Yes, I am addicted.

[shooter2]

To reading. Thanks to Mrs. Rogers my sixth grade teacher.

Dad died much too young. I was eleven so Mom and I carried on until I enlisted in the Air Force. God rest their souls as they were wonderful parents and good people. I still miss them.

I was home sick while mom was at work and she brought home a book for me to read. I remember it like it was yesterday. The book was "Blue Steel" a western about the laying of the railroad to the west. Before she left work that day I called her and asked for another book. That continued a love affair with books.

How about all the great reading given to us by Robert Ruark. Stories like "The Old man and the Boy" and his books on Africa. I always wanted to go to Africa to hunt, but never made it. Too old for it now even if there were any hunting left. I guess there is some in South Africa, but the days of a three month Safari are long gone.

Or W.D.M. (Karamojo) Bell. No ivory hunters today unless they are poaching for small amounts of Ivory. They have to saw off the Rhino horns in order to save them. As I recall, he was once spotted shooting flying ducks with his 7X57. Head shots at that. And I thought I was good with my squirrel gun.

I just looked at my Kindle. I have 153 books that I've read and numerous others under way. I am reading some fiction, some history, and some science.

Dr. Brian Greene has a book out on Super String Theory. Fascinating. No, I do not understand everything he writes, but it is a labor of love.

How about Ayn Rand? Her book "Atlas Shrugged" seems more relevant today then it did when it was published.

And the list goes on and on. So, what do you all like? S2

[starmac]

Just mentioning the old man and the boy, made me hungry. lol

[Love Life]

Like you I will be forever thankful to my Mother for getting me started in reading. I remember the first book I ever read "Just for You" by Mercer Mayer. It was a little critter book. From that point on I always had a book open and in process. I remember how grown up I felt when I got my first library card. I could often be seen on my bicycle headed to the library to pick up yet another book.

In my quest for knowledge I read a couple sets of encyclopedias to see if there was a major difference. I read a dictionary (dull), and read the entire Bible before I was 10. My grandmother had the encyclopedia world books going back forever. Those are the ones that come out every year and have major events in them. I still receive those.

My reading spans many spectrums because I feel no matter what you read you always learn something. You learn situations, words, and just random knowledge. To me, reading is one of the most important skills a person can have. It builds critical thinking and makes you a better citizen.

My wife hates that I still buy paper books when she has a kindle, but I like being able to head to the book shelf, pull down a book, and flip through it. One day when I buy another house I plan to turn one of the rooms into an office/Library.

[Recluse]

How about all the great reading given to us by Robert Ruark. Stories like "The Old man and the Boy" and his books on Africa. I always wanted to go to Africa to hunt, but never made it.

The beauty of books and reading is that you can go anywhere you wish to go via the pages of a well-written book.

My dad (and mom, but especially Dad) encouraged reading and never said no to anything I wanted to read. He put me in kindergarten at age five back in a time (early 60's) in which you had to pay for that--he worked overtime and weekend shifts to pay for it. He did it so that I'd get a head start on education and in particular, reading.

He told me, "If you can read, you can do anything because Life comes with instructions." By that, he meant if I wanted to be a mechanic, there were manuals and "how-to" books that would get you started. If I wanted to become a pilot like his little brother (U.S. Air Force), you had to be able to read because there was much to learn before you even sat down in the cockpit.

Dad also told me that we'd never have enough money to travel, but through books and the eyes of authors, you could travel anywhere you wanted to go via books. Growing up, I went on adventures hunting big white whales (Moby Dick) and journeyed to the bottom of the sea (20,000 Leagues Under The Sea).

I floated down the Mississippi with Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. I solved mysteries with The Three Detectives via Alfred Hitchcock's series of books for young readers. I met the Ghosts of Christmas through Dickens' wonderful characters in A Christmas Carol and I trembled as I read A Tale of Two Cities.

