I Didn't Hit My Reading Goal This Year, And That's Okay

Okay, so I’ll admit, I still have yet to read ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear, but I get the gist of it. We of course should be making goals, but it’s systems that matter — systems in place that get you to your goals, and then beyond them. Because what happens after you run that marathon or write that book? The point is to keep running and to keep writing, and in my case, it’s to keep reading.

I didn’t read 52 books this year. But I did read 44 books. And to me, that’s better than none. I’ve learned an important lesson, and it’s that I cannot set a goal and not set up a system in order to achieve that goal — I must do both. So it’s: read 52 books this year, and to do that, read 50 pages every weekday, and for however long my heart desires on the weekend. It’s: delete Tik Tok and read instead whenever I get the cue or urge.

I love reading and it’s not something I should need to push myself to do. So it’s also a change of how I think about reading. Instead of: I must read 50 pages a day, it’s: make time to be able to read 50 pages a day (because I love reading!!!). It is not a chore, it’s something that allows me to be mindful and present, to access a world only I’m in for the moment, to hear about someone else’s perspective.

I’m proud I’ve read 44 books this year, and I’m glad I chose the ones I did. This upcoming year, I’ll still set a number, but it will be a soft number. I’ll also be more mindful about which books I choose — if I am lacking time or energy, I at least want to choose books I’ll be glad I chose. Ones that give me energy, make me hopeful. No more climate doom or sad poetry, although I do love my sad poetry. My next climate apocalypse books will be about climate activism, what can be done, about inspiring people who have actually made a difference. My new reading goal will be 52 books again, and if I don’t hit it, hopefully I’ll have at least read enough to live a happy and mindful year.

I’ve also buried the lede, the lede being: this year I got a new job and moved states. I also changed my name and got a blonde mullet. And no, I’m surprisingly not running away from anything. I just needed a change. I felt my life fading each and every day. I’ll attribute part of that to the pandemic of course, but a lot of it was work and my priorities in life. But that’s not what this post is about.

This post is about how although I didn’t hit my goal of 52 books, I did a lot. I traveled to Chicago, Tampa (twice!), Philadelphia, and went back and forth from Pittsburgh to DC about a million times. I started selling my art at coffee shops! I started taking myself more seriously with my art by taking classes and purchasing supplies to continue to do this work. And now, I’m embarking on a journey of writing my very first book. It’ll be a whale, but I’m down to take it on.

So I’ll keep reading (why would I ever stop?) and keep in mind that knowledge is not about numbers or pages of books. It’s about quality! Here’s to continuing to read and staying curious in 2022!

And now, for all of the books I did read in 2021, in the order I read them in:

Odes — Sharon Olds ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Middle Earth — Henri Cole ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Such a Fun Age — Kiley Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Untamed — Glennon Doyle ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Outlawed — Anna North ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Detransition, Baby — Torrey Peters ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Love is Not Constantly Wondering if You Are Making the Biggest Mistake of Your Life — Anonymous ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Woman in the Purple Skirt — Natsuko Imamura with Lucy North (Translator) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Red at the Bone — Jacqueline Woodson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation — Anne Helen Petersen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Cast Away: Poems for Our Time — Naomi Shihab Nye ⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Art is Killing Me and Other Poems — Amber Dawn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rain Scald: Poems — Tracey M. Atsitty ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Purple Palace & other poems — Shayna Klee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

No One is Talking about This — Patricia Lockwood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What is Amazing — Heather Christle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Life of the Party: Poems — Olivia Gatwood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ll Fly Away — Rudy Fransisco ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy — Jenny Odell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

God I Feel Modern Tonight: Poems from a Gal about Town — Catherine Cohen ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Non-Places: Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tokyo Ueno Station — Yu Miri with Morgan Giles (Translator) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Poems for the End of the World — Katie Wismer ⭐️⭐️

The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country — Amanda Gorman ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Something Bright, Then Holes — Maggie Nelson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Play it As it Lays — Joan Didion ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch — Rivka Galchen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The New Me — Halle Butler ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Sun Down Motel — Simone St. James ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Broken Girls — Simone St. James ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Beautiful World, Where Are You — Sally Rooney ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Before the Coffee Gets Cold: Tales from the Cafe — Toshikazu Kawaguchi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Gratitude Diaries — Janice Kaplan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Fortune for Your Disaster — Hanif Abdurraquib ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I Hope This Finds You Well: Poems — Kate Baer ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Song of Achilles — Madeline Miller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Circe — Madeline Miller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Penelopiad — Margaret Atwood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You Better Be Lightning — Andrea Gibson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Conversations with Friends — Sally Rooney ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle — Emily + Amelia Nagoski ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fall Check-In

