Sunday Morning Book Thread 08-30-2015: Scorched Earth [OregonMuse]

"No Award"

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. Also, assless chaps don't count. Serious you guys. Kilts are OK, though. But not tutus. Unless you're a girl.

When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.

-Desiderius Erasmus

Trigger warnings this week for free speech being a good thing, because it helps us determine who the idiots are. Also, winners should be determined by merit, not tribal affiliation.

Health warning: reading the book thread excessively may cause your debit card to spontaneously combust.

By the way, speaking of debit cards, I have a non-book question for you morons who do a lot of multi-state traveling, which is this: before you embark on one of your trips, do you have to contact your bank or financial institution and tell them what states you'll be traveling to so your debit card purchases won't automatically be declined, or does your debit card simply work wherever you go?

Backstory: my new job requires me to be expertly familiar with debit card transactions and the security thereof, and this issue came up in the training class this week.

The Residuum of WorldCon

In last week's comments, one of you morons (I forget who, sorry) linked to this article in Wired by Amy Wallace about the Sad Puppies isn't a total waste, as most of the articles written by SJW hacks usually are. This is not to say that it's good; in fact, it does regurgitate the tiresome narrative that the Sad Pupplies are reactionary white guys who are politicizing the Hugos because they hate brown people. In the first place, the author actually reached out and spoke with Larry Correia, Brad Torgersen and even the SJWs' bête noire, Vox Day. Which, by the way, puts her ahead of The Guardian, which has published a number anti-SP hit pieces without contacting any of the writers they rail against.

So Wallace does let you hear the other side, even though it's filtered through her crap narrative.

And then there's this:

In fact, their argument is actually pretty interesting. They say their beef is more class-based; Torgerson [sic] says his books are blue-collar speculative fiction. The Hugos, they say, are snobby and exclusionary, and too often ignore books that are merely popular, by conservative writers. The Sad Puppies have a name for those who oppose them: CHORFS, for “Cliquish, Holier-than-thou, Obnoxious, Reactionary Fanatics.”

I sometimes wonder if these types of class-based arguments shouldn't be pushed more by our side. Not universally, of course, but perhaps there may be situations where they're appropriate. Like here. It might not have ever occurred to Saul Alinsky that his rules could be used against his own tribe. They should be made to live up to their own rules. Since they're obsessed with "class" and "class" distinctions, we should shove "class" down their throats until they choke on it.

Wallace doesn't want to deal with this argument, though. After bringing it up, she immediately drops it and goes on to what she really wants to talk about, namely, the evil Vox Day.

Another thing I find odd with Wallace's article is that it appears to carry the evidence of its own refutation. That is, she wants the audience to believe that the Puppies are all diversity-hating white guys, then she brings up the case of Annie Bellet, an SJW author who withdrew her name from Hugo nomination consideration when her story was included on the Sad Puppies slate.

This is how Bellet describes herself:

“I’m adopted, and I have a sister who is black, a sister who’s Vietnamese. My mom is a lesbian. I grew up in a liberal, inclusive environment.

So she's a poster child for diversity. Fine. But if the Puppies hate diversity, then why would they nominate her for a Hugo? This is a question that Wallace's narrative will not allow her to ask. But the answer is right there in front of her, if only would bestir herself to look:

[Torgersen] says the Hugos are beset by identity politics. “When people go on about how we’re anti-diversity, I’m like: No. All we’re saying is storytelling ought to come first.”

Yes, it's the storytelling. Bellet wrote a damn good story (regardless of her politics or ethnic background) and that's all the Puppies care about. But, of course, that would bust the SJW narrative wide open, and we can't have that.

And speaking of unacceptable individuals...

I have yet to hear any of the social justice wankers (I think I'm going to just spell it out like that from now on) who have been soiling their nappies at the WrongThoughts™ of the Sad Puppies in general and Vox Day in particular utter one word of disapprobation, or even concern, about the unapologetic NAMBLA defender Samuel R. Delaney. I mean, if you want to enforce disqualification from society based on WrongThought™, I would think that defending child molesting would certainly qualify.

Larry Correia's take on this year's WorldCon is here. This is how it starts out:

As you all know by now, the Hugo Awards were presented Saturday, and No Award dominated most of the categories. Rather than let any outsiders win, they burned their village in order to “save it”. And they did so while cheering, gloating, and generally being snide exclusive assholes about it.

And it gets even better. As the poet says, read the whole thing.

Conservative Books?

What the British mean by "conservative" is quite different than the typical American definition. Here, a conservative is someone who is in favor of policies such as lower taxes, smaller government, economic growth, and protecting the unborn against wholesale slaughter. By contrast, in Britain, a conservative some guy in khakis and a pith helmet being carried on a sedan chair by brown people.

That's the impression I get from reading the articleTop 10 conservative novels by Kate Macdonald in the left-wing "Guardian" newspaper online. She alternately praises and sneers at the authors she's discussing. The character in one of the novels is "unreconstructed Rhodesian imperialist". Another author "staunchly opposed social change". Etc.

Macdonald's myopia is on full display as she describes a novel's "fierce pub arguments, and the default position is always Conservative", never realizing that her own position is "default commie." And here's a beaut: she has H.P .Lovecraft on the list because his "visions of a tentacled overlord from under the sea in a different dimension makes so much sense as a metaphor for conservative fears." Huh? What the hell is that supposed to mean. How is that anything other than a gratuitous insult?

She claims she's studying conservative fiction writing "for decades", yet she says that the first James Bond novel is "Dr. No", an egregious factual error. If she makes a mistake that basic, how can you trust anything else she's written?

And her response in the comment section, blaming this rookie-level derp on the Guardian's fact-checkers, is especially piquant.

Most of the authors and books on her list I have never heard of, but that's just my ignorance. This being a British publication, it's a very British-centered list. John Buchan is an exception, and is worth checking out. His books are available for low cost or no cost on Kindle.

But every so often a blind squirrel steps on a rake and gets some sense whomped into her:

Ignoring fiction of a political colour that you don't agree with is teaching with blinkers on.

In view of the Sad Puppies brouhaha, I certainly agree.

There's some recommendations of other conservative books in the comment section.

Macdonald is the author of the book Novelists Against Social Change: Conservative Popular Fiction, 1920-1960, which is so outrageously expensive ($80 for the hardcover edition? Really?) that I doubt anyone has ever read it.

Then there's Ten Great Conservative Novels over at NRO. Thia article from 2010, By John Miller, which he put together after canvassing NRO readers and some "experts" on American literature. The result is "a list of ten great conservative novels, all written by Americans since the founding of the conservative movement in the 1950s."

I was especially interested in

7. Shelley’s Heart, by Charles McCarry (1995): Charles McCarry is sometimes called a “conservative John le Carré” for his highly intelligent espionage thrillers.

In particular, for stuff like this:

Here is how McCarry describes a president who has made a momentous decision that he knows runs counter to the best interests of the country but may save his career and advance his political agenda: “Like most political figures of his generation who embrace progressive convictions,” McCarry writes, “Lockwood had never in his adult life been anything but a politician.” He “was a politician to the depths of his being, and his office was all he had.”

Shelley's Heart, as well as a number of other of McCarry's books, is available on Kindle for about ten bucks a pop.

Thanks to moron commenters Laurie David's Cervix and The Great White Snark for the links.

Ivy League Blues

In a thread earlier this week, moron commenter rrpjr recommended the book Out of Ivy: How a Liberal Ivy Created a Committed Conservative by Travis James Rowley:

Mr. Rowley's description of incidents on Brown's politically correct campus are by turns hilarious, infuriating, and intriguing as he provides one of the sharpest and most detailed inside looks at elite higher education seen in a long time, Tom Wolfe's "I am Charlotte Simmons" included.

Of course, none of this is new. William F. Buckley covered this ground in his famous first book, God and Man at Yale: The Superstitions of 'Academic Freedom', which was published in 1951. Holy crap that's over six decades ago. That's how far back the rat bastard commies have been burrowing.

From wikipedia:

Buckley wrote the book based on his undergraduate experiences at Yale University. In the book, he criticized Yale and its faculty for forcing collectivist, Keynesian, and secularist ideology on its students. He criticized individual professors by name, arguing that they tried to break down students' religious beliefs through their hostility to religion. Buckley also states in the book that Yale was denying its students any sense of individualism by making them embrace the ideas of liberalism. Buckley argues that the Yale charter leaves oversight of the university to the alumni, and argues that because most alumni of Yale believed in God, that Yale was failing to serve its "masters" by teaching course content in a matter inconsistent with alumni beliefs.

Buckley was 26 years old when his book was first published. Not bad for a first book, I'd say.

Moron Recommendations

Infrequent moron commenter 'Feynmangroupie' checked in this week with a couple of Smart Military™ recommendations for this Smart Military Blog™. I'll just cut and paste from his e-mail:

I’ve been reading a book by Victor Suvorov called “Inside the Aquarium: The Making of a Top Soviet Spy,” and it’s an auto-biographical account of a tank officer who ends up being picked to join the GRU. It’s an in-depth look on how the Soviet spy network operated and also how incredibly ruthless and distrustful they were of their own people. This book discussed the massive amount of time, money, and manpower that went into tracking NATO forces and recording their activities in hopes of finding a weakness and how to exploit it. I was a Patriot Missile Crewmember stationed in Germany, right at the end of the Cold War, and remember wondering if I was being watched whenever I traveled or made purchases. After reading this, I am quite certain that I was!

Inside the Aquarium: The Making of a Top Soviet Spy is from 1986, and I don't think it's still in print. Most of the copies on Amazon appear to be either used or NOS (new old stock), which actually makes them more affordable.

But wait, there's another one:

Another one by the same author is “Icebreaker” which describes WWII from the Soviet perspective and presents evidence that implies that the Soviet Union instigated the war and choreographed most of Hitler’s actions in order to fulfill the Communist dream of global domination...This one is not as easily absorbed as it is filled with statistics, Soviet and German unit names, and discussions of strategy. However, anyone who is a WWII buff will definitely find it interesting, even if it is just to declare it preposterous.

Icebreaker: Who Started The Second World War? appears to be still in print, Kindle version $9.99.

The wikipedia entry notes that Suvorov's thesis is not shared by the majority of historians. The article cites David Glantz' book Stumbling Colossus: The Red Army on the Eve of World War in rebuttal:

Glantz views Suvorov's argument as "incredible" on a variety of fronts: first, Suvorov rejects without examination classified ex-Soviet archival material, and makes highly selective picks from memoirs. Glantz points to this as a serious methodological flaw. Further, Glantz argues, Suvorov's thesis is strongly contradicted both by ex-Soviet and German archival material, and the facts do not support the argument that the Red Army was prepared to invade Germany.[1] On the contrary, the appalling lack of readiness, poor training level, and abysmal state of deployments show that the Red Army was unprepared for static defense, much less large-scale offensive operations. Glantz's conclusion is that "Stalin may well have been an unscrupulous tyrant, but he was not a lunatic."

I don't have a dog in this fight and I'm not trying to shoot down Feynmangroupie's recommendation. I just discovered some contrary evidence and thought it was worthy of note for the Smart Military™ morons who know far more about this subject than I do.

Books By Morons

Another moron author outs himself! Longtime moron commenter 'logprof' has published his first work of fiction, No Lesser Love: A Novella. Thia is what he says about it:

By default I placed No Lesser Love in the Romance (!) category on Amazon because the plot is a romance, but it is intended as a societal critique.

$2.99 on Kindle.

___________

Anna Puma's novel, Golden Isis is also available on Kindle. She was kind enough to provide me with an AoSHQ Amazon Bookstore link, but unfortunately, digital media can only be purchased directly from the main Amazon store.

Think you might be having a rough day?

There was Diana Hunt, minding her own business. A woman trying to survive in New York City. During the Great Depression. Boy was it greatly depressing.

Her husband is on the lam, leaving her alone to face the goons and the police that are looking for him. Then one morning an unconscious young woman appears on her door step and Diana's life will never be the same again.

What does Egypt, magic, and those naughty good for nothing Nazis have to do with this story?
That's what Diana wants to know.

___________

Moronette Lauren has been sitting on a short story for a long time, but now she's gone ahead and published it. Ordinarily, Just Another Oppressor is available for 99 cents on Kindle, but for you morons, Lauren has made it available for free today.

What I'm Reading

Tales of Tinfoil: Stories of Paranoia and Conspiracy was a Bookbub freebie earlier this week, so I snapped it up.

In this short story collection, today's top fiction authors pull back the curtain on the biggest conspiracies of all time. Explore the JFK assassination, Area 51, the moon landing, the surveillance state. Meet a French spy posing as Abraham Lincoln, play a video game designed by the CIA, watch "Suicide Mickey." Learn the truth about Adolf Hitler and Elvis Presley.

Twelve short stories, twelve conspiracy theories, twelve twisted rabbit holes.

I read the first story, where some schlub manages to resolve, once and for all time, the question of who shot JFK, and I thought it posited a clever, non-traditional solution (even though I'm in an intransigent who holds firmly to the view that the rat bastard commie Oswald acted alone).

I hope the other stories are as good.

As of now (Sat. nite), it is still available for free on Kindle.

___________

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

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

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:12 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Reading a book on Klimt. Not much reading done this weekend yet with hauling the kid back to college.

Posted by: NCkate at August 30, 2015 09:13 AM (MG4zH)

2 Never read the post!

Posted by: Hrothgar at August 30, 2015 09:15 AM (ftVQq)

3 I read eveything!
Book thread!!!

Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 09:16 AM (cbfNE)

4 2

If you have any thought of "First!", that is.

Posted by: Hrothgar at August 30, 2015 09:16 AM (ftVQq)

5 That puppy is boldly mocking your pants requirement.

Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at August 30, 2015 09:18 AM (IN7k+)

6 That looks like my cat.

Posted by: Caitlyn Jenner at August 30, 2015 09:19 AM (P6Jv8)

7 "Adam Savage Interviews 'The Martian' Author Andy Weir - The Talking Room" -- http://bit.ly/1GwBlcF

Excellent interview, Weir is a very interesting author. Just over 55 minutes.

Posted by: doug at August 30, 2015 09:19 AM (170jh)

8 We have to tell BofA every time we leave the state otherwise they decline every debit purchase. You can register your travel online instead of speaking to a drone on the phone.

Posted by: NCkate at August 30, 2015 09:19 AM (MG4zH)

9 But we registered our kid's summer in China and were repeatedly assured of no problems yet he had no access to money for the first five days there.

Posted by: NCkate at August 30, 2015 09:22 AM (MG4zH)

10 Is the sad puppies/SJW thing about money? To an outsider, it has a laughable fistfight at a tea party aspect. Do the SJW's make money by pushing this?

Posted by: Grump928(C) at August 30, 2015 09:22 AM (rwI+c)

11 Thank you Oregon Muse for the book plug. It means a lot to me as I work on the sequel. I hope the Morons of the Horde enjoy the story as much as I did writing it.

As Larry Correia recounts, what happened is pretty sad. What is truly saddening though is the parent taking two children home from WorldCon and all the children can think of is how unfair the awards were with all the Flying Anus Awards.

Another Suvorov book is The Liberators about the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia and other stories of his.

From the Preface - So the First Secretary of the Regional Party Committee and all his advisers gave much thought as to how to increase agricultural output without infringing the principal of common material equality. And at last it dawned on them what to do. They could achieve the desired increase by using fertilizers.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 09:23 AM (49rjL)

12 I'm back for the book thread. Working on re-read of Dune this week.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at August 30, 2015 09:24 AM (t2KH5)

13 Health warning: reading the book thread excessively may cause your debit card to spontaneously combust

Mine combusted long ago.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at August 30, 2015 09:26 AM (t2KH5)

14 OM, the card works but the bank likes to be notified to prevent the possibility of a hold being placed. At least that's how it's been working from the customer side of the equation.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 09:26 AM (GDulk)

15 By the way, speaking of debit cards, I have a non-book question for you
morons who do a lot of multi-state traveling, which is this: before you
embark on one of your trips, do you have to contact your bank or
financial institution and tell them what states you'll be traveling to
so your debit card purchases won't automatically be declined, or does
your debit card simply work wherever you go?

I just got back from GA and it was taken everywhere I went.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at August 30, 2015 09:27 AM (t2KH5)

16 Posted by: NCkate at August 30, 2015 09:19 AM (MG4zH)

Yes, BoA is the worst.

Even when we've informed them we're traveling,

they still block the card sometimes.

Company motto: Service? Pfft. We Got Your Money....Right Here!

Posted by: naturalfake at August 30, 2015 09:27 AM (KUa85)

17 Grumpy, no its not about money. It's about the prestige of getting the Hugo Award. Because that is like winning the Pulitzer or an Academy Award.

Alas, like in Parsifal, a small clique has attempted to lock the award away from anyone who is not part of the clique. Sad and Rabid Puppies have been trying to rescue an award that has been giving to such giants as Robert Heinlein from that clique and return it to the world.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 09:27 AM (49rjL)

18 Have to go on line with travel plans, lately if I forget they call and ask me to call back and verify purchases.

Posted by: Lex at August 30, 2015 09:28 AM (FBjP7)

19 Corgi puppy.

Posted by: Pappy O'Daniel at August 30, 2015 09:28 AM (oVJmc)

20 By the way, speaking of debit cards, I have a non-book question for you morons who do a lot of multi-state traveling, which is this: before you embark on one of your trips, do you have to contact your bank or financial institution and tell them what states you'll be traveling to so your debit card purchases won't automatically be declined, or does your debit card simply work wherever you go?

--I've never had a problem with that, even with traveling overseas. However, if I have the time I do that with credit cards because they're not as secure (although in some cases it's ridiculously easy to go on a spree with a debit card without needing its PIN).

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 09:30 AM (vsbNu)

21 Of course, none of this is new. William F. Buckley covered this ground in his famous first book, God and Man at Yale.

It was stunning to me that in 1951 (during big scary McCarthyism time) that there were out and out commies teaching at Yale. I would have thought they wouldn't have been out and proud about loving communism they way Buckley showed them to be. And once they rotted out the colleges they worked their way to high schools and grammar schools.

Posted by: TheQuietMan at August 30, 2015 09:30 AM (DiZBp)

22 Diana Hunt... ISWYDT, Anna!

Paperbacks for Loyal Valley: Captives are, I think, finally ready. Depending on how class prep goes, I'll approve them sometime between now and Tuesday.
On the reading front, I'm introducing my students to The Dream of the Rood and Der Heliand this week. Up next: Geoffrey of Monmoth, Layamon, and Chretien de Troyes. WHEE!

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at August 30, 2015 09:31 AM (iuQS7)

23 The Hugos thing is infuriating. The "asterisk" presentation was petty and petulant, not worthy of people who pose to be "inclusive".

I mean they rejected works and people purely because the didn't like what they *thought* the politics were of the fans that nominated the works.

Stand by for heavy rolls next year - E Pluribus Hugo and 4 of 6 won't go into effect until 2017 at the earliest, and maybe not even then if we can get enough Puppy type folks at the business meeting next year.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 09:31 AM (Edob3)

24 I dropped BoA a year ago due to getting tired of shitty service.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at August 30, 2015 09:32 AM (t2KH5)

25 I want to read Shelley's Heart now.

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 09:33 AM (vsbNu)

26 Carry more than one card. I have had one declined in MX,but the backup (different issuer) accepted with no problem. I think it is prudent to inform the card issuer in advance of travel (so the government knows where you might be even with phone location services turned off!).

Posted by: Hrothgar at August 30, 2015 09:33 AM (ftVQq)

27 Yay Vic! Worried about you for a bit there man, glad you're OK.

Posted by: Weirddave at August 30, 2015 09:34 AM (WvS3w)

28 Not really a book but here are the memories of one of our local WWII heroes, Crawford Hicks, who flew 10 missions in B-17s, was shot down, and spent nearly a year as a POW before he and his fellow POWs were liberated by Patton. Most of that time was spent at Stalag Luft III. Not a very long read but full of goodies.

Crawford is still with us too and going pretty strong considering his age. I just saw him again last week.

http://tinyurl.com/q5wsvtq

Posted by: freaked at August 30, 2015 09:34 AM (BO/km)

29 Elisabeth, well yes there was a bit of forethought with Diana's name. Though I just realised one horrible pun I have accidentally created, still not sure if I will pull the trigger on it; though making AlextheChick roll around at how terrible it is, I just might.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 09:35 AM (49rjL)

30 27
Yay Vic! Worried about you for a bit there man, glad you're OK.

Posted by: Weirddave at August 30, 2015 09:34 AM (WvS3w)

Thanks, I'll try to notify the Morons next time.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at August 30, 2015 09:36 AM (t2KH5)

31 Navy Federal is a bit schizophrenic when it comes to debit card security. I can go overseas and not a peep. Then my wife goes to the mall and I get a robocall asking if these charges at clothing stores and restaurants are legit. Seriously. That happened last weekend.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 09:36 AM (Edob3)

32 Funny that I am Charlotte Simmons is mentioned; I was going to use that as something of a comparison with my novella. That Wolfe novel used the story of a young woman as a vehicle for his social criticism. My story instead focuses around a young couple; is shorter (of course); and is more subtle/less caustic because --*SIGH*-- I'm just not as good a writer as Wolfe.

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 09:37 AM (vsbNu)

33 I'm a magazine junkie and once or twice a year there is a convergence of my favorites. This week was it. Backwoodsman, Muzzleloader, Woodcarving Illustrated, Fly Tyer, Scrollsaw Woodworking, and a couple of gun magazines. Days of enjoyable, casual reading piled up next to the recliner. Ah, bliss!

