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fabled_librarian This is mostly a list of books or series I ideally want to finish reading or read before I start others. However, over the last year, when I focused on non-fiction to the exclusion of reading fantasy, it turned into a really long and difficult slog. Somewhere in the last two or three years (possibly longer), I had stopped reading nearly as much -- especially not finishing books I hadn't read before -- and somewhere along the way, reading became a chore. It especially felt that way when I was determined to finish the non-fiction I'd started and to not read any new fiction or fantasy until I was done this past year. That was definitely a mistake, and I've since re-calibrated, which -- along with significant life changes -- made it comparatively much easier and more pleasurable for me to read again. Previously in my life, reading has always been one of my great pleasures and also one of my biggest and best coping mechanisms, so I want to be careful not to let it feel mostly unpleasant again in the future, if I can help it. If I'm having a hard time with a particular book being dense or complicated and my brain just can't handle it right then, I may also have to switch to a different book until the situation improves. But I also want to be very careful not to read fantasy to the exclusion of all else, at least not most of the time.
Most of these are books I started reading in 2019 or before, and haven't finished yet. Some I started reading previously,and am either going to pick up where I left off, or else restart them. A few I haven't started yet, but they're part of a series I started and haven't finished yet.
So, without further ado:
*The Mindfulness Solution for Intense Emotions by Cedar R. Coons *finished!*
*Greenmantle by Charles de Lint *finished!*
*Unfuck Your Habitat by Rachel Hoffman *finished!*
*Naamah's Kiss by Jacqueline Carey *finished!* (followed by the rest of the series -- Naamah's Curse and Naamah's Blessing)
*Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (followed by the rest of the series -- In An Absent Dream and Come Tumbling Down. I haven't started these yet, but I read the first two books in the series. Edited to add that I want to wait to finish this series until after I finish Greenmantle, if I can).
*The Poetic Edda (I'm going to restart this from the beginning. I want to start reading it after I finish any one of the other books I'm currently reading -- though ideally one of the non-fiction ones.I also want to hold off on reading any other religious books until I finish it, except for those already on this list, which may not necessarily seem religious -- and not all of them are but a few are. Edited to say that upon further reflection, I think I want to start rereading this after I've finished two of the books I've finished reading, instead of one, so that I'm still minimizing the number of books I'm reading at one time, instead of keeping it consistent or adding more to it). *I read the Prose Edda instead, but I still plan to read the Poetic Edda, too.*
Non-BPD to books to either pick up where I left off, or else to restart from the beginning after I finish some of these, but ideally before I start reading other books:
*The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
*The Healing Terrain by Jesse "Wolf" Hardin, Kiva Rose, and others (I'd ideally like to read this in April for religious reasons, but we'll see)
*A Pine Barrens Odyssey by Howard P. Boyd (I'd ideally like to read this in April or May for religious reasons, but again, we'll see)
*A Naturalist Along the Jersey Shore (I'd ideally like to read this in April, Summer, or September for religious reasons and personal reasons)
*The Right to Write by Julia Cameron (I'd ideally like to finish reading this in February for religious reasons, or else in March to prepare for CampNaNoWriMo in April)
*Belinda by Anne Rice writing as Anne Rampling
BPD books to either pick up where I left off or else to restart after I finish The Mindfulness Solution. To be read one at a time, although I can start reading other books while I'm reading these:
*Surviving a Borderline Parent by Kimberlee Roth
*Hard to Love by Joseph Nowinski
*Calming the Emotional Storm by Sheri Van Dijk
In general, I don't want to start reading any more fantasy until I've finished the fantasy on this list (with the exception of a favorite reread, if I find myself needing one before I've finished the list). I also don't want to start any more books about BPD until I've finished these, with the possible exception of memoirs after I've finished at least one or two of these, and with the exception of workbooks. But that's more subject to change than the other guidelines I'm setting myself in this post, for instance, if I decide not to finish one or more of them if they prove to be unhelpful, or especially if they prove to be harmful to me. I may also need a temporary break because working through the DBT books is often heavy and sometimes difficult, even with the incredible benefits it provides (and it generally does, for me). I want to finish the natural history books on this list before I begin others and/or other nature writing, unless it is a favorite reread ( so Thoreau, Williams, and Beston), but I'd like to avoid that until I've finished these. I ideally want to read The Poetic Edda before I start any more religious books. I'm afraid I won't prioritize finishing it, otherwise. I also want to read The Prose Edda this year, but I strongly suspect I'll need a break between the two. I'm much less concerned with not starting another book on writing until after I finish The Right to Write, but I'd still generally like to avoid it, particularly if it's not a book of prompts or exercises. There are a few books listed above that I have specific preferences for when I'd like to read them, and I probably have enough other books to read on this list that I might not get around to them until then, anyway. But if I read more quickly than I'm anticipating (or more slowly), for the most part, I'd rather rather finish reading them in general than at a specific period in time.
