Sunday Morning Book Thread 06-29-2014: A Giant Sinkhole of Narcissistic Suck [OregonMuse]

John Adams' Library, Quincy, MA

(thanks to moron "kalel666" for the library pic)

Good morning morons and moronettes and welcome to AoSHQ's stately and prestigious Sunday Morning Book Thread.

Please direct all non-book discussion to Niedermeyer's Dead Horse's cheese grits casserole open thread down below. Thanks. Think I'll have a helping myself, come to think of it.

When Narcissists Collide

"I hate that man Obama more than any man I've ever met, more than any man who ever lived," Bill Clinton said to friends on one occasion, adding he would never forgive Obama for suggesting he was a racist during the 2008 campaign.

The feeling is mutual. Obama made excuses not to talk to Bill, while the first lady privately sniped about Hillary.

I always get an embarrassingly large schadenboner whenever I read things about public figures I despise that puts them in a bad light.

The above Clinton quote is from the new book Blood Feud, by Edward Klein, and who knows if that quote, or anything else in it, is true? I like to believe it, I want to believe it, because it validates my low opinion of the individuals in question. Like the Stephen Glass fabulations in The New Republic, they're just too good to check.

But it's plausible that if you put one malignant, narcissistic power-hungry couple in the same room with another malignant, narcissistic power-hungry couple, the odds are that they're not going to get along, and bad things will happen. Hillary! supporters have been complaining for years that Obama cheated Hillary! out of her rightful 2008 nomination, i.e. Obama's political machine brought in more fraudulent votes than Hillary!'s political machine.

And when it comes down to it, there's only room in the Democratic Party for one malignant, narcissistic, power-hungry couple

So, as I said, who knows if any of this is true? It might be a fun read, though.

Klein is also the author of The Amateur, which is not kind to Obama and his administration, and also The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It, and How Far She'll Go to Become President.

According to wiki, Klein was the former foreign affairs editor of Newsweak and served as the editor-in-chief of The New York Times Magazine from 1977 to 1987.

One more thing:

Their favorite bęte noire was Hillary Clinton, whom they nicknamed "Hildebeest," after the menacing and shaggy-maned gnu that roams the Serengeti.

Wait a minute, the Obamas didn't invent the nickname 'hildebeest', did they? I seem to recall conservatives using that term for Hillary! way back in the 90s when Obama was still chooming and schmoozing with Billy Ayers. Am I misremembering this?

B&N spins off Nook division

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that struggling retail bookseller Barnes & Noble is in the process of separating its underperforming Nook division from its consumer bookstores:

The split, expected to occur by March, will make Nook Media a separate public company housing both Barnes & Noble's Nook e-book and e-reader business as well as its college stores. Among Nook Media's big shareholders will be Microsoft Corp. and Pearson PLC, both of which have invested in the Nook Media division but don't have a stake in the broader company.

I am very interested to see whether the Nook/MS partnership can offer good competition to the Amazon/Kindle juggernaut.

Although I have to ask, is there really that much advantage to buying a Nook, when you can simply download the Nook app to any android tablet or other device? And the same for Kindle. Maybe I don't understand, but I don't see the attraction.

Google Book App

Even though there's a ton of free, after-market e-reading apps available for Android devices, I'm finding that the best one for pdf documents is the one that comes with Android, namely, the Google Play Books app. Knowing that I had a lot of ebooks in pdf format, when I first got my Nexus tablet, I immediately downloaded the "official" Adobe pdf Reader and a couple of other pdf readers to try out. Even though all of them offered satisfactory renderings of the pdf material (EBookDroid was particularly good), I felt something was lacking. When you read a pdf book in these reader apps, you don't go from page to page, you just scroll down and down continuously, as if the material were written in one of those Egyptian papyrus scrolls, or a roll of butchers' paper. And you can go from side to side, left and right, if the material is too big to fit in the window. And, of course, resizing the text. I figured this is because the pdf format is not just for text, you can embed all kinds of graphics in a pdf document, and the reader app has to be prepared for any and all of this. As I said, it's OK, I can read pdf books satisfactorily, but it wasn't quite what I wanted.

So then I happened to read somewhere online that the Google reader app could handle pdf document as well as the ePub format. I also discovered that I could manage the Google Play library from my desktop computer. I could upload e-books from my hard drive to the Google Play "cloud" and then sync them wirelessly to my Nexus. And the Google Play Books pdf rendition gives me a better reader experience, that is, it has that page-turning effect that makes me think I'm reading an actual book.

[Note: I just checked and the latest version of the Adobe Reader will allow me to flip pages. I still think the way the Google app displays pdf files is more aesthetically pleasing, though.]

Reading Rainbow

According to this article, actor LeVar Burton has launched a KickStarter project to make a school-focused version of 'Reading Rainbow'. The original goal was 1 million dollars, which was met in only 11 hours. So Burton kicked it up to 5 million.

Then Seth MacFarlane took notice:

Now, with just five days left, Burton is hoping to give it a strong finish with Seth MacFarlane's help. MacFarlane will match, dollar for dollar, every gift made to "Reading Rainbow" between Friday and July 2, up to $1 million.

As of the time of this writing, there are 3 days left and the total is up to nearly 4.5 million.

This is a worthy idea. Kids should read more and play computer games less. Also, kids should read more and texted less. Nobody cares what they have to say, anyway. Stupid kids. Maybe if they read more, and talked less, the words that come out of their pieholes wouldn't be so dumb.

I think 'Shut Up and Read' would make an excellent slogan for this project. It has kind of an no-no-nonsense, old school feel to it.

Books of Note

So a couple of weeks ago, the Ewok in Chief posted a story about how feminists were angry, if you can believe that, because Miss USA suggested it would be a good idea if women took a self-defense course to help them feel safe "walking to your car at night."

On a discussion list for church elders, there was some back-and-forth about how do you deal with guys who show up who just creep people out. Guys with zero social skills, guys who just stare at other people, etc. One of the elders mentioned this:

I recommend reading the book "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin de Becker as a way of understanding what is going on with your creep-o-meter. The author has worked for a lifetime in protecting people from housewives and tradesmen to Hollywood stars and diplomats.

He says the feelings you get like "I just KNEW I shouldn't have gone into that room" or "I KNEW I shouldn't have talked to that guy" more often than not have a basis in behavioral observations that are valid, even if we can't fully explain their meaning. He would say that if your members, and (especially) if you have ladies who are feeling uncomfortable, you should listen to them very carefully.

I liked the book enough that I bought each of my adult children a copy.

The book in question is The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence by Gavin de Becker.

From the Amazon blurb:

These days, no one in America feels immune to violence. But now, in this extraordinary groundbreaking book, the nation's leading expert on predicting violent behavior unlocks the puzzle of human violence and shows that, like every creature on earth, we have within us the ability to predict the harm others might do us and get out of its way. Contrary to popular myth, human violence almost always has a discernible motive and is preceded by clear warning signs.

Emphasis mine. Mr. de Becker is also the author of another book that looks pretty interesting, if you want to pay the steep price for it, Just 2 Seconds, a technical manual for professional guardians and protectors, containing reams of information on past assassinations, and what the data shows as to how attackers can be deterred.

___________

I ran across a review of The Global War on Christians: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Anti-Christian Persecution by John Allen, who, after detailing the horrific abuses suffered by Christians interred by the government in Me'eter, Eritrea, asks

"why the abuse at Me'eter doesn't arouse the same horror and intense public fascination as the celebrated atrocities that unfolded at Abu Ghraib, for instance, or at Guantanamo Bay. Why hasn't there been the same avalanche of investigations, media exposés, protest marches, pop culture references, and the other typical indices of scandal? Why isn't the world abuzz with outrage over the grotesque violations of human rights at Me'eter?"

This question is almost painfully naive. I think the answer would obvious to anyone who has been watching our culture for the past decade or so, and has been noting what things its holding up as good and praiseworthy, and what things are ridiculed and spat upon.

But even so, more people need to know about this.

The good news is that the blackout hasn't been total. Fortunately, a number of other books on this topic are available, among them. Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack and Their Blood Cries Out: The Growing Worldwide Persecution of Christians.

___________

So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, rumors, threats, and insults may be sent to OregonMuse, Proprietor, AoSHQ Book Thread, at the book thread e-mail address: aoshqbookthread, followed by the 'at' sign, and then 'G' mail, and then dot cee oh emm.

What have you all been reading this week? Hopefully something good, because, as I keep saying, life is too short to be reading lousy books.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 10:09 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Books? Pshaw. Have u seen the video?

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at June 29, 2014 10:12 AM (//EEl)

2 As far as the book about seeing/feeling violence coming, it never fails after the fact, you knew it would happen. Observing my wife in public I've noticed how oblivious she can be to her surroundings. Ettes pay attention to your surroundings! There really are bad guys out there. Not everywhere all the time but they do exist.

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at June 29, 2014 10:16 AM (//EEl)

3 My guess is that the Obama/Clinton rift is real,since such monumental sociopaths have no tolerance for people who jeopardize their self-centered universes, and also being touted now as a way to ordain Her Thighness as the anti-Obama.

Posted by: --- at June 29, 2014 10:18 AM (MMC8r)

4 You could put lipstick on a pig in a pantsuit, but it would still be a pig in a pantsuit.

Posted by: Barack Obama at June 29, 2014 10:18 AM (0BkrY)

5 Seth McFarlane will probably make the money contingent on making the kids read Dawkins' books.

Posted by: --- at June 29, 2014 10:20 AM (MMC8r)

6 I read "The Gift of Fear" years ago - definitely a good read.
Criminals prey on our need to appear polite and not offend a stranger, like "Oh, that group of youths walking toward me might think I'm a racist if I cross the street to avoid them!"

Gavin says: offend away, you likely subconsciously picked upon something that signaled trouble.

Posted by: Lizzy at June 29, 2014 10:20 AM (D/504)

7 As far as the advantage to buying an actual Nook or Kindle instead of using the app, it's battery life. E-paper uses a really tiny amount of power compared to an LCD screen. My first-gen Nook lasts a good 15-20 hours of reading between charges, and its several years old at this point. My understanding is that Kindles last even better.

Posted by: Wyfaggro at June 29, 2014 10:21 AM (B9vZE)

8 I hope LeVar does meet his goal. Awesome project.

If anyone wants to throw money at me, the link to my GoFundMe site is now in my signature. Figured I should be more subtle about the solicitation.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at June 29, 2014 10:21 AM (Zjqjq)

9 Although I have to ask, is there really that much advantage to buying a
Nook, when you can simply download the Nook app to any android tablet or
other device? And the same for Kindle. Maybe I don't understand, but I
don't see the attraction.

You can down load the apps, but you have to buy the books on a Kindle or Nook. The app only allows you to read what you have already bought or downloaded.

Posted by: Nip Sip at June 29, 2014 10:21 AM (0FSuD)

10 "Hildebeest" has appeared in Free Republic posts dealing with Hillary going back to the mid-1990s.

Posted by: Rexgraine at June 29, 2014 10:22 AM (dhRHC)

11 My book group is reading "Life After Life" by Kate Atkinson which a page turner about a character who keeps dying and being reincarnated from the start of her life, possessing under the surface a deja vu ability which she doesn't fully understand that wards her away from doing what led to her demise. This is a theme which sci fi has explored before with an infinite number of alternative universes existing. It's written in a readable style and I'm pretty interested in finding out what the end game is.

I've reached the point in "Red Fortress" where the commies are about to take over the Rooskis. I find that the narrative has picked up significantly as Catherine Merridale has more of a variety of source documents of more reliability compared to earlier times. Specifically the coronation of Nicholas II was the last go round for the delusion that the tsars would stay in place. She points out the unreality of it all as it was taking place.

Made some headway in the books I'm reading on the Crusades where the opening battle in Nicea took place and the overwhelming size of the Crusaders (and some luck and decent strategy in attacking through a lake) was a shocker to the Turks who got routed. The dynamics of the differing underlying goals of the Crusaders versus the Byzantines is well explicated by both Oldenbourg and Asbridge. Asbridge, devoting all his efforts to the first Crusade, provided more detail in the battle but both are very well done, particularly compared to Gibbon.

