Life of Plenty

Lisa and Ashley welcome an incredibly special guest – Ruta Sepetys – to the return of the Life of Plenty podcast! This is one episode you don't want to miss, as the international bestselling author talks about the books that turned her into a reader – including a classic that not too many people seem to like. Ruta talks about the power of story in a three minute song and collaborative songwriting, and then encourages listeners to be telling their own stories. 

Lisa and Ashley are joined by Lettie Collier, who talks about how she learned English and to read at the same time, and how she's always had a book on her ever since.
She talks about how her wild Little House on the Prairie obsession influenced her early fashion decisions. Her first favorite, however, was the classic The Monster at the End of This Book.
She also discusses her love of Joan Didion, beautiful covers, and how she chooses books for her local speakeasy-style book club, The Literary Libations Society.

Ashley sits down with Cigi England of Cigi's Boutique and The Exceptional Bean to discuss her entrepreneurial journey and the books that helped shape it; starting with The Baby-Sitters Club. Then they go on to discuss more books like Shopkeeping by Peter Miller, Ina Garten's memoir, and what Cigi calls a must-read for all women over 40, We Might Just Make it After All. 

For the fiftieth episode of Life of Plenty, Lisa and Ashley host two incredible guests, Calvin Crosby of The King's English and Brain Food Books, along with Ann Kjellberg of Book Post.
 
Together they discuss the books that shaped their lives, ranging from comic books and Beverly Cleary's Ramona series, to Peter Pan, Ginger Pye in their childhoods all the way to Salmon Rushdie, Toni Morrison, and Michael Cunningham's books later on. Ann discusses what led her to writing the Book Post, and Calvin talks about his journey in the bookselling and book awards world. 
 
Then they talk about what reading means to them: Infinite possibilities and life, itself.

This episode is part of a four-part series as partners with Restoring Childhood Putnam County, an initiative to help families "hit pause on constant screen time and press play on the kind of childhood that builds imagination, confidence, and real connection." 
 
On this episode of the Life of Plenty Podcast, Lisa goes solo to provide a breakdown of Putnam County's community read, The Anxious Generation, showing why it's such an important read. If you've been considering joining in with the community in reading and studying the book, this is an insightful guide that breaks down why too much cell phone use is having a negative impact on teens, and what we, as a community, can do about it. 

This episode is part of a four-part series as partners with Restoring Childhood Putnam County, an initiative to help families "hit pause on constant screen time and press play on the kind of childhood that builds imagination, confidence, and real connection." In this episode of Life of Plenty, Ashley and Lisa talk with educator Ryan Dalton and leader of the community-wide deep dive into The Anxious Generation. Together Plenty has partnered with Ryan and Restoring Childhood Putnam County to study the research on the long term effects of social media and cell phones on today's kids. But they're also questioning what we, as a community, can do to change it.