our lives are murky, magnificent, malleable and full of meaning.

ten things so lit

Hello my little leprechauns,

Here are ten things so lit(erary-ish) and otherwise worth sharing…

1. The snow is melting, the earth is warming. What this means in New Hampshire? MAPLE SYRUP! Sap has begun to flow from the mighty maples into buckets on trees all over town. The sap is then boiled down into syrup. Did you know that it takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup? Trees are so generous. Never let the good stuff go to waste; lick your pancake plate clean.

traditional bucket, modern blue, slurping sap right from the tree

2. This: “So let us pick up the stones over which we stumble, friends, and build altars. Let us listen to the sound of breath in our bodies. let us listen to the sounds of our own voices, of our own names, of our own fears. Let us name the harsh light and soft darkness that surround us. Let’s claw ourselves out of the graves we’ve dug, let’s lick the earth from our fingers. Let us look up, and out, and around. the world is big, and wide, and wild and wonderful and wicked, and our lives are murky, magnificent, malleable and full of meaning. -Pádrig Ó Tauma via

   The Writing Café by Virginia Macgregor

3. “You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

   Quoted in Shapiro, Miles. Maya Angelou (Black Americans of Achievement). Chelsea House Pub, 1994. via

   Jillian Hess

Maya Angelou's Drafts

4. Let’s Define Our Terms: “Diversity is where everyone is invited to the party. Equity means that everyone gets to contribute to the playlist. Inclusion means that everyone has the opportunity to dance.” -Robert Sellers, former chief diversity officer at the University of Michigan, compares DEI to a high school dance. This is the kind of dance I want to be at.

5. We Were Made For These Times: Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely. It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good. -Clarissa Pinkola Estes

6. ANNE OF GREEN GABLES FANS: Our girl Megan Follows is to play Lucy Maude Montgomery in the film adaptation of author’s life!

7. "This story is yours now. I hope you like it." Author John Green has a new book out! If anyone can make tuberculosis fascinating and timely, he can.

8. Such a Fun Birthday Idea: Set up an “appreciation campaign” for someone’s birthday (or any occasion). My dearest husband did this for me and for 81 days straight I’m getting a note from someone who loves me. I mean, that’s pretty awesome (esp since my love language is “words of affirmation”).

9. MEDITATE WITH ME: (I actually listened to this while riding a bike and my life changed for the better). In this inaugural podcast episode, Thomas McConkie introduces the lost jewel of contemplation in the Christian tradition. He shares a brief spiritual autobiography, invites the listener to come see for themselves, then dives right in with a wisdom bomb from Howard Thurman: on cultivating atmosphere and spiritual presence.

10. School visits: I would love to come to your class, library, or book group! Favorite presentations include “Real Life to Fantastic Fiction,” “Our Favorite Characters Are Resilient - and So Are You,” and “Brain, Heart, Stories.” I might even show up in these glasses ‘cause I’m fun like that…

    

    What’s lighting up your week?

Love, Amy

The Unforgettable Guinevere St. Clair is part-mystery, part understanding of the human heart 💖

Ten Thousand Tries is Golden’s quest to save his dad and the soccer team ⚽

The McNifficents is one summer with six rambunctious kids and their miniature-schnauzer nanny 🐕 New Hampshire’s 2024 Great Reads for Kids selection!