Shopping on Black Friday not only fills your house with things you and your loved ones likely don’t need, but it also tells companies that it’s alright to make their employees work miserable hours on a holiday that is supposed to be about giving thanks for what you have.

 

And it’s not just going into the store. Last year Americans spent $4.45 billion on Thanksgiving and Black Friday alone. That’s a frightening amount of shopping and spending.

These purchases have real impacts, and shopping for the sake of shopping hurts us long after we hand over our card.

9 Reasons Not to Shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday

1. Shopping, especially in excess, is resource and energy intensive. What you buy (and how) has a very real environmental impact. It’s not just your wallet that will feel the impact of your spending.

2. The deals aren’t real. Many retailers raise prices in advance of Black Friday or they don’t actually intend to ever sell the item at the list price.

3. “But it’s the best deals of the entire year!” False. Many stores will have better prices on the same items throughout the year. Prices are likely to be even lower in early December.

4. The crowds. Does anyone actually like waiting in line and being over-run by the people around them in the store?

5. Stress! We seriously don’t need any more stress in our lives.

6. Workers shouldn’t have to protest for their right to spend Thanksgiving with their families.

7. You’re more likely to make rash decisions and impulse purchases when something is on sale.

8. Many retailers manufacture cheaper, lower quality items to sell on Black Friday according to an article in CNN.

9. Black Friday isn’t about giving consumer’s good deals and taking care of loyal customers. It’s about pushing their year-end profits. Black Friday started as a way for stores to grow their profits. It’s all about getting them more money, not saving you any.

 

There’s a reason books on decluttering are hitting the top of charts across the world. We are so conditioned to buy without thinking it through first. We fill our homes with so.much.stuff. Let’s take a break this Black Friday and be happy with what we already have.

 

Stay tuned for Friday’s post on what you should do instead of shop on Black Friday.

I’m a huge fan of homemade gifts and luxurious DIY beauty treatments. Combine them, and you have the perfect holiday present.

These homemade beauty gifts are easy to make and are made with easy-to-find, natural, sustainable, safe ingredients. No mysterious ingredients or harmful chemicals here.

Another reason I love making little gifts like these is because they are easy to scale up or down and make as many as you need. I’m also a sucker for anything in a cute jar.

Easy Homemade Beauty Gifts

Coconut oil and shea butter body butter

Infused bath salts

Photo courtesy of Hello Glow

Naturally-tinted raspberry lip balm

Face mist

Conditioning anti-frizz spray 

Grapefruit rosemary bath salts 

Photo courtesy of JJ Begonia

Calming sleep balm

Solid perfume

Peppermint + lavender headache balm

Photo courtesy of Hello Glow

Four holiday-scented body scrubs 

Dry shampoo spray

Vanilla body spray

Sore muscle salve

 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go make some of these for myself.

Portland has been on my list for a while, and when a trip to New Zealand was no longer possible after my ankle surgery, it seemed like a great time to go. My boyfriend and I spent a long weekend in Portland last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. The weather was quintessential fall – clouds and a slight chill in the air. It hardly rained while we were there. I left feeling ready for the holiday season (but not ready for Christmas decorations or music. It’s too soon people! Give Thanksgiving a chance!).

To be clear, this is less of a direct ‘you have to go here!’ and more of a list of the things we did and enjoyed on our long weekend in Portland. We were only able to explore Southwest Portland around the Pearl District. I know there are amazing things in the rest of Portland and outside of the city.

Also, despite spending three days in Portland, I only have four pictures to show for the trip. This is partly to blame on my inability to ever remember to take a photo, but also a conscious decision. It was important to me to really see the city and be present. While we used a phone for directions or restaurant advice, for the most part we didn’t use our phones outside of the hotel room.

I highly recommend trying this. Instead of taking photos I journaled daily about all of the things we did and ate so I can look back and remember what we did/saw/experienced.

 

Food

The downside of only having a long weekend in Portland is all of the food we weren’t able to eat. Our first dinner in the city was my favorite restaurant meal from the past few years. So good!

We went to the city without any plans (other than a place to stay and a general idea of how to get to our hotel), and we spent our entire time blissfully planning out our day based on where we wanted to eat. My kind of vacation.

Here’s what we ate:

 

Cheryl’s On 12th

Not my favorite. Our flight landed during lunch and it took us a couple hours to get off the plane and to our hotel. I had been dreaming about eating for hours by the time we got into Portland proper, so I wasn’t super picky with our first meal. I just wanted something hot and fast. Cheryl’s was a minute walk from the hotel.

