SUGGESTIONS FOR SUMMER READING
1.Inviting Silence Gunilla Norris, an exquisite little book about meditation. Quick to read right through or to slowly savour like poems.
2. Anything by Isabel Allende Portrait in Sepia, Eva Luna, the House of the Spirits, Zorro. Allende is a Chilean writer, her books are full of interesting people, realistic stories and lots of insightful observation. Historical fiction. Normally I probably wouldn't read a book about Zorro but by Allende I would and did and enjoyed it!
3. Slow Boats Home Gavin Young, An intrepid, reflective travel writer. A book to take you on a trip no matter where you are this summer.
4. The Rustling of Angels
Author: Helen Heinmiller
The Rustling of Angels is about a young man's untimely death that leads him on a unique and challenging adventure between heaven and earth that changes his perception of life forever.
Recommendation: This novel takes you on a journey of life's largest questions and themes, but makes them easy to understand and without judgment. You just become the "theme", have some fun, shed a few tears and by the last chapter you have no questions, only an inner knowing and peace are left. How can I not recommend PEACE.
web site: www.helenheinmiller.com <http://www.helenheinmiller.com/>
Available via Amazon, online retailers & www.authorhouse.com <http://www.authorhouse.com/>
5. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris , paperback. mystery/fantasy/horror Told
in first person by the heroine Sookie Stackhouse a telepathic
barmaid.....fabulous detail, wierd and fun. First of a series of 6 books, all with "dead" in
the title. The series has everything: vampires, weres, shapechangers, fairies
and so on.
6. Spiral Dynamics by Don Edward Beck and Christopher C. Cowan, non-fiction :
human and social development, especially human value systems. Essential for
understanding much of what goes on in the world. Applies in politics, business,
religion, spirituality and many other areas. Blackwell Publishing
7. The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt (fiction) Business and business consulting,
business problems dealt with in a novel format. An introduction to the theory
of constraints. Easy and fun reading.North River Press
8. Imperial Grunts: the American Military on the Ground by Robert D. Kaplan
non-fiction very valuable for the understanding of what is going on in this very
important area of policy implementation. Hardcover - Random House
9. So you want to be a wizard by Diane Duane Fiction, Children's. Fantasy
first of a series of eight books. Well written and lots of fun. Kit and Nita
become wizards and wind up with seriously major responsibilities for the welfare of
the world. They are 11 and 12 or 12 and 13 at the beginning. Get a load of
Nita's younger sister Dairine. paperback Magic Carpet Books Harcourt.
10. Chi Walking /Chi Running by Danny and Katherine Dreyer 2 books non-fiction
probably the best books on the technique of running and walking ever. Explains
why so many people get injured running and how to fix it. Utterly brilliant.
For every athlete and everyone who wants to walk and be more fit. Based in tai
chi and chi development. excellent for the marital artist too.
11. Life of pi by Yann Martel - interesting story but quite believable
full of great philosophy.
12. Boss by Mike Royko the story of Richard Daley, mayor of Chicago by
Royko, Chicago journalist, written while Daley was still in office.
13. Sorrow Mountain - The Journey of a Tibetan Warrior Nun
by Ani Pachen and Adelaide Donnelley
Story of a Tibetan Nun's life, both before and during the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
14. Etty Hillesum : An Interrupted Life (The Diaries, 1941-1943)
The most inspiring book I have ever read - a Dutch woman's diaries during the Holocaust, you will see a woman who, because of the difficult times she was in, went from go rather ordinary to full of joy and love and happiness (!!! amazing!!! but this book may be hard to find but well worth it).
15. Nothing Special - Living Zen
by Charlotte Joko Beck
A splendid tour of the teachings of Zen - each chapter ends in a student Q&A session (Charlotte is a teacher at the San Diego Zen Center).
16. Flavour of the Week
By Tucker Shaw
Genre: You can't really classify it. Romance, maybe.
Synopsis: Cyril, an overweight boy who loves cooking, falls in love. She doesn't see him as anything but a friend, and has her eye on Cyril’s best bud. In order to woo her, his friend convinces him to whip up delicious meals, and a Cyrano de Bergerac story follows.
17. Pride and Prejudice
By Jane Austen
Genre: Classic romance.
Synopsis: I'm not gonna put anything here. You should know.
18. I Love you like a Tomato
By Marie Giordano
Genre: Fiction. I'm not sure how to classify it further.
Synopsis: Written from the perspective of ChiChi, an Italian girl who has immigrated to America with her family, including her newly-born brother. The land promised from the brochures isn't exactly as it was imagined. ChiChi and her family learn more about togetherness, love and a secret, one that no one really expected.
19. Nicola and the Viscount
By Meg Cabot
Genre: Sappy as a maple tree (that's sappy)
Synopsis: I picked this up during my Princess Diaries phase when anything with the name Meg Cabot was appealing. Read this book only if you like to be able to see everything before it happens. Good mindless crap.
20. Scar Tissue
By Anthony Kiedis, Larry Sloman
Genre: Non-fiction
Synopsis: Okay, maybe this isn't such a great book for when you're relaxing on the beach, watching majestic eagles pluck wee fishies from a glistening bay. But it's good. This is an intense account of the life of a rock star, from the Red Hot Chili Peppers (which is why I picked it up at the library). Sometimes funny, often heartbreaking, but never dull.
21. A Midsummer Night's Dream
By William Shakespeare
Genre: Classic Play
Synopsis: Fairies, royalty, lovers, ass-heads and more. What else do you need? The best thing about reading this play is the story, which is as entertaining today as it would have been hundreds of years ago. This also helps you brush up on your language, Shakespearian and modern. If you have trouble with the diction, "guided" editions are available.
