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Speaker 1: Hi.

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Speaker 2: This is Laura Vandercamp. I'm a mother of five, an author, journalist,

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Speaker 2: and speaker.

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Speaker 3: And this is Sarah hart Unger.

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Speaker 1: I'm a mother of three, a practicing physician and blogger.

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Speaker 1: On the side, we are two working parents who love

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Speaker 1: our careers and our families.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to best of both worlds. Here we talk about

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Speaker 2: how real women manage work, family, and time for fun,

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Speaker 2: from figuring out childcare to mapping out long term career goals.

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Speaker 2: We want you to get the most out of life.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to best of both worlds. This is Laura. In

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Speaker 2: this episode, we are going to be talking about reading,

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Speaker 2: just in general, the role reading plays in our life,

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Speaker 2: how we wind up reading, some strategies we've come up

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Speaker 2: with over the years for making time for reading, for

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Speaker 2: keeping track of the books we read, for finding new books,

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Speaker 2: and just generally ways that we enjoy literature. So, Sarah,

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Speaker 2: what role does reading serve in your life?

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Speaker 3: Yeah?

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Speaker 1: Well, I just wanted to also give a shout out

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Speaker 1: to say that this is a very cozy topic. So

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Speaker 1: if it is starting to get darker where you live

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Speaker 1: and you are just kind of seeking some calm and

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Speaker 1: relaxing enjoyment, this episode hopefully will inspire you to think

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Speaker 1: about your reading life and how that can serve you

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Speaker 1: through the next several months. And so yeah, the role

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Speaker 1: that reading serves in our lives. For me, it's all

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Speaker 1: about relaxation. It's a hobby that I feel so immersed.

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Speaker 1: I get into a flow state, and I always feel

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Speaker 1: better after reading than I do after doing other kind.

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Speaker 3: Of passive types of activities.

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Speaker 1: I love to learn as I'm reading, and I feel

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Speaker 1: like that happens almost as much through novels as it

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Speaker 1: does through nonfiction, because if you're reading a book that's

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Speaker 1: like in another person's voice or in another culture, you

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Speaker 1: can truly, like feel what it might like to be

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Speaker 1: somebody else in a way that you really can't do

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Speaker 1: in other modalities, at least for me. And it's just

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Speaker 1: it's probably the hobby that I find the most relaxing

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Speaker 1: and enjoyable out of all all the things I do.

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Speaker 1: Running a close second, but reading wins.

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Speaker 2: Reading wins Wow. Reading whins ever running interesting to know? Yeah,

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Speaker 2: I mean, I guess the world is just an interesting place.

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Speaker 2: I've always enjoyed reading. I mean, you can learn a

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Speaker 2: lot about the world through reading. I do tend to

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Speaker 2: find it relaxing. But the key is choosing the right stuff.

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Speaker 2: And I think over the years, I've really had to

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Speaker 2: figure out who I am as a reader, because there's

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Speaker 2: certain kind of books that I just I'm not going

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Speaker 2: to be into. Like I don't particularly enjoy thrillers, for instance.

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Speaker 2: I'm not into most mysteries, you know. And it's fine,

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Speaker 2: Like I tend to gravitate mostly toward nonfiction in my

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Speaker 2: pleasure reading. But with that, I've made a choice to

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Speaker 2: read a lot of kind of classic literature that you

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Speaker 2: might have read in school, or maybe I didn't read

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Speaker 2: it in school, and therefore, you know, I want to

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Speaker 2: make time for it now. But I tend to wind

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Speaker 2: up reading those kind of historical classic best novels of

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Speaker 2: the twentieth century or even the nineteenth century or whatever

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Speaker 2: books for the fiction, because I like to read stuff

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Speaker 2: that I know has stood the test of time.

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Speaker 1: And I think this is actually really really cool that

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Speaker 1: we are very different kinds of readers, because it illustrates

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Speaker 1: the fact that there is no one right way to

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Speaker 1: do reading. And in fact, even if you take the

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Speaker 1: different ways that Laura and I enjoy reading, there are

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Speaker 1: probably like ten more that are equally as valid and

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Speaker 1: cool and interesting. And so I guess, if nothing else,

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Speaker 1: you can take this episode in our different practices to

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Speaker 1: realize that, like you can craft the reading life that

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Speaker 1: works for you. So with that said, do you have

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Speaker 1: different practices for fiction versus nonfiction?

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Speaker 2: Well, I'm inclined because I'm inclined to read nonfiction for

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Speaker 2: my pleasure reading that tends to be what I read

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Speaker 2: at night. So if I'm in bed, you know, at

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Speaker 2: ten fifteen and lights out is eleven, I will be

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Speaker 2: most likely reading through some sort of nonfiction book at

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Speaker 2: that point. With a few exceptions, if I get on

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Speaker 2: anick or whatever any topic I find interesting, I do

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Speaker 2: a lot of browsing in the library or figuring out

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Speaker 2: what I want to read. I've read books recently on parking.

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Speaker 2: I read a book on ultraprocessed food. I think maybe

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Speaker 2: both of us read that. We could talk about it.

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Speaker 2: I read books on human evolution, which is another topic

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Speaker 2: I find fascinating. I read a book on Virginio Wolf's Garden.

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Speaker 2: As for fiction, I tend because I've been doing my

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Speaker 2: massive reading projects, which I'll talk more about later, my

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Speaker 2: fiction tends to be during my work day as part

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Speaker 2: of my morning rituals. So shortly after I sit down

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Speaker 2: at my desk, I do my reading for the day

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Speaker 2: whatever I have assigned myself in my big reading project,

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Speaker 2: so that tends to be when my fiction happens.

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Speaker 3: So yeah, we're totally opposite.

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Speaker 1: Also, I have to comment that of the topics you're

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Speaker 1: currently reading about, like the ultra process food and the

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Speaker 1: evolution in Virginia Wolfs Garden did not surprise me, but

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Speaker 1: parking was not one that I would have.

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Speaker 2: You didn't have that on your Bingo card now.

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Speaker 1: It was not on the Laura's Not Fiction Picks Bingo card.

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Speaker 1: But yeah, for me, I'm totally the opposite. So nonfiction

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Speaker 1: is pretty much just a morning ritual. It's the first

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Speaker 1: thing I do pretty much every single weekday, not always

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Speaker 1: on the weekends, but actually usually on my long run

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Speaker 1: days because I need something to do while I'm drinking

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Speaker 1: coffee and like waking up and getting ready to run,

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Speaker 1: so pretty much like I'll have some book going and

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Speaker 1: I usually know what book I'm going to read next.

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Speaker 1: I tend to buy more of my nonfiction books as

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Speaker 1: compared to novels because sometimes I like to write in it.

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Speaker 1: I don't know like I like the possibility of highlighting

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Speaker 1: it or keeping it, and I never know which ones

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Speaker 1: are going to be like keepers that I'm going to

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Speaker 1: want to refer back to Laura's books.

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Speaker 3: I still have all of them, so that says something.

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Speaker 1: And so yeah, my nonfiction time is like early and

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Speaker 1: some of that self. Most of that's like in more

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Speaker 1: of the self development type of sphere, but kind of

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Speaker 1: in really different topics. Right now, I'm reading Virginia Soulsmith's

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Speaker 1: Fat Talk. That is for our Patreon book club coming

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Speaker 1: up probably after this air, So if you're interested in

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Speaker 1: discussing that book with us, then maybe you could join

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Speaker 1: and read that as well. So that's my nonfiction, and

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Speaker 1: then fiction is like my other times. So other times,

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Speaker 1: the main time would be at bedtime, like you know,

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Speaker 1: when I lie down, and especially if Josh isn't home,

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Speaker 1: like when he's home sometimes we'll watch the thing together,

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Speaker 1: but honestly, he's like not home just as much as

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Speaker 1: he's home in the bedtime.

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Speaker 3: Hour, so I will read, and.

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Speaker 1: I also tend to use it like when I just

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Speaker 1: randomly have free time, like if a kid is at

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Speaker 1: a sports practice and I'm stuck in the car, I

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Speaker 1: can whip out a book or at an appointment in

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Speaker 1: the waiting room, or you know, just like at lunch

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Speaker 1: if I'm not doing some work, So it's like fill

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Speaker 1: in at other times. And the more I'm enjoying a book,

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Speaker 1: the more I'm likely to just pull it out and

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Speaker 1: like read it in the cracks and crevices of life.

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Speaker 1: If I'm not enjoying it, then it tends to take

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Speaker 1: me a lot longer because I don't pull it out randomly.

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Speaker 3: And I well, we're going to talk about where we

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Speaker 3: get our books.

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Speaker 1: But I am much less likely to read the classics

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Speaker 1: that I read in college, and much more likely to

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Speaker 1: read like the hot like fiction picks that they are buzzy,

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Speaker 1: some of them in the literary genre, and some of

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Speaker 1: them like Ellen Hildebrand, who I love absolutely.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I tend to. I mean I read before bed.

