a lifestyle blog for book lovers

My favorite finds from around the web:

• Captivating first sentences of the 21st century.

• To the mamas of littles over the holidays. “Lemme put it to you straight: Do. Less. Stuff.”

• 5 reasons I’m not simplifying Christmas this year. “There’s plenty of time for not doing stuff in January.”

• Why more actors should be cast against type. “It happens all the time, typecasting. No actor wants it, but it’s a fact of life in show business. And who knows how many great, surprising performances we’ve been deprived of as a result of it?”

Favorite instagram:

Piglet noticed

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” Follow me on instagram @annebogel.

An audiobook sale. 

Audible is running a huge sale right now: 300+ books for $4.95 each. (Sale prices are only valid for Audible members. If you are currently on an Audible free trial, that totally counts. Use this link to start your free trial plus download two books for free.

I browsed through the 300+ titles (which is almost too many for my taste): I already bought A Man Called Ove because Marybeth Whalen specifically mentioned the audio book as one of the 8 books recommended by readers with great taste.

A few more titles of note: Everything I Never Told You, The Winter Sea, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, Anne of Green Gables (unabridged), The History of Love, Code Name Verity, The Hundred Foot Journey, Emma by Alexander McCall Smith.

For more details about how to listen to audiobooks, including how to get the most out of Audible, check out my beginner’s great big guide to audiobooks.

On the blog:

• One year ago: Simplicity, productivity, and the personal uniform.

• Two years ago: Hooked on the story.

• Three years ago: Buy or borrow: here’s how I decide.

• Four years ago: Why decking the halls brings back happy wedding memories.

Have a great weekend!

10 comments

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  1. Kate says:

    That vulture article is fantastic. Thanks for sharing. I’ve been reading up a storm all year and now I’m taking a hiatus to watch TV instead…currently burning through The Blacklist (craziness!), now I have a few more to add to the queue (Fargo, The Americans) And we’ve been watching Malcolm in the Middle as a family —still hilarious as ever and Bryan Cranston is amazing as always. Hope you had a good Thanksgiving!

  2. Marie says:

    ITA re the mama of littles article. One of my favorite Christmases was the year my third was born just before Thanksgiving–so my kids were newborn, 19 months, and three. We had a tree and went to see Santa (on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, because we’d forgotten before then), and that was it. There was no room for any extras other than snuggling and reading by the light of the Christmas tree. It was truly magical.

    Though we’ve ramped things up since then, I’m still very choosy about how many activities we fit into the month of December. I’m not on Facebook, and I check Pinterest only for my obscure personal obsessions, and that helps a lot, too.

  3. Donna says:

    Happy Friday, Anne! Thanks for sharing the actors link. And I hope you enjoy ‘A Man Called Ove’. I read it in the spring and really enjoyed it. I am interested to hear your thoughts on the audio book.

    • Anne says:

      I liked that too. 🙂 And yep, I think we all are a lot nicer to be around in December when we realize there are many different approaches to this time of year. (Personally, I need the encouragement to NOT simplify because I relate to every one of your points!)

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