Friday, December 31, 2010

Don't You Know It Makes Me High When You Turn Your Love My Way?

Citizen K. has been an important part of my life for three years. Writing it has sharpened my thinking, helped me choose a new direction, and introduced me to new friends who have enhanced my life in countless ways. Anyone who follows me knows of my love for reading; my parting class to you is that most male of things, Top Five lists, in this case of books (each compiled in no particular order):

Five Contemporary Novels

The Poisonwood Bible (Kingsolver)
Liars and Saints (Meloy)
White Teeth (Smith)
About a Boy (Hornby)
Birdsong (Faulks)

Five 20th C. American Novels by White American Men
The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
The Sun Also Rises (Hemingway)
As I Lay Dying (Faulkner)
The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck)
Lonesome Dove (McMurtry)

Five Coming-Of-Age Novels
Huckleberry Finn (Dickens)
Catcher in the Rye (Salinger)
Tom Jones (Fielding)
Great Expectations (Dickens)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Joyce)

Five Nine Non-Fiction Books
...And the Band Played On (Shilts)
The Fire Next Time (Baldwin)
Baseball's Great Experiment (Tygiel)
The Years of Lyndon Johnson (The Path to Power and Master of the Senate) (Caro)
America in the King Years (Parting the Waters, Pillar of Fire, and At Canaan's Edge) (Branch)
The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square (Sublette)
The Shock of the New (Hughes)

Five Contemporary Irish Novels
A Goat's Song (Healey)
The Secret Scripture (Barry)
Inishowen (O'Connor)
The Story of Lucy Gault (Trevor)
Eureka Street: A Novel of Ireland Like No Other (Wilson)

Five Baseball Novels
The Great American Novel (Roth)
Bang the Drum Slowly (Harris)
You Know Me, Al (Lardner)
Hoopla (Stein)
The Kid from Tompkinsville (Tunis)

Five Six Books You Should Just Plain Read
Black List, Section H (Stuart)
Wuthering Heights (Bronte)
Women In Love (Lawrence)
Invisible Man (Ellison)
The Country Girls (O'Brien)
Maus: A Survivor's Tale (Spiegleman)

No matter what my mood or how down I am, "Blue Sky" never fails to cheer me up. I'm sending it out with gratitude to everyone who has followed Citizen K. at any time during the past three years, and especially those who have taken their own time to better this blog with their comments. Please check out my new blog, Health Matters.



Happy New Year!

16 comments:

Ima Wizer said...

Ohhhhhhhhh, noooooooooo, I will miss this blog! Onward and upward through the fog dear K!

Susanna Powers said...

Happy New Year! we will miss Citizen K, but stay with us as Paul. thanks, sp

Unknown said...

Happy New Year & best of luck with Health Matters! Great book lists, btw--some real favorites, like Tom Jones & Great Expectations, As I Lay Dying & You Know Me, Al.

Taradharma said...

I will ck out the new blog, and hope that at some point you have the umph to post sometimes on Citizen K. Your posts are packed with information that we all need!

Best to you Paul!

Foxessa said...

Happy New Year to you too, and to yours, especially that most special of premium T's!

Despite everything, this is going to be one of the most special of NY's Eve celebrations -- K is here, the 6 year old left basically in the streets of Haiti until her mom could come and protect her, and now K is finally here!

Also I thank the author of The World That Made New Orleans for providing the opportunity to meet you guys.

Love, C.

Anonymous said...

A long strange trip my friend. I started out in blogland in 2008 to tell the word how a catholic girls school had wronged my daughter and us. She is now a freshman in college and has never been happier. Mrs. is 2/3 of the way through her nurse practicioner's program and is very much interested in your new blog. I will miss Citizen K as one of the safe smart and stable ports I have come to rely on for stuff worth reading. Your warehouse of interests and knowledge is a pure joy and proof to me that there is a God. Your new ventures I am sure will be quality stuff. I may learn some stuff about health care now.

Roy said...

Happy New cYear! I am so gonna miss this blog. I know, we have the Health Matters and Just A Song and 365 Days of Emmylou Harris,but this place was special.

Christine H. said...

Happy New Year to you and best of luck in all of your new (ad) ventures.

cile said...

Happy New Year, K. All the best in the coming year and I've added the Health Matters to my Blog roll! See you there!

K. said...

Many thanks to you all for the kind words. It's been great fun, and who knows what the future will bring. Roy, give me a few weeks off and I may bring back the Sunday funnies just on your account!

paula said...

Sure gonna miss my daily visit to Citizen K, but will be among the first to sign up for Health Matters. You can fold up your tent knowing you published one of the most thoughtful, eclectic and inspiring sites in the blogosphere. But, as you say, there's a time and place for everything. Wishing you all the best i 2011, wherever you are, doing whatever you do.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Well of course I'll follow you to your new blog, but I will miss this one as well.

Love the book lists.

Here's one of my favorite books:

Flaubert's Parrot

(Anything by Julian Barnes)

mommapolitico said...

K., my dear, you've been a blogpal and an inspiration. I look forward to your next endeavor. Please stop by Momma Politico when you have some free time now and again, as your take on all things political is valued and would be missed!

Susanna Powers said...

Hooray, I'm glad I checked back to read the comments. We want Sunday Funnies!! Even every other week, or once a month... Thanks for your consideration... sp

Frank Partisan said...

This was one of the best blogs ever.

I linked in about 2 seconds to your new blog.

nursemyra said...

I too loved The Country Girls and Catcher in the Rye. Best of luck in 2011 K xx