Do you have a summer reading list? Or maybe a summer podcast list?

Are there books that you have been squirreling away so that you can find a seat outside somewhere and lose yourself in?

I am one of those people who buys books and then adds them to the pile of books that I fully intend to read soon; some, I get to them quickly, while others can stay in that pile for a while.

I do the same thing with podcasts. I subscribe to podcasts that sound interesting or have a great sounding topic and then I let them pile up on my phone, fully intending to get to each one. Though truthfully, I am more caught up on podcasts than I am books, because I can listen to those while I walk my dogs or clean my bathroom or pull weeds from my garden.

Well, this seems like the summer to get through these piles. It has become pretty clear to me that I am going to spend my vacation time at home and what better way to spend my days off then to get through those books and podcasts that I was sure would be of interest?

So, I thought I might share my lists with you, and I would love to hear what you are reading or listening to as well.

THE BOOK PILE

There are too many here for me to get through them all while I’m off, but this is what’s in the pile on my little reading table.

White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
This book is getting all kids of traction and for good reason. It feels to me like an opportunity to continue working on how I might become an anti-racist and also acknowledge where my behaviours and unconscious thinking contributes to racism in the world around me.

Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
I just really like Malcolm Gladwell. You’ll also see that I subscribe to his podcast. He’s a great storyteller, he’s smart and his observations about humans are often very insightful (in my opinion).

The Gospel of Breaking by Jillian Christmas
I hadn’t heard of this author before but the following was written about this book: “Christmas extracts from family history, queer lineage, and the political landscape of a racialized life to create a rich, softly defiant collection of poems.” And that just sounded really good to me.

Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World by Tom Holland
This book is big and it’s about exactly what the title says. Tom Holland is a historian and he looks at the impact that Christianity has had on the world.

THE PODCAST PILE

Here I’ve included links so that you can check these podcasts out yourself. But I can tell you that I love listening to all of them.

• Revisionist History http://revisionisthistory.com/
• Planet Money https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510289/planet-money
• Hidden Brain https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510308/hidden-brain
• The Moth https://themoth.org/podcast
• Science VS https://gimletmedia.com/shows/science-vs
• The Secret Life of Canada https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcasts/documentaries/the-secret-life-of-canada/
• The Confessional https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/prx/the-confessional-with-nadia-bolzweber