// On My Bookshelf: 6 Books I'm Reading (Eventually...)

The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck and Get Your Sh*t Together by Sarah Knight //
You Don't Have To Like Me by Alida Nugent // Feminist Fight Club by Jessica Bennett //
Fat Girl Walking by Brittany Gibbons // Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

I managed to get in the habit of reading for a significant amount of time on a regular basis last Fall, but I just couldn't keep up with it once doula work and the holidays picked up. Now that the boys go to Mike's every other week I have a lot more free time on my hands. What better use of it than reading? These 6 books are what' I have lined up to tackle next. I've started 3 of the 6 previously, but only managed to get so far before having to shift priorities. I'm excited to finish them, and of course share my thoughts and ~review afterward.

The titles of Sarah Knight's books alone made me want them. A gal I interned with at BUST magazine had posted about them on Facebook and I ordered them without hesitation. They speak to me. Furiously Happy came by way of my sweet friend Rachael. She said she absolutely loved it and was sure I would too, so she sent me her copy and it's been waiting to be devoured. I read Alida Nugent's first book Don't Worry, It Gets Worse and it was so great (read my review here). I started You Don't Have To Like Me back before the holidays so I'm stoked to pick it back up again.

Have you read any of these? Or do you have any recommendations that you wanna share? I mean I guess I should wait until I make a dent in this pile... but I still wanna hear!

xo KB

// Book Club: Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton

Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton

amazon // goodreads

STOP WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING AND GO BUY THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW! Don't even bother to read the rest of this review, just go buy it, read it, soak it in. This is the book most of us have been waiting for. I knew I would be totally sucked in to it after loving Glennon's previous book Carry On, Warrior (Review here!) I just didn't know I'd love it as much as I do! Oprah recently gave it her Book Club seal of approval, and I even had more than one person take notice while I was reading it and exclaim they were reading it, too. With the exception of the first 15 pages or so, I read the entire memoir on the flights home from the Michaels Makers Summit (more on that soon!). I cried as inconspicuously as I could, often having to stop reading all together because I'm just a hot mess. My copy of the book is now overflowing with highlighted passages and notes in the margins. There are just so many incredible chapters, quotes, and ideas that I would struggle to choose my favorite.  Luckily the rest of the internet is on it so I compiled a few of my favorite quotes below! Glennon has that magical quality with her writing that makes you want to stand up and shout "Oh my God, ME TOO!" Writers who find a way to be relatable to me totally have my attention. There is just so much honesty and truth and raw emotion in this book. I don't think you could possibly be disappointed by it. I feel like I need to take a few more days to process it all, and then read it all over again. It's that good, I swear. And it couldn't have come at a more perfect time.

Thank you for sharing this gift with us, Glennon!

xo KB

// Book Club: Do The Work

Do The Work by Steven Pressfield

amazon // goodreads

This book is tiny, and it can be devoured by almost anyone in barely an hour or two. Though it's short, the message is strong! Steven Pressfield is the bestselling author of The War of Art and Turning Pro (which I have and will re-read to share a review!) This book is basically like your pocket-guide to getting shit done! Pressfield calls out the big bad monster that causes us all to panic, procrastinate, and self sabotage. He named it Resistance and he says the more important the project (small business, screenplay, diet, whatever) is to you, the harder Resistance will attack. This book basically walks you through how to execute a brilliant idea from start to finish. If this book doesn't motivate you, nothing will!

I shared a couple snaps of this book on Snapchat (@kaelahbee) recently and folks loved it! Verdict: If you've ever gotten in your own way and/or abandoned a project - READ THIS! I promise you'll thank me later!

Do you read any small business books? If so, which ones do you recommend?

xo KB

// Book Club: Carry On, Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton

Carry On, Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton

amazon // goodreads

This book was so good, y'all. SO GOOD! I posted about this book on Snapchat while on vacation (I read it in one day - on the drive down to Orlando) and so many people screenshot it so I'm hoping some of y'all bought it to read! You won't regret it, I swear.

Glennon writes the popular blog Momastery, and despite the fact I've never read her blog before, I loved her book! It was so honest and funny and it got me right in the feels several times. She references God a lot, and as an atheist that can sometimes be off putting, but the way she addresses her faith really makes it easy to turn into your own "thing" or whatever. Does that make sense? At no point in the book did I feel like I couldn't relate simply because there was a difference in belief. That was an pleasant surprise honestly. I swear I was in tears at so many points in that book. Crying from laughter, then crying from sadness or heartache. 

