On the Bookshelf

I love reading, but you likely already knew that about me. Hence, I chose to be a professional reader (aka lawyer...not all of us lawyers are like Perry Mason who spends their days investigating facts in the field or trying cases in court - funny the show never revealed the hours, weeks, months, perhaps years it takes to read, write and prep for trial). Reading for pleasure was put on the back burner the first year of motherhood (like much of anything non-Henry related), but I have happily rekindled my relationship with books in 2012. Yes, I am a die-hard for the hard copy (not the electronic version). I love the look, feel and smell of books. I'll probably be one of the last folks on Earth to adapt to reading on an e-reader for pleasure, although I admit that I do read a fair amount on a computer screen at work. Below are a few books I have finished reading this year, that I would also recommend:


The Dirty Life, by Kristen Kimball speaks to my wanna-be farmer's heart. Kimball is a Harvard educated writer. She used to work in New York City as a mucky-muck writer. She decided to venture out into the country for a story one day and came across Mark (a young farmer), who she was instantly intrigued by (perhaps not madly in love with...yet). Something called to her that day on Mark's farm. Long story short, Mark convinced her to fall in love with him, fall in love with farming, accept his hand in marriage and start a 500 acre farm (from the ground up). This story chronicles Kimball's 1st year as a farmer. I found the book entertaining and inspiring. The core messages that I took from the book include following your heart and that the best rewards come from hard work.




Room, by Emma Donoghue is a captivating story (fiction) about a woman who is kidnapped at 19 and locked into a garden shed (Room). Her captor impregnates her and she begins to raise her son, Jack, in Room. The story captures the limitless bounds of the love between mother and son (it's no wonder I enjoyed this book). In the interest of not spoiling the story, I will leave the details for you to peruse at your leisure. The book was one of the NY Times 10 best books for 2010. Thank you Jen for the great read.





Everyday Sacred, by Sue Bender is an interesting compilation of short stories (most just a few paragraphs) that come together to describe Bender's journey to finding inner peace, to quell the harsh judgmental inner voice. I too have a harsh judgmental inner voice that tells me that I can always achieve more, do better, acquire more, so this book resonates with my personal journey to find inner peace. To be present in the moment and to stop the search for "more." She used the Buddhist monk's begging bowl as a metaphorical symbol throughout the book - searching for whatever it is that is meant to fill the bowl. What she discovers is the whole point of the begging bowl is to be willing to accept whatever is put in the bowl, without expectation.