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Sunday Morning Book Thread 01-09-2022 [All Hail Eris]

KlementinumLibrary1.jpg

The World's Most Beautiful Library Is In Prague, Czech Republic


Good morning to you all from the stately Dungeon of Discord. Welcome once again to the classy and luxurious Sunday Morning Book Thread, that plushly appointed mosh pit of opinion, snark, choler, jest and japery, and our continuing conversation on books, reading, writing, and the culture at large. While OregonMuse is recovering from the effects of prolonged use of Pervitin, I will toss together this placesetter Book Thread with my usual slugabed skrimshankery. And please feel free to lounge poolside in your HQ onesie. I don't impose harsh moral strictures or expect my readers to obey outmoded notions of decency. If you want to do 100 Days of Dante al fresco, who am I to judge? Your natural right to cavort pantsless Shall. Not. Be. Infringed! Nor will I judge you for bowing to convention and wearing pants. Even if it's these, that maintain their crease to 66.666 fathoms. So join us in Ace's Grotto for some light refreshment and convivial conversation, and tell us what you've been reading!


Who dis:

Burt and Ava.jpeg

It Pays To Increase Your Word Power®

FORFICULA - Small scissors or shears. The Superior Person's word for nail scissors.

PISIFORM - Pea-shaped. 'Nuff said?

POGONOPHOBIA - A morbid dread of beards. The severity of this complaint is as nothing compared with the severity of its opposite number -- the morbid dread by family members of a face from which a beard has just been removed.

CLINOMANIA -- Excessive desire to stay in bed. Not a bad mania, as manias go; and a reasonably plausible excuse for taking Monday off.

((The above from "The Superior Person's Second Book of Weird and Wondrous Words" by Peter Bowler, also an essential volume in every Horde library))

ANTHROPODERMIC BIBLIOPEGY - the practice of binding books in human skin.
"Hand-tooled Italian leather" could mean something very different!


Experience the Walker Library of Human Imagination:

Oh my, some of the books in the collection. And they have a Sputnik!


Best Home Libraries in the World

I applaud the way the architects said the London client had a "book storage problem" and not a "book problem".

How the Plague Allowed Genius to Flourish

"Centuries ago, the plague forced people into quarantine for years. Isaac Newton and Galileo used the time to revolutionize the world."

Throughout history, pandemics allowed geniuses to flourish

Ignore the first paragraph (Ma-a-a-ask Up! Sta-a-a-ay safe!) and just ponder how a prolonged period of isolation and introspection can lead to something constructive, and not just becoming a sad slouching grotesque in a dark corner covered in Cheetoh dust. *brushes off self*

One of my New Year's resolutions was to read what I already have in the stacks rather then buy more books or even check them out of the library. Just turning to my left and right from my reading chair, I see:

* The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monserrat
* When the People Fell by Cordwaine Smith
* Armstrong by H.W. Crocker III
* The Door Into Summer by Robert Heinlein
* Venus, Inc. by Pohl and Cornbluth
* Chicks Ahoy! by Esther Friesner

Those're some weighty tomes there! And within arms reach. Let's not mention the other bookshelves groaning with unread books like orphans begging for alms. What poor unread waifs are lying in your To Be Read pile?

Your Favorite Book.jpg

Well that's it for this week. Get better, OregonMuse!

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM




Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Who Dis Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 09, 2022 09:00 AM (PiwSw)

2 Morning, bookists!

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:01 AM (llXky)

3 *whistles happily*

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 09, 2022 09:01 AM (PiwSw)

4 Tolle Lege

Posted by: Skip's Phone at January 09, 2022 09:02 AM (SuNCG)

5 I'm a homeschooling mom. I have BOTH a book problem and a book storage problem!

Posted by: Catherine at January 09, 2022 09:02 AM (ZSsrh)

6 Good morning. Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner.

Posted by: Tonypete at January 09, 2022 09:02 AM (mD/uy)

7 Ugh - too slow!!

Posted by: Tonypete at January 09, 2022 09:03 AM (mD/uy)

8 Thanks for filling in for OregonMuse. Hope he's back soon.

Posted by: Hans Schantz at January 09, 2022 09:03 AM (+leAG)

9 Morning, Horde...How goes it? My TBR pile seems to keep growing. Right next to me on my desk is Jack Vance's Tales of the Dying Earth, a classic in the "space fantasy" genre, though it's really just fantasy. I've read the first couple of stories, but not the whole thing. Vance is hugely influential on fantasy in many ways, as D&D's magic system is largely based on "Vancian magic."

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at January 09, 2022 09:03 AM (K5n5d)

10 I don't know who that is, but Rand Paul aspires to his hair.

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 09, 2022 09:03 AM (bKdTl)

11 d just ponder how a prolonged period of isolation and introspection can lead to something constructive, and not just becoming a sad slouching grotesque in a dark corner covered in Cheetoh dust. *brushes off self*
---
See also: Orson Wells's speech in the Third Man comparing the accomplishments of Borgia Italy with Switzerland.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:03 AM (llXky)

12 3 minutes into a post, surely I will be the first to say , Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner.....son of a B****!!!!

Posted by: ziggggyeeee at January 09, 2022 09:04 AM (AsMdZ)

13 Eris, I think you'll enjoy Door into Summer. Classic Heinlein.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 09, 2022 09:04 AM (PiwSw)

14 See also: Orson Wells's speech in the Third Man comparing the accomplishments of Borgia Italy with Switzerland.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

Reading your post instantly brought to mind the theme from the movie. Nice!

Posted by: Tonypete at January 09, 2022 09:05 AM (mD/uy)

15 When I think of the 1940s, my synesthesia sees the blue on those shelves.

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 09, 2022 09:05 AM (bKdTl)

16 So I was checking my email a couple of days ago and received one from American Pickers showing antiques for sale. I noticed a set of western book novels for Gene Autry stories. Mike wanted $89 for the three, that was price, shipping and insurance. I thought about getting them to see what older western were like, but wanted to check to see if they were juvenile books or mass market types. So I google the titles and the first hit was for e-bay. I could buy the same three books from various sellers in the same condition as Mike's books for between $3 and $7 a piece with a few dollars for shipping. So, sorry Mike, you're over priced. Anyone have cheap places to buy used books online?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 09, 2022 09:06 AM (7bRMQ)

17 One could argue that the current state of creative desolation is directly linked to prolonged peace and unprecedented prosperity.

During the 80s one at least had the Cold War and then the over-hyped AIDS thing to scare the crap out of people. People born after 1965 had no first-hand knowledge of Jim Crow and as time went on, not much personal encounter with actual, non-fake racists.

A lot of what we are seeing today is people inventing dragons to kill so that their lives have some sort of meaning.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:07 AM (llXky)

18 Well done to Shadout Mapes for a double first!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes at January 09, 2022 09:07 AM (Dc2NZ)

19 Esther Freisner's Chicks books on the shelf are the mark of a gentleman of culture.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 09:07 AM (W+kMI)

20 I don't think the pants guy needs a weedwhacker,

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 09:07 AM (arJlL)

21 Nice Lieberry!

Those pants...could come in handy to retrieve all the weapons lost in canoe accidents.

The Who Dis is Sgt. Warden trying to pick up some dame at the Aloha Sailor Wanna Hump Hump bar.

I think that book just shit a movie.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at January 09, 2022 09:07 AM (R/m4+)

22 Hiya Eris !

Nice Thread !

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 09:07 AM (arJlL)

23 Who dis: two people who got around a lot.

Posted by: dantesed at January 09, 2022 09:08 AM (88xKn)

24 Reading your post instantly brought to mind the theme from the movie. Nice!

Posted by: Tonypete at January 09, 2022 09:05 AM (mD/uy)
---
Thanks! It is one of the great "atmosphere" films of all time, isn't it? The use of light and shadow, the ominous "joint patrols," and people picking through the ruins.

Eerie.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:08 AM (llXky)

25 Yes, but you can own the books that were seen on TV... potentially.

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 09, 2022 09:08 AM (bKdTl)

26 The Who Dis is Sgt. Warden trying to pick up some dame at the Aloha Sailor Wanna Hump Hump bar.

I think that book just shit a movie.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at January 09, 2022 09:07 AM (R/m4+)
---
Ironically, by all accounts the film version of From Here to Eternity is better than the book.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:09 AM (llXky)

27 Imma just say, the fact that the Johns Hopkins professor built a library in his home that holds a ton of books and STILL has books stacked on tables makes me feel better about myself.

Posted by: Catherine at January 09, 2022 09:09 AM (ZSsrh)

28 Thank you Eris for giving us such a nice Book Thread.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 09:11 AM (45fpk)

29 Well done dear Eris!

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 09:11 AM (hOUT3)

30 Some Moron® here recommended "The Rape of the Mind", a 1950s book by Joost Meerloo.

Half way through it, as it is a new member in the rotating reading stack.

Posted by: Reuben Hick at January 09, 2022 09:11 AM (+LCoQ)

31 Anyone have cheap places to buy used books online?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 09, 2022 09:06 AM (7bRMQ)


abebooks.com has been great for me even though Bozos owns them.

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 09:12 AM (hOUT3)

32 A while back I was pimping The Spiritual Combat by Lorenzo Scupoli. It's a great book and brought me a lot of solace.

Having finished it, I gave it to a friend of mine who is transferring to a different (out of state) National Guard unit as a parting gift. I immediately missed it, and so I bought another copy.

Opening it up was like being greeted by an old friend. If you get a copy, do not read it straight through. Read only one chapter per day. That way you don't miss anything.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:12 AM (llXky)

33 17 One could argue that the current state of creative desolation is directly linked to prolonged peace and unprecedented prosperity.
=============
Japan seems unencumbered, though. Which is why I read a lot of manga, since the market there is always chasing the next big story. Maybe not 100% new, but at least interesting. See a current favorite, "Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It". It's a story about two engineering grad students at Japan's #1 tech university who fall in love and, like true engineers, trying to quantify it in terms of a proof. Hilarity and nerd humor ensues.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 09:12 AM (W+kMI)

34 Book storage problem- real even I am getting mostly eboks now. Getting more books then read - ongoing issues.

And now some my 2021 statistic:
Read 68 books
Longest book - 881 pages
Shortest - 104 pages
Most popular book on Goodreads I read - "Hillbilly Elegy" by J.D. Vance - other 697,555 people read it

Posted by: redmonkey at January 09, 2022 09:12 AM (0+Ppk)

35 Posted by: Catherine at January 09, 2022 09:09 AM (ZSsrh)

I stopped buying books I could afford because I couldn't find enough bookcases I could afford!

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 09:13 AM (hOUT3)

36 Good morning fellow Book Threadists. I hope everyone had a great week of reading.

Thanks to All Hail Eris for taking on the book thread chores this week. And prayers for OM and Mrs. OM for fast and complete healing.

Posted by: JTB at January 09, 2022 09:13 AM (7EjX1)

37 Great content, OM worthy!
Thanks Eris, and everyone who's been doing double duty.
Hope recovery is going well.

Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at January 09, 2022 09:13 AM (C/fpg)

38 As seen on TV...is that still around. Since I watch TV on the computer, the ad blocker doesn't let me see commercials anymore. So I have no idea what is in or out anymore. Note the cards in the picture with Burt and Ava in the background with the sun glass.

Posted by: Colin at January 09, 2022 09:13 AM (JV/2u)

39 They don't always have everything, but Thriftbooks.com has been my addiction since kicking my Bezos dependency. They sell on Amazon but are not owned by them. Their rewards program should come with an addiction warning, and in over a year I have not had a single order go lost/missing or be damaged.

Posted by: Catherine at January 09, 2022 09:13 AM (ZSsrh)

40 Thanks guys. Actually, thank CBD for formatting it so nicely, and to Hogmartin for the cartoon.

Let's be honest, I phoned it in this week. I offered to write it and then couldn't think of a thing. How do Ace and our COBs do it "balls to the wall" day in and day out?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes at January 09, 2022 09:14 AM (Dc2NZ)

41 I stopped buying books I could afford because I couldn't find enough bookcases I could afford!

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 09:13 AM (hOUT3)
---
For Christmas I got a small bookcase for my bedside. I have not yet filled it up, which is a minor miracle.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:14 AM (llXky)

42 How do Ace and our COBs do it "balls to the wall" day in and day out?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes at January 09, 2022 09:14 AM (Dc2NZ)


I've heard rumors that ZOD holds them at gunpoint.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 09:15 AM (45fpk)

43 39 They don't always have everything, but Thriftbooks.com has been my addiction since kicking my Bezos dependency. They sell on Amazon but are not owned by them. Their rewards program should come with an addiction warning, and in over a year I have not had a single order go lost/missing or be damaged.

Posted by: Catherine at January 09, 2022 09:13 AM (ZSsrh)
---
Ebay has some online storefronts as well. I got a great deal on some otherwise hard to find Chinese history books there not long ago.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:15 AM (llXky)

44 Let's be honest, I phoned it in this week. I offered to write it and then couldn't think of a thing. How do Ace and our COBs do it "balls to the wall" day in and day out?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes at January 09, 2022 09:14 AM (Dc2NZ)

Mountains of blow.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory at January 09, 2022 09:15 AM (WhgA7)

45 Currently reading Terry Jones' Medieval Lives, in which the Monty Python member (with some help from Alan Ereira) takes on popular misconceptions about various Medieval archetypes from the High Middle Ages, and what the actual historical record says about them. Fun stuff, and readers just might learn something new.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 09:16 AM (W+kMI)

46 I've heard rumors that ZOD holds them at gunpoint.
Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 09:15 AM (45fpk)
---

I've heard CBD likes it!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes at January 09, 2022 09:16 AM (Dc2NZ)

47 Reading "Alice Network" by Kate Quinn. Interesting read, good story line, interesting characters. Mix of spy thriller and historical fiction.

Posted by: redmonkey at January 09, 2022 09:16 AM (0+Ppk)

48 I'm out of wall space for shelving.
I use milk crates, and when I'm outta them, I used peach crates.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at January 09, 2022 09:17 AM (vuisn)

49 I've been to the Clementinum Library in Prague. Amazing room. You can't actually go inside, just look through the entrance -- don't want hundreds of people breathing moist air onto the old books and ruining the climate control.

Most amazing thing about it is that it spent about half the twentieth century hidden. When the Germans took over Prague, the librarians walled up the entrance and dismantled the grand staircase leading to it. Kept it that way until 1990.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 09, 2022 09:17 AM (QZxDR)

50 I've stopped buying physical books entirely as I am out of room and am trying to skinny down my things.

I fail every year at reading all the ones I get as gifts as it is.

I has the sadz.

Posted by: Tonypete at January 09, 2022 09:18 AM (mD/uy)

51 Book writing update: Something Something China slowed to a crawl last week. The period between the fall of the Han Dynasty and the reunification of China under the Sui is really messy and I wanted to condense it as much as possible while giving some idea of what was going on.

Finally finished that chapter last night, pushing us up to A.D. 590. Hopefully I'll be able to get back to a reasonable pace.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:19 AM (llXky)

52 Love that library in the top photo. What a beautiful way to store the treasures of the world.

Posted by: JTB at January 09, 2022 09:20 AM (7EjX1)

53 I don't read to improve my mind (and it shows). I read for fun. So I've started on the Ann Cleeves novels, both the Shetland series as well as the Vera Stanhope series. We really enjoy the TV adaptations, so I thought it would be fun to read the books. And it is!

Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 09:20 AM (45fpk)

54 Busy week so I only read one book: The Roman Way, by Edith Hamilton. It's her look at Roman culture and character through the literature of Plautus, Terence, Horace, Cicero, Juvenal, Virgil, and Livy. Great stuff. Now I want to hunt up a translation of Cicero's letters.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 09, 2022 09:20 AM (QZxDR)

55 Finished Robert Jordan's The Dragon Reborn this week. My goal is to read the rest of the series this year (one per month). It's been quite a while since I've read the early books and I have to say I think they still hold up quite well. I was thoroughly engaged right through the end. As usual, I find new ways to enjoy the material, even though I've read it several times before.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at January 09, 2022 09:21 AM (K5n5d)

56 48 I'm out of wall space for shelving.
I use milk crates, and when I'm outta them, I used peach crates.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at January 09, 2022 09:17 AM (vuisn)
---
I'm not nearly that bad. When we moved in, the house came with some built-in shelves and we brought a couple of our own. Two years ago we bought a shelf for my wife's religious collection and we were able to hold the line for a long time.

