Awkwardly Social

One of my resolutions this year was to read 50 books. Add to that from my 101 in 1001 list to read 20 books off of the Modern Library’s 100 Greatest Non-Fiction Books List and all of the Modern Library’s 100 Greatest Novels List.… I’ve got a lot of reading to do. Recommendations are in bold.

Currently Reading:
The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams. Just pulled this off the book shelf for my new book to read in bed.

The Brethren by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong. I’m loving this so far.

Finished Reading:

1. Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress by Susan Jane Gilman. (1/1/06) Highly recommend this memoir.
2. The Summer I Dared by Barbara Delinsky. (1/12/06) Ok. The only reason I’m not recommending this is because it’s a romance novel and I know most people look down their noses at this genre. But I actually (ssshhhh, don’t tell anyone) liked it, although I couldn’t be more different than the main character. I now want to live in Maine and raise Angora rabbits. Shut up! I do!
3. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. (1/19/06) I liked this book well enough, but it was just a bit too YA for my taste. It struggled I think by trying to play to an older audience, but writing as though this older audience was stupid. I really liked the premise though and won’t be suprised if this book is optioned and made in the next couple of years.
4. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. (1/22/06) I don’t know if I actually should recommend this book, there must be one on the time period and the situation of women in China that does it better. It felt like a poor man’s Chinese Memoirs of a Geisha. A cheap knock-off. But the description of how women bound their daughter’s feet so fascinated me, it was pretty much all I could talk about all weekend. The rest of the novel falls short of the mark. It felt like it was a short story that got turned into a sloppy novel. The reason I’m recommending it though, is all the ‘lily feet’ descriptions, which is a shame because I think the author really wanted you to be fascinated by the ’secret language’ that women had. Unfortunately she didn’t make the way this language helped these women gripping enough, or important enough to their lives. If you read it, tell me what you think.
5. The Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas. (2/1/06) I read this book because it’s on the Non-Fiction List and I highly recommend it. He occasionally bogs down in technical/scientific language, but with the ease and aptitude of a talented writer he manages to bring it back to the average readers level. It’s entertaining and moving, much more than I expected from a book ostensibly about biology. I really can’t say enough about it. Read it.
6. The Reef by Nora Roberts. (2/4/06) I’m embarassed that I actually read this. It’s terrible. The setting was what sucked me in. Caribbean, diving for treasure…. and blech predictable outcome, easy to find plot twists and AWFUL character development. Why do people read Nora Roberts? She’s awful. And a bestseller. I am very worried about the American people.
7. Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry. (2/19/06) Yes, this is YA. Yes, I read it in under an hour. I actually got this book from Paperbackswap because I hadn’t read it since I was a kid. If you have a daughter aged 8 to 12 who likes horses, Marguerite Henry in some form should grace their bookshelves, and this is as good a place as any to start.
8. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf. (3/10/06) I picked this one to read because it was short. I have now become one of those annoying people that look at the back of the book, then the spine, to check for plot and ‘thickness.’ This was my introduction to Ms. Woolf, and I have to say I was underwhelmed. She wrote from an interesting place, but basically, reading the introduction by Mary Gordon, I was far more captivated and intrigued. My favorite part of the whole book was in the introduction, where Gordon quotes Woolf’s reasons for writing these essays, “I wanted to encourage the young women-they seem to get fearfully depressed.” ha! It’s funny because Woolf drowned herself… Oh, you get it? Great. I would recommend this to anyone who likes reading about Jane Austen. Fascinating analysis of the conditions under which Austen wrote.
9. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert O’Brien. (3/11/06) I read this when I was a kid and it blew my mind. I’m always a little nervous when I re-read something that I once loved, hoping it still holds up, but dreading the fact that I was young once… and had questionable taste. This did hold up, and it is quite a treat for anyone who likes books with talking animals. I really love that it has complex characters and themes, and I’m always all about science labs gone wrong.
10. The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer by Whitsett, Dolgener and Kole. (3/20/06) If you want to run a marathon and don’t have any idea where to begin, this is the book for you. I highly recommend it. It does exactly what it says it will, train you to finish.
11. Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott. (3/20/06) I cried several times while I was reading this. Louie asked if the baby was dying, and I told him that it was just that she was such a talented writer. It’s so rare that a book can move you purely on the use of the language. Lamott is a gift, and if you know any woman who hasn’t read this book, give it to her immediately.
12. The Wings of the Dove by Henry James. (3/28/06) It took me forever to get through this. The final chapters were quite riveting, but I really had trouble with the rest. I kept forgetting who was who, and I’m still not sure who I’m supposed to care about, because Milly seems so daft and Kate so coniving, and Densher? uch.
13. Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters. (4/1/06) I highly recommend this series. The characters jump out at you and demand you love them. The mysteries are light but the setting is always incredible. Sort of The Mummy meets Jane Austen.
14. Marathon The Ultimate Training Guide by Hal Higdon. (4/10/06) I’m really glad I didn’t read this before I ran the marathon. I never would have finished my training. Now that I’m done with the marathon and the training, all his advice and warnings and life lessons are terrifying. He’s like, running is dangerous. It can kill you. But running is awesome, it can save your life. I can’t tell if this guy is trying to save us from running, or trying to make running seem just dangerous enough to be cool like riding a Harley, or something.
15. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. (4/13/06) I highly recommend this book. It’s a fast read that repulses, fascinates, excites and entertains. If you have any interest in what happens behind the scenes at a restaurant, read it. If you’d like it to remain a mystery, put this book down.
16. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. (5/6/06) If you have read any Ian McEwan, you’ll recognize the story line here. This book felt like a clumsy copy of one of McEwan’s works. Hosseini stumbled through the ‘random’ connections of his characters and in one case of point of view change he fell down completely. I don’t recommend it, not because it isn’t a good story, but because McEwan’s Atonement is so much more skillful that I recommend it instead.
