*did not finish*

West opens the book by inciting readers to not put up with the various witch-hunts plaguing us and invoking an incentive to fight back. While I appreciated her no-holds-barred ability to eviscerate numerous backbones of the patriarchy, it was a challenge to keep up with her point of view beyond that good foundation. Mostly, I found her opinions on differing entertainers or issues hypocritical. For example, in the Joan chapter, West ruminates on how Joan Rivers used her own insecurities to criticize women on Fashion Police. Rivers, in a roundabout way, gave viewers permission to judge and attack others based on looks and was entirely unapologetic about how her behavior. West waves this off as a way of Rivers working through how the system abused her by attacking others and telling people who were offended to grow up and get real "she's just joking". But in the next chapter, West calls out and insists that equally offensive comedians like Ricky Gervais and Andy Carrolla should unequivocally change because they're white men, or they're just scared to be obsolete. Well, Fashion Police was even cancelled three years following Rivers's death, and most cited the show didn't work without her crass and insulting sense of humor (that Kathy Griffin didn't even want to be apart of) instead of a more respectful tone, which shows just how much power she truly had. Same goes for Carrolla and Gervais who are still some of the top comedians and commentators around. So, what's the difference between the two types of people West is calling out? My guess is the genders, and as a woman, that's frustrating. For a book that touts not giving free passes to people who use their power to endanger and silence others, the difference between the two chapters and similar observations shows a lot of double standards. As I read the book more, there was very little insight that gave me something to ponder or gleam, laugh or make me feel inspired to be a witch who hunts. Similar to a lot of readers, I didn't know exactly who this book is for - at times it seemed directed towards cis-gendered-white-all-powerful-men who need to change their ways, but also women who have experienced the same things she has and have the same suppressed outrage. Eventually, there was so much negativity, virtue signalling, and double standards, I knew this book wasn't for me.

I'll admit - I don't know if it's the Coronavirus and the state of the world in general, but my patience for this quickly ran out. The first several essays made me excited as Glennon described finding liberation to live her life freely, her daughter's rare emotional sensitivity that the world often forgets to engage with, and realizing her sexuality. But then Part 2 started to feel preachy as she began explaining how she uses her intuition to guide her. Almost every sentence felt too similar or a direct copy cat of each with same openers over and over again or using the same words to describe her feelings. As the third part of the book returned back to essays, her journey through her divorce, raising her kids, and self-love became less fascinating and more self-aggrandizing. Many of the essays didn't introduce anything and recycled how she gave something up that was holding her back or changed her mind about past beliefs. When I looked back on my bookmarks in a ebook version, I found that the point she made on page 51 about not abandoning herself for anyone's expectations or beliefs anymore was essentially the ending to the whole book around page 272. As a whole, Glennon does not shy away from putting her imperfections and mistakes out in the world, and explores relateable ideas for women relinquishing the patriarchy's hold over them. It's a true vulnerability that is what's probably made her so popular since her first book. However, I found that the magic or spark that so many reviewers gave this extinguished pretty early, and left me with very few interesting ideas that left me inspired to adapt/use/etc.

I must be missing something from contemporary poets but I'm not quite sure what it is. They are all the rage and makes me feel like I should like what's out there...but the modern collections I've read so far mostly remind me of inspiring or emo quotes you'd find on Pinterest. The same is no exception here. Having read a lot of Lang's Instagram poetry, I thought reading a book of hers would evoke more emotions and reflections. Instead many of the "poems" here were cliche, repetitive, and vaguely similar to other popular poetry I've read that didn't offer much imagery.

I'm also finding it frustrating
that when a sentence
is broken up
line by line
it
somehow becomes a poem.

After falling in love with "Love, Simon," I was anxious to read this and see how the story came together on the page. What I found was quite disappointing. While the film fleshes out Simon's feelings, questions of Blue's identity, and Martin's blackmailing, I didn't feel that the book delve into anything new. I was surprised that the book starts with the inciting incident of Martin blackmailing Simon and was hopeful it would explore the story more from then on. Instead Simon's perspective from a first person POV is quite flimsy - he hardly describes anyone or anything, most of the dialogue is locked down in arbitrary millennial 'speak', and his personality isn't all that interesting or layered. The same goes for his friends and Martin. With the latter, sometimes Simon would be against Martin and hate him for blackmailing him, and then two seconds, later considering him to be a friend without anything to signify what made him change his mind. On top of which, I felt Simon's sexuality was a conglomerate of random things that might add up to him being homosexual - some of which were cliche like lesbians existing for hot guys on tumblr or Simon's interest in dressing up in women's closing, comments or thoughts weren't treated any deeper than a wave-away narrator. They certainly weren't regarded as anything meaningful having to do with coming to terms with his sexuality or internalized homophobia within the LGBTQ community. In all, I felt like the movie gave this book a personality introducing and exploring moments that were almost non-existent or actually non-existent in the book such as Ethan as the other openly gay character and Simon coming out to his parents. Sometimes adaptations are lost in translation from what the book offers, and I think this time it's the other way around - the movie is far superior.

What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self edited by Ellyn Spragins collects stories and letters written by notable women from Olympic gold medalists to CEOs and journalists. The letters ranged from less than half a page to a page and a half, which offered a nice variety of perspectives. Some addressed losing a parent, making a job change, or starting a family while working (more often than not, the letters were about the latter). The book is presented by Hallmark, so it's not going to dive too deep outside of women who are older, fairly accomplished, and are relatively wives, mothers, grandmothers, etc. That's not to knock senior women or these roles, but the letters lean more towards polite perspectives that blur together. Rather than centering more on adversities or overcoming deeper challenges, the most common themes rest on staying strong, trusting your intuition, and loving who you are. These are great sentiments for women, especially today, but it just felt a little repetitive. It's not the most profound book, but it presents a heartwarming idea of sending a letter to yourself and acknowledging where you are now.

