Sunday Morning Book Thread 07-26-2015 [OregonMuse]

Abbey Library of St. Gall, Switzerland

(~~Not sure what library this is~~, but the photo came from here.)

(Update: thanks to 'major major major major' for identifying the library in the photo)

Good morning to all of you morons and moronettes and bartenders everywhere and all the ships at sea. Welcome to AoSHQ's stately, prestigious, internationally acclaimed and high-class Sunday Morning Book Thread. The Sunday Morning Book Thread is the only AoSHQ thread that is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Or kilts. Assless chaps don't count. Serious you guys. Kilts are OK, though. But not tutus. Unless you're a girl.

Book thread MULTIPLE TRIGGER WARNINGS because taxes are not "contributions", they're more like "forced extractions", the adjective "social" negates whatever noun it modifies, and the problems facing our country have become too great to be solved by voting.

A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.
William Styron

The Unspeakable Crimes of Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is probably the worst person in the entire world, in fact, a "monster". Says so at the end of this 2013 article right here. Why? Guess. Well, many of you morons probably already know, but for those who don't, Mr. Card is guilty of Thoughtcrime; he hasn't done anything to actually hurt the author, or for that matter, anyone else, but no matter, he holds views on homosexual marriage and homosexuality in general that SJWs do not approve of. And that is sufficient to warrant his expulsion from the human race entirely.

So Orson Scott Card is not "of the Body". OK, fine.

But there are other reasons for SJWs to hate Mr. Card. They probably won't like the fact that he has written a series of Biblically-themed books that are probably, like his own beliefs, not in accord with SJW dogma. The first one of Card's "Woman of Genesis" series, Sarah,

...child of the desert, wife of Abraham, takes on vivid reality as a woman desirable to kings, a devoted wife, and a faithful follower of the God of Abraham, chosen to experience an incomparable miracle.

And:

In his afterword, Card explains that here he is not an apologist for the Bible, but rather "an apologist for Sarah, a tough, smart, strong, bright woman in an era when women did not show up much in historical records."

Most of the time, the traditional Bible accounts are pretty skeletal and there's much that can be fleshed out, and many gaps that can be filled in. So there's lots of room for a creative imagination to work, which can be either a bad thing or a good thing. I consider myself pretty lenient about this, (for example, I'm a fan of the Zombie Bible series, which, despite injecting a zombie storyline to various Bible stories, still remains more or less true to the text) as long as the fiction writer does not distort the biblical narrative out of all recognition. So I think it's perfectly OK to make Sarah a "a tough, smart, strong, bright woman". But remember what it says about her in the New Testament:

(1 Pet.3:6)...as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

So, in order to maintain a biblically accurate picture of Sarah, her devotion to her husband must also be factored in to her "smart, tough" nature. Which in no way would this detract from her strength as a woman. However, most SJWs, blinded as they are by a cramped and narrow ideology, would not be able to understand this. Or, if they could, it would probably be not well enough to write a convincing character. SJWs would have to pretend that the 1 Peter passage didn't exist, or do something stupid like turn Sarah into a Bronze Age lesbian activist railing against the patriarchy, which is a character they'd obviously be more comfortable with.

The two other books in the "Women of Genesis" series are Rebekah and Rachel and Leah.

Card also wrote Stone Tables, his imagining of the life of Moses. The Amazon review by Lawrance Bernabo, which came up first on the page, is very informative and I really can't sum it up without just copying and pasting the whole thing.

Yes, I'm lazy.

The point is, Orson Scott Card is apocolyptically evil and ought to be shunned by all Right-Thinking people.

Non-Book Note

The Center for Medical Progress is the organization responsible for conducting the succssful sting operation against Planned Parenthood, that revealed deeply disturbing details concerning the traffic in aborted baby body parts conducted by the taxpayer-funded abortion provider. The response of the Obama administration was swift and serious. At the behest of several members of congress, it launched a full-scale investigation... of the Center for Medical Progress.

Now, is anybody really surprised by this? I didn't think so.

I'm guessing that this is just the beginning. CMP is probably going to be looking at a whole series of IRS audits, FBI visits, SWAT teams showing up in the middle of the night, subpoenas, nuisance lawsuits, state and local investigations, etc., the sole purpose of which is to punish them and to drive them out of business.

Combating the inevitable lawfare is going to take money. So here is the CMP donation page, if you would like to send a few bucks their way. I'm sure they would appreciate it. Every dollar will help.

Schadenfreude is not a virtue, but I have to admit that for the past couple of weeks, I've been watching Planned Parenthood getting punched in the nuts again and again and I just can't wipe this smile off my face.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled book thread.

To Steal A Mockingbird

I haven't covered the release of Harper Lee's new novel, Go Set A Watchman, her first since To Kill A Mockingbird over 50 years ago, because, actually, I just don't care. TKAM came out in 1960, when the civil rights movement was just getting up to full speed nationally, so it's obvious why the story of defending an innocent black man would be of interest. But now? 5 decades later, and another story with pretty much the same characters? I'm just underwhelmed.

But in a thread of a few days ago, a moron mentioned a controversy I never knew about before:

402 re:Harper Lee
Y'all got it backwards. To Kill a Mockingbird is the "fake". The ugly literary rumor has always been that she was having trouble with the manuscript so she sent it to her cousin to look it over and offer suggestions. He basically rewrote the thing and that is what was sent in and published. He appears in TKaM as cousin Dill, his real name was Truman Capote.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living... at July 15, 2015 08:06 PM (W6ipS)

As I said, this I had never heard, so I Googled around and found this interview on NPR with Dr. Wayne Flynt, retired professor of history from Auburn University. Apparently, a letter from Truman Capote has been made public, the gist of which is this:

FLYNT: Essentially, it says that a year before the novel was published in July of 1960, that Capote had seen the novel, had read much of the book, and liked it very much, and commented that she has great talent. And nowhere in the letter does he claim any involvement whatsoever in the book.

And, speaking of Capote:

FLYNT: Here's a person who was known for his enormous ego and for his banter and for his self-promotion. Here's a man who wanted desperately to win the National Book Award and wanted desperately to win the Pulitzer Prize and never won either one of them. And to assume, as jealous as he was of Harper Lee's success, he would not have claimed credit for this if he in fact done it, is simply too much for me to believe.

Heh. So, in other words, if Capote actually had written TKAM, his bloated ego would not have let him keep his fat yap shut. This is actually more convincing to me than any letter, extant or otherwise.

Civil War History

Longtime moron CBD e-mailed this week and would like good Civil War history recommendations:

McPherson and Catton come to mind, but I am no expert, and would like some input from others.

So would I. Other than Shelby Foote's multi-volume history, I got nothing.

Books By Morons

I heard from a lurking moron this week who told me he and his siblings tried to stop his mother from writing a novel (by taking up all of her time). But they were ultimately unsuccessful and so the novel Angel has been published. It is a coming-of-age tale set in Appalachia, and steeped in the culture of that region. My correspondent describes it as "southern gothic-lite: lots of family intrigue and dark mystery, less of the gruesome and macabre bits."

It is available on Kindle for 99 cents.

She has also written the novella All The Pieces, another tale of Appalachia. Also 99 cents on Kindle.

What I'm Reading

According to the book thread comments for the past few weeks, many of you morons are reading Flashback by Dan Simmons, so I started it a couple of days ago. Not sure where it's going yet, but I'm impressed with Simmons' craftsmanship as a writer. Some of the Amazon reviews complain about the politics (which are strongly conservative), but I haven't got to those parts, yet.

While I was on Amazon, another book by Simmons caught my attention. The Crook Factory looks like a "historical" spy novel involving famous people:

Joe Lucas, an amoral special agent in the FBI, finds himself assigned to a case that seems designed as punishment. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover has tasked him with keeping tabs on an amateur spy network in Cuba. The network has been coined "The Crook Factory" by it's ringleader - none other than Ernest Hemingway...And after joining up with Hemingway's eight-man spy network, Lucas discovers a spiderweb of machiavellian schemes involving the intelligence agencies from three different countries that could affect the outcome of World War II...Cameo appearances by Ian Fleming, Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergmann and Marlene Dietrich.

Simmons claims, in an afterwards, that 95% of the events he has written about in this book are true. I think I'll read this one next. Which sounds far-fetched to me, but even if his claim is BS, it sounds like it will be a fun read.

___________

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 08:55 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Read it all, and still first. Morning, Horde!

Posted by: PabloD at July 26, 2015 09:02 AM (AjrQy)

2 I've read Catton's Army of the Potomac trilogy and his general Civil War trilogy. Both are quite good.

Posted by: junior at July 26, 2015 09:02 AM (3m3mw)

3 Sorry, but since I had just gotten out of the shower after the morning walk, I skipped over the part about pants being required until my second read through the blog. Damn, forgot about the trigger warning thingy also. This should make for an interesting Sunday.

Posted by: Ketih at July 26, 2015 09:03 AM (mlpmN)

4 The image is the Abbey Library of St. Gall. That's right, THE St. Gall.

Posted by: major major major major at July 26, 2015 09:06 AM (AAiFK)

5 George Bush is a war criminal.

Posted by: Michael Moore at July 26, 2015 09:08 AM (aRUb8)

6 This week I read Authority and Acceptance, books two and three in the Area X trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer. The books continue the weird and creepy goings on in a bit of coastline and the surrounding area cut off from the rest of the worlds for decades. Vandermeer sustains the suspense throughout. He writes great descriptive detail, but the ending left me unsatisfied.

Posted by: Zoltan at July 26, 2015 09:09 AM (lFkeD)

7 Orson Scott Card is apocolyptically evil and ought to be shunned by all Right-Thinking people.

Right thinking people aka the tolerant left

Posted by: TheQuietMan at July 26, 2015 09:11 AM (DiZBp)

8 Book / music trivia: Go Set a Watchman and a famous music work were inspired by the same source. What's the music and what's the source. Hint: the source has relevance to today.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 26, 2015 09:11 AM (LImiJ)

9 I'm 'painfully aware' this morning! Such fun to travel with my BF! Thx taxpayers!

Posted by: Reggie Loves Barry at July 26, 2015 09:11 AM (gwG9s)

10 5 decades later, and another story with pretty much the same characters? I'm just underwhelmed.

I was underwhelmed by the first one. Had to read it in high school and thought it was painfully predictable and dull.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at July 26, 2015 09:13 AM (DiZBp)

11 The left are in a habit of dissing Sarahs.

Posted by: @votermom at July 26, 2015 09:13 AM (cbfNE)

12 Another reason for the SJWs to hate Card -

He's a Democrat, but isn't being pulled in by the leftward tilt of the party. He openly supported the wars in the Middle East, and had bad things to say about John Edwards (he lives in the same part of the country that Edwards is from) back in 2004, before Edwards got caught as a smarmy adulterous baby daddy.

Posted by: junior at July 26, 2015 09:14 AM (3m3mw)

13 Regarding Harper Lee and Truman Capote, I had heard the opposite. That Capote's In Cold Blood was actually written by Lee.

Posted by: John P. Squibob at July 26, 2015 09:16 AM (DQZLr)

14 The Compact History of the Civil War by Dupuy and Dupuy is good. Focuses on military as opposed to political matters, lots of maps showing troop movements. Probably have to get it used, my copy is from 1993. Isbn 0-446-39432-7

Posted by: Agent J at July 26, 2015 09:16 AM (ueOgE)

15 I've been reading (not listening to for a change) Ian Fleming's travel book Thrilling Cities. A London newspaper paid him to visit the sorts of cities James Bond might be expected to visit and then do articles about his experiences. Some of it is quite out of date, but other bits are interesting in showing how things have (or haven't) changed in the intervening 60 years. The most recent entry I read was Vienna where I found out that Patton had been on the US Olympic equestrian team and was responsible for saving the Lippizan breeding program.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at July 26, 2015 09:16 AM (GDulk)

16 Reading "The Centurions" by Jean Larteguy. Gives a great insight into the Commie mindset thru the Vietminh during the French Indochina War. The Vietminh are described as "insect like, termites, no soul, no love, just empty slogans and empty hearts." Just like the Democrats and Hillary and Bernie today.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at July 26, 2015 09:16 AM (JG47A)

17 @story with pretty much the same characters? I'm just underwhelmed.
--------------------------

Haven't read the newly released book, and probably won't. But the word out is that Atticus Finch is revealed to be a big-time segregationist.

Posted by: junior at July 26, 2015 09:16 AM (3m3mw)

18 Card's publisher is Tor, sadly, of the Puppies boycott. You can probably show support through his webzine, the Intergalactic Medicine Show, if you like.

Posted by: Agent J at July 26, 2015 09:18 AM (ueOgE)

19 Still slogging through The Last Lion, now on the second volume, Alone. Talk about the most interesting man in the world.

Posted by: Kenway at July 26, 2015 09:18 AM (ZVR/L)

20 I finally read something by HP Lovecraft, in this case "The Call of Cthulhu". LOVE IT!! He wrote it in the mid-1920s but it feels like it was written on the 1870s, like a next generation Poe, which is a point on its favor. Love those long, convoluted sentences. There are echoes of influence (or derivation) with Rider Haggard, Robert E. Howard, even Doc Smith and a short story by Heinlein. In the beginning he makes a reference to a particular part of Newport, RI, my home town. It is correct. Same for a part of Providence. A nice touch that adds 'credibilty' to the narrator's account.

Posted by: JTB at July 26, 2015 09:19 AM (FvdPb)

21 many of you morons are reading Flashback by Dan Simmons, so I started it a couple of days ago.

Meh. I liked the short story version better when it came out 20-something years ago. The "powerful, evil Japan meddling in America" plot device made more sense then. Also, he just larded up the same story arc with additional details, he didn't really add anything new.

Posted by: Meh at July 26, 2015 09:20 AM (HM6W6)

22 I am halfway through "Starship Troopers" by Robt. A. Heinlein.

Holy crap. He has choice words for "juvenile delinquents."

Rights without duties. Hmmm

The guy was prophetic.

Posted by: Grampa Jimbo at July 26, 2015 09:22 AM (1ijHg)

23 Civil War: Forrest Gump author Winston Groom has written several popular (as opposed to academic) histories of certain campaigns. I particularly enjoyed Shrouds of Glory about John Bell Hood's attempt to capture Nashville.

(I also greatly enjoyed Groom's A Storm in Flanders, a microcosm of WWI in the battles of Ypres.)

I also enjoy Ralph Peters' historical fiction about the Civil War. Cain at Gettysburg is quite good and I have just started Hell or Richmond about the Wilderness campaign.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 26, 2015 09:23 AM (LImiJ)

24 >>>Regarding Harper Lee and Truman Capote, I had heard the opposite. That Capote's In Cold Blood was actually written by Lee.<<<

Hah! That would be hilarious if true.

