Estella's Revenge

Oh hey! I moved to Wordpress!

2018-10-29T08:33:00.000-05:00

I'm still in the process of migrating my old content to Wordpress, but all new posts will come from estellasrevenge.net (which was formerly forwarded to this Blogger address). See you there!

I'm Holding Up This Space for Me

2018-10-08T08:11:00.001-05:00

In light of the Kavanaugh hearings, there's been a lot of talk of whether or not to unfriend people on Facebook, whether it's productive to "argue about politics" online, etc. They're the same discussions we rehash over and over, though they never really lose relevance.

My Facebook page, blog, twitter is for me, first and foremost. I don't hold that space up for others unless I decide to do exactly that. I hold up space for discussion every day: in my classroom, in my online classes, and through my work which is in service to others. My anger, my inspiration, my personal struggles, I choose who is privy to those. I choose carefully.

I use my Facebook privacy settings like they're integral to my well-being...because they are. I have Facebook split into some specific groups:

Restricted - This usually includes folks I grew up with or those who live in my hometown whose views are wildly polarized to mine. I live in, arguably, the most conservative district in an already-conservative Texas. I've actually had relatives ask me, "Do you get death threats?" for some of the things I post, and the answer is no. No, because I choose who sees my political postings. I know my audience and I control my message.

Friends - I post to my Friends list usually when it's a well-worded, fairly kind, or personal post of interest to those around me. Family pictures, funny memes of a crowd-pleasing variety, animals videos.

Public - The very least of the categories...artwork, more crowd-pleasing or funny posts, profile details like photos or headers. The basics. Stuff I don't mind my students seeing if they're creeping.

I've had lots of folks I care deeply about, suggest that I stand up as an example to those who disagree with me. Be a beacon of light and hope. Be kind. Put out positivity. Sadly, I'm human, and sometimes I don't have it in me. Sometimes I just want to say "motherfucker" and rant. See my recent Facebook memes. I'll say it again. I hold up space for myself. I hold up space for myself online. I love sharing with friends, I love feedback, but at the end of the day, I'm doing my rational discussing of the issues with people in person. That's my job every. single. day. I hope something I've written along the way touched or inspired you, but mostly I'm interested in inspiring myself to keep going, to keep fighting, to keep believing in and taking action, and learning more about my own white feminism, ableism, etc.

today's rage

2018-09-27T11:06:00.003-05:00

Barbara Kruger, "Untitled (Your body is a battleground)," 1989.

Before 45 was elected, I wrote this post about losing my "voice" after sexual assault. Well, hey, almost two years later, and after that garbage fire election I stopped writing and reading. Two of the things that make me feel most "me." Surprised? Not really. Disappointed? Yes.

But here I am. It's Blasey-Ford testimony day, and I tuned in for about 5 minutes. Long enough for Ford to tell them she's 100% sure it was Kavenaugh (not a thing that gets confused, in my experience), and then they went to recess, and the news commentators on a network I normally like discussed her girlish voice.

So now I'm sitting here in tears, listening to angry music, and not watching any live streams. I called and berated my Senators, and I'll write some #postcardstovoters here in a bit, and I'll continue to feel rage. Delicious, righteous rage. RAGE.

All we have right now is our rage and our voices. That's it. Republicans have made up their minds, so grab a friend, talk to someone undecided or moderate, and when you have a flat tire on election day, or an awful sinus infection, or it's just a shitty day, go vote anyway if you're physically and emotionally able.

Vote them out.

To hell with them all.

I Read It Twice Already: Inspired by Rachel Held Evans

2018-08-27T14:17:00.003-05:00

Blogger was drunk in my previous draft. Let's try this again.

I sat with this book--Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans--for almost a month. I'd listen on audio for a while, rewind, start over, listen some more. After a while I became so desperate to annotate that I ordered a physical copy. After I'd finish a chunk of the audio, I'd re-read the physical text and write notes, observations, and underline...a lot.

"Drawing on the best in recent scholarship and using her well-honed literary expertise, Evans examines some of our favorite Bible stories and possible interpretations, retelling them through memoir, original poetry, short stories, soliloquies, and even a short screenplay. Undaunted by the Bible's most difficult passages, Evans wrestles through the process of doubting, imagining, and debating Scripture's mysteries. The Bible, she discovers, is not a static work but is a living, breathing, captivating, and confounding book that is able to equip us to join God's loving and redemptive work in the world."

In short, this book should probably be titled "Reading the Bible Like a Reader" but that's not nearly as catchy. Not convinced that Jonah was really swallowed by a whale? Unsure about miracles? Many-headed beasts with 10 crowns?

RHE (my pet name for her) jumps into interpretations that integrate culture, history, and the instances when whether or not the stories within the Bible really happened just don't matter. This book looks the Bible's most confusing bits straight in the face and insists we can uphold a Christianity about inviting people to the table rather than asking them to leave.

I admit, I'm already reading it again (on audio and in print).

