Today’s Post by Joe Farace
The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.—Alan Watts
It happens. Even though I have, by some counts, more than 3000 books*, every now and then I run out of new things to read. I do have a stack of books on my “want list” from the county library system but sometimes I’m number 64 on a list where they have four copies of a particular book. In the car book world, I have a review copy of Triumph Cars: 100 years coming from the publisher any day now. And currently I have no books on order from Amazon, so “what’s a poor hippo to do?” UPDATE: I just received an email from the library that two of the books I reserved are ready to pick up: Martin Cruz Smith’s Independence Square and Dennis Lehane’s Small Mercies.
Sitting on the nightstand next to my bed…One of my favorite places to read, other than the cozy chair Mary got for my office, is in bed before turning off the lights and pulling up the covers. Lately, there are two books sitting there just waiting ti be picked up: The first is The Way of Zen by Alan Watts. Once a week a local public radio station broadcasts an half-hour of one of the late Mr. Watts lectures on Zen and I have became mesmerized by his presentation and ideas. The book however is a hard slog, deprived of the humor Mr. Watts exudes in his lectures. On top of that, the book is full of Chinese and Japanese language phrases that are slow (for me) to plow through. The text is also a slow read because Watts unfailingly throws new ways of thinking at you and makes me, anyway, stop and think about what I just read. The other book is Riding Denver’s Rails:: A Mile-High Streetcar History. It’s another slow read and seems aimed at the kind of reader the British call anoraks. Maybe that’s just me but since I love streetcars, I’ll keep going.
What Am I Reading Now?
Lets start with an update of my “Books Read in 2023” count. As I write this it sits at 21. While waiting for something new to read, I ordered two used books from eBay that were written by Max Alan Collins from his Nathan Heller series of historical mysteries. These books combine detailed research along with a fictional protagonist. If you are a lover of mystery fiction and are not reading this series of books, you really should. They are nothing short of amazing. Both of the books I ordered arrived and I just finished reading Bye, Bye Baby, which is a fact/fiction look at the death of Marilyn Monroe. It will break your heart while turning some of your preconceptions upside down. This 2011 book was in superb and almost new condition for a used book. The same could not be said for the other Collins’ book I received. Blood and Thunder which takes a look at Louisiana politics in the 1930’s centered around the assassination of Huey Long. This is an ex-library book, which was not disclosed by the seller and while it’s in better than acceptable condition, I’m not sure what I will do with it after reading it. But I am looking forward to reading it.
Book Review: Full of Hot Air
The subtitle of this book is “A Guide to Hot Air Balloon Photography” and was written by John Larsen, who you might recognize as this blog’s Senior International Travel Correspondent. You may also recognize John’s name from his many contributions to my car photography website’s Blog and if you would like to read more of his work, just type “Larsen” is that site’s search box.
John also photographs Hot Air Balloons. If you’ve always wanted to give this genre a try, this compact (8.5 x 5.5-inches) guide that’s designed to fit in your camera bag will show you how. The book opens with an overview of the balloon’s physical structure and I’ll confess this was an eyeopener to me. John believes that in order to make good photographs of a subject, you need to understand what you’re going to photograph. Similarly he also provides some safety tips about working around balloons. Hey, the average balloon burner produces 12 million flaming BTU’s.
John starts the next section with a list of five key equipment items, not counting a camera, you’ll need to photograph balloons, while offering some tips on the kinds of (zoom) lenses he prefers to use. On those pages, you will also find examples of how John uses those lenses. He’s not just talking about the classic images of balloons on the ground being filled with hot air but also those made inside the basket while “flying though the air with the greatest of ease.” The chapter “Look for Details” then provides the kinds of tips, tools and techniques that will make or break any hot air balloon photograph. The book wraps up with three galleries of John’s favorite images including one on Special Shaped Balloons and another on Winter Flying. John is a pleasant and knowledgeable guide for your journey though the world of Hot Air Balloon photography.
Full of Hot Air is a fun, short—it’s 50 pages long—read that’s easy to digest in one sitting but worth keeping handy as a reference. The book is available for $15 (Canadian) or about eleven bucks American. The eBook version is $3 (Canadian) or around $2.25 US, making it a bargain for the amount of information you’ll gain. This book will help you make your first or next hot air balloons photographic experience a whole lot better
*When we moved into our Daisy Hill home more than 12 years ago, the movers—based on the number of book boxes they carried in—estimated there were 3200 books. “Are you a lawyer,” they asked. Nope, just a reader and maybe a bibliophile. Since then I have probably added more than a few new books to the collection but I have also donated (to the local library for resale) a bunch of them as well. I really don’t know how many books I have right now.