My Book

Five people in my circle of friends and acquaintances have written and published books. Four of the books are in some way autobiographical and I've read three so far. Two of the authors are from my distance past, one from a more recent past and two are current acquaintances. I am not close friends with this quintet so it is fascinating to me to read about details of their lives that I did not learn from conversations.

It is also inspirational to read their writing ... wow, I know some freakin' authors ... people who are not writers by profession but who wrote books. Well, one is a part time journalist, but the others all do something else unrelated to writing books.

I hope to write a book someday. In fact, I have outlines for three books in my head, all somewhat autobiographical. I'm no John Grisham or Christopher Moore, but I have had enough drama and humor in my life to think I could write something interesting that somebody might actually read.  I also don't expect anyone to read them, assuming I ever write and publish them. My purpose for a book is the same as it is for my blogs: a balance between sharing observations and looking in a mirror.

This blog is the potential basis for one of my books. I wouldn't be the first writer to publish thoughts on baby boomer life. It's probably a crowded topic on bookshelves and Kindle but that wouldn't stop me from writing it.

Another possible book is basically my autobiography. In the grand scheme of things, I am nobody so there is no real reason for anybody to buy a book by nobody about nobody. So I could present it as fiction. Truth is, people who think they know me wouldn't believe half of what I'd write about myself anyway, even though it would all be true.

My third potential book topic relates to my dad and my up and down relationship with him. I'm pissed that he died when he did, before we could truly become friends. At the point in my life when I wanted to try and have deep conversations with him, which would have been out of character for him but could have happened anyway, the dementia part of his Parkinson's had already started. My book would be a combination of his life story and my guess as to the content of our would-be conversations.

Meanwhile I'll keep writing for this blog and my other blogs. If I ever write a book, you'll be the first to know.