Restorative Reading and Writing for Wellness

It’s time for my monthly bonus episode of literate love! Each month, I’ll share what I’ve been reading, writing, learning and loving in hopes that it inspires your own literate life, too.  Today, I share the books I’ve read, the writing prompts I’ve tried, the things I’ve learned and the little things that have brought me literate love in April of 2023.  You'll find the show notes for this epi...

Spring is in the air and that means Spring cleaning, organizing and freshening. Why not bring a bit of that Spring organization to our bookshelves? Today, I am talking about shelf-care: showing love to your bookshelf in mindful and intentional ways to rejuvenate your reading life. You'll find the show notes for this episode here.  Love this podcast and want more? Consider this your invitation...

Today, I’ve officially added a new place to my bookish bucket list: The Kindred Spirits Mailbox in North Carolina.  I am quite smitten with this mailbox and all it represents. Join me today to hear what the Kindred Spirits Mailbox is, what it represents, the books it reminds me of and what it can offer all of us.  You'll find the show notes for this episode here.  Love this podcast and want mo...

Books and notebooks are my favorite tools to create a life we love.  Today, I am talking with someone who offers a new kind of journaling to help others achieve their biggest goals. Jen Laffin is an educator-turned life coach that believes in the power of the pen to guide us to where we want to go next.  In this episode, we’re talking all about journaling for self-discovery: the why, the how and h...

Notebooking is a big part of my life and my most treasured notebook is my Morning Pages journal.  I’ve mentioned it a few times on the podcast, but I haven’t taken a deep dive into the world of Morning Pages….until now.  Join me as I explore what Morning pages are, how you can get started, what to write about, how to sustain your habit over time and answers to common questions.  Come listen! You&#...

I’ve been experimenting with ChatGPT in my professional and personal life and have some strong opinions about how it might be used to boost our reading lives.  Today, I share the specific prompts I used inside ChatGPT to decide what to read next. I was shocked at the accurateness of the information and even more surprised at the level of reflection it prompted about my reading life.  You'll fi...

I love sending literate love out into the world so that my obsession can inspire others to lean into what they love, too.  So, I’ve launched a monthly addition to the Get Lit(erate). podcast: monthly literate love! Each month, I’ll share what I’ve been reading, writing, learning and loving in hopes that it inspires your own literate life, too.  Today, I share the books I’ve read, the writing promp...

March is National Crafting month and I have a new kind of episode for you that blends a set of crafty books with a crafty interview with someone who connects her love of books, libraries and crafts together.  Today, I am talking with Ellen Lumpkin Brown of Sew It! Workshop, a virtual and pop-up sewing studio that embodies books and reading and creativity for a purpose. I recently completed one of...

How’s your Middle Grade March been going? I’m here with a VERY special guest. She is one of my favorite middle grade authors: Ann Braden! Today, we celebrate the power of middle grade novels. You’ll learn about her unexpected backstory, the pieces of her life found inside all three of her books and how her books have become movements. Ann’s energy is contagious and you won’t want to miss her enthu...

Today’s episode was inspired by my recent #ReadYourFeed post. This is where I read the social media feed of a friend or follower and recommend a book I think they’ll love. Last week’s recommendation sent me down a rabbit hole of bookish inspiration full of inspirational books that could be read in small doses and in no particular order. Today, I’m sharing those books. They’re perfect for when you...

I’ve had a dream in my heart for a while… to write a picture book. I’ve always wanted to write my own picture book, but never felt confident or competent enough to actually take any action. Until today. Today, I talked with Wendy Reed, author of over 18 books she’s independently published. We talked about our shared love of books, her courage to self-publish and how that first book led her to writ...

I’m back with another episode on bibliotherapy! I received some many wonderful comments and curious questions about the practice that I decided to create another episode on the topic. But this one is different. Today, I’m walking you through my own unique process of bibliotherapy with a book I’ve read recently. We’ll talk about how to find the time to read, which books to choose, how we engage wit...

