Sunday Morning Book Thread 10-26-2014: [OregonMuse]

Meanwhile, In A Library Far, Far Away...

I like it that the Predator holding a brandy snifter. Obviously a man(?) of taste, as well befits the book thread,

(I stole the "photo" from here, which also has wallpaper-sized renditions available for download)

Good morning morons and moronettes and welcome to AoSHQ's stately, prestigious, and high-class Sunday Morning Book Thread. The only AoSHQ thread that is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Or kilts. Kilts are OK, too. But
not tutus. They don't count.

Scary Stories

We're coming up on Hallowe'en, so here are 50 of the Scariest Short Stories of All Time, or so they claim. Here are some classics from the list you can read online or download:

The Dunwich Horror, by H.P. Lovecraft (I would have preferred The Shadow over Innsmouth, but this one is good, too)
The Monkey's Paw, by W.W. Jacobs (be careful what you wish for)
The Lottery, (the all-time classic) by Shirley Jackson
The Babysitter, by Robert Coover
Lukundoo, Edward Lucas White
The Landlady, Roald Dahl
Rappaccini's Daughter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Willows, Algernon Blackwood (said to be one of Lovecraft's favorites)
Pigeons from Hell, Robert E. Howard (Stephen King called this "one of the finest horror stories of our century.")

Lots of others at the link, but these should hold you for a while.

And Now, A Public Service Announcement From Sabrina Chase

Moronette Sabrina Chase, author of many fine books (just click on her name to see them) wants you to know that with November and NaNoWriMo coming up fast, beware of book scammers. If you're a new author, you may be innocently unaware that you're walking into a minefield. It's not so hard for noobs, eager to get published, to find scam artists and publishers who would take money from them and give them little in return.

Accordingly, she recommends this blog post by David Gaughran, The Author Exploitation Business, which is full of good information about who the scammers are and how to avoid them. I actually think I've linked to this before (it looks very familiar), but doing it gain certainly isn't going to hurt.

Let's be careful out there.

Amazon Agonistes

How can Amazon still remain in business? I mean, I like Amazon, I buy stuff from Amazon all the time, but with these kinds of losses, you've got to wonder if it's a sustainable business model at all:

Amazon has reported increased third quarter losses of $437m, prompting shares to tumble in after hours trading in New York.

The internet giant’s losses were significantly higher than in the same quarter last year when it reported a $41m deficit.

You get that? That's half a billion dollars poof, gone. In one quarter. And it's more than ten times what it lost a year ago.

Amazon continues to make a loss on high sales because it reinvests its profit into growing the company by building new warehouses, creating new services like Kindle Unlimited and making business acquisitions like the $1bn video game streaming site Twitch.

So, even though Amazon's income is high, its spending is even higher. Almost like increases in the former are driving the excesses of the latter. But this is no way to run a business. I mean, what's the end game here? Sooner or later, the spending gets so high that there's simply no income that could keep up with it. Just try to imagine if our government was run like that. Why, we'd never get... oh, wait.

That's Racist!

Moron Scott T is trying to use indiegogo to crowd-source his first book, entitled That's Racist!. He e-mailed me:

It's an illustrated children's book about how 'positive' or 'affirmative' racial policies just end up propagating the racial divide. They achieve the exact opposite of ending racism. (After 6 years of Obama's allegedly post-racial Presidency, I think a book like this will really hit the spot with Conservative and Libertarian families!)

And Zack Rawsthorne, formerly of Diversity Lane doing the illustrations.

This sounds like a worthwhile project to me. And Scott sweetens the pot with this additional proposal:

I'm offering 50 e-copy downloads of the finished book free of charge, that you can offer to your readers & commentors on your site. For every 10% overfunded I achieve, I'll add another 10 free downloads.The catch is that if the book isn't funded, then there's no finished book to (eventually) get free! So I could really use the help from you and the moron regulars to spread the word about this project on Indiegogo....

Here's the link to the Indiegogo campaign: http://igg.me/at/thatsracistbook.

And if 'That's Racist!' ever gets published, Scott will probably be denounced as a racist.

You've Read the Book, Now See The Movie - Maybe

The sci-fi novel The Martian by Andy Weir has been a moron favorite ever since it was first published. Plenty of others must like it, too, because for good or ill, it is being adapted for the screen:

According to Deadline, actor Chiwetel Ejiofor has joined an ensemble that includes Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, and Jessica Chastain. The movie is being directed by Ridley Scott

So Matt Damon (Matt Damon!) is going to be playing the main character, marooned astronaut Mark Watney.

I say "for good or ill" because movie adaptations usually mess things up. Mrs. Muse and I just watched The Giver a couple of nights ago and I was quite disappointed by some of the changes made to Lois Lowry's YA novel. And I couldn't see why the changes were necessary, as far as I could tell, the adaptation would have been just fine without them.

So here's hoping they do a better job with Weir's novel.

Mrs. Muse Reviews

So the missus just finished up Breath: A Lifetime In the Rhythm of An Iron Lung by Martha Mason earlier this week, so I asked her to review it for the book thread:

Breath was written by Martha Mason, a remarkable woman who lived almost continually in an iron lung for 61 years. Though this is her memoir, the book is a tribute to her parents, especially her mother, and friends and to her community in the city of Lattimore, North Carolina.

Contracting polio when she was about 10 years old, she became a quadriplegic in an iron lung, needing 24 hour care her whole life. In spite of this, she went to school and graduated from college with honors and had a very full life.

Her book was a joy to read because from all I can tell she was a joy to be around. She called herself a collector of people. She loved having friends over and having people around her and I believe they enjoyed her as much as she did them.

For most of her life she lived in her own house, and with the help of dedicated friends, even caring for her mother who later in life had a stroke and ended up with severe dementia. At one point in the book she writes, "Thoughts of how blessed I am to be able to live on my own, surrounded and supported by so many good people, flow through my head like a euphonious tune."

This was such an uplifting read for me. God gives people remarkable ability and disposition to live above their circumstances. In this case, I'm not sure Martha would attribute these to God, but I'm sure her parent who were godly people would have done so. They made many sacrifices, joyfully so, in their lives to make sure she had all she needed and in many circumstance all she wanted. She has nothing but praise for them. Their faith in Christ is evident in Martha's description of them.

It was a book I could not put down. She described her life and experience in a delightful way which was almost void of self pity. Her writing drew me into her life as I'm sure she drew many people into her life. I would like to have known her.

Books by Morons

Moron commenter WannabeAnglican has self-published his first novel, Pilot Point. I'll let him tell you about it:

Pilot Point is a very Texan novel set along I-20 in West Texas and around the town of Pilot Point in North Texas. With drought, dust, cowboys, and cattle, it could be called a Western except it is set in the late 20th Century and not many get shot up.

At the same time, Pilot Point has a strong Anglican flavor, weaving The Book of Common Prayer and traditional Christian themes through the story. (And that without being heavy-handed about it. I sought to write a weighty work of literature, not a Christian tract.) Not many novels have both cowboys and Anglicanism.

So this is probably going to be the best damn Anglican cowboy novel you'll read all year.

But wait, there's more:

I will hold the release event for Pilot Point at a GUN SHOW – at the Shiners Gun Show in Corpus Christi on November 8th. I thought that more interesting than having it at a local bookstore and a way to get the novel more directly to fellow Texans who would appreciate it. Besides, it’s a GUN SHOW!

So it looks like at least some of you Texas morons down near Corpus Christi might be able to take in a gun show and meet the author, too. That's almost a perfect day.