In the Books, a July 2018 Wrap-Up

2018-08-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, my reading went a bit bananas in July with the arrival of my Kindle. Here's a quick wrap-up and mini review of the books "In the Books" for this month.

Dog Man #2 A Tale of Two Kitties by Dav Pilkey - Greyson loves this series to bits. I wasn't overly impressed with the first book, but this one definitely grew on me. There are plenty of fun classical literary references here for the adults.

Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans - This when reading really got its claws back into me. Rachel Held Evans is my favorite progressive Christian writer and memoirist. Her writing is equal parts thoughtful, beautiful, and smart. I listened to Inspired on audio--the best way to read her work--and I ordered a paperback copy while I was still listening in order to read and annotate. So yeah, I read it twice at once. lol

Bird Box by Josh Malerman - The result of Twitter recommendations! I asked my fellow readers for recommendations to scare the poo out of me, and this one fit the bill. It's about a mother and her children, set adrift in a world where they must remain blindfolded to avoid being driven to homicide by...something. While this book is scary as all get-out, it's also complicated and dreamy in a way that reminded me of Cormac McCarthy's The Road...but I liked this one even more.

Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt - Good, old school horror! A three hundred year old witch walks freely around Black Rock, appearing in homes, making a regular circuit through town, and generally bleeding into the background. But aren't those pesky townspeople always their own worst enemies? Read it and see.

Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life by Shauna Niequist - Another audio selection, Niequist writes about her daily life...the ordinary and extraordinary. It's not a new concept, but Niequest has a delightful writerly voice. I listened to this one on audio and almost wish I hadn't. Her reading is VERY FAST (I thought I had the speed up), and it loses some of its glory. I think I would've liked to slow down and read the words on the page myself.

Matilda by Roald Dahl - A re-read/re-listen. I never get tired of it.

Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol - I loved Ghosts by Brosgol, but I liked Be Prepared even more. Young Vera desperately wants to fit in with her friends, and she wants to go to camp! Her mother, though, sends her to a Russian sleep-away camp that is not quite what Vera was expecting or hoping. Think lower-key, introspective Lumberjanes.

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson - A great graphic novel in every way. This was another re-read. Just pick it up already.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne - So. Much. Fun! Another winning Twitter recommendation, this one is about Lucy and Joshua, high powered work rivals who just happen to have some sparks. A very endearing novel when the characters weren't always so endearing.

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay - A thinking person's horror novel. A family's young daughter is seemingly possessed, or is she? This novel is also a lot of fun with plenty of shout-outs to classic horror, both literature and film.

Hocus Pocus and the All New Sequel by A.W. Jantha - Hocus Pocus is always a good time and a MUST, even in July. The actual Hocus Pocus novel was JUST LIKE the movie which made it a nice comfort read, but the sequel was a new delight. I didn't expect much from the writing, to tell the truth, but it was good!

Don't call it a comeback! Ok, do.

What have you loved lately?

My Kindle Saved My Reading Life

2018-08-19T12:24:00.001-05:00

Amazon Prime Day resulted in some off-the-cuff purchases that I don't regret even a bit because the Kindle Paperwhite e-reader seems to have salvaged my dreadful, uneventful reading life. #sorrynotsorry

My reading slowed to a trickle in March. I was reading with Greyson over the summer, mostly adding the Dog Man Series to my Goodreads "Read" category. Audiobooks were fine on my commute to work, but I only commute one night a week during summertime, so I wasn't making any huge dents that way.

I spend so much time grading at my computer and tending to my online classes in general, that I now find reading on devices excruciating. My eyes are Just. Not. Having it. For whatever reason, my attention span generally can't handle traditional printed books.

I wasn't sure the Paperwhite was the solution, but I was willing to take the chance.

In the month since I've had my Kindle, I'm happy to report that I've downed 12 books. Most of those were actually on the Paperwhite, while a few snuck into the #24in48 readathon and Dewey's #ReverseReadathon via the iPad (comics are so much better on iPad).

I feel...lighter. I'm reading whatever I want to read, truly going with the flow, eating up samples, taste-testing books, and downloading what really grabs me. It's free range reading at its fullest, and it's working for me.

Do you know how much of a relief this is? I'm sure you do, reader, I'm sure you do.

What's In That Bible Exactly? Wrapping Up the Gospel of Matthew

2018-06-29T14:19:00.001-05:00

Two months, 52 Bible pages transcribed, 260 journal pages written (Scripture + notes, commentaries, application, thought, questions), nearly two whole journals filled, three and a half pens used.

This is what it took to write The Gospel of Matthew, which is tied for the longest book of the New Testament, chapters-wise with Acts, at 28 chapters. Actual word count has Luke coming out on top, so I have no idea how many notebooks it will take the finish that one. I'll get there in time.

