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I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
BATB score: 10/10 💛 An extremely heartfelt memoir about a mother’s influence on a daughter to live a dream that she never had (yet not at all the daughter’s dream) Best for: daughters with mother issues that metamorphose into forever self-doubt and low self-esteem of never being good enough Best to: quickly check “Jennette McCurdy Through the Years 2005-2014 | NickRewind”, “Sam Puckett’s Fried Chicken Addiction”, and “Sam Puckett’s Butter Sock” on Youtube to witness her chil


The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
BATB score: 10/10 🌷 Wow. What a classic! Definitely Amy Tan’s literary masterpiece 🌟🤩💫 Best to: prepare pen and paper to map out which grandmother, mother, daughter are related and what tragedy happened to who resulting with what in which chronological order 4 grandmothers, 4 mothers, 4 daughters, 2 granddaughters and many men in between Best as: a reminder of how we can not walk in anybody else’s shoes 👠, how each generation has their own challenges, and why miscommunic


Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
BATB score: 10/10 heart 🤍 #BATBREREAD Best to: Matt Haig wrote about his depression back when he had depression from 24-32 y/o (1999-2007); unfortunately, today (2022), at 47 y/o his depression is back. Matt Haig shared on his instagram “earlier this year I nearly died by suicide because I knew I would never be happy again” September 2022 Best as: the first time I read this book I was trying to understand my friends who have depression about how depression really feels like;


When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
BATB score: 10/10 💙 #BATBREREAD Best as: what a one-of-a-kind story indeed; giving it your all for neurosurgeon residency just a few months away to graduation (delayed gratification) diagnosed with terminal cancer (life has other plans) - life took a big detour to chemo and therapy - and yet life was cut short to only 22 months more; total lifetime 37 y/o Best to: death is inevitable, it’s just a matter of how soon Best for: just a reminder that this book made Bill Gates cry


I May Be Wrong: And Other Wisdoms From Life as a Forest Monk by Bjōrn Natthiko Lindeblad
BATB score: 10/10 🧘♀️ 🧘♂️ 🧘 Best to: a very approachable sharing of monk spirituality and life wisdom that will make you think Best as: an introduction to monkshood for the corporate rats written in a friendly mood and tone for the average joe Best for: you know how other spiritual book can be very wordy, redundant, and boring? This book is legit good not sleepy 💯 BATB lingering thought: what would have to be the key trigger for me to quit my corporate job, my high clim


What My Bone Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo
BATB score: 10/10 ❤️🩹 wow just wow. 👏👏👏 Best to: a very important read for our generation about complex-PTSD from our upbringings, to adulthood dark clouds, to cutting ties (the frown upon / non-asian way) to heal, to finding numerous alternative help, and just surviving day by day 🥹 Best for: anyone who resonates with this statement “the stress of not meeting their elders’ expectations in a culture where they have to please their elders is real” Best as: “the three P’s


Rental Person Who Does Nothing by Shoji Morimoto
BATB score: 10/10 🧢 Best to: just be there and do nothing - rental person’s pro bono story with request like can you watch me work on lazy WFH, walk with me home on a bad day, sit with me at a cafe while I order a girly beverage of apple soda, listen to me and only say “aha”, watch me play on the swing, stand and wave at me at the marathon finish line, etc is so interesting! Best as: the human need for a new type of relationship that is in between strangers and friends; the


The Well-Lived Life: a 102-Year-Old Doctor's Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age by Dr Gladys McGarey
BATB score: 10/10 🥹 words of wisdom from a 102-years-old grandma about the meaning of life, joy, and love #sobeautiful p.s. she is still alive! now at 103-years-old living happily in Arizona; yes, I googled 👵 Best to: because being alive is not the same as truly living; truly six secrets to health and happiness at every age - crisp, clear, sincere, no further questions Best as: a grandma’s warm embrace and reminder that all is well with you and the world ❤️🩹 BATB lingerin


My Daddy The Pedophile: A Memoir by Lily Palazzi
BATB score: 10/10 🥹 BATB reader discretion advised: not for the faint-hearted, not for the unicorns and rainbow souls; because real life is truly worse than any Netflix series can depicts Best as: such an important memoir, such a valuable book; seriously, if you are going to write something, write something that is meaningful like this, it’s about being a victim, to a survivor, to an advocate Best for: humans are monsters - it got worse and worse every chapter BATB lingering


The Good Enough Job: Reclaiming Life from Work by Simone Stolzoff
BATB score: 10/10 👏👏👏 *required reading for office employees* we need to redefine our relationship with work because it is overrated and unhealthy Best for: any one who has said they are ‘passionate’ about the industry, company, or role; do know that the feeling was never mutual 💔 Best as: if only we can compete on who has better work-life balance instead of who has better work success (over what sacrifice), life would be so much more enriching and interesting BATB linger