Posted by: the guy that moves pianos for a living... at July 26, 2015 09:25 AM (tEDMc)

25 Orson Scott Card is apocolyptically evil and ought to be shunned by all Right-Thinking people.

===========

and Marion Zimmer Bradley covered up her beard husband's pedophilia for decades, while raping and abusing her daughter, but hey feminist and GBLT, so...

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at July 26, 2015 09:26 AM (Cq0oW)

26 OregonMuse, maybe we could get a thread for books about surviving The Burning Times? Like, how to smoke and can people who show up at your fortress looking for food? Saw really nice sausage machines at Cabelas the other day.

Ah well. Off to church. Might as well enjoy it while I still can.

Posted by: Agent J at July 26, 2015 09:26 AM (ueOgE)

27 I found 'From Manassas to Appomattox' by Longstreet an interesting Civil War read

Posted by: Mark E at July 26, 2015 09:26 AM (Z6NKL)

28 #20, if you don't mind some typos and such, a buck will get you a reasonable complete collection of his works on Amazon:

http://tinyurl.com/lovecraft11

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at July 26, 2015 09:26 AM (LUlyE)

29 @18

I wouldn't encourage a boycott, myself. Yes, ignore most of the company's offerings until the company does something about certain individuals. But buy the good, non-SJW authors (Card, Sanderson - who is also LDS, and others) as it will encourage the company to not go full progtard.

Posted by: junior at July 26, 2015 09:27 AM (3m3mw)

30 Hey Kenway, I've been slogging through the 3rd Volume! I'm enjoying the British perspective on World War II.

Posted by: scrood at July 26, 2015 09:28 AM (3b9U4)

31 "a buck will get you a reasonable complete collection"

Reasonably. Moar coffee!!

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at July 26, 2015 09:29 AM (LUlyE)

32 (Not sure what library this is, but the photo came from here.)

No lie, it looks like the library from Monster's University, the Pixar film.

Posted by: Bevel Lemelisk at July 26, 2015 09:30 AM (xUcC/)

33 http://tinyurl.com/p6hdtw7

Story of Moira Greyland. Probably not news to many here but it was to me. Abominable beyond disgusting; an evidently well-known author in fantasy circles (I know nothing of such myself). Is this a case for burning books? If the author was trumpeting incest among her fictional characters while doing far worse to her own daughter, I'd vote "yeah, burn those books." At the very least, my kids will never read them.

Posted by: Doomed at July 26, 2015 09:31 AM (bGLSw)

34 Clarification: the author was Greyland's mother, not Greyland herself.

Posted by: Doomed at July 26, 2015 09:32 AM (bGLSw)

35 Orson Scott Card is one of my favorite authors and I highly recommend the Women of Genesis series.Tor Books is (or was) his publisher. I'd like to know how the hyper-liberal editors Patrick and Teresa Nielsen-Hayden feel about him now.

Posted by: Sinalco at July 26, 2015 09:32 AM (dsLWF)

36 @20
JTB, one of Lovecraft's trademarks was using then-cutting-edge science in his work. As you noted, it really gave that extra bit of authenticity. He used paleontology and geology, UV light, Crooke's tubes (predecessors of TV tubes), and even said newly-discovered Pluto was actually Yuggoth, home of the Mi-Go. Be sure to read At The Mountains of Madness and Shadow Over Innsmouth.

Posted by: Agent J at July 26, 2015 09:33 AM (ueOgE)

37 Regarding Harper Lee and Truman Capote, I had heard the opposite. That Capote's In Cold Blood was actually written by Lee.

Ha! Now THAT would be interesting...

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 09:34 AM (/LM8/)

38 Speaking of juvenile delinquents --

I've finished the first stories of "The Mad Scientists' Club," a collection of adventures of a group of teen boys, published in the 1960s. I read this to pieces during grade school. Now those tales and subsequent ones I never heard of have been collected in a thick paperback. When I catch a break from work, I'll dive into them.

Posted by: Weak Geek at July 26, 2015 09:34 AM (+P39t)

39 That library is in Bill and Hills little summer cottage..

Posted by: Frommage from Pakistan at July 26, 2015 09:34 AM (/WmRg)

40 RE: Civil War books, I'm generally not a fan of anything written before the 1960s, as too much of the older scholarship is dominated by the Jubal Early / Freeman school of Southern mythology, too much "Lost Cause" hagiography that bears little resemblance to the facts. The stuff is readable and entertaining, but too biased to one side to be of great value.

(As an aside: both the Civil War and World War II's Eastern Front are the rare occasions where the *losers* wrote the most influential histories).

So, sticking with more recent Civil War books:

-- Anything by Stephen Sears; I'm partial to To The Gates of Richmond, his Peninsula Campaign history, but you can't go wrong with any of his books.

-- Peter Cozzens' trilogy on Stones River/Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga. (Again, anything by Cozzens is good)

-- James Robertson's biography of Stonewall Jackson is the best Civil War biography I've yet read, Robertson knows Jackson so well, it might as well be an *auto* biography.

-- For Gettysburg fans, check out One Continuous Fight, a history of the battles and skirmishes that occurred AFTER the battle during Lee's retreat back to Virginia. Definitely an underreported element of the campaign.

-- Also, Bradley Gottfried's map books of Gettysburg and other Civil War battles are THE best map books you can get, complete with precise unit positions at the correct times, and plenty of walking & driving tour tips.

-- "Civil War Generalship" by W.J. Wood and "The Warrior Generals" by Thomas Buell are great little studies of several Union and Confederate generals at differing levels of command. There are tons of books about Grant, Lee, Jackson and Sherman, but here you can get excellent stuff on Rosecrans, Barlow, Hood, Thomas and other neglected principals of the war.

-- For foundational knowledge, nothing beats Paddy Griffith's Battle Tactics of the Civil War. Griffith kind of explodes the mythology of the "rifles made infantry assaults impossible" conventional wisdom, blaming-- correctly, IMO-- the outmoded tactics of the period (he argues strongly that MORE infantry charges were needed, not fewer, as the "slug it out and reload in plain view" tactics of the time unnecessarily increased casualties rather than reduced them).

Good reading to all!

Posted by: Dave at Garfield Ridge at July 26, 2015 09:35 AM (6rKEC)

41 I finally read something by HP Lovecraft, in this case "The Call of Cthulhu". LOVE IT!!

My favorite Lovecraft story is 'Shadow Over Innsmouth'. Seriously creeped me out. I recommend you read that one next.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 09:35 AM (/LM8/)

42 I splurged on a good hardcover edition of Lovecraft that comes in a slipcase. These are stories that I will savor slowly and, for me, that means a physical book. Although I use a Kindle Paperwhite a lot, there are certain books that are worth the expense and shelf space to have in hard copy: CS Lewis, Tolkien, Poe, Wodehouse, Shakespeare, Churchill and too many others. And this trend is getting stronger as I get older and become more selective in my reading.

Posted by: JTB at July 26, 2015 09:36 AM (FvdPb)

43 watch out - the only people who complain about the 'politics' of Flashback have an axe to grind against the book itself because it is so prescient; and it's predictions are so against what they so desire to happen they would rather attack the book as 'right wing fantasy' than deal with the questions it raises.

Flashback doesn't contain 'politics'. What it does contain is a description of the end-result of progressive utopian policies. There are some brilliant sections where the author lampoons the prejudices of ivory tower academicians; even more awesome as the author is a professor himself.

One of the biggest takeways from Flashback is that nature abhors a vacuum - and with the decline of America, someone's going to take over that role. In the book, it's pretty much all the darlings of the 'progresssives' - the caliphate, the illegal immigrants, etc.

Highly recommended, I 'read' it on audiobook and it's produced very well, with different readers taking on the roles of the different characters.

Posted by: Retard Strength Trumps Smart Power at July 26, 2015 09:36 AM (27KAF)

44 I can't find that library. Driving me crazy

Posted by: ThunderB at July 26, 2015 09:37 AM (zOTsN)

45 My own opinion of convoluted sentences is horror. I find myself going back and rereading, falling out of the story. Most of the popular novels written in that style were intended for reading aloud, and sometimes that is the only way I can get through them. Too time-consuming for me.

Posted by: mustbequantum at July 26, 2015 09:37 AM (MIKMs)

46 I read a news story that a couple changed their fourteen month old baby's name from Atticus after Go Set a Watchman was released. I hope they didn't rename him after Bill Cosby. (They actually renamed him Lucas.)

Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 26, 2015 09:39 AM (LImiJ)

47 HP Lovecraft, in this case "The Call of Cthulhu". LOVE IT!! He wrote it in the mid-1920s but it feels like it was written on the 1870s

======

he was enthralled with Robert W Chambers, who wrote The King In Yellow, 1895

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_in_Yellow

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at July 26, 2015 09:40 AM (Cq0oW)

48 @33
Story of Moira Greyland. Probably not news to many here but it was to me. Abominable beyond disgusting; an evidently well-known author in fantasy circles (I know nothing of such myself). Is this a case for burning books? If the author was trumpeting incest among her fictional characters while doing far worse to her own daughter, I'd vote "yeah, burn those books." At the very least, my kids will never read them.
---------------------------

What MZB's husband (Greyland's father) was doing was apparently an open secret in some fandom circles at the time. MZB's actions toward her daughter appear to have been largely unknown until Moira made it public.

The only thing by either one of them that I've read is part of The Mists of Avalon, so I can't comment much on their books. But according to Moira's article, people are now finding lots and lots of evidence of pedo themes in their books - themes that Moira had already recognized were present because of how well she knew her parents.

Posted by: junior at July 26, 2015 09:41 AM (3m3mw)

49 There are some brilliant sections where the author lampoons the prejudices of ivory tower academicians; even more awesome as the author is a professor himself.

-
He was a professor at CU in Boulder and mentions the Ward Churchill phony Indian phony professor incident.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 26, 2015 09:43 AM (LImiJ)

50 I found an old early Kindle reader at a thrift store for $4. It looks like the e-ink screen is bad. I can probably swap it out for about $20-- would it be worth it? Are the old ones still supported in the Amazon store? My wife might like it as a regular reader in addition to the Fire she already has...

Posted by: Pappy O'Daniel at July 26, 2015 09:43 AM (oVJmc)

51 I suggest we create sanctuary cities where PC bullshit rules don't apply.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 26, 2015 09:44 AM (LImiJ)

52 44 I can't find that library. Driving me crazy

Posted by: ThunderB at July 26, 2015 09:37 AM (zOTsN)

It has been identified. See the update.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 09:44 AM (/LM8/)

53 @21 - Agree with "Meh" about "Flashback" by Simmons. Good short story, definitely of the period. The novel is kind of like a Hamburger Helper meal.

Halfway through Todd Moss' "The Golden Hour" and am really enjoying it. I think I learned of it from an Amazon recommendation or sale. Sales numbers & reviews didn't quite convince me. Picked it up at the library. You can read synopsis and blurbs at http://bit.ly/1LLMsAo

Note the highly unusual collection of authors' blurbs. Very intelligent book, well-paced but not an agents/guns thriller. Recommended.

Posted by: doug at July 26, 2015 09:45 AM (NjZkV)

54 I guess I read TKAM at just the right time in my life.

I must've been about 11 or 12, not yet going through puberty, but big enough that I was already feeling nostalgic for the child's life I was getting too big for.

People tend to forget what a wonderful evocation of childhood and the child's point of view of the adult world around them. That for me is the strongest part of the book.

And there are plenty of masterful set pieces within TKAM. The one that sticks with me the most is the climax - where Scout is returning from the Halloween
party/pageant and is attacked.

It's a wonderful use of restricted viewpoint and pulls all of the separate threads within the novel together in one terrifying moment. Just great stuff.

The whole trial/civil rights aspect for me at that time was just the frame on which hung the interesting stuff.

I suppose I need to revisit TKAM and be disappointed or confirmed in that long ago opinion.

Posted by: naturalfake at July 26, 2015 09:45 AM (KUa85)

55 The "powerful, evil Japan meddling in America" plot device made more sense then

Yeah, I wondered about that. That kinds of dates it, doesn't it? Back to the early 80s, back before Japan's real estate market collapsed and their economy went into the crapper.

So much for "all powerful" Japan.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 09:49 AM (/LM8/)

56 The only thing by either one of them that I've read is part of The Mists of Avalon, so I can't comment much on their books. But according to Moira's article, people are now finding lots and lots of evidence of pedo themes in their books

=====

Mists early on has a chapter devoted to Uther ritually raping his sister when they were children as part of some pagan folderol. Because all Britons were about that, of course. It's why they are fascinated with genealogy.

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at July 26, 2015 09:51 AM (Cq0oW)

57 @55 The "powerful, evil Japan meddling in America" plot device made more sense then

Yeah, I wondered about that. That kinds of dates it, doesn't it? Back to the early 80s, back before Japan's real estate market collapsed and their economy went into the crapper.

So much for "all powerful" Japan.
----------------------

And it appears that "all powerful" China is going the same route...

Posted by: junior at July 26, 2015 09:52 AM (3m3mw)

58 On Civil War history, I liked Trotter's "Bushwhackers: The Civil War in North Carolina, The Mountains". The accounts of neighbors arbitrarily choosing a side as cover for otherwise criminal violence against one another are sobering. Reading it gave me insight into events in places like Syria, Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan. Fans of Frazier's "Cold Mountain" will recognize some of the anecdotes, and he lists "Bushwhackers" in his bibliography.

Amazon link - http://tinyurl.com/oujyzw5

I'm reading Tartt's "The Goldfinch". It feel like "A Series of Unfortunate Events" in a modenr setting, but without humor, clever wordplay or Count Olaf. But it has a similar appeal: one situational cliffhanger to the next...

http://tinyurl.com/pg34b6w

Posted by: MarkW at July 26, 2015 09:52 AM (kQfoP)

59 I used to hang out in a Lovecraft forum in Unsenet, back in the late Netscape era. One of the great critical analyses of Lovecraft's work was supposed to have been S. T. Joshi, who I always read as Saint Joshi. Never read it though, I seem to like my literature un-criticized

Great days, though, hashing over what the terminal velocity of a falling shoggoth would be, and the dangers of feeding Purina to the Hound of Tindalos...

Posted by: Kindltot at July 26, 2015 09:52 AM (3pRHP)

60 Pretty good Kindle Daily Deal today -- "Moriarty" by Anthony Horowitz for $1.99.

Horowitz also wrote "House of Silk," another excellent Holmes book.

He was the creator and principal writer of the UK TV series "Foyle's War." He has a passion for historical research and accuracy in his work.

Posted by: doug at July 26, 2015 09:52 AM (NjZkV)

61 Moira Greyland's story also does not speak well of the fashionable neo-pagans and the Left in general, and she herself says things about homosexuals that have been forbidden in the last few years. If she weren't a woman claiming sex abuse with court documentation regarding the people involved, she'd probably be pilloried by the Usual Suspects.

