Poetry has been a big discovery for me this summer. Back in a world where we didn't have poetry collections on social media, I always felt growing up that it wasn't for me - that maybe it was too sophisticated and I would never understand it. It was tough to find examples or collections that were relatable. In discovering poetry, I also found an inspiring podcast and site called On Being led by poet and theologist Pádraig Ó Tuama interviewing and examining how language plays a part in our lives and art that I also discovered this year. With Poetry Unbound: 50 poems to Open Your World, he provides a close reading of a range of poems from a writers around the world. With each one, he offers a thoughtful breakdown of how the wording, rhythm, narrative, and story are working together. Though parts of the themes became a little repetitive and not as wide-ranging as the work on his blog, I found myself being able to see the vastness of the world and poetry itself. There wasn't one selection where I didn't turn the page feeling like I had learned to be a little less intimidated to explore anthologies and poetry more, and there isn't any one perfect way to write a poem.

This was a lot. A part of me is grateful this was a lot because it gave me something temporarily breeze through when I could at work. That said, what made it addictive didn't make it my cup of tea. The story is intriguing enough that it's easy to see why it makes a decent debut with her writing style that is mostly plot-focused from a first person POV. To a point, Hoover is striving to a theme of the lies one might tell themselves and others to perfect/explore a craft such as writing, but after a while, Verity's confessions are more gratuitous than anything else. Just when one chapter couldn't get any crazier, the next outdoes it and thensome. More of that would've been believer, but Hoover doesn't really draw on anything else for the lead characters - certainly not Lowen's dark history with her mom and struggles to be a writer, or who Jeremy is in contrast to the Christian Grey sex maniac yet loving father in Verity's Lifetime movie version of their life. I primarily felt like I was supposed to root for them over Verity just because they discover the truth together (or not), and not for any real basis of chemistry or actually loving each other. Most of the chaos is generally one-sided and meant to come to a SHOCKING head, but it was only 30-45 pages into the novel that the ending was guessable as to what was going to happen. The only thing that was really surprising was maybe the amount of violence Hoover thought she had to plug into the story to make the narrative more convincing than it was. As my first introduction to this author after hearing so much hype and enthusiasm for her work, I'm not entirely sure if I need to check out a different title to see what all the enthusiasm is about or just respectfully peace out of the conversation if it's just more of the same.

McConaughey has always been a favorite of mine. Having this book on my shelf since it debuted and finally taking time to read it, I wasn't surprised to find how easy he takes to storytelling. Similar to his interviews and on social media, he carries a singular voice that captures a refreshing sense of good ol' fashioned plain speaking - he knows what he knows, thinks what he thinks, and doesn't cut corners when he speaks, and now when he writes offering insight into his childhood, adolescence, and navigating his life/career. When he takes his time delving into the experiences that made him go to the depths of the Amazon to find himself, the controversial ways his parents raised him, and making drastic decisions with his career, you feel you're alongside him for the ride. If not an actor, he would've made a terrific travel writer, and if he found himself going in the same direction as Stanley Tucci's travelogues, it'd be a another great insight into how McConaughey sees and explores the world as he has done to reinvent and reconnect with himself.

On the other side though of his memoir is the self-help motivation. McConaughey's concept is to keep a positive out look for greenlights - the things that keep you connected with your true self - and when you come across a red or yellow light, challenges that can halt your journey, wait for them to change or make that change happen on your own. I'm not someone who always need a literal explanation or interpretation of the meaning of a book, but contrary to the greenlights concept, there's little exploration of any deep yellow/red lights actually affected him. Readers will disagree with how his parents raised him with an 'outlaw' mentality, and or come to understand why he took a step back from the rom-com genre that put him on the map. But there's not a lot of insightful or eye-opening challenges that McConaughey faced that wasn't summarized into a few sentences, automatically channeled into a greenlight because he wanted something else to happen, or having the means to travel the world to get clear on what he wants out of life. The book, more or less, expresses one green light after another, without any central conflict of McConaughey up against something greater than himself and wanting to be a man he'd admire. It's not necessarily narcissistic or self-serving as many readers say it is, but this lacks a universality to people who are impeded by other things besides their own self-image. While it's nice that he goes the extra step to open his diaries, notes, and poems to serve as part memoir, the memoir feels undercut by the equally romanticized and tedious talking points that basically boils down to his famous catchphrase 'just keep living.'

