A Reader: My 2025 Reading List

It is that time of year again. It is time to share my 2025 Reading List. As always, I want to hear from you. What from my list have you read? What are you reading in 2025?

Be good to each other,

Nathan

Potent Quotable (December 2024)

“No words - Buddha’s, mine, or anyone else’s - can see you.” -Steve Hagen

“In many ways, we create a bigger problem when we put people on a pedestal in our speech than when we cut them down. Whenever we make anyone - a minister, a teacher, an athlete, a genius, our ancestors, the Buddha - bigger than life, it’s easy for both you and your listener to forget that the person you’re discussing is a human being.” -Steve Hagen

Be good to each other,

Nathan

(24 Hour Challenge) An Ode to Cleveland Baseball (Villanelle Style)

As part of the 15th Anniversary celebration for Natetheworld.com, I am hosting a 24-hour writing challenge. Starting in January 2024, readers began submitting essay prompts. My goal is to tackle as many of these prompts as possible in a 24-hour period.

Baseball is a heartbreaking and miserable sport.

It is filled with fleeting highs and impossible lows.

You must be a Cleveland Guardians fan, as you stop me short.

They have brought me joy.

They have brought me pain.

Baseball is a heartbreaking and miserable sport.

Yet, I return each year with renewed faith.

A faith that defies all logic and reason.

You must be a Cleveland Guardians fan, as you stop me short.

I have seen them reach the mountain top.

Inches and moments of glory from winning it all.

Baseball is a heartbreaking and miserable sport.

But I can become consumed with the day when the misery ends.

I see fans filling city streets and tears in my living room.

You must be a Cleveland Guardians fan, as you stop me short.

March and April can’t come soon enough.

This year will be our year.

Baseball is a heartbreaking and miserable sport.

You must be a Cleveland Guardians fan, as you stop me short.

Be good to each other,

Nathan

(24 Hour Challenge) The End Is Near

Image provided by @jeremyyappy.

As part of the 15th Anniversary celebration for Natetheworld.com, I am hosting a 24-hour writing challenge. Starting in January 2024, readers began submitting essay prompts. My goal is to tackle as many of these prompts as possible in a 24-hour period.

According to the Pew Research Center, “39% of Americans believe the end is near.” This line of thinking is not surprising in a country where 67% of our fellow citizens identify as Christian, but it made me explore my own thoughts on the subject of living through the end times.

In the song, No Earthly Good, Johnny Cash sings,

If you're holding heaven, then spread it around

There's hungry hands reaching up here from the ground

Move over and share the high ground where you stood

So heavenly minded, you're no earthly good

I think about the line, “So heavenly minded, you’re no earthly good” a lot. When in the presence of those who claim to be followers of Jesus, I think of this line. When volunteering, advocating, protesting, or voting, I think of this line. When I see who often opposes the work of building housing for the homeless, who isn’t caring for immigrants, or who is missing from the frontlines of work that lifts the many, I think of this line.

Now, I fully understand that those of faith believe we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven with good works alone. The salvation found in a belief that Jesus Christ died for your sins is also a major part of the equation. But in my reading of scripture, those of faith are called upon to do more.

I believe they are called upon to create Heaven on Earth. “If you’re holding heaven, then spread it around. There’s hungry hands reaching up from the ground.” To me, creating Heaven on Earth means everyone has everything they need to live prosperous lives. They have clothes on their backs, a roof overhead, food in their bellies, and ample opportunity to succeed in this life without the barriers society often places in front of those pulling themselves up from life’s hardships. To me, that is Heaven on Earth.

By excusing themselves from these battles, people of faith are missing profound opportunities to show their faith in action. You could look at this world and believe it is so sinful that it isn’t worth saving. You could spend hours on your knees praying for God’s return. In those hours spent so heavenly minded, you miss an opportunity to do the last thing Jesus asked you to do.

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Christians, quit spending time worrying about how it will end. Quit wishing it would come sooner rather than later. Instead, I implore you to join us in the earthly struggle of making our world its own version of Heaven. It will do more to sway the hearts and minds of people than stories of hell, fire, and brimstone ever could.

Be good to each other,

Nathan

(24 Hour Challenge) Homeless

Image provided by @mihaly_koles.

As part of the 15th Anniversary celebration for Natetheworld.com, I am hosting a 24-hour writing challenge. Starting in January 2024, readers began submitting essay prompts. My goal is to tackle as many of these prompts as possible in a 24-hour period.

I will never forget my first time volunteering at the Oklahoma City Rescue Mission. Based on the media I had consumed, I found myself afraid. I didn’t trust homeless people.

