Doug Stone 2000-present: The Long Way, In a Different Light, and My Turn What was going on with Doug in 2000? Stone began piloting ultra-light airplanes as a hobby in 1999 and 2000.
Did he have any other hobbies?
Did Doug Stone have any other hobbies besides piloting ultra light planes?
In December 1999, Stone was aboard an airplane which skidded off a snowy runway at O'Hare Airport in Chicago; there were no injuries. Stone began piloting ultra-light airplanes as a hobby in 1999 and 2000. In March 2000, he suffered a broken left ankle, cracked rib, concussion, and bruised kidney after crashing his plane in Robertson County, Tennessee, and was briefly hospitalized before he resumed touring. Stone later said that the accident made him decide to quit flying planes. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, rumors circulated that Stone had been on one of the hijacked planes; a spokeswoman for the singer confirmed that he was at home with his family that day.  Stone signed to Audium Entertainment in 2002 and recorded The Long Way. This album included seven new songs and acoustic re-recordings of "More Love", "Born in the Dark", and "I'd Be Better Off". One of the original songs on it was "POW 369", which was later recorded by Darryl Worley. Stewart Mason thought that it was "not nearly as suffocatingly slick" as Stone's previous albums, but questioned its commercial success. His next album did not come out until 2005, when he signed to the independent label Lofton Creek Records, recording the album In a Different Light. The album included a cover of "Georgia on My Mind", which was the first single, and re-recordings of "In a Different Light" and "Why Didn't I Think of That". A second album for Lofton Creek, My Turn, followed in 2007. It was led off by the single "Nice Problem". William Ruhlmann praised this album for having "a timeless country feel", also saying that "Stone sings with as much fervor and sincerity as ever." Ken Tucker of Billboard wrote that "He sounds as good as ever and his music is still relevant".  In 2013, Stone toured with Bryan White and Shenandoah as part of the "Reliving the 90s Tour". He also returned to acting, with roles in the films When the Storm God Rides and The Story of Bonnie and Clyde. CANNOTANSWER
He also returned to acting, with roles in the films When the Storm God Rides and The Story of Bonnie and Clyde.
Doug Stone (born Douglas Jackson Brooks; June 19, 1956) is an American country music singer and actor. He debuted in 1990 with the single "I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)", the first release from his 1990 self-titled debut album for Epic Records. Both this album and its successor, 1991's I Thought It Was You, earned a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. Two more albums for Epic, 1992's From the Heart and 1994's More Love, are each certified gold. Stone moved to Columbia Records to record Faith in Me, Faith in You, which did not produce a Top Ten among its three singles. After suffering a heart attack and stroke in the late 1990s, he exited the label and did not release another album until Make Up in Love in 1999 on Atlantic Records. The Long Way was released in 2002 on the Audium label (now part of E1 Music), followed by two albums on the independent Lofton Creek Records.

Stone has charted twenty-six singles on Hot Country Songs, with his greatest chart success coming between 1990 and 1995. In this timespan, he had eight No. 1 singles on the Hot Country Songs charts including: "In a Different Light", "A Jukebox with a Country Song", "Too Busy Being in Love", and "Why Didn't I Think of That". He is known for his neotraditionalist country sound and his frequent recording of ballads.

Early life
Stone was born as Douglas Jackson Brooks on June 19, 1956, in Marietta, Georgia. His mother, who was also a country music singer, taught him how to play guitar when he was five. At age seven, his mother placed him onstage to open for Loretta Lynn. His mother and father later divorced, and he moved to live with his father. He found additional work singing as a teenager: first at local skating rinks, and then at local bars, and later as one member of a short-lived trio; in addition, he and his father worked as mechanics to make ends meet. He also built a recording studio in his house, while performing in local clubs.  By 1982, Stone was suffering from depression brought on by his musical career, when a friend introduced him to Carie Cohen, who would later become his second wife. He played various local venues, and was discovered by a record label manager while singing at a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall. The manager asked him for demos, which she then sent to Epic Records. He chose to record under the name Doug Stone, so as to avoid confusion with Garth Brooks. Record producer Doug Johnson played three tunes for Epic Records producer Bob Montgomery, who disliked the first two that he heard but enjoyed the third one. Through Montgomery's assistance, Stone signed with Epic in 1989, thus becoming the only artist that Montgomery ever signed without seeing perform live.

