#read some mary oliver poetry last month which was very good

[theclearblue]

My book club is gonna read Witch Hat Atelier next life is good!!!!!

[accidentalspaceexplorer]

It is finally the end of 2020, so it’s time to look at my reading stats for the year!

Overall, I’m happy with how much I read this year, since I exceeded my goal of 100 by a good margin, but I didn’t actually like what I read this year as much. Including my ratings for the books I DNF’d this year, my average rating was 3.82/5, which is much lower than last year’s total (4.13/5). Overall, I think this happened for a couple of reasons: the pandemic meant that I wasn’t checking things out from the library for like three months so I wasn’t getting as many things I was excited about, I was more focused on my goals this year (more on that later), and I read more things outside of my comfort zone. I did read some really awesome stuff though, and I’ll have my favorites for this year up soon, but I also read a lot of stuff I didn’t like as much.

Other stats:

I DNF’d 15 books this year

I re-read 14 books this year

74% of the books I read were by female authors

I read 6 books by nonbinary and genderqueer authors

25% of the books I read were by authors of color

42% of the books I read had LGBTQIA+ representation in them

I read 9 nonfiction books

My top 3 genres were fantasy (49 books), romance (36 books), and science fiction (28 books)

It is now time for the aforementioned check-in with my goals! I have a separate post that I’ve previously used to track my goals here but I’m going to talk about the final results down below (spoiler alert I didn’t do them haha)

I definitely didn’t do very well on the goals I set for myself this year. Part of that is that each individual goal is reasonable but without doubling anything, I wanted myself to read at least 115 books to meet my goals. Given the number of books I read this year, it was doable, but it would have required me to be on top of my goals from the beginning of the year and read like no mood books, which is pretty unreasonable I think. Next year I will be setting up my goals very differently! (A separate post will be going up soon about that.)

On to the actual goals now!

finish the books that have been sitting on my Goodreads currently reading list for years - the only one left is Clariel, which is one I was re-reading as an audiobook with my husband, so since he hasn’t been in the mood for it it didn’t happen. Otherwise I was successful! I’m actually really pleased that I managed to finish the rest of them. (6/7, success)

get my physical TBR bookshelf down to one shelf of books - this one didn’t quite happen. My physical TBR is now primarily on one shelf, with the second shelf being devoted to my library TBR and a few of the physical TBR books I’d really like to get to soon. (fail)

read more romance novels - in 2019 I read 33 romance novels, and this year I read 36! By percentages it’s a failure because I read a lot more books this year, but by flat number it’s a success so I’m taking that one haha. (36/34, success)

read through the first twenty-two books on my Goodreads TBR (up through The Collapsing Empire) - I got so close on this one, but didn’t end up finishing The Collapsing Empire before the end of the year sigh. (21/22, fail)

review every book I read - I didn’t quite make it to this one, although I am planning to catch up soon. There are probably 7 books that I read for the first time this year that I haven’t writtten any kind of review for. Weirdly, almost all of them are books that I loved. (120/127, fail)

read Harrow the Ninth - success! I loved it too. (1/1, success)

read Network Effect - success! I also loved this one. (1/1, success)

read more fantasy and sci-fi romance novels - last year, I read 4 fantasy and sci-fi romance novels, and this year I read 8, so I win! (8/4, success)

read more books by non-binary authors - I read 5 books by nonbinary authors this year and one by a genderqueer author, which is much better than I have been doing. (6/3, success)

read at least 5 books in translation - I only read 3: Daughter of Fortune, Persepolis 2, and Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead. (3/5, fail)

read 2 books in Spanish - I DNF’d Cien años de soledad, does that count? (.5/2, fail)

read The Laird of Duncairn - I just didn’t do this (0/1, fail)

read Zeus Grants Terrible Wishes - I also didn’t do this (0/1, fail)

find a book club I like - I started one with my friends, which was a great way to get around my problem of not liking the selections in the book clubs I was looking at. (1/1, success)

read 4 more Discworld books, up through Maskerade - I am currently listening to Maskerade, but we’re not done with it yet. (3.5/4, fail)

read 8 nonfiction books - I read 9, although I did DNF one. I did really enjoy some of the ones I read, although there were some definite misses as well. I read The Curve of Time, Because Internet, The Lost Kingdom of the Monkey God, Organizing Success, Wait Till Next Year, Storm in a Teacup, Knitting in the Old Way, Strangers in Their Own Land, and Persepolis 2. (8.5/8, success)

read 3 volumes of poetry - I only read 2 - Felicity and the princess will save herself in this one, neither of which I liked. (2/3, fail)

read Full Fathom Five - this book was really excellent! (1/1, success)

read another book by Guy Gavriel Kay - nope (0/1, fail)

catch-up on at least 3 series - I caught up on 5 and finished 4, although I did start 3 of those in 2020. I also started 15 series, so like...not ideal. However I technically did it haha (9/3, success)

Overall, that’s 10/20, which is not great. One of the things that I really noticed by the end of the year when I was really trying to catch up on the goals was that I had really made reading into a chore. I would catch myself thinking, “No I can’t read Take a Hint, Dani Brown, I have to read Daughter of Fortune next, because it’s on the list.” and that kind of thinking really saps the fun out of reading for me. So next year, I’m not setting concrete goals like read 3 ___ books or read more ____ books, although I am going to encourage myself to read certain categories of books. More on that in the goals post!

[cecilspeaks]

164 - The Faceless Old Woman (Live)

[applause]

Jeffrey Cranor: I’m really excited, we wrote this script recently coming up in this last performance for tonight. And I got real excited for writing it, cause we haven’t written like a, to do a live show full length in a new voice. And it was a lot of fun to do.

Joseph Fink: Yeah so tonight we are presenting the first Welcome to Night Vale show that is entirely from the point of view of someone who is not Cecil, this is the time when the Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home gets to step out from her secret.. place in your home. [laughter] And tell you a little bit about herself.

Jeffrey: One of my favorite things about writing the Faceless Old Woman stuff is cause the way Joseph and I work is that we’ll write episodes or write parts of episodes and pass it to the other and that person will, sometimes have questions but oftentimes just maybe like add something to it. So a lot of times it’s either, when I get stuff back from Joseph and I dunno if he feels the same way getting stuff back form me, with the Faceless Old Woman script it was always either something really hilarious for something really upsetting. [laughter] And I really love that a lot.

Joseph: This is maybe the most upsetting thing we’ve ever written, I hope you guys enjoy it. [laughter]

Jeffrey: Have fun, good night! [applause]

Joseph: I guess we should start that show we talked about.

Jeffrey: Let’s do it. You guys, let’s welcome to the stage your friend and ours, Mara Wilson!

[applause] [long silence]

Mara Wilson: I am the Faceless Old Woman who secretly lives in your home. Hello. You don’t know me, but I know you. I know you very well. I’ve been going through your medicine cabinet. You take too much Advil. Do you realize how hard that is on your digestion? I know a couple gelcaps and a glass of water before bed can alleviate a morning hangover, but it also puts you in a bad mood, because you don’t get good sleep with all that extra stress you put on your guts. You know what’s a better hangover cure? Not drinking like it’s the last day of community college. I replaced your vodka with clear Windex, and your Advil with Ipecac. This won’t help your hangovers, but it certainly will be more entertaining for me. I don’t sleep, so I need better late night entertainment than Netflix. I’ve already watched every episode of “Money Heist” and “Criminal Man” and “Planet documentary”, I have to spice it up a little bit.

Which reminds me, sorry about the tarantula incident last week. And here I’m speaking specifically to you, Tony. Yes you, in the shirt. The one hoping I’m not talking about you. I’m not sorry you woke up with a tarantula covering your face, nor that it bit you, causing your eyelids to swell up like Kinder eggs filled with purulent discharge instead of toys. I am sorry that I forgot to turn the flash off of my camera, which alarmed both you and the spider, and I never got a good photo. I’ve been building up my portfolio for an art exhibit I call “Gross Things on a Sleeping Tony”. It’s going up June 1, exclusively in your living room.  I’ve already gotten “Open-mouthed Centipede Bouquet” framed. You’re gonna find this show absolutely terrific.  Wait no, not terrific, what’s the word? Terrifying.

Tony, you’re one of my favorites in Night Vale. I know you hate your direct marketing job selling high interest credit cards to twenty-somethings, but the benefits are great. You have health care, a 401k, and you get to take advantage of people less fortunate than you. Everything is its own reward. But I’ve read your poetry, you love poetry. To be fair, there isn’t a big job market for poets, but you need to explore what makes you happy. I tattooed one of my favorite lines of poetry on you last month. It’s by Mary Oliver. “Instructions for living a life. Close your eyes. Be scared. Good luck.” And then I drew a little butterfly next to the words. I’m not the best artists, though, so it kind of looks like a radish or a sarcoma. Doesn’t matter, you still haven’t noticed. It’s just right below your right shoulder blade, don’t try to find it now, it’s still healing and given that I used the metal rod from that fondue set in your closet as the needle, it’s possible it’s infected. Better to leave it alone.

Tony, look at me. Imagine where my eyes would be. You have a lot to work through. I’m here to help you, I really am. I’ll prove it by giving you some advice. If a venomous arthropod is on your face, don’t scream.

