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A Lit Life

Latest Podcast Episodes & Posts

Sunflowers Beneath the Snow, Cricut Machines & Birth Flowers

May 13, 2022 in Literate Love
You know it’s a good week when you visit a new independent bookstore and leave with a book that’s been on your TBR list for a while AND meet a virtual bookish friend for the first time! My own dreams for my own...
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Wolf Hollow, Erasure Poetry & Social Media

May 6, 2022 in Literate Love
This week was hopping! It was a busy week at the University again and I spent some time digging into a bit of fun research on social media this week, too. I’ve got three books to share (two are sequels!),a cool notebook trick that acts as powerful therapy and a beautiful...
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Ten Books to Help You Grow

May 1, 2022 in Bibliotherapy Book List
Are you a mood reader? A seasonal reader? A just because reader?  We all have different ways of deciding what to read next and sometimes, the season we are in can give us a clue to what our reading life might need next. This might be a life season, like heading...
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Hope Wins, Mortality Motivation & Book Chairs

April 29, 2022 in Literate Love
Well, we spent another week close to home because of COVID. We watched some Netflix, read some books and baked some cake. This week, I’ve got two books to share: one incredibly intriguing adult realistic fiction and one middle grade compilation of insightful essays about hope. I’ve got a pretty nifty...
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The Authenticity Project, Truths & Recipes

April 22, 2022 in Literate Love
Well, it’s April, my family is on Spring break and it SNOWED in New York this week. The whole week was moving at a slower pace, but the snow gave us one more reason to stay in, relax and catch up on needed sleep and rest. A movie or two and...
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Different Kinds of Fruit, Podcasting & Start Today

April 15, 2022 in Literate Love
I’m not sure what happened to this week, but it sure did fly by quickly. I headed back to campus for the first time in two years and so enjoyed the little things: putting professional clothes on again, walking through campus in the mild weather and seeing people I haven’t seen...
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My Own Lightning, People-ing & Artist Dates

April 8, 2022 in Literate Love
I love April. We can celebrate Poetry Month, National Librarians Week and…..my birthday. =) I had a wonderful birthday week filled with books, walks with my kids, chocolate covered fruit and a tub of frosting. Yes, a tub of frosting. This week, I have two books to share, the best writing...
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Grow Your Reading & Writing Circles

April 5, 2022 in Books & Reading, Notebooks & Writing
Do you have a favorite shape? Mine is the circle. A perfectly symmetrical, balanced circle. Preferably in color.  Appreciation for circles has been traced back to forty thousand years ago, and circles remain a dominant shape in our world, from architecture to art. But more than that, they have the potential...
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ABOUT

Stephanie

A book-loving, notebook-hoarding bookologist on a mission to change lives one book and one notebook at a time.

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Stephanie's books

Paperweight
Paperweight
by Meg Haston
I read this hauntingly beautiful book on the recommendation of my teenage daughter. She told me it was powerful, told me I wouldn't want to stop reading it...and she was right. Meg Haston invites readers into the mind of Stevie, causing ...
The Gifts of Imperfection
it was amazing
The Gifts of Imperfection
by Brené Brown
I haven't stumbled across anything written by Brene Brown that I did not love and this book is no exception. Written so conversationally as if Brene was literally speaking directly, and only, to me, I could'n help bu be personally moved ...
I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
it was amazing
I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life
by Anne Bogel
True to its title, this book was simply delightful. I felt like I was talking with a long-lost friend, a fellow book-lover whose life was just as entangled with the plots, settings and characters of fictional books as they were those in ...
Some Places More Than Others
it was amazing
Some Places More Than Others
by Renée Watson
It was almost like I was reading a book that was written just for me, even though the daily lives and locations of the characters were vastly different. The theme of love, self-worth and family connection was prevalent on each and every ...
Touching Spirit Bear
it was amazing
Touching Spirit Bear
by Ben Mikaelsen
This book shook me to my motherly core. I read this with my 13-year old twins as part of a school assignment and was swept into Cole's story of literally fighting for survival and for love. My children were drawn to Cole's story of survi...