Posted by: Pappy O'Daniel at July 26, 2015 09:52 AM (oVJmc)

62 Thanks to whoever suggested "Grand Central Arena" last week. (I think it was NaCldog.) I've only started it but all the allusions to the Lensman series and several other books are great. I should probably keep a list of all the references as I come across them. I interrupted GCA to dig out my old copies of "Galactic Patrol" and "Grey Lensman" and polish them off. Just relaxing, fun escapism. I'll definitely be reading more Ryk E. Spoor.

Posted by: JTB at July 26, 2015 09:53 AM (FvdPb)

63 Well, I've got to go walk the dogs. The answer to my trivia question is source: Isaiah chapter 21 and music: Bob Dylan / Jimi Hendrix All Along the Watchtower. My hint about relevance today is a reference to verse 2. "A distressing vision is declared to me;
The treacherous dealer deals treacherously,
And the plunderer plunders."

Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 26, 2015 09:53 AM (LImiJ)

64 And there are plenty of masterful set pieces within TKAM

I've heard that Lee had written a number of short stories and she wove them all together and made TKAM out of them. That's why the individual "set pieces" are discernible.

Another one: Atticus shooting the rabid dog.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 09:53 AM (/LM8/)

65 Orson Scott Card <~~~~ Shun! Shun! *waves bra around, dances the hokey-pokey, whilst chewing on GBLT on Rye with Mayo and a slice of Swiss*

Posted by: Nutcase SJW at July 26, 2015 09:53 AM (0uRNV)

66 Re: Harper Lee and found manuscripts, supposedly they just found a third one. This has been greeted with great skepticism in writing circles I frequent, one wag commenting the title is "My Wonderful Caretaker Deserves All My Money". It does strain credulity that a famously reclusive author who did not like the fame Mockingbird brought her would all of a sudden, when she is elderly, frail, deaf, and nearly blind, would change her mind so drastically. It just smells off.

The MZB thing, as horrific as it is, is made worse by the fact that several people in the fannish community knew about Breen's little habits and did nothing. (MZB was better at hiding what she did, those revelations were more of a shock). I had my own interactions with MZB that puzzled me mightily until this came out.....then it made more sense. A slightly putrescent sense. (She *really* didn't like a story I submitted to her magazine, and told me at length. I am so glad, now.)

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at July 26, 2015 09:54 AM (GG9V6)

67 I'd like to thank you many morons who ponied up a buck and bought my military sci fi novel Outward Frontier. I'd appreciate any feedback. As for me I picked up Neil Gaimans "Good Omens" and am enjoying it. I also saw the movie made from one of his other books called Stardust which my kids really enjoyed.

Posted by: Dana author of Outward Frontier at July 26, 2015 09:54 AM (eTvJc)

68 @56
Mists early on has a chapter devoted to Uther ritually raping his sister when they were children as part of some pagan folderol. Because all Britons were about that, of course. It's why they are fascinated with genealogy.
------------------

I don't remember that. But it's been a long time.

I do remember the festival that has Arthur accidentally having sex with his sister (part of another pagan ritual, and iirc they're masked until it's over). But Arthur engaging in accidental incest (and producing Mordred as a result of that incest) has been a part of the mythos for a long time. The only difference here is that usually the sister in question is Morgawse, and here it's Morgan Le Fay.

Posted by: junior at July 26, 2015 09:56 AM (3m3mw)

69 What MZB's husband (Greyland's father) was doing was apparently an open
secret in some fandom circles at the time. MZB's actions toward her
daughter appear to have been largely unknown until Moira made it public.

The only thing by either one of them that I've read is part of The
Mists of Avalon, so I can't comment much on their books. But according
to Moira's article, people are now finding lots and lots of evidence of
pedo themes in their books - themes that Moira had already recognized
were present because of how well she knew her parents.

* * *

If I read her right, I find her thesis very intriguing: homosexuality itself is the problem because it's really pansexualism, though few of them will admit it. That would explain the historic link between bisexuals, homosexual pedophiles (Greek catamites, etc), the now-denied link between Big Gay and NAMBLA of decades ago, etc, and that few of them are exclusively one way or the other.

It also explains the baffling claim I heard maybe 20 years ago from a flaming sodomite that ALL people are homosexual and straights are really the aberration. Either he was truly insane, or by "homosexual" he really meant to say "pansexual." I lean toward the latter (without excluding the former) because Greyland's views make his make sense.

Posted by: Doomed at July 26, 2015 09:57 AM (bGLSw)

70 >>>If she weren't a woman claiming sex abuse with court documentation regarding the people involved, she'd probably be pilloried by the Usual Suspects.
Posted by: Pappy O'Daniel at July 26, 2015 09:52 AM (oVJmc)

Well, we've always said a woman claiming to be raped by a male should ALWAYS be believed, haven't we, Bill?

Posted by: Hillary! Clinton at July 26, 2015 09:58 AM (0uRNV)

71 maybe that's the one, junior. it's been awhile here, too.

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at July 26, 2015 09:59 AM (Cq0oW)

72 Schadenfreude is not a virtue, but I have to admit that for the past couple of weeks, I've been watching Planned Parenthood getting punched in the nuts again and again and I just can't wipe this smile off my face.

Fuck Planned Parethood. They're hostis humani generis. They're a baby-killing machine funded with your tax dollars. I see nothing wrong with getting a good feeling from them being exposed as the fiends they are.

Posted by: Insomniac at July 26, 2015 10:00 AM (mx5oN)

73 It's not official yet, but there is a geographic feature on Pluto that has been tentatively named Cthulhu Regio.

The naming conventions for each planet tends to have a "theme". For example, features on Venus are named for women, and the moons of Uranus for characters from Shakespeare and Pope. It looks like the theme for Pluto is going to be the underworld.

Posted by: rickl at July 26, 2015 10:00 AM (sdi6R)

74 Just finished The Cosgrove Report: Being the Private Inquiry of a Pinkerton Detective into the Death of President Lincoln.

A fun, historical, murder mystery, thriller. Why it has never been made into a movie is a mystery itself.

Posted by: Jim at July 26, 2015 10:01 AM (uSM1W)

75
I propose we create sanctuary cities where no one is allowed to use the phrase "Ya know what I'm sayin'?" or "Ah-ite?" at the end of every friggin' sentence.

Posted by: Adirondack Patriot at July 26, 2015 10:01 AM (RpM6k)

76 eh gotta charge this thing

bbl

Posted by: Bigby's Knuckle Sandwich at July 26, 2015 10:02 AM (Cq0oW)

77 @67 I'd like to thank you many morons who ponied up a buck and bought my military sci fi novel Outward Frontier. I'd appreciate any feedback. As for me I picked up Neil Gaimans "Good Omens" and am enjoying it. I also saw the movie made from one of his other books called Stardust which my kids really enjoyed.
---------------

Good Omens is a great book. But keep in mind that it's got two authors, and the humor is pure Pratchett.

Posted by: junior at July 26, 2015 10:03 AM (3m3mw)

78 I suggest we create sanctuary cities where PC bullshit rules don't apply.
Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 26, 2015 09:44 AM (LImiJ)

There is a school of thought about that. How can a city be made more efficient and be responsive to the needs of the residents? One suggestion looks to the management of your average mall, where the management company provides services and security for rent. There are others, like setting up a private corporate city on the Detroit river, on Belle Island.

I have been told this will never work, and it is a recipe for tyranny.

http://fee.org/freeman/detail/private-cities-101

http://preview.tinyurl.com/Belle-Island

Posted by: Kindltot at July 26, 2015 10:04 AM (3pRHP)

79 "Schadenfreude is not a virtue"

***

The hell you say.

It may be a German word, but it's an Irish sacrament.

Posted by: Fenian Elbow at July 26, 2015 10:04 AM (uSM1W)

80 Ooh, need to check out those Orson Scott Card books and maybe Flashback, too!

Card also committed the ULTIMATE sin: he has come out as a critic of Obama ---worse, he compared him to Hitler.
Triple-Plus Ungood?

http://www.ew.com/article/2013/08/16/orson-scott-card-obama-hitler

Posted by: Lizzy at July 26, 2015 10:04 AM (NOIQH)

81 For. Anyone who wants to learn about the Civil war McPherson 's Battle Cry of Freedom is a top pick from me and a fair amount of other like minded guys.

Posted by: Skip at July 26, 2015 10:05 AM (2baGi)

82 YAY BOOK THREAD!

Not a lot to add this week, since I've been spending most of it trying to finish up Loyal Valley: Captives (nearly there, too). But for Civil War history, I can recommend Edmund J. Davis of Texas by Carl Moneyhon, with the disclaimer that I did the index--in fact, that's what prompted me to write Loyal Valley: Assassination. Davis was both a Union general and the first Republican governor elected after the war, and Moneyhon paints a very positive portrait of the man, hamstrung by the Republican establishment in Washington (sound familiar?) and by lawlessness and corruptocrats closer to home. It left me thinking that while Davis may not always have made the right decisions, at least some of those instances were ones where there may not have *been* a right choice out of the options available.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 26, 2015 10:08 AM (iuQS7)

83 Also pulling together the twin threads of Lovecraft and TKAM-

I highly recommend-

"The Traveling Vampire Show" by Richard Laymon

it's probably the best novel he wrote. (He daid.)

The main characters are young horny teenagers, instead of children, living in a sleepy southern town and instead of civil rights and the law the framing element is the mysterious adult's only Vampire Circus coming to town,

but other than that it's exactly like TKAM.

Okay, just joking but this is very cleanly and sharply written character study of young teenagers that deals with coming of age and sexual awakening in a sleepy southern town that comes together in a very creepy and shocking climax at the Vampire Circus.

Laymon is very much known for his in your face shock horror, but in this novel he tried something different and hit a home run.

Too bad he died shortly after writing this, he might actually have had a great novel or two within him.

Posted by: naturalfake at July 26, 2015 10:08 AM (KUa85)

84 g'mornin' again, 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at July 26, 2015 10:08 AM (irT2h)

85 Camp of the Saints

It's all you need to read.

Posted by: Shallow HAL 9000 at July 26, 2015 10:09 AM (Gcu5R)

86 ...I have to admit that for the past couple of weeks, I've been watching Planned Parenthood ~~getting punched in the nuts~~ committing acts of self-immolation again and again...

FIFY

Posted by: Hurricane LaFawnduh at July 26, 2015 10:10 AM (laMCB)

87 My favorite Lovecraft story is 'Shadow Over Innsmouth'. Seriously creeped me out. I recommend you read that one next.

I concur. And since it set my hair straight up, I'd recommend next "The Colour Out of Space"...

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at July 26, 2015 10:10 AM (LUlyE)

88 Hairyback Guy @ 16 - Where did you find Larteguy's "The Centurions"? I've seen used copies at Amazon and Abe Books for beaucoup dollars. Too boo-koo dollah, as they say.

Posted by: butch at July 26, 2015 10:11 AM (HLx1C)

89 Abbey Library of St. Gallen, Switzerland

They've digitized a lot of the manuscripts, which are interesting to browse through.

http://www.cesg.unifr.ch/en/

When you go in, you have to take off your shoes and wear gigantic felt slippers, to protect the parquet...but it's not climate-controlled to preserve the books. Interesting priorities.

When I was there the lapidarium had an exhibit on the materials used to make the inks and the colored pigments...fascinating stuff.

Posted by: HR trinken trinken trinken at July 26, 2015 10:14 AM (rHXGG)

90 Nice to see that Cousin Orson is still a favorite among the terminally aggrieved.

Morning roonz and roonettez! Off to Myrtle Beach this fine afternoon so I'm here to get some reading materials.

Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, Trophy Chapter at July 26, 2015 10:15 AM (UQGss)

91 Bless you, HR!!! Bookmarking!

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 26, 2015 10:15 AM (iuQS7)

92 Posted by: MarkW at July 26, 2015 09:52 AM (kQfoP)

Interesting point about the similarities between NC during the Civil War and the ME during....always.

And...."The Goldfinch" was such a slog for me. I finished it, mostly because it was recommended by my wife (she loved it!). But it was not nearly as impressive as I had been led to believe.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at July 26, 2015 10:15 AM (Zu3d9)

93 Thanks, as always, to OM for the book thread. It's a highlight of each weekend.

I appreciate the suggestions on which Lovecraft stories to read next. I started a list and will work through it, probably one story a week. Don't want to burn out on the genre.

Posted by: JTB at July 26, 2015 10:16 AM (FvdPb)

94 And there are plenty of masterful set pieces within TKAM

I've heard that Lee had written a number of short stories and she wove them all together and made TKAM out of them. That's why the individual "set pieces" are discernible.

Another one: Atticus shooting the rabid dog.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 09:53 AM (/LM8/)

Well, that explains that.

Posted by: naturalfake at July 26, 2015 10:19 AM (KUa85)

95 May I please ask for a definition of SJW?

Posted by: AnnaS at July 26, 2015 10:19 AM (ZEXhw)

96 85 Camp of the Saints

It's all you need to read.

I've been looking for this one for awhile. Is there a copy online anywhere?

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 10:20 AM (/LM8/)

97 SJW = Social Justice Warrior, aka the perpetually aggrieved who run around on social media screaming at people for being un-PC and think that somehow makes society better.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 26, 2015 10:22 AM (iuQS7)

98 95 May I please ask for a definition of SJW?

Social Justice Warrior

-or-

Social Justice Wanker

I use 'SJW' as a generic term for someone on the far left, politically. See also 'progressive' or 'progtard'.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 10:22 AM (/LM8/)

99 the older scholarship is dominated by the Jubal Early / Freeman school of Southern mythology, too much "Lost Cause" hagiography that bears little resemblance to the facts. You're thinking of Lee's aides, Taylor and so forth. Freeman's biography of Lee is one of the single best things written about the period, even now. So long as you read The Marble Man as a corrective. Whinging on about "Lost Cause" historiography is usually a marker of someone stuck in "Centennial" bias mode, in my experience.

-- Peter Cozzens' trilogy on Stones River/Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga. (Again, anything by Cozzens is good)

Cozzens is good, but battle-books are as common as dirt, and it sounds like people are asking about overall treatments. Most of the stuff I read is specialist, like Hess's entrenchment books, or Griffith's tactics book & the thesis to which that book is an anti-thesis, Grady McWhiney's Attack and Die. I found Nosworthy's Bloody Crucible of Courage to be a useful synthesis between the two approaches: http://tinyurl.com/qbpzrmx

-- For Gettysburg fans, check out One Continuous Fight, a history of the battles and skirmishes that occurred AFTER the battle during Lee's retreat back to Virginia. Definitely an underreported element of the campaign.

Kent Masterson Brown's Retreat from Gettysburg is a great companion to that study of the cavalry battles in the retreat, and both do a great deal of answering the Centennial-Lincolnian cri de coeur about lost opportunities on the banks of the upper Potomac.

