Here are 60 books that Life Between the Levees fans have personally recommended if you like
Life Between the Levees.
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As a longtime outdoors editor of a Mississippi newspaper, I actually got paid to paddle local rivers. Over the decades, I expanded my territory to adjacent states, the South, the continent, and other countries. I parlayed my experiences into several books on rivers. As a paddler and writer, I naturally love to read about adventures on the water–not only classics like Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi River and Paul Theroux's Happy Isles of Oceania but also the many less-known but highly praiseworthy books like those listed here.
Scott and I started canoeing together back in the 1980s. Then he ventured into sea kayaking. After discovering how much he loved the vessel and how seaworthy it was, Scott–young and single at the time–decided to kayak across the Caribbean. I accompanied him on a shakedown cruise, but being happily married and gainfully employed, I let him go for the rest alone.
The result, recorded in this book, is a mind-boggling adventure: rammed by sharks, stormbound, stung by Portuguese man-o-war, camping on uninhabited islands, spearfishing, and more. He hitched rides on sailboats for the dangerously long passages but otherwise took his time exploring islands, concluding at a place aptly called Bitter End.
Tourists visit popular islands of the Caribbean by the planeload. What they don't see from their resort hotels are the hundreds of out-of-the-way, uninhabited islands sprinkled along the West Indies from Florida to South America. This alluring archipelago, strung with beaches accessible only by boat but spaced temptingly close together, led Mississippi adventurer Scott B. Williams to embark upon an open-ended quest to see how far south he could go in a seventeen-foot sea kayak. No one was willing to accompany him. He spent months working his way down the west coast of Florida, through the Bahamas, and on to…
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
As a longtime outdoors editor of a Mississippi newspaper, I actually got paid to paddle local rivers. Over the decades, I expanded my territory to adjacent states, the South, the continent, and other countries. I parlayed my experiences into several books on rivers. As a paddler and writer, I naturally love to read about adventures on the water–not only classics like Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi River and Paul Theroux's Happy Isles of Oceania but also the many less-known but highly praiseworthy books like those listed here.
Johnny Molloy is surely one of the most prolific outdoor authors ever, with 85 books to his credit so far. Most of those are regional guidebooks, but he has also written a few first-person narratives of his journeys.
This one describes his canoe and kayak trip down the Suwannee River and along Florida's southwest coast to the Everglades. His down-to-earth style really puts you there.
I met Johnny when he was writing a guidebook to Mississippi's hiking trails. After a riverbank lunch of sardines, crackers, and sweet tea, we fired up cigars and swapped yarns. He was just like he sounds in his books–humble and down-to-earth.
Johnny Molloy, author of several best-selling outdoor guides to Florida, is always game for adventure. In his latest, he travels the Sunshine State from north to south along some of its most famous rivers, swamps, salt marshes, and open waters in search of Florida's disappearing history. This personal travelogue of his two-month expedition begins in a canoe at the Okefenokee Swamp, headwaters of Florida's best-known river. Paddling the dark Suwannee, Molloy curves through the scenic and sometimes wild Big Shoals, past sparkling clear springs - Troy and Turtle and Rock Bluff and more - to the Gulf of Mexico, where…
As a longtime outdoors editor of a Mississippi newspaper, I actually got paid to paddle local rivers. Over the decades, I expanded my territory to adjacent states, the South, the continent, and other countries. I parlayed my experiences into several books on rivers. As a paddler and writer, I naturally love to read about adventures on the water–not only classics like Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi River and Paul Theroux's Happy Isles of Oceania but also the many less-known but highly praiseworthy books like those listed here.
I could have selected any of Don Jackson's four books for this list. Each is a collection of essays about his outdoor adventures spanning locations from Arkansas to Alaska to Borneo. Many, if not most, of the places he writes about involve rivers, which is unsurprising since he's a retired fisheries professor.
I met Don when I was researching a river for a newspaper article. We hit it off and made several canoe trips together. While his books reveal his considerable knowledge of biology, hunting, and fishing, what really sets them apart is a strong sense of the spiritual, as the subtitle of this book indicates.