The Old Farmer's Almanac comes out Tuesday to complete the periodical rapture.

Posted by: JTB at August 30, 2015 09:38 AM (FvdPb)

34 Now it can be told. The Bushes are Nazis.

http://tinyurl.com/pk6xqw4

Posted by: The Great _______ Snark at August 30, 2015 09:38 AM (F9tiH)

35 " outrageously expensive ($80 for the hardcover edition? Really?"

That's pretty average for an academic press book nowadays, and cheaper than most college textbooks. And people wonder why college is so expensive.

Posted by: Jeffrey Quick at August 30, 2015 09:38 AM (BbNnu)

36 10 Grump928(C) Is the sad puppies/SJW thing about money?

A most perspicacious question. I suspect that it is, indirectly, and that even the anti-puppies don't realize it. The SF/Fantasy world has been changing and not necessarily for the better. Legacy publishers are seeing diminishing sales. Writers for legacy publishers are getting smaller and smaller advances and more rights grabbed in contracts. SF and Fantasy magazines, online and print, are seeing plummeting circulation. Bookstores aren't.

Those fully aligned with legacy publishing blame this state of affairs on videogames, lack of reading, and general moral turpitude. The Sad Puppies point out that ever since vegan, genderfluid, ethnicity uber alles writing has gotten pushed by same legacy publishers, nobody wants to read that stuff and they stopped buying it ...from THEM. Indie publishers who write fun stories *first*, and by the way have no problem with ethnicity, gender, orientation, beer preference, etc. in their characters are selling just fine.

The Hugos are the anti-puppies way of saying "we are still what people OUGHT to want, even if we don't get any of that thing you earth-people call money." It validates them, so they wanted it just for their own.

So yes, it is about money.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at August 30, 2015 09:38 AM (GG9V6)

37 I should be put in charge. I don't have any friends to be cronies.

Posted by: Sad Puppy with a twinkle at August 30, 2015 09:38 AM (PGh+Q)

38 This summer I had both my bank card and my dredit card purchases declined while traveling. I had to call bank/credit card company and get the purchases approved, and then had to give my state by state travel plans to ensure they wouldn't be declined again.

Posted by: garghhh at August 30, 2015 09:40 AM (LBKYK)

39 Smile at the Martians when they catch up to you. (Martians is a code word for SJW and FSA troopers) before you clobber them.

Posted by: Bugs bunny trained at August 30, 2015 09:41 AM (PGh+Q)

40 Oh, go for it, Anna. Muldoon will love you forever.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at August 30, 2015 09:41 AM (iuQS7)

41 A good introduction to Charles McCarry is The Miernik Dossier. It is the first in his Paul Christopher series, of which Shelley's Heart is the eighth out of ten. The Miernik Dossier is written in a relatively unique style, as if one were opening up an intelligence agency's case file or dossier on an operation. So it foregoes traditional narrative conventions in favor of having you piece together what happened from reviewing a collection of documents from various sources. McCarry abandons this style in the later novels, but I thought it made for very enjoyable reading. If you are going to continue in the series, you should be aware that he veers toward some pretty liberal views by #4, The Better Angels, which some claim predicted 9/11 twelve years before it happened.

Posted by: cool breeze at August 30, 2015 09:42 AM (6Cu7i)

42 She was kind enough to provide me with an AoSHQ Amazon Bookstore link, but unfortunately, digital media can only be purchased directly from the main Amazon store.

--?! Well, that sucks!

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 09:44 AM (vsbNu)

43 Elisabeth, its not Muldoon I fear. It is the rest of the well armed Horde chasing after me in outrage that I fear.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 09:44 AM (49rjL)

44 Thanks for the announcement of my short story, OM.

Now to finish the collection it's supposed to belong to. Unfortunately the Suicide Selfies speculative fiction entry had reality catch up before I could get it out.

Posted by: Lauren at August 30, 2015 09:45 AM (Yj2Oz)

45 I'm halfway through Voxdays SJW always lie book. Decent read thus far.

I was more in the camp that this whole thing with the sad puppies and Hugos could be worked out. Not so much anymore. Those guys acted like absolute assholes on thier stream.

Fuck em all. Let's burn this bitch down. As Andrew said "Fuck You. War."

Posted by: Zakn at August 30, 2015 09:45 AM (d2pTe)

46 Vic, I read Dune and the first sequel when they first came out but haven't touched them since. I wonder how I would judge Dune after about fifty years and am curious about your impression.

Posted by: JTB at August 30, 2015 09:46 AM (FvdPb)

47 logprof, you might want to be careful about putting your novella in the romance category. "Romance" means certain stylistic tropes, not that a romance is central to the plot (confusing, I know). If your novella does not focus exclusively on the two romantic leads, and spend lots of time in their heads and ruminating on feelings and emotions "real" romance readers will not be happy with you. In much the same way that literary authors think they have written SF because they put a rocket ship in it :-D

Find someone who reads lots of romances and have them read your novella and see what they think. A friendly warning from someone who merely had a book *reviewed* on a romance blog and got one star reviews because my fantasy was, in fact, not a romance....

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at August 30, 2015 09:46 AM (GG9V6)

48 I guess I should register with Baen to become a barfly. And pimp my story there.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 09:47 AM (49rjL)

49 Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at August 30, 2015 09:24 AM (t2KH5)

That's one of those books that I can pick up, open to a random page and be immediately engrossed in the story.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at August 30, 2015 09:49 AM (Zu3d9)

50 I'm re-reading "Arundel" by Kenneth Roberts. This is a fictionalized account of the revolutionary war battle of the taking of Quebec City. It's amazingly good, with great characters, including the very real Benedict Arnold. Arnold is portrayed as a superior fighting general, and an all round bad-ass. As I read and visualize this tale, I keep thinking what an incredible film this would make. For one thing, it would be visually stunning: from coastal Maine up the Kennebec river to Quebec. And in Quebec City, a lot of the old town survives. This story has everything, and could get past the PC squad. (Strong independent female character, humane balanced treatment of native Americans.)
Does anyone in here know about writing screenplays, securing rights to fiction etc?

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at August 30, 2015 09:49 AM (5buP8)

51 Been listening to The Worst Hard Time but returned it less than halfway through.

The author's treatment of taking on debt in order to live more extravagantly as being no different than financial problems caused by weather or other entirely unchangeable situations really annoyed me. As did his uncritical quoting of contemporary people with axes to grind calling Americans more destructive than forces of nature or the rest of history combined. I may listen to Amity Shlaes The Forgotten Man instead.

One thing that *was* interesting was the sense of how entirely foreign that time was even though I grew up in the area discussed. I'm not sure if it's because the area *is* foreign to the author or because time (and the interstate system) have changed the "feel" of traveling through it so much. I suspect it's a bit of both.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 09:50 AM (GDulk)

52 Thanks for the book plug, OM.

I'll repeat the same caveat about my story I wrote earlier. Yeah, I may be the only straight Moron male who will ever publish in the "Contemporary Romance" category, but it was the truest fit.

Sorry, there are no zombies, ninjas, or aliens. In fact, there's really no action or suspense at all (well, not unless you count the sex

). That said, anyone who tries to read it as a straight-up romance will probably be bored; the thrust of the story is read between the lines.

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 09:50 AM (vsbNu)

53 As for the continuing implosion of traditional publishing. One of the things publishers have all but eliminated is a promotion budget. A local romance writer I have met in one writing group had to fight tooth+nail to get money added just to buy an ad in a trade magazine, even though she has over a dozen stories already published by this publisher.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 09:50 AM (49rjL)

54 Just downloaded Lauren's book.

Thanks for the Moron Discount.

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 09:51 AM (vsbNu)

55
Ref Suvorov. He has a number of other books on the GRU/Red Army in the cold war. They're great.

Inside Soviet Military Intelligence
Inside the Soviet Army
Spetsnaz
The "Liberators" (sort of an auto-biography)

----------
Ref Suvorov vs Glantz

Glantz represents the majority view of historians but I was just browsing through "Stalin's Folly" by Constantine Pleshakov and he supports Suvorov's idea. Says Stalin was ready to attack and the Nazi's hit first. (I was skimming that section - he may have meant an attack in July 1942)

An example of what's in "Icebreaker"
Suvorov points out that the main Red Army tank , the BT-70, was ONLY useful in an attack ***inside*** Germany as the tank tracks had little durability BUT they would last long enough to travel 100 miles or so until the tank reached the Autobahn and then the tank could travel swiftly on it's rubber wheels (that supported the easily removed tracks)

This doesn't prove Stalin was going to attack in July 1941 - but it is an example of how the Red Army was built to attack Germany - not defend Russia.

Posted by: Comrade Arthur at August 30, 2015 09:52 AM (h53OH)

56 Someone was asking recently about YA fantasy I think. I've been listening to Angie Sage's Septimus Heap series which is decent.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 09:52 AM (GDulk)

57
Is that what happened to the puppy's butt? Scorched? I can see the scorch marks.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at August 30, 2015 09:52 AM (iQIUe)

58 Oh, and I hate to give away too much of my story, but in case it stumps any readers the volcano is meant to symbolize man's struggle to find truth in an uncaring world.

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 09:53 AM (vsbNu)

59 Sabrina C. at #36 already went through the bottom line of the Sad Puppies/Legacy Publishing imbroglio so that I don't have to. As for myself, I'm alternating Terry Pratchett Guards, Guards and Thud, with David McCullough's The Greater Journey-Americans in Paris. But reading time is limited - as I am working at finishing two books to bring out for the holiday season; a western adventure about a young woman going west as a Harvey Girl (hence all the Fred Harvey-related materiel this year) and a light and amusing trifle to be called Tales of Luna City - a set of short stories and shorter amusing info-dump essays about life in a small and eccentric South Texas town called Luna City. The football team is the Mighty Fighting Moths, and half the town is surnamed Gonzalez or Gonzales. (Sample chapters at my website, if anyone wants to comment.)

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at August 30, 2015 09:53 AM (95iDF)

60 logprof, you really need to put a condom on that volcano. Greenhouse gasses. Save the planet and all that.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 09:53 AM (49rjL)

61 Dangit. Dropped this in the wrong thread.

I recently purchased two books, the first on recommendation of of a moron in a book thread; Bleachy-Haired Honky Bitch: Tales From A Bad Neighborhood

It, along with the companion book, Confessions of a Recovering Slut, are sitting atop a stack of other books I keep promising myself that I will read, including books by Sharyl Attkisson and Charles Cooke and assorted other books about life as a sheep rancher, project management, human resources, etc...

I'd better get busy.

Posted by: Niedermeyer's Dead Horse at August 30, 2015 09:54 AM (PMlgt)

62 @45 Vox Day's "SJWs Always Lie."

I'm not a big Vox fan, but I read the SJW sample on Kindle. Pretty good read and I added it to my Wish List.

So many books, so little time...

***

I'm reading "The Beat Goes On - The Complete Rebus Stories" by Ian Rankin. I'm a Rebus fan despite his occasional obsession with class.

Two previously unpublished stories. The others has been published in anthologies or magazines.

Posted by: doug at August 30, 2015 09:54 AM (170jh)

63 34 Now it can be told. The Bushes are Nazis.

http://tinyurl.com/pk6xqw4

Posted by: The Great _______ Snark at August 30, 2015 09:38 AM (F9tiH)

Heh. That's a whole new world of crazy. And Amazon's search algorithm brought up as recommendations some other very silly books. I may have to mock this in some future thread.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 30, 2015 09:54 AM (rEr+Q)

64 Congrats to the morons who pulled the trigger and published their books on Amazon! I'll check em out.
Debit card stuff? I travel every couple of months and my bank doesn't turn off my cards ( smaller bank in Texas that caters to military) or suspend them. That being said, I seem to be getting a new debit card every 12-18 mos so maybe they should.
Still reading a Remo Williams adventure story- something like book 91. Funny, non pc stories.
My wife finished The Martian and is now on the prowl for another book- thing is she's really selective. she'll probably end up reading Endurance again.
The sad puppies thing really pisses me off. I think that conservatives need to band together and form our own award, Hugos be damned. George Martin did it "Alfies?" We should too. I'm not sure the Hugo's are salvageable at this rate.

Posted by: Dana- author of Outward Frontier, a military sci fi novel available at Amazon at August 30, 2015 09:55 AM (eTvJc)

65 A couple of little hardbacks Milady found in the resale store this week. Both by one Chic Sale. Both amusingly illustrated.

The Specialist, (c)1929, our copy is 24th printing, 1929, and, "I'll Tell You Why," (c)1930, ours is 1957. A bit long, at 27 and 45 pages respectively, for my web-induced null attention span, but I'm going to give them a try.

Photo of the books
http://bit.ly/chic-sale-books

The Specialist begins:

You've heerd a lot of pratin' and prattlin' about this bein' the age of specialization. I'm a carpenter by trade. At one time I could of built a house, barn, church or chicken coop. But I seen the need of a specialist in my line, so I studied her. I got her; she's mine. Gentlemen, you are face to face with the champion privy builder of Sangamon County. ...

Posted by: mindful webworker - quirkiness is my specialty at August 30, 2015 09:55 AM (Rlakk)

66 Has Obama issued any statement on the murder of the Texas deputy?

I just looked and could not find one.

Posted by: Schaden at August 30, 2015 09:55 AM (QolCq)

67 RIP Oliver Sacks at age 82

Any book of his is worth a read, but especially The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat

Posted by: Jenny Hates Her Phone at August 30, 2015 09:56 AM (dgwPk)

68
When I was with BofA and Wells Fargo, they would both constantly shut down my debit card while traveling. BofA would sometimes do it if I used the card less than 100 miles away from home, in the same state.

Funny thing, haven't had that travel problem with Chase even though I've done a fair bit of business travel over the past few years, but I had to stop using the gas station closest to my apartment because they clamped down on my card the last two times I filled up there.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at August 30, 2015 09:57 AM (o98Jz)

69 All we are going through is building mental calluses and also defining who we are and who we are not. That is software. Revolutionary war, Civil war, WWI, WWII and so forth was hardware. Lets pray that it continues to be a software war and doesn't turn into a hardware war. Read about the battle of Cowpens. The campaign, what was involved in marching and crossing rivers. Why General Morgan won so decisively. How people maintained their spirit during brutish times. Collectively we are wimps in comparison.

Posted by: Bugs bunny trained at August 30, 2015 09:57 AM (PGh+Q)

70 and assorted other books about life as a sheep rancher,

"Today I Bailed Some Hay to Feed the Sheep the Coyotes will eat?" If so, it's incredibly interesting.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at August 30, 2015 09:57 AM (5buP8)

71 46
Vic, I read Dune and the first sequel when they first came out but
haven't touched them since. I wonder how I would judge Dune after about
fifty years and am curious about your impression.

Posted by: JTB at August 30, 2015 09:46 AM (FvdPb)

I still like it. But I never did care for the sequels. And I like it even better on the Kindle version.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at August 30, 2015 09:58 AM (t2KH5)

72 The people of "The Guardian" will be dealt with in an adequate manner. Their souls will be bound to me for eternity.

Posted by: Cthulhu at August 30, 2015 09:58 AM (eK0Dy)

73 One of the little jotted notes I have for the sequel to Golden Isis -

"Will the forced marriage of Ptolemy to the Persian princess Artacama in 324BC at Susa have any bearing?"

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 09:59 AM (49rjL)

74 Finished Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog).

Very droll. I laughed out loud and snorted a few times. Pretty good, and unlikely, for 1889 humor. The pineapple can segment was OK, but there are better passages in the book.

Also finished The Victorian city : everyday life in Dickens' London by Judith Flanders. Pretty good. More about 1830-1850s London than the later Victorian Era.

Currently reading Ministers at war: Winston Churchill and his war cabinet by Johathan Schneer.

Anna Puma, I promise to buy the cellulose version of Golden Isis.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 30, 2015 10:00 AM (u82oZ)

75 46 Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 09:50 AM (GDulk)

I liked both of those books, but Amity Schlaes is much better.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at August 30, 2015 10:00 AM (t2KH5)

76 The Hugo thing sounds similar to last year, where Puppy nominations made a splash but then voting went against them. But the push for No Winner sounds like the SJWs would rather destroy the Hugos than allow any of the Puppy slate to win. Internet rage uber alles.

Listened to Echoes of Honor (Honor Harrington # by David Weber, which moves forward from the end of the previous book where Honor and her tree-cat are injured. The space battles and all the scenes with Honor are excellent, but the book is padded out with much more jibber jabber from characters I care little about than in earlier books, especially early on. Still a good book, hope the next volume is edited down a bit.

Read Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad, his first novel in my effort to read all his books this year. Almayer is a white man living in Malaysia, married to a Malayan woman and hoping to make his fortune there. Conrad
does an excellent job showing the clash of cultures between the Dutch,
Malayans and Arabs who scrabble for a living there, thinking there may
be a fortune just waiting to be found. Excellent writing, enjoyed it a lot.

Also read his Secret Sharer short story, where a new captain of a small ship decides to assist the escape of a sailor from another vessel who got into a scrap. Claustrophobic in the efforts to keep him hidden until the moment he is finally set free. Pretty thoughtful work for such a short piece.

Posted by: waelse1 at August 30, 2015 10:01 AM (oAK6v)

77 Find someone who reads lots of romances and have them read your novella and see what they think. A friendly warning from someone who merely had a book *reviewed* on a romance blog and got one star reviews because my fantasy was, in fact, not a romance....
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at August 30, 2015 09:46 AM (GG9V6)

--I hope I can get feedback from Moron readers on this. The design of the story deliberately is such that at the beginning the characters are introduced separately, with colleagues/work friends; as they draw closer I phase out gradually all other characters to where they're barely mentioned and not present; then in the denouement they reappear.

I struggled with the category. I veered away from satire because it's not overtly funny and the characters are not meant to be stand-ins per se. It is at heart a romance using your description: the feelings between the couple are indeed explored, and to a degree the interaction of same with the rest of the world.

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:01 AM (vsbNu)

78 Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 09:37 AM (vsbNu)

If you were channeling Wolfe that may explain why I didn't care for your story. I did think it was well written (as much as I could tell by listening rather than reading) but, having lost the love of my life at 36, I find people who think soulmates are like take-out annoying.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 10:01 AM (GDulk)

79 That last reference is to 51.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at August 30, 2015 10:02 AM (t2KH5)

80 Anna Puma, the names in my story, with the exception of Tricia's, don't have any deep significance. Any deeper meaning is unintended and coincidental.

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:03 AM (vsbNu)

81 before you embark on one of your trips, do you have to contact your bank or financial institution and tell them what states you'll be traveling to so your debit card purchases won't automatically be declined

My Capital One card only worked in the Greater DC area. My PNC card works pretty much everywhere. My credit union card works everywhere. It really depends on how stupid your bank is.

Posted by: Hardliner V the K at August 30, 2015 10:04 AM (yvR++)

82 One great conservative book that all those lists missed is State of Fear by Michael Crichton (yes, the author of The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park). Crichton absolutely demolishes the notion of anthropogenic climate change in a page-turning thriller with extensive footnotes. He wrote it in 2005, a year before Al Gore's execrable An Inconvenient Truth.

Posted by: cool breeze at August 30, 2015 10:04 AM (6Cu7i)

83 Salty Dog, dead tree version is almost ready. Still need to work on cover art. Then get a proof completed. If proof not acceptable, well then there will be rending of cloth I guess.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 10:05 AM (49rjL)

84 I have read two books this week.

The first is The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer. It is an action/adventure about the search for the weapon Cain used to kill Abel and features corrupt ICE agents, Nazis, Superman and others. It is just an OK book but the reveal of the MacGuffin is likely to appeal to book thread aficionados.

The second is The Hunters by James Salter. It has appeared on sever best war novels lists so I read it. It's about an aging (31, practically ancient) F-86 pilot who thinks his last chance to make his mark is in Mig Alley in Korea. The author was an F-86 jockey in Korea so it is realistic but it is primarily psychological rather than action.

Hollywood made a movie of The Hunters which is chock full of Hollywood horseshit. They elevated a minor character to a major character, switched personality features and dialogue from one character to another, and tacked on a bullshit romance and shoot 'em up ending. Pure crap except for some pretty good (though not realistic combat) flying.

Posted by: The Great _______ Snark at August 30, 2015 10:05 AM (Y1ste)

85 8 We have to tell BofA every time we leave the state otherwise they decline every debit purchase. You can register your travel online instead of speaking to a drone on the phone.
Posted by: NCkate at August 30, 2015 09:19 AM (MG4zH)

Yes, I always have problems. I drive from Ohio to Disney and I have to list every State I am traveling thru, I forward my home phone now so when security calls I can let them know that YES it is me making those purchases.

If fellow Morons have not done it I recommend the Disney Food and Wine festival at EPCOT, you walk around the World Drinking beer and wine from several countries and some food. The Japan pavilion has the famous frozen beer, hell I even had grapefruit beer.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at August 30, 2015 10:06 AM (c4yY7)

86 I may be misremembering, but wasn't Oliver Sacks' writing part of the basis for the movie Awakenings?

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:07 AM (vsbNu)

87 1 Reading a book on Klimt. Not much reading done this weekend yet with hauling the kid back to college.
Posted by: NCkate at August 30, 2015 09:13 AM (MG4zH)

Good luck with the hauling, NCkate!
We moved kid 1 in last Monday for the first time. I think she is doing ok with orientation week. Classes start tomorrow.

Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 10:08 AM (cbfNE)

88 Logprof- a buddy of mine wrote a romance novel. He wanted to make it in the style of bridges over Madison county but then read 50 Shades and decided it needed more sex. I don't know its a tough genre- finding the right reader and balance between those two styles of books has been really problematic for my friend- which is why he hasn't published it. So hats off to you for doing it. Is 50 Shades even considered romance or can we agree that it's a classier version of Penthouse Forum?

Posted by: Dana- author of Outward Frontier, a military sci fi novel available on Amazon for $1. Cheap! at August 30, 2015 10:09 AM (eTvJc)

89 I hardly ever use my debit card so I don't know.
My credit card works whether or not I tell them, but I usually tell them anyway if it's a first visit to somewhere kinda far. They say thanks for keeping us informed.

Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 10:11 AM (cbfNE)

90 The Hugos are like all other signifiers of value for the Left--credentials, credentials, credentials.

Reading: I'll admit it, the only thing I had time for this week was Golden Isis.

On the other hand, I'm trying my hand at writing for the first time since my fanfic efforts under another alias 20-odd years ago. (I got better. Or not.) Unfortunately my first attempt's first chapter--intended to establish the main character and stretch after long dormancy--already has a problem I'm not happy with so it needs a full rewrite to deal with.

Oh well, better to learn now I guess

Posted by: Brother Cavil, hither and yon at August 30, 2015 10:11 AM (m9V0o)

91 The Steel Bonnets by George MacDonald Fraser.
(and my link Fu isn't working, sorry.)

I found it mentioned at the bottom of a Fernandez piece over at PJMedia. At ten dollars it is a bit expensive for an eBook, but it was a very interesting account of the lawless behavior along the border between England and Scotland. I found many similarities between then and now. It should be required reading for those in the Let It Burn camp, and anyone doing any prepping for the end times when the national government collapses.

It may have been mentioned once on a book thread or at least the horde has talked about the reivers.

Posted by: Amos Grossback at August 30, 2015 10:12 AM (PkoxW)

92 "Nine Princes in Amber" by Zelazny is out in ebook. The cover art is pathetic but the text holds up surprisingly well.
On the new front, "Off Leash" by Daniel Potter was a lot of fun. An ordinary guy gets turned into a familiar and objects strenuously to be being sold to a mage.

Posted by: gingeroni at August 30, 2015 10:12 AM (baKy9)

93 BTW, I submitted Worlds Apart Book 11 on Friday, so I will probably be plugging it in a week or two. Thanks to Polliwog, it will be the mostly cleanly proofread one in the series.

Posted by: Hardliner V the K at August 30, 2015 10:13 AM (yvR++)

94 He wanted to make it in the style of bridges over Madison county but then read 50 Shades and decided it needed more sex.

/raises hand

I know I'm endangering my Horde cred on this, but if 50 Shades of Fanfic is the new standard, am I the only one who thinks modern fiction could do with less sex?

Posted by: Brother Cavil, hither and yon at August 30, 2015 10:13 AM (m9V0o)

95 86 I may be misremembering, but wasn't Oliver Sacks' writing part of the basis for the movie Awakenings?
Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:07 AM (vsbNu)

============

Yes, and Robin Williams was in the movie. Unfortunately, Robin Williams had regular Parkinson's and an undiagnosed more debilitating form, too. It caused dementia, hallucinations, and extreme paranoia - all symptoms he exhibited before his death. It also can result in that "locked in syndrome" if the patient is exposed to certain therapeutic drugs.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at August 30, 2015 10:14 AM (iQIUe)

96 The Red Army wasn't ready for static defense in 1941 because it wasn't deployed for defense. It was definitely forward deployed as if it was planning to go on the offensive.

I think this helps explains the spectacular losses suffered by the Red Army in the summer of 1941. If you get hit by a surprise attack from a superior military force, and you dont really have defensive reserves, you'll get annihilated.

I was in Army MI in the early Eighties, and I read Suvrorov. He certainly made some accurate predictions about the coming collapse of the Soviet Union. Shouldn't completely discount anything he says

Posted by: Callmelennie at August 30, 2015 10:15 AM (m+c+p)

97 Congrats to the morons who pulled the trigger and published their books on Amazon! I'll check em out.

-
I learned something rather inspiring this week. Steven Campbell self-published the first Hard Luck Hank in October 2013 hoping to sell 50 books. He has now sold thousands and has three sequels and two books of short stories. I don't know whether he is bathing in champagne or not.

Posted by: The Great _______ Snark at August 30, 2015 10:15 AM (Bi2jH)

98 Has anyone seen the new movie, "No Escape"?

The good reviews all say it's a great action thriller.

The bad reviews all focus on it's double plus ungood non-SJWness.

Any moron reviews.

It's been more a week for writing than reading. So, no new book this week.

*hangs head in shame*

*kicks dirt*

Posted by: naturalfake at August 30, 2015 10:16 AM (KUa85)

99 About the only thing I've ever written on my own time is bad poetry.

Posted by: Insomniac at August 30, 2015 10:16 AM (mx5oN)

100 I may be misremembering, but wasn't Oliver Sacks' writing part of the basis for the movie Awakenings?
Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:07 AM (vsbNu)

Yes.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 30, 2015 10:17 AM (rEr+Q)

101 If you were channeling Wolfe that may explain why I didn't care for your story. I did think it was well written (as much as I could tell by listening rather than reading) but, having lost the love of my life at 36, I find people who think soulmates are like take-out annoying.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 10:01 AM (GDulk)

--I am not the thin-skinned author who complains when no one "gets" my work. Seems to me like you did get a big theme of it though, but what I try to convey is not so much people but our popular culture that belittles true love so much (hence the low word count for the word "love"). I wrote most of it just out of college, thankfully near the end of the period of my life when I was most cynical about these things.

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:17 AM (vsbNu)

102 You're welcome , logprof. Hope you enjoy it!

Posted by: Lauren at August 30, 2015 10:17 AM (Yj2Oz)

103 86 I may be misremembering, but wasn't Oliver Sacks' writing part of the basis for the movie Awakenings?

---

It was! Robin Williams was essentially playing Sacks.

I liked The Man Who... better than the book Awakenings because I liked jumping around the brain more (The Man Who... looks at case studies of people with different neurological conditions) but both are excellent, fascinating books.

I seriously don't know if one could live a more interesting professional life than Sacks did. We're all lucky he chose to share it with us.

Posted by: Jenny Hates Her Phone at August 30, 2015 10:17 AM (dgwPk)

104 am I the only one who thinks modern fiction could do with less sex?

Posted by: Brother Cavil, hither and yon at August 30, 2015 10:13 AM (m9V0o)

Not hardly. One of the selling points of my books is that they're clean reads--hardly even any kissing except between husband and wife. But then again, I write Westerns!

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at August 30, 2015 10:18 AM (iuQS7)

105 Hey, votermom. How are you doing with your kid being gone? This is year two for us.

Posted by: NCkate at August 30, 2015 10:18 AM (MG4zH)

106 Stand by for heavy rolls next year - E Pluribus Hugo and 4 of 6 won't go into effect until 2017 at the earliest, and maybe not even then if we can get enough Puppy type folks at the business meeting next year.
Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 09:31 AM (Edob3)

------
Scheduling vacation next year just so I can be there to vote against these spoiled brats. They really do believe they have the right to take over every aspect of our lives and force us to sit down and shut up. 1984 was an instruction manual to these SJW's.

P.S. This year was the 1st year I've even voted in the Hugo's. Previously I foolishly assumed it was a professional award for the best Sci-Fi writers. Larry Correia corrected my beliefs.

Posted by: NJRob at August 30, 2015 10:19 AM (Nq7M+)

107 Is 50 Shades even considered romance or can we agree that it's a classier version of Penthouse Forum?

It's like a bad version of Penthouse Forum. the writing is HORRIBLE. Try reading the first chapter. It's infuriating that book made all that money. It's utter crap. And, although I haven't seen it, the movie is worse.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at August 30, 2015 10:19 AM (5buP8)

108 For authors: The Weir interview, mentioned in @7 above, discusses how he used his website, serialization, free mobi & epub versions, and 99 cent Kindle version to get exposure. He wasn't consciously trying to make the big time, but the high ranking of "The Martian" on the Kindle best seller lists attracted the attention of the publisher, who pushed him toward an agent, contract, movie rights...

It was his third book and he had previous success with short stories.

Posted by: doug at August 30, 2015 10:19 AM (170jh)

109 94- there with ya, especially based upon what I've heard about 50 Shades. Someone on FB posted a pic of a single wide hillbilly trailer and said if 50 Shades Christian gray was some dude who lived in a trailer instead of a billionaire he'd be every woman's sex offender nightmare. I got a laugh out of the comparison.

Posted by: Dana- author of Outward Frontier, a military sci fi novel available on Amazon for $1. Cheap! at August 30, 2015 10:20 AM (eTvJc)

110 Brother Cavil, if I can help it no one will ever ever see my fan-fic.

I have a NaNoWriMo story that started nifty and yet maybe salvageable if I chuck the later portions and chart a different course. So don't give up hope.

50 Shades substitutes bad descriptions of sex for bad characters and bad plot.

And thank you again for liking Golden Isis and giving me such a good review.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 10:20 AM (49rjL)

111 88 Logprof- a buddy of mine wrote a romance novel. He wanted to make it in the style of bridges over Madison county but then read 50 Shades and decided it needed more sex. I don't know its a tough genre- finding the right reader and balance between those two styles of books has been really problematic for my friend- which is why he hasn't published it. So hats off to you for doing it. Is 50 Shades even considered romance or can we agree that it's a classier version of Penthouse Forum?
Posted by: Dana- author of Outward Frontier, a military sci fi novel available on Amazon for $1. Cheap! at August 30, 2015 10:09 AM (eTvJc)

--First, I'll have to check out your book.

I have not read 50 Shades but it does sound like a "classier"/classed-up PF. Now that you mention it, I wonder if "Contemporary Romance" is kinds of a wink-and-a-nod way of implying "lots of sex"?

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:21 AM (vsbNu)

112
50 Shades is just crap the woman put together. However, she knew her market. And see no reason not to make $134 million from an ebook if you can.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at August 30, 2015 10:21 AM (iQIUe)

113 I want to put a plug in for libraries. For new authors I like a lot, like Ryk E. Spoor (sensa wonder fantastic Grand Central Arena and its rollicking sequel Spheres of Influence, I ask my library to buy their books.

Good authors get more exposure, and this combats the loss of great books to low circulation and the influx of SJW dreck.

I use inter-library loan (ILL) frequently. That's how I got a very nice hardbound Three Men in a Boat to read.

I got Whispers from the Fleet (190

by Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher "Kit" George Francis Maurice Cradock, KCVO, CB, SGM via ILL. This was a fascinating book of advice to Royal Navy Midshipman on Royal Navy operations. There was a lot of detailed info on coaling. And the nicknames for 1908 Royal Navy food were still used as of the 1990s in USN vessels. Sadly, he commanded the Royal Navy forces in the Battle of Coronel, losing the battle and his life.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 30, 2015 10:22 AM (u82oZ)

114 I the only one who thinks modern fiction could do with less sex?
Posted by: Brother Cavil, hither and yon at August 30, 2015 10:13 AM (m9V0o)

===
I agree.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at August 30, 2015 10:22 AM (iQIUe)

115 am I the only one who thinks modern fiction could do with less sex?

I prefer insinuating sex to describing it in detail; "Did they or didn't they" is more interesting than "Hey, they're f--king."

Posted by: Hardliner V the K at August 30, 2015 10:22 AM (yvR++)

116 104 am I the only one who thinks modern fiction could do with less sex?
Posted by: Brother Cavil, hither and yon at August 30, 2015 10:13 AM (m9V0o)

If you expand what you mean by fiction to include movies and TV, then my answer to you is a resounding yes, and amen.

The kind of books I read generally aren't the kind to have much sex in them, so I don't notice, but movies and TV have become so pr0n-ified that they're almost not worth watching.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 30, 2015 10:25 AM (rEr+Q)

117 I wanted to ask what did your Kid do to be sent to China?

I learned something rather inspiring this week. Steven Campbell self-published the first Hard Luck Hank in October 2013 hoping to sell 50 books. He has now sold thousands and has three sequels and two books of short stories. I don't know whether he is bathing in champagne or not.
Posted by: The Great _______ Snark at August 30, 2015 10:15 AM (Bi2jH)

He also set up a Kickstarter, the first two books are great and very funny, the Audiobook is read as Hank which makes the book even funnier, I just didn't like the book

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at August 30, 2015 10:26 AM (c4yY7)

118 Yay, Book Thread!

I've started reading Hawthorne's House of the Seven Gables, and God, it's hit every 'gothic novel' trope there is. But I'm having fun with it, and I like reading books about old-timey New England.

I'm also looking for advice from authors, editors, and publishers of the Horde: I have a manuscript that I'd like to publish, but I've never done this, so does anyone have tips, etc? Should I self-publish, seek out a professional agent for help, throw the whole thing in the garbage, and so on. How does one go about publishing a book on Amazon? Any advice for someone who's painful shy, and therefore really bad at marketing? I'd love to hear your experiences, good and bad.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at August 30, 2015 10:27 AM (wyXRZ)

119 I willowed myself in the last thread because I thought for some reason I was in the book thread, so I'm reposting this here:

180 Well, I just ordered "The English Novel" courses from The Great Courses, so I'll be boning up on my Fielding, Austin, Dickens, and Conrad for a while.

Let me put in a plug for the The Great Courses - I'm finding them wonderful. Although they can be expensive, they always have a sale going on (the download of the English Novel course is now $30., which is very good for 24 lectures) and they are great to watch or listen to when I'm on the treadmill or driving. All sorts of subjects are available -from art to theology to science to cooking.

One caveat: read the reviews before you order a course. I bought a course on Culinary History which is marred by the professor's obvious leftism (I assume most of the lecturers are leftists since they are college profs, but most manage to leave their political leanings out of these lectures). If I had read the reviews before I ordered the course, I would have known about his politicization of the topic and not ordered it.

My favorite lecturer so far is Robert Greenberg, who does almost all the lectures on classical music. The guy is a great speaker, funny and not at all stuffy and he doesn't mention politics at all. He's even made me take an interest in opera, a subject I knew and cared little about before I took his course, because he's so enthusiastic about it and so good at explaining it, that I couldn't keep but get drawn in.

I realize I'm sounding like a commercial, but really these courses are wonderful things. After I'm done with Greenberg's general music appreciation course, I've got his Beethoven course and courses on the Great Cathedrals of Europe and the art of the Louvre (and the English Novel) to get through.

It makes me look forward to exercising - and it's a lot more pleasurable than watching,say, the GOPe flacks on Fox.

Posted by: Donna&&&&V. (brandisher of ampersands) at August 30, 2015 10:27 AM (+XMAD)

120 5 That puppy is boldly mocking your pants requirement.
Posted by: Anon Y. Mous at August 30, 2015 09:18 AM (IN7k+)

Well, I don't know. The more I look at that photo, the more I think he's less of a Sad Puppy and more of a Guilty Puppy.

And why does he feel guilty? Because he forgot his pants.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 30, 2015 10:29 AM (rEr+Q)

121 A woman talking about the sex she had and its meaning for here in detail is good. That she wanted to spread her legs father than they could go is stimulating. That he was small but made up for it in the way he made her feel is interesting. Piston details are boring once you have had intimate relations with one or more partners more than 1000 times. Sex is more in the head than in the actions.

Posted by: dialog at August 30, 2015 10:29 AM (PGh+Q)

122 most of the way through The Disappearing Spoon (which I am actually *reading* ) and Sacks gets a couple of mentions in there due to his biochemistry work using elements.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 10:29 AM (GDulk)

123 farther not father

Posted by: dialog at August 30, 2015 10:29 AM (PGh+Q)

124 Someone on FB posted a pic of a single wide hillbilly trailer and said if 50 Shades Christian gray was some dude who lived in a trailer instead of a billionaire he'd be every woman's sex offender nightmare. I got a laugh out of the comparison.
Posted by: Dana- author of Outward Frontier, a military sci fi novel available on Amazon for $1. Cheap! at August 30, 2015 10:20 AM (eTvJc)

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:30 AM (vsbNu)

125 Polliwog the 'Ette, you just made me wonder what the music review passage in my story must've sounded like in Text-to-Talk.

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:31 AM (vsbNu)

126 Posted by: OregonMuse at August 30, 2015 10:25 AM (rEr+Q)

I like the show Castle so got one of the Nicky Heat books. That went the opposite direction. They basically took a pretty clean-up episode of Castle and added a bunch of sex and swearing. I quit after 2 chapters so as not to have the show ruined for me.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 10:32 AM (GDulk)

127 118: I say publish on Amazon. The Horde is a gracious lot

I've yet to crack the code on an agent or publishing house. Piers Anthony writes about the realities of trying to get published as a new author with a house (basically impossible) and he's a big fan of the platforms like Amazon. Make sure you have lots of different people read your book- not just for proofreading but for plot holes and other things you might miss. What genre is your book?

Posted by: Dana- author of Outward Frontier, a military sci fi novel available on Amazon for $1. Cheap! at August 30, 2015 10:32 AM (eTvJc)

128 I just finished two books: Sam Irvin's bio of Kay Thompson (author of the Eloise books) and Cascadia's Fault by Jerry Thompson.

The Kay Thompson bio was interesting, as I didn't grow up with the Eloise books, nor was I cognizant of Thompson's Hollywood influence. Recommended.

I also recommend Cascadia's Fault, an exploration of the dynamic of plate tectonics, earthquakes, and tsunamis, and the catastrophic results of a potential mega-earthquake along the Cascadia fault. Riveting reading.

Posted by: aposemat at August 30, 2015 10:33 AM (+HLWj)

129 On the topic of Marxist educators infiltrating our colleges, The Devil's Pleasure Playground by Michael Walsh came out last month. I'm just over half way in, but I feel I can safely recommend it. It unashamedly tells the story of right vs. left as one of good fighting evil, or truth fighting deceptions. It emphasizes how much the Frankfurt School's concept of Critical Theory led to the counter culture's decay of Western culture. It also emphasizes that what they push is in no way new, drawing parallels all the way to the book of Genesis. The serpent uses every kind of deception and trickery at his disposal to get Eve to eat the fruit. When she asks "why" it's a chesterton's fence style question, but the serpent asks her "why not", and promises that she would be a God on earth.

His catholic background comes shining through for sure, especially at the start, but I don't think you necessarily have to be religious to enjoy this book. I think any Ace-style conservative that has respect for history could get a lot out of this book.

Posted by: Dave S. at August 30, 2015 10:34 AM (mhkbv)

130 As for marketing your story... here is OSP plugging Golden Isis on Blog Talk Radio.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/q98ve4l

Thanks!!

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 10:34 AM (49rjL)

131 Morning all. I feel great. And if I can just get thru this family party today I will feel even better. And the book I am reading now is the one about the Invasion of Okinawa. I should have read it before I went there, but then it took me a whole month to straighten out my freaken Orders so who had time.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at August 30, 2015 10:36 AM (DUoqb)

132 Macdonald is the author of the book Novelists Against Social Change: Conservative Popular Fiction, 1920-1960, which is so outrageously expensive ($80 for the hardcover edition? Really?) that I doubt anyone has ever read it.

Probably is only being used in college classes; they always insanely overcharge for college books. Having self published I know exactly how much books actually cost for POD, so there's simply no excuse for how much they charge. Yes, small orders are more expensive for the publisher, but on the level of $30, not $120.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 10:36 AM (39g3+)

133 Dana, it's a cleaner and less complicated version of Game of Thrones. Technically a young adult fantasy romance, but it's a reasonably intelligent book and reads more like historical fiction (no dragons, etc). I've also referred to it as "chick-lit for less 'chicky' people".

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at August 30, 2015 10:37 AM (wyXRZ)

134 I love how the courts rule that the thugs cant interfere with court business with their demonstrations but is is okay to mess with everyone elses, especially when they block roads when people are trying to get to work or home or to pick up their kids or shop.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at August 30, 2015 10:40 AM (iQIUe)

135 Right Wing Whippersnapper. If you just wrote a YA version of Game of Thrones. One publisher, who's name escapes me, is looking for such.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 10:40 AM (49rjL)

136 The infuriating thing about writing is that every minute spent plugging and publicizing your book is a minute not spend writing.

People criticize George R.R. Martin for not finishing the next Game of Thrones book, with good reason. But all those shows he goes to, all the conventions, all the interviews, etc are there to sell books. He cannot write while he's out pushing them. In the old days, that's what a publisher would do for you: they handled publicity. Today its up to the author which damages productivity enormously.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 10:41 AM (39g3+)

137 133- cool- I wish you luck with it!

Posted by: Dana- author of Outward Frontier, a military sci fi novel available on Amazon for $1. Cheap! at August 30, 2015 10:41 AM (eTvJc)

138 Calling 'BS' on that Erasmus quote.

The guy didn't even speak English!