Throughout this experience of copying down and studying the first Gospel, I realized how much more I learn from slowing down, reading closely, sometimes multiple times through, and taking the time to delve into some commentary, and in some cases write notes on a verse or chapter's application in my life. No shit, right? I already knew this was a thing because I survived college and graduate school, but it did bring me closer to an understanding that I never would've felt by simply reading the words. No matter how many times through, I (personally, me) had to write them, spend an exorbitant amount of time with them, and read what others have said about them, eke out the history, search for the context.

This has been a phenomenally enriching experience and a humbling one as well. I can honestly say it's humanized Jesus for me in a way that I haven't felt since I was nine years old. As I was writing the final chapters, specifically Jesus's passion and crucifixion, my hands were shaking. I could see far too much familiarity in the angry, cruel, abusive crowds calling for His execution, turning on Him, spitting, berating, beating, crucifying.

It's also shined a light on how extremely perverted man can communicate the Word. Twisting it and turning it into a gatekeeper to keep people out rather than inviting them in.

I call bullshit.

Jesus is love. God is love. Period.

A Day for Spoons

2018-06-20T10:35:00.000-05:00

I take days off from the news. Well, at least partially. I'll still be on the phone (or FAX) with my representatives shortly, and I'll still be working a text shift for my Senate candidate this afternoon, but otherwise, it's a day for relaxing. My academic quarter just ended, so I have almost two weeks off. Next week is a family vacation in the mountains.

Today, in particular, I just feel like lazing through the day. I slept in, Greyson is playing an archery game, I've played a little SIMS 4 in preparation for tomorrow's Seasons expansion pack release.

Last night while G was at vacation Bible school, I worked on writing my way a bit further through the Book of Matthew. I only have two chapters left, and I'm stretching it out.

My husband took the day off just because. It's overcast. I have some fun mail arriving today.

It's a day for spoons.

#FamiliesBelongTogether: How to Help at the Border

2018-06-14T08:14:00.001-05:00

I've been grasping at straws trying to find ways to help with the border separations that are happening, heavily in my home state of Texas. I'm trying to get my anxiety under control to attend a rally in downtown Dallas tonight (alone, hubs is out of town...EEEK!), but in the meantime, I found this list from Alida Garcia on Twitter...an attorney and activist.

CLICKY.

Lower, and Lower, and Lower

2018-06-13T12:25:00.000-05:00

It's just one of those days.

I had a friend in graduate school who, when he was feeling beaten down by an asinine lesson, would get lower and lower in his seat. He'd start out in a sitting position, and as the hours wore on, he'd slip down to his elbows, then his head was hanging low, and finally he'd have his elbows on his knees and head lolling like he was about to pass out.

That's me today.

I realize this is a complete and utter Debbie Downer post, but some days I have to unhinge the steam valve.

My favorite employer is going to such crap. They're moving in the direction of mega classes which means less pay, more work, and less professional trust and respect. But it's for the good of the students (not)!
My campus leader is just like my old, toxic boss at my previous full-time job. So. Much. Alike.
My son lost a classmate to cancer.
The US is a political shithole.
All my empathy muscles are maxed out and it hurts.

Amidst the mental and emotional clamor, I'm hearing a distinctive and slightly scary call to Do. Something. Else.

This makes me laugh so much.

I don't know what that means yet, but it's coming. Whether it's a new teaching job, writing more, another degree, a different field. It's something. It's the right thing, but it's scary.

Doing a thing...

2018-06-12T16:59:00.001-05:00

You may love it or hate it, but I'm doing this thing:
Rowdy and Redeemed

What's in that Bible, Exactly?

2018-05-14T12:18:00.002-05:00

I toyed with the idea, earlier this year, of joining Adam's 2018 Reading Bible as Literature event, but I just couldn't commit to anything involving structure. There was much humming and hawing on Twitter, as often happens to us readers when challenges and events are involved.

Fast forward to April, and amidst a lot of Not Reading, I had this urge to dive into the Bible. The reasons are several-fold:

I identify as a Christian, raised in the Baptist church (not so much now, Baptists, #sorrynotsorry).
I have not read the whole Bible. If I start from the beginning, I usually crap right on out around Deuteronomy. I got the usual "Bible in chewable bits and pieces" treatment as a church attendee and in a college New Testament class (that made me question ALL THE THINGS). Then I lost my faith for a few years after my dad died at the age of 39 (I was 18), etc. etc.
The majority of my life has been spent feeling really stupid when it comes to Bible things.
I'm consistently baffled by evangelical zeal for President 45 and the ways in which Scripture and That Particular Zeal do not line up in my head at all.
I'm a Christian and wanna be a good one.

SO, this undertaking is filed in my brain under, "I Must Understand For Myself All the Things".

Breaking from past attempts, I decided to start in the New Testament because Jesus and grace and whatnot. Picture it, I started this Bible journey with my 30-year-old children's Bible (it's pink), and while it got me going, it also became fairly clear from the beginning that I wanted something....grown.

Yes, that is an "I'm Reading so Fuck Off" mug next to my Bible. I'm still me.