___________

I feel like a complete idiot. Despite all of his intelligent and erudite comments he has posted to the book thread concerning early Islamic history, I never realized that longtime moron commenter 'boulder terlit hobo' was a published author, specializing in, get this, early Islamic history. His first book is House of War: Mecca, the Qur'an, and the Propaganda of 675-695. So bht e-mailed me earlier this week and told me he has finished a followup book, Throne of Glass: Formations of the Islamic State. He says:

It handles how 'Abd al-Malik founded the Caliphate in 692 AD, and then nearly lost it to a revolution in 700 AD. The revolution was led by Ibn al-Ash'ath al-Kindi; he declared a completely different sort of Islamic state, the Nasirate - which is a proto-Sunni notion, that the leader of the believers should *follow* God's law rather than - like a caliph - *transmit* the law (directly from God). The Asha'itha lost the war but won the argument: later "caliphs" retained the name of "caliph" but, in practice, ceded authority to jurists.

No Amazon price yet, so I'm assuming it will be released shortly.

___________

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

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

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:28 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Thanks OregonMuse and all the literamorons! Here's looking forward to hitting the funding target and then some. Then we can all gleefully mail spare copies to our favourite easily-excitable liberal outrage-factories.

Posted by: Scott T at October 26, 2014 09:25 AM (N3A5u)

2 That's a great image.

Can the links to Amazon contain a reference to Ace's referral number? Throw a few pennies into his well, so to speak?

Posted by: HR at work hopped up on sizzurp at October 26, 2014 09:26 AM (/kI1Q)

3 Imagine all the acid burns on that carpet.

Rotating through a handful of books between (feigning work on) household tasks:

Lockhheed Blackbird: Beyond the Secret Missions, by Paul F. Crickmore (recommended by she of the encyclopaedic superbrain, Anna Puma)

I Am Pilgrim, by Terry Hayes

Hard Luck Hank, Prince of Suck by Steven Campbell

The Naval Officer's Guide (1943)

Posted by: All Hail Eris at October 26, 2014 09:31 AM (QBm1P)

4 Might be old news to you guys but I just recently learned about the DeDRM plugin for Calibre.

I know it's rare for Amazon to yank a book back, but now that the DRM is off my ebooks they feel more like they are mine.

Posted by: SpongeBobConservativesForGrimes at October 26, 2014 09:32 AM (jtgkZ)

5 I enjoyed reading The Martian after learning about it on AOS, but I won't see the movie because I have vowed not to support Damon's career. I know, I know. I'd never see any movies at all if I avoided all liberal crackpot actors. But I drew an arbitrary line a while back and have stuck with it. Anybody else do this? My family thinks I'm the crackpot.

Posted by: Darth McNugget at October 26, 2014 09:34 AM (0xbuY)

6

Thanks to all who bought my book from last sunday's book thread and thanks to OregonMuse for the other books mentioned. I found six of them interesting and worth purchase.

http://ace.mu.nu/archives/352551.php#352551

So far I have one review, and apparently I failed grammar school back when I went to grammar school. The complaints listed there have been corrected. Other readers have submitted other corrections. If you find something, tell me, and I will fix it.
I have an accent and it affects my spelling.

The second book 'Transitions' is better but gives away the secrets in the first book. The first book develops the characters that do all the exciting stuff in book two. The first book has no ending, it just continues on into book two. I'll knock off a dollar for the bad grammar.

Wolf Hunters : Origins
Wolf Hunters : Transitions

Click the link to Amazon on Ace of Spades HQ front page and search.

So if you can tolerate the grammar, try to enjoy my story. it ain't Chaucer.

The plan of the volume does not demand an elaborate examination into the state of our language when Chaucer wrote, or the nice questions of grammatical and metrical structure which conspire with the obsolete orthography to make his poems a sealed book for the masses. The most important element in the proper reading of Chaucer's verses - whether written in the decasyllabic or heroic metre, which he introduced into our literature, or in the octosyllabic measure . . . - Project Gutenberg e-text of The Canterbury
Tales and Other Poems by Geoffrey Chaucer.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at October 26, 2014 09:34 AM (remrD)

7 That's a great library picture, but it forces me to ask, why doe all the SciFi creatures have to be monsters?

Can't we get more body painting like the blue lady in Farscape?

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at October 26, 2014 09:38 AM (remrD)

8 ah hell
I kilt da thred.

Posted by: Skandia Recluse at October 26, 2014 09:47 AM (remrD)

9 Juzt found out my high school sophomore is supposed to read The Road (yes, that one) for her pre-AP English class. Would it be unreasonable ti ask the teacher for an alternative?

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette, assault Hobbit at October 26, 2014 09:47 AM (GDulk)

10 Yay, Book Thread!

I just finished reading 'London in Chains', by Gillian Bradshaw, and I thought it was pretty good. It's set in London during the English Civil Wars (1640s), and it deals with the fight between the king and Parliament. Cool stuff, especially with the focus on printing and journalism, and how it relates to new political thoughts and the emergence of a wonderful fledgling experiment called democracy.

Not sure what's next on the reading list, possibly 'Jane Eyre', for the hundredth time.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at October 26, 2014 09:48 AM (ThxKk)

11 Hmm. Lovecraft's The Dunwich Horror and The Shadow Out of Innsmouth are some of his finest but the one story of his that still makes my hair stand up is The Colour Out of Space...

"can't git away... draw ye... ye know summ'at's comin', but 'tain't no use..."

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at October 26, 2014 09:48 AM (TGYkU)

12 I read the next two books in the Count to a Trillion series. Man, that John C. Wright is good.

As far as scary stories, I've never liked Lovecraft. Just because some creature is enormous doesn't mean its existence has enormity. And while the abstract idea of contemplating something unnatural and incomprehensible might evoke horror in the subject, relating that someone is conteplating something imcomprehensible doesn't evoke horror in the listener/reader--at least that's my experience. Maybe there are better stories out there than the couple I've read, but I'm not impressed by Lovecraft.

Klavan recommended We've Always Lived in the Castle as a scary story, but I haven't gotten around to reading it.

Posted by: .87c at October 26, 2014 09:50 AM (Syc3P)

13 Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette, assault Hobbit at October 26, 2014 09:47 AM (GDulk)

Poor kid. I hated 'The Road'. I finished it, only because I kept turning pages, saying to myself, "This has to get better. It has to." It didn't, just sort of trailed off at the end, like one of those super-esoteric novels that are sooo cool nowadays.

So, to answer your question: You should ask the teacher for an alternative. Something with an actual plot.

Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at October 26, 2014 09:53 AM (ThxKk)

14 Can't we get more body painting like the blue lady in Farscape

Zhaan

Posted by: Fox2! at October 26, 2014 09:55 AM (8GnHb)

15 Finished the TTS study of women in monasticism. There was a lot of interesting info. Also listened to Shakespeare's "A Winter's Tale". It's either very short or I fell a sleep and missed the middle.

Think I'll listen to Moby Dick next.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette, assault Hobbit at October 26, 2014 09:56 AM (GDulk)

16 I recently read a story by Sam Merwin where the film industry couldn't make the bad-guys any particular race any more, and so had to make Sci-Fi flicks. As the protagonist said:
"Crackpot minorities
object loudly at being portrayed
in films they don't like. We don't
want to tread on anybody's toes-there's
trouble enough in the
world as it is. People want villains.
But unless we make our
villains-even minor villains-people
from nowhere we get boycotted
somewhere by somebody.
And that costs us money."

In the last scene a Martian shows up to complain about the portrayal of Martians in the films.

