Things on My Mind

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Here’s a bit of a review of what’s been on my mind lately, including music, movie, and book recommendations.

1. THE Book. For so many months – and a couple of years, too – my friend/colleague/co-author/mentor and I have called it The Book. Now, The Book has been published, and I am so thrilled. So so so thrilled! Mastering Academic Writing has been one of my most fun and rewarding writing projects thus far, and to have had fun, shared laughs, brainstormed over so many meals with a good friend made the experience that much more positive and memorable. Copies of our book arrived from our publisher, Sage, over the holiday break, and it made for quite a happy mail day!

The book is intended for upper year undergraduate students, graduate students, and professors who are looking for a great writing resource and guide. Now, it’s not a boring academic textbook (if you ask me!); we took an informal, approachable tone as we offered instruction, examples, and notes about academic writing. It’s affordable, too! If you’d like to know more, let me know. The book is available at Sage and Amazon.

Don’t be surprised if you see it pop up again on White Cabana.

2. Music. For the last month or so, I’ve been listening to French radio (89.9 FM – CBC – Ici musique – in Waterloo) and French tunes on Spotify. It’s not only been a needed change from my usual pop/rap/top40 tunes, but also I can brush up on my French listening and comprehension skills (in preparation for my February vacance à Paris!). On Spotify, I’ve had Lisa LeBlanc (Dump the guy ASAP is a hit) and Mackjoffat (Music Face is my current fave, but it’s in English) on repeat.

3. Blogosphere. Remember the good ol’ days of blogging? When people read blogs daily? When bloggers wrote daily? Before Instagram took over everyone’s phones? Before bloggers applied rose-coloured tints over every darn photo? Yeah, me too. I had brunch with Melissa over the break, and we chatted about how things have changed and the approaches we observe from afar from influencers, vloggers, bloggers, and more.

I have barely changed my approach to blogging even though I know the blogging world around me has changed. I blog every day unless I’m on a break. I read blogs daily, too. I like to read about people’s real lives, their Pinterest and DIY fails and successes, and what they do in the spare time. I continuously learn from others, and I’m inspired by a lot of what I see on my daily blog visits. Who’s with me on this?

4. Movies and Netflix. Oh my goodness. I have watched so much Netflix. Too much, in my opinion, but such is life. I guess I’m in post-book, post-MBA relaxation mode. I don’t love being a couch potato, but I didn’t argue with myself about it over the holidays.

So what did I watch? Just about every cheesy Christmas movie set in Belgravia, Genovia, anyotherovia. I don’t recommend any of them unless you’re embracing a cheesy couch potato lifestyle.

I also watched Birdbox. I was scared at first, then I wasn’t. It was okay. I didn’t love it, but it is worth watching on Netflix. And I also watched Theory of Everything. I really enjoyed it.

And in the theatre, I opted to watch The Favorite. It was interesting. Funny but quirky but not too quirky. Great acting, costumes, and set design. Plus, if you’re a fan of Emma Stone, you’re going to enjoy her performance. The movie had the audience laughing. I recommend it.

I also went to see Mary Queen of Scots, and it was excellent. I learned a lot, really enjoyed the acting, and, of course, the costumes were amazing.

5. Books. I’m still listening to Haruki Murakami audiobooks. I love that they’re all set in Japan. I started a collection of his short stories. This is the first time I’ve read (or listened to) a collection of short stories. I like that they’re quick, but I don’t like that there’s no time to develop plot and characters. I also can barely remember any story that I’ve listened to. There was one set in a hotel, there was one about a teenage romance…see, the details escape me! There are too many stories to remember! But do I still enjoy his writing? Yes.

Personal: 6 Things on Mind

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1. Books. I finished another Haruki Murakami novel a couple of weeks ago. It was called Dance Dance Dance, and it was great. I also finished The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham. I’m now onto another Somerset Maugham – Of Human Bondage – and I think it’s going to take me a while to get through as it’s quite long. I’m just about to start Nudge by Richard Thaler to break up the line-up of British and Japanese literature.

