Books That Speak to Each Other -and to Me

Lately, I’ve been spending slow mornings with a cup of tea, some open ended questions, and Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown. I’m not reading it front to back - more like circling it. Coming back to lines that suddenly feel louder, underlining things that didn’t hit the same way last time. This book breathes. It listens. And mostly, it invites reflection.

It’s had me thinking: what happens when we don’t just read books on their own, but notice how they speak to one another? What shifts when we read like we’re in conversation, like we’re in circle?

There’s this one line “What we pay attention to grows.” that’s been following me around. I started seeing it everywhere, like in bell hooks’ All About Love, where love is a daily, intentional choice, and in Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights, where the small moments we notice become sacred.

At some point, I found myself drawing arrows in the margins, connecting these books together. Writing little notes in the corners like:
– What does it mean to adapt in the body, not just the mind?
– What does collective love feel like?
– What did I notice today that made me pause?

Reading like this isn’t neat or linear. It’s messy in the best way - following curiosity, emotion, contradiction. brown’s words didn’t live in isolation for me - they sparked old highlights.

More than anything, Emergent Strategy changed how I read. I’m trying to be less extractive with books, more relational. Less about “getting something out of it” and more about letting it move through me. I think it’s part of learning to tell stories and live in a slower, more intentional way.

So now, I’m here. Somewhere in the middle of a reading practice that feels like circle work. The books sit beside each other, and I sit with them, listening for what they’re saying together.

I don’t have it all figured out, but I’m starting with attention. With trust. With staying present long enough to notice when the stories start to talk to each other - and to me.

Curious - what books on your shelf are in conversation right now? And what are they whispering your way?