Booklist Queen's 2022 Reading Challenge

Each year, I take on different reading challenges as a way to get outside of my reading comfort zone. For 2022, I plan to read a total of 104 books in 2022 by completing the 52 Book Club's 2022 reading challenge and the Booklist Queen 2022 Reading Challenge. If you'd like to participate in this 2022 reading challenge, visit www.booklistqueen.com/reading-challenge-2022.

Below is the list of reading prompts for the 2022 reading challenge which I'll start on January 1, 2022. After I finish each reading prompt, I'll update this list. If you want to see more of the books I've read this year and previous years, check out my Goodreads profile at: https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/15431036.

The Booklist Queen 2022 Reading Challenge:

1. By a author you love: Head Bangers by Zane
2. Goodreads winner in 2021: The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman
3. Book becoming a movie in 2022: Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka
   
4. Book with a twist: A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
5. Speculative fiction: Dwellers by Eliza Victoria
6. With a bird on the cover: Feral Creatures by Kira Jane Buxton
   
7. About a difficult choice: Rabbit: The Autobiography of Ms. Pat by Patricia Williams 
8. Published in 2012: Wild by Cheryl Strayed 
9. With a name in the title: Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper
10. By a local author: Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero
11. Discussion-worthy book club book: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
12. 2021 bestseller: The Storyteller by Dave Grohl
13. Genre you don't usually read: Sackett's Land (western) by Louis L' Amour
    
14. Shakespearean play: Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
    
15. With a two word title: Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades
16. About a Muslim protagonist: How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi
17. Set in the 1980's: The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak
18. Asian American & Pacific Islander Author: The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
    
19. Bottom of your to-read list: Heated by Naima Simone
20. Literary fiction: I Liked My Life by Abby Fabiaschi
21. Recommended on Instagram: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
22. LBGTQ+ book: Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
23. Book everyone is talking about: Finding Me by Viola Davis
24. Pulitzer prize winner: The Tradition by Jericho Brown (2020 winner in poetry)
25. With a blue cover: My Lady's Choosing by Kitty Curran & Larissa Zageris
26. Author who shares your initials: Spy x Family, vol. 1 by Tatsuya Endo
27. Epic adventure: Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne
28. A guilty pleasure read: Larger Than Life by Maria Sherman
29. An audiobook: Run the Mile You're In by Ryan Hall
30. Catchy title: Eat Cake for Breakfast and 99 Other Small Acts of Happiness by Viola Sutanto
31. About nature: Friluftsliv by Oliver Luke Delorie
32. Two books by the same author (1): Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire 
33. Two books by the same author (2): Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
34. YA fantasy: The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton
35. Purchased at a bookstore: An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten
36. Family drama: Revenge of the Scapegoat by Caren Beilin
    
37. Classic you've avoided: Lord of the Flies by William Golding
38. Set in Africa: The Memory of an Elephant by Alex Lasker
39. Recommended by a librarian: Wash  Day Diaries by Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith
40. By a British author: Assembly by Natasha Brown
41. Reread a favorite: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
42. Under 300 pages: Treasure Island!!! by Sara Levine
43. Spooky read: Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark
44. Nonfiction bestseller:  Atlas of the Heart by Brene' Brown
    
45. A book about life: You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar
46. Reese Witherspoon book club pick: Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman
    
47. Makes you laugh: Everything I Need to Know I learned From a Golden Book by Diane Muldrow
48. Historical novel: The Forty Elephants by Erin Bledsoe
49. A 2022 new release: Tanqueray by Stephanie Johnson & Brandon Stanton
50. Inspiring memoir:  Lady Death:  The Memoirs of Stalin's Sniper by Lyudmila Pavlichenko
51. Cozy mystery: Murder in Cherry Hill by Paige Sleuth
52. You own but haven't read: Book Nerd by Holly Maguire

The 52 Book Club's 2022 Reading Challenge

Each year, I take on different reading challenges as a way to get outside of my reading comfort zone. For 2022, I plan to read 52 books in 2022 by completing the 52 Book Club's 2022 reading challenge. If you'd like to participate in this 2022 challenge, visit www.the52book,club.