The combination of my research on the Spanish Civil War and Chinese military history was just too much. I've tried to do the "one in-one out" system as much as possible, and in fact have a small stack of books that I'm getting rid of after the latest review. If/when the kids move out, that should also help with opening up space.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:22 AM (llXky)

57 This week I've been continuing my trek through the C.J. Cherryh Union-Alliance universe with "Finity's End", about a station kid reluctantly brought aboard a Family ship. Lots of culture clashes. It also takes place postwar when all the various sides in the conflict are trying to navigate peacetime.

I think I like the series so much because it's like reading history.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes at January 09, 2022 09:23 AM (Dc2NZ)

58 Busy week so I only read one book: The Roman Way, by Edith Hamilton. It's her look at Roman culture and character through the literature of Plautus, Terence, Horace, Cicero, Juvenal, Virgil, and Livy. Great stuff. Now I want to hunt up a translation of Cicero's letters.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 09, 2022 09:20 AM (QZxDR)

I have that book. She also wrote The Greek Way. I probably have Cicero's letters somewhere....

Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 09, 2022 09:23 AM (7bRMQ)

59 A while back I did some purging of my shelves, to make room for new stuff. But since then there have been a couple of occasions when I found myself wishing for a copy of one of those books I was certain I'd never need again.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 09, 2022 09:24 AM (QZxDR)

60 44 Let's be honest, I phoned it in this week. I offered to write it and then couldn't think of a thing. How do Ace and our COBs do it "balls to the wall" day in and day out?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes at January 09, 2022 09:14 AM (Dc2NZ)

Mountains of blow.

Posted by: Mr Aspirin Factory


And hooker breaks.

Posted by: Charlie Sheen at January 09, 2022 09:24 AM (g98Pl)

61 Continuing with the annual reading of LOTR. (Yeah, I know. Big surprise, right?)

I'm playing with the idea of listening to the new Andy Sirkis version on CD and reading along. It would add to the time it takes to finish but I'm in no hurry. Combining the narration with the so familiar words on the page could be interesting.

Posted by: JTB at January 09, 2022 09:25 AM (7EjX1)

62 I went to the library this week, and wandered out of the Large Print section into the normal people section. They had an entire shelf of black-bound Agatha Christie. It must have been her entire collection. I so wanted to check some of them out, but the print was teeny tiny. Only mice could read it I'm sure. So I had to pass.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 09:26 AM (45fpk)

63 Now I'm currently reading A.A. Attanasio's The Shadow Eater. It's part of his Dominions of Irth series, though it's not really a direct sequel to the previous novel. Although the characters and plot are a bit lacking, the world-building and figurative language are extremely well done.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at January 09, 2022 09:27 AM (K5n5d)

64 Deep pants.

Posted by: f'd at January 09, 2022 09:27 AM (vrz2I)

65 61 Continuing with the annual reading of LOTR. (Yeah, I know. Big surprise, right?)

I'm playing with the idea of listening to the new Andy Sirkis version on CD and reading along. It would add to the time it takes to finish but I'm in no hurry. Combining the narration with the so familiar words on the page could be interesting.

Posted by: JTB


Like reading the lyrics while listening to a record album.

Posted by: davidt at January 09, 2022 09:27 AM (g98Pl)

66 I'm going to be purging a good chunk of my Stephen King collection. I've got quite a few hardcovers, so I'm hoping they'll fetch a decent price

Posted by: No One of Consequence at January 09, 2022 09:28 AM (CAJOC)

67 Still reading , well into it but can't find time to continue Enemy at the Gate by William Craig.
Lots of holes in grocery store shelves

Posted by: Skip at January 09, 2022 09:28 AM (2JoB8)

68 I'm 41% thru book 6 of the Wheel of Time series. I find myself skimming thru sections of the books that seem irrelevant. I'm probably missing something I'll need later.

Posted by: lin-duh at January 09, 2022 09:28 AM (UUBmN)

69 I see Barnes & Noble is having a big 50% off sale, so I'm thinking of getting some books that didn't make it onto the Christmas list.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 09, 2022 09:29 AM (QZxDR)

70 I really like Burt Lancaster movies but he was a supposed Communist.

Posted by: Skip at January 09, 2022 09:29 AM (2JoB8)

71 I'm 41% thru book 6 of the Wheel of Time series. I find myself skimming thru sections of the books that seem irrelevant. I'm probably missing something I'll need later.
Posted by: lin-duh at January 09, 2022 09:28 AM (UUBmN)
----
I'm trying to take my time to savor it and enjoy it. Now that I've read the entire series, I like trying to find all of the little hints and foreshadowing that Jordan embedded into the earlier books.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at January 09, 2022 09:31 AM (K5n5d)

72 Love that library in the top photo. What a beautiful way to store the treasures of the world.
Posted by: JTB

Yeah; but I bet most of the books are in Czeck..Checka...
Not Ingles !

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 09:32 AM (arJlL)

73 Anybody know any good recent SF that isn't full of Woke bullshit?

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 09, 2022 09:32 AM (QZxDR)

74 Hiya Cannibal ! (I know you're in here !)

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 09:33 AM (arJlL)

75 Hiya Heidi !

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 09:33 AM (arJlL)

76 73 Anybody know any good recent SF that isn't full of Woke bullshit?

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 09, 2022 09:32 AM (QZxDR)
---
Mine.

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:33 AM (llXky)

77 Is Chick's Ahoy about that Navy ship collision where two female deck officers were not speaking to each other and the ship circled itself around colliding with the ship following them?

Posted by: Skip at January 09, 2022 09:34 AM (2JoB8)

78 Anybody know any good recent SF that isn't full of Woke bullshit?
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 09, 2022 09:32 AM (QZxDR)
----
Personally, I tend to stick to the classics. I've read little SF published after 2000 or so....

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at January 09, 2022 09:34 AM (K5n5d)

79 "Anyone have cheap places to buy used books online?"

bookfinder.com provides listings in a range of editions and conditions for any given title.

Posted by: Brett at January 09, 2022 09:35 AM (cpCFS)

80 Hi Grammie Winger, I too have given up on reading to "improve" my mind.... I'll get excited about some project like 100 Days of Dante then fall behind. I'm currently about 15 cantos behind on Purgatory. For fun I've been reading some of the "The Cat Who..." books by Lillian Jackson Braun. How do people come up with such fun cozy book ideas? I'm just glad they do, because I love those type of reads for an evening's entertainment. And my house barely contains all the books ... so many unreads they are now just sitting in stacks on the floor. Hi SPinRH, if you get here today!

Posted by: CarolinaGirl at January 09, 2022 09:35 AM (Kh9rg)

81 McDonalds drive thru: woman alone in her car ahead of me places her order, rolls up the window and puts her mask back on.
Broken people

Posted by: Jamaica Queens at January 09, 2022 09:36 AM (cc5m7)

82 After re-reading "Flint" by L'Amour last week, and enjoying it so much, I'm dipping into other L'Amour books. This week I started "Conagher" for the first time. Another fun read.

When I can find them for a couple of bucks, I'm picking up copies of his books in that fake leather binding. They are good size with print to match and make for pleasant reading.

Posted by: JTB at January 09, 2022 09:36 AM (7EjX1)

83 When MGM's Louis B Mayer saw Ava Gardner's first screen test he said:
"She can't sing, she can't act; she can't talk. She's terrific!"

Posted by: Ignoramus at January 09, 2022 09:36 AM (ZHVt1)

84 that seems like an enormous project, lloyd, all of chinese military history, one is reminded of anthony marras compendium of chechen history, and one character who devoted his life to chronicling it, going back into the Bronze Age apparently, he could only get the soviets to publish the last chapter, from lenin on, because heaven forbid these savages would have a tradition and culture that the Soviets could not monopolize

Posted by: no 6 at January 09, 2022 09:37 AM (hMlTh)

85 I think part of my pacing problem is a bit of burnout. I'm having odd dreams where Taoist priests process through my bedroom.

Last week I tossed and turned one night while trying clear some repetitive Confucian phrase or other (which I can't even remember) out of my head. Maybe I need to take a few days off.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:37 AM (llXky)

86 73 Anybody know any good recent SF that isn't full of Woke bullshit?
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 09, 2022 09:32 AM (QZxDR)


Rob Kroese's The Iron Dragon series.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 09, 2022 09:37 AM (PiwSw)

87 77 Is Chick's Ahoy about that Navy ship collision where two female deck officers were not speaking to each other and the ship circled itself around colliding with the ship following them?

Posted by: Skip at January 09, 2022 09:34 AM (2JoB
---
Bridge officer was literally in a snit and refused to consult that "bitch" in CIC for a radar plot. Can't make this stuff up...

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:38 AM (llXky)

88 Morning, 'rons and 'ronettes. I'm sure who dis has been guessed, so won't bother.

Haven't really read anything this week or worked on my book. Still getting used to being retired.

Have I mentioned the big boss e-mailed me and asked me to come back?

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 09:38 AM (2JVJo)

89 That's 'Kornbluth.'

Posted by: RNB at January 09, 2022 09:39 AM (DjjZJ)

90 Good morning. I had a bout of clinomania today.

Posted by: CN at January 09, 2022 09:39 AM (ONvIw)

91 Thanks for reminder about The Cruel Sea. Always wanted to read it, now I will.

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 09, 2022 09:40 AM (H8QX8)

92 84 that seems like an enormous project, lloyd, all of chinese military history,

Posted by: no 6 at January 09, 2022 09:37 AM (hMlTh)
---
Yeah, I'm trying to keep it brief. Mostly condensing other works and providing my take on stuff. It went really fast for a while, but turned into a bit of a grind. I'm hoping that the Sui and Tang will go a bit faster.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:41 AM (llXky)

93 Good morning. I had a bout of clinomania today.
Posted by: CN

!

Penicillin ?

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 09:41 AM (arJlL)

94 86
Kroese also wrote a really funny (to me at least) space novel/farce "Out of the Soylent Planet"

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 09:42 AM (hOUT3)

95 81 McDonalds drive thru: woman alone in her car ahead of me places her order, rolls up the window and puts her mask back on.
Broken people
Posted by: Jamaica Queens at January 09, 2022 09:36 AM (cc5m7)

They were already broken. Covid activated the latent brokenness.

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 09, 2022 09:43 AM (H8QX8)

96 Eris, very tittylating.

Puts down flashbang. Drinks coffee. Claps.

Posted by: Humphreyrobot at January 09, 2022 09:43 AM (mV5t4)

97 I'm currently reading The Choirboys,by Joseph Wambaugh.

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 09:43 AM (arJlL)

98 90 Good morning. I had a bout of clinomania today.

Posted by: CN at January 09, 2022 09:39 AM (ONvIw)
---
Oh, I had Lisztomania last week. Try chicken noodle soup. It helps.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:43 AM (llXky)

99
Anyone have cheap places to buy used books online?
Posted by: OrangeEnt


alibris.com has book prices that run the gamut from dirt cheap to very expensive.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) [/s at January 09, 2022 09:43 AM (pNxlR)

100 Thanks for reminder about The Cruel Sea. Always wanted to read it, now I will.
Posted by: Ordinary American at January 09, 2022 09:40 AM (H8QX


A worthy read, by a good author!

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 09:43 AM (hOUT3)

101 I know on Google Map you can look up used book stores and they will show them near you. Found many books at them

Posted by: Skip at January 09, 2022 09:44 AM (2JoB8)

102 Next read aloud to the grandsons will be Understood Betsey. While the main character is a girl, that does not detract from the story of a child who was brought up to be helpless being trained to be capable

Posted by: CN at January 09, 2022 09:44 AM (ONvIw)

103 72 ... "Love that library in the top photo. What a beautiful way to store the treasures of the world.
Posted by: JTB

Yeah; but I bet most of the books are in Czeck..Checka...
Not Ingles !"

Mornin', JT.

I agree but I appreciate the effort they accorded the books.

Posted by: JTB at January 09, 2022 09:44 AM (7EjX1)

104 Whelp. Power is out.

Posted by: Cat Ass Trophy at January 09, 2022 09:44 AM (ycxHG)

105 I'm currently reading The Choirboys,by Joseph Wambaugh.
Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 09:43 AM (arJlL)

I read "Black Marble" by him last week. Entertaining, but I have already forgotten most of it.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 09, 2022 09:45 AM (P3gRi)

106 CN, Understood Betsy is one of my favorite children's books. Read it many times. Love the original illustrations.

Posted by: skywch at January 09, 2022 09:45 AM (sKjat)

107 98 great advice.

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 09:46 AM (ONvIw)

108 Currently reading Terry Jones' Medieval Lives, in which the Monty Python member (with some help from Alan Ereira) takes on popular misconceptions about various Medieval archetypes from the High Middle Ages, and what the actual historical record says about them. Fun stuff, and readers just might learn something new.
Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 09:16 AM (W+kMI)


If you like that, you might want to read Tony "Baldrick" Robinson's The Worst Jobs in History: Two Thousand Years of Miserable Employment, which is the book version of a BBC series he did in 2004.

https://tinyurl.com/bddxr3ck

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 09:46 AM (2JVJo)

109 82 After re-reading "Flint" by L'Amour last week, and enjoying it so much, I'm dipping into other L'Amour books. This week I started "Conagher" for the first time. Another fun read.

When I can find them for a couple of bucks, I'm picking up copies of his books in that fake leather binding. They are good size with print to match and make for pleasant reading.
==
L'Amour wrote a few duds, but that's expected from a fellow with about 100 titles to his name. Most of his books are excellent page-turners which display a wealth of knowledge about locations and life in the Great Outdoors. And the bad guys are nicely divided between the ageless sorts of troublemakers, gents who want more than what's good for them, and a few decent/indecent sorts who just happened to be on the wrong side. And none of his heroes would ever have voted for Biden/Harris. Ever.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 09:47 AM (W+kMI)

110 I read "Black Marble" by him last week. Entertaining, but I have already forgotten most of it.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 09, 2022 09:45 AM (P3gRi)


I found Wambaugh is easy to forget, but he provides a good read even after all this time!

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 09:48 AM (hOUT3)

111 Anyone have cheap places to buy used books online?
Posted by: OrangeEnt


edwardrhamilton.com

They specialize in overstocks and remainders.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 09:48 AM (2JVJo)

112 108 Currently reading Terry Jones' Medieval Lives, in which the Monty Python member (with some help from Alan Ereira) takes on popular misconceptions about various Medieval archetypes from the High Middle Ages, and what the actual historical record says about them. Fun stuff, and readers just might learn something new.
Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 09:16 AM (W+kMI)

If you like that, you might want to read Tony "Baldrick" Robinson's The Worst Jobs in History: Two Thousand Years of Miserable Employment, which is the book version of a BBC series he did in 2004.
========
Very nice, will have to check it out. I did watch most of the associated TV episodes on YouTube.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 09:49 AM (W+kMI)

113 106 I'm convinced this is why she was canceled. It was not an interest in eugenics, as nobody can document this, but a kids book on developing life skills. It was also written by a major proponent of Maria Montessori, who was no fan of public schools or passing kids who didn't learn.

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 09:49 AM (ONvIw)

114 edwardrhamilton.com

They specialize in overstocks and remainders.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 09:48 AM (2JVJo)


Oh man, I used to buy from them when Amazon wasn't even a gleam in Bezos's eye....

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 09, 2022 09:50 AM (PiwSw)

115 81 McDonalds drive thru: woman alone in her car ahead of me places her order, rolls up the window and puts her mask back on.
Broken people
=========
Wuhan flu silliness has made it easy to pick out the hypochondriacs and ultimate sheeple.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 09:51 AM (W+kMI)

116 like when hugh thomas tackled the civil war or cuban history, the latter was just a few hundred years,

Posted by: no 6 at January 09, 2022 09:52 AM (hMlTh)

117 I'll repeat my recommendation of bookfinder.com. It consolidates listings from many sellers, including alibris, et al.

Posted by: Brett at January 09, 2022 09:52 AM (cpCFS)

118 Good morning, Horde!

Posted by: Ladyl at January 09, 2022 09:52 AM (TdMsT)

119 >>I've heard rumors that ZOD holds them at gunpoint. Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 09:15 AM (45fpk)

Untrue. Zod has no engagement with the cob loggers.

Posted by: ZOD at January 09, 2022 09:53 AM (x8kT3)

120
I am reading James Clavell's "Shogun" and am nearly halfway through it. I saw the miniseries that was made of it back in the day, but my recollection of that is hazy. More on that, below.

Clavell does well in setting scenes and moving the action along briskly. Everything he writes has a purpose snd moves the plot forward. I am enjoying this book.

Back to the miniseries. I looked up a few scenes from it online and watched them. One thing that stood out starkly was how clean and crisp practically everything worn by people appeared, no matter what their class. I have noticed lately that so many stories on video that are set in times past have the characters costumed in squeaky clean and pressed garments, which I find unauthentic and distracting. Are dirty or unkempt clothes merely a modern invention? I doubt it.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) [/s at January 09, 2022 09:54 AM (pNxlR)

121 I'm convinced this is why she was canceled. It was not an interest in eugenics, as nobody can document this, but a kids book on developing life skills. It was also written by a major proponent of Maria Montessori, who was no fan of public schools or passing kids who didn't learn.

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 09:49 AM (ONvIw)
---
It's interesting to see how quickly the elites shifted from "hard work is the key" to "hard work is too hard."

East Lansing schools are holding firm on in-person classes, but the Omicron is wreaking havoc with attendance and the Karens are in full-bore panic mode with finals coming up.

They want their precious princelings to get perfect grades and reality isn't cooperating! To calm things down, the high school has implemented a blanket policy where the final exam counts for at most 5 percent of the final grade. And yet these people want to be treated as some kind of elite.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:54 AM (llXky)

122
Untrue. Zod has no engagement with the cob loggers.
Posted by: ZOD


Well, the ones still alive, that is.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) [/s at January 09, 2022 09:54 AM (pNxlR)

123 I'm still enjoying the 100 Days of Dante, now up to Canto 19 of the Purgatory. Worth the time and reading.

Most of the Youtube videos from Baylor U. have been very good but this one went off the rails. Some POS professor thought it was inappropriate that Dante used a female as temptation to demonstrate his point. He wasn't sufficiently sensitive.

No doubt Dante sat at his desk over 700 years ago, with a nasty smile, and wrote this thinking how it will offend some woke imbecile in 2022. Thank God I was done with college before this mindset became the norm. There would have been 'difficult' moments in class.

At least I realize this is a minor blip in my enjoyment of the Divine Comedy. Mini-rant off.

Posted by: JTB at January 09, 2022 09:55 AM (7EjX1)

124 I have noticed lately that so many stories on video that are set in times past have the characters costumed in squeaky clean and pressed garments, which I find unauthentic and distracting. Are dirty or unkempt clothes merely a modern invention? I doubt it.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) [/s at January 09, 2022 09:54 AM (pNxlR)
---
The first two North and South miniseries did a great job of making things look worn and real. I've re-watched it twice and really enjoy it. Never read the books and don't want to because the actors have embodied the characters for me. Anything else would be a letdown.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:56 AM (llXky)

125 A prayer for om"s complete and immediate healing.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at January 09, 2022 09:57 AM (EZebt)

126 CN, I hadn't known that about Canfield, but looked it up. It's a shame.

Posted by: skywch at January 09, 2022 09:58 AM (sKjat)

127 Have I mentioned the big boss e-mailed me and asked me to come back?
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 09:38 AM (2JVJo)


He's obviously unaware of your pre retirement ruminations on the joys of the workplace.

Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at January 09, 2022 09:58 AM (y7DUB)

128 A Good Hordian Morning to you {{{Ladyl}}}

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 09:58 AM (hOUT3)

129 >>Are dirty or unkempt clothes merely a modern invention? I doubt it.Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) [/s at January 09, 2022 09:54 AM (pNxlR)

Interesting observation--strewth that the samurai appear in improbable heavy-starched, spotless outfits.
I have a similar beef with war movies and the condition of the uniforms in them.

Posted by: ZOD at January 09, 2022 09:58 AM (x8kT3)

130 127 Have I mentioned the big boss e-mailed me and asked me to come back?
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 09:38 AM (2JVJo)

He's obviously unaware of your pre retirement ruminations on the joys of the workplace.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at January 09, 2022 09:58 AM (y7DUB)


I am waiting for MPPP to publish his email response!

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 09:59 AM (hOUT3)

131 121. As a parent of "professors' kids", my husband taught in MSU's business school, I understand that they are treated like princelings, especially as academia is being converted to a hereditary profession. It's one of the few reasons that I am happy we left EL. Outside a university town (yes Princeton is, but it has a larger non university population). It was very easy for EL kids to feel above it all. I have friends whose parents were profs, and the need to be special is strong.

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 09:59 AM (ONvIw)

132 I am waiting for MPPP to publish his email response!
Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 09:59 AM (hOUT3)
---

99% chance that the word "nickelfucker" appears in the e-mail.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes at January 09, 2022 10:00 AM (Dc2NZ)

133 132
Eris, no way am I going to take that bet!

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 10:01 AM (hOUT3)

134 126 CN, I hadn't known that about Canfield, but looked it up. It's a shame.
Posted by: skywch at January 09, 2022 09:58 AM (sKjat)

Even the cancel committee could not find this eugenics theme, but went ahead anyway. I suspect the education industry and unions were the real catalyst.

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 10:01 AM (ONvIw)

135
No doubt Dante sat at his desk over 700 years ago, with a nasty smile, and wrote this thinking how it will offend some woke imbecile in 2022.


That guy was mickle tricksy in his setting out traps for the woke!

Thank God I was done with college before this mindset became the norm.

I could not stand college these dats were I attending it. I heard somewhere that geezers who go back to college (at reduced rates, mind you, because "geezers") in some instances are bound to a behavior code which explicitly warns them about challenging an instructor's tyrannical and nonsensical opinions. I know not if this is true, but given the entitled mindset in academia, I'd not be surprised if it was.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) [/s at January 09, 2022 10:01 AM (pNxlR)

136 67 Still reading, well into it but can't find time to continue Enemy at the Gate by William Craig.
Lots of holes in grocery store shelves
=====
Be nice if they had some more solid ones, what? Yeah, in 2 years we've seen the American cornucopia emptied out and left only partially loaded. Let's go Brandon.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 10:01 AM (W+kMI)

137 Anyone have cheap places to buy used books online?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 09, 2022 09:06 AM (7bRMQ)


Abe books
Thrift boks
half price books
bookstores.com
eBay

They all are indexed differently with emphasis on different elements, some won't let you search easily for names, others will let you search by ISBN. so be prepared to poke around like you are in a real used bookstore.

(Oh, and I owe you several emails)

Posted by: Kindltot at January 09, 2022 10:02 AM (ZMraq)

138 I'm not sure how long OM will be recovering at Passages Malibu, but if any of you bibliophiliacs would like to take a turn writing a Book Thread, I'm sure the COBs would appreciate it.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes at January 09, 2022 10:02 AM (Dc2NZ)

139
g'mornin', book-ish 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at January 09, 2022 10:02 AM (DUIap)

140
It was very easy for EL kids to feel above it all. I have friends whose parents were profs, and the need to be special is strong.


First of all, "Moo U", so don't go putting on airs.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) [/s at January 09, 2022 10:04 AM (pNxlR)

141 A prayer for om"s complete and immediate healing.
Posted by: San Franpsycho

Seconded !

And for his fam, too !

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 10:04 AM (arJlL)

142 Hiya Ladyl !

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 10:04 AM (arJlL)

143 138 "if any of you bibliophiliacs would like to take a turn writing a Book Thread, I'm sure the COBs would appreciate it."

Bring it on!

Posted by: Brett at January 09, 2022 10:04 AM (cpCFS)

144 One of the interesting and most sensible parts of Betsey's education in the wilds of Vermont was that she was placed by subject. She (age 9) was at a second-grade level for math, but a seventh-grade level for reading. Wouldn't this make a lot of sense for schools today? Build on strengths and correct weaknesses seems taboo in a culture in which all must learn at the same pace.

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 10:04 AM (ONvIw)

145 Hiya JTB !

Regards to the Missus !

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 10:05 AM (arJlL)

146 I just did a search and am surprised to find Little Black Sambo still available on Amazon.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 10:05 AM (45fpk)

147 EL = ??

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 10:05 AM (hOUT3)

148
I have a similar beef with war movies and the condition of the uniforms in them.

Posted by: ZOD


That is one of the places where it is glaring obvious and incongruous.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) [/s at January 09, 2022 10:06 AM (pNxlR)

149 While OregonMuse is recovering from the effects of prolonged use of Pervitin,

Either way you wind up seeing things that aren't real.

Get well soon OM.

Posted by: DaveA at January 09, 2022 10:06 AM (FhXTo)

150 146

Shhhh!

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 10:06 AM (hOUT3)

151 Most of the Youtube videos from Baylor U. have been very good but this one went off the rails. Some POS professor thought it was inappropriate that Dante used a female as temptation to demonstrate his point. He wasn't sufficiently sensitive.


Did he suggest a guy that didn't own a weedwhacker ? (If you catch my drift......)

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 10:07 AM (arJlL)

152 CN, oh no, that would be WAY too hard on the teachers! *sarc*

Posted by: skywch at January 09, 2022 10:08 AM (sKjat)

153 Speaking of books, Alan Bullock's "Hitler and Stalin" is just superb. Bullock presents as a gassy blowhard in the "A World At War" tv series (which is also outstanding), but his penetrating study of the two men, pari passu, is better than anything I've read previously on the subject (Kershaw, Evans, etc). If you're interested in a thorough, intelligent dissection of how the men rose in power and yielded it written in a period when scholarship was serious and empirical and not polluted by posturing and silly ideological table-setting, you ought to consider it.

Posted by: ZOD at January 09, 2022 10:08 AM (x8kT3)

154 My stats, only 33 books last year, although it included The Portable Faulkner, which was a long haul. This week I pushed The Charterhouse of Parma past the 50% mark (can you tell I'm using a kindle?). Finished The Sleepwalkers about the beginnings of WWI. It was a twisted mess of mixed motives on all sides but I came out of it thinking that if I was forced to point a finger at only one government, it would be Russia not Germany. And started Michael Chrichton's State of Fear.

Posted by: who knew at January 09, 2022 10:08 AM (4I7VG)

155 123 I'm still enjoying the 100 Days of Dante, now up to Canto 19 of the Purgatory. Worth the time and reading.

Most of the Youtube videos from Baylor U. have been very good but this one went off the rails. Some POS professor thought it was inappropriate that Dante used a female as temptation to demonstrate his point. He wasn't sufficiently sensitive.

No doubt Dante sat at his desk over 700 years ago, with a nasty smile, and wrote this thinking how it will offend some woke imbecile in 2022.
=====
Dante was an Italian man, so Temptation would wear the face of a beautiful woman. QED, Professor. Dante actually sat at his writing-desk with a nasty smile thinking about how many of the Papal party he could offend by placement of so many of their adherents in the Inferno. If some stuffed pillowcase of a professor felt offended by his imagery, Dante would have laughed and said "Good!" Which probably offend the professor anew, proving that criticism of good literature is timeless.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 10:09 AM (W+kMI)

156 I looked up a few scenes from it online and watched them. One thing that stood out starkly was how clean and crisp practically everything worn by people appeared, no matter what their class. I have noticed lately that so many stories on video that are set in times past have the characters costumed in squeaky clean and pressed garments, which I find unauthentic and distracting. Are dirty or unkempt clothes merely a modern invention? I doubt it.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) [/s at January 09, 2022 09:54 AM (pNxlR)


"The Lion in Winter" with Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn is one of the few movies to attempt authentic costumes and sets. Even the royalty are wearing simple homespun woolen clothes, the castle rooms are small and dark, and the courtyard is muddy (and probably has a lot of animal crap from the animals.)

My medieval history professor said it was a decent attempt at authenticity, although everyone was a little too clean, and had good teeth.

Posted by: Wethal at January 09, 2022 10:09 AM (ZzVCK)

157 I noticed an editing problem in Tom Sawyer where "phase" was used instead of "faze". Ordinarily I'd just roll my eyes and move on except this was part of the snooty Library of America series which takes great pains to point out the authoritative text they use. IOW some egghead fucked up.

Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at January 09, 2022 10:10 AM (y7DUB)

158 I got a delivery of cookbooks yesterday: Two by Cowboy Kent Rollins and the latest by Kevin Belton. Just thumbing through them has been fun. Already located over a dozen recipes I want to try.

All the books have some things in common. The cooks are continuing traditions in the kitchen they grew up with. They take a down home pleasure in bringing this information to their readers and audiences. They both push the moral and practical superiority of using cast iron cookware. The books themselves are good quality hardcovers and nicely bound with excellent photos. And the recipes are meant to be made in the typical home with ingredients that can be found almost anywhere.

I've really enjoyed Belton's cooking show on TV and Rollins' YT videos. The books take what I like, expand on those elements, and hold comfortably in my hand.

I'm getting more picky about the cookbooks I acquire but these are worth it.

Posted by: JTB at January 09, 2022 10:11 AM (7EjX1)

159
I found Wambaugh is easy to forget, but he provides a good read even after all this time!
Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft!


Tony Hillerman's works are like that for me. I used to go through one per long distance plane flight. I'd take two for a round trip and then donated them somewhere afterward.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) [/s at January 09, 2022 10:12 AM (pNxlR)

160 All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes

Thank you for a Book Thread that has heft, and looks well-knit, not tossed off in an instant.

You have a good list of books to be read. Cordwainer Smith, Heinlein, and Nicholas Monsarrat. Those authors are well represented on my bookshelves. I have the complete Cordwainer Smith short stories in hardback from NESFA Press. And other works of his.

Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at January 09, 2022 10:12 AM (u82oZ)

161 Perhaps I should read, "Chicks Ahoy!"

I mean, what's the worst that could happen?

openlibrary,
.org

Posted by: Marooned at January 09, 2022 10:13 AM (w6hJ9)

162 >>I'm getting more picky about the cookbooks I acquire but these are worth it. Posted by: JTB at January 09, 2022 10:11 AM (7EjX1)

Managed (finally) to find a complete set of the old 1960s Time/Life "A Taste of [enter European country here]." Bought it out of nostalgia. Great stuff.

Posted by: ZOD at January 09, 2022 10:13 AM (x8kT3)

163 aargh it's like that terrible translation of soltzhenitsyn I noticed, but that one just transposed one counterrevolutionary for another vlasov for bandera, but this just messes up the entire sentence, maybe the editors are all on coke, like michael fox, in bright lights big city,

Posted by: no 6 at January 09, 2022 10:14 AM (hMlTh)

164 152: I think that is partially why the tests are scored in percentiles rather than grade level.

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 10:14 AM (ONvIw)

165 53 ... "I've started on the Ann Cleeves novels, both the Shetland series as well as the Vera Stanhope series. We really enjoy the TV adaptations, so I thought it would be fun to read the books. And it is!"

Hi grammie,

I got both those sets for Mrs. JTB last year. She enjoyed both series and was curious about the books. Getting complete paper back sets of the collections made for a nice gift. She's been enjoying the Vera books so far.

Posted by: JTB at January 09, 2022 10:15 AM (7EjX1)

166 Speaking of books, Alan Bullock's "Hitler and Stalin" is just superb. Bullock presents as a gassy blowhard in the "A World At War" tv series (which is also outstanding), but his penetrating study of the two men, pari passu, is better than anything I've read previously on the subject (Kershaw, Evans, etc). ...
Posted by: ZOD at January 09, 2022 10:08 AM (x8kT3)

===
How dare you. I demand satisfaction!

Posted by: San Franpsycho at January 09, 2022 10:16 AM (EZebt)

167 VPN test

Posted by: BurtTC at January 09, 2022 10:16 AM (hku12)

168 Hi grammie,

I got both those sets for Mrs. JTB last year. She enjoyed both series and was curious about the books. Getting complete paper back sets of the collections made for a nice gift. She's been enjoying the Vera books so far.

Posted by: JTB at January 09, 2022 10:15 AM (7EjX1)


You are a good husband.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 10:17 AM (45fpk)

169 VPN test
Posted by: BurtTC at January 09, 2022 10:16 AM (hku12)

Ok, maybe you should turn it on first.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 09, 2022 10:17 AM (P/caU)

170 I sent three kids into that den of vipers in East Lansing.

I regret every red cent. (Red used on purpose.)

Posted by: Roug at January 09, 2022 10:18 AM (7Ni57)

171 156 "The Lion in Winter" with Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn is one of the few movies to attempt authentic costumes and sets. Even the royalty are wearing simple homespun woolen clothes, the castle rooms are small and dark, and the courtyard is muddy (and probably has a lot of animal crap from the animals.)