Anyway, it’s not you Tony who’s bothering me, it’s the new people. They are elderly, like me, and they just moved into a house in the center of Night Vale. Or maybe this is decades from now, time is a little hazy for me. I’ve never been in this house nor noticed it before they moved in. it’s a one bedroom and there are three of them. I thought polyamory, but they have three separate beds and they never speak to each other, rarely look at each other, and never leave the home. The first night I secretly lived in their home, I realized they never slept either. They brushed their teeth, put on pajamas and get into bed. But they all lie there, eyes open, through silent hours of darkness.

I tried whispering to them but got no response. Usually when I reveal myself in the dark, I get the thrill of witnessing horror dawn across a person’s distorted mouth and bulging eyes as they see my faceless face pressed up against their own. One of the best parts of visiting new residents. But not these three. For once, I’m the frightened one.

Speaking of frightening, did you get your taxes (-) [0:08:20] on time Alex? You, you’re Alex. You with the shoes. I had to file for an extension. I don’t owe any money because I have no income, but I’m over 200 years old, never got a social security number, have no permanent address and I wasn’t born in this country, it’s a lot of paperwork. And Alex, you know your Wi-Fi is terrible and I was having a hard time downloading the forms I needed, so I just wrote my name on some yellowish-black Boston lettuce you’ve left in the crisper for the last three weeks. But the leaves kept falling apart, I think more like melting. After about 20 minutes, I got frustrated and just made myself a salad. Also, I used the last of your parmesan cheese, but don’t worry, I replaced it with dried skin I’ve been collecting from your bed sheets. Don’t be grossed out, Alex. Same texture and nutritional value, you won’t know the difference. I got the idea from a Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay”, where this one winner tied up Bobby and ran a (micro-) [0:09:17] across his forehead to make a chimichurri sauce.

I love that show, but I’m a bigger fan of HGTV’s “House Hunters”, the desert dystopian version. That’s where I met you, Addie. Yes you, with the face. You were shopping for a new home here in Night Vale. You told the realtor - who was inside of a living deer, its belly horrifically distended and quivering with every one of the agent’s words and gesticulation – that you wanted three bedrooms, a back yard, and something close to an outdoor community space. The first home, the yard was not in good shape, lots of (- remains) [0:09:55] and the lawn was glowing, perhaps from underground radiation testing. It was well under your budget, but you would have had to spend your savings on fixing it up. Also, in the bathroom mirror you saw, crawling across the ceiling, a faceless old woman devouring what looked like a rat. You didn’t need to worry about a rat infestation, Addie. It was a chipmunk. The second home was a condo right in the heart of the arts district. You loved the design: a simple large black cube, no doors, no windows, no interior. A true closed floor plan, so popular these days. But you weren’t sure there was enough room for entertaining, or anything else at all. The house you selected was perfect. Three bedrooms, a Jacuzzi en suite, and a large patio backyard. Plus it was right in the middle of town next to a community dog park. Although you would be disappointed later to learn that your dog had been arrested for domestic espionage after peeing inside the park’s forbidden walls. I think you made the right choice, Addie, but I can’t help wondering every time I watch “House Hunters”, who is this person running away from? You left Queens to move to Night Vale. Queens is where your family lives, where your best friend lives, and your girlfriend of two years. Are you afraid of stasis, Addie? Of being loved, of commitment? You might be afraid of that pinkish ooze coming out of your ear, might wanna see an ENT about that. Or if not an ENT, an entomologist.

Speaking of putting woodboring beetles inside orifices, I tried a similar thing with the elderly room mates who recently moved to town, or will move to town many years from now, again time is strange to me. But these room mates are also so strange. When I went to put a beetle into one of their ears, I noticed a lot of scar tissue there, making the hole too small. In my haste, the beetle scurried away and I got kind of desperate and just made a bunch of spooky moans and hisses like this: [moans, hisses] but not one of the three responded to me. They continued their meaningless pantomime of sleeping, and in the morning they got up and each went quietly about their days. One of them made coffee, but did not drink it. They then went to the window and waved at their neighbor, Susan Willman, who was on her porch stretching before her morning run. Susan looked at the figure in the window next to her and froze. She stared in terror, then darted back into her home and locked the door. Susan has always been unfriendly. I ran her bed sheets through her office shredder as a reminder to be more open and loving toward the world.

The other two room mates climbed into the shower at the same time. I’m not one to get off on others’ sexual activities, I just thought I might see something new, something human here. But no, they stood side by side, cleaning their cold gravity-defeated bodies, not once looking at each other let alone speaking. A squelch and a squish and grey water falling around yellow toenails. They toweled off, but when they hung the towels up, those towels were completely dry.

I’m used to being the one who does inexplicable and disturbing things. Last year during the community players’ production of “Romeo and Juliet”, I decided it would be more fun if they used actual poison. But it was a last minute idea, so the only poison I could find was Borax. Which just gave the two kids playing the leads several unhappy hours in the bathroom on the night after the show ended, so I don’t know. I could have made a stronger directorial choice. But so could the actual director, I get that Shakespeare plays are long, but he cut out all the best parts like the train robbery, and also Tybalt winning his bowling league. Although I did appreciate that they left in Juliet’s famous line: “Good night, good night, your blood and guts and marrow, which worms shall eat inside your grave so narrow.” It’s a classic story. Kids these days just don’t try to fake their own deaths anymore.

Oh. And Morgan. Yes Morgan, I’m talking to you, you with the fingernail sand the teeth. I need to explain something to you. You tip 20 per cent. You can afford it, stop using it as a measure of how much you approve of the restaurant service. A 20 per cent tip is not  bonus, it’s a fee. Restaurant owners don’t pay their staffs, instead they make the diners pay their employees through this idiotic notion of capitalist meritocracy. I don’t care how bad the service, tip them. You have money, Morgan. I would also tell you to stop asking to speak to a manager every time your Long Island Ice Tea is a bit like, but I got out your tongue last month, so they wouldn’t understand you anymore anyway. Do you know what a cut human tongue tastes like, Morgan? Yes you do. You just don’t know that you do. Remember Applebee’s last week? You ordered soup. It was a beef base with  little onions and little perfectly sautéed flecks of your own tongue that you had used to lash out at a manager the last time you ate there. You could blame them for poorly expediting your orders, but really the onus is on you for going to Applebee’s. Which serves neither of the items its name promises. It’s false advertising. It’s like an egg cream soda, or Taco Bell.

Speaking of eating, the elderly room mates made lunch together, but not for each other. They were all in the kitchen at the same time making separate meals in silence. They sat around the dining room table together and ate. They carved and stabbed and pushed foods quickly into their mouths, but their eyes were empty. One of them began to spit out their food. No one seemed to care or notice. They all began to vomit, but not with muscular heaves of shoulders and necks, the vomit spurted out like water from a hand pump, their torsos and heads perfectly still. After each bodily rejection of food, they would start shoveling it back to their mouths, repeating the same process. Eventually one of them stood up and threw their plate into the kitchen window, glass bursting everywhere. That person leaned into the hole and began punching the jagged shards out with their clenched fists as blood poured out of their forearms and wrists. They screamed mournfully into the suburban street. Neighbors and passers-by passed only briefly, as if they had barely heard the sad howls spreading across the valley. Susan’s lemon tree next door died instantly and all the lemons fell with wet plops to the ground. The fruit pealed open and inside of each was a fleshy crimson pulp, like meat that has been ground for too long. The other two room mates kept eating and vomiting, not even noticing the shattered glass being subsumed by the growing pool of blood on the floor.

You know, I wasn’t always like this, faceless or old. Secretly living anywhere. Once I was born upon warm water. The smell I remember is sharp citrus and the peppery sting of grass. The salt funk of ocean. I was once a child. I grieved once. I smelled blood. Once I was a thief. I lived among thieves, I saw empires rise and fall, centuries cast themselves upon infinity as fruitlessly as waves upon cliffs. Once I was a recluse. I lived amongst bandits and farmers, I spoke a different language then. I’ve spoken many languages.

Once I was under the sea. That was a quiet time. I lived amongst the coral and dead-eyed fish. Once I was a wanderer. I’ve seen the (head) [0:18:14] waters of the Mississippi and I’ve seen the cobbled streets of Paris and I’ve seen the empty arches of Franchia. But I’ve never seen anything like those three room mates. Of all the things I've been – child, thief, recluse, wandered, faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home, I’ll tell you this: I’ve never been more scared.

Fear is in the unknowing and the mystery. Fear is seeing everything about an old woman except her face. Fear is the uncertainty of her secretly living in your home. Fear is not the spider you see on the wall. It’s the spider you no longer see on the wall when you look back again.

In the unnerving din of shattered glass and mournful howls of that house, I found the loose thread that unraveled this mystery. The room mate who screamed had no tongue. And one of the others had an ear swollen shut from a previous surgery. And the other had a red mark, like a radish or sarcoma adorned with poetry drawn upon their shoulder blade. I realized I knew these three strange room mates. They are you, Tony, the special tattoo I gave you. And they are you, Addie, with your oral scar tissue from the beetle I jammed in there. And you, Morgan, with your tongue removed and digested. The three of you do not exactly live together in that home, not at the same time. You are living three different lifetimes in that same space. You do not speak or respond, because you are dead. Each of you alone in that house together, or you will be, time is confusing for me. Decades from now after you die, your souls will be trapped in the house, because something in this world is unresolved for you. You know this, paranormal neuroscience is required for all high school freshmen. But what they don’t teach you is how to resolve it. I know how and when each one of you die. I wrote it down on the back pages of your journals. Iv’e done this for everybody, but nobody ever reads it, because while people always think they’ll write every day, after a few pages they fall off the wagon and never see the lsat pages of their journals. Except Jonathan Franzen. He didn’t seem bothered by what he read. But he did cross out all my adverbs and added some Oxford commas. In case you’re wondering how Jonathan Franzen dies, here’s the answer: he doesn’t.

