In this utopia, Thompson and Klein fantasize about desalination plants, lab-grown meat, carbon capture, green jet fuels, and vertical greenhouses. In short, their thesis: America needs to embrace politics of abundance (more energy, more transportation, more scientific discoveries) rather than scarcity.

It’s beautifully written. The book’s chapters read like Klein and Thompson’s respective podcasts. They introduce just enough nuance to engage the reader. They make it clear in their conclusion that the book is more of a lens rather than a list of concrete policy proposals, which I thought made sense. It gave me fresh perspective on well-intended liberal bureaucracy and its failures. It conveys their central ideas in a clear and digestible way. Unfortunately, books like Abundance that try to chart a vision for the future rarely grapple with the reality of doing so.

It meets my threshold for good nonfiction. I’d recommend this book if you’re reading this review in 2025, but it doesn’t seem like it’ll have that long of a shelf life considering how fast some of its subjects (Artificial Intelligence and the Trump Administration, namely) have been evolving. by @minhstant

18

2

a year ago

I graduated! Also, Disorientation gets three and a half stars from me.

Even though Disorientation is thoroughly entertaining and funny, its satire suffers from a lack of focus that prevents the novel from making any groundbreaking insights. The book follows its protagonist’s struggle to finish her dissertation on Xiao-Wen Chou, a dead Chinese poet who is implausibly revered by the (predominantly white) faculty of her university’s East Asian Studies Department.

The book has many strengths, but subtlety is not one of them. Elaine Hsieh Chou’s characters are caricatures that don’t leave too much to the imagination. For the most part, when new subplots are folded into the book’s dense storyline, I more or less knew exactly where they were headed and what they were critiquing. It was somewhat difficult for me, an Asian American in higher education, to fully be receptive to the book’s commentary on Asian Americans in higher education. However, I resonated with the book’s many discourses, even when I found myself rolling my eyes at them. Ironically, my hypercriticism of how other Asians engage with their own culture is the exact kind of dilemma that Chou is great at breaking down. I found the satire effective because it avoids a fatal flaw that other contemporary satires fail to: oversimplified explanations and oversimplified resolutions.

The book is a brakeless joyride, though it doesn’t feel like that until after the first act. Somewhat of a spoiler: there’s a revelation that completely alters the trajectory of the book. Once it was unveiled, I found it difficult to put the book down for long. The protagonist, Ingrid, may not be likable, but at least she didn’t bore me. Her compulsive, neurotic personality forces the audience to stay on their toes. I enjoyed the cringy, dissatisfying, and uncomfortable moments that she brings upon herself because they almost always lead to a cathartic outburst. by @minhstant

21

0

a year ago

Lecture so good I almost had to increase my rating of Babel on Goodreads. Almost. by @minhstant

16

4

2 years ago

(1) The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese was so beautiful. I put the book down at 30% when my class work started heating up and didn't expect to fall back in love with the story so readily. 100 Years of Solitude in Kerala, India. (2) Butter by Asako Yuzuki is just as rich and tasty as its namesake. I'm very excited to finish this book by @minhstant

14

1

2 years ago