a lifestyle blog for book lovers

If you need me, you can find me on the couch with a good read and a big cup of coffee…

My favorite finds from around the web:

Why you should surround yourself with more books than you’ll ever have time to read.

3 surprising things I learned when I gave up saying “I’m busy” for 40 days.

Persuasion, the most moving love story Jane Austen ever told, turns 200.

3 simple ways to finish your Christmas shopping today.

Favorite instagram:

The lighting is bad and the shot’s a little blurry, but I still love this shot showing our 2018 Reading Challenge phone wallpaper in action. Check out the 2018 Reading Challenge blog post for more info, and follow me on instagram @annebogel.

Close runner-up: my best nine, which looks like books, more books, Biltmore, Jane Austen, Hamilton.

A new podcast

This week I joined Laura Vanderkam and Sarah Hart-Unger on their new-this-fall podcast Best of Both Worlds, geared toward listeners who want to get more out of life at work and life at home. It’s come to be one of my must-listens.

We discuss making time to read, how lapsed readers can reinvigorate their reading lives, bucket list books, reading War and Peace in the grocery checkout line, and more. Host Sarah Hart-Unger was just a few weeks from her due date when we spoke; she had a beautiful baby girl this week and is ready for all those listener book recommendations we ask for in this episode. If you’ve got ideas, share them here in Laura’s blog post about the episode. I’ve heard great feedback on this episode so far—thanks for that.

On the blog:

The 2018 Reading Challenge is here! This week on the blog I also shared my favorite books of 2017.

One year ago: My favorite books of 2016.

Two years ago: Build your kids’ libraries with these wonderful, beautiful books. A round-up of beautiful children’s editions to put under the tree this year. Confession: I’ve bought many of these for myself.

Three years ago: How to make a book page wreath, and more book art ideas for the holidays. You could absolutely knock out a wreath on a weekend morning.

Four years ago: Is that novel worth your time? Turn to page 69 to find out.  (Also a fun little time machine: What Modern Mrs Darcy readers want for Christmas. Some things never change, even if they do get discontinued. I’m looking at you, Kate Spade card catalog tote.)

Five years ago: What Alice Forgot and ugly relationship creep.

Six years ago: Classic gifts for girls.

Have a great weekend!

4 comments

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  1. Esther says:

    Thank you for the link on “I’m busy.” It was such a thought provoking read, and perhaps a bit uncomfortable, as it hit so close to home. Definitely something to give some deep thought to over the next week as Christmas nears and the desire to provide perfect cookie trays/teacher gifts/neighbor gifts and presence for family battle it out. Thank you.

  2. Amy says:

    Thanks for these links – useful and insightful, as always. I look forward to these posts because you always find something wonderful out there!

  3. Elizabeth says:

    I love snapfish. I am going to make photo books for the grand kids as they graduate from high school. Need to get started.

  4. Jennifer N. says:

    Great links this week and I will definitely be checking out that podcast. I definitely needed a way to explain to my husband why I needed so many books even if I might never read them :-). I think I will try to be more conscious of how often I use “I’m busy” as an excuse to be lazy.

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