Sunday Morning Book Thread 12-07-2014 [OregonMuse]

Good morning morons and moronettes and welcome to AoSHQ's stately, prestigious, and high-class Sunday Morning Book Thread. The only AoSHQ thread that is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Or kilts. Kilts are OK, too. But not tutus.

P.D. James 1920-2014

The prolific British novelist who became known as the 'Queen of Crime' has passed away:

Phyllis Dorothy James White, who became Baroness James of Holland Park in 1991 but who was better known as “the Queen of Crime” for the multilayered mystery novels she wrote as P. D. James, died on Thursday at her home in Oxford, England. She was 94

I was somewhat surprised to learn that the creator of Adam Dalgliesh didn't much care for some of her predecessors:

Ms. James bristled at the frequent comparisons to genre authors who wrote in the golden age of the English mystery novel, in the 1930s. "That kind of crime writing was...unrealistic, prettifying and romanticizing murder, but having little to do with real blood-and-guts tragedy. One simply cannot take these as realistic books about murder, about the horror of murder, the tragedy of murder, the harm that murder does."

And, in my view, the character of Dalgliesh was her reaction to this. She deliberately set out to be the anti-Christie (or the anti-Sayers):

Her intention with Dalgliesh, she told the British critic and writer Julian Symons in 1986, was to create a detective "quite unlike the Lord Peter Wimsey kind of gentlemanly amateur" popularized by Dorothy L. Sayers. Ms. James envisioned a realistic cop as her protagonist, a dedicated and skilled professional, and yet "something more than just a policeman, you see, a complex and sensitive human being," she said.

Rest in peace.

Recommendations by Famous Men

There's some interesting choices in this article, The Libraries of Famous Men: Thomas Jefferson’s Recommended Reading over on the Art of Manliness blog. Some will be familiar, and some won't. Probably most won't be familiar with:

The Horse Hoeing Husbandry Jethro Tull

I take it this came out before the invention of the aqualung

Making Stuff Up

This may be a repeat, and I apologize if it is.

Sometimes, if an author can't quite find the exact word to express what he wants to say, he'll make one up. Kind of like what one of my math profs once said to me, "mathematicians need to prove things, and if they can't prove something, they'll define it." So here is a list of 10 words invented by authors, or 'authorisms' as they're called. I thought the history behind 'catch-22' (which started out in life as 'catch-18') was interesting. The author of the Guardian piece has written a book on the subject, Authorisms: Words Wrought by Writers.

And speaking of lists, here is the Hollywood Reporter's list of the 25 most influential writers in Hollywood. I think you'll find few, if any, surprises here.

Best Sellers

In case you're interested, Here is a list of the top 10 Kindle best-sellers for 2014 (so far).

1. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
3. Divergent by Veronica Roth
4. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
5. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
6. Allegiant by Veronica Roth
7. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
8. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
9. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
10. Gray Mountain by John Grisham

The entire list is here.

Also, Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken has been priced at $2.99 for several days now, perhaps because of the upcoming movie release.

Some Cookbooks

Pie. Doesn't everyone like pie? Here's a cookbook that looks like it might have some good recipes in it, Me, Myself and Pie, which is a collection of pie recipies from Amish kitchens. Also available in hardback so you can throw a few pennies into ace's cookie jar.

Alternately, if you're Amanda Marcotte, Melissa McEwan, or otherwise a soldier in the ASA (Army of Shrieking Accusers), then something from Bitter: A Taste of the World's Most Dangerous Flavor, With Recipes ought to go down sweet.

And then, for us morons and moronettes who enjoy life and love to eat hearty, there's meat. Big, steaming, roasted chunks of meat. And for that you need The Cook's Illustrated Meat Book: The Game-Changing Guide that Teaches You How to Cook Meat and Poultry with 425 Bulletproof Recipes and great googly moogly, the Kindle version is almost as expensive as the dead tree edition. The OM household has always gotten a lot out of the Cooks publication and we've found that many of their "America's Test Kitchen" recipes simply can't be beat.

We Wish You A Harry Christmas

Attention Harry Potter fans: J.K. Rowling announced that she will be releasing twelve HP short stories to coincide with the 2 days of Christmas:

The bestselling author will be contributing new content as part of Pottermore's festive celebrations. Starting on Friday, December 12, a new "surprise" will be released on the site every day at 1pm GMT.

A newsletter to Pottermore members promises "brand new writing by JK Rowling and even a new potion or two".

And:

Rowling says at least one of the stories will focus on Potter’s rival, Draco Malfoy. Back on Halloween, Rowling wrote 5,000 words for Pottermore about another auxiliary Potter character, Dolores Umbridge.

Books By Morons

A lurking moronette (hello Suzanne!) recommends her son's novels, which are set in the world of professional auto racing.

I like the way he speaks of his books. From his Amazon page:

I wrote these books to entertain. I call it an airplane novel. As in you start it in..say Boston and finish it in San Fran. Six solid hours of page turning action adventure. Will you learn anything life altering? Nah...but you might learn a few things about racing and cars in general. Think of it as a public service. As in you are talking to a bunch of gear heads and you remember what PDK or understeer or Kevlar is and you can speak to it. Mission done...

I think I would disagree with his point about learning. Your values get built into whatever you're writing whether you're conscious of them or not, and even when you're deliberately going against them. Without having read them, I believe these books teach more about what you should properly value and properly disdain and avoid than the author realizes.

The Driver Book-I Decision and The Driver Book II Training, both full-length novels available on Kindle for the low price of 99 cents.

___________

Another lurking moron would like you to consider purchasing his novel John Donnelly's Gold, and for 99 cents (Kindle), what have you got to lose? This is a comic heist novel, featuring a cast of IT nerds:

Robert Davies, Web developer. Daryl Simon, tech support. Michele Isbert, failing novelist. Kevin Horton, marketing assistant...one autumn day, they found themselves out of work, part of the new CEO's new plans for the company. The same new CEO who personally bought a gold bar at auction and put it on the company's Web site as a symbol for the company's prosperity...Stealing that gold bar is the principled thing to do, but only if they can do it the right way, without too much risk to themselves.

Sounds like a story someone should snap up the film rights to.

___________

So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, bribes, 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 you all know, life is too short to be reading lousy books.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:21 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Frust?

Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at December 07, 2014 09:18 AM (RZzX3)

2 Everyone must still be in Church.

Posted by: Bitter Clinger and All That at December 07, 2014 09:18 AM (RZzX3)

3 But not tutus.

Not even for the 'ettes?

Posted by: rickl at December 07, 2014 09:20 AM (sdi6R)

4 OK, let's keep this going. Good post-war books we all read growing up? Alistair MacLean, Robb White.

Posted by: goatexchange at December 07, 2014 09:21 AM (sYUHT)

5 Just finished Monster Hunter Alpha, which I highly recommend for all your werewolf needs, and have started Monster Hunter Legion.

Posted by: Darth Randall at December 07, 2014 09:24 AM (6n332)

6 Good morning, semi-literate fappers!

Posted by: Insomniac at December 07, 2014 09:29 AM (mx5oN)

7 I am sure it has been mentioned.

In two hours the Japs, at 7:48 Hawaiian time, will attack Pearl Harbor, on a SUNDAY like today.

NEVER FORGET.

Posted by: Nip Sip at December 07, 2014 09:30 AM (WguYY)

8 Just finished reading Daughter of the God-King, by ette Ann Cleeland.
I liked it a lot - fun read and I did not guess the big secret at all. It's a mystery adventure romance set in regency era Egypt (mostly).

Posted by: @votermom at December 07, 2014 09:31 AM (6C45j)

9 Green eggs and ham is a very deep and compelling book; I hope to finish is soon, it has many very big words.

Posted by: Joe Biden at December 07, 2014 09:35 AM (vntmB)

10 73 years ago and happily we can say Imperial Japan is long gone.

