So you have the shop/ garage in order and you have some time to kill...

[AnsonJ]

How about a good book?  I find that I am entertained more by a good book or book series than a TV or movie.

My range in tastes run from sci fi to western to mysteries and some fantasy thrown in.

I am on goodreads, but I haven't updated it in quite some time lol

In no particular order, I will list the book/ book series and the genre followed by a brief description and book list.  Do feel free to add what you guys like.  I will probably use a separate post for each book series, just to keep the posts readable.

The Walt Longmire series by Craig Johnson - Mystery/ Modern Western
there is about 20 novels in this series, with one that came out a few weeks ago.  (haven't read that one yet) The A&E/Netflix adaptation of the books was a good show, but only followed the books extremely loosely, most of the show was a complete different story line than the books.  Trust me the books are *Much* better than the show.   For those that have hid in their shop over the last several years and don't know what I am talking about, Walt Longmire is the sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming.  He is a Vietnam vet, has a grown daughter that is a lawyer, his wife died of cancer a year or two before the book started.  His best friend since grade school is Henry Standing Bear, who is a full blooded Cheyenne Native American and usually helps him on cases and owns a local bar.  His department has several deputies, most notably Vic Moretti, a very feisty Italian from Philadelphia. He is also sometimes assisted by the previous sheriff Lucian Connolly in his cases. Lucian lives in an assisted living home, has one leg amputated (one of the books explains how that happened and how he captured the bad guy with his leg basically useless and bleading).   The author does a great job of developing his characters and the description of the Wyoming high plains makes me want to visit there some time. 

Better description than mine above:  https://www.bookseriesinorder.com/walt-longmire/

Booklist:
The Cold Dish                            (2004)    
Death Without Company    (2006)    
Kindness Goes Unpunished    (2007)    
Another Man's Moccasins    (2008)    
The Dark Horse                    (2009)    
Junkyard Dogs                    (2010)    
Hell is Empty                            (2011)    
Divorce Horse                            (2012)    
As the Crow Flies                    (2012)    
Messenger                            (2013)    
A Serpent's Tooth                    (2013)    
The Spirit of Steamboat            (2013)    
Any Other Name                    (2014)    
Dry Bones                            (2015)    
An Obvious Fact                    (2016)    
The Highwayman                    (2016)    
The Western Star                    (2017)    
Depth of Winter                    (2018)    


Anson

[john k]

On the genre of tools try:   Roger Welsch > Old Tractors and the men that love them.  4 in this series, all good amusing stories, and tools are talked about.   Have read all of Clive Cusslers adventure stories.  Read a few hundred more like,  Jack Higgins,  Brtitish author, has about 20 books out,  all good.  Pure Adventure.   Read about 20 dozen more. 

[AnsonJ]

The Repairman Jack/ Adversary Cycle/ Secret History series by F. Paul Wilson - Horror/ some Sci Fi and Fantasy

Most of the books that he has written fit into the timeline of the Adversary Cycle/ Repairman Jack/ Secret histories even though they don't have the same characters.  they will be referenced throughout the three series.  My Father in Law introduced me to this several years ago, and man I have not found a better series since.  the Jack Reacher series is somewhat similar (without the sci fi/ horror) but it is not the same.  in a phrase, the three series can be described as "Burn Notice meets the Cthulhu"  Jack is not on any official roster or register, he has no social security, has no background and as far as officialdom is concerned, Jack does not exist.  Jack is not an appliance repairman or car repairman, he fixes situations.  Got a brother in law that is beating your sister daily and there is no way to fix it legaly?  Jack can do it.  Jack refuses to take on a job to kill a person, although that has happened.  Jack has a good friend Abe who owns an underground gun and arms shop in NYC, and has a longtime girlfriend with a little girl from a previous relationship that Jack considers as his own daughter, and woe to anyone that would wish them harm.  Jack finds that he is also at the center of a cosmic battle between two forces:  The Otherness (which wants all  of humanity destroyed) and the Ally, which could care less one way or the other about humanity, but isn't out to destroy it either.

If you want to read them in chronological order, here it is.  If you want a book that is stand alone to see if you like the series, read The Tomb first but get the 2011 revised version not the 1984 version, it is part of the Adversary Cycle and the Repairman Jack series.  All of the books are in the Secret Histories series.

the following list is the books when they took place (not published)

THE PAST
•   "Demonsong" (prehistory) (free download)
•   "Aryans and Absinthe" (1923-1924)**
•   BLACK WIND (1926-1945)
•   THE KEEP (1941) --Adversary Cycle--
•   REBORN (Feb-Mar 1968) --Adversary Cycle--
•   "Dat Tay Vao" (Mar 1968)+
•   JACK: Secret Histories (1983) --Repairman Jack--
•   JACK: Secret Circles (1983) --Repairman Jack--
•   JACK: Secret Vengeance (1983) --Repairman Jack--
•   "Faces" (1989)*
•   COLD CITY (1990) --Repairman Jack--
•   DARK CITY (1991) --Repairman Jack--
•   FEAR CITY (1993) --Repairman Jack--

