Recommendations, What I’m reading, What I’m looking forward to…

Recommend:

Coming Clean: A Memoir by Kimberly Rae Miller. Fascinating story of growing up as the child of two hoarders. She paints her parents as vivid, multi-dimensional characters.  A page turner AND a great reminder that despite a desolate, imperfect childhood, things can turn out okay.

Stage Performance by Livingston Taylor.  Recommended by a musician friend. Great insights into working hard and how we “show up” for our responsibilities, especially the care we take to showcase what we have to offer.  (Re-reading that sentence, I’m not even sure it makes sense. Just read the book…it’s Inspiring!)

Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim’s Tale by Ian Morgan Cron. A burnt out pastor has his faith revived as he follows the path of Saint Francis. Not the type of book I’m drawn to, which made it rather surprising that I enjoyed it so much.

The Buy Side: A Wall Street Trader’s Tale of Spectacular Excess by Turney Duff.  A memoir from a high school friend who went on to much bigger & wilder things after he left our small town in Maine.  Great writing, and an interesting  story of building a life and then tearing it down…and then building back up again. I’ve recommended this book to friends and family members from all demographics, and all have loved it. Highly recommend.

 

Reading: 

The Happiness Advantage: The 7 Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shawn Achor.  A lot of synthesis here of other positive psych material, but this book probably does the best job of laying it out in terms of specific application.  And the author has a great sense of humor, which is a nice touch

Finding Spoons: A Love Story on Two Wheels by Victoria Merriman. I got to read this in draft form and loved it then, so it’s especially fun to see the finished book. A fun and crazy-inspiring memoir by a friend who traveled the country, BY HERSELF, on a bike. She camped in people’s YARDS, and on giant bales of cotton, among other places.  Just incredible. You’ll love it.

 

Looking forward to:

Still Writing: The Pleasures & Perils of a Creative Life by Dani Shapiro. Out today! I love Dani’s other books, so I’m hoping to have a copy in hand for my next trip to sit on the beach in the autumn sunshine :)

The Theory of Opposites: A Novel by Allison Winn Scotch.  Confession: I’ve already read this & it’s FANTASTIC. I’ll do a full blog on it closer to it’s pub date in November, but if you want a treat to look forward to, go ahead and pre-order.