Sunday Morning Book Thread 01-17-2021

Till's Bookshop Edinburgh Scotland 01.jpg

Good morning to all you 'rons, 'ettes, lurkers, and lurkettes, wine moms, frat bros, crétins sans pantalon (who are technically breaking the rules). Welcome once again to the stately, prestigious, internationally acclaimed and high-class Sunday Morning Book Thread, a weekly compendium of reviews, observations, snark, witty repartee, hilarious bon mots, and a continuing conversation on books, reading, spending way too much money on books, writing books, and publishing books by escaped oafs and oafettes who follow words with their fingers and whose lips move as they read. Unlike other AoSHQ comment threads, the Sunday Morning Book Thread is so hoity-toity, pants are required. Even if it's these "pants", which are suitable only if you've been invited to Anderson Cooper's barbecue.

Pic Note:

Charming:

Established in 1985, Tills is one of Edinburgh's oldest second-hand bookshops. It sits overlooking the Meadows, and has carved out a small literary corner in Edinburgh's South Side. First opened by Rick and Ann Till, the shop was taken over in 2019 by Kate and Joshua McNamara.

Open seven days a week, with a big selection of literary fiction both contemporary and classic, quirky sci fi, history and biography, philosophy and sociology, and the odd antiquarian gem. There are a few seats, a cosy fire, and staff ready for all manner of bookish discussions.

It Pays To Increase Your Word Power®

Here's something else we're going to be seeing a lot more of in the months ahead:

Books in the New America

26 Probably the book that matters right now is Fahrenheit 451.

Posted by: blaster at January 10, 2021 09:12 AM (ZfRYq)

(This is a revision of a piece I wrote in June. h/t 'ette author Gunnar Grey for her contribution)

With the Democrats' successful theft of the 2020 election, our cultural life will shortly be entering a new phase as the 'woke' crybully mobs are now emboldened to come after us and our books. Because they only want you reading the correct books, the books they approve of, and all others will be banished, and all unapproved authors cancelled. Now, personally, I don't think they're going to succeed in this endeavor. I think 'wokeism' will eventually collapse. But the key word here is 'eventually'. It probably won't happen quickly. It's likely going to take quite a while. I will be 65 years old this year and I may not live long enough to see wokeism's defeat. It may be very rough going for us for a number of years.

So how do we go about preserving the books we have?

Obviously, the first choice is dead-tree editions, preferably well-bound hardback copies. But there are downsides: they're susceptible to damage from fire, water, pests, and age-related deterioration. Nothing lasts forever.

Also, they're bulky, take up a lot of space and so are easier for the woke mobs to confiscate or burn.

E-books solve many of these problems, but present difficulties for their own. Most of these drawbacks aren't intrinsic to e-books themselves, but just how most of them are purchased: from a single source (Amazon), each e-book wrapped in a layer of encryption (called DRM for 'digital rights management') installed by the vendor as an anti-piracy measure, and e-books are stored, ultimately, on their servers, not yours. Yes, they're actually on your device, but at any random time, it may ask to connect to Amazon to reconfirm the download, especially if you haven't connected for awhile.

So can we get around these limitations, and if so, how?

First, I've never liked "the cloud". It has always seemed to me to be so antithetical to the whole PC revolution. Because, in case we've forgotten, PC stands for "personal computer" with emphasis on the personal: It is my computer, my applications, my data. Back in the early days, due to technological limitations, computing was a bunch of dumb terminals wired to a giant central mainframe kept locked away in an air-conditioned room. All of your work, all of your data, was ultimately controlled by someone else, not you.

And that's why the PC revolution was so, well, revolutionary. It decentralized and redistributed computing power and resources downward to greater numbers of users.

So, in my view, "cloud computing" is a giant step backwards.

I was rudely awakened two three years ago when I picked up my device and it informed me that Amazon had pushed out "an important update" to one of my Kindle books. I guess it was some the minor edits in the text, but I also noticed that a free chapter of a subsequent book that I had been meaning to read was now gone.

I thought, hmmmm, if they can do that, they can make any changes they want, whenever they want, and I can do nothing about it. Because that's probably written to the terms of the agreement for using their platform and buying stuff from them.

You'll need to make or acquire backup copies of your purchased books to store in a safe place, preferably offline.

Whatever device you own, you're going to have to learn to "side-load" it. Meaning, transfer ebook files to it (usually via a USB cable) without going through Amazon or B&N. In order to do that, you need to find out where exactly ebooks are stored on your device. You'll have to familiarize yourself with its folder structure so you know where to look. A bit of sleuthing around using Bing or Google should be helpful. Then you can plug your device into your laptop or desktop PC and I don't know how it works in the Mac world, but in Windows 10, you'll be able to open the device in Explorer and navigate to where the ebook files are stored.

Anything you purchase from Amazon (Kindle), Barnes & Noble (Nook) or Google (Google Play) you need to consider a loss. At any time, whatever purchase you've made can be modified or deleted by the vendor, and there's not much you can do about it, because they're a lot larger and a lot more powerful than you. So do not think that whatever books you buy from those vendors will always be available to you.

Another example: a couple of years ago, I changed the credit card I was using for Amazon purchases and suddenly I had to re-download the Kindle book I was reading. This suggests that your credit card info gets encrypted into the DRM layer of the ebooks you buy. They didn't change the content, but this incident reminded me that your device is expected to maintain minimal contact with the Amazon servers in order to be functional.

There are a couple of things you can do about this.

You can look for books without DRM. Baen's books are DRM-free as are some small percentage of Kindle books. Smashwords also sells DRM-free books. And check Gutenberg.org and archive.org if it's an older book.

There's also Calibre. It's not a book-seller, it's an application to manage your e-books. There are versions for Windows, Mac, and Linux. You can do all sorts of organizing and editing of your ebooks with this application, and, in particular, you can install plug-ins to remove the DRM layer from your ebook. If you just search for "Calibre DRM removal", you will find all sorts of information on what to do.

So, once you've done all of this and are now in possession of a library of DRM-free ebooks, what do you do with them?

Here is what I do: I have a Samsung Android tablet I do all of my reading on, and if I want to read one of my ebooks, my favorite e-reader app is Google Play. It can handle pdf and ePub files, and I just sign in to https://play.google.com/books/ebooks and it's very easy to upload books. Since I didn't purchase the book from Google, it technically doesn't know I own it, although I suppose it can see it if some Google tech does some snooping. So I upload the ebook using my desktop and eventually, the Google Play app on my device will see the new book and automatically download it for reading. When I've finished the book, I delete it. And my archival copy is not involved at all.

If you don't want to use the Google Play reader, there are a number of other e-reader apps you can download (or side-load) that allow you to read e-books of a variety of formats, epub, mobi, pdf, azw, doc, txt, etc.

Obviously, I store nothing permanently on "the cloud". All of my archival copies are stored on a 6TB drive in a non-standard folder. That is, the folder is not named "Documents" or "My Documents" or "My Books", which are Microsoft's standard names for data folders. I thought it would be best if I used other names in another location. My folder structure is I:\archives\ebooks\author\title or something similar. If I really wanted to be safe, I'd unplug the drive when I wasn't using it, but I'm not that vigilant.

So that's my "system", and it works pretty well for me. Oh, and no 'Alexa' or 'Siri' devices for me, thanks. A lot of my friends think they're great, but they give me the creeps.

Who Dis:

(Last week's 'who dis' was actor, conservative, and all-around great American Gary Sinise.

Books By Morons

'Ette author Sabrina Chase wants you to know she has promotions going on for some of her books, including a free one! She thinks many Morons could use some discount escapism these days. The sale runs from January 13-22.

The Last Mage Guardian (was 3.99, now 1.99) Steampunk fantasy with magic, book 1 in the series.

Her great-uncle, the mage Oron, bequeathed to her his oak-shaded chateau and a debt of magical honor. But in a world where women do not do magic, Miss Ardhuin Andrews must hide her magical talents. How can she repay the debt? When Oron's enemies attack, how can she survive? Political intrigue, duty, and echoes of an old war not truly ended combine to create a smoldering crisis in a world where magic and science coexist.

The Scent of Metal (was 3.99, now 1.99) Space opera SF, book 1 in the series.

The expedition ship Kepler races to Pluto, intent on uncovering the secrets of the alien structure recently discovered under the ice. Computer scientist Lea Santorin can’t wait to figure out the alien technology. Instead, she wakes it up … and it continues its long-interrupted journey across the galaxy, taking Lea and Kepler with it.

Rogues and Heroes(FREE!) January 16-18 only, though. Collected short stories of all genres, including ghost Western :-)

...with a young woman desperate to leave her dusty planet for space ... a British boy determined to end WWII all by himself ... a cop in a dark world willing to do anything for a good read... an old cowboy with a final, heavy burden...and more, in this collection of short stories.

___________

Claudine Wolk has been a lurkette author for many years and now wants to share her book, It Gets Easier! . . . And Other Lies We Tell New Mothers: A Fun, Practical Guide to Becoming a Mom, which she describes as "a humorous but honest guide for new moms" that

...Featur[es] interviews with hundreds of moms and candid stories from author Claudine Wolk’s own experiences as a mother, It Gets Easier! . . . and Other Lies We Tell New Mothers employs a healthy mix of humor, honesty, and insider strategies to give new and expecting moms a “leg up” on the challenging task of first-time motherhood...by addressing issues such as: “The Talk” you need to have with your husband before you give birth; what you really need to know about labor and delivery; the importance of a baby schedule (no matter what anyone else says); the 6 Baby Commandments that can foster good eating and sleeping habits; 5 new mom mantras that will help keep you sane; body image after giving birth; and how to keep housework to a minimum.

The Kindle edition is $7.99.

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They Don't Publish Books Like This Any More:

Actually, they do, I'm sorry to say. This is a real book. No, I'm not kidding. For those of you who aren't aware of the context: the 'woke' industrial complex has taken over huge chunks of the 'superhero' comic/graphic novel publishing business and this is the kind of crap that's now being cranked out. And they fully expect it to sell. When it doesn't, they'll blame it on "toxic fandom" or "white supremacy" or some such. Personally, I've always thought "we hate you, now give us your money" is not a good business plan, but maybe they're just being ironic.

Moron Recommendations

68 So a couple of weeks ago I re-read Killoyle: An Irish Farce by Roger Boylan. It's set in the fictional Irish town of Killoyle and is ostensibly about Milo Rogers, a headwaiter at Spudorgan Hall, the town's big hotel, but also dives into the lives, loves and drunken escapades of various other town characters.

What makes the book unique, though, is that each page has footnotes. Not, mind you, footnotes explaining things, but footnotes in the voice of an unseen narrator who, in the book's conceit, is reading over your shoulder and jostling you at various points to make an observation or tell a joke.

This is the sort of thing you like or hate, so take a look at the preview before you decide whether or not to buy. I happen to like it, a lot.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 03, 2021 09:32 AM (2JVJo)

Terry Pratchett also does the "humorous footnote" thing and I think it's a great gag if used sparingly -- which the footnotes in Killoyle definitely aren't. Any page in Killoye can have a footnote that takes up half of it. Fortunately, from what I can tell in from the preview, all of the footnotes end at the bottom of the page and don't continue on into the next, as some do in other books, which I find quite irritating.

A few years ago, my kids used to watch a TV series, I think it was Arrested Development that used this device -- an "omniscient" narrator commenting on the actor and it just drove me nuts, because (a) I wasn't interested in the show, (b) the TV was in another room so I couldn't really hear what was going on but (c) the actor who was doing the narration had a voice that carried, so I could hear him just fine. Only he just wouldn't shut up and it was like this constant irritating noise like a dripping faucet or squeaky wheel and I thought, why did they need a guy to tell you what you just saw and what should you think about it? That should be part of the story itself. It struck me as crappy storytelling.

Anyway, Killoyle: An Irish Farce is only available in paperback. It does have a sequel, The Great Pint-Pulling Olympiad: A Mostly Irish Farce, published in 2003, which is available as a Kindle edition. Same [delightfully silly | insufferably irritating] footnotes.

___________

Lurkette Claudine e-mails:

I ripped through a book this week - Verity by Colleen Hoover, who apparently is a prolific, successful romance writer but dipped a toe into suspense with an Indy publisher with great success. Couldn't put it down. A great escape book and, whoa boy, do we need escape?

According to comments made by 'ette author artemis in this forum a couple of weeks ago, as popular as the romance genre is with women, the suspense+romance subgenre is like crack cocaine. Yes, yes, women readers are saying, I want you to shoot that stuff directly into my vein. Well, that's not *exactly* what artemis said, but I think it's probably close enough.

Here is the Amazon blurb:

Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish.

Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity's recollection of the night their family was forever altered.

Comes with this warning:

Due to graphic scenes and mature content, this book is recommended for readers 18+.

The Kindle edition of Verity is $4.99.

___________

So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, bribes, insults, threats, ugly pants pics and moron library submissions 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: OregonMuse at 09:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 hiya

Posted by: JT at January 17, 2021 09:01 AM (arJlL)

2 Who Dis? Stevie Nicks?

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 17, 2021 09:02 AM (PiwSw)

3 Jerry Hall!

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 09:03 AM (ONvIw)

4 I would like to go to Scotland, if they spoke English there. Nice library.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 09:03 AM (gm3d+)

5
g'mornin', book-ish 'rons

Posted by: AltonJackson at January 17, 2021 09:03 AM (mYY+8)

6 Yeah, that looks like Jerry Hall.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 17, 2021 09:04 AM (Dc2NZ)

7 Good Sunday morning, horde!

I could spend days in Till's bookshop. Especially since there is a cosy fire. I'd wear my best pants!

Posted by: April, Freedom Now! at January 17, 2021 09:05 AM (OX9vb)

8 Who Dis? Stevie Nicks?
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper

Madonna

Posted by: JT at January 17, 2021 09:05 AM (arJlL)

9 Nice Book Shop!

Those pants....Swiss Guard I think.

The Who Dis is a call girl waiting in her next call while boning up for her next kollege exam.

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at January 17, 2021 09:05 AM (R/m4+)

10 Which one of those Super Feminists is Caitlyn Jenner?

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 17, 2021 09:06 AM (PiwSw)

11 In spite of its elephantine bulk, I am happier than ever that I have a yuge, classy, and elegant library of dead trees books. Some are from centuries past! Longer lasting than ephemeral e-books (and I love my e-reader for "snack" reading).

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 17, 2021 09:06 AM (Dc2NZ)

12 6 I think so.

Anyway, I read parts of the antifa handbook, and was not surprised to find it rooted in critical race theory and hollywood claptrap designed to "normalize" hatred against whites generally and white Christians particularly.

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 09:06 AM (ONvIw)

13 I don't think the Pants guy owns a weedwhacker (if you catch my drift)

Posted by: JT at January 17, 2021 09:06 AM (arJlL)

14 I believe the "pants" are technially spats, but I could be wrong. Regardless, they're a bold fashion choice.

Posted by: pep at January 17, 2021 09:08 AM (v16oJ)

15 the who dis is a hottie that should lose the hat and probably the book.

last week was Sinise? I would have got that in a sec. I always miss out on the easy who dis'es.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:08 AM (Rt/LJ)

16 Those pants....Swiss Guard I think.
Sure looks like it. Don't mess with those guys, or they'll pull out the assault feather boas.

Posted by: pep at January 17, 2021 09:09 AM (v16oJ)

17 Reading Patricia McConnell's* dog book "The other End of the Leash!" Very enjoyable read about human-dog interface based on real study and professional dog training experience. Key takeaway is the canines are not primates, so we primates need to do a mind reset to deal effectively with pups!

*No relationship to the SOB that is in the Senate!

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar(@Hrothgar on GAB) at January 17, 2021 09:09 AM (87oRe)

18 A lovely bookstore and "who dis", both. What a great post today!

Posted by: Huck Follywood, Fopps News Sucks at January 17, 2021 09:09 AM (KKpag)

19 I read The Terror by Dan Simmons. This is a novel based on a true story of the 1845 Franklin Expedition to find the Northwest Passage with HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. This is a well researched and detailed account of that voyage. The story of survival is interesting and in the final chapters the reader learns of the native peoples', the Real People, origin myths and other religious beliefs, hunting techniques, and their other ways of life. A very good book.

Posted by: Zoltan at January 17, 2021 09:10 AM (qb8uZ)

20 I'm about a hundred pages into The Shipping News and once I got over the weird, as in not good, use of metaphors by the author (a picture of her on the back looks like a humorless man hating dyke not at all like my beer drinking dog loving lezzo buds) and the action moved to Newfoundland it kind of grew on me. The protagonist is still a hapless dunce (remember man hating) and I picture the weird aunt as what Proulx sees in the mirror but I have a vicarious fondness for the maritime provinces of Canuckistan having been to Nova Scotia's Cape Breton highlands and thinking "I bet north of here is even neater". Plus she tells stories of massive storms at sea really well. So I'm enjoying it.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at January 17, 2021 09:10 AM (y7DUB)

21 Jerry Hall

Posted by: Sidney at January 17, 2021 09:11 AM (7/kmB)

22 Who Dis looks like one time Mick Jagger flame, David Bowie.

Posted by: Bilwis Devourer of Innocent Souls, I'm starvin' over here at January 17, 2021 09:11 AM (Wm5SB)

23 Hello! I've got a busy day ahead of me, but there's an excellent article that everyone here needs to read over at firstthings.com.
It's called "The Road to Revolution" and it is by historian Stanley G. Payne, one of the foremost authorities on the Spanish Civil War.
He distills just about everything there is to know about the fall of the Spanish Republic into this single article. I've got a link in my sig, but if you just go to the First Things web site, it was the featured article in their print magazine.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 17, 2021 09:11 AM (cfSRQ)

24 wow, if that's Madonna it is the best picture ever of her.

Posted by: Huck Follywood, Fopps News Sucks at January 17, 2021 09:11 AM (KKpag)

25 Jerry Hall? Those are some awfully white chirrens in that pic. Is that allowed anymore or did our social scores just drop?

Posted by: Lady in Black at January 17, 2021 09:11 AM (O+I8R)

26 Reading Patricia McConnell's* dog book "The other End of the Leash!"

She used to have a call-in radio show about dogs/behavior problems/training. Very enjoyable.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 09:12 AM (gm3d+)

27 Started a good space opera scifi series called The United Federation Marine Corps Series.

Here is the goodreads link to the series page adn a little excerpt from the page describing the first book and main character.

https://www.goodreads.com/series/137732

Desperate to escape a life of poverty on his desolate home planet, Ryck Lysander enlists in the United Federation Marine Corps, hoping to make a better future for himself. However, Ryck soon discovers that the Corps is more than a means of escaping his former life as he is pushed beyond the very limits of his strength and willpower.

Posted by: BifBewalski AOS Moron at January 17, 2021 09:13 AM (VcFUs)

28 I bought 1984 recently. I don't know what is going on where you guys live, but the libraries here have no copies of 1984 and the wait list in long. I thought this might be a school project but wonder about that. My guess is a lot of people are super worried about the world today and a bunch of libs wrongly think the book is about conservatives as the baddies.

Looking back, I remember a great literature class in the 80s where half the students were sure 1984 was about Reagan. The Lefty teacher was talented and one of my all time faves. She had to let them down because they could not have been further off. But still, I think a lot of people have discussed the book, thought about the book, debated the book, but not read it.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:13 AM (Rt/LJ)

29 Books in the New America

==

"New America" doesn't deserve to have America in its title.

Posted by: Lady in Black at January 17, 2021 09:13 AM (O+I8R)

30 Since my copy of Pale Fire has a huge binding error (30 pages missing), I'm re-reading Livy's History of Early Rome. It's been 30 years, and I'm enjoying it greatly. Very relaxing.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 17, 2021 09:13 AM (cfSRQ)

31 Yeah, that looks like Jerry Hall.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 17, 2021 09:04 AM (Dc2NZ)

Mrs Rupert Murdoch?

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at January 17, 2021 09:13 AM (y7DUB)

32 Why does every book written recently have a female protagonist? Thriller, suspense, mystery, scifi, fantasy, all female. Has society really gone that far down the rabbit hole that they ignore 50 percent of the population?

