Monday, March 31, 2014

2014 goals | books


I started off this year with great energy and wanted to capitalize on that by establishing reasonable monthly goals (rather than my usual grand, big picture initiatives). So far it's working great! I have been able to work on a few things each month without feeling bad about myself if I go a week or so here and there without making process on one HUGE project or endeavor. 

Every month my goals varies except for one: I am challenging myself to finish two books a month. The term "finish" is really important because I am notorious for starting books; I usually am actively reading 2-4 books at a time. I get bored, so I jump around. The unfortunate side effect of this practice is that I rarely finish many books. It has been really really really hard not to pick up new, interesting books and read them alongside the ones I currently have in the pipeline. Having this clear, attainable goal has made it easy to focus.

This month I finished three books instead of two! The first, Franny and Zooey, I had been reading for a couple of years, on and off. The other two were enjoyable reads. Girl Walks into a Bar... was laugh-out-loud funny (thanks, Katie!) and Lean In was written in a very accessible way. I am going to have a separate post on my thoughts on Lean In (and there are a lot). 

What are you all reading? Any suggestions for April? So far I've started reading Anita Desai's The Artist of Disappearance. I love Desai's writing and can't wait to devour this book. 

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

the new easy


Last weekend Erin and Mat came to shoot some photos for an upcoming Bold Italic article of mine. I tagged along and practiced on my own photography-- something that's been on my monthly goals for a couple of months! These are from a great bar, The New Easy. I don't know if it's the Indian in me, but every time I see copper I swoon... their bar top was no exception. Incidentally, it made a great background for some of our drink photos. If you're in Lake Merritt, stop by and grab a gimlet!