Sunday Morning Book Thread 7-19-2026 [Sabrina Chase]

Welcome to the Book Thread, Guest Poster edition! I will be your host as we explore all sorts of book-related topics. All usual Book Thread rules are incorporated by reference (pets, beverage, clothing covering the lower limbs, etc.) with the special Sabrina Chase exemption for those stylish persons preferring kilts. Now let us proceed to today's topic, which is ...

(Big) Beautiful Book Bindings

We are all about the contents of books here at the Book Thread, but a high-quality binding is the literary cherry on top. The photo above is one of the old books in my library, a first edition of the Hurst "Burnt Leather Classics" version of the works of Robert Burns, printed in 1904. (It took a bit of internet research to find out the date, as the fancy version had no published date inside.) Not only does it have gilt lettering on the cover, the edges of the pages are all gilt as well. In addition, the cover is soft leather, delicately embossed with daffodils, and slightly padded so it is very comfortable to hold. There used to be a silk bookmark ribbon bound in, but that fell to the ravages of time. A lot of thought clearly went into this design, to not only look good and to be functional but also elevate the book even more. (Apparently it was TOO fancy/expensive to produce, even for the luxury holiday gift market it was intended for, and in 1905 the standards were *koff* lowered and the gilt page edges and cover lettering vanished. But that made it possible for me to figure out my copy was one of the elite!)

Now sometimes the attempts to pretty-up a book went a little far, what with all the enamel and gems and whatnot. Who wants to curl up with a lumpy book that weighs 15 pounds? And won't play nice with the other books on the shelf?

Anyone have any pretty treasures to brag about?

Posted by: Open Blogger at 08:52 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 up to chapter 362 of First Contact!

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at July 19, 2026 08:55 AM (VyBeY)

2 Morning, Sabrina.

Howdy, Horde.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 19, 2026 08:55 AM (q3u5l)

3 *Tap, tap, tap*

Is this thing on?

Posted by: First? at July 19, 2026 08:56 AM (2Ez/1)

4 other reading:

the Mr Gorzug series; pretty good stuff, lots of wisdom mixed in with the funny, recommended.

Zamyatin's "We", not sure why. Russian artists & poets sure got screwed by the October Revolution (which they supported), didn't they?

Appalachian Trail guidebooks - fantasy reading.

back later, maybe

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at July 19, 2026 09:00 AM (VyBeY)

5 Not much in the way of 'pretty' on this kid's shelves. But then except for encyclopedias I did most of my reading in battered library books and mass market paperbacks. By the time I started buying hardcovers, you really didn't see much in the stores except the current type trade volumes. Closest I get to ornate are a few volumes from Centipede Press.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 19, 2026 09:01 AM (q3u5l)

6 Can't think of a beautiful binding book in the collection, sorry.

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at July 19, 2026 09:01 AM (VyBeY)

7 I tell you every thing is weird and confusing in "Central" land. Book thread posting at a strange time, the Perfessor not here. What kind of crazy place am I trapped in?

Posted by: Time Tunnel OrangeEnt at July 19, 2026 09:02 AM (1tpiU)

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

Posted by: JTB at July 19, 2026 09:02 AM (yTvNw)

9 I don't have anything to compare to Sabrina's find, that's for sure.

All my books are "functional" rather than "ornamental."

I do have a few books that have slightly better binding, but that's as far as it goes.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at July 19, 2026 09:03 AM (FZ29D)

10 I have been a bad reader lately

Posted by: Skip at July 19, 2026 09:04 AM (Ia/+0)

11 I tell you every thing is weird and confusing in "Central" land. Book thread posting at a strange time, the Perfessor not here. What kind of crazy place am I trapped in?
Posted by: Time Tunnel OrangeEnt at July 19, 2026 09:02 AM (1tpiU)
---
Are pants even required here?

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at July 19, 2026 09:04 AM (FZ29D)

12 Last weekend, a few hours after the book thread ended, I saw the distinctive smoke plume of a newly-started forest fire. And I saw it from my front door. (not really, I had to walk a block away before the trees/buildings gave me a clear view, but the point stands.) That got me thinking: If I needed to evacuate, what would come with me? The answer, at least as far as books go, is 'not much.' As much as I love the books that line my house, only a handful of them would qualify as 'irreplaceable.'

Fortunately, the fire hasn't really gotten any closer to town, and has received a robust response from the appropriate authorities. It's still burning, but it will make national news if it reaches a point where my home is in actual danger...

Posted by: Castle Guy at July 19, 2026 09:04 AM (3v7ra)

13
*looks at top picture*

Ah! The Necronomicon from the movie, "Evil Dead Burn".

Posted by: naturalfake at July 19, 2026 09:04 AM (iJfKG)

14
"Promise Me, America" is a book title bathed in arrogance.

I have a couple of side bets about content, no one would take on the mentions of Beau.

Posted by: Auspex at July 19, 2026 09:04 AM (Y8DZL)

15 Morning, Book Folken,

I was just editing my latest short story: removing some of the "-ly" words, addressing my quirk of beginning a sentence with "But" or "And," etc. Time ran away, and here the Book Thread was.

Currently I'm reading Stephen Hunter's historical crime story I, Ripper. It features excerpts from a diary written by Jack the Ripper, alternating with a newspaper reporter's account from 1912 of how he gave the serial killer his name and tried to track him down in the London of 1888. Grand stuff.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:04 AM (wzUl9)

16 Saw a couple books at the convention this weekend but wasn't feeling rich enough to buy anything

Posted by: Skip at July 19, 2026 09:05 AM (Ia/+0)

17 Nice book in that top picture, but don't forget about me. I was the actual star of the show.

Posted by: And Allen at July 19, 2026 09:05 AM (1tpiU)

18 I tell you every thing is weird and confusing in "Central" land. Book thread posting at a strange time, the Perfessor not here. What kind of crazy place am I trapped in?
Posted by: Time Tunnel OrangeEnt at July 19, 2026

***
The alternate timeline where Kirk did *not* save Edith Keeler?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:06 AM (wzUl9)

19 Hard to find a good leather bound Kindle these days.

Posted by: Or a phone app at July 19, 2026 09:06 AM (2Ez/1)

20 Although I've been reading regularly this past week, it's been slow going as each book is a bit of a doorstopper (over 600 or 700 pages each).

Those simply take time.

I'll have more to report in next week's Sunday Morning Book Thread.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at July 19, 2026 09:07 AM (FZ29D)

21 Skip, did you have a good time at the convention? Was there reenacting there? Miniatures? War Games?

Posted by: TecumsehTea at July 19, 2026 09:07 AM (4VH0B)

22 Good morning again morons and thanks Sabrina

Saw Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt in Glencoe Friday night.

It was magnificent.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at July 19, 2026 09:08 AM (RIvkX)

23 I've usually found that the bindings from Library of America, Modern Library, and Everyman's Library hold up nicely. But these days a lot of hardcovers are harder to hold for very long (must go with being 29-and-then-some) and the print sizes used by the above-mentioned three publishers are harder on the eyes than they used to be (also a 29 thing). The kindle ain't pretty, but I'd be up a well-known smelly creek without it.

There are still a couple of bookcases of hardcovers here, though, because I liked the books and dammit I'm hanging on to them.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 19, 2026 09:08 AM (q3u5l)

24 Sorry about the non-traditional time. I am still figuring out the immense intricacies of the blog software. I may have forgotten the animal sacrifice part of the ritual ...

But now it is here and so are we! And the books.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at July 19, 2026 09:11 AM (Y9Vvl)

25 Are pants even required here?
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at July 19, 2026 09:04 AM (FZ29D)

***
The alternate timeline where Kirk did *not* save Edith Keeler?
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:06 AM (wzUl9)

( shaking ) I'm not sure.

Wait! Edith is dead?

Posted by: Time Tunnel OrangeEnt at July 19, 2026 09:11 AM (1tpiU)

26 There are still a couple of bookcases of hardcovers here, though, because I liked the books and dammit I'm hanging on to them.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 19, 2026 09:08 AM (q3u5l)
---
Preach it, brother!

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at July 19, 2026 09:11 AM (FZ29D)

27 19 Hard to find a good leather bound Kindle these days.

You'd think so, but no.

https://tinyurl.com/9ctaay8f

Posted by: Archimedes at July 19, 2026 09:11 AM (Riz8t)

28 Good Sunday morning, horde!

Sabrina, that is a beautiful binding, and fitting for a book of poetry.

I have a few very old books, but none with beautiful binding. Pretty sure I've got a couple of those green arsenic-infused ones, though.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at July 19, 2026 09:12 AM (h7ZuX)

29 Hey, I was good enough for your 4th grade English Grammar book.

Posted by: Brown paper grocery bag at July 19, 2026 09:12 AM (2Ez/1)

30 I finally finished reading "The Silmarillion." It was a slog. It's written with a deliberately arcane cadence, and it's just a summary of events, so there's usually not much of a 'story' to sink your teeth into. All too often it felt like the book was just throwing funny and way-too-similar names at me...

But I did enjoy the last couple chapters! The ones that had recognizable places and characters, that led into the events of Lord of the Rings. Those chapters I may re-read sometime. But the first two thirds...Now I can say that I read it, but I'm not likely to read it again.

Posted by: Castle Guy at July 19, 2026 09:13 AM (3v7ra)

31 Continuing my boycott of Christopher Nolan's "Odyssey," last week I finished the late, great Dan Simmons' "Ilium" and am now reading the follow-up "Olympos." I have enjoyed them both immensely, they being a science-fictioning of the story of the Siege of Troy and surrounding events.

Next up will be "Cur Deus Verba," or "How the Word Became Words," by Jeremy Holmes. An explanation of how Christ's teachings became the Bible, I believe. Should he an interesting read.

Good morning, Booklings.

Posted by: Sharkman at July 19, 2026 09:15 AM (/RHNq)

32 27 19 Hard to find a good leather bound Kindle these days.

You'd think so, but no.

https://tinyurl.com/9ctaay8f
Posted by: Archimedes at July 19, 2026 09:11 AM
+++++
Is it rich Corinthian?

Posted by: Ricardo at July 19, 2026 09:15 AM (2Ez/1)

33 Hey, I was good enough for your 4th grade English Grammar book.
Posted by: Brown paper grocery bag at July 19, 2026

***
And for years after that. Once I did have some Man From U.N.C.L.E. book covers. They didn't last anywhere near as long as a grocery store paper bag.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:16 AM (wzUl9)

34 Would they bother to cover the 4th grade grammar books now? I don't recall seeing any brown paper grocery bags for quite a while.

Now THOSE were ornamental.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 19, 2026 09:16 AM (q3u5l)

35 If I needed to evacuate, what would come with me? The answer, at least as far as books go, is 'not much.' As much as I love the books that line my house, only a handful of them would qualify as 'irreplaceable.'
Posted by: Castle Guy

Interesting. I also only have one or two; One, a child's picture book of fables that was a present to my Mom from my Grandparents. And later, Mom read to me. It has absolutely stunning illustrations with beautiful color.

The other is a Journal kept by a Pennsylvania Dutch Pastor whom traveled between churches in the early 1800's. It is written in High German and describes his days and travels. He mentions certain locations that are very near my old family farm. I have two copies - one's cover is in tatters - broken, falling apart and degrading into dust. The other has a more modern cover. Probably late 1930's.

Posted by: Tonypete at July 19, 2026 09:16 AM (IUQak)

36 I will say that my set of the Britannica from 1984, bound in leather and with gold stamping on the spine, is a beautiful thing. And yes, I still do consult them from time to time, when my favorite search engine's AI delivers nothing -- or nothing but nonsense.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:18 AM (wzUl9)

37 >>>I have a few very old books, but none with beautiful binding. Pretty sure I've got a couple of those green arsenic-infused ones, though.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs!
---

Don't lick your fingers as you turn the pages.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at July 19, 2026 09:18 AM (3oLMy)

38 Yay Book Thread!

Chateau Lloyd is host to many books with interesting and ornate covers, particularly Tolkien editions whose entire purpose is to sit there on the shelf and look pretty. We have paperbacks for actually reading, some of which have been badly abused by time.

I do think it's interesting that the phrase "can't judge a book by its cover" exists because most of the time, that is the author/publisher's goal. Stencil font with martial title: about war.

Script with Fabio holding a chick? Romance.

And of course the title: "The Sword of Length And Girth: A Tale of Faries Queers and Thorns Book 5" tells you all you need to know.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026 09:18 AM (ZOv7s)

39 Avi Feiglin, the son of Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin, runs a custom binding business. He learned the trade from his late grandfather, Rabbi Chayim Spring.

Gallery:

https://tinyurl.com/y3e4ztbc

YT video (Hebrew but you can get the translation):

https://youtu.be/UCfFNw_fxPo

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at July 19, 2026 09:18 AM (w2sCY)

40 Tonypete, where did you come across that journal?

Posted by: TecumsehTea at July 19, 2026 09:20 AM (4VH0B)

41 Not ostentatiously pretty, but there are a few books on my shelf that are just a joy to hold and to read because they are so well designed, both for having in your hand and reading from page to page. My copy of A.S. Byatt’s The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye (1996) comes to mind, and the much older “Black’s Readers Service” copy of The Works of H. Rider Haggard that includes “Cleopatra”.

They’re not overly engineered, they’re perfectly engineered.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at July 19, 2026 09:21 AM (sk9DV)

42 I try to be selective about buying well made books. Emphasis on 'try'. Sabrina is right. I will spend money on a beautiful presentation of a book that has meaning to me. The last few years I've picked up hardcover, often slip cased editions of:
- Treasure Island and Kidnapped
- The complete poetry of JRR Tolkien
- the Wingfeather series
- Dracula and other stories by Stoker
- the 3 volume prose Faerie Queene (which is magnificent)
- several others

My LOTR paperbacks from the 60s have long since disintegrated to be replaced by a few hardcover editions.

Part of the rationale for getting these better made editions is the sheer physical pleasure of reading from them. Part is these are books I hope to pass along to the next generations.

Posted by: JTB at July 19, 2026 09:22 AM (yTvNw)

43 On my TBR pile: We Sold Our Souls, a fantasy novel by Grady Hendrix, whose Satan Loves You I raved about last week; and two Stephen Hunters. G-Man features his long-running hero Bob Lee Swagger, with flashbacks to his father Charles's time with the FBI during the Depression.

The other, a WWII novel, is called Basil's War, featuring one Basil St. Florian, an accomplished spy in the British Army who goes undercover in Nazi-occupied France.

Odd, but my local suburban library had the Hunters under General Fiction instead of Mystery. I'd think the G-Man novel would qualify under mystery, or crime at least.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:24 AM (wzUl9)

44 I have a few very old books, but none with beautiful binding. Pretty sure I've got a couple of those green arsenic-infused ones, though.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs!
---

Don't lick your fingers as you turn the pages.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at July 19, 2026 09:18 AM (3oLMy)
----
What if you've been eating Cheetos?

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at July 19, 2026 09:24 AM (FZ29D)

45 Next up will be "Cur Deus Verba," or "How the Word Became Words," by Jeremy Holmes. An explanation of how Christ's teachings became the Bible, I believe. Should he an interesting read.

Good morning, Booklings.
Posted by: Sharkman at July 19, 2026 09:15 AM
*******

https://youtu.be/Xz_QEYwerkw

Posted by: Come and See at July 19, 2026 09:24 AM (2Ez/1)

46 Last week, I read a graphic novel adaptation of "The Three Musketeers." This adaptation actually followed pretty closely to the original novel; D'Artagnan hired a servant, he took part in the siege of a castle like an actual soldier, and he didn't have a duel-to-the-death with that scarred (but not one-eyed) agent of Richelieu. The fidelity was refreshing. But it did drive home why so many adaptations change the story. This book in particular really benefits from being cleaned up. There were plot cul-de-sacs that didn't add much to the story, most of the characters could have acted a bit more nobly, and that ending...The climax of the book was 6 men condemning Milady DeWinter in an impromptu trial. Granted, Milady was evil and richly deserved her fate, but...The trial of a captured woman is not a worthy climax in a story about swashbuckling swordsmen! Changing the story to feature a duel-to-the-death with an enemy agent only feels natural...

But at least the art was good. Not excellent, but good. That alone puts this book above several other adaptations that were part of the same comic line.

Posted by: Castle Guy at July 19, 2026 09:24 AM (3v7ra)

47 I have no fancy books.

Posted by: Time Tunnel OrangeEnt at July 19, 2026 09:24 AM (1tpiU)

48 That got me thinking: If I needed to evacuate, what would come with me? The answer, at least as far as books go, is 'not much.' As much as I love the books that line my house, only a handful of them would qualify as 'irreplaceable.'

Posted by: Castle Guy at July 19, 2026 09:04 AM (3v7ra)
---
My father inherited the love letters of his grandparents and typed them up and had them published in a hardcover with photos in the 1980s. Only perhaps a half-dozen copies exist.

I have the digital files and will at some point publish them for a larger audience. They are very interesting as they wrote often and it's an intimate portrait of acquaintances becoming friends and then engaged and finally married, only to be separated by the Great War. The stuff of epic romance, really, all tucked away in an attic for 50 years.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026 09:25 AM (ZOv7s)

49 I'm reading _The Sea Wolf_ by Jack London, but I confess it isn't really gripping me. The narrator is a whiner, and Captain Wolf Larsen is a bastard and a psychopath. Weirdly, he keeps mouthing Socialist tomfoolery which sounds like the sort of thing Jack London would endorse. I'm worried that the book will end with the whiny narrator realizing that socialist psychopaths are really the good guys.

Posted by: Trimegistus at July 19, 2026 09:25 AM (78a2H)

50 Biden's Dog, thanks for the link to Spring Bindery. Those are amazing books! I have never seen designs in gilt edges before. Beautiful!

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at July 19, 2026 09:25 AM (k+oif)

51 Journeys Through Bookland, the 192x printing had been on my shelf since I was knee-high to an ant, but only the first eight volumes. Definitely my favorite books growing up. Earlier this year, I discovered a full set, basically unread/mint, printed in 1910: black leather, gilt edges, beautiful.

If there is a fire, I will probably be in the basement, opening the window to start hucking these books out first.

Posted by: KnownIssue at July 19, 2026 09:25 AM (5bj1g)

52 29 Hey, I was good enough for your 4th grade English Grammar book.
Posted by: Brown paper grocery bag at July 19, 2026 09:12 AM

Sitting right here, boss.

Posted by: Heavy Duty Reynolds Wrap at July 19, 2026 09:27 AM (2Ez/1)

53 I read Pendergast: The Beginning, by Preston & Child.

I started Relic a couple of years ago, and didn't get interested, but I saw this and decided to give it a go. I really got interested, and now it's finished, and I want to read Relic, and the waitlist is months long on Libby, and it's not on Hoopla, and my library doesn't have a copy.

But I'm in that mood now, and nothing else is grabbing my attention. I've started and abandoned several other books after I finished Pendergast, and I only want Pendergast now!!

This is a FWP, isn't it?

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at July 19, 2026 09:27 AM (h7ZuX)

54
Good morning again morons and thanks Sabrina

Saw Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt in Glencoe Friday night.

It was magnificent.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at July 19, 2026 09:08 AM (RIvkX)

We were in London last week and wanted to see a West End show.

Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" was playing there, which I would've loved to have seen, buuut that's not really the lovely and delightful Mrs naturalfake's kind of thing, so-

We went to see the all-singin', all-dancin' revival of the music "Oliver!'.

"Oliver!" is very much a product of it's time. As a retelling of "Oliver Twist" it kinda just breezes through the highlights, but is just loaded with great tunes. It really had no ambition to do anything more than entertain you and send you into the night singing and tapping your toes.

Mission accomplished.
Loaded with the usual great English stage actors as well.

Check it out if you have the opportunity.

Posted by: naturalfake at July 19, 2026 09:29 AM (iJfKG)

55 Posted by: TecumsehTea at July 19, 2026 09:20 AM
Besides maybe my best game showing, wore my Russian shako as a 1812 musketeer so people seem to like to come up and ask about it. Lots of conversations on game rules and just talking to other people interested in history.
Hopefully back to Fall In in November

Posted by: Skip at July 19, 2026 09:29 AM (Ia/+0)

56 Book adjacent: for her birthday, I bought the complete series of "Justified" for my youngest. We owned the first season, and she became addicted, and now we're binge-watching it.

I remember my mother being a huge fan of Elmore Leonard, and while this has me interested in his books, I also feel that the outstanding cast is integral to the experience, and so I'm holding back.

Well, that and the fact that I have lots of other stuff that I want to get through first, like City of God and the rest of the Graham Greene stuff I bought.

My bedtime book is Decisive Battles of the American Revolution, a trade paperback saved from oblivion because I used the margins for an amusing flip book in middle school. It's a good book on the merits, though. Can't recall the author and the cat will not be moved, so here I am.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026 09:29 AM (ZOv7s)

57 Regarding the original post; there are no fancy covers on my shelf. Nothing with any 3-d elements like the second image. A trio of faux-leather bound books, but the rest are just typical hardcovers or paperbacks. And two books in a slipcase, which I really don't care about...

The only covers that really stand out are some custom-bound-comic hardcovers; they have art printed on the covers, which I put together in photoshop! One of the perks of commissioning a custom-bound book...

Posted by: Castle Guy at July 19, 2026 09:29 AM (3v7ra)

58 37 >>>I have a few very old books, but none with beautiful binding. Pretty sure I've got a couple of those green arsenic-infused ones, though.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs!
---

Don't lick your fingers as you turn the pages.

The saddest thing in The Name of the Rose was the burning of the library.

Posted by: Archimedes at July 19, 2026 09:30 AM (Riz8t)

59 @44 LOL, all of it.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at July 19, 2026 09:30 AM (h7ZuX)

60 I have a large decorated white bound Bible I got for Christmas when I was in my 20's from my parents. I've never displayed it but it's nice to have.

Posted by: polynikes at July 19, 2026 09:30 AM (tZeAA)

61 Still enjoying CJ Box's Joe Pickett series.
Thanks to the book threadist who recommended it.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at July 19, 2026 09:31 AM (2Ez/1)

62 AN ACTUAL BOOK REVIEW:

I recently finished reading "The Case for Colonialism" by political scientist Bruce Gilley. Published a few years ago, it is an expanded book version of his highly controversial 2017 academic article of the same name.

The author challenges the prevailing progressive consensus that mid-19th and 20th century Western colonialism (primarily British, French, German, Belgian, Dutch, and Portuguese) was an unqualified evil. He argues that many or most episodes of such colonialism delivered substantial net benefits to colonized peoples through expanded education, improved public health, abolition of slavery and other harmful practices, better administration, infrastructure, widened economic opportunities, and more rational governance.

(cont.)

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at July 19, 2026 09:32 AM (w2sCY)

63 (cont.)

The book contends that it's actually anti-colonialism that has proven to be the greater threat to human rights and development in the 20th century. Gilley documents how premature decolonization and the rejection of colonial institutions by nationalist elites often led to economic decline, authoritarianism, corruption, and suffering in many post-colonial states. Gilley calls for a rethinking of colonial history based on empirical evidence rather than ideology, emphasizing a "civilizing mission" grounded in universal values.

That's not gonna happen, at least not right now.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at July 19, 2026 09:32 AM (w2sCY)

64 The best book cover I've got is my h.s. yearbook. I designed it. I managed to make it quite Soviet.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at July 19, 2026 09:32 AM (RIvkX)

65 I have a few very old books, but none with beautiful binding. Pretty sure I've got a couple of those green arsenic-infused ones, though.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs!
---

Don't lick your fingers as you turn the pages.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at July 19, 2026 09:18 AM (3oLMy)
----
What if you've been eating Cheetos?

Cheetohs, for a few moments, distracts the villein from fear. But law is imposed by fear, whose true name is fear of God.

Posted by: Jorge of Burgos at July 19, 2026 09:33 AM (Riz8t)

66 Stephen Hunter
Quit reading him after he inserted gratuitous gayness in a story.

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at July 19, 2026 09:33 AM (0ztm9)

67 I'm reading _The Sea Wolf_ by Jack London, but I confess it isn't really gripping me. The narrator is a whiner, and Captain Wolf Larsen is a bastard and a psychopath. Weirdly, he keeps mouthing Socialist tomfoolery which sounds like the sort of thing Jack London would endorse. I'm worried that the book will end with the whiny narrator realizing that socialist psychopaths are really the good guys.
Posted by: Trimegistus at July 19, 2026

***
Never read it; in fact I've read little of London aside from White Fang and Call of the Wild. And the latter was in the Whitman Young Readers edition, so it was probably edited. I remember the film version with Edward G. Robinson as Larsen, though.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:33 AM (wzUl9)

68 When a story is narrated by a dog, it has to be good. It is even better when the dog and his master are collecting various items to make magic charms. Roger Zelazny brings us the story of Snuff the dog in A Night in the Lonesome October.

Snuff is a watchdog. He watches things for Jack, like the things trapped in the mirror, and the thing in the wardrobe, and he keeps an eye out for Jack, since Jack is cursed. Jack only goes out by night, looking for certain items found in reasonably fresh graves, or in arcane gardens, as they are necessary ingredients for the charms Jack is working on.

