beware the autumn people

Hello October by Violet Sistine Photography on Flickr.

Jane Austen’s handwritten manuscript of Persuasion

Here’s a 2020 edition of that coffee post — it seems that no matter what I am still all about iced coffee (with oat milk) when I’m writing on hot summer days 

Happy Sunday🍂 I have two film recommendations for you!!! . Nappily Ever After with @sanaalathan & directed by the amazing @gpbmadeit is a must watch!! It is so sweet and endearing but reflected the rich & complex hair story of African American women as well. It reminded me of my own hair story from having a relaxer to wanting to see the natural texture of my hair {relaxers are rooted in African Americans attempting to assimilate to be accepted in a time when they weren’t. There is nothing wrong with AAW wearing their hair straight btw as it’s just a choice but just providing some background}. I came home one day from school, grabbed some kitchen shears and chopped it all off. It was one of the most freeing things I’ve ever done in my life so the one scene made me teary. This film also reminded me of a conversation with @_wolfandmoon about seeing/reading more African American love stories and rom coms. The proverbial noose so to speak will always be present because these are the times we live in, however POC fall in love, maintain careers, garden, create art etc. and it was really wonderful and refreshing to see that in this film. . I also watched The Shape of Water and was gushing with @coffeeandbookss It has to be one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. The cinematography, the time period, the unique love story. I saw ppl talking about it but didn’t realize it was a love story involving two distinctly different worlds. I cried, but ACTUALLY cried. The blatant racism most certainly made me feel a bit tight, but I kept reminding myself that this story takes place in a time where it was prevalent and it was necessary to include that for authenticity. I hope that you watch both films and my DMs are always open so please message me if you want to discuss!! . Yes I’ve got read Wuthering Heights, but my favorite classic will forever be Jane Eyre and it’s because of you❤️ that I read them both! I hope that you are having a relaxing day so far!! https://www.instagram.com/p/BoFB6VZhUjF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=9ycdxle0env5

Instagram: kokokourtney

Instagram

Oh my!! Hello. I’ve missed you all so much. It has been ages LOL🙈. . I wanted to share this book with you because I remembered at the beginning of the year that so many of you expressed wanting to read outside of your comfort zone. I definitely recommend Plainwater by Anne Carson. This a collection of non fiction essays & poetry and one of the most unique books I’ve read in awhile. I caught wind of this from the lovely Hayanna @herpickings Definitely give her a follow. Her book selections and reviews are A+++ . Have you ever read a book and felt like you were a bit smarter after reading it? Carson evokes every emotion, thought or existential question you can think of through some VERY imaginative prose. She interviews poets & painters of centuries past. She takes journeys through very peculiar and inexplicable towns while still exploring the deeper meaning of things. It’s like a mesh of all different forms of literature. Carson references a lot of philosophies, philosophers and scholarly ideas {so to speak} that I wasn’t familiar with AT ALL so I found myself googling quite a bit. . My favorite part is The Anthropology of Water which details a young, female speaker’s pilgrimage with her lover Cid across Camino de Santiago. The only way I can describe these entries are evocative pictures through modern and classical language. If that makes sense LOL. Every piece, every story is sequential and fluid. This is the kind of book that stretches you as a reader and I hope you give this a go my loves. . What have I missed? Who’s doing awesome things so we can celebrate you? What are you reading? How’s life treating you? I hope you all are doing and feeling okay. Happy Monday ☕️

I had a thought {epiphany?} This is pure assumption based on observation so it’s not fact but I get the sense that a lot of people maybe aren’t really reading lengthy book reviews on blogs. I asked myself when was the last time I went to someone’s blog and read a book review? I haven’t, even though I write them 🤦🏽‍♀️. There are SOOOOOOOO many book blogs and I think because of the way we currently operate in the world people’s attention spans are WAY short. I know I can go on and on writing a book review, which honestly can be time consuming, because I want whomever is reading it to REALLY get a sense of the story. Not just the narrative itself but my emotions ABOUT the narrative. On top of all the editing lol I know a lot of you know this all too well😭. . I think for the most part I am going to give caption reviews here, only write reviews on the blog for certain books and reserve the rest of my blog space for different kinds of content particularly travel. Whether you’re a book blogger, a person who frequents book blogs or even in this space what are your thoughts/opinion on this!? Do you actually go to blogs and read reviews!? Do you find it easier to just read them here!? . I hope everyone is having a wonderful Tuesday!! 💕

RANDOMNESS. . Good morning ☀️ I am headed to my doctors appointment but when I come back I’ll be diving back into Improvement by Joan Silber. So far so good! . That’s not coffee in that jar, but chocolate cashew milk and is about the best thing EVER. Although I don’t drink it every single day I am going back to drinking more tea. . I also really wanted to say a BIG thank you for all of your feedback on the post about book blogging. Your insight was greatly appreciated!! I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday💕

Edgar Allan Poe

Christmas (Last season fave)