The momentum is high so let's try: Read 200 books during the year. This means developing the discipline to read 4 books a week.
| Book # | Approximate Date of Completion | Title | Author | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 83 | 12/31/19 | Hardcore Anxiety: A Graphic Guide to Punk Rock and Mental Health | Reid Chancellor | Feeling like an impostor and trying so hard to fit in... distractions from addressing the depressive anxiety that goes unchecked. Get help. We are social animals that need others to help us maintain mental clarity. |
| 82 | 12/30/19 | Kawaii Sweet World | Rachel Fong | Of YouTube fame, an aspiring mechanical engineer at Stanford breaking down nonpareils (spherical candies on top of Mother's animal cookies) and jimmies (elongated sprinkles) |
| 81 | 12/27/19 | Be Happy | Dalai Lama | Take care of your mental health, be a part of a community, and work on awareness of positive thoughts and attitudes |
| 80 | 12/27/19 | Qualification | David Heatley | Twelve Step Programs do not sound helpful for the likes of me. I'm all for finding your own tribe to help sort through your vices, but that is not the adventure I would choose. |
| 79 | 12/26/19 | Nutcracker | E.T.A. Hoffmann | Finally get closure on my ignorance of this Christmas tale from an eccentric German gentleman that inspired a ballet tradition |
| 78 | 12/26/19 | Be Here | Dalai Lama | Wisdom is emptiness - understanding everything is interconnected. Being expedient means taking non-violent action to be in tune with the wisdom (of not staying in the extremes and navigating a path in the middle based on your human experience) and mitigate ignorance from expressing our true essence of affection and kindness. We are not machines that work on a clock. We are human animals that have communal dependencies that help nurse our spirits to survive in the here and now. Intelligence (usefulness) is the modern capital of survival, but we forget our need to be compassionate with the living and the passage of life |
| 11×7 | 12/26/19 | The Hat Boyz | Erick Pepper Rivera | Although I was within LA driving distance from Watts/South Central, I can't even say I relate. It was a different type of codified race struggle. There is a redemption narrative for everyone if they choose to see or hear it. |
| LA county is inundated with these gas stations | 12/26/19 | Americana | Luke Healy | Whoa, almost a half year endeavor hiking and hitching along the Pacific Crest Trail. The American dream to see through a goal no matter what physical or mental anguish you subject yourself to is more poignant through this Irish lens. I have not considered the mass exodus of the Irish to America in the 1950s (I only think about the turn of the last century). It's eye-opening to see what conceited first-generation punks we really are in trying to maintain this brand of Americana. Thank you for this perspective, Luke. And thank you for making me realize I rely on too many creature comforts to take on an arduous multi-day journey into a less developed natural landscape. I still crave the idea of that liberation of venturing into a beautiful, panoramic expanse to ground me from this hectic, pampered city life. Sans vitamin I. I refuse to pop one even if I were experiencing extreme, debilitating menstrual cramps. I have been fortunate in not experiencing too many physical discomforts. |
| Diamond Anniversary | 12/26/19 | The Ballad of YaYa: Book 2: The Prisoner | Jean-Marie Omont, Patrick Marty, Charlotte Girard, Golo Zhao | How coincidental - my 75th book of the year includes diamonds. Uh, but as a trade for ransom. The goon is holding up li'l YaYa, but her Snow White sensibilities with animals helps her escape. It also helps that her Prince Charming - caring street urchin, Tuduo - is cunning enough to get close to her home turf to procure materialistic goods to help on their continuing journey. This little snippet also shows my ignorance. When did Shanghai fly the French flag? |
| 74 | 12/26/19 | Skip | Molly Mendoza | The vivid palette that changes as the story progresses feel like a decadal visit through the Pantone catalog. The heightened emotions after conflict and loss were enmeshed in bold hues and swatch patterns. It felt like a chromatic therapy session to help new face uncomfortable situations and build my resilience. |
| 73 | 12/26/19 | Not Dead Yet | Phil Collins | Wow. He had a prolific musical career in Genesis and solo endeavors punctuated with 3 divorces, infidelity, alcoholism, and countless surgeries that kisses drumsticks and walking properly goodbye. |