17. The Cricket in Times Square, Tucker’s Countryside, and Harry Cat’s Pet Puppy by George Seldon. (5/6/06) I saw these on the shelf and realized I haven’t read them in over 20 years. In an effort to clear some bookshelf space, I thought I’d re-read them and see if I still loved them. Of course, I do. I also realized that they would do some kid who’s never read them far more good than they’ll do sitting un-read and unloved on my shelf. The Cricket in Times Square stays with me, but the other two are going to be donated to the Public Library. All three are great stories for kids about friendship and the unlikely alliances you can make with people who aren’t exactly like you.
18. Mad Cowboy by Howard F. Lyman with Glen Merzer. (5/7/06) A great fast read that will make you want to become a vegetarian. Which, I’m actually considering. Again. I know it’s crazy, but he really illustrated well all the reasons I became a vegetarian all those years ago. It sucks being a vegetarian. I can’t lie about that. But the cattle industry is destroying our environment and our bodies.
19. Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen. (5/20/06) I lived with this book for quite some time - leaving it and returning to it. It really begs to be re-read and re-discovered. Aside from the strange racism the author feels for the “Natives” of Africa, there is a real love and care for the place and time. I can’t think of a more powerful book that I’ve read in recent memory. Highly recommend.
20. 1984 by George Orwell (5/25/06) I guess it’s kind of ‘obvious’ to like this book. But I have to say, there were a couple of times where I was genuinely surprised and wowed. Once by a plot twist and many times by the language. I should have read this a long, long time ago. But I’m glad I read it now, while I’m old. And can appreciate it.
21. Psychic Warrior by David Morehouse (5/28/06) This is the ‘true’ story of a military man who was a part of the highly secret government ‘remote viewing’ program. Remote viewing is spying across space and time. The weird thing about the book is not that the ‘remote viewing’ description is hard to swallow (I’ll pretty much believe anything anyone says about that) but that his writing style is… terrible. I’d love to read the book that is alluded to in this book, by the guy that wrote the JFK book that Oliver Stone based his movie on, but it has never been published. If you read it, be warned. The dialogue is stinky.
22. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. (6/3/06) It just so happens that this is on the Modern Library Non-Fiction list, and co-incides nicely with the current research I’m doing. It’s an important book to read, to get the historical significance of the ‘treadmill’ of death we’ve stepped on in regard to pesticides and herbicides. I’d venture to say that in another 50 years if the incidence of cancer, mental illness and other debilitating diseases continues to increase exponentially as it has been, we’ll begin to see more and more research about the unrepairable damage we’ve done to the environment, and the havoc it’s wreaking on our bodies. The book is important and well researched, but at a certain point you get it, and you can’t read anymore. But you do, and you marvel at the ignorance of man. It’s amazing. If you have an interest in the history of the chemical warfare we’ve waged on insects, and therefore ourselves, I highly recommend this book.
23. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. (6/4/06) I really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn’t get past the feeling that I’ve read better. I’m struck by the feeling that books like Stranger in a Strange Land and Foundation sort of take the world to a more believable place. It’s a book that has influenced many films, obviously, but it wasn’t really my thing.
24. Big Love by Sarah Dunn. (6/5/06) Excellent. My mom gave this to me, either for Christmas or my birthday and it was a welcome distraction from all the ‘required’ reading I’ve been doing. It’s the kind of book I wish I could write. She’s got a distinctive voice, a great style, and it’s a charming little book, if a bit predictable. I recommend.
25. Griffin & Sabine by Nick Bantock. (6/17/06) I probably shouldn’t count this in my books read list, but it’s my list so I get to do what I want. I have been seeing previews for The Lake House all week and it reminded me of this book. My sister gave it to me about 10 years ago and I was so taken with it… It’s a simple story told in postcards and letters between two people who are connected in some strange way through Griffin’s art and Sabine’s psychic ability to see it as it’s created. My only criticism of the story is that it leaves you with a ‘to be continued’ ending. Which, fine. But I would have liked a little more skill and finesse in the final letters. I still recommend it.
26. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. (6/17/06) It is an amazing book. Woolf had a gift that I’m not sure I know how to appreciate. I kind of wish I had taken an English Lit class and this was one of the required books, because while I can appreciate the talent and skill of Woolf’s work, I’m not sure I fully understand the meaning and importance of this work. I did like it, but I don’t know that I ‘get it.’
27. Neuromancer by William Gibson. (6/20/06) I don’t know. On one hand I can see how this is the gold standard of ‘cyberpunk,’ and that he basically created a sub-genre of sci-fi that would eventually have tangible echos in the real world, but for some reason I found myself not engaged in the book. By the end I knew what happened, but I dodn’t really ‘get’ it. I’m sure at some point I’ll take another pass at it and probably enjoy it.
28. Black Boy by Richard Wright. (7/2/06) The first part of the book is amazing, when he starts talking about his involvement with the Communist Party, I feel like it gets bogged down in details that don’t really mean much to anyone who wasn’t there. I can see, though, why this is a difinitive work of non-ficiton.
29. The Idiot Girls’ Action-Adventure Club by Laurie Notaro. (7/3/06) This is a fun read. It feels a bit unedited, and like a blog. But if you’re looking for a nice summer diversion, Laurie Notaro will deliver.
30. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. (7/17/2006) I wrote about it here, I’m still a little raw.
31. I Know You, Al by Constance C. Green. (7/23/06) I just got back from Arizona where I spent two hours cleaning out my storage shed and driving past my old house. This was one of the YA books I decided to keep a long time ago, and I can’t ever remember reading it. Though, I’m fairly certain the first book in the series, “A Girl Called Al,” rings a bell. It’s a little dated, but I have to say it’s a nice book for an 11 year old. It’s sad to me that these little gems (this one happens to be from the 70’s) fade away, are put in a box in someone’s garage and kind of forgotten. C’est la vie.
