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Friday Five – Yay September

Posted in Books, Food, Friday Five, Reading Challenges on September 8, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I was traveling last week to do some field recordings with Sarah and visit the folks over the weekend. I’m happy it’s September. A lot of things that I’m excited about are happening this month, and I am hopeful that I’m going to emerge from my seasonal funk soon so that I can enjoy them with the gusto that they deserve.

Here are five things that I found/read this week(ish) that you might enjoy:

  • Oliver James is teaching himself how to read as an adult and documenting it. Go give him some love and encouragement!
  • Get last Wednesday’s moon a cape! It definitely lived up to its supermoon status. I hope you had a good view to go outside and gaze at it lovingly that night. In related news, get you a friend who will text you “Go outside and look at the moon!” Thanks to all my friends who did that. 🖤
  • Hard same to this ode to summer peaches from Joy the Baker. I, too, find myself falling into the pattern of neglecting them until it’s almost too late, assuming they’ll be there forever. Then it’s August and time to make good with what is left. Fortunately, there are a lot of good ways to use peaches.
  • The Write Escape by Charish Reid – This was a book I picked up a while ago to use up an Audible credit and just never got around to reading it. It was a swoony (because who doesn’t want to vacation to Ireland and meet someone?) meet-cute story with some good dialogue and a couple of very satisfying telling-off scenes. The audio was…not great. The inflection and pacing were OK, but the Irish accent veered a little bit off quite a few times. I mean, my Irish accent is no better, but I’m not a professional reader. Anyway, it was distracting.
  • My Life With Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues by Pamela Paul – I love books about books, and this was one of the better ones I’ve read. It is part memoir but told through the stories she kept track of in her book of books (her Bob, if you will). As someone who also has kept a Bob for several years, I was inspired to go back through and discover some of the patterns that my reading takes on in certain seasons. Highly recommend to anyone who loves books and enjoys reflecting on what they read.

Have a great weekend!

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September 2023 TBR

Posted in 31 Days, Books, Food, Reading Challenges, Resolutions, Seasons, What I'm Into on September 5, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Excuse me, Texas weather. It is September. Did you forget? That means you’re meant to get out of the triple digits. I would settle for the 90s. Just…too many hots. Stop it already.

Other than the constant threat of heatstroke, life is pretty decent lately. September is full of fun things with friends and a lot of good books. As is my habit in the fall, I’ve adjusted my goals to spend the next few months finishing up and transitioning to the next steps (i.e., next year’s goals). So even though the actual wind hasn’t changed yet (cue more side-eye to Texas climate), at least the proverbial wind is starting to blow in a new direction.

Here’s what I’m planning to read/start this month.

Book Clubs

MMD Minimalist List

I’m close(ish) to finishing the minimalist selections on the Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Guide, so I’m making another strong push this month to get them finished. I’ve started a couple of these already, so it shouldn’t be too hard.

TBR/Collection/Etc.

A couple of due-at-the-library-soons and some audio selections this month. Really trying to use up those Audible credits – the end is so near (relatively speaking)!

31 Days Prep

Since I’m writing about food that reminds me of home next month, I am also doing a lot of reading about food lately. These are some of the books I’m perusing this month to prepare.

I hope your reading this month is this delicious, too!

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Friday Five – August Home Edition

Posted in 31 Days, Beauty, Books, Food, Friday Five, Home, Joy, Resolutions, Work on August 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I love that the last Friday in August is here. I know that there’s no magical off switch for all the busyness and the horrible heat and the general ARGH of my most stressful month of the year when the date changes to September, but it feels like there is. Y’all – I take my relief and my peace any way I can get it, even if it’s just through the story I’m making up in my head.

Here are some of the ways I’ve been reflecting on my theme of home this month.

