Wordy Pleasures

September Book Recommendations & More

Hello Lovely Readers,

In this Substack I’ll start with the book recommendations, and then write a bit more about the Sitting and the Writing and how I will be breaking those two a part to refine your experience here in the year ahead.

Kate, you say. But it is September.

I know. I know, friend. But I was a public educator for so long that when people talk about Back to School — I am off to get my new notebook to plan the year ahead. If you have been here, I also love the new-year-new-you celebrations, and the new moons. Listen friend, in short, I love a new cycle and this year I am focusing on the harvest of it. The fruition of it. The put-your-book-back-on-the-shelf-when-you-are-done-with-it kind of vibe.

More on that later; let us get to the books.

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Book Recommendations

First of all, I got some side eye at the pool club we spent our summer. One Mom was bold enough to look at the title and look back up at me. I met her gaze with a “it’s not what you think.” She grimaced. Too bad for her because it is a great end of summer read. It’s punchy; the dialogue is great and I knew very little about it, but that an avid reader friend of mine recommended it without reason and I am doing the same.

🔗 Grab your copy at a local bookshop

On the OPPOSITE side of the weather spectrum is my next recommendation which was phenomenal. I devoured it, even though the book demanded that I chew every well written word to digest the depth. I first saw this book referenced at The Bookhouse Hotel (yes, a hotel of books. It is as lovely and magical as it sounds. You can read about it a listen in my friend’s Substack, Katie Bean, here.)

But the cover, looked cold. See how much cover art matters? And I wasn’t in the mood for fiction and I did not even read the back cover. This summer my sister-in-law told me a about a book based on a “real life midwife, who never lost a birth, in colonial America, and some parts of her original journals were included!” Guess what? Yes, reader. Same book. So our books come to us when we are ready. This one is a masterpiece I highly recommend.

🔗 Grab your copy at a local bookshop

Up next are my two current reads.I am not usually in this first genre, and that is why I am reading it. That to say, I normally read really heady stuff, yet when I am tired it can be hard to read at night.

🧩 My pattern change is to read the philosophical stuff in the morning with coffee, placing my mind on what matters for the day, and then have a well written lighter read for night or the afternoon reading break with my son. To that end, this writing duo has been super, super fun. Although this is only my second book, I have 12 days to read it before I do another deep dive into some Anthroposophy.

Here’s are my two current reads:

I was raised with this Bird:

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Kid’s Book Recommendations

I am always looking for good kid’s books. I think there are different reasons for reading. Some books I get out because of content: construction and crocodiles, currently in our house. Some I get out to teach lessons: friendship, school anxiety, and manners. And then I get out older books (like Dr. Suess) for simple rhyming pattern as we bolster our reading skills.

Here are some books we have loved this summer:

Fabulous book, check it out here.

Some of our favorites from the library.

And one more book for you that my son and I both adore for the messaging and the pictures. Flip through the next time you are in the library or bookstore and you will see what I mean:

🔗 Grab it at your local bookstore here.

One more recommendation you say? Ok, check this one out:

This one has a great message. I read it at my son’s school and everyone loved it.

🔗 Grab it at your local bookstore here.

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I like to share loved books, and I was even more motivated to do so when I saw this:

• The average American reads 12 books per year.

• 65% of Americans have not read a book in the past year.

• 80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year.

42% of college graduates never read another book after college.

🔗 Numbers grabbed here.

Photo by Harm Weustink on Unsplash

YIKES! I thought. Reading has been a solace and a door to new concepts my whole life. I suspect the same for you.

"Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world." – Napoleon Bonaparte

"When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young." – Maya Angelou

"I think books are like people, in the sense that they’ll turn up in your life when you most need them." – Emma Thompson

So my fellow word-lover, the next time you think — ah, I wish I was reading (or writing) Do it! The world needs you to reignite the spark of wordy pleasure. Books to learn. Books to escape. Books to pull out our emotions, our inspirations, and new skills. Read, read, and read some more. Then, tell me what you choose. I am always looking for some good recommendations. I am pretty picky though.

I got caught in reading to learn, and I squeezed out all the room to enjoy. I was busy, but I was still insta-scrolling. So, when I switched out to an easy, in-house read, alongside my deep dives, the little kid in my that would steal away into a tree to read (yes, true story) emerged again.

That brings me to the Sit & Write.

I am going to split my posts between the part about Sitting (which is inspirational and meditation, and philosophy) and Writing (book recommendations and tips on writing) because it’s both. It is the spiritual and the analytical. It is the creative and the constructive. It is the learning and the teaching; it is the giving and the receiving.

This September, give your Self permission to Sit & Write, and read!

With wordy pleasure,

Kate

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In the celebration of wordy pleasure, here is an excerpt from Rebirth: Real-life stories about what happens when you let go and let life lead. (It’s an excerpt about my best fur friend, Nui)

🔗 Get your copy here.