What Happened to All the Books?

Well, this is embarrassing.

Evidently, I took an eight-month lull from reading or listening to books this year... without even realizing it.

Oh, there was plenty of work-related reading; news stories every day; and, I realize now, an obsession with this Audible Original "Words + Music" series...

Pro tip: check out the hour-long podcasts featuring James Taylor and Yo-Yo Ma; I thought they were extraordinary.

After listening to the latest book-book on my list, "Sad Sacked," I vowed to start another.

I picked a book I knew I would finish, "Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty," because of the boxes it checked:

History ✓

New York City ✓

Anderson Cooper ✓

It wasn't terribly long (although I cast a wary eye when I saw it was a "two part" book with an introduction and a prologue before the first chapter). Spoiler alert: the prologue will make you sad.

Still, I gave up on it today. The book was an earnest effort. Everything was as advertised. It simply bored me.

I think nearly two years of COVID-age existence have taken what little was left of my attention span.

Today, at the gym, I randomly listened to music instead of trying to slog through the backstory of another Vanderbilt. I enjoyed hearing Tom Petty sing about Mary Jane's party dress; and there, like an old friend, was an Ingrid Michaelson song I hadn't heard in years.

Then came another piano intro... and Paul McCartney started to sing "Maybe I'm Amazed." I stopped the treadmill to listen intently, and I got goosebumps because the music had stopped time.

I had recently watched every moment of Peter Jackson's marathon three-part documentary on The Beatles. It fascinated me to watch the fragmented creative process of the greatest band of my generation, and I was a bit saddened to see what seemed to be a disintegration of focus.

But now, decades later, I was listening to a jaw-dropping, fully-formed, pop-culture work of art that was written just as the Beatles had collapsed.

Thank you, Sir Paul, for filling me with a little optimism today. I have to admit, when I stop to think about my life and appreciate the beauty that surrounds me, it's getting better all the time.

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Here are mini-reviews of books I've read in 2021:

Sad Sacked: A Memoir by Liz Alterman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Cleverly, expertly, written. This is the first book I've read in a few months, so I give the author credit for engaging me through some pretty rough subject matter: being unemployed (not by choice) and middle-aged, living in New Jersey. Raising a family is tough enough, and there's a moral issue (not explored here) about the willfulness of some employers. Also middle-aged and living in New Jersey, I've been lucky in my own career, but this book brought to mind the harsh realities that so many friends have faced, especially journalists. 

Still, this is ultimately a life-affirming memoir, and the author is seemingly effortless at weaving in humor. I say seemingly, because anything this well-written is surely not effortless.

I can't give it 5 stars though. This is a memoir, after all, and some things written about the husband made me cringe. Maybe one night in Jersey her easily-identified husband and I will run into each other, underneath that one stranded star. I'd like to buy him a beer.

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Listening to the Audible version, it found it a little disconcerting to follow the narrative at first. It's innovative, not complicated, but still I'd recommend reading the printed version... especially because there were several poetic phrasings here I wanted to save/savor. The author is a wonderful writer, and my wife (who knows me better than anyone) predicted I would love this book. As it turns out, I didn't "love"/love it as much as Nancy thought I would. Which was also disconcerting. 

Making Conversation: Seven Essential Elements of Meaningful Communication by Fred Dust
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A little long for the content presented... which probably has more to do with my own diminishing ability to focus (and which is one reason I wanted to read this book in the first place!) Anyway, lots of good stuff here: more about designing/planning important conversations than about engaging in conversation itself.

I now know it's ok (and helpful) to doodle while listening to a conversation. And I am inspired by this quote from the author: "The very act of creation is a courageous, generous, and optimistic act."

The Way I Heard It by Mike Rowe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Highly enjoyable. More of a compendium of podcast episodes than a book. But what's a "book" these days? All I know is, Mike Rowe's storytelling format is engaging, and I kept imagining my grandfather was listening with me. This would have been right up his alley.

I know "right up his alley" isn't great writing... but that's just the point. You don't open or listen to this book for literature. You come here to be entertained, and maybe a bit more informed. And then you remember a loved one, like Nonno, who you know would enjoy this too. 

Post Corona: From Crisis to Opportunity by Scott Galloway
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you receive Prof. Galloway's emails or follow him on social media, this will be recent familiar material -- but it's EXCELLENT material nonetheless. Galloway is, perhaps, an acquired taste. If this book were a drinking game and the trigger word was "gangster" as an adjective, you couldn't get past the first two-thirds before passing out.

Still, you'd be entertained along the way by clever quotes ("LinkedIn is the social network we'd always hoped Twitter and Facebook would become") and insights (most university education in 2020 was nothing more than a $50,000 a year streaming subscription service).

Stick around the last part of the book. The word "gangster" disappears, and Galloway has thoughtful observations about income inequality and patriotism, and challenging ideas for positive change in this new year.