We destroyed a terrible monster and turned Japan into a much better country than it was.

Posted by: eman at December 07, 2014 09:35 AM (MQEz6)

11 OT. It turns me right off watching anymore Hitchcock films, these idiotic plot centerpieces where a secret, verbal-only clause in a treaty between nations is at stake in his vaunted The Lady Vanishes and Foreign Correspondent.

Posted by: Hitch exceeded tongue load at December 07, 2014 09:37 AM (KG1MP)

12 For good military scifi check out the Undying Mercenaries series by B.V. Larson.

It starts with Dust World.

Posted by: eman at December 07, 2014 09:39 AM (MQEz6)

13 If you have never read "Children of Men", I recommend it. The film with Julianne Moore completely twisted the story.

Posted by: Grampa Jimbo at December 07, 2014 09:44 AM (V70Uh)

14 12 - just looked it up on goodreads - it says Steel World is the first book? Are they wrong (sometimes gr is wrong since it's user-mantained)

Posted by: @votermom at December 07, 2014 09:45 AM (6C45j)

15 I did a little research on constructing a URL last night.

If you want to link to something on Amazon and want Ace to get a few pennies, use :

http://astore.amazon.com/aoshq-20/detail/

and the Amazon ID number (ASIN) appended to the end.

Or browse the categories on the (Ace of Spades HQ) front page amazon link.

On a somewhat distantly related note, I have two 50k word 'books' that need proof readers and editing advice. (Book three and four of the Wolf Hunters series) If anyone wants to volunteer, we can do the anonymous dance of throw away email addresses. I can't afford commercial rates.

Either my 'books' are soooooo bad...or the one bad review is killing me or the ideas expressed therein are not being well received.. Thanks to the horde who did buy my book.

I would give them away, or unpublish them. Advice on what to do would be appreciated.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at December 07, 2014 09:46 AM (469GD)

16 Harvard Classics (and a bunch of other stuff) being given away free at :

www.openculture.com

Harvard Classics 2.99 for 140-180 books on amazon.

http://astore.amazon.com/aoshq-20/detail/ B00LOR9YF0

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at December 07, 2014 09:51 AM (469GD)

17 14 12 - just looked it up on goodreads - it says Steel World is the first book? Are they wrong (sometimes gr is wrong since it's user-mantained)
Posted by: @votermom at December 07, 2014 09:45 AM (6C45j)

It could be so.

I'll check.

Posted by: eman at December 07, 2014 09:51 AM (MQEz6)

18 17 14 12 - just looked it up on goodreads - it says Steel World is the first book? Are they wrong (sometimes gr is wrong since it's user-mantained)
Posted by: @votermom at December 07, 2014 09:45 AM (6C45j)

It could be so.

I'll check.
Posted by: eman at December 07, 2014 09:51 AM (MQEz6)

Correct. Dust World is book 2.

Posted by: eman at December 07, 2014 09:53 AM (MQEz6)

19 If you liked Harry Potter, these seem to be getting good reviews.

The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin (Unexpected Enlightenment Series)

by L. Jagi Lamplighter

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at December 07, 2014 09:54 AM (IXrOn)

20 crap, there is a 'percent20' a.k.a. 'space' just in front of that ASIN in the url for the harvard classics above.

Take that out, or search on the ASIN in Acie's link on the front page.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at December 07, 2014 09:54 AM (469GD)

21 Haven't gotten around to reading P. D. James yet, but my dear friend Ralph C. Wood once told me he considered her the intellectual heir to the Inklings. High praise, coming from him. Rest in peace.

Got the 41: A Portrait of My Father audiobook for my birthday this week--requested as such mainly because I miss W's voice. Looking forward to listening to it as I work on Christmas presents.

Thanks to the Horde (NDH?) for the rec.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at December 07, 2014 09:55 AM (iuQS7)

22 15 I did a little research on constructing a URL last night.

If you want to link to something on Amazon and want Ace to get a few pennies, use :

http://astore.amazon.com/aoshq-20/detail/

and the Amazon ID number (ASIN) appended to the end.

Or browse the categories on the (Ace of Spades HQ) front page amazon link.

On a somewhat distantly related note, I have two 50k word 'books' that need proof readers and editing advice. (Book three and four of the Wolf Hunters series) If anyone wants to volunteer, we can do the anonymous dance of throw away email addresses. I can't afford commercial rates.

Either my 'books' are soooooo bad...or the one bad review is killing me or the ideas expressed therein are not being well received.. Thanks to the horde who did buy my book.

I would give them away, or unpublish them. Advice on what to do would be appreciated.
Posted by: Skandia Recluse at December 07, 2014 09:46 AM (469GD)

I read and liked your Wolf Hunter books, but they do need some editing for typos and such things.

Posted by: eman at December 07, 2014 09:57 AM (MQEz6)

23 Skandia Recluse, there's a whole lotta wolf hunting in the Amazon Kindle store.

Could you give us a TinyURL?

Posted by: fluffy at December 07, 2014 09:59 AM (Ua6T/)

24 2 Everyone must still be in Church.
------------------------

The jello molds just came out.

Posted by: Roy at December 07, 2014 09:59 AM (tiOTz)

25 The sweet rolls at Valu-Rite Lutheran look a lot like day-old bagels, and the coffee is highly suspect, but since two or more of us are gathered together food is mandatory...

Good post-war books we all read growing up?

Which war?

I am still reading trash, but this week no pets were killed and no random anti-conservative rants were inserted, so I'm not unhappy.

Posted by: HR drinking coffee and making chili at December 07, 2014 10:00 AM (ImIut)

26 eman,
Thanks.

energy levels depleted here. need sugar. might wake up around 2200 hours local or so. or not

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at December 07, 2014 10:00 AM (469GD)

27

I think I saw this mentioned over at instapundit a couple weeks ago, and marked it.

Sci Phi Journal: Issue #1, October 2014: The Journal of Science Fiction and Philosophy

I love the sci-fi collections, generally. It has a slightly different edge than those I usually buy (sci-fi collections are great when traveling).

Sci Phi is an online science fiction and philosophy magazine. In each issue you will find stories that explore questions of life, the universe and everything and articles that delve into the deep philosophical waters of science fiction universes.

a commenter over at Amazon

Ignore the fact that I have a book review in Sci Phi Journal #1, but who can resist an article entitled "I am Groot: An Aristotelian reflection on space aliens and substance."!!!!!

Aristotle + Space Aliens = Total Science Fiction/Philosophical Nerd Heaven...

(making soup, so gotta get back to that)

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at December 07, 2014 10:04 AM (IXrOn)

28 Well, the bulk of the previous comments were about Pearl Harbor and WWII....so let's go with that one. Others welcome, of course.

Posted by: goatexchange at December 07, 2014 10:04 AM (sYUHT)

29 The IT Gang reminded me of a mystery from years ago -- The Dinosaur Club by William Heffernan. Enjoyable middle-aged revenge fantasy after downsizing.

Posted by: Mustbequantum at December 07, 2014 10:05 AM (MIKMs)

30 hehe.

"Horfe Hoeing"

Posted by: Kindltot at December 07, 2014 10:06 AM (t//F+)

31 Just finished 'The Incorruptibles' by John Hornor Jacobs, and really liked it. It is a western, set in a world where the Roman empire never ended. It has fantasy elements, with dwarven and elven equivaents in the world, and the use of demons as technological progress. I enjoyed it even though the ending felt rushed. Jacobs is a great author, and I've enjoyed all of his books that I've read.

Posted by: kalel666 at December 07, 2014 10:07 AM (ZqaQr)

32 I always had a weird romantic wish that Adam Dalgleish and Cordelia Grey would hook up.

I guess that's the reason fanfic exists.

RIP, P.D. James.

