I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas and I love it. Today I finally sat down and figured out how to check out Kindle books from the public library. Cool. So far this year I’ve read three books: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (read it immediately–go ahead, I’ll wait…), Already Gone by John Rector (not good), and The Confession by John Grisham, which wasn’t bad. I know this is where I’m supposed to say that John Grisham is my guilty pleasure, but I don’t believe in guilty pleasure. I like him and I don’t need to qualify it or defend it. I get tired of snobby book people; can you tell?

The last few weeks at work have been unbelievably busy. I think this week things are going to start settling down. I start teaching again next weekend. I’m not really loving tennis right now and I have a three-match losing streak going. But teaching is fun.

There just isn’t much I want to write here right now. Things are going pretty well, and I’m hoping that the new year will be the start of a positive trend. 2011 was pretty good for me until the last few months, and I’m ready to move on.

Anyway. Here’s what I read in December. I’m doing this on my phone, so no links, too complicated. Maybe I’ll put them in later.

Three Cups of Deceit by Jon Krakauer. this is a short book (I think it was originally a long magazine article) about the Three Cups of Tea guy, Greg Mortensen, and how his books may be less than truthful (the evidence is pretty overwhelming). I haven’t read Mortensen’s books and have never really cared to (someone I can’t stand just gushed about Three Cups of Tea, and right or wrong, I just had zero interest in reading it after that). I wish Jon Krakauer would publish his grocery lists. I’ve never read one thing by him that didn’t have me completely riveted.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. A really entertaining young adult book about Junior, who lives on a reservation with his family, and decides to go to the white school (I don’t think it was actually a “white” school, but I’m pretty sure that’s what Junior calls it) 22 miles away. Junior is caught between the reservation and his desire for a better life.

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf. I bought this one because I liked the cover. The book, not so much.

The Basement by Stephen Leather. I bought this as an inexpensive Kindle book. The story of a writer suspected of being a serial killer. A lot of reviewers seemed to find it disturbing. I don’t think I got invested enough to be disturbed.

When Parents Text, by Sophia Fraioli. Another Kindle Daily Deal. I don’t normally read things like this, but my kids had been sending me a bunch of things from Damn You Autocorrect! and I thought this would be funny. It seemed like it was mostly examples from the author’s family, and not all that funny.

Model Home by Eric Puchner. I bought this one because I liked the cover and because I thought it was a book I’d heard about on This American Life. It wasn’t the book I was thinking of, but what a great book. It’s hard to even describe what this book is about: a family that goes broke, experiences tragedy, and tries to recover. But it’s about much more than that. It’s definitely depressing, but also funny and sweet. I loved this book.

All She Ever Wanted by Barbara Freehy. Another interesting-sounding Kindle Daily Deal. I read to the end. Didn’t care for it and I wonder about the people who gave it positive reviews.

Up From Down by Ted Adamson. A memoir about drug addiction. I didn’t think it was all that well written, and I didn’t think the story was that interesting.

Blindsided by Richard M. Cohen. About the author’s life with MS. I really wanted to like it, and I did, sort of.

Friday Night Lights by H. G. Bissinger. About high school football in Odessa, Texas, and the inspiration for the movie and TV show. I don’t think you have to like football to like it. This book is a masterpiece. One of the best books I’ve ever read.

The Proving Ground by G. Bruce Knecht. Another Kindle Daily Deal, but better than most of those. About the 1998 Hobart yacht race in Australia, when crews encountered bad weather, and some sailors were killed, many had to be rescued. In a way, reminiscent of Krakauer’s Into Thin Air, THE best book I’ve ever read. Bad decisions based on bad information based on poor communication…an interesting book, might have enjoyed it more if I knew anything about boats.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. A love letter to food, to cooking. I’ve long thought Anthony Bourdain was the coolest guy in the world. This book didn’t do anything to dissuade me. Loved it.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. A Kindle Daily Deal, surprisingly. I neglected to read this when it was assigned to me in college. It was written in the 1980s, and is definitely relevant to to our society today. This is an amazing book–just read it, if you haven’t already. Or if you have.

Well. That’s what I read.

Happy New Year.

Conspiracy of Fools by Kurt Eichenwald. About Enron’s rise and fall. Really interesting, even though I understand basically nothing about energy, accounting, or economics. A very good read.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. I think we all know what this one is about. I enjoyed it a lot, especially the parts about Jobs’s early life and career, and specific design elements of Apple products.

The Art of Fielding by Chad Hambach. A great read about a college baseball player and life at a small college.

Remember Why You Play by David Thomas. I bought this for my friend’s football-playing son for Christmas. I decided to read it, not expecting to like it. I loved it. A quick read about a high school team and its quest for a state title, and much more. It may have been a little cheesy, but it moved and inspired me. I gave it to my friend’s son as soon as I finished, hoping he’d read it as his team is on its own journey toward the state championship.

All Is Grace by Brennan Manning. I’ve always loved Manning (going back probably 25 years) and have never encountered anyone who writes about Jesus like he does. He is now in very poor health and this memoir is undoubtedly his last book. I believe this is all he had to give, but it’s too bad he waited so long. Still, I loved this book.

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman. This is one you should really just read for yourself.

Pulphead by John Jeremiah Sullivan. Really good book of essays, some funny, some not. There’s a great piece on cave art, and one on animals rising up against man as conditions on Earth get worse. I loved this book.

