Books I read in 2022

This is a list of the books I read in 2022.  A lot of science fiction and other escapism….again. I am so happy that I finally read Amor Towle’s books - “Rules of Civility” is such beautiful writing.  Thematically I liked “Klara and the Sun,” by Kazuo Ishiguro (Remains of the Day, etc). Two (large) books visioning climate solutions in a semi/sci-fi framework are Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson and The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. Jennifer Egan’s new “The Candy House” further demonstrated her skill and creativity, though a little harder to read than earlier books.  I re-read Visit from the Good Squad so I’d be ready for it.  I also started the Percy Jackson series per recommendation from my niece and nephew.  They gave me some other good titles.  All in all a good year of reading in a 2022 that included a lot of life. And I still read the comics, first thing, every morning. 

• The Lincoln Highway/ Amor Towles
• A Gentleman in Moscow/ Amor Towles 2016
• Rules of Civility/ Amor Towles, 2011 /NYC beautiful writing/
• Midnight water city/ Speculative noir sci fi. First of a trilogy.  ,Chris McKinney 2021
• "The Seekers, meetings w remarkable musicians(and other artists) /","Densmore, John/ 2020"
• One shot Henry/ Gary Phillips 2022 publication.
• The Five Levels of Taijiquan/ Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang 2012
• Visit from the goon squad/ Jennifer Egan Reread in prep for the newest book 
• The Candy House/ Jennifer Egan, 2022.
• Pineapple White/ John Shirota. 1972
• Lucky come Hawaii a novel of December 7, 1941/ Jon Shirota, 1965
• Klara and the Sun/ Kazuo Ishiguro, 2021
• The truth and other stories / Lem, Stanislaw (1921-2006)/ published in 2021
• The book of five rings/ Miyamoto Musashi, 1645,  illustrated version,Nov 2017
• The musician's career guide: turning your talent into sustained success/ Owen’s,Ulysses, 2021
• Embracing The Unknown. Audio book. Bardo transitions Tibetan book of the dead./ Pema Chodron 
• Unconditional Confidence,  Audio Book, instructions for meeting any experience w trust and courage./  Pema Chodron
• Percy Jackson book one The Lightening Thief/ Rick Riordan
• Percy Jackson book two The Sea of Monsters/ Rick Riordan
• "Percy Jackson, book three The titan’s curse/ Rick Riordan
• The ministry for the future/ Robinson, Kim Stanley/2020
• "Lifelong yoga: maximizing your balance, flexibility and core strengthen your 50's,60's, and beyond/ Rountree, Sage/2017
• Termination shock: a novel / Stephenson, Neal /2021
• One train later: A memoir/Summers, Andy/2006
• The art of War/ Sun Tzu
• Eat this, not that!/ Zinczenko,, David,2019

Transition Time

I retired at the end of 2021.  It was a good decision.  The organization, the job, the mission and the people were great, but the time was right.  

The start of 2022 included packing to move back to Hawaii, moving from our Fairfax rental back to Gaithersburg and my move back to Oahu.  I also spent a couple weeks in Southern California visiting family and friends. 

I arrived on Oahu on March 29th.  I timed it so I left the terminal, took a taxi and went directly to pick up my truck.  It was originally purchased in Kailua….and it was going home.  So about 1 hour after landing I was driving on King Street in downtown Honolulu.  Mostly adjusting to the slower speed limit. An hour later I was having a pint of Guinness at Elk's Lodge 616, the treat I promised myself upon retirement. 

I will continue with this blog, to include my activities since moving back.  I have been busy, but the days do get past me. 

Books I read in 2021

 This is a list of the books I read in 2021. A lot of science fiction and other escapism (Murderbots!). I really liked "The geography of hope" about Wallace Stegner. Phil Lesh's book, "Searching for the Sound - my life with the Grateful Dead" taught me about his jazz and classical music background. Braiding Sweetgrass was of course a wonderful book. And I just disappeared into "Rice, noodle, fish: Deep travels through Japan's Food Culture." And I still read the comics, first thing, every morning.

