2020 Reading List

I read a lot. I wouldn't say I'm a prolific reader, but I do my share. When I'm not reading blogs or online articles, nothing beats the old familiarity of a book. A book is something tangible to hold and get close to you. I can get to know the characters and picture them in my mind. I think that's what has always intrigued me about reading. Over the last 12 months, I have kept a chronicle of the books I have read through, both fiction and nonfiction.

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly - Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain takes you on a journey through the good, bad, ugly, and sometimes irreverent world of the professional kitchen. He does admit that not every kitchen is run like a band of pirates, but those seem less fun to work in. I've read through this 3 times now. The most recent was the deluxe edition, with handwritten notes throughout to give a deeper understanding of the words and world. I can't help but wonder how many folks were duped into thinking they could open and run a restaurant despite the chronicles of horror stories and warnings after reading this. Of those, I wonder how many are still operational

Let's Go (So We Can Get Back Again) - Jeff Tweedy

I've always been a fan of Jeff Tweedy, maybe almost to a fault. His struggles with anxiety that he talks about are all too familiar and relatable. The time he spends in the book discussing his and making music together make him all the more likeable.

I'm glad that he was finally able to tell some of these stories from his side. For instance Jay Bennett. Fans of the band will understand.

The subtitle of the book says it all. "Recording and Discording with Wilco, etc." Keeping any group of people, whether it's a band or something else entirely, together for 20+ years is a complicated and difficult endeavor. Sometimes things have to change, and often times that change is hard. But change can happen for the better. At it's core, Wilco is still a group of creatives, leaving their side projects to come together to play amazing music. Each change to the lineup has brought about positive change and enriched the music that Jeff Tweedy writes.

This was a book that despite objections, I couldn't put down. Once I got into it, I wanted to keep reading to see what he was going to say next. I'm honestly a little sad that it is over.

$100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future - Chris Guillebeau

I've long been jealous of those who can leave the grind of working for someone else behind and go off on their own. So when I found this book, I was obviously intrigued, hooked almost.

It's not a blueprint for a starting a business, so if that's what you're looking for, you won't find it here. Rather, it is a series of case studies that show that it can be done. It shows that you can in fact start a business with minimal start-up capital. Chris goes to great lengths to show that a business can be started with an idea, a small amount of money, and then run as a long term side hustle or grown into a full time gig.

Since reading this, I haven't rested much. My mind, which is usually restless on it's own, has been running full steam ahead on a variety of projects.

OWF Media was born out of this. OWF serves as a parent for my multiple creative projects. My 4 blogs: Me, Myself, and Cuisine, The Whiskey Tapes, penny Thoughts, and Prompted Writing, plus a few others that don't fit any of these molds. OWF Media will hopefully someday grow into a brand all on it's own.

Reading this book also inspired me to start compiling an e-book. Back in the spring of 2006, I wrote a collection of short stories and poems for my final creative writing project for the semester. When I turned it in, Prof. Baker suggested that I submit some pieces to the college arts publication, Starburst. I left it in her hands, but those words always stuck with me. So I've been working on cover art for an e-book that I hope to publish sometime next year.

Whiskey Tasting: The Ultimate Scotch Whiskey Tasting Guide for Beginners - Gary Wines Cappiello

I came across this one on Twitter. As a whiskey blogger, I'm always looking for more information. This seemed like a good fit for my criteria.

It fell short of the self described "ultimate" status. It's possible that there is a language barrier and that is why was difficult to read. It's possible that Gary's first language is not English and it got lost in translation.

I wanted to like this book. I always like to finish what I started, but this was a painful finish.

Accidental Project Manager, From Zero to Hero in 7 Days - Ray W. Froenhoefer

I came across this, ironically, by accident. As someone who has studied Project Management independently, for work, this book is great. To be honest, Project Management is an incredibly dry subject that is tough to get in to. So this book was a breath of fresh air.

Instead of a volume of definitions and graphs that is 1000 pages long and incredibly dense, to set a 7 day outline for a beginning project manager who happened to fall in to it is a perfect solution. Sometimes we find ourselves in a new work position and having a plan is worth its weight in gold. If you find yourself in this situation, this is a perfect book for you.

The Cheese Monkeys - Chip Kidd

I love this book. It was a gift from a coworker in college, and I have read it twice now.

The book focuses on an unnamed main character as he befriends two coed classmates at a state university art college. It is interesting to watch as the students push the professors while the professors push back at the students.

The main character tries to connect with Himmilsy Dodd, an art student a few years old than him who he obviously has a crush on, while trying to sometimes trying to avoid the other classmate named Maybelle. One is seemingly serious and mature while the other seems young and innocent.

The rest of the the characters all reminded me of everyone I would see daily at college ranging from the professors trying to prove they are smarter than everyone else, to the students just trying to get by.

Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller

I first became aware of Blue Like Jazz almost 20 years ago. I was attending a church in Houston, TX called Ecclesia, made up of some the same characters Donald Miller talks about at his church in Portland. The folks at Ecclesia fell in love with it. Back then, I read text books for fun, so I put it off, but carried a copy with me through several moves over the next almost two decades. 2020 would finally be the year I would commit to read it.

Immediately, I could see why my friends at Ecclesia loved it so much. Miller's whit and humor and beautifully open honesty are on full display. His non-religious writing on Christian spirituality immediately awakened my long dormant interest in any sort of religion. As a long standing staunch agnostic, I can vouch for the importance of this book.