Naked Pictures of Famous People by Jon Stewart. Not as funny as I expected.

11/22/63 by Stephen King. I read this over Thanksgiving weekend and it was so good. A 2011 high school teacher goes back to 1958 (if you really want to know, read the book. It’s too much to explain here) intent on preventing the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He discovers that the past doesn’t want to be changed.

Greyhound by Steffan Piper. I bought this in Kindle form to read on my phone, because it was just a few dollars and I liked the cover. I wanted to like the book, too, but…not so much. The main character didn’t have a very distinctive voice, and I couldn’t figure out how long after the events he was telling the story, and to me it made a difference.

Bossypants by Tina Fey. This book was funny. The best part of the book is when she writes about her dad.

Scoreboard, Baby by Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry. Some incredible investigative reporting on the 2000 University of Washington football team. Several players had significant legal problems, and seemed not to face significant consequences. Not that the UW is alone in this. Ultimately I don’t know if the story was more appalling or tragic, but it was a riveting read.

My gift card would have covered the meal, but since he volunteered, I let him pay. That place has a good happy hour, and it’s the usual spot where Gwen and I have lunch, so I’ll have plenty of opportunity to use it. By the way, it’s not that the restaurant is all that expensive, but by my dad’s standards…for my college graduation, he took maybe 6 people out to dinner, and we went to a restaurant my uncle liked, but my dad saw the menu and realized it might cost $12 a person (and its not like he couldn’t afford it), and he loaded us all back in our cars and took us to Denny’s. True story.

This week has been weird, and sad, without Gizmo. After the first day, I think Cosmo has adjusted to the new normal and really kind of likes being the only dog. I’m adjusting OK, too. It’s sad, but as I’ve had time to think, he never had a bad day until his last one. He had a fun, pampered life and got to play a lot and he was well-loved. So I think, you know, I can be happy about the life he had, even though it was short.

I hit tennis balls with a friend today for two hours. It had been a week since I’d picked up a racquet. It was fun, but I didn’t hit great. I’m working on an adjustment to my forehand and it’s definitely not consistent yet. I guess it’s not so much an adjustment as an addition–I’m trying to add a big, powerful forehand to my toolbox. I hit with a lot of spin and am deceptive that way, but I’m trying to add a shot that isn’t subtle at all–take a step in and rip it. I think it’s going well. The footwork is there, and I know what kind of ball I’m looking for in order to hit that shot. It’s really just a matter of practice, now.

I have a headache tonight. Probably from the tennis.

Anyway. This is a long weekend, and it feels like it. I don’t do the Black Friday thing, and am pretty much trying to avoid stores, other than grocery, until the end of the year. I’m not a shopper. I’m just not built that way.

Also, it seems like every year the Black Friday stuff gets more extreme. Since I don’t watch TV anymore, really, I’ve missed most of the advertising. I think there’s something more than a little gross about a nation that takes a long weekend for gluttony and consumerism.

A writer I like sent a Twitter message the other day about her intention for the Christmas season. It sounded like something from a greeting card, and I mean that in the best way. Anyway, the thing she said in those 140 characters or less that really grabbed me was meaning over mania. That’s going to be my mantra for this Christmas.

Sadly, he didn’t make it. It was really one of the saddest days, ever.

I really can’t write about it. But here’s a picture I really like. This is how I want to remember him.

he was a good little bastard.

It hurts me to see him so miserable.

I’ve kind of dealt with the tennis drama. There were a few angry emails going back and forth yesterday, and last night I was talking to Gwen about it, and she had a totally different way of looking at it, which helped.

Being friends with Gwen is good for me. I think we’re good for each other. We have very different ways of seeing the world, and I think that’s good. I think she’s probably the most politically different friend I’ve ever had, and I think we’ve learned from each other. It’s not just politics, but that might be the most marked difference between us.

Anyway, as we were becoming friends we laughed about the ways we were different, and how unlikely our friendship was. But as we’ve become closer, I think of us as much more alike than different. We’re the same kind of person, when you get right down to it. We’re both kind and apparently missing the mean streak we see in so many people. We both really listen. We both value one-on-one time and make it a priority. We’re both smartasses.

Today I have to go play in Washington, at a club about 90 minutes from here. I expect we’ll win pretty easily, but you never know.

I’ve been reading a lot. A lot.

Last night I went to a football game and it snowed before the game and sometimes during. It was pretty miserable just being in the stands (and under cover) and I can’t imagine what it was like for the players.

Looking forward to a short work week. No holiday plans, except going to Roseburg for a football game on Friday. I’m not sure how far Roseburg is, but I want to say it’s 3 or 4 hours from here.

It’s almost 8am. I have to leave for tennis maybe around 10, so I probably need to get up and get moving.

In short, it looks like my team from last year is breaking up. Which is OK, and I kind of expected that, but I thought I’d be part of whatever most people move on to. That appears not to be the case. It’s nothing personal and I’m not taking it that way, but it still is just painful.

There are a lot of things I can do. I’ll have to decide. Right now I’m still getting my head around it.

I’ve been feeling for a while that maybe my life is headed in another direction. Maybe I’ll take a season off. Maybe I’ll hook up with another team. I don’t know.

I feel like God is nudging me to get serious about writing. It feels like this is the time when I really have the confidence to do it, and so many little things seem to be pointing in that direction.

What I had planned for next year isn’t going to happen. But something will happen, and it will be even better.