Written in 1954. Sometimes I wonder about the old writers, and if they were that perceptive, or just that prolific they had to hit something right.

Posted by: Liberal Arts Major (who read Equis and really cares) at October 26, 2014 09:59 AM (t//F+)

17 stupid formatting.
stupid sock
stupid Kindltot.

Posted by: Kindletot at October 26, 2014 10:00 AM (t//F+)

18
Author Stalks Anonymous Blogger Who Gave Her a 1-Star Review

http://tinyurl.com/nuf6naf

Hard stalking. Bunny in a pot levels of creep.

But, the author is juiced into the New York cultural matrix:

"Her fiancee, Simon Rich, is a writer for SNL and the New Yorker. Her fiancees mother, Gail Winston, is an executive at Harper Collins, the house that is publishing her book. Her future father-in-law is Frank Rich, of the New York Times. "

so she's getting a pass and an article in The Guardian to defend her actions:

http://tinyurl.com/n2bke4g

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at October 26, 2014 10:01 AM (kdS6q)

19 Nope. Chiana is better.

Posted by: .87c at October 26, 2014 10:01 AM (Syc3P)

20 5
The casting of Damon pissed me off too. in the first place he's too old. In the second place he's Matt Damon. Ick.

Posted by: Tuna at October 26, 2014 10:02 AM (hpWy+)

21 Matt Damon!

Posted by: Matt Damon at October 26, 2014 10:03 AM (Syc3P)

22 Taking a break from all the philosophy. It's time to get out my copies of Conan stories, just the originals written by Howard. I still have many of the editions with the Frank Fratzetta (sp?) covers. These are the absolute best of the sword and sorcery genre and they never grow old.

Thanks for the scary story link. Just ordered "Pigeons From Hell". Read it years ago but my copy is long lost.

Love that picture at the top of the thread. I really want those chairs! Ideal reading furniture.

Posted by: JTB at October 26, 2014 10:04 AM (FvdPb)

23 I finally got around to reading "The Harbinger" by Jonathan Cahn (recommended by a friend 2 years ago). We all know the economy is going to crash at some point, and now I know when: September 13, 2015.

Posted by: Miley's Tongue at October 26, 2014 10:05 AM (R+h7Q)

24 Not only is the Predator holding a brandy snifter, but it's a rather full one at that. Methinks he is going to be rather crabby and unpleasant tomorrow.

Posted by: Emmett Milbarge at October 26, 2014 10:06 AM (nFdGS)

25 I need a print of that. You're right, the brandy snifter is a nice touch.

and not many get shot up.

I do not understand those words in that order.

I still haven't decided if I am going to do NaNo this year. I should do it to finish up what I started for NaNO in koffkoffkoff but I don't know. NaNo is very efforty.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. We should be so lucky. at October 26, 2014 10:07 AM (IrByp)

26 @12 I read the next two books in the Count to a Trillion series. Man, that John C. Wright is good.

They're on my list - came across his stuff from Larry Correia (Monster Hunter International and Grimnoir Chronicles - a true moron at heart). Wright may be our generation's C.S. Lewis.

But first, I'm reading the Rachel Griffith series his wife wrote - Nancy Drew meets Harry Potter. It looks like it might work for my soon-to-be-14 year-old daughter, who's an avid reader. Of course, since it's getting recommended by her dad (and I'm becoming less cool and more of an embarrassment by the minute), that probably ensures she'll never read it.

Posted by: RightWingProf at October 26, 2014 10:09 AM (cI22C)

27 I'd hesitate to call him our generations C.S. Lewis but largely because of how thoughtful and influential Lewis is. I think there's a whole lot to be proved there still. I do however see why that statement gets made and it's not groundless.

I found Wright through Monster Hunter Nation, too.

Posted by: .87c at October 26, 2014 10:11 AM (Syc3P)

28 I'll second Klavan's endorsement of We Have Always Lived in the Castle - very disturbing.

Another book that is well written and decidedly unsettling, though perhaps not spooky-scary, is Kazuo Ishiguro's When We Were Orphans.

I've been in a real reading slump lately and the books have been accumulating dust. And tomorrow is my birthday which means a trip to the book warehouse and more books will inevitably be acquired. When the end comes you'll find me buried under a pile of books.

Posted by: biancaneve at October 26, 2014 10:13 AM (6Turu)

29
Okay, I have to post this somewhere since it made me laugh:

http://goo.gl/aLI7EC

I denounce myself.

Posted by: The Progs at October 26, 2014 10:14 AM (iQIUe)

30 Hey, thanks to all who took a look at and purchased Lone Star Sons from the thread last week! It has now bumped up considerably in sales in this week alone.

I haven't had the time to really dip into something very good or deep this week... we are starting our marathon of events and shows, leading up to Christmas. Yesterday was my stint at the Texas Association of Authors table at the Texas Book Festival. Note that the TAA's member's books couldn't be considered as part of the book part of the Festival. Dear no; because we are all self-published or subsidy published, we had to get a table as exhibitors. Book festivals are still pretty snotty about this. So - sold a couple of copies of Lone Star Sons to kids, who were thrilled to bits to have me sign their copies. We weren't really expecting to sell our books at this event, particularly - it was more for exposure. I hope for another bump-up in sales in following days. One guy was just goung around, checking out books that interested him, and then using his cellphone to buy the Kindle editions. So - people still read books! There were a fair number of families cruising the festival tents, a minimum of Austin weird. I did rather notice that the books in our booth and in those of other exhibiters looked just as professional as those in the "real" publishers and bookstore booths.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at October 26, 2014 10:14 AM (95iDF)

31 Surely anything by Lena Dunham qualifies as horror.

Posted by: --- at October 26, 2014 10:15 AM (MMC8r)

32 Just because some creature is enormous doesn't mean its existence has enormity.

*****

Ah, now you tell me.

Posted by: Michael Moore at October 26, 2014 10:18 AM (NeFrd)

33
And a video tour of The Last Bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles, Southern California's largest independent bookstore/art project. Originally a 1914 bank building, the space houses several large vaults outfitted with shelves of used and new books, as well as a series of book related art displays:

KCET.org
http://tinyurl.com/pled5ue

Posted by: Laurie David's Cervix at October 26, 2014 10:23 AM (kdS6q)

34 Hawthorne is overrated, and Rappaccini's Daughter is not scary in the least. Neither is Young Goodman Brown. Sorry. Having a "Get Off My Lawn" morning. I specialized in Hawthorne and Melville in college, and am still bitter about it.

Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at October 26, 2014 10:25 AM (yxw0r)

35 I have House of War on my shelf! Damn

Posted by: Jean at October 26, 2014 10:28 AM (TETYm)

36 Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at October 26, 2014 10:25 AM (yxw0r)

Clam or cod?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at October 26, 2014 10:28 AM (Zu3d9)

37 Although I'm trying (not too well) to cut back on physical books due to lack of space, I did find a hardcover edition of The Complete Signature Series of CS Lewis for just a few bucks. SCORE!!!

And I splurged on a good, illustrated copy of EB White's children's stories: Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan. I've never read them and, loving White's prose as I do, am curious about his fiction.

Posted by: JTB at October 26, 2014 10:28 AM (FvdPb)

38 You want something scary, as in pull-your-feet-up-onto-the-couch-and-oh-by-the-way-check-the-locks-on-the-doors-and-windows scary, Salem's Lot. Despite his moonbatism, King was good when he was strung out on booze and drugs.

Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at October 26, 2014 10:31 AM (yxw0r)

39 Read Weir's "The Martian" early this year. While I enjoyed the book well enough, as Weir had clearly done his homework on this subject, I was still surprised by some of the gaps in his knowledge about how the space program in general works. One howler in particular was the notion that JPL was (in his story), building manned spacecraft. In fact, the outfits that have and still do build all the spacecraft this country has flown, manned and unmanned, such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, etc, are NEVER mentioned in the book at all. Also, The story is suffused with (indeed, sometimes it positively creaks with this) political correctness, particularly insofar as the book's characters are concerned. Neither does Mr. Weir understand the process whereby government agencies purchase things (not an uncommon failing among the space advocacy crowd, unfortunately). Fact is, there is a reason they end up with $50,000 hammers and million dollar toilet seats, and that can all be laid directly at the feet of Congress, and nowhere else. Andy is what he is; an IT server guy who read the works of people like Robert Zubrin on how to explore Mars, and wrote a surprisingly entertaining book as a result, the occasional technical errors notwithstanding.

Posted by: The Oort Cloud--SMOD is inbound at October 26, 2014 10:32 AM (l1Nun)

40 Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at October 26, 2014 10:31 AM (yxw0r)

Yup.

I remember leaving the light in my bedroom on all night when I read Salem's Lot.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at October 26, 2014 10:33 AM (Zu3d9)

41
Finished "WhenRunning WasYoung and So Were We" by Jack Welch, then interviewed him at my blog. Fascinating dude who wrote about the great in running, then transitioned over to the poker scene for a couple of decades. If you're a runner, the book is a great compilation of stories about Mary Decker Slaney, Salazar, Joan Benoit Samuelson, etc.
Haven't read much else as I've been writing for the local cross country scene plus made a trip up to Spokane to catch the legendary Mead team.
Think it's getting close to time for a mental vacation, so headed to the used book store to stock up on a sack full of Robert B. Parker novels.

Posted by: Long Running Fool at October 26, 2014 10:33 AM (77WNv)

42 HS Sophomores', there isn't anything in The Road they haven't been slaughtering on the XBox for years at this point.

Posted by: Jean at October 26, 2014 10:34 AM (TETYm)

43 I'm not a great book reader. No time.

Posted by: Truman North, Moron Emeritus at October 26, 2014 10:34 AM (2Pte9)

44 36 Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at October 26, 2014 10:25 AM (yxw0r)

Clam or cod?
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at October 26, 2014 10:28 AM (Zu3d9)

Yeah, Melville needed to tone it down, though I like that passage. Hawthorne thought of him as a stalker.

Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at October 26, 2014 10:40 AM (yxw0r)

45 Thanks OregonMuse!

I've posted the "Thone of Glass" files again. I had to take down the book for a bit, because - I'm not kidding - my own mom called up and told me the blurb didn't make sense. And, being a mom, she was right. So, it should be better now.

One more point - I'm not exactly a published author (well, except for that one essay back in 2006); I'm self-published (and self-edited with, apparently, a moron for an editor).

I do appreciate the mention though.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at October 26, 2014 10:41 AM (AVEe1)

46 Katherine Hale seems slightly nutso, but the blogger she stalked seems like a piece of work as well. No good guys in that piece.

Posted by: Emile Antoon Khadaji at October 26, 2014 10:44 AM (CrJzY)

47 I seem to recall somebody wondering last week on the book thread if anybody was ever gonna make a movie of Heinlein's stuff that had anything remotely to do with the source material. I just saw a trailer for Predestination, based on Heinlein's classic short "All You Zombies..."

It stars Ethan Hawke. Dunno if it jibes with Heinlein's story, but the trailer strongly suggests it doesn't stray far.

Posted by: jwpaine at October 26, 2014 10:44 AM (a3NCX)

48 So for those of you who are interested, wallpaper-sized renditions of today's book thread "photo" are available for download here:

http://wallpaperswide.com/playing_chess-wallpapers.html

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 26, 2014 10:45 AM (yRdR4)

49
45 boulder terlit hobo -
Gonna disagree with the published author bit. You are a published author, just not one approved by the folks in New York or their agent/toady partners. You're allowed to sit in any dang part of the author bus you want nowadays.

Posted by: Long Running Fool at October 26, 2014 10:48 AM (77WNv)

50 I have a book.five stars on Amazon. But I don't wanna give you freaks my real name. And I made exactly zero dollars on it. Now, really, get off my lawn.

Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at October 26, 2014 10:53 AM (yxw0r)

51 Katherine Hale seems slightly nutso, but the blogger she stalked ["Blythe Harris"] seems like a piece of work as well. No good guys in that piece.

It's been rare that I've found any useful reviews at GoodReads. It's full of trolls, spammers and idiots. These exist at Amazon too but in far less density (and the idiots can be ignored).

Maybe there are specific reviewers @goodreads worth a damn; I don't know, haven't managed to stay long enough.

All that said, not sure how stalking goodreads' commenters is the answer rather than just saying, "goodreads? - more like CANTreads!". Mind you, I'm sure I'll hypocritically change my mind when/if someone there reviews my book well

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at October 26, 2014 10:57 AM (AVEe1)

52 I don't know if I'm both active and friendly often enough to be a Moron--I'm more of a lurker--but I'm submitting a complete manuscript of my fantasy novel to a publisher tomorrow at their request. An editor at a writers' conference heard me reading my opening pages, said I reminded her of Joe Abercrombie and Steven Erickson, and asked for the first five chapters; they liked that enough to ask for the full thing. If it goes anywhere, I'll drop in and let y'all know on a future book thread.

In case anyone is curious, the world is what was once called low fantasy, in that there is not a clear-cut and obvious good/bad moral horizon, the place isn't bleeding with magic, and there is a lot of verisimilitude. There are three protagonists with intertwined plots and differing themes: 1) unjust alienation and discovery (both self and external), 2) conflicting loyalties [state, family, religion] and a struggle to retain spirituality in face of terrible realities, and 3) espionage, poison, and treachery, all against the backdrop of a failing state and incipient revolution.

Posted by: Df82 at October 26, 2014 10:58 AM (Mx9xT)

53 An editor at a writers' conference heard me reading my opening pages, said I reminded her of Joe Abercrombie and Steven Erickson, and asked for the first five chapters;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QfSzgV1q5g

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at October 26, 2014 11:00 AM (AVEe1)

54 Does anyone else maintain a specific book shelf or bookcase for those 'special' books? I have a 3 sectional glass front bookcase inherited from my grandfather. I was told he got it from his father which puts it well back into Victorian era New England. I use it for the books I treasure and dip into for relaxation: Tolkien, early American navy history, essays by EB White and CS Lewis, my best complete Shakespeare, fly-tying and fly fishing books, Atlas Shrugged, Shelby Foote's Civil War, books on woodworking hand tools, etc.

The contents have varied over the decades but they usually reflect what my soul craves periodically.

Posted by: JTB at October 26, 2014 11:00 AM (FvdPb)

55 This seems appropriate for the book thread:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jenniferschaffer/great-american-bookstores

Yeah, ignore the fact that it's Buzzfeed and click anyway.

Tweeted by @USAinUK the US Embassy in London.

Posted by: Retread at October 26, 2014 11:05 AM (l7hog)

56 For morons who want Lovecraft's list of recommended reading, consult his lengthy essay on supernatural fiction. It is an essential guide to good stories from the period 1850-1930 or thereabouts.