My medieval history professor said it was a decent attempt at authenticity, although everyone was a little too clean, and had good teeth.
------
Your professor definitely was into teaching archetypes. Medieval people were just like the rest of us, and bathed when they could because they liked being clean and at least temporarily free from vermin. Washer wenches had good employment. Henry and Elanor were royalty, and definitely would've worn pretty and clean clothes, changing for dinner after outdoors activity. And Medieval people had better teeth than us on the average, because sugar was a rare import, and wasn't put into everything.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 10:18 AM (W+kMI)

172 Fun reads for me were those old Barbara Pym novels. Lots of small town drama, church pecksniffery, and rumbles at the jumble sales. Very wry observations on human foibles.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes at January 09, 2022 10:19 AM (Dc2NZ)

173 >>How dare you. I demand satisfaction!
Posted by: San Franpsycho at January 09, 2022 10:16 AM (EZebt)

You will explain your indignation. Do this now.

Posted by: ZOD at January 09, 2022 10:19 AM (x8kT3)

174 I have a book that turns 200 this year. I might even read it.

Posted by: SFGoth at January 09, 2022 10:19 AM (KAi1n)

175
I read "The Cruel Sea" last year and I would like to see the movie with Jack Hawkins but I can't find it anywhere.

Posted by: Sapwolf at January 09, 2022 10:20 AM (etPhZ)

176 Good morning. Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner.
-------------------------
I think they're both dead but I'm sure they'd appreciate the sentiment were they still alive.

Posted by: andycanuck (UHVv4) at January 09, 2022 10:20 AM (UHVv4)

177 Ha, I did not use the word 'nickelfucker' in my response to the big boss.

The reason he asked me to come back, ostensibly, was that the other two transcriptionists have the coof (which, to me, was a 'so what?' They work at home; who are they going to infect?).

I simply said, no thanks, I have it too. Sorry for your difficulties and hope you're able to arrange things soon.

But asking me to come back before even a week of retirement went by? Must be some sort of record.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 10:20 AM (2JVJo)

178 157 I noticed an editing problem in Tom Sawyer where "phase" was used instead of "faze". Ordinarily I'd just roll my eyes and move on except this was part of the snooty Library of America series which takes great pains to point out the authoritative text they use. IOW some egghead fucked up.
==========
Most books (nearly all) are printed in China these days, after they were edited and proofread by a well-connected BA in Modern Feminist Literature Studies. The preponderance of easy-to-correct errors is no surprise to me.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 10:21 AM (W+kMI)

179 I've been a tad scarce on the Book Thread, as I got 8 years of neglect organized for a bowl watch party.

I reread A.H. Lloyd's Man of Destiny series. Light reading. It has a better plot and characterization than the Star Wars Prequels it is modeled after. Which I did not see after the second forgettable movie. So it is good.

Currently reading a history of the Duke of Windsor, King of Fools by John Parker.

Quite a change of pace from my usual reading. How not to raise your child, how not to be a prince, how not to be a King. And lots of decadence. Not a Royal in the bunch that was faithful, although most were not bisexual. Most. CNN is nothing new.

Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at January 09, 2022 10:21 AM (u82oZ)

180 On reading to improve your mind...

I think it's a shame that the Great American Semi-Cult of Self-Improvement is dead, a stake driven through it's heart, beheaded, burned to ashes and currently serving as fodder in Willie's Worm Farm.

Reading is not so much to improve your mind. I read for pure enjoyment all the time. But, it's a great a relatively painless, even entertaining way to maintain the continuity of your culture. That's why reading must die and has died among among the young mostly.

F'rinstance,take PG Wodehouse, whom you'd read for no other reason but fun and laughter. I'd bet almost anything that a "woke" person would not only be offended, but more would find it as incomprehensible as if written in Sanskrit. They simply no longer have the cultural background knowledge to read it as comedy or anything really. Thei9r culture has been simply "who is a victim?" "who is to blame?" who should I hate.

Yay! Rantiness!

Posted by: naturalfake at January 09, 2022 10:21 AM (5NkmN)

181
Interesting observation--strewth that the samurai appear in improbable heavy-starched, spotless outfits.
I have a similar beef with war movies and the condition of the uniforms in them.

Posted by: ZOD at January 09, 2022 09:58 AM (x8kT3)
---
That awful "Gettysburg" movie (based on The Killer Angels) comes to mind. Union troops worn out from defeat at Chancellorsville make a series of forced marches and show up in immaculate uniforms.

Too stupid for words.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 10:22 AM (llXky)

182 >>medieval history

William Manchester's "A World Lit Only By Fire" is a serviceable book on medievalism. Barbara Tuchman is also readable (though her history-in-reader-situ style is an acquired taste; I can see why one might not take to it...)

Posted by: ZOD at January 09, 2022 10:23 AM (x8kT3)

183 Finished "The White Ship" by Charles Spencer. Enjoyed this brief history of the disaster which destroyed Henry I's carefully laid plans for an orderly and peaceful transition of rule upon his death. The first English civil war was a nasty bit of business for sure.

Posted by: Tuna at January 09, 2022 10:24 AM (gLRfa)

184 Eris, thank you. I loooved the Edison library. Beautiful video.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 09, 2022 10:24 AM (Y+l9t)

185 I just consider Kershaw and Evans superior to Bullock. Better prose, less bombastic. Fight me!

Posted by: San Franpsycho at January 09, 2022 10:24 AM (EZebt)

186 I have a book that turns 200 this year. I might even read it.

Posted by: SFGoth at January 09, 2022 10:19 AM (KAi1n)

J.F.Cooper?

Victor Hugo?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 09, 2022 10:25 AM (Q9lwr)

187 Another really nice thing about Understood Betsey is that self-sufficiency touched on many facets of life, including entertainment. When her great uncle Henry found out that she was a good reader she was asked to provide entertainment for the family as they performed the evening chores of mending and equipment care, by reading aloud. There was no option to watch TV, they didn't have a radio iirc, and it's hard to read and sew or polish at the same time, so listening to a 9 year old read was a good entertainment.

It's really a great book. The relatives who take Betsey in educated her about what life was like without conveniences like stoves, stores, and paved roads. I think the grandsons would like those parts a great deal.

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 10:25 AM (ONvIw)

188 >>185 I just consider Kershaw and Evans superior to Bullock. Posted by: San Franpsycho at January 09, 2022 10:24 AM (EZebt)

This is incorrect.

Posted by: ZOD at January 09, 2022 10:25 AM (x8kT3)

189 Last day for the The Scent of Metal sale, for those interested!

General question for the Bookish Morons: how do you feel about serialized novels? And if you read any, how do you like them served up? There's lots of arguments about Amazon's Vella in writing circles (seems like not many people are using it) but other venues like Wattpad, Substack, BookFunnel are doing better.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at January 09, 2022 10:26 AM (t0O2k)

190 Often said my pet peeve is WWII and later war movies with actors only wearing fiberglass inner shell without the steel shell.

Posted by: Skip at January 09, 2022 10:26 AM (2JoB8)

191 Currently reading a history of the Duke of Windsor, King of Fools by John Parker.

Quite a change of pace from my usual reading. How not to raise your child, how not to be a prince, how not to be a King. And lots of decadence. Not a Royal in the bunch that was faithful, although most were not bisexual. Most. CNN is nothing new.
Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at

Sounds interesting, and I like the title.

Posted by: LASue at January 09, 2022 10:27 AM (Ed8Zd)

192 Time to bundle up and supervise the Aztecs' work in the clearing of our snow-damaged trees. Ta.

Also: Your mother is a fish.

Posted by: ZOD at January 09, 2022 10:27 AM (x8kT3)

193 181
Interesting observation--strewth that the samurai appear in improbable heavy-starched, spotless outfits.
I have a similar beef with war movies and the condition of the uniforms in them.

Posted by: ZOD at January 09, 2022 09:58 AM (x8kT3)
---
That awful "Gettysburg" movie (based on The Killer Angels) comes to mind. Union troops worn out from defeat at Chancellorsville make a series of forced marches and show up in immaculate uniforms.

Too stupid for words.
========
The very correctly equipped and turned out Civil War re-enactors who volunteered all the crowd duties were not going to show up on camera for posterity looking less than perfect. No doubt that was the unanimous decision of all the unit leaders. Some of the Confederate units made a point of marching barefoot in a few scenes, but that was about it.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 10:28 AM (W+kMI)

194 CBD - The Life of Mary Queen of Scots (vol II) by George Chalmers. London, 1822.

Posted by: SFGoth at January 09, 2022 10:28 AM (KAi1n)

195 First of all, "Moo U", so don't go putting on airs.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) [/s at January 09, 2022 10:04 AM (pNxlR)
---
The profs who teach at MSU generally did not go there as undergrads. Their children will not go there, either. The only "townies" are the ones who are service employees of the university who take advantage of the discounted tuition or the children of local tradespeople/civil servants, like me.

The cool kids go to Ann Arbor or elsewhere, so they can get even snobbier. East Lansing used to have top-rate public schools, with very demanding curricula but also had the trades instruction in the high school building. The trades long since moved 15 miles away at the ISD center, furthering the cultural divide. I doubt the trades kids are getting a break on their final exams because they actually have to do real things, like fix cars.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 10:28 AM (llXky)

196 The War Lord is a very good Medieval movie. One that show the dirt and grime is Flesh and Blood with Rutger Hauer. I didn't like the movie though.

Posted by: Anti doesn't matter. at January 09, 2022 10:28 AM (bDzJM)

197 194 CBD - The Life of Mary Queen of Scots (vol II) by George Chalmers. London, 1822.
Posted by: SFGoth at January 09, 2022 10:28 AM (KAi1n)

Kewl...

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 09, 2022 10:29 AM (PiwSw)

198 Read "The Avatar" by Poul Anderson.
Of interest, is an examination on how the most dangerous threat to man reaching the stars (and technological advancement in general) is Marxism and it's offspring.
That is: Why should the ambitious and creative be allowed to take their labor and investments to the far reaches when so many here are not yet taken care of?
Of course, the protagonist is just breaking laws, considering murder and other crimes for the good of the people-- as every socialist rationalizes-- and not merely for their own greed and power.

Posted by: Well at January 09, 2022 10:29 AM (g0/2p)

199 "Chicks Ahoy!" got me browsing through the interweb and brought me to, "Border-Line Personalities: Blah, Blah, Blah ...," also available at openlibrary.org. The author of, "Chicks," Lynda Sandoval has an interesting biographical chapter in, "Border-Line," about her relationship with her deceased, alcoholic father.

Thanks for sending me on this adventure, Muse.

Posted by: Marooned at January 09, 2022 10:30 AM (w6hJ9)

200 Opening it up was like being greeted by an old friend. If you get a copy, do not read it straight through. Read only one chapter per day. That way you don't miss anything.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:12 AM (llXky)

My copy just arrived! I was putting off starting it until I finished the other 3 books I have going (!!) but now I'll read one chapter today.

Posted by: LASue at January 09, 2022 10:30 AM (Ed8Zd)

201 Thank you to whoever ( I forget) recommended 'The Fall of Eagles' by C.L. Sulzberger, exploring the houses of Hapsburg, Hohenzollern, and Romanov in the 1800's. I gave it as a Christmas gift to my son, and he was over the moon.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 10:30 AM (45fpk)

202 Holy coincidence, Batman! Literally just last night I watched The Cruel Sea film with my nephew.

And my dad served on a Corvette-style vessel, the RCN's Algerine minesweepers.

||The Algerines of the Royal Canadian Navy by contrast were employed as escorts. They were not fitted with mine-sweeping gear, though they were optimized for service in the Arctic. The Algerines served principally as senior ships in Canadian escort groups of the Western Local Escort Force and the Halifax Force. No RCN vessels of the class were lost.[6]||

My dad's vessel: https://tinyurl.com/yc7hwn9m

Posted by: andycanuck (UHVv4) at January 09, 2022 10:32 AM (UHVv4)

203 William Manchester's "A World Lit Only By Fire" is a serviceable book on medievalism. Barbara Tuchman is also readable (though her history-in-reader-situ style is an acquired taste; I can see why one might not take to it...)

Posted by: ZOD at January 09, 2022 10:23 AM (x8kT3)
---
Tuchman starts strong and then can't stop but get condescending and preachy as she examines the benighted sexist and backwards Popish habits of her subjects.

It's funny because she was writing when liberal feminism seemed on the brink of victory because women were just as good as men and didn't need any special help, thank you. Turns out, she's more dated than the people she writes about.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 10:32 AM (llXky)

204 182 >>medieval history

William Manchester's "A World Lit Only By Fire" is a serviceable book on medievalism. Barbara Tuchman is also readable (though her history-in-reader-situ style is an acquired taste; I can see why one might not take to it...)
=======
A world lit Only By Fire is a horrible survey of the Middle Ages that is proof that Enlightenment scholarly disdain of the Medieval and early Renaissance period died hard. It is a collection of stereotypes and errors that have been long since corrected. It is as out of touch with the current state of Medieval research as Gibbon. Through a Distant Mirror is a fine survey history of the turbulent 14th century. It was a good and successful attempt by Ms. Tuchman at writing history outside her chosen field of specialty.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 10:33 AM (W+kMI)

205 The books I'm reading this week:

"The Boys," By Ron and Clint Howard.

"The Life of Thomas Jefferson," (1857) by Henry S. Randall. He's too pro-Jefferson, engaging in much polemic against Jefferson's critics, but he's thorough.

"The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III," by Andrew Roberts. Being British, he's an apologist for Mad King George, but he's thorough. The horde will have fun taking down his analysis of the Declaration of Independence, in which he claims that of 28 charges against the King in that document, only two are true.

I apologize for the quotation marks around the titles. I can get italics or Cyrillic past the hamsters.

Posted by: Brett at January 09, 2022 10:33 AM (cpCFS)

206 The cool kids go to Ann Arbor or elsewhere, so they can get even snobbier. East Lansing used to have top-rate public schools, with very demanding curricula but also had the trades instruction in the high school building. The trades long since moved 15 miles away at the ISD center, furthering the cultural divide. I doubt the trades kids are getting a break on their final exams because they actually have to do real things, like fix cars.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 10:28 AM (llXky)

The goal was to go to a better school and return to pontificate to the MSU crowd. Like many state schools, UM too, the faculty preferred to hire people from the ivies or places like University of Chicago.

The cultural divide is sad but real and both sides suffer for it. I had some rudimentary life skills class, but my kids had none and were encouraged to look down on crafts and trades.

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 10:33 AM (ONvIw)

207 Finally got book 2 of Dan Simmons Hyperion series, The Fall of Hyperion. Now I finally get to see who the "wizard" is. For those of you who know what I am talking about please let me know if there is a book 3 so I have it ahead of time.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 09, 2022 10:34 AM (Y+l9t)

208 It says "drawn from the state papers". I should read it. My father got it for me (among others) at a State Dept used book sale in 1984. The one i have started reading is Webster's Works, vol. IV, though that is only from 1857. I used it as a primary source in an AP history essay - teach called me on it and i obliged. ;->

Posted by: SFGoth at January 09, 2022 10:34 AM (KAi1n)

209 My copy just arrived! I was putting off starting it until I finished the other 3 books I have going (!!) but now I'll read one chapter today.

Posted by: LASue at January 09, 2022 10:30 AM (Ed8Zd)
---
Great! I found it very helpful. Another reason to take is slow is that Scupoli is seriously hard-core, and I could only slowly wrap my head around just what he was driving at. If you're not ready, it can be off-putting.

Working into it slowly gets you used to the fact that he is a True Believer.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 10:35 AM (llXky)

210 nyone have cheap places to buy used books online?
Posted by: OrangeEnt

edwardrhamilton.com

They specialize in overstocks and remainders.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 09:48 AM (2JVJo)

So, its full to the brim with the Obama clan's "bestsellers"?

Posted by: LASue at January 09, 2022 10:36 AM (Ed8Zd)

211 Party and books.

I finished organizing and dusting a half hour before the party started. I was 19 seconds early for the red beans and rice to finish (from my recipe published in The Deplorable Cookbook), all showered, shaved and in party appropriate clean clothing. Just do not look to the right downstairs.

I had the book cases organized for the first time since 2017. I found dated receipts.
I had 23 boxes, crated and plastic tubs of leftover books. So far, I have donated 22 hardback and 75 paperbacks to the public library annual book sale.

Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at January 09, 2022 10:36 AM (u82oZ)

212 Latin was still taught at La Jolla High School in the 70's. My mom said it was because the professors at UCSD demanded it be kept.

