Just like the medical school student who studies a new disease then finds those symptoms everywhere she looks, I’ve found the last two books I’ve read are particularly relevant to things I wished I’d known earlier and could apply to current circumstances. Now I must qualify that reading, for me recently, has been audio versions of these books. Nonetheless they still impact me, I just don’t get to underline or make footnotes while I’m riding. (Audible does have a bookmark feature, it just doesn’t seem practical when the iPhone is in an armband or in my jersey.)
Pretty much all my “book” reading in Thailand has been on longer solo rides, like the daily 30km return from my morning Fahsang group ride. Most of my free time in our room here in Trang has been occupied with learning Thai this year. At this point I’m crossing the “see the teapot”, “Grandfather looks for the crab at the shore” [ปู่มาหาปูทะาล] milestone, after slowly advancing from the 44 consonants of their alphabet. Vowels are coming; there are 15 of those and they manifest as diacritical marks, adding a new dimension to reading. My goal is simply basic conversation, however my Thai friends insist I can’t speak good Thai unless I know the alphabet, vowels and tones, because every “word” has a different meaning depending on the tone or inflection which is only indicated by how it’s spelled (and therefore pronounced).
Total language immersion would be overwhelming and nigh on impossible without the distractions of riding and reading. Not to mention ADL’s of eating, shopping, washing and eating that goes on daily. I’ve been a avid subscriber to Audible ever since I mistakenly joined to provide entertainment for my Southern Tier Ride with Don Ahlert. What I hadn’t anticipated on that ride, was it’s too dangerous to draft another bike and listen to audiobooks. It wasn’t until later, while standing watch coming from Honduras to Florida on DejaVu, that I realized how much I would come to enjoy audiobooks.
Audible has a annual high subscription cost of almost $180 a year (12 credits or books), but you then can watch for the bi-annual sales of hundreds of classics and special promotion books at $3.95 apiece. Yes I know the library has audio books for free, but that system isn’t hassle-free or compatible with the “it just works” mindset I’ve grown accustomed to in the Mac world. For a guy who probably averaged one or two books every five years for most of his adult life, consuming 20 or 25 books a year is remarkably rewarding (and worth the “catch-up” price).
Silly, but I don’t allow myself fiction unless I’ve earned my way thru 4 or 5 classics or best selling non-fiction. Trying to catch-up requires discipline. Right now I’m mid-way thru the next series of non-fiction titles and wanted to share those book names if you’re into suggested reading.
“The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat” by Oliver Sachs was a really interesting look at how the brain works and stories of some classic abnormalities illustrating the brain’s amazing complexities. It’s especially relevant concerning the recent news on how iPod music thearpy is transforming formerly catatonic Nursing Home patients back to various forms of reality, or how tumors affect the brain. Fascinating book.
And Jack Cartier turned me on to his enjoyment of Great Courses, a large series of more than 450 lectures on wide-ranging topics like science, fine arts, history or business to name a few categories. Recently one of the $3.95 books was The Art of Negotiating the Best Deal by Seth Freeman. I wish I’d heard or read about this one 40 years ago, even though it’s probably less than 5- or 10-year-old material. Each day after a listening ride, I’ve got some point that’s worth applying or passing on to family or friends. Like Jack, I’m trying to figure how to pass this lecture series on to others. Here’s a link to just one of his negotiating tips Iforesawit.
Just before these two was an interminable science book, about “purposeful knowledge creation,” I couldn’t stop listening to: The Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch. The heaviest book I’ve ever been exposed to and I’m sure I got less than 5% of it’s teaching, (Wikipedia Link) but was really interesting to “listen in” to someone who’s thinking and logic is that smart. I’m due for a lighter book so I’ve selected Michael Pollan’s Cooked.
Stanna is listening too: just finished I, Claudius by Robert Graves, which she had read years ago, and Augustus by Anthony Everitt, re-living both her years of Latin study and her trip to Rome & Pompeii a few years ago to finally see real Roman ruins. Online books from the Durango Library thru the OverDrive app works for her as well, but sometimes the “return” deadline is problematic.
