A Book and Bowl

Jdukes

I have two major hobbies: reading and smoking my pipe. Oddly enough, I many times struggle doing the two together for reasons like having to keep pipe lit, only smoking outside and wind keeps blowing my pages, and other minor frustrations. But when I am able to pair them, it’s hobby bliss. 

Does anyone else enjoying reading while smokinng a bowl of their favorite tobacco? If so what are you reading and what are you smoking?

i am currently reading Nathaniel Philbrick’s Mayflower while smoking either Orlick Golden or 7 Seas. I love a good aromatic but sometimes I struggle too much keeping them lit to enjoy while reading. 

piperdave

@Jdukes Completely agree, it can be hard at times but when everything comes together and works it cannot be beat . Currently finishing up Jonathan L. Howard's Carter & Lovecraft a wonderful book while enjoying some Gawith and Hoggarth Louisiana flake.

Jdukes

That’s great @piperdave

Im not familiar with that book but I will throw it on my list. I am a Lovecraft fan. 

Also I have waned to try Gawith and Hogarth ever since I first heard it mentioned on Country Squire Radio. Any particular blend you’d recommend as a good example of their brand?

Oddjob27

I would love to put the two together, but like you, it's hard to find myself doing both. But lately I've been reading Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life. Great book about some sound principles we've really forgotten about as individuals and as a society. Smoking through my supply of Drexel II.

tswilds1

Most purists will hate this answer, but I decided to pick up a Kindle for this since a bowl and book are a great way to end the day. Took the wind element out and easier to manage with one hand. Currently reading the Jason Bourne series. 

Jdukes

@tswilds1

you literally just answered the question I was about to ask! I own a kindle (I’m not a hater though I do love the feel of a book better). So I was going to ask if it was easier since I can palm a kindle in one hand easily. 

Great idea! And great book series as well

ghostsofpompeii

I'm also very old school when it come to reading - and prefer a good old fashion book to a Kindle. I love the feel and smell of a book. My biggest fear is that the Public Library may soon become a thing of the past.   

motie2

I second @ghostsofpompeii's emotion.

jfreedy

@tswilds1 - I love my Kindle for novels but prefer paper for business, spiritual or any other book I may want to refer back to afterwards. That said, I’m currently reading/listening to The Silmarillion.

Jdukes

@ghostsofpompeii my wife and I love the library. For years we have tried to take our kids every week or so to pick out a new book and encourage reading, but it does seem to be one of those beautiful things getting lost in time. I pray people continue to support their local libraries. 

@jfreedy how are you enjoying The Silmarillion? It has been sitting on my shelf for many years (ever since I finished LoTR for the first time), but there always seems to be something else to read instead. Also, do you smoke some traditional Tolkien tobacco while enjoying Middle Earth?. 

jfreedy

@Jdukes -- The Silmarillion is interesting but not necessarily entertaining. It's a fascinating history of Middle Earth. To be honest, I'm listening to it more than reading it. I find that listening to Tolkien literature prior to reading it really helps my comprehension. I'm primarily an auditory learner and slightly ADD. So diving into a huge, incredibly detailed account of a fictional history was little daunting. However, listening to it feels a lot more accessible. Reading/Listening to LOTR was the same. In fact, the BBC audio of LOTR is still my favorite way to consume this classic. I love & own Peter Jackson's movies but still prefer to listen to the BBC audio version when I have 13 hours to kill. 

The Martin Shaw version of The Silmarillion is what I'm listening to. He's also the narrator of the BBC LOTR audio books.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehVIXbRoXH8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt30HrnfhQg

buflosab

I buy books but also have a nook, it comes down to a matter of space. I have a gigantic book shelf and it is filled. I prefer reading my nook inside and the physical books outside. When I'm outside I put up with elements and smoke my pipe. Currently reading Agatha Christies ( And Then Their Were None). It ranked pretty high on The Great American Read which PBS was running. Basically people could vote on the top 100 books or great novels. The top votes No1 To Kill A Mockingbird, No.2 Outlander Series, No.3, Harry Potter Series, No.4 Pride and Prejudice, No.5  The Lord of the Rings Series.

Jdukes

Thank you for the links @jfreedy. Seems like a top notch production. I’ll check them out. 

@buflosab I love Agatha Christie. I tend towards her Hercule Poirot mysteries, but all her stuff is excellent and well thought out. I too saw that list PBS put out. Saw many on the list I agreed with, some I hadn’t heard of, so it was good to get it out there. What do you prefer to smoke while reading?

Londy3

I too enjoy reading. Today, I will have a pipe while reading Never Split the Difference. Accounts of a former FBI agents negotiating skills with terrorists and hard core criminals and how he wins.

piperdave

@Jdukes If you are an ARO fan then I would suggest G&H Cherry Cream Flake, it isn't overpowering on the cherry just enough to taste and enjoy on a retro-hale. If you are looking for a non-aro then I would say Louisiana Flake is a good VaPer. It says there is cocoa/chocolate flavoring but I did not taste it in my sample. *** I will warn these blends are Lakeland's so be aware if you have never had one before. It is a floral note and can sometimes seem soapy. It took me a couple of puffs to get used to it but afterwards didn't mind it at all. ***

PappyJoe

I'm a big reader. In fact, when my wife complains that I have too many of something, it's about my books. (I even have more cookbooks than I do pipes, and use I do pick one of those ups and read it just to find something new to cook.)

