What I'm into (mid-September 2022)
bookish slice-of-life, hearkening back to the blog days of old
Happy Middle of September!
Last weekend, I went through some old blog archives and decided I have a few old posts I’d like to share here on Substack (eventually I’ll take the original posts down as I revamp my website into more of a landing page). But first, some slice-of-life, in the style of how we used to blog back in the early aughts.
Reading
my current reads are a bit out-of-control, even for me. Here are all the books I’ve started (some more active reads than others 🤷🏼♀️).
An Island Wedding by Jenny Colgan
Bookstagram buddy read: Just Another Love Song by Kerry Winfrey
My YA/MG book club pick: The Agathas by Liz Lawson and Kathleen Glasgow
My other book club pick: Lessons in Chemistry (I actually just got my Libby hold and will start it asap!)
Read-aloud: Front Desk by Kelly Yang (I’m reading this to my daughter but alas, we’re on pause because our library copy was overdue. I’ll probably have to buy a copy because we’re really loving it.)
On Audio: Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs
Slow but Steadies: Persuasion, Salt Fat Acid Heat, and Molly Knight’s The Best Team Money Can Buy
Writing
I finally dipped back into my WIP this week after a couple of months mostly off because of life. I’m not ready to share any details… but I am willing to share my current writing playlist. It’s a mix of new and old, some songs picked because of vibe, some because of lyrics, some because they’re from around 2009, which is when my story is set. It’s a YA rom-com. (Okay, so I did share a few details after all! 🤗)
Library
I have always had a strange affinity for fixing books with tape, so repairing books is one of the obscure things I love about working in a library, especially because now I’m using actual book repair supplies instead of just packing tape. Some are, shall we say, not well-taken care of, despite two weeks of talking about book care.
Today I added a book to my repair stack that was clearly mildly chewed on by a dog (or a baby?) (and it’s too popular too discard until I get a new copy), and another was so sopping wet and stinky, it had to go directly into the trash (sad!). But some are just well-loved (like all the Mo Willems books and most of the Diary of a Wimpy Kids.
Watching
We recently showed our kids the 1989 family movie gem, The Wizard, starring Fred Savage. My kids love a slapstick bad-guy chase and of course: video games.
Everyone loved it. It was even funnier than I remember (but maybe that’s because I broke my thumb while watching it in the 4th grade). After watching the special features we had a short but good conversation about neurodivergence and trauma, too.
Listening
I already mentioned my writing playlist. The rest of my music listening is chaotic at best. I only listen to the radio (or gasp! CDs!) in my almost-classic? car, so my spotify listening is basically reserved for writing, working, cooking, or cleaning. Other than music and audiobooks, I’ve been catching up on podcasts from the summer. Recent binges have been: A Drink with a Friend, Writing Excuses, The Thing About Austen, and of course, Currently Reading (which I rarely get behind on).
I’m going to schedule some “vintage” posts over the next few Fridays, but I also hope to check in more frequently with these mainly-bookish slice-of-life posts. Thanks for reading!
xo,
Nicole
When I link to books, they’re over at Bookshop.org, which supports indie bookstores (and a tiny bit goes to me if you purchase through my links). Thanks! 😘