[note: this post is NOT sponsored, I'm just sharing what I enjoyed this month]
Some Favorites:
🎧Get It Done: How to Complete Your Dream Project by Gretchen Rubin — I found this freebie on Audible and it has been a fun way to get myself back into planning mode. I love that Gretchen Rubin weaves in how our individual personalities affect us deeply and some research from her other books. The Four Tendencies book was life-changing for me years ago, and because I’m an Upholder, it helped me have compassion and understanding for others.
“People might think they need motivation, when all they really need is clarity…. If you don’t have sufficient reasons, you might not even care if you’re succeeding or not.” — Gretchen Rubin
If you struggle to get projects started or new habits in place you should come join us at book club!!
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📖💻Myers Briggs Personality Typing — With so many young adults in my household I try to find things to discuss that will be enlightening and practical. Recently I got a book on Amazon that we had fun using as a base for our MBTI typing discussion. I hesitate to recommend it here because while the content and research are very well done, the interior design of the book is not. It made me cringe when charts were cut in half, and I found single lines or words left dangling at the top or bottom of a page. But because the writing was so helpful in our discussions here is the title: Myers-Briggs 16 Personality Types Core Concepts by Julian Smith
There have been some fun debates around our kitchen counter about MBTI types, personality tendencies, and introverts vs. extroverts. 😁
Reflections, Confessions & a Rabbit Hole:
I want to be someone who reads “the classics” in my evenings and via audiobook on weekend cleaning sprees, but my recent DNF stack says otherwise.
Recently when I set aside North and South (an excellent novel published in 1855 by English author Elizabeth Gaskell) I returned to my decision of “audiobooks that are fun, light-hearted escapes”. I’m also finding it easy to enjoy a range of non-fiction after falling into a fun rabbit hole.
Sometimes the best learning plans begin with an unexpected detour.
It started with Book Lovers by Emily Henry 📖 (a book I finished in May). The main characters are in agent & book editor jobs. I really enjoyed this peek into the industry of fiction publishing along with the enemy to lovers banter.
In the back of the book is “Nora and Libby’s Ultimate Reading List“, highlighting various rom-coms and contemporary romance novels. I had some interest in a few books there, then it lead to searching in my Libby app for more books in the editing and book publishing world.
That’s when I happened upon the life of Jackie Kennedy Onassis and also her career as an editor. Before this summer, I didn’t know much about the Kennedy family and often felt confused about their appeal. So I decided to see what all the fuss is about and learn about this famous family from a few different angles.
I’ve been slowly working my way forward with the kids in our American History Unit and this summer I’ve been catching up on my own learning the 1950’s & 60’s so the time period fit perfectly.
So, with my very little free time, movie nights, and using my library card this is what I’ve enjoyed so far. (+ a few DNF’s I won’t bother listing)
🎧Jackie as Editor: The Literary Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis a book by Greg Lawrence — I didn’t get to finish this one before it was due back to the library in my Libby app, but got over half way and I really enjoyed the behind the scenes look at her life. I also became motivated to learn more about the Kennedy family and that time period.
“Jackie regarded books as pathways to enlightenment, each a journey of intellectual enchantment, each affording her the opportunity to interact with people who shared her love of literature and passion for knowledge.” – Greg Lawrence
👩🏫History Fact: Did you know that JFK’s willingness to wear television makeup (and Richard Nixon’s refusal) during the first televised presidential debate on September 26, 1960, is widely considered a pivotal moment in U.S. political history? Nixon, recovering from a recent hospital stay, was pale, underweight, and refused stage makeup. And on black-and-white television screens, Nixon looked sickly and gaunt against the background. In contrast, Kennedy appeared vibrant, healthy, and composed because of stage makeup and his tan from recent campaign work in California.
…okay, back to my list…😜
🎧The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick — When I told a friend that I’ve been reading books related to the Kennedy family she told me this one is a must-read. It’s a historical fiction that takes place in a 1960’s suburb. I just started it and I’m already hooked.
🍿🎥 Jackie (2016) drama/history— this movie stars Natalie Portman and feels like an interview with flashbacks. I really enjoyed it.
📖Forty Ways to Look at JFK by Gretchen Rubin — I have often wondered why we are so fascinated by him when his presidency only lasted 1,037 days. This biography tackles the enduring puzzle about JFK: what made him such a dazzling, unforgettable figure? (I know, I’m referencing Gretchen Rubin twice in one post, but I really enjoy her work guys… not sorry! 😝)
🍿🎥Thirteen Days (2000) thriller/war/drama— based on the 1997 book: The Kennedy Tapes: Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis by Ernest R. May and Philip D. Zelikow. So many documentaries and movies about Kennedy are focused on his death and those conspiracies. It was refreshing to watch a movie of him actively being president.
📺Netflix Series: Bobby Kennedy for President(2018) a documentary series about Robert F. Kennedy. It’s a four-part series that explores his life, political career, time in the White House with JFK, and his 1968 presidential run.
🎧Meant to Be by Emily Giffin — This book is loosely related but since I get to make up the rules for my personal curriculum I am putting it here.😉This romance is based on Carolyn Jeanne Bessette and John F. Kennedy, Jr. in which Giffin utilizes real-life details. It follows their courtship and whirlwind romance with the characters of Cate Cooper and Joseph Kingsley. Classified as “a chic, history-inspired summer read to take with you to the beach.”
I also heard about this series from a different friend, and I’m excited to watch it! -📺Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. It’s so fun that I’m not in this rabbit hole alone!
📺 Netflix Series: 11.22.63 — My husband and I have also been enjoying watching this series based on the Stephen King novel. A teacher (James Franco) travels back in time to stop JFK’s assassination. It’s a limited sci-fi series produced by J.J. Abrams and starts some fun discussion.
