Five Things to Tell You vol. 3
holiday performances, audiobooks, yoga and more!
Hello readers! Yet again, I am sharing five things I simply had to tell you, and would love if you would respond either in the comments or via email with something you simply have to tell me in return ♡
Would you like even more chatty musings on midlife, even more book recommendations, and exclusive downloads and book collections delivered right to your inbox each week? These are all benefits of a paid subscription to this newsletter ~ please do consider becoming a supporter!
Besides attending a performance of The Nutcracker last Friday night with my girls (absolutely delightful!), last weekend found me unexpectedly spending the entirety of Saturday and Sunday at home. Between a low grade virus and an ice storm, I was uninspired to and unable to leave our property. That meant a whole lot of reading! I had just picked up my hold of The Anthropologists by Aysegül Savas from the library after work on Friday and was able to sink into the couch and just read the entire slim book straight through.
This is really a perfect example of the type of literary fiction story I just adore, with no real plot, an unnamed city, realistic people doing their real life things, and commentary on humanity. Artistic but not pretentious, nothing happens but everything happens, people are sometimes sad but there is no unthinkable trauma. It was a delight.
The past month has been a balancing game of trying to figure out how to be proactive and resist in the face of the incoming administration, while also stay mentally healthy. I find that arming myself with knowledge and putting my money where my values are helps me stay in the healthy middle. If you’re feeling like you don’t know what you can do, how about getting updated on what’s happening in the world of education and libraries?
wrote an incredibly helpful piece on how to get educated about this topic:
And after receiving an urgent plea for support via email, I set up a recurring donation to my local LGBTQ Center funded by paid donations to this newsletter. You can donate to my center as well, or please seek out your own local organization that needs your help. I assure you that they do.
I enjoyed a re-read of a favorite 2021 holiday book last week, this time via audio. I have to say, now that I have experienced this story both on the page and in my ears, I will be listening to this book again and again during future holiday seasons!
Christmas by the Book by Anne Marie Ryan is just a complete treasure, with a middle-aged couple in a small English village trying to save their beloved bookshop. I adored the narration and the story is just my earnest, feel-good cup of tea.
Speaking of audiobooks, I have been relying more and more on Audiofile for listening recommendations. I find that despite having so many sources for finding books that I am excited to read, those recommendations don’t always translate to great listening experiences. Often I will love books on audio that I wouldn’t love in print, and vice versa. I just added so many titles to my Libro.fm wishlist from their Best Audiobooks of 2024 list, and I eagerly await their newsletter in my email inbox. Libro.fm also just released their Bestseller Choice Awards selections, which added another title to my wishlist!
I mentioned last month that I had signed up for ‘s Gentle Beginnings yoga series and last weekend marked the end of the 14 days. I absolutely LOVED having a new 10-15 minute yoga video every morning for the beginning of December and found them to be the perfect mix of stretchy and breath-based. While the official daily emails and such have ended, you can always access these videos on YouTube ~ definitely check them out!
In other yoga news, my favorite Adriene Mishler has now ended her famous annual 30 Days of Yoga programs, but did announce recently that she will still be doing a 7-day series starting January 1st instead as a compromise. I’m with her through thick and thin, so I’m excited to see what this brings!
Now it’s your turn to tell ME something! What are you doing to support people vulnerable to do the new administration’s plans? Do you have a favorite holiday re-listen? Favorite yoga person? Love or hate no plot stories? Please do share!
That’s all for this week ~ thanks for reading!
I love to hear from readers, so please do reach out to me with questions or feedback at mindfullibrarian@substack.com . If we aren’t already connected on Goodreads, I would love to see you there as well!
I’m lucky to be with family and have lots of books and puzzles. I’m visiting in Canada (they have their own political issues ) but it helps me to be a bit away. I start back up in January with supporting my causes. The winter solstice is a time a peace for me
Ooo! Excited to check out Audio File! I'm always googling "books that are good on audio" lol. In terms of preparing for the next administration, I've also been mindful of my spending and targeting my donations. I also started a new Substack called The Next Four as a place to share resources/process what's coming.