Musical career

1990–1991: Doug Stone
Stone's self-titled debut album was released in 1990 with Johnson as producer. Mac McAnally, Mark O'Connor, Paul Franklin, Brent Rowan, and Willie Weeks were among the session musicians on it. Contributing songwriters included David Lee Murphy, Larry Boone, Randy Boudreaux, A.L. "Doodle" Owens, and Keith Palmer, who would later chart two singles for Epic in 1991. Its first single, "I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)", spent twenty-five weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and peaked at No. 4. In addition, the single was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Song, and the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for U.S. shipments of one million copies. The album's next two singles were both Top Ten singles as well: "Fourteen Minutes Old" at No. 6 and "These Lips Don't Know How to Say Goodbye" at No. 5. Following these songs was "In a Different Light", co-written by Dickey Lee, which became Stone's first number 1 on Billboard. Stone received three music award nominations in 1991: the Horizon Award (now New Artist Award) from the Country Music Association, Star of Tomorrow from Music City News, and Top New Male Vocalist from the Academy of Country Music.

Brian Mansfield gave Doug Stone a four-and-a-half star rating out of five in his review for Allmusic. His review praised "I'd Be Better Off" in particular, calling the song a "towering expression of self-pity that most singers could spend a career trying to top," also saying that Stone "came close" to matching that song's quality in the album's ballads.

1991-1992: I Thought It Was You, From the Heart, and The First Christmas
I Thought It Was You, his second album, was released in August 1991. Also certified platinum, it produced three more chart singles: the No. 4 title track, followed by the number 1 "A Jukebox with a Country Song" and "Come In Out of the Pain" at No. 3. "A Jukebox with a Country Song" spent two weeks at number 1, thus becoming his only multi-week number 1 single. Stone co-wrote the track "The Feeling Never Goes Away" with Kim Williams and Phyllis Bennett, and then-labelmate Joe Diffie co-wrote "Burning Down the Town". Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly gave the album an "A", saying that it contained "sex-and-smolder ballads" comparable to Conway Twitty. Mansfield was less favorable, saying that Stone "seems to wallow in sorrow".

In early 1992, Stone began experiencing dizziness and pain in one of his arms. He also began feeling chest pains which he initially thought were heartburn.  After feeling disoriented at a concert in Oregon, he canceled an appearance at the Academy of Country Music telecast. He then underwent quadruple bypass surgery at Centennial Medical Center to alleviate four severe arterial blockages near his heart which had initially gone undiscovered by doctors. Following the surgery, Stone changed his diet and began exercising, in addition to touring in support of his third album, From the Heart, released that August. The album's title was seen by many music writers, including Irwin Stambler and Grelun Landon of Country Music: The Encyclopedia, as ironic in the wake of Stone's heart surgery.

With a gold certification for shipments of 500,000 copies, From the Heart produced two more number 1 singles in "Too Busy Being in Love" and "Why Didn't I Think of That". The other two singles were "Warning Labels" and "Made for Lovin' You", at No. 4 and No. 6 respectively. The latter had previously been recorded by both Dan Seals and Clinton Gregory. Mansfield thought that From the Heart was more consistent than Stone's previous two albums, saying that his "voice is at its pain-wracked best" on "Warning Labels" and that "The heart references take on a special meaning given the open-heart surgery that preceded this album". Nash criticized the album as "sappy, lightweight tales of infatuation and starry-eyed courtship". One month after From the Heart, Stone released a Christmas album titled The First Christmas. Although this album produced no singles, "Sailing Home for Christmas" was made into a music video. Stone was nominated in both 1992 and 1993 for Star of Tomorrow by Music City News, and Top Male Vocalist from the Academy of Country Music, winning the former award in 1993. He toured in 1992 with Patty Loveless, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Hank Williams, Jr.

