Tis the season of traveling near and far for all of your holiday activities. Whether it’s a long-haul flight back home, a road trip to your in-laws’, or a train ride upstate, entertainment is far and few between. Now is the chance to catch up on all of the reading you promised yourself you’d do back at the beginning of the year while you had the best of intentions.
Ahead, check out some titles to keep you entertained and enlightened during your travels this holiday season:
Three Women by Lisa Taddeo
“Three Women” took Brooklyn by storm this summer. Based on several years of reporting, Taddeo tackles human sexuality through the experiences of three women in an attempt to remind us all that we are not alone in our struggles. The book follows Lina, a mother of two in suburban Indiana in a passionless marriage, Maggie, a 17-year-old high school student from North Dakota in an alleged relationship with her married English teacher, and Sloane, a restaurant owner in Rhode Island with a voyeuristic husband. Lina is battling panic attacks all whilst embarking on an affair with an old flame after reconnecting on social media. After Maggie’s alleged affair becomes public, a criminal trial ensues, wreaking havoc in her quiet community. Through Taddeo’s storytelling, we become enveloped in the lives of these women, through all of the highs and the lows.
It’s Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way To Happiness by Sylvia Boorstein
Injected with humor, Sylvia Boorstein’s words still hold up, decades later. Throughout “It’s Easier Than You Think,” Boorstein shares powerful stories from everyday experiences, breaking down spirituality and the path to happiness through basic Buddhist teachings. Through the engaging guide full of insights and love, you will learn how to eliminate hindrances in thinking and work on your course toward wisdom and compassion.
To Shake The Sleeping Self: A Journey from Oregon to Patagonia and a Quest for a Life With No Regret by Jedidiah Jenkins
The day before he turned 30, Jedidiah Jenkins quit his dream job, terrified of falling into a path of life that he didn’t want to live. After quitting he embarked on a sixteen-month cycling trip from Oregon to Patagonia, chronicling his adventure through Instagram. His journey caught momentum and the eye of hundreds of thousands of followers drawn to his photos and reflections along the way. “To Shake The Sleeping Self” is an honest portrayal of Jenkins’ internal journey, the people and places he encountered along the way, and his struggles of what it means to be an adult, belief in travel, and his sexual identity.
Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport
Minimalism does not just apply to your closet or interior design, it affects our attachment to our personal technology and living a focused life despite the digital noise. Newport goes beyond common sense tips, delving into how we are able to take back control of our lives so deeply rooted in technology. In “Digital Minimalism,” Newport shares real-life examples–ranging from Amish farmers to Silicon Valley programmers–to reveal the common denominators in the habits of digital minimalists, giving us all insight on how to “digitally declutter” our lives.
And Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I Was Ready by Meaghan O’Connell
This isn’t your average parenting book. After getting pregnant accidentally in her twenties, Meaghan O’Connell created an honest agenda about motherhood. Through some dark humor, O’Connell covers imposter syndrome, the ever-changing postpartum body, the trials and tribulations of sex after giving birth, and the pressure to make “mom friends.” She details everything that happened behind closed doors during delivery, channeling common fears and anxieties that some may find taboo.
Slow Days, Fast Company by Eve Babitz
Eve Babitz is, what the kids might say, an original “baddie.” Babitz was unflinchingly cool, capturing the hearts of Hollywood elite and creating fictitious memoirs chronicling her life. “Slow Days, Fast Company” captures the essence of Los Angeles during the 1960s, a time capsule of a certain era. Babitz details her first hand experiences through the cultural scene in L.A. during one of its most magical times.
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
“Trick Mirror” tackles the complicated topic of self-delusion, the kind that floats just below the surface of our lives. Tolentino covers the incentives that shapes us as humans and how it becomes difficult to see ourselves while we live in a culture that revolves around, well, ourselves. Through various essays, Tolentino dives into what has shaped her into who she is today in society and pop culture.
The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations by Toni Morrison
The late Toni Morrison’s last book, “The Source of Self-Regard,” gathers her essays, speeches and meditations about society, culture, and art across four decades. The non-fiction work, broken up into various sections, contains a prayer for the dead of 9/11, a meditation on Martin Luther King Jr., and a eulogy for James Baldwin. Morrison tackled female empowerment, human rights, and the press in her last piece of work, delving into the role of an artist in society, Afro-American presence in American literature, and the power of language.
