
A BIBLIOPHILE AND HER BOOKS
/ˈbɪblɪə(ʊ)fʌɪl/
noun
a person who collects or has a great love of books.
Over the next two years, while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer, I have committed myself to read 100 books. When I left the United States, I sold and donated basically everything I owned. The only thing I kept was my five boxes of my beloved books. Every book holds a world, a lover, and an opportunity for ephiphany. And so begins the 100 Books Challange.
THE DEATHLY HALLOWS
53
"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"
J.K. Rowling
THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE
52
"Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure."
J.K. Rowling
THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX
51
"Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike."
J.K. Rowling
THE GOBLET OF FIRE
50
"Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel It."
J.K. Rowling
FOR THE LOVE OF MEN
Liz Plank
49
"In my many years of sipping frighteningly overpriced vodka sodas in the company of questionable yet carefully selected members of the straight male community, I've noticed several interesting trends, not the least fascinating of which is our collective insistence on one gender paying for the other gender as an ultimate sign of respect. I'm not exactly sure when we all agreed that men who are on dates with women should get the bill, but I know for a fact it wasn't when women were allowed to have opinions or credit cards, which feels simultaneously several and not enough years ago."
Almost ten years ago I found myself standing in front of the Supreme Court. The sharp February morning air was filled with the chants and yells of thousands of people. I, a seventeen-year-old high school girl with a growing awareness of feminism, stood in a mass of people marching to support pro-choice legislation and policy. And this is the day I met Liz Plank. And now, almost ten years later I had the great honor of holding her book in my hands and reading one of the most powerful and moving books of feminist/gender theory. Having been a gender studies major myself, I have spent years buried in feminist literature. But one question continuously came to mind – where is all the literature about men? I got my hands on every book I could, masculinity scholars such as Jackson Katz and Michael Kimmel, but there was a glaring absence of literature written about the way men’s experiences are influenced by gender inequality. And so, reading Plank’s book felt like a long-awaited story that absolutely needed telling. For the Love of Men is a bold and powerful vision of masculinity. Plank dares to question the status quo of toxic masculinity, but she does not do so from a point of judgement. Rather she does so in order to bring to light the way masculinity can be redefined to work for all of us. Her analysis is sharp and presented with outstanding clarity. Her spitfire humor transcends the seriousness of the topic and breathes fresh air into the analysis. Her use of metaphor to explain complex ideas allows the reader to comprehend complex theories and apply them to their lives.
When I discovered gender as an area of study, I found myself, as often as possible, curled up in the gender studies section of libraries and bookstores. Pouring over any and all literature, obsessively reading anything I could get my hands on. And something began to strike me as problematic – of course I, a left-leaning millennial woman, love pouring over this type of literature. And as powerful as it is to hold Plank’s book in my hands, recognizing the journey that brought her here; I cannot seem to negotiate myself with the fact that the demographic that this book is likely to reach are those who already believe in Plank’s message. Plank’s message is not only important, it is urgent. The move towards a more mindful masculinity is paramount. And yet those who are so critically in need of this book, are sadly unlikely to find their way to it. Which is troubling because For the Love of Men is no battle cry for radical feminist policy. No. Instead Plank sheds light on the way toxic masculinity influences men, as well as public policy. One example of Plank’s ability to find the middle ground is in her discussion about the link between toxic masculinity and gun control. With precision and clarity Plank explains that if masculinity is defined as being able to provide and protect, and the large white male lower-middle class demographic in the United States is bound to suffer dramatic consequences. When there is a loss of job security (i.e. ability to provide), it should come as little surprise that these same men become the most outspoken activists for the right to own guns. After all, their ability to protect their families is all they have left to define themselves as masculine. And our culture has expertly curated an image of guns being the ultimate masculine form of protection and power.
And so, I struggle with how we can create spaces for these conversations to happen outside of circles of preexisting agreement. I would challenge myself, Plank, and anyone else who wants to fight for gender equality to answer – how do we include those who are most unlikely to include themselves in this conversation?
THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
48
“Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”
J.K. Rowling
THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
47
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
J.K. Rowling
THE SORCERER'S STONE
46
“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”
J.K. Rowling
THE ART OF GATHERING
Priya Parker
45
“Your opening needs to be a kind of pleasant shock therapy. It should grab people. And in grabbing them, it should both awe the guests and honor them. It must plant in them the paradoxical feeling of being totally welcomed and deeply grateful to be there.”
After listening to a TED talk presented by Priya Parker, I was moved to read her research about the importance of gathering with intent and meaning. In her research she dissects various gatherings from baby showers to board meetings, from cocktail parties to conflict resolution in the Middle East. Not only does Parker present her extensive research about the positive impact of mindful gathering, but additionally offers tips and tricks to bring more intention into your gatherings.
