2020 Summer Reading Guide: Fantastic Non-Fiction
If I’m going to read non-fiction, I want it to delightful, not dry. These books, from a peek into the world of therapy to cooking lessons, are a joy to read.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb
I read this last summer the way you’d read a novel. I was GRIPPED. Lori Gottlieb is a therapist and gives a peek into what it’s like to meet with a therapist as you get to know several of her clients, all grappling with different issues. And then Lori herself begins going to therapy after an unexpected breakup, so you get a view at what it’s like to be on the other side of the couch. This book is funny and fascinating and so illuminating.
How to Celebrate Everything: Recipes and Rituals for Birthdays, Holidays, Family Dinners, and Every Day In Between by Jenny Rosenstrach
We are mostly celebrating at home these days, so Jenny Rosenstrach’s book is the perfect way to make the most of it all. I love her writing – her recipes make me want to turn on the oven ASAP and her stories make me want to move in next door to her. This book feels like chatting with a friend who you’re secretly hoping will invite you over for dinner as the sun starts to go down.
I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel
I’ve never included a book of essays on the Summer Reading Guide because. . . .I never read books of essays. But I love Anne Bogel from Modern Mrs Darcy so much that I read this when it first came out and instantly fell in love with it. Anne knows what it’s like to be a reader, to live for a trip to the library or to savor the last pages of a new favorite novel. And she shares those experiences so wonderfully – it’s zero percent pretension and 100% delightful.
The Kitchen Counter Cooking School: How a Few Simple Lessons Transformed Nine Culinary Novices into Fearless Home Cooks by Kathleen Flinn
I read her bestselling book about attending culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu, The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry, years ago, but I loved this book more. After spotting people buying all packaged foods at the grocery store, Kathleen decides she’s going to teach a group of women how to cook from the very most basic skills. Over the months the students become not only competent in the kitchen, but also dear friends. And, of course, the book gives you the tools to also become a fearless home cook. (I listened to this one on audio and it was a wonderful).