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Speaker 2: I'm trying to get in the habit of reading. If

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Speaker 2: I'm stuck in Henry's room waiting for him to fall

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Speaker 2: asleep some nights I should be reading. Then I tend

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Speaker 2: to scroll, though, because I feel like if I'm stuck

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Speaker 2: here and just do the total brainless thing. But if

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Speaker 2: I have a good book, I will read it right,

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Speaker 2: So that's the trade offs that's always there. I will

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Speaker 2: read magazines sometimes at night too, if I'm particularly looking

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Speaker 2: for something brainless, you know, So it does it fits

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Speaker 2: in the crevices. It tends to be. Or like a

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Speaker 2: weekend afternoon if people are gone sometimes I have some downtime,

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Speaker 2: and so, you know, I try to make sure I

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Speaker 2: have books that I'm interested in because if I don't,

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Speaker 2: that time can very easily get spent on nothing and

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Speaker 2: then it feels like it was wasted. But if I

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Speaker 2: have a good book, you know, then even it's a

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Speaker 2: book on parking, it's interesting because parking is actually about

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Speaker 2: it's about urban des right, because so many not that

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Speaker 2: we need to digress too far into this, but so

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Speaker 2: many municipalities set parking minimums for businesses and housing, and

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Speaker 2: that winds up creating downtowns that are more parking than

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Speaker 2: anything else. It winds up, you know, it can overtime

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Speaker 2: kind of destroy it downtown to make it not walkable

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Speaker 2: because you're walking past huge parking lots to get to

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Speaker 2: anywhere you want to go, and that feels dangerous and

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Speaker 2: isolated and people don't like it. And it's also a

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Speaker 2: way of limiting the stock of affordable housing, because if

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Speaker 2: you require every unit to have even like two off

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Speaker 2: space off street parking, which some places have required, that

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Speaker 2: guarantees you will never be able to build like low

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Speaker 2: cost multi family houses in an area. And so it's

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Speaker 2: a way that people have kept real estate values up

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Speaker 2: and minimized affordable housing, as you know, very much a

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Speaker 2: nimby sort of thing. Anyway, parking affects more than you

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Speaker 2: think it would. That's why I found it interesting to

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Speaker 2: read that book.

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Speaker 1: That is a funny digress, especially when I'm like, I

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Speaker 1: feel like there's not enough parking in the world, and.

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Speaker 2: Everyone thinks that, but it's because you don't see all

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Speaker 2: the spots, right, you know, there are some places parking

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Speaker 2: can either be available, convenient, or affordable, Like it cannot

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Speaker 2: be all three. That's fair, so fair, And so if

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Speaker 2: it's available and convenient, it's going to be expensive. If

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Speaker 2: it's convenient and expensive, then it's there, right, I mean,

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Speaker 2: you know, anyway, it's all part of the fun.

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Speaker 1: I love it well, and I'll give a special note

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Speaker 1: that you mentioned like reading in the afternoon, like that

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Speaker 1: is my favorite, like reading, and then especially if there's

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Speaker 1: enough time where I can then let the reading turn

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Speaker 1: into a nap on like a Saturday afternoon is like,

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Speaker 1: I don't know, up there with my favorite favorite activities.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I sometimes would like sit on my if I

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Speaker 2: can get to my bed right like and nobody's going

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Speaker 2: to bother me there, and if I can open the

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Speaker 2: windows maybe if it's rainy or something. Just sitting there

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Speaker 2: and reading a book is definitely a trait. But yeah,

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Speaker 2: it's kind of harder to pull off sometimes, but when

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Speaker 2: it does, it's when it's sweet because it was difficute.

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Speaker 2: So do you track your reading? I mean you track

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Speaker 2: your time? Do you track your reading in your timeloge? No,

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Speaker 2: I do not unless it's something that I'm particularly calling

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Speaker 2: attention to. So I look at my time logs from

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Speaker 2: six years ago now when I archive my current one,

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Speaker 2: because that's when the date cycle was the same. So

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Speaker 2: Monday October sixteen was also a Monday in two thousand

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Speaker 2: and seventeen as it was in twenty twenty three, so

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Speaker 2: it's a six year cycle. And so I look up

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Speaker 2: that date and I could see that that was the

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Speaker 2: week that I was reading War and Peace for the

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Speaker 2: first time, and so I started making notes on that

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Speaker 2: when I was getting into it, and i'd be like

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Speaker 2: at gymnastics reading War in Peace and parking lot. That

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Speaker 2: would be my entry into that timelog. But most books

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Speaker 2: I don't write about unless it's like again, I was

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Speaker 2: reading a long book, and I'll white finish as I

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Speaker 2: put read and then in parentheses finish or something like

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Speaker 2: that in my log. But when I had sort of

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Speaker 2: a massive reading year in twenty seventeen and then twenty eighteen,

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Speaker 2: with a bit of a holdover from that, I did

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Speaker 2: record it. I made a list in a notebook of

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Speaker 2: all the books I was reading, and twenty seventeen it

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Speaker 2: was well over one hundred books in the course of

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Speaker 2: the year. Twenty eighteen was less. I probably have not

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Speaker 2: anywhere close to one hundred books now, But that was

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Speaker 2: just a year I happened to be on fire and

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Speaker 2: went through a lot of the books that I had

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Speaker 2: not read in the past and wanted to read. For

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Speaker 2: whatever reason, I decided that was going to be my

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Speaker 2: project for the year. But then I just kind of stopped.

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Speaker 2: I don't know, I had henry. You have less time

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Speaker 2: to do anything when you have a baby, sort of

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Speaker 2: less mental capacity. I didn't want to set particularly challenging

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Speaker 2: reading goals for myself and feel like I wasn't keeping

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Speaker 2: up with it, and so then I kind of got

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Speaker 2: out of the habit of that.

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Speaker 1: That's fair, okay, So that's that you kind of skipped

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Speaker 1: ahead to whether you were keeping reading goals, and I

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Speaker 1: want to talk a little bit more about that, in

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Speaker 1: addition to talking a little bit more about twenty seventeen,

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Speaker 1: perhaps because that does seem like quite an outlier for you.

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Speaker 1: But I will say I do track my reading. I

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Speaker 1: don't do anything fancy. I love the idea of these

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Speaker 1: gorgeous reading journals that are out there and that exist,

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Speaker 1: but I don't use them. I actually just tend to

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Speaker 1: like write it in my little Aaron Condren monthly i'll

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Speaker 1: be like finished whatever. And actually I did get in

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Speaker 1: the habit this year of tracking how many pages I read,

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Speaker 1: which is kind of fun because I can see when

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Speaker 1: I get stuck on a book, like it makes it

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Speaker 1: obvious when I should just abandon ship, like been on

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Speaker 1: page one hundred and twenty seven for a week now,

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Speaker 1: like probably not going to read it.

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Speaker 2: You don't want to go to page one twenty eight

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Speaker 2: at that point exactly.

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Speaker 3: So that's been fun.

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Speaker 1: And then I just keep a list on my blog

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Speaker 1: with no no star writing, no nothing, just like this

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Speaker 1: is what I read, it was this month, and was

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Speaker 1: it fiction or nonfiction? So I can keep account for

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Speaker 1: the year. And so that's kind of related to goals,

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Speaker 1: like I seem to be naturally reading between like forty

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Speaker 1: eight and fifty two books a year, like over the past.

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Speaker 1: This would be the fourth year in a row that

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Speaker 1: I hit that area. I'm When I try to go

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Speaker 1: over that, I kind of like get a little stressed out,

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Speaker 1: and so I don't know, maybe that's just like my

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Speaker 1: natural sweet spot. I will say when the kids were younger,

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Speaker 1: I definitely read fewer books because I was just more

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Speaker 1: tired and didn't have like the drive or the concentration.

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Speaker 1: Probably a lot of it was just sleep deprivation. It

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Speaker 1: makes your brain less willing to I mean, maybe a

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Speaker 1: better thing to have done during those times would have

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Speaker 1: been to like find really light Like I don't think

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Speaker 1: I had discovered Ellen Hildebrand yet, but if I had,

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Speaker 1: maybe I would have read more during those postpartum years

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Speaker 1: because I don't think I was ready to digest complex

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Speaker 1: material at the time because I'm too tired.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, totally makes sense. Well, let's take a quick break

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Speaker 2: and then we'll be back with more on our reading lives.

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Speaker 2: So we are back talking all things reading. So, Sarah,

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Speaker 2: you actually tried some sort of rather structured scheme for

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Speaker 2: increasing your reading this year. Maybe you could talk a

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Speaker 2: little bit about that.

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Speaker 1: Yes, I did want to talk about that, even though

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Speaker 1: it didn't end up really sticking to it. So I

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Speaker 1: had this idea that I wanted to read sixty books,

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Speaker 1: which breaks out to five books a month, which again

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Speaker 1: isn't like a huge stretch or change for my prior

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Speaker 1: baseline of fifty. You wouldn't even think that would be

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Speaker 1: that big of a deal. My idea was that I

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Speaker 1: would try to just do two nonfiction books per month

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Speaker 1: by looking to see how long my book was, and

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Speaker 1: then like divide to get into like, Okay, i want

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Speaker 1: to finish this book in two weeks, so I'm going

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Speaker 1: to try to aim for one fourteenth of the book

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Speaker 1: per day, and then over the course of the month,

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Speaker 1: maybe with a couple skip days, that would add up

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Speaker 1: to nonfiction books, and then for fiction book same thing,

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Speaker 1: except I would thinking one tenth of the book for

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Speaker 1: day so I could get through three in the month.

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Speaker 1: So it was a nice math problem and it failed

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Speaker 1: because I don't know. Some books I'm gonna read way

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Speaker 1: faster than that, and then some books I get stuck

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Speaker 1: on and sometimes are busier than others. And as much

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Speaker 1: as I love structure, like, my reading doesn't fit into

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Speaker 1: those very discreete finite buckets like that. And I'm okay

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Speaker 1: with that. It was a fun experiment. I think it's

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Speaker 1: actually more doable with a nonfiction piece, just because my

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Speaker 1: reading time for that is so structured and so consistent.

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Speaker 3: But also the problem.

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Speaker 1: With a goal like that is that, like then you

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Speaker 1: look at a long book and are like, uh, oh,

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Speaker 1: I'm in trouble. Like I read Peter Attia's Outlive, which

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Speaker 1: is nonfiction, and it was useful and it was a

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Speaker 1: good book, but it was like very long. So I

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Speaker 1: think it did take me a little bit longer than

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Speaker 1: two weeks, but not because I was slacking in the

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Speaker 1: pages department. So someone suggested that instead I could make

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Speaker 1: page related goals, but I think I'm just not going

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Speaker 1: to make it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I was to say the mental math required to

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Speaker 2: divide something by fourteen is challenging. I mean, the ten

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Speaker 2: is not so hard if you're like looking at a

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Speaker 2: b bit.