Posted by: Captain Hate at June 29, 2014 10:22 AM (EvVai)

12 I too read "The Gift of Fear"--bought it in an airport bookstore some years back so I could read something on the plane. It was a great book and a pretty fast read. I should go back and re-read it!

Posted by: runningrn at June 29, 2014 10:23 AM (OfEk+)

13 Okay fixed the link... had a migratory h in the URL.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at June 29, 2014 10:23 AM (Zjqjq)

14 Oh, and I bet you $ that the Obama/Clinton Blood Feud is real. Not only was Barak not deferential enough to Billy Jeff, but he successfully dismantled Clinton's entire legacy--eviscerated Welfare Reform, repealed "Don't ask, don't tell", did away with DOMA, etc. I am sure Bill Clinton absolutely loathes this incompetent lazy butt, and the feeling is mutual!

Posted by: runningrn at June 29, 2014 10:26 AM (OfEk+)

15 Had intended to email you this, OM, but time got away from me this week.

Two things:

1) Last Sunday I came across a post on "A Catholic Thinker" (I'm not brave enough to attempt to make links Pixy-friendly, so I fear you'll have to Google/Bing it) called "G. K. Chesterton, the Diabolist, and the Most Terrible Thing." Good read in itself, made all the better by finding and reading the Chesterton essay on which it's based, "The Diabolist." In it, Chesterton describes "the most terrible thing that has ever happened to me in my life"--a conversation with someone who literally called evil good and good evil. Very worth the read, especially given the increasing prevalence of Diabolists these days.

2) There's a new-ish conservatarian blog called Smash Cut Culture, run by Taliesin Nexus, a group that aims to encourage up-and-coming conservative/libertarian filmmakers and screenwriters and to help them network both in and outside Hollywood. (I've been to their flagship program, The Filmmakers' Workshop--INTENSIVE weekend, but very, very useful and encouraging. If that's your bag, you might look into applying for next year's workshop; applications are already closed for this year's.) Smash Cut Culture is broader in outlook, though, and covers all areas of pop culture. I mention this both because they've got some good posts up already and because I'm joining their writing staff starting this Friday! My first post is on Westerns, but moving forward, I plan to focus on classic lit, probably starting with Sidney's Defense of Poesy.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at June 29, 2014 10:27 AM (dpszv)

16 I bought my Nook for $76 on Black Friday, so for me it was price. But now I love my Nook for itself. It's actually easier to read at night with a Nook than trying to get the light just right to read a book. It has a Kindle app, so you can get those books too.

Re "The Gift of Fear": One of the left's big projects is to destroy your faith in your own instincts. So going to live with grizzly bears is good, because if we get rid of our fear, we can live in harmony with nature! Befriending and supporting "homeless" is good because none of them are criminals or drug addicts, it's just your fear talking! And that group of teenage boys--black, white or brown--dressed like gang bangers, why, they're just teens!

We can all think of instances where such thinking was fatal.

Posted by: PJ at June 29, 2014 10:27 AM (cHuNI)

17 Excellent write up for this thread, Mr. Muse.

And heck, I feel more stately and prestigious just by posting in it.

Posted by: GnuBreed at June 29, 2014 10:27 AM (cHZB7)

18 runningrn
Seeing that nic brought a smile to face.
Unfortunately I must put this phone down, at least for awhile, or I'll get nothing done today.

Love each other fellow babies

Posted by: teej at June 29, 2014 10:28 AM (5F7nh)

19 1. Re: Spinning off the Nook, Amazon/Kindle will still kick their asses because their back end device (the Kindle) was designed to interface seamlessly with their front end delivery system (Amazon.com). Ebooks and instant video couldn't be made any easier. B&N and MS? Not so much.

2. Re: LeVar Burton and Seth MacFarlane's Get Out The Future Democrat campaign, I guess it depends entirely on what these kids would be reading. I'm not optimistic.

3. Anyway, on with the show ... I'm reading Black Order by James Rollins. Yeah, another one of those kind of books. A hunt for Darwin's Bible converges with the Nazis Die Glocke research to ... I dunno yet, but I'm sure it's a breathless, page turning thriller that will keep me up all night or something. Still, with a couple of drinks and a grilled burger later, it's all good.

Posted by: Blacksheep at June 29, 2014 10:28 AM (bS6uW)

20 Some good news --

"VINCE FLYNN'S MITCH RAPP SERIES WILL CONTINUE; THE SURVIVOR TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR 2015

"Monday, June 23, 2014

"The Vince Flynn Estate, along with Emily Bestler, Senior VP and Editor-in-Chief of Emily Bestler Books are excited to announce the decision to continue the Mitch Rapp series.

"Bestler, who was Vince Flynn's only editor throughout his entire career and whose imprint is a division of Simon & Schuster's Atria Books, signed a three book deal with 47-year-old New York Times bestselling author Kyle Mills."

"... Mills will complete The Survivor, the book Flynn was writing at the time of his death on June 19, 2013, and then write two additional Mitch Rapp novels. The Survivor is tentatively scheduled to release in the fall of 2015."

More -- vinceflynn.com/Vince_Flynn_News.html

***

Thanks for the Google Play Book app tip. I never thought to try that.

Posted by: doug at June 29, 2014 10:28 AM (20IrQ)

21 Posted by: GnuBreed at June 29, 2014 10:27 AM (cHZB7)

That had better be a double-windsor knot in your tie!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (Leftist anti-Semite) at June 29, 2014 10:29 AM (QFxY5)

22 I have a first gen Nook and was a big B&N supporter since I really feared seeing them go under. I like the stores. I love browsing shelves. It isn't the same online. The Nook was doing well but then my boss gave me her recent passed mother's Kindle DX (the large format). I resisted for a long time but I eventually left my Nook behind for the Kindle platform. The screen size of the DX is awesome. The daily deals for Kindle have been great. The overall experience has been better.

As far as the apps on other platforms, they work fine. I can sync my iPhone up and read where I left off on the other device when I'm killing a little time. I can borrow the wife's iPad when I need to read in the dark. But the eInk screen on the Kindle is vastly superior for daylight or indoor lighting. If your reading a backlit screen during the day, you really need to try the eInk format. It is a huge difference.

I hope B&N sticks around. But they have to up their game somehow. I'm now guilty of browsing there and buying on line. I like the store, but I'm not paying a premium to support a business model that needs retooling.

Posted by: Todd W at June 29, 2014 10:29 AM (lrkg9)

23 On meet the press reince prebius just said people had Hillary fatigue and called the Clinton's obnoxious.

That's gonna leave a mark

Posted by: Thunderb at June 29, 2014 10:31 AM (zOTsN)

24 As long as it is not left wing indoctrination Reading Rainbow,which it may tirn out to be with that character involved.

Posted by: steevy at June 29, 2014 10:31 AM (zqvg6)

25 It would be a nice little shout out if Brad Thor's Scot Harvath character began reading Mitch Rapp books in his down time.

Posted by: Todd W at June 29, 2014 10:32 AM (lrkg9)

26 I just finished The War That Ended Peace, by Margaret McMillan. It's a history of the run up to WW I, similar in many ways to Tuchman's "The Proud Tower" and "The Guns of August". The book is competent and informative, but the Tuchman works are superior in terms of readability. Sadly, the MacMillan book is deeply flawed by her insistence on drawing strained, and in many cases simply mendacious parallels to Iraq and what she insists is America's dwindling global importance vis a vis China. Such self-indulgence may buy her approval in academic circles, but it is jarring and inappropriate in a work like this.

Posted by: pep at June 29, 2014 10:35 AM (4nR9/)

27 You can down load the apps, but you have to buy the books on a Kindle or Nook. The app only allows you to read what you have already bought or downloaded.

Posted by: Nip Sip at June 29, 2014 10:21 AM (0FSuD)

Unless I'm misreading this, I Don't think that's true. I know for Kindle you can buy the books on Amazon and read them on your computer with the app. No kindle needed.

Posted by: Tami at June 29, 2014 10:36 AM (v0/PR)

28 I bought the Nook HD+ because of the size, price and expandability. For $120 refurbed, I have a tablet I can read books on, watch videos, play games, and read online. I put in a 32gb card,so it will hold everything I want, plus. Also, I rooted it, so I could get more mileage out of it.I love it.

Posted by: kalel666 at June 29, 2014 10:37 AM (R6jb6)

29 And when it comes down to it, there's only room in the Democratic Party for one malignant, narcissistic, power-hungry couple

So far they're doing a fair job of serially destroying America. Benghazi should've already had them terminally throw each other under the bus.

Posted by: DaveA at June 29, 2014 10:37 AM (DL2i+)

30 Oh, and apropos of Lizzy's comment @ #6: Just finished rereading Max Frisch's Biedermann und die Brandstifter (The Firebugs). It's an allegory about just how the Nazis could take control in Germany, and it's well worth reading now given the state of American politics. But even on a surface level, it's a thought-provoking story, because the titular arsonists do exactly what Lizzy mentions--they manipulate Biedermann and his wife throughout the play in part by exploiting their desire to be seen as nice, friendly people.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at June 29, 2014 10:37 AM (dpszv)

31 Sadly, the MacMillan book is deeply flawed by her insistence on drawing
strained, and in many cases simply mendacious parallels to Iraq and what
she insists is America's dwindling global importance vis a vis China.
Such self-indulgence may buy her approval in academic circles, but it is
jarring and inappropriate in a work like this.

That's why I won't read anything recent by Simon Schama. He took some shots at Reagan in "Citizens" which were frankly erroneous in supporting the point he was trying to make.

Posted by: Captain Hate at June 29, 2014 10:38 AM (EvVai)

32 Just finished Orphan Train (audiobook). The premiss was better than the book. And, of course, the mean foster mother was a right wing radio listening bitch.
I prefer the kindle for book reading. Reading a book, especially at night, on a tablet strains the eyes and pretty soon it's all a blur.

Posted by: gidget at June 29, 2014 10:38 AM (tfg7i)

33 Posted by: Todd W at June 29, 2014 10:29 AM (lrkg9)

You nailed it. My ProtoNook was all that at the time and I love hard book shelves (especially B&N) but it's pretty obvious they can't survive the changing times.

All the major players in this space bring the goods, it's just that Amazon/Kindle do it better (not to mention the Prime tie ins, access to AZ's shopping empire with two-day delivery, etc.).

If you're going to bundle, AZ's the place to do it, though as has been mentioned lately you've got to watch their pricing as they're beginning to get greedy and will, as all front runners inevitably do, probably screw the pooch at some point.

Posted by: Blacksheep at June 29, 2014 10:39 AM (bS6uW)

34 My Kindle Fire is about 3 years old and still going strong. It lasts quite a while between charges if I turn the wifi off. What i like about it is it is small enough to fit in a cargo shorts pocket; as someone who travels about a lot, I can read or surf (and even post on AoS) when public wifi is available.

Posted by: GnuBreed at June 29, 2014 10:39 AM (cHZB7)

35 Wait a minute, the Obamas didn't invent the nickname 'hildebeest', did
they? I seem to recall conservatives using that term for Hillary! way
back in the 90s when Obama was still chooming and schmoozing with Billy
Ayers. Am I misremembering this?

The only thing 404 invents is misery for everybody in the country. He and Mooch are borderline illiterate.

Posted by: Captain Hate at June 29, 2014 10:43 AM (EvVai)

36 What Gavin DeBeker does is destroy PC thought control (unintentionally). We see strange behavior by a group of young muslim men on an airplane and yet everything the MSM, etc. has told us is that to be alarmed or report I would be "offensive." We hearth NSA is tracking all sorts of personal data and we're told it's for our own security. Again and again we're told to not be alarmed by something that our gut knows is alarming.
I'd love to hear the guy's thoughts on "Slut Walks" - jut to hear how many ways he could show it to be the pinnacle of feminist stupidity.

Posted by: Lizzy at June 29, 2014 10:45 AM (D/504)

37 Finished Adam Carolla's "President Me." Funny and insightful, but quite crude. IMHO, it would have been a much better book if he had elevated his game. I don't listen to his podcast; maybe his target demo is 18-25 males. How many of them read or listen to ebooks?

