As are many of our personal traits, I suspect that an interest in books and reading is part of one's DNA. Even as a young boy I enjoyed reading. By the time I was 10 years old I had read every one of the Hardy Boy books by Franklin W. Dixon, and eagerly awaited the each successive new book in the series. Many years later I learned that Franklin W. Dixon was a pen name and that the series had actually been compiled by several different authors.

I devoured the Classics Illustrated comic books. Among my favorites were The Call of the Wild, The Last of the Mohicans and A Tale of Two Cities. Now and again my mother would let me buy a new comic despite our limited financial resources. I earned a nickel a week for making my own bed and keeping my room clean, and those nickels were put to good use. I should add that eventually these condensed comic book versions led me to read the original texts, lest it be said that I wasted my time reading comic books.

Moving to South Africa with my family at the age of 12 my collection of comic book classics went along. Several of the comic book versions were very helpful in writing High School English book reports. I'm sure all of my teachers have long since left us so I don't expect too many repercussions from this admission. The most important influence in my passion for reading, however, was the absence of television during my teen years and, of course, the presence of a nearby public library.

As a young man growing up in Africa my taste in reading often turned to non-fiction novels with African, wildlife or hunting themes. The classic "Jock of the Bushveld" by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick is an example. Fiction from British writers always seemed to be on my list of books. The Scottish novelist A.J. Cronin wrote several brilliant books that will always remain among the finest ever penned in the English language, including The Citadel, Hatter's Castle and The Stars Look Down. For compelling narrative and fascinating stories drawn from his personal experiences as a medical doctor, a Cronin book is hard to beat. Another great writer was R.F. Delderfield. Many of his books, such as To Serve Them All My Days, God is an Englishman, and A Horseman Riding By, have been serialized for British Television, as have those by A.J. Cronin. All are exceptionally rewarding reads and I would eagerly re-read them now if they were on my shelf.

I have been asked what my favorite books about Africa would be. That's hard to answer but one is Something of Value, by Robert Ruark, about the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya. When the Lion Feeds, by Wilbur Smith and its sequel Something of Value, the beginning of the Courtney family sagas, will always be in my top five. Each of these captured the atmosphere and realism of Africa like few that I have read since the 1960s.

Perhaps we each wonder from time to time if we have a book in us. My father often remarked that he would like to write a book. He went to work as a tire builder right out of High School and never received more formal education. But he rose through the ranks and became Production Director for the Goodyear Tyre Company in South Africa by the age of 40. He prided himself on his efficiency with words, bragging to me one time that he had written the shortest business letter in Goodyear history. One of his long-winded directors at Goodyear Headquarters in Akron, Ohio had sent him a long letter which ultimately ended in a simple question. My dad figured that a simple yes or no response would be sufficient so his reply letter said; Dear So-and-so: "No" - Yours Faithfully, signed 'my dad.' You can't beat a one-word letter.

So my dad never got to write his book. He wanted it to be a humorous account of his experiences traveling, both across the Atlantic and within Africa. His taste in books included the entire Zane Grey series. He loved Westerns. But I didn't realize until relatively late in his life that he had memorized a formidable list of quotes from reading William Shakespeare; quotes that he would use unexpectedly and with great effect.

We see the popularity of reading dropping these days, replaced among our youth with TV, iPods, cell phones, and 10-second sound bites. There are too many distractions from reading. Language skills in our country, both written and verbal are getting worse by the day.

My passion for reading led me into an interest in writing. For many years I have found myself editing newsletters or writing short stories. My widest circulation, probably never to be bettered, was achieved with a letter to the editor of U.S. News and World Report that was published in the mid 1970's. I even won a best letter to the editor contest a few years ago sponsored by Travel Africa magazine. This won me two Lonely Planet Guide Books of my choice. I selected and received books on Namibia and Tanzania, in case you're wondering.

There is a revolution going on in the publishing business today. Even five years ago, publishing a book was a major financial undertaking. The odds of getting a manuscript past an editor are extremely remote. This would be true of text books or books illustrated with photographs. Now however it is possible to write or compile a store-quality book for just a few dollars. The minimum order is often one and print-on-demand makes it possible to print any quantity within days and not have to hold them in stock.

In June 2007 I combined my interest in photography and my enjoyment of writing in a small 40-page book about a trip to the Colorado Mountains with a group of friends. Later I published an 80-page hardcover book titled A Blogger's Home Companion. This was a compilation of two years of postings to YourHub.com. I sold six copies, one for a silent auction and one for each of my five kids. Since then I have published a total of ten books including a several photographic travel journals, a tribute to my wife's late mother who passed away in March at age 97 and a Gallery Guide for an art show held at The Wildlife Experience, 30 copies of which sold to raise funds for the local Parker Artists Guild. See photos.

There are a number of e-publishers available now. I have used Blurb.com and have had great results. One can log on to www.blurb.com, open an account for free and download their BookSmart publishing software. Once you work through the first few pages and learn how to select from the many template options, your book is easy to upload to the Blurb website and publish. The designs and lay-outs to choose from are almost endless. The smallest size can be a 7in. x 7inch size up to an 11in. x 13inch. They can be hardcover or soft cover and, depending on the number of pages the prices will run from $12.95 up to the $100's. Shipping is a few dollars extra. It is only necessary to order one book. Blurb keeps yourbook indefinitely and will manage your store for you. You can name your own selling price and Blurb will process orders for you one at a time or 1000s at a time.

The book quality is outstanding. As a photographer I was anxious to see how the images would be reproduced. The results have far exceeded my expectations. Each of my books is what you can only call "coffee table" or "store" quality. The themes and ideas for publishing are endless. Log onto Blurb and scroll through their bookstore. You will find an incredible variety of titles and categories available to purchase. As of today there are 5,383 Arts & Photography titles to choose from. Travel(1903), Wedding (1240) are some of the other popular categories. Your book is only displayed in the on-line store with your consent. Shoppers can go on-line and see a preview of the first 15 pages of most books listed.

Among the themes to be considered might be, baby's first year (attention Steve Schultz!), high school senior year book, sports (what about your son's hockey teams' season), fine art, poetry, portfolio of paintings or photographs, biographies or genealogy, family reunion, blogs, cooking or recipes, religion, humor, etc., etc. The list goes on and on.

If you too have the book bug and have ever thought there might be a "book in you" there is no better time than now to find out for sure. I can confirm that that seeing your own work published is a thrilling experience. Even if the first one is the last and only book of your literary career, it is no less a fun piece of you to have sitting on the coffee table for others to compliment you on and talk about.

I have just one final word of advice. If your book requires photographs, make them as high-resolution as you can. Too often those point-and-shoot digital cameras are set on the lowest resolution and images are not big enough to reproduce sharply in more than a 3in x 2in size. This is a common mistake.

Now - get out there and publish!