How I Read 52 Books This Year

About a year ago, I made public my goal of reading 50 books in 2009.

With only hours left in the decade, I'm proud to say, I've read 52!

But here's the weird part -- it didn't actually feel like it took any time, leaving me and my loved ones relatively sane. Here's why:

-I started to take a book with me everywhere. Between lines at the grocery store, waiting for the F train (ugh), spending time on said F train and tardy dinner guests, I carved out a couple of hours each week, even with a mere 20 minute commute. I also became less grumpy about waiting for things.
-I travel a fair amount. Flights = still never on time.
-I watch almost no TV.
-Books related to work were fair game.
-I joined two book clubs. I can’t recommend this enough! I learned so much about my friends through these nerdy gatherings. These will continue in 2010!
-I’m a relatively fast reader.
-I read multiple books at a time. This allowed me to teeter and totter through fiction and non-fiction based on my mood and avoiding the feeling of being bogged down.
-I don’t read at the gym, but am not opposed to it. Tons of untapped time there.
-I cancelled three magazine subscriptions.
-I didn't play much clarinet. Frown.
-When the weather turns crappy, I become a hermit.
-In late 2008, I became a coffee drinker. Thanks, recession.

Here's what I read in 2009, in the order I read 'em in:
1. "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga
2. "Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
3. "Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guterson
4. "The Wall Street Journal Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook" by David Crook
5. "Barrel Fever" by Dave Sedaris
6. "A Bend in the River" by V.S. Naipaul
7. "Diary of a Bad Year" by J.M. Coetzee
8. "Levittown" by David Kushner
9. "Other Voices, Other Rooms" by Truman Capote
10. "Boyhood" by J.M. Coetzee
11. "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" by John le Carre
12. "The Sirens of Titan" by Kurt Vonnegut
13. “Dorothy Parker: Complete Stories” by Dorothy Parker
14. “The Memoirs of John Likkel” by John Likkel*
15. “The Orchid Thief” by Susan Orlean
16. “Out of the Pits” by Caitlin Zaloom
17. “Between the Assassinations” by Aravind Adiga
18. “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” by Mark Haddon
19. “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway
20. “The Partly Cloudy Patriot” by Sarah Vowell
21. “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy
22. “Brief Interviews with Hideous Men” by David Foster Wallace
23. “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy
24. “Smart Women Marry Money” by Elizabeth Ford and Daniela Drake (For WSJ!)
25. “Then We Came to the End” by Joshua Ferris
26. “Nobody Move” by Denis Johnson
27. “The Name of the World” by Denis Johnson
28. “Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: the Best of McSweeney’s Humor Category” ed. Dave Eggers, etc.
29. “The Stranger” by Albert Camus
30. “Angels” by Denis Johnson
31. "American Pastoral" by Philip Roth
32. "Reservation Blues" by Sherman Alexie
34. "The Insanity Defense" by Woody Allen
35. "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami
36. "Indignation" by Philip Roth
37. "Snap Judgement" by David Adler (author Q and A)
38. "Midnight's Children" by Salman Rushdie
39. "Monopolygate" by Ralph Anspach (Obvi!)
40. "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" by Steig Larsson
41. "A Mercy" by Toni Morrison
42. "Revolutionary Road" by Richard Yates
43. "The Billionaire's Vinegar" by Benjamin Wallace
44. "The Night of the Gun" by David Carr
45. "Farewell, my Lovely" by Raymond Chandler
46. "Monopoly: The World's Most Famous Game and How it Got That Way" by Philip E. Orbanes
47. "The Game Makers" by Philip E. Orbanes
48. "The History of Standard Oil: Volume I" by Ida Tarbell
49. "The House of Spirits" by Isabelle Allende
50. "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
51. "Liar's Poker" by Michael Lewis
52. “Timequake” by Kurt Vonnegut

I also jotted down a list of the movies I read this year. As I skim through the lists, my memory is jogged. “Coraline” was viewed with my eight-year-old nephew in 3-D, David Foster Wallace rattled me on my birthday, “Revolutionary Road” danced in my head as I wrote stories about the decay of the U.S. economy. I’m no Art Garfunkel or Harriet Klausner, but I’d recommend this quick, literary and film-diet notetaking for anyone.

Halfway through the year, I bought a new bookshelf. As I sit here on New Year’s Eve in a snow-covered New York City, I look at that shelf. It’s overflowing with different books recommended to me, some loaned, some purchased, from friends and family who cheered me on throughout the year. Also some favorites, begging to be re-read. (That practice was off-limits this year.) Stuck on my wall are dozens of post-its, also bearing recommendations. Thinking about books and lists is overwhelming, and as a writer by trade, incredibly humbling. Sheesh.
I’ve yet to decide what my goal for 2010 will be. Run a marathon? Read 52 more? Keep that damn closet organized?

