Books I Live By
Books I live by
Reading is my great love, matched only by sharing these books, whether it’s by passing them on to others or telling friends about the stories I’ve read. I’m curious about so much in life and reading both satisfies and fuels this curiosity.
Perhaps that’s why my taste is so eclectic – it’s a response to the messiness of life. I pivot equally to fiction and non-fiction in both wanting to answer the ‘why’s and ‘how’s as much as wanting to be entranced by a story well told. I’m drawn to the feeling of being carried away and I also love standing on the shoulders of giants, figuratively speaking, and appreciating new perspectives on the world. And of course being up close and personal with others whose view is from the ground or from the margins.
Often when I’ve spoken at events and have mentioned various books that have influenced me, I’ve been asked for a book list after the event. And so I feel like I’ve sent out as many book lists as books over the years – which has made this list below much easier to compile! Here, then, is my treasure chest of good reads, like a glory box opened to reveal jewels and treasures that give so much pleasure as well as insight and discovery.
I hope that some of these titles will resonate with you and I invite you to share this list with others and to let me know what you think! Jane
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Attlee, James
I bought this book soon after moving to New York as even though I loved my new city, I was yearning for the kind of connection to nature I had in Piccadilly, Australia, perched on my moon loft, head tipped to the stars. This book reconnects me to that world and as Atlee embarks on his own trip to chart moon sightings and stories across continents.
Athill, Diana
A candid, often very funny and always engaging, memoir on growing old.
Angelou, Maya,
The book is as special as its title, as special as its author. Maya Angelou is a consummate writer and poet, a woman of such immense courage and attunement to the lives of women, to the lives of all who sing under duress, especially the lives of black women. This is the first of five volumes of autobiography.
Anderson, Joy
If you want to curl up by the fire or lie on the beach for an afternoon then these are two books to take with you. I was intrigued by Anderson taking a year off to be by herself by the sea and, in her second book, her life-enhancing encounter with the wise and truly wonderful Joan Erikson
Alinsky, Saul
Okay, I’ve got to admit, it was the name that drew me to the book. I was curious if radicals did have rule and, if so, what they would comprise and what I found was a very practical book on how to catalyze social change.
Allende, Isabel
I carry this book close to me. House of Spirits depicts a world of women and spirit life, and live spirits, that inhabit her childhood and grown up word. As someone who grew up with the voices of crones in my head, Allende’s book was an affirmation and a homecoming. It still is.
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Curle, Adam
How lucky I am to have met Adam Curle in this last year of his life. A Quaker, a deep humanitarian in thought ad deed who inspired so many with is writings of peace and justice, truth and love
Courtmanche, Gil
Gut wrenching and gritty, compelling and real set in the midst of Rwanda’s genocide. One of the books I’ll keep with me to remind me of how other people live and die and why we must never, never stop doing all we can to create a kinder, just world.
Cotton, Olive
I bought this book of Cotton’s photography at an exhibition. The black and white images are lustrous.
Collins, Billy
Gorgeous writing with his quirky, luminous images that make me smile and laugh and feel light as I go about my day.
Coles, Robert
(Editor) A gifted writer, whether writing about children, stories or the immense talents and life work of Erik Erikkson.
Chodron, Pema
I found both these books at Buddha House in Adelaide. Who wouldn’t be drawn to such titles? I’d buy anything by Chodron for her direct and dignified writing that encourages our own deep spirit dive.
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Dylan, Bob
The gorgeousness of Dylan’s writing is as compelling as his journey. I hope Chronicles Two isn’t too far away.
Dupleix, Jill
I first bought this book for my dear friend, Kim’s wedding. She’s kept it in clear sight in her kitchen ever since and it inspired me to buy my own copy. Such a divine o/Old foodie book and hard to find now.
Dowrick, Stephanie
My first encounter with Dowrick’s writing was Running Backwards over Sand. I so related to the young woman in the book and how much I’ve since related to every other book Dowrick has written. And how fortunate I am to now call her a friend.
Dillard, Annie
If I had to choose one book that is my all time favorite then this is it. I hope you read it and find out why.
