End of Year Survey 2018 Part 2: Bookish/Blogging Life

Every year, Jamie at the Perpetual Page Turner puts together a survey to help you reflect on your year as a bookish blogger. I split my survey up into two parts. In part 1, which you can find here, I talk about some of the most interesting books I read this year. Today in part 2, I'll reflect a bit on my blogging and bookish life.

1. New favourite book blog/Bookstagram/YouTube channel you discovered in 2018?

I don't know! I'm not great at keeping up with or discovering new blogs these days. Any recommendations? I'm especially on the look out for book bloggers not in the US or Canada, or CanLit bloggers!

2. Favourite post you wrote in 2018?

I think probably the post Begin Again. I liked experimenting a bit more this year with more creative non-fiction type posts (even if they weren't as popular), and I think that post is probably my favourite. I like how it captures how I felt in the midst of and then after coming out of a years-long writing slump. I like writing about the more difficult side of writing, and I hope it helped at least a few people to know that they aren't alone in their struggles.

3. Favourite bookish related photo you took in 2018?

I have way too many pictures of my cats, but that's book-related, right? Cats are the ultimate reading companion. Here's a picture of my cat helping me with my 2 day poem contest entry.

4. Best bookish event you participated in this year?

I didn't blog about it (which now thinking about it is really silly), but I actually volunteered at a local writer's festival this year (it's one of the reasons I got so into poetry in the latter half of this year). It was probably the best thing I did. I got to meet a lot of fellow writers, both published and unpublished, and I actually called myself a writer out loud, in public.And everyone was so incredibly warm and welcoming. It also solidified for me the notion that writing is something to be shared and is not a solitary thing. I also went to an author event for Eden Robinson at my local bookstore, which was super fun.

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2018?

 I don't know, I can't pick! Interviewing Kate Hart was pretty cool. So was having Shvaugn guest post for my Local Book Nook series. So was having incredible Canadian children's author Sheree Fitch follow me on Twitter! I love it all, and I can't wait to do more in the next year.

6. Most challenging thing about your blogging or reading life this year?

 

For blogging, I would say balance, as always. This time not with school but with writing. Now that I've gotten back into writing pretty consistently, I have to figure out how to prioritize between that and this blog. I definitely think that's something I need to figure out for this upcoming year.

And another thing I've been thinking about is just, what do I want? It's a question I ask myself every year, and now that I'm done school I'm considering committing more to this blog, making consistent posts and really trying to grow it a little bit. Ideally I'd like it to reach a bit wider of an audience, but I also want to keep the core of it - which is doing something that I enjoy and that I'm proud of. Just... I want to be a bit more consistent is all. 

7. Most popular post this year on your blog?

The interview I did with Kate Hart, which I'm so glad. I hope that interview helped at least a few more people find Kate Hart and her book, After the Fall, because she deserves all the attention. That interview was a long time coming, too, so I'm glad it did well.

8. Post you wished got a little more love?

All of them! :) They could all use some more love, but especially my poem project post. I'm really proud of that project and want more people to see it. If you're curious about my writing style, you might want to check that out.

9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc)?

I'm not sure if this works, but this year I got heavily into Critical Role and the collaborative storytelling that is Dungeons and Dragons. Both Critical Role and D&D have opened my eyes to new and different ways of telling stories, and have helped me in my own writing as well. I'm really excited to see where it goes.

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

My goals for this year were pretty vague, but one of the things I talked about was sharing more of my own writing and writing process. I think I did that a bit, although I'd still love to do a bit more. I'm also sad that since I was traveling so much this summer I didn't get to do as much stuff for Women in Translation Month this year. But there's always next year! I'll talk more about my goals for the upcoming year in my New Year's post like I always do.

11. One thing you hope to accomplish or do in your blogging life in 2019?

I'll talk a bit more about this in my New Year's Post, but like I said, I want to start being way more consistent with my posts. Like maybe actually make a calendar or something. I'd also like to really commit to Women in Translation Month, and start up doing Local Book Nook posts again. (By the way, if you want to talk about local books, hit me up!)

Stay tuned for tomorrow when I'll go over last year's goals and look ahead to what's to come!

