37 Seconds: Dying Revealed Heaven’s Help—A Mother’s Journey by Stephanie Arnold

37 Seconds is a fascinating account of Stephanie Arnold’s near death experience. She had a premonition that she was going to die having her second child.

Stephanie did die for 37 seconds and had an amazing spiritual experience. Her religious upbringing is in Judaism which makes for a totally different lens of perception than other NDEs (near death experiences) that I have studied.

I like reading books about near death experiences and examinations of consciousness. So far, I’ve read twenty one books by folks from different religions and parts of the world about their NDE and what they’ve brought back with them to their normal, every day lives.

I found it interesting that the focus of Stephanie’s consciousness during the event was on her deceased relatives and their support of the physical world rather than on a location on a higher level where people go to hang out around their G-d for the rest of eternity.

Another portion of the account that made it different than others that I’ve read on the topic is that Stephanie accessed her memories of the time during her 37 second death through hypnosis.

Other NDE writers (Piper, Moorjani, Burpo, et al) came out of their NDEs with memories of what went down. Stephanie, because of the extreme trauma and the premonitions about her death that haunted her for months before the actual event, repressed her NDE.

Isn’t it fascinating? The study of consciousness never ceases to surprise me. It seems that not only do our lenses of perception create what we see in other modes of existence, but we can choose whether to access those perceptions or not.

I also liked Stephanie’s repeated message through 37 Seconds of trusting your own intuitions and believing in that inner voice. I feel that in modern society, we’ve advanced in so many ways both scientifically and technologically, that we discount simpler modes of understanding and knowledge.

Why try learning about why your body is presenting symptoms of anxiety and stress when we can just medicate it away? Why believe in your dreams and intuitions when educated doctors and scans show that nothing is wrong?

If Stephanie had listened to the experts, she would be dead. She is a great role model for a return to trusting ourselves. Doctors, medicine, and therapy have their place but so do dreams, intuitions, and the inner voice.

If you enjoyed 37 Seconds, try Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences: How Understanding NDEs Can Help Us Live More Fully by Penny Satori or Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives by Michael Newton.

Thank you for reading!

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

This is the story of a golem and a jinni, how they discover who they are, their strengths, their weaknesses, and how, even though they’re composed of completely different elements, they may just be the best friend for each other in a human world where they will never truly belong.

As I was reading The Golem and the Jinni, enjoying their adventures and waiting to see how they would discover their origins, I didn’t consider for a moment the idea that the tale could be a metaphor for something else.

When I read the Q&A with the author at the end of the book, I was really kicking myself. Of course, it made total sense as a metaphor for cultural differences. And, when I thought about it that way, I liked the story even more.

On the other hand, this tale can be completely enjoyed and interpreted as a historical fiction/fairytale and, if you’re not in the mood to think any deeper than that, it doesn’t matter, because it’s still awesome. So, it’s a win/win book for the deep thinkers and the no-thinkers.

The Golem and the Jinni is not a fast read. Wecker really builds the characters and gives the back story for everybody who comes across the page.

At first I was like, “Do we really need to know the ice cream guy’s life story?” and I was getting frustrated with the pacing of it. But, as her characters came together and their lives began to intertwine, I began to appreciate the true artistry of the novel.

It is like an orchestral fugue in which the instruments play their themes one by one at the beginning, which is beautiful, but when the tones combine, it lifts the piece to a whole other place. That is The Golem and the Jinni. Give it the time and space to build the characters and you will be blown away by the ending. At least, I was.

Wecker has a talent for creating multi-layered characters. Though the golem is only a few hours old, the author manages to instill in her a childlike curiosity mixed with the timelessness of a magical creature.

