Can I Read All of the Books I Own?

plus: books I read in January - and a controversial show!

Hey look! It’s my first Substack video…and I decided to wear glasses. And move the camera around a lot. And I think I’m supposed to film horizontally if uploading from my phone? What a rookie. But hey - I tried something new!

Here’s the question - should we read all of the books we own?

By my count, I own over 376 books that I have not read + many more that I have. I want to read them, but I keep stopping at the library for that shiny new thing (for instance, The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys just arrived!)¹

If I keep going the way I’m going, I will never get around to reading the books I actually l own - like Bittersweet by Susan Cain (a book I really really want to read - I even bought this book.)

Is it important to you that you read all of the books you own? I’ve been pondering this question ever since

Valerie Geary

and Caroline asked the question.

Here are some reasons I keep a book on the shelf:

1. I read the book and loved it and can never ever part with it

2. I want to read the book

3. It’s pretty

4. It’s a classic

5. It was a gift

6. It’s autographed

7. I *should* read it

8. Someone else might want to read the book

9. Research (as if I don’t google everything)

10. A source of pride? I like other people seeing that my home loves books

I grew up in a home filled with books. My mother, especially, wanted her home to be a library. So it’s completely normal to me to have at least one bookshelf in every room filled with books (with the occasional picture frame and/or decoration, but mostly books). And though I strive to be more minimalist in every other area of my life, this hasn’t yet applied to books. For all of the above reasons.

What about you?

Do you want to read all of the books you own? Do you have a plan?

Let me know - I am super interested in how you’re going about this (esp with how you’re going to read those books first without stopping at the library and checking out that new release!)

Amy 💖

What I read in January:

The Principles of Uncertainty by Maira Kalman: I’m transfixed and obsessed with Kalman’s work (which is mostly gouache and black ink). I adore her style, wit, and humor. I love how she writes personal stories with pictures that are sometimes funny and sometimes sad, and that her paintings teach us of history and wisdom without being preachy. Go down the rabbit hole with me.

Innocent by Scott Turow: A thrilling courtroom drama/murder mystery with a literary bent, Turow is so good. I finished Innocent just in time to read Presumed Guilty, (the 3rd in the series!)

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon: Based on the diaries of real life midwife, Martha Ballard, it’s Maine, 1789. When the Kennebec River freezes and it entombs a man in the ice, Martha is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. "Fans of Outlander’s Claire Fraser will enjoy Lawhon’s Martha, who is brave and outspoken when it comes to protecting the innocent. . . impressive."—The Washington Post (I concur! And who needs protecting here? The women).

I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron: Audiobook via free library app, Libby. It’s read by MERYL STREEP so you know it’s good. Memoir. Hilarious. Touching. I adore Ephron. Journalist, mother, novelist, essayist, producer, director, and screenwriter (the writer and director behind Julia & Julia, When Harry Met Sally, You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle). I laughed out loud several times and just loaded up Heartburn.

Watched:

Say Nothing, a 2024 historical drama limited series on hulu, and an adaptation of the 2018 book by Patrick Radden Keefe^. The story details four decades of the IRA struggle in Northern Ireland during The Troubles using real life accounts (from The Belfast Project, a super secret oral history project conducted by Boston College researchers). It is so intense and will leave you asking - how far is too far when you believe you have a righteous cause?!? Read more here.

What are you reading, listening to, and watching?

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Baby Bump Painting of the Week: the artichoke

I don’t love this painting but alas, I’ve never painted an artichoke

Painting these baby bump “fruits” week by week is helping me pay attention to the miracle of life, and Attention is the beginning of devotion…

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The Last Part:

School visits: Looking for a class visit? I love visiting classrooms. Let’s talk brain and heart anatomy, resilience, family relationships, the power of reading and writing…be in touch!

Reading: The Anxious Generation, Heartburn, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, and

Open Letters, from Anne Applebaum

(pulitzer prize writer and historian)

Running: Ya’ll, it’s finally in the 30’s in New Hampshire and I am RUNNING outside again!

Supporting: Ukraine, USAID, National Parks, IRS, a bipartisan Justice Department and FBI…

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The Unforgettable Guinevere St. Clair is part-mystery, part understanding of the human heart 💖

Ten Thousand Tries is Golden’s quest to save his dad and the soccer team ⚽

The McNifficents is one summer with six rambunctious kids and their miniature-schnauzer nanny 🐕 New Hampshire’s 2024 Great Reads for Kids selection!

1. post script: three hours after posting this I stopped at the library (because it was open and how can I not stop?! Also, in my little town, the more people entering the library = more town funding. so I did a good deed.) And my most wonderful librarian insisted I check out Bletchley Riddle. SO I DID. And I have no regrets :)