A couple years ago a fellow blogger named Jon told me I should read more. It wasn't a demand or anything, but I mean I had a lot of books, so why not read them. If not might as well get rid of them. So since then I've started reading books. This year I also purged a lot of books. A few I should have waited to purge, you'll see why in a moment. It all started because my mom had a ton of books and was tired of keeping them. In total we had a combined over 1000 books, and maybe 10% was mine, but I felt it was right to get rid of ones I wasn't reading. Most of them we took to the local recycling center. I think a lot were taken by people, but there's a chance some might have just been tossed into the recycle bin. At first that bugged me, but I realized that they at least weren't thrown away, and they aren't mine anymore anyways. I have an account on Library Thing, and I kept track of all the books were purged this year. Well about a week ago I decided to delete those books off my account because why did I need to keep them? Well, it turns out I forgot 5-6 of the books I read this year I purged. So I forgot what those books are. My goal this year was to read a book a month, because I figure I could do that. In the end I read either 18 or 19 books. I still have 13 that I remember I read. The most recent I finished last week and had doubts I would, it was by far the longest book at over 400 pages, and I'll discuss it in a moment. Overall most of the books I read I was happy with, a few were just short ones I wanted to knock out, but overall, I'm more than happy to exceed my goal. I don't know what my goal is for next year, but I just hope to knock a few more out. My bookshelf is a lot smaller now, and its actually split in two parts- books to keep, and books to read and purge.
So what books did I read? Well let's take a look. I will say most were biographies or true life stories, as I'm not a big fan of fiction. I think its because I want to learn when I read and fiction I can just watch a movie its a lot shorter. But first we'll look at books that were fiction.
As I start that I just remembered a book that I lost track of, so 14 books I remember now. We'll get to that one but first we'll do another one.
Technically this wasn't fiction either, it was idiots who did dumb stuff. I found this book for a quarter and I did read the first one, so I figured a second one might be just as good. I was a bit disappointed with this volume, but I think its because I hear dumb news stories quite often now, so these either seem not as bad or not anything fascinating. For those unaware the Darwin Awards started as a website where they would post stories of people who did dumb stuff and most of the time they died. They would range from like shooting a gun at a propane tank or something to jumping out of a plane without a parachute. Those weren't ones in the book, but that's examples. There's a chance I would read a volume three if I found it, but I'm okay if I don't. I'm not going to rate the books on a scale, and I really don't plan on re-reading any, but I decided I didn't need to keep this one.
This was a book of pure fiction... and I loved it. I was a fan of the show Entourage, and was intrigued when I saw this book at Dollar Tree a few years ago (when it was still a dollar). It shows how long books sit on my shelf, and I have others from childhood I never read, so I have catching up to do. Anyways, I tried reading this a couple years ago but fiction isn't my thing. This time I gave it more of a try and figured if I didn't like it still I could still dump it. I got to the end of the first chapter and it read as a biography/self help book written as if it was by Ari Gold, which was played by Jeremy Piven on the show. His character is brash, and... an a-hole to put it mildly (yes thats mild), and the book is no different. Its not a book for kids. Once I understood the concept it was quite fun to read and one of my favorites of the year. At least top 5. While I liked the book a lot, I decided not to keep it but I don't want to keep a lot of books that I have no plans of re-reading. The ones I do are like all-time favorites or ones that hold sentimental value. This doesn't qualify. If I had more space I would have kept it.
A short book of quotes, my mom had this book and was going to purge it. It feels like cheating counting it but it took a few days and I read it too. While I may be all things Missouri, there wasn't much substance to it to actually keep it so it got purged as well. If it was a biography, maybe I would have kept it, but then again, I don't know I would have read it.
Next is the only author that I read two books from.
I've always liked Tom Brokaw, and I found these books for a quarter each a year or two ago, so I figured this is the year to read it. The first one was about him growing up in North Dakota, and his early years. I really enjoyed it, and I haven't actually purged it yet, but not sure I will keep it. I thought about reading more of his books and start a collection, but I really don't think I will. The second book was more of a plan for America which was released pre-Trump era (however you view that, whatever, not a political post). I think he had some good ideas, but it was also a bit tedious to read, and so I didn't enjoy it as much. I think I will purge both of them, but the first one I am on the fence about.