Carry On, Warrior discusses Glennon's battle with a myriad of challenges including alcoholism, drug use, and jail time. She writes in a way that makes you say "Oh my gosh, me too!" or "I wish we could be friends!" She has such a way of being relatable and humble. I really dig that. 

I truly think any human could find this book entertaining and uplifting. I hate that I bought it back in April 2014 and only now got around to reading it, but I'll definitely be pre-ordering her new book Love Warrior which comes out next month!

Now I'm going to go read her blog!

Any books you recommend I check out?

xo KB

// Book Club: Don't Worry, It Gets Worse by Alida Nugent

Don't Worry, It Gets Worse by Alida Nugent

amazon // goodreads

Another book born from a blog! What can I say? I love blogs, and I love books, so clearly I love books from blogs. Alida Nugent writes the popular Tumblr blog The Frenemy. Like last week's review I had never read the blog before finding the book, but I absolutely fell. in. love. with Alida's writing style and personality. It's a completely different take on adulting than Carry On, Warrior, but equally as relatable. If you're a 20-something trying to navigate the world post-college/pre-marriage, please read this book. I read it over the span of 2 days on vacation, and I wanted to read more! 

Even though plenty of things aren't exactly relatable at this point in my life (married / kids / divorced), Alida found a way to keep me interested and engaged throughout the book. I found myself super intrigued by the things I couldn't relate to exactly, and that made it a really fun read. Mostly the book just makes me remember a slightly more simple time where I didn't have to dress 2 tiny humans before coffee each morning haha! 

Lucky for me, Alida wrote another book! And it's on it's way to me as I type this. You Don't Have To Like Me is already speaking to my soul. I know I'm going to love it just as much, if not more, than Don't Worry, It Gets Worse. I'll let you know in a week or two!

xo KB

Business Books That I (Seriously) Swear By

I love business books. I don't know why, but I do. Even in college, if it was a book about graphic design or business cards or anything like that, I had to have it. (Sadly I lost that entire collection in the flood. Boo!) Over the past couple of years I've been stocking up on indie-biz related books and I seriously can't get enough of them. I love to read them because they provide a valuable, unbiased insight into what it takes to run several types of small/handmade shops. Each one features multiple guys and gals in the industry, and you can't help but feel inspired when you flick through the pages. I thought I'd share my favorites today! Maybe you have a small handmade biz/hobby that you'd like to grow. If so, consider picking one of these up or seeing if you can borrow from a friend! I can't tell you how many times I've cycled back to them.

Craft, Inc. was one of the very first "crafty" business book I picked up. Along with Creative, Inc. I have found it to be an invaluable resource for so many little things you may not even think of when you consider starting a business. I really love that Craft, Inc. also had a Business Planner you could purchase to have all of your ideas in one place. To this day, years later, I still haven't used pen to write in it. I think that's because I'm fickle and I like having the option to switch things up. It was seriously a great tool to jumpstart the whole thing though. (There is a new revised version of Craft, Inc. available)

Creative, Inc., like I said, was one of the very first books I picked up. I remember that I let it sit on my shelf for entirely too long before finally delving in. Once I did though, that was it! This book is great because it doesn't limit it's audience to just craft show vendors. It's a great resource for freelance designers, writers, and illustrators (just to name a few!). Blog, Inc. and Mom, Inc. are both pretty new to the market. You may have caught wind of Joy's book tour which has been happening here in the past few weeks for Blog, Inc. Mom, Inc. is for the mom who works from home and juggles both children and a professional workload, no matter what that may be. I haven't finished either of these yet but I'm already loving what I've read since bouncing back and forth. The Inc. books really provide a boatload of information and insight without feeling like they're going to overwhelm you. I think that's my favorite characteristic of them.

The Boss of You was recommended to me by Beca last year. I quickly picked it up off of Amazon and much like Creative, Inc., I let it sit around and gather dust. I finally found myself with some spare time one night and I blew through it. I love the spin of it being a female-aimed book. Granted, all of the others have a definite feminine spin, but with the exception of Mom, Inc. they could all be written for guys, too. The Boss of You is written to inspire the inner business woman in you to take charge and make things happen.