-- "Civil War Generalship" by W.J. Wood and "The Warrior Generals" by Thomas Buell are great little studies of several Union and Confederate generals at differing levels of command.

Hattaway and Jones' How the North Won: A Military History of the Civil War is a classic.

Posted by: Mitch H. at July 26, 2015 10:23 AM (zpup3)

100 Posted by: Mitch H. at July 26, 2015 10:23 AM (zpup3)

So....what would you recommend for a general history of the war?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at July 26, 2015 10:25 AM (Zu3d9)

101 Whatever you read, it will be wrong. Civil War history is being re-written to hew to the line struck by present-day activists bent on shaping events to fit a narrow definition of just, admirable, and worthy. That their narrow definition is complete nonsense does not matter, before long the only acceptable version of an event (ANY event) will include a cadre of previously unknown characters thrust onto the field dispaying all the qualities of the gods of mythology. The facts of history do not matter, but the value of history as a tool of propaganda does.

Posted by: Dan Patterson at July 26, 2015 10:25 AM (+klYE)

102 Listened to The Wise Man's Fear (Kingkiller Chronicle #2) by Patrick Rothfuss. As some wag noted, it's day 2 of Kvothe telling his life story and the audiobook is 43 hours long (and the book is about 1000 pages), so it must not take place on Earth. It's beautifully written and Kvothe does have some adventures away from the magic college, but I have a lot of questions none of which were answered. That's a lot of words not to progress the story much if at all. I did however enjoy it and hope we get volume 3 soon.

Read The Mountains of Madness by Lovecraft, explorers in Antarctica come across traces of Cthulhu and the Old Ones. I couldn't get hooked on it, didn't discern any drama and was disappointed.

Listened to John Ringo's Ghost (Paladin of Shadows #1) which is the story of a retired Seal attacking international criminals and terrorists for fun and profit. The best one-word description of Ringo is 'entertaining' and that is true here. However 'Ghost' has a dark side, there are some sex scenes that are graphic and not PC, so it's not for everyone.

Orson Scott Card is a good litmus test for Leftism, I've seen many say they would never read his books or see the Ender's Game film because he doesn't believe in gay marriage. Luckily for him he doesn't work for FireFox.

Still working through short stories for Hugo, deadline for final vote is July 31, will be interested to see how the Left handles the results.

Posted by: waelse1 at July 26, 2015 10:26 AM (y7f6P)

103 So....what would you recommend for a general history of the war?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at July 26, 2015 10:25 AM (Zu3d9)

101 Whatever you read, it will be wrong...

Posted by: Dan Patterson at July 26, 2015 10:25 AM (+klYE)

Well, THAT'S kind of depressing...

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 10:27 AM (/LM8/)

104 HR, Thanks for the link to the library's digitized manuscripts. Now under favorites.

OT: Elisabeth G. Wolfe, Mrs. JTB and I agreed with most of your movie favorites from last night's thread.

Posted by: JTB at July 26, 2015 10:28 AM (FvdPb)

105 That makes me glad, JTB. Thanks.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 26, 2015 10:30 AM (iuQS7)

106 Whatever you read, it will be wrong. [ gusty university style rant deleted for brevity] of propaganda
does.

What he said. So get your Foote, Catton, etc. while you can.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at July 26, 2015 10:31 AM (LUlyE)

107 Well, THAT'S kind of depressing...

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 10:27 AM (/LM8/)

At least we haven't yet arrived at "1984" levels of historical revisionism.

[I think....]

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at July 26, 2015 10:31 AM (Zu3d9)

108 If some comedian doesn't write a book about this clown-show of a presidential race, I'll be surprised. I can't even watch the news anymore. It's political nonsense and theater movie murder pr0n.

Sorry for going O/T, but holy crap! Watching the Sunday morning talk shows is a test of patience. I can listen to about ten seconds then it's back to the food channels(which I recently read made you eat more).

Posted by: hadoop at July 26, 2015 10:31 AM (2X7pN)

109 Nng! Pixy, your interface's blithe hostility to minor html styling is baffling and foolish-making.

I haven't been reading much of note this week. A superheroes-and-zombie-apocalypse book called Ex-Heroes kind of jammed me up. It's technically good, but the two genres are so diametrically opposed in attitude and purpose that the whole thing has a certain matter-antimatter relation to itself. Superhero books are, at the core, about humanistic wish-fulfillment, that's why they're usually written by and for progressives and lefties in an expansive mood. Zombie apocalypse books are about pessimism, doom, and a contempt for the inherent vileness of man - this is why they're usually written by cynics - betrayed idealists, mugged liberals and lefties in a nihilistic "OK, God, I'm ready for the Leftist Rapture" mood.

Posted by: Mitch H. at July 26, 2015 10:32 AM (zpup3)

110 back to the food channels(which I recently read made you eat more).

Makes me wonder why cable TV doesn't have any booze channels.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 10:34 AM (/LM8/)

111 >>At least we haven't yet arrived at "1984" levels of historical revisionism.

[I think....]

Given the current craze of removing or destroying (by the mob) Confederate monuments, etc., maybe time to get some of the older history books in non-digital form?
I'll admit that the current anti-Confederacy zeal disturbs me...

Posted by: Lizzy at July 26, 2015 10:35 AM (NOIQH)

112 110 back to the food channels(which I recently read made you eat more).

Makes me wonder why cable TV doesn't have any booze channels.
Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 10:34 AM (/LM8/)

That's what the hunting and fishing channels are for. Halibut, Jack Daniels, and Random Rednecks!

Posted by: joncelli, Boned like You at July 26, 2015 10:35 AM (RD7QR)

113 I is not no university style rantor neither!

Posted by: Dan Patterson at July 26, 2015 10:36 AM (+klYE)

114 For Civil War history, JFC Fuller wrote a good command study about Grant and Lee -- Amazon has it.

Posted by: Mentor of Arisia at July 26, 2015 10:36 AM (ybzJi)

115 *looks in*

Is it safe?

I mean, it's way too early to get punched in the balls.

Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at July 26, 2015 10:37 AM (oFCZn)

116 Posted by: Lizzy at July 26, 2015 10:35 AM (NOIQH)

I was completely disinterested in the Confederate Battle Flag....until the SJWs made a stink.

I am now a fervent supporter of the flag and am reflexively supportive of anyone who flies it.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at July 26, 2015 10:37 AM (Zu3d9)

117 115 *looks in*

Is it safe?

I mean, it's way too early to get punched in the balls.
Posted by: Dack Thrombosis at July 26, 2015 10:37 AM (oFCZn)

Has there been a lot of ball-punching?

Posted by: joncelli, Boned like You at July 26, 2015 10:38 AM (RD7QR)

118 Allan Nevins' eight-volume history of the Civil War (starting in 1847) is the best all-around work on the subject. Very readable, too.

Posted by: HTL at July 26, 2015 10:40 AM (MMjUj)

119 The best part of the Shelby Foote thing are the footnote . Just gave a couple of bucks to CMP so I guess I better start getting my files together for my soon come IRS audit .

Posted by: jay hoenemeyer at July 26, 2015 10:40 AM (uvj0z)

120 I just finished a Brad Thor book; my first: Act of war. It was fun and well written and I liked the small burst of politics (since I share his views and knew about some of the same obscure treasonous facts regarding the present administration). That part was brief and tastefully done. My only real criticism was that though it was obviously a "fun" airline type book some of the dialogue and WH conference situations for example were too silly to be believed.
I've also gotten a new interest in the War of Northern aggression as I knew I had a relative that wrote a book after her Union officer husband was killed but recently saw another Southern officer relative mentioned in a book about Gettysburg. He lived through the battle and became a successful Southern political figure.

Posted by: Daybrother at July 26, 2015 10:41 AM (wQJYc)

121 Where did you find Larteguy's "The Centurions"? I've seen used copies at Amazon and Abe Books for beaucoup dollars. Too boo-koo dollah, as they say.

Morning Butch!

Kindle download from Amazon....Me thinks it was $9.99 or some such.

Hardcopies are rare and pricey but if you find one in decent shape for a decent price buy it cause you never know nowadays when it might get put on the "to burn" pile by the Lefties.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at July 26, 2015 10:41 AM (JG47A)

122 Just read "The Sparrow" and "Children of God" by Mary Doria Russell. They were both excellent.

Posted by: Throat Wobbler Mangrove at July 26, 2015 10:41 AM (/5tno)

123 Re: The Civil War. There is Allan Nevin's eight volume "The War for the Union" which will set you back a few bucks and may be out of print but sure to be found somewhere.

Still Foote wins hands down for me.

Posted by: Libra at July 26, 2015 10:42 AM (GblmV)

124 "So....what would you recommend for a general history of the war?"

I still like Catton, but to be honest\, general histories are bunk. I tell you what - Stephen Vincent Benet's "John Brown's Body" is about as honest and accurate as any of the extant general histories, and is a sadly neglected work of American epic poetry. Go with that.

"Civil War history is being re-written to hew to the line struck by present-day activists bent on shaping events to fit a narrow definition of just, admirable, and worthy."

Depends on which revisionist tradition you're reading. A descendant of Hood wrote a recent revisionist defense of his forebear, for instance. I haven't read it yet, but it's Stephen Hood's "John Bell Hood: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Confederate General". The Savas-Beatie press cranks out a lot of anti-anti-revisionist books. Russell Beatie's long-form primary-source-focused history of the Army of the Potomac was curtailed by his medical issues. Joseph Harsh's Maryland Campaign trilogy is a marvel of modern revisionism, and I endorse it enthusiastically, although the third volume is kind of a glorified collection of footnotes and digressions rather than a culmination... most of the interesting work in the last few decades has been on aspects rather than the whole.

And if you think the Catton-McPherson-Sears tradition is somehow apolitical, you've missed the essential core purpose of that branch of revisionism. It's inherently mainstream-liberal, as Dimitri Rotov points out without rest, it's largely repurposed ACW-era Republican party-paper editorial ideology.

Posted by: Mitch H. at July 26, 2015 10:43 AM (zpup3)

125 Oh, wow - the book thread started early!
I'm wrapping up a big project for my Tiny Publishing Bidness, as well as a smaller one, so I barely had time to read very much more of what I was on last week: Erik Larson's "Isaac's Storm", about the humongous hurricane that slammed Galveston in 1900. (One of the current WIPs will feature the heroine being there during the storm.) I'm also studying Lido Schmidt's "Building Kitchen Cabinets" as possibly completion of one of the big projects will enable us to renovate the kitchen, which is very small, and awkwardly fitted with cheap standard cabinets that came from the builder.
Like Sabrina, farther upthread, I also was a fan of Marion Zimmer Bradley, especially of the Darkover books, and I was just plain old horrified to hear about how she and her hubby abused their children ... and how it was practically an open secret among fandom at the time. I was overseas a lot, and couldn't be an active fan, but still ... I sent in a story set on Darkover for one of MZB's anthologies, and got back a really nasty letter saying that she no longer was accepting stories set on "her" world, and mentioning the possibilities of copywrite infringement if I persisted in writing such.
I still have quite a few of her books, though - at this point, I'm considering taking them off the shelves and burying them in a box somewhere.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at July 26, 2015 10:43 AM (95iDF)

126 >>I was completely disinterested in the Confederate Battle Flag....until the SJWs made a stink.

Same. It's the purge of confederate history that gives me the willies --- and the idea that we must see all leaders, like Lee, as totes evil. They won't end with Southern history; they'll likely amp up the war they've already been waging on those that settled the West (all bad men who killed Indians, etc.)..

Posted by: Lizzy at July 26, 2015 10:44 AM (NOIQH)

127 A co-worker recently read The Martian and really enjoyed it. Anyone read it?

Posted by: Dana author of Outward Frontier available on Amazon at July 26, 2015 10:44 AM (eTvJc)

128 I would also like to find affordable, English versions of Larteguy's work.

Currently reading a rather strange book on Allied commitments to the Korean War, by a guy who apparently thinks that Belarus, Croatia and Ukraine had foreign policy thoughts anyone in the world noticed in 1950. I like learning about the non-US, non-ROK contingents, but it would be nice if I wasn't kicked out by statements like Ethiopia got its sovereignty in 1944.

Posted by: Graves at July 26, 2015 10:46 AM (3MEXB)

129 A co-worker recently read The Martian and really enjoyed it. Anyone read it?

Yes! This one has been a perennial moron favorite.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 10:48 AM (/LM8/)

130 A co-worker recently read The Martian and really enjoyed it. Anyone read it?
Posted by: Dana author of Outward Frontier available on Amazon
-------

I mentioned it here about 7 or 8 months ago and said it was without reservation fantastic and should be a movie. Oh and guess what Matt Damon has been filming the last 6 months and will be released in the Fall?

Posted by: Daybrother at July 26, 2015 10:48 AM (wQJYc)

131 Thanks!

Posted by: AnnaS at July 26, 2015 10:49 AM (ZEXhw)

132 The Zombie Bible Series:

God is a her.

It was the Church that later caused the oppression of womyn.

Like almost all science fiction, it has to be a SJW screed.

No thanks.

Posted by: Brendan at July 26, 2015 10:51 AM (gkvx9)

133 Re Civil War - once you get past Catton, Foote ('rereading' that one via audiobook now) you've got the biographies and memoirs from some of the principals, pretty much all of whom wrote something, the US for the rest of the 19th century was run by individuals who were 'made' by the war (Grant's is worth reading, Sheridan's is available free on Kindle, looking across the room at Horace Porter's on the shelf) and some of the specific theaters and details (I've always had a bit of a thing for the Western river war and the naval end of the Civil War, in fifth grade I did a pretty extensive project on John Ericsson.)

I haven't READ it but the audiobook of 'Last Flag Down' was quite good.

Posted by: The Devoceleraptor (sometimes JEM) at July 26, 2015 10:53 AM (o+SC1)

134 Orson Scott Card? I shun him daily. He's not even on my Christmas card list.

Posted by: jwpaine, otherized for your protection at July 26, 2015 10:53 AM (wKcQA)

135 Okay I'll have to read it. I am instantly turned off by the movie, though, if it stars Matt Damon. It's hard for me now to watch movies with the SJW/LIVs starring in them- its petty, I know, but I can't help it. Team America is the one exception

Posted by: Dana author of Outward Frontier available on Amazon at July 26, 2015 10:53 AM (eTvJc)

136 I wonder if any of the horde can help me remember the author of some books I read 20 years ago or so.
It was a SF mash up with a P.I. type main character. Mostly what I remember is people had "Stacks" or something similar, that stored their being, and enabled them to die be placed into another body, and continue on.
Does this ring a bell with anyone?

Posted by: Vmaximus at July 26, 2015 10:56 AM (nD95h)

137 Still going through "Shogun" for the uncountedth time. Also reading "Adios, America" in tiny bites since it's so horrific.