It sure has been a year so far! I’ve moved states and switched jobs, not to mention I bought my first mattress on my own. Fall is by far my favorite season, and I really didn’t get to experience it like I normally do — I didn’t go apple picking, or go to the pumpkin patch, no hayrides, no long hikes or walks in the woods. Instead I stayed in, packing and unpacking, calling utility companies, and organizing my kitchen drawers. That being said, I still had some adventures of my own. Here are the things that have gotten me through the fall thus far:

• Stuffed Pepper Soup — I’ve been into homemade soups recently and had to try this one out. I think on the next go around I’ll use less rice, but overall you can’t go wrong with a sauteed-pepper-based soup and a side of buttery french bread. Here’s the recipe I used. I didn’t go by the amounts of each ingredient, I just kind of winged it — I also swapped the beef for turkey and it was just as delicious.

• The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan — I don’t want to be dramatic, but this book is changing my life. I’m not finished with it yet, but it’s really changing my outlook on life in general. In the last few days of me reading it, I’ve noticed I’m more fulfilled, present, and in a good mood. If you’re feeling stuck or in a rut, I recommend at least reading the first few chapters.

• SMOOTHIES — I’m in a bit of a smoothie phase. I’m not sure what brought me here, but I’m glad I’m here — it’s really been helping me get my fruit + veggie intake up. In the move, I purchased a Magic Bullet and I highly recommend it to anyone making dips or single serving smoothies. My favorite smoothie thus far has been a vanilla blueberry matcha smoothie. I just use a few tsp of matcha powder, a handful or two of frozen wild blueberries, a lot of unsweetened vanilla oat milk, a banana, and a splash of vanilla extract. If I’m feeling extra spicy, I’ll throw in a handful of spinach, too, but it does change the taste a bit.

• Midnight Mass — This is a show on Netflix and it has given me a lot to think about the last few days. I don’t want to spoil anything, but it’s a pretty juicy watch for anyone who has any thoughts on religions and cults.

• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller — I believe this is the first book I’ve given a 5 star review for this year. Maybe I’m a sucker for gay romance and Greek myths, but this is the greatest love story I’ve ever read. Even if you know the ending of the myth, it’s worth a read!

• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies — These have been a fall staple of mine since my friend made these for me in high school. I’d been trying for years to find the recipe that’ll make the perfect cookies, and I think this year, I finally found it. Here’s the recipe — they make for more chewy cookies as opposed to cakey. Delicious!

• Dead Man’s Bones — This band has always been on my fall + Halloween playlists. From “Pa Pa Power” to “Buried in Water,” I’ve always hummed along when it came on shuffle. This year, the song “My Body’s A Zombie For You” caught my attention with its haunting children’s choir vocals and I started researching the band… how did I not know this was Ryan Gosling’s rock duo? I had no idea he had a band! Granted, they only have one album and it was released in 2019. Their entire album is absolute art and I will be listening to every song on repeat until it starts to snow.

• Andrew Bird — I normally don’t listen to male musicians but I have two on this list, so things can change! I got into Andrew Bird by listening to the song Sisyphus, which, yes, we’ve already covered that I’m a sucker for Greek myths. But his entire discography is captivating and definitely worth a listen to. If you’re just going to listen to one song by him, have it be Pulaski at Night. And close your eyes while you listen.

There are so many other things in general that didn’t make the list, but these are what stood out to me when looking back at September, October, and the little bit of November we’ve lived through in 2021. Let me know if you have any thoughts on these — I’m definitely looking for more smoothie recipes and for someone to talk to about Song of Achilles!

The 52 Books I Read in 2020

Because I was an English lit + fiction writing double major in college, I had to read a lot of books for class. It was easy to stay disciplined since I had assigned readings, groups I could discuss the books with, and tight deadlines. I loved it. But of course, after college, reading became more of a slog. There were job apps and more job apps and then actually working, not to mention trying to fit in other hobbies and seeing friends. So two years out of college, I finally decided it was time I set some goals and actually stick to them. I told myself I’d read 52 books this year, and I’m ecstatic to report that I did.