The vegetarian fried rice was alright, but I left dissapointed. I saw something about complementary beignets on Yelp and was under the impression that they came with every meal. Totally not true, totally my misunderstanding. Also, turns out I’m not a fan of “cheesy” hash browns sprinkled with a sprinkling.

 

Imperial

I honestly would have eaten here for every meal. This was our first dinner in Portland, and we got so lucky. We found Imperial on Yelp that afternoon and ended up being able to snag a spot at their dinner service.

The restaurant was packed! They squeezed us in at their chef’s counter facing their open wood fire cooking area. It was hot and the kitchen was busy. It was like watching the Food Network while eating dinner, but way more satisfying. I loved watching the kitchen and seeing what everyone was ordering.

For dinner I had a killer kale salad that puts all tough, boring kale salads to shame. It had a citrusy goat cheese dressing that didn’t taste anything like goat cheese. The salad was topped with sunflower seed brittle (mmm, sugar) and shaved winter veggies. I paired the salad with a coal roasted sweet potato that I slathered in butter and their pepita salsa. It was flavorful, comforting, and filling.

This is killing me. I want to eat it all again.

I also snagged a couple of bites of their buttery, flakey, didn’t-leave-a-single-crumb Parker House Rolls and their house made fettuccine with yam, kabocha squash, brussels sprout leaves, chanterelles, and pepitas. (Do note that the menu changes daily and none of these may be on the menu if you visit).

Imperial had fantastic gluten free and vegetarian options, and they clearly marked everything on their menu. Yes, you should definitely go.

 

The Daily Feast

The Daily Feast is small and cozy with a nice mix of classic and healthy options. Our breakfast was solid, although I’m still craving their oatmeal. I made a last minute decision to go with fried eggs and hash browns instead, and I’m still not sure if it was the right call.

 

Food Carts

I’ve never seen so many food carts in one city. The grilled cheese was calling me, but since I can’t really eat that I went for juicy vegetable tacos. According to Yelp, there are a ton of food carts definitely worth trying.

 

Oven and Shaker

After multiple meals of stuffing our faces, it seemed like it was time for some vegetables. We headed to Oven and Shaker for a glass of red wine and a salad… and pizza. Unfortunately the pizza wasn’t gluten free, but I made up for it with rosemary-parmesan fried chickpeas. Yummy! They were almost as satisfying as fries.

Unfortunately my salad was disappointing – super salty and otherwise bland. Rumor has it the pizza was good.

 

Byways Cafe

A table of locals brought their own hot sauce and shared it. This place felt far from touristy. Byways serves classic breakfast and lunch food. It felt like a diner without the shitty menu and soggy potatoes. It’s worth the wait.

 

Pine Street Market

I panicked that there wouldn’t be anything for me to eat at the market and picked up a salad at a local salad chain on the way. Major regrets. I got to choose what was in my salad, but it was so under-dressed that it was a crime. Nothing will make you feel like a cow quite like eating a dry kale salad. Yum.

I had major ramen envy. And the glutenous pita bread was like tasty pillows for your mouth.

Before you feel too sorry for me, you should know that I had a mind-numbingly delicious, non-dairy strawberry soft serve. Oh man it was good. I also got the best of both worlds with a few bites of their vanilla soft serve covered in their homemade hard-shell chocolate sauce. (*insert homer noises here*) I’ll eat a dry kale salad every day if you give me a cup of soft serve from Wizbangbar. (Don’t click on that unless you are going to go there or you’ll end up depressed with a top-notch soft-serve craving. Trust me, it just happened to me.)

 

Bamboo

It’s a tough call between Imperial and Bamboo. This was my first time ordering sushi at a restaurant (hey, tempura is amazing). While I enjoyed the sushi, it was the rest of the meal that I really loved.

Their twist on a French 75 is possibly even better than the classic. I wanted to sip on one all night despite the fact that half a glass in I was feeling it. 

I’m still craving the sweet and sour cauliflower. I can’t tell you the last time I had sweet and sour. There was no frightening red sauce anywhere to be seen, and the flavor was impeccable. Deep, acidic, lightly sweet – I could have eaten them all night.

Also, major bonus points for being incredibly sustainable.

