Summer may have come to a close, but the season’s reading has been one full of inspiration, with books that have encouraged introspection, and will do far beyond the warmer, sunnier days.
Books that have highlighted a sense of endless growth. The type that occurs continuously as we travel along this journey we call ‘life’.
And, for me, the standout title has to be Enchanted Islands by Laura Coffey.
Set in the pandemic, the writer documents her travels around Europe. Guided by Greek mythology and set to the soundtrack of a beloved father sick with cancer, all the while reflecting on her idiosyncrasies and tendencies - both personal and cultural - and constantly questioning what is real and most important.
It is impossible to read this book and not reflect on one’s own life: on the twists and turns that have got us to arrive here, at this moment, and what the stories, both true and of myth, will say about it all in the future.
While travel is largely a seasonal genre, this book can be recommended for any time of year. Simply because the journey that it details is one that goes beyond the physical.
As well as that, being set over a long period of time, there are references to the all of changing seasons, and not just summer, making it accessible no matter where in the world one may be or what the weather is like.
And, let’s face it, in a rapidly changing world with an increasingly unpredictable climate, books need to be more than one dimensional, clinging only to one theme, or season, for that matter.
To sum up, I get so many books and, usually, I pass on the best ones, sharing the love, leaving only those that truly resonate with me on my shelves, and it is for this reason that I will find this book difficult to part with.
In fact, I think an immediate second reading is required.
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