Local Book Nook #3: British Columbia, Canada

I am very excited to have the first Local Book Nook installment of 2018! Local Book Nook is a blog series I started last year, where I feature readers from all over the world talking about their favourite local books and authors.  If you want to read previous posts or learn how to participate, click here. 

Today on the blog to share her favourite local books is Shvaugn of The Borrowed Bookshelf. Shvaugn's blog has quickly risen from the ranks as one of my favourite blogs, as she consistently features lesser known books and great, diverse CanLit. One of my favourite posts is her Women in Translation Month Bingo, but really, all of them are great so go check out her blog when you're done here.

Where are you from?

Dinosaur Provincial Park, Alberta

My name is Shvaugn and I'm from a bunch of places. I grew up in various places along the BC coast and a small city on unceded Secwepemc territory in BC. I went to college in Kelowna on unceded Syilx/Okanagan territory, and university in Ottawa on unceded Algonquin territory. Now I live in a small rural town in southern Alberta, which is Treaty 7 territory, traditional land of the Blood Tribe, Piikani Nation, Siksika Nation, Stoney Tribe and Tsuu T'ina Nation.

Because I've moved a lot, it's hard to identify as being solely from one place. I largely identify as British Columbian, specifically from the Shuswap region.

Lilooet, BC

Growing up in the Shuswap, there's a strong literary scene. Word on the Lake is the local writer's festival in Salmon Arm and has been going strong for over a decade. Bookingham Palace is the local bookstore, and there are also two used book stores, Hidden Gems and Book Nook. The library branch is also pretty kickass. 

Ottawa, ON

Living in Ottawa, there's a number of adorable second hand book stores, a strong (and slightly pretentious in my opinion) literary scene in both French and English. The Ottawa library is also fantastic with great branches and programs, and strives to serve areas without a branch by bookmobile.

The town I'm living in now doesn't have a bookstore at all. The only places to buy books are the thrift stores, Walmart and the grocery store. Thank goodness for the library. Alberta has a number of fantastic library systems and if you can't find the book you're looking for in your local system, you can order it online through interlibrary loan through the Alberta Library which covers the whole province.

Salmon Arm, BC

What are some of your favourite local books or authors?

Whenever I feel homesick for BC, I turn to one of these books or authors. 

Skin Like Mine by Gary Gottfriedson is a fantastic collection of poetry. Gottfriedson is a member of the Secwepemc First Nation and a lot of his poetry is set in the area surrounding Kamloops. 

Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan Coyote. Coyote is one of my favourite storytellers and has an amazing ability to craft stories that are beautifully centred on people. They're also an oral storyteller so I recommend checking out the audiobook which Coyote narrates themself.

Salt Spring Island, BC

Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson is a beautiful, heartbreaking, moving coming of age novel that blends history, mythology and family. I lived in a different area of the BC coast, but Robinson's description of the Pacific and the coastline really connected with me when I was missing BC.

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki is a recent favourite of mine. It's a really interesting and compelling read about time, quantum physics, island living, zen buddhism, depression and writing. 

Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life by Brian Brett. This book is part memoir, part history of Salt Spring Island, part poetry collection. Which doesn't sound like a fantastic sell but it's such a beautiful book. I lived on Salt Spring Island for a couple of years as a kid and still long for the arbutus trees and the beaches.

Shvaugn is a book lover who reads a lot, drinks too much tea, and owns a cat who only half loves her. She currently lives in rural Alberta in a small town without a bookstore. Her main reading interests include CanLit, fantasy, sci-fi, and queer books, but she'll read just about anything. Except westerns, she's never really liked westerns unless they're contemporary romance. A long-time supporter and lover of libraries, the majority of the books she reads and reviews are library books. You can find her reviewing books at the borrowed bookshelf.

5 Strategies to Actually Enjoy Reading Poetry (+ Recommendations!)

Yeah, I don't really "get" poetry. Poetry is too complicated. Poetry goes over my head. It's pretentious. It's for English major nerds. It's definitely not for me.

These phrases or variants of them are probably things you've either said sometime in life, or you've heard someone else say. I have definitely both said them and heard them said. Poetry is often thought of as complicated work that is hard to understand and inaccessible to most people.

Well, I'm hear to tell you, no longer!

