Feb
26
What I’m Into: February 2021

Main Events

Like a lot of the South, Memphis had our biggest winter event in decades this month. There were three waves over the course of a week – freezing rain, snow, and then more snow, with a little extra snow in between. I’ve lived here since 1989, and before this, the most snow I had seen was around four inches, which had always melted at most two days after falling. I had definitely never seen it snow more than once within a short time.

It started out with ice and a dusting (it was already very cold).

Then it snowed four or five inches. We went for a walk around the neighborhood to take it all in. I wished I had snowshoes! We were in the single digits around this time. One morning it was 1 degree.

Then it snowed several more inches, the temperature rose into the 20s, and the icicle fest began.

I wanted to make a family of snowmen, like that commercial where the woman uses snowmen to tell her husband she’s pregnant. It turned out this was a dry snow that didn’t pack or shape well, so this was the best I could do (using my sand castle skills).

All told, we were snowed in for about ten days. The roads were so dangerous that we didn’t want to risk driving. I enjoyed this special experience, but still felt relieved and ready to move on when the roads started to clear. I know northerners like to laugh at us for shutting down over a few inches of snow, but we do not have the infrastructure or support to deal with this type of weather here. While we thankfully never lost power or water at our house, the city was put under a boil water order, which just lifted yesterday after a week. Not being able to wash and clean my home, or briefly, even bathe was pretty much my breaking point after already dealing with a long renovation on top of a pandemic while pregnant and snowed in. But we have clean water again and things are improving, and I’m glad they’re improving in Texas too, where people suffered much worse.

Rufus disliked being denied his fresh water from the faucet.

Meanwhile, we had a cozy, snowy Valentine’s Day at home. I got to pick the movies (You’ve Got Mail and Far and Away), and I cooked chicken marsala (no recipe link because, while it was good, something was off about it). Taylor gave me a huge quantity of flowers, which are impressively still alive.

Reading

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (5 stars) A well-off family is vacationing at a lovely AirBnb on Long Island when an older couple shows up at the door in the middle of the night, bearing alarming news. It’s best to go into this book not knowing more than that. It’s probably not for everyone, but I was immersed and read the whole thing in an afternoon.

The Meaning of Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey with Michaela Angela Davis (4 stars) I’ve liked Mariah since I was ten years old, through all her ups and downs, and thoroughly enjoyed her memoir. She’s been through a lot of crap… and I believe her.

Best of Luck by Kate Clayborn (4 stars) The final installment in a trilogy about three best friends who win the lottery, focusing on the quiet one, Greer, whose lottery wish was to get an education.

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness (4 stars) Real talk, I do not find the Elizabethan era very interesting, but once again Harkness sucked me into Diana and Matthew’s adventures through time and magic.

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin (4.5 stars) I almost gave up at the beginning of this urban fantasy, but I’m so glad I didn’t. In the book’s universe, some old cities eventually come to life and choose a human avatar to represent and fight for them. When New York is born, it’s immediately attacked by a mysterious enemy. Five new avatars representing the five boroughs rise up and have to find each other, team up, and rescue the main avatar. Really unique and interesting.

Everything You Ever Wanted: A Memoir by Jillian Lauren (4.5 stars) A thoughtful, well-written adoption memoir. I now plan to read her first book, about her earlier life and experiences in an actual harem.

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow (5 stars) A unique and profound YA that combines siren (mermaid) mythology, the BLM/anti-racism movement, renfaire culture, and the beauty of true friendship. I loved it and am excited that a sequel is in the works.

The Baby Plan by Kate Rorick (3 stars) A novel about two very different sisters who unexpectedly get pregnant at the same time.

Baking Me Crazy by Karla Sorensen (3 stars) This was billed as the first in a romance series about a bakery, but it was only tangentially about a bakery, and primarily about a family whose sons are “cursed” to fall in love only once. I enjoyed it well enough, but probably won’t seek out the others.

Share Your Stuff. I’ll Go First. 10 Questions to Take Your Friendships to the Next Level by Laura Tremaine (5 stars) I’ve been waiting for this book for years! The chapters are framed around big questions to ask yourself (like “Who are you?” and “Who was there?”), and Laura shares her answers. I’ve heard some of these stories before either on her blog or her podcast, and I was still enthralled. My church book club is going to (re) read this together over the summer. I haven’t really delved into the questions myself yet, so it should be good.

