After taking a break from the book club the past few months (due to pregnancy and my overwhelming schedule), I’m hopping back in and you should too!  The Inspired Readers Book Club has helped me read a range of genres, introducing me to books I’d never think to pull off the shelf.  I also appreciate the accountability aspect of the book club; less mindless TV and more reading!

Shelly is leading this time and chose My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman.  We read A Man Called Ove earlier this year and it was one of my favorites, so I’m anxious to read more from the author!

Our reading schedule will be as follows:
Week 1 (October 24): Chapters 1-11
Week 2 (October 31): Chapters 12-22
Week 3 (November 7): Chapters 23-end

As always, we’ll have discussion questions posted on Monday, so feel free to jump into the conversation whenever you have time.  New members are always welcome – we’d love to see you in the Facebook group!

Want a fun way to read a variety of interesting books in 2016?  You should join us in The Inspired Readers Book Club!  Tabitha, Shelly and I started last June and it’s been a great way to add some adult conversation to my weeks.  We’ve read a range of genres, which has helped me try books I’d never think to pull off the shelf.  I also appreciate the accountability aspect of the book club; less mindless TV and more reading!

Shelly is leading this time and she chose Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin.  Even though I read this one last fall, I am so excited to revisit it again.  I’m also excited to hear how our different book club members are wired (so fascinating to me!) and what factors motivate them best.  

Our reading schedule will be as follows:
Week 1 (March 14): SELF-KNOWLEDGE
Week 2 (March 21): PILLARS OF HABIT
Week 3 (April 4): DESIRE, EASE AND EXCUSES
Week 4 (April 11): UNIQUE JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE

As always, we’ll have discussion questions posted on Monday, so feel free to jump into the conversation whenever you have time.  We’d love to see you in the Facebook group!

Want a fun way to read a variety of interesting books in 2016?  You should join us in The Inspired Readers Book Club!  Tabitha, Shelly and I started last June and it’s been a great way to add some adult conversation to my weeks.  We’ve read a range of genres, which has helped me try books I’d never think to pull off the shelf.  I also appreciate the accountability aspect of the book club; less mindless TV and more reading!

I’m leading the next book for February into March!  I chose A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman.  From the back of the book: “A word-of-mouth bestseller that has causes a sensation across Europe, Fredrik Backman’s irresistible novel about the angry old man next door is an uplifting exploration of the unreliability of first impressions, and a gentle reminder that life is sweeter when it is shared with other people.”  I can’t wait to dive in! 

Our reading schedule will be as follows:
Week 1 (February 15): Chapters 1-9
Week 2 (February 22): Chapters 10-18
Week 3 (February 29): Chapters 19-28
Week 4 (March 7): Chapters 29-Epilogue

As always, we’ll have discussion questions posted on Monday, so feel free to jump into the conversation whenever you have time.  We’d love to see you in the Facebook group!

Want a fun way to read a variety of interesting books in 2016?  You should join us in The Inspired Readers Book Club!  Tabitha, Shelly and I started last June and it’s been a great way to add some adult conversation to my weeks.  We’ve read a range of genres, which has helped me try books I’d never think to pull off the shelf.  I also appreciate the accountability aspect of the book club; less mindless TV and more reading!

For January, Tabitha is leading again and she picked Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert.


Our reading schedule will be as follows:
Week 1 (January 4): Chapters Courage and Enchantment
Week 2 (January 11): Chapter Permission & share
Week 3 (January 18): Chapter Persistence & share
Week 4 (January 25): Chapters Trust and Divinity

As always, we’ll have discussion questions posted on Monday, so feel free to jump into the conversation whenever you have time.  We’d love to see you in the Facebook group!

I am so excited for our third book with The Inspired Readers Book Club!  Starting September 21, we will be reading and discussing The Winter of our Disconnect: How Three Totally Wired Teenagers (and a Mother Who Slept with Her iPhone) Pulled the Plug on Their Technology and Lived to Tell the Tale by Susan Maushart.  And guys, this one is going to be good.


Here’s just a snippet from the Introduction:

The Winter of our Disconnect – aka the Experiment (as we all eventually came to call it – was in some ways an accident waiting to happen.  Over a period of years, I watched and worried as our media began to function as a force field separating my children from what my son, only half ironically, called RL (Real Life).  But to be honest, the teenagers weren’t the only ones with dependency issues.  Although a relatively recent arrival to the global village, I’d been known to abuse information too.  (Sneaking the iPhone into the toilet?  Did I have no self-respect?)  As a journalist, it was easy to hide my habit, but deep down I knew I was hooked.  

