Hello, friends!
I’m reminded again this week of how June can really kick my butt. Even though I don’t have a graduating senior this year (two more years—please send all your condolences then!), I’ve been feeling the intensity of endings and beginnings. Growing up, my allergies were really bad in mid-June, just in time for my birthday, graduations, Father’s Day. It’s always been a month of tears for me—happy, sad, and hay fever tears! Whatever is going on for you this month, I hope you have companionship during it and that you are letting be carried on the tide of life, however tumultuous.
I had a precious, connectional visit with my aunt in NYC last week. We spent one-on-one time together for the first time in my 49 years, and I am crushing on her and all the stories, interests, and spiritual moments we shared. We spent a lot of time talking about books, and what friends they have always been to us. That’s one of the things I love most about books—not just the experience of finding and reading them, but the community they create.
I have six more weeks until my traditional August break, and the books are piling up! Once school lets around here in the Puget Sound, everyone scatters.All bets are off for planned socializing, and it’s a good time for me to return to my community of books. Here’s the stack by my laptop right now:
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The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness by Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz. After listening to Dr. Waldinger be interviewed several times, I’m finally reading the book and loving it. The punchline: take care of our relationships.
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Start Here Now: An Open-Hearted Guide to the Path and Practice of Meditation by Susan Piver. A gift from Emily, who just took a meditation course with Susan. My midlife malaise is sending me back into a meditation practice, and this has come just in time.
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Swimming Holes of Washington by Anna Katz and Shane Robinson. Yay!!! Hope to cross some of these off the list.
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A Little Bit of Land by Jessica Gigot. Essays on farming by a Skagit Valley poet, farmer, ecologist, and mother. Back-to-the-land memoirs are a favorite genre of mine.
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Riverman by Ben McGrath. Another favorite genre—gritty adventure, a story about a disenfranchised man canoeing his way down American rivers when he couldn’t fit into his world and life anymore.
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The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See. Historical novel about an all-female diving collective in Korea. A gift from my friend Jenn that’s been waiting for me to turn the first page.
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The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery. A gift from my aunt, finally going to read this. She has grown to love animals in the last decade, and this book was an integral part of her journey.
If you want to become more of a reader, you can read some tips from me here. If you can spare the time and money in the next week, visit your local independent bookseller. Find a staff person, and tell them you want to be enthralled by a book or two this summer. Tell them what you like and let them recommend something. Take it home and pick it up after dinner instead of picking up your phone.
Take a big breath and welcome summer!