Listening

Loving this song from the movie mentioned below:

Watching

To All the Boys: Always and Forever was wonderful! Beautiful to look at, full of love, and the soundtrack was excellent. I’m excited that some of Jenny Han’s other books are also going to be adapted.

We’re getting our money’s worth out of HBO Max. The access to new releases is nice. This month we saw Denzel’s latest The Little Things, and Judas and the Black Messiah, which deserves all the hype.

New WandaVision episodes are currently the highlight of my Fridays. We also started watching For All Mankind on Apple TV. I love a good alternate history.

At Home

Upstairs landing area

The home renovation continues! Most of February’s progress was painting, because the shower conversion kit for my clawfoot tub was delayed (Taylor ordered it in November). Now that it’s finally here, our contractors can finish the bathroom. Anyway, we had off-white trim throughout the house, which was okay with me but drove Taylor crazy. (I spent an entire year painting trim by myself in my first house, so I’ll tolerate a lot to avoid thinking about that again.) The contractors are almost done painting all the trim a fresh white and now I see the difference it makes! Below, our entryway area to the left is finished, and the living area to the right has the old colors. Our new wall color is Sherwin-Williams Passive. At first we were going to go with Mindful Gray, which looked great in our last house, but discovered this house needs a slightly cooler tone.

Holes are from electrical work – they’ll be fixed!

The work is moving quickly now and there’s a chance everything could be done by the end of next week! For the first time I’m allowing myself to prepare for what I can do when this is over (like finally start getting ready for the baby). Among other things, I’m very excited to have bathroom space of my own again instead of putting on my night cream in the hallway next to a rolly cart. Expect a big post next month with all the before and after pics!

Eating

Every few weeks I see a recipe that looks so good, I have to cook it immediately. This month’s winner was Rigatoni Alla Vodka, which I made with penne. I will never say no to a vodka sauce. Other good eats: quiche with red peppers and spinach, and a spanakopita melt.

For the Super Bowl, I tried these Baked Buffalo Wings. They didn’t turn out quite as well as I hoped, but I figured out what to do differently next time. I also had a ton of carrot and celery sticks with ranch, and made guacamole (randomly, my go-to guac recipe is by Ben Affleck, clipped from an issue of InStyle at least a decade ago). Taylor made one of his homemade pizzas.

Wearing

I didn’t realize how much it was affecting me for hardly any of my clothes to fit right. Then Alanna loaned me a huge bin of cute maternity clothes in my size, the same day I found a few maternity returns on the clearance rack at an Old Navy. I felt much less frumpy and more like myself immediately. I’m thankful to be saving a ton of money by not having to buy a maternity work wardrobe, but I was taking that to the extreme of not really letting myself buy anything. This reminded me that I deserve to feel comfortable and confident in my prego body, even if I’m just working at home. I’m currently looking for just the right dresses for my maternity photos and baby showers (still figuring out how that’s going to work).

Beauty

I’m not buying much beauty stuff these days, so my monthly Ipsy bag has been a nice dose of fun. Some recent wins: Lottie AM to PM eyeliner in Espresso (because my search for great eyeliner is eternal); a FARAH flat foundation brush, which feels nicer and provides more even coverage than my existing RealTechniques brush; and Briogeo Farewell Frizz leave-in conditioner spray. Unfortunately for my bank account, the Briogeo spray is the best heat styling spray I’ve tried (better than Ouidad). I used every drop of the sample. They have a few other products I want to try too, like the scalp exfoliator scrub and the avocado co-wash. I loaded a cart with these items on their website, but am still hesitating to pull the trigger.

