“I opened my computer just now with pure intention. I stayed focused as I entered the password and opened this word processing app. I defeated the lure of distraction. I did not check social media first. Admittedly, for a split second I glanced at my email, but only because I had to open that app to get to this one. There was no real effort in the glance, just something in my line of vision that my brain scanned. I could have been deterred when the thought popped up about how to best organize this first effort, but I wasn’t. I simply created a new folder named “What the Hell Do I Know But Here’s What I Think (For Now)” and within it started this blank document. SUCCESS! With these few simple steps done in awareness and concentration, I accomplished both a microgoal (the next right thing) and stepped onto the path of a journey that I’ve held in my heart for years. Years! I can’t even say for how long. A decade? Maybe social media could give some kind of timestamp in a “Memories” offering that would be an indication of the first time I used the phrase in that capacity, but I assure you, I had thought about it long before I said it out loud or wrote it in a public post. Today, I decided to see where it could take me and how I could offer it to someone else, to you.
Ok. First paragraph down. So now what? What the hell do I know, but here’s what I think (for now.)”
*******************
That, Dear Friends, is the first step, the first draft, the first paragraph in the introduction to my book. My book!I’m saying it out loud! I’M WRITING A BOOK! It’s called What the Hell Do I Know, But Here’s What I Think (For Now)!
You have likely heard me use this phrase. I say it often when I give big opinions about things because I want to always be sure I’m receptive to growth opportunities, to receive new information, shift perspective, to keep an open heart and mind. There’s a Buddhist teaching about asking yourself frequently “Are you sure?” not to create doubt but to remain fresh. There’s also a great Willie Nelson song titled “Are you sure?” It’s on my “Songs to Learn” list. 🙂
Maybe I could have called the book “Are You Sure?” but that doesn’t quite carry my personality with it. I’ve never named something before I created it. Song titles come after the songs are written. I named my daughter after I met her outside of the womb. This book, though, I have known its title for a very long time.
Well, I’ll be darned. Maybe there are some things I do truly know?
Will I follow through? I don’t know! I am starting the journey and that’s good enough for me (for now). I’ll share pieces of it on Patreon as I go. I invite and welcome your feedback. (Most shares will be for paying subscribers. This post is free since it’s attached to my reading list, which is always free! Check out my "Books Are Friends" collection to see past booklists.
But now let’s talk about the books I’ve read lately!
I set a goal this year to share my reading list about every quarter. Below you’ll find books I’ve read from April through June. I also want to share a great list that my dear sister-friend (and mother of my goddaughter) put together. Clara and I share a love of books and we realized recently that we both started a list of classics. They included some we’ve read and lots we haven’t. You can find her list on Substack. She’s also a great writer and I encourage you to subscribe to her account! My list of classics will be at the bottom of this post.
I’m gonna try a new way of organizing my recently read list into genres the best I can to make it easy to find what might interest you most. Below is my key. This is also my system for stars on Goodreads. Follow me thereso I can see what you’re reading, too!
💜 = Highly recommend. Will likely read again.
🎤 = audiobook; 📖 = physical book; 🔁 = read previously
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ = Thought provoking / important / highly recommend
⭐⭐⭐⭐ = Great book, would recommend
⭐⭐⭐ = Glad I read it. Not a waste of time. Wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.
⭐⭐ = Nah. Didn’t like it. Wouldn’t recommend.
⭐ = Probably didn’t finish and probably due to racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.
CLASSICS / CHILDRENS / YOUNG ADULT
- Black Beauty - Anna Sewell (1877) 🎤 ⭐⭐⭐ - As a young horse, Black Beauty is well-loved and happy. But when his owner is forced to sell him, his life changes drastically.
- The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911) 🎤 ⭐⭐⭐ - With the help of the robin, Mary finds the door to a secret garden, neglected and hidden for years. When she decides to restore the garden in secret, the story becomes a charming journey into the places of the heart, where faith restores health, flowers refresh the spirit, and the magic of the garden, coming to life anew, brings health and happiness.
CLASSICS / FANTASY
- The Neverending Story - Michael Ende (1979) 🎤 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - The story begins with a lonely boy named Bastian and the strange book that draws him into the beautiful but doomed world of Fantastica. Only a human can save this enchanted place by giving its ruler, the Childlike Empress, a new name. But the journey to her tower leads through lands of dragons, giants, monsters, and magic, and once Bastian begins his quest, he may never return. As he is drawn deeper into Fantastica, he must find the courage to face unspeakable foes and the mysteries of his own heart.
FICTION
- Heartwood - Amity Gaige (2025) 🎤 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - In the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping.
