Before The Coffee Gets Cold

2.5 out of 5 ★ for me. I think when I initially finished the book it was a 3/5 stars but then as I had time to digest and discuss the book, I dropped half a star. I will probably journal about why on my physical book journal to avoid spoilers here. Overall, it was a quick read and I liked some of the lessons & perspectives in conveyed. The first chapter took the longest and it was pretty slow but then it definitely picked up. I read like the last 75% of it in two sittings. This book is the first book of a series of 5 books. I am not sure if I will read the other books because there are so many other books that I want to read and overall, this book was okay for me. It wasn't bad but not the best either. My first completed book in 2026 and so excited to do a lot more reading this year.

Books I Read in 2025

In chronological order from left to right, top to bottom. My goal was to read 12 books this year, but I only read 9 books. Will do better next year and also try to write a short summary after each book on my thoughts on it.

 

Book Update #2

Books I have read since I last did a book update.  I would definitely recommend these books to anyone :) They are all great reads!

The Midnight Library

The Queen's Gambit

Crying in H-Mart

How to Break Up With Your Phone

The Last Flight

The Family Upstairs

Becoming

Book Update

Very quick update on all the books I have read these past few months. Would give all these books a ★★★★★. Amazing reads! Would love recommendations on any books I should read next :)

Invisible Man, Got the World Watching

 

"...an account of how, politically and culturally, the existing script for black manhood has been rewritten for the millennial generation. Young men of this age have watched as Barack Obama was elected president but have also witnessed the deaths of Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Akai Gurley, and so many other young black men killed by police or vigilante violence. Chronicling his personal and political education during these tumultuous years, Smith narrates his own coming-of-age story and his struggles to come into his own at a time when too many black men do not survive into adulthood.

From Barack Obama’s landmark speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 to the recent and widely reported cases of violence against women, from powerful moments of black self-determination like LeBron James’ “decision” to the mobilization of thousands of young black men in the wake of Trayvon Martin’s death, Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching documents of how these public milestones have challenged cultural notions of black manhood. Part memoir, part political tract, this book is an unprecedented and intimate glimpse into what it means to be young, black, and male in America today—and what it means to be treated as a human in a society dependent on your subjugation."

 

The Silent Patient

"Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him...."
 

 The Best We Could Do

 "This illustrated memoir is about the search for a better future and a longing for the past. Exploring the anguish of immigration and the lasting effects that displacement has on a child and her family, Bui documents the story of her family’s daring escape after the fall of South Vietnam in the 1970s, and the difficulties they faced building new lives for themselves.
 
At the heart of Bui’s story is a universal struggle: While adjusting to life as a first-time mother, she ultimately discovers what it means to be a parent—the endless sacrifices, the unnoticed gestures, and the depths of unspoken love. Despite how impossible it seems to take on the simultaneous roles of both parent and child, Bui pushes through."
 

 No Exit

"A thriller about four strangers, a blizzard, a kidnapped child, and a determined young woman desperate to unmask and outwit a vicious psychopath

A kidnapped little girl locked in a stranger’s van. No help for miles. What would you do?

On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado. With the roads impassable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers.

Desperate to find a signal to call home, Darby goes back out into the storm . . . and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car, a little girl is locked in an animal crate. Who is the child? Why has she been taken? And how can Darby save her?

There is no cell phone reception, no telephone, and no way out. One of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper. But which one? Trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation, with a child’s life and her own on the line, Darby must find a way to break the girl out of the van and escape. But who can she trust?"
 

 Pachinko

 "In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant — and that her lover is married — she refuses to be bought. Instead, she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. But her decision to abandon her home, and to reject her son's powerful father, sets off a dramatic saga that will echo down through the generations.

Richly told and profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. From bustling street markets to the halls of Japan's finest universities to the pachinko parlors of the criminal underworld, Lee's complex and passionate characters — strong, stubborn women, devoted sisters and sons, fathers shaken by moral crisis — survive and thrive against the indifferent arc of history. "
 

 

Digital Minimalism

"Minimalism is the art of knowing how much is just enough. Digital minimalism applies this idea to our personal technology. It's the key to living a focused life in an increasingly noisy world.

In this timely and enlightening book, the bestselling author of Deep Work introduces a philosophy for technology use that has already improved countless lives.

 Technology is intrinsically neither good nor bad. The key is using it to support your goals and values, rather than letting it use you. This book shows the way."

 

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I would give this book a ★★★☆☆. I first heard of this book from Jenn Im as she mentioned it in one of her vlogs a few months ago. She gave a brief summary of the book and I was intrigued. For a few years now, I have been trying to reduce my time on social media and recently, my time on my phone and laptop. That's one reason why I picked up reading again and paint by numbers during quarantine. 