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Speaker 1: It mentally, I think I just pulled out the calculator

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Speaker 1: app on my computer.

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Speaker 2: Said I need to read sixteen pages each morning in

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Speaker 2: order to Yes, okay, well that's you know, that's an

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Speaker 2: interesting idea. Oh it failed, it failed. It felt okay

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Speaker 2: where for someone though I don't know, I'm sure somebody

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Speaker 2: would totally get into that. And actually, honestly that was

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Speaker 2: I mean, well, we can get it. My sort of

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Speaker 2: my reading projects were sort of like that.

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Speaker 1: So yes, let's talk about your reading projects, because you're

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Speaker 1: really interesting with how you tend to create reading related

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Speaker 1: projects every year which are separate from your writing projects,

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Speaker 1: and I want to hear about like some of the

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Speaker 1: current ones.

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Speaker 3: And then I also want you to go back to

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Speaker 3: twenty seventeen.

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Speaker 2: And what happened that that year, the year that Laura

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Speaker 2: was on fire. So yeah, I mean, I haven't been

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Speaker 2: reading as many books, but I decided that I love

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Speaker 2: the idea of doing a little bit of something every

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Speaker 2: single day because it does add up over time, and

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Speaker 2: you can get through huge things in the course of

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Speaker 2: a long enough period of time if you commit to

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Speaker 2: doing just a little bit of it. Every single day.

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Speaker 2: And I think I got this idea because I don't know,

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Speaker 2: Jeremy Anderberg runs a reading newsletter, might be worth checking

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Speaker 2: out that people might enjoy reading his recommendations as well.

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Speaker 2: But he was doing a project where he was going

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Speaker 2: to read through Warren Peace at the rate of one

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Speaker 2: chapter a day over the course of twenty twenty one,

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Speaker 2: and I was like, well, that sounds cool, I'll do that.

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Speaker 2: I truly enjoyed the book when I read it in

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Speaker 2: twenty seventeen, and I'm sure I missed a fair amount

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Speaker 2: of stuff, so let me go in and read it again.

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Speaker 2: And so I did. And it was a very, very

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Speaker 2: doable project because Warren Piece has three hundred and sixty

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Speaker 2: one very short chapters. They're all about four or five

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Speaker 2: pages each. Most of the printed versions of the book

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Speaker 2: are around fourteen fifteen hundred pages. But you know, you

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Speaker 2: do the math, that's four or five pages a day.

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Speaker 2: And that's how Tolstoi wrote it, like he wrote it

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Speaker 2: in a way that it lends itself to being read

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Speaker 2: in a year. And because it was only four or

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Speaker 2: five pages, you never get bogged down. I mean, people

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Speaker 2: who attempt to read War and Peace just on its own,

379
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Speaker 2: beginning to end without a timeline that many people abandoned

380
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Speaker 2: it during this whole random aside, he goes through with

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Speaker 2: the Freemasonry, you know, thing that was big and like

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Speaker 2: Moscow at the time, and like people. The number of

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Speaker 2: people who have abandoned it, either in the Freemason part

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Speaker 2: or somewhere in the Battle of Borodino, like is huge, Okay.

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Speaker 2: But when I was reading it this way, I was like, yeah, this,

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Speaker 2: I don't like the Freemasonry part, but I only have

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Speaker 2: like five more days of it to get through. And

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Speaker 2: then I was and it kept going and it got

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Speaker 2: a lot better again, so I found that quite doable.

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Speaker 2: Enjoyed it. So then I was like, well, what else

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Speaker 2: do I want to read? Like, you know, maybe I'll

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Speaker 2: do the same thing. And I wasn't as into the

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Speaker 2: books that Jeremy then chose to do as a year

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Speaker 2: long reading project. He had multiple books he did for

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Speaker 2: them twenty twenty two. I think he did another project.

396
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Speaker 2: But I decided to read all the works of Shakespeare

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Speaker 2: because I you know, obviously Shakespeare has a reputation as

398
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Speaker 2: being a good writer. I thought it would be worth reading,

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Speaker 2: and I had only read a few of the plays

400
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Speaker 2: and seen a few of them, and so I wanted

401
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Speaker 2: to be more familiar with the entire canon. There are

402
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Speaker 2: in fact calendars out there for reading Shakespeare in a year.

403
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Speaker 2: I've found one that looked good and I followed it,

404
00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:22,120
Speaker 2: and that was a great experience. I feel far more

405
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Speaker 2: familiar with so many of his plays. I am going

406
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Speaker 2: through and rereading a few more now because I feel

407
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Speaker 2: like you read it once, even you read it twice,

408
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Speaker 2: you're probably missing some of the fun word play. And

409
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Speaker 2: so I decided to, you know, go in and re

410
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Speaker 2: experience some of those that I was not as familiar with.

411
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Speaker 2: And then in twenty twenty three, I decided to read

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Speaker 2: through all the works of Jane Austen, which was another

413
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Speaker 2: one that obviously she's been around for a while so

414
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Speaker 2: clearly has some sticking power. So I knew it was

415
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Speaker 2: going to be worth reading, which is a key component

416
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Speaker 2: for choosing these year long projects, and also that I

417
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Speaker 2: really hadn't read her before. And it was the same

418
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Speaker 2: thing of people get stuck in the freema andry part

419
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Speaker 2: of War in piece. I had gotten bogged down in

420
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Speaker 2: the beginning of Pride and prejudiced a couple times that

421
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Speaker 2: I just could not get myself past some of the

422
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Speaker 2: slower development because I wasn't as invested in the characters

423
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Speaker 2: as you would be if you know you've read the

424
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Speaker 2: book and then know the sound. Was like, Okay, what

425
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Speaker 2: I'm going to do is I'm going to read it

426
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Speaker 2: all the works of Jane Austin at a pace of

427
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Speaker 2: five to ten pages a day in order to get

428
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Speaker 2: through them in the course of the year. So I

429
00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:28,600
Speaker 2: bought a set of both her six major novels and

430
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Speaker 2: her Juvenilia, which was bound as a collection as well.

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Speaker 2: There's also a couple unfinished works that I that I

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00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:37,679
Speaker 2: purchased in a bound edition too, and so made it

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Speaker 2: through all that. It turns out my counting was wrong.

434
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Speaker 2: The it told me it had like three thousand pages

435
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Speaker 2: and a lot of that was notes. So I finished

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Speaker 2: in September, but yeah, it was you know, now I've

437
00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,359
Speaker 2: done it. Now I've read everything Jane Austen wrote. I

438
00:20:51,359 --> 00:20:54,080
Speaker 2: wrote read everything Shakespeare wrote, I've read Warren Piece twice.

439
00:20:54,119 --> 00:20:56,440
Speaker 2: And this is just by doing it a little bit

440
00:20:56,520 --> 00:20:57,880
Speaker 2: at a time every single day.

441
00:20:58,200 --> 00:20:58,760
Speaker 3: I love it.

442
00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:02,000
Speaker 1: As you're talking about this, I'm like, what reading project

443
00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:04,359
Speaker 1: would I like? And I was thinking maybe I should

444
00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:08,439
Speaker 1: go back next year and reread all of my favorite

445
00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:11,120
Speaker 1: Mirkani because I was obsessed. You had one Q eighty

446
00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:13,119
Speaker 1: fourmentioned there, which is what got me thinking about it,

447
00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:15,359
Speaker 1: And I'm like, I wonder if I would like still

448
00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:17,280
Speaker 1: like those books or appreciate them as much as I

449
00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:19,880
Speaker 1: did when I was in my twenties and thirties when

450
00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:23,440
Speaker 1: I first discovered them. And I mean, that would really

451
00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:25,480
Speaker 1: appeal to me. So who knows, maybe you will inspire

452
00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:28,240
Speaker 1: me to try my own reading project. I can't imagine

453
00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:30,359
Speaker 1: it being like my main reading thing, because I really

454
00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,199
Speaker 1: do just like seeing something on a blog and like

455
00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:35,239
Speaker 1: picking up the buzzy one that's in the front at

456
00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:37,720
Speaker 1: Barnes and Noble or something. But like a little side

457
00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:40,320
Speaker 1: project maybe for a few months would be fun. Okay,

458
00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:44,800
Speaker 1: So let's talk format, a polarizing topic in the reading world.

459
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:50,240
Speaker 1: So physical, audio, kindle digital?

460
00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:51,480
Speaker 2: Well, what do you do?

461
00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:55,680
Speaker 3: I like physical. I'm like really old school that way.

462
00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:59,680
Speaker 1: I just like enjoy it more and I'm usually carrying

463
00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:01,399
Speaker 1: a bag big enough to throw in a book, so

464
00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:05,440
Speaker 1: it's not like this horrible inconvenience. Maybe if I read

465
00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:07,520
Speaker 1: one hundred books a year, i'd have to like, you know,

466
00:22:07,560 --> 00:22:09,880
Speaker 1: pack three on vacation or something like that, but usually

467
00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:11,720
Speaker 1: I can get away with one to two on a trip.

468
00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:14,800
Speaker 1: So yeah, I du a ton of library holds and

469
00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:18,000
Speaker 1: I just pick up physical books and return them. And

470
00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:20,359
Speaker 1: it's old school. I had a Kindle for a while.

471
00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:22,159
Speaker 1: I guess I still have it. It's a paper white.

472
00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:24,919
Speaker 1: I didn't like the act of swiping to turn pages,

473
00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:26,919
Speaker 1: and I just felt like, even though it has a

474
00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,920
Speaker 1: percentage done, even either distract me too much thinking about

475
00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,119
Speaker 1: the percentage done or I felt like I got lost

476
00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:35,680
Speaker 1: in the volume. I just didn't enjoy the process as much.

477
00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:38,760
Speaker 1: And I'm like, it's not like paper books are like

478
00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:40,560
Speaker 1: a hardship. And then once I figured out you could

479
00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:42,880
Speaker 1: like not even necessarily buy them, but get them from

480
00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:44,960
Speaker 1: the library in paper form, I was like, yeah, this

481
00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:47,080
Speaker 1: is me. I like looking at the covers. I like

482
00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:49,720
Speaker 1: seeing them stacked up on my shelf. I love paper books.

