The Twelve Days of Gheorghemas: Day Seven

 On the seventh day of Gheorghemas, Big Gheorghe gave to me

Seven Books For Reading

Six Footie Jerseys
Five musicians from San Antonio known as the Sir Douglas Quintet
A four-part Japanese life strategy (as told by our man in the OBX)
Three 80's Baseball Sports Looks
Too Many Entries
and a Cameo That Will Go Down in History

Lately, I've been trying to stay off screens in my free time, since I'm spending my days teaching virtual high school. By the end of the day, my eyes are tired, so I'm working on my core. Core exercises are TOUGH. Remember when working out was just benching and lat pulls, along with a few sit-ups and a couple of curls? Those days are long gone. Try this:

But I'm still reading plenty of books, either on paper of my Kindle Paperwhite (which has a nice albedo . . . it's not harsh like a screen). The pandemic has been good for reading. I've already read 51 books this year (including Tom Jones, which is a monstrous tome). 

Here are seven good ones.

NUMBER ONE . . . Deacon King Kong by James McBride.

READ THIS BOOK. I've never read anything quite like it. It's a fictionalized account of the Brooklyn housing project in McBride he grew up; the year is 1969 and it's all going down: urban decay and revitalization, baseball, drugs, race, language and tall tales . . . the book is so much fun, even when it gets dark-- and there's some romance and a mystery to keep the plot cooking. . . . t

The story begins with a bang-- in the first sentence Sportcoat-- the old drunk church deacon, walks up to a young heroin dealer (who he coached as a child) and shoots him in the ear . . . but really the book begins with the mystery of Sportcoat's friend Hot Sausage and the free cheese. A must read.

NUMBER TWO . . . Why We're Polarized by Ezra Klein

This is my non-fiction choice of the year. I learned so much. The takeaway: stop wasting your time following national politics (unless you enjoy it as a hobby . . . like rooting for a football team). If you want to enact change, get off social media and do something locally. If you think the current state of affairs is going to change, you're wrong. It's all identity politics-- the parties have figured it out, they've stacked the identities on top of one another, ballot splitting is rare, folks don't care about policy on the national level, and emotion reigns supreme. National politics is a team sport, dominated by psychological traits that aren't going to be mollified any time soon, so you're just going to get frustrated if you get involved. This might be the last book you read on this topic.

NUMBER THREE . . . The Secret History by Donna Tartt

This Bacchanalian murder mystery set in a college town is way too much fun. You won't put it down.

NUMBER FOUR . . . The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

I read a lot of incredibly dense and difficult sci-fi this year. Kept my mind off the election and the pandemic. I won't bore you with it-- it's for the diehards. This book is breezy and fun sci-fi . . . but also epic. If you want to read another fun and breezy sci-fi book (that's reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut) check out Set My Heart To Five by Simon Stephenson.

NUMBER FIVE . . . Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley

Great hard-boiled mystery, but the knight in a powder blue suit is a black dude. You might as well read the trilogy. A Red Death  and White Butterfly are the next two.

NUMBER SIX . . . The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

Another great mystery . . . but the detective never leaves his hospital bed. Enough said.

NUMBER SEVEN . . . The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey

One of the strangest sports books ever written. T.S. Eliot quotations and Zen consciousness tips will help you reach peak performance. I've been playing a shitload of tennis during the pandemic, and this book makes me realize that everything I need to hit the ball better is between my ears.

These are all excellent and fun reads. If you want some hardcore sci-fi recommendations, just ask. Add your 2020 favorites in the comments.