Chapter One Hundred Forty-Six: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

So I read a New York Times review of this (nonfiction) book by Marie Kondo, translated from the Japanese, about a year ago, and I finally had the chance to get it from the library!  It is a small, compact book that is about precisely what its title suggests.  Marie Kondo offers a fun and informative mix of anecdotes from her years of working with people to tidy their homes and her resultant rules for tidying.  Spoiler alert: basically, she suggests that you get rid of anything that doesn't spark joy.  Kondo tends to anthropomorphize objects, from socks (which she urges you to roll instead of folding, which she says socks dislike) to the home or apartment itself (which she urges you to greet when you return to it each day), and yet this is not a sentimental work in any way.  The writing (or perhaps I should say the translator's rendering of Kondo's writing) is lucid, to-the-point, and humorous.  Whether you need to seriously declutter or are simply curious about different organizational methods, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up is a useful and entertaining source.

Chapter One Hundred Forty-Five: Come Rain or Come Shine

Come Rain or Come Shine is Jan Karon's latest installation in the Mitford/Father Tim series, and it is just as delightful as its predecessors.  I have such an affection for these books!  They may be a bit slim on the plot, but the characters are so lovable that whenever I return to these books I feel as though I'm seeing old friends again.  Come Rain or Come Shine is different from the other books in this series in that large parts of it are told from Lace's point of view, and I found this to be a refreshing and intriguing change of pace.  This novel is also a bit more plot-oriented, focusing as it does on the run-up to and celebration of Dooley and Lace's wedding.  The whole book felt like a party to me, in fact, and it makes me want to re-read the whole series again!  (Though that probably won't happen while I'm in grad school...)  If you like this series, you won't want to miss this newest volume.