Below is the list of reading prompts for the 2022 reading challenge which I'll start on January 1, 2022. After I finish each reading prompt, I'll update this list. If you want to see more of the books I've read this year and previous years, check out my Goodreads profile at: https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/15431036.

The 52 Book Club's 2022 Reading Challenge:

1. A second-person narrative: Million Little Mistakes by Heather McElhatton
2. Featuring a library or bookstore: The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson
3. Title starting with the letter "E:" Every Body Yoga by Jessamyn Stanley
   
4. Title starting with the letter "F:" Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach
5. Chapters have titles: Black Widow: A Sad-Funny Journey Through Grief for People Who Normally Avoid Books with Words Like "Journey" in the Title by Leslie Gray Streeter
6. Household object on the cover: Niksen: Embracing the Dutch Art of Doing Nothing by Olga Mecking
   
7. A non-fiction bestseller: The Meaning of Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey (New York Times 2020)
8. Involving the art world:  The Art of the Con by Anthony M. Amore
9. A book that sparks joy: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
10. A book based on a real person: White Houses by Amy Bloom
11. A book with less that 2022 Goodreads ratings: What's Your Enneatype by Liz Carver & Josh Green
12. Set on at least two continents: The Catch Me If You Can by Jessica Nabongo
13. Includes a club: Mean Girls Club: Pink Dawn by Ryan Heshka
    
14. A character with superhuman ability: Nubia: Real One by L.L. McKinney & Robyn Smith
    
15. A five-syllable title:  Running For My Life by Lopez Lomong 
16. A book you've seen someone reading in a public place: Portraits of Childfree Wealth by Jay Zigmont
17. A book picked based on its spine: My Seven Black Fathers by Will Jawando
18. Jane Austen-inspired: The Code For Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor
    
19. A book that has an alternate title: Where's Waldo: Deluxe Edition by Martin Handford
20. Related to the word "gold:" Gold Rush Women by Claire Rudolf Murphy & Jane G. Haigh
21. Published by Simon & Schuster: Self-Care For Black Women by Oludara Adeeyo
22. An unlikely detective: An Equal Opportunity Death by Susan Dunalp
23. Author with an X, Y, or Z in their name: Saving Myself One Step at a Time: A Running Memoir by T.J. Bryan
24. Addresses a specific topic: Never Too Late by Kate Champion
25. A wealthy character: January Fifteenth by Rachel Swirsky
26. Has an "Author's Note:" Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
27. Include a map: Goldilocks: Wanted Dead or Alive by Chris Colfer
28. Award winning book from your country: Life is So Good by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman 
29. Over 500 pages long: Roots by Alex Haley (729 pages)
30. Audiobook is narrated by the author: Will by Will Smith
31. Technology-themed: Awesome Achievers in Technology by Alan Katz
32. A book that intimidates you: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
33. A bilingual character: You Had Me At Hola by Alexis Daria
34. An author's photo on the back: Secret Inland Empire: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure by Larry Burns
35. From the villain's perspective: Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker
36. Recommended by a favorite author: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (Recommended by Atul  Gawande)
    
37. Set in a rural area: We We're Rich and We Didn't Know It by Tom Phelan
38. Don't judge a book by its cover!: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig
39. A middle-grade novel: Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
40. A book with photographs inside: National Geographic Rarely Seen: Photographs of the Extraordinary by Susan Tyler Hitchcock
41. Involves a second chance: You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
42. An indie read: Love & Saffron by Kim Fay
43. Author's who published in more than one genre: The Running Shaped Hole By Robert Earl Stewart (also published poetry)
    
