The Dusty Bookshelf

Midweek Reads // 1

4th March 2015

The Dusty Bookshelf

Y’all. It’s Wednesday. The first Wednesday in March. The entirety of Arkansas is preparing for a Winter Weather Storm™, which means that you can’t buy bread, milk, or beer because SOMEONE ELSE HAS ALREADY BOUGHT ALL OF IT.

(Side note: what do people do with this bread they buy? I don’t hear about massive runs on peanut butter. Lunchmeat has to be refrigerated and if you don’t have power…? These are the questions of our time.)

I, however, am content to know that the weather may enable me to reduce the height the stacks of books I acquired at The Dusty Bookshelf in Lawrence, KS a few weeks ago.

Regardless of what happens, as I said before, it’s Wednesday, my favorite day of the week, which means we’re halfway done! Hooray. Here’s what I’ve been reading and loving on so far:  

Exhaustion is not a status symbol. Welp. Friends, I needed to read this, so thanks to whoever originally shared it on my Facebook (and this piece was done in 2012!). Whether you’re a singer or a surgeon, this interview hits home for me. Here, let me just whollop you for a second:

“Healthy striving is about striving for internal goals, and wanting to be our best selves. Perfectionism is not motivated internally. Perfectionism is about what people will think. And you do not see effective leaders in corporations sitting on an email for three hours to make sure it’s worded just perfectly. You don’t. They have work to get done.

You don’t see elite athletes letting themselves be discouraged by a bad workout or a single bad performance. It happens all the time. They’re accustomed to winning, they’re accustomed to losing. Once perfectionism becomes the goal, they’re out of the sport.”


 

My good friend Jane Hoffman writes a little bit about The Little Blue Dress she’s seen in auditions, but more than that, she writes about how important it is for singers to own their individual paths in the music world.

Note to self: yes, it is important to take the advice of others, but at some point.. the wings you’re flying with are your own and no one else’s, so make sure you know how to use them.


 

I’m really into this .gif of a snail eating lunch. Don’t ask why. Just watch it.


 

I’m outrageously fascinated by the regional differences in BBQ styles, so of course I’m digging John T. Edge’s “Pork Ribs and Politics: The Origins of Alabama Barbecue” via the Southern Foodways Alliance. (Don’t read this if you’re hungry).


 

What have you been reading this week? Share a link with me!