AmiMaxine

Black History Month

Tomorrow is the official start of Black History Month here in the states. Originally, the celebration was a week long (which started in 1926) and was to honor important folks/events in the history of the African diaspora. The second week of February was chosen because it coincided with the birthdays of two important figures importantContinue reading “Black History Month”

Disputed

Welp. It finally happened to me. My credit card data was breached. And I have no idea how or when (though I assume mid to late December). To say I am careful is an understatement. {{{(>_<)}}} How careful? When I got the text from my card company that there was a fraud alert, I checkedContinue reading “Disputed”

Resolutions

We’re now a few weeks into the new year – and most people have already abandoned their resolutions. If that’s you, no worries. If you’re still kicking yourself for not meeting last year’s resolution, let yourself off the hook. While we changed out calendars with new ones, January first is just the next day. There’sContinue reading “Resolutions”

Books of 2024

I mentioned last year that I never do the ’52 books in a year’ challenge. I love reading, but it’s difficult to make it a priority when there’s a semester in session because there’s always so much that HAS to get done. So reading falls off the to do list. My StoryGraph* from 2023 didContinue reading “Books of 2024”

First Friday Rec: The Sum of Us

Title: The Sum of UsAuthor: Heather McGeeGenre: Nonfiction, Politics, RacePages: 464Publication Date: February 8, 2022StoryGraph* Moods: Informative, Reflective, HopefulHow I Stumbled Upon This Book: Armchair Expert podcast interviewOther Books by McGhee: The Sum of Us (Adapted for Young Readers)*StoryGraph also offers content warnings. Description: McGee explores the concept and disadvantages of zero sum thinking: theContinue reading “First Friday Rec: The Sum of Us”

Chocolate

I get personally offended when someone calls white confections ‘white chocolate.’ I don’t mean this in a serious way. But enough so that whenever someone says this in my presence, my friends will look me in the eye and recite, “It’s not chocolate.” Yes, white ‘chocolate’ uses cocoa butter, thereby ‘technically’ qualifying it as suchContinue reading “Chocolate”

Seventeen

If you are thinking of self-publishing and therefore utilizing some print-on-demand options, let me tell you about a recently learned lesson I’ve had: returns. When I first set up my Ingr@mSp@rk (IS) account and started publishing, I set my returns to ‘yes’ and ‘return’ – because many sources said bookshops would be less likely toContinue reading “Seventeen”

Dear Reader: I’m Sorry

I did a thing this week that I’ve never done before. I knowingly kept a library book past its due date. 😬 The book in question is one I was tasked with reading for my SciFi/Fantasy book club. It clocked in at 618 pages. And I had already renewed it twice without issue (as IContinue reading “Dear Reader: I’m Sorry”

First Friday Rec: Horse

Title: HorseAuthor: Geraldine BrooksGenre: Literary Historical FictionPages: 464Publication Date: January 16, 2024StoryGraph* Moods: Emotional, Informative, ReflectiveHow I Stumbled Upon This Book: Assigned for book clubOther Books by Brooks: Fiction – Year of Wonders, March, The Secret Chord, People of the Book, Caleb’s Crossing. Nonfiction – Foreign Correspondence, Memorial Days (Memoir), Nine Parts of Desire: TheContinue reading “First Friday Rec: Horse”

Andy Grammer: One Man Show

Full disclosure, I don’t listen to the radio. I used to, when I didn’t really have a choice (I mean, the first ipod shuffle didn’t come out until 2005 – and even then, it was a few years and iterations before I owned one; I had a Walkman and then a portable CD player whileContinue reading “Andy Grammer: One Man Show”