Sunday Morning Book Thread 08-03-2014 [OregonMuse]

201407-w-most-beautiful-libraries-in-the-world-klementinum-prague.jpg

Clementium Library, Prague

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

All non-book discussion should go to NDH's open thread below. Thanks.

Books No One Reads

We all know that no one is reading Hillary! Clinton's book. That's good news. Even better news, no one is reading Thomas Piketty's Capital in the 21st Century, either. Here's how Jordan Ellenberg, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, determined this:

Amazon's "Popular Highlights" feature on its Kindle books lists the five most highlighted passages by readers. Ellenberg figured that if readers were reading through the entire book, highlights would be scattered throughout the entire book. But if they weren't getting very far, highlights would be clustered at the beginning of a book.

That's how he came up with the Hawking Index (HI), a completely unscientific number that determines how likely readers are to have finished, or abandoned, a book. As Ellenberg explained in the Journal, he took the page numbers of a book's five top highlights, averaged them, and divided that number by the total pages in the entire book. "The higher the number, the more of the book we're guessing most people are likely to have read," he writes.

It's completely unscientific, of course, but fun nonetheless, mainly because it's books that appeal to liberals that are getting dissed.

Apple eBook Settlement: $450 Million

That's a lot of dough, even for Apple:

The judge in the Apple e-book case has given preliminary approval to a proposed $450-million settlement, Reuters reports. Apple was found guilty in 2013 of colluding with five major publishers to fix e-book prices.

And

The settlement will provide $400 million to consumers and $50 million to attorneys.

Yow. 50 million. So why does it look like the only purpose to these lawsuits is to transfer large sums of money from companies to the pockets of lawyers?

Such A Deal

Books By Morons

Moron Sean Gleeson wants you to read and review his new book. Well, actually, it's not his book, it's his late father's book. I'll let him explain it:

Paul F. Gleeson was a successful Chicago lawyer who died in 2012, at the age of 70. He was also my father. Among his belongings we found a boxful of typed manuscripts from the 1970s and 80s. It turned out they were short stories he had written...

Also in the box were rejection letters from publishers. Dad was unable to get past the literary gatekeepers of those days. Discouraged, he stuck to his day job, and gave up his dream of entertaining the readers of America. The stories sat, unread, for three decades in a dusty heap.

How cool is that? I mean, finding the stories after all these years, not that Sean's dad couldn't them get published. It's like discovering buried treasure. So Sean and his siblings bundled them up and published them as Screams from My Father: Stories by Paul F. Gleeson. Sean describes his father's stories as

Rip-roaring pulp-fiction tales, with ironic twist endings, like Alfred Hitchcock or Twilight Zone stories.

There's a lot more information at the Amazon link.

In addition, Sean tells me he really, really wants you to read his book and post a review on Amazon. To facilitate this, and specially timed to coincide with the AosHQ Book Thread, the Kindle edition will be free all day Sunday. That's a great price. And I like the cover art, too.

So what are you waiting for?

It's sometimes odd what turns up after someone dies. When my mother passed a couple of years ago, we found some photos of her that were taken when she was about 20 years old. They were professionally done 8" x 10" portrait photos that none of us had ever seen before, and never knew even existed. We thought we had seen all of the old family photos, but these were a complete surprise. Why Mom had them taken, and why she had kept them secret all of these years, is a mystery.

___________

Moronette artemis has a new book out. Murder In Retribution (hardcover edition here) is the second book in her Scotland Yard series. This whodunit features an escalating turf war between the Russian mafia and Irish terrorists that may be something more than just a murderous turf war.

Artemis is also the author of Tainted Angel, a spy thriller set during the Napoleonic era, and Murder In Thrall, her first Scotland yard novel. Her third Scotland Yard installment is scheduled for an 1Q 2015 release date, and I'll have more details as they become available.

Suess On the Loose

Some 'lost' material from Dr. Seuss will soon be making a reappearance:

This September, Random House will publish "Horton and the Kwuggerbug and More Lost Stories," a collection of four short stories that faded from public memory around 60 years ago and have not been seen since.

The stories originally appeared in Redbook Magazine between 1951 and 1955.

More details here.

Books of Note

It used to be that Israel was almost universally admired in the world. Don't laugh, it's true. And then it changed, pretty much overnight. Author Joshua Muravchik provides the historical reasons for this in his new book Making David into Goliath: How the World Turned Against Israel.

Spoiler: The Arab nations effected this reversal by making the shrewd decision to sign up with the transnational global Left after they had their butts handled to them in the 1967 Six-Day war:

However, after winning that war, Israel was no longer seen as existentially imperiled in a struggle with the whole Arab world. Yasser Arafat and his Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), with the sponsorship of Maoist China and the Soviet Union, gained a place on the global revolutionary left by refashioning their cause from a pan-Arab effort to annihilate Israel progressive movement for liberation.

Judith Butler, a professor of "critical theory" whose books on gender, queer studies and feminism are widely assigned in American universities, declared, "understanding Hamas/Hezbollah as social movements that are progressive, that are on the left, that are part of a global left, is extremely important."

This is, of course, why you get mind-bending anomalies such as 'Queers For Palestine.' "So, tell me exactly why you're supporting the cause of people who want you dead?" I very much enjoyed zombie's 2010 treatment of this phenomenon here.

___________

Everything happened in 1919, specifically at the WWI Peace Conference at Versailles. That's the thesis of Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed the World by University of Toronto historian Margaret MacMillan.

Shorter MacMillan: Versailles was an old-school cluster-f:

Although President Wilson had insisted on a League of Nations, even his own Senate would vote the league down and refuse the treaty. As a rush to make expedient settlements replaced initial negotiating inertia, appeals by many nationalities for Wilsonian self-determination would be overwhelmed by rhetoric justifying national avarice. The Italians, who hadn't won a battle, and the French, who'd been saved from catastrophe, were the greediest, says MacMillan; the Japanese plucked Pacific islands that had been German and a colony in China known for German beer. The austere and unlikable Wilson got nothing; returning home, he suffered a debilitating stroke. The council's other members horse-traded for spoils, as did Greece, Poland and the new Yugoslavia. There was, Wilson declared, "disgust with the old order of things," but in most decisions the old order in fact prevailed, and corrosive problems, like Bolshevism, were shelved.

But of course they couldn't stay shelved. MacMillan argues that what happened in Paris set the stage not only for WWII (both European and Pacific theaters), but also the Cold War and the Mideast conflict.

I'm not sure why Japan was at this conference, as I don't recall her involved very much in WWI, but her representatives were definitely there. Also present at Versailles was a young Chinese leader named Mao Zedong. Yes, he was there, too.

Anyway, my pastor showed me this book earlier in the week, and he highly recommends it. I haven't read it, yet.

What I'm Reading

And speaking of China, I'm continuing to work my way through Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang. I'm up to the Red Guards and the Cultural Revolution, and boy, are things getting ugly. Chang has nothing but contempt for Mao, who encouraged China's yutes to embark on a nation-wide spree of vandalism, destruction, and violence, and she succeeds in conveying a sense of the chaos and absolute madness of those days. Also, this was when the deification of Mao shifted into high gear. And now, it looks like Chang's parents, who are themselves high-ranking party officials in Sichuan province, are about to get clobbered as the great and glorious people's revolution has reached the "eating its own children" phase. As I said, it's ugly, ugly, ugly.

___________

This week, I've been feeding my inner nerd with Curacao 1962: The Battle of Minds that Shook the Chess World by GM Jan Tinman. The winner of this tournament earned the right to play the current world champion (in this case, Mikhail Botvinnik). Coming off of his big win in the interzonal tournament in Stockholm, 19-year-old Bobby Fischer was a favorite. But his performance was underwhelming and sub-par (he finished 4th) and in response, he wrote his famous 'The Russians Have Fixed World Chess' piece for Sports Illustrated where he accused Petrosian, Keres, and Geller of playing easy draws with each other while going all out against other players, Fischer in particular. Also that he saw the Soviet bloc players openly discussing the games in progress, including their own, which is a huge violation of tournament rules.

I've always thought that Fischer was a drama queen whose exaggerations detracted from the kernel of truth embedded in his hysteria, maintaining, for example, that Korchnoi deliberately threw a game to Petrosian, which is complete bullshit, but his complaints about Curacao were taken seriously enough by FIDE, the international chess governing body, that it modified the world championship cycle, replacing the "royal rumble" candidates tournament with a series of individual candidate matches.

Tinman's book discusses the Soviet collusion in playing strategy, but not their blatant, open discussion of in-progress games. Given Fischer's penchant for overstatement, I wonder how bad it really was.

Bleg: by the way, does anyone have a copy of, or an active link to, Fischer's SI article? I couldn't find one, and searching the SI vault yielded nothing.

Hidden Treasure

Ever buy a used book and then find something in it by a previous owner, a personal bookmark, a receipt, maybe a dollar bill? Well, you're not the only one:

Be careful what you use as a bookmark. Thousands of dollars, a Christmas card signed by Frank Baum, a Mickey Mantle rookie baseball card, a marriage certificate from 1879, a baby�s tooth, a diamond ring and a handwritten poem by Irish writer Katharine Tynan Hickson are just some of the stranger objects discovered inside books by AbeBooks.com booksellers.

Read the whole thing. What people put in books is really quite remarkable.

Perhaps this is the inspiration for books like Found: The Best Lost, Tossd, and Forgotten Items from Around the World by Davy Rothbart that covers things found not only in books.

Thanks and a years' supply of ampersands to moron 'Mike Hammer' for this link.

___________

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 10:05 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Currently going through the Honor Herrington series. Although I have all those books in paperback and hardback I am redoing them on the Kindle. I now have a hard time reading the dead tree versions, even the hardbacks. With the Kindle you can set the type size to what ever is comfortable. For those elderly Morons that don't have a Kindle or, even better an android device with a Kindle app, I heartily recommend getting one.

Also, Amazon has a bunch of the L.E. Modesitt series on sale for 2.99 each this morning. Some good stuff there.

Posted by: Vic at August 03, 2014 10:04 AM (T2V/1)

2 >>Yow. 50 million. So why does it look like the only purpose to these lawsuits is to transfer large sums of money from companies to the pockets of lawyers?

Because thet is the purpose. Members of class action law suits get bupkis compared to the attorneys.

Posted by: Aviator at August 03, 2014 10:05 AM (3rrMW)

3 Yow. 50 million. So why does it look like the only purpose to these
lawsuits is to transfer large sums of money from companies to the
pockets of lawyers?

That's actually the reverse of the normal. I have gotten $1 gift certificates on some of these class action suits. The layers got hundreds of million and the consumers got squat is the norm.

Posted by: Vic at August 03, 2014 10:07 AM (T2V/1)

4 Vic is correct....That's an odd class action result.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at August 03, 2014 10:08 AM (QFxY5)

5 How cool is that? I mean, finding the stories after all these years, not that Sean's dad couldn't them get published.

I think it is sad and it is the main reason e-books and self-publishing will take over in the end.

Posted by: Vic at August 03, 2014 10:08 AM (T2V/1)

6 Making David into Goliath: How the World Turned Against Israel

I asked that very question on one of the threads this week. I remember when almost everyone was behind them. I think the oil sheiks have bought off Europe and we followed because liberals like everything europe does,.

Posted by: Vic at August 03, 2014 10:11 AM (T2V/1)

7 Halfway through 'Buddy Holly is Alive and Living on Ganymede.'

Posted by: --- at August 03, 2014 10:11 AM (MMC8r)

8 Thank you, thank you so much, Oregon Muse, for plugging my dad's book. You are the best!

And the rest of youse guys, I hope you enjoy it.

Posted by: Sean Gleeson at August 03, 2014 10:13 AM (J9Iae)

9 I'm working on the first three Larry Correia Monster Hunter books after the many plaudits they have received here. What fun it is!

Posted by: no good deed at August 03, 2014 10:13 AM (w3a0Z)

10 I've started to read the conservative canon starting with Reflections of The Revolution in France by Edmund Burke.

I am pretty familiar with the books that make up the canon but what is the proper order?

Posted by: Kreplach at August 03, 2014 10:14 AM (bKSy7)

11 Another interesting take on the Rabbits vs. The Evil League of Evil culture war in SciFi: http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=6085

Posted by: motionview at August 03, 2014 10:16 AM (e6TyM)

12 Finished Sarum this week. A very long book, but good on the whole, a few clunky sentences notwithstanding.

Now I'm reading The Astronaut Wives' Club. I'm not too far in, but it looks like a fun, quick read. It's my book club book and I've suggested the hostess serve Tang and moon pies! Also, soon to be a tv series, which has me concerned that it will be turned into 'Housewives' type trash.

