Happy Saturday! After a few weeks of travel and birthdays and illness, I’m looking forward to a low-key weekend. I hope to finish this book, pop into the bookstore, take Daisy on a nice long walk, and make serious strides on my work-in-progress.
My favorite finds from around the web:
• Why 5:30 is the ultimate dining time. “You can have a two-hour long leisurely dinner and still have the rest of your night left ahead of you.”
• Romance novels, defined. “A romance novel needs a love story but a love story is not necessarily a romance.”
• These day-of-the-week socks bring so much joy into my kid’s life we just ordered our second set. (The first is full of holes!)
• Reading fiction really will make you nicer and more empathetic. “Those hours you set aside for reading really are making a difference.”
• I noticed my book is available for a great price right now.
• An incomplete list of the non-book things you can get at the library. “It’s like I’ve said here a million times: the point of a library is to be a place for the people. Serving the public doesn’t just necessarily mean feeding their minds.”
Favorite Instagram:
I’m not saying I traveled three hours out of my way just to visit Square Books. I am saying that if I had—well, it would have been worth the trip. (Follow me on Instagram @annebogel.)
On the blog:
One year ago: What I learned from living with all-white walls for a whole year. “People are drawn to all white because it’s simple and easy, but that doesn’t mean it looks good.”
Two years ago: Emotions are data. “These emotional data points don’t determine your response, not at all. As the stimulus, they inform it.”
Three years ago: Happily ever after is complicated. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised to see so much unhappiness in a documentary about marriage.”
Four years ago: The spiritual discipline of Project Runway. “I don’t know about her theology, but she’s right about one thing: stress changes the way people act.”
Five years ago: I need to live like this in my home. “It turns out you can’t find out what you want by waiting. You find out by doing, by experimenting, by trying something and living with it for a bit.”
On the podcast:
One year ago: Episode 120: Books that make you feel big things.
Two years ago: Episode 66: Books that glitter, sparkle, and pop.
Three years ago: Episode 7: Books that uplift and inspire, the books that “hook” you, and filling the Brown Girls’ Bookshelf.
Have a great weekend!
12 comments
I have been following your blog for years and always enjoy it. I love hearing about your travels, and seeing pictures, of the various books shops you visit. Maybe some day you could venture to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and do a book chat. We have Magic City Books which is a delight!
Donna, I’m catching up on blog comments and had to say that if you haven’t seen the news already, I’m coming to Magic City Books on April 27! I can’t wait to finally visit Tulsa and this store I’ve heard such wonderful things about.
I love seeing libraries lending out unexpected items! I’ve heard of libraries lending garden tools and Instant Pots; I’ve lived in places where you could check out art, and I recently read that the Nashville Public Library has started lending ukeleles! (Almost enough to make me want to move back, but not quite!) While I still use the library primarily to feed my voracious book addiction, I’m glad that they’ve expanded so much since I was young.
5:30!!!
When I was growing up, dinner was at 5 sharp because my dad worked a second job at night. He had about half an hour between them for gobbling down dinner.
Here, restaurants don’t open until 8. At home, we have dinner at 7, which is considered terribly early. My kid and I are ready to gnaw on anything at all by 6:30, but my husband drags his feet, trying to move the start time as late as possible.
Different cultures….
Oh, France! I love it. When I visited in April, the late meals never really felt late. Its such a different rhythm there. But hungry kids and late dinners just don’t always work well do they? I live in Maine and we tend to eat around 5:30 or 6 but when my son was very little, I liked to eat by 5! Give France a kiss for me!
Oh those days of the week socks are so cute! Do you remember day of the week undies? I had some as a little girl! Oh my! Hope you are having a great weekend. I love my Saturdays to be home and clean, chill, and walk my dogs! Enjoy! Oh, and are those flowers popping up where you are? We are still drowning in snow and ice, slush and mud! At least it was sunny and mild today. Think Spring!
Thank you for the link to Literary Hub. Now subscribed. Books, books and more books!
Love the article about the non-book items that libraries are circulating. I am an elementary school librarian and this year I started an adventure backpack collection that circulates. There are 6 backpacks – 4 of which have resources and items that enhance a student/family’s experience with one of the local state parks or museums and two that reinforce concepts that students are learning at school. They are very popular and always have holds for each. Love the idea that libraries are collections of information – in many forms!
Thank you for including my romance definition post!
We eat at 5:30 most days. By then I’m home from work and starving. But when we go out, we’ll also eat that early. We do have young kids, so that plays a factor. But again… we’re starving lol. Also, you can find a lot of “happy hour” or “early dine” specials if you go (usually) before 6pm.
We also have an early dinner time – between 5 and 5:30. Though my husband and I both work full-time, we telecommute. I understand for many working families, 5 to 5:30 isn’t really a possibility.
That being said, we LOVE having an earlier dinner time. To your point, we’re all hungry since it’s been hours before lunch. It’s also nice to have time for our food to digest (or at least settle down 😉 before going to bed and gives us more time for the remainder of the evening to do other things.
And, yes, the prices are better when you eat out earlier – ha!
What a fun librarian you are! Thank you for creating positive experiences and memories for the students in your school – hopefully they will have a lifelong love of libraries and books and adventure!!!