5,850 pages across 19 books
What a year it’s been. 2019 was not without its difficulties for me and many of the people in my life. But 2020, sheesh, what a rollercoaster.
Whatever life throws my way, books are among the few things I can reliably turn to for comfort and solace, for few activities are as relaxing as settling into a sofa with a book in hand and few pursuits are as meaningful for one’s personal growth as venturing into the minds of others.
Below you’ll find the books I read in 2020, in the order I read them, including commentary on my thoughts…
10,119 pages across 25 books
Reading is one of the most important activities I do all day. The morsels of knowledge I gain with each read and the fictional people and places I visit all help me to think clearer, understand how things work more deeply, and sharpen my creativity. I couldn’t do life without them. It’s the ritual I perform before bed each night that helps me cast off to sleep and I squeeze it into my schedule whenever else I can.
Speaking of sleep, one of my favorite books in 2019 was Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by…
8,367 pages across 28 books
Hey there, fellow reader!
Last year, I did a post on the books I read in 2017, and I decided to do it again for 2018. This year-long exercise really helps me think about the things I read. I hope you enjoy it.
Like in 2017, I again consumed 28 books, beating my reading goal on Goodreads by 3 books. The genres were the most varied I’ve ever read for both fiction and nonfiction in a given year—including memoir, mystery, finance, fantasy, and more.
Even if you don’t take the time to read to the end, I’d very much appreciate…
2018, here I come.
It started with a red bicycle.
I never owned a red bicycle, nor can I recall a friend who had one. But the first story I wrote was about one, and apparently it moved my mother to tears.
I cannot find that story. I have searched high and low for it in my parents’ attic. The worst part is, I can’t remember a thing about it.
A few years ago, when a new 4th/5th grade wing was added onto my elementary school, my family and I went to the grand opening. One of the first things we did was visit the new classroom of my fourth…
8,512 pages across 28 books
Here’s what I read in 2017, in the order I read them. The list includes a mix of hard copy, ebook, and audiobook versions.
(As a side note, this article is not monetized with Amazon Affiliates, just in case you were wondering.)
Catalyst (Star Wars): A Rogue One Novel
by James Luceno
For the most part, this book wasn’t too thrilling. It did a great job building a bridge between the movies Start Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and the start of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
I read Catalyst after watching Rogue One, and it helped fill in some character-building and lore gaps…
(Republished from my Jan 15, 2017 blog post)
Hello, 2017…
Let’s be honest. New Years Resolutions are overrated. I’m not too fond of the whole thing, so I don’t participate. I think people put too much pressure on themselves. Besides, why would you need to wait for a new year to roll around to improve yourself (exercise, diet, career, etc.)? Why not just start now, whenever now is?
However, I do think a new calendar year can be good for something: a theme. A theme is a little broader, a little more nebulous, a little less stressful than a resolution. It’s not “I’m going to go from gyming it up…
Stop looking for it.
Stop waiting, stop wishing.
Stop believing in overnight success, just because some joker’s social media highlight reel makes their “success” look that way.
Stop believing the so-called gurus who promise to change your life in 5 Easy Steps.
There is no magic pill or 3-day program that will change your life forever.
That’s not how life works.
That’s not how the world works.
Nature itself doesn’t work that way.
A forest can burn down in a night, but it takes decades to grow.
The easy fix is never easy. It’s a long, hard slog through doubt, uncertainty, and failure: three things all successful people share on their journey to mastery.
Remember that.
The…
Most experienced professionals would tell you tools don’t matter, while younger or less experienced people tend to believe tools are everything. After all, it’s easy to believe having top-of-the-line tools will provide a swifter path to success. And, let’s be honest, they’ll make us look cool in the process (which isn’t false).
But the truth lies — as the truth most often lies — somewhere in the middle. After all, tools are just part of what it takes to make something happen. Mostly it’s the mind and heart — creativity, problem solving, passion — that matters.
I consider myself fortunate…
It’s easy to feel like you don’t know enough.
There was once a boy called Nobody. People called him Bod.
Bod lived in a graveyard, and the dead who lived there raised him, mentored him, and granted him the Freedom of the Graveyard so that he could talk with them, and move through walls, and become invisible whenever he pleased.
But Bod was not dead. He was a living, breathing boy. And when he finally began to meet other living, breathing people, he began to realize they knew a lot about a lot of things that he knew nothing about. …
Creativity has been hijacked
“Babbido bibbido.”
“Woodeewoodee?!”
“Noogie googie — ”
Ahem.
Oh, hey! Didn’t see you there. Sorry, I was … word barfing all over the place. Making stuff up. You know, exercising my right as a Creative with a capital C. Because I’m super fancy like that, and you can’t touch this.
It’s probably your turn to barf now, right?
Don’t blame you one bit.
Using the word “Creative” to refer to artists has bothered me ever since it became a thing, which seems relatively recent if I’m remembering correctly. But I could be wrong. Wouldn’t be the first time.
Anywho, the…
