A case for reading fiction, vacation workouts & a book rec
7/16/20253 min read
3 Things I'm Loving, Reading, Watching or Doing
Vacation Workout Tip
Try New Things
I’m a creature of habit when it comes to my workouts—usually 5–6 days a week with minor variations. That’s why I actually enjoy the chance to mix it up on vacation.
Last week, I traded my usual routine for trail runs, mountain hikes, and even a tough 2-mile kayak paddle. I’m all for using what’s available. It’s good for your body (and your brain) to experience new movement patterns. No weights, no pushups, no squats. Just fresh air and a different challenge.
Of course, taking the week completely off is also a win. Rest is productive too.
Latest Bedtime Read
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Another one I really enjoyed. I’m a sucker for a good family arc, and this novel delivers. It also includes a main character who plays college basketball and then becomes a physical therapist (and ends up working with the Chicago Bulls), so that’s a nice connection. It’s one of those stories that, when it was over, left me disappointed to have to start another book.
Family Vacation
Is this jenky?!
Last week, our crew of 7 headed to the Northeast for a summer getaway. We spent one night in Boston before settling in for a week at a rustic cottage on Pleasant Lake in New London, NH. And in the spirit of “keeping it real,” we all squeezed into one hotel room that first night. Check out this cozy kitchen-bed setup! :)
2 Quotes Worth Pondering
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one." —George R.R. Martin
“The best books... are those that tell you what you know already." — George Orwell
1 Big Dad Idea
A brief case for reading fiction
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a big believer in reading fiction. There’s something powerful about stepping into another world, seeing life through someone else’s eyes, and giving your brain a break from productivity mode. I think a lot of dads could benefit from that kind of mental escape.
I want the same for my kids. That’s why, last year, I sent them an email making the case for reading more fiction, and I figured it might give some of you dads a little nudge too.
Check it out below, and maybe find your next great read (or share one with your teen):
I didn’t really get into books until after college, but now I consider a good book to be one of life’s delights. So if you’re not that interested in reading yet, there’s still hope!
I’ll read non-fiction books, biographies and such, but fiction is my main jam. I want to make a very brief case for why I think you should learn to love fiction too.
Fiction vs. nonfiction is not just “real vs. fake.” Instead, I like to think of it as “learning through information vs learning through imagination.” Fiction can still teach us a lot about life, and learning to use your imagination makes real life all that more enjoyable and vibrant.
Well-written fiction offers insight into the complexity of the human experience. We get to see behind-the-scenes, what someone was thinking, the various perspectives, the different layers. For me, this has been such a teacher - to give benefit of the doubt, to regard a whole person, to feel empathy where, on the surface, it doesn’t seem appropriate. For instance, a character may do a dastardly deed and is then considered a scoundrel for much of the story. Yet, because you’ve gotten a full-sided story, you understand why she did it and might even end up rooting for her. Or maybe a man who has everything gets his life torn apart, falls into drug use and ends up begging on the street. If you only come across the man in his begging stage, it’s much tougher to have any empathy for how he got there. All that to say, I think it’s made me a better person because I can take some of these lessons into real life and try to remember circumstances are not always what they seem.
Every good book must contain an element of struggle. Something is not going to go as planned. This is a good reflection of real life, so when it happens to us, we can know that it’s a normal part of life.
Good writing is art that you can appreciate. Sometimes I’ll read a sentence that is so striking that I have to put the book down and marvel at the writing. Though it’s often quite humbling to feel such a gap between my own writing and great authors, it only makes me appreciate amazing writers that much more.
Plus, your mama is a librarian so these books ain’t going anywhere. Speaking of libraries . . .
I went to the library and asked her for books about turtles.
Mom: "hardbacks?"
Me: "Yes, with little heads"
