Author: Jessica Bevan

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Exploring Wakanda

Captain American: Civil War was my formal introduction to T’Challa and his role as king of the African nation Wakanda, along with his role as the Black Panther. I certainly knew of the character but my knowledge of his backstory was slim. Chadwick Boseman’s portrayal was intriguing (as were the awesome ladies serving as his guards) and I wanted to know more. Luckily, Marvel was smart enough to figure that there would be plenty of curious readers like me. They were also smart enough to hire some amazing writers, like Ta-Nehisi Coates, Roxane Gay, and Yona Harvey, for a new run in the series.

Getting it Together

Confession time: I have recently become obsessed with bullet journals. It’s an organization system that takes the idea of keeping a planner, a myriad of Post-It to-do lists, and a journal and then throws them into a blender. You can keep all of that stuff tied together in one handy, non-digital notebook, hopefully with the result of being super productive.

Read Harder: Vol. 12

At the beginning of the year, I decided to tackle a proper reading challenge. I wanted to push myself a little and try a few things, particularly genres, that I don’t typically approach when I’m looking for something to read. I’m pretty proud of what I tried and how many of the boxes I was able to check off. Here are a few of the categories I didn’t quite get around to this year, but I’m hoping to carry over into 2017.

Read Harder: Vol. 11

Another entry in my continuing adventures with Book Riot’s 2016 Read Harder Challenge: Feminism is a loaded word. It’s very much a badge of honor for some and something to run away from for others. How I want to take ownership of the word is something that I’ve been grappling with recently. Luckily for us, “read a nonfiction book about feminism or dealing with feminist themes” was on the challenge list.

Read Harder: Vol. 10

I am far from a Dylan scholar. I’ll admit that up front. I certainly know his songs; I can get why people flipped when he went electric and how Blonde on Blonde smoothed things over. But with his Nobel Prize for Literature, my interest in his work has been renewed. That’s why The Old, Weird America by Greil Marcus works out great to help check off the task of “Read a biography (not a memoir or autobiography)” the Read Harder challenge.

Read Harder: Vol. 9

Lucy Knisley begins her food memoir — yes, this month’s challenge choice — with a note that her memories are tied to how things tasted: the licorice rope she shared with her first crush, trying buttermilk for the first time with her best friend, and the myriad of meals she shared with friends while living in Chicago for school. This is my kind of girl.

Read Harder: Vol. 8

If you’re a knitter, you know Clara Parkes. She is a go-to source for all things yarn — her website Knitter’s Review can tell you how just about any brand of yarn will knit up and handle being worn. In Knitlandia, Clara takes us along on her road trips around the world in search of yarn.

Read Harder: Vol. 7

Daniel James Brown’s The Boys in the Boat is perfect for summer road trips and getting excited for the Olympics. And while it didn’t win an Audie award — the annual recognition for the best recorded books and one of the Challenge options — it did win an Earphone Award. And that is good enough for me.

Read Harder: Vol. 6

Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None is one of the world’s best-selling mysteries for good reason. It’s fun, dark and twisted.