Book Review: Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters by Laura Vanderkam

Tranquility by Tuesday: 9 Ways to Calm the Chaos and Make Time for What Matters by Laura Vanderkam
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the past, Laura Vanderkam has written about how to get more things done. In this book, she focuses on how to find time so you can spend it doing what you love. She has developed nine rules and spends a chapter doing a deep dive into each of them:

• Give yourself a bedtime
• Plan on Fridays
• Move by 3 p.m.
• Three times a week is a habit
• Create a back-up slot
• One big adventure / one small adventure
• Take one night for you
• Batch the little things
• Effortful fun before effortless fun

I retired a few years ago and my adult children are not living with us, so I am not the target audience for this book. It targets a busy professional with children, typically very young children and I definitely could have used this book 15 years ago when I was in that situation. That being said, I embraced many of her rules and was able to apply them to my life. Who doesn’t want to feel better rested each morning and even though we don’t want to accept it, the way to accomplish that is to give yourself a bedtime.

Laura wrote this book in 2022 and did the research with the participants in 2021, so the pandemic is very prominent in her writing and the participant responses.

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Book Review: Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books by Hwang Bo-Reum; translated by Shanna Tan

Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books by Hwang Bo-Reum
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a charming book, written originally by Hwang Bo-Reum in Korean and translated to English by Shanna Tan.  There are 53 chapters, each about three pages long.  She covers a lot of bookish and reading subjects in these 215 pages -- how to start reading again, how to select books (read small books, read big books, read bestsellers), how to track books (keep a reading list, organize your bookcase), and much much more!

It's very easy to read just one essay at a time, then pick it up again later to read another essay.  In fact, the author and publisher originally bundled a weekly planner with each book, intending the reader to read one essay a week over the course of a year.  

I would recommend this book for anyone who loves books and reading!  This is the first book that she has written, but has subsequently Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop.  This book is about a young very stressed woman who quits her job, divorces her husband, moves to a small neighborhood and opens a bookstore.  It's definitely on the short list of books that I would like to read this year!  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/133938826-welcome-to-the-hyunam-dong-bookshop 

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Book Review: Stitch It, Don't Ditch It: Simple Hand-sewn Repairs to Help You Love Your Clothes For Longer by Mary Morton

Stitch It, Don't Ditch It: Simple Hand-sewn Repairs to Help You Love Your Clothes For Longer by Mary Morton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very well-researched and comprehensive book about repairing your clothes using hand sewing techniques.  It includes information about the supplies you will need, gives background on basic skills you will use, and has examples of various repairs that you can make with your clothing.  

I have been sewing, both by hand and with a sewing machine, since I was in elementary school (many years ago), so the majority of this book was just a review for me.  However, I would highly recommend it for those individuals just starting out sewing because it is so comprehensive and extensive.  My only complaint is that all of the examples are sketches rather than photographs.  I think it would be more helpful if detailed photographs were included instead.

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Book Review: Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness by Gretchen Rubin

Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter & Organize to Make More Room for Happiness by Gretchen Rubin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a wonderful book by one of my favorite authors, talking about one of my favorite topics - decluttering and organizing.  Lots of great ideas and suggestions, all presented in a very short snippets.  It's an easy book to read a little at a time and get inspired, like I did.  And Gretchen Rubin is right (at least for me) -- outer order DOES lead to inner calm.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking to bring some order to their life.

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Book Review: Fridge Love: Organize Your Refrigerator for a Healthier, Happier Life―with 100 Recipes by Kristen Hong

Fridge Love: Organize Your Refrigerator for a Healthier, Happier Life―with 100 Recipes by Kristen Hong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was initially attracted to this book because of its claim to help me organize my refrigerator.  There are beautiful glossy color photos of the author's fridge with everything in matching glass containers and arranged by the colors of the rainbow.  However, I needed to look past my disdain of books like that in order to find the very helpful information about how to make my fridge work for me.

The book is organized by what type of cooking / eating goals you have:  fresh fridge, chopped fridge, no-cook fridge, and prepped frig.  She gives extensive information about produce -- seasonality, shopping, prepping, storage, and length of freshness for each type of fruit and vegetable.  However, there is not much information about meats and dairy products, or about the freezer.  There's also some brief information about the best way to clean your fridge.  There is a very extensive section of the book about the history of the refrigerator, which was extraneous in my opinion.  

