simple shui | gift well #4
i am a reader. i love being swallowed whole into the pages of a good story.
so, what makes a good book in my world?
one :: i don’t want to put it down. which is to say, i often find myself muttering, “one more chapter and then i’ll go to sleep…” only to still be awake while the world around me slumbers because the story is worth sinking into like that.
two :: i am wooed by the sentences + phrases + beautiful language, making my soul drool…
three :: i am compelled within only a few pages to text someone and say “GET THIS BOOK. NOW!” {you know who you are!}
four :: pages are dog-eared. i’m writing in the margins. and i’ve highlighted a pathway of passages.
five :: there is always a before and after demarcation with a good book.
finally :: a good book lingers. like, the voices and story and experience stay with me in a way that years might pass, but when i pick up the book again and inhale its scent and flip through the pages, it all comes back.
so, what made my good book list this year?
here are a few to get you started. . .
MY GRANDMOTHER ASKED ME TO TELL YOU SHE’S SORRY | fredrik backman
this book gave me life over the summer. i can’t remember why i picked up this book, because i knew nothing about it.
it took over the rest of my day.
since reading it, i peruse the pages often, trying to memorize the universal wisdom woven into this unforgettable story.
these pages house so many of my favorite sentences to ever read — ones that caught my breath and made me pause — but this. THIS sentiment was a revelation.
‘we want to be loved. failing that, admired; failing that, feared. failing that, hated and despised. at all costs we want to stir up some sort of feeling in others. the soul abhors a vacuum. at all costs it longs for contact.’
remember this. because i suspect it will be a faithful servant in the years ahead. . .
WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR | paul kalanithi
there’s a conversation from this book that hitched itself to me as i read it:
“will having a newborn distract from the time we have together?” she asked. “don’t you think saying good-bye to your child will make your death more painful?”
“wouldn’t it be great if it did?” i said.
i often remind myself that adversity shows true character, and this book rattled me to my core. the best teacher for life is death, because in its grasp, we become authentic + real + vulnerable – which is to say, fully alive. paul’s story is both beautiful and painful, and i believe a necessary read for everyone. making it one of my favorite reads ever.
MY LIFE ON THE ROAD | gloria steinem
i know the word FEMINISM gets in the way for so many, but here’s the thing about people’s stories + migrations: lives lived deeply + widely give us a chance to see the world twice. once, from our familiar perspective and comfortable, orderly understanding. and secondly, they tinder new insights because we can’t possibly see + know + breathe into every life possibility out there. we will always find ourselves in good company of the collective experience if we pay attention. and learning something new is the only way our brains grow, people, so stay open.
her journeys + conversations + lifelong loyalty to making the world a better place for women and men is reassuring and inspiring. and if nothing else, it rallies to life a universal truth: one person can make a mighty difference.
‘if you want people to listen to you, you have to listen to them. if you hope people will change how they live, you have to know how they live. if you want people to see you, you have to sit down with them eye to eye.’
a one-size-fits-all piece of advice, yes?
whether you grab the stash for yourself or bundle a few as a gift, these stories share one star-worthy quality — they open up our capacity to accept + LOVE. and that is a gift in itself.
xo
p.s. if you want a few other good reads, check out my best design books gift guide here!
p.p.s. if you want to read my previous gift well guides, look here and here and here. all the ideas are still guaranteed happy makers!
p.p.p.s. feeling the pull to sift through your things and finally arrive back in the zone? i couldn’t think of a better way to shimmy into twenty-seventeen! consider one, two, or the bundle of simple shui workbooks for yourself — because a little work now, and your year will bode of beautiful things. when we keep things simple, life opens up! and these workbooks are your map to living out loud in the new year!