Posted by: NJRob at January 17, 2021 09:13 AM (Ce7wD)

33 Am I remembering correctly that Jerry Hall is Mrs Rupert Murdoch these days? If she's a reader at all, I bet her library is pretty great.

Posted by: Huck Follywood, Fopps News Sucks at January 17, 2021 09:14 AM (KKpag)

34 wow, if that's Madonna it is the best picture ever of her.

Posted by: Huck Follywood, Fopps News Sucks at January 17, 2021 09:11 AM (KKpag)

good point, if that is Madonna i will eat her hat and my hat. I will say Jewell. Not that I think it is her but she is the finest not country singer I recall.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:14 AM (Rt/LJ)

35 Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 09:12 AM (gm3d+)

Wish I had heard that, I bet it was great.

Posted by: Commissar Hrothgar(@Hrothgar on GAB) at January 17, 2021 09:14 AM (87oRe)

36 I suppose it's already been mentioned that those pants belong to a member of the Swiss Guard.

Morning, 'rons and 'ronettes.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 17, 2021 09:15 AM (2JVJo)

37 I like the painting - and my daughter had a sweater in that same exact pattern, only in blue and white instead of pink, knitted for her by a German lady who did it for her, in exchange for me sewing some cute clothes for her grandchildren.
I'm wrapping up the last little bits for the WWII novel, "My Dear Cousin", and hope to have it available by next weekend. A writer friend who also does suitable genre book cover designs is doing a cover for me, and I'm holding off the launch until she is finished. It'll be available on Kindle and in other formats through Draft2Digital. And I rather liked the write up and sample of Killoyle and ordered a copy, which is now at THEY VERY TOP of my to-read stack... I'd swear an oath that the books that I read for pleasure over the last couple of years have exclusively come out of the Book Thread.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at January 17, 2021 09:15 AM (xnmPy)

38 Honey, where are ma pants?

Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 09:15 AM (S1hrL)

39 The girl to the right on the cover of the Super Feminist book needs hair on her (his?) legs and under their arms. Also I think little wavy lines coming from them indicating body odor.

Posted by: Betty at January 17, 2021 09:15 AM (vFyUK)

40 What is your preferred dystopian novel, one filled with staggering verisimilitude of bleakness and despair or one with a hopeful ending?

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 17, 2021 09:16 AM (H8QX8)

41 Morning fellow book lovers. Yes, Eris, I'd be there with you in the Till's bookshop - I could easily spend all day there. Ill have to send OregonMuse a picture of the local bookseller in my hometown, a cosy place to lose yourself. (And don't be fooled by the pants - those Swiss Guards are no sissies.)

Posted by: CarolinaGirl at January 17, 2021 09:16 AM (Kh9rg)

42 My favoritest part of, "Fahrenheit 451," was the part about big screen TVz.

Posted by: Marooned at January 17, 2021 09:16 AM (yYptV)

43 You can't see it, but the title on Jerry's book is "How to Marry a Rich, Influential Man."

Posted by: Lady in Black at January 17, 2021 09:17 AM (O+I8R)

44 Off into the woods I go, bookistas. The dogs are demanding it. I will come back later and note all the great recommendations! Thanks.

Posted by: Huck Follywood, Fopps News Sucks at January 17, 2021 09:17 AM (KKpag)

45 Why does every book written recently have a female
protagonist? Thriller, suspense, mystery, scifi, fantasy, all female.
Has society really gone that far down the rabbit hole that they ignore
50 percent of the population?

Posted by: NJRob at January 17, 2021 09:13 AM (Ce7wD)

I try to avoid books with women-as-the-lead. My daily amazon "recommended for you" list invariably has 8 out of 10 such books.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 09:17 AM (gm3d+)

46 I think it's Madonna faking she can read.

Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 09:17 AM (S1hrL)

47 I like Mccarthy so I guess bleakness.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:17 AM (Rt/LJ)

48 Posted by: BifBewalski AOS Moron at January 17, 2021 09:13 AM (VcFUs)

Bif,

If you haven't run across these, I've enjoyed the "Frontline" series by Marko Kloos.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 17, 2021 09:17 AM (PiwSw)

49 Anyway, I read parts of the antifa handbook, and was
not surprised to find it rooted in critical race theory and hollywood
claptrap designed to "normalize" hatred against whites generally and
white Christians particularly.

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 09:06 AM (ONvIw)

---
Except they imagine that Good Whites (themselves) will be exempt. They want a revolution and being the most bigoted people in the nation, they assume that brown people are the easiest to manipulate.

This is why Trump's strong showing with minorities terrified them.

Normally, a party watching its support soften with a particular demographic would rethink its approach and try to shore it up with new incentives. Alas, we live in abnormal times.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 17, 2021 09:17 AM (cfSRQ)

50 Posted by: NJRob at January 17, 2021 09:13 AM (Ce7wD)

It was like having an onion tied to your belt. It's the style of the time.

Posted by: Somewhere South of I-80 at January 17, 2021 09:17 AM (uxUoN)

51 Apple charges me .99 a month for the privilege of using their cloud whether I want to or not.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 09:18 AM (2DOZq)

52 I recently purchased a series of dead-tree books because I didn't want to lose them to "the cloud". I had read them all on Kindle. The main character is *highly* subversive in his outlook, meaning he'd be an optimal target for disappearance by the powers that be. I find him to be highly inspirational, but the powers that be would disagree strongly with that perspective (unless he was playing for THEIR team, which he most certainly is NOT!)

Posted by: Lord Squirrel at January 17, 2021 09:19 AM (hQrcu)

53 I also looked at the Adult Continuing Education Catalogue for our local college to see if they offer Mandarin classes. They don't, but I bet they will soon.

Posted by: Zoltan at January 17, 2021 09:19 AM (qb8uZ)

54 45 ... female protagonist.

Because men don't matter? The rabbit hole is deep.

Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 09:20 AM (S1hrL)

55 Normally, a party watching its support soften with a particular demographic would rethink its approach and try to shore it up with new incentives. Alas, we live in abnormal times.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 17, 2021 09:17 AM (cfSRQ)

They do manage to exempt some whites from whiteness based on country of origin and religious background. Bray believes that the Irish were not "initially white", nor were blacks black until they came to European countries, the Caribbean, and the US

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 09:20 AM (ONvIw)

56 In spite of its elephantine bulk, I am happier than ever that I have a yuge, classy, and elegant library of dead trees books. Some are from centuries past! Longer lasting than ephemeral e-books (and I love my e-reader for "snack" reading).
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 17, 2021 09:06 AM (Dc2NZ)

Same here, Eris. The only things I have on my kindle (which was given to me, I never bought it) are "junk" books or one or two versions of thick books I have at home that are too heavy to carry around. Anything important is between covers.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 17, 2021 09:21 AM (2JVJo)

57 Good morning. Coffee is brewing.

Anyone know any good books on Constantine?

Posted by: dantesed at January 17, 2021 09:21 AM (88xKn)

58 My screenplay floating around H-wood at the moment features a young female protagonist. But where her journey leads will likely repulse most of the town. I only need to find one intrigued and qualified producer.

Posted by: Dan Smoot's Apprentice at January 17, 2021 09:22 AM (H8QX8)

59 Never Let Me Go for truly bleak and hopeless. Ishaguro the author?

Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 09:22 AM (S1hrL)

60 Thanks for mentioning Killoyle, OM. I didn't know about Pratchett, but that's because I don't read SF. I shoould get The Great Pint-Pulling Oympiad, but right now I am trying to make my way through Toynbee's Caesar and Christ.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 17, 2021 09:23 AM (2JVJo)

61 I haz a sad because I have nothing new

Posted by: Skip at January 17, 2021 09:23 AM (Cxk7w)

62 Why is it when you scratch the surface of any utopia, you find a horrific dystopia lurking underneath?

Posted by: Lord Squirrel at January 17, 2021 09:23 AM (hQrcu)

63 Re The Cloud: Much of TN and KY lost internet service for a few days after the Nashville bombing, and some stores had to go cash-only for a few days. I know several younger folks who pride themselves on keeping everything in the Cloud, they carry no cash, and own no music - they only stream it. Perhaps that was a little wake up call for them.

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at January 17, 2021 09:23 AM (d9Cw3)

64 I download all my books to my Paperwhite. I can adjust the font size to Gigantic that way. I can't read regular books on paper anymore. Eyesight is crap. Anyway, the books I read are of no consequence.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 09:23 AM (gm3d+)

65 This week I read "14" by Peter Clines, which is tangentally related to his story "The Fold".

In "14", cubicle drone Nate manages to score, via word of mouth, a ridiculously affordable apartment in downtown L.A. He begins to discover several weird aspects to the turn of the century brownstone, and as he gets to know the other tenants, they share some of their own encounters with strange phenomena. They decide to team up and explore the Kavach Building. They find some hair-raising stuff as they uncover the history and function of their new home.

My elevator pitch is "It's Scooby Doo meets HP Lovecraft".

I'm now reading another in the loosely connected series, "Terminus".

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 17, 2021 09:24 AM (Dc2NZ)

66 Because men don't matter? The rabbit hole is deep.

Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 09:20 AM (S1hrL)

---
It's interesting that Mary Pickford and Liz Taylor both at one point set the record for salaries paid to any movie performer, male or female. They did this because they were super-stars who made guaranteed hits.

No crap about a 'pay gap' when they were rolling in the dough. No whining about a need for "strong female characters" when you had Joan Crawford or Bette Davis on the screen.

It's sad that in order to make themselves look stunning and brave, modern women have to pretend the real pioneers didn't exist. Funny how Gone with the Wind has been de facto outlawed, since it is by a woman, about the experience of women and also resulting in the first Academy Award to a black woman. Bigots.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 17, 2021 09:24 AM (cfSRQ)

67 Tilles was started after I was there, had a good time in Edinburgh, actually maybe one of my most memorable days.

Posted by: Skip at January 17, 2021 09:24 AM (Cxk7w)

68 the most quoted but not read books imo:
1984Animal Farm
The Art of War Sun TzuOn War, Clausewitz

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:25 AM (Rt/LJ)

69 59 Never Let Me Go for truly bleak and hopeless. Ishaguro the author?
Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 09:22 AM (S1hrL)

Yep. Sir Kazuo Ishiguro.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 17, 2021 09:26 AM (PiwSw)

70 Toynbee's Caesar and Christ.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 17, 2021 09:23 AM (2JVJo)
-----
Surely you meant "Durant".

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 09:26 AM (TsFZr)

71 Bigots.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 17, 2021 09:24 AM (cfSRQ)

And Narcissists.

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 17, 2021 09:26 AM (H8QX8)

72 Steven Pressfield has a new book being released in March titled A Man at Arms.

It's about first century Rome , a reluctant hero and the rise of a new religion.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 09:26 AM (2DOZq)

73
They do manage to exempt some whites from
whiteness based on country of origin and religious background. Bray
believes that the Irish were not "initially white", nor were blacks
black until they came to European countries, the Caribbean, and the US

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 09:20 AM (ONvIw)

---
If you speak Spanish you magically become non-white. Just ask Hillary Baldwin-Howell III.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 17, 2021 09:26 AM (cfSRQ)

74 am watching a tv show based on an Italian book series
the main character is Rocco Schiavone, a cynical jaded Rome cop exiled to the chilly northern Aosta for badly beating up a serial rapist who happens to be well connected.
Lots of grim humor in the tv series, haventbread the books yet.
The author is Antonio Manzini

Posted by: Herr Frau Doktor vmom Staunch Demofaszi (on gab as @vm) at January 17, 2021 09:27 AM (nUhF0)

75 68 the most quoted but not read books imo:
1984Animal Farm
The Art of War Sun TzuOn War, Clausewitz
Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:25 AM (Rt/LJ)

Well, I have my favorite, you know, with the "Brother's keeper" line.

Posted by: Barack Obama at January 17, 2021 09:27 AM (PiwSw)

76 I started Lolita and I'm surely reading it more attentively than I did many many years ago but I still can't escape the feeling that I'm reading an extremely well written book about a pervert. I know from his biography that Vlad liked being in the United States and Americans he knew but still felt that popular literature was vulgar trash that nobody intelligent would inflict on themselves. And he had to know that writing about someone with a spank fantasy about underaged girls would shock most readers. But he'd already written a shorter prototype of it when he was in Germany or France that was more or less a work in progress so this was a weird fixation of his. Not that Vlad didn't willfully overlook some things like maintaining his friendship with Edmund Wilson despite him once beating the shit out of Mary McCarthy; it was written about in the biography so I assume his wife Vera witnessed it.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at January 17, 2021 09:27 AM (y7DUB)

77 73: Italians are also sort of exempt

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 09:27 AM (ONvIw)

78 They do manage to exempt some whites from whiteness
based on country of origin and religious background. Bray believes that
the Irish were not "initially white", nor were blacks black until they
came to European countries, the Caribbean, and the US

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 09:20 AM (ONvIw)

what did I just read.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:28 AM (Rt/LJ)

79 Morning, all! I'm working my way through The Latin Mass Explained by Monsignor George J. Moorman. My priest offers both the Ordinary and the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. The book has been really useful from a Church history perspective and practically. I always sit in the front so that my children can see . . . except in the EF because I need to watch someone else who knows when to kneel and stand and sit.

Posted by: Catherine at January 17, 2021 09:28 AM (jM3lJ)

80 Surely you meant "Durant".
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 09:26 AM (TsFZr)

I did, thanks.

And don't call me "Shirley."

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 17, 2021 09:29 AM (2JVJo)

81 Hiya Buck !

Posted by: JT at January 17, 2021 09:29 AM (arJlL)

82 All right, gotta go. Check out Stanley G. Payne's article! OM, flag it for next week, please. It's a must-read.

Payne's a good historian and was kind enough to reply to my emails and even recommend a book to me to flesh out Long Live Death, so he deserves the support of the Moron Horde. His biography of Franco is superb.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at January 17, 2021 09:29 AM (cfSRQ)

83 the most quoted but not read books imo:
1984Animal Farm
The Art of War Sun TzuOn War, Clausewitz
I'd put Wealth of Nations high on that list.

Posted by: pep at January 17, 2021 09:29 AM (v16oJ)

84 68 the most quoted but not read books imo:
1984Animal Farm
The Art of War Sun TzuOn War, Clausewitz
Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:25 AM (Rt/LJ)

I've read both 1984 and Animal Farm. Both almost 29 years ago--I was a wee lass, sure. I re-read 1984 this past year, and plan to re-read Animal Farm.

As They say, 1984 was meant to be a warning, not an instruction manual.

Posted by: April, Freedom Now! at January 17, 2021 09:30 AM (OX9vb)

85 76 I started Lolita and I'm surely reading it more attentively than I did many many years ago but I still can't escape the feeling that I'm reading an extremely well written book about a pervert.
Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at January 17, 2021 09:27 AM (y7DUB)

That book is so exquisitely written it is hard to believe.

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 17, 2021 09:30 AM (H8QX8)

86 what did I just read.
Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:28 AM (Rt/LJ)

You just read what's being pushed in schools, campuses, and many religious venues.

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 09:31 AM (ONvIw)

87 I'd put Wealth of Nations high on that list.

And De Tocqueville.

Posted by: pep at January 17, 2021 09:31 AM (v16oJ)

88 the most quoted but not read books imo:
1984Animal Farm
The Art of War Sun TzuOn War, Clausewitz

Was Caddy Shack ever a book?

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 09:31 AM (2DOZq)

89 1/2 My spiritual journey back to the Catholic Church continues:

Will Men Be Like God? by Owen Francis Dudley (1931). An excellent rebuttal of the evils of a secular "Humanitarianism" and the answer found in Catholicism. The author, a Catholic priest, predicts the monstrous implications of Progressivism: if there is no such thing as sin, than there is no such thing as virtue. Therefore, eugenics will be employed to eliminate "undesirable" members of the population and the ruling class will become worshipers of themselves. This little book also contains a lengthy introduction by G.K.Chesteron. A rather rare book and usually expensive; however, highly recommended. Rating = 5/5

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at January 17, 2021 09:31 AM (pJWtt)

90 My son is in kindergarten and I can confirm that almost all of the readings / books assigned (and available in the school's online virtual library) have either a female protagonist or person of color protagonist. (This also extends to the separate worksheets; one egregious example was a sheet for the kids to circle their mood that day -- all of the positive emotions were represented by girls / people of color; all the negative emotions represented by white boys).

So, for balence, we have been seeking out books with white male protagonists. I'm fine with others being represented too, but the school's selection is wholly out of whack.

Posted by: Revenant at January 17, 2021 09:31 AM (BRmwW)

91 2/2

2) Pray the Rosary with St. John Paul II edited by L. Scott Smith (2019). The editor has compiled a number of His Holiness' statements concerning the Rosary and some of his meditations on the 20 mysteries of the Rosary. Very nice little book that emphasizes how to use the Rosary as a way to achieve deeper prayer, rather than just reciting the Pater, Ave and Gloria repeatedly. Rating = 5/5.

3) I Served a Saint by Mario Enzler (2020). The author was a former member of the Swiss Guards during St. JPII's Pontificate. The title is a bit misleading because I expected more anecdotes about His Holiness. However, still a worthwhile book because what the author does is quote JPII extensively about the 4 Cardinal Virtues, and then apply them to lessons learned while interacting with certain people at the Vatican that were later beatified or cannonized after their deaths. Rating = 4.25/5. (The author, now a lay lecturer to Catholic clergy, could have used a better editor because a few passages are a bit difficult to follow due to not being a native English speaker/writer)

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at January 17, 2021 09:32 AM (pJWtt)

92 Read Vera, the bio, she typed all of Nabokovs manuscripts. Lolita was difficult to market.

Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 09:32 AM (S1hrL)

93 I have calibre but don't have a drm removal extension (yet)

Posted by: Herr Frau Doktor vmom Staunch Demofaszi (on gab as @vm) at January 17, 2021 09:32 AM (nUhF0)

94 This week I read "14" by Peter Clines, which is tangentally related to his story "The Fold".

I popped over to Owlcation to read a plot summary. Sounds interesting, though I don't know if I would enjoy it.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 17, 2021 09:33 AM (2JVJo)

95 So, for balence, we have been seeking out books with white male
protagonists. I'm fine with others being represented too, but the
school's selection is wholly out of whack.
That's really the point, isn't it. It's like watching TV ads now. You'd think the country was majority black. When that happens, it's propaganda.

Posted by: pep at January 17, 2021 09:34 AM (v16oJ)

96 the most quoted but not read books imo:
1984Animal Farm
The Art of War Sun TzuOn War, Clausewitz
Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:25 AM (Rt/LJ)
------
I've read three of the four. I have "On War" in my library and started to read it many years ago, but rumbled to a stop. Perhaps it was the translation. I'll give it another go, sometime.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 09:34 AM (TsFZr)

97 I am not Irish and have no interest in getting into the debate that some have over race, religion, and politics. I realize some were discriminated against as newcomers, like Italians and everyone else that was new. But the white thing I think is a stretch. i have even heard old Irish tales of them being enslaved like blacks in the new world. If you doubt me, look it up. Again I don't want to get into it, but I think some of this is too much.

One thing I do know historically was there were Irish Confederate Generals. A famous and revered one was Patrick Cleburne. In fact, many would list him as one of the greatest Confederate Generals of the war. He also believed in abolition and in the end it hurt his career.

There were also full blooded Indian Confederate generals like Stand Waite and the Hispanic Confederate Colonel Santos Benavides. Not sure what my point is now lol but hell, it is history and people should know it.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:35 AM (Rt/LJ)

98 Reading the Gulag Archipelago. About 80 pages in.

Posted by: ghost of hallelujah at January 17, 2021 09:35 AM (oAY8z)

99 Except they imagine that Good Whites (themselves)
will be exempt. They want a revolution and being the most bigoted people
in the nation, they assume that brown people are the easiest to
manipulate.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author at January 17, 2021 09:17 AM (cfSRQ)
That was Charles Manson's plan for Helter Skelter. To the letter.

Posted by: Brian in New Orleans at January 17, 2021 09:36 AM (IbxQb)

100 what did I just read.
Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:28 AM (Rt/LJ)

Anyway, the stated goal of antifa is to eliminate whiteness as it is fascism.