Through comic books, I explored the underwater world with Aquaman (still my favorite comic book character) and always liked Betty over Veronica in the Archie Andrews comic books series (I was a blonde man early on, :)). I imagined bullets bouncing off me like Superman and would've given anything to run like The Flash.

I could spend all day reading an encyclopedia and the dictionary held a certain fascination--kind of like Wikipedia or YouTube does for me today as you started with one word, then the "see (this word)" sent you to another place in the dictionary, which then sent you to another place.

From comic books to TV guides to magazines, when I was a kid something to read was the one thing my Dad never said "no" to.

Reading not only fascinated me, but how writers crafted their words and their thoughts and how they communicated them. . . it was like magic. I tried to capture some of that in my first novel (Above Reproach) and trust me, it is not easy--it makes you admire, respect and appreciate the great writers all the more.

I am huge on literacy and am constantly buying books for our youngest adopted grandson who turns four in a couple of months. He is already getting it and loves his Jake and the Neverland Pirates books.

If you can read, you can do anything.

How many of us learned about boolit casting from reading this website, and then articles in various publications and from other websites like LASC?

I'm with you, S2, addicted isn't even the word. . . "consumed" might be more accurate for me.




My wife hates that I still buy paper books when she has a kindle, but I like being able to head to the book shelf, pull down a book, and flip through it. One day when I buy another house I plan to turn one of the rooms into an office/Library.

LOL! My wife refuses to read on the Kindle or iPad and instead insists on paperbacks. . . but she then trades them in or donates them to the second-hand thrift stores.

Me? It KILLS me to turn loose of a book, even though over the years, I've probably donated three to four hundred, and probably lost as many that I loaned out and never got back.

In every house we've lived in, I've converted a bedroom into an office and reading room. Our present house has a loft that could be turned into an additional bedroom. We put in a full-wall of built-in bookshelves and this is where we keep our "keeper" books. The paperback shelves are two-deep, meaning there are paperbacks behind paperbacks. We have a nice Ethan Allen couch with a foldout bed up there (bed is for the grandkids and nephews when they stay over), a TV and I keep my guitars up there. It's a nice little cozy nook where we can sit and read and escape into our own little worlds.

We have books all over the house. There is full-size/height bookcase in our office that has business and how-to books plus all my writers books, publisher contacts, etc etc. The guest room's bed has a headboard that has a built-in book shelf and it is full of paperbacks. Downstairs we have another full-size/height bookcase that we keep our "coffee table" books, general interest/travel books, and all of our Bibles and related study books in.

Like you, LoveLife, my childhood was spent riding my bike from the baseball diamond to the library--I was equally at home at either place. And while I knew I'd probably never be a major league baseball player, I enjoyed the game and at the same time enjoyed reading about Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth, Micky Mantle, Barefoot Joe Jackson, Dizzy Dean and all the other greats.

I'm a huge supporter of public libraries, so much so that our local library is in our will. When kids can read, they can dream. If they dream, they can find their way and achieve.

Life comes with instructions.

:coffee:

[WILCO]

And the list goes on and on. So, what do you all like? S2

You might enjoy this thread: http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?180012-Personal-Library

[Bad Water Bill]

My folks were not big on books or reading them. I went in the Navy and started reading paperbacks at that time. When I got my home I started collecting books and paperbacks. When stores opened where you could swap paperbacks I completely lost count of how many I had read.

Now I have found a way of reading a paperback and having it reaching the vets at Hines Hospital. That count alone is over 450 and counting.

NOW if a certain ill tempered texan comes out with his next book I will have to go for about 96 hours till i finish the new book. :-D

[WILCO]

I'm working my way through "Where the long grass blows" by Louis L'amour.

[blackthorn]

As a kid in grade school I got hold of a book called "The Coral Island". As I recall it was a sort of Robinson Caruso type book but it involved several kids marooned on a coral island. That book got me started and I have been an avid reader ever since!

[41 mag fan]

Ironic Recluse...look where your fathers taken you in life.

