Goodbye 2019, and thank you for all you’ve taught me! It feels good to bid the year (and the decade) adieu knowing I’m headed into 2020 with more knowledge, discipline, and inspiration than I’ve ever had before. The books I’ve read and the reviews I’ve written in both 2018 and 2019 have contributed to that feeling in untold ways.
If you want to read more, gift books, or tuck into something new in 2020, here are my suggestions, plus links out to my in-depth review of each featured title.
Best Of
Rewilding
This book—my favorite thing I read this year—is a great read for anyone who wants to consider their part in nature and learn to feel it more deeply (through nature meditation, responsible hiking and camping, forest bathing, conjuring bow-drill fires, cultivating lasting relationships with wild animals, or even just better knowing and appreciating a nearby park or their backyard).
Micah Mortali, Director of the Kripalu Schools and the founder of the Kripalu School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership, writes about yoga and mindfulness (on which he’s built his career) with a no-BS approach, noting that just as much as he’s concerned with “these ancient practices” being commodified, he’s concerned that “they are being used as pacifiers to help people put up with the negative effects of modern society.”
He also touches on his efforts to help his children feel connected to the earth without being disconnected from society and writes beautifully about the Berkshires where he lives.
Notes on a Nervous Planet
A year ago, when I reviewed Notes on a Nervous Planet, I suggested readers get themselves a copy and take it with them wherever they go. Today, I wish I had my copy beside me so I could flip open a page and enjoy a little bit of the simultaneously soothing and stirring notes (literally) within, but I gifted my copy to my sister, so there’s that.
Since my review, Haig, a British writer, husband, and dad, has continued to speak out about mental health and well-being, and a few of his books are even set to become movies.
More on Notes on a Nervous Planet here.
For Readers With Littles (& Little Readers)
Maybe Dying is Like Becoming a Butterfly
Death. We’ll all experience some form of it in the new year, and it can be hard to talk about. This children’s book, which is equally simple and profound, makes space to do just that. Whether a family is grieving a loss or questions about death are coming up as death enters a child’s awareness, this book, full of sweet art and an openness to all kinds of ideas about what happens after life, will be a welcome addition to the family bookshelf.
More on Maybe Dying is Like Becoming a Butterfly here.
Emotional Explorers
Emotional Explorers isn’t a storybook. It’s a guide that encourages families’, children’s, and students’ reconnection with nature—and their own feelings.
Throughout its 64 pages, “environmental and emotional education are discussed as parallel ideas. One concept supports the other, enriches it, and enables us to develop and understand it better.” This was my first introduction to the idea of emotional ecology, and while the book is chock full of adorable artwork, it takes a decidedly scientific approach to laying things out while inviting the child (or reader of any age!) to assume the empowering role of expert on their own experience.
More on Emotional Explorers here.
Iphelia: Awakening the Gift of Feeling, the Children’s Edition
Yes, I have a deeply personal connection with Iphelia: Awakening the Gift of Feeling, and of course I have to recommend it. Beyond its literary uniqueness, its numerous awards, and its important messages about feelings (which you can explore here), as I shared in a NetGalley review, one of my favorite things about this book is that it’s a full-on sensory experience for readers of all ages.
Learn more about the Children’s Edition of Iphelia and get your copy here.
Inspiration & Encouragement
The Intuition Journal
If you want to do something with your intuition, this workbook/journal is for you. Designer and intuitive coach Jo ChunYan creates space for exploration and reflection in this book that will be on my nightstand throughout 2020.
More on The Intuition Journal here.
Reading Through the Night
While Editor’s Bookshelf had been dedicated to reviewing only soon-to-be-published books, this is the book that helped me let go of my attachment to the way it “should” be. I reviewed this book six months after it was published, partly because it was too good to read and not write about (and partly because I didn’t know it had been published when I selected it for review).
What might seem like the biography or memoir of a highly-educated woman reading her way through a debilitating illness on the surface is, deep down, medicine for intellectual bypass.
More on Reading Through the Night here.
The Year of Blue Water
In my February review, I called The Year of Blue Water a vial of medicine for the soul. Poetry speaks to us in a way no other art or writing can, and this award-winning collection struck me as an invitation to relate to self—a reminder that we can become more ourselves day by day.
