Around the Year in 52 Books

This is where I can track books for my 2018 Reading Challenge:



You can read in order or jump around, but keep this order in the plan, as we are using the numbers to find quickly a topic.

If you can't complete the challenge, it's not a problem. If one topic is really too much out of your comfort zone or too much difficult to fulfill, you can use the Wild Card and read something else for this week (reader's choice or past suggestions).

1. A book with the letters A, T & Y in the title
2. A book from the first 10 books added to your To Be Read list
3. A book from the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards (link)
4. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #1 Earth (in title, cover, content, setting, author...)
5. A book about or inspired by real events: The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish (completed January 2018)
6. A book originally written in a language other than English
7. A gothic novel
8. An "own voices" book*
9. A book with a body part in the title (heart, bones, teeth, skin, blood, etc)
10. An author's debut book (their first book to be published)
11. A literary fiction
12. A book set in Africa or South America
13. A book with a plot centered around a secret (forbidden love, spies, secret societies, etc): Spies in the Family: An American Spymaster, His Russian Crown Jewel, and the Friendship that Helped End the Cold War by Eva Dillon (completed January 2018)
14. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #2 Fire: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (completed January 2018)
15. A book with an unique format/writing structure
16. A narrative nonfiction
17. A book you expect to make you laugh
18. A book with a location in the title
19. A book nominated for the Edgar Award or by a Grand master author (books & authors)
20. A book rated 5 stars by at least one of your friends
21. A book written in first person perspective
22. A book you have high expectations or hope for
23. A medical or legal thriller
24. A book with a map
25. A book with an antagonist/villain point of view
26. A book with a text only cover
27. A book about surviving a hardship (war, famine, major disasters, serious illness, etc)
28. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #3 Water
29. A book with a "Clue" weapon on the cover or title (lead pipe, revolver, rope, candlestick, dagger, wrench)
30. A short book
31. A book set in a country you'd like to visit but have never been to
32. An alternate history book
33. A book connected (title, cover, content) to a word "born" in the same year as you (link)
34. A suggestion from the AtY 2018 polls, that didn't win but was polarizing or a close-call (link)
35. A book featuring a murder: The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn (completed February 2018)
36. A book published in the last 3 years (2016, 2017, 2018) by an author you haven't read before
37. A Women's Prize for Fiction winner or nominee (link1, link2)
38. A science book or a science fiction book
39. A book with a form of punctuation in the title
40. A book from Amazon's 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime list (link)
41. A book by an author with the same first and last initials
42. A book that takes place on, in, or underwater
43. A book with a title that is a whole sentence
44. A ghost story
45. A book that intimidates/ scares you
46. 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #4 Air
47. A book where the main character (or author) is of a different ethnic origin, religion, or sexual identity than your own: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (completed February 2018)
48. A book related to one of the 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, sloth): Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarity (sin = wrath); completed January 2018
49. A book from one of the Goodreads Best Books of the Month lists (link)
50. A book with a warm atmosphere (centered on family, friendship, love or summer)
51. An award-winning short story or short story collection
52. A book published in 2018


*an own voice novel is a book about marginalised protagonists (by ethnic group, religion, sexual orientation, mental illness, etc) written by an author who shares that same identity.

Book Review: The Tsar of Love and Techno

GoodReads page

Beautiful, though tragic. One of the finest pieces of literature I have read. 

The Tsar of Love and Techno is a series of short stories, intertwined to create an extraordinary whole. The prose, though sometimes heavy-handed, is amazing. Here is a sampling of some of my favorite lines:

• "her head rested beneath the parenthesis of her arms"; 
• "Galina had been as vivid as stained glass, but we hadn't imagined that Kolya might have been the sunlight that saturated her."; 
• "Because you need a soul the devil wants before you can begin bargaining with him."

It also gives insight into Russian/Chechnyan culture which doesn't happen a lot of in literature popular in US culture (which tends to be American- or Euro-centric). It's a nice, appreciated change of pace. The characters are multifaceted and unique and don't follow usually tropes. For example, the story begins with the tale of a Soviet censor who would later add his deceased brother's image to the artwork he censored. 

I strongly recommend this book with the encouragement to give yourself time to read it and breath in and mull over the words and the story.

