Reading Freely

The start of a new year seems as appropriate a time as ever to launch into something I've been mulling over since 2016: a re-branding that invigorates this blog with purpose, and takes me a baby step away from the Googloplex.  Twelve years ago, when this blog began with my taking literal weekly visits to the library and reporting on what I found there, I was also maintaining a "philosophy/humanities" blog, which started as my attempt to sort out the Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything. Once I'd figured that out (it's coffee and books),  my activity there ebbed away as I focused my literary explorations instead.  I had an idea for reviving it, by focusing it on the pursuit of the flourishing life,  possibly using the Latin understanding of humanitas as a keystone,  but I kept thinking I could do that through the book blog, instead.  Reading Freely is my attempt to combine both my literary wanderings and the pursuit of the flourishing -- and meaningful -- life.  Although it will be rooted in the western tradition,   my ideas for orienting content mean that it will continue to encompass study of the entire world.  There won't be any drastic changes in content, beyond an uptick in quality-of-life books (a rough description encompassing everything from Stoic literature to modern works on maintaining healthy relationships amid digital distraction), and the possible publication of thoughts inspired by especially insightful books, beyond a review of the same. 

Today is the first step, as I christen the blog with a new name,  and dust off the twitter account I reserved two years ago.  Although I've purchased a new domain name (ReadingFreely.com), I haven't yet jumped over to it  because I'm concerned about disrupting old links at places like the Classics Club and people's blogrolls.  I think blogrolls would be safe, but I wanted to announce well before I made the jump so regular readers wouldn't be caught off guard in the event the old address didn't forward correctly.  At least now you'll have an idea of what to type if worse comes to worse.  

What I Read Before

This "post" is an index page linking to previous "Books I Read in 20__" posts, with a favorite from each year.

What I Read in 2007

What I Read in 2008

What I Read in 2009

What I Read in 2010

What I Read in 2011

What I Read in 2012

What I Read in 2013

What I Read in 2014

What I Read in 2015

What I Read in 2016

What I Read in 2017

 What I Read in 2018

New Feature

Although frequent visitors here know there is little I will not read about, some subjects pop up more often than others, and I thought it might serve both me and interested readers if I organized things a bit.  I'm an energetic user of labels, but they don't go far enough. So, for a few select topics, I'll be maintaining....indexes!  Woo!

..yes, I know it sounds terribly exciting. Essentially they'll be lists that I update as I come across relevant books. I've already planned and created three indexes: World War 2, The City, and American History.  The index will have subcategories: WW2, for instance, will have War in Asia and War in Africa sections. More will follow, including one for The Great War.   When I read a book, not only will I add it to the list, as I do my "What I've Read This Year" list, but I will link to the relevant list so that people whose interest is engaged can click through, and see related books without having to wade through page after page using the labels.  The trick will be choosing topics that I read a lot of, and consistently, but which are not so broad that they'd rival the Talmud in length.  There will never be a General History  index, because that would be nuts.    

If you actually read all that, bless you. Isn't organizing things fun? Look for the first couple this coming week.

Progress so far, and another announcement

Four months into my "Great War" yearly theme, I've managed to stay true to my intention of reading one book a month on it.  Only two of the books so far have come from my original list,  as I supplemented them with a novel set in the colonial war in Africa and Louisa Thomas's Conscience.  I made an attempt at Under Fire, but found the translation difficult going. I may try again, as I've intended to read the book for years.   In spite of being technically on track, I'm not particularly satisfied with my progress so far because I've not covered any serious new territory. There's still eight months left, though, and my next couple of reads will more sharply focused.

1. The First World War, John Keegan
2. La Feu (Under Fire), Henri Barbusse
3. The Great War in Modern Memory, Paul Fussell
4. The Great War at Sea, Richard Hough
5. To Crown the Waves: The Great Navies of the First World War, ed. Vincent O'Hara et al
6. Wipers: A Soldier's Tale from the Great War, Jeff Simmons
7. Forgotten Voices of the Great War, Max Arthur
8. The Eastern Front, Norman Stone
9. Rites of Spring: the Great War  and the Birth of the Modern Age, Modris Eksteins
10. World War 1 Companion, Mathias Strohn, editor.
11. Collision of Empires, Prit Buttar
12. Silent Night,  Stanley Weintraub

+  An Ice Cream War, William Boyd

+ Conscience, Louisa Thomas



I realized recently that I have ten titles, purchased over the last few years, that I've not yet read. Since ten is a number that commands respect, I've decided to impose a moratorium on myself. No more acquisitions until those ten are read or until they spontaneously combust.

