Charlotte Brontë's Life Through Clothes

Charlotte Brontë's Life Through Clothes

By: Eleanor Houghton

Bloomsbury Visual Arts 2026. 355 pages. Nonfiction

Meet the real, thinking, feeling woman that was Charlotte Brontë, as told in this biography by the surviving witnesses to her life - the clothes that she once wore. These garments were present as she penned Jane Eyre , as she walked the cobbled streets of Haworth, and as she stood with her fiancé at the altar in the summer of 1854. Yet, until now, their testimonies had remained unheard. Renowned Brontë scholar and dress historian Eleanor Houghton's innovative, richly illustrated biography, Charlotte Brontë's Life Through Clothes, finally gives voice to the gowns, bonnets, shawls, corsets, parasols and boots that make up the novelist's wardrobe. Secrets are revealed in their very fibres. Brontë's steel busked corset tells the story of corporate espionage and forbidden love, whilst her striped, silk dress shows how she coped with the new-found pressures of fame. When exposed to 21st century technology, a tiny sample of fabric from her 'Thackeray Dress' reveals important innovations of the Industrial Revolution going on around her and a black lace veil, worn after the deaths of her siblings, expresses how she dealt with repeated familial loss. These clothes, some of which still bear the imprint of her foot or the sweat from her pores, prove themselves to be far more than mere celebrity curios. When 'read' alongside letters, portraits, her novels and the recollections of those who knew her well, Charlotte emerges as a woman altogether braver, more vulnerable, less isolated, less provincial, more fashion conscious than anyone ever expected.

This is a fascinating, tangible history of the famed and mysterious Charlotte Brontë, throwing light on her brief and fascinating life. An added element to this account is Houghton's meticulously hand-drawn depictions of the dresses and clothing accessories - there are no photographs. This makes this book a unique biography, and the beautiful art compliments the era, and Charlotte Brontë and her sister's lives. As the author points out, photographs of the items are available, and if you're able to visit the Brontë Parsonage Museum, you can see them in person. Houghton's drawings bring beauty and a sense of intimacy in this unique and highly recommended biography, emphasizing that the domestic details - what we wear day to day - is part of our story too. 

If you like Charlotte Brontë's Life Through Clothes, you might also like: 

The Brontë Cabinet

By Deborah Lutz

Norton & Company, 2015. 310 pages. Nonfiction.

Victorian literature scholar Deborah Lutz illuminates the complex and fascinating lives of the Brontës through the things they wore, stitched, wrote on, and inscribed. By unfolding the histories of the meaningful objects in their family home in Haworth, Lutz immerses readers in a nuanced re-creation of the sisters' daily lives while moving us chronologically forward through the major biographical events: the death of their mother and two sisters, the imaginary kingdoms of their childhood writing, their time as governesses, and their determined efforts to make a mark on the literary world. From the miniature books they made as children to the blackthorn walking sticks they carried on solitary hikes on the moors, each personal possession opens a window onto the sisters' world, their beloved fiction, and the Victorian era. A description of the brass collar worn by Emily's bull mastiff, Keeper, leads to a series of entertaining anecdotes about the influence of the family's dogs on their writing and about the relationship of Victorians to their pets in general. The sisters' portable writing desks prove to have played a crucial role in their writing lives: it was Charlotte's snooping in Emily's desk that led to the sisters' first publication in print, followed later by the publication of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Charlotte's letters provide insight into her relationships, both innocent and illicit, including her relationship with the older professor to whom she wrote passionately. And the bracelet Charlotte had made of Anne and Emily's intertwined hair bears witness to her profound grief after their deaths. Lutz captivatingly shows the Brontës anew by bringing us deep inside the physical world in which they lived and from which their writings took inspiration.