Wellness

February is always a tough fitness month, and this might be my worst showing ever. I did almost no cardio because my elliptical spent the month under a tarp surrounded by construction materials and hazardous dust. One night I pulled out an old favorite aerobic dance video just to keep my legs from atrophying. But I’ve been having ye olde pregnancy heart palpitations and shortness of breath (and even still feeling sick some days), so it was probably good to take it a little easy anyway. I have kept up yoga several times a week, am back to weight training now that the roads are clear, and finally found some prenatal yoga and tabata videos on YouTube. I am LOVING prenatal-specific exercise. It feels great, you don’t have to do anything too strenuous, and they give you all the modifications to make room for your belly. Whereas I spent a lot of of the January yoga challenge laughing at myself about things my body cannot currently do.

Historically, this is also my worst month of the year for mental health, and in a pandemic there’s no indoor social interaction or escape to a warmer, sunnier climate. I was feeling really low around mid-month, just absolutely over everything, but then my sister got vaccinated and that lifted my spirits a lot. She should be able to visit in early April. Better days are coming!!

Your Monthly Rufus

Rufus was not a big fan of the snow. He got very nervous when we tried to take him out to see it.

We moved this nightstand into our entryway area, in a spot that happens to be right over a floor vent. Rufus immediately took up residence in the cubbyhole. When we brought the lemon tree inside (since it was too cold for it even in the greenhouse), he gave it a thorough examination, after not really noticing it previously. (BTW, the tree is absolutely thriving since we brought it in. The most leaves and flowers it’s ever had. Yay!!)

Good Reads

1 Comment + Posted in: what i'm into

Jan
29
What I’m Into: January 2021

It’s a new year and we have a new President. Let’s go!

Reading

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (4.5 stars) I spent a long time on the library wait list for this one. It’s about twin sisters from a tiny, all-Black Louisiana town. As teenagers, they run away to New Orleans, then become estranged when one decides to build a new life passing as white… and that’s the beginning of the story. Really profound.

Beginner’s Luck and Luck of the Draw by Kate Clayborn (4 stars each) Kate Clayborn’s Love Lettering was one of my favorite books of 2020, so I’m diving into her debut trilogy about three best friends who win the lottery. Saving the third installment for February!

The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right by Lisa Sharon Harper (4.5 stars) Read this with my church book club. Another challenging but refreshing read about wholeness, justice, and shalom.

Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald (3 stars) A few years ago I took a Hannah Brencher writing course, and she highly recommended this book. The new year seemed like a good time to finally get around to it. There are some helpful nuggets here, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all coming from too much of a narrow, privileged place. Just my sense.

Come and Eat: A Celebration of Love and Grace around the Everyday Table by Bri McKoy (4 stars) I’m a big fan of Bri McKoy, so I wasn’t too disappointed when this turned out to be mostly stories from her life, and not the cookbook I thought it was.

Where Goodness Still Grows: Reclaiming Virtue in an Age of Hypocrisy by Amy Peterson (4.5 stars) If you’re one of many American Christians who was disillusioned by your fellow Christians’ embrace of Trumpism, this book is for you. It examines what “Biblical” virtues even mean in our current climate. Side note: Lauren Winner wrote the foreword, which I didn’t know beforehand, but I correctly recognized her writing voice in about two sentences.

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid (3.5 stars) I read this in one sitting on a Friday night when I needed something light. It actually wasn’t so light – it’s about a struggling married couple who decide to take a break for one year, then determine if they want to stay married. But I always enjoy TJR’s storytelling and insightful touch.

Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman (4.5 stars) I wasn’t sure what to expect from this – I thought it might be a straight friendship advice book, which I was not in the mood for. But it’s a warm, personal account of these women’s friendship, how it’s changed them, and what they’ve learned from it about how to love and support others well. It’s inspiring.

Listening

Someone posted this song on Inauguration Day and I thought it was perfect.

10 Things to Tell You Episode 99: Searching for a Best Friend gave me a lot of feels.

Watching

I spent A LOT of time in front of the TV in January. Taylor and I watched The Undoing in a few days. The acting, styling, and interiors all deserve awards. Warning, it is triggery if you’ve ever been in a relationship with a sociopath, but aside from that a great thriller and beautiful to look at.

I started WandaVision and have a little catching up to do, but I’m here for the premise and the perfect tone capturing of old sitcoms.

(I must note that Nicole Kidman and Elizabeth Olsen are both off-the-charts luminous in these roles. Are they bathing in Sunday Riley products? IMPRESSED.)