Eat Local: Nancy's Sky Garden

Steve and I both love food and, though we have our usual spots, we are always eager to expose our palates to something new. Now that I'm in post-Christmas detox, we looked for a healthier spot and saw great reviews online for Nancy's Sky Garden. It's located in Georgetown, north of Austin, which is a city I want to explore for it's small town charm and cute little shops and downtown feel.  We decided to head that way.

Fun logo!

The restaurant is located on the 4th floor of an older building (not quite historic, but with some endearing character) near downtown Georgetown. You would probably miss it if you weren't looking for it.

Steve and I ordered one of Nancy's several Harney and Sons hot tea options. He selected Dragon Pearl Jasmine, which was unfortunately weak and too flowery and, as the minutes past, became bitter. I had Royal Wedding tea, a caramel-tasting, comforting white tea. We ordered avocado rolls with peanut sauce for the appetizer and we dove in before I could snap a picture.

When our entrees came out, I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped because it's a huge portion full of delicious, healthy food. Here is mine:

This is the trio plate with almond-ginger chicken salad (no mayo in it!), a roasted sweet potato, and the house salad with balsamic dressing. The salad has: mixed greens, grape tomatoes, shredded carrots, shredded purple cabbage, shredded white cabbage, pineapple, pecans, black sesame seeds, and grapes. The avocado costs extra but it tastes delicious.

Is your mouth watering yet?! It was so filling that I brought half of it home for a second meal. Steve had a similar plate but with spicy chicken as the protein and forbidden rice as the carbohydrate. His chicken was a little too spicy for me, but definitely great quality and taste.

I would rate Nancy's Sky Garden 5 out of 5 stars! Can't wait to go back. I'll probably try either the cranberry chicken or the teriyaki chicken next. Give this place a try and let's keep it in business because it's unique, healthy, and well worth a visit. 

Interests

When I first started writing this blog, I wanted to gear it towards music. But then life--mainly cancer--happened and that affected the amount of time I could spend on music. It's hard to hit up a bunch of shows when you're in the middle of chemo.

Along the way of 2015, I learned that I also have multiple interests that I'd love to dive into. I learned that I don't need to project a perfect image or wait until I have the perfect words or projects in order to write a blog entry. It's like the title of my blog: Life is a Mix Tape. It's a lot of interests and everyday adventures lined up on magnetic tape, spooled around these years we've been offered. So, here I am. With a heart turned towards capturing this journey and listening to yours. Let's sit together and share.

SXSW: Ibeyi

Ibeyi
Waterloo Records
SXSW
March 20, 2015

For several years in my childhood, I pretended that I had a long-lost twin. I read one of those stories about twins separated at birth who meet later in life and found they led similar lives. That seemed so cool that I liked believing that somewhere out there was another version of me, living a similar life just different enough that it might be only one parallel universe over. Sometimes I still like to imagine this is the truth and will one day run into myself in the grocery. And, this song will be playing:

History is full of awesome twins. Castor and Pollux. Zan and Jayna. And, of course these two.

In the music world, my favorite twins have been Aaron and Bryce Dessner. Of course, they're still up there. But, they face some competition from Lisa-Kainde and Naomi Diaz, the French-Cuban twins behind the duo, Ibeyi. These two received a lot of attention and accolades from SXSW goers as they played a Waterloo Records in-store (where I saw them), the Bungalow, and a set I wish I'd seen at Central Presbyterian Church.

You know you're a crowd pleaser when it's raining steadily outside Waterloo Records and no one is leaving, in spite of no umbrellas or ponchos. 

Ibeyi means "twins" in Yoruba, a language these twins sing in, along with English. Lisa (on the left) is a vocalist and plays piano. Naomi is the percussionist and a vocalist. They use some looping and overlays throughout this set. Minimal, yet gorgeous. 

Lisa and Naomi are the daughters of Cuban percussionist, Anga Diaz. Both he and their older sister have passed away in the past ten years, so tragedy is familiar to them. Yet hauntingly beautiful music still flows from these women. Family seems to be important to them as one of the best parts of this set was seeing their mother is part of their set-up crew.

