I Resolve to. . .

I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions, but I sure have a few things I would like to do in 2025

Things I Would Like to Do in 2025

1. Read 100 books.

2. Write a blog post every week.

3. Practice guitar 15 minutes a day.

4. Get on the treadmill or walk five days a week.

5. Write and complete something that is not a blog post.

6. Perfect a New York Style pizza at home.

7. Read at a live lit event.

Read 100 books.

I used to be an avid reader and I remain convinced that I am happiest when I read more books. And one hundred books is a doable amount of books. This works out to just under two books a week. This is the pace that I used to read at when I worked at Half Price Books for eleven years. There are no rules about what I read, though I would really like to read as many books by people that I know as I can. I have several friends and acquaintances that are quite talented and published writers and it will be a real pleasure to read their works in 2025. I said that there are no rules, but I won’t count cookbooks in my reading tally unless I truly read each and every recipe. I have done this with a few books in the past, Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook: Strategies, Recipes, and Techniques of Classic Bistro Cooking and all of The Frugal Gourmet books first come to mind. Even though I own Jacques Pepin’s La Methode I have never read it all of the way through, so I might very well read that one cover to cover this year. Jacques is a great writer in addition to being the man that taught me how to cook, so I will have a good time and learn a great deal. Audiobooks totally count by the way. I used to ghettoize them, but I don’t feel that way any longer. Between Jennifer (who reads far more than one hundred books a year) and me there are over two hundred audiobooks to choose from. Let’s not get into how many books on Kindle we have! I have an embarrassment of riches to choose from, so I will start there and The Chicago Public Library. The only books I plan to purchase in the new year are the ones written by folks that I know. I am really excited to read more this year.

I suppose 100 books is a lot like Cool Hand Lukes 50 eggs, “A good round number.”

Write a blog post every week.

While the act of reading is a true pleasure, the act of writing is not always pleasant. In fact, it can be downright brutal. But having written something is one of my life’s great pleasures. I don’t know why writing a blog post every week can feel insurmountable, but it sometimes is. I am in the mood to write lately, and I will ride that wave as long as I can. I get so much encouragement from the messages, emails, and comments that y’all send my way, so keep ‘em coming. I am excited to blog more in 2025.

Practice guitar 15 minutes a day.

I was very discouraged by my guitar class that I took in the fall. My teacher was a nice guy, but I don’t feel like I learned anything from him. Probably a teaching style thing. Who knows? Regardless, I put my guitars away and didn’t pick them up until the yesterday when I put new strings on my main electric guitar and tuned it up. I did get lots of music to learn in that class, and The Old Town School of Folk Music Songbook, so it was not a total loss. I don’t care if I ever get great at guitar, I just want to be able to play a few songs through and make some fun noises on it. I just want to have fun making music in 2025.

Yamaha PAC012 Pacifica Electric Guitar - Old Violin Sunburst—my main guitar.

Get on the treadmill or walk five days a week.

I did not come close to a million steps this past year, and my goal was five million. I laugh at how risible that goal was. I’m giggling to myself at my hubris. I have no distance goals, just literally getting on the treadmill five days a week is my goal. If I walk a mile, great. If I walk for five minutes, awesome. If I walk for one minute—fantastic. I just need to move more. I would also like to do some chair yoga or bodyweight exercise, but I’m going to concentrate on getting on the treadmill in 2025.

Treadmills: Not just a clothes rack.

Write and complete something that is not a blog post.

I want to complete one piece of writing that is not this blog in the new year. It can be a screenplay, a comedy sketch, a novel, a short story, an article, a cookbook. I am not sure what it will be, but by this time next year I will have one polished piece of writing.

Today my friend called to invite me to participate in a writing course that he has devised. I demurred because I cannot afford literally anything save breathing right now, but he assured me that I would not pay a ha’penny, but that he really wanted me to take his course. He feels that I have a “book or ten” in me and that I was “one of maybe two people” who he knows that he would love to read a book by. Honestly, I got very emotional when he told me this. He is an accomplished writer and world class editor, and not one who minces words when it comes to creative work. He has always been a big supporter of this newsletter, but to get praise from someone that I admire and respect is so encouraging. I cannot wait to take his course. I’ll let y’all know how it goes. I feel confident that I will have a finished piece of writing in 2025.

Or fin, if I’m feeling pretentious.

Perfect a New York Style pizza at home.

I have really started geeking out on homemade pizza. Jennifer and I hosted her best friend and her son on Christmas Eve and it was so much fun making pizza together. I made too much dough and had plenty of toppings, so we invited another friend over a couple of days after Christmas to make more pizza. That was also so much fun. I ended up making calzones with the last of my dough and toppings—I’m a a little pizza’d out right now, but not for long. I’m chasing a perfect New York City slice and/or a Neapolitan-style pie with my pizza making. I’ve made a deep dive into it, buying fancy Italian-style 00 flour and a pizza peel and other accoutrements for my quest. There are countless food nerds on YouTube dedicated to making perfect pizza at home, so I’m not going at this blindly. Will I ever reach home pizza nirvana? Probably not. Will I have some delicious pizza in the meantime? Assuredly yes! And the next time I make pizza dough, I am trying my hand at khachapuri, which is a type of cheese bread from The Republic of Georgia. It is so delicious and comforting. I cannot wait to make more pizza and khachapuri in 2025.

Mmm. . . khachapuri

Read at a live lit event.

Several ears ago, Jennifer gave me the most wonderful gift. It was the tuition for the great Brigid Murphy’s writing class. If it were not for Brigid I would never have written this blog. She gave me the permission and tools to write about my life—a subject that I never felt comfortable writing about prior to taking her course. Brigid is a legend in Chicago. She has been a dancer, actor, saxophonist in a rock band, a mom, a writer, a writing teacher, cancer survivor, and all around creative force. The live literature scene in Chicago has been heavily influenced by her and many a storytelling show has Brigid in its DNA. I want to read or tell a story in one of these shows—or fuck it—make my own show. That’s what Brigid Murphy would do in my shoes. I will do this in 2025!

A poster from Brigid Murphy’s legendary Milly’s Orchid Show

I have my work cut out for me, don’t I? Until next time, I love y’all and I’m glad to have you in my corner. Y’all be sweet.

Thank you, as always, for reading.

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