THE BOOKS I READ IN 2022

Presented in the order I finished them (L to R and one on top).

There are two omissions - I started A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - I couldn’t finish either and gave up. Since this isn’t a list of books I half-read and hated and so quit them, but a list of books I read fully, they are left out. I’d love to hear if someone has read those two books and actually liked them…

1. Leonardo Da Vinci - Walter Isaacson

   Mike and Katy, two old friends, were in town from Colorado a while back and he mentioned that he was reading this book and enjoying it. We got to talking about the man and I kept referencing him as “Da Vinci,” and that’s when Mike pointed out that the “Da Vinci” is just where he was born, so his name as we know it is “Leonardo from the town of Vinci,” and by calling him “Da Vinci” you were basically just saying “of the town of Vinci, Italy” and not really talking about the man - obviously everyone knows what you mean when you say that, but still. Regardless when he said that I was intrigued and decided to read more about this person from the town of Vinci, Italy.

   
   Whenever I read history books, I break the writing into three categories:

   1. Research - how well researched is the book?

   2. Writing - is the writing any good?

   3. Subject Matter - Is the subject, or characters, interesting?
      

   So, you might have a book that is incredibly well researched, but reads like a research paper, or a wonderfully written book that is just either poorly researched or there’s not enough to even research and the author has to make up for it in their writing. Sometimes the character or subject is just so interesting that those first two matter less. Regardless, it’s hard to do all three well and Isaacson is one of the few writers of history that I’ve come across that excels in all three categories.
   
   I’ll share the one part of the book that stands out to me, that actually Mike also shared with me, that convinced me to read it. This is the Cliff’s Notes version. So, Leonardo AND Michelangelo (yes, two of the Ninja Turtles) are BOTH in Florence at the same time and what’s even better is they TOTALLY HATE EACH OTHER. Leonardo was shy, introverted, and although he was most definitely a homosexual, it seems as though he was maybe also closeted and repressed. Michalangelo was also a homosexual and was far more flamboyant and “out.” They had clashed before when Michalangelo had made The David, and Leonardo sat on a committee that tried to put it in a bad spot in town. Now, the two found themselves each commissioned to paint murals on opposite sides of a town square. You’ll have to read the rest, but a set up like that is hard to beat.
   

2. The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli

   It’s THEEE book on politics that everyone talks about all of the time, so I read it so I could be like “yeah, I get your reference about that person being Machiavellian in their actions because I read The Prince.” What I’ve learned is that people over use or mis-characterize someone’s actions as Machiavellian all of the time, also I know now how to rule a 16th Century Italian kingdom… do you?!?!
   

3. The Assignment - Liza Wiemer
   My mother-in-law, Marianne Fons, suggested I read this book about two students who stand up to their teacher, their school, and their town, when they are given the eponymous assignment to engage in a debate in their class about the final solution for the Jews. The teacher splits the class up into two. One group has to debate for the holocaust and the other debates against it, but our two heroes choose neither. It’s based on a true story and is a great read. It was so good, my film production company optioned it and are adapting it to make it into a film, so I’m not going to say anymore. Watch the movie (or read the book)!
   

4. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas - Agatha Christie

   That’s right. Still plowing through the Poirot books. What do you want me to say? They’re all great.
   

5. Sad Cypress - Agatha Christie

   I think I’m past half-way through all of the Poirot books now.
   

6. Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream - Doris Kearns Goodwin

   We’re all just biding our time for Robert A. Caro to come out with his last book in the Lyndon Johnson series, so this one came up to hold me over until that time comes. DKG is another writer, like Isaacson, who does all three aforementioned categories well. DKG met Johnson when she was a Harvard Fellow and Johnson was president, where they struct up a friendship. That access, in addition to DKG’s husband (who was a JFK and Johnson speechwriter) gives her intimate access to the subject. If you’re interested in history, Johnson, presidents, or that era this is a good read and provides insight that is otherwise hard to come by.
   

7. A Year in Provence - Peter Mayle

   This is a great memoir by one of the great memoirists. The setup - after years of visiting Provence, France, Peter and his wife decide to buy a small cottage and fix it up to live in. The book chronicles their first year with all of the ups, downs, language barriers, cultural exchange, the joy and the heartbreak. It’s a wonderful read that is life affirming and will 100% make you want to move to Provence.
   

8. Ripley Under Water - Patricia Highsmith

   I was sort of sad reading this book, as it is the final chapter in the Tom Ripley series. Purchased at my local independent bookstore, Unabridged, this book is a fitting ending for the guy we all fell in love (or were horrified by? or both?!?) with in The Talented Mr. Ripley. Read all of the books, not just the first one. And yes, there’s some fall off - Talented Mr. Ripley is the best one (by far), and I would say each of the books that come after do step down a little bit, that doesn’t mean they are not worth reading. If The Talented Mr. Ripley is the summit of Everest in how good it is, then Ripley Under Ground is The Kangshung Face Ripley’s Game is The Hillary Step, The Boy Who Followed Ripley is The Lhotse Face, and Ripley Under Water is the Western Cwm… really terrible metaphor aside, what I’m trying to say is you’re still reading some of the best books in their category.

