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Joy in Plain Sight: Stories and Essays Celebrating Wonder in the Ordinary
2022 PenCraft Book Award First Place Winner
2022 IAN Book of the Year Award Finalist
What if we could feel more like human beings and less like human doings?
Ours is a noisy, busy world. We flit from one task to the next and get bombarded by infinite distractions. We ask ourselves, “What’s next?” while yearning to slow down time. And yet, our days blur together and the years rush past.
Perhaps there's a better way to be.
What if we could pause time to see the spark in the mundane and return our attention to the ordinary moments that make life feel extraordinary?
Joy in Plain Sight is a collection of stories and essays that explore the beautiful, absurd, serendipitous things that make us human. That smile from a stranger. A vibrantly blooming lemon tree. The constellations of freckles on a lover’s skin.
Within these pages, you will find the outcomes of a year-long experiment to intentionally focus on the small moments that matter most. This celebration of wonder in the ordinary will inspire you to find your own joy in plain sight, creating a brighter, zestier world for you and your loved ones.
Joy in Plain Sight won first place in the PenCraft Book Awards in the Motivational category, and is a finalist in the IAN Book of the Year Awards in the Spiritual/Inspirational category.
2022 IAN Book of the Year Award Finalist
What if we could feel more like human beings and less like human doings?
Ours is a noisy, busy world. We flit from one task to the next and get bombarded by infinite distractions. We ask ourselves, “What’s next?” while yearning to slow down time. And yet, our days blur together and the years rush past.
Perhaps there's a better way to be.
What if we could pause time to see the spark in the mundane and return our attention to the ordinary moments that make life feel extraordinary?
Joy in Plain Sight is a collection of stories and essays that explore the beautiful, absurd, serendipitous things that make us human. That smile from a stranger. A vibrantly blooming lemon tree. The constellations of freckles on a lover’s skin.
Within these pages, you will find the outcomes of a year-long experiment to intentionally focus on the small moments that matter most. This celebration of wonder in the ordinary will inspire you to find your own joy in plain sight, creating a brighter, zestier world for you and your loved ones.
Joy in Plain Sight won first place in the PenCraft Book Awards in the Motivational category, and is a finalist in the IAN Book of the Year Awards in the Spiritual/Inspirational category.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 3, 2022
7 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 31, 2023
In a world obsessed with doing more and cluttered with maximalist approaches to self-development, this book felt like a breath of fresh air. Katya can describe even the simplest of everyday things with beautiful detail. This attention to detail helps emphasize the theme of slowing down, being present, and viewing the world with childlike curiosity even in the most familiar of places. The author finds a balance of subtly suggesting ways to find joy through her real-world examples, without being direct in saying "This is the way".
Overall an enjoyable and fun read. After finishing it, I went for a walk on a path I'd taken dozens of times. I intentionally walked slower to take in as many small details I might have overlooked before; holes in a telephone pole created by a woodpecker, a single blooming flower on a large vine of flowers that have yet to bloom, the feeling of the wind on my arm, the different frequencies of sound various bird species make against one another. I hope to continue those practices moving forward so I too can find Joy in Plain Sight.
Overall an enjoyable and fun read. After finishing it, I went for a walk on a path I'd taken dozens of times. I intentionally walked slower to take in as many small details I might have overlooked before; holes in a telephone pole created by a woodpecker, a single blooming flower on a large vine of flowers that have yet to bloom, the feeling of the wind on my arm, the different frequencies of sound various bird species make against one another. I hope to continue those practices moving forward so I too can find Joy in Plain Sight.
May 7, 2022
A joy to read!
With colorful vocabulary and poetic punctuation of fact quotidian or mirthful musing, this collection of delectable stories humbly practices what it preaches: slow down and smell the roses!
An open book to a thriving millennial's journey-thus-far spans scales minute to massive and topics grave to gratuitous. Katya radiates a welcome beam of genuine joy by not striving for a lesson or a punchline, a picture or a paradigm--being enjoyable without doing too much. Highly recommend adding this smile to your bookshelf.
With colorful vocabulary and poetic punctuation of fact quotidian or mirthful musing, this collection of delectable stories humbly practices what it preaches: slow down and smell the roses!
An open book to a thriving millennial's journey-thus-far spans scales minute to massive and topics grave to gratuitous. Katya radiates a welcome beam of genuine joy by not striving for a lesson or a punchline, a picture or a paradigm--being enjoyable without doing too much. Highly recommend adding this smile to your bookshelf.
July 31, 2022
Delightful chronicles of what it means to be human, and trying, hard as it might be at times, to see joy in the plain ordinary that life can be. The concepts of the book are a kind reminder to remain curious, and open our eyes and hearts to experiencing new things, while also looking at old things with fresh new perspectives. It’s a joy to know Katya personally, and it was a joy to get to know more about her story through her writing it.
January 28, 2023
My wife gave me this book during a tumultuous time in my life. The feel-good stories and essays center on everyday events that make people grin or feel good. Simple things that we take for granted, but loom larger if time is taken to appreciate them. I enjoyed the read and admired the effort of gathering these soothing thoughts from a full-year of the author's personal observations.
October 6, 2022
A wonderful book to start by every morning. A tale shared about the joy found in those moments we take for granted. Thank you Katya Davydova for sharing yourself with the world in this way.
June 15, 2022
I wanted to love this book. As a fellow NDP author, I wanted to support another up-and-coming author so bought and read the Kindle version. I love the premise of this book, and the cover definitely sparks feel-good vibes. At times, the writing was hard to follow because there were so many adjectives used, some of which I had to look up. It interrupted the flow of the story for me.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews