Hooray! This is Slanted Spines’ 300th blog post!!
Thank you so much for being a part of my blog! I’ve now posted something every Friday for the past 300 Fridays! That’s a lot of posts!
In honor of this milestone, I’ve curated a list of my favorite posts I’ve made, organized by category! There are so many essays, articles, comics, poems, reviews, and more to sift through on my blog, so let’s take a look and reminisce on the greatest hits…
Aged Anecdotes
“Aged Anecdote” is the alliterative-obsessive name I created for my modern-day analysis of stories I wrote as a child. In each Aged Anecdote post, I share a story I wrote from elementary school and critically dissect the piece. These are always fun for me, because not only do I revisit all my youthful musings (thanks to my mother’s habit of saving every childhood document or art piece I ever created), but they challenge my ability to analyze literature. They’re a favorite among my friends and relatives!
Browse the category for more!
The Cheetah Who Hated the Zoo
Read here.
Many of my old stories featured animal protagonists, and this one is about a cheetah longing for freedom beyond the zoo walls
Art
My art is one of the more uncommon types of post I share on my website. Though I do create art, I rarely showcase it on my blog, unless through comic format, or in a couple instances, photography.
Browse the category for more!
Nose’s Off Day
Read here.
An illustrated limerick about a nose who has a rather “off” day; could also be filed under “Poems”
Blog Posts
“Blog” is my generic all-encompassing category for any post which doesn’t neatly fit into the other categories. This classification houses personal essays, anecdotes from my life, and other goofy or serious posts which pertain to life or pop culture. When I initially began posting in 2015, all of my content fell under “Blog.” I typically chose an area of my life which I could put a comedic spin on in written format, and would parody the strife I encountered. These posts were fun to write, as I was able to be as hyperbolic as possible, though as I began taking my website more seriously, I strayed away from these sardonic, often cynical-toned posts and focused more on my creative writing and art. Though I don’t write for “Blog” as much these days, I still feel fondly towards these old posts and when I infrequently reread them, they do garner a few chuckles from me. Most of these posts are from my pre-header image days, and some of them I may find insensitive now, but they’re what got me into blogging and thus have a special place in my heart.
Browse the category for more!
20
Read here.
My very first blog post, published on my 20th birthday! This one will always be a favorite for its brevity and clear love of language
25
Read here.
A follow-up to my first blog post, this one draws inspiration from 20 and notes some of the changes which have transpired
The Cursed Milkshake
Read here.
This is a more recent blog post from about a year ago, in which I channel the spirit of my early blog posts and share a story of my grief with a particularly troublesome milkshake
The Nightmare Before School
Read here.
Often (and still to this day) I dream of being in school or preparing for school; this blog post expands on the incessant recurrence of these dang school-related dreams
Slanted Spines’ Guide to A Christmas Carol
Read here.
Bryant and I spent hours upon hours watching every A Christmas Carol we could stream and listed the pros and cons so that you would know which Charles Dickens’ classic’s version is the best watching experience
Book Reviews
Book reviews are a fairly new addition to my blog, yet in the past year I have significantly increased the amount of book reviews I post as my reading habits have drastically accelerated. I enjoy reflecting on the literature I consume and synthesizing my thoughts and observations into a written format, which pairs nicely with my new “Booktube” channel as well (which has just hit 1,000 subscribers!).
Browse the category for more!
Ace: A Book Report
Read here.
An essay discussing Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen and highlighting major book topics
Herland: An Analysis of Gender and Social Consciousness
Read here.
An analysis of the novel Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and how gender and social consciousness are explored
The Vanishing Half: Identity and Transformation
Read here.
A critical examination of how the themes of identity and transformation appear in The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Comics
Without a doubt, “Comics” is the most fun category on my blog, and their evolution has been tremendous. I first began drawing comics at a young age, but it wasn’t until a few years into college I picked it back up again. Initially, I would draw in pencil, use Sharpie pens and a Sharpie to outline and shade, and scan them, but once Bryant bought me my iPad, I converted to digital drawing. With the forgiving nature of digital art (I love you, “Undo” button) and the arsenal of new brushes at my disposal, the new medium unlocked a lot of creative possibilities. I still read these comics and smile at the finished products, which often poke at life’s grievances with a light touch.
