The 50-A-Day Project: Books 11-20

Well, I failed three times in meeting the 50-A-Day goal. The first time, I just did the math wrong and wound up reading a few pages under 50 rather than, as I had thought, 10 pages over (technically, I read onto a 50th page, but there were a few blank pages in there and I didn't complete the 50th page, so it's a failure). The second time, I ran out of time because I was waiting to meet Pete Seeger, so, you know, some things take priority (though I could've planned better). And the third time, I just ran out of time in the day.

So, I've changed my rules to be 50 pages a day, with the day ending when I go to sleep for the night. There were several nights where I was rushing to get the 50 in before midnight, and probably missing some nuances along the way, so, with the failures already in place and acknowledged, I figured this was the best way to move forward. So, yes, I am a failure, but, really, I don't appreciate you bringing it up, so just get off my back and let's never speak of this again.

I've made it through 5,912 pages of 20 books in 87 days so far, putting me at an average of roughly 68 pages a day. Here are the highlights from books 11 through 20.

Best Fiction Book: Out of Sight by Elmore Leonard
Best Nonfiction Book: The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire by Matt Taibbi
Toughest Read: Disquiet, Please: More Humor Writing from The New Yorker edited by David Remnick and Henry Finder
Easiest Read: The Card: Collectors, Con Men, and the True Story of History's Most Desired Baseball Card by Michael O'Keeffe and Teri Thompson
Number of Books on Loan: 1 (Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson). Thanks, Mike!
Number of Books Given as Gifts: 1 (Disquiet, Please: More Humor Writing from The New Yorker edited by David Remnick and Henry Finder). Thanks, Josh!
Number of Books Signed by the Author: 2 (Out of Sight by Elmore Leonard, Silk Parachutes by John McPhee)
Book That Was Sitting on the Shelf the Longest: Either The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion at the Twilight of the American Empire by Matt Taibbi or The Card: Collectors, Con Men, and the True Story of History's Most Desired Baseball Card by Michael O'Keeffe and Teri Thompson, both of which were worth the wait.

Best Paragraphs:
[from an interview with James Baldwin]

"Let me put it this way: There are so many things I'm not good at. I can't drive a truck. I couldn't run a bank. Well, all right. Other people have to do that. Well, in a way they're responsible to me and I'm responsible to them, you know.
My responsibility to them is to try to tell the truth as I see it--not so much about my private life as about their private lives, you know. So that there is in the world a standard for all of us, which will get you through your trouble. Because your trouble's always coming, you know. And Cadillacs don't get you through it. And neither do psychiatrists, incidentally. All that gets you through it, really, is some faith in life, which is not so easy to achieve."

from P.S.: Further Thoughts From a Lifetime of Listening by Studs Terkel