Tag: reading list

Numbered Words: 2018

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“Because when we’re terrified about the enormity of the universe’s indifference, and our smallness in the face of it, we tell stories.  When we’re powerless to shape and control our fear, we tell stories.  When we feel alone, we tell stories.
And when we have stories to tell but no one to read them, we tell stories anyway.”     –Patton Oswalt, introduction for The Ghost Box II; Summer, 2018.

It’s that time again.  Time to share the list of books I read last year.  Just like last year, I’ll warn you: there’s no need to hold onto one’s hat.

1. Difficult Women (Gay)
2. Finding My Badass Self (Stanfa-Stanley)
3. Crossing to Safety (Stegner)
4. Anatomy of Innocence (Caldwell & Klinger)
5. A Myriad of Roads That Lead To Here: A Novella (Elias)
6. Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury)
7. Getting Off: Pornography and the End of Masculinity (Jensen)
8. Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977 – 2002 (Sedaris)
9. Dreamland (Quinones)
10. In Zanesville (Beard)
11. The Man from the Train: The Solving of a Century-Old Serial Killer Mystery (James)
12. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (Schwartz)
13. The Ghost Box II (Hingston & Olsen Publishing)

Just like last year, I don’t feel proud of this list, but I am sharing it because I strive for authenticity.  I had a very good run during the summer, until I started reading the axe murder book (James).  It’s an incredible book, but it’s written by a famous baseball statistician.  You get what I’m saying.  This was also my first year back in “studenthood.”  That’s one reason why I had a good run during the summer: I wasn’t taking any classes.  I can also see that my reading started to suffer around the time I started to have problems related to my old job.  It has been enlightening to review my year and see where the wave broke and everything started to get weird.

I’m starting 2019 with Shirley Jackson and Brene Brown.

Again, just like last year at this time:  It’s a new year. I will do better this year, and so will you, if you want.

Numbered Words: 2017

CommonMaggie2 Comments

I’m back in Texas, which means I can share my “Books I Read in 2017” List. I’ll warn you: there’s no need to hold onto one’s hat.

1. The Handmaid’s Tale (Atwood)
2. The Lovely Bones (Sebold)
3. The Heavenly Table (Pollack)
4. Secondhand Souls (Moore)
5. Adulthood is a Myth (Andersen)
6. It (King)
7. Under the Banner of Heaven (Krakauer)
8. Predators: Pedophiles, Rapists and Other Sex Offenders (Salter)
9. Motherfucking Sharks (Carr)
10. The Ghost Box (Hingston & Olsen)
11. Heart and Brain (Seluk)
12. Point Your Face at This: Drawings (Martin)
13. The Evil That Men Do (Hazelwood)

I don’t feel proud of this list, but I am sharing it because I strive for authenticity. I don’t remember why I chose to keep a list. I can tell you that keeping this list has forced me (thankfully!) to evaluate how I spend my time. As I wrote in the previous entry, I do not do resolutions. What I do is self-care. The older I get, the more I realize how important it is to take care of myself and to devote time to those activities that feed my soul, those activities that truly bring me joy. I am looking forward to more reading in the coming year. Today, I have nearly finished reading 2018’s first book: Difficult Women (Gay).

If you kept a reading list in 2017 and read less than you hoped, please do not feel discouraged. I am a self-identified book worm. I love books. I want all of the books. For the first time, my checked bag was over 50# on the trip back to TX from NC. I moved my toiletry bag and a new book – problem solved. It’s a big book – a crime writing anthology edited by Harold Schechter – that I cannot wait to consume. But, I feel embarrassed by my 2017 list. It’s a new year. I will do better this year, and so will you, if you want.