Season 7, Episode 9: Bookish Crafts + Why Reading Makes Us Better

On this episode of Currently Reading, Meredith and Kaytee are discussing:

• Bookish Moments: bookish crafting and annotation gift sets

• Current Reads: all the great, interesting, and/or terrible stuff we've been reading lately

• Deep Dive: diving into research about why reading makes us better humans

• The Fountain: we visit our perfect fountain to make wishes about our reading lives

Show notes are time-stamped below for your convenience. Read the transcript of the episode (this link only works on the main site)

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1:24 - Our Bookish Moments of the Week

2:11 - Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

5:47 - The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

5:51 - I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet by Shauna Niequist

5:55 - Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist

6:28 - Annotation gift set by Mr. Pen and Selah

8:43 - Annotation Set option 2

9:38 - Our Current Reads

9:48 - Between Flowers and Bones by Carolyn Leiloglou (Kaytee)

9:53 - CR Season 6: Episode 4

10:41 - Beneath the Swirling Sky by Carolyn Leiloglou

14:09 - Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman (Meredith)

15:06 - Bird Box by Josh Malerman

15:10 - Daphne by Josh Malerman

15:34 - Coraline by Neil Gaiman

20:59 - Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

21:01 - Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

21:05 - We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

21:54 - Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne (Kaytee)

26:45 - The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive by Patrick Lencioni (Meredith)

28:05 - The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni

29:54 - The Five Temptations of a CEO by Patrick Lencioni

29:56 - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

32:47 - Search by Michelle Huneven

34:13 - Unraveling by Peggy Orenstein (Kaytee)

37:38 - A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (Meredith)

40:16 - Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

41:15 - Blackwell's UK

43:09 - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

46:02 - CR Season 1: Episode 37

47:33 - How Reading Changes Us For The Better

Some Stats:

49:26 - The average reading American reads 12 books per year.

49:50 - The average American spends just $35 on books per year.

50:17 - Reading can reduce our stress levels by 68% in just six minutes.

51:04 - Reading can reduce memory decline by 30% because it activates neural pathways and can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

52:18 - Transportative fiction helps produce the most empathy in readers, but that empathy boost only lasts around 48 hours, so keep reading!

53:10 - Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

54:31 - Audiobooks are reading! Studies have shown that audiobooks activate the same neural pathways and cognitive benefits as print reading.

54:50 - Research shows we are less impatient with audiobooks than print.

56:02 - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

57:13 - Meet Us At The Fountain

57:19 - I wish people would celebrate their reading in new ways. (Kaytee)

57:36 - Canon Ivy 2 Mini Photo Printer

57:44 - Storygraph

58:01 - Favorite Books of the Year print - Etsy Shop

58:31 - I wish you would give annotating books a try. (Meredith)

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• Love and Chili Peppers with Kaytee and Rebekah - romance lovers get their due with this special episode focused entirely on the best selling genre fiction in the business.

• All Things Murderful with Meredith and Elizabeth - special content for the scary-lovers, brought to you with the behind-the-scenes insights of an independent bookseller

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Production and Editing: Megan Phouthavong Evans

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