What I’ve Been Reading Lately
I’m joining in with Anne Bogel at Modern Mrs. Darcy to share short and sweet reviews of what I’ve been reading lately. What have YOU been reading lately?
The Joy of Swimming by Lisa Congdon
I loved this books as both a (former) swimmer and an artist. I love Lisa Congdon’s artwork and the fact that this book was jam packed with interesting facts and stories related to my favorite sport made it just that much better.
Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham
Light and fun, somewhat predictable and thoroughly enjoyable. Lauren Graham is an excellent writer, and I ended up loving this book so much more than I anticipated. The dialogue was fun to read, the characters were so relatable. I really loved this book. (And it’s on sale right now!)
Deep Work
I’m a productivity book addict. This book is an excellent look at why our brains need time set aside for our deep work. Constant interruptions and “multi-tasking” keep us from making progress on our big goals. I found that not everything mentioned in this book is practical for my situation, but a lot of it can be adapted to work even for work at home Mamas. I’ve implemented several of the suggestions from this book already and I’ve talked about it enough that my husband is thinking about implementing a few at his work.
Such a sad story about families and the choices we make to try to make others happy. In this book, we see a tragedy through the eyes of every member of an immediate family. The feeling I had as I finished this book has stayed with me every time I think of it.
This was a very fun read aloud with my kids. Often when we read aloud, my three year old is milling around, being loud and getting into trouble. He has been quoting (at appropriate times) little snippets from this book. So, even he was listening. Here’s a little video of the author reading a scene that we all loved.
Another messy family story. It seems I am drawn to those lately. I wonder what that means…
This is about three generations of women in an Indian family. It’s about family relationships, biological and otherwise. It’s about love and sacrifice and how the decisions we make impact more than just our own lives.
Loving my Actual Life
Great insights into how to love the life you’re actually living, rather than dreaming of how you’d change things. Advice for how to be more present, how to love your people and your house and your work. There’s probably nothing truly groundbreaking, but I’m always fascinated to learn about what specific little changes made a difference in improving peoples’ lives.
This is a heartbreaking and well-written fictionalization of the life of Mitza Einstein, Albert Einstein’s first wife. It is based on many true events and letters the couple wrote back and forth. She was a brilliant physicist as well, and there is some speculation that Einstein stole the Theory of Relativity from her. This book is a version of what could have happened if that were true. It feels so real that I found myself getting angry at real-life Albert Einstein.