The Wonder of Reading

From Illustrated Classics to Audiobook Thrillers

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📚 The Reading Journey Begins

When I was young, my parents bought me these Illustrated Classics books. As a nine-year-old, it was a terrific introduction to Jules Verne, Jack London, and C. Arthur Conan Doyle. I read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Around the World in 80 Days, The Call of the Wild, and The Hound of the Baskervilles.

I also read Hardy Boys mysteries and Encyclopedia Brown (which were fun because I had the chance to play detective), and also The Three Investigators series (one of those things where I got rid of the books and now you cannot find them anywhere because of a dispute between the Alfred Hitchcock estate and Random House).

When I got older, I read the full versions of the classics I mentioned and enjoyed them all the same. As I grew older, I read the full versions of the classics I mentioned and enjoyed them just the same. My late mother was an avid reader, and she passed that love on to me. She encouraged me to read whatever I wanted, and I began exploring Stephen King and Dean Koontz novels when I was 13. In high school, I had a literature teacher and a drama teacher who sparked my interest in classic literature and contemporary fiction.

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➡️ Fast Forward

I’ve worked in the news media for nearly nine years. During that time, I read books about politics, business, and other topics, in addition to all the daily reading a journalist and editor does.

Late in 2023, I decided to consume more books merely to enjoy a good story. So I jumped into audiobooks. Most audiobooks I’ve listened to in the past were non-fiction, and I found two issues with it:

1. The narrator was usually the author, and they usually weren’t all that good. Most might as well use AI to do it because they often sound like drones. That comes from reading a book that contains information and not so much a story.

2. I found that I liked taking notes, underlining specific passages, and generally going back and reading over something again.

Then I remembered listening to the audiobook version of Rex Pickett’s Sideways years ago. Scott Brick was the narrator, and I loved it. I loved the movie was well, and while most of the film stuck to the theme of the book, there were some significant differences (two examples - the guys went on a night hog hunt with a local that was hysterical, and Maya, Miles’ love interest wound up becoming friends with Jack and even attended his wedding despite Jack leading on her friend Stephanie, claiming he was in love with her).

So I dove in and started with a new series from David Baldacci called the 6:20 Man, with the lead character, Travis Devine. I won’t go through an exhaustive list because I listened to nearly 50 books over the next year, including books from authors such as Harlan Coben (various including the Myron Bolitar series), Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch series), Gregg Hurwitz (Orphan X series), Mark Greaney (Gray Man series), Allen Eskins, and Peter James (Roy Grace series).

I also read some nonfiction. After listening to an audiobook each week for a little over a year, I decided to slow down and read more nonfiction and classic fiction this year while incorporating an audiobook now and again.

📖 What Others and I Are Reading Now

So, what am I reading now? A few different works.

• SPQR - A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard - I like narrative non-fiction, and this is a very readable look at Roman history. She begins in 63 BCE discussing Cicero and Catiline, using it as a jumping off point for the rest of what she writes (she goes beyond that year, of course).

• Antigone by Sophocles - I haven’t material like this in decades. While I am not a big fan of plays, this one is relatively short but very powerful. Talk about something that grabs you from the start. When Ismene says to her older sister, “I won’t tell anyone what you are doing,” Antigone responds, “No. I want you to tell everyone. As loud as possible” and tells Ismene that her failure to do so would be a betrayal.

• Nemesis by Gregg Hurwitz - The latest Orphan X series audiobook version.

I asked some friends what they are currently reading:

• Andrea: Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence - by Anna Lembke

• Steve: The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty and The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

• Kim: The Fellowship of The Ring by JRR Tolkien and The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt

• Neal: Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire Volume 1 by Edward Gibbon and Latest in the Wild Cards series edited by George RR Martin

• Joana: Carnality by Lina Wolff and Suspended Sentences by Patrick Modiano

So what about you? What are you reading and/or what do you recommend?