Posted by: Dollar Store Sock at December 07, 2014 10:08 AM (c+gwp)

33 Still reading Sharyl Attkison's "Stonewalled." The chapter of the Fast and Furious debacle is excellent and provides more insight into how government spin doctors work and how disinterested most of her media colleagues were in stories that showed The Regime in a bad light. Activists with bylines, as Glenn Reynolds says.

Posted by: doug at December 07, 2014 10:08 AM (j+ShG)

34 Skandia Recluse, there's a whole lotta wolf hunting in the Amazon Kindle store.

Could you give us a TinyURL?
====
tinyurls expire

Wolf Hunters : Origins
Wolf Hunters : Transitions

with the spaces and colons (as search terms in Ace's amazon store) will get you there.

The ASINs are

B00OJVCYBO
B00OJWENQM

plug those into Aci's Amazon store search box will get you there. Only 99 cents so it's only pennies, but the horde here was supportive of my effort, and I want to be fair to Ace and the blog.

browse the categories in Ace's amazon store (front page link) for books. including 'friends of the blog' for books by authors who hang out here.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at December 07, 2014 10:08 AM (469GD)

35 Never been much for crime fiction, myself.
I finished The Fall of Hyperion this last week while suffering from the flu (or something). It was pretty good. I didn't think the setup in Hyperion could be satisfactorily resolved, but, while it wasn't perfect, the book managed to pull off a resolution without feeling cheap. It might not have expanded or perfectly delivered on it's promises, but it didn't fail to deliver or fall short of the setup.

So, a satisfactory ending to the Hyperion cantos (though I understand there's two more books).

Posted by: .87c at December 07, 2014 10:09 AM (NMdeH)

36 @13 Granpa Jimbo . Very much agree on "Children of Men." A very good and unsettling book and lousy movie.

Posted by: Libra at December 07, 2014 10:10 AM (GblmV)

37 I'm re-reading my Dad's diary from WWII. Here's an excerpt from his time on the Anzio beachhead:

Apr 10, 1944
A beautiful day. The flowers are coming out by the hundreds. There is a large peony bush beside our outdoor latrine. One of the buds is about ready to open. Enemy fire is still quite heavy.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon, a solid man at December 07, 2014 10:11 AM (NeFrd)

38 Methinks P.D.James was expressing a bit of genre snobbery there. *Her* books weren't those icky paperback detective thrillers. I mean, really--Lord Peter wasn't a sensitive human being? There were times I wanted to go all Marine Sergeant at him to get him LESS sensitive. Reminds me of delicate flower Margaret Atwood who was quite sure Handmaid's Tale wasn't science fiction because "it could really happen". (sigh)

Been reading The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker. Recommended for writing Morons who want to go beyond subject/verb agreement in their prose. It can be slow going at times, but he does explain WHY we have certain rules in writing, and when they can be treated like piratical guidelines instead.

In other bookish news, I have discovered www.ereaderiq.com . This site lets you set watches for authors, and if any of their books drop in price below a value you set, you get an email. Scored a Georgette Heyer ebook for $3 this way (stupid publisher thinks $10 for an ebook is reasonable, so I've been holding off). You can also point it at your Amazon book wishlist and it will notify you if those change too.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at December 07, 2014 10:12 AM (2buaQ)

39 35 Never been much for crime fiction, myself.
I finished The Fall of Hyperion this last week while suffering from the flu (or something). It was pretty good. I didn't think the setup in Hyperion could be satisfactorily resolved, but, while it wasn't perfect, the book managed to pull off a resolution without feeling cheap. It might not have expanded or perfectly delivered on it's promises, but it didn't fail to deliver or fall short of the setup.

So, a satisfactory ending to the Hyperion cantos (though I understand there's two more books).
Posted by: .87c at December 07, 2014 10:09 AM (NMdeH)

Have you read "Ilium", also by Dan Simmons?

Posted by: eman at December 07, 2014 10:12 AM (MQEz6)

40 Wow. Of the Kindle top 100 I've read King and maybe Evanovich.
Either I am lame or Amazon is lame.

Posted by: Kindltot at December 07, 2014 10:12 AM (t//F+)

41 One thing about Alistair Maclean. You might not want to read him during the winter months. Most of his books take place in cold, cold areas, with people trying to do what they do in spite of the freezing weather.

Best read during the warm summer months.

At least in my opinion.

Posted by: HH at December 07, 2014 10:14 AM (Ce4DF)

42 Wolf Hunters : Origins
Wolf Hunters : Transitions

Thanks Skandia!

I actually have found them through your blog. Is that part 3 you did for NaNoWriMo? It caught my interest enough so that I want to stop skimming and start at the beginning.

Posted by: fluffy at December 07, 2014 10:15 AM (Ua6T/)

43 Just started reading Sharyl Attkison's "Stonewalled."
Some really interesting stuff just in the beginning. Like the CBS idiot that made them scramble some perps face that was shown on a video of the perp using stolen credit cards. The idiot wanted them to get permission from the guy's lawyer to show his face on TV because he was not convicted yet.

Posted by: Cicero Skip at December 07, 2014 10:15 AM (FIrEF)

44 41 One thing about Alistair Maclean. You might not want to read him during the winter months. Most of his books take place in cold, cold areas, with people trying to do what they do in spite of the freezing weather.
------------------------------------------------------
Good point. I hadn't thought about that. Night Without End, Secret Ways, Bear Island, HMS Ulysses, Force 10....all cold weather settings. Prob others, that's just off top of my head (haven't re-read him in decades)

Posted by: goatexchange at December 07, 2014 10:17 AM (sYUHT)

45 fluffy

the Nano thing got into 'dangerous territory' heh, so I gotta cut some of that out. .

The Nano thing was a set up to, and an ending for an idea I was working on, and is a long way from being a finished product, if ever.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at December 07, 2014 10:24 AM (469GD)

46 Good point. I hadn't thought about that. Night Without End, Secret Ways, Bear Island, HMS Ulysses, Force 10....all cold weather settings. Prob others, that's just off top of my head (haven't re-read him in decades)

Heh. Ice Station Zebra.

Posted by: OregonMuse at December 07, 2014 10:25 AM (18sXN)

47 I just got a copy of Celia Hayes' new book, Lone Star Son

I will tell you how I like it when I finish reading it.

Posted by: Kindltot at December 07, 2014 10:25 AM (t//F+)

48 Drago Malfoy is my favorite character - he's the most interesting to me. Ugh...he's probably going to be LGBTQBYZ or whatever. She'll eff him up somehow. Rowling bought into her own hype and ruined HP, IMHO.

Posted by: Dollar Store Sock at December 07, 2014 10:29 AM (c+gwp)

49 Maclean sure had a way with words to describe the cold. brrrrr!

Posted by: Count de Monet at December 07, 2014 10:30 AM (JO9+V)

50 Based on Moron recommendations on a book thread from a week or two ago, I started reading the Lonesome Dove series. Dead Man's Walk, the first of the series, is entertaining thus far, and made for a good time killer while waiting for delayed flights.

Posted by: PabloD at December 07, 2014 10:35 AM (FU4c2)

51 Finished Sgt. Reckless by Robin Hutton. An enjoyable and quick read concerning a little mare in the "truth is stranger than fiction" category. A recoilless rifle platoon leader during the Korean War bought her because he was operating in such rough terrain that jeeps couldn't get ammunition to the firing positions. Her big claim to fame was during a five day battle for Outpost Vegas in 1953.

She was able to carry RR ammo up steep hills to the firing positions and then they'd load the most severely wounded onto her. She did this constantly for the entire battle and was wounded twice herself. She usually did this without any Marines to guide her during the trips. One of the Marines at the battle later said that he is certain that an angel was riding her.

She was promoted to Sergeant by the commanding general after the battle and later retired in 1960 with the rank of Staff Sergeant. Reckless was famous during the 1950s and was officially considered to be a Marine, NOT a horse!

