Sunday Morning Book Thread - 12-15-2024 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

(HT: CBD)

Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading. Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material. As always, pants are required, unless you are wearing these pants...

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, deck those halls and jingle those bells, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

PIC NOTE

CBD sent me today's picture, which was taken at the Petit Palais museum in Paris, France. This is a lovely museum that houses approximately 43,000 items (not all are on display, of course).

It's also a reminder of what my TBR pile looks like these days. No matter how hard I try, how much I read, I just can't seem to whittle the number of TBR entries to a more manageable number. At some point I will have to stop buying books.

ARE FANTASY BOOKS LOSING THEIR IDENTITY?

Library of a Viking is asking a question about fantasy books, but I think it could apply across the board to other genres as well. Here, he's focusing only on the more recent books covers he's seen. I would tend to agree that there is a sameness to a lot of book covers, regardless of genre, because the design philosophy tends to be very similar in books these days. Almost like modern pop songs that tend to sound very similar to each other, even from different artists in different genres of music. Whenever I receive an email from Goodreads each month announcing new releases, I have noticed quite a bit of similarity in cover designs, independent of genre.

Now, I can also point to plenty of examples of modern books that I've purchased that definitely showcase the fantasy genre. Sanderson's recent release, Wind and Truth is very clearly from the fantasy genre, as is Larry Correia's Graveyard of Demons (the title alone is a strong indicator of either fantasy or horror).

It could simply be that a certain very popular genre (*cough* romantasy *cough*) is skewing which covers tend to show up on BookTubers' channels across the internet, hence the perception that fantasy (or any other genre) is losing its identity. So many books are being published at a prodigious rate that it's impossible to keep up with everything that's released every year. AI-generated book covers, publish-on-demand, and independent authors will most likely ensure that genre-fantasy doesn't lose it's exterior identity entirely, though traditional publishing may make it seem otherwise.

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WHAT TOO MANY BOOKS AND TBR'S MIGHT BE DOING TO YOUR READING

"Journey before destination."
Brandon Sanderson, The Stormlight Archive

I think Tristan makes some excellent points in his video. He observes that BookTube culture has created a situation where there is intense pressure to read MORE instead of reading DEEPLY. I've even noticed among my own reading habits. I'm on track to read more books this year than I've ever read since I've been keeping track. Part of that, I think is *because* I keep track now, though I do want to read my books in my TBR pile. Tracking my reading has internalized my desire to read *more* while diminishing my desire to read simply for the sake of reading, to slow down and simply enjoy the journey.

Now that I know--more or less--what my maximum reading capacity is in a year, perhaps for 2025 I shall slow down and smell the roses. I do want to read a lot more short stories, since I have numerous anthologies and collections that I've meant to read for years, but simply haven't gotten around to reading for various reasons.

MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

An absolute delight is Winter Fire: Christmas With GK Chesterton by Ryan Whitaker Smith. Smith takes excerpts from Chesterton's many essays about Christmas and puts them in the form of a devotional to be read over Advent then adds Scripture and how he finds that Chesterton's century old observations are more relevant to today than they were when written, both for the event and Christian values generally.
BTW, the title comes from a Chesterton quote: "Christ is not merely a summer sun for the prosperous but a winter fire for the unfortunate".
The second half of the book is a collection of his poems and essays as well as games, recipes, and carols relevant to Chesterton and his times. I especially enjoyed learning about the meaning of the lyrics to "Here We Go A'wasailing" which goes way back. (Don't hear that one so much anymore.)
I expect this to become a December tradition for me. It brings new interest to Advent, Christmas, and the Twelve Days.
Posted by: JTB at December 08, 2024 09:54 AM (yTvNw)

Comment: GK Chesterton is another one of those authors I *really* need to read. He has been highly recommended around these parts for years. I did enjoy watching the BBC's Father Brown series with Mark Williams in the titular role. I think he did a fine job.

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Last week, our 'Ette "FenelonSpoke" asked for book recommendations for a young Catholic man "disaffected" from the Roman Catholic Church. She didn't give many details other than his parents are Vietnamese and very devout, and he is an EMT. Apparently he wants some books that focus on Biblical criticism.
I suspect that "Biblical criticism" is code for "We don't know what's REALLY in the Bible." I further suspect that this young man has been listening too much to atheists such as Bart Ehrman (his mission seems to be deluding Christians and leading them away from the faith). Perhaps the young man is disaffected due to the sexual scandals that came to light back in the 1990s. Given those assumptions, here are a few book recommendations.
1) The Case for Jesus by Brant Pitre. This book demolishes the shoddy scholarship of Bart Ehrman, and lays-out the case that we have a very good chain-of-evidence for the New Testament since the time of the Apostles to the present day. An outstanding book that is a quick read.
2) Wheat and Tares by Fr. Mitch Pacwa, S.J. This book discusses the sexual scandal and how we can take solace in the Passion of Christ. Father Pacwa shows that the Catholic Church is not invalid because it has always had sinners.
3) Four Witnesses by Rod Bennett. This book shows what the early Church Fathers believed, in their own words.
4) Ignatius Press Study Bible (New Testament currently available, Combined Old and New Testaments coming soon). This Study Bible has been an ongoing project for some 30 years under the editorship of Scott Hahn (a convert to Catholicism). This Bible uses the Revised Standard Version 2nd Catholic Edition translation.
5) If this young man is really serious about exploring the Bible, than I would recommend the Loreto Publications edition of the Haydock Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible. This has all of Rev. Haydock's commentary. This is a facsimile of an 1850s edition. In some ways I prefer the Douay-Rheims translation since it is the English translation of St. Jerome's Latin Vulgate Bible. This one is not for the faint of heart because it has all of Rev. Haydock's commentary, keeps the old names of several of the books within the Bible, and has the 19th Century type-setting. There's a lot of treasure here, but the archaic wording takes a bit of effort to decipher. There are apparently some versions out there that use modern type-setting but have expurgated some of the commentary.
This barely scratches the surface of good, devout Catholic books. I haven't even recommended anything by Archbishop Fulton Sheen and he wrote something like 90 books. The Catechism of he Catholic Church, 2nd ed. is invaluable for getting a good reference to Catholic dogma and teaching.
Yours in Christ,
Retired Buckeye Cop

Comment: Retired Buckeye Cop's suggestions are very timely, since we are celebrating the birth of Christ right now. I've noticed a lot more interventions from God in my life in recent years. This is one of them, for sure.

More Moron-recommended reading material can be found HERE! (1000+ Moron-recommended books!)

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WHAT I'VE ACQUIRED THIS PAST WEEK:

I enjoyed The Jesus Incident by Frank Herbert and Bill Ransom, so I went ahead and ordered the rest of the books in the series:

Destination: Void -- The "prequel" that leads to the situation dominating the rest of the series

The Lazarus Effect

The Ascension Factor

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:

After reviewing some of OregonMuse's old Book Threads, I thought I'd try something a bit different. Instead of just listing WHAT I'm reading, I'll include commentary as well. Unless otherwise specified, you can interpret this as an implied recommendation, though as always your mileage may vary.

The Forbidden Door by Dean Koontz

This is part of Dean Koontz's Jane Hawk series of books. Although I have not read the previous entries in the series, Koontz does a pretty good job of bringing the reader up to speed on prior events. Jane is a former FBI agent who discovered that many people in government were not entirely themselves. When she found out the reasons behind these changes, she was framed for the murder of her husband and forced to go on the run to escape their clutches. Now she seeks to find a way to reclaim her son, who is hidden by an ally, but who is also surrounded by fake government agents scouring the valley in search of Jane's son. If they can find Travis, they believe that killing him will finally break Jane's will to resist their evil plans for world domination.

Seize the Night by Dean Koontz

Written in 1999, you can see shades of Odd Thomas in the main character, who is a young man afflicted with a peculiar genetic disorder (xeroderma pigmentosum--XP for short) that makes him extremely susceptible to ultraviolet radiation. Thus, he can only move around freely at night. Midnight Cove, the town where he lives, is near an old Army base that was the site of strange experiments and otherworldly experiences. He's on a quest to save the young son of a dear friend who was kidnapped by one of the remnants of those old experiments. The Army base is a very strange place, as reality twists and turns and is bent into a pretzel in some of the more secret locations.

Planescape: Torment

This was a video game that came out in the late 1990s. Although there is a novelization of the game, it bears little to no resemblance to the actual story *in* the game. Instead, I prefer to read the story as it plays out within the game. It's a story-driven game that has keep me engrossed for hours on end, multiple times. As the Nameless One, you awaken on a slab in the Mortuary in Sigil, the city that's at the center of the multiverse. You have no memory of who you are or why you can't die. Your quest is to regain your lost journal, which may hold the clues to your seeming immortality and explain just how you came to be in defiance of the known laws of the planes. Along the way, you will encounter former companions and gain new companions, all of whom hold clues to who you really are. In the end, you must answer one question: "What can change the nature of a man?"

This is hands down my favorite video game of all time.

PREVIOUS SUNDAY MORNING BOOK THREAD - 12-08-2024 (NOTE: Do NOT comment on old threads!)

Tips, suggestions, recommendations, etc., can all be directed to perfessor -dot- squirrel -at- gmail -dot- com.

Disclaimer: No Morons were physically harmed in the making of this Sunday Morning Book Thread. "What can change the nature of a squirrel?"

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Tolle Lege

Posted by: Skip at December 15, 2024 08:59 AM (fwDg9)

2 BOOKZZZZ!

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 15, 2024 09:00 AM (WL2lA)

3
ESPONJA!!1!1!1!!

Posted by: AltonJackson at December 15, 2024 09:00 AM (tljrc)

4 Would be easy to make that stack of books, I love stuff like that.
Anyway all but 1/2 way in Martin Gilbert's Churchill a Life

Posted by: Skip at December 15, 2024 09:01 AM (fwDg9)

5 What if I want to read the 47th book from the bottom of the stack?

There's a reason we store them sideways.

Posted by: Weak Geek at December 15, 2024 09:02 AM (p/isN)

6 Good morning fellow Book Threadists. I hope everyone had a great week of reading. Mine was wonderful.

Posted by: JTB at December 15, 2024 09:05 AM (yTvNw)

7 If I did make that stack they wouldn't be readable, but it would never fall over either

Posted by: Skip at December 15, 2024 09:05 AM (fwDg9)

8 I actually have a pair of pants like that.

Posted by: Picric at December 15, 2024 09:06 AM (13tTk)

9 5 What if I want to read the 47th book from the bottom of the stack?

--

Book jenga would be a cool game

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 15, 2024 09:06 AM (7gFa4)

10 Yay book thread!

I'm not one of those who reads a lot of Catholic apologetics, although Brant Pitre has a lot of great books.

I'd put forth Diary of an American Exorcist by Stephen Rossetti because it's an interesting topic and he includes scriptural references to explain how exorcisms work.

That's something that I think gets left out of discussions of Catholic practices - much effort is spent to tie things back to the Bible as well as the Church Fathers. It also highlights the limits of Sola Scriptura because (to give a timely example) Christmas isn't in there, and that's why the Puritans banned it and punished those who observed it.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 09:08 AM (ZOv7s)

11 "Great Books of the Western World," in 54 volumes, cost $500 a full set in 1952. I downloaded it from archive.org for free (a hefty 6.3GB, so I assembled a sturdy shelf to hold the thumb drive.)

V1 explains that the Great Books document the 'Great Conversation' about the most important matters, continuing for 3000 years. It then gives Adlerian reasons why one ought to go on to slog through V4 through V54, Homer through Freud. It helpfully suggests an example ten-year reading plan.

Massive volumes V2 and V3 contain the 'Syntopicon,' a detailed cross-reference that links a big conceptual outline directly into the book passages in V4-54 (also into many works not included in the set

pretty handy all by itself.

V4-54 are the books themselves. Now I have something to read during those long stretches without broadband access; or, failing that, something new to feel guilty about for not persevering.

Posted by: gp at December 15, 2024 09:09 AM (7biUw)

12 My first thought about the top photo was a TBR pile, especially mine. That pile used to be about the next book I want to read. Now it is still that but mostly so the books I want to get to eventually don't get lost in the many boxes holding the books that are overflow from the shelves.

Posted by: JTB at December 15, 2024 09:10 AM (yTvNw)

13 Another good resource is the "Lord of Spirits" podcast on Ancient Faith. The first season is great, but after that it fades down the stretch. It does a wonderful job of showing how the Bible is interpreted by traditional Christians (Orthodox and Catholic) vs modern scholars. Lots of fun Gen X pop culture references as well.

Around the second season they ran out of material and it became "Why Eastern Orthodox is Perfect and Everyone Else is Wrong," which got real old real fast. But it was really good for a long time.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 09:11 AM (ZOv7s)

14 I am a lifelong fantasy reader who is starting to really hate the sight of romantasy.

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 15, 2024 09:12 AM (7gFa4)

15 Morning, Perfessor.

Howdy, Horde.

The pic? I dunno -- seems like a trap to me. After all, as the great philosopher Peter Venkman once said, "No human being would stack books that way."

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 09:12 AM (q3u5l)

16 Hands up everyone who read that Guilty Pleasure title as "The Wang" 🖐🏻

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 09:12 AM (kpS4V)

17 Are Fantasy Books Losing Their Identity?

I've come up with a law about that kind of question.

Posted by: Ian Betteridge at December 15, 2024 09:12 AM (dg+HA)

18 Working my way through LOTR. I feel as if I’m enjoying it more this time than when I read it last year. I’m taking my time and trying to imagine each scene as it unfolds. Great fun.