 

Final Breakfast

Our last breakfast was so bad I’m not going to include it. My steel cut oats were watery and tasted strongly of soap. This is why I ended up eating leftover sushi at the airport at 9 a.m. The restaurant we went to had okay reviews online, but it was the only place open on the way to the light rail station. It turns out most places aren’t open at 7 a.m. on a Sunday. Life lessons.

 

Coffee:

Case Study Coffee

You cannot go to Portland and not get coffee… or maybe you can. I might have done it.

Case Study Coffee’s homemade chai tea was spicy and creamy without being painfully sweet. I could happily drink it daily. I’m heavily considering emailing them for the recipe.

The space was perfect for hanging out and slowly sipping a hot drink. We went here twice (I got regular tea the second time), and both times we spent at least an hour writing and reading. The staff was ridiculously, genuinely nice and easy-going, and the space was both gorgeous and comfortable.

I’m so jealous this coffee shop isn’t in my neighborhood.

 

Stumptown

This is on the list so no one yells at me. We shamelessly went to the one in the airport. I heard that their drip is good, although I can’t taste anything for the next week after scalding myself on their chai latte (made with actual tea! Hallelujah!).

I think it was good? I’ll let you know my ultimate decision when the nickel-sized heat blister on the roof of my mouth finally heals. Seriously.

 

Things to Do:

There are so many things to do in Portland and it can be difficult to fit them all, especially if you are only visiting for a long weekend.

We didn’t really sight see or do any outdoor adventures. We were honestly lucky I was able to walk around at all. (We’ve been home for days and my ankle/feet are still punishing me for the amount of walking and standing we did.) For the most part we tried to keep each trip under .5 mile of walking, and we walked everywhere.

 

Powell’s Books

I 100 percent picked our neighborhood and our hotel based on its proximity to Powell’s. Our hotel room looked out on the sign for the famous bookstore. This was the only thing I wanted to do in Portland.

This place is stuffed with millions of books, and it felt like just as many people. Our first 15 minutes in the store were completely overwhelming. I almost asked to leave. But once we got out of the main entrance area and into the actual shelves the crowds thinned out and I was only overwhelmed by the amount of books.

The multiple floors were crammed with high shelves and more books than I have ever seen in one place. Powell’s is easily a book lover’s dream, although I had trouble figuring out their categories and as someone with decision problems, it was anxiety-inducing.

If I were to go again and I wanted to buy a book, I would go in with a few titles in mind and look them up on their handy computers. It would be a much more relaxing experience than trying to see every title in their literature and memoir section.

 

Ground Kontrol Arcade

This was my first time to an arcade that wasn’t attached to a pizza parlor. We went during the day before the bar was open so it was a nice mix of adults and kids. About half of the space is full of pinball machines and the rest is classic (and a couple new) arcade games. True to form, Tetris was my favorite.

 

Eat

A lot. Eating was our main activity. You should also definitely consider going to breweries if you visit. I’ve heard good things.

 

Transportation:

We took the light rail to and from the airport and walked everywhere else. It was great! Although I didn’t love clomping around Portland in the boot. Maybe don’t go until you are fully recovered from ankle surgery. It might make things easier.

 

Accommodations:

We originally looked into staying at an Airbnb, but there were so few listings left that we decided to go for a hotel in a great area for the same price.

The Ace Hotel felt a bit like staying at your hipster friend’s house. The decor is minimal but stylish. The design is somehow old school and modern. There are weird quirks (the glass shower enclosure was in the room proper. Highly entertaining.) and touches of home. Also, there may be scents of pot wafting through the halls and a live band in the lobby.

Overall we really enjoyed our stay. The Ace is in a great location, the staff was incredibly friendly, and the room made a good home base for an easily tired traveler. The bed and the pillows were not as comfortable as I had hoped and I wish the room had been darker, but I’m spoiled at home. The sleeping comfort is on par with most hotels I’ve stayed in.

 

Have you ever been to Portland? Where did you go?

The prospect of sitting down to write every day can be daunting. When viewed as a whole it feels insurmountable, too big to even start. But when you break it down into what it really is, a short (or not) break with your thoughts each day, it’s not so intimidating.

You don’t have to be a writer or a master diary keeper to write every day, and it certainly doesn’t have to be A Thing. 

How to Write Every Day

Create a simple daily writing habit with these tips.

 

1. Start small.

A single page. Five minutes. A short list – all great places to start. There’s nothing like the pressure of a blank page. Make your goal achievable without excessive struggle and you will actually build and keep your habit.

