I love to read, especially during my daily trips to the restroom. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your generation), a laptop computer just isn’t convenient. With rare exception, catalogs and magazines are far better than books at holding my attention in the loo. Maybe it’s because the information is more capsulated and compact, but I really dig catalogs. Here are my top 10 favorites to read while nature is calling.
Summit catalog—I love how Summit breaks things up by category. It’s cool how sections are easily identified by color coding on the side of the page.
Summit Tool catalog—As if it couldn’t get any better, Summit has a stand-alone tool catalog. It’s great dreaming about all the cool things you can build.
Jegs catalog—Ditto from the Summit catalog. It’s fun to compare pricing with Summit, and find some cool stuff that’s different. Love the different feel too.
Eastwood catalog—This is a company that just gets it when it comes to the DIY guy. If you’re building a muscle car at home, you need this one.
Harbor Freight—More tools, and they’re really inexpensive. If you don’t mind the fact that most of it is Chinese. You gotta see their retail store.
Northern Tool—Another great tool catalog that rivals the Sears Christmas wish book you got when you were a kid. This thing is fat, so you’ll need extra time.
Magnesium Overcast, the story of the Convair B-36—I’m nuts for airplanes, especially obscure ones like this post—WWII heavy bomber. The best book in the whole house.
Where They Raced—Dives deep into the history of all the old, closed race tracks around Southern California. I live in Moreno Valley, where Riverside used to be.
Cigars International catalog—I love cigars, and this one is my bible. They take your order over the phone, and they are very nice to me. Prices are good too.
Any musical equipment catalog (ZZounds, Sweetwater, ProGear, Sam Ash, etc.)—I’m a guitar player and songwriter, so I have a huge stack of these.