2023 Reading

Another year of wide variety in my reading, which is what I aim for. My Dad passes on to me several magazines to read, along with Smithsonian and the Sunday edition of The Wall Street Journal. (I really enjoy the Review section) As I have written before I am usually reading 8 to 10 books at a time, which is why it takes me so long to complete one. I took the time to count this year, and I am currently involved with 13 books right now. My wife Shelly is perfectly happy reading one book at a time, bless her. Anyhow, here is what I completed in 2023. A few comments follow some on the list.

A Death In The Family By James Agee

A meditation on death and loss, with some interesting character studies on the side. For me this was not at all a sad read.

Bigger Secrets By William Poundstone

The Strange Career of Jim Crow By C. Vann Woodward

In Our Time By Ernest Hemingway

With a couple of exceptions Papas short stories have proven a better read for me than his novels. This, his first collection of short stories, is a masterpiece.

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test By Tom Wolfe

I could barely make it through this one. Wolfe can get so caught up in trying to relay the hippy-dippy mystical nonsense that was going on that I sometimes did not know what I was reading. I have read short pieces by him over the years that I really enjoyed, and I think I will try some more of his stuff despite this experience.

Crazy Horse And Custer By Stephen E. Ambrose

This might have been my most enjoyable read of the year. If you are interested I wrote about it here earlier this year.

I Was The Nuremberg Jailer By Col. Burton C. Andrus (Ret.)

Includes profiles of all the prisoners, the most interesting being Reichsmarschall Goring, who in the end cheated the hangman with cyanide.

Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas By Hunter S. Thompson

I got the idea while reading this that Hunter didn’t think some of the crazy things he does in this book were all that crazy.

All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful, The Lord God Made Them All, Every Living Thing By James Herriot

I enjoyed his five main books very much. I was surprised by how much humor they contain.

Rocks All Around Us By Anne Terry White

An enchanting little book written for young people.

How To Live In The Country Without Farming By Milton Wend

One-Night Stands with American History By Richard Shenkman and Kurt Reiger

If you like to read about American history this is a fun book to dip into.

The Hunt For Martin Bormann By Charles S. Whiting

Sometimes it seemed the author went on a bit long in some places, but otherwise I enjoyed this probe into what happened to the missing Nazi Reichsleiter. Turns out after searching the world over it was discovered he never made it out of Berlin.

Eyewitness To America Edited By David Colbert

The subtitle to this book is “500 Years of America in the Words of Those Who Saw It Happen.” Very enjoyable and addictive.

Wisdom Edited By James Nelson

A 1950s documentary film project of interviews of prominent elders of that time by NBC are transcribed in this book. I found it fascinating.