Ok, I’ll admit it. I’ve both fallen victim to and become addicted to book lists. They’re a wonderful thing: resources that allow you to outsource your literary curation and taste to the experts. But is that always a good thing?
A few years back I turned to a book list to complete that year’s reading goal. I was ambitious and the list I found on Pinterest boasted the books as “must reads.” So, in a flurry of inspiration, I purchased the first five on the list. I can’t even remember what the titles were, I disliked them that much! They’ve since been donated, and I’ve learned to slow down, do some research, and rent instead of buying.
I haven’t given up lists entirely, though, especially when it comes to my kids. I have a strong desire to foster a love of reading in them, and book lists have introduced us to some truly beautiful stories.
My go-to book lists are from Read-Aloud Revival, a movement created by Sarah Mackenzie to help inspire and revive your family’s reading habits. I especially love her September Book List. For the past few Septembers, I’ve been consistently renting the list in its entirety from my local library. Every year though, my kids gravitate to the same few books:
Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn
Flora’s Very Windy Day
The Apple Doll
They all but ignore the rest or are downright distraught when I pull out a Clarkson favorite, Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall, or the classically illustrated Autumn Story by Jill Barklem.
So why do I keep renting the entire list, especially the books they explicitly, and quite vocally, dislike? Am I holding onto a small thread of hope that they will suddenly wake up one day with the same exquisite literary taste as Sarah Clarkson? Or do I feel pressure to manufacture that taste for them?
Growing up, my sister loved Nancy Drew, while I was more of a Trixie Beldon fan. Both of the protagonists were young, female detectives, but each one spoke to us differently.
Our mom didn’t push either one on us, they were simply readily available on our bookshelf, and we were given the individual freedom to choose.
This memory gave me an idea. I called Nina (5) and Felix (3) into the office and pointed them to our bookshelf. “Out of all the books we have here, which one is your favorite?” Of course, I thought, Felix will choose Little Blue Truck and Nina will choose Extra Yarn.
Needless to say, that was not the case. Watch Our Favorite Books Right Now to hear their earnest responses.
I had the strong urge to ask Nina to pick a different favorite. A book about farting would never make an appearance on a Sarah Mackenzie booklist or on a Clarkson’s bookshelf!
But then I remembered when Nina picked it out at the library’s book sale, how excited she was when I agreed to buy it. I remembered her wit and sense of humor and decided that sometimes the best things in life aren’t from a carefully curated list, but rather the things that organically spark joy.
It’s a fun read too, with a surprisingly tender message about the flawed beauty of being human.
Sara Anne Valentiuk 