The old saying is that “you are what you eat,” but recently, Marce and a couple of friends and I started our own weekly book club, and as a result, I’ve come to the conclusion that in fact, you are what you READ.
The books and articles we read form the basis for our thoughts and opinions. We reflect on them, and either agree or disagree with the content on those pages (or screens). It is this very process that defines the way we view the world around us and in turn, the decisions we make. Reading is a way to reach inside ourselves and tap into our greatest dreams or our worst fears. We can escape the madness of our daily routines, learn about how to improve ourselves and our communities, or just spend some time relaxing without being constantly bombarded by advertisements.
I deeply regret that our current educational system treats reading like a chore, because most students (victims?) end up reading only when required, and end up missing out on the enrichment of reading for fun.
With all this in mind, I have decided to share with you the books that have truly resonated with me. I won’t share every book we read in our book club… just the ones that have the potential to change your life.
You may notice the new section for Recommended Reading to the right of this post. I will be updating that section with links to the books that have had a profound impact on my day-to-day life.
In the interest of full disclosure, you may notice that each of them links to Amazon.com, of which I am now an affiliate. If you end up buying one of those books through Amazon, I will be credited with a 4-15% affiliate commission, but the way I see it, if I can help you find a book that will change your life, and it costs you nothing to put a little extra cash in my (and Mia’s) pocket, then it’s a win-win. If you disagree, please let me know in the comments below.
Friends, I wish you many peace-filled evenings cuddled up on the couch immersed in the pleasure of reading, because after all, you are what you READ!
P.S. If you have any recommendations yourself, please feel free to post them in the comments as well – we are always looking for more books for our book club!
5 replies on “You are what you READ!”
Allen,
In non-fiction, I just finished Margaret Atwood’s “Payback”. It is an interesting view of debt from both an historical and literary perspective. I need to read the references in the back and do some deeper reading.
In fiction, I finished the following: “Wake” by Robert Sawyer , “Sandman Slim” by Richard Kadrey, and I am now working on “The English American” by Alison Larkin. I think I know how this last one will end.
Jon
Nice! Thanks for the suggestions. For non-fiction, I’m really enjoying The Omnivore’s Dilemma right now, but it’s a one-way street. Once you read about what happens in the industrial food chain, you will never look at food the same way again.
Too many books! So little time!
I’ve been following Pollan’s writing for years, especially his work in the New York Times Magazine. I like the Organic Industrial Complex and Power Steer. I think i have soft copies somewhere. Pollan’s later book,”In Defense of Food” was better and much more accessable from a food point of view for many people. Pollan, like some other food writers, are blessed by living in either California or New York. You have it slightly better by living in Gainesville with all those nearby farms. I know where my food is coming from but organic is not cost effective or green in some ways.
Marce, I used to track my to read list in a spreadsheet. It got unwieldy after awhile.
I am just finishing reading “The Black Swan” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, which outlines the problem with using statistics to ‘predict’ the world as we see it, as events that change the world are by their very nature ‘unpredictable’ and generally outliers on the statistical spectrum. Very interesting.
Fiction, have not read very much of lately. Too many interesting topics in non-fiction.^-^