I just got Confronting The Presidents by Bill O'Reilly. I've always liked presidential history, so I'm looking forward to starting the book tonight.
What book are you reading?
- Thread starter mxz800
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I haven't ever been a big reader but I'm trying to change that by using it to replace my usual bedtime TV watching.
I've had Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance on my shelf for at least a decade and have never read it, so I finally opened it up and started it. I'm about a third of the way through. I don't know what I expected, but it isn't that.
Right before it I read The Martian, the novel from which the Matt Damon movie of the same name was adapted from. It was a fun read and the author did a great job at breaking science concepts down to layman's terms, but I could tell it was the guys first novel. It followed Dune, so not exactly a fair comparison, and I'm also reading Lord of the Rings to my 9 year old so it was weird to be reading something on my own that was a less challenging read to what I was reading with my kid.
I've had Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance on my shelf for at least a decade and have never read it, so I finally opened it up and started it. I'm about a third of the way through. I don't know what I expected, but it isn't that.
Right before it I read The Martian, the novel from which the Matt Damon movie of the same name was adapted from. It was a fun read and the author did a great job at breaking science concepts down to layman's terms, but I could tell it was the guys first novel. It followed Dune, so not exactly a fair comparison, and I'm also reading Lord of the Rings to my 9 year old so it was weird to be reading something on my own that was a less challenging read to what I was reading with my kid.
If I was in California I would be reading a map, or using a GPS to get out of there.
Me too. Pulled these off the shelf next to where I’m sitting skimming WTJF this evening:
They were all good reads.
Stalingrad The Fateful Siege: 1942 - 1943 by Antony Beevor
1776 was one of my favorites. Ì got the audio version because I've always thought he had the perfect voice,
-Anything by David McCullough. That dude can write!
-And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer, by Fredrik Backman, A good short read you can do in an afternoon. Warning! if anyone close to you has had Alzheimer's you are going to cry.
-Just finished The Democrat Party Hates America, meh...read's Like Mark Levin sounds. 3 out of 10, seems like he didn't try very hard.
-I've been reading "Paul"- about the apostle Paul who murdered Christians but was visited by Jesus on the road to Damascus and subsequently spread the gospel more than anybody before or since. Fascinating read.
-Slogging through the Berserker series by Fred Saberhagen.
-Just went through all the new Dune Novels by Frank Herberts' son, Brian. Pretty good backstory but not as nearly as immersive as his dad.
Of course, I read American Hunter and the Bass Pro catalog cover to cover every season!
How bout WHAT you're reading on? I thought I would absolutely hate the Kindle. I've always been a paper book guy, my treat to me when I travel is a new book from the airport bookstore. I got a Kindle for Christmas and I can't believe how much I like it! Books are easy to get and cheap, I can get both the text and e-book and listen or read. Adjustable font so no glasses needed. It is accessible on my laptop or PHOOOOOONE! where I'm at in each books syncs between devices. If you're a big reader, I recommend it!
-And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer, by Fredrik Backman, A good short read you can do in an afternoon. Warning! if anyone close to you has had Alzheimer's you are going to cry.
-Just finished The Democrat Party Hates America, meh...read's Like Mark Levin sounds. 3 out of 10, seems like he didn't try very hard.
-I've been reading "Paul"- about the apostle Paul who murdered Christians but was visited by Jesus on the road to Damascus and subsequently spread the gospel more than anybody before or since. Fascinating read.
-Slogging through the Berserker series by Fred Saberhagen.
-Just went through all the new Dune Novels by Frank Herberts' son, Brian. Pretty good backstory but not as nearly as immersive as his dad.
Of course, I read American Hunter and the Bass Pro catalog cover to cover every season!
How bout WHAT you're reading on? I thought I would absolutely hate the Kindle. I've always been a paper book guy, my treat to me when I travel is a new book from the airport bookstore. I got a Kindle for Christmas and I can't believe how much I like it! Books are easy to get and cheap, I can get both the text and e-book and listen or read. Adjustable font so no glasses needed. It is accessible on my laptop or PHOOOOOONE! where I'm at in each books syncs between devices. If you're a big reader, I recommend it!
Confronting The Presidents so far isn't what I expected. I read the first four chapters I didn't notice any confronting.
I haven't learned anything new, and there was a lot of information about the first four Presidents that was left out.
I'll finish the book but so far I'm not impressed.
I haven't learned anything new, and there was a lot of information about the first four Presidents that was left out.
I'll finish the book but so far I'm not impressed.
I'm actually reading through an older O'Reilly series called Ledgends & Lies that tie in with some of the books of the Killing series, which I've probably read 1/2 of. I was planning on picking up Confronting the Presidents when I finish the L & L series.
I just finished "The Sinking of the Bismarck" and started "The Storm of the Century". I like true crime, disaster and best of all shipwreck and adventure at sea books. Conquering the Pacific was a good read as was Shackleton's adventures of which many books have been written.
For more modern day shipwrecks try Until the Sea Shall Free Them about the loss of the Marine Electric in 1983 and Into the Raging Sea about the more recent 2015 loss of El Faro and crew, a modern day container ship that went straight into a hurricane because of an outdated weather report.
Funny thing, when Covid came I started reading and never stopped. I am blowing through books sometimes two or more a week. Probably 50 times more reading than I ever did in school. Just looked in my Kindle library and since April of 2020 I have read 480 Kindle books.
For more modern day shipwrecks try Until the Sea Shall Free Them about the loss of the Marine Electric in 1983 and Into the Raging Sea about the more recent 2015 loss of El Faro and crew, a modern day container ship that went straight into a hurricane because of an outdated weather report.
Funny thing, when Covid came I started reading and never stopped. I am blowing through books sometimes two or more a week. Probably 50 times more reading than I ever did in school. Just looked in my Kindle library and since April of 2020 I have read 480 Kindle books.
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That's a LOT of reading. Have you read Indianapolis yet? Great book. Very well researched and presented.
A bit off topic, The loneliness of the sea when you're the only thing you can see is enormous. I love swim call in the middle of the ocean. It's quite a thrill to jump off a 60 foot bridge wing into the perceptually bottomless ocean. Knowing there is plenty of stuff down there big enough to swallow you whole adds to the thrill.
On USS last boat, we were on the fantail waiting for the skipper to put down swim call (there's some prep, you shut down the intakes, stop the screws, and post a shark watch with a small boat in the water, rig a net and ladder to climb back aboard). Anyway, a buddy and I were waiting. Before the skipper really got the word that we were fully stopped, pumps were off and the small boat was definitely not in the water, he looked at us and asked, "Are you guys good? Both strong swimmers?"
"Yessir!"
"Go ahead then, you guys are ok."
Splash!
Then we looked up, the boat was actually still drifting away faster than a man can walk...and swim.
I've done a few Ironman races (2.4 mile swim) and swam the Potomac river more times than I can count, but yhe loneliest feeling in the world is seeing your ship slipping away when you're at least 80 miles from the nearest land!!! Kinda makes your scrotum shrink up a little!
We did start slowly swimming towards the ship and caught up after about 20 minutes. The RHIB (Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat) did boogie back and check on us once they got it dropped in the water. Think the skipper was more freaked out than we were.
You don’t have to be a big Jaws fan, but currently reading the Book of Quint by Ryan Dacko. It traces Quint from the sinking of the USS Indianapolis up to his death in Jaws and gives the backstory on him, some of the things he does in the movie and his hatred of sharks. Compelling read.
Got about 1/2 way through Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and felt the same. Not what I was expecting. Didn’t live up to the hype I’d heard in multiple places.
If you enjoy that subject try some Winston Churchill, his works are quite interesting.
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