Posted by: Been Lurking, but clearly been posting too at January 09, 2022 10:36 AM (rDgjh)

213 Sharon, Fall of Hyperion comes to a satisfying conclusion, but Endymion and Rise of Endymion are also very good. And I think Simmons has said he will not be revisiting that universe, so these will be it.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 09, 2022 10:36 AM (PiwSw)

214 The cultural divide is sad but real and both sides suffer for it. I had some rudimentary life skills class, but my kids had none and were encouraged to look down on crafts and trades.

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 10:33 AM (ONvIw)
---
When I attended East Lansing schools, they still had home economics in middle school. The most useful class I took, and the only one where I use what I learned every day.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 10:37 AM (llXky)

215 Oh, a typo. It should have read: " I *can't* get italics or Cyrillic past the hamsters.

Posted by: Brett at January 09, 2022 10:37 AM (cpCFS)

216 I recommended Cordwainer Smith here recently.

An astoundingly original and visionary thinker.

AS to RAH......look at my username. LOL

Posted by: TANSTAAFL at January 09, 2022 10:37 AM (fBtlL)

217 I finished Betty MacDonald's Anybody Can Do Anything.

After her divorce in 1931 Betty and her two daughters moved back in with her mother and 5 siblings in the University District of Seattle, and had to start looking for work. Betty was helped with this by her over-achieving sister, Mary, who got her a number of jobs with her for which she was neither skilled or successful at, and in the middle of the depression, they kept losing.
Mary went on to marry a doctor, and Betty wrote The Egg and I, which she wrote because Mary told a publisher that Betty was writing a book and it was really god, when she hadn't even thought of it. This is the tenor of the entire book.

It is a series of vignettes with a lot of information on living in depression era Seattle, they all circle around "this is how a perfectly normal situation blew up" and the book is hair-tearingly funny.

At one point she was informed that one of her better secretaries had quit and taken up prostitution instead, and she commented on it that she harbored no ill will towards her, she had always hated shorthand too.

Posted by: Kindltot at January 09, 2022 10:38 AM (ZMraq)

218 So, its full to the brim with the Obama clan's "bestsellers"?

Posted by: LASue at January 09, 2022 10:36 AM (Ed8Zd)
---
I'd love to get a bulk deal for some of those books - crates and crates of them - and keep a stack by the fireplace. For kindling.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 10:38 AM (llXky)

219 I'm still enjoying the 100 Days of Dante, now up to Canto 19 of the Purgatory. Worth the time and reading.

Most of the Youtube videos from Baylor U. have been very good but this one went off the rails. Some POS professor thought it was inappropriate that Dante used a female as temptation to demonstrate his point. He wasn't sufficiently sensitive.

No doubt Dante sat at his desk over 700 years ago, with a nasty smile, and wrote this thinking how it will offend some woke imbecile in 2022.
=====

Love this series. Im actually reading ahead now and am up to Venus. But that comment irked me a bit, too and I left a short comment on the youztoob about it.

Posted by: LASue at January 09, 2022 10:38 AM (Ed8Zd)

220 "good"

Posted by: Kindltot at January 09, 2022 10:39 AM (ZMraq)

221 When the Hapsburgs fell, they broke their tails.

Posted by: Been Lurking, but clearly been posting too at January 09, 2022 10:39 AM (rDgjh)

222 I keep finding more Isaac Asimov books. So I donated my Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean Auel. Decisions must be made.

Asimov >>> Jean Auel.

Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at January 09, 2022 10:39 AM (u82oZ)

223 Anyone here ever read the novels of Borden Deal or Babs H. Deal? They are forgotten southerners, but their books hang on in the stacks of many a public library.

Posted by: Brett at January 09, 2022 10:39 AM (cpCFS)

224 What's in the TBR pile? Good Lord, what *isn't* in the pile? There's a lot of classic stuff I either never got to or need to revisit since too much of it went right by me during school days -- started making a list of those last week, and the size of it is depressing because chances are I'll cash in well before I finish. And it would be nice to reread old favorites by Leiber, Heinlein, Silverberg, Ellison, Ross and John D. MacDonald, Lawrence Block et. al. And there's still a bunch of Robert Aickman and Ramsey Campbell I haven't gotten to yet... Yeah, they'll plant me before I make a good dent in the Amazing Colossal To-Be-Read Pile.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 09, 2022 10:40 AM (JzDjf)

225 Posted by: Kindltot at January 09, 2022 10:38 AM (ZMraq)

Sounds like it goes next on my list. I love the local Seattle references-- and her humor. I bought a biography about McDonald that Im forcing myself to delay until I finish at least one current read.

Posted by: LASue at January 09, 2022 10:40 AM (Ed8Zd)

226 203 Tuchman starts strong and then can't stop but get condescending and preachy as she examines the benighted sexist and backwards Popish habits of her subjects.

It's funny because she was writing when liberal feminism seemed on the brink of victory because women were just as good as men and didn't need any special help, thank you. Turns out, she's more dated than the people she writes about.
==========
The modern American writer needs to be periodically reminded that the USA is a happy and successful socio-political experiment deliberately created by men who were all too aware of all the practices and policies of the Old World that they were trying to cast out. Ms. Tuchman comes across as dated today because she was an excellent scholar who took professional pride in her work, instead of being a neon-haired feminist-supremicist Marxist who is determined to Adam Smith intersectional feminism, inclusivity, and Marxist didactic into a period that wouldn't have understood what she was shrieking about.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 10:41 AM (W+kMI)

227 Panic everybody! NEW VARIANT!!!

Bloomberg
@business
Doctor dubs new strain "deltacron"

-
Hold it. Damn buzzkill!

Chise
@sailorrooscout
Just a heads up. Regarding "Deltacron" or the "new variant" out of Cyprus. Please be aware those sequences being reported by media outlets right now appear to be due to contamination. It is NOT a new variant.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at January 09, 2022 10:41 AM (FVME7)

228 It is as out of touch with the current state of Medieval research as Gibbon.
--------------------------------------
Gibbon? The guy who writes for the HQ in late morning before Ace wakes up??

Posted by: andycanuck (UHVv4) at January 09, 2022 10:42 AM (UHVv4)

229 My problem with the "local book sale" is that proceeds will go to the purchase of woke bullshit books especially for kids who are most likely to check out physical books.

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 10:42 AM (ONvIw)

230 Used book stores are loaded with Leftist authors, 50 for every conservative. And getting a great conservative book is a rare find.

Posted by: Skip at January 09, 2022 10:42 AM (2JoB8)

231 "The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III," by Andrew Roberts. Being British, he's an apologist for Mad King George, but he's thorough. The horde will have fun taking down his analysis of the Declaration of Independence, in which he claims that of 28 charges against the King in that document, only two are true.
=======
Challenge accepted!

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 10:43 AM (W+kMI)

232 Regarding George III: He collected one of the best libraries in Europe, which he allowed scholars to freely use. Samuel Johnson, for instance, did so. The collection still exists at the British Library.

Posted by: Brett at January 09, 2022 10:43 AM (cpCFS)

233 I saw the first episode of "Around the World in 80 Days" with David Tennant. This will be a multi-year series on PBS. The first show sucked and its connection to the book was mild at best. (Also, every time I see Tennant I want to tell him to eat a sandwich and put on a couple of pounds.)

Why these idiots think they have to F' around with a story that has been enjoyed and re-read for 150 years is beyond me. I don't demand that they film the book page by page but a decent adherence to the characters and story would be appreciated. (I'm surprised there hasn't been a revamp of Hamlet where he survives and marries Ophelia.)

One (the only one) benefit of this 'the classics aren't dramatic enough so let's screw with it' approach is that it might make a few people go to the actual book and learn what a wonderful writer Verne was. It won't be many but maybe a few will go that route.

Posted by: JTB at January 09, 2022 10:44 AM (7EjX1)

234 What is Asimov's best book?

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 09, 2022 10:44 AM (H8QX8)

235 When I attended East Lansing schools, they still had home economics in middle school. The most useful class I took, and the only one where I use what I learned every day.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 10:37 AM (llXky)

We were given the option of "testing out" of things like sewing, cooking, and most aspects of "shop".

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 10:44 AM (ONvIw)

236 How the Plague Allowed Genius to Flourish

Sure, Jan. So the woofloo has replaced welfare as the environment which enables people to do really awesome things? Just imagine all the budding JK Rowlings er, um, Bill Nyes, Neil de Grasse Tysons and Tony Faucis out there waiting to be discovered!

What's that recent book about mass hysteria that the twatters hate?

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at January 09, 2022 10:44 AM (llON8)

237 Sharon, Fall of Hyperion comes to a satisfying conclusion, but Endymion and Rise of Endymion are also very good. And I think Simmons has said he will not be revisiting that universe, so these will be it.
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes,

Thank you! I'm also glad it is not a huge tome as I am waiting for the first Mistborn book from Brandon Sanderson which I imagine will again be 1000 page epic that I will have to put everything aside for.
I still have the first Wheel of Time book on the bedside table that I bought to read in Mexico and never got to. My son is now on book 7 so have to get going on that one.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 09, 2022 10:45 AM (Y+l9t)

238 I just consider Kershaw and Evans superior to Bullock. Better prose, less bombastic. Fight me!
Posted by: San Franpsycho at January 09, 2022 10:24 AM (EZebt)


Have you read Volker Ullrich's 2-volume Hitler bio? I think it's even better than Kershaw's set.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 10:45 AM (2JVJo)

239 Thank you to whoever ( I forget) recommended 'The Fall of Eagles' by C.L. Sulzberger, exploring the houses of Hapsburg, Hohenzollern, and Romanov in the 1800's. I gave it as a Christmas gift to my son, and he was over the moon.
Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 10:30 AM (45fpk)


I'm pretty sure that was me, grammie. You're welcome!

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 10:46 AM (2JVJo)

240 Your professor definitely was into teaching archetypes. Medieval people were just like the rest of us, and bathed when they could because they liked being clean and at least temporarily free from vermin. Washer wenches had good employment. Henry and Elanor were royalty, and definitely would've worn pretty and clean clothes, changing for dinner after outdoors activity. And Medieval people had better teeth than us on the average, because sugar was a rare import, and wasn't put into everything.
Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 10:18 AM (W+kMI)


So "The Black Shield of Falworth" was authentic after all. Who knew?

Posted by: Wethal at January 09, 2022 10:46 AM (ZzVCK)

241 I love David Tennant. He acts like a bird of prey looks.

He did a short BBC series about a lawyer who seeks covert revenge on his wife's murderer. One of the best things I've ever seen.

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 09, 2022 10:46 AM (H8QX8)

242 230 Used book stores are loaded with Leftist authors, 50 for every conservative. And getting a great conservative book is a rare find.
Posted by: Skip at January 09, 2022 10:42 AM (2JoB

This is true especially if we define "conservative" literature as "neither hates America nor advocates and dismisses immorality"

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 10:46 AM (ONvIw)

243 Back for a bit, all. The water leak recurred in my bathroom, and I had to spend an hour cleaning it up. Once the stream stopped, and realizing it was warm-to-hot water, I went upstairs and asked my neighbors up there to skip showering or bathing until tomorrow. They agreed, but who knows. There apparently is no longer an on-call maintenance worker on weekends. I'll have to call and scream at the office first thing on Monday.

In the meantime, I took all the wet ceiling fibreboard that collapsed, stuck it in a garbage bag, and dumped it on the steps of the office with a note that read in part: "This is what I woke up to this morning. Just thought I'd share."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 09, 2022 10:46 AM (c6xtn)

244 Thank you, Mr. Poppins! He was thrilled!

Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 10:47 AM (45fpk)

245 Slept in this morning.

I didn't make any progress in the book; got sidetracked onto a library trove of JSA trade paperbacks.

Hope this late start is an anomaly, because the Book Thread is the highlight of my week.

Posted by: Weak Geek at January 09, 2022 10:47 AM (nZMBt)

246 "I'm surprised there hasn't been a revamp of Hamlet where he survives and marries Ophelia."

Reminds me of the traveling acting group in "Nicholas Nickelby" that only performs Shakespeare's tragedies with happy endings.

Posted by: Tuna at January 09, 2022 10:49 AM (gLRfa)

247 I would venture to guess that most locked down people totally wasted their time with cell phone games and taking their temperature. Retail therapy was also popular.

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 10:49 AM (ONvIw)

248 Eris, I think you'll enjoy Door into Summer. Classic Heinlein.
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 09, 2022


***
It is indeed. I used the quote in which the narrator describes his relationship with his longtime cat Pete as an epitaph for my longtime red tabby Arizona.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 09, 2022 10:49 AM (c6xtn)

249 Interesting observation--strewth that the samurai appear in improbable heavy-starched, spotless outfits.
I have a similar beef with war movies and the condition of the uniforms in them.

-
This book doesn't make that error.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/242654.Up_Front

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at January 09, 2022 10:49 AM (FVME7)

250 There are 4 Hyperion books. All worth reading. It's got some weird ideas, for sure.
The rise of AI from viruses is interesting; AI farming humans for computing power as well.
That technology and space will evolve humans who look nothing like earthmen is pretty cool. "Old Man's War" series covered that from a military angle.

Posted by: Well at January 09, 2022 10:49 AM (51Mr9)

251 Grammie, your son might also like The Fall of the Dynasties by Edmond Taylor. It's a bit heavier than Fall of Eagles and gets deep into the weeds of Balkan politics, but I enjoyed it.

https://tinyurl.com/5n747y2x

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 10:50 AM (2JVJo)

252 Wolfus that's sadly funny

Posted by: Skip at January 09, 2022 10:50 AM (2JoB8)

253 What is Asimov's best book?
Posted by: Ordinary American at January 09, 2022


***
I've always found his work better at the short length. His collection of robot stories, I, Robot, is grand, and his Nine Tomorrows collection is too. His short story "The Ugly Little Boy" . . . well, it gets pretty dusty wherever I am when I reread it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 09, 2022 10:51 AM (c6xtn)

254 Best Asimov book?

To be honest, Asimov wasn't much of a novelist. He wrote short stories very well. His best "novels" -- the original Foundation trilogy -- are patched up from shorter works.

So I'd say his best books are either the collection I, Robot or the Foundation trilogy. Possibly The End of Eternity.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 09, 2022 10:51 AM (QZxDR)

255 Grammie, your son might also like The Fall of the Dynasties by Edmond Taylor. It's a bit heavier than Fall of Eagles and gets deep into the weeds of Balkan politics, but I enjoyed it.

https://tinyurl.com/5n747y2x

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 10:50 AM (2JVJo)


I will definitely check that out. He eats this stuff up with a spoon.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 10:52 AM (45fpk)

256 I don't read to improve my mind (and it shows). I read for fun. So I've started on the Ann Cleeves novels, both the Shetland series as well as the Vera Stanhope series. We really enjoy the TV adaptations, so I thought it would be fun to read the books. And it is!
Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 09:20 AM (45fpk)

Same here, grammie! And I can hear their voices when I read. Anticipating the new Vera episodes slated for this year. I love Vera.

Posted by: Pony Tail at January 09, 2022 10:52 AM (tzZq2)

257 Wolfus that's sadly funny
Posted by: Skip at January 09, 2022


***
Thank you. I was about to toss the bag of garbage out onto the front walk where everybody could see it. However, how would anybody know it from the usual litter around here?

If they don't fix this and it happens again, the next bag will include scoopings from Chekov's litter box.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 09, 2022 10:53 AM (c6xtn)

258 Regarding George III:

We are fortunate that Parliament rejected King George's request for a 'surge' in the colonies. We were on the very edge of defeat and and surge would have defeated us quite easily. Divine intervention IMHO.

Posted by: Anti doesn't matter. at January 09, 2022 10:53 AM (bDzJM)

259 Somebody said something that reminded me of T J Hooker?

That some TV.

Posted by: Humphreyrobot at January 09, 2022 10:53 AM (mV5t4)

260 I think the ongoing mania for f*cking up classic works must be blamed in part on audiences. Apparently they really do prefer to read or watch "thing with a title that's vaguely familiar" rather than "thing with a title I don't recognize." So we're stuck with endless sequels, reboots, and remakes.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 09, 2022 10:54 AM (QZxDR)

261 Regarding the TBR pile. While I took the vow a couple of months ago to stop buying books till I got through my TBR pile (which if combined with my unread kindle books will probably mean I'm good till I'm dead). Then what happens this morning? Grammie Winger recommends The Fall of Eagles by Schulzberger and I jump on line and order it (hey, the hardcover was only 7 bucks used with free shipping, how could I say no) Thanks Grammie

Posted by: who knew at January 09, 2022 10:54 AM (4I7VG)

262 Thanks Grammie

Posted by: who knew at January 09, 2022 10:54 AM (4I7VG)


Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 10:56 AM (45fpk)

263 I jump on line and order it (hey, the hardcover was only 7 bucks used with free shipping, how could I say no) Thanks Grammie
Posted by: who knew at January 09, 2022 10:54 AM (4I7VG)

I fall prey to this as well. My husband is highly unlikely to read a paper book again, so I gave up buying for him, so I only buy for the grandsons and myself.

