Whether you’re going on vacation, studying abroad, or just want to make the most of downtime on a plane, here are the 5 books you meet abroad. Any book recs for when on vacation, studying abroad or just while on the road? Show me with #BriBooks on Instagram! This epi is in honor of listeners Elexxa Thomas and Marche’ Hill, and other young women circling the globe, or thinking about it :)  

 Past Episodes About The Five Books You Meet Abroad

• The Circle
• What I Know For Sure
• Leave Your Mark
• Americanah

• 2:55: Book #1: Good Fiction, a page turner that you pull out every chance you get. Fiction can be very freeing when dealing with the stressful logistics of making a home in a strange place. I did an epi about the book “The Circle,” good piece of fiction. Escapist. #Protip: I did an epi about the book.
• 3:54: Fiction recommendation is “Land of Love and Drowning” by author Tiphanie Yanique, set in US Virgin Islands at the turn of the 20th century, spanning nearly a century of how this family grew and fell apart.

• 4:25: Book #2: Personal Development, a book written by a professional or about a company you’re interested in.To “meet’ this book abroad, pick a title that’s written by a founder or professional you’re interested in. Think of a few companies you admire (Amazon? Google? KIND bars?), and dig into their processes. This is a “primary source” of sorts, an up close and personal look at the inner workings of something great to you.
• 5:18: Personal development recommendation is “ What I Know for Sure” by Oprah Winfrey. Reading the collection of columns was very affirming for me. Of course, I did a podcast episode about the book.
• 5:42: Book #3: Good Nonfiction. You want this book to count, so that when you put it down, you’re armed with more information on something you care about. Whether that’s media, sports, fashion, investment banking, find a writer or author who really understands the zeitgeist and the industry, and is able to  put context behind that. You want something by industry insider or something religious, the focus is to expand your knowledge so that you’ve been entertained and informed.
• 6:20: Nonfiction recommendation is Aliza Licht’s “Leave Your Mark.” This book taught me a ton about PR. Brandi Kellam at NBC News and I chatted about this book on a previous episode on this book, focusing on how to become a professional who communicates effectively, and brand  yourself based on hard work instead of the perception of hard work :-)
• 7:30: Book #4: Good Lit You’ve Been Meaning To Get Around To. This is the title you see everyone reading, keep hearing about, or you’ve been meaning to get around to reading. For me, that book was “Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (yes, I did an epi about that book, too!) The purpose of this “meeting” is to finish something you've been thinking starting.
• 8:19: Book #5: A Book That Honors Where You Are. What’s the purpose of being somewhere new, unique, adventurous and not digging into that space?! This is a very authentic and personal way to root yourself into a culture, history and moment.  Every country and culture has noteworthy and famous authors--do a bit of research, find an author, and pick up their latest title. Who is the literary darling of where you are?
• 9:00: I’m reading “A House in Bali” by Colin McPhee, because….I’M GOING TO BALI IN TWO WEEKS WITH TRAVEL NOIRE!
• 9:30: Being out of your element is aw ay to establish new habits--make a habit of spending the first two hours reading on the plane, or read before bed. It’s a good way to normalize something and inject routine into a chaotic and adventurous time like being abroad.
• 10:15 - Instead of an OPP, we’re going to do what are the books we want to read if we want our brains to study abroad.
• 10:30 - Rush’s pick: “Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead--it’s very popular, it’s alt historical fiction where they imagine underground railroad as a literal train.
• 11:28: Brionna’s pick: “Too Big to Fail” by Andrew Ross Sorkin. It was one of the first free books I picked up in NYC, I know the story, but i’ve never read the story!

Meet Kovie, culture & identities writer and Deputy Entertainment Editor at @buzzfeednews. Kovie and I luv author Luvvie Ajayi ( AKA @AwesomelyLuvvie) for being lowkey judgemental (for all the right reasons). On today's epi, we share our fave takeaways from Luvvie’s NYT Bestseller (!!!) “I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual.” Kovie wrote about Queen Sugar. Then, Ava DuVernay wrote a thank you Kovie. She totally buried that lede.

SHOW NOTES

Luvvie on Side Hustle Pro Podcast (which BANGS)

#BriBooks OPP’s (Other People’s Podcasts) This Week

From Brionna: Tea with Queen and J.

