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 Year of Yes – 359
We made it through another Christmas and both of the kids liked their presents. I call this a giant win. They’ve been playing in the other room together most of the day while we play in this room. Videogames for everyone. Grateful for togetherness and happy teenagers and for getting to celebrate another holiday. Yes to merry. #yearofyes #karenikayearofyes  Year of Yes – 358
Happy Merry Christmas Eve. The kids opened their Christmas Eve presents. ( I get them both the same present for Xmas Eve ) and the table is set. Now we relax and watch a movie. Whenever you are, I hope you’re having a magical holiday season. I hope you are warm and safe and loved. Yes to celebrating. #yearofyes #karenikayearofyes  Year of Yes – 357
Feeling full today. Got the big boy boosted, went climbing, and went to see the matrix. Excited about Christmas Eve. Yes to the holiday season. #yearofyes #karenikayearofyes  Year of Yes – 356
There are a single digit number of days left in this year. I am not sure how I feel about this year coming to a close. I am finally starting to hit that part of vacation where I start to slow down and I am savoring all of the moments here. I hope each day goes slowly. Yes to savoring. #yearofyes #karenikayearofyes  Year of Yes – 355
I woke up this morning at 3am and could not go back to sleep. My muscles are very sore likely from exercising too much. So I came downstairs and rested for a while and went back to bed at 6am and woke again around 9am. This sort of discombobulated my whole day of course. I also took it as a sign from the universe that it was time to rest. So I checked off no items today. I just rested instead. Yes to rest. #yearofyes #karenikayearofyes  Year of Yes – 354
I have such a long todo list this week and every time I check off an item, I am adding two. None of the items are muat-do of course but I keep thinking I should do all these things because it’s vacation. So I wake and all day I am counting down my list and stressing that the day is passing. Which is all stupid and definitely not the point of vacation. So from here on out the goal is to do one thing a day. I check one item off and I’m good. Yes to pacing myself and to actually enjoying vacation. #yearofyes #karenikayearofyes
“Elizabeth simply refused to accept limits, not just for herself, but for others.” This is one of the top three reads of 2021 for me. I have loved every single moment I spent with it. I loved Elizabeth, I loved six-thirty, I loved Mad, I loved every character in this book. I loved the story. I loved how serious and how light and profound and how enjoyable it was. “Elizabeth revealed that there were hundreds, maybe thousands of others, and that no human spoke them all. In fact, most people spoke only one—maybe two—unless they were something called Swiss and spoke eight. No wonder people didn’t understand animals. They could barely understand one another.” This is the story of Elizabeth, who is a chemist and then a TV show cooking host. She has a daughter Mad and a dog six-thirty in 1960s California. Her story is sad and harrowing and funny and energizing and deeply deeply inspiring. She is truly one of a kind. “Chemistry is change and change is the core of your belief system. Which is good because that’s what we need more of—people who refuse to accept the status quo, who aren’t afraid to take on the unacceptable.” The writing and characters in this book were exceptionally well done. The dialogue is sharp and on point. There are some major triggers for rape and a lot of sexism. Some might not resonate with this book or Elizabeth but, for me, it was one of the best I’ve read. “Whenever you start doubting yourself,” she said, turning back to the audience, “whenever you feel afraid, just remember. Courage is the root of change—and change is what we’re chemically designed to do. So when you wake up tomorrow, make this pledge. No more holding yourself back. No more subscribing to others’ opinions of what you can and cannot achieve. And no more allowing anyone to pigeonhole you into useless categories of sex, race, economic status, and religion. Do not allow your talents to lie dormant, ladies. Design your own future. When you go home today, ask yourself what you will change. And then get started.” I will not forget this story and Elizabeth for a long long time. with deep gratitude to Doubleday and netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars. This is not a book I would have picked up on my own even though I am always searching for belonging. I had never heard of this author and the book was very slow going for me but in the end I loved parts of it and really felt grateful to have read it.
An excellent Romeo and Juliet-like story of two kids who fall in love from two sides of Cyprus. Turkish and Greek. As someone who grew up in Turkey and heard all about the separation in Cyprus I found it really interesting to read about a story that takes place there and talks about the atrocities of war. Loved the mystical parts with nature, as well. Wonderful story.
This was one of those sweet books where I totally know what’s going to happen in the end but I still enjoy reading it anyway because it’s sweet and lovely to read.
Not sure why I waited this long to read this exquisite book. It was excellent, informative, kind and worth every moment I spent with it. Nagoski is one of a kind.
“I did think, let’s go about this slowly. This is important. This should take some really deep thought. We should take small thoughtful steps. But, bless us, we didn’t.—MARY OLIVER, I DID THINK, LET’S GO ABOUT THIS SLOWLY” This is the story of a woman who goes back to working after taking a break in her career. She joins this small architecture firm and the woman she works for there becomes her idol, her best friend and makes her revisit all of her values, thoughts and way of life. “She wasn’t trying to be a martyr. She handled things on her own because she liked being the sort of person who could, and because it made her feel less like her mother, who routinely asked other people for help just so she could judge the extent of their affection for her based on their willingness to give it.” The book covers many topics around parenthood, marriage, friendship, career, being a woman and more. I loved the voice of the author and I really enjoyed the characters even though I’d say especially the male characters weren’t nearly as three-dimensional as they could have been. “She was preoccupied with trying to remember why she’d ever thought it was necessary to throw a party for a human who was too young to form memories. Parents everywhere did this. Why? Parents were adults.” It’s possible that many readers will not enjoy this book as it definitely takes a stance and does not soften things for the reader. I personally enjoyed that and found myself swept up in the story and cheering for the characters. “She didn’t know where she would go, just that she needed to experience the sensation of moving forward through space. If it were an option to put herself into a catapult and be hurled into the air, she would’ve done it without hesitation.” There’s a quote about getting to the end of your life only to realize you haven’t lived it. This book reminded me of that quote. I loved it. Thank you to netgalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. |
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