To tell the truth, we’re more about setting intentions than setting resolutions. However, one of our favorite New Year’s resolutions is to read more. There’s something wonderful about carving out more space and time to get lost in a story. Not only does it give your eyes a break from the screen, but it connects you to those intangible parts of yourself that aren’t always easily accessed in the hustle and bustle of daily life.
That’s what we’ve always tried to create with our kimono patterns. We want each and every piece to connect you to your breath and something a little bit more whimsical than daily life. Whether you’re wearing a green kimono robe as a gorgeous lightweight layer in place of your usual cardigan or a black floral kimono robe to complement a festive dress, we want each kimono pattern and piece to transport you somewhere gorgeous. With short kimono robes and long, the sway is a subtle reminder of grace and the softness of silks and charmeuse feels like heaven on your skin. Your senses are completely perked up. And that’s why we can absolutely get behind the idea of the resolution to read more, because it’s about activating your senses and bringing your imagination to life.
To help you find the right books for your shelf, we’re rounding up six of the best reads for the season. From an empowerment piece to a classic tale and everything in between, there’s something for everyone on this list. Slip on your favorite kimono robe, take a scroll through, and pick a book that calls your name. Here are some books to read in the winter:
“In this spellbinding exploration of the varieties of love, the author of the worldwide bestseller Call Me by Your Name revisits its complex and beguiling characters decades after their first meeting.” If you loved the book and movie Call Me by Your Name, then Find Me is a must read. We suggest setting the scene with this one. Wearing a gorgeous silk kimono pattern, make yourself a cup of tea and lock yourself away into this romantic follow up to Aciman’s much-loved story.
There are some novels that just keep getting better with time. Grapes of Wrath is one of the classics of the American canon that only adds wisdom and depth to its story as it ages. Revisit the Joad family, or meet them for the first time, and time travel back to the era of the Dust Bowl Migration of the 1930s, which was a consequence of the Great Depression. The publisher says, “Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity.”
Tegan and Sara are beloved and openly gay musicians who have catapulted to hero status for the LBTGQ community. As non-binary people, they have teamed up in telling their stories in High School, a “dual memoir”. The publisher explains, “While grappling with their identity and sexuality, often alone, they also faced academic meltdown, their parents’ divorce, and the looming pressure of what might come after high school. Written in alternating chapters from both Tegan and Sara’s points of view, the book is a raw account of the drugs, alcohol, love, music, and friendship they explored in their formative years.
If you’re looking for a set of essays to make you critically think and consider the structures around you, Zadie Smith certainly delivers with her collection Feel Free. She sets out to ask and answer questions like: “What is The Social Network--and Facebook itself--really about?’"It's a cruel portrait of us: 500 million sentient people entrapped in the recent careless thoughts of a Harvard sophomore.’ Why do we love libraries? ‘Well-run libraries are filled with people because what a good library offers cannot be easily found elsewhere: an indoor public space in which you do not have to buy anything in order to stay.’ What will we tell our granddaughters about our collective failure to address global warming? ‘So I might say to her, look: the thing you have to appreciate is that we'd just been through a century of relativism and deconstruction, in which we were informed that most of our fondest-held principles were either uncertain or simple wishful thinking, and in many areas of our lives we had already been asked to accept that nothing is essential and everything changes--and this had taken the fight out of us somewhat.’” Slip into your gorgeous green kimono robe and get ready to drop into the deep, thoughtful space of Zadie Smith.
From the cover, “Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood—and the danger of believing that following the rules can avert disaster.” Our suggestion? Read this beautiful book now because it’s about to become a limited series starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.
With equal parts data and anecdotes, Melinda Gates puts together a manifesto for how we change the world by empowering the women in every corner of it in The Moment of Lift. The publisher says, “For the last twenty years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: If you want to lift a society up, you need to stop keeping women down.” We are strong supporters of whatever makes you feel like the queen you are, so slip on your black floral kimono robe, light a candle, read Gates’ book, and remember that your life can change the world.
And if you aren’t satisfied with just six books, here are four more that are in our store and that we’re absolutely loving this year: The Rituals, a guide on how to use spiritual rituals and traditions in your modern life; The Little Book of Life Hacks, unexpected tips for improving your home life; How to Get Sh*t Done, practical productivity tips for women, who tend to so many areas of their lives at once; and The Golden Book of Fortune Telling, a guide for telling the future.
What are you reading this winter, lovely? Share with us in the comments and let’s keep this reading list growing with titles to bring us all into our senses and give us stories we can fall in love with.
