This installment could be subtitled “Presently: presents!” because it features at least five perfect gifts that came into my life. I’m a lucky one.

Reading (the books) | On my nightstand, I’ve got Y Is for Yesterday, the unexpectedly final book by Sue Grafton. (This makes me very sad.)  Also: Grant by Ron Chernow, a delightful Christmas gift from the Dear Man, who perfectly anticipated I’d need a Chernow fix as I was nearing the end of Alexander Hamilton.  

Reading (the audiobooks) | I’m listening to The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, which has me completely engrossed. Also: occasionally overcome with emotion.

Reading (online) | The Dear Man News Service sent me this article about George Washington and a library, which made me happy…

Listening  | Lin-Manuel Miranda announced his Hamildrops project, and I’ve been inappropriately laughing as I listen to “Ben Franklin’s Song.” (I’d link to it, except all those swears!)

Watching  | Oh my gosh. We’ve been watching the Winter Olympics, and I adore it.

Learning  | During the holidays, nearly all of us did the Enneagram Inventory by Ian Morgan Cron, and I’ve been diving deep into that world. (Type 1 here!)

Loving  | My new egg cooker. I mean, look at how cute.

Anticipating  | We’re homing in on Pizzeria #100 pretty soon… We’re at #99 and counting! My excellent sister and brother-in-law gave us a pizza carrier for Christmas, and it’s proving the thing we never knew we needed.

Celebrating | Five years ago, I met the Dear Man. Serious happiness has ensued.

I’ve decided: I kinda like winter.

So tell me, readers… what perfect gifts have come into your life?

Reading | I’m in the final 200 pages of Ron Chernow’s magnificent Alexander Hamilton, and I’ve begun re-reading Hamilton: The Revolution (that beautiful book filled with all the lyrics), because we’re going to see Hamilton later this month!! When I’m not immersed in Hamiltoniana, I’m completely loving Anne Bogel’s new book, Reading People. The reading life is very rich these days.

Listening: the audiobooks | The audiobook that’s edged out all others at the moment: My Life, My Love, My Legacy by Coretta Scott King. Usually I listen to an eAudiobook around the house, and a CD audiobook in the car. But I’ve been taking this one with me and listening to it everywhere, because I’m completely absorbed in her story.

Listening: the podcasts | What’s been making me happy in the podcast universe lately: Happier in Hollywood, By the Book, TED Talks, and What Should I Read Next?

Loving | Pizza #83, you made us very happy! The Dear Man and I went to Impellizzerri’s in Louisville, and this pizza knocked our socks off. I’m thinking it might make the top 5. Definitely top 10.

Learning | I’m still working on developing some Deep Work habits, and I gotta say: it’s not always coming naturally. But I’m taking some serious steps to implement it, and I had one perfect day when I was so productive it was nearly frightening. It was pretty freakin’ amazing.

Celebrating | We just completed another canoe trip, and, as usual, we were all fresh and jolly and raring for more when we arrived at the outfitter at the end of a day of paddling. And also as usual, this shocked the outfitter staff, who apparently are accustomed to people being either super cranky or wretchedly exhausted after a pleasant day of river canoeing. We are chipper.

Anticipating | Hamilton!!!!!! Did I mention we’re in the countdown? We are. Flapping commences every time I realize this is the month. (There’s a lot of flapping going on.)

Learning | I attended the American Library Association conference, so: inspired! Also: delighted because Brene Brown and Ron Chernow! (I seriously flapped [metaphorically]. Then nearly cried for joy. Then pulled myself together.)

Reading | I’ve been doing some comfort reading lately. I’ve got My Mrs. Brown by William Norwich and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin on my nightstand at the moment. They’re both lovely novels that are great before-sleep reading.

Listening | Podcasts: I’m completely hooked on Just the Right Book Podcast with Roxanne Coady. She’s smart and bookish and amiable, and I love hearing her interviews. And Elizabeth Craft, co-host of Happier, has a new podcast — Happier in Hollywood — that she co-hosts with her writing partner. They’re smart and funny, and I like hearing their take on life in Hollywood.

Listening | Audiobooks: I fell right into the wonderful storytelling of No One Is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts, which is terrific on audio. And I’m working my way through The Russian Debutante’s Handbook by Gary Shteyngart (though: at the moment, we’re on a break). I just picked up Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, and I am loving it. Only partly because Lin-Manuel Miranda is the narrator (oh my land!) though I gotta say: his inflections are pitch perfect.

Loving | This amazing pizza, which is so good we revisited it even though there are dozens of other pizza places calling our name. (We just knocked off pizza place #73. But who’s counting?)

