Weekend Reads - Plus Some Changes

One of the things I have in mind for 2018 is to redo my website. However, I don't want to do it all at once - mainly because I am being lazy.

I do have this idea to spur me to write more is to have a daily blog post. And I want to have a theme for each day. This will accomplish a couple of different things - (1) it gives me a focus for the post for that day and (2) some of them I can at least start in advance and not have to write it on the day it is posted, but can write and schedule in advance. Win-win.

My line-up will be as follows (and always subject to tweaking)...

• Monday - Mandala Monday
• Tuesday - Miscellaneous Stuff
• Wednesday - Writing Wrap-up
• Thursday - Positive Focus
• Friday - Fabric and Fiber
• Saturday - Reading
• Sunday - Week In Review

That's the plan....as of this moment in time.

So...

Since it is Saturday, let's go through what I have read this week 

I am currently reading and in love with Basic Witches by Jaya Saxena and Jess Zimmerman.

I am LOVING this book! 

First off, it really isn't about being a 'witch' as you typically think of being a witch. It is more about empowering yourself. As the authors define witchcraft as "...the kind of mundane pursuits that might once have resulted in accusation: enjoying sex, controlling reproductive health, hanging out with other women, not caring what men think, disagreeing, and just knowing stuff."

They are also very much in offering their thoughts to everyone, regardless of gender identification. They are very open to people being themselves and being strong in however they choose to identify. 

Don't get me wrong, there are still 'rituals' with candles or tarot cards or spells to break negative patterns. However, the book is more about being strong in yourself and not how society tells you how to think and behave and believe.

I think this will be one which will be on my 'to buy' list.

Another book on my 'to buy' list is this one - Making Winter: A Hygge-Inspired Guide to Surviving the Winter Months by Emma Mitchell.

I am one of those people who are solar-powered and dread winter with the shorter days. I tend to wake with the sunrise and go to bed with sunset. Filled with recipes and crafts and beautiful pictures, Making Winter is all about giving yourself permission to be creative during the winter to help with all the depression which can happen if you just sit around and do nothing. 

With sections like "The Grayest Days", "Craft Night", and "Nature as Nurture", I found myself going I want to do that, and that, and that...well, basically the whole book. I need this on my shelf, even though I am leaving the snowbound months here in Montana this year.

Next was more of a flip-though rather than a read.

Where To Drink Coffee by Liz Clayton and Avidan Ross is subtitled The Experts' Guide to the Best Coffee in the World.

When I grabbed this off the shelf at the library I was hoping there would be some 'how-to's' included in the book - but no. It is strictly lists of the best places to get a cup of coffee in just about every country in the world. It has listings of the coffee shops, their hours, specialty and reviews. If you are a big traveler or planning on traveling somewhere, this might be interesting to see where to go when you arrive at your destination.

A fiction finish this past week is a fun read, How To Find Love In A Bookshop by Veronica Henry.

Emilia's father passes away unexpectedly and she is drawn back to Peasebrook and running Nightingale Books. Does she close the store or keep it going? The people who were influenced by her father and the bookstore are all woven in together in this wonderful read. This is a book to curl up with on a grey day and enjoy with a cup of tea.

Now for a disappointment. Or rather I should say, at the present moment I just couldn't get into the story, which really upsets me because I love Gregory Maguire.

What better to read at this time of the year is a book about the Nutcracker? Except I just couldn't get into it. I tried. But when I can't bring myself to pick it up to read 'just a few more pages', it's time to take it back to the library and maybe revisit at another time.  

But maybe this will be a book you will read. I would actually like to see it as a musical like "Wicked" and then maybe I could pick up again.

And the final book I am in the middle of (and wish I was in the middle of Paris right now) is l'appart - The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home by David Lebovitz.

I have read a couple of Lebovitz's other books and really enjoyed them, especially the stories about writing a book on ice cream in a tiny kitchen in Paris.

But this one is about, after a decade in Paris, finally deciding to buy an apartment in Paris. It's especially funny as we are trying to find housing for when we move to back to North Carolina (2300 miles away) in a few months. And dealing with French officials and rules makes our efforts seem easy in comparison.  For example, we don't have to have a physical in order to qualify for the home loan!

Lots of great stories as he searches, finds and tries to renovate his new home. And even more great recipes! I am glad this is actually my book so I can try some of the recipes later on.