1. Power, Inc; David Rothkopf
2. Antifragile, Nassim Nicholas Taleb
3. The Vikings, Robert Ferguson
4. Small-Mart Revolution, Michael Shuman
5. The World Until Yesterday, Jared Diamond
6. Fighting Traffic: the Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City, Peter Norton
7. Earth, Richard Fortey
8. Age of Empathy, Frans de Waal
9. Galileo's Finger, Peter Atkins
10. Star Trek the Fall: Revelation and Dust, David Mack

 I'll still be patronizing my library, and heavily, I just won't be buying anything. Technically I have a lot more unread purchased books, but several dozen Trek paperbacks purchased in a box for $10 four years ago doesn't quite count.  My aim is to clear this to-be-read list in a few months, but considering how many library books  I can distract myself with, I may not accomplish anything other than saving money. Only time will tell! 

2011 Cumulative Reading List

Earlier in the year I took advantage of blogger's "pages" function to keep a running list of everything I've read, since the blog's own index tends to become cluttered. Tomorrow the page shall be wiped clean in preparation for 2012, but here for posterity is the list, updated for the final time only moments ago. There are three books on the list still in need of reviewing, and I fully intended to accomplish that today, but it was a nice day and I spend it outside, reading and dozing in the sun.  You can't blame me for that, can you?

I regard the bolded entries as particularly superior accomplishments. Also note, this is not my annual "year in review" post. That should come sometime this next week, though.

-- January --
1. In a Sunburned Country, Bill Bryson
2. Reunion, Michael Jan Friedman (Fiction)
3. The Evolution of God, Robert Wright
4. To End All Wars, Adam Hochschild
5. Redcoat, Bernard Cornwell  (Fiction)
6. Sex on Six Legs, Marlene Zuke
7. The Black Echo, Michael Connelly (Fiction)
8. The Rise and Fall of the Bible, Timothy Beal.
9. A Far Better Rest, Susanne Alleyn (Fiction)
10. The Age of Absurdity: Why Modern Life Makes it Hard to be Happy, Michael Foley.
11. Beyond Band of Brothers: the War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters, Dick Winters
12. Electric Universe: The Shocking True Story of Electricity, David Bodanis
13. 50 Jobs in 50 States, Daniel Seddiqui

-- February --
14. Star Trek Titan: Sword of Damocles, Geoffrey Thorne. (Fiction)
15. Star Trek Vanguard: Harbinger, David Mack (Fiction)
16. Agincourt, Bernard Cornwell (Fiction)
17. Star Trek Vanguard: Summon the Thunder, Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore (Fiction)
18. Overlook, Michael Connelly (Fiction)
19. The Near East, Isaac Asimov
20. Star Trek Titan: Over a Torrent Sea, Christopher L. Bennett (Fiction)
21. A History of Life on Earth, Jon Erickson
22. The Revolutionist, Robert Littell (Fiction)
23. The Outline of History, Volume I, H.G. Wells.
24. Paths of Disharmony, Dayton Ward (Fiction)
25. With Wings Like Eagles, Michael Korda


-- March --
26. The History of Japan, Kenneth Scott Latourette
27. The Fort, Bernard Cornwell (Fiction)
28. Confessions, Augustine of Hippo
29. Reap the Whirlwind, David Mack (Fiction)
30. The Fall of Terok Nor, Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens (Fiction)
31. The War of the Prophets, Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens (Fiction)
32. Inferno, Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens (Fiction)
33. A Man in Full, Tom Wolfe (Fiction)
34. Then Everything Changed, Jeff Greenfield
35. The Forgotten 500,  Gregory Freeman
36. You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train, Howard Zinn
37. Bomber, Len Deighton

-- April --
38. Gallows Thief, Bernard Cornwell (Fiction)
39. What Catholics Really Believe, Karl Keating
40. Echo Park, Michael Connelly (Fiction)
41. The Archer's Tale, Bernard Cornwell  (Fiction)
42. Star Trek Vanguard: Open Secrets, Dayton Ward (Fiction)
43. The Heart and the Fist, Eric Greitens
44. Why Do Catholics Do That?, Kevin Orlin Johnson
45. The Stars, Like Dust, Isaac Asimov (Fiction)
46. The Book of Wisdom, New English Bible
47. Disaster 1906: The  San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, Edward F. Dolan Jr.
48. The Accidental Time Machine, Joe Haldeman (Fiction)
49. Ecclesiasticus, New English Bible
50. Sharpe's Rifles, Bernard Cornwell (Fiction)

-- May --
51. The Tragedy of the Moon, Isaac Asimov
52. The Coming, Joe Haldeman (Fiction)
53. The Book of Tobit, New English Bible
54. The Undiscovered Country, J.M.Dillard (Fiction)
55. City of Bones, Michael Connelly (Fiction)
56. Guns, Ed McBain (Fiction)
57. The Sea-Wolf, Jack London (Fiction)
58. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (Fiction)
59. Earth Science Made Simple, Edward Albins
60. Cave Paintings to Picasso, Henry Sayre
61. Sharpe's Tiger, Bernard Cornwell (Fiction)
62. The Ethical Assassin, David Liss (Fiction)
63. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown (Horrible, Horrible Fiction)