Receiving | The marvelous Bybee of Blue-Hearted Bookworm sent me Book Mail! 32 Yolks (on audio!) and Encounter with an Angry God landed happily on the top of my TBR pile. I’ve started reading Encounter and if I didn’t have a bedtime alarm, it would seriously keep me reading way too late.

Watching | I’m still working my way through the final season of Parks and Rec. I had a seriously Leslie identification moment while watching an episode the other day. (This is both delightful and terrifying.) And also, on Netflix, Elizabeth at 90: A Family Tribute, which is a fine companion documentary to The Crown.

Hamilton-ing | We’re at H Minus 3 Months (translation: seeing Hamilton in 3 months!) and I’ve just busted through the halfway point of Chernow’s magnificent biography. Goal is to finish it, and to re-read Hamilton: The Revolution. I think I got this.

Devouring |  Last weekend we visited some farmstands, and it always gets a little bit out of control when I’m near fresh sweet corn.

Anticipating | More canoeing!

So, my fellow readers… what’s on the books for the rest of your summer?

So much good stuff this early spring! Here’s the rundown…

Reading | Reliving my childhood by getting my nose stuck in a book…  I can’t, I won’t, I refuse to put down The Cubs Way: The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse by Tom Verducci. If anyone in my path even seems like they might be interested in baseball (or simply great narrative nonfiction), they’re hearing me rave about this book these days. And then I read that Rizzo & Bryant & Russell & Heyward & Ross are on Instagram, so: Following.

Watching | Speaking of the best team in baseball… we watched the Cubs’ opening game, and sure, it didn’t end perfectly, but still: It’s baseball season, people!  (The New York Times is even in the spirit — they published this list of baseball books recently.)

Bryant at bat, 2015 (my 4th time at Wrigley!)

Listening (audiobooks)| I hit the trifecta, guys: three audiobooks in progress at once. It happened by accident, cuz: eAudiobook holds… they have their own timeline. So… In the car: Americanah. On the iPhone: A Man Called Ove and Talking as Fast as I Can.

Listening (podcasts) | I’ve got the happiest mix of podcasts on my iPhone. There’s What Should I Read Next? and Happier and C-SPAN’s Q&A and Getting Things Done. And a new addition to the rotation: Beyond the To Do List. When I’m warming up for a run, it’s a wonderful dilemma to decide what to listen to.

Learning | I’ve been digging into Gallup Strengths, cuz I can’t resist personality type systems. I’m currently reading Strengthsfinder 2.0, which I’ll talk about in a future post. (This is a promise, cuz I’m seriously sucked into this stuff.)

Loving | Our St. Patrick’s Day celebration with great friends

all that green!

Braving | Rotten shark. I ate it. (Totally not even kidding here.) The Dear Man’s dear sister and dear brother-in-law visited Iceland recently, and we basically dared them to try hakarl (shark that’s buried in the ground to rot, then dug up and eaten — we steered clear of it during our Iceland trip, cuz we’re sensible like that). So instead, they brought some back for all of us to try. It wasn’t so very terrible, though it’s true what they say: smells like ammonia.

(mid-chew)

(still mid-chew; the Dear Man made me laugh)

Celebrating | 20 years in my little house! It’s hard to believe, but it was 20 years ago last month that I plunked down my life’s savings for a down payment on my own tiny haven.

“The Little House was very happy as she sat on the hill and watched the countryside around her. She watched the sun rise in the morning and she watched the sun set in the evening. Day followed day, each one a little different from the one before . . . but the Little House stayed just the same.”
— Virginia Lee Burton, The Little House

Anticipating | Our 67th pizza. Cuz: yeah... We’ve eaten at 66 pizzerias so far. Here we’re picking off Wayne’s Pizza (well worth the drive).

So, good people… what’s going on in your neck of the woods?

As this winter promises to draw to a close one fine day, here’s what’s going on around here…

Reading | When packing for a weekend trip, I realized all of the books I’m reading as actual books (rather than audiobooks) are self-improvement nonfiction (or Alexander Hamilton by Chernow, a book that is my year-long companion). So… that was weird. I hopped up and grabbed a novel from my TBR pile, and I’m gonna give it a go. (The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick… will you be the book I seek?)

But really… my heart belongs to the self-improvement books:

• Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and Business of Life by David Allen
• Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
• Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty by Harvey Mackay
• AgeProof: Living Longer Without Running out of Money or Breaking a Hip by Jean Chatzky and Michael F. Roizen

Listening: Audiobooks| I just finished listening to LaRose by Louise Erdrich, which she beautifully narrates herself. And Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. Ditto on the splendid author narration.

