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Hi! I'm Amanda.

Decolonize your bookshelf with me! Amanda (she/her) is a mixed Vietnamese American writer who firmly believes that stories can change the world and that protest happens in small everyday disruptions consistently over time. She's based on unceded Tongva land and is the Chief Editor at Bookish Brews and an associate editor at Cast of Wonders and GigaNotoSaurus. 🤍

on a wood table there's a journal and a cup of iced coffee, someone is writing in the journal with a white pen
Featured Post

So I've Decided to Share My Journal

Content or a Journal? Lately I've been feeling like making content is this huge mountaintop to climb, like I need to Make Something Worthy of being content and it increases the pressure to simply create and I give myself writers block. I sit there thinking what could possibly be worthy of spending hours of my time on to create something? Something that you’d love to see, love to read, love to consume. But I think I had a revelation, and maybe this is too vulnerable (I guess that’s what...

about 1 month ago • 7 min read
cherry blossom branches at an upward angle into a beautiful blue sky

Every Day Protests Consistently Over Time You know that time of year at the end of winter when everything feels like you're walking through water? Honestly, unless you all are less like me than I thought, you probably know it way too well. I know it's coming every year but somehow, it's always a surprise. Though, I suppose, this year I did not anticipate a record breaking winter to coincide with the rapid nosedive into fascism we're doing. But this newsletter isn't about that last part. Well,...

12 months ago • 2 min read

It's January and I was going to send you a newsletter at the beginning of the year talking about how this is the year of reading intentionally and reflecting on our reading. I even made a new diversity reading tracker that I wanted to share with you (more on that later) so we can all do it together. But I'm finally getting to writing this newsletter and it's January 21 and it feels like absolutely no time for a resolution. So I've changed my mind. Nothing really changes on the new year. Time...

about 1 year ago • 3 min read
an open book with a mug of coffee sitting next to it and the mug says "be honest"

Community is the Answer Is anyone else starting to feel the weight of the entire world weighing in on you lately? Well I’m here to tell you that I’ve felt it too. And I’m here to tell you that you’re not alone and we should chat about it. Because if fiction has taught me one thing it’s how important it is to know you aren’t alone. We can build community when we tell our stories, so I want to be vulnerable with you. How are you hanging in there? You know, it’s been a while since I’ve sent you...

over 1 year ago • 3 min read
a computer open with a document on the screen with an open notebook and a mug of coffee sitting next to it all

On Becoming a Writer Becoming a writer was not something that I ever imagined for myself. I never spent nights in bed contemplating my dreams of sharing my writing with anyone else. In fact, I didn't even start Bookish Brews to share my writing with others, which I feel is a bit strange for a blogger. I just wanted to share my love of books. More importantly, I wanted to share my love of authors. I wanted to help the authors that I believe in succeed. It was never about sharing my own writing...

almost 2 years ago • 2 min read

Reading Changes Lives Welcome, Reader! “Authenticity requires vulnerability, transparency, and integrity.” When I made this newsletter my only desire was to connect with you on a deeper level. That’s still my goal! With Bookish Brews, I had always felt like I was behind this big screen and I didn’t really have a space where I could chat with you. Though I know we’re still only starting this newsletter, I have such high hopes that we can grow together. I believe that together we can become the...

almost 2 years ago • 5 min read

The Start of Something New Welcome, Reader! 🤍 Living a full life is a life full of trying new things. I've been on this blogging journey for a little over a year now and I can't even begin to tell you how much I've learned in that time. I've learned new things about myself, about literature, about activism, and about empathy. And the biggest thing that I've learned is that I truly believe that literature has the power to change the world. As I have continued along this journey, though, I've...

almost 2 years ago • 2 min read
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