I was definitely influenced to read more after watching Max Joseph’s video on Bookstores (check it out, it’ll scare you into reading, too). So I went to the library a few times, spent way too much time and money in local bookstores, and sat my butt down on my couch to read. I will say that the pandemic certainly helped my reading habits, as I literally had nothing else to do.

I’ll cut to the chase — here are the 52 books I read this year in the order I read them in. The list is a little too long for me to review every single one so I only just rated some. If you’ve read any of these and want to start a conversation, contact me! I love discussing books (especially poetry books) so feel free to reach out!

Without further ado…

SHOUT — Laurie Halse Anderson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

What Is Amazing — Heather Christle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This poetry book was given to me by one of my best friends and I am so in love with it. I had read it before, but I wanted to re-read, as her style and tone is something I’d like my own writing to emulate. Christle has this innocent, indulgent curiosity + wonder that’s contagious. I’ve gone on to read more of her books this year because of it! I recommend it even to people who claim to not like poetry.

So Sad Today — Melissa Broder ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read this book for a book club I was in at the beginning of the year. It was chosen because our book club formed out of a Twitter thread turned group chat, and it was a natural choice given the Twitter account @SoSadToday was big among the participants in the club. As much as I wanted to like it, it was a bit too much. I tend not to like personal essays, so maybe I’ll chalk it up to that.

Aphrodite Made Me Do It — Trista Mateer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Mill Hand’s Daughter Meets the Queen of Sky — Lori Jakiela ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Big Fish — Lori Jakiela ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great Goddesses — Nikita Gill ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In the Dream House — Carmen Maria Machado ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

GO READ THIS! Seriously. One of my favorite books of all time.

Imaginary Museums — Nicolette Polek ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Homie — Danez Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Whereas — Layli Long Soldier ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I Hate you — Don’t Leave me — Jerold J. Kreisman + Hal Straus ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Build Yourself a Boat — Camonghe Felix ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Crying Book — Heather Christle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ethereal. A hybridization of prose and poetry with a great deal of research woven through. Highly recommend to anyone who has ever felt any emotion.

Soft Science — Franny Choi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“If tenderness is any sort of currency, / maybe I don’t want what it can buy.”

“When I smack my gum it’s to signal / that I do perceive space and time, it’s just / I’m kind of over it.”

The Difficult Farm — Heather Christle ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In Accelerated Silence — Brooke Matson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Killing Commendatore — Haruki Murakami ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was slow, but still very entertaining. This is probably because the book was 400 pages too long. If you’re a very curious person, this book is for you. I just had to read this since I’ve read every one of Murakami’s fictional works. For those of you who play Murakami Bingo, this hits quite a few squares!

Where the Words End and My Body Begins — Amber Dawn ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This Year You Write Your Novel — Walter Mosley ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a re-read since I was looking to write a novel this year. This was at the beginning of the pandemic, when I thought I’d have a ton of time and no stress. I was incorrect! I wouldn’t really recommend this for anyone who already has a degree in writing or literature — it doesn’t add too much to the conversation. It’s definitely for those who are new to the concept of writing a novel. That all being said, it’s a great refresher for those who need it like I did! I will get around to writing a novel, just uhh, not this year.

Heliopause — Heather Christle ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Tradition — Jericho Brown ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Come As You Are — Emily Nagoski ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THIS BOOK!!! Highly recommend this to anyone with a vagina. This book is the sex education I should have gotten all along — it’s frank, gentle, and hilarious. I’ve never read anything that speaks about female orgasms in this way and for that, it’ll stay up on my bookshelf forever.

Jesus’ Son — Denis Johnson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Light Magic for Dark Times — Lisa Marie Basile ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous — Ocean Vuong ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I wanted to like this so badly after reading Night Sky With Exit Wounds in a college class, but I just didn’t. I’m definitely a black sheep among my friends for this opinion, but it’s okay not to like something even though the writer is brilliant. His prose and style was captivating and beautiful as always. But as much as I enjoyed the eloquent language and resonant sentiments, I just felt there was nothing compelling the story forward, and that there really wasn’t much story at all.

