On Publishing “Book Thoughts”

For quite some time, I’ve developed a habit of writing in the books I read — both throughout (underling key passages, keeping notes on the margin) and at the end, where I record the exact time and place where I finished a book, and my impressions on it.

Over the past two years, I’ve kicked up my reading quite a bit (I believe I now average around 2 books-a-month) — I finding reading incredibly rewarding and useful to expanding my thought patterns beyond what I directly experience.

My wife recently suggested I publish a bit more on my reading, which has inspired me to start expanding these thoughts and publishing them here. I’ll go back to books I finished since the start of the new year, and look to publish posts close after completing new books.

I’ll be starting with the following, publishing them sequentially as time allows:

1. The Quiet Rebels: The Story of the Quakers in America by Margaret Hope Bacon
2. Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen
3. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver
4. On the Move by Oliver Sacks
5. An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life by His Holiness The Dalai Lama

Please feel free to comment, discuss and/or share any thoughts on these as they’re published. I‘m sure that these will take different formats over time — some reviews may be longer or more in-depth than others, some may turn out as traditional reviews, others will likely use the source as inspiration and explore new topics.

I think that literature is a great way to start a conversation that you normally wouldn’t have, and my hope is that these can provide some conversation starters outside my immediate circle!