I would have liked to have read more about the Battle for Outpost Vegas, but the author was righting a biography, not a military history. The book is the result of her research into the life and exploits of Reckless and campaign to have a memorial statue for her. A large monument for Reckless was dedicated at the National Marine Corps Museum in 2013.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop at December 07, 2014 10:37 AM (wQYNW)

52 eman, the Hyperion books are the only works of his which I've read. Any others recommended? I was planning on reading Endymion and such in the future.

I finished listening to A Canticle for Liebowitz, a radio drama production from some years back. Thought it was interesting on its own. But taken as a whole, this cultural/literary cold war obsession with nuclear annihilation and MAD gets a little old. I mean, it worked. Right? Nobody died from nuclear weapons, and the good guys won. I understand things were tense but it always seems to get blown up to metaphysical proportions by those of this set--which no, I haven't specified.

Posted by: .87c at December 07, 2014 10:42 AM (NMdeH)

53 "This tale grew in the telling, until it became a history of the Great War of the Ring ...."

This week I started my 49th annual reading of Lord of the Rings. (Pitiful, I know.) The weather has mostly been overcast, cool to cold and rainy. Perfect reading weather. The yard work is finally done and the Christmas cards and gifts are taken care of. Time to settle in.

I using a new edition of the Trilogy. My original hardback copies, which I treasure, are showing their age. (In this case it is both the years and the mileage.) In fact, I'm dedicating December and the holidays to JRR Tolkien. After LOTR I'll indulge in some of his letters and essays as well as his shorter pieces like Farmer Giles of Hamm and others.

To keep things fresh, I'll break out some essays to dip into on fishing, mostly fly fishing, and fly tying. I need the practice for tying and the stories are a delightful distraction.

Posted by: JTB at December 07, 2014 10:44 AM (FvdPb)

54 Waiting for the latest Michael Connelly book, "The Burning Room", to get to my local library. I could spend $4 and get the thing on my tablet, but I prefer to read a book, not a piece of plastic. Old fashioned indeed.

Posted by: fairweatherbill bucking the wind at December 07, 2014 10:45 AM (g0ks+)

55 I finished listening to A Canticle for Liebowitz, a radio drama production from some years back. Thought it was interesting on its own. But taken as a whole, this cultural/literary cold war obsession with nuclear annihilation and MAD gets a little old.

Well, sure, but understand that ACFL came out many years ago, when it wasn't old.

And if you haven't read the book version of ACFL, do. It's quite a good read, very well written.

Posted by: OregonMuse at December 07, 2014 10:46 AM (18sXN)

56 JTB: ever gone in for the Silmarillion? Or that new one Sons of Hurin or somesuch?

Posted by: .87c at December 07, 2014 10:47 AM (NMdeH)

57 Has anybody here ever heard of "A Message to Garcia"? I was not familiar with it until today, (although I may have run across it in the past and just didn't recall.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon, a solid man at December 07, 2014 10:50 AM (NeFrd)

58 The Horse Hoeing Husbandry Jethro Tull

The band is named for him. The song Aqualung refers to a tubercular homeless man.

Posted by: Captain Obvious at December 07, 2014 10:51 AM (DL2i+)

59 Reckless -- wonderful animal. Now I am going to find the press releases about the horses used in Afghanistan memorial. Isn't that one new?

Ties in with a long-term concern that horses are not being used where they are practical and cost-effective -- like crowd-control and suburban and exurban policing. Our cops started with the bicycles and lost the height and speed advantage (as well as having hands-free) for trail policing.

Posted by: Mustbequantum at December 07, 2014 10:53 AM (MIKMs)

60 One last thing about Maclean. IIRC, in the book "When Eight Bells Toll", the couple of opening paragraphs has the narrator looking down the barrel of a .45 pistol aimed at him from just a couple of feet away.

He then describes the damage to his body if the gun goes off. And that's assuming he survives.

Pretty grisly, but far more realistic then the old 'gunshot to the arm, held my hand over it' type crap you used to see in old movies and tv westerns. Made me realize that at that point, I didn't know shit about bullets and what they can really do to a person.

Posted by: HH at December 07, 2014 10:54 AM (Ce4DF)

61 Re: "A Canticle for Liebowitz" I read it based on this forum. Wonderful book. The "obsession" with the Cold War and MAD rang true for those of us who participated in the "duck and cover" school exercises and recall the school's Civil Defense shelter and all the CONELRAD tests.

Posted by: doug at December 07, 2014 10:55 AM (j+ShG)

62 I'll side with OM on values coming through unconsciously. Since my first two books aimed at the YA audience, the lack of sex, violence, and most profanity was deliberate. It's quite possible to tell a great story without over-sexualizing 15 year-olds.

Onto my reading list: Replay by Ken Grimwood is a terrific speculative fiction. Re-reading for about the fourth time but the first since I became an author.

Recommended a few weeks back, Eric Hoffer's "The True Believer." Quote: "A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people's business."

Posted by: LongRunningFool at December 07, 2014 10:57 AM (77WNv)

63 BIG + 1 to the CI Meat Book. Mine came about 8 weeks ago and thus far it is a keeper with not only great recipes but education on what, what not, and why... love it!

Posted by: OG Celtic-American at December 07, 2014 11:01 AM (SFpiC)

64 with nuclear annihilation and MAD gets a little old. I mean, it worked.
Right? Nobody died from nuclear weapons, and the good guys won.

MAD became a delaying tactic, Total Confrontation without war precipitating Economic Collapse was Ronaldus Magnus strategy which has now been mis-appropriated and applied to US by TFG and his minions BECAUSE the good guys won.

Posted by: DaveA at December 07, 2014 11:01 AM (DL2i+)

65 Given the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, I'll mention one of my favorite WWII novels. Bomber by Len Deighton (probably best known for his Harry Palmer spy novels) is the fictional story of a Bomber Command raid on a Ruhr target. It reminds me of Tolstoy in that there is a broad panorama of characters expressing their inner thoughts as they are caught up in the horror of war, rather like War and Peace except instead of occurring over eight years, it occurs over twenty-four hours. Deighton talked about this novel being about machines being at war with each other and it does contain great technical detail but it is truly about the horror of war in the air and under the bombs.

Trivia, this the first popular work written on a word processor. One of Deighton's buddies gave him one. Before only technical manuals and what not had been written on word processors.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at December 07, 2014 11:02 AM (LImiJ)

66 #15 Skandia Recluse
Send me an email. Love to help out. And I work at moron rates which should fit your budget.

Posted by: LongRunningFool at December 07, 2014 11:02 AM (77WNv)

67 Taken up with work stuff this week, and spent all day yesterday in Goliad, Texas - where they had a special area set aside for local authors - Miss Ruby's Author Corral. This is part of Christmas on the Square, which happens in old down-town Goliad on Courthouse Square. There are vendors set up all around the edges of the square, which is blocked off to vehicle traffic, and Santa arrives at noon, mounted on a (presumably well-trained and/or heavily tranquilized) longhorn. It's a lot of fun - small-town Texas and heavily working class. There's a dog costume contest, and live music most of the day.

As for books, I am still going through Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, which I thought I might finish yesterday, but there were a fair number of people coming to my table - and I wasn't there to read my Kindle but to pitch my books. Did rather well with Lone Star Sons, which was fallen upon with cries of happy joy by fans of old-fashioned Western adventure. Goliad was exactly the right place for it, although I was a bit disappointed that there were no kids coming to the Author Corral. Oh, and the writer at the table next to me wound up buying copies of Lone Star and Quivera Trail, because she was intrigued after hearing me pitch them for several hours. Next weekend is the December market days in Boerne, which will be our last gypsy retail market before Christmas. (Open air, on the town square, lots and lots of potential buyers.)

