Happy Friday, readers! I’m formulating survival strategies for the hot and steamy weekend ahead, and resolving to finish the book I’ve been working on for a whole week. (Really!)
My favorite finds from around the web:
• These are the best audiobooks as read by their authors. “Some books are meant to be read, others are best listened to. The audiobooks below are all narrated by their authors, adding another form of intimacy to the experience.”
• Introvert or extrovert? Here’s how to boost your productivity. “There is no right or wrong personality type, but understanding if you are an introvert, extrovert, or ambivert can help you better understand what you need to do your best work.”
• 13 ways of coping with a book hangover. “Have you ever finished a book that was so good, you couldn’t move on to another? If so, you’ve likely experienced a book hangover.”
• Built-in IKEA Billy bookcase hack. “This built-in Billy bookcase project gave me an affordable way to create a custom-cabinetry feel for our home library.”
Favorite Instagram:
When you’re not living a fine china kind of life, no problem, you use your pretty cups for coffee break. (Follow me on instagram @annebogel.)
On the blog:
One year ago: 25 great stories about the immigrant experience. “These books automatically include a diversity of plot lines that make for a good story: the clash of cultures, the journey tale, the confusion of identities, the pang of homesickness, the nostalgic look to the past.”
Two years ago: 6 things I learned in June. I LOVE to look back at these moments-in-time pieces.
Three years ago: What books has everyone read but you? “Today’s list contains books that people talk about—whether that’s in literary circles or in pop culture—and I’m clueless, because I haven’t read the book.”
Four years ago: Literature as a defense mechanism. “Am I reading to recharge, or am I reading to hide? One is healthy behavior; one is not.”
Five years ago: Burst of insight. “And I realized something in that moment I hadn’t realized in my thirtysomething previous years: I’m not a planner. If you know me, this will seem really obvious. But to me it was a revelation, because I have always liked to make plans.”
Six years ago: Like blackberries on the vine. “Looking back on my twenties, one of my biggest shockers was that I didn’t ripen evenly. I didn’t know then that nobody does.”
11 comments
After reading The Great Alone and This Is How it Always Is right in a row, I am emotionally drained!
Fortunately my copy of Anthony Bourdain’s A Cooks Tour came in my mailbox yesterday. I dived right in! A switch of genre does the trick for me.
We did the Ikea Billy bookcase hack, but we didn’t try and paint them and just left them white and painted the surrounding wood white to match them :). I love the color of the ones from the post though!
After visiting your old post on “Books everyone has read but you,” and seeing two books I loved on your list, I’m curious if you have read any (or all ) of them yet. A couple on my list (that shocked my husband, admittedly an English major) are Catcher in the Rye and The Outsiders.
I’ve done some catching up but I haven’t read them all. Yet. 🙂
Well, I stopped into my local library to pick up books and prizes for the summer reading program. One of the options was a free book, and this post prompted me to pick “The Outsiders.” I wonder if it is enough of a classic to count for that category, or maybe I’ll pay my husband the compliment of saying he has great taste (admittedly very different from my taste, but he recognizes quality writing.)
It’s funny, I just read The Light Between Oceans. I got to the end and couldn’t decide whether or not I actually liked it.
I just read the link you provided on Instagram to Fredrik Backman’s post about depression and anxiety. He is an absolute favorite of mine and it was an odd kick in the gut and feeling of solidarity to read what he wrote. I get the wake in the night and the ache you can’t put a finger on because I have been there. He asked for no comments on his blog and I just needed to say that so I came here.
I’m so glad you did, and I understand—I’m hesitant to share the piece in a format that will live forever (as opposed to a 24-hour story) because of what he said about media and comments, but it’s too good not to share. I’m so glad you read it, and that it spoke to you.
What is the name of your china pattern?!
If memory serves it might be Sandringham?
I’ve actually found that my book hangovers come from pushing myself through books I DON’T love. A really great read that I can’t put down builds my momentum and drives me to pick up another great book immediately. A book that feels tedious puts me in a slump, and it can take anywhere from half a day to a month for me to get out of it and finish a book again. For example, last week I read An American Marriage on Tuesday, and then read Saints & Misfits on Wednesday. I decided to tackle NW by Zadie Smith on Thursday, but it took me several days to get through and I just never felt myself really loving or enjoying the book. (There are a lot of reasons for that, which I outlined in my Goodreads review. I’ll admit that I admired the craft of the novel, from a writer’s standpoint, despite disliking the actual experience of reading it.) I finished it two days ago, and I haven’t been able to get more than 3 pages into a new book since then. I’m starting to think I really shouldn’t push myself to finish books I’m not enjoying; there are so many good books that I want to read, and “because it won a lot of awards” or “it’s a classic” or “it’s a book everyone should read” have ceased to be compelling reasons to read a book I don’t like. I only finished NW because it’s one of the rare books I purchased rather than borrowing from the library (when it was a Kindle deal), and I feel guilty when I buy books and don’t read them.
Sometimes switching genres or picking up something totally brainless (by which I mean popular fiction that doesn’t require a lot of attention to read) can get me started again. Sometimes I need to switch to reading something practical and useful–like books I can use to improve my teaching practices. (I just started How We Learn right before lunch, and that might break my slump since I’m starting to feel like I need to prepare for the new school year.) Another thing that can rejuvenate my momentum is getting a book from the library–especially when it’s an e-book or audiobook that I’ve been on the hold list for months–because I know I have a limited amount of time to finish it unless I want to have to go to the bottom of the hold list.