About a month and a half ago I packed up my life, sold all my things and bought the biggest suitcase I could find. But before I left to go travelling for the year, I put a few boxes into storage that were filled with things I couldn’t bare to part with. Among my memories, about 50 books were piled into one of those boxes and I’m comforted by the thought that they’ll all be patiently waiting for me when I get back. The other 50 books, I either passed on to my dearest friends, sold to the local used book store or donated to the adorable community library, “Siri’s Book Exchange” located on the corner of 3rd and Trafalgar.
I’ve been getting lost in books for as long as I can remember and reading is sincerely one of my favourite things to do.
Here are ten of the best novels that I’ve read recently; ones that you might have wanted to borrow from my bookshelf …
If I still had one.
Fact:
1. Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
– the true story of how an unlikely crew of determined shoe dogs created Nike and then turned it into one of the most recognizable brands in the world.
2. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
– the heartbreaking story of a decorated doctor whose spent his entire career helping others to live; only to learn that he’s about to die. A lover of both medicine and literature, thirty-six year old Kalanthi’s suddenly faced with the age old question: what makes a life worth living?
3. An Astronauts Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield
– life lessons and interesting facts from my favourite Canadian astronaut. Hadfields funny and well-thought out memoir shows us exactly why he’s one of our countries most lovable public figures and gently reminds us why space will always be worth exploring.
4. Precious Cargo by Craig Davidson
– Author Craig Davidson’s down on his luck and desperate for work when he finds a flyer one morning in his mailbox; Wanted: school bus drivers. Thus begins this heart-warming story of the year that he spent driving bus #3077, and the group of special needs students who made the work worth doing.
5. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
– If you’re looking for a book that will help inspire, encourage or renew your creativity – Elizabeth Gilbert’s book is here to help you dig a little deeper. Both the book and the author pleasantly surprised me, in a big and magical way. (xo thanks Karen.)
Fiction:
6. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Stephen Galloway
– one of the most beautiful books that I’ve ever read. The Cellist takes you deep into Sarajevo; a city under siege. Galloway cracks open a window for readers to peer into and follow the lives of four very different characters as they struggle against a raging civil war.
7. The Mountain Shadow by Gregory David Roberts
– the long awaited sequel to Shantaram. Mountain Shadow picks up right where we left off and I experienced pure joy by being able to spend time with this cast of complex characters again.
8. White Tiger by Aravind Avida
– told from the heart and the head of Balram – a chauffeur driver in Bombay who climbs the rungs of his country’s caste system through his own very cunning and creative antics.
9. The Nest by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
– an easy best-selling, beach book. Readers will enjoy delving deep into Leo Plumb’s seductions and consequently, the Plumb’s family secrets.
10. May I borrow a book from you?
– please leave me my next read in the comment box below!
“As she rounded a corner one of her favourite songs came on the radio, and sunlight filtered through the trees the way it does with lace curtains, reminding her of her grandmother, and tears began to slide down her cheeks. Not for her grandmother, who was then still very much among the living, but because she felt an enveloping happiness to be alive, a joy made stronger by the certainty that someday it would all come to an end. It overwhelmed her, made her pull the car to the side of the road. Afterwards she felt a little foolish, and never spoke to anyone about it. Now, however, she knows she wasn’t being foolish. She realizes that for no particular reason she stumbled into the core of what it is to be human. It’s a rare gift to understand that your life is wondrous, and that it won’t last forever.” – the Cellist of Sarajevo
1 Comment
yo this my shit