Posted by: exdem13 at October 26, 2014 11:06 AM (lJaja)

57 I don't know if I'm both active and friendly often enough to be a Moron--I'm more of a lurker--but I'm submitting a complete manuscript of my fantasy novel to a publisher tomorrow at their request. An editor at a writers' conference heard me reading my opening pages, said I reminded her of Joe Abercrombie and Steven Erickson, and asked for the first five chapters; they liked that enough to ask for the full thing. If it goes anywhere, I'll drop in and let y'all know on a future book thread.

Congratulations. Keep as posted and then shoot me an email when it gets published, and I'll announce it on the next week's thread.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 26, 2014 11:07 AM (yRdR4)

58 Truman's Spy: A Cold War Spy Story, by Noel Hynd.
An easy, enjoyable read. I think he depicted post War 2 men well. The FBI/Hoover portrayal was interesting.

(It may be subtly left wing in orientation, but it is strongly anti-communist.)

Posted by: Nfield4 at October 26, 2014 11:10 AM (SsGtH)

59 (It may be subtly left wing in orientation, but it is strongly anti-communist.)

Back in the day, it used to be possible to be liberal and anti-communist (cf. JFK)

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 26, 2014 11:13 AM (yRdR4)

60 The Dunwich Horror, The Shadow over Innsmouth and The Colour Out of Space are all favorites of mine, and truly creepy, but for sheer scariness I will take The Whisperer in Darkness. I love Lovecraft and read some of his stories every Fall for teh chills, along with M.R. James.

For my scares this October I've gone with Moron recommendations so far, Robert Aickman for ghost stories, and Blood River - A Journey into Africa's Broken Heart, by Tim Butcher, which I believe some Moron mentioned on an Ebola thread. Of course, Ebola is giving this October its own, non-literary scare factor.

Posted by: Plum Duff (former appellation lurker_above) at October 26, 2014 11:13 AM (Il7DI)

61 @53: "Shut up and take my money." Working on it, brother.

Truth be told, I'd never heard of either of those men when she said that. I had to go get some of their work (The Blade Itself and Gardens of the Moon) to interpret what she meant. Abercrombie's world-building sucks ass, but he's a competent writer and has good action scenes. Erickson's world-building was much more complete and creative, but his writing was so terrible I couldn't finish the book.

Since she asked for the MS, I've arrogantly assumed she meant I displayed the the better qualities of each.

@57: Thanks very much, I'll try to remember to do that. It might not be until 2016, though. At this point, I've simply impressed the consultant editor.

Posted by: Df82 at October 26, 2014 11:15 AM (Mx9xT)

62 Nothing in here has spiders in it. How can you have horror without spiders? Nothing more creepy than spiders.

Imagine The Telltale Heart with spiders under the floorboards with the heart.

Posted by: Mr Wolf at October 26, 2014 11:16 AM (Qxnsy)

63 "Mist" by Stephen King left an indelible mark on me. Can't stand fog after that one.

Posted by: Mr Wolf at October 26, 2014 11:17 AM (Qxnsy)

64 If you want true 'horror', pick up a copy of Obama's economic plan.

That scares the sh!t out of everyone.

Posted by: Mr Wolf at October 26, 2014 11:18 AM (Qxnsy)

65 9 Juzt found out my high school sophomore is supposed to read The Road (yes, that one) for her pre-AP English class. Would it be unreasonable ti ask the teacher for an alternative?
===============
Kerouac for the high school set? It's OK, your daughter will read it and decide that it's more interesting to get an MBA and work for P&G than waste several years of her life wandering around in search of nothing like him.

Additional Blond Agent: "The Color Out of Space" was the first HPL story I ever read after hunting him down in the library due to D&D reference. Scared the blue blazes out of me, and the other stories in the volume made me a fan for life.

biancaneve: Shirley Jackson is a crazy moody bitch, but I like her anyway.

"We Have Always Lived in the Castle" is a true classic, and "The Haunting of Hill House" still gives me the shivers. Note to Morons who watch books on video instead of reading them: "The Haunting" film adaptation has 2 versions: skip the 2005 version which features f/x instead of plot, and go for the Sixties version which is truer to the novel's relentlessly oppressive atmosphere.

Posted by: exdem13 at October 26, 2014 11:21 AM (lJaja)

66 I've been reading Wright's blog for awhile and found Correia through his blog! Funny how that works out.

This week, I got "Stages on the Road" by Sigrid Unset and "The Prepared Family Cookbook" by Enola Gay. Unset won the Nobel Prize for literature for Kristin Lavransdatter. She was raised by atheist parents and converted to Catholicism. This book contains stories of Catholics holding onto their faith in a hostile world. The bit I've read on Margaret Clitherow is compelling. I just need to hit a break in my knitting to finish reading it.

The Prepared Family Cookbook will be a good reference. She has some interesting details on her experience with wind power and the recipes look good.

And I'm reading Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Dr. Weston Price. Very interesting book.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at October 26, 2014 11:25 AM (Lqy/e)

67 62 Nothing in here has spiders in it. How can you have horror without spiders? Nothing more creepy than spiders.

Imagine The Telltale Heart with spiders under the floorboards with the heart.
---------------------------------------------
For some reason horror stories with spiders fall flat, not necessarily because of the spiders but because they didn't work out well. The fantasy writers had to make spiders scary, which they did with a vengeance! Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, L Sprague De Camp, and of course Tolkien have all included scary spiders at one point or another.

Posted by: exdem13 at October 26, 2014 11:25 AM (lJaja)

68 Nothing in here has spiders in it. How can you have horror without spiders? Nothing more creepy than spiders.

OK, what about caterpillars?

"Then I saw that the grayish light of the bedroom came from the bed, or rather what was on the bed. For it was covered with great caterpillars, a foot or more in length, which crawled over it. They were faintly luminous, and it was the light from them that showed me the room. Instead of the sucker-feet of ordinary caterpillars they had rows of pincers like crabs, and they moved by grasping what they lay on with their pincers, and then sliding their bodies forward...Then, as I looked, it seemed to me as if they all suddenly became conscious of my presence."

http://weirdfictionreview.com/2013/06/caterpillars/

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 26, 2014 11:28 AM (yRdR4)

69 Just finished Wolf Hunters: Origins.

Four out of five Ewoks.

That's the review.

Some footnotes:

1. Typos
2. Grammar
3. Great story
4. Interesting SciFi setting
5. Simple, readable, engaging style

Posted by: eman at October 26, 2014 11:33 AM (MQEz6)

70 Since she asked for the MS, I've arrogantly assumed she meant I displayed the the better qualities of each.

I think that's exactly what she meant. Also, keep in mind that most other authors, who can't even *pay* editors to look at their stuff, would give their left whatevers to get the experience you had, with them actually *asking* to read yours.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 26, 2014 11:33 AM (yRdR4)

71 Unset won the Nobel Prize for literature for Kristin Lavransdatter.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at October 26, 2014 11:25 AM (Lqy/e)
--------------
The Kristin Lavransdatter series hinges on a crime committed when the Norse were nominally Christian but the culture was still based on pagan ways. IIRC, the heroine's betrothed lover kills a man in revenge, which was straight up Viking housecleaning under the old school, but considered murder under Christian law. Very good, if grim, reading.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at October 26, 2014 11:36 AM (QBm1P)

72 Diabolically clever, creating a book thread to lure the shy bunny lurkers out of their hidey-holes. We come out, knowing that you're most likely planning to eat us, but we just can't help ourselves.

