Folks, I'm on a mission. I sat down today to jot down a list of books to read the last two weeks of the year. We abandon the cold and gray of winter in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area for the warmth and sunshine of gulf coast Florida for the last few weeks of the year, a transition I always look forward to as we drive across St. Mary's River, crossing the border into Florida and rolling down my window to feel warm air when 24 hours earlier, it was below freezing.
I have a tradition of reading Hollywood memoirs and Hollywood-adjacent books during this time of year, a guilty pleasure while I'm on vacation. And so I was looking for books that would fit the bill. I looked at my reading list and noted that I am currently reading my 1,489th1 and 1,490th2 books since January 1, 1996. At the same time, it occurred to me that January 1, 2026 would be a complete 30 years—three decades!—that I have kept track of the books I've read. I glanced at the calendar: December 11, 2025. I looked through past Decembers, glancing at what I read in the last two weeks and seeing that I easily managed to read five books during that period. A mission formed in my mind.
The mission, should I choose to accept it: finish the two books I am reading now and squeeze in 10 more books before the end of the year. Not 9 books. Not 11 books. Ten books. How could would it be to end my 30th year having read an even 1,500 books! I immediately accepted the mission and began putting together my list, which (though the order may change) comes roughly to:
- The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley (our bookclub book for December)
- Flight! By Chris Kraft
- Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams: The Early Years 1903-1940 by Gary Giddins (a re-read)
- Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star: The War Years 1940-1946 by Gary Giddins (a re-read)
- Cinema Speculations by Quentin Tarantino
- The Great Movies by Roger Ebert
- The Great Movies II by Roger Ebert
- 100 Rules for Living to 100 by Dick Van Dyke3
- Distrust That Particular Flavor by William Gibson
- The Narrow Bend Between Desires by Patrick Rothfuss
- Papyrus by Irene Vallejo
If I pull this off, I'll finish Vallejo's book while driving from the west coast of Florida to the east coast of the state on December 31, completing 1,500 books in 30 years, which I think is a pretty cool coincidence.
Can I do it? I guess we'll find out. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, in January you can expect my usual Best Reads of 2025 post (when 2025 is actually over). In addition, I am planning a Best Read of the Last 30 Years as well. Stay-tuned.
