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In which I share what I’m into {September edition}

September 22, 2012

Me, Amber, and Arianne in the water at sunset

Books I’ve Read

  • Cold Tangerines and Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist. I was introduced to Shauna’s work through a mutual friend, Laura. And now I love her, too, and want her to be my friend. Every essay is worth reading, but in each book, there were three or four that were downright brilliant. I underlined, and I will reread them.
  • Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand (UK version) by Helen Simonson. Absolutely lovely, I fell a bit in love with the hero, Major Pettigrew, myself. Funny, insightful, cutting. Might be my favourite fiction read of the year.
  • Wild by Cheryl Strayed. It was a fantastic book, and I probably would have loved it more if it hadn’t been so impossibly built up to me.
  • Lit by Mary Karr. You guys. I quit writing. This book is so well-done, so perfect, I quit.

Books still in progress

  • A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling her Husband Master by Rachel Held Evans
  • Women, Food, and God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything by Geneen Roth
  • Knit One, Pearl One by Gil McNeil
  • Little Bee by Chris Cleve
  • Blue Nights by Joan Didion
  • Lark Rise to Candleford trilogy by Flora Thompson
  • For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts edited by W. David O. Taylor
  • A Woman Called: Piecing Together the Ministry Puzzle by Sara Gaston Barton
You can find me over at GoodReads, I’m tracking my 2012 reading over there.

T.V. Show Worth Watching

Nothing. I am watching NOTHING on the telly right now. But I did figure out how to watch Downton Abbey series 3 online, thanks to Kristen at Rage Against the Minivan. So, you know: ethical dilemma and all that, but FREE BATES.

Movie I’ve Seen (in or out of the theatre)

Nothing. I haven’t seen a movie in a dog’s age.

In My Ears

Mumford and Sons’ new album releases this week. CANNOT WAIT. Their interview with Jian Ghomeshi on Q was superb (including a live version of I Will Wait).

In My Kitchen

I’m losing my kitchen mojo. I blame school lunches. I plan on having a fit of baking with pumpkin shortly.

New (to me) Blogs that have caught my eye

Favorite Pin

I’ve been adding all summer long to my Wise Women board. So much goodness there right now.

Source: vittana.org via Sarah on Pinterest

That is a photograph of Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian peace activist and joint recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. She said, ”Women’s empowerment begins with girls’ empowerment. Breaking the cycle of gender discrimination requires that we promote and protect the rights of girls. At the same time we also need to equip them with the skills and opportunities they need to transform their lives and those of their communities.”

5 Random Things Making Me Happy

1. My little plush velvet pumpkin (that is a real pumpkin stem, you guys. Real!) and spiral journal from the LoveFeast shop.

2. A new vintage items shop that opened up here in Abbotsford called Spruce Collective. Happy place, happy place. Also, another favourite home shop of mine, Creekside Country Home Decor (don’t be put off by the “country” in the name – lots of vintage-y goodness in there) just added new booths of vintage items from other vendors in the back.

3. Sleepy tinies, fresh out of the bath, reading with their Dad. Things like this make me want Tiny #4.

 

4. My new necklace from the refugee artisans of Hill Country Hill Tribers. Isn’t this exquisite?

5. Apple picking season is upon us. Grabbed these little ones from the roadside. Public trees never have the best fruit but still: free apples!

What I’m Looking Forward To Next Month:

Do tell – what are YOU into right now?

0
blogging, book review, books, food, What I'm Into
  • http://www.kelleynikondeha.com/ Kelley Nikondeha

    Sarah… right now I am reading Lit. Oh my… how does she get words to move that way??? Also on deck Marcus Borg’s recent release. Loved Brian McLaren’s latest, one of his best in my opinion. Cheryl Strand’s book is in my amazon basket, but like you, so built up I wonder if it can live up to the hype and so I’ve been hesitating.

    TV… I’m watching Little Mosque on the Prairie via Hulu and way too much political punditry.

    In the kitchen I’m into spices – smoked paprika, cardamom, zatar, tandoori spices and black sesame seeds. And saffron – a pinch in cous cous tonight was so lovely!

  • http://somuchshoutingsomuchlaughter.com/ suzannah | the smitten word

    i’ve been reading acedia and me, per your rec, and it is speaking my language. hard and good and true. thank you for that, truly. it’s changing my heart.

    i enjoyed The Midwife of Hope River and Diving Belles, and i do watch plenty o’ tv:)
    counting the minutes til tuesday and mumford. and i need to roast the seven pumpkins on my porch. it is time.

  • http://twitter.com/AmberWack Amber Wackford

    I took a trip with a group of my graduated seniors to Haiti in July, and have started meetings this week to plan next years’ trip already. I have no words for how much I’m looking forward to hearing the stories you collect from being in that place. A travel tip — take nothing white with you; it will come back brown. And you will be glad for the eleventy billion shots. :)

  • http://delightfuldiction.blogspot.com/ Randi Riggs

    Thanks for the reading suggestions! And the Spruce Collective looks absolutely lovely. I love finding new “happy places” :)

  • Clare

    I’ve mostly been reading “Sheep in a Jeep” and “The Cat in the Hat”, with a little “Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see?” thrown in for good measure. I want to read more, but am so exhausted by the time we’ve put our two small boys to bed that I collapse on the couch next to my husband and exhale.
    In the non-book department, I’m into pears. Lovely, ripe BC pears! And the fresh raspberries that my boys are still picking off the bush every day. Happiness!

  • http://sarahaskins.com Sarah Askins

    This month, I’ve climbed a mountain, sat next to waterfalls, read crazy Jane Austen mash-ups with monsters. I picked up Lit and have gotten into the first bits, then I needed fiction so I’m reading Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth–why don’t we read more of Wharton?