32. Autobiography of a Fat Bride by Laurie Notaro. (8/6/06) Some truly laugh out loud funny moments, and though I might be a little sick of the vignette format of her books, I think she is a delightful read. If you’re looking for something to read while you’re getting a pedicure or lazing around the house in the summer hiding from your parents, this is the book.
33. Why Moms are Weird by Pamela Ribon. (8/7/06) I was nervous to read this because I’m such a huge fan of her website and her first novel that I worried I was putting too much pressure on Pamie to deliver a great read. Funny and sexy mixed with bitter and painful it was like a trip home for me, which… is good and bad, but everything I was looking for in this read. I recommend.
34. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. (8/13/06) I haven’t knowingly read any Joan Didion before, though I’m sure I’ve accidentally read something she wrote for one of the many magazines to which she contributed. This is a relentlessly sad memoir of the year following her husband’s death, but it’s more than that because in that year she is faced with the memory of their life together. It’s quite a beautiful love story and tribute to her husband. I recommend.
35. Lake News by Barbara Delinsky. (9/4/06) I wanted something beachy and smutty for the summer and this turned out to be a little tedious, the smut wasn’t quite smutty enough and the rest was a little too “serious.” I have to remember to stick to the classic smut of Danielle Steel or Jude Deveraux in the future.
36. Bookends by Jane Green. (9/6/06) I had no idea I read this before until a few pages in, and then I felt stupid because I couldn’t remember what happens until I was a few pages away from the end. It’s a good thing I’m writing these things down now, because this book wasn’t that good and I totally should have read something else instead of re-reading this. Although, it technically was for book club.
37. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman. (9/25/06) At first I felt like Gaiman’s style was a little insincere or maybe a little too jokey. It’s like after 9/11 everyone was talking about the “death of irony” when really what happened was the death of sincerity. Something replaced the sincerity in writer’s voices, making any almost touching or ‘real’ moment feel like they were overtly aware of the fact that it was touching or ‘real,’ and that they were in on the joke and the idiocy of the moment. But I was only partially right about that in Gaiman’s book. Ostensibly, while I don’t think he would ever admit to it, this is a book for men, and I think men come to these issues of identity and love and family very differently than women do. It’s sociological. I enjoyed the book, but I’m not sure I’ll clamour to read any more of his work.
38. Amy’s Answering Machine by Amy Borkowsky. (9/27/06) I just found this sitting on my bookshelf. I think it was in a pile of books from our group garage sale that didn’t sell and I guess at the time, I thought it looked interesting. I put it up on Paperbackswap and it was immediately requested, so I, of course, had to read it. It’s slightly amusing, but for me, with a mother who doesn’t return my calls, it’s more of an insight into my friend’s lives than my own. I’d imagine her stand-up/show surrounding the tapes would make me laugh more than the book.
39. Predator by Patricia Cornwell. (10/1/06) I got this for Christmas or my birthday either last year or the year before and hadn’t gotten to it. I used to really love the Kay Scarpetta mysteries, but this one felt like lazy story telling. Something about the passive tense Cornwell uses or present tense. I can’t put my finger on it, but it felt like it needed another polish. And Jesus, Cornwell, we get it. You like Hummers. It is gross. Get those ladies driving Priuses. Stat.
40. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. (10/7/06) Oh boy, this reading list is getting stupid. Or, I’m getting stupid. I don’t really know why I thought that this would be a good read, but I think someone recommended it. Obviously it is someone I should no longer take recommendations from. Too bad I can’t remember who it was. Anyway, it’s weirdly written with strange insights from secondary characters. Anyway, I don’t recommend it. I’m mad that I read it and wasted the time.
41. Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott. (10/24/06) It took me a while to finally sit down and devour this. I was reading it in scrips and scraps here and there. It’s a testament to her amazing faith and her talent at writing that she can almost get someone like me to believe in God. I recommend it.
42. Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. (11/06/06) My sister had this on her list, so I took a gander. I really like the distopic future of LA that she takes but once they get on the road I think the Earthseed stuff gets a little wearing. It’s good, but not my favorite.
43. My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult. (11/07/06) This was a book club selection and I had heard great things so I was a little nervous that it was too hyped for me. I devoured the book in two days and it had me sobbing a little bit at the end. I think it was a subject that could have so easily veered into “A Very Special Lifetime Movie” territory but it really didn’t for me. I recommend.
44. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein. (11/13/06) I wrote about it here.
45. When Character was King A Story of Ronald Reagan by Peggy Noonan. (11/25/06) Noonan does a good job of putting Reagan in a good light. I think history will generally agree with her. She does however irritate me with the constant jabs at the Clintons, and the Democrats. But, what do you expect from a Republican? I imagine a Democrat would do the same.
46. Animal Inn #5 Adopt-a-Pet by Virginia Vail. (12/09/06) I probably shouldn’t count this as one of my books read, because it took me all of an hour to read it. But it’s my list, my rules. It’s one of the YA books I brought back to LA with me from my childhood home. I remember why I liked it back then, 13 year-old-girl as main character, she loves animals, wants to be a vet, has a horse of her own - all things I totally either related to or wanted as a kid. I’m probably not keeping this in my library, so I wanted to re-read it before it goes.
47. Crazy in Alabama by Mark Childress. (12/29/06) This was another book club selection. I missed the book club meeting for this one, so I’m not sure what the ladies thought of it. Despite the seemingly disjointed story-telling (it bounces between Peejoe’s story in Alabama during the George Wallace/Martin Luther King, Jr. standoff and Lucille trying to make it in Hollywood) I really enjoyed it. If you see it laying around, you should pick it up and give it a try.
48. Night by Elie Wiesel. (12/30/06) I went through a period where all I was reading were memoirs about the Holocaust. After having been to both Auschwitz and Birkenau in the summer of 1994, I thought I had enough, but this book has been talked about a lot recently, probably because of Oprah. I used to wonder why there was no resistance, but now that I’m older, I can kind of understand and it’s horrifying.
49. Winter of the Owl by June Andrea Hanson. (12/31/06) I loved this book as a kid. It’s one of the many horse stories I read, and wished was happening to me.