I got a hardback copy of the Annotated H P Lovecraft and it weighs a ton - not sure how I'm going to manage to read it.

I also had a post pop up on my FB page from Threads magazine about how to cover your sofa without making slipcovers, so I may be doing more sewing than reading.

Posted by: Tonestaple at July 26, 2015 10:57 AM (WdorP)

138 I still like Shelby Foote's 3 volume Civil War and got a hard back version on sale a few years ago. Glad I did because 'correcting' history books to coincide with whatever current BS mania is prevalent is a genuine concern. And it's not just the Civil War material. The SJW asshats are going after Jefferson, Washington, and company. I remember when the Smithsonian was putting together an exhibit about the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The so-called historical experts (university scholars) were going to make it an anti-American screed. It was only when word about that got out and there was a HUGE public backlash that the Smithsonian scrapped that approach and tried for accuracy instead of liberal 'interpretation'.

Posted by: JTB at July 26, 2015 10:57 AM (FvdPb)

139 116
I am now a fervent supporter of the flag and am reflexively supportive of anyone who flies it.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at July 26, 2015 10:37 AM (Zu3d9)

Same here. And this business of desecrating Confederate monuments and gravesites is no different than what ISIS is doing in the Middle East.

Posted by: rickl at July 26, 2015 10:57 AM (sdi6R)

140 Oh, re Civil War - 'A World On Fire'. The war as fought by the diplomats in the chanceries of Europe, particularly Britain.

Posted by: The Devoceleraptor (sometimes JEM) at July 26, 2015 10:58 AM (o+SC1)

141 Okay I'll have to read it. I am instantly turned off by the movie, though, if it stars Matt Damon. It's hard for me now to watch movies with the SJW/LIVs starring in them- its petty, I know, but I can't help it. Team America is the one exception
Posted by: Dana author of Outward Frontier available

Right there with ya but then I find him a likeable actor in lots of stuff (Bourne series, that first film Will humping or Whatever). I admit I often lust after moonbat actresses too. Kate Beckensale here's stalking you kid. What do acters know? If the movie is true to the book it will be a huge hit. If.

Posted by: Daybrother at July 26, 2015 10:58 AM (wQJYc)

142 A sullen little Napoleonic-complex action-star like Matt Damon is a massive misfit for the protagonist of "The Martian". It really should have been some comedic actor. Adam Sandler's too long in the tooth, and I don't know the current crop of wocka-wocka manques. Maybe Paul Rudd or Chris Pratt?

Posted by: Mitch H. at July 26, 2015 10:59 AM (zpup3)

143 BTW I use the Foote as a quick refresher : I was in Murfreesboro the other day so a half hour quick read helps put it back n focus . It reads easy : It is after all a narrative . BTW , BTW , we were lucky to have Shelby Foote . In WW2 he was an artillery forward observer in the D Day invasion army , but was relieved of his duties for going AWOL to visit his girl friend . FO's had a horrendous casualty rate , well over 50% .

Posted by: jay hoenemeyer at July 26, 2015 11:00 AM (uvj0z)

144 #127, the Martian is very entertaining if you can enjoy reading about a smart-ass trying to solve technical problems. I'm retired military, my brother a current manager who used to be an engineer, we both enjoyed it. I may even watch the movie despite the casting.

Posted by: Graves at July 26, 2015 11:00 AM (3MEXB)

145
Re: Civil War. Another great thing about the Foote and Nevins histories is that they were written prior to the PC bullshit and as best I can recall are totally free of it.

Posted by: Libra at July 26, 2015 11:02 AM (GblmV)

146 It's kind of sad to look at the libraries of yesteryear and remember that knowledge was so revered and so precious that they build glorious monuments to the books that contained it.

Now.... Twitter.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at July 26, 2015 11:02 AM (PMlgt)

147 @100 So....what would you recommend for a general history of the war?
----------------

I mentioned Bruce Catton above. The first book of his overall war trilogy is 'The Coming Fury'.

Posted by: junior at July 26, 2015 11:03 AM (3m3mw)

148 Posted by: Mitch H.
--

Absolutely agree. Someone more Greg Gutfeld.

Posted by: Daybrother at July 26, 2015 11:04 AM (wQJYc)

149 @138 - I have a roomful of history, mostly pre-1980, stored up for my daughter.

I still come back to Will Durant's line: Civilizations are born Stoic, and die Epicurean.

Posted by: The Devoceleraptor (sometimes JEM) at July 26, 2015 11:04 AM (o+SC1)

150 I've been reading four chan and eight chan. Huuuuugggggeeeee mistake. Some awful awful people over there

Posted by: ThunderB at July 26, 2015 11:05 AM (zOTsN)

151 Like almost all science fiction, it has to be a SJW screed.

It really wasn't. From reading his blog, I know the author is SJW-ish, but I didn't see that much of it in the ZB novels. The "God is a her" thing was startling, but he really didn't do anything much with it, like use it as a platform to preach feminism.

But I admit my standards for this sort of thing are quite subjective. I might like one thing, and dislike another that's very similar, and I have no rational explanation for the difference. So I am not going to argue for the primacy of my personal tastes.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 11:05 AM (/LM8/)

152
144- allegedly the author of The Martian is a scientist/engineer/member of the Geek Squad and used his powers in all things STEM to write it. And what I like even more is that he went the nontraditional route and self published on his website and on Amazon, which gives guys like me hope of being noticed by a publishing house.

Posted by: Dana author of Outward Frontier available on Amazon at July 26, 2015 11:06 AM (eTvJc)

153 I know it's not a comprehensive overview of the Civil War -- but one book that I did find very interesting and readable is Alvin Josephy's "The Civil War in the American West" - which covers what was going on west of the Mississippi-Missouri. Short version -- a lot. Not the massive armies duking it out in the East, but everything from guerilla war, to Indian uprisings, to small invasion forces trying to take New Mexico ... and the very last battle of the ACW was fought in Texas ... at Palmito Ranch on the Rio Grande ... a month after Lee's surrender.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at July 26, 2015 11:06 AM (95iDF)

154 It's kind of sad to look at the libraries of yesteryear and remember that knowledge was so revered and so precious that they build glorious monuments to the books that contained it.

Now.... Twitter.
Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse

Library of Alexandria? Glad it burned. Full of books by people that created the oppression of the last 2500 years.
.....SJWs

Posted by: Daybrother at July 26, 2015 11:07 AM (wQJYc)

155 There is no finer Civil War history than Shelby Foote's work.

Posted by: SARDiver at July 26, 2015 11:09 AM (DzJBg)

156 Tonestaple- I've read Shogun about 15 times. A fantastic book. Clavell is a master writer. The depth and dimensions that he gave his characters are hard to find in today's literature.

Posted by: Dana author of Outward Frontier available on Amazon at July 26, 2015 11:09 AM (eTvJc)

157 Greetings:

"War on the Waters" is a good read about the naval aspects of the Civil War, a part that doesn't seem to get much mention. Good maps (charts) and explanations of the river battles.

Posted by: 11B40 at July 26, 2015 11:10 AM (abx5/)

158 In addition to my escapist and distracting from the news literature, I find myself reading more articles and how-to books on fly tying, hand loading and gardening. It's both relaxing and practical. Not sure if that makes me odd (always a possibility) or eclectic. Maybe both.

Posted by: JTB at July 26, 2015 11:10 AM (FvdPb)

159
I've been reading four chan and eight chan. Huuuuugggggeeeee mistake. Some awful awful people over there

Yeah, I did that along with Encyclopedia Dramatica. Yikes!

I recently re-read a novel, The Temple of Gold, that I'd read when I was seventeen. It wasn't that bad for a trash novel. I just haven't been able to read anything heavy since Blacklisted by History.

Posted by: hadoop at July 26, 2015 11:10 AM (2X7pN)

160 @147 - Catton's a very good overview.

Posted by: The Devoceleraptor (sometimes JEM) at July 26, 2015 11:10 AM (o+SC1)

161 Posted by: Daybrother at July 26, 2015 11:07 AM (wQJYc)

Reminds me of the chick who was mentioned in book thread comments a month or two back who wouldn't teach Shakespeare because he was "replaceable" (because Dead White Guy and all that). Utterly infuriating.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 26, 2015 11:11 AM (iuQS7)

162 Don't forget, for those of you who are members of Worldcon; your Hugo ballots have to be finished before midnight the 31st/1st.

I no awarded the Graphic Novel list. They were uniformly terrible, all of them either PC, "transgressive" or both. REad together, it was like a bad issue of Heavy Metal.

It was the one category that was largely ignored by the puppies (they had a single story promoted, about zombies) and the SJW is clear as day. This is what the rest of the categories would have been without Puppy influence. I mean "Sex Criminals"? On what Earth does "people who have sex to stop time and rob banks" become the best the genre has to offer?

Posted by: Jeff Weimer - Nutty Professor at July 26, 2015 11:11 AM (Edob3)

163 150 I've been reading four chan and eight chan. Huuuuugggggeeeee mistake. Some awful awful people over there
Posted by: ThunderB at July 26, 2015 11:05 AM (zOTsN)

/b/ is basically the interwebz stopping place for all the broken souls out there. It's just demoralizing.

Posted by: joncelli, Boned like You at July 26, 2015 11:11 AM (RD7QR)

164 Good morning all. Made some good progress this week on my current writing project. I am doing a fictionalization of my Dad's WWII diaries relating his time on the Anzio beachhead. Being me I am doing it with a whimsical and somewhat humorous twist.

A tale of three brothers whose contributions to the war effort intertwine and eventually come to a head with a daring scheme to facilitate the breakout from the stalled beachhead by taking out the Germans' big railroad guns the "Nettuno Express" and "Anzio Annie". The story is shaping up nicely (I think). Elements of the story are built from snippets extracted from Dad's diary.

Would like to find a publisher who might be interested in such a project, if anyone has any suggestions.

Posted by: Muldoon, a solid man at July 26, 2015 11:12 AM (NeFrd)

165 Library of Alexandria? Glad it burned. Full of books by people that created the oppression of the last 2500 years.
.....SJWs

***

Patriarchy!

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at July 26, 2015 11:12 AM (PMlgt)

166 For those just finding Lovecraft: The Atlanta Radio Theatre Company has a number of audio dramatizations of Lovecraft works. Try: artc.org.

(Adapting Lovecraft is a b*tch. First you agonize because there's no dialogue. Then you find a story with Lovecraft's idea of dialogue -- 'The Dunwich Horror' -- and realize things could be worse.)

Posted by: RNB at July 26, 2015 11:13 AM (1/fQ0)

167 Just read "The Sparrow" and "Children of God" by Mary Doria Russell. They were both excellent.
Posted by: Throat Wobbler Mangrove at July 26, 2015 10:41 AM

---------------
re: The Sparrow

*shudder*

Posted by: TJ Camper at July 26, 2015 11:14 AM (SQ7Zf)

168 ...odd...or eclectic. Maybe both.

*****

Ecclentric?

Posted by: Muldoon, a solid man at July 26, 2015 11:14 AM (NeFrd)

169 @153 - haven't read that one, hardcover $0.01 used + shipping from Amazon resellers...done. Thanks.

Posted by: The Devoceleraptor (sometimes JEM) at July 26, 2015 11:14 AM (o+SC1)

170 164 Muldoon- I'd say Amazon and self publish. From what research I have done and the amount of stellar rejections I've received from agents/publishing houses, it appears that you either have to have a friend or family member in the business to get noticed. I could be wrong, but that is my bitter outlook.

Posted by: Dana author of Outward Frontier available on Amazon at July 26, 2015 11:15 AM (eTvJc)

171 /b/ is basically the interwebz stopping place for all the broken souls out there. It's just demoralizing.

"Broken Souls" is a nice way of saying "Fcuking @$$h0l3$"! You have to try REALLY HARD to be that much of a douchebag. I fail to see that it's worth that much effort.

Posted by: hadoop at July 26, 2015 11:15 AM (2X7pN)

172 Hi again, OregonMuse!

I just got a copy of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I heard recommendations from people who are computer geeks and retro-gaming enthusiasts. But all the dust jacket quotes are from typical left wing "critics" at NYT & HuffPo, etc. so I'm kinda scared.

Also, remember, when the big earthquake comes, meet me over at Gateway Mall. On the East side of I-5, of course!

-Insert Clever Name Here

P.S. my comments are under a mysterious blockage. So I found an article by _you_ regarding Proxy Servers to post here at the HQ. You rock!

Posted by: insertcl everna mehere at July 26, 2015 11:16 AM (ck8TA)

173 I must look into those biblical novels by Orson Scott Card. I'm reading something similar right now: a series of novels by the Indian author Ashok K. Banker, recounting the Ramayana. I'd read some of it years ago, but our stupid library system only got the first 6 books, and never got the last 2, so I was left hanging. The entire 8-book series is available for $9.99 on Kindle, so it was the first thing I bought for my new Kindle Paperwhite!

He's also started a novel-recounting of the Mahabharata, but only 2 books are finished. That'll be next on the list.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at July 26, 2015 11:17 AM (VBbCO)

174 Sabrina Chase, I have a gossip question if you're still in the thread.

Sarah Hoyt mentioned in passing in a blog post this week that English was here second language. I'm not that familiar with her past and was curious if you knew what her original language was.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at July 26, 2015 11:18 AM (GDulk)

175 Muldoon - set up as your own publisher with LSI (Lightning Source International) and publish it yourself, in both print and e-book. PM me, and I'll walk you through formatting text and cover, per LSI's requirements.)

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at July 26, 2015 11:19 AM (95iDF)

176 I'd say Amazon and self publish...Posted by: Dana author of Outward Frontier available on Amazon

****

Thanks for the suggestion. I went that route with my first book, which was written for a much different purpose, deeply personal account of my F-I-L's disappearance and likely murder. Ultimately I think I write because the story is in me and it wants to come out, and don't kid myself that I will ever be a best-selling author. I may end up going with self-publishing again.

Posted by: Muldoon, a solid man at July 26, 2015 11:19 AM (NeFrd)

177 Okay I just read the Wikipedia article on The Sparrow. That sounds like a terrible, SJW novel. Am I reading this correctly?

Posted by: Dana author of Outward Frontier available on Amazon at July 26, 2015 11:20 AM (eTvJc)

178 @174 -

Sarah Hoyt is from Portugal.

Posted by: junior at July 26, 2015 11:20 AM (3m3mw)

179 hello

Posted by: ploome at July 26, 2015 11:21 AM (Fk43S)

180 "I heard from a lurking moron this week who told me he and his siblings tried to stop his mother from writing a novel (by taking up all of her time). But they were ultimately unsuccessful..."

