I ♥ Monday

I know it’s technically Tuesday, but it feels like a Monday, right? So I’m rolling out my new feature. Every Monday, I’ll be posting here about things I ♥.

♥ My new Sony Touch Reader. I’m never ever going to give up paper books. I love their shiny covers; their glorious new book smell; displaying them on my bookshelves; lending them to friends. But so far I’m buying more books because I have the e-reader. It’s dangerously easy to download on a whim. I read the first book in Rachel Vincent’s Soul Screamers series, and when I finished, the second one was right at my fingertips. And the third.

♥ Already Pretty is my new favorite style and body-image blog. What Do You Want to Look Like, Argument for Self-Love, and How to Hone Your Style are three of my favorite posts.

♥ The Kennedy Center’s annual Page 2 Stage Festival of new play readings. Steve’s participated for the last five years, and this year he had three readings. It’s such a fantastic opportunity for playwrights to work with dramaturgs, directors, and actors to get their works-in-progress read aloud in front of an audience. To get feedback on where the audience’s attention wanders, what they love and what they don’t quite understand. If you live in DC, I highly recommend trying to catch a few readings there next year over Labor Day weekend. There are a lot of talented playwrights doing some tremendous, exciting work in DC (and I’m not just saying that ‘cause I’m married to one of them).

♥ My new cherry-print dress and Steve’s Hipstamatic app. Instant vintage-y photos. See?

♥ Starbucks’ salted caramel hot chocolate. After the cranberry bliss bars, it’s my favorite seasonal treat.

♥ The sleepylicious state between dreaming and being fully awake. I get lots of book ideas in that place. I’ve been mulling over a few different options for what to work on after Thrice, but a brand-new one started tugging on my imagination extra-hard. It came with a title and a first line, too, which hasn’t happened with either of the other potential ideas. I might have to pull out that baby-name book and start brainstorming character names again…which is another thing I ♥.