My Book List

I am a reader. For many years now I have had a personal goal of reading at least 6 books in a year with an ultimate goal of finishing, on the average of, one book a month.  

My top choice for subject matter is biographies of people I like or admire. Probably to no one's surprise my second preference for reading material are books about anything that has to do with the Disney; especially those about the parks and company history. I do occasionally read novels as well. Spy and time travel stories are my favorites. 

But ever since I left my last call center job back in 2013, my reading time has diminished. I don't read much at home because I always find other things to do. 


Don't get the wrong idea. I have not abandoned the printed or digital book world. I still enjoy the feeling of holding and thumbing through the printed pages of a published work. 

The most recent print book I've finished was given to me by my friend, Patty. It's called "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. 

Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh in the early 2000's. His story and book are an inspiration to me. I will share the details about that in my next post. 

I do enjoy reading print and digital books. However, I am, by far, more of an audio guy than a visual one. The fact that I listen to about a dozen podcasts every week is evidence of that. 

With an increasing amount of my time being in places where I can listen but not read I've turned to audio media as my means of enjoying books. 

I borrow audio books on CD from the Smiths Grove library. Over the last year I've borrowed and listened to: 

"Killing Kennedy" and "Killing Lincoln" and "Killing Jesus" by Bill O'Riley, "Micro", Michael Creighton's last book, and most recently, "How I Got This Way", an autobiography by former TV host, Regis Philbin. 

Just this past week I finished listening to the audio version of the only Stephen King book I ever read: 11/22/63. Its one of my all time favorite books. I read the print copy back in 2012. It combines two things I'm very interested in: time travel and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. 

In addition to what's available to borrow from the library, I am a subscriber to Audible.com book service. I get a special discounted credit each month. I can use it to purchase 1 audiobook.  

Over the last year I've bought and listened to: autobiographies by: Tim Conway; Gavin McLoud, Jim Gaffigan, Andy Williams, Billy Chrystal, Mariano Rivera, and Mel Blanc. 

I've also listened to: 
"Kingdom Keepers VII: The Insider" the seventh and last book in Ridley Pearson's Kingdom Keeper series (it's about a group of teenagers who unexpectedly become part of the battle of the Disney characters for control of the Disney Parks); 

"Mary, Lou, Rhoda, and Ted" the history and story of the classic TV show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. 

M*A*S*H, a book about my all time favorite TV series, that explores the effects of culture and history on the show and vise versa. 

"Food: A Love Story":  Jim Gaffigan explores his relationship with eating and the knowledge of food around the country based on his years of travel for his comedy career. 

I have enjoyed all of these books and recommend them to anyone who may have an interest in the people or subject about which they are written.  

Also if you do like audio books, Audible.com offers a free one month trial. You can download one book for free and then get a credit once a month. You can cancel anytime you don't want to continue. 

As I write this I am waiting for my February Audible credit to process so I can buy my next audiobook. I think it's going to be Martin Short's autobiography. 

I am also in the middle of reading 4 different books on my Kindle Fire tablet: a Johnny Carson biography written by his longtime friend and lawyer; a pair of "For Dummies" books, one about learning to play the ukulele and another about starting a podcast; and one about how to sell things on Ebay.  

I also have a couple of books by my favorite Disney history author, Jim Korkis, queued up and ready to be read when I get to them. 

My next print book will be the one that singer/comedian Ray Stevens wrote and signed for me when I met him last December. 

So as you can see my book list is a long one and continues to grow. I love reading and listening to books. 

There are times during my work week that it's just me in my van with my current audio book playing on the car stereo as I make my way around Warren County to pick up my next client. It's a great way to spend the day. 

Are you a reader? What kind of books to you like to read? What have you read lately and what do you recommend? Would you be interested in being part of a RHFactors book club?

Please leave a response, comment or question on this blog, Facebook, Twitter, or email. I look forward to hearing from you.