Historical Non-Fiction discussion

Go Crazy, Debbie

THAT I can do since I'm more than halfway there already...=))....Thanks much, Mark!!

I thought it would be nice to keep a list of the books I read for this group, with a few comments on them as I go, and links for reviews when I finish. I read a lot of things that don't really fit into most categories, so this Corner shelf will keep the main HNF library uncluttered.

NOTE TO SELF: Go crazy!! But don't babble.


DECEMBER READS:
Around the World on a Bicycle Volume I by Thomas Stevens ~~ start Oct 1 ~~ put on hold Dec 5 ~~ will finish someday
The Wordy Shipmates ~~ start Dec 2 ~~ finish Dec 9



CURRENTLY READING:

It's hard enough to imagine going around the world now on a modern bicycle, but Stevens began his trip in 1884 on a Penny Farthing. This book and Volume 2 tell of his journey. We are just getting started but already we have crossed a six-mile long trestle bridge and had to hang the bike over the side when a train came....there was no place else to go.

I like the author's matter of fact attitude: no whining about situations, he just tells them with a hint of wry humor. The writing style is a bit old-fashioned, of course, but you also get the feeling that you are pedaling along beside him experiencing everything from the dizzy heights of your own Wheel. Really looking forward to continuing the journey!

I can't imagine riding an old bike so far - or a new one for that matter - but especially an old one. Did he have solid rubber tires? I'd think those old seats would have ruined his crotch, too.

I don't know about the tires, Jim. Stevens doesn't mention those type of details or at least hasn't yet. I want to do some research on those bikes so I can picture them better....other then the giant front wheel I don't know much about them but of course in his day that seemed to be what everyone used.

I've read that they are becoming popular again in England. I bet someday someone will want to recreate this journey, but it would be much more difficult in the Middle East these days than it was in 1884!

EDIT: Found a link to Wikipedia about the bikes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny-fa...

While riding our bicycle across the Great Plains, Stevens and I have picked up a mule. He was alone in a pasture and broke through the fence, following along while we went at top speed on a good piece of road to try to lose him. Didn't work. We slowed up and the mule trotted 'contentedly' behind us.

The next sentence he talks about seeing trees again....but where's the mule? Did he get bored and go back home? Did somebody come out and catch him up and take him away? Did Stevens say SHOO like Robert Redford did in Out Of Africa? WHERE'S THE MULE, THOMAS?

I just did my morning check of my favorite online newspaper and look what I found this time....a picture article about bookshops...I want to go to Greece so I can rent a cat while I read! =))

http://www.theguardian.com/books/book...

Awesome! I'd love to see some of those book stores. Thanks.

During my weekly call to Mom in Arizona, I told her about reading Around The World On A Bicycle. She told me that sometime in the early 1900's her dad borrowed a big wheel just like this author rides and went for a spin. But he got going too fast down a hill and either there were no brakes or he didn't know how to brake, she doesn't remember. He crashed into a barbed wire fence and cut his chin; had the scar the rest of his life.

I had a friend who was an avid bike rider. He got into a a few bad accidents. One time a car didn't give him room when he was flying downhill & his front wheel dropped into a sewer grate. Another time a guy didn't see him & pulled out in front of him. He did a bit of hospital time both times. As an ex-jockey who had broken most every bone in his body a couple of times, that didn't stop him, though. He wound up going off the road on a curve & died. Had a helmet on, but used those clip-on pedals, so his feet were locked in. Did half a flip & landed on his head, broke his neck. I don't even ride motorcycles any more.

What a shame about your friend, Jim. Risk is involved in everything we do but sometimes the level of risk is simply unacceptable. Probably most people would have listened to the warnings and quit riding before the last tragic accident, but as you say, an ex-jockey is not going to be concerned about a few spills.

When Marco bought a bicycle here I had a fit..the roads are horrendous, the drivers on those roads are worse. I could just see him going off for a ride and never coming back. He's been okay so far but no matter how many times he tells me he's careful and alert, I remind him that it is the other guy and the unexpected that will create the problem nine times out of ten.

In the book, Stevens takes a header nearly everyday...it seemed to be a fact of life with that type of bike. I would not have been able to continue after the first one, I'm sure. But then I doubt if I would even have been able to get on such a bike in the first place...=))

That's why I don't ride a motorcycle any more. It's not a question of 'if', but 'when' you're going to lay it down whether it's a blind driver or just a tree branch down around a blind curve. I'm too old for road rash.

