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Sunday Morning Book Thread - 03-06-2022 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]
PIC NOTE
Sue Jimenez, a retired forensic anthropologist, reportedly has the largest collection of cookbooks in the world, as certified by Guiness World Records. She has at least 6,000 cookbooks in her library. Sadly, I did not find any evidence that she has The Deplorable Gourmet in her collection. You can find an online version of her collection here. She also has a blog where she researches cookbooks for history, cultural, and social trends, such as, "A Vintage Cookbookery Mystery - The Curious Case of Irma Rombauer and the Missing Squirrel." (NOTE: Irma Rombauer is the author of The Joy of Cooking.) IT PAYS TO INCREASE YOUR
(Full disclosure: I admit I've failed to turn in more than one library book.)
Comment: Case Lee sounds like the sort of character you might like if you are a fan of Jack Reacher, Jack Ryan, or Repairman Jack (why are they all named "Jack?"). According to Vince, the Case Lee novels are all standalone, so "you can start anywhere and enjoy the ride." Thanks to the magic of just-in-time printing, I was able to obtain a copy of this book in only two days, fresh from the printer. As of this writing I'm about a quarter of the way into it and it's pretty good. Definitely worth the sheckels if you can spare them and like conspiracy action thriller novels. A list of other AoSHQ authors can be found here. MORON RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Texas Job
(A Case Lee Novel Book 9)
Spies and killers gather as a deadly conspiracy brews. With thousands of lives at stake, players behind the curtain remain shrouded in mystery, indistinguishable as friend or foe.
Unleashed into the storm, Case Lee faces a hard reality. Doing the right thing can come with a heavy price.
It started as a simple job, with no earmarks of the coming dangers. The trail starts in Texas, where lies and misdirection mark the moment's currency. Then off to Spain and Barcelona's seediest streets, where spies and killers make an unexpected appearance. He's joined by a peculiar French Interpol cop whose unwelcome participation raises more questions. As lethal activities escalate out of control, answers remain unclear - who is pulling the strings?
Available through Amazon
Highly recommend "1913: An End and a Beginning" by Virginia Cowles (it is, alas, out of print). Thanks MP4! Explores the upper crust of London, Berlin, St Petersburg, Vienna, Rome, Paris, and New York on the eve of WWI. It really was a cultural high water mark but there was so much tension brewing beneath the surface. But then, who could have foreseen that the Great Martian War was about to erupt?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at February 27, 2022 09:15 AM (Dc2NZ)
Comment: There's an entire trope dedicated to Perry Mason. Basically, the television version of the character was famous for getting guilty parties to convict themselves while they were on the witness stand. Probably not recommended for real life.
I'm on another Perry Mason binge. Happens every time I watch one of the TV episodes based on a Gardner book; I want to see how different the original is from the adaptation. While I wait for the library to dislodge the batch I ordered, I'm reading one I bought years ago: "The Case of the Curious Bride," from 1934. That's older than my dad I'm having fun seeing what is now out of date. Mason's phone is the kind with a separate earpiece. He wears a vest. Of course, smoking is rampant. I got a kick out of the first newspaper article about the murder. It runs for 18 long paragraphs until it gets to the jump line. Type was smaller then, but from what I know about newspaper layout, it seems that the story likely took two full columns of the front page. What a dull layout! And the article itself has no attribution; I guess readers were supposed to understand (or not care) that the reporter was regurgitating police statements. A reporter could just make up stories ... Hmm, some things haven't changed. Posted by: Weak Geek at February 27, 2022 09:21 AM (Om/di)
Comment: Yeah, art capers can be kind of fun and intriguing. History is full of little adventures in the art world, as art is highly collectible, quite valuable, and easily transportable in many cases. Great for money laundering (just ask Hunter Biden). Forgery is also quite rampant. If you are going to create fraudulent artwork, then the devil is in the details. You can find a list of the Art History Mysteries here. (DISCLAIMER: The Sunday Morning Book Thread does not condone the cool crime of art fraud.)
I've been binge reading the Iain Pears Art History Mysteries, my current treat being the Raphael Affair. He's a great writer who focuses on art frauds, stolen paintings and statues and that sort of thing. Set in Europe and mostly in Italy, the protagonist Jonathan Argyll, an English art history expert, teams up with the lovely Flavia di Stefano (obviously I've never seen her bc it's just a book but I'm quite certain she's beautiful lol ... what can I say, I'm very happy in my imagination) and her boss, an older Italian military man who now runs the stolen art recovery team for the government, to crack capers deadly and fascinating. I never really thought about the seedy underbelly of the art fraud world, but this is fun. Posted by: Blacksheep at February 27, 2022 10:00 AM (6mvRv)
Comments
(Jump to bottom of comments)1
Tolle Lege
Posted by: Skip at March 06, 2022 09:00 AM (2JoB8)
2
Am I first?
