What’s Next On My Reading List?

September 18, 2014 Off By Lisa

I don’t read enough.

Well, actually, I read all the time – a news article here, a blog post there, and my daily dose of whatever Kidzilla is reading aloud. But all too often lately, I don’t get to sit and read something of my choosing for any extended period of time.

Or maybe it’s just that I don’t take the time to sit and read. That’s probably more accurate.

I’ve seen several blog posts lately about books and checked out a few book reviews, too. Since Mama Kat is calling for book lists this week, I figured now is as good a time as any to jump in and re-commit to some serious daily reading habits.

I’m just about to put my Persia Woolley Guinevere trilogy to bed (finally!), so I’m ready to move on to some new material. Here’s what’s next on the pile:

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The top two books on the pile are by Papa Hemingway. I’ve been chatting about Hemingway a bit lately with Eli from Coach Daddy. One of the things we talked about was how some books read differently each time you revisit them and these are two of my favorites in that category.

The first is The Old Man and the Sea, a book with which I have a serious love/hate relationship. Old Man was my first foray in to the world of Hemingway. It was in my sophomore year of high school… I was fifteen years old, had serious ADHD (but was nearly 25 years from knowing it), and a raging case of teenage girlmones. A book about a dude in a boat chasing a fish he can’t catch? And he’s too stupid to figure out he needs to just go home, have a beer, and call it a day? Whatever.

I complained about the book to my Father and told him that Hemingway was quite possibly the worst author on the planet and Old Man was by far his worst book. After all, as a high school sophomore, I was surely an expert. But my Father, who also happened to be an avid reader, suggested that perhaps I was reading the wrong Hemmingway at the wrong time. He pulled an anthology off his shelf, turned to “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” and said, “Give this a try.”

I remember sitting in the plaid swivel armchair in his family room and reading it straight through. I loved it. Don’t ask me why, but that one worked for me. My Father suggested that after we finished studying the Old Man in school, I should put it on my shelf and read it again someday far down the road. I never forgot that. No matter what else came and went from my shelf, I kept that book for years until one day I did indeed read it again. It was a very different book. I’ve re-read it many times since then. I still sometimes think Santiago should just call it a day and head for the cantina, but other times…not so much.

The other Hemingway is A Moveable Feast. I bought it because it was in a scene from the movie City of Angels and I was intrigued by its inclusion, so I picked it up. I probably have to watch the movie again to remember why it was interesting to me or what the actual connection to the novel was, so I’ll save that for another day.

Next on the pile is Lara Honos-Webb’s The Gift of ADHD. This was on my wish list and my Mom happened to give it to me as a gift without even knowing it. From what I have read about the book and about her, Dr. Honos-Webb’s ideas are much like the way I see ADD/ADHD – it is a blessing, not a curse, and can be a very positive force in its owner’s life if embraced and harnessed. Looking forward to that one.

Next is Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers. I’ve had this one on my pile for well over a year. I keep starting it, but setting it aside because I don’t have enough time or energy in one sitting to read it and I feel like I want to devour it in one sitting. I need to get over that. I’ve heard nothing but great about this one, so I’m excited to finally read it through – not just the first two chapters.

My next selection is one that I have actually been picking at here and there already. If you’ve read my most recent post about my new-found self-employment, this will not be a surprise. The book is The 9-to-5 Cure by Kristin Cardinale. The title kind of covers it. Right about the time I started seriously thinking about finding a way beyond punching someone else’s time clock, I stumbled across this title and Cardinale’s blog. It was just what I needed to really ignite that spark. I want to finish all of it, though, not just the piecemeal method I’ve been using, so it’s high on the list.

Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods takes the next spot on the pile. The Hub grabbed this for me when he was in the bookstore at our favorite hiking spot several months ago. I had picked up the book and put it back on the shelf about six different times, always promising to grab it somewhere when I saw a better price. I never did buy it and he surprised me with it when he took his solo trip up there to photograph the mountain in the snow. I had it on my nightstand, but shelved it during The Great Clean and Purge and kind of forgot about it until I saw it on Allie’s list yesterday.

Finally, at the base of my pile are two books that I am keeping in the living room for quick-reads of small sections in each. These are more for ongoing research and information than a straight read-through. One is Healing Teas by Marie Nadine Antol. I picked this up over the summer when my Mom and I took a trip to Teavana for some teas and tea supplies. The cover tagline says it all – “how to prepare and use teas to maximize your health.” It’s fascinating and useful at the same time, covering everything from the history of tea-making to medicinal uses.

The other is The Woman’s Book of Healing Herbs by Sari Harrar and Sara Altshul O’Donnell, two lovely ladies I worked with at Prevention magazine. Sara was probably the first one who turned me on to natural and herbal cures. I refer to it often, but perhaps more in the last year or so than ever.

Oh, yes, and because I won’t be able to stand not reading something from my collection of Arthurian-related literature, I’ll probably dig into Sharan Newman’s Guinevere trilogy next. I read it forever ago and need to read again because I honestly can’t remember much of it.

That covers it for me and this list ought to keep me busy for a while. My plan is to intentionally take time to read from these every day. Perhaps if I stick to that plan, I’ll get through these in relatively short order!

What’s on your reading pile right now? What are your favorite things to read? What great book-related stories do you have to tell? Comments are where the best part of blogging happens, so share your thoughts!

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Mama’s Losin’ It