Posted by: socalcon at August 30, 2015 10:42 AM (lHASK)

139 I'm also looking for advice from authors, editors, and publishers of the Horde: I have a manuscript that I'd like to publish, but I've never done this, so does anyone have tips, etc? Should I self-publish, seek out a professional agent for help, throw the whole thing in the garbage, and so on. How does one go about publishing a book on Amazon? Any advice for someone who's painful shy, and therefore really bad at marketing? I'd love to hear your experiences, good and bad.
Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at August 30, 2015 10:27 AM (wyXRZ)

--I'm coming from an unusual perspective, so use salt liberally with this. I had my story collecting virtual dust (or "in the can," to use old movie parlance) for two decades, dating back to the old, limited means of publishing, so I was happy to make some edits, add just a tiny bit, and push it out the door. Amazon was very easy to pull off; it only requires some small formatting changes. Amazon also said it could take up to 72 hours to process but it took me less than 24 (I'm assuming with the "processing" Amazon has some algorithm like the software educators use to scan for plagiarism).

That said, if your work is a recent labor of love and you foresee more in the future you may want to seek out an agent first for serious, paid advice.

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:42 AM (vsbNu)

140 132 Probably is only being used in college classes; they
always insanely overcharge for college books. Having self published I
know exactly how much books actually cost for POD, so there's simply no
excuse for how much they charge. Yes, small orders are more expensive
for the publisher, but on the level of $30, not $120.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 10:36 AM (39g3+)

College textbooks are a great rip-off. I had a textbook of SC History that is used at USC. Cost me a fortune. I loaned it to someone and don't remember who and have never got it back.

Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at August 30, 2015 10:42 AM (t2KH5)

141 Listening to the AM Talk shows on FOX and the RINO Elite still DO NOT GET it. They just don't get that the BASE is ready to walk this cycle if we don't start getting what we want and that starts with th Budget vote coming up this Fall. Fuckin Idiots the lot of them

Posted by: Nevergiveup at August 30, 2015 10:44 AM (DUoqb)

142 Yeah, whippersnapper that sounds like something publishers would snap up. Go find an agent and scrupulously follow their guidelines. A useful trick is to look up authors you like or are similar to your work and hit up their agent.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 10:44 AM (39g3+)

143 136- which is why people are always giving him the business about dying before he finishes the last book. Frankly having reAd all of his books the man is in desperate need of an editor. What is he paid by the word like Dickens was?

Posted by: Dana- author of Outward Frontier, a military sci fi novel available on Amazon for $1. Cheap! at August 30, 2015 10:44 AM (eTvJc)

144 Posted by: Dave S. at August 30, 2015 10:34 AM (mhkbv)

--Michael Walsh was on Milt Rosenberg's show talking about the book, but the audio was screwy. I wonder if the file has been fixed so I can re-listen. The book definitely sounds interesting, if depressing.

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:45 AM (vsbNu)

145 I have been listening to THE LOST FLEET DAUNTLESS

The Alliance is fighting the Syntax? And they ruled by the an EVIL CEO? The Hero of the Alliance thought dead was actually in hyper sleep and is found 100 years later. I am very early in this book and so far so good. I am really afraid that this will be some book on how bad corperations are.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at August 30, 2015 10:45 AM (c4yY7)

146 @129 "The Devil's Pleasure Playground" by Michael Walsh

The Amazon reviews weren't particularly helpful. I read the Kindle sample and was still undecided.

I pretty much agree with Walsh's premise and don't mind discussion of religion. I enjoy his essays on PJ Media.

However, the Amazon reviews seemed to indicate that he went pretty far astray with his cultural examples, possibly showing off a bit.

Was the theme of the book helped or hindered by Walsh's examples/digressions?

Posted by: doug at August 30, 2015 10:45 AM (170jh)

147 Thanks, logprof and Dana! Anna, if you think of that publisher, I'd love to have some details. YA Game of Thrones seems to be a trend right now, and if there's a small publisher looking for new material, I'll provide it. I'm a little worried about slipping through the cracks if I seek out one of the major companies.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at August 30, 2015 10:46 AM (wyXRZ)

148 In 50 Shades Anna was more interesting when she was a virgin.

Posted by: dialog at August 30, 2015 10:46 AM (PGh+Q)

149 Expecting the Guardian to give an accurate description of what constitutes British conservatism is like expecting the NY Times or The Village Voice to depict American conservatism honestly.

However, I suspect that the British caricature of conservatism contains a bit of truth in that "traditional" Tories hated Maggie Thatcher (who was a Reagan-type conservative, not a genteel, landed gentry Tory) and eventually they put the knife in her back. Just as the GOPe elites here, like George Will and George bush, despised Reagan in the 1970's and have shown they have no interest in returning to the principles Reagan espoused.

Posted by: Donna&&&&V. (brandisher of ampersands) at August 30, 2015 10:46 AM (+XMAD)

150 Morning horde.

*goes to read the thread

But has anyone compiled a link/post that has all of the horde books in one place?

Posted by: RWC- TEAM BOHICA at August 30, 2015 10:47 AM (9jeGC)

151 Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:31 AM (vsbNu)

I went and looked it up in the book. I definitely wouldn't have guessed that was how the singer's name was spelled. That's one of the downsides to TTS, I have no visual impression of the names and I think it does make it harder to remember them without that. On the flipside, I've sent the last three days painting and would have had time to read very little if at all.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 10:47 AM (GDulk)

152 I can't be the only person who hasn't read "50 Shades", can I?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 10:47 AM (jR7Wy)

153 Kids are up so gotta run. You all be safe out there and have a great day!

Posted by: Dana- author of Outward Frontier, a military sci fi novel available on Amazon for $1. Cheap! at August 30, 2015 10:47 AM (eTvJc)

154 I had this long comment on 50 shades then my browser crashed.
TLDR version: 50 shades uses the popular Romance trope of poor virtuous maiden reforms rich rake.
I am surprised sjws are not objecting more to the way it basically shows BDSM to be negative. And that Gray got into it because he was twisted that way by an older woman when he was 15.

Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 10:48 AM (cbfNE)

155 If you want to self pub, here's an article I wrote about the pros and cons of self vs traditional publication:

http://tinyurl.com/o5efwnw

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 10:48 AM (39g3+)

156 As for formatting and getting your book self-published, thats a bit more complicated, but this guy does a good job setting down the process in easy step by step fashion:

http://tinyurl.com/6hgb8yp

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 10:48 AM (39g3+)

157 Fuckin Idiots the lot of them

Yup. It's truly us vs. the Uni-party now. And, we're way outgunned. The media is on their side. They own the institutions and bureaucracy. It pisses me off to write this, but I don't see how a conservative is ever elected president again, this side of a total collapse.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at August 30, 2015 10:48 AM (5buP8)

158 I can't be the only person who hasn't read "50 Shades", can I?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 10:47 AM (jR7Wy)

I actually have not read it either. We watched the dvd (free redbox rental), then I read the wiki plot summaries of the sequels.

Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 10:50 AM (cbfNE)

159 152 I can't be the only person who hasn't read "50 Shades", can I?

No, you're not. I tried, really hard. It's unreadable. Don't even bother.

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at August 30, 2015 10:51 AM (5buP8)

160 Having self published I know exactly how much books actually cost for POD

Which is actually not the best metric for judging the cost for a traditional publisher that *doesn't* do POD but instead goes the old-fashioned route of a set print run to have inventory in the distributor's warehouse, etc. Especially for a textbook with limited chance of adoption, the publisher may well have to charge an arm and a leg to be able to break even.
That said, some publishers are moving to POD for certain textbooks--Blackwell, for instance, has Alister McGrath's Christian Literature: An Anthology set up as a POD paperback, which I assume makes it more affordable for students.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at August 30, 2015 10:51 AM (iuQS7)

161 Frankly having reAd all of his books the man is in desperate need of an editor. What is he paid by the word like Dickens was?

I was underwhelmed by his writing, but some people think its masterful. I think they just found his brutal and heartless approach toward characters interesting, myself. But that's spawned a whole new trend of murdering your whole book like every story is Hamlet and that's even worse than everyone getting away clean and safe.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 10:51 AM (39g3+)

162 College textbooks are a great rip-off. I had a textbook of SC History that is used at USC. Cost me a fortune. I loaned it to someone and don't remember who and have never got it back.
Posted by: Vic We Have No Party at August 30, 2015 10:42 AM (t2KH5)

--Heh, the Chinese students in my classes would share a book, with friends snapping pictures of the pages and then just read with their ipads. Even I would encourage my students to check Amazon or elsewhere for used copies.

Another scam is "international editions" pf textbooks that are essentially the same but far cheaper. I think it's a symptom of the subsidization of post-secondary education in American, so look for more of the same until the bubble bursts.

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:51 AM (vsbNu)

163 can't be the only person who hasn't read "50 Shades", can I?
___________

No. I'd recommend the Honest Trailer for the movie on YouTube though.

Posted by: Kenway at August 30, 2015 10:52 AM (Ecz56)

164 Still working my way through "The Savior Generals: How 5 Great Commanders Saved Wars That Were Lost - From Ancient Greece to Iraq" by Victor Davis Hanson. Very interesting read. I'm taking so long to finish mainly because I find I need to look up a lot to keep events straight.

After binge watching the Tudors on Netflix I picked up "The six Wives of Henry VIII" by Alison Weir. Interesting and detailed look at court life of the 1500's.

Main Tudor era conclusion: life sucked in the past in many and varied ways.

You think we've got problems with political correctness? Try being burned at the stake (after requisite torture to induce a 'confession' of course). Powerful and/or self-important people have always tried to control the speech and behavior of others. SJW's are the same type of folk who turned their neighbors in for being heretics, or insulting the king or talking about a forbidden subject etc.

Also reading "Barefoot to Avalon" by David Payne. Autobiographical look at the loss of his bipolar brother and their troubled relationship. I've barely begun so can't really give any assessment.

Several of the "moron author" projects look very interesting. Will be looking at them!

Posted by: Jade Sea at August 30, 2015 10:52 AM (SqDJg)

165 Right Wing, I can't honestly remember which publisher that was. Lady running the writing group was pitching the YA stuff to another writer in the group.

But yeah query letters to see if anyone wants to nibble.

That is one thing being suggested to me right now. Since Golden Isis is now out with a couple good reviews, go shopping for an agent and/or contract.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 10:52 AM (49rjL)

166 All Hail Eris- I haven't read 50 Shades, either, and for the same reason I don't do drugs: I need all the brain cells I have, so why would I intentionally kill them off?

Thanks for the links, Christopher Taylor; I'll take a look at them when I get a moment.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at August 30, 2015 10:52 AM (wyXRZ)

167 I gotta say the ad for Purina My Cat Perks next to the guilty dog is adorbs.

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:53 AM (vsbNu)

168 I haven't read it either. No interest and I certainly don't want my daughters thinking that sort of thing is normal.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 10:53 AM (GDulk)

169 I'm sure every college does this but the bookstore at Calvin would buy used copies and re-sell them at a fraction of the price. It was a good system that I'm sure enraged the profs and publishers: go to the store, grab a somewhat banged up version of the book you need, then at the end of the class, sell it back to recoup some of your expense and someone else buys it.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 10:54 AM (39g3+)

170 152 ... "I can't be the only person who hasn't read "50 Shades", can I?"

There are at least two of us. Haven't read it, don't intend to. I don't know if it was just dreck or a deliberate spoof like "Naked Came the Stranger" in the early 70s. At least that was supposed to be terrible.

Posted by: JTB at August 30, 2015 10:55 AM (FvdPb)

171 I can't be the only person who hasn't read "50 Shades", can I?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 10:47 AM (jR7Wy)

Nope. Not even remotely interested.
I haven't seen Titanic, either.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at August 30, 2015 10:55 AM (iuQS7)

172 Do not fret your pretty brow My Lady Eris over Fifty Shades non-reading thereof. Once I had learned it started as fan-fic, I myself lost any urge to read it. And then when the whole 'plot' was described, the urge went into the negative.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 10:56 AM (49rjL)

173 That is one thing being suggested to me right now. Since Golden Isis is now out with a couple good reviews, go shopping for an agent and/or contract.

Most publishers still are of the mindset that self publishing is of the Devil so unless you've sold a kabillion copies, they won't touch any product you've already put out there. But maybe if you have a good platform of readers and solid reviews and sales, they might consider your next book.

The thing is: if you have all that, what do you need a publisher for? So they can take 80% of your money and lock you into a long term contract?

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 10:56 AM (39g3+)

174 Donna-I second the Great Courses audio series recommendation-many are available on Audibles and discounted if you are a Prime Amazon member, I tore through a great 25 hour or so series on the Tudors and Stuarts last year that was fantastic, Am halfway through another course on the French Revolution (both professors are tilt left but still, the subject matter is fascinating) and also took one on the 30 greatest symphonies too, they have all kinds of subjects.

Also recommend "Civilisation" by Niall Ferguson strongly, also on Audibles, an interesting take on the foundations of western civilization-rule of law, property rights, christian ethics, all of thoseworthless old white guy things some people now seem in an awful hurry to discard, damn the consequences.....I need to relisten to that one it was awesome.

Posted by: Goldilocks at August 30, 2015 10:57 AM (uInAy)

175 can't be the only person who hasn't read "50 Shades", can I?

* raises hand *

Did not read the book.

Did not see the movie,

Have no interest in either.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 30, 2015 10:57 AM (rEr+Q)

176 Yeah. 50 shades was Twilight fan fiction. It was so popular she changed some details and made into 50 shades. From what I understand, the writing is atrocious. But I haven't read it so I can't say personally. I haven't seen Titanic, or Avatar, either for that matter.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 10:58 AM (39g3+)

177 I never had the slightest interest in reading it. I guess I was prejudiced against it early on when I heard a woman at work praise it. She said "I never read books, they're too boring, but this is the best book ever!" She also loves Obama, thinks conservatives are "mean" and keeps up with the Kardashians, so I knew immediately it had to be garbage. She's one of the dumbest people I know.

Posted by: Donna&&&&V. (brandisher of ampersands) at August 30, 2015 10:58 AM (+XMAD)

178 I was just here a couple weeks ago asking to *read* some YA-oriented Game of Thrones. And if it's written by a Moron so much the better.

It being less complicated is good. That means you have a chance of finishing it.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at August 30, 2015 10:59 AM (AVEe1)

179 I think George Martin has run into the 'traveling salesman' problem.

To drop some math in here, node-to-node interactions follow a factorial pattern: a is 1; ab is also 1; but abc means ab, bc, and ac. Four characters is 4!/2 = twelve interactions. Five means sixty!

To drop some *more* math, 'solving' these interactions is 'NP Complete'. It's literally unknown if you even can work around all that in a thorough and consistent manner.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at August 30, 2015 10:59 AM (AVEe1)

180 I went and looked it up in the book. I definitely wouldn't have guessed that was how the singer's name was spelled. That's one of the downsides to TTS, I have no visual impression of the names and I think it does make it harder to remember them without that. On the flipside, I've sent the last three days painting and would have had time to read very little if at all.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 10:47 AM (GDulk)

--That little blurb is the only substantial part of the story I wrote in the past 20 years. It may seem like a goofy throwaway passage, but it's quite intentionally the pointy end of one of the main themes of the book, although of course it's very subtle.

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:59 AM (vsbNu)

181 171 I can't be the only person who hasn't read "50 Shades", can I?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 10:47 AM (jR7Wy)

Nope. Not even remotely interested.
I haven't seen Titanic, either.

---

Never read 50 Shades or Twilight.

I did get into Titanic, but in my defense I actually was a 13 year old girl at the time.

Posted by: Jenny Hates Her Phone at August 30, 2015 11:01 AM (dgwPk)

182 Titanic and Avatard, especially the later movie, have become more akin to touchstones to prove creds instead of actual film-making.

If I want to watch the sinking of RMS Titanic, will watch A Night to Remember. Or read the book.

Avatard? Go watch Duck Dogers, basically the same plot and far more funny.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 11:01 AM (49rjL)

183 The Marine Corps lost one of its last surviving veterans of the Battle of Guadalcanal this month.

The Honorable Edward Cam Farmer, Jr., recipient of three Purple Hearts, a Silver Star and a Bronze Star and former 60th District Court Judge, passed away Aug. 16 in Muskegon, Michigan, four days shy of his 97th birthday.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at August 30, 2015 11:02 AM (DUoqb)

184
Also recommend "Civilisation" by Niall Ferguson strongly, also on Audibles, an interesting take on the foundations of western civilization-rule of law, property rights, christian ethics, all of thoseworthless old white guy things some people now seem in an awful hurry to discard, damn the consequences.....I need to relisten to that one it was awesome.
Posted by: Goldilocks at August 30, 2015 10:57 AM (uInAy)

Thanks for that tip! I love Ferguson's books and had no idea he had a course on Audibles.

Posted by: Donna&&&&V. (brandisher of ampersands) at August 30, 2015 11:02 AM (+XMAD)

185 I can't be the only person who hasn't read "50 Shades", can I?

Nope. Avoiding it like the plague.

Posted by: Brother Cavil, hither and yon at August 30, 2015 11:03 AM (m9V0o)

186 I did get into Titanic, but in my defense I actually was a 13 year old girl at the time.

A 13 year old girl, pretty sure that was the target audience. Like Avatar with 13 year old boys?

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 11:03 AM (39g3+)

187 I never read 50 Shades but it's one of those phenomena that is so diffused in the pop culture that it feels live you've read at least parts of it, especially when it gets to the point where there exist parodies of it.

There are probably a lot of people who never watched any of 24 but nevertheless still have a solid idea what it was like.

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 11:03 AM (vsbNu)

188 His voice is warm and husky, like dark melted chocolate fudge caramel... Or something.

I feel the color of my cheeks rising again. I must be the color of the communist manifesto.

His erection springs free. Holy cow!

Posted by: 50 Shades Excerpt at August 30, 2015 11:04 AM (Ecz56)

189 Krakatoa should write the book thead. It would be like "Berks.", and that's it.

Posted by: Caitlyn Jenner at August 30, 2015 11:05 AM (P6Jv8)

190 Air Force Mechanic Is Sucker Punched, Has Jaw Broken After Happening Into Middle Of Black Lives Matter Protest

Weasel Zippers

When is someone going to do something about these thugs and criminals.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at August 30, 2015 11:05 AM (DUoqb)

191 The Marine Corps lost one of its last surviving veterans of the Battle of Guadalcanal this month.

Just being on Guadalcanal should have earned a bronze star. That's what enrages me about Pacific so much. They had a beautiful chance to educate people about the Pacific theater in WW2, with so much heroism and so many amazing characters, and instead we got some lame tedious piece of crap with an exploding pencil that I quit watching after a few episodes.

After Band of Brothers it was like getting a turd following up a bowl of pralines iced cream. The ice cream was so good you take a bite.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 11:06 AM (39g3+)

192 It being less complicated is good. That means you have a chance of finishing it.

From a writing perspective, one of the lessons I learned in my fanfic period was that the fewer moving parts you introduce, the less likely you are to trip yourself up later on. GRRM must have a freaking database he maintains to keep track of the giant lurching mess that is ASoIaF.

Posted by: Brother Cavil, hither and yon at August 30, 2015 11:06 AM (m9V0o)

193 I've never read 50 Shades, either. Not my cuppa. Not interested in the movie, never seen Avatar, but did see Titanic. Meh. Dig out that old black and white version of A Night to Remember, if you have a jones for Titanic disaster. What really, truly did happen is much more dramatic and touching than some made-up effort.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at August 30, 2015 11:06 AM (95iDF)

194 Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:59 AM (vsbNu)

You did a good job with it (assuming the singer is supposed to be Beyonce-ish). You did a good job of updating the technology as well since reading reviews on phones wasn't happening twenty years ago.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 11:06 AM (GDulk)

195 Tsundere yaoi anime fan-fiction... just step away from the Internet. Avert your eyes least you become a pillar of salt.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 11:06 AM (49rjL)

196 172 Do not fret your pretty brow My Lady Eris over Fifty Shades non-reading thereof. Once I had learned it started as fan-fic, I myself lost any urge to read it. And then when the whole 'plot' was described, the urge went into the negative.
Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 10:56 AM (49rjL)
---
If I want quality slash fic I know you or AlextheChick could hook me up!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 11:07 AM (jR7Wy)

197 Just for the hell of it I should go to Reddit to talk to the folks there about doing a 50 Shades/Minions mashup.

Posted by: Brother Cavil, hither and yon at August 30, 2015 11:08 AM (m9V0o)

198 186 I did get into Titanic, but in my defense I actually was a 13 year old girl at the time.

A 13 year old girl, pretty sure that was the target audience. Like Avatar with 13 year old boys?

---

Yeah. I started to roll my eyes at my sister when she was into Twilight (Team Jacob 4 Life) but then I remembered Titanic and the Leo/Claire Danes Romeo and Juliet. Yeah. 13 year olds.

All the moms my age and older who went bonkers for that crap do get an appropriate side eye, however.

Posted by: Jenny Hates Her Phone at August 30, 2015 11:09 AM (dgwPk)

199 From a writing perspective, one of the lessons I
learned in my fanfic period was that the fewer moving parts you
introduce, the less likely you are to trip yourself up later on. GRRM
must have a freaking database he maintains to keep track of the giant
lurching mess that is ASoIaF.

Posted by: Brother Cavil, hither and yon at August 30, 2015 11:06 AM (m9V0o)
This x1000. I actually stopped reading ASoIaF partly because I couldn't keep track of all the characters. Too many POVs, and most of them don't seem to have anything to do with the actual story. Not that anyone knows what the actual story is, because it's not making any progress toward a conclusion.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at August 30, 2015 11:10 AM (wyXRZ)

200 Ryouko stood in the doorway, her blue spiked hair caught in the glow of the energy ball floating above her left hand. Also clearly seen is a lustful smile upon her face.

