Summer Reading Recommendations

There’s no Summertime Sadness in the UPLIT HQ this week – while our office is closed from Thursday 22 December until Monday 9 January, we’ll be diving into some good books, getting ready to bring you more author events and BWF17.

After much discussion and brainstorming, here’s what we recommend you check out over Summer.

Lara recommends…

A.D. After Death by Jeff Lemire and Scott Snyder

TWO AMAZING ARTISTS TOGETHER! I am so excited to read this. I have been a huge fan of Jeff Lemire forever and one day I hope he will come to Australia and sign all my original artworks because I just want to shake his hand and tell him how amazing he is.

Fragments of Horror and Cat Diary: Yon & Mu by Junji Ito

Two very different books by my favourite Manga author. Neither of them are new releases but I’m well overdue to read them. No one does horror like Junji Ito, when I read Uzumaki my skin crawled. I think I will need to read about his life as a cat owner after Fragments of Horror – I can’t wait!

Edwin recommends…

The Disappearance of the Universe by Gary Renard

This spiritual book narrates the experience of applying true forgiveness in our lives, which in the long run creates an ever-lasting state of mental peace. The metaphysical concepts that this book exposes resonate with the truth of our inner beings, allowing the reader to soak in the light of spiritual awareness.   

Michelle recommends…

The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel

Perfect for summer reading, Yann Martel most recent book offers three interconnecting stories that are both enchanting and disturbing, and filled with the author’s surrealist flair for exploring ideas. It’s a book to take your time with, to openly step into the whimsy of the worlds the author creates while allowing space for the deeper ideas to surface. My mind kept returning to this book for weeks after reading it.

Cass recommends…

Girls & Sex by Peggy Orenstein

I want to give a copy of this to every parent I know. Following interviews with academics, doctors, psychologist and almost 100 girls in high school and university, Peggy Orenstein has painted an enlightening and valuable picture of female sexuality in the 21st Century, and the myths, facts, stats, and culture currently surrounding young girls. A good summer read, because you definitely need time to digest and discuss.

Just Kids by Patti Smith

The release of Patti Smith's M Train last year, was of course wonderful - but I adore her first memoir, Just Kids, where she recounts her early years as an artist, and her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. This is my not-so-guilty read that I indulge in at least once a year. 

Tanya recommends…

White Coolies by Betty Jeffrey & A Different Kind of Daughter by Maria Toorpakai

Both of the books I have chosen are about ordinary women taking hold of every resource they’ve been given, finding strength without anger in the love and mutual support of those closest to them, looking for the good of others before their own and persevering moment by moment through trials that, if you’d given them fore-knowledge of, they’d tell you they could not possibly have overcome. 

Lara also recommends...

Eating My Grandmother: A Grief Cycle by Krissy Kneen

A friend took me to buy this book well over a year ago. She frogmarched me into the book store and placed it in my hands knowingly. I got 4 pages in before my heart hurt too much, the weight of my pain, the author’s pain, the emptiness of loss threatened to topple us both over. I opened it again the other day, these poems have such beauty, strength, openness and heartbreak. I feel like it is one of the most honest things I have ever read.

The Easy Way Out by Steven Amsterdam

I’ve just started reading this and I can’t wait to get back to it. Amsterdam has an amazing talent for creating insightful and realistic scenes. It feels strange to be so excited about a book about such a serious topic, but the writing is just that good.

Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji Ozawa by Haruki Murakami; Jay Rubin (Translator)

I will read anything that Murakami puts his name to, I am one of ‘those’ people. I’ve never run aside from running late to meetings or running away on holiday, but his book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running taught me about discipline, motivation and gave me insights into the life of someone whose work I admire. I know even less about classical music than I do about running so I’m excited to jump into it.

Jump into the Twitter-verse and let us know if you get the chance to read any of these over December and January - we'd love to hear what you think.