Here are my goodreads reviews. If you’re on goodreads, add me as a friend so I can see your books too! I also have an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.
Brunch and Other Obligations (4 stars): “Brick by brick, their ideas about who they should be cover up who they really are.”
I loved both the cover and blurb of this book and as the shelter-in-place due to pandemic continues here in California, I find myself reaching for books that promise to comfort me. This looked to be just the recipe for that.
And it didn’t disappoint.
This is the story of three women each of whom is best friends with Molly but the three are not friends with each other. Molly passes away and leaves each of them a thing and a little note. She also asks them to meet once a month for breakfast.
The story is the year during which these non-friends meet monthly, go through their own journey of recovering from the grief of losing their best friend, and also try to uncover the reason Molly chose to give that particular gift.
“In some friendships, honesty is the same as love.”
The story flows easily and the characters are real and flawed and frustrating and lovable. There are parts where the writing got in the way for me and jarred me out of the story. There were bits where I wish the author had gone deeper.
But overall, I enjoyed my time with this cozy, sweet story.
with gratitude to netgalley and She Writes Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
An Artful Path to Mindfulness (5 stars): I am a huge, giant fan of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). A few years ago, I was really really struggling at work which ended up impacting my life and made me extremely unhappy. I was lucky that my company offers a free MBSR course, so I took the eight-week course and it completely changed my life. My sadness went away, I slept better and felt hopeful again.
As a person who loves art (and MBSR) and introspection, this book feels like it’s written for me. Much like the MBSR curriculum, this is a nine-week course with specific activities each week. Each week contains some movement/meditation, some art, some journaling.
You can of course read the book cover to cover for the takeaways and new ways to approach mindfulness, but my personal recommendation would be to do the book slowly, intentionally as it’s written to be used. The biggest part of the MBSR course, for me, was making the time 3x a week, for so many weeks in a row, to be present and silent and aware again and again. This is always a practice so the repetition and continual showing up is a crucial part of the experience.
with gratitude to netgalley and New Harbinger for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Mastering the Art of Perspective (5 stars): I have been learning to draw for years and years and years. I am especially interested in urban sketching or other ways to draw scenes and places. The two hardest parts of drawing scenes, for me, are the people and getting the perspective right.
Perspective is exceptionally challenging, for me, so I was excited to see this very step by step and very logical way to see and use perspective. This book breaks the different types of perspective (single, two point, three point) into very clear step-by-step explanations. If you follow instructions meticulously (as the author recommends) it helps give a very clear way to understand perspective.
And then, as with all things, repetition is how we master it.
If you’re struggling with perspective like I have been, this is an excellent place to start.
with gratitude to netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.
If I Never Met You (3 stars): This was a lovely story and I really enjoyed my time with it. The only reason I didn’t give it a higher rating is because I’ve read many stories with this plot (in fact the same exact plot) before and they were just as enjoyable so this didn’t stand out in any way for me. It was a fun, sweet story and if you like something light and sweet (which i definitely did) you will enjoy this.
Crochet (4 stars): If this beautiful and colorful book doesn’t get you motivated to crochet, I don’t know what will. This is a well-rounded book that covers all the basics (types of yarn, washing instructions, color choices), all the stitches (very basic to pretty complicated) and then has lots and lots of ideas.
I will admit that while I remember how to knit, I can’t seem to remember how to crochet and the diagrams in this book weren’t enough to get me there. I had to look up a few basic stitches in video format so I could really follow. Once I got the gist of it, it got easier.
The projects in this book are really beautiful with a very wide variety and skill level. There are clothes, pillows, blankets, bags, jewelry items, toys and more. I loved so many of the ideas that I wish my experience with crochet was strong enough to do them all now. I can’t wait to work my way through this book.
with gratitude to netgalley and DK publishing for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.
Providence (3 stars): I’ve read two if Barry’s books (Jennifer Government and Lexicon) both of which I liked. Providence was totally different from both of them and much more like a Space Opera. The use of language and the pacing were very similar to Barry’s other books and are often the best parts of reading one of his novels, for me. There were some interesting twists in this story and I enjoyed the time I spent with it, however I don’t think it will end up staying with me for very long.
And there we go, grateful to be reading.
Books I Read this Week 2020 is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here. I am also tracking my books in real time on Good Reads here. If you’re on Good Reads add me so I can follow you, too! I’ve also started an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.
Here are my goodreads reviews. If you’re on goodreads, add me as a friend so I can see your books too! I also have an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.
Fierce, Free and Full of Fire (4 stars): “When this environment gets one part of you but that environment gets another, when you tuck away one piece in front of this crew but pull it out proudly for that one, when the hidden you is screaming in protest because she is not allowed to speak, whatever felt solid about your core self-dismantles. This is an unhappy, unhealthy way to live.”
Even though I’m not Jen Hatmaker’s usual demographic, I’ve read and really enjoyed several of her books. Regardless of my background or beliefs, she usually has sound advice/perspective and as with all self-help books (which this definitely leans towards being) I can choose what works for me and leave the rest.
And there’s plenty of great advice in this book.
It’s structured around basic tenets like “I am wired this way”, “I deserve goodness” or “I need more connection.” Each chapter covers an area and each area offers a combination of Jen’s thoughts, a researcher or some science and then Jen’s personal stories. Many of them have things you can do to help yourself, shift your thinking, or next steps you can take.
There was a lot here and I highlighted much of the book. All told in Jen’s typical honest, straightforward and funny style. While there might not be a lot of new ideas here if you’ve been following Jen for a while, the book is organized in a way that makes the content really easy to consume. As many of these were not new to me, I found myself wishing for more. I wished her personal stories went deeper. I wished there were a handful of other stories, too. In some cases, where my issue was similar to hers, her words were very resonant and help me get a pep talk. In others, where my style/issues might be different, I found myself wishing for more.
The last part where she lists her single sentence for each chapter was very powerful and brought so much of the guidebook part back in focus for me. After seeing that, I almost found myself wishing there were little pause moments at the end of each chapter for Jen to do more of that with an encouragement for the reader to do the same along the way instead of at the very end when there’s just so much to process.
As with her other books, I enjoyed my time with this one, took a lot of notes, and have much to think about. Here’s to more of us being fierce, free and full of fire.
With gratitude to netgalley and Nelson Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Mum & Dad (4 stars): This was my first Joanna Trollope novel and I really enjoyed this layered story about family, legacy, adolescence, marriage, and the layers and layers of lives we each live.
This story is about Gus and Monica who are living in Spain, running a vineyard. Their three children, Jack, Katie, and Sebastian and their families. There are a lot of characters in the story between the parents, their kids, he kids’ partners, and the kid’s children, there are 13 right there. Then there is the help staff in the house in Spain which has at least 2 more main characters. Amazingly, I had no trouble keeping track of any of them.
Some characters are better developed than others and there are a handful that I definitely wished I could learn more about (Daisy and Nic come to mind.) But each of the characters are quite distinct and the story is mostly about the parents and their three kids in trying to decide what will happen now that the father has had a stroke.
I liked the way the story shows how each character has a complicated life and many different things they are juggling at the same time, some great, some really hard. In life, most of the time, this is the case and then something big happens (like the stroke) and it just mixes in with all the other big and small things that are already happening to you so you have to sort through it all. I felt that part was really realistic and well done.
By the end of the story, I was invested in each of the characters and really enjoyed this family story and stayed up way too late to finish it.
with gratitude to netgalley and Mantle for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book does exactly what it promises. It breaks down the steps of creating a small, expressive face into small, consumable parts. It gives you many different permutations of face shapes, eyes, noses, mouths, and hair. It covers shades of skin and also mentions a few tips when using a real person as a reference.
Each of the sections is very simplified to show you how much can be done with simple steps. As with everything else, the key here is practice practice practice. These look easy but are often not until it’s become second nature which takes a lot of practice. It also takes practice to notice subtle differences across features and to notice shade variations.
There are also a lot of details in the author’s drawings that are not outlined like many ways to draw hats, jewelry, glasses, beards, etc etc. but this is a fantastic starter book to use to draw your first 1000 faces. After which you can worry about how to add more and more detail.
With gratitude to netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group for an advanced copy in return for an honest review.
The Sun Down Motel (4 stars): I really enjoyed my time with this mystery novel with a paranormal element. Lately, it’s rare to find a story that doesn’t have a mind-bending twist or some story element that makes you revisit the whole book. This one, however, is not like that. It’s just a straightforward, awesome mystery. Solid on both character development and plot and with pacing that felt just right for me.
Redhead by the Side of the Road (4 stars): Anne Tyler is one of my favorite authors. Her ability to write books about ordinary people, ordinary places, and ordinary lives is unparalleled. I always find myself thinking about her characters long after I finish one of her stories. My biggest beef with this novel is that it was a novella. It felt like a long, beautiful character study. And I loved it and wished there was more.
Undercover Bromance (4 stars): I love and adore this series. The books are fun, the characters are three dimensional, the dialogue is realistic. There are many laugh out loud funny moments in it and some deep, real messages too. It’s a unique talent to be able to do all of this in one book, and the author hits the ball out of the park every time.
Navigate Your Stars (5 stars): A beautiful, moving commencement speech and beautiful art that goes along with it. A great story about working hard, learning the value of being yourself, and understanding the complex choices we each navigate with where we are, what we have, and who came before us.
And there we go, grateful to be reading.
Books I Read this Week 2020 is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here. I am also tracking my books in real time on Good Reads here. If you’re on Good Reads add me so I can follow you, too! I’ve also started an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.
Prompt: Play – 02 | What are your childhood memories of play and playing?
One of my most favorite toys as a kid was the Speak and Spell Electronic Game. I remember seeing it during our trip to America and begging my parents to get it for me. When a few weeks later I received it for my birthday, it was the best present I had had in years.
I played with that toy for months. Especially as a non-American, it was one of the best ways to learn how to spell words that were new to me. And having a toy that spoke out loud was extremely rare in those days, not to mention one that was so computer-like.
Maybe this was my first foray into computers and my first glimpse into the joy they gave me. Or maybe it was just a really fun way to learn. Either way, some of my best childhood playing memories have this toy in them.
This year I am planning to do something different than last year. Around last September, I stopped taking a lot of daily photos which then meant I also stopped scrapbooking. I have several of the Story Kit’s piled up. So I decided to switch gears a bit and see if I can use Ali’s prompts to tell my stories. I might (or might not) also turn them into scrapbook pages. In the meantime, I will just enjoy telling my stories.
Stories from 2020 is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here. The prompts are from Ali’s Story Kits unless mentioned otherwise. I have started an instagram account for these, we’ll see if I keep it up.
Weekly Intention: As I am shifting away from some of the most intense work (hopefully) at work, my intention is to continue to establish some routine. The yoga, the walks, the drawing, the food. Let’s continue that. Let’s also add journaling and some other exercise. Some kid time. Let’s see how I can get there.
This month’s intention is:Call of the Wild: Go on adventures. Venture out into the wild. It’s calling for you. Where are you holding back? Well now, it’s going to be hard to venture into the wild. But maybe I can think of ways to bring more of the wild inside? Longer walks. Maybe I can think of where I am holding back?
One way I will show up this week: patient.
I will go into the wild: for now i will continue my daily walks and sit in the back yard when possible.
This week, I will pay attention to: establishing more of my routine and also to my tone.
One new thing I will begin this week: the MBSR exercises/journaling.
One magic I will create: the 100 days of noticing is great. maybe i can get something else for my desk? Some smells?
One thing I hope to release: still each day i will let go of it all and start over.
One thing I will join in on: more of my high school zooms, maybe a kids’ school one, too?
One area I will practice being open: the future of all this.
I am looking forward to: getting some fresh groceries + flowers.
This week’s challenges: balancing work and personal time.
Top Goals: i am going to continue to do the next right thing everywhere i can.
I will focus on my values (love, learn, peace, service, gratitude): i am getting to lean into all of these right now.
This week, I want to remember: that everything is going to be ok and that this is the time to lean into love and kindness and generosity.
Living Wild is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here.
The Wildest Part of this Week was: I’ve been behind. I keep meaning to write and then the weekend comes and goes and I just don’t manage to write. I am not even sure how I can call out a particular part of the week as wild anymore as we’re all living in new normals where it all feels pretty wild and pretty normal all jumbled into one.
Top Goals Review: still actively doing covid work.
I celebrate: getting a whole weekend without work this weekend, the first in a few weeks.
I am grateful for: for being safe. for my family. for some downtime this weekend.
This week, I exercised: i started doing daily yoga this week and am still taking the walks with Jake. That’s about it here.
This week, I answered the Call of the Wild: Just the fresh air I get from being outside, not much of wild here.
I embracedSilence of the Wilderness: I did some scrapping this weekend, some OLW journaling and i have plans for this coming week.
This week’s Wildcard was: no major wildcards this week.
I said yes to: joining a zoom call with several of my highschool friends. it was lovely.
I said no to: going out i guess. i haven’t been anywhere except the perimeter of my house in a long long while.
Core Desired Feelings (leap, soft, release, join, delight) Check-in: i am working on doing all of these. taking a leap wherever i can at the moment. trying to release the anxiety i have. being soft with myself and my family. and joining whenever i can. the delight is mostly limited to flowers at the moment. oh and delighting my son with all the hardware i have at home.
My mood this week was: still pretty tired.
I am proud of: all that we got done this month, it was intense
I release: any anxiety around the future. the future is unknown so i can’t control it by being anxious, i am going to try to take it as it comes.
Here’s what I learned this week: i learned that i look for ways to be anxious, no matter the path i take.
What I love right now: I love the warm weather. i love my family. i am so grateful.
Weekly Review 2020 is a year-long project for 2020. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here.
Here are my goodreads reviews. If you’re on goodreads, add me as a friend so I can see your books too! I also have an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.
Eight Perfect Murders (3 stars): So there were parts of this story I loved. The premise was excellent and it started strong and funny and interesting. And there were a handful of fun twists. But then I felt it devolved. So I feel torn that it had both excellent parts and parts I rolled my eyes. This book mentions so many books that, it was a worthwhile read just on the book recommendations alone.
Last Couple Standing (2.5 stars): This story, while a fun read, turned out to be more stereotypical than I would have liked. The lessons learned and the ways in which the characters made mistakes and learned from them and the conclusions they came to were all reasonably predictable for me. I enjoyed my time with it but it just wasn’t anything new.
The Glass Hotel (4.5 stars): Emily St. John Mandel has such a way with words and imagery that it’s not possible to not be in awe of her writing. Her characters are always memorable and her imagery is always so evocative. I loved this story about the Ponzi scheme and how it unravels all the different people it touches. The whole story was beautifully told, going back and forth in time but several scenes stood out especially strong for me. The 24 hours before the whole thing comes apart and all the ways in which the people who work in the company prepare for it was an exceptional scene.
Showing Vincent’s life before, during, and after was a great way to anchor this story to one character and made me, as a reader, experience it more profoundly.
It’s wonderful to see that while subject was wildly different than Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel’s new book was just as engaging, well-written, evocative, with richly developed characters and had some of the same etherial feelings. I cannot wait to read more of her.
Daisy Cooper’s Rules for Living (3 stars): This story took a long long time for me to get into. I loved the blurb around it being like Bridget Jones meets The Good Place and alas I felt like it was like neither. So I feel the blurb was a disservice in this case. There were funny moments and touching moments in this book and some very sad ones too. By the time I finished it, I thought the end also was poignant but it took too too long to get there imho.
The Sweeney Sisters (4 stars): “That’s the luxury that men have. They can be awful and beloved. Women don’t get that kind of leeway.”
I really enjoyed this story of three sisters who lose their father who also happens to be a very famous author. The story begins as each sister hears the news and they come together to figure out next steps and expands out when they find out about the fourth sister.
I liked the way the story brought together so many dynamics: each sister’s individual story of how their own life and path is unfolding, their way of dealing with the loss of their dad and their way of dealing with the news/interactions with the new sister. The way they can be seen both as individuals and also as a unit of 3+1 is well done in the story.
“Liza, who felt like she’d been hiding in her own life for a decade, was not having trouble staying quiet.”
While the story didn’t have any shocking twists and turns, I loved that some of the ways in which the story unfolded were more unexpected and thus opened the mind of the reader to the fact that there’s possibly more that’s going on here than meets the eye (as there often is in the real world.) I loved that there weren’t stereotypically good or evil characters. Each character was layered and textured and complex.
“Over the course of Serena’s lifetime, it seemed like families were allowed to be more complicated, less cookie-cutter versions of one mom, one dad, loving siblings version of previous generations.”
This story of family, sisterhood, life and mistakes is sweetly told and as a reader, I got more and more attached to the characters as the story unfolded and I found myself rooting for each of them.
With gratitude to netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.
And there we go, a little bit of reading.
Books I Read this Week 2020 is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here. I am also tracking my books in real time on Good Reads here. If you’re on Good Reads add me so I can follow you, too! I’ve also started an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.
There are many things that make me, me. Like loving my family, working hard, being reliable, helping others, showing up, finishing things, doing it anyway. These are the pieces of who I am and they all make up what’s important to me.
But at the core of everything is my burning desire to grow. To learn more, to do better, to be better. Intentional growth is the fuel that keeps me going. Setting goals and creating projects that enable those goals is who I am. It’s what makes me, me.
I’ve learned over the years that if I wait to be in the mood to do something, I will likely wait forever. There are very, very few things I am in the mood to do. However there are many, many things I am very happy to have done. Even the things I love doing can fall into that category: like art and reading. It’s easy for me to not want to do anything. But when I look back at all that I did, I am always unequivocally happy and proud and grateful.
So I set intentions, I make plans, I get intentional.
This is how I grow and learn and become the person I hope to be. This is the biggest part of what makes me, me.
This year I am planning to do something different than last year. Around last September, I stopped taking a lot of daily photos which then meant I also stopped scrapbooking. I have several of the Story Kit’s piled up. So I decided to switch gears a bit and see if I can use Ali’s prompts to tell my stories. I might (or might not) also turn them into scrapbook pages. In the meantime, I will just enjoy telling my stories.
Stories from 2020 is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here. The prompts are from Ali’s Story Kits unless mentioned otherwise. I have started an instagram account for these, we’ll see if I keep it up.
Here are my goodreads reviews. If you’re on goodreads, add me as a friend so I can see your books too! I also have an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird (3 stars): There’s something about Josie Silver’s characters and writing that doesn’t fully resonate with me. I felt the same way with her previous book. But also, just like the previous one, I loved the poignancy of the ending, what she says about relationships, and the lessons her characters learn/grow into by the end. I love the endings of her books. And this one was no exception. If you liked the previous one, I am confident you will like this one, too.
The Silent Treatment (5 stars): “Because that is what love is, isn’t it? Giving without receiving. Of course, there is always the hope of receiving. Tiny, precious, fragile. You can be batted away a thousand times and still it will be there, too.”
Oh my. I read this book in one sitting and it broke my heart to a million pieces. By the end, I was sobbing. I don’t want to give too much away of the plot. This is basically a story about marriage and parenting. The way I felt about this story was the way I felt as I was reading Normal People. It’s a book I loved unequivocally and a book that I can’t see is not for everyone. There are also deeply sad and triggering subjects in the book.
‘“I like that.” Your voice is barely above a whisper. “The little things that no one sees that could make the biggest change of all.”’
This book is about how relationships are hard and communication is hard, and about the little (or big) secrets to keep from each other. Sometimes to spare the other person’s feelings. But so many times to ensure that the way they feel about us (and the way they see us) doesn’t change. So many times it’s out of fear. Out of love. Out of loneliness. Out of feeling alone and as if we are the only one. It’s about how relationships can go awry and how secrets breed other secrets and how shame loves secrecy.
“If you put shame in a Petri dish, it needs three things to grow exponentially: secrecy, silence and judgment. If you put the same amount of shame in a Petri dish and douse it with empathy, it can’t survive,” says Dr. Brene Brown And this book is exactly about that. The secrecy, silence and worry around judgement. And the impact of that on a marriage.
“it’s that try as we might, there would always be some part of Eleanor that resided in the wilds outside our reach.”
It’s also about parenthood. About how hard it is. About how little control we have over who our kids turn out to be, about what happens to them, about our ability to parent them. This book is deeply about the impact a kid can have on his/her parents and on their marriage.
“He is coming to realize that there is a lot about Maggie that he never fully understood, a row of blanks in the crossword of their life together that are still empty.”
The writing in this story is really beautiful. Touching, poignant, heartbreaking, flowing and it grabs you and doesn’t let you go until the end. Much like “Normal People” it’s about how broken we all are, and how when you put two broken people together and have them love each other fiercely, they can still manage to break each other in the process. We are all flawed and we don’t always know how to do the right things.
“Frank, of all people, knows how it feels to be isolated by a secret.”
I loved every bit of this story and may I never get to experience many of the sorrows in the book and may i learn to ask for help, for forgiveness and may i have the courage to douse my shame with empathy when I invariably make mistakes.
Thank you to netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Untamed (5 stars): Glennon has a way with words. She can articulate all of the things I’m feeling in just the right way and make me feel less alone and more understood in three pages than anyone ever has. She shares her life’s journey and choices and learnings and lessons with such humor and grace and authenticity that I am ever so grateful for writers like her. Anyone who can make me feel less alone in the world is a gift.
In Five Years (3.5 stars): I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I was going to. I was worried it would be sappy once I started it and saw where it was going, but it wasn’t melodramatic and had a lot of sweet real moments. It wasn’t perfect and some moments felt sappy. I thought it was going to be more like Sliding Doors than it was but still glad I read it.
And there we go, a little bit of reading.
Books I Read this Week 2020 is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here. I am also tracking my books in real time on Good Reads here. If you’re on Good Reads add me so I can follow you, too! I’ve also started an instagram account where I join my love of reading with my love of art.
Prompt: Move – 02 | Tell a story of the last time you were really moved by a comment, movie, song, etc.
My husband has been obsessed with rock climbing for the last two years. He spends hours and hours and hours of his week climbing. During this time, he watched tons of movies about climbing and for reasons that aren’t clear to me, I refused to watch them with him.
Finally, a few months ago, I decided I was going to get on board and start watching some of these movies.
He started with “Dawn Wall” which he said was his favorite of all of them. In the beginning of the movie, I was thinking that I would not end up liking this movie and it was just a favor to my husband. But within 30 minutes I was not only captivated by the climber’s crazy life but also by his determination. As I got more and more involved in his story, what ended up moving me the most was his determination to share this journey with his climbing partner and his unwillingness to leave him behind. It made me cheer both of them on with all my heart.
“Dawn Wall” was my favorite movie of 2019. I loved every minute of it. I am so glad I finally gave up my stubbornness and was open to sharing this amazing movie with my husband
This year I am planning to do something different than last year. Around last September, I stopped taking a lot of daily photos which then meant I also stopped scrapbooking. I have several of the Story Kit’s piled up. So I decided to switch gears a bit and see if I can use Ali’s prompts to tell my stories. I might (or might not) also turn them into scrapbook pages. In the meantime, I will just enjoy telling my stories.
Stories from 2020 is a year-long project for 2019. You can read more about my projects for 2020 here. The prompts are from Ali’s Story Kits unless mentioned otherwise. I have started an instagram account for these, we’ll see if I keep it up.