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 09:36 AM (ONvIw)

101 I popped over to Owlcation to read a plot summary. Sounds interesting, though I don't know if I would enjoy it.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 17, 2021 09:33 AM (2JVJo)
--

I'm not sure it would be your bag, MPPP. But it scratches my SF/HP cosmic horror itch.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 17, 2021 09:37 AM (Dc2NZ)

102 Reading the Gulag Archipelago. About 80 pages in.

Posted by: ghost of hallelujah at January 17, 2021 09:35 AM (oAY8z)

I'm saving that for my summer beach-reading. I like to go with the light stuff while on vacation.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 09:37 AM (gm3d+)

103 40 What is your preferred dystopian novel, one filled with staggering verisimilitude of bleakness and despair or one with a hopeful ending?
Posted by: Ordinary American at January 17, 2021 09:16 AM (H8QX

The Breakers Series: Books 1-3
Link goes to goodreads: https://tinyurl.com/y65ts35o

In the Breakers series, humanity faces not one apocalypse, but two: first a lethal pandemic, then a war against those who made the virus. This collection includes the first three books and is over 1000 pages (350,000 words) of post-apocalyptic survival

Posted by: BifBewalski AOS Moron at January 17, 2021 09:38 AM (VcFUs)

104 I mentioned on the last thread that I have been rereading Sci Fi end-of-the-world fiction. Too agitated to tackle new material, so old book friends are welcome. Nothing highbrow, but somehow the average Joe scraping by is reassuring. That is why it is fiction, not real life. Real life is too depressing.

Posted by: jasonj at January 17, 2021 09:38 AM (qSQLQ)

105 What the Left Wants -A Brave New World
What the Left is doing- 1984
What the Left will get - Everyone Poops

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 09:38 AM (2DOZq)

106 So, about six weeks after starting it, I am set to finish Between Silk and Cyanide this week (by Leo Marks).

What a brilliant man he is! I am usually reading when I'm already tired, so a lot of the code explanation makes me glaze over a bit, but he has laid out his accomplishments like a suspense novel, and it's so fascinating.

My 14yo grandson has always been very interested in WWII (recently moved on to Cold War interest), and I think I'm going to gift this to him.

Posted by: April, Freedom Now! at January 17, 2021 09:38 AM (OX9vb)

107 I'm saving that for my summer beach-reading. I like to go with the light stuff while on vacation.

Posted by: grammie winger
I recommend Swedish Land Use Planning.

Posted by: Michael Dukakis at January 17, 2021 09:39 AM (v16oJ)

108 I had a typo @89: Forgot the last letter "s" in the title, and the correct title of Father Dudley's book is Will Men be Like Gods?

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at January 17, 2021 09:39 AM (pJWtt)

109 Morning all

Will it ever be morning in America again?

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 17, 2021 09:39 AM (85Gof)

110 I tried reading Ayn Rand's "Anthem" but found it too depressing. It is one thing to read such works when you stand and live in a relative equilibrium of freedom, but another when you see around you the emerging shapes and colors of that dystopian fiction's world. Not to sound arrogant, but is there anything more I need to know about authoritarianism?

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 17, 2021 09:39 AM (H8QX8)

111 What the Left Wants -A Brave New World
-----
Too bad they're Epsilons.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 09:39 AM (TsFZr)

112 40 What is your preferred dystopian novel, one filled with staggering verisimilitude of bleakness and despair or one with a hopeful ending?
Posted by: Ordinary American at January 17, 2021 09:16 AM (H8QX
---

I have so many, but the first that pops to mind is Ringo's "Centurion", because in spite of the one-two punch of Maunder Minimum/horrible leadership, the practical can-do spirit prevails.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 17, 2021 09:40 AM (Dc2NZ)

113 Speaking of Helter Skelter, the book of the same title by Vincent Bugliosi is good. I read it when I was 15 and it scared the shit out of me.

Posted by: Brian in New Orleans at January 17, 2021 09:40 AM (IbxQb)

114 I must admit, I have not read "1984," "Fahrenheit 451," or "Animal Farm." I think about doing so but have yet to take action.

The latest stop on my journey into the past is Robert Ludlum's debut novel, "The Scarlatti Inheritance." Only four chapters in and I can tell this will take a while. We've made two flashback stops,, and the main story has barely begun.

Set mostly in the last days of WWII -- when did it first get that designation? -- the main plot has to do with a key Nazi who may actually be a rich bastard thought dead years ago. He's angling to defect, for a price: a meeting with his teenage son, who knows nothing about his bloodline thanks to the efforts of his adoptive father, a U.S. intelligence officer who spread the story of said bastard's death.

Complex, yes, but it sure is readable.

Posted by: Weak Geek at January 17, 2021 09:41 AM (nWioW)

115 Morning all

Will it ever be morning in America again?
Posted by: Nevergiveup

Yep !

Posted by: JT at January 17, 2021 09:41 AM (arJlL)

116 I read Gulag archipelago in high school, being long ago forgot what it was but much of my early reading as a young high school kid was the evils of Communism, no surprise I am what I am.

Posted by: Skip at January 17, 2021 09:42 AM (Cxk7w)

117 Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:35 AM (Rt/LJ)

and these were Generals and Colonels, the top of the top. there were countless others in their ranks. I guess my point is people need to learn a lot about the Confederacy and American history.

As for the Union, they had full blown Irish regiments just like the CSA. They also had full blown German regiments and divisions that only spoke German. The Yankees used to discriminate against the Germans. When some Germans got routed and Chancellorsville, their compatriots took to calling them "The Flying Dutchmen" It was not fair as they were good soldiers, but come on, that was funny.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:42 AM (Rt/LJ)

118 If you haven't run across these, I've enjoyed the "Frontline" series by Marko Kloos.
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at January 17, 2021 09:17 AM (PiwSw)

That looks interesting. Thank you.

Posted by: BifBewalski AOS Moron at January 17, 2021 09:43 AM (VcFUs)

119 114: Always the nazis. The antifa handbook states that the word nazi automatically conjures up hatred and satisfaction at that person's demise and destruction. Hence it is used against all of the left's perceived enemies.

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 09:44 AM (ONvIw)

120 I enjoy reading silly action novels and they are just littered with "go grrls" who can kick everyone's ass alla time. Apparently they don't really need to train and don't explain why a similarly trained man who is 100 lbs heavier doesn't just crush her. Any hoo...the other thing I noted is that there appear to be two authors in a lot of them. One part of the book reads like a man writing action sequences and then every 15 pages their is an abrupt stop while the character thinks about his feelings or the feelings of the go grrrl or may he should have said or not said....Yada yadda. Like they asked Oprah to put her 2 cents in.

Posted by: Cuthbert the Witless at January 17, 2021 09:44 AM (9dzlp)

121 Was Caddy Shack ever a book?

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 09:31 AM (2DOZq)

I can't comment on that as I don't know. But the script originally was focused on the caddies. The producer figured out pretty soon that Chase, Dangerfield, and Murray were more interesting characters, so they changed the focus of the movie.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:45 AM (Rt/LJ)

122 113 Speaking of Helter Skelter, the book of the same title by Vincent Bugliosi is good. I read it when I was 15 and it scared the shit out of me.
Posted by: Brian in New Orleans at January 17, 2021 09:40 AM (IbxQb)

That's how I felt about "Bitter Blood," gripping true story of murder involving some wealthy Southern families.

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 17, 2021 09:45 AM (H8QX8)

123 It's a good time to read The American Crisis and Common Sense. Just sayin'.

Posted by: Tom Pain at January 17, 2021 09:48 AM (8q5z0)

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

Posted by: JTB at January 17, 2021 09:48 AM (7EjX1)

125 @113...."Helter Skelter" is fiction. Take a look at "Chaos" by Tom O'Neill for a better, though hardly satisfactory, account of the Manson murders.

Posted by: occam's brassiere at January 17, 2021 09:49 AM (evxBY)

126 The painting of the little boy sharing a book with his even littler sister is adorable. As I've said several times, I can always use adorable.

Posted by: JTB at January 17, 2021 09:49 AM (7EjX1)

127 Also dealing with the past, I'm reading the first trade collection of "Future Quest," a DC comics take on Hanna-Barbera's action heroes. As a one-time Saturday cartoons zombie, I thought I knew all of these, but some of them (Mightor) are new to me. I must have been watching a different show at the time.

Written by Jeff Parker, this tale zips along. I look forward to getting the second trade collection.

I'm also getting the DVDs of these shows from the library. Will I grin or roll my eyes? Probably both.

Posted by: Weak Geek at January 17, 2021 09:50 AM (nWioW)

128 Plus she tells stories of massive storms at sea really well. So I'm enjoying it.
Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at January 17, 2021 09:10 AM (y7DUB)

I remember reading The Shipping News, back when it was new and hot. My reaction, was meh, Ok story, kind of tedious, though. I liked it well enough to read it through, but not well enough to seek out other works by the author.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 17, 2021 09:50 AM (mzC78)

129 I recently purchased a series of dead-tree books because I didn't want to lose them to "the cloud". ... The main character is *highly* subversive in his outlook, meaning he'd be an optimal target for disappearance by the powers that be. I find him to be highly inspirational, ...
Posted by: Lord Squirrel at January 17, 2021 09:19 AM (hQrcu)

What series and author? I've got plenty of fiction in the TBR stacks but that sounds intriguing.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at January 17, 2021 09:51 AM (pJWtt)

130 Jerry Hall?

Posted by: golfman at January 17, 2021 09:51 AM (hOMhY)

131 3 Jerry Hall!
Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 09:03 AM (ONvIw)

You are correct, ma'am!

And good day to all of you book lovin' morons.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 17, 2021 09:51 AM (M8rln)

132 Posted by: Herr Frau Doktor vmom Staunch Demofaszi (on gab as @vm) at January 17, 2021 09:27 AM (nUhF0)

interesting.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:52 AM (Rt/LJ)

133 I have old lefty friends who claim their favorite book is "I Know Why Caged Birds Sing" even though theyve never read a page of it. They can't quote any lines from the book - only the title.

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at January 17, 2021 09:52 AM (d9Cw3)

134 Part way into Nick Petrie's next Peter Ash novel, Breaker. Loved the first four, the last one was kind of meh, so hoping for return to form.

Posted by: Charlotte at January 17, 2021 09:53 AM (lyaJC)

135 Speaking of Helter Skelter, the book of the same title by Vincent Bugliosi is good. I read it when I was 15 and it scared the shit out of me.
Posted by: Brian in New Orleans at January 17, 2021 09:40 AM (IbxQb)

Before Helter Skelter was Ed Sanders' The Family, which is really scary when diving into the "magick" underground of late 60s California. Sanders was a member of the band The Fugs, and actually knew and / or had contact with many people involved with Manson. Very worth reading.

https://tinyurl.com/y643qhsg

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 17, 2021 09:53 AM (2JVJo)

136 I hated that book.

Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 09:54 AM (S1hrL)

137 Well, I have my favorite, you know, with the "Brother's keeper" line.

Posted by: Barack Obama at January 17, 2021 09:27 AM (PiwSw)

i can't keep up with the growing number of your books I have not read.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:54 AM (Rt/LJ)

138 I've got a great Young Reader book series to recommend! The Viking Trilogy by Henry Treece is 3 books: Viking's Dawn, the Road To Miklagard, and Viking's Sunset. They follow the life of Harald Sigurdson, who joins the crew of a Viking ship in the first book, and it continues with his subsequent adventures through different voyages to different places.

These books are excellent boy's adventures, with men doing manly things. There's no girl who stows away or disguises herself as a Viking, and proves to be the greatest warrior of them all. In fact, there are hardly any women in it at all. As a woman myself, that doesn't bother me a bit; the stories are fast-paced, the characters are all memorable, and the writing is smooth and clean. If there's a boy aged 10-12 in your family who would enjoy some good books, check out this series.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at January 17, 2021 09:54 AM (ITF9W)

139 @113...."Helter Skelter" is fiction. Take a look at
"Chaos" by Tom O'Neill for a better, though hardly satisfactory, account
of the Manson murders.

Posted by: occam's brassiere at January 17, 2021 09:49 AM (evxBY)

I typed a final sentence to that post but had to delete it for it to go through, "Bugliosi is a bit of a self-promoter so take his account with a grain of salt. Still scary tho".I do believe his account of Manson's purpose, to spark a race war that the blacks would win, then find themselves unable to run things so they'd have to seek out Charlie and his followers in the desert to take over.

Posted by: Brian in New Orleans at January 17, 2021 09:56 AM (IbxQb)

140 Time to get moving. Enjoy the Book Thread, and thanks OregonMuse!

Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 17, 2021 09:56 AM (Dc2NZ)

141 "Mirion Malle... studied comics at the Ecole Superieure de Arts St.-Luc in Brussels." I know twelve-year-olds who draw better than she does.

Posted by: RNB at January 17, 2021 09:57 AM (DjjZJ)

142 Have a good one Eris and stay safe !

Posted by: JT at January 17, 2021 09:57 AM (arJlL)

143 In "14", cubicle drone Nate manages to score, via word of mouth, a ridiculously affordable apartment in downtown L.A. He begins to discover several weird aspects to the turn of the century brownstone, and as he gets to know the other tenants, they share some of their own encounters with strange phenomena. They decide to team up and explore the Kavach Building. They find some hair-raising stuff as they uncover the history and function of their new home.

My elevator pitch is "It's Scooby Doo meets HP Lovecraft".

I'm now reading another in the loosely connected series, "Terminus".
Posted by: All Hail Eris, Sans-Culottes (except for the Book Thread) at January 17, 2021 09:24 AM (Dc2NZ)

They have turn of the century brownstones in L.A.? Oh, wait. It's fiction. Carry on, then.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 17, 2021 09:58 AM (mzC78)

144 Read Vera, the bio, she typed all of Nabokovs manuscripts. Lolita was difficult to market.
Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 09:32 AM (S1hrL)

Vera was very supportive of everything he did (she sometimes advised against some of the things he wrote about, like one of a pair of Siamese twins, which he did anyway) including attending all his college lectures where she was identified as his "assistant", which I don't think was dismissive as much as he didn't think the students had a need to know anything further. I think he cheated on her once with some Rooski hotsy totsy in Germany who got moist pants at his writing and he ultimate regarded that as an unfortunate error while still enjoyed having gotten his rocks off.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at January 17, 2021 09:59 AM (y7DUB)

145 Why are you using Google's ebook reader that will screw with physical files? Anything big tech puts out is trouble.

Posted by: Oh no not the bees at January 17, 2021 09:59 AM (TEWKg)

146 i can't keep up with the growing number of your books I have not read.
Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:54 AM (Rt/LJ)

I don't think too many people actually read his book, but they read reviews and equate the two.

A gay social worker at my former hospital, started out as a huge Obama fan, thought he was messianic, and planned on voting for him and contributing money he couldn't afford. He read Audacity of Hope and ended up voting GOPe. He said "I don't agree with this man at all"

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 09:59 AM (ONvIw)

147 I've read three of the four. I have "On War" in my
library and started to read it many years ago, but rumbled to a stop.
Perhaps it was the translation. I'll give it another go, sometime.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 09:34 AM (TsFZr)

same here, it is a slog for sure. The Peter Paret version is considered to be the best.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 09:59 AM (Rt/LJ)

148 Dr. Mabuse, the Viking Trilogy sounds like good escapist reading right now. I went to my library website to put it on hold, but apparently it isn't in the Ohio rural libraries system. Bummer.

My search returned only one option--a Harlequin romance (boxed set!! )

Description: Do you dream of wicked rakes, gorgeous Highlanders, muscled Viking warriors and rugged Wild West cowboys? Harlequin� Historical brings you three new full-length titles in one collection!

Posted by: April, Freedom Now! at January 17, 2021 10:00 AM (OX9vb)

149 That's really the point, isn't it. It's like watching TV ads now. You'd think the country was majority black. When that happens, it's propaganda.
Posted by: pep at January 17, 2021 09:34 AM (v16oJ)

The BBC is currently running an historical drama about Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn is played by a black actress.

There's a fine line between diversity and pandering.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 17, 2021 10:01 AM (M8rln)

150 So, for balence, we have been seeking out books with white male protagonists. I'm fine with others being represented too, but the school's selection is wholly out of whack.
Posted by: Revenant at January 17, 2021 09:31 AM (BRmwW)

With all respect, sounds like you need to find another kindergarden.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 17, 2021 10:02 AM (mzC78)

151 lotsa chicks from Mesquite have manhands

Posted by: REDACTED at January 17, 2021 10:02 AM (zZxh0)

152 Steven Pressfield wrote a book I would consider semi-dystopian. Not his best but pretty good and prescient.

The Profession

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 10:02 AM (2DOZq)

153 145 Why are you using Google's ebook reader that will screw with physical files? Anything big tech puts out is trouble.
Posted by: Oh no not the bees at January 17, 2021 09:59 AM (TEWKg)

It can screw with them all it wants to, I have back-up copies tucked safely away that the Google reader will never see.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 17, 2021 10:03 AM (M8rln)

154 There's a fine line between diversity and pandering.
Or indoctrination.

Posted by: pep at January 17, 2021 10:03 AM (v16oJ)

155 Yes. Find a different kindergarten. I used to do read out loud in school. The day I had to read the Marxist version of Cinderella was the day I left.

Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 10:04 AM (S1hrL)

156 154 There's a fine line between diversity and pandering.
Or indoctrination.
Posted by: pep at January 17, 2021 10:03 AM (v16oJ)

Or absolutely rock-solid business decisions!

Posted by: Kathleen Kennedy at January 17, 2021 10:04 AM (PiwSw)

157 The BBC is currently running an historical drama about Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn is played by a black actress.

There's a fine line between diversity and pandering.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 17, 2021 10:01 AM (M8rln)

Boleyn can play the race card. Are they going to hang her instead of beheading her?

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 10:04 AM (2DOZq)

158 I remember reading The Shipping News, back when it was new and hot. My reaction, was meh, Ok story, kind of tedious, though. I liked it well enough to read it through, but not well enough to seek out other works by the author.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 17, 2021 09:50 AM (mzC7

On the back cover it mentions she wrote the short story Brokeback Mountain was based on so I plan on giving her work a wide berth after this is done.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at January 17, 2021 10:05 AM (y7DUB)

159 The day I had to read the Marxist version of Cinderella was the day I left.
Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 10:04 AM (S1hrL)
-----
?

Did she lead a revolution against Prince Charming, or what?

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 10:06 AM (TsFZr)

160 The BBC is currently running an historical drama about Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn is played by a black actress.

**shrugs** It doesn't matter, does it? England has no serious historians any more. Hell, England has no serious people any more, save for the Mussulman savages.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 17, 2021 10:06 AM (2JVJo)

161 Book banning will accelerate.

Publishers are controlled by the left.

Posted by: It's Happening at January 17, 2021 10:06 AM (5mEzs)

162 We all know that big tech hates us. Unfortunately, it's going to take some time to re-wire our lives with services that don't--or at least hate us a little less.

In the meantime, can we not have interrogations and shaming over what big tech products we're still using?

Posted by: April, Freedom Now! at January 17, 2021 10:07 AM (OX9vb)

163 Reading 1984, with the help of Mark Steyn. Sorry but I find it difficult to read while driving my commute. He does read with a rather dynamic flair.

He points out at the beginning of the reading of this totalitarian dystopia; where everyone is walking around with glassy-eyes stairs. How did they get there? From Freedom ("Freedom? that is one of our worship words! You shall not use it!" William Cloud) to total serfdom. We Are Living It! I hope some of the writers here are taking notes, to write a "How it all went to hell" book. That will obviously be published in the distant future.

Posted by: Paladin at January 17, 2021 10:08 AM (l/E2m)

164 I think I'll follow Eris' lead and sign off. Only a few hours of pleasure before I remember I have to work tomorrow and depression blocks everything else out.

Hope you all have a lovely day.

Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing at January 17, 2021 10:08 AM (2JVJo)

165 Book banning will accelerate.

Publishers are controlled by the left.
Posted by: It's Happening at January 17, 2021 10:06 AM (5mEzs)

They will have to somehow put the self publishing genie back in the bottle. No doubt they are working on it.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 10:08 AM (2DOZq)

166 138: Thank you. I'm building a list for he future and will add these to it.

