Happy July! Readers, think about what brings you joy, and maybe more importantly, WHY those things bring you joy. We’ve often been taught that the key to joy lies within us, and while that is true to some extent, would you believe that a lot of it has to do with our physical surroundings? Author Ingrid Fetell Lee dives right into this in her book Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness. Lee draws from neuroscience, psychology, design, color theory, and many more subjects to reveal that we can be in control of ourselves and feel joy through the objects and space around us.

Grab a copy as you’re road tripping or lounging in your hammock and follow along with us @larsbookclub . We’d love to hear your thoughts! Enjoy! 

Hi readers! How have you enjoyed Daily Rituals: Women at Work? We wish we could’ve featured more women—there just aren’t enough days in the month! It’s interesting and inspiring to see the way certain women were wholly devoted to their work, but could only be so without any family demands. Others could do both, but had to have certain limitations and not combine their two “jobs”. What did you think?? Check out our discussion questions below, book suggestions for further reading, and of course this month’s illustration by featured artist, Kendra Dandy of Bouffants and Broken Hearts, who will be interviewing tomorrow so stay tuned!

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Hello readers! Many of you are changing your routines as summer begins—with travel, work, children at home, family obligations—but want to make sure you still have time for yourselves. Have you ever wondered how female creatives accomplished all they did? This month’s book, Daily Rituals: Women at Work by Mason Currey, delves into the working habits of artists, writers, performers, and much more. What were their habits? What did they choose to pursue or to neglect? During our “maiden” Lars Book Club year (2016), we read and enjoyed Currey’s first Daily Rituals book, and we’re excited to read this new collection focused on women! Hopefully you can find a helpful nugget or two of inspiration this month. Be sure to follow along with us @larsbookclub and stay tuned for artwork and questions later this month. Enjoy!

I can’t even tell you how much I’ve LOVED reading our book club book for May, Encore, about my friend, Charity Tilleman-Dick who passed away a couple of months ago from health complications as outlined in the book. And it’s not just because I knew her! It’s a beautifully written book that is so engaging. I can’t recommend it enough if you’re looking for an engaging, thought-provoking read!

To go with the memoir, we worked with our featured illustrator of the month, Jacqueline Colley, on a printable poster and bookmark that is free to download with a quote from Charity that stops you in your tracks as you read it: “More than anything, I want to be great”, which is something she revealed when her opera teacher in Budapest told her she had great promise. It’s perfect for all music lovers!

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Imagine you’re at your peak of health and young adulthood, a promising opera career just ahead of you…and then you’re diagnosed with a fatal disease and given only five years to live. The Encore: A Memoir in Three Acts is about the life of Charity Tillemann-Dick, a soprano singer who performed in opera houses all over the world, all while enduring the immense complications of Idiopathic Pulmonary Hypertension and two (yes, TWO) double lung transplants.

My friend, Charity, passed away last two weeks ago on April 23, at age 35, but her story and tenacity to live and pursue what she loved despite her disease still inspires many. In homage to the beautiful person she was and the light she still shines, we are reading her beautiful memoir. We hope you’ll join us as we honor her this month and read about Charity’s perseverance and experiences of living close to death through her own candid, honest words.

Stay tuned for artwork later this month, and follow along with @larsbookclub.