In Deeper Currents, Donald C. Jackson guides us on a journey into the cathedrals of wild and lonely places, those sacred spaces where hunters and fishers connect with the rhythms of the earth and the spirit that resonates within us. Jackson explores hunting and fishing as frameworks - sacraments - for discovering, engaging, and finding meaning. He invites readers to consider connections with wilder realms of being.
Hunting squirrels on an autumn morning, probing the woods, rifle in hand, Jackson reveals an attention to nature too often neglected. Following a bird dog into the damp and mysterious places where woodcock…
Trapped in our world, the fae are dying from drugs, contaminants, and hopelessness. Kicked out of the dark fae court for tainting his body and magic, Riasg only wants one thing: to die a bit faster. It’s already the end of his world, after all.
As a longtime outdoors editor of a Mississippi newspaper, I actually got paid to paddle local rivers. Over the decades, I expanded my territory to adjacent states, the South, the continent, and other countries. I parlayed my experiences into several books on rivers. As a paddler and writer, I naturally love to read about adventures on the water–not only classics like Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi River and Paul Theroux's Happy Isles of Oceania but also the many less-known but highly praiseworthy books like those listed here.
Bill Mason was a legend in the world of paddling. He was old-school: red and black plaid wool shirt, wood-and-canvas canoe, canvas lean-to-style tent. His sojourns in the North Woods inspired me in my own explorations of the Deep South. When he paddled Lake Superior, I thought of Louisiana's Atchafalaya Swamp. When he canoed the Hood River, I thought of Mississippi's Pascagoula.
This book combines in-depth advice on wilderness travel with accounts of some of Bill's own journeys. He was also an artist and filmmaker. His documentary, Waterwalker, is a must-see classic for anyone who loves adventure on the water.
More than a how-to camping and paddling guide, Song of the Paddle is a philosophical guide to outdoor living. Written by the acclaimed paddler and outdoorsman, Bill Mason, the book leads readers on a journey of exploration and discovery.
Mason writes from an intensely subjective viewpoint and the advice is practical and sound. He emphasizes the difference in perception between camping (rough) and outdoor living (comfort). Each page is packed with hard-won tips and tricks for enjoying the great outdoors. No detail is ignored -- from keeping campfire smoke out of your eyes…
Mothering a child with special needs was a journey I didn’t expect to be taking and one that has been immensely challenging. I am always seeking ways to become my best self and the best mother I can be, helping my children be their best selves. I want my children to feel supported, loved, and like they can be their truest, fullest selves. These books helped me connect with my children in the ways that were the most helpful, impactful, and loving. They guided me in running a Son-Rise Program, which was by far the most influential thing I ever did to help my daughter with autism and developmental delays.
I was so deeply moved and inspired by reading this book that, even as a young student in college, I almost hoped I would have a child with autism so that I could have the experience of running a Son-Rise Program. I loved how Bears and Samahria charted their own course when there were no mapped parenting paths that appealed to them. I loved their optimism, love, joy, and determination.
They decided not to stop Raun’s repetitive behaviors but used those behaviors as the bridge to connection, whereas the professionals seeing Raun at the time wanted to stop the behaviors so that they could force Raun to connect. The forcing didn’t work, but joining the behaviors brought miraculous changes.
What moved me the most was how much Raun changed and grew in response to the internal work Bears and Samahria did to be clear and present. They invited Raun to…
In 1979, the classic best-seller Son-Rise was made into an award-winning NBC television special, which has been viewed by 300 million people worldwide. Now, Son-Rise: The Miracle Continues presents an expanded and updated journal of Barry and Samahria Kaufman's successful effort to reach their once "unreachable" autistic child. Part one documents Raun Kaufman's astonishing development from a lifeless, autistic, retarded child into a highly verbal, lovable youngster with no traces of his former condition. Part two details Raun's extraordinary progress from the age of four into young adulthood. Part three shares moving accounts of five families that successfully used the…
I’m an entrepreneur and investor. I’ve been obsessed with financial independence and wealth creation for the Black community for 30 years. I wrote my book, below, to invite Black and white Americans alike onto the playing field of what I believe to be an existential crisis—closing America’s racial wealth gap. I wanted to share my story of living through the gap. I also elevate the work of Black leaders who are tackling the problem in different ways. I’ve created an easy way for readers to understand the depth and nature of the problem…and know how they could take small and big steps to help solve it.
