Books – How to Be Creative

10 things that are making my life noticeably better

November 17, 2021November 17, 2021by Kat1 Comment

Conventional wisdom suggests that you should spend money on experiences, not things, because things won’t make you happy. That is… not true for me. Plenty of things I buy make me happy. And moreover, experiences last only the length of that experience. It’s hard to access the feelings an experience gave me once it ends, whereas a favorite dress or pair of boots I get to enjoy over and over again. Having gone to Paris for a week in April isn’t going to do a damn thing for me when I’m stressed out in May, while the linen sheets and essential oils I purchased might actually be a source of comfort then. With that in mind, I wanted to share a few things I’ve bought (or received from other people) that are making my life noticeably better:

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At Home, Books

How I read so much

March 2, 2021March 2, 2021by Kat1 Comment

I read 165 books last year. In a normal year, this would be embarrassing in the way it reveals how little of a social life I had, but it was 2020 so I guess it’s basically fine that all I did was read. Anyway, a lot of people have asked me how I read so much (I suspect that people often say this to justify a blog post they wanted to write anyway, but in this case I promise it’s really true!), so I decided to write this post in case you’d like to know as well.

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At Home, Books, Creativity

How to have a nice life in quarantine, part 1

January 20, 2021January 21, 2021by KatLeave a Comment

Quar is hell. But does it have to be? Not according to my Instagram, which we all know is a perfect facsimile of real life! Joking aside, though, most of us have spent A LOT of time at home for the better part of a year now, and it’s getting kind of old.

My friend, director Ivy Jelisavac, mentioned that she was interested in reading something about how to have a nice life in quarantine, so I decided to use that as a writing prompt. It’s really hard, all of this—and in different ways for different people—so while I don’t have all the answers, I can tell you what’s worked for me. I’m not going to claim I’m thriving in all of this, but I’m not, like, super miserable, which seems like a victory in these times, which are, as well you know, unprecedented.

This is the first part of a ???-part series (I’ll replace those question marks with a number in the next few weeks). Here are a few ideas to start with:

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Books, Creativity, Personal, Things I Love

5 things I love: Week of January 10

January 14, 2021January 20, 2021by KatLeave a Comment

1. Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier

I saw Pizza Girl on a best of 2020 list and knew I’d love it. It reminds me of a Jenny Offill book but with weirder characters and a more-warped plot. I breezed through it and really hope Frazier has another book on the horizon!

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Books, Growth, Peace

5 benefits of a growth mindset

December 19, 2017February 4, 2021by Kat2 Comments

I spent much of the past year reprogramming my brain, but until recently I didn’t have a term for the big change that has had a halo effect over all areas of my life. Recently, through the On Books podcast (also on iTunes), I discovered Carol Dweck’s excellent book Mindset, which gave me the phrase I was looking for: growth mindset. Continue reading “5 benefits of a growth mindset” →