Tenchi felt himself trapped.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 11:10 AM (49rjL)

201 Why read 50 Shades when there is a movie you can watch.

Why watch 50 Shades when there is pornhub.

Posted by: RWC- TEAM BOHICA at August 30, 2015 11:11 AM (9jeGC)

202 Nope. Not even remotely interested in 50 n Shade4s of Grey.
I haven't seen Titanic, either. The ship sinks, the engineers keep power on until the end, and all die. It would be too depressing for a former DCA to watch.

I'd want to yell at the movie Rudder midships, hit the burg with the bow!
And We need more shoring at the transverse bulkheads. All power to the dewatering pumps.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 30, 2015 11:12 AM (u82oZ)

203 All Hail Eris --

Nope. I haven't read it either, and have no desire to do so.

Posted by: Empire1 at August 30, 2015 11:12 AM (qXIIh)

204 Has anyone read or is a fan of Susan Howatch? I think her writing is just brilliant, as is her ability to capture inner thought. Just love her.

Posted by: Auntie Doodles at August 30, 2015 11:12 AM (teYv/)

205 http://www.bustle.com/articles/33117-11-fifty-shades-of-grey-quotes-we-need-to-see-in-the-film

his erection springs free. Holy cow!

I can't read that without imagining a Warner Brothers sound-effect : "boi-oi-oinnggg"

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at August 30, 2015 11:13 AM (AVEe1)

206 I don't about books, but I know a really good doggy picture when I see one!

Posted by: goon at August 30, 2015 11:13 AM (gy5kE)

207 194 Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:59 AM (vsbNu)

You did a good job with it (assuming the singer is supposed to be Beyonce-ish). You did a good job of updating the technology as well since reading reviews on phones wasn't happening twenty years ago.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 11:06 AM (GDulk)

--Heh, I did not have a particular singer in mind, but Beyonce's genre was the intent. I struck upon the idea: What is a conventional, normal, traditional name that I can corrupt and ghetto up into a contrived, overly difficult spelling?

Anyhoo, one theme of the story is how society, subtly, relentlessly tells us how to behave through the media. Did you notice that all the song titles are imperative?

Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 11:14 AM (vsbNu)

208 When you talk about humans factors and chain of events leading to disaster. Titanic has such a story.

Apparently Titanic received some officers from her sister-ship. These officers displaced assigned officers. One of the officers left on the beach had the keys to the lookout binoculars. And because the lookout up in the crow's nest lacked binoculars, did not see the iceberg in time.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 11:14 AM (49rjL)

209 Okay, since we're talking about fanfic, I think some of y'all will get a kick out of this: the "husband-hunting New York socialite" I introduce in Loyal Valley: Captives? Is a seventeen-year-old girl named... Mary Susan Smith.

And yes, she does describe herself (falsely) as having "cerulean orbs."

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at August 30, 2015 11:14 AM (iuQS7)

210 People criticize George R.R. Martin for not finishing the next Game of Thrones book, with good reason. But all those shows he goes to, all the conventions, all the interviews, etc are there to sell books. He cannot write while he's out pushing them. In the old days, that's what a publisher would do for you: they handled publicity. Today its up to the author which damages productivity enormously.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 10:41 AM (39g3+)

George RRRRRRR Martin knows what everyone else knows: he's run out of ideas, and had no way to finish his story. it got too big for him.

So what is going to happen is, HBO is going to finish it for him. He'll never have to write the ending because, before another book can be published, HBO will have finished its series. At that point, he'll have all the time he wants to do what he really wants: count his cash... and wait for his inevitable heart attack in some podunk town somewhere, waiting to bask in the glow of 50-100 nerds who want to pay for his autograph, dying with the smell of old cheese still in his unkempt whiskers.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 30, 2015 11:15 AM (Dj0WE)

211 I remembered Titanic and the Leo/Claire Danes Romeo and Juliet. Yeah. 13 year olds.

She was a cute lil' angel in that. Actually, since it is word for word just Shakespeare, I was fine with anyone liking that film.

All the moms my age and older who went bonkers for that crap do get an appropriate side eye, however.

That part never... I mean yeah, the vampire is a hundred years old so he's age appropriate in one sense but if it was middle-aged guys on team Bella, just how would people react? I mean, normal non-Polanski types.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 11:16 AM (39g3+)

212 We should start a club: The Non-Readers of 50 Shades of Grey. We could sit around, drink whatever strikes our fancy, and talk about decent books, instead of the stuff that gets published for the lowest common denominators in our society.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at August 30, 2015 11:16 AM (wyXRZ)

213 LOL Elisabeth, a real Mary Sue with cerulean orbs....

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 11:17 AM (49rjL)

214 That Annie Bellet idiot reminds me of the horrid authors Laura Bush dealt with while trying to promote literature as First Lady.

As First Lady of Texas, she had started the very successful Texas Book Festival, which is still an annual event.

When she tried to do the same in DC, several authors refused to participate with a Republican First Lady, especially one from Texas. Some of them even expressed the belief that the teacher/librarian with a Masters degree couldn't read, because no one from TX reads.

I can't even think of what to say about such ignorant bigots, some of whom are molding young minds in universities. it's an outrage.

Posted by: stace at August 30, 2015 11:18 AM (CoX6k)

215 I drove to El Paso from Illinois. Three days there, three days back, whole in El Paso we went to Colorado Springs. Did not inform the bank. Everything worked fine. However, when I travel internationally, I do let them know and have had no problems.

Posted by: Auntie Doodles at August 30, 2015 11:18 AM (teYv/)

216 His erection springs free. Holy cow!
Posted by: 50 Shades Excerpt at August 30, 2015 11:04 AM (Ecz56)
---
I believe prescribed usage is "his engorged manhood lept forth from its silken boxer Bastille."

Hey, I should write this stuff myself!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 11:19 AM (jR7Wy)

217 Elisabeth @ 209: Does she have color changing hair?

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at August 30, 2015 11:19 AM (wyXRZ)

218 Haven't read the comments yet, but wanted to drop by and thank whoever rec'd 'Flashback' by Dan Simmons a week or two ago. Most of my reading time is taken up with 'Electronics for Inventors' and 'Exploring Arduino', but I've been sneaking in chapters of 'Flashback' whenever I can. Enjoying it so far.

Posted by: Smaulz at August 30, 2015 11:19 AM (g+jFF)

219
I also tried and failed to read Fifty Shades of Gray..... got a dozen or so pages in....it was horrible and I don't know how anyone could get into it....but to each his/her own.
There are millions of Kanye West & Kardashian fans out there also.....so there's that.....
Millions of people have bad taste in A LOT of things.

Posted by: Some Guy in Wisconsin at August 30, 2015 11:19 AM (EYHWP)

220 212 We should start a club: The Non-Readers of 50 Shades of Grey. We could sit around, drink whatever strikes our fancy, and talk about decent books, instead of the stuff that gets published for the lowest common denominators in our society.
Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at August 30, 2015 11:16 AM (wyXRZ)
---
If only there were such a forum...

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 11:19 AM (jR7Wy)

221 All Hail Eris, I know right. Write some soft porno bodice ripper with a hunk who is a vegan werewolf....

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 11:20 AM (49rjL)

222 If I want quality slash fic I know you or AlextheChick could hook me up

Heh.

I read the first 50 pages of 50 Shades. For one thing, every woman in America was reading it and I occasionally make futile attempts to understand girls. It didn't help.

Also, at the time I was involved in a very passionate -- one might add athletic and adventurous -- (if completely emotionally fucked up) sexual relationship, and we wanted to compare the book to our thing.

It was pathetic. It took 49 pages to get to the first sex scene and then her orgasms were all "and she shattered into a million shards". Bleh.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at August 30, 2015 11:21 AM (1xUj/)

223 213 Anna Puma

I have noticed books with internet memes showing up.

In the Ken MacLeod book Learning the World alien space bats appear as characters in the novel.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at August 30, 2015 11:21 AM (u82oZ)

224 Somebody - I forget who - told me about slash fiction a long time ago. Maybe 2000, 2001 around then. I looked it up and found a lot of stories about Capt. Kirk getting in on with Spock, or Luke Skywalker screwing Obi Wan. And it was written mainly by women - women writing ghey pOrn about famous sci-fi characters. I thought "yuck!" and decided pretty quickly that this was not my thing. It might have evolved since then, I don't know. I'm not interested enough to investigate.

Explicit sex scenes in fiction are usually excruciating to read.

Posted by: Donna&&&&V. (brandisher of ampersands) at August 30, 2015 11:21 AM (+XMAD)

225 When she tried to do the same in DC, several authors refused to participate with a Republican First Lady, especially one from Texas. Some of them even expressed the belief that the teacher/librarian with a Masters degree couldn't read, because no one from TX reads.

My favorite stupid lefty thing on books is that Bush read a lot every year despite having little time as president while President Obama stated he "doesn't like to read" and has read very few books.

But the reputations? Obama posed with a communist tract on camera and had one ghost written for him, so he's super literate while Bush is an illiterate cretin who drags his knuckles. Why? Because that's the way they want reality to be.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 11:22 AM (39g3+)

226 Julian, you think you're so damn smart with all your books!

https://youtu.be/v71HVyYXnP8

Posted by: Ray at August 30, 2015 11:22 AM (vsbNu)

227 If only there were such a forum...

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 11:19 AM (jR7Wy)
Very funny, but I meant a meat-space organization. Somehow, I don't think the MoMe counts.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at August 30, 2015 11:22 AM (wyXRZ)

228 We should start a club: The Non-Readers of 50 Shades of Grey. We could sit around, drink whatever strikes our fancy, and talk about decent books, instead of the stuff that gets published for the lowest common denominators in our society.
Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at August 30, 2015 11:16 AM (wyXRZ)
---
If only there were such a forum...

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 11:19 AM (jR7Wy)

Hmm. Perhaps it could be hosted by some Smart Military Blog?

Posted by: Brother Cavil, hither and yon at August 30, 2015 11:23 AM (m9V0o)

229 It's fun to sneer at 50 shades, but if you are a writer, imo you should try to figure out what the writer got right to make it sell. It can't just be that it's slutty wish fulfillment - there's bunches of those around that never get read by more than a dozen people.

Like The Da Vinci Code - also horrible writing, but stuff he got right - plugged into the hidden history / conspiracy meme, and made every chapter a cliffhanger.

Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 11:24 AM (cbfNE)

230 Did not read or want to read 50 shades. But I did read the Wheel of Time.

Posted by: Lex at August 30, 2015 11:24 AM (FBjP7)

231 I need some help here:

I am trying to track down a short story that appeared in some anthology or collection. Think it is called G'wanda (?) and the Supremes. Not sure of the author, but it is about what happens when revivees are brought out of hibernation and can't adjust to the new time. (They use "um" and 'ums' for pronouns. Women go once a month to the clinic for the pucky flush as a birth control/hygene method. One of the revivees is patient zero for a massive flue outbreak.

Can anyone help me out? It is the first time I came across the quote: "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

Posted by: Jack at August 30, 2015 11:25 AM (53CCM)

232 The Amazon reviews weren't particularly helpful. I read the Kindle sample and was still undecided.

I pretty much agree with Walsh's premise and don't mind discussion of religion. I enjoy his essays on PJ Media.

However, the Amazon reviews seemed to indicate that he went pretty far astray with his cultural examples, possibly showing off a bit.

Was the theme of the book helped or hindered by Walsh's examples/digressions?
Posted by: doug at August 30, 2015 10:45 AM (170jh)

-----

Walsh works in a lot of literary and musical references. The musical references are completely over my head, but then I am a musical idiot. I felt his literary examples served a point. I don't know yet that he is breaking a ton of new ground, but I personally like the older references. I feel it punctures one of the left's greatest conceits; that what they are doing is not in any way new.

I'm only half way in, but he has my attention to this point, though I wasn't certain with the intro and first chapter.

Posted by: Dave S. at August 30, 2015 11:25 AM (mhkbv)

233 About 2/3 of the way through 'Anathem' and thoroughly enjoying it.

Posted by: Garrett at August 30, 2015 11:25 AM (j6z1c)

234 Elisabeth @ 209: Does she have color changing hair?

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at August 30, 2015 11:19 AM (wyXRZ)

Not in the anime sense, no, given that it's set in 1870. She imagines herself as this gorgeous blue-eyed blonde, when in fact she's a plain mousy brunette. There is a good bit of thesaurus abuse in the passages from her POV, though, and rather too many exclamation points.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at August 30, 2015 11:26 AM (iuQS7)

235 Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 11:14 AM (vsbNu)

Ha! No, I missed that. A good observation on your part though.

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

236 Posted by: Donna&&&&V. (brandisher of ampersands) at August 30, 2015 11:21 AM (+XMAD)
----
Holy cow! (she ejaculated), I remember seeing the K/S ladies peddling their wares at a Star Trek convention (don't judge me). I never read any myself -- swearsies! -- but I wonder who in that pairing was "in command".

I think Joanna Russ wrote a funny essay about the K/S ladies. Hey, it fills a niche (so to speak).

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 11:27 AM (jR7Wy)

237 Three Men in a Boat is a fun read. At the time I first read it, I even had a terrier who must have been related to Montmorency.

Never read (or wanted to read) 50 shades.

Went to a few garage sales with Mrs. Eez yesterday, so I am currently reading Richmond Burning by Nelson Lankford - focused on events in Richmond VA in the days before and after the departure of Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia.

Re the Hugo thing, I also intend to go full Breitbart this year. I have resolutely tried to ignore the political positions of authors I like, though that has been eroding as some of them have been getting in my face about it. Well that is no more. Henceforth I will take the time to research this thoroughly and not one penny will go to subsidize people who hate me.

/rant, and back to the kitchen to check on stuff and get another cup of coffee.

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at August 30, 2015 11:27 AM (go6ud)

238 It's fun to sneer at 50 shades, but if you are a writer, imo you should try to figure out what the writer got right to make it sell. It can't just be that it's slutty wish fulfillment - there's bunches of those around that never get read by more than a dozen people.

Like The Da Vinci Code - also horrible writing, but stuff he got right - plugged into the hidden history / conspiracy meme, and made every chapter a cliffhanger.
Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 11:24 AM (cbfNE)

You're probably right. There's something there. I'll be damned if I know what, because the entirety of the writing to which I have been exposed was the stuff Gilbert Gottried read aloud. It was quite funny.

Somehow though, I don't think that's why the book is popular.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 30, 2015 11:28 AM (Dj0WE)

239
Everything is beset by identity politics these days. Hell, look what a mess science is, if you can even call it science anymore.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at August 30, 2015 11:28 AM (iQIUe)

240 he's run out of ideas, and had no way to finish his story. it got too big for him.

************

Ok, so how's this: It's a giant spider! A spider! Get it? Now off to insult the military.

Posted by: Stephen King at August 30, 2015 11:29 AM (yxw0r)

241 --Michael Walsh was on Milt Rosenberg's show talking about the book, but the audio was screwy. I wonder if the file has been fixed so I can re-listen. The book definitely sounds interesting, if depressing.
Posted by: logprof, in full-on Pimp Mode at August 30, 2015 10:45 AM (vsbNu)

-----

Hey logprof, that is exactly what got me looking at the book! I love listening to Milt Rosenberg. I started listening to him on WGN 720 in Chicago in the 80's. Finding out he is still rolling around a year ago or so was a great discovery. Made me very happy.

Posted by: Dave S. at August 30, 2015 11:29 AM (mhkbv)

242 >>216 His erection springs free. Holy cow!

Tough luck, cow. You drew the short straw.

Posted by: Relieved Chicken at August 30, 2015 11:30 AM (j6z1c)

243 Posted by: BurtTC at August 30, 2015 11:28 AM (Dj0WE)

I leave it as an assignment for others because quite hypocritically, I have no intention of reading the books either. I've gotten so impatient with bad writing lately.

Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 11:31 AM (cbfNE)

244 Posted by: Bandersnatch at August 30, 2015 11:21 AM (1xUj/)
----
Well good on you for making the attempt, anyway. There are other, more fruitful ways to plumb the depths of the female psyche, yes? ((nudge nudge wink wink))

These mass manias for mediocre things always puzzle me.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 11:31 AM (jR7Wy)

245 It's fun to sneer at 50 shades, but if you are a writer, imo you should try to figure out what the writer got right to make it sell.

That's the key. If you're a writer, even bad books can teach you.

And for the life of me I cannot work out why 50 shades is so popular. Its not the first book of its kind, its not even a good example of this kind of book. Trashy sex lit has always been around, going back centuries. Books like The Story of O were popular years before with S&M themes. Why did it catch on?

Sometimes its impossible to know. There probably were fifty other books released that year alone that hit the themes of powerful rich guy seducing ordinary girl but she teaches him to be a better man because she's so hawt and wise.

Why one book makes it and others don't really is a mystery, to me at least. Patrick O'Brian's magnificent sea novels were not even published in the USA for 20 years. It took someone semi-famous with contacts to get it noticed and then they finally took off.

Dan Brown's work is trash, derivative and often thieving trash (DaVinci Code is almost a duplicate of an earlier novel by someone else). But he made the books exciting and for some reason they took off. I just wish people weren't duped into thinking he's remotely accurate when it comes to history.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 11:31 AM (39g3+)

246 @279 Andrew Klavan had a nice little piece on PJ Media called "Science + Politics = Politics."

To the left, everything is political.

Posted by: doug at August 30, 2015 11:32 AM (170jh)

247 His erection springs free. Go for the cow! Please!

Posted by: The Chicken at August 30, 2015 11:33 AM (yxw0r)

248 Since the thread contains Conservative Book Lists and the movie, "AVATAR"-

y'all might enjoy this review of "AVATAR" from my crapblog:

AVATAR: A Violent Right-Wing Fantasy

https://naturalfake.wordpress.com/2009/12/26/avatar-a-violent-right-wing-fantasy/

A movie directed by our greatest right-wing movie director- James Cameron.

Yep. As stated above, it's from my crapblog and it's old.

Posted by: naturalfake at August 30, 2015 11:33 AM (KUa85)

249 There's another part of all this that people understand... right?

We no longer have a shared culture. There are no reference points that any two people can expect to have, and still be able to communicate about, except for those rare circumstances of chance... unless we're talking about days past.

Who are our musical geniuses today? Who are the fiction writers? The poets? The painters? Who are the creators who are both good and popular? They don't exist!

And what you like is not what I like. Not because I have better taste than you (although I do), but because we're not coming at it from the same starting points.

Unless you like insipid popular culture, which is not art, and it's not meant to be consumed as such. It's just noise and clutter, time wasting, throwaway junk.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 30, 2015 11:34 AM (Dj0WE)

250 These mass manias for mediocre things always puzzle me.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 11:31 AM

*starts cross-stitching Mass Manias for the Mediocre onto pillow*

Beautiful turn of phrase.

Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 11:34 AM (cbfNE)

251 Thanks for ruining my day, Huma is out on the trail and instead of twittering I just spent two hours downloading books from Amazon.

Oh and as far as that flop haired freak show (and I know freak shows), Trump, I am not some kind of sick pervert, for the record, I'm perfectly healthy.

Posted by: Anthony Weiners Ghost at August 30, 2015 11:35 AM (N1ljp)

252 Hell, look what a mess science is, if you can even call it science anymore.

It seems like the more people use science as a substitute for religion, the more like a faith it becomes and the less like actual science.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 11:35 AM (39g3+)

253 DonnaV. Enterprise Incidents Special Edition Nov 1984.

pg 73. "Idle Hands" Kelly Hale

Corey Bishop yawned. Being "one of the guys" was a dubious honor at times like this. She rolled her eyes at the current subject of discussion. The alternative values of 22 weight binary valve lubricant.
"Will you guys give me a break? I'm supposed to be a lady with a delicate constitution."
"Since when?"
"Well, you're ruining my appetite, anyway."
"I thought sex was supposed to increase one's appetite."
"Sex... yes. Talk inhibits digestion."
Sulu gave her a good-humored tweak. "You're such a wit."
"And you sir ---" She thumped him on the nose with a celery stick, "---are a victim of your gender. Overindulgence of the glands, gonads where your hearts should be. An unethical woman can get just about anything she wants because of that little flaw in bio-chemical male-up."

What follows in the story is, Ensign Bishop is challenged to try and seduce Spock.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 11:35 AM (49rjL)

254 Oh and as far as that flop haired freak show (and I know freak shows), Trump, I am not some kind of sick pervert, for the record, I'm perfectly healthy.
Posted by: Anthony Weiners Ghost at August 30, 2015 11:35 AM (N1ljp)
---
*Starts up band called Flop Haired Freak Show*

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 11:36 AM (jR7Wy)

255 "His erection springs free"

Boi-oi-oi-oi-oi-oi-oinnnnnng!

Posted by: Beavis at August 30, 2015 11:36 AM (vsbNu)

256 he's run out of ideas, and had no way to finish his story. it got too big for him.

************

Ok, so how's this: It's a giant spider! A spider! Get it? Now off to insult the military.
Posted by: Stephen King at August 30, 2015 11:29 AM (yxw0r)

I wish I got the joke, because it seems like it would be quite funny. It already is, and I haven't bothered to read anything King has written in decades.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 30, 2015 11:37 AM (Dj0WE)

257 By the way, speaking of debit cards, I have a non-book question for you morons who do a lot of multi-state traveling, which is this: before you embark on one of your trips, do you have to contact your bank or financial institution and tell them what states you'll be traveling to so your debit card purchases won't automatically be declined, or does your debit card simply work wherever you go?