We watched HBO’s limited series documentary about the Heaven’s Gate cult. As much as I’ve watched and read about cults, this one was upsetting. I’m still a little haunted by it.

This Is Us killed me with its episode about Randall’s mother (aka Sterling K. Brown’s Emmy Submission). Man, can these people tell a story.

Almost-Done Alert: We have one more episode of Ted Lasso that we’ll probably watch this weekend, after rationing out Ted cheer since the beginning of my pregnancy. Glad more seasons are on the way! AND: we are now in the home stretch of The Sopranos. I started it with Taylor months ago because it’s his favorite show of all time. Watching a show like this in its entirety feels like an actual achievement for me, one I can carry forward through my pop culture life.

Around Town

We joined a few friends around a distanced fire pit at Loflin Yard for my friend Wes’s birthday! I hadn’t seen any of them in months. Despite the cold, it was great to reconnect and feel a little normal for a few hours.

At Home

We started a massive home renovation this month to knock out some projects in advance of the baby’s arrival. The kinds of things that have had me repeating “Startup costs” to myself since moving in a year ago. We hired contractors, as we lack the time, skill, and patience to become hardcore home DIYers and would rather pay experienced professionals for their services. (Normalize paying experienced professionals for their services!!!) It’s been a circus. Once, we had three different crews here on the same day. I could not survive this chaos either during my sickly first trimester or with a newborn, so I have to give thanks for the timing.

The first completed project was exterior painting! Our house was previously a dried-mud color with slightly lighter dried-mud color trim. The stucco and wood hadn’t been tended to in at least a decade. After talking about it and considering colors all last summer, we signed with a local painting company and got on their schedule last August. They cruised in here mid-January with a crew of 20 people and got our house expertly washed, patched, and painted in three days. It was not cheap, but we couldn’t be happier with the results or the color (Sherwin-Williams Naval). It makes me happy every time I see it! They even painted my greenhouse. I think the black looks so sophisticated – and will help hold even more heat in for plants!

We also got some much-needed electrical work done, including putting up this gorgeous Pottery Barn chandelier that we scored secondhand. It adds so much elegance to the entryway! We also had a ceiling fan and light installed in the living room (this whole area previously had no overhead lighting), brighter lights in the attic, and several more wall outlets upstairs, mostly in the baby’s room. (Apparently people only needed one outlet per room in 1917.) The house still has a lot of knob-and-tube wiring, which is not super safe, so down the road we’ll be looking at a more intense electrical overhaul. *flying money emoji*

Other things still in process: a total remodel of my bathroom (it’s looking amazing), a partial kitchen remodel (new countertops are in, other things are not done), and new paint for the entire downstairs. Stay tuned!

Eating

Other than a few lingering aversions (coffee still sounds bad and I am sad about it daily), my appetite is back and I’ve been happily reuniting with foods I love! Pictured here: Zucchini Chicken (a longtime favorite recipe), Butternut Squash Soup, the California Love pizza from Slim & Husky’s, and some pregnancy-safe sushi. God bless my neighborhood sushi place for clearly dividing their menu into Cooked and Not Cooked.

The best thing I cooked this month was Chorizo & Sweet Potato Enchiladas. Other good stuff: Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash; Spinach Pesto Grilled Cheese; and avocado cucumber salad, which I think I’ve shared before but is so satisfying if you need a quick dose of green veggies, and are currently obsessed with mayonnaise. (My passionate fling with dressings and condiments continues.)

I got this glass pitcher months ago, and have found it so useful that I just got a second one. It’s a great size and fits in the refrigerator door. Now I can have two flavors of Crystal Light going at the same time (heads up: if you can find Strawberry Orange Banana, it is delish).

Wearing

I got these loose joggers for Christmas, which I’m pretty sure I saw on Living Le Reve. They’re not maternity, but extremely stretchy with a classy cut and should continue to work for a while! My expansive 2020 wardrobe of joggers and leggings has kept me clothed up to this point. I only had one pair of maternity jeans, from Old Navy, which are kind of saggy right now – I kept sizing up too far during my awkward “pregnant or just fat?” phase. This month I ordered the Ridley maternity skinny jeans from ASOS in my normal size. They fit exactly how I wanted and are still on sale for $20!! After being at home so long, properly fitting jeans now constitute “well dressed” and “put together” for me. What a time to be alive.

