by James Wallace Harris, Saturday, January 28, 2017
I wrote, “Hi, I’m a Book Addict” for Book Riot hoping the act of writing would exorcise my demon. It hasn’t. Below is a list of books I’ve bought this month. It’s about a year’s worth of reading for me, meaning I’m buying 10-12 books for every one I read.
I’ve annotated the list with my rationalization for buying the book. I know I’m being impractical. I know I’m wasting money. It gives me pleasure to shop for books, especially to find bargains, but those are not reasonable justifications. This compulsive behavior does reveal a pathological need to “own” knowledge. Because my memory is failing, owning a book, especially an old favorite, is a way of keeping it in memory. My new memory is my iPhone, which has become my real auxiliary memory. I guess it’s an external brain, making me a tiny bit of a cyborg.
This list of books reflects what I want to know. Pathetically, not by study, but by acquisition.
I’ve hyperlinked some titles to show why the book is worth reading. If you want to maintain your place in the list, just right-click and select open in new window to read the annotation.
Dimension of Miracles by Robert Sheckley – read twice, want to keep for memory
Draw Lab for Mixed Media Artists by Carla Sonheim – to inspire me to draw
Time is the Simplest Thing by Clifford D. Simak – collecting Simak on the cheap
10-Minute Digital Declutter by S. J. Scott – love books about minimalizing
10-Minute Declutter by S. J. Scott – love books about minimalizing
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson – classic I’ve always wanted to read
On the Road by Jack Kerouac – read many times wanted a copy for my iPhone
A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn – always wanted to read
The Social Organism by Oliver Luckett – about social media
The Grid by Gretchen Bakke – about our aging power grid
Revolution from Within by Gloria Steinem – interesting feminist take
In the Darkroom Susan Faludi – one of the best books of 2016
Chaos Monkeys by Antonio Garcia Martinez – start ups at Silicon Valley
Never a Dull Moment by David Hepworth – rock music of 1971
Kill ‘Em and Leave by James McBride – James Brown
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly – best books of 2016
Schaum’s Outline of Mathematica by Eugene Don – to use with Mathematic on my Raspberry Pi
Schaum’s Outline of PreCalculus by Fred Safier – I’m dreaming big
Complete Book of Home Inspection by Norman Becker – should keep an eye on my house
How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton M. Christensen – how to measure success in life
College Algebra DeMYSTIFieD by Rhonda Huettenmueller – my dream of relearning math
Pre-Calculus DeMYSTIFieD by Rhonda Huettenmueller – my dream of relearning math
How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic by Michael Geier – I want to learn about electronics
Practical Electronics for Inventors by Paul Scherz – I want to learn about electronics
Schaum’s Outline of Linear Algebra by Seymour Lipschutz – my dream of relearning math
Schaum’s Outline of Precalculus by Fred Safier – my dream of relearning math
Why We Read Fiction by Lisa Zunshine (ebook and audio) – why do we read fiction?
Altamont by Joel Selvin – the evil twin of Woodstock
Summary of Analysis of Hidden Figures by Worth Books – wanted to see how a book is summarized
The Wizard of Menlo Park by Randall E. Stross – bio of Edison
Visual Intelligence by Amy E. Herman – to improve my powers of observation
Extreme Focus by Dominic Mann – want to improve my concentration
Time for the Stars by Robert A. Heinlein – old favorite to keep on iPhone
The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes – great science history
Wonderful Town by David Remnick – New York as viewed by the New Yorker
Time and Again by Clifford D. Simak – collection Simak on the cheap
Console Wars by Blake J. Harris – love tech history
Island by Aldous Huxley (ebook and audio) – admire Huxley and always wanted to read it
The Best American Short Stories 2016 – love this series, get them cheap once a year
The Best American Essays 2016 – love this series, get them cheap once a year
The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2016 – love this series, get them cheap once a year
The Best American Travel Writing 2016 – love this series, get them cheap once a year
The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2016 – love this series, get them cheap once a year
The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt – books to read because of Trump
A Case of Conscience by James Blish – classic of science fiction I want to keep on iPhone
The Second Golden Age of Science Fiction Megapack by Mark Clifton – first Hugo winning novel for 99 cents
The More of Less – by Joshua Becker – love books on minimalism, might help with this book problem
The Hollywood History of the World by George MacDonald Fraser – I’m writing essay on Hollywood’s treatment of history
The New Painting by Charles Moffert – I’m fascinated by the Impressionists
On Rereading by Patricia Meyer Spacks – writing article about rereading
Composing Digital Music for Dummies – I’d love to learn to use digital music programs
The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell – read library copy wanted one for me
Mind Tools by Rudy Rucker – my kind of book
JWH