NOTES ON A NATIVE SON
James Baldwin
44
“I don't like people who like me because I'm a Negro; neither do I like people who find in the same accident grounds for contempt. I love America more than any other country in the world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually. I think all theories are suspect, that the finest principles may have to be modified, or may even be pulverized by the demands of life, and that one must find, therefore, one's own moral center and move through the world hoping that this center will guide one aright. I consider that I have many responsibilities, but none greater than this: to last, as Hemingway says, and get my work done.
I want to be an honest man and a good writer.”
NOBODY KNOWS MY NAME
43
“Any real change implies the breakup of the world as one has always known it, the loss of all that gave one an identity, the end of safety. And at such a moment, unable to see and not daring to imagine what the future will now bring forth, one clings to what one knew, or dreamed that one possessed. Yet, it is only when a man is able, without bitterness or self-pity, to surrender a dream he has long possessed that he is set free - he has set himself free - for higher dreams, for greater privileges.”
James Baldwin
GIOVANNI'S ROOM
James Baldwin
42
“Perhaps home is not a place but simply an irrevocable condition.”
My first dive into the fictional world of James Baldwin, and it did not disappoint. Much like his essays and non-fiction, Baldwin uses intricate language and imagery to create the seamlessly unfolding story. He weaves together a beautifully dark and troubling image of a man finding himself in Paris. This novel presents an early exploration of lines between tradition and modernity when it relates to homosexuality and sexual freedom. Additionally James Baldwin's personal love affair with the city of Paris brings life and breath into this already powerful story.
YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND
Deborah Tannen
41
"We all want, above all, to be heard. We want to be understood—heard for what we think we are saying, for what we know we meant."
I came across Deborah Tannen in my first ever gender studies course. We were discussing communication styles, and if there is anyone who knows about the subject of psychosocial gender communication, it’s Ms. Tannen. She is by far the foremost expert on the world of how men and women communication, or perhaps how they miscommunicate. Her primary argument is that it comes down to a simple truth that men and women are raised and socialized in utterly different cultures; and therefore, when men and women communicate it is, in fact, a form of cross-cultural communication. Tannen tackles the fraught landscape of marriage, friendship, sexuality, gossip, and problem-solving. This book sheds a little light on why we, both men and women, are sometimes so unbelievably confused when we communicate with each other. And we could all benefit from shaking off the weight of uncertainty and instead of attempting to begin our journey to communicate, cross-culturally.
INVISIBLE WOMEN
Caroline Criado-Pérez
40
"There is no such thing as a woman who doesn't work. There is only a woman who isn't paid for her work."
Add this book to the list of required reading. Caroline Perez takes on a huge (THES) amount of data, and the glaring omission of data, and guides us through the world of gendered data gaps. She tackles the world of design, medicine, development, and the personal. Perez takes us inside the world of male-form crash-test dummies, how the clearing of snow in Sweden turned out to be a gendered issue, how development workers that neglect to talk to women cannot create sustainable projects. The examples of gender issues caused by the lack of sex-disaggregated data are simply never-ending. She is clear, concise, and to the point. The omission of sex-disaggregated data is at its best lazy, and at its worse deadly for women. Many scholars and researches are able to tackle large amounts of data and statistics to write reports, yet it takes a special kind of awareness to produce research on the utter lack of data.
ME TALK PRETTY ONE DAY
David Sedaris
39
"Across town, over in the East Village, the graffiti was calling for the rich to be eaten, imprisoned, or taxed out of existence. Though it sometimes seemed like a nice idea, I hoped the revolution would not take place during my lifetime. I didn't want the rich to go away until I could at least briefly join their ranks."
David Sedaris brings his whip-smart whit to the page. Having come to know his style through the world of podcasts, I was pleasantly surprised to hear his voice coming through the page. This memoir reads as a collection of essays, askew and somewhat confusing; but such is the style of Sedaris. We find him in the American South doing crystal meth and diving deep into the world of performance art, on his ignorant quest for individuality. We find him in speech therapy building his vocabulary to forever avoid the letter s. And of course, we find him on the streets of Paris, as all great writers must one day find themselves. Searching, seeking, coming into one’s own.
THE FIRE NEXT TIME
James Baldwin
38
“Life is tragic simply because the earth turns and the sun inexorably rises and sets, and one day, for each of us, the sun will go down for the last, last time. Perhaps the whole root of our trouble, the human trouble, is that we will sacrifice all the beauty of our lives, will imprison ourselves in totems, taboos, crosses, blood sacrifices, steeples, mosques, races, armies, flags, nations, in order to deny the fact of death, which is the only face we have. It seems to me that one ought to rejoice in the fact of death – ought to decide, indeed, to earn one’s death by confronting with passion the conundrum of life.”
Both deeply personal and highly political, this collection is my first dive into the work of James Baldwin. His writing style alone is awe-inspiring; the way he weaves together narrative with an internal stream of consciousness. Baldwin attempts to negotiate the race relations of the 1950’s. He attempted to understand his place in a country that he is intrinsically part of, and yet not fully welcomed into. He is critical of Christianity, the Nation of Islam, the power of white supremacy, and the movement away from love. He positions himself somehow as the outside observer, who is also in the center of the storm. Beautifully written, incredibly thought-provoking, and a fascinating read with many connections to Di’Angelo’s, White Fragility.
