Writing is a soothing balm for me. It soothes me. Like the Star of Elendil, it provides me with a light in dark places. I’ve been wanting to write more, and my favorite writing is the writing I do here. I especially like writing about books. Last year, I tried an (unsuccessful¹) experiment to write about books on Substack. Undeterred, I’ve decided to try my hand at a new series, conveniently right here. I’m calling this series “Shelf Life.”

Sitting in my office one day, surrounded by my books, it occurred to me that the books themselves have stories—personal stories as they relate to me. I’m going to tell these stories. Understand that I’m not necessarily talking about the contents of the featured book, although I’m not necessarily excluding it either. I want to write about the books: how I came to obtain them, how they have impacted me, why I chose to read them or not read them, why I attempted them and failed.

I’ve started to compile a list of 52 books to start, with the idea that I’ll write about one book a week. To be honest, I don’t know if this will pan out or not. But it gives me something to look forward to, and it gives me something to focus on, to write about, and maybe it’s something that folks will be interested in reading.

I know what book I am going to start with, and that should give you (and me) an idea of what I am trying to do. I’m looking to start this in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned.