What’s She Reading?

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I am a lover of words.

And pages that turn.

I spent most of my childhood lost in a book. It was safer there. I can remember saving up my allowance and counting the nickels and dimes in anticipation of the next Nancy Drew book I would hold in my hands. It’s funny, I see this image in my mind, me standing in a bookstore beside my dad, looking at the bright yellow spine, knowing I will read the book in a day and wondering if the author writing these books can keep up with the children devouring them.

I realized recently that, for many years (too many years), I had fallen into a must-read trap. Of course we must read books when we are in college studying to be the people we decided we wanted to be when we grew up. And then, we must read all the self-help books that carry us through the more painful passages of our lives: broken hearts, loss of a loved one, a tangled childhood that we’re still trying to unravel.

And for me, the intellectually curious, insatiable learner, there was always a HUGE library of educational books, both for me and for the children I taught. I’ll never forget the teaching year I switched from first grade to second and discovered I would be covering ancient civilizations. The bookshelves in my home became stocked with books on Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, China. Even my coffee table books reflected this new course of study.

Then came my new career and with it, hundreds (yes hundreds) of books on health, diet and nutrition. Too many books on health, diet and nutrition. And, pretty soon I had lost touch with the books I loved. The books I crawled into and savored. The books I didn’t want to end.

So what am I reading today? No more self help books, that’s for sure. No more books on health and nutrition. No more business building books.

I’m reading literature. I’m reading memoir. I’m reading poetry.

And all the books I’ve missed in the must-reads.

Of course, there’s always a cookbook or a foodie memoir on the nightstand because I LOVE sitting in the kitchen with one of my favorite food bloggers as she whips up a meal for her beloved.

And yes, I actually READ cookbooks because I want to know the writer and how she came to develop the recipes in her book. Who is this kitchen wizard and what can I learn from her? This summer I’m reading Small Plates & Sweet Treats, My Family’s Journey to Gluten-Free Cooking by Aran Goyoaga. I’m anticipating the interview I’ll be conducting with Aran during my Eat Your Way to Gorgeous adventure. I love this book because in addition to the exquisite recipes and food photography in it, Aran shares snippets of her history and I find myself walking through the Basque Country picking peaches and planning the pastries I will make to hold them.

Screen shot 2013-08-17 at 11.49.11 AM When I think about how I arrived at this point in my life, writing recipes and photographing them, I can honestly say that it has been unexpected and, most likely, inevitable.
~Aran Goyoaga
Cannelle et Vanille

 

I just finished Zen Under Fire by Marianne Elliot. A “must read” for very different reasons. I found myself drawn to this book on so many levels. First, a soul crushing view of what’s really going on in War-torn Afghanistan. And with it, a beautiful heartfelt story depicting a journey toward self. 

US-book-coverI want to be a source of compassion, kindness and peace in the world and I can start by
offering compassion, kindness and peace to myself.
~Marianne Elliot
marianne-elliott.com

 

One of my favorite questions: Whatcha reading? I love Facebook because I can ask this question on my cfb page or on my personal page and the liveliest discussion ensues. It’s kind of like walking into someone’s home and heading straight for the bookshelf. Who is this person? I learn so much about people from the books they read. This book found its way into my hands after one of those late night discussions. I.LOVE.THIS.BOOK.

Screen shot 2013-08-17 at 1.09.09 PMOnce upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend
his whole life answering
.
~Nicole Krauss
nicolekrauss.com

 

 

24 thoughts on “What’s She Reading?”

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    I love reading content that has you actually falling into the next word…and the next. The kind of story where when you get to the very last word, you have to catch yourself from falling over the cliff! That’s how I felt reading this blog post actually. I want to read more from you Sue Ann 🙂

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    Hi Sue Ann!
    Love this post! And like you, I am an avid obsessive learner, and insatiably curious about everything, so I have had a recent revelation as well. To take a hiatus from self help and business building books, and focus on pages that turn/click (for those on my Kindle).

    I am from your PB community! And you may or may not know that I have a book blog, I have linked it with this comment. I have not posted much in the last 3 or so months, see? Too much reading self help books! But I have had it for 4 years and would love for you to check it out! I have a tab on there of all of the books I have read starting with the 5 stars all the way down.

