Book Challenges and Challenging Books

In 2020 I set a personal reading record: reading 70 books.  38 of which were from my personal library.  I'm sure the first year of COVID-19 and multiple lock downs contributed to my increased book volume.  My reading life in 2021 slowed down a bit, coming in at 57 books.  Fifteen of which were from my personal library.  

I continued with two reading challenges.  Doing the Read Harder Challenge for the fourth consecutive year and the Unread Shelf Challenge for the second.  I also did a personal challenge, reading some of Elizabeth Gilbert's Onward Book Club recommendations.  Admittedly, there were times when it felt like a whole lot of assigned reading.  I did it to myself though so there was really no pressure to finish the challenges but I still felt the drive and desire to complete them.  Nearly two-thirds of all my reading in 2021 was for the three challenges.  

The majority of the books I read continue to be by women: 79 percent this year.  And nonfiction remains central to my reading: 63 percent.  These are percentages very similar to what I read in 2020.

I already did a post on the Read Harder Challenge.  Click here and you can read that post.  

In the image below are the 12 books I read for the Unread Shelf Challenge (top left group of six and bottom left group of six).  Five of the eight books I had hoped to read from the Onward Book Club Challenge: Eloquent Rage, Black is the Body, The Beauty in Breaking, The Yellow House, and Memorial Drive.  A few I mention below plus two more - Running with Sherman (one of my favorites this year) and An Effort to Understand, written by the Executive Director of the Professional Speechwriters Association, of which I'm a member.  I also included my first read book of 2022 - George W. Bush's book: Out of Many, One  Leave me a comment if you have any questions about any of the books.

 

Most read author(s) of the year: Louise Penny and Sue Monk Kidd

Most read author this year was a tie between Louise Penny and Sue Monk Kidd - reading three each of their books.  I continued Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series reading A Trick of the Light, The Beautiful Mystery, and How the Light Gets In.  For Sue Monk Kidd, I read The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, Traveling with Pomegranates, and The Secret Life of Bees.  I loved them all.  Traveling with Pomegranates was probably one of my favorite books of the year.  After reading it, I immediately recommended it to three friends.  

Favorite Discovery: The work of Jerry Pinkney

I was not familiar with artist and children's book illustrator Jerry Pinkney before his death in 2021.  I regularly watch CBS Sunday Morning and they posted a 2001 piece when the news came out that he had died.  I watched the video and was immediately struck by his talent, his perspective, his mission, and his humanity.  Here is a link to the story.  Please watch it.  It'll just make you feel good that people like Mr. Pinkney walk this earth.  I wanted to learn more about him so I delved further into the Tube Universe.  I found a really great talk he did in 2016 about his work and his career at the Norman Rockwell Museum.  Here is the link.  I quickly requested two of his books through the library John Henry and A Place to Land.    

I read several books that covered my profession of communications and writing, and my personal interest in political and societal issues.  Some of the books include: The War on Normal People, Minority Leader, The Fire This Time, In the Country We Love, War, An Effort to Understand, A Problem from Hell, and Eloquent Rage.

I chose to read War by Sebastian Junger for a couple different reasons.  I've read another Junger book, The Perfect Storm, and really liked it.  I also go interested in the book when it was mentioned in some research I was doing on Medal of Honor recipient Salvatore Giunta, who is in the book.  I have also been working for the Department of Defense for more than 20 years, as a civilian, and it seemed like an important book for me to read.  Plus, the airborne infantry brigade unit that Junger followed is actually co-located with my command here in Italy.  

For a year between 2007 and 2008, Junger followed soldiers fighting in the Koregal Valley of Afghanistan.  150 American soldiers were in the valley and Junger said that during a couple months of that time 20 percent of all combat happening in Afghanistan was happening in that 6-mile-long valley.  Junger had been covering conflict for 20 years up to that point and found it to be some of the most intense combat he'd ever witnessed.       

After I read this section I remember going upstairs and reading it to Tom:  "Combat infantry carry the most, eat the worst, die the fastest, sleep the least, and have the most to fear.  But they're the real soldiers, the ones conducting what can be considered 'war' in the most classic sense, and everyone knows it.  I once asked someone in Second Platoon why frontline grunts aren't more admired.  'Because everyone just thinks we're stupid,' the man said.  'But you do all the fighting.' [said Junger]  'Yeah,' he said, 'exactly.'  

I also saved this section:  "There is choreography for storming Omaha Beach, for taking out a pillbox bunker, and for surviving an L-shaped ambush at night on the Gatigal.  The choreography always requires that each man make decisions based not on what's best for him, but on what's best for the group.  If everyone does that, most of the group survives.  If no one does, most of the group dies.  That, in essence, is combat." 

I found a TED talk that Junger did years later exploring why veterans miss war.  He believes what they ultimately miss is brotherhood and being part of a small group where everyone puts the survival of the group above their own.  It is a really powerful message - less than 14 minutes.  I would highly recommend watching it.  Here is the link.   I had Tom watch it too and I think the message really resonated with him as a veteran.  

I can't go into any great detail about the 57 books I read this year but I still like doing these annual recaps.  I do periodically share about books I'm reading on Instagram if you want to join me there.  Right now I have a public account so you don't have to have an Instagram account in order to see my posts.  I hope you'll check out my page.   

So, to wrap things up, this week I finished my first book of 2022 - George W. Bush's book Out of Many, One.  The book features 43 profiles on immigrants and the paintings that President Bush did of them.  When I get home there are a couple refugee organizations [International Rescue Committee and Iskashitaa Refugee Network] I want to start volunteering with so this was a great book to get me excited about supporting those who are trying to start new lives in America.  

Looking ahead, I'm not sure what my reading life is going to be like this year.  I debated not doing any reading challenges because we'll be moving back to the United States this summer.  I know that will turn our lives upside down for a couple months.  I decided to still take on the 2022 Read Harder and Unread Shelf challenges and just see how far I get.  I have to just remind myself it's not like I'm getting graded on any of this.   

We've got a lot of changes ahead but I know books will continue to be an important way to spend my time.  Especially when I need to relax, escape, and unwind from stress.  

Happy New Year Everyone and Keep Reading!