The Dress Diary

By Kate Strasdin

First Pegasus Books, 2023. 303 pages. Nonfiction

In 1838, a young woman was given a diary on her wedding day. Collecting snippets of fabric from a range of garments - some her own, others donated by family and friends - she carefully annotated each one, creating a unique record of their lives. Her name was Mrs Anne Sykes. Nearly two hundred years later, the diary fell into the hands of Kate Strasdin, a fashion historian and museum curator. Using her expertise, Strasdin spent the next six years unravelling the secrets contained within the album's pages, and the lives of the people within. Her findings are remarkable. Piece by piece, she charts Anne's journey from the mills of Lancashire to the port of Singapore before tracing her return to England in later years. Fragments of cloth become windows into Victorian life: pirates in Borneo, the complicated etiquette of mourning, poisonous dyes, the British Empire in full swing, rioting over working conditions and the terrible human cost of Britain's cotton industry. This is life writing that celebrates ordinary people: not the grandees of traditional written histories, but the hidden figures, the participants in everyday life. Through the evidence of waistcoats, ball gowns and mourning outfits, Strasdin lays bare the whole of human experience in the most intimate of mediums: the clothes we choose to wear.

The Age of Homespun: objects and stories in the creation of an American myth

By Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. Alfred A. Knopf, 2001. 501 pages. Nonfiction

They began their existence as everyday objects, but in the hands of award-winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, fourteen domestic items from preindustrial America-ranging from a linen tablecloth to an unfinished sock-relinquish their stories and offer profound insights into our history. In an age when even meals are rarely made from scratch, homespun easily acquires the glow of nostalgia. The objects Ulrich investigates unravel those simplified illusions, revealing important clues to the culture and people who made them. Ulrich uses an Indian basket to explore the uneasy coexistence of native and colonial Americans. A piece of silk embroidery reveals racial and class distinctions, and two old spinning wheels illuminate the connections between colonial cloth-making and war. Pulling these divergent threads together, Ulrich demonstrates how early Americans made, used, sold, and saved textiles in order to assert their identities, shape relationships, and create history.

MGB

The Land and Its People

The Land and Its People

By David Sedaris 

Little Brown & Company, 2026  272 pages. Nonfiction. 

David Sedaris reflects on what it means to be a foreigner, a brother, a lifelong friend. He tries on the role of caretaker after his boyfriend Hugh's hip-replacement surgery, and both succeeds and fails. He buys his sister a cape and discusses his brother with a jaded Duolingo bot. He walks dozens of miles with his friend Dawn and challenges her to eat a truck tire. Ever adding to his list of "Countries I Have Been To," he rides a horse named Tequila in Guatemala, buys a bespoke priest's cassock in Vatican City, and goes on safari in Kenya without taking a single photo. There is sadness here -- scrolling through his address book, he realizes how many dear friends are now deceased -- but also delight: he revels in authors' biographies, the malapropism that becomes a decades-long inside joke, and pair of well-made cotton underpants. He is bitten by a dog. A train passenger vomits in his face. A woman on the street late at night either sexually harasses him or doesn't. Look how hard it is to be alive! Throughout these essays, Sedaris shows how much there is to marvel at when you keep your head up and your eyes open, observing with warmth and curiosity this fascinating human species and the lands we inhabit. 

David Sedaris is a master of his craft, and it’s evident in this latest collection. With his signature self-deprecating humor and sharp observations on everyday life, he turns the commonplace into something genuinely delightful. This set of essays feels lighter and more playful than his previous two collections, making it feel like a return to his earlier style of Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim and Me Talk Pretty One Day. While this time around I read the book, I’d strongly recommend the audiobook. Sedaris narrates it himself, and his delivery adds an extra layer of humor, timing, and subtle thoughtfulness. 

 

If you like The Land and Its People you might also like: 

Ali’s Well That Ends Well 

By Ali Wentworth 

Harper, an imprint HarperCollins, 2022. 188 pages. Nonfiction 

 Like many, Ali Wentworth spent the pandemic seesawing between highs, lows, and baking an unnecessary amount of chocolate cake. Between binging every tv show in existence to conquering TikTok to becoming a (semi) empty-nester, Ali experienced her share of turmoil (including an early case of Covid), but she also grew a little, learned a lot, and found comfort in some unexpected people and places. In Ali's Well That Ends Well, Wentworth turns her gimlet eye to the year no one saw coming. With her signature irreverent style, she shares the most hysterical, absurd, and sometimes trying episodes that her family endured during the terrible global pandemic. Thoroughly relatable, absolutely charming, and filled with moments both hilarious and poignant, this terrific collection once again showcases the comedic genius of a beloved star. 

