a lifestyle blog for book lovers

Happy April, all! I was tempted to serve you up some snarky links for April Fool’s Day, but resisted the urge. These are truly the best things I read on the internet this week.

My favorite finds from around the web:

• America’s unhealthy obsession with productivity is driving its biggest new reading trend. If you guessed it’s audiobooks, you’re absolutely right. “We are fearful of mono-tasking, find downtime distasteful, and feel anxious around idleness. Even when picking socks from a drawer, young workers feel better if information’s somehow flowing into their brains. And this is exactly the restless market that book publishers need.”

• 8 things whole-hearted creative women do differently. “As I watch, listen, and create, I see a stark difference between the creative women who create from a place of wholeness and those who create from fear.”

• In praise of the book tower. On clutter, collecting, and the infinite stack. (Don’t miss the book tower photos in the house tour she references!)

• 11 Ina Garten recipes you can make in under an hour.

Favorite instagram:

This one from Letterfolk. (This is one of those new slideshow ones—make sure you tap to see all the photos.) Grab the Kleenex first. (Worth it.)

On the blog:

One year ago: When you completely misunderstand what’s going on. This is hard to describe in a nutshell. Here’s my attempt: “Since the fall, we’ve been trying to figure out what lay at the root of Lucy’s objection to fourth grade. We wondered if she was uncomfortable growing up, getting another year older. Some kids are like that. Or if she didn’t want to write a certain essay, or read a certain book…. But that’s not what’s going on at all. She has synesthesia, or at least gives a darn good impression of having it.”

Two years ago: Favorite childhood books you should totally read again.

Three years ago: What’s (always) for dinner? “I’m intrigued by learning what my friend’s families eat for dinner–say, on a regular Tuesday–probably for the same reasons I adore foodie memoirs…. We definitely have staple meals we rely on: food we can get on the table without much hands-on time, without much thought, and without a recipe.”

Four years ago: “Unused creativity isn’t benign. It metastasizes.” Good stuff from Brené Brown.

Have a great weekend!

9 comments

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  1. Michelle says:

    Interesting perception on the boom of audiobooks. I don’t disagree that the authors premise of increased productivity is true for some. It misses those of use who are simply book lovers and want to have as much reading time as possible. The difference is slight, but it’s there. Are you listening to audio books because there’s this unfilled gap in time and idle time simply goes against your nature, or are audiobooks a way of adding additional reading time into your life, something you truly love and do with a passion. Neither is wrong, but they are inharently different.

    I loved the article on book towers! I’ve tried significantly to reduce the ‘stuff’ around me, and it’s been a welcome change. However, the rotating book stacks on the nightstand, beside my reading chair, in the library (several), and a couple others remain. Books are home, they are comfort, they are part of me.

  2. The end of the article on audiobooks annoyed me. Yes, the research shows you can’t do two things at once IF they use the same part of your brain. Jogging or driving is something you can do without conscious concentration, which is why you can think about other things while doing them.

    Also, I agree with Michelle’s comment about the difference between an obsession with productivity and an obsession with reading 🙂

  3. Claire Oman says:

    Oh my heart! The book stacks. Yes to all of it. I have toddlers, so I try to limit the stacks because chewed up books are really not ok, but there are still always a few piles here and there, usually on bookshelves out of reach of little hands. 😉

  4. Hena Tayeb says:

    Great links..
    I have never listened to an audio book.. I am all about multitasking.. but when it comes to reading.. I only want to read. Fully immerse myself in the story.

  5. Lauren says:

    A note on your daughter’s synesthesia – there’s a fantastic novel called A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass about a 13 year old girl who has synesthesia. It’s a lovely book and may be one your daughter enjoys! I can’t remember the content but is probably aimed at a young adult readership, so table it for the future.

  6. Jena Burges says:

    Here is another great link for readers, courtesy of the “Recommendo” newsletter (http://recomendo.com/). As explained below, the site addresses an issue that frequently vexes me when I want to read the next book in a series:
    “Reading tool:
    Amazon does a poor job of presenting book series in order. I wanted the chronological order of Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe novels. The website Order of Books [http://www.orderofbooks.com/] had it, along with many other book series.” — Mark] Frauenfelder

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