Welcome to Friday (the 13th!). This week I’m sharing a local book sale haul, a podcast round-up, a recent TBR addition, a quick list of things that are working for me this year, and my 2015 reading year recap. Enjoy!

Book Sale

Last Saturday, I visited the Friends of the Danville Library pop-up book sale. I bought a 1000-piece puzzle of San Francisco and a children’s illustrated dictionary along with two novels: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and Little Bee by Chris Cleave. I’ve read other works from both authors and look forward to adding these to my TBR!

Podcast Round-Up

When I’m not listening to an audiobook, I’m listening to one of the four podcasts below. The hosts are writers, course creators, and working moms!

Happier with Gretchen Rubin: This is the first podcast I ever started listening to! Gretchen and Liz are sisters who discuss habits, happiness, and human nature.

Happier in Hollywood: I listen to every episode of this podcast without fail. Liz and Sarah have been friends since high school and are writing partners who live in LA; I love their take on life in California.

Best of Both Worlds: Laura and Sarah discuss how to balance work, family, and time for fun.

What Should I Read Next: Anne Bogel, the queen of book clubs, hosts this podcast every week. She interviews readers and gives recommendations on what to read next.

The Third Gilmore Girl

I’m in Season 5 of Gilmore Girls and Emily Gilmore is quickly becoming one of my favorite TV grandmothers. I am so excited to put The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop on my audiobook holds list through Libby.

Here’s the Goodreads description:

Kelly Bishop’s long, storied career has been defined by landmark achievements, from winning a Tony Award for her turn in the original Broadway cast of A Chorus Line to her memorable performance as Jennifer Grey’s mother in Dirty Dancing. But it is probably her iconic role as matriarch Emily in the modern classic Gilmore Girls that cemented her legacy.

Now, Bishop reflects on her remarkable life and looks towards the future with The Third Gilmore Girl. She shares some of her greatest stories and the life lessons she’s learned on her journey. From her early transition from dance to drama, to marrying young to a compulsive gambler, to the losses and achievements she experienced—among them marching for women’s rights and losing her second husband to cancer—Bishop offers a rich, genuine celebration of her life.

Full of witty insights, The Third Gilmore Girl is a warm, unapologetic, and spirited memoir from a woman who has left indelible impressions on her audiences for decades and has no plans on slowing down.

What’s Working in 2024

In January I’ll reflect on my 2024 reading year, but I wanted to look back from a “life in general” standpoint and think about what’s working this year. So, here are few quick items that I plan on continuing in 2025!

• a daily morning walk: my favorite ritual, I’ve been covering about 3 miles every morning
• the Caliber app for strength training: free, easy to use, and I can fit the workouts in my day
• utilizing a daily/weekly physical planner: I love an electronic calendar, but this helps me plan how I’m actually going to spend my time
• an 80 oz water bottle: I fill it up one time in the morning and try to drink it all throughout the day
• weekly family trips to Trader Joe’s: everyone gets what they need and want for the week
• laundry on Sundays: I may do a load or two throughout the week, but on Sundays everything remaining gets washed, folded, and put away for the week. I also listen to an audiobook or podcast, so the time flies by!

2015 Reading Recap

2015 is my final reading year recap! It’s the year I started tracking my reading – I can’t believe I’ve been tracking for 10 years (maybe I should do a 10-year reading recap in a future post?!). My 2024 recap will be coming soon!

In 2015, I started experimenting with audiobooks and I found I loved the books by comedians Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, and Aziz Ansari. I also continued reading one of my favorite authors of all-time: Jodi Picoult. Two stand-outs from 2015 that I should probably re-read are All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple.

That’s it for this week, I hope you have a wonderful weekend and get to fit in some reading time. I need to finish some last-minute holiday shopping!