Episode #96: Resetting for 2021 with the Lunar New Year!
Welcome back to another episode of #bookfriendsforever! This week, Grace and Alvina talk about the upcoming Lunar New Year, how they celebrate as children and now, and what the year of Gengzi means. They also talk about Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies, and how knowing your tendency can help you achieve your goals.
“How have you been?”
Alvina has been enjoying all the snow in Brooklyn! She also attended Kindling Words virtually this year and discussed how that was different from the in-person event. Alvina wanted to give a shout out to a BFF listener named Maya who wrote an email saying that she registered for Kindling Words because she has heard about it mentioned in this podcast!
Grace has been not as distracted by the political news and has been focusing on her work. She’s had some stress dreams related to being unprepared.
Lunar New Year
2020 was the year of the Gengzi. According to the Chinese Zodiac calendar, that is when all twelve animals complete their cycle five times and drastic things happen. It brings a storm of chaos and calamity. On February 12th, the Year of the Ox begins. The Ox is supposed to be hard working, strong, and dependable. It means that this is the year when patience and hard work is rewarded.
The book friends talk more about astrology and romantic partners, the Nian Monster, and how they will celebrate the Lunar New Year with OX cut-outs and making dumplings!
Resetting for 2021
Grace and Alvina talk discuss their goals and how to keep working towards them this year. Grace has been reading Gretchen Rubin’s book, The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better (and Other People's Lives Better, Too)
Grace is finding the book really helpful on understanding the way that you deal with expectations can influence the way you accomplish your goals. The Four Tendencies are: Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels. Learn which ones Grace and Alvina claim to be. Which one are you? You can take the quiz here to find out!
Fortune Cookie Segment- What are we working on?:
Alvina has been working on performance reviews and editing two YA books; Mirror Girls by Kelly McWilliams, (who wrote “Agnes at the End of the World” ) and another book that is not titled yet by Samira Ahmed. Grace is working on the painting art for a picture book called “Once upon a book”; a story she co-wrote with Kate Messner.
Grateful For…
Alvina is grateful for the supportive Kidlit community. Grace shares a special “grateful for” moment with her daughter about the photo of herself in the Boston Globe article.
Thank you for tuning in! Thank you to Hachette Audio, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, and Alex at Pacyworks Studio. Be sure to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and tell a friend about us. (Use the hashtag #bookfriendsforever.)
You can find Alvina @Planetalvina on Twitter and @Alvinaling on Instagram
You can find Grace @Pacylin on Facebook and Instagram
*If you’re a patron, don’t forget to check out this week’s Random Questions feed! If You Had To Become An Inanimate Object For A Year, What Object Would You Choose To Be? Jeanne Birdsall and Grace Lin answer this random fun question. Click here to listen! If you’re not a patron already, join today!