Posted by: RetSgtRN at December 15, 2024 09:12 AM (Qonlh)

19 Koontz Jane Hawk series is one I found too horrific for me, even though it's not really horror.

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 15, 2024 09:15 AM (7gFa4)

20 Good morning book friends!!

I read the sweetest book this week: The Kamagawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai. A retired police detective opens a restaurant in Kyoto with his daughter, and together they serve customers who seek a memorial dish. It is gentle, kind and pays homage to traditional Japanese fare and the family and loved ones who prepared and ate it together. I cannot recommend this enough!

Posted by: Moki at December 15, 2024 09:15 AM (wLjpr)

21 I'm home sick with a cold I caught from a grandkid: worth it. Anyway, I went to NYC for a couple of days to visit a daughter, and at the same time was rereading Tyler Anbinder's City of Dreams. This is a very good history of NYC, specifically the immigrant history. It covers the city from its inception, including the waves of Dutch, English, German, Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigration. Anbinder also covers the later waves of Hispanics, Chinese, Indians, West Indians, and Puerto Ricans, but begins to get a bit preachy and woke at that point. Still, it's well worth reading.

While in NYC, we visited the Tenement Museum, which I recommend. It was difficult not to be a know-it-all, not only because that is my natural bent, but because I knew so much about the tenement experience, having just read the book. Our guide was a lovely young Chinese woman with a PhD in history, and she really knew her stuff. The combo of the book and the real-life museum was exceptionally interesting.

Posted by: Archimedes at December 15, 2024 09:16 AM (xCA6C)

22 I may have to watch that video on reading for achievement instead of enjoyment -- but that would cut into reading time, which is already chewed into by news/commentary websites.

I went on a book-buying tear this year to complete collections. Nearly did it; the few remaining are on a list.

This coming year: no purchases, read what I own, and move at least some of the standalones to new homes. Need the shelf space.

Posted by: Weak Geek at December 15, 2024 09:16 AM (p/isN)

23 I've only now realized that "The Weed Agency" can be considered a basic history of Washington from the 1980s onward. Recognize the name Condit? (I think his first name was Gary.) He came to national notice when his sidepiece, Chandra Levy, was found dead in a D.C. park. He didn't remain in the House for long after that -- but he gets a mention in the book. (He was innocent; some thug killed Levy.)

As for the story, it's now 2007, the agency has fucked up, and Congress is furious.

Posted by: Weak Geek at December 15, 2024 09:16 AM (p/isN)

24 Would be easy to make that stack of books, I love stuff like that.
Anyway all but 1/2 way in Martin Gilbert's Churchill a Life
Posted by: Skip at December 15, 2024 09:01 AM (fwDg9)
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I'm up to the debate over air parity in 1935. Gilbert does a good job of recounting it, but I think the context is lacking. Especially back then, air power took longer than any other branch to expand in wartime. The Army can go from next to nothing to millions of men in a year. Navy ships take longer to build, but a maritime country like the UK can militarize the civilian fleet and crews fairly quickly.

But pilots take lots of hours to train, and the infrastructure and command also need to be carefully laid out. (cont)

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 09:17 AM (ZOv7s)

25 @9 --

Book Jenga could be deadly.

Posted by: Weak Geek at December 15, 2024 09:18 AM (p/isN)

26 We had an early Christmas gift exchange in the family because KTY starts a new job thus week and won't have leave for a while.

Books I asked for and got:
The Exorcist Files by Fr Carlos Martins
Confessions of St Augustine
I also asked for the Ignatius Study Bible and I think it may show up at some point

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 15, 2024 09:18 AM (7gFa4)

27 19 Koontz Jane Hawk series is one I found too horrific for me, even though it's not really horror.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 15, 2024 09:15 AM (7gFa4)

I had to go through it slowly, lots of breaks, and (horrors) reading the last two chapters well before finishing. It is a worst case scenario, and the most frightening thing about it is that it is not without the realm of possibility in this present world.

Posted by: Moki at December 15, 2024 09:19 AM (wLjpr)

28 This coming year: no purchases, read what I own,
.
Posted by: Weak Geek

___

Famous last words ... 😄

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 15, 2024 09:20 AM (7gFa4)

29 good morning Perfessor, Horde

"Wordz wordz wordz" -- Hip Hop Hamlet

Posted by: callsign claymore at December 15, 2024 09:20 AM (JcnCJ)

30 There have been a few articles on the lack of decent covers these days. Just bold title and author and maybe a landscape from a distance. Maybe they think a more descriptive picture of the characters would feel exclusionary to a potential reader who "doesn't see themselves" reflected exactly? That's my suspicion.

Thankfully SF and Fantasy still seem to have fun covers for the most part.

I wonder if they just don't want to pay an illustrator for a decent cover these days. No more Frazetta and Kaluta and Whelan and Brom, just AI.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 09:21 AM (kpS4V)

31 I'm continuing with the daily readings from "Winter Fire" and it has become a daily pleasure. It also is increasing my interest in Chesterton's many writings. Like grace notes in a concerto, the other materials in the second half of the book add to the enjoyment. Example: A popular carol of the period was "Here We Go A'Wasailling" (sp?). Besides the lyrics he gives the traditions behind the song and includes where the word 'wassail' comes from. It derives from Old English 'waes hael' which means good health. Hael survives in modern use as 'hale', as in hale and hearty. I like finding such connections.

Posted by: JTB at December 15, 2024 09:21 AM (yTvNw)

32 Good morning. My reading has fallen off the table entirely.
Not being able to lie in the sunshine for several hours a day has a lot to do with that. Sunny but 30° is not the same.

Posted by: From about That Time at December 15, 2024 09:22 AM (UjPG2)

33 Good morning Horde. Thanks Perfessor.

Re: I've noticed a lot more interventions from God in my life in recent years. This is one of them, for sure.

Always good to remember that God speaks to you through other people. Once you see it, you can't unsee it.

Posted by: TRex at December 15, 2024 09:22 AM (IQ6Gq)

34 One of my great reading pleasures is going to my book collection and pulling out a book to read that I bought decades earlier, knowing that when I bought it, I would eventually read it...

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at December 15, 2024 09:22 AM (PiwSw)

35 The Jane Hawk series is great, but yes, it's all the more horrific for its plausibility.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 09:23 AM (kpS4V)

36 Biblical "higher" criticism is among the most pernicious trends of modern scholarship. Its goal was to de-sanctify the Scriptures, and it took advantage of the fact that in the 19th century (its heyday) a lot of information about the ancient Middle East was lacking.

Now, archaeology has proven a great many things in the Bible to be true, but the damage is done.

Posted by: Dr. T at December 15, 2024 09:24 AM (lHPJf)

37 Good luck with the read-what-you-own bit, Weak Geek. I've considered that from time to time, but I always run across another shiny new (to me) book/writer (or decide to revisit an old favorite) and all those good intentions go out the window and scream all the way to the bottom of the Amazing Colossal To-Be-Read Pile.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 09:24 AM (q3u5l)

38 (cont)
In theory, France and the UK had a commanding lead in airpower and the reason why this debate was so important (and gets a whole chapter in Churchills memoirs) was that it was the biggest own goal of the entire period. Modest outlays would have paid huge dividends down the road, and ensured British strength in the air. Britain didn't need tons of aircraft, which go obsolete anyway, it needed PILOTS, who could be kept in reserve status, flying in clubs and such. Pilots recruited in 1935 who got just minimal flight time would have been very seasoned in 1939.

Another factor was (you guessed it!) the Spanish Civil War. Germany's contribution is vastly oversold in the leftist narrative, with less than 100 aircraft involved. Much more important was the regular rotations of aircrew and maintainers, who "veteranized" a peace-time military and each returning group became instructors for new classes.

That's how you take an air force from zero to dominant in six short years.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 09:25 AM (ZOv7s)

39 Good morning, Book People. I can participate live for a change as we are skipping Sunday School this morning.

For any of you liturgically-minded Christians, I stumbled on a really good Advent devotional "O come, OCome Emmanuel: A Liturgy for Daily Worship from Advent to Epiphany" compiled by Jonathan Gibson.
I am really enjoying it. It is designed for personal or group use. He also has one for Lent.

Posted by: TecumsehTea at December 15, 2024 09:25 AM (1TzeS)

40 Finally got Mark Lawrence Schrad's "Vodka Politics" from the library. When it first came out, the e-book price was ridiculous.

Anyway, a scholarly but very entertaining look at the central position vodka has in Russian life and politics -- so intertwined because the revenue from state run distilleries accounted for up to a third of the entire operating budget in Czarist times and up to a quarter for the Soviet state.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 09:25 AM (kpS4V)

41 I'm pretty certain CBD's interest in that photo is in keeping his roof from collapsing.

Posted by: Weasel at December 15, 2024 09:26 AM (A44Mw)

42 I had several conversation on space, speed of light, Pluto, Mars with a young man of 8.

I recommended to his parents some you tube videos, and The Lensman Series, starting with Galactic Patrol.

I know the golden age of Science Fiction is 13 years old. But I wanted to have a clean experience for him. He comes from a devout family, but the Narnia series is just not him. 1930s values are better than post-sexual revolution science fiction.

So the Lensman Series is good clean fun of good verses evil.

I finished rereading Galactic Patrol. Wow, my view of the tale is sure different now that I have a lot of life experience. The plot holes are amazing.

There never was as good a military industrial power as the Galactic Patrol. The Service taught me that no matter how elite the unit, there is a finite amount of stupidity. Always.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at December 15, 2024 09:26 AM (u82oZ)

43 Happy Sunday, literary Morons. Very little reading for me this week. I'm finishing up a book titled "Catholics in America: A Social Portrait" by Lisa Keister. I'm reading it in no small part because I know the author; her husband and I were friends college. Normally I wouldn't associate with sociologists, but for them I make an exception :-). There's a lot of analysis of social survey data, and she breaks down how Catholics compare with other religious (or non-religious) groups in America by income, education, wealth, as well as attitudes on political or social issues. It's surprisingly readable for a book with a lot of numbers (the graphics help a lot). Maybe worth a look if the subject is of interest to you.

Posted by: PabloD at December 15, 2024 09:26 AM (NXK/x)

44 13 Another good resource is the "Lord of Spirits" podcast on Ancient Faith. The first season is great, but after that it fades down the stretch. It does a wonderful job of showing how the Bible is interpreted by traditional Christians (Orthodox and Catholic) vs modern scholars. Lots of fun Gen X pop culture references as well.

--

Agreed

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 15, 2024 09:26 AM (WL2lA)

45 I would totally wear those pants!

Posted by: Hedley Lamarr at December 15, 2024 09:29 AM (UWRAE)

46 Currently reading Sanderson's latest Wind and Truth (Stormlight Archive). This one really feels like a retread. Not sure I will make it through 1000+ pages.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at December 15, 2024 09:30 AM (mH6SG)

47 Re: I've noticed a lot more interventions from God in my life in recent years. This is one of them, for sure.

Always good to remember that God speaks to you through other people. Once you see it, you can't unsee it.
Posted by: TRex at December 15, 2024 09:22 AM (IQ6Gq)
---
Yesterday I was doing my usual shopping at the usual places but the mood was entirely different. A bit more people out and about doing Christmas shopping, but everyone wanted to talk. Even the check-out people were cheerful and chatty.

Lots of smiling, people wishing Merry Christmas to each other, telling jokes about their purchases and such. People may not be able to articulate, it, but a spiritual oppression has been lifted and people are reacting with spontaneous outbursts of joy.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 09:31 AM (ZOv7s)

48 Just as the Great War was breaking out, a British expedition aboard the Endurance left port for Antarctica, with the goal of traversing the forbidding continent. In his book South, Ernest Shackelton gives a first person account of one of the most dramatic stories in the history of exploration.

The 55 men expected the Endurance to become locked in the ice during polar winter, but they didn't anticipate her hull giving way. The expedition had now become a self rescue. Over the next 18 months, these men would row small boats to tiny Elephant Island with no sunlight for the sextant, then Shackelton and two men would row to South Georgia through the roaring forties. Once there, they had to cross a mountain range to find civilization and mount a rescue of the rest.

All but three of the 55 would survive the ordeal, which is a testament to the will of Shackelton. In his account, he never once claims any glory, but praises the efforts of his team. His leadership turned a near tragedy into a heroic story

Posted by: Thomas Paine at December 15, 2024 09:31 AM (BH09b)

49 High levels of psychokinetic energy to manifest in a symmetrical stacking of books like that.

Posted by: Kindltot at December 15, 2024 09:32 AM (D7oie)

50 I've had to give up on having a TBR pile and moved on to a full shelf of TBR. Somedays it fills me with joy; other days it is the shelf of shame.

Posted by: Candidus at December 15, 2024 09:36 AM (XJGL4)

51 Much of my buying this year has been to acquire classic mystery series with the same cover design. For example, I want the Perry Mason reprints with the Ballantine black covers. Trouble is, it seems as if not every one of those books got the same cover treatment. So I have a few color spines interspersed with the horizon of black.

The '70s was a bad time for PM and Ellery Queen covers. Just a photo of a woman. They could be interchangeable. Even the Nero Wolfes of that era had something distinctive to the book.

And as for SF/fantasy titles -- boy! Their covers run the range from intriguing to idiotic. Covering all the biases, I guess.

Posted by: Weak Geek at December 15, 2024 09:36 AM (p/isN)

52 High levels of psychokinetic energy to manifest in a symmetrical stacking of books like that.

You're right, no HUMAN BEING would stack books like this.

Posted by: Archimedes at December 15, 2024 09:38 AM (xCA6C)

53 Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 09:21 AM (kpS4V)

Interesting thoughts on covers. I recall the old austere yet naturalistic covers which suggested something grand and important about a story. Understatement implied seriousness. Yet as a child I was also drawn to the more robustly detailed covers of adventure stories like Doc Savage and Tarzan. Sometimes less is more, sometimes more is good. Covers are their own art form, and one which feels on the decline.

