As you start this week, may you be reading something, anything—even just a page. I just finished my traditional holiday novel that I read between Christmas and New Years, and I was reminded how much I love a good story. I got lost in the world of fictional characters and places.

This book stayed with me for days after I finished, and it reinvigorated my love of getting lost in a good piece of fiction. I hope to read many more this year.

I try to always be reading something, even if it’s two paragraphs in a book right before I pass out from an exhausting day. I’ll sometimes read three to five books at once, simply because one only has so much time to read all the books in the world, and because I gravitate towards different types of writing at different times of day, on different days of the week.

Books are lavish but simple entertainment, the very best kind. They keep your brain from turning to mush during the baby years; they teach you things you never knew you wanted to learn; they’re a passport to worlds and cultures and times you’d never otherwise travel. I’m a declutterer at heart, and I yearn to continually live with less—but books are my friends. I agree wholeheartedly with C.S. Lewis.

You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. -C.S. Lewis
Print from Mandipidy

Here’s what I’m currently reading:

• Navigating Early, by Clare Vanderpool—reading out loud with the kids this month.
• Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives, by Richard Swenson—I’ve had this on my Kindle for ages, so somehow it seems apropos to finally read this as I prepare for my book’s release
• Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules, edited by David Sedaris—a collection of Sedaris’ favorite essays and short stories
• Chasing God, by Angie Smith—my friend Angie sent me her newest book, and its premise sounds right up my alley: Angie admits she wasn’t following God; she was trying to catch up with Him.

A quick favor

Notes From a Blue Bike, by Tsh Oxenreider

Thank you all, SO MUCH, for the super helpful feedback about an upcoming book tour for Notes From a Blue Bike! This book has my heart; it’s my baby, so I really cannot wait to share it with each and every one of you. And to say hi to some of you in person? Even better.

If you wouldn’t mind, please answer this quick, one-question poll to help us get a feel for how many people to guesstimate for each gathering (if you’re reading this via RSS or email, you may need to click over).

[gravityform id=”6″ name=”Blue Bike Book Tour: location possibilities”]

A note: at the moment, we’re not adding new cities—I know many of you had ideas for other locales, and I’m willing to hear them in the near future! But for this week, I need to focus on these cities. Thanks for understanding.

I’d love to hear what you’re reading this month! Do share.