Pure Innocent Fun: Essays 

By Ira Madison 

Random House, 2025. 226 pages. Nonfiction 

 In this inviting and joyfully raucous collection of sixteen original essays, written with a rare combination of humor and sharpness, Ira Madison III combines memoir and cultural criticism to offer an updated pop-culture manifesto. As a teenager in the early 2000s, Madison's life changed when he read Chuck Klosterman's Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. Inspired by the revelation that discussions of pop culture could be rigorous, not only reserved for the likes of At the Movies or Buffy the Vampire Slayer message boards, Madison went on to make a career of dissecting pop culture from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to Britney Spears. Here, he reveals his journey to becoming a prominent cultural critic and screenwriter, sharing stories about growing up as a Black, gay man in Milwaukee and unearthing the pop phenomena that shaped his youth and the lives of so many. In this enlightening, unforgettable trip through the '90s and the 2000s, Madison reflects on learning about gay sex from his mom's Lil' Kim CDs; the most devastating election of his adolescence (not George W. Bush winning re-election in 2004, but Jennifer Hudson losing American Idol); and never getting his driver's license in high school, making him just like Cher Horowitz in Clueless: "A virgin who can't drive." Revel in his examination of Black fatherhood through The Cosby Show and Family Matters, and discover how Jerry Springer impacted queer representation on-screen. In each essay, Madison unearths how pop culture shapes us, both for the better and for the worse. Alternately irreverent and emotionally resonant, Pure Innocent Fun will leave you laughing and inspired.

JK

Outsider Animals

Outsider Animals

by Marlene Zuk

Princeton University Press, 2026. 305 pages. Nonfiction

Outsider Animals challenges everything you thought you knew about the overlooked animals that live in proximity to humans, sharing the stories that each has to tell about adaptation and cohabitation on our planet. Marlene Zuk gives us a new appreciation for the animals we often shun, explaining why these unpopular creatures have something special to teach us not only about the ways we deal with other species but about our own place in nature and what it means for an animal to belong somewhere.

This delightful book is a perfect blend of informative and entertaining. Each chapter follows a different “outsider animal” as the author explains the merits of raccoons, coyotes, cockroaches, and more. Despite her wealth of knowledge as evolutionary biologist and behavioral ecologist, the author keeps the writing accessible and her humor and wit may endear you to even the most unlikely creatures. As a birder, I particularly enjoyed the chapters on gulls, cowbirds, and especially mynas, where the author includes a nuanced discussion on invasive species. I’d recommend Outsider Animals to animal and science lovers alike.

If you like Outsider Animals, you might also like:

Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains

by Bethany Brookshire

Ecco, 2022. 348 pages. Nonfiction

At the intersection of science, history and narrative journalism, this eye-opening study reveals why we deem certain animals "pests" and others not, and what this tells us about our own perceptions, beliefs and actions, as well as our place in the natural world.

Wild Chorus

by Brenda Peterson

Mountaineers Books, 2024. 238 pages. Nonfiction 

Award-winning author Brenda Peterson draws on her lifelong relationship with animals to explore the wisdom we humans can glean from them. Looking beyond the companionship we enjoy with domesticated animals, Peterson explores how wild animals can become our guides and fellow travelers, helping us navigate the stresses of daily life and a rapidly changing planet. From beluga whales to wolves, raccoons to bears, elk to herons, the stories in this collection offer insights into the intricacies of animals’ intuitive communication, compassionate attention, and peaceful adaptation.

The Return of the Oystercatcher

by Scott Weidensaul

W. W. Norton & Company, 2026. 356 pages. Nonfiction 

As populations fall and once-great migration multitudes wither away, the future of birds may seem grim. But surprisingly, from gnatcatchers and waterfowl to select groups of forest songbirds, some bird populations are soaring. Habitats and species that once neared extinction are now multiplying around the world because bird conservation is making things better. The Return of the Oystercatcher is the story of what's working in bird conservation--and what can work for the rest of the planet.

RP

Well Lived

Well Lived
By Sally Clarkson
Harvest House Publishers, 2024. 213 pages. Nonfiction

In this inspiring blend of personal reflections and stunning photography, bestselling author Sally Clarkson shares how God's grace can lead to a joyful, purposeful life. Drawing from her experiences in Oxford and ministry, she offers wisdom on discipleship, family, hospitality, and cultivating joy--encouraging readers to deepen their faith and embrace a life of meaning and encouragement.

