North Country Book Club

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Home improvement is stressful. We’ve only been at this for a few months, but we’ve been asked what it is like living in constant renovations. Well, neither one of us are sugar-coaters so we’ll be blunt – it sucks sometimes.

Yes, it’s dusty. Yes, it’s messy. But that’s not the hard part. What we didn’t expect but probably shouldn’t be a surprise is that renovating a home can quickly take over your entire life.

Oh, you have a spare moment? Let’s analyze how to best add a closet to the office. You become a regular at home improvement stores and they start to call you by first name. You start thinking about shopping in a whole new realm – that $35 shirt? You could redo the entryway bench for that price. That layer of dust on absolutely every surface that never quite goes away? You get used to it.

Don’t get us wrong. We are having so much fun and loving (almost) every minute of this. However, we’re starting to realize that it helps to not forget other aspects of your life. It’s maybe not the best to spend the fifth night in a row debating the location of the stairs.

Brett finds his outlet with hunting and fishing. Stick him outside in the woods or in a boat on a lake and he’s good to go.

Me? Give me a good book and I can get lost for hours. To me, nothing can beat sitting outside in the sun reading a great book. Or curling up on the couch with a good book, a blanket and nice glass of wine. My stress level is going down just thinking about it!

Which brings me to the latest post series here at North Country Nest – The North Country Book Club. I love reading and I am hoping some of you do too!

A good book has the power to bring people together. Think about it – you’re chatting with a friend or acquaintance and you mention a book you recently read. Turns out, they read it too and all of sudden you’re chatting about what you loved and what you hated and recommending other books similar to that one and before you know it an hour has passed. THAT is why I love books. And that is why I want to share with you what I have been reading and get your recommendations on the books you love.

I’m going to jump back to January and share what’s kept my attention. I’d love to hear what’s kept yours!
Good to Great by Jim Collins
I read this book for work. We created a leadership development program and this book is one of the guiding materials. Collins looks at the different characteristics of moving a company from good to great. It was a relatively easy read and offered great takeaways for business professionals.

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
This is one of those books that within the first two chapters I was raving about it to my colleagues and family. Gretchen creates this year-long Happiness Project and writes about her entire experience. Each month focuses on a different part of her life and she documents the ups and downs. I absolutely loved it.

The Defining Decade by Meg Jay
I’ve had this thought at least once a week since graduating college – no one tells you how hard the transition from college-life to adult-life really is. Meg draws from her experience as a twenty-something psychiatrist and talks about the pressures that twenty-somethings experience and how this decade is not all about play time – it actually defines you a lot more than you think. She does great job of defining what we should be focusing on and what does and does not matter.