Carolla is clearly a very smart guy, but his schtick wears in long-form.
*
Finished "Robert B. Parker's Cheap Shot" by Ace Atkins. My favorite of the three Atkins-authored "Spenser" books that I have read. If you like Parker, you will probably like this book.
*
Finished Daniel Suarez's "Freedom," sequel to his best-selling "Daemon." Recommended, but I thought "Daemon" was a stronger book.

Strongly recommend that you read "Daemon" before "Freedom."
*
Reading Max Allan Collins' "Angel In Black," a fictional take on the Black Dahlia murder, featuring his Heller character. Excellent, so far.

Posted by: doug at June 29, 2014 10:45 AM (20IrQ)

38 Very glad to see the Vince Flynn books will continue for a while. I worry that they might not be the same without him though. The book he was working on at the time of his death should be okay, but with a new author for the next two...I worry.
I had pre ordered his last book and it was almost ready for publication at the time of his death, the suddenly "no longer available" Sad.

Posted by: gidget at June 29, 2014 10:45 AM (tfg7i)

39 Bete noire means "black beast" and it's passing strange that the Wookie, who is herself a black beast, should use the term "hildebeast" to describe Shrillary.

As for Blood Feud--the fellow is writing about scorpions in a bottle.

Posted by: Comanche Voter at June 29, 2014 10:46 AM (wdHk6)

40 He and Mooch are ~~borderline~~ illiterate.

There. That's better.

Posted by: Blacksheep at June 29, 2014 10:46 AM (bS6uW)

41 I'll also say that the Kindle has permanently changed my reading habits. Not only do I read more, but I love the ability to download something on a whim, and always have interesting books available with no effort or investment of time. I do miss watching my bookshelves expand, but don't miss the space they take up.

I prefer the kindle for book reading. Reading a
book, especially at night, on a tablet strains the eyes and pretty soon
it's all a blur.

Posted by: gidget

I laugh when I still try to read a paper book at night, because I forget to turn on the light, and it takes a second to register why I'm having difficulty making out the text.

Posted by: pep at June 29, 2014 10:46 AM (4nR9/)

42 A bookmark for pep

http://tinyurl.com/qzdj6bl

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at June 29, 2014 10:48 AM (Zjqjq)

43 B&N struggling? Shows what I know. Note to self: spend gift cards.

I wish I could say my writing was progressing, it's not. Life in too much transition. Good to see Anna writing, though (and I noticed OSP last week, and others).

It will be a while, I, think, before I make much progress there.

Remember the Internet Archives? I found a lot of old books and magazines on there. I know I mentioned before that the entire Omni run is there, but a lot of old computer magazines and even fiction magazines as well. Check it out if you haven't.

Posted by: Merovign, Dark Lord of the Sith at June 29, 2014 10:50 AM (WqvLb)

44 Captain Hate: I would bet my last dollar the Obamas couldn't tell you who killed the archduke, what his name was, where it happened,and,even what it started. They may get two out of four.

Posted by: Bill at June 29, 2014 10:52 AM (Z+Zfa)

45 Here's hoping the Dutch Orange Crush gives the Mexican Border Crashers the boot in the tourney. Starts in an hour or so.

Posted by: Blacksheep at June 29, 2014 10:52 AM (bS6uW)

46 Well, looks like I'm going to be catching up on my reading. I'm working overnights for the next 4 months, so I'm bringing books to read on my lunch and breaks.

Finished my sisters' advance copy of "World of Trouble" (The Last Policeman Book III). Liked it a lot. Currently reading "The Martian" that so many of you recommended. Quite enjoyable, and has one of the best opening sentences I've ever read...

"I'm pretty much fucked".

Now THAT is a hell of a way to start a book!

Posted by: HH at June 29, 2014 10:52 AM (XXwdv)

47 Comparing Iraq and WWI is idiotic. One could, however, draw a pretty damning parallel between Iraq and the Boer War: fought for motives which were unclear, wide opposition among the chatterings and the "international community" -- and set up the world hegemonic power for a retreat into isolationism which led to a catastrophic global conflagration.

Posted by: Trimegistus at June 29, 2014 10:52 AM (aEs8a)

48 42
A bookmark for pep

http://tinyurl.com/qzdj6bl

I laughed. Thanks.

Posted by: pep at June 29, 2014 10:53 AM (4nR9/)

49 Count me in as another fan of "The Gift of Fear" and trusting your instincts about certain people and situations. My daughters' are excellently well developed after two hitches in the USMC. She told me once about being followed by a creepy guy at one of Austin's street festivals. She noticed him because he was trying to stay in her blind spot, behind her - but he kept slipping. She went into a couple of places, until she was certain that he WAS deliberately following her. I think she ditched him by going into a shop and out of it by the back entrance, and then straight back to her car once she was certain she had ditched him. She was really, really freaked out by this.

I'm working on a lovely illustrated book about development of the railways - and in more places than just England and the US. Christian Wolmar - "The Iron Road." In a lot of ways, development of a long-range rail system in the 19th century was as significant a development as the internet has been in this one. The maps, diagrams and illustrations are lavish and the focus is world-wide ... but I have already found one big error. There is a map of the American rail lines in 1860, which has San Antonio and Austin linked by rails ... alas, the Civil War impeded railway construction in Texas, and those cities weren't reached by the railways until fifteen years later ... and I know this because I had to research it for my own book, The Quivera Trail. So - not altogether certain about other inaccuracies about the railway development in other places. But the illustrations are magnificent, and the diagrams of working parts and infrastructure are informative.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at June 29, 2014 10:53 AM (Asjr7)

50 Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality, by Danielle Allen. I saw this in the bookstore.

It is Allen's observation that the Declaration of Independence is no such thing. This is not a conservative document; not even a libertarian one as some claim of it. It argues for the end of America's then lawful hierarchy. Allen points out that, ultimately, it overturns any hierarchy.

In this she is complete agreement with Thomas Hutchinson, and with of course our own Mencius Moldbug. Allen's main difference is that she thinks continual revolution is awesome; Hutchinson - the American Burke - knew it was a problem.

I would add this: The end result of the Declaration wasn't our Constitution. It was Shay's Rebellion and Robespierre. Our Constitution is a reaction against the lies of the Declaration. And we on the Right really shouldn't support the fourth of July; a Constitution Day would be better.

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at June 29, 2014 10:55 AM (3kZUM)

51 Who killed the archduke? Racists.

What his name was? What whose name was?

Where it happened? Where what happened?

What it started? Apartheid.

How'd we do?

Posted by: Michelle and Barry, working on the quiz together at June 29, 2014 10:57 AM (bS6uW)

52 The Gift of Fear sounds like an interesting read. I fully believe we subconsciously pick up clues to danger. That tingling feeling on the back of your neck or that uncomfortable feeling you sometimes get around people can save your life. I was once driving home during after a late night movie and got this strange feeling that I should change lanes. No reason for it. I just had a gut feeling. About fifteen seconds after I moved over, a car traveling at a high rate of speed down the wrong side of the road passed me in the lane I just left. I must have caught a glimpse of headlights subconsciously and reacted before I could fully process what happened. It was so strange. It seemed almost supernatural.

Posted by: no good deed at June 29, 2014 10:58 AM (w3a0Z)

53 You can down load the apps, but you have to buy the books on a Kindle or Nook. The app only allows you to read what you have already bought or downloaded

Not true. You can purchase Kindle books from a desktop computer, then fire up the Kindle app on your device and hit the "sync" button to download it. I do this all the time.

Posted by: OregonMuse at June 29, 2014 10:59 AM (+ahS9)

54 That should just read "after a late night movie."

Posted by: no good deed at June 29, 2014 10:59 AM (w3a0Z)

55 We absolutely pick up on danger. That's a fundamental premise of Krav Maga. The best way to get out of trouble is to avoid it.

Posted by: Blacksheep at June 29, 2014 11:00 AM (bS6uW)

56 Posted by: Blacksheep at June 29, 2014 10:28 AM (bS6uW)

Since the Google Play Books app reads ePub and has better file management similar to Kindle, there is no reason to have the Nook app or a Nook at all.

Sorry B&N, you've been snookered. I give them 2 years at most to survive.

Posted by: Buck Farack, Gentleman Adventurer at June 29, 2014 11:01 AM (Nk6GS)

57 Tuchman's _The Guns of August_ has an odd and amusing publishing history. She started out writing a book about the hunt for the two German cruisers in the Mediterranean in 1914 (she was a girl at the time, and saw them go past from the deck of a neutral liner), which led to the German ships taking refuge in Istanbul and the British ham-fisted diplomacy which blew it all up into Turkey declaring war on the Allies.

But the publisher insisted she provide more context, and the background stuff about the origins of WWI was more captivating than the naval incident. She did manage to keep one chapter about that, though, and young Barbara makes an uncredited cameo.

Posted by: Trimegistus at June 29, 2014 11:03 AM (aEs8a)

58 You can down load the apps, but you have to buy the books on a Kindle or Nook. The app only allows you to read what you have already bought or downloaded

No. You can email any compatible book to your "Kindle" e-mail address and it will sync up to your device: phone, pad, or Kindle. You don't have to buy it from Amazon. I do it with Baen all the time.

Posted by: Buck Farack, Gentleman Adventurer at June 29, 2014 11:04 AM (Nk6GS)

59 Also, Robert Spencer, Arab Winter Comes to America: The Truth About the War We're In:

This goes over the past thirteen years of coddling radical Islamists, mainly Wahhabis but also Khomeinists like Reza Aslan. It's been overtaken with events given the recent victories of ISIS. But not such as to disprove Spencer unfortunately.

The last chapter paints a future in which Obama and the media lead us to impose blasphemy laws and a de-facto move to halal over mainstream society. No alcohol in New York; no pork sausages. This is illustrated with quotes from politicians and the media... but the quotes aren't from the future, they're from the last few years.

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at June 29, 2014 11:04 AM (3kZUM)

60 Re: Google Book App and pdfs and all that.

I just go to my bookshelf and grab a book. How simple is that!?

Posted by: dan at June 29, 2014 11:05 AM (NnACB)

61 I've downloaded several free ebooks via BookBub and here are some short reviews of mine:

The Game, by Terry Schott -- Well written, good editing, about 40% through it. It's a The Matrix type premise, and it's keeping my attention.

Perception, by Lee Strauss -- I made it 3% through; I'm tempted to sue for my time wasted. He should be grateful I don't go leave a review at Amazon; awful liberal dreck of the first order.

Elusive, by Sara Rosett -- A bodice ripper (her ex-husband no less) murder mystery; not recommended. I finished it for some dumb reason; the interesting thing is that she has a pile of books to her name.

There's more of them, but enough for today. Overall, the quality of editing in these free ebooks is atrocious.

Posted by: GnuBreed at June 29, 2014 11:06 AM (cHZB7)

62 Mashable: "Why E-Readers Are the Next iPods"

"...Despite mass rejection of e-readers, they still have a niche. Like iPods, they're great gifts for kids too young to be trolling the Internet. Battery life also makes them attractive. Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite's battery lasts 28 hours versus about 10 hours for an iPad, making them attractive for long plane trips.

"But if you're not a traveler or a book fan and don't already own an e-reader, chances are you'll never be in the market for one."

http://on.mash.to/1iBQjEw

I love my basic Kindle. Much lighter than a tablet and much longer battery life.

Using the Kindle Cloud Reader (via web browser) hooked me on Kindle books and, eventually, buying a Kindle. With ebook library loans via Overdrive, it has really paid off.

Posted by: doug at June 29, 2014 11:08 AM (20IrQ)

63 You can definitely buy nookbooks from the nook app. I actually buy most of mine from the B&N website; they download to my Nook in the background.

For me, the reason I prefer my (old school, first generation) Nook to putting the Nook app on my tablet is that I am extremely nearsighted, and the e-ink is much easier on my poor old eyes than a backlit screen. That's why I haven't upgraded to a newer ereader - it seems like they all have backlit screens now.

If you are stuck with a backlit screen and have old eyes, I recommend FBReader for Android. It's actually a pretty comfortable read even for phone screens.

