Peg Cheng

Author + Teacher

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The First Snail Mail Pegsville Post!

First page of Jan 2020 Pegsville PostThe first Pegsville Post was sent via the U.S. Mail to 31 subscribers last week! Whoohoo!

It was thrilling to fold each six-page newsletter into thirds, slip it into an envelope, stick on the stamp and address, and then mail it off. As I suspected, going analog with my newsletter made me feel so good. Though I always enjoy communicating with my peeps, sending newsletters out over email felt like more of a chore, while handwriting and drawing a newsletter on paper was tangible, tactile, and joyful.

This newsletter covered my special word and song for 2020, the radical moves I’m making this year to be more analog in my life and business, what I’m currently writing, and the workshops I’m offering this spring (three so far!). You can read the whole newsletter here: Pegsville Post 1.2020.

I’m planning on mailing out the Pegsville Post four times a year. To get on the mailing list, go here and fill out my contact form.

If you’d rather not receive mail, you can read it here on my blog about a week after it’s mailed out. To find out when it’s posted, fill out the box below to subscribe to my blog.

Hope you enjoy this issue of the Pegsville Post. Thanks, as always, for reading!

Peg Cheng is the author of The Contenders, a novel that asks, can enemies become friends? She is currently writing a book about how to retire as a millionaire even if you make a modest income. Peg is also the creator of Fear & Writing, a workshop for procrastinating writers from all walks of life.

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Books I Read in 2019 (with my Top 10)

I read 33 books in 2019.

I read less books this year, but enjoyed way more of what I read. I’m getting better at choosing books for myself and I’ve also been getting great recommendations from people who have similar interests.

I’ve listed the books in the order in which I read them. As I did in 2018, I picked the Top 10 Books that I especially enjoyed. These books are in bold and I highly recommend them. But, I have to tell you, it was hard to narrow it down to ten because I enjoyed so many of these books!

  1. Cactus Hotel by Brenda Z. Guiberson & Megan Lloyd *
  2. Make Trouble by John Waters *
  3. Diana, Herself by Martha Beck
  4. Dodging Energy Vampires by Christiane Northrop
  5. How to Write for Animation by Jeffery Scott
  6. It’s Not Your Money by Tosha Silver
  7. Dead is Better by Jo Perry
  8. 3 Word Rebellion by Michelle A. Mazur
  9. Dead is Best by Jo Perry
  10. Outrageous Openness by Tosha Silver *
  11. The Warrior Ethos by Steven Pressfield
  12. How to be Everything by Emilie Wapnick
  13. Keep Going by Austin Kleon
  14. Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
  15. The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
  16. Old Souls by Brian McDonald and Les McClaine
  17. I.M. by Issac Mizrahi
  18. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling *
  19. Snakeskin Shamisen by Naomi Hirahara
  20. Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart
  21. Signs by Laura Lynne Jackson
  22. The INFJ Revolution by Lauren Sapala
  23. Brunhilda’s Backwards Day by Shawna J.C. Tenney
  24. Wee Sister Strange by Holly Grant & K.G. Campbell
  25. SKULLS! by Blair Thornburgh & Scott Campbell
  26. Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey & Júlia Sardà
  27. Arthur’s Halloween by Marc Brown
  28. Scaredy Squirrel Prepares for Halloween by Mélanie Watt
  29. Mouse and Mole: A Perfect Halloween by Wong Herbert Yee
  30. How to Make Friends with a Ghost by Rebecca Green
  31. Thirst by Heather “Anish” Anderson
  32. The Year of the Monkey by Patti Smith
  33. Tru & Nelle: A Christmas Tale by G. Neri
  34. Ever Faithful to his Lead by Kathleen Pooler

* = I’ve read this book before

Looking back, if I could only read three books from this list, I’d choose Dodging Energy Vampires by Christiane Northrop, How to be Everything by Emilie Wapnick, and The INFJ Revolution by Lauren Sapala. These books had a profoundly positive effect on me. They’re helping me to live a healthier, more energized life by teaching me how to let go of the people, thoughts, and things that have been draining me and dragging me under. I am so grateful to Christiane, Emilie, and Lauren. I highly recommend all of them and I know I’ll be reading these books again.

I would be remiss if I didn’t point out my favorite fiction books for the year. They were the excellent mystery Dead is Best by Jo Perry, the gripping graphic novel Old Souls by Brian McDonald and Les McClaine, and the terrific mystery Snakeskin Shamisen by Naomi Hirahara. I highly recommend them all.

Hope this list gives you good ideas for books to read in 2020. And if you’ve read any of these already, please let me know what you thought of them in the comments box.

Happy New Year and happy reading!

Peg Cheng is the author of The Contenders, a novel that asks, can enemies become friends? She is currently writing a book about how to retire as a millionaire even if you make a modest income. Peg is also the creator of Fear & Writing, a workshop for procrastinating writers from all walks of life.

Photo by Annie Spratt.