Of course, I still ride horses, which is possibly worse. Last year Rascal flipped me over his head. I flew about 20', did a complete flip, & landed flat on my back. Nothing broken. He gave Marg a really bad concussion & dumped Erin, too. I guess it's just a matter of what risks we're willing to take.

Ah, yes...horses. Minds of their own, and not always thinking the same way we do. Like you say, it can be worse, but the bonding experience is worth the risk. At least it was to me in my riding days. I worked as a wrangler on a dude ranch for two years, 70 horses in the rent string and I rode them all at one point or another. I had my share of spills but never was seriously hurt. Nearly all of my crashes were from the horses falling in some way. I started telling any new horse I rode: If I go down, you go down too, it's the rule. =))

Most spectacular crash I ever had was with a stallion my first husband and I had years after my wrangler days. We were dashing up a big sandhill when he hit a soft spot and his knee buckled, flipping him head first into the sand. It happened so fast we were on the ground before either of us knew we were heading that way.

My right foot was still in the stirrup, and I felt his body rolling up towards me. I covered my head, thinking Crap, here he comes....but since it was uphill, he sort of hung for a minute, then rolled back down and got up. I pulled my foot out of the stirrup, told him Whoa, and bless his heart he did whoa. He was standing there shaking and spitting dirt out of his mouth.

I got up and checked him over...plowing face first into even soft sand is not a good thing to do but he seemed okay, just surprised and covered with sand. I ended up with a severely wrenched ankle that kept me from doing anything for weeks but we didn't break our necks, which would have happened if we had been on any other surface. And I was riding again as soon as I could manage it.

Posting this to remind myself to read it soon...also will post in American History thread..http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36204/...

Been gone for a week participating in our annual 145 Hours Ultramarathon. Had to leave Stevens and the bike in Serbia, but I will try to get him a bit further along before I leave on my trip north the 5th of November. Sure will be glad when life settles down a bit and lets me read again!!

Okay, the ultramarathon is over, my trip is over, and my new laptop is up and running. Maybe now I can start to feel normal again?! =))

I've been plugging away at Around The World On A Bicycle. It really is an interesting book, just had the bad luck to be picked during the only time of the year that I am away from home for more than a day or two. I still cannot believe I have been reading it since October 1st, but it's true. And even though Stevens and the bike and I are finally in Turkey, we have a long way to go before we get to Iran and the end of the book...surely this is more than 320 pages?!

The good news is that with the new computer the print is much larger on my Project Gutenberg pages where I am reading this book. But I have to confess I want to get off the bike and read something else.....not sure about doing Volume II when I finish this one. Hate the idea of leaving Stevens in Iran but also need a break from all this pedaling!

We lazed around Constantinople for 7 weeks before finally getting started on the next phase of our bike trek....across Turkey and beyond. We have been warned about the evil, thieving Circassian brigands who are sure to assault us during the next phase of the trip. I kept thinking about Conan The Barbarian and had to go check on his origins....Cimmerian, not Circassian but I wonder if our brigand friends were models for Conan? And I also wonder...will we really have as much trouble on the road as all the people are predicting?

Well, I've done a bit of investigating about my long time companion Thomas Stevens and our trip around the world. Even losing two weeks and more of reading time, the book has felt much longer than 320 pages. That's because the edition I am reading is actually 492 pages and Volume II is going to be 506 pages!! I just hate it when you are not sure which edition on the GR list will match the one you are reading.

I think if Thomas and I ever get ourselves to Teheran, I will leave him there as hostage until I feel like getting back on the blasted bike. Thomas, you are a great guy, an interesting writer, and funny as all get out sometimes but I'M TIRED OF PEDALING NOW!!

I have to get off the bike...here is my review of Around the World on a Bicycle Volume I
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

That's a shame. I'm hoping for the end of one of my books, too.

I hate when that 'just get it over with' feeling shows up with a book. Good luck with yours, Jim!

I'm listening to mine, The World Without Us. If it was written, I would have abandoned it a while back. It started out as billed, a look at what the world would look like if we disappeared, but devolved into a platform for an environmental rant with some snide political remarks thrown in. If it was a little better balanced & thorough or if it offered any solutions, I'd like it more. It's pure negativity, though.
:(

Have finished The Wordy Shipmates
My review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm sorry Mark, but I'm going to be leaving the group. I've been shuffling things around, adding there and subtracting here, trying to get my groups under some sort of better organization and focus. Thanks much for my Corner, wish I could have filled it better but my reading timing was bad in November. Take care, best of luck to all. Happy Trails!