My first comic took place at “Shaker Cake & Tube,” a thinly veiled code name for my first food service job. Later, when I began serving and then managing, I shifted to tales from “Mild Oats,” another strangely familiar diner name.
Browse the category for more!
Hey B
Read here.
A comic illustrating my eternal love for Bryant, which I posted as a surprise while we were on vacation in Colorado for our anniversary
The Mild Oats Digest
Read here.
Four comic strips all set in Mild Oats and which depict scenarios often encountered in the food service industry
Journaling
Although I’ve been journaling for over a decade now, I only began sharing my experiences of journaling with others. It has been a deeply personal and self-reflective activity of mine, so I feel a lot of joy in being able to encourage readers to create their own journaling practice. Writing about journaling helps me to reconsider my own journaling habits and look at what I do from a more distant perspective; because journaling is so unique to each person, when I think about the different ways people can approach it, it inspires me to find new ways I can evolve the way I show up to journal.
Browse the category for more!
This, Too, Can be Journaling
Read here.
A list of different ways a person can journal accompanied by colorful illustrations
Overcoming a Journaling Rut
Read here.
A compassionate article aimed to inspire the reader to journal
Mindful Living
A few years ago, I gained somewhat of an awareness that I could influence my thoughts and emotions. Seemingly, this is something we all realize, but the more I read about eastern philosophy and especially the Buddha dharma, I unlocked a self-empowerment I so greatly needed. Thus enthusiastic about my newfound meditations, I began writing some posts under the category “Mindful Living” which were essays I wrote usually intended to encourage a healthy attitude and mindful perspective in the reader. With these posts, I hope that they offer something that can linger with each person in a healthy and meaningful way.
Browse the category for more!
Now or Never Happy
Read here.
An article about the nirvana of now
Poems
Here’s something that always bothers me: I always wonder if this should be “Poems” or “Poetry”? Regardless, this category houses the times when I feel moved to post my poems–or my poetry?
Browse the category for more!
Lessons from Trees
Read here.
Several poems influenced by the insight of trees
Stories
Ah, stories. My first love, the short story. I couldn’t have a blog without a “Stories” category. I have consistently infrequently posted short stories over the years, sometimes in one post, or sometimes spread out over several weeks’ posts. It was for the sake of writing my blog that many of these stories exist at all; the pressure of a deadline is a fierce motivator. Without Slanted Spines as a blog, I wouldn’t have conceived of characters such as N.T. Ed, who has become somewhat of an icon for my blog. His mild-mannered personality and silent skeleton charm is one of the best things to come of this exercise in blogging, because his spirit has been a welcome company to my imagination.
It’s hard to choose just a few favorites, but these stories are ones which truly stand out among the batch.
Browse the category for more!
I Fuel the Great Machine
Read here.
An eleven-part science fiction story series about an older woman named Agnes who lives in a society which covets constant work above all else; after her much dreaded retirement, she finds herself on a space adventure with a mohawked lass named Ramona
The Man With a Thousand Voices
Read here.
A four-part short story series in which the narrator recounts her grandmother’s mystical tale of The Man With a Thousand Voices and her discovery of this tale’s truth after a chance encounter
Miss Mess
Read here.
A story about two college girls and their messy, messy roommate
N.T. Ed and the Encyclopedia of Dreams
Read here.
A five-part story (plus an epilogue) about the mild-mannered silent skeleton Ned Theodore Ed and his adventure traveling into an encyclopedia of dreams
Of course, in addition to these categories, there are still some more variety of posts to find on my blog! Let me know what your favorite genre within Slanted Spines is your favorite!
Thank you so much for reading!
Slanted Spines 