Didion, Joan
I read Slouching Toward Bethlehem just before heading to New York for my first visit. Oh! How I loved this book and all it invited – and now here I am in California! A quintessential portrait of America in the 60s. I held fast to it for years, afraid I would lose the stories as much as their physical casing. The magic of Didion’s last title was in the spare language of her writing at a time of unimaginable loss — of husband (best friend) and her daughter.
De Chardin, Pierre Teilhard
A passion for the earth written as a spiritual treatise. His writings and thoughts are as relevant today as when they were first written. Inspirational.
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Erikson, Joan
Of course I had to search out Erikson’s writing after reading A Walk on the Beach (see Anderson). What an extraordinary woman Joan Erikson was. She deserves to be better known for her ideas and practice, like her famous husband.
Estes, Clarissa Pinkola
I read this on a train going to somewhere and, coupled with Allende’s House of Spirits, it lit me from within in its language and call to us to run with our own wild. I re-read I recently and it was just as potent.
Englander, Nathan,
Eight new stories from a writer of such emotional intelligence and maturity.
Ehrlich, Gretel
I think it was via my reading of Annie Dillard that I found Ehrlich. She embraces a similar love of wild spaces and the natural world. Her writing is revelatory and a joy to read.
Eggers, Dave
I found Zeitoun at Imprints Bookshop in Adelaide and drove straight home to read it. Eggers writing is so amazingly good, his power of observation and imagination so astute that I hope he doesn’t ever stop writing. I sought out everything else by Eggers, which is pretty substantial when you start looking. When I wrote to him about speaking at an event, he was good enough to reply himself. And now I find myself living in the same place as him and his family – Sausalito.
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Funder, Anna Funder
Interviews about the East German Stasi during the Cold War- with both victims and former Stasi. A compelling look at the most extreme methods of social control ever attempted by the most oppressive secret police and intelligence agency in history.
Freire, Paulo,
One of the best known educators who dedicated his life to the cause of democracy, and equality. In this powerful book he advocates for the role of education to be a political force for freedom and liberation rather than for oppression through rote learning and describes the approach required to achieve this.
Frankl, Victor,
The book you’d hope every person on earth would read. About how even in the face of the unimaginable terror and inhumanity – the Holocaust — we still have a choice about how we respond. Here is Frankl’s own experience and conviction that we can still hold on to our dignity and humanity even when facing almost certain death.
Fejes, Claire
Claire Fejes moved with her husband to Fairbanks, Alaska and sought to understand Eskimo life. In so doing she gives a rich and intimate account of her time with the Noatak peoples.
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Gusmao, Kirsty Sword
The moving story of Sword Gusmao’s meeting with Xanana Gusmao while he was still in prison through to his becoming President of a newly independent East Timor and her becoming First Lady. She portrays their life, the birth of their sons and their commitment to country and people with the same grace and beauty she exhibits in person.
Gourevitch, Philip
A damning portrayal of the genocide in Rwanda and of the failure of the United Nations and any other country to act to stop the bloodbath. Gourevitch’s is one of the best accounts of what happened and why it still matters today. His has been a constant voice holding those in power to account and to impress on us all the importance of political will to stop such crimes against humanity.
Griffiths, Jay
In Griffith’s journey to reconnect with the wild within herself through throwing herself into wild experiences and spaces, she helps us to re-imagine and reclaim our own connection to wild. Not the least in a new-agey way but in the guttural, essential way that makes way for new life.
Griffiths, Bede
An intimate sharing of a life lived in spiritual service. Griffiths begins by sharing the impact of his time in India and then centres outward to reflections on the vows of religious life and his reconciliation of these with his lived experience.
Griffin, Susan
Raw, as much as roar, in emotion and intellect. A deeply affecting anthem to women’s connection to the natural world.
Greenleaf, Robert
The idea of leaders as servants sparked my attention and has now spared a movement. This lucid book gives life to the theory.
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Hitchens, Christopher
What a loss for the world with Hitchen’s death. His was such a formidable intellect and his books remain the best expression of his magnificent life journey.
Hewitt, Dorothy
Fabulous writing by this larger than life poet and author. I love both the overt and undercurrent sensuality of Hewitt’s writing.
Hreniko, Vilsoni
I found this book in a dusty corner of a bookshelf in the Pacific Studies Centre at the University of the South Pacific when I was living in Fiji. It captures the culture, customs and community of Rotuma life and just as importantly opens up Pacific writing written by women of the South Pacific.
