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Don't bother me when I'm reading

It is with great honor that I welcome you to the second, and likely final, 2014 newsletter of the Kevin Wilson Book Club.

It has not quite caught fire like the Oprah Book Club. In the week since I named my first six (technically, seven) selections, I have not seen new versions rushed out with “Kevin Wilson Book Club” stickers affixed on the front cover. Maybe this extended winter weather has kept the stickered versions at their various publishing houses.

If you wish to check on the first half of 2014, check last week’s column. I’m halfway done with my March audio book and finished with my March actual book (added because an audio book felt lazy).

Here’s the second half:

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July: “Joy Comes in the Morning: A Daily Devotional Guide,” by Joan Clayton. When you write a column for our newspapers for more than two decades without getting paid for it, you get a selection in my book club. It’s technically a year-long book, so I’ll have six months to catch up on and five months to read ahead.

August: “The Corner: A Year in the Life of An Inner-City Neighborhood,” by David Simon and Edward Burns. I’ve tried to read this one before, but it just didn’t work out. David Simon requires significant dedication, but fans of his TV shows know he rewards those who pay attention.

September: “Ball Four,” by Jim Bouton. The second baseball book of the year comes in September. I’ll either be amped up about baseball, or ready to give up the sport again. Check the American League West standings to figure out which one.

October: “I Drink for a Reason,” by David Cross. I frankly expected more books by comedians in the list, but two will be it. I laugh every time I see his character Tobias Funke say, “Excuse Me” in the second episode of “Arrested Development.”

November: “Profiles in Courage,” by John F. Kennedy. Nov. 22 will be the 51st anniversary of his death in Dallas by an assassin’s bullet. He’s become a divisive figure to some who were around then, but your soft drink has become a divisive political issue in our hyperpartisan present.

December: “Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War,” by Mark Bowden. The book is based on the story of elite soldiers on a rescue mission in Somalia.

I don’t read much, so I find the list to be ambitious. But now that I’ve put it in writing, I find the list to be mandatory.

Wish me luck ... or don’t bother me when I’m reading.

Kevin Wilson is a columnist for Clovis Media Inc. He can be contacted at 763-3431, ext. 313, or by email:

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