On Books & Reading: My TBR List for April 2023, or: You Can’t Be a Good Writer if You’re Not a Good Reader

Time Marches Inexorably Onward…

“Time flies over us but leaves its shadow behind.” – Nicholas Hawthorne

Well, Dear Reader, here we are on Wednesday, April 5, 2023; it’s the middle of the first workweek of the month, and – once again – I am dumbstruck by how fast time seems to fly. I could have sworn it was only yesterday that I was writing about my upcoming Diamond birthday! But, lo! A month has passed since I turned 60, and only a slightly shorter period than that since I began the task of revising and re-publishing my novella Reunion: A Story.[1]

Since I have to adjust my daily schedule to add more reading time – you can’t be a good writer if you don’t read frequently – I decided to dispense with a long essay-type blog post for this first “Hump Day” of April 2023.  And since reading is the topic that is foremost in my “little gray cells,” this is the perfect excuse opportunity to share my current To Be Read (TBR) list for the month.

I am, of course, preparing to write a new work of fiction, so it should not surprise anyone that I have added two titles related to writing to my infamous TBR list. It also should not shock anyone that I have not made a hell of a lot of progress with my non-work-related selections, so I apologize in advance if many of the titles listed below seem all too familiar to you.

So, without further ado – I am, once again, fresh out of ado; I need to order some more from Amazon – away we go!

My To Be Read (TBR) Stack for Early April 2023

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!

• On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King
• The Kick-Ass Writer: 1,001 Ways to Write Great Fiction, Get Published, & Earn Your Audience, Chuck Wendig
• Hell to Pay: Operation DOWNFALL and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-1947, D.M. Giangreco
• Star Wars: Brotherhood, Mike Chen
• Who Can Hold the Sea: The U.S. Navy in the Cold War, 1945-1960
• Fire & Steel: The End of World War Two in the West, Peter Caddick-Adams

I hate to, um, “blog and run,” but I have some reading to catch up with, so this is where we must part. Until next time, stay safe and healthy, and I’ll catch you on the sunny side of things.

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[1] Available in paperback and Kindle e-book format mostly at Amazon, though you can order copies of the paperback edition from Barnes & Noble’s online store.