I Sense, in Me, a Project
2023 in Books + 2024 in Themes
I don’t think I've shared this with you before. I tag and date every book I get.
I write my full name, the date of purchase or receiving, and the place or city where I was. A book, itself, is already a story, but mine books tell one collectively. They are my timeline. They highlight where I have been, what I thought was important, or what I wanted to learn next at that moment.
My book collection is a mosaic of myself. I buy books from significant places for this reason. I want to bookmark that time in that city. I have books from Milan and Bucharest in my collection and gifts from friends, which are even better mirrors into who I was or who I am. These all show what different side streets I was exploring that year.
I read 24 books last year. About 10 less than 2022 and still great. Adding in the articles, primers, and textbook reading for school, and it would be a different story, I’m sure.
What do I see when I look at 2023 in books? When I look at books, I also see the places where I read them. I am the type to bring a paperback book in the back pocket with me (which definitely is the move) when I’m “really” going out for the day. That’s how you know I’m serious.
Books of 2023
24 books in 2023
Where was I with these books?
My reading has recently fallen into three camps: Morning, day, and night. This is to also say: nonfiction and philosophy, business and leadership, and poetry at those exact intervals.
Morning - I drove deep into a new, and now favorite writer, Byung-Chul Han. He is a contemporary philosopher and theorist, and the body of works from him that I encountered were a refreshing view of the world. In fact, I admire his work. It is also telling that I read these books at art galleries and museums, often the National Gallery of Art or the Rubell Museum. The craft of thought matched the craft of place.
Day - I read at work. I find books inspiring, and so I made time for them, and that often includes refreshing myself with some development through books at work. This eventually included some homework reading, but I found these books boosted my interest in my work and built on my tangible experience with product management and leadership development.
Evening - I look at these books, the poetry, and see places. I see my birthday train ride to Virginia for the Richmond Museum of Fine Arts in Saadi Yousef’s Nostalgia, My Enemy and the life affirming moment I experienced then. I see the parks where I read Mary Oliver. I see my travel to Riyadh this summer for work in Nizar Kabbani’s Arabian Love Poems.
What do I want to do with 2024?
What curiosities do I carry with me into this new year? Thinking of what I did in 2023, I recall a passion for beautiful places, namely places that are designed experiences like art galleries or museums. I love them. One of my favorite letters from last year was a playful comment about them and airports. Ole recently pointed out to me that I kept my promise from 2023 of going to more art galleries. Before school started in August, I spent every Sunday morning at an art gallery or museum. Even after, I still got away to them frequently.
As I think of my writing and reflect on my intellectual development, I think I am approaching the will to make something particular this year. I sense, in me, a project. I am interested in taking on a slightly more focused approach to creativity again and setting myself to study something that drives my world into rapture and wonder: good places.
My Vision
I can see myself as someone who writes and talks about philosophy, thinking and art (even more than now, though). And with my desire for places, I have to explore this simple question: why do some places make me feel amazing? As a writer, I feel driven to explore this. As someone who launched a third space, I feel authorized to speak.
A theme for this year will be the study of these kinds of places, looking into aesthetic theory, design thinking, architecture, and perhaps anthropology. Here are some of the books I think I will dive into this year:
The Arcades Project by Walter Benjamin
Space and Place by Yi-Fu Tuan
Aesthetic Theory by Theodor Adorno
The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg
I am sure there will be more. I would love recommendations if you would want to comment about one that would expand this list.
I think of how my own work on this writing project has morphed. First 100 words in 100 days, then a full year of weekly letters. This year will, again, be something different. I don’t intend on sharing thoughts about leadership and what I learn in my program here. That will be saved for LinkedIn and other channels. Along with my usual type of writing about how hilariously odd life can be, I will start including this theme of places.
The Next Step
Here is what you can expect with my letters now. As mentioned before the small Winter Break series, I will be writing less frequently so I can continue to write with sustained quality and take on more learning for this next step. I promise to write to you once per month, the first Tuesday, in 2024. I am proud of the writing I shared with you last year, and I want to do that again while I expand myself in other directions, namely by progressing in my MS in Organizational Leadership. I am also a step closer to launching a paid subscription here in my goal toward building a sustainable writing life.
I see 2024 being a solid step toward my vision.
Thank you for your time and attention along the way. It is meaningful, and I never take it for granted.
Trevor