1993-1995: More Love and Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
His fourth album, More Love, was released in November 1993. Unlike his previous albums, Stone co-produced with James Stroud, except on the track "Dream High", which Stroud produced with Tom Bahler and Bruce Swedien. It also included different session musicians than his previous albums, such as guitarist Dann Huff and backing vocalist Curtis Wright. Its lead-off single was "I Never Knew Love", which spent two weeks at No. 2 on the country singles charts and accounted for his only entry on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 81. The album's next two singles were the No. 4 "Addicted to a Dollar" and the title track, which Stone wrote with Gary Burr, at No. 6. Tom Roland of New Country magazine criticized the album for "continu[ing] to mine the drippy side of Stone" through "manipulative" ballads, but cited "Addicted to a Dollar" and "Love, You Took Me by Surprise" as being "tougher" than Stone's previous works.

Starting in June 1994, Stone discovered that he was having breathing problems which were affecting his singing. He consulted throat doctors at Vanderbilt University's medical center, who failed to find any problems in his throat, while a second consultation revealed a lump in his left nostril. Upon its discovery, Stone feared that it might be cancer, and that it would put an end to his career. As a result, Stone quit smoking, although the lump was later discovered not to be cancerous and was successfully removed. While Stone was undergoing treatment, his Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 compilation was released in late 1994. Also receiving a gold certification, the album comprised nine of his previous hits and the new song "Little Houses", which debuted on the charts in October 1994 and peaked at No. 7 in early 1995. After its release, Stone made his acting debut in the 1995 film Gordy, in which he starred as Luke McAllister, a struggling musician. The movie's soundtrack featured four songs from More Love: "More Love", "That's a Lie", "Wishbone", and "Dream High", as well as two other songs that Stone performed: "The Heart I Broke" and "I Could Always Count on You".

1995-1999: Faith in Me, Faith in You and Make Up in Love
Also in 1995, parent company Sony Music Entertainment chose to move Stone from the Nashville division of Epic Records to that of Columbia Records. This decision was made to give Stone a new promotional team. His only Columbia album, Faith in Me, Faith in You, was released in March of that year, with Stroud again serving as co-producer. This album's three singles were comparatively less successful than his previous singles, with none reaching Top 10: the title track peaked at No. 13, followed by "Sometimes I Forget" at No. 41 (his first single to miss the Top 40) and "Born in the Dark" at No. 12. Stone suffered a nearly-fatal heart attack in December 1995 and a mild stroke in 1996, reducing his ability to record and tour. Stone would later remark that he was "lucky" to have survived his health issues in this timespan. One of his few performances in this timespan was at a show in Dollywood, a theme park owned by Dolly Parton, in mid-1996. His last charting single for Columbia was "Gone Out of My Mind", which he recorded for the multi-artist compilation album A Tribute to Tradition in 1998.

Stone signed with Atlantic Records and released Make Up in Love in 1999 under the production of Wally Wilson. A more pop-oriented album than his previous ones, the album produced a minor Top 20 hit in its title track. Its next singles were a cover of R.B. Greaves's 1969 single "Take a Letter Maria", which Stone took to number 45, and "Surprise", which spent only one week on the country charts, at number 64. Also included on the album were a duet with Leslie Satcher titled "The Heart Holds On", and the Bobby Braddock-penned "The Difference Between a Woman and a Man", which was later recorded by Josh Turner on his 2003 debut album Long Black Train. Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album a mixed review, saying that "Since Stone's voice is pleasant, the music is often pleasant, but it's hardly memorable." Andy Turner of Country Standard Time was more favorable, saying that it "does not come off 'too country for country' yet is still engaging largely because of Stone's voice — soft with built-in teardrops." Also in 1999, Stone and Skip Ewing co-wrote "In the Name of Love" on the only album released by female country duo Redmon & Vale.