Posted by: Ordinary American at December 15, 2024 09:38 AM (UseAb)

54 My Christmas wish list was short on books this year. I asked for "Room 39," which is about British Naval intelligence in WW2, and "Across the Fence," which is about MAC-V-SOG's secret war in Cambodia and Laos. My TBR stack already looks too much like the pic up top.

Posted by: PabloD at December 15, 2024 09:39 AM (NXK/x)

55 I wonder if the change in cover design also reflects the fact that most book customers now see the thumbnail on the Amazon page rather than the actual book on the shelf in a bookstore? So the primary element is now the title, because the picture is too small to make out anyway.

Posted by: Trimegistus at December 15, 2024 09:39 AM (78a2H)

56 All but three of the 55 would survive the ordeal, which is a testament to the will of Shackelton. In his account, he never once claims any glory, but praises the efforts of his team. His leadership turned a near tragedy into a heroic story
Posted by: Thomas Paine at December 15, 2024 09:31 AM (BH09b)
---
Old and busted: do extraordinary deeds and then write penetrating, honest books about the experience.

New hotness: do nothing and pay ghost writers to make you sound super-important in books that are claimed to be best-sellers that no one reads.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 09:39 AM (ZOv7s)

57 Reading "Mondo 2000: A User's Guide to the New Edge - Cyberpunk, Virtual Reality, Wetware, Designer Aphrodisiacs, Artificial Life, Techno-Paganism, and More" (1992) is at this point a sadly nostalgic look back at how cool and weird the future was gonna be. We were gonna hack the planet by hacking our brains!

Rudy Rucker: "The best thing about cyberpunk is that it taught me how to enjoy shopping malls, which used to terrify me. Now I just pretend that the whole thing is two miles below the moon's surface, and that half the people's right-brains have been eaten by roboticized steel rats. And suddenly it's interesting again."

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 09:39 AM (kpS4V)

58 I can understand the concern about reading more as a goal of its own. I'm going in the other direction especially since retirement. My reading pace is slower and I take the time to savor the quality of the writing and follow the thoughts (i. e., rabbit holes) that result from the reading. It might just be an older guy's pace but I'm enjoying it.

Posted by: JTB at December 15, 2024 09:39 AM (yTvNw)

59 Haven't watched the reading-more(-and-enjoying-it-less?) video yet, but I'm reminded of a delicious moment at the end of the 1960 George Pal film of Wells' The Time Machine. Rod Taylor has vanished again to return to the year 802,701 and his friend and housekeeper note that he appears to have taken only 3 books with him. Alan Young says, "Which three books would you have taken?"

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 09:41 AM (q3u5l)

60 I wonder if the change in cover design also reflects the fact that most book customers now see the thumbnail on the Amazon page rather than the actual book on the shelf in a bookstore? So the primary element is now the title, because the picture is too small to make out anyway.
Posted by: Trimegistus at December 15, 2024 09:39 AM (78a2H)
---
Amazon also has a set of default cover designs for indy writers, which also makes things very homogenous. I try to mix my stuff up, but Amazon's templates only allow minor deviation.

The older version - Create Space - was much more flexible (and intuitive).

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 09:41 AM (ZOv7s)

61 Have at last got the cover art for my latest book - a YA adventure on the California-Oregon trail, titled "West Toward the Sunset" which should be available for Kindle and other e-readers by next Book Thread, and in paperback by later in the month.
As for my own reading, I've gone back to my own shelves, and working through various series that I already have. Just about to finish up with Lee Martin's Deb Ralston police procedurals, and will move on to another author's mystery series next. Haven't decided yet. I'm skint, economically, through having to pay out of pocket for sudden failure of the heating elements in my house hot water heater. Good thing all the bills were paid, and Christmas presents purchased, but that wiped out the surplus in my bank account this month. (I'll send the links to the book to the Perfessor later this week for next week or the week after book thread.)

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at December 15, 2024 09:41 AM (Ew3fm)

62 Another factor was (you guessed it!) the Spanish Civil War. Germany's contribution is vastly oversold in the leftist narrative, with less than 100 aircraft involved. Much more important was the regular rotations of aircrew and maintainers, who "veteranized" a peace-time military and each returning group became instructors for new classes.

That's how you take an air force from zero to dominant in six short years.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 09:25 AM (ZOv7s)

just FYI, according to a son of a Luftwaffe pilot who was crew in Spain, Germany had an expansion plan for Lufthansa and other commercial flight industries backed by the German state, and to get a gig the pilot had to be certified in the Luftwaffe as a pilot first, so the crews and pilots were available for the Spanish civil war, and for call up when they came home.

Posted by: Kindltot at December 15, 2024 09:43 AM (D7oie)

63 59 Haven't watched the reading-more(-and-enjoying-it-less?) video yet, but I'm reminded of a delicious moment at the end of the 1960 George Pal film of Wells' The Time Machine. Rod Taylor has vanished again to return to the year 802,701 and his friend and housekeeper note that he appears to have taken only 3 books with him. Alan Young says, "Which three books would you have taken?"
Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 09:41 AM (q3u5l)

That always bothered me. He had a Time Machine! He could have gone back and forth as many times as it took to move his entire library...

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at December 15, 2024 09:44 AM (PiwSw)

64 Thanks for another entertaining and educational Book Thread, Perfessor!

I started reading as a child and have never stopped. And I love it!

Posted by: Legally Sufficient at December 15, 2024 09:45 AM (rxCpr)

65 Amazon also has a set of default cover designs for indy writers, which also makes things very homogenous. I try to mix my stuff up, but Amazon's templates only allow minor deviation.
.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

Can you override them with your own cover art?

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 15, 2024 09:46 AM (WL2lA)

66 I've had to give up on having a TBR pile and moved on to a full shelf of TBR. Somedays it fills me with joy; other days it is the shelf of shame.
Posted by: Candidus at December 15, 2024 09:36 AM (XJGL4)
---
My wife has several TBR piles going. She keeps them low, no more than a yard high for stability and easy access.

I don't really do TBR piles. I buy a book and read it. Then another. Often I go back and re-read stuff. I don't like clutter.

Obviously, this doesn't apply when I'm writing non-fiction. At that point, all horizontal surfaces are in play.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 09:46 AM (ZOv7s)

67 @55 --

I think you're right. Most books in a store show only the spine. You have to be searching for a particular author in order to inadvertently trip over something new. Online, you see the cover.

This might also be why the author's name is the dominant element on many covers.

Posted by: Weak Geek at December 15, 2024 09:46 AM (p/isN)

68 But pilots take lots of hours to train, and the infrastructure and command also need to be carefully laid out. (cont)
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 09:17 AM (ZOv7s)

Roald Dahl's Going Solo is a wonderful description of how borked the RAF was in training pilots for Africa and the Med service.

It is also a rather delightful book about being a young Englishman in an impossible situation among improbable people.

Posted by: Kindltot at December 15, 2024 09:46 AM (D7oie)

69 Can you override them with your own cover art?
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 15, 2024 09:46 AM (WL2lA)
---
It's not as easy as it used to be. Walls of Men and Long Live Death have photos I selected and modified, but there was only so much I could do with the template particularly the back cover, which was annoying.

Three Weeks with the Coasties and The Vampires of Michigan are stock covers that I simply changed the colors to get the aesthetic I wanted.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 09:47 AM (ZOv7s)

70 Yes, more Everest books! I read Climbing High by Lene Gammelgard. This is another survivor of the 1996 disaster. I found that I really liked her. It's a bit more into mystical woo hoo of climbing, but she trained hard and was in good shape for the climb. She also rags on male climbers that have young children at home, as she thinks it's not fair to leave their children behind. She mentions a couple of times that she wants to have kids and it wasn't easy to find out that she did, an adopted daughter from Nepal and a set of twins. Looks like she gave up climbing.

Also read Mount Everest:Confessions of an Amateur Peak Bagger by Kevin Flynn. This was a successful climb in 2002 (I think). Good detail on what it feels like to try something like this. It's such an ordeal. He tries to sort out whatever possesed him to do it. It's good to balance reading about the successful climbs, with the disasters.

Waiting for Michael Groom's book, then will re-read Beck Weathers and follow with a re-reading of Krakauer. I've got a pretty good grip on what happened in 1996. And it's not what Krakauer claimed.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at December 15, 2024 09:48 AM (NQtI0)

71 Two things in same vein, I get a book, read it. Sometimes buy a couple but read them before I get more. Painting figures is same way, get miniatures, paint them then get more.

Posted by: Skip at December 15, 2024 09:48 AM (fwDg9)

72 Reading related:
In the latest Malcolm Guite YT video he's visiting the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscripts Library at Yale University. They have a display of the actual correspondence for George MacDonald from the 1800s. It includes letters he received from Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll and John Ruskin. (Guite is president of the UK George MacDonald Society so he gets invited to things like this. ) To a reader this must be like handling holy relics. The examples he reads from range from silly jokes to profound condolences. It is worth ten minutes of your time to watch.

continued ...

Posted by: JTB at December 15, 2024 09:49 AM (yTvNw)

73 I've noticed a lot more interventions from God in my life in recent years. This is one of them, for sure.

>>>Oh, I've got plenty. Though I sometimes wonder what it says about me that God has to hit me over the head so often.

Posted by: pookysgirl, beyond obtuse at times at December 15, 2024 09:50 AM (dtlDP)

74 38
‘ Britain didn't need tons of aircraft, which go obsolete anyway, it needed PILOTS’

Britain really dropped the ball here. I always felt that of Britain had had a big enough Air Force in 1940 to command the battlefield over France and Belgium, the Battle of France could have gone completely differently.

Posted by: Dr. Claw at December 15, 2024 09:50 AM (qzBps)

75 This past week I didn't get much reading done. Writing, yes, reading, no. Too much time spent shopping, wrapping, buying a tree, planning a trip, and writing a book.

Posted by: Trimegistus at December 15, 2024 09:51 AM (78a2H)

76 I also read my books one at a time. TBR is too taxing on my addled brain. Heh.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at December 15, 2024 09:51 AM (mH6SG)

77 What can change the nature of a squirrel?"

First thought when I read this: "cooking it?"
Yeah, wrong on so many levels...

Posted by: jim (in hospital in Kalifornia) at December 15, 2024 09:52 AM (SSBCb)

78 This might also be why the author's name is the dominant element on many covers.
Posted by: Weak Geek at December 15, 2024 09:46 AM (p/isN)
---
To a large extent, people buy authors rather than books. That's why I think it important that new authors understand that the kind of home-run hit guy like Hemingway got on their first novel is not really possible today. The reading public is much, much larger and so much shopping is done online that people won't even look at a one-title author. They want a series before they give them a try.

I find fiction relaxing, but from a pure business perspective, I should probably stick with military history because it sells so much more copies, commands higher prices and people are quite loyal to historians they enjoy.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 09:52 AM (ZOv7s)

79 A.H. Lloyd, I would also suggest the devastating impact of Prime Minister Baldwin's "The bomber will always get through" remarks to the Commons around this time. Not only did it fuel the appeasement trend of the 30s, it encouraged the belief that recruiting more fighter pilots was futile, since nothing would change that "fact".

Posted by: Dr. T at December 15, 2024 09:52 AM (lHPJf)

80 My wife has several TBR piles going. She keeps them low, no more than a yard high for stability and easy access.
-----

Ha! I feel this.

Mine are stacked like ziggurats for extra stability.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 09:53 AM (kpS4V)

81 I should clarify that yes, people are loyal to authors, but they expect an author to do the same sort of thing in the same genre, like sci-fi, horror, romance.

With history, you can jump around, now doing WW II, now doing feudal Japan and readers will tend to go with it because the like and trust the author. People into romance aren't likely to follow an author into sci-fi horror, which is why my fiction catalog is such a joke.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 09:54 AM (ZOv7s)

82 80 My wife has several TBR piles going. She keeps them low, no more than a yard high for stability and easy access.
-----

Ha! I feel this.

Mine are stacked like ziggurats for extra stability.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 09:53 AM (kpS4V)

If you put a Star on it you don't need a Christmas tree...

Posted by: jim (in hospital in Kalifornia) at December 15, 2024 09:54 AM (SSBCb)

83 Nice to be back home and to spend time with the book Morons. Zero reading this week due to travel, however I did buy our great niece this book.
https://tinyurl.com/rd8r3jty
Me being so classy and all, I'm even wearing pants.

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at December 15, 2024 09:55 AM (2NHgQ)

84 Shadout Mapes at 63 --

Yeah, he could. But I still loved the question. Fiddle with it a bit and it becomes "Which three books would you take first?"

If I had to pick only three for my eventual exile to some desert island, I'd be standing there like one of the androids in Star Trek's "I, Mudd" episode begging Norman to please coordinate.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 09:56 AM (q3u5l)

85 Never Enough Caffeine, that book is coffee table-worthy!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 09:57 AM (kpS4V)

86 83 Nice to be back home and to spend time with the book Morons. Zero reading this week due to travel, however I did buy our great niece this book.
https://tinyurl.com/rd8r3jty
Me being so classy and all, I'm even wearing pants.
Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at December 15, 2024 09:55 AM (2NHgQ)

At least I'm now wearing the amazing, universal, unisex, invertible, reversible hospital underwear under my gown. I hope it's enough for the thread.

Posted by: jim (in hospital in Kalifornia) at December 15, 2024 09:58 AM (SSBCb)

87 My fun read is "One Way" by S.J. Morden, about a convict recruited by a corporation to set up a colony on Mars before the NASA team arrives. He and his fellow expendables are promised a second chance, but as the accidents mount he starts to suspect the bottom line-driven company won't honor the agreement.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 09:59 AM (kpS4V)

88 A coffee table book about coffee tables!

https://youtu.be/dE5ROl2YPbs

Posted by: Obligatory Seinfeld reference at December 15, 2024 09:59 AM (dg+HA)

89 continued from 72 ...