Posted by: Dread0 at March 06, 2022 09:00 AM (5qEJq)
3
Nerds! *knocks books out of hands*
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 09:00 AM (Dc2NZ)
4
Morning, Horde...How goes it?
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 09:01 AM (K5n5d)
5
Slowly reading Race Marxism by James Lindsey
His definition of Critical Race Theory
Critical Race Theory is a revolutionary and broadly neo-Marxist mode of activism based upon the belief that the fundamental organizing principle of society is "systemic racism," which it asserts was created and is maintained by white people in order to preserve a social structure that provides a multitude of unjust advantages over people of color, especially blacks.
His definition of Critical Race Theory
Critical Race Theory is a revolutionary and broadly neo-Marxist mode of activism based upon the belief that the fundamental organizing principle of society is "systemic racism," which it asserts was created and is maintained by white people in order to preserve a social structure that provides a multitude of unjust advantages over people of color, especially blacks.
Posted by: Skip at March 06, 2022 09:02 AM (2JoB8)
6
Booken Morgen Horden
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 09:02 AM (204zP)
7
Good morning
Posted by: Lotta nerve at March 06, 2022 09:02 AM (JdcHc)
8
Whoever passed along Quote Unf*cker I thank you, used it a few times now.
Posted by: Skip at March 06, 2022 09:04 AM (2JoB8)
9
Nice pimp hat, Mr. Squirrel!
Just started Candice Millard's book "Hero of the empire: the Boer War, a daring escape, and the making of Winston Churchill". Here's Ms. Millard's discussion on the C-Span book series:
https://tinyurl.com/2s38zmh6
I'm so old that when I was in junior high, we read a selection from a story on Churchill's experiences in the Boer War.
Just started Candice Millard's book "Hero of the empire: the Boer War, a daring escape, and the making of Winston Churchill". Here's Ms. Millard's discussion on the C-Span book series:
https://tinyurl.com/2s38zmh6
I'm so old that when I was in junior high, we read a selection from a story on Churchill's experiences in the Boer War.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 09:04 AM (Dc2NZ)
10
Thanks Perfessor Squirrel.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 09:04 AM (y7DUB)
11
Eagerly awaiting Captain Hate's thoughts on Dostoevsky's "The Demons."
Posted by: Brett at March 06, 2022 09:04 AM (sgJMJ)
12
I've been binge reading the Iain Pears Art History Mysteries, my current treat being the Raphael Affair.
On recommendation by the Horde, I put a hold on a book by Iain Pears. Can't remember the title offhand, but I got a notice from the library that it's in. Can't wait to read it. It's large print so I'm happy about that.
On recommendation by the Horde, I put a hold on a book by Iain Pears. Can't remember the title offhand, but I got a notice from the library that it's in. Can't wait to read it. It's large print so I'm happy about that.
Posted by: grammie winger at March 06, 2022 09:05 AM (45fpk)
13
Squirrel looks very spiffy today.
Posted by: grammie winger at March 06, 2022 09:07 AM (45fpk)
14
The squirrel is a pimp?
Posted by: dantesed at March 06, 2022 09:09 AM (88xKn)
15
I am in a Zoom book club. We are doing Sci Fi and trying to do award winners. We are about to do Three Body Problem. It's a modern Hugo winner.
I'm a little bit afraid.
I'm a little bit afraid.
Posted by: blaster at March 06, 2022 09:09 AM (9otr5)
16
Good morning fellow Book Threadists. I hope everyone had a great week of reading.
And thanks to PS for another book thread.
And thanks to PS for another book thread.
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022 09:09 AM (7EjX1)
17
Morning all - not much time to devote to reading this week, as we are getting ready to replace the back fence of Stately Hayes Manor ... a wooden fence about ready to fall down of itself.
Another homeowner in the neighborhood was putting in a taller privacy fence, and let us take away the barely-weathered panels and posts from the previous fence, which will save us a bomb, given how the prices of wood are accelerating upwards...