DELTA OF VENUS
Anïas Nin
37
“I had a feeling that Pandora's box contained the mysteries of woman's sensuality, so different from a man's and for which man's language was so inadequate. The language of sex had yet to be invented. The language of the senses was yet to be explored.”
When I was in my early teens, I borrowed a book from the library, The Diary of Anaïs Nin. I had never heard of this strangely named woman, but the book was bound in this old pink material, and the golden font had begun to fade. I only ever read the first page, but I remember the book smelled divine, and looked beautiful on my bookshelf. Years later, with plentiful free time on my hands, I finally have the opportunity to explore the world of this evocative writer. Perhaps I could have chosen I more logical place to start. Living in the mountains of Tanzania in a state of self-induced celibacy might not be the ideal time to pick up a collection of 1930’s French erotica. But perhaps in this new life of mine, with constantly covered shoulders and no drinking or smoking in public and rarely touching someone of the opposite sex, there is some much-needed wildness and freedom in the pages of this collection. Anaïs Nin weaves together detailed story lines, poetry imbued with a sense of feminine energy and the raw details of sex, to create a perfect little book for anyone’s bedside table.
LOVING WHAT IS
Byron Katie
36
“I am a lover of what is, not because I'm a spiritual person, but because it hurts when I argue with reality.”
This book is likely to be found on any self-help reading list. The genre of self-help carries with it images of sneaking into the isle in the book store to pick out some book to help you solve the current crisis of your life. But I am a firm believer that no one should be so embarrassed to read books that might enlighten some small part of your experience or possibly help you shift your emotional trajectory. Everyone is likely to gravitate towards a different type of self-help, from the esoteric to the guided plans for changing one’s life. I must admit, I find the “guided plans” to be somewhat gimmicky and not so appealing in my personal life. And thus, this book provides a road map for seeking truth in your life. And for some, I believe it might be quite beneficial. But for me, I will continue to shameless parous the online self-help isle.
WHITE FRAGILITY
Robin Di'Angelo
35
“Interrupting the forces of racism is ongoing, lifelong work because the forces conditioning us into racist frameworks are always at play; our learning will never be finished. Yet our simplistic definition of racism – as intentional acts of racial discrimination committed by immoral individuals – engenders a confidence that we are not part of the problem and that our learning is thus complete.”
A few years back I had read an excerpt from this book for a gender studies course. Although, back then I had little context for the full scope of this remarkable analysis of whiteness, white privilege, and the impact white fragility has on people of color. Robin Di’Angelo is a white, middle-class, college-educated woman. She has spent her career studying whiteness. She has been a consultant and trainer on issues of social and racial justice. From this position, she attempts to create a detailed account of the cause and impact of the centrality of whiteness and white supremacy. She uses personal experience as a consultant in diversity training, along with plentiful data and research to back up her claims. What is perhaps more powerful is her willingness to boldly and humbly assert her whiteness, the way whiteness has benefited her, and her subconscious racist behaviors. There is no white saviorism here. There is no claim of a post-racial point of view. Rather, Di’Angelo is quick to recognize the lifelong effort she has undertaken in order to work towards a more complete understanding of whiteness in relation to the systemically racist culture in which we live.
LOVE WARRIOR
Glennon Doyle
34
“She needs me to show her not how a woman pretends her life is perfect, but how a woman deals honestly and bravely with an imperfect life… She will learn her song only if her mother keeps singing… I stop explaining myself, because I learn that making decisions is never about doing the right thing or the wrong thing. It is about doing the precise thing. The precise thing is always incredibly personal and often makes no sense to anyone else.”
Having already been well-aware of Glennon Doyle’s work as an activist and public speaker, I was very happy to find that she had a memoir. A deeply troubling and vulnerable account of her struggles with alcoholism, bulimia, and motherhood, Doyle shines a light on the deepest parts of herself. She is exposed and raw. Her journey is one of profound change and development. This memoir reads as one woman’s journey to discover what it means to be a woman, to be beautiful, to be in love with oneself, to be embodied. She discovers her body, her heart, God, and her spirit. She discovers the power of love through her children, through God, and through herself. I am reminded of the Elizabeth Gilbert quote, “Change is what happens when you finally get tired of your own bullshit.”
IT DIDN'T START WITH YOU
Mark Wolynn
33
“Once a new brain map is established, new thoughts, feelings, and behaviors can emerge organically, expanding our repertoire when old fears arise.”
This book functions as part research and part workbook. The reader is asked to use the tool presented to come to a clear understanding of what family trauma they are carrying. In order to do this the reader is asked to question the language and actions that have become “second nature” to them. Attempt to make a road map that provides some clarity about inherited family trauma. While I believe this to be a profoundly important idea, I personally did not find this work to be beneficial to me in this moment. That is not to say that I would not highly recommend this to others. Simply that I feel I have done a great deal of this work, and I continue to be conscious of this truth. We are all exposed to a great deal subconsciously that needs to be unloaded. We need not carry such a heavy load. If you are looking for a new frame of reference, if you are tired of carrying your parent’s baggage, if you want to dig a little bit deeper, I highly recommend this book.
