Last weekend, I took a quick trip up to NYC for a few reasons. One, I needed a quick change of scenery to get back into more of a creative mood. But reason two? Books. Are you surprised?
It’s nice to have friends who you can call with minimal explanation and ask to crash at their house for a night or two when you don’t feel like spending on a hotel. Also nice when you’re nestled between two major east coast cities, so a getaway is never more than a bus or train ride away.
I’ve known for a while that I’d be making this trip and have been looking forward to it for weeks. The main catalyst was a book signing with one of my favorite authors, VE Scwabb, who was doing a signing at The Strand for the release of her newest book, Vengeful. I’ll be starting it soon, but based on the hype, reviews and the fact that my fave wrote it, I already know I’m going to love it. I highly recommend you guys pick up the first book, Vicious, if you’re looking for a fun story about villians and power gone wrong. Seriously, it’s a good one!
Anyway, since I was already making a bookish trip, I decided to check out some other bookstores while I was there. I’ve been wanting to go to Books Are Magic forever. It’s a book lover (and an Instagrammer’s) dream come true. You can totally tell that it’s owned by an author and none of the little attentions to detail were missed. I can’t wait to go back.
I filmed a video of my book shopping and a haul with the books I picked up and added to my (ever growing) to read pile! All of the books are linked below. My friend Qori, who’s a super talented illustrator and graphic designer, shopped with me and agreed to haul her books too! Hopefully she’ll be making a return to YouTube in the near future!
Thanks for watching!
Where we got coffee:
Hearts Coffee Bushwick
1207 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11221
* The latte was AMAZING!
Books are Magic Brooklyn
225 Smith St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
* The most magical bookstore ever, owned by author Emma Straub (who is often there and will sign books for customers!)
Amber’s Book Haul:
The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwan
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
The Creative Curve by Allen Gannet
Vox by Christina Dalcher
Qori’s Book Haul:
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Heads of the Colored People by Nafisa Thompson Spires
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zeven
I totally get what you mean by needing a change of scenery. I just got back from a spontaneous week trip and I feel so much better. // I’m so with you about Philly’s optimal location! Just one of many reasons why I love Philly. As great as NYC is, the city can be a little much for me sometimes, so it’s nice that I can pop in and out whenever I want. // I recently read Creative Selection: Inside Apple’s Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs by Ken Kocienda, so I’m definitely interested in books like The Creative Curve–I actually haven’t heard of it yet! Speaking up coming up with ideas, one of my favourite takeaways from a book regarding ideas was from It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be by Paul Arden: “Do not covet your ideas. Give away everything you know, and more will come back to you.” Now I don’t know how relevant that quote is to The Creative Curve, especially when you mention having the right idea at the right time, but I’m always open to hearing more perspectives regarding this. // The premise of Vox is so interesting. I love sci fi/dystopia like that 😮 Like, it’s not real but how far is it from the truth o.o #blackmirror // The Hate U Give has been on my tbr for awhile, but with the recent film adaptation, I think I’m gonna have to boost it up my list! (Qori on point with that hand focus technique LOL) Appropriation vs inspiration is such a difficult topic in fashion! Fashion is so fast and it’s difficult to know the designer’s intentions, which I think does matter, but is not the only thing that matters, because we also need to consider the realistic outcomes/actual product and the way consumers understand them and the culture that was the source of inspiration or appropriated. My brain goes in circles thinking about this, and you can probably tell from that previous sentence haha. I don’t know if it even made any sense (probably not). Anyways, my approach is with a healthy dose of skepticism 😛 // oof @ the fake reviews. Honestly I’m not that surprised. It seems like the beauty industry has combusted recently and everyone is talking about marketing and transparency. I don’t even know what to debate about anymore. Don’t be evil!! Don’t lie!! Be transparent!! Be honest!! // Everything a woman does is so closely looked at and judged and has to be explained. If some women want to wear lipstick just because it makes them feel good, great. If some women want to wear lipstick to make a statement, great. Just let ’em do what they want to do and not have to prove themselves or explain themselves T_T I think what’s most important is giving people options. For that reason, my answer to whether a woman’s power “needs” to be or from anything is no! -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s
Yikess, I had only meant to copy & paste my sign off but I copy & pasted a reply to another blog post I was catching up on! Anywho, I finally read The Hate U Give last month! I thought it was going to be an easy YA novel to read through, but the topic was so heavy and I found that I had to pace myself. I really enjoyed it (it’s so… human) and haven’t read another novel like it before, and the tone of the writing was especially different from what I’ve read before.
Yeah, the Hate U Give is one of the best books I read last year. But it was super human and I think the tone made dealing with the heaviness much more manageable? I can’t wait for Angie Thomas’ next book!