Awoken

Three screenshots of my Overdrive app

This post is just a great big dump of all the books that have crossed my path in the past couple of months.

I love that I discovered Overdrive this past year (ebooks are actually not as horrible as I thought they would be; give it a try if you're wary and at least just see what you think!). But I'm also returning to my first love of actual paper copies and it is something lovely.

I showed up early to a dinner date with a friend the other day and got to browse at a nearby thrift store. My soul was awoken simply from getting to touch old fabric-bound classics and skimming book titles with my head turned sideways.

In this last year I've seriously ramped up on my plugged-in time (e.g., blogging, Instagram, texting, even some Facebook when I'm feeling crazy (!)), which for me has actually been good. But when I feel myself getting too wired, I know it's time to pull back, and some of the ways I do that is: (1) get back to reading paper books, (2) consolidating social media and blog reading to certain times of the day, (3) turning on Do Not Disturb and airplane mode as needed.

(It's crazy how something as simple as touching a natural material - e.g., paper made from trees - is at once calming and enlivening, versus touching plastic and glass.)

It's an interesting dance to figure out how to incorporate technology, to find that sweet spot where it's assisting you in your goals without sucking the marrow out of your soul.

David and I have been having some conversations (on the RoCast, our private podcast where we pretend we are famous like Rob Bell and we record ourselves using the Voice Memo app) about technology and the resulting loss of community and connection for Millennials especially, because of where we fall between two differing generations.

Anyway, I'm still figuring out the best way to share what I'm reading, but until then, here's a dump of EVERYTHING. Please chime in with any of your thoughts and/or suggestions!

Books I've finished in the last couple months

1. The Magic of Motherhood by Ashlee Gadd and the Coffee+Crumbs Team (own this, love it; it would be a great baby shower gift)
2. Quiet by Susan Cain (mentioned in a recent post of mine)
3. Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari (it was entertaining to read something that is so Aziz; also, enlightening to see how relationships have changed as a result of technology; the fact that texting > phone calls in 2007 explains my life.)
4. Nine Women One Dress by Jane L. Rosen (fun breezy read)
5. The Nesting Place by Myquillyn Smith (I love how Myquillyn explains how you should think about decorating, which applies to anyone no matter your style; my take-aways are It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful, you can't ruin something you already hate, just get started, you will have to make nail holes in your house and that's okay, try to do as much as you can yourself and save only what you must to bug your husband to do)
6. The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile (great modern intro to the Enneagram)
7. Chasing Slow by Erin Loechner (surprised me with its tone and overall was just a unique/interesting read; I wasn't familiar with her before so that perhaps affected my read)

Books that got returned to the library before I finished them (for one reason or another!)

1. Notes from a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenreider
2. Falling Free by Shannan Martin
3. Untethered by Julie Lawson Timmer
4. An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor (This book really resonated with me and I think I'd like to try to check out a paper copy in the future)
5. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
6. A Million Little Ways by Emily P. Freeman
7. How to Manage Your House Without Losing Your Mind by Dana K. White
8. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
9. Organized Simplictiy by Tsh Oxenreider

Books I have on hold

1. All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg
2. Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
3. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
4. No Drama Discipline by Daniel J. Siegal (book club book for an online group that I'm lurking in and thinking of jumping in on?)

Books that I found at the thrift store the other day (I thought it was a lucky day, but maybe it's just the good side of town, ha)

1. Big Magic by Liz Gilbert (hard cover!) - gave it to a friend and also currently re-reading; I mentioned that it was one of the most influential books I read in 2016.
2. Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster (also hard cover! can't have too many copies of my 67th favorite book, lol)
3. Rising Strong by Brené Brown (also hard cover!) - I'm reading this right now and it's amazing, if anyone cares to join along!
4. Quiet by Susan Cain (ask me if you want to borrow it!)
5. The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones

Books I'm reading now

1. Big Magic by Liz Gilbert (re-read; well, I did listen to the audiobook the first time, which was awesome, so this is my first time actually reading)
2. Rising Strong by Brené Brown
3. Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham (just got this today)
4. Your Are Your Child's First Teacher by Rahima Baldwin Dancy (also just got this today)

P.S. Our favorite children's book that we recently discovered: Nanette's Baguettes

P.P.S. Links are Amazon affiliate links. You won't spend extra if you purchase anything through these links, but a percentage of the sale will go to supporting the aforementioned RoCast. Just kidding. Maybe.