It has been a while since I've posted anything, so I thought I would share a little about what I've been reading lately. Two of my best recommendations have come from my chiropractor, Dr. Alexia Grantland.  The first of those was Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall Hall and Denver Moore. On that same page in my Amazon search was The Shack by William P. Young. This is a book I highly recommend with the warning that it is somewhat uncoventional if you're reading it from a Christian perspective. Okay, back to the second recommendation from Dr. Grantland -- How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill. I'm a little more than halfway through with this one, but it's an outstanding book.

I've read several books lately by Greg Isles, a Natchez native who graduated from Ole Miss. His books are mystery fiction, usually set in the south with many references to Natchez and Oxford. Greg is a gifted writer and explores some interesting aspects of life. They're not "G" rated, though. Another book with a Mississippi setting I read recently was The Air Between Us by Deborah Johnson. I really liked that book.

I'm reading 23 Minutes in Hell by Bill Weise (yes, I read more than one book at a time) and I'm loading up on Mississippi History books for some research. Here's why. I've written two novels and though they're good stories and either would make a nice movie, even it for TV, I know in my heart they're not best seller material. But I have a plot working in my mind now that I believe has the potential to be a best seller if I can tell it skillfully. The working title is The Onion and Me. It's the story of two friends - a white man and a black woman, who lived on the same farm as kids and whose lives intertwine off and on through the years. The book will transverse their lifetimes. While we'll explore their individual struggles, the background will explore many of the economic and racial struggles of the times the social, political and economic climates evolve. Naturally, I have a lot of life experiences to draw from, but I was isolated from much of what people had to deal with, especially the black families, so I have much research to do.

Let's see, what else is new. I finally got a Texas Motorcycle driver's license. I've not owned a motorcycle in more than twenty years, but have a goal of obtaining a Harley Road King sometime before I get too old to enjoy it. This week I'm getting a new cell phone, a new laptop and yesterday I got a new billfold. Maybe I'm commemorating some kind of life transition I'm yet to discover. Now, I need to schedule a biennial flight review to maintain my aviation currency, but it's been too hot to think about flying around in a Cessna at low altitude lately.