introvert

The Last Bookstore

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Hello All,

I hope this finds you well and enjoying a restful weekend. As you know, one of my reading goals for the year is to support more local bookshops over large retailers like B&N and Amazon. And, this February, I was given just the opportunity!

I am most thankful to my friends for supporting my book habit, and for accompanying me to Downtown LA’s very own “The Last Bookstore”. This was only our second time ever exploring LA (and tackling it’s own unique kind of traffic), so we did hit a few bumps along the road – and a farmer’s market – before locating the establishment on the corner of South Spring Street.

I’d been wanting to visit this place for a long time and it did not disappoint! Not only did it have two huge floors, but it also housed several themed rooms, art installations, and shops!

I took in the magic of each section one step at a time, starting off with Fiction, Classics, and Young Adults. I allowed books to jump out, letting them choose me instead of me choosing them. (I eventually walked away with P. Schonstein’s A Time of Angels: A Novel, M. Tokuda-Hall’s The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea, and an annotated copy of Frankenstein geared toward scientists and creatives of all types.)

On the second floor, I discovered not only a lovely Carroll-esque art installation (among several others) but also a wonderfully witchy little shop selling tarot cards, crystals, jewelry, and art by Liz Huston. I bought a few postcards to use as bookmarks there before heading out to find the book labyrinth. (Yes, they have a book labyrinth!)

It’s really an all-day kind of visit, but we were strapped for time as the drive back to the Central Valley was long. Before “re-entering the real world”, however, I made sure to leave well stocked in books and, of course, a hoodie.

Do you guys know of any bookshops in Northern California that I should visit?

2023 Reading Goals

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Dear Reader,  

I am trying out a new format. Mainly, because I love writing letters and I thought it would be fun to incorporate that hobby into my online posts. Doesn’t it feel a lot less stuffy?  

Anyway, happy holiday weekend! I hope this finds you well and enjoying a peaceful February overall. Even though the month’s almost over, I still find it hard to believe at times that we’re already in 2023! We’ll probably be in 2025 if I blink fast enough, ha!  

I started the year with a few more manageable reading goals in mind. Five, to be exact. Last year felt like such a hot mess that I barely got any reading done and, in part, I wonder if it was because of my unrealistic expectations. I was trying to read 2-3 books a month, which is hard to do when you’re juggling full-time work and a bunch of other side projects. (And dealing with seasonal depression, where all you want to do is sleep and/or play nostalgia inducing video games – I discovered the cloud version of Kingdom Hearts for Nintendo Switch. Game over! Pun intended.)  

So, this year I decided to take it easier and challenge myself at the same time by:  

  • Reading at least 12 books in 2023.  
  • Reading at least 2 of those 12 books in Spanish.  
  • Reading at least 1 classic.  
  • Supporting more local book shops over larger franchises. (Here’s looking at you B&N and Amazon.)  
  • Making sure that at least 4 of the 12 books I read come from my kindle library, which grew over the previous year but never lessened. (Damn those kindle book deals.) 

Pretty attainable goals, right? And, in fact, I’ve already read two books and even got to support an amazing local bookshop in LA, The Last Bookstore (post on this coming soon). So, I’m off to a great start.  

How about you, friend? Did you enter the new year with any reading goals?  

Book Review: “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” – 5/5⭐️

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Pages: 384 

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Thoughts:

*****SPOILER WARNING (OF SORTS)*****

This is a beautiful book. Benjamin Alire Saenz’s Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a tender ride through the mind of Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza as he matures into a young man, and builds a lifelong relationship with his best friend, Dante Quintana. The two boys are like polar opposites, but bring out the best in each other. Ari is introspective by nature, and self doubting, while Dante is extroverted and very confident. Ari sometimes mentions how Dante seems to fit right in, while he himself struggles socially to the point of having no friends. 

Both boys carry a deep weight within their hearts, and it’s their friendship that gives them the courage to approach life, and their parents. While one fears rejection by bringing up his imprisoned brother, the other fears disappointing his parents by coming out to them. Being Mexican-American myself, I wholeheartedly sympathized with the two boys because family is such an important thing in Latinx culture. It’s pretty much sacred, and the fear of disappointment is very real. Yet, what struck me the most was the depth of love between the two families, and the relationship the parents had with their children. Because, as we know, not all traditional parents are so open minded. So, seeing the level of tenderness and acceptance from the Mendoza’s and Quintana’s made me want to cry. In fact, I did, a few times. 

What I enjoyed too was the use of the weather in this book. Hot summer days, clear starlit nights, and rainstorms. So many rainstorms. Saenz seemed to connect the weather with Ari in that way. In the beginning, it is summer and he is dry and parched, in need of a friend to exchange words with and validate his existence. Then come the storms of confusing emotions, of family secrets, of school, teenage angst, and injuries. It’s one after another for poor Ari, until, finally, the sky clears and he has come into himself.

