Hi everyone! Happy Friday. Here are a few of my recent favorites for this month. Enjoy!

For anyone whose spring break was lackluster (or nonexistent) . . .

Maybe you can’t enter the pages of a book, but you can visit these real-life places that inspired some famous novels! I can see why Moseley Bog would have sparked Tolkien’s creativity. And anyone else want to visit Ashdown Forest with me? 9 Real Life Places That Inspired Famous Classic Novels

For anyone in need of an extra dose of happy . . .

How happy can a word be? Someone did a study that assigned happiness quotients to some 10,000 words. See if this list doesn’t make you a little happier, just from reading it! The 200 Happiest Words in Literature

For anyone who geeks out about stats or books (or stats about books) . . .

I found this article about author’s favorite words fascinating. Find out which writers gravitated toward mauve, cinnamon, and civility. What’s your word of choice? What Famous Writers’ Most-Used Words Say about Them

For anyone who would have written their story a little differently than it’s playing out . . .

So often I start my story in the wrong place. And I wish I could edit it, even though I don’t have the whole picture: “This story starts with our perfect God. Immeasurable. Incalculable. Incomprehensible. Every story starts with Him. And He is writing each one with the aim of pointing to his glory. Every single one. Even the ones I probably would have written differently.” Perfect Start, Perfect End

For anyone who wonders how to live extraordinary in the middle of ordinary . . .

How do you live out a radical faith right where you are—going to work, mowing the lawn, doing the laundry, raising kids? This book is an authentic, humorous, and inspiring look at how to practice things like simplicity, hospitality, and social justice in the context of real life. Highly recommended! The Year of Small Things