Lydia Likes It

Make photo books for holiday gifts

What's more fun than a book of photos, especially photos of your family, friends, travels, occasions and celebrations? Photo books make wonderful holiday gifts, and thanks to easy technology, anyone can make a book -- softcover or hardcover -- from photos on your phone or computer. I've done at least a dozen books over the past few years: my grandson's fifth birthday adventure in pizza-making at our local pizzeria; our log house in the Rhode Island woods, indoors and outside; a day of fun and rides at the local county fair; a collection of photo greetings for my husband's 75th birthday. My favorite app is Motif, which works seamlessly and easily with Apple products. Others I've researched, but haven't tried, include Chatbooks, which works with your phone; Shutterfly, which has many style options along with designer help; and Mixbook, which features lots of layouts. You can add text and photo captions to your book, which makes each creation one of a kind. The perfect holiday gift, don't you think? (I posted about this in the Spring, but now seems like a good time to get going on a new project!)

Morning mantra

These words, which I recite early every morning — in my pajamas, over my first cup of coffee — keep me moving, thinking, writing, laughing, making art, making room, making plans. I shared this mantra, as I call it, in my book There's a What in My Where? 

I am learning every day

to allow the space 

between 

where I want to be

and 

where I am

to inspire me 

and not terrify me.

A perfect graduation, or birthday, or anniversary present

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a book of pictures could be worth, well, millions. With Motif, a free app for Macs, iPhones or tablets, you can design books (hardcover or softcover) or calendars that feature your favorite photos of your favorite graduate, or birthday celebrant, or anniversary couple. No experience necessary; the app does all the work and provides prompts when it needs you to upload photos or, if you wish, add captions or other text. I've used Motif to make books for one of Ted's "big" birthdays and our grandson's adventure in pizza making when he turned 5 (he's 20 now), a charitable event and a day at the regional fair, and to celebrate our log house in the wilds of Rhode Island. Print one copy, or ten, or as many as you'd like. Save the file on your computer, and reorder when you need more. 

Let's get reading!

From Politics & Prose, a favorite Washington DC book store, their 2024 Reading Challenge. Fun!

Read All About It

Every now and then, I love to immerse myself in books of a particular type or on a related theme. Lately, I've been revisiting some old favorites about Boston, where I have lived for the past 45 years, and collecting on my iPad a few that are new to me. These ten books, fiction and nonfiction, explore busing, homelessness, politics, history, corruption, race, jazz, and ducks. Click on the links to learn more about each of them; all are available in a variety of formats, and at your local public library.

Common Ground (J. Anthony Lukas 1995)

Rough Sleepers (Tracy Kidder 2023)

Make Way for Ducklings (Robert McCloskey 1941)

Another Bullshit Night in Suck City (Nick Flynn 2005)

Boston: Voices and Visions (Shaun O’Connell, editor 2010)

Boston Boy: Growing Up with Jazz and Other Rebellious Passions (Nat Hentoff 1986)

The Boston Girl (Anita Diamant 2015)

Wild Women of Boston: Mettle and Moxie in the Hub (Diana Vargo 2015)

The Last Hurrah (Edwin O’Connor 1956)

Caucasia (Danzy Senna 1999)

For pure fun, lose yourself in Robert B. Parker's Spenser books, or the Carlotta Carlyle mysteries by Linda Barnes (thanks to my friend Phyllis, for reminding me how much I enjoy both of these series).

What are your favorite Boston books? Leave them in the comments below, so we can share.