Festival, Oddities, & Book Sale Haul
A couple of Saturdays ago, we had an exciting, book-filled day. We started the morning with the monthly book sale at the Albuquerque Main Library. Recently, we became Friends of the Library to support our favorite non-profit org. We looked around for about an hour in different sections (Liv's go-to being social sciences, and her new favorites being the metaphysical and history sections) and found some interesting picks:
Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey by Carl N. Degler and Lillian Schlissel
I’m an uber feminist who enjoys anything and everything related to women. This especially applies to history. I’m on a lifelong mission to collect as many books on women’s history as I can, so reading the journals and first-hand accounts of women who migrated West will be fascinating.
American Niceness: A Cultural History by Carrie Tirado Bramen
Since the World Cup started, I’ve been obsessed with news interviews with foreigners who came to America for the Cup and were shocked by the hospitality and kindness Americans showed them. This book discusses the historical context behind the “Ugly American” cliché and how Niceness is central to our nation’s identity. American Niceness: A Cultural History by Carrie Tirado Bramen
The Spiritual Herbalism Companion: Transform, Heal, & Remember with the Power of Plants and Ancestral Medicine by Karen M. Rose
U.S. Healthcare is a complete joke. One of my goals over the past couple of years has been to learn about holistic healing so I can begin healing myself. This short book discusses practical applications of herbs to alleviate symptoms and heal spiritual or emotional imbalances.
Personal Power through Awareness by Sanaya Roman
As Hannah and I have started our witchy journey, I’ve wanted to learn more about energy. More peer-reviewed, scientific articles are being published about the science behind it and how we interact with it daily. Since I’m pretty sensitive to others' energy, I’m hoping this will help me stay centered and balanced.
The Alchemy of Your Dreams: A Modern Guide to the Ancient Art of Lucid Dreaming and Interpretation by Athena Laz
Since I was a kid, I’ve always been a very vivid dreamer. This discusses what your subconscious may be trying to say through your dreams and how you can use lucid dreaming to change your dreamscape. I can do lucid dreaming to a limited extent, so I’m interested in learning more about how it works and whether I can expand my abilities. My total for five books came to exactly $10. A steal!
Hannah went straight for the fiction section and found some good picks. Most of the books she picked up had a medieval vibe. She was also surprised to find a really cool copy of Life of Pi (which she has yet to read!) and a tiny, pocket-sized edition of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.
After the library, we headed to the ABQ Book Collective's Second Annual Book Fest. The coffee shop hosting the festival, ABQ Coffee, had little shops inside selling non-book-related items that we perused first. Liv even saw an old high school classmate she hadn’t seen in over a decade! After chatting for a couple of minutes, we said our goodbyes and made our way outside to check out the book fest. Several books were written by debut indie authors. There were at least fifteen stands, and a good number of people were checking everything out. The biggest disappointment was how much AI was used. Whether it was book covers or the books themselves (you can spot which books are written by AI based on their cadence), it was rampant. We were getting irritated until we saw a young illustrator selling original, non-AI art. Her drawing style was ethereal. Liv bought five prints of beautiful, distinctly different women. One of her favorite prints (which Hannah also bought) was a side portrait of a young girl with short brown hair, dressed in full armor. It reminded us of Joan of Arc. When prompted, the woman shared that she based the woman on her sister. Each print cost $5, so it was a great deal.
Unfortunately, we didn’t end up staying afterward because it was hot LOL. As we were walking out, Hannah pointed to an interesting building across the venue called Dark Matter Arts, so we decided to check it out. We did not expect it to be such a cool shop, omg? We walked into a room filled with strange items. The sound of buzzing tattoo guns hummed from the back of the store, with thick drapes obscuring the view. Walking through the curtains, we saw that about ⅓ of the shop was dedicated to tattooing, with two clients actively getting tattooed. The rest of the shop had a mix of oddities and gift shop items. It was so cool. Liv's favorite part–which she wouldn’t have noticed if it weren’t for the cashier–was a wardrobe with Narnia-style fur coats hanging inside. It was AN ENTRANCE to tiny rooms filled with more gift shop items! We died! Looking around, Liv ended up buying a beautiful Renaissance painting journal, a candle of Luigi Mangione titled "Saint Protector of the People", a pop art “take your pills” mini container, and four stickers of famous Renaissance paintings of women cutting the heads off of men with cute little sayings like “Dismantle the Patriarchy”, “Women Support Women”, “Slay!”, and “Girl Dinner”. Her total was around $50.
Hannah bought two tarot decks-- a sci-fi deck and a feminine, anime-looking one.
The rest of the day was spent at Hannah’s with tarot and spellwork, all while working on the blog. Overall, it was an 11/10 day spent in the best company!
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