Last year when I read books, I read a lot of sports ones. I tried not to this year, but this one I've had for a while and I was curious about it. I was never the biggest Michael Waltrip fan, but he had a long career and his biggest day of his racing career was also the worst day of his life. He won Daytona 500, which was also his first Winston Cup victory, his teammate finished second and his car owner, best friend, and legendary driver would have finished third... would have but Dale Earnhardt crashed protecting the lead for Mikey and Dale Jr. and he died that day. This was a really good book, and I learned a lot more than I thought I would. It seems NASCAR biographies are some of the best ones because every one I've read I've learned a lot. It was published around 2012 or so and from the writing it doesn't seem like him and Darryl Waltrip were all that close. Michael wanted to be just like his older brother, but Darryl never really gave him much guidance. Another brother helped him out though and it opened doors which lead to Michael getting a Cup ride. It was a good read, and for now I'm keeping it, but if I do another purge it may not make the cut.
I've had this book for a few years (I think when books were like 25 for a quarter days at my local second hand store). I didn't get it because I wanted to read it, but wanted to reach the 25 goal. Either way I finally read it this year. I didn't know anything about The Bull, and I learned some stuff, but it didn't make me want to learn more about him. I will say that it was nice to see he went to a rough and tough guy with anger issues to finding Jesus and turning his life around. He also had a close relationship with Elvis growing up as they were a couple years apart in age and talked about after Elvis got famous he'd still return home wanting to get the gang together to play football. I decided not to keep the book, but I was glad I did read it.
Some of the books I purged I don't regret getting initially because it was usually a similar 4 for a buck or 25 for a quarter. My bookshelf has been overfilled for years and even after getting rid of quite a few, its still overfilled but its getting better. I don't plan on a larger bookshelf, so it just motivates me to read more to get rid of the ones I don't need to keep.
A couple books from HGTV stars. I wasn't expecting much from either book to be honest, but I enjoyed them both. Drew and Jonathan not only talked about their upbringing in Canada, but also their other dreams and how they initially got into home remodelling and selling. Oddly it was just something they did to stay afloat and realized they were good at it. I'm glad I read the book, but its another I purged. No need to keep it with an overflowing bookshelf.
The Magnolia Story was really good too. In fact I'm on the fence about keeping it. While Joanna does most of the writing/talking in the book, Chip also has some good insights too. It talks about their upbringings, how they met, and how they built their empire. This book is a few years old, so it doesn't capture them getting their own network, but it does talk about them buying the silo in Waco, but not much since it was pretty new at that point. On TV they sometimes seem a bit fake, but this made them look much more genuine. I am thinking of keeping it for now, but if I need the space it may not make the next cut.
This book I do plan on keeping. I got this book from Disney Rewards points, and I actually waited a year or two to read it, but I'm glad I did. It wasn't like a must read, but initially I was just going to look at the colorized pictured throughout, as its more of a coffee table book, but it actually had good information in it, especially if you are a Disney fan. I know it takes a lot to plan and build a theme park, but I didn't realize how meticulous Walt was in the design. He also lived there. It was a fun book and I'm keeping it because it feels like a gift so it means a bit more than the other books I've bought second hand.
I'm not sure if this was my book or my mom's but it was in her collection and was going to purge it. I held on to it to read, and I'm not sure if I kept it. I'm not big on reading books turned into movies, but this was the second one this year I read (the other will be mentioned in a moment). The last time I did I hated the book (Shoeless Joe was nowhere as good as what Field of Dreams turned into). At least these are biographies, so they shouldn't veer too far from the movie. I enjoyed the book because Bethany gave a little more background of who she was and how she grew up. Talked about how her parents met and how she learned about surfing. It gave more insight than a movie could. I liked the movie, and I'm glad I read the book.