If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably started to see this whole scenario in action. This was Saturday's first pic of the day: brunch, coffee, BIG STACK OF BOOKS.

The giant chunk on the bottom is my new She Reads Truth Bible that I really like in the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) translation which is supposedly accurate and readable. On top of that is my Scripture notebook (more on this below), my bullet journal, and my prayer notebook.

As I started reading through the New Testament, about five chapters into Matthew, I realized I have a LOT OF QUESTIONS. I have grown-up, analytical, historical questions like who the hell are these Pharisees and Sadducees on the scene? But more than "bad guys"...WHO ARE THEY REALLY?

There has been much Googling, much researching, much downloading of apps, reading of commentaries from a variety of scholars and time periods, and...gird yourselves...I'm copying it.

I'm copying the New Testament word-for-word.

I know. I never would've pegged myself for this job, but copying:

1. Helps me remember all the stuff I inevitably forget otherwise

2. Sloooowwwwws me down

3. Gives me a space to copy the Scripture, write my understanding, work out my questions and connections, write notes from histories and commentaries, and then keep right on going.

It's a lot of work, but this is scratching my-totally-ingrained-need-to-research itch along with my need to read. AND there's the added bonus of giving me these endorphin feelings much like I had when I started my English degree and was SO PROUD to understand things I thought I'd never understand.

And it's meditative. And I look forward to it, and I'm sad when I don't have time.

If you've been wondering where I am...this is where. I'm neck-deep in the Bible.

The End is Nigh

2018-03-20T08:57:00.000-05:00

Image credit.

The end of my Lenten social media fast, that is. I never really made a conscious decision to NOT post here for Lent. The objects of my fast were Facebook and Twitter for the most part. My personal Instagram was part of it, though I kept my business one active for obvious reasons, and after this experiment this is the platform I miss most. I also kept YouTube because I decompress by watching art videos these days.

With the end of Lent nine days away, I have mixed feelings. Some things to celebrate, some progress made, plenty of observations about my own habits and tendencies.

Being away from Facebook was nothing but positive, with the exception of missing some friends' updates. That said, I can log in and creep on you all without getting sucked down the rabbit hole of 24/7 access. I strongly believe the app should stay off my phone. I seem to be able to log in once per day for friend-checking and avoid the rest. For the most part, sharing things I care about on Facebook, like March for Our Lives this weekend, doesn't require me to log in for more than a second or two.

I don't need an all-hours news cycle because it just feeds my anxiety. I've been fine with reading a morning briefing and listening to Pod Save America for some perspective. I do think it would be helpful to subscribe to the Washington Post or New York Times websites for unlimited online reading. With limited access I can't always click through the morning briefing and get the full story which is annoying and half-assed.

Limited social media has helped calm my anxiety. I've used the minutes I would normally spend scrolling in the morning to do meditation via the Headspace app which has been immensly helpful. I use all the other minutes I would've normally spent scrolling to make art. This also helps sooth me.

Overall, I don't think there were any surprises. I knew all of this going into my social media fast, but I wanted to do it, finally, and I have enough perspective to make some tweaks. Facebook, while my biggest nemesis, is the most obvious tool for activism and organizing that I have at my disposal...especially for local/county political action. I'll still be there on FB, but in much smaller amounts.

I've Been Hiding Something

2018-01-29T12:23:00.000-06:00

Five, ten, fifteen, sixteen, nineteen, twenty-one year old Andi made a lot of art. From the time I was about five years old, I've been fascinated with drawing. It started when my aunt drew a beautiful woman in a flowing ball gown for me to copy. For years after, I drew fashion on any piece of paper I could find. I drew other things, but those well-dressed women, those glamorous Jems and She-Ras, the poofy dresses, snazzy pant suits, and mini-skirts (this was the 80s) were my niche.

Fast forward to middle school and the beginning of picking elective courses. My family was all, ART YOU MUST TAKE ART. An elderly woman, lovely as she was, smelling like booze, taught us to whittle soap figurines and erect structures with popsicle sticks. Not really my jam. I wasn't in art the next year.

Brush pen landscape

So high school came around, and I promise this is going somewhere...

Mrs. Lightfoot, sweet-but-drunk, retired and was replaced by a long-haired, hippy art teacher (Mr. Fuqua, still awesome and my friend), and I was dead set on NOT taking accounting, so I was back in art. We drew with...everything. Graphite pencils, tempera paint, chalk. There were some popsicle sticks in the mix on occasion, but I survived. We did contour drawings and finished paintings. There was instruction! There was indie music playing! Mr. Fuqua even tried to get me to submit to a Chicago Institute of Art competition, which I didn't do, but kinda really wish I had.

Around this time the Internet was becoming a Thing People Had at Home, and we got our first home PC and a dial-up connection. Suddenly I was discovering the world of online chatrooms and Paint Shop Pro, and I started designing avatars, and teaching myself HTML, and building websites. It was totally addictive. And I was good at it!