    Can’t wait to start EAT your way to gorgeous!
    Lisa

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      “Book Blab, I love it! I have to bookmark that and YES to putting aside the must-reads to make room for the delicious reads that have taken a back seat for too long. Looking forward to having you with me in “Eat Your Way to Gorgeous,” Lisa.

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    I LOVED The History of Love! It sort of ripped my heart out. A cherished gift from a best friend. I suspect I might not have slept much over the few days I spent devouring it..

    I also love reading whatever you write, Sue Ann! Keep feeding me, please! 🙂

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      I’m feeling a similar response to this book, Melissa. I suspect I will be reading this one more than once. I like to revisit both books and movies to see what I pick up the second time round. Truly, I just want the book to last a little longer. Thanks for stopping by. I love to see your smiling face here.

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    I can so relate to your reading shelves being entirely about the topic of your work. Same here for far too long. Only when I’d get to the beach, which was not every year, would I read a fabulous literary novel or memoir. Being a “Henry VIII and his wives” junkie I recently stumbled upon Hillary Mantell’s first two books of her trilogy about Thomas Cromwell. Who knew I’d find HIM so interesting? Her writing is magical, transporting you directly into his world, his life through prose that is thick with many layers and delicious. (Wolfe Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. The third is not yet published.) and who knew that the practice of reading those long (500+ pages) and deeply nuanced books would gift me with the ability to return to a book everyone born and raised in Asheville tries to read but usually fails–Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward Angel. I am in love with this book because it transports me to the Asheville of 1913 where my great grandparents and my grandmother and all their cousins walked. I know those places and have seen the replacement of some, the languishing and the renovation of others. I don’t think it’s a book for everyone, but those who love social history would love it. (and the main character goes off to the university at Chapel Hill where I and all my family attended too). I think it’s the greatest romantic coming of age story ever. (hey, I also had exactly the same Nancy Drew addiction and would finish one in a day–oh yes, those yellow spines! LOL)

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      I love your reflection here, Jan. For me it brings to mind the way a particular book nourishes me at a particular time in my life. I remember the day someone gave me the book Gifts from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. I wasn’t ready for that book yet. I was in another life phase. I read it. I smiled. I tucked it away. (I can even see the couch I was sitting on and the shelf on which I placed that book.) A few years later I pulled it out and I couldn’t put it down. I read it again and again and again. I needed just those words at just that time. I remember purchasing that book for friends who read it. And smiled. And tucked it away. And I suspect it’s like that for many of us. I, too, know the deep desire to feel my way into a space and time inhabited by my ancestors. Asheville, 1913, sounds like a delicious way to wrap yourself in the social history of your ancestors. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and for adding a few more books to my reading list. Here’s to yellow spines, roots and mystery.

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        I had JUST this experience with Gift From the Sea, Sue Ann. The father of one of my students gave it to me. When he asked about it my response was unenthusiastic appreciation. But about a decade later it became the book that helped me understand what motherhood meant and that I needn’t feel odd for having a home that seemed taped together at the seams. This is growth. I hadn’t grown enough the first time I read it to get it.

        I think your writing has flavors of Ms. Lindbergh. Because you have a soft approach, coming in the side door. Many of us don’t notice those people for awhile, nor the treats they leave on our counter. But, late at night, when we arise because the gremlins won’t leave us alone in the dark of the bedroom where the pillow offers no sleep, there is rest at the kitchen counter. “Oh yeah…there was that woman and she brought by this chocolate…”

        When we wake to things slowly, in the dark soul of the sleepless night, it finds a way under our skin like nothing else. It’s there for keeps, even if it took longer to arrive.

        This is why we tell stories. There is no obligation. No begging. Just an easy visit with an old friend who reminds us who we truly are.

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          Oh I love that, Rebecca! “No begging. Just an easy visit with an old friend who reminds us who we truly are.” Those words are truly magical. I have a feeling they are going to follow me into my day and, quite possibly, my kitchen.

