I am behind on these posts, but it's not a terrible thing. It's been a couple of months now since I've read these and having to write brief summaries here is a good practice of how much of and whether or not these books have stuck with me.
Meditation Made Easy by Lorin Roche
Curious to learn more about meditation, I saw that this book had good reviews, and meditation made easy was exactly I needed for my ramp up into forming my own practice. I've tried meditating before, but always felt a pressure to erase my thoughts or force myself to feel a certain way, and I would end up feeling like I was "failing" at meditating. This book was very helpful to me because it clarified that meditation was more about paying attention to one's body and thoughts, rather than suppressing them. I mentioned this book in a podcast episode we did lately with Taylor Campbell on mindfulness.
Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin
This one was a book club read, which I had been excited about because I love these types of books that have memoir-style essays about life and food with good recipes included. Unfortunately, I didn't like this book as much as I had hoped. The writing was a little stilted, and the essays felt disjointed, without a believable thread or narrative to walk be through. Part of it may have also been due to the fact that I was reading "Braiding Sweetgrass" at the same time, and that one was just stunning and gripping me with its writings and revelations. It wasn't a fair comparison. This one did have lots of good nuggets and takeaways, so if you love this genre, it's worth a read, but it wasn't my favorite one of its kind.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
This was a marvelous about a man who is one kind of way - grumpy, stingy, and lonely - who is made to melt and open up little by little by visits from his neighbors and small connections that are made. The characters and dialogue are vivid (I could see each of the scenes play out in my head as if in a movie, which is apt, because they have made a movie from this book) and I fell in love with all the characters while going through this one, especially the main character. There were many funny moments throughout the book as well, making me laugh aloud, and by the end of the book I was moved to tears by the way it all resolved.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmer
This is my favorite non-fiction book from this past year, and I keep telling anyone I think might be remotely interested about this one. This too is a collection of essays of sorts- they could stand on their own - but they work and weave together as a memoir as well as passionate and gentle advocacy for noticing and respecting the nature around. It is full of wisdom and beautiful writing, and I savored this one till the very end. I had read the library's copy, but immediately bought my own so I could reread it. It is really wonderful.
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