483
00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:53,439
Speaker 1: Audio I almost never do. I think it's because like

484
00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:59,080
Speaker 1: when I'm running the oxygen amount in my brain, I

485
00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:02,720
Speaker 1: can't focus like I can focus on podcasts because they're

486
00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:04,679
Speaker 1: light and they're you know, if you're listening to this

487
00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:06,639
Speaker 1: right now, I know it's not taking all of your

488
00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,040
Speaker 1: brain cells, and that's okay, we forgive you. And I

489
00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:10,760
Speaker 1: like music when I run if I want to, like

490
00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:13,120
Speaker 1: have a certain mood or I'm trying to run intervals.

491
00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:16,280
Speaker 1: But I'm just like never excited to pick up an audiobook,

492
00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:17,760
Speaker 1: even though I'm excited to pick up a paper book.

493
00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:18,920
Speaker 3: So I'm old school. What about you.

494
00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:23,719
Speaker 2: So I read both paper and kindle, you know, electronic books,

495
00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:28,560
Speaker 2: and I mean, on some level, I do prefer the

496
00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:32,240
Speaker 2: paper and so for that I people send me books

497
00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:34,840
Speaker 2: sometimes I always enjoy reading them when I have them

498
00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:38,560
Speaker 2: in paper. That way. I go to the library and

499
00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:40,440
Speaker 2: I get books, and I certainly get a lot of

500
00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:43,560
Speaker 2: random stuff. And I've recently been checking out like coffee

501
00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:45,239
Speaker 2: table books, which is a really fun thing to get

502
00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:48,119
Speaker 2: from the library because buying them would be ridiculous or

503
00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:50,320
Speaker 2: storing them in your house, but you know, hey, getting

504
00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:52,280
Speaker 2: them for three weeks from the library is like a

505
00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:54,960
Speaker 2: win all around, and get to look through something that's

506
00:23:55,920 --> 00:24:00,320
Speaker 2: pretty in that brainless time before bed. But one of

507
00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:02,520
Speaker 2: the things that made me able to read so much

508
00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:05,880
Speaker 2: in twenty seventeen, in the year that we were hinting

509
00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:08,840
Speaker 2: at this before, I managed to read over one hundred books,

510
00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:11,440
Speaker 2: which was not all short. Books like that included Warren Piece,

511
00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:16,720
Speaker 2: Kristin Lavren's Daughter one Q eighty four. Team of Rivals

512
00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:18,160
Speaker 2: was another one in there that was like a seven

513
00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:19,720
Speaker 2: hundred page book. I mean, there were just a ton

514
00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:23,359
Speaker 2: of really long but Grant's memoirs, I'm going to throw

515
00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:26,600
Speaker 2: that one in there, The Memoirs of ulysses Us Grant

516
00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:32,120
Speaker 2: not short, but I read it anyway. The only way

517
00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:34,879
Speaker 2: I was able to get all those books sort of

518
00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:38,160
Speaker 2: quickly and then have them with me to use at

519
00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:40,360
Speaker 2: any time that I wanted to read was to have

520
00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:43,960
Speaker 2: it on my phone, and so I read a ton

521
00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:47,439
Speaker 2: on that tiny little screen. I literally that year I

522
00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:51,520
Speaker 2: read Warren Piece on my phone. But what it meant

523
00:24:51,760 --> 00:24:54,240
Speaker 2: is that you want to talk about the percentage going up,

524
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:56,480
Speaker 2: the percent would only go up. It was like something

525
00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,000
Speaker 2: like thirty four swipes per percent. I counted it at

526
00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,720
Speaker 2: one point, and you know, you wouldn't get a percent

527
00:25:01,800 --> 00:25:04,239
Speaker 2: in any given sitting. But if you're sitting there, like

528
00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:08,200
Speaker 2: for fifteen minutes at gymnastics, you could get through ten

529
00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:10,560
Speaker 2: of those pages, and then you know, you get through

530
00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:12,360
Speaker 2: another ten somewhere else, and then you've made it through

531
00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:16,040
Speaker 2: a percent of the book, and so I just found

532
00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:20,239
Speaker 2: it so much more convenient that I was willing to

533
00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:25,360
Speaker 2: give up the need to have it in paper. Now

534
00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:28,639
Speaker 2: for my reading projects, I've invested in paper copies. So

535
00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:30,760
Speaker 2: I read through a paper copy of Warren Piece. I

536
00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:34,000
Speaker 2: read through paper copy of all Shakespeare's plays, except if

537
00:25:34,040 --> 00:25:36,680
Speaker 2: I was traveling, then I'd get it online and read

538
00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:40,040
Speaker 2: through my daily allotment. You know, it's available, it's in

539
00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:44,160
Speaker 2: the public domain, and then I would, you know, Jane Austen,

540
00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:46,000
Speaker 2: I took the books with me, like, I just would

541
00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:49,080
Speaker 2: take the book while traveling if I needed to. But yeah,

542
00:25:49,080 --> 00:25:52,280
Speaker 2: that I read in paper. But yeah, for your average

543
00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:54,439
Speaker 2: whatever book I was trying to read through, when I

544
00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:56,560
Speaker 2: was really getting into the reading, I I would do

545
00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:59,600
Speaker 2: the kindle and not like a big kindle, like a

546
00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:01,000
Speaker 2: little app on my.

547
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,439
Speaker 3: Phone, kindle app on your phone. I've done that before

548
00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:05,000
Speaker 3: as well.

549
00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:09,000
Speaker 1: I like that even less than the kindle, But I like, yeah,

550
00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:11,600
Speaker 1: I do think that the size of your books matters.

551
00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:14,040
Speaker 3: So it's a good point, Like I don't know that

552
00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:16,119
Speaker 3: i'd want to carry one Q eighty four around. That

553
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:17,040
Speaker 3: might be one where I.

554
00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:18,680
Speaker 1: Actually would prefer the kindle want to read it, I

555
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:20,359
Speaker 1: would actually weigh down your bag.

556
00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:23,520
Speaker 3: Like that thing is a brick. So I think, and that's.

557
00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:25,040
Speaker 2: How I that's how I did it. And I I mean,

558
00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:27,840
Speaker 2: so I did Kristin Lavin'sadder in paper. But I read

559
00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:29,439
Speaker 2: a lot of that on vacation, so it was just

560
00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:31,560
Speaker 2: sort of there with me, you know, we had driven

561
00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,200
Speaker 2: to the vacation. But yeah, a lot of those books,

562
00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:36,840
Speaker 2: I you know, the Grants Memoirs is definitely I had

563
00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,760
Speaker 2: it on on the kindle, on the app on my phone.

564
00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:42,280
Speaker 2: But there's some upsides to the app, by the way,

565
00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:46,560
Speaker 2: so even if you are team paper, which I do

566
00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:50,200
Speaker 2: like paper, there might be some reasons to consider doing

567
00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:52,640
Speaker 2: this to fill in the crevices of time where you'd

568
00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,119
Speaker 2: like to read an extra book here or there. You

569
00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:59,320
Speaker 2: can get library books through the Libby app, so just link.

570
00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:01,000
Speaker 2: You know, they're probably other apps out there, so you

571
00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:02,879
Speaker 2: might check with your local library which they use, but

572
00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:05,520
Speaker 2: Libya is a very popular one, and you just link

573
00:27:05,560 --> 00:27:10,000
Speaker 2: your library card to the app and then whatever your

574
00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:14,959
Speaker 2: library system has in their digital collection you can borrow.

575
00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:19,120
Speaker 2: And some systems actually have you know, if you don't

576
00:27:19,240 --> 00:27:21,080
Speaker 2: aren't a resident there, you might be able to pay

577
00:27:21,119 --> 00:27:25,840
Speaker 2: a fee, and some districts have much more extensive ebook

578
00:27:25,840 --> 00:27:27,720
Speaker 2: collections than others, so you can look into that. I

579
00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:29,479
Speaker 2: don't know. I'm not going to give specifics because I'll

580
00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,879
Speaker 2: get them wrong, but if you are into that, you

581
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:35,720
Speaker 2: might want to look into that concept. The other upside

582
00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:38,280
Speaker 2: if you are getting ebooks on Amazon is that they

583
00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:41,240
Speaker 2: will give you a free sample of just about anything,

584
00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:45,720
Speaker 2: and it is not like a stingy free samples. It's

585
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:48,840
Speaker 2: often ten to fifteen percent of the book, so you

586
00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:52,360
Speaker 2: can just download that free see if you like it.

587
00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:55,160
Speaker 2: If you do, it is very easy to then go

588
00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:57,400
Speaker 2: in and order the rest of the book kinda will

589
00:27:57,400 --> 00:27:59,959
Speaker 2: put it right where you stopped, like, they won't make

590
00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:02,280
Speaker 2: you go find where you were in the sample, like it.

591
00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:05,439
Speaker 2: You will open the book in the app to that

592
00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:09,119
Speaker 2: spot once you buy it, and that way you know

593
00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:11,160
Speaker 2: what you're getting. So it's like browsing in a bookstore.

594
00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:13,320
Speaker 2: They're giving you the experience of being able to browse

595
00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:15,960
Speaker 2: the book in the bookstore even though it's electronic.

596
00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:18,159
Speaker 1: And that is amazing, especially like if you are traveling

597
00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:19,280
Speaker 1: and don't have a book with you and you're not

598
00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:21,840
Speaker 1: near a bookstore, like, oh my god, you have, you can.

599
00:28:21,800 --> 00:28:22,639
Speaker 3: Read any book like that.

