{
  "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
  "title": "reads on Joseph Chen",
  "icon": "https://avatars.micro.blog/avatars/2025/49/1741149.jpg",
  "home_page_url": "https://josephchen.micro.blog/",
  "feed_url": "https://josephchen.micro.blog/feed.json",
  "items": [
      {
        "id": "http://josephchen.micro.blog/2026/02/09/the-summer-house-by-masashi.html",
        "title": "The Summer House by Masashi Matsuie (Translated by Margaret Mitsutani) [2025]",
        "content_html": "<p>i thought it was a beautiful read<br>\nit was a slow book, a slice of life novel<br>\nyoung love and all its dramatized secrecy, emotions, honesty, confusion, purity, and fallouts<br>\nolder mature relationships and all its endearment, complexities, and realities<br>\nan incredibly warm portrayal of community and companionship<br>\nthe soft envelopment of dedicated, enriching work (wish this was me lol)<br>\nthe unbridled joy of creation<br>\nthe eerily silent yet quick passage of time where days and arcs seem long yet years and decades fly<br>\nand scattered throughout, a humble view into the world of architecture</p>\n",
        "date_published": "2026-02-09T20:02:00-05:00",
        "url": "https://josephchen.micro.blog/2026/02/09/the-summer-house-by-masashi.html",
        "tags": ["reads"]
      },
      {
        "id": "http://josephchen.micro.blog/2025/12/18/this-was-an-interesting-read.html",
        "title": "Cities and Ambition — Paul Graham (2008)",
        "content_html": "<p><a href=\"https://josephchen.micro.blog/uploads/2025/citiesandambition.pdf\">Cities and Ambition</a>\n~3,600 words\n~12 min read</p>\n<p>alice sent me this, and it was an interesting read despite almost a decade passing since it was authored. i do see new york, sf, and berkeley reflect what he considered the messages of his time: focus on wealth, focus on power/prestige, and focus on living well. i would say that boston perhaps has not lived up to his expectations, but i also know nothing of boston really. what i suspect, though, is that intellectual production has shifted globally as the world adapted to a more digitally-connected world. many with ideas, creativity, and hunger for knowledge have been seemingly bypassing academia altogether and going straight into industry. chicago, where i am currently based, is interesting. it seems a bit more balanced and friendly. less comparison with one another and more focused on simply enjoying life? the conversations i&rsquo;ve had here are much less clustered around wealth, prestige, and ambition, which has been a calm change of pace.</p>\n<p>however, i&rsquo;ve definitely not settled into the city yet to be comfortable saying too much about it. it&rsquo;s been a bit hard to, especially as i knew very little people coming in. i also haven&rsquo;t been intentional at all with it—mores o escaping abroad or spending time with my girlfriend in lieu of building a strong foundation in chicago. part of me also feels like my stay here is temporary, which makes me hesitant of planting and nurturing seeds in the city. but, i understand it is still all worth doing as relationships are the crux of life&rsquo;s enjoyment. i just gotta set my mind to it and execute haha.</p>\n<img src=\"https://josephchen.micro.blog/uploads/2025/citiesandambition.pdf\">\n",
        "date_published": "2025-12-18T23:46:04-05:00",
        "url": "https://josephchen.micro.blog/2025/12/18/this-was-an-interesting-read.html",
        "tags": ["cities","reads"]
      }
  ]
}