Welcome! I'm Irene.
Compulsively Quirky is a space for sharing my passion for reading and all bookish things along with some OCD tips for leading a simpler and more organized life.
I hope you enjoy your visit!
Welcome! I'm Irene.
Compulsively Quirky is a space for sharing my passion for reading and all bookish things along with some OCD tips for leading a simpler and more organized life.
I hope you enjoy your visit!
I'm a library specialist, dog mom, book nerd, and blogger who lives in Tucson, Arizona with my significant other, who is not on social media so I refer to him here as My Person.
Compulsively Quirky is a space where I share my love of reading and books. My absolute favorite genre is science-fiction, but I also love fantasy and mysteries. As a former middle school teacher, YA books hold a special appeal for me. In the past few years, I've also been reading more and more nonfiction.
When I started this blog in 2014, I also wrote about adopting minimalism, living more simply, organizing myself digitally, and sharing some of my travels. While I plan to write on these topics from time to time, most of my future content will be book-centered.
First, the name describes my personality. As an INFJ, the OCD is strong in me. Post-It Notes make me tingle. My refrigerator magnets line up perfectly. Soap scum will not be tolerated.
I genuinely get excited about color-coding, cross-referencing, and organizing...anything! When I started using the Cloud, I was blown away by how much paper I could eliminate from my life. Evernote may be my favorite app of all time. There is some serious competition from Trello, though.
When people first meet me, they assume I'm extroverted. Maybe because sometimes I do get too loud. I'm just enthusiastic, so I get animated. I bought the t-shirt "Introverts Unite (Separately)" to set the record straight. While I love hanging out with my friends, I do need a lot of time to decompress and recharge.
Second, the name describes my blog content. If you check out my archives, you'll see a smattering of topics. I created this blog to celebrate and share all the quirky things I love, including useful pointers on building a balanced life. I hope you'll share your passions, tips, and individuality as well.
While I have a few posts about being a new dog mom, I quickly realized that I wanted to write even more about caring for and training our two Labradoodles. I created McSquare Doodles to share what I was learning about training our dogs to become certified therapy dogs.
Woof!
We’re Labradoodles Bernie and Lizzie McSquare! Subscribe at McSquare Doodles to receive our monthly newsletter to follow our training journey to become certified therapy dogs
Books: The Handmaid's Tale and Pride and Prejudice
Favorite Genre: Science-Fiction
Movie: The Empire Strikes Back
Movie Musical: The Sound of Music
Holiday: International Talk Like a Pirate Day
Heroines: Elizabeth Bennett and Lizbeth Salander
Hero: Atticus Finch
Cookie: Homemade Chocolate Chips with no raisins and no oatmeal!
TED Talk: Shane Koyczan: To This Day ... for the bullied and beautiful!
Game: World of Warcraft (For the Horde!)
Teacher: My sixth grade language arts teacher Mrs. Snellback for introducing me to many new book genres. I loved reading before Mrs. Snellback, but I will forever be indebted to her for inspiring me to vary my reading choices. If you want to read more about how much this one teacher influenced me, please check out my post on the Women's Legacy Project.
Clothing Item: Comfy Non-Skid Critter Slipper Socks
