For many of us, winter presents itself as a great time to sit down with a good book (along with a good pair of reading glasses in my case, lol) as a way to enjoy the "quieter side" of life presented by this season. I know that we've covered this in the past here in the forum, but in the spirit of addressing the "skinny posts syndrome" I thought I'd bring this up again just in case anyone else has hit upon some new titles that i'm not familiar with.
Peter Egan's "Leanings" books (Vols. 1,2, and 3) are great not only because they are so entertaining but because they can be read in small chunks (separate articles). This is especially nice for revisiting the books.
Big Sid's Vincati was a great read and I learned a lot about Vincent's in the process.
"The Vincent in the Barn" and "The Devil can Ride" were both enjoyable collections of short stories/articles.
My favorite so far has been "Mann of His Time" (a Dick Mann biography).
I'm currently reading "Evel", and "Ghost Rider" is good, but now finds itself waiting for me to pick it back up again after a long spell of sitting back on the shelf. I've also got a couple more books lined up waiting for me to get to them later on this winter (or next) including "Riding Man" and "Zen and Now — On the Trail of Robert Pirsig and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance".
Anyone else still here who is a member of the "Motorcycle Book Club"?
I have all 3 of Egans books
also have "No Thru Road" by Clement Salvadore
and "10 years on 2 Wheels" by Helge Pederson
plus 16 motorcycle reference books/encyclopedias
and subcriptions to Motorcyclist, Road Runner, Motorcycle Classics, Cycle and Rider.
Have plenty to read lol
I tend to read a lot of political science but I don't think that stuff would make it to the reading list here, lol.
To relax the mind after a visitation with Walter Lippman (the Pulitzer-prize winner born in 1889), Alexander Hamilton, or A. de Tocqueville, nothing suits quite as well as Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Currently plowing through the "Pellucidar" series for the second time. Cannot wait to find out what happens with Stellara and the Korsars.
After that, will work through the entire John Carter and Tarzan collections again.
"Ten Years on Two Wheels" is a terrific book. The photography alone makes it worth the owning. There's a guy who defines "adventure."
I was pretty impressed when Pedersen recounted disassembling his R80GS and transporting it across the Darien Gap in canoes.
I'm a neatnic, so I don't usually keep things I no longer use. But there are two exceptions: a 1967 BSA brochure and a 1978 book entitled "The Story of BSA Motor Cycles". Might just have another peek at that book.
I'm not reading one book at the time but a few parallel.
Among them is a book which title in Englisch should be
' 111 Reasons To Ride A Motorbile' written by Martin Klein. Did no googling but I think it's only available in German '111 Gründe Motorrad zu fahren'. It's no deep stuff but amusing and entertaining in the way it explains different aspects of motorbike riding in short chapters.
Wisedrum
I doubt any of the books I read will make the list here either, I gravitate more to ancient history, archaeology and anthropology.
Come to think about I don't believe I have ever read a motorcycle book - unless a coffee table picture book counts.
(12-20-2017, 10:15 PM)Banned_imp Wrote: [ -> ]I doubt any of the books I read will make the list here either, I gravitate more to ancient history, archaeology and anthropology.
Come to think about I don't believe I have ever read a motorcycle book - unless a coffee table picture book counts.
C'mon, give. What're you reading now?
BTW I have noticed a LOT more activity on this forum of late. Anyone else? And nary an oil thread in sight.
Right now I am finishing Tamurlane - Sword of Islam, Conqueror of the World by Justin Marozzi. Tamurlane was the last of the "great" (that depends which side you are on) Mongol conquerors but least known, primarily because of Soviet suppression of anything that would give the Kazakh people a source of pride.
On deck is The World Until Yesterday by Jared Diamond.
I'm on here a lot lately as I haven't been able to leave the house for six weeks now and I'm bored out my skull. I am also fairly limited physically on what I can do at the moment.
So W/R... No shoveling snow? You lucky dog
( looking for a positive for you)
I got these books last Christmas and I think I even posted about them at that time. I confess to only skimming one and not even cracking the other, but that is more a commentary on the reader than on the writer.
The author is Melissa Holbrook Pierson.
The titles are "The Perfect Vehicle (What It Is About Motorcycles)" and "The Man Who Would Stop At Nothing (Long-Distance Motorcycling's Endless Road)"
I started "The Perfect Vehicle" last year. I don't recall why I stopped, but it's here waiting for me to finish this post to delve into it again. "The Man Who Would Stop At Nothing" is about Iron Butt riders and one particular rider, John Ryan.
For my birthday, my son, who is a musician, gave me "The Rest Is Noise" by Alex Ross which is about 20th Century composers and their music. I figure he wants me to have a running knowledge of the subject since it is his passion. I'm more than happy to oblige...but I will read about my passion first--mainly because the books about my passion have bigger print.