Can I ask a favor of anyone who has read and liked Lone Star Sons? A review on Amazon? Pretty please?

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at December 07, 2014 11:03 AM (95iDF)

68 Speaking of 'authorisms,' I did that in most of my books. At several, even multiple points in each. Of course my non-visionary, unimaginative, far-too-daily-irritated editors and publishers insisted on instead calling them, 'misspellings,' but, hey.

Posted by: John the Baptist at December 07, 2014 11:03 AM (Xs981)

69 Has anyone read Anthony Horowitz's "Moriarty?" I enjoyed his "House of Silk" a great deal.

He is very particular about getting period detail right, as he has done in the wonderful British TV Series "Foyle's War." He created the series and wrote many of the episodes.

Immersing myself in another place and time is great fun, as with Caleb Carr's "The Alienist."

Posted by: doug at December 07, 2014 11:05 AM (j+ShG)

70 Has anybody here ever heard of "A Message to Garcia"? I was not familiar with it until today, (although I may have run across it in the past and just didn't recall.

-
My parents had a cheaply set of encyclopedia that had summaries is famous books in the back. I used to read them when I was on the throne. Message to Garcia was included. Those summaries allowed me to appear to be far more well read than I actually was and they helped me choose which books to read in full.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at December 07, 2014 11:07 AM (LImiJ)

71 .87c, I read The Silmarilion when it first came out but seldom go back to it for some reason. It first came out when I was just out of college and working serious hours so I didn't give it the attention it deserved.

I read "The Children Of Hurin" for its literary qualities. The story itself is depressing as hell.

Posted by: JTB at December 07, 2014 11:08 AM (FvdPb)

72 Looking at the top 2014 Kindle sellers, I've read #54 Game of Thrones #1 (very good), #71 The Atlantis Gene (good) and #75 Mockingjay (very good). Haven't tackled Unbroken yet.

Listened to Gateway by Frederik Pohl, which was pretty good sci-fi though the book mostly focused on the protagonist's personal life (scumbag) instead of interstellar exploration.

Posted by: waelse1 at December 07, 2014 11:09 AM (sGuYS)

73 I'm reading number 18, All the Light We Cannot See for my book club. Feels Oprah book like. So rapes should start happening in the next few pages.

Posted by: NCKate at December 07, 2014 11:21 AM (vFAAV)

74 Honor of the queen is free for kindle at amazon for David Weber Honor Harrington fans. Someone here said the series eventually gets stale, but the first book was great fun and I expect the series is safe for through 3 or 4 of the books.

Posted by: PalerRider at December 07, 2014 11:22 AM (7w/kf)

75 Has anyone read Anthony Horowitz's "Moriarty?" I enjoyed his "House of Silk" a great deal.

He is very particular about getting period detail right, as he has done in the wonderful British TV Series "Foyle's War." He created the series and wrote many of the episodes.

Immersing myself in another place and time is great fun, as with Caleb Carr's "The Alienist."
Posted by: doug at December 07, 2014 11:05 AM (j+ShG)

Moriarty looks good.

I've watched all the Foyle's War episodes to date. Love the show.

Oddly, I just watched a very old (1985) Young Sherlock Holmes movie on Netflix, that Spielberg co-EP'd. Never heard of it, but it was fun. Lots of liberties taken, as it was all made up fun.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at December 07, 2014 11:23 AM (IXrOn)

76 Thanks to AnnaPuma's example, I've been researching and writing instead of reading this week. Unfortunately, my usual characters have been silent for some time, so this is fanfic.

It's Skyrim after my Dragonborn character has completed both the main quest and the Miraak one, and uses what she did there (like off the Dark Brotherhood) rather than what the game creators may have intended.

The research to try to keep it canon otherwise has led to some plot changes from what I originally thought of, and a couple of things were quite delightfully helpful. One such was the dragons appearing in Morrowind at the same time they did in Skyrim, leading to rebuilding forts in Cyrodiil and Skyrim, and enlarging the Imperial Legions for an entirely different real reason ...

Posted by: Empire1 at December 07, 2014 11:23 AM (ecC0P)

77 I finished The Fall of Hyperion this last week while suffering from the flu (or something). It was pretty good. I didn't think the setup in Hyperion could be satisfactorily resolved, but, while it wasn't perfect, the book managed to pull off a resolution without feeling cheap. It might not have expanded or perfectly delivered on it's promises, but it didn't fail to deliver or fall short of the setup.

So, a satisfactory ending to the Hyperion cantos (though I understand there's two more books).
Posted by: .87c at December 07, 2014 10:09 AM (NMdeH)

I read the whole series, and enjoyed them - years ago. We have the set in our library here. Pre-Kindle.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at December 07, 2014 11:25 AM (IXrOn)

78 Bomber by Len Deighton (probably best known for his Harry Palmer spy novels)

Deigton's Bernard Samson series is an under-appreciated classic of the espionage thriller genre. 10 books: Game, Set, Match / Hook, Line, Sinker / Faith, Hope, Charity, plus Winter (backstory). There are some clever literary devices tucked in there, such as Spy Sinker retelling the events of the previous five books from a different character's point of view. Deighton is a great writer.

Posted by: cool breeze at December 07, 2014 11:26 AM (A+/8k)

79

From that top list.

The movie pushed the sales, or the sales of the book pushed the movie?

Seems many are pushed by movies hitting the theaters.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at December 07, 2014 11:27 AM (IXrOn)

80 The Cook's Illustrated Meat Book: The Game-Changing Guide that Teaches You How to Cook Meat and Poultry with 425 Bulletproof Recipes and great googly moogly, the Kindle version is almost as expensive as the dead tree edition. The OM household has always gotten a lot out of the Cooks publication and we've found that many of their "America's Test Kitchen" recipes simply can't be beat.

Oh, I'm going to buy that meat book. Thanks for the tip.

I have two of the Cook's books. The big ole bible, and the smaller The Best 30-Minute Recipe cookbook, which I may end up using today because been busy making soup, and haven't thought about what to have for dinner yet. That 30-minute book is amazing when pressed for time and want something satisfying.

Posted by: artisanal 'ette at December 07, 2014 11:29 AM (IXrOn)

81 HH@60

A Peacemaker Colt .45, if I recall correctly. One of the all time great openings to a book.

Posted by: LongRunningFool at December 07, 2014 11:30 AM (77WNv)

82 PaleRider

I got hooked on Honor Harrington. bought a bunch of them.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at December 07, 2014 11:33 AM (469GD)

83 52
I finished listening to A Canticle for Liebowitz, a radio drama production from some years back. Thought it was interesting on its own. But taken as a whole, this cultural/literary cold war obsession with nuclear annihilation and MAD gets a little old. I mean, it worked. Right? Nobody died from nuclear weapons, and the good guys won.

Posted by: .87c at December 07, 2014 10:42 AM (NMdeH)

Yeah, but they didn't know it was going to work at the time. You sound like you might be younger than me. (That's not a knock at you, of course.) I remember living through that period, and there were no guarantees.

There probably wasn't a single person on Earth in June 1914 that believed they were on the brink of the most cataclysmic war in human history up to that time. During the Cold War, everybody thought it could erupt at any moment. History is chock full of accidents and bad decisions, and it wouldn't have taken much to start the missiles flying.

I don't read much fiction. Most of my books are about history and technology, such as aviation and space travel. Lately I can't shake the nagging feeling that I should be busy sealing them in plastic and burying them in lead-lined boxes.

Posted by: rickl at December 07, 2014 11:33 AM (sdi6R)

84 JTB, concur your analysis re: Children of Hurin. I'm a Tolkienist, so I kind of felt obligated to read it--but especially since I had the source versions in Silm, Unfinished Tales, and Lays of Beleriand, I just checked CoH out from the library. (Really wish Christopher Tolkien would do something similar with the story of Beren and Luthien, but so far it doesn't seem likely... then again, I'd about given up hope of ever seeing Beowulf in print, so maybe we'll see a stand-alone Lay of Leithian yet!)