Posted by: Revenant at January 17, 2021 10:08 AM (BRmwW)

167 I went to my library website to put it on hold, but apparently it isn't in the Ohio rural libraries system. Bummer.

My search returned only one option--a Harlequin romance (boxed set!! )

Typical! These books were written in the late 50s, early 60s. I've read the first and third ones, because for some reason they're in the public domain in Canada, and I was able to download them! Do try to track them down, they're reallly worth it. Fifty years ago, my 4th grade teacher read them aloud to us, and the memory stayed with me all my life. Just in the last month, I decided to look them up - it took awhile to even remember the titles! - and I was happy to find that there was a good reason I remembered them so long. They're excellent books .

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at January 17, 2021 10:08 AM (ITF9W)

168 I have old lefty friends who claim their favorite book is "I Know Why Caged Birds Sing" even though theyve never read a page of it. They can't quote any lines from the book - only the title.
Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at January 17, 2021 09:52 AM (d9Cw3)

It isn't even a book. It's a poem, and sort of long, but not hardly book length. I remember hearing a recording of Maya Angelou reciting it. It was kind of tedious.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 17, 2021 10:08 AM (mzC78)

169 Last night, on TCM, Ben Mankwhatever called Ethan Edwards a racist

the greatest western of all time was nominated for zero Oscars

the Oscars, fucked up like 4evah

Posted by: REDACTED at January 17, 2021 10:10 AM (zZxh0)

170 163 Reading 1984, with the help of Mark Steyn. Sorry but I find it difficult to read while driving my commute. He does read with a rather dynamic flair.

Full disclosure--I also "read" it by listening. Wish I'd had the Mark Steyn version, though. I'll bet it would have been better.

Posted by: April, Freedom Now! at January 17, 2021 10:10 AM (OX9vb)

171 Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 17, 2021 10:08 AM (mzC7

I thought it was her autobiography?

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 10:11 AM (2DOZq)

172 In the meantime, can we not have interrogations and shaming over what big tech products we're still using?
Posted by: April, Freedom Now! at January 17, 2021 10:07 AM (OX9vb)

---

Shaming.

Not just for the left.

Posted by: SMH at January 17, 2021 10:11 AM (FsVxE)

173 150: And I live in a red county, with a republican controlled school board. Doing what we can. Looking to move in a few years. Will have to weather it until then.

Posted by: Revenant at January 17, 2021 10:11 AM (BRmwW)

174 Chamblin's Book Mine in Jacksonville, Florida. It is huge and disorganized. That is what makes it so much fun finding gems you weren't looking for. My favorite of all time.

Posted by: robert sjoberg at January 17, 2021 10:11 AM (UBRR0)

175 154 There's a fine line between diversity and pandering.
Or indoctrination.
Posted by: pep at January 17, 2021 10:03 AM (v16oJ)

diversity is an idea while the other 2 are actions

Posted by: REDACTED at January 17, 2021 10:12 AM (zZxh0)

176 111 What the Left Wants -A Brave New World
-----
Too bad they're Epsilons.
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 09:39 AM (TsFZr)

Speaking of which, did any of you morons see the recent 8-part adaption of Brave New World that was shown on Peacock (NBC's version of CBS All-Access pay channel) recently?

I rate it: mostly good. Really caught the spirit of the novel, I thought.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 17, 2021 10:12 AM (M8rln)

177 It isn't even a book. It's a poem, and sort of long, but not hardly book length. I remember hearing a recording of Maya Angelou reciting it. It was kind of tedious.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 17, 2021 10:08 AM (mzC7

A lot of modern poetry is tedious and even more so when read aloud thy the author. My first experience with this was when Donald Hall came to my high school and read a weird ass poem called "The Alligator Bride". It was appalling, but he became "Poet Laureate" a farcical honor.

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 10:12 AM (ONvIw)

178 They will have to somehow put the self publishing genie back in the bottle. No doubt they are working on it.
Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 10:08 AM (2DOZq)

Public welfare will be the anthem. Covid provided the template, but it is not new. "The welfare of the people in particular is the alibi of tyrants." Camus.

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 17, 2021 10:12 AM (H8QX8)

179 150

They are all the same. Education is run by the wokest of the woke. There is no escape. Short of home schooling.

Posted by: Joe XiDen at January 17, 2021 10:13 AM (yt3LP)

180 AOP - it's also the title of her autobiography, which I had to read for school mumblety years ago. The only part I remember is that she was raped by her mother's boyfriend and gave birth to his son.

Posted by: Mrs. Peel at January 17, 2021 10:13 AM (rWZ8Y)

181 Shaming.

Not just for the left.
Posted by: SMH at January 17, 2021 10:11 AM (FsVxE)

The absence of the emotion of shame is one of the reasons we are where we are.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 10:13 AM (2DOZq)

182 Maya Angelou is tedious but required reading in freshman lit classes.

Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 10:14 AM (S1hrL)

183 "The welfare of the people in particular is the alibi of tyrants." Camus.

A more succinct version of the C. S. Lewis quote.

Posted by: yara at January 17, 2021 10:15 AM (oPRky)

184 If you want pulp dystopia and a run to here, a run to there, and a run to everywhere, read any of the Endworld books.

The main character is named Blade. I won't ruin it for but there is some enjoyment in those novels.

Posted by: Somewhere South of I-80 at January 17, 2021 10:15 AM (uxUoN)

185 They will have to somehow put the self publishing genie back in the bottle. No doubt they are working on it.
Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 10:08 AM (2DOZq)

Like removing books from Amazon and scrubbing internet searches?

While the NYT and others refuse to put them on bestsellers lists.

And the left pressures book stores to boycott books, like antifa did in Portland.

Posted by: It's Happening at January 17, 2021 10:15 AM (5mEzs)

186 I thought it was her autobiography?
Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 10:11 AM (2DOZq)

Well, it is definitely a poem by Maya Angelou. I heard the recording of her reciting it. Maybe it is autobiographical in nature? Truth be told, it did not hold my rapt attention. Or maybe she later wrote an autobiography, and used that as her title? I know the poem made her famous, in poetic circles.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 17, 2021 10:16 AM (mzC78)

187 Finally I'm about a hundred pages into The Starless Sea and am enjoying it only slightly less than The Night Circus. I think Erin Morgenstern has a real knack for writing about implausible things happening in ways that don't insult the readers intelligence and make the reader want to find out what happens next, kind of like how Michael Crichton wrote about fictional sciency things as if they happened, although in the latter case they're more realistic scenarios.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at January 17, 2021 10:16 AM (y7DUB)

188 I started reading The Theory of Everything recently. Ive has it forever as a dead tree book. Pretty int resting down far if a little deep in some places that makes me need to re read it to kinda understand it.

Posted by: Joe XiDen at January 17, 2021 10:16 AM (yt3LP)

189 Along with MANY others, I observed that "Fahrenheit 451" is appropriate for this time and political atmosphere. Then I realized I hadn't read it in over fifty years and remember almost nothing from the book. I have seen the movie a few times but don't know how close it is to the book. My physical copy arrived yesterday and I'll start it this week.

Posted by: JTB at January 17, 2021 10:17 AM (7EjX1)

190 I know the poem made her famous, in poetic circles.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 17, 2021 10:16 AM (mzC7

With a boat-load of help from Oprah.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 10:17 AM (gm3d+)

191 Best poem ever was in I Married An Axe Murderer.

Woman Whoa Man. Whooooa Man!

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 10:17 AM (2DOZq)

192 177 It isn't even a book. It's a poem, and sort of long, but not hardly book length. I remember hearing a recording of Maya Angelou reciting it. It was kind of tedious.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 17, 2021 10:08 AM (mzC

My father was a business ethics professor at University of South Carolina. Maya Angelou came to speak once and my father remarked that she was mediocre writer and speaker. This caused a stir and would have gotten him into trouble except that he was the most popular professor on campus (because he wasn't an academic by background but a former successful CEO and a real character). But that was in the 90s.

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 17, 2021 10:18 AM (H8QX8)

193 Amazon and Google control the distribution of information now. What they dont like will not get distributed. Self publishing included.

Posted by: Joe XiDen at January 17, 2021 10:19 AM (yt3LP)

194 I am rereading A Practical Guide to Evil, an excellent web novel in which tropes have power and being trope-savvy can save your life. Calernia is a high fantasy world in which the gods, Good and Evil, have granted special powers to certain individuals who are, basically, the main characters of their lives. These powers are associated with Names, which are essentially fantasy archetypes, like Chancellor, Dread Emperor, Black Knight, White Knight, etc. The main character starts out as the Squire to the Black Knight, hoping to eventually free her homeland (which was conquered by the Black Knight...awkward). The scope of the story widens from there.

It starts out a little clunky but gets much better as the author matures. (I cried through the last posted chapter.) It's currently on break, hence the reread - the final "book" will start in March.

Posted by: Mrs. Peel at January 17, 2021 10:20 AM (rWZ8Y)

195 Maya Angelou was on friendly terms with Deccan Mitford, the communist.

Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 10:20 AM (S1hrL)

196 A lot of modern poetry is tedious and even more so when read aloud thy the author. My first experience with this was when Donald Hall came to my high school and read a weird ass poem called "The Alligator Bride". It was appalling, but he became "Poet Laureate" a farcical honor.
Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 10:12 AM (ONvIw)
-------
O pointy birds
O pointy-pointy
Anoint my head
Anointy-nointy

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 10:21 AM (TsFZr)

197 Good Morning Book Morons. Haven't been doing much reading this week. Bourbon got in my way.

Posted by: Vic at January 17, 2021 10:22 AM (mpXpK)

198 "It has always seemed to me to be so antithetical to the whole PC revolution. Because, in case we've forgotten, PC stands for "personal computer" with emphasis on the personal: It is my computer, my applications, my data."
_________

The trouble is that that was never true. MS has always taken the view that you are leasing Windows. It still belongs to them.

I'll stick with paper books. Granted they ARE backbreaking, and you can't hit a key and "sort" them. We may be, at most half through just unpacking from the Aug move.

BTW, has anyone else had trouble doing sustained reading lately? I have. Hate to think I'm sliding into Bidenland, in the one area I can escape it.

Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 10:22 AM (7X3UV)

199 O pointy birds
O pointy-pointy
Anoint my head
Anointy-nointy
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 10:21 AM (TsFZr)

Ahem, if I may?

Posted by: Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz at January 17, 2021 10:22 AM (PiwSw)

200 but he became "Poet Laureate" a farcical honor.
Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 10:12 AM (ONvIw)

Will Rogers called himself a "poet lariat."

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 17, 2021 10:22 AM (H8QX8)

201 Good morning, Vic!

I think you're not alone in that category.

Posted by: April, Freedom Now! at January 17, 2021 10:22 AM (OX9vb)

202 With a boat-load of help from Oprah.
Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 10:17 AM (gm3d+)

Shocka, dat.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 17, 2021 10:22 AM (mzC78)

203 193: Even more reason to start assembling lists of soon-to-be-deplatformed books, while it's possible to find them.

Posted by: Revenant at January 17, 2021 10:23 AM (bs0pV)

204 In the meantime, can we not have interrogations and shaming over what big tech products we're still using?
Posted by: April, Freedom Now! at January 17, 2021 10:07 AM (OX9vb)

Shame! Shame!

Posted by: Herr Frau Doktor vmom Staunch Demofaszi (on gab as @vm) at January 17, 2021 10:23 AM (nUhF0)

205 Think I'll take a break from the blog.

Take care, y'all.

Posted by: SMH at January 17, 2021 10:23 AM (FsVxE)

206 Ahoy, bookfagz!

Posted by: Insomniac at January 17, 2021 10:24 AM (v7RTS)

207 After watching a few interviews on Youtube with Shelby Foote, I got the urge to try one of the shorter pieces from his Civil War material. I started "The Stars In Their Courses" about the battle of Gettysburg. Found a good hardcover copy of the Modern Library edition. They are nicely bound versions and the print is a decent size. Thoroughly enjoyable with plenty of detail. And I 'hear' the words in Foote's great, educated southern drawl. Wish I could find an affordable audio version in his voice.

Posted by: JTB at January 17, 2021 10:24 AM (7EjX1)

208 Donald Hall. The unreadable poet laureate.

Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 10:24 AM (S1hrL)

209 BTW, has anyone else had trouble doing sustained reading lately? I have. Hate to think I'm sliding into Bidenland, in the one area I can escape it.
Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 10:22 AM (7X3UV)

Yeah, because "election" stress, online poker, and bourbon. I've spent a lot of time here on AOS instead of reading books.

Posted by: April, Freedom Now! at January 17, 2021 10:24 AM (OX9vb)

210 SMH - hurry back.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 10:24 AM (gm3d+)

211 BTW, has anyone else had trouble doing sustained reading lately? I have.

*Raises hand.* *Raises other hand too.*

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 10:25 AM (gm3d+)

212 195 Maya Angelou was on friendly terms with Deccan Mitford, the communist.
Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 10:20 AM (S1hrL)

The Mitford sisters were pretty fucked up, Jessica too, but some more than her.

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 10:26 AM (ONvIw)

213 I also have to leave for a while. Time to cook the dog food.

Good day 'rons. Trust and abide.

Posted by: April, Freedom Now! at January 17, 2021 10:26 AM (OX9vb)

214 After watching a few interviews on Youtube with Shelby Foote, I got the urge to try one of the shorter pieces from his Civil War material. I started "The Stars In Their Courses" about the battle of Gettysburg. Found a good hardcover copy of the Modern Library edition. They are nicely bound versions and the print is a decent size. Thoroughly enjoyable with plenty of detail. And I 'hear' the words in Foote's great, educated southern drawl. Wish I could find an affordable audio version in his voice.
Posted by: JTB at January 17, 2021 10:24 AM (7EjX1)
------
Try Foote's novel "Shiloh". I think writing it is what got him interested in writing his Narrative History.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 10:26 AM (TsFZr)

215 My mother cooks dog food. I thought she was the only one.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 10:27 AM (gm3d+)

216 Will Rogers called himself a "poet lariat."
Posted by: Ordinary American at January 17, 2021 10:22 AM (H8QX

You know who made a good living writing and selling books of poetry? None other than The Bard of the Yukon, Robert W. Service.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 17, 2021 10:27 AM (mzC78)

217 The Mitford sisters were pretty fucked up, Jessica too, but some more than her.
Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 10:26 AM (ONvIw)
-----
Wasn't Unity the Nazi one?

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 10:28 AM (TsFZr)

218 You know who made a good living writing and selling books of poetry? None other than The Bard of the Yukon, Robert W. Service.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 17, 2021 10:27 AM (mzC7

At one point he was the most popular and best-selling writer in America.

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 17, 2021 10:28 AM (H8QX8)

219 grammie, I have one that has severe allergies to all of the regular meats--chicken, turkey, beef, pork, and even venison. So I make a variety of veggies and brown rice, plus duck and rabbit and fish.

I cook like a gourmet for these critters, then I eat like a peasant.

Posted by: April, Freedom Now! at January 17, 2021 10:29 AM (OX9vb)

220 208 Donald Hall. The unreadable poet laureate.
Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 10:24 AM (S1hrL)

And The Alligator Bride was unreadable and bizarre.

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 10:29 AM (ONvIw)

221 Think I'll take a break from the blog.

Take care, y'all.
Posted by: SMH at January 17, 2021 10:23 AM (FsVxE)

Take care, SMH! But don't forget us. Drop in now and then, if you will.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 17, 2021 10:29 AM (mzC78)

222 I mentioned last week I was reading "Thirteenth Night" by Alan Gordon. I finished it a few days ago and really enjoyed it. The pacing is good but Gordon still gets in plenty of detail to give the reader a feel for the time and place. Plus, it's a good mystery not easy to solve. I'll get the next in the series soon. While the stories can stand alone, the characters develop and have lives so I plan to read them in order. Recommended.

Posted by: JTB at January 17, 2021 10:30 AM (7EjX1)

223 Never read anything from Shelby Foote

Posted by: Skip at January 17, 2021 10:31 AM (Cxk7w)

224 Good morning!

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

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 17, 2021 10:31 AM (u82oZ)

225 Maya Angelou's career would've been relegated to her local "reading circle" if not for melanin and Oprah Winfrey.

Posted by: PacosMojo at January 17, 2021 10:31 AM (Hd73Y)

226 So I make a variety of veggies and brown rice, plus duck and rabbit and fish.

Posted by: April, Freedom Now! at January 17, 2021 10:29 AM (OX9vb)

Where do you get the duck and rabbit?

I currently use Dr. Harvey's dry mixes, Raw Vibrance and Paradigm, and add the protein.

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 17, 2021 10:32 AM (H8QX8)

227 Will Rogers called himself a "poet lariat."

I call Maya Angelou America's "pute laureate".

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at January 17, 2021 10:32 AM (+sPbZ)

228 At one point he was the most popular and best-selling writer in America.
Posted by: Ordinary American at January 17, 2021 10:28 AM (H8QX

Service's poems tell readable stories, provide clear images and make sense. This is a lost art, or at east an unpublished one.

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 10:32 AM (ONvIw)

229 The first non-sponsored return from google on cacoeconomy:

Gray you say? Instruction on how funky a funk number. But hookers and blow away the blues sound like ligament pain? Hopefully coming soon!

From some Chinese website. Obviously one of those crazy SEO tweeked landing pages created to funnel in google ad clicks. Funny though. And an interesting alternative to ibuprofen for joint pain. I wonder if the hookers and blow are over or under the counter? Is the answer "and"?

Posted by: banana Dream at January 17, 2021 10:32 AM (zqA39)

230 BTW, has anyone else had trouble doing sustained reading lately? I have. Hate to think I'm sliding into Bidenland, in the one area I can escape it.

Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 10:22 AM (7X3UV)

I can't seem to read more than 10-20 pages. I think it's a function my advancing years.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 17, 2021 10:32 AM (M8rln)

231 My mother cooks dog food. I thought she was the only one.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 10:27 AM (gm3d+)

The mother in Pat Conroy's "Prince of Tides" cooks dog food for her husband.

Posted by: BignJames at January 17, 2021 10:33 AM (AwYPR)

232 215 My mother cooks dog food. I thought she was the only one.
Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 10:27 AM (gm3d+)

My daughter cooks food (cheap chicken) for her cat.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 17, 2021 10:33 AM (M8rln)

233 96 ...Clausewitz
Posted by: Quint
------
...I have "On War"...and started to read it many years ago, but rumbled to a stop. Perhaps it was the translation...
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea
__________

It was probably both the translator's fault, and the original. Clauswitz is post-Kant. With rare exceptions, German writers have been painful ever since.

A friend, who speaks German and agrees with the above take, also says that Rappaport's translation makes it worse. And that was by far the standard back then.

I saw a critique of Mahan's prose, from a source that covered Clauswitz, and said nothing about his. ATM is no great shakes, but he beats Clauswitz.

Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 10:33 AM (7X3UV)

234 Working on slashing my Amazon footprint.
I'm now not an Audible member after 7 years of very worthwhile listening.
Hoopla app through Library is a great replacement.

Still in the middle of a 2 month free promo of Kindle Unlimited.
Thank you A.H.Loyd for making Long Live Death available on KU. I'll be leaving a positive review when I finish it later this week.

Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at January 17, 2021 10:33 AM (x8Q/V)

235 I'll get the next in the series soon. While the
stories can stand alone, the characters develop and have lives so I plan
to read them in order. Recommended.

Posted by: JTB at January 17, 2021 10:30 AM (7EjX1)

Whoa. Those are spendy.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 10:34 AM (gm3d+)

236 212 The Mitford sisters were pretty fucked up, Jessica too, but some more than her.
Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 10:26 AM (ONvIw)

------------

"The Sisters" by Mary Lovell is a fascinating book about the Mitfords. You couldn't make these people up.

Posted by: Hoplite Housewife at January 17, 2021 10:34 AM (R1NI2)

237 stars and their courses for sure. And go for the entire series is you can. To be honest, I have only read Stars and their Courses.

I might come off as a jagoff here, but Foote is not a historian. He is a novelist, but he did well with his Civil War books. Some of his views espoused in the Ken Burn's Civil War program are disputed by many historians. Probably the most disputed line he ever stated was that the "North" fought with one hand tied behind it's back. To be honest, that is an insult. Sure they had other issues such as Indian Wars to the West, but he was wrong about that, period.

