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Happy Tuesday All,
And welcome to the Cultural Reads Newsletter! A bi-weekly book, music, and movie recommendation from different countries all around the world
In this week’s newsletter: Track Reading Habits, Music from Mali, Brazil & Finland, Chinese-American Movie, and Podcast Wisdom.
Do you already keep track of your reading habits?
If not, have a look at my template. You can copy-paste and customize it to fit your needs.
I usually give away my books after reading them, but I like to have a list to remember what I read. It has a similar effect as photo albums and brings back memories of when I bought and consumed these books.
You can also find this list on Goodreads.
Salif Keita was born a traditional prince but rejected by his family for being albino, which was considered bad luck in Mandinka culture.
He fled Mali during a period of political unrest and left for Ivory Coast and later Paris.
Salif mixes West-African music with American and European influences and uses traditional instruments such as balafons (xylophones), djembes (drums), and koras (string instruments).
One of my favorite performances is this live concert. You can also find his music on Spotify.
The New York Times called it Messy and Glorious, and with an 8.2 on IMDB, the movie is one of this year’s highflyers.
Evelyn is the head of a Chinese immigrant family who’s unhappy with her life. Her husband wants a divorce, and her daughter has self-esteem issues as her family struggles to accept her sexuality.
When tax issues seem to destroy the family completely, the movie takes a sudden turn.
Evelyn finds a way to tap into parallel universes and can use the skills of her parallel selves. She finds out that the multiverse is in danger and is the chosen one to solve the problem.
You can watch the movie in the theaters or rent it here for $5.99.
Last week, one of the Cultural Reads readers, Zebu, reached out to promote his new single.
Zebu was musically schooled in Brazil and worked as a musician and producer for 20 years. He has worked with several famous groups and appeared in Brazilian magazines, TV shows, and radio stations.
After producing songs like Valsa de Silêncios for others, he finally has his first solo single, Jack Soul Brasileiro.
I thought sharing some hit lists from different countries in each newsletter could be interesting, so today we have Finland with mostly rap music:
If you want your country’s top 3 featured, please share it with me by replying to this email!
Think about all the moments in this life that you will experience for the last time
There will come a day that you die, and then, of course, you will do everything for the last time, but long before you die, you will cease to have specific experiences you take for granted.
If you are a parent, when is the last time you will pick up your child or read them a story?
We will do everything a finite number of times and often even take beautiful moments for granted.
Be aware of your activities and realize it could be the last time you do this specific task to enjoy it more consciously.
Check out the podcast episode to learn more