| 72 | 12/22/19 | The Nutcracker | Stephanie Spinner | Read the kid version to get acquainted with the story that I have been ignorant of for 34 years |
| What happened in '71? | 12/21/19 | If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Happy? | Raj Raghunathan | This audio version makes me want to read a physical copy. Now that would make me happy. This is a good complement and reminder of the Coursera course. |
| 70 | 12/18/19 | Tel Aviv: Food. People. Stories. | NENI | We are all modern nomads and gourmets. The NENI team is a mother and sons team that have roots in Tel Aviv, but have international culinary outposts. Acri sivri, a green Turkish chile, is the star of these recipes. I'd like to see if my stomach can handle it. The engaging photos and sweet recipes felt like a trap to get my own ice cream maker. |
| Taboo mumber that middle school boys are always tittering about | 12/13/19 | Comedy Sex God | Pete Holmes | Was more a spiritual journey than a memoir. A coalescing articulation of recognizing that the soul is not a collection of personality quirks and stories. It is an awareness/witness of your true essence that moves you. |
| 68 | 12/2/19 | Zorba the Greek | Nikos Kazantzakis | A book club selection that needs to be reread. I enjoyed the vivid musings on the meaning of life and expressions through dance. The adventure just flew by. Needs a revisit |
| 6 is scared of 7 because it 8 nine | 11/19/19 | Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind | Annaka Harris | Wow, dimensions of consciousness I have not considered! Why do we as humans assign so many limitations to reality? We are certainly egocentric beings that equate our complex brain behavior and structure as superior means of existence and experience in this expanse of space and time. |
| 11, six times! | 11/14/19 | The Little Local Texas Cookbook | Hilah Johnson | No one can explain why you don't put beans in your chili. I appreciate these simple recipes of Texas staples. I think Ms. Johnson covered all the Texas meal courses in this collection of recetas. |
| Six5 | 10/30/19 | We Have Always Been Here | Samra Habib | I devoured this one because it promoted understanding for someone's reality that I did not previously consider (identifying as a queer Muslim). |
| 60+4 | 10/26/19 | The Upside of Irrationality | Dan Ariely | Being human means being irrational. Mr. Ariely's thought that on a spectrum of Dr. Spock and Homer Simpson, we are more like Homer makes me frustrated, but oddly comforted to know that being hyper-rational doesn't necessarily lead to the best outcome all the time. For that world of love that I want to maintain, I need to take emotion into account (which isn't always rational) to make sense of the path forward. |
| 3+60 | 10/9/19 | Our Women on the Ground | Zahra Hankir | What an opportunity to peer into a world I cannot fathom through this collection of essays. This perfectly captures the frustrating struggle of being an Arab woman journalist through first-hand accounts. |
| Retirement Age | 9/29/19 | Off Season | James Sturm | Yep, that's how the 2016 elections felt like. |
| 3 20s and one | 9/29/19 | Ready Player One | Ernest Cline | Ready to watch the movie. Loved the 80s references. |
| 10×6 | 9/24/19 | Philip J. Dick: A Comics Biography | Laurent Queyssi and Mauro Marchesi | Appreciated the art style. What an enigmatic man. I typically don't care for sci-fi, but I'd be willing to read his catalogue of books |
| 60-1 | 9/21/19 | Tonta | Jaime Hernandez | I'm mesmerized by this snapshot of SoCal. I'm looking forward to finding other graphic novels from Mr. Hernandez. |
| 58 | 9/21/19 | The Ballad of YaYa - Book 1: Fugue | Jean-Marie Omont, Patrick Marty, and Charlotte Girard | Golo Zhao's art style clearly has anime influences, but has its own distinct flair. Didn't realize fugue has a secondary meaning: losing one's sense of identity, often coupled with flight from one's usual environment. A fitting named tome considering the main protagonist is an aspiring pianist with a bird. Her story of flight is repeated with a young acrobat trying to protect his little brother and fleeing from abuse. |
| My favorite Chevy Bel-Air Year | 9/21/19 | The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook | Rick Rodgers and Heather Maclean | More gelatin and cream o' something soups than I can handle. |
| Fifty-six | 9/14/19 | Amazing Decisions - The Illustrated Guide to Improving Business Deals and Family Meals | Dan Ariely | Appreciate the quick guide navigating the money mind and social mind. Social world thrives best if market norms are kept at a distance. Market norms are useful for precise exchanges and short-term changes. Social norms are to nurture relationships and long-term changes. |
