Weekly Wrap Up #2

February 6-12

This week felt both incredibly slow and like it happened in a blink 🫠 Anybody else? I definitely didn’t read as much as I’d hoped (I feel like I say that every week), so I’m hoping I’ll find more focus in the second half of February. What are your tips when you’re having a hard time focusing on reading?

Okay, onto the good stuff!

Reading

🎧 How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith – This has been on my TBR for a long time, and I’ve heard fantastic things. (It was one of The New York Times’ 10 Best Books of 2021, a winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction, and a winner of the 2022 Hillman Prize for Book Journalism.) And when my friend Love at

Uppity Words: Newsletter Addition

said she was reading it for the book club they host, I decided to join in. It’s dense but incredibly well written and educational. Sometimes it feels a little over my head, which is why I’m grateful to be have a discussion about it to take part in.

📖 Maame by Jessica George – I was really hoping to finish it this week, but print reading has been a big struggle for me this past year. Getting my focus and attention span back is when it comes to reading print is a big goal of mine this year. With just over 100 pages left, I can tell this will most likely be 4 (if not 5) stars.

If you haven’t tried audiobooks or don’t have an audiobook subscription, Libro.fm is my favorite way to listen to audiobooks, and my favorite audiobook company to support. Your purchase supports an indie bookstore of your choosing, and you can pause or cancel at anytime. Use my code (KATHARINE) or this link and get TWO audiobook credits for the price of one.

Watching

On Friday night, my friend Hannah and I used Teleparty to watch “Your Place or Mine,” the new Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher rom com. And it was SO cute! We laughed and swooned a few times – the perfect way to end the week and spend time with a long-distance friend.

Mike and I finished the second season of “Hacks” and we both agreed it’s a really solid show, all the way through. The third season is still TBD, but if you haven’t watched this yet, I highly recommend it.

Listening

Work Appropriate is one of my favorite new podcasts, and the episode with Rainesford Stauffer on ambition was particularly good. Stauffer’s book All the Gold Stars, which comes out in June, is at the top of my preorder list. (And if you don’t already subscribe, I can’t recommend Petersen’s newsletter,

Culture Study

, enough.)

As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been thinking a lot about social media and the role it plays in my life, and have been actively trying to use it less. Is This the End of Social Media?, an episode of Offline with Jon Favreau, really resonated with me (I’ll probably listen to it a few more times). One thing that really stuck out to me is how when these apps and websites first came to be, they were referred to ask “social networks,” rather than “social media,” and they focused more on relationship building rather than creating content.

Music! Another thing I’ve wanted to do more of this year is listen to more music – and not just the one or two songs I listen to on repeat until I’m sick of them. Years ago I used to love spending time discovering new-to-me artists, going to small local concerts, and just generally devoting time to listening to music. Some of my current favorite songs are Tilted by Christine and the Queens, Walk by Griff, and Pizza Guy by Touch Sensitive (I discovered this one from “Hacks”).

I’ll be sharing my favorite songs playlist in February’s Month in Review – tell me what song you’ve been loving and I might include it!

Loving

For some reason I’ve recently become super into the color brown, and have been unable to resist the color “french roast” at Old Navy. (Seriously, I bought leggings, a sweatshirt, a sports bra, and a workout top all in that color. Somebody stop me.)

I’m always on the lookout for new candle scents, and Target’s Project 62 has some really good ones. My favorite is White Oak – I bought both the candle and the room spray and am constantly using one or the other.

Claire

is someone I've followed on social for a long time (her journaling videos are some of my favorite, even though I lack the skill and creativity to try it for myself). But she's recently embarked on a low buy year and I'm constantly inspired by her discussions around spending, influencing (or "de-influencing), and being in debt. I'm trying to be much more intentional about where I spend my money, and what I bring into my home, and her videos and newsletters never fail to help me keep myself accountable.

That’s it for this week! As always, leave a comment letting me know what got you through the week and I’ll see you here next Sunday ✨