Book Reviews of 2026 | Q1

Museums & Monarchs in Mexico City

Today I’m sharing some highlights of my week-long trip to Mexico City. I stayed in Roma Norte and mostly toured around the Condesa, Polanco, Centro, Coyoacán and San Angel neighborhoods. My favorite things about the trip were being warm (a nice February escape from the midwest cold), seeing the Frida Kahlo museum, eating such good food, visiting so many bookstores, reading a ton and sending postcards from Palacio de Correos. I’m so glad I finally got to see more of Mexico and practice my Spanish! Also, the Notion app helped me plan this trip. I wish they were a sponsor — I’ll be using them from now on!

100 Photo-a-Day Project Recap

I actually finished a new years resolution! Usually I don’t make these as I tend to reassess goals around my birthday or even Springtime when life feels a bit more fresh and new but I wanted to challenge myself to a daily ritual of taking a film photo every day on my new medium format Yashica camera to try to embrace the winter season. It’s less about winter appreciation but more of a struggle to find joy and creativity in combating the SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). I’m proud of sticking through something, seeing all the gems of images I collected over the past 3ish months (not every day was a winner!) and now I’m looking forward to replenishing my film development fund. It’s made me wonder if I should start developing and scanning rolls myself but we’ll see. I’ll be posting more photos later this week on substack and likely a little roundup on my Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/autumn_kovach/] page. Stay tuned!

Book Reviews of 2026 | Q1

Today I’m covering a few favorite books that I’ve read so far this year. I’m proud to be well on my way to meet my goal of 50 and even providing some cushion for when I inevitably hit a reading slump. Here are the titles I cover today: * The Great Man by Kyra Davis Lurie * I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman * Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico * Good Girl by Aria Aber * We Do This ‘til We Free Us: Abolitionist Organizing and Transforming Justice by Mariame Kaba * No One Writes Back by Jang Eun-Jin Find my full lists on Goodreads [https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/10233941-autumn-kovach]!

Sunsets in San Diego

I’ve been thinking about San Diego for quite a few years and I feel like I’ve been saving a weekend trip there for a rainy (or snowy day), which finally came in December 2025. Literally as I was riding in my Lyft to the airport, Minneapolis was getting a snow falling that I was thankful to exchange for warm and balmy California. Even though people on TikTok said they were depressed because of early sunsets and chillier weather, I’m not convinced I wouldn’t be at least 10% happier living there year round. At least you can bike or walk outside without dealing with wintery elements! Please. It was fun to see Christmas/holiday lights on palm trees and in people’s yards as they prepared for the holiday. I’m not sure I could get used to that. Listen in for a recap of the most perfect weekend in California of bookstores, good food, museums and sunsets!

Tattoos, Trains & Tokyo Bananas

Traveling through South Korea (Incheon/Seoul), Vietnam (Hanoi) and Japan (Kyoto/Tokyo), it reminded me how much I believe in traveling as an Investment in Future Connection. It felt so good to finally visit a friend who has made Korea their home, and visit places that I’ve heard so much about to see it for myself. Listen in on my initial thoughts of the various cities through culture shocks, mild disappointments and highlights. Book Recommendations: * Pachinco by Min Jin Lee (Korea) * The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai (Vietnam) * The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See (Korea)