All Kinds of Things

 

Vivian Forest has been out of the country a grand total of one time, so when she gets the chance to tag along on her daughter Maddie’s work trip to England to style a royal family member, she can’t refuse. She’s excited to spend the holidays taking in the magnificent British sights, but what she doesn’t expect is to become instantly attracted to a certain private secretary, his charming accent, and unyielding formality.

Malcolm Hudson has worked for the Queen for years and has never given a personal, private tour—until now. He is intrigued by Vivian the moment he meets her and finds himself making excuses just to spend time with her. When flirtatious banter turns into a kiss under the mistletoe, things snowball into a full-on fling.

Despite a ticking timer on their holiday romance, they are completely fine with ending their short, steamy affair come New Year’s Day. . .or are they?

Pages: 304

Plenty of historians can tell you which president had the most effective economic strategies, and which president helped shape our current political parties, but can any of them tell you what to do if you encounter Chester A. Arthur in a bare-knuckled boxing fight? This book will teach you how to be better, stronger, faster, and more deadly than the most powerful (and craziest) men in history.

Pages: 255

A collection of tales to invade and paralyse the mind as the safe light of day is infiltrated by the shadows of the night. As you read, the clutching fingers of terror brush lightly across the nape of the neck, reach round from behind to clutch and lock themselves, white-knuckled, around the throat.

This is the horror of ordinary people and everyday objects that become strangely altered; a world where nothing is ever quite what it seems, where the familiar and the friendly lure and deceive. A world where madness and blind panic become the only reality.

Pages: 409

I don't think it needs an introduction, plus that description is way too long. 

Pages: 835

Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman, edited by Alan Taylor

Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman, edited by Alan Taylor

The diaries of actor Alan Rickman, spanning 1993-2015. 

469 pages.

Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates by Eric Jay Dolin

Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates by Eric Jay Dolin

During the Age of Exploration, the "Golden Age" of American piracy arrived, spanning from the 1600s to 1700s. At first, colonists supported pirates in a show of solidarity against the Crown. Later, they would vehemently oppose them. Vignettes reveal the true stories behind infamous pirates such as Blackbeard, Stede Bonnet, Captain Kidd, Henry Morgan, and Edward Low, as well as the involvement of well-known historical characters like John Winthrop, Cotton Mather, and Ben Franklin in his printing and publishing days. The tales of these seafaring marauders, stripped of their usual misconceptions and stereotypes, reflect the precarious nature of life in colonial America.  

380 pages.

Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton

Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton

Tom Felton first rose to fame as a child actor with parts in The Borrowers and Anna and the King, but those couldn’t prepare him for his role as Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter, which he would win at the age of 12. He would portray the blond villain on screen for the next decade, returning to a normal life between movies. But how normal can your life be when your alter ego is Harry Potter’s school nemesis? 

With great charm and humor, Tom tells stories of his early days in the business, details his life in both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds, what it was like to work with cinematic legends such as Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, and Ralph Fiennes, and shines a light on his enduring friendships with Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe. 

288 pages.

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser

Everyone believes they know Laura Ingalls Wilder to a certain extent. But there are gaps left out of her famous Little House books, and author Caroline Fraser pulls from unpublished manuscripts, letters, diaries, and land and financial records to fills in those holes. Fraser explores every angle, from Laura's pioneering childhood to her turbulent relationship with her daughter, author and editor Rose Wilder Lane. 

640 pages.

Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe

Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe

At the age of eleven, Cornelius Vanderbilt set out to forge a path in the shipping and railroad industries, and he would eventually become the richest man in America. After his death in 1877, his heirs would quarrel over his vast wealth, creating discord among the remaining family members that can be felt as recently as 2018, when the last Vanderbilt was forced out of The Breakers, the enormous summer home built by Cornelius’s grandson. Anderson Cooper, the great-great-great grandson of the Commodore, as Cornelius was called, chronicles the rise and fall of his ancestors.

317 pages.

Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villians by Bethany Brookshire

Ok but the commentary on how our definition of pest is a thing that's in a place that we think is ours. or is in a place that is inconvenient for us or they're not doing the job we gave them.
Must protect pigeons.
I still think snakes are yucky.
384 Pages

Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown

The introduction chapter really decided to come at me.... 
Yes I'm reading it for therapy.
Ok but the mention of liberation theology from Latin America....
needs to see the pdf/or the print version of it
296 Pages

Unmasking Autism by Devon Price

The amount of notes I took.
ADHD and PTSD being sibling conditions to autism. like .,sfjkld
"you're only seen as less adult and less of a person if you disrupt the illusions of self-sufficiency" 
"Sensitivity, despite being a sign of attentiveness and discernment, is frowned upon when you're good at detecting things people would rather not see"
 "it is not cultural appropriation or faking a disability to try out these tools. if autism friendly resources and adaptions prove helpful to you--that's another key signal that you belong in our spaces, or at the very least have a great deal in common with us"
304 Pages

