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I've been leery about this one, knowing that cancer is central to the story. It was definitely too raw for a while, but it came up as my October #Bookspin, so I planned to tiptoe in to see how triggering it was. I was immediately invested and read it in 1 night. The cancer parts were hard, for sure, but it spoke to me more as a beautiful mother- daughter story, filled with the complex dynamics that relationship usually entails. @TheAromaofBooks

Copa book club pick

I didn‘t love this book as much as most of you did. The narrator has been looking for her identity ever since her Korean mother died of cancer.
I loved the delicious Korean food descriptions and I could relate to the taking care of a dying parent but there were so many other subjects, that didn‘t really work for me. Less is more, I‘d say in this case.
Oh and I wish we had an H Mart where I live…it sounds amazing. #14weeks14books book 8

24-5 Jun 25 (audiobook)
Perhaps I don‘t eat enough Korean food, or because I am vegetarian and squeamish of descriptions of devouring live seafood amongst other things, but I did not love this the way many readers seemed to.
My mother also died at the age of 56 - far too young - and I found myself crying in all kinds of circumstances and places so I could relate to Zauner‘s story, I just did not find it particularly engaging or original.

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Michelle‘s mother always had the highest expectations of her and it often caused tension between them but the one thing they always bonded over was food.
When her mom was diagnosed with cancer, it changed Michelle‘s relationship with nearly everybody in her life and with food. When her mom passed, it forced her to find a new path for herself and come to terms with her relationship with her mom.

Read with tissues.

A book to start a holiday…

A raw and powerful book about love and loss. Michelle details the complicated relationship she had with her mom and the devastation her mom‘s cancer diagnosis and death wrought in her life. As a half-Korean American, the loss of her mom unmoored her from a part of her life and heritage she was desperate to keep. Her growth and confidence that came over time was compelling to read.

What an interesting book, a memoir and tribute to her heritage. I loved the brutal honesty around their relationship and how she tried to atone it. I also appreciated the desperation to reunited her memories through family and visits.

Weekend read 🏪📖🎧 + packing My Neighbor Totoro/Spirited Away paper clip bookmarks 🖇️🔖
#cryinginhmart #goodreads #goodreadsreadingchallenge #studioghibli #myneighbortotoro #spiritedaway #paperclipbookmark #totefairie

Picked up this book without knowing who the author is; it is such a heart touching memoir of the author and her relationship with her mother throughout all the ages.

A low pick for me. Not that it wasn‘t well written or presented, but more that memoir is not my jam. But I‘d heard so much buzz and when I saw it in a LFL, I grabbed it. Good if you are interested in complicated mother-daughter relationship dynamics and/or food writing. Tragically, Zauner‘s Korean mother dies of cancer and when their relationship, after a rocky adolescence, is becoming more and more close. #TBRTarot “About a Real Person”

In this memoir about growing up Korean American and losing her mother to cancer, Zauner writes personally about culture, food and the sometimes fraught relationship between a mother and daughter that often strengthens as the child becomes an adult. I related to this as both a daughter and a mother.💔

This is the best book I've read so far this year. 👏 🎧

I really enjoyed this memoir about grief and how we navigate it through food. Michelle tells her story as a Korean American who had a rocky relationship with her mother (many of us do), their relationship, and the grief she experienced after her mother‘s death. She not only mourned her mother, but intimate, cultural gaps. There was never enough time to fill the space, to learn all the words, all the recipes. Deeply immersed in grief and food,⬇️

The author describes this scene on the very first page. The first chapter was really intense. Raw, visceral, unapologetic grief. This is an AI image.

Ever since my mom died, I cry in H Mart. H Mart is a supermarket chain that specializes in Asian food. The H stands for han ah reum, a Korean phrase that roughly translates to “one arm full of groceries.” H Mart is where parachute kids flock to find the brand of instant noodles that reminds them of home. It‘s where Korean families buy rice cakes to make tteokguk, the beef and rice cake soup that brings in the New Year. It‘s the only place⬇️

(Extremely belated) March Wrap-up!
🥇Crying in H Mart
🥈The Centre
🥉Interesting Facts About Space

Next on #cloudlibrary 🎧

3-20-24: My 6th finished book of 2024! This one was hard for me. Michelle wrote a beautiful memoir in honor of her mother full of lovely memories and connections to food from her Korean upbringing. Reading about what she went through with her mom when she became ill was difficult because it was so reminiscent of what I went through with my mom from 2016-2018. Losing a parent is devastating, especially a mother. The author wrote a love letter 💖

I recommended this memoir on Book Interrupted‘s Manuscript Monday. It will make you hungry and want to call your mom.
https://www.bookinterrupted.com/post/manuscript-monday-crying-in-h-mart

#bookinterrupted #bookclub #cryinginhmart #koreancuisine #losingyourmother #ManuscriptMonday #memoirs #bookrecommendations #bookstoread

Hot take, I didn‘t really love or even enjoy this book….