600
00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:24,920
Speaker 2: Yes, you know, you could like quickly in the airport

601
00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:27,679
Speaker 2: download fifteen percent of three books and that would get

602
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:30,000
Speaker 2: you through the flight and then probably one of them

603
00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:31,639
Speaker 2: you'll be really into it least, and you can like

604
00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:33,480
Speaker 2: then once you get off the plane, download the rest

605
00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:35,840
Speaker 2: of it. But that way you're not stuck. Ever.

606
00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:43,280
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's awesome. That is a benefit. So reading related blogs.

607
00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:47,720
Speaker 1: Podcasts or books to gram, I'd actually like, I don't

608
00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:50,800
Speaker 1: know any bookstagrammers because I avoid and I'm glad, but

609
00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:53,240
Speaker 1: I know there is a wide world of bookstagram out there,

610
00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:55,560
Speaker 1: including a woman who is in my book club and

611
00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:57,440
Speaker 1: she'll be like, oh yeah, I presented on that book

612
00:28:57,480 --> 00:29:00,000
Speaker 1: on my Insta live or whatever, and I feel bad

613
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:01,120
Speaker 1: and I'm like, well, you're a book club, so I

614
00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:01,760
Speaker 1: can hear you do it.

615
00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:02,400
Speaker 3: In like fline.

616
00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:04,840
Speaker 2: So it's fine for an audience of six.

617
00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,240
Speaker 3: Yes, exactly, Well.

618
00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:11,080
Speaker 2: Both of us definitely big shout out to modern Missus.

619
00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:16,000
Speaker 2: Darcy and Bogel has an excellent books empire. She has

620
00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:18,320
Speaker 2: a podcast called what Should I Read Next, where she

621
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:23,520
Speaker 2: recommends books to various people and talks with authors and

622
00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:27,720
Speaker 2: other people. She also has a website where she has

623
00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:31,560
Speaker 2: lists of books, So we are airing this. We recorded

624
00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:33,840
Speaker 2: this a little bit before Halloween, so one of her

625
00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:37,600
Speaker 2: topics recently was like spooky but not scary books for Halloween.

626
00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:40,120
Speaker 2: It'll be like a list of twenty books. And the

627
00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:44,400
Speaker 2: upside of the way Ann puts her content in there,

628
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:47,800
Speaker 2: I'm not going to like every book she recommends, but

629
00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:50,840
Speaker 2: I can tell from her write ups if I'm going

630
00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:52,720
Speaker 2: to like it, and I think that is a real

631
00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:56,720
Speaker 2: service because she makes it pretty clear like what kind

632
00:29:56,760 --> 00:29:58,719
Speaker 2: of reader this is for or things that are in

633
00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:01,720
Speaker 2: it that then you will understand if it's a book

634
00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:02,280
Speaker 2: you're gonna like.

635
00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:05,400
Speaker 1: Agree, I love her lists. I often pill for like

636
00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:08,240
Speaker 1: half of her fall list onto my fall list.

637
00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:08,560
Speaker 3: Like that.

638
00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:11,800
Speaker 1: She's very influential because I've had really good success with

639
00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:15,000
Speaker 1: her picks, and I have a feeling my taste aligned

640
00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:17,640
Speaker 1: somewhat with hers, which is just like a lucky thing.

641
00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:21,720
Speaker 1: But she's been a fantastic resource. I don't know if

642
00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:24,440
Speaker 1: you listen to Currently Reading, but we actually had the

643
00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:27,200
Speaker 1: host on her podcast like way back in the day,

644
00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:30,760
Speaker 1: Meredith Monday Schwartz, who's a CEO but also co hosts

645
00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:33,480
Speaker 1: this very successful book podcast. I think she was just

646
00:30:33,520 --> 00:30:36,560
Speaker 1: getting it started maybe when she came on, but it's

647
00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:38,880
Speaker 1: been a new favorite of mine recently. I just she

648
00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,040
Speaker 1: just has like a great rapport with her co host.

649
00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:43,840
Speaker 1: Sometimes she vuries the co host. They often will do

650
00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:45,960
Speaker 1: like a deep dive on one book and I love

651
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:47,760
Speaker 1: but it's like something I read and I can hear

652
00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:48,640
Speaker 1: what they think about it.

653
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:50,120
Speaker 3: And they even do kind of.

654
00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:53,080
Speaker 1: Like reading adjacent topics, like they talked about like a

655
00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:56,280
Speaker 1: reading retreat that they held, which was super fun to

656
00:30:56,320 --> 00:30:58,600
Speaker 1: hear about. So that's another favorite of mine.

657
00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:00,320
Speaker 3: And then Ten Things to I Tell You.

658
00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:02,840
Speaker 1: It is not a book podcast per se, it's Laura

659
00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:08,320
Speaker 1: Tremain's podcast, and every quarter she'll do a book specific episode,

660
00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:10,880
Speaker 1: and I just I really enjoyed that because she also

661
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:14,200
Speaker 1: tends to have two guests with like different book opinions

662
00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:15,720
Speaker 1: on it with her, and they like review the best

663
00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:17,760
Speaker 1: books they read in the quarter and they debate them

664
00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:20,600
Speaker 1: and they're really fun. So those are my main sources.

665
00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:22,840
Speaker 1: And also Real Simple Magazine.

666
00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:25,760
Speaker 2: Yeah, they have a write up of about five books

667
00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:29,560
Speaker 2: every month that they give a shout out to. Yeah,

668
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:34,040
Speaker 2: I've The Wall Street Journal has a review section every Saturday,

669
00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:38,200
Speaker 2: which is a good source for finding book reviews on

670
00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:42,120
Speaker 2: contemporary books. They do a book review every day in

671
00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:45,360
Speaker 2: the main section, but the Saturday one is when they

672
00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:48,200
Speaker 2: review multiple books. I've written for them on occasion, so

673
00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:52,960
Speaker 2: read my opinion of books there. I also Jeremy Anderberg

674
00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:56,640
Speaker 2: is another one. You can look up his newsletter. He

675
00:31:56,760 --> 00:31:59,440
Speaker 2: recommends a lot of books. He does a pretty extensive

676
00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:02,800
Speaker 2: reading life and has read a great many books. For instance,

677
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:04,800
Speaker 2: he had a project where he had read a biography

678
00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:09,800
Speaker 2: of every American president, so he has extensive knowledge and

679
00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:13,160
Speaker 2: many recommendations, so you might want to check that out.

680
00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,720
Speaker 2: I in the past would look at O magazine, but

681
00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:18,560
Speaker 2: that has now gone quarterly, so there's just, you know,

682
00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:21,160
Speaker 2: less space for them to be recommending books that are

683
00:32:21,280 --> 00:32:24,320
Speaker 2: newly out. But I think they do still do book reviews,

684
00:32:24,360 --> 00:32:27,239
Speaker 2: so that's another good place as well. So, Sarah, how

685
00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:29,960
Speaker 2: do you actively manage your TBR list then your to

686
00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:32,440
Speaker 2: be read list if you're relying on library holds, because

687
00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:35,720
Speaker 2: that always strikes me as kind of a hard game

688
00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:36,200
Speaker 2: to play.

689
00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:41,959
Speaker 1: Yeah, well you can play it fairly easily if you like.

690
00:32:42,080 --> 00:32:44,120
Speaker 1: If you see too many coming up at once, our

691
00:32:44,200 --> 00:32:46,160
Speaker 1: library allows you to like push them forward so you

692
00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:47,280
Speaker 1: can like put some on pause.

693
00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:50,000
Speaker 3: So that's generally how I do it.

694
00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:52,760
Speaker 1: It's part of my monthly review process to audit my

695
00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:54,880
Speaker 1: library holds and see where I am and make sure

696
00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:56,920
Speaker 1: I'm like don't have a million things reserved that I

697
00:32:56,960 --> 00:32:59,760
Speaker 1: don't want anymore and things like that. I keep a

698
00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:02,640
Speaker 1: like list of books that I'm interested in on my blog,

699
00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:05,000
Speaker 1: so I can like always refer to that if I'm

700
00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:07,640
Speaker 1: out of ideas, or sometimes like I'll just read a

701
00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:10,480
Speaker 1: post by end Bogle and like just immediately dump a

702
00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:12,480
Speaker 1: bunch of things sound really exciting, so I'll just dump

703
00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:14,000
Speaker 1: them all on my whole list at once, and then

704
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:15,840
Speaker 1: whatever comes to me first is what I'm going to

705
00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:19,280
Speaker 1: read first. So a little bit of library roulette that

706
00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:21,000
Speaker 1: makes it maybe even more fun.

707
00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:24,760
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't have a good process for this right now.

708
00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:26,760
Speaker 2: I don't have a to b read list that I'm

709
00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:29,760
Speaker 2: keeping anywhere. If I read a review of something that

710
00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:31,760
Speaker 2: sounds interesting, I'll try to like take a picture of

711
00:33:31,960 --> 00:33:34,640
Speaker 2: it so I know that I can go back to

712
00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:35,920
Speaker 2: it at some other point. I mean, if we're talking

713
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:38,640
Speaker 2: like a print one, not obviously you can click straight

714
00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:42,080
Speaker 2: through if it's an online one. Usually, but now that's

715
00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:44,880
Speaker 2: probably something I should put more mental energy to. But

716
00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:47,120
Speaker 2: you only have so much, and I've been doing the

717
00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:50,080
Speaker 2: big reading projects. I guess the year that I decided

718
00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:52,320
Speaker 2: to read all the works of Shakespeare, I didn't feel

719
00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:55,000
Speaker 2: like I really needed to also be managing a huge

720
00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:58,520
Speaker 2: TBR list of other stuff. So that is what it is.

721
00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:02,640
Speaker 2: You pick and choose what you're going to do book clubs.

722
00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:05,680
Speaker 2: So tell us a little bit about your book clubs. Sarah.

723
00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:08,640
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I did start one in my neighborhood maybe

724
00:34:08,680 --> 00:34:10,919
Speaker 1: a year ago, and it's been going really well.

725
00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:12,200
Speaker 3: We meet every six weeks or.

