It’s strange how you can love something and yet completely neglect it. After spending most of my formative years playing music, I dropped it completely for some time before picking it back up. I’m not sure why I did it, although the excuses more than likely revolved around a lack of time, lack of space, and not having a reason to practice. All completely wrong, of course.
Same with reading, which is why I began setting a yearly reading goal a few years ago. It’s not so much about the number of books as it is a way to keep me motivated and aware of reading as always being an option. I could sit on my phone… or I could read. I could pop in this movie I’ve watched 100 times… or I could read.
So here’s a list of what I read in 2019. Maybe you’ll find something interesting or see an old friend.
- STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST by Austin Kleon (non-fiction – creativity)
- BEASTIE BOYS BOOK by Michael Diamond & Adam Horovitz (non-fiction – music)
- STILL LIFE WITH WOODPECKER by Tom Robbins (fiction) **
- ART & FEAR: OBSERVATIONS ON THE PERILS (AND REWARDS) OF ARTMAKING by David Bayles & Ted Orland (nonfiction – art)
- GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD by Michael Chabon (fiction)
- LUKA AND THE FIRE OF LIFE by Salman Rushdie (fiction)
- FAHRENHEIT 451 by Ray Bradbury (sci-fi)
- ON WRITING by Stephen King (non-fiction – biography – writing) **
- THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner (fiction) *
- B IS FOR BEER by Tom Robbins (fiction)
- ANANSI BOYS by Neil Gaiman (fiction)
- EE CUMMINGS: A LIFE by Susan Cheever (biography)
- THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE by Neil Gaiman (fiction)
- GET SHORTY by Elmore Leonard (fiction)
- WHEN THE WOMEN COME OUT TO DANCE by Elmore Leonard (short stories – fiction)
- DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON by Ernest Hemingway (non-fiction)
- THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway (fiction)
- TIETAM BROWN by Mick Foley (fiction)
- SHAME by Salman Rushie (fiction)
- THE MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH by Michael Chabon (fiction)
- WONDER BOYS by Michael Chabon (fiction)
- NO WALLS AND THE RECURRING DREAM by Ani DiFranco (autobiography)
- COLLECTED POEMS by ee cummings (poetry)
- ADJUSTMENT DAY by Chuck Palahniuk (fiction)
- THE PARTLY CLOUDY PATRIOT by Sarah Vowell (non-fiction / essay)
- THE FOUR HOUR WORK WEEK by Tim Ferriss (non-fiction / self-improvement)
- THE ALCHEMIST by Paolo Coelho (fiction)
- A SLIP OF THE KEYBOARD by Terry Pratchett (non-fiction / essay)
- GOOD OMENS by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett (fiction)
- THE AUTOGRAPH MAN by Zadie Smith (fiction)
- AMERICAN GODS by Neil Gaiman (fiction)
- ALL YOU NEED IS KILL by Hiroshi Sakurazaka (fiction / manga)
- MANHOOD FOR AMATEURS by Michael Chabon (non-fiction / essay)
* = partial read ** = re-read