In this passage, the golem is seeing the Statue of Liberty for the first time: “The deck was crowded with people, and at first the Golem didn’t see what they were waving at. But then, there she was: a gray-green woman standing in the middle of the water, holding a tablet and bearing aloft a torch. Her gaze was unblinking, and she stood so still: was it another golem? … And those on deck were waving and shouting at her with jubilation, crying even as they smiled. This, too, the Golem thought, was a constructed woman. Whatever she meant to the others, she was loved and respected for it. For the first time… the Golem felt something like hope. pg 17 ebook.

She also describes scenes just beautifully. In this passage, the Jinni sees New York harbor: “The Jinni leaned against the railing, transfixed by the view. He was a creature of the desert, and never in his life had he come so close to this much water. It lapped at the stone below his feet, reaching now higher, now lower. Muted colors floated on its surface, and afternoon sunlight reflecting in the ever-changing dips of the waves. Still it was hard to believe that this was not some expert illusion, intended to befuddle him. At any moment he expected the city and water to dissolve, to be replaced by the familiar steppes and plateaus of the Syrian Desert, his home for close to two hundred years.” pg 23 ebook

I loved the little, let’s call them “wisdom nuggets,” that Wecker sprinkled throughout the story. Like: “A man might desire something for a moment, while a larger part of him rejects it. You’ll need to learn to judge people by their actions, not their thoughts.” pg 40 ebook. Or: “Men need no reason to cause mischief, only an excuse!” pg 172 ebook.

I also connected with this passage where the Jinni is thinking about the power of names: “To him the new name suggested that the changes he’d undergone were so drastic, so pervasive, that he was no longer the same being at all. He tried not to dwell on such dark thoughts, and instead concentrated on speaking politely, and maintaining his story- but every so often, as he listened to the chatter of yet more visitors, he spoke his true name to himself in the back of his mind, and took comfort in the sound.” pg 68 ebook.

I recommend The Golem and the Jinni for folks who enjoy historical fiction blended with fantasy, folks who love deep characters, and for anyone who loves to read beautiful prose. This book has all of that.

Thanks for reading!

Tin Star by Cecil Castellucci

Tin Star is the story of Tula Bane, a teenager who joined a space colonizing cult from Earth. She is abandoned on a way station near the edge of the known universe on the way to her new home.

How will Tula Bane survive among aliens who think human beings are the worst? Will she ever be able to go home to Earth or the colony’s planet? How will she manage to put bread on the table?

I love a good space opera and I thought that I would enjoy Tin Star more than I did.

The promise of books set in space, in my opinion, is the opportunity for unique interstellar exploration and worlds created entirely from the author’s imagination. Because of Tula’s unique plight- being stuck in what is essentially a space gas station- the author left herself very little room to write a creative story.

Mainly, Tin Star deals with character development and social struggles, not adventuring in new places.

The villain of the tale was charismatic and creepy. Take this description: “He had his hand on my shoulder in a way that he had a million times before. Only before it was comforting, encouraging, affectionate. Now it was menacing. He was looking at me and his face was smiling. To anyone looking from afar, he seemed to be pleased with me, but it was just a mask. His attitude shifted from concerned leader to unknowable monster.” pg 4

Tula manages to befriend a shady, insect-like alien named Heckleck. He’s my favorite character.

In this passage, Heckleck explains the problems Tula will face in trying to leave the station: “I know about you,” Heckleck said. “Everyone does. And you will never get off this station. You are nobody. And worse, you’re a Human. Even if you did not get on a ship that would take one of your kind, you’d have nowhere to go but to roam like the others of your kind do.” pg 35.

Keeping it real: with Heckleck.

I thought Cecil Castellucci could have done more with the cultural differences between Tula and the others on the station.

One of the most interesting exchanges in the book was between Tula and Tournour, the head of the outpost. She’s trying to figure out how old he is and, because they’re from different planets/species, it’s a surreal conversation. More of that would have been nice.

But Castellucci wrote cultural and language barriers out of the story by introducing nanites into Tula’s bloodstream to translate alien languages for her.