As the story progresses, we meet other similar pairs, each an animal with their human, some working on charms to protect the world, and some working towards the opposite goal. Each animal is also trying to learn where and how this game is to be played out, and which teams will be on which side, for as the month of October comes to an end, they will all be in one location, where (and when) the portal can be opened, and the fate of the world will be at stake. As the story reaches its climax, the reader may be surprised as to which teams will be on which side on the thirty-first of October.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at July 19, 2026 09:34 AM (0U5gm)

69 Oliver: I recall the film version was well-cast, with Shani Wallis (whatever happened to her?) and Oliver Reed as a brutal Bill Sykes.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:35 AM (wzUl9)

70 In line with this topic, the quality of most of the hardcover Rabbit Room Press books is special. The thought and care they put into the books they produce is obvious. I first noticed when I got a copy of "Lost Tales of Sir Galahad". Leather bound, embossed cover, quality paper, and print that doesn't require a magnifying glass. The ongoing Arthuriad by Malcolm Guite is similar. Their children's series, The Wilderking, has a hardcover edition along with the paperbacks.

As in my comment above, it's a combination of pleasure in handling, contents that are special and worth preserving, and sturdy enough to survive generations of reading.

Posted by: JTB at July 19, 2026 09:35 AM (yTvNw)

71 I started Relic a couple of years ago, and didn't get interested, but I saw this and decided to give it a go. I really got interested, and now it's finished, and I want to read Relic, and the waitlist is months long on Libby, and it's not on Hoopla, and my library doesn't have a copy.

This is a FWP, isn't it?
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at July 19, 2026 09:27 AM (h7ZuX)
----
Being the first book in the series, Relic does have a bit of "early installment weirdness."

I thought it was pretty good overall though, and Reliquary, the immediate sequel was even better.

Like many long-running series, it doesn't quite hit its stride until book 3 or 4.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at July 19, 2026 09:36 AM (FZ29D)

72 Got dragged to the Odyssey yesterday. It's not bad, but I'm probably not going to see it again.

The diversity-hire casting is basically forced on the moviemakers now by the Oscars requirements, so I shrug and lump it in with the fact that they're speaking English and have all their teeth.

One thing which saddens me is how all movies nowadays apparently have to require the audience to take sides. The response to the criticism "I thought some of the casting was screwy" should be "Well, I liked it," rather than "You're evil."

Posted by: Trimegistus at July 19, 2026 09:37 AM (78a2H)

73 When a story is narrated by a dog, it has to be good. It is even better when the dog and his master are collecting various items to make magic charms. Roger Zelazny brings us the story of Snuff the dog in A Night in the Lonesome October. . . .

Posted by: Thomas Paine at July 19, 2026

***
I can't find much Zelazny at my local library. This book sounds particularly good.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:38 AM (wzUl9)

74 Beautiful books up there!

I have one old book that I received as a Christmas present this year: my grandfather's bible. Worth a lot - to me!

Posted by: Lizzy at July 19, 2026 09:38 AM (X8xt3)

75 Not ostentatiously pretty, but there are a few books on my shelf that are just a joy to hold and to read because they are so well designed, both for having in your hand and reading from page to page.
___________

For this reason, I go out of my way to get early/mid century Modern Library editions. Perfect size and can occasionally find a leather bound.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at July 19, 2026 09:38 AM (XvL8K)

76 I'm a jewelry fan, and jewelry books are always big and beautiful.

But my favorite is easily a set of Shakespeare, missing one book. They were brought by covered wagon to South Dakota by my sodbuster ancestors. No year given, because they're pre copyright.

Posted by: Wenda at July 19, 2026 09:38 AM (u84c/)

77 I have the digital files and will at some point publish them for a larger audience. They are very interesting as they wrote often and it's an intimate portrait of acquaintances becoming friends and then engaged and finally married, only to be separated by the Great War. The stuff of epic romance, really, all tucked away in an attic for 50 years.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026 09:25 AM (ZOv7s)

I would read that. I'd want to see the original handwritten letters, too, though.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at July 19, 2026 09:38 AM (h7ZuX)

78 TecumsehTea - one was my grandfathers' and another was given to me by one of my mom's cousins.

Now I have to locate them and caress them.

Posted by: Tonypete at July 19, 2026 09:40 AM (IUQak)

79 I recently finished reading "The Case for Colonialism" by political scientist Bruce Gilley. Published a few years ago, it is an expanded book version of his highly controversial 2017 academic article of the same name.
====

Thomas Sowell is making some of the same points in Wealth, Poverty, and Politics, the importance of culture and cultural transmission in economic outcomes.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at July 19, 2026 09:40 AM (RIvkX)

80 Be sure to read “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury on August 4.

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 19, 2026 09:41 AM (8l6/L)

81 I went into a big chain book store for the first time in a long time today.

They had a cafe, a game section, a gift section, and a toy section. It was sort of like being at the mall in the old days when you might have a Walden Books near the food court or at least an Orange Julius.

But...

I looked through the SF and Fantasy section and it was full of hacks and authors I've never heard of and reading the back covers the descriptions didn't sound promising.

So I went over to the library instead and got some Leiber and Saberhagen books instead.

Posted by: 18-1 at July 19, 2026 09:41 AM (sKqQm)

82 I have a very old book that guess its a reader teaching, it has text in both English and German. Don't remkember exactly when it was written other than 1800s.
Thinking to donate it to historical society as its should be preserved more than a book that will just be wasted sgfter I am gone

Posted by: Skip at July 19, 2026 09:41 AM (Ia/+0)

83 Robert Burns died 21 July 1796, how old is that book?

Posted by: Eromero at July 19, 2026 09:42 AM (LHPAg)

84 Not ostentatiously pretty, but there are a few books on my shelf that are just a joy to hold and to read because they are so well designed, both for having in your hand and reading from page to page.
___________

For this reason, I go out of my way to get early/mid century Modern Library editions. Perfect size and can occasionally find a leather bound.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at July 19, 2026

***
I have two on my shelf, Three Famous Murder Novels edited by Bennett Cerf, and Fourteen Great Detective Stories edited by Vincent Starrett. Bought them both from a local (and now defunct) bookseller when I was about fifteen. TFMN contains Before the Fact, that great portrait of a woman's marriage to a charming sociopath; the short stories volume has stuff all the way from Poe and Melville Davisson Post through Rex Stout, Ellery Queen, and even Cornell Woolrich.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:42 AM (wzUl9)

85 "the late, great Dan Simmons' "Ilium" and am now reading the follow-up "Olympos."
Posted by: Sharkman at July 19, 2026 09:15 AM (/RHNq)

Very much my favorite pair of books by Dan Simmons.

Posted by: 13times at July 19, 2026 09:43 AM (fnZRl)

86 55>>>Skip

Sounds like a lot of fun for you. It's nice to get away and have downtime doing something we enjoy.

Posted by: TecumsehTea at July 19, 2026 09:43 AM (4VH0B)

87
So I went over to the library instead and got some Leiber and Saberhagen books instead.
Posted by: 18-1 at July 19, 2026

***
Much better choices. Saberhagen's Empire of the East and his Books of Swords series are superior stuff.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:44 AM (wzUl9)

88 LEBENSBILD aus dem Pennsylvanisch-Deutschen Predigerstand

Allentown, Pa. 1906.

My German fluency, which really never was, has entirely left me so now I have to kick my way through the journal slowly. But I wouldn't say painfully.

Posted by: Tonypete at July 19, 2026 09:44 AM (IUQak)

89
Half-Price Books used to be a great place to shop for older books, when it was run by hippies.

I was able to buy some first printings from favorite authors like Peter DeVries, Tom Sharpe, and Folio Society reprintings of Evelyn Waugh, PG Wodehouse and many others for a pittance.

In any event, they must've gotten acquired and now mostly carry Best-Sellers from the last ten years or so.

If you find anything neat, you usually have to wangle pretty hard with them to get a decent price. Booo!

The biggest surprises for me was finding a complete set of Henry Williamson's "Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight", which was one of the 99 Great novels of the 20th Century super cheap.

And a complete Set of "The Burton Holmes Lectures" Burton Holmes was a guy who travelled to the "exotic" countries way back when and then went around the country giving lectures long with a slideshow. Great photos and interesting if not politically correct viewpoints. Also dirt cheap.

Posted by: naturalfake at July 19, 2026 09:45 AM (iJfKG)

90 My German fluency, which really never was, has entirely left me so now I have to kick my way through the journal slowly. But I wouldn't say painfully.
Posted by: Tonypete at July 19, 2026

***
The verb is often hiding at the end of the sentence.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:45 AM (wzUl9)

91 I recently finished reading "The Case for Colonialism" by political scientist Bruce Gilley. Published a few years ago, it is an expanded book version of his highly controversial 2017 academic article of the same name.

Colonialism was a mixed bag for the colonized. The first point, and I find leftwingers pretty much always ignore this, is that it replaced one form of non representative government with another.

So, what is better local, primitive despots or distant advanced ones? Especially for societies that were still stuck in the tribal stage?

Posted by: 18-1 at July 19, 2026 09:45 AM (sKqQm)

92 I would read that. I'd want to see the original handwritten letters, too, though.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at July 19, 2026 09:38 AM (h7ZuX)
---
My father retains the letters and I would include some photos of them as well.

What's really struck me is how "modern" their language becomes after they get married. At first it is very polite and then friendly, but after he's deployed to France, they speak pretty openly about sex and missing each other. He longs for "the twins" and she misses "Johnny."

That was why my father only made a handful of copies, handed out only to the older family members. His mother and her siblings did not approve of sharing that with the general public or the grandkids. I was the only great-grandkid to get a copy.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026 09:46 AM (ZOv7s)

93 Colonialism?

I still pronounce that nation with Kilimanjaro in it as "Keen-ya," as the British did, instead of "Kenn-ya." I must be an unreconstructed colonialist.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:47 AM (wzUl9)

94 Ay-yi-yi -- this is not how I wanted to start my latest year of life.

Oh, well.

I finished "Von Ryan's Express" by David Westheimer. It did involve a train, one that was to take nearly 1,000 men from an abandoned POW camp in Italy into Germany.

Col. Joseph Ryan, the senior POW officer -- derogatorily known to his charges as "Von Ryan" because he's a hardcase -- plans an escape that will require him to take over the train. His efforts make a gripping tale.

I wonder about the authenticity of the dialogue, however. The No. 2 POW leader, who was supplanted by Ryan because of rank, is British, and he seems to mention "Jerry" every 10 words. I know stereotypes have some basis in fact, but this is a bit much. On the other hand, I've learned a new term for a woman -- "frippet."

Posted by: Weak Geek at July 19, 2026 09:48 AM (q9vMC)

95 Much better choices. Saberhagen's Empire of the East and his Books of Swords series are superior stuff.

And interestingly that is what I got...

As an aside with Empire of the East I mentioned to the yutes I know sometimes that when I was their age we had the possibility of a REAL apocalypse - a nuclear WWIII with the Soviets. You have anxiety because global warming might raise global temperatures in a century or something? What if you woke up tomorrow and it was 1M degrees in your local city center?

Posted by: 18-1 at July 19, 2026 09:48 AM (sKqQm)

96 The verb is often hiding at the end of the sentence.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:45 AM (wzUl9)

Quid?

Posted by: LINGUAM LATINAM at July 19, 2026 09:48 AM (1tpiU)

97 Being the first book in the series, Relic does have a bit of "early installment weirdness."

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at July 19, 2026 09:36 AM (FZ29D)

Yeah, it was probably that. The epilogue of Pendergast: The Beginning is an opening to Relic. So now I'm hooked in.

My mental image of Pendergast is that appraiser of Civil War artifacts on Antiques Roadshow, Rafael something. I know Pendergast is thin, and Rafael isn't, but it's my image and I'm sticking to it.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at July 19, 2026 09:49 AM (h7ZuX)

98 What's really struck me is how "modern" their language becomes after they get married. At first it is very polite and then friendly, but after he's deployed to France, they speak pretty openly about sex and missing each other. He longs for "the twins" and she misses "Johnny." . . .

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026

***
At one point Mrs. Wolfus No. 2-to-be and I wrote some love letters to each other. Our language was hardly so, uh, circumspect.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:49 AM (wzUl9)

99 The Burns book is from 1904. It isn't the oldest book I have; that honor belongs to a copy of Jerusalem Delivered a poem by Torquato Tasso, printed in 1770. The cover, alas, is gone (so not suitable for this post) but the paper is amazing. Old linen paper, yes, made from linen fabric scraps. That's why there used to be the "rag and bone men" that went door to door collecting fabric scraps for papermakers. It's more expensive but more durable. And it feels less brittle to the fingers when reading.