It just works. But it's not strange behavior for me for my card to be swiped in multiple states in multiple days. Also sometimes I get a text message asking iF I made a purchase.

Cards never been declined though.

Posted by: mynewhandle at August 30, 2015 11:37 AM (AkOaV)

258 Hey logprof, that is exactly what got me looking at the book! I love listening to Milt Rosenberg. I started listening to him on WGN 720 in Chicago in the 80's. Finding out he is still rolling around a year ago or so was a great discovery. Made me very happy.
Posted by: Dave S. at August 30, 2015 11:29 AM (mhkbv)

--Did you listen to the recent interview with Black and Steyn that took up the whole show? Great stuff.

Posted by: logprof at August 30, 2015 11:37 AM (vsbNu)

259 I saw Flop-Haired Freak Show open for Mass Mania for the Mediocre back in the day.

Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 11:38 AM (cbfNE)

260 That's the key. If you're a writer, even bad books can teach you.

And for the life of me I cannot work out why 50 shades is so popular. Its not the first book of its kind, its not even a good example of this kind of book. Trashy sex lit has always been around, going back centuries. Books like The Story of O were popular years before with S&M themes. Why did it catch on?

Sometimes its impossible to know. There probably were fifty other books released that year alone that hit the themes of powerful rich guy seducing ordinary girl but she teaches him to be a better man because she's so hawt and wise.

Why one book makes it and others don't really is a mystery, to me at least. Patrick O'Brian's magnificent sea novels were not even published in the USA for 20 years. It took someone semi-famous with contacts to get it noticed and then they finally took off.

Dan Brown's work is trash, derivative and often thieving trash (DaVinci Code is almost a duplicate of an earlier novel by someone else). But he made the books exciting and for some reason they took off. I just wish people weren't duped into thinking he's remotely accurate when it comes to history.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 11:31 AM (39g3+)

Maybe it's like a lottery. Or like American Idol. It's not about talent, it's about being in the right place at the right time, and you cannot predict how that will happen. Just be there... wherever there is, and it could be YOUR turn!

Posted by: BurtTC at August 30, 2015 11:39 AM (Dj0WE)

261 I call on Mr. Charles McCarry to delurk for a moment and take a bow for that quote on politicians! I know you're here...

Posted by: t-bird at August 30, 2015 11:40 AM (FcR7P)

262 259 I saw Flop-Haired Freak Show open for Mass Mania for the Mediocre back in the day.
Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 11:38 AM (cbfNE)
----
Their legendary rooftop jam atop Boxer Bastille set the musical tone for the decade!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 11:40 AM (jR7Wy)

263 His erection springs free. Holy cow!

And thus, since Christian's penis in shape and form looked exactly like a cow. A holy cow from India.

Anastasia and he weren't able to consummate their love as the horns of Christian's penis kept catching on the lips of Anastasia's vag.

So, finally Christian left their bed to.....uh, milk the cow.

He returned a sad Christian to a sad Anastasia with an even sadder cow.

FIN

Posted by: 50 Shades of Grey - The Literalist's Version at August 30, 2015 11:40 AM (KUa85)

264 The worst story about the left punishing Laura Bush was when she set up a luncheon to honor poets, and all 400 of them vowed to use the lunch to protest her husband's policies. A-holes. She canceled it.

I know a beginning author who, of course, hated Bush but applied for an NEA grant anyway. Of course he wouldn't get it, he sneered, they hate literature, especially transgressive nasty stuff like his. Of course he got the grant, $40,000, and ran to the bank to cash it. As protest of course.

Posted by: PJ at August 30, 2015 11:41 AM (cHuNI)

265 I saw Mass Manias for the Mediocre open for Flop Haired Freak Show at the Cow Palace in '12.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at August 30, 2015 11:41 AM (1xUj/)

266 Another vote for The Great Courses. We've ordered from them for years. My favorites are the Greek and Roman literature classes taught by Elizabeth Vandiver.

As along time customer I got a questionnaire from the company asking my opinion about possible new courses. They were mostly how-to, hands-on topics like wood working, fiber arts and so on. I thought it was an interesting shift from the strictly academic classes they have always offered.

Posted by: JTB at August 30, 2015 11:41 AM (FvdPb)

267 logprof, call your bank! My recent vacation was almost ruined trying to get these doofuses on the phone to get my card validated again.

I think the new strictness is the result of Dodd Frank: protecting you from yourself, but not the folks who hack your bank and steal your passwords.

Posted by: PJ at August 30, 2015 11:43 AM (cHuNI)

268 *le sigh*

I should have known someone would type faster.

Posted by: Bandersnatch at August 30, 2015 11:43 AM (1xUj/)

269 "I know I'm endangering my Horde cred on this, but if 50 Shades of Fanfic
is the new standard, am I the only one who thinks modern fiction could
do with less sex?"

No, you're not. Or rather, I think we should bring back the discreetly-placed row of asterisks between scenes, and let the readers use their imagination.

Posted by: Annalucia at August 30, 2015 11:43 AM (a5bF3)

270 I will hazard a guess as to why 50 shades was so popular - in the era of the Pajama Boy, women still long for an alpha male, except the waters have been so muddied that, like gangbangers, they confuse masculinity with vile behavior.

From the reviews I read, I got the idea that it was basically a very explicit Harlequin romance (innocent young girl dominated by super-rich, handsome Man of Mystery).

BTW, wasn't the same story (basically) told in some '80's movie with Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger? I think it was 7 1/2 weeks? Young woman dominated by wealthy, kinky guy. Before that, in the 60's, it was the "Story of O" - French version.

So its nothing at all new or original. The same theme gets an update from time to time and the reason this particular version is more successful than its' predecessors is because there are a lot more pussified men around these days.

Posted by: Donna&&&&V. (brandisher of ampersands) at August 30, 2015 11:44 AM (+XMAD)

271 The Gilbert Gottried 50 shades reading:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkLqAlIETkA

Language warning... of course!

Posted by: BurtTC at August 30, 2015 11:44 AM (Dj0WE)

272 I wish I got the joke, because it seems like it would be quite funny. It already is, and I haven't bothered to read anything King has written in decades.

...........

A reference to "It." Fantastic book, nails what it's like being an outcast kid, genuinely scary, knocks growing up in the 50s out of the park (I'm told by those who did), and then ends abruptly by having the antagonist be a giant spider. King wrote himself into a corner, and had a deadline, I guess.

Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at August 30, 2015 11:44 AM (yxw0r)

273 Why is there no Pope Puppy Face when we've already had a Pope Bunny Face?

Posted by: Desiderius Erasmus Biden at August 30, 2015 11:44 AM (P6Jv8)

274 Maybe it's like a lottery. Or like American Idol. It's not about talent, it's about being in the right place at the right time, and you cannot predict how that will happen. Just be there... wherever there is, and it could be YOUR turn!
Posted by: BurtTC at August 30, 2015 11:39 AM (Dj0WE)

--The Black Swan Theory of literature?

Posted by: logprof at August 30, 2015 11:45 AM (vsbNu)

275
I want to read some Jake Arnett. He writes these gay crime historical/fiction stories. He use to be gay, then bi, and now straightish. He is either married or hooked up with a female author who is lesbianish, bi, straight. She wrote an essay on it which is pretty funny.

Posted by: Bruce With a Wang! at August 30, 2015 11:45 AM (iQIUe)

276 I will hazard a guess as to why 50 shades was so popular - in the era of the Pajama Boy, women still long for an alpha male, except the waters have been so muddied that, like gangbangers, they confuse masculinity with vile behavior.

Yeah, but why that book in particular? It wasn't the first of its kind, even that year. Some stuff just takes off for no discernable reason. The cover wasn't even that great.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 11:46 AM (39g3+)

277 I should have known someone would type faster.
Posted by: Bandersnatch at August 30, 2015 11:43 AM (1xUj/)
---
Limber little fingers!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 11:46 AM (jR7Wy)

278 Oh and for all the hordlings who downloaded my story. (Thank you!) and are now seeing funky paragraph formatting between scen96 FNC reporting that the perp's bullets were etched with the names of the SC church shooting victims. Perhaps this is why the "manifesto" hasn't been released.
es, it's a hiccup from importing between several writing programs to avoid the TOC requirement. No one seemed to know how to fix it, so I'm going with "uh...it's supposed to be like that. It's representing an underground publishing. Yeah...that's it..."

Posted by: Lauren at August 30, 2015 11:47 AM (Yj2Oz)

279 >>BTW, wasn't the same story (basically) told in some '80's movie with Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger? I think it was 7 1/2 weeks?

The Pastrami scene was hot!

Posted by: George Costanza at August 30, 2015 11:47 AM (j6z1c)

280 Many thanks to the 'ette (?) who a while back recommended "The Traveling Vampire Show," by Richard Laymon. Serious, serious creep factor. I couldn't put it down. It was reminiscent of "Stand By Me" in terms of setting, mood and characters and I felt like I was in that small town on the muggy overcast day the story takes place. If you're looking for "escapist" reading, this is it.

And, thanks, OM, I clicked the link and "Tinfoil" was still free for download.

Posted by: RushBabe at August 30, 2015 11:48 AM (1WSHx)

281
I will hazard a guess as to why 50 shades was so popular - in the era of
the Pajama Boy, women still long for an alpha male, except the waters
have been so muddied that, like gangbangers, they confuse masculinity
with vile behavior.

Posted by: DonnaV. (brandisher of ampersands) at August 30, 2015 11:44 AM (+XMAD)
A much more coherent explanation of what I was trying to say.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper- quietly rebellious at August 30, 2015 11:48 AM (wyXRZ)

282 Limber little fingers!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta

Go on...

Posted by: Bandersnatch at August 30, 2015 11:48 AM (1xUj/)

283 Still re-reading Shogun.

Can anyone provide a link to Confessions of St. Augustine that uses more modern English? I am finding the "thees" and "thous" are really slowing me down.

And I am going to order a copy of "What Happens at Mass" which a friend recommended to me. It's interesting. I can get it, apparently new, for $12.95 plus shipping from the publisher here: http://tinyurl.com/omsuvuc But at amazon, it's only available used and for ridiculous sums. I thought amazon had ALL of the books. Another ideal crushed.

Posted by: Tonestaple at August 30, 2015 11:48 AM (WdorP)

284 Posted by: BurtTC at August 30, 2015 11:37 AM (Dj0WE)

That was the monster from IT. A real letdown, if you ask me.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 11:48 AM (Edob3)

285 --The Black Swan Theory of literature?
Posted by: logprof at August 30, 2015 11:45 AM (vsbNu)

We could probably tie it into to Jung's collective unconscious

Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 11:49 AM (cbfNE)

286 A reference to "It." Fantastic book, nails what it's like being an outcast kid, genuinely scary, knocks growing up in the 50s out of the park (I'm told by those who did), and then ends abruptly by having the antagonist be a giant spider. King wrote himself into a corner, and had a deadline, I guess.
Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at August 30, 2015 11:44 AM (yxw0r)

No spoiler alert? Thanks for ruining it for me!

(Do I need the j/k disclaimer here?)

Posted by: BurtTC at August 30, 2015 11:49 AM (Dj0WE)

287 I'm re-reading Monster Hunter: Nemesis.

Because life's too short for boring message-fic from Tor.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 11:50 AM (Edob3)

288 To the left, everything is political.

It occurs to me--to bring this back around to GRRM and his magnum overblown--Westeros is the perfect example of that the Left would make the world into. Change out the various Houses with grievance groups and it's nearly perfect. Everything done by the competing nobles is done through the politics of the "game of thrones", including sexual behavior (which explains quite a bit of what goes on in that area). The people who don't think and act like that are good, decent people who get chewed up and spit out by the folks who do.

He'd never see or admit it, of course. So it goes...

Posted by: Brother Cavil, hither and yon at August 30, 2015 11:50 AM (m9V0o)

289 Because life's too short for boring message-fic from Tor.
Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 11:50 AM (Edob3)
---
I wish the SWJs at Tor wore shock collars, and every time somebody read Ringo...BZZZZTTT!!!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 11:51 AM (jR7Wy)

290 my new job requires me to be expertly familiar with debit card transactions and the security thereof,

Before we tell you, do you work for a "free-lance" Russian card processing center?

Posted by: t-bird at August 30, 2015 11:51 AM (FcR7P)

291 Stephen King doesn't understand resolution. The first 2/3 of most of his works tends to be fantastic. The endings, not so much.

Posted by: Garrett at August 30, 2015 11:52 AM (j6z1c)

292 After the sad showing at the Hugos, I would upgrade the Tor collars to the ones from Battle Royale.

Give Ringo and VoxDay the detonators.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 11:52 AM (49rjL)

293 Many thanks to the 'ette (?) who a while back recommended "The Traveling Vampire Show," by Richard Laymon.

Though no "ette", that was probably me.

You're welcome, RushBabe.

It's one of my faves. A very well-done and surprising horror novel.

Posted by: naturalfake at August 30, 2015 11:52 AM (KUa85)

294 Wow, what jam-packed post this week, OM!
So many links to follow....

Grumpy - In case this hasn't already been mentioned, the Sad Puppies thing is in response to the major SF publishers (maybe all but Baen?) deciding that they will not publish a book that does not a set of SJW criteria that boils down to no stories centered on white, heterosexual men.
Worse, there seems to be no standards on quality provided the SJW-friendly criteria are met.

So yes, is it about money in that a lot of writers who just want to tell a good, non-agenda driven traditional sci-fi story are unable to publish through publishing houses, and are not given voice at the various sci-fi events, etc. because they don't have a big publisher supporting them and they are vilified by the SJW writer clique.

Posted by: Lizzy at August 30, 2015 11:52 AM (NOIQH)

295 Posted by: PJ at August 30, 2015 11:41 AM (cHuNI)

Yup, she had to give up on the book festival too after a couple of years. The Texas Book Festival lives on, but the DC one failed because of cretinous bigots.

Another horror story is how one of young Barbara Bush's Yale profs said he was going to base her grade on what her father did in office. She had to go to the dean to get that straightened out.

This is what our nation's "elites" do. These are our so-called thought leaders. I have more respect for my Weimaraner's thinking.

Posted by: stace at August 30, 2015 11:52 AM (CoX6k)

296 And yes, the series does have a way to end. Two possible endings, in fact. He just can't get to the ending he wants, is all, because it makes no sense with what's gone before.

Posted by: Brother Cavil, hither and yon at August 30, 2015 11:53 AM (m9V0o)

297 50 shades of gray? More like 50 ways to bore yourself to sleep. If you want real entertainment and edumucation in peversia I refer to the Anne Rice, Sleeping Beauty series.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Claiming_of_Sleeping_Beauty#The_Claiming_of_Sleeping_Beauty

Posted by: Anthony Weiners Ghost at August 30, 2015 11:53 AM (N1ljp)

298 Haha. I don't know how the heck that happened. Guess that was the last thing I copied.

Posted by: Lauren at August 30, 2015 11:54 AM (Yj2Oz)

299 Stephen King doesn't understand resolution. The first 2/3 of most of his works tends to be fantastic. The endings, not so much.

He's a concept writer. He comes up with a high concept and then wraps a story around it. Great for movies, not usually so much for stories for that reason. He's a good enough writer he can work around that usually (Thinner, for example worked really well) but because his approach is "great idea, how do I make a story out of this" the tone and moral is usually baffling or contradictory.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 11:54 AM (39g3+)

300 It's too dark to read inside that dog.

Posted by: BackwardsBoy at August 30, 2015 11:55 AM (LUgeY)

301 What or who would have been the perfect antagonist in "It"? Seems a sentient spider is as good as a twisted hypnotist or a demon.

Posted by: Speculator at August 30, 2015 11:55 AM (PGh+Q)

302 ...and there go the margins.

Posted by: Garrett at August 30, 2015 11:55 AM (j6z1c)

303 292 After the sad showing at the Hugos, I would upgrade the Tor collars to the ones from Battle Royale.

Give Ringo and VoxDay the detonators.
Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 11:52 AM (49rjL)

Vox would tease them mercilessly. I think Ringo don't particularly care.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 11:55 AM (Edob3)

304 276 I will hazard a guess as to why 50 shades was so popular - in the era of the Pajama Boy, women still long for an alpha male, except the waters have been so muddied that, like gangbangers, they confuse masculinity with vile behavior.

Yeah, but why that book in particular? It wasn't the first of its kind, even that year. Some stuff just takes off for no discernable reason. The cover wasn't even that great.

---

I think the author was popular on Twilight fan fic sites before/during the publishing process. So you have something that always does okay (bodice ripper) plus a built in community that wants to support one of their own (and in doing so feed the fantasy that they, too, could strike it rich with fan fic)

Posted by: Jenny Hates Her Phone at August 30, 2015 11:56 AM (dgwPk)

305 What book was published after the Father pasted away and his kids found his unpublished work and all the rejection letters so they put his story's on Kindle.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at August 30, 2015 11:56 AM (c4yY7)

306 Vox would tease them mercilessly. I think Ringo don't particularly care.

No, but I'm sure he'd write a book based loosely on the results, that would horrify the SJWs while outselling anything they produce that year.

Posted by: Brother Cavil, hither and yon at August 30, 2015 11:56 AM (m9V0o)

307

No spoiler alert? Thanks for ruining it for me!

(Do I need the j/k disclaimer here?)
Posted by: BurtTC at August 30, 2015 11:49 AM (Dj0WE)

Heh. My bad.

It is worth a look-see, though. King has always had a knack for exploring the strange depth and strength of childhood friendships, and the danger of childhood itself.

Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at August 30, 2015 11:57 AM (yxw0r)

308 Patrick, I think that might have been Screams from my Father.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 11:58 AM (49rjL)

309 When is someone going to do something about these thugs and criminals.

#twoweeks

Posted by: The GOPe at August 30, 2015 11:58 AM (FcR7P)

310 So yes, is it about money in that a lot of writers who just want to tell a good, non-agenda driven traditional sci-fi story are unable to publish through publishing houses, and are not given voice at the various sci-fi events, etc.

Its part of a systematic, aggressive pattern where the radical left is trying to take over every sector of culture and society that is not overtly leftist. They hit a pretty hard wall with gamers though. Gamers love a challenge, and love to fight. That was a serious tactical error.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 11:58 AM (39g3+)

311 296

RT+LS=JS

Posted by: Mr. Healthy Penis at August 30, 2015 11:58 AM (HstNY)

312 Great job, SWJs, for politicizing and ossifying the most open-minded and exploratory genre out there. Thank goodness for Baen Books. And funnily enough, I became a fan years ago because their mil SF had great female characters.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 11:59 AM (jR7Wy)

313
That was the monster from IT. A real letdown, if you ask me.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 11:48 AM (Edob3)

And it was even worse than the alien reveal at the end of that M. Night Shyamalan movie "Signs".

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 30, 2015 11:59 AM (rEr+Q)

314 Posted by: Brother Cavil, hither and yon at August 30, 2015 11:56 AM (m9V0o)

True, if the muse hits.

I'm looking forward to his work in the upcoming MHI anthology. His stories will be set in my hometown Seattle during my high-school years. It'll be interesting to see how well he did his homework.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 11:59 AM (Edob3)

315 Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at August 30, 2015 11:56 AM (c4yY7)

Screams From my Father, if you mean the one by the father of a Horde member.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 11:59 AM (GDulk)

316 I'm right in the middle of Almost A Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence by John Ferling. Quite lengthy (700+ pages) and a little dry in places but if the author's historical interpretation is anywhere near accurate, I'm learning a lot I didn't know about the war and I had a minor in history in kollege, FWTW. Heh. Washington is portrayed as thin-skinned and indecisive at times. I found his political insecurities a bit surprising. The book also goes in-depth into the political and military developments in the Southern states, which is usually an afterthought in many accounts. Worth a read, IMO.

Posted by: Uncle Busyhands at August 30, 2015 12:00 PM (Dwehj)

317 Signs really fell apart when it was revealed what the aliens' weakness is. Really? Why invade a planet that is lousy with such? Oh right... didn't stop the Triffids either from trying.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 12:00 PM (49rjL)

318 Thinner was a creepy story. One of the ones I remember.

Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 12:00 PM (cbfNE)

319 And it was even worse than the alien reveal at the end of that M. Night Shyamalan movie "Signs".
Posted by: OregonMuse at August 30, 2015 11:59 AM (rEr+Q)

True.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 12:01 PM (Edob3)

320
127 If you're doing military and/or sci fi contact Vox Day. He has his own publishing company, Castalia House.
They just released "SJW's Always Lie".
Contact info at Vox Popoli

Posted by: MAx at August 30, 2015 12:01 PM (LAliD)

321 The thing is, with traditional publishing and print suffering so badly, the last thing they should be doing is annoying their customers, making themselves toxic to the public, and publishing drek nobody wants to buy or read except a small rabid group of feminist college students.

It doesn't surprise me that publishers would go along, though. They're almost uniformly hard left feminist types themselves, usually women. And not the quality, thoughtful ones, but the kind that hires only other women because men have dominated the workplace too long!

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 12:01 PM (39g3+)

322 ooh, Holst's "The Planets" is on the radio -- BBL.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 12:02 PM (jR7Wy)

323 318 Thinner was a creepy story. One of the ones I remember.
Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 12:00 PM (cbfNE)

Probably his best Bachmann story.