BLUE NIGHTS
Joan Didion
32
“In theory momentos serve to bring back the moment. In fact they serve only to make clear how inadequately I appreciated the moment when it was here. How inadequately I appreciated the moment when it was here is something else I could never afford to see.”
In this confessional memoir, Joan Didion once again brought to life her internal chaos and questions. In the wake of tragedy she once again attempts to turn the journalistic eye inwards. There is a deep sense of loss and the attempt to cope with the death of her daughter. She repeats herself. The passages have a dizzying effect on the reader. Didion seems to trust the reader wholly to hold space for her, to read without judgement. She is at her most vulnerable. She attempts to understand her relationship to her daughter as both a child and adult. She attempts to recognize what the death of a child means to a mother. She exposes herself, raw and broken. Blue Nights reads as a final attempt to grasp at the meaning of chaos and pain. A writer’s final attempt to use words to make sense of tragedy.
WALLFLOWER AT THE ORGY & I REMEMBER NOTHING
Nora Ephron
30 & 31
"Working as a journalist is exactly like being the wallflower at the orgy...everyone else is having a marvelous time, laughing merrily, eating, drinking, having sex in the back room, and I am standing on the side taking notes.”
“Everybody dies. There’s nothing you can do about it. Whether or not you eat six almonds a day. Whether or not you believe in God. (Although there’s no question a belief in God would come in handy. It would be great to think there’s a plan, and that everything happens for a reason. I don’t happen to believe that. And every time one of my friends says to me, “Everything happens for a reason,” I would like to smack her.)”
Here’s the thing, I have discovered and quickly fallen in love with everything that Nora Ephron has written. We seem to discover these types of things at exactly the right moment. While I continue on my path of discovery for my own writing, I am discovering female writers who have paved a way. Wallflower at the Orgy is Ephron’s collection of essays in which she turns both a journalistic and intimate eye towards American culture in all its glory. The sex, the fashion, the food, the romance, the entertainment. She is both cynic and fangirl, both judgmental and self-indulgent.
In I Remember Nothing, she takes a look back. After the outstanding success of her collection I Feel Bad About My Neck, Ephron returned to consider all that is forgotten. Or maybe all that she would like to forget. She reflects on aging, the dawn of email, the world of journalism, and divorce. She asks the big life questions, like, what came first chicken soup or the cold? Her observations are insightful, witting, and are delivered with refreshing honesty. Her ability to turn her eye inward and outward all at once brings every story she touches to life. And thus, I continue my own writing education in the pages of these books.
AUDACITY OF HOPE
Barak Obama
29
“I wonder, sometimes, whether men and women in fact are capable of learning from history--whether we progress from one stage to the next in an upward course or whether we just ride the cycles of boom and bust, war and peace, ascent and decline.”
Reading this book was like being wrapped in a warm blanket and pretending the world outside no longer exists. Reading this book was an act of remember what was before. Barak Obama speaks to the reader the way he has always spoken to us, his fellow citizens, with ease and a desire to bring about a more equal world. This book, published before Obama became President, speaks to the reader of his great sense of hope, his pride in the shifting promise of America. He is invested in the history and the law of this country. And while informative, this autobiography reads as somewhat dated. One cannot help but read it now with heaviness in their heart. But perhaps it was enough to be comforted by the words of freshman Senator, just beginning to make his way in the world.
I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK
Nora Ephron
28
“Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss.”
Having heard Nora Ephron's name in many conversations about contemporary female writers, I found myself absolutely enthralled in her humor, wit, and candor. In this collection of essays, I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts On Being A Woman, Ephron explores aging, motherhood, womanhood, and the trials and tribulations of said womanhood; everything from forever-disorganized purses to children leaving home. Her style is free-flowing and inspiring. Simple and absolutely accessible.
THE WHITE ALBUM
Joan Didion
27
“We tell ourselves stories in order to live...We look for the sermon in the suicide, for the social or moral lesson in the murder of five. We interpret what we see, select the most workable of the multiple choices. We live entirely, especially if we are writers, by the imposition of a narrative line upon disparate images, by the "ideas" with which we have learned to freeze the shifting phantasmagoria which is our actual experience.”
I have found myself absolutely enchanted by Joan Didion. Her writing style is both journalistic and absolutely captivating, This collection of essays brings to light the internal life and thoughts of a woman balancing the outer and the inner world. The White Album allows the reader to experience not just this inner landscape, but also the experience of life in California during the late 60's and 70's, And one woman's journey through an increasingly turbulent point in history.
DEAD AID
Damisa Moyo
26
“Africa is addicted to aid. For the past sixty years it has been fed aid. Like any addict it needs and depends on its regular fix, finding it hard, if not impossible, to contemplate existence in an aid-less world. In Africa, the West has found its perfect client to deal to.”
