*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!

(Spoiler alert: It's a "Best of 2016" podcast.)

Thanks so much for going with me on this journey!  I’m really excited about 2017 and this podcast, and just sharing more of my journey with you and sharing relevant and inspiring content. Let’s revisit the top moments of 2016 on this podcast. These are the moments I’m most proud of, and you found most useful.

SHOW NOTES

1. “Americanah,” friendship and letting people out of your life (ep. 1.6)
2. “Leave Your Mark,” never getting too ‘comfortable’ and finding pockets of opportunity (ep. 1.4)
3. “Do Less, Get More” on how to do everything, just not at the same time (ep. 1.5)
4. “Modern Romance,” how Gabby Thomas and I “approach” online dating (ep. 1.7)
5. “We Have 83 Days Left in 2016,” and how I set and accomplish my goals (ep. 1.9)
6. “Modern Romance, Pt. 2,” and how co-producer Rush Perez looOooooOoves his girlfriend (ep. 1.8)
7. My National Association of Black Journalists story, featuring VP, NABJ Benet Wilson (ep. 1.10)
8. “Modern Romance” with Gabby, and why being an intentional dater is non-negotiable (ep. 1.7)
9. “Guys, Was John Adams Right,” but seriously, he was spot-on about the moral implication of wealth and politics (ep. 1.12)
10. Oprah’s “What I Know for Sure” has taught me to be grateful for my mountains (ep. 2.1)

SOCIALS:

@BriBooksPod on Instagram - Tag me in your lit love and quotes using #BriBooks! 

@BriBooksPod on Twitter - Where I share #podincolor love, and other reading noms.

bribookspod.com - We're moving fast. Hold on. 

Bri Books Podcast on Facebook - Because let's be real, you are, too. 

New name, who dis?

It's Brionna, and the new rebranded "Bri Books" podcast. As I make strides with this show and plan for 2017 and beyond, I feel like the new name and branding will grow WITH us, because #branding. "Books My Job Gave Me" fit very comfortably and snuggly, but it's time for a new fit.

Socials:

@BriBooksPod on Instagram - Tag me in your lit love using #BriBooks! 

@BriBooksPod on Twitter - Where I share #podincolor love, and other reading noms.

bribookspod.com - We're moving fast. Hold on. 

Bri Books Podcast on Facebook - Because let's be real, you are, too. 

In this episode, I sit down with my favorite “Awkward Half-Mexican Boy” and co-producer Rush Perez to talk about “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl,” Issa’s debut book + the web series by the same name, aaaaand a casual HBO show she created/ executive produced/ starred in, called INSECURE.

Show Notes

• 2:00 – The impact of “Awkward Black Girl” webseries on me in college, and Issa’s binge-watching obsession with the webseries.
• 6:45: F***, Marry, Kill: Insecure edition.
• 10:10: Issa talks black families and girl power on TV in the 90’s. Here’s what Rush and I remember from that era of TV. Now we’re in another era of black TV renaissance with blackish, Atlanta, insecure, Shonda, fresh off the boat…we have a lot of shows that feature POC prominently.
• 13:30: Getting into Juno Diaz quote. It’s not about optics, it’s about what does this say about what’s possible in art? Until you see it, it’s not real to you. In the conversation Issa is having in the book she’s referring to junot Diaz.
• 16:45: Talking empathy for black women on TV and in media, and creating empathetic spaces for black women.
• 19:15: Issa’s creative journey and how it mirrors my own.
• 24:30: rush on his parent’s divorce, and Issa’s life post-parents’ divorce.
• 29:35: How Issa’s feelings/ experiences with infidelity may have colored Insecure. Her parents’ divorce put her into overdrive/ triggered something in her that said people can’t be trusted. In the show, infidelity is major theme throughout.
• 30:15: Final thoughts – the book is a super easy read. Not in a dismissive ay—she’s just a very easy writer to access, and she writes in a very accessible way. It’s like picking up a blog and burning through

OPP (Other People's Podcasts) Reommendations

Crimetown - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/crimetown/id1170959623?mt=2 

Making Oprah - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/making-oprah/id1171160683?mt=2 

Out West from The Outline - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/out-west-westworld-fan-theories/id1167700780?mt=2 

I found Oprah Winfrey’s “What I Know for Sure” while working at The Meredith Vieira Show at NBC Entertainment. I’ve been an Oprah fan for as long as I can remember—her Legend’s Ball special is still one of my all-time favorite pieces of television. “What I Know for Sure” is a collection of life lessons Oprah has gleaned over the years. In the episode, I share my favorite parts from the book, and the 7 things I know for sure, as I approach my 26th birthday.

