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9/8- November Vlog Style Reading Wrap Up | BXXKmas 2021 | November 2021 | 6 books | Nonfiction November
9/9- BXXKmas 2021 | Week 1 Vlog | Beach Life, sunrises, cats, books and more!! | Vlogmas, Bookmas
9/11 - November Readathon Wrap Up | BXXKmas 2021 | Nonfiction November, Nov Nov, Autumn HiBearNation
One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
I had heard of The Book of Tea somewhere and wanted to read it for the 1900-1950 Readathon. It was written by Okakura Kakuzo in 1906.
The Book of Tea is part instructional manual, part philosophy, part history, all about tea.
I’m not sure where I first heard of this, or what I was expecting from this book. I didn’t realize that it was going to be basically a eastern philosophy text. It explains and explores Teasim. How that philosophy fits in with other eastern views, how it is or may be responsible for movements in art, structure and life. Kakuzo also pokes a lot of fun or is openly critical about how the western world views tea and what they do with it. He often makes the comparison between the good that has come from the eastern obsession with tea and how it evokes opposite effects in the west. I really liked that this was very simple and easy to read. Although it got a little snarky in places, I think this is not a bad place to start with East Asian philosophy. I would recommend this book to those interested in Eastern studies, Japanese history, students interested in non western history and studies, those who love Japanese culture, and of course people who really enjoy tea!
What philosophy books have you read? Which area of philosophy do you most enjoy learning about?
This book can be seen in my June Wrap Up.
12/1 - End of the Year Book Tag | BXXKmas 2021 | Reading Plans for Dec 2021 | Reading Tag | Nonfiction
12/2 - Should I Switch to Storygraph? | BXXKmas 202 | How I Use Goodreads and Reaching My GR Goal | Ramble
12/3 - TBR ASMR #15 | BXXKmas 2021 | Cloak & Dagger Xmas | Christie's Missing | cats, tapping, scratching
12/4 - BXXKmas 2021 | 1 More Month of Zero Waste | December 2021 | Buy No Gifts | Free & Easy Zero Waste
12/5 - What Book Prize Books Have I Read? | BXXKmas 2021 | Do I follow any Book Prizes? | Dune, PD James
11/27 - Day in the Life | November 2021 | All the Chores, To Do List with Me | Cats, Books, Productive DITL
11/29 - Nonfiction Books I Want to Find | Will the book gods send me these books? | NF that sounds AMAZING
I might have mentioned, but in November, I was mostly at work, therefore my plant observations come mainly from there.
After a squall.
What a job!! I was tasked to repot 50 coffee plants this day!!
Coffee plants at the sea.
This oxalis loves the light, but looks beautiful in the evening as well.
Sunset at Asbury and Ocean.
A brief but vibrant collection of observations this month. What did November look like in your area?
11/17 - Recently Acquired Books | The Book Garden Edition | November 2021 | Little Free Library + Used Books
11/19 - Every Nonfiction Book Still on my TBR Shelf | Mixed Subjects | All the books I'm NOT reading for NFN
11/25 - BXXKmas 2021 Announcement | Vlogs, Books, Cats, End of The Year Festivities! | Bxxkmas Year Two
11/10 - Top 3 Nonfiction I've read so far in 2021 | Nonfiction November 2021| 84 Charing Cross Road
11/12 - Nonfiction This or That Tag | Learn more about your nonfiction reading! | Curious Reader
11/14 - BookTube Spin 2021 | Spin 4 Vlog | Spin 4, Book 2 | Rick MacDonnell | Autumn in Monmouth Country, NJ
One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
Passing by Nella Larsen is enjoying a renewed interest as there have been a few other books about colorism lately. I picked this one up from an used online bookshop bc I was dying to read it.
Irene and Clare grew up together in a small town but as teenagers, their lives took a very different turn. Now, so many years later, they have reunited, but has anything really changed?
I have been really excited to learn about and read more from the Harlem Renaissance movement of the 19teens and twenties. I read this for the 1900 - 1950 Readathon and you can see more thoughts about it in this video. I had been hearing about Passing for months and it sounded like something I would like. Short, modern classic, set in NYC. Other than that and theme of passing as white, I really had no idea what to expect. I loved this book and it is in contention to be one of my most favorite of the year. Although I don’t usually vibe with books about female friendship, I found the complex feeling and emotions of the relationship between these woman really fascinating. There is a lot about the theme of doing what is right and what is best and what that means to different people and at different times. Told in 3 parts, this book’s writing style reflects the various parts atmosphere, culminating in a unexpected ending. This book deals with intense racism and has very triggering language and events. Although it is hard to read in some parts, I loved this book and can see myself reading this one fairly regularly. I would highly recommend this book to those interested in this time period of art and writing and growth, those who like books set in NYC, stories about female friendship or animosity, and readers interested in themes of colorism and racism.