44. An anthology: The (Other) F Word: A Celebration of the Fat & Fierce edited by Angie Manfredi
    
45. A book with illustrated people on the cover: Caught Up in the Rapture by Sheneska Jackson
46. A job title in the title: Maids by Katie Skelly
    
47. Read during the month of November: Second Coming: Volume 1 by Mark Russell, Richard Pace, Leonard Kirk, & Andy Troy
48. Redo one of the year's prompts, but with a different genre (title starting with the letter "F"): Fairest of All by Serena Valentino
49. Book title starts with the same letter as your first name: Thirsty Mermaids by Kat Leyh
50. A person of color as the main character: Happy Endings by Thien- Kim Lam 
51. The word "game" in the title: Good Game, Well Played by Rachael Smith, Katherine Lobo, & Justin Birch
52. Published in 2022: Clean Air by Sarah Blake

Scenes From First Vegan Depot Riverside Event

On Sunday, October 3rd, me and hubby attended the first Vegan Depot event in Riverside. The event was well attended with a total of over 60 vegan vendors selling food and clothing. Below is the announcement for the event as well as some of the items we purchased while at the event. The photos include a mixed juice drink from Lizzard Mama's, a classic burger from Vruger Guyz, a supreme vegan stuffed crust pizza from Love Amaro Pizzeria, pumpkin spice coffee cake from 7 Deadly Confections, and Vegan Chickun and Cinnamon Roll Waffles from Vegan Or Nah. 

In addition to the variety of food provided at the Vegan Depot Riverside event, the was also a in person meetup of the Facebook Vegans of the Inland Empire group. Below is a photo of me and the others who attended the meetup. We had a good time at the event and will definitely plan to attend future vegan depot events in Riverside.

 

 

Adult Short Fiction Book Club and Celebrating 110 Year Library Anniversay

Shortly after starting my new job at the library, I came up the idea to create a short fiction book club as a way to give others the feeling of accomplishment of reading a book without a long term page commitment. Having said this, I held my first virtual book club meeting on last month. Below are first four books I've picked for the book club and which are all under 200 pages. 

On Friday, October 1, the Beaumont Library District celebrated its 110 year anniversary. On this day, special edition mugs were given to the first 110 patrons who checked out library items and refreshments were provided to all library visitors. Below is a graphic I made for the library's website and social media account using Canva as well as a photo of me holding one of the special edition mugs.

 

New Vegan At Universal Studios CA Instagram Account & Blog/First Universal Studios Hollywood Vegan Meal Highlighted

As a vegan since 2009, I recently noticed that although there are several Instagram accounts highlighting vegan food at Disneyland, there's no account (that I could find) focusing on Universal Studios in California. Having said this, I've created a new Instagram account called "veganatuniversalstudiosca" with the goal to discover & highlight vegan food options at Universal Studios Hollywood & Universal Studios CityWalk. Here's the logo for the new Instagram account.

In addition to the Instagram account, I've also created a new blog  which can be found at www.veganatuniversalstudiosca.blogspot.com.

Below is the first vegan item highlighted on my new Instagram page which is the asparagus platter from the Three Broomsticks Restaurant inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. For $16, you receive seared asparagus with mashed potatoes (swap for roasted potatoes,) cabbage, and minted peas garnished with a roasted plum tomato. This was cooked very well and looks better than described online.

I'm excited about discovering & highlighting vegan options at Universal Studios Hollywood as well as Universal Studios CityWalk and hope that this account will lead more vegans visiting the theme park as well as the culinary staff making more vegan options. As I add more photos to the Instagram account, I plan to update them to this blog as well so subscribe to read about all the vegan food options I discover!

 

Celebrating Our 15th Wedding Anniversary (with Less COVID Restrictions)

 On June 26, marked me and my hubby celebrated our 15 year wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe that we've been married for fifteen years and together as a couple for 23 years! Here's a collage of photos from various times in our relationship. 

Since we're both practical people, the anniversary gifts we exchanged were items we could used or items we could both enjoy together. Having said this, I received a new vegan wallet made of wax leather and hubby received an Amazon fire stick.

