Tiny Navajo Reads: How to Break Up with Your Phone

How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life by Catherine Price

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*Published February 13, 2018*

Let’s just say that I’ve been looking for ways to break my addiction to technology because I use it so much! Like, I even watch episodes of a TV show while on my lunch! I need to stop and I need to find something else to do while on my lunch rather than watch TV shows…so, that’s part of the reason I picked up this book. And I’m just trying to improve my life in general.

How to Break Up with Your Phone by Catherine Price

Packed with tested strategies and practical tips, this book is the essential, life-changing guide for everyone who owns a smartphone.

Is your phone the first thing you reach for in the morning and the last thing you touch before bed? Do you frequently pick it up “just to check,” only to look up forty-five minutes later wondering where the time has gone? Do you say you want to spend less time on your phone—but have no idea how to do so without giving it up completely? If so, this book is your solution.

Award-winning journalist Catherine Price presents a practical, hands-on plan to break up—and then make up—with your phone. The goal? A long-term relationship that actually feels good.

You’ll discover how phones and apps are designed to be addictive, and learn how the time we spend on them damages our abilities to focus, think deeply, and form new memories. You’ll then make customized changes to your settings, apps, environment, and mindset that will ultimately enable you to take back control of your life.

This was an very information book about technology addiction and it was eye-opening to read it and find out a bit more about technology and how it leads to addiction. I also appreciated that after all the info, there was a was a plan for you to follow to “break up” with your technology, to put a halt in your addiction.

While I can’t seem to remember a whole lot about the book right now, I do know that there are things that I have taken away from reading this book that I have already incorporated into my life concerning my use of technology. There are obviously ways that I could be better at it, which is why I picked out this book in the first place, but I have already done better than I have before. This book gives easy to follow ideas and steps to ensure that you have a better relationship with your technology once you’re done. Even if you don’t follow the whole 30-day plan on breaking up with your technology, you will find something that you can do to make you life more yours rather than your technology’s.

Do you think you’re addicted to your technology? Do you wish to stop turning to your phone when you’re bored? Comment below and let me know and maybe think about how much you use your technology.

Tiny Navajo Listens: Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, narrated by Ari Fliakos

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*Published October 2, 2012*

I love this book and the world it invokes that is focused in this one small hole-in-the-wall bookstore. It’s fantastic!

A gleeful and exhilarating tale of global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, rollicking adventure, and the secret to eternal life—mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstore

The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design drone—and serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey has landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. But after just a few days on the job, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything, instead “checking out” impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he’s embarked on a complex analysis of the customers’ behavior and roped his friends into helping to figure out just what’s going on. But once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore.

With irresistible brio and dazzling intelligence, Robin Sloan has crafted a literary adventure story for the twenty-first century, evoking both the fairy-tale charm of Haruki Murakami and the enthusiastic novel-of-ideas wizardry of Neal Stephenson or a young Umberto Eco, but with a unique and feisty sensibility that’s rare to the world of literary fiction. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore is exactly what it sounds like: an establishment you have to enter and will never want to leave, a modern-day cabinet of wonders ready to give a jolt of energy to every curious reader, no matter the time of day.

I love this story, about a millennial looking for a job, any job really, that will pay for rent and get him some work experience. And when he finds one by walking the streets, it’s in a front desk job at a small little indie bookstore. It’s also more than a bookstore…it’s almost a cult, with weird customers showing up at the most random points of the day requesting books from the “Way Back List,” as Clay, our main character calls it. But when he starts to dig into what the “Way Back List” is and why these weird characters come in requesting these just plain weird books, he finds a lot more than he originally planned.

This book and thus the characters the books they share in a technology driven world pull you and refuse to let you out until you acknowledge that without books, we wouldn’t have technology as it is today. We wouldn’t have Google, and it plays a huge, and I mean HUGE, part in this book. I love Clay, I love Mr. Penumbra, and I love his 24-hour bookstore. I truly truly want to own his bookstore, or at least work in it! GAH! So much happiness! And I love Clay and the lengths he goes to make his employer, his friend, happy.

I love just about everything about this book and I love how Ari Fliakos brings the characters to life. I want to get to know Clay and his friends, I want to work for Mr. Penumbra and get to know his bookstore. I want to live in San Francisco and walk the hills to find little bookshops like this one. I want to do all of these things. That is what Robin Sloan’s books do to me, they make me want to charge out of my apartment in Oklahoma and find adventure in the great wide somewhere!

What do books make you want to do? How do they ask you to find adventure in your life? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: Thursday Three Favourite Covers

Today is Thursday! Which means that it’s nearly the weekend and I’m so excited for the weekend! YAY! Thursday also means that today is Thursday Threes and we are going to be talking about three book covers that are some of my favourite!