One thing is clear: I’ve still got a lot more reading to do!**

Happy New Year!

*I came across my great-grandfather's memoirs while at home in Oregon in March and helping my grandma go through things. Since great-grandpa's tale was well over 100 pages, I decided to count it.
**Roommate comment on all this: "You're a supernerd." Sigh.

Why It's Hip to be a Square (Dancer)

As a kid growing up in Oregon, I, like many other school children, suffered through square dancing in PE class.

I returned to my homeland for today's A1 story about the current status of young square dancers of the Pacific Northwest. Turns out, the numbers are dwindling and there's a fight to keep the tradition alive. And it's not my grandma's (or gym teacher's) kind of square dance anymore.

I also got the chance to interview historians about the hidden history of square dancing. It involves French trends in the 18th century, slavery and Henry Ford.

Thanks to everyone who helped me out with this story!

(PS -- Reader writes in that there's a square dance group at MIT called the Tech Squares! Awesome!)

My 8-year-old nephew interprets my existence

Here's his sketch:

Note the iPhone, purse, book and boots detail. Gotta start stashing cash in his 529 for art school.

(Meanwhile, at the WSJ DON'T BUY GIFT CARDS THIS YEAR! Avoid skimming, consider credit-card board games and why it stinks to be a 2008 college graduate.)

Lots of other schtuff in the journalistic pipeline, but keeping mum for now!

Life in the Severance Economy

On A1 of today's paper, I take a look at the people of the severance economy. They're confronting a reality they never thought they would have to: long-term unemployment intersecting with savings on the brink.

I consider this an unofficial follow-up to my profile of a trader who now works at a steakhouse. See also: trader who now runs a Mister Softee truck, the slowdown on the NYSE floor and tracking down former Lehman employees.

While reporting this story, my brother was laid off. Several more pink slips flowed into the hands of friends out West and in New York, and points in between. There's been no shortage of layoffs in the journalism industry, either.

I guess sometimes personal finance reporting becomes, well, personal.

Udpate: We check in on Carlos Araya, other laid of profilees of the past.

Misc. takes from Gawker, NY Mag, Dealbreaker, Motley Fool, NY1, Clusterstock, Columbia J Review.

Bookquest 2009: The Home Stretch

Drawing inspiration from former presidents, I'm trying to read 50 books by December 31, 2009. With roughly eight weeks left in the year, I've read 43 titles so far! Keep those recommendations coming! When the weather gets bad, my drive to be a hermit and stay indoors and be literary only increases!

Add to the list:
"American Pastoral" by Philip Roth
"Reservation Blues" by Sherman Alexie
"The Insanity Defense" by Woody Allen
"Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami
"Indignation" by Philip Roth
"Snap Judgement" by David Adler (author Q and A)
"Midnight's Children" by Salman Rushdie
"Monopolygate" by Ralph Anspach (for WSJ, too)
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" by Steig Larsson
"A Mercy" by Toni Morrison
"Revolutionary Road" by Richard Yates
"The Billionaire's Vinegar" by Benjamin Wallace
"The Night of the Gun" by David Carr

The Pilons I saw in Paris

My own origin story gets that much more confusing while strolling in Montmartre...

The Little-Known History of Monopoly

My story about the hidden origins of Monopoly and Prof. Ralph Anspach's epic legal battle over his own Anti-Monopoly game is on page one of today's paper or online for free here.

I had a blast reporting this story. I've long been a fan of the game, having competed in several cutthroat tournaments with my family through the years. (We still bicker about the results...)

Enjoy!

Oh, and here's a video of me talking about the game's origins.

From Stocks to Softee

The finance bubble deflated, leaving many people unemployed in its wake. Today, Lisa Bannon and I take a look at some of them.

I also had the chance to shoot video of Bill Sonner, a trader who now runs a Mister Softee truck.

Behold! The Return of The Day Trader

Lauricella, Kim and I dive in on page one today about the return of day traders.

In some ways, this story felt like an accidental sequel to my story about those who ditched equities during the scary days of spring. I'll let y'all draw your own conclusions.

Brazil, Rugelach and Disneyword: A Look At Lehman Brothers, One Year Later

Annelena Lobb and I profile several different Lehman employees in today's A section as part of the WSJ's year-since crisis coverage.

I find projects like these are extremely rewarding as a reporter and a great way to take a look at the anatomy of the collapse without the choke of deadline. Hope you enjoy reading as much as we did reporting.
Lehman's Legacy: Charles Ayres
Lehman's Legacy: Larry Bortstein
Lehman's Legacy: Sally Saltzbart Minier
Lehman's Legacy: Aline Almeida
Lehman's Legacy: Aubrie Fine
Lehman's Legacy: Jason Kilgariff
Lehman's Legacy: Five More Employees

Be sure to click through everyone's slideshow. Bryan Derballa did a great job with the photos.