Have you read this book or any of Nella Larsen’s other works?
This book can be seen in my May Wrap Up.
11/3 - November 1 More Month of Zero Waste | November 2021 | Repair Before You Replace | Easy Zero Waste
11/5 - TBR ASMR 14 | Nonfiction November | Tapping, crinkles, page turning | Lo Fi ASMR | BookTube ASMR
11/7 - October Vlog Style Reading Wrap Up | October 2021| 9 Books | Modern classic, booktube darlings
Plant observations for October were less about the plants and more about the critters and wide open spaces! We saw some watery spots, some late season butterflies, and some gorgeous skies!
Keyport, NJ
Farmingdale, NJ
Will never get over this color!
Monarch on the oak leaf hydrangeas.
Who can tell me something about this moth?
Another sleepy butterfly.
Morning commute.
And evening commute.
What was your October like?
10/27 - Little Free Library Tour | 11 LFL in New Jersey | Halloween Themed Libraries | LFL Tour #3
10/29 - Plan with Me | New Bujo in November | Yearly Planner for Booktube? | Cognitive Surplus Unboxing
10/31 - Lofi Storytime ASMR | Soft Spoken, Whispers, Tapping, Rubbing, Hand Lotion, Natural Long Nails
11/1 - November 2021 Plan with Me | Part Two | Setups and Spreads | Yearly, monthly, new booktube planner
October went by so fast! We travelled a bit, going to some of our favorite seasonal events. We saw friends and family. We generally soaked in the end of the warm months and lingering summer pleasures.
Although I felt that there were many things to share, and many photos taken this month, I only had a few insta posts to collage here. But I think this sums up our month pretty well. As usual Oct was dominated by spooky season, plants, the last of the summer flowers and the last of our garden prizes, reading (of course), and, not pictured, every fun adventure.
Also not pictured was working hard at the end of the season.
November is here, and it’s a fun one, so let’s go.
One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
The Private Patient is the last in PD James’ Adam Dalgliesh detective series.
A well known investigative journalist, some might say a gossip, checks herself in to have a procedure that will change her life and career. It doesn’t hurt that the remote hospital might have some secrets to spill. Unfortuneately she never has the chance to spill those secrets, and Adam Dalgiesh must find out why.
As I say above, this is the last of the Adam Dalgiesh series, and for that reason I put it off for a while. I have been reading my way thru the series over the last few years, but not in order. Although this is the last book James wrote in the series, I have not read all those that lead up to it, so I have more to read! I was wondering if it would be obvious that this was his last appearance and would round out or wrap up the series. This book didn’t really do that and so I think James didn’t know that this would be her last go with Dalgiesh. There is some reference to what our main character wil do after his time as an inspector detective. He does ruminate on how the job he does so well has become a burden for him in many ways. He looks forward to his time getting married and living with his new bride. The mystery he must solve is like many in the other book, but the twist for the reader is that we get a little more insight into the victims thoughts before the murder than usual. Over all, this was one in a long string of great, fun, murder mysteries written by one of the queens of crime. I would recommend this book mostly to readers who already like PD James, have been reading this series, or who want to start this series. Although this is the last in the series, you can really start anywhere.
Do you love coming to the end of a series, or dread it?
This book can be seen in my May Wrap Up.
10/12 - 1 More Month of Zero Waste | October 2021 | Trash Walk Challenge Free and Easy Zero Waste
10/13 - The BookTube Birthday Tag | 1 Year on BookTube!! | Happy Birthday to Me! | 100 Subs Thank You
10/20 - 100 Subscribers Q&A | Thank You!! | Answering YOUR Questions - NJ, Fave Coffee, How'd I Get My Name?
10/22 - Novella November Possibilities | I Love Short Books | All the books 176 pages or less on my TBR
We spent a good amount of time on the beach in Sept. It’s local’s summer and we always try to get in some #septemberswims in. We travelled some this month, sometimes to different beaches!! We made some plant observations along the way.
Mushrooms with a view.
A different beach view.
And a closer look at that pier.
A good (but dead) horseshoe crab.
Cormorant at golden hour.
September flowers were wonderful!
Something left behind.
Sunset in Deal.
September was a pretty perfect month for getting out and about. The weather was mostly lovely and we took advantage of it. Where did you go this month? What did you observe?
