I was super down last week after catching COVID for the first time and having to isolate from my family… so I got some books to cheer myself up lol. One of my goals for this year is to read more design books (I‘m currently studying Graphic Design). I‘m really excited about these three!

I absolutely love that this book references one of my favorite films 😍

I haven‘t been reading much over the past few days but The Absolute Book has been calling me. And it‘s my yearly tradition to reread A Christmas Carol, so it‘s about time I get started for this year.

I was matched with @IndoorDame for #NewYearWhoDis #NYWD22 I‘m so excited about this reading list! I already had a few in my TBR. After looking up the others, I‘m even more excited! I think I‘ll start with This Was Our Pact, because my daughter is currently reading it, but she should be done way before January. As for the rest, I‘ll probably try to find at my library. Thanks again @monalyisha and I‘m looking forward to getting to know you, Adina!

I saw a post about this one on IG and just had to snag myself a copy! 😁

We haven‘t been to the library since before COVID. We renewed our library cards and are so happy to be back. My bank account will be happy too lol

At the park enjoying my book while my kids play 😊

“People love the idea that there are things that matter which last and last, and outlast banks, businesses, and governments. Of course we wish the world was like that.”

“Time passes, generations rise and fall, but even with the changes something stays the same—truth and the conspiracy that keeps the truth hidden.”

Decided to pick this one for my next listen…

Two chapters in and I cannot go on… really not feeling the narrator. Maybe I‘ll pick up the physical book eventually, but life is short and I refuse to muddle through something I‘m not enjoying.

My next listen…

I wasn‘t sure how a story about a man under house arrest would keep my interest, but it certainly did. Under one roof, the protagonist made the best of his circumstance and somehow still found lifelong friendships, family, and love. And it wasn‘t without drama too, because no matter where we are in life, we have to accept the good with the bad. The ending was perfect too, and I absolutely loved these characters.

“If one does not master one‘s circumstances, one can be sure to be mastered by them.”

“…life does not proceed by leaps and bounds, it unfolds…”

Up next, and I‘m excited about this one 😁

I couldn‘t put this one down. It‘s funny, wonderfully weird, shocking at times, and super entertaining. A deeply honest example of how human people are, that no one is inherently bad, or good, for that matter. It also served as a reminder to enjoy the simple things, and to have arbitrary stupid goals and take the pressure off.

I just hit submit on my final project for my current course, and now it‘s time to enjoy my weekend 😁

My 8 year old is super interested in space lately and I found him this book. It‘s gorgeous and has some great images and illustrations. He loves it.

“In the limits of a situation there is humor, there is grace, and everything else.”

“…this might be the root of our problems as a nation, that we don‘t feel enough sympathy for people who are not like us.”

In the mood for some creative nonfiction, and this one‘s been on my shelf for ages.

I‘m actually somewhere between a pick and so-so, but that‘s not an option lol. I enjoyed the story and liked the protagonist, but was disappointed that the “library of the dead” wasn‘t more of a prominent setting in the story. It was a pretty quick read and I liked how the author made the magical aspects somewhat scientific.

Normally I keep a list of books I‘ve read for the year, I wasn‘t really keeping track this year but I just wrote this up. I normally set goals & try to surpass the previous year‘s goal, but this year I decided not to take it so seriously. There‘s been too much going on. I just wanted to read as much as I was able. I read 25 last year, & so far I‘ve read 15 this year. Definitely slower but better than I expected. Making a dent in the TBR pile lol.

My next listen, whenever my heart recovers from the last one 😭

Oh, how this one toyed with my emotions. It had me falling in love with these characters, feeling like I was part of their family, and then it absolutely broke my heart. I have no other words.

"Because one night, between one sweet sounding song and another, she understood that while life offers no guarantees, sometimes it does offer gifts."

“…one should never contradict an act of love.”

“An ancient metaphor: thought is a thread, and the raconteur is a spinner of yarns — but the true storyteller, the poet, is a weaver.”

My next listen 😊

I had trouble staying focused with this one during some parts, there was less action than the first book. However, I still enjoyed it and I like the way it ended. It was a nice continuation into the legacy of Kyoshi, and I‘m glad I further glimpsed into this universe that I love so much. Kyoshi is a bad a** and learning more about her character has been fun.

