1776, David McCullough. I love all of his stuff; it's easy reading and he makes history really personal. I have been reading so much on early America lately, but Benjamin Franklin is by far the most impressive of the group, the last Renaissance man. I also just read The Game by Ken Dryden. I don't read a lot of sports books, but for me it is like a Big Chill of hockey, as far as the names and faces of hockey back in the day when I used to skate and play a lot. I still play, but I am pretty bad now.

Recommendation: Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, by Walter Isaacson.

Watching: 24, CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. I like to hunt, so my biggest thing right now is watching for places where there are a lot of wild turkeys. I am teaching my youngest how to hunt them. Also, I like to catch live hockey when I can, so we have tickets to see the UMaine Black Bears when they are playing at home.

Recommendation: I really like to watch hockey; it's a good sport. Recent rule changes have made it a totally different sport than it was five years ago, it's now more like Olympic or European hockey. It's got the scoring Americans like, and less fighting. And if you can't follow the puck you need glasses, because it isn't that hard!

The kids all got IPods, so I have found the joy of buying individual songs, and have been rediscovering a lot of one-hit wonders. I listen to Pink Floyd a lot, Ted Nugent, and (I don't know if I want to admit this), Jewel -- or "that whiny crap" as my wife calls it.

Recommendation: Dark Side of the Moon

I read my magazines: American Hunter, Ducks Unlimited, Outdoor Life, and a lot of others like that. As for books, I've started reading The O'Reilly Factor, by Bill O'Reilly -- I ordered a signed copy and had it sent to me. I like O'Reilly -- he's the no-spin guy. He gives it to everybody, liberal and conservative. The other book I'm reading right now is "How To Talk To a Liberal (If You Must): The World According to Ann Coulter." I love history and the Civil War, and I'm slowly reading a book I got from John Boreman "Cigars, Whiskey and Winning: Leadership Lessons from General Ulysses S. Grant," by Al Kaltman.

Recommendation: Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, by John Gray

I only watch news and outdoor shows. I don't watch stuff like ER or American Idol. I watch all the news shows -- mainstream news shows and Fox news, all of it. I also watch the Outdoor Channel, the Discovery Channel, and Animal Planet. I like shows about four-wheel drive vehicles, and hunting, boating and fishing shows.

Recommendation: Everybody should try the Outdoor Channel, but some people won't like it.

I'm a soft rock person. On radio, I like the Falmouth channel, 101.9. In the morning I listen to 105.7, a talk show with Lauren and Wally. For music I like 70s stuff -- Moody Blues, Cat Stevens, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. I like the collections of 70s music that include the hits by all different people.

Recommendation: Nothing in particular -- just music from the 70s and early 80s