Posted by: Mrs. Peel at June 29, 2014 11:08 AM (1EtXn)

64 "Hildebeest" has appeared in Free Republic posts dealing with Hillary going back to the mid-1990s.

Yeah, that's what I thought. I didn't think 'hildebeest' was a late invention, and certainly not by the Obamas.

Posted by: OregonMuse at June 29, 2014 11:08 AM (+ahS9)

65 Anybody try Kobo? It's kind of a Kindle/Nook marketed by independent bookstores.

Posted by: Trimegistus at June 29, 2014 11:09 AM (aEs8a)

66 Brandon Sanderson. (he finished up Wheel of Time for Robert Jordan after Jordan died).

The Mistborn trilogy and the Way of Kings (not completed yet) trilogy.

Fantasy fiction is about story telling and he gets an 8/10 in my book.

(David Gemmell gets 10/10, but he smoked and drank himself to death as he wrote 30 books... dang good books though!)

Posted by: TangoNine (Beckinsale/Johnson 2016) at June 29, 2014 11:09 AM (x3YFz)

67 So like everything else, those Fockers in the White House stole the term "Hildebeest." It figures, between them they never have had an original thought.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at June 29, 2014 11:10 AM (Zjqjq)

68 But it's plausible that if you put one malignant, narcissistic
power-hungry couple in the same room with another malignant,
narcissistic power-hungry couple, the odds are that they're not going to
get along, and bad things will happen.

If you were an invited guest in a formal setting(I include an invitation to the White House as a formal setting), why would you be so petty, narcissism notwithstanding? Even an ex-president has to defer to the current occupant. I didn't care for Bill Clinton. I care less for Barack Obama. You may get a schadenboner, but I'm filled with disgust. If true, this is reprehensible behavior. I would like to think comport myself in such a situation.

Posted by: Hadoop at June 29, 2014 11:10 AM (Ph479)

69 I can totally see Obama being that petty in front of Clinton. He does petty, self-destructive shit like that all the time.

Posted by: Trimegistus at June 29, 2014 11:12 AM (aEs8a)

70 I love the ability to download something on a whim,

-
Something of a mixed blessing.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at June 29, 2014 11:12 AM (Mogjf)

71 "Just finished rereading Max Frisch's Biedermann und die Brandstifter (The Firebugs)."

Also a play, "The Fire Raisers". (My high-school put that on in my junior year. I was in the chorus because I can't act but darn it, I can memorise some lines.) Yes indeed it is excellent.

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at June 29, 2014 11:12 AM (3kZUM)

72 Re: Sanderson.

Thought Mistborn was mostly meh as a trilogy.

The Way of Kings is much, much better...now he just needs to finish it.

Posted by: garrett at June 29, 2014 11:14 AM (L1Y7D)

73 I have a first generation Nook with 3g and wireless both. The 3g connection is through AT&T and connects everywhere - and it is free for the life of the unit. It's not super fast all the time but I scarcely need to use it. It also connects to the Barnes & Noble brick and mortar shops whenever I park near them. They always have at least one free ebook every time I drive by.

It handles non-DRM titles in epub really nicely. Form factor is nice and I just can't see a reason to replace the thing. It works well and is reliable and just the right size.

Posted by: Inspector Cussword at June 29, 2014 11:14 AM (2mOaf)

74 I have a first generation Nook with 3g and wireless both. The 3g connection is through AT&T and connects everywhere - and it is free for the life of the unit. It's not super fast all the time but I scarcely need to use it. It also connects to the Barnes & Noble brick and mortar shops whenever I park near them. They always have at least one free ebook every time I drive by.

It handles non-DRM titles in epub really nicely. Form factor is nice and I just can't see a reason to replace the thing. It works well and is reliable and just the right size.

Posted by: Inspector Cussword at June 29, 2014 11:14 AM (2mOaf)

75 I am as anti-tech as they come and I love my old 3G Kindle.

Posted by: garrett at June 29, 2014 11:16 AM (L1Y7D)

76 On somebody's recommendation from the book thread, I'm reading Dave Eggar's "The Circle", about a young woman recruited to work for a visionary and increasingly powerful internet company (very much patterned on Google). She is at first thrilled and extremely grateful for the opportunity, but gradually finds the "transparency" and "commitment" demanded by her teammates creepy and intrusive. In one chapter she races home to tend to her very ill father and is later chastised for not keeping a running commentary for her coworkers. If you experience something, but nobody observes you experiencing it, is it really valid? "To spend time with your parents, believe me, I think that is very, very cool. I just want to emphasize the COMMUNITY of this job. We see this workplace as a community, and every person who works here is part of that community. And to make it work requires a certain level of participation."

Her personal computer is confiscated and everything placed on the communal cloud so that all may enjoy. Why would she want to deny her fellow Circlers her life experiences?

When she doesn't participate in team activities, or comment on them, or tweet her reactions to other people's comments, she's seen as cutting herself off from the collective. Her boss takes her to task for not attending a coworker's themed party. The man is crushed that she, with similar interests noted in her profile, would forget to go. "He's just a fiercely committed Circler. Just like you, right? Thank you for being so cooperative."

It's very funny and very unsettling.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at June 29, 2014 11:16 AM (QBm1P)

77 To append what I wrote earlier on books I'm reading, I made some progress in "Post Captain", the second of the Aubrey/Maturin books by Patrick O'Brian. These are superbly written character studies of that time period and of life on the Brit fleet. Aubrey has the task of fitting out a trash ship to be serviceable while dealing with a poor crew which includes a couple arm breakers who tried to arrest him for debt problems. I'm sure plenty of Morons have enjoyed this series.

Posted by: Captain Hate at June 29, 2014 11:18 AM (EvVai)

78 Tuchman's _The Guns of August_ has an odd and amusing publishing history. She started out writing a book about the hunt for the two German cruisers in the Mediterranean in 1914

-
About that time she was approached by an Englishman who wanted her to write about the Battle of Mons, specifically the Angel of Mons.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at June 29, 2014 11:19 AM (Mogjf)

79
Hello from Way Down Here on another cold winter night...

I love my Kindle, basic model with a nice cover with a little light on it - perfect!

However we still buy paper books - I get on the Book Depository site and a few $$$$ later another load of books makes it here from the UK

At the moment, one of the books I'm reading is a beautiful book with fantastic illustrations and maps - it's a big heavy bookso won't fit into a handbag to take on the train/plane..

"The Legions of Rome - the definitive History of every Roman Legion" by Stephen Dando Collins, who is an Aussie - only found that tonight when I went to his website!

The book covers the rise and fall of the 44 legions, the battles, the details of legion life, the famous ones such as Caesar's 10th Legion and much more

For those of you who are interested in military history you will be impressed by this book

Thanks again OregonMuse for this great thread - some wonderful recommendations each week from you and all the people who post here - much appreciated!

Posted by: aussie at June 29, 2014 11:19 AM (EGwwB)

80 I've also read The Gift of Fear. Excellent book. We need to be reminded to listen to our gut feelings.

I'm waiting for Lawrence in Arabia. Sounds like it will be interesting. For now I'm reading some gardening books.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at June 29, 2014 11:21 AM (Lqy/e)

81 Posted by: garrett at June 29, 2014 11:16 AM (L1Y7D)

Mine has been plugging along for awhile. The battery life is still fantastic, and the screen is wonderfully clear.

The one complaint I have is that the WiFi link to Amazon is ridiculously slow, so I just use my PC to purchase stuff.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (Leftist anti-Semite) at June 29, 2014 11:21 AM (QFxY5)

82 Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at June 29, 2014 10:27 AM (dpszv)

Congrats on your new job, and thanks for the writing workshop tip! I will definitely check out their blog. It looks very interesting.

Posted by: Tattoo De Plane at June 29, 2014 11:21 AM (Y92Nd)

83 they nicknamed "Hildebeest," after the menacing and shaggy-maned gnu that roams the Serengeti.

-
There's nothing gun about Hillary, same old Stalinism.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at June 29, 2014 11:22 AM (Mogjf)

84 Question for the reading Morons: Has anyone read Jon Krakauer's book on Pat Tillman? I've read and enjoyed some of his other books and yesterday I saw Where Men Win Glory for sale in Goodwill. I was going to buy it, but the cover blurbs made it sound like it could be a leftist hit job (something along the lines of "His tragic death seized upon for propaganda purposes by an unscrupulous administration") so I didn't. What say y'all, buy/avoid?

Posted by: Weirddave at June 29, 2014 11:23 AM (N/cFh)

85 Damn spellchecker ruined my joke again!

Posted by: The Great White Snark at June 29, 2014 11:23 AM (Mogjf)

86 "...the Battle of Mons..."

Posted by: The Great White Snark at June 29, 2014 11:19 AM (Mogjf)

It's now called the Battle of FUPA.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (Leftist anti-Semite) at June 29, 2014 11:23 AM (QFxY5)

87
Cold winter night?

I love cold winter nights. And cold rainy days.

Today it is hot...again. It's like a weight upon your body as soon as you walk outside.

Posted by: Soothsayer of the Righteous And Harmonious Fists (-455 days left) at June 29, 2014 11:24 AM (n0pt/)

88 Aussie that book on the Roman Legions sounds interesting. Wonder what it has to say about the lost legions of Crassus? Or the Legios IX Hispania which vanished off the Roman rolls in 160AD?

Oh well back to writing. Or trying to write. My one eyed cat Ra has found he can leap about 6ft straight up, put his claws in the wire screen mesh, be a cat-burglar, and try to menace the bird nest with birds that is nestled between that screen and the window. So I am being treated to that spectacle about every 15 minutes.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at June 29, 2014 11:24 AM (Zjqjq)

89 Posted by: Captain Hate at June 29, 2014 11:18 AM (EvVai)

Great stuff.

I think there are about 20 volumes in the series!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (Leftist anti-Semite) at June 29, 2014 11:25 AM (QFxY5)

90 I am as anti-tech as they come and I love my old 3G Kindle.

Posted by: garrett at June 29, 2014 11:16 AM (L1Y7D)

Vic is wearing off on me. Something about the feel of dead trees that I just can't give up.

And get off my lawn!

Posted by: TangoNine (Beckinsale/Johnson 2016) at June 29, 2014 11:25 AM (x3YFz)

91 #63

No e-reader has a backlit screen. It is simply impossible to do that with an e-ink screen. What the Kindle, Nook, and Kobo models have is lighting that comes in from the edges of the screen. This not only allows for a self-illuminated e-reader but also avoid shining a light straight at the user.

All of the models allow the lighting to be switched off when not needed for greater battery life. One aspect that hasn't been given much attention is the higher resolution of the e-ink screen used in the latest models, which can be reason to spend the extra money even if you don't intend to use the lighting feature.

Posted by: Epobirs at June 29, 2014 11:26 AM (Icq+V)

92 Thought Mistborn was mostly meh as a trilogy.

The Way of Kings is much, much better...now he just needs to finish it.

Posted by: garrett at June 29, 2014 11:14 AM (L1Y7D)

Agree.

too much "push," if you will ; )

Posted by: TangoNine (Beckinsale/Johnson 2016) at June 29, 2014 11:27 AM (x3YFz)

93
87 Soothsayer etc

You're welcome to winter - I detest the cold weather, though we can't complain as it's usually mild here in Sydney - just right now (Because Al Gore has been here) it's cold...

Posted by: aussie at June 29, 2014 11:27 AM (EGwwB)

94 The Angel of Mons is a weird story, because apparently it was a media echo of Arthur Machen's openly fictional short story "The Bowmen." His story morphed into an urban legend, which reporters then heard about and rebroadcast.

Interestingly, the Germans had a similar legend, about Blucher's Prussian cavalry showing up to help fight for Germany in Belgium.

Posted by: Trimegistus at June 29, 2014 11:28 AM (aEs8a)

95 Sgt. Mom - if you want information about development of railways in Latin America, let me know and I'll contact you through your blog.

Posted by: Skookumchuk at June 29, 2014 11:28 AM (OSzB9)

96 The Gift of Fear sounds like a good book. I tend toward the hypervigilant as it is, so it might do me some good to understand better that it has utility.