For Now — James RIchardson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Between the World and Me — Ta-Nehisi Coates ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Last Things — Jenny Offill ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One of my favorite books I read this year, even though it was published in 2000. I always forget how much I enjoy stories with family and divorce themes — I wonder why! It’s always a delight to read Jenny Offill, as I’ll continue explaining for the next two books. When I say I get hooked on an author, I really get hooked on the author!

Weather — Jenny Offill ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I had to get my hands on this book quickly after it was published because I loved reading Jenny Offill in college. This was another great work of Offill’s, as it was a mash up of genres that always had me interested and turning pages. I may need to give it a re-read next year since I devour books like this when I should be savoring them.

Department of Speculation — Jenny Offill ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a re-read for me. This portrait of a marriage gets at me deep, especially with its poetic prose. I re-read because I had just read Last Things and Weather and still hungered for Jenny’s style and tone. It’s like reading a well-written journal — very human, very beautiful, very real. Might even read it again next year if she doesn’t release anything new!

Postcolonial Love Poem — Natalie Diaz ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Women and the Men — Nikki Giovanni ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another Brooklyn — Jacqueline Woodson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Vanishing Half — Brit Bennett ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I bought this book for my partner after seeing it on a bestselling list and he recommended it right back to me. I’m so happy I read it — it was such an engrossing read. It really breaks down the barriers of race and gender and the horrifying reality that what you identify as is often just as important as how others identify you.

Convenience Store Woman — Sayaka Murata, Translated by Ginny Takemori ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pittsburgh — Frank Santoro ⭐️⭐️⭐️

After the Body — Cleopatra Mathis ⭐️⭐️

OBIT — Victoria Chang ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Body Wars — Jan Beatty ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Silence — Don Delillo ⭐️⭐️

Don’t get me wrong — I love Don Delillo’s White Noise and also the fact that he and I share the same birthday. BUT, this book screamed ‘Phone bad,’ which was a little heavy-handed. It didn’t add too much to any conversation unfortunately.

Our Lady of Ruins — Traci Brimhall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Diary of a Bookseller — Shaun Bythell ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Normal People — Sally Rooney ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love page-turners, have I said how much I love page-turners? I mean, who doesn’t? But this really was one. I don’t know why I cared so much about the two main characters, but it really brought me back to those good ole Tumblr fandom days.

Show Your Work! — Austin Kleon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I can’t say enough good things about this book (and all of Austin Kleon’s books). This is the book that spurred my blog! This book really helped me see how important it is to grow a community as opposed to an audience. So of course I purchased and read every other one of his books…

Keep Going — Austin Kleon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Including this one, which is the perfect sequel to Show Your Work! (even though it technically isn’t). This book is just as good as Show Your Work!, as it has a wealth of great quotes and a lot of good advice on creating rituals for yourself as an artist (and sticking to them). I’ve started taking daily walks because of this book and I have to say, it feels great.

Newspaper Blackout — Austin Kleon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another great book by Austin Kleon. This is a book of poetry completely created out of newspaper articles that have been blacked out, leaving only some words visible. The remaining words make a poem. A lot of these poems made me laugh, and a few even gave me larger questions to ponder. I of course went out and purchased a newspaper immediately to try for myself. I’ll be posting some of these in the next few weeks, so definitely watch out for that!

How to Be An Artist — Jerry Saltz ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What Kind of Woman — Kate Baer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

There There — Tommy Orange ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed reading this, as I’m always looking to learn more about Native Americans. I read this around Thanksgiving, which felt fitting, considering the whole introduction was about the real story. If you’d like to hear a bunch of stories of urban Native Americans all in one place (albeit being fictional), I definitely recommend reading this book, which takes place in Oakland, California. It’s also written in one of my favorite formats — each chapter stands alone but all the stories intertwine. This format always makes for an interesting ending.

Luster — Raven Leilani ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was an absolute page-turner — I couldn’t not think of this book when I wasn’t reading it. I had too many questions about motives, which normally would bug me. But somehow I enjoyed the oddities of each person’s individual actions. It really sums up what it’s like to be a misguided twenty-something millennial in a way that doesn’t completely gross me out like a lot of similar books.

The Wild Iris — Louise Glück ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Most of the books I’ve read this year. Some aren’t pictured because they were borrowed from a friend or the library.

