Tag Archives: book

Thank You! Now I want to give back!

rp_Melanie.jpg

Thank you to anyone and everyone who has purchased my ebook, “The Ultimate Guide to Living Full Time in an RV, Airstream or Motorhome.” I feel so #blessed.

If you’ve been waiting to order my ebook, today is the day! It’s Giving Tuesday and I will be giving all profits today to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe as they continue to fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline. As someone who lives in a tiny house, I know that my everyday actions have a direct impact on the environment. As a member of the Isleta Pueblo, I also know the plight of American Indian people.

Many homes on reservations do not not have access to clean water or basic sanitation. And contamination to water used by American Indian tribes is nothing new. In 2015, mining pollution contaminated water in the San Juan River used by the Navajo. The DAPL threatens the tribe’s only water supply. The DAPL has already destroyed Native sacred places and may destroy more sites. All profits today will be given directly to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. You can purchase my book or a lapel pin here. If you simply want to give to Standing Rock, visit http://standwithstandingrock.net/.

I appreciate each and every one of you.
love,
Melanie

Exciting News!

An Airstream in the Woods

If I’m being honest, I’ve been pretty bummed out lately. I’ve been feeling like my country isn’t the place I thought it was. I’m not going to get too political. I try to make a real effort to keep it light, but it’s been difficult for me to keep calm and carry on, as they say. This morning I was looking for something to console me and I came across this quote by Maxine Hong Kingston: “In a time of destruction, create something.”  Continue reading →

September’s Book Club Pick

The not so big life

September’s book club pick is The Not So Big Life: Making Room for What Really Matters by Sarah Susanka. Sarah is an architect and is best know for her “Not So Big house” books. I’ve had this book sitting beside my bed forever and this will force me to read it! Read it with me and we’ll discuss on September 1st. Let’s get to readin’!

love,
melanie

This post contains affiliate links. By clicking on the links and purchasing the book, you help me keep this blog running!

A Small Life Book Club: Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life

minimalism

This month I read Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life. I “read” this book via audiobook. That may have colored my review. In this case, I enjoyed the reader’s voice. It was authoritative, yet personal– like a good chat with a long-time friend.

The first part of this book shared Josh and Ryan’s journey to minimalism. While I found that part relatable and quasi-interesting, I enjoyed the second part of the book much more. The second part of the book describes the five dimensions of living a meaningful life: health, relationships, passion, growth, and contribution.

I must admit, I have an easy time with the “stuff” aspect of minimalism. I love throwing stuff away. And I love a clean, sparse space. The “stuff” that I hold onto is mostly mental stuff. I get really caught up in the day-to-day junk that doesn’t add value to my life. This book helped me to reflect on what’s truly important and a little more difficult– the mental part of minimalism.

I did enjoy this book. It was a quick, worthwhile read, but I did have a few bones to pick. I think an issue with much of minimalism writing is that it is written by people who once made a great deal of money. The authors do admit they were once in debt, but they also had six figure incomes. Once you start exchanging unimportant large expenses for smaller ones, like a mortgage on a large house for rent in an inexpensive apartment, you’ll be able to cut expenses incredibly quickly. With a six figure income, you’ll get out of debt quickly and you’ll be able to save quickly. For most people, it’s not so easy. I wanted strategies for sustaining minimalism. What do I do when minimalism gets really hard? It often does. How do I contribute to my health, relationships, passion, growth and contribution when I have little time for myself? Not everyone can quit their full-time jobs. I want to hear from those single moms who found minimalism!

Maybe I need to write the answer. Maybe “Minimalism for busy people” will be my next book? 🙂

Have you read Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life? What strategies do you have for sustaining your minimalist lifestyle? Let me know in the comments.

love,
melanie

Post contains affiliate links which help keep my site running!

A Small Life Book Club: May’s Pick

essentialism-the-disciplined-pursuit-of-less

This month I’m going to be reading Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less* by Greg McKeown. Although I would consider myself a minimalist in terms of “things,” I often take on too many hobbies, tasks, chores, projects and just extra work. I’m incredibly interested in how to “get the right things done” instead of trying to get everything done. And this book promises to show me how. I’ll be discussing the book on June 1st and I hope you’ll join along.

Happy reading!

love,
melanie

*Affiliate link

A Small Life Book Club

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo

I’m starting a new feature on ye olde blog and I hope that you’ll enjoy it too! One of my goals this year is to read more and I need a bit of motivation. That’s why I’m starting a book club. Each month I’ll announce the book that we are going to read. (I’ll also take suggestions!) And then I’ll read it (I hope you will too) and we’ll discuss it. Easy enough?