I will never forget visiting Chicago in February. It was in the teens, and the windchill made things feel much worse. As we exited the restaurant and made our way back to the train, we found a man asleep on a sidewalk vent. The rush of warm air was all that kept him alive on that night.

I will never forget the first time I met two teenagers experiencing homelessness. They were both 13 years old and standing outside the King County Library in Kent. One had been kicked out of his house because he was gay. The other had been forced to leave because an abusive father discovered he was trans.

I will never forget the time spent with moms exiting homelessness at Kent Youth and Family Services. Their stories were powerful. In their short lives, they had overcome more than I could fathom.

I will never forget the first time I walked through the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles. As I walked the streets with a fellow employee who used to live on those very sidewalks, I was stunned to find myself standing in the epicenter of homelessness in the United States. All around me was total misery and countless systemic failures. My life changed at that moment.

I will never forget the first time I was around someone who was chronically homeless as we welcomed them to their new and forever home. As they were handed their keys, they were overcome with emotion, and so was I. The relief and trauma written across her face is something I will never forget.

I will never forget the sweet elderly lady who camped outside of our office in downtown Los Angeles. We sort of adopted her and made sure she had everything she needed. We brought her water, food, clothes, and personal items. One day, I was outside talking with her when I noticed rows and rows of names written on the inside cover of a discarded pizza box. I saw my name and asked, “What are all the names for?” She told me, “This is everyone who has ever brought me something. I pray for them every day.” As I walked away, I was baffled that someone in her state even had the time to think of others. The experience humbled me in ways I cannot even begin to quantify.

I will never forget my first week at The Center in Hollywood. The staff there wrapped their arms around each person who came for morning coffee. They were ready and willing to help, listen, and be a friend to a group of people that society often does its best to ignore.

I will never forget working with those same clients to tell their stories for a wider audience. I have always believed that if people could just understand the myriad ways in which a person falls into homelessness, they might be more willing to help lend some of their time, talent, or treasure.

I will never forget attending my first National Homeless Persons' Rememberance Day. Together, we honored and paid tribute to the countless people who die on the streets of America every year.

I will never forget hours spent in soup kitchens, building tiny homes, packing food, advocating, and serving this community. When people see my schedule, I am often asked, “How do you do it all?” My response is always the same, “I am doing it for them.”

I will never forget writing an article for the newsletter at the Senior Center of West Seattle about how we should interact with our homeless neighbors. I will never forget the ugliness of a woman who disagreed with everything I wrote.

I will never forget assisting with the opening of my first new community at Mercy Housing Northwest. Realizing the potential of that place filled me with pride and joy. I was so honored to be a small part of something much bigger than me.

I will never forget these experiences spent in the presence of those who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness. They have shaped, molded, and changed me in ways I will never fully understand. While I am just a storyteller, they have filled me with determination. I will do everything I can to bring them home.

Be good to each other,

Nathan

(24 Hour Challenge) The Sound of a Generation

Image provided by @gabrielgurrola.

As part of the 15th Anniversary celebration for Natetheworld.com, I am hosting a 24-hour writing challenge. Starting in January 2024, readers began submitting essay prompts. My goal is to tackle as many of these prompts as possible in a 24-hour period.

Long gone are the days of the song of the summer. Long gone are the days of us collectively consuming the same songs on the radio or on MTV. Long gone are the days of us rushing to a record store to buy the same album.

With the introduction of streaming platforms such as Spotify, we have lost a sense of community.

According to NME, “more music is released in a single day in 2024 than all of 1989.” The article goes on to explain that “on a daily basis 120,000 tracks are uploaded to streaming services or 43 million songs every year.” They also expect, given current trends, “that the number of music creators will more than double, from 75 million to 188 million by the end of the decade.”

On the one hand, streaming services have democratized music. With boundless options, you can explore and discover music that appeals to you. You are no longer bound to the whims of a DJ, VJ, or programmer. You can create your own tastes and match artists to those tastes.

On the other hand, we are losing something that served as a rallying point for our community. When I really began listening to music in the 90s, I created a community with friends who were listening to the same music. All my friends listened to Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and the Dave Matthews Band. We often compared notes and reactions. We would rush to the record store together. We would go to concerts together. We created a community. It didn’t mean the community was homogeneous. We varied and differed, but we shared a core group of artists that held us together.

There is something lost when the joy of sharing music can only be experienced with people who share similar online spaces.

Looking at Spotify, I can see David Ramirez has 77,000 active monthly listeners. Now, David Ramirez is a singer/songwriter who I dearly love. I wholeheartedly believe more people should listen to his music. If anyone deserves a wider audience, it is artists like him.

But none of my friends in Seattle actively listen to David Ramirez. I am not listening to his music with a friend who loves him as much as I do. I am not comparing notes with people I admire. I am not attending his shows with an avid friend I know. I experience David Ramirez, for the most part, alone in my car listening to Spotify.

This isn’t all on Spotify. We don’t watch the same shows. We don’t watch the same movies. We don’t read the same books. We aren’t experiencing the world in a community that draws us into real life interaction with others.

So, how do we solve this? We can become paralyzed by choice, or we can throw in the towel with the belief that this is a war that cannot be won. I believe there is another way.

The abundance of choice means we must be intentional in our desire to create community. We can host listening parties, cinema clubs, book clubs, and a thousand other options that force people together around a shared collective experience. I believe this intentional community is necessary and vital for a healthy and thriving society. In a community, we learn to care for and look after each other. If America needs anything right now, it is more people to look after each other.

Be good to each other,

Nathan

(24 Hour Challenge) Long Live the Oxford Comma

As part of the 15th Anniversary celebration for Natetheworld.com, I am hosting a 24-hour writing challenge. Starting in January 2024, readers began submitting essay prompts. My goal is to tackle as many of these prompts as possible in a 24-hour period.

I love a good debate. I also love apples, cheese and crackers. No, I also love apples, cheese, and crackers. Yes, I love a good debate, and other stuff.

But we must admit that the use of the Oxford comma is a style choice. For me, it is a choice I prefer. I just think it looks better on the page. Also, for the way my brain works when reading, it provides the clarity that makes the most sense to me.

Let’s look at my opening paragraph. When I read, “I also love apples, cheese and crackers.” Cheese and crackers read as if they are already together. It reads as if my Triscuits have already been adorned with blue cheese. When I read, “No, I also love apples, cheese, and crackers,” I see three separate items. I see agency, freedom, and choice (at least in this sentence).

So, when Vampire Weekend asks, “Who gives a f**k about an Oxford comma?” The answer is me. I am the guy, but it isn’t a hill I am willing to die on. Why? Because if the clarity of your sentence can be undone by something as small as a comma, I would argue you need to rewrite your sentence. It is also not grammatically correct, according to the AP style guide. As a former journalism student, I would never dare speak ill of our bible. We also must admit that when in conversation with others, we don’t listen for commas. We listen for pauses.

“I love apples (small pause), cheese (small pause) and crackers. We listen to others listing things all the time, and we do it without an ounce of confusion.

So, why the debate? Why do grammar nerds and writers love to debate this issue? Well, we don’t get a lot of sunlight. We are more comfortable in dark rooms, pounding away at the keyboard, constructing brilliant points or fantastic worlds for you to occupy when you need an escape. We also love a good debate that screams of elitism. We are a shallow bunch.

Use the Oxford comma if you want. Don’t use the Oxford comma. The world will continue to rotate, the sun will rise, and you will have bigger fish to fry tomorrow. And if you’re going to use it, please just admit the real reason. You love the way it looks on a page.

Be good to each other,

Nathan

(24 Hour Challenge) The Son of a Nurse

As part of the 15th Anniversary celebration for Natetheworld.com, I am hosting a 24-hour writing challenge. Starting in January 2024, readers began submitting essay prompts. My goal is to tackle as many of these prompts as possible in a 24-hour period.

For most of my childhood, my mother was a homemaker. She attentively and dutifully cared for her family. She prepared an endless number of meals. She washed, dried, and ironed clothes. She drove us to school and other activities. She served as mediator, hostage negotiator, psychologist, and tutor. She did all those things moms do, both seen and unseen, with grace, kindness, and a fraction of the appreciation due to someone performing at her level.

But my mother dared for more. To earn more money for the family, she added the title of Grocery Store Clerk at Coy’s Discount Foods when I was in grade school. She checked people out, balanced her register, stocked/organized shelves, assisted customers, and worked with her managers to make her store the best it could be.

But my mother dared for more. At some point in her life, she quieted the harsh and shortsighted advice of her father. She bravely decided to chase a dream, which she had dreamed for most of her life. She decided to return to school in her forties and pursue a degree in nursing. She was finally ready to become her own woman and retire any notions from the men in her life serving as roadblocks.

For a couple of years, I watched my mother maintain her job as a homemaker while balancing homework, studies, assignments, and exams. I remember rainy days helping her with flash cards as she memorized medical terminology. I remember the sense of pride and accomplishment with every new challenge left in her wake.