Something that Castellucci did well was writing profound silences between characters into her story. For much of this story, Tula finds herself standing around with Heckleck and Tournour and having nothing to say. But, somehow, it works.

I liked how Castellucci wrote the thoughts spinning through Tula’s mind at these moments. It reminded me of myself when I can’t think of anything to say: “It was a silent agreement between us that if we spoke too much then we would have to talk about the practical things. … If we ever spoke of the things that truly pressed up against us, our very real worries, our seemingly impossibly plans for escape, our divergent hopes for the future, our bubble would blow apart.” pg 184

This book in three lines: “In the end, good must win over evil. The trouble is trying to figure out which is which. Sometimes they look so much alike.” pg 204

Read this book if you enjoy light, young adult drama in space. If you’re looking for a meaty, space adventure, you’ll need to find another title.

Some read-alikes are: The Knife of Never Letting Go (teen trying to survive on an alien planet) or Gated (teen trying to leave a cult).

Thank you to Roaring Brook Press for sending an advance reader copy of this book. And, thank you for reading!

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

In Sleeping Giants, a large, metal object shaped like a gigantic hand is found in South Dakota. It glows with its own light and scientists have no idea what it is made of or what it can do. And so, the mystery and adventure begins.

I enjoyed the story a lot but not how it was written. Neuvel tells Sleeping Giants through a series of “case files” or question and answer sessions between the main characters and a mysterious, all-powerful figure who is manipulating the scenario from behind the scenes.

This method of storytelling seemed especially ridiculous during some of the action scenes, when Neuvel had the characters talking to each other on the phone, describing what was happening to them as it occurred.

But, otherwise, the Q & A setup gave readers a behind-the-scenes look at what was going on in the character’s minds and allowed for a lot of personality development.

I wish that Neuvel had switched back and forth between traditional storytelling and the “case file” thing, so that he could both tell the story and have the in-depth character portions. Maybe he could do something like that in the next book.

I was nervous that Sleeping Giants was going to be more science fiction than fantasy, but it wasn’t. There are only a few mind-boggling moments when the scientists are trying to figure out mathematics with a base of 8 rather than a base of 10.

Mostly, The Sleeping Giants asks the questions: what would happen to humanity if something very strange and not of our civilization was discovered on earth? What would that mean for world politics? And how, on an individual level, would everyone involved handle it?

Kara Resnik, a pilot, was my favorite character in this story. She’s impulsive, passionate, and honest.

In this passage, she’s talking about the possibility of leaving the project before it’s completed: What would I do anyway? Go about my business as if nothing ever happened? I couldn’t even talk about it to anyone. This is gonna sound incredibly selfish, but I’d get bored to death unless someone started World War III or something.” pg 54

The moral dilemma for the scientists involved in the project is interesting.

In this passage, lead scientist Rose Franklin talks about the fact that the technology discovered could be used for good or ill, depending on who controls it and how that makes her complicit in their actions, because she’s the one figuring out how it works: “What I’ve been trying so hard to deny is that I’m loving every minute of it. … I’m a scientist, and this is what I breathe for. If I had learn to live with that, I might be able to sleep again.” pg 167

If you enjoyed Sleeping Giants, you may want to pick up The Many Selves of Katherine North by Emma Geen (in which, advanced technology raises moral questions) or The Interminables by Paige Orwen (in a dystopian world, humanity tries to save itself from inter-dimensional creatures, but maybe some solutions aren’t worth the cost).

Big thanks to the Goodreads First Reads Program for a free copy of this book. And, thank you for reading!

Shutter by Courtney Alameda

Micheline Helsing is the last of the line of Van Helsings, of monster slaying fame. In this version of the tale, Micheline slays ghosts and otherworldly beings by capturing their visages on film, thereby taking away their power and banishing back to the realms where they belong.