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    I grew up an avid reader and often had multiple books going at one time throughout my childhood. I still read avidly…it’s just that now my picks are non-fiction and often work related. I miss diving into a good work of fiction, but feel too pressed for time to pick one up.

    I just ordered Zen Under Fire. With my oldest heading to Afghanistan, I think it’ll be much needed salve for my soul. Oh, and I’m borrowing that Nicole Krauss quote. You’ll see it soon.

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      Yes, I hear you, Denise, the ever elusive “time.” Coming from someone who used to shave one leg in the morning and one at night to “save” time, I know that place. Here’s to finding those snippets wherever we can and saying no to books that do not feed us anymore to open the space for books that do. Let me know what you think of Zen Under Fire. Can’t wait to see where that quote lands, by the way.

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    Zen Under Fire- it’s keeping me up at night!! Along with Roger Housden’s Saved by Beauty. Books; essential food for me. Always have been. Always. My insatiable, searing curiosity a demand to learn, to experience! Have you ever read any Karen Connelly (http://karenconnelly.ca/)? Her words braid through the rivers of my mind these past 15 years or so.
    Love you!

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      Karen Connely: author, poet, reluctant journalist. Sounds like a kindred spirit for sure. Thank you for the introduction. Where shall I begin?

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    Sue Ann, your post was so full of delicious “word nuggets” that I can’t begin to comment on them all… images of comfort and inspiration and imagination. I loved your chronology of book reading phases! Isn’t it amusing and amazing how our bookshelves reflect “where we’re at in life” — our present state of self-love and/or realization? I plan to spend the last half of my life devouring my “must reads” … preferably in bed, with chocolate.

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      Yes, Kim, my bookshelves are definitely a reflection of where I am in life. What I find even more interesting is my unwillingness to part with a book that has touched or influenced a part of my life even when it no longer serves me. Those books get moved around the house to different shelves in unoccupied rooms…but parting is such sweet sorrow. When I finally let go of my rather astonishing collection of children’s literature, knowing those books were in very good hands, I found myself repeating the words, reading the books in my mind to keep those words alive for fear I would forget them. Goodnight moon. . .

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    Sue Ann, Just to add that I am moving from the “health” books to more of the spiritual. Yes, in a way, self help but also it represents a soul calling to feel connected and alive and vibrant in Spirit. The books support my practices. I am even reading novels now, without apology, including Dan Brown’s Inferno and Ghana Must Go (extraordinary). And I am rereading Joseph Campbell’s POWER OF MYTH. For this kinda still 🙂 Type A woman, to read that in India people change their dress, their name even as they move from stage to stage. So he says when he stopped teaching, he was able to “move out of the sphere of achievement into the sphere of enjoyment and appreciations and relaxing to the wonder of it all. Life gets better even in the midst of the “hard” moments.

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      I especially love the words, “when he stopped teaching, he was able to move out of the sphere of achievement into the sphere of enjoyment and appreciation and relaxing to the wonder of it all.” Perhaps it’s a “midlife thing” but I am feeling the need to do more of that. Thank you for reading and responding to my blog, Annie. It’s always a pleasure to see you here.

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    What a list to devour—and it’s not chocolate. I spent most of my life glued to the pages of books and life has gotten busier with a DD. But the good thing is that I’ve gotten her to love books—so the love affair continues. I am making a list of some books to read and I’ve always wanted to read Nicole Krauss’ novel (I’ve read her husband’s books), so that’s going to the top of my list.

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      Oh yes, the love affair between children and books is a sight to behold! I loved so many things about my teaching career but what I miss the most is captivating young children with really good literature. Let me know what you think of that book when you read it, Tracey.

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    You already know my thoughts on Zen Under Fire (amazing!), but now I’m reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I just started last night, and it was way too easy to stay up late reading! I have a feeling it’s going to be a *good* one. History of Love has been in the back of my mind for years, maybe it’s time I finally put it on my to-read list!

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      Lots of serendipity surrounding us, Mandi. That one is on my nightstand, too. It’s next on my list. And yes, I’ll be eager to hear what you think of History of Love. Don’t you just love making “to-read” lists?

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