What I read in September 2022.

I read three books in September 2022. That’s just one book shy of my normal goal of a book per week. It’s been difficult to read a book a week lately since my work week averages a little over 50 hours per week plus finding time to work out, write, and do anything else. Nonetheless, I’m finding time to read, which is what I really care about. 

Here are the three books I read and a few brief thoughts about them: 

Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon by Chuck Palahniuk

Length - 175 pages

Chuck is best known for his writing of the hit novel that later became a Brad Pitt featuring movie, Fight Club. From what I gather, Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland is a book among a series of books featuring different cities in the United States. The publisher, Crown Journeys, chose a select few authors to write about the city in which they live. 

Chuck writes about Portland, Oregon. He moved there in 1980, around the time when he decided he wanted to be a writer. It’s a city that’s cold and wet most of the time, he says, which is the main reason he moved there. 

It’s meant to be an entertaining guide to the city. A guide in which Chuck lists different restaurants, landmarks, theaters, and other matters of attraction. What I love about this book is that Chuck not only picks obscure places to write about but he writes about them in a way that you’d never find in a typical city guide. It reads like a collection of essays about all of the places Chuck either knows about or frequents himself. 

Each section is capped with a short postcard that tells a story about one of the places he’s visited in that section. One of the postcards is written about a woman sitting in an inpatient hospice facility, next to her dying son. In a room down the hall, another patient begins screaming out and won’t stop. The woman leaves the room where her dying son lay to see what the patient at the end of the hall could be screaming about. He continues to scream obscenities like racial slurs, derogatory remarks, and curse words at the top of his lungs. Chuck writes about how the woman had been waiting by her son’s side for the moment of death for several days and how the process had extended itself longer than anyone had anticipated. The woman uncovered the patient to see if there was anything that could be bothering him underneath the covers. As she stood, staring at the unruly patient’s shriveled penis, her son, a few rooms down the hall, died. 

It’s important to note that I don’t have any specific interest in Portland, Oregon. I found this book as I was perusing the “Travel Writing” section at McKay’s Used Book store and since I’m familiar with Palahniuk, I decided to grab it. 

I loved this book. Not because I have a tie or allegiance to Portland, Oregon. Rather, I love the book because it highlights the importance of people. Everything he writes about the city or the experiences he had were made possible by people. 

And, I think it’s important to keep this in mind when we think about anywhere we are or anywhere we go. 

All a place really ever is is the sum of the people who inhabit it. 

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby

Length - 288 pages

I came to this book one afternoon as I wandered into the public library just down the street from my workplace. I had a few hours to kill before I was expected at work and I wanted a quiet place to sit and read. I didn’t know what to expect when I walked into the library. I walked in and found a clean and orderly space to park myself for a few hours while chipping my way through a book. 

As I walked through the library, looking for a table to sit, I noticed this book displayed at the end of an aisle. I’d been familiar with Irby. I participated in a comedy writing workshop two years ago online and one of the pieces of material we examined was written by Irby. I don’t recall much about the piece other than her writing about living with one of her friend’s dad’s for a brief period of time while she was homeless? I’d then followed her on instagram and have followed her since. I think her sense of humor is hysterical. She’s honest. Above all of her writing talent, she’s ruthlessly honest with herself and about the world around her. If she has a fault, she’s quick (although reluctant) to admit it and uses it for humor. If she finds fault with the world around her, she dissects that. She’s even aware enough to  admit when her perspective might be a bit biased but never apologizes for it. 

This collection of essays tells about her life as she transitions from single, black, lesbian woman living in Chicago, IL. as a clerical worker at a suburban Veterinary Hospital to a married, black, lesbian, woman living in Chicago, IL as a clerical worker at a suburban Veterinary Hospital. 

As I said, she writes with honesty. But to be engaging, one must write with more than honesty, and this is where her true talent lies. She has a remarkable command of the English language and despite her (self-described) crippling laziness, makes observations about the world that you wouldn’t in your craziest dreams come up with yourself. 

You can do worse things than spend a few hours with this book in your hand. 

Life is Tremendous by Charlie ‘Tremendous’ Jones

Length - 107 pages

I was gifted this book by a regular guest at the restaurant I manage. This is how our relationship started: I’d made notice of the books he’d been reading over a span of a few months and I’d try to acknowledge him without interrupting his reading. The first book I noticed him reading was an autobiography of Winston Churchill. I asked him how he liked the book and asked him to tell me a bit about it. A few weeks later I noticed him reading a graphic novel version of the book Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, an author of whom I’m fond. I asked again how he liked the book and we discussed it. From there, we’ve spent time getting to know each other. 

By now, I know he’s an attorney. His father is a former pastor. His father lives in an assisted living community where he visits him often. He moved to Puerto Rico for a year when he was in his 50’s to learn Spanish which he did but he’s since then forgotten most of the Spanish since he moved back to the united States. 

A few weeks back, he was reading this book called Life is Tremendous. He immediately turned and told me it was one of his favorite books and asked if I’d ever read it. I told him I’d never even heard of it. He told me he reads it once yearly. 

A few days later, he brought me my very own copy.

It’s written in accessible language. It’s mostly a self-help book. 

There was a period in my life when I only read self-help books. Then, a period where I’d grown weary of self-help books and chastised anyone who read them. 

I’m now in a place where I don’t actively seek self help books but I don’t look down upon them either. But when a man as well read as the gentleman whom I’m referring to speaks as highly of it as he does, I’ve no choice but to find out for myself what I’m missing.

Truthfully, none of the concepts written in the book are new to me nor are they groundbreaking. And that’s ok.

Basically, everything written in this book are concepts you’ve already heard and know. Concepts like ‘get out of your comfort zone’, ‘look for the good in things’, and ‘exercise more self-discipline’. 

The book served as a gentle reminder to pay more attention to these concepts.. After all, if these concepts have been written about and published as many times as they have, there must be something to them.

If you decide to read any of these books, please let me know what you think about them. 

And, even if you don’t end up reading any of the books I mention, all I ask is that you try to find a little time in your life to pick up a book. Whatever that book may be.