Books & Reads

Stop scrolling and read these instead

Reading time about 5 minutes

Should I be surprised that so many of you liked the last newsletter, Fall Activities for Tired Moms? Are we all ready to hibernate after a hard year? I’d like to say I’m proud of myself for going apple picking with my family and going to a farmers market but the truth is also I had no energy for those things without four other adults watching my daughter. Next time you wonder how other people do the fun things, consider the size of their tribe.

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This fall I’ve been putting in some extra effort to read more like the teenage girl who carried a book with her everywhere she would go. (I’m fairly sure the only reason I had a purse from the ages 14-19 was to keep a book close at hand.) My absolute hunger for new prose or adventures was a daily need I wanted to fill.

As an adult, who began seeking worse ways to fill my time, I started reading books in my home and then hardly anywhere at all. It wasn’t until I bought an eReader a few years ago - to pass the 2 a.m. insomnia during pregnancy - that books started coming back into my life. At the age of 31, I’m now revisiting the simple joys of reading. I’m not quite at the goal of bringing a book with me everywhere like one does with their phone, but I’m getting closer.

Here are some books and newsletters I’ve read. I invite you to share your good reads in the comments.

Also, here’s a reminder that paid subscribers can download my eBook free: “The Prayer Journal Workbook.”

“The Last Wish: Introducing the Witcher” by Andrzej Sapkowski

I had been avoiding this series for whatever reason until my sister suggested I stop looking for a fantasy to read. After reading this introduction to The Witcher, I am confident it is one of the best fantasies I’ve ever read.

Sapkowski’s characters are rich and surprising; he often takes fairytale tropes and makes his readers question who is worse, the monsters or the humans. I appreciated the complex female characters and, for the first time in a while, I found myself staying up well past my bedtime to read just a little more…

Substack Reads

I can't work nine to five every day and be an okay person

Neurodivergent Friendship 💞

Health Shot: Gendered treatment of patients with energy limiting conditions

A quick personal update:

Life is still lifey. My persistent pain has not gone away. I am always monitoring how my body battery feels and doing my best to avoid sensory overload. I hope to write more here like I used to but the amount of energy to parent, work, parent more, and take care of my body is exhausting.