Out Your Backdoor Bookstore

"Been there done that" books are hard to find...here's some!

In each book subject area, I find that if one has standards you end up avoiding 90% of titles. Each subject has only a few stand-outs good enough to please someone looking for depth and helpful originality. I've been doing this sorting for years now. Maybe my legwork can put you ahead of the line!

If you like OYB, if you like the 'do it yourself' spirit, you'll like these books. I pick books that show exceptional initiative. I pick books that are cross-training for the brain---that are, say, poetic if the usual books in that field are how-to. I tend toward books which are multi-genre---they include memoir, history, helpful detail, inside info, recipes, sketches, photos, beautiful design and layout and quality physical presence---all in one. Lastly, these books are superior in general, but are surely among the best in their categories.

My credentials are: I've been thru lots---lots of books, bookstores, libraries and 'situations'---maybe you can benefit from my winnowing.

While my bookstore is tiny, it's also the biggest in the world. --Coz it's an *Amazon.com Associate Bookstore*. Their motto is "leveling the playing field for the independent press." And they're cheap. You often get BIG discounts. You just click the link here, it hops over to the book at their site and they do the rest.

Note that OYB gets a bit of the proceeds of anything you buy at Amazon after hopping over there from here. It doesn't cost you anything extra, but it sure helps defray some OYB website costs. Thanks!

Topics: Home Bikes Boats Skiing Food Hook'n'Bullet Dogs Literature Mysteries Culture Art Philosophy

Bikes Victor Vincente of America "A Dirt Road Rider's Trek Epic", by VVA. This is an OYBP title best ordered direct from me, see the OYBP link at the homepage. DESCRIPTION:If you're a bike buff, you know how rare bike literature is. Here's a bit of pure bike ride story-telling for inspiration: the classic 'world's longest prose poem'--'A Dirt Road Rider's Trek Epic'--by Victor Vincente of America, a bike cult guru hero. VVA is a founding father of mt-biking, as well as the revival of road racing in America. He has hosted legendary offroad events. His notorious newsletter was the first home of this prose-poem about days and nights in the natural and cultural outback. The DRRTE--plus new episodes--is showcased along with media-reprints of VVA's heyday. Illustrated, with artful glimpses of his other projects, including coin art, t-shirts, posters, and stamps. Richards' Ultimate Bicycle Book Richard Ballantine, et al / Hardcover / Published 1992 . ---Great writing, photos and topics chosen. Lots of personal vim and vigor. Coverage of bike creativity, ingenuity and alternatives unlike any other (especially folders, city bikes, recumbents, trikes and fairings). I never saw a big spread on roadside repairs from found objects before, but this book includes a great big photo of a bike with over a dozen 'DIY' roadside repairs explained. Creative and effective! Like most other DK books, this is a coffee table book with ATTITUDE, panache, style--unlike almost all other similar books. Read more about this title... Richard's New Bicycle Book Richard Ballantine, et al / Published 1987. The RUBB pre-empted this book. But didn't replace it. If you can get a copy, do. Literary general cycling writing at its U.S. best, with great HPV trendsetting, too. Great line art illustrations throughout. Personality plus. Bicycles--le biciclette--Bella Cosa library. A cheap, elegant 'objet d'art' volume of stories and photos of gorgeous bikes. Bobke: A ride on the wild side of cycling, by Bob Roll. The king madman of US bike racing, and a writer to boot! He's been everywhere in global bike racing. Railbike: Cycling on abondoned railroads, by Rob Mellin. ---On the rails! Outrigger style! Smooth, quiet, free...no cars! Half-Wheel Hell and Other cycling Stories, by Maynard Hershon. Friendly 'inside' stories about the eternal truths of life in a social sport. If you're getting into cycling it's probably because you're looking for a home, a family, something with roots. You might also notice how it's hard to find those roots. You know they're there, but where? Americans tend to forcefully forget their roots. But we need them anyway. Hershon hooks you back up to them. Still, it's always best if you ride with those who ride from the heart. And it can also be darn nice if you ride with those who know the lore, you connect cycling back to where it came from, which mostly means Europe. But you always need more where that came from, so here's Maynard. Hearts of Lions: the History of American Bicycle Racing, by Peter Nye Pedaling for Glory: Victory and Drama in Pro Bike Racing, by Sam Abt Bike Cult, by David Perry. Big book about everything bike. Off the Map : Bicycling Across Siberia by Mark D. Jenkins / Published 1993. ---One of the most recent books about worldclass unprecedented exploration. It's almost all been done; but Siberia hadn't. Finally some American's and Soviet teammates give it a whirl. I especially like the coarse unedited tone of this book. MJ lets you see the sordid behind the scenes of sponsored world-hero behavior and motives. They're as shallow as any other egomaniacal jocks! Sometimes the author's cynical a--holery makes a reader wonder. With the right connections and experiences, maybe you're allowed to just sit and type whatever you like! Sounds good to me! (In the right hands...) Maybe it took nerve to write like this; I'm not sure it's all intentional though. Still, it's fresh. Anyway, MJ paints a fine picture of hard work and vast distance. You can feel the mud. The writing puts you into the hypnotic/hallucinating state of risk and effort. Candid insights into everyday Siberia and history (...kill a nation to pave a road around a lake). The nullity of bureacracy further unveiled, in its commie form this time, but it's the same everywhere. Read more about this title...