It’s hard to believe the road that 2020 has taken. If I wind back the clock to the end of 2019, and trying to welcome the new year with open arms, it feels like a lot of my goals went up in smoke when the Coronavirus hit. I started off well by completing a thirty day cycle of yoga, walked around my neighborhood almost every day (while wearing a mask / social distancing), and gradually replaced coffee with tea and more water. Over the summer, my anxiety and depression acted up to the point of dropping my habits and not being able to get back on track since.

Even with the election looming, and the outcome for the year feeling bleak, I still want to extinguish the dumpster fire that is 2020 and try to start over. "Atomic Habits" by James Clear (non-commission link) recently popped up on my ebook library at my library and offered hope to change direction.

I was surprised by how straightforward the book lays out how and what makes habits work, and what to do when they don’t. James Clear explains the evidence that proves habits work because of specific cues, cravings, and rewards that play into what makes habits attractive or unattractive, and why it’s so easy to fall off the wagon when one of those elements aren’t attractive, easy, or rewarding. If you don’t have a personal investment in a habit or its outcome, chances are you will not have the willpower to start, let alone see it through to the end.

Habits in a lot of ways are like a domino effect. When you start off on the wrong foot with not getting ready in the morning, you can easily give yourself permission to not follow up on other things afterwards. As for some of the habits I broke earlier this summer, "Atomic Habits" showed how preparation is necessary to wanting to do one small thing every day. I’m trying to get ready for yoga practice early in the morning by laying out my clothes the night before, making sure my desk is clear, and keeping a better track of my to-do list. I really want to write a few books I’ve had in mind for a while, so I’m using a calendar to track blogging, using social media, etc. because small posts will go a long way to holding myself accountable for actually writing. Or at least, I hope.

We all do things every day that are very easy habits – brush our teeth, go to work, study, eat, etc. that primarily keeps us going. If we didn’t do them, we’d suffer in some way – financially, health-wise, etc. But when it comes to our personal dreams, our minds build more roadblocks that either propel us forward or hold us back. Instead of feeling like habits are a make-or-break situation, "Atomic Habits" offers a different way of reshaping progress and believing it’s possible to get things done – if there are stumbles, it’s okay to start again.

Maybe it's because the past four years alone - let alone 2020 - is a complete blur, but if you asked me where I was during both of Obama's terms as a teenager, on the surface, I'm ashamed to say that I don't remember anything except bits and pieces - the debates, the announcements, the inaugurations, the hard-hitting tragedies and news that would spring up and temporarily press pause on the world. I wasn't as much into politics then as I am now, struggling to deal with a lot of issues at home and never quite feeling like I was important enough to get involved or try to understand what was going on with the big picture. Through the recollection of her life, I was able to piece together where I was during that time, not realizing the gravity of the moment to see the first Black president elected into office, and now understanding what it meant for the trajectory of politics and hope since 2008. I think this what the best memoirs are able to do - put you back into a time and place whether you lived or witnessed those experiences or not, and invite you into all of the other experiences in-between that were lived solely through by the author.

It's hard to forget Michelle's powerful voice after hearing her iconic speeches during the campaign trail, or even interviews promoting this book or the causes she starts and supports, and somehow it feels like she's speaking directly to you - you can hear her voice while even reading a printed copy instead of an audiobook. With her grace of the written word, her tenacity to contribute to the greater good, to being a devoted woman, wife, mother, and human being, she takes you through her life from the childhood she had to working her way through school, becoming a lawyer, meeting Barack Obama, and all of the 'inevitable' decisions and actions that led to them becoming a two term administration. It's brimming with tenacity, wit, empathy, determination, vulnerability, and puts a humanizing picture to the world of politics and even the now iconography of Barack as a president and her as a Former First Lady. She addresses and reveals the fabric of what makes the U.S. and the world full of mind-boggling contradictions - racism, misygony, disinfrachisement, class, power for the elite, etc. and diversity, empowerment, and possibilities - and how both drives her to be defy how we as a society look at each other by the color of our skin, especially Black women, and where we come from, and seem to think that defines where it is we should go and what we can do in our lives. Even though the general role of the First Lady is ornamental in the political realm, and despite the criticism Despite the criticism she and the first family received over their time in and out office, she is the epitome of what a real First Lady should be - her eloquence, the ability to reflect and question if she made mistakes, to strive to make change, to deeply connect with people. Through Michelle, we get to witness what it's like to go through the thick and thin of her own person struggles and achievements, and come out of the side to keep going and keep becoming something more.

Her straight-forward, warm, and no-nonsense made this a page turner, as did her ability to create a timeline that made you want to 'see what happens next', even though it might be easy to remember various events that happened over the course of Obama's terms. Not only is it a poignant read in contrast to what we're going through right now with the current election, but it's a hopeful and emotional read for anyone who just lets her experiences and words sink in to the fullest - and hopefully recognize how much more we can do to help each other along. Every other page makes you want to step up to the plate in your own life because she does. Definitely one of my all-time favorite memoirs.

This was the book of the year for me in 2009, and it still holds a place in my heart today. The love story between Henry and Claire is realistic, yet fantasy, sad and beautiful. I loved Audrey's span of time and differences in characters through both Henry and Claire's voices. There were some awkward choices, when it comes to Henry/Claire meeting younger versions of him, that I felt were out of place. The film doesn't really do the book justice in terms of how detailed the story is, yet I still watch it because it's a 'watered down' story. I recommend this book to chick lit lovers, and even men who are looking for a good story.