Or I want to be.
This is my grownup Christmas reading list.
No, this is not a hint to my family. Then again, it might be.
I plan to be better to myself in 2016.
I’ll be posting my annual “More or Less” piece soon enough.
But suffice it to say that in 2016 I plan to take better care of my health. That starts with using the word “No” a lot more.
It means, as it annually does, better nutrition. more exercise, more leisure. And this time, more reading.
We’d prefer for a lot of that reading to be whilst my backside is parked in the sand at the beach.
But, I’ll adapt.
I haven’t read as much in 2015 as I had hoped. I plan to remedy that in 2016. In no particular order and for no particular reason, here are some books I hope to read in the coming year.
by Gregory Maguire
I’ve loved most of what I’ve read from Gregory Maguire since I first read Wicked which, by the way, is better than the musical. Don’t get me wrong. I love the musical. I just like the book much better. So much that I’ve read all four in the series. For the record, as a child, I read all of L. Frank Baum’s Oz books. All of them. Don’t judge. But, I love how Maguire puts a new twist on the classic stories and I look forward to seeing what happens to Alice in this version.
by Harper Lee
When this book was released last year my wife and I participated in a marathon reading of To Kill a Mockingbird. I’ve read, and loved the book. I love the movie. I love the stage play. Watchman got mixed reviews and apparently we’re not happy with how Atticus turned out. But I still want to read it.
by Dean Koontz
This is actually a placeholder. Saint Odd is the last in a series of Dean Koontz books about Odd Thomas. I read, or rather listened to the first whilst I was commuting to Williamsburg for rehearsals earlier this year. It was the first time I’d become familiar with the writing of Koontz. I liked it, and I want to continue in the series. So, I’ll likely do what I’m also doing in the Shannara series by Terry Brooks and order one used copy at a time. (Note to prospective gift buyers, the next one is Forever Odd).
by Stephen King
I also came to reading Stephen King late after I received a free copy of The Lovely Bones and I thought why not? I’d never read him before because I really don’t like horror, or maybe I do. I went on to read The Stand and again in the riding to rehearsals, I listened to Duma Key. Finders Keepers is the second series that begins with Mr. Mercedes, which I should note I have not read.
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Sure it’s poetry. Sure it’s unfinished. But it’s Tolkien and Arthur together. To fantasy geeks it’s like Lucy and Ethel, or Bert and Ernie. It needs to be read.
In other news, American singer and actor Andy Williams was born on this day in 1927 (died 2012). Below Williams asks “What are you doing New Year’s Eve?”
Were he here you could tell him, I’m going to see a game within a party within a play.