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at December 07, 2014 11:39 AM (iuQS7)

85 Steven Pressfield's "The Lion's Gate" is fast and interesting read. It has some personal accounts of a handful of Israeli military folks in the days leading upmto the 6 day war.

Posted by: fastfreefall at December 07, 2014 11:40 AM (XKsP1)

86 Jethro Tull the agrarian reformer was kind of a big deal. It was his advice on the benefits of sheep manure that led to the Enclosures, rather a major cultural change. He preached crop rotation too.

There were two influential 18th century guys nicknamed Farmer George for their crop experiments. One founded this country; the other was king of England. Had they lived next door, they probably would have been friends. Due to Tull.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at December 07, 2014 11:46 AM (xq1UY)

87 Canticle is one of the most influential books of the 20thC imho. My father was a woodcarver (his eyes started failing so he couldn't paint any more) and the icon surviving over the loss of literacy and rationality was very poignant for me.

For the 21st Century, would mohammedans do the same to preserve learning and art while civilization changes?

Posted by: Mustbequantum at December 07, 2014 11:49 AM (MIKMs)

88 @85 I also loved Pressfield's "The Lion's Gate." Excerpt -- http://bit.ly/1CVuKYN

He also wrote a great series of blog entries on the process of writing the book and how meeting these warriors changed him, but you'll have to search for those on your own.

Posted by: doug at December 07, 2014 11:53 AM (j+ShG)

89 I'm not knocking Canticle specifically for this, I understand it's a product of its time. But looking at all the literature on it, which shows it was obviously pressing on people's minds, combined with some works post-Berlin Wall which I can't specifcally recall, seem to inflate it beyond mere warefare. Moreover, the literature and thinking on this still seems to be stuck in the past, it's always treats it like it was madness and the world was inches from disaster.

I just think we should update our viewpoint based on the new information. We know it didn't end the world, we know it worked to stop the soviets while we bled them through other means, as was noted. We don't know anything about the probabilities of what might have happened. Only that it didn't happen and it worked. So maybe it wasn't so insane? Maybe we should write fiction that treats it as a dangerous and necssary prodecure that is necessary to undergo--leaving out all this metaphysical and existential questioning about the self-destruction and madness of man.

Man is fallen sure, but arming ourselves against the wicked is not itself a part of the wickedness and insanity.

Posted by: .87c at December 07, 2014 11:53 AM (NMdeH)

90 Elisabeth, Yeah, I never expected to see Tolkien's Beowulf and snatched it up the first day it came out. It is one of those books that I will go back to many times for the joy of the language and his interpretive approach.

Something I intended to mention: I just recently got a copy of "JRR Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator" by Wayne Hammond and Cristina Scull. It is a compendium of a lot of Tolkien's artwork over the years. I am surprised, delighted and impressed. The man had some serious artistic talent.

Posted by: JTB at December 07, 2014 11:55 AM (FvdPb)

91 I never was a huge fan of PD James' stuff, but they were good. I like Anne Perry's stuff more, particularly the William Monk books.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at December 07, 2014 11:55 AM (39g3+)

92 Honor of the queen is free for kindle at amazon for David Weber Honor

Thanks for the tip. I've got the first HH book, but haven't read it, yet. Now I have two.

Posted by: OregonMuse at December 07, 2014 11:58 AM (18sXN)

93 Has anybody here ever heard of "A Message to
Garcia"? I was not familiar with it until today, (although I may have
run across it in the past and just didn't recall.

Posted by: Seamus Muldoon, a solid man at December 07, 2014 10:50 AM

I had not read that before now. What an excellent essay.

Posted by: huerfano at December 07, 2014 11:59 AM (bAGA/)

94 Some day I hope to be on that kindle best seller list. For now I'll settle for more than one book a month in sales :/

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at December 07, 2014 12:01 PM (39g3+)

95 Either my 'books' are soooooo bad...or the one bad
review is killing me or the ideas expressed therein are not being well
received.. Thanks to the horde who did buy my book.

I would give them away, or unpublish them. Advice on what to do would be appreciated.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at December 07, 2014 09:46 AM (469GD)

I just left reviews, I liked your books. I'd be glad to offer my services as proofreader, etc; I'm no professional by any stretch but I do like to read. LPCARD at the hotmail thingy.

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 07, 2014 12:01 PM (6fyGz)

96 83
Lately I can't shake the nagging feeling that I should be busy sealing them in plastic and burying them in lead-lined boxes.

Posted by: rickl at December 07, 2014 11:33 AM (sdi6R)

That wasn't just a reference to nuclear war, by the way. I can imagine a variety of scenarios where my books could be lost to history. If Islam conquered the West, they would be deliberately destroyed as "un-Koranic". Or the economy could collapse, and my house could be burned down in the ensuing unrest.

Posted by: rickl at December 07, 2014 12:02 PM (sdi6R)

97 Skandia, keep at it. And have fun. Got two under your belt after all.

Empire1, good for you!

The Princess Who Caused Fear is still available for purchase. 62k words of NaNoWriMo story. I have a glimmer of light at the end of tunnel but still need to get there.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2014 12:07 PM (1RvOn)

98 More in keeping with the day, another book on my to-read list: Code Talker by Chester Nez. I know the story of the Code Talkers well enough (fangirl, actually), but I'm looking forward to reading his first-hand account.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at December 07, 2014 12:08 PM (iuQS7)

99 (stupid publisher thinks $10 for an ebook is reasonable

The main reason I haven't read the rest of Anne Cleland's Scotland Yard books, when they go to 5 or less I'll snap them up. Also, John Donnelly's Gold is an excellent book with a chuckle-worthy ending, I read it when it was first mentioned here.

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at December 07, 2014 12:09 PM (6fyGz)

100 GGE of the Horde
Thanks
I'll contact you.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at December 07, 2014 12:11 PM (469GD)

101 One thing about "A Canticle", maybe it helps if you grew up Catholic.

There is also a lot of funny stuff in the book. And at the end, it's very spiritual.
I have to admit I really, really like that book. I've read it a number of times.

Posted by: HH at December 07, 2014 12:20 PM (Ce4DF)

102 Keeping with the Tolkien theme but in a light-hearted vein, try his "Letters From Father Christmas" and "Roverandom". These are stories he wrote and illustrated for his very young children in the 1920's-30's. They were, of course, never intended for the public. The books are a delight: charming and imaginative. I have to believe they would be wonderful to share with little kids.

Posted by: JTB at December 07, 2014 12:22 PM (FvdPb)

103 Finished The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Ken last week. Very good novelization of Martha Carrier and her family. The author is a direct descendant of Martha, who was accused of being a witch during the Salem witch trials era. Her children were also accused of being witches, but only Martha was hung for it.

Have started Chris Bohjalian's Skeletons at the Feast, set in Prussia during the end of WWII. Very good so far.

Posted by: biancaneve at December 07, 2014 12:28 PM (6Turu)

104 Second the rec of Letters from Father Christmas and Roverandom. Mr. Bliss, too--very silly and inspired by Tolkien's own driving mishaps.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at December 07, 2014 12:29 PM (iuQS7)

105 I spent an afternoon with my mother last weekend going through the catalog for the LOC's Books for the Blind program. Despite the fact that these are audio-books for BLIND people, the Library of Congress sends out paper catalogs with brief descriptions of the new books available, which means somebody has to read the catalog to the blind people, then check off the books wanted.

What's funny about this program is that once you've gone through the books you've selected, the LOC starts sending books they think you'll like, so some totally random books will show up in the mail. And my mother's problem is that somebody decided she would like police procedurals (which she doesn't - too gory), so she sends them back right away, which means the library people think, "Oh, she must really like this!" and she gets even more. I spent a lot of time looking up cozy mysteries for her, then finding the first book in the series and adding it to the list. I think she's got enough books to last quite a while now.