The Clutter Connection by Cassandra Aarssen

Not me taking notes.
No one's surprised to find out that I need the easiest to put away with everything out to see.
257 Pages

Real Life Organizing by Cassandra Aarssen

And no one is surprised that my organizing style is the same as a child's. AKA easy to put away and super visible.
Also I love the author cause she has a youtube channel...and the clutterbug concept.
I wish the reader had been different because she had a little bit of the like...peppy commercial vibes...and that just isn't my vibe.
Also the idea of looking at your piles of stuff and where it naturally ends up and trying to like...adapt to that instead of like.....making life complicated and making stuff difficult to put away.
204 Pages

Organizing for the Rest of Us by Dana K White

The most obvious solution to problems that I know but I don't know: hooks on the backs of doors.
and blaming the container.
Just like...the practicality of it and like...the not being perfect
224 Pages

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

 

Pages: 321

"The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. This remarkable reimagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning reveals the history of racist ideas in America, and inspires hope for an antiracist future. It takes you on a race journey from then to now, shows you why we feel how we feel, and why the poison of racism lingers. It also proves that while racist ideas have always been easy to fabricate and distribute, they can also be discredited.

Through a gripping, fast-paced, and energizing narrative written by beloved award-winner Jason Reynolds, this book shines a light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas--and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives."

This 'Not History Book' did an amazing job at providing an accessible overview of the history of racism and antiracism and how it has influenced its current state. I would definitely recommend this to anyone as a starting point. It is aimed at middle to highschool age, but I think adults will benefit from reading this too, and may want to read the original Stamped for more details.

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman

 Pages: 296

"Maus is a haunting tale within a tale. Vladek’s harrowing story of survival is woven into the author’s account of his tortured relationship with his aging father. Against the backdrop of guilt brought by survival, they stage a normal life of small arguments and unhappy visits. This astonishing retelling of our century’s grisliest news is a story of survival, not only of Vladek but of the children who survive even the survivors. Maus studies the bloody pawprints of history and tracks its meaning for all of us."

I am starting banned books week early this year with this difficult yet amazing graphic novel. The author does not hold back in describing the holocaust through his fathers experiences, and the experience of getting the story out of him. This is a book that I wish more people would read. It is so haunting and powerful in telling the duel stories, that of the holocaust survivor and their children trying to make sense of the past. 

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

So I tried working through this book while I was in college, and I think I got to like...week 6...which honestly tracks. So I listened to the whole thing, and I think I'll go through it week by week with already finished.
I really need to get back into writing morning pages....and artist's dates.... like. fsjkdlsasfjkld
272 Pages

The Hilarious World of Depression by John Moe

I'm not crying....pffttt. what are you talking about..me feeling seen...whaat. 
Also like...the humor..cause it just....matches mine
Also let's go off about talking about mental illness and depression and like...destigmatizing it... I am here for it. My favorite subject. 
304 Pages

When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel H. Pink

the napacino... I love it.
Finally someone saying that naps are good.
....is having mid-life crisis in the quarter life...
288 Pages 

The New York Public Library Guide to Organizing a Home Library by Kathie Coblentz

I loved some of the humor, but also like...it wasn't ground-breaking. It was just a brief collection of other references, which is fine. 
128 Pages

TS Song: NA....cause it's nonfiction

The Duchess Countess: The Woman Who Scandalized Eighteenth-Century London by Catherine Ostler

The Duchess Countess: The Woman Who Scandalized Eighteenth-Century London by Catherine Ostler

As maid of honor to Augusta, Princess of Wales, Elizabeth Chudleigh enjoys a luxurious life. She is well-known to the public, and even served as the inspiration for Becky Sharp in William Makepeace Thackeray's Vanity Fair. 

A young Elizabeth elopes with Augustus Hervey, the heir to an earldom. Both would quickly regret the marriage and prefer to pretend it never took place. Many years later, Elizabeth would have a happy second marriage to a duke--but news of her first marriage began to spread, culminating in a sensational bigamy trial that captivated all of England, particularly since Elizabeth refused to surrender quietly. 

432 pages.

The Home Edit by Clea Shearer, Joanna Teplin

The Home Edit
I loved the way this book was organized in the sense that it started off with small areas that would be easier to tackle, and that it show various ways to organize everything, because every space is different. (Yes I'm looking at the Entryway section, because I literally just drop my backpack at my door and pray it doesn't get in the way)
256 Pages

The Home Edit Life
.....Did I notice how this book said that I didn't have to get rid of any of my books.....yes...my friend's weren't happy with the line. 
Storing yarn in file holders/magazine boxes...like... fjklds I love it.
The pictures are so fricking satisfying...like...it's goals but energy
256 Pages