SO WHAT HAVE I BEEN READING?
Asked no one, ever. But I'm reading George Eliot's "Middlemarch." Because I assigned it to my prep school students, and I have to keep up with them. It's one of those books to which people devote their lives, and the reason I hadn't read it already is simply that I'm a Philistine knuckle dragger. But reading it-- Eliot's a suuuper-gennniusss, and I'm in love. Every page or so, "Middlemarch" has some bit of writing so gorgeous I need to underline. But it's slow reading. Not because the book is difficult in some way, but because I want to be all, "Simple Caesar sipped his snifter, seized his knees and sneezed." That is, I would slam through the book except for the gorgeous quality of the writing and the author's tricksy way of flipping the reader's expectations every few pages, which makes me want to sip it like a good brandy instead of read it like a book I need to get to Chapter 24 by Tuesday.

And for light reading, I've been slamming through Jim Butcher's "Dresden Chronicles" again. These novels are fantasy bubble gum of a high order. I don't have to slow down to glory in the prose, but I can enjoy the good characterization, great imagination, and just plain fun. I reread "Changes" yesterday, and it was as intense as I remember it. His fantasy includes faerie queens, fallen angels, slobbery monsters, genius dogs, horny skulls, three-- count 'em-- three distinct varieties of vampires, wizards, Greek gods, ghosts, ghouls, and of course zombies. What's not to love during the last week of Octember?

Posted by: Smallish Bees at October 26, 2014 11:37 AM (YPgXi)

73 Posted by: exdem13at October 26, 2014 11:21 AM(lJaja)

Not that one, the zombie one. It's not the zombies that I object to even. It's that I've heard it is relentlessly, soul-killingly grim, and badly written to boot. Surely there are better novels available to use as examples for whatever principle of literature they are supposed to be learning.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette, assault Hobbit at October 26, 2014 11:38 AM (GDulk)

74 Well, The Babysitter was an interesting read.

Posted by: Adam at October 26, 2014 11:40 AM (HstNY)

75 Middlemarch is one of my favorite books although I enjoy all the novels of Eliot I have read. That and The Portrait of a Lady are probably my two favorite English novels

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 26, 2014 11:47 AM (7kkQJ)

76 @70: would give their left whatevers to get the experience you had, with them actually *asking* to read yours.

Huh. I hadn't quite looked at it that way. It was my first reading at my first conference, and an agent at the same event asked for a submission as well (though I haven't heard back from him). My perception is clearly skewed.

'Of course my first novel was picked up right after I first showed it off. You mean that isn't normal? Oh.'

Now I hope I haven't accidentally been a dick to anyone when talking about my stuff in the past...

Posted by: Df82 at October 26, 2014 11:48 AM (Mx9xT)

77 I picked up from a second hand bookstore a collection of short stories called "Hauntings, Tales of the Suoernatural" edited by Henry Muzzeo. Some favorites in it include "The Red Lodge" by H. Russell Wakefied, a really creepy haunted house story, "The Open Door" by Mrs Oliphant which is a touching ghost story and features a compassionate Scottish clergyman and "The hHunted Doll House by H.R. james. A nice collection with neat little little line drawings Edward Gorey.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at October 26, 2014 11:59 AM (7kkQJ)

78 50
I have a book.five stars on Amazon. But I don't wanna give you freaks my real name.

I'm guessing we can rule out "Marketing for Dummies", then.

Posted by: Anachronda at October 26, 2014 12:02 PM (o78gS)

79 I used to enjoy Stephen King's books, until I read a short story, "The Boogeyman." I was an adult college student, and I had to sleep with the lights on only after I had checked under my bed.

Then I decided that I didn't enjoy the experience of being scared of nothing, so that was the last time I ever read his books.

Posted by: Smallish Bees at October 26, 2014 12:10 PM (YPgXi)

80 Oh, Polliwog, I don't assign bubblegum fantasy to my students. That's just for myself when I need to occupy my mind without being overwhelmed by gorgeous, soul-changing novels.

One can't eat every meal at the French Laundry, can one? (Well, maybe one can. But with books, I have like to chew bubblegum anyway.)

Posted by: Smallish Bees at October 26, 2014 12:15 PM (YPgXi)

81 The best opening paragraph of all time: Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House".

Posted by: Soona at October 26, 2014 12:22 PM (n+eLH)

82 Dresden Files sounds like it might be a good one for my oldest son. He's a bright kid and very good at reading, but kind of hates doing it. I've suckered him into reading Star Wars: A New Hope (original novel) because he likes Star Wars, and that's working out ok. Once I've convinced him reading can be fun, I need to branch him into something else. An urban fantasy with high fantastic elements (which he likes) sounds like a winner.

Posted by: Df82 at October 26, 2014 12:23 PM (Mx9xT)

83 38... Despite his moonbatism, King was good when he was strung out on booze and drugs.
Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at October 26, 2014 10:31 AM (yxw0r)

Yeah, "The Boogeyman" is another good one.

Posted by: Blackford Oakes at October 26, 2014 12:33 PM (KVnkf)

84 Nothing by Chambers made his Top 50 list?
How the heck did Bram Stoker not have a single entry, especially "The Judge's House"?
I can't help but think that Orson Scott Card is better at horror short stories than many of the authors he named.

I did agree with most of the authors I was familiar with on the list, but very rarely with the story chosen.

Posted by: Luke at October 26, 2014 12:34 PM (3QITC)

85 The lottery is not scary. It's not even a good story.

Posted by: Johnny at October 26, 2014 12:35 PM (WvGsS)

86 DF82: Correction, it's "Dresden Files," not, "Dresden Chronicles."

Your local library might have the collection with the first six books. I downloaded it to my Kindle Reader using my library's subscription to MyMediaMall.

Posted by: Smallish Bees at October 26, 2014 12:37 PM (YPgXi)

87 I have a book.five stars on Amazon. But I don't wanna give you freaks my real name. And I made exactly zero dollars on it. Now, really, get off my lawn.
Posted by: Bob's House of Flannel Shirts and Wallet Chains at October 26, 2014 10:53 AM (yxw0r)

Some Sunday you need to unplug your modem, let it sit for half an hour while you figure out a new nic, then come back, claim your delurking and post your book so we can buy it!

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at October 26, 2014 12:39 PM (G5aNk)

88 Posted by: JTB at October 26, 2014 11:00 AM (FvdPb)

Oh gosh yes; three bookcases, at least.

One for books written by people I know (greatly added to of late with Moron authors, which tickles me to no end)one, kike you, for those I re-read constantly, (surprising amount of kids/YA books there) and then one for first editions and signed copies.

I go back and forth on that one; I think I really prefer to keep them in with their siblings.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at October 26, 2014 12:50 PM (G5aNk)

89 Hello Smallish Bees!

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at October 26, 2014 12:51 PM (G5aNk)

90 Rolf, if you're around, did you ever find something for your daughter?

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at October 26, 2014 12:56 PM (G5aNk)

91 Huh. I hadn't quite looked at it that way. It was my first reading at my first conference, and an agent at the same event asked for a submission as well (though I haven't heard back from him). My perception is clearly skewed.
[...]
Posted by: Df82 at October 26, 2014 11:48 AM (Mx9xT)

The old-school advice is "get an agent", even if (or especially if) a publishing house wants your book. A good agent can get you a better advance, but more importantly, a good agent knows contract negotiation (pretty minimal at the first novel stage, I'll admit).

David Morrell (First Blood) tells the story of his agent getting him a piece of the merchandising rights, which at the time he thought was a waste of effort.

That said, my first novel was submitted over the transom (unsolicited) to one publisher, and after a few months of no answer, I learned the editor who'd originally expressed interest had "moved on to other opportunities". Alas and alack! But happy ending: She passed it on to another editor at a different house, which bought and published it.