Posted by: biancaneve at August 03, 2014 10:18 AM (6Turu)

13 Sorry, I forgot how to turn off the italics. Anybody?

Posted by: biancaneve at August 03, 2014 10:19 AM (6Turu)

14 [i\]How about this?

Posted by: biancaneve at August 03, 2014 10:20 AM (6Turu)

15 "I'm not sure why Japan was at this conference, as I don't recall her
involved very much in WWI, but her representatives were definitely
there...."

I've been reading the papers from July and August 1914 on newspapers.com
Fascinating stuff. (For Joe Sixpack newspaper reader, the European war came out of nowhere on July 25.)

Japan declaring war on Germany was very, very big news in the U.S. papers at the time.

Posted by: Rapsail at August 03, 2014 10:20 AM (4HYng)

16 I give up.

Posted by: biancaneve at August 03, 2014 10:20 AM (6Turu)

17 Let's try again.

Posted by: biancaneve at August 03, 2014 10:21 AM (6Turu)

18 >>>>>I'm not sure why Japan was at this conference, as I don't recall her
involved very much in WWI, but her representatives were definitely
there<<<<

The Germans had bought quite a few islands from Spain after the Spanish-American War. The Japanese occupied those islands, went after German possessions in China, and their navy participated in the search for German raiders in the Pacific.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living... at August 03, 2014 10:22 AM (dJCJQ)

19 1
Currently going through the Honor Herrington series. Although I have all
those books in paperback and hardback I am redoing them on the Kindle. I
now have a hard time reading the dead tree versions, even the
hardbacks. With the Kindle you can set the type size to what ever is
comfortable. For those elderly Morons that don't have a Kindle or, even
better an android device with a Kindle app, I heartily recommend getting
one.

Also, Amazon has a bunch of the L.E. Modesitt series on sale for 2.99 each this morning. Some good stuff there.

Posted by: Vic

Yep- I tried re-reading some beloved paperback books from younger years. Could not read half of them- type too small for old eyes.

If I can't get it on kindle or mobipocket I can't see it.

Sold the old books on ebay....

Posted by: backhoe at August 03, 2014 10:22 AM (ULH4o)

20 Working my way through several different books at the moment - a bio of Charles Goodnight, and two novels; Sarum, and Lois McMaster Bujold's latest - Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, all got for cheap, yay, Amazon! Although I can write off the cost of the biography as a business expense, since it is research for the book after the next book, where he will appear as a character - as a very young man. (An interesting and very down-to-earth character, btw.)

I do have a plea for the 'rons and 'ronettes; I am looking for some alpha readers for the next book - my re-working of a certain classic western character famed in various serials and in a recent dud movie. I am about finished with the first set of adventures, and I need to bounce the latest draft off some readers who will give me general feedback and suggestions; such as - 'oh, that plot point wasn't made clear, you've run on a little too much with this description, I like this character - can you play them up a little more, and -hey- what about having the heroes get involved in THIS particular episode in history' - that kind of feedback. . I will send it in PDF form by email to the first handful of volunteers interested, and when all done, a free print copy, just in time for Christmas.

I'm trying it out as a YA adventure novel, aimed at tween and teen boys, who haven't really had anything gripping for them since Harry Potter. Any takers?

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at August 03, 2014 10:23 AM (Asjr7)

21 From Al Stewart's Between the Wars album there is a cool song about the treaty of Versailles, League of Nations.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at August 03, 2014 10:25 AM (Mogjf)

22 I'm finishing up World of Trouble, the final The Last Policeman book, and, always, the writing is crisp and the plot is well crafted and Winters is unflinching in going where the plot leads.

When you stop and consider the view of humanity expressed throughout the whole series, well, let's just say that Dostoevsky would be all dude lighten up. Sadly, I think Winters has it exactly right.

Hmm. I just realized that it sounds as if I'm not enjoying the book, and the series for that matter, but I am. It's just not happy happy joy joy reading.

In other news, I picked up a collection of the Lord Peter stories and they're fascinating from a cultural perspective. They're an amazing view into what life was like in Britain between the wars.

Posted by: alexthechick - Oh save us mighty SMOD at August 03, 2014 10:26 AM (IrByp)

23 just in case...

Hiya, Stately And Prestigious Book Thread! Just wanted to remind the budget-conscious that The Last Mage Guardian is still on sale for the next two days at a mere $1.99.

Currently reading Death Warmed Over by Kevin J. Anderson, featuring a zombie detective. Written in a tongue-in-cheek noir style. (He's trying to solve his own murder, among other things.) And it is free at the moment!

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at August 03, 2014 10:27 AM (2buaQ)

24 Sgt Mom - I'll help you out, and I might even be able to pass it on to a couple of real live tweener boys.

Posted by: biancaneve at August 03, 2014 10:27 AM (6Turu)

25 I'm reading Mark Twain's "The Innocents Abroad" and can't put it down. Over the last year I have read a number of WWI histories, and it is fascinating to read of the period between the American Civil War and the Great War from the point of view of a person with such an incredible ability to note and describe the interesting parts of the journey. It is also fascinating to note that despite such incredible changes over the past 150 years, how many things remain the same.

Posted by: Mike in NJ at August 03, 2014 10:28 AM (AbVcm)

26 Been reading "Nothing Lasts Forever" by Roderick Thorp. (the novel the movie Die Hard was based on.)

Excellent read. The protagonist is a retired WWII fighter ace / cop who became an anti-terrorism consultant. Though published in 1979, some of the things he says about terrorism should be written today. (e.g., Never mind about the ideology they claim to profess. Terrorists are psychopaths, first and last. Handle accordingly.)

Posted by: Rapsail at August 03, 2014 10:28 AM (4HYng)

27 #24 0 Biancaneva - you are on and thanks for the offer of some real live tweener boys - email me; clyahayes-at-gee-mail-dot-com.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at August 03, 2014 10:30 AM (Asjr7)

28
The last book I read was

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African
Really.

Posted by: Soothie at August 03, 2014 10:30 AM (KW2bD)

29 bio of Charles Goodnight,

-
I'm a descendant of Charles Goodnight.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at August 03, 2014 10:31 AM (Mogjf)

30 Anyone reading Kurt Schlichter's "Conservative Insurgency: The Struggle to Take America?" Currently 4.5 stars with 18 reviews on Amazon.

Posted by: doug at August 03, 2014 10:34 AM (Lbtl/)

31 Been reading "Nothing Lasts Forever" by Roderick Thorp. (the novel the movie Die Hard was based on.)

Heh. I love using Die Hard when asked for my favorite movie to book adaptation because very few people remember that Die Hard was a novel first. Mainly because it wasn't called Die Hard.

I was thinking the other day about books to movies and what movies are better than the books and I have to say Jaws is at the top of my list. The book Jaws is all about classism between the townies and the mainlanders and blah blah blah boringcakes.

I like Jurassic Park book and movie equally. I would say that I would give the slight edge to the Andromeda Strain as a movie though I have a deep fascination for the movie as I cannot for the life of me pick out just how it is that the movie maintains the sense of urgency it does because, really, when you watch closely, not much happens. The power of Crichton compels, I guess.

Posted by: alexthechick - Oh save us mighty SMOD at August 03, 2014 10:35 AM (IrByp)

32 Still reading "Thrilling Adventures in the Arctic Regions" from the (High? Low?) Victorian series The Youth's Library of Wonder and Adventure. Keep in mind that this was geared toward yard apes, wharf rats and street spawn:

"These northern hordes, however, flourished with great rapidity on Iceland, in spite of its barren soil and rigorous climate. ... The genius of native poetry survived amidst eternal ice and snows. The want of shady groves and verdant meadows, of purling streams and gentle zephyrs, was amply supplied by the more sublime and awful of nature -- storms and tempests, earthquakes and volcanoes, spouts of liquid fire and boiling water, volumes of smoke and steam and ashes darkening the air and enveloping the whole island, were the terrific visitors of the Ultima Thule of the inhabitable world. "

I love that overstuffed, tasseled and gilded Victorian style.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at August 03, 2014 10:35 AM (QBm1P)

33 23 Hiya, Stately And Prestigious Book Thread! Just wanted to remind the budget-conscious that The Last Mage Guardian is still on sale for the next two days at a mere $1.99.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at August 03, 2014 10:27 AM (2buaQ)

You Morons who haven't read this should try it. It is a good book.

Posted by: Vic at August 03, 2014 10:37 AM (T2V/1)

34 You know who else was at Versailles, Ho Chi Minh.

He didn't get what he wanted for Vietnam, but he did meet up with all those commies.

Posted by: WhyMe at August 03, 2014 10:37 AM (l9mF2)

35 my daughter just got back from boston....she said everywhere she went people were reading the hillary book....which is not surprising because of all the lefties.....but she said it seemed organized....and by organized she didn't think they were actually reading them they were just holding them up like they were reading them.....

Posted by: phoenixgirl at August 03, 2014 10:40 AM (u8GsB)

36
Once again, hamas uses an unrwa school to fire mortars.

http://goo.gl/wcG394

Posted by: Pug the Boneless at August 03, 2014 10:40 AM (MPxFg)

37 31 I was thinking the other day about books to movies and what movies are
better than the books and I have to say Jaws is at the top of my list.
The book Jaws is all about classism between the townies and the
mainlanders and blah blah blah boringcakes.

Posted by: alexthechick - Oh save us mighty SMOD at August 03, 2014 10:35 AM (IrByp)

Princess Bride falls in that category. Also, Quo Vadis but that was because the book was simply too long. It bores you to tears before you can get to anything.

Posted by: Vic at August 03, 2014 10:41 AM (T2V/1)

38 downloaded screams from my father - what a wonderful remembrance to have done. I'm sure I will enjoy it.

reading too many things lately with flagging attention. the hot zone, a ham radio test prep manual, a dissertation on small unit tactics, etc. if i had any discipline they'd be done by now.

constantly getting distracted by these kinds of things:
http://is.gd/N36kOa

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at August 03, 2014 10:41 AM (Cq0oW)

39 The World turned against Israel after the Six-Day war of 1967, because of the KGB.

Never underestimate the power of their propaganda, their ability to insert information (dis-information) and their viewpoint into a society through "front" groups. Reading about the NKVD and later KGB in books by Christopher Andrew is really vital to being informed; "KGB: The Inside Story" and "Sword and Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive".

The "Palestine Liberation Front" was largely a creation of the Soviet KGB. The KGB and GRU were deeply embedded in Syria, Egypt and Iraq.

George Soros supports many propaganda "front" groups now, and when he dies (soon, I hope) I would guess that the new Russian FSB will enter to support them.

These sort of "front" groups always are meant to sow Chaos and mis-information into a society. The election of Obama was one of the greatest triumphs of propaganda front groups in history.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative riding the comfy chair at August 03, 2014 10:42 AM (+1T7c)

40 The Cat in the Hat occupies Wall Street.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot Jr. at August 03, 2014 10:43 AM (cZmyL)

41 Princess Bride falls in that category. Also, Quo Vadis but that was because the book was simply too long. It bores you to tears before you can get to anything.

Posted by: Vic at August 03, 2014 10:41 AM (T2V/1)

Yup Princess Bride is way way up there. I feel sorry for the people who read the book because if the movie is just that awesome the book must be so much better and yeah. No. Not that the book is bad, mind you, it's merely that it is nothing like the movie in tone. Or awesomeness.

Oh and I reread The Hot Zone this week for obvious reasons and it doesn't make me think we're all going to die from Ebola any less.

Posted by: alexthechick - Oh save us mighty SMOD at August 03, 2014 10:44 AM (IrByp)

42 >>>>> Quo Vadis but that was because the book was simply too long.<<<<

Not to mention the movie has Peter Ustinov and Leo Genn both engaged in some righteous scenery chewing and the lovely Deborah Kerr being lovely.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living... at August 03, 2014 10:44 AM (dJCJQ)

43 Almost through Brad Thor's "Act of War." Intelligent thriller based on plausible world threats. Not necessary to have read previous Thor books to enjoy. Highly recommended.

Posted by: doug at August 03, 2014 10:46 AM (Lbtl/)

44 My kindle app seemed to have vanished due to whatever whims of the netbook are. Got the damned thing back after a few password hassles with Amazon....

Posted by: backhoe at August 03, 2014 10:47 AM (ULH4o)

45 The Imperial Japanese Navy in World War One watched a sufficient portion of the Pacific that the British were not fatally overstretched protecting their own trade.

In World War Two, there was a strong faction within the IJN that did NOT want to make war against Britain - their entire culture was Nelsonian, and the modern Japanese navy (the one that defeated Russia in 1905) had been born in British shipyards. That faction lost. The existence of that culture is why the majority of Japanese WW2 atrocities were NOT committed by the IJN.

