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Emily C Gardner

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Recent Posts

  • 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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With the recent debut of the Netflix series Tidying-Up, the Kon-Mari method has experienced a resurgence in popularity. And rightfully so - we could all use a little more simplicity and less mental & physical clutter in our lives. If the idea of tidying up has sparked joy in you, don’t just watch the show - read the book too! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Where the show gives really inspirational before/after visuals and brief snippets of the process, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up will give you a look at why your house might be a mess and the very detailed process (and specific order) of how to sort through ALL of your belongings. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I went through the book 3 years ago and found the sections on photos and paper very helpful. I would caution you to use common sense on the paper section - the US has different governmental agencies and processes which require residents to keep certain things Kondo suggests you can toss. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Kondo’s ideas about tidying books will most likely run this community the wrong way 😊 But I think the heat of tidying-up still applies - only keep the books that spark joy. That might mean you keep every book you’ve ever acquired or that might mean you begin editing your collection. You do you. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Have you read the book? Watched the show? How do you approach curating your books?
So grateful for my parents who kept us company while my husband was at winter camp this weekend. And when I got unexpectedly sick, they were armed with crafts, cookies and books. Thanks Grammie and Papa ❤️. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Hedgehugs is the cutest (acquired at Target) - Horace and Hattie are the best of friends but can’t hug because of their spikes. Their attempts to find a solution are sweet and funny.
Happy weekend! Hoping to finish these two by Monday. What are you hoping to read this weekend? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Finding Esme was a #freebook. @greenwillowbooks
SPICY TAKE: I didn’t love this book. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ There are several contributing factors but what brought the most heat to my opinion is having read The Thirteenth Tale very recently. It’s obvious that Diane Setterfield is master storyteller with a vast imagination from both books, but the way she was able to weave various stories into a tight, cohesive narrative in The Thirteenth Tale unraveled for me in Once Upon A River. There were storylines that felt a little grasping and a specific character who I thought was underdeveloped. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I DID love the way the river echoed and undulated through the entire story, making its own voice present. Overall, it was a good book but not one that will stick with me. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Have you read this one? What did you think (good or bad 😊)?
Finally sat down last night and transferred my 2018 Goodreads shelf to my bullet journal (more on that in stories) and loved getting a birds eye view of my year in reading. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Picking favorites is always difficult for me so I forced myself to just do a quick scan of titles and circle what stood out. I was super surprised at the results... ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The majority were non-fiction! The seven titles in the photo (I subbed The Path Between Us for The Road Back To You because it’s on loan) + The Wondering Years by @knoxmccoy (I have the e-book hence it not being pictured) are in my top reads of the year. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Do you reflect on your reading life during the new year? Notice anything interesting this year?
I work part-time from home and it’s often during naptime that I get my hours in. But sometimes it’s difficult to transition my mind from mom mode to work mode, so I’m trying to be intentional about giving myself a routine transition time. Trying this today - set a timer for 15 minutes during which I read + ate lunch actually at the table. Yes, I did have to change a poo dipe and get another stack of books for little people, but I think this mini-routine might create the white space I need before work. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Do you struggle transitioning from one thing to the next? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I chose The Flavor Thesaurus for my short reading time today, which a lovely friend is letting me borrow. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ PS. I watched The Bachelor premiere last night instead of finishing Once Upon A River. Finished this morning and will I cut my library fine. #herefortherightreasons
Marisa de los Santos is quickly becoming one of my must read authors. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I finally listened to @whatkarireads episode of @whatshouldireadnext (it’s great!). Kari talks about being drawn to relatable characters - people you’d love to grab coffee with in real life - over exquisite prose. For me, Marisa de los Santos has the ability to do both. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ None of her stories are groundbreaking or excessively erudite; but she crafts characters who are interesting and easy to connect with (even if you’ve never been in their circumstances) on top of striking the perfect balance of poetry, wit and frankness in her writing style. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Belong To Me is the semi-sequel to Love Walked In (I’m glad I read them in order but it’s not necessary) and, as the title suggests, is ultimately about what constitutes belonging - from various intertwining storylines. Part of what makes de los Santos’ characters relatable is the way she lets each person’s emotions unfold in real time. So how they feel on one page (and consequently, how you think that’s going to turn the plot) isn’t always how they feel on the next. Readers witness the characters process emotions in a way that feels utterly genuine. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Who else hates packing? 🙋🏼‍♀️ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I also don’t like deciding what books to pack. Sometimes I just take my Kindle. This time I’m opting for three paperbacks acquired at library sales that I probably won’t mind leaving at a little free library if I don’t want to lug it back. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ How do you decide what books to pack?
Published in the 1950s, Gone-Away Lake portrays the type of childhood summer adventures I crave for my kids: independent, imaginative play in nature. Cousins stumble upon a deserted village of Victorian houses on the edge of a swamp. Adventure and mystery follow. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Elizabeth Enright really captures the essence of her quirky characters in humor sprinkled dialogue and poetic language (especially for a middle-grade novel). The transformation elements are reminiscent of The Secret Garden and Sarah Crewe’s attic in The Little Princess. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Fun fact: The illustrator who redesigned the covers also illustrated the original Harry Potter covers. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Very much looking forward to the sequel Return to Gone-Away Lake. Thanks to @chainreading for recommending this one!
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