Kevin D. Hendricks's Blog, page 11

The January 6 Insurrection: The Loss of Trust and Truth

Yesterday a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as a joint session of Congress attempted their Constitutionally mandated task of approving the electors for the next president. We spent yesterday watching the news unfold on Twitter and live TV.

I’ve never seen anything like this. I’m grieving for our nation.

There will be so many better opinions and commentaries and I hesitate to add to the noise, but I keep coming back to one thing that I think is important to emphasize.

...

2020 Reading Stats

I’ve given my total reading numbers for 2020—69 total—and my favorite fiction and non-fiction books, now it’s time to look at some stats.

Here are my numbers for 2020:

61% POC books.55% female authors.

Here’s how that compares to previous years:

It’s also helpful to compare it to my total reading:

And why do I track these numbers? Because when I didn’t pay any attention to it, I gravitated to a very homogeneous reading list. Which isn’t very good if you want to be exposed ...

Top 5 Non-Fiction of 2020

I read 69 books in 2020 and here are my favorite non-fiction reads.

I normally have a hard time getting through non-fiction, but 2020 was brutal. I had to quit a few good books that I just couldn’t get through.

The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For: How a New Generation of Leaders Will Transform America by Charlotte Alter – Really fascinating look at millennial leaders in politics. A lot of helpful insights and stories that really helped me in writing Better Politics, Please . How to Be an Antira...

Top 10 Fiction of 2020

I read 69 books last year and here are my favorite fiction reads of 2020:

My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due – I’ve had this book on my to-read list for years and finally tracked it down. Worth the wait! It’s a horror/sci-fi story about immortals that’s very reminiscent of Octavia Butler. It has an effortless quality and sucks you in. While it works as a standalone, it’s also part of a four-book series that’s worth checking out (I’m currently on the fourth installment). The Trials of Koli by M....

2020 Reading List

I read 69 books in 2020.

It’s my lowest reading count since 2011—thanks 2020.

Here are my top 10 fiction and top 5 non-fiction for 2020, as well as my reading stats for the year.

If you want to read more, check out my booklet 137 Books in One Year: How to Fall in Love With Reading Again.

You can also check out my previous reading lists: 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, and 2001.

2020 Reading Themes...

2020 Accomplishments: New Dog, Kat

I’ve been recapping my 2020 accomplishments, including a new book and a sculpture in our art park. But today I want to talk about an accomplishment that’s less of an accomplishment and more of something that happened this year. But it’s still big, so it seems worth including.

We got a new dog. Her name is Kat, short for Katarina. (Yes, we are the best at naming things.)

She’s a three-legged rescue dog, originally from Texas, and came to us by way of Wisconsin. She’s maybe two years old (we...

2020 Accomplishments: Art Park

With 2020 nearly behind us (yay!), I’m looking back on some positive accomplishments during this pandemic year. Last time I looked at my book Better Politics, Please. This time I wanted to look at the “Community Cairn” public art project in West St. Paul.

Story

The actual art park in West St. Paul started back in 2016. A bank foreclosed on a house and donated the land to the city with the stipulation that it remain park land. The city had a plan to make an art park, but no money ...

2020 Accomplishments: Better Politics, Please

Since 2020 has been such a dumpster fire, I thought it might help to recap a few accomplishments. One of the big ones is my latest book: Better Politics, Please.

The Idea

I came up with this idea before the pandemic struck, but really fleshing it out and making it happen was a total pandemic project. I needed that. I needed something to focus on in the midst of all the chaos.

A project I worked on for 15 years came to an end at the close of 2019. I went into 2020 not knowing what was n...

CoVID-19 at Nine Months In

I haven’t given a coronavirus update in a while, mainly because it’s frustrating and foolish and hard to write about. But I think it’s important to document.

I last left off in the middle of summer. Late summer continued in relative safety, as many things opened up again and restrictions relaxed as we headed into school. Many of us were cautiously optimistic. While normal summer things like vacation and the state fair were cancelled, being able to get outside and eat in restaurants felt like ...

The 2020 Election

I always try to blog about the election before it happens. It’s partially a coping mechanism and partially my need to document what’s happening. Elections are a very strange tipping point in time where everything changes, so it seems key to capture your thoughts before they’re influenced by the change.

In previous elections, I’ve blogged about candidate and made endorsements and tried to help people sort through all the confusion. I didn’t do much of that this year, mostly because of my work ...