    But the best thing on the internet webs for a laugh is 30 Abbey…http://30abbey.tumblr.com

    A glorious mash-up of 30 Rock and Downton Abbey.

  • http://twitter.com/AdeleChapman2 Adele Chapman

    Am half way through Lit right now – crazy brilliant right?
    I love hearing what you are into, these posts are so fun. But it makes me sad that you are watching NOTHING good on the telly right now. (Well, except Downton but after the atrocious storylines of Season 2 I am approaching Season 3 with extreme caution) Specifically I am sad that you lovely people in the Americas get no Aussie TV. Offspring and Puberty Blues have completed me this year. ;)
    PS Shauna Niequist = my absolute favourite!

  • http://www.leighkramer.com/ HopefulLeigh

    I cannot wait for Shauna Niequist’s next book: Bread and Wine! I have often referred back to Bittersweet and Cold Tangerines. So much goodness. Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand is another favorite. I cannot believe it’s Simonson’s first book! Do tell about this Lark Rise book series. I still want to track down the TV series but the books could be an excellent stand in. Right now I’m reading Walking on Water (finally!) and Kelle Hampton’s Bloom. Plus a couple of others that don’t bear mentioning.

    I’m so excited for Mumford but all I’ve been listening to the last couple of weeks is the new Avett Brothers album. It will be a true conundrum when I have to choose between the two.

  • http://www.tothinkistocreate.com To Think Is To Create

    That necklace is gorgeous! I miss your face on the lake. <3

  • http://twitter.com/sundayspill Sarah Reinhart

    oh, those littles in their pjs snuggled up make hopeful for my own tiny #5. Recently found you (thank goodness!) via a friend and you are such a breath of fresh air. Love your style, your words, your message. Hope you are having a splendid weekend.

  • LoveFeast Table

    Thank you for including us in What Your Into…we’re tickled! And…Tiny #4? Kinda liking that thought. Have a great rest of the weekend friend! ~K & CA

  • pastordt

    Oh, you are brave! (FOUR, really) And fascinating. LOVE this list. I’m into too many things, both books and TV and a movie here or there as well. Clint Eastwood playing a cranky old man in a film is a far cry from whatever it was that happened at that convention and we loved his latest on an aging baseball scout. Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake were both terrific. Re-reading Dakota by Kathleen Norris, The Pastor by Eugene Peterson -YES, he gets it better than anyone else. Too much else, but that’s what pops to mind just now… That picture of the 3 of you in the water is just magic. That’s all. Magic.

  • http://www.facebook.com/megan.friedokra Megan Ferree Cobb

    “… a fit of baking with pumpkin” made me giggle. That’s how it always goes with pumpkin, isn’t it? And zucchini.

  • http://www.nebraskagraceful.blogspot.com Michelle DeRusha

    Am reading Cold Tangerines right now and just finished Wild – love them both! Now I’m off to click on the link for that gorgeous necklace!

  • http://howtotalkevangelical.addiezierman.com/ Addie Zierman

    I finished Lit this month too. Love Mary Karr, loved that book in particular.

  • Louise

    Oh gosh, Downton Abbey. I live in France and sadly have no access to itv’s catch-up service anymore. So I caved and bought the series pass on iTunes. So worth it!!

  • http://www.pamhogeweide.com/ pamhogeweide

    oh you and i are sisters! i loved LIT too by mary karr. and mumford and sons (they were on saturday night live this past weekend. so worth the watch, but you have to slog through a bit of muck….) and the new shop in your town looks like the kind of place i’d be browsing around on a regular basis, too.

    happy fall!

  • http://www.leannepenny.com Leanne Penny

    Okay Little Bee was so good, hard but good, and thank you so much for sharing the Downton Link, because guess what’s going to make my laundry folding lovelier? That’s right, a bit of Lady Mary.

  • Sarah R

    Hi Sarah – I haven’t commented here in a while but I’ve been lurking. Congratulations on your book deals! I’m so happy for you.
    I loved Wild and now I’m reading Dear Sugar, which is a collection of advice columns Cheryl Strayed wrote before Wild was published. I haven’t read Joan Didion’s book because I am afraid my heart will break. I read The Year of Magical Thinking before I had my kids but I don’t know if I could bear it now.
    I’m so excited for Mumford & Sons. Their Sigh No More CD was powerfull stuff!

  • mrsdharder

    I purchased “Lit” yesterday to read on my hour metro commutes in Washington, DC. I’m inspired and in awe of her writing. Her description is so vivid and perfect that I found myself on the verge of vomiting in the first chapter. Thanks for the recommendation! :)

  • http://lisadelay.com/blog Lisa Colon DeLay

    along with the pumpkins…you should make some apple dumplings (the german kind) or turnovers (with macintosh apples). It’s apple season. I just love apply things. Mulled Cider, apple betty, pie, and just eating the late season apples like Honey Crisp and Winesap.

  • http://twitter.com/AmandaMedlin_ Amanda Medlin

    Thank you so much for the Downton Abbey link! Here is what I have been into this month…
    http://amandamedlin.com/2012/09/behind-the-blog-september-twelve/

  • http://twitter.com/RachelRHeath Rachel Heath

    Hey! My husband and I were at that very Mumford & Sons Concert when they filmed that video. We were next to the sound booth. :D

  • stephsday

    We’re not watching anything on television either (which isn’t a huge surprise since we don’t own a TV). ;)

    We even missed the presidential debate last night (my!), but Tim & I plan to watch it on YouTube after the littles are in bed.

    Safe travels to Haiti. Thinking of you.