Geography Lessons, Dallas and a Book Launch Party!

Geography Lessons with Jennifer E. Smith

I went to Jennifer E. Smith's reading last week at McNally Jackson with Estelle and Alexa. She only read a small snippet from her book, The Geography of You and Me (which I loved!) but it was so nice getting to really meet her. I've seen her at plenty of other book events before but I've never gone up to her to talk or get something signed. She is one of the nicest authors and if you haven't read any of her books, you should. 

Dallas (again!)

Two weeks ago, my boss decided that we and two other people on our team needed to head to Dallas for one night for a three hour meeting to discuss some new designs I primarily worked on. At first I was kind of dreading it because it seemed so exhausting (which it was) but, it also turned out to be a really good trip. I got to meet a lot of people that I work with via phone/email and actually see them in person. My boss also took us all out for dinner (amazing seafood!) and drinks and it gave us a chance to finally talk. At the end of the trip, I just felt really good about the work I've been doing and the decision to move onto this job. Plus my other coworker and I got to bond a bit more and shop. All good things!

The many flights -- which because of connections meant 4 airports in 2 days -- gave me a lot of time to read, listen to music and clear my head. It was almost peaceful in a way to be up in the air, just away from everything. And on the last leg of my flight, I got to sit first class and dude, I totally understand why people splurge to sit there. It was pretty awesome (hot hand towels, mints, hanging up my jacket!) and I had window seat which hasn't happened in forever. So I was totally that dork staring outside and taking pictures on my phone. 

Launch Party for To All The Boys I've Loved Before

I decided to take Friday off since I was tired from Dallas the day before. I slept in, stayed in bed longer than necessary, had time to actually curl my hair and my bus ride into the city only took 20 minutes. Seriously, why can't every day be like this? I had a lot of time to kill so I went to Saint Alp's Tea House since I was craving bubble tea, got a manicure and a short massage. I was all about relaxing! But the best part was meeting up with my girls Estelle and Alexa for drinks and food before heading over to Books of Wonder. 

I really enjoyed this event. And not just because of the yummy desserts table. Jenny Han is absolutely adorable, down-to-earth and I loved everything she shared with the audience. Aside from reading a short passage from the book, she shared some of her own love letters which made everyone laugh. But as I was laughing, I definitely thought about my own childhood diary passages and the dramatic way I wrote about my crushes (so cringeworthy!). 

She was asked a lot of good questions and gave really great answers. My favorite response had to do with Asian culture and how the cover of her book features an Asian girl, which was important to her and unfortunately isn't a common occurrence. She talked about how many times, "Asian" books tend to be all about that person's coming-of-age story as they either assimilate into a new culture or struggle with their identity. That's usually the focus and while there's definitely a need for those kinds of stories, she also wanted to put a book where yes, the girl is Asian and that's a part of who she is, but it's not all that she is. She wants her books to accessible and relatable to anyone. And I really loved that because I feel the same way. 

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So that was my super busy week! But as fun as that was,

I'm looking forward to a peaceful, trip-free week.

Hope you all had a good weekend!