[scottiemom]

I too am a book-a-holic. I have been reading since I was 5. One of my few childhood memories was bringing home stacks of library books - mostly biographies at that time. I love getting lost in a good book, going on adventures and "meeting" people I would never have a chance to in real life. I vote for the hands-on book you can hold, although I would love a Kindle if I ever go on vacation since books tend to get pretty heavy!
I also used to read the dictionary when younger and I still like to browse through it even now. I love words!

[xs11jack]

Pretty much agree with all of you, got all the atrobutes of a deticated reader. Books in every room of the house, in the basement, garage and garage attic. Like Shooter 2, my dad died when I was 11. Mom was the reader and ecouraged me. My granma died when I was 5, granpa when I was 14 best friend when I was 18. I dived into a book when things went sour. I too, am old school, I like a paper book in my hands. No kindle for me. I also can't make a trip to the bathroom if there isn't any book in there, my wife sometimes has to holler Hey, you going to sleep in there too??? I alway wondered why August Rodin's statue of the Thinker didn't have a book on his lap.
Jack

[rockrat]

Developed a love of reading when I was young, by myself. Took a speed reading course when I was in the 6th grade. Had a machine that had a plate that would come down over the page, you could adjust the speed to how fast you read.

Don't have a Kindle or anything. Still like the feel of a book in my hand.

[shooter2]

Yes, I also prefer a real book. The kindle is convenient.

[10 ga]

Ruark! See my signature!

Thank you Mrs. Harding, 3rd grade, 1958/59. I couldn't read at all due to "whole word" teaching and she taught the "problem kids" by phonics, I'm 63 and can still remember some of her lessons. She was elderly then and I'm sure she is long gone but I'm doin her proud.

How about Hunter for African hunting? My cook books, yeah I read cookbooks, favorite is Alton Brown, whole collection. And in the way of food, Euell Gibbons, all them too. Foxfire books, have 6 and read all the rest but not mine. Have read a whole pot of Loui Lamour stuff and Brand too. Try some Tim Severin books for real adventure, ie... recreated Saint Brendans Voyages, Jason Voyage for the golden fleece, Sinbad Voyage, Viking voyages, and quite a few others. He simply did a better job of recreating stuff then Heyerdahl, yeah, KonTiki and Rah. And Bios, Jedidiah Smith a favorite.

Yeah I'm addicted to reading too.

One of the reasons I see the current American version of the Social Democratic Party is verbatim same as the Social Democratic Party of 1930s Germany, OH yeah, known as NAZIS.

Stay safe and keep your guns handy and your faith strong.

10 ga

[292]

I can't name anyone who got me started loving to read, I guess is was born liking to read. Outdoor magazines have always been my favorite, I used to keep them until that got to be a storage problem. My favorite writer is Pat McManus I switched my subscription from Field and Stream to Outdoor Life when he changed jobs. I have his books which are just compilations of his magazine articles. I still use his Modified Stationary Panic in hunter safety classes. The gun writers of today will never be Jim Carmichael. I have his books too. Lately I've been reading old Western novels some of those authors can almost make you smell the bacon as it cooks over the campfire. Like others have said reading has taken me places I'll never get to go.

[lavenatti]

I've always been a sci-fi fan. Sometimes to the tune of two or three books a week if it's rainy and I can't work outside. The kindle is great for reading novels like this but for tech manuals or text books when you're flipping back and forth a paper book is easier.

[StrawHat]

Mark Twain, Hemmingway, Louis Lamour, Dickens, Keats, I have read them all and enjoyed every page. In my youth I would often visit with my Aunts and Uncles. One Uncle had a personal library with probably 1000 books. I remember one evening he came in and found me reading one of them. He pulled a different book from the shelf and sat down. We spent the rest of the evening reading. It was only years later that I found out these were first editions, many of them signed by the authors.