2000-present: The Long Way, In a Different Light, and My Turn
In December 1999, Stone was aboard an airplane which skidded off a snowy runway at O'Hare Airport in Chicago; there were no injuries. Stone began piloting ultra-light airplanes as a hobby in 1999 and 2000. In March 2000, he suffered a broken left ankle, cracked rib, concussion, and bruised kidney after crashing his plane in Robertson County, Tennessee, and was briefly hospitalized before he resumed touring. Stone later said that the accident made him decide to quit flying planes. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, rumors circulated that Stone had been on one of the hijacked planes; a spokeswoman for the singer confirmed that he was at home with his family that day.

Stone signed to Audium Entertainment in 2002 and recorded The Long Way. This album included seven new songs and acoustic re-recordings of "More Love", "Born in the Dark", and "I'd Be Better Off". One of the original songs on it was "POW 369", which was later recorded by Darryl Worley. Stewart Mason thought that it was "not nearly as suffocatingly slick" as Stone's previous albums, but questioned its commercial success. His next album did not come out until 2005, when he signed to the independent label Lofton Creek Records, recording the album In a Different Light. The album included a cover of "Georgia on My Mind", which was the first single, and re-recordings of "In a Different Light" and "Why Didn't I Think of That". A second album for Lofton Creek, My Turn, followed in 2007. It was led off by the single "Nice Problem". William Ruhlmann praised this album for having "a timeless country feel", also saying that "Stone sings with as much fervor and sincerity as ever." Ken Tucker of Billboard wrote that "He sounds as good as ever and his music is still relevant".

In 2013, Stone toured with Bryan White and Shenandoah as part of the "Reliving the 90s Tour". He also returned to acting, with roles in the films When the Storm God Rides and The Story of Bonnie and Clyde.

Personal life
Stone married his second wife, Carie Cohen, in 1982. The couple separated in July 1994, and Cohen filed for divorce two months later, accusing Stone of excessive drinking and infidelity. He married Beth Snyder in December 1996 after being engaged to her for a year. As of 2005, he had one daughter, Baili, with Beth, and four children from his previous marriages: daughter Michelle and son Daniel from his first marriage, son Chanse and daughter Kala from his marriage to Cohen,  Stone split from Snyder in late 2006 and returned to his Georgia home.

On March 29, 2015, Stone married fiddler Jade Jack in Greenville Texas. Doug and Jade have a daughter, Bristol Gail Brooks, born April 14, 2016.

Musical styles
Stone is known primarily for his neotraditionalist country sound, his baritone singing voice, and emphasis on ballads. In Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary, Richard Carlin describes him as "a solid country crooner whose style is reminiscent of Merle Haggard." Steve Huey of Allmusic wrote that Stone "made his name as a lonesome baritone balladeer, though he's also adept at hard uptempo country." Zell Miller, author of They Heard Georgia Singing, wrote that Stone has "established himself as a mellow country crooner who is known as 'Mr. Sensitive'" and "the Dean Martin of country music because of his unique flair for communicating the fragility of a broken heart with his delicate baritone voice and laid-back style."

Kurt Wolff of Country Music: The Rough Guide described Stone's musical style less favorably. He wrote that Stone seemed "schizophrenic. Half his reputation was established with self-deprecating downers like 'I'd Be Better Off (In a Pine Box)', but then he'd just as easily turn around with a schmaltzy love song like 'Too Busy Being in Love'." He compared "I'd Be Better Off" and "Warning Labels" favorably to Haggard as well, and thought that the change of producers on More Love gave him a "much beefier sound".