Although "The Running Man" made it to the big screen.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 12:02 PM (Edob3)

324 280 Many thanks to the 'ette (?) who a while back recommended "The Traveling Vampire Show," by Richard Laymon. Serious, serious creep factor. I couldn't put it down. It was reminiscent of "Stand By Me" in terms of setting, mood and characters and I felt like I was in that small town on the muggy overcast day the story takes place. If you're looking for "escapist" reading, this is it.

And, thanks, OM, I clicked the link and "Tinfoil" was still free for download.
Posted by: RushBabe at August 30, 2015 11:48 AM (1WSHx)

Sounds like SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, I liked the story and the movie.

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at August 30, 2015 12:02 PM (c4yY7)

325 229 Went down to the crossroads...

Posted by: MAx at August 30, 2015 12:03 PM (LAliD)

326 Maybe it's like a lottery. Or like American Idol. It's not about talent, it's about being in the right place at the right time, and you cannot predict how that will happen. Just be there... wherever there is, and it could be YOUR turn!
Posted by: BurtTC at August 30, 2015 11:39 AM (Dj0WE)

--The Black Swan Theory of literature?
Posted by: logprof at August 30, 2015 11:45 AM (vsbNu)

Yeah, I guess so, but not quite. I assume there is something happening behind the scenes that causes the result, and is not so unpredictable after all, but entirely within the control of those who tend to profit from such things.

In other words, what may look random to you and me is indeed, not random at all, but is carefully planned, and we will never get a full view of what went into said planning.

Posted by: BurtTC at August 30, 2015 12:03 PM (Dj0WE)

327 There's a funny library graphic over at http://www.bookwormroom.com/ (the top post) - you have to scroll through a lot of other political ones...

Posted by: Lizzy at August 30, 2015 12:03 PM (NOIQH)

328 Oh right... didn't stop the Triffids either from trying.

If I remember correctly, the Triffids (in the book) were from earth, a botanical experiment gone wrong. The meteors just blinded everyone, making them easier prey for the plants.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 12:03 PM (39g3+)

329 Debit cards. I changed banks a couple of years ago, but before the one I was using was bought out by a group which didn't bother with trivia like identity protection, they had a rule. Since I lived in an area with casinos, I was only allowed to make one substantial purchase via card per day. There had been a total limit so that I could only make a purchase like a new computer via check, until I complained. There was also a weekly limit on how much cash I could withdraw. These were to make it more difficult to quickly gamble life savings away, even though I've never spent any money in a casino other than on food in my life. However, I could drive out of state, even use my card overseas without notifying the bank at all.

Posted by: Graves at August 30, 2015 12:03 PM (3MEXB)

330 Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 12:01 PM (39g3+)

They've convinced themselves that it is good and right to exclude audience to rock their hobbyhorses, because they are noble and enlightened and you must be made so too.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 12:04 PM (Edob3)

331 Hugos have Dixie Chicked themselves. If TOR wants to survive they will reverse course. Scalzi had a couple of good books but Dixie Chicked himself.

Posted by: Spade at August 30, 2015 12:04 PM (PGh+Q)

332 Although "The Running Man" made it to the big screen.

Honestly I liked his Bachmann stuff better than the rest. Thinner was actually made into a quite solid film.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 12:05 PM (39g3+)

333 Thank you very much for another excellent book posting. Reading it, and the comments here, are one of the highlights of my Sundays.

Two quick comments:

* First, with regard to using class-based arguments, I believe that tit-for-tat is appropriate: Anyone who does that to us should expect to have us use those arguments against them. Those who don't, won't. When they stop doing it, we will too.

* I am very dubious about lists of N-best "conservative" novels. First of all, it restricts conservatives to a subcategory of fiction at large, with the assumption that the mainstream is "liberal". Secondly, who's to decide what's conservative and what isn't? For example, is "Huckleberry Finn" a "conservative" book? By the standards of its time, no; but by the standards of ours, in its truth-telling and open-mindedness, it's very conservative. Being "conservative" is an emotional attitude, of wanting to preserve what already exists from gratuitous change; but the question of what *what* it is that you want to preserve varies drastically from one generation to the next. I would have been counted a liberal in the 1960s, becaues I believed in freedom of speech for everyone, and the dismantling of all race- and sex-based distinctions in the law. My position hasn't changed from then to now, but now that makes me a conservative, while it's the so-called liberals who want to preserve racism and restrict the first amendment. So, these lists tell us a lot more about their compilers than they do about the books, or about conservatism.

OK, that second point wasn't so brief.

As for what I'm reading ... being in my seventh decade, I'm doing something now that I've long wanted to do: I'm studying Latin. I've done the Great Courses' introduction to Latin (which is excellent), and am now working my way through Wheelock (also excellent). What a joy it is! And to touch the minds of people who lived over 20 centuries earlier, and see how different they were, yet how similar ... humbling, and delightful. So, I don't have much time for other material, but this fills the hours most delightfully.

Again, thanks!

Posted by: Borwn Line at August 30, 2015 12:05 PM (a5bF3)

334 Yeah I don't know for sure, but I suspect the Hugo Awards are just an object of derision and mockery at this point. I get the industry value of showing up for awards and such but I just would want nothing to do with any of it, even if nominated by some act of God. You want to give me an award? That's nice, go away.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 12:07 PM (39g3+)

335 OM, Thanks for the weekly book thread and for the puppy picture. Informative and adorable in one thread.

Posted by: JTB at August 30, 2015 12:08 PM (FvdPb)

336 9 1/2 weeks

Posted by: MAx at August 30, 2015 12:08 PM (LAliD)

337 332 Although "The Running Man" made it to the big screen.

Honestly I liked his Bachmann stuff better than the rest. Thinner was actually made into a quite solid film.
Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 12:05 PM (39g3+)

Now that you mention it, I vaguely recall a Thinner movie. I'm guessing it went nowhere, or else I would remember it better.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 12:09 PM (Edob3)

338 286 A reference to "It." Fantastic book, nails what it's like being an outcast kid, genuinely scary, knocks growing up in the 50s out of the park (I'm told by those who did), and then ends abruptly by having the antagonist be a giant spider. King wrote himself into a corner, and had a deadline, I guess.
Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at August 30, 2015 11:44 AM (yxw0r)

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

Read it again. It doesn't knock growing up in the 50's, it celebrates it. I grew up in that time and it's anything but negative.

Posted by: Soona at August 30, 2015 12:10 PM (P25Hh)

339 Christopher Taylor, you might be right about the Triffids. Been so long, down in the nooks and crannies it went.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 12:10 PM (49rjL)

340 "Day of the Triffids" by Wyndham is just a fantastic book. There's a TV version from 1981 that was very faithful to the text; I think it's on Youtube.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 12:11 PM (jR7Wy)

341 new thread

Posted by: MAx at August 30, 2015 12:12 PM (LAliD)

342 333 ... Appreciate you mentioning the Great Courses intro to Latin. We just ordered it but haven't started it yet. Good to know it's that useful.

Posted by: JTB at August 30, 2015 12:12 PM (FvdPb)

343 Many thanks to the 'ette (?) who a while back recommended "The Traveling Vampire Show," by Richard Laymon.

--

I just put it on hold at the lib. Thx for the rec.

Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 12:12 PM (cbfNE)

344 Backstory: my new job requires me to be expertly familiar with debit card transactions and the security thereof, and this issue came up in the training class this week.

My wife gets a text message to her phone anytime the card purchase exceeds $50. We were able to set the amount for notification.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at August 30, 2015 12:13 PM (ODxAs)

345 331 Hugos have Dixie Chicked themselves. If TOR wants to survive they will reverse course. Scalzi had a couple of good books but Dixie Chicked himself.
Posted by: Spade at August 30, 2015 12:04 PM (PGh+Q)

I'm not seeing that happening anytime soon. They doubled-down on Scalzi earlier this year and they treat *their own* writers (other than Scalzi) like garbage in public and loudly. All because some fans like their work.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 12:13 PM (Edob3)

346
Read it again. It doesn't knock growing up in the 50's, it celebrates it. I grew up in that time and it's anything but negative.
Posted by: Soona at August 30, 2015 12:10 PM (P25Hh)

I think what Bob is saying is that it "knocked it out of the park". In the good way.

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 12:14 PM (Edob3)

347 Scalzi had a couple of good books but Dixie Chicked himself.

Word. The SJW of the Cosmos.

Posted by: Uncle Busyhands at August 30, 2015 12:14 PM (Dwehj)

348 Doesn't anyone read the classics anymore? My Archie collection is kept in my time out room where I get sent when Hillary drops by to check her top secret emails on Huma's laptop. I just love Jughead.

Posted by: Anthony Weiners Ghost at August 30, 2015 12:14 PM (N1ljp)

349 "...not about talent..." Define talent. Shades may be a 1 or 2 hit wonder. Harry Potter trailed at the end. Don't lets get started on Star Wars. In my opinion your argument doesn't lead to anything useful even if true. eg Picture of a loaf of bread to a starving man. Positive affirmation. I will write stories that sale and that I am proud of. Examples of others doing so surround me and I learn what to do and what not to do from them. I have a place in the marketplace and I discover it. Louise Hay, Hay House :-)

Posted by: Spade at August 30, 2015 12:15 PM (PGh+Q)

350 But has anyone compiled a link/post that has all of the horde books in one place?
Posted by: RWC- TEAM BOHICA at August 30, 2015 10:47 AM (9jeGC)

I have often wondered the same.

Also I need to find a way to generate passive income to defray kid's college costs.

Would you guys go to a site with lists like that if it had ads?
Books that are pro -america
Books by regulars of blog x
Etc...

Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 12:19 PM (cbfNE)

351 Louise Hay, you really are a guru of the self-help niche.

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 12:20 PM (49rjL)

352 re Scalzi and TOR doing fine. Dixie Chicks had one album after their downfall. The political funny money that has been keeping this stuff afloat (see Clinton book advance)s will go away soon. I'm basing that belief on China's recent devaluing of their money. In the short run the dollar is about to become a hard currency again.

Posted by: Spade at August 30, 2015 12:23 PM (PGh+Q)

353 of the Triffids" by Wyndham is just a fantastic book. There's a TV version from 1981 that was very faithful to the text; I think it's on Youtube.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 12:11 PM (jR7Wy)

That's the BBC version, also try TRIPODS

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at August 30, 2015 12:26 PM (c4yY7)

354 346
Read it again. It doesn't knock growing up in the 50's, it celebrates it. I grew up in that time and it's anything but negative.
Posted by: Soona at August 30, 2015 12:10 PM (P25Hh)

I think what Bob is saying is that it "knocked it out of the park". In the good way.
Posted by: Jeff Weimer at August 30, 2015 12:14 PM (Edob3)

Sorry, had to go get donuts for the beloved parasites.

Yes, absolutely, I meant he does a good job describing it.

Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at August 30, 2015 12:30 PM (yxw0r)

355 Ugh, Fever Pitch remake - the English version is better.

Posted by: Lizzy at August 30, 2015 12:31 PM (NOIQH)

356 That's the BBC version, also try TRIPODS

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at August 30, 2015 12:26 PM (c4yY7)

That was the best TV series that ended prematurely because they ran out of money.

The Tripod books by John Christopher were fantastic YA reads, by the way. With dystopian sci-fi featuring teenage heroes being all the rage in Hollywood these days, it's a mystery as to why these books haven't been adapted for the large screen.

The movie versions would make a crap ton of money, I'd bet.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 30, 2015 12:35 PM (rEr+Q)

357 The movie versions would make a crap ton of money, I'd bet.
Posted by: OregonMuse at August 30, 2015 12:35 PM (rEr+Q)
---
Even looking at the book covers used to freak me out as a kid.

And concur..wonder why they haven't been made into movies.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 12:38 PM (jR7Wy)

358 And concur..wonder why they haven't been made into movies.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 12:38 PM (jR7Wy)

FWIW, I read somewhere a while back that John Christopher is quite conservative.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 30, 2015 12:39 PM (rEr+Q)

359 Even looking at the book covers used to freak me out as a kid.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 12:38 PM (jR7Wy)

Those covers were great. I still remember them, over 40 years later.

Did you ever read the fourth book in the series, When The Tripods Came?

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 30, 2015 12:42 PM (rEr+Q)

360 If you were an Ewok, my love
---------------------------------
An Ewok, even a small one, would never have to stand against five blustering SJWs soaked in gin and malice. An Ewok would bare its fangs and they would cower. They'd hide beneath the tables instead of knocking them over. They'd grasp each other for comfort instead of seizing the pool cues with which they beat you, calling you a closet fag, a cuckservative, a RINO, a sexist, a racist, every epithet they could think of, regardless of whether it had anything to do with you or not, shouting and shouting as you slid to the floor in the slick of your own blood.

Posted by: Vespers O'Houlihan at August 30, 2015 12:43 PM (P6Jv8)

361 Did you ever read the fourth book in the series, When The Tripods Came?
Posted by: OregonMuse at August 30, 2015 12:42 PM (rEr+Q)
----
No I did not! I see it's a prequel. Well now I want to reread the series. Must have the original covers though!

Pro tip: Careful when searching on "tripod" in Amazon.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 12:55 PM (jR7Wy)

362 Well, I suppose I should have written a disclaimer when I suggested "Icebreaker!" I don't know if I believe it or not, but he makes some interesting arguments and he was in a position to know. My friend, who lent me the books, is a Russian immigrant who grew up during the Cold War and escaped. He's a scientist (and Climate Denier!1111!!!!Eleventy) and seems very much convinced by the arguments Suvorov makes. I'm looking forward to reading the other books as they are really fascinating.

Regarding Debit Cards, I use USAA and have informed them whenever I have travelled. I had to drive through Canada, to Alaska, last year and even though I had informed them of it, their system still kept freezing my card. I had to get some supervisor to unlock everything and even then it was a pain in the ass because I was in Northern BC which is not famous for its cellphone coverage! Despite this, I am thankful for it because someone in BC swiped my card number and charged $600 at a sporting goods store while I was on the road. They caught it and immediately called to ask if this was legit. In this day and age of identity theft and credit card theft, I choose the "better safe than sorry" route.

Posted by: Feynmangroupie at August 30, 2015 01:03 PM (Yh/Wb)

363 I am wondering why John Buchan is listed as being an exception to the "British-centered" list of conservative authors.

Buchan was a Scot from a noble family. Became Lord Tweedsmuir upon the passing of his father. He was a good friend of T.E. Lawrence, and lived right down the road from him. The recurring character in the Richard Hannay books, Sandy Arbuthnot, is pretty much based on Lawrence.

Buchan was appointed Governor-General of Canada, the last non-Canadian to serve in that role, and was much beloved here. He died in Canada in 1940, IIRC, still serving as GG.

I would highly recommend any of his books to fellow Morons. His novels are fun spy/war/adventure stories. Less fantastic than some. And his non-fiction, too. He was a historian of some note. I have his book of reminiscences, "Memory Hold the Door" and it's a real window into the last decades of the British Empire.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 30, 2015 01:09 PM (aRgrb)

364 Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at August 30, 2015 09:49 AM (5buP

I think I first read "Arundel" when I was 17. I've read it several times since then. I've read several of Roberts' other novel including Oliver Wiswell (sp?) which is the story of the American revolution told from the perspective of someone who0 fought on the British side in the American revolution. Ver interesting and well written. Yes, Arundel would make a good film, Maybe it was made into one years ago if I recall correctly..

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 30, 2015 01:11 PM (OSs/l)

365 Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at August 30, 2015 01:09 PM (aRgrb)

Wow, he was prolific. Just got a couple of his free adventure stories for the Kindle. If I like them it looks like there are several collections to choose from.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 01:21 PM (GDulk)

366 Health warning: reading the book thread excessively may cause your debit card to spontaneously combust
--------------------

I never make it through the thread without placing an order, dammit.

This week, it was Shelley's Heart. Found a hardback copy, $9.99, incl. shipping. Headed for OBX in three weeks, figure I'll read it while there.

Thanks to whichever Moron(ette) suggested 'Sog: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam'. Halfway through. They were busy, busy guys. Balls, titanium.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at August 30, 2015 01:25 PM (9mTYi)

367 Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 30, 2015 01:11 PM (OSs/l)

In my misspent youth, I read every Kenneth Roberts book I could get my hands on!

Posted by: Borwn Line at August 30, 2015 12:05 PM (a5bF3)

Posted by: JTB at August 30, 2015 12:12 PM (FvdPb)

Are you referring to the Great Courses:

Latin 101: Learning a Classical Language by

Professor Hans-Friedrich Mueller Ph.D. ?

Posted by: Hrothgar at August 30, 2015 01:28 PM (ftVQq)

368 Posted by: Hrothgar at August 30, 2015 01:28 PM (ftVQq)
---
All old dead white punks.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 01:34 PM (jR7Wy)

369 I have met and hung out with Ringo, Kratman, Mad Mike Williamson, and met Toni Weisskopf a couple times. Really, I wanted to make sure Toni got her award, and she got screwed. And what is more diverse than trying to make sure a Jewish woman gets her due after a career in the profession?

And yes, I get to meet the International Lord of Hate- Correia is coming this year.

Posted by: Colonel Kurtz at August 30, 2015 01:36 PM (qj9hG)

370 Kratman's steely-eyed photo looks like a war crimes wanted poster.

Williams' "Better to Beg Forgiveness" is one of my favorites.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 01:42 PM (jR7Wy)

371 #136

GRR Martin was a big fanboy before he was a published writer. He has been VERY active in fandom since the early 70s. His activity now is not him doing his own PR, it's him living the life he has always lead. This is a guy who regularly attended the Hugos in full tails and a top hat, something most men might only wear on their wedding day. If they're British.

The difference today is that HBO will pay his expenses to be at something major like ComicCon. WorldCon is a backwater by comparison, with orders of magnitude fewer attendees.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 30, 2015 01:43 PM (IdCqF)

372 One Suvorov book has been reviewed on the HQ:

Posted by: link at August 30, 2015 01:51 PM (yPsNs)

373 #370, had lunch with him a couple years ago, and he retaliated by nearly killing me off as a minor character in the third Countdown novel.

Posted by: Colonel Kurtz at August 30, 2015 01:56 PM (qj9hG)

374 People who want the background on the SJW rampage through SF that lead to the sad puppies campaign should read here.

Posted by: Lawrence Person at August 30, 2015 02:06 PM (zPalU)

375 Let's try that again: http://goo.gl/vkXmLf

Posted by: Lawrence Person at August 30, 2015 02:08 PM (zPalU)

376 I'm reading "Chrysler's Turbine Car: The Rise and Fall of Detroit's Coolest Creation."

Posted by: The Osprey at August 30, 2015 02:09 PM (3TviK)

377 Does anyone know the name of the Nelson DeMille book Rush alluded to this week?

He said the story was about Russians who attended special classes to become highly proficient in the English language and everything American (to the point of being better patriots than native borns). The came to America as spies and worked in all walks of life, including plumbers.

Posted by: RushBabe at August 30, 2015 02:09 PM (1WSHx)

378 That is one ensaddened puppy. Someone please give it some bacon.

Posted by: The Osprey at August 30, 2015 02:10 PM (3TviK)

379 Finished Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog).

Very droll. I laughed out loud and snorted a few times. Pretty good, and unlikely, for 1889 humor. The pineapple can segment was OK, but there are better passages in the book.
------------

If you liked that, you will love "Diary of a Nobody" by George and Weedon Grossmith. Available for free at gutenberg.org. It's much funnier. Also at gutenberg, "Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures" by Douglas Jerrold, a Punch writer. Both are laugh-out-loud funny. And both books have excellent audio versions at librivox by the same narrator. He really has the feel for it. I've listened to them more than once.

Posted by: microcosme at August 30, 2015 02:13 PM (8QCtS)

380 In general, SFF publishing of the traditional sort is dying. The Publishers' Weekly annual reports on sales in recent years have been alarming in the disparity the numbers for SFF and all other fiction genres. If it weren't propped up by Hollywood as a feeder, this genre would be on the verge of no longer being tracked and the publishers shutting down their specialty imprints.

But if you include self-publishing and small independent publishers in the e-book market, the genre is doing fine to the extent it can be tracked. Authors are taking their SFF novels to the YA market when they can, which pulls some major numbers away from SFF. Self-publishers can be especially hard to track as they increasingly see direct payment via their site's tip jar by those who torrented the books first and decided they were worthy of payment after reading. This is certainly the route I'd take for anything out of Tor these days. Sending five bucks to the author while bypassing a publishers that openly hates me seems like an entirely logical course.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 30, 2015 02:14 PM (IdCqF)

381 I forgot to mention "The Pickwick Papers" if you want to read something hilarious.

Posted by: microcosme at August 30, 2015 02:16 PM (8QCtS)

382 That's very interesting, Epobirs. I wonder if writers (and readers, many of whom are adults) are retreating to the YA fiction format because it isn't so heavily politicized and is just straight storytelling.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 02:18 PM (jR7Wy)

383 377 I think the Nelson DeMille book is The Charm School. A bit dated in my opinion, but worth a read if you like that kind of thing.

Posted by: cool breeze at August 30, 2015 02:20 PM (6Cu7i)

384 The Bush girls were persecuted and bullied, IMO, stace. I have to hand it to the one who goes on NBC every day.

Posted by: PJ at August 30, 2015 02:20 PM (cHuNI)

385 Backstory: my new job requires me to be expertly familiar with debit
card transactions and the security thereof, and this issue came up in
the training class this week.

