Well, it looks like I have a few readers. I hope I can keep you interested.

Today is auspicious. A wonderful day. Make each day as awesome as you can. Each day added to the next, together make life. If each day is awesome then life will be awesome. Easy peasy. Reviewing my 2014 Aspirations and Commitments today, looks like many are on track. Writing has been good. It helps me remember and gives me goals to shoot for. Without writing I’d forget what goals I had and would not know if I was on course or not.

It has been one year since I challenged myself to read 52 books in 52 weeks. I didn’t make it. I only read 34. For me that is something. For some of you, this is a mere pittance and I should be ashamed to call myself a reader! I can do better. So this year I will repeat. April 1 to April 1 I’ll read 52 books. I noticed early in the past year I was focusing my reading on one book at a time and doing quite well keeping up with my goal. Later in the year I started reading 3 and 4 books at a time and got stalled. I’m going to try reading just one book at a time and see how it goes.

Here is a list of the books I read last year. I can recommend all of them except where noted. I was hoping some pattern would emerge from the books I read but I can’t see it.

• Cold Mountain by Han-shan translated by Burton Watson - Zen poetry
• Buddhism without Beliefs by Stephen Batchlor - Zen
• Mortality by Christopher Hitchens - Philosophy
• The Power of Habit Charles Duhigg - Psycology 4 out of 10
• Dog On It by Spencer Quinn - Fiction
• Broken Music by Sting - Memoir
• The Fault of our Stars by John Green - Fiction Tear jerker
• The Chocolate Cake Sutra by Geri Larkin - Zen
• War Dances by Alexie Sherman - Fiction
• The Gifts of Imperfection by Bren Brown - Self Help
• Cooked by Michael Pollan - Natural History
• Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland - Art Appreciation 10 out of 10
• On Being Certain by Robert Burton - Life changing 10 out of 10
• As Consciousness is Harnessed to Flesh by Susan Sontag - Memoir
• Strangers to Ourselves by Tim Wilson - Philosophy 10 out of 10
• A Skeptics Guide to the Mind by Robert Burton - First book better
• Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
• The Dip by Seth Godin - Inspirational as usual for Seth
• By Hand and Eye by George Walker and Jim Tolpin 5 out of 10
• James Krenov's "A Cabinetmaker's Notebook"
• The Five Elements of Effective Thinking by Edward Burger & Michael Starbird
• James Krenov's "The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking"
• Touching A Nerve, The Self As Brain by Patricia Churchland (Audible)
• Thereby Hangs a Tail: A Chet and Bernie Mystery by Spencer Quinn -Audible
• Making Habits, Breaking Habits by Jeremy Dean (Audible)
• David Pye’s book The Nature and Art of Workmanship
• Love 2.0 by Barbara Fredrickson (Audible Real wowo at the end)
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide, by Douglas Adams
• You are now less dumb by David McRaerdey
• The Pre History of the Far Side. by Gary Lason
• Why we make thing and why it matters by Peter Korn (10 out of 10) January
• Transmitting the light - translated by Francis Cook February 1, 2014
• The Reluctant Mr. Darwin by David Quammen
• This is a Happy Marriage by Ann Pratchett Short story

This week in the shop I plan on:

1.  finishing the welding cart that will support my welder
2. starting on the cutting board as fine furniture for Becky
3. get business card printed
4. slowly start the “Shop"