I’m learning to sail the 1974 20 foot O’Day boat that my wife and I purchased from my cousin.  I was encouraged to read this book by a friend who works at West Marine.  The author, Capt. Joshua Slocum, was the first person known to have circumnavigated the globe by himself.  At sea between April 24th, 1895 and June 27th, 1898, the book details Slocum’s adventures in making a journey that in most ways appears identical to those that attempt the feat today.

Have you heard of Zac Sunderland, the 16 year old that left California in June with hopes of the being the youngest person to sail around the world alone?  His blog is updated regular and is well worth a read.  He demonstrates what I would say is the biggest difference between Slocum’s trip and more recent attempts: he can maintain contact with his friends and family and not have as many as 4 months between human contact.  That would drive me nuts.

Do you have any experience or interest in sailing?

I just finished reading Duma Key by Stephen King.  It was the longest fiction book I’ve read in years, at 609 pages, but I couldn’t put it down after I started it.

I was excited about getting the book when I heard that it was set in the Florida Keys, though many of the geographical details are slightly fictionalized.  I was reminded of my trips to Key West in 1994 and 1995 as I read.  The plot was thick and hairy, as one would expect from the greatest horror author of our time, and I fully expect this story to hit the big screen.

Since I do not collect books around the house, I normally offer books to my friends before taking them to the local public library.  Sitting at Loco’s Deli with about 16 or 17 of my best friends, no one had an interest in reading it.

I jokingly asked our server Justin if he could read and wanted the book.  He’s an extremely nice guy and witty to boot.  I call him Son of Sam (sorry for the bad photo) and he calls me Moby.  After offering the book, he said that he already had a signed copy.  Signed???  Sent by his uncle.  Who’s his uncle?  Stephen King!!!

I never would have made the connection…Justin King from Connecticut.  He rattled off details of the family to prove his honesty, but I stopped him short.  I was jealous enough already.  So, his dad’s dear brother Stephen flies into St. Simons Island occasionally for vacation.  Maybe I can manage to become his gopher boy for a weekend, or something.

Thus concludes my summer reading, encouraged by Mark Lee.

Ever had a seemingly coincidental one degree of separation from someone famous?

I’ve used this week of vacation at beautiful Lake Gaston, NC to catch up on my summer reading.

Tuesday, I finished up The Shack by William P. Young, a novel about loss and finding a relationship with God at the foot of despair. The book is a definite page turner, though it teeters on the edge of new age. The movie version could be the sequel to What Dreams May Come. I’ll leave the theological critique to those more accustomed to that sort of thing and just say that the book does accomplish two things well:

1. It presents a very vivid illustration of the Holy Trinity.
2. It presents a compelling argument as to why God doesn’t intervene when there is suffering in the world.

Tuesday afternoon through Thursday morning, I tore through Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas. This interview, at close to 400 pages, was the longest that I have read on anyone in my life. It comes across more like an autobiography, with Michka along to probe Bono with uncomfortable questions. I was captivated to discover the sincerity at which the rockstar approaches the mission of standing up for people that can’t represent themselves. This book truly rips open his chest at times to reveal the real heart beating inside. Leslie Brooke and I are more likely to stretch ourselves to be involved in humanitarian work after catching a glimpse of his vision.

Thursday afternoon, I started reading I Sold My Soul on eBay: Viewing Faith through an Atheist’s Eyes
by Hemant Mehta. A few years back, Mehta, while a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, started a research project to get a glimpse of how Christians present the gospel to those that have never stepped foot inside a church. I was most interested in seeing his reaction to what I’ve heard some say about mega churches “doing all things short of shooting Jesus out of a cannon.”

All the while, each night this week has ended with a couple albums at a time of the U2 catalog playing through the trusty 2G 40gb iPod as I flip through U2: Into the Heart: The Stories Behind Every Song by Niall Stokes.  Stokes sat with the artists, producers, techs and pretty much anybody he could find to get the scoop on the details behind the songs: how they were recorded, why they were written, what influences were present, etc.  I’ve been a fan of U2 since I was but a wee lad and each new album release is a party for me.  A diehard fan even through the Pop stage, it has been quite a ride for this fan and the book reveals the ride the band has been on too.

I’m off to sit atop our boathouse and soak up the sun while stretching my brain a little in the process.  Many thanks to Mark Lee for his Summer Reading Club idea.

What books have you been reading this summer?