Tag Archives: life lessons

I’m Thinking About Moths

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Ryn PB

I accidentally killed a moth. I was sitting outside, crisscross applesauce, back against a brick wall, sweating under the late May sun; the moth saw the shadowy space underneath my legs and beelined for the shelter with inevitably misplaced trust. … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, mental health | Tagged anxiety, bookseller, change, friends, friendship, half price books, hpb, job, knives, life changes, life lessons, may, mental health, moths, nature, nebraska, outside, reading, summer, the mountain goats, work | 1 Comment

Swimmers

Posted on May 15, 2023 by Ryn PB

In the beginning, the universe was a pristine lake. The spirits of gods and creatures and angels swam in the void together, content to ride the waves and ripples created by their fellow Swimmers. The Swimmers didn’t need to see … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era, Fiction Short Stories, stories | Tagged angels, anxiety, books, creation, creation myth, creative, genesis, gods, humanity, lakes, life lessons, mental health, myth, origins, spirits, spirituality, stories, swimming, universe, water, writing | 1 Comment

What Do You See When You Read?

Posted on March 31, 2023 by Ryn PB

When you read a book, a movie plays out in your mind, a vivid moving picture created entirely by the collaboration between your mind and the author’s words. Until recently, I thought this was a total exaggeration. No way people … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era | Tagged adaptations, anxiety, aphantasia, art, book nerd, books, bookworm, education, films, hangeul, knowledge, korean, languages, learning, life lessons, linguistics, memes, mental health, movies, reader, reading, spanish, words, writer, writing, written word | 3 Comments

25 Quotes for 25 Years

Posted on February 28, 2023 by Ryn PB

This month, I turned 25, so I thought I would compile 25 quotes that have given me wisdom, laughter, and/or comfort throughout my life so far. Hopefully they can offer something to you too! “Life moves pretty fast. If you … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era | Tagged AJR, birthday, bob ross, bojack horseman, bts, christmas, doctor who, emily dickinson, emotions, ferris bueller, gilmore girls, green day, hank green, heartstopper, jess mariano, john green, john mulaney, karate kid, leighbardugo, LGBT+, life lessons, maggie stiefvater, mary poppins, mental health, milestone, movies, music, newsies, nick nelson, paper towns, psych, queer lit, queer rep, quotes, reading, six of crows, spider-man, spidey, stan lee, the raven boys, the raven cycle, trc, YA lit | Leave a comment

Something’s coming…

Posted on February 12, 2023 by Ryn PB

And that something is Another New Era for As Cool As Mint Ice Cream! Writing about what I’m reading, while fun, has made reading more stressful than I’d like it to be. Thinking about Maggie Stiefvater’s concept of “plot bunnies” … Continue reading →

Posted in Another New Era | Tagged books, creative writing, LGBT+, life lessons, maggie stiefvater, reviews, writing | Leave a comment

October 2022: How I got locked in a cemetery with the undead

Posted on November 3, 2022 by Ryn PB

What I Got: Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong Greywaren by Maggie Stiefvater Word Origins and their Romantic Origins by Wilfred Funk The Manticore by Robert Davies Men, Ships, and the Sea (National Geographic) by Capt. Alan Villiers & other … Continue reading →

Posted in polysyllabic spree, stories | Tagged books, bookworm, cemetery, colson whitehead, graphic novels, graves, gravestones, halloween, LGBT+, life lessons, one piece, pandemic, pirates, plague, reading, spooky, the maze runner, the walking dead, undead, walking dead, world war z, zombie literature, zombies | 1 Comment

September 2022: How I finally chilled out and read a normal number of books during a month determined to bury me

Posted on October 3, 2022 by Ryn PB

What I Got: Oh My Goddess!: On a Wing and a Prayer by Kosuke Fujishima and translated by Alan Gleason & Toren Smith …and the Chinese cliffs emerged out of the mist: Perception and Image of China in Early Photographs … Continue reading →

Posted in polysyllabic spree, stories | Tagged bookmarks, books, bookworm, crafts, diy, fall, fantasy, history, illness, ireland, izombie, life lessons, netflix, nonfiction, reading, sickness, ve schwab, wrap up, writing, zombies | Leave a comment

January 2022: How a really good book, a really bad book, and an overwhelming life put me in a reading slump

Posted on January 31, 2022 by Ryn PB

What I Got: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas A Little Tea Book: All the Essentials from Leaf to Cup by Sebastian Beckwith, Caroline Paul, and Wendy MacNaughton The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield Once & Future by A.R. Capetta and … Continue reading →

Posted in polysyllabic spree | Tagged after, anna todd, autobiography, book haul, books, cats, cozy vibes, fanfiction, gender theory, greek mythology, hate read, hot chocolate, john green, leah johnson, lemony snicket, lgbt lit, LGBT+, library, library sale, life lessons, movies, music, music festival, netflix, outerspace, particle physics, percy jackson, physics, queer lit, reading, rise to the sun, sale, science, sickness, stem, tea, twitter, women in stem, writing | Leave a comment

December 2021: How I read some pretty good books this year while trying to escape reality (a.k.a. my favorite books of 2021)

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Ryn PB

2022 still doesn’t feel like a real year… and yet here we are! Like 2020, this past year was challenging, but some good things did come out of 2021. I got top surgery, my parents got an amusing new dog, … Continue reading →

Posted in polysyllabic spree | Tagged adaptations, anthropocene reviewed, anxiety, books, chella man, chloe gong, classics, colson whitehead, continuum, erin morgenstern, favorites, fence, graphic novels, grishaverse, hawaii, john green, leigh bardugo, lgbt lit, LGBT+, life lessons, maggie stiefvater, magic fish, mental health, new year, nickel boys, pandemic lit, phantom of the opera, poppy war, queer lit, raven cycle, reading, starless sea, these violent delights, trans stories, translated lit, writing | Leave a comment

Author Spotlight: Michelle Cruz Gonzales, The Spitboy Rule

Posted on October 14, 2021 by Ryn PB

Michelle “Todd” Cruz Gonzales claims that her journey from punk rock drummer to college English professor was not all that far-fetched. For a Xicana from a small town who taught herself how to drum and started her own hardcore feminist … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged alice bag, author, books, chicanx lit, latinx, life lessons, literature, los crudos, music, punk, punk rock, reading, spitboy, spotlight, writing, xicana, xicanx | Leave a comment