Special thanks to Book Look Bloggers for providing the review copy of this book.
Notes from a Blue Bike Book Description:
Life is chaotic. But you can choose to live it differently.
It doesn’t always feel like it, but we do have the freedom to live life differently than what’s “normal.”
The popular blogger—founder of the nationally recognized Simple Mom family of online resources—tells the story of her family’s ongoing quest to live more simply, fully, and intentionally.
Part memoir, part travelogue, part practical guide, Notes from a Blue Bike takes you from a hillside in Bosnia to a Turkish high-rise to a congested Austin suburb to a small town in Oregon. It chronicles toddler spats, schooling dilemmas, and dinnertime drama as well as entrepreneurial adventures and family excursions via plane, train, automobile, and blue cruiser bike.
Entertaining, thoughtful, and compelling—but never shrill or dogmatic—Notes from a Blue Bike invites you to pay attention to who you are and what your family needs and then make some choices.
About the Author:
Tsh Oxenreider is the founder of TheArtofSimple.net (previously Simple Mom), a community blog dedicated to the art and science of simple living. She’s the author of Organized Simplicity and One Bite at a Time, a regular contributor to (in)courage, an advocate for Compassion International, and a top-ranked podcaster. A graduate of the University of Texas, Tsh currently lives in Bend, Oregon, with her family. Learn more at TshOxenreider.com.
Book Details:
- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: Thomas Nelson (February 4, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1400205573
- ISBN-13: 978-1400205578
- List Price: $22.99
- Electronic Versions also available
My Thoughts:
Tsh has a beautiful way of writing, of telling the story of her life, her family’s life. She welcomes you into her home – wherever that may be at the time in the story – and shares from her heart the ins and outs of her family’s journey to a more intentional life. Her life certainly was not all a bed of roses, but she’d chose this path all over again if given the chance.
Notes from a Blue Bike is broken down into seven main parts:
- Awakening
- Food
- Work
- Education
- Travel
- Entertainment
- Revival
I was immediately drawn into the book and couldn’t wait to read more. Unfortunately for me, even though the writing style was fantastic, there was so much to which I didn’t relate that I found myself less drawn into the book as I read. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed hearing the stories from the different moments in their lives. I even liked how the stories were broken down by location and time period within the different parts of the book. I just didn’t personally connect with many of the different parts of the book.
I did like the main premise of the book – living life intentionally in a way that makes sense for your own family. Each family is going to look different, and they need to understand these differences while making a plan to help them achieve their own goals in life. The final part in the book did a wonderful job of wrapping up her message and tying it all together.
