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Reading: Book Club Picks

August 2, 2011August 25, 2015 Crystal // Dreams, etc. Post a comment
Reading: Book Club Picks

Hello, August! I can’t believe that July has ended and you are here already! I’m not complaining though. It just means that fall and winter are one month closer and for that I’m excited! It is looking like you will provide us with a lot of hot weather. All. Month. Long. Thanks for that. I think you will make me love the idea of winter more and more each day.

The first thing I did in August was visit the Miracle Worker, AKA the chiropractor. It was a great start to the month! Now my wrists are adjusted and ready for lots and lots of typing. I’ll have to remember to visit him again soon. It was a rainy day so the dog and I were trapped inside until after work, when the sun started to peek out. I took her outside and she kept looking at the ball so I threw it for her and she ran and had a great time! I have never been able to throw a ball very far (jock is not a word that can be used to describe me!) but she seems to enjoy the catching the ball and the run anyway. After we were inside and she had a chance to relax after her run she came over to me to play tug-of-war. A tired pup she is after all that running! She has already settled in for bed!

I thought I’d start each week a post about what I’m reading. I always love to see what others are reading because it always gives me new ideas. So, as always, feel free to share what you’re reading in the comments or point me to your blog entries if you’ve talked about it!

What I’m Reading

I’m starting this week with books that we’re reading for book club, which will be meeting later this week. My book club doesn’t meet very often because the girl who started it lives in another state. Whenever she visits MN, we try to get everyone together if we can!



A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. We were supposed to discuss this book in December but winter storms foiled our plans while she was here. I read this book already but I read it in little chunks with lots of time passing between so I’m hoping to read it one more time, not only for a refresher, but to read it all at once. I love travel memoirs, but I tend to read foreign travel memoirs. I have a strong, incurable case of wanderlust and dream about all the different countries I have yet to visit outside of the United States, as well as the countries that I have already traveled to and fallen in love with. But it’s nice to read about different places that I can travel to in my own country. There is a lot to see here!

What I love most about Bryson is how hilarious his writing is! He reminds me a lot of one of my favorite writers (also a travel memoirist) J. Maarten Troost. I highly recommend each one of these writers.



I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith. This is also a reread for me as I read it once for a class my first semester at the University of Minnesota. I actually wrote a paper about it and let me tell you, I had the hardest time writing that paper! It was so difficult for me that a bulk of the 10 page paper (and I think the page count was actually bigger than that) was written between the hours of 1am and 5am the day that it was due. I think I still have that paper on my computer, but you can bet that it will never see the light of day again!

That being said, this is a wonderful, beautiful book. As my friend Amber said, I wish I had read this book when I was in high school because I think I would have enjoyed it greatly at that time. I pulled this book out while I was at the chiropractor’s office and even though I’ve already met the narrator, I was refreshed by her voice. The book is filled with many memorable characters: the narrator Cassandra, who is working on her writing skills; her sister Rose, thinking of extra ways to make money for the family; her step-mother Topaz, a model; her father, James, a writer who can no longer write, just to name a few.

There is also a film adaptation of this novel starring Henry Cavill. And other people.

I will definitely report on book club after we meet! It will be this week but we’re still deciding on a date, time and location. We used to meet in Borders but their coffeeshop is already closed. I’m so sad to see Borders go out of business!

All book covers were taken from Barnes & Noble

About Crystal

About Crystal

Hi! I'm Crystal, a millennial learning how to live slowly and sustainably, while still seeking adventure and following my dreams, etc.

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hi!

I'm Crystal, the storyteller behind Dreams, etc. I'm all about learning how to live slowly & sustainably, while also seeking adventure as we follow our dreams, etc.

If only we always remembered to be in touch with o If only we always remembered to be in touch with our loved ones regularly; to tell them that we love them.

This thought has been on my mind the last few weeks as I’ve been in touch with one of my best friends almost daily. They’ve been navigating a scary situation.