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 10:56 AM (ONvIw)

264 >>> 76 73 Anybody know any good recent SF that isn't full of Woke bullshit?

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 09, 2022 09:32 AM (QZxDR)
---
Mine.

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 09, 2022 09:33 AM (llXky)

Check out votermom's page:
http://www.bookhorde.org/
She hasn't updated recently, but there are tons of reviews of books from "deplorable" authors. Several lurk and/or occasionally post here, not just that Lloyd smartass. Sarah Hoyt and her buddy Larry C are some of the bigger names, and I've enjoyed books by Daniel Humphreys, Hans G Schantz and several others (too lazy to get a better list right now).

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at January 09, 2022 10:58 AM (llON8)

265 (Oh, and I owe you several emails)

Posted by: Kindltot at January 09, 2022 10:02 AM (ZMraq)

Thanks, no real hurry. Appreciate the book info.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 09, 2022 10:58 AM (7bRMQ)

266 260 I think the ongoing mania for f*cking up classic works must be blamed in part on audiences. Apparently they really do prefer to read or watch "thing with a title that's vaguely familiar" rather than "thing with a title I don't recognize." So we're stuck with endless sequels, reboots, and remakes.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 09, 2022 10:54 AM (QZxDR)

It's also easier for writers, I'm sure. Why create something that may be rejected when you can piggyback on a classic writer who cannot sue.

Posted by: CN...sick of Jane Austen at January 09, 2022 10:58 AM (ONvIw)

267 I just did a search and am surprised to find Little Black Sambo still available on Amazon.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 10:05 AM (45fpk)

You watched the Recollection Road video too, right?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 09, 2022 10:59 AM (7bRMQ)

268 Wolfus, I discovered a huge leak in my condo which looked like it started under my dishwasher and leaked under the wood floor. Turned out it was not my unit but a huge pipe that serves both my condo building and the commercial units below slowly leaking. The only access is through my unit which has cardboard covering a huge hole in the wall. Although everything will be fixed and isn't costing me anything, I've only lived here 5 months and already had multiple water events. People next to me had water pouring through their kitchen ceiling a few days ago from a unit two floors up.
Sigh.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 09, 2022 11:00 AM (Y+l9t)

269 I acquired and read the first volume of Jose Maria Gironella's trilogy of novels on the Spanish Civil War decades ago (The Cypresses Believe in God) and found it enthralling. I succeeded in finding the third volume, Peace After War, fairly easily, but searched for years in vain for the second novel, One Million Dead. When I finally saw that one on the shelf of a used bookstore in Chapel Hill, NC (now, sadly, closed) My hand shot out and grabbed it off the shelf so fast I drove a splinter under my fingernail. But I didn't care, because I was so excited to find the book. Oddly, I suppose, although this happened years ago, I have put off reading the second and third books in order to savor them in my old age. Well, I'm now 66 so I guess I ought to get started.

Posted by: Paco at January 09, 2022 11:00 AM (njExo)

270 Thanks for the thread Eris! Off to mentally prepare myself for the Packers game. Ta-ta for now!

Posted by: grammie winger at January 09, 2022 11:00 AM (45fpk)

271 Amazon keeps pushing The Vanishing Act of Esme Lenox and the work of O'Farrell in general. Anyone familiar?

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 11:01 AM (ONvIw)

272 Best Asimov book?

To be honest, Asimov wasn't much of a novelist. He wrote short stories very well. His best "novels" -- the original Foundation trilogy -- are patched up from shorter works.

So I'd say his best books are either the collection I, Robot or the Foundation trilogy. Possibly The End of Eternity.
Posted by: Trimegistus at January 09, 2022 10:51 AM (QZxDR)
----
I agree that his novels tend to suffer a bit. He was at his finest when writing short stories, though. I thought The Caves of Steel was one of his better novels.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at January 09, 2022 11:01 AM (K5n5d)

273 Better World Books is another good used book option.
If you get on their email list, they have sales at least once a month. They were cheapest source of paperbacks when I was stocking up on classics, generally averaging 3 to $4 a book for more than 4 at a time.

Unfortunately they changed their search engine, and it's now much harder to just 'browse".

Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at January 09, 2022 11:04 AM (C/fpg)

274 I've only lived here 5 months and already had multiple water events. People next to me had water pouring through their kitchen ceiling a few days ago from a unit two floors up.
Sigh.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 09, 2022


***
Sorry to hear that, Sharon. I've lived here since 2001 and have had a water leak, bathroom or kitchen, about 17-18 times. Ya think I'd learn. (What's been holding me up from moving? The lack of a job or any connection where I wanted to go. Soon, now, retirement will waltz along, and I'll be ready to dance.)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 09, 2022 11:05 AM (c6xtn)

275 So we're stuck with endless sequels, reboots, and remakes.

Posted by: Trimegistus at January 09, 2022 10:54 AM (QZxDR)

We have no idea to what you are referring.

Posted by: Hollywood at January 09, 2022 11:05 AM (Q9lwr)

276 It has been a long time since I read the Foundation Trilogy but the thing I remember about the books is that he brought all the various story lines together in a most satisfying way. You know, like he actually knew what he was doing and whee he wanted to go all along.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 09, 2022 11:05 AM (Y+l9t)

277 Grammie, your son might also like The Fall of the Dynasties by Edmond Taylor. It's a bit heavier than Fall of Eagles and gets deep into the weeds of Balkan politics, but I enjoyed it.

https://tinyurl.com/5n747y2x

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 10:50 AM (2JVJo)


I will definitely check that out. He eats this stuff up with a spoon.
Posted by: grammie winger

Have NGU look at his teeth,,,,,,

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 11:07 AM (arJlL)

278 >>> 177 Ha, I did not use the word 'nickelfucker' in my response to the big boss.

The reason he asked me to come back, ostensibly, was that the other two transcriptionists have the coof (which, to me, was a 'so what?' They work at home; who are they going to infect?).

I simply said, no thanks, I have it too. Sorry for your difficulties and hope you're able to arrange things soon.

But asking me to come back before even a week of retirement went by? Must be some sort of record.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 10:20 AM (2JVJo)

I would be tempted to say, sure, if I can limit my time to X hours per week (whatever the X you can tolerate) at Y dollars per hour (since you're now going to have to pay your own freaking payroll taxes, plus you are clearly a valued senior contributor) and oh by the way, I can do all my work remote. And any other conditions you can think of.

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at January 09, 2022 11:07 AM (llON8)

279 I'm pretty good about reading almost all of the fiction I buy. It's the nonfiction books that tend to languish. The ones I most want to read are Millie Hemingway's Rigged and William Shirer's The Collapse of the Third Republic.

Posted by: Splunge at January 09, 2022 11:07 AM (PQ4Fz)

280 Besides, I know you've been eager to have uninterrupted time to write, and I selfishly would love to see the finished product(s).

Posted by: Helena Handbasket at January 09, 2022 11:08 AM (llON8)

281 SF and Fantasy authors listed on madgeniusclub.com are pretty much non woke.

Posted by: Lirio100 at January 09, 2022 11:08 AM (uFOGo)

282 Sorry to hear that, Sharon. I've lived here since 2001 and have had a water leak, bathroom or kitchen, about 17-18 times. Ya think I'd learn. (What's been holding me up from moving? The lack of a job or any connection where I wanted to go. Soon, now, retirement will waltz along, and I'll be ready to dance.)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 09, 2022 11:05 AM (c6xtn)

WTF, did the 3 stooges do the plumbing?

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at January 09, 2022 11:11 AM (VwHCD)

283 240 Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 10:18 AM (W+kMI)

So "The Black Shield of Falworth" was authentic after all. Who knew?
------
That fine movie is based on a fine book, Men of Iron by Howard Pyle, which as an impressionable child I read before viewing the movie. Pyle was an excellent author-illustrator, and his period stories have a versamilitude and authentic period feel about them that many adventure stories aimed at children and "YA" readers didn't have then and don't have now. Men of Iron uses the traditional bits about training to be a knight, chivalric justice, and courtly love to a masterful extent. The young reader will thrill to it, but the more world-wise reader will see how the hero's quest for justice at sword's point is a carefully crafted power play by his patron. The movie soft-pedaled that aspect, but the story is good enough that even Hollywood left a bit of the subtext in.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 11:11 AM (W+kMI)

284 I wouldn't do it for half the hours at twice the rate MPPPP. Maybe at three times, maybe.

Posted by: f'd at January 09, 2022 11:12 AM (vrz2I)

285 I'm to the point in the reread of Proust where World War 1 is going on. Prior to that there's no particular reference to the time in which the book is placed other than references to aircraft being technological phenomena. But the outside world is otherwise obliquely referred to.

Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at January 09, 2022 11:12 AM (y7DUB)

286 I thought Asimov's The Gods Themselves was his most literary novel. It felt fully SFanal at the time I read it. Quite different than his usual style.

The short story that stuck with me to today was "In a Good Cause." That the very liberal Isaac Asimov wrote it is remarkable. A great story.

And with that, have a great day. I am using the momentum of organized and dusted bookshelves to get more organized. Bit by bit.

May you all be blessed with good health, and prayers ascend for OM, CBD, and others ailing.

Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at January 09, 2022 11:12 AM (u82oZ)

287 270 Thanks for the thread Eris! Off to mentally prepare myself for the Packers game. Ta-ta for now!
=======
I must away to help the parents put away Christmas and cheer on the Bengals to avoid self-sabotage against the Browns.

Posted by: exdem13 at January 09, 2022 11:12 AM (W+kMI)

288 I agree that Asimov is more of a short story writer. That seems to fit better the usual scope of his concepts and ideas. One exception is The Gods Themselves, which unrolls a brilliant conception of an alien species over the course of unrolling an interesting story with interesting human and alien characters. The End of Eternity, already mentioned, is another, but I find that I don't want to reread it much, as it seems a bit depressing.

Posted by: Splunge at January 09, 2022 11:13 AM (PQ4Fz)

289 Hi, horde. After working as an elementary school sub for almost a year, I can report that: 1. in every school I've taught in so far students say the Pledge of Allegiance daily. In one school, the music teacher had no qualms about having kids sing religious Christmas carols like Silent Night, which rather surprised me. I should note that I am working in fairly conservative suburbs.

The most irritating thing: the fact that educators now feel they have to offer 5 different options to figure out simple math problems. So you're working on 52 X 7? Well here are a bunch of strategies you can learn to figure out the answer! Except I, the sub, never learned those strategies and think they unnecessarily complicate matters and would have confused me more, since I was a kid who hated math. They're supposed to develop critical thinking - damnit, the point of math is to get the right answer. I don't care if the engineer who designed the overpass thought critically or not - I hope he got his math straight.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&&V at January 09, 2022 11:13 AM (HabA/)

290 For pure fun, I recommend Asimov's Lucky Starr series of short novels, which he wrote as Paul French, but which were later published under his name.

Posted by: Splunge at January 09, 2022 11:15 AM (PQ4Fz)

291 OK, folks, going to make some tea, settle down and get back to Fraser's history of Britain. Really must get back to my own book tomorrow.

Hope you all have a lovely day.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 11:15 AM (2JVJo)

292 Anybody here read anything by John Boyne?

Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at January 09, 2022 11:16 AM (y7DUB)

293 My New Year's Resolution is to actually read the books I borrow from the library
I've read one so far, a gothic type fantasy. The first 3 /4ths of the book was ok, but toward the end the author has her protagonist do something pretty evil (normally no problem in horror) but my big problem is that the author doesn't seem to think it's evil at all.

Posted by: vmom - link to Red's fundraiser at January 09, 2022 11:17 AM (lCui1)

294 Books too high much?

Posted by: Coquettish Haberdasher at January 09, 2022 11:17 AM (buTO7)

295 293. So the author is a lib?

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 11:18 AM (ONvIw)

296 Who dis'

Comrade Burt Lancaster and a dame.

Posted by: Puddleglum at January 09, 2022 11:18 AM (sAmhv)

297 Eris, wonderful book thread

Posted by: vmom - link to Red's fundraiser at January 09, 2022 11:18 AM (lCui1)

298 At that stage of life where disposing of books is desire. Went to a dealer in antique books yesterday, sold five books for one hundred dollars. Then went a dealer in contemporary books, sold one book for one dollar.

Posted by: French Jeton at January 09, 2022 11:19 AM (LvMzo)

299 Ah, Ava Gardner is the dame.

Posted by: Puddleglum at January 09, 2022 11:20 AM (sAmhv)

300 My favorite literary character is Captain Ahab. I admire his clarity of purpose, to kill the damn-ned whale which struck off thy leg.

Posted by: DB at January 09, 2022 11:21 AM (geLO8)

301 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead -- alternate literary view or sequel? (I just like the play.)

So there I am trying to find the title/author of a half remembered play, 'Right You Are If You Say You Are', and I'm looking all over the 16-17th Century English, and it turned about to be 20th Cent Italian.

Anyway, the modern Italian trope is another in the power of media/gossip in defining reality. See, also, Pratchett, 'Witches Abroad.'

Posted by: mustbequantum at January 09, 2022 11:21 AM (MIKMs)

302 Believe the author on RIGHT YOU ARE... is Luigi Pirandello.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 09, 2022 11:22 AM (JzDjf)

303 Triple vaxxed Geraldo has got the 'Rona.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at January 09, 2022 11:22 AM (FVME7)

304 Good morning Hordemates.

As I mentioned a week ago, I've finally finished The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes. It is easily the finest single source of this event for a great historical perspective, starting at the turn of the century and coming forward. I've been mulling over it since finishing. These were the finest physicists and chemists in the world. Most of them knew each other. We're friends even. Yet the infighting and disagreements were amazing. One guy would make a huge discovery that previously everyone had disregarded. Then suddenly it was gospel. It would lead to other theories also pooh-poohed until the next great discovery. Atoms, electron, neutrons, fission and fusion. I'm surprised we ever came up with the bomb.
Now consider that in the context of todays world greats working with disease. And add in politics. I'll be surprised if we survive at all.

Posted by: Diogenes at January 09, 2022 11:22 AM (axyOa)

305 Can someone explain that Favorite Book cartoon for me?

Posted by: Muldoon at January 09, 2022 11:22 AM (m45I2)

306 Posted by: Donna&&&&&&V at January 09, 2022 11:13 AM (HabA/)

In trying to help grand-daughterH with new math, I found that it was actually useful, but only after you had mastered the turn the crank methods of solving the basic problems.

Once you could actually solve the problems the new math was a way to see how the associative, distributive, and commutative properties actually worked.

With a bit of thought, it also indicated a way to visualize how you could rapidly estimate the answer to various real world problems.

YMMV

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 11:22 AM (hOUT3)

307 I've been reading Ross Thomas. The problem for me is that some of his books really grab me, and some don't, and whatever the reason is, doesn't seem to turn up in reviews. So I can't tell which ones I'll like. I vaguely recall that the Durant and Wu ones were a bit dull, but people seem to like those. The Yellow Dog Contract didn't do much for me, and a big part of the problem is that, even though I read it in the last month, I couldn't tell you anything about any of the characters.

My absolute favorite Ross Thomas is The Porkchoppers, which follows an aging alcoholic union boss in his re-election campaign. Second is The Seersucker Whipsaw, about a couple of American election consultants hired to run an election campaign in a fictional African state. Third is The Singapore Wink, about a retired stuntman unable to lose an obsession with a colleague who died...or did he?

Anyone who can somehow read those titles, and glean from them which other Ross Thomas books would appeal, would earn my gratitude.

Posted by: Splunge at January 09, 2022 11:23 AM (PQ4Fz)

308 WTF, did the 3 stooges do the plumbing?
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at January 09, 2022


***
I'll admit that the complex is old; it was new and the hot place to live, I'm told, during the early Seventies. Still, the owners need to keep up with maintenance. When I lived here from '92 to '97, it was great. Ever since the current gang took over in about 2014, the place has really gone to hell.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 09, 2022 11:24 AM (c6xtn)

309 Too quick on the trigger, mustbequantum -- thought you were asking a question and didn't finish reading your post before giving an author's name.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at January 09, 2022 11:24 AM (JzDjf)

310 305 Can someone explain that Favorite Book cartoon for me?
Posted by: Muldoon at January 09, 2022 11:22 AM (m45I2)


Your favorite book disgorges a movie that is a steaming pile.

Posted by: Splunge at January 09, 2022 11:24 AM (PQ4Fz)

311 Oh, and I did witness a really irritating bit of "wokeness" this past week. The school librarian was addressing a class of 3rd graders and urged them to choose "diverse" authors and subjects. "Do you know, most children's books are written by - WHITE MALES?" the white librarian said to the mainly white kids. She then urged them to read books about and by minorities and shilled for a book by an AA writer. Well, nobody checked that book out. It didn't occur to Ms. Woke that maybe the kids would have wanted to read it if she hadn't treated it like medicine they had to take. Being only a humble sub, I resisted the urge to ask her if she was concerned about the complete lack of diversity of the teaching staff - it's 99 percent white and female.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&&V at January 09, 2022 11:24 AM (HabA/)

312 Can someone explain that Favorite Book cartoon for me?

Posted by: Muldoon at January 09, 2022 11:22 AM (m45I2)

BEN R is busy today?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at January 09, 2022 11:25 AM (7bRMQ)

313 They're supposed to develop critical thinking - damnit, the point of math is to get the right answer. I don't care if the engineer who designed the overpass thought critically or not - I hope he got his math straight.

Posted by: DonnaV at January 09, 2022 11:13 AM

We learned in engineering courses that just getting the math right is not the point. You have to understand the logic of how you arrived at your solution. This is why they always gave us partial credit on our assignments. We always had to "show our work", because sometimes we could arrive at the correct answer, but not get the logic correct (i.e. some people could cheat, others could have gotten the answer by dumb luck). And sometimes we could have the incorrect answer, but because the work to get to the answer was so involved, we might have missed a negative sign or missed a decimal place (cue Michael Bolton in Office Space).

So instead of docking us 25pts on a problem because we had the wrong answer, we'd get docked 5pts for the wrong answer due to missing a 'mundale detail', but credited with 20pts for having the correct strategy to solve it.

Posted by: Clyde Shelton at January 09, 2022 11:25 AM (Do5/p)

314 Now consider that in the context of todays world greats working with disease. And add in politics. I'll be surprised if we survive at all.
Posted by: Diogenes at January 09, 2022 11:22 AM (axyOa)


Hint: Those physicists and chemists and engineers weren't in on the graft!

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 11:26 AM (hOUT3)

315 So you're working on 52 X 7? Well here are a bunch of strategies you can learn to figure out the answer!
=====

Most Esteemed Donna of the Ampersands, I am reminded of a catchphrase from some nameless politician: 'Drill, baby, drill.'

Posted by: mustbequantum at January 09, 2022 11:26 AM (MIKMs)

316 So instead of docking us 25pts on a problem because we had the wrong answer, we'd get docked 5pts for the wrong answer due to missing a 'mundale detail', but credited with 20pts for having the correct strategy to solve it.

Posted by: Clyde Shelton at January 09, 2022 11:25 AM (Do5/p)

All that work just to drive a train?

Posted by: Dumb Blonde at January 09, 2022 11:27 AM (7bRMQ)

317
But asking me to come back before even a week of retirement went by? Must be some sort of record.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 09, 2022 10:20 AM

I would be tempted to say, sure, if I can limit my time to X hours per week (whatever the X you can tolerate) at Y dollars per hour (since you're now going to have to pay your own freaking payroll taxes, plus you are clearly a valued senior contributor) and oh by the way, I can do all my work remote. And any other conditions you can think of.
Posted by: Helena Handbasket at January 09, 2022 11:07 AM


Cash. Cash monies. Benjamins. Crypto (if you do that sort of thing). As in "I will work for $X per hour, cash money. If they want to cut a check, the rate is 1.5 x $X per hour"

if they need you, they will pay

Posted by: AltonJackson at January 09, 2022 11:27 AM (DUIap)

318 "Can someone explain that Favorite Book cartoon for me?
Posted by: Muldoon"

Crappy movies?

Posted by: f'd at January 09, 2022 11:27 AM (vrz2I)

319 Ever since the current gang took over in about 2014, the place has really gone to hell.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 09, 2022 11:24 AM (c6xtn)


A parable for our times, eh?

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022 11:28 AM (hOUT3)

320 all these 'woke' asswipes need to go back to bed

Posted by: DB at January 09, 2022 11:28 AM (geLO8)

321 o instead of docking us 25pts on a problem because we had the wrong answer, we'd get docked 5pts for the wrong answer due to missing a 'mundale detail', but credited with 20pts for having the correct strategy to solve it.
Posted by: Clyde Shelton at January 09, 2022


***
If my grammar, jr. high, and high school math classes had taken that tack, I'd have done much better in those subjects. The only HS math class I enjoyed was geometry, since it was about logic and the strategy.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 09, 2022 11:28 AM (c6xtn)

322 Just a quick drive by, then I'll read the thread. There is a new meme on FB that says "I've had sex more violent than January 6th." Too good not to share.

Posted by: Notsothoreau - look forward at January 09, 2022 11:28 AM (YynYJ)

323 The End of Eternity, already mentioned, is another, but I find that I don't want to reread it much, as it seems a bit depressing.
Posted by: Splunge at January 09, 2022 11:13 AM (PQ4Fz)
------
Not one of Asimov's that I've read, but can't be as depressing as "Childhood's End" by Clarke.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 09, 2022 11:29 AM (DnWKq)

324 I have also noticed a similar feel in the pace of Clavell and Lee Child. Both wrote for movies\TV before becoming big novelists. I wonder if that sort of writing trains you to be economical. And I think it was the spaghetti Westerns that started the trend of depicting the past as dirty and messy. Westerns before that often seem a little off to modern eyes as the people just look too clean and tidy for people who have been living outside in the same clothes for two months. Probably because audiences living in a rougher era wanted to go to movies and see idealistic visions.

Posted by: Azjaeger at January 09, 2022 11:29 AM (3/XaG)

325 Posted by: Clyde Shelton at January 09, 2022 11:25 AM (Do5/p)

Well, then I stand corrected. I think the reason I hate all this is because I'm supposed to be helping them out and half the time, I don't know what the hell they are doing. It's rather embarrassing.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&&V at January 09, 2022 11:29 AM (HabA/)

326 The overall message of freshman engineering when I took it was "we're not going to teach you *what* to think, we're going to teach you *how* to think". i.e. they were going to teach us how to solve problems through logic and reason. And teach us that not every problem has *a* solution. Some problems can be solved in multiple ways. Which is why we always had to "show your work". Because some people could come up with different ways to arrive at the same solution.

That said, I don't understand the whole "new math" or "common core" stuff they teach today. That seems to be about making things more complicated than they should be.

Posted by: Clyde Shelton at January 09, 2022 11:29 AM (Do5/p)

327 Ever since the current gang took over in about 2014, the place has really gone to hell.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 09, 2022
*
A parable for our times, eh?
Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar (hOUT3) ~ Lie back and think of the sweet graft! ~ at January 09, 2022


***
True. Like the pesthole city of which it is a part, this complex was ahead of its time in utter incompetence.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 09, 2022 11:29 AM (c6xtn)

328 Diogenes - that is easily one of the best books I've ever read. Frankly, it reads like one of the best thriller novels ever but it's real and it teaches a great deal. It looks like a challenge -- it's a massive book -- but so well-written, you can't put it down once you reach critical mass early on.

Posted by: SFGoth at January 09, 2022 11:29 AM (KAi1n)

329 Muldoon, I didn't get it either.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 09, 2022 11:30 AM (Y+l9t)

330 Well, then I stand corrected. I think the reason I hate all this is because I'm supposed to be helping them out and half the time, I don't know what the hell they are doing. It's rather embarrassing.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&&V at January 09, 2022 11:29 AM

Don't be embarrassed. From what I have seen of this "new math" and "common core" stuff, I know I would struggle trying to teach it as well. And I have always been good at math since grammar school (hence part of the reason why I went into engineering).

Posted by: Clyde Shelton at January 09, 2022 11:31 AM (Do5/p)

331 it's a massive book -- but so well-written, you can't put it down once you reach critical mass early on.
Posted by: SFGoth at January 09, 2022 11:29 AM (KAi1n)

Concur!

Posted by: Diogenes at January 09, 2022 11:32 AM (axyOa)

332 Thanks for the link to madgeniusclub.com, very helpful. I am a big SF fan and have a hard time these days finding new non-woke material.

I always check the publisher when considering buying books, and do not buy Tor books due to their fascistic behavior during the Sad Puppies imbroglio. I will give them one thing - they have the most appealing cover art in the SF business. The non-woke publishers really need to step up their game in that department. Packaging matters.

Posted by: motionview (prep train organize) at January 09, 2022 11:32 AM (aKOI+)

333 That said, I don't understand the whole "new math" or "common core" stuff they teach today. That seems to be about making things more complicated than they should be.
Posted by: Clyde Shelton

Agreed, Clyde. Grandson lived with me for a semester in 4th or 5th grade. They way they taught "new math" boggled my mind and made no sense. Seemed over complicated.

Posted by: Infidel at January 09, 2022 11:32 AM (qpolg)

334 Write 52 down 7 times in a column and add 'em up. Duh.

Posted by: f'd at January 09, 2022 11:32 AM (vrz2I)

335 In the meantime, I took all the wet ceiling fibreboard that collapsed, stuck it in a garbage bag, and dumped it on the steps of the office with a note that read in part: "This is what I woke up to this morning. Just thought I'd share."
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 09, 2022 10:46 AM (c6xtn)


I had something very similar to this happen to me in the apartment complex I lived in. Water started coming out of the ceiling over the shower/bathtub. It was the Thanksgiving weekend and rental management couldn't seem to be bothered to send anyone out.

The problem ultimately turned out to be a broken water line to the adjacent upstairs neighbor's toilet. That did a pretty fine job of flooding the downstair's neighbor's apt directly underneath.

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at January 09, 2022 11:32 AM (ZSK0i)

336 Too quick on the trigger, mustbequantum -- thought you were asking a question and didn't finish reading your post before giving an author's name.
=====

Not at all. I was making a joke about myself being confuzzled (my usual state) and not having the proper search skills. Where were you when I started the search? Hah! I needed you then.

Posted by: mustbequantum at January 09, 2022 11:33 AM (MIKMs)

337 Ah. So that is a clapperboard.

I wondered why a book would poop a hatbox.

Posted by: Muldoon at January 09, 2022 11:33 AM (m45I2)

338 So you're working on 52 X 7? Well here are a bunch of strategies you can learn to figure out the answer!
=====

Most Esteemed Donna of the Ampersands, I am reminded of a catchphrase from some nameless politician: 'Drill, baby, drill.'
Posted by: mustbequantum at January 09, 2022


***
I admit I did not recognize the parameters until I'd already solved it in my head. When I was a kid, I noticed that Christmas always came a day later (or 2 in leap years) than the year before -- Monday, Tuesday, etc. I put it down to, "Well, the count starts on the next day." It was not until many years later that I realized: 52 weeks x 7 days = 364, and Xmas is the 365th or 366th.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 09, 2022 11:34 AM (c6xtn)

339 Read/listened to 30 year-old Woodrow Wilson's "The Study of Administration" today (it's just a 20-page paper, pub. in 1887). He foresaw or inspired the unaccountable Deep State and proposed to make government administration a science.

The line that really killed me, when talking about the modern, heroic bureaucrat, "the greater his power the less likely is he to abuse it," Oh?! Great read on human nature, there, Mr. Genius.

Posted by: t-bird at January 09, 2022 11:34 AM (8u/ei)

340 If my grammar, jr. high, and high school math classes had taken that tack, I'd have done much better in those subjects. The only HS math class I enjoyed was geometry, since it was about logic and the strategy.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at January 09, 2022 11:28 AM

Ironically, geometry was the first math class in high school where I originally struggled. And it was with the proofs. I hated those in the beginning. Those were all about logic and I prided myself at being able to logically solve those things. But in the beginning, inevitably I was using the wrong rules to solve the proofs. And it was driving me nuts. But thankfully I had a good teacher and he helped encourage me to be patient with myself and work through my struggles. Eventually I learned to get better at the proofs and it felt great when I would get them correct.

Posted by: Clyde Shelton at January 09, 2022 11:35 AM (Do5/p)

341 And even more depressing tha "Childhood's End" is "The Triumph of Time", the final book of Blish's Cities in Flight series.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 09, 2022 11:35 AM (DnWKq)

342 I had to stare at the favorite book cartoon for awhile, but I think I got it. You have a favorite book that you've read many times. Eventually someone decides it should be made into a movie. The contents of the book have to be condensed into a movie and the result is essentially excrement.

Posted by: But what do I know at January 09, 2022 11:35 AM (jYQlA)

343 Californians Are Leaving for Texas So Quickly U-Haul Ran Out of Trucks

-
So wagon trains? You'd have to fight off the savages.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at January 09, 2022 11:36 AM (FVME7)

344 Can someone explain that Favorite Book cartoon for me?
Posted by: Muldoon at January 09, 2022 11:22 AM (m45I2)

Your favorite book disgorges a movie that is a steaming pile.
Posted by: Splunge at January 09, 2022 11:24 AM (PQ4Fz)
***

Hmmm. I'm thinking that book was The Catcher of the Flies.

Posted by: Diogenes at January 09, 2022 11:36 AM (axyOa)

345 In Search of Klingsor by Jorge Volpi is a fictional explication of the race to build the bomb between the Manhattan Project, the Nazis and Rooskis.

Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at January 09, 2022 11:37 AM (y7DUB)

346 Can someone explain that Favorite Book cartoon for me?
Posted by: Muldoon


We need Kris. I don't get it, either.

Posted by: t-bird at January 09, 2022 11:37 AM (fSmfa)

347 Then went a dealer in contemporary books, sold one book for one dollar.

A few weeks ago, the wife and I took 4 boxes of books to Half Price. Bought 4 items (one of which was a 3 book boxed set, so 6 if you want to be that way...). Net cost to me: $70.

Posted by: Oddbob at January 09, 2022 11:37 AM (nfrXX)

348 "I wondered why a book would poop a hatbox.
Posted by: Muldoon "

It was a promo.

Posted by: The Cat In The Hat Box at January 09, 2022 11:37 AM (vrz2I)

349 MD mandates that you have renters' insurance whether in a condo or apartment. That way, if your unit is at fault, there is a third party payer to chip in. My building was built in 2008 so thought I had some protection with updated codes etc but I think with large buildings there is just no,such thing as a small leak. Even though everything is going to be fixed including replacing flooring, the aggravation is still the same.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 09, 2022 11:38 AM (Y+l9t)

350 Can someone explain that Favorite Book cartoon for me?

I think Hairyback Guy nailed it at comment 21.

Posted by: Oddbob at January 09, 2022 11:39 AM (nfrXX)

351 re: math and showing your work, when I was a teaching assistant in physics, responsible for quizzes and the like, I told my students it was up to them to show their work. If they got it right, fine, but it was wrong I would only give partial credit for work shown. I would also only deduct a final point or two if they said something like "I'm pretty sure the answer is wrong for $thisReason but don't have time to find my error." I wanted them to THINK about the answer, and to know that -2 million Ohms was impossible.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at January 09, 2022 11:39 AM (t0O2k)

352 Sometimes dissent is patriotic, sometimes not.

Chicago Teachers Union Delegate to Report Members Who Show Up for Work and Do Their Jobs

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at January 09, 2022 11:39 AM (FVME7)

353 From The Choirboys..

"There were 2 Officer Hadleys in the precinct, not related, one male and one female.

Known as "Balls" Hadley and "No Balls" Hadley aka "Dickless Tracey"

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 11:41 AM (arJlL)

354 You can't even talk to the woke..imagine people (not the leaders, who are hypocritical power seekers who assuredly don't believe a bit of what they are teaching) who don't have the observational capacity to see that there is no such thing as racism or sexism keeping anyone down and hasn't been for at least 40-50 years. You WILL be kept down if you are not part of the elite class or display fealty to their cultural markers showing your submission. Your race or sex does not keep you "out". These idiots are feeling really "noble and dedicated" by doing the same thing as getting up early every Sunday morning and standing by an AA gun in Hawaii in case the Imperial Japanese Navy attacks again.

Posted by: Azjaeger at January 09, 2022 11:41 AM (3/XaG)

355 Can someone explain that Favorite Book cartoon for me?
Posted by: Muldoon

We need Kris. I don't get it, either.
Posted by: t-bird

The book is going to be made into a movie.

