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Recent Reads: March-June 2018

July 20, 2018 by Taylor Leave a Comment

Recent Reads, March-June 2018 - Espresso and Ambition

The original plan was to do these “Recent Reads” posts every other month. And then I read a grand total of 3 books in the entirety of March and April, which definitely wasn’t enough to warrant a whole post. So instead, I decided to make this mega-post of all the books I’ve read over the last four months.

 

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

So, I really love John Green books. Looking for Alaska was one of my faves, and I definitely enjoyed this one as well. I think John Green always does a really good job of capturing the myriad of teenage emotions – not to mention, his stories tend to feel a bit more real than a lot of other YA lit. Minus the fact that I don’t know a lot of teenagers who constantly reference classic literature.

 

Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson

Technically this was a read for class, but it’s also really helpful if you’re the type of person who stresses about confronting people and dealing with confrontation. Heads up: there’s a lot of acronyms.

 

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

I read this book in one go – it’s one of those stories that sucks you in from the start and won’t let you go until you’ve finished it. I loved her other book, Everything Everything, but this one is, honestly, so much more “realistic” and tackles so many modern-day issues in it, from race relations to illegal immigration.

 

Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud by Anne Helen Peterson

Occasionally, (ok, quite often), a political book makes its way onto my bookshelf. I literally work in politics, so this isn’t at all surprising, really. This particular book looks at women in the pop culture space who are defying the expectations of what it means to be a woman – they’re too fat, they’re too slutty, they’re too loud, they’re too something. It’s a fascinating profile of these women and what it means to challenge society’s expectations of womanhood.

 

The Regulars by Georgia Clark

Explaining the premise of this book feels weird. Basically, these three girls get a hold of this potion called “Pretty,” which makes them super conventionally attractive, and they use this newfound power to get up to all sorts of wild stuff. It’s surprisingly addictive, despite the fact that I’m not usually into fiction that departs so much from reality.

 

Mindset by Carol Dweck

Another class read. But also I find myself talking about this concept all the time, so I figured it deserved to be included. Basically, Carol Dweck has identified two mindsets: fixed and growth. With the former, you have this idea that things like intelligence and skill are set in stone; with a growth mindset, you believe that you have the potential to develop those things. Which mindset we operate in has a massive effect on our behavior going forward.

 

The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande

As someone who is a huge proponent of the to-do list, I thought this book was fantastic. The whole book is basically about how implementing something as simple as a checklist in intense, complicated situations like surgery and flying a plane can actually make a world of difference. It’s amazing how many mistakes we catch when we take the time to make sure we’re checking off all the (real or imaginary) boxes.

 

The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith

 

I’ve been on a YA literature kick lately. This book was heartbreaking and addictive all at once – it’s the story of a freshman in high school who’s raped, and chronicles how that one incident affects her over the next four years. It’s a difficult read, but it’s phenomenally written.

 

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

This book is all about tapping into your creative energy. It can feel a bit contrived at times – creativity is given this oddly personified nature – but it’s still a good book nonetheless, especially if you’re anyone working in the creative space.

 

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Alright, not going to lie, I didn’t love this book all that much. It’s about two teenagers suffering from mental illnesses who also fall in love, but it just feels… weird. At times, I feel like it’s glamorizing depression, or glamorizing losing someone to suicide. I’m sure there are some people out there that don’t feel the book does that at all, but to me, it felt off.

 

And that’s March through June for you! Now I’ve got to get back to reading, because otherwise it’s gonna be another four months before I have enough books to write about again.

xo, Taylor

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A real-life combination of Elle Woods and Hermione Granger. Recent graduate of the University of Georgia, currently living and working in DC. New blog posts every Monday, new YouTube videos every Thursday. Subscribe by clicking the link below for post updates and exclusive content!