Heilpern, John
Having brought my sleeping bag to the 12 hour performance of Peter Brooks’ The Mahabaratha, I was always curious about his Conference of the Birds. In this book the author follows Peter Brooks and his theater company as they travel across Africa improvising plays with local people in the communities they visit over the course of many months. It’s a fascinating insight to the man and his method as well as the troupe and its ways of seeing and being in another continent.
Hawken, Paul
One of the best writers writing about citizen led change. Compelling. Follow his blog.
Havel, Vaclav
One of the truly great and heroic figures of the twentieth century. His writing is phenomenal A renowed playwright and later the President of Czechoslovakia after the Velvet Revolution. Here he shares…
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Iyer, Pico
I read Video Night in Kathmandu just before I made my first trip overseas, to Nepal and to Tibet. The book grabbed me by the throat and I’ve been reading Iyer’s books ever since. He connected me to a completely new way of writing, depicting globalism at a time when it was not being written about by writers in this way. His book The Open Road is as much about his relationship with his father as with his observations of the Dalai Lama while his latest book is The Man Within My Head, about his connection to Graham Greene.
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Jamie, Kathleen
I was at the Mildura Writers’ Festival and asked David Malouf about his favorite writers. He seemed grumpy with my question though he did mention Kathleen Jamie in his response. I sought her out and in so doing discovered her stunning poetry and literature. Truly beautiful. Among Muslimsis unforgettable – please read it!
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Kornfield, Jack
Like Pema Chodron, Kornfield has a gift for titles as much as stories, This is my favorite of his books as it connects his own journey to wider ideas about spirit/Buddhist life and the spirit journey.
Kingsolver, Barbara
A consummate storyteller, this is the book for a long plane ride without interruption. Or swinging on a hammock on some lost island.
Kunitz, Stanley
The loveliest image of Kunitz in his garden graces the cover of this book and his reminiscences of time spent in his garden, part poetry, part prose, are just as graceful and glorious.
Kumar, Satish
One man’s walk across the world for peace – this is his journey in words and deed. I hope to join him with others on a short pilgrimage some day soon to meet the man and share conversations on the journey. In the meantime I subscribe to his journal, Resurgence, my most favorite magazine.
Kogawa, Joy,
The author accounts her own experience of her family’s internment as Canadian citiens of Japanese ancestry during the Second World War. This terrible injustice is gracefully told.
Kohen, Arnold S
I read this book after we learnt of the massacres in East Timor by Indonesian forces and when I was asking, like many people, ‘how could we let this happen?’ Kohen’s book captures the brave spirit of Bishop Belor in the fight for justice for East Timor and its people.
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Lopez, Barry
A body of writing that is so important and imaginative, an invocation of our interconnectedness with wilderness and wild paces.
Levertov, Denise
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant poetry. These books are two of many of Levertov’s majestic collection.
Leopold, Aldo
A classic. Here Leopold expounds his deeply held view that it is a human duty to protect the wildness of the land. Published in 1949, just after his death, the book is often cited as one of the most influential books about nature and the natural world ever published. Leopold wrote it while based at his summer shack on the banks of the Wisconsin River in a style that encompassed reflection, essay, memoir and polemic.
Le Guin, Ursula
Some know her more for her feminist sci-fi writng; this book is special in a different way as Le Guin shares her perspectives on women and life through these essays, talks and reviews. It’s an exhilarating read.
Larsen, Kay
Language collapsed and all sound flowing, exploding – and then silence – in this zen bender of a book. A stunning story, a stunning life of a man whose influence is still so strongly felt and experienced. Also charts his relationship and life partnership with Merce Cunningham.
Lane, Belden C
A book in praise of wild places and spaces.
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Murphy, Dervla
One of the first women travel writers I read and once I started her books, I couldn’t stop. I was so inspired by the power of Murphy’s imagination and her courage as a single woman traversing the globe on foot, pedal-power or mule, to name just three forms she utilizes.
Morrison, Blake
For anyone who has a father with big ideas, big determination and a big heart, this is a book to read. I ached when I read it, so much did I connect with the story and the writing.
Morrison, Toni
My introduction to Morrison began with Beloved, and how fortunate I was. This book is my favorite of hers though her other books are just as sought after. This book won the Pulitzer Prize for its dazzling and commanding story of a woman haunted by the past.