Listening: Podcasts | I’m newly hooked on the EntreLeadership podcast, because guess what? Self-improvement all over the place!

Watching | I’m fully hooked on The Crown, thanks to a well-placed recommendation by the Dear Man’s Dear Sister, who knows me well.

Learning | Oh, WordPress, you evil wonder! Our love/hate relationship rages on… The good news is I’m learning lots of things the hard way, which makes the lessons more memorable. (Remember that night I decided to repost some old blog posts and delete the previous versions because their formatting was messed up? And how I consequently lost all of the comments associated with those posts? That was the best!)

On the up side… I just finished my second Gale Courses class, Intermediate WordPress Websites, which has helped immeasurably. CSS… I’m coming for you! (Actually: CSS… occasionally I’ll inch close enough to do something tentative, while closing my eyes and crossing my fingers. But, hey: it’s something.)

Loving | My house is all clean and neat because Book Bloggers Reunion here at the Unruly Cottage. We’re laying bets on how long it lasts. The most optimistic view: 2 weeks. (I’m pretty sure that’s dead on. I’m already scattering books all over the place.)

Anticipating | We got tickets to see Hamilton! I was so excited I kept flapping.

And I keep thinking: in spite of all the trouble in the world… how lucky we are to be alive right now.

Celebrating | Our 60th pizza place! We hit Coalfire, currently ranked #1 by Chicago Magazine. And yes… it was life-changing. You’re looking at a Honey & Salami and a Spinach pizza (with pistachio pesto whipped ricotta). We’re standing firmly in the “specialty pizza” zone here.

So guys… what’s worth celebrating in your life these days?

Winter! It’s for reals. So: cozying in. Here’s what’s been happening…

Reading | My most recent can’t-put-it-down book is On Writing by Stephen King. Even though I seriously don’t ever want to write a novel, this book provides fascinating advice and insight into the writing process.

Listening (iPhone) | I’ve been catching up on podcasts like you wouldn’t believe. HerMoney, What Should I Read Next, Presidential, TEDTalks, Q&A (from C-SPAN)…  All so good. And I’ve denied my instinct to download a new eAudiobook until I catch up on some of the podcast backlog, because it was weighing on me. Feels good, like I’m starting the new year with a clean slate of podcasts.

Listening (CD) | When I’m not spinning the Hamilton soundtrack (another wonderful Christmas gift), I’m listening to Lila by Marilynne Robinson and feeling all the feels.

Watching | I’ve gone off TV since all HGTV content has vanished from Netflix. (This discovery put me into a mild 24-hour funk. Then I got over it. But still… TV: dead to me.)

Learning  | My intermediate WordPress class just started, and my friends… I have miles to go before I sleep. I keep doing dumb things like failing to resize images, and then the Dear Man listens when I complain about my woes and suggests just the fix I need. So: this is all good.

Loving | We’ve become Culver’s converts. People: the frozen custard!!!

Anticipating | We have upcoming plans with good friends, and I can’t wait.

Celebrating | My ongoing ability to get rid of the objects that don’t bring joy. Things I’ve kept for years, thinking they mattered? Gone. Regrets? None. The KonMari technique works for me.

(Inspired by my own words, I just jumped up out of my chair and put into the Goodwill pile a sugar bowl I’ve never used. Not once. Ever.)

How are you celebrating the winter season?

Hello, 2017!

We’re gonna start the new year with a glance back at 2016…

The Excitement | The biggest reading news of 2016: This is the year the Dear Man became a reader for reals. I asked if I could take partial credit, and he said yes. But I gotta say: this was all him. He’s been reading up a storm and buying books and suggesting visits to the bookstore (be still, my heart!) and expanding his home library. Meanwhile, I try to refrain from quivering with joy. (Just did some serious quivering)

The Social | At BEA and the book bloggers convention, I met actual book bloggers in person! And even cooler, we’ve stayed in touch. I’m pretty sure I offered to host our next gathering, so: stay tuned for posts about intensive house-cleaning efforts.

The Post | Bybee of Blue-Hearted Bookworm set me up with extra special book mail… twice. (Have I mentioned lately that I’m super lucky to know such good people?)

The Numbers | I finished 97 books this year. Not my all-time record, but an increase compared with recent years. The reader is back.

The Platform | Hello, WordPress!

The Travel | Iceland! We went to there!

The Foods | Back on the homefront, the Dear Man and I visited our 52nd pizza place. And it was all festive.

The Miraculous | The Cubs won the World Series (!!!!) and it’s still sinking in.

(photo credit: the Dear Man’s dear sister)

I’m curious: What were the highlights of your year?