“Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.”- Meister Eckhart
Hey you,
My fingers were too heavy last week to write you. I didn’t forget. Thank you for checking in. I found it especially sweet that you checked in on me as you saw me on other platforms, I’ve gotten used to sending this out every week too.
So… what have you been up to? I tried yoga and somebody lied. I tried very basic positions (I think) and I thought my body was going to break, imma stick to taking long walks from now on.
It’s a new month and I hope you’ve kept up with your gratitude jar. Do you set expectations/goals for the new month? I’ve heard that writing one thing you want to achieve by the end of the month does wonders for the spirit, giving us something to look forward to. Nothing big, it could be as simple as making sure you try a new thing or finishing up a project or starting something. Mine is to make sure I read a graphic novel by an African woman, don’t recommend Nnedi Okorafor, I’ve read those.
Someone recommended Aya of Yop City by Marguerite Abouet to me. It’s a series of six bande dessinée* comics written by Marguerite Abouet and drawn by Clément Oubrerie. The original French albums were published by Gallimard between 2005 and 2010. All six volumes have been translated into English by Drawn & Quarterly. (*Bande dessinée means ‘drawn strips’, abbreviated BDs and also referred to as Franco-Belgian comics (BD franco-belge), are comics that are usually originally in the French language and created for readership in France and Belgium.
I’m very excited to read this.
In an interview on Bookslut, Marguerite says Aya is, autobiographical in the way that it's the Ivory Coast I know. The characters are based on my neighours. They had complicated stories and affairs with men. So the characters and places are things I know in real life. The story itself is fiction. On the series, Marguerite Abouet also explains, “hat's what I wanted to show in Aya: an Africa without the ... war and famine, an Africa that endures despite everything because, as we say back home, life goes on.
So, what do you want to achieve by the end of July? Remember, it doesn’t have to be big, in fact, make sure it’s fun.
SPOTLIGHT: Meet Tina and Tamar AKA @2treads. These women are some of the most avid readers I’ve ever met on Bookstagram. And the best part, they have range for daaaaayyyyyssssss.
I follow them on Goodreads because I always want to be on top of what they’re reading. I love chatting with them about books too, it’s fun to chat books with people who know how to articulate their feelings and thoughts on different titles. Also, they are just good vibes and you know I’m all about the vibes.
ICYMI: I’ve been trying to find women in fiction who kill but it’s so hard. The ones I did find, I shared them in the last episode of the podcast and you can listen to it HERE. #RepresentationMatters If you’re a writer, I think it would be nice to balance the scales a little bit and let your female characters go on a killing spree.
FUN FACT: IKEA is an acronym that stands for Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd, which is the founder’s name, the farm where he grew up, and his hometown. Did you know this?
Okay, byeeeeeeeeee, x
Your posts/letters always bring me so much joy. And I learn something new. Now I definitely want to check out Aya of Yop City. Hope you're having a lovely week.❤