I read a fair bit. Lots of novels. And a decent amount of non-fiction. I have a few favourite authors and when reading fiction, I like to be able to learn a bit about places and things. I do like a novel to get on with it. I'm not enamoured with a lot of drama. Tell your story! You don't have to tell me every feeling that everybody feels!
I guess I'm a bit of a rebel and have read George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm. Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. Those I read in the 1960s first, then again later. I'm thinking now in 2020 they weren't supposed to be a plan to follow but a warning. Taylor Caldwell's The Devil's Advocate. These books and some notable High School teachers that taught me to question things and not take everything at face value, allow me, I think, to see things that others don't always.
I constantly encourage my boys and others to read these types of books and question, question, question
Non-Fiction
“If you want to converse with me, first define your terms”
Lot of controversy on the subject of Vaccines. So I decided to read at least half a dozen books on the subject. As many as I can find from before the last three years (Late 2022 now):
The Importance of Living by Lin Yutang
Brilliant book. I'm about half way through this book. I absolutely love the philosophy of the author. His views of Western vs Eastern cultures. The pluses and minuses of each. Being Chinese living in the West makes for an interesting view of life. The book was written well before the Second World War. I would love to see what Lin Yutang thoughts on life in the 2020s, almost 100 years later would be!
Dissolving Illusions by Suzanne Humphries MD (Author), Roman Bystrianyk
Many subjects start with a premise that 'everybody knows'. 'Everybody knows' that vaccines got rid of major diseases over the last hundred years. Is this basic premise true? The medical industry is taught this and taught to look no further. I'm really glad that the authors thoroughly examined this premise. And the fallacies they discovered in the process. Take a look. The book is brilliant.
Gen Robert Spalding's Stealth War: How China Took Over While America's Elite Slept
Candace Owen's Blackout
I like her. Her view is more a USA view than a world view and she really looks at things from a Democrat vs Republican angle.
When you get a fight, there is always someone stirring the pot.
That said, it is very insightful as to why the Black population of America is suffering the way it is.
And to introduce the scam of psychiatry:
Dr Peter Breggin: an extremely warm, loving, caring individual.
One of my favourites of his is: Reclaiming Our Children
Sun Tzu's The Art of War
Claueswitz's On War
Trout and Reis: Marketing Warfare
- written in the 1980s, the references are a bit dated but still pertinent.
- another must read by these two: Positioning
Swimming
John Counsilman: The Techniques of Swimming
What would have been his 100th birthday just passed a few days ago: 28 Dec 2020.
Counsilman passed away in 2004.
He was inducted as a Hall of Fame coach in 1976.
The above mentioned book is the best you will find.
I have a few other references on the subject here: Masters Swimming