YEAR ZERO MINUS THREE
•   SIBS (February)
•   THE TOMB (summer) --Adversary Cycle-- --Repairman Jack--
•   "The Barrens" (ends in September)*
•   "A Day in the Life" (October)*
•   "The Long Way Home" ++
•   LEGACIES (December) --Repairman Jack--

YEAR ZERO MINUS TWO
•   CONSPIRACIES (April) (includes "Home Repairs") --Repairman Jack--
•   "Interlude at Duane's" (April)**
•   ALL THE RAGE (May) (includes "The Last Rakosh") --Repairman Jack--
•   HOSTS (June) --Repairman Jack--
•   THE HAUNTED AIR (August) --Repairman Jack--
•   GATEWAYS (September) --Repairman Jack--
•   CRISSCROSS (November) --Repairman Jack--
•   INFERNAL (December) --Repairman Jack--

YEAR ZERO MINUS ONE
•   HARBINGERS (January) --Repairman Jack--
•   BLOODLINE (April) --Repairman Jack--
•   BY THE SWORD (May) --Repairman Jack--
•   GROUND ZERO (July) --Repairman Jack--
•   THE TOUCH (ends in August) --Adversary Cycle--
•   The Peabody-Ozymandias Traveling Circus & Oddity Emporium (ends in September)
•   "Tenants"*

YEAR ZERO
•   "Pelts"*
•   REPRISAL (ends in February) --Adversary Cycle--
•   FATAL ERROR (February) (includes "The Wringer") --Repairman Jack--
•   THE DARK AT THE END (March) --Repairman Jack--
•   NIGHTWORLD (starts in May) --Adversary Cycle-- --Repairman Jack--

* included in The Barrens & Others
** included in Aftershock & Others
+ included in the 2009 reissue of The Touch
++ included in Quick Fixes


Anson

[AnsonJ]

On the genre of tools try:   Roger Welsch > Old Tractors and the men that love them.  4 in this series, all good amusing stories, and tools are talked about.   Have read all of Clive Cusslers adventure stories.  Read a few hundred more like,  Jack Higgins,  Brtitish author, has about 20 books out,  all good.  Pure Adventure.   Read about 20 dozen more.

interesting... will have to look at the Old Tractors series.  and Clive Cussler is on my list I have read all of his Dirk Pitt series and a few of the NUMA Files/ Oregon Files etc.  great books.  Have not read Jack Higgins... but in my list down the road will be Tom Clancy, Dale Brown and Stephen Coontz for adventure/ political thrillers

Anson

[strik9]

Anything I could find in Agatha Christy - Dick Frances - Tom Clancy -Umberto Eco among others. 
   At least up to 15 years abo or so.   Not a lot of books in english available and many authors not translated to spanish.   

   Current library is maybe ten books mostly in spanish including  two of the Death of Superman series I have not bothered to read at all.      The pickins are slim in printed paper here.   My young son has different tastes and  he is easy to get books for.

        Time is a premium commodity anymore so it seems I have a lifetime of reading in what I have.

[J.A.F.E.]

My reading tastes are pretty varied. I tend to like old Science Fiction but am pretty selective about who I like. I like some biographies mostly people in science and math. I like science, electronics and math books and that is probably the majority of my reading.

Authors I like are Stephen King, Patricia Cornwell, Terry Pratchett, Umberto Eco, Thomas Harris, Jonathan Sandford. Read a bunch of the Dick Francis stuff Strik mentioned but they all started to have the same plot to me. Read the 87th Precinct seeries by Ed McBain. Also like Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy quite a bit.

If you like science and technology books the series Connections is excellent. Well written and shows how one discovery has leads to discoveries elsewhere - like the connection between the perfume atomizer and the internal combustion engine in the first car.

[goodfellow]

I'd often sit in the garage to smoke a cigar along with a good wine or beer and read my stash of 50's 60's repair manuals and car magazines.

[highland512]

As much as I enjoyed Longmire on TV I think I will have to take your advise and read these books.

Where do you get yours? Book store, library, internet?

Another book I need to read is Gone to Texas by BF Carter. It was the novel that Outlaw Josey Wales is based off of.

[highland512]

I'd often sit in the garage to smoke a cigar along with a good wine or beer and read my stash of 50's 60's repair manuals and car magazines.

"repair manuals and car magazines"

Do they have center folds? 

[slip knot]

I don't read much and very little fiction. What little down time I have is spent on the patio with a good bourbon and old rock or country music. I watch less than an hour of TV a month, stupid shit just pisses me off. My major time suck is the innerwebs.


