I used to be a voracious reader. My parents tell stories about me finishing books as a kid and then immediately starting them over because I liked them so much. Our bookshelves are filled with hundreds of books I’ve read and re-read and my children are following in my footsteps—we go to the library nearly every week and bring home stacks of books to read and just like me they want to read them again just as soon as we finish them (which isn’t annoying at all). But, hang on, you may have noticed that I said I “used to” read. Yes, one of my favourite pastimes has become one of the things I have not managed to make time for since becoming an adult. I’ve got a stack of books on the shelf on the To Read list and it keeps getting longer. Maybe that has been the case for you as well? If so, I’m hoping to give us all a kick in the arse and get us back into reading this holiday season so  I thought I’d change things up a bit and pick some recent non-fiction books that could be great holiday reads to inspire and educate – these ones are at the top of my very long reading list, why not make them part of your new year resolutions ?

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo

Are you one of the last people on the planet who hasn’t read this book? Get a copy and learn how to bring joy to your life via your sock drawer. Yeah, I don’t quite get how that works, either. But a lot of people are on board with it, so it just might be the real deal.

How Not To Die, Michael Greger, M.D.

The founder of the influential website NutritionFacts.org has written a best-selling book about the top 15 causes of death in America and how we can prevent them through what and how we eat. Spoiler alert—he recommends eating lots of fruits and vegetables. And no bacon. If he says I can’t eat mint chocolate ice cream he may lose me, but I’m still really interested to read this one this summer.

Gratitude, Oliver Sacks, M.D.

Dr. Oliver Sacks, called ‘the poet laureate of medicine’ by The New York Times, and the ‘world’s most famous neurologist’ by many, died last year after a terminal diagnosis of cancer. In his last months he wrote several essays expressing his gratitude for his life’s work and experiences and contemplated aging and dying, which are collected in this book. I have read several of his other essays and have listened to many of his interviews and was always enthralled and fascinated and moved by his words and work. I’m looking forward to this one, albeit it sadly, to this, his last piece.

The Marriage Book: Centuries of Advice, Inspiration, and Cautionary Tales From Adam and Eve to Zoloft, Lisa Grunwald and Stephen Adler

A book you didn’t even know you were looking for–an anthology on marriage that includes historical anecdotes, quotes, facts, jokes, and advice and that uses all kinds of source material from Bill Clinton’s Congressional testimony to Reddit threads. Being married is hard work, y’all, so having a resource guide to turn to when your partner is acting bananas sounds like a pretty good idea to me. I’ll take two copies–one for each nightstand, please.

Victoria

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