books

Risk Management

I’ve been pondering this section of Another Roadside Attraction enough to commit the page number to memory for reference. Considering I don’t memorize numbers easily (or for fun), that means… something… right?

“You risked your life, but what else have you ever risked? Have you ever risked disapproval? Have you ever risked economic security? Have you ever risked a belief? I see nothing particularly courageous in risking one’s life. So you lose it, you go to your hero’s heaven and everything is milk and honey ’til the end of time. Right? You get your reward and suffer no earthly consequences. That’s not courage. Real courage is risking something you have to keep on living with, real courage is risking something that might force you to rethink your thoughts and suffer change and stretch consciousness. Real courage is risking one’s clichés.”
Amanda speaking to an FBI agent in Another Roadside Attraction by Tom Robbins, page 251

Comfort Reading

As I’ve said in some recent post which I can’t be bothered to go looking for at the moment, this pandemic-stay-at-home thing has caught me woefully unprepared in terms of my to-read pile. Where I’ve normally had four or five books waiting for me, I was almost empty-handed when COVID came a-knockin’.

That being said, I’ve finished up the last book that was in the pile and decided to go backwards. Journeying back to the source you might say. Which yes, is a bit of clumsy foreshadowing.

Breaking Up With A Book

I quit on a book this weekend and picked up another one.

That might not seem like a lot on a cosmic scale, but it’s kind of a big deal for me. After all, I’m the person who has had several books in the last couple years where I’ve held off judgement until the last chapter hoping for redemption and also damn near hate-read a book just because it was by an author I like. It’s safe to say that I have a lot of patience with books, probably to my detriment.

But on Friday, I finally took some advice I read awhile ago and dropped my current book and picked up another one. The result? I’m tearing through the new book like a man possessed.

If I’m remembering correctly, I first spotted Shopgirl while spending one glorious holiday season working at Barnes & Noble. I mean, my brain could totally be making that up just because I was surrounded by books, girls, and a shop for several hours a day, but that doesn’t sound nearly as catchy for a opening sentence does it?

So, I first spotted Shopgirl while spending one glorious holiday season at Barnes & Noble. It was a little odd because I didn’t think of Steve Martin as a writer, so I made a note to myself that it would make an interesting read at some point. Which is why I immediately went out and spent the next 20 some odd years avoiding the book.

My 2019 Reading List

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

Todd Regoulinsky

books

Risk Management

Comfort Reading

Breaking Up With A Book

Character Study

My 2019 Reading List