In some ways, this ongoing list of books I’ve read is more of a biography than my accounting of events from my life. It certainly tells basically the same story a lot more efficiently! But a few things I’ve been thinking I should mention.
Most importantly, inclusion is not endorsement. (See “Wicked.” No, seriously. See it. Don’t read it.) If I include a book here, it does mean I’ve finished it…but that’s a pretty low bar for me. At some point, I’ll have to start a Goodreads page and give ALL these books at least a starred review…but for now, feel free to ask. Or read them, and when they’re bad, commiserate with me!
Also, I list these books in the order I read them, but since the timing of some of this reading may be of interest…:
- I read the Carrie Fisher books in the wake of her death. Yes, a bit of nostalgia and sentimentality. But they completely justified the decision.
- Al Franken’s book I read BEFORE the revelations about him came to light. Ironically, I was looking for hope. Serves me right?
- Matthew Weiner’s book I read AFTER the revelation about him…but I’d put it on hold at the library before AND I’d seen his reading for it on THE DAY the revelations came out AND it was so short, I had enough curiosity to power through.
And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.
The books I’ve read since my last post on the subject to the end of 2017:
- Postcards from the Edge, Carrie Fisher
- Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work, Chip Heath & Dan Heath
- The Princess Diarist, Carrie Fisher
- Rhapsody in Schmaltz: Yiddish Food and Why We Can’t Stop Eating It, Michael Wex
- When to Rob a Bank…and 131 More Warped Suggestions and Well-Intended Rants, Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
- The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds, Michael Lewis
- The Know-It-All: One Man’s Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World, A.J. Jacobs
- Based on a True Story (A Memoir), Norm Macdonald
- Lovecraft Country, Matt Ruff
- The New Rabbi, Stephen Fried
- Superman: Red Son, Mark Millar
- The Adventures of Captain Underpants, Dav Pilkey
- She Comes First: The Thinking Man’s Guide to Pleasuring a Woman, Ian Kerner
- The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country, Helen Russell
- Al Franken: Giant of the Senate, Al Franken
- The Uncollected David Rakoff (including the entire text of Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish), David Rakoff
- King of the Jews: The Greatest Mob Story Never Told, Nick Tosches
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 9, various
- I Can Barely Take Care of Myself: Tales From A Happy Life Without Kids, Jen Kirkman
- Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck (reread)
- Committed: The Battle Over Involuntary Care, Dinah Miller, MD & Annette Hanson, MD
- Vacationland: True Stories from Painful Beaches, John Hodgman
- The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity, Esther Perel
- What Happened, Hillary Rodham Clinton
- The Horrors: An A to Z of Funny Thoughts on Awful Things, Charles Demers
- Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood, Trevor Noah
- Heather, The Totality, Matthew Weiner
- Indian Horse, Richard Wagamese
Yep. I still don’t think I’ll read all the books I own before I die…but nice to see that I’m chipping away!