Non-book CPB Stuff

  • Paper Cutting

    Last week, my husband and I took an → in-person ← paper cutting class at the Nordic Heritage Museum. It was the first time we’ve gone on something approaching a real date since the pandemic started 19 months ago. It was taught by the lovely Anna Brones, a local artist I follow on Instagram, and… Continue reading

  • Keeping 2020 Goals Simple

    I normally get really carried away with my New Year’s Goals — most years I have upwards of a dozen of them, and I make a point of making each one Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant and Time-based (SMART). My lists often span a few journal pages and get pretty complicated. I think it’s a remnant… Continue reading

  • CPB Goals 2018

    How many posts can I write about my 2018 goals? We’re going to find out!   (Don’t know what a commonplace book is? Read about it here.)   So as you saw in the previous post, my co-blogger Vicky is quite prolific with her commonplace book. Me, not so much. As with many things in my life,… Continue reading

  • Insta-poetry and Insta-piration

    I’m sitting in the Phoenix airport waiting for my sister’s plane to arrive. We’re spending a long weekend together, living it up in Sedona with a little side trip to the Grand Canyon, a present I gave her months ago for her 50th birthday. I’ve been so torn about this trip. I adore my sister… Continue reading

  • ​The Dunning–Kruger Effect

    This weekend we were driving down to Tacoma and because it’s a long and boring ride we listened to a This American Life podcast on the way. Ira Glass talked to two researchers, David Dunning and Justin Kruger, who conducted some very cool studies. They gave a bunch of college students some quizzes — on… Continue reading

About Me

I’m Victoria Griffith and I am enthusiastic about a LOT of things. Pine trees and mushrooms and the desert. Mountains and motorcycles, travel and photography. Friendship and writing and books and surviving the love of your life’s terminal diagnosis.


I read constantly, think about reading obsessively, and have strong opinions about what makes a great memoir. I write about books here, and I’m working on one of my own.

I was born in Paterson, NJ, call Seattle home, and spend winters in the desert of Southern California, where the light is different and the ocotillos are doing something extraordinary. I try to get out and see as much of the world as time and money will allow.

If you’d like to say hi, you can reach me at vgriff@vgriff.com.

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