Posted by: perturbed at August 03, 2014 10:47 AM (TXq4O)

46 Posted by: alexthechick - Oh save us mighty SMOD at August 03, 2014 10:35 AM (IrByp)

Totally agree about "Jaws". Far better movie than the book.

As far as "The Andromeda Strain", both the book and movie portray scientists who are trying their best to identify a disease. Although the movie combines at least 2 characters into one, it's a pretty damn good adaptation. (Only one real quibble from me. In the book, the satellite crashes in AZ. In the movie, it's NM. Since I was raised in Tucson, I wanted it to be my home state).

Posted by: HH at August 03, 2014 10:47 AM (XXwdv)

47 42 Not to mention the movie has Peter Ustinov and Leo
Genn both engaged in some righteous scenery chewing and the lovely
Deborah Kerr being lovely.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living... at August 03, 2014 10:44 AM (dJCJQ)

And it looks like Atlas Shrugged will fall in the same category as well. The book was good but Ayn Rand suffered from severe diarrhea of the pen. The movie is doing the editing for her. I say "looks like" because the 3rd part has been delayed until Sep.

Posted by: Vic at August 03, 2014 10:48 AM (T2V/1)

48 I blitzed through Ed Klein's "Blood Feud: the Clintons vs. the Obamas". Any schadentingles I enjoyed were more than offset by gastric distress at the notion that these leeches are trying to secure their own political dynasties a la the Kennedys. Clinton is willing to expend his last breath getting Hillary into office and they are even grooming the animatronic Chelsea for future service to her country. Even more horrifically, Michelle and ValJar are apparently considering running Mooch for office in Chicago, as a springboard for higher office.

SMOD, supervolcano, alien invasion -- I don't care, but one of you has got to step up to the plate!

Posted by: All Hail Eris at August 03, 2014 10:48 AM (QBm1P)

49 44
My kindle app seemed to have vanished due to whatever whims of the
netbook are. Got the damned thing back after a few password hassles with
Amazon....

Posted by: backhoe at August 03, 2014 10:47 AM (ULH4o)

The download for it is free, why not just download a new copy. But, I guess you are fixed now.

Posted by: Vic at August 03, 2014 10:49 AM (T2V/1)

50 I liked the World War Z movie more than the movie. The movie strays from the book a lot since the book is just a compilation of first-person accounts of what they saw during the breakout. I like the idea of this narrative, but I keep putting the book down and reading other books because I can't get into it.
I also just liked how in the movie it was more of a medical mystery to be solved vs. let's outrun the zombies!!

Posted by: Lizzy at August 03, 2014 10:49 AM (D/504)

51 As a mental palette cleanser, I am also enjoying Monster Hunter: Legion, possibly the best so far IMNSHO. Thank Crom for genre fiction.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at August 03, 2014 10:50 AM (QBm1P)

52 Oh, yes! I read the Monster Hunters compilation over the past two weeks - forget which Moron suggested it, but thanks!

Posted by: Lizzy at August 03, 2014 10:52 AM (D/504)

53 Phoenixgirl, I'm in Boston, in a lefty neighborhood, I also ride the subway, and I haven't seen one copy of Hillary's book in anyone's hands. Maybe I'm just not too observant? Well, I have to go up the street in about a half hour, I'll keep my eye peeled.

Posted by: Trotsky with an ice-pick in his head at August 03, 2014 10:52 AM (fPTO4)

54 49
44

My kindle app seemed to have vanished due to whatever whims of the

netbook are. Got the damned thing back after a few password hassles with

Amazon....

Posted by: backhoe at August 03, 2014 10:47 AM (ULH4o)

The download for it is free, why not just download a new copy. But, I guess you are fixed now.

Posted by: Vic

I did- I had not noticed it was missing from my desktop.

Posted by: backhoe at August 03, 2014 10:52 AM (ULH4o)

55
LA Confidential is a much better movie than the book. The screenwriter did an excellent job condescending that mess into a script.

Posted by: Pug the Boneless at August 03, 2014 10:53 AM (MPxFg)

56 BTW folks, I purchased a lot of those L.E. Modesitt books this morning. I have the entire series in paperback but, as I said earlier, can no longer read them. And I wish they had put the Spell Song series on that sale too, I liked that series. But no, they are still running around $7.

Posted by: Vic at August 03, 2014 10:53 AM (T2V/1)

57 Sgt. Mom--

I would like to be one of your alpha readers, please.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 03, 2014 10:54 AM (yRdR4)

58 46 ... "The Andromeda Strain",

Posted by: HH

Lord A'mercy- I went to see that with my first date ever, ages ago. At the Ritz theatre, downtown. Smoked some of her hash....

Posted by: backhoe at August 03, 2014 10:56 AM (ULH4o)

59 I liked the World War Z movie more than the movie. The movie strays from the book a lot since the book is just a compilation of first-person accounts of what they saw during the breakout. I like the idea of this narrative, but I keep putting the book down and reading other books because I can't get into it.
I also just liked how in the movie it was more of a medical mystery to be solved vs. let's outrun the zombies!!
Posted by: Lizzy at August 03, 2014 10:49 AM (D/504)

The only thing that the World War Z movie kept from the book was the title. That's not an insult to either book or movie but it is true.

Is anyone else reading The Stormlight Archive books by Brandon Sanderson? I am very much enjoying those though I find it hilarious that you can tell that Kaladin is Sanderson's favorite character due to the sheer volume of suffering he endures.

As a friend of mine put it so well, how can we comfort our woobies if we don't rip their arms off first?

Posted by: alexthechick - Oh save us mighty SMOD at August 03, 2014 10:57 AM (IrByp)

60 I just skimmed the first story in "Screams from My Father: Stories by Paul F. Gleeson."

If the rest are as good, you'll likely enjoy it.

Posted by: doug at August 03, 2014 10:59 AM (Lbtl/)

61

Lenny Ben-David
Report in Israel on kidnap Hadar Goldin: he was blown to bits, Hamas stole body parts, escaped via mosque & UN ambulance. Hadar Goldin's body taken by terrorists to Gaza Univ, tracked by Israel Air Force & bombed. All buried beneath rubble.

They've pulled shit like this before. I sure hope the IDF bombs more mosques, UN facilities, and has completely destroyed Gaza U.

Posted by: Pug the Boneless at August 03, 2014 10:59 AM (MPxFg)

62 David Horowitz has a new book out which lays out a political strategy on how we should fight the left in the political arena. I'm going to order it soon and I was wondering if anyone has read it, and if so, what they think of it.

It looks like what we should do, from what I've read in the comments sections.

Posted by: Blor-Utar at August 03, 2014 10:59 AM (jOtYH)

63 59 Is anyone else reading The Stormlight Archive books by Brandon Sanderson?

Posted by: alexthechick - Oh save us mighty SMOD at August 03, 2014 10:57 AM (IrByp)

I have read the first one and will read the second one on the Kindle as soon as the price comes down.

Posted by: Vic at August 03, 2014 11:00 AM (T2V/1)

64 Horowitz's book is Take No Prisoners: The Battle Plan for Defeating the Left.

Posted by: Blor-Utar at August 03, 2014 11:00 AM (jOtYH)

65 Currently reading Chronicles of Wasted Time: An Autobiography by Malcolm Muggeridge. I've heard Muggeridge quoted enough by Ravi Zacharias and my pastor that I thought I should read about his life to find out why people believed him to be so wise. From the part of the book I've read thus far, it appears he was under appreciated during his time, yet many call his remarks and writings to have been "prophetic."

The goal for the month is to finish his book and then read Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas, but since they are both sizable books, I'm not sure if I'll make it through both.

Posted by: Mary at August 03, 2014 11:00 AM (2wZs/)

66 I was thinking the other day about books to movies and what movies are better than the books and I have to say Jaws is at the top of my list. The book Jaws is all about classism between the townies and the mainlanders and blah blah blah boringcakes.

I did a book thread a year or so ago about crappy books what got turned into good movies, and Jaws was the prototype example I used.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 03, 2014 11:01 AM (yRdR4)

67 Another interesting take on the Rabbits vs. The Evil League of Evil culture war in SciFi

ESR's take on the literature v storytelling is an artificial distinction. It is like saying that Dali would have been better if he had focused more on realism, or Mucha would have been a great success if only he hadn't done stuff that looked like comic book art.
Correia is a good writer who knows how to tune and time an action scene until it sings. Vox puts out prose like an engraver doing intaglio. But their focus is on plot, action and the idea that people are important when they do things.
An example: David Drake is a classics scholar, and he writes SF adventure stories like he is throwing handfuls of paint. It is not that he doesn't have the literary credentials to write intricate little nothing stories, but he writes adventure stories where the action, plot, and world building are what you focus on, not on the niceties of the description of the character or the underlying philosophy of the actors. And further more, his prose is good, and it doesn't detract from the action.

I suspect that is the way that you sell a lot of books, not by being philosophically pure, or politically reliable or being true to some literary standard.

Posted by: kindltot at August 03, 2014 11:02 AM (t//F+)

68 these leeches are trying to secure their own political dynasties a la the Kennedys.

-
Over at Weasel Zippers they are saying that the Kennedys are encouraging Fauxcahontas to run to keep Hillary out.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at August 03, 2014 11:03 AM (Mogjf)

69 The story of finding your fathers stories is amazing! I look forward to reading them!
I have been reading Private Path by Mary Jo Ryan. I'd pay a link but it won't let me link to Amazon so you'll have to search for it I guess.

When my grandmother died my uncle found a collection of her desk journals from 1937 to 1943. He published them a few years back and they are really a treasure for us especially but, I think equally appealing to those not related.

It begins with the first mention of the man who became my grandfather and follows them through as they finish high school in night school (physics and latin, hs was serious back then) and through the beginning of ww2 and some tragic and some sweet days.
It is a sweet and touching account to follow this devout Chicago Catholic woman through her life for a few years. Just seemed this was an appropriate time to mention it!

Posted by: m3 - lurker posts at August 03, 2014 11:05 AM (KrER7)

70 60
I just skimmed the first story in "Screams from My Father: Stories by Paul F. Gleeson."

If the rest are as good, you'll likely enjoy it.

Posted by: doug

I did download it- that is how I learned Kindle had gone AWOL....

This new tech is amazing. Had an appliance repairman here to fix the washer ( it needs a special order part )- he had a tablet for work orders.

"Within 30 minutes you will get an email of a copy."

Sure did. I can remember when BBS's were the hot tech....

Posted by: backhoe at August 03, 2014 11:05 AM (ULH4o)

71 35and by
organized she didn't think they were actually reading them they were
just holding them up like they were reading them.....

'Round my neck of the lack of woods, the Jehovah's Witnesses don't knock on your doors much. Instead, they seem to go for walks in pairs along the main roads in town, holding a copy of The Watchtower in a prominent position as they talk amongst themselves.

Posted by: Anachronda at August 03, 2014 11:06 AM (o78gS)

72 Sgt Mom, I'll gladly take you up on that. Can I email you via your website?

Posted by: Darles Chickens at August 03, 2014 11:06 AM (GdJDc)

73 The story of finding your fathers stories is amazing! I look forward to reading them!
I have been reading Private Path by Mary Jo Ryan. I'd post a link but it's Amazon and it won't let me?
When my grandmother died my uncle found a collection of her desk journals from 1937 to 1943. He published them a few years back and they are really a treasure for us especially but, I think equally appealing to those not related.

It begins with the first mention of the man who became my grandfather and follows them through as they finish high school in night school (physics and latin, hs was serious back then) and through the beginning of ww2 and some tragic and some sweet days.
It is a sweet and touching account to follow this devout Chicago Catholic woman through her life for a few years. Just seemed this was an appropriate time to mention it!

Posted by: m3 - lurker posts at August 03, 2014 11:08 AM (KrER7)

74 Sgt. Mom, I'd be thrilled to alpha read. Is this a restating of an extremely copyrighted crime fighter in the American West?

If you get an email from Aldous Huxley, that is me responding.

Posted by: kindltot at August 03, 2014 11:09 AM (t//F+)

75 21 From Al Stewart's Between the Wars album there is a cool song about the treaty of Versailles, League of Nations.
Posted by: The Great White Snark at August 03, 2014 10:25 AM (Mogjf)

Actually, the song title is "A League of Notions". Lyrics here:

https://tinyurl.com/p26ylf4

Posted by: rickl at August 03, 2014 11:10 AM (sdi6R)

76 @70 Just got my emailed bill from Amazon - $0.00! :-)

I really love my Kindle. If you don't have one, the free Kindle apps for iOS and Android are great. If you have PC/Mac/Linux, the free "Kindle Cloud Reader" works very nicely.