Posted by: biancaneve at December 07, 2014 12:35 PM (6Turu)

106 The guy from Jethro Tull wrote a novel called The Horse Hung Husband?
Does it contain information on how to snag one?

Posted by: Sandra Fluke at December 07, 2014 12:36 PM (X472x)

107 "There wasn't anyone in Europe alive in the summer of 1914 who thought we were on the verge of a cataclysmic war...."

That's why it's so scary when things seem so peaceful.

Civilization is held aloft on such frayed rope. What if Gavin Princip lost his nerve at the last second, or the Archduke's driver didn't take the wrong turn? Would the WW1 have been avoided? Or merely postponed?

Posted by: JoeF. at December 07, 2014 12:43 PM (X472x)

108 Civilization is held aloft on such frayed rope. What
if Gavin Princip lost his nerve at the last second, or the Archduke's
driver didn't take the wrong turn? Would the WW1 have been avoided? Or
merely postponed?

Posted by: JoeF. at December 07, 2014 12:43 PM (X472x)

One of my pet theories is that if Prince Rudolf, the son of the Austro-Hungarian emperor, hadn't killed himself in 1889, WWI would have looked very different. The prince was politically very liberal- back when the word wasn't a pejorative- and was very popular among the common people. He might have steered Austria on a more moderate course- if his father had allowed him any political influence- and war might have been averted/postponed.

Scary to think that one tiny slip in the wrong direction can have such far reaching consequences, even decades later.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at December 07, 2014 01:03 PM (ThxKk)

109 This being a Smart Military Blog, I'm sure others have a more informed opinion than I, but FWIW...

Would the WW1 have been avoided? Or merely postponed?

Postponed, IMO, and probably worsened. From what I can tell, the only way to have avoided it altogether would be a) Franz Josef undertaking real reforms and b) all sides forgoing the tangle of treaties and whatnots. But the entanglements were par for the course for Europe to that point, and the Austrian aristocracy was too busy ignoring moral decay in their own homes to have the courage to do right by the rest of the empire. (Seriously, there's a reason turn-of-the-century Vienna gave us Freudian psychology--it was one hugely messed-up city. Book on the subject we used as an intro text in my 19th Century German Lit class: A Nervous Splendor: Vienna 1888-1889 by Frederic Morton.)

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at December 07, 2014 01:10 PM (iuQS7)

110 One of my pet theories is that if Prince Rudolf, the son of the
Austro-Hungarian emperor, hadn't killed himself in 1889, WWI
looked very different...

True, but remember Franz Ferdinand--in other ways very conservative--was quite liberal in his attitudes towards the Serbians and other Slavs who made up a large portion of the Dual Monarchy's population. The irony was always that it was the assassination of one of the most prominent voices for peace that sparked the war...

Posted by: JoeF. at December 07, 2014 01:14 PM (X472x)

111 Sorry to hear of the death of P.D.James. I've read everything she ever wrote. For a similar detective type series, you might try the Ian Rutledge series by Charles Todd. Rutledge too suffers from images from his past, similar to Dagliesh. Set just after ww1, the stories are good British who dunnits with a slice of history thrown in.

Posted by: grammie winger, joy to the world at December 07, 2014 01:14 PM (3B+O8)

112 Seriously, there's a reason turn-of-the-century Vienna gave us Freudian psychology--it was one hugely messed-up city...

And Vienna--and the entire Austro-Hungarian empire was very diverse polyglot population of ethnic and religious rivalries. They all had their own agendas.
I guess "diversity" wasn't their strength....

Posted by: JoeF. at December 07, 2014 01:18 PM (X472x)

113 Archduke Ferdinand might have changed things. Assuming the Black Hand did nothing else to push for liberation. And after the disastrous little Balkan war of 1913 left Russia with only one ally, Serbia, in the region also did nothing.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2014 01:20 PM (1RvOn)

114 I guess "diversity" wasn't their strength....
What was Weirddave just talking about yesterday, melting pot vs. salad bowl? Case in point!

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at December 07, 2014 01:22 PM (iuQS7)

115 Franz Ferdinand--in other ways very conservative--was
quite liberal in his attitudes towards the Serbians and other Slavs who
made up a large portion of the Dual Monarchy's population. The irony
was always that it was the assassination of one of the most prominent
voices for peace that sparked the war...

Posted by: JoeF. at December 07, 2014 01:14 PM (X472x)

You're right, but I was thinking more along the lines of: If Prince Rudolf was still alive, Franz Ferdinand wouldn't have been his uncle's heir, and therefore would have been less of a target for assassination. Gavrilo Princip would have had to find someone else to kill to make his point and, whoever it was, their death wouldn't have been quite so devastating to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Prince Rudolf's politics would have come into play when he inherited the throne. Beforehand, he was somewhat of a political nonentity because the Emperor was a bit of a control freak.
That's what was going through my mind even if I didn't articulate that very well in my earlier comment.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at December 07, 2014 01:22 PM (ThxKk)

116 So those "twelve HP short stories to coincide with the 2 days of Christmas" would be Christmas and Boxing Day? Thanks for the shout-out.

Posted by: Stephen Harper at December 07, 2014 01:25 PM (TqyFL)

117 Here's a what if for you. What if Britain had stayed out of WWI? Germany beats France like a rented mule then the puts the big hurt on the Russkies. Would the world be better or worse today?

Posted by: The Great White Snark at December 07, 2014 01:30 PM (TLh9a)

118 Posted by: HH at December 07, 2014 10:14 AM (Ce4DF)

The first 297 Alistair Maclean books are pretty good. Then they start to get repetitious. Stop before you get to "Circus".

Posted by: Git off my lawn, or at least mow it at December 07, 2014 01:31 PM (TqyFL)

119 the Emperor was a bit of a control freak.

Franz Joseph really took his role as Monarch seriously. He was all about duty--and he'd lost his wife to an assassin, his son to suicide, and his brother Maximillan to an ill-fated Mexican adventure (they tried to install a Habsburg to the throne--imagine how the history of US/Mexican relations would have fared if that worked)--remaining stoic throughout.
He even believed that his nephew's assassination was the work of God in the sense, that , God had to step in and do what he (Franz Joseph) could not--maintain the natural order of the monarchy (Franz Ferdinand married below his station. FJ never forgave him and his children weren't allowed to inherit the throne).

Posted by: JoeF. at December 07, 2014 01:36 PM (X472x)

120 57
Has anybody here ever heard of "A Message to Garcia"? I was not
familiar with it until today, (although I may have run across it in the
past and just didn't recall.
Posted by: Seamus Muldoon, a solid man at December 07, 2014 10:50 AM (NeFrd)
******************
I keep it handy and pull it out whenever I find myself getting tired of my job and am dicking around instead of actually working.

Posted by: Old Age is a Bitch at December 07, 2014 01:40 PM (TqyFL)

121 Franz Joseph was Emperor from 1848-1916, a mind-numbing 68 years. The Europe he inherited bore almost no resemblance to the Europe he left.
Elzabeth II might beat him in years of reign. What, is she 61 years on the throne?

Posted by: JoeF. at December 07, 2014 01:40 PM (X472x)

122 Franz Joseph really took his role as Monarch seriously. He was all about duty
Posted by: JoeF. at December 07, 2014 01:36 PM (X472x)

Yes, he did take it seriously, which is a good thing. But he was a control freak even before his personal tragedies- supposedly that's part of the reason he was so estranged from Sisi- and he wouldn't allow his advisers to advise him, or his son to gain experience in governing a country, both of which would have lightened his workload.

"they tried to install a Habsburg to the throne--imagine how the history of US/Mexican relations would have fared if that worked"

So, all our illegal aliens would speak German? That might be interesting. The Zimmerman Telegram debacle might have looked a little different, too.