In the book, Newport goes over what digital minimalism is, how social media is programmed by companies to make it addicting and to have its user constantly be on it. He gives many examples and studies throughout the book which supports or illustrates the success of digital minimalism. Also, providing various methods that could be utilized to live a digital minimalist life.

“Digital Minimalism A philosophy of technology use in which you focus your online time on a small number of carefully selected and optimized activities that strongly support things you value, and then happily miss out on everything else.” 

It was an interesting read, but probably not something I would re-read again. I agree with majority of the points he made, how we need to be more conscious on how we utilize technology (especially social media), the importance of solitude, focusing our time on doing more physical thing rather than spending hours staring at a screen, etc. But for me, some of the methods he provided were a bit unrealistic or too extreme. I felt that some chapters were very repetitive, like he was just saying the same thing in another way. At one point while reading, I almost wanted to drop the book and move onto another one. I did really like the real life examples he provided to support his points. 

I guess going into it, I was expecting a lot more from the book. After reading it, I didn't feel like I gained a lot from it because a lot of the points made are things I have thought about before. This book will probably be more beneficial to someone who doesn't see or realize the harm of social media and isn't aware of how much time being on social media takes away from us.

 I know how addicting social media is and how detrimental it is to my mental health. Reading this book just reaffirmed it even more. Will probably talk more about it in another post though.

“Where we want to be cautious . . . is when the sound of a voice or a cup of coffee with a friend is replaced with ‘likes’ on a post.” 

 Just finished watching The Social Dilemma on Netflix and a lot of Newport's points made on social media is reflected on the show as well. The Social Dilemma goes more into how addicting and manipulating social media is. How it is so powerful that it changes our behaviors and emotions without us realizing it. Really recommend to watch that show on Netflix. It definitely provides a different perspective that is not really talked about often or at least not as much as it should be. It is very scary how manipulating social media can be. We need to be more aware of the effects it is having on our society and changes need to be made.

 

Just Mercy

"A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.

Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship—and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.

Just Mercy is at once an unforgettable account of an idealistic, gifted young lawyer’s coming of age, a moving window into the lives of those he has defended, and an inspiring argument for compassion in the pursuit of true justice."

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I would give this book a ★★★★★. I first heard of this book from Jenn Im's book club (Curl Up Club) and didn't know too much about what the book was about when I started reading it. 100% do not regret reading it. It was an amazing and powerful book! It really illustrates how fucked up the justice system is, and how racism and discrimination is still very prevalent in today's society. Assuming how someone is guilty purely based on the color of their skin. I was so angry, speechless, and sad throughout the book. It was extremely heartbreaking. I knew how broken the justice system is, but I didn't think that it would be to that extent.

The book revolves mainly on Walter McMillian's case, but it also goes into details about various other cases of other condemned prisoners on death row and prisoners who got sentenced to life in prison for crimes they committed as a child. For example, one case where Joe, a 13-year-old boy, was given life without parole for raping a woman although there was no biological evidence connecting him to the crime (which was collected from the victim, but was not presented at trial and got destroyed before any testing could be conducted) or eye witness that proved that he did it. Joe was the youngest person in the country sentenced to life for a non-homicide. He got sent to an adult prison where he suffered unimaginable trauma from the older inmates. It is such an upsetting case and made me so angry when reading about it among other ones. Bryan also incorporated statistics and information on the prison/justice system as well throughout the book. It was very informative and interesting, but very hard to digest at times. Alabama has some serious problems when it comes to the justice system.

The cases presented in this book are all real and it is terrifying how current and relevant it is. Almost all the cases are death penalty cases and it was extremely eye-opening reading how many people were being sentenced to the death penalty for crimes they did not commit. And the type of "evidences" (clearly based on their prejudice and no physical/forensic evidence) they utilized to condemned them. The odds were clearly stacked against these innocent people. For example, in Walter McMillian's case, it was so evident that he was innocent based on so many eye witnesses, his alibi, no physical/forensic evidence, etc. The injustice for so many condemned prisoners is just baffling. Also, the corruption of law enforcement and how no thorough investigation was actually conducted in some cases. Crazy how much effort and work it took to prove one's innocence. The justice system seriously failed them. I am sure there are many others who are currently in prison who are innocent and still waiting for justice to be served for them. It is heartbreaking to think about those who have been executed who were truly innocent.

Bryan is a fearless, compassionate, and committed lawyer. I am so thankful that there are lawyers like him out there fighting for justice and proving the innocence of those wrongfully convicted. The world would be a better place if more people were like him. His perseverance and fight against injustice is very admirable. It is so obvious how he is so passionate about his work. Thank you Bryan for starting the Equal Justice Initiative who have helped so many people.