I enjoy collections of correspondence from writers that interest me. I have collections for CS Lewis, Tolkien, Rider Haggard to Kipling, E. B. White to Edmund Ware Smith (these are gems), and others. The insights that can be derived from these collections is fascinating. They add a layer of appreciation for authors I admire and their works.

I wonder, actually doubt, there will be similar collections for current authors since there were never physical letters to preserve, just email and other ephemora.

In as similar vein, I have a facsimile of the actual marked up and notated "A Christmas Carol' that Dickens prepared for his public readings of the story. Would a digital version have lasted for 150 years? I doubt it.

Posted by: JTB at December 15, 2024 10:00 AM (yTvNw)

90 A.H. Lloyd, I would also suggest the devastating impact of Prime Minister Baldwin's "The bomber will always get through" remarks to the Commons around this time. Not only did it fuel the appeasement trend of the 30s, it encouraged the belief that recruiting more fighter pilots was futile, since nothing would change that "fact".
Posted by: Dr. T at December 15, 2024 09:52 AM (lHPJf)
---
The propaganda around the bombing of Guernica was effective because everyone found it useful. The appeasers used it as proof that war is too horrible to contemplate, better to offer concessions than fight.

Their opponents used it to justify immediate, large-scale rearmament because the consequences of doing nothing were so dire.

And lost in the noise was the fact that it was nothing more than a close air support mission by two dozen aircraft who carried a lighter bomb load than a flight of B17s and the death toll was almost entirely the result of an random direct hit on an air-raid shelter.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 10:00 AM (ZOv7s)

91 .People into romance aren't likely to follow an author into sci-fi horror, which is why my fiction catalog is such a joke.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

They might read your historical fiction that's more about the history - like Sarum, or any number of books about notable historical people or events.

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 15, 2024 10:01 AM (7gFa4)

92 87 My fun read is "One Way" by S.J. Morden, about a convict recruited by a corporation to set up a colony on Mars before the NASA team arrives. He and his fellow expendables are promised a second chance, but as the accidents mount he starts to suspect the bottom line-driven company won't honor the agreement.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 09:59 AM (kpS4V)

A plot with great potential! Love it. I like stories where the guy that's throwaway ends up being important.

Posted by: jim (in hospital in Kalifornia) at December 15, 2024 10:02 AM (SSBCb)

93 Picking my way through Graeber and Wengrow's herniatic "The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity".

My eyes roll at the words social justice, liberation, oppression, and inequality peppered throughout, but he has a point that we are often given a false set of options.

Are our only choices between scattershot ecohippiedom and an efficient but malevolent hierarchy? Tiny bands of foragers with scant personal property still require vast territory to forage in, and that would require reducing the world's population by about 99.9%. "Otherwise, the best we can hope for is to adjust the size of the boot that will forever be stomping on our faces; or perhaps, to wangle a bit more wiggle room in which some of us can temporarily duck out of its way."

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 10:02 AM (kpS4V)

94 At least I'm now wearing the amazing, universal, unisex, invertible, reversible hospital underwear under my gown. I hope it's enough for the thread.
Posted by: jim (in hospital in Kalifornia) at December 15, 2024 09:58 AM (SSBCb)
---
Are you wearing the rubber-soled hospital socks? My wife loves those. I picked up a pair during my cardiac event in 2019, and she promptly took them when I got home.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 10:02 AM (ZOv7s)

95 For the Time Traveller one assumes he took books most useful in rebuilding civilization, since he presumably wouldn't have to worry about being bored.

And since we assume books = single volumes, I don't think the Encyclopedia counts. We can also assume that the Time Traveller is a physicist himself, so probably won't need any references in physics and mathematics. Since this is an H.G. Wells novel I think we can eliminate the Bible, Aristotle, or any works of literature.

I assume a good chemical formulary, a medical handbook, and maybe a general survival guide like the old Scout handbook.

Posted by: Trimegistus at December 15, 2024 10:03 AM (78a2H)

96 Have a TBR bookcase, shelves about 16" wide - 3 shelves are full, 2 are almost full, and 2 are about 2/3 full. I have also noticed that I read more slowly, partly because of other demands on my time, but partly because, in addition to a new book, of a project to re-read all of my F&SF and all of my general fiction. Means I have 3 books in progress at any time: at the moment, Correia's Hard Magic , Bear's Darwin's Radio , and Clancy's Rainbow Six , respectively.

Posted by: Nazdar at December 15, 2024 10:04 AM (NcvvS)

97 94 At least I'm now wearing the amazing, universal, unisex, invertible, reversible hospital underwear under my gown. I hope it's enough for the thread.
Posted by: jim (in hospital in Kalifornia) at December 15, 2024 09:58 AM (SSBCb)
---
Are you wearing the rubber-soled hospital socks? My wife loves those. I picked up a pair during my cardiac event in 2019, and she promptly took them when I got home.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 10:02 AM (ZOv7s)

Yup. Graduated from yellow (needs supervision when up) to blue (can be left to play unsupervised). I'm a big boy now.

Posted by: jim (in hospital in Kalifornia) at December 15, 2024 10:05 AM (SSBCb)

98 They might read your historical fiction that's more about the history - like Sarum, or any number of books about notable historical people or events.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 15, 2024 10:01 AM (7gFa4)
---
Yeah, I suppose historical fiction authors could drag people with them to different periods in history, especially if they tied into one another. Sarum was really just a short story collection. I quite enjoyed it, but - surprise! - never read any of the author's other work.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 10:06 AM (ZOv7s)

99 Me and my son are Reading the Will Wilder series, Will can see Demon's in his town and with the help of his Friends and the Saints he fights Demon's. He uses Artifacts to fight the demons, like Moses staff to part waters or a Rope that a Monk tied around his waist and He was know to fly.

This book reminds be what Percy Jackson books were before it went all woke and Trans and Gay. Do not bother reading Percy Jackson after The Last Olympian,
The Heroes of Olympus is where he goes Trans and Gay, F him and His crazy wife,

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at December 15, 2024 10:07 AM (PoEH5)

100 Me and my son are Reading the Will Wilder series, Will can see Demon's in his town and with the help of his Friends and the Saints he fights Demon's. He uses Artifacts to fight the demons, like Moses staff to part waters or a Rope that a Monk tied around his waist and He was know to fly.

This book reminds be what Percy Jackson books were before it went all woke and Trans and Gay. Do not bother reading Percy Jackson after The Last Olympian,
The Heroes of Olympus is where he goes Trans and Gay, F him and His crazy wife,
Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at December 15, 2024 10:07 AM (PoEH5)
---
Yeah, I think there's going to be a wholesale purge of that stuff in the coming year. We're still at the thin edge of the wedge, but Bible sales are surging and people are sick of perversity being shoved in their faces. Trump wiping out federal support for that crap is going to be pretty decisive, but I notice even colleges and universities are saying "yeah, that shit's gay and retarded" now.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 10:10 AM (ZOv7s)

101 Been a while since I read The Time Machine but unless I'm remembering wrong, that "which three" moment was not in Wells' novel. It was tossed in by screenwriter David Duncan, and this 11-year-old bookworm in the front row of the Colony Theatre in Chicago found it delightful. Still do.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 10:12 AM (q3u5l)

102 Been reading the new James Islington - The Will of the Many, this week.

Liking it a lot so far...
but, the font size is really killing me.

Posted by: garrett at December 15, 2024 10:13 AM (j6KoD)

103 Roald Dahl's Going Solo is a wonderful description of how borked the RAF was in training pilots for Africa and the Med service.

It is also a rather delightful book about being a young Englishman in an impossible situation among improbable people.
Posted by: Kindltot at December 15, 2024 09:46 AM (D7oie)
---
That guy was all over the place. I'm binging on Bond movies and he wrote the script for one of them.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 10:14 AM (ZOv7s)

104 There was a nonfiction book a few years back about Roald Dahl and Ian Fleming doing spy work in Washington during WWII. It sounded like great stuff . . . except that most of the spy work they were doing was about postwar commercial airline route planning.

Posted by: Trimegistus at December 15, 2024 10:16 AM (78a2H)

105 100
---
Yeah, I think there's going to be a wholesale purge of that stuff in the coming year. We're still at the thin edge of the wedge, but Bible sales are surging and people are sick of perversity being shoved in their faces. Trump wiping out federal support for that crap is going to be pretty decisive, but I notice even colleges and universities are saying "yeah, that shit's gay and retarded" now.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 10:10 AM (ZOv7s)

Perfect! Let's make into movies and shows!--Disney

Posted by: jim (in hospital in Kalifornia) at December 15, 2024 10:16 AM (SSBCb)

106 jim in hosp. I remember how it was waiting for that first happy event that gave me the chance to go home, pooping normally. The first experience after surgery was quite the eye opener. Yes, I'm into pooping posts today. Hope you can return home soon and STAY there. Good luck.

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at December 15, 2024 10:16 AM (2NHgQ)

107 >>Currently reading Sanderson's latest Wind and Truth (Stormlight Archive). This one really feels like a retread.

Book 5?

Posted by: garrett at December 15, 2024 10:16 AM (j6KoD)

108 @59 Alan Young says, "Which three books would you have taken?"

Oh.
Wilbur.

Posted by: Way,Way Downriver at December 15, 2024 10:17 AM (zdLoL)

109 Britain really dropped the ball here. I always felt that of Britain had had a big enough Air Force in 1940 to command the battlefield over France and Belgium, the Battle of France could have gone completely differently.
Posted by: Dr. Claw at December 15, 2024 09:50 AM (qzBps)
---
Absolutely, and Churchill knew it, as did many of his allies, many of whom grappled with profound bouts of depression.

That's why I think a lot of alternate history gets things wrong by just saying the losers won. What if the winners won faster? If Baldwin got hit by a car, choked on a chicken leg, etc., parliamentary sentiment would have shifted, and even a modest rearmament program would have significantly altered the balance of power in 1940.

But you can go the other way and imagine Franco losing in Spain, and a Red Terror sweeping that country and moving into France. A UK-German-Italian alliance would not have been out of the question at that time.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 10:18 AM (ZOv7s)

110 106 jim in hosp. I remember how it was waiting for that first happy event that gave me the chance to go home, pooping normally. The first experience after surgery was quite the eye opener. Yes, I'm into pooping posts today. Hope you can return home soon and STAY there. Good luck.
Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at December 15, 2024 10:16 AM (2NHgQ)

Thanks. Seems like the deeper into 29 I get, the more important the basics become...

Posted by: jim (in hospital in Kalifornia) at December 15, 2024 10:18 AM (SSBCb)

111 108 -- Fortunately, Mr. Ed was not around to put his 2 cents in. Otherwise the three books would have been Black Beauty, My Friend Flicka, and Misty of Chincoteague.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 10:20 AM (q3u5l)

112 I read The Will of the Many first based on a recommendation here and then read his only other seriesI.I loved it and went looking for book 2 only to find out it hadn't been written yet. Just saw it is due out in 2025. We'll see.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at December 15, 2024 10:20 AM (t/2Uw)

113 Well, waiting on breakfast. Will be fantastic whatever it is. Have a blessed Sunday and Happy Bill of Rights Day! Don't forget to read the preamble...

Posted by: jim (in hospital in Kalifornia) at December 15, 2024 10:22 AM (SSBCb)

114 Morning, Book Folken! Back from the grocery, which took longer than I planned.

This week I'm reading the new Stephen King short story collection, You Like It Darker. I know, many here are not big fans of SK, and I've tossed aside at least one of his for rampant Trump- and Repub-bashing. But this collection, so far, showcases his true storytelling ability. There are mentions of Covid and masks, yes, which were everywhere in 2021 and '22, when some of these stories are set; you couldn't avoid it if you were being honest about American society. But he doesn't harp on it or let his characters do it either.

Two stories so far are standouts: "On Slide Inn Road," which is an homage to the Flannery O'Connor story of a family on a car trip being waylaid by bandits. It takes a very different turn from the O'Connor story.

(cont.)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at December 15, 2024 10:22 AM (omVj0)

115 >>I read The Will of the Many first based on a recommendation here and then read his only other seriesI.I loved it and went looking for book 2 only to find out it hadn't been written yet.

I enjoyed the Licanius Trilogy, as well.

Posted by: garrett at December 15, 2024 10:22 AM (j6KoD)

116 1. the Bible
2. a comprehensive medical reference
3. a comprehensive book on Time Machine maintenance.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at December 15, 2024 10:22 AM (PiwSw)

117 Still in the queue at the library for Wind and Truth. Two library systems actually and neither actually has received their copies yet either electronically or paper. Still listed as On Order.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at December 15, 2024 10:22 AM (t/2Uw)

118 Baldwin was just the guy who elbowed himself to the front of the parade. He wasn't leading it. Rearmament just wasn't popular in Britain until it was almost too late. Recall the positively worshipful response by the public to Chamberlain's betrayal of Czechoslovakia at Munich.

Posted by: Trimegistus at December 15, 2024 10:23 AM (78a2H)

119 Good morning, Prof Squirrel and Ye Merry Olde Squirrels. I read the post and the comments. Phew!

Posted by: NaughtyPine at December 15, 2024 10:24 AM (xedjt)

120 I must say I've lost my love for reading a bit. I tend to reread a lot. Not always the entire books but favorite sections, very much so when it comes to Tolkien and the Rings. When stressed, as I am now, my old favorites really help. Hope at some point to return to looking for new stories to read. I particularly love a good series, the familiarity of known characters is comforting. Sci-fi or Regency romances are faves.