I recently read (and reviewed) a book by Sarah Clarkson. I didn't realize at the time that she has a sister (Joy Marie Clarkson) and mother (Sally) who also write books! I am delighted with them all. On account of Sarah living in Oxford with her husband (a Church of England minister) and children, Sally has been able to live in, and get to know the ancient and beautiful city of Oxford. There is nothing boastful about her book, and she shares a lot of Christian wisdom with the reader, giving you the feeling of being an old friend. The book is not only filled with Clarkson's wisdom, but with beautiful photographs of gardens, old buildings, and delightful cafes. I am really impressed by the Clarkson family: their sincerity, their love of beauty and the people around them, and their love of God is really moving and inspiring to me. I recommend this to any who would appreciate the atmosphere of C.S. Lewis, likes a cozy cup of tea, or would like to live a life of daily beauty and devotion. 

If you liked Well Lived, you might also like: 

A House to Call Home

By Christie Purifoy

Harvest House Publishers, 2026. 205 pages. Nonfiction

What makes a house a home? It's a question with countless answers, wholly unique to each of us. Yet a common thread runs through the stories we tell about the places that bring us meaning and peace. No matter how we define it, home must evoke a strong sense of comfort. Join acclaimed writer Christie Purifoy as she reflects on what makes a home truly special. Through practical tips on decor inspiration, thrifting, and personal homemaking traditions, Christie shows you how to craft a space that feels wholly yours. With insights drawn from her own experiences, you'll discover how to build sacred spaces that promote rest, welcome, and healing. With creativity and care, you can cultivate comfort in the house where you live.

A Circle of Quiet

By Madeleine L' Engle

Harper One, 1972. 245 pages. Nonfiction

A Circle of Quiet is a 1972 memoir by Madeleine L'Engle, the first in her Crosswicks Journals series, that reflects on her life as a writer, wife, and mother, exploring themes of creativity, faith, and finding balance, all set at her family's Connecticut farmhouse, Crosswicks. It's a personal, journal-like book that delves into her creative process, the rejections and success of A Wrinkle in Time, and her search for meaning, offering an intimate look at the author behind the famous children's books.

Surprised by Joy

By C.S. Lewis

Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1955. 238 pages. Nonfiction

A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere . . . God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous." This book is not an autobiography. It is not a confession. It is, however, certainly one of the most beautiful and insightful accounts of a person coming to faith. Here, C.S. Lewis takes us from his childhood in Belfast through the loss of his mother, to boarding school and a youthful atheism in England, to the trenches of World War I, and then to Oxford, where he studied, read, and, ultimately, reasoned his way back to God. It is perhaps this aspect of Surprised by Joy that we--believers and nonbelievers--find most compelling and meaningful; Lewis was searching for joy, for an elusive and momentary sensation of glorious yearning, but he found it, and spiritual life, through the use of reason. In this highly personal, thoughtful, intelligent memoir, Lewis guides us toward joy and toward the surprise that awaits anyone who seeks a life beyond the expected.

Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves

Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves 

by Alison Wood Brooks 

Crown, 2025. 305 pages. Nonfiction 

Though we do it all the time, Harvard business professor Alison Wood Brooks argues that conversation is one of the most complex, demanding, and delicate of all human tasks, rife with possibilities for misinterpretation and misunderstanding. And yet conversations can also be a source of great joy, each one offering an opportunity to express who we are and learn who others are—to feel connected, loved, and alive. In Talk, Brooks shows why conversing a little more effectively can make a big difference in the quality of our close personal relationships as well as our professional success. Drawing on the new science of conversation, Brooks distills lessons that show how we can better understand, learn from, and delight each other. 

Alison Wood Brooks teaches classes on conversation at Harvard, and her points in Talk draw directly from the latest research on conversation. A few interesting takeaways included research showing that small talk is good for us physically and mentally, that having pre-planned topics heading into social settings helps you be more interesting and doesn’t sound rehearsed, and that people like those who laugh a lot and those who ask a lot of questions. Brooks frequently reiterates two facts that might be particularly helpful for the socially anxious: first, that being a good conversationalist is a skill that can be learned rather than an in-born trait, and, second, that people consistently underestimate how much strangers enjoy talking with them. While some of the details will sound familiar if you’ve read other books on charisma and conversation, this is a great introduction to those who are new to the topic or are ready for a refresher. 