Most of these are books I started reading in 2019 or before, and haven't finished yet. Some I started reading previously,and am either going to pick up where I left off, or else restart them. A few I haven't started yet, but they're part of a series I started and haven't finished yet.
So, without further ado:
*The Mindfulness Solution for Intense Emotions by Cedar R. Coons *finished!*
*Greenmantle by Charles de Lint *finished!*
*Unfuck Your Habitat by Rachel Hoffman *finished!*
*Naamah's Kiss by Jacqueline Carey *finished!* (followed by the rest of the series -- Naamah's Curse and Naamah's Blessing)
*Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire (followed by the rest of the series -- In An Absent Dream and Come Tumbling Down. I haven't started these yet, but I read the first two books in the series. Edited to add that I want to wait to finish this series until after I finish Greenmantle, if I can).
*The Poetic Edda (I'm going to restart this from the beginning. I want to start reading it after I finish any one of the other books I'm currently reading -- though ideally one of the non-fiction ones.I also want to hold off on reading any other religious books until I finish it, except for those already on this list, which may not necessarily seem religious -- and not all of them are but a few are. Edited to say that upon further reflection, I think I want to start rereading this after I've finished two of the books I've finished reading, instead of one, so that I'm still minimizing the number of books I'm reading at one time, instead of keeping it consistent or adding more to it). *I read the Prose Edda instead, but I still plan to read the Poetic Edda, too.*
Non-BPD to books to either pick up where I left off, or else to restart from the beginning after I finish some of these, but ideally before I start reading other books:
*The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
*The Healing Terrain by Jesse "Wolf" Hardin, Kiva Rose, and others (I'd ideally like to read this in April for religious reasons, but we'll see)
*A Pine Barrens Odyssey by Howard P. Boyd (I'd ideally like to read this in April or May for religious reasons, but again, we'll see)
*A Naturalist Along the Jersey Shore (I'd ideally like to read this in April, Summer, or September for religious reasons and personal reasons)
*The Right to Write by Julia Cameron (I'd ideally like to finish reading this in February for religious reasons, or else in March to prepare for CampNaNoWriMo in April)
*Belinda by Anne Rice writing as Anne Rampling
BPD books to either pick up where I left off or else to restart after I finish The Mindfulness Solution. To be read one at a time, although I can start reading other books while I'm reading these:
*Surviving a Borderline Parent by Kimberlee Roth
*Hard to Love by Joseph Nowinski
*Calming the Emotional Storm by Sheri Van Dijk
In general, I don't want to start reading any more fantasy until I've finished the fantasy on this list (with the exception of a favorite reread, if I find myself needing one before I've finished the list). I also don't want to start any more books about BPD until I've finished these, with the possible exception of memoirs after I've finished at least one or two of these, and with the exception of workbooks. But that's more subject to change than the other guidelines I'm setting myself in this post, for instance, if I decide not to finish one or more of them if they prove to be unhelpful, or especially if they prove to be harmful to me. I may also need a temporary break because working through the DBT books is often heavy and sometimes difficult, even with the incredible benefits it provides (and it generally does, for me). I want to finish the natural history books on this list before I begin others and/or other nature writing, unless it is a favorite reread ( so Thoreau, Williams, and Beston), but I'd like to avoid that until I've finished these. I ideally want to read The Poetic Edda before I start any more religious books. I'm afraid I won't prioritize finishing it, otherwise. I also want to read The Prose Edda this year, but I strongly suspect I'll need a break between the two. I'm much less concerned with not starting another book on writing until after I finish The Right to Write, but I'd still generally like to avoid it, particularly if it's not a book of prompts or exercises. There are a few books listed above that I have specific preferences for when I'd like to read them, and I probably have enough other books to read on this list that I might not get around to them until then, anyway. But if I read more quickly than I'm anticipating (or more slowly), for the most part, I'd rather rather finish reading them in general than at a specific period in time.
