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Summer Sunday Reading List

Fiction

Barney’s Version: Mordecai Richler
Breakfast at Tiffany’s: Truman Capote
Death in a Strange Country: Donna Leon
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Harry Potter series: J.K. Rowling
James: Percival Everett
A Man Called Ove: Fredrik Bachman
Narnia stories: C.S. Lewis
The Nest: Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
The One: John Marrs
A Series of Unfortunate Events series: Lemony Snicket
Tudor historical fiction: Philippa Gregory

Non-fiction

84, Charing Cross Road: Helene Hanff
Bella Tuscany: Frances Mayes
Bird by Bird: Anne Lamott
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Charles Dickens: a Life: Claire Tomalin
Chasing the Sun: How the Science of Sunlight Shapes our Bodies and Minds: Linda Geddes
Ciao, America!; Beppe Severgnini
Feel Free: Zadie Smith
Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life: James Hollis
Frank: The Voice: James Kaplan
How to Be a Brit; George Mikes
I Remember Nothing: Nora Ephron
Life: Keith Richards
Making It Up as I Go Along: Marian Keyes
Memorial Drive: Natasha Trethewey
The Polysyllabic Spree: Nick Hornby
Tuesdays with Morrie: Mitch Albom
The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches and Meditations: Toni Morrison
Walden and Other Writings: Henry David Thoreau
Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am?: John Powell
The Year of Magical Thinking: Joan Didion

Maybe getting away to small town Ontario is your favourite way to relax and have fun on a summer Sunday. After all, there is a large variety to choose from: north, east, west; shops, trails, boats. The vast majority of our small towns are beside water, and where there’s water – a river or a lake – there will be a bench or maybe a beach. Both are lovely places to relax and read a book: to step into a make-believe world; explore history, sports, or the life of a famous person; gain some self-care or life-altering insights.

My sister, Cris, and I have been talking a lot about the need to carve out time for ourselves, relax a little and do more of the things we enjoy doing. Managing our mother’s care and her house, as well as the rest of our busy lives, along with the stress and guilt that are so hard to push away, are exhausting. For me, reading is probably the easiest and most natural way to put aside my pressures and concerns, at least for a few minutes. This is a reflection that I had written for mariasmind. I have updated it to reflect how reading helps me as we continue with our lives, especially our caregiving journey.

Yes! I agree, which is why I’m using this quotation again.

In order for this blog to be an honest reflection of who I am and what I think, I must write about reading: my escape, my main source of knowledge and my sleeping pill. When filling out a questionnaire that asks about my hobbies, I always hesitate to put reading because, for me, it is so much more than that. During these past four years, as Cris and I have shared the work and the worries of taking care of our mother, reading has also been a mental break for me. It gives my brain a little rest from the ongoing stress and guilt and fatigue. I am grateful that I have this lifelong love of reading; it provides a brief escape, a recharging of energy and some relaxation.

Category: what we’re reading (Page 1 of 2)

Summer Sunday: Read to Relax, Laugh, Reminisce and Learn

Taking Time to Read: a Positive Break on our Caregiving Journey

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