Shelved:

1. The Artist’s Way I got to week eight about 10 weeks ago and just stopped. It was sort of during the heart of the marathon training and I was exhausted all the time. I decided sleep was more important than writing, which is a stupid thing to decide. There will never be a time in my life that I’ll be able to look back on and think, “I wish I’d slept more.” Oh well. I’ll pick this up again. I know for sure. Just can’t get to it at the moment.
2. Good Growing: Why Organic Farming Works by Leslie A. Duram. I’ll go back to this possibly, but for right now it’s just too much.

All the cool kids did this back in the day, and I love lists, especially when I get to cross things off of them.

Here’s the deal:

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (i.e. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e. represent some amount of work on my part).

1001 days from now is August 7, 2008. As I complete them, they’ll be put in bold, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll get a little story or a photo to go with it.

1. Run a marathon. (completed 3/19/06) Ran the LA Marathon. You can read about it here, here or here.
2. Take a Spanish class.
3. Take a photography class.
4. Take a dark room class.
5. Visit Europe again.
6. Visit Belize.
7. Visit Wine Country.
8. Get a professional massage. (Completed 7/23/08 - I have a very generous boyfriend.)
9. Read all the books on the Modern Library’s 100 Greatest Novels List. (ha!) (24 down, 76 to go, as of 10/27/07)
10. Read 20 of the books on the Modern Library’s 100 Greatest Non-Fiction Books List.
    1. The Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas
    2. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
    3. Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott
    4. Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
    5. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
    6. Black Boy by Richard Wright
    7. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein
    8. Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington
    9. Aspects of the Novel by E.M. Forster
    10. The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois
    11. The Autobiography of Mark Twain by Mark Twain.
11. Write another screenplay. (Completed 8/16/07) My “Here We Are Now” script, it’s a rough first draft, but the material is all there. A quick (ha) re-write and I’m golden.
12. Finish the Robin screenplay.
13. Finish the Mining script.
14. Write a short story.
15. And submit it to 5 places for publishing.
16. Get my teeth cleaned.
17. Quit smoking. (Ongoing) I feel like this is done, but you never know, it might become un-bold someday. Fingers crossed, it doesn’t!
18. Pay off at least one credit card.
19. Take swimming lessons.
20. Buy a piece of furniture that is not used, and does not require assembly. (I’d really love a beautiful dresser.)
21. Take a Yoga Class.
22. Listen to music in the apartment more. (Ongoing-6/18/06) I think this can be checked off. Louie and I listen to music a lot now, he always has something playing on his computer, and if it’s something I can’t really hear or don’t like I put in my head phones and rock out to pop music.
23. Go to another stand-up comedy show. (Completed 5/22/06) I kind of thought I was never going to be able to check this one off the list, even though it’s a relatively ‘easy’ one in theory. The big problem is, the comedians you know, and have heard of are super expensive to see. The comedians you haven’t heard of… kind of hard to take a risk and spend a night not laughing, or pity laughing. Waller’s sister is a comedian and she put on a show with some of her New York transplant comedian friends, and a good time was had by all. Except I accidentally heckled one guy. And then Louie heckled him. I feel bad, but not that bad. ‘Cause I don’t really know him.
24. Have brunch at the Scientology Celebrity Center (and do not convert). (Completed 1/21/07) This was a lovely way to spend my birthday. I cannot wait to get the photos developed. The interior where we had our brunch had gorgeous dappled light, beautiful greenery and just a luscious feel. The food was passable, but the company was amazing. It was a great day.
25. Do laundry once a week for a month in a row. (Without complaining). (Completed 12/22/05) So nice having clean laundry and not having to lug 80 lbs of it up and downstairs when I’ve waited two months to do it.
26. Get my CA driver’s license. (Completed 12/8/06) I honestly don’t know why this took me so long, except for my extreme fear of government institutions. I had to take a written test and I’m happy to say I got a 100%. Because I rock. I am now a registered voter, and on the ‘jury duty’ radar.
27. Buy a photo album each year. (2005-check, 2006-check, 2007-check) (Complete 8/22/07) I’m considering this done. I actually purchased the 2005, 2006 photo albums, ones that you can hold in your hands. And for 2007, since I never have people sitting around looking at photo albums, I bought myself a pro Flickr account.
28. Fill it with pictures I’ve taken (even if they’re printed from my computer). (2005-check) (Completed 8/22/07) I’m also considering this done, even though I’m not printing photos anymore. I’m organizing my stuff on my Flickr page and occasionally if there’s a shot I really love I’ll print it to go on the wall, but I just don’t have the time or the space to load up on photo albums, and like I said above, no one looks at them anyway.
29. Re-visit Washington DC
30. Re-connect with Sara M.
31. Sell CD’s that have been sitting on my bedroom floor for a year. (Completed 4/31/06) Allie, Megan and I had a garage sale. I unloaded so many CDs I was giddy. I came home with $92.00 dollars after cleaning out my closets and under my bed and letting the garage salers rifle through my used belongings. So liberating. I’m taking the rest of the CDs to the Public Library tomorrow.