One of my favorite authors is C. S. Forester. The Hornblower series took me to sea at an early age. Conan Doyle is another good one. Not just the Holmes mysteries but other books he has written.

Most recently, I am reading "books", I prefer the pages in my hand, not on a compouter screen.

[captaint]

I remember reading Guadalcanal Diary when I was in grade school, written by Richard Tregaskis. I learned some years ago, he was killed in the Pacific before the war ended. He was one of many journalists who did not make it back. I was fond of the adventure stories when I was younger.
Great stuff. Mike

[sljacob]

I too have been comsumed by reading all my live, it started in the 4th grade when some fellow classmates and I had a "contest" to see who could read certain books the fastest, mostly western novels, from there it became a habbit and later a passion to try and read somthing every night whether it be a Readers Digest or novel or to try and broaden my knowledge in a subject of current intrest.

[edler7]

I have been a reader as long as I can remember. My favorites as a kid were encyclopedias, the Time/Life Science series, Mad Magazine and WW II books. My mother told me she told my English teacher she was worried because I read Mad Magazine. My 8th grade English teacher told her "he's reading...leave him alone"- Thank You, Mrs. Turner.

I got a Kindle for Christmas. I was on the fence about them, but after having one a few months, they are GREAT. I've currently got 8 books going on it- History of the Expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark (vol 1), Knots Splices and Ropework, Oxy-Acetylene welding and cutting-Electric Forge and Thermit Welding, The Practical Distiller, The Old Santa Fe Trail, Diary of a U boat Commander, Killing Lincoln and Ameritopia.

About time to load a few more...

[OeldeWolf]

I started reading heavily about 5th or 6th grade. I think they were some of the Perry Rhodan novels. But I soon found Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey, Kjelgaard, Kipling (I read both of the Jungle Books well before I ever saw the Disney version), and a lot of others. I lost a thousand or so books in a bad marriage (sold them to feed the family, turns out she was saving up to run off with my kid).

I currently have a couple thousand or more books. Automotive manuals and texts, chemistry, physics, history, religion, science fiction, fantasy, other classics, firearms, woodworking .......

I need to be wealthy enough ti have a room for a library, lol

[SlippShodd]

The only two things I asked for for Christmas were the latest books from Tom Clancy and John Grisham. Clancy was savored over the course of about a month. Grisham went off in about 2 1/2 days and I didn't get squat-much else done.
Since my grandmother taught me how, I've been reading anything that will hold still long enough to be read: books, magazines, comics, cereal boxes, labels, highway signs, license plates, pamphlets, instruction manuals, and of course, computer screens. If I'm at a loss for something to read, I'll write something. There's always a story forming in my head.
My office, which I've been cleaning this morning, is cluttered with books. My desk is purposely set facing my main bookshelves so I can look up and see my favorite things. They're in shameful condition and I remarked to my wife earlier that I need to line the upper walls with some more knick-knack shelves so I can free up some room on the bookshelves. There's also a retired wooden wine rack in here waiting for me to convert it to a small book case to go along with the other mis-matched small book cases. The latest reads are sitting on top of their brethren, spines out, waiting for me to place them properly. Clancy, Grisham, Steinbeck, (I notice my Illustrated DaVinci Code is still out on loan) Inside of a Dog, Marine Sniper, No Easy Day, The Stranglers, Machine Shop Reference, From Ingot to Target, United States Coins Red Book 2013, The Forgotten Door... and Matt Helm.
Donald Hamilton was an early influence on my own writing style and over the years I've collected just about everything he ever published. The way he crafted words spoke to me personally. About once a year, I start at the beginning and reread every book in the Matt Helm series, all 27 of them. It took me until a couple years ago to track down one missing volume from back in the 60s. The series is complete, Hamilton died a few years ago, so I feel incomplete.
"Life comes with instructions."
When it comes time to write that part of my obituary that starts out with, "He liked to..." or, "He enjoyed...", well, that's when the bill will really start adding up. The good news is, whoever the author may be will only have to walk in here and start down the bookcases. "Yep, he learned how to do that. Yeah, he was into that. Oh, yes, he knew about that."
Maybe it will just have to be shortened to, "He lived to learn, and he learned by reading."
>chuckle<
Nah, I think I'll insist that they list it out.

mike

[shooter2]

OeldeWolf, I have a friend that collects old automotive manuals, old cars, and old manifolds. They're worth a lot of money these days.