Since this is “A Small Life” Book Club I’m thinking the books will center around minimalism, living small and life-changing adventures! The first book we’ll be reading is The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing* by Marie Kondo. You can check it out from your local library or purchase it on Amazon using the link above.

I’ve heard great things about this book. In fact, people are starting to use the author’s last name as a verb to mean tidying up. Too bad my last name is hard to pronounce or I’d totally try to make that into a thing meaning “small living.” We’ll discuss this book on April 1st. I hope you’ll join me!

love,
melanie

*Affiliate link.

Book Review: The Big Tiny: A Build It Myself Memoir

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 presetWhen I was in the earlier stages of this blog, I did a lot of book reviews. I tried to do one a week, but I got burnt out. I love to read, but the pressure of having to read so much in such a short period of time time really sucked the fun out of it. One of my oh so many goals this year is to read more– especially at night before bed. I usually spend much too much time scrolling through Pinterest or Instagram before I sleep. It isn’t good for me. In fact, I just read a study that it might be killing me! While I think that’s article is a touch sensationalist, I can’t deny that staring at a little blue screen right before I sleep isn’t as healthy as reading a good ol’ fashioned book.

Over the holidays I got the chance to finally finish up a book that I’d been reading for months. The book was entitled The Big Tiny: A Build It Myself Memoir by Dee Williams. Dee (I can call her right that? We’re friends now.) was one of the first (and most famous) pioneers of the tiny house movement. After she was diagnosed with a serious heart condition, Dee decided she needed a change in her life. While sitting in the doctor’s office, she read an article about a gentleman who built a tiny house and she couldn’t get it out of her head. The Big Tiny follows her story of building a tiny home, living in it and eventually teaching other people to do the same.

I think I live pretty small (188 square feet), but Dee truly lives tiny in 84 square feet. (That doesn’t count her loft, sleeping space, but still that’s super small.) Throughout this story I continually admired Dee’s courage. If I was a single lady, I don’t know if I would have ever taken the plunge into small living. I’d probably just rent an apartment and continue into the debt cycle forever. Dee figured out how to build an entire house by herself! She hammered and nailed and put up walls with a a serious heart condition. She’s one courageous lady.

I enjoyed that this book wasn’t a how-to manual, but at times I was a bit bored by the stories of Dee’s everyday life. Her life in the tiny house was interesting, but I found myself skipping through some of the stories about her life prior to the tiny house. But let’s be real, my everyday life is pretty boring too.

This book wasn’t a life changer for me, but it did inspire me to be more resourceful. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in tiny living.

What have you been reading lately? Let’s discuss!

love,
melanie

What do YOU want from Love Library? A Reader’s Survey

Reporting to duty!

Your willing and able blog host reporting for duty!

 

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about where I want to take this blog. And if I’m being honest, I’ve been thinking a lot about the direction of my life too. I’ve got some major life changes coming up– good ones I think– and I’ve had to put on my big girl pants more than once these past couple of weeks and woman up.

Which leads me to this question… What do you all want from this blog? I need sage advice from my loyal and beautiful readers. I’m by no means a professional blogger and some days I struggle with things like:

  • Topics – are there topics (specific or general) you’d like covered in the coming months?
  • Types of Posts – DIY, recipes, books, fashion, personal stuff…. have your say about what you like most/least
  • Posting Frequency – too many posts, not enough, just right?
  • Design – I am planning a blog redesign this summer – so your comments and ideas would be helpful at this point
  • Blog Features – what would make your reader experience better?
  • Community – Are there features that you’d like added to help connect more? Do you feel connected to me?
  • Services and Tools – what could I offer you to help you improve your life?
  • What Frustrates You about  Love Library? What is Best about it?
  • Other Ideas and Feedback – anything goes, big or little.

This list was heavily created from this post on Problogger.

Please leave your answers to one or all questions in the comments. I will leave the survey up indefinitely, but I will offer up the prize of a free book to one lucky, randomly selected commenter on Wednesday, May 1, 2013. The winner can be a previous winner and does not have to be a citizen of the U.S.A.

