#5SmartReads - November 23, 2022

A transplant from Mumbai, India, Shibani lives in Cleveland, Ohio with her husband and two dogs. She's an avid reader, Peloton-er, and plans to lean-in heavily to the holiday spirit this year!

Want To Escape From Hustle Culture? Contentment Is Exactly What You Need (Women’s Health Magazine)

Pre-pandemic, I leaned in hard to the #girlboss culture.

The pandemic reframed a few things, including my relationship to my career, but I still sometimes find myself thinking “I wasn’t productive enough today.”

I like this piece because it has some good, actionable tips if you find you’re measuring your value via your productivity.

Home Is Where Your Best Friend Is (Harpers Bazaar)

This is a beautiful tribute to that “best” tier of friends.

There’s no contract you sign with your best friend that you’ll stay together forever, until death do you part; there’s just this daily fact of loving each other and showing up.

If You Want Success, Pursue Happiness (The Atlantic)

My favorite takeaway from this is that you CAN have both success and happiness. But you should actively pursue one and the other will follow.

Revisiting Tarla Dalal’s Delightfylly Kitschy Indian Cakes (Vogue India)

Tarla Dalal was the first female global cookbook author in India (her books were translated into several languages) and fun fact, she was also my great-aunt.

My grandfather and her husband were brothers, and they lived on the same floor. There was a back entrance by both their kitchens and as a kid, I would run from my grandparent’s kitchen to hers to see who had a more interesting lunch and pick where I was going to eat 😆.

Her desserts were incredible!

‘Bjork Said It Should Sound Like The Cantina Band!’: The Enduring Influence Of Star Wars’ Bizarre Jazz Group (The Guardian)

As always, I like to end with something fun.

I am OBSESSED with the Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars. It is my favorite part of all the Star Wars movies, and I would definitely watch a whole series set just in the Cantina.

Turns out, the Cantina band has been an influence to so many artists too!