I am a voracious reader and every week I come across either a book, online piece or website I want to share with others. I’ve decided to curate these gems and highlight them on Friday. I hope you find these faves as insightful as I do.
- There is no question how much I enjoy and love books. I agreed with many of the suggestions in Book Riot’s 15 Great Nonfiction Books by Women (And the Best Time to Read Them).
- What if you had a different name? How would you act? Dana Schwartz’s piece, “What’s in a Name” resonated with me.
- Running is often a meditation for me. “All runners know that a familiar trail is a time machine.” Paul Bisceglio’s article, “Retracing Our Steps” quantified how I feel about running familiar routes in my neighborhood.
- In “Writer, Let Your Freak Flag Fly” by N. West Moss identifies what bravery means to her when it comes to writing: “The bravery seems to be about the content of my life, and my ability to sit squarely in the middle of my life’s mess and embrace it as mine. The bravery, in the end, comes not from looking inward, or it doesn’t for me anyway, but from sitting squarely in the soil of my own life, and looking outward, as only I can.” This is a short, but must-read for all writers on the Brevity blog.
What were your favorite reads this week?
Welcome! I am a lawyer turned freelance writer, essayist, and editor. On staff at Literary Mama and the co-founder and co-editor of the literary journal, The Sunlight Press, my essays and reported work have appeared in The Washington Post, The Lily, Saveur, Civil Eats, Brain, Child, ESPN and elsewhere. I am currently at work on a memoir on grief and culture and how it provides perspective on life’s ordinary graces. I invite you to appreciate the ordinary with me. I hope my daily practice of seeing the magic in the mundane helps you celebrate and find more of these moments in your life too.
Dana’s post was one of my favorites too!
I also loved reading about how running is like meditation. I feel that way about hiking and Pure Barre.
Oh, thanks so much Tamara :) I also feel that way about running, when I finally have a moment to do it again…
I have a few friends that love Pure Barre and swear by it. I also enjoy hiking too. It is a great way to slow down and pay attention.
I loved “Let Your Freak Flag Fly”. Thank you for sharing. ?
I found her piece liberating. Glad you enjoyed it too, Sarah.
Thank you for including my link here, Rudri! It’s such a nice way to start my weekend :) I also LOVED that Brevity post. I pretty much enjoy all of them, but that one in particular was striking. I loved this quote, “It is our obsessions that make us unique – our obsessions with words and sounds, with themes, with people, with what we have and what we have lost and what we wish we’d been given.”
My pleasure, Dana. I thought about your piece days after reading it. And it pushed me to consider how my personality might be different if I had a non-ethnic name. Thanks for giving me so much to think about.
Terrific links, Rudri. I enjoyed BookRiot’s list of nonfiction favorites by and for women. I’ve added a few to my reading list.
Somehow I missed Dana’s post so I’m heading over there now. :)
Thanks, Jackie. I loved how BookRiot chose to pair their book recommendations with various events/milestones of a woman’s life – made it an interesting read.
Loved Dana’s post and the topic of names in general.
Thank you for including my Brevity essay. I’m glad to have found you.
My pleasure! I loved the wisdom in your piece. Thanks.