I am the faceless old woman who secretly lives in your home. You might find this ambiguous, after all the word “home” is singular. So whose home is it that I secretly live in? Listen, some things in this tangled world are simple. I live in your home, and your home, and your home, I live in all of your homes simultaneously. I am many. [echo] I am many. I am one. [echo] I am one. You all live such different lives, teeming, that’s what you are: teeming. And I am there watching you.

You, Tony, you dream of being a poet. Resolve the unresolved. The worst that can happen is crushing disappointment and public mockery, and eviction when you can’t pay your rent. Many more awful things after that, get to it!

And you, Addie, you fled your previous city to escape a murder charge. Strangely, you didn’t commit the murder you were charged with, but you have committed murder. Weird choice to go on “House Hunters” as a wanted fugitive, but maybe it was a good first step to healing your soul.

And you, Morgan. You have an idea that could save us all, an epic defining idea, one of the greats, but you don’t know which one. You have so many ideas. I can tell you this: most of them are not important. One of them is vitally important. Good luck. Also, tip 20 per cent.

And you, I forgot your name, you tweet too much. We all tweet too much, but that doesn’t let you off the hook. That’s why I ate your phone. You can thank me later. You can all thank me later. Because you all will be seeing me soon. I think that tonight is the night to let slip my secret. You’ll soon see me fumbling wet and gray from out of the bathroom mirror, or folded up strangely loose skin and mashed bones in the bottom drawer of your dresser. Or you will see me scuttle on your walls, the hair hanging down from my faceless face. Or you will look out your kitchen window and there will be someone standing in your driveway, and it will be me, and there will be no one in the driveway and instead, I will be next to you in the kitchen. Faceless and so very very old. Won’t that be nice?

I’m the Faceless Old Woman who secretly lives in your home. And your home. And your home. And every home. And I will be seeing you very, very soon.

[music, applause]

Today’s proverb: Never judge a book by its cover. Judge it by the title page instead.

[itsthegameilike]

Best of 2019 Reads

I didn’t get to read quite as much this year as I usually do, but I wanted to collect my favorites, anyway, because books always deserve more love. The most love. Without further ado...

Call Down the Hawk--Maggie Steifvater (lgbt) While this book works best if you’ve read The Raven Cycle, I do feel as though it stands alone and separate from the series. It’s magical and intense and profound and it was one of the few books this year that I absolutely devoured. The new characters are fabulous, especially Jordan, and Declan absolutely shines. If you read The Raven Cycle and weren’t sure about this one, it’s worth reading just for Declan. The stakes are high, the dreams are marvelous, and the ending leaves you ready for more.

On Earth, We’re Briefly Gorgeous--Ocean Vuong (lgbt)  I first discovered Ocean in one of my poetry writing classes in college and I never looked back. The way Ocean sees the world is spectacular. The lowest lows are part of his life experience and he transforms them into sublime beauty. His first novel is no different. While largely plotless, more vignettes than anything else, it transformed how I thought of the world for weeks. And there are more than a few passages I’ll never forget. 

The Starless Sea--Erin Morgenstern (lgbt) Like everyone, I could go on and on about The Night Circus, her first novel, and like, I expect, everyone else, I can say with confidence that this book didn’t disappoint. There’s underground libraries, time travel, whimsical romance, an ocean of honey, and secret societies. If I could dream up the perfect novel, more than half of the tropes included in this novel would be in it. It does what the best fantasy does; actually transports you from your living room to a different world, just for a little while.

Small Gods--Terry Pratchett  The first of my recs that wasn’t released this year. I read lots of Terry Pratchett this year but this was by far my favorite. There’s nothing quite like a god who’s been transformed into a turtle and only remembers he’s a god because of the belief of one simple-minded but kind person. Organized religion is examined with care and as with all Pratchett novels, hilariously. The novel finished and I felt like I’d learned more about life than I’d learned in six months of actually living.

A Winter’s Promise--Christelle Dabos This novel is complex and the worldbuilding is extensive and complicated, but the rewards of paying attention and being committed are high. The characters are spectacular, though it takes some time to reveal their many motivations, and the world is even more so. The side characters also shine as every single written character has a decided motive. I devoured this one as well and the second in the series is even better. I would argue if you don’t like the first one, you should still try the second, that’s how good it is. All of the work of the first novel pays off in the second.

On A Sunbeam--Tillie Walden (lgbt) A lengthy graphic novel set in space with some excellent queer representation. It’s been awhile since I enjoyed this one, but I read it in one sitting. The drawings were beautiful and the colors were perfect for the tone of the story and writing. The love story between the two main girls is sweet and soft and heartwrenching and it was perfect to be wrapped up in their world for a little while. This book is like briefly being trapped in a snowglobe.

Spinning Silver--Naomi Novik I enjoyed Uprooted more than I enjoyed this particular fairytale retelling, but it was still worth a read. The main character is resourceful and interesting, the way she goes about navigating world and finding love not quite the path you would’ve expected in the beginning. The world is lush and well developed and the court of the fey is one of my favorite locations in a fantasy novel in awhile. What really sells this book is the ending. The middle can be slow, but it was worth it for the way all the threads come together.

Nevernight--Jay Kristoff I could talk about this novel for-fucking-ever. There are footnotes that can be extremely informative and are often laugh out loud funny. The violence and the language and the jokes can often be crude, but there is so much joy written into them that it hardly matters. The twists and turns of the plot are amazing and there was even one or two I didn’t predict. Mia is such a badass and her quest for revenge is the kind of quest I love to see female characters involved. She gets a storyline few women get, especially in fantasy. Godsgrave, the second novel, is also incredible and puts Mia in an awesome queer relationship. The last novel, Darkdawn, came out this year and was actually a bit of a disappointment, but the series overall is still one of my favorite.

Devotions--Mary Oliver Everyone knows Mary Oliver and I’m not going to pretend this recommendation is revelatory in any way, but this collection got me through some of my hardest days. It’s best read a poem at a day with a good five minute think afterward. You’ll start seeing the world in a different and more hopeful way. Nature has lots to teach you, kids, and so does Mary Oliver.

The Trials of Apollo--Rick Riordan (lgbt) This is a whole series and the fourth one came out this year and if you haven’t read any Rick Riordan this probably isn’t the place to start. But if you’ve read some of him and haven’t yet checked out this series it’s a must. It’s more adult than any of his other ones and the stakes feel so high, that when I started reading the fourth one this year, I could barely do it, I was so nervous. They’re hilarious, as can be expected by Riordan, but they’re also profound. There are a couple of emotional moments that I still get lost in while lying in bed at night and Apollo’s character arc is one of the most rewarding in recent memory.

Red, White, and Royal Blue--Casey McQuiston (lgbt) A favorite of the year on tumblr, I think, and definitely worth all of the hype. I read this in one sitting. It was quick and easy and joyful, definitely an alternate universe that I would prefer we were currently living in. Alex and Henry are both delightful and their romance is poignant, something that gave me comfort as a queer woman. If you need a little light in your life, start here.

Little Fish--Casey Plett (lgbt) One of the hardest books I read this year. It’s an intense look into the life of a trans woman and her friends, most of whom are also trans. And when I say intense, I mean intense. It often hurts. But I loved it for the way the author portrayed her main character. There was so much love and sympathy there. Nothing was held back. It was very clear that this book was the heart of this author. It meant everything to them.

Snow & Rose--Emily Winfield Martin A children’s fairytale that world builds so good that none of the rest of the book even matters. The rest is also good, but I could’ve gotten lost into the world forever. As with all fables, it ends with lessons learned and they’re important and earned lessons. It’s been awhile since I’ve read it, but I remember it being spectacular and well worth my time.

Peter Darling--Austin Chant (lgbt) Not the most well-written on this list, but it is a hopeful read. And the most adorable. This book is entirely for the queer representation, but it is very good representation. It also is a retelling of Peter Pan, which is good fun. It’s short and quick and I finished with a huge smile on my face.

[hanalwayssolo]

This Sunday Currently, vol. 15

First TSC of 2020, who would’ve thunk.

Reading

Right now, I’m reading Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s Someone Who Will Love You In All Your Damaged Glory. So far, this is my fourth book for the month and ninth overall for the year, which is to say I am thriving quite nicely in the reading department. I have to say, I’ve never had such a good reading streak in a long time because all of these books I’ve spent reading these last couple of months have left such a strong impression on me, and without giving away too much, here are some reasons why I loved all of them:

1. N.K. Jemisin’s The Broken Earth trilogy — Absolutely well-written, impressive worldbuilding and character development. The attention to detail that Jemisin gave in creating this world of the Stillness and the elements of orogeny is so, so good. Also, I really appreciate the way she established the relationships of her female characters that even though they had their differences and an almost cutthroat dynamic (like with Essun and Ykka, or with Essun and Tonkee), there is still that sense of solidarity present between these women, that they didn’t really seek out to upstage the other despite them being exceptionally skilled in their fields of expertise, but instead they worked together and acknowledged each other’s strengths, which I very much dig a lot. 

2. Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine — The story follows Eleanor Oliphant, an eccentric, friendless 29-year-old working in a boring day job who meets this kind-hearted IT guy named Raymond. At first, I thought it was another romance novel but I just loved how it has completely thrown me off because it mainly revolves around Eleanor’s growth and her friendship with Raymond, and how this eventually helps her to open up to other people—which is, like, this is the kind of story that is so hard to come across because it focuses on platonic relationships and how that is so important, too. And like? That’s my fucking jam?

3. Jenny Slate’s Little Weirds — Jenny Slate captures the entire experience of loneliness and heartbreak and love in her own whimsical way and crafts this beautifully written collection of stories and essays that I was emotionally wrecked after reading all of it.

4. André Aciman’s Find Me — My god. Aciman chronicles love and longing with such visceral and detailed prowess. Reading the stories of Sami, Elio, and Oliver in this sequel fucking murdered me. And that’s putting it mildly.

5. Mary Oliver’s Thirst — This is the kind of poetry collection that after reading it, I felt compelled to move to the countryside and live in the forest. 

Also, my favourite has got to be The Uses of Sorrow, in which Mary says: “Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness / It took me years to understand that this, too was a gift.” 

6. Sally Rooney’s Normal People — There is a certain kind of sadness that follows the story of Connell and Marianne, and one thing I really liked about this is how Rooney managed to capture the complexities of on and off relationships with such forensic attentiveness. And it’s so nice to read the story alternating in Connell’s and Marianne’s POVs, too, so one gets to understand what goes on in their heads.

Writing

Because I’ve been busily reading and watching films these days and MMA training most weeknights after work, I haven’t been writing much, except maybe for adding little notes and dialogues and carving the structure for A Burden We Share. Honestly, I don’t even know if I’ll ever get to write it considering how I’ve ultimately decided not to continue updating Laws of Motion. And I’m not even in the least sorry about it. I’m struggling in a very weird writing limbo (despite managing to put this out lmao) and maybe because the interest has petered out, or the fact that I’m an exhausted reader/spectator of my own stuff, or I am an exhausted mother of many different OCs and they all demand 1000000% of my care and devotion like the needy children that they are and they want me to talk about them all the fucking time, which I find so difficult to do at times despite the kind and generous asks, because talking about them makes me feel so selfish and self-absorbed sometimes like I’m imposing a lot like no one really likes to hear about them so shut up self, don’t you have anything better to talk about sis? and maybe this is my anxiety screaming and also demanding my attention, so idk. So maybe it’s all three, I guess.

Anyway. Basically, I’m sort of gliding through this break (is it still a break when you’re not planning to write at all?) or whatever this is called because for now, I have no plans on posting anything new anytime soon. 

Watching

I watched Jojo Rabbit and Parasite last month but then watched it again yesterday because a friend gave me a copy. Parasite easily became one of my favourite movies ever because it’s such a fucking masterpiece and it left me thinking about a lot of things after watching it. 

Also, rewatching some of my favourite sad, tearjerker movies is what I’ve been doing these days, like Beautiful Boy, The Lovely Bones, and Lion, all of which never fails to make me cry like a baby.

Listening

A lot of new music, thank fuck! My constant work companions these days are Halsey’s Manic, Mura Masa’s R.Y.C., Bombay Bicycle Club’s Everything Else Has Gone Wrong, Hayley William’s Petals for Armor EP. And, well, I still listen to Hozier from time to time. As a treat.

Smelling

Monday dread, as always. 

Feeling

Equal parts excited and nervous, forcing myself to let this positive feeling tide over the frustration of my writing dilemma. I’m leaving for a camping trip in two weeks, and then off to Sydney and Auckland in April, and while I’m looking forward to getting out of the city, the entire planning part is what drives me nuts. And with everyone still on alert because of N-COV, our airports are a mess and thinking about the stress of it all makes me so anxious I just want to stay at home instead.

Hoping/Wishing/Needing/Wanting

I love writing, I seriously do, so I want my writing motivation back. I’ve been giving it to myself on my own, and I think I might have misplaced it somewhere. 

The Sunday Currently was originally from SiddaThornton.

[lwieserce]

Zinc white, golden deep, ultramarine, blue, green light, oxide of chromium and olive green! (Sorry for the spam >x

zinc white; how are you really feeling today? today has been alright, there wasn’t anything too exciting or unpleasant going on, just a boring day which is good because i much prefer this to the usual emotional trainwreck i get 🤪)

golden deep; what’s your favorite season?i’m pretty vocal abt this on here - i’m a big summer apologist!! i love the unbearable heat, light clothing, evening walks when the sun doesn’t set until it’s very late, going to the beach!! just--- everything abt summer is lovely to me, there’s this sense of freedom that can be almost heavy sometimes if u don’t know what to do with it but idk where i’m going with this basically summer makes me feel like i can do anythinggg (that won’t last long when i’ll get a job, will it lmao)

ultramarine; when was the last time you were in a good mood? do you know/remember what sparked it? i’m switching languages cause i have no idea what is the english equivalent of rekodzielo idc okej zapisalam sie na rekodzielo i bylo bardzo milo prowadzila to jakas absolwentka liceum ino czulam sie tam dosc dobrze i!! to tyle lol

blue; what’s the most recent dream you remember?i’m so terrible at this i almost never dream and even rarer is remembering my dreams when i actually have them:ddd so there’s a handful of dreams that i can retell, mostly from my childhood so idkkkk, the most recent one that was pretty vivid is from summer when i think i was visiting some kind of mansion?? idk it felt similar to my aesthetic blog idk how to explain how it looked better lol but the most important part is that uh *someone* sat in my lap nd i was debating whether i should kiss/hug that person and uh!!! yeah (the repressed gay feelings r back at it again)

green light; are you in a comfortable place in life? if not, what do you think might make it better? rn it really feels like a transition period and i hoped it wouldn’t be like that but well,,,, starting a new school is weird as fuck even though it’s been what?? 2 months?? i still don’t feel like i’m fully comfortable here and that sucks lol, i honestly don’t know what 2 do and i’m trying My Best to try and Connect(tm) with people around me better but nahh for now i’m just the personification of marina’s outsider nd jughead’s ‘in case you haven’t noticed i’m weird’ speech akwardly trying to survive this lmao

oxide of chromium; what’s your favorite book?i swear i’m actually jared,19 cause -- sorry to disappoint -- i don’t actually read that much;;; i’d like to read more but it’s not really a thing that pops up first when i’m thinking about spending my free time:dd (not rly a big fan of novels but i love poetry i guess and i’m a very basic mary oliver hoe)

olive green; are you currently reading anything? how do you like it so far? 

this baby i bought at a school sale???(idk what is kiermasz in english and idc either!!) for 1zl so!!!religious stuff is my niche so i definitely like it!!

SORRY THIS GOT SO LONG i’m a self centered bastard as u see i’ll use any opportunity to write long ass paragraphs lol

[huahsu]

YEAR OF THE GHOST DOG

[TL;DR version for the New Yorker -- I loved many great short songs and became obsessed with (1) a very old, much longer one (2) and YouTube comments this year.]  [links to previous year’s lists at the bottom]

A while back, I found myself in an extended funk. The reasons are uninteresting and honestly a bit dumb, a mix of everyday bummers and more existential stuff, all of which manifested in a kind of 360º sluggishness. I couldn’t really figure my way out of it but I believed that I would eventually stop feeling this way.

One night, I saw that someone online was selling a copy of the Emulations “These Are the Things,” a magnificent soul ballad 7″ out of Oakland. I wasn’t exactly homesick for the Bay Area, but something about the song’s roots, as well as its overwhelming feeling of optimistic yearning, resonated with (through?) me. There’s a moment when the singer’s falsetto peaks, and the piano starts cascading, and things feel like they’re going to work out after all. The copy for sale wasn’t in great shape, and it cost $100, an extravagant amount of money to spend on a piece of music. But I convinced myself that I’d feel better at some point, weeks, months, or years later, and I’d listen to my Emulations single, and recall that weird summer/fall.

As often happened with independently produced records of the sixties and seventies, “These Are the Things” was pressed on styrene, rather than vinyl. Styrene is a kind of plastic that’s lighter, cheaper and much more fragile than vinyl, and you can tell the difference by a kind of hollow plink when you put it on a turntable. Styrene also means that it has a limited life, and that each time the needle drags across its grooves, the record degrades a little bit. Over time, styrene records that get played a lot no longer sound as crisp or clear (or so it seems). I listened to it once it arrived, feeling a bit of regret at this wild expenditure, but also imagining my future self’s gratitude. I imagined entering into communion with everyone who had played this copy before me. I decided to only listen to the song once a year, if that--after all, each time I listened to the record, the song was changing, slightly.