One night, Micheline and her team has a mission go awry and now, because of a curse, they are going to die. Unless, they can find the ghost that caused the sickness, rid the world of it, and save themselves. The clock is ticking…

Shutter was a Brom Stoker award nominee for Best First Novel. That’s what drew me to this creepy tale.

Horror isn’t my usual genre and the scary parts of this tale really scared the heck out of me. If horror is your thing, this one might not be scary enough. Reading is such a personal experience, you know? It’s hard to predict.

Alameda was at her best during the truly terrifying moments, which, in my opinion, were the undead creatures and anything scenario involving a mirror. Everybody has mirrors in their homes. What if, hypothetically, these were portals into other worlds and *things* could come crawling out of them into this one- eeeeeek!

I didn’t enjoy the so-so character building, teen angst or abusive relationship with the father. That could be a potential trigger too.

Micheline is the type of teen heroine that I met in the Divergent trilogy and wasn’t impressed with then: not trusting anyone in authority with her problems even though they could potentially help her, throwing herself into life threatening situations without proper planning and, therefore, putting her friends in danger too, and pining for the lantern-jawed guy with the ridiculously pumped up fighting skills.

If it wasn’t for the insanely entertaining parts with the ghosts, mirrors, strong friendships with her team and tragic back story, this would be a two-star book instead of a four. But, I believe that its positive attributes outweighed the negatives. Again, reading is such a personal trip. You may disagree. And that’s ok.

For a debut book, Shutter is really very good. I read the last couple chapters of this in a rush because I was terrified for the well-being of the main characters.

If you love young adult horror tales, you should give this one a read. Some read-alikes: Jackaby or 13 Days of Midnight. Shutter is scarier than either of those, but they have similar themes.

Thanks for reading!

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley

Aza Ray Boyle can’t breathe. It seems like she has always been sick- inexplicably short of breath and weak.

This continuous illness has made her always feel different from the people around her. But, perhaps, there are stranger and more exotic reasons why she is different. Ones that Aza can’t even imagine…

Jason is Aza’s dearest friend. They are so close that they almost speak their own language.

He realizes there is more to Aza than meets the eye. How will Jason handle it when he discovers the shocking truth?

This young adult fantasy is weird, but I enjoyed it.

That’s probably because I read a lot of weird, non-fiction. The story of Magonia, a world in the sky above the every day world which we know, has shown up in some of those books.

One of those books, Passport to Magonia: On UFOs, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds, captured my imagination.

That book recounts an incident where a bunch of villagers were holding church service and they heard a crash outside. They went to investigate the noise and discovered what appeared to be a ship anchor attached to the roof of their church. It was connected to, this just blows my mind, a ship in the sky. This supposedly happened in 1211 AD.

The astonishing thing about Passport to Magonia is it has pages and pages of stories like that, eyewitness accounts of bizarre ships, people, and incidents concerning people from the sky. And they all actually happened, reportedly.

I remember thinking that an author needed to get her hands on these stories and turn it into something fantastic. Maria Dahvana Headley used a different source material than the book that I read, but does a good job bringing a mysterious blip in history to life.

She has the ability to interweave actual events with fantasy fiction story lines so that the two begin to blur in the reader’s mind.

I read Headley’s first book Queen of Kings years ago and I remember being struck by its originality.

Headley took Cleopatra’s life and turned it into a vampire story. It sounds sort of silly described that way, (oh, ANOTHER vampire story) but it is actually rather fun.

I had read Margaret George’s The Memoirs of Cleopatra shortly before Queen of Kings so I had a pretty good idea of the actual story of the Egyptian queen.

Back to this book, Magonia isn’t going to appeal to everyone.

I was, at first, rather turned off by the uber-intellectual back and forth conversations of the main characters- Jason and Aza.

I think, since the mega success of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, authors make their teenage protagonists so brainy and well-spoken, it is just unbelievable.

I mean, it’s been awhile, but I remember high school. My peers and I were lucky if we could string two cogent sentences together, let alone present verbal dissertations on the meaning of pi.

