Wednesday, January 1, 2020

2020 vision ~ maybe

"What are you planning to read this year, Bonnie?  I'd love to hear what you are thinking about reading," Deb asked in a comment.

The last book I finished in 2019 was Becoming by Michelle Obama, so maybe my first book of 2020 should be her Becoming: A Guided Journal for Discovering Your Voice.  "But it's a journal," you say.  Yes, but it isn't a day-by-day kind of diary, where I must write about what comes on the next page.  If I read through it first, I could then pick out specific pages I want to write about first.  That makes sense to me, and each page has a place to put the date, like this ___/___/___.  So first, this journal Donna gave me for Christmas and then the next book, which my friend Tiny gave me.

Paws for a Moment With God: Devotions Best Enjoyed in the Company of a Cat ~ compiled by Patricia Mitchell, 2010
"Have you ever noticed how a cat will find contentment in something as simple as a ray of sunshine?  She settles herself in its pleasure and basks in the joy of the moment!"  There is wisdom to be learned by observing the habits, curiosities, and antics of a cat.  If you have been blessed with the companionship of a cat, then cozy up together with this book.
Other books I want to read:
  • Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates: Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between ~ by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, 2009, humor
  • Resist and Persist: Faith and the Fight for Equality ~ by Erin Wathen, 2018, sexism
  • The Big Book for Peace ~ edited by Ann Durell and Marilyn Sachs, 1990, stories
  • Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner ~ edited by Ellen E. Garrigues, 1895, 1910, ballad
  • The Power of Hope: The One Essential of Life and Love ~ by Maurice Lamm, 1995, psychology
  • Transitions: Prayers and Declarations for a Changing Life ~ by Julia Cameron, 1999, reflections
  • Have a Little Faith: A True Story ~ by Mitch Albom, 2009, memoir
  • The Altered I: Ursula K. Le Guin's Science Fiction Writing Workshop ~ edited by Lee Harding, 1976, 1978, writing
  • Does God Have a Big Toe? ~ by Marc Gellman, illustrated by Oscar de Mejo, 1989, humor
  • What Would Maisie Do? ~ by Jacqueline Winspear, 2019, journal
This last one comes with a slew of Maisie Dobbs books, a whole series, as a matter of fact.  I read Maisie Dobbs, the first in Jacqueline Winspear's series, and then I got this journal.  Donna, however, bought the whole series and has donated the ones she has finished reading to the Crown Center's little library.  She has enjoyed them so much that I may also take a stab at reading this mystery series.
  1. Maisie Dobbs, 2003
  2. Birds of a Feather, 2004
  3. Pardonable Lies, 2005
  4. Messenger of Truth, 2006
  5. An Incomplete Revenge, 2008
  6. Among the Mad, 2009
  7. The Mapping of Love and Death, 2010
  8. A Lesson in Secrets, 2011
  9. Elegy for Eddie, 2012
  10. Leaving Everything Most Loved, 2013
  11. A Dangerous Place, 2015
  12. Journey to Munich, 2017
  13. In This Grave Hour, 2018
  14. To Die But Once, 2018
  15. The American Agent, 2019
Happy New Year . . . and happy 2020 reading to all!

3 comments:

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

You have a plan. Of course. Now I need to see which books my public library has. Thanks for sharing this list of intriguing books with all of us. I'll eagerly look forward to see which of these you find to be outstanding.

Here's to 2020 vision! (Great title).

Nise' said...

Great idea that you can go at your own pace in the journal. I am a lover of daily devotion books. Happy New Year.

Helen's Book Blog said...

Enjoy your Becoming journal and your first books of 2020. The Maisie Dobbs series is such fun.