There’s never enough time for reading

In mid-January 2016, I came across a reading challenge. Since I like to read, I figured I’d have a go at trying to finish each category. It wasn’t always possible. Here are the categories and how I fared.

A book published this year

Troublemaker by Leah Remini

This is a good introduction into how a person can stay in a cult for so long. There are some good insights into Remini’s life and the bullshit she endured. The rest of the stuff wasn’t new to me. I’d read or heard it all before.

If you don’t know a lot about Scientology, this will have some enlightening information in it. Remini writes as if she is speaking directly to you, which is good for the most part, but sometimes felt a little bit “gossipy” and reminded me of the type of people who come up and say, “You won’t believe what happened to me at this thing I went to.” Even when she went with this angle, it wasn’t overly jarring that I wanted to put it down. Well worth the read.

A book you can finish in a day

Trans-Siberian by Bart Schaneman

Right from the start, Schaneman gets you thinking. “I resolved to make half of my tours without a camera unless the sole purpose was to photograph the place. I wanted to walk and to see and to feel – experience the place through my mind not a machine.”

This has stuck in my mind since reading it. I often want to capture the moment without thinking about where I am and why I’m there.

The story also keeps you turning pages because you want to learn what happens next. Trans-Siberian takes you on a journey across Asia and into Russia.

Cracked, Not Broken by Kevin Hines

Kevin Hines came to town to talk about mental illness. He’s one of the 1 percent who have survived jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.

A book you’ve been meaning to read

Someplace Else: On Wanderlust, Expatriate Life, & the Call of the Wild by Bart Schaneman

I sometimes feel like I’m reading to read. This happens when a book isn’t as interesting as I thought, but I feel compelled to finish them. With Someplace Else, I wanted to sit down and take in each word. Schaneman’s words stir a similar desire in me to travel more, yet, there is only so much traveling that can be done with limited funds and limited vacation time.

I wanted to take in what “night life” is about. I have never had a desire to participate in night life, but the vivid descriptions in Someplace Else take me there and allow me to understand why people enjoy it so much.

Schaneman’s essays are adventurous with a love of “what’s out there.” He has traveled, lived outside the U.S. and returned home. The essays show an appreciation for all three in discovering how life experiences shape the person you are.

I plan to read it again in the future. There’s just so much good stuff in there, I know I’ll learn something new next time.

A book recommended by your local librarian or bookseller

I couldn’t fulfill this one. We don’t have a bookseller in town. I rarely visit the library, mainly because I have a stack of 30 books to read before I start taking recommendations again.

A book you should have read in school

I actually read all the books I was supposed to in school.

A book chosen for you by your spouse, partner, sibling, child or BFF

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

While the book was entertaining and it’s being turned into a movie, I found the gaming references overdone and cliched. Maybe the movie will be better.

Dispatches from 1320: The Collected Works of Tom Hallman Jr.

Hallman’s book let me see the world in a different way. I don’t know the people he writes about, but when I finish the story, I feel like I do. Everyday events that we normally overlook or provide passing pity to come to life and stay with you. There are heroes, drama and humor throughout the book.
Pick up a copy and see the world in a new light.

A book published before you were born

This is the one category I wish I had gotten to. I purchased The Last Man by Mary Shelley for this category, but ran out of days in 2016.

A book that was banned at some point

Honestly, I’ve read a ton of banned books over the years. I don’t know of any others I want to read right now.

A book you previously abandoned

The Federalist Papers

Yeah, I know. You’re not going to read them. My first attempt years ago was a failure. I couldn’t get into them. Now, they’re more pertinent than ever. They’re a bit dry, but they weren’t written as entertainment.

A book you own but have never read

Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich

I had the book on my shelf for more than a year before I read it. Then, for about two months, it kept popping up in other people’s recommendations. I pulled it off the shelf and read it. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read.

Voices from Chernobyl is the first book to tell the stories of the people who were there. It’s just them, talking. Telling and sharing their experiences. Written as a monologue, but you will not be able to put it down even when you get to the heart-rending and gut-wrenching parts.

A book that intimidates you

I have never been intimidated by a book.

A book you’ve already read at least once

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

I’ve read Snow Crash five times and listened to the audio book three times. Each time, I learn something new. And I still find it hard to explain to people why this is such a good book.

I love that the main character’s name is Hiro Protagonist. I love how the main story covers everything from the work of a pizza delivery driver, to Sumerian myths to hackers.

Published in 1992, the story immerses us in a future United States where the mafia controls pizza delivery and people waste their time inside the Metaverse. Hiro’s best friend tries a drug called Snow Crash and it fries his brain. Hiro must then use his skills to find out what Snow Crash is and how to stop it.

If you love the English language, you will also enjoy Snow Crash. I learn something new every time I read it.

Final Thoughts

This year was my lowest year for books read. I usually read more, but I have been filling my spare time with writing a book of my own. My goal was to have it finished by Dec. 31, but that isn’t going to happen. I think it honestly needs another 30 days and a few more stories for it to be done right. Once that’s done and the query letter/rejection cycle begins, I’ll get back to finishing off the list of books on my desk.