One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
I found World War One British Poets by various poets compiled by Candace Ward in a little free library.
This slim Dover edition contains several poems from 16 different poets. The poems range from pro war and anti war to family of those at war. This is an interesting view on the first world war, seen through the eyes of artists.
I remember that just before I picked this up I had a conversation with someone (probably my husband) about a poem (no clue who it was by) written about a war (I can’t remember which). It was an interesting conversation. And I was thinking about it when I saw World War One British Poets in a little free library. I thought, well, that is interesting! What DO poets think about during war time? This collection, I think, tries to show several perspectives. There are those who are pro war, those who are anti war, those who were in the thick of it, and those who were on the periphery. Some of the poets are famous, some not. Some are known only for 1 or 2 war poems, some are known for all their other work. Reading this was definitely interesting and I’m glad I read it. I read this for the 1900 - 1950 Readathon and it fit in perfectly. You can watch that video here. Although, I was glad to have read this, it was quite hard to get through. It is violent, dated, and obviously, all about war which is a hard subject. I’m also not really a poetry person. I find it hard to read and usually not engaging. I really struggled to get through this book. I love that Dover has such a huge range of books that are accessible to many readers. I would recommend this book to those who are interested in seeing the first world war through poetry, those interested in this history, people who love poetry, or fans of some of the more famous authors represented here.
Do you read poetry? Do you enjoy it?
This book can be seen in my May Wrap Up.
9/7 -September Vlog Style Reading Wrap Up | September 2021 | All 9 Books I read this month | Sci Fi Sept
9/9 - BookTube Spin 4 Reaction | Finding out what books I'll read for the last quarter | Rick MacDonnell
9/10 - Recently Acquired Books | All Nonfiction Books | Should I Go on a Book Getting Ban?
One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
I’ve tried to read the memior/nonfiction Out Of Africa by Karen Blixon (aka Isak Denisen) before, but coudn’t quite get into it. This time I loved it!
This memoir of the years that Karen Blixon spent in Kenya followers her from her arrival in the country and the challenges she faced.
I have watched the movie of Out Of Africa many times and really enjoy it. I think Karen Blixon’s life story is fascinating, so I am surprised that I have tried and failed to read this book previously. I’m really glad I stuck with it this time, bc this book moved me and will end up on my best of the year list. This memoir is told in several parts and with several different styles. There are longer passages or parts that explain how Karen come to be in Africa, what the culture around her plantation was like, and who the major players in her life were. There is a section of vignettes, where she describes and explains some of the events and episodes that fostered her love of her new home in short bursts. The final part chronicles her leaving her home and farm and the grief and responsibilities she faces. The writing is descriptive, evocative and compelling so that one is drawn in to and can understand her love with the African landscape and lifestyle. This is a beautiful look at her life, but it is also heartbreaking and bleak in many ways. I would highly recommend this book to those who have seen the movie and want to know more, those who are interested in historical accounts of people living outside their comfort zones, readers who enjoy stories about pioneering women.
What is a memoir you have recently enjoyed?
This book can be seen in my May Wrap Up.
August was a great month for plant observations, but it was one of those months that not many photos were taken! It was a wet and rainy summer, but that meant that the moments of brightness and sun were even more lush and high contrast. We saw flowers, trees, so many weird new things in the garden. We saw animals and got to visit the sea.
I’m not sure what color our Japanese maple is supposed to be bc it seems to be constantly changing!
I love this sharp petalled flowers.
We spotted these huge peppers at a favorite community garden.
Keyport, NJ.
Asbury Park, NJ.
Our old man’s beard blew up in August!!
What were plants doing for you in August? Here, Aug is the end of Summer, but also the height of Summer. So we have many great plant observations!
9/15 - The Bookish Super Hero Tag | What is my Super Power? | Who is my Bookish Nemesis?
9/17 - Little Free Library Tour | 9 LFL in New Jersey | No Talking | Little Library Project
9/22 - All The Series I'm Currently Reading | 8 Series, 1 Genre | Can you guess what it is?
9/24 - Day In The Life: Unexpected Day Off | DITL | Reading, Chores, Cleaning, Thrifting, Fancy Pizza
9/28 - Five Sci Fi Favorites | Science Fiction for Every Reader | Slight Chaotic Energy Recommendations
9/30 - Plan with Me | TBR Organization and BookTube Spin List Creation | September 2021 | 20 Books List
10/3 - TBR ASMR 13 | Natural nails, Tapping, Scratching, Page Turning, Gentle breathing | BookTube ASMR