Today I took some extra time for myself to read, finishing a great book by David Baldacci. I rarely read during the day, usually saving it for bedtime for an hour and a half of immersing myself in someone else's story. The book in question was Long Road to Mercy, which is about a wonderful new character, Atlee Pine, an FBI agent assigned to the area near the Grand Canyon. Since I'm not interested in writing a book report, I'll just say I loved the book, as I do all of Mr. Baldacci's books.
Thinking about my reading habits, I recalled that I really got started in the 5th grade with Scholastic Books. During the summer between my 8th and 9th grades I rode my single speed 26" Western Flyer 1 1/2 miles (one way) to the Westport Branch Library weekly. That was the summer I discovered science fiction: Robert Heinlein, Theodore Sturgeon, and others. I would spend hours every day reading, lost in the imagination of these wonderful authors.
All through my life, reading was a big part of my "free" time. As an adult I started on authors like Clive Cussler, Dick Francis, Tom Clancy, Stephen King, and Isaac Asimov. The last ten years I've read all of John Sandford's books, Baldacci's, and Vince Flynn. I've read more Clive Cussler, Dick Francis, and Stephen King. I "discovered" and read Lee Child, Lincoln Child & Douglas Preston, J.A. Jance, Robert Crais, Michael Connelly, James Rollins, and David Rosenfelt.
When I started writing the Sgt. Dunn Novels, I read many WWII history books, including a few by Stephen Ambrose, perhaps most famous for Band of Brothers. I purchased the 25 volume The Marshall Cavendish Illustrated Encyclopedia of Word War II because my local library had taken theirs out of circulation.
You'll never find me without a book to read. If I take my car in for maintenance, I take a book along. The same when I have a doctor appointment.
So in case I haven't been clear: I LOVE READING!
The library I loved
Westport Branch Library
Kansas City, MO
