What I’ve Been Reading Lately: Deep Connections

I have spent the last couple months trying to figure out a way to get “back into” my blog, and I think the easiest way is to simply dive in with a general update and a sense of what I have been reading lately!

This past summer, my husband and I spent 5 months hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, which was the experience of a lifetime. We documented it over on Instagram at @emma_mike_pct if you want a little more about that, and I do have a book related PCT post in the works! It was impossible, wonderful and generally the hardest and best thing I have ever done.

Nowadays, I am living in a little cabin in the woods, cooking all the foods I wasn’t able to cook while I was on the trail, cuddling with my dog, reading a lot, and enjoying walks where I don’t need to carry a 25 pound pack around.

Recently, I have read a few great books which I wanted to share. In these books, which are not that similar on the surface, I see a really strong pattern of human conversation and connection, of intense exchanges where conversations touch on more than just the niceties of day to day life, and the way that these deeper conversations have the power to transform ourselves and the people around us.

This Is Happiness by Niall Williams

An historical fiction book set in rural Ireland in which nothing much happens, and yet the whole spectrum of human emotion is felt and explored. The writing is exceptional and the characters will stick with you for a long time. Also, there are some incredible passages about rain.

Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation by Hannah Gadsby

A memoir “situation” in which comedian Hannah Gadsby discusses her early life and childhood, which includes a whole spectrum of hard and difficult things. This book pairs with her comedy special on Netflix called Nanette, and was absolutely blew my mind. Fair warning here, while she is a comedian, neither the book or the comedy special are funny in the traditional sense, but I loved it all the same.

The Futilitarians: Our Year of Thinking, Drinking, Grieving and Reading by Ann Gisleson

This is a wonderful little book. A nonfiction book about a woman who starts an existential reading group with some friends, this book covers a year in which she and her friends read, met and processed together. In particular, the author discusses her personal griefs in a way that really hit home for me.

I’m working on getting back into a more regular posting schedule, and I’ll hopefully talk to you next week, if at least to share some recent book awards you may not have heard of.

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