Here are the books:

• The Way of a pilgrim ; and, The pilgrim continues his way / ,Anonymous 
• Ready player two : a novel, Cline, Ernest,  
• Babylon’s Ashes, Corey, James S. A. 
• Gods of Risk, Corey, James S. A.  
• Nemesis games:  the Expanse Series, Book 5 , Corey, James S. A.  
• Persepolis rising:  The Expanse Series, Book 7 , Corey, James S. A.  
• The Butcher of Anderson Station, Corey, James S. A.  
• The Vital Abyss, Corey, James S. A.  
• Tiamat’s wrath. The Expanse Series, Book 8 , Corey, James S. A.  
• Younger Next Year,Crowley Chris 
• Thinner This Year, Crowley, Chris  
• Resurrecting Midnight, Dickey, Eric Jerome  
• Sister, Sister , Dickey, Eric Jerome  
• Widespread panic : a novel /, Ellroy, James, 1948-  
• Barbarian Days, Finnegan, William  
• Never, Follett, Ken,  
• Casanova. Vol. 2, Gula / , Fraction, Matt  
• Casanova. Vol. 3, Avaritia / , Fraction, Matt  
• Kingdom of Shadows, Furst, Alan  
• Guitarist Presents - Guide To Effects Pedals,Future Publishing Ltd 
• Rice, noodle, fish : deep travels through Japan's food culture / , Goulding, Matt,  
• Squeeze Me, Hiaasen, Carl  
• Invisible planets : contemporary Chinese science fiction in translation /,Ken Liu 
• Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer, Robin Wall  
• Searching for the sound : my life with the Grateful Dead /, Lesh, Phil, 1940-  
• Arctic Dreams, Lopez, Barry  
• Number the Stars, Lowry, Lois  
• Palace of Treason, Matthews, Jason  
• Red Sparrow, Matthews, Jason
• The Kremlin's Candidate, Matthews, Jason  
• First Person Singular, Murakami, Haruki  
• Kafka on the Shore, Murakami, Haruki  
• Akira. Book four /, Ōtomo, Katsuhiro, 1954-  
• Akira. Book three /, Ōtomo, Katsuhiro, 1954-  
• Akira. Book two /, Ōtomo, Katsuhiro, 1954-  
• Akira. Book. five /, Ōtomo, Katsuhiro, 1954-  
• Akira. Book. six /, Ōtomo, Katsuhiro, 1954-  
• On the brink of everything : grace, gravity, and getting old / , Palmer, Parker J.,  
• The Birth of Loud, Port, Ian S.  
• How music works : the science and psychology of beautiful sounds, from Beethoven to the Beatles and beyond / , Powell, John, 1955-  
• The geography of hope : a tribute to Wallace Stegner /,Stegners 
• The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick, Stone, Gene  
• 8 Weeks to Optimum Health, Weil, Andrew  
• All Systems Red, Wells, Martha  
• Exit Strategy: The Murderbot Diaries, Wells, Martha  
• Network Effect:  A Murderbot Novel (the Murderbot Dories Book 5, Wells, Martha  
• Rogue Protocol:  The Murderbot Diaries, Wells, Martha  

Books I read in 2020

 Here are the books I read in 2020. A bunch of Alan Furst WWII era spy stories. Finding my way into graphic novels (Daytripper by Fabio Moon was really good). I liked the collected tales of E.M. Forster - some early sci-fi in that book. Finally finished Zuboff's "Surveillance Capitalism." No sanctuary. And tried to find personal balance after reading "Caste" or Dunbar-Ortiz' "An Indigenous People''s History of the United States" with writings of Hanh, Watts, Chodron and the Dalai Lama.

1491,Charles Mann (2005)

A Coffin for Dimitrios, EricAmbler (1939)

Agency,William,Gibson (2020)

AI superpowers : China, Silicon Valley, and the new world order”,Kai-Fu,Lee (2018)

Akira. Book one /,Katsuhiro,Otomo (2009)

Akira. Book two /,Katsuhiro,Otomo (2009)

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States, Roxanne,Dunbar-Ortiz (2014)

Approaching the Buddhist path, Dalai Lama (2017)

Auden: Poems (Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets Series)

Beijing Payback, Daniel,Nieh (2019)

Bloodchild : and other stories, Octavia,Butler (1995)

Broken stars : contemporary Chinese science fiction in translation, Ken,Liu (2019)

"Casanova. Vol. 1, Luxuria “,Matt Fraction (2014)

Caste: the origins of our discontents,Isabel Wilkerson (2020)

Dark Star (2), Alan Furst (2002)

Daytripper, Fabio,Moon (20011)

How to meditate : a practical guide to making friends with your mind, Pema Chodron (2013)

How to practice : the way to a meaningful life,Dalai ,Lama

Kingdom of Shadows (6), Alan,Furst (2001)

Living beautifully with uncertainty and change, Pema,Chodron (2012)

Midnight in Europe (2014), Alan,Furst (2014)

Night Soldiers (1), Alan,Furst (1988)

Number the Stars, Lois Lowry (1989)

R&B Bass Bible, Hal Leanard Corp,

Red Gold (5), Alan,Furst (1999)

Squeeze me, Carl,Hiaasen (2020)

Talking Chen Taijiquan, David,Gafney (2020)

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism : The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power, Shoshana,Zuboff (2019)