Monk Kidd, Sue
I found this after reading The Secret Life of Bees
A feminist journey of faith and awakening by a fabulous writer.
Moore, Thomas
The perfect book for a midlife crisis or to help restore soul to self and couple-hood.
Merton, Thomas
Here Merton shares his early years and the decisions that leads him becoming a Trappist monk, one of the most demanding Catholic orders, at the age of 26, and then his gradation through different types of monk-hood. Compelling.
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Nyro, Laura
I wanted to learn more about the singer who deserves to be better known than she is, as one who sang in the time and tradition of Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell. It’s a wonderful book, finely written.
Norris, Kathleen
I found Norris out of my quest to read more books by women who were grappling with their own faith and who were on explicitly spiritual journeys, whether they be via church, synagogue, pilgrimage, temple or meeting house. Norris is a gifted writer and Dakota is a great read. The Rich Mrs Burgoyne is her latest.
Newell, Patrice
Earthy revelation of life on the land in all its texture and contour. The book is a work of art – it draws you in.
Neel, Alexandra David
Not long before I went to Tibet I wanted to connect with all the magic and mysticism of the country which seemed to me akin to some kind of Shangri-la aka Lost Horizon. Neel’s book opened up this world to me as one that has changed eons again since I was there.
Nafisi, Azar
Riveting account of a teacher in Tehran carrying on teaching literature to young women in the hoped for safety of her own home when teaching them at the university was no longer an option due to the political repression of women and violence unfolding across the country
Narayan, RK
Of course I read this after my 12 hour marathon effort watching this in my sleeping bag in an outdoor performance presented in a quarry. Memorable.
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O’Rourke, Meghan
The best book on the grief following the death of a parent that I’ve ever read.
Ondaatje, Michael
My gorgeous friend, Maria, gave me this book. Her inscription is as precious as the book itself. So many of Oodantje’s books are irradiating. The English Patient
has language and scenes I can evoke even as I type.
Oliver, Mary
And I could go on. I have more books of Oliver’s poetry than any other poet. Josh has even more. Love, love, love her poetry. Her poem ‘When death comes’ has consoled me so many times after the death of a friend or family member, as much as any poem can after a death.
Olds, Sharon
For a long time I couldn’t read the titles poem in this collection without crying. Maybe I still can’t. It’s so intimate. The poem True Love – the last one in this book – is my most favourite poem.
Oates, Joyce Carol
Of course she’s written many books of fiction and her short stories are real gems too however Boxing is iconic and is worth scouring the net to find a copy!
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Pryor, Boori
I read Pryor’s books while I was a consultant at Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute. His generosity and outreach as a teacher and educator takes us on a journey with him as he explores Aboriginal culture, customs, kinship and connection to the wider world while also sharing his own life story. Pryor does this with his wife, writer/photographer, Meme McDonald. Her own books are also worth reading. Put Your Whole Self In was the first of McDonald’s books that I read.
Plumwood, Val
I was fortunate to meet Plumwood at the Two Fires Festival of Arts and Activism in Braidwood near Canberra a year before she died. She was providing festival goers with intimate walks on he own wildlands, a bush paradise. Bereft on learning of her death, I sought out her works and how seminal they are.
Pollan, Michael
The blue lit core of this book invites creation. I read it at a time when I was hankering to build my own place of one’s own.
Plotkin, Bill
Divine writing on nature. His workshops are just as engaging as his books.
Peacock, Doug
A recommendation from the Abstract Wild reading list, this book is about Doug Peacock, a Vietnam Veteran who finds peace within himself through contact with the grizzly bears in whose presence helps to banish his inner demons.
Palmer, Parker
I heard about Palmer when I was at Pendle Hill, a Quaker retreat in the US. He’s a deep thinker and practitioner in connecting people to their passion work and his books are a joy to read.
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Russell, Bertrand
I first discovered Russell when my close friend, Sarah, and I were living in a farm that had belonged to a recluse who worked for the CSIRO and bequeathed his property to the RSPCA the year the CSIRO commenced testing on animals. His farm was filled with amazing literature, everything from Russell to a little known Plant Hunters of Tibetwhile his musical taste ranged from Vaughan Williams to Japanese Water Music. Russell is similarly expansive in his writing in this classic book of provocative essays. Then read all else he has written.
