East Bay Bookshelf

Happy Saturday evening! This is coming to you after a fun-but-busy day, including another kid pool party. Honestly, it is a delight to watch them jump off the diving board. Pure joy! We are in the midst of everything “back to school” right now with rounding out the summer shopping and activities. We also celebrated my husband’s birthday yesterday – very low key with our favorite pizza and cannoli.

Today I’m sharing all about hobbies for beginners, an article about loving where you live, my current thoughts on The Women, a monthly fun audit (I know!), a book-to-screen trailer, and some great e-book deals! Grab a (decaf) cup of tea and enjoy!

Hobbies for Beginners

I saw the question, “What’s a good hobby for beginners?” on social media a few weeks ago and you know I have thoughts! As a full-time working mom who has moved eight times in the last fourteen years, I’ve learned that a great beginner hobby has a low barrier to entry, is affordable, and can be done alone (or with a baby/toddler in tow!).

• Reading. Was this a surprise? Bonus points if you borrow books from your local library.
• Walking. I track my mileage (and pace sometimes).
• Writing. Privately or publicly, on paper or computer, creative or journaling – you do you!
• Being a tourist in your own town. I’ve always loved traveling, but when my son was born we stayed closer to home. During the pandemic, I think we hit every outdoor event in the Milwaukee area. I love documenting our adventures for friends and family!
• Becoming a minor expert. I love the concept of “place attachment.” I could read books and articles about it all day long.
• Special interest social media account. I started a bookstagram (Instagram about books) a few years ago!

Speaking of Place Attachment…

Thanks to MMD’s Friday post, I found this article that so deeply resonated with me about the love someone has for a city that they chose. One could argue that I’ve always had a choice in where I lived, but I have to admit that this last move feels like the first place we really chose. For us, it’s a destination, not just a steppingstone. And we don’t take it for granted. Ever. I take pictures of downtown San Francisco every time we are there. I take pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge every time we are near. (My husband always reminds me, “We live here.”) I take pictures out my own window at home and of the trees in every season while walking the trail. I think I even have a picture of a beautiful sunrise over my local grocery store’s parking lot.

I love this quote from the article:

But there is something specific that outsiders bring to a city. When you’ve rearranged your entire life around the idea of a place, when you’ve left safety behind to chase possibility, you engage differently. With an intensity that comes from knowing you can’t go back—not because the bridge is burned, but because the person who could live there no longer exists.

I love my hometown in Texas, but I think my appreciation for it only came after I left it for 10 years. When I go back home to visit my family, I view it now as a place I choose to come home to. And I take pictures of the local library and my favorite Mexican restaurant’s menu as if it’s the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Women by Kristin Hannah

I was 50% finished last Sunday night when I told my husband, “I’m going to keep this book forever.”

I bought The Women by Kristin Hannah last summer at Orinda Books, but I just could not convince myself that I was ready to read it. I heard that it was a really heavy read. And yes, that’s true. But halfway through I found that it’s also full of hope. I have wanted to slam the book closed at least three times, but it keeps pulling me back in and I need to know how it ends. My friend informed me today that I’m about to learn about a major plot twist, so now I’m very intrigued! I’m hoping to finish this weekend.

Monthly Fun Audit

This week I read The Shu Box’s monthly newsletter and one of her topics was a “monthly fun audit.” I literally laughed out loud because I am 1000% the type of person to ask myself, “Did I have fun this month? Let me find some evidence of that.”

So, here is my fun audit for July:

• I took an entire week off work!
• My son got his passport (planning for future fun can be fun too, right?)
• As a family, we visited Alcatraz, Hurricane Harbor, and Sonoma for the 4th of July parade.
• We celebrated my dog’s 13th birthday!
• I got a massage.
• I met up in-person with my walking book club to discuss The Paris Novel.
• I met up virtually with my Northern California book club to discuss all the things we are loving (and not loving!) about summer reading.

I completely recognize that a monthly fun audit is the opposite of fun for most people. So, my advice is this: find your people and do what’s fun for YOU!

Mark Your Calendar 🍿

The Thursday Murder Club movie, based on the book by Richard Osman, is coming to Netflix on August 28th! Check out the trailer.

Let me know if you are going to watch!

E-book Deals!

If you love libraries, please do yourself a favor and read The Library Book by Susan Orleans. “Brimming with her signature wit, insight, compassion, and talent for deep research, The Library Book is Susan Orlean’s thrilling journey through the stacks that reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books—and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country. It is also a master journalist’s reminder that, perhaps especially in the digital era, they are more necessary than ever.”

I read Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple years ago and remember laughing out loud. A misanthropic matriarch leaves her eccentric family in crisis when she mysteriously disappears in this “whip-smart and divinely funny” novel that inspired the movie starring Cate Blanchett (New York Times).

Did you know that The Devil Wears Prada is a series? I didn’t read the first one because I watched the movie, but I did read the second in the series and it was exactly what I needed at the time. The third – When Life Gives You Lululemons, also looks like a delight. “New York Times bestselling author Lauren Weisberger returns with a novel starring one of her favorite characters from The Devil Wears Prada—Emily Charlton, first assistant to Miranda Priestly, now a highly successful image consultant who’s just landed the client of a lifetime.”

That’s it for today, as always thanks for reading! A few questions for you:

1. Do you have any tips about beginner hobbies?
2. What do you love about where you live?
3. What did you do in July that was fun?