Totally random, but: any genealogy experts out there know who Franz Joseph's heir was after the Archduke was shot?

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at December 07, 2014 01:45 PM (ThxKk)

123 Hey, Skandia, if you're truly desperate for proofreaders, I can be reached at my nick at hotmail. I have no qualifications other than being an annoying internet pedant.

Posted by: Anachronda at December 07, 2014 01:52 PM (o78gS)

124 Franz Joseph's grand nephew Charles I took over, but he renounced the throne in 1918 as the Empire crumbled after WW1. Interestingly, his son Otto was the guy who punched out Ian Paisley when Paisley was calling John Paul II the Antichrist to the Pope's face at a European Parliament session...

Posted by: JoeF. at December 07, 2014 01:53 PM (X472x)

125 I'll have to keep an eye open for "Mr. Bliss". It sounds like another charmer. Now to brew some tea and start chapter two of The Fellowship.

Posted by: JTB at December 07, 2014 01:53 PM (FvdPb)

126 Franz Joseph's heir was Carl (or Karl), who briefly became emperor and tried to bring peace but got chucked out when the whole empire collapsed. He's being considered for sainthood, I understand.

Posted by: Trimegistus at December 07, 2014 01:54 PM (aEs8a)

127 his son Otto was the guy who punched out Ian
Paisley when Paisley was calling John Paul II the Antichrist to the
Pope's face at a European Parliament session...

Posted by: JoeF. at December 07, 2014 01:53 PM (X472x)

As a semi-nonpracticing Catholic, this made me laugh far harder than it should have. How can the Pope be the Antichrist?/rhetorical

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at December 07, 2014 01:57 PM (ThxKk)

128 He's being considered for sainthood, I understand.

The Habsburg's were nothing if not stalwart, devout Catholics....

Posted by: JoeF. at December 07, 2014 01:57 PM (X472x)

129 How can the Pope be the Antichrist?/rhetorical

Let's not get into that....Suffices to say that Ian Paisley wasn't very popular even among most Protestants. In fact, the rumor's always been that the IRA could have taken him out on many occasions , but chose not to because Paisley was so off-putting, he was worth more alive to the Republican cause than dead.....

Posted by: JoeF. at December 07, 2014 02:01 PM (X472x)

130 Franz Joseph was Emperor from 1848-1916, a mind-numbing 68 years. The Europe he inherited bore almost no resemblance to the Europe he left.

-
He led a tragic life, like most of us, most of his problems were caused by himself. For example, he infected his wife with venereal disease which took the blush off the rose of his marriage.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at December 07, 2014 02:03 PM (YSV1L)

131 Suffices to say that Ian Paisley wasn't very popular
even among most Protestants. In fact, the rumor's always been that the
IRA could have taken him out on many occasions , but chose not to
because Paisley was so off-putting, he was worth more alive to the
Republican cause than dead.....

Posted by: JoeF. at December 07, 2014 02:01 PM (X472x)

Sounds a bit like Joe Biden. Or Todd Akin.
And on that note, I'm out. Thanks for the debate; I'm much smarter than when I started out.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at December 07, 2014 02:06 PM (ThxKk)

132 I'm still picking my way through the Baen military fantasy anthology Shattered Shields.

Oh, Larry Correia has a new exclusive Grimnoir story up at Audible.com! And it's free through the end of the year! "Murder on the Orient Elite."

Posted by: bornlib at December 07, 2014 02:22 PM (zpNwC)

133 Author made up words is an interesting subject, as are the recommended reading lists of famous men. Cicero appears on some of these lists, and he is well known for making up words, although maybe not in the sense meant in the cited articles.

Cicero's native language was Latin, but he was fluent in Greek, which wasn't common in the Rome of his day. He also had a great interest in philosophy, which was dominated by the Greeks.

He wanted to explain the subject to his fellow citizens, in their own language, but found that Latin lacked some of the abstract words that the Greek philosophers used. So, he translated these words from the Greek alphabet into the Latin alphabet, and explained what they meant.

A good example of this is his short book, "The Nature of the Gods", which isn't about Jupiter Venus, Mars, etc. and is in fact a good book for somebody who is not familiar with philosophy.

Other good books for for the newbie to philosophy include:

"Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonus" George Berkeley. First dialogue is essential, other two are optional. All three are in one volume.

"The Trial and Death of Socrates" Plato

The penguin editions of these books are nice, because they include introductory information about the authors and historical and philosophical information that helps to understand the texts.

Posted by: jbarntt at December 07, 2014 02:46 PM (I9uXW)

134
Oh, Larry Correia has a new exclusive Grimnoir story up at Audible.com! And it's free through the end of the year! "Murder on the Orient Elite."

I searched Audible for that but couldn't find it anywhere.

Posted by: grammie winger, joy to the world at December 07, 2014 02:51 PM (3B+O8)

135 I had to get the stalker lurker's book, John Donnelly's Gold. It sounds like so much fun. And I just finished reading The London Project. It's a good story, very believable as near-future sci fi, well drawn characters without the weight of deep PoV, professionally edited. A solid four stars.

Posted by: Gunnar Grey at December 07, 2014 02:59 PM (xKYYS)

136 Just started reading Sharyl Attkison's "Stonewalled."
Posted by: Cicero Skip at December 07, 2014 10:15 AM

That's the last book I read, I'd recommend it. If you are pissed at the MSM just wait till you finish that. I'll never watch Scott Pelley who comes off as an insufferable prick.

Posted by: Farmer at December 07, 2014 03:22 PM (4azda)

137 Note to Moron/ette writers. I am a pretty good copy-editor/proofreader, and used to run a small press sf/fantasy zine. Since I'm currently too old to be hired for anything that pays real money, if you write in those genres and would like my input, e-mail me at empire1001 at hushmail dot com.

Proofreading for other genres is a possibility, but I don't know enough about the subject matter to be useful otherwise.

Posted by: Empire1 at December 07, 2014 04:31 PM (VMrh7)

138 Oh, yeah -- add your AoSHQ nic someplace in the subject line, if it isn't in your e-addy, or it might get ignored.

Posted by: Empire1 at December 07, 2014 04:33 PM (VMrh7)

139 Well just stumbled across this book, its also available on Amazon. Not read it yet. But there is the first part of the book online to read before you buy.

http://thepotentialnovel.com/

The Potential by Dave Davies.

1995, Bonn Germany. Chris Morehouse, CIA driver saves the life of the US Ambassador from a terrorist attack. Why does it seem lethal events follow Chris? Is he imagining things?

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 07, 2014 04:43 PM (1RvOn)

140 Go to Larry Corriea's website for a link to the free short story on audible dot com.

Posted by: Darth Randall at December 07, 2014 07:19 PM (6n332)

141 I just read and finished in short order "The Bone Clocks," by David Mitchell, the author of "Cloud Atlas."

The book plays with multiple points of view, each first-person narrator having a different relationship to the reader. Sections are confusing occasionally because, like any first-person narrative, many things go unsaid and unexplained until they're revealed in context, and you don't always know who "I" am at any given moment.

It's sci-fi/fantasy with a focus on character development and relationships over plot, and it's cleverly, if not gorgeously, written.

From the lib/conservative perspective, there's an extended near-future bit in which civilization has collapsed because we've run out of oil, and the protagonist has to deal with the repercussions of this. It's actually pretty well thought out, because it shows the unraveling process given the idea that resources have become terribly tight and are becoming tighter by the day.

Not the most satisfying of books, but interesting.

Posted by: Smallish Bees at December 07, 2014 08:32 PM (t9WJ9)

142 142 Very beautiful girl model. Escort in Moscow.

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Posted by: OregonMuse at December 07, 2014 09:15 PM (jqkvE)

143 Escort girls http://regmodels.ru

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