Learn, Think, Write

Organizing myself online

Bittersweet

I love the word.

So when I saw that Susan Cain had written a new book called Bittersweet I had to read it. Rather, I decided to listen to it.

Oh my. I love it. I find myself saying, “yes, uh huh, of course.” I haven’t quite finished, but you’ll get a sense of it from this TED video. Of course, the book delves into her research and personal anecdotes. However, watching this for the music alone is wonderful. Enjoy!

And now that I have, I will say it is one of the more fascinating books on mental health/psychology I’ve read. She once called herself an optimistic melancholic. I think that describes me, too. I kept seeing myself throughout the book– talk about validation.

Highly recommended!!

Teal, in all its magical shades

I am about to head out for another relaxing week on Turks and Caicos. Our stay involves lots of reading, walking, eating, and sleeping. But mostly, I stare at the water.

There’s something about the shades of turquoise that calms me and helps me breathe differently. I do recognize how lucky I am to be able to travel here once a year. I gather my art supplies and books and spend the week putting myself back together.

My IG feed will turn teal this week. But I’ll be back soon with lots of new ideas for prints.

 

 

Books to Share

A friend stopped by unexpectedly last night as I was about to go to bed. (I do turn out the lights pretty early these days.)

“I was on my way to the library,” she said. “And then I realized I could go to Susan’s house instead!”

I laughed, completely understanding what she meant. In my years of teaching, I was also a reader. I collected books on writing, thinking, pedagogy, and leadership. On my shelf I have Shirky, Gallagher, Kohl, Li, and Wagner. During my days at FA, I tried to share as many books as  could, handing out Godin, Dweck, Boss, and Wheatley to name a few. My friend, a former colleague who was working on a philosophy of teaching essay for graduate school, wanted to reference something, and she knew  I would have resources.

After handing over a few books, I said good night. And then I realized how many more I have on my Kindle now.

“That’s a shift,” I thought with some regret. I can’t share my books any longer.

But wait–yes, I can! I remembered hearing about lending books from my Kindle, but I hadn’t tried yet. A couple of clicks later, and I was there:


There are a few restrictions from Amazon:

Eligible Kindle books can be loaned once for a period of 14 days. The borrower does not need to own a Kindle — Kindle books can also be read using our free Kindle reading applications for PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android devices. Not all books are lendable — it is up to the publisher or rights holder to determine which titles are eligible for lending. The lender will not be able to read the book during the loan period.

I can live with that, though unfortunately books can only be lent once. I don’t know why I am so late to this game, but I’m glad I learned something new.

image credit: By jblyberg