I devoured this book in three days. I found it after a Google search on “wealth inequality.” I was trying to get smarter on the topic. This is a data-rich explanation of much of what I’ve experienced growing up Black in America. I’d often hear parents, aunts, and uncles talk about the “black tax.” Here, Shapiro was providing the receipts.
I was also struck by the fact that a Black person did not write the book, but simply someone who was trying to understand and reveal the crux of the issue. I felt seen when I read his reframing of conversation from solely focusing on black disadvantage to bringing white advantage into focus.
When I finished this book, I was even more fired up to be a part of solving the problem.
Over the past three decades, racial prejudice in America has declined significantly and many African American families have seen a steady rise in employment and annual income. But alongside these encouraging signs, Thomas Shapiro argues in The Hidden Cost of Being African American, fundamental levels of racial inequality persist, particularly in the area of asset accumulation--inheritance, savings accounts, stocks, bonds, home equity, and other investments-. Shapiro reveals how the lack of these family assets along with continuing racial discrimination in crucial areas like homeownership dramatically impact the everyday lives of many black families, reversing gains earned in schools and on…
Everyday Medical Miracles
by
Joseph S. Sanfilippo (editor),
Frontiers of Women from the healthcare perspective. A compilation of 60 true short stories written by an extensive array of healthcare providers, physicians, and advanced practice providers.
All designed to give you, the reader, a glimpse into the day-to-day activities of all of us who provide your health care. Come…
I’ve always been curious about people and the way they interact. When I was a small child, all our neighbors had their back doors wide open to catch the summertime breeze; they’d get the sense they were being watched… by my small face pressed against the screen door, listening and learning. My parents would get called..” She’s doing it again.” As an introvert, a performing artist, and a coach, I’ve learned to tune my ears to the messaging beneath the words—the unspoken truth in the interaction. And I truly believe that if we can learn to be more effective and compassionate listeners—our world will change for the better.
This book is a celebration of experiences, told not by Hollywood, not by “the rich and famous,” but by people who might live next door to you and me. Pulled together from the massive archives of the highly esteemed StoryCorps project and edited by its Founder—Dave Isay, this bookis dedicated to the power of true stories told by ordinary Americans.
I love the sheer variety offered in this collection. I did not expect this book to be a page-turner, but each story held such unpredictability and emotional range that I simply could not put it down! The book is a rich reminder that once we establish the time and space to listen deeply, people will offer stories that unfold like stunning flowers on a time-lapse video.
“As heartwarming as a holiday pumpkin pie and every bit as homey . . . what emerges in these compelling pages is hard-won wisdom and boundless humanity.” —Seattle Post-Intelligencer
As heard on NPR, a wondrous nationwide celebration of our shared humanity
StoryCorps founder and legendary radio producer Dave Isay selects the most memorable stories from StoryCorps' collection, creating a moving portrait of American life.
The voices here connect us to real people and their lives—to their experiences of profound joy, sadness, courage, and despair, to good times and…
I’ve had a passion for poetry since my early childhood, when I fondly remember listening to my elders recite—specifically, my teachers reading rhymes by Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss. As I grew into my adolescence and adulthood, my interest in literature only amplified with my introduction to works by Maya Angelou, R.H. Sin, and Rupi Kaur. Now, as a self-published poet and self-proclaimed enthusiast of the genre, I continue to spend my time browsing shelves, attending readings, and supporting writers/artists debuting work into the world. I hope you enjoy the books on my list.
As an independent author and creative, at times I lose sight of my personal “why” and motivation for creation.
I love Black Women Writers at Work by Claudia Tate, because it served as a reminder of the importance of diversity, the range writers can have, and the longevity creative output can maintain with the support of their audience. I appreciated that Claudia asked each author specific questions related to their work and not just generic questions related to the topic and technique of writing.