The art of living : peace and freedom in the here and now Thich Nhat Hanh (2017)

The bass style resource : a comprehensive guide to exploring new techniques and styles from heavy metal to jazz, David Overthrow (2012)

The collected tales of E. M. Forster, E.M Forster (1947)

The Giver, Lois Lowry (1993)

The Polish Officer (3), Alan Furst (2001)

The Wisdom of Insecurity, Alan Watts (1951)

The wisdom of no escape : and the path of loving-kindness, Pema Chodron (2018)

The World at Night (4), Alan Furst (2002)

Trouble is what I do,Walter Mosley (2020)

Two brothers, Fabio Moon (2015)

"Umbrella Academy (2007), Volume 1",Gerard,Way

"Umbrella Academy (2007), Volume 2",Gerard,Way

"Umbrella Academy (2007), Volume 3",Gerard,Way

Work : how to find joy and meaning in each hour of the day, Thich Hanh Nhat (2012)

Books I read in 2019

These are the books I read in 2019. And I still read the comics every day. There were some big ones this year. Stephenson's Fall/Dodge in Hell was a good one. Murakami's Killing Commendatore" was another mystical book by him. I was introduced to Octavia Butler, a science fiction writer from my home town of Pasadena, but who I didn't know. The Overstory was a strong work - many stories and a philosophy. I did get through 1/2 of Zuboff's "Surveillance Capitalism," which I really like, but which the library reclaimed. And I continue to study books on Chen Style Taiji.

What did you read?

_________________

* Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel,George Orwell,1949

* 1776,”McCullough, David G.",2005

* A perfectly good guitar : musicians on their favorite instruments ,"Holley, Chuck,",2017

* A truck full of money ,"Kidder, Tracy,",2016

* Absolutely on music : conversations with Seiji Ozawa ,"Murakami, Haruki",2011

*"AI superpowers : China, Silicon Valley, and the new world order ","Lee, Kai-Fu,",2018

* Amerigo : the man who gave his name to America ,"Fernández-Armesto, Felipe.",2007

* Brave New World,Aldous Huxley,1932

* Chen Taijiquan: Masters and Methods,"Siaw-Voon Sim /Gaffney,",2018

* Fahrenheit 451 ,"Bradbury, Ray",1953

* Fall Dodge in Hell,"Stephenson, Neal",2019

* Final theory : a novel ,"Alpert, Mark,",2008

* Getting unstuck : breaking your habitual patterns & encountering naked reality ,"Chodron, Pema.",2005

* God help the child : a novel ,"Morrison, Toni.",2015

* "Going down to the river : a homeless musician, an unforgettable song, and the miraculous encounter that changed a life ","Seegers, Doug,",2015

* Gridlock : crossword puzzles and the mad geniuses who create them ,"Gaffney, Matt.",2006

* In Defense of Food,Michael Pollan,2009

* John Adams,David McCullough,2001

* Jumper ,"Gould, Steven,",1992

* Killing commendatore : a novel ,"Murakami, Haruki",2018

*"No ego : how leaders can cut the cost of workplace drama, end entitlement, and drive big results ","Wakeman, Cy.",2017

* Parable of the Sower,Octavia E. Butler,1993

* Parable of the Talents,Octavia E. Butler,1998

* R.U.R. and The insect play ,"Capek, Karel",1921

* Sapiens : a brief history of humankind ,"Harari, Yuval N.",2014

* The bone clocks : a novel ,"Mitchell, David",2014

* The Botany of Desire,Michael Pollan,2002

* The coming storm ,"Alpert, Mark",2018

* The Ghost Map,Steven Johnson,2006

* The Jennifer morgue ,"Stross, Charles,",2006

* The Overstory, Richard Powers, 2019.

* The Wolf and the Watchman,Niklas Natt och Dag,2019

* The Wright Brothers,David McCullough,2015

Books I read in 2018

Here are the books I read in 2018. Plus the comics every day. Thank goodness for the funnies.

The number surprised me. These books made me think, made me mad, entertained me and introduced me to new areas to explore. Charlie LeDuff's book "Sh*tshow - the country's collapsing and the ratings are great" resonated the most for me. I really enjoyed Phillip Glass' autobiography "Words without Music" and saw him perform in San Francisco in July. "Half-Earth" and "Ghosts of the Tsunami" helped me understand and made me sad. Pollan's book "How to change your mind..." was a nice 'trip' into exploration. My Uncle Woody Haut wrote another great story in "Day's of Smoke." And Thomas Friedman brought together major themes of Markets, Moore's Law and Mother Earth in "Thank you for being late."
__________________________