Absolutely, one, if not the best book I've read about not just writing but being a creative person. I'd recommend this to everyone who struggles to recognize their true voice and how to work with it, how to let inspiration strike you and be it's friend, to understand that we are all divine beings with great potential and through this simple thing we can create and be as free from anxiety and failure, to ignore criticism or allow critics to fade our sparkle. Brenda writes exactly as she teaches: as if she is talking to a friend or a pupil and nudging them along to believe in themselves, their ideas, and what they're capable of. Her use of other artists, poets, and writers work doesn't intimidate, only encourage. There is no wrong in what you feel or think or create; there is only truth, and your ideas of experiences changing because everyone changes, grows, and gets over hurdles over time. My copy of this book is dog-eared to the max; pretty sure some pages are dog-eared from all corners. The next time I go through it, it'll probably be to underline passages that jump out of me, but so many chapters and simple ways Brenda expresses herself she sparks the idle energy within to express experiences, thoughts, feelings. Simply put, read this and I can't imagine you won't be changed by her words and want to jump at the chance to string together some sentences, paint, draw, dream to your heart's content, to work splendidly and see yourself/life with new eyes.

We can take one look at mainstream politics and can tell that women's health is already pretty much overlooked, and what is available or understood is generally dictated by men and ultra-conservative politics. It was exciting to find this book based on the premise that it would delve into more of the medical research and history of the female reproductive system. The author describes her fascination with the womb and women's health with genuine passion, and goes far to tell stories relating to the womb by doctors, scientists, midwives, etc. who are doing their best to get their research funded and respected. But, it was about the third or fourth chapter where I started to realize that the questions posed at the start of every chapter weren't necessarily answered - it was perhaps around this time that the author herself admitted that the chapter or book should come with a disclaimer that we just don't know the answer to what was being posed in the book. It started leaning more towards women's personal opinions and the social context for how they have those opinions than laying out historical or scientific research of what goes on in the women's body during the various stages of our lives. For what the book does offer or explores is eye-opening - but it also falls really short.

* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

From the beginning of "This Is How We Fly," Anna Meriano captures the struggles and joys of being a young woman trying to become an adult or at least “adult” more. Ellen is only seventeen, but she has the weight of the world on her shoulders as a vegan, feminist, and trying to balance that in-between age of being a teenager and a pre-college student. Her parents want her to be "normal", but like most teenagers, Ellen doesn't know that her interests and beliefs are anything but. Who she is sets the stage of who she will become. With different parts of her life taking off in various directions, only experience and time will help her along to fit all of the pieces together. As her life at home closes in around her, and the post-high school world of possibilities might be too big to venture with, Ellen’s journey is relatable as she takes chances, makes mistakes, and remains someone to root for.

The strong centerpiece of the book that tethers Ellen with the supporting characters and their conflicts is Quidditch. Fans within the Harry Potter community strive to make the fandom as welcoming as possible, and the use of Quidditch as a network of characters who help Ellen understand her gender, sexuality, and inner strength is satisfying as a fellow Harry Potter fan. As a general reader though, you don’t need to have followed Harry Potter to understand how the game is described. This makes the book accessible to fans and non-fans alike. The game is a jumping point to Ellen’s personal growth, and also offers a deeper sense of other characters such as her best friend Melissa, stepmom, step-sister, and a few possible love interests.

As endearing as Ellen and her journey of self-discovery is, where the book could’ve improved upon more was the exploration of Ellen’s identity. It was wonderful to see the diversity of characters, especially with the book led by a vegan feminist and second-generation Mexican American. And the range of her friends offer more diversity as well, so the book highlights a group of young adults who are finding their identities. However, it felt like some of these details could've been better cultivated into the actual story instead of coming across as 'statements.' This is somewhat in contrast to how seamless and descriptive Ellen’s voice is as she paints a picture of her self-doubts, participating in Quidditch, and feeling ostracized by her parents. Otherwise, Ellen is still a refreshing central character who can easily become a fan favorite for general readers and leave a lasting impression for Harry Potter fans.

“This Is How We Fly” is a charming coming-of-age tale that explores the traditional growing pains of life after high school. As the story unfolds around Ellen, it’s easy to get wrapped up in her world and finish the book feeling victorious like you caught the Golden Snitch.

A fun collection of photos celebrating cosplay. Given that a lot of the cosplayers do these type of conventions regularly, or even as a job..it would've been nice if the photos included their social media accounts. They're not even listed in the acknowledgements - but the copyright holders are.