Discography

Albums
Doug Stone (1990)
I Thought It Was You (1991)
From the Heart (1992)
The First Christmas (1992)
More Love (1993)
Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 (1994)
Faith in Me, Faith in You (1995)
Make Up in Love (1999)
The Long Way (2002)
In a Different Light (2005)
My Turn (2007)

Filmography

Film

References

External links
Doug Stone official website

1956 births
Living people
American male singer-songwriters
American country singer-songwriters
Atlantic Records artists
Columbia Records artists
Epic Records artists
Lofton Creek Records artists
Musicians from Marietta, Georgia
Country musicians from Georgia (U.S. state)
Singer-songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state)
A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing other amusements. Participation in hobbies encourages acquiring substantial skills and knowledge in that area. A list of hobbies changes with renewed interests and developing fashions, making it diverse and lengthy. Hobbies tend to follow trends in society, for example stamp collecting was popular during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as postal systems were the main means of communication, while video games are more popular nowadays following technological advances. The advancing production and technology of the nineteenth century provided workers with more leisure time to engage in hobbies. Because of this, the efforts of people investing in hobbies has increased with time. 

Hobbyists may be identified under three sub-categories: casual leisure which is intrinsically rewarding, short-lived, pleasurable activity requiring little or no preparation, serious leisure which is the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer that is substantial, rewarding and results in a sense of accomplishment, and finally project-based leisure which is a short-term, often one-off, project that is rewarding.

Etymology 

In the 16th century, the term "hobyn" had the meaning of "small horse and pony". The term "hobby horse" was documented in a 1557 payment confirmation for a "Hobbyhorse" from Reading, England. The item, originally called a "Tourney Horse", was made of a wooden or basketwork frame with an artificial tail and head. It was designed for a child to mimic riding a real horse. By 1816 the derivative, "hobby", was introduced into the vocabulary of a number of English people. Over the course of subsequent centuries, the term came to be associated with recreation and leisure. In the 17th century, the term was used in a pejorative sense by suggesting that a hobby was a childish pursuit, however, in the 18th century with more industrial society and more leisure time, hobbies took on greater respectability. A hobby is also called a pastime, derived from the use of hobbies to pass the time. A hobby became an activity that is practised regularly and usually with some worthwhile purpose. Hobbies are usually, but not always, practised primarily for interest and enjoyment, rather than financial reward.

History 
Hobbies were originally described as pursuits that others thought somewhat childish or trivial. However, as early as 1676 Sir Matthew Hale, in Contemplations Moral and Divine, wrote "Almost every person hath some hobby horse or other wherein he prides himself." He was acknowledging that a "hobby horse" produces a legitimate sense of pride. By the mid 18th century there was a flourishing of hobbies as working people had more regular hours of work and greater leisure time. They spent more time to pursue interests that brought them satisfaction. However, there was concern that these working people might not use their leisure time in worthwhile pursuits. "The hope of weaning people away from bad habits by the provision of counter-attractions came to the fore in the 1830s, and has rarely waned since. Initially, the bad habits were perceived to be of a sensual and physical nature, and the counter attractions, or perhaps more accurately alternatives, deliberately cultivated rationality and the intellect." The flourishing book and magazine trade of the day encouraged worthwhile hobbies and pursuits. The burgeoning manufacturing trade made materials used in hobbies cheap and was responsive to the changing interests of hobbyists.

The English have been identified as enthusiastic hobbyists, as George Orwell observed. "[A]nother English characteristic which is so much a part of us that we barely notice it … is the addiction to hobbies and spare-time occupations, the privateness of English life. We are a nation of flower-lovers, but also a nation of stamp-collectors, pigeon-fanciers, amateur carpenters, coupon-snippers, darts-players, crossword-puzzle fans. All the culture that is most truly native centres round things which even when they are communal are not official—the pub, the football match, the back garden, the fireside and the 'nice cup of tea'."