I skimmed this one quite a bit and even skipped entire chapters. At first I thought this was going to be for parents of kids of all ages, and there are some topics that can be extended to older kids, but quite a bit was focused on toddler/preschool age. My kids are 12 and 8, so I felt I was wasting my time reading certain parts. Overall though I liked most of the advice, especially about emotional coaching and regulating our own emotions.

My current professor recommended this book to us and I just had to get it! I‘m studying graphic design and typography is definitely not my strong suit. I‘ve never noticed letters as actual art forms before (unless it was blatantly obvious). I tend to just read words rather than focus on their visual form. But I‘m learning to notice and I hope this book helps. #graphicdesignbooks #typographybooks

My next read. After having my fill of nonfiction, I desperately need some fiction. And something ghostly to start off spooky season is perfect 😁👻

Although, Matisse repeats certain statements over the years, it says something of his faith in his methods. The interviews and essays are chronologically organized, and gives us a close look at how Matisse evolved personally and professionally throughout his long career. His ideas on taking from nature, relationships among colors, and focusing on our own sensations are concepts I found inspiring as an artist. A great read for any art history nerd.

“Hatred, rancor, and the spirit of vengeance are useless baggage to the artist. His road is difficult enough and he should cleanse his soul of everything that could make it more so.”

“I constantly felt aware of the importance of my decision, and despite the certitude that I had found my true path, one in which I was in my own element and not hemmed in as in my earlier life, still I was frightened, realizing that there was no turning back. So I plunged headlong into my work, following the principle that I had heard expressed all through my young life, which was ‘hurry up!‘ Like my parents, I got on with my work…”

Our community art center is getting rid of their library so they did a book giveaway. I‘m sad that they‘re closing their library, but happy for the stack I got out of it. Bittersweet.

“Why do you paint, M. Matisse?”

“Why, to translate my emotions, the feelings and the reactions of my sensibility through color and drawing, which neither the most perfect camera, even in color, nor the cinema, can do.”

“But what use to tell you how I would do it? I feel it one way, you would feel it another. When you paint it you must have no preconceived idea; you must enter into it as into a virgin forest; you must place yourself in communion with nature, with that nature… In the moment of painting you will think of no other artists, no other spectators; the others will not exist for you, only yourself and nature.”

“Your canvas is the drama, isn‘t it, between yourself and nature…”

“One gets into a state of creativity by conscious work.”

“Very often, the difficulty for an artist is that he doesn‘t realize the quality of his emotion and that his reason leads his emotion astray. He should use his reason only for control.”

I finished #theoctunnumi (which I loved) and now this is my current read. I‘m currently taking an Art History course in my Graphic Design program, and this book was quoted several times in my textbook, so I just had to find it.

Other than the bare minimum (which unfortunately includes laundry), I plan to do nothing else but lounge around journaling and reading today. It‘s been a while since I‘ve had a relaxing Sunday, they‘re usually spent finishing up schoolwork (my assignments are always due Sunday night).

“At the core, every choice is between love and fear. Choose love as often as you can. Every day you get fresh chances to interact with your child in a way that heals both of you.”

I‘m loving the advice in this book so far. I thought maybe it was too late to read something like this, my kids are 12 and 8. But if I can learn to be more calm and model my own emotion regulation for them from here on out, it can only benefit them in the long run.

I‘m still currently reading #theoctunnumi but this is my next nonfiction read. It‘s been on my shelf for a while, and after the year we‘ve had I think we could all benefit from me reading it finally lol.

Finished this one tonight. Other than a bit of repetitiveness, it was a worthwhile read. I‘ve been doing some of the tasks for several years already, such as morning pages, as she reintroduces certain things from The Artist‘s Way. The topics on listening were new though, and as I‘ve been wanting to be a better listener, I feel I‘m benefiting from her advice. I‘ve already been attempting to make it all a habit, and I‘ll continue to work on it.

My next listen. After finishing The Rise of Kyoshi, I just want to jump right back into this world.

This was an awesome listen. It‘s definitely a tad bit more adult than the original ATLA and The Legend of Korra. Learning about Kyoshi‘s backstory was interesting, and she‘s every bit as amazing as I thought she was. I really liked learning who her “masters” were, definitely not what I expected but in the best way. A lot of action, drama, sadness, and tender moments.