Posted by: doug at August 03, 2014 11:11 AM (Lbtl/)

77 I have read the first one and will read the second one on the Kindle as soon as the price comes down.

Posted by: Vic at August 03, 2014 11:00 AM (T2V/1)

This is the point where I rant about how I got my first kindle to save space and to spend less money because hey ebooks were going to be so much cheaper than paper books, right?

Yeah. No.

On the storyteller vs. literature front, you want to know why those damn Twilight books sold so many copies? Because Stephanie Meyer tells the hell out of a story and because she nailed the psychology of teenage girls dead on. Now, mind you, I think she did the psychology part rather accidentally and I am bitterly jealous that she's made all that money because I can write scholcky dreck too. But it all comes down to being able to tell the hell out of a story. Which she did. Damn her.

See also JK Rowling

Is Harry Potter literature in the grand sense of the classics? Nope. Are those books going to endure? Yup. Why? Because she tells a cracking good yarn. That may be one of the most difficult writing feats of all.

I believe that's what's behind the success of the Robert Galbraith books as well. What is a mystery other than the story behind what happened, after all.

Hell, Stephen King can tell the hell out of a story, for all the he is now absolutely batshit insane and ahahahaha editor wut. He can tell a story and that is why he's been so successful.

I have little patience for the literature vs. story telling divide. Literature is a story that has put on airs. That's all.

Posted by: alexthechick - Oh save us mighty SMOD at August 03, 2014 11:15 AM (IrByp)

78 The Andromeda Strain is a great movie, but I drifted off of the book about halfway through, probably because it's pretty close to the movie and I'd seen it before...Sometimes its better if there are differences.

The book version of 'Colossus' which was made as 'Colossus: The Forbin Project' is almost identical to the film.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Posted by: --- at August 03, 2014 11:17 AM (MMC8r)

79 71
35and by

organized she didn't think they were actually reading them they were

just holding them up like they were reading them.....

'Round
my neck of the lack of woods, the Jehovah's Witnesses don't knock on
your doors much. Instead, they seem to go for walks in pairs along the
main roads in town, holding a copy of The Watchtower in a prominent
position as they talk amongst themselves.

Posted by: Anachronda

The jw here are real pests. Nice enough, but nuances.

Posted by: backhoe at August 03, 2014 11:17 AM (ULH4o)

80
Simon Schama
The misery just keeps on coming. It is time to stop. Hamas and Israel both

What is it about leftardism that makes you a blithering idiot? Just stop, you two!!!1!!!
Ace likes this guy. I don't. He's also an obammy shill.

He links to a Friedman column where dumbass Tommy says both Israel and Egypt must open their borders to terrorists. Why? So they can come in and kill people? That's why they were closed. Schama was criticizing the WB barrier tho he had to admit it stopped suicide bombers. But he whined that it prevented Jews from being brave and interacting with the "other" I think they have had enough of interacting, aka, getting murdered by the other. Fucking leftards!

Posted by: Pug the Boneless at August 03, 2014 11:20 AM (MPxFg)

81 Actually, the song title is "A League of Notions". Lyrics here:

Al is quite the history buff. Another great song of his is 'Roads To Moscow' about a Russian soldier who has spent 4 years fighting for his country and then gets caught up in Stalin's purges.

Dude puts on a helluva concert, too. He's an old man now, but his voice still sounds like it always has.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 03, 2014 11:20 AM (yRdR4)

82 77 This is the point where I rant about how I got my first kindle to save
space and to spend less money because hey ebooks were going to be so
much cheaper than paper books, right?

Posted by: alexthechick - Oh save us mighty SMOD at August 03, 2014 11:15 AM (IrByp)

On the older books they generally are cheaper, but it seem until the get real old they charge roughly the same as the paperback.

But the irony is that even though they are mostly cheaper, at least the ones I buy, I am spending a lot more money on books because it is too easy to buy them and download.

Posted by: Vic at August 03, 2014 11:21 AM (T2V/1)

83 amzn.to/1qHA3k5

Private Path by Mary Jo Ryan

Posted by: m3 - now this is becoming a habit! at August 03, 2014 11:23 AM (KrER7)

84 Great rant, AtC!

And re: Hell, Stephen King can tell the hell out of a story - The movie Shawshank Redemption is so good, just as King's original short story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.

Posted by: Lizzy at August 03, 2014 11:24 AM (D/504)

85 I recall Edgar Rice Burroughs had a snippet in the intro to one of his serial books (paraphrasing)-

"by the time, dear reader you have reached the second page, you will have forgotten about me...."

No small talent, indeed.

Posted by: backhoe at August 03, 2014 11:28 AM (ULH4o)

86 Thanks for the recommendations ...

Posted by: Adriane ... at August 03, 2014 11:29 AM (TTOGv)

87 Thanks for the recommendations ...

Posted by: Adriane ... at August 03, 2014 11:29 AM (TTOGv)

88 Jihadists look at that Prague library pic and think, "Man, how I'd love to visit that place. And burn it down."

Posted by: ex libris at August 03, 2014 11:29 AM (U6goT)

89 m3, thank you for the link.

And re: Hell, Stephen King can tell the hell out of a story - The movie Shawshank Redemption is so good, just as King's original short story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption.
Posted by: Lizzy at August 03, 2014 11:24 AM (D/504)

There's another movie from story where each work is great on its own. I still say that Carrie is one of the greatest novellas ever written. There was no need to add in the newspaper accounts padding to make it novel length.

Posted by: alexthechick - Oh save us mighty SMOD at August 03, 2014 11:29 AM (IrByp)

90 Ben-Hur is another book that was much improved in the adaptation to screen.

Posted by: Darles Chickens at August 03, 2014 11:31 AM (GdJDc)

91 Posted by: Pug the Boneless at August 03, 2014 11:20 AM (MPxFg)

Shut up and get in line for the showers like a good little yid.

The NERVE of Israel to fight for its own survival!

Posted by: The World at August 03, 2014 11:31 AM (QFxY5)

92 I gave up on David Stockman's book. I know Reagan wasn't a perfect President. But Stockman goes off on this anti-Reagan rant over the defense budget. It got old fast.

Spent most of the week reading "The Resilient Gardner" by Carol Deppe. Lots of good info on growing food and saving seeds.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 03, 2014 11:34 AM (Lqy/e)

93 Speaking of authors. I have 3 sisters, 2 of them who live near me. The other one lives in NM, and years ago she had a story published in L. Ron Hubberds best of SF or something.

Anyhow, that sister was visiting here recently, and had been doing some writing.

She left her lap-top around while she was out and about and the other 2 sisters read what she had been writing. OMG, they were funny as hell as they described to me how bad her writing was. Characters that didn't do anything, a plot that goes nowhere, etc etc.

Man that was hilarious.

OTOH, I have a Niece who is going to be published soon, by a major book company and she got a very nice money advance.

So there is that.

Posted by: HH at August 03, 2014 11:35 AM (XXwdv)

94 Hi AtC,

Loved the Lord Peter Whimsey stories and plowed through them all when a teen. Perhaps time for a revisit.

Not sure fit's your thing but I also loved the Nero Wolfe books(mostly they're shortish novels) and plowed through those around the same time.

The Nero Wolfe books are kind of interesting in that they're almost exactly between in terms of story and action the Lord Peter Whimsey type of mystery and the Dashell Hammett/Mickey Spillane type.

Nero Wolfe and his legman Archie Goodwin sort of represent the two types of detective.

Fun reads with good mysteries and the series is long-lived enough that the author, Rex Stout, can subtly play around with his own format in a convincing manner.

Forget the awful TV series - speaking of books better than their filmed adaptations.

Posted by: naturalfake at August 03, 2014 11:36 AM (KBvAm)

95 79

Print off a copy of this and keep it by your door should they stop by. Show it to them. They'll never come by again.

or this

http://tinyurl.com/lal73ko

Posted by: Got one by my door at August 03, 2014 11:36 AM (U6goT)

96 Is Simon Schama the English historian?

Posted by: andycanuck at August 03, 2014 11:37 AM (dPQys)

97 I guess that Apple settlement affects those who bought books from the Apple store. I got an email from Amazon months ago they had put about a $57 credit in my account for future ebook purchases.

Fischer was nuts and got nutsier as he got older, but he was right about Soviets working against him. I've read they discussed his suspended games, but didn't know he accused them of discussing on-going games, which would be big-time cheating. Maybe he wouldn't have been so paranoid if he hadn't so much reason to be.

Re-read Sabrina Chase's The Last Mage Guardian and about 1/3rd through the sequel Dragonhunters. Enjoyed going through the first book again and it refreshed my memory of the major characters, who are back fighting evil in book two. Very good so far.

Posted by: waelse1 at August 03, 2014 11:37 AM (uM7wp)

98 Ben-Hur was adapted for the stage before it was made into, what, four or five movies? The stage production was massive, and included a treadmill for live horse teams on stage. They had a private circus train to move the production on the road. And it made Lew Wallace a heap o'money.

Everybody knows, right, that Buffalo Bill was a stage actor before he was a buffalo hunter?

Posted by: Stringer Davis at August 03, 2014 11:38 AM (xq1UY)

99 Read Book 7 of the Kate Daniels series, Magic Breaks, by Ilona Andrews this week. It's officially between that and Skin Game by Jim Butcher for my book of the year now.

Posted by: Shawn at August 03, 2014 11:39 AM (eK3xL)

100 FWIW, I'm not into piracy and I don't support it. I do think that Amazon is right and that many publishers are trying to gouge on ebook prices.

Further, accessing pirated stuff is a security risk for your computing device.

Nevertheless, this post may interest you. From site "the digital reader" via link http://goo.gl/lAC4wc

So, consider the legalities, your morals, and the potential security risks before acting, but the post makes the point that piracy has not significantly impacted book sales. I've found the site to be worthwhile and subscribe to the RSS feed.

Posted by: doug at August 03, 2014 11:42 AM (Lbtl/)

101 #92

You should give it another chance. The Reagan stuff is but a very small slice of that doorstop volume. For example, the analysis of what was really driving the insane IPOs of the Dot.Bomb era should be required reading for anyone considering investments.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 03, 2014 11:42 AM (NLEgK)

102 93
Speaking of authors. I have 3 sisters, 2 of them who live near me. The
other one lives in NM, and years ago she had a story published in L. Ron
Hubberds best of SF or something.

Anyhow, that sister was visiting here recently, and had been doing some writing.

She
left her lap-top around while she was out and about and the other 2
sisters read what she had been writing. OMG, they were funny as hell as
they described to me how bad her writing was. Characters that didn't do
anything, a plot that goes nowhere, etc etc.

Man that was hilarious.

OTOH, I have a Niece who is going to be published soon, by a major book company and she got a very nice money advance.

So there is that.

Posted by: HH

My first BIL had pretensions about being "the next F. Scott Fitzgerald." He was actually a decent writer but died from melanoma and I was involved in litigation for years after with his family.

As my lawyer put it, "who wants to read morbid, introspective, homosexual BS, anyway?"

He was right- Ray should have written for a less narrow market. He never had anything published.

Posted by: backhoe at August 03, 2014 11:43 AM (ULH4o)

103 "...Chang has nothing but contempt for
Mao, who encouraged China's yutes to embark on a nation-wide spree of
vandalism, destruction, and violence, and she succeeds in conveying a
sense of the chaos and absolute madness of those days. Also, this was
when the deification of Mao shifted into high gear."

Um, remind you of anyone you know?

Posted by: miked at August 03, 2014 11:44 AM (xaIQZ)

104 Al is quite the history buff. Another great song of his is 'Roads To Moscow' about a Russian soldier who has spent 4 years fighting for his country and then gets caught up in Stalin's purges.

Posted by: OregonMuse

A Russian soldier who spent any time at all as a German POW in WWII was always suspected of committing treason. Because, quite frankly, many of them did. If you were captured and held as a German POW, AND SURVIVED! it meant a "tenner", as in ten years in the Gulag upon return to the Rodina.

The story teller in the song was captured for a day, and then was to spend 10 years in Siberia in the Gulag. That was Stalin.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative riding the comfy chair at August 03, 2014 11:44 AM (+1T7c)

105 Finished "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" for the book group and enjoyed it a great deal with how AS narrated a day in a camp where things are bleak and the best thing of the narrator's day is losing himself in work which makes the time fly. I felt guilty for only only giving it a four star rating in Goodreads, which is still high praise imo, but I've read other samizdat type works that I thought were slightly better. It still was very good and one thing I really enjoyed was how he gradually let on to the reader how even after he got out that his life would be permanently separated from his family and his home. Also how Stalin is only obliquely referred to as "Old Whiskers". The group in now on to Toni Morrison's "Beloved" which is *not* a choice I'd have made and if I don't enjoy reading it I'll just say "fuck this shit" and read something else. I've told those cocksuckers to go fuck themselves and their dogshit choices before and I am damn well capable of doing it again. But like I said, I will give it a chance.

