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House Lessons
House Lessons: Renovating a Life | Erica Bauermeister
10 posts | 10 read | 17 to read
FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR ERICA BAUERMEISTER COMES A MEMOIR ABOUT THE POWER OF HOME--AND THE TRANSFORMATIVE ACT OF RESTORING ONE HOUSE IN PARTICULAR. "I think anyone who saves an old house has to be a caretaker at heart, a believer in underdogs, someone whose imagination is inspired by limitations, not endless options." In this mesmerizing memoir-in-essays, Erica Bauermeister renovates a trash-filled house in eccentric Port Townsend, Washington, and in the process takes readers on a journey to discover the ways our spaces subliminally affect us. A personal, accessible, and literary exploration of the psychology of architecture, as well as a loving tribute to the connections we forge with the homes we care for and live in, this book is designed for anyone who's ever fallen head over heels for a house. It is also a story of a marriage, of family, and of the kind of roots that settle deep into your heart. Discover what happens when a house has its own lessons to teach in this moving and insightful memoir that ultimately shows us how to make our own homes (and lives) better.
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staci.reads
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Pickpick

I don't remember where I heard about this book, maybe on a podcast, but I'm so glad I did! As the owner of an old house who has done lots and lots of renovation, I connected with the stories about the author's renovation and her appreciation for old houses. As a married, middle-aged mother, I connected with the stories she tells about her marriage and children. The parallels she draws between the two felt spot on.

54 likes3 stack adds
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intothehallofbooks
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Pickpick

I listened to this one chapter at a time and I loved it from start to finish. The author and her husband buy a home in serious disrepair and she details their road to renovating it over the course of many years. My husband and I are one year into remodeling our own home, and I felt kinship with the author in some instances and shock at some of their financial decisions in others. I particularly loved the history of houses and rooms she included.

22 likes1 stack add
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LeslieO
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Mid year check in #readinggoals. Doing good on my nonfiction and overall goal. Gotta work on #serieslove2023

29 likes1 stack add
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Mogoeg
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Mehso-so

This didn't quite work for me. Memoir of a house renovation along with a social/material history of American domestic architecture & construction. The location is so familiar to me - where I grew up (both Seattle & the Kitsap Peninsula) - but while that should've drawn me in, instead I found it strangely off-putting. I felt like I should've enjoyed it more than I did but it's very low stakes & ultimately not a particularly compelling situation.

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fredthemoose
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Mehso-so

⭐️⭐️⭐️ the author and her husband buy a second home in serious disrepair and fix it up. I enjoyed a lot of the practical things about cleaning and renovating the house. The emotional journey and the bits about the house telling her what it needed worked less well for me. I‘m sure money was tight, but that hits different for a couple raising a family and buying and renovating a second home on one income. Between a soft pick and a so-so.

43 likes1 stack add
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SheReadsAndWrites
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Pickpick

I LOVED this book! 😍 Her fiction books are some of my favorites and this one is now up there as well. She and her family renovate an old house in Port Townsend and she weaves in marriage and motherhood and her writing life as they go. I don't think I'll ever look at a house the same way again. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #greatread

40 likes1 stack add
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Bookishlie
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Pickpick

She does not disappoint. A memoir of a renovation she did. The language is as beautiful as ever and the storytelling just as amazing! So far she has not diassapointed!!

27 likes2 stack adds
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Kristin_Reads
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I‘ve been on a memoir kick lately and love this one, set in my neck of the woods in the Pacific Northwest. Features a major house renovation and personal revelations discovered along the way.

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Meredithtew
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Mehso-so

2nd book of the year. Well written, but ideas were cray. I‘m way to practical to relate.

Erinreadsthebooks Oh man, I have this one but haven‘t read it. 4y
3 likes1 comment
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webhau1
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this book. I like how she writes and tells a story using many of the senses. I read most of this in part of one day.