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READING I have four books checked out from the library and another waiting for me. Goodness knows what I thought I was going to have time for this month, haha. I'm actually in one of those 'start 6 books and put each of them down' mode, so I don't have a great new recommendation. This is what's on my short list though: Spineless: The Science of Jellyfish and the Art of Growing a Backbone - Juli Berwald I recommended someone Soul of an Octopus; they recommended this back. Fingers crossed! 
The Year of Yes - Shonda Rhimes
I need a little positive self help in my life these days. This one got a stellar review from the podcast, "By the Book", where they chronicle living by self help books for two weeks... usually to hilarious results. The Body: A Guide for Occupants - Bill Bryson My all time favorite author is back with a brand-spanking new book. "At Home" was one of my favorites of his, and I'm hoping this is similar.
I had to hang onto some guilty pleasure albums because it feels good to blast Chasing Daylight with the windows down in summer.
PODCASTING
Esther Perel is back for season 3 with Where Should We Begin. I've learned so much from listening to her episodes about relationships and communication and being kind to yourself. I'm at the point of seeking out other podcasts that have her as a guest on, too (that's how I found Terrible, Thanks for Asking, and I found Esther through On Being). Some adult themes, so listen with headphones if needed!
Hello and welcome back from my extended summer break. :)
READING 2008 was a milestone year for me. I studied abroad (SFS Turks and Caicos) and lived on the Cape for the first time (WHOI Summer Student program). I turned 21, made incredible friends, and started my senior year of college. In the middle of the summer, I took out a book from the Woods Hole Library that always stuck with me. (Fun fact - the Cape's library system is called CLAMS - Cape Libraries Automated Materials Sharing. I obviously love this and take full advantage of this).
At a friends' encouragement I picked the book up again, and I keep saying WOW out loud. Like, is the way I view spirituality more impacted by this book than I thought? Is that where I came up with the idea for XYZ? To be fair, not all of the book has aged well - and hopefully I've grown some - so there are a couple cringey moments. But I'm enjoying the re-read, and will enjoy watching Julia Roberts in the film again. I vagutely recall loving how Julia-Elizabeth dressed. I'm also on the waitlist for Elizabeth Gilbert's new book, City of Girls. Next month!
PODCASTING This is a two-for-one deal here - a podcast-book combo. In fact, a book so good I checked it out via CLAMS (ha) and then immediately proceeded to buy it online because I knew I needed a personal copy. Meet Rebel Talent. I heard about the book on a recent episode of NPR's Hidden Brain, You 2.0: Rebel with a Cause. Shankar's guest, Francesca Gino, talked about visiting Massimo Botturo's restaurant to learn how he successfully broke the rules of the restaurant industry to earn his Michelin stars - without being formally trained, no less. 
(Side note - now this is a three-for-one. I learned about Massimo on Season 1, Episode 1 of the Netflix series Chef's Table - I hardly ever watch TV but this show gives me hope for a beautiful world and the celebration of food and culture.)
Francesca was engaging and turned her research and data collection into pure inspiration. The book is well written too, weaving between different narratives and timelines while also being educational. It's a great book for someone who colors outside the lines, and wants to further develop their entrepreneurial, curious nature. Start with the Podcast, then read the book, and finish with the episode of Chef's Table while booking your flight to Italy.
Happy July! I just finished a lovely beach-and-ice-cream-cone day, and am picking up on the pace on my reading list
READING I finished How to Be a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery in one sitting. What a charming and sweet love note to the animals that taught Sy their life-changing lessons! It's got me thinking about my animals and who who make my top-ten-teachers list. The easy ones:
PODCASTING
One short podcast that stood out to me this week was from Ted Talks Daily: Why you should define your fears instead of your goals, by Tim Ferriss (here's a link to the Ted talk itself). He created a system that forces you to tackle your major decisions and anxieties head on, writing out in detail what your'e afraid of happening; what resources you have to lessen the impact of those outcomes; and what your life will look like in six months, a year, three years if you take no action. My kind of strategizing!
Welcome to summer in New England! I've been much slower to come out of hibernation this year but I'm here, I'm alive, I'm showing up, I'm still reading-listening-podcasting!
READING My mom and I recently took a once in a lifetime trip to Paris and Provence. It was beautiful and fun and the food and wine were LIFE-ALTERING. Someone recommended The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah to me if I want to stay immersed in all things french. Plus, I always love a good historical fiction. I'm immediately hooked. While I was away I tried reading Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. I really enjoy his writing style and how he's weaving narratives and historical events together but let's just say, it wasn't a good travel read for me. I'm already at an elevate anxiety level and reading about the charming psycopath serial killer dude wasn't terribly calming, haha.
PODCASTING
One of the ways I Get Things Done for Saltwater Palette is a whole suite of (mostly free) online tools that help me with the digital graphic side of the business. This ranges from designing social media posts to cropping and photo editing my scanned artwork to designing banners and business cards. And my sidekick all along has been Canva. It's this wonderfully empowering website that lets you design All The Things, with little to no cost for the smallest of small businesses (party of one raising my hand over here). I didn't know Canva's origin story until recently, listening to the NPR podcast How I Built This with Guy Raz. He interviews Canva founder Melanie Perkins on the beginnings of the site and why she went to a kite-surfing-required conference for her little baby online tool. Listen here: https://www.npr.org/2019/01/24/688299882/canva-melanie-perkins Other favorites in the How I Built This repertoire include Eileen Fisher (and I don't even wear the brand), TOMS, Whole Foods, and method.
Hello and happy March! Only sixteen days until spring (she says as her phone alerts her to another impending snow storm)! Here's my shelf for the month:
READING My reading list is all over the place right now. On the fiction side I've started Tony's Wife by Adriana Trigiani, which is feeling like a puffy-light summer read. I had to offset the anxiety that last book gave me, bahaha. I don't like the feeling of impending-natural-disaster-we-can't-do-anything-about.... looking at YOU, yellowstone. I also half started Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver because she's my favorite, but I'm pausing that until she can have my full attention. :) I'm also reading Scale by Geoffrey West - why are things (animals, companies, cities...) as big (or small) as they are? Why do they last as long as they do? What are the rules that govern those answers? ...Annnnd welcome to the two sides of my brain.
PODCASTING
Another podcast that I fell for immediately is On Being with Krista Tippett. My all time favorite interviews (so far - I have so much catching up to do) include Mary Oliver, Alan Rabinowitz, Arlie Hochschild, and Seth Godin. This week I listened to Maria Popova's episode. I stopped my car to write this down, somewhat paraphrased, on taking our own road: "We orient ourselves in the darkness of the unknown by grasping blindly for familiar points of reference, and we seek to construct out of them a compass out of similarities and contrasts relative to our familiar world and existing knowledge. It's especially true about such nebulous subjects as art or philosophy or really how to think, where there is no true north, so we seek tangibles to orient ourselves in this maze of merit and meaning. Most people, all people have that capacity in them, to not orient ourselves to what's been done, what's been thought, and try to every so gently to expand the private locus of the possible." |
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