726
00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:14,960
Speaker 1: So in one of the local houses, and usually we

727
00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:17,719
Speaker 1: take turns picking the book. It's super casual, Like I

728
00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:20,440
Speaker 1: think I was hearing about somebody complaining about like elaborate

729
00:34:20,840 --> 00:34:23,400
Speaker 1: dinner spreads for book club and feeling intimidated. Like no,

730
00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:25,520
Speaker 1: we each like bring an item from Trader Joe's. Like

731
00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:30,000
Speaker 1: it's I mean, very casual. Or people bring wine but

732
00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:31,840
Speaker 1: not like a meal, so it doesn't take any If

733
00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:34,239
Speaker 1: you're hosting, it's like no work. Basically, it's like I

734
00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:37,120
Speaker 1: get out some chairs and it's been really fun. We

735
00:34:37,160 --> 00:34:40,120
Speaker 1: tend to have a lot of like differing opinions. The

736
00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:43,120
Speaker 1: books to Grammar has very strong opinions. And we just

737
00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:47,960
Speaker 1: read Hello Beautiful by Annapolitano, which was a great book

738
00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:50,360
Speaker 1: club pick because it was not one of my favorite books,

739
00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:52,759
Speaker 1: but it's so many people's favorite books, so so much

740
00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:55,000
Speaker 1: to talk about, characters, to dissect, et cetera.

741
00:34:55,680 --> 00:35:00,960
Speaker 2: Excellent. Yeah. Would we have the Patreon community book club?

742
00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:03,399
Speaker 2: So Best of Both Worlds has a Patreon community where

743
00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:05,719
Speaker 2: one of the things we decided to do this year

744
00:35:05,880 --> 00:35:09,160
Speaker 2: was pick four books and read through them and discuss

745
00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:11,920
Speaker 2: them as a group. And so we've done a couple,

746
00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:16,239
Speaker 2: including Dori Clark's The Long Game. We did This is

747
00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:19,319
Speaker 2: not a book about Benedict Cumberbatch did that earlier in

748
00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:22,240
Speaker 2: the year. We did Gretchen Ruben's Life in Five Senses.

749
00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:27,640
Speaker 2: We'll be reading Virginia Soulsmith's Fat Talk in November, so

750
00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:30,319
Speaker 2: you know, that was fun to do to have that

751
00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:33,480
Speaker 2: book club in the discussion with it. This past summer,

752
00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:38,160
Speaker 2: I ran my own sort of Laura Vandercam literature book club.

753
00:35:38,719 --> 00:35:40,680
Speaker 2: Does not count of being in a book club, but

754
00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:44,799
Speaker 2: I decided that I wanted to resurrect some of my

755
00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:48,360
Speaker 2: older books and have discussions about them with people, So

756
00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:52,000
Speaker 2: I created an online book club that people signed up for.

757
00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:56,120
Speaker 2: We went through Off the Clock, Juliette, School of Possibilities,

758
00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:59,640
Speaker 2: The Courtland Boys, and My Work in Progress and Orwegen

759
00:35:59,719 --> 00:36:02,160
Speaker 2: Secret to Enjoying Winter and we discussed each of them

760
00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:05,279
Speaker 2: on Zoom. And so that was really fun to give

761
00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:07,520
Speaker 2: me an occasion to talk about some of those topics

762
00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:09,840
Speaker 2: that I hadn't looked at in a while and maybe

763
00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:13,600
Speaker 2: introduce some readers who'd read more recent stuff to some

764
00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:14,359
Speaker 2: of the older work.

765
00:36:15,200 --> 00:36:17,680
Speaker 3: Are those available on zoom In case somebody wants to

766
00:36:17,719 --> 00:36:21,680
Speaker 3: virtually experience the lar Vanderkam Book Club in the future, you.

767
00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:23,879
Speaker 2: Can email me if you would like to. We'll see

768
00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:26,680
Speaker 2: you know, they're not for broad put out on YouTube

769
00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:30,319
Speaker 2: kind of thing, but I'd be happy to help out

770
00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:32,359
Speaker 2: somebody who happened to read an older book and wanted

771
00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:33,720
Speaker 2: to check out what we were talking about.

772
00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:38,280
Speaker 1: Cool, all right, well, book favorites. I wrote this question,

773
00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:41,080
Speaker 1: I'm like, what's your favorite book so far this year?

774
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:42,719
Speaker 1: And then what about ever? And then I was like,

775
00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:43,680
Speaker 1: I'm not answering that.

776
00:36:44,719 --> 00:36:46,520
Speaker 2: I love that she created the question and then more

777
00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:47,360
Speaker 2: phuses to answer it.

778
00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:50,640
Speaker 1: That's oh my gosh, Well this year, I just finished

779
00:36:50,640 --> 00:36:52,680
Speaker 1: tom Lake by Anne Paget, and I just loved it.

780
00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:56,400
Speaker 1: I had read her memoir these precious days, like recently,

781
00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:58,960
Speaker 1: and I think that made it even better, because like

782
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:02,240
Speaker 1: I could hear so much of Anne's voice an essence

783
00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:04,560
Speaker 1: in Tom Lake, even though it was a novel, and

784
00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:08,360
Speaker 1: it just had this like peaceful pacing to it, and

785
00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:12,320
Speaker 1: it made me feel like so calm and good. I

786
00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:14,360
Speaker 1: don't know, I just I loved it. It's my favorite

787
00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:15,040
Speaker 1: so far this year.

788
00:37:15,680 --> 00:37:17,400
Speaker 2: I might like it. I might go for a peaceful

789
00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:19,960
Speaker 2: pacing of a novel. Maybe that would work for me.

790
00:37:20,080 --> 00:37:25,359
Speaker 2: Maybe not. We'll see get around to it eventually. So yeah,

791
00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:27,200
Speaker 2: I don't. I don't. I definitely don't have a favorite

792
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:29,920
Speaker 2: book of all time. I will say that I had

793
00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:32,839
Speaker 2: I did. This is going to sound so like egotistical.

794
00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:37,120
Speaker 2: I enjoyed rereading The Courtland Boys. It's been six seven

795
00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:39,520
Speaker 2: years since I read it the last time, this novel

796
00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:41,680
Speaker 2: I wrote, and so it was almost like experiencing it

797
00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:45,720
Speaker 2: as a reader coming to it. And then you know,

798
00:37:45,800 --> 00:37:47,680
Speaker 2: I know that I wrote it, like and so obviously

799
00:37:47,719 --> 00:37:52,239
Speaker 2: I know what happens, but I forgot the exact order

800
00:37:52,239 --> 00:37:54,680
Speaker 2: of things or how I describe things, and so it was,

801
00:37:54,760 --> 00:37:58,040
Speaker 2: you know, experiencing it somewhat as a reader would, and

802
00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:01,280
Speaker 2: I actually got really into the story. So I enjoyed

803
00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:06,080
Speaker 2: reading that this summer. Like, Laura, that's your own book,

804
00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:06,800
Speaker 2: that's not allowed.

805
00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:09,440
Speaker 1: Well, I think it's good if you write the kind

806
00:38:09,480 --> 00:38:12,719
Speaker 1: of book that you're excited to read. I mean, who better, Like,

807
00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:15,120
Speaker 1: you know, envisioning yourself was like the reader and then

808
00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:18,160
Speaker 1: crafting towards it. So yeah, it's probably like tailor made

809
00:38:18,239 --> 00:38:20,279
Speaker 1: for like everything that you love. It does have a

810
00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:23,480
Speaker 1: lot of little Laura asque easter eggs in it. It

811
00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:24,480
Speaker 1: is a really fun book.

812
00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:27,719
Speaker 2: So yeah, it's funny. I listen to this podcast like

813
00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:29,919
Speaker 2: I'll often listen to this podcast twice in the cars

814
00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:32,719
Speaker 2: because I'm the perfect target audience. We created a podcast

815
00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:38,799
Speaker 2: that Laura wants to listen to. We're all everyone else

816
00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:40,719
Speaker 2: is just along for the ride apparently, No, no, no, not

817
00:38:40,760 --> 00:38:43,000
Speaker 2: at all. We think a lot about what our listeners

818
00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:45,399
Speaker 2: might want to hear, and please feel free to write

819
00:38:45,480 --> 00:38:50,239
Speaker 2: us with feedback as well. All right, moving on, so

820
00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:54,000
Speaker 2: reading and kids reading reading and kids, well we read

821
00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:56,000
Speaker 2: to the little ones. You know, that's sort of you know,

822
00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:58,200
Speaker 2: read bedtime stories to the little ones and get them

823
00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:00,239
Speaker 2: into it. There's always that kind of time when the

824
00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:04,640
Speaker 2: kid gets they're able to read to themselves, but they

825
00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:07,040
Speaker 2: want stories that are a little bit more complex and

826
00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:09,280
Speaker 2: they're capable of reading themselves. You can kind of stretch

827
00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:11,279
Speaker 2: out the time that you're reading and introduce sort of

828
00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:15,440
Speaker 2: chapter books with them then. But when we sort of

829
00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:18,320
Speaker 2: try to build structurally some reading time into our lives

830
00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:20,840
Speaker 2: is the older kids have to be in their rooms

831
00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:25,399
Speaker 2: at nine o'clock with no devices, but lights out isn't

832
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:29,640
Speaker 2: till ten o'clock, so they have an hour. Sam and

833
00:39:29,760 --> 00:39:34,120
Speaker 2: Ruth are almost always reading with that time. Jasper's often

834
00:39:34,120 --> 00:39:36,600
Speaker 2: doing homework at this point. I mean, I don't take

835
00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:39,879
Speaker 2: his work his school laptop away. He puts his phone away,

836
00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:41,560
Speaker 2: but he doesn't put the school lap to away, and okay,

837
00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:44,880
Speaker 2: that's fine, you can use that for homework. Alex is

838
00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:46,399
Speaker 2: a little bit harder to get him to read. He'll

839
00:39:46,480 --> 00:39:49,080
Speaker 2: read some graphic novels if he's into them. Sometimes he'll

840
00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:51,120
Speaker 2: do little projects like he made a lot of paper

841
00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:54,920
Speaker 2: airplanes of different types of stuff. But one really cool

842
00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:58,120
Speaker 2: thing that happened is that Jasper and Alex are reading

843
00:39:58,160 --> 00:40:02,960
Speaker 2: Harry Potter together, so Jasper read it out loud, read

844
00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:04,759
Speaker 2: the first book out loud to Alex and then they

845
00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:06,759
Speaker 2: started watching the movie together. And now they're starting the

846
00:40:06,840 --> 00:40:08,560
Speaker 2: second book. So that's pretty cool.