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tayy_kay

📍 dc
🔥 nasm certified personal trainer
✨ self-love + balance
🎥 2 new workouts per week!

tayy_kay
without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little c without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little challenging to really feel like i’m working at my full potential on leg days 😶 enter: single-leg movements. since all the weight is in one leg, you’re putting way more emphasis on it than you do during two-leg movements - and you’ll definitely feel that 🔥 you also get some added bonuses in the form of ensuring you’re working each side of your body equally AND a balance challenge!!
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you can add in weights or bands to up the challenge level, or do it all bodyweight like i am here!
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1️⃣ 15 single-leg box squats per leg (use other leg as a kickstand for an easier modification!)
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2️⃣ 15 bulgarian split squats per leg
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3️⃣ 15 single-leg hip thrusts per leg
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4️⃣ 15 single-leg deadlifts per leg
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throw on at the end of a longer leg day workout or do it 3-4 times as a workout all on its own!!
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👚 @girlfriend 🎧 numb - neffex
🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time 🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time to be alive, and it’s more important now than ever to listen to your body and stop being so hard on yourself. motivation is a fickle thing and working out when you don’t have all the equipment you love is weird. give yourself permission to take a break when you need it. don’t beat yourself up for missing workouts - exercise should be something you do because it makes you happy, not because you feel like you have to punish yourself. if it doesn’t make you happy that day, that’s okay. give yourself a break, come back and try again tomorrow. 💪🏼
circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not kidding about how much i love this long resistance band, it’s so versatile! definitely worth getting your hands on one for home workouts 😊 (although almost all of these can be completely with dumbbells or heavy objects if that’s what you’ve got in hand)
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also please watch to the very end of the fourth video for quality footage of greg 😂
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1️⃣ 12 long band shoulder presses to standing chest presses
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2️⃣ 12 upright rows to bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 overhead triceps extensions per arm (the one leg stance is some bonus balance work!)
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4️⃣ 12 rear flies, featuring greg trying to fight my shadow
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5️⃣ 12 commandos
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6️⃣ 12 side-to-side pushups
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repeat 4x total!!
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👚 @underarmourwomen
🎧 best of me - neffex
giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, cra giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, crazy time in the world a little differently, and for me, it’s looked like a lot of establishing to and sticking to routines (seriously, sometimes it feels like my skincare routine and workout split are the only thing still giving meaning to days of the week, lol). my morning smoothies have been another important one - there’s a recipe in my story highlights and surprise surprise it uses this protein powder 😛
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anyways, onto the real reason you’re here! i’m giving away 25 $20 giftcards for @310nutrition with NO STRINGS ATTACHED 🤯 you hear that? you ain’t gotta do a thing to win - the first 25 people to use the code KAYGC20 on their order automatically win. get your hands on some fire plant-based protein powder, courtesy of me and 310 😋 (p.s. if you’re still seeing this caption, there are still giftcards available!!)
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#310gc20 #310shake
sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and hold a fake photo shoot just to prove to yourself that you’re still a real human
posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangen posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangentially topical. link in bio.
upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating towards circuit-style workouts lately, because they really work up a sweat and home workouts just don’t feel as legit to me unless i’m hardcore sweating 🤷🏼‍♀️ i don’t mind not breaking much of a sweat at the gym, but it feels weird not to when i’m working out at home - anyone else feel this or am i just weird?? 😅
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do all exercises back to back with no rest in between!
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1️⃣ 10 push-ups to renegade rows
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2️⃣ 12 alternating bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 diamond front raises
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4️⃣ 8 sets of 3 tricep pulses to this lil cross-body weight move that doesn’t have a name {keep your core tight to feel it on your obliques!}
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5️⃣ 15 bent-over rear delt rows
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6️⃣ finisher!! 🥵 10 burpees with 2 shoulder taps and 2 toe taps in the middle of each rep
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repeat 🔁 for a total of 3 rounds!!
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👚 top from @gymsharkwomen, shorts from @nike 🎧 dangerous - neffex
would be nice if both sides of my head could agree would be nice if both sides of my head could agree on whether my hair is wavy or straight, but apparently that’s a little too much to ask of it 😂
got a circuit-style leg workout for you today! 🥳 there are 3 sets of 3 exercises that you’ll complete back-to-back - once you’ve done those three moves, rest for 30 seconds before repeating them all over again 2 more times! rest for 1-2 minutes in between each circuit - keeping your heart rate up is the goal here, i was driiiiiiipping sweat by the end of this one 🥵
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circuit 1️⃣: 10 step-ups to reverse lunges per leg
10 reverse lunges to curtsy lunges per leg
20 lateral lunges
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circuit 2️⃣:
10 squats to surrenders (stop in a squat position before standing up at the end to really feel this one)
10 stagger-stance rdls
20 criss-cross squat jumps
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circuit 3️⃣:
15 leg lifts per side
10 single-leg glute bridges per side
15 frog pumps
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👚 top from @fabletics, joggers from @gymsharkwomen
🎧 watch me - neffex
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