Book Recommendations

This is a log of most of the books I’ve read in the last decade or so. Continue reading »

A British professional escapes the rat race for the sun-basked, lavender-scented paradise of Provence. There he saunters along just enough to enjoy simple pleasures such as wine and cheese, mountain views and scarlet sunsets. Throw in some gorgeous French women and delightful activities such as running and voila, there you have the formula for a typical Peter Mayle novel.

Never mind that A Good Year not only follows this formula to a tee and is strikingly similar to Mr. Mayle’s first novel, Hotel Pastis. For myself, the theme never gets old. It particularly resonates with me because 1) I love France and 2) after substituting the Front Range for Provence, there are some parallels to my own life. Continue reading »

The other day, based on a recommendation of a friend, I picked up the book Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes. The book was such a pleasure to read that I ended up reading it in one sitting (starting at 10:30pm at night; don’t ask me what time I went to bed…) Continue reading »

This year I had the pleasure of finishing two books (which I highly recommend!) entitled Leanings and Leanings 2 by one of my favorite authors, Peter Egan. These books include Peter’s essays and feature articles for Cycle World magazine and are a tribute to all things involving motorcycles.

It was fortuitous, then, that after his stories had peaked my interest in these two-wheeled motorized creations that I’d have an opportunity to visit Sturgis, the “motorcycle capital of the world.” Continue reading »

Along with daily chaos in the Middle East and $50 fill-ups for SUVs has come renewed interest in energy conservation. Despite modern technologies in the form of gas-electric powertrains, variable valve timing, cylinder-deactivation and other schemes, in this day and age, if your vehicle gets over 30 mpg, you are considered to be doing pretty well.

Can you believe, then, that in 1964, there was a popular mode of individual transport that could achieve over 160 miles per gallon? Continue reading »