To celebrate our anniversary, we decided to keep things simple and treated ourselves to seeing the new Fast & Furious 9 aka F9 in an actual movie theater. It was great going to a movie theater in person again and the new COVID-19 rules in place are that in you're fully vaccinated (which we both are) you don't have to wear masks inside most buildings anymore. After watching the movie, we went to cinnaholic for a vegan cinnamon roll and vegan banana bread. 

After seeing the movie and enjoying desserts from Cinnaholic, we ended our anniversary day by completing a tropical painting provided by my job for our adult summer reading club. Here are photos of the blank canvas followed by the completed painting by me and hubby. 

Overall, our anniversary was a great day and a wonderful celebration of our life as a couple. 

Settling into New Job and Discovering New Vegan Food in the Inland Empire

I'm excited to be settling into my new job as adult services librarian at the Beaumont Library District. I am happy to have recently received my official work badge which is shown below. I have also settled into having a mid-week off day since the library is closed on Wednesday and like that I'm able to go places which cost less to visit since it's not during the weekend.

Besides work, I've enjoyed discovering new vegan foods in the area such as Vegan or Nah food pop up, Just Vegana pop up in Fontana and Munchies Vegan Diner in Santa Ana. Below are photos from my recent food adventures.

Chickun slider and cajun fries 

Chickun and fries

Chickun and waffles

Just Vegana Food Pop Up - Fontana

Vegan Shrimp Quesadilla

Munchies Vegan Diner - Santa Ana

Human style fries

Santa Ana Slam

Cheesy Papas

VcGriddle sausage sandwich

 

Learning How To Relax (Kinda)

 As a person who tends to constantly be busy doing something, I have recently come to the realization that my reason for being busy constantly is that I have seen from a very early age that to not be busy is to unproductive and lazy.

I am working towards finding a balance between working and relaxing and below are a few things I've discovered that help me relax:

Practicing Meditation on a Daily Basis

In an effort to begin my day in a more positive way, I've begun to use the free Soothing Pod app every morning. I love this app because the meditations are short and because meditations are grouped by similar topics. Soothing Pod app also offers other things such as bedtime stories, music and sounds to help the user relax. 

Writing hotel gym reviews on Hotel Gym Rater.com website

As someone who exercises daily, hotel gyms have been a godsent as me and hubby get settled into our new life in southern California. Since I post my daily workout on Instagram, I was surprised when I was contacted by a gym named Christian from Denmark regarding his new website rating hotel gyms.

Since this sort of thing is right up my alley, I created a profile and have already submitted a hotel gym review for the place where we're currently staying. By writing reviews whenever we stay at a hotel, this helps me to help others know where the best hotel gyms are as well as ones to stay away from.

Engage in more body inclusive workouts

As I wrote earlier, I exercise daily and I do a combination of using exercise equipment (when available) and YouTube workouts. My new favorite YouTube workout channel (as well as website and free app) is Joyn which provides body inclusive workouts. So far, I've enjoyed a workout using a pillow (called pillow fight) as well as a 90's dance workout. I love Joyn because the workout instructors a plus size and are moving the bodies that they have now versus waiting until they hit a number on the scale. Seeing the instructors on Joyn help me to accept the body I have now as well as learn that I don't need to exercise for a long duration each day to improve me fitness. 

Continue with goal of completing two reading challenges

As I mentioned earlier this year, I am currently particpating in two online reading challenges: the 2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge and the 52 Book Club's 2021 Reading Challenge. So far, I've completed 20/50 books for the Popsugar Reading Challenge and 20/52 books for The 52 Book club's 2021 Reading Challenge. You can follow my on Instagram to see what books I've read for each of the  challenges.

