My treat to myself when I took my mother in law and kids to the mall today… I was able to sneak away and peruse B&N 😊

“And that‘s how you go on. You lay laughter over the dark parts. The more dark parts, the more you have to laugh. With defiance, with abandon, with hysteria, any way you can.”

“‘A man should have squint lines from looking at the horizon… not just from reading in dim light.‘”

A moment to myself before CrossFit ☺️

Bailed on the last book I was reading, mostly because it was taking way too long for me to finish and it‘s due back at the library. It‘s a huge book with way too many slow parts, although I was intrigued by Elinor Glyn‘s life and work. Maybe I‘ll read it another time. But I was yearning to get lost in some fiction anyway, so here we are 😁

I saw the writer and writing coach, Paulette Perchach post about this book in her IG stories. She said if she recommended one book that everyone should read, it would be this one.

I just had to get this set of vintage children‘s classics when I saw them. I had a set like these when I was a kid in the 90‘s but never knew what happened to them.

1. My current read is tagged, and takes place in different settings throughout the protagonist‘s life (it‘s nonfiction). Currently, the book has us back close to London for Elinor Glyn‘s long-awaited wedding after a trip to Paris failed to find her a match among the Frenchmen.

2. I really want to visit “Hobbiton” in New Zealand one day.

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

My Sunny Boy kept me company while I finished this one 😻. This is the 2nd novel by St. James that I‘ve read and loved, I definitely need to read more of her work. I was hooked from start to finish. It has a little bit of everything: ghostly figures, mysteries to solve, likable/sympathetic characters, action, drama, vivid descriptions, and romance sprinkled in. The MC and supporting characters all had wonderful arcs. I‘m happy with how it ended.

1. Work on my portfolio and handle some chores.

2. At the moment, I‘m most looking forward to a new series that‘s being released later this year: The Witch‘s Compendium of Monsters by Genoveva Dimova.

3. Definitely fantasy!

#MotivationalMonday @Cupcake12

Library haul! I wasn‘t really in the mood for anything in my TBR pile at home, so to the library I happily went…

I hold this one in the same esteem as The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. Profound, insightful, and incredibly motivating. It helped me see creativity from a new perspective and lit a fire in me. It reminded me that I‘ve been doing too much waiting, I need to make moves and to be more intentional with said moves. This book is tough love and no nonsense while at the same time gentle and uplifting. I‘m coming back to this one for sure.

“Creativity doesn‘t repeat itself, but it rhymes.”

(In reference to being inspired by those who came before, but not copying them).

“Don‘t talk about your dreams with people who want to protect you from heartache.”

“The act of creation isn‘t about finding scarcity that belongs to you and to no one else. The act of creation involves touching something abundant and being eager to share it with other creators.”

“…the real competition is with your own potential…”

Doing more research on intermittent fasting and discovered this book in a subreddit… I was just talking about this culture revolving around food with my sister the other day. Almost every occasion, happy or sad, personal or professional, seems to revolve around food and drink. Reforming this mindset is going to take some work…

1. Yup, to my husband.
2. Not really. I do believe in having deep connections with people, which can be platonic too. But do I believe there‘s only one person out there for everyone? No. Love is hard work and ultimately revolves around the daily choices we make to stick it out with someone.
3. Someone making me dinner for a change lol and spending time with my husband.

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

This one has been on my shelf for a very long time. It‘s a beautiful edition. I read a bit slower in Spanish, but I‘m trying to read more in my mother tongue so I‘m learning to be patient with myself. I grew up bilingual, but after years living in cities where no one spoke Spanish, I‘m very rusty. I‘ve been getting better since my mother moved in with us and we have more Spanish speaking friends/neighbors where we live now. Excited for this one!

1. Just the usual routine, hopefully something fun with the family this weekend.
2. As it lands on a Wednesday, not really. I got my husband and kids some goodies though, so I‘m excited to hand them over.
3. I‘d be an innkeeper from the tagged book.

#MotivationalMonday @Cupcake12

“The trick isn‘t a trick at all. It‘s a practice that begins with trusting yourself to show up and do the work.”

“…if you need a guarantee you‘re going to win before you begin, you‘ll never start.”

1. I‘m easy to please so no big deal for me, just feeling thought of is nice… even just a nice card will do. But I also love giving gifts to my hubby and our kids.

2. Tagged. The point of the book isn‘t about love, but the MC and his friends love each other dearly and connect on a deep level throughout all the chaos.

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

“At the heart of the creative‘s practice is trust: the difficult journey to trust in your self, the often hidden self, the unique human each of us lives with.”

“…while you‘re engaging in the practice, you‘ll honor your potential and the support and kindness of everyone who came before you.”

“The practice is not the means to the output, the practice is the output, because the practice is all we can control.”