The Winter of Our Disconnect started out as a kind of purge.  It ended up as so much more.  Long story short: Our digital detox messed with our heads, our hearts, and our homework.  It changed the way we ate and the way we slept, the way we “friended,” fought, planned, and played.  It altered the very taste and texture of our family life…In the end, our family’s self-imposed exile from the Information Age changed our lives indelibly – and infinitely for the better.  This book is our travel log, our apologia, our Pilgrim’s Progress slash Walden Pond slash Lonely Planet Guide to Google-free Living. 

 At the simplest level, The Winter of our Disconnect is the story of how one highly idiosyncratic family survived six months of wandering through the desert, digitally speaking, and the lessons we learned about ourselves and our technology along the way.  At the same time, our story is a channel, if you’ll excuse the expression, to a wider view – into the impact of new media on the lives of families, into the very heart of the meaning of home.

Our reading schedule will be as follows:
Week 1 (September 21):  Introduction, Chapters 1 & 2
Week 2 (September 28): Chapters 3 & 4
Week 3 (October 5): Chapters 5 & 6
Week 4 (October 12): Chapter 7 & 8

Like before, we’ll have discussion questions posted every Monday, so feel free to jump into the conversation whenever you have time.  We are always open to new members and would love to see you in the Facebook group!

The Inspired Readers Book Club, which I started with my blog friends Tabitha and Shelly, has just wrapped up discussion for our first book, Make it Happen.  For the past two months, we have “met” in our Facebook group to talk about dreams, fear and intentional living.  The community of women is diverse and everyone has had something to bring to the table.  Even though I led the discussion, I really have learned so much.

For the month of August, Tabitha is taking the reins and we’re reading a novel this time!  She chose Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, which is a family-centered mystery that is getting great reviews.  I just started the book yesterday and it’s a page turner already!

Our reading schedule will be as follows:
Week 1 (August 3):  Chapters 1-3
Week 2 (August 10): Chapters 4-6
Week 3 (August 17): Chapters 7-9
Week 4 (August 24): Chapter 10-12

Like before, we’ll have discussion questions posted on Monday, so feel free to jump into the conversation whenever you have time.  We are always open to new members and would love to see you in the Facebook group!

Happy Monday!


Did you get a chance to read my “Top Five Favorite Ways to Support Bloggers” post I wrote last week?  I’ve been so pleased with the response and the conversation it has started.  Sometimes I fear that the blog world has been overtaken with the desire to make money.  And while there’s nothing wrong with that, I’m sad that the beautiful relationships that could be created have taken the back burner.  The friendships I’ve made through this space have been invaluable to me and what keep me writing year after year.  


I’m on a mission to bring community back!

Here are the details:


Our first book is going to be Make It Happen by Lara Casey.  We thought it was the perfect choice to start with since intentional living is what brought us together in the first place!  We will be reading and discussing this book for eight weeks, which takes us through June and July.  We think this is the perfect pace for the summer and it should be easy to fit the chapters in during all of your summer fun!


The reading schedule is as follows:
Week 1 (starting today!): Introduction to the Book Club, “Welcome to your Start”
Week 2 (June 8): Chapters 1-3
Week 3 (June 15): Chapters 4-6
Week 4 (June 22): Chapters 7-9
Week 5 (June 29): Chapters 10-12
Week 6 (July 6): Steps #1 & #2
Week 7 (July 13): Step #3
Week 8 (July 20): Step #4 & #5


We’ve started a private Facebook group (join us here!) and every Monday will post a few questions to get the conversation going.  Feel free to pop in when you can to add your thoughts!  This book club is not meant to be stressful or add another commitment to your already full plate.  Our intention with this book club is to read a wide range of books while creating community.  We want our book club to be fun and something you look forward to!  


Please don’t worry if you fall behind.  We’re hoping the conversations in the Facebook group will still be fruitful and helpful to you.  So don’t get discouraged!  Do the best you can and show up anyway!


Shelly, Tabitha and I are all mothers of little ones, but this book club is not limited to just moms.  I firmly believe that we all have so much to teach other!

Our hope is that this book club will be a fun activity where you will be challenged to learn something new and leave inspired.  We want to bounce ideas around, laugh and engage in honest, meaningful discussion.  Most importantly, we hope to create a thriving, supportive community!  We would love to have you!  

Are you in? See you over in the Facebook group!