Thursday, February 16, 2017

Some Books

Here we are in mid-February and I'm rapidly approaching the end of my own Reading Season.  It normally begins mid-November but of course that's very weather dependent.  To be more accurate, Riding Season and Reading Season almost never overlap.

This winter I've been especially indulgent....work days (only 4 per week but still) find me leaving the driveway at 5AM and then, after checking the mailbox, returning to the very same spot at 5PM, if I'm lucky and most days I am.  By the time I finish slowing down, get something to eat with even a hit of 'settle', cozying up next to and beneath the table lamp in The Chair it all too often defines the height of my ambition although the last couple of months have found me putting in some treadmill miles each evening, I do seem to find ways around that more often than I should.

The Dewey Decimal system is not practiced in my library; the best books are at eye level on the very first shelf, a few drift down to the 2nd.  Present right there in front are 3 that get read annually, the perennials.  There are a few paragraphs in each of them that I almost know by heart, not because I've made that a goal but because over and over repetition seems to be the only way this sort of thing stays with me and those paragraphs happen to.  It's now been decided that there are 4 books that will be residing right there in front.  Michael Perry's Roughneck Grace is the new arrival and I'm confident that it will become as beat up and properly patina'd as the 3 that are first, second, third.  I own 3 of his other books which have and will continue to be revisited, just not like this one will.

My Christmas List this year contained 2 things, one of which was this book and the other was a (small) box of chocolate turtles.  I received the entire list I requested plus a couple of bonus items, all of which I'm very thankful for.


So, that one had its first read-through and is now placed up there, 4th from the end, ready for next year.

I've just started the brown one below, its 2nd reading, the first was done back in 1974 IIRC.  Not really sure why this one came to mind again, it my most recent Southern Tropical Brazillian Rainforest Area acquisition....well, yes, I do too.  It has a lot to do with where I'm making early plans to spend some time exploring late summer.  Attempting to learn more about those areas and their history, I've been on a quest to find out more.


As long as I've been on a historical kick lately, I may as well mention these two books which as you might imagine, have been waaay, waaay in the back of the Reference Section.  My Reference Section is out in the shop and is actually quite extensive, dusty and almost forgotten just like in real libraries.  Between motorcycle history, travel and vocational tutorial/manuals, there are a few shelves packed out there with boring and specificational details though there is quite a collection of beautiful outdoor photography of wild and not so exotic places as well.

In just about the deepest and most obscure area in the R.S., these two have been tucked behind, usually their back bindings pushed in as deeply as the shelves will allow.  Honestly, I haven't looked at them in years, or rather inside of them for years.  I've glanced down there every once in awhile, smiling though apprehensive about actually reaching down and pulling them out for a look-see, just in case I might be tempted to fall back into a time from my past, a time the kids have referred to as "Dad's Vagrant Years".  I've been told that I'm not ready for that relapse quite yet.

One old guidebook.....


A 2nd old guidebook......big, solid and no paperback this one, an honest to goodness hardcover!


Here's old Ed himself in the loving arms of his parents.....


From Ed's "Motorcycling" chapter......



There is no measurement system whereby I would be considered a reader and my page turning accomplishments pale in comparison to the titles Peg and our offspring have been through; voracious readers all.  They'll read as many books in two weeks as I do in two years and they've got their mom(s) to thank for that.  I'm proud of them and at the same time in no way ashamed of my little collection of volumes owned and borrowed.

February is winding down and my reading season is almost over, hopefully I'll get all the way out to Montana Territory and the origins of the Missouri River in the brown one before the ditch starts flooding.  One bike was rolled off the lift this evening (with an effective front brake!!) and the next one is queued.

There will soon be little time for slothful reading.

(Our library makes the borrowing of audio books extremely swift and convenient......)



4 comments:

  1. I always love to (re-)read books like these to get myself into travel mood and bridge the non-riding season...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sonja, I enjoy reading almost anything if I give myself a chance to sit down and do so. Whether real pages are turned, ebooks or audio's.

      Delete
  2. Doug I commend you and yours for your excellent reading habits.

    My own taste runs to non-fiction. At present I am reading three books, allbeit very slowly: Amy Cuddy's "Presence", Thomas Friedman's "Thank you for being late", and an exercise book "Aging backwards".

    With a little luck I'll wrap them up by the time the riding season rolls around.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks David. I had started to grow into a Reading habit as I got older; wasn't really a habit at home. Things have been different here :)

      I do quite a bit of fiction as well, seem to be 'stalled' on those with a Mystery theme....local W.K. Krueger, Sanford as well as far off Craig Johnson and C.J. Box. Historical fiction is normally alright by me.

      Good luck with your deadline. We're having false Spring around here and it sounds like the Midwest is not alone.

      Delete