THE BEST OF MOST BEAUTIFUL READS

As we transition from spending cozy times, curled up in warm repose, enjoying our winter reading list books, to cast our gaze more outwardly as Spring unfolds, we are considering our most Beautiful Reads.

 

We took some advice from 10 beautifully curated reading lists, and started there. Here are selections from the lists of TED 2014, David Bowie, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jeff Bezos, GoodReads, Bryan Eno, and more. Some of the books here are new, some quite old. But they are all on the minds of people with a passion for beauty right now.

 

 

1.  A WALK IN THE WOODS: REDISCOVERING AMERICA ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL (GoodReads: The Most Beautiful Books of Modern Age)

 

First up, as we can’t wait to get started on our Spring hikes, is “A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail,” by Bill Bryson.

 

The Appalachian Trail, which stretches over 2,000 miles, from Georgia to Maine, is one long breathtakingly beautiful walk in the woods. Bill Bryson does it justice as our tour guide.

 

Bryson fills us with bits of history and ecology of the trail as he winds his way along. We’re in his pocket as he meets up with some very cool human and animal characters as he passes through.

 

If you are into audio books, Bryson’s read of his own work is one of the best book reads you’ll ever listen to. It’s great for car rides… or perhaps even for your walk along city streets, for contrast.

 

Anchor (2006)

2. THE BIRDS OF AMERICA (Christian Science Monitor Most Expensive Books List)

 

Recently published,“The Birds of America: The Bien Chromolithographic Edition,” by John James Audubon and Joel Oppenheimer, is never-before-published edition of the rare chromolithographic Audubon prints of American birds.

 

John James Audubon’s original edition of Birds of America, was massive, spanning 2 feet wide. It cost $1000 when it came out in 1827. That’s $23,000 in today’s currency.  The book has been reproduced often. But now, for the first time, the production aesthetics and authenticity are as paramount as the quality of the content itself.

 

Although not as large as the original, the new “The Birds of America,” Oppenheimer’s version is a whopping 20” wide and weighs 33 pounds. It is produced in Italy on equisite artisanal paper, with spectacular printing prodcution values.

 

Beautifully bound in cloth, with a full cloth slipcase, this masterwork book is the first complete reproduction of Bien chromolithographs. It includes 150 brilliant color illustrations

 

W. W. Norton & Company (2013)

3. MOUNTAINS BEYOND MOUNTAINS: THE QUEST OF DR. PAUL FARMER, A MAN WHO WOULD CURE THE WORLD (200 Books Recommended by TEDsters)

 

Dr. Paul Farmer actualized “Let it begin with me.”

 

“Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World (Random House Reader's Circle) ,” by Pulitzer Prize—winning author Tracy Kidder, is a powerful story about Farmer and the enormous postive impacts he made.

 

Beautifully written, this book is bound to inspire you, humble you, and change your mind about what is possible.

 

Farmer is a specialist in infectious diseases who became a humanitarian activist, concerned with the "steep gradient of inequality" in medical service to the desperately poor. He began by establishing a group of public health facilities in Haiti and exapnded to include similar initiatives on three continents.

 

Partners in Health (PIH, or Zanmi Lasante in Creole), is a philanthropic foundation, founded in 1987 by Farmer and his friends, to help fund the redistribution of healthcare resources to benefit the poor.

 

Like a Dr. Robin Hood, Farmer endeavored to “steal” medical equipment from the “rich” medical centers, like Havard’s, and give to the poor via the PIH clinic. But the impacts go far beyond this. Farmer has been able to share findings, protocols, and management experience with other health organizations around the world to help improve their work as well.

 

Today, thanks to the incredible successes achieved by Farmer and PIH, major international organizations have joined in the efforts to enable even larger impacts.

 

Random House Trade Paperbacks (2009)

4. AN ASTRONAUT’S GUIDE TO LIFE ON EARTH: WHAT GOING TO SPACE TAUGHT ME ABOUT INGENUITY, DETERMINATION, AND BEING PREPARED FOR ANYTHING

(Books to Get You Ready for TED 2014)

 

Like an out-of-body experience, astronaut Chris Hadfield’s 4,000 hours spent in outer space, have yielded some profound insights. “An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything,” by Chris Hadfield, is an ingenious manual for how to manage SNAFUs with grace.

 

When Hadfield was faced with problems and obstacles that might have been catastrophic, he figure it out. He broke into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, and been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft.

 

His guiding philosophy: prepare for the worst-and enjoy every moment of it.

 

We totally enjoyed the journeys, replete with their spacewalks, zero-gravity floats, intermittant crises, and glimpses of unsurpassed beauty that we may never experience ourselves firsthand.

 

Some Hadfield’s snippets of advice are opposite of what we’ve been taught by others. They include: don't visualize success, do care what others think, and always sweat the small stuff.

 

"This memoir is part fascinating view, part Boy Scout manual." -- New York Times

 

"Hadfield proves himself to be not only a fierce explorer of the universe, but also a deeply thoughtful explorer of the human condition, capable of articulating those most universal of inquiries in simple yet profound language.... The book itself is absolutely spectacular." -- Brain Pickings

 

Little, Brown and Company (2013)

 

Watch Chris Hadfield’s TED Talk from TED 2014 here.