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at July 19, 2026 09:50 AM (k+oif)

100 Reminds me. One of my older brothers graduated from a small liberal arts college in the midwest. In the 1970s The college yearbook has lots photographs of the residents of thr various dorms. Animal House wasn’t too far off. They seemed especially seemed proud of their Bongs, to a man. Artfully displayed album covers with Zig-Zag rolling papers and seedy Marihuana.

Posted by: Common Tater at July 19, 2026 09:50 AM (LSh5J)

101
I finished "Von Ryan's Express" by David Westheimer. It did involve a train, one that was to take nearly 1,000 men from an abandoned POW camp in Italy into Germany.

Col. Joseph Ryan, the senior POW officer -- derogatorily known to his charges as "Von Ryan" because he's a hardcase -- plans an escape that will require him to take over the train. His efforts make a gripping tale.

I wonder about the authenticity of the dialogue, however. The No. 2 POW leader, who was supplanted by Ryan because of rank, is British, and he seems to mention "Jerry" every 10 words. I know stereotypes have some basis in fact, but this is a bit much. On the other hand, I've learned a new term for a woman -- "frippet."
Posted by: Weak Geek at July 19, 2026

***
I first read VRE when I was in high school, and loved it. Never had I seen the Frank Sinatra film, though, until about two months ago. Verdict: Skip it, stick with the novel.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:51 AM (wzUl9)

102 Still not doing much in the way of Big Serious books this past week. (Sorry, Fyodor.) Revisited Don Robertson's novel Make a Wish. Went through a semi-abandoned project of my own and figured maybe, just maybe, I can do something with it after all. Decided the other day that it had been too long since I read Bradbury and started Fahrenheit 451 yesterday evening.

Focused? Me? Smile when you say that.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 19, 2026 09:51 AM (q3u5l)

103 And though there only occasionally, at work are on a town public library job. It was the local firehouse and getting turned ito library. So hopefully someday if not a picture from me will get one somehow for this very thread

Posted by: Skip at July 19, 2026 09:52 AM (Ia/+0)

104 ... Sea Wolf_ by Jack London, but I confess it isn't really gripping me. The narrator is a whiner, and Captain Wolf Larsen is a bastard and a psychopath.
Posted by: Trimegistus at July 19, 2026

The first half of the book differs significantly from the second half of the book. I won't say how, but was very disappointed.

Posted by: 13times at July 19, 2026 09:52 AM (fnZRl)

105 18-1,

Your library still had Leiber and Saberhagen? Count your blessings.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 19, 2026 09:54 AM (q3u5l)

106 About the best and most ornate books that I have are a collection of Folio editions - which I bought in the 1980s when the most expensive releases were +/-$100. I also have a 1920 edition of "Old French Fairy Tales" by the Comptesse de Segur and illustrated by Virginia Frances Sterrett. It was originally a Christmas present to a little boy named Markie, who was the youngest son of the wealthy family that my maternal grandfather worked for. He was an invalid, and died young - my mother was his age, and often brought to their enormous Pasadena mansion to play with him, as he could not go to school, or out much at all. The book eventually came to me, and a friend of a friend who was into hobby bookbinding redid the spine and signature stitching. The illustrations are lovely and very 1920 Erte style.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at July 19, 2026 09:54 AM (Ew3fm)

107 Good morning!

Let's smile & be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at July 19, 2026 09:56 AM (u82oZ)

108 The Young Washington movie frequently mentions his letter writing.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at July 19, 2026 09:56 AM (2Ez/1)

109 I'd read Von Ryan's Express in high school as well, after seeing the Sinatra picture.

Yes, the book's better. But the flick's worth a watch just for Trevor Howard.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 19, 2026 09:56 AM (q3u5l)

110 Not as fancy as some hardcover editions but I like what is called 'flexibound' books. These are hardcover but flexible. Penguin Clothbound Classics is a good example. My favorite modern version of Canterbury Tales from Nevil Coghill is one. My reading copy of LOTR is the same approach but leather, like some Bibles, instead of cloth. The flexibound style also makes it easy to open the book completely flat, adding to the comfort.

Posted by: JTB at July 19, 2026 09:57 AM (yTvNw)

111 Speaking of Germans, I ran across this quote from a German author/jurist named Ernst-Wolfgang Bockenforde: "The liberal secular state lives on premises that it cannot itself guarantee"

He was both a Catholic and a Social Democrat and apparently he sees the problem with the latter.

And the left has yet to solve this problem as we see with the Somali Learing centers here in the US...

Posted by: 18-1 at July 19, 2026 09:57 AM (sKqQm)

112 I don't have a lot of very old books, but I do have a framed map pulled from an 1855 atlas. It is entitled "British, Russian, and Danish possessions in North America." It shows Russian Alaska, Greenland, and the 30 odd provinces that Canada had at the time, like Churchill and Abitibi.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at July 19, 2026 09:57 AM (0U5gm)

113 Good morning, Sabrina and Horde.

I have an entire bookcase of olde tomes, some inherited from my father, most bought by me because I got bit by the antiquarian bug early. My prize find as a teen was a big edition of "Paradise Lost" with Doré illustrations on almost every other page. It's not that difficult to find, but it blew me away and spoiled me for drab paperback versions of literature. Many 19th Century novels with gilt edging and engravings, and works by Victorian explorers with maps and illustrations.

On the cheesier end of vintage reads, I love old SF books with lurid covers. And that pulpy smell means a quality experience!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at July 19, 2026 09:58 AM (kpS4V)

114 How about culture being downstream of genetics which is downstream of environment?
Are there any works on culture as an expression of genetics?

Posted by: Accomack at July 19, 2026 09:58 AM (T8bqm)

115 Speaking of Von Ryan's Express, its author, David Westheimer, a few years earlier wrote an adaptation of JP Miller's teleplay/screenplay for Days of Wine and Roses. It is excellent. Even if you didn't know about or had never seen the movie, the novel adaptation is powerful and effective.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 09:59 AM (wzUl9)

116 >>>78 Tonypete
Those are priceless! So cool.

MrTea's grandfather served, in WWI. He wrote home a lot and his mother saved all the letters. This side of DH family is very into ancestry/genealogy and family history. The letters somehow got to a professor in SD, who turned them into a book and also speaks about them, and the war. I keep meaning to buy a copy and then share about it here but I never seem to get around to it. I think some readers here would be interested in it, too.

Posted by: TecumsehTea at July 19, 2026 09:59 AM (4VH0B)

117 It shows Russian Alaska, Greenland, and the 30 odd provinces that Canada had at the time, like Churchill and Abitibi.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at July 19, 2026 09:57 AM (0U5gm)
---

Cooool!

I need to look this up.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at July 19, 2026 10:00 AM (kpS4V)

118 I'd read Von Ryan's Express in high school as well, after seeing the Sinatra picture.

Yes, the book's better. But the flick's worth a watch just for Trevor Howard.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 19, 2026

***
+ 100

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 10:00 AM (wzUl9)

119 Rag paper lasts incredibly well. In college I was allowed to look at — and handle — a copy of Copernicus's book _De Revolutionibus_ with annotations and cross-outs by the Holy Office. It must have been nearly 400 years old and was in fine shape. Meanwhile some of my books from the 1960s shed pages every time I read them.

Posted by: Trimegistus at July 19, 2026 10:00 AM (78a2H)

120
I finally finished "Consider Phlebas" by Iain M Banks.

I put it aside because I got a little tired of his usual organization of his Culture novels.

Usually Banks starts with a mission that winds up having a bunch of side-quests, which may or may not have any relevance to the story or mission at hand.

Now, he's a good writer and the last oh, 4th or 5th of the novel just zooms for doom and unhappy endings.

But, after reading 3 in a row, I sort of knew what to expect.

If you want a good idea of what his "Culture" series is all about, "Consider Plebas" is a great place to start.

Check it out.

Posted by: naturalfake at July 19, 2026 10:00 AM (iJfKG)

121 Still reading Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow.

General Washington is trying to defend New York City. The attack by the British is yet to come.

Well written, with surprise information in the story. I though I knew the story of the Revolutionary War well, but I was wrong.

Martha Washington is a part of the story here. Her importance to keeping George going is quite revealing. She spent almost half the war with George.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at July 19, 2026 10:01 AM (u82oZ)

122 76 ... "But my favorite is easily a set of Shakespeare, missing one book. They were brought by covered wagon to South Dakota by my sodbuster ancestors."

Wenda, Those volumes are special, especially for the family. Louis L'Amour mentions in a few of his stories, based on research, that books on the frontier were valued for their contents and appeal to everyone. When there is little room for books as pioneers moved west, they took only the best. Sounds like your family's situation.

Posted by: JTB at July 19, 2026 10:02 AM (yTvNw)

123 As an aside with Empire of the East I mentioned to the yutes I know sometimes that when I was their age we had the possibility of a REAL apocalypse - a nuclear WWIII with the Soviets. You have anxiety because global warming might raise global temperatures in a century or something? What if you woke up tomorrow and it was 1M degrees in your local city center?
Posted by: 18-1 at July 19, 2026 09:48 AM (sKqQm)
---
Anyone remember "Twilight: 2000?" Imagine high school kids literally playing a game that will take place when they are in their 20s about scrounging gas and ammunition to fight the Soviet remnant after all the missiles have launched.

My friends and I played GDW's Third World War games where you could drop tactical nukes all over central Europe. Nuclear war wasn't some imagined thing your grandkids will deal with, it was a practical problem to be solved.

Gen X is just built different.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026 10:03 AM (ZOv7s)

124 88>>> Tonypete
Is that journal handwritten, or has it been typed out?
How can you read the old German script? Our son teaches HS German, and is fluent in reading and speaking (you'd be surprised that some language teachers are NOT) and he struggles with reading that old High German script.

Posted by: TecumsehTea at July 19, 2026 10:04 AM (4VH0B)

125 Cooool!

I need to look this up.

Posted by: All Hail Eris

Believe it or not, Abe Books has a copy of it, do a search for:

ORIGINAL 1855 COLTON'S HAND COLORED MAP OF NORTHERN AMERICA BRITISH, RUSSIAN & DANISH POSSESSIONS
Published by J. H. Colton & Co., 1855

Posted by: Thomas Paine at July 19, 2026 10:06 AM (0U5gm)

126 I played those GDW Third World War in Europe games in the 1980s. My friend/opponent and I both agreed the A-10 aircraft units were ridiculously overpowered. Then we got to see them in action in the first Gulf War and realized the game was spot-on.

Posted by: Trimegistus at July 19, 2026 10:08 AM (78a2H)

127 The fanciest book I ever owned was a the red leather hardback expensive edition of "The Lord Of The Rings" in a box slipcover. Also the matching green one of "The Hobbit." They collected dust on the bookshelf for decades until I decided I was never going to actually read them, preferring my ancient Ballantine paperback ones (with the covers that aligned into one full picture) and gave them away. Now I have them on Kindle but the paperbacks are a sentimental favorite and I love the smell of yellowing old paper.

Just finished up new-to-me author Jennifer Milliken's "Here For The Cake" which was a nice, sweet romance with some good twists. Immediately acquired some more of her work, she's a keeper. I wish I could write characters like she does...

Posted by: tankascribe at July 19, 2026 10:10 AM (NtoJk)

128 Good morning all
Did a lot of reading this week.
First
Decided to check out the mystery book club at the library. Book is You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego. It is her first book so surprised about the choice. It brings a bunch of mystery writers to an island retreat where (obviously) one gets murdered. It sounds like it is going to be like every other book, movie you have ever seen or read but it is quite good. Actually thinking about taking pen and paper and making lists so I can figure out who Dunn it.The meetup is on the 28th so I am really curious about what it will be like.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at July 19, 2026 10:10 AM (kJmSS)

129 Another great WWIII game from way back when...Fortress America

Posted by: 18-1 at July 19, 2026 10:10 AM (sKqQm)

130 I confess the only book I’ve had rebound is Pappy Eromero’s King James Bible. Mama gave it to him in 1965-66. Re-binding cost about $100 or so in 96.

Posted by: Eromero at July 19, 2026 10:10 AM (LHPAg)

131 I really enjoyed Ardath Mayhar's slender novel "The World Ends in Hickory Hollow". A husband and wife, former farm kids who later ditched the big city and returned to their old homesteads in rural Texas, find themselves uniquely able to weather the aftermath of an atomic war. They were so isolated that the resulting power outage didn't even register until days in. News off the airwaves is patchy, and then pretty much nonexistent.

They've rounded up a passel of abandoned seniors who have the old wisdom necessary to see them through low tech times. Things are looking survivable until they run into a clan of violent nut jobs who only want to destroy.