Posted by: Insomniac at June 29, 2014 11:28 AM (mx5oN)

97 Thought Mistborn was mostly meh as a trilogy.

The Way of Kings is much, much better...now he just needs to finish it.

Posted by: garrett at June 29, 2014 11:14 AM (L1Y7D)

I increasingly find myself reading the first 5 words of each paragraph where he describes a fight and "pushing" on to the next paragraph... until eventually I'm just: ffs? who wins?

The boring parts are the best parts, so that says something, I guess.

Posted by: TangoNine (Beckinsale/Johnson 2016) at June 29, 2014 11:28 AM (x3YFz)

98
re "Hildebeeste" and who said it first:

Remember, you didn't build that.

Posted by: barbarausa at June 29, 2014 11:28 AM (WWeoI)

99 And the person saying it wasn't "integrated" into the store while the Kindle was - that's just not true. Maybe for the tablet version of the nook, but the normal ones I use allow me to buy and download from anywhere - and the 3G allows me to do that anywhere I can get a cell phone signal. I can get lists, search by name, word, author, subject, etc. and my account is already set up with payment.

A lot of the assumptions are based on marketing it seems. The nook has the same abilities as the kindle in allowing browsing, purchasing, and downloading from web, device, and app. All three.

I got it because it had a good connection and secondly had a non-drm format of epub. I reallly hope nook pulls it out, I don't like how kindle is becoming more and more ipAD-ish in the assumptions and evangelism.

Posted by: Inspector Cussword at June 29, 2014 11:29 AM (2mOaf)

100 Reminds me. Speaking of Tuchman and "A Distant Mirror" -"THE THIRD HORSEMAN" by William Rosen:

This book points out that one of those iconic danse-macabre paintings of the 1300s was too early to be of the Black Death. It was of the Famine. In 1315ish it started to rain - and rain, and rain. Crops failed, and overpopulated Europe starved to death.

It's a warning about how modern humanity has also spread into marginal environments, and one good climate shift will call up the Horseman again.

Books like this need to confront and dismiss the modern climate-change pieties, and sadly never do. Despite that, the worry about vulnerability to climate, whatever its cause, is valid.

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at June 29, 2014 11:30 AM (3kZUM)

101 Something about the feel of dead trees that I just can't give up.

It's hard to beat the ability to carry a small library in your back pocket. While I prefer a real book when reading at home, I am now completely addicted to my eReader.

Posted by: garrett at June 29, 2014 11:30 AM (L1Y7D)

102
You're welcome to winter - I detest the cold
weather, though we can't complain as it's usually mild here in Sydney -
just right now (Because Al Gore has been here) it's cold...

Posted by: aussie at June 29, 2014 11:27 AM (EGwwB)

Up here where civilization is (jab jab) summer sucks: 16 hours of sunlight might sound good but you're sleep-deprived by August.

Posted by: TangoNine (Beckinsale/Johnson 2016) at June 29, 2014 11:30 AM (x3YFz)

103 I load all my ebooks to my Kindle through Calibre. I get them from all over the place and I don't have to worry what format they are - Calibre will convert any format to mobi (for Kindle) and then load it to my device. You can also use it to read any format on the p.c.
I also found another reader that I really - called PDFlite. It will open to read all the popular formats without having to have separate programs for Nook and Kindle. Also does a great job with pdfs.

Posted by: Tunafish at June 29, 2014 11:31 AM (Ac5N/)

104 On Blood Fued, excerpted on WZ, BJ says his death would mean 2,000,000 votes for Hillary. If I were BJ I wouldn't be saying that where Hillary could hear.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at June 29, 2014 11:31 AM (Mogjf)

105
88 Anna Puma

Yes, he writes about the missing 9th Legion and I'm sure he covers Crassus as well

It's such a beautifully presented book I love just looking at the illustrations and the maps

And it's on the coffee table (with a cat sitting on it)

Posted by: aussie at June 29, 2014 11:31 AM (EGwwB)

106 I reckon B&N is banking on the college stores, with their captive audiences, carrying the mail for Nook. The Pearson (leading textbook publisher -- in their defense, the stuff I've used tends to be quite good, but arguably overpriced as nearly all college textbooks tend to be) participation is evidence of that, I think.

Posted by: A pot of message at June 29, 2014 11:34 AM (fFh95)

107 The boring parts are the best parts, so that says something, I guess.

Yeah, the 'action' sequences get pretty repetitive...after reading both of the first two books a second time, I am really appreciating the detail of the character development. Sanderson does a really good job setting the table. Just hoping he doesn't fall flat or go for 5 books instead of 3.

Posted by: garrett at June 29, 2014 11:34 AM (L1Y7D)

108 Books like this need to confront and dismiss the modern climate-change pieties

-
Forget, BTH, it's Obamatown.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at June 29, 2014 11:34 AM (Mogjf)

109 I can totally see Obama being that petty in front of Clinton. He does petty, self-destructive shit like that all the time.

If you were an invited guest at someone's house, brought up a subject where the host changed the subject, would you continue to pursue the subject? Who knows, maybe the Clinton's were there for that very reason, but it doesn't seem like it.

Posted by: Hadoop at June 29, 2014 11:34 AM (Ph479)

110
102 TangoNine

Since you capitalised the N in nine I no longer see your nic as Tangerine...

16 hours of sunlight? At least your Vit D levels should be great

*Jealous*

Posted by: aussie at June 29, 2014 11:35 AM (EGwwB)

111 You're welcome to winter - I detest the cold weather, though we can't complain as it's usually mild here in Sydney - just right now (Because Al Gore has been here) it's cold...

Ugh. What's the pestiferous Gore doing down there? Trying to find someone to wax his chakra?

Posted by: OregonMuse at June 29, 2014 11:35 AM (+ahS9)

112 16 hours of sunlight?

It never ends. Make it stop!

Posted by: garrett at June 29, 2014 11:36 AM (L1Y7D)

113 I got a hold of a book titled "American Pederast : The Harry Reid Story" by an author named M Jackson.

Posted by: The Humpty at June 29, 2014 11:36 AM (LRXOq)

114 While Bill Clinton might be fun at a party and Barack Obama seems genuinely happy and human around children, there's really nothing likable or pleasant about either couple. And I can't imagine anyone who is around them really LIKES any of those four. I expect that many worship and adore them, but like? No.

Remember, Dick Nixon was surrounded by men who were willing to do ANYTHING for him, and could not imagine him doing anything wrong. How much more someone like Obama or Clinton? But like? I don't see it.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at June 29, 2014 11:36 AM (zfY+H)

115 Since you capitalised the N in nine I no longer see your nic as Tangerine...

16 hours of sunlight? At least your Vit D levels should be great

*Jealous*

Posted by: aussie at June 29, 2014 11:35 AM (EGwwB)

heh, yeah the "N" was ace's suggestion.

problem is that the birds wake up when the sun comes up and don't sleep until it goes down.

And they scream.

A lot.

Posted by: TangoNine (Beckinsale/Johnson 2016) at June 29, 2014 11:37 AM (x3YFz)

116 Just hoping he doesn't fall flat or go for 5 books instead of 3.

Posted by: garrett at June 29, 2014 11:34 AM (L1Y7D)

Like Jordan did? The inability to close a subplot.... sweet ditch digging jesus The Wheel of Time was appropriately named.

Posted by: TangoNine (Beckinsale/Johnson 2016) at June 29, 2014 11:39 AM (x3YFz)

117
Like Jordan did?

"Don't die before you finish this." is what my buddy told him at a signing for book3.

Posted by: garrett at June 29, 2014 11:40 AM (L1Y7D)

118 #9

Simply untrue in most cases. Kindle, Nook, and Kobo all support account portability, meaning you can sync your library to any device running the app. Books known to the account thus are accessible to all devices you use with the account, be it dedicated, e-reader, smartphone, tablet, PC, or pretty much anything with a reasonably modern web browser.

Shopping was removed from the iOS (iPhone/iPad) version of the Kindle app because Apple was demanding an absurdly high portion of the revenue from any transaction conducted within an iOS app. This prompted Amazon to produce an HTML5 version of the app for use from a web browser that was good enough to replace the app and bypass Apple's walled garden entirely.

That Apple was in competition with Amazon with its own EPUB-based book selling operation was no small part of their incentive to go to war with Amazon.

Posted by: Epobirs at June 29, 2014 11:41 AM (Icq+V)

119 Great book thread as always. I'll probably be picking up the "Gift of Fear", sounds interesting.

I've been having trouble settling down with a book. I started Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass" but it's badly written and poorly conceived. Next I tried Michael Crichton's "Timeline". But I don't like any of the characters.

My church small group is working through Experiencing God. But I'm finding it kind of meh. I'm still working on trusting God, much less "experiencing" him.

Posted by: Sinalco at June 29, 2014 11:42 AM (km6rx)

120 "America's Hidden History, Untold Tales of the First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten Founders Who Shaped a Nation"

by Kenneth C. Davis

Takes us on a journey from Columbus and Queen Isabella to the bloody fighting of the Revolutionary War.

Great book.

Posted by: WhyMe at June 29, 2014 11:44 AM (l9mF2)

121
111 OregonMuse

The delightful Al Gore was here , rented by one of our politicians ( not a major party but one which will hold the levers of power in the new Senate to be sworn in this July)to announce a climate change policy - only it appears Mr Gore is now supporting the Australian Government's decision to scrap the carbon tax...

Obviously Al Gore is for sale and will appear at weddings, birthday parties and hen's nights for money

Posted by: aussie at June 29, 2014 11:45 AM (EGwwB)

122 My problem with this prestigious book thread is that I now have a stack of dead tree books and a cloud full of ebooks that will take weeks, if not months, to wade through. The bright side is that almost anything recommended here has turned out to be a good read.

I am still working my way through "Quartered Safe Out Here" by George MacDonald Fraser and find it a fascinating read. One strange thought I keep having is that maybe the post WW II loss of the British Empire's power in Asia and the ME was not such a good thing.

Posted by: Hrothgar at June 29, 2014 11:46 AM (o3MSL)

123
I really like my kindle for videos and reading the net, but I just can't read a book on it.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at June 29, 2014 11:46 AM (JE/wX)

124 "Don't die before you finish this." is what my buddy told him at a signing for book3.

Posted by: garrett at June 29, 2014 11:40 AM (L1Y7D)

HAH!

Posted by: TangoNine (Beckinsale/Johnson 2016) at June 29, 2014 11:46 AM (x3YFz)

125 Oh and Gift of Fear is a must-read. If you have children/girlfriends/wives/daughters/anyone who might be inclined to give weirdos the benefit of the doubt, give them this book.

He explains that your "spidy sense" is a real thing, and don't ignore it!! It will save your life.

Posted by: WhyMe at June 29, 2014 11:47 AM (l9mF2)

126 I'm sure plenty of Morons have enjoyed this series.

Aside from the Flashman books, which you can't really compare them to, the Aubrey/Maturin novels are by leaps and bounds the best historical fiction I've ever read.

I was kind of depressed after finishing Blue at the Mizzen, realizing there were no more to come.

Posted by: Waterhouse at June 29, 2014 11:47 AM (Ic0HN)

127 The inability to close a subplot.... sweet ditch digging jesus The Wheel of Time was appropriately named.

Ugh, no kidding! I stopped reading them. I hear Sanderson did a good job picking it up though. I just can't bring myself to care. I enjoyed the Mistborn Trilogy.

Posted by: no good deed at June 29, 2014 11:47 AM (w3a0Z)

128 Reading Rainbow?
GBLT (and whatever other letters) gonna be worked in there somewhere.

Posted by: Man from Wazzustan at June 29, 2014 11:49 AM (cgWjy)

129 I stopped reading them.

**Tugs Braid**

Posted by: Nynaeve al'Meara at June 29, 2014 11:51 AM (L1Y7D)

130 One strange thought I keep having is that maybe the post WW II loss of the British Empire's power in Asia and the ME was not such a good thing.

Posted by: Hrothgar at June 29, 2014 11:46 AM (o3MSL)

Anything by Daniel Pipes on Russian history up to the commie movement is exceptional.

