a lifestyle blog for book lovers

My favorite finds from around the web: 

Do men even know who Marie Kondo is? “After buying Kondo’s book, I squandered entire minutes of my one and only life staring at a bottle of dishwasher liquid pondering whether or not it “sparked joy”.”

Gratitude physically changes your brain, new study says. “Something as simple as writing down three things you’re grateful for every day for 21 days in a row significantly increases your level of optimism, and it holds for the next six months. The research is amazing.”

Men have book clubs, too. “We are not allowed to suggest books that our mothers have suggested. We had an accident one time. We read ‘Water for Elephants.’ It was a huge mistake.”

10 Gilmore Girls questions that are impossible to answer.

On the podcast:

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Yesterday I released a special bonus episode for the What Should I Read Next? podcast. My special guest was my 8 year old daughter Lucy. The format was the same as the regular Tuesday episodes: Lucy told me three books she loves, one book she hates, and what she’s reading now, and I gave her three personalized recommendations for what she should read next.

This episode is going to remind you about all the books that made YOU first fall in love with reading. You can listen on iTunes, in your favorite podcast app (this is mine), or right here on the web.

On the blog:

Quick Lit is happening on the blog, on Sunday May 15. Get your posts (and your TBR lists) ready!

One year ago: MBTI: strengths :: enneagram: motivations.

Two years ago: The best way to decorate. This will never be wrong.

Three years ago: Bad for the game: women, work, and hockey.

Four years ago: How to find your passion (even if you hate the passion question).

Have a great weekend!

8 comments

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  1. Rebecca says:

    Loved and completely agree with the Marie Kondo article…thanks for the link! In her favor, she did force me to change my purging question from “Will I ever possibly need this again?” to “How do I envision this being used in the future?”

  2. Valerie says:

    I loved the Marie Kondo article. I am admittedly a KonMari fan and also an HSP, who likes a serene environment which I never completely have. But this article is great food for thought. Having a tidy home won’t, in itself, lead to spiritual awakening or a meaningful life and that’s a great reminder. But I think she misses a few important points. Why reduce your stuff? So you’re spending less time house cleaning in the end, less time losing things, dealing with things, etc. And I think in the process of reducing your stuff, you learn what matters to you, letting go of extraneous things and focusing on what you love in life. At least that’s the idea! But this hints at another truth – that maybe we should all be focused less on perfection or “getting there” and more on enjoying life along the way.

  3. Kim says:

    My husband konmaried his office and closet. He calls it the “calimari” method. He’s just as fussy as me so he likes the method. He never really gets hung up on gender stuff.

  4. Wendy says:

    Terrific links, as always. I easily get lost wandering your blog, what with all the great “one year ago today” links and the interesting discussions your posts often prompt. Not to mention the hour I just spent trying to figure out if I’m an Enneagram type 4 or 9. (Definitely another INFP though!)

    I used to be in a co-ed book club, and I loved it. When we dropped from about 40% male to only 10%, we really lost something, and I didn’t stick with it much longer. I have a friend who’s in a couples’ book club, and I’m so envious. My husband doesn’t read for pleasure, so I’d need to borrow someone else’s husband to join! I love the spirit behind the all-male book clubs in the article you linked.

    Question–as a book blogger, I post weekly mini-reviews of what I’ve read. Would it be appropriate to link up this week’s with your Quick Lit post? Or should it be more specifically written for the link-up?

  5. I’m happy to read Valerie’s defense of the tidying book. I loved Kondo’s book precisely because its method keeps us free from constant housekeeping. Lots more room for dreams and adventure without being weighed down by stuff. (PS, I’ve read off and on for some time but just started listening to the podcast. SO good. The formula is perfection and gets me so excited to read. Your Instagram feed is also sheer delight.)

  6. I’m in a local co-ed book club that’s probably about 50/50 men/women, though I’d never stopped to think about it before. It’s disappointing to read about the men’s book club that doesn’t read books by or about women. Isn’t part of the benefit of reading to get inside the heads of other people? How can anyone learn to appreciate the vast breadth of literature centering on female characters if it’s all off the table to begin with?

  7. Asha says:

    “We read ‘Water for Elephants once. It was a huge mistake.” LOL! Just thinking about a group of men sitting around talking about this cracks me up.

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