Author Archives: thewobblytableblog

I’m Amanda. I live in a tiny cabin tucked between hundred year old redwoods with my two dogs and partner. I’m a homebody, professional beginner and deep feeler. I’m filled to the brim with words. Too many, once you get me going. I love a good story and always have a journal, chapstick and a book at an arms length.

JANUARY READS

It’s only fitting I write a Valentine’s post dedicated to books. When I hear friends say they “can’t get into reading,” I tell them they probably just haven’t found the right book yet. I truly believe there’s a story, a genre, a time period, and an author for everyone. All it takes is the right title at the right moment to transform anyone into a book lover. Sometimes it’s a slow burn, others an immediate spark. Sometimes revisiting a story makes me reinterpret it in a completely different way depending on where I am in life.

Books can sweep you away if you let them.

With a good book by my side and dogs at my feet, it’s hard to feel lonely.

For the rule followers: Dannie Kohon, a successful young professional reaching the peak of her career is met with a curious glimpse into her future. To her dismay it looks nothing like her five year plan. As she grapples with the loss of what could be, she takes methodical steps to try and get there anyway. Just when you think you know where the plot is going, you get rerouted until the very last pages. It’s the unexpected love story I didn’t know I needed. The story was easy to binge with it’s originality and sharp wit. It made for a refreshing pallet cleanser to start off the new year.

5/5 mugs

Trigger Warning: It is not explicitly implied but suicide is mentioned within the first few chapters.

For the escapists: Nora Seed is unsatisfied with her existence. While in the throes of a magical library she explores shelves of books that each offer new possibilities. While her surroundings and circumstance change from title to title she finds herself innately the same person at her core: longing for what else could be out there. It reminds me so much of the familiar saying: “Wherever you go, there you are.” A comforting and sobering reminder that you can’t escape yourself no matter how far you run away. With the help of the comforting Librarian, she learns to unpack some of what’s weighing her down so she can start a new narrative on her own terms. The story is woven with a self deprecating humor similar to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and a delicious balance of adventure and whimsy like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty- two stories I hold near and dear to my heart. If I can describe this book in one word it would be hopeful.

4/5 mugs

Honorable December Mentions:

For the sentimentalists: A guide to slow and intentional living based on the Danish concept of hygge (pronounced hoo-guh). Hygge refers to the feeling of being content with an emphasis on atmosphere and experience over things. One of my favorite definitions is “a hug of the soul”. Year after year the Danes are ranked in the top three happiest populations in the world. Despite harsh winters and a high cost of living, they attribute a hygge centric culture as the main cause. Bite-size chapters explain the importance of warm lighting, togetherness, weather appropriate clothing, seasonal activities and hearty non-calorie counting food and drink to round out a more satisfying lifestyle. This book found me in between the sleepy space between Christmas and New Years and sat so well with my soul. Tip: Best enjoyed in the middle of winter next to candlelight. 

3.5/5 mugs

For the empaths: Rupi Kaur shares her third collection of poetry- a thought provoking and intimate look into the human experience. Sharing her perspective as a daughter of immigrants, a rape survivor and deep feeler, her writing marries grief and healing with a deep-rooted resilience that encourages me to turn on the light in my darkest room. Her poems and essays are broken into four chapters: mind, heart, rest and awake. I find myself revisiting “rest” whenever I hit a pandemic wall. Turns out accomplished authors feel stifled with fatigue and productivity guilt too. Every empath needs a copy on their bookshelf. Extra brownie points for being aesthetically pleasing.

4/5 mugs

WELCOME TO MY WRITING CORNER

I’m typing on an old wobbly table facing a window to a green hillside. From the day we first brought the IKEA box home, one of the legs didn’t screw on properly. While it may have driven some people crazy we never cared enough to do anything about it. In fact what began as sheer laziness grew into a growing affection. The pre-mature weathering gives it character.

True to form, I am a person who gets sentimental about a mass manufactured piece of furniture. But it’s not any piece of furniture. You see, it’s the same table my partner and I purchased on a shoestring budget for our first place together. I’m fine pairing down our belongings during seasonal declutterings. Relived in fact. Little did we know our little starter table would be one of the few things to follow us from Florida to North Carolina and eventually California traveling across the country strapped to the roof of my car.

The table was always more than a place to gather for meals. The old reliable block of wood is home to daydreams, it’s where handwritten letters are kept alive and well and where projects are born into existence. Over the last year of the pandemic, it’s been an anchor for growth and creativity serving as my make-shift desk. Whether it’s a steady crawl or a magnetic pull, my writing corner has been my crutch gently coaxing me out of dark days when I would rather stay in bed. Beneath the unassuming surface is almost a decade’s worth of stories like initials etched in wet cement.

I flirted with idea of creating a blog for some time now. Long enough to stop before I started on multiple occasions. A paid domain name coupled with a partner rooting for me on the sidelines helped turn it into a breathing thing.

Writing is the way I best express myself. While I perpetually feel like a professional beginner in other areas of life, story-telling is something that comes more naturally. Someday I’ll return to my very first post and pinpoint the moment I gave my words the permission to stretch beyond my journal and Instagram captions. Here they have an intentional space to take root.

My favorite author, Mari Andrew offered readers a valuable life tip that I keep in my back pocket, “Go somewhere you may not fit in and take notes.” She taught me the art of becoming an observer and a historian of your own life. I think my fondest memories are directly correlated with how well I’m paying attention.

Welcome to the home of my ramblings; a place I draw stories from life’s simple pleasures and the big feelings I attach to them. The cabin door is open. Grab a mug and have a seat, just don’t mind the wobbly side of the table.