2. Christmas Market. It’s Christkindle Market in Kitchener this weekend. It’s a great time to be outdoors, take in the Christmas crafts, and munch on traditional German food (and mulled wine, too)!

3. Holiday dresses. I love that so many bloggers are sharing round-ups of lovely holiday dresses. But why oh why are so many of them $1000+? I’m on the look out for more affordable options. Are you interested in a posts of (affordable) holiday outfits?

4. T&T Supermarket. Oh my goodness. The T&T supermarket (focused on Asian foods and products) opened up in Waterloo yesterday. A friend and I went after work, and we couldn’t believe the chaos. The parking situation was a mess. And there was a massive line up to get in. We were surprised. Needless to say, we had no desire to wait in line for groceries, so we left. I’ll check it out in a few weeks. Has anyone been? Do you have a T&T in your city? Do you like it?

5. End of term. The term is over. My class is done. I have final papers to mark this weekend. My students worked hard, and I look forward to seeing how they translated their ideas into their final writing task.

6. Music. I recently heard Lisa LeBlanc on the radio, and I’m hooked. Lisa is a 27 year old singer songwriter from Montreal. I’ve had her new bilingual album – Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen – on repeat for weeks.

The Friday Five: Things on My Mind

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Here’s a week in review for this Friday.

1. It was One Room Challenge reveal week. There’s much to catch-up on if you’ve followed along or you’re interested in fun before-and-after scenes. I’ll direct you to my friend Tim’s redo of a client’s office. It’s full of some seriously interesting items like Angela Chrusciaki Blehm‘s ribbon art.

I also was impressed by Kristina Lynne‘s kitchen transformation. The change is definitely dramatic.

There’s plenty to see with all sorts of designs, so if you have some time to read up on the reveals this weekend, check out the One Room Challenge site.

2. I love this fun, little coat.

3. Carly the Prepster brought us on tour of her recent stay at the Ritz Paris. Oh, dear. So gorgeous! The service sounds impeccable.

4. I finished audio-listening to Haruki Murakami’s Colorless Tsukura Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage. I’m now onto Dance, Dance, Dance by the same author. I can see why Murakami is one of Japan’s best-selling authors. The stories are unique and very well-told. In terms of what I’m learning about Japan, well, both stories refer to Hokkaido, a northern part of Japan, but I won’t have a chance to go there when I’m there in April. Colorless Tsukara Tazaki also has scenes in Tokyo, and I appreciated Murakami’s description of the Shinjuku train station at the beginning of Chapter 19. Here are screenshots of the text if you’d like to read a small excerpt.

From the bit of research that I did, this seems to be the photo Murakami was referring to in the text:

via Asia Times

5. Finally, isn’t this a pretty colander?

colander, designed by Marcel Wanders for Alessi

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Books: What I’ve Read / What I’m Reading

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And by reading…I mean listening! I’m still on my audiobook kick. The format is working out well considering all the walking I do and the driving I’ve done lately. Who else listens to audiobooks? What are you listening to now?

I just finished listening to The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman. It was a long one! I couldn’t get into it at the beginning, but after a few files (chapters), I got into it and really enjoyed the whole thing. I liked the development of the characters, and I liked learning about history along the way, too (set in Warsaw during World War II). Post-read, I did a bit of a Google search, and I learned that the book was made into a movie in 2017. I completely missed that. I’m adding it to my movie list now (it’s on Netflix).

I’ve switched gears, and it’s all-Japan all-the-time now. I looked up some famous Japanese authors, and it seems like one of the must-read authors is Haruki Murakami, so I started Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. It’s a New York Times bestseller, and it hooked me in from the very beginning. I have a few of Murakami’s other books on hold from the library. I love this view of Murakami’s desk; it seems we share common interests in pencils and Switzerland.

What are you reading? What do you recommend?