Welcome to Litsy!

This little gift book was just okay. My book club selected this, and I didn‘t realize it was based on the author‘s tweets. She‘s a poet and wrote inspirational notes to herself each day after her husband left her. The tweets are interspersed with short memoir-like musings. A few of the tweets did speak to me, but there was not a lot of depth here and a whole lot of repetition.

I started this 3000(!) piece puzzle on Boxing Day. It's ridiculously big. It's driving my family crazy, and me too. But I am close...I hope. 😆 Tagged book is keeping me company. #joyousjanuary #readathon @Andrew65

Meh. This did not resonate with me, at all. The fact that I was also listening to the audiobook —read by the author— didn‘t help. The title is actually used as a catchphrase, repeated after every single short note. On the audio, it‘s SO annoying, and makes the observations seem trite instead of heartfelt. It would probably be better in small (tiny) sips… #GiorgioCat #catsofLitsy

#audioknitting to Maggie Smith this morning during office hours & had to stop for a second to write this down: “have (& live) your own say” ❤️ we write the story ❤️ keep moving, one row at a time #knittersoflitsy #hookersoflitsy #knitsy

This would probably resonate more in trying times. For me, the short statements acted as reminders of how strong and resilient we can be when life gets tough. 3/5⭐️

This is a short read but uplifting in its own way. I appreciate that she wrote this. I would recommend it if this sort of thing appeals to you.

This is amazing! Beautiful. Definitely recommend.

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
#thinkpositivebepositive
#litsylove

This is the single Tweet of Maggie‘s that I hope to keep in mind, moving into 2021.

What is it that I want to do “religiously”?

Maggie Smith created this book out of a Twitter exercise she began for herself: a Tweet a day, with the words “Keep Moving” at the end, to get her through her divorce. I can see how the practice must have been rewarding; people learn through repetition. Writing the same messages over & over but finding new words for them each time *would* foster growth. But repetition doesn‘t serve the reading experience quite as well. 👇🏻

“I realized pessimism wasn‘t going to get me out of bed, or get the coffee made, or pack the kids‘ lunches, or do the laundry, or make my deadlines. Pessimism wasn‘t going to help me or my children. And so, in a very dark time, it occurred to me that being optimistic moment by moment was a gift I could give myself. Even if whatever I‘m hoping for doesn‘t materialize, I am feeding my spirit in the meantime.”

This is a short little audiobook I listened to before bed last night. Though I'm not going through change or grief at the moment, I can see how these affirmations would help at a point in life when I inevitably go through something difficult. I wasn't familiar with the author before reading this, and have since discovered she's a poet.

Moving, inspiring, full of wisdom and hope. I know I‘ll be returning to this again and again. Highly recommended for a good kick up the arse (as we Brits say.)

My husband‘s family has been having a hard time lately; internal rifts & big life changes. I keep picking up books with a soft edge of self-help, wondering if they‘d be appropriate for my mother-in-law. But I always read them first.

Although I‘m lucky to not be struggling the way many people are right now, I still find the words bolstering. Storing up shores of wisdom...because I know there will always come a time when they‘re needed.

https://wellreadneck.wordpress.com/2020/11/03/keep-moving-maggie-smith/

Sending out good vibes on (US) Election Day!

Alas, I did not finish The Shuttle last night. Sleep overtook me with 75 pages to go. 13 books total books is how I finished October.

My total included 7 print books and 6 audiobooks. If I could stop bingeing Below Deck in November, my totals will be going up. 😂🤦🏼‍♀️

Keep Moving is one of those books you return to, finding encouragement in its words of wisdom, poetic aphorisms, and brief prose. It‘s not so much the details of the author‘s personal story — although she gives us glimpses into her journey — as it is a gentle push from a kind stranger to get perspective, to see the good in the bad, and to remember our courage when we seem to have lost it.

Trust that everything will be okay, but that doesn't mean everything will be restored. Start making yourself at home in your life as it is. Look around and look ahead.

I. Loved. This. #audiobook. Beautiful, lyrical look at the season of change in life, in particular parenthood and life after divorce. Even though neither of those apply to me, I still found this book lovely and uplifting. I think I‘m going to send a copy to a friend going through a divorce similar to Maggie‘s. 5⭐️

This is pretty much a coffee table book, but that label doesn‘t seem powerful enough for what it is. Maggie Smith went through a divorce a few years ago, and the disintegration of her marriage was a punch to the gut. She began posting affirmations and inspiration daily on Twitter and FB, always ending with the line Keep Moving. This is the collection of those posts. I can tell her musings will stick with me for a very long time.

Cannot WAIT! Just bought my ticket. Maggie is very local to me and I just read Saeed‘s memoir. 🙌🏻

⭐️⭐️ Minuscule snippets of Smith‘s divorce, miscarriages, and postpartum depression are buried among annoyingly repetitive self-affirmations. The phrase “Keep Moving” appears 170 times in only 224 pages (per kindle 🔍). As a whole, this lacked cohesiveness and purpose. A straight up memoir about her experiences would‘ve been more impactful.

PUB DATE: 10.6.2020 #netgalley

I love following poet Maggie Smith on Twitter. This book contains her uplifting and thoughtful pep talks alongside essays that bring them to life. #ARC #Edelweiss

When I first heard about this book, I expected it to be just a collection of aphorisms. That was fine with me, because I love Smith‘s work and the tweets that form the backbone of this book have been meaningful to me. But the books actually does a lot more—the essays in it give context that give the aphorisms more depth, and they are also meaningful in their own right. I‘m glad I got the chance to read this.

I pre ordered this book months ago, because I read Maggie‘s essay in the NYT and it was amazing. And I‘ll be honest, I am a bit star struck because her son is in G‘s class at school.

https://www.columbusmonthly.com/lifestyle/20200108/maggie-smith-keeps-moving