With these new skills under my belt, I decided to go to university to be a graphic designer. At Baylor that meant pursuing a BFA degree in Studio Art which was cross-listed with Graphic Design. Baylor's program was really geared toward the fine art part with graphic design tagged on as an afterthought in the last year or two. Luckily, I really ate up the fine art stuff. I loved drawing and painting and using new-to-me mediums like gouache, ink, and even painting with coffee. I sculpted from plaster of paris, welded small statues. I was doing all kinds of new shit. I was ok at it. I was better when I got serious in my sophomore year and actually focused on my work more than staying on the phone all night. Who knew?

Trouble the weenie dog in graphite

I ultimately transferred away from Baylor to my alma mater to pursue New Media because it was the only program of its kind around. At the time (2001) that meant web design, Java, and some other super-old-now stuff. I decided I didn't like it. I missed the hands-on that the computer took away from me. I was also bored as fuck and realized I'd be designing corporate logos for the rest of my life (because back then, it was true). I put my art supplies away or gave them away. They got buried under crap in the garage. I was proud of the pieces I'd created, but books and writing took over. Art and books have always been my my things....THE things for me.

Here we are, 17 years later, and I'm arting again. I don't even know what happened. Maybe I can say this is the positive thing that came of the fucking terrible election. When I couldn't read, I could design things on the computer. When I started designing things on the computer I started making stickers. When I still couldn't read, I could cross stitch. Then I figured out it wasn't impossible to design a cross stitch pattern (I keep it REAL simple, mind you). Oh hey, this bullet journal thing looks cool. HAND LETTERING, Y'ALL! And now...graphite pencils, pastels, ink, coffee wash, watercolor, ball point pens, you name it. I'm making stuff out of everything.

Not an original design. Find the pattern here.

I decided to write this post when my mom found a bin of office supplies in her garage yesterday and told me to come get what I wanted. I snagged plenty of ballpoints for a specific style I just discovered on Instagram, and I found some pastel pencils. I won an art contest with a pastel drawing once, so why the hell not try that again? When I pulled up in my driveway after pilfering the art supplies, I noticed two pieces of cardboard on the floor of my car (turns out they were trash from some packaging of my husband's). I sat down between grading assignments this morning with my trash paper and my mostly blue and green pastel pencils and figured an ocean scene was the way to go with the colors I have on hand. I Googled a bit and started roughing out some coral from a reference image because I watched a YouTube video of an artist painting underwater stuff last night before bed.

Pastel pencil corals on cardboard (work in progress)

Do you see how this goes?

Arting has always been a lot like reading for me. It's a mental release. It's tedious in its basic actions, but it also allows my mind to run around in a way that so few other things do. I've always been able to sink into a book for hours. In college I would sink into art for hours. I'd throw on some music (in my Discman, obviously), and seven hours later I'd surface from the studio...hungry, bleary-eyed, and feeling like those were the greatest hours.

Now there's more fuel for the fire. The paths for discovery are overwhelming: Instagram, Pinterest, Deviantart, Etsy. MY GOD THE THINGS I'M LEARNING AND MAKING AND WANTING TO MAKE AND MULLING OVER.

Sensory overload but in the best way. And instead of my Discman, now I have an iPhone and an audiobook for when I'm arting. This is how I art in 2018. :)

These Words: As Long as It's Healthy

2018-01-09T14:27:00.002-06:00

"Waking up to the election results was like looking down to find thousands of cracks in a floor that, seconds ago, I'd thought solid and smooth. Every day since election day, I wake up an angrier, more radical activist, forced to see the floor for what it was this whole time. "

--Sarah Michael Hollenbeck from the essay "As Long as It's Healthy" in Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance, and Revolution in Tru*p's America edited by Samhita Mukhopadhyay and Kate Harding

If you read any essay this year, let it be this one. While this is my favorite line, the issues of most importance here are her discussions of living with Moebius syndrome, ableism, and the deeply personal decisions associated with making a family.

Out of the House for Four Months and Monday Reading!

2018-01-08T13:08:00.001-06:00

It's Monday! What are You Reading? is hosted by The Book Date

Another winter break is coming to a close, and I am not feeling these back to work vibes. For the last semester, I was online only. I taught classes for three universities, and it was GREAT to be home all the time. Alas, that also comes to an end with the end of winter break. I'll physically be on campuses Monday evenings, and with the earliest early birds on Tuesday/Thursday mornings and with significant commutes...for the next four'ish months. It's a total first world problem, basic complaint. I can't say that being online for this past semester was necessarily good for me. It increased my social anxiety a bit and made me even less willing than usual to leave the house, so the shift is proabably a good thing.

It's Bout of Books week! I blew through N.K. Jemisin's THE BROKEN KINGDOMS (Inheritance #2) this past week, and it was amaaaazing. I think I actually liked it better than the first book in the trilogy, and that doesn't happen for me very often. The characters felt much better developed in this one.

