a lifestyle blog for book lovers

Links I love and what I’m reading this week.

Kristin Harmel books - a current favorite

colorful bookshelves

my new most popular instagram: my newly reorganized living room bookshelves

Favorite finds from around the web:

Have you bought new underwear this year? “In some ways, this question has become an archetype for self care, an example of how women in general and moms specifically tend to put themselves last.”

What your favorite children’s book series says about you. “The series you devoured under the covers, way past your bedtime, flashlight in hand, offers insight into exactly who you are today, now that you’re a real person (“adult”).”

How to simplify your life in 5 minutes a day. “Pause once every hour for one minute to ask, “Is this the most important or valuable thing I could be doing right now?”If the answer is no, simply stop.”

Why we should all start reading paper books again. “Real books allow me to step outside myself and enter someone else’s world. The modern world, after all, can be tiring.”

Of interest:

Tsh at The Art of Simple just launched a new e-course called The Upstream Field Guide. It’s an audio-driven, self-paced course that consists of eight sessions you take over a three-week period (or however long it takes you). It’s all about figuring out who you are, what your purpose is, and how to live in a way that makes sense for you.

Between now and January 31, lifetime access to the course is $59 for you and any family members who want to join you. Register before January 31, and you’ll get Tsh’s newly spruced up ebook One Bite at a Time and the audio of Notes from a Blue Bike for free.

I’m signed up, and I’m most looking forward to the session with my friend and enneagram expert Leigh Kramer.

Kristin Harmel books - a current favorite

What I’m reading this week: 

I’m halfway through Absolutely Truly: A Pumpkin Falls Mystery by Heather Vogel Frederick, author of The Mother Daughter Book Club. It’s one of the books I can’t wait to read in 2015.

I read Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Recommended. More on that next week.

I just started The Girl on the Train and I’m not sure if I want to finish it.

Best of the blog: 

My husband tries the men’s version of Stitch Fix.

I share how I track the books I read, and you leave 134 comments saying how YOU do. (I finally created a new pinterest board for my 2015 reads.)

I set out to bash the capsule wardrobe and find out I’ve accidentally created one for myself.

The new and notable books I’ve been reading lately.

The 2015 Reading Challenge has been updated with a free printable. Get it here.

Have a great weekend!

23 comments

Leave A Comment
  1. Emily says:

    The Life Intended cover is incredibly eye-catching. I’m curious!

    I am happy to have come across the link to: Why we should all start reading paper books again. I don’t own an e-reader for multiple reasons. One thing I do know…that book would be much prettier held in my hand. 🙂

  2. Michelle says:

    I just found your blog and I love it (especially because I’m a fellow INFP!). The Girl on the Train was on my To Read List. Curious as to why you might not finish it — too slow, was the content questionable?

  3. Jess Townes says:

    I love your book journal. I’m a Goodreads quitter, and now thanks to my stellar example, so are my kids. I want to track my reads and I feel the need to track my kids’ reads for their homeschool portfolio. I’m going to try a journal for me (maybe even a page in a Bullet Journal) and this fun full size bookshelf poster for the kids that has blank-spines books you can write titles on as you read them. I’m hoping the large visual is enough of a reminder to use it!

  4. Hope says:

    Anne, would you mind listing the different series on your lovely bookshelf, preferably with links to either Amazon or B&N? I’ve wanted to pick up some of those, ones you posted about after Christmas, but wasn’t sure which ones they were.

    • Anne says:

      I’m posting about this tomorrow, except for the ones on the bottom shelf: those are Mother Daughter Book Club, Little House, and Beverly Cleary.

  5. Leigh Kramer says:

    Thanks for the shout out, Anne! Really curious about why you might not finish Girl on the Train, as I’ve been looking forward to reading it.

    • Anne says:

      How did you feel about Gone Girl? If you loved it, you will LOVE The Girl on the Train. If I’m going to enjoy a book about unlikable people doing unlikable things with snarky narration, the writing needs to be fantastic. The appeal here is in the plot, not the writing. And I found it a wee bit predictable. (That being said, this could be a fantastic movie.)

  6. Em says:

    The article about why we should read real books is so timely for me, because I’m considering moving away from using my Kindle. I love it for its convenience, but the reading experience is unsatisfying in a way that’s difficult to define. It’s as if I’m just reading over the surface of the material, and it’s harder for the words to get off of the screen and into my mind and heart, if that makes any sense.

  7. Emily J says:

    I just finished Girl on the Train, and I agree with your assessment completely. There was one even remotely likable character, and she was secondary. If I hadn’t been reading it for a book club, I would not have finished. Then again I never jumped on the Gone Girl bandwagon, so I guess that kind of book isn’t for me.

  8. Oh my goodness! I saw Absolutely Truly at B&N days before you recommended it, and I decided to get it from the library. I devoured that book and gave it a 5 star rating on GoodReads. I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I did.

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