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A Note From My Nudge Notebook… This week, I was i A Note From My Nudge Notebook…

This week, I was inspired to write a really terrible first draft of a picture book inspired by a conversation with my father and grandfather AND the writing advice from inside this incredible middle grade biography by Nancy Hudgins: BOOKS GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU. Ursula Nordstrom will now stand on my writing shoulders forever.

What acts of inspired action are you taking from the books you’ve read this week?

#NudgeNotebook
Middle grade novels hold a unique kind of magic an Middle grade novels hold a unique kind of magic and Ann Braden unlocks that magic with every novel she writes.

Her newest book is no exception.

HIJACKED BY GOATS is a heartfelt middle grade novel that delicately captures Josie’s inner world and the sheer number of compulsive and overwhelming thoughts that battle for her attention. Officially diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Josie progresses through residential treatment and outpatient therapy as she navigates recovery and a kinder way of treating herself.

Ann delicately captures the challenges Josie faces, the overwhelming thoughts and feelings that won’t let her rest and the brave choices she makes to move through them with the support of new friends, family and knowledgeable professionals.

While every middle grade reader might not be able to relate to Josie directly, they WILL be able to relate to going through something hard, wishing away particular thoughts or feelings or knowing someone who is struggling with their mental health. So will every adult reading this book, too.

This book so beautifully captures the entirety of the human condition and invites every emotion to the table, holding out a hand to those that need it and providing a window of empathy to those that need that, too.

It’s an incredible book and I’m forever grateful for having read it.

@annbradenbooks
#KidLitLove
#ALitLife
#MiddleGrade
#OCD
#Bibliotherapy
This. I know this face. I’ve made this face. I now This. I know this face. I’ve made this face. I now have better words to explain the significance of it and the love it holds. Thank you, Ann. ❤️

HIJACKED BY GOATS by Ann Braden

Coming September 2026
Full review coming soon.
@annbradenbooks
A restorative reading and writing practice doesn't A restorative reading and writing practice doesn't just feel good.....it sends a signal of safety to our nervous systems and THAT is what starts well-being at a cellular level.

Come listen as I talk about the one thing standing in the way of a reading and writing life that makes your actual life better and helps you feel better, too. 

We'll take a sensory audit of our reading and writing and brainstorm key ways to speak the language of our bodies and truly enhance our practice. 

Click the podcast link in my bio or visit me on Substack to listen!
On this episode of the KidLit Love podcast, I’m ta On this episode of the KidLit Love podcast, I’m talking with Melanie Dale about her newest upper middle grade novel: A GIRL OF LORE.

In this atmospheric paranormal novel, inner demons and town secrets collide in the haunting Southern town of London, Georgia. It had me guessing on every page, closing my eyes on some of them and truly inviting me into Mina’s world throughout.

Come listen as we talk about the unexpected way Melanie decided to write her first middle grade novel, the varied themes and entry points for all readers and why you should read it and hug it, too. Don’t be mistaken: even if you do not typically read novels like this, this book is for you. It’s enchanting. 

@melanierdale
#KidLitLove Podcast Link in Bio
#ALitLife
Books make Mondays better! This month, my one wor Books make Mondays better!

This month, my one word theme is RELEASE: of the past, of the things that no longer serve me....and the clothes that no longer fit. =)

This memoir is part of my book apothecary for the month to help me do just that:

THEY LEFT US EVERYTHING by Plum Johnson

It's been hailed as "a funny, touching memoir about the importance of preserving family history to make sense of the past and nurturing family bonds to safeguard the future."

I'm only two chapters in and I cannot get enough quickly enough. I have a feeling I'll hug this one after I'm done.

What books are making your Monday better?

#BooksMakeMondaysBetter
#IMWAYR
#ALitLife
#Memoirs
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