“In order to write about life first you must live it.”

This last month or so, I’ve been embodying the Hemingway quote used for the title of this post. While I did have a bout of depression between my son leaving at the end of August and my visa run at the beginning of September, my decision to get off social media and start focusing more on my writing has played a key role in my current focus and clarity on my path forward. 

After almost 18 months on this journey, things are finally clicking and it feels like writing is truly one of the things I’m supposed to be DOING. The more I write, the more I know that taking time out to read will only make me a better writer.

That being said, there is still a lot of work to do, LOL. While I started reading more at the beginning of the year (and tracking those books in a different blog post), my mistake of spending waaaayyy too much money on books at the Hong Kong airport led me to make it a morning practice to read at least 20 minutes. 

And let’s be real, I’m a list person. Like if I make myself a to-do list and complete something that’s not on the list, I’ll go back and add it to the list just so I can cross it off said to-do list, kinda of list person, LOL. So, yea, it feels appropriate to keep a list of the books I’ve read on this grand experiment. 

And that’s all this entry is, nothing more than a list of books I’ve read thus far, in one clear, consolidated place in case I need to reference them for any reason later. I’ve included Amazon links in case any of them pique your interest (and yes, I’d get a small commission if you purchase through my link).

Maybe I’ll come back and add more or dive into these deeper in the future, but for now, let’s keep it simple… for once, LOL.