  • I love the meandering path of this piece on minimalism. Minimalism is a nice concept but also can be judgy and steeped in privilege and is often a thinly veiled excuse for even more shopping (and thus the inevitable accrual of more things, which one might argue is the exact opposite of the true spirit of minimalism). As someone who appreciates minimalism as an idea (and omg I love Marie Kondo) but leans more toward cozy and whimsical in decorating a home/office/patio that actually feels like a home to me, I have had every single one of the feelings the writer describes.
  • Speaking of accruing things, Bed, Bath, and Beyond is all online now that they have closed/are closing all their stores, and I am riveted. I look at this website at least once a day. I have yet to buy anything because these days I get stressed about the prospect of actually spending money on anything, even if I need it (a positive swing in my spendy attitude but also I could stand to dial back the trepidation a little – I’m sure in time it will balance). But I’m making plans. So. Many. Plans. I need a new mattress, and I want to upgrade some of my chairs in the apartment over the course of the next couple of years. And this table is so cute and functional. I love it when things are both.
  • “What if we understood our lists as menus instead?” But seriously. WHAT IF WE UNDERSTOOD OUR LISTS AS MENUS INSTEAD!?! I resonated with this piece so much that my eyes welled up with tears. My life, my home, my writing, my reading (etc.) are all governed by a series of lists. Reading this essay took a weight off my shoulders that I didn’t know I was carrying. If you have a love-hate relationship with the to-do lists (or the TBR list) in your life, consider the perspective of Oliver Burkeman (The Imperfectionist – also love that blog title and I’m a little mad that I didn’t think of it first). I also love the tagline on the main page “…building a meaningful life in an age of bewilderment.” You know what, let’s just sign up for the newsletter. I feel like I need more bold imperfection in my inbox.
  • I love these reflections on home compiled by Amy Studarus as featured on Shondaland, especially the ones that talk about helping others make their home dreams a reality. I like the way we are all connected by our own concepts of home and what that means, even when we mean very different things. One of my favorite things about having a theme word for each year is gathering the wisdom of others who have given it more thought than I have and thus have had time to put that thought into action. I like seeing how their reflections are playing out.
  • Even though my current kitchen is the least favorite kitchen I’ve ever had, it’s still an important part of my home and one I spend a lot of my waking hours in. In my 31 days series coming up in October, I am going to talk about the foods and recipes that remind me of home, whether that means the farm where I grew up or one of the places I’ve lived since then. I strongly connect food to the places and people I love, and I am looking forward to hashing that out a bit in writing. In the meantime, I am reading cookbooks and kitchen memoirs and foodie fiction, gleaning inspiration on how I want to present my thoughts on the meals that hold special meaning for me. Joy the Baker is one of my favorite people who write about food, and her post about this summer’s peach crisp is a good example of why. She starts off with a short personal reflection (i.e., she actually blogs on her food blog, which is inexplicably a source of contention for many people, which I will address in my anchor post on October 1). Then she explains what makes this recipe stand out among others of its kind and goes through the role that each ingredient plays. This is my favorite part of her posts, because as long as I’ve been cooking and baking, I still usually learn something. She’s not just handing us a recipe – she’s teaching us why it works, which ultimately helps us, her readers, become more confident and more adventurous in our own kitchens at home. I love that.

Friends, I hope you are having a good day, and I wish you a relaxing weekend!

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Friday Five – Good Mornings, Good Advice, Good Books. Good Times.

Posted in Alive, Andilit, Books, Friday Five, Work, Writing on August 18, 2023| 2 Comments »

I think I might be starting to find my rhythm in the new job. This week was always going to feel a little lighter, as the halls are officially open for the semester, so there are so many more people across campus to help put out fires with fall residents as they come up. But it also feels lighter in terms of I may…actually know what I’m…doing…now? For the most part? I say with some minor hesitation and a continual knocking on the nearest wooden object?

Here are some things I read this week that I thought you might enjoy. 

  • The low dopamine morning debunked. After a quick googling on what constitutes a “low dopamine” morning, I didn’t even really care about the details of the science that debunked it; I’m just glad it did. Because it sounds dreadful. Like…just the very worst way to greet a new day. I have 0/10 interest in giving up whatever small pleasure I can scrounge out of waking up, even if it did have some marginal benefit. I also enjoyed the reminder that habits are meant to be flexible, not rigid. This article was very soothing overall.
  • The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa – I had to read this one fast because someone else put it on hold at the library, but I’m so glad I had time to do so. Anyone who’s ever loved a cat should read this. Very sweet story about family and friendship from the perspective of a persnickety and adorable cat named Nana. 
  • Andi’s piece on how to write a book in a month (and also maybe…don’t) is just what I needed to read right now. I mean, I don’t write full books in that short a time even in easy months, but August is often a time when my creative writing gets put on hold because the full-time job is so busy (and has been especially so this year). Although that all makes logical sense and I know I’ll be back to it with a fervor in September, I always manage to feel bad about it on some level. Grateful to Andi for these words.
  • I don’t follow basketball at all, but I’m so glad some of my friends do. This is such a wonderful moment, and I’m glad I didn’t miss the end of Dwyane Wade’s Basketball Hall of Fame speech. 
  • Anxious People by Fredrik Backman – Our book club discussed this one on Tuesday. This is the second time I read this book, and I loved it even more than I did the first time I read it. It’s quite charming and witty. I think what I like most about Fredrik Backman’s books is that I usually like every single character in them (or almost every character). He is very good at showing their vulnerabilities and humanity. And I’m always a little sad that they’ve ended when I finish reading them.