32. Donate CD’s that ‘they’ won’t buy to the Public Library. (Completed 5/6/06) Such a relief to get these out of the hallway, my car and my life. Very big load off my tired shoulders. Downside? I discovered a disgusting moldy spot in the backseat of my car where I spilled a full Grande Cafe Au Lait. I’m repulsed by myself.
33. Volunteer at the library at least once.
34. Adopt a puppy/adult dog. (Completed 3/24/07) I seriously didn’t believe this would ever happen. Lula is a great dog, and I’m so glad I found her.
35. Train adopted dog in the Koehler method.
36. Figure out my ROTH IRA. Where is it? Who’s my guy? Can I transfer it? I did this, signed up for online statements, figured out how to invest, etc. And… have yet to do any more investing. Someday I’ll have a real and true savings plan. Some. Day.
37. Figure out a way to organize my mail, bills and possessions. I’m thinking a whole organization plan is in order. (Completed 10/28/06) I’m considering this done. I have a basket for the mail, that still remains mostly unopened because it’s usually junk, but I know exactly where to find it. I have been using Quicken for 2 months now and I have a calendar that also reminds me to pay bills. My possessions are mostly organized, I’m still really messy, but I know which pile things are in now. It’s really quite satisfying.
38. Create a database that details my books, CDs, movies, etc. Finish my production notebook for my movie so I can get my damned diploma.
39. Create a database of books read and movies watched. (Completed 3/4/07) My reading lists can be found here, and my movie list here.
40. Visit the Getty. (Completed 3/10/07) My mom is in town this weekend and I usually struggle for things to do with her while she’s in town. (We’re cut from the very same picky cloth.) She had never been to the Getty and she likes to ‘cultural things’ so, I killed two birds with one stone. I love the architecture of the the place, but the exhibits were a bit lacking in breadth. I’m not a very good ‘museum goer’ as I tend to be a little irreverent about the work, but I think that is part of the fun, figuring out what you like, what makes you uncomfortable and what you think is plain crap hanging on a wall.
41. Visit the MOCA (Completed 1/13/07) I dragged Allie along with me to see the SKIN + BONES exhibit, and actually enjoyed it. It’s about the intersection of fashion and architecture and how they feed each other. I was dreading this one, but it was really quite nice.
42. Find and Buy a pair of designer jeans that fit me, and don’t make me look like a lard ass. (Completed 12/31/07) I got a pair of MNG jeans by Mango, not technically the high end designer I was thinking of, but I love them and they give me great ass. I’m calling this complete.
43. Eat a hot dog at Tail o the Pup before it closes down later this month. (Completed 11/13/05)
44. Learn to knit.
45. Learn to quilt. (Completed 10/21/06) I’m considering this completed. Obviously I haven’t mastered quilting yet, but I’m actually not sure I have the time or patience or even desire to keep this up. Which might mean I will never finish the next item. We shall see, shan’t we.
46. Make a quilt. (Completed 10/26/07) I’m calling this done. I only put one block together and I didn’t back it or anything, but I seriously will never do anything more quilty than that. Cheating? Sliding by? Sort of, but I don’t care.
47. Buy a guitar.
48. Learn to play it.
49. Play it by a campfire, sing-a-long style.
50. Take possession of my saddle. (Completed 7/22/06) This was a pain in the ass only because I decided to do it during a heat wave. No one said I was smart.
51. Take possession of my cedar chest. (Completed 7/22/06) See above. It’a a really cool piece of furniture that I’d like to use as a style template for the rest of the bedroom. It’s kind of 1960’s-ish.
52. Go horseback riding.
53. Ride on the Ferris Wheel on the Santa Monica Pier. (Completed 3/12/06) This was actually really fun, and not scary at all. Louie and I went and took pictures of each other, and marveled at the view. Sometimes you just need to be a tourist in your own town.
54. Eat a romantic dinner in Malibu.
55. Cook dinner for seven days straight Sundays in a row. Real dinner. With side dishes and everything.
56. Take a self portrait for Waller to hang in his apartment (that sounds weird, but he asked for it).
57. Buy a record player. (Completed 4/31/06) I didn’t exactly buy a record player so much as move in with Louie (who has a record player). I’m considering this done because it would be silly to buy one now that we already have one.
58. See the Supreme Court in session.
59. Sell my flute (Completed 1/13/08) I sold it for way less than it was worth, but I am pretty sure it was either that or move it to yet another apartment, which I really didn’t want to do.
60. Get my Tiffany necklaces cleaned.
61. Sell something on E-bay.
62. Renew my passport. (Completed 4/7/07) Oh man, what a cluster-fuck. But completed and used 3 days later.
63. Re-design my webpage. (Completed 1/17/2007) I’m considering this done. It’s kind of a moot point now that I got rid of the old domain and I have awkwardlysocial.com parked. Also I’ve commited myself to changing the banner every now and again, so done and done.
64. Learn Photoshop.
65. Learn Illustrator.
66. Learn enough CSS/HTML/other stuff to do my webpage myself.
67. Write a spec 1 hour.
68. Write a pilot.
69. Ride my bike. (Completed 12/11/05) Felt awesome, hope I can do this more often.
70. Get a bike helmet. (Completed 12/28/05) Went to REI with my sister, I look kind of retarded in it but feel so much safer on my bike now.
71. Crochet something other than a scarf (preferrably with a pattern, like my Grandma’s famous afgans).
72. Read 5 Presidential biographies/autobiographies.

