Reading has always been my salvation. when I began to seriously dedicate my life to novels, around my freshman year of high school, I did it because I a social misfit. I seemed not to fit into any particular subculture with in my family or friends. I'm often reminded of the tales my mother would tell about bringing four kids up under the age of ten when my dad died. Apparently, she could set me in the corner with my cars and there I would stay until she could get back to me. I was the one kid of her four that sort of stayed out of trouble.
But maybe that's just how I view it.
When I started 2015, I did not set a plan on how many books I would read, but I had this wild thought of reading fifty-two books; one a week. I got an early and quick start back in January, when I read six books in one month (I had started The Martian in the last days of December, but is added to 2015 totals). That really set the course for the rest of the year.
Still, I knew that there was little chance of me getting to fifty-two mostly because I would be in Portland, where filming on the Jay Bell book Something Like Summer was taking place. Helping work on the film, with those long days and exhausted days-off when not much could be accomplished, I let that idea go. As a matter of fact, I did not read a book while I was there.
But when I returned to LA, I discovered my housemate had done something I asked him to do, which was remove the cable box from my room. This just left me with Hulu and Netflix to watch shows on. It also meant I could not be distracted by TV. So the rush to finish line began at the end of September.
So here we are, New Years Eve and I'm talking about fifty books I read this year. So as much as September delayed me, I still completed close to the mark. The question is, will I do it for 2016? I laugh a bit, as I'm not sure. In someways, reading has overtaken my life. I do little, mostly because of money. My car grows older, with parts starting to fall off like melting icebergs, and I often wonder if today or tomorrow, the old Focus will give up the ghost.
I live, or exist, for each day. But I move slowly, like spilled syrup down the cupboard wall. I look forward to putting this year behind me, though. The movie making was the only real highlight of the year, as I have two people struggling with Situations, and lost a dear friend. I have a job which I hate, so I'm looking to 2016 as the year of a NEW job, one where I'm valued and one were I can be happy.
But reading, like every breath I take, is what makes me go on. I love it, I adore it, and I live it.
Happy New Years. And away we go...
01. The Martian by Andy Weir
02. Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
03. Methuselah’s Children by Robert Heinlein
04. Golden Son By Pierce Brown
05. The Man Who Folded Himself By David Gerrold
06. Foundation By Isaac Asimov
07. Swan Song By Robert McCammon
08. The Puppet Masters by Robert Heinlein
09. The Lies of Locke Lamora By Scott Lynch
10. Red Seas Under Red Skies By Scott Lynch
11. Mort by Terry Pratchett
12. Reaper Man By Terry Pratchett
13. Soulmusic by Terry Pratchett
14. Wee Free Men By Terry Pratchett
15. A Hat Full of Sky By Terry Pratchett
16. Wintersmith By Terry Pratchett
17. I Shall Wear Midnight By Terry Pratchett
18. Willful Child by Steven Erickson
19. Holy Cow By David Duchovny
20. The Fifth Heart By Dan Simmons
21. The Dead Lands by Benjamin Percy
22. The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
23. The Rebirths of Tao by Wesely Chu
24. Hogsfather by Terry Pratchett
25. These Are The Voyages: Star Trek: TOS: Season One By Marc
Cushman
26. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August By Claire North
27. Boo By Neil Smith
28. Finders Keepers By Stephen King
29. Nemesis Games by James S.A. Corey
30. The Fold By Peter Clines
31. MagicNet By John DeChancie
32. Time Salvager By Wesley Chu
33. Hollow City By Ransom Riggs
34. Secondhand Souls By Christopher Moore
35. Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs
36. Doctor Who: Human Nature By Paul Cornell
37. Undermajordomo Minor by Patrick deWitt
38. Doctor Who: City of Death By Douglas Adams & James Goss
39. Ghost Story By Peter Straub (re-read)
40. The Shepherd’s Crown By Terry Pratchett
41. City On Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg
42. The Oversight By Charlie Fletcher
43. Wolf In White Van By John Darnielle
44. Star Wars: Lost Stars By Claudia Gray
45. Avenue of Mysteries By John Irving
46. The Slade House By David Mitchell
47. The Silent End By Samuel Sattin
48. The Bone Clock By David Mitchell
49. Evil Genius By Catherine Jinks
50. A Man Called Ove By Fredrik Backman
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