Beauty

Never have I ever had consistently dry skin on my face, but I actually needed moisturizer this month. I’m liking the IT Cosmetics Confident Gel Lotion, which was in one of my Ipsy bags. At night I do the CeraVe night cream I’ve mentioned before. I’m also using this Drunk Elephant cleanser that I got with my Sephora birthday gift in 2019. We’re 10 months into a pandemic. It’s time to stop saving the good stuff for someday.

I was excited to get the Naked Honey palette for Christmas! I’ve dabbled in a few colors but haven’t really done any Looks yet.

Wellness

I participated in Yoga with Adriene’s 30 Days of Yoga. The theme this year is Breathe. I hadn’t moved around much since getting pregnant and thought this would be a good way to start feeling more like myself. The program has been intense in past years, but while I rarely made it through a practice without some modifications, it all felt more gentle this year. I only missed two days of the 30. On one of those days, water started pouring through my kitchen ceiling five minutes into the video (renovation fun!!)… so I call 28 days a win. The yoga has definitely helped me feel better. I want to continue a regular (though not daily) practice, and plan to look for some videos specifically for prenatal.

Up to this point I’ve hung in fairly well, but I had some serious bouts of pandemic blues this month. It’s been too cold for outdoor activities, which was the only way we were seeing anyone. I just want to be able to go over to my parents’ house and watch a football game with them indoors like a normal person. I want to go out to dinner with friends. I want to meet my new 8-week-old niece before she’s walking and talking. I want to go to church at church. I continue to pray that the vaccines will give me a sliver of social interaction and sharing this pregnancy with loved ones before the baby is born in June. But the way the rollout is going, it’s not looking great. I can’t think about that, though – I have to remain a little hopeful, for my mental health. Even when everything feels fraught, hopeless, and tired. I also acknowledge my privilege and know my griefs are small compared to many others’.

I want to save the bulk of pregnancy updates for the end of the second trimester, but we had the 20-week ultrasound this month and baby is looking healthy! I feel him moving around more and more, which is very reassuring. Thankful. <3

Random Happiness

Winter life in the greenhouse seems to be agreeing with the lemon tree! Lots of new buds and leaves! Every other time this has happened, we’ve relocated the tree and it’s freaked out and dropped all the flowers, so I’m excited to see a bloom in a stable environment. We have a big thermometer in the greenhouse that we can see from inside. If it gets too cold for more than a few hours, I move the tree closer to the house and/or wrap something around the trunk. But the temp in there rarely dips below 45 or 50 degrees, which is safe for it short-term. Turns out greenhouses really work. It helps that that area gets the most sun in winter, when our mature trees are leafless.

We got a dusting of snow one day.

Your Monthly Rufus

Rufus has not loved the renovation process. The first few days of the work, he got very anxious and then passed out on Taylor’s lap for hours. But he’s getting used to it. He distracted himself with many activities this month, such as supervising the putting away of Christmas decorations, perching on the headboard, and hunting the second hand on this clock. And of course he gets hugs and attention throughout the day.

On the Blog

I wrote about my word for 2021, Release, and shared one of my favorite soup recipes.

Good Reads

3 Comments + Posted in: what i'm into

Jan
12
One Word: Release

For the eighth year, I’m doing One Word 365. Instead of making New Year’s resolutions, I choose a word to guide the year. I usually start the process of feeling out my new word the preceding fall. This time, December arrived and I still had nothing. After a few days of focused prayer and very basic thought exercises, a theme started to emerge. I resisted this word at first – it felt sort of passive and “giving up,” not the motivational tone I prefer to strike. So I tried to find something else in the same zone… but then (as often happens) I started seeing it everywhere, and accepted my 2021 fate.

