Alternately Titled: Life is Busy, but I Really Miss Blogging
Let’s pretend we’re just two friends meeting at Starbucks to catch up… It’s blasted 90 degrees here still (don’t get me started), so I’d be back with my old Iced Coffee regular. Anyway, I want to write more, but I just can’t (papers to grade, laundry to do, you know the drill), so here’s what I’ve got today — a fun round up of books, blog posts, audiobooks, podcasts, and – of course – so many thoughts about the This Is Us season premiere. ***
Reading:
My reading life has drastically slowed down since school started (i.e. I’m still reading The Hate U Give), but I’m squeezing in about a chapter of something most nights before bed, because I just really love it. I also recently grabbed This Is Where You Belong by Melody Warnick (who just lives write up the interstate from me and writes all about loving the place you live) because it was on super Kindle Sale, and I couldn’t resist.
This week I also picked up FOUR new books from the library (and a fifth became available on Overdrive) that I’d been anxiously stalking (no joke, I checked back every day to see when they went from “being catalogued” to “available” so I could be first on the list), and I am SO excited to dig into them. They are: Little Fires Everywhere, Young Jane Young, Jen Hatmaker’s Of Mess & Moxie, Gretchen Rubin’s latest The Four Tendencies, and Brene Brown’s Braving the Wilderness. I’ve never been one to read multiple books at once really, but I just get so excited when I hear about a new great title or find a steal. Books are my weakness… I’m forcing myself to STOP buying books until I catch up a little, but clearly that’s not preventing me from getting them at the library. Seriously, it’s out of control…. There are worse things to be addicted to though, you know? 😉
Have you read any of these? Where should I start? Help me!
Honestly, I’m not doing a ton of blog/article reading lately; but, here are a few things I have enjoyed in the last several weeks —
“The Importance of Being Alone” and “The Pursuit of Loneliness”
“How to Talk to Kids about Tragedy and National Disaster: Helpful Tips and Resource
“Time in the Saddle” (on motherhood)
“Maybe We Need a Little Less Balance”
And just for fun… “20 Literary Would-You-Rathers”
Listening:
I’ve been a fan of audiobooks and podcasts for forever, but they are especially saving my life these days when time for long form reading is sparse (but I want to read all the time). My Audible pick this month was – of course – Ann Bogel’s brand new book Reading People. I’m about halfway done and enjoying the basic discussion/introduction to personality talks. It’s a great starting point for someone who wants to learn more! I also started The Year of Living Danishly (it’s been on my list for a while and was on sale last week), and it’s fascinating.
There’ve been plenty of great podcast episodes in my earbuds lately too… In particular, I loved Glennon Doyle being interviewed by Jen Hatmaker, Nate Berkus on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday, Catherine Lowe (from The Bachelor) on The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey, The Art of Simple’s discussion on Extracurriculars, and Sarah R. Bagley on Perfectionist with The Coffee and Crumbs girls. I also laughed out loud multiple times listening to The Popcast’s Nos of Social Media. I’m still loving Best of Both Worlds (every episode); and, when I need a 15-minute “calm down,” I’m loving Emily Freeman’s peaceful voice and important message on her new show The Next Right Thing. (See, it’s not all work around here.)
< BTW: I’m planning to go to Nest Fest at Myquillin’s farm on October 21st to meet some of the lovely authors, bloggers, and podcasters mentioned above (i.e. Ann Bogel, Tsh Oxenreider, Emily Freeman, etc.)… Anyone else going?!? Tickets are cheap!! >
Watching:
I’ve been so busy putting library books on hold and listening to podcasts lately (just kidding… sort of), so I’m not watching much TV at all. BUT, I definitely made time for the Season 2 Premiere of This Is Us. Jeff and I rarely find a show that we can watch together, and truth be told he is mostly just humoring me, but we caught up on Season 1 a few weeks OK and then settled in for an hour on the couch together (something we hardly ever do) on Tuesday night. << AND NOW I TALK ABOUT ALL THE THINGS… SPOILERS AHEAD>> I pretty much cry every episode, but it’s usually not until the end. This one had me in tears halfway through though when Randall was talking to his mom about adoption. Geez Louise! I wonder how much adoption rates will increase nationwide as a result of this show?!? Then… When Rebecca showed up at Miguel’s house to get Jack and refused to leave without him, I bawled again. I love the message this show has about marriage. It is messy and ugly, but WORTH fighting for. I don’t think we see that enough in mainstream media today, and I honestly think it’s the main reason people are so attracted to this show. I love it. Then, of course, the end. I can’t even talk about it… Was that their house?!?! I’ve had a lot of hypotheses about how Jack would die, but a fire was NOT one of them. I’m sure they will drag out that story all season, I just hope my nerves and emotions can handle it… One last thing — as much as I adore this show, I just cannot get behind the plot-line of Rebecca marrying Miguel. WHY did they do that?!? There were some endearing scenes with him towards the end of Season 1, but I just hate it. I trust the writers though – they haven’t let me down yet – so I’m anxious to see how they weave all that in. Maybe they will change my mind. What did you think?!?! Can we please talk about this?
On an unrelated note… What do you think about Ari being the new Bachelor? Will you watch? I’m undecided.
Ok. That’s all for now… Thanks for giving me a little bit of your (busy) day here!
Hopefully there will be more to come… (Maybe a “What I Wish I Was Buying for Fall – If Fall Ever Actually Comes” post soon… and something decently well-written/serious?)
Love you guys,
E