More on The Year of Blue Water here.
Dear Time, Are You On My Side?
I’m definitely feeling myself asking this as I think about my 2020 hopes, dreams, and anxieties. This book, a collection of blog post-esque chapters by diverse women, offers something for everyone asking the same or similar questions. Whether you’re feeling restless or overwhelmed, are eager to get things started or grieving something that feels lost, there is wisdom, inspiration, and empowerment for you in this easily readable (and perfect-for-gifting) book.
More on Dear Time, Are You On My Side? here.
Nature Reads
The Wild Boy
In my June review, I called this book, set in the Italian Alps, “part travelogue and part walking meditation.” I read it after returning from a wonderful trip to the Yucatan, which is definitely not Italy, but somehow all the sweaty days and vitamin D, plus Paolo Cognetti’s account of his commitment to live nearly off the grid for just a little while, inspired some very important changes to my day-to-day routine. All summer and well into fall, I spent more time outside than I have since college.
And then there are Cognetti’s accounts (translated by Erica Segre and Simon Carnell) of cows, goats, dogs, tromps through the snow, rock climbing, simple meals, and befriending people without getting sucked into their stories that made this an absolute pleasure to read.
Close to Birds
For anyone who’s been intrigued by birds for any reason, this book, which is based in science, goes into myth, and is all about big, beautiful bird images, will delight. In my review, I also recount a bit of my finding feathers experience, which continues to unfold!
Living Light
I believe we all have an innate desire to protect our homes, and as my husband and I have settled into first-time homeownership (and also as I think back on my childhood and how connected I felt to my house and the rocks, hills, trees, and land around it), I realize that desire to protect doesn’t start or stop at the stoop. This book by architect and psychologist Karl Ryberg tuned me into so many ways we can protect our homes, our well-being, and the planet by interacting more healthfully and reverently with light. From candles to bulbs to indoor and outdoor light pollution, this book is a game-changer.
Spiritual & Metaphysical
The Illustrated Herbiary
Herbalist Maia Toll’s The Illustrated Herbiary could just as well be situated under Nature Reads, but given the depth and approach of this first book I read for review, it is, to my mind, a spiritual guide just as much as it is one for using plants in everyday life. With astoundingly pretty illustrations by Kate O’Hara, this book and the deck of Herbiary cards it comes with will have you ruminating on which plants resonate with you, and which you need more of, in no time.
More on The Illustrated Herbiary here.
Chakra Wisdom
Chakra Wisdom is a thought-provoking read for anyone who’s practiced chakra-centered yoga or meditation and wants a novel look at the chakra system. Unlike any other book I’ve reviewed, it includes numerous anecdotes from author Trish O’Sullivan’s 1:1 practice with clients. Stories of her successes using her chakra-based Traya practice for healing trauma are sure to bring up rich material for anyone committed to facilitating similar healing—either for themselves or clients.
Bodyfulness
Christine Caldwell, founder and former director of the Somatic Counseling Program at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, takes Bodyfulness readers on a journey that begins at the cellular level and expands into a compelling argument that mindfulness alone isn’t enough to help us heal. Those who are drawn to healing through movement will find excellent suggestions in Caldwell’s astute work.
Becoming Bodhisattvas
If challenging yourself to read an original source text is on your 2020 to-do list, Pema Chödrön’s commentary on eighth-century The Way of the Bodhisattva, recently republished in Becoming Bodhisattvas, could be an excellent choice. As a reader, I appreciated that Chödrön doesn’t assume readers are Buddhist or considering converting. The Way of the Bodhisattva speaks to anyone who’s willing to stick with Chödrön as she explores what becoming a bodhisattva means, pointing out examples of bodhisattvas including Jesus, Mother Teresa, MLK, and Gandhi.
Editor’s Bookshelf is a regular review of soon-to-be-released books that, in the spirit of Iphelia, asks important questions about how the written word—and in some cases, imagery—are used to help readers reconnect with their feelings, themselves, each other, and the world around them.
Iphelia’s editor, Linsey Stevens, answers these questions—chiming in on who will be most captivated by each book’s contents and how it invites readers to return to a heart-centered way of being.