Very few books do I get excited to read. Even if I do, it takes a while for me to actually get around to reading them. This was an exception. Having said that when the year began, it wasn't even on my radar, much less my bookshelf. In March I did something I wasn't doing much- I was browsing on Listia. The site that kept me afloat for many years of this blog, I just didn't care about much anymore. By 2025 I wasn't collecting cards, and there wasn't much else they had with the few points I did have. So I would look maybe once a month or so just to see what was for sale. Books never go cheap, but I still look, you never know if something eeks through. Well, I found someone listed Moneyball. HOLY COW! I watched the auction and it was a low starting bid. I figured I'd be priced out soon enough but with a couple days to go it was still low. I think I had like 4000 points at the time maybe a lot less, so I put in a bid figuring it wouldn't hold. I look the next day and I won. With 501 points. To put in perspective right now I have 9,000 points, that is about $1. I can spend 10 bucks and get 80,000 points. So 501 points is... let me get a calculator.... carry the two... is like 6 cents? Sometimes math isn't my friend. At any rate is was under a dollar and free shipping. Ever the worrier, I wasn't excited until I got the book in hand. I think it was 2 weeks later when I finally read it.
I will be keeping it, and what I liked about it was unlike the movie who made a big deal out of the numbers and stats, the books dived more into the actual analytics. It wasn't telling the story of a season, but the story of a movement. It didn't make the movie or the book different from one another, just different perspectives. The 20 game winning streak was more of an afterthought in the book unlike the movie. They complimented each other. Think of it as like the DVD commentary to the movie. If there was ever a book I would consider re-reading, this might be the one. It was my top two books of the year.
The book I didn't think I would finish, I finished last week. My mom was going to purge this book, and I wasn't aware she owned it. She got it from the local second hand store and never read it. When I started to read it I'll admit I didn't have high hopes, Jann had a bit of a controversy a couple years ago, so he wasn't in the greatest of lights, but still I wanted to know about how the magazine started and more of the business aspects of it. I know most people don't like that stuff, but I do. That was his life's work afterall. I was pleased with the information he gave out about the magazine (in addition to learning he also started a Men's health magazine and either bought or started US Weekly), so I learned a lot. However it was 400-500 pages and it read more like a Forrest Gump tale of all the celebrities he knew and was friends with. I don't fault him for talking about them, but I after hearing about how close he was to John Lennon, then Mick Jagger, then Bruce Springsteen, then Bono, then... it got a bit boring. It was almost like just name dropping. Of course the focal point, Rolling Stone magazine did bind the book together and he discussed the different eras of the magazine, up until he sold it. I think people how are more avid readers will enjoy it more than I did, and the stories of Hunter S. Thompson, or Tom Wolfe might interest people more than it did me. I'm not saying I didn't like it, I just wish with a book of this size, it had more details about the magazine, especially in the 80s and 90s then stories of his political friendships. The begging of the book was pretty good talking about his growing up and San Francisco in the 60s and how the magazine started. The book by the mid-80s though moves more away from the magazine into his own life which I understand, its about his life not just the magazine, but as I said you could change the names of the singers and they'd be almost the same stories. I also didn't need to know every holiday excursion he took each year. After the Hunter stories, it gets a bit boring, but picks up again towards the end as he starts talking about his mortality and his sons growing up and taking up parts of his company either through photography, writing, or running the business. So I'm glad I read it, but if my sister isn't interested in it, it will likely be purged.
So there is 4 or 5 books I can't remember that I read too, and I really am drawing a blank. I think 1-2 might have been smaller sized books, and if I remember them I'll give an update. Having said that, its time for my favorite book of the year.
I have been a fan of Geena Davis for a long time, I'm not even sure what the first movie I saw her in that made me a fan. I think it might have been Thelma & Louise, but A League Of Their Own is what cemented my fandom. I never watched Beetlejuice or some of her earlier work, but a few years after it was released, I watched her in Hero, with Dustin Hoffman, and it made me like her so much more.
This was another book not on my radar when the year began. I found it at the local second hand store, and I have actually been wanting to read it but figured I never would. The same goes for the Matthew Perry and Matthew McConagahy (I can never spell his name right) books. Though finding this one in the wild was so cool so I hope I can do the same for those. Anyways I finished the book I was reading at the time then dove right in. This book mixed biography with humor, and she didn't sugarcoat anything. Nothing was off limits and I really liked it. She talked about pretty much every movie she was in to some extent, her TV shows, and even her marriages. She talked about her philanthropy and raising her kids, what's she's been doing the last decade. It was a complete biography and I loved everything about it. Its not currently on my bookshelf because my mom wanted to read it. Once she's done with it though it will go back on my shelf and won't be going anywhere.