War of the Spark: Ravnica by Greg Weisman

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

The Toll by Neal Shusterman

These are absolutely beautiful covers and if I wasn’t already reading/read/want to read them, I would definitely look into them as interesting reading material. I do end up judging books by their covers some. What I love about these ones is how different they are, but they all say something about their stories and what’s going on inside the book itself.

What are some of your favourite covers? Why are they your favourite? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: Shuri, Vol. 1

Shuri, Vol. 1: The Search For Black Panther by Nnedi Okorafor

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*Published May 7, 2019*

I loved watching Shuri in the Black Panther movie that came out a few years ago. She was sassy and fun and probably the smartest character I had seen in Marvel movies since Iron Man. I absolutely loved her and was excited to read her story in the comics.

The world fell in love with her in Marvel’s Black Panther. Now, T’Challa’s techno-genius sister launches her own adventures — written by best-selling Afrofuturist author Nnedi Okorafor and drawn by Eisner Award-nominated artist Leonardo Romero! T’Challa has disappeared, and everyone is looking at the next in line for the throne. Wakanda expects Shuri to take on the mantle of Black Panther once more and lead their great nation — but she’s happiest in a lab, surrounded by her own inventions. She’d rather be testing gauntlets than throwing them down! So it’s time for Shuri to go rescue her brother yet again — with a little help from Storm, Rocket Raccoon and Groot, of course! But when her outer-space adventure puts the entire cultural history of her continent at risk from an energy-sapping alien threat, can Shuri and Iron Man save Africa?

I think what I enjoyed most about this is that Shuri is not afraid to be herself. She is the smartest person in Wakanda and as such is creating all of these new things in order to be of use. She also loves trying out all of her new technology, rather than taking on the mantle of the Black Panther. But when her T’Challa goes missing in space, Shuri is called upon to take up the mantle of the Black Panther. She refuses, but when a black hole appears in Africa, Shuri rushes to see how to fix the hole before it swallows all of Africa whole.

I do have to say, that this version of Shuri is not my favourite. I still enjoyed the story of Shuri wanting to be herself, and not what her nation wants to be. But the personality of Shuri in the movies is more the millennial mindset. I loved her more in the movies, but I think that’s because I could actually see her more than I do in the comics.

Have you read any Shuri comics? What do you think of her and of Wakanda? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: The Rithmatist

The Rithmatist (The Rithmatist #1) by Brandon Sanderson

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*Published May 13, 2014*

This has been sitting on my shelf for so many years that I finally pulled it out and read it and I’m so glad that I did! And I’m kind of upset at myself for not picking it up before now. All well, onto my review!

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.

As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students learn the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing—kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery—one that will change Rithmatics—and their world—forever.

As with many of Brandon Sanderson’s book, the magic system in this world is amazing! You are either chosen or you are not to become a Rithmatist. Joel had missed his chance and wonders what would have happened had he been chosen, especially in a school where he is surrounded by Rithmatists.

When Rithmatist students start disappearing though, Joel is drawn into this world as he is called on to help a professor with a “secret project,” looking into old Rithmatist students who had graduated Armedius Academy. As Joel gets a glimpse of this world he so badly wants to be in, he makes a friend with a Rithmatist, Melody, who has been assigned to take Remedial Rithamtics. As they work together, they start to realize that there is more going on that what they originally thought with the disappearing students.

I loved that this book showed that you don’t have to be someone in order to help someone. As long as you are willing and able to help, you should help. Brandon Sanderson writes characters that you connect with and encourage to overcome their challenges. The only ONLY problem that I have with this book is that there is supposed to be a second one, one that was supposed to be dropped I think two years ago but it hasn’t come out yet. I truly hope that it comes out soon!

What are some of your favourite ways that magic works? Do you like well thought out magic? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: Thunderhead

Thunderhead (Arc of a Scythe #2) by Neal Shusterman

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*Published January 9, 2018*

This is the second book in the Arc of a Scythe series and it is so good! It dives in roughly a year after Citra received her ring and Rowan has gone rogue, going after scythes that don’t uphold the commandments and seek to emulate the late Scythe Goddard.

Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.

Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?

There was a lot of politics in this book, more than in the last one. Citra, now Scythe Anastasia, junior Scythe to Scythe Curie, seeks to change the scythedom to prevent what Rowan went through and scythes seeking to take advantage of their killing abilities to manipulate their position in life. It’s not going quite as she would like or expect, except for the fact that she has some sway within the MidMerica scythedom, something she doesn’t want.

