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June 2025 TBR

Posted in Books, Fun, Home, Mental Health, Reading Challenges, Resolutions, Roots, Wonder, tagged , , on June 2, 2025| 2 Comments »

Hello, June. I’m trying hard to get into the spirit of you. It may be easier this year, since I’m spending more time at the farm. I loved June in the Panhandle, growing up. It was almost as good as October. We’ll see if the magic still persists.

Speaking of magic, I have not been great at pursuing my exploration of wonder this year. There are reasons, but I’d still like to do better. After all, the whole point of cultivating a practice of wonder is to have it in place for when things are *gestures broadly* I think I’m going to start Awestruck: 52 Experiments To Find Wonder, Joy, and Meaning in Everyday Life by Alexandra Franzen [inspire/self-help/community care] this month. And continue on with Year of Wonder: Classical Music To Enjoy Day by Day by Clemency Burton-Hill [essays? Daily prompts?], which has been excellent. I also want to read On Thriving by Brandi Sellerz-Jackson [inspire/self-help/community care] early in the month so I can get it back to the library for the people waiting on it. Hopefully, these will inspire me to embrace the wonder in everyday life a little better.

What I have been great at is carving out time every day to read. Here’s hoping June brings even more of that. 

Library

In addition to On Thriving, there are several other books I need to return to the library this month.

Book Clubs

  • Tom Lake by Ann Patchett [general fiction]
  • The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon [mystery/suspense]
  • The Author’s Guide to Murder by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White [mystery/suspense] – Rise & Shine is a mystery theme this month!
  • Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune [fantasy/nonrealism] – Follow the Reader’s choose your own adventure with a queer theme for Pride Month
  • Nevada by Imogen Binnie [queer lit] – also an FTR pick

Reading Challenges

Some of my favorite things about summer are the extra reading challenges and an abundance of readathons. Apparently, to many people, summer means more time to read, and that is delightful. Our public library has a challenge that lets you earn free books. As I also make space for Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Summer Reading Guide (the Minimalist List can be found here) by putting as many as my library has ordered on my hold list and eagerly await the possibility of a 52 Book Club summer challenge, I don’t want to neglect the yearly challenges I’m trying to finish. I know I have at least one official readathon coming up in July, but I know I will add more just for kicks, including a mini-retreat this Saturday. There are just too many good books I want to read! And by too many, I do mean never enough and please keep writing more great books, dear authors.

For this month…

52 Book Club:

  • Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield – Genre two: set in summer [general YA]
  • The Bodyguard by Katherine Center – A crossover (set in a shared universe) [favorite authors]
  • The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center – Shares universe with previous prompt [favorite authors]
  • Kill Joy by Holly Jackson – A prequel [mystery/suspense]

Libro.fm:

  • Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune – Listen to an audiobook by an LGBTQIA+ author [fantasy/nonrealism]
  • Kingmaker by Sonia Purnell – Read an audiobook about a historical figure and/or event [general nonfiction]
  • Nevada by Imogen Binnie – Listen to an audiobook by a transgender author [queer lit]
  • Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado – Listen to an anthology or short story collection [essays/short stories]

Bad Bitch Book Club:

  • Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy – A book set in the state/region where you live [general YA]
  • The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki – A book with astrology as a main plot point [fantasy/magical realism]
  • A bit of catch-up with the books I’ve planned for previous months

Nowhere Book Bingo:

  • All Fours by Miranda July – Book rec from a friend (thanks, Sarah!) [general fiction]
  • The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton – your favorite author’s favorite book – as choosing a favorite author is like asking someone to choose a favorite book (i.e., impossible), this is one of the favorite books of one of my favorite authors (Roxane Gay) [general fiction]

I’ve already plotted out all my intended reads for the Overeducated Women With Cats challenge in previous months. So all that is left to do for that challenge is to finish reading them. Maybe I will have them finished by the end of summer.

Looking forward to my mini-retreat this Saturday. I already had my snacks planned (because priorities), and now I have my TBR ready to go!

Do your reading habits change with the seasons? If so, how?

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Summer To-Not-Do List

Posted in Alive, Beauty, Fun, Getting It Together, Home, Joy, Mental Health, Roots, Work, tagged , , , on May 21, 2025| 2 Comments »

I’ve had the draft document for this post open with nothing but a title for three days. That seems ominous.

Do I even have plans this summer? Or is it just something I have to get through until the weather is nice enough to wear my boots again?

I know why I’m hesitant. It makes sense. Summer is the busiest time at my job, so while everyone else is making plans to go on vacation, have fun outings, embrace all the summer programs that their community has to offer, and just generally live their best lives, I’m going to be super busy most days and, subsequently, too worn out by the time evening comes around to want to do any of those things. 

I’m also checking in on my parents more, which means at least every other weekend will be spent working on things at the farm, hanging out with my new bird friends (see above), and helping Mom and Dad plan and navigate whatever the next phase will bring.

I’m not really looking for more plans. 

In fact, what would make my summer better is to find things to take off my plate. That seems unlikely, though.

I don’t want to suck at my job or abandon my family. I also don’t want to drop off the face of the earth with friends or miss out on the things that bring me the most joy.

But it’s just a lot, and I probably need to use some of that PTO I have stored up.

So my bucket list this summer is more of to-not-do list. And it’s just two things:

  1. Find 5-10 random days to take off. I’m leaning toward 5 right now, but if things start getting nuttier, it’s gonna need to be closer to 10.
  2. DON’T. TELL. ANYONE. As soon as I say, “I’m really looking forward to taking a couple of days off next week,” people like to respond with “Ooh, we could do something!”

    Which is great. Truly. I adore the place of love and excitement that comes from. I’m glad people still want to hang out with me even when I’m not my very best self, which seems to be all the time these days.

    But the moment I start making plans on my day off…I no longer have the day off. Sure, I may get to sleep in or have more leisure time, and I guess that’s better than nothing. But once I make a plan with someone else, that whole day is now centered around making sure I don’t get too involved in a project or task – or even a spontaneous outing, if that’s where the day’s whims take me – that I forget or show up late to the plans I made. And I’m very bad at turning down things that sound fun with people I love simply because I need to rest. While I strive to be better at this, I recognize that I’m not there yet, so I’m removing the temptation altogether by not letting anyone think I’m available when I’m not.

Whew.

Saying I’m not available when I have the day off is uncomfortable for me. I have struggled with being honest about what I need for most of my adult life. Peeling off the people-pleasing layers I clung to during childhood is hard, and this one is particularly thick. 

It’s work worth doing, though.

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March 2025 TBR

Posted in Books, Bookshops, Church, Mental Health, Quiet, Reading Challenges, tagged , , , on March 2, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Lenten season is upon us. I haven’t engaged in the common practice of giving something up for Lent in the last few years, and I don’t feel the need to do so this year. I’ve become quite Lutheran about the church seasons in general, but Lent has been the biggest change from how I observed it before I joined a Lutheran church. I do, however, want to acknowledge the season with practices that may help set my mind and spirit right again. I’ve been having a rough time lately, so most of what I want to do for Lent is strip things down to the bare essentials without taking out everything that gives me joy. I’m not sure this will look too different on the outside, but I just want to be more observant of my daily doings myself. Some journaling is likely in order. Additionally, since one side effect of rough times is my disinterest in things that usually bring me fulfillment, I’m going to see if Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water or Meik Wiking’s The Art of Danish Living can help nudge me out of that.

I’m taking the whole week off for my 50th birthday later in the month. I’m going to go visit my parents the first weekend of my vacation. I have a few fun outings with friends during the week. And then Maggie and Michelle are coming to visit! Otherwise, I’m going to spend that week relaxing, which typically means reading, organizing, and random cleaning as I feel like it. I planted tomatoes yesterday, and I may plant more things if I feel so moved. I may visit some bookstores, but I may also just luxuriate in the fact that I don’t have to be anywhere for most of the week. Enjoying the simple life whenever I can.

I’m pretty stoked about my reading plans for March.

Book Clubs

52 Book Club Challenge

  • Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor – a sprayed edge [fantasy/nonrealism/sci-fi/etc.]
  • The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón – written in third person [mystery/ suspense]
  • Rebel Girl by Kathleen Hanna – celebrity on the cover [memoir]
  • Fable by Adrienne Young – a character with red hair [general YA]
  • The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley – author’s last name is also a first name [fantasy/nonrealism/sci-fi/etc.]
  • East of Eden by John Steinbeck – direction in the title [general fiction]
  • Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead by Ellie Cosimano – character’s name in the title [mystery/suspense]

Libro.fm Challenge

Bad Bitch Book Club Challenge

  • The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean – a book you meant to read in 2022 [fantasy/nonrealism/sci-fi/etc.]
  • The Truth According to Ember by Danica Nava – a BBC BOTM you never got around to [romance-ish]
  • A book you bought on your birthday – TBA 🙂

Nowhere Bookshop Bingo

OWC Challenge

  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas – a book over 400 pages [fantasy/nonrealism/sci-fi/etc.]
  • The Reformatory by Tananarive Due – a book tagged as horror, cosmic horror, or speculative fiction [mystery/suspense]

Library Books

People have the following books on hold at the library, so I want to finish them quickly and return them. Waiting for books you’re longing to read is so stressful.

One of my upcoming reading challenge prompts is “genre chosen for you by someone else.” So I ask you – what genre do you think I should read?

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Friday Five – Valentines

Posted in Books, Food, Friday Five, Health, Mental Health, Nourish on February 14, 2025| 2 Comments »

Love is in the air. Or something. Maybe it’s smog. Or anxiety. 

On this arbitrary date that we celebrate love and consumerism, I hope you are surrounded by people who get you and know how amazing you are. Also, your hair looks nice, and I like your shirt.

Shout-out to Maggie, on this, her favorite day. It’s totally not made up. It’s a very real and special holiday, Magnanimous.

Here are some things I’ve read recently that I loved, and I hope you do, too.

  • I’m Cancer-Free, So Why Do I Feel So Depressed and Hopeless? by Maggie Hundshamer-Moshier via Bezzy BC – I’m feeling a lot of these things right now. The other day, I burst into tears at a mild inconvenience and turned to my friend and said “I think I’m depressed.” They smiled sweetly and said, “You…think?” Noted.
  • The Perils of Voracious Reading by Caroline Donahue – “The desire to read is as strong for me as the desire to eat.” I feel that. My favorite way of digesting what I read is keeping a commonplace book. In fact, since I read in more places than at home, I have one there and one that I carry around with me. They’re mostly full of quotes but also sometimes notes on how something made me feel or my gut reaction to a book/passage. The one I stash in my purse also often has lists, meeting notes, and doodles from meetings.
  • How To Read a Book by Monica Wood – I’m going to have to add Monica Wood to my favorite authors list. This is only the second one of hers that I’ve read, but both this one and The One-in-a-Million Boy were fantastic. If you like Fredrik Backman, or you enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, you will probably love the stories Monica Wood tells.
  • What Goes With What by Julia Turshen – I will sit and read a cookbook cover to cover like it’s a novel, but with most of them, I start skimming about halfway through. Not this one. Turshen’s recipes and instructions are interspersed with memories, essays, and interviews about the role food plays in her life, and I adored it all. This would be a great book to give to a new cook who is just learning how to experiment and think outside the recipe, but I (a somewhat well-seasoned cook) learned a lot (and *cough* would like it as a gift *cough*), too.
  • Finally, an oldie but goodie – The Optimism of Uncertainty by Howard Zinn via The Nation (2004). “To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives.”

I hope you have a great weekend, friends!

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Friday Five – What a Year This Month Has Been

Posted in Alive, Friday Five, Getting It Together, Health, Mental Health, Quiet, Wonder on January 31, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Whew. What a year to explore wonder!  I mean, I guess I am, in fact, frequently astonished (Am I really? Or is it all playing out exactly as expected?) and full of doubt, both of which were phenomena featured in the definition. But damn.

My focus last year was technically learning how to embrace quiet but realistically, it was also a lot of trying not to die. My community was instrumental in helping me achieve that goal. Of course, people are only able to help others insofar as they have the spoons/energy/resources to do so. Therefore, in addition to capturing some wonder along the way, a big part of my mindset this year leans more toward getting my shit together so that I can be in a position to be there for those who are having their try-not-to-die year(s) now. I mean, I have been a moderately-functioning adult for a long time, and I have most of the adulting basics down, but there are areas I could be stronger. I find myself veering toward pieces that talk about cultivating sanity and joy and community and love and stability amidst *gestures broadly* so here are some of my favorites this week.

  • Reckoning with This Vicious World from Ask Polly, aka Heather Havrilesky – “Every opportunity to dance, to seek pleasure, to love with an open heart, to create freely, to show yourself without shame, and to celebrate what you are makes you stronger and more helpful to this struggling world.”
  • Power: What It *Truly* Is – Tori Dunlap with Kasia Urbaniak – “If you’re focused on how you’re being perceived, your attention is inward and you lose the power to lead the conversation.” 
  • This is Happening by Nadia Bolz-Weber – “…this is not the time to concede the faith to nationalists, and I do not want those of us who believe Jesus’ message was one of mercy, humility, hospitality and forgiveness to give into despair.” 
  • How Do You Know: The Consequences of a Lack of Media Literacy and Where We Go From Here by Ashlie Swicker via Book Riot – “We all know that the internet twists thinking and that this leads to large swaths of people buying into misinformation…Still, I think we imagine that this is happening somewhere else, to other people…We don’t hold ourselves accountable for the same kind of open mind and fact-checking that we demand from people who think differently than us.”
  • On HillmanTok University, Black Educators Are Sharing Invaluable Info by Kaitlynne Rainne via Her Campus – Professors dropping lots of knowledge on TikTok. They’ve posted syllabi, resources, etc., on everything from basic adult skills like budgeting and personal wellness to courses on literature and entrepreneurship. Teachers are going to teach, regardless of the hurdles they face. Love to see it. I also love that it’s called Hillman. 

I’ll leave you with this quote from Bernice King: “There’s a difference between being informed and being consumed.” I invite you to take that into your weekend and beyond.

Have a good one, friends!

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Friday Five – First Week Blues

Posted in Beauty, Books, Friday Five, Mental Health, Quiet, Resolutions on January 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Whew. This week. The first week of classes is always a wild ride but I am pretty sure this week has lasted 14 years. It’s been a lot. Add my own personal not-doing-great-mentally to the mix and…I’m just really, really glad this weekend has an extra day. I hope I’ll actually be able to take a mental break from work and to deal gently with all the other nonsense going on in the world so that the stress doesn’t just keep compounding. 

  • I love that Joy the Baker’s word of the year is joy. I also love a gentle January (which this one has definitely not been for me thus far), and this post is full of inspiration for unabashed moseying. 
  • I enjoyed this extensive list of ways to get involved if you are concerned about book bans. 
  • My friend is seeking legal assistance with getting her son the help he needs. Please donate if you can.
  • In light of my general overwhelm about financial…anything…I have enlisted the help of Tori Dunlap’s community, The $100K Club. It is way outside my comfort zone but in just the last three days is already helping me. The monthly membership fee ($47) is somewhat steep for my budget, but that is still less stressful than trying to piece together all this info myself and weed through all the advice people like to give (omg the mounds of opinions – most of them either completely irrelevant to me or just plain bad advice).
  • Susan Cain’s post about what she learned from her father on living a quiet life resonated with me. Today the encouragement to do beautiful things just for the sake of doing them was exactly what I needed. 
  • Edited to add this bonus because it’s so good and something I need to remember about myself this month as a reminder to breathe first and then respond. I don’t have to perpetuate bad history by making anger my default. People lash out when they’re sad.

I hope that you are well and that your weekend is easy/fun!

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2024 in Review

Posted in Alive, Books, Getting It Together, Health, Mental Health, Quiet, Reading Challenges, Resolutions, Writing, tagged , , on December 30, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[Prime reviewing/contemplating/reflecting space – a blanket and a cup of tea in front of twinkly lights]

How many times can I say this year has been a doozy without it becoming redundant? Welp, here’s one more time.

This year was a doozy.

I’ve tried reflecting and looking back for the past week, as is my custom. Most years – but particularly this year – I resonate with Kate Bowler’s feelings on reflection. I get stuck on certain things and forget so many others, even with the aid of my journal and planner (which in many ways is even more telling than my journal). The older I get, the more I realize that maybe the end of a year is too soon to reflect on it. I am usually still too close to it to ponder it with any real clarity.

But what I can do is look at the goals I set and see how I fared in measurable ways. So let’s dive in.

2024 Theme – Quiet

In many ways this year was very loud. But that especially drove home my need for carving out quiet time, and I had a small amount of success with that.

The intentional pursuit of quiet helped me to find space to heal both mentally and physically.

It also revealed how much work I still have to do in those areas. I didn’t always succeed at finding space, and my medical challenges this year made sure that it was really obvious when I didn’t. Getting quiet time is a lot of work, but it’s necessary and worth it.

Even when I’m “quiet,” I’m still anxious. It takes a lot of time I don’t always have to calm my brain enough to get the needed benefit from quiet moments.