I long assumed I would be the first person in my immediate family to attend and complete college. In the seventh grade, my mother beat me there, and I couldn’t have been prouder.

But my mother dared for more. She soon began working as an emergency room nurse in our local rural hospital. The hours were long and always shifting. Her role as homemaker never ended, but she was doing something she dearly loved. She literally saved people, comforted families in times of need, and made tumultuous times in the lives of patients slightly less challenging.

But my mother dared for more. My mom has always had a soft spot in her heart for the elderly. The next phase in her life saw her become a home health nurse. For this final phase in her career, she would drive all over Southwest Oklahoma, visiting homebound patients. Delivering medicine, a smile, and someone to talk to, she became a friend to countless people. These relationships grew so strong that my mother also attended countless funerals. She did so, as more than just a nurse. She did so as a friend and adopted member of the family.

Retiring must have been a great challenge for my mom. For more than twenty years, she did something she loved, and she did it with all the strength she could muster. A return to just a homemaker wasn’t in the cards, though. Now, she is a volunteer, grandmother, and friend to many.

As the son of the nurse, I couldn’t be prouder of my mom. In my own life, I have attempted to emulate her work ethic, her gentle touch, her diplomatic spirit, and her determination. In college, in my work life, and in my personal relationships, she remains a hero and a north star. I am so grateful to be the son of a nurse.

Be good to each other,

Nathan

(24 Hour Challenge) Popcorn & The Movies

Image provided by @pipe_fx.

As part of the 15th Anniversary celebration for Natetheworld.com, I am hosting a 24-hour writing challenge. Starting in January 2024, readers began submitting essay prompts. My goal is to tackle as many of these prompts as possible in a 24-hour period.

I am a cinephile. As of this essay, I have watched 1,239 movies in a theater (yes, I keep count, and yes, it is profoundly nerdy). I began keeping count at the age of 16. I am now 41.

As much as I love the cinematic experience, there are some annoyances I cannot shake.

If you talk during the movies, I believe there is a special place in hell for you where you will be required to watch your most hated film for the rest of your life.

If you check your phone during the movie, I want you to know that I secretly pray for that thing to explode in your pocket, causing the most brutal of third-degree burns. As they graft new skin onto your hip, I hope the pain reminds you of your failures as a human being.

If you forget to turn off your iWatch or Google Watch or Fit Bit or whatever piece of electronic madness is adorning your wrist, I want to grab you by the face and scream, “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about the calories, since we will be sitting on our asses for the next two hours.” I then hope you run from the theater filled with all the shame you have brought upon your family name.

If you chew with your mouth open, I want to put a sock in it. Did I mention the sock was worn by a pig who has been playing in mud and their own feces for weeks? Well, you’ll know these new flavors soon enough.

If you are a verbal processor, you know someone who reacts to what they see on the screen by gasping aloud with whatever word pops in your mind. I want to turn around and say, “Hey Karen, this isn’t the living room of your mobile home. We don’t need your hot takes.”

Finally, we need to talk about popcorn. America, popcorn is gross. I know it is synonymous with the movies, but I can’t watch you bathe yourself in liquefied butter any longer. I can’t watch you haphazardly walk to the theater spilling kernels as you go, without any regard for those who must clean up your laziness. I can’t listen to you chomp your way through a two-hour film. I can’t sit next to you as you breathe out the newly formed superfund site that has moved into your mouth. I can’t bear the mess you make in theaters. I can’t stand the mass sharing of the bucket, like homeless people gathered around a burning trashcan seeking warmth. I can’t watch you waddle back to the lobby for the free refill, only to repeat my own personal hell again.

I can’t do it anymore, but I know I am in the minority here. I see you all taking your seats, because I arrived thirty minutes early to claim the aisle. I know I will not change your mind. So, please popcorn with caution and turn off your damn phone.

Be good to each other,

Nathan

(24 Hour Challenge) Welcome to the Nonprofit Sector. We Hope You Brought with You…

Image provided by @kattyukawa.

As part of the 15th Anniversary celebration for Natetheworld.com, I am hosting a 24-hour writing challenge. Starting in January 2024, readers began submitting essay prompts. My goal is to tackle as many of these prompts as possible in a 24-hour period.

In February 2011, I began my first day at Kent Youth and Family Services. Prior to this fateful day, I worked in higher education, but I had spent considerable time volunteering in my community. Little did I know then, but my entire life was about to change.