Today is a big day on the Get Lit(erate). podcast. I’m interviewing someone that brings me a great deal of journaling inspiration with her colorful, curious and whimsical printable journals and journal pages: Christie Zimmer! I feel like Christie is my journaling twin, as we have very similar philosophies about journaling and notebooking and we often head to our notebook for many of the same reaso...

Middle Grade March is here! We have the entire month to read, enjoy and celebrate all things middle grade children’s literature and that’s exactly what I’m doing today. You'll find the show notes for this episode here. Love this podcast and want more? Consider this your invitation to join my Get Lit(erate) Patreon community! Each month, we take a deep dive into one bookish theme and work to bring...

Some of my most popular episodes on this podcast have been on the power and possibility of bringing a consistent notebooking and journaling habit into our lives. We might think we are too busy, too overwhelmed and too tired to journal daily…and we might be. But honestly, we cannot afford not to and I’ll tell you why. Today, I’m exploring the power of journaling and notebooking to support our menta...

I often bring a lot of whimsy into this podcast. We share books that make us run to the stationary store, celebrate Festivus and make us hungry. We talk about notebook love languages, complete journaling challenges together and share our favorite writing supplies. But we also talk about serious things, too. Books that can help us when we get a diagnosis. Notebook prompts that can bring us greater...

There’s nothing better than bookish conversation with bookish friends, is there?! Join me as I talk all things book challenges with Allison of Mind Joggle. Her blog has been a favorite of mine for some time and when I saw that she was looking at reading challenges in a new way in 2023 too, I knew we had to chat. Allison and I talk about reading, reading challenges, books and everything in between....

Each month inside my Get Lit(erate) Patreon community, we explore a one-word theme in our reading and writing lives to make our actual lives better. This month, our theme is WINTERING. The idea of wintering is simple and incredibly appealing: wintering means we give ourselves the space to rest and recover alongside Mother Nature. Today, I’m sharing the episode from inside my Patreon community so y...

Love is in the air! Chocolate is being eaten, roses are being given and it’s time to think about what sets our reading hearts on fire. For me, that’s an easy one: children’s literature! I love all things children’s literature. I devoured books when I was a kid, read them like it was my job as an educator (it was!) and choose to intentionally bring them into my adult reading life today. So today on...

Happy Valentine’s Day! To celebrate, I’ve got a fun episode that dives deep into the world of notebooking. Today, we are diving deep into our notebook love languages. Yes, notebook love languages. First, I’ll talk about The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman and how it can be a game-changer for our relationships. Then, I’ll talk about the 5 Notebook Love Languages, what they mean for your writing li...

So, I figured out something about my reading life that I did not know I needed: Hyper-local books. Hyper local books are books that have a strong sense of place and take place in an actual setting with actual references of local points of interest. I had no idea how much this truly enhanced the reading experience until I read a few books set in my upstate New York location by JD Spero. These books...

Do you know what day it is? It’s National Send a Card to a Friend Day! To celebrate, I’m sharing a collection of books that celebrate friendship AND letter-writing that are sure to remind you of the power of having both in your life. Then, I’m issuing you a challenge to celebrate this whimsical holiday in your own life. You'll find the show notes for this episode here. Love this podcast and want m...

If you are reading this, then chances are you love reading (and writing!). You make time in your busy life to read and enjoy the benefits. But why? In today’s episode, we think about WHY we read. For me, it comes down to one simple theme: I read to grow. I purposefully grow my reading life so my actual life can grow, too, and so I’m sharing three books that made me literally stop and yell to the a...

There are some pretty grim statistics surrounding our abilities to keep our new year’s resolutions all year long. It turns out that almost half of us do not keep our new resolutions past February. Can you believe it?! That’s why I’m here today with a collection of books to help you set AND keep your goals going strong, just in case you need the motivation. Today, I’m sharing a collection of books...

I love ways to head into a new phase of life with concrete intention. That’s why I love choosing a word of the year, a word of the month and my monthly and weekly planning routines. Plus, over the past couple of years, I’ve been obsessed with a new ritual too: taking on a themed challenge based on the specific year we are in, like #23for23. This year, I’m taking a new approach to my #23in23 ritual...