Another for the list of “Books All Americans Should Read.” Damisa Moyo’s CV is impressive enough for one to recognize her as an important voice to listen to. Originally from Zambia, she has training in economics from the World Bank, Harvard, and Oxford (where she obtained her doctorate). In Dead Aid, Moyo makes the case that aid programmes in Africa are not only not working, but they are in fact harming the potential for growth in on the African continent. Though she is not the first to critique the aid industry, she is perhaps the first to lay out a clear cut plan for how to move away from an aid-funded economy and to grow social, political and economic welfare within sub-Saharan African nations.
LETTER TO MY DAUGHTER
Maya Angelou
25
“I came to understand that I can never forget where I came from. My soul should always look back and wonder at the mountains I had climbed and the rivers I had forged and the challenges which still await down the road. I am strengthened by that knowledge.”
There is a special place in Heaven for women who grow old and impart little bits of wisdom on those of us still living, still trying to navigate the deep waters of womanhood. Angelou, having given birth to only one child, a son, writes this letter to her daughters, all of them. With an outpouring of love, she claims us all. She says, like any good grandmother, take it or leave it, but here’s what I’ve learned. Perhaps we can think of this as a lesson in being a phenomenal woman.
I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
Maya Angelou
24
“The Black female is assaulted in her tender years by all those common forces of nature at the same time that she is caught in the tripartite crossfire of masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power. The fact that the adult American Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste and even belligerence. It is seldom accepted as an inevitable outcome of the struggle won by survivors and deserves respect if not enthusiastic acceptance.”
There is a special magic in the way one book can lead you towards another. Having finished Mary Karr’s book about the art of writing a memoir, I was brought to Maya Angelou, finally. I think there comes a time in everyone’s life when they are brought, finally, to a specific writer. And what a perfect time it was for me to finally sit down and read Maya Angelou. She really needs no introduction or review. All I will say is, her ability to turn a phrase, to capture a moment and to use language that so perfectly captures the essential nature of a moment is break-taking. Her voice, which is arguably a writer’s most vital asset, is crystalline. Even in the most tragic of moments, Angelou remains grounded, level and clear in her voice. She is unwavering.
THE ART OF MEMOIR
Mary Karr
23
“Maybe it takes a lifetime to get used to occupying your own body, writer or no.”
Having decided to stray from my non-fiction to fiction rhythm, I found myself turning to some of my favorite writers, who lucky for me have written books about their writing process. Mary Karr is well-known as one of the ultimate memoirists. She is thought to have awoken the movement towards viewing memoir as its own form of literature. Years ago, I quickly devoured her three memoirs, The Liar’s Club, Cherry, and Lit. Having been a professor of memoir and creative writing for many years how, Karr brings her lesson plans to the page and makes them accessible for all. Her advice is clear and concise. Her whip-smart attitude and humor that is so evident in her memoirs shines through in this writer’s manual as well. If you’ve ever thought about writing anything about your own life, this book provides guidelines and paths to memory, truth and vulnerability. Karr gives us a blueprint for trudging through the muddy waters of our past.
WAITING FOR DAISY
Peggy Orenstein
22
“But now I wake up every day – every day – feeling transcendently blessed. Don’t get me wrong. I still curse out drivers who leave their left turn signal on for three miles; I’m still irked by the grammatically inexplicable phrase “Can I help who’s next?; but my pettiness is dwarfed by a sense of reverent, radiant gratitude that’s sweeter for having experienced its opposite, as love is sweeter for one’s scars. Mine is the luck of realizing that happiness may only be the respite between bouts of pain and so is to be savored, not taken as an entitlement.”
I first came across Peggy Orenstein while working on my degree in Gender Studies. Her two most notable books: School Girls (about the confidence gap for school-aged adolescent girls) and Cinderella Ate My Daughter (about princess culture) are absolutely amazing, chock full of eye-opening information and most importantly, her writing style is incredibly accessible. I will be the first to say, accessible is not a word often used to describe the high-brow gender theory of academia. In Waiting for Daisy, Orenstein turns her strong reporting eye inward. She is deeply introspective and critical of her journey through the world of infertility, IVF, miscarriages and adoption. She sheds light on a world often cloaked in secrecy, a world that women are not supposed to talk about. And talk she does. She writes a raw and vulnerable account of her experience, somehow perfectly weaving together her staunch feminist theory neatly alongside her own personal experience giving the reader a truly eye-opening understanding of this unnecessarily secretive world.
BIG MAGIC
Elizabeth Gilbert
21
“Do whatever brings you to life, then. Follow your own fascinations, obsessions, and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart.”