My mother wrote while raising four children. She was fiercely dedicated and managed to find the time in between our constant bickering and demands on her time to chip away at her romantic historical novel in a small sewing closet at nights. She wrote longhand on yellow legal pads and had a small box of sharpened pencils we were conditioned to avoid at all costs. Rejections kept coming, but she persisted. In her early 40s she got the letter, from Doubleday, that her novel, "Blood Kin," was sold. I'll never forget her elation. It was only later that I realized how hard it must have been for her -- in a sense, we tried to keep her from writing too. She wrote two more novels, which were published hardback and paperback and in many languages. She even got some fan letters, which delighted her.

Posted by: rrpjr at July 26, 2015 11:21 AM (s/yC1)

181 Posted by: Sgt. Mom at July 26, 2015 11:19 AM (95iDF)

***

Thanks.

Posted by: Muldoon, a solid man at July 26, 2015 11:21 AM (NeFrd)

182 Hello, ploome.

Posted by: rickl at July 26, 2015 11:22 AM (sdi6R)

183 regarding:

"So, in order to maintain a biblically accurate picture of Sarah, her devotion to her husband must also be factored in to her "smart, tough" nature. "

Abraham was also devoted to Sarah. She was not only his wife, she was also adopted by him as his sister.

Posted by: ploome at July 26, 2015 11:22 AM (Fk43S)

184 Can somebody give me Pixie's e-mail address? I don't remember posting on any old threads, but my comments are banned or something.

Is it because I smell? I didn't think that worked through the intertubes.

(still using a Proxy Server, at the moment..)

Posted by: insertcl everna mehere at July 26, 2015 11:22 AM (ck8TA)

185 "the adjective "social" negates whatever noun it modifies,"

So then a "social" conservative is really a . . .

Posted by: Sam at July 26, 2015 11:23 AM (mkv9z)

186 Posted by: junior at July 26, 2015 11:20 AM (3m3mw)

Thanks. Wasn't she one of the authors supported by the Puppies? "Hispanic" (yeah, I know, it's a bs designation) and female wasn't good enough for the SJWs?

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at July 26, 2015 11:23 AM (GDulk)

187 RE: Civil War histories -
Catton, Macpherson and Foote are the big names and all bring something to the table. Personally, I read Foote's Civil War Narrative once a year.

Otherwise, I suggest the autobiographies. Longstreet, Sherman and Grant's are first-rate and readable.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at July 26, 2015 11:23 AM (pWzW/)

188 well morons, my kids are stirring and I told them I'd make blueberry pancakes. I hope you all have a great week- really, how much worse can things get for America?? Amiright??

Posted by: Dana author of Outward Frontier available on Amazon at July 26, 2015 11:24 AM (eTvJc)

189 @186 Thanks. Wasn't she one of the authors supported by the Puppies? "Hispanic" (yeah, I know, it's a bs designation) and female wasn't good enough for the SJWs?
--------------

I don't think any of her novels were on the Puppies list, though I could be wrong. But she's part of that "set" in any case. Larry Correia's nickname is "International Lord of Hate", and she's got a similar nickname. Unfortunately, I can't remember it off the top of my head.

Of course, the irony is that both she and Correia are non-white authors.

Posted by: junior at July 26, 2015 11:25 AM (3m3mw)

190 Okay I just read the Wikipedia article on The Sparrow. That sounds like a terrible, SJW novel. Am I reading this correctly?
Posted by: Dana author of Outward Frontier available on Amazon at July 26, 2015 11:20 AM

-----------

It's been a few years but I don't recall anything SJWish about it. Just a hell of a turn of events. If anyone's interested in reading it do NOT read any spoilers.

Posted by: TJ Camper at July 26, 2015 11:25 AM (SQ7Zf)

191 184
Is it because I smell? I didn't think that worked through the intertubes.

Posted by: insertcl everna mehere at July 26, 2015 11:22 AM (ck8TA)

If food and beverages can be transferred through the USB port, I suppose odors can, too.

Posted by: rickl at July 26, 2015 11:25 AM (sdi6R)

192 Also, remember, when the big earthquake comes, meet me over at Gateway Mall. On the East side of I-5, of course!

Heh. I could throw a rock from my front yard and hit the Gateway Mall.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 11:26 AM (/LM8/)

193 Oh, but didn't you hear, Polliwog? The Puppies were ONLY supporting eeeevil racistsexistbigothomophobe white males!
--Sarah who??

(/sarc)

How are things coming with the shop, btw? I'm still available to come for a book signing--in fact, unless you particularly want my history talk, I know just the passage from Bystanders I want to read.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 26, 2015 11:26 AM (iuQS7)

194 182 Hello, ploome.
Posted by: rickl at July 26, 2015 11:22 AM (sdi6R)

hi rickl....

Posted by: ploome at July 26, 2015 11:26 AM (Fk43S)

195 Posted by: junior at July 26, 2015 11:25 AM (3m3mw)

I thought maybe she was a Puppy but wasn't positive. Yeah, G-d forbid one be a racial minority and indulge in Wrong Think.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at July 26, 2015 11:27 AM (GDulk)

196 I mentioned this in the ONT. Heard back from the editor giving a perusing of my short novel. They emailed me with a very good comment - Hell of a good story.

Now awaiting the arrival of the annotated copy with all the comments and corrections. Which should prove interesting.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 26, 2015 11:28 AM (/eeUo)

197 Reminds me of the chick who was mentioned in book thread comments a month or two back who wouldn't teach Shakespeare because he was "replaceable" (because Dead White Guy and all that). Utterly infuriating.

-
I read a few days ago that the feds are spending $100,000 to produce Shakespeare without words, just grunts and whatnot. I'm just surprised it wasn't $100,000,000.

Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 26, 2015 11:28 AM (LImiJ)

198 Hey, congrats, Anna! That IS a very good comment.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 26, 2015 11:29 AM (iuQS7)

199 http://tinyurl.com/ojh4lgs

Nuzi tablets on adoption of wife as sister

Posted by: ploome at July 26, 2015 11:29 AM (Fk43S)

200 hi anna

Posted by: ploome at July 26, 2015 11:29 AM (Fk43S)

201 185 "the adjective "social" negates whatever noun it modifies,"

So then a "social" conservative is really a . . .

Posted by: Sam at July 26, 2015 11:23 AM (mkv9z)

Cool. You may have found the one exception.

But some ficons would argue that with our concerns with moral behavior and God-bothering and all, we socons actually are a better fit in the other party.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 11:29 AM (/LM8/)

202 @196 I mentioned this in the ONT. Heard back from the editor giving a perusing of my short novel. They emailed
--------------

/cheer

Congrats!

Posted by: junior at July 26, 2015 11:29 AM (3m3mw)

203 Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 26, 2015 11:26 AM (iuQS7)

I still need to get the lease paperwork in. I *hate* paperwork like that. I had a complete stranger tell me Friday to kindly get on with it so she could shop there though, so I guess I should listen.

Maggie Sefton (cosy author I know from Colorado) has also agreed to come do a signing and I hope Sgt. Mom will as well.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at July 26, 2015 11:30 AM (GDulk)

204 OM, last week you let us know about a book you were reading by Anonymous-9, 'Hard bite', "a novel about a paraplegic vigilante with a hooker girlfriend and a bad attitude who has made it his life's mission to track down hit-and-run drivers and kill them with the help of his capuchin monkey."

Well, I bit, and went to Kindle and devoured both 'Hard Bite' and its sequel 'Bite Harder' this week.

It was an incredibly fun read and I want more of Dean and Sid and the lovely Cinda.

Thanks for the recommendation!

Posted by: Elinor, Who Usually Looks Lurkily at July 26, 2015 11:30 AM (NqQAS)

205 #196 congrats, Anna, that's very encouraging news.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 11:30 AM (/LM8/)

206 Posted by: The Great White Snark at July 26, 2015 11:28 AM (LImiJ)

*splutters incoherently*
*takes deep breath*
In many ways, isn't this the story of Obama?
ARGH.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 26, 2015 11:31 AM (iuQS7)

207 I mentioned above how much I enjoy "Grand Central Arena" for all the classic space opera references. I should also say it is a fine and fun book on its own.

Posted by: JTB at July 26, 2015 11:31 AM (FvdPb)

208 Recently read "Trinity's Child," by William Prochnau.

Anyone see HBO's 1990 "By Dawn's Early Light"? This is the book from which it was taken. In the movie, renegade Soviet military somehow (not explained) smuggle a nuke into Turkey, launch against their own territory, then the Soviets "retaliate". In the book, written in 1983, and unlike in the movie, the Soviet government basically just decides to nuke us...wouldn't you know it, because a hardline US administration has been squeezing them so hard they felt they could no longer keep up. (Several of the more thoughtful people in the book had suspected the Soviets might lash out rather than go down quietly.)

Instead of the all-out strike the Politburo secretly voted for, the Premier convinces them to launch a limited strike, in which we lose basically all our bomber bases, a few of our missile silos, Cheyenne Mountain and SAC HQ, and selected other targets. Then they present us with an ultimatum. Things escalate - who could've seen that coming? - and we each wind up lobbing about 2,000 strategic weapons at each other. The drama of the book is whether the war can be stopped before we all just say the hell with it and set off all the rest.

There's a lot that annoys me about the book (the bad guys are Americans whose beliefs about the Soviet Union are, it seems to me, entirely validated by the USSR's up and nuking us, while insisting on the hotline that they'd acted defensively), but it is a gripping nightmare scenario that, in one form or another, has been on my mind since seeing the movie 25 years ago. All the more so since, in the movie as now, we'd all thought that danger was mostly behind us.

Posted by: JPS at July 26, 2015 11:32 AM (9ziuC)

209 Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at July 26, 2015 11:30 AM (GDulk)

Okay, sweet. Just let me know.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 26, 2015 11:32 AM (iuQS7)

210 @172 Re: "Ready Player One" by Ernest Cline

Cline will be Leo Laporte's guest on the "Triangulation" program on twit.tv. Watch live around 2:00 PM Eastern on Monday (rarely starts on-time) or download in various video formats or as audio, a few hours later.

Posted by: doug at July 26, 2015 11:32 AM (NjZkV)

211 With regard to Civil War books, Bruce Catton's one-volume "Battle Cry of Freedom" is a good general history, written from the northern POV.

I found Benjamin Thomas' biography of Abraham Lincoln to be a good introduction to the issues of the war, and its chronology.

John Keegan wrote a book on the Civil War, called (not surprisingly) "The American Civil War". It's strictly a military history, which leaves out a lot for such an intensely political conflict; but he does his usual masterful job of describing what happened when, and by whom. He's particularly good when evaluating generalship.

Finally, the best sources are books by the men who were there. US Grant's "Personal Memoirs" is a superb book. Sherman's memoirs are also well worth reading.

Posted by: Brown Line at July 26, 2015 11:33 AM (a5bF3)

212 Judah P. Benjamin:The Jewish Confederate by Eli Evans is good and there are many first hand Civil War accounts on Project Gutenberg by officers detailing the actions they saw.

Posted by: wilbeforce at July 26, 2015 11:33 AM (C59A6)

213 For Civil War histories, S. C. Gwynne's recent book on Stonewall Jackson is phenomenal. "Rebel Yell: The Violence, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson." Granted, it only covers part of the war, but the way Gwynne presents it very well to incorporate Jackson's importance in the war.

My kids and I recently read "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. It provided the basis for some good discussions. And it definitely provides a scary blueprint for where the U.S. is going right now. Pain is done away with. As is freedom and choices.

Posted by: keninnorcal at July 26, 2015 11:33 AM (3OTR8)

214 I was completely disinterested in the Confederate Battle Flag....until the SJWs made a stink.

I am now a fervent supporter of the flag and am reflexively supportive of anyone who flies it.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at July 26, 2015 10:37 AM (Zu3d9)

I was at the beach yesterday and saw a golf cart and a pickup flying both the Texas and Confederate flags. I seriously doubt they were doing it as a racist statement. People at the beach are there to have fun, and I'm sure their flags were meant as a big middle finger aimed at the scolds.

Posted by: stace: SMOD/Cascadia Subduction Zone 2016 at July 26, 2015 11:43 AM (CoX6k)

215 "Of course, the irony is that both she and Correia are non-white authors."

I don't know when the change occurred. Two 'ethnic groups' in our town when I was growing up in the 1950s were Irish and Portugese. My classmates were usually second generation Americans. Somehow we were all considered white.

Posted by: JTB at July 26, 2015 11:44 AM (FvdPb)

216 Yeah, last I heard Portugal was still a part of Europe. Therefore, white.

Posted by: rickl at July 26, 2015 11:45 AM (sdi6R)

217 @213 Lowry's "The Giver." I recently rented the movie from Redbox. Quite good.

Posted by: doug at July 26, 2015 11:49 AM (NjZkV)

218 Of course I'm late , but I also heard about Truman Capote and Harper Lee years ago. But what I heard was that Capote rewrote TKAM because Harper Lee wrote most of ICB. Capote reportedly got bored with the scut work of researching and Lee did it for him and when he got stuck writing, she finished it for him. He did the same for her with TKAM.

Posted by: Abby Coffey at July 26, 2015 11:50 AM (Bt2Rc)

219 216 Yeah, last I heard Portugal was still a part of Europe. Therefore, white.

Posted by: rickl at July 26, 2015 11:45 AM (sdi6R)

White racist Margaret Sanger would disagree. The Portuguese were one of the nationalities she had marked for extinction via birth control, I believe.

I guess you could say the Portuguese are white, but not white-white.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 11:50 AM (/LM8/)

220 It seems to me that the Spanish and Portuguese--and to a certain extent, Latin Americans as well--are considered white or POC depending on what's most convenient to the situation from the lib perspective. But I could be mistaken... you know how much like Calvinball all this is.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 26, 2015 11:51 AM (iuQS7)

221 With the left, it's always Calvinball.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 11:53 AM (/LM8/)

222 I'll self-willow here...

The Portuguese have been, shall we say, enthusiastic about taking advantage of the fornicative opportunities available in those places they've traded and fought wars and conquered.

I've known a couple Portuguese families, and there's some real genetic gotchas in there, a family with a lot of colonial blood, both parents look East Asian and - whoops - they pop out a kid whiter than Elizabeth Warren, then the next one looks Filipino.

Posted by: The Devoceleraptor (sometimes JEM) at July 26, 2015 11:56 AM (o+SC1)

223 re: Leo Laporte, Thanks, Doug!

------------------------------------------

re: But some ficons would argue that with our concerns with moral behavior and God-bothering and all, we socons actually are a better fit in the other party.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 11:29 AM (/LM8/)

I'm sure that some argue that, but The Left hates us more than The Establishment Ficon Right does. They make exceptions for the wishy-washy denominations, maybe, but they hate us generally as some brand of mentally challenged spaghetti worshipers or whatever.

Posted by: insertcl everna mehere at July 26, 2015 11:56 AM (ck8TA)

224 Thanks Elisabeth and Oregon Muse. I am happy and terrified at the same time. Of the slog of a read with all the suggestions and corrections that lays before me. And to ponder cover art.

