a lifestyle blog for book lovers

Links I love and what’s on my nightstand.

My favorite finds from around the web:

This is what happens when you put a preschool in a nursing home. “Providence Mount St.Vincent in Seattle is home to more than 400 elderly residents. It is also home to a preschool. It’s called the Intergenerational Learning Center, and whoever thought of it is a genius.”

Prince William’s Dad Uniform: A Photographic Exploration. “William, when he isn’t dressing in formal-wear for a particular event, usually adheres to a “uniform” of a sweater (in a shade of blue) pulled over a button-down shirt, with khakis or dress pants finishing off the look. It is actually pretty remarkable just how consistent he is with this ensemble.”

Why bloggers are calling it quits. “In announcing their departures, Whedon, Sullivan, and Armstrong all mention wanting to move away from the barrage of “haters” who leave their reckless disagreements and insults in comment sections and replies.”

How I learned to fall asleep in under 1 minute. “You can literally feel your heart rate slow down, your mind get quieter, and your whole body physically relax. It washes over you like a calming, relaxing drug.”

If Jane Austen got feedback from some guy in a writing workshop. “I don’t know if you noticed this, but there’s a lot about hair ribbons here. Did you mean to do that?”

What I’m reading this week: 

The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny, from my summer reading list.

Rising Strong: the Reckoning, the Rumble, and the Revolution by Brené Brown. This one’s due out August 25, and I have an early copy to giveaway on the blog. Coming soon.

On the blog: 

The perfect summer reading for every Myers-Briggs personality type. This combines two of my favorite things: personality profiles and summer reading.

What makes a relationship work? Skip tall-dark-and-handsome, go for kindness (and 10 tips for making it last). For my anniversary. Q: What makes a relationship work? A: The un-sexy stuff. (Mostly.)

What I’ve been reading lately: the new and notable. 6 recent noteworthy titles.

• Don’t forget: get a free Grove soy candle and a free $10 credit to ePantry for a limited time. Details here, including some of my favorite cleaning products and tips for getting kids to help clean.

Have a great weekend!

10 comments

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    • Kristina M. says:

      This was my favorite snippet from that article, “Also, there aren’t a lot of men in this book. Only about the same number as there are women”. I actually had someone in a writers workshop tell me there weren’t enough “masculine figures” in my piece. Lol

  1. Several people shared the Jane Austen article with me last week — I guess I have a reputation as a hardcore Austenite! I loved it.

    Someone needs to do a similar thing with Charlotte Bronte and “Jane Eyre.” (“I like how you have an action scene where Rochester falls off the horse. It’s nice when women write action scenes. But shouldn’t he be able to stumble off on his own? Why does he need to lean on a petite woman? Doesn’t make sense.”)

  2. Ciera S. says:

    I took a creative writing semester this spring and the “Jane Austen critique” sounded just like what our instructor told us not to do lol.

    Also, I was really moved by the video clip of the nursing home/preschool. Thanks for sharing!

  3. Lauren B says:

    Love the nursing home/preschool video. How awesome is that? We live across Puget Sound and there’s actually one here that does the same thing. I love creative solutions.

  4. Liesl says:

    As someone who takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 3 hours to fall asleep, I tried this fall asleep in one minute thing, and it 100000% did not work. It just made my heart beat faster and faster. Guess I am destined to be a “forever-to-get-to-sleep” person!

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