847
00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:11,000
Speaker 3: That's a lot too. I mean it sounds like one book,

848
00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:12,080
Speaker 3: but that's like a long book.

849
00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:14,560
Speaker 1: I mean we I think we had attacked that project

850
00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:17,279
Speaker 1: of like reading all of Harry Potter, and I think

851
00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:18,560
Speaker 1: we got through the first book.

852
00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:20,600
Speaker 3: But it takes a long time. So go go, Jasper.

853
00:40:20,719 --> 00:40:21,400
Speaker 3: That is amazing.

854
00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:23,920
Speaker 1: I love that my kids do not generally read to

855
00:40:24,040 --> 00:40:27,839
Speaker 1: each other. It's usually I'm reading to Genevieve or Josh

856
00:40:27,880 --> 00:40:30,000
Speaker 1: is reading to Genevieve, and then sometimes like Cameron Aniba

857
00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:31,600
Speaker 1: will come in and listen, which is really cute, even

858
00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:33,759
Speaker 1: when it's kids books, like they just want to be

859
00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:34,520
Speaker 1: part of it.

860
00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:36,960
Speaker 3: And then there were some periods.

861
00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:39,600
Speaker 1: Of time where like Josh would also read something to Cameron,

862
00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:41,520
Speaker 1: Like they had a couple of yeah, like chapter E

863
00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:44,080
Speaker 1: books that Cameron wasn't is excited about picking up himself,

864
00:40:44,120 --> 00:40:46,480
Speaker 1: that didn't mind hearing them if Josh would read them

865
00:40:46,480 --> 00:40:49,080
Speaker 1: to him. So that's kind of that transitional phase. But now,

866
00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:50,719
Speaker 1: if you like the keys to getting them to read

867
00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:54,800
Speaker 1: are like letting them pick whatever they want, no judgments

868
00:40:54,800 --> 00:40:57,880
Speaker 1: on it, if it's a Minecraft graphic novel or like

869
00:40:57,960 --> 00:40:59,480
Speaker 1: even like a Minecraft guide.

870
00:41:00,320 --> 00:41:02,200
Speaker 3: See I'm judging, but don't judge.

871
00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:02,480
Speaker 1: Read.

872
00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:03,919
Speaker 2: Stop judging. They're reading the reading.

873
00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:06,919
Speaker 1: So if I and having periods of time when there's

874
00:41:06,920 --> 00:41:10,040
Speaker 1: no devices, because I mean maybe maybe your family's different,

875
00:41:10,080 --> 00:41:13,520
Speaker 1: but for my children, if there is an option of

876
00:41:13,680 --> 00:41:17,080
Speaker 1: iPad or book or video game or book, like, they're

877
00:41:17,160 --> 00:41:18,719
Speaker 1: never going to pick book on their own.

878
00:41:19,120 --> 00:41:19,760
Speaker 3: And that's okay.

879
00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:21,560
Speaker 1: So I just have to make sure there's some time

880
00:41:21,600 --> 00:41:24,520
Speaker 1: when it's like you're done with devices. If you choose

881
00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:26,520
Speaker 1: to read, then that's available to you. And if it's

882
00:41:26,560 --> 00:41:28,239
Speaker 1: a book that they enjoy, then they're going to choose

883
00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:28,560
Speaker 1: to read.

884
00:41:29,080 --> 00:41:30,640
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I'd like to put out here there. I mean,

885
00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:31,800
Speaker 2: we like to read, and I know a lot of

886
00:41:31,840 --> 00:41:34,719
Speaker 2: our listeners love to read, but that's not not all

887
00:41:34,760 --> 00:41:39,520
Speaker 2: adults love reading as like their chosen leisure time activity.

888
00:41:39,600 --> 00:41:42,200
Speaker 2: And if you aren't that person, that is totally fine.

889
00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:44,920
Speaker 2: And if you have children for whom that is not

890
00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:50,719
Speaker 2: their chosen leisure activity, that is also totally fine. You know, again,

891
00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:54,680
Speaker 2: it's good to be reading some stuff. But just because

892
00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:58,560
Speaker 2: you don't have a kid who is checking out two

893
00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:00,719
Speaker 2: dozen books at the library and trying to sneak the

894
00:42:00,719 --> 00:42:02,879
Speaker 2: flashlight under the covers to be you know, it doesn't

895
00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:05,680
Speaker 2: mean that you've failed in any way. People are just different.

896
00:42:05,719 --> 00:42:09,399
Speaker 2: And I know many adults who are intelligent people but

897
00:42:09,480 --> 00:42:12,080
Speaker 2: just are not as much into reading and their leisure time.

898
00:42:12,120 --> 00:42:14,640
Speaker 2: It's just not something they choose to do as much.

899
00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:17,839
Speaker 2: And that is absolutely fine, and it's fine with the kids.

900
00:42:17,880 --> 00:42:20,279
Speaker 2: But yeah, if you you know, so we can try

901
00:42:20,320 --> 00:42:21,920
Speaker 2: to share our love of reading. We just always have

902
00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:25,759
Speaker 2: to remember that kids are their own people and they

903
00:42:25,760 --> 00:42:28,120
Speaker 2: are not us, and when they are different from us,

904
00:42:28,280 --> 00:42:31,000
Speaker 2: it doesn't mean that we failed. It means that your

905
00:42:31,080 --> 00:42:33,880
Speaker 2: kid is not you, and that's all there is to it.

906
00:42:34,520 --> 00:42:37,000
Speaker 3: And that's a lesson you can keep on learning your

907
00:42:37,080 --> 00:42:37,759
Speaker 3: kid is not you.

908
00:42:38,120 --> 00:42:41,520
Speaker 2: Again and again and again. So do you want to

909
00:42:41,520 --> 00:42:43,960
Speaker 2: do Love of the Week or question first?

910
00:42:44,640 --> 00:42:46,120
Speaker 1: Yeah, we're out of order, but our love of the

911
00:42:46,120 --> 00:42:47,879
Speaker 1: weeks are kind of bookish, so let's just do them.

912
00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:48,240
Speaker 2: Okay.

913
00:42:49,440 --> 00:42:52,760
Speaker 1: So I love that Annabelle is currently reading starring Sally

914
00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:56,200
Speaker 1: Jay Friedman as herself by Judy Bloom, just because I

915
00:42:56,239 --> 00:42:58,640
Speaker 1: think I read that book thirty times at least, and

916
00:42:58,880 --> 00:43:01,600
Speaker 1: it's just fun to like hear her enjoying it. And

917
00:43:01,680 --> 00:43:05,040
Speaker 1: also the setting means so much more to her than

918
00:43:05,080 --> 00:43:07,279
Speaker 1: it did to me because it's set in Miami Beach.

919
00:43:07,600 --> 00:43:10,080
Speaker 1: They go to quote Central Beach Elementary School, which I

920
00:43:10,280 --> 00:43:12,719
Speaker 1: feel like is probably North Beach Elementary School where she

921
00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:14,879
Speaker 1: used to go to school, because there's no Central, there's

922
00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:16,400
Speaker 1: only North and South unless there used to be one

923
00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:16,800
Speaker 1: in the middle.

924
00:43:17,160 --> 00:43:19,719
Speaker 3: And I just think that's super cool.

925
00:43:19,800 --> 00:43:22,759
Speaker 1: So I'm enjoying like seeing her reading that, talking about it,

926
00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:25,000
Speaker 1: looking over her shoulder, and like realizing that I like

927
00:43:25,080 --> 00:43:27,840
Speaker 1: have photographically memorized certain pages of it, et cetera.

928
00:43:28,360 --> 00:43:30,560
Speaker 2: Yeah, so you mentioned this is something you didn't enjoy,

929
00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:32,680
Speaker 2: you found stressful reading on the kindle that it says

930
00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:35,799
Speaker 2: what percent you've read? I actually love that. I sort

931
00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:37,759
Speaker 2: of automatically do that in my brain. Like when I

932
00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:39,520
Speaker 2: have a paper book and I see that it's two

933
00:43:39,560 --> 00:43:41,719
Speaker 2: hundred and forty pages, I'd be like, oh, here, I'm

934
00:43:41,719 --> 00:43:44,400
Speaker 2: forty pages in, I'm one sixth I'm eighteen percent in.

935
00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:46,880
Speaker 2: You know, I'm sixty pages in, I'm twenty five percent in,

936
00:43:47,160 --> 00:43:50,400
Speaker 2: I'm eighty pages in, I'm thirty three percent in. You know,

937
00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:52,600
Speaker 2: this is just I don't know the way my brain works,

938
00:43:52,640 --> 00:43:54,920
Speaker 2: and so it's kind of fun that that's apparently the

939
00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:57,279
Speaker 2: way the Kindle's brain works too. So I was like, oh,

940
00:43:57,320 --> 00:44:00,160
Speaker 2: I don't even have to do the calculation anymore. It's

941
00:44:00,239 --> 00:44:02,200
Speaker 2: right there, and there is a way to hide it.

942
00:44:02,239 --> 00:44:04,120
Speaker 2: By the way way to hide, you can hide you

943
00:44:05,040 --> 00:44:06,520
Speaker 2: have a percent, Yeah, you can hide all of that.