I did finish re-reading one of the Vorkosigan novels. I wonder if Lois McMaster Bujold's Vor series are going to get caught up in the Ban All Things Russian madness.
Good thing that I already have all of them on the shelves.
Another homeowner in the neighborhood was putting in a taller privacy fence, and let us take away the barely-weathered panels and posts from the previous fence, which will save us a bomb, given how the prices of wood are accelerating upwards...
I did finish re-reading one of the Vorkosigan novels. I wonder if Lois McMaster Bujold's Vor series are going to get caught up in the Ban All Things Russian madness.
Good thing that I already have all of them on the shelves.
Posted by: Sgt. Mom at March 06, 2022 09:10 AM (xnmPy)
18
Have a idea of CRT before the book was started as been saying Every interaction must start with how race plays into it, So far tits twisted logic but it does follow Marxist thinking taking it to a new level.
Posted by: Skip's Phone at March 06, 2022 09:10 AM (2JoB8)
19
Morning again, folken,
I'm settling in with a cup of coffee and a pipe of Prince Albert. (A Canadian-style pipe, as it happens; don't hold it against me. Actually the shape is a "Lumberman," which has to do with the shape of its stem. The pipe itself is French, though.)
I'm reading a John Grisham novel, The Judge's List, about a Florida judge who is . . . a serial killer.
I'm settling in with a cup of coffee and a pipe of Prince Albert. (A Canadian-style pipe, as it happens; don't hold it against me. Actually the shape is a "Lumberman," which has to do with the shape of its stem. The pipe itself is French, though.)
I'm reading a John Grisham novel, The Judge's List, about a Florida judge who is . . . a serial killer.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 09:12 AM (c6xtn)
20
I read Blood's A Rover by James Ellroy. This is the final book in The U. S. A. Underworld trilogy. I didn't enjoy this as much as the first two in the series. The book covers the period from 1964 to 1972 with the same cast of characters. They are involved in stirring up warring black radical factions in southcentral Los Angeles, setting up mob-owned casinos in the Dominican Republic, and a plot to kill J. Edgar Hoover.
Posted by: Zoltan at March 06, 2022 09:12 AM (8ViUp)
21
I am in a Zoom book club. We are doing Sci Fi and trying to do award winners. We are about to do Three Body Problem. It's a modern Hugo winner.
I'm a little bit afraid.
Posted by: blaster at March 06, 2022 09:09 AM (9otr5)
---
I'd be very interested in your review of that book...It's one of those that I'm somewhat curious about, but not quite ready to invest the time and effort to read, yet.
I'm a little bit afraid.
Posted by: blaster at March 06, 2022 09:09 AM (9otr5)
---
I'd be very interested in your review of that book...It's one of those that I'm somewhat curious about, but not quite ready to invest the time and effort to read, yet.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 09:12 AM (K5n5d)
22
Again no reading this week.
Posted by: rhennigantx at March 06, 2022 09:12 AM (yrol0)
Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at March 06, 2022 09:12 AM (CcOog)
Posted by: Hairyback Guy at March 06, 2022 09:13 AM (R/m4+)
25
I am in a Zoom book club. We are doing Sci Fi and trying to do award winners. We are about to do Three Body Problem. It's a modern Hugo winner.
I'm a little bit afraid.
Posted by: blaster at March 06, 2022
***
If it's modern, it's probably too woke.
I'm a little bit afraid.
Posted by: blaster at March 06, 2022
***
If it's modern, it's probably too woke.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 09:13 AM (c6xtn)
26
I'm following up my reading of Andrew Roberts' biography of George III with Christopher Hibbert's biography of George IV.
This boyo was a classic narcissist with a spending disorder: clothes, building projects with huge cost overruns and debts, plus mistresses! In some ways, he was as mad as his Dad, but during his regency, the British government led the coalition that extinguished Napoleon, inaugurating the Pax Britannica.
From the "Times" obituary of George IV: "There never was an individual less regretted by his fellow-creatures than this deceased king."
This boyo was a classic narcissist with a spending disorder: clothes, building projects with huge cost overruns and debts, plus mistresses! In some ways, he was as mad as his Dad, but during his regency, the British government led the coalition that extinguished Napoleon, inaugurating the Pax Britannica.
From the "Times" obituary of George IV: "There never was an individual less regretted by his fellow-creatures than this deceased king."
Posted by: Brett at March 06, 2022 09:15 AM (sgJMJ)
27
Thanks Perf
Posted by: rhennigantx at March 06, 2022 09:15 AM (yrol0)
28
I'm in the middle of "The Guns of August" by Barbara W. Tuchman.