Another challenge is that I don’t really have physical places to find quiet. My upstairs neighbors are loud and active, so even when I’m quiet, my environment still isn’t. And to go anywhere else is to inevitably have to socialize or be perceived or get distracted. Going forward, I need to find a way to really be at rest. I would prefer it to be an actual physical space, but earplugs have been a little helpful in the meantime.

I’m not quite done with quiet, nor do I think I’ll ever be. I have goals for the upcoming year that will help me continue to explore it.

Read 180 Books

I’m so close. I have read 175 so far. It’s possible to reach 180 by midnight tomorrow, but I don’t see myself forcing it just to meet my goal. I am enjoying looking at my Storygraph charts, and I may share one or two tomorrow when I talk about reading goals for 2025.

Even if I don’t finish any more books this year, aiming for this lofty goal still helped me read 20 more books than last year. I consider that a success!

Creative Education

All things creative pretty much tanked for me this year. I did have a few performances with beloved friends, and I have been able to be more active in choir this fall. But with the exception of a few brief inspired frenzies, my writing has been at a standstill.

I am not any further on The Artist’s Way than I was last year at this time, and I haven’t really cared about creative education at all. Looking back, I can admit this goal was a little unreasonable.

What has changed is that I would have felt really dejected about this pause in the past. But I don’t feel that way today. I am satisfied with how I’ve spent my time this year, even if that meant I didn’t heavily pursue a lot of the things I love. My attention was simply needed elsewhere, and I honored that. I am proud of myself for doing so.

Health Goals

I’m alive! I did it!

I survived cancer and cancer treatments, both of which tried to take me out.

As part of that survival, I also built some stronger, healthier skills that I hope to take into the new year. Also, I’ve learned to call them skills instead of habits, because apparently habit isn’t a thing my brain does. This was one of the helpful revelations that came out of therapy this year. For me, there’s no doing things without thinking about it. Even if I do something every day for a year, the moment I don’t remind myself (that is, actually set reminders or leave lists in a place I know I’ll see them), I drop it like I’ve never even heard about it. Everything has to be a conscious choice every time.

Which sounds exhausting (and it can be). But it’s also liberating. It frees me from trying to make progress the way other people do. Instead, I can focus on my goals in a way that actually works for me.

And it’s working beautifully so far.

So that’s the year. That’s 2024. Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with it.

I hope you are satisfied with your year, too. Feel free to brag on yourself a little in the comments.

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One Year Ago

Posted in Alive, Church, Health, Mental Health, Quiet on December 23, 2024| Leave a Comment »

December 22 last year was a Friday. I was talking about books (of course). I had just wrapped up work and parties and performances for the month and was looking forward to traveling to see my family. This day last year was one of my favorite moments of the holiday season – that little transition between work and rest where I get to take a breath.

It was also a little over a week before I got my diagnosis.

So on December 22 last year, the appointment for the follow-up scan that eventually revealed the cancer had been made, and I was anxious. The first reference I see to news about health issues in the blog is on December 30 in my year-end review. This quote is…something. 

“I was ahead of schedule for most of the year, until work and health issues exploded. I don’t know how much those things will actually settle down, but I’ll keep the same goal for next year and see how it goes.”

Yeah, it did not settle down. At all, in any way. If November/December 2023 was an explosion, 2024 was a supernova.

What I enjoy about re-reading this post, though, is how well my 2023 goals had prepared me for what was to come. As challenging as this year has been, it would have been so much harder if I hadn’t already learned some practical ways to take care of myself – not just physically but also mentally and financially. I’m not sure I would have made it without those skills. Good job, past me!

Out of necessity, I’ve sharpened those skills this year. I know I’ve made some progress, because otherwise, today would not have gone the way that it did, and I would be in worse shape for it.

Yesterday was a good day, but it was also a loud day. A very social day. I woke up this morning still feeling the sensory overload. I got up and started getting ready to leave home. I noticed it was not easy.

I paused to check in with what I was feeling:

  • Irritation, almost to the point of panic
  • Itchy skin, particularly anywhere it touched fabric or whenever the breeze from the fan blew over it
  • Dull, throbbing headache
  • Strong aversion to the smell of my lotion (which is “unscented”)
  • Nausea due to all of the above

Yep. That’s still overload. Probably not a great time to go sit in a room with an organ. Or people.

