Denesteak! You’ve participated in Cannonball Read off and on almost since the very beginning. We’re so glad you’re back with us for CBR17. Would you share a little about how you came to be a part of the CBR community and what your screen name means?
I’ve been part of the Pajiba community since the early 2000s, and I remember AlabamaPink fondly in the comment section, as well as Prisco. I joined CBR2 because I thought it would be a nice way to honor her and the community and also I wanted a motivator to read more. I think CBR2 might still be the year I read the most number of books! I’ve skipped a couple years when life stuff got in the way, but overall, I think CBR is a good way to find new books and explore new genres, and I also really like some of the commenters and appreciate the recs. My screen name is a play off my original blog name, when a college friend misread “take” to “steak”, and they just called me by that nickname. It stuck and I have little imagination to go searching for a new username…
Do you have a favorite genre you like to read and review for Cannonball Read? Do you have a favorite book that you have written a review for that you recommend to everyone you know?
I don’t really stick to genres, though I generally read more fiction than non-fiction. I will usually read loads by a certain author and then go off people’s recommendations. It’s really about whatever catches my attention at that moment. Currently I’m really happy to be discovering Shirley Jackson for the first time (even though I know she’s a classic).
I enjoyed writing and revisiting Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong; and I also love recommending Akwaeke Emezi’s Freshwater, because it’s just such a surprising piece of work.
As one of our international members, do you have a book you like to recommend for people traveling to your corner of the world? Or a fictional one that tells an amazing story that shares the local traditions and cultures? What makes these stand out?
When I used to travel more for freelance work, I like to find “fun” books about those countries. It’s how I discovered Conn Iggulden’s Conqueror series when I was going to work in Mongolia. Birth of an Empire is historical fiction, and at the end of the book he has footnotes on what is based on real history and even cites historians. He has a very vivid style of writing.
I also really like Peter Hessler’s books on China — River Town and Oracle Bones are both great introductions to China.
One that I’ve reviewed about Thailand where I used to live is Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad. Really lovely writing and some subtle historical and cultural context for a novel.
During your career as a journalist, you’ve covered some really important topics. Is there one that you have been most inspired by or learned something unexpected while researching?
I was mildly obsessed with the refugee camps along the border of Myanmar and Thailand in 2013-2015. The largest one, Mae La, has been there since the 80s, and most of the refugees there are ethnic Karen (pronounced Ka-rin like Corinthians) people originally from Myanmar who fled the previous military government. When you go in to the camp, you realize it’s massive and an ecosystem within itself, with its own governance, community; and there are different neighborhoods throughout it. Mae La, like the other eight refugee camps on the border, is sealed off, so the residents are not legally allowed to work or cross over into Thailand.
This was around the time the Syria refugee crisis was entering public consciousness. When I was in Mae La the first time, I realized that the people who fled have had children, and their children have had children. Entire generations are raised in this camp, waiting to resettle in a third country after fleeing persecution in the 80s, 90s, and the recent new military government. Can you imagine this sense of statelessness, never feeling like you belong in either sides of the border, and having no national identity or freedom to move around? The people living in the camps, even if they are ethnic Karen, have a different mentality from the ethnic Karen born and raised in Myanmar. When I interviewed many of them, the elder generation all said they just wanted to go home to Myanmar. But the younger generation know that’s not really their home. The path of their entire lives—whether if they get resettled, whether if there are curfew rules within camp, literally anything from food supplies to how education is organized—are also precariously based on political winds and whims, including how the U.S. just up and decided to tear up a resettlement deal under the Trump admin.
This is really long, but I was really inspired by how they built very full lives within these stringent parameters dictated by governments and circumstances. And whatever you picture when you think of a refugee camp, I promise you—Mae La is not like that. It is right by these mountains, and it took my breath away the first time I saw the scale of it. I think about the camps—they’ve been around for four decades now—every time a new refugee crisis comes up in the news. What happens when the displaced Syrians, Gazans, etc. are no longer the refugees du jour? For them, life continues, and I try to remember that for myself.
You have the most gorgeous cat, Biggie. Do you have a favorite story about or picture of him that you’d like to share?
I have too many favorite stories of Biggie, he consistently makes my life better; and I love him so much! Here’s a photo of him with a Lunar new year collar I bought, which he tried to destroy after. It has a smiling fortune cat on it!
Holy motherforking shirtballs… You mentioned that one of your comfort watches is The Good Place. (Excellent choice, btw. That end of season one reveal is a doozy!) We’re going to play Kiss Marry Kill with those characters. Whom would you choose for which and why?
Love The Good Place so much. I’d kiss Jason at any stage because of course, who wouldn’t; and I’d marry later seasons Tahani, because I love that she’s kind of catty but also so curious about learning more things so she’d be interesting forever. Also, Tahani is super fine. And while I love Chidi, early stage Chidi would drive me nuts with the indecision so he can go live happily with Eleanor somewhere far away from me.
Now that you’ve learned all about denesteak, head over and see what she’s been reading lately. Or meet other Cannonballers we’ve interviewed recently.