A few months later, I felt normal (whatever that means) again, and the record became a marker of...I’m not sure what--maybe a kind of blind, stubborn optimism. Someone years later uploaded the song onto YouTube, which means I can listen to it whenever I want. This fall, I was trying and failing to spend less time on the Internet. But I decided that, instead of going on Twitter and Facebook, I would just read comments fans left on YouTube. I became obsessed with reading all the intimate histories people shared with one another--the chance encounters, the teenage dates and breakups, the seventies shop owners who recalled the days when stocking the right hit single could cover an entire month’s rent. I was listening to the Emulations when I noticed this comment, from Deric Jackson, who was apparently one of the group’s members: “I sung this song when I was 19yrs old. It was a pleasure to record and send this messageout into the airways. I have been with the women that God had given me to marry when I was 22yrs old. I did not understand at that time I was singing about my own life and the women who I had not met, but how wonderful it is to be with my wife fo 35yrs and life is still a breath of fresh air and wonderful. I would like to say to all real men love your wife, never worship her only one to worship is God alone.“ I’m pretty agnostic about most things relating to providence. But I felt as though I had been living in these words: “I did not understand at that time...” Jackson’s song was a prophecy, maybe even a conjuring, of his own path, and I wonder what he hears when he listens to it now. Sometimes you don’t know what’s coming next. But there’s always another song, and it doesn’t always sound the same as the last time.

(LATE 2017 BUT I REALLY DOUBT ANYONE NOTICED AKA THE FRENCH “MO BAMBA”) Junior Bvndo, “T’as ça #3 (Kylian Mbappe)”

I WILL LISTEN TO ANYTHING THAT USES DISTORTION Sheck Wes, “Wanted” OR OLD SCHOOL STABS Santi feat. Shane Eagle and Amaarae, “Rapid Fire” EVEN MORE THAN THAT, I LIKE THINGS THAT SOUND MESSY AND SLOPPY BUT ARE ACTUALLY PERFECT Caleb Giles featuring Cleo Reed, “Name” WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN AS GOOD AS IF IT HAD BEEN PERFECT, THE WARPED AND SMUDGED BEAUTY IS WHAT MAKES IT BEAUTIFUL Tirzah, Devotion Niagara, Apologia SAME, BUT SLIGHTLY OFF-STEP Blood Orange, “Charcoal Baby” THE BEST GENRE OF MUSIC REMAINS “SADE” Sade, “Flower of the Universe” and “The Big Unknown” Amber Mark, “Love is Stronger Than Pride” Bon Iver and Moses Sumney, “By Your Side” Kelela, “Like a Tattoo” 808s AND HEARTBREAK AND NEAR-OCTOGENERIANS Swamp Dogg, “She’s All Mind All Mind” I WASN’T AS ENAMORED WITH A LOT OF “NEW JAZZ” BUT DID LIKE Sam Wilkes, Wilkes Sam Gendel and Sam Wilkes, Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar …WHICH REMINDED ME A BIT OF THIS FACEMELTING REISSUE (RIYL: ALICE COLTRANE, DON CHERRY, ETC ETC) John Tchicai, With Strings SPEAKING OF TERRIFIC JAZZ-ADJACENT STUFF Dos Santos, “Manos Anjenas” THE ORIGINAL “BIG MOOD” Okonkolo, Cantos THE YEAR I REALLY REKINDLED MY LOVE OF THE CELLO Clarice Jensen, For This From That Will Be Filled Oliver Coates, “A Church” …WHICH I DEFINITELY PREFER TO VIOLIN--ESP PIZZICATO--THOUGH THIS WAS QUITE GOOD Sudan Archives, “Nont for Sale” HARPS ALWAYS SOUND GOOD Leya, The Fool Meg Baird and Mary Lattimore, Ghost Forests ALWAYS HAVE TIME FOR WOODBLOCKS AND VIBES Kate NV, для FOR AS WELL AS MIAMI BASS SIGNIFIERS (KICKSTARTER FOR CITY GIRLS TO RAP OVER DJ BATTLECAT IN 2019) City Girls, “Act Up” AND BANJO DRONE...WHY NOT Nathan Bowles, Plainly Mistaken ALBUMS THAT I LIKED IN 2018, AND THAT I SENSE I WILL LIKE EVEN MORE BY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR Ben LaMarr Gay, Downtown Castles Can Never Block the Sun Neneh Cherry, Broken Politics AN ALBUM THAT I WISH WAS TEN ALBUMS Tierra Whack, Whack World AN ALBUM I WISH WAS JUST A LITTLE BIT LONGER Pusha-T, Daytona OF THE MANY REASONS I MOURN THE DEATH OF “THE ALBUM,” ONE IS THAT I ALWAYS LIKE TO HEAR WHAT PEOPLE DO WITH THAT LAST SONG YG, “Bomptown Finest” OR HOW ALBUMS, FULL OF SIGNS, ANGLES, FLEETING MOMENTS, CIRCULATE AND RE-CIRCULATE Angelique Kidjo, Remain in Light AND HOW THEY ARE LIKE WHAT NOVELS REPRESENTED IN THE AGE OF POETRY—OPPORTUNITIES TO LIVE INSIDE COMPLEXITY, SPACE, A DEMOS U.S. Girls, In a Poem Unlimited ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS OF THE YEAR WAS A SOUNDTRACK... Kendrick Lamar et al, Black Panther AND TEASER FOR  Jay Rock, Redemption AND ANOTHER WAS JUST SOME RAP SONGS Earl Sweatshirt, Some Rap Songs WHICH ISN’T TO SAY ARTISTS DON’T STILL VALUE AND HAVE FUN WITH THE FORMAT Vince Staples, FM A TWENTY-FIVE TRACK ADVENTURE INTO VIBES Pink Siifu, ensley AND SOMETIMES TWENTY MINUTES OR SO IS ENOUGH boygenius, boygenius ONE MORE ALBUM THING – FIRST SONGS HAVE ALWAYS FELT LIKE THESIS STATEMENTS, AND STREAMING HAS ONLY APPLIED MORE PRESSURE TO THE SOOTHING, BEWITCHING, PERFECT WELCOME Mac Miller, “Come Back to Earth” MAC MILLER AND THUNDERCAT LOOK SO HAPPY HERE whole thing, but esp six minutes in, and even more so about nine minutes in THE BEST VIBES Show Dem Camp feat. Boj and Ajebutter 22, “Damiloun” Koffee, “Toast” HAPPY-GO-LUCKY B/W DEVIL-MAY-CARE Shoreline Mafia, “Nun Major” I LIKE NEF AND EPs PERFECTLY SUIT HIM Nef the Pharaoh and 03 Greedo, Porter 2 Grape 

RAPPING AS FAST AS YOU CAN OVER FREESTYLE/HI-NRG WILL NEVER SOUND BAD TO ME… SOB X RBE, “Paid in Full” SOB X RBE, “Carpoolin’” …ALTHOUGH THEY ALSO SOUND SICK OVER FAKE GHOST DOG BEATS, TOO, THIS WAS ONE OF MY SONGS OF THE YEAR SOB X RBE, “Paramedic!” SAME WITH MEDHANE Medhane, “The Garden” TRIPPIE REDD PUTS OUT A LOT OF MUSIC FILLED WITH TRANSCENDENT MOMENTS, BUT RARELY MAKES TRANSCENDENT SONGS, AND IT PAINS ME A BIT THAT MY FAVORITE SONG OF HIS THIS YEAR WAS Diplo featuring Trippie Redd, “Wish” TRIPPY-ASS DOO-WOP Cuco, “Sunnyside” A STRONG HARMONY IS A VISION OF WHAT LIFE COULD BE Ben Pirani, “How Do I Talk to My Brother?” WHERE WERE U IN 94 Young Echo, Young Echo SWEAR I'VE NEVER HEARD MUSIC THIS “GREY” ManOnMars, ManOnMars IF YOU ARE GOING TO MAKE A FAKE D’ANGELO SONG, IT SHOULD BE THIS GOOD Patrick Paige III, “Voodoo” LIKED THIS, BUT IT’S ALSO POSSIBLE TO BE A BIT TOO FAITHFUL TO THE PAST Teyana Taylor, “Hold On” NOT QUITE FAYE WONG DOING THE CRANBERRIES (RIP DOLORES O’RIORDAN) BUT STILL MEMORABLE Katherine Ho, “Yellow” LIKE THE BEST PARTS OF FEELS-ERA ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, BUT TAIWANESE Prairie WWWW

NEVER THOUGHT TO VISIT THE LOUVRE UNTIL The Carters, “Apeshit” video BROWN EXCELLENCE Humeysha, Departures "BROWN BEATS” FOREVER RIP Cameron Paul