In this manifesto on the art of creative living, Elizabeth Gilbert brings her fierce spirit and energy to the act of creation. She is inspired. She is willing to swim in the sea of naïveté if it means living a life of creative living. Her advice in clear and concise. She is gentle, but firm in her commandment: just do it. Begin it. Now. Live a creative life for yourself. Despite the seemingly bohemian energy of her advice, she is also determined. Do not quit your day job. Commit to your craft but maintain a sense of security. Nothing kills creativity like an overdue electric bill. Whatever your creative spirit might be craving, be it painting, writing, baking cupcakes, miming, this book will encourage you to take the leap and nourish that creative energy.
ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE
Anthony Doeer
20
“…back to earth again, I’m going to be late and maybe we should get reservations? and pick up avocados and what did he say? and ten thousand I miss yous, fifty thousand I love yous, hate mail and appointment reminders and market updates, jewelry ads, coffee ads, furniture ads flying invisibly over the warrens of Paris, over the battlefields and tombs, over the Ardennes, over the Rhine, over Belgium and Denmark, over the scarred and ever-shifting landscapes we call nations. And is it so hard to believe that souls might also travel those paths.”
A few weeks ago, I spoke with my father on the phone. “You have to read this book, it’s one of the best novels I’ve ever read.” That’s enough to send me searching for a book. I opened the first page with no idea what this novel was about. I should not have been surprised at all that the novel takes place during World War II in France and Germany; after all, my father is a self-proclaimed history buff. Throughout the novel you follow the stories of two characters, a young blind girl in France, and a young Austrian boy who finds himself working as a radio technician in Nazi Germany. Anthony Doeer weaves together a narrative timeline jumping back and forth between past and present and cultivating a deep sense of compassion for both characters. Doeer is able to somehow capture both the micro and the macro simultaneously. One scene might begin with the details of the young girls’ hands as the slide along the brail of her newest book, but Doeer does not neglect the distant sound of the ocean’s waves, the salt hanging in the air, the rustle of grasses along the shoreline. The reader is privy to the heightened sense of a blind person, finding themselves full immersed in the scene through sound, smell, and touch.
YOU'RE A BADASS
Jen Sincero
19
"You are responsible for what you say and do. You are not responsible for whether or not people freak out about it.”
This book could easily be read in one sitting with a strong cup of coffee. Sincero takes many years worth of experience with self-help work and creates a quick guide to getting your shit together. Like a great deal of writing in this genre, it's take it or leave it. It is easy to judge and roll your eyes at self-help books, I absolutely do at times. But this is nonetheless a useful read when you need a bit of motivation to get moving in the right direction.
THE AWAKENING
Kate Chopin
18
“But whatever came, she had resolved never again to belong to another than herself.”
Chopin's short novel remains a timeless feminist text. Diving deep into the mind of a woman on the quest for a deeper understanding of herself and the world around her. The connection between women and water, the soul and spirit. Chopin evokes a sense of Brontë-like aesthetic and a deep dive into the female psyche.
EIGHT YEARS IN POWER
Ta-Nehisi Coates
17
"We invoke the words of Jefferson and Lincoln because they say something about our legacy and our traditions. We do this because we recognize our links to the past--at least when they flatter us. But black history does not flatter American democracy; it chastens it. The popular mocking of reparations as a harebrained scheme authored by wild-eyed lefties and intellectually unserious black nationalists is fear masquerading as laughter. Black nationalists have always perceived something unmentionable about America that integrationists dare not acknowledge --that white supremacy is not merely the work of hotheaded demagogues, or a matter of false consciousness, but a force so fundamental to America that it is difficult to imagine the country without it.”
Again Coates has written a book that should be on the list of "American Required Reading." A collection of his essays from The Atlantic, alongside memoir-like reflection on his writing process, this book brings to light not only the complexities of Barak Obama's presidency but also the intricacies of systematic oppression and white supremacy that impacted his presidency and the eventual election of Donald Trump.
CITY OF GIRLS
Elizabeth Gilbert
16
“Never has it felt more important for me to tell stories of joy and abandon, passion and recklessness. Life is short and difficult, people. We must take our pleasures where we can find them. Let us not become so cautious that we forget to live. At some point in a woman’s life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time. After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is.”
Having grown to love Liz Gilbert not only for her notable bestseller Eat Pray Love, but also for her fierce honesty and vulnerability in all that she does and says, I was beyond excited to read her newest novel. Having just suffered the loss of her lover, she says she came to the page to write a story of glamour, sex, love, and light. Perhaps a reprieve from bereavement. And that is exactly what this novel is, pure indulgence. Gilbert brings to life the streets and lights of New York City. She paints passionate female characters who are unapologetic in their quest for adventure, experiences, and love. She paints a perfect picture of what it means to be a bold woman willing to trust in herself and curate a life that is exactly what she deeply desires.
KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL
Anthony Bourdain
15
"Travel isn't always pretty. It isn't always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that's okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind."