1. Ronald Reagan: When Character was King A Story of Ronald Reagan by Peggy Noonan
2. John Adams by David McCollough.

73. Clean the bathroom once a week for a month.
74. See a high school basketball game.
75. Figure out my HS B-ball documentary pitch.
76. Spend a Saturday at yard sales on the rich side of town.
77. Go to the Rose Bowl flea market. (Completed 12/10/06) If you are a vintage clothes fan this is defintely worth the price of admission. I’m more of a ‘clothes that have never been worn’ fan, so it wasn’t quite my thing. I was actually hoping for more old cameras and tchotchkes, but was happy enough to find one guy that had a working Super 8 camera. I bought it and Tara and I are planning on shooting something with it this week. So that made it worth it.
78. Super Secret one (A) that I will only reveal if I accomplish it.
79. Super Secret one (SS) that I will only reveal if I accomplish it.
80. Take piano lessons.
81. Have sex in the shower.
82. Ride on a Vespa through the Italian country side.
83. Buy an expensive/designer hand bag.
84. Complete the Artist’s Way. (Completed 4/21/07) Done. Still in recovery, but the writing is progressing. I’m glad I did this.
85. Sip sweet tea on a wrap-around porch in the South, while listening to the Blues.
86. Celebrate my 30th birthday somewhere awesome. (Completed 1/22/06) Vegas is awesome. Having all my friends celebrate 30 years of me in Vegas…awesomer.
87. Finish my novel.
88. Read the trades for a week. (Completed 3/31/06) I’m not really sure why I put this on my list, but I did it and boy was it tedious, also very depressing. I’m glad it’s over.
89. Have an answer for the infernal and maddening question, “What do you do in your free time/what are your hobbies?” that doesn’t have the words TV, watch movies, read books in it. (Completed 10/28/06) I have a hobby/activity now that I love, and simultaneously hate. I jog and train for marathons. And I’ve really started liking spending time in the kitchen, though I don’t consider myself a cook yet, it is a nice way to pass time. I’m considering this done.
90. Use my Cuisinart. (Completed 12/11/05) Used it for the Bourbon Balls recipe. Tough clean-up but enjoyed making use of it.
91. Make a big pot of chili, freeze the left-overs and have them for lunch for a week (or however long they last). (Completed 12/6/05) And it was awesome, I really liked this task.
92. Shoot a video/short/thingie a month for 5 months.
93. Take a drive up the coast, stopping wherever and whenever I want to. (Completed 8/9/07) On my road trip up to Oregon, I took a detour to a short strip of the 101 that has the Redwood Forest on one side, the other side has breath taking views of the jagged Pacific Coast. I definitely wouldn’t have taken this 6 hour detour if it wasn’t on my list, but I’m so glad I did.
94. Let Louie take pictures of me. (the dirty kind) (Completed 1/22/06) Staying in a hotel with mirrors on the ceiling presents opportunities that cannot be passed up. Of course, I want to burn the photos now.
95. Go to another Dodger Game. (Completed 9/3/08).  I know this is a month too late.  But I wanted to put it on here.  I did it!  It was so much fun.  Now I am spoiled forever from the great seats.
96. Eat a Dodger Dog.  (Completed 9/3/08).  I know this is a month too late.  But I wanted to put it on here.  I did it!  YAY, MEAT!
97. Go to a hockey game.
98. While there, don’t ask what’s going on.
99. Take the LSAT.
100. Apply to Law Schools of my dreams.
101. Pay off Perkins Loan.

