Happy New Year! ✨
Reflecting my on my favourite 2023 reads and more!
Happy New Year!!! I cannot believe I’m typing that out but somehow it’s 2024 and January!!!! WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!?!?! It’s been over two months since the Toronto Public Library suffered from a cyber attack that thwarted my reading list plans for the last months of 2023. I am very meticulous, no seriously, I’ve had countless conversations with people explaining my holds process 🙃. When it comes to my library account I DO NOT MESS AROUND, I usually have upwards of about 65 holds at a time with some active and deactivated depending on the copies in their system vs. the amount of hold requests and what I’m feeling like reading. That all changed at the end of October when their system went offline indefinitely. Over the next six weeks I visited eight different branches I wouldn’t normally step foot into looking for whatever they had that slightly interested me. At this point, there were about eight weeks left in the year and I really wanted to hit my goal of 52 books and somehow I managed to squeeze in a grand total of 55 books in 2023. Since I started keeping track of everything I read in 2018, this is the largest amount I’ve accomplished yet. The Toronto Public Library outage definitely thwarted my planned reading list but I still managed to pivot and rally, below is a list of my favourite reads of 2023. —Ashley
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson*
True Biz: A Novel by Sara Nović
Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang*
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
Maame: A Novel by Jessica George*
From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home by Tembi Locke*
Wildflower: A Memoir by Aurora James*
A Renaissance of Our Own: a memoir & manifesto on reimagining by Rachel Cargle*
The Sex Lives of African Women by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah*
Manifesto: On never giving up by Bernardine Evaristo*
Flying Blind: The 737 MAX Tragedy and the Fall of Boeing by Peter Robison
*Author is a BIPOC woman
🎤 Rachel E. Cargle and Tia Williams | Well-Read Black Girl at MLK Library: I’ve read Rachel Cargle’s memoir and two of Tia William’s novels so this conversation was a no brainer to watch. I enjoyed hearing more about the process behind books being optioned for the big screen and how Tia was inspired to write a character that reflected the difficult things she was going through in her life vs. Rachel sharing how she came about sharing her personal journey in her memoir. The perfect video to put on in the background while you do house chores or work.
📰 Can I Please Get My Braids Done Without Hearing Offensive, Conservative Views? from Refinery29’s Unbothered: This article reminded me of the countless hours I’ve spend either sitting in a Black salon chair getting my hair done over the years and the countless topics that are brought up during the process. Being straight, I am privileged in that I was never outwardly judged or discriminated against but I do recall a few times where I felt very uncomfortable when someone in the hair salon started to preach their views vocalizing discrimination against the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Hair salons should always be a safe space for everyone, period.
Me, Myself & I : A day of selfcare at the Nia Centre for the Arts
Back in December, I had the pleasure of attending the Nia Centre’s wellness day, and it was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable experiences of the year for me. The day started with snacks and opening remarks before we were separated into three different groups that would rotate between three different workshops. First up was a Kemetic flow sequence led by Natasha Eck, I am not a big yoga person (read I haven’t done it in over a decade) but I was excited to push myself outside my normal routine of movement. I came away from it pleasantly surprised at how grounded in my body I felt. Next up was a candle making workshop with Madonna Cicconi, the founder of Cicco Aroma, this was my first time making a candle and I really enjoyed testing different scents and then picking my top/mid/base scents for my candle. The last workshop was hosted by Kimberly and Shanelle, the co-founders of The Villij (a wellness club for women of colour). They guided the group through their “Just Checking In Card Game” designed to foster intimacy through community building and self-reflection. This game fostered such a great discussion amongst our group. Then the day ended with an insightful panel discussion on mental health within the Black community.
If you are looking for ways to connect with a larger community, I highly recommend following the Nia Centre on instagram. This was my second time attending an event in their space and it was heartwarming getting to connect with a larger Black community.