On the Bookshelf : Fall Reading List
One of the 3 things on my decluttering list from our recent challenge was to whip up our bookshelf. It meant getting rid of books we don’t need and books we’re not crazy about. It also meant reading the books that I’ve always wanted to read.
As the cold slips into the neighborhood and we spend more time snuggling up with blankets and hot tea, it feels like the perfect time to introduce the books pulled from my shelf and onto my reading list right now. All three of these books feel like really inspiring pieces – a little heavy reading, a little light reading. Why keep it to myself or interrupt Martin from his school work every time I stumble on something fascinating? Here they are for you, too:
1. Good Calories, Bad Calories
by Gary Taubes
My neighbor says this book is a must-read for people who want to understand more about our food system and our bodies.
I’ve been warned that this book is pretty dense but really, really incredible.
It’s perfect for reading piece by piece. That way you can digest the thoughts (what a pun!). It gives you things to think about as you grocery shop and prepare meals so you can ideally make positive changes.
Next up….
I’ve loved every book by Maguire, author of Wicked. Have you seen the Broadway play or read any of his other works?
He completely transforms the old fairytales that we know so well, and he tells them from the villain’s perspective. Fascinating. I love how his fiction make me question the truth and reality of what we think we know.
I’m excited to see if this book offers the same thrill with beautiful descriptions and prose.
And to wrap it all up…
by Gay Hendricks
A friend suggested this book about a year ago. I’ve completely forgotten why she said to dig into the pages of this one.
The theme of the book is “finding joy in the real world”. It’s all about awakening creativity and letting go of what we cannot control. It’s all about being true to yourself, which makes me think I know just why this book has been suggested. Being true to yourself versus doing what we think society says we should – well I’m all about that!
So that’s the list happily piled on our little shelf, ready for blankets and, okay – I’ve changed my mind. Not tea. Rather, this apple cider. Have you read any of these? Any like them? Or do you have another book you just can’t get enough of right now that you’d like to shout off the frozen rooftops about?
October 6th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
I really like alternating between novels and nonfiction. Right now I’m reading a novel called The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. It’s about a girl who realizes that she can taste the feeling of the preparer in everything she eats. There’s a lot in there about family dynamics and such, too, which makes it interesting beyond the premise. It’s fascinating, really. I’ve decided to take this gloomy evening ‘off’ and make some more progress.
October 6th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Ashley – thanks for the description of your current read. Sounds realllly interesting!
Katie
October 6th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
I’m also a Maguire fan, for the most part. I love Wicked, but I only barely suffered through the two sequels. That said, I adore Confessions of a Wicked Stepsister and Mirror, Mirror. If memory serves, Mirror, Mirror is rather smuttier (is that a word? It is now!) than his other books, but smut doesn’t bother me. Beth did not like it. She also read Lost (I think that’s the title…). The one about Jack the Ripper something or another, and she hated it. I can’t vouch.
October 6th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
Thanks for the tip, Marla. I’m sure you can guess: Beth was the very person who introduced me to Maguire!
October 8th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
My favorite series of all time is the Mitford series by Jan Karon. Definately books I will read more than once, they are delightful.
October 11th, 2010 at 7:22 am
I was re-reading my friend’s copy of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle during our trip. I want to read the whole thing again now. Also, I’m reading Committed, by Elizabeth Gilbert. Her other book Eat Pray Love found me at a time when I needed the inspiration to move on from one chapter of my life and into a new, healthier one. Committed is interesting, as it’s her story of making “peace” with marriage when border control says she has to marry her foreign boyfriend if she wants him to return to the US ever again. Did you know that while over 50% of US marriages end in divorce, the percentage gets smaller and smaller as you look at older and older subsets of people? It’s much lower than 50% for people who are in their 30′s and 40′s.
October 14th, 2010 at 11:13 am
Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese (Easily my 2010 Favorite Book!! Unique story line that doesn’t read like anything you’ve heard before.)
and
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky (amazing. “The author as a successful writer living in Paris, but she was also a Jew, and in 1942 she was arrested and deported to Auschwitz, where she died. For 64yrs this novel remained hidden and unknown.” says the back of the book. Her book is a foreshadow to her death, amazingly well written and very life-like. Probably my #2 book this year. Also an unusual and realistic story line.)