So much of the experience of a book depends on when in your life you read it. Beauty indeed lies in the maturity, life phase, busy-ness, emotional space of the beholder. Having even 1 weekly ritual with a carved out time that’s non negotiable, is special. I’ve concluded that audio books are fine for non … Continue reading random Sunday thoughts 🙂
Author: Ipshita Agarwal
Recent reading & watching
A non-exhaustive list Conformism: Paul Graham - Link Excerpt (written in 2020 but rings even truer today):In the last few years, many of us have noticed that the customs protecting free inquiry have been weakened. Some say we're overreacting — that they haven't been weakened very much, or that they've been weakened in the service … Continue reading Recent reading & watching
2024 books recap
It was a difficult year to pour into my hobbies, but I got back in the stride in December. Of the 12 books I read this year, I read 6 in the last month, 3 in the two-week break between jobs, and only 3 in the other months. I hope to read more consistently in … Continue reading 2024 books recap
Reading as Meditation
On Saturday mornings, I walk to my favorite coffee shop - on the way, I stop at an old smoke shop-plus-news stand. The owner and I now recognize each other - part of the knowing is not needing to engage in conversation. I spend 5-7 minutes deciding among the NYT, WSJ, the Economist, and the … Continue reading Reading as Meditation
Recent interesting reading [Mar ’24]
Government clampdowns on social media are not the answer - Link, David French. This is such a tough one - I very much agree that the first amendment rights of everyone (incl children) are too precious to suppress. But I don't agree that it is the parents' responsibility to regulate social media use. A vast … Continue reading Recent interesting reading [Mar ’24]
In search of a new media format: the game
I've long thought about what the next iteration of consumer social looks like - text > image > video > what next? For a while, it seemed like it could be audio (Clubhouse) or music (long list of music social startups). But if you think of every new wave of consumer social content being more … Continue reading In search of a new media format: the game
Past Lives
Past Lives - for the past 48 hours, I've been trying to find words to fill the space and heaviness in my heart. It's not the sad kind of heaviness.. it's the melancholic kind. The kind that exists inside of us, as its own living, breathing being, without making us sad. The kind that reflects … Continue reading Past Lives
2023: half-baked ideas + rent-free thoughts
I kept waiting to have more fully-baked thoughts on these topics, but I thought it would be interesting to document what I was thinking about, at 28. There is no so-what, only the 'now'. Everything we do in life is a means to cope with it - I read this somewhere, and while it seemed … Continue reading 2023: half-baked ideas + rent-free thoughts
2023 reading recap:
August - Dec 2023: Pachinko (496 pages) - 10/10. Life of a family across generations, covering many themes in a non-stereotypical way: the immigrant experience (most books focus on immigration to the US, but this was super interesting in Korea > Japan, so fully based in east Asia), inter-generational mobility, gender, sex, money, family, mistakes, … Continue reading 2023 reading recap:
How do you go through life?
I often wonder how the external recognition of grief, mourning, pain is time-boxed. How we go through this life: mourning the departure of a partner or a friend, coping with the loss of a family member, experiencing the pain of someone we care deeply about, and still carry on with life? Showing up to work … Continue reading How do you go through life?
Ipshita Agarwal 