Great Books for Everyday Carry
There was a time when we used to carry books in our bags. I know I used to.
Waiting in line for a dentist appointment you brought a book. Waiting for your flight at the airport, you brought out a book. Nowadays I bring out my phone
I find that I constantly reach for my phone in those brief pockets of waiting times even when there is no reason to.
So, while I am not great at it yet, I am trying to be increasingly conscious about why I use my phone. I want to use it as a tool and not as a time-waster. To fill those static moments, the quiet intervals, with books and the wisdom and beauty they contain. And not just for the sake of being productive, but to fill those intervals with true leisure.
Below is a list of books I compiled that are ideal for everyday carrying and reading during waiting times. These lists cut across different genres including Nature Lore, Education, Philosophy, Spirituality, Fiction and Poetry. I bet you will find one or two that catch your interest, that you can add to your everyday carry books.
The Liberating Arts: Why We Need Liberal Arts Education: This book is a good one for everyday carry. It’s a collection of short essays, which means if you put it down and don’t pick it up for three weeks, it won’t matter much — you can just read the next essay. I can’t vouch for every essay being worth your time, but these short bites will leave you with thoughts on education that you can chew on as you finish going about your day.
The Lost Spells by Robert Macfarlane: The Lost Spells evokes the wonder of everyday nature, conjuring up red foxes, birch trees, jackdaws, and more in poems and illustrations that flow between the pages and into your mind. To read The Lost Spells is to see anew the natural world within our grasp.
Teaching a Stone to Talk by Anne Dillard: A 170-page collection of essays written for magazines; the kind of book, Dillard concedes, that “a writer brings out to supplement his real work”. This one is equal parts funny and profound. Part memoir and nature writing at its best.
Aristotle for Everybody by J Mortimer Adler: While I am not a great enthusiast of philosophy books, because of how dry and dreary they can be. I love it when a book of philosophy eloquently explores complicated ideas.
Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes, by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Kline: This is a fun read and would be a good conversation starter at the mall.
Someone by Alice McDermott: Someone is a novel that speaks of life as it is daily lived, with passion and heartbreak, a crowning achievement of one of the finest American writers at work today.
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan: This novella about an Irish village in the days before Christmas 1985 is ostensibly a holiday book, but more than that is an ambitious, thoughtful, ambiguous novel about family, conscience, and a community’s fraught shared history.
Poems of Gratitude (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets Series): Poetry collections are great for everyday carry. Most poems can be read in just a few minutes. These Everyman poetry collections are just what you need for everyday reading and there are different themes to choose from. They’re pocket-sized, attractive, and durable.
What Kind of Woman by Kate Bauer: A stunning and honest debut poetry collection about the beauty and hardships of being a woman in the world today, and the many roles we play - mother, partner, and friend.
A Pocket Dictionary: Why not?😁 Dictionaries are books. Highlight fun words you didn't know before and plan to write them down somewhere else.
So that’s my list of great everyday carry books. Time to get back to reading . .