reading is fundamental

i like to read books. i focus on literature but have read books from other genres occasionally. in recent years, however, most of my reading has occurred on vacations, but i've been trying to change that here in 2022. i set a goal of reading a book a month, and i will say it's so far so good. back in the early 1990's, i decided to read all of "the classics", which i defined as any book that had cliff notes for it. 

i've now read most of them since then, but still have quite a few to cross off the list. so far this year, i've not read any new ones, but rather i've chosen to re-read these novels:

i started the year with "the catcher in the rye", which i first read in the mid 1990's. back then, i identified a bit with the book's protagonist holden caulfield. this time, reading the book as an older person, i was less enthusiastic about his perspective and more concerned about his mental health.

next up was "to kill a mockingbird", a book i have read probably ten times in the last 40 years. it's my favorite book for sure. that's why i was happy to add this card:

to my "meaningful and just because" collection.  it's a 2011 topps american pie card that i bought in an online order back in 2020. i came upon it by chance, but it represents one of my bigger non-baseball hobbies which is great.

one reason i chose those two books to read at the start of 2022 was the increase in the banning of books that was receiving coverage in the new year. in my opinion those bans stem from ignorance, plain and simple. i can't imagine not having been required to read "to kill a mockingbird" in 8th grade. the impact that it made on my social awareness at that age helped me recognize things in my own community that i might not have seen otherwise. not that i am the most aware person, but the trial of tom robinson did open my eyes a bit, and it is still relevant today as people seem to continue to struggle with the idea behind black lives matter.

for this month, i've moved on to "1984" which i first read in, well, 1984. being told to not believe what you see was fiction back then, and we all know where we are today with people choosing to decide their own truths. after that, i may re-read "the jungle" by upton sinclair. anyone who doesn't understand the need for unions should give that one a go.

and yes, i've read "maus" and it was tremendous. i highly recommend it.