But that’s what everyone says, isn’t it? Reach out to those you love. Tell them you love them. Don’t let a lot of time pass.

We all know that. We think about it sometimes. We hear about it when others are in crisis. We’re thankful that we aren’t the ones in crisis and we can remember this lesson through someone else.

But eventually we get caught up in life. Our daily “I love you’s” are reserved for those we live with and sometimes we forget to text someone back… or it takes a few days to do so.

This week as I wondered why we don’t remember this more often I realized it’s probably a good thing. It’s a good thing that we can live life without worrying that tragedy is right around the corner. That would be an exhausting way to live.

It’s also good that we can get little reminders, sometimes not from our own life. So from someone who spent one week numb, another week weepy, and this week sad, remember to send your friends a text. Tell them you love them.
I took these in early January when the snow still I took these in early January when the snow still felt a bit magical, but right now I’m just ready to walk barefoot in grass.

When I was younger I used to imagine what it would be like if we got so much snow that it would be piled high above our doors. I wondered if we’d be able to create tunnels in the snow to move around in.

And this year might just be the year we find out. I’m kidding, of course, but at this point I feel like we’ve been buried in snow. We’re even on track to beat some snow records I think (the amount of snow and the number of consecutive days with snow on the ground.

So. What’s the weather like where you are?
February was here and gone in the blink of an eye February was here and gone in the blink of an eye but contained moments I’ll carry with me forever.
When it’s almost halfway through February and yo When it’s almost halfway through February and you still haven’t posted January’s recap. January was filled with lots of family time. 💙
Hello, friends! 👋🏼 Swipe through for a few g Hello, friends! 👋🏼 Swipe through for a few glimpses from January. As 2022 came to an end I had this feeling that I was preparing to hibernate and I guess, in a way, I have. I’ve been slowly easing into the new year, focused on getting back into a few routines after Iceland and the holidays. And it’s been a great month. I can’t believe it’s almost over. What have your favorite moments of January been?
2022. Looking back on this year it was the year of 2022. Looking back on this year it was the year of so many dreams experiences. Whales. Cape Cod/Nantucket. Iceland. I saw musicals that have I’ve been dreaming of with Moulin Rouge, Wicked, and Six. 

It wasn’t without its stresses and rough moments but I’m grateful for the good that can be found, even when it’s hard.
Let’s journey back to November for the second we Let’s journey back to November for the second weekly dam walk of the month. My dad joined me for this one and we made it somewhat fast because it was a chilly day. “The water looks cold,” I said when we back to the car.

Between Iceland and the below zero, windy, and snowy weather we had last week (which came with requests from my parents not to go) it’s been a few weeks since I’ve been to the dam and I miss it!
Years ago I celebrated Christmas and New Years in Years ago I celebrated Christmas and New Years in Vienna and it still lives in my memory today as such a special time. I know December in Reykjavik will be the same—and not just because I came home with a little over $100 worth of ornaments of all 13 Yule Lads AND their mom AND the Christmas cat. (There was a little bit of miscommunication between my mom and me on that shopping trip. 😂)

It might have been cold (and when that wind hits you don’t want to be outside or by the harbour…I speak from windswept, breath-stolen experience and will forever be grateful for the library we eventually found respite in) and we only saw the sun a few hours each day, but seeing this already charming city decked out in Christmas lights with a skating rink and the prettiest tree secured it’s place in my heart.

Reykjavik, I hope to see you again one day. Soon. Probably not in December, but I’m glad I got to see you in December once.
Last year my niece and I visited New York at Chris Last year my niece and I visited New York at Christmastime and it was fun to see the city decked out in lights. I can also now say that I’ve seen the Rockefeller Christmas Tree and skating rink and the Saks Christmas lights, but I’ve also seen the crowds they draw.

It was completely different in Reykjavik this year. You actually had a chance to skate on the ice rink if you wanted (and I never did the conversation, but I think it’s cheaper) and you could actually walk up to the Christmas tree. Two very different Christmas in the city experiences.
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