Please help me improve!

love always,
melanie

Books for Kids to Give as Mother’s Day Gifts

Mother’s Day will be here before you know it, so I started researching books to give to my own mama. In the process, I stumbled upon so, so many cute books for children to give to their moms as gifts. As a kid, I would have loved to give my mom a Mother’s Day themed book that I could read to her. Heck, I still might read her a children’s book and I’m 27, ya’ll. Who doesn’t love story time?!

Here’s my top 5 picks:

5. what not to give your momWhat NOT to Give Your Mom on Mother’s Day
Martha Simpson (Author), Jana Christy (Illustrator)

A list-based book that tells the story of a child giving his mother Mother’s Day gifts better suited for animals.

Easy-to-read for the beginning readers, but this book may be a little childish for kids over 6.

4.  Mother’s Day Surprisemother's day surprise
Stephen Krensky (Author), Kathi Ember (Illustrator)

Violet the snake is stumped! Her forest friends are all making gifts for their mothers for Mother’s Day. But Violet doesn’t have any arms or legs or teeth! What’s a snake to do?!

Reptilian-loving kids will love this story. We all know those kids! But they may point out that snakes do have teeth (or fangs) and Violet’s teeth are showing on almost every page. A small flaw in an otherwise cute story.

the night before mother's day3. The Night Before Mother’s Day
Natasha Wing (Author), Amy Wummer (Illustrator)

One in the many and well-liked “Night Before” series, this book shows dad and the girls setting up a spa day and making a cake for mom.

What mom doesn’t want a spa day?! ‘Nuff said.

happy mothers day!2. Little Critter: Happy Mother’s Day!
Mercer Mayer (Author, Illustrator)

Mercer Mayer books are true classics. And this book is no different. This time, Little Critter has a special surprise in store for Mom. This interactive book encourages kids to lift the flaps of the pages to see what Little Critter has created for his mom. Fun for kids that need that tactile stimulation!

we love our mom

1. We Love our Mom!
Jan Berenstain (Author, Illustrator), Mike Berenstain (Author, Illustrator)

And for my number one choice, my sentimentality won out. I have such fond memories of my mom reading my sister and I Berenstain Bears stories when we were small. She even had a special voice for each bear!

In this recent addition to the Berenstain Bears collection, Brother and Sister look for a way to show their mom they care.

My mom is definitely getting this one for mother’s day. Maybe with a spa gift certificate as a bookmark?!

What are you giving your mom on Mother’s Day?

love,
melanie

Books to Give as Wedding Gifts

Photography property of Corey Balazowich. Discovered via Flickr.

Photography property of Corey Balazowich. Discovered via Flickr.

It is upon us! Wedding season! For many of you wedding season has already begun, but for George and I, the majority of our wedding activities are beginning this weekend. The dresses, and devotions, and drinks will kick off with a trip to a friends’ wedding in West Virginia. Then, we’ve got two more weddings in September and our own wedding in December.

Questions always arise about a gift when one is playing the role of wedding guest. The majority of the weddings we will be attending do not have a registry– which can be a blessing or a curse. The idea of a gifting on such a momentous occasion has inflicted a little bit of worry in my mind, but going registry-less can also be exciting. It gives the chance to show-case talents or give the people what they really want– CASH.

With registry-less weddings, I like to give a thoughtful book with money inside. Picking out books is my talent. And yes, I’m spoiling the surprise. Oops! Here’s some of my tips and favorite books for wedding gift-giving.

1. If the couple is going somewhere exotic on their honeymoon, a phrase or guide book is a helpful and entertaining choice. For our friends who were going to Italy on their honeymoon, we got them a Dirty Italian phrase book stuffed with cash. I hope they stunned the Italians with their knowledge and dirty-word skills.

2. I think marriage help or marriage advice books are way too personal to give at a wedding. Those types of books may even send the wrong message to the happy couple. But a book of other people’s love letters? Well, that just sounds divine.

3. Have the bride and groom expressed interest in learning a new skill or do they have a collective hobby? Now would be a great time to give a book on canning, gardening, or homemaking skills– if your couple is into that sort of thing. I particularly like Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry. It’s filled with hi-res pictures and makes canning look surprisingly hip.

4. Does your couple like fiction? Classic love stories like this illustrated Bronte Sisters collection would be fitting. Personally, I would prefer a few lovely classic novels to start a personal library in our home together. I’ve been swooning over this classic novels box set for over a year and would love to receive it as a wedding gift. Hint, Hint!

Do you have any tips about wedding gift giving? Have you ever given a book as a wedding gift? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie