Public Domain Image from Pixabay

I’ve always been an avid reader, but this year it seems that I’m including more fiction in my selections. Since it’s now officially summer in my part of the world, I thought I’d share a few of my recent favourites, and hopefully, you’ll recommend something for me.

** Books mentioned have Amazon affiliate links, meaning I make a few cents if you purchase through my link. I only recommend books that I’ve read.

Photography 

A Beautiful Anarchy by David duChemin

David duChemin’s philosophy of life and photography resonates strongly with me. In this, his latest book, duChemin shares his experience creating a life as a humanitarian photographer and nomad from a life of creating. It’s an inspiring read that will get you to take action towards all those things you’ve been meaning to do. Not everyone has to or wants to travel the world, but we all have things we want to do that seem unattainable. David duChemin will dispel that myth. Some of my favourite quotes:

“Failure is the testing of ideas that have yet to find their best expression.”

“Vulnerability is powerful. It changes our relationships and gives depth to anything we touch, and our art will be best where we allow ourselves the trauma of transparency.”

“As a photographer, my art doesn’t come from the camera. It comes when I’m open and receptive enough to life that I see moments for what they are instead of what I wish them to be. There’s a kind of humility towards life that is necessary, a willingness to suspend my own expectations of what will happen, and watch it as it unfolds. The expectations and sense of what should happen only blind me to what is. The more I let go, the more I see, and with greater clarity when not seen through the filter of those expectations.”

Non-Fiction

The Language of Emotions by Karla McLaren

This book showed me that many of us, me included, are really not fully aware of our emotions or what to do with them. Even if we do know what we’re feeling, we label our emotions as good or bad, not realizing that every emotion has a purpose, is temporary, and has a message for us.

“Verbal skills and pure rationality may be what makes us so smart, but it is our emotions and our empathy that make us brilliant, decisive, and compassionate human beings.” ~ Karla McLaren

I was interested in this book because I’m exploring how the best images make us feel something. Listen to an interview with Karla McLaren on the book here.

Keeping the Faith without a Religion by Roger Housden

“Faith implies a basic trust in the way life weaves its patterns – an awareness that is not passive or fatalistic, but actively engaged with and accepting all of life’s twists and turns.” ~ Roger Housden

This book is less about faith and religion than a primer on how to live with the mystery of life without being part of a religious institution. I loved it. Listen to Housden’s interview with Tami Simon on the book here.

Fiction 

The Book Thief by Marcus Zzusak

This Young Adult book is the mesmerizing and heartbreaking story of one girl’s life in 1939 Nazi Germany and the power of books to feed the soul. Also a major motion picture.

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

A fascinating book about Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson, as he was finding his voice in the 1920’s. Read: Paula McLain on Fact vs Fiction in The Paris Wife

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

Another heartbreaking story of architect Frank Lloyd Wright and his scandalous relationship with Mamah Borthwick Cheney. A true love affair that left a lot of sadness in its wake.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

I’m only a third of the way through this book, but am enjoying every second of the delicious writing. Plus, it won a Pulitzer Prize.

What are you reading?