OF course the book is still good and worth reading. Hell the author himself chose to not give footnotes because he said the facts were so well known there was no reason to back them up. Still a good book and only a novelist could write in that way. But my suggestion is to later check out historians such as Sears, Freeman, Catton, and Coddington.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 10:34 AM (Rt/LJ)

238 Was up rereading Grand Central Arena

This is an entertaining 2010 SF novel by Ryk E. Spoor.

This rollicking book is fresh "sense of wonder" SF. If you were raised on Doc E.E. Smith's Skylark and Lensman series, you are home again. Very good world creation, with enough in-jokes, shoutouts and references to thrill the heart of a space opera reader. It's a tad of a throwback to John W. Campbell with the plucky Terrans verses, well, everyone in the Universe, at first.

A comfort book, and fun.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 17, 2021 10:35 AM (u82oZ)

239 Speaking of once-popular authors, does anyone remember Mary Roberts Rinehart? She was called "the American Agatha Christie". When I was young, her books were on bookstands everywhere; now she seems quite forgotten. I bought a huge collection of her novels for $2 for my Kindle, and have just started reading one of her mysteries. Like Eeyore, though, I have trouble settling in a reading long term; somehow I start dozing off. Maybe reading on a Kindle is a bit more soporific than reading a hard copy.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at January 17, 2021 10:35 AM (+sPbZ)

240 I try never to miss CBD's art thread each weekday morning and it introduces me to many artists I;m not familiar with. Last week featured a painting by Albert Anker that caught my eye. Turns out there is a Kindle book for $2.99 that has 104 of his paintings. Not the ideal way to look at art but affordable, especially compared to dead tree versions. They are bare bone presentations but I could see a lot of his works, enough to have a starting point for more investigation.

Posted by: JTB at January 17, 2021 10:36 AM (7EjX1)

241 I am just getting to the end of the mystery collection I've been reading. Started with Orient Express, ends with Rebecca. Both of which I'd seen on film, but not read. The weak spot in Rebecca is the heroine/narrator. I mentioned this to my wife, and she nailed it. The girl is as silly as Catherine Moreland in Austin, but without the latter's endearing charm. Otherwise, not bad. De Winter has some good lines which didn't make it onto the film.

Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 10:36 AM (7X3UV)

242 I call Maya Angelou America's "pute laureate".

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at January 17, 2021 10:32 AM (+sPbZ)

If you're a lefty you have to say you admire Maya Angelou. Stunning and brave, yada yada. Mind you, you don't actually have to *read* her, just say that you did. I suspect many lefties find Angelou as tedious as we do.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 17, 2021 10:36 AM (M8rln)

243 Finished one fat book - Vanity Fair. So I started another one - Cultural Amnesia by Clive James (recommended here as I recall). It's organized alphabetically (so I suppose it ties in with "A Place for Everything" that I just finished) and I'm only in the A section but I can tell it's going to be a great ride.

A Place for Everything was just so-so. A good writer can make almost anything interesting (see John McPhee) but Flanders barely pulls it off.

Posted by: Who knew at January 17, 2021 10:37 AM (SfO/T)

244 A friend, who speaks German and agrees with the above take, also says that Rappaport's translation makes it worse. And that was by far the standard back then.
-----
Erm. Just checked my copy, and it's the Rapoport translation. Perhaps I should get the Paret version.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 10:37 AM (TsFZr)

245 239 Speaking of once-popular authors, does anyone remember Mary Roberts Rinehart? She was called "the American Agatha Christie". When I was young, her books were on bookstands everywhere; now she seems quite forgotten. I bought a huge collection of her novels for $2 for my Kindle, and have just started reading one of her mysteries. Like Eeyore, though, I have trouble settling in a reading long term; somehow I start dozing off. Maybe reading on a Kindle is a bit more soporific than reading a hard copy.
Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at January 17, 2021 10:35 AM (+sPbZ)
________

She was smack in the middle of the collection I am just finishing The Secret. Not bad, not great is my take. First I've read by her.

Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 10:37 AM (7X3UV)

246 >>> 230 BTW, has anyone else had trouble doing sustained reading lately? I have. Hate to think I'm sliding into Bidenland, in the one area I can escape it.

Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 10:22 AM (7X3UV)

I can't seem to read more than 10-20 pages. I think it's a function my advancing years.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 17, 2021 10:32 AM (M8rln)

I'm reading to escape and can start a book in the early afternoon and then turn to look at the clock and it's 1am. Nothing topical, either pre-modern history or disconnected fiction like sci-fi or fantasy.

Posted by: banana Dream at January 17, 2021 10:38 AM (zqA39)

247 Yes, the narrator in Rebecca is annoyingly inept. A LOT of the drama occurs because she just can't seem to open her mouth and tell Maxim some very simple truths. It's as if her marriage to him gave her PTSD.

Posted by: Dr. Mabuse at January 17, 2021 10:38 AM (+sPbZ)

248 I also order some books from Abe Books. Stuff like Sydney Harris and his science cartoons. Reviews when they arrive. Always wanted them, now I can have them.

Was up way too late, so chores start now.

Have a wonderful day, good people.

Bad people can attend the coup ceremony. I will stay away. And I attended the Bill Clinton one, mostly to wave at George Bush's Helo. This is worse.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at January 17, 2021 10:38 AM (u82oZ)

249 Probably the most disputed line he ever stated was that the "North" fought with one hand tied behind it's back. To be honest, that is an insult. Sure they had other issues such as Indian Wars to the West, but he was wrong about that, period.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 10:34 AM (Rt/LJ)

I thought he was referring to the Union not making full use of it's industrial might/population.

Posted by: BignJames at January 17, 2021 10:39 AM (AwYPR)

250 My mother cooks dog food. I thought she was the only one.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 10:27 AM (gm3d+)

My sister's ancient diabetic pug eats better than 75% of the population.

Posted by: Brian in New Orleans at January 17, 2021 10:39 AM (IbxQb)

251 We, er I, interrupt this book thread for an unimportant announcement. I am changing my AoSHQ nic to "Oddbob" (no space, no CamelCase). 1) The Bob the Builder reference is dated, 2) somehow conspiracy theories just aren't as funny to me as they once were, and 3) oddly enough, joking about the Bilderbergs actually seems to make a few folks uncomfortable. Also, I'm just kind of tired of it.

With the COBs permission, or at least tolerance, I will copy/paste this a few times over the next few days in the threads that I tend to comment in -- books, food, guns -- and note the change in the nic below for a week or so.

Thank you. Resume booking.

Posted by: Oddbob (nee Bob the Bilderberg) at January 17, 2021 10:40 AM (qc+VF)

252 to be fair, pretty much everyone respects the Foote anthology as a good description of the war. But I would question some of his views when he went on tv to speak as an expert on the war. The Southern drawl worked but he was not there. And again, he was a novelist. Check his other books to make sure I am not giving you BS.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 10:40 AM (Rt/LJ)

253 I had a copy of On War nearly 40 years ago but somewhere lost it.

Posted by: Skip at January 17, 2021 10:40 AM (Cxk7w)

254 BTW, the Clauswitz comment above had to be edited several times. This character limit sux. First time I've run into it.

On the bright side, my long naval or philosophical rants will be MIA. I did just find - over a year missing - Feser's Scholastic Metaphysics. And I picked up a NAM Rodger edited volume, Naval Power in the 20th C, which has good and bad essays. But I got it at about 10% what it usually goes for. Had to get a friend to order for me, as it was Amazon (mea culpa), which I have cut. Also ordered for me from them was our own A H Lloyd's Long Live Death.

One more box still outstanding.

Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 10:42 AM (7X3UV)

255 Oregon Muse - I just want to say that the Book Thread is one of my three favorite threads each week. Thank you for letting us share our good reads.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 10:42 AM (gm3d+)

256 >>: Even more reason to start assembling lists of soon-to-be-deplatformed books, while it's possible to find them.

Also: decades old reference books and school books.
Looking at how quickly online dictionaries redefine words is really freaky. Will be worse as we watch them erase Trump from history.

Posted by: Lizzy at January 17, 2021 10:43 AM (bDqIh)

257 The Loews Hotel chain has cancelled Sen Hawley's event:

Josh Hawleys Florida fundraiser canceled by Loews Hotels after liberal lawyer posts flyer online
Earlier this month, Hawley lost a deal with publisher Simon & Schuster, which canceled the senators book, The Tyranny of Big Tech

WE have to start fighting back NOW. This is reminiscent of Stalin and Nazi Germany.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 17, 2021 10:43 AM (85Gof)

258 Thanks to whichever moron or 'ette (Jane D'Oh?) who recommend A French Village on Prime last week. Ordinary French people react to the occupation of their country by the Nazis. Reactions vary but apparently without exception their efforts result in tragedy. For example, basically decent fellow Dr. (Dr!) Daniel Larcher allows himself to be talked into becoming mayor thinking he can help the villagers but repeatedly finds himself being used by the Germans in ways that will look a lot like collaboration come 1944 and 1945. The characters are much more real than American television characters. For example, even adulterous scumbag Raymond Schwartz has his moments of decency. Madness descends. The last episode I watched concerned Dr. Larcher being forced to turn the village upside down to find the miscreant who booed a newsreel in which Petain shakes hands with Hitler.

In similarity between this series and the USA in 2021 is purely coincidental.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 17, 2021 10:43 AM (VVEnO)

259 Fvck ABC with the flaming razor-wire c0ck of Shaitan for running a clip of Reagan's inauguration.

Posted by: Anna Puma at January 17, 2021 10:43 AM (FL+XG)

260 208 Donald Hall. The unreadable poet laureate.
Posted by: Ziba at January 17, 2021 10:24 AM (S1hrL)
_______

Didn't he write that shitty "poem" at the start of The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball?

Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 10:43 AM (7X3UV)

261 "The only real laughter comes from despair."
- Groucho Marx, optimist

Posted by: Comrade BackwardsBoy at January 17, 2021 10:44 AM (HaL55)

262 My mother cooks dog food...

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 10:27 AM (gm3d+)

From your comments on the Food Thread, I thought you were the one who cooked dog food.

Kazow! Good night folks! I'll be here all week.

Posted by: naturalfake at January 17, 2021 10:45 AM (dWwl8)

263 Is Miss Who Dis Jerry Hall? She's ok, but this is Melania: https://bit.ly/38RZSNS

I can't seem to read more than 10-20 pages. I think it's a function my advancing years.

I think it's the fast pace of web surfing for bite-sized articles and interactions. Hard to slow down to a book's pace.

Posted by: t-bird at January 17, 2021 10:45 AM (fFtVH)

264 Well, time for me to get on with my day. Unhung sheetrock beckons seductively.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at January 17, 2021 10:45 AM (mzC78)

265 Till's looks like any of a number of used bookstores I used to haunt.

All gone now.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Logan Tiberius Edwards (2012-2021) at January 17, 2021 10:46 AM (uxJPn)

266 Posted by: naturalfake at January 17, 2021 10:45 AM (dWwl

That would be a step up for me.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 10:46 AM (gm3d+)

267 230 BTW, has anyone else had trouble doing sustained reading lately? I have. Hate to think I'm sliding into Bidenland, in the one area I can escape it.

Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 10:22 AM (7X3UV)

I can't seem to read more than 10-20 pages. I think it's a function my advancing years.
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 17, 2021 10:32 AM (M8rln)
_____

Please God, No! When I finally have the time. Like my least favorite Twilight Zone.

Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 10:46 AM (7X3UV)

268 I thought he was referring to the Union not making full use of it's industrial might/population.

Posted by: BignJames at January 17, 2021 10:39 AM (AwYPR)

most historians of that era simply disagree with him. Sure the Union/USA/North did not mobilize to the point of the Confederacy, but that is because they didn't need to. They kept pushing in men when needed and the CSA could not come up with another soul.

i don't think they fought the war half-hearted, and few historians believe that. He also had a crazy love of Nathan Bedford Forrest. For sure that is so un pc today he would be cancelled for saying it today and not in the 90s. But PC be damned. Forrest was overrated because although he did some amazing stuff, he never changed the outcome of a major battle. And he was a horrible subordinate. The CSA in the West had some seriously dysfunctional commanders, but Forrest had to be at the top of that list.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 10:46 AM (Rt/LJ)

269 That cartoon at the end of the post is sadly appropriate but not in my house. I have a ton of books on Kindle but the important ones are in paper form and that percentage is increasing. My distrust for any aspect of business or government having control of my ability to own what I've paid for grows each day. That goes for a lot of electronic 'conveniences' that give away control of part of your life or don't permit any privacy.

Posted by: JTB at January 17, 2021 10:47 AM (7EjX1)

270 Sabrina Chase is a good writer, I have a bunch of her books.

She also is a hell of a shot.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Logan Tiberius Edwards (2012-2021) at January 17, 2021 10:48 AM (uxJPn)

271 I recently purchased a series of dead-tree books because I didn't
want to lose them to "the cloud". ... The main character is *highly*
subversive in his outlook, meaning he'd be an optimal target for
disappearance by the powers that be. I find him to be highly
inspirational, ...

Posted by: Lord Squirrel at January 17, 2021 09:19 AM (hQrcu)

What series and author? I've got plenty of fiction in the TBR stacks but that sounds intriguing.
---Repairman Jack / Adversary Cycle by F. Paul Wilson. Title characters is an off-the-grid vigilante/mercenary who gets caught up in a titanic cosmic battle between the Otherness (who hates us and wants us destroyed) and the more indifferent Ally (who really doesn't care about us but opposes the Otherness). Repairman Jack takes a rather creative approach to his problem solving activities. As I said--inspirational from a certain point of view that may become much more relevant in days to come.

Posted by: Lord Squirrel at January 17, 2021 10:48 AM (hQrcu)

272 I, interrupt this book thread for an unimportant announcement. I am changing my AoSHQ nic to "Oddbob"

Perhaps you could throw a steel-edged straw boater to kill folks various and sundry, as part of your new identity.

Posted by: naturalfake at January 17, 2021 10:49 AM (dWwl8)

273 230 BTW, has anyone else had trouble doing sustained reading lately? I have. Hate to think I'm sliding into Bidenland, in the one area I can escape it.

Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 10:22 AM (7X3UV)

It's a perishable skill. I have had more trouble with sustained reading, thanks to the distractions of computer use and work.

The good news is, it comes back. If you can dedicate a half hour at a time to nothing but reading, then a full hour, then two hours....your concentration comes back.

But, of course, choose good books

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Logan Tiberius Edwards (2012-2021) at January 17, 2021 10:49 AM (uxJPn)

274 BTW, has anyone else had trouble doing sustained
reading lately? I have. Hate to think I'm sliding into Bidenland, in the
one area I can escape it.

Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 10:22 AM (7X3UV)
Three pages max. And then I can't remember what I read in them.

Posted by: creeper at January 17, 2021 10:50 AM (XxJt1)

275 I might come off as a jagoff here, but Foote is not a historian.

-
He subtitled his magnum opus A Narrative, not A History and, I think, he was exactly right.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 17, 2021 10:50 AM (VVEnO)

276 'The Scent of Metal' book title reminded me that a woman who is one of the owners of a local scrap metal yard told me that her father, who had been in the business for 60 years, claimed that he could detect different metals by their smell.

That seems an absurd claim, but OTOH, those who work with metal know that when working with different metals the heat of that working does produce subtle but different odors.

Still, claiming to be able to detect a metal by its 'odor' seems absurd. I did not, however, scoff at the idea.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 17, 2021 10:51 AM (1vynn)

277 Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 17, 2021 10:43 AM (VVEnO)
-----
There was also a Masterpiece Theatre series in 2000 called "Monsignor Renard" covering tge same territory. It starred John Thaw (Inspector Morse) and a pre-LOTR Dominic Monaghan.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 10:52 AM (TsFZr)

278 Illegals are going to be legalized.

Legal citizens are going to be criminalized.

Posted by: It's Happening at January 17, 2021 10:52 AM (5mEzs)

279 Perhaps you could throw a steel-edged straw boater to kill folks various and sundry, as part of your new identity.

The similarity occurred to me but was not intentional.

Posted by: Oddbob (nee Bob the Bilderberg) at January 17, 2021 10:52 AM (qc+VF)

280 Didn't he write that shitty "poem" at the start of The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball?
Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 10:43 AM (7X3UV)

I believe so. He wrote many shitty poems.

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 10:53 AM (ONvIw)

281 I, interrupt this book thread for an unimportant announcement. I am changing my AoSHQ nic to "Oddbob".

-
I named my Red Dead Redemption II character Hangdog Barkston because I'm pretty hangdog these days.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 17, 2021 10:53 AM (VVEnO)

282 I can't seem to read more than 10-20 pages. I think it's a function my advancing years.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 17, 2021 10:32 AM (M8rln)

Has to be some pretty good stuff for me to read more than that.

Posted by: BignJames at January 17, 2021 10:54 AM (AwYPR)

283 Till's Bookshop reminds me of a now gone shop near me, that was called Cranbury Bookworm. I could spend entire afternoons there.

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 10:54 AM (ONvIw)

284 what kills me and many historians is that so many believe the USA/Union won because of industrial might. yes, they did win, and they were the industrial leader. The famous line was the North had more factories than the South had factory workers.

The problem with this is history. Just because you are stronger doesn't mean you win the war. We saw that in the American Revolution, something on the minds of those who fought the Civil War. The UK was much stronger but they lost because they said enough is enough. We saw the same in Vietnam and that was really painful.

But the reality is you don't simply win because you are stronger on paper. A war ends when one side says they have had enough. There were many times in those four years when the USA was about to say enough. In the end it is history, but nothing was for ordained. It might seem like I am splitting hairs here but I promise you I am not. This is decades of study and I am simply giving you my honest opinion.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 10:54 AM (Rt/LJ)

285 275 I might come off as a jagoff here, but Foote is not a historian.

-
He subtitled his magnum opus A Narrative, not A History and, I think, he was exactly right.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 17, 2021 10:50 AM (VVEnO)

I have a lot of Civil War histories, Catton, Macpherson complete sets and scatterings of more other than I can name.

Foote's Civil War Narrative is the one I re-read every year.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Logan Tiberius Edwards (2012-2021) at January 17, 2021 10:55 AM (uxJPn)

286 ...There were many times in those four years when the USA was about to say enough. In the end it is history, but nothing was for ordained. ...
Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 10:54 AM (Rt/LJ)

On that, at least, we agree

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Logan Tiberius Edwards (2012-2021) at January 17, 2021 10:56 AM (uxJPn)

287 I just finished reading C. S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength. That may be one of the single most terrifying novels. The villains' plot is a play-by-play description of exactly what is happening in the world right now! And it was written during WWII (1943-44). Some neat shout-outs to Tolkien as well, as he was working Lord of the Rings at the same time...

Posted by: Lord Squirrel at January 17, 2021 10:56 AM (hQrcu)

288 "The only real laughter comes from despair."
- Groucho Marx, optimist
Posted by: Comrade BackwardsBoy
------------
Mark Twain said it first:

"The secret source of humor itself is not joy but sorrow."

I usually add, "Yeah, someone else's sorrow"

That aside, I too am having trouble reading more than a few pages at a time. Bedtime is the only time when I can make any headway, and that will be with very light fiction.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 17, 2021 10:58 AM (pbStR)

289 Foote's Civil War Narrative is the one I re-read every year.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Logan Tiberius Edwards (2012-2021) at January 17, 2021 10:55 AM (uxJPn)

Took me nearly a year to read it once.

Posted by: BignJames at January 17, 2021 10:58 AM (AwYPR)

290 Re The Cloud: Much of TN and KY lost internet service for a few days after the Nashville bombing, and some stores had to go cash-only for a few days. I know several younger folks who pride themselves on keeping everything in the Cloud, they carry no cash, and own no music - they only stream it. Perhaps that was a little wake up call for them.
Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at January 17, 2021 09:23 AM (d9Cw3)

I'm pretty sure that at some point, we'll see a coordinated attack on cloud server farms. Probably, from the Left. And then, worldwide catastrophe.

Again, I'd like to move out of the Interesting Times Timeline, thank you very much.

The one thing that this all makes safer, I think, is that it reduces the chance of a cheap sneak-attack EMP.

If all the servers go down, everyone's screwed. Unless, of course, the Chinese start building their own web, then look out.

