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Your fav writer..


花火

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An automotive writer from the past I always enjoyed was Tom McCahill. Still one of the best. I have quite a collection of Mechanix Illustrateds because of him. Uncle Tom as he was also known, became inspiration for my pen name when I start writing about old cars some 25 years ago.

Edited by unclescott58
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Definitely Burroughs , and Lovecraft . I've read / heard some of Richard Hell's writings (the best are with Robert Quine accompanying on guitar !) .

I tend to read medical pieces (including PDR's ... don't ask) and I love to study road maps (especially vintage Thomas Bros Guides !) .

I'm actually writng a novella of sorts . Been working on it since 25th January 2015 . Its title is Dans les Coleurs du Blanc et Noir .

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I read a lot. I have an English degree (and an Education degree) so I'm burned out on the classics, can;t stand most of them now.

Fav authors right now: Nelson DeMille, JL Bourne, Kim Paffenroth, Blake Crouch. I'm a big fan of the zombie genre. Always looked for something that gives a little twist on the usual zombie story. 

I also read a lot of autobiographies, mainly from musicians. Recently finished both the Lita Ford book and the Phi Collen (Def Leppard) autobiographies. Phil's was great, Lita's not so much.

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An automotive writer from the past I always enjoyed was Tom McCahill. Still one of the best. I have quite a collection of Mechanix Illustrateds because of hm. 

I have a bunch of old MI issues as well, '74-'78, I believe. 

Favorites of mine? Scott Adams (Dilbert creator) and Walt Whitman. I read a lot, but not much from the same authors.

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I have a bunch of old MI issues as well, '74-'78, I believe. 

Favorites of mine? Scott Adams (Dilbert creator) and Walt Whitman. I read a lot, but not much from the same authors.

McCahill passed in May of 1975. I feel sorry for car guys who have never been exposed to him. Though you didn't have to be a car guy to enjoy McCahill's writing.

Speaking of which. I'm no great outdoorsman. I hate both camping and fishing. I'm also not a big fan of hunting, even though I do enjoying shooting guns once in a blue moon. I don't have any ethical problems with hunting or fishing. I just don't really enjoy them. But, a good writer, like McCahill who can make you enjoy a subject you don't really care about can be a great treat. And one my favorites who writes about things like camping, fishing, and hunting, is Patrick McManus. To me, he is the Tom McCahill of outdoor sports. "Poof, No Eyebrows" is one of the funniest short stories I've ever read. I love his tales of growing up rural Idaho. The strange friends and other characters he claimed to grow up with. Including his dog, named Starnge. A great writer. Doesn't make me want to go out and hunt, fish, or go camping. I know better. But, I sure enjoy his adventures doing those things.

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"Car & Driver" (originally "Sports Cars Illustrated") has featured the best automotive journalists ever, whose work was often brilliant and transcended the category. Among my favorites were Ken  Purdy, Brock Yates, David E. Davis and Csaba Csere.

OOPS -- almost forgot about the great Denise McCluggage, a former race car driver and photographer who contributed often to the magazine. She passed away just a year ago.

Edited by sjordan2
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"Car & Driver" (originally "Sports Cars Illustrated") has featured the best automotive journalists ever, whose work was often brilliant and transcended the category. Among my favorites were Ken  Purdy, Brock Yates, David E. Davis and Csaba Csere.

 

Those were all great, but you forgot the best--the late great Jean Shepard.

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Those were all great, but you forgot the best--the late great Jean Shepard.

Well, Jean Shepherd was already mentioned, and his work encompassed so much more than automotive. Anyone remember his PBS series, "Jean Shepherd's America," plus lots of radio... Not to mention "A Christmas Story"?

Edited by sjordan2
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Well, Jean Shepherd was already mentioned, and his work encompassed so much more than automotive. Anyone remember his PBS series, "Jean Shepherd's America," plus lots of radio... Not to mention "A Christmas Story"?

I only heard him on the radio maybe a half dozen times, each one spellbinding. Christmas Story was a mashup of three (I think) of his short stories. His stuff in Playboy was fantastic. "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories" and "Zinsmeister and the Eighter from Decatur" and "State Fair" stick with me after 40+ years.

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I only heard him on the radio maybe a half dozen times, each one spellbinding. Christmas Story was a mashup of three (I think) of his short stories. His stuff in Playboy was fantastic. "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories" and "Zinsmeister and the Eighter from Decatur" and "State Fair" stick with me after 40+ years.

There are stories in Playboy? I never noticed.

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I also read a lot of autobiographies, mainly from musicians. Recently finished both the Lita Ford book and the Phi Collen (Def Leppard) autobiographies. Phil's was great, Lita's not so much.

While not an autobiography , but definitely within the realm of musicians :

- Up-Tight : The Velvet Underground Story (1983 , Victor Bokris / Gerard Melanga , et al.)

- Please Kill Me ( the Uncensored Oral History of Punk )  (1996 , ad seq, , Eddie "Legs" McNeil , et al. )

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I have always really liked Edgar Allen Poe. He had a way of giving you the idea of what was happening, without all the blood and guts detail of today's writers. Also, this is probably very cliche, but, I love Mark Twain's work too.

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