Here is a list of books that I need to read

So that you all understand the mountain of novels that I "need" to read, here is a list:

The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
The first two or three novels in the Bourne series by Ludlum
The Soul of Baseball by Joe Posnanski
The Rat King by James Clavell
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
Callisto by Torsten Krol
The Dolphin People by Torsten Krol

Anyway, that's the list for this week. There are always suggestions that the agents recommend that I need to read outside of the manuscripts that are assigned to me. It becomes a bit overwhelming at times, but I know that this list will be continually replenished and that I will never read everything that I should. It's a humbling experience. Also, I have books that I need to read with Alex that are not mentioned in this list. It's a long life, but I am afraid that it's not long enough.

I'm back

My days are very busy. I counted all the hours I am at work, on average, and realized that I am physically present at one of my two jobs for about forty-five hours a week. I know that this is not a lot, but that's before I count all the homework I bring home from the literary agency, which is not a number I can claim since it always changes. Imagine if you were me: reading all the time, talking about books when I am not reading, discussing what makes a manuscript marketable, and weeding out the bad query letters. I am exhausted of reading at the end of the day. Consequently, writing is not something that I want to do with my free time. The good news is that I am acclimating to the heavy work load, and I feel like I can write again for fun without want to kill myself. I'm sorry that it's taken so long for me to get to this point, but at least I got here.

A couple exciting things that I want to share with everyone: I met my first author the other day--it's great to progress through the internship program and meet some interesting people; Alex and I have been attending broadway shows thanks to her work, where she gets free tickets from producers; and, at this moment, I feel like I am doing well in life--I know that this too shall pass, but I'm going to milk it for everything I can.

Here's my phrase of the week: a little more money would help, but nothing else is closer to heaven than the place I am at this moment. God has blessed this week immensely, which makes me wonder if a storm is brewing. Please don't think that I am being negative or inviting trouble to come into my life, because I think that's true. If it were, there are too many times when I dwelled in negative thoughts and others have come to lift me out of my mire and filth. There is no universe waiting to grant me anything I want as long as I am receptive to it. I do believe that there are good relationships, good jobs, good people, good friends, and a great God; there are also many bad things out there that will ensnare well-intentioned people. The trick is not to meditate on the negative, because it will alter your perspective and make you think that there is more evil out there than there really is. This is all beside the point. I am not contemplating on the bad; I am just curious when the feeling of elation will pass--elation is not meant to be a permanent mind set for reasons that I will divulge in this post.

I hope you're all doing well. I think Alex should write for you all, but she needs a little encouragement, since writing is my thing not hers, so you should all call her to encourage her. She has a great writing voice that would put me to shame.