Why can't the banks just send you a text or email, which you can then answer, if you are in another country and use your card? Trying to get them on the phone is ridiculous. Either you can hear or they can't hear. I spent half a day with a kindly concierge trying to get my effing Chase card active again.

Posted by: PJ at August 30, 2015 02:23 PM (cHuNI)

386 #377

Sounds like the 'Charm School.'

There is also this goofy movie in which John Travolta and Arye Gross think they're going to Nebraska but are actually taken to a town run by the KGB to create sleeper agents:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097314/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Posted by: Epobirs at August 30, 2015 02:24 PM (IdCqF)

387 Posted by: PJ at August 30, 2015 02:23 PM (cHuNI)

I didn't have phone or text in Mongolia, but did have e-mail through my Kindle if there was a hot-spot (so at least in the hotel lobby). Fortunately, the small Texas bank that generally annoys me wasn't a problem at all in this case.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at August 30, 2015 02:26 PM (GDulk)

388 I decide to try Amazon Kindle unlimited. I don't really know how it works though. If I get a "read for free" book is it mine? does it stay in my library when I'm done reading it? does it go away if I cancel Kindle unlimited? do the authors make any money? So may questions!

I downloaded a book by Steven Konkoly, "the Jakarta Pandemic." It is about a flu pandemic that wipes out a large chunk of humankind and the story of a well prepared family and their interactions with the neighborhood. I really liked it and got the next book, "The Perseid Collapse."

Posted by: lindafell de Spair at August 30, 2015 02:26 PM (xVgrA)

389 [Anna Puma] I am a moron cover designer and formatter including paperbacks if you need one. coversbykaren.com

Posted by: microcosme at August 30, 2015 02:33 PM (8QCtS)

390 For the record, I - as a Rabid Puppy nominee for the Campbell at Sasaquan - was interviewed by Amy Wallace for almost a half-hour. A lot of what she wrote is flatly contradicted by what I said, but nothing I said is quoted or referred to. She cannot claim to be writing out of ignorance. She seemed polite and friendly, but she is not. She's got her agenda (or perhaps her marching orders, it matters not from whence the spin motivation originates), and facts of other views need not apply.

Perhaps the fact that I had my own digital voice recorder on the
table recording our conversation meant it was safer to simply not use my
input when her misrepresentation of it could be so easily refuted.
ALWAYS record your interview!

Also for the record, I may have lost by a record percentage of votes. :-) THANK YOU to all 68 that voted for me, even though I was at the very bottom of ever list that had me on it at all.

Sasquan was an interesting experience - I was totally ignored. Not attacked, not feted, just ignored. No panels, no personal insults, just ignored. Meh. Watching them burn down their own award and think it a win was a fascinating bit of field research in social psych. Some of the panels were interesting, some had panelists saying things that were jaw-droppingly stupid (particularly in the "sex and violence in YA SF" panel - holy cow!), many seemed more like old friends reminiscing with the other members of the "in crowd."

#382 - YA *is* rather politicized, just in a different way.

Posted by: Rolf at August 30, 2015 02:34 PM (n+40i)

391 I almost never use my debit card. It can be used to wipe you account out and it could be a while, if ever, to get your money back. I use a CC and just pay the balance off every month. Amex is excellent about taking care of CC fraud and I never have to tell them I'm traveling. Master Card can be a tiny hassle as you have to sign paper work to process the fraud claim. I usually let MC know if I'm traveling because they have declined my card before.

Posted by: lindafell de Spair at August 30, 2015 02:34 PM (xVgrA)

392 Slightly OT -- SJWs trying to take control over the culture, including Tech. E.g., Ellen Pao at Kleiner, Perkins & Reddit.

I'm sad to see the Mozilla Foundation succumb -- the folks who build the Firefox web browser. I had hoped that the disgraceful canning of Brendan Eich over his private contribution to California's Prop 8 donation was a mistake that was rectified. Eich was a major wizard for the browser.

Now, we have "An anonymous person complaining about 'social justice bullies' at Mozilla will be fired if the person is discovered to be an employee, the company's CEO said today...."

"The Reddit user welcomed Koehler's exit. 'Frankly everyone was glad to see the back of Christie Koehler. She was batshit insane and permanently offended at everything,'"

http://bit.ly/1NzWhDM

So, for me, Mozilla/Firefox goes the way of Tor and the Dixie Chicks.

Posted by: doug at August 30, 2015 02:38 PM (170jh)

393 377 Does anyone know the name of the Nelson DeMille book Rush alluded to this week?

He said the story was about Russians who attended special classes to become highly proficient in the English language and everything American (to the point of being better patriots than native borns). The came to America as spies and worked in all walks of life, including plumbers.
Posted by: RushBabe at August 30, 2015 02:09 PM (1WSHx)

--Sounds like the FX show The Americans. (Worth watching, BTW.)

Posted by: logprof at August 30, 2015 02:45 PM (vsbNu)

394 #382

It's where the money is. It has always been very hard to make a good living as an out of the closet, so to speak, SF writer. Those who really made a good living at it and didn't need to pursue other work were those whose reach extended beyond typical SF readers.

When I started going to cons in the early 80s, one of the things that struck me was how some very big names in the field were dressed shabbily and not just because they were nerds too. You could recognize the successful nerds by their clothing being casual but not worn or in disrepair. I also picked up from conversations that many would have to leave early Sunday morning, if they weren't local to the site, to be home in time to have a decent night's sleep before showing up at their real job Monday morning. They had classes to teach, most often.

Technically, a lot of the people were making enough money to lead a middle-class existence but that isn't the complete calculation in the modern world. If they became full-time writers, they'd be on their own for things like medical coverage for themselves and families. In some cases they did give up their day job but it meant their spouse's job and its benefits became critical to their financial survival. This is just one of the ways self-employment changed in the post-WWII world, largely for the worse.

A lot of big names fell upon severe hard times when they got too old to keep working. Without new books their backlist would fall out of print. I know of at least five cases where people whose name would be widely recognized at any con were on the verge of homelessness because they'd stopped earning and never made proper provision for the situation.

Self-publishing has rescued some. I tried to help with reviving some backlists that way but all too often it was too late and the author wasn't well enough to provide the input I required to get them set up on Amazon and the other major venues. I a;ways feared taking liberties and putting myself in legal jeopardy if someone decided I was taking advantage.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 30, 2015 02:46 PM (IdCqF)

395 I usually only buy something every now and then after reading the book thread. Most of it goes on my wish list.

But today, after following through on links and recommendations, I've spent over $300 and ignored all the stuff on my to-do list. At least I should be covered until Christmas.

Next week, I shall lock away my debit card and set a kitchen timer or something.

( . . . Aw, who am I kidding . . . .)

Posted by: Elinor, Who Usually Looks Lurkily at August 30, 2015 02:54 PM (NqQAS)

396 #388

No, the book is not yours to keep. It is effectively a rental. Imagine if you never had to wait for one of the limited number of copies of a popular book to become available at your local library. Would you pay for that convenience? This is it.

Yes, the authors get paid. Amazon is very good about this. Their new Amazon Underground initiative is doing something similar for free to play Android apps. Rather than download a game for free or a minimal amount and then being hit up for more money to unlock everything beyond a certain point, Amazon is pushing the idea of 'Truly Free' to the consumers. You get the game with everything unlocked and the creator of the game is paid based on how much time you spend playing the game. Amazon get some loyal customers and the app makers make money off people who otherwise would never make an in-app purchase.

Posted by: Epobirs at August 30, 2015 02:55 PM (IdCqF)

397 Posted by: DonnaV. (brandisher of ampersands) at August 30, 2015 10:27 AM (+XMAD)

Donna, look for Great Courses done by Patric Allitt. Every one of his courses that I have listened to has been great, even subjects that I would otherwise have no interest in learning about.

My library has several shelves of Great Courses CDs which makes it affordable for me to lessen the pain of a long daily commute by listening to the Great Courses. You might want to lobby your local library to do the same thing.

Posted by: Obnoxious A-Hole at August 30, 2015 02:57 PM (QHgTq)

398 367 ... Hrothgar, Yes, that's the course I was thinking of. Couldn't recall the exact title.

Posted by: JTB at August 30, 2015 03:01 PM (FvdPb)

399 Regarding debit cards:

I don't use a debit card, but I commonly have my credit cards declined, even though I have a relatively high credit limit. My solution has been to carry at least two cards. One has always gone through. I also keep the credit card customer service number handy (see the last paragraph).

About a week ago, I had a card declined after I bought three firearms at a gun show and then was buying a couple of bricks of ammunition. The ammunition guy told me that it was very common for cards to be declined at gun shows because it's a suspicious pattern for someone to make multiple large purchases through different places at almost the same time.

Since the various reps at the show process through their home company, it looks like you have someone making relatively large purchases in different cities and/or states one right after the other. Since many people pick up ammo on the way out, it's often at the ammo dealer where the purchase is declined.

About two weeks before that, I had a card declined. When I called about it, someone was buying a few thousand dollars worth of merchandise on my card in Rhode Island, a state I have never visited. They had declined all but the first buy -- of something at a hardware store, and then froze the card. They cancelled my card and sent me a new one.

About two months before that, someone *else* started using the number of yet another card to make purchases at Amazon (I think), which again had to be cancelled and re-issued.

With that pattern, I'm not surprised to find out that my card has been declined. So, I just keep the customer service number in my cell phone and give them a call when it happens. The one that declines my card the most (USAA) is happy to re-authorize it as soon as I tell them that it's really me, and it's done *immediately* as soon as I hang up the phone. It's easier just to use the second card and call later, but I've called before while making the purchase, and had it authorized while I was at the cashier. I'd rather that than deal with all the fraud.

Posted by: billo at August 30, 2015 03:06 PM (7t15L)

400 "before you embark on one of your trips, do you have to contact your bank
or financial institution and tell them what states you'll be traveling
to so your debit card purchases won't automatically be declined, or does
your debit card simply work wherever you go?"

Oregon, I never use my debit card anywhere but at ATM's, and I've never had a problem as long as I pay the ATM fee. However, I've gotten EXACTLY that reaction from all three of my personal credit cards at one point or another (Corporate card has never had a problem). No warning, just lock the card until I call in and review my purchases for 1-3 days. I finally convinced them that a) I'm an IT consultant who's on the road 80% or more, and b) put a flag on my cards indicating that.

Posted by: SDN at August 30, 2015 03:20 PM (OtK6l)

401 Just great, dammit! After all the good recommendations for Kenneth Roberts books I'll have to add them to the list. To make matters worse, our local library doesn't carry any of his books. To make matters worser, there's an edition of Arundel with N. C. Wyeth illustrations which means it is a mandatory acquisition. Sigh.

Quick cabby, to the used book store!

Posted by: JTB at August 30, 2015 03:22 PM (FvdPb)

402 Anyone no what the story with the curtain call video in the sidebar is about. Watched about five minutes. Obviously there's a back story. Wth?

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at August 30, 2015 03:24 PM (gCeSe)

403 Aaaand now the video is gone. Literally nothing to see here, move along.

Posted by: weirdflunkyonatablet at August 30, 2015 03:28 PM (gCeSe)

404 Misc. comments: I collected Kenneth Roberts some years ago until a move forced a radical downsize. For several years I couldn't think about the books without deep sadness.

Thanks, miscrcosme, for the librivox recommendations; I've downloaded both titles and look forward to listening to them.

Also, thanks for the head's-up about The Great Courses. I plan to check them out and no doubt will sign up for the music appreciation series.

Posted by: aposemat at August 30, 2015 03:35 PM (+HLWj)

405 Calling 'BS' on that Erasmus quote.

The guy didn't even speak English!
Posted by: socalcon at August 30, 2015 10:42 AM (lHASK)

I have that quote written down somewhere, and I don't recall it being Erasmus either. Thomas Jefferson comes to mind, though.

Posted by: RushBabe at August 30, 2015 03:43 PM (1WSHx)

406 I don't recall it being Erasmus

I've only ever seen it attributed to Erasmus. Never seen a source. It is, however, rather similar to Chaucer's description of the Clerk of Oxenford in the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales, who spends all his money on books.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at August 30, 2015 03:45 PM (iuQS7)

407 (That last sentence could have been structured better. Sorry.)

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at August 30, 2015 03:47 PM (iuQS7)

408 I can't be the only person who hasn't read "50 Shades", can I?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Michigangsta at August 30, 2015 10:47 AM (jR7Wy)

Nope. Wouldn't even do it on a bet.

Posted by: RushBabe at August 30, 2015 03:50 PM (1WSHx)

409 What's SFWA's position on all this bruhaha? Should we just rename it TORFest and have done?

Posted by: mojo at August 30, 2015 03:56 PM (OmBeX)

410 140
132 Probably is only being used in college classes; they

always insanely overcharge for college books. Having self published I

know exactly how much books actually cost for POD, so there's simply no

excuse for how much they charge. Yes, small orders are more expensive

for the publisher, but on the level of $30, not $120.

Posted by: Christopher Taylor at August 30, 2015 10:36 AM (39g3+)

College
textbooks are a great rip-off. I had a textbook of SC History that is
used at USC. Cost me a fortune. I loaned it to someone and don't
remember who and have never got it back.

Argh, as someone who is a college prof and tries NOT to pick the most expensive version, but has to balance quality with price- it is not an easy choice. And I am in an area where content changes rapidly, so it is hard to use an old edition. I will say (in the business school) most of the textbooks have a great deal of online content- so you are not just purchasing a book, but either software (statistical for one class I teach) or online learning exercises. One of the books I use has this great software that asks students to answer a question about a topic and rate how confident they are in the answer. Then it learns what the student does and does not know and tailors the questions. Now, if I can just get the student to use it since most of them will not read the book (and that just floors me, why buy it if you are not going to read it).

Posted by: Charlotte at August 30, 2015 04:01 PM (5etLx)

411 391 linda, we are the same. Use cc for fraud protection and pay off at the end of the month.

Posted by: @votermom at August 30, 2015 04:03 PM (cbfNE)

412 microcosme, not sure how to parse your comment.

Can you point me to cover art you have done?

Posted by: Anna Puma at August 30, 2015 04:11 PM (49rjL)

413 Hello Auntie Doodles: Susan Howach's ecclesiastical series had me transfixed through a European trip. DH was out looking at Antwerp art galleries, I was on a sofa in the hotel with SH, eating incomparable asparagus.

Am enjoying (audio) The Search for Thomas Browne by Hugh Aldersey-Williams, about an 18th C. essayist; and perversely (wholesome values, dismal developments) enjoyed (kindle) Jonathan Norrel and Mr. Strange by Susanna Clarke.

Lighter and less litr'y, can't beat for sheer diversion The Ladies Number One Detective Agency Botswana series by Alexander McCall Smith, and M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin books (mostly Kindle).

And folks, don't dismiss Terry Pratchett without trying The Truth, Going Postal, Making Money, or Night Watch. And for young girls of a certain independent stripe, the Tiffany Aching books, particularly I Shall Wear Midnight.

Powerful Christian conversion story, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield. A brilliant formerly leftist-lesbian academic "gets it," and can discuss philosophical bases, denominational culture, and worldviews better than anyone I've read. Emotional and cerebral.

Lots of years here spent nose-in-a-book....

Posted by: dilys at August 30, 2015 04:33 PM (PKVfK)

414 333
As
for what I'm reading ... being in my seventh decade, I'm doing something
now that I've long wanted to do: I'm studying Latin. I've done the
Great Courses' introduction to Latin (which is excellent), and am now
working my way through Wheelock (also excellent). What a joy it is!

I've also been studying Latin, but through my local community college. It's taken a long time and a lot of work to get to the point where it's starting to be fun.

Unexpectedly, it's turned out to be useful. Mrs. Chronda got me sucked into genealogy and I've been researching my Polish line. Catholics all, which means the records are mostly in Latin.

Posted by: Montag at August 30, 2015 04:42 PM (o78gS)

415 I haven't recent the last two books in the "Ladies Number One Detective Agency" but the other ones were great..

I've read a number of Susan Howatch's books and enjoyed them.

I heard Rosaria Champagne Butterfield give a lecture which was broadcast over the radio in connection with some Reformation/Lutheran Ministry and yes, indeed, her message was very powerful. I'll have to look for her book.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at August 30, 2015 04:48 PM (OSs/l)

416 I was at the Hugos; the No Awards were pretty ugly. Major Orwellian vibe, doublespeak followed by truncated two-minute hates, more doublespeak about diversity. Some dizzy dame worked "Black Lives Matter" into her acceptance speech to great approval. Besides all the horseshit the rest of the ceremony was a lot of fun, though.

Posted by: SplatticusFinch at August 30, 2015 04:57 PM (2z4UX)

417 Powerful Christian conversion story, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield. A brilliant formerly leftist-lesbian academic "gets it," and can discuss philosophical bases, denominational culture, and worldviews better than anyone I've read. Emotional and cerebral.
Lots of years here spent nose-in-a-book....
Posted by: dilys at August 30, 2015 04:33 PM (PKVfK)

I mentioned Butterfield in the book thread a few weeks back. When I first encountered her, I thought she was going to be explaining how Christianity is just fine with her lesbianism, but she's not like that at all.

Posted by: OregonMuse at August 30, 2015 05:00 PM (Eieiq)

418 Sounds like SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, I liked the story and the movie.
Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at August 30, 2015 12:02 PM (c4yY7)

Ooooookay. It's definitely well-known, just one I've never read. I'll get on it this week.

(And thanks again, naturalfake! It was just what the doctor ordered after being subjected to the horror that is going on in our country the past seven years.)

Posted by: RushBabe at August 30, 2015 06:15 PM (1WSHx)

419 I downloaded a book by Steven Konkoly, "the Jakarta Pandemic." It is about a flu pandemic that wipes out a large chunk of humankind and the story of a well prepared family and their interactions with the neighborhood. I really liked it and got the next book, "The Perseid Collapse."

Posted by: lindafell de Spair at August 30, 2015 02:26 PM (xVgrA)

We're on the same wavelength. I read JP. Pretty good, but not much of a plot overall. It was good enough to want to continue with the prequel, but I just couldn't get into it and put it aside on my reading cloud.

Posted by: RushBabe at August 30, 2015 06:20 PM (1WSHx)

420 393
377 Does anyone know the name of the Nelson DeMille book Rush alluded to this week?

That is The Charm School, I think.

Posted by: Linda Roberts at August 30, 2015 06:23 PM (tKcuX)

421 Anyone who wants to go to WorldCon next year to attend the business meeting should spend a bunch of time watching videos of business meetings from years past. It will help you understand what's going on a lot better. There are also some sympathetic people who regularly attend business meetings that might be able to orient you. I don't think it's a good idea to go in there cold and try to figure out what's going on as you go along. There are a number of traditions that can be confusing to outsiders.

Posted by: A SMOF at August 30, 2015 06:44 PM (Tb8YD)

422 Whew! Finally made it through the book thread and comments!

Somebody upthread mentioned Michael Crichton's "State of Fear" - it's available on Kindle for 99cents.

The book fair Laura Bush started in DC lives on and is happening this Saturday. It's under the auspice of the Library of Congress. It used to be on the Mall, but it was moved to the DC convention center a year or two ago. I've gone several times, but not the past few years. A lot of the authors were repeats and I got tired of lefty screeds from the authors. (I'm looking at you, Salman Rushdie.) I'll have to check my schedule - may go this year.

This week I've been reading Martin Cruz Smith's "Gorky Park", which I've never read before. Good mystery - very twisty - and he brings out all the oppressiveness and depressiveness of Soviet Russia. Hard to believe that's the utopia that today's lefties want to emulate.

Posted by: biancaneve at August 30, 2015 07:04 PM (kBiy2)

423 Bought some books today off the thread and read golden Isis while hiding from the afternoon heat. Enjoyed it, looking forward to more from AP.

Posted by: PaleRider at August 30, 2015 07:07 PM (iA/+T)

424 So the Great Courses is not all lefty?

Posted by: PJ at August 30, 2015 07:32 PM (cHuNI)

425 422, No, no, Biancaneve, all of Bernie Sanders' Facebook fans are absolutely convinced that there is a difference between what Bernie wants and what they got in Venezuela. Their argument? "Venezuela is a dictatorship." And yes, that's really a quote.

I read one Susan Howatch book I got by accident from the Literary Guild - remember those things? Anyway, it was "The Rich are Different" and I mostly remember people sleeping around a good bit. Maybe I'll try a different one of hers since an ette gave her a rec and it has been a really, really long time.

Posted by: Tonestaple at August 30, 2015 07:56 PM (WdorP)

426 Posted by: biancaneve at August 30, 2015 07:04 PM (kBiy2)

Martin Cruz Smith wrote several pretty good books with the same detective character (whose name escapes me now and too lazy to google). The one set principally in Havana was very well done!

Posted by: Hrothgar at August 30, 2015 08:26 PM (ftVQq)

427 The rich are different is one of my faves. And while there is sleeping around it is not graphic and never gratuitous and there is usually a strong price to be paid.

Posted by: Auntie Doodles at August 31, 2015 03:57 PM (teYv/)

428 Vox Day won the Hugos this year, thanks to the people voting No Award, because they'd rather crash the bus than let Rosa Parks sit in the front.

And it was all according to Vox's plan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZOWipBL0gM

Posted by: LcplLoPro at September 01, 2015 12:44 AM (D0cTE)

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