Friends, I hope you’ve had a good week and have a great weekend!

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Friday Five – Mean Green Move-In

Posted in Books, Friday Five, Poetry on August 11, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Today is the first big day of move-in for the academic year. People have been filtering in early over the last week, but today the doors of all 14 halls are officially open. Our office is open in case anything goes awry, but with as much planning as everyone has been doing, it should move like clockwork.

In other news, though, as is our custom, there are a few things I ran across this week that I want to share with you. Enjoy!

  • I have a love/meh relationship with this piece on “Reading Well.” Things I like – the encouragement to read slowly and savor what you read, to re-read books you adore (especially by audiobook – I LOVE doing this), and to make the effort to make personal reading recommendations (btw, that’s one of my favorite things – when someone has read something and is like “I think you would like it – here you go”) rather than just broad ones (although I do enjoy broad recommendations, too). As a chronic chronicler, I am intrigued by the idea of not having any idea what’s on your shelves – just wandering through, constantly discovering things. I’m not sure I have the personality for that, but it’s a romantic thought. Things that elicited a hearty scoff – book clubs ruin nothing shut your mouth sir, and in defending fiction’s role in learning and being influenced and becoming a more well-rounded, excellent human (with which I heartily agree), he seemed to imply that most nonfiction doesn’t allow for that, which I haven’t found to be the case. Also, speaking of becoming a more well-rounded human – an “unsystematic thinker,” if you will – perhaps all the books one mentions in one’s piece about reading to be more open to the world and its stories shouldn’t just be those written by men. Ahem. At any rate, the piece definitely got a reaction, so there’s that.
  • Death by Water by Kerry Greenwood – I don’t always post mini-reviews of each book I read in a series, because I tend to view the series as one really large book and would basically say the same thing about all of them. But I like it when authors of long-running series (e.g., this is book 15 of Phryne Fisher) mix up the setting so that we get a couple of familiar characters but otherwise a whole new cast. This one was a thoroughly enjoyable escape and just what I needed last weekend. I also like to spend time in August reading about vacations where you need sweaters. Let me live vicariously through you, Miss Fisher.
  • Oh gosh, I love this so much, both the tribute and Emily Levine’s reading of “You Can’t Have It All.” Take a minute to give yourself the treat of listening to it as you read along.
  • I also really like Frederick Joseph’s take on the Foxx/Aniston incident. We talked about a lot of these issues in training this week with my staff, particularly as they pertain to responsibility and accountability in conflict resolution. 
  • I have joined Book Chat Noir. First, because it’s a cute name. Second, because they suck up to my people (i.e., introverts). Third, importing my Goodreads list seemed easy (Asterisk. I have 4,571 imports, which may have broken BCN. My book list page shows up as a gray box and then gives me the dead face and says it overheated or something. Dang.). Fourth, it promises to (eventually…hopefully) be more customizable than Goodreads and also is not owned by Amazon (as far as I can tell – Amazon’s reach is pretty vast). Fifth, it is free. A win most of the way around in my book. 

I hope you’re having a good Friday!

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Tribute

Posted in Books, Roots on August 10, 2023| 3 Comments »

There are quite a few musicians who had a formative impact on me in my teen years/young adulthood. Some blew me away with their talent, their stage presence, their personality, or all of the above. Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, the Cranberries. And Sinéad O’Connor. 

When everyone in the sheltered social pocket where I lived in my small town was scandalized by her ripping the picture of the Pope, I wondered why (I didn’t really have access to why because that was pre-internet and so my information was limited to what I could glean from the library and the news. It was…slanted…to put it mildly). Friends threw away their singles of “Nothing Compares to You,” and leaders at church seemed to agree it was a clear attack on all Christianity. It wasn’t, of course, and it was odd to hear so many of the Baptists I grew up with come to the Pope’s defense. After all, they usually enjoyed a nice rousing dose of judgment for anyone who wasn’t at least Protestant, dismissing all others as heretics of varying degrees. But Christians have a hard time passing up any opportunity to play martyr, don’t we? Even if we have to join forces with those we usually look down our noses at and completely fabricate our entire point.