Since then, I have had the privilege of earning a master’s degree in Nonprofit Leadership from Seattle University. I have also worked at Skid Row Housing Trust, The Center in Hollywood, The Senior Center of West Seattle, and now at Mercy Housing Northwest. I have also had the distinct honor of serving as the leader of several volunteer organizations, including President of the Rotary Club of Kent/South King County, Board Chair for the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network – Los Angeles, Co-Chair for Gay for Good Seattle, Chapter Advisor for the Beta Beta Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha at the University of Washington, Co-Chair for Nonprofit Leadership Alumni Council at Seattle University, Board Member for the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, and a few more that are escaping me at the moment. I have also been a volunteer for countless organizations, giving back nearly 100 hours of volunteer service to my community annually. I am also a donor supporting countless causes and institutions near and dear to my heart. Finally, I have been an advocate protesting, writing, and pressuring elected officials to change policy.

I say all this not to brag, but to establish a small amount of credibility. My life is the nonprofit sector. It courses through every vein in my body. I have happily given it every ounce of myself, and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.

In all this time, I have learned some fundamental truths. To do this work, you must be built differently than those driven by profit and maximizing income. There are countless qualities that must be ingrained in your essence, and there are many more that can only be learned by doing the work. As I reflect on these qualities and look at my own career, there are five qualities that bubble up to the top for me. I am positive your list will be different. That’s more than fine. A multitude of values and approaches to the work of service are one of the things that make this field so vibrant and dynamic.

Empathy

I am guessing you began thinking about working in the nonprofit field, because you witnessed an injustice in the world and thought, “Someone should do something about that!” Then, you probably took a long look in the mirror. You chose to walk in the shoes of someone else. You thought of more prosperous days for our planet. You decided to stand up for animals. Or, you decided the arts are the center of a rich culture. Empathy brought you here, and on the hardest days empathy will sustain you, but it is the heartbeat of our work. It is the undercurrent moving us all forward, and it is how big and small problems alike find solutions.

Patience

Solving complex societal challenges requires patience. Advocacy takes patience. Changing the hearts and minds of people about how we collectively treat each other, the planet, those species we share this world with, and how we express ourselves takes time. The individual challenges facing each of us in the work we do did not happen overnight. They will not be solved overnight or, for some, in the span of lifetime, but you must believe they can be solved.

Since 2011, at least some part of my career has existed in the housing justice space. From transitional housing to permanent supportive housing, to affordable housing, I have seen firsthand the impacts an economic system, coupled with systemic racism, policy failures, and many other preexisting conditions, has had on people’s ability to access safe and affordable housing. I have stood in the epicenter of homelessness in America. I have had my heart broken more times than I count. There have been days when overcoming the challenge of ending homelessness in America seemed impossible. But then, I remembered patience.

Patience allows me to recognize small victories, which lead to major wins. It allows me to see public consciousness shifting toward solutions. It allows me to see policy victories and an economic system bending toward housing everyone. Without some patience, I am not sure I could do this work anymore.

Self-Care

When you first begin this work, you can deeply feel the heartbreak of every client, resident, or person you encounter. Empathy has an evil cousin, and his name is emotional burnout. I don’t want you to lose your empathy. I want it to be a driving force in your pursuit of solutions, but I also want you to take care of yourself. I want you to unplug, exercise, meditate, travel, laugh, and take care of your financial needs. A sacrificed and burned-out nonprofit employee will not help us in the long run.

Self-Advocacy

The pay in this sector is often not great. If you choose to do this work, you might find yourself sitting across from friends working in the for-profit space with envy. You will see their new homes, new cars, and expensive travels around the world with a sense of jealousy. I am here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be this way. All of us in the nonprofit sector must do a better job of advocating for ourselves. We deserve to end poverty without finding ourselves in poverty. We deserve the security of a home, cars that can safely get from point A to B, and we deserve to unplug, rejuvenate, and return to work with our cups filled to the brim with everything we need.

To get these things, we must advocate for ourselves. We must demand nonprofits, government agencies, and funders provide resources that make a livable and prosperous wage possible. We must make this work attractive enough for the best and brightest that our society has to offer to consider helping us solve these complex challenges.

Love

The final quality I look for in fellow nonprofit employees and in myself is love. You must love what you do and who you get to do it with. There will be days that test your resolve. There will be days filled with mundane tasks. There will be days filled with so much needless red tape that solutions seem an ocean away. During these moments, I urge you to remember love. Love for yourself. Love for those you serve, and love for those who have decided to join you in this fight. Let love guide your empathy. Let love steer your patience. Let love center your self-care and self-advocacy. Let love be the guiding force as you pursue to overcome those injustices that first drew you to this work.

Be good to each other,

Nathan