The List

My List of 30 should be renamed my List of 20. Apparently I am having a tougher time than expected thinking of things for this list. Why such a hard time? I mean, I know I've done a lot of things that I would include if I'd started this list when I was younger- like living alone, traveling abroad, getting a Master's degree, getting my PhD. Someone suggested that I still include those things, and cross them off right away, but I think that's kind of cheating. Don't you?

I've been asked, "Why have a list, Heidi? What's the point of writing it down anyway?" Good question! I've kept lists for a long time- educational goals, personal goals, shopping lists, favorite things lists, to-do lists, research ideas lists, and on and on. They serve a purpose and in some small way, make things a little more tangible. Lists help me organize my thoughts, hold me accountable and this list is pretty public, so I feel like I'm even more accountable.

But why now? Well, I've just moved to a new place, a new job, and finally finished up graduate school, which is the perfect time to start trying some of those things that I didn't get to do (or didn't have money to do) while in grad school. Also, sometimes I feel like the rigors of grad school (e.g., reading research articles, talking about research, writing your own research) have left me a little bit socially and emotionally retarded. I have often felt a bit cut off from current events, like my head has been stuck in the sand. Before I entered grad school I had lots of interests, could talk about a lot of different things with a lot of different people, and although I can still talk and relate to people... I don't feel like I've been able to foster those interests as much as I'd like. So that is why now is a good time!

Thus, I have decided upon another item for my List of 30! Gina and Jason read this magazine, Mental Floss, and were discussing a recent feature: The 25 Most Influential Books of the Past 25 Years. I checked out the list and decided to tackle these books... or most of these books. Here's the list, and a few of my thoughts about the books:

1. And the Band Played On - Randy Shilts
2. Maus- Art Spiegelman This is a graphic novel (cartoon) and I really have no desire to read it... so I'm taking it off the list!
3. Listening to Prozac- Peter D. Kramer
4. Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism- Temple Grandin I've wanted to read this book for a while. Dr. Grandin is actually a faculty member at CSU and I never got to meet her or hear her speak!
5. Nickel and Dimed- Barbara Ehrenreich
6. Into Thin Air- Jon Krakauer
7. The Satanic Verses- Salman Rushdie Not sure about this book... I'll have to look into it a little more before I decide if it stays on the list.
8. Middlesex- Jeffrey Eugenides Read it. Loved it. Recommend it!! Yay! One book complete!
9. The Alchemist- Paulo Coelho Tried to read it, couldn't get into it, not sure I want to try again.
10. The Easy Way to Stop Smoking- Allen Carr Not sure about this book either, though it might be a great resource for clients and health promotion.
11. A Perfect Spy- John le Carre
12. What is the What- Dave Eggers
13. On Writing- Stephen King
14. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle- Haruki Murakami
15. The Known World- Edward P. Jones
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone- J.K. Rowling Read it twice! Yay! Another book complete!
17. How Proust Can Change Your Life- Alain de Botton
18. The Bonfire of the Vanities- Tom Wolfe
19. Infinite Jest- David Foster Wallace
20. The Unbearable Lightness of Being- Milan Kundera
21. Beloved- Toni Morrison
22. The Handmaid’s Tale- Margaret Atwood
23. Freakonomics- Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
24. Eats, Shoots & Leaves- Lynne Truss Hmm, a book about grammar and punctuation? I'm not sure about this. More research needed.
25. The Tipping Point- Malcolm Gladwell I read his other book, Blink, isn't that good enough? Didn't really get much from it that I didn't already know, except maybe a few interesting conversational tidbits. Do I have to??

I guess that really leaves me with 24 of the most influential books of the past 25 years to read. Maybe a few less after I check those others out. Any suggestions about where to start (after I finish my current book, of course)???