Books, Books and More Books

I finally had some time to read a couple of books. I’ve been trying so hard to find a remote job that I’ve been too busy to read any books. It’s hard to find time. For those of you that don’t know, I’m an avid reader of books. I have read 245 books since 2011. I keep a list. All books are written down in a LibreOffice Calc spreadsheet. This is the equivalent to Microsoft Excel.

I have them categorized by Date, Title, Author, and special notes. I also have another list with the books listed by Series. For example, one of the authors had a series going and I read thirty-two in this particular series. He’s the one I mentioned in my “How I Got Started in Writing”.

I read 3 books from December 2021 to February 2022 but those were related to upping my skills in copywriting. Those books were “The Well-Fed Writer” by Peter Bowerman, “The Copywriter’s Handbook” by Robert Bly, and “Woe is I” by Patricia O’Connor.

Most of the books I read come from my local library system. Before Covid hit, I would go to a couple of my local libraries to check-out books. I would get up to five books at a time. I can read fiction books really fast. So fast, that sometimes I would get them done in one or two days. You get to take out books for three weeks.

As soon as Covid hit, I had to re-prioritize how I read books. There was all the talk about not touching things that other people had touched. Libraries set up the clear plastic barriers. You had to stay six feet apart. Any book returned to the library had to undergo extensive “cleaning”. They would put them in a separate room with air blowing on them. After five days, they would put them back on the shelves. Just to return them, you couldn’t even bring them into the building. I still had two books when the order came down that they were closed for at least one week. You had to drive around to the side of the library and put them in the intake drawer.

So the easy way to read books became using the online library. Our library system is hooked up to Overdrive. Overdrive allows you to read books and listen to audiobooks. They used to have all kinds of magazines to read too. This month, they removed the magazines from our library system and now the magazines I used to read are gone. What a shame! I’ll never be able to read those again. I enjoyed it so much. And who in their right mind is going to buy magazines? Have you seen the prices of some of these? One I used to read is $9.

What I found out about using the online library system became a goldmine. I started reading more. On the online option it is easier to return books and check them out. I read 55 books starting in April 2020 until now. You don’t have to travel back to the library and then look for more books on the shelves. With the click of a button, you can have your book returned and then with another click, you can check another one out. Too easy.

The book I read this past weekend was “Show Your Work!” by Austin Kleon. It was a very informative book to read if you’re trying to get your work out in the public eye. He steps you through the procedures you should take. As he says, a lot of people hold back and don’t tell or show people what they can do. Then no one ever sees what they can do, whether it be art or writing or whatever it is you do. So go with your gut and do what you like. It will open doors for you.

I wish those doors would open for me.

I also finished the book “Up and Down” by golfer Bubba Watson. He takes you through the trials and tribulations of becoming a professional golfer. It isn’t always pretty. We as fans don’t understand what they go through. You get to learn about his life growing up and how he got to playing golf. There’s some nice dialogue about meeting his wife and how they support adoption. Some of you may know that he has a pink-shafted driver. You might think you know how that came to be, but you’ll be surprised to find out the real reason. You’ll learn how God got him through tough times. Learn how his off-the-course ventures have helped shape Pensacola’s future. It’s a very good read.