Reading for Myself

A few times this year, I've found myself recounting how I got into a solid reading habit. Often, I repeat the basic same story:

I was an English teacher...and was asking my kids to read a minimum of 20 mins a night at home to build their reading skills and love of reading. I realized at a certain point I should take my own advice! So I made myself read ~20 mins for fun every night. Now it’s just a habit I can’t do without; I often read a little longer now but for nights when I’m tired, 20 mins still seems manageable, which is why I still hold that goal for myself. I recommend it - it helped me get back into reading for myself (and not just for work).

What I've also realized, is that reading for myself has beget some really great things in reading for work. In addition to the countless emails I read every day, I often need to bring texts and articles into the design of professional development for lots of different audiences. This has often been why I focus on fiction at home, since so much of my work is non-fiction.

Reading consistently truly sharpens skills (like comprehension, interpretation, etc). The consistent practice of reading means my brain is pretty used to taking text and doing something with it - making meaning and deciding what to do after.

Reading has made me even more curious. Although fiction is my go-to, I often get wrapped into non-fiction reads while at bookstores, and feel compelled to pick up non-fiction books. Memoirs are generally the ones that I finish cover-to-cover, but I read excerpts of and utilize lots of other types of non-fiction, particularly books that relate to business, leadership or the impact of science on organizations.

The combination of the above two things led me to lead a short meeting for my whole organization on Daniel Pink's newest book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. It was essentially a presentation and activities based on the first two chapters of the book. I also have used three cornerstone texts in developing the foundations for professional learning communities on my team. I feel incredibly fulfilled as a designer when I'm helping others to access and make meaning of texts in the context of their work.

So, my 12 of 30 books this year comes from my daily reading for myself, but it has yielded exposure to dozens of other texts that also make reading for work even more pleasurable.

Maybe this is all to say - life is about reading, and it can be in both my personal and professional lives seamlessly.

To books,

~MJ

Books make a home

I'm historically someone who moves in over time.

The settling happens in less than 1 month in a new place, but it takes me a few months to actually fully unpack and have everything in the pace I want it to be. In Tulsa, this panned out to be an acceptable process because I was in each place I lived a minimum of 2 years (well, one place was under that mark but not for a lack of trying).

My first year in Denver, I hoped not to move. Instead, I moved three times. This made settling, and fully unpacking - anywhere - very challenging. Not to mention, I downsized dramatically from Tulsa in terms of square footage, and a solid 5 months was more nomadic than living.

I moved into my current place in October and truly hope to be here for longer than one lease. I also hope that when I move it will be to a purchased house. In the meantime, I have taken some time to settle and am at the last phase of being 100% unpacked. My last few boxes were odds & ends and...more books. Although I relinquished a good portion of my collection in leaving Tulsa, I have managed to acquire more books and well,  they are everywhere.

Bookshelves are therefore a key to feeling settled and an indicator of how well I'm really moved into a place. As I've organized this apartment, too, I am try trying to be less cluttered and ensure that everything - including books - have a purposeful place, and one that makes it easier to stay organized and de-cluttered. The size of this apartment is perfect for lil' ol me, and also has allowed me (thankfully) to have not one, but two more bookshelves than my last place.

So, here is a tour of my bookshelves...AKA my inspiration for organizing the last bits of my apartment into my home.

The Living Room
This is where two of my primary bookshelves live. Since this is a primary living and entertaining space, I wanted books that *look good* on a shelf - hardcovers, books that I love, and some of my TBR pile (hardcovers only). 

I bought this bookshelf for my last apartment. There, it lived horizontally under the living room window. I like it vertical in this space, in a corner of the room between windows. It houses my Harry Potter books, presidential biographies and autobiographies, as well as important travel or history books.

This wall is pretty bare otherwise (still figuring that out) but I am excited about my first ladder bookshelf!

This is filled with BOTM books and other hardcover lovelies with accents of family photos, some Oklahoma & travel inspiration, and of course, The Big Blue Bear as a bookend.

The Bedroom
I haven't had proper bookshelves in my bedroom in a long time, and I realized they would be great additions since I generally find books to be a calming part of my atmosphere. Books that live here are truly miscellaneous, including a mix of TBR & already read in a variety of formats.

This was originally envisioned to be a part of the main living space, but I discovered I had more room for it in my bedroom, and also felt like in its position (directly across from where I lay my head at night), I would find joy / calmness in this nearby bookshelf.

This bookshelf has been with me since my first year in Tulsa. It has most definitely seen sturdier days, but it is still holding strong. I have a mix of books, but also find this shelf useful for keepsakes and some extra storage of cords and notebooks. I also have that orange towel on it because it also currently houses my humidifier at night.

This is one of my end tables. It is not my primary end table, but serves a great purpose to hold some books and (in the drawer) clothing. This pair of end tables matches my dresser (currently residing in the closet) and the set has been in my life for 20+ years. We got it used, so I really don't know the length of life it had before me. While they have seen better days (there are scratches and some broken backsides), they are still doing the most as functional furniture for me.

This is my primary end table, where you will always find: whatever I am currently reading and my itty bitty book lamp (far right corner). The book lamp was really useful for my nomadic life in 2017, but lives on my end table now as an easy grab if I wake up and need to read without harsh light. It also is a reminder for when I travel. And the lower shelf stores books and (in the drawer) clothing. 

I feel like by the end of this long weekend, everything(books and beyond) will be in their rightful place and wow...110 days into my lease, maybe this place will be a settled home.

~MJ

Dreams and America

Book 4 of 2018

Reading usually is a good escape for me, even the heavier reads that feel more real than fictitious. I didn't necessarily feel different about Behold the Dreamers but it struck a chord in reality in a way a book hasn't in awhile.

I was reading on the night of the 2018 State of the Union instead of watching the speech. I found it would be important to read a story by an immigrant, about immigrants, as a form of rebellion against the current administration (which I've decided to refer to as "that man" instead of anything resembling his name or an honorific). Toward the end of the evening, after the speech ended and after I had taken a break to see social media, I read a line on page 299 about a Trump hotel. The gist was one character saying that when he made enough money, he would take everyone to dinner there.

I found myself suddenly weeping.

I wept because of what he said during the speech that night about immigrants and their families. Because of what he has said so many times not just since being president, or running for president, but also the "birther" narrative he trumpeted in 2011, and the shady and racist real estate dealings he engaged in over the course of his career.

I wept because this book is about a family truly trying to do their best in attaining the American Dream. Sure, they were not perfect. The husband and father, slightly misogynistic and selfish. The wife, sometimes too gossipy for her own good. But he was also hard-working and loyal; she was also smart and courageous. They were working their way up to their dreams, but the collapse of the American economy, combined with the inherent privilege of his employer, and layers and layers of fear associated with being honest with the wrong people, slowly knocked them back down.

And it shouldn't have been that hard.

The story took place in the late 20-oughts, right before and in the aftermath of the 2008 recession. Any time has been hard for immigrants in America, but economic issues exacerbate problems; and then I couldn't escape the thought of how this family would feel 10 years later, in even a better economy.

This book was powerful, multi-layered and complex. No one character was wholly good or wholly evil, but a combination of forces, choices, and the systemic structures meant to prop the privileged and knock the oppressed, made the difference between the characters' abilities to live into their dreams or not.

I have many earmarks and maybe they'll appear here one day. For now, I recommend this book, and all of its emotion, and for us to do whatever we can to stop the train of nationalism and racism from destroying more dreams.

~MJ