As it turns out, I got a better advance than I did on my second novel (which WAS repped by an agent (who I later fired)). So I guess what I'm saying here is... well, shit, I don't know what I'm saying. Congrats on attracting the attention of a publisher AND an agent.

Posted by: jwpaine at October 26, 2014 01:08 PM (a3NCX)

92 Second "We Always Lived in the Castle". And the first paragraph of "Hill House".

# 71
That's in there, but the three novels are the woman's whole life, so much much more. Wonderful writing, esp. the newest translation. Best review ever: "I love the books, but why is Kristin such an ass?"

An English teacher friend once gave me O'Connor's 'A Good Man is Hard to Find" for a Cursillo gift. The juxtaposition was interesting to say the least.

Posted by: Sal at October 26, 2014 01:18 PM (p9C/A)

93 All Hail Eris, thanks for the shout out. But I have far from an encyclopedic knowledge... what am I? The Library of Alexandria? Oh cr@p here come the Muslims... run away can libraries run?

Come on AlextheChick, join us in the 'effort' of madly typing out 1,600 words a day. It will be fun. It will be Inside. And you've kept those characters in suspense over their fate for far too long, time to push them off the cliff as it were.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 26, 2014 01:52 PM (dsq1T)

94 Thanks Sabrina + Oregon also for putting us knowledge about vanity-press scammers.

I have some complaints with CreateSpace - it's too easy to screw up your own book, you don't get much say as to when the checks arrive, etc - but they're a sight better than AuthorSolutions. (For some reason the "dissolution scene" in Breaking Bad is coming to mind.)

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at October 26, 2014 01:52 PM (WxXqb)

95 Does anyone remember which vanity press group Old Sailor's Poet fell afoul of with his first novel? He said at the time but I've forgotten.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette, assault Hobbit at October 26, 2014 01:58 PM (GDulk)

96 Polliwogette, Amy Lynn was published through CreateSpace. IIRC he paid a good chunk of money and got terrible editing support.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at October 26, 2014 02:03 PM (dsq1T)

97 I second Anna Puma's thoughts about NaNoWroMo. It's a chance to have absolute fun with words and can be as anonymous or public as you wish. No one to judge you and many, if not most, never get to 50K words. It doesn't matter as long as you enjoy it.

There are several forums on the NaNo website dedicated to the medium people prefer to use. I like to use manual typewriters. Others use pencils, fountain or dip pens, smart phones, tablets, etc.

Give it a try.

Posted by: JTB at October 26, 2014 02:19 PM (FvdPb)

98 Oh yeah. I forgot. Createspace offer author services too. Anna's right.

You don't *have to* accept these services - you can do the cover yourself, your own editing etc - but it is true that they plug the services first. Takes time and effort to dodge those "offers".

So author services = scam, on CreateSpace too.

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at October 26, 2014 02:30 PM (WxXqb)

99 @JTB I think our libraries are similar (minus the flyfishing)

@Sal I hated, hated, hated A Good Man is Hard to Find. Hated it. Had to read it in high school and I'm not sure a story has ever inspired so much revulsion and visceral rejection in me as that one did.

So much so I haven't fully understood why, but I think it's because the man, who ought to be the protector, is completely passive. Maybe that's the point (hence the title) but man alive do I hate that thing as literature.

Posted by: .87c at October 26, 2014 02:39 PM (Syc3P)

100 Thanks OM for the review!

And, fellow morons, I am busy today but will look for and answer ALMOST any questions about Pilot Point.

mark

Posted by: WannabeAnglican at October 26, 2014 03:38 PM (vFmT2)

101 Well Morons I am back. Spent the weekend in GA for family reunion. I am still working on The Stand. I am nearing the end and if I hadn't been on the road I would have finished it by now. I'll hold off on evaluating it until I finish it.

As for Amazon losses, I think they are taking a cue from Hollywood there, although it could be that they are sinking profits from sales into dubious acquisitions. But it would sure piss me off if they went under and I lost my main source of Kindle books.

Posted by: Vic at October 26, 2014 03:46 PM (u9gzs)

102 al I hated, hated, hated A Good Man is Hard to Find. Hated it. Had to read it in high school and I'm not sure a story has ever inspired so much revulsion and visceral rejection in me as that one did.

Pretty much all of Flannery O'Connor's stories are like that. And AGMIHTF is one of her tamer ones.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 26, 2014 04:26 PM (yRdR4)

103 Hi Vic, nice to have you back.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 26, 2014 04:27 PM (yRdR4)

104 103 Hi Vic, nice to have you back.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 26, 2014 04:27 PM (yRdR4)

Good to be back, and it wasn't the rocking chair this time. Although that front porch and chair is calling me hard now. Sunny and 80F out there now,

Posted by: Vic at October 26, 2014 04:35 PM (u9gzs)

105 Do you know why, OregonMuse? What it is about her writing, or about "southern gothic", that inspires that? I've never bothered to research more first or secondhand to find out, but I'd be curious to know.

Posted by: .87c at October 26, 2014 04:57 PM (crMNw)

106 .87c, where are you from, by chance?

(Feel free to tell me to mind my own business!)

There's a great quote attributed to her about how non-Southerners would perceive her writing....

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at October 26, 2014 05:03 PM (G5aNk)

107 Washington State, but I'm located in Mississippi since last year.

Posted by: .87c at October 26, 2014 05:30 PM (crMNw)

108 boulder terlit hobo (9

, I used createspace for Pilot Point, and I am pleased with the service overall.

I do not recommend their copyediting, however. I think if you can afford copyediting, you should do that, but from someone other than createspace.

BTW, I forgot to mention to you morons, Pilot Point is only $2.99 on Kindle. You know what to do.

mark marshall

Posted by: WannabeAnglican at October 26, 2014 05:36 PM (vFmT2)

109 If I can make a local bookseller recommendation - Atlanta Vintage Books, in Chamblee/Brookhaven , GA. Nice people who did my family a great bit of service over the past month or so.

My father passed away backing the summer of 2012, and we discovered afterwards that he was a very organized and methodical hoarder, mostly of hardback books. Of every possible subject and description. He was so organized that, while we knew he had quite a few in his home office, when we got around to opening closets, looking in the attic, store rooms, etc., it was a real eye-opener. Another eye-opener was the unpleasant surprise for my mom when a series of booksellers, some of whom had sold Dad some rather pricey tomes over the years, broke the news to her that internet sales had killed the used book market, and his extensive collection was essentially worthless, save for a few choice works.

Jan & Bob from AVB came in when other walked away, and helped Mom clean out his old office, giving her a fair price for what was left after other had picked through. They removed an estimated 6,000 volumes from that one room, and we now still have the rest of the house and outbuildings to go through.

What was the most striking was Mom's reaction, while she wants her house back in order (Dad had sorta taken it all over), and wanted his books to go to the loving hoes, she said it was like he had died all over again when they were all gone. Most of what was left could most charitably be listed as "Goodwill books," and multiple copies of the same works - Dad would keep buying copies of something he was looking for until he found the "best" copy - but these inanimate objects really were the central focus of his entire life.

Dad was the youngest of over a dozen brothers and sisters, had a very solitary childhood, some bad WWII experiences that drove him even deeper into seclusion, and then a long career as a radio engineer, also primarily working alone. My earliest memories were of him reading on the couch, completely oblivious to everything else going on, and the last time I saw him in his office, the day I picked him up for his last trip to the hospital, he was sitting at his desk, his favorite book open in front of him ("The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam"), smoking one last cigarette.

