Folks that know us are familiar with the varied reading lists that David and I keep. There’s some overlap, but one of the benefits of a writing partnership is that we bring different perspectives and interests to every project. We also both love bookstores and find different treasures every time.
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For 2022, David’s working through the following:
The Pioneers and America in 1876. This year is “understand the old west better” year.
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. Hoping to get more on the depopulation of Russia and Asia Minor and what that (medieval post apocalyptic) was like.
Ezra Pound is this year’s poetry collection
Stephenson’s “Baroque Cycle”. Read book one years ago but it didn’t really click. Attempt number two.
Metro 2033 a Russian post apocalyptic I’m reading now. A little exposition heavy but still interesting.
Worldly Goods and The Age of Secrets are this year’s Renaissance history books.
The Rift. Another post apocalyptic by an author I’m not familiar with… hope springs eternal.
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For Steven, this year has been a bit chaotic. However, I’ve continued my yearly tradition of exploring a new skill/trade/discipline and a new area of culture/history/philosophy.
This year, I wanted to learn more about India, so I started a new yoga practice, which brought me to Iyengar’s Light on Yoga. The Bhagavad Gita had been a terrific companion and I’ve enjoyed several different translations. However, I have not found one that I truly love, so I tend to cross-reference several, and Patrick French’s India – a Portrait has been helpful in teasing out some of the culture, geography, and history that I clearly did not get back in school.
Nial Ferguson’s The Square and the Tower came from a recommendation of a friend and I love the exploration of networks and how they influence all of us. Everything from social media to traditional social structures and worldviews gets a turn.
On the fiction front, Clive Cussler’s Plague Ship was a fun beach read. Richard Power’s Pulitzer-winning Overstory was the perfect companion to my morning readings immersed with nature on the beach (yes, there were no trees, but it was easy to see the power of mother nature with every sunrise, wave, and gust of wind).
