She’s already shared her Top 5 Reconnection Movies, now Kristen has her Top 5 Reconnection Books!
Kristen here, hello! Coming to you today with five books that remind me of people that I love and who love me back – the folks I have to stay connected with in order to be my best self.
Charlotte’s Web
This is the first chapter book I remember reading with my mom. She’s the one who gave me my love of reading, and has continued to cultivate it. We read this one over and over – to the point where our first copy fell apart. That’s some book, eh?
Anne of Green Gables
I saw the CBC mini-series to this before I read the books, but once I knew about them, I hoovered them. The story of Anne-with-an-E Shirley captivated me from the beginning and I have met so many women throughout my life who feel the same way about her as I did/do. A misfit with wild hair and a stubborn streak, not demure or mindful at all. Anne was always her own person, and for someone desperately trying to figure out who that was for me for so much of my adolescence – she was a hero. I feel an immediate kinship with anyone who also loves this book, but the strongest is with my college roommate and platonic soulmate, Kate. We text each other ‘carrots!’ occasionally still.
Hockey Romances (general)
I read them all the time, and Erin does, too. We can each give you some recommendations, but I wanted to put them as a category here because I’ve been reading them for so long and have connected with so many people because of them. I’m on Discord servers because of them, I go to hockey games with people because of them – they’ve been my entry into a world I love and am grateful for.
Harry Potter book series
Fandom of this series has aged like spoiled milk due to the public antics of its author, but for me to not acknowledge the ways it has impacted my life is silly. When I was a youth worker, I hosted a midnight reading party at my house. My brother and I spent his 30th birthday at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida. The books served as a basis for academic work I did on the importance of community. While I can’t unknow the things I know now about the author and her beliefs and therefore don’t feel I can return to the series any longer, it served as a lodestone for me for many years, and for that I am grateful.
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles
You have never heard of this book, I know. Believe it or not, it’s written by Julie Andrews (yes, that one) and it was my brother’s and my favorite book in elementary school. We still talk about the Hidebehind Splintercat and I can’t wait to introduce this to his kids in a few years. To me, it represents childhood and whimsy and reading far past my bedtime. It also represents my childhood with my brother, who is absolutely one of my reconnection people.
That’s it for my top 5 reconnection books! I know not everyone is a reader – but if you are, do you have any books that connect you to important people? We’re curious!
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