But Sinéad didn’t look unhinged to me. She didn’t look hysterical. Or demonic. Or anything I heard people calling her. She did look mad. And she was right to be. 

It’s possible that I have Sinéad O’Connor to thank for my religious deconstruction tendencies. 

I just finished the audio of her memoir Rememberings. She read it herself, and it was particularly moving to hear her story in her own voice.

It’s a weird kind of grief when someone I love – but don’t actually know – dies. It’s like the lingering fog of a cold I’m just beginning to get over. Everything moves a little more slowly and the brightness of the world she no longer inhabits is just a little dimmer. I’m sad to see her go.

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August 2023 TBR

Posted in Books, Reading Challenges, Resolutions, Work on August 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Oh, August. It’s offensively hot outside and super busy at work (I looove it, though) (the new job and training the staff, not the heat, to be clear). Sounds like a great time to stay indoors and read in what little downtime I have this month. 

[Per the usual disclosure, most of the links are affiliate links.]

Book Clubs

So we had a division retreat at work recently, and the focus was our personal wellness. The first session I attended was “Who wants to be in a book club?” One might ask, “Suzanne, do you really want to join more book clubs?” but I think we all know the answer to that already, so let’s just move on. 

Anyway, the book club list is longer now. No regrets.

TBR

The combination of August-in-Texas heat and August-in-Housing scheduling has me giving off serious I-do-what-I-want vibes in my personal life (I mean, even more than usual). All the reading this month outside of book clubs (and really, for the most part, in book clubs as well) is pure enjoyment. Here are some books I’ve gleaned from my own shelves or the library and added to the on-deck TBR pile.

What is the best thing (book or otherwise) you’ve read lately?

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Friday Five – Home (and Office) Update

Posted in Alive, Beauty, Books, Food, Friday Five, Fun, Home, Mental Health, Resolutions, Work on July 28, 2023| Leave a Comment »

From The Museum of Ordinary People by Mike Gayle – “The older you get, the more home becomes about people rather than place, I think. The older you get, the more roots are about where you want to be rather than where you come from.”

Our cookbook club meets tonight, and the theme is pickles. Up until this week, I was going to make cheddar and dill biscuits but it’s so very hot, so I’ve made pickled carrots and bought a nice cheese to go with them instead. I love sharing food with these folks. It’s one of the things I look forward to the most each month.

  • This piece – “The Poetics of Family Life” – outlined some interesting insights into the home being its own harmonious entity, not just a reflection of public life and its guidelines. It’s more zoned toward families, but there are some nuggets of wisdom that I’m chewing on for myself, too. 
  • It will depend on how much the paycheck actually changes in the next few months, of course, but I am already breathing easier about finances. The thought of being able to not only make my overall budget and beef up my savings but also have enough left over to go out for dinner/drinks with friends a few times a month without sticking to a diet of pb&j and ramen the week before payday, or replace worn-out clothing and shoes as needed without having to dip into an emergency fund, or just buy cute little upgrades for my home like these pillows on a consistent basis is so incredibly freeing. I might even be able to start a fun fund within the next year for extravagances such as vacations or a car.
  • On being the person you are on vacation…this is a good reminder to make time not only for the practical work that I need to do to make my home run well but also for rest and rejuvenation. I’m working through The Artist’s Way again, and while I remembered writing morning pages from the time I worked through it before (over a decade ago), I forgot the instruction to schedule a weekly artist date with yourself – something to feed your creativity. While I would argue that once a week is not enough (acknowledging, of course, that the time to be able to work in more than one a week is a privilege some don’t have), this was another gentle reminder to not let weeks slip by without being intentional about protecting my calm and creativity.
  • I am at the overwhelmed stage of the new job. That’s fine. Everything’s fine. But these tips on how to stay grounded and feel at home with yourself really came in handy this week. I only hyperventilated once. Good job, me!
  • The title of that last article also reminded me that I need to get some plants for my office because I can BECAUSE I HAVE A WINDOW NOW (those caps are excited-shouty, not angry-shouty). We’re doing two weeks of training for the student staff that I supervise, and then we open all the buildings for fall, but after that chaos has passed, I think my treat to myself after that is going to be some greenery for the office. Because I enjoy having indoor plants but not necessarily planting them, I’ll probably be scouting for new little windowsill friends at True Leaf Studio.

I hope you have a great and restful weekend!