1. Same old - plenty of exercise, studying for a certification, a couple of appointments, working on my creative projects, spending time with the fam, etc.
2. I do my monthly and weekly planning in my journal, and then we have a communal family calendar in the kitchen.
3. I‘d be inside a video game, specifically residing in The Wandering Inn (tagged)

#MotivationalMonday @Cupcake12

Next up is some nonfiction, because I felt like I could do with some inspiration for my creative practices…

I don‘t know why it took me so long to read this one. I found this to be a wonderful fantasy with a beautiful underlying message: there‘s power in finding out who we truly are, and no greater magic than being wholly ourselves. Le Guin‘s prose is almost poetic, the descriptions awe-inspiring. I loved the world-building and the characters, especially the MC‘s character arc. Definitely getting myself the next book in the series!

A while back I bought books 9 and 10 of The Legend of Drizzt series (I thought I would be reading them sooner, but my TBR got away from me). At the time, they only had those older copies on the left. And as you can see, I‘m collecting the newer paperback versions. I finally found the newer ones for book 9 and 10 and I‘m so happy! Time to sell/donate the older two 😁

“A man would know the end he goes to, but he cannot know it if he does not turn, and return to his beginning, and hold that beginning in his being.”

My next listen…

This was almost a so-so for me because there were slow parts and some redundant/repetitive parts. I also wished we had seen more of the Hermes Society and more of the magic. But I loved the characters (except for one but I won‘t spoil it for anyone) and loved the historical/academic references. The narrator was great too. The overall theme calling out colonialism and all its trauma was a powerful and necessary one.

“To light a candle is to cast a shadow…”

Felt like playing around for this one, seemed fitting lol. This was a fantastic introduction into the world of photography. Having taken an introductory course in my degree program (and it being a while since) some of the topics were a nice refresher but a good chunk of it were concepts I hadn‘t learned before. More than anything I appreciated the more creative topics and the focus on our own unique perspectives. I‘m definitely inspired!

I feel like I‘m finally out of my reading slump and I‘ve been craving some fantasy. This one has been waiting for a loooong time for me to pick it up off my shelf.

“Average photographers imitate beauty. Great photographers create their own. See past the obvious and hunt out a more personal and surprising version of beauty. Look for subjects that, for whatever reason, interest you rather than ones you think are ‘photogenic‘.”

“Capturing the decisive moment, whether it‘s a sudden change in the light, a telling gesture or a street scene… is all about anticipation and instinct.”

TW: NSFW anecdotes that include topics such as addiction (in many forms), harmful behavior, depression, and suicidal tendencies. Nonetheless I think everyone who is able should read this. Some of it seemed like common sense (although apparently, not so common) but a lot of it included concepts I never even considered. In an increasingly modern world where we give into instant gratification and overconsumption with ease… (continued in comments ⬇️)

“…rather than making sure everything ‘conforms‘, concentrate on creating compositions that capture the essence of your subject.”

When I studied for my degree in Graphic Design we had to take an introductory course on photography and I discovered I rather liked it. But I haven‘t touched my camera in a long time as I wrapped up the rest of my degree program and then other goals just took priority. This year I want to get back into it and learn more, and I saw someone suggest this book in a photography subreddit. Let‘s see how this goes!

“We‘ll do anything to distract ourselves from ourselves.”

“Americans no longer talk to each other, they entertain each other…”

Wow.

1- Yup, actually fighting a reading slump at the moment. What I read to re-engage usually depends on my mood; interesting nonfiction seems to be helping this time but sometimes it‘s poetry or fiction I‘ve already read and loved.
2- Neil Gaiman
3- Isabel Allende

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

I finally finished this one but I‘ll definitely be coming back to it again and again. It‘s probably my favorite design book so far as it connects two of my passions: (obviously) design and stories. There were so many books and articles referenced that my TBR list just got bigger, and there were countless practice exercises and prompts to get the creative juices flowing. I‘m excited to give them a try! Continued in comments ⬇️

I‘ve been in a bit of a reading/listening slump lately, and fiction has been hit or miss lately too. So I figured, I might as well learn something while trying to get out of the slump. I‘ve heard good things about this one…

Got about halfway through and had to come to terms with the fact that I‘m extremely bored and lost all interest in what happens with these characters. I just couldn‘t keep reading and was dragging my feet with calling it quits. Plus, I couldn‘t stand one of the MCs. And I just don‘t want to waste more time with this one, so DNFed!

This is the second year I‘ve read this one as part of my holiday reads and I loved it even more the second time around. I finished it last night and today is the Winter Solstice! I plan to spend some time in the sun today and tonight I‘ll journal by candlelight to reflect on the past year and my hopes for the new year. This book is a wonderful reminder to embrace the light with gratitude and everything it represents ❤️🕯️🌞🌙✨

Each day this week I‘m tackling a different area or two for decluttering/organizing. Today I did my bookshelves (also one in my room). I had stacks overflowing here and stacked on top of each shelf of books. I have a box to donate and a few I had to toss because they were pretty beat up. I had these color coordinated before and it bugged me. It‘s organized chaos but it‘s the way I like it. Grouped by genre, series, and size. I‘m happy with it 😁

I love this version of The Gift of the Magi, illustrated by P.J. Lynch. We were late getting in the holiday spirit this year, but my annual holiday reads always help.