A year ago today, I might have forged ahead and gone to church. After all, the choir was singing and I love being part of that. I’ve missed out on it so much this year.

But nowadays I am more likely to choose getting well over doing almost any other thing. I choose slowing down. I don’t like it. I still want to do all the fun things and dislike that I can’t. But I know that taking a break when I need it is the better choice.

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Friday Five – ‘Tis the Season

Posted in Alive, Books, Church, Friday Five, Health, Mental Health, Seasons, tagged , , on December 6, 2024| 2 Comments »

The season of Advent, that is. It’s (probably) my favorite season of the church year and one of the reasons I tend to say “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas” during most of December (you know, other than the usual reason of wanting my well wishes to others to be as unconditional, as free of strings and assumptions, as possible). I am especially glad today that the weather seems to understand it’s December and is behaving accordingly.

Here are five things I’ve read in the last few weeks that I thought you might enjoy, too.

  • How To Have Cancer by Cory Doctorow – I resonate with so much here. The hoops you have to jump through. The inevitable “I wish I’d done it this way to make it a little less stressful/more effective.” I’m glad Doctorow is OK. I’m glad we’re both (generally) OK.
  • A Brief What, Why, & How of Advent by Tsh Oxenreider – I was recently asked what Advent was about and I rambled a lot. Enthusiastically, but still so much rambling. Here is a much more succinct version. I don’t do everything on this list (and my tradition uses blue candles – for hope/peace/healing – rather than purple – for royalty/penance – during Advent), but this is a lovely explanation.
  • But How Do You Read So Much? by Pandora Sykes – “I will find ways, as I always do, to not do the other stuff, so that I can find time to read.” Yes, that’s it. That’s the big secret. I read so much because I really, really want to read so much. I thoroughly enjoy it. When I’m not reading, I’m usually thinking about what I have read recently and counting the minutes until I can get back to it. But if you only want to read as much as I want to do Pilates every day (i.e., only a little – usually more of an “I should” than an “I want” situation, unless I’m feeling particularly tight or sore in an area I know it will help), then maybe give yourself a break about how infrequently you read and focus on all the wonderful and life-giving things you do instead.
  • Why Walking Helps Us Think by Ferris Jabr – This piece was a fantastic motivation to take more walks. If you only get one free New Yorker article a month, this would be a good one to use it for!
  • “Comfort in, dump out.” This is a clear, easy lesson in How Not To Say the Wrong Thing by Susan Silk and Barry Goldman.

And a bonus bullet point this week – I joined Bluesky  – Roxane Gay said it best – “Some people don’t get exposed to other points of view in their day-to-day lives so they need social media for that. Some of us have friends and colleagues and family. And it shows.”

I hope you have a good weekend, friends!

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December 2024 TBR (-ish)

Posted in Books, Church, Fun, Mental Health, Quiet, Reading Challenges, Resolutions, tagged , , , on December 2, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Ah, December. Wonderful and wild. Full of parties and Advent festivities. My favorite time for reflection and anticipation.

I’m equal parts excited and tired already.

Because the first part of the month is always so busy, my reading needs to be generally lighthearted and easy. I need books that soothe my mind and soul after a busy day. I’ve already finished the books we’re discussing at book clubs this month, and I’ve lost interest in actually finishing the remaining reading challenges this year. So I can really just read whatever I like. I mean, I can do that all the time, but I’m not putting any self-imposed parameters on my choices this month.

Except for one. I need to get some of my library books back to the library. I have an excessive amount checked out. It’s absurd. So I need to read the ones I’m actually still interested in and just return the ones I’m not. I would love to blank-slate my library check-outs this month, but I’ll settle for cutting them in half.

Also, I’m still planning on finishing my main goal of 180 books for the year. It will be a tight race, but I think I can do it.

Here are my plans as of now.

Books for Advent (i.e., read as part of my daily Advent practice, so finish before Christmas Day)

Library Books Other People Are Waiting On (i.e., finish this week or next)

Ebooks (i.e., lunchtime/standing-in-line/waiting-in-waiting-rooms reads)

Audiobooks (i.e., commuting/doing-housework/staring-at-the-Christmas-tree reads)

Library Books I’ve Renewed a Lot (i.e., read or abandon, but make a choice)

Other Books – Library or Otherwise – That I Am the Most Excited To Read Soon

This is quite a long list, but I remain perpetually optimistic.

What are you most excited to read this month?

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