Posted by: John the Baptist at October 26, 2014 05:37 PM (Xs981)

110 I'm paraphrasing here, but it went something along the lines of... Yankees would think her stories, or anything wrotten by a Southerner grotesque, but if she wrote something intentionally grotesque, they'd think it was realistic.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at October 26, 2014 05:39 PM (G5aNk)

111 Ah, John, what a bittersweet story.

And good on AVB.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at October 26, 2014 05:41 PM (G5aNk)

112 *raises hand* Born Yankee, naturalized Texan, never could get into O'Connor's fiction--but I LOVE Mystery and Manners. And what's odd is that I can get into Swiss grotesques (Durrenmatt and Frisch) much more easily. *shrug*

Not officially doing NaNo, but I am hoping to get Loyal Valley: Captives (working title) written next month. We'll see if the muse will behave--she went haring off into YA dystopia this week! That one's out to beta readers, and once I get comments back, I'll try to figure out where to go with it... graphic novel is a distinct possibility.
As for CreateSpace, I'm pleased enough, but I do all the work myself (aside from the front cover; I pay a friend for that) and have the best beta readers ever, so it's basically just a printing and distribution outlet for me and serves that purpose well.

Last weekend a friend loaned me a book called Texas Got It Right. Will report back when I've read it, but it sounds interesting.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at October 26, 2014 05:55 PM (iuQS7)

113 For you C. S. Lewis fans, I recently did a review of Seeking the Secret Place. Hint - I highly recommend it:
http://wannabeanglican.blogspot.com/2014/10/book-review-seeking-secret-place.html

Posted by: WannabeAnglican at October 26, 2014 06:10 PM (vFmT2)

114 I'll take REH's " Valley of the Worm" over " Pigeons from Hell."

As for Wagner's Sticks , some(most) of the Kane short stories are superior .

Posted by: DrDrill at October 26, 2014 06:21 PM (Elk9/)

115
I second what Mark Marshall aka WannaBeAnglican said about hiring an editor. I hired someone to go over my work but not Createspace. Ditto for the set up of my books. I did all the interior work myself (small learning curve) and hired a cover designer (I maxed out my talent in art in kindergarten.)
I haven't used Createspace's design services, but my default position is to compartmentalize and hire individuals with the skills I need. I freely admit to being a control freak that wants to put out great work.
Sadly, WannabeAnglican has priced his books cheaper than mine - but, if you are a member of Amazon Unlimitied, you can borrow the books for free.
If you do, let me know what you think, both of my books and the Unlimited experience. I'm trying to figure out if staying exclusive is the right long-term strategy.

Posted by: Long Running Fool at October 26, 2014 07:18 PM (77WNv)

116 13 Poor kid. I hated 'The Road'. I finished it, only because I kept turning pages, saying to myself, "This has to get better. It has to." It didn't, just sort of trailed off at the end, like one of those super-esoteric novels that are sooo cool nowadays.

So, to answer your question: You should ask the teacher for an alternative. Something with an actual plot.
Posted by: right wing whippersnapper at October 26, 2014 09:53 AM (ThxKk)

That. All of that.

Posted by: BornLib at October 26, 2014 07:55 PM (zpNwC)

117 You have a website boulder terlit hobo? Your Amazon author blurb mentions one but there is no link I can find.

Posted by: BornLib at October 26, 2014 08:08 PM (zpNwC)

118 73 Not that one, the zombie one. It's not the zombies that I object to even. It's that I've heard it is relentlessly, soul-killingly grim, and badly written to boot. Surely there are better novels available to use as examples for whatever principle of literature they are supposed to be learning.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette, assault Hobbit at October 26, 2014 11:38 AM (GDulk)

They weren't zombies. They were cannibals. Living, breathing, thinking men trying to kill and eat other living, breathing, thinking men.

I think the story is about what a loving father is willing to do to protect and raise their child. And the struggle to raise a good and moral child in an insane and immoral world.

I'm sure there is a better book for that, but I'm afraid I can't name one.

Posted by: BornLib at October 26, 2014 08:31 PM (zpNwC)

119 Do you know why, OregonMuse? What it is about her writing, or about "southern gothic", that inspires that? I've never bothered to research more first or secondhand to find out, but I'd be curious to know.

I don't know about "southern gothic" generally, but about F. O'C., I do know she once said that since we're living in a spiritually deaf age, she had to shout. I should go dig up the exact quote, somebody posted it in full on the book thread 2-3 weeks ago.

A number of years ago, I tried to read her novel "Wise Blood", but had to give it up after about 4 chapters, it was just one grotesque character and bizarre situation piling up one after the other with no end in sight. I should try it again, maybe, and find out if it's improved with age.

Posted by: OregonMuse at October 26, 2014 08:58 PM (yRdR4)

120 Hello, Tammy Al-Thor! I'm enjoying this book thread, and thank you again.

I've got Amazon Unlimited, but I'm afraid I'm kind of unimpressed. It's not chock full of Harry Potter and His Amazing Clones. It's B-side stuff.

Posted by: Smallish Bees at October 26, 2014 09:06 PM (VHiG6)

121 BornLib - http://sites.google.com/site/zimrielproject/islam

Posted by: boulder terlit hobo at October 26, 2014 09:47 PM (AVEe1)

122 >>>118 I think the story is about what a loving father is willing to do to
protect and raise their child. And the struggle to raise a good and
moral child in an insane and immoral world.

That's what I took from it too.

Also, it's not October without reading Roger Zelazny's "A Night in the Lonesome October." Universal monsters, and Jack the Ripper as the hero.

And an October PSA: Despite this being scary movie month, I discovered that now is not the time to rewatch "The Last Man on Earth," with Vincent Price. A little too close to the current situation if you ask me.

Posted by: RovingCopyEditor at October 26, 2014 09:57 PM (UMsIr)

123 85 The lottery is not scary. It's not even a good story.
Posted by: Johnny at October 26, 2014 12:35 PM (WvGsS)
---

Just read it; I agree. It's a simplistic and self-congratulatory fable of Progress.

Posted by: Zombie FDR at October 26, 2014 11:31 PM (Y5I9o)

124 121 Awesome thanks.

Posted by: BornLib at October 27, 2014 07:07 AM (zpNwC)

125 122 Also, it's not October without reading Roger Zelazny's "A Night in the Lonesome October." Universal monsters, and Jack the Ripper as the hero.

Posted by: RovingCopyEditor at October 26, 2014 09:57 PM (UMsIr)

A classic story about a dog and his boy. ;-)

Posted by: BornLib at October 27, 2014 07:09 AM (zpNwC)

126 Currently reading The Last Centurion by John Ringo. I'm not sure a novel can be chock any more full of red meat than this.

Posted by: BornLib at October 27, 2014 08:36 AM (zpNwC)

127 Wendigo is a much scarier Algernon Blackwood story than the Willows.

Posted by: doug at October 27, 2014 08:43 AM (+CE04)

128 120 Hello, Tammy Al-Thor! I'm enjoying this book thread, and thank you again.

I've got Amazon Unlimited, but I'm afraid I'm kind of unimpressed. It's not chock full of Harry Potter and His Amazing Clones. It's B-side stuff.
Posted by: Smallish Bees at October 26, 2014 09:06 PM (VHiG6)

What kind of stuff are you looking for? If it's fantasy or sci-fi I can make some AU recommendations.

Posted by: BornLib at October 27, 2014 09:09 PM (zpNwC)

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