Shear Madness of Home Haircuts

Read all about it on A1 of today's WSJ or for free online here. Video, too!

This is my second hair feature at the Journal and my second people-inflicting-pain-on-themselves-by-silly-means page one story.

For the record, I'm booking an appointment with a stylist.

Related: Gawk, Jezebel, Slate.

Credit Card Cancellations Without Notifications

We look into the rising trend of credit card companies cutting of consumers with no notice on D1 of today's paper. (There's a podcast interview with John Ulzheimer of Credit.com also on that article page.)

Thanks to all those who took the time to weigh in!

Previous coverage.

Dan Waeger's Golf Tournament This October

In 2006, I profiled Dan Waeger for USA Today.

Dan was a twentysomething fighting Stage IV lung cancer. He started the National Collegiate Cancer Foundation to help people like him -- too old for the children's leukemia ward but too young for the elderly cancer wings -- cope with their diagnosis.

During our talks, he was incredibly candid, offering honest insight on dating, hair loss and juggling final exams with radiation treatments. Interviewing his friends, family members and coworkers, it became clear -- this guy was a powerhouse. (Not to mention a keeper of an uncanny sense of humor.)

After the story ran, I'd receive the occasional update from Dan via email or text message. We kept each other on career changes, people in our lives. He met Lance Armstrong, kept up his passion for golf, got engaged.

Dan passed away March of this year. He was 26 years old.

I'm pleased to report that his fiancee, Meghan, will be holding the 5th Annual Waeger Cup in Lebanon, Penn., on Sunday, Oct. 4th. She also continues posting to the blog the two started. You can find registration for the golf tournament, as well as information on how to donate to Dan's foundation, here.

Stories like Dan's hit me like a sucker punch to the gut. He made a serious dent on the world in his 26 years, but there's still much work to be done. The adage "gone, but not forgotten" couldn't feel more true.

The Ups and Downs of Yo-Yos

On page one of Friday's paper, an exploration of the history and evolution of yo-yoing. Combines so many things I love: gadgetry, quirky athletics and bizarre medical stories.

And don't miss Matt Rivera's video. He did such a good job, the Today show ripped it off.

Bookquest 2009: Midyear Update

Several people have asked if I'm still on track to read 50 books this year. The good news is that I am! The bad news is I've done a dismal job of chronicling my journey.

By my count, we're wrapping up week 27 of the year and I just finished my 30th title! Here's the complete list of what I've read so far:

"The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga
"Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
"Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guterson
"The Wall Street Journal Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook" by David Crook
"Barrel Fever" is the first collection from Dave Sedaris
"A Bend in the River" by V.S. Naipaul
"Diary of a Bad Year" by J.M. Coetzee
"Levittown" by David Kushner
"Other Voices, Other Rooms" by Truman Capote
"Boyhood" by J.M. Coetzee
"The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" by John le Carre
"The Sirens of Titan" by Kurt Vonnegut
“Dorothy Parker: Complete Stories” by Dorothy Parker
“The Memoirs of John Likkel” by John Likkel*
“The Orchid Thief” by Susan Orlean
“Out of the Pits” by Caitlin Zaloom
“Between the Assassinations” by Aravind Adiga
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” by Mark Haddon
“The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway
“The Partly Cloudy Patriot” by Sarah Vowell
“Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy
“Brief Interviews with Hideous Men” by David Foster Wallace
“The Road” by Cormac McCarthy
“Smart Women Marry Money” by Elizabeth Ford and Daniela Drake**
“Then We Came to the End” by Joshua Ferris
“Nobody Move” by Denis Johnson
“The Name of the World” by Denis Johnson
“Created in Darkness by Troubled Americans: the Best of McSweeney’s Humor Category” ed. Dave Eggers, etc.
“The Stranger” by Albert Camus
“Angels” by Denis Johnson

I've got several more titles en queue but have been gratefully accepting other suggestions. (Send more!) If your recommendation isn't on there yet, don't feel slighted! My bookshelf is brimming! And it's only July!

*I came across my great-grandfather's memoirs while at home in Oregon in March and helping my grandma go through things. Since great-grandpa's tale was well over 100 pages, I decided to count it. More on what I found later.

**Don't worry, I read this one for work. (More.)

In Which I Get Spray Tanned For Journalistic Glory

D1 of today's WSJ:

Our 23-year-old tester was perhaps the bravest, baring her body in the name of tanning science to a stranger who airbrushed her with the “organic” tanning solution at Smooth Synergy in Manhattan. Owner Nicole Contos says the tanning solution, which uses DHA, contains no dyes or “chemical additives” to color the solution. The instant bronzers used to give the spray immediate color, she says, are “mineral salt bronzers.”