Polliwogette, good luck with the store and finish the paperwork. Just please don't be that lady in the GoDaddy commercial celebrating her first non-family customer.

AnnaS I have a different description of SJW that to me more fully expresses their desires - Soviet Justice Wankers.

Posted by: Anna Puma at July 26, 2015 12:01 PM (/eeUo)

225 They make exceptions for the wishy-washy denominations, maybe, but they hate us generally as some brand of mentally challenged spaghetti worshipers or whatever.

Flying spaghetti monster. God-botherers worship the flying spaghetti monster. Get it right.

You can even find images of the flying spaghetti monster by Googling.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 12:04 PM (/LM8/)

226 "White racist Margaret Sanger would disagree. The Portuguese were one of the nationalities she had marked for extinction via birth control, I believe."

There was a process by which ethnic groups become "white", from the Irish to the Italians & Jews & other Med groups like the Portuguese, Bulgarians and other Slavs, etc. The PC moral inversion turned that on its head, and now "people of color" get *demoted* to "white" as a sort of coercive implicit threat. Thus East Indians and Asians get grouped as "white" for purposes of SJW bullying, except when the East Indians and Asians have proactively demonstrated their bona fides to the satisfaction of the censors.

But yeah, people like Sanger didn't consider anyone who wasn't WASP to be "white", and they often weren't sure about the Germans.

Posted by: Mitch H. at July 26, 2015 12:07 PM (zpup3)

227 @162, I agree most of the Hugo graphic novels were bad, but I did like Rat Queens, thought it was colorful and amusing.

Posted by: waelse1 at July 26, 2015 12:10 PM (y7f6P)

228 218,I'd heard years ago that Harper Lee "assisted" Capote with In Cold Blood, but I always assumed it was , as you say, in the drudgery of doing interviews and proofreading, and I always personally felt that Capote at least "re-wrote' TKaM. He was a gossipy gadfly, with a huge ego, but the man was a helluva writer.

Posted by: JoeF. at July 26, 2015 12:15 PM (hKUSm)

229 227 @162, I agree most of the Hugo graphic novels were bad, but I did like Rat Queens, thought it was colorful and amusing.
Posted by: waelse1 at July 26, 2015 12:10 PM (y7f6P)

It was all "wink-wink, nudge-nudge" at D&D tropes. Which is fine. But Order of the Stick does it better.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer - Nutty Professor at July 26, 2015 12:19 PM (Edob3)

230 Polliwog the 'ette: Wasn't she one of the authors supported by the Puppies? "Hispanic"
(yeah, I know, it's a bs designation) and female wasn't good enough for
the SJWs?

Oh, it gets even better :-) Some SJW insisted that all of the Puppies were "white male Mormons". So someone made up badge flags (things you put on your plastic badge at a con" that says "white mormon male with a great rack". Her official title is "Beautiful but Evil Space Princess". First language is Portuguese, but she sounds Natasha-level Russian and will indulge friends with Moose and Squirrel dialogue if feeling benevolent.

The entire Puppies list is actually a riot of diversity, and it has been gleefully rubbed in the noses of the SJWs.

Any other gossip I can help you with? :-)

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at July 26, 2015 12:20 PM (GG9V6)

231 220 It seems to me that the Spanish and Portuguese--and to a certain extent, Latin Americans as well--are considered white or POC depending on what's most convenient to the situation from the lib perspective. But I could be mistaken... you know how much like Calvinball all this is.
Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 26, 2015 11:51 AM (iuQS7)

I've been told many times on threads at lefty sites that Ted Cruz is not Hispanic. At the same time they refuse to call him Ted and always refer to him as Rafael. The left is full of nuts and racists.

Posted by: stace: SMOD/Cascadia Subduction Zone 2016 at July 26, 2015 12:20 PM (CoX6k)

232

Irony of ironies

Sad Puppies has been declared "cuckservative"

These people really are assholes.

Posted by: ThunderB at July 26, 2015 12:21 PM (zOTsN)

233 The cucksters I mean. Not sad puppies

We need a name for them. Cucksters? Cuckholsters? Cuckgobblers?

Posted by: ThunderB at July 26, 2015 12:23 PM (zOTsN)

234 No time to look at whole thread....

Allan Nevins 8-vol. history of the period is a long slog but worth it for the Civil War history geek. To whet your appetites, I'm going to list every volumes full name.

Ordeal of the Union: Fruits of Manifest Destiny 1847-1852
Ordeal of the Union: A House Dividing 1852-1857
The Emergence of Lincoln: Douglas, Buchanan, and Party Chaos 1857-1859
The Emergence of Lincoln: Prologue to Civil War 1859-1861
The War for The Union: The Improvised War 1861-1862
The War for The Union: War Becomes Revolution 1862-1863
The War for The Union: The Organized War 1863-1864
The War for The Union: The Organized War to Victory 1864-1865

The slimmest volume is about 450 pp. You are welcome.

Posted by: milwaukie guy at July 26, 2015 12:30 PM (SJQZi)

235 The entire Puppies list is actually a riot of diversity, and it has been gleefully rubbed in the noses of the SJWs.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at July 26, 2015 12:20 PM (GG9V6)

It was absolutely *hilarious* to watch the SJWs completely beclown themselves on this. They really do have a knack for stepping on their own, uh, appendages.

Posted by: OregonMuse at July 26, 2015 12:34 PM (/LM8/)

236 Hi, Polliwog - where is your event/establishment? I'd be happy to do something, if within a half-day drive of San Antonio! What with the pets and the mini-farm in the back yard (the chickens) we can't be away for too long. PM me at clyahayes-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at July 26, 2015 12:37 PM (95iDF)

237 Since the Late Unpleasantness has been brought up, I am going to put in a little plug for a book written not long after it ended by some distant kinswoman of mine.

With all the anti-Confederacy bullshit going on, my cousins and I are worried it will be burnt out of existence, so we're on a mission to make sure people know about it.

It's called "General Lee and Santa Claus: Mrs. Louis Clack's Christmas Gift To Her Little Southern Friends"

I don't recommend it for its content; it is written in the very flowery and histrionic style if that time, and of course you can tell by the title that it isn't Great Literature. It's terribly twee and emotional and various goddesses even make appearances, iirc.

But you can pick it up cheap (used) on Amazon, and so I make a gentle plea for its survival.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 26, 2015 12:38 PM (DI417)

238 "211
With regard to Civil War books, Bruce Catton's one-volume "Battle Cry of
Freedom" is a good general history, written from the northern POV."

-----------

That's James McPherson, not Bruce Catton. And yes, it's good.

Catton's "Army of the Potomac" trilogy is excellent.

Posted by: Taro Tsujimoto at July 26, 2015 12:41 PM (/pB9Z)

239 I second the nomination of McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom. It's part of the Oxford History of the United States series. It's a great survey of the war and the times .

Posted by: DRH at July 26, 2015 12:42 PM (AUto9)

240 I second the nomination of McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom. It's part of the Oxford History of the United States series. It's a great survey of the war and the times in which it occured.

Posted by: DRH at July 26, 2015 12:42 PM (AUto9)

241 I second the nomination of McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom. It's part of the Oxford History of the United States series. It's a great survey of the war and the times in which it occured.

Posted by: DRH at July 26, 2015 12:42 PM (AUto9)

242 I second the nomination of McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom. It's part of the Oxford History of the United States series. It's a great survey of the war and the times in which it occured.

Posted by: DRH at July 26, 2015 12:42 PM (AUto9)

243 "We need a name for them. Cucksters? Cuckholsters? Cuckgobblers?"

I wish we could call them SJW mobys playing at racist, but it doesn't sound like that is the case. Although at least a few of the SJW people started out as straight-up white-power morons and figured out how to tailor their troll-pitches for maximum lulz, so who the hell knows anymore? Trolls are trolls, and many of them just seem to have mirror-mazes of miserable filth where less broken people keep their organizing principles.

Posted by: Mitch H. at July 26, 2015 12:43 PM (zpup3)

244 Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 26, 2015 10:08 AM (iuQS7)

SO exciting!!!!! I love the sound of "trying to finish up" !!!

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 26, 2015 12:44 PM (DI417)

245 Posted by: Anna Puma at July 26, 2015 11:28 AM (/eeUo)

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 26, 2015 12:45 PM (DI417)

246 SO exciting!!!!! I love the sound of "trying to finish up" !!!

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 26, 2015 12:44 PM (DI417)

I think--*think*--I've got under ten pages left to go.

And your relative's book sounds like a hoot!

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 26, 2015 12:52 PM (iuQS7)

247 Under ten, oh em geeee!!!!!!! And it suddenly occurs to me how much longer it takes to write a page than read one.

The book is very 19th century, lol. I think it's charming, but I am inclined to like books from that era, no doubt owing to having cut my teeth on Louisa May Alcott!

Most definitely not Moron fodder. I mention it only because I'm afraid it will be lost to Leftist insanity.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at July 26, 2015 12:57 PM (DI417)

248 Was poking about the local PBS channel yesterday and stumbled across a show called A Craftman's Legacy.

The episode they showed yesterday was about bookmaking. Our Intrepid Host visited a fellow who crafts books. They fired up the linotype machine and punched out a line o' type. They inked up an old proof press and printed a page of one of the books crafted by the fellow. They sewed a couple of sections, then glued the sections of a small book into the binding and glued in the endpapers.

Wish they'd done a better job of presenting the linotype. They showed the bubbling vat of lead and had shots of belts moving etc., but didn't really show how it works; just bubbling vat, fellow typing, moving belts, oh! here's a line of type! Our Intrepid Host *said* things like "oh! the letters are falling down there!", but they didn't show it.

Enjoyed it nonetheless.

Posted by: Anachronda at July 26, 2015 01:01 PM (o78gS)

249 #136

That could be any number of books as the storing of human personality and memory for transfer to a new body is a long running plot device.

David Brin, 'Kiln People' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiln_People

Peter Hamilton, The Commonwealth Universe, starting with 'Misspent Youth'

Posted by: Epobirs at July 26, 2015 01:03 PM (IdCqF)

250 I think it entirely possible that Truman Capote punked the literary world and took it to his grave.

Posted by: Epobirs at July 26, 2015 01:07 PM (IdCqF)

251 Hey Elinor! Thanks for the kind words on HARD BITE. Much appreciated. I have other books too. Search "Anonymous-9" over on Amazon and they'll all come up.
Kisses, hugs, and chicken tacos,
Anonymous-9

Posted by: Anonymous-9 at July 26, 2015 01:08 PM (vmHHv)

252 Wiley Sword wrote a number of good C.W. books, but one I really liked was "President Washington's Indian War". The description of St. Clair's defeat by a confederation of tribes in Ohio is unforgettable. It was the worst defeat suffered by US troops from Natives, far worse than Custer's. The casualty rate was the highest ever suffered by a US Army unit, 97% of the soldiers, all their artillery was captured. 200-250 camp followers, mostly women, were wiped out. A survivor talked about all the plumes of steam rising from the frozen ground , they were from the hundreds of scalped corpses.Thus began the germ of having a standing, professional regular army instead of relying heavily on 2 regular regiments and a horde of undisciplined militia.

Posted by: JHW at July 26, 2015 01:16 PM (w+zdY)

253 Posted by: Anonymous-9 at July 26, 2015 01:08 PM (vmHHv)

***

You're welcome! I'll look forward to doing that.

Posted by: Elinor, Who Usually Looks Lurkily at July 26, 2015 01:30 PM (NqQAS)

254 Orson Scott Card is all right in my book. My parents live in a resort area and twice Card has shown up at my parents' church. The last time he and my mother started talking about books and my mother mentioned that she has macular degeneration so she has to 'read' audiobooks. Card got her address and sent her an audiobook he particularly liked (not one of his own).

So yes, he's definitely a monster for sending an old blind lady a book. How dare he call attention to her disability!

Posted by: biancaneve at July 26, 2015 01:35 PM (kBiy2)

255 I'm currently listening to the audiobook version of The Time Traders by Andre Norton. The book is quite good even with how old a sci-fi novel it is. The main problem is the company that made the audiobook forgot to edit one of the chapters so it is full of the reader stopping and starting over.

Posted by: BornLib at July 26, 2015 01:36 PM (zpNwC)

256 Old Sailor Poet says he hasn't been able to post for some time. System says he is banned, but he doesn't have any idea when or why.

In any case, his third novel is supposed to be out next month. If you liked Amy Lynn and Golden Angel as much as I did then I'm sure you are happy to hear it.

Posted by: BornLib at July 26, 2015 01:43 PM (zpNwC)

257 Just finished From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne. Written in 1865, the end of the Civil War plays a part in the story.

His descriptions of Americans and American actions in the front of the story were a hoot.

It's old-time science fiction, with How more important than Why.

Naturally, a Frenchman must arrive to help the Americans.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at July 26, 2015 02:00 PM (u82oZ)

258 Poe was one of Lovecraft's primary inspirations, along with "The King in Yellow" by Robert W. Chambers.

Robert E. Howard was a friend of Lovecraft's and Howard dipped his toe into Lovecraft's genre more than once. Ironic that between the two of them Lovecraft was the happy and stable one.

And he was born and lived in Rhode Island, so yeah, he would be accurate in what he wrote about it.

If you like this genre, another friend of Lovecraft's, Clark Ashton Smith, was part of the circle of writers who made what his generally referred to today as the Cthulhu Mythos.

20 I finally read something by HP Lovecraft, in this case "The Call of Cthulhu". LOVE IT!! He wrote it in the mid-1920s but it feels like it was written on the 1870s, like a next generation Poe, which is a point on its favor. Love those long, convoluted sentences. There are echoes of influence (or derivation) with Rider Haggard, Robert E. Howard, even Doc Smith and a short story by Heinlein. In the beginning he makes a reference to a particular part of Newport, RI, my home town. It is correct. Same for a part of Providence. A nice touch that adds 'credibilty' to the narrator's account.
Posted by: JTB at July 26, 2015 09:19 AM (FvdPb)

Posted by: BornLib at July 26, 2015 02:02 PM (zpNwC)

259 The Politically Incorrect Guide to The Civil War, by H. W. Crocker, III.

Other books by Crocker include:
Robert E. Lee on Leadership: Executive Lessons in Courage, Character, and Vision

Don't Tread on Me: A 400 Year History of America at War, from Indian Fighting to Terrorist Hunting

Posted by: unfatmatt at July 26, 2015 02:06 PM (kyTFr)

260 33 http://tinyurl.com/p6hdtw7

Story of Moira Greyland. Probably not news to many here but it was to me. Abominable beyond disgusting; an evidently well-known author in fantasy circles (I know nothing of such myself). Is this a case for burning books? If the author was trumpeting incest among her fictional characters while doing far worse to her own daughter, I'd vote "yeah, burn those books." At the very least, my kids will never read them.
Posted by: Doomed at July 26, 2015 09:31 AM (bGLSw)

Moira Greyland had some amazingly fucked up parents. And oh my yes, MZB is a big name in the fantasy genre.

