Favorite Books of 2020

As a fan of books and reading, I decided to round up my favorite books I read in 2020. Maybe I can inspire your reading for next year!

Here’s my list:

Macho! By Victor Villaseñor:

I talked about this book earlier this year in my post, Brown Reflections. It’s still one of my favorites of the year and should really be read in school, at least in California.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler:

I heard about Octavia Butler earlier this year and couldn’t wait to read one of her books, especially since I realized I haven’t read too many sci-fi books by Black authors. Plus, she’s from Pasadena, CA. This one hit maybe too close to home, especially with what has happened this year, but it was really good.

Mexican Gothic by Silvana Moreno-Garcia:

I absolutely could not put this book down… but I forced myself to because I wanted to savor every scene in it. It was perfect from beginning to end and so satisfyingly horrific. Unexpectedly, I also was able to relate my ancestry to the setting of the book. Needless to say, I can’t wait to read another book by this author. I also picked up Gods of Jade and Shadow, which will be my next read.

Women Who Run With the Wolves by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes

To be honest, I haven’t finished this book yet, but I can already say, this is a MUST READ. It’s a book that dissects fairy tales and myths to show how a women’s spirit and soul can flourish and what prevents it from living it’s full potential. I’m surprised by how many tales I’m familiar with so far, and can also relate to a lot of what she analyzes. This is unlike any spiritual book I’ve ever read. I highly recommend.

Did you discover any new favorite books this year? Are there any books you’re looking forward to reading next year?

Planning for 2021

It’s the last month of 2020! How are we here already? Something tells me I shouldn’t be surprised, based off how the rest of this year went.

Anyway, a new year also means a new planner! For the past 4 and a half years, I’ve been using a bullet journal. I use it mostly to write about what happened during the day, keep track of appointments, habits and ideas.

If you’ve delved into the planner world, you know that the thing about bullet journaling is you use a blank notebook to set up your planner/journal your own way. And you can change it as you go to what works best for you.

One search on YouTube will bombard you with a million monthly calendar spreads, weekly spreads and habit tracker ideas.

A popular thing to do is create a theme for each month. I generally make my bullet journal this way, with a kind of scrapbook-y vibe to it.

While I love tapping into my creativity to create these themes and journaling spreads, after four years, it’s getting hard to come up with new themes and new ways to use my washi tapes.

I’m bullet journal burned out.

So this year, I’m going to use a pre-planned journal! I’m nervous and excited.

An instagram ad marked me with this Moon Planner and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It helps you plan your year and take action using the phases of the moon and the zodiac.

I know, sounds kind of out there. But who knows, maybe it’ll help me achieve some goals I have by next Capricorn season?

Anyway, I like that it’s a planner and workbook at the same time. There’s a lot of writing space to work with. And I’m looking forward to using fun colored pens in this planner and maybe I’ll break out some washi tape to decorate. The planner is mostly in black and white, so any pop of color will be fun.

What do you use to plan your year and keep track of your goals? Or do you like it wing it?

ATLA Drawing Inspriation

I wanted to share some drawings I did earlier this year that were inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender. I was excited to rewatch this series, and Legend of Korra when they became available on Netflix. (Here is a post I wrote earlier this year about the show.)

In these drawings, I wanted to highlight some under represented cultures. It was also fun imagining what the Avatar universe fashion would be like in modern times.

Enjoy!

Fire Nation
Air Nomads
Earth Kingdom
Water Tribe

Am I more excited about our new VP than I am about our new POTUS? YES!!!!!

I am writing this on Saturday November 7th, 2020 and we have learned that Joe Biden has reached over 270 electoral votes and is officially our new president-elect!!!!

For me, it’s been a morning of periodic whoops and yells and claps and jumping up and down to celebrate and release the stress I’ve been feeling all week, waiting for the election to be called.

While I am RELIEVED to not have to think about what another four years of Trump (bleh!!!) would look like, I am more ESCTATIC to think about what it means to have Kamala Harris be our next Vice President.

We’ll have our first BLACK VP.

We’ll have our first SOUTH ASIAN VP.

We’ll have our first WOMAN VP.

All in one!!!!!

It’s hard to think of Kamala Harris as one thing because she contains multitudes. I am consistently wrapping my head around it and I don’t care if I never make it all around.

It’s not a secret that women are always scrutinized in a way that men aren’t, especially in politics. One of them being associating motherhood to a woman’s worth.

We praise women for being mothers and show it as a sign of wholesomeness and that having your own children is part of being a “real” woman.

That’s what was consistently told to us by Republicans during the Amy Coney Barrett hearings. She’s a mother and that’s what makes her a good woman and what makes her a good judge because she will think about her role as a mother when she’s making decisions.

While Harris has adopted her husband’s children as her own, she technically does not have any of her own biological children.

And she’s okay with that! She’s still fulfilled by her life and what she’s done! And she has plans to do more!

She was also not continuously framed by her motherhood, or lack of motherhood. Unlike Amy Coney Barrett or even Sarah Palin, the last woman to be on a ticket as a VP. Additionally, Hillary Clinton was criticized for how she conducted her roll as a mother by conservatives.

And let me be clear here. Women who chose to be mothers are also amazing and do incredible work. There’s a lot of… just everything that goes into it that I can’t even imagine and I respect anyone who wants to take on that challenging role.

What I’m saying is that society is consistent in telling women that you cannot be a “real” woman or there’s something wrong with you if you don’t want to be a mother in some capacity. (All the Single Ladies by Rebecca Traister has multitude of examples. Highly recommend the read.)

Men are never framed by their fatherhood. No one says, “Hey, he’s a dad, maybe that will show that’s he’s sympathizes with families and other dads will like him and relate to him.” And if they are eternal bachelors, no one bats an eye.

I am incredibly grateful to have Kamala Harris as someone to look up to and show that motherhood does not have to be a major part of your identity in order to be legitimate in our society.

Women contain multitudes and it’s time we appreciate them for it!

And in terms of Harris’ new role as MADAM VICE PRESIDENT (!!) I am thinking… I am hoping that she will surprise us with what she does.