These two books by Kari Chapin are goldmines. The Handmade Marketplace came out a few years ago and I remember first seeing it when I lived in NYC. It's a great starter book for a wide variety of handmade artisans. Regardless of whether you sell at craft fairs, flea markets, Etsy, or your own brick and mortar. You've probably noticed the plethora of tiny post-it notes on the Grow Your Handmade Business book, yeah? Well, you know I love post-its! I ordered this one at the same time I picked up Mom, Inc. and Blog, Inc. Without a doubt I think this book might have to be my favorite. Kari packs in a bunch of "exercises" for you to brainstorm and work through your ideal business plan. I think it's such a valuable tool and I've been taking full advantage of it. 

Are you a biz-book reader? Do you have any you'd like to recommend? I'm always on the hunt for books that will help expand my mind and aid in growing my businesses. I know it really comes down to hard work and smart business decisions, but hearing how other ladies have gone about it really inspires me. All of these are truly wonderful in my opinion! Happy Wednesday, friends!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

PS; If you look under the main part of the Amazon page, you'll see options to buy these books in different "packages"... that'll save you quite a bit of money! You can get bath Kari Chapin books for only $21, rather than the typical $26-$33)

* Disclosure: This post features affiliate links from Amazon. If you'd prefer not to purchase through me, that's totally fine! Just go to Amazon.com :)

Book Club: I've Got Your Number

I feel like I never really have time to read anymore. And by I never really have time I actually mean I never make time. I have plenty of chances to fit in a few chapters here and there, but yesterday was the first day in years that I actually sat down with the intention of thoroughly enjoying a book. My stepdad and Mike were busy putting up a fence in our backyard, and my mom was having a time playing with Toby and watching Power Rangers, so I nestled up on the bench in our backyard and cracked open I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella.

Sophie Kinsella is one of my favorite authors (number two, actually). She's famous for the Shopaholic series... you know, the one that was hacked to death and made into that terrible Isla Fisher movie? Yeah, that one. Don't let that movie ruin the series, or any of her other novels, for you. They're full of British humor, wit, dynamic characters and chances are you'll probably cry at some point, too. Sophie also writes under the pen-name Madeline Wickham and she's got a slew of books out for the picking! I've ready every single Sophie Kinsella book (I think! Less Twenties Girl which is sitting on my bookshelf), and now I think I might venture into the M. Wickham section, too. 

Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that yesterday I made the conscious decision to forgo anything else I had to do, and to just relax. I've really benefitted from not doing any design work on the weekends. It's nice to just enjoy a little bit of down time, even if it is interrupted by bartending. I'm slowly working out of my workaholic ways. Now more about this book...

I picked it up the day after it hit the shelves in February, and I'm really bummed it took me this long to read it. It was so good! I read the entire 434 page novel yesterday in one go. I simply couldn't put it down. I'm such a sucker for British chick-flick type books. If they were made into (not crappy) movies, I'd watch them all. (Confession: As much as I hate the changes, exclusions and the all around not-true-to-book Shopaholic movie, I've seen it several times)

UK/Australian cover vs. US/Canadian

Here's the synopsis for I've Got Your Number...

Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry her ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her “happily ever after” begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring in a hotel fire drill but in the panic that follows, her phone is stolen. As she paces shakily around the lobby, she spots an abandoned phone in a trash can. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!

Well, perfect except that the phone’s owner, businessman Sam Roxton, doesn’t agree. He wants his phone back and doesn’t appreciate Poppy reading his messages and wading into his personal life.

What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other’s lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls, and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents . . . she soon realizes that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.

The last 6 pages just had me in tears. There's just something so undeniably relatable to all of Kinsella's characters. They're sweet and genuine, but flawed like the rest of us. Every book I read I feel like I'm hearing the story from a girlfriend, or even experiencing it myself. In my opinion, if a book makes you laugh and cry all in one go, it's a winner!

Yesterday was much needed. A brief 400 page escape from whatever was going on in the world. I'm not sure how often I'll be breezing through books but hopefully I can share more of my favorites and let you know as I go through them. I've never been a huge reader, but when I find something I really connect with, I simply can't stop.

What are some of your favorite reads?