The Black Veins

Read The Black Veins by Ashia Monet

Sixteen-year-old Blythe is one of seven Guardians: magicians powerful enough to cause worldwide panic with a snap of their fingers. But Blythe spends her days pouring latte art at her family’s coffee shop, so why should she care about having apocalyptic abilities?

She’s given a reason when magician anarchists crash into said coffee shop and kidnap her family.

Heartbroken but determined, Blythe knows she can’t save them alone. A war is brewing between two magician governments and tensions are too high. So, she packs up her family’s bright yellow Volkswagen, puts on a playlist, and embarks on a road trip across the United States to enlist the help of six strangers whose abilities are unparalleled—the other Guardians.

The idea is good. The characters are wonderful – or could be wonderful, if the character building was more subtle. I think that’s what I missed the most in this book, subtlety. Characters were predictable, what happened was predictable – unless there was nothing hinting at it because it was there to surprise us, the…

Comment lancer un groupe de soutien

Read How to build a support group by Anne-Laure Le CunffAnne-Laure Le Cunff

Support groups are a great way for people with common goals and experiences to provide each other with encouragement and advice. Usually limited in size to keep them intimate, they offer a safe space for like-minded people to connect, learn from each other, and grow together. While formal support groups may appear to be a … Read More

Quelques types de groupes de soutien et des conseils pour que le groupe se porte bien une fois lancé. Anne-Laure Le Cunff identifie quelques types de groupes de soutien et des conseils pour que le groupe se porte bien une fois lancé. Ceci est un résumé des passages que je trouvais les plus pertinents dans…

Éviter le burnout dû à la générosité

Read Beat Generosity Burnout

Ceci est un résumé orienté (je ne garde que les parties qui m’intéressent personnellement) de l’article Beat Generosity Burnout de la Harvard Business Review. Les personnes généreuses sont les gens les plus importants de toute organisation, mais c’est aussi ceux qui risquent le plus d’être touchés par un burn-out. Souvent, on confond la générosité et…

Meditation during COVID-19

Replied to The Opposite of Meditation Is Recess & I Need More Recess. by gretchenrubingretchenrubin (gretchenrubin.com)

I’m working on my next book, which is about how to reach the mind through the body and the five senses—because my mind is my body, and my body is my mind. I was drawn to this subject because I wanted to shake myself awake. Too often, I felt numbed, overwhelmed, or absent-minded–or should I […]

In which I discuss how I’ve replaced my meditation routines with recess and fun, during COVID-19.

The Fire Never Goes Out

Read The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures by ND Stevenson

In a collection of essays and personal mini-comics that span eight years of his young adult life, author-illustrator ND Stevenson charts the highs and lows of being a creative human in the world.
Whether it’s hearing the wrong name called at his art school graduation ceremony or becoming a National Book Award finalist for his debut graphic novel, Nimona, Nate captures the little and big moments that make up a real life, with a wit, wisdom, and vulnerability that are all his own.

Less than an hour to read, half a day crying afterwards. Congratulations and thank you, ND Stevenson.

Tears we cannot stop

Read Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America by Michael Eric Dyson

As the country grapples with racist division at a level not seen since the 1960s, one man’s voice soars above the rest with conviction and compassion. In his 2016 New York Times op-ed piece « Death in Black and White, » Michael Eric Dyson moved a nation. Now he continues to speak out in Tears We Cannot Stop―a provocative and deeply personal call for change. Dyson argues that if we are to make real racial progress we must face difficult truths, including being honest about how black grievance has been ignored, dismissed, or discounted.

The introduction is long. Very long. The format is probably more adapted to Christian readers, and those who don’t know worship will have to be patient and wait for the meatier sections. Once we get there, though, the book has loads of valuable stories and insights to make us understand what’s wrong, and immediately after,…

Akata Witch

Read Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

Twelve-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born American. Her features are African, but she’s albino. She’s a terrific athlete, but can’t go out into the sun to play soccer. There seems to be no place where she fits in. And then she discovers something amazing–she is a free agent with latent magical power. Soon she’s part of a quartet of magic students, studying the visible and invisible, learning to change reality. But will it be enough to help them when they are asked to catch a career criminal who knows magic too?

The last time I’ve loved a similar book series so much was Percy Jackson, and that was almost 10 years ago. Akata Witch is well-written, funny and dark when needed. Action scenes are scarce, and well-written; things focus on tradition and on carefully-crafted actions, which I love.