A few nights ago, I was looking at the moon and I thought, “I’d like to read a cultural history of the moon.” I googled, and there it was. My friend Matt said, “Ideally, that is exactly how one should find everything they read… and write.”
It’s really that simple. You find the books you want to read… and if you can’t find them, you write them.
I know I’ve said it before, but now I have a flowchart for the rest of my life.
10 books I loved this year, in no particular order:
Marilynne Robinson, Gilead
I loved this novel, which runs on the voice of the main character, an old preacher named John Ames, who is writing a letter to his seven-year-old son about his life and struggles with his faith. Beautiful book.
Ursula Franklin, The Real World of Technology
A series of radio lectures given in 1989, and yet, 100% relevant to today, as we face the rise of techno-fascism. A book and a thinker I wish more people knew about.
Olivia Laing, The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone
A terrific hybrid of memoir and art writing — I particularly loved the sections on David Wojnarowicz and the AIDS crisis.
Steve Silberman, NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity
A fascinating history that includes everything from Nazis to Tesla to Rain Man. A ton here relevant to education and parenting kids who think differently.
John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley in Search of America
Some people question how much of this travelogue is true, but who the hell really cares when the writing is so delicious? Steinbeck himself wrote about the impossibility of capturing a nation based on one trip.
Tom Hart, Rosalie Lightning
A devastating comics memoir about losing a toddler, using art to sort through your life, and the struggle of being an artist with a family in America. Amazing feat.
John Holt, How Children Learn
Holt’s work, first published in 1967, had more of an impact on how I parent and how I think about education than any other book I read this year. His message is simple: children are learning animals, and the best way to teach them is to trust them and get out of their way. Still feels radical.
Chris Offutt, My Father, The Pornographer
Offutt’s memoir about his upbringing and his dad’s writing career also functions as a kind of cautionary tale of working from home and making a living from your art. Really great writing.
Jon Klassen, The Hat Trilogy
It’s tough to hit that sweet spot in the venn diagram of books kids love that adults love to read, and it’s just as to tough to wrap up a beloved trilogy. I spent a lot of bedtimes reading these books.
Joy Williams, Ninety-Nine Stories of God
A weird, wonderful batch of super-short stories. Perfect pre-dream reading.
Here are 15 more books I liked, all of which could’ve easily made my top 10:
Browse my notes on all the books I read this year, my tips for reading more, and a decade’s worth of my previous reading years.
Want to be more productive next year? Get a wall calendar.
For big, important creative work, not just the day-to-day meetings and appointments, a paper wall calendar is a simple, visual tool that helps you plan, gives you concrete goals, and keeps you on track.
The comedian Jerry Seinfeld has a wall calendar method that helps him stick to his daily joke writing. You start by breaking your work into daily chunks. Each day, when you’re finished with your work, make a big fat X in the day’s box. Every day, instead of worrying about your total progress, your goal is to just fill a box.
“After a few days you’ll have a chain,” Seinfeld says. “Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain.”
Amassing a body of work or building a career is a lot about the slow accumulation of little bits of effort over time. Writing a page each day doesn’t seem like much, but do it for 365 days and you have enough to fill a novel.
Work + time = art.
If you get my new wall calendar, you’ll have little bits of monthly encouragement along the way — and when you’re done with the year’s work, you can cut the calendar down the middle with an x-acto blade and you’ll have a dozen images you can play with. Add a 13×13 inch frame, and voila! Cheap art to hang back on the wall.
Buy one here:
See more images from the calendar, here.
If you order any of my books from Bookpeople here in Austin, Texas, before December 7, I will sign and personalize them!
The holiday deal is over, but you can always get personalized books from Bookpeople. How to order: Go to Bookpeople.com, add any or all of my books to your cart, and in the comments field during check out, indicate the name of the person to whom you would like the book(s) signed.
Direct links to each book:
I will sign as many books as you order! They make great, affordable gifts for the office, classroom, or friends and family!
Also: the folks at Pageaday.com are offering a 20% discount on the 2017 Steal Like An Artist wall calendar. Order here and enter in the code Kleon at checkout. (It’s also available at Amazon, B&N.com, and Calendars.com.)
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliates program, the proceeds of which keep it free for anyone to read.