Seriously, spring/summer is finally here and I can’t get enough.  Look!

When I have been inside (pretty much only when it’s pouring buckets) I have been reading like crazy, and loving it!  Here are some recommendations:

Akata Witch (Young Adult) by Nnedi Okorafor: “Twelve-year-old Sunny Nwazue, an American-born albino child of Nigerian parents, moves with her family back to Nigeria, where she learns that she has latent magical powers which she and three similarly gifted friends use to catch a serial killer.”

Binti (Science Fiction) by Nnedi Okorafor: “Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs. Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy.”

Jane (Graphic Novel) by Aline Brosh McKenna: “Growing up in an unhappy family in a small New England town, Jane dreamed of escaping to New York City to study art and live a life of independent adventure. Soon after arriving, she takes a job as a nanny for a mysterious, powerful businessman, Rochester, and his lovable but lonely daughter, Adele, in a lavish apartment filled with unsettling secrets. Jane soon finds herself drawn into a world of intrigue, danger, and romance that takes her far beyond her childhood dreams.”

Kitchen Things: an Album of Vintage Utensils and Farm-Kitchen Recipes (Coffee Table Book) by Richard Snodgrass: “Celebrates these well-loved objects and recipes and showcases them in an unexpected way—a way that touches upon the science of food, the physics of cooking, the sensory pleasures of eating, and indeed the very nature of life itself.”

50 Ways to Draw Your Beautiful Ordinary Life: Practical Lessons in Pencil and Paper  (Crafty- Artsy Fun Book that you can write in!) by Irene Smit and Astrid van der Hulst: “Celebrates creativity, mindfulness, and the pleasures of paper through a uniquely appealing marriage of ideas and visuals—beautiful illustrations and paintings created by a group of talented professional artists.  Included are special paper goodies, from the instructional (sheets of tracing paper, watercolor paper, colored paper for a singular effect) to the purely joyful—postcards, a 32-page booklet with bellyband, paper doll foldouts, and more.”

Hope you are getting outside, even if it’s just to smell the flowers.