Current Must Read List

I’m really bad when it comes to maintaining the momentum of reading. I’ve lately considered instead of escaping to the Blue Mountains every few weeks, I should actually sit myself down for a long weekend of just reading and nothing else. I used to compile exhaustive lists of must-read books every month, but this time I’m choosing only a select few that have been pending, some of them for years, to kick off my next reading breakthrough. My top picks are as follows.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X

I have been gifted three copies from three different people and I still haven't read it. Some of the most important people in my life swear by the substance of this book and I feel foolish for not having yet opened its pages. I suppose it’s a bit like my relationship with the animal rights movement – there is only so much I have chosen to read and see because I know once I dip my toe in the pools of truth, I’ll be pulled into the dark depths of the reality that is harm against humans and animals. I might enter a new dysfunction, a horrifying “can’t go back in time” reality check that will choke me of the freedoms I blissfully and ignorantly enjoy. But it's simply not good enough, this one will be my first choice!

Killosophy by Criss Jami

Because every time I refer to Goodreads for some home hitting realities Criss Jami is always repetitively THERE and I save just about every single one of his quotes I that I come across. I still don’t totally understand the purpose of this book, but I’m interested to read the other hidden gems not shared via the quotes page. One of my personal favourites:

“The older you get, the more you understand how your conscience works. The biggest and only critic lives in your perception of people's perception of you rather than people's perception of you.” - Criss Jami, Killosophy

How to be an Adult By David Richo

This is only a recent addition, thanks to my soul sister Amatus Sami-Karim, who does not know that I even exist; yet I connect with on a really strange and intimate level (spirit animal sorta way). I was scrolling through her Instagram page as I often do (it’s inspiring!!) and I came across some early snaps I haven’t yet seen before, this was in one of them, and the "spiritual integration" part was the pivotal selling point for me. I just hope there isn’t any relationship advice garbage because my tolerance for that babble is really short-lived. Pic: instagram/amatus23

Eleven Minutes: A Novel by Paulo Coelho 

I recently found some interesting interviews and reading material on Paulo Coelho, who lived an inconceivable life that really stuck with me. He knew he wanted to be a writer from a young age, and after confessing to his mother of his dreams she responded: "My dear, your father is an engineer. He's a logical, reasonable man with a very clear vision of the world. Do you actually know what it means to be a writer?" A wickedly familiar ordeal. His parents then admitted him into a mental institute until he accepted to study law as their wish. He dropped out after a year to pursue a life of traveling, drug taking and songwriting, before walking the Road of Santiago in Spain, which eventually pushed him to write books. His story prompted that you just gotta do what you gotta do, mental institute or not, fight for your life, and for your dreams. But anyway, Eleven Minutes seems to be a delightfully perceptive story of a girl my age going through somewhat similar transitions as myself (minus the prostitution), and something about a 50 year old man writing about the experiences surrounding a young and impressionable woman seems tender and alluring in a totally non-creepy way. I think I might buy this one this week.

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

Have you ever just wanted to know more about something completely random yet insanely impactful on the history of the world? Mark Kurlansky has a series of books on entirely general things like Cod and Paper (I should probably read that one first) and narrates the history of how it came to be, as we know it. I just can’t imagine how fascinating this book might be, and probably very boring in some parts too. Who wouldn’t want to refine the “just something I know” inventory of facts you can randomly reel off as you ask someone to pass the salt?

Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag by Michael Tonello 

I’m a sucker for cute not important novels. Stories that travel between the ins and outs of fashion conscious people, magazine editors, or stay at home mums (they are important!! But the fictitious novels of the ones who go back in time to ignite an old flame - not so much) and the lives they lead are always invigorating. I remember watching a documentary of the illustrious Hermes Birkin Bag and recall these wealthy businesswomen and housewives swap their coveted arm candies, some of which were over 20 years old and in immaculate condition. I can remember an older lady handing over this gorgeous emerald green embossed Birkin to a young and ambitious new collector, it was an emotional exchange, to say the least! And I’ve definitely been that offensively smug person who kills the joy of those girls who peep around with a fake purse dangled on their hinged elbows, cooing “It's totally real” to watchful doters as I chime in on this arrogant high horse responding “That’s just not possible, there’s a waiting list, were you on a waiting list?”. Nah, I’m not that awful, and that’s never actually happened, but I’ve dreamed of being in that absurd and haughty position carrying a wealth of awareness about a bag every woman claims to know and somehow owns*.

*I’m joking.

If I'm totally honest with myself, It's likely I'll get through only about three of these picks, but I must remain optimistic that I'll break the habit of adding to the list. I've already uninstalled the kindle app from my phone since using it not for reading but rather browsing what other titles I want to add to the encyclopedic library I've amassed over the years - yay for progress. Happy reading!!