I'm also reading Angela Y. Davis's WOMEN, CULTURE, AND POLITICS and underlining like a fiend. I read one or two essays from it every evening, so I can really focus and dig into what she's writing and mull it over a bit before I move on. So, so good.

Finally, I started a romance novella for Bout of Books so I can feel my progress. At Janani's recommendation, I decided to try Rebekah Weatherspoon's romance novels. SO SWEET (SUGAR BABY #1) caught my eye first, so I'm rolling with it. The protagonist cracks me up, and so far it's a sweet, fun story. I'll most likely finish it here in just a bit.

Are you reading for Bout of Books? Whatcha got?

The next Drinks in the Library livestream will be Saturday, January 13 at 2pm Central, and we'll be discussing bookish bullet journaling! I hope you'll join us on Instagram Live!

Drinks in the Library #1: TBR for #ReadSoulLit and #ReadingBlackOut

2018-01-07T12:06:00.000-06:00

Happy Sunday! Yesterday was a livestreaming day, so I'm posting the video to share with you today. I shared my TBR for the #ReadSoulLit and #ReadingBlackOut events. To recap, I'll be reading African-American authors exclusively for the first quarter of 2018.

On my immediate, physical TBR:

Fledgling by Octavia Butler
Blood Child: Stories by Octavia Butler
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Paradise by Toni Morrison (need to get Jazz!)
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
The Book of Night Women by Marlon James

Of course this doesn't even begin to touch my digital books and the ones I'll end up downloading or grabbing from the library. I'm excited!

Yesterday was my first Drinks in the Library livestream on Facebook Live. Right after Facebook Live I hopped over to try streaming on Instagram! There were definitely more available viewers on Insta, and we decided we'll have a Drinks in the Library stream on Saturday, January 13 at 2pm Central that will revolve around bookish bullet journaling! I'm definitely no expert in this area, so I have nothing to teach, but if any of you have been doing it for a while and would like to stream with me, just let me know! I'll be posting reminders on Insta and Twitter throughout the week.

For now, here's the Facebook Livestream about my TBR. Click the image to view the video:

Starting 2018 Strong: #ReadingBlackout, #ReadSoulLit, and Drinks in the Library

2018-01-03T10:32:00.002-06:00

If you're into challenges and reading projects, these two complement each other beautifully. Didi from BrownGirlReading hosts #ReadSoulLit every February in honor of Black History Month, and ArtBooksLive Denise D. Cooper is doing #ReadingBlackout by exclusively reading African-American authors in 2018.

Like Didi said, "Don't say it's hard."

Learn more at Didi's blog or Instagram and Denise's channel.

I'm planning to exclusively read African-American authors from January to March (thanks for that idea, Didi!), and you should watch for a Black History Month collab with Didi coming to WreckingBallDesign soon.

I'll be back with a sneak peak of my TBR for this Saturday's live stream.

OH RIGHT, I should tell you about the livestream. Join me for an ongoing streaming series called Drinks in the Library. I have a page for it linked at the top of the blog with a public Google Calendar to see the upcoming dates. The first official installment will be Saturday at 2pm (Central) on my blog's publically-available Facebook page.

I hope I'll see you there to chat!

December Reading Wrap-Up

2018-01-02T11:27:00.000-06:00

It's been a little while since I've done a monthly reading wrap-up, but since this was a really good reading month, it seemed like the time to jump back into it.

You may remember I intended to binge on books in December, and I did just that. I didn't gravitate to short books to cram more in before the year was up, but I did gravitate toward them to keep my interest up and feel like I was finally making some reading progress. It worked!

Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up! (Press Start #2) by Thomas Flintham: I picked these up from the Scholastic book order for Greyson on a lark, and they are GREAT. He loves them, he can read through them fairly quickly (they're right on his reading level), and I like them enought that I picked this second istallment up without Greyson.
If you have a reluctant reader who likes video games, this might be just the thing.

Frosty Relations (A Witch's Night Out #2) by Tara Quan (novella): Too short on pages and character development. A meh romance.

Afterlife with Archie: Escape from Riverdale volume 1 by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (comics): This might actually be my fave of the month. I'm not really into Archie comics, but add a horror element, and I am THERE.

Afterlife with Archie issues 6-10 (volume 2 basically) by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (comics): I couldn't stop reading, so I read this next run of comics in single issues from Comixology Unlimited.

Hush by Nicole Lyons (poetry): I noticed this collection when I found some of her single lines from the poems made into pretty Pinterest images. Admittedly, they pack a feminist punch and got me all fired up, but the lines are better by themselves. The collection skewed far too relationshippy for me.

How to Be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman (non-fiction): Was a JOY TO READ. If you love the minute details of life in a different time, this is the book. It's an examination of Victorian living from sun up to sun down complete with the nitty gritty of personal hygiene, the burdens of doing laundry and feeding the family. Soooo much more. It's a really nice examination of Victorian cultural ideals that shaped the living conditions and trends of the time.

