January 2019 Wrap Up

Happy New Year Readers!

Sorry to have been so MIA lately, honestly I'd love to say that I was holed up somewhere reading all the books, planning out reviews and read-a-longs, but I wasn't. I was dealing with grief, depression, holiday feels realness, and emotional stagnation. Thankfully, I'm coming out of that.

January has been a very bookish month for me. I've gotten through 12 reads, only one wasn't the best, and I'm 23% through my Goodreads challenge. Yes, this year I've only challenged myself to read 52 books, just one a week for 2019. Something I've noticed while reading my way through grief is that I will read a LOT, and listen to a LOT of audiobooks and podcasts as a way to avoid my emotions. For the past few years I've set myself up for these reading challenges, to successfully complete them, and while I have finished everything I wasn't fully enjoying the stories. I was reading to fill in the time that freed up in my life because taking care of my dying parents was no longer on my plate. I was reading to fill the hole in my chest that grief created. Yes I loved some of the books I read last year, I still can't shut up about Sadie, but I put all of this immense pressure on myself to be the book girl that I lost the fire that made me a reader in the first place. So 2019 is the year of the story for me. I'm reading books, I will always be reading books, but I'm reading them solely for the stories they contain. I'm not trying to fill bingo cards, check off challenges, or hit triple digits like I have in years past. This year, I'm just reading for the sole enjoyment of reading.

So, without further ado.....

Here are the first 12 books of 2019!

1. Essentialism by Greg McKeown 
2. Empress of the East by Leslie Peirce
3. Nixonland by Rick Perlstein 
4. Impeachment by Jeffrey Engel, Jon Meacham, Timothy Naftali, and Peter Baker
5. Playing With Fire by Lawrence O'Donnell 
6. An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen 
7. Verity by Colleen Hoover
8. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Mass
9. Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Mass
10. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
11. White Lies by Lucy Dawson
12. Two Can Keep a Secret  by Karen McManus

What I'm currently reading:
Queen of Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

Stay tuned for my RBG special, my hot take on Bad Blood, and much more this year.

XoXo
BrainyHeroine

20 for 26!!

Goooood Morning Readers!!

Bout of Books Readathon 20 starts today!!!!!!! It has to be my favorite low stress readathon. One week to read as much as possible. No real goals, no consequences for not finishing, and no strict time line. While I love the 24 in 48, the relaxed vibe this week is a lot easier to schedule.

What's on your TBR this week? I'm looking to finish 1 audiobook, 1 e-book, and 1 print book, my own little trifecta. And thanks to my recent birthday, (I just turned 26!!)
I have plenty of options to choose from.

Until next time,

XoXo
BrainyHeroine

Poetry in the Desert, or Mojave in July

“Imagine a heat so dry that it presses down into the earth…” -Mojave in July, A. Brommel p.45

Close your eyes and think of Las Vegas; feel the summer heat come around you, you can hear the tourists, see the bright flashing neon lights this town is known for, and you probably have a limited vision of Las Vegas. When you think of Las Vegas it is hard to separate the trashy, cheesy, formerly mob run town that sparks to life when the sun goes down. "At midnight you can look up at the sky or down towards the lights and be blinded by brilliance. No one told me about the sunsets. No one warned me about monsoon season." -From California, V. Robinson p. 248. The beauty of Las Vegas is found in its desert home, and the beauty of the desert is captured in photographs, and in the work of its poets. On almost any given night of the week you can find yourself amongst local poets at open mics, poetry slams, workshops, ciphers held on the street, and in the homes of Vegas’ poets. "Here in Vegas nothing is old but the mountains silently observing." The Lights of Las Vegas, A. Barnstone p. 268.

Clark: Poetry from Clark, Nevada is an anthology recently published by Zeitgeist Press, which a local imprint with over 100 titles to date. Clark was initiated by Clark County’s first Poet Laureate, Bruce Issacson, and was done cooperatively with Poetry Promise, Inc., currently helmed by Clark County’s second Poet Laureate Vogue Robinson. This anthology is filled with the work of 95 Clark County authors, meaning those from, and those who found a home in, Clark County, Nevada. As with any artistic profession these poets are from a myriad of backgrounds and include educators, street poets, slam poets, high school students, as well as visual artists; Clark also includes the visual work of twelve local artists that enhances the reading of the poetry.

Reading poetry is different than reading a novel, yet they both tell stories. Let Clark tell you a story you’ve never heard and find your way to and through this beautiful desert.

The magical thing about this anthology, aside from its “setting”, "the winds of lasciviousness blow east to west except in Vegas. Everybody knows what happens in places with an oasis." -Chasing The Sun, S. Stewart, p. 234, is that the range of voices is diverse enough to actually give you a true taste of the Valley.

From love poems, "And I want us to go to the park and the day that we go to the park I want to climb to the top of the tallest tree and scream from the top of my lungs I REALLY LIKE THIS WOMAN."- Hope for the Flowers (Thai Food), A. Kenyon, p.4.

To poems that cause you to sit a while and think, "They will find a brown sun baked boy, holding a seashell to his ear, inside is the voice of the poets singing all at once, every poem the world has known from Ode to an Onion to the Illiad. This poem will be there too, but it will all sound like the ocean." -What They Will Find When They Exhume Pablo Neruda's Body, B. Lloyd, p. 1.

Poems that encompass the “Fear and Loathing” vibe Vegas has been known for, "When the guard falls to the floor, blood trickles from a thin crack at the top of his head. This is the start of the mayhem." -How to Kill a Crippled Person in Six Easy Steps (Just Because You Want To) -N. Say, p. 196.

To verses that came out of workshops run in Clark County Community and Cultural Centers "If only the key to happiness could be found in one family. Lately I've been thinking about mankind's finest hours. When other person's beating hearts are put in place of ours."- When Other Persons Beating Hearts Are Put In Place Of Ours, S. Des Lauriers, p. 177

To verses that bring you home, "She has faith in peppermint to soothe the bitterness of parsley. To gather her sons in times of feast and famine; knowing by taste the heirlooms of their heritage, that leafy weed grew hearty where ever it rooted."- tahbouleh, E. Wirshing, p. 167.

Clark even gives you a glimpse into the history of Las Vegas in Dayvid Figler's essay, Au Revoir, Riveria, p. 122.

This anthology took me a while to read; and while I'm hesitant to admit that I'm willing to say that as I went through each page there were some poems I didn't like, that I couldn't relate to, or just didn't understand. That's poetry though. It is a subjective art form used to express the thoughts and emotions of its writer.

“Here, we build urban legends and kill your urban legacies. We still rent the room where John Entwistle overdosed. There is no remembrance left where 2Pac was shot outside of Ellis Island. We crush world tours into a single city block. 3 A.M. view from Sunrise Mountain is breathtaking, partly because you choke on the electric bill, partly because it’s just that fucking beautiful. It is so bright here, we can count the stars.” -Count the Stars, A. Moyer, p.37

#ShelfieOrHelpMe

Morning All!

This one is a quicky since work is busy. The Bout of Books challenge for today was a Shelfie!! Since I'm not at home and couldn't post my library, I posted this photo of my purse! That's right, my purse always has my Kindle Fire and one of my currently reading picks. Did you expect less from me? My on the road Shelfie never let's me down!!

Until Tomorrow

XoXo
BrainyHeroine