I have just begun reading Into The
Storm by Reed Timmer. I chose this book son somewhat of a whim so since I am
only about to finish the first chapter I do not know what this book is quite
about yet. What I do know: Reed Timmer is one of the most successful storm
chasers on this planet. About 1 in 10 chases result in an interception with a
storm on average, and Reed’s stats out-do that by a long shot. I also know that
a WX man rarely has any literal training besides field reports, so this book is
likely to be more of a factual read rather than a book with a story line. Reeds
writing style is extremely informative. It is clear that his main goal with
this writing is to help others get a better understanding of both storm chasing
in general and his methods with storm chasing. Although his writing is
informative, it really isn’t that, well, good. There are no “big” words, no sentences
with inversion, no indirect meanings to things just kind of plain text, which I
like. He begins his first chapter with his experiences as a freshman attending
Oaklahoma University, and being in a lecture hall with a hundred other kids and
seeming like he was the one paying the least attention. Its written like he is
talking for the most part, which is how the first book I read this quarter was.
I’m
glad this book is written the way it is. Reading truly isn’t in the mix with my
other hobbies so its nice to read a book that I can get something out of. On
the other hand, storm chasing sounds pretty sweet, and I am excited to learn
more about it. This is also a rookie approach to a book, it is this the first
book Reed has ever written and on an interview I watched about the book with
Reed himself he mentioned that he wasn’t really a reader himself. What was
evident was that he had a love for the weather. Storm chasing in specific. In
the first chapter I have heard all about how he fell in love with chasing, and
when his passion is combined with his statistics, it is clearly evident that he
is qualified to write a book on this subject.
John-Luc,
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see you getting into a book like this and into the idea of storm chasing in general. I know that you are into weather and want to study meteorology, but I can't really picture you giving weather reports on TV. So I guess there must be some other element of this career that you hope to pursue, and I'm excited to see what it will be!