Rupp, Joyce
I’m hoping to walk the Camino in the next couple of years and this book is an eloquent introduction to the journey.
Roy, Arundhati
was my natural introduction to Roy and I’ve followed her courageous journey in advocating for those without a voice, who are dispossessed and persecuted. Fiery and necessary reading.
Rowley, Hazel
I was at the launch of Rowley’s first biography on Christina Stead and I’ve read all of her books through to her most recent, Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage until Rowley’s untimely death in 2010. Rowley is one of the best biographers of her generation and her legacy lives on through her books and a fellowship in support of other biographers.
Richards, MC
I discovered Richard’s writing when I was clay making with my teacher, Freya Povey. Imagining Yellow is as uplifting as the title implies while Centering takes the reader into the heart of creating.
Rich, Adrienne
This is my favorite of Rich’s many books of poetry and prose.
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Sykes, Roberta
Roberta Sykes was a mentor to me and a gift to everyone who knew her and read her writing. Her activism opened up education horizons at Harvard for many black women and her fierce and sustained fight for justice saw many victories in her lifetime. Her Snake Dreamingseries (trilogy) is her own potent story.
Stretton, Hugh
I was fortunate to study under Hugh Stretton and this book remains a classic on the principles and practice of best urban planning.
Statler, Oliver
A meditation on this writer’s pilgrimage with the mystics and within the mountains of Japan.
Starhawk
A magical thinker and writer, connected to the planets and the universe in her ways of seeing and being.
Spratt, David and Sutton, Philip
I met Philip Sutton when we were both speaking at an event and I was impressed by his argument and later by this book. The book makes an urgent case for taking bold action to stem the impact on the Earth’s climate so that catastrophe can be averted before action is beyond human restoration. The authors emphasize an environmental emergency that cannot be dealt with by business as usual strategies and provide both a balanced analysis as well as laying out a pathway for action.
Solnit, Rebecca
Solnit’s writing is luminous, her subjects wide ranging, from a history of walking to ways to get lost. Her book, A Paradise Built in Hell, is about citizens assuming their own power in disaster response rather than giving over power and control to authorities. Read it in conjunction with Dave Egger’s book, Zeitoun.
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Turner, Jack
My friend, Tony from The Humanity Foundation introduced me to this unforgettable book. It is an eloquent manifesto for maintaining the wild, not as national parks or accessible wilderness so much as wild spaces beyond the control of humans. Wild for wild sake.
Truitt, Anne
What a treat to discover this artist-writer and her turns and triumphs throughout a life of exploration, art, family, sculpture, education and expression.
Thoreau, Henry David
What can I say? On Walden Pond is Thoreau’s anthem to a life lived in sync with the rhythms of the natural world. I keep it on my bedside table at my loft cottage. Tibetan Book of the Dead (Karma-glin-pa) Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, (Sogyal Rinpoche) THE books to read to understand death and dying – and thus life and living.
Terkel, Studs
The most phenomenal oral historian of this generation. Read everything he’s written. In Hope Dies Last he offers this ‘Hope never trickles down, it always springs up.’ Indeed.
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Wright, Judith
So much of Wright’s work I love, both poetry and prose and yet her Collected Poemsseem to encapsulate so much of her radiant spirit and poetic sensibility.
Woolfson,. Esther
Corvus: A Life with Birds
A book I’d love to give all my friends. It is more than a book about and with birds, it’s about being human and being connected to life in all its forms.
Winton, Tim
A powerful, authentic writer with a huge following in Australia and overseas. Blueback is special for me and for many kids and kids at heart. Breath remains my favorite because I love the sea and have always wanted to surf – this takes me in as a voyeur if not a wave-rider.
Williamson, Marianne
Books I Live By RECENT UPDATES Reading is my great love, matched only by sharing these books, whether it’s by passing them on to others
Williams, Terry Tempest
A writer of immense spiritual depth as she traverses territory not often explored by others. Start anywhere.
Williams, Patricia
A book as relevant today as when I first read it. I hope it is read and reclaimed by a new generation of young feminists.
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Zinn, Howard
A legendary writer with the kind of following you’d expect. This memorable title wraps round a book that traverses some of the key moments of advocacy and activism in the twentieth century.