Top Ten Things Books Have Made Me Want To Do/Learn More About After Reading Them

Top Ten Things Books Have Made Me Want To Do/Learn More About After Reading Them 

Almost every book I have read had caused me to want to know more about the topic. In fact that is my favorite type of book, one that causes me to reflect and dig in deeper so I emerge with new information/convictions/beliefs/skills/etc.

The list I have created below is all over the board. I hope, if nothing else, it makes you smile.

1. Cooking. Most recipe books have, um, recipes. But The Joy of Cooking not only contains recipes it also contains directions how to cook/bake.  It is the go-to book in our house if we want to learn how to make new foods or don't understand tricky cooking directions.

2. Bird Watching. I am not a bird watcher extraordinaire but I like knowing what fine feathered friends grace my backyard. I always have the Birds of North America nearby for reference.

3. Traveling in Europe. We are a big fan of Rick Steves' books. We used his book on Italy trip for suggestions where to stay and eat, and also what to see and to understand what we were seeing. If I travel anywhere else in Europe, I will take along his book for sure.

4. Gardening. I haven't found an absolute go-to gardening book but I have used several gardening books over the years to help me by making suggestions for good plants for my garden, how to deal with garden pests, and other gardening issues. One book I have used several times in the Treasury of Gardening.

5. Purchasing Fair Trade products. We've long been fairly trade coffee drinkers but recently I have learned about the need to extend this type of purchasing for other products, like chocolate. The Bitter Side of Sweet by Tara Sullivan is a fiction book about the near-slave living conditions for workers in some of the cacao plantations in West Africa.

6. History...name the topic and I have read fiction and nonfiction books which have caused me to go beyond the books to investigate further, to learn more, to read other books on topics related to American or World history. For eaxample, recently I read a book about a freed American slave, Mary Bowser, who served as a servant to the Confederate President in his Grey House. She gleaned information from his home and transferred it to Union contacts. An African-American women who was a Union spy! I never knew anything about this until I read the book, The Secrets of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen.

7. Diet and Health. I've read many health-related books over the years. Many of them have given me the information I've needed to lose weight, to balance hormones, to exercise properly. Others have sent me searching for more information. I've read many books on diseases, mental illness, and eating/mood disorders. No one definitive book comes to mind but here are several books I recommend. The Day the Voices Stop. Stitches. Being Mortal.

8. Social Issues. Almost all social issues I care about I've learned more by reading books. Examples: Minimum wage---Nickel and Dimed; LGBT issues---Unbecoming; Race issues: Black Like Me; Death Penalty---Dead Man Walking; Drugs---Buzzed; Justice issues---Just Mercy....the list goes on.

9. Religious/Faith issues. The Bible sends me on to other books by other books on faith matters. One example: What's So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey.

10. Poetry. Poetry always leads to more poetry for me. Start some place and I will always end up in another book. A favorite poetry editor is Roger Housden.

There. I told you this list would be all over the board. I hope it gave you a smile.