Did I learn about this book at the HQ or Sarah Hoyt's joint? In any case, thanks to whoever.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at July 19, 2026 10:11 AM (kpS4V)

132 Another great WWIII game from way back when...Fortress America
Posted by: 18-1 at July 19, 2026 10:10 AM (sKqQm)
---
Yes, but not as good as Shogun, which we used to play every Saturday night.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026 10:11 AM (ZOv7s)

133 The original journal was transcribed to print at some point by the author's sons. (The Helffrich brothers) and, I assume, had a very limited published run. It is not printed in the old German script - it seems to just be a 'modern' typeset. The chapter titles and dates associated with the title are in the old script however.

One thing I noticed long ago - certain names of some of the faithful that the Pastor ministered to are redacted - a blank is shown instead of the name. Reading the stories one can see why. The Pastor pulls no punches when relating what folks have confessed to or relayed to him.

Posted by: Tonypete at July 19, 2026 10:12 AM (IUQak)

134 Fortress America is a fun game, though the premise makes no goddamned sense at all. One oddity is the random nature of reinforcements. I always thought the USA player should have at least some idea of what's in the pipeline. Also: they turn up in the damnedest places, so that there's no real strategic significance to real-world industrial centers.

Posted by: Trimegistus at July 19, 2026 10:13 AM (78a2H)

135 Rag paper lasts incredibly well. In college I was allowed to look at — and handle — a copy of Copernicus's book _De Revolutionibus_ with annotations and cross-outs by the Holy Office. It must have been nearly 400 years old and was in fine shape. Meanwhile some of my books from the 1960s shed pages every time I read them.
Posted by: Trimegistus at July 19, 2026 10:00 AM (78a2H)
----
University libraries often have very old relics. The kind of books you can only handle while wearing special white cotton gloves so that you don't get your oils all over them.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at July 19, 2026 10:13 AM (FZ29D)

136 Oh and also I remember played Gulf Strike which was a Victory Games offering focused on the middle east during the last cold war. Some of the scenarios you could play:

Iran-Iraq War
USSR invades Iran
Iran invades Gulf States
and...
Iran tries to close Hormouz.

Posted by: 18-1 at July 19, 2026 10:14 AM (sKqQm)

137 Colonialism was a mixed bag for the colonized. The first point, and I find leftwingers pretty much always ignore this, is that it replaced one form of non representative government with another.

So, what is better local, primitive despots or distant advanced ones? Especially for societies that were still stuck in the tribal stage?

Posted by: 18-1 at July 19, 2026 09:45 AM (sKqQm)
-

What you're mostly describing is pre-mid-19th century colonialism. The author touches on the vast differences to modern colonialism.

It's not so simple. There were numerous cases where modern colonialism met with the approval of the general populace. It was more like "Welcome the new boss - nowhere as horrific as the old."

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at July 19, 2026 10:14 AM (w2sCY)

138 I played those GDW Third World War in Europe games in the 1980s. My friend/opponent and I both agreed the A-10 aircraft units were ridiculously overpowered. Then we got to see them in action in the first Gulf War and realized the game was spot-on.
Posted by: Trimegistus at July 19, 2026 10:08 AM (78a2H)
---
When I put together an operational-level wargame for the Air Force, I borrowed heavily from the airpower rules in the Third World War series. It was well received, but of course my efforts to standardize USAF wargaming came to naught because a retired O-5 civilian at HAF feared it would destroy his rice bowl. The LeMay Center staff loved my work, though.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026 10:14 AM (ZOv7s)

139 On the cheesier end of vintage reads, I love old SF books with lurid covers. And that pulpy smell means a quality experience!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at July 19, 2026 09:58 AM (kpS4V)

I have a similar penchant for pulp mystery novels. So, my favorite bindings tend to be pretty delicate, as cheap paperbacks don't age well. But I love them.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at July 19, 2026 10:15 AM (h7ZuX)

140 Tonypete

That sounds so interesting.

Posted by: TecumsehTea at July 19, 2026 10:16 AM (4VH0B)

141 Morning, 'rons and 'ronettes. Sorry to be late, but it's another one of those days when waking up is a huge disappointment.

The only thing I've read recently was Pamela Hutchinson's The Curse of 'Queen Kelly', a behind-the-scenes look at the never-finished, never-released 1929 Erich von Stroheim / Gloria Swanson film.

I'm reading it for inspiration, and it's helping a bit. It is not, however, a book for the casual movie fan. You have to really have an interest in silents to enjoy it.

The author doesn't shy away from showing what a rotten bastard Joe Kennedy was, either.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at July 19, 2026 10:16 AM (qRla/)

142 Impressive book binding
Thanks Sabrina!

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at July 19, 2026 10:17 AM (WL2lA)

143 The postapocalyptic TTRPG Gamma World is one of the things that made me a conservative.

Seriously: I tried to map out the devastation from a nuclear strike, to see what the tiny islands of civilization would be in a sea of destruction.

Instead what I found was that whole continents would be untouched.

Which meant that when people began to describe nuclear disarmament as necessary for the survival of the species, I became skeptical of their motives, and have remained so ever since.

I get flashes deja vu for the 1980s anti-nuke movement whenever I hear activists describing AI and data centers as existential threats.

Posted by: Trimegistus at July 19, 2026 10:17 AM (78a2H)

144 Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at July 19, 2026 10:11 AM (kpS4V)

Thanks, Eris, for The World Ends In Texas. I immediately thought of Corsicana.

Posted by: Eromero at July 19, 2026 10:17 AM (LHPAg)

145 Good morning!

Let's smile & be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at July 19, 2026 09:56 AM (u82oZ)
-

In trying to keep on topic, I say "book 'em, Danno!"

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at July 19, 2026 10:17 AM (w2sCY)

146 Oh and also I remember played Gulf Strike which was a Victory Games offering focused on the middle east during the last cold war. Some of the scenarios you could play:

Iran-Iraq War
USSR invades Iran
Iran invades Gulf States
and...
Iran tries to close Hormouz.
Posted by: 18-1 at July 19, 2026 10:14 AM (sKqQm)
---
Back in the day I owned Battle for Germany and Southern Front, and finally bought Persian Gulf, which has the starting scenario and a diplomatic 'card game' to keep things interesting. The map is horribly out of date given all the development in the Gulf since then.

I set up the maps, but it's unpunched and I couldn't bring myself to mar its perfection.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026 10:18 AM (ZOv7s)

147 University libraries often have very old relics. The kind of books you can only handle while wearing special white cotton gloves so that you don't get your oils all over them.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel

I recall that my university library had a first or second edition of the works of Edgar Allan Poe published prior to the civil war just sitting on the shelves.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at July 19, 2026 10:18 AM (0U5gm)

148 @46, I tend to think that Dumas was showing us the struggle which these fellows have with summoning the moral courage to do what is right, even though it goes completely against their deeply ingrained sense of protecting and cherishing women. Milady is seething with sheer evil, and they know it. Yet, they quail beneath the task, even though they have faced and killed/wounded countless men in battle. This is entirely different, and they would have failed, letting Milady to continue her evil had Athos not remained constant.

Sometimes doing the right thing is terrible.

Posted by: Brewingfrog at July 19, 2026 10:18 AM (gbWHQ)

149 Second
I had asked here about John Sandford. I had acquired one of the ,ast books in his Lucas Davenport series and wondered if I should start with book 1. Eromero said Do It. Reading Rules of
Prey. I am already a fan. Lucas, a jaded, brilliant police detective is the best liar in all of fiction. His ability to manipulate everyone around him including the multiple women who can't quit him to help him solve the crime is fascinating. That Sandford has birthed this incredibly complex character right out of the gate has me hooked.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at July 19, 2026 10:20 AM (kJmSS)

150 It's not so simple. There were numerous cases where modern colonialism met with the approval of the general populace. It was more like "Welcome the new boss - nowhere as horrific as the old."
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at July 19, 2026 10:14 AM (w2sCY)
---
Colonialism was the default excuse for every corrupt tyrant to blame someone else for their mismanagement. It's like "systemic racism" - deflects blame and requires an impossible to achieve solution to solve the problem.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026 10:21 AM (ZOv7s)

151 Which meant that when people began to describe nuclear disarmament as necessary for the survival of the species, I became skeptical of their motives, and have remained so ever since./i]

The anti-nuke groups both those opposing nuke power and nukes weapons were all funded and controlled by the Soviets.

The anti-datacenter people are a mixed bag. I'm sure we'll find they are being funded by China, but I opposing data centers is a natural conclusion based on pre-existing environmentalist arguments. Of course the amusing thing is the American leftwing oligarchs funding the environmental movement have invested heavily in data centers and are telling the environmentalist to shut up.

So who wins the Chinese or the American oligarchs? Hard to say...

Posted by: 18-1 at July 19, 2026 10:21 AM (sKqQm)

152 @101 --

I saw the movie first, and that made me want to read the book. Oldest son and his wife found a copy, minus dust jacket, at a library sale in their city and surprised me with it a few years ago.

I tried to guess what the cover looked like. Searched for the book on eBay, and I was right -- men standing on a boxcar.

Posted by: Weak Geek at July 19, 2026 10:22 AM (HapY3)

153 Thanks, Eris, for The World Ends In Texas. I immediately thought of Corsicana.
Posted by: Eromero at July 19, 2026 10:17 AM (LHPAg)
---

Me too!

My library's interlibrary loan service found a copy for me. Highly recommended.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at July 19, 2026 10:22 AM (kpS4V)

154 There were numerous cases where modern colonialism met with the approval of the general populace. It was more like "Welcome the new boss - nowhere as horrific as the old."

Posted by: Biden's Dog

There is a conversation recorded in Blood River where the author is talking to a captain on a barge hauler on the Congo River, who asks about the effects of colonialism on Africa. The captain points out that Singapore and Malaysia were former colonies, and they have skyscrapers and formula one races. "Colonialism isn't the problem" was the captain's point of view.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at July 19, 2026 10:23 AM (0U5gm)

155 I am about to be shanghaied off to the local Museum of Art. It's not a bad jaunt, actually . . . except for the heat and the bad streets I have to drive on to get there and come back. The A/C in the museum, I have reason to know, is *cold,* and so I'll bring a sweater.

No idea what kind of art they are featuring this month, but I know they have both old-fashioned representational art and the "modern" kind we often sneer at (sometimes unfairly) on the Art Thread.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 10:23 AM (wzUl9)

156 Trimegistus

I was amused by the series of three divisional level defend NATO and Germany from the Red Army games by Dunnigan.

The first game, NATO, shows the Soviets pushing back NATO forces easily, but then American reinforcements hold Western Germany.
World War III has Soviets taking over France with the Allies defending Spain and Britain. This is the premise of the official 1949 war plans revealed in
Dropshot[i/] by Anthony Cave Brown.
The last, The Next War: Modern Conflict in Europe, has the Soviets stopped easily by NATO Forces.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at July 19, 2026 10:24 AM (u82oZ)

157 I recall that my university library had a first or second edition of the works of Edgar Allan Poe published prior to the civil war just sitting on the shelves.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at July 19, 2026 10:18 AM (0U5gm)
---
Michigan State's library had all of Lovecraft's work in the Special Collection because they were stolen so frequently. You go down, check in your backpack and all possessions, are given a pencil and a sheet of paper upon request, and then sit at a bare table and read your book under the watchful eyes of the staff.

None of them were rare editions, they just were stolen so often that replacement was a pain.

MSU also has one of the largest collections of comic books, which would have been cool if I gave a damn about them.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026 10:24 AM (ZOv7s)

158 Colonialism was a mixed bag for the colonized. The first point, and I find leftwingers pretty much always ignore this, is that it replaced one form of non representative government with another.

So, what is better local, primitive despots or distant advanced ones? Especially for societies that were still stuck in the tribal stage?

Posted by: 18-1 at July 19, 2026 09:45 AM (sKqQm)

The way it strikes me is that being colonized really sucks for the generation that is being colonized. There doesn't seem to be too many exceptions to this. However, depending on what culture is doing the colonizing, it can bring some benefits to the generations that come after the new rule is established.

Posted by: Castle Guy at July 19, 2026 10:25 AM (3v7ra)

159
MSU also has one of the largest collections of comic books, which would have been cool if I gave a damn about them.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026

***
I doubt I'll ever be up that way, but -- Any of the old Silver Age DC Comics series like Batman and Jimmy Olsen?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 10:26 AM (wzUl9)

160 Yikes.

Off to the Barrel.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at July 19, 2026 10:26 AM (u82oZ)

161 Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at July 19, 2026 10:16 AM (qRla/)

Here's something not disappointing for you. My niece is eagerly awaiting your next Theda Bara novel. Any way to get a signed copy for her?

Posted by: Time Tunnel OrangeEnt at July 19, 2026 10:27 AM (1tpiU)

162
Zamyatin's "We", not sure why. Russian artists & poets sure got screwed by the October Revolution (which they supported), didn't they?...

