I'm an incredibly patient man. I suffer fools (myself chief among them), but rarely do I suffer foolish books. Those books that rate a strong three, a four or five stars are proudly displayed, the rest are shown the door.

My reading preference ranges from non fiction and turn of the century history, to memoirs, travel and adventure...more »

I'm an incredibly patient man. I suffer fools (myself chief among them), but rarely do I suffer foolish books. Those books that rate a strong three, a four or five stars are proudly displayed, the rest are shown the door.

My reading preference ranges from non fiction and turn of the century history, to memoirs, travel and adventure writing. I treasure good humor and descriptive prose and despise most love scenes, long soap boxing and bad mysteries. I love great fiction... but it better be really great. I also enjoy the intensity of a good short story and the raw truth found in the emotional banter of a great contemporary play.

I've lived and worked in downtown Chicago for over 20 years. I guess I'm a city kid now, but I was raised a corn-fed Midwestern suburbanite. I've been happily married for 6 years and have three little kids, two girls and a boy (4.5, 2.5 & .4). As a family, we're moving through a really bad patch right now. My oldest girl Gracie (the one in the photo) was diagnosed with WILMS Cancer Stage 5 in March, 08 ( www.caringbridge.org/visit/gracegaston). My love of books is a grateful distraction, but often these days, I read ten pages a night and Zonk!

Anyway, I would like to be part of a meaningful exchange targeting one of the books I have recently read. I would also like to find a few select readers with similar profiles that I can trust for quality references. « less