a lifestyle blog for book lovers

Links I love and what’s on my nightstand.

Links I love: 

• Why we walk. “All these experiences might not be known to us if we weren’t out and about exploring on foot, going at a slower pace and soaking it all in.”

How to host a book exchange party. When you host your own, please send me an invitation!

Find out what your name would be if you were born today. This nifty widget shows you which name currently has the same level of popularity as yours did the year you were born. According to this, I would be Elena. Interestingly, if I had been born in 1910, my name would have been Adele. My great-grandmother was named Adela, and we very nearly gave that name to each of our daughters.

Why you should be friends with the oldest mother in your child’s first grade class. “Old moms don’t judge. First of all, we are too tired, and second, we have been there. We know.”

What’s on my nightstand:

Design Mom: How to Live with Kids: A Room-by-Room Guide by Gabrielle Blair. A few promising-looking design books have hit shelves in the past month and I’m thoroughly enjoying this one (and taking lots of notes). Post coming soon.

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. I thought Atkinson’s brand-new release A God in Ruins was stunning (yep, it’s a reading guide pick) and now I’m sifting through her backlist. When I picked this up at the library, my favorite circ desk worker said, Ohhh. This is a good one.

reading journal 4

On the blog: 

The 2015 Summer Reading Guide hit the blog yesterday. Hurray!

• Have you gotten your free printable reading journal? (If you have any trouble with the download, email me at modern mrs darcy at gmail dot com and I’ll make sure you get yours.)

• I never leave home without a book, or a snack. Words to live by. The giveaway for a free six-month subscription to NatureBox is still open.

Have a great weekend!

15 comments

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  1. Erin says:

    Thanks for the link to the ‘older mother’ post. As a mother of a 21, many in between and a baby I totally ‘got it’! ” I don’t have time for this crap…” Yep I do indeed:)

  2. Erin says:

    So I did the name thing and my results were very interesting. I have 2 girls. My name today would be Natalie, which is actually the name of my oldest. My name for the 2000’s would be Mackenzie, which is the name of my youngest!

  3. Lee Ann says:

    Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie books are wonderful, and quite different from Life After Life. They were also made into an English TV series starring Jason Isaacs; I haven’t seen the series, but people I know who have said it was very good.

    • Kate says:

      Yes! The series with Jason Isaacs was very very good and ran on Masterpiece Mystery. I think they are making more of them (I hope so).

      • Lee Ann says:

        It’s hard to go wrong with Jason Isaacs. While he’s not nearly as good-looking as my husband, he’s easy on the eyes and a good actor. 🙂

  4. Sandy Rasmussen says:

    Hi Anne. I’m a long time reader but first time commenter…I just wanted to tell you I absolutely LOVE the new design for the blog! I have really been enjoying it since it launched. SO pretty (the colors, the layout, the book photo in the back, the white arrows!) and easy to use! Hope you have a great weekend. 🙂

  5. Andrea says:

    My name today would be “Brooklyn” — yikes! 🙂 My favorite on the list was my 1900s name — “Hattie.”

    Interesting about older moms, but what if you’re like me, and you’re the “older” mom but still a new mom? 🙂 I’m 36, and my only child is 8 months old. I may end up being older than the other moms in my child’s circle of friends, but I won’t necessarily have any more wisdom!

  6. Amy says:

    I just checked out the name link. My name today would be Ava, which is the name of my first born – now 9 year old daughter.

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