Each month we ask our staff to share their latest reading recommendations and give us a sneak peek into their reading habits by answering your favorite bookish questions. In January, we hear from Kimberly Lew, Associate Marketing Director, Balance. Read ahead for Kimberly’s trusted reading recommendations perfect for creating goals in the new year.

 

 

Kimberly Lew, Associate Marketing Director, Balance

This book has a lot of great mental health insights for everyone, but it’s also such a gift to feel seen as an Asian American, especially coming from a culture where mental health and trauma were not regularly discussed. Dr. Jenny Wang is such a compassionate voice in this discussion, and the book is really a testament to her work in the community. 

 

Growing up, I have always been a goal-oriented person, and especially being a woman and minority in the workplace, I feel like there’s been a prevailing message that success means needing to do it ALL. Recent conversations, however, around work and self-worth have shifted, and QUITTING is an expertly written, incredibly relevant book about the power of saying no.

 

I am grateful that grief has been a bigger topic of conversation in our culture, especially with everything we’ve been facing over the past few years, and SOULBROKEN really adds and interesting perspective: how do we grieve people who are still alive but are no longer who they once were to us? While oftentimes we think of grief in association with loss, this book walks you through the unique issues that come from mourning without a defined end.

 

Working in marketing, it’s easy to buy into consumer culture, but I’ve especially been trying to be more conscious in the last few years of where the things I buy are coming from and how to be less wasteful. In CONSUMED, Aja Barber offers both an awareness of the bigger picture and insight into how we can improve and limit our own consumption – a must read for anyone looking to reevaluate their spending habits.

 

I could listen to Dr. Wilborn talk for hours – she just has such a wonderful perspective on the power of Black women in the workforce and the importance of mental health alongside ambition. PLAYING A NEW GAME is an amazing resource for thriving in your career but also prioritizing wellness as you do.

 

What’s the weirdest thing you have used as a bookmark?

I am the queen of not using actual bookmarks to save my place. I have used it all – receipts, pens, spare change, mail, other books. Strangely, bending pages is where I draw the line, but everything else is fair game.

 

Do you have a go-to comfort read?

When I just need to read a little something, I love reading people’s money diaries online. Personal finance is a topic I’m really interested in and have written about, and getting insight into all the different ways people do make money makes me feel like there’s less of a stigma around talking about it.

 

If you owned a bookstore, what would you call it?

Shelf Life. I had actually written a script for a web series about a woman who worked at a bookstore, and that was the title.

 

What book is at the top of your TBR pile right now?

Aside from work-related stuff, I’ve been dying to read Station Eleven (I know, I know, I’m super late to the party) before starting the television series.