As Citra/Anastasia works toward changing the scythedom from the inside, and Rowan/Scythe Lucifer works on changing it from the outside, there’s a lot more going on. A lot more is seen by the Thunderhead, and while it cannot actively interfere with the matters of scythes, it does see all that they do. Information that cannot be conveyed from the Thunderhead to the scythedom in anyway, as that would be interfering with the scythedom in someway.

There are always going to be different ways to try and change the ways government, but there will be ways that will not work and there will be ways that will. And sometimes, the government will just be dissolved by those who do not agree. Trying to work with those who do not share your worldview can be tiring and it will  feel as though it’s not worth the effort. This book also shows that human flaws will be perpetuated into perpetuity because don’t change much as people by simple number alone. But by actively trying to do better and be better, we have a chance to change the world to the world we actually want it to be.

What are some things you are working on changing? What do you do when you have to work with someone with a very different perspective than you? Comment below and let me know!

P.S. Also, the cover and title reveal for the third book came out! It’s called The Toll and it’s cover is beautiful!

Tiny Navajo Reads: Miles Morales, Vol. 3

Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man: Ultimate Collection, Vol. 3 by Brian Michael Bendis

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*Published December 8, 2015*

This is the last volume of Miles Morales, and it’s interesting to say the least as Miles has to deal with the fallout with his father and Peter Parker and Green Goblin seemingly coming back to life.

The Ultimate Spider-Man is back in action! Unfortunately, Galactus has arrived in the Ultimate Universe, and he hungers. Miles must undertake a dangerous trip to Galactus’ home universe if Earth has a chance of surviving this cataclysm! Then, Miles faces the worst villain from his predecessor’s past: the Green Goblin – the man who killed Peter Parker! But is Peter truly dead? As events unravel in surprising fashion, Spidey takes on Spidey – and only one of the two will rise! COLLECTING: CATACLYSM: ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN 1-3, ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN 200, MILES MORALES: THE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN 1-12

I honestly feel really bad for Miles in this one. The world as he knows is being destroyed by Galactus, which we do not see the end of! BOO!!! But we do get to see Peter Parker and the Green Goblin come back from the dead. Miles thinks at first that someone is playing a joke…or that he is hallucinating, but then Green Goblin shows up at Aunt May’s house to take out Spider-Man again. So, Miles does what Miles does best, he jumps in to take on the threat. But then Peter Parker joins the fight and we see that there may be something to what Green Goblin is saying, that all those who had been affected by the Ozcorp spiders may never die…or at least, that is the current theory, especially with Peter Parker coming back from the dead.

A lot of Miles’s issues this time around center around his dad…his dad who has told him time and time again that if Miles were ever to be a mutant to like any of the heroes they see around New York, it wouldn’t end well. And he proves that to be true.

I truly feel badly for Miles, he is abandoned by his father and he has to come to terms with it along with Peter Parker showing up again. He just seems to go through a lot. This is a darker version of Miles Morales compared to the movie version of Miles. Not that this is a bad thing, but it is a thing to keep in mind.

What changes do you like made from comic to movie? Are they good changes or bad changes? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: Miles Morales Vol. 2

Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man: Ultimate Collection, Vol. 2 by Brian Michael Bendis

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*Published October 20, 2015*

In this second volume, we see Miles work to become the superhero that he believes is needed, even if no one else wants/needs him. We also see what happens when those you love are caught in the crossfire you choose to be in.

Miles Morales is still getting used to being Spider-Man when Captain America makes him a very special offer. Is Miles really joining the Ultimates? With a wounded nation crying out for heroes, Miles Morales is determined to prove that he has what it takes! But when a terrifying new Venom symbiote surfaces, armed with the truth about the incident that gave the new Spider-Man his powers, Spidey might have just made his first true archenemy. COLLECTING: ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN (2011) 13-28, 16.1

I think this is the volume where we see Miles grow and change the most, both for good and for bad. We see Miles become Spider-Man, a Spider-Man that is needed, but one that is rejected on several levels because of how young he is. When Miles is offered the chance to join the Ultimates, he jumps at the chance to prove that he can be Spider-Man. It all comes crashing down on his head though when a new Venom symbiote surfaces with info about Miles’s creation and what it means for him, the Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, and Norman Ozborn’s Green Goblin. It leads to the death of a family member, someone who would have believed in Miles indefinitely. It also leads to the injury of another, causing Miles to doubt who he is and what it means to be Spider-Man.

We see Miles vacillate between believing that what he is doing is for the greater good and that he can truly be a superhero to turning his back on being Spider-Man for the pain and trouble that it has not only brought him, but his family has well. Most times when we see superheroes, they are already adults with some of their life in order. Miles is literally just a kid, he was 11 when he got bit and received his powers and I believe 13 when he fully became Spider-Man. A kid who loses a parent, another is injured and he still has to go through puberty all while trying to be Spider-Man?! That’s asking a lot of someone, even when they aren’t Spider-Man.