   
   So, I’m sad that the journey is over, but heartened to know that I will definitely read the whole series again in a few years. Ripley as a character; how he thinks and how he acts and how others react to him gets under your skin and sticks with you.
   

9. 11/22/63 - Stephen King

   Rebecca is our house’s resident Stephen King expert, having read a lot of his books. She chose this one because it was the last of his long books that she hadn’t read, and according to her, was not very excited about it. She finished reading it over the during our trip to Acadia National Park in Maine (where we saw Stephen King’s house). A quick aside, Acadia is incredible, and Bar Harbor is a great place to holiday. Anyway, she finished it on the plane. We were not sitting together, and as we deplaned she approached me - tears streaming down her face - “YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!”

   
   So, I did. The premise - a dude finds a portal back to the summer of 1963 and with the goal of stopping the Kennedy assassination on 11/22/63. Great set up and the book is even better. I’ve only read The Shining and The Stand by big Steve, so I’m no expert - but I would say this is his best written, most exciting, and most human book. I can’t recommend it enough. If the historical fantasy/fiction is off putting to you, all I will say is that the book is not really about that…
   

10. Thing Explainer - Randall Munroe

    I bought this book like five years ago and my complaint is that it’s too big. Almost literally impossible to read when not standing. Otherwise, it’s great - basically a comic book.
    

11. Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking - David Bayles and Ted Orland

    My friend and collaborator on the Haiti documentary, Dinesh, suggested that I read this book and so I did. I’ve since passed it on to a few other folks including my artist friend, Chen Zou. It’s an effective series of observations that inspire the reader to think about their own process.
    

    My favorite passage is a (probably apocryphal) story about the idea of letting perfect be the enemy of good enough. A pottery teacher who splits his class in two. One half of the class will be graded on the quality of the mugs or pots they make, the other half of the class will be graded on the quantity of mugs or pots they make. What group do you think generated quantifiably better pots or mugs? The first blush answer might be the group tasked with making the highest quality mugs, but the point of the story is that the opposite is true - the group that made the best mugs or pots were the ones tasked with quantity. The reason being that the quantity group wasn’t focused on being too precious, they just had to create. Also, in the act of generating a lot of mugs, you just get more practice and these two factors conflate to generate better mugs.
    
    True or not, it’s an interesting idea about how we can get too precious with our work and how stifling that can be. As a filmmaker, it’s hard to really go crazy on making tons of films because they’re all so resource and time intensive, but the lesson about letting perfect be the enemy of good enough is well learned.
    

12. One, Two, Buckle my Shoe - Agatha Christie

    This one was particularly clever.
    

13. The Death of a President - William Manchester

    I read this because at the end of 11/22/63 Stephen King says he read this book to research his book. In King’s book, he writes from a point of view that Oswald was the only person who killed JFK - it’s slightly more complicated than that, truth be told, but he does not get into the conspiracy theories (the mob, CIA, Cubans, etc.). The book’s focus is November 20th, 1963 - November 25th, 1963, which starts with JFK in Washington getting ready for his trip to Dallas, then the start of the Texas tour, and then the assassination on the 22nd, the killing of Oswald, and the funeral. It’s five days that undoubtably changed America (and honestly, probably for the worse).
    
    OK, so having read this book I know feel very strongly that all of the conspiracy theory stuff is absolutely wrong. Oswald killed JFK. Case closed. Most of the best known things that people point to to claim a larger conspiracy are either lies, distortions, or willfully leaving out details. The problem with the conspiracy theory stuff is that it distracts from the tragedy by turning it into a weird and gross game of not facing up to the fact that terrible things happen all of the time and we’re totally out of control.
    
    It also distracts from the real failures and mini-tragedies in the run up to that day and in the following days - and by making everything a conspiracy it allows us as a country to not deal with these issues with the incompetence of the Dallas police department, or the culture of hate that was directed at our political leaders that can lead to situations were mentally unbalanced loners feel emboldened.

    
    But, this book - I had such a roller coaster ride of emotion with this one. It’s arguably too comprehensive - literally going into the latin said at the mass (without translation), and detailing what everyone wore and who all was in a room at any given time. This book took me forever to read because of the density! At the same time, amongst the insane detail are amazing human moments. So, while I’m wading through stuff like the barometric pressure readings in Washington, DC on November 24th, 1963 I am also crying.
    

14. Evil Under the Sun - Agatha Christie

    Every year until I finish the Poirot books will end with one of these because I read them while traveling. There’s a 1982 movie with Peter Ustinov made from this that is actually pretty good. Ustinov might be the best Poirot on screen?!?