MY FAVORITE DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR Pharoah Sanders playing “Kazuko” in a tunnel near the Marin Headlands LIKE NONE OF ITS INFLUENCES (FOOTWORK, AMBIENT), LIKE NOTHING ELSE OUT THERE, REALLY Foodman, Aru Otoko No Densetsu DARESAY SKI MASK WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN BOOED OUT OF THE CIPHER Ski Mask the Slump God, Beware the Book of Eli THE MOST FAMOUS PERSON I’VE SEEN ON THE BIG SCREEN AT THE PAST THREE YEARS’ NETS GAMES IS Young M.A., “PettyWap” DEMOS FROM A GROUP I HAVE ALWAYS ADORED, BEFORE THEY FOUND THE SOUND THAT I ADORE The Nonce, 1990 EXTREMELY GOOD AND LARGELY OVERLOOKED REISSUE Suzanne Menzel, Goodbyes and Beginnings FOUR TET IS GOING THROUGH HIS LIVE ARCHIVES, AND IT’S A TREAT TO STUDY HIS ARC/EVOLUTION  Live at Hultsfred Festival, 18th June 2004 Live at LPR New York, 17th February 2010 Live in Tokyo, 1st December 2013 Live at Funkhaus Berlin, 10th May 2018 STRANGE TO LIVE IN A MOMENT WHERE BEING WEIRD SEEMS A BIT DERIVATIVE. STILL, THIS IS BLISSFUL SahBabii, “Anime World” HAPPY FACE Smino, “Klink” SAD FACE Drake, “In My Feelings” (especially this version) “JIM FROM THE OFFICE” FACE Pusha-T, “The Story of Adidon” STOLE YOUR FACE Sophie, “Faceshopping” FACE/OFF YG and Mozzy, “Too Brazy” Sammy Bananas feat Antony and Cleopatra, “Slow Down” Kode 9 and Burial, Fabriclive 100 GASSED FACE E-40 and B-Legit, “Whooped" ABSOLUTELY FACEMELTING Todd Barton and Ursula K. Le Guin, Music and Poetry of the Kesh VACATION AWAY MESSAGE SiR, “D’Evils” Bad Bunny x PJ Sin Suela x Nejo, “Cual Es Tu Plan” BEST OPENING DISCLAIMER TO A VIDEO 808INK, “Come Down” “TAGS: LATIN CHORAL CUMBIA GOTH LOS ANGELES” San Cha, “Cosmic Ways”

BEST USE OF “OOCHIE WALLY,” STILL ONE OF MY FAVORITE BEATS EVER Stefflon Don, “Oochie Wally freestyle” BEST USE OF “SUPERTHUG” Rico Nasty, “Countin’ Up” EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS--THE HEADBANG MINIMALISM, THE LAS VEGAS WALGREENS--BUT ESPECIALLY THE LINE ABOUT WELLS FARGO Rico Nasty, “Trust Issues” “ORGASM ADDICT” (RIP PETE SHELLEY) Victor Oladipo, “One Day” “I JUST TOOK A FLIGHT TO FRANCE TO COP CARDIGANS” Black Thought and Styles P, “Making a Murderer” “AT THE EMIRATES I MILLY ROCK” Manzo and Malachi Amour, “Lingard” DOPE TUNE, AND UNEXPECTED KELLYANNE CONWAY REFERENCE JPEGMAFIA, “1539 N. Calvert” YEAH YEAH YEAH (RIP MARK E SMITH) Travis Scott and Drake, “Sicko Mode” R-E-S-P-E-C-T (RIP ARETHA FRANKLIN) Rosalia, El Mal Querer REEL DEAL, “DRIPPIN’ DOPE (SAXAPELLA)” (1989) Gunna, “Top Off” WAMP WAMP (WHAT IT DO) B/W WAIT (THE WHISPER SONG) Vallee feat. Jeremih, “Womp Womp” SAD REGGAETON IS NOT BAD Bad Bunny, “Solo De Mi” SOUNDS GOOD TO ME, 2002-PRESENT Temani, “Power” Westerman, “Confirmation” REAL LIES, POET LAUREATS OF “YOUNG PEOPLE THINKING ABOUT BEING OLD” Tom Demac and Real Lies, “White Flowers” A SONG DESIGNED TO SOUND LIKE IT CAME OUT THIRTY YEARS AGO, WHICH ALSO FEELS LIKE IT CAME OUT A MILLION YEARS AGO (IT WAS JUST JANUARY) Bruno Mars feat. Cardi B, “Finesse (remix)” TAY-K WAS JUST A YEAR AGO Comethazine, “Highriser” FAVORITE 2 BRIDGES MUSIC ARTS “MIGHT AS WELL” RANDOM PURCHASE OF THE YEAR  Kizaki Ondo Preservation Society and Clark Naito, 木崎音頭 Kizaki Ondo FEELS LIKE IT CAME OUT TEN YEARS AGO (IT WAS JUST JAN/FEB) BUT I NEVER GREW TIRED OF IT Rich the Kid, “Plug Walk” ODDLY REASSURING THAT PEOPLE STILL JANGLE Massage, “Oh Boy” Earth Dad, “Walter” ...AND DISCOVER WORLDS FROM WITHIN THEIR BEDROOMS Soccer Mommy, Clean ...AND EXPLORE THE CONTOURS OF GROWLING AND NAGGING Sada Baby and Drego, “Bloxk Party” ...AND CAN USE THE PAST TO MAKE SOMETHING SO VISIONARY AND FORWARD-THINKING Virginia Wing, Ecstatic Arrow Mitski, Be A Cowboy ...AND LOOKING FOR FOURTH WORLDS Arp, Zebra ...AND MAKE IMPOSSIBLE RHYTHMS Heavee, WFM ...AND THAT ARTISTS I HAD NEVER HEARD OF, WORKING IN IDIOMS I HAD NEVER HEARD OF, MIGHT STILL BLOW MY MIND Odunsi (the Engine), rare. JUNGLE LIVES X-Altera, “Blowing Up the Workshop” mix TOP THREE TIMES I SAW STANDING ON THE CORNER THIS YEAR 3 - The Merciful Allah Black Hole Theatre 2 - The Time it All Ended with Fireworks on Grand St. 1 - An Empty Storefront During a Blizzard

{HONORABLE MENTIONS -The Time They Brought a Monolith -THEME DE YE-YO [Respect to the Gods]} SONG OF THE SPRING, SUMMER, WINTER, YEAR,  STILL UNDEFEATED ### A CHURCH AND JOHN LENNON’S “IMAGINE” :: 2017 SIKH DEVOTIONAL MUSIC :: 2016 SPOOKY BLACK :: 2015

[jessgartner]

2018 Life Olympics

Let's get one thing straight: 2018 was not a year. 2018 was actually a decade in annum's disguise. Things happened in January or February 2018 that I would have blindly guessed had occurred at least three years ago. The Winter Olympics, for example. How do you measure a year? In heartburn, in wrinkles, in gray hairs, in stress disorders.

Have you ever had a moment when you come face-to-face with your own specific brand of crazy? (I know the answer is yes because you're reading this and all of my friends and casual observers are a little bit crazy. It takes one to know one). Anywho, the other day I sat down to do my annual reconciliation of goals that I set this time last year... all 32 of them. 32 goals. What the what? What sort of lunatic sets 32 annual goals? Even several days later, I can't even type this without laughing at myself. Some of these goals are things like "Raise X million dollars" - a months-long affair involving dozens or hundreds of tasks. 1/32! I tallied it up and I somehow managed to hit 20 of these crazy goals, in a year that I had written off as "terrible," "horrible," "no good," and "very bad."

Coincidentally, my word for 2019 is "boundaries" - may I set them, may I respect them.

2018 Life Olympics Recap

Career - Bronze

By objective measures, Allovue had a pretty good year. We are now supporting over $10 billion in school budgets for about one million students - milestones of which I'm very proud. We added terrific people to our team, we made huge improvements to the product, we hosted an awesome Summit, and we brought on exciting new partners.

Personally, I just didn't feel like it was my best year. This is partly because I set insane expectations for myself and then felt disappointed when I couldn't match them. My attention was divided across several core functions, which made me feel generally frazzled and unfocused for large swaths of the year. When I get stressed, my instinct is to double-down and work harder, which catalyzes a vicious spiral of overwork/exhaustion.

At least twice this year, I dismissed serious health issues as "probably just from stress" and I got sick more than I have in the past several years combined. Next year, I'm putting boundaries in place to help me focus on the goals that really matter to me and to do so with a clear head and a healthy body.

Home - Did not place

Ooph. The gods of hearth and home were not on my side this year. I had an attempted break-in at my rental house that resulted in someone smashing through my backyard fence Hulk-style. My second-floor ceiling caved-in from water damage. Tenants made a mess of the house, resulting in three months of deep-cleaning and painting (and income-loss). My basement flooded. I discovered (because I smelled gas one night) that the gas line in my house was too small (who even knew that was a thing?) and had to be entirely ripped out and replaced. My taxes increased 300 percent. And to top off the year, a new roof. Throughout all of this, I really tried to exercise gratitude for having house(s) in which things break, but it still sucks to write those checks. I'm praying that all will be quiet on the home-front next year. Please.

::Burns sage::

Health - Bronze

While I felt sick and run-down quite a bit this year, I still did some healthy things that I'm proud of. Early in the year, I made the decision to give up my car when the lease was up. I have always characterized my driving as "all of the adrenaline but none of the skill of Batman" and I think it's maybe safer for everyone if I sit in the passenger seat of cars. I anticipated that I would spend about as much money on transportation with increased rideshare spending, but thought the trade-off of stress and time spent driving would be a net good. I was wrong:

In 2017, I spent $5,067 on transportation. In 2018, I increased my spending on ride-share 1000% but it still didn't come close to the total cost of having a car. In 2018, I spent $2,791, which includes the remaining $550 balance on my car payments. If I take that out and factor in post-car ride-share spending, I'm still saving 50% or more on transportation costs. This is wild. One cost not shown here, since it's a one-time expense, is my new bike. I could buy and outfit a brand new bike every year and still only hit about 75% of my spending level with a car. I'm extremely pleased with this decision.

I also joined a new gym and hired a personal trainer this year. These costs probably offset what I saved in transportation, but I feel good about investing in my health. I exercised more regularly this year than ever before, even if it wasn't quite at the level of frequency I was aiming for, and I built a lot of muscle with weight training.

