Best Winter Reads

Cold and grey winters just don’t feel the same without a good book and some delicious tea to go along side with it. There’s something special about being able to immerse oneself in a different world that allows us to relax and exercise our creativity. Reading is a skill that many of us take for granted and is extremely important that we continue to do. Shockingly, according to Literacy Canada 42% of working age adults in Canada have low and less than proficient reading skills. However, even for those that have proficient literacy skills, it has been shown that if not maintained, these skills are susceptible to decreasing over time. Reading has also not surprisingly been linked to an increase in creativity, stress reduction, mental stimulation, memory improvement, vocabulary expansion and stronger analytical thinking. You are already doing a great job by reading this, so keep it up! Here are our favorite book choices for 2016 so far:

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Taking place in a town just outside of London, a commuter named Rachel observes the houses outside the window of her train every day on her morning commute. Watching the inhabitants of these homes everyday, she names them and imagines what there lives must be like, until one day she witnesses something that changes everything. This book is a psychological thriller and is similar to Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl in the sense that you can’t stop turning the pages. Definitely a great read!

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseni

Eloquently written, this book explores the explores Afghanistan’s rich history through two generations of women who’s lives become unexpectedly intertwined. Though extremely heart wrenching at times, this book provides context, background and perspective to a rich culture we hear so much but know so little about.

Humans of New York: Stories by Brandon Stanton

This book chronicles Stanton’s famous blog “Humans of New York”. For those of you unfamiliar with the blog, Stanton takes pictures of people at random on the streets of New York City and asks them for their story. A great read to flip through or just have on your coffee table, it sheds light on the heartbreak, joy and quirks that members of the human species undergo.

Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely

Ariely’s critical thinking developed through the time during which he recovered from a childhood accident and is applied to multiple concepts throughout the book. Ariely conducts many different studies and experiments to test the motives behind our actions and his findings are presented in a logical and interesting way. This book is by no means as dry as it sounds and though most of the findings are analyzed from a business perspective, they are most definitely applicable to many aspects of life. A book worth reading to get insight on the human mind, it will most certainly change the way you think yourself.

Now that you have some great books to read, you just need to make sure to read them! A great way to stay motivated to keep reading and meet some new people is to join a book club with a group of friends. Not only will it be encouraging, but also interesting to hear different perspectives and interpretations on books as well as discussing the issues that may pertain to them.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact us at info@linleyparkestates.ca

Happy reading!