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at December 15, 2024 10:25 AM (2NHgQ)

121 Baldwin was just the guy who elbowed himself to the front of the parade. He wasn't leading it. Rearmament just wasn't popular in Britain until it was almost too late. Recall the positively worshipful response by the public to Chamberlain's betrayal of Czechoslovakia at Munich.
Posted by: Trimegistus at December 15, 2024 10:23 AM (78a2H)
---
He was a very effective politician but one devoid of any vision for the country. The stupid thing about the debate was the expenditure was so tiny relative to what else was going on.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 10:25 AM (ZOv7s)

122 Romantisy....I had a run where I read several ebooks in a row where I thought I was getting a fantasy or steampunk book, but it turned out to be a romance with fantasy/steampunk trappings. I remember one was actually good (a Lindsey Buroker story), but another other drove me right to the verge of rage quitting when something interesting finally happened.

However, this was nearly a decade ago, when covers weren't so bland, and even romantisy novels had painted covers of the heroine looking magical or actiony. Which is how I got suckered in...

I'm not sure I've ever picked up a novel whose cover was just a bunch of words, unless it was some book (old pulp-story reprints) that I was already aware of.

Posted by: Castle Guy at December 15, 2024 10:25 AM (Lhaco)

123 I'm deep in the heart of Blue-occupied territory and I'm worried. The spiteful glee and adulation of Mangione is very disturbing. With all the insane rhetoric from the Left about "fascism" and "oppression" and "genocide" how long will it be before we see copycats?

Posted by: Trimegistus at December 15, 2024 10:26 AM (78a2H)

124 The other standout so far in King's Darker collection is a novelette called "Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream." It is an immediate grabber, with the kind of likable protagonist and scary antagonist that often turn up in his work. For most of the tale it's a solid crime story that could have been written by Lawrence Block. Only the oddly detailed dream of the title -- which leads Danny into big trouble -- and another premonitory one later slip over into the supernatural or psychic area. Good stuff.

I have only 3.5 more stories in the collection, and I'm curious to see if any of them can compare to this one.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at December 15, 2024 10:26 AM (omVj0)

125 I've noticed an increasing undercurrent to my reading: essays. I always have a copy of Montaigne available, the Donald Frame translation. Also, collections of essays from George MacDonald, CS Lewis, Chesterton and others like Conan Doyle and Winston Churchill. The format doesn't diminish the quality of their writing but often concentrates their abilities. It's like listening to a concerto: focused, comparatively brief, and exploring the possibilities of a single theme or instrument.

These essays can be profound, inspiring or hilarious. (Chesterton's "Tremendous Trifles" collection of essays will make you smile.) But beware, here there be rabbit holes.

Posted by: JTB at December 15, 2024 10:26 AM (yTvNw)

126 >>I must say I've lost my love for reading a bit. I tend to reread a lot. Not always the entire books but favorite sections

I revisit a lot of Douglas Adams this way.
There are certain segments of the Dirk Gently books that get a re-read at least once a year.

Posted by: garrett at December 15, 2024 10:27 AM (j6KoD)

127 Wolfus,

You Like It Darker is a nice collection. The bashing of everyone right of Mao is at a minimum. King's still enough of a craftsman to know that there's simply no room for much of that in a short piece, so he keeps a lid on it. The man's still got it when he wants to use it.

He does have another novel coming, in the spring I think, but it's another Holly Gibney story so Repub-bashing will probably be front and center for a bunch of its pages. I'll pass. Chances are, though, that I'd pass anyway -- I'm not nearly as enamored of the Holly Gibney character as King is.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 10:27 AM (q3u5l)

128 Iain Pears has a new book coming out, but not until next August. Because of how complex his stories are, they take a long time, but I am impatient.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at December 15, 2024 10:27 AM (BH09b)

129 That's something that I think gets left out of discussions of Catholic practices - much effort is spent to tie things back to the Bible as well as the Church Fathers. It also highlights the limits of Sola Scriptura because (to give a timely example) Christmas isn't in there, and that's why the Puritans banned it and punished those who observed it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 09:08 AM

There are non-denominational Christians on YouTube promoting and cerebrating the abandonment of Christmas - traditions both cultural and religious - because it's not Biblical.

Too bad. Christmas was the "gateway drug" for some Christian conversions.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at December 15, 2024 10:28 AM (xedjt)

130 While in NYC, we visited the Tenement Museum, which I recommend.

Posted by: Archimedes at December 15, 2024 09:16 AM (xCA6C)

I was curious about that museum, but found it impossibly woke and critical of America, so I didn't visit. I assume it has changed!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at December 15, 2024 10:30 AM (d9fT1)

131 I recently finished reading another 'a boy and his dog' story, "Stormy" by Jim Kjelgaard. It really goes all out on keeping the focus just on the boy and his dog. The boy lives on the edge of society, literally at the edge of the mountains/forest, and he only heads into town when he needs to buy food. He makes a living trapping and guiding duck hunters. His mom is out of the picture and only gets a passing mention in the book, and Dad is in the slammer for having a nasty temper. So, it really is just the boy....and his dog.

It was, of course, a kids book. Pretty short, but still fun. I'd give it a recommendation.

Posted by: Castle Guy at December 15, 2024 10:30 AM (Lhaco)

132 121
'He was a very effective politician but one devoid of any vision for the country. The stupid thing about the debate was the expenditure was so tiny relative to what else was going on.'

Baldwin was a skilled peacetime leader but thought he could ignore the duties (re-armament, confronting aggression) that make peace possible.

Posted by: Dr. Claw at December 15, 2024 10:32 AM (3wi/L)

133 I got very little reading done this week. I thought for sure I'd finish up Washington Irving, but no. On the other hand I saw a couple of great music shows and caught up with some old friends over beer and pizza. Today is wet and gloomy and I'm determined to get through Washington Irving, assuming I have time, after cleaning up the kitchen, doing the laundry, ... OK, there's hope but no guarantees that I'll be moving on to the next book.

Posted by: who knew at December 15, 2024 10:32 AM (+ViXu)

134 This coming year: no purchases, read what I own, and move at least some of the standalones to new homes. Need the shelf space.
Posted by: Weak Geek at December 15, 2024 09:16 AM (p/isN)

I'm not going that far, but my goal for the next year is to read more books than I buy.

Posted by: Castle Guy at December 15, 2024 10:33 AM (Lhaco)

135 There have only been a couple,of authors that have really blown me away over the last couple,of years. Sanderson, Cixin Liu, Islington, Galbraith, Gibson to name a few. Surprised and delighted to discover something entirely new.
I still read a lot of authors for fun like the Robrrt Parker kick I've been on but finding something totally out of the box is thrilling.
Which is why I love this thread.❤️

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at December 15, 2024 10:33 AM (t/2Uw)

136 Yay, Book Thread!

Last week, someone said that it took him (or her?) three read-throughs to get what Dashiell Hammet was doing in The Maltese Falcon.

I just finished my second read-through, and I still don't get it. His other books/stories, I get, and like. This one just seems sort of meandering and pointless. About the only thing I can say about it is that all of his protagonists have an impervious quality to them, and Spade is the most impervious of all. Beyond that, I am lost.

Why do people like this book so much? I enjoyed being in it, though less than his others, but at the end I put it down and wondered why I bothered. It all seemed so unsatisfying.

Posted by: Splunge at December 15, 2024 10:34 AM (hmKaK)

137 >>I got very little reading done this week. I thought for sure I'd finish up Washington Irving

Now I want Sushi.

Posted by: garrett at December 15, 2024 10:34 AM (j6KoD)

138 The thing I liked about Planescape: Torment was the choices you had. You had the choice of trying to fight your way through many things. But if you pumped your INT and WIS stats up rather high, you could talk and think about other options. It also had some amusing scenes playing upon the idea of immortality, such as a tavern scene involving someone preaching their faith and what waits after death.

Although I haven't played it, a similar game that was heavy on writing and choices was Disco Elysium. Less fantasy and more a semi-modern alternative world, but managing the Role in RPG by basically having your fractured mind be party members of sorts, and having multiple ways to interact with the events of the game.

Posted by: Another Anon at December 15, 2024 10:35 AM (QNMaY)

139 While in NYC, we visited the Tenement Museum, which I recommend.

Posted by: Archimedes at December 15, 2024 09:16 AM (xCA6C)

I was curious about that museum, but found it impossibly woke and critical of America, so I didn't visit. I assume it has changed!

The glimpse into life in an authentic tenement space is really why you go. Our guide was very good, and avoided the woke lecturing, although the overall vibe of the museum definitely has it. Still, it's tolerable if you try.

Posted by: Archimedes at December 15, 2024 10:36 AM (xCA6C)

140 Not much reading this week. Too busy buying books for others. As I mentioned last week, Little Winger is getting "How Scandinavians Conquered the World." Daughter is getting "When the Ground is Hard", a novel set in Eswatini, formerly Swaziland. She has been on mission trips there and loves the people. Also bought "Easy Spanish Phrases" for Granddaughter. She went on a mission trip to Honduras this past summer, and wants to return next summer. Hoping that she can learn some useful Spanish before then.

Posted by: grammie winger - cheesehead at December 15, 2024 10:37 AM (SfhV1)

141 Instead of dealing with any portion of the TBR pile this week, I read Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. And instead of dealing with the TBR pile this coming week, I'll probably be looking over samples of Spark's other titles, which I will add to the TBR pile.

Fortunately nearly all of my TBR stack is on the Kindle, so there's still room in the house for me and the extremely nifty Mrs Some Guy.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 10:37 AM (q3u5l)

142 People into romance aren't likely to follow an author into sci-fi horror, which is why my fiction catalog is such a joke.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 09:54 AM (ZOv7s)
* * * *
Yes and no. Or better yet, "it depends." I resisted trying other genres written by favorite authors but then decided to give it a whirl. Glad I did. One author wrote historical fiction under a pen name, and still others of a more futuristic and paranormal bent. All were good and I'm glad I broke out of my habit and tried something new. Good writing is good writing. I really enjoy the writing more than sticking with a certain genre.

Posted by: Legally Sufficient at December 15, 2024 10:37 AM (rxCpr)

143 I was reading and I came across this poem by-

Lord Alfred Tennyson

"In Memorium, Ring Out Wild Bells"

And it is more of a New Year's sort of poem, however I feel it deeply represents what we (me?) should feel at the end of this year and these preceding times. There is a lot of hope contained here.

Here it is:

https://poets.org/poem/
memoriam-ring-out-wild-bells

BONUS! While it turns out there are several song interpretations of "Ring Out Wild Bells",

this is the one I found that I like best:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8w2Z1QCbIs

Posted by: naturalfake at December 15, 2024 10:38 AM (iJfKG)

144 JTB, I agree about reading the letters. E.B. White's are marvelous and I enjoyed reading a selection of Thurber's as well.

Posted by: who knew at December 15, 2024 10:38 AM (+ViXu)

145 Ian Fleming was from an impoverished branch of a prominent banking family ("Fleming's Bank"). The organization was notable for financing reconstruction of American mainline railroads in the late 19th century, and for its worldwide network of confidential agents who gathered insider financial data to facilitate quiet investment moves.

Young Ian would have heard stories of private spy activity, virtually at his mother's knee, long before his involvement with military planning. Fleming's People would certainly have had feelers out about the Navassa Affair, a guano-mining-and-surreptitious-slavery scandal, and in later times, Navassa Island is an easy day's sail from Goldeneye.

Posted by: Way,Way Downriver at December 15, 2024 10:39 AM (zdLoL)

146 I used to read much of what Stephen King wrote. I bailed after the spectacularly bad ending of the Dark Tower series, and the self-insertion. Later he started spouting woke crap, so naturally I have not explored his newer work, because wokeness is the enemy of good art.

Is there a post-Dark Tower novel of his that is both worth reading and free of woke crap? Mrs. Splunge suggested the Kennedy assassination one. What does the Book Thread say?

Posted by: Splunge at December 15, 2024 10:39 AM (hmKaK)

147 48 The 55 men expected the Endurance to become locked in the ice during polar winter, but they didn't anticipate her hull giving way. The expedition had now become a self rescue. Over the next 18 months, these men would row small boats to tiny Elephant Island with no sunlight for the sextant, then Shackelton and two men would row to South Georgia through the roaring forties. Once there, they had to cross a mountain range to find civilization and mount a rescue of the rest.

All but three of the 55 would survive the ordeal, which is a testament to the will of Shackelton. In his account, he never once claims any glory, but praises the efforts of his team. His leadership turned a near tragedy into a heroic story
Posted by: Thomas Paine at December 15, 2024 09:31 AM (BH09b)

I think Lego just released a building-set of the Endurance. I wasn't sure why it was special enough to warrant as set. Now I do. Thanks for the summary.

Posted by: Castle Guy at December 15, 2024 10:40 AM (Lhaco)

148 Yeah, I think there's going to be a wholesale purge of that stuff in the coming year. We're still at the thin edge of the wedge, but Bible sales are surging and people are sick of perversity being shoved in their faces. Trump wiping out federal support for that crap is going to be pretty decisive, but I notice even colleges and universities are saying "yeah, that shit's gay and retarded" now.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at December 15, 2024 10:10 AM (ZOv7s)

I built a NAS server put EMBY ( Jellyfin or PLex will do the same) and I put all kinds of shows, movies and I have the ability to approve the shows my son watches on his own account. it works like Netflix but I control everything on it and I don't have to go digging for the DVD's
Netlfix had a Trans cartoon Dead End: Paranormal Park

Disney had a Gay romance, OWL HOUSE

etc etc, I was done. I go to good will or Ebay upload the movies and shows and either keep them or sell them back on ebay for what I bought it for or less. Their are programs that will let you down load your shows you paid for like streamfab and Musicfab

My Son love Laurel and Hardy movies, I can't wait to introduce him to The Three Stooges

Posted by: Patrick From Ohio at December 15, 2024 10:41 AM (PoEH5)

149 A.H. My last comment. My 2 preferences are romance and sci-fi. I'm guessing I'm in a minority and don't care.

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at December 15, 2024 10:41 AM (2NHgQ)

150 It turns out that I enjoy the work of M.A. Rothman. He's easy and fun to read, and his books tend to move along very quickly, once past the initial context-setting.

