Lots of Reading in 2014!

Well, I read a lot in 2014- lots of books, as well as lots of types of books. I'm in the final pages of the thirty-fifth book I've read completely this year, and I'm likely to get one more in over this last week, which will put me at averaging three books per month. I'm listing them all here, in alphabetical order by author. The first list is the thirty-four books I've read completely; the second is the ten of which I've read significant portions but not finished entirely (mostly short stories, poetry, or reference). If you've read any of them and would like to talk about them, let me know- I'd love to discuss any of these with you, preferably over coffee or a beer!

Books I read in 2014:

Blasphemy	Alexie, Sherman
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven	Alexie, Sherman
The House of the Spirits	Allende, Isabel
The New American Militarism	Bacevich, Andrew
Fidelity	Berry, Wendell
San Miguel	Boyle, T.C.
Talk, Talk	Boyle, T.C.
The Stranger	Camus, Albert
Resistance, Rebellion, and Death	Camus, Albert
Hope and Prospects	Chomsky, Noam
The Whistling Season	Doig, Ivan
Work Song	Doig, Ivan
Canada	Ford, Richard
Vagrant Viking	Freuchen, Peter
Autumn of the Patriarch	Garcia Marquez, Gabriel
This Changes Everything	Klein, Naomi
Carjacked	Lutz, Catherine
Dance Dance Dance	Murakami, Haruki
Norwegian Wood	Murakami, Haruki
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage	Murakami, Haruki
Just Ride	Peterson, Grant
Toward a Less Fucked-Up World	Riotfag, Nick
Do I Come Here Often? Black Coffee Blues, Part 2	Rollins, Henry
Essays	Shawn, Wallace
The Walkable City	Speck, Jeff
Kill Everything That Moves	Turse, Nick
The Complex	Turse, Nick
Spokesongs	Weir, Willie
Kitchen	Yoshimoto, Banana
Blue Highways	Least Heat Moon, William
Declarations of Independence	Zinn, Howard
Eat Bacon, Don't Jog	Peterson, Grant
Lizard	Yoshimoto, Banana
Valencia	Tea, Michelle

Books I read significant portions of in 2014:

Collected Poems	Berry, Wendell
The Wild Birds	Berry, Wendell
How to Read a Nautical Chart	Calder, Nigel
Barred for Life	Ebersole, Stewart Dean
The Complete Book of Sea Kayaking	Hutchinson, Derek C.
Sober Living for the Revolution	Kuhn, Gabriel (ed.)
Smile, You're Traveling: Black Coffee Blues, Part 3	Rollins, Henry
The Way It Is	Stafford, Kim
The Collected Stories	Stegner, Wallace

Coffeenneuring #7: November 17th

In true Captain Hairdo-fashion, I did my last coffeenneuring trip at the last minute! Well, not quite, but pretty close. Steph and I went out Sunday evening for coffee and dessert. We went to Random Order, a little coffee and pie shop in northeast Portland. We couldn't decide if we should share a savory pie, or a sweet pie, so we decided on both! A really wonderful, garlic-y chicken pot pie; a pecan pie, and- of course- coffee! This was a fun coffeenneuring trip, and most certainly the most romantic one I'd done!

Total miles: 5

Coffeenneuring #6: November 16th

Despite all my plans to get out for an epic coffeenneuring trip for #6, it turned out to be the least interesting of all my trips. The day got away from me, so I just tagged along with Steph on a grocery run in the evening, and grabbed some decaf while she shopped. Didn't even have my travel cup (bad environmentalist!)...

Total miles: 4

Coffeenneuring #5: November 9th

Coffeenneuring jaunt #5 was a chance to spend some time with my girlfriend, Steph. We decided to make a big loop around Forest Park, via downtown and northwest Portland. While in NW, we stopped at a nice little coffee house called Dragonfly, not for from the Thurman Street entrance to the park.

Then we rode through the park. It was a bit cold, but pretty. And fun crunching through the leaves! Also, we really enjoyed spending time together. As did our bikes, apparently-

Total miles: 26

Coffeenneuring #4: Sunday, October 20th

For #4, I met Bill, Jeff, Graham, and Asta at Ristretto.

Total miles: 12

Coffeenneuring #3: Monday, October 14th; Columbus Day

For Columbus Day, I went coffeenneuring in NW Portland. Went to a lovely little coffee shop that I'd heard of called Sterling. While there, I ran into fellow randonneur Alan, with whom I had a pleasant conversation. Really enjoyed the coffee in this small, elegant shop. It seemed very European, and the coffee was excellent.

After enjoying my coffee, I left and headed northwest with the intention of riding through Forest Park- taking the long way home. It was a really gorgeous fall day.

Just a few seconds after I snapped that shot, as I was approaching the Thurman Street entrance to the park, I ran into Joshua, who was heading the other way, having just ridden the same trail I was about to. We couldn't resist taking a moment to get a shot of his two creations together in the wild.

Then we hopped back on our steeds and headed our separate ways. Total miles: 26

2013 Coffeenneuring #2: Sunday, October 6th

For my second day of coffeenneuring, I inadvertently double-booked myself. I had planned to meet Joshua, my friend and builder of my beautiful rando bike, at Barista in downtown Portland. I had also committed to meet my buddy Bill (tangobiker) at Blend, in north Portland. At first I wasn't sure how I'd make that work but it turned out that Joshua was only free til around 10, while Bill and I were meeting around 10:30. Whew- crisis averted!

 It was a beautiful morning, so Joshua and I were able to relax outside and enjoy the sun. We also enjoyed watching several passers-by stop and admire "our bike." Can you blame them?

After an hour or so, Joshua had to get to his shop, and I took off to meet Bill. Turned out we had quite the crew that morning, as randonneurs from all over the Portland-metro area converged on the north Portland coffee shop. Bill, Lynne, Susan, Jeff, Ken, Theo, Asta, and my girlfriend Steph (not a randonneur- yet...) all came down to join in on the fun.

It was such a beautiful, warm, sunny day, and the conversation was so pleasant that we ended up staying for several hours. Eventually we got hungry and reconvened down the street at The Old Gold, where we enjoyed mac & cheese, french fries, elk burgers, microbrews, and other favorite rando treats! By the time I got home I'd been gone for nearly 9 hours. What a great way to spend a Sunday.

Total miles: 16