Behind every great musician, there is usually a family member or friend who tirelessly supported them in multiple ways. They are a huge chunk of the encouragement who brought musicians this far, even when that path isn't always easy. 

Ibeyi is finishing up a US tour leg, but are heading out internationally in April. Now is the time to see them because they have the potential to be headliners. And, while I wish them success, their music favors an intimate setting. 

Wonder Twin powers activate? They already have.

I Have a Dream

Actually, I have many dreams. There is no better time than New Year's Day to list some of the ones I have for this year, in no particular order but with a whole lot of INFP:

1. Get stronger.  One of my top goals is to live a long, healthy, happy, fulfilling life and one of the best ways to encourage that is to develop inner and outer strength. To stay active, cultivate intellectual and recreational activities and hobbies, eat (mostly) healthy, and love others well and without fear.

2. Spend quality time with those I love both near and far.

3. Keep up with the live music. Starting with Free Week. And then letting live music inspire me to practice playing music on my guitar and keyboard. Music is part of my history and my future and I cannot wait to integrate it into my 2015 life.

4. Coding. Erica and I have some big creative/business dreams and coding is a key skill for these. Plus, it lets me use that logic part of my brain.

5. Visit more National Parks. Because I have a lot of pages in my passport book to fill. And, really, just to travel. In 2014, I was incredibly fortunate to travel to London, Portland, and San Francisco. The memories and experiences are priceless. There is so much more to see in this world and so I aim to take at least two trips this year. Speaking of London, my best friend, Krissy, will be in the US this summer and I cannot wait to see her again. And it will be nice to have her travel here again, though I hope and plan to get to London again one day. 

6. Be creative. There are so many creative projects I love: sewing, painting, drawing, crafting, cross-stitch, crochet, etc. I completed several in 2014 but want to create even more this year.

7. Read. A lot. 24 books by the end of 2015. You can follow me on Goodreads if you want to know what I'm reading.

8. Write. My mom and her sisters worked diligently and lovingly to create a written family history and I want to add my stories to pass on. And encourage my brothers and cousins to contribute!

And, of course...this blog. :)

9. Try new things and learn daily, while still valuing what is already known and done.

I think these dreams are all attainable. Now it's time to start living them and seeing them unfold. Here's to a happy 2015!

The Power of Voodoo

It all comes back to David Bowie, doesn't it?  Credit for this entry's title goes to David Bowie for this little ditty:

You remind me of the babe. / What babe? / The babe with the power./ What power? / The power of voodoo. //

While in Portland, I didn't experience voodoo, but I did experience Voodoo Doughnut.  

Yes, I got VD in Portland.  Haha. I cannot take credit for this joke, though.  They have already made the bumper stickers and display them in this glorious doughnut display case.

I planned to go to Voodoo Doughnut and had the good fortune of serendipitously stumbling upon it while wandering.  Tip:  The line is always out the door here. OK, it was at least out the door the two times that I went. Be forewarned, though, that I've heard this is the norm so plan accordingly if you're looking to get your doughnut fix.

I tried three different types of donuts (descriptions via Voodoo Doughnut):

1.  The Voodoo Doll Doughnut:  Raised yeast doughnut filled with raspberry jelly topped with chocolate frosting and a pretzel stake! My favorite as evidenced by the fact that I ate two in 24 hours. The cutest doughnut you'll ever eat.

2.  The Old Dirty Bastard: Raised yeast doughnut with chocolate frosting, Oreos and peanut butter!

Tasty. A winning combination (just like the Wu-Tang Clan. RIP ODB.)

3.  Dirty Snowballs Doughnut: Chocolate cake doughnut with marshmallow topping, dipped in coconut and a dollop of peanut butter in the middle!  This one was ok, though not ok enough to finish. A bit dry; I saved my stomach reserves for my second voodoo doughnut doll.

Yum.  Half of this box belongs to me and the other half to my friend.  From top right, we have:  Dirty Snowballs, Voodoo Doll, Old Dirty Bastard, and Captain my Captain doughnuts.  

Voodoo Doughnuts is more or less a required Portland stop.  Enjoy your sugar, friends. It's worth it.

Which Voodoo Doughnut sounds best to you?  Leave your answer in the comments!