My favorite series is the one with Levi Yoder, the Amish mafioso.

Posted by: Splunge at December 15, 2024 10:41 AM (hmKaK)

151 He does have another novel coming, in the spring I think, but it's another Holly Gibney story so Repub-bashing will probably be front and center for a bunch of its pages. I'll pass. Chances are, though, that I'd pass anyway -- I'm not nearly as enamored of the Holly Gibney character as King is.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024

***
Is that the semi-autistic character he spun off from his crime series lie Mr. Mercedes?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at December 15, 2024 10:42 AM (omVj0)

152 The glimpse into life in an authentic tenement space is really why you go. Our guide was very good, and avoided the woke lecturing, although the overall vibe of the museum definitely has it. Still, it's tolerable if you try.

One of the more amusing parts of the tour is when they show you how Chinese garment workers lived in the 60s-80s. It was no picnic, but the kids went on to Yale, Princeton, etc.

They devote a good deal of time to the garment worker's strikes in the 80s, and obviously think they were a good thing. Then they show you what happened to employment in the garment trade in NYC in the following decades. In short, it plummets to zero. Amazingly, they don't seem to see any connection between the two.

Posted by: Archimedes at December 15, 2024 10:42 AM (xCA6C)

153 120 ... "When stressed, as I am now, my old favorites really help."

In addition to the TBR pile/skyscraper I have a few favorites set aside that I reread when I want something familiar. They are like comfort foods. Certain Matt Helm books, Louis L'Amour, original Conan stories, even some of the MASH books. Also, there are some sections from The Hobbit and LOTR I'll dip into frequently: the ride of Rohan to Gondor, the meeting with Ghan-buri-Ghan, the parts with Bombadil and when Merry and Pippen meet up with the others at the ruined gates of Orthanc.

Posted by: JTB at December 15, 2024 10:42 AM (yTvNw)

154 Wolfus,

I left a willowed comment for you in the last thread.

Posted by: pawn, RIP Vic at December 15, 2024 10:43 AM (QB+5g)

155 Splunge,

I thought King's 11/22/63 was a pretty good read, a LONG novel that doesn't feel anywhere near as long as it is.

Just don't drop it on your foot.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 10:43 AM (q3u5l)

156 Instead of dealing with any portion of the TBR pile this week, I read Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. And instead of dealing with the TBR pile this coming week, I'll probably be looking over samples of Spark's other titles, which I will add to the TBR pile.

Fortunately nearly all of my TBR stack is on the Kindle, so there's still room in the house for me and the extremely nifty Mrs Some Guy.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 10:37 AM (q3u5l)

I'd suggest "The Girls of Slender Means"

"The Ballad of Peckham Rye"

"The Mandelbaum Gate"

for starters.

Posted by: naturalfake at December 15, 2024 10:43 AM (iJfKG)

157 All but three of the 55 would survive the ordeal, which is a testament to the will of Shackelton. In his account, he never once claims any glory, but praises the efforts of his team. His leadership turned a near tragedy into a heroic story
Posted by: Thomas Paine at December 15, 2024

***
I thought Shackleton didn't lose a single man on that epic adventure. They had to shoot the sled dogs, of course, but I thought every one of his men made it back.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at December 15, 2024 10:43 AM (omVj0)

158 134 This coming year: no purchases, read what I own, and move at least some of the standalones to new homes. Need the shelf space.
Posted by: Weak Geek at December 15, 2024 09:16 AM (p/isN)

I'm not going that far, but my goal for the next year is to read more books than I buy.
Posted by: Castle Guy at December 15, 2024 10:33 AM
-----

Same. I need to slow down and savor what I have.

Definitely time for a reread of Lord of the Rings.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 10:44 AM (kpS4V)

159 New book next August
Either complicated plots or still using a quill pen

Posted by: Skip at December 15, 2024 10:44 AM (fwDg9)

160 I always have a copy of Montaigne available --JTB

If memory serves, Eric Hoffer credited his independent worldview to once going on a remote logging job and being able to take just one book, and that was Montaigne. So, you're in fair company.

Posted by: Way,Way Downriver at December 15, 2024 10:44 AM (zdLoL)

161 Ah, the Rainbow Room. Where Puffy Combs and Jay-Zee spent most of their time abducting the middle school aged boys for their pleasure in devilish ways at their white parties.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at December 15, 2024 10:45 AM (/MR36)

162 Wolfus,

I left a willowed comment for you in the last thread.
Posted by: pawn, RIP Vic at December 15, 2024

***
I got it, pawn, thanks.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at December 15, 2024 10:45 AM (omVj0)

163 Wolfus, re King's Holly Gibney

Yep, that's the one from the Mr Mercedes books. King loves working with her, but I find her sections a slog. I'm probably just prejudiced.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 10:46 AM (q3u5l)

164 I thought King's 11/22/63 was a pretty good read, a LONG novel that doesn't feel anywhere near as long as it is.

Just don't drop it on your foot.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024

***
Without a doubt it's one of his very best novels: time travel (with a catch I had never seen in a time travel story), a sense of wonder, the exploration in detail of that vanished 1958-63 America, and a love story as well.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at December 15, 2024 10:46 AM (omVj0)

165 147 Yes, Legos has an Endurance set. 3,011 pieces. It's impressive.

Posted by: callsign claymore at December 15, 2024 10:48 AM (JcnCJ)

166 I particularly love a good series, the familiarity of known characters is comforting. Sci-fi or Regency romances are faves.
Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at December 15, 2024 10:25 AM (2NHgQ)

Neither of those, but you might enjoy the Angela Thirkell Barchester novels. I think I would describe them as comedies of manner, dealing with a large cast of recurring characters. They are set in England from the mid '30s to the late '50s.
She really hit her stride with the war-time works, imho, though the post-war books are very good as well.
There is always a nice romance, or two, included.

Posted by: sal at December 15, 2024 10:49 AM (f+FmA)

167 I mentioned Hillbilly Elegy last week, in connection with The Ruling Class by Angelo Codevilla. It's quite the juxtaposition. Hillbilly Elegy is the story of how a Country Class guy became Ruling Class. The story of J. D. Vance isn't over yet, and I'm not sure it will end well.

There's a book by David Fischer called Albion's Seed, which I haven't read, but a good summary may be had here (the URL seems to fit, but I'll chop it just in case):

https://slatestarcodex.com/
2016/04/27/book-review-albions-seed/

The culture of Vance's origin is what Fischer would call the Borderers: a violent, drunken, prideful society without much of a work ethic. It's not fair to equate the Country Class with Borderers; Vance is at risk of doing just that. Let him get a little taste of Global Governance, and Vance could be dangerous.

Posted by: Bombadil at December 15, 2024 10:50 AM (MX0bI)

168 Last week, someone said that it took him (or her?) three read-throughs to get what Dashiell Hammet was doing in The Maltese Falcon.

I just finished my second read-through, and I still don't get it. His other books/stories, I get, and like. This one just seems sort of meandering and pointless. About the only thing I can say about it is that all of his protagonists have an impervious quality to them, and Spade is the most impervious of all. Beyond that, I am lost.

Posted by: Splunge at December 15, 2024

***
Splunge, I think that was me. I admire the book for its literary skill, its use of a technique I was unfamiliar with -- the trick DH does of never diving inside anyone's thoughts, not even Sam Spade's. All the emotion is revealed through action, tones of voice, expressions, body language. A tremendous amount of skill in that.

That said . . . it is not a "friendly" sort of novel. You're right; Spade, partly because we never get his thoughts, is not very accessible to us.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at December 15, 2024 10:53 AM (omVj0)

169 Well, on the topic of both covers and youtube videos, just last night I watched a video from NerdForge about making some custom leather covers for some giant custom-printed Brandon Sanderson books. It was neat. And it almost sent me back down the custom-binding rabbit hole again...

Posted by: Castle Guy at December 15, 2024 10:53 AM (Lhaco)

170 What can change the nature of a squirrel?"

-
If we could figure that out, we could save AOC!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With Peppermint Mocha! at December 15, 2024 10:54 AM (L/fGl)

171 20 ... "I read the sweetest book this week: The Kamagawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai. A retired police detective opens a restaurant in Kyoto with his daughter, and together they serve customers who seek a memorial dish. It is gentle, kind and pays homage to traditional Japanese fare and the family and loved ones who prepared and ate it together. I cannot recommend this enough!"

Moki,
Thanks for mentioning this. It's not the kind of book I would usually seek out but there are times when 'gentle, kind' reading is appealing. Just put a hold on a copy at the local library.

Posted by: JTB at December 15, 2024 10:55 AM (yTvNw)

172 My resolution is more classics next year.
I am regularly disappointed in modern fiction because of its predictability. I don't know if this is a result of 60+ years of reading (and movies from all decades) or what.
So I re-read a lot.

Posted by: sal at December 15, 2024 10:55 AM (f+FmA)

173 It's not fair to equate the Country Class with Borderers; Vance is at risk of doing just that

Could you expand on that?

Posted by: grammie winger - cheesehead at December 15, 2024 10:55 AM (SfhV1)

174 Thanks sal. I do love the Wimsey books set in about the same time frame, murder mysteries of course. Going to try the first, High Rising. Hopefully after I'm off our HOA BOD I can enjoy life again. Wish I could write so that I could pen a fiction book on how HOA's highly resemble the 3rd Reich.

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at December 15, 2024 10:55 AM (2NHgQ)

175 What a horrible ceiling there in the top pic. Not even with the issue that those colors together represent.

Gah!

Posted by: pawn, RIP Vic at December 15, 2024 10:56 AM (QB+5g)

176
There are non-denominational Christians on YouTube promoting and cerebrating the abandonment of Christmas - traditions both cultural and religious - because it's not Biblical.

The Nativity of our Lord sure is Biblical. And despite what some of the non-denominationalists - not to mention the anti-Christian Catholic bashers - having it in December was not to say that Jesus was born on December 25th or that Christians took over a pagan festival. There were plenty of other pagan festivals throughout the year that they could have taken over.

The date was set because it was nine months after what at that time was believed to be the date of the Crucifixion, March 25th. Both the Nativity and the Passion are intertwined. Both are preceded by penitential seasons, Lent and Advent. In both seasons, the vestments worn by the priest are purple, except for the third Sunday, when they're rose.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at December 15, 2024 10:56 AM (dxSpM)

177 Good Morn___ from the Left Coast!

One problem I've noticed with respect to reading goals, e.g., Goodreads, is the goals are by book rather than by pages read. I set my Challenge in January with no plan of which books in my TBR pile will strike my fancy (or which books I will discover). I am currently 5 books behind in my 2024 goal, so the book that "chose me" out of my pile is "The Vikings: A History," by Robert Ferguson. The Vikings influenced the history of all of Northern Europe, from Russia to Ireland and Iceland. Fascinating stuff, but not a quick read!

Posted by: March Hare at December 15, 2024 10:56 AM (jfX+U)

178 Thanks a lot morons. Just as I was convinced to make a serious dent int he TBR pile in the coming year, I find out Roald Dahl was a fighter pilot and wrote a book about it, so now the TBR will be even higher when it comes in the mail.

Posted by: who knew at December 15, 2024 10:56 AM (+ViXu)

179 Years ago I saw on PBS I think, so,done recreated Shackleton's journey exactly as it happened. It brought home exactly how miraculous it was that they survived.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at December 15, 2024 10:57 AM (t/2Uw)

180 My resolution is more classics next year.
I am regularly disappointed in modern fiction because of its predictability. I don't know if this is a result of 60+ years of reading (and movies from all decades) or what.
So I re-read a lot.
Posted by: sal
______________

There is nothing new under the sun. I'm with you.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at December 15, 2024 10:57 AM (Dm8we)

181 Re: Thirkell.
I should add that she is not 'cozy" in the least. Sharp and witty but saves the worst for those who deserve it.

Posted by: sal at December 15, 2024 10:58 AM (f+FmA)

182 The excellent "History for Atheists" podcast (which debunks a lot of atheist bullshit) pointed out that the Roman Saturnalia festival really started becoming a big deal AFTER Christianity got widespread. So who was co-opting whose festival, exactly?

Posted by: Trimegistus at December 15, 2024 11:00 AM (78a2H)

183 Thanks to moki as well. Added the food detective book to my wish list for Kindle.

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at December 15, 2024 11:00 AM (2NHgQ)

184 A bit of a pleasant surprise. The local Barnes and Noble actually has a fairly complete selection of CS Lewis nonfiction on the shelves. These are the rather nice deckle edge paperback editions. I was able to pick up a couple that I was missing.

Posted by: JTB at December 15, 2024 11:01 AM (yTvNw)

185 Thank you, Perfessor- it's been a pleasure as always.
Now I must go 'Bake, old one! Bake like the wind!"
Happy Christmas prep to you all...

Posted by: sal at December 15, 2024 11:01 AM (f+FmA)

186 All but three of the 55 would survive the ordeal, which is a testament to the will of Shackelton. In his account, he never once claims any glory, but praises the efforts of his team. His leadership turned a near tragedy into a heroic story

Posted by: Thomas Paine at December 15, 2024 09:31 AM (BH09b)

There was a wonderful exhibit a few years ago in London of the expedition through the work of the photographer...Hurley was his last name...don't remember his first name.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at December 15, 2024 11:02 AM (d9fT1)

187 Perfesser,

I appreciate the comments you make about consumption rate. Having a pile of books looking over your shoulder is no way to actually enjoy reading. Reading a book is not something to look at as an accomplishment.

It is indeed about "The Journey" or at least it is with the books I like to read.

Posted by: pawn, RIP Vic at December 15, 2024 11:02 AM (QB+5g)

188 For those interested, the Everyman's Library edition of Montaigne is translated by Donald Frame:

https://is.gd/eLMhIj

I love the Everyman's Library imprint; some are a little spendy, but they're classics in sturdy editions, Smyth-sewn binding, with attached bookmarks, and in the case of Dickens, a comprehensive list of characters ( helpful when you haven't seen the character in a hundred pages )

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at December 15, 2024 11:03 AM (PiwSw)

189
As for Fen's request for recommendations, I'd suggest This is the Faith by Francis Ripley and Credo by Bishop Athanasius Schneider.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at December 15, 2024 11:03 AM (dxSpM)

190 I bought "Winter Fire" last year but never read it. Enjoying it now.

My current TBR stack is composed of schoolroom paperbacks that I bought at a charity sale.

Just finished "Freak the Mighty" by Rodman Philbrick. It has two things I hate: present-tense narration (particularly when the narrator says "Later I find out...") and *spoiler alert* the death of the narrator's best friend. But it works in so many other ways, I can see why it remained popular.

Next up is a book called "Wringer". It's an award-winner, so it probably stinks. Ha ha.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at December 15, 2024 11:03 AM (xedjt)

191 At the library this week I also picked up quite a few things: a couple of Agatha Christies, several Evan Hunters including a memoir of his time working with Alfred Hitchcock on AH's movies, two of the "Richard Stark" Parker crime novels to re-read, and a Westlake Dortmunder comic caper. Got to be prepared for the holiday time off.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at December 15, 2024 11:04 AM (omVj0)

192 It's not fair to equate the Country Class with Borderers; Vance is at risk of doing just that

Could you expand on that?

Posted by: grammie winger - cheesehead

Check into that book review. Fischer describes four different waves of early settlement into the US: Puritans, Quakers, Cavaliers, and Borderers. It's too much to assert that these four cultures still exist in unadulterated form, but it's not far to look, to see their lingering presence. It's a really fascinating thesis, and I might get around to reading the book someday.

There is a nexus between these three books: Hillbilly Elegy, The Ruling Class, and Albion's Seed. I present it as food for thought, not a complete synthesis or a political argument.

I worry a little about Vance. A Borderer who turns Puritan could be a terrible Ruler indeed.

Posted by: Bombadil at December 15, 2024 11:06 AM (MX0bI)

193 Speaking of libraries…ABC will pay $15MM toward Trump’s Presidential library to settle defamation lawsuit.!
Thank you, midget Stephanopoulus

Posted by: kallisto at December 15, 2024 11:08 AM (4Y8Z+)

194 Magnificat by Robert White on the radio. Heaven.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 11:09 AM (kpS4V)

195 Are our only choices between scattershot ecohippiedom and an efficient but malevolent hierarchy? Tiny bands of foragers with scant personal property still require vast territory to forage in, and that would require reducing the world's population by about 99.9%. [ . . . ]
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 10:02 AM (kpS4V)

The only hunter-gatherer cultures active in the last 200 years lived on land so poor that no one else wanted it, so the bands have to be small because of the low carrying capacity - at that cultural and tech level. the Northwest Indians were hunter-gatherers, and had much larger bands, much more complex societal constructs because of it, and ranged from pretty open to fairly oppressive societies but a central figure needed to attract adherents, since it was easy to walk away.
Centralization is based on technology for resource production and distribution (corn and rice are centralizing due to their storage capacity where Camas and salmon are not).
I believe tech can also create decentralization, and that is part of what we are seeing today, and why TPTB act a bit concerned about innovations.

Posted by: Kindltot at December 15, 2024 11:10 AM (D7oie)

196 Cyberpunk is based around this idea, it is an extension of the Golden Age Sci-Fi in a way; Tech allows greater action and greater productivity, which reduces the size of the group needed to operate together to create something, which in turn increases independence, which creates a drive to decentralization, but also increases interdependence between specialists.
I think Cyberpunk has three main elements, the new tech, the decentralization, and the third that is not talked about much, how does a society deal with decentralization without schisming fatally?
Often the plot device is dealing with the question of how to deal with this third element, The MegaEvilCorp is one option, and radical decentralization is another, but both quash progress by either excluding market forces, or by destroying the network effect, and the main character is grappling with this problem.

Posted by: Kindltot at December 15, 2024 11:10 AM (D7oie)

197 I never reread books. I never rewatch movies. I know where they are going as I already know the ending. I like being surprised. I like being shocked by an unexpected turn of events. I like when an author creates a completely new Universe and the concepts hold together even when it involves magic or a new scientific theory. Sanderson in the The Way of Kings and Cixin Liu in the 3Body problem come to mind.
Don't give up on finding something new. Those books exist.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at December 15, 2024 11:10 AM (t/2Uw)

198 worry a little about Vance. A Borderer who turns Puritan could be a terrible Ruler indeed.

What about a Borderer who turns Catholic?
Because as of about 2 yrs ago, Vance converted to Holy Mother Church.

Posted by: kallisto at December 15, 2024 11:11 AM (4Y8Z+)

199 Kallisto, that is hilarious! I hope his library is yuge and luxurious with a roof of golden thatch.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 11:12 AM (kpS4V)

200 The bundle is now no longer being offered, but earlier in the week I bought a Humble Bundle of some manga. I'm not a big fan of manga (only really enjoyed a single series) and I'm not a huge fan of digital comics...But there was a big name in the bundle ("Vinland Saga," a Viking comic) and another that has a bit of buzz, (Witch Hat Atelier) though I don't know exactly what genre it was. The bundle also included a bunch of slice-of-life or oddly-themed comics (including a really long series about a wine collection) which I didn't even bother downloading.

That's one nice thing about Humble Bundle; you don't have to download everything you 'buy.' And since everything is digital, it doesn't take up room on your shelf (just your hard drive) so even if I never get around to reading them, it's not looming over me. There are several bundles sitting on my hard drive that have barely been touched...

Posted by: Castle Guy at December 15, 2024 11:12 AM (Lhaco)

201 The idea that tech is inherently decentralizing is kind of weird. How many hunter-gatherers does it take to run a chip fabricating plant?

Posted by: Trimegistus at December 15, 2024 11:12 AM (78a2H)

202 "What can change the nature of a squirrel?"

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM

The ones around here? Probably only ballistic behavioral modification.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at December 15, 2024 11:13 AM (kbeOc)

203 Dang it, it's always like this: I turn up early in a thread and have to leave, or I turn up late. I promise to read any responses to my comments, and I'll see you next week if not before.

Farewell for now.

Posted by: Bombadil at December 15, 2024 11:13 AM (MX0bI)

204 Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 11:12 AM (kpS4V)

It will be the best…stupendous! Nobody knows more about building libraries than Donald J Trump…

Posted by: kallisto at December 15, 2024 11:14 AM (4Y8Z+)

205 Cyberpunk was another great discovery! I read a whole bunch of Gibson books. Completely different from any other genre I had read before.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at December 15, 2024 11:14 AM (t/2Uw)

206 The TBR pile just keeps growing, mainly because 1.) I find something New and Shiny that must be read now, now, now! and, 2.) I find something that can be read later, at leisure, and the pile grows that much more...

Recently, I moved back into WWII history via the recommendation of a commenter at 'Instapundit' who suggested "The First Team" a history of carrier-based Navy Fighter pilots at the beginning of the war. I had not seen this book before, but it is very, very interesting!

As to Retired Buckeye Cop's lament, I purchased a copy of George Buck's 'Life and Times of Richard III' which was written just after the last Tudor croaked. Buck's Granddad was one of Richard's knights, and he wrote to set the record straight. The book is, of course, practically unknown, and the version I received was basically photocopies of the 1600's printed text. Nearly unreadable. I said to myself, "Self! You ought to translate this! Sit down and take the time to work through the text and make it understandable to the modern reader!" Alas, sheer sloth and other pressing duties left my efforts incomplete. But, one of these days...

Posted by: Brewingfrog at December 15, 2024 11:16 AM (sFzJh)

207 191 At the library this week I also picked up quite a few things: a couple of Agatha Christies, several Evan Hunters including a memoir of his time working with Alfred Hitchcock on AH's movies, two of the "Richard Stark" Parker crime novels to re-read, and a Westlake Dortmunder comic caper. Got to be prepared for the holiday time off.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at December 15, 2024 11:04 AM (omVj0)

Richard Stark. Sounds like an amalgam of 'Richard Sharpe' and 'Ned Stark.' They need to get Sean Bean to play this 'Richard Stark' character in the tv adaptation....

Posted by: Castle Guy at December 15, 2024 11:16 AM (Lhaco)

208 That Everyman edition of Montaigne has the complete works -- essays, travel journals, and letters. It's a NICE edition, and it's one of the physical volumes I've kept.

But these days, I find the font a tad small for really comfortable reading. If you're like me and you want to read his essays in the Frame translation but the Everyman's type is too small for you, Stanford U Press has a Kindle edition of the Frame translation of the essays.

Gotta say, Everyman annoyed me quite a bit when they announced volumes with Orwell's complete essays and Roald Dahl's complete short stories, with Kindle editions as well as print, and then cancelled the ebooks.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 11:17 AM (q3u5l)

209 I did not see the Vance I came away with from reading his book and following his life story to this point in the comment above. He seems truly humble rejecting the Ivy League lawyer life that would have been his normal path. I have great hope for what he will bring to this new role.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at December 15, 2024 11:18 AM (t/2Uw)

210 I wonder if they just don't want to pay an illustrator for a decent cover these days. No more Frazetta and Kaluta and Whelan and Brom, just AI.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 09:21 AM (kpS4V)

I am sure that's a big factor. Mischievous suggestion: use AI to generate cover art for the old "Gor" books, with green-haired trannies as the maidens about to be ravished.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 15, 2024 11:18 AM (8zz6B)

211 179 ... "Years ago I saw on PBS I think, so,done recreated Shackleton's journey exactly as it happened. It brought home exactly how miraculous it was that they survived."

Sharon,

The book "Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" by Alfred Lansing is an incredibly good and exciting read. Not relaxing, of course, but exciting.

Posted by: JTB at December 15, 2024 11:19 AM (yTvNw)

212 I know it's Book Thread, but this is just too delicious not to mention. ABC has apparently taken away George Snuffleupagus' X account since he just cost them $15M. (Insty)

Posted by: Archimedes at December 15, 2024 11:21 AM (xCA6C)

213 209 I did not see the Vance I came away with from reading his book and following his life story to this point in the comment above. He seems truly humble rejecting the Ivy League lawyer life that would have been his normal path. I have great hope for what he will bring to this new role.

I've read both Albion's Seed and Hillbilly Elegy, and I agree with you. There is nothing in Vance's affect or evident personality to suggest he'll turn into a redneck monster.

Posted by: Archimedes at December 15, 2024 11:23 AM (xCA6C)

214 Trump has solved the New Jersey drone mystery.

https://is.gd/qKiWBY

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With Peppermint Mocha! at December 15, 2024 11:23 AM (L/fGl)

215 Wolfus -- thanks for the mention re Evan Hunter/Hitchcock. I'd missed that one completely when I was reading a bunch of Hunter's stuff some years back. Will have to scrounge up a copy.

The TBR pile gets hungry and I have to keep it happy...

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 11:25 AM (q3u5l)

216 I'm deep in the heart of Blue-occupied territory and I'm worried. The spiteful glee and adulation of Mangione is very disturbing. With all the insane rhetoric from the Left about "fascism" and "oppression" and "genocide" how long will it be before we see copycats?
Posted by: Trimegistus at December 15, 2024 10:26 AM (78a2H)

This isn't technically a book, but it is a podcast with Musa Al Garbi about his book We Have Never Been Woke about the role of marginalized "elites" trying to lead such movements like Occupy Wall street and BLM (to get themselves a better gig, and to find a new client class to be rewarded for being in charge of)

Andrew Heaton's Political Orphanage, "What sparked the great awokening" (1h 40m)

https://tinyurl.com/mr2srzuc

Posted by: Kindltot at December 15, 2024 11:25 AM (D7oie)

217
Shackleton by Roland Huntford not only describes the miracle of the Endurance expedition but also the 1907-1909 Nimrod expedition, where Shackleton established the Furthest South, just 97 miles from the pole. This is nearly as heroic as his later exploits.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at December 15, 2024 11:26 AM (dxSpM)

218 208 ... "That Everyman edition of Montaigne has the complete works -- essays, travel journals, and letters. It's a NICE edition, and it's one of the physical volumes I've kept.

But these days, I find the font a tad small for really comfortable reading. If you're like me and you want to read his essays in the Frame translation but the Everyman's type is too small for you, Stanford U Press"

JSG,
I have that Everyman version but, as you said, the print can be a tad small for easy reading. I got the Stanford University paperback edition for actual reading. It is a bit larger with bigger print and I don't feel too bad about notating a paperback.

Posted by: JTB at December 15, 2024 11:27 AM (yTvNw)

219 No children should enter that room.

Posted by: Chairman LMAO, AI Expert at December 15, 2024 11:29 AM (LPS7w)

220 217
Shackleton by Roland Huntford not only describes the miracle of the Endurance expedition but also the 1907-1909 Nimrod expedition, where Shackleton established the Furthest South, just 97 miles from the pole. This is nearly as heroic as his later exploits.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at December 15, 2024 11:26 AM (dxSpM
A miracle.

Posted by: Eromero at December 15, 2024 11:29 AM (DXbAa)

221 Wolfus -- thanks for the mention re Evan Hunter/Hitchcock. I'd missed that one completely when I was reading a bunch of Hunter's stuff some years back. Will have to scrounge up a copy.

The TBR pile gets hungry and I have to keep it happy...
Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024

***
It's a slim little volume called Me and Hitch, written in the late '90s and with a photo of Tippi Hedren from The Birds on the cover.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at December 15, 2024 11:31 AM (omVj0)

222 A lot of physical books hit me with a double whammy these days -- font size a bit too small for comfort, and the volume itself a bit too large or tightly bound to be held comfortably in my 29-year-old hands. The big reason (well, that and physical storage space) for my preference for ebooks.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 11:32 AM (q3u5l)

223 Have a good day Horde. Off to prepare for Mass and later the Lion's game. I actually like Buffalo more then Detroit, I'm rooting for the Lions since my nephew and his family love them.

Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at December 15, 2024 11:32 AM (2NHgQ)

224 35 The Jane Hawk series is great, but yes, it's all the more horrific for its plausibility.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 09:23 AM (kpS4V)

Yes, I actually just read the series (inspired by finding a hardcopy for sale at the library to take for my trip to the TXMoMe(!)). The knowledge that I have NO WAY to get off the grid - to travel undetected is pretty horrifying.

But I found the eventual success very encouraging.

Posted by: Iris at December 15, 2024 11:35 AM (bOJ2I)

225 I thought Shackleton didn't lose a single man on that epic adventure. They had to shoot the sled dogs, of course, but I thought every one of his men made it back.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at December 15, 2024 10:43 AM (omVj0)

A detailed account.

https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Endurance_(1912_ship)

Posted by: thatcrazyjerseyguy at December 15, 2024 11:36 AM (iODuv)

226 I just pulled "Spymaster" by Oleg Kalugin off my shelf. Will start it later this week. It did make me pause...how many books do we own that are signed by the author?
I have several.

Posted by: Diogenes at December 15, 2024 11:38 AM (W/lyH)

227 Thanks again, Wolfus. Have just emailed the library with an interlibrary loan request for Hunter's Me and Hitch.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 11:42 AM (q3u5l)

228 I revisit a lot of Douglas Adams this way.
There are certain segments of the Dirk Gently books that get a re-read at least once a year.
Posted by: garrett at December 15, 2024 10:27 AM (j6KoD)

So many ridiculously hilarious lines and bits in Dirk Gently. I was very excited when the BBC announced a series based on the book.

The series was absolute hyper-violent dreck. The only thing the two works had in common was the title. Another case of the adapter clearly loathing the source material. The BBC should be burned to the ground for this series alone.

Posted by: Candidus at December 15, 2024 11:43 AM (XJGL4)

229 Posted by: Archimedes at December 15, 2024 11:21 AM (xCA6C)

Hmmm
I wonder if that was a condition of the settlement?

Posted by: kallisto at December 15, 2024 11:43 AM (4Y8Z+)

230
I thought Shackleton didn't lose a single man on that epic adventure.

There were two expeditions, one in Endurance and one to set up a base on the other side of Antarctica on the Ross Sea and lay supply depots on the path Shackleton's party would follow after crossing over the Pole. Everyone in Shackleton's party survived. Three of the Ross Sea party died.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at December 15, 2024 11:44 AM (dxSpM)

231 I have three interviews this week, and God help me land one job at least.

I've been working through a podcast about Gene Wolf's Book of the New Sun. I read the series once, but missed most of the context, as most readers do. I have not read any other Gene Wolf.

Warhammer, similar to New Sun that the world is full of zealots. It is refreshing because I live in a world full of people who think life is debate class.

Flashgitz made the parody Space King 2, and it has the essence of it. (Galaxy Quest got the essence of what it was parodying, while Spaceballs did not.)

Henry Cavill has landed a series at Amazon finally ... I predicted that he would walk away because they are too woke. He will play the God-Emperor of Mankind, because of course he should.

Posted by: BourbonChicken at December 15, 2024 11:45 AM (lhenN)

232 >I thought Shackleton didn't lose a single man on that epic adventure.

Oh fuck me, I suppose.

Posted by: Frozen Dead Cat at December 15, 2024 11:46 AM (lhenN)

233 /sock

slow day at the blog

Posted by: BourbonChicken at December 15, 2024 11:47 AM (lhenN)

234 I thought Shackleton didn't lose a single man on that epic adventure.
*
There were two expeditions, one in Endurance and one to set up a base on the other side of Antarctica on the Ross Sea and lay supply depots on the path Shackleton's party would follow after crossing over the Pole. Everyone in Shackleton's party survived. Three of the Ross Sea party died.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at December 15, 2024

***
The expedition in Endurance was the one I was thinking of.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at December 15, 2024 11:47 AM (omVj0)

235 Just read that Stephanopolous's X account went away in November, probably a prelude to the settlement. The great irony is nobody noticed til now.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at December 15, 2024 11:47 AM (t/2Uw)

236
slow day at the blog
Posted by: BourbonChicken at December 15, 2024

***
Christmas, like winter, is coming.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at December 15, 2024 11:47 AM (omVj0)

237 20 I read the sweetest book this week: The Kamagawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai. A retired police detective opens a restaurant in Kyoto with his daughter, and together they serve customers who seek a memorial dish. It is gentle, kind and pays homage to traditional Japanese fare and the family and loved ones who prepared and ate it together. I cannot recommend this enough!
Posted by: Moki at December 15, 2024 09:15 AM (wLjpr)

Thanks for the recommendation! I read the sample, and I liked the writing and the story and the food talk a lot. I've ordered the book.

Posted by: Splunge at December 15, 2024 11:49 AM (hmKaK)

238 There were two expeditions, one in Endurance and one to set up a base on the other side of Antarctica on the Ross Sea

-
Worst. Spring. Break. Beach. Ever.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With Peppermint Mocha! at December 15, 2024 11:51 AM (L/fGl)

239 Well, off to find something to while away the hours until next Sunday's book thread.

What to do, what to do....

I know! I'll read a book! Assuming the cat will permit me to do so, as the only legitimate use of a human's time is opening cat food cans.

Thanks for the thread, Perfessor.
Have a good one, gang.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at December 15, 2024 11:51 AM (q3u5l)

240 Hey Horde, Very late to the thread, but do you have any recommendations for books that I might purchase for my lids for Christmas. There are 5 kids in their 30's with a wide variety of interests, I am just looking for a really well written story that they will enjoy and perhaps embrace reading again instead of time reading brief snippets of information on their phones. Fiction or non-fiction, doesn't matter. Thank You.

Posted by: Debby Doberman Schultz at December 15, 2024 11:51 AM (Sgq8y)

241 Trump has solved the New Jersey drone mystery.

https://is.gd/qKiWBY

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With Peppermint Mocha! at December 15, 2024 11:23 AM (L/fGl)

Mean tweets!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at December 15, 2024 11:52 AM (d9fT1)

242 The idea that tech is inherently decentralizing is kind of weird. How many hunter-gatherers does it take to run a chip fabricating plant?
Posted by: Trimegistus at December 15, 2024 11:12 AM (78a2H)

A handful of guys burning charcoal for making a sword from bog-iron is low tech and decentralized, but it is also low output.
A hydroelectric dam powering an Alcoa refinery is highly centralized with lots and lots of workers and very high output
A modular nuke plant the size of three conex boxes is extremely high tech, has greater output in a year than the guys forging bog iron swords saw in a lifetime, and very decentralized, but it requires even more interdependence to build and maintain.
This same pattern is seen in so many things, from manufacturing, to communications, to farming.

Posted by: Kindltot at December 15, 2024 11:53 AM (D7oie)

243 _Guten Morgen_ Horde!

I was out getting a Christmas tree (or _Tannenbaum_ as they're famously known over here).

I finished the public policy class, so mostly finished with the corresponding books.

Now back to the TBR pile.

Posted by: SPinRH_F-16 at December 15, 2024 11:53 AM (5CEo8)

244 Just read that Stephanopolous's X account went away in November, probably a prelude to the settlement. Everything.

-
Snuffleupagus needs to learn to keep his nose out of other people's business.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With Peppermint Mocha! at December 15, 2024 11:54 AM (L/fGl)

245 Recommendation for Lanier's book Hiero's Journey.

I've been going through Gary Gygax's list of rec reading in his Appendix N to the DM's Guide. Obv, he had great taste. Hiero's Journey is on the list. I'd never heard of it and it was cool. Clearly the inspiration for TSR's Gamma World rpg.

As to the disaffected Catholic, I guess I would ask him to ponder what exactly the Bible should mean to a Catholic. That's an important question and interesting. He might be doing Catholicism wrong idk.

As to books? I think RA Lafferty's Past Master and William Thomas Walsh's Histories would be good. That's some powerful Catholicism in action historical and fictional. And, very profound and high level intellectually.

Posted by: Thesokorus at December 15, 2024 11:56 AM (z6Ybz)

246 Thanks again, Perf, for curating the best thread at the HQ!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Agent of Chaos at December 15, 2024 12:00 PM (kpS4V)

247 WE HAZ A NOOD

Posted by: Skip at December 15, 2024 12:00 PM (fwDg9)

248 I really liked the Hiero's Journey series by Sterling Lanier.

I just checked to see if there were more than three books, and I found out that he was the editor that encouraged the publication of Herbert's book Dune after Herbert had been turned down by more than a score of other publishers.

Posted by: Kindltot at December 15, 2024 12:03 PM (D7oie)

249 Speaking of fantasy . . .

johnny maga@_johnnymaga
There’s a segment of Kamala supporters on TikTok that are convinced JD Vance is working with the feds to “turn state's evidence” against Trump and Elon Musk for stealing the 2024 election.
They believe Kamala will be inaugurated.
It’s insane how deranged these people are.

https://is.gd/ibyytl

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With Peppermint Mocha! at December 15, 2024 12:04 PM (L/fGl)

250 There are non-denominational Christians on YouTube promoting and cerebrating the abandonment of Christmas - traditions both cultural and religious - because it's not Biblical.

Too bad. Christmas was the "gateway drug" for some Christian conversions.
Posted by: NaughtyPine at December 15, 2024 10:28 AM (xedjt)

^^I agree. There are scolds who pedanticly say the Christmas season should not start until Christmas (because they want to be pure and celebrate Advent) but everyone loves Christmas and it is an opening. Even if you have to navigate the Hallmark pagan "Christmas is just about family and friends" nonsense.

Posted by: Iris at December 15, 2024 12:16 PM (bOJ2I)

251 I still have my "Planescape: Torment Manual" and many others from the 90's!

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at December 15, 2024 01:09 PM (O7YUW)

252 Spaceballs should be taken as its own story, a parody of general SF and not just Lucas.

Posted by: Boulder Terlit Hobo at December 15, 2024 01:23 PM (Y0+2O)

253 "The Jesus Incident" is one of my all time favorites. I first read it in sixth grade, which was probably not a great idea. Anyway, the 1999 Civilization game sequel "Alpha Centauri" is basically Jesus Incident fan fiction. It's also an excellent game in its own right.

Posted by: The Eidolon at December 15, 2024 04:12 PM (T4aRy)

254 I did not see the Vance I came away with from reading his book and following his life story to this point in the comment above. He seems truly humble rejecting the Ivy League lawyer life that would have been his normal path. I have great hope for what he will bring to this new role.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice)

I've read both Albion's Seed and Hillbilly Elegy, and I agree with [Sharon]. There is nothing in Vance's affect or evident personality to suggest he'll turn into a redneck monster.

Posted by: Archimedes

...

I'm not worried Vance will turn out to be a redneck monster; quite the opposite. He's a very successful politician now, considerably beyond a mere high-powered lawyer.

He's within a stone's throw of turning into John McCain, is what I'm saying. Sure, he's a great American success story, but his allegiances have clearly shifted along the way, very much in the direction of "meritocracy", elite rule, etc. He says Barack Obama is "brilliant", fer chrissake. He squeed like a schoolgirl from being two degrees of separation from Sonia Sotomayor.

As a hardcore right-winger, that kind of thing bothers me.

Posted by: Bombadil at December 15, 2024 04:36 PM (MX0bI)

255 Andrew Jackdon descended from Border Reivers, as did Reagan,
and Neil Armstrong. I did, too.

We are often referred to as Scots-Irish.

Not too worried about JD Vance.

Posted by: Tammy-al Thor at December 15, 2024 06:16 PM (Vvh2V)

256 I did, too.

We are often referred to as Scots-Irish.

Not too worried about JD Vance.

Posted by: Tammy-al Thor

I'm Scots-Irish too! My problem with Vance is not that he's descended from hillbillies. It's that now, having ascended to the Ruling Class, Vance has learned to truly despise us commoners as a bunch of uneducated, backward, drug-addicted hicks. He's well on track to become like Obama, only more self-righteous. His "humility" is strictly with regard to the powerful; it won't restrain his impulses when he gets real power over working- and middle-class Americans.

I'm going to go back and re-read my comment, to see how everybody got my meaning 180 degrees out of phase. In the meantime, please stop arguing with the opposite of what I'm trying to say.

Posted by: Bombadil at December 15, 2024 08:04 PM (MX0bI)

257 Kudos for putting that informative reply to a comment on the front page!

Merry Christmas to all Morons, Moronettes, and all others who may be about!

Posted by: jocon307 at December 15, 2024 10:00 PM (EuROc)

258 https://www.forinnews.com Brand

Posted by: https://www.greeneuroshop.com/ at December 19, 2024 08:28 PM (N9TGU)

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