Relaxing by journaling

I have kept a journal since I was in middle school and have often used my journal as a way to express feelings and emotions I don't feel comfortable speaking aloud. Although there have been time periods when I have stopped regularly journaling, as life has changed due to COVID-19 as well as me leaving my old job and starting a new job, I have resumed journaling and find that it helps provide clarity and insight on my feelings. Currently I also use my journal as a way to clear my mind after work or word out situations occurring in my life presently or in the future. 

Learn to not work when not at work (and during lunch breaks)

One of the hardest things for me to do is to disconnect from work and not work on my off days. At my last job, since I was the digital services librarian, at a small rural library system, I felt like I was on call and never got a chance to rest when our buildings closed due to COVID in  March 2020 which lead to a higher number of usage of our ematerials (eaudiobooks, eBooks, streaming video, etc.) Due the building closures, my boss was texting me constantly with things to post that she found from other library Facebook account she follows online.

Eventually, I started to have daily anxiety towards words regarding having to create, edit and delete content on a daily basis for six Facebook pages, one Twitter page, and one YouTube channel. In addition to my digital librarian job duties, I was also branch supervisor for two library branches as well as project lead for our Zip Books program and our Career Online High School program. If this sounds like a lot, that's because it was a lot. 

Having been at my new job for almost a month, I can say that my anxiety less is much less and I feel this is due to it being a different library set up with two locations ( 1 building and 1 bookmobile) and that fact that the staff at my new job are super chill. I'm slowly but surely learning to be less regimented and less in a rush and more go with the flow which I'm starting to see is not necessarily a bad thing. 

Although learning to relax is something that doesn't come naturally to me, I feel that the more effort I make on a daily basis to relax, the easier it will become. 

Starting a New Chapter

     After six years as digital services librarian at the Kings County Library, I've accepted a position as Senior Librarian-Adult Services Librarian at the Beaumont Library District in Beaumont, California starting on Monday, April 19th. As I finished my last workday on Friday, April 16th, I felt grateful to have been able to work with such great people and will miss all of my co-workers very much! Here are photos from my last my last workday. 

 

     

My First Race Since COVID-19 & Race Recap: Havasu Half Marathon

      This past Saturday, I completed by first in person running event in a year which was the Havasu Half Marathon the took place in Lake Havasu, Arizona. I was excited to run this race since this was my first in person running event in a year and it was also this provided me with an opportunity to run in a new state and get closer to run a half marathon in all fifty states.

     I was bummed when the race was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 and was glad that since vaccines are now available, the race was able to be held this year with safety precautions. A few weeks before race day, I received an email from the race director clearly explaining the ways in which he was working to make the race a safe experience for all runners.

     The first safety precaution was that all runners were assigned a specific time to attend the race expo. The expo was held outside and everyone was required to wear a mask when attending the expo. When I arrived at the race expo, I was greeted by two masked volunteers who took my temperature before I was able to enter the expo. Each runner was given twenty minutes to pick up their bib and race shirt from the expo. 

     The second big safety precaution was that runners were assigned to a specific start time on race day and were distanced by number safety cones leading up ti the start line. The third safety precaution is that all runners were required to wear a mask when crossing the start line as well as when crossing the finish line. After crossing the start line, since runners tend to run at a distance, runners could take their masks off. Below are photos from race day.  

Waiting at start/finish line

Mural on race route

Dune buggy on race route

Landscape during the race

Me at halfway marker

Sidewalk smiley face on race route 

Patriotic supporter on race route 

     One of the coolest things about the Havasu Half is that some of the race is run on the London Bridge which is actually a portion of the London Bridge which was purchased by someone in Arizona and then moved from London to Lake Havasu.

Running towards London Bridge

The view of London Bridge

Me with Lake Havasu Half medal

     

     Overall, this was a very enjoyable race and I'm glad to have had the opportunity to run my first person race as well as check off a new state to have run in. I also think that a new part of racing in the COVID-19 era is that in addition to giving out race medals, race companies will also provide branded racing event face mask as a souvenir of the running event. 

Havasu Half medal and event souvenir facemask