22. Alice, I think
By Susan Juby
Genre: Teen fiction
Synopsis: I'm not one to like teen fiction much, oddly enough, but I loved this. Alice is about 15 years old, lives in Smithers, B.C., and is a little... odd. If you've ever been to one of those "nowhere" towns in B.C., you'll have a good laugh at how it's retold in here. There are a few books that came after, making this a series.
23. The Puppy who Wanted a Boy
By Jane Thayer
Genre: Picture book
Synopsis: A mother dog asks her puppy what he wants for Christmas, and he tells her he wants a boy. When she comes back empty-pawed, he sets off to find one on his own. I borrowed this from the library so much; my mum bought it for me. I'm nearly seventeen and I still read kid's books, especially Christmas ones. It reminds me how I felt about the holiday when I was little, before I found out about what really went on.
24. Altars of Power and Grace by Robin and Michael Mastro.
It's a non-fiction book that shows you how to make
little altars in your home based on Vastu Shastra to
help you increase the positive flow of energy in your
living space and create the life you want. I'm
finding it quite powerful as well as enjoyable, thus
my reason for suggesting it.
25. Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury
A semi-autobiographical novel, this is the tale of 12 year old Douglas Spaulding, who wakes up one morning knowing that he is truly alive. We follow him as he experiences a magical summer with this new awareness - and if you had a happy childhood in small town America, before MTV, (or just wish you did), you are sure to savor this book. It reads like prose poetry; phrases like "bee fried air" (when picking fox grapes on a sweltering summer day) have tickled me and continue to do so whenever I roll them around in my mind. I first read it over 35 years ago, and since then I've given countless copies away, and still re-read it every few years. It never fails to delight. In 1971, Apollo 15 astronauts named "Dandelion Crater" on the moon for this novel.
26. The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton............ This is a vision of a future humanity, and it is totally successful in constructing a believable world, or "worlds" in this case. It is a vision of a system of planets united in a commonwealth, with the problem of how to deal with a very unusual event... the return of the souls of the dead from "purgatory" and the conflict it causes. It is not your usual "gothic" type novel, since the novels also focus on the compassion of how to help those returning souls, and how to help those people who have been hurt by them. The plot is detailed with a number of fascinating sub-plots, and very convincing characters, and a great pace.
27. The Human Condition by Hannah Arendt......... This is non-fiction, and without a doubt one of my favorite books. I have gone back to it many times over the past 30 years, each time with great delight. It is a feast of thought. The focus of the book are the various conditions which define true human life in the world, such as human beings as "fabricators" of a world which is relatively enduring and which we share with others, and human beings as "actors" who act with freedom in that fabricated shared world. She looks at each different category from a historical political philosophy perspective, and offers very rich background with many surprises.
28. Take a look at Dr. Wayne Dyer's most recent book Inspiration. Its teachings are based on learning to live and walk "in-Spirit" all of the time -- in peace and love thereby creating your own peaceful and loving environment.
29. Succulent Wild Woman by SARK? Actually anything by SARK would probably work well. She really knows how to put together stream-of-conscious writing into a useful, entertaining, and thought-provocative format.
30. Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das.
31. Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver.
32. Crow Lake by Mary Larson
A novel. Kate Morrison receives an invitation to attend her nephew’s graduation party. She is reticent about returning to Northern Ontario where her two older brothers and sister still live. The story unfolds like a mystery as she recalls her childhood, the loss of her parents and the reason why she finds it so hard to go home.
33. Marley & Me - Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog by John Grogan
Funny and touching all at the same time. Follows the author’s relationship with a Labrador retriever from puppy-hood to old age. If you’ve ever owned a dog, or simply love animals, you’ll enjoy this.
34. Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie Macdonald
In an interview with Random House, Ann-Marie Macdonald described how the characters in this novel came to her, “I saw three girls, like saints, each standing in front of her dimly lit stained glass in her own grotto, each holding an emblem of her martyrdom. There was Lily with a crutch, Mercedes clutching a braid, and Frances holding aloft a high-heeled red shoe.” This is an exquisitely written novel. It keeps you wondering what’s going to happen right up until the end.
35. I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb
I can’t begin to describe this. After I read it a few years ago, I gave it to my husband, who normally only reads books about British Steam rail and Winston Churchill. He couldn’t put it down. Sat out every night under our Manitoba Maple and read until it was too dark to see. A real page-turner.
36. Holy Cow – An Indian Adventure by Sarah Macdonald
This is part travelogue, part tale of spiritual transformation. Macdonald is an Australian journalist. What makes the book so good is her combination of humour and curiosity. You laugh and you learn. It was a fun read.
37. The Father and The Son – My Father’s Journey into the Monastic Life by Matt Murray
We’ve all heard stories about people who give up everything to follow the spiritual path. But what of the people they leave behind? What questions do they have? What feelings remain unresolved? A true story.
38. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
To me, this is a tragic book, you root for the 4 main characters in
the book from the beginning hoping things will turn out fine for them.
The story is set during the time when Indira Gandhi declared national
emergency and how it impacted the characters. It shows the poor side
of India and the struggles of the lower, down trodden casts. The book
was recommended by Oprah's book club.
39. What the Body Remembers by Shauna Singh Baldwin
The story in the book is historically correct. It took place before
and during the Indian and Pakistan independence. The events that
impacted millions of families on both sides of the border are
condensed and told as the experience of the main characters of the
book. It shows the social hierarchy between the British and the
Indians and social class system among the Indians (and Pakistanis) of
the three main religions and the status of women in India at that
time. The book won the Commonwealth Writers prize. __._,_.___
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