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at July 19, 2026 09:00 AM (VyBeY)

I suppose that I feel sorry for the Russian creative types, who supported the Russian Revolution and then got totally screwed.

After all, the Commies were a "new", scientific system of gov't. How could they fail?

Though on the other hand, if the Russkie artistes had paid a little bit of attention to what the 7 Deadly Sins are, they probably could've figured things out way ahead of the censorship and prison camps.

It's a bit like John Cleese grousing now in his dotage about how England is being destroyed when he spent his career deriding and tearing down that society himself. I was just joking isn't quite the excuse he thinks it is.

Posted by: naturalfake at July 19, 2026 10:28 AM (iJfKG)

163 There is another element to the data center brouhaha: location. Many of these are being located well away from urban areas in rural communities that don't want them. In Michigan, the Dems taking total control of state government resulted in them abolishing local zoning laws so that they could plan windmills, solar panels and data centers wherever they want.

Michigan is chock full of brownfields. Mere miles away from me there is a massive bare patch of ground where Fisher Body and the Verlinden Plant used to be, conveniently located next to massive utility and water. Why not build there? Why pave farmland?

That's the issue around here.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026 10:28 AM (ZOv7s)

164 Third
I started Ilona Andrews newest This kingdom Will Not Kill Me. Maybe got 10 pages in and gave up. It is like they(she writes with her husband) started a whole new genre based on gaming. Their last one The Inheritance is similar and also gave up on it. Their last characters are boring and the story line makes no sense, just keeps roaming around. Sad because I really liked her writing in the past.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at July 19, 2026 10:30 AM (kJmSS)

165 I doubt I'll ever be up that way, but -- Any of the old Silver Age DC Comics series like Batman and Jimmy Olsen?
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 10:26 AM (wzUl9)
---
No idea, but it is one of the largest holdings in the world, so probably.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026 10:31 AM (ZOv7s)

166 53 ... "I want to read Relic, and the waitlist is months long on Libby, and it's not on Hoopla, and my library doesn't have a copy."

DMLW,
I'm surprised your library doesn't have Relic. You can often find used paperback copies of the Pendergast books on Amazon or used book stores for under three bucks. The Kindle prices are often ten dollars or more, which is a bummer.

Posted by: JTB at July 19, 2026 10:31 AM (yTvNw)

167 Well, time to get going. Thanks, Sabrina!

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026 10:31 AM (ZOv7s)

168 I'm in a rural area myself and it's a little shocking to watch the astroturfing in real-time. We've got local activists laying the groundwork to oppose hypothetical data centers nobody's even proposed yet.

Neville Roy Singham's paying for it.

Posted by: Trimegistus at July 19, 2026 10:32 AM (78a2H)

169 Here's something not disappointing for you. My niece is eagerly awaiting your next Theda Bara novel. Any way to get a signed copy for her?
Posted by: Time Tunnel OrangeEnt at July 19, 2026 10:27 AM (1tpiU)

Well! Thank her for me.

The novel is still a couple of months away from publication. When it's out, I'll announce it here on the Bool Thread, and you can send me her address then.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at July 19, 2026 10:33 AM (qRla/)

170 I have to go chop firewood for winter now.

I tell my lefty friends I burn wood "to reduce my carbon footprint" and they all nod sagely in agreement.

Posted by: Trimegistus at July 19, 2026 10:34 AM (78a2H)

171 And I think I'll call it a day.

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at July 19, 2026 10:34 AM (qRla/)

172 No idea, but it is one of the largest holdings in the world, so probably.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at July 19, 2026

***
MSU's Comic Art Collection pages do list a lot of the JOs and Batmans.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at July 19, 2026 10:36 AM (wzUl9)

173 I was saying Boo-urns.

Posted by: Hans Moleman at July 19, 2026 10:36 AM (0aYVJ)

174
I'm in a rural area myself and it's a little shocking to watch the astroturfing in real-time. We've got local activists laying the groundwork to oppose hypothetical data centers nobody's even proposed yet.

Neville Roy Singham's paying for it.
Posted by: Trimegistus at July 19, 2026 10:32 AM (78a2H)

Ugh.

This is "No Nuclear Power Plants" all over again.

With the same result that we as a country are once again crippled by the most ignorant and retarded among us by their votes.

Great.

Don't follow Bond Villain's ploys, people!

Smarten up!

Posted by: naturalfake at July 19, 2026 10:37 AM (iJfKG)

175 I have always avoided Harlan Coben, maybe because he's so popular and definitely, in part, because he allows scumbags like Blow Job Billy to co-author books with him, or so I thought until I looked it up and that was James Patterson.

https://tinyurl.com/3zzcpx6h

(Although he does have some questionable collaborators. https://tinyurl.com/2x2x8end)

Anyway, I broke down and am reading Coben's Nobody's Fool and it's a real page turner. During his after graduation European vacation during which he meets a girl in Spain, he wakes up next to her dead body covered in blood. He gets the hell out of Dodge but the incident haunts him for decades particularly when a second girlfriend is murdered. He turns to alcohol which results in disgrace and unemployment. Then he sees his dead Spanish girlfriend up and walking around . . .

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Fat, Dumb, and Happy at July 19, 2026 10:37 AM (ndZc7)

176 In the Saint short story "The Water Merchant," written in the late 1950s, Simon Templar opines that colonialism was a good thing and that the Europeans should have fought to keep their holdings. He also fires a broadside at foreign aid. It matched my views perfectly.

This is in the collection "The Saint to the Rescue."

Posted by: Weak Geek at July 19, 2026 10:38 AM (6coSf)

177 The novel is still a couple of months away from publication. When it's out, I'll announce it here on the Bool Thread, and you can send me her address then.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at July 19, 2026 10:33 AM (qRla/)

Thanks, I'll email it.

Well , the central land people want to go somewhere so I'll finish the thread later.

Posted by: Time Tunnel OrangeEnt at July 19, 2026 10:39 AM (1tpiU)

178 Dear horde, although I haven't been around as much as I once was as much as I once was, I have always valued this community. Long story short, I now have a fast acting form of ovarian cancer and my ptognosis is not good. Don't feel bad for me- i went from leading a normal life 2 weeks ago to dealing with almost unbearable nausea and weakness. Death will be a relief.my great concern is tying up loose ends with my will and funeral expenses. With the youth in this country falling for socialism, maybe its a good time to go. God bless Ace and the horde.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&&v at July 19, 2026 10:40 AM (9cZci)

179 We've got local activists laying the groundwork to oppose hypothetical data centers nobody's even proposed yet.

-
There's a data center under my bed!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Fat, Dumb, and Happy at July 19, 2026 10:40 AM (ndZc7)

180 Posted by: Donna&&&&&&v

Prayers up.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Fat, Dumb, and Happy at July 19, 2026 10:41 AM (ndZc7)

181 With all the argybargy and foofaraw over Nolan's Odyssey, I thought I'd dig out my own sets off the shelf. The first one is a Scholastic Books version (remember them?) I read in elementary school, "The Adventures o Ulysses", with groovy illustrations. The cover blurbs prove they know who they're appealing to -- bloodthirsty kids!

"Circe -- the beautiful witch who turns men into pigs!
The Tree Monsters -- cannibal giants that look like trees!
The Sirens -- hideous bird-women who lure sailors to their death!
Scylla -- an enormous spider with twelve legs and six heads - and a wild greed for human flesh!"

I also have a boring adult Homer with translation by Samuel Butler. Is this considered a good version?

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at July 19, 2026 10:42 AM (kpS4V)

182 All prayers appreciated.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&&v at July 19, 2026 10:42 AM (9cZci)

183 I have a beautiful Barnes & Noble edition The Count of Monte Cristo, but my old books were affordable foe their day. My grandmother passed on the 1830 well-worn edition of Walter Scott's Lady of the Lake, which is embossed leather but with an off-center title on the spine (probably how my great-grandparents could afford such a treasure)

Posted by: NaughtyPine at July 19, 2026 10:43 AM (fXG//)

184 Donna&&&&&&v at July 19, 2026 10:40 AM (9cZci)
--/-

My sincerest condolences, Donna.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at July 19, 2026 10:43 AM (kpS4V)

185 MSU also has one of the largest collections of comic books,
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

A library next to a river, literally, a cool place.

Posted by: Auspex at July 19, 2026 10:43 AM (Y8DZL)

186 And interestingly that is what I got...

As an aside with Empire of the East I mentioned to the yutes I know sometimes that when I was their age we had the possibility of a REAL apocalypse - a nuclear WWIII with the Soviets. You have anxiety because global warming might raise global temperatures in a century or something? What if you woke up tomorrow and it was 1M degrees in your local city center?
Posted by: 18-1 at July 19, 2026 09:48 AM (sKqQm)

Days ending in -y for kids growing up in the 1980s.

Then came 1989.

Both were very formative of my world view. Spending time in Germany did not hurt matters.

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 19, 2026 10:44 AM (4g5V+)

187 Posted by: Donna&&&&&&v
---

God Bless

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at July 19, 2026 10:44 AM (3oLMy)

188 Posted by: Donna&&&&&&v at July 19, 2026 10:40 AM (9cZci)

Oh dear. So sorry. Sending prayers.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Rock 'n' Roll Martian at July 19, 2026 10:44 AM (0aYVJ)

189 Writer's Block: When your imaginary friends don't take to you.

Posted by: clarence at July 19, 2026 10:45 AM (1QT7n)

190 I also have a boring adult Homer with translation by Samuel Butler. Is this considered a good version?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at July 19, 2026 10:42 AM (kpS4V)

I read the Robert FitzGerald and W.H.D. Rouse translations and have a copy of the latter.

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 19, 2026 10:45 AM (4g5V+)

191 178 ... Donna&&&&,
Prayers for your comfort and peace of mind.

Posted by: JTB at July 19, 2026 10:45 AM (yTvNw)

192 160 Yikes.

Off to the Barrel.
Posted by: NaCly Dog at July 19, 2026 10:26 AM (u82oZ)

Here, take these!

*hands NaCly a tub of Clorox wipes

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at July 19, 2026 10:46 AM (h7ZuX)

193 Donna&&&&&, The Peace of The Lord be upon you and see you into your Father's loving arms.

Posted by: Ben Had at July 19, 2026 10:47 AM (abScH)

194 I read Donna&&&&&&v’s post…on the anniversary of my father’s funeral. He was taken by cancer.

So it has to be said.

Fuck cancer.

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 19, 2026 10:48 AM (4g5V+)

195 @168, I can absolutely agree with that. One of my pastimes in my retirement has been attempting to lure businesses to my newly (7 years) found home. The County in which it sits is about average sized, yet very, very sparsely populated. Like less than 10,000 for the whole county. Early on I looked at the "Data Center" people, and decided to move in that direction: Low footprint, little traffic/disruption, nice tax revenue. What's not to like? I then began interacting with these companies, traveling to meet with them, actually inspecting their existing facilities, and looking at presentations of their future (late 2024) facilities. All of them involved closed-circulation cooling, and most of them included their own power generation capacity. This was before all of the recent hoo-hah, of course, and they knew that the grid was insufficient, thanks to Obama and Biden, and that self-sufficiency was paramount.

Singham's lies are ridiculous, and prey on ignorance.

Posted by: Brewingfrog at July 19, 2026 10:48 AM (gbWHQ)

196 Commies destroying farmland destroys their enemies economic culture.
The marginal fields around here are getting solar farmed. The Navy base and rocket labs are getting a battery farm just in case.
Ripping all of that infrastructure out to grow winter wheat and potatoes makes no economic sense.

Posted by: Accomack at July 19, 2026 10:48 AM (T8bqm)

197 Oh, Donna&&&&&&, my heart goes out to you. Prayers up for you and those you love. I am so sorry to hear this.

Posted by: TecumsehTea at July 19, 2026 10:49 AM (4VH0B)

198 Good morning from the Left Coast. Looks like another "No sky July" day here in the Bay Area, although the fog may burn off this afternoon.

Almost finished with Pyrates. I find I'm enjoying its absurdities so much I'm reluctant to finish it. Does anyone else have that problem--not wanting a book to end?

Posted by: March Hare at July 19, 2026 10:49 AM (O/GSq)

199 Almost finished with Pyrates. I find I'm enjoying its absurdities so much I'm reluctant to finish it. Does anyone else have that problem--not wanting a book to end?
Posted by: March Hare at July 19, 2026 10:49 AM (O/GSq)
-----
All the time.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at July 19, 2026 10:50 AM (FZ29D)

200 In my neck of the woods, a data center might actually be in one spark of economic life around here.

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 19, 2026 10:50 AM (4g5V+)

201 DMLW,
I'm surprised your library doesn't have Relic. You can often find used paperback copies of the Pendergast books on Amazon or used book stores for under three bucks. The Kindle prices are often ten dollars or more, which is a bummer.
Posted by: JTB at July 19, 2026 10:31 AM (yTvNw)

I'm in a small, rural town. I could get it through interlibrary loan, and may do that, but I'm only home on weekends. Should probably get a library card in the city, where I stay with Mom during the week.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at July 19, 2026 10:51 AM (h7ZuX)

202 I just finished reading Dan Simmons Carrion Comfort, nearly 900 pages long. But he's such a good writer I finished it quickly. Now I'm reading some short stories by Elizabeth Moon along with Karl Jaspers' Socrates, Buddha, Confucius, Jesus: The Paradigmatic Individuals. Wouldn't recommend it.