| 55 | 9/7/19 | Don't Stop Believin' | Olivia Newton- John | Surround yourself with positivity and arm yourself firm attitude that you will win over adversity. Not battle, but win. |
| 50+4 | 9/1/19 | Basquiat | Julian Voloj and Søren Mosdal | Now the painting at the the Regal Beagle makes sense. I borrowed this graphic novel on a whim. The church of same ol', same ol'. |
| 53 | 9/1/19 | States of Mind | Emilie Guillon, Patrice Guillon, and Sebastien Samson | What a life. I can't imagine the euphoric highs and devastating lows. It makes me wonder if all of us suffer from some of these symptoms. |
| Average number of weeks in the Gregorian calendar | 8/19/19 | I Used to be a Miserable F*ck: An Everyman's Guide to a Meaningful Life | John Kim | The intended audience for this book are those that identify as men. I thought there were relatable thoughts to women. Best thought to muse on from the book: Take responsibility for your success (whatever and however you define success) and respond to events by exercising patience and planning. |
| 1 after AARP earliest joining age | 8/19/19 | Wally Funk's Race for Space: The Extraordinary Story of a Female Aviation Pioneer | Sue Nelson | Although I've not seen "Thelma and Louise," I'm sure this is the race to suborbital flight version with a BBC producer extraordinaire. I don't know how much patience I would've had with a stubborn, free-spirited aviatrix. Appreciate reading about how her loved ones and the Taos spirit encouraged her to pursue everything. |
| The golden multiple associated with a tenth | 8/12/19 | Win the Heart: How to Create a Culture of Full Engagement | Mark Miller | Listened to this audio book while working through some draining tasks. It reinvigorated one of my core values: Care. The perfect acrostic: connection, affirmation, responsibility, and environment. It was an encouraging nudge to remind me that I can be the motivator in chief that sprinkles the aerospace world with love and care. I can inspire care. Care produces care. If everyone cares to align with what matters most and invest their energy and enthusiasm to executing whatever it takes to meet this behavior/outcome, everyone wins in aerospace endeavors! |
| 50-1 | 8/4/19 | The Souls of Yellow Folk | Wesley Yang | Lugubrious. What a word. The dour frustration of being passed over for not fitting the mold. I need to consult my buddy, Roget, for assistance in articulating the disenchanting struggles of being a Chinese-American woman. |
| 6×8 | 8/3/19 | The Queen of New Beginnings | Erica James | Another Book Club selection that surprised me. Another work of fiction that engaged me. No drawn out love scenes. Appeals to my current sentimental mood. |
| 4+7=11, but it's just 47 | 8/3/19 | The Astronaut Maker: How One Mysterious Engineer Ran Human Spaceflight for a Generation | Michael Cassutt | What I learned from George Abbey: learn how to treat people right. Get to know them better in a social setting. Decisions, large and small, needed to be attended to with the same integrity and care |
| 92/2 | 7/29/19 | The Jewelled Table | Bethany Kehdy | To be called hummus, it must contain chickpeas. I love the recipes' vegetable and fruit permutations for different courses. I love the author's deep dive into the sea of root words and terminology across cultures. |
| Five after Four-Oh | 7/27/19 | Girl Talk: What Science Can Tell Us About Female Friendship | Jacqueline Mroz | Even though there were lots of references, it felt like a superficial look at female friendship. However, it was good at helping me question what constitutes friendship in my social sphere. It reinforced that happiness and meaning comes out of non-family relationships where you feel like they are truly family. Love and care like family. |
| Palindrome 4 | 7/27/19 | Guantánamo Kid: The True Story of Mohammed El-Gharani | Jérôme Tubiana and Alexabdre Franc | A heart-heavy glimpse at the despicable 8+ year detainment of a hapless minor that was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He just wanted to learn English and fix PCs to elevate his circumstances of being a Chadian minority in Saudi Arabia. He was repeatedly denied a life to his own. It is uneasy on the conscience that I live in comfort and barely have a shred of his resilience to fend for my own basic necessities. |