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10 Things I Loved About the Dewey’s Readathon

Posted in Books, Food, Fun, Lists, Reading Challenges on July 26, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Dewey’s Reverse Readathon was so much fun! While the event itself was technically only Friday night and most of Saturday, I’ve had a few days off, so I took the liberty of extending it through yesterday. It did not disappoint. 

As previously mentioned, links to books are affiliate links to my Bookshop.org page.

  1. Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens – I started this book back in June and just couldn’t get into it. I read a couple of chapters every few days and slogged my way through the first half. When I started the readathon, it was still perched at the top of my book pile, judging me. So I finished it. Quickly. Turns out, it picks up pretty fast at about the halfway mark. I ended up really liking it. 
  2. The Dewey’s Discord – This was the first readathon I spent on the Discord, and I really liked it. I already knew I liked the layout and organization of Discord much more than other platforms where the community congregates; it’s so much easier to find the posts I’m looking for so I was able to engage in more meaningful ways. I always love connecting with other readers all over the world during these events, but I felt more like I was a part of it this time. 
  3. Tiny Love Stories: True Tales of Love in 100 Words or Less, edited by Daniel Jones and Miya Lee – I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THE EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER THAT WAS THIS BOOK. I mean, I probably should have been. To tell a story in 100 words or less, you need to be pretty intentional about which words you use. You have to pack a lot of meaning into a small amount of space. Perhaps I was expecting it subconsciously, though. Perhaps that’s why I waited until I had almost used up all the renewals I had for my library copy before reading it and letting it in. I’m glad I did, and I used the red ribbon bookmark to mark my favorite story for its next reader. I hope they like it as much as I did.
  4. Multiple cups of the coffees my sister and brother-in-law brought back as my prize from their recent trip – Specifically, the Stiff-Legged dark roast from the Fainting Goat Coffee Company and Project Sunrise from First Watch Coffee. Thanks to them, I stayed well caffeinated throughout my reading time.
  5. The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers (And Their Muses) by Terri-Lynne DeFino – If I must live in a retirement home someday, I hope it is with a bunch of writers/artists. To collaborate with them until the day I die sounds like the perfect end to a life lived well. I am a sucker for stories about found family, and this one was lovely. 
  6. Simple food – I cooked exactly twice in the last six days, and even then it was just pasta with tomatoes and basil and eggs for breakfast. As much as I like to create delicious meals, I also like the freedom that having a lot of fruit, veggies, cheese, crackers, etc., on hand to snack on when I am feeling peckish. It freed up the time I would typically spend cooking and cleaning the kitchen for more reading and relaxation. 
  7. Sobremesa: A Memoir of Food and Love in Thirteen Courses by Josephine Caminos Oria – I almost took a break to make empanadas while reading this book. While the overall narrative lagged sometimes, the descriptions of the food and the lovingly written family recipes were fantastic.
  8. Adding to my TBR – One of my favorite things about any of the bookish communities I’m in is that they always lead me to read something I never would have known about or picked up on my own. This community is huge and global and has diverse reading tastes. So many possibilities!
  9. Not To Disturb by Muriel Spark – What a quirky story. I loved the dark wit. I could easily see this onscreen. I even started picturing which actors I’d like to see play the characters. Not your typical murder mystery, but I enjoyed it!
  10. Five days of staycation – With the excitement of the new job and office and the impending busyness of August on the horizon, this break was exactly what I needed. I took a few hours off during the actual readathon event to nap because I knew I’d have the time to get in more than 24 hours over the next few days. And I did. I still left the apartment almost every day to go to lunch or take a Pilates class or get my hair done, but I mostly rested and enjoyed the slow pleasure of getting lost in stories. I’ve been in kind of a reading slump lately; it felt good to come back to it.

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Dewey’s Reverse Readathon #DeweysRR2023

Posted in Books, Reading Challenges on July 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »

I have big plans this weekend.

Most of them will take place seated by this gorgeous pile of books as I participate in Dewey’s Reverse Readathon (reverse in that it starts in the evening rather than the original which starts in the early morning). It begins in less than an hour (7 p.m., CST) and will last 24 hours.

Will I read all 24 hours? Probably not. I’ve done that exactly once.

But will I have fun? Absolutely.

The details are here, including all the places to go where the social aspect of the readathon is taking place. It’s not too late to join (and by join, I do just mean pick up a book and read). I’m super excited they have a Discord, which is where I will mostly be checking in.

If you’re participating, happy reading! If you’re not, happy Friday!

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