In my reading on the Crusades I am past the point where the battle for Antioch happened and it was through a combination of courage, inspiration and luck that the Crusaders were able to prevail. One of the biggest inspirations was when Peter Bartholomew found part of the lance that pierced Jesus pre crucifixion after having been told in a dream that it was under an Antioch church. He found it after digging many days and pretty deep; Asbridge in particular emphasized that it was just a metal shard and looked like you'd expect something to look that had been buried for 1000 years and makes it clear that it could have been anything. Gibbon, the anti Christian cocksucker, is the only source who claims that Bartholomew planted the thing; after I read that I made a point of painstakingly rereading the episode in Oldenbourg and Asbridge and none of them make that claim.

Finally I'm almost done with Patrick O'Brian's "Post Captain" and am thoroughly enjoying it while still marveling at how so much can happen in very few words.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 03, 2014 11:45 AM (/TT/b)

106 Didn't remember David Stockman too well, so watching an interview he did with Reason magazine was eye-opening. He called for raising taxes to the point that the budget balanced, as the US had decided this was the level of entitlements it wanted, and it should pay for them now not pass them on to future generations. Reason asked wouldn't the government just increase entitlement spending even more, and he couldn't see any reason the politicians would do that. Stupid or naive or liberal liar, maybe a combination.

So he's no conservative, not surprised he would attack Reagan.

Posted by: waelse1 at August 03, 2014 11:46 AM (uM7wp)

107 I am pretty familiar with the books that make up the canon but what is the proper order?

Posted by: Kreplach at August 03, 2014 10:14 AM
=========
I'm not sure a proper order is necessary, but you should include Whittaker Chambers' "Witness".

Posted by: mrp at August 03, 2014 11:47 AM (JBggj)

108 #102

Probably 'Writers of the Future,' an annual competition Bridge Publications runs. A lot of people have very mixed feelings about it. On one hand some prominent talents had their first exposure there. On the other, there is a general distrust of anything that has a lot of Scientologists involved.

Some writers I know have been on the judging panels and say they've never detected the Church creeping into the proceedings but feel they have to be alert none the less.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 03, 2014 11:47 AM (NLEgK)

109 August 1914 by Solzhenitsyn. It's going to be a sad day when I finish reading all of his works.

Also, a biography on Huey Long by T. Harry Williams. Very well done. The man was something else, that's for damn sure. Kind of like Obama if Obama was competent; in short, something very scary, and yet more likeable than the professor in the White House today.

Posted by: Aaron at August 03, 2014 11:48 AM (Tlix5)

110 Fischer was nuts and got nutsier as he got older, but he was right about Soviets working against him. I've read they discussed his suspended games, but didn't know he accused them of discussing on-going games, which would be big-time cheating. Maybe he wouldn't have been so paranoid if he hadn't so much reason to be.

Fischer would stink up a tournament with his crappy play and then blame the Soviets for conspiring against him. What gets left out is that none of this would matter if he had simply won more of his games. Bobby always had an extremely inflated view of himself and his abilities, but in the early 60s, that opinion wasn't really justified. He wasn't that good. Not until after 1968 or so did he get scary good.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 03, 2014 11:50 AM (yRdR4)

111 If the attorneys are only getting 1/9 of the payout, that's pretty reasonable compared to a lot of other settlements.

Posted by: Knemon at August 03, 2014 11:50 AM (QVvPB)

112 O/T, but I'm playing a little game of IDF vs. Hamas terrorists with the moles in my yard today

Posted by: Albie Damned at August 03, 2014 11:52 AM (nGaMY)

113 I wanted to read August 1914 but the group whined it was too long so "One Day..." was my compromise. Fuck them; I'll read it on my own.

Levin has played some tapes of Huey Long speaking before. He was one huge pile of shit.

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 03, 2014 11:53 AM (/TT/b)

114 Moles have a right to carrots too!!!11!!!
From the shed to the wall moles deserve it all!!!!1!!!

Posted by: andycanuck at August 03, 2014 11:54 AM (dPQys)

115 106 Didn't remember David Stockman too well, so watching an interview he did with Reason magazine was eye-opening. He called for raising taxes to the point that the budget balanced, as the US had decided this was the level of entitlements it wanted, and it should pay for them now not pass them on to future generations. Reason asked wouldn't the government just increase entitlement spending even more, and he couldn't see any reason the politicians would do that.

O.O You have got to be kidding......

Stupid or naive or liberal liar, maybe a combination.

D). All of the Above.

So he's no conservative, not surprised he would attack Reagan.

No. I always felt he was foisted on Reagan by the liberal Republican elitists.

Posted by: 98ZJUSMC Suntanning in Bizzaro World at August 03, 2014 11:54 AM (QkLCW)

116 #106

You missed the point. If taxpayers had to cover the bill immediately rather than foisting it off on future taxpayers, they'd be far more conscious of what government spending means. Running a welfare state becomes far more difficult if it has to be paid for in real time.

Have you never asked yourself why there is such a lack of political will to really cut spending? It's no different than telling a child to behave a certain way when there are no consequence for ignoring you.

Raise taxes tot he point of paying off the national debt within a decade and see how tightfisted the bleeding heart vote suddenly becomes. Make the pain real and the political will becomes real.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 03, 2014 11:56 AM (NLEgK)

117 The down side is that when you are taxing 25% to support the rest, there is no upper level of pain that the 75% are unwilling to impose on someone else so they can keep getting goodies.

Posted by: kindltot at August 03, 2014 11:59 AM (t//F+)

118 O/T, but I'm playing a little game of IDF vs. Hamas terrorists with the moles in my yard today

What, are they shooting little rockets at you from their mole schools, and then blaming you for genocide?

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 03, 2014 12:00 PM (yRdR4)

119 About a year after my return from Vietnam, I was standing duty on an off day, a Monday or Tuesday (I and I duty) and the Skipper walked in to check on some civilian mail (delivered to the unit, looking for a gift for his wonderful wife). He noticed I was reading Guns of August. He than asked me if there was any fresh coffee around, and we had a great conversation. Now, at the time I was possibly the most junior sergeant in the Corps, but the Skipper encouraged me to read more about the 1914 nightmare. When I told him I was interested because of my mom and dad's neighbor, who, in his words, "had a Mons Star and not a scratch" and an old fellow named Victor who served in the Austrian army (retired mill worker, served in the nastiness of the Austro/Italian campaigns, drank beer with him) he, the Skipper got a third cup of coffee. The Skipper had a masters in 20th century military history, and I think was looking for a teaching position in a certain school located near the capitol of Maryland.

Posted by: Bill at August 03, 2014 12:00 PM (N2A89)

120 Oh, and I'm struggling with Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt.
I am suffering from distractions, and ancient paperback and...more fun things to read.

Posted by: kindltot at August 03, 2014 12:01 PM (t//F+)

121 Posted by: Epobirs at August 03, 2014 11:56 AM (NLEgK)

Even if such a thing were done, it would revert to what we have now rather than to smaller government.

Stockman also knows raising taxes to pay for entitlements has the same chance of becoming law as reducing entitlements to match revenue.

Posted by: eman at August 03, 2014 12:03 PM (MQEz6)

122 Bill, you are aware that some of the terminal moraines in the glaciers between Austria and Italy are now dumping out bodies, shells, ammunition and grenades from the battles in WWI? Those bastards were doing trench warfare on glaciers

Posted by: kindltot at August 03, 2014 12:04 PM (t//F+)

123 Raise taxes tot he point of paying off the national debt within a decade and see how tightfisted the bleeding heart vote suddenly becomes. Make the pain real and the political will becomes real.
Posted by: Epobirs

Exactly.
Reagan was right in the short run, with regards to the military build-up and confronting the Soviets and ultimately, winning and ending the Cold War.

But he did not fight the Democrats regarding the reduction in the Welfare State (as did GWB in the last decade) and as a result....here we are. Very low growth, growing deficits as far as the eye can see, and really, no political will ANYWHERE to bring this into balance.

Stockman was right about structurally what should be done, but was politically naive in thinking that we could find a way to "co-exist" with the then (and now) political mindset that enables the welfare state.

Posted by: Bossy Conservative riding the comfy chair at August 03, 2014 12:05 PM (+1T7c)

124 #117

Thus the phrase, 'Going Galt.'

It is nowhere near 75% yet and one man, one vote is a nice sentiment but isn't how it works in real life. Those who would get hit the hardest on the taxes exercise a lot of influence. The left depends heavily on supports from some very wealthy people who would recoil in horror at the taxes they'd have to pay if negating the debt at current spending levels became the law.

Put a ten year goal on the table, with the tax rates adjusted downward if spending is genuinely reduced. Also require that any new spending must be matched by IMMEDIATE tax increases. Further, target the income sources the very wealthy use in lieu of salary. Recall how that became a hot potato issue for Romney?

There will be no change until the consequences stop being abstract threats out beyond the horizon.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 03, 2014 12:07 PM (NLEgK)

125 Re: Lord Peter Whimsey & Nero Wolfe.

Never read the Whimsey books, but really enjoyed the BBC TV show. Great character.

Grandmother, great aunts, and mother were huge Nero Wolfe fans and passed around books and pulp mags. I caught the bug and still find them quite enjoyable.

Via instapundit.com, Glenn Reynolds got me interested in Randall Garrett's "Lord Darcy" character. Great stuff, even for a reader who isn't a fantasy fan. Well plotted and written.

From wikipedia: "Lord Darcy is a detective in an alternate history, created by Randall Garrett. The first stories were asserted to take place in the same year as they were published, but in a world with an alternate history that is different from our own and that is governed by the rules of magic rather than the rules of physics. Despite the magical trappings, the Lord Darcy stories play fair as whodunnits; magic is never used to "cheat" a solution, and indeed, the mundane explanation is often obscured by the leap to assume a magical cause."

Posted by: doug at August 03, 2014 12:08 PM (Lbtl/)

126
Israeli Border Policeman Dives Headfirst Into Car to Foil Bombing Bid (VIDEO)

http://goo.gl/qN2zfN

Posted by: Pug the Boneless at August 03, 2014 12:08 PM (MPxFg)

127 The "raise taxes to cause pain to cut spending" plan does not work.

Higher taxes produce more spending.

Posted by: eman at August 03, 2014 12:09 PM (MQEz6)

128 Been on an Elmore Leonard kick.

Anyone got any recommendations from him? Much obliged.

- Ian

PostScript: Just read Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, which is a good thriller about a missing wife in small town Missouri, and her husband is the main suspect.

Posted by: Ian B. at August 03, 2014 12:10 PM (jfhc2)

129 #121

Why? The Dems love to raise taxes. Put forth the suggestion and force them to explain their policy reversal. How many times has Obama spoken about the wealthy paying their 'fair share,' meaning foot the bill for the dole. It's pure Alinsky, forcing your opponent to live by his own rules.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 03, 2014 12:11 PM (NLEgK)

130 #127

Really? When has this been tested without a plethora of loopholes to be exploited by those who can afford full time accountants? You can't do it halfway and then say it doesn't work.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 03, 2014 12:13 PM (NLEgK)

131 23 just in case...

Hiya, Stately And Prestigious Book Thread! Just wanted to remind the budget-conscious that The Last Mage Guardian is still on sale for the next two days at a mere $1.99.

Currently reading Death Warmed Over by Kevin J. Anderson, featuring a zombie detective. Written in a tongue-in-cheek noir style. (He's trying to solve his own murder, among other things.) And it is free at the moment!
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at August 03, 2014 10:27 AM (2buaQ)

The Kindle version of Death Warmed Over is actually free right now.

Posted by: BornLib at August 03, 2014 12:13 PM (zpNwC)

132 Some writers I know have been on the judging panels
and say they've never detected the Church creeping into the proceedings
but feel they have to be alert none the less.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 03, 2014 11:47 AM (NLEgK)

Yes, it was indeed 'Writers of the Future'.So when the book and her story was published, my sister came out to L.A. where I was living. Her and all the other authors wound up staying at the Scientology Center which was the old Cedars of Lebanon Hospital near downtown L.A.She later told me that her and other authors had been discussing things in private, but then some Scientologist minder came along and seemed to know what they had been discussing. She figured they had been spied upon.Just for what it's worth...

Posted by: HH at August 03, 2014 12:14 PM (XXwdv)

133 @128 You can't go wrong with Elmore Leonard.

I've been a fan of the TV show "Justified" and Amazon has an "Elmore Leonard Raylan Givens 3-Book Collection." I like the novel "Raylan."

Have you read "Get Shorty?"

Honestly, you just about can't have a bad experience.