--June--
64. Star Trek Vanguard: Precipice, David Mack (Fiction)
65. Montevallo: Images of America, Clark Hultquist and Carey Heatherly
66. All I Really Need to Know I  Learned in Kindergarten, Robert Fulghum
67. The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan
68. Sharpe's Triumph, Bernard Cornwell (Fiction)
69. Biology Made Simple, Rita Mary King
70. The Currents of Space, Isaac Asimov (Fiction)
71. Cop Hater, Ed McBain (fiction)
72. Sharpe's Fortress, Bernard Cornwell (fiction)
73. God is not One, Stephen Prothero
74. The Final Storm, Jeff Shaara (fiction)

--July--
75. Sharpe's Trafalgar, Bernard Cornwell (fiction)
76. Sharpe's Prey, Bernard Cornwell (fiction)
77. Robots and Empire, Isaac Asimov (fiction)
78. An Altar in the World, Barbara Brown Taylor
79. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2: Rodrick Rules,  Jeff Kinney
80. Why Choose the Episcopal Church,  John M. Krumm (fiction)
81. Judge and Jury, James Patterson (fiction)
82. Honeymoon, James Patterson (fiction)
83. The Big Switch, Harry Turtledove (fiction)
84. The Third Chimpanzee, Jared Diamond
85. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #1, Jeff Kinney

--August--
86. Star Trek Titan: Synthesis, James Swallow (fiction)
87. Seven Ages of Paris, Alistair Horne
88. Covert, Bob Delaney
89. Gospel Medicine, Barbara Brown Taylor
90. Isaac Asimov's Caliban, Roger MacBride Allen (fiction)
91. The Age of Faith, Will Durant
92. The Gods Themselves, Isaac Asimov (fiction)
93. The Big Rock Candy Mountain, Wallace Stegner (fiction)

--September--

94. Astronomy Made Simple, Kevin B. Marvel
95. The Feather Merchants, Max Shulman (fiction)
96. The Illiad, translated by Barbara Leonie Picard
97. Your Faith, Your Life: An Invitation to the Episcopal Church, Jennifer Gamber and Bill Lewellison
98. The Renaissance, Will Durant
99. Sharpe's Gold, Bernard Cornwell (fiction)
100. Marcus Aurelius: A Life, Frank McLynn
101. Discourses, Epictetus
102. The Tales of Beedle the Bard, J.K. Rowling (fiction)
103. Dhammapada, trans. Max Mueller, annotated by Jack MacGuire
104. The Red Pyramid, Rick Riordian (fiction)
105. Sharpe's Escape, Bernard Cornwell (fiction)
106. Walking with Dinosaurs, Tim Haines

--October--

107. The Reformation, Will Durant
108. The Union Club Mysteries, Isaac Asimov (Fiction)
109. The Good German, Joseph Kanon (Fiction)
110. The Lost Hero, Rick Riordan  (Fiction)
111. Pathways, Jeri Taylor (Fiction)
112. The Complete Guide to Walking for Health, Weight Loss, and Fitness; Mark Fenton
113. Sharpe's Fury,  Bernard Cornwell (Fiction)
114. Active Living Every Day; Steven Blair, Andrew Dunn, Bess Marcus, Ruth Ann Carpenter, and Peter Jaret.

115. The Planet that Wasn't, Isaac Asimov
116. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (fiction)
117. At Home in Mitford, Jan Karon (fiction)
118. The Beginning Runner's Handbook, Ian MacNeill and Doug Clement.
119. The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation, Barbara Rossing
120. Clash of Wings: World War II in the Sky, Walter J. Boyne
121. Sharpe's Company, Bernard Cornwell (Fiction)
122. The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (fiction)

-- November --
123. The Astral, Kate Christensen (fiction)
124. Sharpe's Sword, Bernard Cornwell (fiction)
125. KunstlerCast: Conversations with James Howard Kunstler....the tragic comedy of surburban sprawl; Duncan Crary
126. The Greater Journey, David McCullough
127. Plain and Simple: A Woman's Journey to the Amish,  Sue Bender
128. God Has a Dream, Desmond Tutu
129. The Crisis of Islam, Bernard Lewis
130. In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan
131. A Light in the Window, Jan Karon (fiction)
132. Timequake, Kurt Vonnegut (fiction)

--December--
133.Physics of the Future, Michio Kaku
134.Redwall, Brian Jacques (fiction)
135. Santa and Pete, Christopher Moore (fiction)
136. Bicycle Diaries, David Byrne
137. The City in Mind: Notes on the Urban Condition, James Howard Kunstler
138. Incognito: the Secret Lives of the Brain, David Eagleman
139. Open Your Heart with Bicycling: Mastering Life through the Love of the Road, Shawn B. Rohrbach
140. 11/22/63, Stephen King (fiction)
141. The Litigators, John Grisham (fiction)
142. Sharpe's Enemy, Bernard Cornwell (fiction)
143. Social Graces: Words of Wisdom on Civility in a Changing Society, ed. Jim Brosseau