 I get 3 magazines each month and spend @10min. every night reading a page or 3 before I go to sleep. NRA Rifleman, Hunter and a goat breeder magazine. it takes me all month to get thru those 3. At work I have a Lincoln electric welding book and a micro-biology book on my desk right now.

[AnsonJ]

As much as I enjoyed Longmire on TV I think I will have to take your advise and read these books.

Where do you get yours? Book store, library, internet?

Another book I need to read is Gone to Texas by BF Carter. It was the novel that Outlaw Josey Wales is based off of.

For the most part, I get my books via my Kindle.   there are some freebies out there if you search hard enough, and I will only buy a physical book if A) I really like it and B) it is hardcover and C) if it is cheap/ discounted.  paperbacks take up too much room for the cost, and do not last as long.

If you enjoyed the show and westerns in general, you will really like the book series.

Another one that I will have to put in here is Louis L'Amour.  Excellent Author, and I have all but 7 of his books in hardcover (started collecting them in HS through the Louis L"Amour collection)  stay tuned...

I actually read the Gone to Texas book in High school many years ago.  good book! 

AJ

[AnsonJ]

I don't read much and very little fiction. What little down time I have is spent on the patio with a good bourbon and old rock or country music. I watch less than an hour of TV a month, stupid shit just pisses me off. My major time suck is the innerwebs.


 I get 3 magazines each month and spend @10min. every night reading a page or 3 before I go to sleep. NRA Rifleman, Hunter and a goat breeder magazine. it takes me all month to get thru those 3. At work I have a Lincoln electric welding book and a micro-biology book on my desk right now.

yeah I hear you on the time... I usually do my reading before bed as well, or if I have to wait for something when I am out and about.  I don't watch much TV either as it is becoming more and more stupid and unrealistic.  only a few shows in the past few years have been enjoyable. 

And the interwebs does get most of my time... I work in IT and use it for research, I also surf three different car forums and this one as well.

AJ

[strik9]

time to kill is the key phrase here.  I spent all week looking for when I have any and it is usuall short sections of time at work between jobs.   At home I have my shoppette full of years of random could be useful crap I am quickly using up improving the shoppette itself and tools or fixtures for the home.
    In fact for the first time in years I got up early and went there to advance a project before work.    ..  Took my son to cannibal class and went and opened the shop.

  Now waiting for the boss and it is inevitable if I open a book he shows instantly.  Bring none he may come by noon.   I swear he has psychic powers.
   Mobile www is my saving grace to occupy the mind and still be on and off in a moment to accomodate work.
   

[AnsonJ]

And now for a bit different...

The Spellman Files series by Lisa Lutz - Mystery/ Comedy/

Meet Isabelle Spellman, Middle (adult) child of Olivia and Albert Spellman, who run Spellman investigations out of their Victorian style house in San Francisco. Isabell is 28 years old and just starting to "grow up" and work with her parents.  Her older Brother David is a successful lawyer, and her younger sister Rae is a 14 year old Junior High student who does random surveillance of people as a hobby.  In the first book, Isabelle (Izzy) starts out in a parking garage getting into a late model BMW with a non descript Ford sneaking up on her.  she gets in the car starts it and notices the Ford, and then drives around San Francisco trying to lose her tail.  the driver of the Ford is too good, she can't get away from him, so she stops, gets out of the car, walks back to the Ford that is right behind her, and the driver of the Ford rolls down his window.  She then tells the driver and the passenger:  "Dad, Mom, This has to stop!" Turns out that the BMW is her new dentist boyfriends car and the parents are curious as to who he is, and Izzy is not supplying any info to them.

The dysfunctionality of the family is what makes the books, that and the funny footnotes as you read the book which most are humorous flashbacks to Izzy's youth and escapades including vandalism, drinking and partying, and previous ex boyfriends.  All of the family except the older brother David who seems to be the only sane one in the bunch will sneak around and spy on one another to see what the other member of the family is doing.  Izzy does do investigative work for her parents, and sometimes has her little sister who loves surveillance help on stakeouts. there are only six books to the series, all told from the viewpoint of Izzy, and you see her mature and grow and understand that how her misspent youth affected her parents, siblings and others around her and she works through her life.

Supposedly, the next books in the Spellman series are going to be told from the younger sister Rae's point of view, which should be great, but so far 5 years have went by and no new books.  Rae's motto is "barter and bargain for *everything*" in which she has made several thousand dollars off of family, friends and classmates.  should be interesting when those start rolling out.

Booklist:
The Spellman Files                    (2007)    
Curse of the Spellmans            (2008)    
Revenge of the Spellmans    (2009)    
The Spellmans Strike Again    (2010)    
Trail of the Spellmans            (2012)    
The Last Word                    (2013)

And this  one, while not a novel, was written by Rae and is done as a childrens book and was mentioned in one of the above books:
How to Negotiate Everything    (2013)


Anson