Deciding what to include in a list of hobbies provokes debate because it is difficult to decide which pleasurable pass-times can also be described as hobbies. During the 20th century the term hobby suggested activities, such as stamp collecting, embroidery, knitting, painting, woodwork, and photography. Typically the description did not include activities like listening to music, watching television, or reading. These latter activities bring pleasure, but lack the sense of achievement usually associated with a hobby. They are usually not structured, organised pursuits, as most hobbies are. The pleasure of a hobby is usually associated with making something of value or achieving something of value. "Such leisure is socially valorised precisely because it produces feelings of satisfaction with something that looks very much like work but that is done of its own sake." "Hobbies are a contradiction: they take work and turn it into leisure, and take leisure and turn it into work."

Hobbies change with time. In the 21st century, the video game industry is a very large hobby involving millions of kids and adults in various forms of 'play'. Stamp collecting declined along with the importance of the postal system. Woodwork and knitting declined as hobbies, because manufactured goods provide cheap alternatives for handmade goods. Through the internet, an online community has become a hobby for many people; sharing advice, information and support, and in some cases, allowing a traditional hobby, such as collecting, to flourish and support trading in a new environment.

Hobbyists 
Hobbyists are a part of a wider group of people engaged in leisure pursuits where the boundaries of each group overlap to some extent. The Serious Leisure Perspective groups hobbyists with amateurs and volunteers and identifies three broad groups of leisure activity with hobbies being found mainly in the Serious leisure category. Casual leisure is intrinsically rewarding, short-lived, pleasurable activity requiring little or no preparation. Serious leisure is the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer that is substantial, rewarding and results in a sense of accomplishment. Finally, project-based leisure is a short-term often a one-off project that is rewarding.

The terms amateur and hobbyist are often used interchangeably. Stebbins has a framework which distinguishes the terms in a useful categorisation of leisure in which casual leisure is separated from serious Leisure. He describes serious leisure as undertaken by amateurs, hobbyists and volunteers. Amateurs engage in pursuits that have a professional counterpart, such as playing an instrument or astronomy. Hobbyists engage in five broad types of activity: collecting, making and tinkering (like embroidery and car restoration), activity participation (like fishing and singing), sports and games, and liberal-arts hobbies (like languages, cuisine, literature). Volunteers commit to organisations where they work as guides, counsellors, gardeners and so on. The separation of the amateur from the hobbyist is because the amateur has the ethos of the professional practitioner as a guide to practice. An amateur clarinetist is conscious of the role and procedures of a professional clarinetist.

A large proportion of hobbies are mainly solitary in nature. However, individual pursuit of a hobby often includes club memberships, organised sharing of products and regular communication between participants. For many hobbies there is an important role in being in touch with fellow hobbyists. Some hobbies are of communal nature, like choral singing and volunteering.

People who engage in hobbies have an interest in and time to pursue them. Children have been an important group of hobbyists because they are enthusiastic for collecting, making and exploring, in addition to this they have the leisure time that allows them to pursue those hobbies. The growth in hobbies occurred during industrialisation which gave workers set time for leisure. During the Depression there was an increase in the participation in hobbies because the unemployed had the time and a desire to be purposefully occupied. Hobbies are often pursued with an increased interest by retired people because they have the time and seek the intellectual and physical stimulation a hobby provides.

Types of hobbies
 Hobbies are a diverse set of activities and it is difficult to categorize them in a logical manner. The following categorization of hobbies was developed by Stebbins.

Collecting 

Collecting includes seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying and storing. Collecting is appealing to many people due to their interest in a particular subject and a desire to categorise and make order out of complexity. Some collectors are generalists, accumulating items from countries of the world. Others focus on a subtopic within their area of interest, perhaps 19th century postage stamps, milk bottle labels from Sussex, or Mongolian harnesses and tack, Firearms (both modern and vintage).

Collecting is an ancient hobby, with the list of coin collectors showing Caesar Augustus as one. Sometimes collectors have turned their hobby into a business, becoming commercial dealers that trade in the items being collected.

