Weekend Guide: 2021 Reading List
🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂
If anything, I am consistent. 59 books - two years in a row. That’s a pace of over one book a week. That feels right. Comfortable. Like running at a 8:30min/mile pace. Not fast by any stretch, but surely not a plod.
Why quantify something as leisurely as reading? Well, for starters, I view reading as an exercise. I have been doing this type of work at a fervent clip since my mid-teens, and I think i’ve gotten pretty good at it. It’s a tale as old as time. Start with some Vonnegut. Sprinkle in some Hemingway, and you’re off to the races. Nothing can stop you. So, fuck it!
Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Anything worth doing well is worth tracking, dissecting and discussing.
*thoughts and opinions my own.
Every year I keep track of all the books I read. I have been doing this for as long as I can remember. It helps me mark the passage of time. After I finish a book, I find my notebook, open it up and scrawl down the title and author. No notes or ratings. I write each title in ALL CAPS.
Here is what I read in 2021. Pardon the handwriting. 📝
🏆 My ‘Best of’ 🏆
The Easter Parade by Richard Yates
Sweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy
Every year-end I post this list. It makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something. What? Not sure. Inevitably, after posting something so brash - I receive feedback. Most people are likely rolling their eyes. But there are a solid ten or fifteen high fives and notes that all echo the same sentiment.
“I would love to read this much!”
(get on soapbox)
You can. Trust me. Find something that excites you. Buy it. Read it. On average, a normal person should be able to finish a normal size book (250-350 pages) in 4-6 hours. This is not a lot of time. It’s about the time it would take you to finish a ten episode series on Netflix. All you need to do is reprioritize.
(get off soapbox)
That will do it for me, folks. It has been a pleasure interacting with you this year. I hope Weekend Guide brings you some sort of value - whether it’s a reprieve from Nextdoor notifications and e-commerce retailer discounts in your email inbox, or if you actually take any of my reading suggestions. I’m just trying to do something good.
Keep in mind that I am always interested to hear what you are reading. Feel free to give me all of the details in the comments. Stay safe out there. See you in 2022. ✌️
