2023 book list: the first pile

Happy new year, friends! Today we’re talking books and reading goals. I love books: they help me learn and grow, both as a writer and human on this planet.

I’m a bookworm, always have and always will be. I don’t remember how it started, but I have very vivid and fond memories of coming home from the library with stacks of books. Summers were the best: my mom would take my brother and me to the library and let us pick out our favourites, which I would proceed to devour in short order. I feel like maybe I was channelling my inner Matilda. *shrugs*

Once a bookworm, always a bookworm

I love books, and yet, these days, I collect them more than I read them. I blame the Internet, of course. 😇 But growing up, we didn’t have a lot of screen stimulation. Our TV had the basic channels (enough to watch Jeopardy, Arthur, Lost, Friends, and Wishbone) and I remember my mom listening to NPR a lot. Eventually, we got dial-up internet but we only had one computer and, well, you know dial-up. I used it to talk to my friends and check my AOL email and Myspace account, but that was about it.

The rest of the time, I read. At some point, my Mom bought me the first two Harry Potter books for Christmas and from then on, I was hooked. Then, my late uncle started buying me the next in the series, delivered on the day they were released. It was a THRILL to get a book-shaped box in the mail and know, without a doubt, it was the latest HP. I distinctly remember reading The Order of the Phoenix in two sittings, staying up all night, turning pages.

And then I got a cell phone, went away to university, discovered faster Internet and Facebook (and later, Instagram), and my reading plummeted.

Discovering used books

But always, I was picking up books here and there. Discovering secondhand bookstores changed my life in a small, meaningful way: it was almost as if these shops gave me permission to explore things I might not have before. Why not, when a book cost $5? And no new materials had to be used to make the book? Sold! There was a lovely secondhand bookstore in Burlington, Vermont, where I lived for a few years (Crow Bookshop, in case you’re wondering). 

Here in BC, I’ve discovered a few shops that are the kinds of places you really should dedicate a full day to: aisles piled floor to ceiling high with every book you could imagine. (Ted’s Books; The Book Shop; Bacchus Books, just to name a few.)

Lately, though, I’ve discovered a bit of a weird habit (maybe it’s a problem) that I know for a fact is not unique to me: buying used books and never reading them.

Behind the pile you see below, are three, four, five (?!) more just like it, waiting to be read, willing me to stop buying books already.

Well, let’s face it: I will probably never stop buying books, but I can certainly resolve to read more of them.

How I tackle my book piles

Deleting social media apps from my phone has really helped. Instead of scrolling, I flip pages. I’ve also experimented with picking up a book instead of turning on Netflix. Sometimes, it works. But sometimes, Gilmore Girls wins out.

I’ve also rediscovered novels, memoirs, and historical fiction. These genres keep me reading when all the nonfiction books I’ve added to my pile start to feel heavy or dry.

A word on audiobooks…

While I have no problem with audiobooks and wish I could add some into my life, I don’t have enough empty brain time in my day to meaningfully tackle the world of audio! Maybe when I take that epic, cross-country road trip…

The list: pile one

Anyway, here is my first pile, from the bottom to the top. I’ll be tackling these books from January 2023…until I finish the pile!

1. The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer by David Whitsett, Forrest Dolgener, and Tanjala Mabon Kole (Surprise! I’m running a marathon in October! And actually, I read this book at the end of December, but will re-read it when I start my training) (purchased on Amazon, secondhand)
2. Light on Life by B.K.S. Iyengar (secondhand bookstore)
3. No Logo by Naomi Klein (^*)
4. The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer (a gift)
5. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (secondhand bookstore)
6. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (^, finished!)
7. Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson (^, not finished)
8. At Sea With the Marine Birds of the Raincoast by Caroline Fox (a gift)
9. 1984 by George Orwell (secondhand bookstore)
10. The Greening of America by Charles Reich

^ – “see above”

Plus, two daily reads that are providing so much lightness to my mornings.

1. A Mindful Year by Dr. Aria Campbell-Danesh and Dr. Seth J. Gillihan (borrowed) 
2. The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo (A gifted copy that I’m on my third time around with!)

Part of what makes each of these titles special is how they entered my life, which is why I’ve indicated that in parentheses. As you can see, most are secondhand (something I’m pretty proud of!). And, I feel totally chuffed that a number of these were gifts: my people really do know me. 😀

2023 reading goals

Last year, I read 25 books. This year, my goal is to read 26 books. Why such a low increase? Well, selfishly, I want to be sure I’ll hit my goal. And, I know myself: I sometimes set unreasonable goals and never achieve them. Where is the fun in that?

I’ve already finished my first book of 2023: Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng. I finished it in two days!

With this first stack complete, I’ll be just over a third of the way toward achieving my goal.

Has anyone read any of these titles? Without spoiling it, what did you think? 

And if anyone is also reading any of these books, let me know and let’s discuss. 🙂