Posted by: doug at August 03, 2014 12:16 PM (Lbtl/)

134 122 according to old Victor, missing a toe as he was, the Alpine campaigns were a first class nightmare/clusterfuck. He told some of us barflies about the time they were shipped to that engagement. Giving up their 77's they received some sort of mountain howitzer, were placed on trains, and had no winter clothing or gear, hence lack of a toe from frostbite.

Posted by: Bill at August 03, 2014 12:20 PM (N2A89)

135 Higher taxes produce more spending.

Posted by: eman at August 03, 2014 12:09 PM (MQEz6)

Please to explain?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at August 03, 2014 12:20 PM (QFxY5)

136 @116,
No way would the FSA have to pay their share of taxes for entitlements, it would be massive tax increases on businesses (don't they have enough reason to flee the US now?) and taxpayers. Look at all the low-income people squawking now because O-Care isn't free for them, it should be those other guys footing the bill.

Posted by: waelse1 at August 03, 2014 12:20 PM (2+rKv)

137 Been reading "Feed" by Mira Grant (Seanan McGuire) on the recommendation of a couple of my friends and boy do I hate it. It's every Liberal cliche in the world held together by a thin twine of zombie fiction. I almost feel insulted that they thought I would like this novel.

I'm two thirds of the way into it and it has no redeeming qualities so far.

To sooth my pain I started reading "FREEDOM!" by Adam Kokesh and "Darkship Renegades" by Sarah A. Hoyt.

Posted by: BornLib at August 03, 2014 12:21 PM (zpNwC)

138 Reading Michael Lewis's Flash. The HFTs are not being flattered.

Posted by: DaveA at August 03, 2014 12:22 PM (DL2i+)

139 I think you might have misremembered. MacMillan didn't say Mao was at Versailles, but demonstrating in Peking in May 1919. I can see how the phrasing might have been misinterpreted, though. On the other hand, Ho Chi Minh, then training to be a chef and later one of the founding members of the French Communist party, was there and tried to lobby for Vietnamese independence.

Posted by: DaveAAA at August 03, 2014 12:22 PM (cdnnI)

140 "Freaky Deaky" is great too.

Leonard's novels read like great screenplays. He doesn't give descriptions of his characters because the dialog reveals everything you need to know about them.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at August 03, 2014 12:23 PM (QBm1P)

141 Thanks, guys - for volunteering to be alpha readers! Yes, it is a re-working of a certain Old West classic crime-fighter but with every identifiable marking which could excite the interest of the copyright holders carefully scrubbed and filed away. About the only similarity is that the two lead characters are a Texas Ranger in the days of the Republic of Texas and a Delaware Indian scout and interpreter. Everything else is ... different.

And if it's not different enough, let me know after reading!

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at August 03, 2014 12:23 PM (Asjr7)

142 133
@128 You can't go wrong with Elmore Leonard.

I've been a fan of the TV show "Justified" and Amazon has an "Elmore
Leonard Raylan Givens 3-Book Collection." I like the novel "Raylan."

Have you read "Get Shorty?"

Honestly, you just about can't have a bad experience.

Posted by: doug

Yep- the guy could write.

Posted by: backhoe at August 03, 2014 12:23 PM (ULH4o)

143 Finished the last book in the All Souls Trilogy . It was good. I expected something a little better but the author tied up the loose ends and left the door open for books about a couple secondary characters. I think the first book in the series, "A Discovery of Witches" was the best. Now I'm back to some major alien ass kicking with the third installment of the Ringo/Weber "Empire of Man" series. Love, love, love it.

Posted by: Tuna at August 03, 2014 12:24 PM (hpWy+)

144 Reading "I Am Hutterite". It's good enough that I'm abandoning the net to work on it some more.

Posted by: creeper at August 03, 2014 12:25 PM (505dn)

145 All of us in Brattleboro love Hillary's book and we all talk about it at our Wednesday night women's club. We also compare her books to that idiot Bush and have determined Bush lied so many times to the world and the people of this country. Next Book that Bush writes should be titled' I lied and got away with it".

Posted by: Dorcus Blimline from Brattleboro,VT at August 03, 2014 12:25 PM (hP/Mt)

146 I read it as well, Tuna. Did you have a hard time getting through the first quarter of the book? I found it tedious.

Posted by: no good deed at August 03, 2014 12:26 PM (w3a0Z)

147 105, 109, 113... I've read The Gulag Archipelago recently, and enjoyed it very much. AS makes a number of references to "One Day..." in Gulag. Was wondering if anyone had an opinion on the reading of "One Day..." vs. "August 1914"...

Posted by: Mike in NJ at August 03, 2014 12:26 PM (4MUVh)

148 #136

The FSA is a decisive factor in very few elections. Maxine Waters and a few like her but for the most part the limousine liberals have far more influence and need to be targeted.

Most state and national elections in this country nowadays have lousy turnouts. Who do you think is most likely to stay home? The FSA or those with an actual stake in the outcome who are also functional enough to make a taxable income? Nancy Pelosi's father used to have guys walking around on election days handing out ten dollar bills to buy votes but that was a different era.

Of course, we can wait around until the FSA is THE decisive voting bloc. All we have to do is nothing.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 03, 2014 12:29 PM (NLEgK)

149 Thanks for the responses on E. Leonard's books, guys.

As noted above, I also enjoy TV's "Justified," based on his Raylan Givens' stories. Nick Searcy from the show is apparently one of ours.

Thanks again.
Ian

Posted by: Ian B. at August 03, 2014 12:31 PM (jfhc2)

150 #137

Have you noticed that all of the bad guys are people who are openly religious?

Posted by: Epobirs at August 03, 2014 12:31 PM (NLEgK)

151 146
Agreed. I think the author lost some of her inspiration. The whole book seemed kind of hurriedly cobbled together from a bunch of ideas. I expected something more awesome than what I got, but then, that's me. I found myself wanting to know more about Gallowglass and Balwin, especially the loyal Gallowglass. Maybe the author will travel down those roads in future novels.

Posted by: Tuna at August 03, 2014 12:34 PM (hpWy+)

152 Re: the strange "bookmarks" -- want to bet some of the money found in books was actually slipped in there when the book was first gifted?

I've seen parents or mentors put checks or cash in the middle of a book they give a younger person.

If you never read it (or sell it years later on AbeBooks), well, I guess you're screwed!

Posted by: Jobey at August 03, 2014 12:36 PM (dGWLp)

153 59 -

That's exactly why I had such a strong negative reaction to the movie. If you are going to basically chuck the book, why not call your movie "Some Zombie Story, NOT Based on the WWZ Book."

The book was fine. Not full of silly drama, but more of a character study. Some of which was more interesting than other parts, but it was somewhat held together by the investigator.

The movie? It was Brad Pitt acting all morose, and the dickwad movie makers treating the Israelis like idiots, completely opposite to what happened in the book.

Which, given the world theme these days, I'm a LOT more sensitive about than I was, even when the movie came out.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 03, 2014 12:37 PM (Dj0WE)

154 153 -

Which is basically why they had to change the zombies from a slow, relentless force as the book portrayed, into super fast parkour performing zombies, doing impossible CGI stunts.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 03, 2014 12:39 PM (Dj0WE)

155 135 Higher taxes produce more spending.
Posted by: eman at August 03, 2014 12:09 PM (MQEz6)
Please to explain?

Politicians collectively are like irresponsible teenagers: they will spend whatever money you put in their hands. If you give them $1, they'll spend $1, if you give them $10, they'll spend $10. If you think that by giving them $10, they'll spend $1 and save $9, hahahahahahahahahahaha on you.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 03, 2014 12:39 PM (yRdR4)

156 143 Now I'm back to some major alien ass kicking with
the third installment of the Ringo/Weber "Empire of Man" series. Love,
love, love it.

Posted by: Tuna at August 03, 2014 12:24 PM (hpWy+)

I have every book that both of those guys wrote and I don't think either one ever wrote a "bad" book. Some are better than others, but all are good.

Posted by: Vic at August 03, 2014 12:39 PM (T2V/1)

157 Anyone read this:

Jihad made in Germany: Ottoman and German Propaganda and Intelligence Operations in the First World War (Studien zur Zeitgeschichte des Nahen Ostens und Nordafrikas) (v. 59) [Paperback]

Posted by: Jean at August 03, 2014 12:40 PM (6pC4Q)

158 Epobirs, since this is a book thread, I'll just suggest Mises, or Ralph Raico and leave it at that. Mises has a German intellectual's attitude towards fact, but Raico has the voice of Brooklyn and the soul of a poet.

And the extent that the upper tax brackets will go to avoid crushing taxation and push regulation off on others, you may look up "The Vampire Economy" which is a description of the 3rd Reich's Fascist economy just prior to WWII. It is available quite cheaply from www.mises.org

Posted by: kindltot at August 03, 2014 12:41 PM (t//F+)

159 154 -

I'm talking to myself. What I mean is, because the filmmakers decided to allow Israel to be overrun, you couldn't have them be slow, relentless zombies. You had to make them somersault performing zombie group gymnasts, leaping over the walls of Jerusalem before anyone could even begin to react.

Stupid. Just stupid. And all just so you could show Israel, and all their hubris, being destroyed.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 03, 2014 12:42 PM (Dj0WE)

160 #155

Because there are no consequences. At least, not quickly enough to matter. For the politicians or the voters. Change that and everything follows.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 03, 2014 12:44 PM (NLEgK)

161 @148,
You're talking about elections. I'm saying if we increased federal taxes $1 trillion a year, the FSA would be cheering it on, knowing they won't be paying for it.

If you want to have a tax bill hitting taxpayers and the FSA equally hard, maybe you'd get the reaction you're looking for. I don't think it would happen. Low-wage workers already make a profit when they do their fed taxes, with the credits they get.

Posted by: waelse1 at August 03, 2014 12:46 PM (2+rKv)

162 #158

I have read much of that, which is why I'm arguing as I am. It is from such as Mises that I learned of how critical it is that feedback occur in the short span of human memory.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 03, 2014 12:47 PM (NLEgK)

163 Posted by: OregonMuse at August 03, 2014 12:39 PM (yRdR4)

Agreed that higher taxes invariably produces more government spending.

But more government spending means less private sector spending, and, obviously, more government waste. And I wonder whether as government tax receipts increase, government spending increase more. Sort of a nasty feedback loop that ends in the toilet.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at August 03, 2014 12:48 PM (QFxY5)

164 Did I kill the book thread?

I'm sorry, but WWZ, the book, is an interesting character study of how people around the world reacted to this event. The movie is a very special episode of House.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 03, 2014 12:48 PM (Dj0WE)

165 I read Redliners this week. It was okay, I wanted something easy and really liked Northworld so I picked this up a while back.

Speaking of books about China, anyone else read Iron and Silk? I read it a few years back and enjoyed it, the people and the culture that exists kind of outside of Communist control.

Posted by: .87c at August 03, 2014 12:50 PM (qZPXs)

166 BurtTC, I didn't think the Israelis came off bad in WWZ - they were the only nation that took the zombie threat seriously. It seemed that their decision to try to save as may people as possible (thus reducing the # of zombies) is what did them in.
What I didn't like about the movie was that it was the UN who was large and in charge (while relying heavily on the US military personnel and assets, naturally). After watching the way the UN handled the Tsunami in Asia a while back, we know that they would actually be busy funding a study and scheduling a conference in some posh resort to sort out the zombie business while the US and a few allies would be the ones *doing something*.

Posted by: Lizzy at August 03, 2014 12:53 PM (D/504)

167 #161

You have to hit the taxpayers first to get backing for hitting the FSA.

I cannot repeat enough: if the voters don't feel it, it isn't real. Nothing will ever happen to reduce the national debt before it becomes catastrophic unless it stops being an abstract idea to most people.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 03, 2014 12:54 PM (NLEgK)

168 156
Love Prince Roger and his Royal Marines and loyal aliens. So sad that the attrition rate is so high. The authors have created some very memorable characters and I hate to lose them. Loving the lessons in military tactics though. Also the mini lessons in diplomacy, economics, weapons, history, etc.

Posted by: Tuna at August 03, 2014 12:55 PM (hpWy+)

169 OT- Guardians was a good ass time. Go see. Now.

Posted by: RWC at August 03, 2014 12:55 PM (yQPUc)

170 59 Is anyone else reading The Stormlight Archive books by Brandon Sanderson? I am very much enjoying those though I find it hilarious that you can tell that Kaladin is Sanderson's favorite character due to the sheer volume of suffering he endures.

I enjoyed both volumes. And yeah, you can tell he likes Kaladin and Shallan the most. They both are tormented.

Posted by: Shawn at August 03, 2014 12:58 PM (eK3xL)

171
I'm sorry, but WWZ, the book, is an interesting character study of how people around the world reacted to this event. The movie is a very special episode of House.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 03, 2014 12:48 PM (Dj0WE)

I was so disappointed that they didn't use the scene in the sewers of Paris.