Anyway, once I was able to look past their flowery repartee, I got really into the story.

Headley paints a magical and dangerous world.

If you enjoyed Magonia, you may also enjoy The Mermaid’s Sister or Under the Empyrean Sky. Both are young adult novels and take place in fantasy worlds that are so close to the world we know, but different in surprising ways.

Check out my review of Aerie, the sequel to this book.

Thanks for reading!

Realizing Soul — From Intuition to an Inspired Life by Paul Brunton

Paul Brunton was an English philosopher who dedicated his life to the spiritual journey.

I had never read the teachings of Brunton before Realizing Soul and I found him to be very similar to Eckhart Tolle or, interestingly enough, Abraham Hicks.

He was like Eckhart Tolle in that he stressed the importance of the Now moment.

Brunton was like Abraham Hicks in that his description of the “Oversoul” could walk hand in hand with Hick’s “Vortex of Creation”. In fact, in my mind when I was reading this, I just substituted Oversoul for Vortex because I was more familiar with Hick’s thoughts on the matter than Brunton’s.

There is quite a lot of information in Realizing Soul, though it isn’t very long. In fact, I wish that some of the passages had been longer. This book was mainly a compilation of ideas from many of Brunton’s different writings.

I suppose that it gives the reader a great overview of the various works but I felt that it lacked some depth because of the shortened sections which were each generally only a couple of sentences long.

Some parts I want to remember:
“…That which he has been seeking so ardently has been within himself all the time. For there at the core of his being, hidden away underneath all the weakness, passion, pettiness, fear, and ignorance, dwells light, love, peace, and truth. The windows of his heart open on eternity, only he has kept them closed! He is as near the sacred spirit of God as he ever shall be, but he must open his eyes to see it. Man’s divine estate is there deep within himself. But he must claim it.”pg 18

“The personal ego of man forms itself out of the impersonal life of the universe like a wave forming itself out of the ocean. It constricts, confines, restricts, and limits that infinite life to a small finite area. The wave does just the same to the water of the ocean. The ego shuts out so much of the power and intelligence contained in the universal being that it seems to belong to an entirely different and utterly inferior order of existence. The wave, too, since it forms itself only on the surface of the water gives no indication in its tiny stature of the tremendous depth and breadth and volume of water beneath it…” pg 27

“What can I do to break this barren, monotonous, dreary, and sterile spiritual desert of my existence? The answer is if you cannot meditate successfully go to nature, where she is quiet or beautiful; go to art where it is majestic, exalting; go to hear some great soul speak, whether in private talk or public address; go to literature, find a great inspired book written by someone who has had the glimpses (of the divine within life).” pg 78

“Man as scientist has put under observation countless objects on earth, in sea and sky. He has thoroughly examined them. But man as man has put himself under a shallower observation. He has limited his scrutiny first to the body, second to what thinking can find. Yet a deeper level exists, where a deeper hidden self can be found.” pg 96

For the most part, I found Realizing Soul to be very beautiful and rich in meaning. There were some bits on karma and ego illusion that didn’t really resonate with me, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t speak to others. If you want more of Brunton’s writings, they can be found online for free at this website: http://www.paulbruntondailynote.se/

If you enjoyed this book, you may want to listen to some of Eckhart Tolle’s lectures like Even the Sun will Die, Gateways to Now, or pick up the book, Stillness Speaks. Readers may also enjoy The Art of Living and Dying: Celebrating Life and Celebrating Death by Osho.

Thanks to the Goodreads First Reads program for a free copy of this book. And, thank you for reading!

Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Hamilton: The Revolution is a musical that uses hip-hop to tell the story of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founders of the United States. This book is not just the libretto, but also the story behind the musical.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

I have not heard this libretto performed, yet, so the part of Hamilton that stuck out the most for me was not the music (which might change after I hear it live) but the enormous amount of research that Miranda put into the creation of it.

I also enjoyed the copious details of his creative process. Every artist takes a different route to produce a masterpiece. Miranda credits the love for his wife as the foundation of this work, even calling Hamilton: The Revolution a “love letter” to her.

Love seems to be the driving force behind most creative endeavors, doesn’t it?

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels.com

Back to the history behind Hamilton: I loved that Miranda included photographs of the actual documents and direct quotations from the figures of the period. This isn’t just a fun musical that uses hip hop to tell its story. This is history being retold in a way that appeals to modern sensibilities.

About Hamilton’s ambition that is highlighted in the song My Shot, Miranda says: “A character needs to want something pretty badly to sing about it for two and half hours… Alexander Hamilton lived hard, wrote fast, and hustled his a** off. “For to confess my weakness, Ned,” he wrote to a friend at age 14, “my Ambition is prevalent.” This man was born to perform an “I want” song. pg 21

I don’t know that I knew what the word ‘ambition’ meant at 14… a sign of things to come perhaps.

I loved all of the information about the set construction and having New York itself as the background: “The founders tended to be country boys. Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and many other key figures of the revolution hailed from, and frequently returned to, estates and farms out of town… It’s no wonder that John Adams, who despised Hamilton, also despised the town and its citizens: “They talk very loud, very fast, and all together,” he complained…” pg 38

Still rather true today, yes? I tease… 🙂

Photo by TheUknownPhotographer on Pexels.com

I didn’t know about Hamilton’s actual love poem to Eliza about which, Miranda says, “(she) wore it in a necklace for the rest of her life”:

“Before no mortal ever knew, A love like mine so tender, true, Completely wretched- you away, And but half blessed e’en while you stay. If present love (illegible) face, Deny you to my fond embrace, No joy unmixed my bosom warms, But when my angel’s in my arms.” pg 69

He wooed her with poetry- smart man.

I enjoyed the introduction to Angelica Schuyler, an incredibly bright woman in a time when she couldn’t really use that intellect in a constructive way.

In this passage, Miranda talks about how difficult her brilliant character is to portray and how hard her lines are to say: “Renee was the first one who came in and made us say, ‘Oh, she thinks exactly that fast,” he recalls. Her whirring brain made Angelica come alive in a new way… Renee acknowledges that she does indeed think pretty fast- “too fast to have good handwriting.”pg 79

That must be why I have bad handwriting too. 🙂

I loved the empowering message of Hamilton: “There are plenty of debatable lessons to be drawn from Alexander Hamilton’s life, but that one is clear. The poor bastard orphan from the islands ought to have died a dozen times but somehow lived to help to found the nation…”There are strong minds in every walk of life that will rise superior to the disadvantages of situation and will command the tribute due to their merit,” Hamilton wrote in The Federalist No. 36. Look no further than his own life for proof of that statement.” pg 149

One of the rules of fostering creativity is to not be afraid to make mistakes. They were very brave in the development of Hamilton: “Lin, Tommy, and their collaborators shared an eagerness to try things- to try everything- to find what worked best. “New discoveries, new mistakes” was the daily goal that Tommy had announced for the company at their first rehearsal the previous November.” pg 206

The pages of this book are packed with the stories, anecdotes, and behind-the-scenes hijinks of the creators, actors/actresses, and historical figures behind Hamilton: The Revolution. Pick it up and treat yourself to the newest Broadway sensation- winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It’s amazing and well worth the time.

Thanks for reading!

Spark Joy: an illustrated master class on the art of organizing and tidying up by Marie Kondo

Spark Joy is author Marie Kondō’s follow up to her internationally best-selling title, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.

Kondo’s not for everyone — some of her ideas are very different like treating your possessions as if they have spirits of their own and sorting items by smell — but I like her.

I think it’s because she is obviously very passionate about what she teaches. Her excitement seems to seek from the pages of her book.