The Little Liar by Mitch Albom
BATB score: 10/10 🥹 wow, Mitch Albom, you did it again! 👏 Best to: wow what a story, a little bit of fiction, a lot of non-fiction, written gracefully, emotionally narrated, engaging storytelling structure, happy closure ending, oh so beautiful 🫠 Best as: “It was a time in human history where the world was cleaved in two, those doing nothing about the horror and those trying to stop it. A world of light and dark.” and unfortunately, this is what is happening today in Gaza


The Diving Bell and The Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
BATB score: 10/10 💯👏 *have I been living under a rock to not have come across this 1997 masterpiece? OMG* Jean-Dominique Bauby life was soaring as Editor-in-Chief of French magazine Elle. In 1995, Bauby, 43, had a stroke that resulted with locked-in syndrome where his whole body is paralyzed and he could only blink his left eyelid. His mind was 100% fully functioning but everything else is frozen. A speech therapist reads out the alphabet where Bauby would blink at the lett


The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
BATB score: 10/10 🤯 *reader discretion advised* BATB does not like fiction and rarely rate the work of fiction fairly but wow oh wow boy oh boy goodie 💙 Best as: a page turner thriller, suspense, cringey, twisties and turns book 🔑 Best to: oh thank god that it does not end on a cliffhanger but is complete on it’s own - good night 💤 sweet dreams Best for: who is Freida McFadden? why have I not heard of you? where have I been? BATB lingering thought: Freida McFadden has wri


If You Tell: A True Story of Murder, Family Secrets, and the Unbreakable Bond of Sisterhood by Gregg Olsen
BATB score: 10/10 👏 *reader discretion advised* this book is a 10/10 but it is not for the faint-hearted - definitely not for everyone; it’s sick, it’s psycho, it’s gross, it’s traumatic, BUT it’s a true story Best as: nothing that Netflix can ever make is scarier than true life itself 💀 BATB lingering thought: thank you for reminding me that this world is a scary place; people are the scariest living things Best to: Gregg Olsen is a journalist and he writes true crimes; le


Never Lie by Freida McFadden
BATB score: 10/10 🤩 omg Freida McFadden! you did it again! 👏 Best to: just when I thought I can predict your ways of writing and outsmart your suspense, you kept me on my tip toes 💯 unable to put this book down must finish reading in one sitting Best as: Freida McFadden is a physician specializing in brain injury and is a splendid author of addictive, unpredictable thriller fictions BATB lingering thought: oh thank god that you didn’t end each book on a painful cliffhanger


The Perfect Child by Lucinda Berry
BATB Score: 10/10 🎈 *reader discretion advised: 10/10 but not for everyone. esp not for the faint hearted; thriller, sick, psycho, twisted, gut-wrenching, perfection* Best as: when a doctor, Dr. Lucinda Berry, trauma psychologist + researcher in childhood trauma, becomes an author in disturbing psychological thrillers; it’s really good! Best for: anyone who is tired of self-help books BATB lingering thought: why can’t we just read because it’s fun? why does every pastime act


The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden
BATB Score: 10/10 👏 Freida McFadden, girlfriend, you did it again! Best as: wow what a come back International Thriller Writers Award; book published Oct 2024, ending on a high note 🎵 that perfectly concludes 2024 👏 Best to: know that Freida McFadden is a pen name; the real author is a physician specializing in brain injury; this serial murder mystery with all the details of the human anatomy is truly juicy Best for: if you are in to fiction, thriller, psychopaths, murders


CEO Excellence: The Six Mindsets That Distinguish the Best Leaders from the Rest by Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller, Vikram Malhotra
BATB score: 10/10 👑 written by senior partners at Mckinsey (so you know it’s expensive in-depth research) Best as: a conclusive playbook on what makes a great CEO, inclusive of techniques on how to onboard oneself, manage board members, motivate the team, run a business, retired yourself, and keep sane as CEO 🥹 Best for: if you are in close proximity to a CEO, reporting into a CEO, working closely with a CEO, and/or scouting to climb the damn corporate ladder for that CEO r


WHEN: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink
BATB score: 10/10 👏 *Daniel H Pink is my favorite non-fiction author* Best as: nerdy, scientific, experimental, behavioral economics, entertaining, fun read Best for: you need to digest and think of further optimizing implementation from these insights or else it’s just useless fun read Best to: knowing that it is the last piece of chocolate, that last piece is the most yummy nom nom Best quotes: “If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your st


Will I Ever Be Good Enough? Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers by Karyl McBRIDE, Ph.D.
BATB score: 10/10 🥹 Best as: finally a book that explains mothers, mother-daughter issues, and how daughter can work through them 👏 Best to: extremely practical with checklist to verify whether you do have a narcissistic mother and whether you have been an affected daughter ie. Do you feel valued by your mother for what you do, rather than for who you are? Best for: daughters who never felt that they were ever good enough for their mothers 🥹 Best quotes: “Because good girl
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