My enthusiasm for fall reading is high right now.
Flames in the fireplace, early sunsets, endless hours and energy to make my way through a growing stack of books. Does this sound familiar?!
One thing is for sure—if we don’t get off our screens, we won’t get into our books. Take the plunge with me—risk being bored or not liking the book you pick up. Risk your attention span waning and possibly being less stimulated. Risk missing out on other things for all the off-the-chart benefits of reading. Longer healthspan, more empathy, more quiet, and, of course, sheer delight.
Here’s what I’m starting or about to start:
- Build the Life you Want by Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey. Let’s face it. I just can’t resist the next book about happiness! I am halfway through and underlining the heck out of it. The book does a really nice job of summarizing the latest neuroscience and is one I’ll be recommending to clients. The story in the beginning about Arthur’s mother-in-law was worth the price of the book.
- The Practice of the Wild by Gary Snyder. Reading this one along with my collegiate son: “The wilderness is not limited to the 2 percent formal wilderness areas. Shifting scales, it is everywhere: ineradicable populations of fungi, moss, mold, yeasts, and such that surround and inhabit us.” Amen.
- The Book of More Delights by Ross Gay. Along with his original Book of Delights, these two books are sacred texts to me at this point. Read them to start noticing your world in a completely different way.
- The Least of Us by Sam Quinones. Literary journalism about the fentanyl crisis. Tough reading, but I’m trying to get schooled.
- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. How does this woman keep writing jaw-dropping things decade after decade?! Of course, I’m in line to read this one. It’s a book club pick this fall, so I’ve got a deadline.
- Eagle Pond by Donald Hall. The late poet Donald Hall writing about nature through the seasons at his New Hampshire farm. If you want your blood pressure to drop instantly, pick this up before you fall asleep at night.
- Indigenous Continent by Pekka Hämäläinen. This one is dense, and I hope to read it slowly over the next few months. As Thanksgiving approaches again this year, I find myself in the same place: not liking the holiday and wanting to be a truthteller.
- Re-reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic and Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act in preparation for a retreat I’m leading next March. Stay tuned for an exciting announcement!
Here’s to all the ways, no matter our age, that we can keep growing and learning. Happy reading!