The tan solution smelled fine, and we didn’t feel stuffy inside the three-walled booth. However, the next morning we didn’t shower immediately because no one at the salon remembered to recommend doing so. As a result, when we went running in the rain, there was some serious tan meltage thanks to the instant bronzer.

Now we know how the Wicked Witch of the West must have felt.

Also, chainsaws and credit cards!

Downturn Dispatch

Apparently, my hair is worth D1 WSJ coverage, but if you read one thing I've written in the last few months, make it this profile of a man whose life has been completely transformed by the financial crisis.

I got completely sucked into the story of what happens to a family that goes from being supported by $200,000 a year to $25,000. Hope you do, too.

Free online or in today's A section of the WSJ.

Fresh Reads in the WSJ

For those who aren't following the stream of links on Twitter, here's a roundup of what I've been up to lately at the WSJ.

Today, on C1, a look at investors who sold low and bought high, missing the rally we've had since March 9. Recently on page one, I profiled the "Big Bored" life of NYSE traders. Other highlights: learning to become rich when the economy stinks, rethinking creditworthiness, still no one is complying with the new credit card rules, shopping with Google, angst with gym memberships and the tough lesson that no one is above making financial boo-boos.

And I was on Fox Business this morning! And it's cool because I say "bust out a chart" and a chart is magically, uh, busted out. The marvels of technology!

A Summary of Recent Consumption

Literary diet:
"Levittown" by David Kushner
"Other Voices, Other Rooms" by Truman Capote
"Boyhood" by J.M. Coetzee
"The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" by John le Carre
"The Sirens of Titan" by Kurt Vonnegut

Film diet:
"Coraline" (in 3-D, of course)
"Mildred Pierce"
"Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired"
"Revolutionary Road"
"We Are Wizards"

Audio diet:
NPR's Planet Money
This American Life (archived episodes from the 90s, too)
An overwhelming backlog of Fresh Air interviews
David Bowie Live
Purchased concert tickets for Ratatat, X, Dead Milkmen, The Damned

Tummy diet:
Vanessa's Dumplings (NYC)
Burger Shoppe (NYC)
The Bean (NYC)
Epic brunch experiences, including Essex and Curly's (NYC) and Brail's (Ore.)
Wandering Goat Coffee (Ore.)
Steelhead Brewpub (Ore.)
The Vintage (Ore.)
Sweet Life (Ore.)

Bear Stears: One Year Later

We took a look at the people of Bear Stearns a year since the firm's sale to JPM. A video profile of one who is now devoted to shoes, too:



On Sunday, a recollection of the 1997 boom times. Since, you know, that's about where the Dow is these days.

Fun With Tax Software!

Tom Herman and I tested out tax software in today's WSJ. Tax software is the new World of Warcraft! Read here and video here.

And if you're not following @WSJWallet on Twitter yet, you should be.

Young Folk Smoking Pipes

Today is International Pipe-Smoking Day!

Read my story about it on page one of today's WSJ or online here.

I love this hedcut. And I love that it's labeled in the article, just in case you weren't clear what that was in the picture.

First-time Homebuyers Snagging Good Deals

Read all about it on D1 of today's WSJ or click here.

And because I feel strongly compelled to share this with the world, please look at the letter that is going to save me and my roommates $3,600. The reader feedback I've received since this went live has brought many smiles to my face.

The Latest in My Literary Diet

A quick update of the latest books I've inhaled during my quest to read 50 books in 2009:

"The Wall Street Journal Complete Real-Estate Investing Guidebook" by David Crook. David is the Sunday Journal editor and has put together a very readable (it opens with a Bob Dylan quote) primer on real estate investing. The basics hold up well even during today's loony housing market.

"Barrel Fever" is the first collection from Dave Sedaris. I've greatly enjoyed his non-fiction essays over the years, consistently taking comfort in knowing that someone else out there is reflecting on the inherent weirdness of all things human. "Barrel Fever" was a good read, but I didn't fancy it as much as his purely non-fiction compilations. Reinforces the notion that often, the most unbelievable stories are the real ones.

"A Bend in the River" by V.S. Naipaul has prose that reminded me of a beautiful woodcarving: careful, clean, ornate. Read this if you're looking for a crafted account of Africa, colonialism, politics, internal strife, relationships, oh, I could keep going. A juicy and satisfying read.

I read "Diary of a Bad Year" by J.M. Coetzee in one day. I adored this book. Structurally, it's a puzzle and is a crisp take on the oft-stale topic of relationships. Haven't read any other J.M. titles, but looking forward to the rest of Coetzee canon.

Currently, I'm experiencing the joys of Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma". (Shout out to Will for loaning me his copy!)

I can already tell I'll never look at corn the same way ever again.

Pink Gadgets: A Mini-Manifesto

My review of three different gadgets marketed for women just went live on WSJ.com. There's a video, too. It's my first tech review for the Journal and was tons of fun. Enjoy!