Books mean a lot to me, okay? They’re my body, my soul, and my livelihood… because I literally sell them to make a living. As a bookseller, I want to dedicate a sliver of my blog to talking about books and media more often. That’s what this post is about. I’ll share my little thoughts on books and what I’m currently reading here. Absolutely no spoilers– promise!

The tangible books! 2 out of 8 of them were audiobooks!

2023 reading habits:

My usual reading routine includes about 3 books at one time: one fiction, one non-fiction (self-help or true story crime book), and maybe one romance or funny book to keep it light and fluffy! My mood determines what I pick up that day. On days when I’m sad, I read a humor or romance. When I feel creatively blocked, I read artists’ memoirs or self-help. If I have a good mindset that day, I can handle a heavier book, like a horror, mystery, or sad book.

I hope I’m not the only person who reads multiple very different books at once! Please comment or message me if you read differently than this! I’m so nosey about other peoples’ reading habits.

I went to my local library to get help setting up a Libby account through the library (I’ve had a library card since forever, but I couldn’t remember my PIN, so I couldn’t access Libby) For those who don’t know, Libby is an app where you can read e-books or listen to audiobooks for free. It’s like checking out a book from the library, so sometimes there’s a wait, but I don’t mind that.

afterward, I darted home to scroll the Libby app comfortably from my couch and said, “YESSS. I have access to so many books! I’m so powerful…” Eric laughed. I yelled, “Hey! What’s so funny, huh?!”

he said, “You work at a bookstore! You see books all day. You can read them anytime you want, but you’re excited to have an app with more books.”

I’ll admit, he was right. I have massive access to books– more than most! We recently built a second bookcase at home to hold the collection I’ve obtained over the last year or so as a bookseller. I have a massive list, and I read like 10-15 books a year at most. There are so many booktokers and booktubers reading 200 books a year, and I am not that kind of reader at all! I’m more of a… forgets I’m in a book club… type of reader.

Currently reading:

Scary, Light, Non-Fiction. That’s how I think I’ll categorize my reads.
I may interchange “scary” with “heavy” occasionally, but we’ll see if I ever continue this trend, honestly.

SCARY: The Paris Apartment - by Lucy Foley

This story is a slow and eerie burn. There’s an apartment– in Paris, and mystery and confusion are afoot throughout the residence. That’s all I can say, I don’t believe in spoilers, so take that and give it a shot. I will admit, I keep waiting for a hook, and I’ve been reading for a minute now.

A customer came in to sell her books, including this one, and I told her I wasn’t hooked yet… She asked what page I was on. I flipped to it… She said “You’re not there yet. You’ll know when you get there,” so since the customer is always right, I’m still reading!

I didn’t mean to read this book. I was through TSA, waiting on a flight to LA. While reaching into my bag, I realized I forgot to bring the book I wanted to start on the flight, The Guest List by Lucy Foley. I panicked because it was a 4-hour flight and all I had was a notebook, my phone, AirPods, and my dead laptop. I went to the airport bookstore and found The Paris Apartment instead.

LIGHT: Book Lovers - by Emily Henry

I’m obsessed. It’s funny, it's light, it's flirty, and I love a little banter. I was never really too into romance, really, but Emily Henry has converted me. I swear, by February 2024, I will probably have read all four of her books. They’re so fun, and silly, and it feels as though you’re simply reading a rom-com.

I wish I had a really cute story to explain how I got into Emily Henry, but it was clearly from all the hype all over TikTok and Instagram. We can barely keep her books on the shelf at work, so I had to give it a shot, and now I’m hooked.

NON-FICTION: The Creative Act - by Rick Rubin

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin. A very zen audiobook! Super great creative philosophy.

My friend read this and gushed about how much he loved it, so I added it to my list thinking it would take months to get my hands on a used copy, but one day Spotify notified me that I had 15 "free" hours of audiobook for being a premium member, and I waited until I could see this book available. It took about 5 hours to complete, but I listened to it sped up, and finished in about 3-4 hours total.

But yeah, I'm experimenting. I think audiobooks are weird when it’s non-fiction though, since it’s not a story, it’s creative advice. Anyway, we all know of Rick Rubin, because he’s a creative genius in the music industry. He wrote a book about creativity, and I love any book on that topic, so I crushed it in like 2 days. I’ve read many books on creativity, writing, and art, and this book was especially philosophical and had excellent examples. Also, the audiobook ends with a small gong sound, which is very zen.

Honorable Mentions:

These are books that I also read outside of the 3 new reads! Some are re-reads, so that’s why they are honorable mentions, and one is a holiday themed book, so its very seasonal, meaning most people probably won’t read it outside of December, so its not a dire read.

Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares - by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn

Currently finishing! Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares.

This book is about a girl who loves Christmas, and a boy who hates the whole holiday season, each spending it alone. They communicate via a red moleskin notebook during the week leading up to Christmas, daring one another to do all sorts of crazy holiday-themed stuff. It’s a YA series, but the first book was made into a Netflix series, which I watched in a day.

The show was canceled, but I began reading this to get to the second and third books which will never be a tv show, thanks to Netflix cancelling the series after book one. I just have to know what happens next! I’m still finishing this one!

The “Steal Like an Artist” trilogy - by Austin Kleon

Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, and Keep Going, by Austin Kleon. Photo taken at my creative workspace (kitchen table).

I mentioned this above, but I recently read The Creative Act by Rick Rubin because a friend said he loved it, so I gave it a whirl, and it’s great, BUT… I gotta say, Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work, and Keep Going by Austin Kleon are the perfect trifecta of advice on creativity for me. I read Steal Like an Artist probably 6 year ago, and it changed my entire perspective on creative work. Since then I started my own blog, wrote a short story, participated in a podcast, and now I teach classes at the library showing other newbies how to make their own blogs!

Curious about what the books touch on? Each has a different subject dedicated to creativity.

Steal Like An Artist - The first one is about imposter syndrome and finding your creative style and voice through making work and getting your hands dirty.
Show Your Work - A companion to the first book, delving into the ups and downs of creative work, fears, judgments, and how to overcome the hurdles barring you from simply making art and putting it out there.
Keep Going - This addition to the series tackles things such as burnout, starting over, and feeling stuck in a rut. (This one is especially great for writer’s block!)

I put this in honorable mentions because I’ve read them so many times, especially when stuck creatively, or feeling insecure about my work. This most recent re-read was through the form of audiobook, including all three books. It’s slightly rearranged from the original format, narrated by the author of the series, Austin Kleon. He marries them together quite nicely. They are short, so the audiobook is all three, short and sweet.

If you need a short creative boost, read these, and then if you need more in-depth creative philosophy, move on to The Creative Act.

That’s all folks!

That’s all for now! I have a massive pile of “to be read,” and you should expect to see more from me in the future on the book front! I want to maybe make this a quarterly or semi-annual feature.

I also have many blog posts started, yet unfinished! We went to South Dakota and LA this summer and fall, and I wrote about those trips, and some other more media-based stuff I’m workshopping.

Keep your eyes peeled. I might post, or more likely, I’ll forget!