| 43 | 7/18/19 | The Giver | Lois Lowry | A book club selection. I can appreciate why one of my closest chums since middle school liked this book. A memory jog to pause and appreciate all emotions, choices, and freedoms to experience the full spectrum of humanity. If I come across the other books in the series, I'd think I'd enjoy it. |
| 22×2 | 7/14/19 | The Monkey is the Messenger | Ralph de la Rosa | Disarm. Affirm. Debrief. Reaffirming what coaching and mediation is trying to guide me towards understanding |
| Dyslexic 34 | 7/14/19 | Time Management in a Week: How to Manage Your Time in Seven Simple Steps | Robert Ashton | A decent reminder of what I already know, but don't actively practice. |
| 2 to the forty | 7/4/19 | The Astronaut Wives Club | Lily Koppel | I adore Rene Carpenter! |
| 1 After the New 30 | 6/17/19 | Everyone Can Be a Ninja | Akbar Gbajabiamila | I haven't watched American Ninja Warrior since its inception so I had no idea who this gentleman is. I was drawn to his story of growing up in Crenshaw and persevering through his athletic and career ambitions. The encouraging pages enveloped me like a security blanket, assuring that I, too, can be outstanding by reflecting on the following:
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| Double 20 | 6/16/19 | One Heart at a Time | Delilah | A good reminder to let things go so you can soar and have room in your heart to love others and make a difference |
| 3×13 | 6/16/19 | Beeline: What Spelling Bees Reveal About Generation Z's New Path to Success | Shalini Shankar | I appreciate and enjoyed how this book got me to reflect on being in a major minority group in the Millennial generation. Generation Z starts working on human capital in childhood because they recognize the need to be entrepreneurial in the American society to stand out. You need a lot of resources, grit, a support network, and the championing of a stealth-fighting parent to intercede with the majority trying to push back on your success. It is more clear with this generation that nothing is handed to you, but you must seek the opportunities and invest the efforts to make the most of the opportunity. Isn't that the American dream? Being in a meritocratic society where the fruits of your labor will provide you with financial, social, and spiritual prosperity? That your success is commensurate with what you invest towards achieving the life you want? I disagree that the American dream is dead. We are socially reproducing this value to make meaning out of living through individualized effort and leveraging and contributing to communal resources to enrich and support the success of the nation. If Merriam Webster is the authoritative source of spelling bee words - Definition of the American dream: a happy way of living that is thought of by many Americans as something that can be achieved by anyone in the U.S. especially by working hard and becoming successful. |
| 38 | 6/9/19 | No Dream is Too High: Life Lessons from a Man Who Walked on the Moon | Buzz Aldrin | An enjoyable read that provoked some self-reflection. What will I reflect on when I read this laundry list in the future?
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| 7 more than 30 | 6/2/19 | Meet Me at the Museum | Anne Youngson | Another good Book Club selection. I devoured the conversational letters. That's what made it engaging - intimate conversations in a format that is often lost to the brevity of text messages and e-mails. I am frustrated with the tl;dr culture. I like the stream-of-consciousness outpour of emanating emotions on a physical medium. |
| Six Squared | 6/1/19 | A Sloth's Guide to Mindfulness | Ton Mak | Chubby sloths are cute reminders to take it easy. Taking your breath in. Taking your body in. Taking everything in the present. Can I monetize a book on cute things? |
| Middle of Dirty Thirty Decade | 5/26/19 | The Book of Books | PBS | Appreciate the sidebars. Distaste for repetition in captions. Disappointment in the lack of representation of authors from different cultural backgrounds (read: Asian and non-Christian) to paint the diversity of America's best-loved novels. Curiosity piqued on what the PBS series related that is different from this hardbound collection. |
| For 4 after 30 | 5/23/19 | In Pieces | Sally Field | I appreciated learning about her California upbringing and her resilience. Yikes. The physical and emotional abuse. |
| Eleven × 3 | 5/12/19 | Charlie Chan | Yunte Huang | Like the Siamese twins narrative, I was enthralled with the cultural complexities of understanding Chan's significance in Chinese-American history. I appreciate learning about humble Chang Apana. My eyes opened to xenophilia. |