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 11:42 AM (arJlL)

356 If a cartoon needs to be explained, it is not a very good cartoon.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 09, 2022 11:42 AM (Y+l9t)

357 Burt Lancaster and... something Russell?

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 09, 2022 11:43 AM (dNqv+)

358 We read Childhood's End in 6th grade. Mrs. Ziff was the best teacher I ever had.

Posted by: SFGoth at January 09, 2022 11:43 AM (KAi1n)

359 I recently finished the memoirs of colonel John S.Mosby, a confederate officer who grew 2 companies worth of his "Rangers". The book was compiled from a combination of his diary and from newspaper clippings of the time. He rejected General Lee's surrender at Appomatox and continued hostilities until 1866.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at January 09, 2022 11:44 AM (jTmQV)

360 If a cartoon needs to be explained, it is not a very good cartoon.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice)

Don't yell at me !

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 11:44 AM (arJlL)

361 Um, the cartoon, the book is shitting out a crappy movie.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 09, 2022 11:44 AM (dNqv+)

362 Well, there's your problem.

Newly installed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg defended his controversial policies in a Harlem speech Saturday saying it had been a "long week" that left him surprised about the "push back" on his progressive agenda.

"I'm new to politics but I'm steadfast. We are going to stay the course," Bragg said at the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network headquarters.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at January 09, 2022 11:44 AM (FVME7)

363 Agreed, Clyde. Grandson lived with me for a semester in 4th or 5th grade. They way they taught "new math" boggled my mind and made no sense. Seemed over complicated.

Posted by: Infidel at January 09, 2022 11:32 AM

Yep, no kidding. That said, I do understand the idea that some people can reason through things differently. For example, taking 25% of 100. I remember this, because I got into a discussion about how to determine 25% of a check when wanting to leave a 25% tip.

I said that I round the amount up to nearest easy number (i.e. $33.65 round up to $34). Then I divide by 2 twice. So $17, then $8.50. And I could easily do that in my head. Others could do that, but would take 10% of $34 and multiply by 2.5. So $3.40 --> $6.80 --> +$1.70 = $8.50.

Personally I find my way the easiest and quickest for me, but others may find the 10% way easier... or another way easier. So I imagine that (hopefully) may be the reason why they teach different ways of getting to the same answer. Because people think in different ways and what one person thinks is easy may not be easy for someone else.

Posted by: Clyde Shelton at January 09, 2022 11:45 AM (Do5/p)

364 = 52 X 7

Posted by: Muldoon at January 09, 2022 11:45 AM (m45I2)

365 362 Well, there's your problem.

Newly installed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg defended his controversial policies in a Harlem speech Saturday saying it had been a "long week" that left him surprised about the "push back" on his progressive agenda.

"I'm new to politics but I'm steadfast. We are going to stay the course," Bragg said at the Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network headquarters.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at January 09, 2022 11:44 AM (FVME7)

In other words: I am willing to watch each and every one of you die and the city burn in order to see my ideas about society implemented.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at January 09, 2022 11:46 AM (dNqv+)

366 Just finished Operation Barbarossa. It was decent enough, but nothing new that I didn't already know. It would be a good read for someone that didn't know any of the history.
Just started Making of the Atomic Bomb. Thanks for the tip Diogenes! I'm only about 60 pages in, and the author does a really solid job of making the physics understandable and interesting.
Getting ready to order Bloodlands and Enemy at the Gate.

Posted by: Old Blue at January 09, 2022 11:46 AM (VNmG1)

367 Ve haff vays to make you vax.

Spanish Mother Separated From Children After Trying to Flee Country to Stop Vaccination

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at January 09, 2022 11:47 AM (FVME7)

368 Buck is NOOD!

Posted by: CN...FJB at January 09, 2022 11:48 AM (ONvIw)

369 364 = 52 X 7
Posted by: Muldoon at January 09, 2022 11:45 AM (m45I2)
------
Well played, Muldoon. Well played.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 09, 2022 11:49 AM (DnWKq)

370 Almost Twice as Many Military Members Died of Suicide Than Coronavirus Since Start of Pandemic

-
I wonder if it had anything to do with the military going batshit.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at January 09, 2022 11:49 AM (FVME7)

371 364 = 52 X 7
Posted by: Muldoon


He's right, you know.

Posted by: t-bird at January 09, 2022 11:49 AM (PPQdm)

372 Excellent Book Thread, Eris!

Posted by: Weasel at January 09, 2022 11:50 AM (0IeYL)

373 Well done Muldoon.

Posted by: f'd at January 09, 2022 11:50 AM (vrz2I)

374 Hugh Hefner Galpal Claims Playboy Mansion Party Poodle Got Addicted to Cocaine

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter 2022 at January 09, 2022 11:50 AM (FVME7)

375 Hiya Donna of the Ampersands !

Posted by: JT at January 09, 2022 11:50 AM (arJlL)

376 Fun fact: 8% of 100 equals 100% of 8. 25% of 50 equals 50% of 25. And so on.

Posted by: Jay Why Que One A at January 09, 2022 11:51 AM (jYQlA)

377 ie. [25% of] $33.65

Convert it to binary and shift it over two bits.

Ow! What was that for?

Posted by: t-bird at January 09, 2022 11:54 AM (lDew/)

378 Almost outta here but been reading along. Last year was at my sister's and she said look at her granddaughters math homework. I had no idea what they were doing and sister send niece said they couldn't figure it out either.

Posted by: Skip at January 09, 2022 11:59 AM (2JoB8)

379 Okay the fly should have been the clue that the book crapped out a terrible movie.

Problem is when you first look at it the happy book has the movie icon next to it.

Posted by: Anti doesn't matter. at January 09, 2022 12:00 PM (bDzJM)

380 Pool and Kornbluth"s "Space Merchants" is great; have not read Pohl's sequel.

Posted by: James at January 09, 2022 12:05 PM (g+jkN)

381 324 I have also noticed a similar feel in the pace of Clavell and Lee Child. Both wrote for movies\TV before becoming big novelists. I wonder if that sort of writing trains you to be economical. And I think it was the spaghetti Westerns that started the trend of depicting the past as dirty and messy. Westerns before that often seem a little off to modern eyes as the people just look too clean and tidy for people who have been living outside in the same clothes for two months. Probably because audiences living in a rougher era wanted to go to movies and see idealistic visions.
Posted by: Azjaeger at January 09, 2022 11:29 AM (3/XaG)

Leone broke the Hollywood western paradigm for sure. BUT he did introduce the ridiculous concept of highly accurate rapid fire of pistols of the period.

His movies are fun though. That's why audiences loved them.

The Dirty Harry movies were just Leone's westerns in contemporary form.

Posted by: Pork Chops & Bacons at January 09, 2022 12:12 PM (Fs5vw)

382 Yuck, back from a drizzly and cold constitutional with the lovely and weather-resistant Mrs naturalfake.


Lessee what's upthread.

Posted by: naturalfake at January 09, 2022 12:21 PM (5NkmN)

383 Yeah I have a big stack of "you started reading these" books by me including Cur Deus Homo (Anselm), The History of the Runestaff (Moorcock), Augustine on Prayer, The Works of Rudyard Kipling, The Road to Serfdom (Hayek), Irrational Man (Barrett), The Norton Book of Classical Literature, and The First Book of Swords.

But most of those are so weighty that they are not something to relax or rest while enjoying, so they sit back and don't get touched very often.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 09, 2022 12:39 PM (KZzsI)

384 Two recommendations:

Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1, edited by Robert Silverberg. Many classic short stories from 1929-1964 that always seem to come up in discussions about sf.

The Long Slide: Thirty Years in American Journalism, by Tucker Carlson. Mr. Carlson selected columns from his writings that cover a variety of topics. His curiosity and willingness to leave his comfort zone are on display. He also documents the decline of corporate media to publish conservative and/or controversial material.

Posted by: March Hare at January 09, 2022 12:47 PM (lwrAe)

385 My year in books:

90 books read, 22,650 pages read.
Shortest Book "My Life and Adventures" by Calamity Jane (6 pages)
Longest Book "A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century" 679 pages (also most shelved book on Goodreads)
Least shelved book on Goodreads was "The Sharp Kid" by our buddy horde author David Vinings, but then he just put it out.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 09, 2022 12:49 PM (KZzsI)

386 My copy of Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians arrived yesterday, and I crawled into bed with a cat and read it last night. Just as funny as it was to me when I was 8.

Toad's cats: Heather (the mother), John Napkin, Mary Mouse, George Soup, Ernest Waffle and Sally Egg. Spoiler: John Napkin is the naughty one, and he gets into the Christmas Turkey.

Posted by: Miley, the Duchess at January 09, 2022 01:19 PM (Mzdiz)

387 "356 If a cartoon needs to be explained, it is not a very good cartoon."

Nobody gets them all.

Posted by: Gary Larson at January 09, 2022 01:28 PM (pCXlW)

388 "Thanks! [The Third Man] is one of the great 'atmosphere' films of all time, isn't it? The use of light and shadow, the ominous "joint patrols," and people picking through the ruins."

And the music - so lovely, so sad, performed on the zither by a musician whom director Carol Reid heard playing in a Viennese cafe.

Posted by: Nemo - who says that Covid-19 is endemic, and Ghisaine Maxwell will not have killed herself. at January 09, 2022 01:45 PM (S6ArX)

389 Non-woke science fiction-I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions for oder science fiction as I find most of it to be unreadable-far too much of it seems to be written by SJWs for SJWs. Of course Larry Correia is an exception to this, but I simply don't like his style. For those who want strong female characters, you can find those in James Schmitz, some of Bob Heinlein and a few others.

Anyway, although lots of science fiction from the late 1940s or 50s on has had a bit of social commentary (particularly on racial issues; sometimes explicitly as in some of Ray Bradbury's stories and sometimes with the aliens acting as proxies for racial minorities), at least most authors in the past didn't beat you over the head with social commentary (I recognize, however, my view on this may be due mostly to the fact that this was the literature I read during my formative years). So I'd recommend r

Posted by: Pope John the 20th at January 09, 2022 01:47 PM (KMrXU)

390 Non-woke SF cont.

So I'd recommend reading older SF; this has the additional recommendation that much of it is available very cheap or for free. At the moderate price to cheap end, Gollancz/Orion Pub Group has some Gateway Omnibus books by notable authors collecting stories and novels by classic authors-I have in hand, for example, a collection of L. Sprague DeCamp novels by that publisher-these have been passing through my local Half Price bookstore for very reasonable prices. I've also seen them for Henry Kuttner, C.L. Moore, Edmond Hamilton, Cyril Kornbluth and others. At the more moderate end-the New England Science Fiction Association (NESFA) has been reprinting lots of collections of classic authors-I particularly recommend the 2 vol. collection of William Tenn's stories (about $60 for the hardcover pair).

Posted by: Pope John the 20th at January 09, 2022 02:00 PM (KMrXU)

391 Non-woke SF #3.

At the cheaper end, Amazon (yeah, I know-boo, hiss, but I'm in the Smiles program and donate to Project Veritas so that assuages my conscience a bit) has kindle collections by Wildside Press collected as Megapacks that are collections of stories and novels of science fiction authors (among many other genres)-the collections are mostly or all public domain, but cost less than a buck so are worth the price for convenience alone.

Finally, the free stuff. The internet archive (internet dot org) has nearly complete collections of the best (and also not-so-good) science fiction magazines from the 1930s through the 1980s available for download. It takes a bit of effort to find all the mags (or maybe less if your search skills are better than mine) and with a few nights effort you can have nearly complete pdf collections of Galaxy Magazine, Astounding/Analog, Worlds of If Science Fiction, the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Unknown, etc.

Posted by: Pope John the 20th at January 09, 2022 02:14 PM (KMrXU)

392 Non-woke SF #4
In addition to the stories and novels (many of the classic novels were serialized in the mags as that was a better market for many years), you can also read about all the weird stuff churning through the SF community at the time. From Dianetics (Astounding/Analog) to the Shaver Mysteries (Amazing Stories) to UFOs to Psi, it's all there.
Project Gutenberg has several significant SF authors available for free, including almost everything written by H. Beam Piper and faded page dot com has lots of bits and pieces including some Cordwainer Smith. So, hundreds of thousands of pages available for free if the older stuff is to your taste.

Posted by: Pope John the 20th at January 09, 2022 02:21 PM (KMrXU)

393 late, as usual

@73 good recent SF that isn't full of Woke bullshit:

depends a bit on how you define "recent"

Sabrina Chase's Sequoyah seriies >2012
Doug Boulter's "Not with a Whimper" series > 2016
Nathan Lowell "Trader's Tales" and others > 2012
Laurence Dahmer's early stuff >2013, last two of his "Stasis" stories he started going woke

Posted by: yara at January 09, 2022 02:33 PM (hBsVD)

394 Great job, All Hail Eris, and thanks so much for filling in for Oregon Muse. Prayers for OM.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at January 09, 2022 03:13 PM (OPz4M)

395 My thanks to Pope John the 20th @391 for pointing me to the archive.net. Some prowling around there enabled me to find a story that I remembered but the title and author of which I had forgotten. I remembered it as being in "Worlds of IF" magazine sometime between 1966-69.

It was "The Accomplice" by Vernor Vinge. It was in Worlds of IF, April 1967, p.119. It has since been published in "The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge".

SPOILER WARNING:

The story is told from the viewpoint of the owner of a computer company. His head of company security reports to him that someone has been embezzling computer time on their 4D5 computer; some 70 hours worth, wait for it...$4,000,000!!! They discover that the embezzler is one of their oldest and most trusted employees. And why has he been stealing all this computer time? He tells them: "With the aid of the 4D5 we've animated one of the great novels of the century." (the story is set in the 1990s). What novel is this? Why, "The Lord of the Rings" of course. He convinces them to release the movie. And it proves to be an Oscar winning hit!

I have to wonder: did Peter Jackson ever read this story?

Posted by: John F. MacMichael at January 09, 2022 06:07 PM (kMZIB)

396 if you really want to teach those kids math


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzxVyO6cpos

Posted by: redclay at January 09, 2022 06:42 PM (zakMt)

397 I see you have 'Door Into Summer' to read.

FWIW: I found a Korean(?) show on either Net or Prime - sorry - called 'DIS' and started watching it.

It begins with a quote from the book re: Pete the Cat going from door to door in the house trying to escape the snow outside and find the door into Summer.

The story, from what I saw in the 1st episode, is basically R.A.H.'s story.

At the end of the episode I didn't see Heinlein given credit for the story; this could have been an oversight on my part.

It's in sub-titles, too, fwiw.

Posted by: Mark A Faby at January 09, 2022 08:06 PM (uHhPi)

398 I finished The Hunter tonight. That's the Richard Stark book that Mel Gibson made into Payback (also an earlier film called Point Blank with Lee Marvin). Great read, if a bit dark. Parker is more of a bastard in this than the movies and cops are more involved.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 09, 2022 08:16 PM (KZzsI)

399 John F. MacMichael:

Glad to have helped. Downloadable pdfs are available for about 90% of the issues of the major mags between the late 1930s and the 80s for Astounding/Analog, and between the dates of initial publication in the 1950s through the 80s for Worlds of If, Galaxy and the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. The coverage of other mags is more spotty.
I remember that Vernor Vinge story, although I wouldn't have remembered the author or title. IIRC, part of the conclusion has one of the company execs complaining about the millions of dollars of computer time wasted on animating the LOR, and the hero responding that the cost of doing the animation by computer was a fraction of the cost of having it done by live animators.

Electronically thumbing through the pdf copies of the old mags (and stories on Gutenberg and faded page) is enjoyable because I can reread old half-remembered stories, and also find some really good stories that have have rarely or never been reprinted for one reason or another. There were lots of good authors in the old days who seem to be mostly forgotten today-like Miriam Allen DeFord, Reginald Bretnor, and so on.

Posted by: Pope John the 20th at January 09, 2022 08:50 PM (KMrXU)

400 Mark Faby:

According to IMDB Heinlein is given "based on the novel by" credit for the Japanese film "The Door into Summer." BTW, good catch; it looks to be available on Netflix and not Prime.

Posted by: Pope John the 20th at January 09, 2022 09:04 PM (KMrXU)

401 The dude is obviously Burt Lancaster. Don't know who the babe is.

Posted by: 370H55V at January 09, 2022 10:07 PM (WusEB)

402 It is truly a great and helpful piece of information. I'm
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Posted by: sv 388 at February 01, 2022 12:44 AM (9Tgjx)

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