Notes from a Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World by Tsh Oxenreider (PDF)

Description

Life is chaotic. But we can choose to live it differently. It doesn’t always feel like it, but we do have the freedom to creatively change the little things in our lives so that our path better aligns with our values and passions. Part memoir, part travelogue, part practical guide, Notes from a Blue Bike takes you on a ride from a hillside in Kosovo to a Turkish high-rise, to the congested city of Austin to a small town in Oregon. It chronicles schooling quandaries and dinnertime dilemmas, as well as entrepreneurial adventures and family excursions via plane, train, automobile, and blue cruiser bike. Entertaining and compelling–yet never shrill or dogmatic–Notes from a Blue Bike invites you to climb on your own bike, pay attention to who you are, and make some important choices. It’s a risky ride, but it’s worth it–living your life according to who you really are is a beautiful thing. It’s never too late.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I totally believe in the concept of living intentionally and that the world is fairly chaotic if you allow it to be, so I was interested in reading this from the time I first saw it announced on the author’s blog.I enjoyed the first couple of chapters where one chapter was focussed on her experiences in Turkey, and then the next on the USA, and then it flipped around again.After that though, the book felt to me like it was all over the place, dipping into and out of different periods in the author’s life and I couldn’t seem to find the flow very well.You see, the book was organised into themes – Food, Education, Travel, etc. which I have no trouble with but the chapters were almost sample chapters. I felt like I was just getting involved and interested when the chapter was over. It felt a bit like a book of short stories which always leave me feeling unfulfilled.I also felt like the author held back too much. That might just be me being curious but I’m 100% sure I’m not the only one of the blog readers who wanted to hear more from her experiences, not just her theories.To sum up…1. I expected more of the simpler living/ slow lifestyle practicality (maybe because of my romantic notions of the blue bike) which was lacking except for a few pages throughout the book (maybe 5 all in all)2. It was interesting to see how she tried to be objective but I felt like there was quite a bit of judgement coming through, especially for American families who have chosen a different way (work normal jobs, don’t want to travel that much, etc.).3. I’ve just gone onto Amazon to check how the book was marketed…Part memoir, part travelogue, part practical guide, Notes from a Blue Bike takes you from a hillside in Kosovo to a Turkish high-rise to the congested city of Austin to asmall town in Oregon. It chronicles schooling quandaries and dinnertime dilemmas, as well as entrepreneurial adventures and family excursions via plane, train, automobile, and blue cruiser bike. I think the book would have worked better if it was written as it was marketed – chronologically, so that we got a sense of how her life stage was impacted by where she lived. For me, this book jumped around too much.I would have given the book a 2.5 because the writing is good, and so I’ve given 3 stars because I can’t bring myself to give 2 because of my unmet expectations :)If you’re a fan of the blog, you’ll probably enjoy the book if you go in without big expectations of the how-to achieve this intentional life.

⭐It’s one of those days again. The baby woke up several times last night, my husband’s back hurt, we left the dishes undone. Now, in the morning hours when I think I should take a shower and tackle my to-do list, the baby won’t nap and I just want to enjoy some time for me with my book and journal. I want to shut out the busy but I’m a grown-up now and I have responsibilities. Take out for dinner sounds easiest; I want to stay home with our son but maybe I should get a part-time job; we haven’t taken a trip in over a year; why can’t we seem to stick to our budget?How can I find the simple life? How can I slow down? How can I make the most out of every moment?Every mom and dad out there surely asks themselves these questions at some point in their lives. Every person must wonder what I wonder—we look for the life we were meant to live.Tsh and her family decided to do more than just dream; they decided to do the hard stuff (pedal up those hills) so that they could enjoy life (and sometimes coast down the other side) as a young family. They don’t ditch to-do lists and they have those hectic mornings like we all do, but they focus on living intentionally instead of just getting swept up in the current of the fast-paced culture. In the prologue she writes, “This book is about us living life instead of life living us—one small choice after another, day after day, month after month, year after glorious year. It’s about living with intention.”Splitting life into the five categories of food, work, education, travel, and entertainment, Tsh shows her family’s journey in these areas and how they came to exist in the “busy” but not let it be their master. I love that even though my life is not her life—and it shouldn’t be—I can improve in each of these areas to take a better bite out of all they have to offer.And so can everyone.This is not a how-to or a self-help book. This is not a book read once and forgotten. This is Tsh sharing her family story in a beautiful way as one friend to another, hoping that what she has learned can make an impact on others to embrace life and make changes that work for them.

⭐A lovely read – the final chapter on debt – is really interesting and useful.

⭐Love the simplicity that is promoted in this book, little book of joy!

⭐I adore Tsh and her blog so the book was a lovely addition, it’s just a really nice easy read with short chapters.

⭐This book is interesting, well written and just a general joy to read. I have read it twice now and am looking forward to reading it again. It covers a broad range of topics with refreshingly short chapters.

⭐While I do enjoy Tsh Oxenreider’s writing style, overall this book was a big disappointment. It felt like a series of blog posts that didn’t always hang well together. She does organizing them by topic, but the book still felt a bit unorganized.Oxenreider writes about how her family travels and how they try to readjust to life back in America. Her choice of words sometimes makes it feel like she is being very judgemental towards people who choose a more traditional way of life, although I am sure that isn’t how she meant things. None the less, she seems to be pushing the narrative that we must all make big sacrifices in order to travel otherwise we aren’t well rounded people. I love to travel, so I do understand what she is trying to say, but it is a shame that it comes across as it does. I get the same feeling when she talks about food choices and public vs home schooling. (In the boom she says she doesn’t home school right now but at the same time she seems to be putting it forward as the best method.)The last bit of the book almost reads like an infomercial for Dave Ramsey. I mean, being debt free and traveling is important, but it is also a bit misleading to leave all the money matters to the end of a book that is supposed to be a love song to travel and intentional living with your family. Very few people are in the financial position of Oxenreider and her family and I feel like she stops just short of shaming people who don’t follow her lead.The idea of Oxenreider’s message is good (travel with your famil, live intentionally, and live within your means), but I didn’t enjoy the presentation.

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