a lifestyle blog for book lovers

What I’m into (May 2014 edition)

moving day

Linking up with Leigh Kramer to share what I’ve been into lately.

moving day

WE MOVED.

And that is my month in a nutshell.

Sure, we sat out on the patio, walked to the park, cheered on the kids’ baseball teams, and planted tomatoes. But it’s the moving—and the resulting craziness that spilled into every aspect of our lives—that made (or broke?) our May.

anne-bogel-art-of-simple-header

What I’m reading

I frantically finished a few books just before the summer reading guide dropped on May 15. These were books that I was almost certain I wanted to include in the guide, but needed to completely finish to make sure: The Funeral Dress, Creativity, Inc., Wait Till Next Year.

Now that the summer reading guide is yet, I’m diving head-first into my own summer reading list (and my summer syllabus). Currently on my nightstand: I Capture the Castle, Booked, Landline, The Bridge Tender.

And don’t hate me: I started—and abandoned—The Aviator’s Wife. Whatever you call that hyper-specific genre of fiction—the one that houses The Paris Wife, Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, Loving Frank—just isn’t my thing.

I keep remembering books I intend to read this summer that haven’t made my reading lists: All Creatures Great and Small, I Shall Be Near to You, Love and Salt. How long does summer last? I need six months to get through all these books!

Worth watching

I’m not watching anything. Even Emma Approved is on hiatus. What am I missing?

Pinning

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists of building enough bookshelves. - Anne Quindlen

The best way to decorate.

Not a bad summer uniform.

Tis the season.

Cold brew coffee float.

A summer staple.

My mantra in the new house.

If I could wear this every day I would.

Perfection.

Reading nook for the win.

A book page dress.

Follow me on Pinterest here.

Best of the web

I’m totally stealing this awesome idea for summer reading.

Focusing on the end game, not the next move. (Also: 70k for a keynote? Wowzers.)

A must-read if you work at home (or want to someday).

15 reasons to fall in love with The Lizzie Bennet Diaries all over again. As if you needed that many.

Ruch Reichl and Alice Waters talk food and writing.

Can we talk about hair? So perfectly, respectfully irreverent and deep.

A creative, entrepreneurial solution to the disease that nearly did us in.

A peek inside the mother-daughter collaboration that brought us the Little House series. (Oh my stars. Read!)

On the blog

The 5 book summer reading guide. (This was so hard to decide on but I kind of love it.)

How to quit diet coke.

STEM toys for summer.

What’s on MY summer reading list? Because I am nothing if not optimistic.

Self-awareness makes everything better.

Nerdy books to make you smarter this summer.

Moving to Narnia.

What were you into in May?

This post contains my affiliate links. Thanks for supporting MMD!

15 comments

Leave A Comment
  1. Leigh Kramer says:

    When I finally move, I’ll be amazed if my post contains more than “here’s how to link up.” You get lots of bonus points for this! The one show I’m super excited about is So You Think You Can Dance. It kicked off this week and I think you should definitely watch!

  2. Tim says:

    One warning about All Creatures Great And Small: once you read it you’ll immediately gather the other Herriott books and lock yourself in a closet with a flashlight and plenty of batteries until you’re through them all.

    • Liz says:

      Agreed. The thing that I like about the James Herriot books is that each chapter is its own self-contained story, for the most part. I listened to them when I was a young teen, and if you can still find them as an audiobook I highly recommend listening to them. It was a long time ago (think; cassette tapes!) but if I recall the narrator was really good. He did all the thick Yorkshire accents just brilliantly.

  3. Louise says:

    If you never have, you should definitely watch the old TV series All Creatures Great and Small after you finish the books. It’s on Netflix. I grew up watching it (along with Poirot and Miss Marple!), and it’s just lovely. Tristan was my first TV crush, even before Gilbert Blythe!

  4. Jennifer H says:

    A couple of Samuel’s friends at school kept talking about Dr. Who; It’s on Netflix so I told him I’d watch an episode with him to see if it was okay for us. We both got hooked. It’s a cheesy space and time travel BBC series, but there’s something just fun about it. We are now on season 3 (of the newer version – it’s apparently the longest running sci-fi series on TV). There is one episode that was so scary (creep, really) that caused a little problem at bedtime, so keep that in mind when watch with kids. But for you and Will, I say try Dr. Who.

    • Anne says:

      The only reason we haven’t started this yet is I am terrified of getting sucked in! It never occurred to me that Jack might be interested in it though—I’m sure he would be if he knew Samuel was!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

We appreciate a good conversation in the comments section. Whether we’re talking about books or life, differing opinions can enrich a discussion when they’re offered for the purpose of greater connection and deeper understanding, which we whole-heartedly support. However, my team and I will delete comments that are hurtful or intended to shame members of this community, particularly if they are left by first-time commenters. We have zero tolerance for hate speech or bigotry of any kind. Remember that there are real people on the other side of the screen. We’re grateful our community of readers is characterized by kindness, curiosity, and thoughtfulness. Thank you for helping us keep it that way.

Find your next read with:

100 Book recommendations
for every mood

Plus weekly emails with book lists, reading life tips, and links to delight avid readers.