Inspiration

Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are. ― Brené Brown

Having a child meant letting go of easy and embracing difficult. It meant being uncomfortable and anxious, insecure and vulnerable. It meant being fully present in the moment and invested in the future. It meant having enough life flowing through my veins that I had some to spare. – Loretta Nyhan

Let go of the things that no longer make you feel alive. The things you’ve looked at for far too long and said, “Well, maybe tomorrow it will be different.” Quitting fuels the art of letting go, so it would be good to learn how to let some things go: Arguments. Problems. Bad habits. Political debates on Facebook walls. People who don’t really see you beyond who you used to be. – Hannah Brencher

When I’ve been taught all my life to hold tight, all I keep learning is that there is relief in the release. – Laura Tremaine

Reflection

Releasing expectations of life in general. In 2021, we will continue living in a global pandemic, and I will (hopefully) become a first-time mom at 41 years old. These two facts mean I won’t have a lot of control over my external circumstances. I’m here for hope, discovery, and opportunities, but I’m not charging into the year with a list of lofty goals, because who even knows. I think a lot of us are on the same page here.

Releasing expectations of myself and my life. Motherhood will be a huge change. Maybe more so for me than for most, because I’ve lived on my own schedule for decades. Pandemic aside, being active and out in the world is important to both Taylor and me, and we plan to do all we can to maintain a life with the baby. The last thing we want is to be those new parents you never see again. But I know I’ll have to exercise more flexibility and acceptance – as well as try to be patient with my new limitations. I probably won’t be earning trophies in other areas while I’m trying to keep an infant alive for the first time. More than ever, I really need to believe that I don’t have to earn my existence. I can just be.

Releasing the need to stick with habits and practices that are no longer working. I think I do okay with this, but it’s on my list to watch out for.

Releasing my expectations of who my child “should” be, how he’s comparing to his peers, etc. I’m trying to keep this top of mind from day one. I want my son to grow up confident that we will love and accept him for his own unique self.

Releasing other people’s opinions and judgments. This is my Everest. I’ve accepted that I’ll always struggle with it and am thankful for the progress I’ve made. But becoming a mother will put a target on my back. As a mom, I will be subject to a daily avalanche of unsolicited judgment, advice, and commentary. Some mean-spirited, some superior, some just clueless; it’s already started. I’ve even prepared myself for the possibility of losing friendships because they don’t agree with my parenting decisions. For my health, it is paramount that I learn to shake it all off, stay focused, and move forward.

Meanwhile, along with everyone else, I’m navigating our polarized national atmosphere on both a personal and macro level. Every day I’m reassessing my boundaries, deciding when to let go, when to push back, when to “give it to God and go to sleep.” A regular Serenity Prayer practice is probably a good idea this year.

Hopefully more specific facets of this word will emerge over the year, and if so, I’ll write about it. But this is the starting point. While the word “release” isn’t in it, I think the poem below captures the vibe I’m going for.

May I be a person who goes out into the morning and sings.

Previously

3 Comments + Posted in: one word 365

Jan
08
Thai Curry Soup

This is one of my all-time favorite soups, from the now-defunct website The Daily Muse. It’s healthy, only takes a few minutes to make, and is perfect for a wintertime WFH lunch. At this point I usually make the soup from memory, which means it’s evolved over time from the original recipe below. Last time, I forgot about the curry entirely (as well as the soy sauce and sugar) and added turmeric instead. I also used a frozen ginger cube instead of the ground ginger. It was fantastic! So this is a very forgiving soup open to interpretation, your personal taste, and what you have on hand. I suddenly realized I’d never posted the original recipe here and wanted to do so ASAP, because the only other place it lives now is on a recipe card.

Ingredients:
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 handfuls fresh spinach or chard
1 clove garlic, minced
1-3 tsp red curry paste
½ can coconut milk
1 box (32 oz.) chicken or vegetable broth
1 tsp curry powder
½ tsp ground ginger
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp brown sugar
4 oz. rice noodles
1-2 Tbsp lime juice
Pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions:

Sauté onion and carrot in a little olive oil until tender. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add red curry paste and mix until evenly distributed. Add broth, coconut milk, curry powder, ginger, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and brown sugar. Stir for a minute, then add spinach or chard.

Simmer until greens are cooked down, then add noodles and cook according to package directions. Note: if you cook too long, your end result will be more like pad Thai than soup.