10 Beautiful Discoveries in the Greatest Year Yet

It’s been a year filled with doom + horror, albeit the glimmer of hope near the end. I don’t feel the need to list all of the ways in which this year has brought me dread (as I’m sure anyone reading this knows already) so here are 10 things I discovered in 2020 that cheered me up. I share these in hopes they’ll cheer you up as well.

1. Unf*ck Your Brain // Podcast

   This podcast is for feminists who need a little hand-holding. I’m by no means new to feminism, but I do need a little refresher every now and then… and this is the perfect podcast for that. Host Kara Loewentheil takes you through a new topic each episode, most of which are relevant to current events. It’s basically a therapy session with someone who has been there, too. I highly recommend this to anyone new to feminism or anyone looking to re-empower themselves (it’s also the perfect podcast to get ready to in the morning!).

2. Molly Burch // Musician

   Ooh boy, Molly Burch has my heart. I was first captivated by her song Wild, which has such an interesting music video (it’s about pageants, which I have a strange history with). That song opened the door for me into all of her other music, which includes a vast array of Christmas music (!!!). I can’t wait to add all of her Christmas music to my sad yuletide playlist and live out my dream of being a cliché.

3. Normal People by Sally Rooney // Book

   I was wildly engrossed in this novel and I’ve been thinking about it ever since I finished it. It’s a short read made up of vignettes of a relationship that flows from platonic to romantic and back again and again. The story covers a lot of topics in such subtle ways and through no over device but what is and what is not said. If you’re looking to up your reading game by the end of the year, you can knock this out in a sitting or two.

4. Show your Work by Austin Kleon // Book

   I only finished this book yesterday, but I think it’s pretty safe to say it’s changed my life. That’s such a big thing to say for no reason, you may think. Well… sure! But it’s the whole reason I got my site up and running again and why I’ve started this blog. Kleon makes me want to create and share work LOUDLY, which is something I’ve always aspired to do. So here’s to creating and sharing work LOUDLY in 2021.

5. Creative Pep Talk // Podcast

   Yet another piece of media that’s motivated me to create more this year. Even hearing the name Andy J. Pizza puts a smile on my face. He’s so goofy and full of life. On the podcast, he interviews all types of artists in all types of mediums. One of my very favorites was his interview with Abbi Jacobson, who is one of my favorite comedians/writers. I highly recommend this podcast to anyone looking for some motivation + inspiration. You simply cannot listen to an episode and not create something afterward.

6. The Crying Book by Heather Christle // Book

   THIS BOOK! This book. Damn. If you liked Maggie Nelson’s Bluets, it’s written in a similar fashion. From the storyline to the bits of facts, everything about this book is so emotional and ethereal. Highly recommend to anyone who has ever cried.

7. Below the Salt by Haley Blais // Album

   Haley Blais is one of my all-time favorite artists, mainly because of her authenticity, but also because of her falsetto. When I say authenticity, I mean she literally wrote a song about someone posting an unflattering photo of her to Facebook (the song is called Remove Tag and it’s not in this album but it’s still incredible). Her newest album, Below the Salt, is such a beautiful encapsulation of mid-twenties life. My personal favorite song off the album is Be Your Own Muse because we’ve all been there, no? Well anyway, I’ve listened to this album maybe a million times so you can listen to it at least once.

8. Bobbi Made This // Shop

   I love my odd + fun earrings, so of course when I saw these on my Instagram feed, I had to check out the shop. This is a Black-owned small business with lovely handmade earrings at a reasonable price. Bobbi releases new + limited designs every few days or weeks, so it’s kind of a fun game to see if you can catch a pair of earrings before they’re out of stock!

9. Still Here Still Life // Instagram Account

   If you follow me on Instagram, you knew this one was coming. I have been OBSESSED with this Instagram account. Essentially, a group of people started this account at the beginning of the pandemic to create a community of artists who would all create art from one still life prompt a week. It has EXPLODED since, and I’ve taken to joining in. It’s very fun to keep an eye on their feed + story for all of the different takes on one still life photo — there’s all sorts of styles + mediums. If you participate, they may re-share yours!

10. Felicia Chiao // Artist

    I knew I had to buy a Felicia Chiao print immediately after seeing her work. She has a way of making the mundane look so dreamy, but in such a melancholy way — it’s hard to explain. There’s a bit of humor and bleakness in every painting that captivates me. Definitely check out her work and buy a print — mine always brightens my day!