I listened to the audio version, read by the author, and felt hearing the story in the author's own voice really added to the overall experience. My recent loss, though not the same loss as the author experienced, made a lot of the content incredibly relatable. It was sweet, funny, and painful. It also made me hungry! 😆

This book was everywhere a few years ago and I thought I would like it but it never seemed the right time. I just finished on audio and it was nothing like I expected. Yes, I cried hard. Yes I laughed too. But it was very present for me. As different as my life as an only daughter has been, so many painful truths resonated. Some end of life wishes became very clear to me while listening on audio.

This memoir had so much in it. I really liked how honest it was. Michelle didn‘t sugar coat the people in the book or herself. I absolutely loved the details about food in the book. It made me want to visit Korea and indulge in the culture and cuisine. I didn‘t know the band Japanese Breakfast but this book made me go down a rabbit hole of her music, interviews, articles, etc. She is a real artist. I feel her mom is helping her from beyond too. 🥰

A memoir about growing up as a Korean American, and the love and loss of a parent. This book resonated deeply for me.

Also, as someone who doesn‘t typically reach for nonfiction, Crying in H Mart absolutely blew me away. If you have experienced the loss of a parent especially, I highly recommend.

So dope reading about an Asian American experience after reading about a black American one. Really lovely writing and extremely sad but moving af. Not often I read about grief but I'm glad I did. She incorporates the food element so well - determined to dig into some Korean recipes soon.

I love it when my reading comes together like this. I‘m feverishly trying to finish Bab‘s audiobook before the library takes it back and here she appears in Crying in H Mart, after I listened to a chapter about her difficult relationship with her mother earlier today.

I found this book relatable as a Chinese-American (though author is a mix of Korean). I also cried at parts of the book. The author' special relationship with her mom is reflected in this beautiful memoir.

⭐️⭐️💫This is less a review of the content material - because who can rate how another person expresses grief? - and more just of my reading experience.
As someone who has also lost a parent, I thought I would really relate to this book, but I found myself pretty unmoved throughout.
I think if you are the child of immigrant parents or someone who enjoys food memoirs, then this will be a very meaningful book. It just didn't hit the mark for me.

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I don‘t like saying this about memoirs because they are so personal but I just couldn‘t get into this one. ⭐️⭐️

This book is like a warm hug even for someone like me who doesn‘t like hugs. When language and culture and generational differences seem insurmountable, it‘s blood ties that matter. The connection with food that bridged any gaps between this mother and daughter really spoke to me. This is a beautiful story about grieving and living simultaneously, because life goes on even when the grief seems too much.

Where do you go, when you‘ve seen death?

What a beautiful love letter from the author to her mother. A memoir whose storyline revolves around the author‘s mother dying from cancer when Zauner was in her early 20s that touches on identity, grief and loss, connection and food.

This short memoir by Michelle Zauner hits just the right notes, or should I say—flavors. The parts of the book where Zauner describes cooking and eating Korean food are where this book shines brightest. It‘s easy to say that the other parts aren‘t as good, but then again, very good has a hard time measuring up to flawless. #memoir #nonfiction #foodwriting #bookofthemonth

Finally bought my own copy of this beautiful book. ❤️❤️

My current read, Crying in H Mart. It isn‘t perfect, but the food descriptions are phenomenal. If you love food writing, those parts alone make this book worth the read.
Bonus content: My cat Josephine has claimed my balance board. Everything is a scratching post if you‘re creative 😼
#memoir #nonfiction #foodwriting #cat #caturday

Books for my beach vacation.

Absolutely stunning read🖤 a story of a mother and daughters estranged relationship, the cancer that brought them back together, the grief after the mothers passing, and the Korean food that was their love language before and after death.

Heartbreaking + as good as everyone says it is. Wish I had read this before I saw her last year.

Michelle shares the complicated relationship she had with her mother and while doing so, uncovers the unconventional ways in which her mother loved her and showed her love. It was touching to watch Michelle discover these little gems while processing her grief.

#bookhaul10
Because 25% off is a siren call.
I had a $50 birthday gift card and $50 worth of Plum points, so with the discount this stack cost me $25. 🤩

Ever since my mom died, I cry in H Mart.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl