Month: December 2019
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The Best Advice My Mother Gave Me
I always enjoy the week between Christmas and the new year. I love the way it helps us let go slowly and say a proper good-bye. My mother was a 7th grade English teacher. If you remember 7th grade English, it was saturated with grammatical work. Proper use of commas, dangling participles and conjugating verbs.…
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My 2020 Unread Book Project
It seems every year I go through the same mental tennis match: ‘Do you REALLY want to set resolutions and goals for January 1? They’re always fraught with so much pressure.’ There is something about a goal set on a random Tuesday that holds more promise of completion for me. That said, I have decided to participate…
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THE SECRET GARDEN by Frances Hodgson Burnett
I was in a bad temper and talking ill of folk and she turns around to me and says ‘Thou doesn’t like this one and thou doesn’t like that one. How does thou like thyself?’ Next year, I am determined to read more classics. When I find myself thinking, ‘Have I read this already?…
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A FINE ROMANCE by Candice Bergen
This has been one of my favorite memoirs to read. The original Murphy Brown TV show came out when I was in the throws of motherhood. I loved watching her show (from a VCR!) The writing was funny and her character helped me feel more secure in my own evolution as a woman. All things seemed…
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Rethinking Small Bedrooms
If you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed I’ve been moving around my ‘library’ and reading corner recently. I’ve tried it in a couple of different areas (always built around natural light options), but I had a little bit of an aha moment (aka: DUH! moment) and wanted to share it with you…
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THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes
Books celebrating books. Authors paying homage to readers. This enticing concoction of book-celebrating is an intoxicating elixir when it occurs in a storyline and The Giver of Stars is no exception. This book is based on a true story in American history. Historical reference: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Works Progress Administration created librarians – primarily…
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WILL MY CAT EAT MY EYEBALLS by Caitlin Doughty
I can NOT stop reading this book, you guys!! Like driving by a car wreck, I keep flipping to the next page after page. It’s so interesting! (Although I’m a big chicken so I can’t read it before bed.) WOULD a cat eat you if you died and weren’t found for a long time and…
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PRAIRIE FIRES by Caroline Fraser
I finished reading a book that left me a little distraught. It was the winner of a Pulitzer Prize, The National Book Critics Circle Award and named one of the New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year. But even more than that, it is a subject that absorbed so much of my childhood,…
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A CHRISTMAS MEMORY by Truman Capote
Illustrator Beth Peck elegantly illuminates the words of Truman Capote as he tells the story of the uniquely loving relationship between seven-year-old, Buddy, and his ‘sixty-something’-year-old distant cousin, living in the same house. ‘We are each other’s best friend.’⠀ They make cakes together every year as the weather turns cold and fly homemade kites when…
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HARRY’S TREES by Jon Cohen
What a fantastic book. It hooked me quickly and kept me on the line the whole way through. What a beautiful celebration of books and nature and great love. ⠀ ⠀”To every story we bring the story of ourselves.”⠀ This book celebrated the freedom of forgiveness. The adventure of reading. The beauty of nature. The cost…
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It never rains in California…
Rain rain rain rain. But at one point in the not so distant past, there was sun. And it played beautifully with the variegation of this Brasil philodendron. Lemon lime in all its glory! ⠀ What’s the weather doing where you are?
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THE GOOD NEIGHBOR by Maxwell King⠀
As Mr. Rogers hits the big screen with the ever-brilliant Tom Hanks as his representative, I thought I’d review a book I read this year – The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers.⠀ Good Neighbor was an in-depth look into Fred Rogers’ life and built a solid foundation as to why Mr.…
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