| 8×4 | 5/4/19 | I am a Filipino and This is How We Cook | Nicole Ponesca and Miguel Trinidad | Growing up in LA, I took for granted the global culinary confluence that swirls through the generations. Manic chickens and b-boy pork. I picked up a lot of random thoughts skimming through the recipes, but leisurely perusing the historical contexts and sidebars |
| 1 + (3 × 10) | 5/2/19 | Brief Answers to the Big Questions | Stephen Hawking | I need to reread this one. Lots of good thoughts that were articulated about the fate of humans if we continue on this wasteful trajectory. Not light reading at all. |
| 3 multiplied by 10 | 4/14/19 | Well, That Escalated Quickly | Franchesca Ramsey | Mini woke moment of acknowledging my indifference to suppressors is actually supporting them. I enjoyed this collection of essays more than I thought. Anyone can rise up and be a better human and call in (not call out and make unnecessary drama). Activism is about education if done right. |
| XXIV | 4/7/19 | Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life | Gisele Bündchen | Her desire to live in a powerful world full of love gave way to spirited uh-huhs and fervent head shakes of approval. Modeling found a way into her life, but it never defined her. This book would be very easy to re-read. |
| 2 tens and an 8 | 4/6/19 | InstaStyle | Tessa Barton | Man, the resources and dedication to become an influencer. Not for the current hand I'm dealt with. Got some good ideas if I want to promote a certain lifestyle. Nah, it's still my pictorial gratitude log. |
| 3 times nine | 4/5/19 | Johnny Hiro - Half Asian, All Hero | Fred Chao | A suprising graphic novel from a Chinese-American gent. The cover summary doesn't do it justice. To think I was going to pass it up and not check it out of the library. I'm glad I took the time to peer into a young couple's misadventure in the Big Apple. I appreciate the many panels that parodied Judge Judy and Night Court. |
| Double 13 | 3/30/19 | Rhapsody in Black: The Life and Music of Roy Orbison | John Kruth | He was consumed with tragedies at the loss of many loved ones. The reverb of his haunting voice embodies the challenge of being human. |
| U.S. legal age to rent a car by your lonesome | 3/30/19 | The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood | Wow. What a well-written mind trickery. It is a scary portent of modern trends written 30-some odd years ago. |
| 2 dozen | 3/24/19 | Vignettes of Ystov | William Goldsmith | Another graphic novel with nostalgic renderings. A '50s commercial watercolor palette with abstract sketch lines. I appreciate how the vignettes tie together in a surprising end. |
| 24 minus 1 | 3/23/19 | I Really Didn't Think This Through: Tales from my So-Called Adult Life | Beth Evans | Anxiety, depression, and OCD. What a triple whammy. Reading this just makes me want to work on my listening skills to provide better support for others. No prescribing what works for me. It may not work for them. Just reassuring that they are OK as is, is all they need. |
| Veintidós | 3/23/19 | #neveragain | David and Lauren Hogg | Campus shootings are no laughing matter. People are so apathetic about it. Let's infuse the world with more heart and care, please. Let the love start in your own communities and radiate to the rest of the world. |
| Forever 21 | 3/21/19 | Hello Tokyo | Ebony Bizys | Wax paper for translucent crafts. Red, yellow, black, white, and green for bento boxes. Every item has a home. Boxes to house these items come from repurposed items. |
| 1 more before 20 | 3/12/19 | Everything's Trash, But It's Okay | Phoebe Robinson | Enjoyed it as much as the first book. Appreciated learning some pop culture references that passed me by more than 10 years ago (e.g. Tyra Banks' tirade about rooting for you and the Michael Jackson and Eddie Murphy "musical" collaboration). Not having cable was my fallback excuse for my pop culture ignorance. Now YouTube and Wikipedia are filling the gaps. No iChan left behind. |
| 18 | 3/10/19 | The Woman in the Window | A.J. Finn | Book Club selection. Was better at the end. You can't say I was not open-minded to fiction. |
| 17 | 3/9/19 | You're on an Airplane | Parker Posey | The collages strewn through the pages actually made me dizzy. I was left "Dazed and Confused" about my actual enjoyment of reading this stream-of-consciousness collection of thoughts. Once she started plying on the praises of her canine companion, I found myself wandering through the pages with more impatience for a conclusion. I appreciate her free-spirited approach to living though. |
