Re: Discovering Reading

With vaccines available and Spring in the air, we are cautiously moving to our new normal. In a recent conversation with friends, we asked each other which books nurtured and inspired us over the past year. I thought I’d share. So many of these books will help you write and follow through with future goals, spark your imagination, and remind you of what is important in life.

In no special order: 

Creating Your Best Life: The Ultimate Life List Guide, by Caroline Adams Miller MAPP and Dr. Michael B. Frisch

Being homebound makes you take stock of what you’ve done in life and what you’d like to do moving forward. This book is an old favorite of mine for just such activities. It helps you to understand how to form achievable goals and how to put them into action. Even if you don’t have the patience to read the entire book or the courage to write your deepest ambitions, it will give you ideas and activities to bring at least one of your wishes to reality. You will find inspirational stories of others, slews of self-assessments, and every goal exercise from Bucket Lists to Vision Boards. The authors of this book may have seen the impact of the past year because they released an updated version of this classic in January 2021.

Man’s Search For Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl 

Not the easiest book to read, but truly inspirational. Despite Frankl retelling the unspeakable horrors he and his fellow prisoners endured in the concentration camps during WWII, this book is strangely uplifting. Frankl observed that he and some of his fellow prisoners became inexplicably preoccupied with something in their lives that gave them profound meaning. Fixating on something that brought inspiration or happiness gave prisoners a sense of control in an environment where they had none, enabling them to better withstand the rigors of the camps even better than prisoners who were physically stronger but who had mentally given in to feelings of helplessness and depression. Once freed, he refined his observations into the theory of logotherapy. Now is definitely a time to reflect upon what gives you and your loved ones meaning- what brings you joy and what makes you grateful. 

The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio 

True geeks will remember this from World Literature classes. The novel takes place in Italy as guests are “trapped” in a villa waiting out the plague that is consuming most of Europe. They amuse each other and pass the time by telling each other stories. 

The echoes of the past year are obvious. Ironically, Decameron book clubs were popping up this past Spring and in 2020 the book enjoyed a renaissance as a bestseller. Literature junkies everywhere rejoiced. You might not get through all 600+ pages, however, the book is broken up into short stories so you can read it in small bites. 

The Year Without Summer, by Guinevere Glasfurd

In 1815, the volcano Mount Tambora erupted impacting the environment such that in the following year, summer didn’t happen. Most of Europe, Asia, and North America experienced a wet and cold season, causing food shortages and strife. It triggered famines and global starvation. Political and economic ramifications followed. Not much has been written about the psychological effects of 1816 but given our current concerns about climate change and the changes we are all viewing as the pandemic gives Earth a much-needed break, the effects of 1816 should be further explored. They may help us as we adjust to trying to learn our new normal. There have been numerous books written about the Summer of 1815, the Glasfurd book is by far one of the best.

The Summer of Monsters: The Scandalous Story of Mary Shelly, by Tony Thompson

Continuing on a theme (and not to be confused with the animation series), this book combines The Summer of 1816 and The Decameron and best of all, is a true story. In the summer of 1816, a group of privileged but penniless intellectuals had planned a summer in Italy. Housebound by cold and storms, someone in the group suggested that each member come up with a ghost story to entertain the others. Among the guests were Lord Byron, Percy Beth Shelly, Mary Shelly, and the unappreciated writer John William Polidori. This had to be the most pretentious and charismatic Airbnb ever.

Only two members of the group followed through and wrote something. They were rewarded by making significant contributions to literature. Mary Shelly produced Frankenstein’s Monster and Polidori wrote The Vampyre, predating Bram Stoker’s Dracula by eighty years. Would the current genre of monster myth even exist had Tambora not erupted? 

Bonus points for this: Challenge your friends and family, even children, to write out their greatest monster story. Maybe greatness and immortality will come. Even more bonus points if you fit in reading Frankenstein or The Vampyre this Summer.

Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel García Márquez

This beautiful and globally beloved novel has everything. . . love, distance, a seemingly incurable disease. The novel follows the relationship of a pair of star-crossed lovers whose lives are disrupted by family and Fate. The book explores multiple forms of love - romantic idealized love, love of family, love of work- and how it rules our lives and colors our views of the world and what we want and eventually what we choose for ourselves. Highly acclaimed the novel was reviewed by the New York Times as "how the extraordinary is contained in the ordinary."

Start With Why, by Simon Sinek

Continuing with the theme of reflection, I highly recommend Simon Sinek’s Start with Why, maybe because the last social activity I did before we socially distanced was to see him speak in DC. In his book, Sinek touts that the most successful endeavors succeed not because they represent the best ideas or products but because they come from the most altruistic and sincere intentions. Sinek connects this theory to the success of everything from the Wright Brothers to Apple. He also discusses how to find your Why. Note that you can also look at his TED talk, but the book is worth the read, and ditto for the Audible version narrated by the author. Come out of the pandemic by defining your Why. 

The Artist’s Way/The Artist’s Way at Work, by Julia Cameron

COVID had us all retreating inward or worse being seduced by the online world and jumping from virtual Happy Hours and meetings that the need to unplug is essential. The Artist's Way helps the creative soul within you come out. You do not have to have a talent to go through the book, the heart of an artist will do. The idea is to help you find your creative voice. The book is divided into seven easily accomplishable weeks of lessons and activities meant to help you channel your inner artist. This is a great way to teach your kids how to unleash their creative side. 

And finally, with absolutely no apologies. . .

The Shining, by Stephen King

Can you create a book list under these circumstances without including Stephen King?  I think not. The Shining is a classic that fits. In isolation, Jack waits out the cold New England winter with his family. At first, everything goes well, and then, as we all know, it doesn’t. If you have only seen the film, trust me, the book can and might keep you up at night. I would not recommend reading this if you are still quarantining on your own. Remember, this is the book that is so terrifying that on Friends Joey had to put it in the freezer every time he got to a scary part.

I hope we have assembled an enjoyable and diverse list. I hope sharing it will at the very least, give you some amusement and maybe some inspiration. If there was a book that helped you get through the past year, please share.