I constructed this list — my current list of “favorite children” — while on vacation and away from my bookshelf. Consequently, I know that if a book is on this list, it is a deeply ingrained favorite. Some I return to because they hold a wisdom or knowledge I’ve come to depend on. Others are so special I prefer never to re-read them, so as not to break their spell. Still others are difficult to read — but I recommend them anyway for the power they have to inform and transform their readers.
Books I return to:
| <IFRAME style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwvibrantnat-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0385496095&fc1=000000&IS2=1 | <IFRAME style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwvibrantnat-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0385480016&fc1=000000&IS2=1 | 1. Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith and Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott I love how her subtitles are a clever caveat for not being too presumptuous! Both of these, and the rest of her non-fiction for my money, are wise, irreverent, spot-on, hilarious, provocative comments on trying to live life well despite her own (and the readers’) challenging human condition. |
| <IFRAME style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwvibrantnat-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0060959037&fc1=000000&IS2=1 | <IFRAME style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwvibrantnat-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0060504080&fc1=000000&IS2=1 | 2. Prodigal Summer and Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver I love all of Barbara Kingsolver’s books, but these two are my favorites. Kingsolver seems to me to be the wisest person writing these days. She’s a scientist, a poet, a woman, a Kentuckian—lots of qualifications for commenting/prophesizing on the state of our social, personal, environmental, spiritual current and future conditions. |
| <IFRAME style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwvibrantnat-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=155365126X&fc1=000000&IS2=1 | 3. Tree by David Suzuki I’m not a non-fiction reader…generally. This little book totally captured me because it reveals the biography of a single Douglas fir tree (a grand icon of the west coast) and lets that become the mirror of the reader’s own life, as well as that of the entire planet and ecosystem. Beats any botany, biology or history class I ever had! This book I revisit. |
Books I’ll never forget (and won’t reread so the magic won’t be broken):
| <IFRAME style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwvibrantnat-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0679721819&fc1=000000&IS2=1 | <IFRAME style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwvibrantnat-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=014006690X&fc1=000000&IS2=1 | 4. Mama Day and The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor I dawdled through the endings of both of these because I hated to have them end. I’d not encountered the multiple narrative voices until I met Naylor (though it’s such a popular style now it seems). It seems so natural to have several women chime in on the telling of a story. |
Painful but necessary reads:
| <IFRAME style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwvibrantnat-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0446673706&fc1=000000&IS2=1 | <IFRAME style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwvibrantnat-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0316013684&fc1=000000&IS2=1 | 5. Indian Killer and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie The psychic condition of the Native American is easy to avoid confronting. Everything Alexie writes reveals his take on it as a Spokane Indian. While I laughed throughout the film version of his book Smoke Signals (as well as through much of Diary), I learned some pretty painful truths I needed to know to make me a more informed, compassionate person. His poems and novels have changed the way I see a segment of our society and a huge chunk of our history. |
Great escapist reads:
| <IFRAME style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwvibrantnat-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0312985649&fc1=000000&IS2=1 | <IFRAME style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwvibrantnat-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0451223160&fc1=000000&IS2=1 | 6. Dana Stabenow’s Kate Shugak series and Sue Henry’s Jessie Arnold series I thoroughly enjoy Alaska mystery authors Dana Stabenow and Sue Henry. Stabenow’s Kate Shugak series and Henry’s Jessie Arnold series will raise the appreciation of readers in the Lower 48 for modern day Alaska women (and in Jessie’s case, for a fictional Vibrant Nation reader)! |
| <IFRAME style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwvibrantnat-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=140003230X&fc1=000000&IS2=1 | 7. Stay by Nicola Griffin Just discovered this relatively new Northwest writer–definitely a woman’s writer, and she made me think about what it means to “stay in this world” after suffering a grievous loss, and how important a death-bed promise is to keep. I’ll read her next book! |
Two I treasure:
| <IFRAME style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwvibrantnat-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0813112346&fc1=000000&IS2=1 | 8. A Guide to the Wildflowers and Ferns of Kentucky by Mary Wharton My 30 year old copy is falling apart because I’ve taken it on so many hikes and adventures and flipped through it so often. I love the lessons on categorizing and naming — not to mention the pleasure of matching a picture and description with a mystery plant on the trail. | |
| <IFRAME style="WIDTH: 120px; HEIGHT: 240px" marginWidth=0 marginHeight=0 src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=wwwvibrantnat-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0028627717&fc1=000000&IS2=1 | 9. Betty Crocker’s Cook Book I’ve had this illustrated version since middle school and still use it for the basics as well as some really classic dishes. It’s got the best Christmas cookie, split pea soup and pecan pie recipes I’ve ever found. |
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I agree you shouldn't "keep reading" but I don't believe in moving on to the next chapter if I speed-read the last one without comprehending it. Then I agree, move on, the better for having analyzed. Sometimes we stick with the old chapters because t
If you keep rereading the last chapter, you will never get to the next one..get on with your life.
Do not hide your light so that others won't feel insecure around you. And as you let your light shine, you unconsciously give others the right to do the same.
Organic coconut oil. I was introduced to it by a VN sister a while back. It makes my skin SO smooth and it is great for my thick, curly hair! It has a hundred uses (just look it up online) and it costs so little.
Great choices above.
A Story Like the Wind by Laurens Vander Post was given to me by a friend who said she rr read it every time her life was going astray. After I read it I funderstood . It is beusitfully written,rich with vivid description and meaning
Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh is a quick bite which will nourish you for a long time but why are we not surprised that sucha strong woman would write sucha wonderful book
Jaki,
I have never found anyone else refer to A Story Like The Wind, but it is also on my Top Ten – his books are hard to find but I’ve read everything I could get my hands on over the years. His books are layered with a deep core of spirit and transcendence and truth. Lovely to know you loved it as well. I’ve given away so many copies!
Hello. I posted the top 10 books that are my favourites in the first blog on recommending 10 books to friends.
Hope you can see them there. Have a nice day.
There is an absolutely amazing book by one of our own Vibrant Nation members. The Sublime Transformation of Vera Wright by Rea Nolan Martin is the story of an ordinary sixties something woman who sets out on a remarkable, poignant, and hilarious journey to respond to a Sunday sermon. I’ve read it twice, and have given it as a gift to countless friends. Very worth the read! (And also available on amazon.com)
Thanks for “Tree.” It sounds like my kind of book, and I haven’t read it. It’s on my list now. Makes me think of “The Sacred Depths of Nature” by Ursula Goodenough. This scientist talks about everything from biology to physics, in terms a layperson can understand. What she’s basically saying is that more knowledge doesn’t take the wonder out of nature, it puts more wonder in.