I love the signs of renewal slowly peeking through. My children’s school has the most beautiful beds of tulips throughout the campus and I’ve been making sure to take them in each ride there and back. Beautiful! What are your signs of Spring shining through?

What I’m Reading:

I’d been hearing about Other Words For Home by Jasmine Warga for a while now and finally moved it to the stop of my stack.If only I did that sooner. =) This was a beautiful, lyrical and touching story told in verse that will have you ignoring everything else until the last page is turned. The story follows Jude and her mother as they leave their beloved Syria to stay with family in Cincinnati to escape the growing violence in their hometown. You feel Jude’s confusion, you feel her fear, you fear her sadness, but above all, you feel her hope. I only wish there were more to read so I could continue following Jude’s story….and learning from it.

Starring Jules (as Herself) by Beth Ain was just the delightful read I needed this week. Minus the dream of starring in a television commercial, we were very much alike as children: a tad anxious, is a list-maker and likes things that come in threes. This was a heart-warming story of family, of friendship and believing in yourself. And the best part? There are more in the series! I could easily see elementary students gobbling this series up.

I read one more, too: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. My son is reading it in his English class and I never remembered reading it for myself, so I added it to my stack. Honestly, it reminded me why my reading life waned in high-school, reading classics that I couldn’t quite connect to my own life. But reading (and rereading) these books as an adult is a different story. While admittedly, I found some sections hard to wrap my head around, I was struck by the characters, the plot and ultimate course of events and walked away with what felt like a secret understanding of the hidden personalities of people. There’s clear privilege and prejudice throughout, not surprising for the time it was written, but that jarred me as I read. So, I can say that I’ve read it….but I can’t say I will likely read it again.

What I’m Writing:

I love notebooks. I love hand lettering. I love bubble letters. I love prompts. And Christie Zimmer has blended all those loves together with her printable alphabet journal pages. Look at how amazing these are! She’s just getting started and a new letter is added each week. Grab one for your own notebook

What I’m Learning:

This quote from Cal Newport of Digital Minimalism stopped me in my tracks earlier this week and I’ve been thinking about it ever since:

They joined Facebook to stay in touch with friends across the country, and then ended up unable to maintain an uninterrupted conversation with the friend sitting across the table.

Right?!

How many of us are ruled by our devices instead of the other way around? How many of us lose minutes, hours, even more, in the foggy scroll of a social media feed? To combat this, Cal offers three principles of digital minimalism:

  • Clutter is Costly: Which apps are critical and support your values?
  • Optimization Matters: How can you make technology support, rather than dictate, your schedule?
  • Intentionality is Satisfying: What are ways that convenience is getting in the way of your intentions?

So, I’ve spent some time deleting apps, rearranging the home screen on my phone and really keeping track of the mindless minutes I lose….and that was pretty eye-opening.

What I’m Loving:

Do you know what glue books are? They are ADORABLE! Now, I just have to convince myself that I could actually make one…..

I’ve been lighting this candle all week long. It has the most amazing wick that looks like a fire log AND crackles like one, too. Not to mention, it smells amazing!

Did you love There’s a Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone as much as I did? Well, then you’ll love these socks, too!

There you have it! I hope this inspires you to make space for more reading and writing in your own life. What are the highlights from your literate life this week?