I think what I liked most about this is that we see Miles go through so much that I would not even blink an eye if he decided that he needed to get away from New York, away from this place of superheroes, and just decide to be a kid. No one needs that much responsibility from such a young age, an age where you barely know what going on inside of you even without the spider bite to make you into Spider-Man. Yet, Miles Morales chooses to continue. He chooses to be Spider-Man. He CHOOSES to do what he thinks will best help his home that is to pull on the mask and save those he can.

What have you chosen to do that would have crushed you? Why did you choose to do so? Don’t comment on this one if you don’t want, this being a bit more personal. But do think about it and what it has brought you in your life.

 

Tiny Navajo Reads: Miles Morales

Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man: Ultimate Collection, Vol. 1 by Brian Michael Bendis

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*Published August 18, 2015*

I had recently watched Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and I was so curious about who Miles Morales was, so I borrowed the these three volumes from my library. I’m going to review each one, and today is volume one.

Miles Morales takes up the mantle of the Ultimate Spider-Man! Before Peter Parker died, young Miles was poised to start the next chapter in his life in a new school. Then, a spider’s bite granted the teenager incredible arachnid-like powers. Now, Miles has been thrust into a world he doesn’t understand, with only gut instinct and a little thing called responsibility as his guides. Can he live up to Peter’s legacy as Spider-Man? As Miles grapples with his new life, Miles’ Uncle Aaron – a.k.a. the Prowler – learns his secret! He’s got plans for his nephew, but little does he know that the Scorpion is on his tail! Spider-Man story! COLLECTING Ultimate Fallout 4, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man (2011) 1-12, Spider-Men 1-5

Okay, going to be completely honest, I enjoy movie Miles better than comic Miles. But the comics give a view of Miles that the movie did not show, as it’s a movie. All the beats of the movie are in the comics, which makes sense. The biggest change was Uncle Aaron’s full personality. In the movie, once he realizes that Miles is the newest Spider-Man he starts to have second thoughts about going after Spider-Man. In the comics, Uncle Aaron takes this knowledge to try and start his own crime ring.

I will have to say, that I did enjoy these comics. We do see the Avengers and Nick Fury, we see a Spider-Man come in through a wormhole like the ones in the movie, but mostly I like seeing a young mixed teenager take in the mantle of Spider-Man and learn who he is as Spider-Man and what Miles Morales would do as Spider-Man, rather than what Peter Parker would do, or what anyone else do. Miles learns that he will and does make as good a Spider-Man as the original, as long as he acts like himself while doing so. And I do truly enjoy that about the comics, we see more growth from Miles.

What do you do when movies are based on comics/books? Do you read them, or just enjoy them for what they are? Comment below and let me know!

Tiny Navajo Reads: The Night Masquerade

The Night Masquerade (Binti #3) by Nnedi Okorafor

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*Published January 16, 2018*

The final book in the Binti series, we see what has happened to cause essentially another war between the Meduse and Khoush, the violence now touching Binti’s family and the Himba.

The concluding part of the highly-acclaimed science fiction trilogy that began with Nnedi Okorafor’s Hugo- and Nebula Award-winning BINTI.

Binti has returned to her home planet, believing that the violence of the Meduse has been left behind. Unfortunately, although her people are peaceful on the whole, the same cannot be said for the Khoush, who fan the flames of their ancient rivalry with the Meduse.

Far from her village when the conflicts start, Binti hurries home, but anger and resentment has already claimed the lives of many close to her.

Once again it is up to Binti, and her intriguing new friend Mwinyi, to intervene–though the elders of her people do not entirely trust her motives–and try to prevent a war that could wipe out her people, once and for all.

Don’t miss this essential concluding volume in the Binti trilogy.

In this final book, we see Binti work with her newest friend Mwinyi from the Desert People, to hopefully, finally bring peace to the Meduse and the Khoush. Unfortunately, when things start to come to a head, violence fall upon her family, Binti is far from home. By the time she gets back home, things have been destroyed, both for the Himba and for Binti.

While her elders don’t quite trust Binti because she no longer looks or acts Himba, they let her act as an intermediary between the Meduse and the Khoush. But not everyone is willing to let go of their hatred and someone shoots during the peace negotiations. Things go south and Binti is taken from her home again. I won’t spoil the ending, but it continues the themes of the past two books of change and accepting that change and how change is not always a bad thing.

What do you think of science fiction? Do you enjoy it or not? Comment below and let me know!