The author is a nutritarian who doesn't eat dairy and very rarely includes oils in her recipes and cooking.  Therefore, many of the recipes in the back of the book didn't work for me and my family. I would recommend this book for anyone who is committed to having a better organized refrigerator.  However, my suggestion is to check it out from your local library.   

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Book Review: The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life by Arthur C. Brooks (Advance Reader Copy)

The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life by Arthur C. Brooks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is a compilation of some of the weekly columns that Arthur C. Brooks writes on happiness in the Atlantic.  It is divided into five sections -- On Managing Yourself; On Jobs, Money, and Building Your Career; On Communicating and Connecting with Others; On Balancing Work, Life, and Relationships; and On How You Define Success.  Each column is relatively short - 5-7 pages - and contains actionable items for change.

I have been reading his columns for a couple of years, but I gained a lot of ideas when re-reading some of them in this book.  Many of the columns are written for those individuals currently in the workplace, but there are still takeaways for retirees such as myself.  I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in introspection and self-improvement.  

Thanks to NetGalley and Harvard Business Review Press for an advanced reader copy of this book.

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Book Review: The NEAT Method Organizing Recipe Book: 70 Simple Projects to Take Your Home from Chaos to Composed by Ashley Murphy

The NEAT Method Organizing Recipe Book: 70 Simple Projects to Take Your Home from Chaos to Composed by Ashley Murphy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Once again I was lured into a glossy book of photographs which promise to organize and keep order in my home.  However, this book differs from many of the others that I have already reviewed.  First of all is the complete absence of color in many of the photographs.  Virtually every single photo in the book is comprised of white, beige, tan and gray.  (Personally I can't imagine living in a house so devoid of color.)  It is a nice break, though, from those forced rainbow organized refrigerators, pantries and closets!  Another feature is a description of their NEAT method, which has good suggestions of how to approach the editing.  

The book is divided by rooms in a house, including the garage.  Each of the chapters includes various sections (cookware, refrigerator, spices, etc.) and is presented like a recipe - including the approximate time to organize plus the essential equipment and accessories needed along with step-by-step instructions.  Finally they have included a 7-day reset, a way to spend 30 minutes each day for 7 days in order to maintain the order that you have created.  

If you are looking at just specific rooms or sections, it's a great way to approach your organizing.  However, if you are reading the book page by page, you soon realize how much repetition there is between the sections.  And I don't necessarily agree with their suggestion that you need to put everything in matching bins, and I definitely think that decanting all of your kitchen ingredients into other containers doesn't work for me.  That being said, I came away with some ideas to implement.  My recommendation is to check the book out from your local library  and save your money (I did).

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Book Review: The King Arthur Baking School: Lessons and Recipes for Every Baker by King Arthur Baking Company

The King Arthur Baking School: Lessons and Recipes for Every Baker by King Arthur Baking Company
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wanted some basic background information on bread making techniques.  This is a beautifully comprehensive book written by the folks who make King Arthur products and teach classes at the King Arthur Baking School. 

The basic bread recipe is the first one in the book, and covers quite a few pages.  I knew I was in trouble when there was more than one page devoted to the various mathematical formulas you need in order to calculate the temperature of the water that you add to your bread mixture!  This book was not for me -- much too complex and over-the-top for this person who just wants to make an occasional loaf of bread.  Back to the library it goes.   I'll look for something much more simplistic and leave this book to the home cook chef wannabees.   

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Book Review: I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel

I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am a huge fan of Anne Bogel -- her blog, her podcast, and her book club.  I bought this book when it was first published and read it quickly at the time.  Now that I'm retired, a member in four book clubs, and spend an inordinate amount of time each day reading, I wanted to re-visit the book and savor it again.  It was even better the second time around! 

