Books

“Her kiss was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.”
— Nicole Krauss

Krauss lovingly describes the characters in her book so well that they become living people. After reading History of Love, I want to eat sandwiches and gherkins with Leo Gursky. I want to build a boat with Bird and wait for it to start raining. I care for them; I want to see their dreams fulfilled. This book makes me laugh aloud. It makes me cry. It makes me see things a little differently. Most of all, it makes me cherish the people in my life.

Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Anne Lamott
“Writing can be a pretty desperate endeavor, because it is about some of our deepest needs: our need to be visible, to be heard, our need to make sense of our lives, to wake up and grow and belong.”

This book has some excellent advice on writing. Since everyone is going to write something in their lifetime, I really think everyone can benefit from this book. But its value doesn’t end there. Take any of Lamott’s writing tips, apply it to your own field and it works just as well. When I first read this book it helped me become a better artist and designer. I bet if I read it now it would teach me something new about being a better mom. The author’s clever anecdotes pull me in. Entertainment, useful information, and plenty of laughs, all in the same book…that’s a book worth reading.

The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
“There ought, I thought, to be a ritual for being born twice—patched, retreaded, and approved for the road.”

Once I started, I couldn’t put this book down. Reading it made me look at life in a whole new way. Plath tells her story of psychological breakdown with such honesty that I feel every emotion and experience each struggle with her. Although the subject matter is sometimes shocking, it’s a beautiful story told perfectly. I can relate to the main character; in fact, I think everyone can. I read it last summer and I think it’s time to pull it off the shelf and read it again. Next time you need a good book to read on a rainy day, this one should be it.