A memoir documenting the grief the author faces coping with her mother’s cancer diagnosis and death. A beautiful and heartfelt story about family and identity as Zauner places her complex relationship with her mother under a microscope. They find understanding and comfort in food and through the author trying to connect with her Korean heritage more.
Another name you might recognize more than Michelle Zauner is Japanese Breakfast. If you have ever listened to this band and thought highly of the lyricism, just know Zauner breathes all the same artistic talent and thought into her novel.
I can’t recommend Crying in H Mart enough, it is truly an amazing memoir.
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My flatmate lent me this beautiful, moving memoir by Michelle Zauner (the lead singer of Japanese Breakfast), which is all about her losing her mum to cancer in her 20s. Her prose is gentle, precise and insightful, as she tries to make sense of her mum, and her half-Korean identity now that her link to it has left this world, through their shared relationship with, and love of, Korean food. Highly recommend - I don't even listen to Japanese Breakfast; she's just a brilliant, soulful writer in her own right 🍳
Feb 9, 2024
i love a good music memoir and japanese breakfast is one of my favorite bands out there right now. this book was an amazing read, zauner has a really great voice to her writing and is an amazing storyteller. i thought this book was extremely moving and a unique way to tell her story. and it’s also fun to know the backstories of my favorite songs as well. highly recommend if you like memoirs, music and to cry a little bit when you read.
Jan 14, 2025
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Not a big reader but a massive Japanese Breakfast fan.
Really emotional but beautiful memoir about her relationship with her mum, intertwined with descriptions about yummy Korean food.
Feb 2, 2025
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The Upper Peninsula - Sufjan Stevens
Winter Hat - Daffo
Blackbird - The Beatles
I want a Dog - Weezer
Two Weeks in December - Skullcrusher
Bambi - Clairo
Salt Circle - Eliza McLamb
You Have No Idea - Harry Connick, Jr.
Flint (For the Unemployed and Underpaid) - Sufjan Stevens
Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
Winter Solstice - Eliza McLamb
Boots for Hiking - Annika Kilkenny
Glory of the Snow - Clairo
The Frost - Mitski
Dawn in the Adan - Ichiko Aoba
O Children - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Feb 12, 2025
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Fun fact about me is that I actually worked at a specialty cheese store for quite a while, so I like to think I know a few things haha. We carried about 115 different cheeses as well as all the kinds of crackers, jams, jellies, and whatever else you would think to pair them with.
My all time favorite cheese is a soft, spreadable honey goat cheese. Tastes great on a toasted everything bagel or with a simple cracker and spicy salami or other cured meat.
A few other favorite pairings include smoked gouda, which tases amazing with a sweet onion jam, a creamy brie (triple creme is the best) with a toasted baguette or one of those crackers with dried fruit in it, and a super sharp cheese with a fatty cured meat (highly recommend duck salami).
Some great cheeses you can find in most grocery stores:
- Vat 17 (extra sharp cheddar with salt crystals, my mouth is literally watering thinking about it)
- BellaVitano (an Italian table cheese, the plain is amazing, but the flavored ones are also great)
- Drunken Goat (a goat cheese washed in red wine!)
- Port Salut (semi-soft cheese, flavor kinda similar to mozzarella)
- Délice de Bourgogne (best triple creme brie ever, its literally like butter)
I could give so many more recommendations, so if you are looking for a cheese to go with something specific or none of the above are quite your style, feel free to comment!!
Mar 5, 2025