An alternative to collecting physical objects is collecting records of events of a particular kind. Examples include train spotting, bird-watching, aircraft spotting, railfans, and any other form of systematic recording a particular phenomenon. The recording form can be written, photographic, online, etc.

Making and tinkering 

Making and tinkering includes working on self-motivated projects for fulfillment. These projects may be progressive, irregular tasks performed over a long period of time. Making and Tinkering hobbies include higher-end projects, such as building or restoring a car or building a computer from individual parts, like CPUs and SSDs. For computer savvy do-it-yourself hobbyists, CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining may also popular. A CNC machine can be assembled and programmed to make different parts from wood or metal. 

Tinkering is 'dabbling' with the making process, often applied to the hobby of tinkering with car repairs, and various kinds of restoration: of furniture, antique cars, etc. It also applies to household tinkering: repairing a wall, laying a pathway, etc. Examples of Making and Tinkering hobbies include Scale modeling, model engineering, 3D printing, dressmaking, and cooking. 

Scale modeling is making a replica of a real-life object in a smaller scale and dates back to prehistoric times with small clay "dolls" and other children's toys that have been found near known populated areas. Some of the earliest scale models of residences were found in Cucuteni–Trypillia culture in Eastern Europe. These artifacts were dated to be around 3000-6000 BC. Similar models dating back to the same period were found in ancient Egypt, India, China and Mesopotamia archaeological sites.

At the turn of the Industrial Age and through the 1920s, some families could afford things such as electric trains, wind-up toys (typically boats or cars) and the increasingly valuable tin toy soldiers. Scale modeling as we know it today became popular shortly after World War II. Before 1946, children as well as adults were content in carving and shaping wooden replicas from block wood kits, often depicting enemy aircraft to help with identification in case of an invasion. 

With the advent of modern plastics, the amount of skill required to get the basic shape accurately shown for any given subject was lessened, making it easier for people of all ages to begin assembling replicas in varying scales. Superheroes, aeroplanes, boats, cars, tanks, artillery, and even figures of soldiers became quite popular subjects to build, paint and display. Although almost any subject can be found in almost any scale, there are common scales for such miniatures which remain constant today.

Model engineering refers to building functioning machinery in metal, such as internal combustion motors and live steam models or locomotives. This is a demanding hobby that requires a multitude of large and expensive tools, such as lathes and mills. This hobby originated in the United Kingdom in the late 19th century, later spreading and flourishing in the mid-20th century. Due to the expense and space required, it is becoming rare.

3D Printing is a relatively new technology and already a major hobby as the cost of printers has fallen sharply. It is a good example of how hobbyists quickly engage with new technologies, communicate with one another and become producers related to their former hobby. 3D modeling is the process of making mathematical representations of three dimensional items and is an aspect of 3D printing.

Dressmaking has been a major hobby up until the late 20th century, in order to make cheap clothes, but also as a creative design and craft challenge. It has been reduced by the low cost of manufactured clothes.

Cooking is for some people an interest, a hobby, a challenge and a source of significant satisfaction. For many other people it is a job, a chore, a duty, like cleaning. In the early 21st century the importance of cooking as a hobby was demonstrated by the high popularity of competitive television cooking programs.

Activity participation 

Activity participation includes partaking in "non-competitive, rule-based pursuits."

Outdoor pursuits are the group of activities which occur outdoors. These hobbies include gardening, hill walking, hiking, backpacking, cycling, canoeing, climbing, caving, fishing, hunting, target shooting (informal or formal), wildlife viewing (as birdwatching) and engaging in watersports and snowsports.

One large subset of outdoor pursuits is gardening. Residential gardening most often takes place in or about one's own residence, in a space referred to as the garden. Although a garden typically is located on the land near a residence, it may also be located on a roof, in an atrium, on a balcony, in a windowbox, or on a patio or vivarium.