This month I’m doing 15 minutes of writing every day. It’s achievable, and even on the days where I can’t find words I can still get it done. Experiment to find what time/format works best for you, but always aim low. Set the bar at five minutes and pat yourself on the back when you write for 30.

 

2. Get inspired… or fake it.

Opening a blank page is like standing in front of an audience and forgetting your entire speech (I speak from experience). My brain freezes and my palms start to sweat. What am I supposed to say? Where did the words go? How much longer?

If coming up with your own topics feels overwhelming, there are a lot of journals that come with their own short prompts to get you started like the Five Minute Journal (also an app) or you can check out lists of prompts online (there are loads if you Google “Journal Prompts“).

 

3. Make time.

Once you decide how long you are going to write for each day, make room for it in your schedule. Even if you are planning on writing for five minutes, set aside the exact time you are going to write and make sure you hold yourself to it. Claiming you will just write when something comes to you or when you have a bit of extra time in the day will derail you (trust me) and make it difficult to actually do the work.

I’ve had the best luck with staying consistent (and remembering to write) when I add writing into my daily routine. Try writing as part of your morning or evening routine to start. It’s a great way to remind yourself that it’s time to write, and it makes it easier to stay consistent.

 

4. Sit down.

The hardest part is showing up. The first step to writing isn’t putting down words, it’s sitting down (or standing up) to write them.

 

5. Track it.

I’m a sucker for a good goal tracker. I love crossing off days or adding tick marks. Visualizing your progress can be powerful. It’s a nice reminder to get the work done. This doesn’t have to be fancy. A tally on a piece of scrap paper, a mark on your calendar, a habit app or notebook – whatever works for you.

 

6. Be accountable.

I get it – holding yourself accountable each day is exhausting. We all have so many things on our minds and even more on our to-do lists.

If you really want to write every day, make it a priority and hold yourself to it. Even better, team up with a friend and hold each other accountable. It’s a great way to stay motivated–you don’t want to let the other person down– and connected. You can also join already existing communities of daily writers like 750 words and NaNoWriMo.

 

7. Turn it off!

Put away the phone, turn off the Internet, cut the distractions. It’s hard enough to stay focused and actually write, don’t make it harder. If you do decide to write on your computer and need the Internet (be sure you aren’t lying to yourself here – Google Docs and Evernote both work without a connection), make sure you only have one tab open and don’t let yourself click away. Make it easier on yourself and turn off your notifications or close out of your email while you’re at it.

 

8. Come back.

Missing a day is not the end of the world. It’s also not an excuse to give up entirely. So you didn’t write for a day or two – shrug and move on. Pick up your notebook (or computer or typewriter or microphone) and get going. Today is a great day to write.

Yesterday I left the house alone for the first time since surgery. The realization hit me while I was locking the door with my own keys, which had been sitting on my dresser for months.

What used to be an every day thing for me now felt foreign and slightly frightening. I had been hiding behind other people and relying on them for my basic needs for months. And now I was suddenly back out in the world, fending for myself.

More than anything else, the hardest part of my injury has been losing my independence and my ability to move about freely in the world by myself.

I miss grabbing my shoes and heading out for a run on a whim. I miss being able to take care of my boring errands like going to the post office or the library without having to schedule it with someone else or ask to be taken there.

Today it’s coming back.

These days I feed myself, do my half of the housework and cooking, and spend the work day by myself. I started driving this morning, and daily walks are my new reward for hard work.

But I feel like I have to learn how to be in the world again. A couple of weeks ago I took BART into downtown San Francisco for my first real adventure on my own post-surgery. I was shocked by how uncomfortable I was out in public. It certainly doesn’t help that my boot (and previously cast/crutches) draw a lot more attention than I am comfortable with, but my time hidden away in the house has made me feel awkward and unmoored out in public.

I’ve been working from home since January, and my time in my own bubble is clearly taking its toll. Ironically, at a time when most people want to stay home and spend extra time with family, I’m itching to get out and meet new people and be a part of the outside world again.

A downsize of any magnitude can be stressful. Too much stuff in not enough space is a recipe for tears and disaster. But living small doesn’t have to be a struggle. You can downsize without stress, arguing, or despair.

This year I took the plunge and massively downsized my living space. I went from sharing a spacious three bedroom, 2.5 bath, two-car garage townhouse with two roommates to sharing a one bedroom, one bath 275 sq. ft. apartment with my boyfriend.