I make homemade soy massage at BriCandles.com! Fill out my pod survey + write a review, and I’ll make/send you one! https://brionnajimerson.typeform.com/to/I5oBub

http://www.booksmyjobgaveme.com 

Myleik's Podcast: http://myleik.podomatic.com/entry/2014-10-07T18_09_57-07_00 

Lin Manuel Miranda: “Sit down, John, you fat mother******!
Luke Mayville: “Nah, bro.”
Need a break from Election Day fever? Today’s episode isn’t your high school textbook look at Founding Father John Adams. Author and scholar Luke Mayville takes us back to the American Revolution, and John Adams as he struggled to create a society wherein the newness of revolution and democracy didn’t get clouded by the old ghosts of elitism. Sound familiar? Listen to today’s episode, and buy Luke’s phenomenal book on Amazon! Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/John-Adams-Fear-American-Oligarchy-ebook/dp/B01EBEIMFA. @LukeMayville on Twitter!

What are you reading?! Let me know at @booksmyjobgaveme on Instagram using #bribooks, and keep up with me @BrionnaJay on Instagram and Twitter. Gorgeous music by Jenn Mundia, fall in love with her here: soundcloud.com/jennmundia

http://www.booksmyjobgaveme.com/

Happy November! This episode delves into Books My Job Gave Me’s history, its future, and the amazingness that’s coming down the pike.  I’m taking the rest of the month to focus on how I create this show, and I’ll be asking for your opinions to keep it going. What do you love? Want more of? Everything’s fair game. While this pod is away, the social accounts will play! As always, tell me what you’re reading using #BriBooks on Twitter and Instagram (@BriBooksPod on Twitter, @BooksMyJobGaveMe on Instagram). Here are the other ***flawless podcasts I mention in this episode—the ones that take me to my happy podcast place.

In summer 2013, I sent a lone tweet into the world, looking for a roomate for the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention. Benet Wilson, VP of NABJ, answered that tweet and changed my life. In this episode I share my NABJ story and answer journalism-related questions from my mentees! Find Benet Wilson on Twitter at @AvBenetWilson, and join NABJ at NABJ.org! I'm also VP of the New York Association of Black Journalists (NYABJ)--keep up with us on Facebook (New York Association of Black Journalists) and @nyabj on Face.

What are you reading?! Let me know at @booksmyjobgaveme on Instagram using #bribooks, and keep up with me @BrionnaJay on Instagram and Twitter. Gorgeous music by Jenn Mundia, fall in love with her here: soundcloud.com/jennmundia

http://www.booksmyjobgaveme.com/

Brionna and her guest (and podcast co-producer) Rush Perez both read Aziz Ansari's "Modern Romance." We talk interracial dating, and what's changed in online dating since Rush has been off the market. Let's all go forth and be courteous daters! 

What are you reading?! Let me know at @booksmyjobgaveme on Instagram using #bribooks, and keep up with me @BrionnaJay on Instagram and Twitter. Gorgeous music by Jenn Mundia, fall in love with her here: soundcloud.com/jennmundia

http://www.booksmyjobgaveme.com/

Brionna and her guest Gabby Thomas both read Aziz Ansari's "Modern Romance." We talk online dating and pressure to be funny/ charming/ witty. Let's all go forth and be courteous daters!

What are you reading?! Let me know at @booksmyjobgaveme on Instagram using #bribooks, and keep up with me @BrionnaJay on Instagram and Twitter. Gorgeous music by Jenn Mundia, fall in love with her here: soundcloud.com/jennmundia