In all, this is a fun and quick read, filled with the budding emotions of two teenage boys and the trials they face in a society that is not entirely understanding. But thankfully, they have family to rely on, as well as each other. Oh, and a dog named Legs. Let’s not forget Legs. 

If you choose to give this a read, let me know what you think! I haven’t picked up the second book just yet, so I’d love to hear thoughts from those who have read it.

Journaling Thought: Ending on a Good Note

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I am notorious for data-dumping, or simply ranting, in my journals. Not necessarily a bad thing, but what I did realize recently was that I have forgotten to write down more of the good. Often my journal is the friend I reach for when my emotions are high, when I need to work a problem out and find some kind of clarity. Once I’ve gotten it all down, however, I stop there.

But I invite you to join me in my challenge: let’s try to end on a good note. One highlight or positive that ends the shit-storm of a day we might have had. Something to curb the anxiety we might be working through. Something we’re thankful for, or, an event that made our day not-so-bad. Maybe someone “paid-it-forward” at the drive-thru at Starbucks, or a coworker surprised you with one of her handmade scones. (Seriously, I have a coworker who’s one wicked baker.)

In fact, what’s something good that happened to you today? Let me know in the comments down below!

JT: Finding the Right Time

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I would be lying if I said that I write consistently every day. I don’t, and I’ve also failed at trying to get up extra early to do a bit of journaling before work. I’m a night owl who has the unfortunate luck of working a normal eight-to-five. That said, for some, writing first thing in the morning does have some benefit. In her The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron encourages artists (of all kinds) to take up a routine of writing morning pages, or, three pages of stream-of-consciousness/data-dump writing. The goal of this is to help clear the mind and prepare it to face the day. Open up the creative channels that might be otherwise blocked by all the worries we carry around.

I tried this way, and realized that as a night owl, evening journaling works best for me. By evening, I feel like I have plenty to say. (I keep a notepad in my bag to write down potential topics, just in case I need help starting.) After I’ve written my two pages (not three, in my case), I find myself in a quieter state. I’ve noticed that I even sleep better.

So, I encourage you to try writing during different times in your day, see which one best fits your schedule and nature. You can try writing three pages, or, like me, two pages back and front.

What time do you feel fits you best?

***

If you’d like to connect, please reach out at my contact page, or on instagram (@introvertinflux)!

JT: Sometimes It’s Ugly Up There

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Even with more than ten years of practice, I still freeze before the blank page. I still have those moments where I let my inner critic whisper in my ear: do you even have anything good to say? The truth is, no, I don’t. Not always. Putting pen to paper doesn’t mean that you’ll only write down the good moments, or the good thoughts. Sometimes, it’s ugly up there and writing it all down helps us void out the bad blood and pus we’ve been carrying around. But, before reaching the point of healing, we must sharpen a blade, sterilize it, and reopen the wound.

It’s as fun as it sounds.

The good thing is that, once you get the words down, you never have to go back and read them again. Not unless you want to. I’ve got a box of notebooks in my mother’s basement, and I can tell you now that I’ve gone back and read none of them. That’s because the notebooks served their purpose. They helped me process and break free of whatever had been trapping me at the time. And, if you’re worried about someone finding them, you can go one step further and destroy them when you’re done. Light a fire and send all that ugliness away in a cloud of ash and smoke.

Or, you can just use a shredder.

Prompts to consider:

  • What’s something you regret?
  • What words would you say to someone who really hurt you?
  • What are some of your worst fears?
  • Write about the skeletons in your closet.

Well, have a good rest of the week. Let me know if you’ve got any other prompt ideas!

A Brief Introduction (of Sorts)

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Earlier this year, I was responding to a penpal in Germany and one of the questions she asked me in her letter was: in three words, how would you describe yourself? Believe it or not, that’s how Introvert in Flux was born. Three simple words to describe the current state of being I find myself in. Quiet, but constantly changing. 

And, I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way. I’m sure others, like me, grew up and live in a society that promotes extroversion. And this society comes with a lot of noise, a lot of feedback and chatter. So much so, that sometimes, it’s hard to find a moment of peace. But they’re out there, and when you feel like you’re at your limit, they make all the difference.

I hope that this will be a quiet, peaceful, space for you.

Let me also start off by saying that I don’t always have my life together. In fact, I mess up a lot. Even while entering my thirties, I am still growing and learning about what my bones are made of, and how they all fit together. Even so, what I hope to do here is share a few of the skills and practices I’ve picked up along the way in hopes that they might be of some benefit to you. That you might learn a bit more about yourself. What you’re capable of, what you might be carrying, and what needs to be left behind. I’ll even toss in a few personal experiences and observations, just to keep things interesting. 

So, Dear Reader, I invite you to join me. Let’s mess up together, then figure things out as we go.