If you liked Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves, you might also like: 

How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen 

By David Brooks 

Random House, 2023. 306 pages. Nonfiction 

Drawing from the fields of psychology and neuroscience and from the worlds of theater, philosophy, history and education, one of the nation's leading writers and commentators helps us become more understanding and considerate toward others, and to find the joy that comes from being seen. 

Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection 

by Charles Duhigg 

Random House, 2024. 299 pages. Nonfiction 

Supercommunicators know the importance of recognizing, and then matching, each kind of conversation, and how to hear the complex emotions, subtle negotiations, and deeply held beliefs that color so much of what we say and how we listen. In this book, you will learn why some people are able to make themselves heard, and to hear others, so clearly. Charles Duhigg teaches the tips and skills we need to navigate conversations more successfully. 

 SGR

Things No One Taught Us About Love

Things No One Taught Us About Love
By Vex King
HarperOne, 2025. 301 pages. Nonfiction

This easy-to-digest nonfiction book teaches that building healthy relationships starts with developing a strong foundation of self-love and self-awareness. It explains that many relationship struggles come from unhealed emotional wounds and learned patterns that shape how we give and receive love. The book emphasizes the importance of taking responsibility for your inner world rather than relying on others for validation or happiness.

King highlights that healthy relationships require clear boundaries, honest communication, and mutual respect rather than dependency or control. He also frames relationships as opportunities for growth, showing how partners often reflect your inner state and areas that need healing. Overall, the book presents love as a daily practice rooted in self-respect, emotional maturity, and conscious effort rather than something that simply happens. I really found that it resonated deeply with me, and the tips for daily practice are actually do-able. I highly recommend getting more in touch with yourself and learning how you, as an individual, deserve to be loved unconditionally.

If you like Things No One Taught Us About Love, you might also like:

Take Up Space, Y'All
By Tess Holiday
RP Teens, 2025. 162 pages. Nonfiction

For any readers who feel they have to change themselves to fit in, this is an encouraging message to be their most authentic selves. It's geared at teenagers, but the messages resonate with any age. This engaging and informative work offers body-positive tips and tricks while tackling important topics such as mental health, friendships, self-image, and personal habits. As exemplified by the title, the authors focus on helping readers respond to difficult situations and keep a clear head, all with an emphasis on self-love. In a supportive, energetic tone, Holliday and Coon guide readers in learning how to love themselves and develop their own relationships with food, fashion, and friends.

The Body Is Not An Apology
By Sonya Renee Taylor
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2021. 159 pages. Nonfiction

This incredible resource argues that radical self-love is a powerful tool for healing both personal and societal harm. The book explains how systems like racism, sexism, and body shaming distort our relationship with our bodies and limit our sense of worth. It encourages readers to reject these harmful narratives, embrace their bodies fully, and use self-love as a foundation for creating a more just and compassionate world. World-renowned activist and poet Sonya Renee Taylor invites us to reconnect with the radical origins of our minds and bodies and celebrate our collective, enduring strength. As we awaken to our own indoctrinated body shame, we feel inspired to awaken others and to interrupt the systems that perpetuate body shame and oppression against all bodies. When we act from this truth on a global scale, we usher in the transformative opportunity of radical self-love, which is the opportunity for a more just, equitable, and compassionate world--for us all.

The Courage To Be Disliked
By Ichirō Kishimi
Atria Books, 2018. 270 pages. Nonfiction

This book demonstrates how to unlock the power within yourself to be the person you truly want to be. Using the theories of Alfred Adler, one of the three giants of twentieth century psychology, this book follows an illuminating conversation between a philosopher and a young man. The philosopher explains to his pupil how each of us is able to determine our own life, free from the shackles of past experiences, doubts, and the expectations of others. It's a way of thinking that is deeply liberating, allowing us to develop the courage to change, and to ignore the limitations that we and other people have placed on us. The result is a book that is both highly accessible and profound in its importance. This book will help you declutter your mind of harmful thoughts and attitudes, helping you to make a lasting change, achieve real happiness, and find success.

Recipes for Self-Love
By Rachel Alison
Morrow Gift, 2019. 112 pages. Nonfiction

This graphic-style self-help book uses simple illustrations and short reflections to explore self-worth and emotional well-being. It focuses on how societal pressures, especially in a patriarchal world, can shape insecurities and negative self-perception. The author encourages readers to practice self-love through boundaries, self-acceptance, and letting go of the need for external validation. She presents healing as a gradual process, offering small, relatable “recipes” or steps for feeling better in everyday life. Overall, it delivers a gentle and accessible message that prioritizing your own needs and inner peace is both necessary and empowering.

LKA

Fearless and Free

Fearless and Free
By: Josephine Baker 
Tiny Reparations Book, 2025. 282 pages. Memoir

Josephine Baker took Paris by storm in the 1920s, dazzling audiences with her humor, beauty and effervescence on stage. Later, as one of the most recognizable women in the world, she became a spy for the French resistance, her celebrity working as her cover. After the war she became increasingly interested in civil rights. In 1963 she spoke at the March on Washington alongside Martin Luther King. All this from a girl born in Missouri to a poor single black woman and a white father she did not know. Flirtatious, funny, candid and this memoir gives us the wildly famous but elusive Josephine Baker telling her own story.

This was a really fun and unique read! Going into it I knew little about Josephine Baker and by the end I felt that she was my friend. The book was written by using hours and hours of conversation between a French journalist, Marcel Sauvage, and Josephine Baker. Because of this, the book reads as if you are sitting in her home as she tells her life story. She bounces around topics and times and is very personable and witty. She lived such an extraordinary life, and as the title suggests she was fearless! I wish I had her bravery and confidence and I feel by reading this book I got a sprinkle! I was thoroughly inspired and entertained by her many stories of performance, espionage and activism. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. 

If you like Fearless and Free you might also like: 

Errand into the maze: The Life and Works of Martha Graham

By: Deborah Jowitt

Straus and Giroux, 2024. 465 pages. Biography 

From the legendary dance critic Deborah Jowitt, Errand into the Maze is the definitive biography of the visionary dancer and choreographer Martha Graham She changed how dancers were perceived onstage, devised new ways of moving, and pioneered a revolutionary dance technique. Along the way, Graham engaged with the debates, ideas, and events of the twentieth century―creating dances of social comment and human experiences. Hers was the iconic face of what came to be called modern dance.

Agent Josephine : American beauty, French hero, British spy

By: Damien Lewis

PublicAffairs, 2022.

In Agent Josephine, bestselling author Damien Lewis uncovers the extraordinary story of Josephine Baker's transformation from Paris performer to dauntless spy. Throughout World War II, using her stardom as a cloak for her secret work, Baker undertook daring clandestine missions to fight the Nazis, stamping an indelible mark on history. 

Drawing on a plethora of new material and rigorous research, including previously undisclosed letters and journals, Lewis upends the conventional story of the renowned performer, revealing why she fully deserves her unique place in the French Panthéon.

MT

Reclaiming Quiet: cultivating a life of holy attention

Reclaiming Quiet: cultivating a life of holy attention 
By Sarah Clarkson
Baker Books, 2024. 188 pages. Nonfiction 

Recapture wonder and learn to live by the healing shapes and rhythms of stillness In a restless and distracted world, the cultivation of quiet often feels abstract and impossible. But quiet is, and always has been, essential to spiritual life, the only way we can turn from the frenzy toward the peace for which we were created. Reclaiming Quiet is an invitation to discover the profound, daily joy of resisting patterns of anxiety and hurry and cultivating a life of holy attention instead. With practical strategies to address our use of screens or fear of silence and compassionate ideas to nourish stillness, listening, and rest, this book explores: what it means to become a person who listens each day for God's voice before all others; how to reclaim wonder in prayer; how to cultivate an interior life.  Quiet is not for specialists or the ultra-disciplined. It's not limited to those who have great swathes of time. Quiet is our inner native land, the place to which we turn to find God already waiting, calling us beloved, and drawing us homeward into a life of holy and joyous attention.

