Reader Magnets: How To Get Your First 10,000 Subscribers by Nick Stephenson. I got a copy of this in my email when I went to one of Nick’s webinars, but it’s free on Amazon also. This book breaks down Nick’s formula of using a free ebook plus a bonus freebie to turn Amazon downloaders into email list subscribers. It’s a smart formula, and one that I’m planning on using once I have a few free things to give away.
20 Brilliant Opt-In Offers Your Subscribers Will Love by Beth Anne Schwamberger of Brilliant Business Moms. I also got a copy of this in my email when I went to Beth Anne’s Pinterest webinar a few months ago. You can grab a copy here. This was another quick read with different ideas for freebie offers you can give away to get people on your email list. (Do you see a trend here?) I liked that she included screenshots of the examples she mentioned, so I could actually see what the different ideas look like.
My favorite part was actually a tip at the very end, that suggested creating an opt-in offer for every piece of content on your site. For me, this would mean a homeschool freebie attached to all of my homeschool posts, my gluten free cookbook attached to all of my recipes, maybe an organizing printable at the end of all of my organizing and list-making posts, and so on. It’s a really good idea, although implementing it will take some time.
Side Note: At what length do you consider a book actually book-length? These first two were 36 and 50 pages, respectively, and while they were full of useful information, is that enough to make them a book? Or are they documents, or cheat sheets, or articles? Where is the distinction, and how does that figure in when you’re trying to track how many books you read in a year? Do these count? Do they count toward my GoodReads goal of 25 books this year? (One is on there and one isn’t)
How She Does It by Anne Bogel. I don’t remember when or how I got this book, but I had it on my Kindle, and I’ve been really enjoying Anne’s blog Modern Mrs. Darcy and her podcast What Should I Read Next?, so I figured I would enjoy her book also. But it was only so so. It’s basically a collection of stories (including her own) about families that have unique schedules or work situations that they’ve tailored to their family’s needs. So if a family wants a parent home at all times, they figure out how to work around that.
I think the reason I didn’t enjoy this more was because this is something we’ve been doing for over six years now, so it wasn’t anything hugely surprising or shocking. It was nice to read examples from other families, but nothing earth-shattering.
Give Your Child The World by Jamie Martin. I reviewed this one over at Library Educated.
Spark Joy by Marie Kondo. Jesse bought this one for me one day while we were browsing at a bookstore. I enjoyed The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up when I first read it, and made it through 3 categories of “tidying”: clothes, books, and papers. And then I kind of stalled out. And even with those categories, some things come back.
But reading Spark Joy made me want to get back into it. I agree with the reviewers who have said that Tidying Up is the “why to declutter” book, and Spark Joy is the “how to declutter” book. This one has a lot more concrete ideas of how to go through things, but the part I liked best was the information on how to organize what you have left. I read this on the plane ride to Seattle, and I came back with a list of things I wanted to try, as well as a renewed sense of wanting to get rid of the things that don’t spark joy. Which I think is the point.
“What really brings joy to our lives is savoring daily life, instead of taking it for granted.”
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne. I borrowed a copy of this from the library, because my library ladies love me and pulled it for me first before even putting it out on the shelf. I’ve heard mixed reviews of this one, but overall, I really enjoyed it! I read it in one sitting, and it was a lovely couple of hours. Would I have enjoyed it more if it was a 300 page novel by J.K. Rowling and not a script by someone else? Probably. But I thought that Thorne did a good job of getting into the Harry Potter world, and covering the themes of family, friendship, and loyalty that are prevalent throughout the series.
Total Books Read This Summer: 5 (I’m counting the 2 short ebooks as 1 book). Total Books Read This Year: 11. At this rate and with moving, I don’t know that I’ll hit my goal of 25 books this year, but we’ll see!
Speaking of books, don’t forget! Through tomorrow, September 16, 2016, you can get your copy of Oat Flour Muffins absolutely free!
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