Bayou Bytes Blog

       Chani Nicholas is a popular Internet astrologer with a mass following. She has an  app , a  website , and social media accounts with a wealth of info on astrology told through a progressive lens. A lens that teaches this "pseudoscience" as a study towards self-acceptance. In first book,  You Were Born for This,  she teaches how to read your birth chart (a snapshot of the sky when you were born) with one  main intention: to help you grow in understanding yourself.      This book begins with her astrology origin story for the Introduction, followed by 5 chapters of a beginners' guide, and ends with both an Appendix and an Index for readers' ease. Reflection questions, affirmations, and journal prompts are used as check-in tools to grasp the 3 keys: the sun signs (life purposes), the moon signs (physical and emotional needs), and the ascendants and their rulers (details within!). If your familiarity with any of these t...

Oh, did you want to hear about a mermaid story? No, not the delayed live-action Disney movie remake... I'm talking about the horrifying Jackson Pierce retelling of the Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson. Half of this book is so, so good. And the other half is just...okay.  That's actually a great way to describe the main character Lo. Lo is a water nymph-- not explicitly a mermaid-- who dwells with her sisters beneath the ocean waves.  Lo and her sisters used to be mortal human girls before the ocean swallowed them whole-- but their mortal lives, memories, and identities have slowly eroded in the wake of their eternal hedonistic lives that the nymphs enjoy under the sea.  The water nymphs will shed their humanity underwater for as long as it will take. Once a water nymph has shed the last of her humanity, she'll ascend the waves and become part of the ocean. But after Lo rescues a mortal boy from drowning, she begins to realize she's curious about the person she...

What exactly is so valuable about feeling... human? Human beings measure their lives by years, but for the faeries in An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson , a century can go by within a snap of their fingers. Faeries are immortal and impervious to aging, but the inevitable trade-off to immortality is the lack of a full range of emotions and individual expression. Faeries simply exist; most of the time, they exist without feeling anything but simple contentment, displeasure, curiosity, and confusion.  Confusion is their primary feeling about the human world. Human emotion (and any expression of those emotions through art) both fascinates them and confuses them. Fortunately for 17-year-old Isobel, a human girl living in a human settlement near the faerie courts, these immortal faeries are thrilled to grant special enchantments to humans that can create or demonstrate a skill that faeries can't replicate for themselves. Isobel is young, but she's a renowned master of pain...

This book's full title is really Homewreckers: How a Gang of Wall Street Kingpins, Hedge Fund Magnates, Crooked Banks, and Vulture Capitalists Suckered Millions Out of Their Homes and Demolished the American Dream  -- just so you know what you're in for! And this is an engaging book-- a real must-read look into the high-stakes world of American home-ownership.  Detailed here is a horrific story of how settling down isn't *just* settling down-- it's a story about how generations of financial wheeling-and-dealing have conspired to make owning a home as difficult and as financially painful as possible. How much of your home is actually your home right now? How much of your home will continue to be your home in the future? This is the book that will renew outrage about America’s wealth gap, the state of American homeownership, and the systemic corruption within the American financial system. Are your eyes glazing over?  Stop it, because this book doesn’t just spill tea abou...

 All of Us Villains is being marketed as magic meets The Hunger Games , and though I've grown wary of dystopian fiction, it was enough to make me grab the title.  To some extent, this comparison is apt.  Seven kids from Ilvernath's great families compete every twenty years. The last kid standing wins their family exclusive access to the town's hidden well of high magick.  But this year's competition is different. Someone in the know published a novel explicitly detailing the nature of the competition and when it becomes a bestseller, little Ilvernath's big secret becomes front page news.   Even though the seven champions thrown into the ring this year have gone to incredible lengths to prepare for the tournament, things have changed. They're starting to rebel from the inside.  By the time I was done with this novel, I was certain that comparing it to The Hunger Games was selling it short. For a novel with so many characters, they are remarkably disti...

       Mateo Garcia lives in New York with his parents and his sister Sophie. At the start of the novel, he's seen in line for an off-Broadway audition with his best friend Adam. Later, he's at dinner with his parents where they reassure the kids they'll be fine as long as they are "careful."       But being careful doesn't seem to be enough. One day, while the kids are at school,   I.C.E. arrives at the Bodega (his dad's store)...Setting the kids on a new journey of facing America without parental supervision.     His usual worries of prepping for the SATs and becoming an actor become overshadowed by Law & Order. Will the courts let his parents stay in the States or will a rigid outlook on citizenship alter their lives unwillingly?      Aleman paints a human tale about the Garcias. Parents who work hard so their children can strive towards their hopes and dreams-- like many other typical American families. This i...

As you might expect, we're starting October off with an eerie novel. The Death of Jane Lawrence is a brand new novel from Caitlin Starling, who you might remember is the author of The Luminous Dead (a novel that I am aggressively recommending to this day). I really enjoy Starling's writing style, as well as the way she builds suspense, so if you're in the mood for a dark thriller, this could be the book for you.  When Jane's foster father accepts a position in another town, she decides the most practical option is to stay behind and marry. She pursues the local physician, Dr. Lawrence. An awkward and introverted man, he accepts Jane's proposition, with the added condition that she must never spend the night at his out of town estate. Though she initially agrees, an unfortunate carriage accident deposits her on his doorstep in the midst of a terrible storm.  The man she finds in the darkened estate is very different from the one she married, haunted and terrified b...

  One of the biggest acts of courage is in being vulnerable. Fear, anxiety, and shame are "emotions to overcome," yet seen as problems. Men especially are socialized to not talk about or share anything that can be used against them.      In this nonfiction by Justin Baldoni (actor/filmmaker of  Jane the Virgin  fame ), the author explores the harmfulness in upholding traditional masculinity. Societal masculinity states that men are supposed to be smart, rational, problem-solvers, and cut off from their emotions. Many aspects of "toxic masculinity" are discussed from the dad bod to the alpha/beta male. There's even insight from feminist author, bell hooks, who's stated that men "kill off emotional parts of themselves." Mostly, and b est of all, Baldoni pulls from his own experiences in such a human way, people from all genders will be able to relate.   At times heavy and emotional, he encourages the reader along with a light and empathetic tone. ...

 Like most other people who are interested in Xiran Jay Zhao, I first learned about her when I saw her viral Twitter thread critiquing the details of Disney's Mulan. For her, and for us, it was a perfect accident because she was still in the public eye when her book Iron Widow was announced.   Not only does Iron Widow have an absolutely gorgeous cover, it is a delightful read. Xiran Jay Zhao reimagined China's infamous empress, Wu Zetian, and placed her in a fantasy world at war, where paired pilots command mythological creature mecha. The male pilots are doted upon and celebrated, but their female partners are drained like batteries and frequently die in battle.   Enter Wu Zetian. After her sister is killed by a famous pilot, Zetian joins the fray as a female pilot. And she is determined to take down the system from within.   Iron Widow is the first in a series, so I'm already eagerly awaiting the next installment. The worldbuilding here was well don...

           It's 1946 in Metropolis and Lois Lane is waiting for Superman to save the day. He shows up, of course, and slays the Atom Man, a Nazi soldier. Like a movie, there's a scene change to a car ride with four passengers: the Lee family.           There's Dr. Lee, who has a new job at the Metropolis Health Department, his wife, who he keeps reminding to speak English instead of Cantonese; and his two kids: Roberta (originally Lan-shin) and Tommy. They're moving from Chinatown, Los Angeles to White suburbia. Upon arrival, they're greeted by a welcoming committee of his new boss, Dr. Wilson, and mildly racist coworker, Dr. William.   Soon, they're harassed by local hate group, the Klan of the Fiery Kross. A whole slew of problems are encountered, but with Superman and a team-effort, Good trumps Evil.          Touching on racism, assimilation, and coming-to-age woes of trying to fit in, Gene Luen...

         Whether new to financial literacy or not, Tiffany  Aliche , the " budgetnista, " is here to simplify it all for you. With over 300 pages (plus a handy Appendix at the book's end),  Aliche's  goal is to guide readers towards "financial wholeness."  Why live in fear when instead you can master your money and live in peace?        This book, packed with definitions and how-to steps, should be given an initial read through, then used as a reference guide thereafter due to its in-depth 10 chapters:   1. Budget Building   2. Save Like a Squirrel   3. Dig Out of Debt   4. Score High   5. Learn to Earn   6. Invest Like an Insider   7. Get Good with Insurance   8. Grow Rich- ish   9. Pick Your Money Team   10.Leave a Legacy          The first five chapters are for building a financial foundation, so if yours is sound-proof, move onto steps 6-10...