I’m not an avid book reader. Never have been.
I wish I was. I’ve bought many books I have yet to read.
My wife and daughters are always reading. My dad often read three or four books at a time. We still have most of his books.
So, with school wrapped up for the summer and my kids pondering their summer reading list, I decided to make book reading a habit. At least I’m going to try. And with a little vacation to visit family in Iowa and Minnesota, what better time to start?
But what to read? I didn’t want to pack too many books for the trip. That would be silly. And I wanted to read – and hopefully enjoy – what I packed. That, for me, would be success and hopefully kick my hoped-for reading habit off in the right direction.
“DH 82A Tiger Moth – N81DH” by Towpilot – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
I settled on a pair of short books by Richard Bach. Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Out Of My Mind made the cut. I’m glad they did. While I enjoyed Jonathan, it was Out Of My Mind that really spoke to me.
I’ve read both before, but it was more than a decade ago for the latter and longer yet the former. As I opened up Out Of My Mind, I believe I read it the first time just so I could say I read it. Not this time.
Seated in seat 33C on the Seattle to Minneapolis leg of our journey to Des Moines, I settled into Out Of My Mind. As the distant memory of reading this book came to mind, I cast it aside. I wanted this to be a new experience.
As the pages flew by, I often grinned at the imagery Bach put in my head. This new habit is starting well. And then the sequence that sealed it for me came into view.
Derek Hawthorne is escorting Richard Bach on a tour of the Saunders-Vixen Aircraft Company, Limited…
“He [Derek] turned to me, earnest to explain. ‘The design exists, Richard, the possibility of just this combination of elements in just these relationships, the design for this machine existed at the very instant that spacetime began.’”
The passage continues – about naming and ownership – but I was most interested in the genesis of the design.
A few pages on as Richard seeks to understand what he is looking at, Derek says…
“Do use the word discovered, would you? Invented, well, it seems so proprietary, somehow. The design has always been there.”
“The design has always been there.” So too has the story – any story – I suppose.
Being part of a team that is constantly thinking – or inventing – stories to write, this sentence was liberating. In Bach nomenclature, stories, like design, have existed since “spacetime” began. So let’s “discover” and share them.
If forced to rank them, I’d tell you I enjoyed Out Of My Mind more than Jonathan Livingston Seagull. But that’s like saying I enjoy vanilla more than mint chocolate chip ice cream. I love them both but, given the circumstances, I preferred one over the other.
So, I’ve enjoyed a little early success in this new habit of mine. Up next is The Wright Brothers biography by David McCullough. A new title I’m anxious to get into.
What about you? Do you have a favorite? I’m open to suggestions.
Having 70hrs. or so in DH-82A Tiger Moths I noticed no slats on the upper wings and as the anti-spin strakes are missing, my guess it is a SV-6F.
It is fun to fly and loves landing on grass.
“First Light” by Geoffrey Wellum. This is a riveting first person story of what it was like to be a Spitfire pilot during the Battle of Britain by someone who was actually there. Very well written; couldn’t put the book down once I started it! I highly recommend it.
“The Wright Brothers” was a good read too; a lot of interpersonal stories about the Wrights that really fills out the mostly technical stuff many of us have been exposed to already. I enjoyed it and I feel like I understand the Wrights a bit better than before.
Two (almost unbelievable) autobiographies from a time when America grew such individuals. The Greatest Generation – writ LARGE:
“I Could Never be so Lucky Again” – James H. “Jimmy” Dolittle
“A Hostage to Fortune” -Ernest K. Gann
“Flight of Passage” by Rinker Buck. It was such a joy to read that I was totally bummed when I finished it. Now what do I do with my time???
I thought of two more…
“Jungle Pilot: The Life and Witness of Nate Saint” by Russell Hitt
“Into The Glory” by Jamie Buckingham
“North Star Over My Shoulder” by Bob Buck, TWA Captain
A wonderful nostalgic autobiography….
Best…. or at least one of the top aviation books
Song of the Sky
Guy Murchie
I’m partial to “Chasing The Glory ” by Michael Parfit. It is the story of a Cessna pilot retracing the 25,000 mile lap around the United States that Lindbergh flew to promote aviation after his successful solo transatlantic crossing. It is a wonderful look at America through the eyes of a pilot with numerous stories about strange and wonderful locations off the beaten path. It is unique as a travel story told from a general aviation perspective. Five stars for sure.
I have that book Gary… but have yet to read it. Thank you, I’ll re-add it to my list.
These three books should be required reading for every aviator:
Wind, Sand and Stars -Antoine de Saint-Exupery
A Gift of Wings -Richard Bach
Fate is the Hunter -Ernest K. Gann
Glad to see Fate is the Hunter as it has always been my favorite!!
I finished “The Wright Brothers” biography by David McCullough a few months ago and found it very interesting. It certainly paints a different portrait of the personalities of the brothers and how their acrimonious battles with Glenn Curtiss and others actually hindered the progress of aviation in the United States. Up until that time, I sometimes idly wondered (but never researched) why there was no mention of U.S. aviation development in the 1910s until the start of World War I. Meanwhile, aviation development in England and Europe far surpassed the U.S.
Regarding Richard Bach, I read most of his books back in the 1970s and 1980s when I was in my “spiritual seeker” phase, but I missed “Out of My Mind.” Even though I’m now of a much more pragmatic mindset, I think I’ll give it a try just for fun!
Jimmy Stewart, Bomber Pilot; by Starr Smith.
This book tells the complete story of Jimmy Stewart’s U.S. Air Force career, focusing mostly on his World War II experiences. At 288 pages I found it to be very well written, making it a very easy read.
I’m not an avid reader, so this may not being saying much, but this is the best book I’ve read in years. I highly recommend it.