Posted by: naturalfake at January 17, 2021 10:59 AM (dWwl8)

291 I am in the middle of the audiobook version of The Maker Versus the Takers, by Jerry Bowyer. The subtitle is What Jesus Really Said About Social Justice and Economics. Bowyer soundly refutes the progressive notion that Jesus was a socialist. His main point is that every time Jesus speaks against wealth, he is talking to or about the corrupt elite ruling classes in Judea, and especially Jerusalem. And it is exactly these sort of people the progs want to give more money and power to.

Posted by: DIY Daddio at January 17, 2021 11:00 AM (RJscS)

292 William Shirer used a *lot* of lengthy footnotes in his books. But it was sensible - there was a lot of background that gave texture to events in those footnotes, but they addressed things that weren't strictly speaking *necessary* to know.

Which reminds me: I've been meaning to re-read Collapse of the Third Republic. I need to order it.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at January 17, 2021 11:00 AM (Bvn1K)

293 Animal Farm is short and very entertaining.

Art of War (depending on translation) is reasonably short and very interesting if you have any interest in "winning" any kind of contest against a human opponent.

1984- Blackstone Audio version narrated by Simon Prebble is excellent

On War - Howard & Paret translation was much praised when new in late 80's. Back then I usually read everything I purchased. I don't think I finished it.

Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at January 17, 2021 11:00 AM (x8Q/V)

294 287 I just finished reading C. S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength. That may be one of the single most terrifying novels. The villains' plot is a play-by-play description of exactly what is happening in the world right now! And it was written during WWII (1943-44). Some neat shout-outs to Tolkien as well, as he was working Lord of the Rings at the same time...
Posted by: Lord Squirrel at January 17, 2021 10:56 AM (hQrcu)
_________

In some ways, his best. The parallelism between Jane's and Mark's progression is impressive. In general, the characterizations are better than most of Lewis's, except some good comic ones (Puddleglum).

I have been told that H G Wells was bothered by the lampoon of him at the end, btw, but I cannot confirm that. As we sort, I have been gathering both Lewis's and Waugh's trilogies, to read this year.

Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 11:00 AM (7X3UV)

295 I believe so. He wrote many shitty poems.
Posted by: CN
-----------

Pfft. Have you read my 'Dinosaur Droppings' poem?

Posted by: Maya Angelou at January 17, 2021 11:01 AM (pbStR)

296 To deny that the main reason the South lost was logistics is to deny the obvious.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 11:01 AM (2DOZq)

297 I'm heading off. Have a good day, Horde.

Posted by: Eeyore at January 17, 2021 11:02 AM (7X3UV)

298 I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Mark Schweizer, who wrote the Liturgical Mysteries series died from a brain tumor in 2019. In his honor I'm reading through the series, in order. I'm part way through the first, "The Alto Wore Tweed". Mrs. JTB realized what I'm doing when she heard my helpless laughter at some of the situations in the book. Damn! They are still funny and entertaining.

Posted by: JTB at January 17, 2021 11:02 AM (7EjX1)

299 289 Foote's Civil War Narrative is the one I re-read every year.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Logan Tiberius Edwards (2012-2021) at January 17, 2021 10:55 AM (uxJPn)

Took me nearly a year to read it once.
Posted by: BignJames at January 17, 2021 10:58 AM (AwYPR)

It IS a lot of pages.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Logan Tiberius Edwards (2012-2021) at January 17, 2021 11:04 AM (uxJPn)

300 Oregon Muse - I just want to say that the Book
Thread is one of my three favorite threads each week. Thank you for
letting us share our good reads.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 10:42 AM (gm3d+)

book thread, movie thread, and gun thread? But those are just mine. But also, what about the guys who do this every day? I know OM does more than just this. But I respect them all. What was my point again?

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 11:04 AM (Rt/LJ)

301 Mr Meeseeks I'm with you, have said Napoleon had trains in the Russian campaign he might have won.

Posted by: Skip at January 17, 2021 11:04 AM (Cxk7w)

302 Book banning will accelerate.

Publishers are controlled by the left.
Posted by: It's Happening

Los Angeles Times
@latimes
More than 250 members of the literary community signed a letter this week urging publishers not to sign book deals with anyone in the Trump administration.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 17, 2021 11:05 AM (VVEnO)

303 If you want a glimpse of the current publishing industry, just search the #MSWL (manuscript wish list) tag on twitter to see what lit agents are seeking.

You will see a bunch of upper middle class white girls demanding more diversity.

Posted by: Biggs Darklighter at January 17, 2021 11:05 AM (LZ7Gl)

304 One of the things that made Jesus Jesus was his universalist approach. That was central to his ministry; it excluded nobody... At no point did he single out a whole category of people and say "Group X is the cause of all problems. We should dispossess, kill, imprison or enslave all members of Group X."

He wasn't the leader of a hate group.

Ergo: not a Communist.

Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at January 17, 2021 11:06 AM (Bvn1K)

305 I'm part way through the first, "The Alto Wore Tweed". Mrs. JTB realized what I'm doing when she heard my helpless laughter at some of the situations in the book. Damn! They are still funny and entertaining.
Posted by: JTB
--------

You're the only person I know who has/is read that. I enjoyed it especially because the setting is local to me. And, you're right, he accurately captures some pretty funny local character.

I recollect (in the book) a lady in church having her wig knocked off accidentally by a swinging censer.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 17, 2021 11:07 AM (ELgVT)

306 Regnery and Liberty Hill were two conservative publishers. Are they also trying to cancel Trump people?

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 11:07 AM (2DOZq)

307 To deny that the main reason the South lost was logistics is to deny the obvious.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 11:01 AM (2DOZq)

The South lost because the USA chose to not give up. It is easy to say who the hell cares what South Carolina does. There were many times, in particular, three times during the war when the North almost quit. Crap, after the great victory at Gettysburg, they had the NYC draft riots that ended up into a race war. It was portrayed in the movie "Gangs of New York" And that was not even close to the nadir for the USA, hell, as people tell it they should have been celebrating.

And in fact, units that served at Gettysburg had to go into NYC to put an end the the riots. Not much of a ticker tape parade of victory there.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 11:08 AM (Rt/LJ)

308 I'm reading to escape and can start a book in the early afternoon and then turn to look at the clock and it's 1am. Nothing topical, either pre-modern history or disconnected fiction like sci-fi or fantasy.

Posted by: banana Dream at January 17, 2021 10:38 AM (zqA39)

I envy your ability to do that.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 17, 2021 11:08 AM (M8rln)

309 191 Best poem ever was in I Married An Axe Murderer.

Woman Whoa Man. Whooooa Man!
Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 10:17 AM (2DOZq)

Hard-hearted harbinger of haggis. Beautiful, bemused, bellicose butcher.

Posted by: Dread at January 17, 2021 11:09 AM (5+3Z+)

310 @193

I dunno, I'm not skeered. Fox thought they controlled conservative TV, until they didn't. Twitter thought they controlled conservative info, until they didn't, and both happened literally overnight.

And self publishing is a massive, massive market. Not sure how you manage to control it.

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:09 AM (AwPyG)

311 Till's Bookshop reminds me of a now gone shop near me, that was called Cranbury Bookworm.

There used to be a Half Price Books in San Antonio in an old Victorian house near downtown (Broadway and Hildebrant-ish for those that know SA) that made that picture of Till's look downright spacious. Full of narrow hallways and alcoves with rickety floor to ceiling shelves. I say "used to be" but I don't really know for sure. I'm just assuming since HPB has gone all corporate. That said, if you have the chance to go to the "modern" HPB on NW Hwy in Dallas, do it.

Posted by: Oddbob (nee Bob the Bilderberg) at January 17, 2021 11:09 AM (qc+VF)

312 306 Regnery and Liberty Hill were two conservative publishers. Are they also trying to cancel Trump people?

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 11:07 AM (2DOZq)

It wouldn't surprise me if they were being pressured to.

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 17, 2021 11:09 AM (M8rln)

313 I'm not sure if your strategy of connecting both devices via cable would not allow the primary (downloading of books from services) device to modify the secondary (storage) device. Might be safer to use a thumb drive to do transfers to the storage device.

Posted by: Jesse Lockwood at January 17, 2021 11:10 AM (tPuMl)

314 @latimes
More than 250 members of the literary community signed a letter this week urging publishers not to sign book deals with anyone in the Trump administration.

And Trump Publishing is gifted half of the marketplace...

Posted by: t-bird at January 17, 2021 11:10 AM (WLHrn)

315 Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 11:08 AM (Rt/LJ)

I don't understand your point . We may be just speaking past each other. If the South had not had to fight the war with the bare minimum the North would have quit.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 11:11 AM (2DOZq)

316 amgreatness.com/a party of faction and fantasy
Roger Kimball-very good reading
https://tinyurl.com/y3nsk8f3

Posted by: Skip at January 17, 2021 11:11 AM (Cxk7w)

317 Someone upthread said they have a hard time reading a complicated book when tired, and I'll agree with that. Sometimes I realize I'm reading the same paragraph again and again.

Not that I'm old, or anything

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:11 AM (AwPyG)

318 I'm reading through the series, in order. I'm part
way through the first, "The Alto Wore Tweed". Mrs. JTB realized what I'm
doing when she heard my helpless laughter at some of the situations in
the book. Damn! They are still funny and entertaining.

Posted by: JTB at January 17, 2021 11:02 AM (7EjX1)

Thanks for reminding me of the Liturgical Mysteries series. I read the first two, then life interrupted and they slipped my mind. I just ordered the third in the series. As a pastor's wife, I love the humor.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 11:12 AM (gm3d+)

319 249 Probably the most disputed line he ever stated was that the "North" fought with one hand tied behind it's back. To be honest, that is an insult. Sure they had other issues such as Indian Wars to the West, but he was wrong about that, period.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 10:34 AM (Rt/LJ)

I think it's true. The north had most of the industry, population, food productivity, seaports, weapons innovation, and most of all, the ingredient to sustain it's military.......a viable currency.

Posted by: Justsayin' at January 17, 2021 11:12 AM (Fs5vw)

320 311: That's what this was, a Victorian house full of books and magazines. I loved it. It had a musty smell to it, but I never minded. I went there weekly to see hat was new and knew them well enough to get called when something they thought I'd like appeared.

Posted by: CN at January 17, 2021 11:13 AM (ONvIw)

321 Foote's Civil War Narrative is the one I re-read every year.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Logan Tiberius Edwards (2012-2021) at January 17, 2021 10:55 AM (uxJPn)

he was a great writer and few dispute the general facts he wrote about. My questioning was about the ad libs. He was not a historian, but a man of the South who had views.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 11:13 AM (Rt/LJ)

322 And in fact, units that served at Gettysburg had to go into NYC to put an end the the riots.
------
I've seen that line before, and I'm not sure it's actually true. The AoP was busy pursuing Lee at the time. I've done some delving and have been unable to find exactly *which* units were sent to NYC.

Now, Pennsylvania militia, I could believe. There was a crap-ton of them raised when Lee invaded tge North.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 11:13 AM (TsFZr)

323 book thread, movie thread, and gun thread? But those are just mine. But also, what about the guys who do this every day? I know OM does more than just this. But I respect them all. What was my point again?

I think the point was "Yay COBs! Thank you!" And I agree with you.

Posted by: Oddbob (nee Bob the Bilderberg) at January 17, 2021 11:14 AM (qc+VF)

324 311 That said, if you have the chance to go to the "modern" HPB on NW Hwy in Dallas, do it.

Seconded. I went to meet Larry Correia at a book signing there and wound up spending significantly more time and money there than I originally budgeted!

Posted by: Retief at January 17, 2021 11:14 AM (SWlro)

325 The footnotes are part of what makes the discworld special :-)
Currently reading the history of the 91st division through the end of the first world war. I had 2 GG uncles in the war and the one in the 91st was killed in action. Its also known as the "wild west" division, as it was made up of soldiers from the greater pnw.
Ok off to read more content.

Posted by: funsize at January 17, 2021 11:14 AM (EiPf6)

326 My favorite thread on the HQ is the one that's active at the time.

Posted by: creeper at January 17, 2021 11:15 AM (XxJt1)

327 I might come off as a jagoff here, but Foote is not a historian.

-
He subtitled his magnum opus A Narrative, not A History and, I think, he was exactly right.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 17, 2021 10:50 AM (VVEnO)

Some historians aren't good narrators and it makes their work tedious. There's a three part series on the US involvement in WW2 that was written by a journalist from diary entries. The first was about the US gearing up in North Africa from which I learned a lot about what a clusterfuck it was including transport ships sinking through ineptitude. It even had good maps, a personal peeve. But I stopped reading it because it felt like reading things piecemeal instead of the overarching narrative historians provide instead of a journalism accounting.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at January 17, 2021 11:15 AM (y7DUB)

328 What's more interesting to me about the corporate cancel culture is it gives us a peek about their funding.

Obviously, they are not interested in keeping shareholders happy. It's similar to what happened to politicians; it seems clear they are not trying to please their voters, but someone else behind the scenes.

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:16 AM (AwPyG)

329 Alright. You've done it. Somewhere in a box in the garage is Foote's book. Time to dig it out.

'Preciate the nudgee.

Posted by: creeper at January 17, 2021 11:16 AM (XxJt1)

330 Till's Bookshop reminds me of a now gone shop near me, that was called Cranbury Bookworm.
Many years ago, I had a regular music gig at a little hole-in-the-wall cafe next door to a small book shop that resembles the pic of Till's Bookshop above. Pretty sure the same people owned both since there was a doorway between the two bidnesses so you could by a book then sit down next door, order a covfefe and light lunch or dinner, and read. Good times, all lost in time like tears in rain.

Posted by: Comrade BackwardsBoy at January 17, 2021 11:17 AM (HaL55)

331 @327

That's why I think a lot of good historicals have a fictional protagonist who interacts with historical figures. It makes a more readable story.

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:17 AM (AwPyG)

332 Re the Cobs. I have no idea how they do it, but I damn sure appreciate it, and respect it. I cannot fathom the hours and attention it requires.

Kudos, fellows!

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 17, 2021 11:17 AM (AytXr)

333 Crap. Here, someone please take this letter "u" and put it in my previous comment. Anywhere will do. Moar cofveve...

Posted by: Comrade BackwardsBoy at January 17, 2021 11:18 AM (HaL55)

334 And Trump Publishing is gifted half of the marketplace...

Posted by: t-bird at January 17, 202

It's not about the marketplace.

It's about being on the right side of history!

Posted by: Fox News EXECS at January 17, 2021 11:18 AM (5mEzs)

335 My son is in kindergarten and I can confirm that almost all of the readings / books assigned (and available in the school's online virtual library) have either a female protagonist or person of color protagonist.

-
The Mary Sue-ing of America.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 17, 2021 11:18 AM (VVEnO)

336 I think it's true. The north had most of the
industry, population, food productivity, seaports, weapons innovation,
and most of all, the ingredient to sustain it's military.......a viable
currency.

Posted by: Justsayin' at January 17, 2021 11:12 AM (Fs5vw)

they had the ability to sustain the war if they were willing to give up so many men to the cause. That is the key really. Lee and Davis knew they could not take over the North, it wasn't even in their wildest dreams. Their plan was to cause so much carnage that the USA/North/Union said enough is enough. They came close many times and the most likely time was long after Gettysburg was memory.

Probably the time that proved the North would win was when Lincoln defeated McClellan. And he did it with the votes of soldiers.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 11:19 AM (Rt/LJ)

337 That's why I think a lot of good historicals have a fictional protagonist who interacts with historical figures. It makes a more readable story.
Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:17 AM (AwPyG)

Which brings me once again to my favorite author, Steven Pressfield .

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 11:19 AM (2DOZq)

338 That's why I think a lot of good historicals have a fictional protagonist who interacts with historical figures. It makes a more readable story.
Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:17 AM (AwPyG)
------
The "Flashman" series beng a top-of-the-line exemplar of that.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 11:19 AM (TsFZr)

339 Not sure how you manage to control it.
Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:09 AM (AwPyG)

Where there's a will, there's a way. And there's plenty of will. And plenty of weak people not standing in their way.

Posted by: Ordinary American at January 17, 2021 11:19 AM (H8QX8)

340 A lot of bookstores have adapted to the changing times by scheduling author signings and other community events.

The same for libraries.

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:19 AM (AwPyG)

341 Well, I'll be dipped.

Folks are talking about book stores closing up left and right, so I decided to take a look and see if my favorite bookstore from my undergrad days still existed.

Google Earth street imagery shows the Curious Book Shop on the north side of the Michigan State campus at 307 E. Grand River is still open.

Sweet!

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM guy at January 17, 2021 11:21 AM (ZSK0i)

342 @339

But you have to realize its a short step from Amazon censoring your book to putting it up for sale on your own. A digital file is a digital file.

I imagine Amazon knows this--they've been pretty careful with their publishing business.

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:21 AM (AwPyG)

343 My sister and her husband used to own a used bookstore. It was more of a hobby than a business, as it lost money every month. They had real jobs too so they were okay with that.

Posted by: grammie winger at January 17, 2021 11:22 AM (gm3d+)

344 A lot of bookstores have adapted to the changing times by scheduling author signings and other community events.

The same for libraries.
Posted by: artemis

Ah, yes. Tranny reading hour for the children.

Posted by: Infidel at January 17, 2021 11:22 AM (twGU3)

345 @337

Thanks so much for recommending Pressfield!

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:23 AM (AwPyG)

346 Some historians aren't good narrators and it makes
their work tedious. There's a three part series on the US involvement
in WW2 that was written by a journalist from diary entries. The first
was about the US gearing up in North Africa from which I learned a lot
about what a clusterfuck it was including transport ships sinking
through ineptitude. It even had good maps, a personal peeve. But I
stopped reading it because it felt like reading things piecemeal instead
of the overarching narrative historians provide instead of a journalism
accounting.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at January 17, 2021 11:15 AM (y7DUB)

imo why Foote is a great read but his extemporaneous thoughts should be taken with a grain of salt. I don't mean to come off as anti Foote though I guess i have. My only suggestion is the read the others I mentioned up thread.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 11:23 AM (Rt/LJ)

347 My trip to the local used book store all I find are Leftist authors or squishy " conservatives ", nothing of Levin, Sowell, or any conservatives. So it's no one buys them or no one wants to ever give them up.

Posted by: Skip at January 17, 2021 11:23 AM (Cxk7w)

348 There used to be a Half Price Books in San Antonio in an old Victorian house near downtown

Replying to yourself is probably a sign of something but... I may be mis-remembering. Apparently there is still a HPB on Broadway but the pics on the website don't look like what I remember. So either they're moved buildings some time in the last forty or so years or I am confusing it with another bookseller that was nearby. Being 29 sucks sometimes.

Posted by: Oddbob (nee Bob the Bilderberg) at January 17, 2021 11:24 AM (qc+VF)

349 I love the way the library smells, with the old books. Maybe they can make a candle.

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:24 AM (AwPyG)

350 My sister-in-law owns a popular book store in the Berkeley area, Mrs. Dalloway's. It's doing well.

Posted by: Dan Smoot's Apprentice at January 17, 2021 11:26 AM (H8QX8)

351 Which brings me once again to my favorite author, Steven Pressfield.

I've read and re-read his Gates of Fire as a supplement to the movie 300 when that came out. He's one of my favorite writers as well.
Personally waiting until Dr. Jordan Peterson's new release hits the shelves in March. Hope it's as good as his 12 Rules for Life. He's been through hell these past couple of years and come out the other side. You can see it in his eyes. "World-weary" is the correct term for that look.

Posted by: Comrade BackwardsBoy at January 17, 2021 11:26 AM (HaL55)

352 @335

I have friends (Jewish) who sent their boys to the local Catholic school since there was no other private school close by and the public schools were so awful.

They boys got an "A" in Old Testament.

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:28 AM (AwPyG)

353 Posted by: Justsayin' at January 17, 2021 11:12 AM (Fs5vw)

The South came up with submarines, used balloons, land mines and some deep shit some people could not imagine. They had a warship that sunk Union boats all over the world, They circumnavigated the globe and sunk ships all over. That ship finally surrendered long after the war in the UK. It was called the CSS Shenandoah.