944
00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:10,920
Speaker 2: So just figure that out, all right. So the listener

945
00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:15,200
Speaker 2: question this week comes from someone who is asking about

946
00:44:15,239 --> 00:44:18,200
Speaker 2: parent teacher organizations go by different names some people, they're

947
00:44:18,200 --> 00:44:21,680
Speaker 2: called Home and School Association, parent Teacher Association, parent Teacher

948
00:44:21,760 --> 00:44:25,200
Speaker 2: Organization PTO PTA whatever. She says, I have a new

949
00:44:25,280 --> 00:44:29,000
Speaker 2: kindergartener in my neighborhood public school, and I am excited

950
00:44:29,040 --> 00:44:32,440
Speaker 2: to engage with my school's parent teacher organization. When I

951
00:44:32,480 --> 00:44:35,040
Speaker 2: attended the first meeting, I was surprised that it was

952
00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:38,279
Speaker 2: a little sleepy. I have time and energy to help

953
00:44:38,320 --> 00:44:43,399
Speaker 2: this organization, but I am a PTO newbie. So she says,

954
00:44:43,440 --> 00:44:46,440
Speaker 2: it seems like PTOs have multiple goals between supporting teachers,

955
00:44:46,560 --> 00:44:51,040
Speaker 2: encouraging volunteerism, fundraising, strengthening school community. It's all exciting because

956
00:44:51,040 --> 00:44:54,879
Speaker 2: there's something for everyone, but also daunting. So where does

957
00:44:54,920 --> 00:44:58,680
Speaker 2: she start? Does she have any do we have recommendations of,

958
00:44:58,719 --> 00:45:02,080
Speaker 2: you know, things that she has that we've seen people

959
00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:06,720
Speaker 2: do with PTOs that are great, Any patterns of success

960
00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:07,879
Speaker 2: or pitfalls we could share.

961
00:45:08,400 --> 00:45:11,920
Speaker 1: I don't have personal experience like being in or like

962
00:45:12,080 --> 00:45:14,880
Speaker 1: active in a PTO, but I will say I'm super

963
00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:16,399
Speaker 1: grateful for my friends that do it.

964
00:45:16,960 --> 00:45:18,920
Speaker 3: One of my friends is actually like PTO.

965
00:45:18,680 --> 00:45:21,200
Speaker 1: President at our school, and I can tell that she

966
00:45:21,239 --> 00:45:24,040
Speaker 1: gets a lot of satisfaction from being this like major

967
00:45:24,080 --> 00:45:27,200
Speaker 1: bridge between administration and teachers and parents and making sure

968
00:45:27,239 --> 00:45:29,560
Speaker 1: that each side is heard, and like to some extent,

969
00:45:29,600 --> 00:45:31,719
Speaker 1: there's like a I don't want to say mediator, but

970
00:45:31,800 --> 00:45:36,279
Speaker 1: like an integrator role between everybody's priorities and preferences. And

971
00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:39,640
Speaker 1: also just a lot of planning. So you know, if

972
00:45:39,680 --> 00:45:41,520
Speaker 1: that is your strength, that might be a really fun

973
00:45:41,520 --> 00:45:43,719
Speaker 1: thing to get involved in. I also want to put

974
00:45:43,719 --> 00:45:46,120
Speaker 1: out the alternative if you didn't want to have a

975
00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:49,680
Speaker 1: specific PTO leadership role, to like volunteer for very specific

976
00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:52,320
Speaker 1: things like Okay, I will be in charge of this event,

977
00:45:52,520 --> 00:45:56,080
Speaker 1: or I will take shifts in the book fair or

978
00:45:56,600 --> 00:45:58,320
Speaker 1: like for me, I'd like to go on field trips

979
00:45:58,440 --> 00:46:01,879
Speaker 1: or things like that. Actually even well I got asked,

980
00:46:01,920 --> 00:46:04,000
Speaker 1: but I also volunteered too, like if one of they

981
00:46:04,080 --> 00:46:06,080
Speaker 1: have some parents do like keynote talks like for the

982
00:46:06,080 --> 00:46:07,919
Speaker 1: school throughout the year. So I'm doing one of those.

983
00:46:07,920 --> 00:46:11,200
Speaker 1: So more like specific things that answer to my strengths

984
00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:14,200
Speaker 1: and like are on my schedule tend to be what

985
00:46:14,239 --> 00:46:17,120
Speaker 1: I do. But I mean, I think it's totally awesome

986
00:46:17,239 --> 00:46:21,040
Speaker 1: to have working parents, especially involved in a PTO to

987
00:46:21,160 --> 00:46:23,520
Speaker 1: help with inclusivity of other working parents, like they're more

988
00:46:23,560 --> 00:46:26,959
Speaker 1: likely to find hey, maybe nine am on Tuesday isn't

989
00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:29,400
Speaker 1: the best time to have an all parent meeting, or

990
00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:31,000
Speaker 1: if they do have the meeting at that time, to

991
00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:33,600
Speaker 1: make sure there's a recording available, things like that.

992
00:46:33,920 --> 00:46:37,960
Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, Like Sarah, I've done more specific projects like

993
00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:39,520
Speaker 2: you know, help with the book fair or do a

994
00:46:39,520 --> 00:46:42,319
Speaker 2: class project or a field trip rather than doing an

995
00:46:42,360 --> 00:46:45,080
Speaker 2: open ended leadership role. But I really really appreciate the

996
00:46:45,080 --> 00:46:47,080
Speaker 2: effort that others put into it because it can make

997
00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:50,440
Speaker 2: a big difference in a school community. So my guess is,

998
00:46:50,480 --> 00:46:53,080
Speaker 2: you know, volunteer for what is open and available this

999
00:46:53,200 --> 00:46:55,360
Speaker 2: year that looks interesting to you in terms of leadership,

1000
00:46:55,360 --> 00:46:57,520
Speaker 2: and I think by the time you have a second grader,

1001
00:46:57,560 --> 00:47:00,560
Speaker 2: you'll be running the place, So that sounds great if

1002
00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:03,400
Speaker 2: your school isn't in such tight financial straits. I know

1003
00:47:03,520 --> 00:47:08,960
Speaker 2: fundraising is certainly something some organizations do, but if that's

1004
00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:11,360
Speaker 2: not your school's biggest concern, which again I don't know,

1005
00:47:11,400 --> 00:47:14,440
Speaker 2: but if it isn't, then you would probably have your

1006
00:47:14,440 --> 00:47:18,160
Speaker 2: biggest value both in supporting teachers and in strengthening school cohesion.

1007
00:47:18,640 --> 00:47:20,640
Speaker 2: So the school cohesion part of it would be like

1008
00:47:20,680 --> 00:47:24,200
Speaker 2: creating fun events for kids like the grade level socials

1009
00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:27,520
Speaker 2: or all families like an all school picnic or fun day,

1010
00:47:28,160 --> 00:47:30,120
Speaker 2: and then things for parents to get to know each other,

1011
00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:33,480
Speaker 2: like some sort of social event people might be excited

1012
00:47:33,520 --> 00:47:36,399
Speaker 2: to attend, like at a local restaurant or something like that.

1013
00:47:37,200 --> 00:47:39,560
Speaker 2: And on the supporting teachers front, I think you would

1014
00:47:39,560 --> 00:47:42,200
Speaker 2: really be creative with this. I'd encourage reaching out to

1015
00:47:42,440 --> 00:47:45,719
Speaker 2: lots of other people who are involved in PTOs of

1016
00:47:45,719 --> 00:47:48,640
Speaker 2: the different things they've done, you know, whether it's bringing

1017
00:47:49,360 --> 00:47:53,200
Speaker 2: coffee from Dunkin Donuts on a certain schedule for the teachers,

1018
00:47:53,320 --> 00:47:57,560
Speaker 2: or whether it's making sure there's always a parent volunteer

1019
00:47:57,640 --> 00:47:59,960
Speaker 2: available on certain days for things for projects that are

1020
00:48:00,080 --> 00:48:03,040
Speaker 2: harder for teachers to manage on their own. But you just,

1021
00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:06,280
Speaker 2: I mean, have a real open communication with your teachers

1022
00:48:06,280 --> 00:48:08,839
Speaker 2: about what that is that they would feel most supported doing.

1023
00:48:08,840 --> 00:48:11,279
Speaker 2: But I feel like those are the two things that

1024
00:48:11,520 --> 00:48:16,600
Speaker 2: a PTO can best do for a neighborhood school. And

1025
00:48:16,640 --> 00:48:17,360
Speaker 2: it sounds like you have.

1026
00:48:17,800 --> 00:48:18,719
Speaker 3: We're excited for you.

1027
00:48:18,719 --> 00:48:21,480
Speaker 1: You'll have to let us know how your PTO journey goes,

1028
00:48:21,600 --> 00:48:23,319
Speaker 1: what you've learned along the way, and maybe we can

1029
00:48:23,400 --> 00:48:24,480
Speaker 1: report back to our listeners.

1030
00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:27,799
Speaker 2: Absolutely well, this has been best of both worlds. We've

1031
00:48:27,840 --> 00:48:31,120
Speaker 2: been talking all things reading, the reading life, how we read,

1032
00:48:31,680 --> 00:48:34,480
Speaker 2: what devices we read, on getting kids to read, and

1033
00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:36,759
Speaker 2: all that good stuff. We will be back next week

1034
00:48:36,800 --> 00:48:38,880
Speaker 2: with more on making work and life fit together.

1035
00:48:40,920 --> 00:48:43,719
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening. You can find me Sarah at the

1036
00:48:43,719 --> 00:48:48,080
Speaker 1: shoebox dot com or at the Underscore shoebox on Instagram,

1037
00:48:48,560 --> 00:48:49,160
Speaker 1: and you can.

1038
00:48:49,040 --> 00:48:53,279
Speaker 2: Find me Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. This has

1039
00:48:53,320 --> 00:48:56,640
Speaker 2: been the best of both worlds podcasts. Please join us

1040
00:48:56,640 --> 00:49:00,000
Speaker 2: next time for more on making work and life work together.