Get ready to get away. Whether you're hitting the road, heading to the beach or exploring the newest trendy destination city we have five great options for your vacation reading list. Get packing now!
1. If you want to get into a series, get yourself a copy of My Brilliant Friend: Book One by Elena Ferrante
A modern masterpiece from one of Italy's most acclaimed authors set against the backdrop of a Naples that is as seductive as it is perilous and a world undergoing epochal change, this story of a lifelong friendship is told with unmatched honesty. Lila and Elena clash, drift apart, reconcile, and clash again, in the process revealing new facets of their friendship.With My Brilliant Friend Ferrante begins the rich, intense, and generous-hearted portrait of two friends, Elena and Lila. Through their lives, she tells the story of a neighbourhood, a city, and a country undergoing a momentous change.
2. Swap your "how to" book with this "how to think" book where resilience is key to aging well; age is less important than health; happiness doesn’t come easily and saying “no” can be powerful. Women Rowing North: Navigating Life's Currents and Flourishing as We Age by Mary PipherIn Women Rowing North, Pipher offers a timely examination of the cultural and developmental issues women face as they age. Drawing on her own experience as daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, caregiver, clinical psychologist, and cultural anthropologist, she explores ways women can cultivate resilient responses to the challenges they face. "If we can keep our wits about us, think clearly, and manage our emotions skillfully," Pipher writes, "we will experience a joyous time of our lives. If we have planned carefully and packed properly, if we have good maps and guides, the journey can be transcendent."
3. For feeling like it's never too late to travel, dive into a Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden GelmanRita Golden Gelman is an ordinary woman who is living an extraordinary existence. At the age of forty-eight, on the verge of a divorce, Rita left an elegant life in L.A. to follow her dream of travelling the world, connecting with people in cultures all over the globe. In 1986 Rita sold her possessions and became a nomad, living in a Zapotec village in Mexico, sleeping with sea lions on the Galapagos Islands, and residing everywhere from thatched huts to regal palaces. She has observed orangutans in the rain forest of Borneo, visited trance healers and dens of black magic, and cooked with women on fires all over the world. Rita’s example encourages us all to dust off our dreams and rediscover the joy, the exuberance, and the hidden spirit that so many of us bury when we become adults.
4. For a memoir that's both laugh out loud and searingly honest grab a copy of Toronto's very own: To Walk It Off: The True and Hilarious Story of How I Learned to Stand, Walk, Pee, Run, and Have Sex Again After a Nightmarish Diagnosis Turned My Awesome Life Upside Down by Ruth Marshall
Ruth Marshall—power-mom, wife, actor, and daughter—was in great health, until one day, her feet started to tingle. Ruth visited doctors and specialists for tests, but no one could figure out the cause of her symptoms. Was she imagining those pesky tingles? She tried to brush it off, even as she tripped over curbs and bumbled into people. Clumsiness is charming, right?
But when Ruth suddenly couldn’t feel her legs at all, she knew something was terribly wrong. Her fears were confirmed by an MRI revealing a rare tumour that had been quietly growing on her spine for over a decade. Within days, surgery was scheduled, and after the intense eight-hour ordeal, Ruth woke up to find her legs and feet had forgotten how to do...well, everything. The question that burned in her mind was, “Will I ever walk again?”
What Ruth thought would be three days in the hospital turned into months of rehabilitation as she learned not only how to walk, run, pee and even have sex again, but how to appreciate everyone around her—including her devoted husband, her two young sons, her worried parents, her loving friends, and the caring staff at the rehab centre who help her tackle her recovery head on.
Laugh-out-loud outrageous and searingly honest, this is a memoir that not only entertains, but inspires readers to put their best foot forward and walk off anything life throws their way.
5. If you're looking to learn something. Wine. All the Time.: The Casual Guide to Confident Drinking, by Marissa A. Ross
But when Ruth suddenly couldn’t feel her legs at all, she knew something was terribly wrong. Her fears were confirmed by an MRI revealing a rare tumour that had been quietly growing on her spine for over a decade. Within days, surgery was scheduled, and after the intense eight-hour ordeal, Ruth woke up to find her legs and feet had forgotten how to do...well, everything. The question that burned in her mind was, “Will I ever walk again?”
What Ruth thought would be three days in the hospital turned into months of rehabilitation as she learned not only how to walk, run, pee and even have sex again, but how to appreciate everyone around her—including her devoted husband, her two young sons, her worried parents, her loving friends, and the caring staff at the rehab centre who help her tackle her recovery head on.
Laugh-out-loud outrageous and searingly honest, this is a memoir that not only entertains, but inspires readers to put their best foot forward and walk off anything life throws their way.
5. If you're looking to learn something. Wine. All the Time.: The Casual Guide to Confident Drinking, by Marissa A. Ross A fresh, fun, and unpretentious guide to wine from Marissa A. Ross, official wine columnist for Bon Appétit. Does the thought of having to buy wine for a dinner party stress you out? Is your go-to strategy to pick the bottle with the coolest label? Are you tired of choosing pairings based on your wallet, instead of your palate? Fear not! Bon Appétit wine columnist and Wine. All The Time. blogger Marissa A. Ross is here to help.
In this utterly accessible yet comprehensive guide to wine, Ross will walk you through the ins and outs of wine culture. Told in her signature comedic voice, with personal anecdotes woven in among its lessons, Wine. All the Time. will teach you to sip confidently, and make you laugh as you're doing it.
In Wine. All The Time., you’ll learn how to:
• Describe what you’re drinking, and recognize your preferences
• Find the best bottle for you budget and occasion
• Read and understand what’s written on a wine label
• Make the perfect pairings between what you’re drinking and what you’re eating
• Throw the best damn dinner party your guests will ever attend
• And much more
Happy Reading!
1 comment
Mary Pipher’s book looks encouraging to some of us seniors.