From Kovie: Minorities in Publishing podcast (hi Jenn Baker!), Another Round, The Friend Zone

• 1:15- How Kovie and I found Luvvie via #TGIT Scandal Twitter

• 3:30 - Luvvie’s consistency, and taking 10 years to become an “overnight success.”
• 4:45 - Kovie on judgement
• 7:10 - #RelationshipGoals Goals: Are you on the same team?
• 9:45 - Doing the branding v. doing the WORK!
• 11:00 - Being a black woman, using humor and being taken “seriously” as a critic
• 12:15 - Luvvie is an active LISTENER and authentic RESPONDER.
• 12:40 - Kovie on why we are children no longer, how 2016 prepared her for 2017, and why the darkness was never a stranger to us.
• 16:07 -  “Africa is a continent and people have to respect that.”
• 18:45 -  “Do Better Manual” for 2017 - Get disciplined!
• 24:35 - Tired? Get up off your ass, say a prayer, and go to work!
• 25:00 - OOP’s: Minorities in Publishing, Another Round, The Friend Zone, Tea with Queen and J.
• 26: 41 - The ULTIMATE lede burial - Kovie wrote on Queen Sugar. Ava wrote Kovie. Epic.

*Sanaa Lathan ‘Brown Sugar’ voice* “So, when did you fall in love with video games?”

In this episode of Bri Books, co-producer Rush Perez and I talk video games, nostalgia, and Blake J. Harris’ 2014 book, “Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, athe the Battle That Defined a Generation.” The book remembers the rise and shifting significance of gaming consoles in the home in the 80s. Since then, the console has moved from a box connected to a TV screen, to the screen connected to our hands.

• 0:30 - Brionna and Rush’s first consoles, and how we got into gaming as kids
• 1:30 - A brief history of Nintendo v. Sega
• 2:30 - How game consoles acted as an “excuse to go into other people’s houses.”
• 2:50 - All together, alone (gaming online)
• 3:15: Brionna’s top 5 video games of all time! (1. Dig Dug, 2. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, 3. Mortal Kombat, 4. Crusin’ USA 5. Pole Position)
• 4:30 - How “Mortal Kombat” continues to age gracefully.
• 5:17 - Do we recommend this book?
• 6:15 - Rush’s  (#OtherPeoplesPodcasts) #OPP podcast recommendations for the week: “Keepin’ It 1600”, “Undone” (especially this episode called “The Deacons”)
• 7:20 - Brionna’s pod rec (#OtherPeoplesPodcasts) is the recent  “Freakonomics” series “Bad Medicine,” all about the hidden side of the medical industry, especially pharmaceuticals and research.

Remember, we’ve changed the pod name but kept the delicious pod flavor. On Twitter we’re still @bribookspod, now on Instagram and Facebook as @bribookspod. Tweet me what you’re reading using #BriBooks on Instagram and Twitter!

Resolutions and goals and action items, oh my!

Past goal-setting episode - “There Are 83 Days Left in 2016”

Happy New Year! I hope you’re coming off of the high of a well-rested holiday. There’s so much energy in the air at the end of the year, and I love to use that time to set goals. I did an episode all about the process back in October 2016, but here’s a more drilled-down version of goal-setting, just in time for the New Year. So, let’s dig into how to get our goal-setting “weight up” in 2017.

Show Notes

• 0:40 - There’s something intoxicating about the end of the year. Because there’s so much energy in the air we feel invigorated, but we want to set goals that will invigorate month over month.

• 2:00 - I did a podcast in October titled ‘There Are 83 Days Left in 2016’
• 2:20 - Why quarterly and monthly goal-setting keeps everything in perspective for me
• 3:05 - #1, in goal-setting: Take an assessment (a la Myleik Teele’s podcast). Critically ask, where am I? What worked and what didn’t? What did I try? I call this my “remix.”
• 3:45 - #2, treat yo self! What did you accomplish and what are you grateful for? For me, in 2016, I collected a lot of great feedback on this podcast,and completed the first season and started work on the 2nd season, all while doing a rebranding! I kept up with volunteering with Junket NYC (mentorship program), NYABJ. I committed to serving with my church. I got my candle shop up and running!
• 5:00 - #3, set a mantra for the time period. Because I have quarterly goals and annual goals, the mantra/ words I live by. Those words are ‘DOMAIN EXPERTISE.’ I’m striving to be someone who’s an expert in my space, and knows my role and contribution deeply.
• 5:50 - #4, create goal areas! Self care learning, home, health, bri books, finances, professional, friends and family, spiritual, personal, service, bricandles, fun adventure, reading
• 6:00 - Good goal areas to start off with, and go from there!
• 6:15 - Brionna’s 13 goal areas. I make my weekly and monthly to-do lists, I focus on action-based tasks that can move the needle across my goal areas, or at least give me more information to make a more informed decision.

Tell me how you set goals--what are your goals for 2017? Do you do vision boards? prayers/ devotionals? What do you do and use to keep yourself accountable? Show me your vision boards, goal lists, and boss moves on Twitter, on Instagram and Facebook as @bribookspod using #BriBooks on Instagram and Twitter! I hope this demystified goal setting for you. Of course, I need to know what you’re reading and looking forward to in 2017!

I hope this demystified goal setting for you. Of course, I need to know what you’re reading and looking forward to in 2017!