Posted by: Blahblahblah at July 19, 2026 10:51 AM (ca+Gv)

203 Donna&&&&&, thank you for letting us know. May the journey ahead be as peaceful and comfortable as possible and remember that if it’s God’s will, miracles do happen.

Posted by: Jen the original at July 19, 2026 10:52 AM (EiUt/)

204 with the special Sabrina Chase exemption for those stylish persons preferring kilts

Och, seo boireannach aig a bheil fios cò mu dheidhinn a tha i.

Posted by: Angus McAngusface at July 19, 2026 10:52 AM (0sNs1)

205 Prayers up.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 19, 2026 10:53 AM (q3u5l)

206 Donna&&&&&&v at July 19, 2026 10:40 AM (9cZci)
--/-

I prayer for your comfort and strength to accomplish your task. God bless.

Posted by: polynikes at July 19, 2026 10:53 AM (tZeAA)

207 181 ... "I also have a boring adult Homer with translation by Samuel Butler. Is this considered a good version?"

The Butler version is considered to be good from what I've read in reviews but make sure it's the unabridged version. The Barnes and Noble hardcover classics edition is the Butler version. I prefer the Fagles translations.

Posted by: JTB at July 19, 2026 10:56 AM (yTvNw)

208 Donna of the ampersands, thank you for letting us know. God's will be done, and a better place awaits. Prayers up for you for recovery if possible, but peace and joy in your remaining time, if not. We love you.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at July 19, 2026 10:57 AM (h7ZuX)

209 Prayers for you, Donna&&&&&&v. That's an awful diagnosis.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at July 19, 2026 10:58 AM (fXG//)

210 I'm not a fan of data centers being built where their power needs will negatively affect their neighbors and also turning good land into crap.

Locate all the necessary data centers in the blue city shitholes instead of farmland and beautiful 'hydro sources' .

Posted by: polynikes at July 19, 2026 10:58 AM (tZeAA)

211 Thanks for book thread tending, Sabrina.

I'm still on Robert Jordan re-read. I'm into The Shadow Rises, which is one of the better books in the series, largely because it focuses on Rand and the Aiel people, who are interesting. The Aiel have some real thought put into them, of course they are a blend of historical cultures (their adoption of the assegai short spear is well justified in-narrative) but they're neat.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at July 19, 2026 10:58 AM (xcxpd)

212 Posted by: Donna&&&&&&v at July 19, 2026 10:40 AM (9cZci)

So sorry to hear that Donna, prayers for strength to you.
We'll miss you.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at July 19, 2026 10:59 AM (xcxpd)

213 Nothing too fancy here, but I do have a first edition of Out of Africa that's pretty good looking. Not much reading as we were on a road trip around Lake Michigan with a detour to Lake Superior at Marquette.

Posted by: Who Knew at July 19, 2026 11:00 AM (+ViXu)

214
Locate all the necessary data centers in the blue city shitholes instead of farmland and beautiful 'hydro sources' .
Posted by: polynikes at July 19, 2026 10:58 AM (tZeAA)

The small town nearest me has a good amount of empty space that can be turned into a data center.

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 19, 2026 11:01 AM (4g5V+)

215 200 In my neck of the woods, a data center might actually be in one spark of economic life around here.

---------

Yep. Those server stacks buy a lot of groceries and cafe lattes.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at July 19, 2026 11:02 AM (6/7Fs)

216 The Rouse translation of the Odyssey is a prose translation and IIRC, pretty easy reading. This was the one I read in high school, Signet Classics edition I think, and it shouldn't be hard to find either new or used (yet another book I should revisit). Don't know why, but I've always bogged down in verse translations.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 19, 2026 11:03 AM (q3u5l)

217 Yep. Those server stacks buy a lot of groceries and cafe lattes.
Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at July 19, 2026 11:02 AM (6/7Fs)

I don’t know about the cafe lattes here though…: )

Posted by: Cow Demon at July 19, 2026 11:03 AM (4g5V+)

218 Prayers for you Donna.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at July 19, 2026 11:04 AM (2Ez/1)

219 Other than the ultra-premium editions aimed at collectors, most of today's "hardcovers" are just paperbacks with slightly thicker boards (pages glued rather than sewn, etc.). You're lucky if they last one reading.

Not worth the money, IMO.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at July 19, 2026 11:09 AM (IG3/x)

220 I finished "Von Ryan's Express" by David Westheimer.

-
A similar book you might like is Kings Go Forth by Joe David Brown, a novel based on his experiences during the Champagne Campaign in southern France. Like VRE, it was made into a so-so movie starring Sinatra, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood. The author was a disabled vet and did not view the war fondly. The plot concerns a forward artillery observed attempting to find a way to break through the enemy lines.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Fat, Dumb, and Happy at July 19, 2026 11:11 AM (ndZc7)

221 > Yep. Those server stacks buy a lot of groceries and cafe lattes.
Posted by: Cicero (@cicero43) at July 19, 2026 11:02 AM (6/7Fs)

They pay a shit-ton of property taxes, which is not nothing.

Loudon County, Virginia is home to some big Amazon, Microsoft, and Google data centers (and many smaller players).

Data centers take up 4% of the land area, but pay a full 38% of the property taxes. Nearly a billion dollars per year.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at July 19, 2026 11:14 AM (IG3/x)

222 Data centers take up 4% of the land area, but pay a full 38% of the property taxes. Nearly a billion dollars per year.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at July 19, 2026 11:14 AM (IG3/x)

4% of taxable land area? Because if so that doesn't make sense they pay 38% unless they have a different tax rate.

Posted by: polynikes at July 19, 2026 11:21 AM (tZeAA)

223 They're building one of those data center things in Montgomery County, MO-- a rural county not too far from STL, and the people are ecstatic about all the new jobs.

Me last week: "The Medici: Power, Money and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance," by Paul Strathern. I'm learning a lot about Renaissance art, as a result. It's kind of a Learing Center.

I read somewhere that Venice has a permanent population of a few hundred thousand people-- and gets 5 million tourists a year. As a result, it's easy to find a Carnival mask and souvenir shop, but hard to find a grocery store.

Posted by: mnw at July 19, 2026 11:24 AM (RCjYY)

224 Donna, I'm praying for you and a miracle. Don't spend too much energy worrying about the gross retards in this messed up country "falling for socialism," or reading too much stupid news about them here... it's always a waste of time anyway, and your time is more precious than most people's now.

I've always enjoyed your comments here but I don't want to see them if it's just depressing you... godspeed, and best of luck with whatever comes of this illness.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at July 19, 2026 11:24 AM (BI5O2)

225 > 4% of taxable land area? Because if so that doesn't make sense they pay 38% unless they have a different tax rate.
Posted by: polynikes at July 19, 2026 11:21 AM (tZeAA)

Property taxes are generally assessed on the total value, not just the value of the raw land.

A data center full of high end computers is worth a hell of a lot more than the same-sized cow pasture.

Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at July 19, 2026 11:26 AM (IG3/x)

226 Kilts???
Kilts are allowed?
Well. Dang!
BBL
*heads for closet*

Posted by: Diogenes at July 19, 2026 11:29 AM (2WIwB)

227 Sabrina,
Thanks for the topic and showing us that gorgeous book.

In a very small way I regard my books as a sort of Library of Alexandria where the knowledge and entertainment is worth preserving. Not just classics of literature and history but fun reads like the Matt Helm books and Nero Wolfe stories. Even ephemora like the MASH Goes to ... books, Doc Smith's Lensman series, and cozy mysteries have value if only for light entertainment.

Posted by: JTB at July 19, 2026 11:29 AM (yTvNw)

228 Meanwhile, in a bookstore in LA . . .

https://tinyurl.com/4zz8jh7e

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Fat, Dumb, and Happy at July 19, 2026 11:30 AM (ndZc7)

229 They're building one of those data center things in Montgomery County, MO-- a rural county not too far from STL, and the people are ecstatic about all the new job---

Those would be mostly temporary during construction. It's my understanding that Data centers don't have a lot of permanent positions.

Anyway I understand both sides of the issue but just lean toward the same position I have for green energy companies locations.

Posted by: polynikes at July 19, 2026 11:30 AM (tZeAA)

230 178 Donna

My prayers up too.

Posted by: mnw at July 19, 2026 11:31 AM (RCjYY)

231 175 I have always avoided Harlan Coben, maybe because he's so popular and definitely, in part, because he allows scumbags like Blow Job Billy to co-author books with him, or so I thought until I looked it up and that was James Patterson.

Jor Blob Billy.

Posted by: Eromero at July 19, 2026 11:31 AM (DXbAa)

232 Oh damn Donna.
Hitting my knees for you.

Posted by: Diogenes at July 19, 2026 11:32 AM (2WIwB)

233 JTB, I think a Venn diagram of our holdings would damn near be a single circle.

Posted by: Weak Geek at July 19, 2026 11:32 AM (p/isN)

234 Most areas are more than happy for a data center built near by.
More goods and services for everyone. And so much money for greedy politicians to grift.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at July 19, 2026 11:32 AM (3oLMy)

235 Posted by: Rodrigo Borgia at July 19, 2026 11:26 AM (IG3/x

I'm aware. So the data center is the only industry or business in the county?

Posted by: polynikes at July 19, 2026 11:33 AM (tZeAA)

236 Donna, terrible news. Hope peace in mind comes to you

Posted by: Skip at July 19, 2026 11:33 AM (Ia/+0)

237 “Trimegistus

I was amused by the series of three divisional level defend NATO and Germany from the Red Army games by Dunnigan.“

I believe that’s the game where the rules say, if nukes are released, douse the map in lighter fluid and light it.

Posted by: Are you sure about this sir? at July 19, 2026 11:34 AM (U/7CP)

238 I'm heading to church in a few minutes. Donna, you'll be in my prayers today.

Posted by: Weak Geek at July 19, 2026 11:34 AM (p/isN)

239 226 Kilts???
Kilts are allowed?
Well. Dang!
BBL
*heads for closet*
Posted by: Diogenes at July 19, 2026 11:29 AM (2WIwB)

A Kilt and a Sporran. The forms must be obeyed.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at July 19, 2026 11:35 AM (6W6ju)

240 >>>Those would be mostly temporary during construction. It's my understanding that Data centers don't have a lot of permanent positions.
--

Construction has always been that way. It's a contract job. When the job is finished you move on to the next one. You may not remember what it was like before the regulators and commies took over.
Construction was a boom and moving from job to job was a given.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at July 19, 2026 11:37 AM (3oLMy)

241 I read "Galahad and the Grail" by Malcolm Guite.

I never read much in the way of epic poems. A little Homer and an little Anneid.

This is in English and it is a delight.

Kind of pricey, but there are illustrations. It really was a fun read.

Posted by: no one of any consequence at July 19, 2026 11:37 AM (qFwJc)

242 I found several years back at an estate sale, a set of small "how to design and build infrastructure" books issued by the US government (from back when they knew how to do that)

They have a nice textured binding of some sort, and engraved titles on the cover, I think.

Posted by: FeatherBlade at July 19, 2026 11:38 AM (9C1ml)

243 Texas Democrat candidate wants to get paid for her story idea but it sounds shifty to me.

https://tinyurl.com/49ekezck

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Fat, Dumb, and Happy at July 19, 2026 11:38 AM (ndZc7)

244 228 Meanwhile, in a bookstore in LA . . .

https://tinyurl.com/4zz8jh7e
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Fat, Dumb, and Happy at July 19, 2026 11:30 AM (ndZc7)

She's no Talarico.

Posted by: The DNC at July 19, 2026 11:39 AM (6W6ju)

245 243 Texas Democrat candidate wants to get paid for her story idea but it sounds shifty to me.

https://tinyurl.com/49ekezck

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks,
---

If it's a Democrat there's grift involved.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at July 19, 2026 11:40 AM (3oLMy)

246 Anonosaurus at 243,

Are you sure that 'shifty' re: that link isn't a typographical error?

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 19, 2026 11:41 AM (q3u5l)

247 Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at July 19, 2026 11:37 AM (3oLMy)

Thus the description 'temporary' . Once a data center is built the jobs mostly go away. But as RB indicated above, the tax revenue going forward is a positive.

