Richard W. Brown August 30, 2021
Bucket List

Do I Need a Bucket List?

Estimated reading time: 0 minutes, 34 seconds

The New York Times had a guest essay by Dr. Kate Bowler, an associate professor at Duke Divinity School, entitled “One Thing I Don’t Plan to Do Before I Die Is Make a Bucket List.” Dr. Bowler is the author of “No Cure for Being Human,” and this essay has been adapted. She provides an overview of how the phrase “bucket list” came to convey an unnecessary need.

After reading the essay, I found no answer to my question. I do not have or need a bucket list. I desire to live my life to its fullest potential!

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Richard W. Brown
Bucket List

The Desire for Life Itself

Estimated reading time: 0 minutes, 34 seconds

If you do not want to read the full essay, the closing paragraph sums it and explains my choice.

“There is nothing like the tally of a life. All of our accomplishments, ridiculous. All of our striving, unnecessary. Our lives are unfinished and unfinishable. We do too much, never enough and are done before we’ve even started. We can only pause for a minute, clutching our to-do lists, at the precipice of another bounded day. The ache for more — the desire for life itself — is the hardest truth of all,” writes Dr. Bowler.

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The Tokyo Suite

by Giovana Madalosso

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Read: June 2021

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Bodily Harm

by Margaret Atwood

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Read: March 2025

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We Do Not Part: A Novel

by Han Kang

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e. yaewon is based in Korea and translates from and into Korean, including titles by Hwang Jungeun, Deborah Levy, and Samuel Beckett.

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When you purchase a book through one of my links, I earn a small commission that helps support my passion for reading. This contribution allows me to buy even more books to share with you, creating an incredible cycle of discovering great reads together! Your support truly makes a difference!

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Read: December 2024

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You Dreamed of Empires: A Novel

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Today, I began reading “You Dreamed of Empires: A Novel” by Álvaro Enrigue, translated by Natasha Wimmer. This book is from the visionary author of “Sudden Death,” a hallucinatory and revelatory tale of colonial revenge. It has been recognized as one of The New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2024 and included in the list of 10 Best Books of 2024. So far, I have read four of the top five fiction books of 2024: “All Fours,” “James,” “Martyr!,” and “Good Material.”

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When you purchase a book through one of my links, I earn a small commission that helps support my passion for reading. This contribution allows me to buy even more books to share with you, creating an incredible cycle of discovering great reads together! Your support truly makes a difference!

 

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Read: November 2023

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The Breakaway: A Novel

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The Jan Lilien Education Fund sponsors ongoing sustainability and environmental awareness programs. Gifts made this month; I will match dollar-for-dollar. All donations are tax-deductible.

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Read: February 2024

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Neighbors and Other Stories

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