There are many examples here. But it is near impossible to tell people it could have ended differently, because it ended the way it did.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 11:29 AM (Rt/LJ)

354 More than 250 members of the literary community signed a letter this week urging publishers not to sign book deals with anyone in the Trump administration.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 17, 2021 11:05 AM (VVEnO)

Having read OM's piece, reading this here, watching the Big Tech maniacs going at it with the censorship business... it's possible to view all this as a rear-guard defensive reflex by the losers who are fighting against a tide of freedom they can't stop.

It feels frustrating right now, especially with the election result, and Big Tech and Amazon and teevee and everywhere we look, they seem to be clamping down on Free Speech. But it's an illusion. It only looks like they're winning, because we see what makes headlines.

Books are going to be published, websites are going to form, media is going to get out... because they can't stop it. All they can do is slow the rate in big splashy ways. Meanwhile, the people who are motivated to find a way out of the net, are finding ways out of the net.

It can't be stopped. It won't be stopped. And it scares the hell out of them.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 17, 2021 11:30 AM (oQ94s)

355 My son is in kindergarten and I can confirm that almost all of the readings / books assigned (and available in the school's online virtual library) have either a female protagonist or person of color protagonist.

-
The Mary Sue-ing of America.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler

Tom Swift and his Rocketship to Mars ...

Posted by: Adriane the Nostalgic Critic ... at January 17, 2021 11:30 AM (LPnfS)

356
But the reality is you don't simply win because you are stronger on paper. A war ends when one side says they have had enough. There were many times in those four years when the USA was about to say enough. In the end it is history, but nothing was for ordained. It might seem like I am splitting hairs here but I promise you I am not. This is decades of study and I am simply giving you my honest opinion.
Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 10:54 AM (Rt/LJ)

You write that as though you think there wasn't any disenfranchisement with the war in the south. There was plenty.

Plus the ever-so-increasing fear that the negro was going to rise up and fight from within.

And again, the money. The confederate dollar had become worthless. Which only added to the general discontent of the south's population.

Posted by: Justsayin' at January 17, 2021 11:31 AM (Fs5vw)

357 I come up empty every time I look for the Liturgical Mysteries books in the used-book shop.

That tells me they're good; owners don't want to part with them.

Posted by: Weak Geek at January 17, 2021 11:31 AM (nWioW)

358 Posted by: Comrade BackwardsBoy at January 17, 2021 11:26 AM (HaL55)

You should read his other Historical fiction novels . Just as enjoyable to me as Gates of Fire though Gates is the first of his I read and thus my favorite

And all moron golfers should read The Legend of Bagger Vance. What a spiritual novel it is.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 11:32 AM (2DOZq)

359 235 ... "Whoa. Those are spendy."

Hi grammie,
Yeah, the Fools Guild books ain't cheap. I'm keeping an eye open for cheap used versions or sale in ebook format.

Posted by: JTB at January 17, 2021 11:33 AM (7EjX1)

360 Yeah, the NY Publishing Industry stopped being the gatekeepers about 10 years ago, and their revenues reflect this.

It's like the music industry. You can try to bully people and pretend you are still the gatekeeper, but you're talking to an empty hall

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:34 AM (AwPyG)

361 Cacoeconomy, which leads to a Cacaeconomy.

Posted by: Methos at January 17, 2021 11:34 AM (kOpft)

362 Cacoeconomy, which leads to a Cacaeconomy.
Posted by: Methos at January 17, 2021 11:34 AM (kOpft)
------
And leads to a cacotopia.

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 11:36 AM (TsFZr)

363 Someone recommended the books by Leif Enger. I purchased them because he is a Minnesota writer and as a fellow Upper north Wisconsonite I know we have sympathy with each other especially in January. The books are a delight of sadness and hope. Just the best mid winter read in front of a fire when its snowing. I am reading So Brave, Young and Handsome and completed Peace like a River (wonderful)

Posted by: SimpleLiving at January 17, 2021 11:36 AM (ZtTp4)

364 eBay has some of Mark Schweizer's books.

Posted by: creeper at January 17, 2021 11:37 AM (XxJt1)

365 Cacoeconomy, which leads to a Cacaeconomy.
Posted by: Methos at January 17, 2021 11:34 AM (kOpft)

That makes entirely more sense and now I will never forget that word. Good job.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 11:37 AM (2DOZq)

366 My son is in kindergarten and I can confirm that almost all of the readings / books assigned (and available in the school's online virtual library) have either a female protagonist or person of color protagonist.
-
The Mary Sue-ing of America.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Tyrannosaur Wrangler at January 17, 2021 11:18 AM (VVEnO)

'Grrl power' isn't a new thing. Parents were complaining about the incessant devaluing of males in children's books 30 years ago when we were homeschooling our kids

Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 17, 2021 11:38 AM (M8rln)

367 Love the cartoon at the bottom. That one speaks volumes.

Posted by: creeper at January 17, 2021 11:38 AM (XxJt1)

368 >>> Replying to yourself is probably a sign of something but...
Posted by: Oddbob (nee Bob the Bilderberg) at January 17, 2021 11:24 AM (qc+VF)

In the old infocom Zork games if you ever just typed SAY alone it would respond "Talking to one's self is said to be a sign of impending mental collapse"

Posted by: banana Dream at January 17, 2021 11:39 AM (zqA39)

369 creeper they would be on my list

Posted by: Skip at January 17, 2021 11:39 AM (Cxk7w)

370 Grrl power' isn't a new thing. Parents were complaining about the incessant devaluing of males in children's books 30 years ago when we were homeschooling our kids
Posted by: OregonMuse, AoSHQ Thought Leader, Pants Monitor & Social Distancing Professional at January 17, 2021 11:38 AM (M8rln)

30 years ago was in the 90's which seem like yesterday to me.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 11:40 AM (2DOZq)

371 The woman in the picture is old than she looks. Hands are always a dead giveaway

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:40 AM (AwPyG)

372 In the "Super Feminists" illustration, I'm guessin' the right-hand heroine in called "ThunderThighs".

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 11:42 AM (TsFZr)

373 Jerry Hall walks into a bar. The bartender says' why the long face?'

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 11:42 AM (2DOZq)

374 Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at January 17, 2021 11:15 AM (y7DUB)

imo why Foote is a great read but his extemporaneous thoughts should be taken with a grain of salt. I don't mean to come off as anti Foote though I guess i have. My only suggestion is the read the others I mentioned up thread.
Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 11:23 AM (Rt/LJ)

I tried to read Longstreet's account of Picket's charge, and I have no doubt he gets much of it right, in terms of facts. But it's unreadable. To me it is. You have to have a certain mindset to want to read that kind of history, and I suppose once one finishes Longstreet's there are dozens of other accounts that will be needed to fill in gaps, and/or provide other perspective on it.

I've read other accounts. I've read Foote's books, but don't remember too much detail. It's been years. But I do remember him narrating the point, where Lee is trying to rally Picket, and saying something or other about your division, and Foote, gets that look on his face, that tone in his voice, and he quotes Picket as saying "General Lee, I have no division."

Did he really say that? Who the hell knows. TBC...

Posted by: BurtTC at January 17, 2021 11:42 AM (oQ94s)

375 "I have "On War" in my library and started to read it many years ago, but rumbled to a stop. Perhaps it was the translation. I'll give it another go, sometime."
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 09:34 AM (TsFZr)

As others have suggested, Clausewitz is somewhat difficult to read at his best and is not helped by the early, and now public domain so cheap and more available, translations. The one by Michael Howard and Peter Paret is the best, but still not an easy read.

Why do you want to read Clausewitz? If it's for his views on the strategy of war, then his "Principals of War" is much shorter, an easier read and is less tied to the outdated specifics of the Napoleonic period than is his "On War." As an alternative you could read Clausewitz as interpreted by more modern authorities. In his "Clausewitz, Philosopher of War" Raymond Aron analysizes and explains "On War" in a fairly readable text. Or if you want something shorter, Peter Paret has a readable short (@ 30 pages) essay on Clausewitz and his theories in his collection "Makers of Modern Strategy, From Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age."

Posted by: Lawdawg at January 17, 2021 11:45 AM (6K2vl)

376 Again please link your website if you are an author, I am trying to collect everyone's page so I can keep in contact to some degree, at least.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 17, 2021 11:45 AM (KZzsI)

377
30 years ago was in the 90's which seem like yesterday to me.
Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 11:40 AM (2DOZq)

The older one gets, the shorter life seems. Life IS short. The Biblical correlation of life and that of a vapor that suddenly appears and then suddenly disappears is very true.

Posted by: Justsayin' at January 17, 2021 11:46 AM (Fs5vw)

378 I would have liked to have known Longstreet. In his writings, he has, on occasion, a rather wry and off-color sense of humor. For example, he noted that green troops were "as sensitive about the flanks as a virgin". Pretty racy for the late 19th Century!

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 11:46 AM (TsFZr)

379 Cacoeconomy, which leads to a Cacaeconomy.
When I saw that word earlier, I thought, "OK, we're going to move to a chocolate-based economy?" Which I would be kewl with...

Posted by: Comrade BackwardsBoy at January 17, 2021 11:46 AM (HaL55)

380 Did he really say that? Who the hell knows. TBC...
Posted by: BurtTC at January 17, 2021 11:42 AM (oQ94s)

Point being, there are facts and there's truth. They're not necessarily the same thing. If you need facts to determine a truth that makes sense to you, then you damn well better dig all the way in. Because NOBODY, as far as I can tell, has written the perfect history of anything.

And one truth doesn't negate another, simply because it disputes facts.

I would remind people, the Gospels, of which there are four, contain different accounts of Jesus' last words. Is one of these accounts right and the others wrong? Which one has the right facts?

Now.. which of them are true?

Posted by: BurtTC at January 17, 2021 11:48 AM (oQ94s)

381 When I saw that word earlier, I thought, "OK, we're going to move to a chocolate-based economy?" Which I would be kewl with...
Posted by: Comrade BackwardsBoy at January 17, 2021 11:46 AM (HaL55)
------
Hanukkah gelt for everyone!

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 11:48 AM (TsFZr)

382 I just opened the electricity bill for the month my fireplace was inop.

Hopefully I'll be out of debtor's prison by October.

Posted by: creeper at January 17, 2021 11:51 AM (XxJt1)

383 Hopefully I'll be out of debtor's prison by October.
Posted by: creeper at January 17, 2021 11:51 AM (XxJt1)
-----
The Horde will bust you out!

Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea at January 17, 2021 11:52 AM (TsFZr)

384 Presently I am reading "Tuesday the Rabbi Saw Red" by Harry Kemmelman, about a crime solving Rabbi, and "Woodvilles: The Wars of the Roses and England's most Infamous Family"

Tuesday... is disappointing so far. Its supposed to be about a Sherlock Holmes-like Rabbi but the book is 10 chapters in before any crime takes place, and the Rabbi isn't even involved yet. Its been chapter after chapter of his sister's wedding plans, taking over a class on Jewish Philosophy at the college where the students are upset that its not an easy skate like it used to be, and conflicts between the professors. Yawwnwnnn. I hope it picks up soon.

The Woodvilles book is very interesting and informative. Most historians of the War of the Roses period portray the Woodvilles as grasping, power hungry, greedy, manipulative, and nasty, sometimes with Elizabeth portrayed as a witch (even Blackadder touched on this). The author of this tries to pull only the facts about the family based on historical data, rather than rumor

And in the background its an interesting look at culture, fashion, food, etc.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 17, 2021 11:53 AM (KZzsI)

385 Cacoeconomy, which leads to a Cacaeconomy.
-------
When I saw that word earlier, I thought, "OK, we're going to move to a chocolate-based economy?" Which I would be kewl with...
Posted by: Comrade BackwardsBoy at January 17, 2021 11:46 AM (HaL55)

Cacaoeconomy, much better than macaweconomy. That's for the birds.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 17, 2021 11:53 AM (oQ94s)

386 When I saw that word earlier, I thought, "OK, we're going to move to a chocolate-based economy?" Which I would be kewl with...
Posted by: Comrade BackwardsBoy
-----
Hanukkah gelt for everyone!
Posted by: Captain Obvious, Laird o' the Sea

The number of Hanukkah has increased from 14 to 12 this week ...

Posted by: George Whodidcallit at January 17, 2021 11:55 AM (LPnfS)

387 @380

A lot of people think the Gospel of John was written by (or dictated by) John the Apostle.

Which would make his the "eye witness" account. It's interesting, since his account is so different from the other three.

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:55 AM (AwPyG)

388 Also I've tried a few other books. One was Murder in the Crypt by Irina Shapiro which was all right, its kind of an introduction to the characters and the mystery was not particularly complex. The author seems more interested in the relationships and people than the crimes.

Brides of Rome: A Novel of the Vestal Virgins by Debra May Macleod was disappointing. Its set over a fairly long period during the end of the Roman republic, but its very episodic, with each chapter years apart and clearly has nothing but spite toward men and Rome. There was no plot, just characters and events, and I did not finish.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 17, 2021 11:56 AM (KZzsI)

389 Cacaoeconomy, much better than macaweconomy. That's for the birds.

How about a Hekawee economy. "Where are we now?"

Posted by: Comrade BackwardsBoy at January 17, 2021 11:57 AM (HaL55)

390 Even more reason to start assembling lists of soon-to-be-deplatformed books, while it's possible to find them.

Also: decades old reference books and school books.

Looking at how quickly online dictionaries redefine words is really
freaky. Will be worse as we watch them erase Trump from history.

Posted by: Lizzy at January 17, 2021 10:43 AM (bDqIh)

Also get history books before they disappear: Shelby Foote, Will and Ariel Durant and Paul Johnson are three authors that come to mind.

Posted by: redbanzai the Southerner at January 17, 2021 11:57 AM (946rW)

391 Cacaoeconomy, much better than macaweconomy. That's for the birds.

Some don't care for the Carobeconomy but I think its just fine, as long as you don't pretend its chocolate.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 17, 2021 11:57 AM (KZzsI)

392 Hello, horde! After reading a interesting but rather depressing book about France from 1914-1940, I'm back to reading Nero Wolfe mysteries. It's a bit simplistic to say the Third Republic fell because of French cowardice - there were many factors, some of them valid. France had taken such a bad hit in WWI that the fear that they would run out of young men if they fought another war was not a crazy thought. Another reason - many of them hated their political opposites more than they hated the Germans. I have no doubt a lot of Americans, given a choice between the Chinese and Trump, would chose the Chinese.

So after the realization that today's Americans have more in common with the defeatist frogs of the 30's than I thought we did, I've returned to escapism.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at January 17, 2021 11:58 AM (HabA/)

393 I just opened the electricity bill for the month my fireplace was inop.

Hopefully I'll be out of debtor's prison by October.
Posted by: creeper at January 17, 2021 11:51 AM (XxJt1)

Whatever one might think, living with lots of sunshine, and solar panels on one's roof, is the difference of about $2-3K a year in energy bills.

Posted by: BurtTC at January 17, 2021 11:58 AM (oQ94s)

394 @384

My advice to new writers: Start with the inciting incident. It's the thread that pulls the reader through the story.

a mystery needs a dead body, right away. A romance needs two people to meet, right away.

don't be coy, no one has the patience anymore.

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:58 AM (AwPyG)

395 Do any other morons have Sister Wendy's History of Painting? If you are a fan of the art thread I would recommend it highly.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 11:58 AM (2DOZq)

396 President Donald Trumps former national security adviser H.R. McMaster on Sundays broadcast of CBSs State of the Union, said Trumps anti-leadership of spreading sustained disinformation over the 2020 presidential election caused the deadly riots on Capitol Hill.

We used to have a few mcmaster defenders here. LOL

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 17, 2021 11:59 AM (85Gof)

397 30 years ago was in the 90's which seem like yesterday to me.
Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 11:40 AM (2DOZq)

The older one gets, the shorter life seems. Life IS short. The Biblical correlation of life and that of a vapor that suddenly appears and then suddenly disappears is very true.
Posted by: Justsayin'
----------

Fact Check: True

I recall my parents occasionally saying something like, 'That was 20 years ago', and being boggled that their memories could go back so inconceivably far.

Well, hell, now 20 years ago seems almost like an eyeblink.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 17, 2021 11:59 AM (1vynn)

398 don't be coy, no one has the patience anymore.

I certainly don't, I have a kajillion books to read and not that many years left.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 17, 2021 11:59 AM (KZzsI)

399 *ponders Teh Horde arriving with torches and pitchforks to spring me*

That would be another MoMe to remember.

Posted by: creeper at January 17, 2021 12:00 PM (XxJt1)

400 Sister Wendy had a coffee-table book that was called "1000 Masterpieces". It wasn't too expensive since it was paperback--I don't know if it's still available.

Her take on 1000 famous masterpieces--very interesting to someone like me who doesn't know art very well

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 12:01 PM (AwPyG)

401 @354 Books are going to be published, websites are going to form, media is going to get out... because they can't stop it.

Nature finds a way?

Posted by: Ignoramus at January 17, 2021 12:01 PM (9TdxA)

402 We had a nood

Posted by: Skip at January 17, 2021 12:01 PM (Cxk7w)

403 387 @380

A lot of people think the Gospel of John was written by (or dictated by) John the Apostle.

Which would make his the "eye witness" account. It's interesting, since his account is so different from the other three.
Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:55 AM (AwPyG)

I forget all the details about who wrote what and when, but I believe it is generally understood that none of the actual eyewitnesses actually "wrote" anything. These were oral accounts, and they were eventually written down, decades after the fact, when it seemed like the stories might be lost otherwise (due to apostles and followers being hunted down and killed).

Posted by: BurtTC at January 17, 2021 12:01 PM (oQ94s)

404 Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 11:58 AM (AwPyG)

The Columbo and Monk story structure.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 12:01 PM (2DOZq)

405 Cacaoeconomy, much better than macaweconomy. That's for the birds.

Some don't care for the Carobeconomy but I think its just fine, as long as you don't pretend its chocolate.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor
--------

As something of a rail fan, I miss the Cabooseconomy.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 17, 2021 12:02 PM (1vynn)

406 I forget all the details about who wrote what and when, but I believe it is generally understood that none of the actual eyewitnesses actually "wrote" anything.

Luke and Acts were almost certainly written, as Luke was a doctor and a scholar. Its interesting because many of the details in Acts that were long lost to history are lately being recovered through archaeology... just where Luke said they were.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 17, 2021 12:02 PM (KZzsI)

407 *ponders Teh Horde arriving with torches and pitchforks to spring me*

That would be another MoMe to remember.
Posted by: creeper
--------

'Send lawyers, guns, and money....'

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 17, 2021 12:03 PM (1vynn)

408 President Donald Trumps former national security
adviser H.R. McMaster on Sundays broadcast of CBSs State of the Union,
said Trumps anti-leadership of spreading sustained disinformation over
the 2020 presidential election caused the deadly riots on Capitol Hill.

We used to have a few mcmaster defenders here. LOL

Posted by: Nevergiveup at January 17, 2021 11:59 AM (85Gof)

I sure wasn't one of them. Nobody who wasn't already convinced OrangeManBad, like the blood of Christ, was capable of expiating all manner of sins and crimes in order to eliminate Trump (and by Trump, I mean us too) would believe a word out of that man's mouth.

Posted by: redbanzai the Southerner at January 17, 2021 12:04 PM (946rW)

409 Peace like a River (wonderful)
Posted by: SimpleLiving at January 17, 2021 11:36 AM (ZtTp4)

Yes. Loved it. Not just the plot, but the glimpse into another part of the country.

Posted by: Sal at January 17, 2021 12:04 PM (KTdeA)

410 Yesterday I finally finished plowing through Richardson's "Clarissa." It takes the heroine about a thousand pages to die. In the end I wanted to kill her myself.

Posted by: Caliban at January 17, 2021 12:05 PM (HgGBT)

411 This week's reading was recommended by my Calmer Half. Fireforce: One Man's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry by Chris Cocks
We were discussing the difference between South Africa's anti-terrorist staging and America's, and it didn't make any sense until a mutual old Africa hand explained that South Africa didn't have air superiority in the war with Angola - thus the very different staging and logistics.

That went on some tangents, and when I asked what a fireforce was, out came the pens on paper for explaining who got dropped where, and phrases like "I wasn't a parachutist, but being in the chopper for a fireforce is a cure for constipation."
And now I have assigned reading. Who'da thunk marriage came with homework?

Posted by: Not From Around Here at January 17, 2021 12:06 PM (wrzAm)

412 It's generally accepted that Mark is the oldest Gospel, written by John Mark, who was St Peter's right hand man and translator. (Peter, being a fisherman, probably didn't know how to read and write)

And as I mentioned, a lot of people think John of the Gospel is John the Apostle and the same John who wrote the Book of Revelation. It is possible, if he lived to be an old man.

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 12:06 PM (AwPyG)

413 >> H.R. McMaster on Sundays broadcast of CBSs State of the Union,
said Trumps anti-leadership of spreading sustained disinformation over
the 2020 presidential election caused the deadly riots on Capitol Hill.

Fuck that sucker of decarated cocks.

We all watched the election being stolen in real time and this puffed up piece of civilservice shit is going to tell us what we saw with our own fucking eyes?

I would love to see the Joint Chiefs of Staff swinging in the breeze on Wed Morning.

Posted by: garrett at January 17, 2021 12:07 PM (h4Vv4)

414 And as I mentioned, a lot of people think John of the Gospel is John the Apostle and the same John who wrote the Book of Revelation. It is possible, if he lived to be an old man.

Probably the longest-lived of all of them, banished instead of killed horribly.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 17, 2021 12:07 PM (KZzsI)

415 Yesterday I finally finished plowing through Richardson's "Clarissa." It takes the heroine about a thousand pages to die. In the end I wanted to kill her myself.
Posted by: Caliban
-------

It is on account of comments like this that I frequent this landscape of iniquity.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at January 17, 2021 12:07 PM (1vynn)

416 One Man's War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry by Chris Cocks....

What an unfortunate name.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 12:07 PM (2DOZq)

417 I miss the Cabooseconomy.

(* fist bump *)

Posted by: Sir Mix-a-Lot at January 17, 2021 12:07 PM (qc+VF)

418 If going through a Weimar period is as tough as reading about the original - Doblin's Berlin Alexanderplatz - hard pass.

Posted by: Rando East Texas Poster at January 17, 2021 12:07 PM (QgW45)

419 Been rereading R. Chandler all week.

Good week.

Posted by: garrett at January 17, 2021 12:07 PM (h4Vv4)

420 239 Speaking of once-popular authors, does anyone remember Mary Roberts Rinehart? She was called "the American Agatha Christie".

She was, imo, a better writer than Christie: better drawn characters and plots that don't rely on a fact sprung on the reader at the end.
She has a short series about a nurse who helps a city detective with his cases.
Some of her works have been made into movies.

Posted by: Sal at January 17, 2021 12:08 PM (KTdeA)

421 It takes the heroine about a thousand pages to die. In the end I wanted to kill her myself.

That's how I felt about Gone With The Wind. What an insufferable brat Scarlett was.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 17, 2021 12:09 PM (KZzsI)

422 I used Amazon gift certificates to buy Little Golden Books (the Christmas themes are next year's presents). Get this: Unlike their 75th anniversary boxed books, the newer ones are printed in the US. Of course, online reviewers are complaining about sexual stereotypes and Christian indoctrination (e.g. an Amazon reviewer admitted to taking an Xacto knife to remove pages from "Little Mommy"!)

I also a hardcover copy of Jerrold Mundis' "Break Writer's Block Now" which I had on Kindle. There is not much that I bought on Kindle that I'd want to read again, with the exception of some Gene Wolfe and John C. Wright.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at January 17, 2021 12:10 PM (/+bwe)

423 We had a power outage with internet outage last week. Really great reminder why owning your media is a good idea.

Posted by: funsize at January 17, 2021 12:11 PM (EiPf6)

424 For the record, I did *not* hint to Mark after a range trip that buying my books would be "good for his health". Ammo is too expensive and the ROI doesn't work out. (Joke, officers, for the use of...)
It may be that smelling the scent of different metals varies by person. I can, which is why I used that title

Copper has a very strong smell, stainless is sort of neutral but galvanized steel has an acrid level. Molybdenum is also very distinct. (Used that a lot in grad school for heated devices).
I'm not too worried about ebooks. As long as we have email, I can send one of my books as an attachment. Getting the chicken as payment through email will take more work, though. We will find a way!

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at January 17, 2021 12:14 PM (7IHuq)

425 I just ordered a book called "Hotel Bemelmans" written by Ludwig Bemelmans, the creator of the "Madeline" books I loved when I was a child. Bemelmans had a very interesting life - he was born in what was then Austria, but is now the Italian Alps, was a bit of a hellion when he was young and was packed off to America to work in in a hotel kitchen - The Ritz - when he was still a kid. He became a US citizen in 1918. The book is about what it was like working as a waiter at a grand New York hotel in the 1910's and 1920's - the characters he worked with and his view of the patrons.

I'm interested in how restaurants then handled Prohibition. It must have been disastrous for many of them, since restaurants make so much money from booze. Not only that, but it's hard to conceive of cooking French and Italian dishes without wine - how do you make coq au vin with no vin? I would imagine many restaurateurs were forced to work with the Mafia and pay out bribes to cops to keep going.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at January 17, 2021 12:14 PM (HabA/)

426 Rinehart wrote a lot of very famous stories--an interesting life, and I think she pre-dated Christie, even though she wasn't as famous.

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 12:14 PM (AwPyG)

427 Speaking of once-popular authors, does anyone remember Mary Roberts Rinehart? She was called "the American Agatha Christie"

No, I do not but i was able to find some of her books free online so I stuffed them into my kindle for later. I agree that Agatha Christie, while brilliant and innovative, is difficult to read. Her short stories are all right but I cannot make it through a full novel.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 17, 2021 12:15 PM (KZzsI)

428 I don't understand your point . We may be just speaking past each
other. If the South had not had to fight the war with the bare minimum
the North would have quit.

Posted by: Mr. Meeseeks, Look at me at January 17, 2021 11:11 AM (2DOZq)
no worries my man, I enjoy the discussion. I guess my main point is the South could have won that war. All they needed was for the USA to say enough is enough, and be done with them. The CSA didn't have to conquer any territory. I think the war is taught as war to the end with to very differently supplied armies and that is that. It is taught as a chess match but that is not what happened. The reality is one side had varying levels of interest and they even changed why they were fighting the war. My only point is I personally do not believe the outcome was for ordained by comparing relative strength and supplies.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 12:15 PM (Rt/LJ)

429 Prohibition was largely ignored all over the country.
Manhattan had 5,000 or so "speakeasy" restaurants.

Posted by: navybrat, soaking up the fog at January 17, 2021 12:15 PM (w7KSn)

430 the two armies had diametrically opposing goals. One wanted to take over
the other and the other wanted to cause so much carnage the other gave
up. in the end, the USA held firm and did what it had to do to win. But
that should never be discounted, they paid a heavy price.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 12:15 PM (Rt/LJ)

431 On technology messing up lives:
Just finished William Marshall's "Faces in the the Crowd", his second New York Detective novel.
It's set in 1884 and the early adoption of the telephone is a big part of the plot. People were being drive to extremes by others listening to them on the line.
Apparently, phone security was non-existent back then.

Yeah, just wait, guys.

Posted by: Sal at January 17, 2021 12:16 PM (KTdeA)

432 "I agree that Agatha Christie, while brilliant and innovative, is difficult to read. Her short stories are all right but I cannot make it through a full novel"

:0

Posted by: artemis at January 17, 2021 12:17 PM (AwPyG)

433 429 Prohibition was largely ignored all over the country.
Manhattan had 5,000 or so "speakeasy" restaurants.
Posted by: navybrat, soaking up the fog at January 17, 2021 12:15 PM (w7KSn)

I know - but there is a difference between running a speakeasy and quite openly serving wine in a restaurant.

Prohibition had a ruinous effect on the US wine and beer industry.

Posted by: Donna&&&&&V at January 17, 2021 12:19 PM (HabA/)

434 Bought Sabrina Chase's Space Opera. For $1.99 it's worth taking a chance. Sell that initial hit cheap, Sabrina!

Posted by: Jeff Weimer at January 17, 2021 12:23 PM (fpng3)

435 Did he really say that? Who the hell knows. TBC...

Posted by: BurtTC at January 17, 2021 11:42 AM (oQ94s)

if you are really interested in Gettyburg, i would go for Coddington Sure it is a long slog. There are others but I can't think of them now but will get back to you if I can.

One historian I used to like was Gary Gallagher from UVA. He is one of the most famous CSA historians in the modern era along with Sears. I am a bit off on him in recent years for reasons i wont say.

But one thing many historians do not like about the famous Burn's Civil War series is that all the CSA stuff is based on Foote and Longstreet. You should check out some yt stuff by Gallagher on Longstreet. There is some real history there that I might get into.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 12:24 PM (Rt/LJ)

436 Prohibition had a ruinous effect on the US wine and beer industry.

Whiskey makers had to turn to making other things to stay open, making medicines like cough syrup and other things. Jack Daniels was bought by a gangster and used to make booze.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 17, 2021 12:25 PM (KZzsI)

437 97 Your comment answered: The book "Cromwell" written by Lady Antonia Fraser. She was "knighted" by the Queen for this book. Tells of the British Navy under Cromwell emptying out entire villages in Northern Ireland, after killing all priests. He had 300 ships fill up with Irish who were transported to the Caribbean for sale as slaves. The citizens of the islands were aghast, but told if no bids, the people would be thrown into the sea on the return voyages. People bid one ha penny for each of them, then set them free, saying: If they do this to Irish, they can do it to anybody.

Posted by: margorodden at January 17, 2021 12:27 PM (63bD5)

438 I've been out all morning so glad you are all here so I can vent about truly awful the third book in the Pullman His Dark Materials series. I was warned here on the blog but failed to take the very accurate advice. It was like he had no idea what to do with this interesting alternate world and couldn't decide what he wanted to say. Is it a young adult coming of age book? A war of cultures book? An anti religious tome? It just wandered around and made no sense and then had a most unsatisfactory ending where no one won.
First two are fine. This one stank.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 17, 2021 12:28 PM (sd8p8)

439 "Prohibition had a ruinous effect on the US wine and beer industry."
True, and unfortunately, a lot of that was wrapped up in anti-Italian and anti-German public sentiment.

Posted by: navybrat, soaking up the fog at January 17, 2021 12:28 PM (w7KSn)

440 I'd put Wealth of Nations high on that list.

And De Tocqueville.
Posted by: pep

The Bible

Posted by: Jean at January 17, 2021 12:29 PM (ZrXen)

441 395 ... "Do any other morons have Sister Wendy's History of Painting? If you are a fan of the art thread I would recommend it highly."

We have the DVD collection. Highly watchable.

Posted by: JTB at January 17, 2021 12:30 PM (7EjX1)

442 Longstreet was an able commander there is not doubt there. But he also was unfit for higher command and he proved that time an again. After the war he was pilloried in the South for criticizing Lee, supporting Grant, becoming Catholic and to be honest for losing Gettysburg.

My suggestion is the read/listen to Gettsyburg by Stephen Sears. If you really want to go in full throttle, read Coddington. In the end, Longstreet was a poor subordinate at Gettysburg. When he finally got his troops into battle, he was good, no doubt there.

As for Pickett, the man likely should have never commanded a division. I don't criticize soldiers lightly, this is backed up by a lot of research. For him to criticize Lee makes no sense at all. Sure his division was decimated, but so were those commanded by Trimble and Pettigrew.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 12:31 PM (Rt/LJ)

443 Your comment answered: The book "Cromwell" written by Lady Antonia Fraser. She was "knighted" by the Queen for this book. Tells of the British Navy under Cromwell emptying out entire villages in Northern Ireland, after killing all priests. He had 300 ships fill up with Irish who were transported to the Caribbean for sale as slaves. The citizens of the islands were aghast, but told if no bids, the people would be thrown into the sea on the return voyages. People bid one ha penny for each of them, then set them free, saying: If they do this to Irish, they can do it to anybody.
Posted by: margorodden

And the British wonder why the Irish and Scots still.hate them

Posted by: Jean at January 17, 2021 12:31 PM (ZrXen)

444 "Anything you purchase from Amazon (Kindle), Barnes & Noble (Nook) or Google (Google Play) you need to consider a loss."

If the president of the US can be digitally banned, nothing is safe online. Books, movies, music, bank accounts, business data - online storage assumes a risk that has jumped enormously in the past few months.

Posted by: TotalTerry at January 17, 2021 12:31 PM (D/efz)

445 First two are fine. This one stank.

The writer is one of those I HATE CHRISTIANITY AND THEY MUST ALL BURN atheist types, who set out to write his version of Narnia without all that God stuff, showing God as the bad guy. But it didn't really work very well and beyond "F--- JESUS" he had no real plot or ideas to present the way CS Lewis did.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at January 17, 2021 12:31 PM (KZzsI)

446 I'm not too worried about ebooks. As long as we have
email, I can send one of my books as an attachment. Getting the chicken
as payment through email will take more work, though. We will find a
way!

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at January 17, 2021 12:14 PM (7IHuq)

You already got my money (filtered through Amazon), but when you get closer, I'll shout you a drink as a tip!

Posted by: Not From Around Here at January 17, 2021 12:35 PM (wrzAm)

447 Pickett was an old friend of Longstreet from the Mexican War. But he missed out on much of what the Army of Northern Virginia was doing that pivotal year. He got to Gettysburg the last day and that is why he was sent in. It did not end well.

Pickett had other issues and was almost charged with insubordination later in the war as he attended a "shad bake" when he was supposed to be fighting. I don't know the full story but it was not a good look. In the end, the guy was famous for a failed assault although two other generals of his rank led troops there.

I know he met with Lee once after the war. The meeting was as cold as ice. Picket had his regrets but he was all in right up until the loss. Not to criticize the man, but his words about Lee meant nothing to people who lived in that day.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 12:37 PM (Rt/LJ)

448 311. (...) That said, if you have the chance to go to the "modern" HPB on NW Hwy in Dallas, do it.

That has been a favorite place to visit for the 31 years I've lived in the Metroplex. It was a sad day, though, when the original NW Hwy location moved from the converted restaurant with the ship in the middle to the big box across the street. Living in the northern sliver of the region now, my go to is Recycled Books in Denton, located in a converted Opera House. Of course, I've only visited either place twice since the Scamdemic started, due to both places being run by mask Nazis. It's as if they don't read any of the history they sell...

Posted by: goozer at January 17, 2021 12:39 PM (PwwcI)

449 When Pickett said "I have no division" to his leader, he had given up. And when Pickett later said "that man destroyed my division" I can promise you, no on in the South thought of it as any more than someone who was addled. Not despraging the man, but he was not exactly a military hero. And it was not about the charge, but everything else he did.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 12:39 PM (Rt/LJ)

450 CRT, absolutely agree with your description. He kills off both sides in the war and then tells the "hero's" they must spend the rest of their lives mourning the loss of their one true love which they don't discover until the very end of the third book. So, everybody is unhappy in the end. What kind of ending is that? I will never ever read another one of his books.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at January 17, 2021 12:40 PM (sd8p8)

451 A good account of the battle of Gettysburg is by Joshua Chamberlain. It is not terribly long, I read over the course of a 4 hour flight.

Posted by: navybrat, soaking up the fog at January 17, 2021 12:42 PM (w7KSn)

452 Booze always welcomed! It helps the creative process

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at January 17, 2021 12:45 PM (7IHuq)

453 Someone recommended the books by Leif Enger. I purchased them because he is a Minnesota writer and as a fellow Upper north Wisconsonite I know we have sympathy with each other especially in January. The books are a delight of sadness and hope. Just the best mid winter read in front of a fire when its snowing. I am reading So Brave, Young and Handsome and completed Peace like a River (wonderful)
Posted by: SimpleLiving at January 17, 2021 11:36 AM (ZtTp4)

That might have been me who brought him up after finishing Peace Like a River which was recommended elsewhere. Then other Horde readers chimed in as being familiar with him, which wasn't surprising.

Posted by: Captain Hate Won't Forget Ashli Babbitt at January 17, 2021 12:51 PM (y7DUB)

454 A good account of the battle of Gettysburg is by
Joshua Chamberlain. It is not terribly long, I read over the course of a
4 hour flight.

Posted by: navybrat, soaking up the fog at January 17, 2021 12:42 PM (w7KSn)

i need to read that. i have my own biases but I do respect Chamberlain. My issue with him is he the the hero of all of his stories. He lived for decades after the war and never missed an opportunity to tell people how well he did. his commander at Little Round Top was Strong Vincent. Of course Vincent died there so he didn't get to write books or give speeches. Same with another Irishman Paddy O'rourke, He got killed to but he was instrumental in getting Vincent's men to that point.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 12:58 PM (Rt/LJ)

455 If you go to Little Round top today, you will see a
statue of Gouverner Warren. He was the one who saw the assault was
coming and made haste to bring troops there. But Warren fell out of
favor later in the war so his story did not get much light. But the
statues there say what the vets of that battle thought was worth
remembering.

O'rourke has one, Warren has one. Not sure about Vincent though he should have had one. Nothing for Chamberlain.

Posted by: Quint at January 17, 2021 12:58 PM (Rt/LJ)

456 ...Pullman His Dark Materials series...First two are fine. This one stank.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice)

The seeds planted in the first two come to noxious flower in the third.

Case in point: Lyra as predestined to be the "New Eve." Two adults in the 1st book discuss how she'll betray someone she loves. Supposedly her personal goal is to find and free Roger from the Gobblers, but there is NO emotional repercussion from his death. When she learns newly-met Will is a murderer, she's relieved; he's powerful enough to protect her. She's not reminded of powerful Uncle-Daddy Asriel murdering Roger or how she poo-pooed his premonition of his death. By book 3, it's no surprise that the assassin sent after the children is killed by a random angel or Will accidentally kills "god."

Personally, I'm annoyed by Pullman's putdowns of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis when he himself didn't have the skill or guts to narrate the takedown of Big Bad Angel. Lyra is TOLD Coulter used Super-Sexiness to distract the angel until Asriel could use his... superior body weight?

But you're in luck, Pullman wrote a prequel and so far one sequel that you can avoid.

Posted by: NaughtyPine at January 17, 2021 01:21 PM (/+bwe)

457 Late to the party today, but tons of great recs in the comments.
Just FYI: Found quite a bit of Robert Service works on Project Gutenberg if any are interested

Posted by: Charlotte at January 17, 2021 01:48 PM (vqBq8)

458 Awesome and thoughtful post, particularly about the Cloud analogy

but there is a typo:

You say "using Bing or using Google"

I think you meant "using Bing or some other browser that is not Google"

yw

Posted by: CharlesThehammer at January 17, 2021 02:00 PM (Dvo0o)

459 I'm into Chapter 5 of A Practical Guide to Evil -- thank you, Mrs. Peel! -- and having a blast.

It's like nothing else I've read in my 29+ years, and while the beginning is a little slow, it's having to establish a very different universe, after all. I think I'm going to enjoy, and likely be challenged by, a story that's also giving me laughs on a regular basis. Which I also need right now.

Posted by: empire 1 at January 17, 2021 02:04 PM (JJatH)

460 344
A lot of bookstores have adapted to the changing times by scheduling author signings and other community events.

The same for libraries.
Posted by: artemis

Ah, yes. Tranny reading hour for the children.
Posted by: Infidel at January 17, 2021 11:22 AM

Here's a question. Did the libraries that started doing this choose the people or did the people choose the libraries? What would happen if people who occupied a traditional gender roles offered to do a story time at the library? Does anyone know?

Posted by: Cybersmythe at January 17, 2021 04:59 PM (qDSku)

461 I'll see your Mary Roberts Rinehart and raise you Ellery Queen.

Both enormously popular and now almost forgotten. My aunt had a large collection of both and I read them all. Seemed like great mysteries to me, but at age 10 or so, my memories may be rose-colored.

Re: storing ebooks. Keep mine on sdcards for easy reading, but archive them (2copies) on DVD-roms.

Posted by: buddhaha at January 17, 2021 10:46 PM (lqlxr)

462 Think I'll take a break from the blog.

Take care, y'all.
Posted by: SMH at January 17, 2021 10:23 AM (FsVxE)

You and your Fam are in my thoughts and prayers.

So, ya got THAT goin' for ya !

Posted by: JT at January 18, 2021 06:22 AM (arJlL)

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