Two of the three Rs.

Writing. Reading. Film Watching. Travelling. Running. Eavesdropping. Firestarting. Taking No Prisoners.

[buzzfeedbooks]

Every. Damn. Time.

[nypl]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nl2YG6eA1c)

This kid is seriously our new favorite person at the Library.

[riverheadbooks]

“If you’re alone all the time, you’ve got to find excitement somewhere.” 

What’s it take to write something as breathtaking as FATES AND FURIES? 

Well, 10 or 12 drafts written in longhand, to start… Lauren Groff talks to Charlie Rose about her writing process, and where she finds her inspiration (Greek Tragedy, Shakespeare, George Eliot).

(via Watch Charlie Rose: Lauren Groff Online | Hulu)

[abbyajayi]

Lauren Groff on writing, reading, literary inspiration and female rage.

[lithub]

“The satisfying crack when the bat met the ball resounded throughout Jingu Stadium. Scattered applause rose around me. In that instant, for no reason and on no grounds whatsoever, the thought suddenly struck me: I think I can write a novel.”

Haruki Murakami, who was born today in 1949, recounts the moment he became a novelist.

[newyorker]

Remembering the actor Alan Rickman, in this cartoon by Benjamin Schwartz.

[normajeaned]

Ava Gardner in The Killers (1946).

[npr]

Nigeria is falling in love with Star Wars.

There are two reasons. There’s a growing nerd culture in the country — young people who love science fiction and see it as a way to imagine our own futures as something better than our present. We also have an annual Comic Con in Lagos. And last year a friend and I started an online “speculative fiction” magazine, Omenana.com, which has helped promote a new generation of sci-fi writers and artists.

The other reason: John Boyega.

Boyega is the son of Nigerians who settled in Britain. He plays Finn, a disillusioned Stormtrooper in the new movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And he’s proud of his heritage.

“I’m grounded in who I am and I am a confident black man, a confident, Nigerian, black, chocolate man,” he has posted on Instagram.

Nigerians are already familiar with Boyega. He was in the U.K. sci-fi flick Attack the Block and played Ugwu the houseboy in the film adaptation of Chimamanda Adichie’s novel Half of a Yellow Sun.

John Boyega Is Awakening ‘Star Wars’ Fans In Nigeria

Photo: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Disney

[everysinglewordspoken]

I spoke at the Smithsonian today about representation in historical film. Here is my full speech.

[housingworksbookstore]

The world through fresh-baked-chocolate chip cookies

[secretscribbler-blog]

Best book I’ve read so far this year.  So lovely.

[abbyajayi]

Yes!

[npr]

Something rare is happening in the world of ballet: At the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., two African-American dancers will be the leads in The Washington Ballet’s production of Swan Lake: Misty Copeland, soloist with American Ballet Theatre, will dance the dual role of Odette and Odile, while Brooklyn Mack of The Washington Ballet will dance Prince Siegfried.

Copeland and Mack have something in common that is also rare for young African-Americans: teachers who saw their potential early on and broke the unwritten rule that all ballet dancers must look alike.

Who Gets To Dance In ‘Swan Lake’? The Answer Is Changing

Photo credit: Emily Jan/NPR

[introspectivepoet]

Let us never underestimate the power of a well-written letter.

Jane Austen, Persuasion (via introspectivepoet)

[groundstrokes]

There is no way I can return that serve if I’m not facing it. #serenareturns (x)

[therakeonline]

[abbyajayi]

Along with my iFeatures team, we've been blogging for Women in Film & TV about the development of our feature The Ugly List. In this week's instalment, I talk about writing and re-writing the film treatment.

[woodsy-woman]

It’s messing people up, this social pressure to “find your passion” and “know what it is you want to do”. It’s perfectly fine to just live your moments fully, and marvel as many small and large passions, many small and large purposes enter and leave your life. For many people there is no realization, no bliss to follow, no discovery of your life’s purpose. This isn’t sad, it’s just the way things are. Stop trying to find the forest and just enjoy the trees.

Sally Coulter  (via tv-in-black-n-white)

[freetoe-deactivated20191218]

I ain’t afraid to love a man. I ain’t afraid to shoot him, either.

Annie Oakley (via heyho-letsgo-riderkick)