Summer Reading
Posted May 31, 2018 by ShanTil Yell
It’s time for another book list! Here’s what I’m currently diving into, and one more that I’m planning to pick up from the library ASAP.
Needful Things by Stephen King- I haven’t read a good scary book in a while. Well, that’s not true. I did read The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani, which thoroughly unsettled me. I would not suggest that one if you are a mother looking to hire childcare anytime soon. The kind of scary I’m talking about is the supernatural horror variety, and King is my go to author for that particular brand. I’m only a few pages in, and once again he’s taken me right into the small-town life and happenings of Castle Rock, Maine. He has this enchanting way of writing characters, dialogue, and setting that transports me inside of the story. It’s fantastic, and it also guarantees that I’m going to be frightened at least a few times. I can’t wait 🙂
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert- Yes, I’m reading this one again. I think it’s going to be one of those books that I return to every few months. It was on sale at a bookstore I found in Vermont last weekend, which I took as a sign that I had to buy it then and there, so now I can underline and make notes to my heart’s delight. I’ve been listening to a number of podcasts with Gilbert as a co-host or interviewee, and I just love her ideas about creative, amplified living and cultivating a lifestyle where we choose curiosity and playfulness versus being crippled by fear. Phew. I’m working on it, and she’s a huge inspiration.
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan- I’m trying to make my way through some of the more well-known works of feminist literature, and this is one of them! The chapter on the history of feminism in America has been one of my favorites, and made me realize there are so many incredible women who I have never heard of (ex. Julia Ward Howe, Lucy Stone), along with women I have heard of but wish to learn more about (ex. Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony). There’s not much to be said for intersectionality in this book and it’s certainly a product of its time, but I’ve been alarmed to realize it was only 50-ish years ago that young men and women were being educated and pigeonholed into strict roles of breadwinners and housewife-mothers. It’s an attitude that still pervades today, even if it’s not as prevalent, and it’s easy to see why when Friedan references certain magazine articles, fiction, research, and textbook materials that used to be widely spread and accepted in our society. I still have about half of the book left, and I’m interested to see what else unravels.
Insurrection: To Believe Is Human, To Doubt, Divine by Peter Rollins- I’ve been listening to Rollins, a philosopher and theologian hailing from Northern Ireland, here and there since last fall. It’s only been in recent weeks that I’ve started taking more keen interest in his work, and I was real excited to find out that he has a few books published. I’m not sure what to expect from this one, but I imagine it will be awesome. Whether you’re spiritual or religious or not interested in any of that whatsoever, Rollins is a fantastic thinker and speaker, and he has a great accent to boot. He asks great questions and forces the reader/listener to contemplate, which I appreciate a lot.
As an end note, I’d also like to diversify the titles that I’m reading. As you can see above, these authors are Western Caucasians, which is all well and good, but there are a whole lot of other authors out there in the world! I would love to do something like Ann Morgan spoke about in her TED talk, where she read a book from every single country. That sounds so, so cool and exciting to me. I have to dash off to work now, but thanks for stopping by, and happy reading to you!