Add lime juice to taste before serving and garnish as you wish. Ideas: chopped cashews or peanuts, cilantro, diced green onions. Makes 2-4 servings, depending on how hungry you are.

1 Comment + Posted in: food

Dec
31
2020 Reading Roundup

Top 10 Fiction

  1. Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi Two adorkable college students try to rise above some serious problems while falling in love. Perfect for Rainbow Rowell fans.
  2. Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn A professional wedding invitation letterer is confronted by a former client whose engagement fell apart.
  3. The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan Sequel to my beloved The Royal We. If you know, you know.
  4. Happy and You Know It by Laura Hankin A musician who just missed her former band’s rise to fame takes a job as singer to a fancy Manhattan playgroup. Drawn into the moms’ social circle, she accidentally uncovers a whole lot of drama. I loved the twists in this one.
  5. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness It’s Twilight for academically minded adults, but it’s also an onion of a plot. You won’t get to the last layer almost until the end.
  6. Beach Read by Emily Henry Two writers, former college rivals, find themselves living in adjacent beach houses and challenge each other to swap their (very different) writing genres.
  7. Break the Fall by Jennifer Iacopelli Timely YA about Olympic gymnasts, trying to keep their team together after their coach is arrested for sexual abuse. All the competitions and such are a little repetitive, but that didn’t bother me. One of the few books I actually cried over this year.
  8. American Royals by Katherine McGee Alternate history in which George Washington established an American monarchy. Now, in the present day, the young adult royals are preparing for Princess Beatrice to become America’s first queen. This series is similar in tone to the mid-2000s Luxe novels by Anna Godbersen, which I loved.
  9. The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall A literary novel covering several decades about two couples, the husbands serving as co-pastors of a NYC church. It fell short of my high life-changing expectations, but it’s still lovely.
  10. Emily Eternal by M.G. Wheaton A self-aware AI, created to help humans cope with the end of the world, discovers she actually has bigger problems.

I notice this is a mostly fluffy, lighthearted Top 10, but in 2020 especially, I make no apologies. This was a year for reading whatever makes you happy.

Top 10 Nonfiction

  1. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond I read this with my church book club. It’s long, but I cannot recommend it enough if you want to understand poverty in America.
  2. Untamed by Glennon Doyle A deeply reflective memoir that challenges us all to confront how we’ve been “tamed” and how that affects every aspect of our lives. It’s hard to even take it all in on one reading, and I expect to return to it many times.
  3. Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans A book that really freed me to engage with the Bible differently.
  4. A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons by Ben Folds If you’re a Ben Folds fan, you will love this.
  5. Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A True (as Told to Me) Story by Bess Kalb My favorite book of 2020: a love letter to Kalb’s late grandmother, told in her voice. I’ve never read anything quite like it. Note: I realize I probably have extra emotional resonance with it because I, too, have a Jewish grandmother from New York.
  6. The Art of Showing Up: How to Be There for Yourself and Your People by Rachel Wilkerson Miller Another book to have on hand for future reference, this will guide you in supporting yourself and your loved ones through all kinds of situations.
  7. Placemaker: Cultivating Places of Comfort, Beauty, and Peace by Christie Purifoy Another unique memoir about home, finding and caring for your place in the world, and, equally and unexpectedly, about trees.
  8. What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism by Dan Rather This man has Seen A Lot and is here to share his gentle wisdom at this difficult moment in our history. A must read for all Americans.
  9. Here for It: Or, How to Save Your Soul in America; Essays by R. Eric Thomas If you’re not familiar with R. Eric Thomas, read a few of his hilarious articles for Elle and then read this. It’s moving, entertaining, and insightful.
  10. The Hidden Life of Trees: The Illustrated Edition by Peter Wohlleben A beautiful book about forests, how trees live, symbiotic relationships with other plants, etc. I read this in September and am still referencing it in conversation at least weekly.

