John... Heck, it's weird to call you John , but I digress. 
It is funny to me too. I thought I was 'done', but now I guess I shoulda called myself 'Jess B. Gunne' or something like that.
I am curious, how do you make your reading list? It's so diverse. (first, is there an icon to show someone trying to be humble?? - before I start...)
I only read non-fiction b/c I like to know that the stories I read about REALLY did happen. I grew up thinking you could learn from others' stories -
IF THEY WERE REAL... so stuck to books about real things. I read
alot about people with struggles in life, because I had epilepsy as kid/teen/young adult and didn't know ANYONE else who did. So I went looking for positive attitudes. I ended up reading ALOT of books about men who had been imprisoned and escaped - mostly P.O.W. stories and many civil rights stories. This lead to reading about the indomitable spirit of man. These books ended up having value for me again later on after I went through brain surgery. (I mean they had value for me personally - for what that is worth here... Not that I would compare myself to any of those folks!! Point is it just added fuel to my desire to read.)
Now I goto Barnes & Nobles and head right to the "New Non-Fiction" desk, which always has a diverse selection. Sometimes it will merely make me think about a new interesting topic and I'll go off and find something on the new topic. I also like to get some history books on what is currently go on in the world, so when I read the press or see news I can tell what kind of a spin the folks are putting on the story. It also make the late-night b.s. sessions more interesting with my buddies.
I read alot about American Slavery b/c I dated a couple of African American women and they introduced me to a subject so close to them that I knew NOTHING about. It also added new perspective to the civil right books I mentioned earlier. I read alot about Israel b/c I asked this harcore militant and EXTREMELY intelligent (probably genius), Orthodox woman I worked with some real innocent, sincere questions about Israel and she refused to answer them. I was sooooo pissed off that she would not share her knowledge that I ran off and answered the questions on my own. (I think I unwittenly asked some very provacative questions regarding the
exchange of land between Brits and early Jewish settlers and about origins of the Palestinians, and the political climate back in Israel. Awright!! Beat me with a wet noodle!!!) At around the same time I also read alot about IRA history after seeing the movie Michael Collins and realized I didn't know much about that - (AND I'm of Irish descent!!!)
Funny, I learned that Michael Collins actually was the inspiration for Yitzhak Shamir to restrategize his fight against the British, (after Shamir broke out of prison), and helped lead the early Jewish Settlers to independence from the British Empire.
Hmmm... so I guess I like that reading about one thing actually can help me understand the other books I read, which can feed on itself... Also talking to friends that know interesting things that I don't know prompt me to learn more about the subject
wow - I never really thought about all this. Okay everyone!! zzzzzzzzzzz Yawn, Snore Hey!! wakkkkkkkkkkkkeeeeeeeeeeeeee up!!! Forgive me if that bored anyone.
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Oh yeah, one more thing, my Dad was a reading teacher too...
Very funny.
