Tag / Ginger Zee

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Prolific Authors – Two Books

It is time once again to take a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, I’m once again on pace to set a new record for books read in a year, so I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August of this year. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 114 books, so there should be some movement over the past two years.  Without further ado, it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much over the years.  We begin today with the 40 authors I’ve read two times, one fewer than two years ago.

Laura Caldwell

I have no idea how I came across the work of this local author, but I must have enjoyed it enough to go back for seconds.  Unfortunately, she passed away in 2020, leaving behind a back catalog of fourteen novels and two non-fiction books.

Michael Chabon

Winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, the most recent of the two works of his I’ve read.  I have another, Wonder Boys, waiting in the to read pile, so he rise up some day.

Matthew V. Clemens

The co-author, with Max Allan Collins, of the final two chapters of the Reeder and Rogers trilogy.

Ready Player Two – Ernest Cline

Ernest Cline

The man responsible for both Ready Player One and Ready Player Two.

Bill Clinton

The former president has co-written two novels with James Patterson.

Michael Connelly

The creator of Harry Bosch makes his first appearance thanks to his Renée Ballard spin-off series.

Laura Dave

I read my second novel from her, The Night We Lost Him, earlier this year.

Felicia Day

The first author here that I’ve happened to meet in person.

Cameron Dokey

She makes the list based on two entries in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series.

Warren Ellis

The comic writer, currently in exile after being called out for abusing women, makes the list thanks to two prose novels.

David Fisher Continue reading →

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Prolific Authors – 2 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we start things off with the now 41 authors I’ve read twice, an increase of six over two years ago.

Max Barry

An Australian author, I’ve enjoyed the two novels of his I’ve read, Jennifer Government and Company.

Laura Caldwell

I have no idea how I came across the work of this local author, but I must have enjoyed it enough to go back for seconds.  Unfortunately, she passed away in 2020.

Michael Chabon

Winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, the most recent of the two works of his I’ve read.  I have another, Wonder Boys, waiting in the to read pile, so he rise up some day.

Fate Of The Union – Max Allan Collins with Matthew V. Clemens

Matthew V. Clemens

The co-author, with Max Allan Collins, of the final two chapters of the Reeder and Rogers trilogy.

Ernest Cline

The man responsible for both Ready Player One and Ready Player Two.

Bill Clinton

The former president has co-written two novels with James Patterson.

Felicia Day

The first author here that I’ve happened to meet in person.

Cameron Dokey

She makes the list based on two entries in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series.

Diane Duane

Living in Ireland, she is responsible for a Star Trek: The Next Generation book and a Spider-Man novel, of all things.

Warren Ellis

The comic writer, currently in exile after being called out for abusing women, makes the list thanks to two prose novels.

David Fisher Continue reading →

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Book 15 (of 52) – A Little Closer To Home

A Little Closer To Home: How I Found The Calm After The Storm – Ginger Zee

Ginger Zee, chief meteorologist for ABC, checks back in with the follow-up to her 2017 memoir.   This time around, she digs deeper into some of the other issues swirling around and mixed up in her depression: two suicide attempts, divorce, anorexia, rape, and an abortion, among other things.  She also gives insight into how, after years of avoiding her emotions and her mental health, she has used therapy to dig into her issues and, years later, finding the interconnectedness of the things that have happened in her life and how she has reacted.

A Little Closer To Home gives Zee another outlet to tell her tale of recovery and how, even today, she continues to dive into her past and look for ways to improve.  Thanks to the fine folks at Anderson’s Bookshop, I was able to participate in a Zoom call with her where she dove deeper into some of these topics and the need to normalize taking care of and seeking help for our mental health.

Ironically, four years ago, I read Ginger Zee’s first memoir back-to-back with her ABC News co-worker Dan Harris’ first book on meditation.  This year, I switched it up by fitting two books in between their respective second efforts, though Harris has recently left ABC.

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2018: The Year In Books

Another year has come to an end and it is time to take a look back at the 22 books I read over the past year, 6 less than last year.  Of those 22, 7 were non-fiction and, of the 15 novels, only 1 was a TV show tie-in.  Only one of the books came out of my dwindling “to-read” drawer, and 12 were e-books.  I read over 7,000 pages, my lowest total since at least 2013.

Once again, a majority of the books I read this year were by authors I’ve never read before. The 15 authors that I read for the first this year were:
Mamrie Hart
Dan Harris
Ginger Zee
Krysten Ritter
Karin Slaughter
Michelle West
Paul Ruditis
Michelle McNamara
David Ross
Don Yaeger
Araminta Hall
Amber Tamblyn
Laura Lippman
Lauren Graham
Drew Magary

There was not a single author that I read multiple titles from during 2018.

6 of the books I read were released this year, while 1 of them was released last century, exactly 60 years ago

Finally, the breakdown by month.  My vacation in September certainly helped pad its totals a tad bit.

Continue reading →

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Book 3 (of 52) – Natural Disaster

Natural Disaster: I Cover Them, I Am One – Ginger Zee

Continuing my run through the ABC news department, the new memoir from meteorologist Ginger Zee tells of her rise from a young girl growing up in Michigan to her college years in Valparaiso, back to Michigan to start her television career, her move to Chicago, and, finally, on the New York to work for the network.  All the while dealing with depression.

Natural Disaster gives Zee the outlet to tell her tale, including checking in to a mental hospital the week before starting with ABC news to try and deal with the demons that had plagued her for years.  She made it through to the other side, allowing her to meet her future husband and start a family, giving hope to the rest of us that there may be better days ahead.