The Legacy of Jihad"by Andrew G. Bostom is also good

Posted by: TangoNine (Beckinsale/Johnson 2016) at June 29, 2014 11:51 AM (x3YFz)

131 I enjoyed the Mistborn Trilogy.

Posted by: no good deed at June 29, 2014 11:47 AM (w3a0Z)

if you like that, you'll absolutely love The Way of Kings and the follow on.

Posted by: TangoNine (Beckinsale/Johnson 2016) at June 29, 2014 11:52 AM (x3YFz)

132 Speaking of narcissists, How To Deal With Narcissists just came out on Amazon. Fascinating reading.

Wish I'd had a copy of this back in high school. Could've saved me a lot of grief.

Posted by: Ask Mr. Lizard at June 29, 2014 11:54 AM (SqoiK)

133 That modern Mistborn story Sanderson did was pretty good, too.

Posted by: garrett at June 29, 2014 11:54 AM (L1Y7D)

134 #122 One nice thing about having a long list of books that I want to read -- the library frequently acquires books before they "bubble up" near the top of my list.

I don't know whether they are patron donations or are just cheaper to acquire, but I frequently see a book on my list showing up in the library six to twelve months after publication. Consistent pattern.

I've really cut my book buying costs by trying to take advantage of this via the online library catalog and my "to-read" list.

Posted by: doug at June 29, 2014 11:54 AM (20IrQ)

135 26, I agree with you about MacMillan's The War that Ended Peace. It's a great book in many ways, but her comparisons to Iraq and other contemporary events are not only wrongheaded, they feel like afterthoughts that were shoe-horned in; In addition to that, they simply break the narrative flow--you want to be immersed in the world of 1914, not hear more Bush-bashing. It would be a much better read if all mentions of contemporary events were expunged.

Posted by: JoeyBagels at June 29, 2014 11:54 AM (f22ar)

136 I'll check it out, TangoNine. I read SteelHeart. It was all right, but I don't think I'd give it a must read recommendation. It was a decent time waster.

Posted by: no good deed at June 29, 2014 11:55 AM (w3a0Z)

137 "Trustiing God" by Jerry Bridges was a book I read a while back. I got more out of it than I did with "Disappointment With God" by Philip Yancey which is also a very good book.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at June 29, 2014 11:56 AM (lLdbc)

138 Aussie, this is probably discussed in your book. The survivors of Crassus' legions might have been captured by the Chinese after being captured by the Parthians.

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-37148.html

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at June 29, 2014 11:56 AM (Zjqjq)

139
we have within us the ability to predict the harm others might do us and get out of its way.

I remember one of the things John Derbyshire was fired from Nat Review was just saying that. Telling his kids not to go to certain neighborhoods to stay out of harms way. Although that wasn't the main thing in the firing, I thought that part was just common sense and an unfair criticism.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at June 29, 2014 11:58 AM (JE/wX)

140 I am still working my way through "Quartered Safe
Out Here" by George MacDonald Fraser and find it a fascinating read.
One strange thought I keep having is that maybe the post WW II loss of
the British Empire's power in Asia and the ME was not such a good thing.

Posted by: Hrothgar

That's next on my list. I assume you bought it when it was on a Kindle sale. Glad to hear it's good. He's one of my favorite authors.

Posted by: pep at June 29, 2014 12:01 PM (4nR9/)

141
138 Anna Puma

Thanks so much for the link - how very interesting! Saved it as well..

I'll look through the book to see if there's reference to the Chinese connection

Posted by: aussie at June 29, 2014 12:03 PM (EGwwB)

142 Although that wasn't the main thing in the firing, I thought that part was just common sense and an unfair criticism.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at June 29, 2014 11:58 AM (JE/wX)

I had a heck of a time finding that article online around the time of the media clamor against Derbyshire. Once I read it, I was amazed at the fundamentally sound rational advice he was giving his children. One more reason I trust absolutely nothing the media publishes, including their use of the articles "a", "an", and "the".

Posted by: Hrothgar at June 29, 2014 12:04 PM (o3MSL)

143 Waterhouse, there is the unfinished book 21:

http://tinyurl.com/kjbh2yc

available in dead tree and Kindle.

Posted by: Retread at June 29, 2014 12:04 PM (l7hog)

144 That's next on my list. I assume you bought it when it was on a Kindle sale. Glad to hear it's good. He's one of my favorite authors.

Posted by: pep at June 29, 2014 12:01 PM (4nR9/)

His non-fictional writing skills are, fortunately for us, on a par with his fictional writing skills. I think it was on sale, but it is definitely on my Kindle.

Posted by: Hrothgar at June 29, 2014 12:06 PM (o3MSL)

145 Posted by: Waterhouse at June 29, 2014 11:47 AM (Ic0HN)

Bernard Cornwell's stuff can be fantastic. "Agincourt" is my favorite.

He describes the leadup and the battle through the eyes of an English archer.

Fantastic stuff.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (Leftist anti-Semite) at June 29, 2014 12:08 PM (QFxY5)

146
Bedtime here and one more book to recommend for those of you interested in music

"Life" by Keith Richard and what a story it is - nothing boring about that Rolling Stone!

Goodnight and have a wonderful yesterday!

Posted by: aussie at June 29, 2014 12:09 PM (EGwwB)

147 I just finished Blood Feud. Who knows if it is accurate - I'd venture a guess and say most of it is - but it is a fun read and I too had a schadenboner throughout the entire read, which took only an afternoon to read it all.

It definitely would be hilarious if Blood Feud out-sold Broke-a-hontas' latest book, so go out and buy it. You won't regret it!

Posted by: Blor-Utar at June 29, 2014 12:10 PM (t08Na)

148 This might stir things up - the morality of libraries. Put aside the 'public good' of libraries and promotion of reading which I'm sure we all support. What about authors getting paid for their work? Is it moral for a library to pay one copy and it services dozens or hundreds of readers? You could argue that this increases the fanbase of an author and they shouldn't complain, but is that our decision to make? Shouldn't authors have the right to opt out of libraries? I've struggled with this over the years. If I enjoy something shouldn't the writer get paid?

Posted by: Todd W at June 29, 2014 12:10 PM (bvfjh)

149 Todd: The writer doesn't control what happens to a book after it's sold. If I buy a copy and let other people read it, too bad for the author.

(Full disclosure: I'm a professional writer.)

Posted by: Trimegistus at June 29, 2014 12:15 PM (aEs8a)

150
Shouldn't authors have the right to opt out of libraries?

If you sell something, the person or entity that purchased it has the right to do what they want with it including lending it out.

Now the book was sold, but the copyright was not, so the library or individual do not have the right to profit from it.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at June 29, 2014 12:17 PM (JE/wX)

151 Trimegistus - I get that the writer has no control with private sales. But I think they should have the option to stay out of public libraries if they should choose. It would probably be a bad choice to stay out, but I think that option should be on the table. Old video rental stores had to buy products under license for rental with some sort of revenue sharing priced in. Just because a library is public, they should get it for free. Or do they have to pay some sort of premium above retail? I don't know.

Posted by: Todd W at June 29, 2014 12:20 PM (bvfjh)

152 I read The Gift of Fear & anoterh book, very similar but aimed at parents to prevent child abuse by others called Protecting the Gift. Very eye-opening & empowering.
I should get a copy of Gift of Fear for my teen soon.

Kindle - you don't need one to buy kindle books but it's convenient & there are some minor extras if you have one.
The Kindle Fire is nice if you are not tech-y and it feels like a safer ecosystem than Android. The customer support is really good as long as you are within warranty.
I have not been lucky with Kindle Fire hw though. We have a 1st gen one that the charging port got loose just after the 1 year warranty expired.
We have an HD one that bricked itself after amazon pushed an os upgrade - luckily within warranty so they shipped us a new one no q'a asked.
I also find the onscreen keyboard annoyingly glitchy at times.

Posted by: votermom at June 29, 2014 12:21 PM (GSIDW)

153 (Full disclosure: I'm a professional writer.)

Posted by: Trimegistus at June 29, 2014 12:15 PM (aEs8a)

in this day and age, who isn't?

(not a jab)

Posted by: TangoNine (Beckinsale/Johnson 2016) at June 29, 2014 12:23 PM (x3YFz)

154 Libraries have a right to do what they want with physical books they purchase.
Copyright prevents them (or anyone) from reproducing the books though.
Geeze.

Posted by: votermom at June 29, 2014 12:24 PM (GSIDW)

155 @15 - Last Sunday I came across a post on "A Catholic Thinker" (I'm not brave enough to attempt to make links Pixy-friendly, so I fear you'll have to Google/Bing it) called "G. K. Chesterton, the Diabolist, and the Most Terrible Thing." Good read in itself, made all the better by finding and reading the Chesterton essay on which it's based, "The Diabolist." In it, Chesterton describes "the most terrible thing that has ever happened to me in my life"--a conversation with someone who literally called evil good and good evil. Very worth the read, especially given the increasing prevalence of Diabolists these days.

Thanks for that. The linky is: http://acatholicthinker.wordpress.com/

Posted by: RushBabe at June 29, 2014 12:26 PM (hrIP5)

156 I remember one of the things John Derbyshire was fired from Nat Review was just saying that. Telling his kids not to go to certain neighborhoods to stay out of harms way. Although that wasn't the main thing in the firing, I thought that part was just common sense and an unfair criticism.

As I recall, he didn't just say "stay out of harm's way", he said "stay out of all-black neighborhoods". The powers that be at NRO did not appreciate the explicitly racial context of Derb's advice, so they canned him.

Some things you cannot say out loud.

Posted by: OregonMuse at June 29, 2014 12:28 PM (+ahS9)

157 156, but staying out of all-black neighborhoods is wise advice. I have been harassed in all-black neighborhoods in broad daylight--by the police who thought I was there to buy drugs.

Posted by: JoeyBagels at June 29, 2014 12:33 PM (f22ar)

158 #148

Libraries actually account for a lot of book sales. Many genre writers owe the bulk of their income to publishers being able to move X number of copies without any retail sales.

This is changing now that e-books are offering ways to reach more directly to the audience at lower prices but a genre novel that might only sell in the tens of thousands at best can have a substantial portion of that go to the library market.

Posted by: Epobirs at June 29, 2014 12:39 PM (Icq+V)

159 Another recommendation for "The Gift of Fear" - should be required reading for every woman over the age of 12, and a lot of men, too.

Just finished reading "Elsie and Mairi Go to War", about two women, one just 18-years-old, who established a nursing station at the front lines during WWI. They remained at the front for almost the entire war until they were gassed in 1918. Amazing story, but the book could have been better written.

I'm reading now C S Lewis's "Mere Christianity" and I can't believe I never bothered to read this book until now. I want to highlight almost every sentence. Definitely worth rereading over and over again.

Posted by: biancaneve at June 29, 2014 12:40 PM (6Turu)

160 Re: #146 -- "'Life' by Keith Richard and what a story it is - nothing boring about that Rolling Stone!"

I was pleasantly surprised by the book. Richards is a bright guy and tells some great stories.

Recommended.

Posted by: doug at June 29, 2014 12:40 PM (20IrQ)

161 Nearly finished reading James Altucher's "Choose Yourself" via Kindle. If you're not familiar with him, he's quite a character. Classic schlub who knows it. He has made and lost million-dollar fortunes time and again and knows it's inevitable he'll make and lose them again. His degrees were in computer science, but he's well-known in the hedge-fund circles becasue he has started a few.

He's self-deprecating and gentle, which makes him an endearing oddball. BUT, he's right that the world is about to change a quantum leap and we're all going to have to find ways to make our own living as the cubicle and being an "employee" for the most part, is going the way of the dinosaur.

Posted by: RushBabe at June 29, 2014 12:41 PM (hrIP5)

162 What Derb said that really got the hand wringers upset was that the blacks they'd meet in the more rigorous academic settings were likely to be exceptional and shouldn't be mistaken for representing the average member of the black community. This has been confirmed by a number of scholars and remains good advice of the sort one does not deliver in a public setting.

Derbyshire's crime was saying in public what millions wouldn't hesitate to tell their kids in private.