I actually have an unread copy of Mists of Avalon somewhere. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do with it. I think it might be the only book I own where I know for a fact that the author was literally evil.

Posted by: BornLib at July 26, 2015 02:17 PM (zpNwC)

261 Little known fact: the ceiling of the abbey was painted with Lena Dunham's Pap smear.

Posted by: Al Sharpton at July 26, 2015 02:24 PM (ISm1D)

262 Posted by: Sabrina Chase at July 26, 2015 12:20 PM (GG9V6)

Thanks, sounds like she must be a hoot to listen to. Given how much I struggle to write coherently in English as my *first* language, I'm always impressed by those who do well when it isn't.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at July 26, 2015 02:25 PM (GDulk)

263 Hairy Back Guy - Afternoon to you sir. Just checked Amazon - Penguin Classics brought "The Centurions" (en Anglais) back into print. Forward by Robert Kaplan.

Posted by: butch at July 26, 2015 02:31 PM (HLx1C)

264 I'm also reading "The Princess Who Caused Fear"

IIRC this is yours Anna? I'm sorry, but I don't like it. The Sluggor story (Sluggor is an awful name for a non-comedic hero) in particular is just dull. I know you said it isn't the final version but I'm halfway through and nothing interesting has happened. It has basically all been exposition.

Posted by: BornLib at July 26, 2015 02:34 PM (zpNwC)

265 Anyone see HBO's 1990 "By Dawn's Early Light"?

Oh hell yeah! Got a copy on DVD.

"Nose down, Cassidy, we're gonna crash! Give me the f*cking airplane!"

It's unfortunate Jack Sholder's pretty much disappeared off the proverbial radar. Between this movie and "The Hidden", I thought he was going places.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at July 26, 2015 02:35 PM (LUlyE)

266 On an extremely long plane flight, I read through a series of books by Mark Dawson. Has a major character that could be a close cousin of Jack Reacher. Not the best books, not the worst books, but an entertaining read on a long flight. The first book is called The Cleaner, but Amazon has three of the books plus a short story bundled together for around $7 earlier in the month (Kindle version).

Posted by: Charlotte at July 26, 2015 03:09 PM (k3z23)

267 Civil War:

Sure, anything by Bruce Catton and James McPherson are fine starting points. Shelby Foote's trilogy is a excellently readable narrative of the whole war -- as long as you remember that Foote is a novelist rather than a historian.

Otherwise...

-Saw Stephen A. Sears mentioned above. Concur -- all of his books-on-battles are excellent.

-Peter Cozzens: also recommended for campaign/battle narratives -- Chattanooga, Chickamauga, and Stone's River in particular, but also his book on Jackson's 1862 campaign in the Shenandoah.

-Paddy Griffith's Battle Tactics of the Civil War.

-Several battlefield map books by Bradley Gottfried.

-Gordon Rhea's four volumes covering the Overland Campaign of 1864, from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor.

-Edwin Bearss' three volumes on the Vicksburg campaign.
-The Confederate Nation by Emory Thomas

-The Impending Crisis by David Potter

-The U.S. Army War College Guides to Civil War Battles. Intersperse first-hand accounts from the Official Records with on-the-ground touring directions and maps.

-Generals in Blue and Generals in Gray by Ezra Warner. Very much biased towards the South, but still entertaining and informative capsule bios of all of the general officers on both sides.

Etc.

Posted by: Stu-22 at July 26, 2015 03:10 PM (vd4oB)

268 Simmons also publicly came out against Obama when he was up for reelection.

Another point in Card's favor, he's a Global Warming skeptic. You would think this would be more common among sci-fi authors but there we are.

80 Ooh, need to check out those Orson Scott Card books and maybe Flashback, too!

Card also committed the ULTIMATE sin: he has come out as a critic of Obama

Posted by: BornLib at July 26, 2015 03:11 PM (zpNwC)

269 "-- For Gettysburg fans, check out One Continuous Fight, a history of the battles and skirmishes that occurred AFTER the battle during Lee's retreat back to Virginia. Definitely an underreported element of the campaign."

--------------

I'd second that -- a good book covering the immediate aftermath of Gettysburg. Also includes a handy dandy driving tour guide.

Posted by: Stu-22 at July 26, 2015 03:14 PM (vd4oB)

270 232

Irony of ironies

Sad Puppies has been declared "cuckservative"

These people really are assholes.
Posted by: ThunderB at July 26, 2015 12:21 PM (zOTsN)

Who has called Sad Puppies "cuckservative"? Link please.

I was just over at Vox Day's place, and he has posted this: http://tinyurl.com/ox7ex5f the beginning part talks about conflicts over immigrant policy but his conclusion, at the risk of tl:dring some of you is this:

"I think Mike Cernovich's definition of #cuckservative is probably the most useful one. If you are in any way an advocate for those who intend to rape and pillage you and yours, you are a #cuckservative. I also think that what we're seeing is a generational divide. People my age and older tend to view things from a perspective of a permanent white majority. So, they tend to view everything from a view of racial noblesse oblige. They believe America's success can be shared with the New Americans without that success being destroyed.

The younger generation of white Americans know better. They know they are just another racial group among many, larger, more divided, advantaged in some ways, disadvantaged in others, and with a target tattooed on their chests due to their historical "privilege". Those inclined to buy into the rainbow mythology become SJWs or submissive moderates, those who are not don't buy into any of it, including the various aspects of "melting pot" theology in which their conservative elders still foolishly believe. They know that what their elders still think to be theoretically achievable is impossible, because unlike their elders, they didn't grow up with diversity being a theoretical objective to be celebrated, but a terrible reality to be suffered.

The most ridiculous thing about #cuckservatism is that it's an inherently losing strategy. If your primary political objective is to avoid being called racist, you will lose. And then you will be called racist anyhow."

Posted by: The Osprey at July 26, 2015 03:21 PM (7jCKY)

271 The response of the Obama administration was swift and serious. At the behest of several members of congress, it launched a full-scale investigation... of the Center for Medical Progress.

-----

"Must kill babies... Must kill babies... Must kill babies..."

Damn! I'm starting to lean towards David Icke's "blood-drinking lizard alien" theory of history!

It looks for all the world like every attempt to scale back abortions is cutting off the food supply to some evil entities! They certainly protect abortion as if it's something that keeps them alive!

Posted by: RKae at July 26, 2015 03:29 PM (upjBJ)

272 136 I wonder if any of the horde can help me remember the author of some books I read 20 years ago or so.
It was a SF mash up with a P.I. type main character. Mostly what I remember is people had "Stacks" or something similar, that stored their being, and enabled them to die be placed into another body, and continue on.
Does this ring a bell with anyone?

Posted by: Vmaximus at July 26, 2015 10:56 AM (nD95h)

It's not quite that old but it sounds to me like "Altered Carbon" by Richard K. Morgan.

Posted by: BornLib at July 26, 2015 03:30 PM (zpNwC)

273 220 It seems to me that the Spanish and Portuguese--and to a certain extent, Latin Americans as well--are considered white or POC depending on what's most convenient to the situation from the lib perspective. But I could be mistaken... you know how much like Calvinball all this is.
Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at July 26, 2015 11:51 AM (iuQS7)

Hoyt has actually talked about this. She says the Federal government told her she was Hispanic... right up until she got married and took her husband's last name. Now the Feds say she is white. Fucking hilarious.

Posted by: BornLib at July 26, 2015 04:07 PM (zpNwC)

274 33
WTF. one of most disturbing links ever.

Fwiw, "blackface on blackface off" was one of the top 10 funniest comments I have ever read.

I forget who wrote it.

Posted by: bartleby at July 26, 2015 04:18 PM (9HJf4)

275 RE: Civil war books. wouldn't argue w/Freeman/"Lost Cause"/southern hagiography (btw, for those that don't know that's Douglas Southall Freeman), but Freeman's "Lee's Lieutenants" seems to me to be a unique perspective on the war from the standpoint of the disintegration of the south's generals. I've often wished for a similar analysis of the leadership of the generals in ww1 & 2. (maybe these exist, but i don't know enough to find them)

Posted by: yara at July 26, 2015 04:23 PM (p5x3W)

276 189 @186 Thanks. Wasn't she one of the authors supported by the Puppies? "Hispanic" (yeah, I know, it's a bs designation) and female wasn't good enough for the SJWs?
--------------

I don't think any of her novels were on the Puppies list, though I could be wrong. But she's part of that "set" in any case. Larry Correia's nickname is "International Lord of Hate", and she's got a similar nickname. Unfortunately, I can't remember it off the top of my head.

Of course, the irony is that both she and Correia are non-white authors.
Posted by: junior at July 26, 2015 11:25 AM (3m3mw)

Last year, Sad Puppies 2, was the year she got promoted, but they didn't get her onto the final ballot. Her novel "A Few Good Men" (which is excellent) came in 9th during the nominating stage. Her short story, "Dog's Body" came in fifth during the nominating stage but didn't make the final ballot because it didn't get at least 5% of the nominations in that category, which is a rule they have. Six more nominations and she would have been a finalist for short story. As it was, the four short stories that were nominated were lousy (none of them were Puppy promoted).

Anyway, the SJWs hate Sarah with a passion. The only female novelist I think they hate more is Ayn Rand, who they consider to be worse than Hitler.

Posted by: BornLib at July 26, 2015 04:23 PM (zpNwC)

277 Just finished the "The City on the Edge of Forever: The Original Teleplay that Became the Classic Star Trek" by Harlan Ellison. It is the graphic novel adaptation of the episode from Ellison's script. The episode, if not the best one, in the top five of all Start Trek episodes. While Ellison is regarded as one of the finest SciFi writers ever, this is one of those cases that the show is much better than the book. He played with some interesting ideas that you can see just were not right for the show in terms of theme and budget. Also, while the art is great in conveying the tone of the story and telling a strong story, it truly was the performance by Nimoy and especially Shatner that made the story work. This is a great book for those who are true Star Trek:TOS fans to want to have just to see what could have been and maybe appreciate what was done. Well worth the price but just not as great as the TV episode.

Posted by: RGallegos at July 26, 2015 04:24 PM (49Jfq)

278 230 Polliwog the 'ette: Wasn't she one of the authors supported by the Puppies? "Hispanic"
(yeah, I know, it's a bs designation) and female wasn't good enough for
the SJWs?

Oh, it gets even better :-) Some SJW insisted that all of the Puppies were "white male Mormons". So someone made up badge flags (things you put on your plastic badge at a con" that says "white mormon male with a great rack". Her official title is "Beautiful but Evil Space Princess". First language is Portuguese, but she sounds Natasha-level Russian and will indulge friends with Moose and Squirrel dialogue if feeling benevolent.

The entire Puppies list is actually a riot of diversity, and it has been gleefully rubbed in the noses of the SJWs.

Any other gossip I can help you with? :-)
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at July 26, 2015 12:20 PM (GG9V6)

Another bit of fun Sad Puppies history is that Toni Weisskopf, lead editor at Baen, was never nominated for a Hugo until Larry Correia and the Sad Puppies did it. And the SJWs immediately demanded that Toni Weisskopf condemn Larry Correia for putting her there. She refused to do so, so the SJWs try to "No Award" her every year.

Posted by: BornLib at July 26, 2015 04:35 PM (zpNwC)

279 RE Civil War History, I just got done reading "I Rode With Stonewall", written by Henry Kidd Douglas. Douglas was a Maryland boy born just across teh Potomac from Harper's Ferry. He started as a private, got noticed, was invited by Stonewall to join his staff, and served throughout the entire Northern Virginia campaign. He was taken POW and then released. he went on to a substantial post-war career. Very readable book by a guy that was there for the entire duration. I highly recommend it.

Posted by: WaitingForMartel at July 26, 2015 05:15 PM (AKxw5)

280 To Kill a Mockingbird, a book I have read twenty times (seriously ... I taught it and re-read it almost every year), is the product of a writer's raw but obvious talent combined with an editor's wise sculpting. It has great interest to me for this reason: it chronicles the value of the editor. Lee was gifted and it shines in the childhood flashbacks that show up in Watchman. But the novel itself is not very enjoyable. Too whiney.

Posted by: MaxMBJ at July 26, 2015 05:43 PM (Uq9ly)

281 Anyone else remember A.E. Van Vogt's "Weapon Shops of Isher"? Highly relevant to our current age. I recently rediscovered my battered paperback copy of "The Science Fiction Hall of Fame," which contains the novella. A little dated (written in 1941), but the underlying philosophy is sound. It "introduces perhaps the most famous political slogan of science fiction: The Right to Buy Weapons is the Right to Be Free." Deserves to be remembered these days.

Posted by: RovingCopyEditor at July 26, 2015 07:25 PM (/S5ss)

282 F. Paul Wilson talks about "Weapon Shops of Isher" a bit in his novel "Cold City" but I haven't gotten to read it yet. I always look for A.E. Van Vogt books when I'm at Half Price Books but so far I've only come across "The Violent Man" and "The Book of Ptath"

Posted by: BornLib at July 26, 2015 08:52 PM (zpNwC)

283 Any of you familiar with the Atlanta Radio Theatre Company? Apparently they have a special project called Sound of Liberty with the goal of bringing classic and modern works of libertarian SF to life as audio drama. List includes Jerry Pournelle's Exiles to Glory, L. Neil Smith's The Probability Broach, Michael Z. Williamson's Contact with Chaos, and A. E. van Vogt's The Weapon Shops of Isher and The Weapon Makers.

Posted by: BornLib at July 26, 2015 09:12 PM (zpNwC)

284 I think I have the ARTC dramatized HPL series on MP3, but I haven't noticed the other stuff. Sounds great! Oh, and speaking of F. Paul Wilson, I just grabbed a Kindle collection of Repairman Jack short stories ("Quick Takes") on sale for 99 cents at Amazon today. Didn't remember the "Isher" link in "Cold City." Sounds like I need to reread it. Thanks!

Posted by: RovingCopyEditor at July 26, 2015 09:21 PM (/S5ss)

285 Oops, that collection is "Quick Fixes," not "Quick Takes."

Posted by: RovingCopyEditor at July 26, 2015 09:24 PM (/S5ss)

286 @136
The books you are thinking of are the Takeshi Kovacs novels by Richard K. Morgan. The title I remember is "Altered Carbon".. I think there were three books.

Posted by: Kfconway at July 26, 2015 11:44 PM (o3RMy)

287 +1 The Crook Factory -- a fun read regardless of factuality. What's not to like about Hemingway hunting Nazi subs, from Cuba, as a US sanctioned privateer!

Posted by: Tyrone Slothrop at July 27, 2015 02:48 PM (LDepp)

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