Books

We're always buying books.  Most often those books are for the grandchildren but we sometimes purchase books for our own home.  Someday...  somehow...  I'd like to have a nice little library room to use as an office, research, reading, writing, etc.  Honestly, I'd rather have a library than a 'media room' or 'home theatre' which seems to be a popular thing lately.  I definitely prefer the television, movies, sports, home videos and even music in the comfort of our living room very near all the necessary facilities so a separate home theatre room does not interest me in the least.  A library with walls of fine shelving filled with books along with desks and computers as a separate room would be far more useful to me.  Plus, I am more of a 'traditional architecture' with separate rooms type of person.  The popular 'open concept' design that is getting very old and boringly overdone just reveals more clutter and there are far fewer walls for displaying art.  I'd much rather have walls and a nice classic library.

So, back to books...  

We most recently purchased a short story for Kenzie about a 12 year old figure skater training for the Olympics at Lake Placid and a book of hockey facts for Lukey.  Whenever we see books that might pique their interest, we grab them.  We also buy them many specialty magazines throughout the year.  The more they read, the better off they will be in life so we're always on the lookout for books and magazines that might interest them.  

For our own library, I insist upon hardcover books (if available which isn't always the case) and I lean mostly toward non-fiction although I do occasionally purchase some classics from my school days or even some better novels from more recent years.  If the novels are based upon real-world facts, then I can sometimes get through a novel but about ninety percent of my books are non-fiction.  Quite honestly and generally speaking, fiction is wasted on me and I feel it is a waste of my valuable time.  

When I was a child, I devoured magazines like Family Handyman, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Model Railroader as well as every NYFD magazine my father had in his library of magazines. I read every non-fiction story in every Readers' Digest especially the "Real Life Stories".  I read and re-read many times every How-To book my father had on the shelves.  I've read all of the biographies my father had on the shelves.  But fiction was only read if I was absolutely forced to read it.  Even then, I often just skimmed through enough of each book to write a rather shallow book report.  

In fact, my father once forced me to read "Moby Dick" and write a book report in a well-intentioned attempt to get me interested in reading some classics..  I couldn't even get through the first chapter!  I ended up just skimming through the book and writing a mediocre book report for him.  Although this really was a task with positive intentions, this task only reinforced my distaste for fiction.

Oh...  another thing I read...  my father had an Evelyn Wood Speed Reading Course...  I read through and practiced that course too.  However, I must admit that I learned more during a seminar by Sperry during my junior or senior year of high school about effective listening and effective communication than I did in that speed reading course.  The absolute best thing for my reading and writing skills, however, was not high school or even college.  It was my career in the Air Force.

Before I get back to writing about the books, I'm going continue on this sidetrack about my education which is related to my interest in books and having my own library.

I was bored silly through high school but still managed to do well enough to have great options beyond high school.  My grades were middle of the road but I always tested in the top tier.  In college, in my freshman year during a structural engineering exam, I was trying to remember a very long and specific formula so I could calculate an answer to a question.  Suddenly, I was able to actually picture in my mind the page in my notebook where I had written this formula and I could clearly see the formula.  Before long, I knew I could easily picture anything I read or had written.  If I was trying to find a reference I had read, I could picture the page in my mind and see exactly where this reference was on the page...  and whether it was the right page or the left page....  and even how far into the book I would find that page.  Reading and studying became exceptionally easy for me once I understood how to do this.  

By the second semester of my freshman year, I was at the top of my engineering class and was the Vice President of Engineering.  I would quickly be chosen as President of my Engineering class.  I was an engineering student aide and then put into a Student Teacher position in engineering.  I finished my physics coursework through the Merchant Marine Academy.  I was accepted to the School of Architecture at Cornell as well as Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Piloting at Embry-Riddle, Daniel Webster and Florida Institute of Technology.  I was offered a commission as an officer twice during my career in the Air Force but declined both offers which are stories for another time. 

While in the Air Force, we had to constantly study and test.  We had challenging and comprehensive leadership schools to attend throughout our career.  We had technical schools to attend.  And, I worked for quite a few highly intelligent officers and general officers who were true leaders (and perfectionists) who refined my writing skills very quickly.  I am certain I learned far more in the first couple of years of my Air force career than I did in all of my formal schooling years.  My career also reinforced constant reading, studying and research of non-fiction material.  This was definitely my forte.

I actually attribute these early successes and achievements to my incessant thirst for non-fiction material throughout my childhood.  This thirst for knowledge continues today.

So, now back to today.  We recently purchased a number of books.  The first one is "George Washington's Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation".  George Washington actually compiled these rules from a French book when he was rather young.  Regardless of the original source, I like these rules that George Washington compiled and think it should be required reading for all students, every year, as a reminder of acceptable civil behavior.  (This would be the parents' job...  not the schools.)  

There is no doubt that the grandkids could sometimes benefit from this type of advice as well which is why we have this little handbook at the ready in our living room.  When we are sitting in the living room during some down time, we pull out this book and take turns reading some of these rules randomly.

