39 Comments

Great and extremely interesting and enjoyable post/interview.

Expand full comment
author

Thanks, Mark! I'm happy you enjoyed reading it. :)

Expand full comment

I am so glad you enjoyed reading about my work and am happy to connect with you here!

Expand full comment

I’d like that Stephanie

Expand full comment

Great interview! Love the idea of sending reading recs on notecards.

Expand full comment
author

Thanks! I know, in the age of the internet, how antiquated that seems, but so fun!

Expand full comment

It's one of my favorite things to do. I hope you signed up for one!

Expand full comment

Enjoyed.

Expand full comment
author

Thanks for reading!

Expand full comment

So glad you enjoyed a sneak peek into my bookish world. So happy to connect here!

Expand full comment

That Snail Mail project is such a great idea!!!!!!

Expand full comment
author

I agree!

Expand full comment

I hope you'll fill out the form so I can send you one, Amy! =)

Expand full comment

I ABSOLUTELY will, and I also told my boyfriend and some friends about it who are big readers. Also, nobody gets snail mail anymore so this is a really fun thing to look forward to! 📬

Expand full comment

I'm so glad! I'll watch out for the submission and send one right out! =) Thanks for spreading the word!

Expand full comment

Thank you so much, can't wait! 👏

Expand full comment

I enjoyed this nterview, Gayla! I've always found reading and writing therapeutic, but it's fascinating to hear from one who has been healed by it and is helping others in so many ways.

Expand full comment

Your kind words mean so much! I'm so grateful for what reading and writing have done for me and feel like I need to shout my message from the rooftops so others can do the same. So glad to connect with you here!

Expand full comment

Me too! Welcome to Substack. I just subscribed!

Expand full comment
author

I agree. I learned so much from Stephanie. :)

Expand full comment

So much here! I love the snail mail recommendations and the personal book apothecary.

Expand full comment

I'd love to send you a snail mail postcard, Charlotte! I hope you'll fill my form out!

Expand full comment

Thank you! I just did!

Expand full comment

Very interesting

Expand full comment
Jun 19Liked by Gayla Gray

This was such a great read! And thank you for introducing us to another book podcast :)

Expand full comment
author

Thanks for reading!

Expand full comment

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I love making new bookish connections. =)

Expand full comment

Loved the interview!! I do have a question that maybe I missed. Is it better to use pen, keyboard, and does it make a difference in any of the findings? I really like Journaling by keyboard. I can't type my thoughts faster than writing by hand.

Expand full comment
author

Patti, I will message Stephanie and see if she can answer your question as I'd like to know the answer, too. :)

Expand full comment

Oh, this is a good question, Patti! ANY kind of writing you can do that gets what's on your mind and heart off your mind and heart and onto the paper will have positive benefits. BUT. Research does show that the most impact comes when we write by hand. It's the left to write motion of our eyes and hands, the sound of the writing utensil as it scrapes across the page and the kinesthetic movement. I do understand your dilemma of wanting to write faster....but that's the very reason we get the most benefits on our parasympathetic nervous system by hand. =) It slows us down. Try mixing it up and every once and a while and see how it feels....then tell me about it!

Expand full comment

This was such a delightful newsletter. I’m passing it along to kindred reader spirits and signing up for a postcard! I know it’s a whole thing (maybe it’s called sketchnoting?), but even though I’m not an artist, I love adding what I might describe as “content-informed doodles” to my notes. It does slow me down, but also gives me another kind of clue about the material than only the words.

Expand full comment

Yes, Kelly! It IS called sketchnoting and I love it as an authentic and creative form of reading response. I am NOT a very good artist, but anyone can sketchnote, which I really love about the practice. =) I think I might have to dive into this more on an upcoming episode of my Get Lit(erate). podcast. Thanks for the inspiration! Do you ever share your sketchnotes socially to peek at?

Expand full comment

Hi Stephanie, I am at my most social right here on Substack! However, if I come across some worth sharing I'll send you a DM. ;)

Expand full comment

I'll try doing this by hand for a month or so and see if I feel differently. Writing is an activity that is in my blood. I used to write everything by hand, once I started using a keyboard the words soared freely. I took up doodling, coloring, and drawing to keep my hand/eye coordination strong. I use a notebook for 'notes' that morph into ideas and short ditty pieces. Thank you for responding! It was a great interview.

Expand full comment

This. This is exactly what I love notebooking for. It's a place to hold thoughts, to act as a springboard for ideas, to launch the next form of writing or creativity. I love using Google Keep to hold onto things when I am on the run, then I often jot them in my physical notebook and go back to Google Docs when I want to write something to share. I am obsessed with the process everyone takes!

Expand full comment

You should take a look at https://jillianhess.substack.com

She has an amazing Substack that is all about note taking.

Expand full comment

Yes! I'm already subscribed. =) Thank you!

Expand full comment
Jun 25Liked by Gayla Gray

Wonderful interview! Reading has become even more important in my life, learning from Stephanie about applying the messages from books to my actual life-- that's the piece I was missing! And, writing is now a new part of my life -- I keep a book journal now and I'm more consistent with my morning pages! 😍

Expand full comment
author

I'm so happy that you found it helpful. Thanks for reading!

Expand full comment