I was quite surprised I read so many books this year, and again my goal for next year isn't so much as reading more but just to thin out my collection more. I have some books I might read, but right now I'm not in the reading mood so I'm taking a bit of a break. The books to read if I decide not to, I still have more I've never read that I need to read. A lot of wrestling ones, but want to space those out. As for the ones to read now, those are a lot more sports biographies, mostly baseball. The problem though is I haven't been into sports as much lately. I still watch, but win or lose, I don't care how my team does. Last night I listened to the Chiefs game, they lost. I didn't care much (much because they had a chance to win if Chris Jones didn't do his weekly "I don't know where the line of scrimmage is so I'm offsides" bit). Its not because my teams aren't doing well, I'm just starting to get over sports I think. The same is could be said about wrestling. Since Raw moved to Netflix, I never watch, and Smackdown on USA I hardly go out of my way to watch. The only show I will watch is NXT but Booker T's commentary causes me to watch less and less. So in a few years I can see myself phasing out sports and wrestling, something kid me would think was crazy.
Speaking of the Chiefs, I guess I discuss the Chiefs moving across state lines to kansas (yes its not capitalized, suck it beakers!). I don't know where to start, I guess disappointment is my first reaction. The Royals seemed hell-bent to leave their old stadium behind and made no qualms about it. The Chiefs seemed open to renovate Arrowhead if they got a package good enough to build up around them an entertainment district. I didn't really like the design plan, but did like the idea. So what disappoints me is its the Chiefs that made the first move. Clark Hunt kept saying how much he loved Arrowhead then bolted rather quickly in my opinion. I don't fault the state west of me, as it sounds like a good deal. I think its funny our used car salesmen could pitch a better deal, though I am also glad the state isn't giving a billionaire more money to build a stadium that the billionaire will profit off of. Two things stick out to me, first our leading a-hole of the state (used car salesmen governor) pointed out the Royals were "in the drivers seat". A statement that is true, but how much leverage do they have. It seems kansas wanted the Chiefs not the Royals, so they gave what they could to them, and probably don't have much for the Royals. Missouri made offers to both teams, but always seemed to play catchup instead of leading the charge. That said, if kansas isn't fighting for them, what offer does Missouri need to make now? Royals may be in the drivers seat, but I'm not sure how much leverage they have unless they tease a move out of KC alltogether. Maybe Nashville or Charlotte will make an offer, but unless they do,the Royals may not get what they want which seems to be a downtown stadium.
The second thing is that I will admit that kansas did a good job snagging them away and if it works out will be making a killing. I'm not a fan of the headquarters and the training facility being off site, but whatever. That said, I'm disappointed in all the revenue the state of Missouri will lose. Sure if this new stadium hosts a Super Bowl, the KC Metro will make a lot of money, but how much more would the state make if they stayed here? 2031 is a few years away but by then many of the Chiefs top stars will be gone and Mahomes probably won't be what he once was, so by then the dynasty if it isn't already (this year could be a fluke) will likely be over. So will I root for them, who knows. I don't feel they turned their backs but it does leave a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. Maybe this will motivate a KCMO businessman to try harder to bring an NHL or NBA team to Sprint Center. Both leagues seem like they would be all for it, but expansion doesn't seem to be on the horizon for either. I thought St. Louis or Kansas City would get a WNBA team but it seems like thats not going to happen for a while. So in a nutshell, I'm more disappointed in the lost revenue for the state then I am of the Chiefs moving 45 minutes or less away. Its still in the metro just on the other side of the line. It is also disheartening that so much stuff is also moving across the state line, like the Kansas City soccer team, and the American Royal which is how the Royals got their name. So something needs to be done in KCMO to keep all theses businesses and teams from defecting to the other side of the line.
So that will wrap it up for today, thanks for reading, and I had plans for another blog before the end of the year, but I don't think I will. Maybe next year I'll be a bit more consistent but who knows. Thanks everyone for reading and another year in the blogoverse, I hope everyone had a great holiday season, and a have a Happy New Year. Here's to a bright 2026!
EDIT: I just remembered another book I read, here is the link- The Teammates: A Portrait Of A Friendship. I did enjoy the book and baseball fans should read it. I just purged it because of space.
