a lifestyle blog for book lovers

My favorite finds from around the web:

• No, the internet has not killed the printed book. Most people still prefer them. “Americans’ appetite for reading books — the ones you actually hold in your hands — has not slowed in recent years.”

Ready for rain: why Seattleites crave the end of summer. “The best way to describe the feeling is “coziness”. Home feels like a refuge from the elements; a place to relax and live life more slowly. Coffee seems to taste better when it’s raining.”

The lost art of printing our pictures. Now this is a reminder I need.

• How non-English speakers are taught this crazy English grammar rule you know but have never heard of. “If you mess with that order in the slightest you’ll sound like a maniac.

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Bookish PSA: 

The kindle deals have been really good so far this month. Check out the list here, don’t miss the domestic suspense novel from the Summer Reading Guide that’s still on sale, and subscribe if you want these to come straight to your inbox.

On the blog:

• One year ago: My personal variation on the Power Hour. “I’m focusing on tasks that usually belong to a season of growth: the ones that help me grow my skills, master new tools, try new things.”

• Two years ago: Not cheerful and upbeat, but really, really good. In which I recommend fiction that isn’t exactly peppy but is utterly absorbing.

• Three years ago: Best book you’ve never heard of on … the daily grind. “What is it about repetitive acts that makes us feel that we are wasting our time?”

• Four years ago: When the planes hit the Towers on 9/11, I was over the Atlantic Ocean, in a plane bound for New York City. My 9/11 story (and still one of my favorite things I’ve written.)

Have a great weekend!

12 comments

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  1. Katia says:

    After a long, hot, humid summer (which I love), I crave cool, breezy autumn days and the rains that come along with them, inviting me to retreat indoors to rest and relax in a warm environment by my hearth. Also, I continue to carefully select photographs to print for our family album. Our children love to spend time with the beloved albums, looking at pictures of themselves as babies and toddlers. It’s a great way for us to spend time together, reminiscing about the stories behind the pictures.

  2. Gail says:

    I do make photo books, but I have been retired for a long time. I may try the print app, but be sure to write names and dates on the backs.

  3. Heather says:

    I live in the PNW (Portland area) and I am not ready for the rain!!! Last year it rained a lot in fall and winter and I had a hard time with it and I’m anxious to see how this year will be. That English grammar rule was very interesting!

  4. Phaedra says:

    I live in PNW(Portland area) and I LOVE summer, but when it’s time for the new season? I’m ready for exactly the reasons highlighted in the essay. I always feel like spring/summer is go go go trying to make the most of everything we have to offer outdoors (and that’s a lot! beach. mountains. desert. rivers. waterfalls. all within a couple hours of PDX). When the rainy days come it’s time for cozy time inside. And so the cycle goes.

    As for photo prints, I ALWAYS print. Because technology changes so rapidly, but a printed photo is available to look at now and? 30 years from now. Plus, people don’t come over and get on your computer/device and glance through photos, but they will look at a few if they’re out on a table or in a basket.

  5. Emily Clark says:

    Hi Anne, Thanks for including my post link!

    I am a faithful listener of your podcast (usually during my neighborhood walks!) and am still working up the nerve to apply to be a guest. 🙂

  6. Lee Ann says:

    I really enjoyed the English grammar article. Thanks for posting the link.
    Reading it triggered a memory about this story: When J. R. R. Tolkien was a young boy, he wrote a story about a dragon. His mother told him he had to write “great green dragon” instead of “green great dragon.” Tolkien wrote that he never really understood why it had to be that way, but his mother’s comment sparked his interest in languages – and we know how that turned out.

  7. Julie says:

    So excited!! I just looked at your Kindle deals list and saw a book that I’ve been meaning to pick up, I Let You Go. I’ve heard so many great things about it! Weekend made, thanks!! =)

  8. Mary Kate says:

    I do miss the surprise of seeing photos once you go to pick them up at Walgreens or wherever! But then again there are a lot fewer blurry thumb shots.

    Never knew your 9/11 story! I was a freshman in college going through some weird stuff particular to freshman year, and I kept telling myself how small my problems were in comparison (which they were, of course) but I think the events of that day made me ignore some stuff that was going on with me for too long as well.

  9. Ruth-Anne Hayes says:

    I loved the articles on reading real books and on our wacky adjective order. I have plenty of books on my kindle but I notice my reading pleasure is not as rich as when I’m holding and smelling paper. And our adjectives? That was fascinating. I know English is complicated but it’s so interesting to see how it’s taught to others. Crazy!

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