Perhaps reading a chef's memoir while living in a rural Tanzanian village, eating beans for the thirtieth night in a row is mildly sadistic. But, my book list called and I answered, and Bourdain does not disappoint. Perfectly sarcastic, self-deprecating and engaging, this memoir is raw and unfiltered. For anyone who ever heard Bourdain speak, this memoir reads like he is speaking directly to you. My heart ached for his spirit as he discusses other's deaths and suicide, and it is quite fascinating to read young Bourdain's words knowing he would, years later, commit suicide himself. But in his own words, "your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride."
WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING
Delia Owens
14
"Lots of times love doesn’t work out. Yet even when it fails, it connects you to others and, in the end, that is all you have, the connections."
Let me begin by saying if your mother ever tells you to read a book because it reminds her of you or because she was moved by it, read the damn book. We spend our lives trying to understand ourselves and our parents. Sometimes a work of great fiction is the perfect window into the hidden corners of our hearts. This debut novel is a piece of magic. Delia Owens brings to life the low country, the march, the isolation and the endurance of a woman born of the Earth. In part an ode to the land, and also the power of solitude, this novel is simply exquisite. Easily read in a day, and now on the reread list, this novel is a nothing short of spectacular. Thank you to my incredibly well-read mother for keeping me up to date on fresh literature, and for always encouraging the wild woman in me.
THE POWER OF NOW
Eckhart Tolle
13
"Be where you are. Look around. Just look, don't interpret. See the light, shapes, colors, textures. Be aware of the silent presence of each thing. Be aware of the space that allows everything to be."
Having had this book on my list for years, I was excited to read its contents. Often rubbed the wrong way by want-to-be-esoteric types literature, I immediately felt this to possibly cut from that same cloth. Yet having finished the book, I will be the first to say it was entirely my ego that led me to feel that way. As I turned the pages I realized that, in fact, I needed this book at this moment. As I am learning about presence and visualization, and what it means to be fully embodied, this book shed light on my personal problem areas. So much for want-to-be, Eckhart Tolle creaked my heart and mind wide open.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Charles Dickens
12
“Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but - I hope - into a better shape.”
A classic Victorian-era English novel, Dicken's brings to life the streets of London with this beautiful fiction/bildungsroman. The reader can see the influence of his predecessors, notably Jane Austen, in his style. Yet his language and cadence are perhaps more accessible; a working man's novel perhaps. There is nothing all too surprising in the story, yet it is thrilling to be along for the ride of Pip's adventures through Londontown.
USES OF THE EROTIC
Audre Lorde
11
"The erotic offers a well of replenishing and provocative force to the woman who does not fear its revelation, nor succumb to the belief that sensation is enough,
[...] For the erotic is not a question only of what we do; it is a question of how acutely and fully we can feel in the doing. Once we know the extent to which we are capable of feeling that sense of satisfaction and completion, we can then observe which of our various life endeavors brings us closest to that fullness"
For this, I will keep it simple. Audre Lorde, civil rights activist, feminist, scholar, and writer reflects in this essay about the revolutionary act of the erotic. Take twenty minutes out of your day to read this article. We all deserve to find what fully satiates us, what brings lusciousness into our lives. There is a revolution in the act of pleasure.
GRIT
Angela Duckworth
10
"Indulging in visions of a positive future without figuring out how to get there, chiefly by considering what obstacles stand in the way, has short-term payoffs but long-term costs." *
Angela Duckworth takes decades worth of research, longitudinal studies, and complex data sets and presents the reader with an easily and enjoyably digestible study of grit. A book that will inevitably cause you to deepen an ongoing passion, or perhaps inspire movement from a stagnant place, this book is a kind, but firm push towards self-reflection and development. I imagine returning to this book again, as a partner, a teacher, a volunteer, a mother, or any other sort of role I may one day take on. Anyone and everyone could benefit from the clear self-reflection that Duckworth's research calls for and encourages.
*Again, highly quotable book, just go read it.
DHARMA BUMS
Jack Kerouac
9
"There was something inexpressibly broken in my heart as though I'd lived before and walked this trail, under similar circumstances with a fellow Bodhisattva, but maybe on a more important journey, I felt like lying down by the side of the trail and remembering it all. The woods do that to you..."
This novel about Beatnik boys climbing a mountain follows the classic Kerouac blueprint. The prose is seemingly neverending. A stream of consciousness fueled, it seems, always by amphetamines. Allusions to people and things work as road signs to the land of Beatnik mise-en-scène. I cannot help but be both impressed and also exhausted by Kerouac's self-indulgent prose.
THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING
Joan Didion
8
"We are imperfect mortal beings, aware of that mortality even as we push it away, failed by our very complication, so wired that when we mourn our losses we also mourn, for better or for worse, ourselves. As we were. As we are no longer. As we will one day not be at all."
Searching for which quote to lead with proved to be far more challenging than expected. Didion is perhaps one of the most quotable female writers I have read. Having never read her fiction, prior to this memoir, I was awestruck by her ability to reflect, so fiercely, on her lived experiences. This book is a road map to navigating grief and bereavement. It is an ode to creative partnership, marriage, and motherhood. Didion's prose is sparse, with little tolerance for cant. She turns her eye inward and takes a raw look inside the mind of herself, a grieving woman who must go on living, anew.