When I read and smoke my pipe, it's with a book and not an electronic device. I tried audio books, but find the constant droning of one voice to be conducive to good sleeping.

buflosab

@Jdukes, Thank you for the response, as far as Agatha Christie goes, I also like Poirot. It's currently running on our local PBS station along with AC Miss Marple. Have to admit that the top five winners on The Great American Read , I was slightly disappointed, Only Pride and Prejudice and To Kill a Mockingbird would perk my interest as far as reading goes. The others aren't my cup of tea, but it was still a lot of fun.As far as what blend I prefer while reading I really have no particular choice, I'm a Aromatic guy, particularly like Sutliff blends, and Russ blends from P&C.

Jdukes

@piperdave I now have those two tobaccos sitting in my shopping cart on P&C. Appreciate the advice. 

@PappyJoe we are of the same heart when it comes to books. When we sold our last house I had to pack up my library and my wife and I were severely overwhelmed that I had SO MANY boxes of books. We filled 15 big 55gal containers of books. I rarely buy a new book, but I can spend hours at a used book store. I haven’t built shelving for the library in the new home yet. But it’s on the list!

@buflosab my wife (Erin) just began reading a Poirot novel I oddly enough haven’t read called Hercule Poirot’s Christmas. I’m sure it’s a good one. I’m trying to convince her to pair it with some tobaccos but she won’t bite. I don’t think Poirot was a pipe man anyways. I see him with a cigar or long stem cigarette. 

TaylorJDutton

I enjoy reading while smoking more than anything else. Second would have to be listening to jazz(i have converted my garage into a smoking parlor for this purpose, conversation and jazz) keeping lit can be an issue, which is why i tend to sip much more steadily while reading. Instead of keeping my hand on the pipe and removing it from my mouth in between draws, I’ll just keep it right in my mouth and sip every few seconds or so. Occasionally I’ll have to remove it so i don’t salivate too much, but this method works best for me

buflosab

Just Recieved Poirot Halloween, Have not started it yet, but on my reading list. Like most PBS stations, series are started then disappear and come back again.Which is a good thing. Because I never gave the Poirot series a second of my time, and now with it being replayed I watch it every week. He certainly is a slightly strange character.@Jdukes

Jdukes

@TaylorJDutton
good call on the jazz. I am always in search for “pipe music” as my wife calls it. Though I tend towards relaxing folk while sipping a pipe on the porch I also enjoy angood jazz album. I have not quite mastered holding the pipe in my teeth while busying with my hands. The only pipe I can do it with is one of my corn cobs. I tend to bite down too hard. 

Good stuff @buflosab !  I’ve been amazed at the stuff I’ve grown interest for over the years that I had previously ignored as a younger man. 

AnantaAndroscoggin

Over the past few years I've been working my way through Taylor Anderson's "Destroyermen" series, about a pair of old destroyers in the China Fleet which during the early WWII evacuation towards Australia find themselves in a much-changed western Pacific Ocean on an alternative Earth.

I've also been reading three Sci-Fi series, Mike Shepherd's "Kris Longknife" series as well as David Drake's "Republic of Cinnabar Navy" series. Then there is David Weber's "Honor Harrington" series (which seems to have sprouted several sub-series).

TaylorJDutton

@Jdukes that makes sense, cobs are very light, the lighter the pipe, the easier to clench for me, and most people I’d assume.  

thebadgerpiper

I enjoy smoking a pipe while reading, though admittedly I don't read as much as I should. Most of my nights are spend in front of time computer trying to write. Eventually, the temperatures will dip low enough that I won't be able to write, so I'll work on my reading then. I still need to read one of M.R. James's ghost stories soon, as that's my yearly tradition around Halloween. Right now, I'm reading a few books on Great Lakes shipwrecks and legends of the sea, and it feels wrong to read them without a pipe.

Oddjob27

Start of a TPL book club?

Jdukes

@Oddjob27 I could get behind that. I usually have a couple books going at a time so I’d be up for having an exclusive book to read while sipping on my pipe. 

Oddjob27

@Jdukes Totally, I was thinking either going the traditional route - same book, open a thread/discussion, discuss, etc. Or.. I've also been a part of book "clubs" but are more like exchanges - grab/buy a book, throw in a little tobacco, ship it to a fellow member. That same book could be passed along or kept.

Michael308

@Jdukes I’m the same way. On my last vacation I was able to make it happen with Mark Greaney’s The Gray Man and Captain Black Royal. Although Macbaren’s 7 seas is good as well. Excellent book by the way. 

Jeff20

 Smoking Peterson of Dublin, Connoisseur's Choice, in "The Duke" while reading this fine book. My favorite blend while reading. The smooth caramel and Black Cavendish goes great with a book, especially on a cool night with a cup of coffee.