Practicing my sketching.
I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?
Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?
Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.
Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?
Finally, I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.
#sketching #art #urbansketching #watercolorjournal #watercolors #drawing #illustration #artistsoninstagram #sketchbook #creativity #artwork #inspirationalart
Practicing my sketching.
“Go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows.”
#sketching #art #urbansketching #watercolorjournal #watercolors #drawing #illustration #artistsoninstagram #sketchbook #creativity #artwork #inspirationalart #aradillapatreon
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I put off reading this book many many times, not sure why. But I am so glad I finally read it. It was beautiful. It’s about grief, it’s about mistakes we make and how we can forgive ourselves and others. It’s truly beautiful.
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The Wedding Vow by Dandy Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
3.5 stars
fast, fun mystery, for me. I had read this type of twist before and yet still didn’t see it coming!
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Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
It was fun to revisit the Hunger Games universe. I thought I would dislike this one but I actually really enjoyed it and felt like a full circle moment.
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Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
3.5 stars
I love Emily Henry but this one didn’t keep my interest as much as I would have liked. I still loved the dialogue and the characters and I will read all of Henry’s books for as long as she publishes.
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Overdue by Stephanie Perkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book has everything I love: librarians, libraries, book stores, books! Sunshine and grumpy love. It’s sweet and joyful and I love that all the secondary characters are fleshed out, lovely and memorable. I love that the cat is too!
If you love books as much as I do, it will be hard not to love this book! My favorite part was how she knew whether each of her dates had a library card or not! 🙂 🙂
with gratitude to netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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Of Flame and Fury by Mikayla Bridge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I know everyone is looking for their next romantasy read and I think they will find Of Flame and Fury scratches that itch in the best way possible. Strong, female lead, palpable chemistry and constant bickering, evil, rich geniuses and phoenixes! What more can you ask for?! Oh and creative, crazy races!
I really loved every moment I spent with this story, I loved the main characters, I loved the secondary characters, I loved the phoenix, Savita. I loved the creativity. I loved the pacing.
I know everyone will enjoy this one.
with gratitude to netgalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
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The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a really unique read, for me. I kept trying to figure out where it was going and I totally could not guess. Especially the last third of the book really takes it up a notch. I really enjoyed the dual-timeline of when these friends first got together to do the research and the current day dinner party. I liked how each of them seemed a bit off and yet not enough not to feel 3-dimensional. I felt like there were enough clues spread throughout to keep me interested and yet not so much that I guessed what was going to happen.
These stories always require a bunch of suspension of disbelief which is not a problem for me. It was entertaining and kept my interest, that’s all I care about truly.
with gratitude to netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
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The Devil’s Advocate by Steve Cavanagh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Steve Cavanagh and Eddie Flynn can do no wrong in my book. I love these novels and really enjoy reading the court scenes, reading the secondary characters, and the crazy crazy plots Cavanagh comes up with.
This was one of the hardest to read with all the strong racism and radicalism especially with the author’s note in the end and I thought about putting it down several times. But I made my way all the way to the end and Cavanagh’s books never disappoint.
with gratitude to netgalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
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A Family Matter by Claire Lynch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the story of a family where the mom falls in love with another woman and in the 1980s, in their community and in the eyes of the law, that’s not acceptable. So Dawn has to make hard choices. Terrible choices. And her husband also makes terrible choices. Choices that hurt them and their beautiful daughter.
This quiet, short booked packed a lot in. I loved the quiet writing even if the topic was devastating. I didn’t think the characters were developed enough for me to feel like I was empathizing. I wanted to follow along more, I wanted to root for them all even though they were caught in a terrible situation. But I felt like I was watching it all from a distance.
I was terrified to read how much of the law was anti-LGBTQ only 40 years ago and it’s terrifying what can happen to families if this becomes true again.
with gratitude to netgalley and Scribner for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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If You Love It, Let It Kill You by Hannah Pittard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
If you’ve read Pittard’s previous book, this one will not come as a major surprise. It has a similar choppy style where the story is shared in bits and pieces and also the story won’t be a surprise to you because it’s the same plot her previous book was about. Obviously it’s the next phase but, to me, it felt mostly repetitive and there was noting revelatory in it.
I like her writing style and enjoy reading it but I did not really enjoy this mesh of real life/fiction and the characters/life she shared. I felt nothing was as deeply explored as I would have liked.
with gratitude to netgalley and Henry Holt & Company for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
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projects for twenty twenty-five
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projects for twenty twenty-three
projects for twenty twenty-two
projects for twenty twenty-one
projects for twenty nineteen
projects for twenty eighteen
projects from twenty seventeen
monthly projects from previous years
some of my previous projects
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