Reading

One of the questions I’m frequently asked is, “What are you reading?” It’s a good question, because writers should read. A lot. I always have at least one book I’m reading, and often two or three. Yesterday I finished Hampton Sides’s newest book, The Wide Wide Sea, about Captain James Cook, the 18th century explorer who is most famous for dying at the hands of the natives on a beach in Hawaii. It’s a fascinating story about a great man whose character reportedly changed in his third and final voyage. During his first two journeys he was known as a fair but firm captain. On the third, those who’d sailed with him before reported a man who was more prone to anger and doling out harsh punishments than he’d been previously. Even though it has a sad ending, it’s a good read and tells a story about exploring the islands around Tahiti and Hawaii as well as trying to find the mythical Northwest Passage. I enjoy history and learning from it, especially when the tales are so incredible they almost seem like fiction.