Posted by: Epobirs at June 29, 2014 12:44 PM (Icq+V)

163 Todd W, one thing you're overlooking is that libraries preserve books. If and when a book goes out of print, a library--and Interlibrary Loan--may be the only way a reader has of finding it. And at that point, the author's not receiving royalties on it anymore anyway.
As for the premium pricing question: no, just the opposite. Most libraries buy at discounted rates through wholesalers like Ingram and Baker & Taylor. But then, so do most bookstores.
(Full disclosure: indie author who used to work at an academic press and whose mother is a librarian.)

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at June 29, 2014 12:48 PM (dpszv)

164 Some things you cannot say out loud.

Shut up Cracker!

Posted by: Eric Holder at June 29, 2014 12:49 PM (JE/wX)

165 Long ago, there were libraries that were not publicly funded or attached to an institution such as a university. They supported themselves by charging minor amounts for the loan of a book.

Such a thing would be fine by me today, so long as they cut in the authors on a piece of the action. The advent of e-books makes it more straightforward and companies like Amazon have been testing how to treat books like video streams. One problem is the privacy issue.

Posted by: Epobirs at June 29, 2014 12:51 PM (Icq+V)

166 Elisabeth - I don't discount the numerous benefits of libraries at all. They got me started in reading when I was too young to afford books. This is more of an exercise in the rights of the producer (author/publishers). Does a publisher or writer have the legal right to keep the book out? I think they should have that right, even if it might be dumb to exercise it. If I had more money than sense and opened a national chain of free lending libraries on the scale of B&N, carrying massive inventory of music, books, and DVDs for no profit and open to all, what would happen legally? I doubt it would go unchallenged. Why are libraries different?

Again, just looking at the boundaries of a producer having some avenue of control. We seem to accept libraries on the grounds of a public good, but where does that stop and why?

Posted by: Todd W at June 29, 2014 12:57 PM (bvfjh)

167 A big recommendation regarding "That Hideous Strength" by CS Lewis. Some of his Christian apologetics are absolutely wonderful -- and a reminder. Ran into a review on ChicagoBoyz and reread.

Also, in these Obama years, a reread of A Man For All Seasons is probably warranted.

Posted by: Mustbequantum at June 29, 2014 12:58 PM (MIKMs)

168 http://observationdeck.io9.com/when-your-favorite-writer-is-an-asshole-1597540312

If you enjoy watching sensitive, politically-correct kids trying to one-up each other on pc-ness, you'll love this story and comment field. It's one big lol after another.

Posted by: Octopus at June 29, 2014 01:04 PM (gnD2y)

169 As I recall, he didn't just say "stay out of harm's way", he said "stay
out of all-black neighborhoods". The powers that be at NRO did not
appreciate the explicitly racial context of Derb's advice, so they
canned him.

Some things you cannot say out loud.

What about "don't walk up and take their cell phones? Can you say that?"

Posted by: Wimpy white kid in a hospital bed at June 29, 2014 01:08 PM (4nR9/)

170 I'm always late to the party . I am in the middle of "Blood Feud" and I find it all entirely believable, not because the author claims to have his sources, but because all of the statements and behaviors are consistent with the utter horribleness of the two couples involved. What in bleeding unholy hell could voters be "thinking"?

I just started a mystery called "Say You're Sorry" and so far, so good.

I found a mystery by Johnathan Kellerman in the free book pile at work. It's quite short so I'm hopeful it will not contain the usual travelogue on the LA freeway system that padded out his Alex Delaware novels that I quit reading long ago.

On to the third cup of coffee, my dears. I can't thank Oregon Muse enough for doing the book thread every week, or the fellow 'rons & 'ettes for all of the new things to read.

Posted by: Tonestaple at June 29, 2014 01:09 PM (B7YN4)

171 The producer's avenue of control, it seems to me (and as others have mentioned above), is copyright. And even that is limited by fair use. Now, in academia, things are slightly different--one can request, for example, that ProQuest/University Microfilms only archive a dissertation or thesis and not make it available to the public for a certain number of years. But once a book is published, even if one forbids direct sales to libraries, there's no real feasible way to prevent patron donations.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at June 29, 2014 01:13 PM (dpszv)

172 166 If I had more money than sense and opened a national chain of free lending libraries on the scale of B&N, carrying massive inventory of music, books, and DVDs for no profit and open to all, what would happen legally? I doubt it would go unchallenged. Why are libraries different?

--
That would be perfectly legal.
Andrew Carnegie did it.

My county library also still rents out some books (extra copies of new bestsellers).
Where are you getting your misconceptions on copyright?
Copyright means, basically, the right to copy/reproduce. It has nothing to do with what us done with existing legal copies.

Posted by: votermom at June 29, 2014 01:23 PM (GSIDW)

173 As far as the Kindle app, it will also read books that you have gotten from anywhere. So long as you have the file in mobi, you can just upload the thing to your device and it runs fine and joins your local library but isn't sent to the cloud.

I read Ark Royal this last week; it was recommended here by somebody. Also appeared on Insta pundit the day after I finished it. I thought it was okay, semi--generic space war/opera book. I did think that the principal advantage that the titular ship had against the alien technology versus that of the moder carrier, while the modern carrier outclassing the Ark Royal, all the while the human starfighters generally outclassed their alien counterpart, all that was inadequately explained I thought. But it's not hard scifi and once the conceit is granted it's a decent enough book. The characters are mediocre, there's no deep conections formed with any of them.

A very good hard scifi book dealing with space war is Through Struggle, the Stars by John Lumpkin. It grants stargate-style intersteller wormholes at and between fixed locations, and the rest is all reality. The combat is great, particularly if you've read the Atomic Rockets site (which is how I found the book) and the characters are passable. The only detriment is an annoying potshot at Bush and Iraq, otherwise out of place 120 years in the future. But it's good.

Posted by: .87c at June 29, 2014 01:35 PM (qZPXs)

174 I understand copyright. I understand it can't be reproduced. I get that. My question drives at the idea that a library has an unfettered and unchallengeable right to acquire and make freely available any media. As near as I can tell there is no way a musician, writer, publisher, whatever can opt out of that system. Can they legally stop that sale to an institution that will expressly share the work without compensation - an institution that soley exists for that express intent? They should morally have that right. A movie studio can refuse to let their title go to Redbox or Netflix. Why are they different?

Posted by: Todd W at June 29, 2014 01:36 PM (93Pe7)

175 re Kenneth C Davis - Claudio Saunt, "West of the Revolution" talks about the rest of North America north of the Rio Bravo as of 1776.

It reminds me of "1491" -

http://www.newsweek.com/1776-was-more-year-colonies-broke-free-255257

Posted by: boulder t'hobo at June 29, 2014 01:36 PM (3kZUM)

176 A movie studio can refuse to let their title go to Redbox or Netflix.
--

They are the ones who actually are using their size to do this. It's not a legal or moral "right", simply a question of influence. Hollywood acts as a cartel in this instance.

Posted by: votermom at June 29, 2014 01:43 PM (GSIDW)

177 Addendum: Hollywood, Disney, and other big entertainment producers have been warping the copyright concept for some time now.

Posted by: votermom at June 29, 2014 01:46 PM (GSIDW)

178 A movie studio can refuse to let their title go to Redbox or Netflix. Why are they different?

Posted by: Todd W at June 29, 2014 01:36 PM (93Pe7)

Because a) libraries are not for profit and b) they take private donations. Again, even if you prohibit direct sales to the library, some private individual will more than likely buy a copy, read it once, and donate it to the library, either because s/he thinks the library needs it or because s/he just doesn't want it anymore.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at June 29, 2014 01:47 PM (dpszv)

179 As others have said, the great advantage of the actual Kindle is that you can read it outside in bright sunlight. But I love the Kindle app on my Android tablet and PC. I only wish whatever holy war exists between Amazon and the the publishers would come to an end and books such as Alvin Toffler's Future Shock and The Third Wave, Arthur C. Clarke's Profiles of the Future, and Robert Harris' Fatherland and Enigma would be available in the States for the Kindle.

And as much as I love the Kindle, there's part of me that's sorry that Borders blew itself up in the process -- I miss having a local bookstore within easy driving distance. On the other hand, I don't miss the snotty pierced and tattooed clerks, and the company's often shabby treatment of conservative books and their purchasers. Nobody's visibly rolling their eyes at you when you buy a Thomas Sowell book at Amazon.

Posted by: Ed Driscoll at June 29, 2014 01:53 PM (e0Q6U)

180 I love the book thread, even when I don't have any interesting books to contribute.

"The Gift of Fear " sounds worth a read. It reminds me that sometimes what we see as a negative, in this case feelings of apprehension, can actually be a gift in disguise, a protection against harm. Philip Yancey presents a similar view in his classic book, The Gift of Pain. That book actually changed my life. I can't say that about most things I've read.

Posted by: grammie winger at June 29, 2014 01:57 PM (oMKp3)

181 Invent an entertainment form that is self-destructs once enjoyed and must be repurchased.
Books ain't it.

Posted by: votermom at June 29, 2014 01:57 PM (GSIDW)

182 Invent an entertainment form that is self-destructs once enjoyed and must be repurchased.
Books ain't it.

Posted by: votermom at June 29, 2014 01:57 PM (GSIDW)

I was just thinking along similar lines--as it stands, if a work has sufficient literary merit to warrant publication, there are only two ways to make absolutely certain it never sees the inside of a library: don't write it, or write it and immediately destroy it such that it cannot be recovered. Gerard Manley Hopkins is just one example of a writer who kept his manuscripts and gave his executor orders to burn them after his death, only to have his executor realize what treasures they were and have them published.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at June 29, 2014 02:04 PM (dpszv)

183 #166

Going from what I've been told by an author who was deeply involved in analyzing the publishing business when he was president of SFWA (back when it was entirely concerned with author's well being and not politics) libraries are generally regarded as highly beneficial to the business of writing for a living. Getting your work in front of a reader and getting them to regard your work as desirable enough to purchase rather than wait for it to become available at the library, can be life or death for a working writer.

Since none of the e-readers, devices or apps, are locked down, allowing only files purchased and delivered through the e-reader maker's store, piracy has become extremely easy. It formerly required a capital investment to print up books and get them into the retail channel. (Such items have ended up at Costco though the biggest market in print piracy has been unlicensed translations sold in foreign markets.) Now the only limiter on book piracy is the number of readers who lack the technical understanding to obtain the files and place them on their reading device.

With each passing year the market is composed more of readers who grew up with digital technology, so that limiter becomes less effective. Which means success in writing becomes a matter of reader good will. Any writer needs a web site today, not just to perform promotion but also to provide links to allow readers to send them money. A lot of bloggers do quite well from donations in exchange for the free content on their sites and authors are increasingly finding themselves in the same situation.

In moments of idle speculation, I've long thought one of the things I'd do, if I won some massive lottery jackpot, is become a patron of the arts. Not in the traditional manner of commissioning works but just by making those works more known. For instance, I'd buy up complete sets of Phil Foglio's 'Girl Genius' to date and send a set to every library in the country. It would greatly benefit Phil, not just financially but also in exposure.

On a smaller scale, if you've read all of an author's works via the library, send them five bucks. It may not seem like much but it is actually comparable to what would reach them if you bought the books on paper at retail. This bypasses all of the entities in between, and brings it much closer to an author selling direct on Amazon or BandN.

Posted by: Epobirs at June 29, 2014 02:09 PM (Icq+V)

184 #174

Actually, a studio cannot stop Redbox or Netflix from renting their discs via kiosk or mail. They can deny them streaming rights because the law interprets a streaming service as manufacturing a new copy for every stream, thus requiring a license for each item to be offered.

The studios are very unlikely to withhold wholesale distribution of discs to these companies because they have profit sharing agreements that date back to the 80s when Blockbuster spent a lot of time in court against Hollywood, Inc. Redbox kiosks are a for-profit operation and the studios get a piece of the action.

Posted by: Epobirs at June 29, 2014 02:15 PM (Icq+V)

185 Epobirs - I like the idea of library patrons reaching out to writers and sending them money. When we buy a book we aren't just buying a physical object - we are buying an experience. When we borrow and return a book, the physical object is unchanged but the experienced is, well...experienced. That should be worth something. And the people who labored over that should be compensated for their work.