 

5. A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN 100 OBJECTS

(Brian Eno’s Reading List: 20 Essential Books for Sustaining Civilization via Brainpickings.)

 

“A History of the World in 100 Objects,” by Neil MacGregor, is a multidimensional story of humanity, as told through human artifacts.

 

The things we make shape who we are as much as we shape them. We are what we make and we make what we are. It is fascinating to see how civilization took shape and evolved with the creation of not only tools and conveniences, but also by jewelry, music, and design.

 

McGregor, who is the director of the British Museum, looks at the history of invention and innovation, noting the circumstances and time they were first created as a matter of great significance.

 

A History of the World in 100 Objects spans two million years. The book is beautifully designed and  includes over 150 color photographs.

 

Viking Adult (2011)

 

6. THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES: 150th ANNIVERSARY EDITION

(Neil Degrasse Tyson’s 8 Books Every Intelligent Person Should Read.)

 

I first read “ The Origin Of Species: 150th Anniversary Edition,” by Charles Darwin, years ago when I was a high school student. I had the pleasure of re-reading it aboard a small ship as we cruised the Galapagos islands, where Darwin developed his ideas.

 

Of course, his ideas transformed the way we understand our world and our place within it. And beyond the fascinating scientific explorations of evolution, this book gives us insights into the beautiful essences of all species -- and of life itself.

 

Signet Classics (2003)

 

7. SWEET SOUL MUSIC: RHYTHM AND BLUES AND THE SOUTHERN DREAM OF FREEDOM

(David Bowie’s Top 100 Books.)

 

I can just imagine David Bowie reading this book and loving it. “Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom,” by Peter Guralnick is a trip through time, when American country, rockabilly and blues began to kick it up.

 

The book features the passionate stories of the greats who helped to define iconic sounds, like Ernest Tubb, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Elvis Presley, Merle Haggard, and Sleepy LaBeef.

 

Sweet Soul Music devotes a lot to the rise and fall of Stax Records, the tiny Memphis-based label that produced Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, and other soul celebs. It shares insights into the life and times of Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and James Brown.

 

This book is a beautiful celebration of the birth of R&B, soul, and rock and roll.

 

Back Bay Books (1999)

8. THE GORGEOUS NOTHINGS

(19 Awesomely Designed Books from 2013 That Prove Print Isn’t Dead.)

 

“The Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson's Envelope Poems,” by Emily Dickinson, is the first full-color publication of Emily Dickinson’s complete envelope writings. They show how one of our most important poets pondered and experimented with her late works, dashing out ideas on the fronts and backs of paper scraps.

 

This deluxe, large-scale edition is truly and fittingly gorgeous.

 

New Directions Books: 2013

9. BABYJI

(Great Novels by 2013 TED Speakers.)

 

“Babyji," by Abha Dawesar, is a beautifully written novel, that sucks you into the spark-filled life of a young woman coming of age in Delhi. It’s kind of a spicy silky Indian Lolita story. Anaamike Sharma is studying quantum physics while at the same time seducing the world and the people around her.

She covertly reads the Kamasutra in her parent’s garage. She “experiments” with men, women, girls, and boys, and finds new levels of beauty in her sexuality with all of them.

 

In India, issues of caste, meritocracy and self-sacrifice arise.

 

Keep an open mind and an open heart when you read it. And enjoy the beautiful dance you will find in Babyji.

 

Anchor (2005)

10. THE MIND IN THE CAVE: CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE ORIGINS OF ART

(Brian Eno’s Reading List: 20 Essential Books for Sustaining Civilization.)

 

“The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art", by David Lewis-Williams, is a brilliant exploration of the point in our evolutionary history when humans began to create art.

 

Going all the way back, to Neandrethal and Cro-Magnon times, Lewis-Williams examines the ever increasingly higher levels of consciousness, the development of spirituality and intellect.

 

Neanderthals lived for over 10,000 years alongside our Cro-Magnon ancestors, but never developed art. Cro-Magnons had developed a higher-order consciousness and a more advanced neurological make-up. This allowed them to imagine. And their imaginations were so inspiring, they were moved to record and preserve their visions, painting them on the walls of caves.

 

Now, as then, Lewis-Williams argues, art served a deep spritual and creative purpose.

Thames & Hudson (2002)

 

Read more about Beautiful Spring, it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact

And check out our list of the most Beautiful Books to give here.

 

Enter this week’s BN Creative Competition. Our theme this week is Beautiful Reads. Deadline is 03.30.14.

 

PHOTO CREDITS

 

1. Photo: Courtesy of Quarter Life Quarterly. View from the Appalachian trail.

2. Image: Courtesy of Anchor. A Walk in the Woods.

3. Photo: Courtesy of W.W. Norton & Company. The Birds of America.

4. Image: Courtesy of Random House Trade Publishing. Mountains Beyond Mountains.

5. Image: Courtesy of Little, Brown, and Company. An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth.

6. Image: Courtesy of Viking Adult. A History of the World in 100 Objects.

7. Image: Courtesy of Signet Classics. The Origin of Species.

8. Image: Courtesy of Back Bay Books. Sweet Soul Music.

9. Image: Courtesy of New Directions Books. Gorgeous Nothings

10. Image: Courtesy of Anchor. Babyji.

11. Image: Courtesy of Thames & Hudson. The Mind in the Cave.