Whereas on the Fiction List I had at least heard of 75 per cent of the books, this list is really much more daunting, but number 10 on my 101 in 1001 List is to read 20 of these books. I’m such a crazy person, why do I do this to myself? Why?!

1. The Education of Henry Adams by Henry Adams
2. The Varieties Of Religious Experience: A Study In Human Nature by William James
3. Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington (9/23/07)
4. A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf (3/10/06)
5. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (6/3/06)
6. Selected Essays, 1917-1932 by T.S. Eliot
7. The Double Helix by James D. Watson
8. Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
9. The American Language by H.L. Mencken
10. The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money by John Maynard Keynes
11. The Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas (2/1/06)
12. The Frontier in American History by Frederick Jackson Turner
13. Black Boy by Richard Wright (7/2/06)
14. Aspects of the Novel by E.M. Forster (11/27/07)
    
15. The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote
16. The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman
17. The Proper Study of Mankind by Isaiah Berlin
18. The Nature and Destiny of Man by Reinhold Niebuhr
19. Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
20. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein (11/13/06)
21. The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White (1994)
22. An American Dilemma by Gunnar Myrdal
23. Principia Mathematica by Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell
24. The Mismeasure of a Man by Stephen Jay Gould
25. The Mirror and the Lamp by Meyer Howard Abrams
26. The Art of the Soluble by Peter B. Medawar
27. The Ants by Bert hoelldobler and Edward O. Wilson
28. A Theory of Justice by John Rawls
29. Art and Illusion by Ernest H. Gombrich
30. The Making of the English Working Class by E.P. Thompson
31. The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois (11/30/07)
32. Principia Ethica by G.E. Moore
33. Philosophy and Civilization by John Dewey
34. On Growth and Form by D’arcy Thompson
35. Ideas and Opinions by Albert Einstein
36. The Age of Jackson by Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
37. The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes
38. Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West
39. Autobiographies (book) by W.B. Yeats
40. Science and Civilization in China by Joseph Needham
41. Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves
42. Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
43. The Autobiography of Mark Twain by Mark Twain (12/23/07)
    
44. Children of Crisis by Robert Coles
45. A Study of History by Arnold J. Toynbee
46. The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith
47. Present at the Creation by Dean Acheson
48. The Great Bridge by David McCollough
49. Patriotic Gore by Edmund Wilson
50. Samuel Johns by Walter Jackson Bate
51. The Autobiography of Malcom X by Alex Haley and Malcolm X (1996-ish)
52. The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
53. Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey
54. Working by Studs Terkel
55. Darkness Visible by William Styron
56. The Liberal Imagination by Lionel Trilling
57. The Second World War by Winston Churchill
58. Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (5/20/06)
59. Jefferson and His Time by Dumas Malone
60. In the American Grain by William Carlos Williams
61. Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner
62. The House of Morgan by Ron Chernow
63. The Sweet Science by A.J. Liebling
64. The Open Society and Its Enemies by Karl Popper
65. The Art of Memory by Francis A. Yates
66. Religion and the Rise of Capitalism by R.H. Tawney
67. A Preface to Morals by Walter Lippmann
68. The Gate of Heavenly Peace by Jonathan D. Spence
69. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas S. Kuhn
70. The Strange Career of Jim Crow by C. Vann Woodward
71. The Rise of the West by William H. McNeill
72. The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
73. James Joyce by Richard Ellmann
74. Florence Nightingale by Cecil Wooham-Smith
75. The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul Fussell
76. The City in History by Lewis Mumford
77. Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson
78. Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr.
79. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris
80. Studies in Iconology by Erwin Panofsky
81. The Face of Battle by John Keegan
82. The Strange Death of Liberal England by George Dangerfield
83. Vermeer by Lawrence Gowing
84. A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan
85. West With the Night by Beryl Markham
86. This Boy’s Life by Tobias Wolff
87. A Mathematician’s Apology by G.H. Hardy
88. Six Easy Pieces by Richard P. Feynman
89. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
90. The Golden Bough by James George Frazer
91. Shadow and Act by Ralph Ellison
92. The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro
93. The American Political Tradition by Richard Hofstadter
94. The Contours of American History by William Appleman Williams
95. The Promise of American Life by Herbert Croly
96. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (1993-ish)
97. The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm
98. The Taming of the Chance by Ian Hacking
99. Operating Instructions by Anne Lammott (3/20/06)
100. Melbourne by Lord David Cecil

