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Emily C Gardner

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The Wondering Years by Knox McCoy
25 Bunny Books perfect for Spring
17 Wintery Children’s Books
A Bible Literacy Book Flight
An Epistolary Book Flight

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I wasn’t planning to read any type of goal-setting, kick-bum-at-life book this year because I knew I didn’t need the extra (self-induced) pressure time get it right as we were settling into a new home, new job and new state. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But... Atomic Habits was available on audio and I had heard such good things about it. I’m about halfway through and it’s already know I will purchase a hard copy to refer to again and again. Tiny changes seem manageable and that’s the underlying premise of James Clear’s habit development theory. One of the things I’ve been trying to implement is habit stacking - where you attach a new habit to something you do every day. I’m not good about washing my face at night (because by that time all I want to do is dive under the covers and not reemerge for at least 7 hours). So, I started to wash my face right after we get the kids in bed, before I sit down to read or watch something with my husband. I’ve been at it for over a week and my skin says thanks. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Have you read this one? PS - Swipe for the evolution of this photo. I always add in the book image later using Canva to avoid glare. Normally I screenshot the book in whatever audiobook app I’m using but the cover was super small in Scribd, so I grabbed it somewhere else. I edit my photos using Colorstory.

I love it when some good old fashioned book serendipity happens. We were recently exploring our local indie bookstore (@northshirebooks in Saratoga Springs - it’s amazing!) and I got side tracked from my original mission - to acquire a hard copy of Atomic Habits - by the wall of staff recommendations. I was tempted by a couple and then was drawn to this lovely cover with its summer gardening vibes. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Come to find out it’s the recently released second book by an author I love! Kristin Kimball was a journalist in NYC when she fell in love with a farmer and started a member supported farm together in Upstate New York. Kimball’s first book - THE DIRTY LIFE - chronicles the beginning of their love story and their farm. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’m on chapter 3 and am equally taken by her smart and engaging story telling. And now we live only 2 hours from their farm in Essex. So grateful I ran into this book! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What’s the last book that found you at just the right moment?

Thanks to @tlcbooktours + @harperonebooks for the gifted book. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ As an Enneagram 1 who thrives in structured environments, I’ve always been drawn to spiritual disciplines as a means of connecting with God. Sometimes they have fed my natural bent toward legalism (like if I DO this I will be holier than thou which is NOT how it works...). But increasingly spiritual disciplines have been a means of slowing down and adopting rhythms that orient me toward God’s Truth and peace. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I have historically shied away from fasting as a spiritual discipline because of some disordered eating in the past. However I love how fasting and feasting was woven into the daily lives of God’s people and am curious how that could be adopted healthfully in my life. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Eat, Fast, Feast looks like it might be a good jumping off point for that discussion. Honestly, I don’t care about intermittent fasting as a weight loss tool so I will probably skip those parts... The author does provide a 40-day plan that combines “nutritional keto sis” with spiritual disciplines that would be cool for Lent. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What’s your relationship with spiritual disciplines? (If they are a new concept for you, I really enjoyed Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun.) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #eatfastfeast

This book. Many thanks to Ashley, @sunnystateofbooks, for putting it on my radar. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The Wednesday Wars made my heart ache and swell. It made me laugh out loud and shed actual tears. It reminded me that a caring adult, especially a teacher, can change the trajectory of a kid’s life. It is a testament to the power of seeing world events through the eyes of adolescents. It’s an ode to The Bard. Perfection. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Have you read it?

Admiring a lovely Christmas present from my mom (who is a 2019 Three Pines devotee) before I pack these in a box... ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I am keeping Still Life out to start sometime in January - seems like the perfect read to help diffuse some of the moving stress. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What books did you get for Christmas?

I’ve never been one to celebrate the actual 12 days of Christmas (the days, starting on Dec 25, that lead up to Epiphany on Jan 6), but our Advent this year was filled with home contracts and packing. I didn’t read anything seasonal. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Now we’re with family for a week and I’m looking forward to cozying up with these books and reclaiming some of the Christmas season. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ My reading stack is 100% inspired by @christiepurifoy.

“I do believe that books seep into us and change us in ways we can’t keep track of.” - Kate Bolick ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I think one of the reasons I find Bookstagram so appealing, is because it’s one way I can attempt to keep track of the ways books have seeped into my life and changed me. It’s relationships and beauty and creativity, too, but it’s also grasping at why certain books leave an indelible mark. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Okay, now to the book at hand... (#gifted @libraryofamerica). Earlier this fall, @erindotsmith and I buddy read Little Women, during which I realized I hadn’t actually read it before. All my memories of the story were based on movie. And this may be a time where I enjoyed the experience of the movie more than the book. I found the moralizing and Marmee to be too much. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ That being said, I really enjoy hearing people’s thoughtful opinions about the characters and story (which made reading this with Erin great fun). That’s just what March Sisters is - 4 different women authors take on a different sister in essays that are scholastic, reflective and heartfelt. I particularly liked the first essay on Meg where Kate Bolick talks about frock shock. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Anyone planning to see Little Women the day it comes out?

How’re y’all doing on your Christmas shopping? I am surprisingly ahead of the game this year. That’s in large part due to the fact that I give most people books. This book is going to be wrapped up for a couple people! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Elizabeth Weitzman kindly sent me a copy of her book (#gifted) Renegade Women in Film and TV. As someone whose knowledge of pop culture mostly come from @thepopcast, I wasn’t sure how interesting I would find it. But I loved the beautiful, quirky illustrations and fun tidbits about these powerhouse women. Highly recommend for yourself or someone on your list. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What books are you giving this year?

#gifted @waterbrookmultnomah // Prayer as a practice has always been hard for me - probably because I lean toward perfectionism and want to do it right or not at all. I knew I would connect with this book when the first paragraph began like this: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ “The essence of prayer is the love of God, not our ability to pray. Which is not to say the mechanics of prayer don’t matter. The way we practice prayer matters very much. But without our deep realization that you and I are met in prayer by a immovable, sure, and relentless love, the mechanics of our practice inevitably slide toward primacy and weigh us down.” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ May It Be So: Forty Days With The Lord’s Prayer is made up of forty short prayers paired with a contemplative image. Interspersed between those are short, story driven reflections on one phrase of the Lord’s Prayer. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I loved having a mix of prayers, imagery, meditations and suggested practices to help guide me through these forty days. I also appreciated how the Lord’s Prayer was treated like a means to dive deeper into the practice of prayer not the final word on how to pray. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Since it’s already broken into 40 days, this would be a fantastic thing to do during lent (but is wonderful anytime, really).

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