Gardening also takes place in non-residential green areas, such as parks, public or semi-public gardens (botanical gardens or zoological gardens), amusement and theme parks, along transportation corridors, and around tourist attractions and hotels. In these situations, a staff of gardeners or groundskeepers maintains the gardens.

Indoor gardening is concerned with growing houseplants within a residence or building, in a conservatory, or in a greenhouse. Indoor gardens are sometimes incorporated into air conditioning or heating systems.

Water gardening is concerned with growing plants that have adapted to pools and ponds, along with aquascaping in planted aquariums. Bog gardens are also considered a type of water garden. A simple water garden may consist solely of a tub containing the water and plants.

Container gardening is concerned with growing plants in containers that are placed above the ground.

Liberal arts pursuits 

Many hobbies involve performances by the hobbyist, such as singing, acting, juggling, magic, dancing, playing a musical instrument, martial arts, and other performing arts.

Some hobbies may result in an end product. Examples of this would be woodworking, photography, moviemaking, jewelry making, software projects such as Photoshopping and home music or video production, making bracelets, artistic projects such as drawing, painting, Cosplay (design, creation, and wearing a costume based on an already existing creative property), creating models out of card stock or paper – called papercraft. Many of these fall under the category visual arts.

Writing is often taken up as a hobby by aspiring writers and usually appears in the form of personal blog, guest posting or fan fiction (literary art resulting in creation of written content based on already existing, licensed creative property under specified terms). 

Reading, books, ebooks, magazines, comics, or newspapers, along with browsing the internet is a common hobby, and one that can trace its origins back hundreds of years. A love of literature, later in life, may be sparked by an interest in reading children's literature as a child. Many of these fall under the category literary arts.

Sports and games 

Stebbins distinguishes an amateur sports person and a hobbyist by suggesting a hobbyist plays in less formal sports, or games that are rule bound and have no professional equivalent. While an amateur sports individual plays a sport with a professional equivalent, such as football or tennis. Amateur sport may range from informal play to highly competitive practice, such as deck tennis or long distance trekking.

The Department for Culture, Media, and Support in England suggests that playing sports benefits physical and mental health. A positive relationship appeared between engaging in sports and improving overall health.

Psychological role  
During the 20th century there was extensive research into the important role that play has in human development. While most evident in childhood, play continues throughout life for many adults in the form of games, hobbies, and sport. Moreover, studies of aging and society support the value of hobbies in healthy aging.

Significant achievements 
There have been many instances where hobbyists and amateurs have achieved significant discoveries and developments. These are a small sample.

 Amateur astronomers have explored the skies for centuries and there is a long list of Notable amateur astronomers who have made major discoveries. Amateur astronomers Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp discovered the Comet Hale–Bopp.
 A substantial amount of early scientific research came from the amateur activities of the wealthy, such as Antoine Lavoisier's contributions to the science of chemistry. At that time there were few professional scientists and little formal study in the area. Another example is the experimentation in electricity that Benjamin Franklin undertook that resulted in his invention of the lightning rod.
 Open source is a development model using the internet to cooperate on projects. It is most notable in the development of software and widely used software, which has been developed and maintained by large numbers of people, including many home-based amateurs with high level expertise.
 While the general public was not aware of nature observation which was formally conducted as field research, during the 1930s, practitioners of the hobby went on to become the pioneers of the conservation movement that flourished in the UK from 1965 onwards.

See also 
 Avocation
 Entertainment
 Community of interest
 List of hobbies
 Personal life
 Play (activity)

References

External links 
 Learn Hobbies Online

 
Recreation
Personal life This is a partial list of hobbies. A hobby is an activity, interest, or pastime that is undertaken for pleasure or relaxation, done during one's own leisure time.

General hobbies

Outdoors and sports

Educational hobbies

Collection hobbies

Indoors

Outdoors

Competitive hobbies

Indoors

Outdoors

Observation hobbies

Indoors

Outdoors

References

External links
 

Entertainment lists