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Shopping, Books, Kids, Home, Gifting, Food, Life, Celebration...Thoughtful articles & musings on living with intention in a world of tensions.

dignify's Shop Good blog

Shop Good Book Club | My Perfect Summer of Reading

If you've been around Shop Good for any amount of time, you've seen some book lists. You've probably also seen a few books appear over, and over, and over. 😂 Here is my summer reading post from 2016, and I still stand by it! I would love to add more to the mix now in 2018, but I have a few problems on the recommendation front: 1) I read a LOT of memoirs, so the proportion of fiction reading I do is low, and my ability to recommend good ones — even less! 2) The novels I've read this year were mostly weird (Lincoln in the Bardo, The Handmaid's Tale), average (The Immortalists, The Nest), or too wrong-seasonal to recommend for summer! (Beartown, Still Life). So, what is left?  

Shop Good Book Club | Books About Family Dynamics

We’re heading into a season of major family dynamics, with holidays and time together and everything else that involves. People are so complex, and the relationships that we are born into (or perhaps, join in marriage) make for some of the most fascinating fodder for fiction and memoir alike. I am always very reluctant to recommend anything I have never read, but the truth is, I’m not particularly well-read, and I often recommend the same favourites! #sorrynotsorry! (Though, there is not a single mention below of my oft-mentioned books Dinner: A Love Story, or The Glass Castle. I'm mentioning them here instead 😂) You may pick up one of these books to feel better that your family isn’t so bad after all; or, to experience communion with others whose families are just as crazy; or, to wish that you were one of the Marches, just for a while. Or, perhaps you just need an excuse to retreat into your own room with a good book ;)

Shop Good Book Club | Summer Reads

I have no false pretense that I am some kind of expert in the reading category. Reading is a hobby, but I have several other things I enjoy. I read every night before bed, and more if I’m super compelled (or trying to cram in a book club read), but my books-I’ve-read-this-year-list usually fits on a notebook page. I adore the library, and rarely buy books (and almost never buy hardcover), so that affects reading patterns, too. I would say that I read more than most friends I know, but far less than the hardcore book nerds of the internet. All that is to say, if you are looking for brand new books, check out Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Summer Reading List, and if these picks don’t suit, you might really enjoy the same gal (Anne Bogel)’s podcast, What Should I Read Next?  She asks guests about 3 books they love, one book they hate, and what they are reading now; then, she suggests 3 recommendations that they might like (to read next). Listen to a few eps and you will have a long list to books to-be-read (TBR for those in the know ;). As for this post, it is just a completely subjective list of suggestions of not-particularly-new books that you might enjoy for your summer reading. Let me know what you are reading (and, what you think of these picks!) by commenting below, emailing me or on IG or FB.

Back-Pocket Holiday Gifts for Any Party, Neighbor, or Unexpected Need!

November & December are SUPER busy months for me, the most professionally & personally nutty time of the year. I’m sure that your experience is completely different. … Ha! It can be a stressful time of year and while it may seem as though I am suggesting adding more to your overflowing plate, my experience has been completely the opposite. Instead of scrambling every time there is an event, house party, unexpected neighbour drop by with baking, or on the last day before school vacation when I have totally forgotten about the teachers, etc. I have a go-to solution for all of those things. If I buy a few extra ingredients and carve out a little bit of prep time on a rare, spare evening or afternoon, I set myself up to have an on-hand solution for a myriad of holiday niceties. Re: packaging: I buy a flat or two of canning jars (16oz/500mL for the nuts, a little bigger for the granola). We've passed peak mason jar, I think, but the reality is that they have a classic, simple look, and just about anyone can use them in the kitchen. If you really want to fancy it up, trace the circle part of the lid on wrapping paper, cut it out, and slide it in when you screw on the lid. Boom! You’re crafty.   See the Winners... 

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