Winter 2023: Keep It Simple

It’s a brand-new year here at The Bookery, and we’re ready for a new year and the fresh canvas it represents. A new year also means a slightly different approach to our content, which we’re introducing today in a conversation with our founder, Mandy Crow.

How will The Bookery look a little different in 2023?

The Bible, books and baking—and articles centered on those topics—will still be on full display in 2023. But The Bookery is just barely over a year old, and we’re still trying to figure out the best ways to organize, generate and publish that content. One of the things you might notice in 2023 is we’re going to set out some seasonal themes that will help shape some of our content.

Tell us more about these themes.

Sure! If you read magazines, you’ve probably noticed that issues often follow seasonal themes. We’re taking that approach, so first up is winter, during which we’ll be focusing on simplicity. In the spring, we’ll look at renewal and growth, and we’re planning to focus on being present this summer and authenticity this fall.

So first up is simplicity. Why simplicity?

Truth be told, I ended 2022 flat-out exhausted. I think I said yes to too many things in an already busy season, didn’t get enough rest and because I didn’t make the most important things primary, missed out on getting to do some things I love during the holiday season, like baking cookies to give to friends and family. So this theme is a little personal, I guess! I do think that at the beginning of a new year, many of us are ready to take a good look at the year before and refocus on the things that are most important to us. That’s what simplicity is to me: focusing on what’s most important and letting the rest go. For me, that’s relationships, faith and being able to use my gifts and talents in a way that makes the world better. At The Bookery, rather than creating long lists of goals or burdening people down with complicated recipes and reading lists, we want to look at the Bible, books and baking through the lens of simplicity. And that lens will guide our content for the next couple of months.

What excites you about that?

I see this theme as a chance to take a deep breath as a community, and that’s exciting to me. 2022 was our first year of “back to normal” in many ways, and I think I, and maybe many others, tried to go back to a “normal” that maybe doesn’t—and shouldn't—exist anymore. One of the key lessons I learned as our world grew a bit quieter during the worst of the pandemic was the power of saying no to things that distracted me from what was most important to me. In 2022, I said yes to too many things, so it’s exciting to me to refocus, take a deep breath and recognize the importance of rest and the power of saying no.

We can’t wait for the next year with you, readers! Join us over the next few weeks as we begging to unveil new content focused on the Bible, books and baking!