This book was not only entertaining for me, but extremely informative. I loved it so much that I started with the audiobook and was gifted a physical copy!
"Black women writers and critics are acting on the old adage that one must speak for oneself if one wishes to be heard." -Claudia Tate, from the introduction
Long out-of-print, Black Women Writers At Work is a vital contribution to Black literature in the 20th century. Through candid interviews with Maya Angelou, Toni Cade Bambara, Gwendolyn Brooks. Alexis Deveaux, Nikki Giovanni, Kristin Hunter, Gayl Jones, Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, Tillie Olson, Sonia Sanchez, Ntozake Shange, Alice Walker, Margret Walker, and Shirley Anne Williams, the book highlights the practices and critical linkages between the work and lived experiences of Black women…
I grew up with a Republican mom and a Democrat dad. I learned that asking, “Am I a Demolican or a Republicrat?” was not considered funny. Ironically, as an adult, I’ve developed an aversion to both parties and prefer an unrestrained style of leadership. I was born long after the suffrage movement, but I’m familiar with inequality towards women. In 1973, I wanted a credit card, but without a man’s co-signature, I was denied. I’m also a foodie who loves to try new recipes and push the boundaries of kitchen science. Combining my interest in history with my culinary curiosity leads me down some interesting rabbit holes.
When I’m upset or frustrated, it helps me to tackle a physical project that gives quick results. The sense of satisfaction helps temper my feelings.
Sometimes I crochet. But usually, I bake. The warmth, the aroma, the physical actions, and the anticipation of a tasty treat all work in harmony to help me pull myself together again. The recipes in here are really good ones, and there’s plenty of baking advice for novices, too.
I love that there are political essays included. They’re perfect for reading while your comfort food bakes.
50+ recipes, short essays, interviews, and quotes from some of the best bakers, activists, and outspoken women in our country today
The 2016 election. The January 6th insurrection. Impeachment, twice.
For many women, baking now has a new meaning. It's an outlet for expressing our feelings about the current state of American politics and culture. It's a way to deal with our stress and anxiety, and, yes, rage and fury.
Rage Baking offers more than 50 cookie, cake, tart, and pie recipes-with beautiful photography by Jerelle Guy-to help relieve these emotions. And it goes further. Inside you'll also find inspirational…
Karl's War is a coming-of-age-meets-thriller set in Germany on the eve of Hitler coming to power. Karl – a reluctant poster boy for the Nazis – meets Jewish Ben and his world is up-turned.
Ben and his family flee to France. Karl joins the German army but deserts and finds…
After I was sent for a breast biopsy in 2008, my twin sister and I began the very real work of researching our closed adoption. My health, my sister’s, and our collective six children depended upon it. For nearly five decades, I had placed my adoption in an internal lockbox, one I had promised myself I would get to “one day.” At 48, that day had finally come. Concurrent with my search, I absorbed many of the books I mention here. These works became foundational in how I came to view my adoption, and they provided the support I needed during the search and reunion process.
Because of my own work as an adoption writer and advocate for open adoption records, I knew each of these writers from webinars, podcasts, conferences, and social media. Combining their varied backgrounds and experiences–Sara is an adoptee, Kelsey is a birth parent, and Lori is an adoptive parent–was thrilling to read.
I devoured each of the thoughtful interviews and the candid responses the authors compiled and presented. Like these authors, I believe that by working together with truth and transparency, it is possible to move adoption forward toward a healing place.
Reveals the candid thoughts and feelings of those most directly involved in adoptions: the adoptee, the adopters, and the birth parents.
Adoption Unfiltered authors Sara Easterly (adoptee), Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard (birth parent), and Lori Holden (adoptive parent) interview more than 30 adoptees, 20 birth parents, a dozen adoptive parents, and several industry professionals-all sharing candidly about the challenges in adoption. While finding common ground in the sometimes-contentious space of adoption may seem like a lofty goal, it reveals the authors' optimistic aim: working together with truth and transparency to move toward healing.
