September 1, 2024

Hit and Miss #365: Nearly fall vacation reading

We’re away for a mix of time visiting family and friends across Ontario. It’s feeling right on the cusp of fall here, maybe the ideal seasonal moment. This weekend in particular I’m aiming to avoid my phone, so we’ll stick briefly to the main theme of this newsletter: what I’m reading!

Books I brought along:

• The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin: discussions of anarchism seem more frequent in the reading of those I read, so a good time to return to a classic exploration of it
• Consolations by David Whyte: I first learned of this delightful book through Maria Popova’s summary (see, e.g., Whyte on friendship, love, and heartbreak), but was reminded of it enough to bring it along when listening to Krista Tippett’s conversation with Whyte, “Seeking Language Large Enough
• English Grammar for Students of French by Jacqueline Morton: one of the few French grammar books I’ve found consistently helpful, thanks to its unique approach of first explaining the grammar concept as found in English before explaining how that concept works in French; it works so well because I was never taught English grammar explicitly (a common omission growing up in Ontario, at least), so this cements the concept in both language (I have a periodic French language assessment coming up for work, so figured this’d be a handy way to brush up beforehand)

If I’d had more room, and less practicality about how many books I’d read while away, I’d’ve packed:

• some fiction by Wendell Berry
• Exhalations by Ted Chiang
• a pocket tree identification guide (I’m feeling this omission acutely as I stare at so many trees and wonder what they are!)

As always, I’d also be curious to know what you brought along for vacation or other recent reading :) All the best for the week ahead!

Lucas