She has such insight about all aspects of reading, and she reads an incredible amount of books each year.  This enables her to give "what should I read next" recommendations to her podcast guests, make such spot-on suggestions in her annual winter, spring, summer, and fall reading guides, and also to select such wonderful books each month for her book club.  She writes about her reading life when she was growing up, as a recently married young woman living right next door to her public library (envious!!), and her life now being fully immersed in everything bookish.  I would highly recommend anyone who loves reading and is NOT familiar with her work to read this book, but also to go to her website and explore -- you won't be disappointed!  https://modernmrsdarcy.com/

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Book Review: The Home Edit: Stay Organized: The Ultimate Guide to Making Systems Stick by Clea Shearer

The Home Edit: Stay Organized: The Ultimate Guide to Making Systems Stick by Clea Shearer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

HELP!  I got pulled in to another The Home Edit ROYGBIV organizational porn book!  This book is focused on staying organized and decluttered after the initial effort.  Once again it's page after glossy page of items organized by COLOR!  It was interesting that they included "Before" and "After" pictures, but to be honest the "Before" pictures looked better than 99% of the drawers, closets and pantries that I've ever seen!

I found some of their decisions so shocking that they were funny:  pickles and wine are considered an "unholy marriage" in the refrigerator, so throw away the pickles; throw away your potato masher ("who mashes their own potatoes?"); kids' snacks lying loose on their sides made them feel "sad."  Also, make sure that your kids don't choose activities that require bulky equipment that need to be stored in your garage.  

There is definitely not much substance in their books, and they rely on pretty pictures to sell their books.  Must resist!

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Book Review: The Home Edit Life: The No-Guilt Guide to Owning What You Want and Organizing Everything by Clea Shearer

The Home Edit Life: The No-Guilt Guide to Owning What You Want and Organizing Everything by Clea Shearer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Oh no!  It happened again...I got pulled into another home organization porn book!  I just couldn't turn away; I had to look at all the glossy photos of people's shoe closets, bathroom storage, refrigerators, party closets, pet supplies and many more.  All arranged in matching bins or canisters, all arranged by color.  There are a few more organizational tips in this book than there were in the first, but there isn't a whole lot of substance; they rely on the photographs to tell the story.  I do like their 80/20 rule:  keep your home no more than 80% full and reserve at least 20% for breathing room.  However, I simply cannot keep by tea organized by package color.  And I certainly don't understand the concept of organizing your phone apps by color!!  Perhaps it's the librarian in me, but I tend to organize everything by logical groupings.

Recommended for anyone who wants to look at Instagram photos in a book.  

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Book Review: The Home Edit: A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin

The Home Edit: A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals by Clea Shearer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is coffee table home organization porn!  Page after glossy page of beautiful pictures of drawers, closets, cupboards, cabinets and pantries.  Everything arranged in a matching labelled bin or tray.  Milk, juice, cereal, flour, sugar, over-the-counter medications all taken out of their original packaging in order to be stored in glass containers.  Items all in ROYGBIV order -- rainbow color. 

I'm generously giving this book 3 stars.  There are some basic organizational techniques included:  start small with one drawer, take everything out, create groupings, and pare down your belongings.  But that's about all.  

Everything else in the book is the beautiful pictures which we all love to look longingly at.  Crayons, Lego and Hot Wheels cars divided into bins by color.   Bookcases with books arranged by color.  They even suggest arranging your spices by color!  But who are these people?!?  Do their drawers and cabinets really look like this?  And stay looking like this?  And who has toothpaste tubes in six different colors?

And they advocate going to the store and buying multiple bins and containers of various sizes.  After all, you can always return them.

This is an escapist book.  I got this book from my local library and spent a couple of hours dreaming of what my house could look like.  But then it was back to reality, and to my own spices which are arranged by type (baking, herbs, seeds, etc.).  I can recommend it for others who also like to dream about an organized home.  

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Book Review: The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn't, and Get Stuff Done by Kendra Adachi

The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn't, and Get Stuff Done by Kendra Adachi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Kendra Adachi is a very busy woman - married, three young children and working.  She was overwhelmed with what she felt she should be doing and wasn't accomplishing much at all.  She developed the Lazy Genius Way, which is exactly what the sub-title indicates -- "Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn't, and Get Stuff Done." 

The Lazy Genius Way is based on 13 Principles which include:  decide what matters, decide once, start small, put everything in its place, and schedule rest.  This system works for each individual person because you decide what matters to you and then focus on those priorities.  Her writing is very humorous, conversational and supportive, like your best friend is talking to you.  She incorporates a lot of personal examples to help give you ideas.  She also has a podcast, which I'm going to check out -- https://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/lazy.    