If you're going to have one character running around the world so we have interest vested in that character,

throw him into the worst and most creepy situations possible thank you very much.

Also, regarding the super fast Cirque du Soleil zombies,

can't Hollywood understand that in a large setting a slow, but relentless mass of zombies that just keeps coming and coming and coming no matter how many you kill or maim until they overrun your positions and still keep coming is far more dramatic and creepy than

*flip*
*run*
*somersault head first into face*
*bitey bite*
*run*
*triple salchow*
*handstand*
*bow*
*judges award a 9.8*

Posted by: naturalfake at August 03, 2014 12:58 PM (KBvAm)

172 No Battle of Yonkers in the movie really, really blew.

Posted by: RWC at August 03, 2014 01:00 PM (yQPUc)

173 166 -

I'm not willing, especially in a time when much of the world really is trying to wipe Israel off the face of the earth, to give filmmakers credit for essentially saying "well, at least they tried." Especially when in the book, they succeeded!

I could be wrong, but I think that was the starting point for filmmakers. They took the book, saw Israel using a system of careful selection of who they did and did not allow in, and decided, "no, we can't have that."

And proceeded to have a spectacular demonstration of Jerusalem being overrun, with massive explosions going off. It was porn for the "Die Israel" crowd.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 03, 2014 01:01 PM (Dj0WE)

174 So why does it look like the only purpose to these lawsuits is to transfer large sums of money from companies to the pockets of lawyers?

The law firm(s) will also take another 20%-40% of the $450M to pay for the cost of distributing the money to the consumers. & every affected consumer who doesn't respond allows the law firm(s) to keep the money (it has to spend a few years in escrow, just in case it ends up being claimed, but after however long it becomes the law firm's). The lawyers will end up with about 80% of it, in the end.

Posted by: Fussy Dorkstick at August 03, 2014 01:02 PM (MbqmP)

175 @167,
You have to hit the taxpayers first to get backing for hitting the FSA.'

No. Both together or not at all. Political promises of future actions are a well-worn joke.

Posted by: waelse1 at August 03, 2014 01:03 PM (2+rKv)

176 171 -

Heh. 9.5 from the Russian judge.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 03, 2014 01:05 PM (Dj0WE)

177 I started Paul Johnson's "History of the Jews" over again because I had left it for too long. So I got all the way through Chapter 1 which takes me through Isaiah whereupon, Johnson says, Jewishness became a more portable religion, rather than a local identity.

Since I finished Chapter 1, I'm pausing to read a murder mystery, "The Kills," by Linda Fairstein who was a Manhattan sex crimes prosecutor. So it's dragging a bit on background info in the middle of the book, but I guess if the cops have to be informed, so do I. Coin collecting is just not my thing at all.

If I ever finish the novel, it's back to the Jews.

My bathroom book is about teachers' unions, "The Worm in the Apple," and it is rather depressing for all of having been written a while back.

My purse book is on the general subject of prayer for beginners, and it's got some reasonable info and points to make, but it's in the form of a dialogue which is painful and annoying. I'm a big girl: just give me a book.

Posted by: Tonestaple at August 03, 2014 01:12 PM (B7YN4)

178 Most of Drake's books are pretty wonderful. The Northworld series is very fun and pretty solid adventure. It is also kinda fun how he finds a SF way to explain a magical occurrence in the Eddas.
His Igniting the Reaches trilogy is sheer awesomeness, and I have read my copies to shreds. The subject is harsh and difficult, and the characters to pretty awful things to survive, but the whole series is what motives people have to do what they do, and really all the characters are just people.
How good you ask? Hammers' Slammers with hope. That's how good.

He is writing a series with John Lambshead, I believe it is based on the French and Indian wars, and I am waiting to find a copy so I can read it. Lambshead, bu the way, wrote a very nice first novel called Lucy's Blade which is based mostly in Elizabethan England.

Posted by: kindltot at August 03, 2014 01:12 PM (t//F+)

179 #175

Then it will never happen because the voters won't get serious about spending until they really see it as their money.

But you have it wrong. This isn't a political promise ala give us amnesty and we'll get that border security in order, just you wait and see. This isn't some two-stage legislative proposal. This is a strategy for creating political will. Hit the taxpayers in the wallet and make them aware of why. Then comes the demand for spending reduction on entitlements.

Stephen King and Warren Buffett say they don't pay nearly enough taxes, and further, they say they won't do it voluntarily because it goes against basic human instinct. So they need Daddy to force them to do it, for their own good. I want to take them at their word. When they go shopping for loopholes it should be on the front page of the NYT and given five minutes by Jon Stewart.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 03, 2014 01:13 PM (NLEgK)

180 177 -

Have you read any of Johnson's other books? Birth of the Modern is probably in the top 5 of books written in the 20th century. Modern Times basically covers the period of time after the "Birth" book, and it's more red meat than deeply brilliant, but it's still good.

Currently I am re-reading his "Intellectuals," (slowly, in my "spare" time). I would venture to say it should be required reading for anyone who has questions about the direction our planet has taken, and is looking for information regarding the people who had the most influence on who we are today.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 03, 2014 01:18 PM (Dj0WE)

181 Tonestaple, there is an interesting book on what can be determined from various sources in the Near East, a book by Donald Redford called Egypt, Canaan and Israel in Ancient Times. It pulls from scriptural, Egyptian, Hittite, and a few other written sources, and matches against archeology.
Very interesting read, and even if you are not closely read in the subject, it is very interesting.
It was one of my garage sale books, picked it up on a whim for $.50.

Posted by: kindltot at August 03, 2014 01:18 PM (t//F+)

182 OK, try "it is very readable". Interesting also describes Henry Moore's sculptures and my niece's paintings.

Posted by: kindltot at August 03, 2014 01:20 PM (t//F+)

183 182 -

I like the word "interesting." It means what it means to me, and it leaves the reader/listener with some mystery as to what I mean by it.

Obviously then, when I wish to be less cryptic, I'll find a different word, but "interesting" certainly has its uses.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 03, 2014 01:23 PM (Dj0WE)

184 I disagree. The Hawking Index is a hell of a lot more scientific (I love science) than Globullshit Warming.

Posted by: Grampa Jimbo at August 03, 2014 01:33 PM (V70Uh)

185 I've been reading The New International Dictionary of Quotations. Winston Churchill was an effing genius at the snark.

Posted by: Gem at August 03, 2014 01:39 PM (zw+pb)

186 Currently I am re-reading his "Intellectuals," (slowly, in my "spare" time). I would venture to say it should be required reading for anyone who has questions about the direction our planet has taken, and is looking for information regarding the people who had the most influence on who we are today.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 03, 2014 01:18 PM (Dj0WE)

It's not as good as "Intellectuals", mostly because it gilds the lily a bit and has a fairly good dose of "get off my lawn" about it, but-

Degenerate Moderns: Modernity as Rationalized Sexual Misbehavior

by E. Michael Jones

is an interesting read and has thought provoking things to say.

Think of it as "Intellectuals" but coming from the direction of Catholic religion and morality.

YMMV.

Anywho, I think he may have been onto something as the Left has been spectacularly success in using personal sexual conduct and resentment as a pry-bar to peel off young people from building useful lives and into the ranks of the LiVs and FSA.

Posted by: naturalfake at August 03, 2014 01:42 PM (KBvAm)

187 @179,
Obama already massively increased taxes on the wealthy (cancelling the Bush tax cuts, the return of the Death Tax) and the middle-class (Obamacare). You're ready for another round? The hunger government has for your money never ends.

Who cares what King and Buffett think, they're just two people. I didn't realize they made their tax returns public, so we could see if they sought to hide their money from the taxman.

Posted by: waelse1 at August 03, 2014 01:43 PM (2+rKv)

188 Ben-Hur is another book that was much improved in the adaptation to screen.

Posted by: Darles Chickens at August 03, 2014 11:31 AM (GdJDc)

I disagree. Hollywood had to cut so much out of it. Masala lived but was maimed and bankrupt. He send assasins to kill Judah. Jesus personally heals his mother and sister of the leprosy. I love the book.

Posted by: Grampa Jimbo at August 03, 2014 01:46 PM (V70Uh)

189 @101,

The part I did read was interesting and shed a lot of light on crony capitalism. And it was clear that Stockman preferred Eisenhower to Reagan. I might try and pick up a used copy of the book. It's a lot to try and digest in the two weeks that I had it. I really need a copy of The Road to Serfdom too.

Anyone have recommendations for good basic books on economics?

Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 03, 2014 01:48 PM (Lqy/e)

190 Currently I am re-reading his "Intellectuals," (slowly, in my "spare" time). I would venture to say it should be required reading for anyone who has questions about the direction our planet has taken, and is looking for information regarding the people who had the most influence on who we are today.
Posted by: BurtTC at August 03, 2014 01:18 PM (Dj0WE)
------------------------
Seconded! The disconnect between their public musings and their private lives tells you everything you need to know about them.

Tom Wolfe's hilarious "From Bauhaus to Our House" mercilessly skews the tired lefty habit of dictating how the masses are to live while enjoying cushy digs of their own.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at August 03, 2014 01:55 PM (QBm1P)

191 150 #137

Have you noticed that all of the bad guys are people who are openly religious?
Posted by: Epobirs at August 03, 2014 12:31 PM (NLEgK)

Yeah, she hasn't exactly been subtle about it.

She's attacked pro-lifers, Christians, Republicans, pro-death penalty people, people who smoke pot, all gun owners who aren't the protagonist, political bloggers, military veterans, and freelance journalists.

The person who I assume will turn out to be the big bad villain but so far is just depicted as a normal evil asshole is a Christian Republican governor from Texas. Yeah, that's not an obvious stand-in for anyone.

The "good" politician is of course concerned about Global warming, overpopulation and the environment. Earlier in the book she was talking about whole continents being wiped out by zombies and now they are prattling on about OVERPOPULATION being a problem?

And of course the ideal Republican politician is the one who talks in nothing but Leftist cliches.

I loath this book.

Posted by: BornLib at August 03, 2014 01:55 PM (zpNwC)

192 156 I haven't read everything Ringo has ever written, but I intend to. I love his work.

Posted by: BornLib at August 03, 2014 01:58 PM (zpNwC)

193 If you have the power to construct taxation to force people to demand spending cuts, then why not use that power to do the spending cuts in the first place?

Posted by: eman at August 03, 2014 01:59 PM (MQEz6)

194 Anyone have recommendations for good basic books on economics?
Posted by: Notsothoreau at August 03, 2014 01:48 PM (Lqy/e)

Thomas Sowell wrote one called Basic Economics. I just uncovered a copy in a stack of books, and it is on my must read list.

Posted by: Hrothgar at August 03, 2014 02:03 PM (1Mxs7)

195 194 Thomas Sowell wrote one called Basic Economics. I just uncovered a copy in a stack of books, and it is on my must read list.

Posted by: Hrothgar at August 03, 2014 02:03 PM (1Mxs7)

I have been waiting long for that book price to come down. But since they use it for freshman eco at a lot of places it is not budging.

Posted by: Vic at August 03, 2014 02:19 PM (T2V/1)

196 Been reading Problematic by Andy Levy. It is slow going in some parts and I'm currently bogged down in the chapter on cats and swimming pools because of the voluminous footnotes. There is also an inclusion of an email exchange with Stephen Hawking on the subject that seems superfluous.

Posted by: Daybrother at August 03, 2014 02:21 PM (sT0bC)

197 Yes, Bobby Fischer was not only a "drama queen" but a raving anti-Semite despite his own Jewish background. But I would be not only surprised but shocked if the Russkies *didn't* try to rig the world chess tournament to insure the winner was from the USSR. That's how the Soviets played things. Remember the basketball finals in the 1972 Olympics?

Posted by: FOAF at August 03, 2014 02:24 PM (eVemY)

198 The Soviet-Arab alliance actually began well before the 1967 war. In Israel's early days it accepted aid equally from the US and the communist bloc. But by the mid-to-late '50s the Soviets had aligned themselves with the Arabs, in particular Egypt's Nasser. The 1967 war just crystallized the battle lines; the Soviets were also supplying the Syrians by then.

People look at the Mideast conflicts and say "Whaddaya expect, they've been at each other's throats for thousands of years". There is a lot of truth in that but it can obscure the extent to which the Mideast was a theater for the Cold War in the '60s and '70s.

