It's vacation season, and if you're anything like us here at TakePart HQ, you're busy diving through summer reading lists to figure out which books to bring along to the beach, the cottage, the lake, or wherever else you're headed for some R&R.
We're as much a fan of breezy beach reading as the rest. But sometimes you need something a little more substantial.
No, we're not talking about something your Anthro 101 prof would have assigned in college. But just because you're on vacation, it doesn't mean you have to turn your brain off too. TakePart's summer reading list is full of books that will inspire, delight, challenge, and charm.
If you're looking for something a little different than, say, the latest bestseller mystery or comedian memoir—no offense, Tina—then check out our picks, after the jump:
The Feast Nearby by Robin Mather — The subtitle of Mather's delightful new book explains it all: "How I Lost My Job, Buried a Marriage, and Found My Way By Keeping Chickens, Foraging, Preserving, Bartering, and Eating Locally (All On $40 a Week)." This veteran food writer turned the loss of a job and a husband—in the same week—into an extraordinary journey through the locavore lifestyle. The essays and recipes in The Feast Nearby celebrate the small pleasures in life, and reveal how a back-to basics approach to the way we eat can have a positive impact on ourselves and our communities.
Unlikely Brothers by John Prendergast and Michael Mattocks — We're big fans of John Prendergast here at TakePart. The Enough Project, which he cofounded, has been a leader in the fight to end human rights abuses and genocide in Africa. But there's another side to his story: his unlikely friendship with Michael Mattocks, a former neighborhood drug dealer whom Prendergast mentored as a Big Brother. Unlikely Brothers is a deeply inspiring and moving memoir that shows how two people from different worlds can have a profound impact on each other's lives.
Radio Shangri-La by Lisa Napoli — Bhutan, a tiny Buddhist kingdom nestled high in the Himalayas, has been called The Happiest Kingdom on Earth. Until recently, Bhutan had been mostly cut off from the modern world, and its king measured quality of life in Gross National Happiness, rather than the harsh, capitalistic GNP. Lisa Napoli, a former public radio reporter, was unhappy with her life and her job, with no clear exit strategy from a nagging midlife crisis, until a handsome stranger at a party offered her the chance to help start a youth radio station in Bhutan. This is an uplifting tale of adventure set in a hidden and mysterious corner of the world.
Farishta by Patricia McArdle — A debut novel from a retired foreign service officer, Farishta draws on the author's experience as a diplomat in northern Afghanistan to tell the story of Angela Morgan, a State Department employee whose husband was killed in the Beirut embassy bombing of 1983. Morgan ventures out from the cloistered world of the British army base where she is posted to provide aid to refugees in the war-torn region. A compelling tale of a woman trying to bury past trauma, Farishta provides a fresh perspective on a conflict that so few of us still really understand.
Mission Street Food by Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitz — Most restaurants aren't in the business of giving money away. But that's exactly what the team behind Mission Street Food in San Francisco do every day. They take part of the money from each entree, and give it to local organizations fighting hunger in the Bay Area. Now they've written a new book that's part-cookbook, part manual for launching your own benevolent business. Mission Street Food is packed with witty essays on life and mouth-watering photos and recipes. Oh, and a comic book too.
I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldine Abuelaish — Most summer reading lists probably wouldn't go anywhere near the Middle East conflict. But I Shall Not Hate is a must-read for anyone looking for a glimmer of hope in the seemingly intractable fight between Israelis and Palestinians. After an Israeli Army tank blew a hole in the side of his Gaza home, killing three of his teenage daughters and a niece, Abuelaish vowed that no other family would suffer a similar tragedy. His deeply moving book is a testament to the power of human forgiveness, and a sure sign as any that there will one day be peace in the Holy Land.
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