The Stories We Listen To: 6 (and 1/2) Books That Invite You to Pay Attention

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
— Maya Angelou

I’ve noticed that this month’s books kept returning to this: listening—and even more than that, paying attention. To other people’s stories, to my own experiences, even to what’s happening beneath the surface.

Each of these books, despite their different tones, invites a deeper kind of awareness.

Here are the six books I just finished that I recommend—all of them, in their own way, asking us to pay closer attention.

[See previously recommended books here]

NONFICTION

1. How Donating a Kidney Fixed My Jump Shot
And 73 Other Short Essays
by Jim Sollisch

I love this witty collection of essays that journalist Sollisch published over the years, then gathered into this book. The topics range from everyday life to cultural quirks, but what stood out most is how closely he was paying attention to ordinary moments—and how often he found deeper insights there.

And, per the title, Sollisch did actually donate a kidney—and highly recommends the experience. It helped him take his own life more seriously and playfully, and a side effect was his jump shot did actually improve as he intentionally became healthier.

2. By Hands Now Known
Jim Crow’s Legal Executioners
by Margaret A. Burnham

This one was difficult to read, not gonna lie. Not because of how it was written, but because of the brutal content. I was determined to finish it, though, because it felt important to pay attention—to bear witness to the crimes committed against Black people during the Jim Crow era between 1920 and 1960.

The book shares case after case of real injustice in the U.S. legal system. I read it with an online book club, and the discussion there felt just as weighty—and just as necessary.

3. How to Tell a Story
The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling from The Moth
by The Moth, Meg Bowles, Catherine Burns, & 5 more

Such a fun book! Not only does it teach you how to craft meaningful, personal stories, it also invites you to pay attention to the moments that become stories in the first place. The examples were delightful—I found myself wishing I could track down the full stories.

Learning to mine our own lives for stories (even if we never tell them out loud) is one way to recognize how meaningful each life truly is.

4. Dream on It
Unlock Your Dreams, Change Your Life
by Lauri Loewenberg

I hold books like this loosely, but this book is useful as a tool for understanding common dream symbols—like being back in school or showing up somewhere without your clothes on. Even though each symbol ultimately remains unique to every individual’s life story, it’s helpful to read that dreaming about a big storm might indicate you’re concerned about some storm in your waking life, for example.

I’ve been noticing my own dreams more over the past few months (including recurring themes like my cell phone not working). Some dreams are completely crazy (like my dream about a young Snoop Dogg having a huge crush on me—what???), but others do help me understand what I’m worrying about or what I’m celebrating.

4½. The Let Them Theory
A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can’t Stop Talking About
by Mel Robbins

I’m not fully recommending this book, but the positives of it did outweigh the negatives, so here it is, with this caveat: while the message was good, it felt very repetitive and didn’t need to fill a whole book.

Basically, it says you can’t control other people, so stop trying. Work on changing yourself instead. I agree.

FICTION

5. Speak
by Laurie Halse Anderson

This novel will stay with me for a while. It’s narrated by Melinda, a high school freshman carrying a recent trauma she hasn’t told anyone about. The story unfolds throughout the school year as tension builds from her pent-up silence.

Discussing this one with an in-person book club made it even more powerful. Several women shared their own stories from years past. I was reminded how some things never leave you, no matter how long ago they happened.

6. Sold
by Patricia McCormick

This is another haunting novel I won’t soon forget. It’s about Lakshmi, a 13-year-old girl living in poverty with her family in Nepal. Until a glamorous stranger comes to town and buys her. The story is beautifully told, but it is gut-wrenching as we follow the naive, young Lakshmi into a world she didn’t know existed.

It’s the kind of book that asks you to pay attention to realities we’d rather look away from—and to the resilience it takes for someone to survive them.

WHAT I’M READING NOW

• Remarkably Bright Creatures
  by Shelby Van Pelt
• Beyond the Politics of Contempt
  Practical Steps to Build Positive Relationships in Divided Times
  by Doug Teschner, Beth Malow, Becky Robinson
• Nations Apart
  How Clashing Regional Cultures Shattered America
  by Colin Woodard
• The Unfolding: Poems
  by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
• How to Feel Loved
  The Five Mindsets That Get You More of What Matters Most
  by Sonja Lyubomirsky
• Last Chance Live!
  by Helena Haywoode Henry
• Braving the Truth
  Essential Essays for Reckoning with and Reimagining Faith
  by Rachel Held Evans

A Closing Reflection

Looking back at these six books, I see how much there is to notice when we slow down and really pay attention. Whether through stories, lived experiences, or even dreams, insight is always there—waiting for us to recognize it. And maybe that’s the invitation: not just to read these stories, but to listen more closely to the stories unfolding in our own lives.

What’s a good story you’ve read lately that’s stuck with you? I’d love to hear in the comments.

I’m sharing at these linkups

• ← On the Blog – March 2026
• Whatever Happens, We’ll Handle It →