While I already didn’t have a ton of stuff, my things were strewn about the entire place. It was also a huge jump in space – my old bedroom alone was easily half of our current living space.

*Our new tiny kitchen and half of the downstairs.

Tips to Downsize Without Stress

1. Get rid of things well ahead of time.

Over the past four years I have been reducing the amount of stuff in my life. But in the face of massively cutting my living and storage space, it was clear I had further to go.

Six months before I planned to move I started donating and selling things. This let me do a really deep clean and sit with my things before deciding if they were worth making room for. Around 90 percent of what I got rid of happened at least two months before I moved.

You don’t have to start six months out, but the more time you give yourself the more you will be able to get rid of and the less stuff you will have strewn about in your way after you move.

2. Be realistic.

We talked extensively about what living together in a small space would mean. We both knew we would have to live with a bit less, and we hypothesized (endlessly on my part) about what could be given up to make it work.

But before that, there was a discussion about how small we could really go and comfortably fit our stuff and our lives. I’m a firm believer that this such a thing as ‘too small.’ Find your balance and your limits.

*Half of my (largely empty) old closet on the left and our shared closet now on the right. Our closet is a quarter of my old one, and it’s our only closet.

3. Know where it goes.

I spent months imagining where everything could/should live in our tiny apartment. We have limited storage space, and I hate looking at piles of stuff and furniture. By the time I moved in we knew where 90 percent of our stuff was going to stay. It made a huge difference in making our space quickly livable, cutting out debates over best places, and preventing us from moving things over and over again in our small space.

4. Move slowly.

There’s nothing that will make you regret your decision more than seeing all of your stuff piled in the middle of a tiny space. Avoid the overwhelm and the panic.

I moved in a box at a time for a couple of weeks until I only had about a quarter of my stuff left. I cannot recommend this method enough if you are downsizing. All of my essentials went first, and I let the random bits that didn’t have a clear home languish at my old place for a bit to feel what it would be like to live without them.

It took the stress out of trying to pack and move and unpack all of my stuff at once. And the things left behind went straight into the donation bin at the end.

This is obviously not an option if you have to be in one place or out of another quickly, but it was perfect for my leisurely timeline. You can also mimic this by moving your essentials into one part of the room, packing up the main things a week before, or whatever system that will work for you.

5. Don’t buy anything.

Seriously. Of course you should feed yourself, but anything that isn’t a consumable (or a necessity like a mattress) should wait. When we first moved in together there were so many things that we thought would fix all of our problems.

But the longer we waited to purchase these “solutions,” the more often we realized we didn’t need them at all. We made do with what we had or reorganized to make things work.

Live in your new space for at least a month before you bring in new furniture, storage, or other purchases. This lets you get a sense of how you really use the space, if you really need the item in the first place, and what the real problem is.

I nearly bought a large shelving unit just to fit my mixer. But after (slowly, and more than once) reorganizing our kitchen I realized that I could make the mixer fit under the sink and we didn’t really have anything else to go on the shelves.

6. Everyone’s in charge of their own stuff.

Whether you are moving as a family or just by yourself, this seemingly obvious rule is important. It’s so easy to see what other people should get rid of, but actually downsizing your stuff can be a nightmare.

Put the responsibility on each person to declutter and move their own belongings (within reason). When my boyfriend and I moved in together we were careful to not interfere or lobby for things to be donated. We divided up our storage spaces equally and we were free to put whatever we wanted in our half.

The same is true if you are storing items for a family member. Those items are their responsibility and theirs to store when you move.

7. Have a why.

This is crucial! More than anything else, knowing why you are downsizing and being fully behind your decision will make your move much less stressful. Remind yourself anytime you start to feel overwhelmed or overworked why you want to live in a smaller space and the benefits you are going to get.

For me, downsizing meant that my boyfriend and I could live in a comfortable apartment in a neighborhood we liked without needing roommates. It meant I could freelance more comfortably and cut my rent significantly. Living small makes it easier for us to travel. Also, have a I mentioned we can fully clean the whole house in less than 30 minutes (heaven!).

These benefits made getting rid of the last bits of homeless things that I was holding on to relatively easy. It also made the hair-pulling moments something to laugh about and tackle head on.

Every day of November I will sit down and write by hand for 15 minutes.