My biggest health fails this year were 1) eating like crap during busy travel seasons and 2) generally eating way too much sugar. I'm increasingly seeing studies about the long-term health consequences of processed foods and sugar. I don't do well with total elimination diets, but I want to dramatically reduce my intake of sugar, refined carbs, and processed foods, as well as managing my diet better when I'm on the road.

Soul - Silver

Shockingly, this was my best category this year. I hit the most goals in this LO category, which included time for writing, singing, traveling, theatre/concert-going, and other activities that make my soul happy. I saw some terrific performances this year, including Audra McDonald and Cynthia Erivo at BSO, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Wonder in My Soul at CenterStage, Waitress at Hippodrome, Ingrid Michaelson at the Beacon, Spring Awakening at StillPointe, Remember Jones at Soundstage, Wye Oak at Ottobar, and Once on This Island on Broadway. I didn't write quite as much as I had hoped (ya'll, I thought I was going to draft two books this year. My concept of time is WILD.) But I still had op-eds published in The Baltimore Sun and Forbes, as well as a few pieces in Medium and on my own blog. I also sang a lot of songs that I loved this year and played the piano more than I have in years. More of all this. I fell short of my 36-book reading goal, but still clocked in a respectable 32 - my second-best reading year since I started tracking in 2012. For the past several years, I've been making a conscious effort to diversify the authors I'm reading. This year, 53% of books I read were authored by people of color and 60% were authored by women. Only 15% were authored by men of color, so that's an area for improvement next year.

Favorite novel(s): Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

Favorite poetry: Helium by Rudy Francisco, Felicity by Mary Oliver

Favorite business/strategy: The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath; Thinking in Bets by Annie Duke

Favorite memoir/essays: we are never meeting in real life. by Samantha Irby; We're Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union

Relationships - Bronze

I had a fun time engaging with friends and family in new ways this year. I hosted a wine-tasting night and piano concert at my house. I went on trips and to festivals with friends. I also made peace with letting go of some relationships. I spent time with my family and celebrated 21 years of our Boxing Day tradition with my Dad.

I'm taking a hiatus from dating through 2019; at least, a sabbatical from trying. The various apps and profiles have been deleted; my swiping finger is retired. I've been at this game for over a decade with very little success and there's absolutely nothing else in my life that I would invest this much time in for so little joy or purpose. A big part of my goal for 2018 was to retire old narratives that no longer suit me and I decided around November that this story of infinite first dates is just not working for me. For a while, it was fun, then funny. At some point, though, it turned into an exercise in drudgery. I cannot continue to invest this much time and emotional labor and hope into an activity that continuously drains and disappoints me. There is too much else far more worthy of my time and energy: myself, Allovue, my family, my friends - the true loves of my life.

Listen. I see you grinning over there, thinking, "Oh, this is it. Now that she has given up, love is just going to drop right into her lap." I think you've been watching too many Hallmark Holiday movies; this is not The Christmas Crush. This is the real world where men flake and cheat and ghost and zombie and ghost again and I'm all the way over it. Let me be. I can live happily ever after anyway.

Andddd that's a wrap on 2018. I can't say I'm sorry to see it go. I'm closing out the year in Mexico, binge-reading novels, listening to the ocean, doing yoga, eating chilaquiles, and setting a reasonable number of goals that (mostly) adhere to the confines of the space-time continuum. See you on the other side.

[marcusssanderson]

80 Nature Quotes about Reconnecting with Mother Earth

Looking for thought-provoking nature quotes and sayings that will help you reconnect with mother earth? The nature quotes below will remind you of her beauty.

Most of us already know that being in nature has healing properties.

You don’t need to be a doctor to immediately realize how we feel better when we are outside, in nature.

Got tired eyes from working on the computer all day? Rest your eyes on something green.

Stressed after a long week’s hard work?

A jog around the park should do the trick.

Apart from providing us with food and medicinal herbs, simply being among greenery can help revive weary spirits.

But what if you’re in the urban jungle?

Do you live away from the nearest park or nature reserve?

Don’t worry: there are plenty of ways to be with Nature even while living in the city.

For instance, you could keep indoor potted plants at home.

Tiny herb gardens of your favorite spices are also a nice addition.

Check out these amazing nature quotes to help you reconnect with Mother Earth again.

After all, it’s been a while and she misses you…

Inspirational nature quotes to help you reconnect with Mother Earth

1.) “I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, ‘This is what it is to be happy.’” – Sylvia Plath

2.) “The sunlight claps the earth, and the moonbeams kiss the sea: what are all these kissings worth, if thou kiss not me?” – Percy Bysshe Shelley

3.) “The mountains are calling and I must go.” – John Muir

4.) “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”- Margaret Atwood

5.) “I like it when a flower or a little tuft of grass grows through a crack in the concrete. It’s so fuckin’ heroic.” – George Carlin

6.) “I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.” – William Shakespeare

7.) “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

8.) “The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness.” – John Muir

9.) “We know that God is everywhere; but certainly we feel His presence most when His works are on the grandest scale spread before us; and it is in the unclouded night-sky, where His worlds wheel their silent course, that we read clearest His infinitude, His omnipotence, His omnipresence.” – Charlotte Brontë

10.) “If I were a tree, I would have no reason to love a human.” – Maggie Stiefvater

Moving nature quotes and sayings

11.) “Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.” – Henry David Thoreau

12.) “…and then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?” – Vincent van Gogh

13.) “Should you shield the canyons from the windstorms you would never see the true beauty of their carvings.” – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

14.) “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” – Rachel Carson

15.) “I am glad I will not be young in a future without wilderness.” – Aldo Leopold

16.) “Our task must be to free ourselves…by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.” – Albert Einstein

17.) “Not just beautiful, though – the stars are like the trees in the forest, alive and breathing. And they’re watching me.” – Haruki Murakami

18.) “The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.” – Joseph Campbell

19.) “Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success, and love; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of nature.” – Steve Maraboli

Inspirational nature quotes about the earth and environment

20.) “Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.” – Gary Snyder

More beautiful nature quotes to inspire your love for Mother Earth

21.) “When you do something noble and beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad. For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet most of the audience still sleeps.” – John Lennon

22.) “…If you have ever gone to the woods with me, I must love you very much.” – Mary Oliver

23.) “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.” – John Muir

24.) “The poetry of the earth is never dead.” – John Keats

25.) “And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.”

– Wendell Berry

26.) “No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face.” – John Donne

27.) “The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.” – William Blake

28.) “We kill all the caterpillars, then complain there are no butterflies.” – John Marsden

29.) “Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year.” – Chad Sugg

Inspirational nature quotes about joy and life

30.) “The world’s big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.” – John Muir

31.) “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” – Albert Einstein

32.) “I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says ‘Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.'”―Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass.

33.) “Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”  – Frank Lloyd Wright

34.) “I’d rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.” – Emma Goldman

35.) “The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.” – Rabindranath Tagore

36.) “If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder

37.)  “Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

38.)  “Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” – Hans Christian Andersen

39.) “There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more.” – Lord Byron

40.) “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu

Nature quotes to remind of its beauty

41.) “Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”—John Muir, Our National Parks

42.) “I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, “This is what it is to be happy.” ― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

43.) “To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure, is the most perfect refreshment.'”—Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

44.) “‘Is the spring coming?’ he said. ‘What is it like?’ …’It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine, and things pushing up and working under the earth.’” —Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

45.) “I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful — an endless prospect of magic and wonder.” –Ansel Adams

46.) “In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” – Aristotle

47.) “Nature is pleased with simplicity. And nature is no dummy” ― Isaac Newton

48.) “Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’” – Robin Williams

49.) “If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” – Vincent Van Gogh

49.) “An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” – Henry David Thoreau

50.) “Mother Nature speaks in a language understood within the peaceful mind of the sincere observer.” – Radhanath Swami

More beautiful nature quotes

51.) “Looking at beauty in the world, is the first step of purify

[thevulernablepreacher]

Naomi Shihab Nye

OMFG if you haven’t heard her poetry or her name..wow, holy holy, holy. I just heard her on On Being...

She is it. She is living what she was put on this earth to do. She blew me wide open with articulating the magic of existence. She lit me on fire. She made me want to read every single one of her poetry books.

I can barely read a sentence without losing interest or being distracted so i’m praying i can delve into her. That this spark grows.

She talked about the transformative process of writing. Even just a sentence or two! I LOVED it. No need to write for hours on end! Write 3 sentences. Carry that notebook b/c those ideas that come are gone if you don’t jot them down.

And then i thought of the truth of that. The magic that is God speaking through each of us..our unique, only us voice..those wandering, meandering thoughts i have while driving..where i create  or feel that energy that feels like something holy is pouring through me; that genius piece in my mind. I think it’s “genius” b/c it’s the universe at play!!!!

And i am never able to remember it once i return home or somewhere that i can actually write it down.

So, i’m not going to worry about having dribs and drabs all over the flipping place.

OMG she is phenomenal! she gets the magic of our bodies doing what they do without having to be told!!! It is miraculous. The shell of an egg..the air we can’t see...ALL OF IT is MIRACULOUS.

And the poem Kindness..it is beyond beyond beyond. It is equivalent to Mary Oliver’s The Geese..it is ...purely exactly it; all of it. 

And the depths of despair, and loss and sadness are profoundly necessary to arrive and to be able to see what is essential; what is all that matters: Kindness.

I had an epiphany while driving to Temple yesterday.

