Loving and Learning Lately {51} -

Welcome to Round 51 of this little series I started of all the things in life I’m loving and learning lately! Here you’ll find everything from the books I’m currently reading to the products I’m loving to the shows I’m watching (which, spoiler alert–won’t be very many or very exciting, since I’m not a huge t.v. or movie watcher). If you want to check out past editions of the series, click here.

Note: There are affiliate links in this post, which means I may get a small percentage of any sale made at no extra cost to you.

Loving Lately

Now that we’re almost done totally minimizing our house, I need to do a post on some of the products that EASILY made the cut to keep because we use them all the time and make our lives easier. One that I’ll include now? KNEE-HIGH BABY SOCKS. These are on my mind because I actually ordered MORE for Naomi for one of her Christmas gifts, just because they’re in such high use over here. One thing you have to know about me is that kids’ socks are like the bane of my existence. They’re always all over the house and going missing…and for every single one of my babies, traditional baby socks never cut it. My babies would just kick them right off in about two seconds, and they never stayed on, which is one of the main reasons why we just started dressing our babies in footed sleepers 99% of the time. Anyway, once we discovered these knee-high baby socks, it’s like the heavens parted and we heard angels shouting the good news, because these have been AMAZING. Seriously, put these on your list of things to gift a new mom, and she will thank you FOREVER.

Learning Lately

Recent Reads

Let It Go by Peter Walsh

Can you ever read too many books on decluttering or simple living? Apparently not, at least not when you’re actively in the process of trying to minimize your possessions and are officially stuck in “the messy middle.” I’d already done a round-up years ago of some of my favorite books on decluttering and simplifying, but if I were to re-do the round-up, I would definitely have to include this one. Walsh largely takes this from the point of view of dealing with stuff in the later years of life (or helping an aging loved one to do so), but his super practical, concrete strategies are excellent for anyone at ANY stage of downsizing their stuff.

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

I have officially accepted “romance” as a genre I enjoy now (under certain parameters, that is — I still like my romances to have depth, not be sleazy, and not have ridiculous ripped-bodice covers). Katherine Center is one of the current queens of the highly readable modern versions of the genre, and this has been my favorite that I’ve read of hers yet. Even though she’s not treading any new water and just sticking with common romance tropes, this one was so fun I didn’t care. Premise: up-and-coming screenwriter gets the chance to work with one of her idols on his first-ever romantic comedy. Trouble is? The script is TERRIBLE. Miscommunication and fun and ridiculous antics ensue. I think I binged this one in about a day. P. S. This book and many of the other titles on this list (as well as hundreds of other things) are currently part of a buy one, get one 50% off deal that Amazon is running right now. I think it’s only going on before Christmas though, so take advantage while you can!

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

This one was a surprise for me this year. I had heard nothing about it until I saw it pop up in my Book of the Month subscription as an option (BTW, Book of the Month is STILL (years later!) my absolute favorite treat to myself), and once I started looking into it and started seeing that it was getting a TON of early buzz, I decided to give it a shot. And while I didn’t love the amount of crassness/language in it, the story had me hooked from the beginning. Basically, the premise is that a woman who feels like she’s lost everything–her marriage, her chance at having a family–goes to a hotel intent on taking her own life. However, she unwittingly ends up being the only non-wedding guest in the entire hotel at a very lavish week-long wedding affair, and she somehow gets dragged into all the wedding hoopla from the get-go. While this has some darker humor and bits to sift through, it’s a surprisingly feel-good novel that in the end, I quite enjoyed. Four stars.

Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman

I think if asked, I’d probably have to add this book to “Top 10 Books of All Time” for me. Yep, it was that good, that quotable, and I find myself returning to ideas from it over and over again. Basically this is a book that turns traditional time management and productivity on its head and invites you instead to look at the bigger picture of your life in general. High recommend, and make sure you’re reading it with a highlighter and pen in hand! You’ll definitely want them! (Here’s another one that’s part of that Amazon B1G150% off sale. Totally worth owning.)

Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne

I actually included this years ago in a round-up of books I’d abandoned, and I was never sure if I was going to be able to get past the tone of it enough to return to it. However, when I literally kept seeing it EVERYWHERE in the minimalism sphere as a “must read” and “life-changing” book, I figured I’d best just push through already. I will say, this second attempt, the tone did grate on me slightly less. But I still wouldn’t consider this to be written in such a way as to be highly readable, which is why, even when very motivated to do so, it still took me months to get through. All that said, I get why people would list it as a landmark read in the simplicity and minimalism world (I mean, look at the title alone!), and I did get a lot of interesting ideas and strategies out of this that I will take forward. I guess what I’m saying is that it IS worth a read, but probably don’t expect it to be the most highly enjoyable book to get through.

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer

Here’s another one I started hearing some buzz about in the simplicity/minimalism sphere, and I liked that it took a Christian spin on the idea. Now, the fact that my theology doesn’t align 100% with the author’s is neither here nor there — the fact is, this was a gem of a book that definitely had me rethinking the current hustle culture and my own place in it. I finished this in just a few days, and I actually started it over to read it again almost as soon as I’d read the last paragraph. (And I don’t do that, um, like almost ever.) Basically, this book just breaks down that if you want to become like Jesus, you need to live a similar lifestyle to Jesus — meaning, that you’re not packing your schedule and your house and your life with so much STUFF and BUSYNESS that you don’t have time to focus on what really matters. Totally thought-provoking, but not in an in-your-face guilt/shame way at all. Really liked this one.

Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

This one was on my Summer 2024 Reading List, and I’ve gotta say, it’s right up there with Remarkably Bright Creatures on the “bizarre plot line that somehow actually works” list. The premise of this book is that a newlywed couple discovers that the husband has a very rare mutation that will cause him to turn into a great white shark by the end of the year, and the rest of the novel explores how each part of the couple navigates the changes and how they choose to move forward. This one is definitely less accessible in general than Remarkably Bright Creatures (it definitely reads as more “literary”), but I did enjoy it, and I thought the ending was particularly beautiful. This one won’t be for everyone, but if you like deep musings on the power of love and connections and relationships and the explorations of how all those change over time, you might enjoy this one.

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

Here’s one of the many things I like about Moriarty’s novels — you always know what you’re going to get: a good story, well told, that is easy to binge and that isn’t too fluffy (but not too heavy either). Her books are just the right amount of “make you think” without requiring *too* much effort or brainpower, and she’s always one I go to when I just need something I know will be a quick page turner. This latest release of hers hit all the right notes for me, and I thought the premise of a woman on a flight who makes predictions of when everyone on the plane is going to die (and how) to be a fascinating look at how we deal with uncertainty and the idea of trying to change your fate by changing your trajectory. Some really interesting stuff in this one, and I finished it in under two days, easy.

Practising Simplicity by Jodi Wilson

I’ve followed Jodi’s blog for years and years (and now follow her weekly newsletter), and she’s definitely one to watch in the “simple living” sphere. This gorgeous book is all about how Jodi and her husband sold all they had and packed up their four kids to live the caravan life for a year. Now, I don’t have any desire to do the whole “van life” thing ever, but what I love hearing about was her WHY behind it all and what she learned from living so simply for that year. I’ve also always absolutely loved her photography, and this book has images on every page, and is just a beautiful little gem that I liked picking up whenever I needed a quick little moment to reflect on paring life down to the essentials. This is one I’ll keep forever for sure, just because I resonate so much with her writing style, and I like that she inspires me to find more beauty in the everyday.

Die With Zero by Bill Perkins

Like many nonfiction titles these days, this one probably would have been slightly more effective as a long essay, but I’m still super glad I picked this one up. This totally turned on its head many of the traditional ways of viewing retirement and accumulating wealth, and I found it be utterly fascinating. Basically, the premise is this — instead of having our goal be to accumulate as much as we can for as long as we can, what if instead we were more intentional about when over our lifespan we actually spent our wealth? So that, when it is our time to die, we essentially “die with zero” because we’ve intentionally allocated every dollar we have? Really interesting, and it has definitely changed forever how I view certain things about money.

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

I hadn’t read this classic since I was a teenager, and boy, was it AMAZING to read it aloud with my 9-year-old daughter! I wasn’t sure if the language would be too over her head, but it ended up being so much fun for both of us, and it gave me a chance to broaden her vocabulary a bit. My daughter preferred the earlier chapters when Anne was younger (and always getting herself into scrapes!), but this remains a 5-star read for me, just as I remembered it. I’m thinking we might have to go for book #2 in the series in the new year!