Summer Reading

I am a distracted reader. There are books at my bedside, at the kitchen table, and in the living room. On the boat, the same scenario plays out except substitute the pilothouse for the living room. I am not a big fiction reader. I leave that for books on tape while I commute to work. On Carrie Rose, there is the additional need to consult cruising guides and study charts to plan our itinerary.

Over the years, Charlotte and I found many a compelling book in Michigan port libraries. Here in Canada there have been a several interesting used bookstores with knowledgeable owners.

This year has been slightly odd for me in that I reread several books I read last year. Do not ask me why, I just picked them up and could not put them down, so I enjoyed them again.

The first was A Pattern of Islands by Arthur Grimble. This is the story of a British civil servant’s first posting (with his new wife) in 1913 on a remote South Pacific island. This might sound backwards but the whole book is worth reading just for the prologue: Cadet in Embryo.

The second was Donna Leon’s A Question of Belief. This is one of a series of Commissario Brunetti mysteries. I love to leisurely read her dialog. It is so Italian in its unhurried nature with its attention to minute details.

Then I started a book new to Carrie Rose, a small biography called, The Living Thoughts of Machiavelli by Count Carlo Sforza. This was published in 1942 in London and states under the heading Book Production War Economy Standard that, “This book is produced in complete conformity with the authorized economy standards”. I suggest you find a copy and have any twenty somethings you know just starting their career read it.

Next, I moved onto Patrick O’Brian/A Life by Dean King. For those who do not know, Patrick O’Brian wrote a twenty-two book series based on the British Navy. These books are historical fiction but in reality, they are supreme literature. I am not sure what to say for their author. He was an odd bird. Start with Master and Commander and when you have finished the 22nd book read this biography.

In between the above, I have been consulting the Peterson Field Guide’s Geology — Eastern North America by David C. Roberts. Half the fun of being up here in Canada is the rocks. Some are billons, some are millions of years old, and all are interesting.

Today I am on page 71 of a weird little book from 1896 simply titled Rome by M. Creighton. At present, I am in the year 67 and Cnæus Pompeius has just driven the upstart Mithradates out of Pontus, his kingdom, and is following him into Armenia. The history of Rome seems to be one war after another with assassinations thrown in for good measure. I am sure they must have had some fun along the way!

I forgot to mention the bound National Geographic Magazines: Jan. – June 1940. This is interesting for the references to WWII and scary to think what was to happen in the next few years.

So, that is my summer reading so far. I hope you are having as much fun.