Trares
This is one of the more underrated — and one of my personal favorite — times of year.
The hustle and bustle of Christmas has passed. All of the travel is done. Any lingering vacation days need to be used before the start of the new year.
It’s a lazy, lazy week that’s still filled with enough fun and celebration to feel special. And it’s always a time of transition, of fresh starts.
For starters, my birthday falls just four days after Christmas. On Dec. 29, I closed the book on my 46th year, with an eye towards the future.
Having a birthday smack dab in the middle of Christmas and New Year’s Eve has always been a challenge. This is a week when people collectively catch their breath, enjoy some downtime and gear up for the coming year. Kids are out of school, and many adults use up left-over vacation time to relax. No one really wants to do much of anything this week.
Still, I’ve always loved having a holiday birthday. My parents always made sure to make it a special day even in the midst of the holiday dead zone. Now that I’m older, my wife and Anthony take extra care to make my day special and unique. This year, that meant a meal at my favorite restaurant — the seared scallops are so good — then a fun time out with the family.
Sure, the day is a chance to have a little bit of fun (as if that’s necessary when it feels like the past month has been nothing but celebrations.) But coming so close to New Year’s Day and resolution season, it’s also a chance to set some goals, think about what I want to accomplish and push reset.
I’m not a huge resolution kind of guy, but I always like to set my sights on something to strive towards. This year, I’ve decided to focus on literature.
I’m bringing this one back from last year, as I didn’t even come close to reaching this bar: Finishing one book ever two weeks. I started out strong in January, as I had a whole stack of new novels and non-fiction to get into. But life got in the way as the weather got nicer, and I was lucky to get more than one a month.
I’m ready to give it another shot. My to-read list has been revitalized with some fascinating books I can’t wait to dig into. My dad contributed “Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown, the story of the University of Washington rowing team and their quest to win gold at the 1936 Olympics in Germany. Combining sports, history and personal achievement, it seems like just the inspiration I need to start the year out right.
From my brother, who shares my pop culture sensibilities, I received “The Uncool: A Memoir,” written by director Cameron Crowe about his experiences as a young music reporter in the 1970s, interviewing such luminaries as Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan and Fleetwood Mac.
Crowe’s film “Almost Famous,” which is loosely based on his experiences as a reporter, is a classic film, and one of his other’s, “Singles,” is an underrated gem that perfectly captures the early ’90s grunge scene in Seattle. I can’t wait to get into it.
And wrapping up my haul is “Hemingway’s Hurricane” by Phil Scott. The book tells the story of the 1935 Labor Day hurricane that ravaged the Florida Keys, a place where Ernest Hemingway made his home. The famed author was horrified to learn how government carelessness and callousness created a tragedy, and his vocal disgust lead to an investigation into the government response.
After visiting Key West this past year, touring Hemingway’s house and learning about such a unique place as the Keys, diving back into that magical place will be a cure to the winter blues.
Of course, there will be other goals for 2026 — trying new approaches and improving as a journalist and writer, taking on a new hobby, hoping to beat last year’s mileage record in my running this coming year.
But those can wait. Just a few more chapters first.
Ryan Trares is a senior reporter and columnist for the Daily Journal. Send comments to editorial@therepublic.com.
