Falling Back Into the Habit of Reading

Cool air and cloudy skies have us all kinds of happy over here. When you are in the business of depending on nature's life cycles, weeks without moisture will ruin even the best-made plan. So, although we are slightly delayed in harvesting our fall crops, we'll gladly take the alternative.

While we love being outdoors (even in inclement weather), sometimes it's nice to use the change of season to make being indoors a more enjoyable experience. One of the habits we stumbled upon prior to farming was selecting a few books to dive into once the weather turned. While thinking about what I'd like to read in the coming weeks, I figured it might be nice to share some favorites with you. If you are anything like us, you'll have these in your Amazon cart and arriving on your doorstep in a matter of days.

1. HALF BROKE HORSES

by Jeannette Walls

If you've read The Glass Castle you are no stranger to Jeannette Walls. I wasn't particularly crazy about the well-known memoir, but it adds an interesting layer that allows one to fully appreciate this book, given what the future holds for these individuals.

Half Broke Horses tells the story of Jeannette's grandmother, Lily Case Smith, an extraordinary woman who weathered several troubling familial situations. Lily is able to make a way when there is none in a place and time that has yet to see much development by way of technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.

This is by far the best book I've read in years. I'll be honest, before noticing the author, the first line of the book sold me. It reads, "Those old cows knew trouble was coming before we did."  

We recommend this book far and find it's been a favorite no matter who the audience is. If I had one pick, no doubt this would be it.

2. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

by Harper Lee

I don't know how anyone (cough, my husband, cough) made it through elementary school without reading this book, but something about it shakes me to my core each and every time I read it. Given the epic ham costume, how could it be excluded from a fall reading list? 

There are so many profound lessons buried within the fabric of this story. I often return to the scene where Scout finds herself outside the jailhouse the night a mob decides to lynch Tom Robinson. These lessons are perhaps more applicable than ever. Mob mentality has by no means diminished; it simply evolves into a contemporary facade.

3. A BEND IN THE ROAD

by... See Below

I'm going to preface this next one by saying I have a background and a degree in literature, so please don't think I'm the People magazine type. That said, some might gawk at this recommendation because it's authored by Nicholas Sparks. Just quickly move past that fact... This is a leisure reading list, after all.

What is fall without the tender feeling of deep regard for another human being? This tells the story of high-school sweethearts. The wife, Missy, is tragically killed in a hit-and-run accident that goes unresolved.  Her husband, Miles Ryan, happens to be the deputy sheriff and does everything in his power to sift out details of the crime. He eventually starts to move beyond it and begins dating his son's second-grade teacher. I've lost most of you by now, I'm sure of it. I'll wrap this up by saying if you are remotely into love stories, this is my favorite of them all.

4. AGRICULTURE

by Rudolf Steiner

I'd only recommend this if you are into either agriculture or philosophy. It can be a heavy read, which is why dark quiet hours make for a good time to ruminate on the concepts presented here. Nevertheless, mindfulness regarding food production and farming practices are priceless these days, and this is a good place to dive in.

5. WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS

by Wilson Rawls

Ben recently started reading this with our daughter, which I adore. He chose it as their first book, because he wants her to have the memory of them reading it together. What more can one say than that...

-Meghan

The Trade-Off

From a young age I can recall the distinct notion of not wanting to live a conventional life. While my understanding of "conventional" has ebbed and flowed over time, I don't think it's uncommon for individuals to encounter this in one manifestation or another. Perhaps you thought you'd be an artist, or travel the world, or write a book, or play a prominent role within a social movement. "Someday" aspirations are always grounded in significance, meaning, and purpose. But as the story goes, the large majority of us get caught along the way, moving further and further from the dream, occupying habits that have more to do with expectation, comfort and responsibility than essence.

The older I get the more I've come to realize how limited most people's view of reality is. I myself slip into this, the ease of swimming downstream, of working to rise to the top of a well known and defined existence, of drawing the line between good and good enough. It's quite easy to let your weaknesses lead you, and even easier to allow your strengths to find the path of least resistance, under the guise of guaranteed return. For me the dream wasn't always present, and even when present, it hasn't always been clear. But it's there, and has always been there, just beyond my peripheral vision.

The initial years after Ben and I married were good ones. We lived in a community we loved, worked jobs we appreciated, attended a church that helped (re)build our faith, spent hours upon hours with family, found richness in the outdoors, and stole away for a vacation or two. We watched our eldest move through her first year of life and all the while kept wondering whether this was it, whether we'd grow old in this way, in a rhythm that generally met our needs but left us a little numb.

Ben and I spent months considering our day to day, thinking about the culmination of those hours and whether they were amounting to something meaningful. We wondered about our routines, the motivation behind a sequence of endless action.

The mile markers become clearer still; individuals or situations or connections that gently nudged us to where we are today. I have no doubt such circumstances are arranged by someone much greater than Benjamin or myself, the implications of which are profound... One doesn't have to craft or create the narrative, only become a willing participant in it.

Who knew a few subtle detours would eventually lead to such a bright and beautiful experience.

-Meghan