Sure it seems a little silly to sit down and write for a short period of time while people around the world are pounding out books for National Novel Writing Month. But 15 minutes is a whole lot more minutes than I’m doing now. And I don’t have a burning book idea.

In the words of Amy Poehler, “Good for them. Not for me.”

November Writing Challenge – 15 Minutes Every Day

Last year I was fully behind 30 for 30 – writing 30 minutes every day for the month of November. But I very quickly realized that 30 minutes is a lot of time to set aside each day. It’s also a lot of time to sit and stare at a piece of paper when you can’t think of anything to say.

Instead of torturing myself and making my daily writing something I dread, I decided to cut the time and make it a minimum of 15 minutes. I can go longer if I’d like, but each day I will sit down and put pen to paper for at least 15 minutes.

Why a Daily Writing Challenge?

I make my living writing, which means that I already write most days. But much like a graphic designer or an illustrator, most of my time is spent creating for someone else. This writing challenge is a reminder to write things that are just for me. Not things to share or pitch.

The daily writing challenge will help me start a habit that will hopefully carry me well past November. It will help me to remember to reach for my journal and really sort through some of my thoughts. Since last year’s November writing challenge, I have completely lost the habit of keeping a gratitude journal, or really writing in my journal at all.

Why Journaling?

Every once in a while I may break my own rules and write for this space, but my intention for this challenge is to build a habit of journaling. I want to cut out space in my writing that is just for me.

Want to join me?

It’s only the second day of November, you can still write for 29 days!

The best thing about recovering from surgery is ample time to read. I skipped the doctor-recommended Netflix (seriously) and instead read so many incredible books this month. From the new(ish) Harry Potter screenplay to YA suitable for adults to hand drawn illustration, my October reads were a nice mix of things. Despite blowing through 10 books this month, my hunger for books is still insatiable – please send more immediately!

Ego Is the Enemy

There were a few great points and a couple things that made me think and reach for my notebook, but overall this one fell flat for me. I didn’t figure out what all of the hype is about.

 

The Kid

I had trouble with this book from the very beginning. After reading Shrill I couldn’t connect with Dan Savage as a narrator. The things he said to Lindy West tainted my view of him, and he certainly didn’t try to make me like him. It also didn’t help that so much has changed since the ’90s.

 

Girls & Sex

Please read this book. Everyone. It made me rethink everything I had learned about relationships, sex, and self-confidence. It also made me so thankful that I was in high school 10 years ago when social media and texting were just becoming a thing. Just hearing girls talk about their online lives and the pressure they feel was stressful. I wish I had this book in high school.

 

Every Exquisite Thing

From the author of Silver Linings Playbook, this YA fiction stood up to the hype. I enjoyed reading it and the story didn’t feel dumbed down or overly simplistic and shallow (my biggest problems with many YA books).

 

Fangirl

Oh man am I a fan of Rainbow Rowell. Eleanor & Park and Attachments were so good that I picked up two more of her books this month. I read them both in a day or two each. I just couldn’t help myself.

 

Smarter Faster Better

Not life-changing.

 

Landline

After reading Fangril where I was constantly reminded of my own time in college, Landline felt like a real glimpse into married life and the struggles of being a fully grown adult and not knowing what to do with yourself. I loved this book, quirky time-travel phone and all.

 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Sad: This is not a full J.K. Rowling Harry Potter book. Happy: More story. Eh: Reading a play was not nearly as satisfying.

 

You’ll Grow Out of It

Yes! Just yes. I really connected with Jessi Klein. We have so much in common… minus being Jewish, comedy writing, living in New York and LA, and our daily lives. But everything else was spot on. I laughed, spent a great deal of time nodding my head, and realized we don’t spend enough time talking about women who don’t look like they came from a cover shoot every day.

 

Knives & Ink

I will read anything Wendy MacNaughton publishes. Anything. Also, this one was good. I liked their first book on tattoos, and it was fun to hear about why various chefs got their ink.

 

When Breath Becomes Air

I’m super late to the party on this one – it often seems like everyone I know has already read it or at least knows what it’s about. While I struggled to get into it at first and connect with Paul, by the end I was crying. The kind of crying where snot drips down your face and your eyes are red for hours afterward.

I don’t suddenly better understand life or what it’s like to be diagnosed with lung cancer. I don’t see the world radically differently. I wouldn’t call it life-changing. But I enjoyed it.

 

Do you have any suggestions for what I should read next month?