My Ultimate 365 Books Post

I discovered this little book while I was shopping one day. Unfamiliar with Schwartz’s other works, I was captured by the title, the same way that I was captured by the title of Violence at Work (a scary little HR book that I stole from a colleague during a period in which I was feeling particularly angry at work, “joking” that I thought it was a handbook), or Misquoting Jesus (which I misread as Misquitoing Jesus).

I thought this book would be about girls who had been given ideas that their parents (and specifically their fathers) disapproved of. However that is not what this book was about. Instead it is about how Schwartz, who was an early reader (as I was), felt pressure from her parents who were intellectuals, to show off that she could read by reading in front of guests which, I imagine, would take some of the fun out of it. This is not a book for everyone. In fact, it’s a book for intellectuals who perceive reading as an intellectual activity, and not an activity that one does because one enjoys it.

And that’s it for my discussion of this book. I don’t want to give it all away in case you read it yourself.¹

Instead, I’m going to use the excuse of this book’s title to talk about how my life and relationship with books has changed over this year as a result of writing about a book a day.

First, did I achieve my goal? My goal was increase my frequency of posting, by writing a post per day. And I did that. On bad days, I sometimes posted at 8 pm instead of my usual posting time of 8 am. It started as a fun thing I could do – and it was for several months. But, over the summer, it stopped being a fun and easy thing to do. I feel like my voice improved in May and June then dropped off in July and August becoming very topic-specific and less about how books impact change. And, I admit, that I did not write every day. Some days I wrote two or sometimes three or even four posts, and then I skipped several days of writing, alas.

Second, how did it impact the rest of my life? Well, none of my book-related fantasies came true: no one offered me a job reading and writing about books full time; running a bookmobile; or rescuing their beloved used bookstore in a charming Northeastern town with a vibrant and welcoming community, and beautiful old houses with plenty of room for books. Instead, the main change was that I went from writing in the mornings to writing in the evenings because I like to exercise in the mornings and if I start writing in the morning, and it runs slow, I don’t have time to exercise before heading to work. Also – and this may come as a surprise to friends and colleagues who think I’m organized and have seen how neat I keep my desk at work, my apartment is a mess, with huge piles of books stacked up in various rooms, waiting to be written about or read again so I can write about them because my brain only holds the content of 150 books at a time and then I have to refresh on books that are further back; ironically my eBook collection is neater now, although how I defined my shelves might appall booksellers or authors. (True Crime; Mystery; History; Horror; Religion; SFF; Children’s; Paranormal; Life Purpose²; Animals; Travel; and Non-Fiction. The Non-Fiction is a total cop-out.)

Third, how did it impact what I was reading? Well, at first I listened to podcasts and read posts about books and discovered waaaaay too many new books. I also rediscovered a lot of books in my collection that had been hidden behind other books. And I realized how many of these books that fill my collection are just not my thing anymore. Leave aside the 6 linear feet of self-help books about how to figure out what you want to be when you grow up³ I have a lot of books that I picked up and read because I thought I should: everything by David Allen⁴; a bunch of really boring books about Change Management⁵; and sooooo many cookbooks that people have given us that, frankly, we will never use. I foresee a very stressful trip to the Housingworks bookstore to make a large (or a series) of donation(s).

Lastly, what did I learn? Well, I learned that my very small, core group of friends and supporters read regularly (although I suspect sometimes they are just thumbs-upping for support); that every now and then someone else reads; and that there are books I love and books I hold onto because I think I should love them and books that, when I look back on how much I loved them, I wonder if I was out of my head.⁶

I also recognize how I gravitate towards strong female characters, who don’t take nuffin from no one and who, like the little engine, think they can – and do! I also gravitate towards times when people are facing change – the middle ages when the little ice age and the plague forced change on people; the early colonies and the westward journey when Europeans moved into areas which, while civilized, were not civilized in ways that they understood; the changes that science brought to forensics and detection; how society changed during WWII; the changes that climate, weather, and weather disasters have imposed on people; people choosing to undergo personal change like Temple Grandin; and future changes that science fiction writers predict. 

Perhaps this is what led me to change management: the idea that change is all around us – and that it’s hard enough on its own, without the added challenge of the people who can do something about making change easier, making it harder instead.

So what is next? I may still post about books from time to time. But not daily.

Instead, my challenge for 2025 is hosting a podcast.

Not about books.

…Tune in for more information…

1. As my husband would say. ↩︎
2. i.e. How to figure out what you want to be when you grow up. ↩︎
3. I have decided that the reason I can’t figure it out is because as long as I don’t figure it out, I don’t have to grow up. ↩︎
4. Sorry, Christopher. ↩︎
5. If you make change management sound boring and stiff, you’re doing it wrong. ↩︎
6. Looking at you here, Sword of Shannara. ↩︎