Bluebird Books

2018 has been one of the most stressful years on record for our family.  We've lost people we love, we've faced new parenting challenges, job stress, and one of our children had surgery.  It was rough.  And maybe it's that time of year, maybe I feel the need to be ready for whatever might come next, I'm sitting here taking stock.   no, really. What worked...and what didn't? How did we handle these circumstances with grace and what made us come apart at the seams? More than any other year I've found my coping mechanism in 2018 to be books.  Reading for me, audiobooks when I'm folding laundry, talking about books with my husband, children, friends.  When life got hard, I cracked open a book and hid there for a while.   actual footage of me It may sound a little unhealthy (can you say "avoidance"??) but it wasn't.  In going to books I learned so many things this year.   I learned how to love difficult people through difficult

Fall is here, everybody!  This is not a drill!  My favorite reading is lazy Saturday afternoon reading with a big mug of tea/spiced cider/hot cocoa, and a blanket of course.  #basic #idontcare I have been enjoying getting a little cozy this month.  Traveling with Ghosts 🌟🌟🌟 My book club book of the month.  I didn't read much about this memoir before I began and that was a big mistake.  I was expecting a memoir akin to Lab Girl (which I loved).  This was not that. The author is a scientist--a marine biologist--but science does not play a role in her story.  She recounts the sudden death of her fiance after a fatal jellyfish sting.  Then she goes on a grim pilgrimage of grief. I didn't understand that this was about the grieving process and I couldn't relate to her desire to be far away from everyone and everything she knew while working through her loss.  I also felt weird about not liking a book about someone's very personal journey of sadness. I'

I feel like this might be a spicy take: I really don't like reading in public.  I do it.  But I don't like it.  There's something very vulnerable about letting yourself get lost in a story while other people could very well be staring at you.   Yesterday I was at the ophthalmologist's office with two kids waiting for 40 minutes, you bet I pulled out a book.  Everyone (including my 7-year-old) was watching Love It or List It reruns on the oversized TVs mounted on the walls.  I still felt self-conscious.    I read at LOTS of doctors' offices Once a week I spend a few hours at Barnes and Noble.  I sit in the cafe with broccoli cheddar quiche and a coffee.  After catching up on the 1,000,000 emails I get each week from the kids' schools, I crack open a book and read for a bit.  Are my lips moving?  How is everyone else able to drink coffee and read without spilling all over themselves? all. the. time. And of course, at baseball practice and socce