I had a lot of required reading to do in Junior High School and High School (there were no "Middle" schools back then...  there were Junior High Schools) as did everyone and, honestly, I hated most of the books we were required to read.  And, I mean I absolutely abhorred reading these books and avoided them at all cost.  If anything, forcing me to read them made me despise most fiction all the more.  On a rare occasion, however, I should admit that we were allowed to choose our own books.  My choice was always a biography or some other sort of non-fiction.

This reminds me of an essay I wrote about Ben Franklin in elementary school (I think it was fifth grade at St Agnes).  It won some sort of regional award and my essay was selected to be submitted into a national essay contest, however, in order for my essay to be accepted in the national contest, I was required to edit it down to less than 600 words.  My essay was in the 1200 word range.  I refused to cut that much out of it.  Consequently, for the rest of my school days, I despised writing.  Even back then, I felt that writing was a bit of an artform and forcing someone to cut their art short is absurd and a slap in the face.  There are a few very distinct and memorable situations during my early education that completely turned me off to school in its current form.  Perhaps I'll write more about that another time.  Don't get me wrong, I firmly believe in a lifelong education.  It is traditional schooling that rubs me the wrong way for rather varied reasons.

Again, back to some of our books.

There are a few exceptions to my cold, indifferent feelings toward fiction...

One book I enjoyed reading was "A Separate Peace".  If I remember correctly, this was required reading in either sixth or seventh grade and it has always stuck in my memory unlike most other fiction I've read.  I recently found this book at a used book store and purchased it because I felt it was worth having around. 

The next book was also purchased at a used book store.  This was the first inspirational book I read as a child.  It was required reading in seventh grade, I think, but it could have been earlier.  It really was one of the first fiction books that connected with me.  It has certainly helped me go my own way in life with confidence among other things very important in life.

Another used book store purchase was a classic, "Gulliver's Travels".  We had recently watched the Jack Black movie, "Gulliver's Travels", with Lukey and Kenzie so I thought it would be good to have the original book version on hand just in case they might be inclined to pick it up and start reading.

Now...  scientific books, aerospace books, aviation books, architectural books, engineering books, mountaineering books, medical books, first aid books...  I have plenty of these!  These two, below, are among my most recent favorites both also having been written by some acquaintances of mine...

"Lord of the Flies" was also one of the few books I was required to read in high school or middle school that I actually enjoyed.  In fact, Sheila just recently re-read this book...

This book purchase was one strictly for the kids to learn something interesting.  I went through some very challenging weather schooling in the Air Force and found it interesting but this book is easily understandable for kids.  So far, however, it has not piqued their interest enough for them to even open the book!  

I have a few books about microscopy but this was probably my most recent purchase so it is still sitting out in the living room...

Below is a first edition book from 1892 and it happens to be a biography of a relative of mine.  

My father's parents came to the United States from Newfoundland.  The story is they arrived in New York on my grandfather's fishing boat.  I don't know if our name was changed in Canada or when they arrived in New York but the original spelling of our name was Meagher.  

As it is, very few people pronounce my name correctly spelled as Maher (I think I gave up correcting people on the pronunciation back in 3rd grade because I was already sick and tired of having to point out how to say our name.  I suspect even fewer people would pronounce it correctly in its original spelling (although it is indeed pronounced correctly in Ireland).  

My grandfather's family was from Ireland in the Waterford area.  Records are scant from this era in Ireland but, as best as my dad and I can tell, Thomas Meagher was probably one of my grandfather's uncles.  My father was of the first generation of my family to be born in the United States.

It is a long meandering but very interesting story of how Thomas Meagher came to be in the US (long and meandering like most Irish stories) but, in short, this great uncle of mine was a highly decorated, accomplished and successful Union officer (Brigadier General) in the US Civil War.  

He was very well known in New York City for putting together "the Irish Brigade" for the Union Army.  He went on to gain acclaim and fame at Antietam among many other battles.  He was later appointed by President Lincoln to govern Montana which, at the time, had just been attained from the Montana Territory, the Washington Territory and the Idaho Territory.  

As I was on a train passing through all of Montana a few years ago, I was watching Montana pass by my window and thinking about President Lincoln sending my Great Uncle out here to govern.  After watching and studying this harsh, mostly barren landscape for many hours, I came to the conclusion that President Lincoln must have wanted to punish Thomas Meagher for some reason and therefore sent him to Montana to organize and establish a government.  Montana is one of those never-ending, as-far-as-the-eye-can-see, tundra-type of places I don't ever want to visit again so it certainly would be a punishment for me if I were assigned there.  The fact that he died there (some suggest he was killed) while his family was in New York doesn't inspire any love for the place in me either.  There is a large statue of Thomas Meagher on the front lawn of the Montana Capitol in his honor that I wouldn't mind seeing though.

Anyway, I came across this first edition biography (1892) and had to purchase it...

Another relative of the Maher family wrote another biography of Thomas Meagher called "The Immortal Irishman".  

I should continue to occasionally write about books we have on hand.  Maybe one of these books will pique the attention of one of the grandchildren as they read this blog...