This companion novel is an excellent book by itself, but, in my opinion, you won’t be able to fully appreciate it unless you’ve read Kondō’s first title. She doesn’t as completely explain her tidying methods in this book as she took the time to in the last. But there was still so much to enjoy here.

She encourages individuals to embrace what they love, even if society doesn’t love it too, like in this section called Save Your Cosplay for Indoors: “…a surprisingly high percentage of my clients have costume-like clothes. To name just a few, I have encountered a Chinese dress, a maid’s outfit, and a belly-dancing costume. … If it brings you joy, but you can’t see yourself wearing it outside, there’s no reason you shouldn’t wear it inside.” pg 25-26

Kondo has a pretty philosophy of living: “I’m convinced that things that have been loved and cherished acquire elegance and character. When we surround ourselves only with things that spark joy and shower them with love, we can transform our home into a space filled with precious artifacts, our very own art museum.” pg 47

One of my favorite parts of both books is Kondo’s theory about socks. It makes me smile: “The socks you wear at home are particularly important because they are the contact point between you and your house, so choose ones that will make the time you spend there even more enjoyable. Balling your socks and stockings, or tying them into knots, is cruel. Please put an end to this practice today.” pg 98 🙂

As much as I enjoy Kondo’s quirkiness, I don’t embrace all of her theories.

For example, I’m still trying to talk myself out of the mountains of books that I have around the house. I have this dream that one day, I’ll have an enormous library with shelves so high that I’ll need a ladder with rollers to climb up and reach the books at the top.

Here’s what Kondo has to say about tidying up the books: “When you’re left with only those books that you love, you’ll discover that the quality of information you receive changes noticeably. The room you make by discarding books seems to create space for an equivalent volume of new information. You’ll soon see that the information you need comes just when you need it, and when it does, you’ll find that you respond to it immediately in a new pattern of behavior that wasn’t possible when you were hoarding books and neglecting the information they contained.”pg 126

Sigh.

Here’s a helpful tip for sorting piles of stuffed animals: “Energy resides in the eyes, which is why it’s best to cover them when discarding something. Once their eyes are hidden, stuffed toys and dolls look much more like objects, and that makes it far easier to part with them. The simplest solution is to place a cloth or piece of paper over their faces.” pg 164-165

Consider some of the most used items in your life for the royal treatment: “…my criterion for deciding which items require royal treatment… is this: the item’s proximity to your body. Items such as forks or undergarments, which come in direct contact with delicate parts of our bodies, should be treated as a rank above the rest whenever possible.” pg 183

Good to know.

And finally: “Tidying is a special event. If you give storage your best effort, experimenting with different ideas and enjoying the whole process, you’ll find that it goes very smoothly. Treat it like a game. Each idea you try will bring immediate results, and you can readjust anytime you like.” pg 206

If only I had that sort of passion for tidying…

Marie Kondo is inspiring but I don’t know if I will ever achieve the emotional highs that she seems to find from it. The best part of this book is: she makes me willing to try.

Other tidying (or anti-tidying) books I’ve reviewed can be read here:

Remodelista: The Organized Home by Julie Carlson

The Joy of Leaving Your Sh*t All Over the Place by Jennifer McCartney

Thanks for reading!

The Help Desk

Sharing reviews and deep thoughts about life.

Tag: reading

37 Seconds: Dying Revealed Heaven’s Help—A Mother’s Journey by Stephanie Arnold

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

Tin Star by Cecil Castellucci

Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

Shutter by Courtney Alameda

Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley

Realizing Soul — From Intuition to an Inspired Life by Paul Brunton

Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Spark Joy: an illustrated master class on the art of organizing and tidying up by Marie Kondo

Menu

Sharing reviews and deep thoughts about life.

Share this Blog:

Share this Blog:

Share this Blog:

Share this Blog:

Share this Blog:

Share this Blog:

Share this Blog:

Share this Blog:

Share this Blog:

Menu