I was feeling lousy and i turned on Spotify; to the daily mix..and it transformed me. I had a miraculous moment where i could see in a way that i never had been able to before the magic of the light and dark and intensely best moments and most ecstatic and ecstasy filled moments of my life all mingled and mixed with the hardest moments happening at the very same time...like parallel worlds happening to me all at the same time..sort of the matrix. Depending on what plane i was on i could see things one way or the other..and until this moment last night i had  left them stuck in a particularly dark frame of translation.

I sort of knew, could sense..always (realizing right now) heard that soft internal voice (God) feeling the ecstasy of these times as well. For some reason; and this is the beauty of time that we cannot hurdle or advance through before it plays out, in an instant i was gifted the explosion of that voice and those feelings. IT was a washing over and through of the beauty and sweetness of those infinitesimal seconds with her.

I think  it was about 4 months ago i felt it; DEEPLY. i remember the second it hit me  that my second long term relationship with a woman, that i had profound gratitude for it b/c that relationship which now makes me feel queazy as I write; it changed the course of my entire life. It led to depths of pain and hell and fear id never experienced. Up until that moment a few months ago I had superficial mouth piece and barely discernible genuine gratitude for her. Queazy, negativity unbound; that i had felt. But suddenly the world opened up.And that light of the heavens opening happened. And the light of gratitude infused me.

That sounds like a footprints poem. But i actually mean it. It did.

This happened yesterday like a lightning rod. I was brought to tears; completely heavenly tears with the memories of my first long-term female love relationship. I was  re-living the absolute magic of that time. So much was happening. Planets were colliding. I was in turmoil and agony and scared and alone and confused and isolated and deeply screwed up. My heart was breaking. 

And, i was having the absolute time of my life. There was a bliss and an opening and an exploding of creativity and aesthetic nirvana. I was transforming. I was being birthed. 

And being birthed is the universe; the entirety of the universe in one fell swoop right? IT’s disgusting, and scary and potentially leading to death in that moment. It’s exciting and unknown and gorgeous, and impossible to find language for: It is the explosion of the universe.

This is what that relationship was. 

I can’t describe how much i loved that woman. I loved her profoundly. Her beauty and magic were beyond this realm. The moments of hilarity and pure sumptuous joy and privacy between us, around us...there was nothing like it.

I felt those moments. Where she accepted and embraced my weirdness with a joining and love that was wild.

She was deeply fucked up so she could see just allowed my own She had a level of getting it from her 10 additional life years vantage point. She  soothed it and accepted it; my weirdness. 

A bubble of time. And last night i was able to re-enter it and see the magical hues I could not prior to that very second.

I on rare occasions try to imagine a world in which we still connect.. and there isn’t one; b/c we’re not supposed to now. IT was then. IT as magically and for an infinitiimaly split second then. I am grateful beyond words that our worlds collided. Oh My God i am so grateful. What a heavenly gift. 

Seems to me all moments are this. And maybe Ann LaMott would disagree but i think they are.

She was presented to me by the universe at a particular point in time as everyone is to everyone. it is stunning. 

I was thinking about this as i was sitting in Temple last night..how uncomfortable and alone i felt and at the same time amazed at the ease of the place at the pure genuine imperfection and embracement of all of us in our own particular whackness.

I’m in this place now, brought here by some energy force  b/c these people don’t polish up well. I mean that superficially. They are true humans. They reflect the human race; not a billboard or tv show or curated instagram post. They are the antithesis. They, these people are the universes gift to the planet. And God thinks I am in a place where these people can help to carry me and move me and offer me the opportunity to evolve b/c of them as a result of their opening their doors to me. There’s not an ounce of “contrive” anywhere within those walls. That level of beauty; it is beyond. Because it is so layered. It is a reflection of  GOD.

I still feel like an outsider. I felt so self involved last night. People would say hello and ask what had happened to my foot and then id remember i was supposed to ask them about themselves.and i would. But it was like watching a very awkward something or other. I was really interested but i felt incredibly exposed b/c i thought it was obvious how someone had just kicked me under the table..reminding me to ask them about themselves and their lives. 

And then no one seemed to really want to go into their own stories with any truth or depth. They all wanted connection but not the way i did.

I was diving into the bathtub of that place. I needed and was attempting to absorb as much of their goodness and pureness as I could. People would attempt to connect with a warm hello and then for some reason at that second i had stumbled and missed the proper breadth of time to respond and they were gone; head turned to someone else..and i spent time immemorial in 3 seconds wishing i could replay and redo that moment and it was flashing through my mind as I had wished it went.

[marcusssanderson]

80 Nature Quotes about Reconnecting with Mother Earth

Looking for thought-provoking nature quotes and sayings?

Most of us already know that being in Nature has healing properties.

You don’t need to be a doctor to immediately realize how we feel better when we are outside, in nature.

Got tired eyes from working on the computer all day? Rest your eyes on something green.

Stressed after a long week’s hard work?

A jog around the park should do the trick.

Apart from providing us with food and medicinal herbs, simply being among greenery can help revive weary spirits.

But what if you’re in the urban jungle?

Do you live away from the nearest park or nature reserve?

Don’t worry: there are plenty of ways to be with Nature even while living in the city.

For instance, you could keep indoor potted plants at home.

Tiny herb gardens of your favorite spices are also a nice addition.

Check out these amazing nature quotes to help you reconnect with Mother Earth again.

After all, it’s been a while and she misses you…

Inspirational nature quotes to help you reconnect with Mother Earth

1.) “I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, ‘This is what it is to be happy.’” – Sylvia Plath

2.) “The sunlight claps the earth, and the moonbeams kiss the sea: what are all these kissings worth, if thou kiss not me?” – Percy Bysshe Shelley

3.) “The mountains are calling and I must go.” – John Muir

4.) “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.”- Margaret Atwood

5.) “I like it when a flower or a little tuft of grass grows through a crack in the concrete. It’s so fuckin’ heroic.” – George Carlin

6.) “I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it.” – William Shakespeare

7.) “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

8.) “The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” – John Muir

9.) “We know that God is everywhere; but certainly we feel His presence most when His works are on the grandest scale spread before us; and it is in the unclouded night-sky, where His worlds wheel their silent course, that we read clearest His infinitude, His omnipotence, His omnipresence.” – Charlotte Brontë

10.) “If I were a tree, I would have no reason to love a human.” – Maggie Stiefvater

Moving nature quotes and sayings

11.) “Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.” – Henry David Thoreau

12.) “…and then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?” – Vincent van Gogh

13.) “Should you shield the canyons from the windstorms you would never see the true beauty of their carvings.” – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

14.) “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” – Rachel Carson

15.) “I am glad I will not be young in a future without wilderness.” – Aldo Leopold

16.) “Our task must be to free ourselves…by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.” – Albert Einstein

17.) “Not just beautiful, though – the stars are like the trees in the forest, alive and breathing. And they’re watching me.” – Haruki Murakami

18.) “The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.” – Joseph Campbell

19.) “Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success, and love; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of nature.” – Steve Maraboli

Inspirational nature quotes about the earth and environment

20.) “Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.” – Gary Snyder

More beautiful nature quotes to inspire your love for Mother Earth

21.) “When you do something noble and beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad. For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet most of the audience still sleeps.” – John Lennon

22.) “…If you have ever gone to the woods with me, I must love you very much.” – Mary Oliver

23.) “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.” – John Muir

24.) “The poetry of the earth is never dead.” – John Keats

25.) “And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.”

– Wendell Berry

26.) “No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace as I have seen in one autumnal face.” – John Donne

27.) “The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.” – William Blake

28.) “We kill all the caterpillars, then complain there are no butterflies.” – John Marsden

29.) “Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year.” – Chad Sugg

Inspirational nature quotes about joy and life

30.) “The world’s big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.” – John Muir

31.) “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” – Albert Einstein

32.) “I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says ‘Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.'”―Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass.

33.) “Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”  – Frank Lloyd Wright

34.) “I’d rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.” – Emma Goldman

35.) “The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.” – Rabindranath Tagore

36.) “If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder

37.)  “Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

38.)  “Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” – Hans Christian Andersen

39.) “There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more.” – Lord Byron

40.) “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu

Nature quotes to remind of its beauty

41.) “Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”—John Muir, Our National Parks

42.) “I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, “This is what it is to be happy.” ― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

43.) “To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure, is the most perfect refreshment.'”—Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

44.) “‘Is the spring coming?’ he said. ‘What is it like?’ …’It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine, and things pushing up and working under the earth.’” —Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

45.) “I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful — an endless prospect of magic and wonder.” –Ansel Adams

46.) “In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” – Aristotle

47.) “Nature is pleased with simplicity. And nature is no dummy” ― Isaac Newton

48.) “Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’” – Robin Williams

49.) “If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” – Vincent Van Gogh

49.) “An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” – Henry David Thoreau

50.) “Mother Nature speaks in a language understood within the peaceful mind of the sincere observer.” – Radhanath Swami

More beautiful nature quotes

51.) “Looking at beauty in the world, is the first step of purifying the mind.” ― Amit Ray, Meditation: Insights and Inspirations

52.) “I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” ― John Muir

53.) “Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” –Hans Christian Andersen

54.) “Nature never hurries. Atom by atom, little by little she achieves her work.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

55.) “Nature is full of infinite causes that have never occurred in experience.” – Leonardo Da Vinci