[km101]

Hello, my name is Ken and I'm an addict. No not drugs or alcohol, but I'm a book-a-holic! My 4th grade teacher got me started and I havent stopped reading since. I love reading......it's relaxation, it excape, it's travel, it's whatever you want it to be. But most of all, it's education.

I read and collect books of all types and subjects. I have hard-cover, paperback, magazines, picture books and for the last few years, electronic books. My Kindle is loaded with books I have read and books I want to read. It's like a treasure chest. There are many new books to discover there. I will never get around to all the books I want to read!

[dudits]

i also love to read. i spent a lot of time grounded as a kid "my dad was an ***"
and many times i was not allowed any toys or things on my room "most groundings meant being in solitary"
my mom would always sneak me books and i would hide them in mattress.

i read very fast so a good book never lasts long :( but i usually end up reading the good ones a few times ")

so far my favorite journey has been stephen kings dark tower. i have read the series 8 times now.
however i just got a new book called "above reproach" and am looking forward to reading it tommorow.

i really love my kindle. it saves those thumb cramps and saves alot of space.
i currently have a 1st gen kindle and have not found a need to switch. however the new papaer white one looks pretty sweet!

[wch]

As I read these comments (and I, too am an inveterate reader) I found that there was some dam_ed good reading and writing right here on these pages!
Thanks, fellers.

[Boerrancher]

I don't know exactly when I learned to read, but I know it was well before I started school. All of my family were readers and as a kid it just seemed like the proper thing to do. I will read just about any kind of material there is to read. I fought the Kindle for awhile and then finally got the wife one a bit over a year ago. Once I started using it I like it. It does save space. The wife and I have a library that we converted from a bedroom, and it contains thousands of books covering just about every subject there is. It is sad to say but we have more books than the local public library in town, and cover more topics.

I don't know why, but to me any written material has almost a sacred quality to it. I can not stand to see a book get destroyed. Even if it is the most poorly written, and horrible piece of work I have ever seen, I still want to hang on to it. My Grandmother had a friend who escaped Nazi Germany and made it to the US. When I was little I remember her telling stories of massive book burnings, any written material that did not conform to the Nazi way of thinking was destroyed. I guess it made a huge impression upon me, because I the thought of destroying or banning literature, is a means of destroying freedom. I may not like what you wrote, and may fundamentally, and wholeheartedly disagree with your premise, but I will always support your ability to write.

Speaking of Kindles and books I just downloaded a book this morning I have been looking forward to reading for awhile now, Above Reproach I am hoping that the fella who wrote it put as much insight in to it as he does his posts on the message board he frequents [smilie=l:

Best wishes,

Joe

[waksupi]

I'm another voracious reader. I used to run to the mailbox, and mom would then sit and read the comics to me. I could read fairly well before I got into kindergarten, due to that. During the long winter nights on the farm, I went through every volume of the Encyclopedia Britannica, learning about MANY topics.
My interests and tastes are quite eclectic, so I am not locked into any particular subject. Although I can speed read, I prefer to absorb a book at about the rate someone would be telling me the story, a word at a time.
I love the Kindle, and all of the free books available online. I'm a bit greedy, and have around 3000 books downloaded. I like to have a wide selection available, depending on my mood.

[TheGrimReaper]

Man, I love reading too. Never seems like I can read enough.

[Harter66]

I grew up w/The Lincoln Library of essential information.

My last read was Hell I was there.

I thrived on bios and sci-fi. Still do just don't seem to have as much time as I used to.