I've gotten a lot more into reading poetry lately, mostly the result of a writer's festival I'm volunteering for. A lot of the writers I was unfamiliar with, so I thought I should read some of their work. Most of them turned out to be poets, so I ended up checking out a bunch of poetry books from the library and fell in LOVE.

Anyway here are some things I've kept in mind while reading poetry that have helped make it an entirely more enjoyable experience*:

1. Just read 

Read poetry as you would any other book - for enjoyment, line by line, taking in the words. You don't have to worry about extracting a certain meaning from the text because this is your reading time. Don't worry too much about trying to understand the poem either, just kind of let the words wash over you how they will. Getting frustrated that you aren't getting something is a sure fire way of taking the fun out of reading poetry.


2. Skip poems you don't like

Is there a poem that puts you off, or is just way too out there for you no matter how many times you reread it? Instead of feeling like a failure for not understanding great art, acknowledge that subjective experience is a thing and you won't click with every poem. The fun thing about poetry books is they include a whole bunch of poems - some that will click with you and make you feel like you were punched in the gut, and others that you'll breeze through and never think about again.


3. Let them connect with you where you're at

One of the cool things about poetry is how they can really deeply speak to someone's experience. A certain poem you read may really impact you and speak to where your life or mindset is at the moment, and that's the really powerful, fun part of reading poetry. Hold on to those moments. Save your favourite poems to reread later when you're in that emotional space.


4. You don't have to read everything

Just like anything else, not all poems are for everyone! Find poems that *you* enjoy reading. There are so many different ways of writing poetry out there. Some styles might annoy you, so just stay away from those! Your pretentious artist cred won't be damaged if you skip over poems you don't like for ones you enjoy. Maybe you like T.S. Eliot. Maybe Rupi Kaur's simple but elegant style is more for you.

5. Don't care what other people think

Poetry is often given a bad image (mainly from terrible high school English classes, at least in my experience). In some literary circles, you can be put down from liking certain kinds of poets or liking poets that use language in a more direct way. You can be made to feel stupid for not understanding or liking old classic poets (probably old white men anyway), or childish for following your favourite Instagram poets. But I say poetry should be consumed and enjoyed, whatever way you might wish to do that. So don't care about the pretentious literary snobs. They aren't having as much fun as you.

So, now that you're super excited to get into poetry, where should you start? Well, I've got some great recommendations for you:

#IndianLovePoems by Tenille K. Campbell is a collection of poems on Indigenous intimacy, sexuality, love and family, interwoven with Indigenous cultural images. The poems are quick and easy to read, but they are also hilarious and bold. It's a stunning and confident collection which you should go read right now.

This Wound is a World by Billy-Ray Belcourt knocked me off my feet from the very first poem. I would dog-ear the entire book if I wasn't borrowing it from the library (I will buy it asap don't worry). These poems focus on themes of Indigenous and queer identity, and the sadness that can be encompassed in that, but also the beauty of feeling that sadness. Belcourt says in his afterword that his book is "nothing if not a tribute to the potentiality of sadness" and that sharing the feeling of being lonely or alone is a way to make new forms of collectivity. His poems are absolutely heartbreaking but in the best, most cathartic way.









questions i asked my mother by Di Brandt was a book that shook up Mennonite communities when it was first published, and it still has the potential to speak to religious communities today, with commentary included in her poems on traditional religious roles, traditional communities, patriarchy, women’s speech and sexuality. It presents these themes in beautiful unstructured poems that have incredible depth to them.

Unstable Neighbourhood Rabbit by Mikko Harvey is an absolutely fascinating collection of poems that turns the world on its head. These are the kinds of poems that after you've finished them you feel like you've been punched in the gut because they turn out to be about something different than you originally thought. I had the opportunity to hear the title poem of this book read aloud by Harvey, and after he finished it you could literally hear the audience exclaim under their breath in awe and wonder.

Well, there you have it. You now have all the tools to be a poetry connoisseur, and be exposed to some great, world-changing writing.







*Disclaimer: while these strategies can be useful for enjoying poetry again, they should not be used for poetry analysis for classes. Although I've found knowing how to analyze poetry actually aids in my enjoyment sometimes! However, this is basically just a guide to remove some barriers and get you started.