Valet Reader

It’s now been nearly 6 weeks since I’ve let my readers know what my reading list looks like. What gives right? Well, nothing actually. I guess I just haven’t felt the need to justify my reading list with you folks out there. Ok, that was a joke, please don’t take that the wrong way. I love sharing my reading with list with you!

A lot has happened since I last put up my list. Let’s see I’ve read 17 books since then which equals nearly 3 books a week. Would you believe that I actually have a social life too? Amazing, I know. Between my books, I had a high school reunion, we all had Halloween, the company I work for was sold, I figured out where I want to work next, I spent time with many friends, made new friends, possibly lost some friends, was told by some that they no longer want to be my friend, drank a lot of coffee, was burned, scorned and let down, rode a tricycle, crashed a tricycle, rode a bike, crashed a bike, ate eel, developed a plan to take over the world, watered my plants (numerous times), replaced the alternator in my car, lost a few days and nights, grew a beard, shaved said beard so I could have a kick ass stache, ate some cheese, drank some wine, possibly (ok, I did) engage in a few illegal activities and drum roll please… bet you’re expecting something really big now right… well… here goes… ate three bowls of cereal in a single day! Now that’s astonishing.

If only you knew what some of that cryptic stuff actually meant, muahahahaha (that’s an evil laugh for those of you unfamiliar). But back to the list, you’ll actually see that some of the books that are currently on the list have been there since I first started this blog. I guess I have to concede that some of these books may never actually be read. Some are kind of hard to find while others just don’t seem as interesting as some of the newer ones that pop up. That said, it actually seems like every time I go into a book store I end up buying one book from the list and three that weren’t on it. The newest additions to the list aren’t exactly new books, most of them are in fact books that have been recommended to me by random people on the street, in bars (yes, I do talk shop in bars, yep “that guy”) or wherever I may be.

(I’ve also decided not to go the “poll” route this time. It just wasn’t really working out, maybe one of these days I’ll try again)

The List:

Maps and Legends – Michael Chabon
Cities in Civilization – Sir Peter Hall
Yi Fu Tuan
The Man Who Loved China – Simon Winchester
Best American Travel Writing – Simon Winchester
State by State
The Concrete Dragon – Thomas H. Campanella
The Geography of Nowhere – James Howard Kunstler
A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
Six Suspects – Vikas Swarup
Ghost Soldiers – Hampton Sides
Nobody Move – Denis Johnson
Who’s Your City – Richard Florida
Wrestling With Moses – Anthony Flint
Uglies – Scott Westerfield
American Hotel Stories – Franisca Matteolla
Enders Shadow – Orson Scott Card
The Sower – Kemble Scott
Voss – Patrick White
You Can’t Win – Jack Black (not the actor guy)
Naked Airport – Alastair Gordon
Planet of Slum – Mike Davis
Game of Thrones – George R.R. Martin
Tortilla Flats – John Steinbeck
Tipping Point – Malcom Gladwell
San Francisco Confidential – Raymond Mungo
Common Sense – Glenn Beck
Big Machine – Victor LaValle
Mind of the Raven – Bernd Heinrich
Beg Borrow Steal – Michael Greenberg
The Wild Things – Dave Eggers
A Glass of Water – Jimmy Santiago Baca
The Skating Rink – Roberto Bolano
The Poet and the Murderer – Simon Worrall
Fugitives and Refugees – Chuck Palahniuk
A Voyage Long and Strange – Tony Horwitz
The Milagro Beanfield War – Ruben Blades
The Boy Who Harvested the Wind – William Kamkwamba
Brighton Rock – Graham Greene
Gone – Michael Grant
A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome – Alberto Angela

So, as you can probably discern there is no rhyme or reason to the list and they are of course in no particular order. I’ve got something from just about every genre in there. I have no idea how long it will take me to get through that list and odds are it will probably never happen. It grows much faster than I can read but hey, that’s the beauty of books, there are always more.

If you’ve got any other books you think I should add to the list, throw em at me, please.