I’m going to start off by saying that I began writing this in May, and the project was very much unofficial, but it was going to be something I did.
Now let me be clearer. I’m essentially doing the Disney version of my Presidential biography challenge. Though this time, I’m not focusing on biographies, and I’m only reading the books that I own.
We’ve got to back it up even further.
The most prized section of my book collection is my collection of Disney books. Not just books like the Kingdom Keepers series, but Disney history books. As a Disney book collector for 10 years now, I have been growing my collection at a slow but somewhat steady rate. I’ve read some a few times, some many times, and some none at all.
Why? Because a few years back, I got it into my head that I would read my books (all of them, ALL of them) in alphabetical order, by author’s last name. Or in the case of a lot of the Disney books, which were published by (and listed as) the Disney Book Group. With dozens, DOZENS of authors in the A, B, and C sections, it would take me a ridiculously long amount of time to reach my Disney books.
So they sat, waiting patiently, gathering dust (I do feel bad about that), and now I’m switching it up. I selected the first one to read, Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Scenes Look at Making Magic Real, back in May to be a part of my monthly reading list. It was followed by Disney’s Land (Richard Snow) as the June read. You can read my reviews on Goodreads here.
What Books Do I Have in My Collection
I have 71 books in my collection, and I’ll be selecting them with a random number generator. I had thought briefly about choosing them alphabetically and canned the idea. Mainly because it’ll be more fun to let it be chosen randomly.
Here are the books that are in my collection as of July 10th, 2023:
- Walt Disney World’s Hidden Mickeys: A Field Guide to Walt Disney World’s Best Kept Secrets (2020 Edition) by Steven M. Barrett
- The Disney Conservation Fund: Carrying Forward a Conservation Legacy by John Baxter
- Onward: The Search for the Phoenix Gem: An In-Questigation by Steve Behling
- Remembering Roy E. Disney by Dave Bossert
- The Official Disney Parks Cookbook: 101 Magical Recipes from the Delicious Disney Vault by Pam Brandon
- Delicious Disney: Walt Disney World: Recipes & Stories from The Most Magical Place on Earth by Pam Brandon
- Kitchen Magic with Mickey by Pam Brandon
- Cooking with Mickey and the Disney Chefs by Pam Brandon
- Chef Mickey by Pam Brandon
- Unbirthday (Twisted Tales #10) by Liz Braswell
- What Once Was Mine (Twisted Tales #12) by Liz Braswell
- A Whole New World (Twisted Tales #1) by Liz Braswell
- Go the Distance (Twisted Tales #11) by Jen Calonita
- Walt’s Disneyland: A Walk in the Park with Walt Disney by Marcy Carriker Smothers
- Eat Like Walt: The Wonderful World of Disney Food by Marcy Carriker Smothers
- 100 Disney Adventures of a Lifetime: Magical Experiences From Around the World by Marcy Carriker Smothers
- Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull
- The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook: From Delicious Dole Whip to Tasty Mickey Pretzels, 100 Magical Disney-Inspired Recipes by Ashley Craft
- The Quotable Walt Disney by Disney Book Group
- Marc Davis: Walt Disney’s Renaissance Man by Disney Book Group
- Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making Magic Real by The Imagineers
- The Imagineering Field Guide to Disneyland by The Imagineers
- Walt Disney Imagineering: A Behind the Dreams Look at Making More Magic Real by Disney Imagineers
- The Imagineering Way by The Imagineers
- Building a Dream: The Art of Disney Architecture by Beth Dunlop
- The Imagineering Workout by The Disney Imagineers
- The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms by Christopher Finch
- Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler
- The Little Man of Disneyland by Golden Books
- BOB GURR: Legendary Imagineer: Life and Times – Disney and Beyond by Bob Gurr
- Brain Storm: Unleashing Your Creative Self by Don Hahn
- Before Ever After: The Lost Lectures of Walt Disney’s Animation Studio by Don Hahn
- Yesterday’s Tomorrow: Disney’s Magical Mid-Century by Don Hahn
- Poster Art of the Disney Parks by Danny Handke
- Designing Disney by John Hench
- The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History by Nathalia Holt
- The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger
- Queen’s Shadow (Star Wars: The Padme Trilogy #1) by E.K. Johnston
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney’s Classic Animated Film by J. B. Kaufman
- Travels with Walt Disney: A Photographic Voyage Around the World by Jeff Kurtti
- Disney Cruise Line: Welcome Aboard! the Creation of the Disney Dream by Jeff Kurtti
- Disneyland: From Once Upon a Time to Happily Ever After by Jeff Kurtti
- Walt Disney: From Mickey to the Magic Kingdom by Life Magazine
- So This is Love (Twisted Tales #9) by Elizabeth Lim
- Reflection (Twisted Tales #4) by Elizabeth Lim
- From Horizons to Space Mountain: The Life of a Disney Imagineer by George McGinnis
- Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Disney Little Golden Book by Diane Muldrow
- Maps of the Disney Parks: Charting 60 Years from California to Shanghai by Kevin Neary
- Disney World at 50: The Stories of How Walt’s Kingdom Became Magic in Orlando by Orlando Sentinel
- The Insider (Kingdom Keepers #7) by Ridley Pearson
- Dark Passage (Kingdom Keepers #6) by Ridley Pearson
- Shell Game (Kingdom Keepers #5) by Ridley Pearson
- Disney After Dark (Kingdom Keepers #1) by Ridley Pearson
- Power Play (Kingdom Keepers #4) by Ridley Pearson
- Disney in Shadow (Kingdom Keepers #3) by Ridley Pearson
- Disney at Dawn (Kingdom Keepers #2) by Ridley Pearson
- Magic Journey: My Fantastical Walt Disney Imagineering Career by Kevin P. Rafferty
- From Dreamer to Dreamfinder: A Life and Lessons Learned in 40 Years Behind a Name Tag by Ron Schneider
- A Disney Sketchbook by Ken Shue
- Dream It! Do It! (The People, The Places, The Projects): My Half-Century Creating Disney’s Magic Kingdoms by Marty Sklar
- Travels with Figment On the Road in Search of Disney Dreams by Marty Sklar
- One Little Spark!: Mickey’s Ten Commandments and The Road to Imagineering by Marty Sklar
- Picturing The Walt Disney Family Museum by Jim Smith and Richard Benefield
- Disney’s Land by Richard Snow
- Walt Disney: An American Original by Bob Thomas
- The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston
- The Beast Within (Villains #2) by Serena Valentino
- Fairest of All (Villains #1) by Serena Valentino
- Cold Hearted (Villains #8) by Serena Valentino
- Poor Unfortunate Soul (Villains #3) by Serena Valentino
- How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life by Pat Williams
The fact that I haven’t read most of those is sad, but I’m also happy to have them still. And I have more that I plan to buy.
Silly me, what even is the challenge?
I will be reading all of my Disney books and reviewing them. This is a little more lax than my Presidential Challenge, because I don’t have a deadline, nor do I have a set-in-stone amount of books to read. With this, I’m mainly focusing on getting these read. Only the books that are in my collection by July 15th, or today’s date, will be officially part of that challenge.
The purpose? To actually read through my Disney collection. I have it ingrained in me that once I have read and reviewed a book (so this is a recent thing), then I can read it whenever I want. Even if it’s me just casually turn the pages admiring the photos. Most of the books on my list would be considered coffee table books, and Disney has always been excellent about including exquisite photography in their books.
Once completed, any new books that I add to my collection, I can include them in the “Disney” slot on my monthly reading list. But it will put a lot less pressure on my shoulders, having only one or two books to focus on, instead of the collection as a whole.
Why do I love Disney books so much?
Because before I was a Disney adult, I was raised as a Disney kid. And as a lifelong reader, I was naturally drawn to Disney books. I love the thought and care that gets put into the Disney books, covering topics about the parks, the cruise line, the studios, the history, and everything in between.
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