Other Fiction

  1. All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg
  2. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
  3. Villette by Charlotte Bronte
  4. When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton
  5. The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (re-read)
  6. Strangers and Cousins by Leah Hager Cohen
  7. Tides by Betsy Cornwell
  8. Vivian Apple Needs a Miracle by Katie Coyle
  9. If, Then by Kate Hope Day
  10. Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans
  11. Sea Wife by Amity Gaige
  12. Extracted by R.R. Haywood
  13. The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
  14. A Tale of Two Kitties by Sofie Kelly
  15. The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon
  16. After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Nancy Kress
  17. We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
  18. Roomies by Christina Lauren
  19. Tweet Cute by Emma Lord
  20. Majesty by Katherine McGee
  21. Rose in Three Quarter Time by Rachel McMillan
  22. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
  23. The Life Below by Alexandra Monir
  24. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
  25. How to Tell Toledo from the Night Sky by Lydia Netzer
  26. Weather by Jenny Offill
  27. Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras
  28. If I Loved You Less by Tamsen Parker
  29. Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth
  30. Three Story House by Courtney Miller Santo
  31. Startup by Doree Shafrir
  32. You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld
  33. Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Other Nonfiction

  1. The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn’t, and Get Stuff Done by Kendra Adachi
  2. Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden: Grow, Harvest, and Arrange Stunning Seasonal Blooms by Erin Benzakein
  3. Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything by Anne Bogel
  4. Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint by Nadia Bolz-Weber
  5. Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved by Kate Bowler
  6. Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh
  7. Rachel Calof’s Story: Jewish Homesteader on the Northern Plains by Rachel Calof
  8. I’ll Have What She’s Having: How Nora Ephron’s Three Iconic Films Saved the Romantic Comedy by Erin Carlson
  9. All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung
  10. The Conscious Closet: The Revolutionary Guide to Looking Good While Doing Good by Elizabeth L. Cline
  11. Native: Identity, Belonging, and Rediscovering God by Kaitlin B. Curtice
  12. A Second Blooming: Becoming the Women We Are Meant to Be by Susan Cushman, ed.
  13. Poser: My Life in Twenty-three Yoga Poses by Claire Dederer
  14. Something Other than God: How I Passionately Sought Happiness and Accidentally Found It by Jennifer Fulwiler
  15. The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong by Karen Gonzalez
  16. My Sergei: A Love Story by Ekaterina Gordeeva (re-read)
  17. How We Fight for Our Lives by Saeed Jones
  18. Nothing Like I Imagined (Except for Sometimes) by Mindy Kaling
  19. Blessed Are the Nones: Mixed-Faith Marriage and My Search for Spiritual Community by Stina Kielsmeier-Cook
  20. I Want to Be Her!: How Friends and Strangers Helped Shape My Style by Andrea Linett
  21. So Here’s the Thing…: Notes on Growing Up, Getting Older, and Trusting Your Gut by Alyssa Mastromonaco
  22. Love & War: Twenty Years, Three Presidents, Two Daughters and One Louisiana Home by Mary Matalin and James Carville
  23. Assimilate or Go Home: Notes from a Failed Missionary on Rediscovering Faith by D.L. Mayfield
  24. The Color of Life: A Journey toward Love and Racial Justice by Cara Meredith
  25. Dot Journaling: A Practical Guide: How to Start and Keep the Planner, To-Do List, and Diary That’ll Actually Help You Get Your Life Together by Rachel Wilkerson Miller
  26. Shalom Sistas: Living Wholeheartedly in a Brokenhearted World by Osheta Moore
  27. Real Food for Pregnancy: The Science and Wisdom of Optimal Prenatal Nutrition by Lily Nichols, RDN
  28. My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew by Abigail Pogrebin
  29. Leaving the Witness: Exiting a Religion and Finding a Life by Amber Scorah
  30. Open Book by Jessica Simpson
  31. Fading Feast: A Compendium of Disappearing American Regional Foods by Raymond A. Sokolov
  32. Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life by Cleo Wade
  33. Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing by Jennifer Weiner
  34. What You Become in Flight by Ellen O’Connell Whittet
  35. Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong
  36. Woman of Color by LaTonya Yvette

2020 Total

I was on track for 100, until reading made me nauseous for several months. I made up a little ground in December by identifying the shortest books on my TBR and checking some out from the library. Still, I’ll celebrate 89, as it’s probably the highest annual book total I’ll get until my unborn child is in college. Yay books!

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