• 100 things Capitals fans should know & do before they die / Ben Baby (2017)
• Adjustment day / Chuck Palahniuk (2018)
• Between the world and me / Ta-Nehisi Coates (2015)
• Days of Smoke/Woody Haut (2017)
• Detroit : an American autopsy / Charlie LeDuff (2013)
• Educated : a memoir / Tara Westover (2018)
• Einstein on race and racism / Fred Jerome (2005)
• Einstein: His life and universe Walter Isaacson (2007)
• Ghosts of the tsunami : death and life in Japan's disaster zone / Richard Lloyd Parry (2017)
• Great masters. Robert & Clara Schumann, their lives and music / Robert Greenberg 
• Half-Earth our planet's fight for life / E.O. Wilson (2016)
• Here, there, and everywhere : my life recording the music of the Beatles / Geoff Emerick (2006)
• How to change your mind : what the new science of psychedelics teaches us about consciousness, dying, addiction, depression, and transcendence / Michael Pollan (2018)
• Infinite Tuesday : an autobiographical riff / Michael Nesmith (2017)
• Leonardo da Vinci Walter Isaacson (2017)
• Less : a novel / Andrew Sean Greer (2017)
• Men Without Women Haruki Murakami (2017)
• Principles : life & work / Ray Dalio (2017)
• Rum Punch Elmore Leonard (1992)
• Runnin' with the devil : a backstage pass to the wild times, loud rock, and the down and dirty truth behind the making of Van Halen / Noel E Monk (2017)
• Sh*tshow! : the country's collapsing... and the ratings are great / Charlie LeDuff (2018)
• Solitaire / Kelley Eskridge (2002)
• Studio Grace : the making of a record / Eric Sibling (2015)
• Thank you for being late : an optimist's guide to thriving in the age of accelerations / Thomas Friedman (2016)
• The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt Andrea Wulf (2015)
• The leader who had no title / Robin Sharma (2010)
• We were eight years in power : an American tragedy / Ta-Nehisi Coates (2017)
• Why we sleep : unlocking the power of sleep and dreams / Matthew Walker (2017)
• Wild tales : a rock & roll life / Graham Nash (2013)
• Words without Music Philip Glass (2015)

Books I read in 2017

Here are the books I read in 2017.  Plus the comics every day.  Thank goodness for the funnies.  These books made me think, made me mad, entertained me and introduced me to new areas to explore.  I even met Dava Sobel at the Library of Congress this year.  That was cool. 

• A Fighting Chance/ Elizabeth Warren (2014)
• A game plan for life : John Wooden's lessons on mentoring /John Wooden (2009)
• All Clear / Connie Willis (2010)
• Armada : a novel / Ernest Cline (2015)
• Blackout / Connie Willis (2010)
• Coach Wooden and me : our 50-year friendship on and off the court / Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (2017)
• Elements of jazz from cakewalks to fusion / Bill Messenger(1998)
• Have Spacesuit Will Travel/ Robert Heinlein (1958),
• Lazarus. Vol. 1- 5 Family /Lift / Conclave/ Poison/ Cull/ Greg Rucka (2013-2017)
• Manhattan Beach : a novel / Jennifer Egan (2017)
• Moonglow : a novel / Michael Chabon (2016)
• Norse Mythology / Neil Gaiman (2017)
• On Tyranny / Timothy Snyder (2017)
• 108 Insights into Tai Chi Chuan A String of Pearls / Michael Gilman (1998)
• Pirate utopia / Bruce Sterling (2016)
• Practicing : a musician's return to music / Glenn Kurtz (2007)
• Ready player one : a novel / Ernest Cline (2011)
• Self-reliance / Ralph Waldo Emerson (1841)
• Speak: A Novel / Louisa Hall (2015)
• Studio Grace : the making of a record / Eric Sibling (2015)
• Taijiquan Hand & Sword / Ren Guangyi & Stephan Berwick (2007)
• The Chickenshit Club:Why the Justice Department Fails to Prosecute Executives / Jesse Eisinger (2017)
• The Fifth Season - The Broken Earth / N. K. Jemisin (2015)
• The jazz of physics : the secret link between music and the structure of the universe /  Stephon Alexander (2016)
• "The leader's way [the art of making the right decisions in our careers, our companies, and the world at large] / The Dalai Lama & L Muyzenberg (2009)
• The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto / Mitch Albom (2015)
• The planets / Dava Sobel (2005)
• The rise and fall of D.O.D.O. / Neal Stephenson & Nicole Galland (2017)
• "The Tao of Bill Murray : real-life stories of joy, enlightenment, and party crashing / Gavin Edward (2016)
• What Unites Us / Dan Rather(2017)
• When She Woke / Hillary Jordan(2011)
• Writings on the wall : searching for a new equality beyond black and white / Kareem Abdul-Jabbar(2016)