From the first page of this short yet powerful book, I was deeply moved. I wanted to read it all at once, absorb what it was saying, but also I wanted to linger over it, ponder the questions that Clarkson has at the end of each chapter, linger over the beautiful prayers she has written. Though her life sounds romantic - living in a Victorian house in Oxford, England, Clarkson doesn't shy away from sharing her struggles throughout her life with mental health, and the ways in which she struggles from day to day. Her suggestions are humble and beautiful, she never comes across as a privileged or condescending. Her descriptions of experiences, landscapes and decisions she's faced were relatable and touching to me. I would recommend this to anyone who is grappling with the distractions of modern life and technology and is seeking both to become more grounded, and to deepen their understanding of God, whichever branch of Christianity you might belong to. 

 

If you like Reclaiming Quiet, you might also like: 

Seeking Slow: reclaim moments of calm in your day

By Melanie Barnes

Rock Point, 2019. 128 pages. Nonfiction

Seeking Slow provides you with the tools you need to slow down and reconnect with the harmonious rhythm of daily life, the gentle pace of nature, and, most importantly, yourself.

The Power of Silence

By Robert Cardinal Sarah

Ignatius Press, 2017. 249 pages. Nonfiction

 

In a time when technology penetrates our lives in so many ways and materialism exerts such a powerful influence over us, Cardinal Robert Sarah presents a bold book about the strength of silence. The modern world generates so much noise, he says, that seeking moments of silence has become both harder and more necessary than ever before. Silence is the indispensable doorway to the divine, explains the cardinal in this profound conversation with Nicolas Diat. Within the hushed and hallowed walls of the La Grande Chartreux, the famous Carthusian monastery in the French Alps, Cardinal Sarah addresses the following questions: Can those who do not know silence ever attain truth, beauty, or love? Do not wisdom, artistic vision, and devotion spring from silence, where the voice of God is heard in the depths of the human heart? After the international success of God or Nothing, Cardinal Sarah seeks to restore to silence its place of honor and importance. "Silence is more important than any other human work," he says, "for it expresses God. The true revolution comes from silence; it leads us toward God and others so as to place ourselves humbly and generously at their service."

MGB

Raising Good Humans

Raising Good Humans: A Mindful Guide to Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Parenting and Raising Kind, Confident Kids 

by Hunter Clarke Fields 

New Harbinger Publications, 2019. 169 pages. Nonfiction 

As a parent, you strive to model kindness, compassion, and patience when interacting with your children. But no parent is perfect, and in difficult or stressful moments, you may react to your kids in ways that don't exactly fit your ideal model of parenting -- for example, yelling. You aren't alone. Parental reactions are often deeply ingrained, and you likely learned them from your parents. So how can you break this cycle and be the kind of parent you want to be? With this book, you’ll find powerful mindfulness skills for calming your own stress response when difficult emotions arise. You’ll also discover strategies for cultivating respectful communication, effective conflict resolution, and reflective listening. 

Raising Good Humans differs from many parenting books by spending the first half focused on the parents’ relationship with themselves, rather than their interactions with their children. The author emphasizes that unless parents learn first to regulate their own nervous systems, in moments of stress they’ll find themselves going into fight, flight, or freeze during tough interactions with their kids and struggling to behave and communicate the way they intend. After offering strategies for parents to develop those skills, she then describes techniques for connecting with children and helping them learn to self-regulate in times of stress. While this book won’t teach every skill parents need for success, it’s a good reminder of the importance of mindfulness, meditation, and self-compassion for parents and kids alike. 

The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind 

by Daniel J Siegel 

Delacorte Press, 2011. 176 pages. Nonfiction 

In this pioneering, practical book, Daniel J. Siegel, neuropsychiatrist and author of the bestselling Mindsight, and parenting expert Tina Payne Bryson demystify the meltdowns and aggravation, explaining the new science of how a child’s brain is wired and how it matures. The “upstairs brain,” which makes decisions and balances emotions, is under construction until the mid-twenties. And especially in young children, the right brain and its emotions tend to rule over the logic of the left brain. No wonder kids can seem—and feel—so out of control. By applying these discoveries to everyday parenting, you can turn any outburst, argument, or fear into a chance to integrate your child’s brain and foster vital growth. 

Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be 

by Becky Kennedy 

Harper Wave, 2022. 315 pages. Nonfiction 

In Good Inside, Dr Becky shares her parenting philosophy, complete with actionable strategies, that will help parents move from uncertainty and self-blame to confidence and sturdy leadership. Offering perspective-shifting parenting principles and troubleshooting for specific scenarios―including sibling rivalry, separation anxiety, tantrums, and more―Good Inside is a comprehensive resource for a generation of parents looking for a new way to raise their kids while still setting them up for a lifetime of self-regulation, confidence, and resilience.

SGR

Papaya Salad

Papaya Salad

By Elisa Macellari
Dark House Books, 2020. 223 pages. Graphic Novel Biography.

The debut graphic novel from Thai-Italian illustrator Elisa Macellari, Papaya Salad tells the story of her great-uncle Sompong who found himself in Europe on military scholarship on the eve of World War II. A gentle and resolute man in love with books and languages, in search of his place in the world, Sompong chronicles his life during the war and falling for his wife, finding humor and joy even as the world changes irrevocably around him.

Summer Reading just ended but don't worry, the library has more challenges for you. One of them is A Year of Reading, where we challenge you to read 12 books from different categories.  This is a great way to expand your reading horizons, win prizes, and make the librarians proud of you.  This is the book I read to fulfill the Biography category.  I tend to leave my nonfiction books unfinished and biographies are often long and extra daunting.  So I went slightly unconventional and chose a graphic novel (yes, it still counts).  The other trick when reading outside your comfort zone is to make sure that there is something that really interests you about the book. For example, if you usually read fast-paced mysteries, maybe you can try one of our true crime books in the 364s. In this case I really loved the art style, a good color theme will always hook me. So even when I began to think there wasn't enough dragons in this story I was still willing to continue.  If you are also looking for a biography to read this was a great one!  The author takes us through some major world events through the lens of an ordinary man who very quickly found a place in my heart.  World War II buffs especially will enjoy this unique perspective on the time period. 

If you like Papaya Salad, you might also like: 

The Photographer of Mauthausen

By Salva Rubio

Dead Reckoning, 2020. Unpaged. Graphic Novel, Nonfiction.

This is a dramatic retelling of true events in the life of Francisco Boix, a Spanish press photographer and communist who fled to France at the beginning of World War II. Through an odd turn of events, Boix finds himself the confidant of an SS officer who is documenting prisoner deaths at the camp. Boix realizes that he has a chance to prove Nazi war crimes by stealing the negatives of these perverse photos--but only at the risk of his own life, that of a young Spanish boy he has sworn to protect, and, indeed, that of every prisoner in the camp.

Swansong 1945

By Walter Kempowski

W.W. Norton & Company, 2015. 479 pages. Nonfiction.

Swansong 1945 chronicles the end of Nazi Germany and World War II in Europe through hundreds of letters, diaries, and autobiographical accounts covering four days that fateful spring: Hitler's birthday on April 20, American and Soviet troops meeting at the Elbe on April 25, Hitler's suicide on April 30, and finally the German surrender on May 8. Side by side, we encounter vivid, first-person accounts of civilians fleeing Berlin, ordinary German soldiers determined to fight to the bitter end, American POWs dreaming of home, concentration-camp survivors' first descriptions of their horrific experiences, as well as the intimate thoughts of figures such as Eisenhower, Churchill, Stalin, Joseph Goebbels, and Hitler himself. These firsthand accounts, painstakingly collected and organized by renowned German author Walter Kempowski, provide the raw material of history and present a panoramic view of those tumultuous days. The more than 1,000 extracts include a British soldier writing to his parents to tell them there are no baths but plenty of eggs and chocolate, an American soldier describing "the tremendous burst of lilacs" as he approaches the Elbe, Mussolini wishing Hitler a happy birthday, Eva Braun bragging to a girlfriend about what a "crack shot" she's become, and much more. An extraordinary account of suffering and survival, Swansong 1945 brings to life the end of Nazi Germany and the war in Europe.

Audrey Hepburn

By Michelle Botton
NBM Graphic Novels, 2024. 175 pages. Graphic Novel, Biography.

When Audrey Hepburn is mentioned, one thinks of her being beautiful and elegant, of her films, or of how her image is used to recall something immortal and fashionable. But Audrey was also a little girl who saw the Second World War with her own eyes, a woman who was at times fragile at work and in her private life, with a strong desire for motherhood and, above all, a boundless love for children that would lead her to find her true vocation, far from dancing or acting: she will in fact become a UNICEF ambassador to raise awareness in the world and help minors in difficulty.

KJ