The only three on this list that I have read were for school. Assigned. This is going to be hard!

The Modern Library put out a huge list of novels (100 to be exact) in order to encourage the public to get off their dumb asses and read something other than Dan Brown. (Seriously, reading Dan Brown makes you dumber than not reading at all.) Reading every book on that list is number 9 on my 101 in 1001 List.

Truth be told, I don’t know if I’ll ever finish all these books. Especially with Ulysses rocking the number one slot. But I’d like to make a dent. Without further ado, here is the list. Books I’ve read are in bold with a date following.

1. Ulysses by James Joyce
2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1993)
3. The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
4. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (2004)
5. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (6/4/06)
6. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
7. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
8. Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
9. Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence (2005)
10. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
11. Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
12. The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler
13. 1984 by George Orwell (5/25/06)
14. I, Claudius by Robert Graves (10/27/07)
15. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (6/17/06)
16. An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser (1997-ish)
17. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
18. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (2000-ish)
19. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (11/25/07)
20. Native Son by Richard Wright
21. Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow
22. Appointment in Samarra by John O’Hara
23. U.S.A. (trilogy) by John Dos Passos
24. Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
25. A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
26. The Wings of the Dove by Henry James (3/28/06)
27. The Ambassadors by Henry James
28. Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
29. The Studs Lonigan Trilogy by James T. Farrell
30. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
31. Animal Farm by George Orwell (1991-ish)
32. The Golden Bowl by Henry James
33. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (1997-ish)
34. A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh (2005)
35. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
36. All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren
37. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
38. Howard’s End by E.M. Forster
39. Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
40. The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene (9/30/07)
41. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1990-ish)
42. Deliverance by James Dickey
43. A Dance to the Music of Time (series) by Anthony Powell
44. Point Counter Point by Aldous Huxley
45. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (1998-ish)
46. The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad
47. Nostromo by Joseph Conrad
48. The Rainbow by D.H. Lawrence
49. Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence
50. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
51. The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
52. Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth
53. Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
54. Light in August by William Faulkner
55. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
56. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (2005)
57. Parade’s End by Ford Madox Ford
58. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (2003-ish)
59. Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm
60. The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
61. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
62. From Here to Eternity by James Jones
63. The Wapshot Chronicles by John Cheever
64. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (1990-ish)
65. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess 2000-ish)
66. Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
67. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1994-ish)
68. Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
69. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
70. The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durell
71. A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes
72. A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipul
73. The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West
74. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
75. Scoop by Evelyn Waugh (7/15/2010)
    
76. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
77. Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
78. Kim by Rudyard Kipling
79. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster (1999-ish)
80. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
81. The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow
82. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
83. A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipul
84. The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen
85. Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad Google Books Full Text
86. Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
87. The Old Wives’ Tale by Arnold Bennett
88. The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1985-ish)
89. Loving by Henry Green
90. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
91. Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell
92. Ironweed by William Kennedy
93. The Magus by John Fowles
94. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
95. Under the Net by Iris Murdoch
96. Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
97. The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
98. The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain
99. The Ginger Man by J.P. Donleavy
100. The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington (2002-ish)

As you can see, I have a bit of work to do. Wish me luck!

Oh yeah. So 4th of July comes once a year, and this year I celebrated it right. Ands had some people up to the beach house. There were adult activities, such as BBQ-ing, and there were childish activities, such as complaining that the drinks weren’t strongish enough add some more tequila, pronto! And then there was a slumber party. Yay! No drinky and drivey for us. Also, I cleaned out a couple of folks in Texas Hold-’em, thank you Phil Gordon! Dear Hang Over, I thought I broke up with you, but apparently you still think we’re going out. You can’t just show up, even if I deserve it. You are not a part of my life. It’s over.

Then Elliot had a perfect view of Los Angeles from her hilltop balcony. I left my silent and boring neighborhood and sat on a hilltop in the neighborhood where everyone has fireworks, and isn’t afraid to blow off their children’s hands with them. And I appreciated the show and Elliot’s hospitality.

Now I’m addicted to Alias and have only 7 more episodes to watch (of the first season) and then, then I’ll get some work done. Thank you Jennifer Garner and JJ Abrams for making my weekend complete.