8 Ways to Escape... Well, Everything
There are plenty of really great reasons to pick up a book and start reading.
“To learn stuff” might be the first reason that jumps to mind. “To be entertained” is another good one, along with “to relax” and “to stay up-to-date” on the latest thrillers or biographies that everyone seems to be talking about.
Let me cut to the chase, though, and suggest what might be the top reason we’re cracking the spines of books these days.
To escape.
This isn’t only a COVID-era thing. Losing ourselves in a good novel lets our brains wander, and reading something we enjoy eases tension in our muscles and heart. That’s true whether there’s a pandemic happening around us or not.
Easing tension in our muscles and heart, and letting our brains wander. Not sure about you, but those sound like some of the most desirable experiences worth having, now maybe more than most times.
This week, I’d like to share a list of 8 books that have fit the bill for me this past year. (Not gonna lie. I’m a total nerd, and my nose is in a book more often than it isn’t.) Here are their titles and authors, along with a little bit about how they help.
The Book: Humor, Seriously: Why Humor is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (and How Anyone Can Harness It. Even You), by Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas
How It Helps: We can't all be Tiny Fey. But we can be the ones to bring a little levity (and, dare I say it, a little good-natured humor) to our Zoom marathons. This book offers some tips.
The Book: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
How It Helps: Nature is an antidote. We know that intuitively. In this book, Kimmerer expands expertly on that gut feeling, speaking from her roles as both a classically trained botanist and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.
The Book: Vibrate Higher Daily: Live Your Power, by Lalah Delia
How It Helps: You know how you dog-ear some pages as you read, or highlight passages you want to remember in e-books? I find myself doing that, and returning to those passages when I need an emotional boost, in Delia's book more than any other this year.
The Book: The Lager Queen of Minnesota: A Novel, by J. Ryan Stradal
How It Helps: Historical fiction that chronicles the culture of beer in the Upper Midwest in the past century or so. Talk about an (odd, fun, wonderfully written) escape! Here's your ticket.
The Book: The Secret Lives of Color, by Kassia St. Claire
How It Helps: It's about nuance, and training your eye to notice it. Because there is, in fact, a difference chromatically and historically between, say, Vermilion and Dragon's blood, Indigo and Egyptian blue, and Absinthe and Avocado. Weirdly fascinating.
The Book: Pussy: A Reclamation, by Regena Thomashauer
How It Helps: COVID's been redefining intimacy, no doubt. Thomashauer's sassy, brave and ultra-refreshing book offers some perspective that is both grounding and freeing, for both women and men.
The Book: All the Devils Are Here: A Novel, by Louise Penny
How It Helps: Many readers identify That Author whose release date of their next book is circled on our calendars. Louise Penny is That Author for me. This time, it's Armand Gamache in Paris (!!) and the poet Ruth Zardo with this line about a final nightmare: "a kind lion will come with bandages in her mouth - and lick you clean of fever - and pick your soul up gently by the nape of the neck, and caress you into darkness and paradise." Lordy.
The Book: Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger: A Memoir, by Lisa Donovan
How It Helps: Lisa Donovan is one of us, meaning someone who's spent decades in restaurants and kitchens and who also, along the way, wrote a James Beard Award-winning essay for Food & Wine magazine called "Dear Women: Own Your Stories." This book is her (harrowing, narrowly edifying) memoir. Dear ABG friends, read this book.
What has your reading list looked like lately? Have you “escaped” through books and if so, what were they? We’d love to hear, and maybe start putting together an ABG book club list of our own!
Take good care,
Cathy
What We're Reading:
Here's what has piqued our interest this week in the world of wine and mindfulness.
Under Pressure: A Sommelier's Road to Recovery - Edible Houston.com
In this deeply personal essay, wine professional Rachel Delrocco Terrazas shares her journey to sobriety while working in an industry soaked in excess.
Can a cocktail be 'healthy'? We put new wellness tipples to the test – Daily Mail.uk
Louise Atkinson tests quirky new cocktails which claim to be good for you as we ease back into socialising again after lockdown eases.
Researchers identify brain’s role in broken heart syndrome – Harvard Gazette
New study provides insights on how stress-related brain activity can temporarily damage the heart.
How to design—and redesign—a PSA to stop Asian hate – Fast Company.com
A group of Asian creatives at Wieden+Kennedy created a short film to combat COVID-19-related racism.
Warriors from Mars: the benefits of yoga for men – Wellbeing Magazine Australia
We demystify the concept of masculinity by exploring how yoga can help men expand their understanding and expression of themselves.
Meet the Community!
Here we meet some of the talented folks who make our community and profession so dynamic.
Jaime Araujo, Founder – Trois Noix, Partner – Accendo Cellars, Napa Valley, California (USA)
Years in the Industry:
First job in the industry was a summer internship at Joseph Phelps when I was at University, but didn’t seriously make a career of wine until 2000 when I started working at Moet Hennessy in London. Later moved to Paris and created my own wine marketing and strategy consultancy, Terravina, in 2004. I came back to Napa in 2016 after 24 years abroad to take up a position at my family’s winery and to create Trois Noix.
My Top Three Challenges to Wellness:
1. I truly, sincerely love food and wine and all the social aspects of our business, which can get to be challenging health-wise, especially when travelling. I try and balance it out, but I still can’t wait to get on a plane and pop bottles over a meal with people!
2. I’m an eldest child, an only daughter, a mama bear and a high-functioning person, so doing “a lot” can sometimes become “too much”. This being said, I’m always amazed at what people around me consider “too much” … if I had a nickel for every time someone told me I was “taking on too much” when in fact I was perfectly fine, I’d be rich!!
3. I didn’t grow up being an athlete – bookish nerd here! So I have struggled to make exercise not only part of my daily life, but also something I enjoy.
How I Keep It Together to Stay Well:
Having both a fabulous therapist and an amazing career coach has been absolutely invaluable to me over the last few years. I’m also working on making time to have moments that I can dedicate to fun and joy, outside of my obligations. People are my happy place and where I get my energy, so COVID has been brutal!! I am so excited to start seeing other vaccinated people soon!
What Inspires Me:
People in my life and my community inspire me daily, as do my insanely awesome children. No matter how challenging certain days can be, I really do adore what I do, and consider myself so lucky to be able to do it.
A Quote I Love:
“The dark does not destroy the light; it defines it. It’s our fear of the dark that casts our joy into the shadows” ~ Brene Brown
You can connect with Jaime on Instagram @jaimekaraujo and @TroisNoixWine and online at www.troisnoixwine.com and www.accendocellars.com
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