Posted by: FOAF at August 03, 2014 02:30 PM (eVemY)

199
*21 5 star reviews on Amazon and looking for more*
Attention Rail Black fans:
In celebration of Rail's birthday, from 8/1 through 8/3, BEVERLY HILLS IS BURNING will be available for FREE in the Amazon Kindle
store. Just follow the link below to grab a copy for yourself if you
haven't already, and feel free to share this with family, friends or
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Thanks and Happy Birthday, Rail! http://amzn.to/1hUOwFa

Posted by: Rail Black at August 03, 2014 02:31 PM (k7cFB)

200 Attention all Morons and moronettes, as some of you know, I am an author. I am finishing up my 3rd novel and if possible I'd like help with some historical aspects of it.

The book is set in WW2 Poland (Krakow, mostly) and I would like it if some historical and military experts, and particularly experts in Poland, could look the manuscript over and check it out for problems. The book is just under 100,000 words, so its not some vast tome.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 03, 2014 03:05 PM (zfY+H)

201 Just finished "Conservative Insurgency" = lots of wishful thinking to me. The tactics recommended are not the ones that have brought the Left to dominance and would appear to have powerful countermeasures that the author hardly touched. Better than many "America will rise again!" pieces but still seems too na�ve and not nearly as brutally realistic as needed.

Been revisiting Robert Heinlein. First, I finished Volume 2 of the biography then picked up a stack of his works at a used book store. "Tramp Royale" was interesting as a travelogue circa 1954. Half way into one of his later best sellers, "Time Enough for Love." Interesting concept but his dialogues tend to ramble - not as bad as "Atlas Shrugged" but still not the taunt action of, say, "Starship Troopers." Have "Red Planet," one of his juveniles, on deck.

As to 1919, the best description of Woodrow Wilson I've read was by john Maynard Keynes in his "The Economic Consequences of the War": "His thought and his temperament were essentially theological not intellectual, with all the strength and the weakness of that manner of thought, feeling, and expression." He looked around the conference table and didn't see who the mark was.

Posted by: Whitehall at August 03, 2014 03:14 PM (k876Y)

202 Famous putdown of Wilson by (I think) France's Clemenceau: "He has 14 points. G-d himself had only 10!"

Posted by: FOAF at August 03, 2014 03:17 PM (eVemY)

203 BTW, have to second the recommendation for Paul Johnson's "History of the Jews." I read it for the first time this summer. I might re-read his "Intellectuals" sometime soon too.

Posted by: Whitehall at August 03, 2014 03:19 PM (k876Y)

204 (194): "Anyone have recommendations for good basic books on economics?"
Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom
Thomas Sowell, Knowledge and Decisions
Robert Heilbroner, The Worldly Philosophers

Posted by: Malcolm Kirkpatrick at August 03, 2014 03:19 PM (uHUBu)

205 Currently on the nightstand:
Charles Portis, True Grit
Yang Jisheng, Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine, 1958-1962

Posted by: Malcolm Kirkpatrick at August 03, 2014 03:41 PM (uHUBu)

206 Check out "Touching History: The Untold Story of the Drama That Unfolded in the Skies on September 11th" -- by Lynn Spencer.

Absolutely edge-of-your-seat reading.

Posted by: Beverly at August 03, 2014 03:57 PM (QOQHv)

207 I loves me some AOS book thread - I get a good rec at least one out of every 2-3 threads.

Since I like snarky detective novels and urban fiction, thanks to Sabrina for the mention of the Dan Shamble books. They sound right up my alley. Sounds like a good excuse to buy a couple of hers too, since the Shamble book was free (so I feel the need to buy another book).

An earlier commenter mentioned one of the big-dog sci-fi writers (don't have time to read all the posts agin) who was classically trained but still wrote great stuff that moves along at a good clip.

The late great Robert Parker was another good example of this - he had a PhD in English (Boston University, I think) but didn't write in "literary" style (spit) at all - he put out an amazing number of very fast moving Spenser novels. He pretty much single-handedly revived the detective fic with those books. I just finished In Search of Spenser - a series of short essays by mystery writers about the Spenser Books and about Parker. Great read if you're a Parker fan.

Posted by: RightWingProf at August 03, 2014 03:58 PM (LOnHK)

208 Well downloaded Screams of my Father for a later read. Right now need to concentrate on my own writing and collection of rejection slips.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at August 03, 2014 04:16 PM (NKd+C)

209 The mentions of "Ben-Hur" make the background worth retelling - author Lew Wallace commanded the 3rd Division of Grant's Corps, initially held in reserve in the opening actions at Shiloh. When the depth of the Confederate attack became apparent, Grant sent orders to Wallace to bring his troops up. It is still not clear exactly what happened, but Wallace was late in reaching the battlefield, and Grant held him personally responsible for the deaths of thousands of Union troops as a result. Wallace blamed himself for the deaths as well, carrying his guilt to his grave.

A pre-war writer of minor renown, Wallace took it up again after the war, publishing Ben-Hur as his second novel in 1880. The conventional wisdom is that he wrote it at least partially as a way of dealing with these experiences at Shiloh.

Posted by: John the Baptist at August 03, 2014 04:32 PM (Xs981)

210 BurtTC, my first Johnson book was "Modern Times". After History of the Jews, I will do History of Christianity. I think I have "the Intellectuals around here somewhere.

Thanks for the tip, Kindltot. I'll look for that.

Posted by: Tonestaple at August 03, 2014 05:02 PM (B7YN4)

211 Currently reading "True Light," the third installment in the "Restoration Series, by Christian author Terri Blackstock. The saga continues in the upper-middle-class Alabama family who suffers the effects of the pulsar that has knocked out all electronics the world over. It really moves along. While I appreciate a rollicking G-rated story, I honestly don't think even hardcore Southern Baptists say some of the things the characters in these stories do...but I'll continue as they're riveting.
Also downloaded "Screams From My Father." Can't wait to take a look at it.

Posted by: RushBabe at August 03, 2014 05:34 PM (hrIP5)

212 Downloaded "Screams of My Father and hope to get to it sometime this year.

Finished Darrah McKeon's "All that Is Solid Melts into Air" and, while incredibly sad, I enjoyed it. Not sure a novel about Chernobyl can be anything but sad.

Currently finishing "The Sundering" trilogy by Gav Thorpe, and trying to decide whether the next should be Liz MacDonald's "Skirting Heresy" or the Monster Hunter series, or Brad Thor's latest, or finally read some Gore Vidal or get back to my Robert E. Howard collection, or......#)*&%#^Q#

I have entirely too many books. The dead tree stack is huge and the ebooks...if I didn't make another purchase this year, I would still have years of reading in front of me.

Posted by: Dave in San Diego at August 03, 2014 06:20 PM (DKbkP)

213 Downloaded "Screams of My Father and hope to get to it sometime this year.

Finished Darrah McKeon's "All that Is Solid Melts into Air" and, while incredibly sad, I enjoyed it. Not sure a novel about Chernobyl can be anything but sad.

Currently finishing "The Sundering" trilogy by Gav Thorpe, and trying to decide whether the next should be Liz MacDonald's "Skirting Heresy" or the Monster Hunter series, or Brad Thor's latest, or finally read some Gore Vidal or get back to my Robert E. Howard collection, or......#)*&%#^Q#

I have entirely too many books. The dead tree stack is huge and the ebooks...if I didn't make another purchase this year, I would still have years of reading in front of me.

Posted by: Dave in San Diego at August 03, 2014 06:20 PM (DKbkP)

214 I realize this thread is dead, but upon reflection I have to write this.

In the novel Ben Hur, Jesus comes into Jerusalem knowing what is going to happen. Judah Ben Hur had been a disciple of Jesus and with his vast wealth from both his inheritance via Simonides and his Roman foster-father, he builds a large private army.

All his hopes for successful Judean Independence are dashed when, on Palm Sunday, Jesus disapoints the nationalists by not being whom they wanted him to be, a leader to throw off the Roman occupation. The fighters are armed and ready and Jesus is seen to be pretty and somewhat effeminate and not at all what they were hoping for.

Judah realizes that the Messiah wasn't about political conquest. But about Spiritual conquest. In the book, there is great discussion by Balthazar and Judah and the Arab about this central issue.

I find the book 4 times better than the film.

Posted by: Grampa Jimbo at August 03, 2014 06:23 PM (V70Uh)

215 I think this is the Fischer SI article in question. Found it on archive.org. Looks like SI has been trying to scrub it.

http://pastebin.com/dRw7jDs7

Posted by: fischer at August 03, 2014 06:34 PM (8ZnR/)

216 Although I'm a terrible chess player and fully realize that Bobby Fischer was a miserable excuse for a human being and a fucking lunatic, that chess fanatics still talk about him unlike just about any other has made me realize that he truly was something special, if only for a brief period of time.

I was gonna wait to report this until next week but decided WTF why not now: I finished Patrick O'Brian's "Post Captain" and, if anything, found it to be an improvement over "Master and Commander". Unlike Cormac McCarthy, O'Brian can write about male/female interactions without sounding like a drooling retard (it's to McCarthy's credit that I could overlook the excruciatingly horrible scenes in "All the Pretty Horses" and read the vast majority of his published works which I enjoy a great deal. I say that while realizing he isn't the cup of Val-U-Rite for every Moron and 'Ette, at least in part because he is very very graphically violent). The fleshing out of the friendship between Aubrey and Maturin is one of those unbelievably unlikely things that once commenced you want to make sure doesn't go off the rails in a myriad of fashions because they have been such very different types of people from the first vignette of "Master and Commander". They really are great books about friendship.

On to "H.M.S. Surprise".

Posted by: Captain Hate at August 03, 2014 07:04 PM (/TT/b)

217 @207

If you like Urban Fantasy: Kate Daniels. Of course, if you like UF, you probably already knew this. Ilona Andrews is 2nd only to Jim Butcher in the department.

Posted by: Shawn at August 03, 2014 07:44 PM (eK3xL)

218 "It's completely unscientific, of course, but fun nonetheless, mainly because it's books that appeal to liberals that are getting dissed."

Actually, the Hawking Index and the way it was developed very scientific. Is it ironic that the Christian "Science" Monitor doesn't know this?

@PeeteySDee

Posted by: Peter S. Dee at August 03, 2014 07:59 PM (nbOS6)

219 I think this is the Fischer SI article in question. Found it on archive.org. Looks like SI has been trying to scrub it.

Thanks for that link. Too bad they couldn't do the reprint like the magazine had it, including the chess diagrams, which were an integral part of the article.

I don't know why SI would scrub it, I think it's a historic document of some importance.

And the "I'll spot Botvinnik 2 points in a championship match" line is Fischer at his wildly exaggerated, drama-queen bullsh*t best.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 03, 2014 09:21 PM (yRdR4)

220 Also, the "I'm through with international chess" line is a real laugher. Fischer played against a field of Russians at the Capablanca Memorial Tournament at Havana in 1965 (finishing in 2nd, a half point behind Smyslov), the Piatigorsky Cup in 1966 (another 2nd, half a point behind Spassky), and then was a participant in the next two world championship cycles.

So that rhetoric is bullsh*t, too.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 03, 2014 09:50 PM (yRdR4)

221 My vote for creepiest story ever is "The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson. What it's really about is the power of groupthink and where it can take you. To this day, sometimes in administrative meetings at work I mutter "Lottery in June, corn'll grow soon."

Posted by: Dr Alice at August 03, 2014 10:19 PM (tRcjU)

222 197

I'll never forget the ending of the 72 Olympics basketball final. I paced around the living room like a fucking lunatic repeating "this is bullshit; they should've walked off the goddamn court after the two times the game ended and they won." That I didn't destroy something in the house showed a level of maturity I didn't think I possessed.

Posted by: Captain Hate on an iPad at August 03, 2014 10:59 PM (/TT/b)

223 I'll never forget the ending of the 72 Olympics basketball final. I paced around the living room like a fucking lunatic repeating "this is bullshit; they should've walked off the goddamn court after the two times the game ended and they won."

Aargh. My blood boils every time I think about this.

Not only was the clock reset twice in flagrant violations of the rules, but then Beliavsky (sp?) committed 3, count 'em, 3 offensive fouls in the last second in order to score his bullshit layup game winner while the refs stood around like potted plants. Somebody high up in the international basketball governing body really, really, really wanted America not to win.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 04, 2014 12:41 AM (yRdR4)

224 Was Bobby Fischer a great chess player?

Who was the second best American player of the 20th century? (Robert Bryne maybe?)

Posted by: waelse1 at August 04, 2014 01:17 AM (5OB8T)

225 Was Bobby Fischer a great chess player?

Yes. Between 1968-1973, he was unquestionably the best chess player in the world.

Who was the second best American player of the 20th century? (Robert Bryne maybe?)

Reuben Fine, I'd say. Byrne was a fine player, but never a serious title contender. The only thing that kept Fine from being world champion was that he couldn't support himself as a professional chess player and had to instead make his living as a psychologist, which paid the bills.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 04, 2014 11:07 AM (yRdR4)

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