Monthly Miscellany: October Edition
Recent Reads and Favorite Things
Recent Reads
This was not a big reading month for me. I read Jane Eyre for book club, and that occupied a lot of my time. I have read it more than once, but my last read-through was probably 12-15 years ago. This time around, I did not love it as much as I remembered loving it previously. SO MUCH TALKING. (I was also really thankful for the dictionary feature on my Kindle. My vocabulary is not what it once was!) There are a LOT of film adaptions of this book, so my next project is to watch a couple of them.
I’m currently listening to Made for People by Justin Whitmel Earley, and it’s a very thought-provoking look at friendship. Most of the things I have read about friendship have been from a female perspective, so Earley’s take on things has been interesting. In the past I have had trouble staying focused enough to make it through a whole audiobook (I really dislike being read to), but I have found that listening to nonfiction works better for me than listening to fiction, for whatever reason.
Favorite Music
Spotify has a new-to-me feature, the Daylist, and it is so entertaining. It analyzes what you listen to at certain times of the day and creates a playlist that refreshes the songs in the morning, afternoon, and evening. Some of the titles of my playlists include: “Dark Academia Forest,” “Mountain Music Forest,” “Indie Worship Hymn,” and “Old School 1900s.” (That last one really killed me. It was basically 80s songs.) To find yours, just type “daylist” in the search bar in the Spotify app.
Favorite songs for this month:
“Temporary Tears” by NEEDTOBREATHE with Foy Vance. “Oh joy, oh joy, come roll away these temporary tears.”
“Look Up” by Joy Oladokun. “Look up. Do you see the sunlight?”
“Songbirds” by Ben Thornewill. Hauntingly beautiful.
“People” by Jervis Campbell. “I guess we’re just people trying to be other people.”
Favorite Podcasts
Two completely wild true story podcasts: Scamanda and The Retrievals.
Ava has really enjoyed listening to Tiny Theologians, which is discussing attributes of God using letters of the alphabet. It’s somewhat cheesy but very engaging.
The Risen Motherhood podcast just wrapped it up its fall season on abundance, and I especially enjoyed episode 3 with Glenna Marshall and episode 6 about limitations.
I recently discovered The Daily Poem podcast, and it is delightful. I spent one night listening to a month’s worth of episodes. The host reads a poem, discusses it, and then reads it again. I actually listen to these episodes at normal speed instead of my default speed of 1.5, which is a high compliment. (I have been speeding up my audio for so long that when I listen to episodes at normal speed they sound painfully slow. Am I the only one who does this?)
Favorite Finds Around the Web
“Navel-Gazing Won’t Help You Grow” by Brittany Allen. “For years I spent my Christian life spiraling into hopelessness over my shortcomings. Whether they were fleeting thoughts, sinful words, or hurtful actions, they weighed me down into ineffectiveness. They stole away the joy of my salvation, replacing it with fear.”
“Seeking God, Not Likes: Breaking Free from the Approval Trap” by Vaneetha Risner. I relate so much to this: “All too often I want to be liked more than I want to honor God.”
“How to Pray for Your Teen’s Spiritual Growth” by Jon Nielson. I’m going to have a teenager in just a few short months, and I appreciated this list.
“Being There” by David French. I have read a lot about friendship and loneliness recently, this article being one of them. Presence is often undervalued. “I’ve never met a person who wants to lose friends. But I’ve met many, many people who suffer from loneliness and say that they just “lost touch.” What happened? I ask. “Life happened,” they say.”
“A Well-Stocked Pantry” by Lara d’Entremont. “It’s not a question of if storms will come—storms will come for us, and we need to be ready with a soul packed tightly with God’s Word so we can draw on it in a time of need.”
Just for Fun
During Amazon’s Prime Deal Days, I was influenced by my friend (hi, Stephanie!) to buy this snail essence, and even though I have NO idea if it’s doing anything, it feels amazing (yes, you have to get past what the product is made of, but trust me, it’s worth it).
Stephen got me this sweatshirt for my birthday. It’s very soft on the inside and so cozy.
There are some really fun gift ideas for the bibliophiles in your life in this gift guide from Modern Mrs. Darcy. I have my eye on a sentence diagram print (peak level nerd, I know).
*All Amazon links are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you purchase through my link.
Life Lately
I recently turned 42 (I know, I look so young for my age!), and I celebrated by spraining my ankle when I fell while…walking into my kitchen. I wish I had a more exciting story than that, but alas, I’m just a klutz. I stayed off it for most of the weekend but still managed to have an ice cream hangout with friends and a birthday dinner with my family. Stephen also made me a scrumptious homemade cheesecake with chocolate ganache. I have truly loved being in my forties; I feel so much more settled in who I am. I’m curious to see what this year of life will bring!
Reader Poll
A housekeeping note: I recently turned on paid subscriptions, but I want you to know that I have no plans to put my content behind a paywall. This newsletter does involve considerable time and effort to maintain, so if you want to recognize that in a tangible way, I would be honored. If you wish to remain a free subscriber, I’m also honored by that. I am grateful for anyone who takes the time to read my words. Thank you for being here!
That’s it for this month’s miscellany! What are you reading, listening to, or watching lately?
Erin, you look beautiful!! Happy belated birthday!!
I just finished reading The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin. It's a funny mystery novel. It has some good literary humor in it that I think you would enjoy. And the main character is a poet. And before that was The Lunar Chronicle series again. Those are becoming comfort reads.
Next up in reading Kristin Lavransdatter and A Canticle for Leibowitz with the Close Reads podcast. I'm also listening to a podcast on dyslexia and another on unschooling. Oh, and a book on unschooling. And Greenglass House with my 5th and 6th grade co-op class. I think I have too many irons in the fire. 🤦♀️📚
I speed up audiobooks but not podcasts! ;)