Posted by: polynikes at July 19, 2026 11:41 AM (tZeAA)

248
She's no Talarico.

Posted by: The DNC
---

She must be an only fans girl.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at July 19, 2026 11:41 AM (3oLMy)

249 Construction has always been that way. It's a contract job. When the job is finished you move on to the next one"

Hey, gotta paint the bridge. Again.

Posted by: man at July 19, 2026 11:42 AM (cGjQu)

250 228>>>>Meanwhile, in a bookstore in LA . . .

https://tinyurl.com/4zz8jh7e

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Fat, Dumb, and Happy at July 19

so, looked at the church website. How to give money, testimonies, sign up for this or that. NO statement of faith/beliefs.

hmmmmm

Posted by: TecumsehTea at July 19, 2026 11:43 AM (4VH0B)

251 I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation.

New York Post
@nypost
Body found at home owned by 'Squad' Rep. Ayanna Pressley's husband

-
Not a bad thriller opening, though.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Fat, Dumb, and Happy at July 19, 2026 11:44 AM (ndZc7)

252 Jobs go away sounds as if the construction workers no longer have a job. Their job has not gone away it's been relocated to a new construction site.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at July 19, 2026 11:45 AM (3oLMy)

253 Frankly, I don't get the "OMGDATACENTRRRR" handwringing... it's just the latest bugaboo...

Posted by: man at July 19, 2026 11:45 AM (cGjQu)

254 Donna&&&&&&v at July 19, 2026 10:40 AM (9cZci)

Prayers for you and your family.

Posted by: dantesed at July 19, 2026 11:46 AM (Oy/m2)

255 so, looked at the church website. How to give money, testimonies, sign up for this or that. NO statement of faith/beliefs.

hmmmmm
Posted by: TecumsehTea

I did the same and found the same. There are hours and hours of her sermons on YT but I'm not hours and hours interested.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Fat, Dumb, and Happy at July 19, 2026 11:46 AM (ndZc7)

256 Body found at home owned by 'Squad' Rep. Ayanna Pressley's husband"

So she has no ownership interest in the property?

Posted by: man at July 19, 2026 11:46 AM (cGjQu)

257 Maybe not a bad thriller opening, but these days the only story coming from that with any chance of acceptance would involve an Evil Right Wing Conspiracy aimed at discrediting the Squad's noble campaign for justice in all things. Murder probably committed by the Evil President himself.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 19, 2026 11:47 AM (q3u5l)

258 >>Hey, gotta paint the bridge. Again.

Posted by: man
---

Much work to be done on the west coast when things are straightened out. It will be Boom States rush to the west all over again.

Posted by: Braenyard - some Absent Friends are more equal than others _ at July 19, 2026 11:47 AM (3oLMy)

259 Any man what reads a book while eating Cheetos and licks his fingers and turns any page spends a night in the box.

Posted by: Carr, the Floorwalker at July 19, 2026 11:48 AM (6W6ju)

260 Anonosaurus Wrecks,

Can't always tell beliefs by sermons anyway. Wolf in sheep's clothing and all that.
If you are grounded in the Trinity and believe the Bible is the Word of God, well, those are your front and center pieces of information. If not . . . beware.

Posted by: TecumsehTea at July 19, 2026 11:49 AM (4VH0B)

261 Montgomery County, MO LOBBIED for its new data center-- the ones Hochul banned statewide in NY.

I'm sure CA will follow suit. It already ran off almost all its oil refineries. Why not just make everything except the Malibu beach colony and San Simeon into a theme park? California World.

Remember, Newsome is still the "the working families' governor," though.

Posted by: mnw at July 19, 2026 11:50 AM (RCjYY)

262 Much work to be done on the west coast when things are straightened out. It will be Boom States rush to the west all over again."

True.

Posted by: man at July 19, 2026 11:51 AM (cGjQu)

263 ... and so another Book Thread wanders off unsupervised. I must go Do Things. May you all find a good book to read and the time to properly enjoy it!

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at July 19, 2026 11:51 AM (Y9Vvl)

264 Donna,
My prayers are with you.

Miracles do happen. I had the very same diagnosis over thirty years ago. I tell my daughter she saved my life, because she was sixteen and good at it, and I was determined to live long enough for her to grow past that awful angry stage.

And here I am.

May you be as lucky.

Posted by: Wenda at July 19, 2026 11:54 AM (u84c/)

265 Sabrina at 263,

No shortage of good books, at least. I'm reminded of the joke about the mosquito in the nudist colony: "I know what I want to do, I just don't know where to start."

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 19, 2026 11:54 AM (q3u5l)

266 Are you sure that 'shifty' re: that link isn't a typographical error?
Posted by: Just Some Guy

Damn autocucumber!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Fat, Dumb, and Happy at July 19, 2026 11:55 AM (ndZc7)

267 in my prayers Donna

Posted by: barbarausa at July 19, 2026 11:56 AM (enw9G)

268 And off to create more chaos here at Casa Some Guy.

Thanks for the thread, Sabrina.

Have a good one, gang.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at July 19, 2026 11:57 AM (q3u5l)

269 BTW, Hubs & I saw Young Washington in the local movie theater. this weekend. I thought it was a balanced look at Washington, showing his growth into manhood and leadership.

It's an Angel film, so doesn't have widespread distribution or marketing budget. Casting is excellent and I was surprised to see Mary-Louise Parker and Ben Kingsley in significant roles, although not starring. It's important that quality films be supported, especially by those who bemoan the dreck coming out of the major studios.

Now I have to read Ron Chernow's biography of Washington!

Posted by: March Hare at July 19, 2026 11:59 AM (O/GSq)

270 Posted by: Donna&&&&&&v at July 19, 2026 10:40 AM (9cZci)

Will say a prayer for you...

Posted by: It's me donna at July 19, 2026 11:59 AM (IJqbQ)

271 265

Deadpan comedian Norm Crosby used to say he was worried because he had a date with Elizabeth Taylor later that night. "I know what's expected of me. I just don't know how to make it interesting."

Posted by: mnw at July 19, 2026 11:59 AM (RCjYY)

272 241 ... "I read "Galahad and the Grail" by Malcolm Guite.
I never read much in the way of epic poems. A little Homer and an little Anneid.
This is in English and it is a delight.
Kind of pricey, but there are illustrations. It really was a fun read."

So glad you found it and like it. As I mentioned in an earlier comment, Rabbit Room Press is making this and the follow on volumes high quality. Those Stephen Crotts woodcut illustrations are wonderful and the poetry is addictive. The next volume comes out in November. I've already preordered the regular edition, for a reading copy, and the fancier, slip cased volume just to have.

Be careful about looking at the resources Guite includes at the end. They lead to a warren of rabbit holes to get lost in.

Posted by: JTB at July 19, 2026 12:00 PM (yTvNw)

273 Donna of the Ampersands, thank you for your book recommendations over the years and my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Posted by: Joemarine at July 19, 2026 12:01 PM (y171U)

274 WE HAZ A NOOD

Posted by: Skip at July 19, 2026 12:01 PM (Ia/+0)

275 Now I have to read Ron Chernow's biography of Washington!
Posted by: March Hare

I've had that biography on order with Amazon for several weeks now. Still back ordered.

Posted by: Tuna at July 19, 2026 12:01 PM (lJ0H4)

276 Nood illegal alien thread.

Posted by: Idaho Spudboy at July 19, 2026 12:03 PM (InJki)

277 nood!

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at July 19, 2026 12:03 PM (VyBeY)

278 You're all waiting for me to tediously report that I have completed reading 'The Brothers Karamazov'. Nope. 2/3 through though.

Pulled a copy of 'The With the Dragon Tattoo' from a local little free library, and read it this past week. Also, am 90% done with 'Mr. Finchley Discovers His England', Canning.

The latter, light, entertaing reading. Especially so if you have spent any time in England.

About Little Free Libraries, I can think of at least 5 in the neighborhood. More within easy driving distance. Are there as many where you live, or is this a local sort of thing?

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at July 19, 2026 12:03 PM (XeU6L)

279 Donna of the ampersands, thank you for letting us know. God's will be done, and a better place awaits. Prayers up for you for recovery if possible, but peace and joy in your remaining time, if not. We love you.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at July 19, 2026 10:57 AM (h7ZuX)

I second that. Donna, I am happy to have met you a few years ago. Do not give up, please fight this evil thing.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at July 19, 2026 12:03 PM (1z8ji)

280 I watched this video recently. It was one of those times you start watching something, it grabs your interest even though you don't have the time, but watch it anyway.

There is a woman in Norway who is a bit eclectic. but, extremely talented. She decided to take the entire book series of Brandon Sanderson, and create GIANT Tomes out of the books using raised leather bindings and covers. Well, watch if you find this kind of thing interesting. At the end, she presents them to Sanderson at a book signing in the US.

https://tinyurl.com/nhcz4zdh

Posted by: Orson at July 19, 2026 12:04 PM (dIske)

281 a copy of 'The With the Dragon Tattoo'
-------
'The Girl', dammit.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at July 19, 2026 12:04 PM (XeU6L)

282 I need spell check....

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at July 19, 2026 12:05 PM (XeU6L)

283 Donna - My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at July 19, 2026 12:08 PM (XeU6L)

284 I'm a few chapters into the The Theoretical Minimum by Leonard Susskind and George Hrabovsky. It's a popular treatment of Classical Mechanics but without losing the math. I really enjoyed the Calculus refresher.

I bought it in hopes it can help answer questions I've had for decades about angular momentum. It feels like angular momentum contradicts normal inertia. There is something so weird about rotation. All those little atoms moving in the same way, changing direction together, like a flock of birds.

And the right-hand rule is just offensive. Why do two orthogonal vectors produce another vector in a direction unrelated to both of them? I mean okay in math you can define anything, but why should the universe listen?

And somehow angular momentum is related to particle spin? And btw particles aren't literally spinning . . . are they? And why is it nearly integral, like +/- 1/2? But it's also a vector, right? So spins are oriented.

Is it all just a lie funded by Big-L?

If I figure it out, maybe I'll try to figure out polarity of light next. As if we measurement wave amplitude in inches!

Posted by: frammish at July 19, 2026 12:11 PM (rcENI)

285 Oh uh. Maybe this will help.

Posted by: frammish at July 19, 2026 12:12 PM (rcENI)

286 buhbye frammish

Posted by: Buck Ofama, K4WTJ at July 19, 2026 12:33 PM (z6ONu)

287 And btw particles aren't literally spinning . . . are they?
--------

Uh...curious that NMR and MRI work.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at July 19, 2026 01:04 PM (XeU6L)

288 Posted by: Donna&&&&&&v at July 19, 2026 10:40 AM (9cZci)

Adding my voice and prayers for you to the list, Donna.

Posted by: March Hare at July 19, 2026 01:37 PM (O/GSq)

289 Pretty things on my shelves : Japanese Fairy Tales by Lafcadio Hearn - printed on silk crepe so it feels pretty also.
Friendship in Death - Elizabeth Rowe with a fore-edge painting of Badminton Hall
and many beautiful bookplates, ornate and simple beauties like the four volume french translation of Don Quichotte whose plates simply say "This book belongs to E.M. Forster".

Posted by: puckle at July 19, 2026 02:06 PM (dtgAf)

290 "This book belongs to E.M. Forster".
Posted by: puckle
------

Remarkable. I'm always drawn to vintage books that have bookplates, or, definitive insriptions. I have often searched for identifiable previous owners based upon such. It lends a historical interest in the physical book.

Bookplates are rather expensive, which has kept me from acquiring such, but as a sort low-brow alternative I had an ink stamp made up which simply says 'From the library of Mike Hammer, Asheville, NC'. It seems a bit crass, but it is my feeble grasp at immortality.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at July 19, 2026 02:56 PM (XeU6L)

291 reply Mike Hammer
Not low brow at all, trust me ive seen some very low brow bookplates in the upper classes books. Forster's were so simple and cheap i thought they were fakes. Ink stamps are a great solution I use them on donations and business cards, catalogs. Some of the most beautiful bookplates Ive seen are simple linocut prints and thats something anyone can do at home on the cheap. Im trying to limit my bookplate collecting to known spies, so far I have two including Sylvanus Griswold Morley the inspiration for Indiana Jones.

Posted by: puckle at July 19, 2026 03:16 PM (dtgAf)

292 I have often searched for identifiable previous owners based upon such. It lends a historical interest in the physical book.
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An example 'The Works of Voltaire', printed 1927.

Bookplate, 'Ex Libris W. Kendrick Pritchitt 1929'

Turned out to be a very interesting fellow, Obit:
https://shorturl.at/RTW3g

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at July 19, 2026 03:26 PM (XeU6L)

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