Summer Reading by Bike

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

I have never understood “summer reading.” Why aren’t we doing winter reading? That’s when you are supposed to curl up under a warm blanket and lose yourself in a book. Summer is TACTILE. You are out there just with summer all over you. You have to wash it off at the end of the day, you know? There is no sitting inside with books during a northern summer.

I can’t seem to hold still in SW Michigan’s summer. It’s the high holy season and I need to be out in it, at all times. You should see my tan. But I also love a bandwagon, and if everyone is doing “summer reading” I want to be part of the craze. If I am sitting and reading, I’m not riding. So, I decided to get a subscription to Audible and see if I could stand to listen to narrators to get my books read. 

So far it has been really, really brilliant. I’m used to the narrators now, and enjoy them. I end up doing longer rides because I will be at some riveting part in the plot and need to know what happens next, and I keep pedaling. Good for mind AND body. If you can be on bike paths instead of roads, all the better because you are free to let your mind wander. Do not attempt this if you are not adept at multitasking! 

I’m sure I miss a detail or two because riding and reading is distracting, but mostly I’m tracking. In case anyone else was wondering how to have it all, here’s my hot tip. Happy summer reading, not summer SITTING and reading!

I just finished All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker and loved it. Starting The God of the Woods now. Both thrillers, if you wanted a recommendation. 

Leah

[Leah Peterson]

From today’s Read and Ride:

Bike: 55 mermaid Platypus

Book: The God of the Woods, Liz Moore

Outfit: REI dress, Keen sandals, cooling sunsleeves and Oakley glasses with road prism lenses 

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 7, 2024, at 10:45 PM, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! <jonasa...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have never understood “summer reading.” Why aren’t we doing winter reading? That’s when you are supposed to curl up under a warm blanket and lose yourself in a book. Summer is TACTILE. You are out there just with summer all over you. You have to wash it off at the end of the day, you know? There is no sitting inside with books during a northern summer.

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[velomann]

Yes - reading is a thing that happens all year, and also for me less happens in the summer because there's just so much riding to do (and weeds to pull and walks to take and outdoor barbecues to attend. Plus in Portland Bike Summer - AKA Pedalpalooza - can be all-consuming if you choose to let it: https://www.shift2bikes.org/pedalpalooza-calendar/

That said, summer reading, for me, tends to be lighter, shorter, article-heavy and novel-light fare. I just returned from a 6-day bike tour in the San Juan islands, and of course packed my Kindle, which is loaded. I'm currently reading Low Life by Lucy Sante, which is a history of NYC's slums. Surprisingly light reading for the topic, and extremely well-written. I was in NYC in early May for the 5 Boros Bike Tour - my first visit to the city in over 50 years - and came away absolutely captivated/obsessed with the city. This book is a fascinating history of the underclass, politics, architecture, and layout of the city. I'm also reading the Falcon Guide to the Best Bike Rides: New York City, and plotting my return ;-)

Mike M 

[George Schick]

Reading about NYC's rancid underbelly years, though probably having historical accuracy, does not sound like a pleasurable read that you'd want to hear during a ride.  I'd recommend "Snow Falling on Cedars" by David Guterson, a 1994 mystery novel set on an island in the Pacific Northwest that intertwines the issues of inter-cultural discrimination issues against pre-WW2 Japanese with land greed and biases and the day-to-day life of off-shore fishermen in the NW area.

But I hope you're not listening to these books using ear buds, risking accidents from passing traffic, other bikers, emergency vehicles, etc.  About 15 years ago a cyclist riding along a road in the next county West of here was struck and killed by a UP freight train because he was wearing ear buds with loud, loud music blasting through them and failed to hear the engineer's horn as he rode across a crossing.

[Jonathon Medgyesy]

Nice Plat! 

I've never tried the whole audiobook thing. As an English major, I've always been partial to physical books. Typically I'll ride somewhere nice in order to sit down and read. But your description of how books drive you forward on rides certainly has me interested! I've been reading Baudelaire and Perse most recently, not as much fiction for me as of late. 

Happy riding!

John M.

[Leah Peterson]

John, 

How well I know what you’re saying. I grew up with an English teacher mother and a father who had an extensive library. I used to love paper books, but they are so heavy and bulky to store and one more thing to dust. So, I switched to ebooks, loved the built-in dictionary and the portability. But you have to sit still to read them. On the days I’m home, I am always doing, doing, doing. Not so much with the sitting still. You know what makes laundry and cleaning bearable? Audiobooks. Podcasts. You can listen while you get your chores and drudgery done. I have made the switch!

So, I added audiobooks to my rides instead of just music and it has enabled to me to get through so many more books.

George, I’m totally using Air Pods. How else am I supposed to have Summer Reading by Bike?!

Mike, I love that you have a stacked Kindle and a book about a city you love! 

Leah

On Jul 8, 2024, at 6:58 PM, Jonathon Medgyesy <jonathon...@gmail.com> wrote:

Nice Plat! 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/92d58c9b-28ea-4228-9f84-34671e44e7e1n%40googlegroups.com.

[velomann]

"But I hope you're not listening to these books using ear buds, risking accidents from passing traffic, other bikers, emergency vehicles, etc. "

I never listen to audiobooks (or music) while I'm bike touring. The Kindle is for actual reading during down time and in the tent.

Mike M

[Doug H.]

I read a good one recently. The Road Spoke by K.R. Reinke. Here is a description from Goodreads:  K. R. Reinke’s The Road Spoke offers readers an opportunity for reflection on how to live a more meaningful and fulfilling life, using his own cross-country bicycle trip as a template. Reinke not only sets out to ride 3,700 miles, but does so as a polio survivor and insulin dependent diabetic. Repeatedly overcoming his own limits, Reinke faces encounters and obstacles on his journey that he uses to give readers access to a joy that’s available at every moment, outside of reactions and unconscious patterns of behavior.  Reinke deftly weaves spiritual topics and the minutiae of traversing the country until the two are inseparable. And, uniquely, he uses his triumphs and travails as a wellspring for broad, far-reaching reflection that is more than personal. Readers will take away a vision of a different way of living, one that can bring peace in the face of adversity.

Doug

[Chris Halasz]

I am highly visual, much prefer paper to electronic - even old, yellowed paperbacks, and struggle with audiobooks, often cringing at the reader's voice and dramatic interpretation. Acknowledging the subjective experience, I simply loved the audiobook of The Overstory by Richard Powers (Suzanne Toren did the reading?). 

- Chris 

[Leah Peterson]

Chris, 

There are some books that are so enriched by the audiobook version. For instance, I’ll never buy David Sedaris’ books on iPad/paper. Only audio because he reads them and his delivery is just perfect. I also get annoyed by some narrators, so, understood there, too.

Doug - I’m gonna check this one out! (And, I love Goodreads.)

On Jul 9, 2024, at 7:14 PM, Chris Halasz <cha...@gmail.com> wrote:

I am highly visual, much prefer paper to electronic - even old, yellowed paperbacks, and struggle with audiobooks, often cringing at the reader's voice and dramatic interpretation. Acknowledging the subjective experience, I simply loved the audiobook of The Overstory by Richard Powers (Suzanne Toren did the reading?). 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/59ce49e3-2763-4c7c-a935-42ab20ce63acn%40googlegroups.com.

[Eric Floden]

Bill Bryson has narrated some of his audiobooks and they are superb for it