“Proximity has taught me some basic and humbling truths, including this vital lesson: Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done. My work with the poor and the incarcerated has persuaded me that the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice. Finally, I’ve come to believe that the true measure of our commitment to justice, the character of our society, our commitment to the rule of law, fairness, and equality cannot be measured by how we treat the rich, the powerful, the privileged, and the respected among us. The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned.”

After finishing the book, I watched the movie adaption which came out end of 2019. As expected, I enjoyed the book way more. The movie was powerful and good as well, but it just excluded so much detail from the book and Walter's case (as expected from a movie since they can't include everything). The actors and actress did a fantastic job portraying their respective characters. If you have no time to read the book, definitely watch the movie.

This was a very well written and educational book. A must read!

The Hate U Give

"Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice."

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I would give this book a ★★★★★. I've seen the cover of this book/movie in the past and have always wondered what it was about. I was on the Libby app looking for the next book to read on my Kindle and decided on this one because I was intrigued by the synopsis of the book and wanted to continue educating myself on the Black Lives Matter movement. It was a very powerful and emotional story, especially since these injustices have been and is still occurring in America. Although this story is fiction, events like this is very real. You are able to draw so many parallels to what is happening in today's society. Police brutality is real and no justice is being served. Black Lives Matter and it is so frustrating how so little change is being made.

"People like us in situations like this become hashtags, but they rarely get justice. I think we all wait for that one time though, that one time when it ends right.”

This was definitely a page turner for me since it was just so captivating and thought provoking. I kept wanting to find out what would happen next. I found myself reading an additional one or two chapters than intended during my nightly reading before bed. The book was 444 pages and although it is the longest book I have read so far on my Kindle, I finished this book the fastest. There were at least two instances where I would dream about the book as well, but unfortunately, I don't remember exactly what happened in those dreams.

“Pac said Thug Life stood for “The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody. T-H-U-G-L-I-F-E. Meaning what society gives us as youth, it bites them in the ass when we wild out. Get it?”

I never realized that Thug Life stood for something or even begin to understand what it really meant until reading the book which does an amazing job exploring that through various different characters. The novel perfectly intertwines social commentary and political criticism into the story through Starr's thoughts and the dialogues between the characters in the story. I felt so many different emotions while reading this - sad, angry, frustrated, annoyed, shocked, scared, happy, etc. You get so engrossed into the story that it is hard not to feel what Starr feels. You view things from her perspective, a witness to her childhood best friend's unjustifiable death. Not only does the book convey a strong political message, but it also explores the internal conflict Starr struggles with.

All the characters in the story was perfectly written and I love how Angie put a lot of thoughts into the names of characters which she explains in the epilogue section of the novel. I loved the dynamic of Starr's family and how supportive they are of each other. It was amazing seeing the growth of the characters such as Maverick, DeVante, Maya, Chris, and most importantly, Starr. Each character offering a different perspective on things and every character was so well written.

“I can't change where I come from or what I've been through, so why should I be ashamed of what makes me, me?” 

This is one of my favorite quote from the novel. Starr struggled a lot with her identity as she moves between her two world, Garden Height Starr and Williamson Starr. She felt that she had to act a certain way depending on which world she is in and who she interacts with. As Williamson Starr, she often times felt ashamed of where she comes from. We all tend to act differently when we are around different groups of people. For example, how we act with friends vs how we act with our coworkers. I know that it really rings true for me in so many aspects of my life. I will admit that there were times in my life where I was ashamed of my Chinese/Vietnamese background and things I had to go through. But I shouldn't be ashamed, but proud of who I am and how far I have come.

After finishing the book, a few days later, Gabe and I watched the movie. It was a great and emotional movie, but the book was way better. The movie just felt so short compared to the book. Everything felt so rushed in the movie. A lot of things were left out in the movie, which is expected since a movie cannot be exactly like the book. But I was upset how the movie portrayed the hairbrush and have Khalil reach for it, which some will say that it justifies the shooting (which it definitely does not!). In the book, the hairbrush was sitting on the car's dashboard and Khalil did not reach for it and was simply just checking up on Starr. Ugh it was frustrating how they changed that and very unnecessary. Also, they completely took DeVante out of the movie which I didn't agree with because he was such an important character in the book and I did not like how they portrayed Maya in the movie. In the book, it was made clear that she was Chinese American and that she had racist remarks made about her family from Hailey too. She stood in solidarity with Starr and they even formed a minority alliance. I loved their relationship in the book and the movie failed to portray that. From the movie, I did like the director's take on portraying T.H.U.G.L.I.F.E. though in the end. I really recommend reading the book and watching the movie. It is truly an amazing and educational book. It really puts things into perspective.

“Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.”

When Breath Becomes Air

"At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade's worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi's transformation from a naïve medical student "possessed," as he wrote, "by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life" into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality.

