She defines the gift economy as, “wealth is understood as having enough to share, and the practice for dealing with abundance is to give it away. In fact, status is not determined by how much one accumulates, but by how much one gives away. The currency in a gift economy is relationship, which is expressed in gratitude, as interdependence and the ongoing cycles of reciprocity” (p32-33, Serviceberry). Continue reading
Category Archives: Opinion Pieces
What Does a Memoir Owe its Readers?: The Dilemma of ‘Truth’ in Creative Nonfiction Writing
What becomes fraught is the expectation of ‘truth’ in nonfiction writing. And the truth I speak of here is not an ‘ultimate truth’ that is objective (although there are always objective truths in what we write). The ‘truth’ and the ‘expectation’ can be thought of as the relationship between the reader and writer. Continue reading
Five Books to Help You Understand and Grapple with the Climate Crisis
I’m often thinking about human relationships with the environment – how we’ve used and abused the world around us collectively for such a long time. I’ve been grappling with how I have tried to push back on some of these things and how to make a practical and effective impact on what I do and … Continue reading
5 Ways That Grief Affected My Reading in 2022
There have been many highs and lows, but I wanted to talk today about 5 ways grief has affected my reading in 2022. Continue reading
5 Life and Writing Lessons From A World Famous Author – Haruki Murakami
His latest work though is a very different kind of book. Instead of creating worlds in a well or alternate universes through tunnels, Murakami has released a book about his experiences as a career author, and in it, he details all the highs and lows of what it is really like to write books for over 35 years. In this book, he talks about each section being a speech rather than an essay or memoir, and I feel like that is perhaps the best way to think of this book. It does feel like Murakami is talking to you – delivering a speech at a graduation or event. Considering that Murakami rarely makes public appearances, he does this kind of speech writing well. Continue reading
Socktober and 5 Spooky Audiobooks to Listen to While You Knit Socks
I love October as a month completely dedicated to all things spooky. I love to read scary books, I love to watch scary movies and T.V. shows, and it also coincides with Socktober – knitting as many socks as you can. With still a few days to go before Socktober ends, I am currently sitting on 3 pairs of socks with a fourth pair on the way. I have loved the challenge, but am also very ready to go back to my neglected knitting and crochet projects. Continue reading
5 Fantastic Nonfiction Audiobooks to Listen to While You Knit or Crochet (And Some Beautiful Shawl Patterns)
These 5 audiobooks give you 44.25 hours worth of listening, which will definitely keep you company while you knit, crochet, or craft the afternoon away. Continue reading
8 Ways to Help Someone Who is Grieving
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, I might make a small commission from the sale. This helps me directly fund this blog. I write this from someone who has lost a father at age 24 and a brother at 34. I write this as someone who has … Continue reading
8 Books to Buy for your Plant and Gardening-Obsessed Friends
Who doesn’t love plants? I mean really. They keep us alive – literally. Whether they are purifying our air, bringing colour and light into our homes, nourishing our bodies, or providing shelter and food for birds and bees, they are without a doubt, amazing. I wanted to bring together a list of some of my … Continue reading
What the Netflix hit “Stranger Things” Season 4 has to say about sibling loss: Max and Billy
I know this is a book blog, but since this is my blog I sorta get to talk about what I want. And today, I wanted to have a deep dive into the hit Netflix show, Strange Things. I just finished season 4, vol. 1 and I have some things to say. Specifically, I wanted … Continue reading
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