And one more time for clarity - the imputed benefit isn't the issue to me. I don't doubt it at all. But I am uncomfortable with making that decision for someone else. You mention electronic piracy which is a whole different topic, and it reminds me of downloaded a who swear up and down that the artist benefits from piracy and they should just shut up about it. They may very well benefit, but shouldn't they be consulted?

Posted by: Todd W at June 29, 2014 02:18 PM (93Pe7)

186 Does a painter or sculptor get to say who is allowed to look at his work after it has been purchased?

Posted by: votermom at June 29, 2014 02:20 PM (GSIDW)

187 Ah, I thought they had the right to refuse Redbox et al. I stand corrected then. But it would be fascinating to see what happened if someone started 'Freebox'. I would be economic damages would be claimed even if the free kiosk made zero profit. The legal side would be interesting.

Posted by: Todd W at June 29, 2014 02:22 PM (93Pe7)

188 185 When we borrow and return a book, the physical object is unchanged but the experienced is, well...experienced. That should be worth something. And the people who labored over that should be compensated for their work.

--

Maybe for performance artists, or stage actors - they get compensated for every experience. But they have to physically perform each time.

A writer does not have to re-write the book every time a reader reads it.

Posted by: votermom at June 29, 2014 02:22 PM (GSIDW)

189 Painter or sculptor question - it is interesting. If I projected Transformers every night on the side of my barn and invited my neighborhood to watch (because I hate my neighbors), would a studio lawyer have the right to come see me? If I held a public reading of a Stephen King novel in the public square, is that legal? I honestly don't know the answer to that.

Posted by: Todd W at June 29, 2014 02:27 PM (93Pe7)

190 Todd, given your statement that "the experience is experienced," I think it might be wise for you to read An Experiment in Criticism by C. S. Lewis to find one explanation as to why we're saying that thinking is flawed. I'll try to summarize, though:

Lewis argues that there are two types of people, those who use art and those who enjoy it. People who use art--literature, specifically--experience it once and move on, and they never re-read a book. People who enjoy literature, on the other hand, will read a favorite book again and again.
Now, let's take two hypothetical library patrons, one of each type of reader, both with limited book budgets. Both read the same new book at the library and like it. The person who uses literature probably wouldn't have bought the book anyway, or else would have bought it, read it, and passed it along. The person who enjoys literature, on the other hand, is quite likely to put this book on a list of books to buy when possible so as to be able to re-read at will. And both might turn around and buy copies to give as gifts and/or recommend the book to other people, who might or might not buy copies of their own.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at June 29, 2014 02:31 PM (dpszv)

191 Painter or sculptor question - it is interesting.

--

Actually it was a rhetorical question.

I find your concept of authorship, sale, and property rights disturbing.

Posted by: votermom at June 29, 2014 02:32 PM (GSIDW)

192 Well, looks like lots of folks want to check out "Blood Feud" at my local library. This makes me feel warm and tingly inside.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at June 29, 2014 02:34 PM (QBm1P)

193 Votermom- ok, sorry to disturb you and thanks for the conversation. I'll move along now.

Posted by: Todd W at June 29, 2014 02:39 PM (93Pe7)

194 #185

Such is the nature of the modern world with high speed networks. Anything that can be embodied as digital information cannot be controlled and it has proven counterproductive to invest much effort in doing so. A good example is iTunes. They got rid of DRM at the earliest opportunity. (Jobs supposedly wanted to be DRM-free from the beginning.) Yet they do tremendous volumes of sales and are now a much bigger source of revenue than CD sales for many major music publishers.

I used to be very concerned about piracy. I'd seen it in the computer game market since the early 80s and felt it had been severely damaging to many deserving creators. I can remember several games that appeared to have been played by virtually everyone who owned the platform but had strangely sold only a small fraction of what that familiarity should indicate. A critical factor was that the publisher had a large capital investment in producing the volume of game packages the game's sales should have required.

But the distribution technology has changed and consumers of limited means can participate in the market by exercising patience as every good game eventually gets heavily discounted. Those $19.99 'Greatest Hits' items you see in the stores are quite profitable, as the cost of developing and initial marketing of the game have been paid off by wealthier consumers who can afford the launch prices.

A good example is the Steam distribution service operated by Valve. Pretty much anything on there can be obtained via BitTorrent, along with hacks to bypass any attempt at limiting access. This is especially effective for single player or local multi-player games that don't need to connect to a central server to run. There are numerous items on Steam that are solely sold via download and have no disc version in stores. This should lead to widespread piracy with little revenue for the creators but it hasn't. For example, I read an article earlier today about 'Gerry's Mod,' an add-on for Half-Life 2. In the ten years since it appeared, it has done over $30 million in sales at $10 a download. Not bad.

There are plenty of similar success stories out there. Are there a lot of pirated copies out there too? Almost certainly but is it worth the trouble to try to do much about it, especially if it annoys legit buyers and wastes time that could be spent on improving the game or a new game. With digital distribution there is no sunk costs in retail packages gathering dust on store shelves, so the impact of piracy is greatly reduced, event though it is easier than ever.

Posted by: Epobirs at June 29, 2014 02:47 PM (Icq+V)

195 193 No, I didn't mean to shoo you or anyone away.
I just think our pov's will never meet.

Posted by: votermom at June 29, 2014 02:56 PM (GSIDW)

196 Dead-tree books can be pirated, too, btw. I know of at least one Agatha Christie paperback my parents bought in the late '80s or early '90s that had a notice on the copyright page stating that if the book didn't have a cover, etc., it wasn't a legally purchased copy.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at June 29, 2014 03:06 PM (dpszv)

197 196 Paperbacks without covers are called "stripped books." The bookstore sends the covers back to the publisher as proof that they were unable to sell them, then they were supposed to destroy the actual books.

Posted by: votermom at June 29, 2014 03:15 PM (GSIDW)

198 Just finished "Blood Feud." Klein is surprisingly thorough on Benghazi, offering the clearest and most concise answers I've seen to the Big Three questions: What were we doing there in the first place? Why was security so inadequate? Who insisted on the video excuse? Spoiler alert: It wasn't Hillary, who was just following orders and then some, says Klein.

Posted by: arthur at June 29, 2014 03:25 PM (SREBH)

199 197 Didn't know that! Thanks for the info, votermom. Never know what you'll learn on the book thread.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at June 29, 2014 03:26 PM (dpszv)

200 "The Gift of Fear" was actually recommended by the woman who taught the CHL class I attended. Her take was that if you could avoid having to use your gun (by using your head and gut feelings), that is the best thing. Alternately, of course, if you recognized and accepted a threat you couldn't avoid, you'd be better prepared to deal with it.

Posted by: AngelEm at June 29, 2014 03:32 PM (9nDaK)

201 Well that is interesting. The Christian Science Monitor and New York Times are reporting that no publisher in the Peoples Republic of China will publish a Chinese edition of Hillary Clinton's new book. Even Amazon China has pulled the English language edition.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at June 29, 2014 03:41 PM (Zjqjq)

202 The Gift of Fear has a lot of good things to recommend it, but it has one glaring flaw: it's very gunphobic. And it's the kind of snotty, arrogant guns-for-me-but-not-for-thee kind of attitude that stuck in my craw while reading the book. Guns are ok for the author and his employees but the hoi polloi can't be trusted with them and he provides anecdotes of fools shooting themselves or innocent people in their ignorance as "proof". Very annoying.

Posted by: Serena at June 29, 2014 04:08 PM (zwA7V)

203 Actually, the wildebeest is not at all menacing. It's shaggy and ugly, but it's about as dumb as they come. Think about all the African nature documentaries that feature it as the perfect prey, usually for a lion or a croc. The bleating sound they produce is most unpleasant.

Posted by: Tuna at June 29, 2014 04:15 PM (7KPIw)

204 There is a difference between selling merchandise the retailer was obligated to destroy (we had to keep a lock on the dumpster behind the Crown Books I worked at in the early 90s.) and printing copies entirely without the publisher's permission. Jerry Pournelle had the experience of finding his own books at Costco in editions he'd never seen before. It turned out to be from a company that had been pirating them in the third world and importing them to the US.

At Crown it was an unofficial employee perk to take home your choice of stripped paperbacks for your own use.

Posted by: Epobirs at June 29, 2014 04:26 PM (Icq+V)

205 Again, your information is outstanding, just downloaded the kindle version of de Becker's book.

Posted by: Bones at June 29, 2014 04:38 PM (1b//I)

206 Well that is nice. GoFundMe has contacted me about taking my campaign public, to use their word. They gave some boilerplate improvement suggestions. So emailed them back with the boilerplate compliment sandwich and where the meat of the message is asked for their specific recommendations to help my campaign. We shall see.

And back to writing.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at June 29, 2014 04:39 PM (Zjqjq)

207 In the 70s when my sister worked at Waldenbooks at the nearby mall, it seemed like half of the books in our house were stripped. That's how I ended up reading my first Ayn Rand too.

Posted by: Tonestaple at June 29, 2014 04:40 PM (B7YN4)

208 This is late, but here is my comment:

If I projected Transformers every night on the side of my barn and invited my neighborhood to watch (because I hate my neighbors), would a studio lawyer have the right to come see me?

No. However, if you really hated your neighbors and started charging them money to watch your drive-in movies, and the studio found out you were doing this, you would probably get a "knock it off" notice in the mail from some suit in the legal dept.

Posted by: OregonMuse at June 29, 2014 05:02 PM (+ahS9)

209 119 .... My church small group is working through Experiencing God. But I'm finding it kind of meh. I'm still working on trusting God, much less "experiencing" him.

---------------------
I thought the book was okay, but the devotional based on it is wonderful. A.W. Tozer's "The Pursuit of God" and John Piper's ""desiring God" covers some of the same territory, but both are far more interesting, theologically, in my opinion.

May I suggest a followup to that book of your group, "The Divine Conspiracy" by the late Dallas Willard. It is a great work on Christian discipleship on its own, but marvelous to explore in a devout group setting.

Posted by: John the Baptist at June 29, 2014 05:18 PM (Xs981)

210 No mention of Larry Correia's "Monster Hunter: Nemesis" dropping? I have to finish another book first.

Posted by: Shawn at June 29, 2014 07:47 PM (/lltO)

211 "The author has worked for a lifetime in protecting people from housewives and tradesmen"

Is he still for hire?

Posted by: Stumbo at June 29, 2014 08:20 PM (BRDHI)

212 @weirddave #tillman sadly your instinct is correct, avoid

Posted by: jef at June 29, 2014 10:04 PM (BQ9jx)

213 Muse,

Kudos to you for plugging one of the most important books on the planet. Gavin DeBecker's "The Gift of Fear" is a life-saver. As is his book "Protecting the Gift," which is a must-read for every parent, since it applies the same principles in the first book specifically to raising children with situational awareness, who will be able to protect themselves.

DeBecker's key concept, for those who have not read his books yet, is that our subconscious is a powerful supercomputer that is registering countless signals all the time that we're not even aware of, and that those "hunches" or "gut feelings" we sometimes get are not to be dismissed -- they are critical signals from that subconscious "supercomputer" that could save your life.

Unfortunately, in the age of political correctness -- and Americans have always been particularly vulnerable to the "cult of 'niceness'" anyway -- most of us, especially women, have our healthy instincts stamped out of us. The culture teaches us that we are mean and intolerant and judgmental if we get a bad feeling about somebody and stay the hell away from them. But DeBecker says there's usually a very good reason -- whether we can figure it out consciously or not -- for those bad feelings, and that acting on our "hunches" can save our life. I am convinced that listening to my "hunch" about somebody who "creeped me out" saved my life on at least one occasion.

And if all that is not enough to convince you to get the book, let me also add that DeBecker is one kick-ass writer. He uses real-life incidents to illustrate his points, and the book is so compelling, it's hard to put down! I guarantee you'll be glad you got this book.

Posted by: Kathy from Kansas at June 30, 2014 01:13 AM (afLO3)

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