History, True or Feigned: What I read in 2020

For me, one small thing seems to have gone right in 2020, I managed to post 20 blog entries, some of which actually sparked some conversation. My goals for this blog are modest - I just want to practice my writing and occasionally say things that some folks will think about it. This past year I achieved those goals. Here's hoping I can do the same again in 2021.

Two years ago, a friend of mine posted a list of the books they had read in 2018, I thought it was a great idea so I posted a list myself on Facebook, and then the following year on this blog. I'm posting the list again, since I find this a very useful exercise in self-reflection.

What I am reading both impacts and reflects my mood, especially active reading. Reading in and of itself is fine, but it is often simply a passive exercise. Active reading requires interrogating and questioning the material you are reading, and comparing it to what you have read in the past. It is a conversation on multiple levels between multiple speakers but with only one listener. That solitary listener can be a clarifying concept - it lays bare any given work's most valuable insights.

Of course, once you take those insights and present them to others through reviews, essays, or criticisms on a public forum like this blog, that starts an entirely new set of conversations... with other singular listeners.

Looking over this year's list (see below), these trends stood out:

# of Rereads: 23 (I've marked rereads below with an *)
# Military History reads: 16
# by or about Tolkien: 5
# Forgotten Realms: 4
# of Marine reads: 2
# Frigate Navy period reads: 10

# Thieves' World & related: 7
# Matter of Britain works: 5
# Mythology: 7

# Plato/Socrates: 6

# of holiday reads: 6

I read 58 works this year, a baker's dozen less then last year. There are several reasons for that, I believe. I read more non-fiction this year, for one thing, and several of the works I read required more solid thinking and digestion, primarily in philosophy and history. I often reread books, I find it useful for getting the most from a work. Also, there are works I reread simply because I find comfort in doing so. Last year I reread 48 out of 71 works, 67%. The % of rereads this year was 40%, 23 out of 58 works.

It is very rare that I refuse to finish a book, but it happened again this year; Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy. It might have improved later, but overall it showed its age and his biases were simply too obvious, greatly limiting the value of the work.

This list below is roughly in the same order I read the books, though I am often reading multiple books at a time. I usually have an audiobook I am reading (always unabridged if available) for commuting and walks (my audiobook reading has dropped significently this year, without a commute!), a 'bed time' book for right before I sleep, and a 'Paul time' book for bathroom breaks. I am also often reading books for work, though that varies depending if I am in research or writing mode at the moment, and if I am considering secondary literature or primary sources). I also tend to read pretty fast, one reason I enjoy audiobooks is that they slow my reading down and allow me to appreciate other aspects of a work (plus, the readers accents and inflections add a new dimension to the work).

This list doesn't even begin to touch on all of the reading I do for research for my work of course.

In "What I read in 2019", I planned to finish rereading the Thieves' World series, read more of the Otto Prohaska novels by John Biggins, reread some Plato, and read more Tolkien this year. I didn't really get to finish rereading the Thieves' World series yet, nor did I read more of the Prohaska novels yet. But I was fairly successful on Plato and always read some Tolkien every year.

For next year, I need to read up on the Mexican War & the Seminole Wars, and I'd still like to read more of the Prohaska novels. I'd like to reread more of the Elric series, and I have the two latest volumes from Jim Butcher's Dresden Files still to read and I also want to read Ken Follett's Century trilogy. I've also had a yearning to reread the Harry Potter series, but I've been resisting because there are so many new works to read.

What I read in 2020:

1. Nancy Bunting, "J.R.R. Tolkien's inspiration for Lúthien: the “gallant” Edith Bratt" Journal of Tolkien Research (Vol. 9 Iss. 1, 2020) (since withdrawn from the journal)