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum: A really sweet book about Santa Claus's upbringing and how he became the Santa Claus we know and love! I thought it might be too sweet, but it was a fast, fun read for the day or two before Christmas.

The Language of Dying by Sarah Pinborough: This little book gave me The Enchanted and A Monster Calls vibes all rolled into one. It's about a woman who is living with and helping care for her father in his final days which involves home care nurses, unsavory bodily deterioration, family squabbles. It's a bit of a slow burn as we get to know the protagonist and her backstory, and it's laced with something magical that was not the star of the show. In my estimation it was an expression of her mental state throughout the process of her father's dying. This was an oddly beautiful little book. Highly recommended as I haven't seen much of it here in the States. You might have to order it from Book Depository. I learned about it from Savidge Reads, so go give his post a look.

I'd love to know what you binged on in December, and cheers to all of us finding some great books in 2018!

THE List: Books That Blew My Mind in 2017

2017-12-29T11:26:00.002-06:00

It's a quick list because I'm spending some quality time with the boy before he heads off to his dad's for New Years, but I have to share. I sifted these babies into some general categories that are completely arbitrary. Bottom line: these are great books.

Books I Want to Give to Everyone
Hunger by Roxane Gay
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Biggest Tear-Jerkers
The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett
Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans

Auto-Buy
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (and everything else by) N.K. Jemisin

Awesome "Experimental" Novel by a White Dude (and I don't usually like these)
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

HOTTEST, Funnest Romance
Beard Science (Winston Brothers #3) by Penny Reid

Most Surprising Comics
Afterlife with Archie

Short Stories + Campus Life
Bobcat and Other Stories by Rebecca Lee

Favorites I Read With My Son
Super Rabbit Boy by Thomas Flintham
The Loser's Club buy Andrew Clements

I can't wait to see your faves of the year! Don't forget to check out my wonderful cohosts: Tamara, Kim, and Tanya Patrice!

#AMonthofFaves: Goals for 2018 (Mostly Non-Reading)

2017-12-27T09:32:00.002-06:00

Challenges {The Year End Updates on Reading Challenges, Personal Goals, Resolutions} #AMonthofFaves – how did you do? Are you going to do more challenges next year?

I struggled with this prompt yesterday (obviously, since I didn't post), but I'm coming back around after some thought. I didn't do any specific reading challenges in 2017 because reading itself was the challenge. Likewise, I plan to go into 2018 free-range reading, so I'm short on snappy reading goals to close out and/or commit to for 2018. Other than...you know...read. Something. Whatever I feel like reading.

Last night I was without book after finishing a couple of them earlier in the week, so I sat and thought about what really sounded good. I ended up purchasing a digital copy of Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance, and Revolution in Tr*mp's America, edited by Samhita Mukhopadhyay and Kate Harding. One and a half essays in, it's going to be a tough read, but it's free-range and it's working. Also, it brings me to my next goal. A life one.

Stay politically engaged. This is the long game. I feel like I've taken some solid steps in volunteering for some state and local campaigns I care about. It feels hands-on rather than ranting into the void. I still do plenty of that, mind you, but this is helpful grunt work. It's data entry and text message polling. It's canvassing and talking and donating. It's growing a thicker skin and developing a cooler head for conversation.

Journal more. I plan, I organize, I am engaged with the things I need to do on a daily, monthly, or yearly basis, but that can be a little cold and short-winded. I purchased a bullet journal with the intent of really focusing on the JOURNAL part of the name. It's rare that I keep track of what I'm into or write thoughts that don't get posted somewhere. I need more quiet moments of reflection that are just for me, and I hope this is the vehicle for those. It's also a creative outlet, so yay for that.

Support and engage creators. We are all creators. As bloggers or YouTubers, colorers, doodlers, or gamers. I've started to really get invested in a wide range of creative outlets and with various platforms where creators do their creating, and I want this type of engagement and support to grow in 2018.

If you posted about your goals, don't forget to link up, and as always, take a few minutes to visit my super fantastic partners: Tanya Patrice, Kim, and Tamara!

#AMonthofFaves: New-to-Me

2017-12-22T12:04:00.001-06:00

Slayed me.

I've read a lot of new-to-me authors in 2017, and I've been so pleased with all the great voices I've found. Here are a few highlights.

I read the first book in N.K. Jemisin's Inheritance Trilogy, and I cannot wait to read more.

Rachel Held Evans is the Christian voice I needed to feel better about my moral and political beliefs and my struggles with church. Listening to Searching for Sunday on audio brought me to tears of relief.

Nayyirah Waheed's poetry collection, salt, is breathtaking and fiery.

Reading Allie Brosh and laughing my ass off.

Jenny Lawson is an author everyone loves, and true to what I'd heard, Let's Pretend this Never Happened made me LOL.

Allie Brosh is another one of those authors that people have told me to read for-e-ver. I finally picked Hyperbole and a Half up at Book Nerd Camp and LOLed randomly in front of a group of people for quite a while. Tears of laughter, y'all.

