What I’m Reading: MY KIND OF PEOPLE by Lisa Duffy. This lovely story of an orphaned little girl and the New England town that rallies around her is Lisa’s best yet, hands down. My official endorsement was: MY KIND OF PEOPLE is a powerful, endearing story about the life-altering moments that can shatter our reality—and the lengths the people who love us will go to put us back together. This multi-generational tale shows off Lisa Duffy’s true talent for capturing voice and making her readers feel every emotion right along with her characters. This is the perfect story for book clubs and best friends to read together. Lisa Duffy’s writing positively shines.
What’s Next on my TBR: THE GLITTERING HOUR. I love a good dual time zone, multi-narrator story, and this one looks like it’s going to check all the boxes. I’m reviewing it for New York Journal of Books, so stay tuned!
What I’m Giving Away: If you’re following along with my 2020 Reading Challenge (And if you aren’t, why not? It’s fun! And easy!) then you know I have picked Cleere Cherry’s BE STILL for my January book. She’s giving away a signed copy! Head over to my Facebook page for the giveaway–pinned to the top of the page!
What I’m Listening To: Bad on Paper Podcast. I ❤️ Becca Freeman and Grace Atwood. I’ve followed Grace over on The Stripe for about 1,000 years, and now I can’t get enough of this podcast. They’re like your hilarious best friends who talk about good books, give great advice and are generally fun to be around. And after I got to go LIVE with them in Atlanta a few months ago, I know they’re the same in real life!
House I’m Touring: So, we were supposed to be touring the HGTV Showhouse in real life last week, but my travel schedule coming up is crazy, so we skipped it. Instead, we’re touring this cool, eclectic home by Jenny Wolf Interiors. Don’t miss it!
What I’m Doing: Faster Way to Fat Loss. At the beginning of every year I always look for some way to generally get healthier. After dealing with some health issues the past few years, I’ve been so interested in intermittent fasting and autophagy (your body’s cleaning crew for dead and damaged cells that kicks in when you’re fasting) and I really wanted to dabble in it this year–but with help. I have heard metabolism and hormone horror stories about fasting and carb cycling incorrectly, so I wanted someone to hold my hand–and that’s exactly what I’ve gotten with Faster Way to Fat Loss. A step-by-step daily plan and a coach to answer my burning questions and to ensure I’m doing this correctly. For double support, I signed Mom up, too. Everything’s better with a partner and she’s loving it! We’ve only done Prep Week, Week One and are two days in to Week 2 so far, but I swear I have more energy and, y’all, no joke, my cellulite is surrendering. I’m in total awe. So that’s huge, not just because it looks better but because my doctor said it was coming from sluggish lymph and slow detox channels. Oh, and my holiday weight is gone and then some. (Mom has lost MORE than I have.) I’ll keep you posted on my progress at the end, but, so far, I’m pretty sold. If you’re interested in learning more, a new round is starting this week, so get on it!!
What I Can’t Live Without: My new blue light glasses! Y’all. These are a game-changer. I was noticing that my eyes felt super strained and tired all the time, even after like an hour on the computer, which is not ideal since I’m on the computer a lot! These $14 glasses are a total game changer. (I actually got them on sale for $11, so you might want to hold out for that.) No more eye fatigue! I bought two pairs, but am thinking of stocking up on more. I got the clear and the tortoise, but there’s a cute wire rimmed frame too. Bonus: Will says they make me look very official and authorly. So there’s that.
This has nothing to do with anything, but it made me laugh. I had never really wondered how I looked on a Jumbotron, but now I know anyway… There were two of these in Pinehurst last weekend. And the stage. It was so fun!!!
What I’m Looking Forward To: I am SoCal bound in a matter of weeks. Fun events, awesome authors and some tip top secret meetings that I am so excited about and hope I get to share with you soon!! If you’re around, come see me. Adventures by the Book puts together THE BEST book events. These are guaranteed to be amazing! (Okay. There’s no “official” guarantee. But if you’re not having fun with this group of authors, it’s time to do a little inward looking.)
January 30, 2020: “Southern Lunch Event” with Mary Alice Monroe, Kristin Harmel and Kristy Woodson Harvey. In Conversation with Kristina McMorris. Hosted by Adventures by the Book. 12 pm, Claim Jumper, San Diego, CA.
January 31, 2020: SuperBook TaleGate Adventure with Cassandra Conroy, Fiona Davis, Kristina McMorris, Mary Alice Monroe, Kristy Woodson Harvey, Jan Moran, Karen White and Beatriz Williams. 6-7:30 pm, Signal Hill Public Library, Signal Hill, CA.
February 1, 2020: SuperBook Weekend Adventure, Aboard the Queen Mary, Long Beach, CA. Click here for more information and tickets.
I hope you are having the best January, friends! Thank you so much for stopping by today!
If you haven’t preordered Feels Like Falling yet, what are you waiting for? I can’t wait to share this story of love, loss, redemption and, most of all, the power of female friendship with all of you! It releases April 28, 2020.
Enjoy your book travels!