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Book Review: The Lazy Genius Kitchen: Have What You Need, Use What You Have, and Enjoy It Like Never Before by Kendra Adachi

The Lazy Genius Kitchen: Have What You Need, Use What You Have, and Enjoy It Like Never Before by Kendra Adachi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kendra Adachi writes a very supportive and informative book for those individuals who are just starting out in the kitchen -- who don't like to cook, don't want to cook, don't know how to select a recipe, or don't know what to do in the kitchen.  She covers everything from kitchen equipment, how to grocery shop, how to organize your kitchen, what to make, and how everything fits into your family's priorities.  I did appreciate her 13 Lazy Genius Principles which are guidelines for really anything, not just cooking (#1 - Decide Once; #2 - Start Small, etc.).  I gave the book three stars because it didn't speak to me in this season of my life.  I've been cooking for my family for years and definitely could have used this 25-30 years ago!

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Book Review: Meal Prep Magic: Time-Saving Tricks for Stress-Free Cooking, A Weelicious Cookbook by Catherine McCord

Meal Prep Magic: Time-Saving Tricks for Stress-Free Cooking, A Weelicious Cookbook by Catherine McCord
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I downloaded this book from my local library and read it in Hoopla while on vacation.  It was a quick read with a lot of practical information on meal planning, food storage, kitchen organization, etc.  I think a beginning cook would benefit immensely from this book.  Lots of recipes included which have straightforward ingredients and instructions. 

Lots of pretty pictures too, but to be honest I don't have the time to arrange my pantry, refrigerator and freezer by color and put everything in matching containers!  She also advocates keeping things in glass containers in the frig, which I think is a great suggestion but I can foresee what would happen if I did this in my house.  "Clean up on Aisle 3!!"  She also plans all of her meals a month at a time.  Then every Sunday she cleans out the frig, grocery shops, preps all the ingredients, makes chicken stock, roasts vegetables, steams rice, and cooks chicken breasts.  I'm exhausted just thinking about doing all that on one day!

Lots of great suggestions, but not all of them will work for everyone.  I'm sure that we can all glean some helpful hints from this book. 

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Book Review: Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin

Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm a big fan of Gretchen Rubin -- both her podcast and her books.  I re-read this book (yet again) starting on January 1st of 2023...to become better than before...again.  It's packed full with ideas, suggestions, examples and motivations on how to change your personal habits.  As an Obliger (one of her four tendencies described in the book), I'm all about fulfilling obligations to others.  I gained a lot of great information on this second reading, and it reminded me of many things that I have read previously but forgotten.  All in all, a good start-of-the-year exercise in self-improvement.  More to follow.

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Book Review - Don't Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life by Anne Bogel

Don't Overthink It: Make Easier Decisions, Stop Second-Guessing, and Bring More Joy to Your Life by Anne Bogel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have been reading Anne Bogel's blog entries and listening to her podcast for years.  I ordered this book even before it was published.  I felt that the topic spoke to me and some of my worrying and overthinking tendencies.  Why, why, why did I wait so long to read it?  It languished on my bookshelf for more than two years.  i finally picked it up this week and finished it quickly.  Anne writes in a very approachable and understandable way.  She also provides MANY excellent concrete examples of how to stop the overthinking cycle.  I feel like she is one of my neighbors or friends, and we can share our books and overthinking problems over a cuppa tea.  I have already suggested this book to one of my friends, and would highly recommend it to others. 


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Book Review: I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time by Laura Vanderkam

I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time by Laura Vanderkam
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The focus of Vanderkam's book is her research with 'successful women' -- who make more than $100,000 and have at least one child. I was expecting more practical advice about prioritizing my time and getting more accomplished, but it was focused quite a bit on analyzing the various time logs submitted by these various women. As a semi-retired empty-nester, most of this doesn't apply to me. The last chapter does give some excellent tips about finding more leisure time for yourself. I should probably try to read one of her other books instead.

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Book Review: Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff: Declutter, Downsize, and Move Forward with Your Life by Matt Paxton

Keep the Memories, Lose the Stuff: Declutter, Downsize, and Move Forward with Your Life by Matt Paxton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very practical, step-by-step guide for decluttering and getting rid of the decades of accumulated 'stuff.' The advice is based on the author's years in the business of decluttering and assisting others in moving. He includes extensive lists of resources: where to donate; who to contact, etc. It is still very difficult to part with many of the sentimental items and memories, but helps to know that many of us are in the same situation. The end result is definitely worth it, and I'm slowly moving forward and working towards it.

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