- 💜 My Friends - Fredrik Backman (2025) 🎤 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - In a distant seaside town, a group of teenagers find refuge from their bruising home lives by spending long summer days on an abandoned pier, telling silly jokes, sharing secrets, and committing small acts of rebellion. These lost souls find in each other a reason to get up each morning, a reason to dream, a reason to love. Out of that summer emerges a transcendent work of art, a painting that will unexpectedly be placed, 25 years later, into eighteen-year-old Louisa’s care. She embarks on a surprise-filled cross-country journey to learn how the painting came to be and to decide what to do with it. (This book is ) a stunning testament to the transformative, timeless power of friendship and art.
HISTORICAL FICTION
- 💜🔁 The Lion Women of Tehran - Marjan Kamali (2024) 🎤 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point, one earth-shattering betrayal will have enormous consequences.
- 💜The Secret Book Society - Madeline Martin (2025) 🎤 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - London, 1895: Trapped by oppressive marriages and societal expectations, three women receive a mysterious invitation to an afternoon tea at the home of the reclusive Lady Duxbury. Beneath the genteel facade of the gathering lies a secret book club—a sanctuary where they can discover freedom, sisterhood, and the courage to rewrite their stories.
NON-FICTION / HEALTH & WELLNESS
- Breathe: The New Science of a Lost Art - James Nestor (2020) 🎤 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat twenty-five thousand times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences. Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. The answers aren't found in pulmonology labs, as we might expect, but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, New Jersey choir schools, and the smoggy streets of Sao Paulo.
NON-FICTION / MEMOIR / TRUE STORY
- A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession and Shipwreck - Sophie Elmhirst (2024) 🎤 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - What begins as an eccentric English love story turns into one of the most dramatic adventures ever recorded... Filled with danger, spirit, and tenderness, this is a book about human connection and the human condition; about how we survive -- not just at sea, but in life.
-
Boat Baby: A Memoir - Vicky Nguyen (2025) 🎤 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - In a memoir where heroism meets humor, NBC News anchor and correspondent Vicky Nguyen tells the story of her family’s daring escape from communist Vietnam and her unlikely journey from refugee to reporter with laughter and fierce love.
** I read this book in May in honor of AAPI Month(Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage)
NON-FICTION / SPIRITUALITY
- 💜🔁 Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm - Thich Nhat Hanh (2012) 📖 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - a powerful and practical strategic guide to overcoming our debilitating uncertainties and personal terrors. Hanh explores the origins of our fears, illuminating a path to finding peace and freedom from anxiety and offering powerful tools to help us eradicate it from our lives.
- Work: How to Find Joy and Meaning in Each Hour of the Day - Thich Nhat Hanh (2008) 📖 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - In Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings on applied Buddhism for both the work place and daily life, chapters include dealing with workplace scenarios; dealing with home and family; encounters with strangers and with daily life; transportation; and creating communities wherever you are. This book is designed for adults who are new to meditation as well as those who are more experienced.
That’s it for now. 12 books this quarter. I’ve not been reading as many physical books lately just due to the lack of time to sit still for long, but I have about a million and one going and I picked up a few good ones on my recent trip to Chicago where we hit a couple of indie bookstores. One of them is called Be Ooh La La: Achieve Your Goals and Transform Into Your Best Self and after reading the first chapter this morning, I promptly shut the book and started writing my own. I’m eager to get into this book a little more. I met the author, Raphael Poirot, at a meet-and-greet I accidentally stumbled into last weekend. As for audiobooks, I’m currently listening to Kathryn Stockett’s The Calamity Club that is 29 hours long. Yes! 29 HOURS. So I think this one will count for about 3 books when I finally finish it. 😅 And I will finish it. I’m just under half way through it and so far it’s keeping me interested. Tell ya about it ‘round about October!
Whatchu readin’ right now? Let me know if there’s any must-read classics I should add to my list below. It's no way exhaustive. There are lots I've read in years past that aren't listed here and many, many more still to read.
Cheers!
Kasey Dawn
Saturday, July 18, 2026
Parkville, Missouri
CLASSICS - * indicates I’ve read it
A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
*Animal Farm - George Orwell
As I Lay Dying - William Faulkner
*Black Beauty - Anna Sewell
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Complete Works of Beatrix Potter - Beatrix Potter
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky
Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes
East of Eden - John Steinbeck
Emma - Jane Austen
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
Giovanni’s Room - James Baldwin
Harriet the Spy - Louise Fitzhugh
Heidi - Johanna Spyri
If Beale Street Could Talk - James Baldwin
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry
Moby Dick - Herman Melville
Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
*Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Stoner - John Williams
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
*The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
*The Junglebook - Rudyard Kipling
*The Neverending Story - Michael Ende
*The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
*The Secret Garden - Frances hodgson
The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner
*The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
The Sword in the Stone - T.H. White
Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
Watership Down - Richard Adams
Where the Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls
