Having finished Jack Broughton's Red Rupert 2, his biography, for second time I'm am done with airplanes and fighter pilots for now.

James Michener has always been a favorite author of mine, if not THE favorite, although James Clavell (King Rat, Shogun, Gaijin, Tai Pan, Noble House, and Whirlwind) runs a close second.  Since first reading The Fires of Spring and Caravans,  short novels compared to his later tomes, I have been a fan.  Centennial (Colorado), Chesapeake (Maryland), Hawaii, The Covenant (South Africa),  The Source (Israel), among others, I don't know how I missed this one:  Alaska.  This afternoon I started it.  It will extend my lunch hour from two to three hours I'm afraid.

Flight simulation not withstanding, reading has always been my favorite hobby.  Not model railroading.  Not building and airbrushing plastic model airplanes.  And perhaps not even flying. 

Not many people have the time or the inclination to read anymore.  In this age of the internet, video games, streaming movies, audio books, taking the kids to ballet lessons and little league games, not to mention a work week that has in many cases expanded beyond 8/5, who can take the time to read anymore?  Just my generation and perhaps the one following mine.  It's a secret pleasure we still enjoy that few who are following us have either time nor inclination to explore.

A thousand pages and 200 word well written sentences and 100 to 200 page chapters beginning with geoglogy and continuing on through evolution, the first people, human conflict to modern time, it's a wonderful gift James Michener has given us.

Noel 

Edited October 30, 20205 yr by birdguy

I have one to add to the list:  Presidential Lottery: The Reckless Gamble in Our Electoral System . First published in 1969 it has more meaning now than ever before. A good, and instructive, read. He really nailed it.

I read that one too.  He ran for office once but he didn't have the temperament of a politician so he didn't stand a chance.

From Wiki:  In 1962, he unsuccessfully ran as a Democratic Party candidate for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, a decision he later considered a misstep. "My mistake was to run in 1962 as a Democratic candidate for Congress. [My wife] kept saying, 'Don't do it, don't do it.' I lost and went back to writing books."^[4]

Noel

After reaching well in excess of 1000 hardcover dead-tree books, I switched to Kindle several years ago. There are multiple thousands of books from Amazon's Kindle Library I haven't read yet. A very large percentage of them are free to read, the only restriction being I can only have 10 downloaded at the same time.

I've been an avid reader since I was a wee lad. My favorite genre is Science Fiction, with hard science a close second.

6 hours ago, birdguy said:

Not many people have the time or the inclination to read anymore.  In this age of the internet, video games, streaming movies, audio books, taking the kids to ballet lessons and little league games, not to mention a work week that has in many cases expanded beyond 8/5, who can take the time to read anymore?  Just my generation and perhaps the one following mine. 

I’d have to agree that the amount of people reading for leisure or for entertainment has likely declined, probably more so for people born after 2000.

When I was a kid, it wasn’t uncommon for myself and other kids my age to go the public library and read books about things we were interested in, like sports, aviation, etc. I’m not that old, but back in the 70’s and 80’s we had to manufacture our entertainment which included reading, riding bikes, throwing the ball around, playing tag or hid and seek, etc. 

When I drive by public libraries these days are usually see no more than a few cars and those probably belong to the people who work there.

Granted, you can find a lot of reading material online now which reduces the need to physically go to the library, but I still don’t imagine the under 30 crowd doing as much reading for pleasure as was once common.

I have a Nook with over 100 books on it.  I got it when it first came out...I think before Kindle came out.

Because of failing eyesight I find it difficult to read the printed page anymore.  I can enlarge the font on my Nook.

My Mom took me to the library and I got my first library card when I was 6 years old.  I was a frequent visitor.  She taught me how to read before I entered the first grade.  She would make little crossword puzzles for me to solve.

The home I grew up in was piled with books.  The book cases were filled and we had books stacked on the floor.  My parents belonged to The Book of the Month Club.

My Mom was a devout Catholic and my Dad would sneak books to me and tell me not to let my Mom see them because they were banned by the church. Two titles stick with me because I reread them every decade or so.  Mark Twain's 'Letters From the Earth'  and Anatole France's 'Penguin Island'.

The family couldn't afford a car but when I was 12 Dad bought a second hand 24 volume set of the Encyclopedia Britannica.  From that day on every question my brother or I asked was answered with, "Look it up!"   

Noel

Edited October 31, 20205 yr by birdguy

I still read quite a bit. Sometimes a physical book, most times now it's with my iPad since I can change the font size. (Old eyes). I'm currently reading "The Splendid and the Vile" by Erik Larson. It's about Churchill during the Battle of Britain.

57 minutes ago, birdguy said:

The family couldn't afford a car but when I was 12 Dad bought a second hand 24 volume set of the Encyclopedia Britannica

Noel, back in the day, weren't there travelling salesmen selling them door to door as well? EDIT - obviously brand new and with a larger price tag!

In the 70s my parents bought the Encyclopedia Britannica. I was too young to remember if it was via a salesman over here in the UK or whether it was mail order.. 

Edited October 31, 20205 yr by HighBypass

1 hour ago, mwilk said:

I'm currently reading "The Splendid and the Vile" by Erik Larson. It's about Churchill during the Battle of Britain

You might be interested in Human Smoke.  It's not a book per se but a collection of newspaper articles, documents, etc.  It alleges Churchill started bombing German cities to force word not allowed to retaliate by bombing British cities.  The motive was to entice the United States to enter the war earlier than it did. 

Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, the End of Civilization is a 2008 book by Nicholson Baker about World War II. It questions the commonly held belief that the Allies wanted to avoid the war at all costs but were forced into action by Adolf word not allowed's aggression. It consists largely of official government transcripts, newspaper articles, and other documents from the time, with Baker only occasionally interjecting commentary.

Noel

26 minutes ago, HighBypass said:

Noel, back in the day, weren't there travelling salesmen selling them door to door as well? EDIT - obviously brand new and with a larger price tag!

There might have been but I don't recall any knocking on our door.  Back n Mark Twain's day it was common and Twain's books at the time were  mostly sold door to door.

Noel

Lately I've been taken in by historical books by Winston Groom who incidentally passed this last September. He also wrote some novels, one being "Forest Gump" which in many ways differs from the movie. I read Paramount screwed him out of his 3% royalties he was to receive on the movie by using "artistic accounting".

I'm not a fiction fan but his historical books are written in a way that really keeps you glued. Currently reading "A Storm in Flanders" about the trench war hell in WWI. My favorite is "The Allies" about Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin in WWII. Awful  how easily Roosevelt was duped by Stalin. He should have listened to Churchill.

Another good one is "The Aviators" about Lindbergh, Doolittle and Rickenbacker. All these men lived amazing lives far beyond what they are most known for. I was amazed that it was Lindberg who invented a blood pump that kept patients alive while the heart is stopped making open heart surgery possible. That poor man and his wife were hounded to death by the press who acted terrible through the tragic kidnapping and murder of his son to the point he had to move to England to get away. Tremendous life stories.

Yea, a lot of wonderful things to be learned off the computer.

"Over a hundred books", she laughs quietly. Noel, I have over 4,500 on my Kindle, and I've read 99% of them. I'm more addicted to reading, than I am Flight simming.

  I too, learned to read before going to school, and got my first library card early. By the time I was 8, Mom had arranged for me to be able to get books from the adult section. Kid's books were boring. Sci-fi is my number one love, but I'll read almost anything. Romance slush is the exception.

 Sue

2 hours ago, Penzoil3 said:

Sci-fi is my number one love, but I'll read almost anything. Romance slush is the exception.

Sue, I too learned to read before first grade. I grew up devouring Heinlein, Asimov, AC Clarke and really all of the great Sci-Fi authors. I read the "Foundation" series many, many times.

Of late I've been reading anything Weber, Drake or Flint write. Actually Eric Flint is one of my neighbors, and I've enjoyed many deep conversations with him.

I'm a huge follower of anything to do with the "Honorverse" which is mostly Weber's brainchild, but has actually spawned several new and upcoming authors as well.

Eric Flint's 1632 series is hugely entertaining. Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series is fantastic as well.

I'd recommend a book to you, Sue, but with 4500 on your Kindle you've probably already read it.  But I'll try one anyway...Penguin Island by Anatole France.

Noel

Read it the last time you recommended it Noel. It is a good book.

   "Weber, Drake or Flint"  all favorites Fr. Bill;  Mercedes Lackey too. I grew up on the same classics. Heinlein's  Have Spacesuit, Will Travel  started me off.

   Sue

Edited November 1, 20205 yr by Penzoil3