Autumn Reading List

Without further ado,

My Autumn Reading List:

1. Bossypants by Tina Fey - a surprisingly feminist novel that is literally laugh out loud funny (I read it sitting in the middle seat on a trans-continental flight and kept elbowing the guys next to me because I was laughing so hard I couldn't hold the book"  Best quote?  "Lesson learned? When people say, 'You really, really must' do something, it means you don't really have to.  No one ever says, 'You really, really must deliver the baby during labor.' When it's true, it doesn't need to be said" 

2. The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht - a first time novel (which I always think are worth reading, because it means that person really just had a book inside them that they had to get down) that weaves together stories of the breakdown of the Ottomon Empire, a medical student traveling across Eastern Europe, a relationship of a granddaughter and grandfather, a young girl who becomes a tigers wife and the magic of a deathless man.  Best quote? "Come on, is your heart a sponge or a fist?"

3. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell - different than the tipping point because it's all about dissecting judgement. the same in that it's incredibly well-written, very easy to read, and will provide you with cocktail party (or interview) small talk for days to come.  Best quote?  "...'when we talk about analytic versus intuitive decision making, neither is good or bad. What is bad is if you use either of them in an inappropriate circumstance.'"

4. Fire in the Earth, Poetry by David Whyte - the calmness of autumn and the anticipation of the stillness of winter always have me craving more poetry in my life; as I have more space and time in darkness, I find that my senses hone in more on words - so I want them to be beautiful and profound. David Whyte's poetry could not be a more perfect answer.  A birthday gift, and the start of a collection, I hope.  There are too many great quotes, but one of my favorites right now is, "the flight of amazing freedoms, held in tension, by the menace, of impending chaos"

5. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese - this is actually a re-read, which I love doing, but it's one of my absolute favorite novels.  Verghese tells a compelling story that brings up all the great themes in medicine: choices, fear, love, loss, and more.  Best quote? "You live it forward but understand it backward"

6. The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad - a novel that came out several years ago, but is an intimate look at an Afghan household through the eyes of Sultan Khan, a bookseller of prohibited books.  I have only just started this one, so I'll let you know how it goes, but it's one I've been meaning to read forever.

**What are you curling up fireside to read as the cold weather approaches?**

I love suggestions of new great books!