Five Things to Tell You vol. 4
Lego birds, five years alcohol-free, rocks for jocks, an interview, 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 ♡
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We had a wonderful Christmas day over here ~ in our pajamas all day, taking the pups for jaunts out in the woods every so often, napping, etc. We don’t do many adult presents in our family, but I just had to share about this one ♡
My senior son gave me this bird’s nest Lego set for Christmas and said, “Well, I know you love birds and all”, and seriously, this might be one of my favorite presents ever.
I’m not very attached to presents, but a thoughtful, observant gift is really such a treat. I truly do love watching the birds that I feed on our back porch, and I love puzzle / crafty things I can do while listening to audiobooks. He did a wonderful job with this gift!1
Also, can you believe this was the first EVER Lego set that I have done on my own? These didn’t exist in my house when I was a child, and while my own kids have had a gazillion sets over the years (and the senior and his girlfriend are still obsessed with them), I have never been gifted one or completed one solo. It was a delightful way to spend some time on Christmas Day, and now finished, it’s an adorable addition to a book corner in the living room.
I spent much of December with a surprisingly lulling nonfiction book as my bedtime reading. My oldest laughs at me whenever I say that my least favorite topics to read about are rocks2 and space, but truly, my knowledge of these things is abysmal, so reading about them can be tough for me.
However, while there is a whole lot about rocks and geology in A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko, the book isn’t really *about* rocks or geology. It’s about an epic hike in the Grand Canyon, the Grand Canyon itself, preservation, the theft of land from Indigenous peoples, and so much more.
I read this book slowly, just a bit every night, and I was fascinated by it. I still don’t know much more about geology, as my brain seems to resist retaining names of layers of rocks, but the majestic nature of this area of our world doesn’t need a scientific name to appreciate and I love being able to talk about hiking books with the avid hikers in my family. This was one of my favorite nonfiction reads of the year!
You all know I love reading about books, and I want to make sure you get to read my favorite pieces too! Here are some great recent bookish roundups on Substack:
- ~ Most Anticipated Books of 2025
- ~ 12 Short Book Recommendations
- ~ 5 Cozy Reads to End the Year
- ~ Favorites of 2024
- ~ My Most Successful 2024 Reading Project
- ~ My Favorite Non-fiction Reads of the Year
If you’re new around here, maybe you didn’t know I’m an IRL librarian? Well, I write about that part of my life only occasionally in my newsletter, but you can learn a bit more about how I got into the library and why I love it in this recent interview with
on ☺
I’ll preface this last one by saying I never know how to talk about this and am sharing this only for those interested ~ no agenda-pushing or judgement here!
This month marks five years alcohol-free for me, and it’s an interesting milestone in a world very full of alcohol and drinking culture. If you’re looking ahead to the new year and are questioning alcohol’s place in your life, one book I always recommend is Quit Like a Woman by . I read this very shortly after what I would later mark as my last drink, and the book helped cement my decision to not have another.
If you’re a mom and want community as you explore leaving alcohol behind, my sister-friend
has built an incredible space for that over at The Sober Mom Life. And guess what! She has also written a book about sobriety that will be coming out sooooon! I will, of course, be sharing all about it here.
Do you love Lego sets? What topic do you struggle to read about? Thoughts on drinking culture? Got a book rec for me??? 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!
My other favorite present was the set of 15 lb dumbbells the family gave me, but those were inspired by me saying very loudly, very often, “if anyone needs a gift idea for me, I would LOVE a set of 15 lb dumbbells since I’m almost too tough for my 12’s!”. They took the hint - ha! Huge thanks to
and her strength program for getting me to lift heavier and heavier weights!the ONLY science class I took in all of my many, many years of college was nicknamed Rocks for Jocks - it was Geology 101 and was comprised of a whole lot of college athletes and me (not a college athlete) just trying to fulfill our science requirements. I remember absolutely nothing from it.
Thanks for the mention! :)
I struggle to read any book that has an illness theme because then I start diagnosing myself with things. Fun times.
As for drinking, it never made me feel good, so I rarely do it. I used to order club soda with lime so it looked like I was participating with others but didn't have to actually drink. But now there's this new trend of mocktails that I'm thoroughly enjoying. A lot of restaurants that never had mocktail options before are now adding them, and they're often really delicious. Congrats on 5 years!
The bird lego set was so thoughtful. Legos were a HUGE gift around our house this year too. Santa brought our kids a Lego table and a Lego set each and then they got a few more from family members. Congrats on your sobriety! Worth celebrating for certain.