Will next year’s list be “What I’ve Read”….or “What Video Games I’ve Played”?

(Sunday Paper, Year V, Issue 52)

Last year, for the first time, I ended the year with a list of the books I read in the calendar year.

I had been keeping this kind of list for the past few years, but finally decided it would be worth throwing it into a post because it might spark a conversation or lead to people commenting about what they’ve read.

Both happened last year, so that was cool.

It’s also interesting that I’ve been seeing more and more of these lists from more and more people recently.

This is probably because all of these different forms of social media are giving all kinds of people a voice and since I follow a lot of like-minded people, lists of books read in the past year is something worth sharing for those people.

Or, i’m a huge trend-setter and everyone is following my lead.

Either way. I don’t know.

Anyway, here’s what I read in the past year.

Just a quick reminder that if you’re interested in last year’s list, you can click here to read it, or to read about why I started keeping a list of books I read over the year.

1) Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell

2) Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

3) My Name Is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

4) I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb

5) Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

6) Insignificant Events In The Life Of A Cactus by Dusti Bowling

7) Momentous Events In The Life Of A Cactus by Dusti Bowling

8) A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith

9) Paul Revere And The World He Lived In by Esther Forbes

10) The Minutemen And Their World by Robert A. Gross

11) Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

12) How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

13) White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

14) Ghostwritten by David Mitchell

15) Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

16) The Splendid And The Vile by Erik Larson

17) A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

18) A Promised Land by Barack Obama

This is actually an interesting list to revisit for a few reasons. One, as I mentioned in that post last year, is that I never remember what I read from year to year, so seeing these titles again is a fun reminder. Also, for something like My Name Is Lucy Barton, that’s one of those “I just picked it off the shelf at the library” books…which came to a sudden end this year. (After Little Women, which was the last book I took out of the library in normal times.)

That was followed by reading what was around the house, whether that was classics, the girls’ recommendations, or re-reading some non-fiction I had. Then, you can see, I did some reading in response to social unrest, and then I got back to ordering library books. It was just such an unusual year.

I haven’t yet finished Barack Obama’s book - partly I’m savoring it because I like his writing, but also I’m just taking it a few pages at a time. This felt like a slow reading year for me. I’m reading a lot of magazine and newspaper stuff, so it’s not like I’m not reading at all when I’m not reading a book, but it felt like there were longer stretches this year where I didn’t have a book to read. (Not counting The Splendid And The Vile which sat for months before I finally decided to tackle it…and really enjoyed.)

Last year I set myself the task of reading a more diverse set of authors, because last year was so men-author-heavy. I think I did that. This coming year, I don’t have any such goal. I imagine the Obama book will take me pretty deep into January….and after that? I don’t know. But I know I’ll keep track and I’ll let you know about it a year from now.

Notes

*I re-posted the essay that was published in the Boston Globe Magazine five years ago, about my fear of Santa. If you’re interested in revisiting that, you can still find it on this week’s #EveryWeekOnWednesday post. The 2020 edition of these posts is coming to an end this week, the last Wednesday of 2020. I think I have to keep it going in the new year, I just don’t know that I have 52 weeks’ worth of ideas. Maybe I’ll re-use oldies but goodies from my picture archive. Stay tuned.

*Of course, you can keep track of the posts on the Facebook page, which you can Like here. You can also see my thoughts written out - whether it’s about what I’m reading at the moment or anything else I feel like writing about - by following me on Twitter here.

*According to his social media, my brother will be releasing the music video for his new song Monday. You can check out his website to get on his mailing list and be among the first to know about all of this stuff…and even to get the music video delivered directly to your inbox! (I don’t mean to brag, but I did get a sneak peek at the video. it’s fun. And the new song is very good. Catchy.)

*I don’t know what I’m trying to prove with not wearing the winter jacket yet, but let the record show I still haven't taken it out of the closet. But I know it’s going to get very cold soon (it has already been pretty cold certain days) and I will wear it - maybe I’ll hold out until the 31st and then take it out on January 1st. We’ll see what this week brings in the temperature department, but I do not plan on not using my coat for long.

*If you’re not the ‘reading the captions’ type…for Christmas I was gifted a Barnes and Noble gift card as well as a PlayStation gift card. I’m looking forward to spending both…but there’s a slight chance I won’t read a thing in 2021 because I’m too busy playing video games. (Just kidding.) (I think.)

*Also, I asked one of my daughters, “How would I take a picture showing me trying to decide between two gift cards?” Immediately she responded, “Look off into the distance. That’s what I do sometimes to show I’m being thoughtful.” They’re pretty incredibly picture-and-technology savvy.

*I hope you’re doing well. All things considered, we had a nice little Christmas together here.