A Poetry Book You Need: Monday Motivation

From milk & honey– rupi kaur

Taking Risks: Summer 2016

Looking back in my archives of pictures in my inbox, I got some good laughs at some of the very bold things I did to my hair in my 20’s.

From the shortest hair-chop in 2010:

To my attempt at blonde:

That color did not go well, and I “warmed up” and darkened it the next morning.

I lived the motto: Hair is a silly thing! I found it so freeing, to cut my hair and live my life simply getting used to the face looking back at me: raccoon eyes, big forehead, burgeoning curls, and cheekbones. I discovered eyelash extensions in NYC could take my “minimal make up” look to the next level. I discovered that I had the most confidence the shorter my hair length was. It takes a strong woman to be bold. It takes a confident man to love on that woman, too.

I still find it fun to experiment, but guardedly now. My last cut has not been my favorite to date, but I’ve altered it to where I feel comfortable now. Summer beckons and I got more exciting things to worry think about. I’ve got risks to take in the area of employment, entrepreneurship, and advancing my talk therapy goals. I’ve got places to see, new foods to eat, couches to break-in, trips to plan, wines to try, outfits to arrange, posts to write, word to devour, celebrations to partake in, offers to decline, plans to make, promises to witness.

Summer 2016 is looking great.

What risks are you taking this summer?

Top 3 Books of the Year: 2015

15 more days before we usher in 2016. I can thank Audible for most of my completed reads this year. I did not reach my goal of 10 books this year, however I am still proud to have accomplished 60% of my goal! I haven’t read the most exciting books this year, but I am also proud to say that I’ve read books I would not normally read. 2015 has been the most adventurous reading year to date. Below are my Top 3 reads of the year:

Número Uno

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. Read my review here.

Número Dos

Between the World and Me by Ta-nehisi Coates. This was a popular read this year, and in spite of both good and bad reviews I felt it a worthy and timely read.

Número Tres

South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami. This was a departure from the fiction I’m used to reading. Murakami is known for his extended use of analogies and descriptive language. I enjoyed the realness of the protagonist, someone not afraid to chase happiness, as fleeting as it may appear.

Looking forward (2016)

•  A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara- Started in 2015 but will probably start again from the beginning, in hopes of a straight read-through.
• The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley- On financial literacy.
• Aidsafari by Adam Levin (South African)- The memoir of a young, white middle class South African male coming to terms with his Aids diagnosis.

What are you looking forward to reading in 2016?

Book Journey through 2015

I’m very happy to say that in 2015 I’ve been successfully starting books and finishing them. Back around 3 years ago when I first decided to go back to school, I wanted earnestly to keep  my book reading hobby. I found out that wish wasn’t in the stars after my first semester of an accelerated pre-req program in Speech Language Pathology. I could barely keep my room clean, let alone be distracted enough to start and keep reading non-assigned material. I’ve been done with school now for 15 months. Finally got my swagger back. 🙂

Here’s my list of 2015 including my rating scale and comments as necessary.

COMPLETED BOOKS

1. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson- 4/5 stars (via Audible). Non-fiction book about an African-American attorney who defends the indigent children and adults who’ve been damned to death row. Highly recommended.
2. Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1) by Marissa Meyer- 2.5/5 stars (via Audible). I was trying something new with this book (sci-fi), an assignment from the Twitter book club (Ninjas Be Reading BC). It’s a new-age Cinderella story about a girl who’s half cyborg and half human. The premise drew me in, but after about Chapter 12 I just got bored. The action was too slow and I wasn’t invested in the characters anymore. I don’t know how I survived the 26 chapters that followed, but I live to write about it
3. 32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter- 3/5 stars (via Audible). This fiction book came recommended by a friend. It is the recount of a young woman’s life through her eyes. Her early childhood stories really drew me in, however somewhere in her young-adult retelling, things became too hard to believe. I had a hard time finishing the book, and the ending didn’t redeem itself.
4. South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami- 3/5 stars (via Audible). Yet another recommendation from a friend, who boasts this is his favorite author. It’s hard to describe what exactly this book is about. There is a protagonist, a man…there is an internal struggle he has about his life. I could connect with many thoughts, much of the angst, and I felt the “realness” of the character. I wished there was more complexity to some of the other characters, but overall I thought it was a solid book. Murakami is claimed to be the master of metaphors and realism. I would recommend looking into his repertoire.

IN PROGRESS

• The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke by Suze Orman (Audible) I’m all those things and I’m trying to get my money right. Not trying, getting it.

• All About Love (New Visions) by bell hooks. This book has been like the Bible to me this year; hard to get through because I have to stop and process what I’ve read. I have “Amen” moments after every 2 pages and I read the book equipped with a pen or highlighter. Working it chunk by chunk.

• A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (iBooks). This book came recommended by one of the hosts of Books on the Nightstand, one of the podcasts I occasionally listen to. It came with the promise that my life would be changed when I finished, so I’ll keep you updated when I finish reading.

• Getting Rid of It by Betsey & Warren Talbot (Audible). I purchased this on a sale and it has pushed me to de-clutter my paperwork and even consider downsizing my books. It is the “To-Do” project for the month and I’ve been taking baby steps (more like crawling, actually). I like this book because it’s a straight-forward read and they give you homework at the end (i.e., “weekend projects” and the like). If you want to learn how to make your space more enjoyable, if you’re on the verge of a move and don’t want to lug stuff to your next place, this is a great investment.

UNFINISHED MEMORIES

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green- I think I’m about halfway through this book. I pick it up every now and again and admire the art on the cover, just not pressed to finish it.

Shout-out to Audible for helping me get through books this year! I realized I was spending so much time traveling between sites (at least 45 minutes) and getting 45 minutes of “listening” time 3-4 times a week adds up! Reading A Little Life on my iPad is probably the hardest thing to do, and I mostly pick that book up when I travel. I’m okay with that; having a “travel on a plane book, while I’m in the car book, and bedside book.” I didn’t have a goal this year for a magic number of books to read, but I would definitely like to add at least 2 more fiction titles to the list. I’m also becoming more adventurous and trying to read titles/authors I normally wouldn’t. That is truly one of the joys of book clubs, something that I miss dearly.

For the book readers, how do you stay connected to book communities? Do you have the need to read with others or what others are reading?

–She