THINGS FALL APART
Chinua Achebe
7
“The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.”
Having somehow missed this novel in my Literature in the African Diaspora course, I was excited to read Achebe's milestone African novel. The narrative is simple, it is a model for many African novelists that came later. The way tribal language, cultural and ideas are woven in allows the reader to feel somehow both within and without. Yet, the landscape, the families, the community becomes familiar. I have found this to be true in other African literature as well. There is, somehow, a familiarity in the foreign. Perhaps allowing one to realize that nothing is ever, truly, foreign. The final pages bring the reader to a sudden halt. Jarring, because one cannot help but fully understand and be unsurprised. Suddenly the narrative is shifted dramatically, and Achebe's message of decolonization shines through. This novel is a cautionary tale for the pitfalls of ethnocentrism and disrespect for cultures different than yours.
BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME
Ta-Nehisi Coates
6
"These truths I heard in the works of other poets around the city. They were made of small hard things - aunts and uncles, smoke breaks after sex, girls on stoops drinking from mason jars. These truths carried the black body beyond slogans and gave it color and texture."
I am not the first to say, and I will not be the last to say, this book should be required reading. Coates weaves together a stark critique of racial politics with a loving, almost pleading, letter to his son. The urgency does not evade the reader. Reading this book requires one to stop and consider their role, or lack of action in a country so racially divided. It calls the reader to wake up from the Dream, which Coates says, "Thrives on generalizations." I wrote in a poem once, that prejudice thrives on abstraction, and this idea is further pursued by Coates. This book is a call to action to make full the experience of black people in America. To texturize, and hold space for. It is a call to awaken from the Dream. It is a letter of both love and awakening.
LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA
Gabriel García Márquez
5
This novel, known by many to be one of the most romantic books ever written, is a common addition to lists of books to read before you die. Although it is thought by many to be a great love story, it is anything but. Whether purposefully or not, Márquez paints a somewhat haunting image of obsessions and jealousy. It is quite impossible to deny the way in which rape culture plays a crucial role in this so-called love story. When reading novels known by many to be classics, I often find myself rejecting the idea of the male protagonists exerting their sexism, jealous and obsessions under the cloak of love and devotion. This novel lacks the magic and true romance of Máquez's other novels and attempts to enforce the idea that if a woman says no, she means try harder and eventually true love will blossom.
A FIELD GUIDE TO GETTING LOST
Rebecca Solnit
4
“To lose yourself: a voluptuous surrender, lost in your arms, lost to the world, utterly immersed in what is present so that its surroundings fade away. In Benjamin’s terms, to be lost is to be fully present, and to be fully present is to be capable of being in uncertainty and mystery. And one does not get lost but loses oneself, with the implication that it is a conscious choice, a chosen surrender, a psychic state achievable through geography.”
Rebecca Solnit
In this blend of prose, anthropology, and history, Solnit explores both the physical and subconscious states of being lost. Solnit's draws on her background as a historian to paint a picture of myriad states of being lost. Her deep love of the outdoors shines through as she explores the expanses of deserts and mountain ranges. Whether she is discussing the feeling of being lost in a relationship, colonists being lost in Native American land, or the voids created by French artists, Solnit gracefully weaves a deep blue sense of longing and the ephemeral nature of loss and being lost.
THE KITE RUNNER
Khaled Hosseini
3
"I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded; not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night."
This novel brings its reader to their knees. With his stark use of simple language Hosseini creates a story that is so closely shadowed by real events, the line between fiction and fact becomes quite blurred. This riveting story is driven by friendship, regret, honor and the bonds of love. There is a sense of finding goodness is the most unlikely of places. One finishes reading the final pages of this novel and is inevitably left feeling a invigorated need for change, a new found ability to take stock in the goodness that surrounds us.
EAST OF EDEN
John Steinbeck
2
"I believe a strong woman may be stronger than a man. Particularly if she happens to have love in her heart. I guess a loving woman is indestructible."
Steinbeck invites you into the world of Salinas Valley leaving you wondering how you got in so deep, so quickly. The characters are painted so vividly and with each turn of page you find yourself deeper into an unexpected world of families, power, psychological struggles, murder, and sex. Steinbeck creates a complex story as deep as the valley itself, but it is certainly shadowed by Biblical motif, in many ways adding to the darkness lying right below the surface of this American classic.
THE ART OF PILGRIMAGE
Phil Cousineau
1
"The art of pilgrimage is that art of reimagining how we walk, talk, listen, see, hear, write and draw as we ready for the journey of our soul's deep desire."
In this ode to the spiritual nature of travel, Cousineau pays homage to the great travelers and pilgrims. He brings together religion, art, and literature to create a blueprint for ways to travel more intentionally. Reading this book will undoubtedly cause the reader to move a bit more mindfully, whether at home or abroad. This book reminds us that every day can be a pilgrimage when you seek out meaning in the day to day.