| Sweet 16 | 3/2/19 | House of Women | Sophie Goldstein | Well, this graphic novel is something else. The simple stylings of Ms. Goldstein's ink drew me in, but I was turned out in confusion at the psychosexual storyline. |
| Quince | 3/2/19 | A Cookbook | Matty Matheson | Onions, carrots, and vile celery. Growing up, Mom used that trinity a-plenty. I am still not fond of celery. I was amused to see it in the majority of the recipes here. Prior to perusing the book, I don't know anything about the chef, but I appreciate learning more about his culinary inspirations. |
| 14 | 2/15/19 | Rubber Balls and Liquor | Gilbert Gottfried | My husband purchased this book after watching his show at the Houston Improv. This self-deprecating humor got me giggling like Leslie Sansone when she realized she has talked too much and lost concentration on the walk-out. |
| 13, a baker's dozen | 2/15/19 | Sweet Home Cafe Cookbook | National Museum of African American History & Culture | The modern cookbook delivers anecdotes and historical context. I dig it and I am on a cookbook bender. |
| Cheaper by the dozen | 1/27/19 | The One Hundred Nights of Hero | Isabel Greenberg | A great follow on to the other graphic novel that I consumed in half a day or less. |
| 11, 4 after 7 | 1/26/19 | The Encyclopedia of Early Earth | Isabel Greenberg | The style of graphic is reminiscent of something I've seen from childhood. Not sure what it is. I was really drawn to this fantastic work of fiction. |
| 10 things I love about you | 1/26/19 | Hey Mom | Louie Anderson | An endearing reflection on loving your loved ones more with more empathy, communication, and understanding. I definitely pine to keep in closer touch with loved ones back home in LA. |
| 9 circles of hell | 1/21/19 | Educated | Tara Westover | Truly an uncomfortable memoir. An infernal journey rising from ignorance, emotional abuse, and physical maladies only treated by feverish faith. Stories and how we interpret them, reflect how we have conditioned ourselves to think. Education shifts your interpretations and make you question moral commandments that are forcefully instituted. |
| 8, what luck! | 1/17/19 | A Fool's Guide to Actual Happiness | Mark Van Buren | My 10th grade English teacher said it best: "Be here now." To see the impermanence, discomfort, and widespread, shared experience of humanity, we slow down, simplify our thoughts, and remember there is no "I" in team human. |
| 7th heaven | 1/13/19 | 9 Rules of Engagement | Harris Faulkner | Good meditations on leading a life of meaning:
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| 6 pence and a pocket full of rye | 1/6/19 | Together: Our Community Cookbook | Hubb Community Kitchen | Love the intent behind this cookbook - a collection of community recipes to help fund daily operations of the Hubb Community Kitchen (founded by survivors of the Grenfell Fire). I wouldn't mind buying this collection. Recipes call for ingredients that appeals to my palate. |
| 5 dollar footlongs, any, any | 1/5/19 | Practical Ayurveda | Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center | My will is pure and irresistible. My heart is filled with gratitude towards life. My mind is clear and calm like a lake without waves. |
| 4 more years | 1/3/19 | Butch Heroes | Ria Brodell | I appreciate the ironic artwork that accompanied each telling of an individual living their truth. |
| 3 blind swipes, see how they scroll | 1/3/19 | Gmorning, Gnight! : Little Pep Talks for Me & You | Lin-Manuel Miranda | Yay, a curated set of tweets without having to scroll down. I think the illustrations from Jonny Sun made this collection of 140s peppy for me. |
| 2 can be as bad as 1 | 1/1/19 | My Love Story | Tina Turner | Seeking I, Tina to read in the future. As a child/teen, watching What's Love Got to Do With It comforted me like a security blanket because it reflected the strength of a single mother and the fortitude to make your own path. That hits home hard, seeing the challenges my own mother had to endure. I enjoyed this memoir on love because it exemplified how transformational love can course through your most difficult hours and keep you buoyed with motivation and hope to press on. |
| 1, from the bottom to the top | 1/1/19 | Chibi! The Official Mark Crilley How-to-Draw Guide | Mark Crilley | A lovely nostalgic exercise where I would borrow how-to-draw books from the library and doodle away. Picked up a couple good techniques on using simpler shapes to construct a chibi masterpiece |
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