Little Life Lists are for the complicated, unruly things life throws at us. I encourage you to write your own, too. With coffee. xoxo
In the soft early morning light, before the children get up on this first day of the summer holidays, before my first coaching call with an aspiring writer, in the quiet of my office, I’m surrounded by books.
It’s lucky, it’s lovely, it’s a lot!
The TBR pile
Like for you—perhaps—my shelves are heaving with bookstore purchases, garage sale finds, little free library gatherings, library picks (which I must return!) My phone has memos, my notebook(s) are scattered with suggestions of reads. My To Be Read pile is big!
But! When I glance at the options in a short summer moment, preferably with coffee, I’d like to feel ready to read, not paralyzed by choice. As psychologist Barry Schwartz says, “more is not less.”
Summer has open windows for reading, sometimes. So, when those moments open up, I want a smaller selection of books to pick from. Not a curated, perfect list, but a pile that makes me feel excited and not overwhelmed. Maybe you do, too!
Magpie mode
Over the last couple of days, while the kids have been enjoying wrap up parties with soccer and school, one saying goodbye to elementary, one saying goodbye to us for a week of canoeing with a friend, I’ve been in magpie mode. Pulled by whichever shiny book grabs my attention, I’ve made a much smaller pile.
There’s no rhyme or reason other than a fizzy shimmer of anticipation when I pick one up.
I won’t read them all
Not even close. This is a summer selection and what I want is to walk past and see a smaller grouping to choose from. Yes, I have a couple of new books, but the rest have waited hopefully to be read, sometimes for years.
So how does this help?
By reducing the choice, I’m hopeful to spend more time actually reading. The books I’ve chosen are a mix of crime, memoir and non-fiction that may inspire my next novel.
So, I’m not forcing a commitment or checking off a list (if that works for you, that’s brilliant). Instead, I want a simple selection of about twenty books that makes it easier to pick one depending on my mood.
Substacks
As I shared in a Note recently, I love reading on here, but I’d subscribed to about a million brilliant newsletters. Carefully, I cut that list down and through the summer, I want to pick a few to read consistently and with intention.
Big Magic and simple summer
I finished reading Big Magic as the month wrapped up, which was our Life-Changing Book Club read. Your comments on this book were really fun for me to think about.
started a story about synchronicity here: I just LOVED Big Magic, especially the meeting that Elizabeth has with Ann Patchett, a kind of creative synchronicity that you won't believe actually happened. I enjoyed reading her story over coffee.In that post, I wrote that Elizabeth Gilbert shares a belief that ‘something wonderful is inside you’. I’ve always believed my responsibility is to ask the right questions and that everyone I meet is interesting if I do.
Through this summer of books and kids and (hope) sunshine, in the conversations I have and the books I read, really, I’m hoping for stories and inspiration, just like Big Magic describes.
Tell me, is there a book you’re hoping to read this summer?
xoxo
Alice
If you’re new here, my name is Alice Kuipers and I’m a writer, mother and dog & cat-owner transplanted twenty years ago to the Canadian prairies from England. I’ve published fourteen books in 36 countries and my writing has been described as: “For storytellers and story lovers,” by Kirkus Reviews; ‘Gorgeous, heart-ripping, important,” by VOYA; and “Intense and wonderful” by Bif Naked. Join me for coffee breaks, book conversations, and to share my writing life together.
Xoxo
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