Sarah MacLean is the romance queen. Hawwwwt.

Nnedi Okorafor's Binti was excellent on audio, and I will certainly pick up anything she writes.

Which new-to-you books or authors blew you over this year? Link up down below, and don't forget to visit Tamara, Kim, and Tanya Patrice!

#AMonthofFaves: Unique Books of 2017

2017-12-20T11:09:00.001-06:00

The Most Unique, Weird or Memorable Book(s) Read This Year #AMonthofFaves – books you did not finish, were super weird, characters you disliked, book award winners (from this year) you read and didn't like, books you didn't think you would like, but you did.

Frosty Relations (A Witch's Night Out #2) by Tara Quan was a short, contemporary, supernatural (that's a lot of descriptors) that I downloaded on a lark when I couldn't settle into anything else. It's about Jack Frost (that Jack Frost), an asshole attorney, and Mina Mao, a long-time famil acquaintance of the Frosts. She also happens to work in HR at his firm. As usual, there's more going on than initial appearances, and while it sounded fun, it fell flat for me. I tire of the asshole with a heart of gold trope, and this one is actually a novella, so I needed way more character development.

The Southern Reach Trilogy (Authority and Acceptance) by Jeff VanderMeer was a minddd fuuuuuck. That's just the only way there is to describe it. I read the first book in the trilogy a couple of years ago, and for whatever reason, I picked up the second book this year. It grabbed me quicker and surer than the first installment, and before I knew it, I'd raced through the second and third books. They defy description, but if you like sf novels, give 'em a try.

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon was scary af. I actually thought to pick this one up after I tweeted that I wanted something to scare the crap out of me. Someone on Twitter recommended this one, and I happened to have it on my shelves. It's a family-based scary story. Think winter woods, nowhere to go, and a missing child. A child who comes back? Maybe. In the closet. Creepy, creepy, creepy.

The Soul of An Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery is one I'll shove into every set of hands I possibly can. It's a seemingly unlikely topic...a woman who develops a meaningful relationship with an octopus? It's a beautiful, touching, lovely memoir, and it's SO INTERESTING. I highly recommend the audio, read by Sy Montgomery.

I'd love to know some of the most unique books you've read this year. Link up below, and don't forget to visit Tanya Patrice, Kim, and Tamara, too!

#AMonthofFaves: I Love...

2017-12-18T05:00:00.000-06:00

I Love … December #AMonthofFaves – Rep your home's holiday look, share pictures of your holiday decorations. Christmas tree, your favorite holiday traditions, holiday festivities, favorite ornaments, places to go, holiday drinks, holiday eats, holiday themed reads.

Visit all the partners in crime! Here are Tanya Patrice, Kim, and Tamara!

What do I love about December? Coziness. I love coziness. Specifically...

Curling up by the Christmas tree is #goals this time of year. Since we decorated the tree, and since taking this picture, I've added about 8 zillion candy-colored balls to the tree for more festivity.

Can't be cozy (or really alive, awake, and upright) without dogs in this house. Greyson, Buddy, and Trouble were right cozy in this picture, and if you follow me on Instagram, you've seen lots more.

Give me warm drinks, books, and mood lighting.

#AMonthofFaves: Catching Up and Best Changes

2017-12-17T13:50:00.000-06:00

Best Changes You Made To Tweak This Year #AMonthofFaves – best changes you made or routines you kept that to better organize your day / life; your = morning, evening or daily routines.

Free ranging...taste-testing books.

I've talked about it for a long time, and I've been a proponent, but I feel like I didn't ACTUALLY become a free range reader until this year. With so much trouble focusing, I really had to accept that some books will grab me, and I will finish those, and some books won't grab me, and they will slow down my reading mojo. I'm no stranger to DNF'ing. My latest victims:

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett

By nature, my Etsy shop takes a ton of time. Designing, printing, cutting, packing, and shipping stickers, bookmarks, and other goodies is quite a feat, especially with lots of grading to do from my other jobs. While I don't have a specific day-of-the-week-specific Etsy shop schedule, I have gotten much better at the process of working through the tasks associated with the shop. I have new releases a time or two per month, I run sales the same amount, and I've gotten a handle on processing orders: creating a pull list, printing in batches, cutting in batches, and packing/shipping in batches. Batches are the best.

My desk might be a mess, but I have good overall organization going!

A big part of my organization this year has been working my planners. I still love my Erin Condren Life Planner in the vertical layout, and I keep most things in it...especially the monthly overview...in addition to the daily layouts. Occasionally, if I'm so overwhelmed with granualr detail that I can't include it in the EC, I will pop open an Evernote document and go right back to the Getthing Things Done productivity methods I brought into the mix back in 2016.

Sorry this post is late! Last week was a mess of grading! Be sure to visit Tamara, Kim, and Tanya Patrice, and don't be shy about linking up your own posts whenever you can get around to them.