What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? These are some of the questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir."

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I would give this book a ★★★★☆. After seeing it on Instagram as May's book of the month in Jenn Im's book club (Curl Up Club) and talking to Caroline about it, I decided to read this after I finished The Handmaid's Tale. Thankfully, there was still a copy available on the Libby app, which is an app where you utilize your library card to borrow ebooks and digital audiobooks from a public library. I was able to finish this novel on my Kindle in a few sitting and it was a pretty quick read. Definitely a page turner. 

This memoir was beautifully written and made me have a new appreciation for neurosurgeons. Prior to reading, I knew what I was getting myself into and was prepared to be devastated. And I did end up crying. Not coming from a medical background myself, I found myself having a hard time understanding some of the medical terminologies used in the book. But that did not take away from the memoir at all and the struggles that Paul had to go through. At times, I kind of wished Paul would talk more about how his life is aside from striving to complete his residency. Like life with his wife, family, and friends and how that contributed to him having a meaningful life.

The book started with a Foreword written by Abraham Verghes, which was a bit strange for me since he didn't seem to have a close personal connection with Paul. It just lacked depth and that personal connection. For me personally, I think that someone else should've written it, maybe his parents, siblings or his best friends. Conversely, I loved the epilogue written by his wife, Lucy. She did an amazing job summarizing Paul's journey and expressed it very eloquently. It added an additional layer to Paul's story and I appreciated that since she played such an important role in Paul's life. It was probably my favorite part of the book.

"Because the brain mediates our experience of the world, any neurosurgical problem forces a patient and family, ideally with a doctor as a guide, to answer this question: What makes life meaningful enough to go on living?"

This was a very memorable quote from the book. I have always and still am searching for meaning in life and while reading, it really made me reflect on my own life. The book really highlights how fragile life is and how quickly it can change. The path we have set up for ourselves is not guarantee  and we may end up being forced to take another due to unforeseeable circumstances. Which was exactly what happened to Paul. Nothing is permanent and it is important to live in the present because who knows how long we have left until death comes knocking on our door.

To finish off, here is my favorite quote from the book.

"Human knowledge is never contained in one person. It grows from the relationships we create between each other and the word, and still it is never completed"

The Handmaid's Tale

"The Handmaid's Tale (1985) is a novel of speculative fiction by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. Set in a near-future New England, in a totalitarian theocracy which has overthrown the United States government, the dystopian novel explores themes of women in subjugation and the various means by which they gain agency."

"The story is told in the first person by a woman called Offred. The character is one of a class of women kept for reproductive purposes, known as Handmaids by the ruling class in an era of declining births due to sterility from pollution and sexually transmitted diseases."

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Personally, I would give this book a ★★☆☆☆. I finished this book on my Kindle a week ago and it is actually the first book I have read on my Kindle yay. Honestly, it was a very underwhelming novel and I was expecting so much more. I guess I went in with high expectations since it was a popular novel and a Hulu show was even made from it.

Chapters after chapters, I kept wanting more to happen or things to pick up, but it never did. After finishing the last page of the book, I quickly turned to the next page expecting more, but it turned out that that was the end. I was shocked and thought to myself that it can't just end like that. I felt like some things were never clearly explained and wanted more backstory on why things were the way they were in Gilead. I think I prefer more plot-driven books and this is not that. It was a decent one time read for me and was interesting enough for me to finish it. I would recommend this book to anyone who is okay with a story that does not have a strong plot and enjoys reading dystopian novels.

Atwood's writing style also made it hard to follow at times and I found myself re-reading paragraphs because it didn't make sense the first time. She doesn't utilize quotation marks for dialogues which made it hard to decipher between conversations and the protagonist's thoughts. It also jumps a lot from past to present times in between paragraphs which got confusing. Her writing style is different and unique, but I am definitely not a fan of it.

It is scary to think that this dystopian society could possibly happen given certain circumstances and the parallels you see in the world today. Even though I did not like the novel, I can totally see why some people loved it.

There is a squeal to the book, The Testaments, which came out in 2019. It apparently takes place 15 years after the events of the first book. I think I plan on reading it, but probably not anytime soon. Someday I will. Hopefully it will be better than the first book and I will enjoy it more.

I started watching The Handmaid's Tale show on Hulu. Currently on season 2 out of 3 so far. I think there is going to be a season 4 which is expected to come out later this year. Let me say this, the show is so much better than the book! It is what I expected the book to be like. There is so much more going on in the show than in the book, which is exactly what I want. There are some aspects in regards to characters and how certain events play out from the book that the show changed for whatever reason. I am not complaining though because I like the changes. I am really enjoying the show so far and am excited to continue watching more episodes. Would really recommend the show, but be prepare, it is not a cheerful show.