It seems appropriate to read it now.
It seems appropriate to read it now.
Posted by: gourmand du jour at March 06, 2022 09:15 AM (jTmQV)
29
We've discussed Thunder Road a couple of times so I looked up author Colin Holmes. He is gray haired (and bearded) so I assume he is 29. Anyway, I found the blurb he wrote about himself interesting.
Before the pandemic, I worked in a beige cubical as a mid-level marketing and advertising guy for an international electronics firm. A recovering advertising creative director, I spent far too long at ad agencies and freelancing as a hired gun in the war for capitalism.
. . . .
Now, I write novels, short stories, and screenplays in an effort to stay out of the way and not drive his far too patient wife completely crazy.
-
So don't say the lockdown never did nothing for ya.
Before the pandemic, I worked in a beige cubical as a mid-level marketing and advertising guy for an international electronics firm. A recovering advertising creative director, I spent far too long at ad agencies and freelancing as a hired gun in the war for capitalism.
. . . .
Now, I write novels, short stories, and screenplays in an effort to stay out of the way and not drive his far too patient wife completely crazy.
-
So don't say the lockdown never did nothing for ya.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet at March 06, 2022 09:15 AM (FVME7)
30
From the "Times" obituary of George IV: "There never was an individual less regretted by his fellow-creatures than this deceased king."
Posted by: Brett at March 06, 2022 09:15 AM (sgJMJ)
That's funny.
Posted by: Brett at March 06, 2022 09:15 AM (sgJMJ)
That's funny.
Posted by: grammie winger at March 06, 2022 09:16 AM (45fpk)
31
The YouTube video All Hail Eris linked
----
I don't see a youtube link?
On DDG browser on my phone
Let me try safari
Yup, shows up in safari
----
I don't see a youtube link?
On DDG browser on my phone
Let me try safari
Yup, shows up in safari
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 09:16 AM (204zP)
32
hiya
Posted by: JT at March 06, 2022 09:16 AM (arJlL)
33
Greetings, one and all. Normally I just lurk but I'm here early today ... Bathroom book is "Stasiland" and it will be interesting to think about an article I just read saying that lack of a father in the home may incline someone towards socialism while I am reading that.
Just got "Stunned by Scripture" by John Bergsma about his conversion to the Catholic faith. I love reading these books because I always say in my Catholic Facebook groups that you have to meet Protestants where they are if they are Catholic-curious, and that's in the Bible.
And I just got a copy of "The Socially Skilled Child Molester" by Carla van Dam which is research for my novel which is about a combo of two locally famous and beyond-disgusting figures and the destruction of a family.
And I'm also reading about narcissism, partly for me and partly for the novel, but I can't remember what I'm reading right now. It's a function of Kindle books not having distinctive enough covers.
Just got "Stunned by Scripture" by John Bergsma about his conversion to the Catholic faith. I love reading these books because I always say in my Catholic Facebook groups that you have to meet Protestants where they are if they are Catholic-curious, and that's in the Bible.
And I just got a copy of "The Socially Skilled Child Molester" by Carla van Dam which is research for my novel which is about a combo of two locally famous and beyond-disgusting figures and the destruction of a family.
And I'm also reading about narcissism, partly for me and partly for the novel, but I can't remember what I'm reading right now. It's a function of Kindle books not having distinctive enough covers.
Posted by: Tonestaple at March 06, 2022 09:16 AM (5aF+L)
34
AHE's recommendation: 1913: An End and a Beginning isn't even too expensive.
Posted by: yara at March 06, 2022 09:17 AM (hBsVD)
35
I don't think the Pants guy owns a weedwhacker. (If you catch my drift)
Posted by: JT at March 06, 2022 09:18 AM (arJlL)
36
I also read Beautiful Country: Struggle To Survive by Qian Julie Wang. This is Wang's memoir of coming to America as a 4-year old girl. Her family overstays their visas and become illegal aliens. Wang's story is one of hardship, constant worry about being deported, and eventually becoming successful. A story common to many immigrants. The ending seemed abrupt and rushed.
Posted by: Zoltan at March 06, 2022 09:18 AM (8ViUp)
37
Thanks gor linking to previous book thread!
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 09:19 AM (204zP)
38
The YouTube video All Hail Eris linked
----
I don't see a youtube link?
On DDG browser on my phone
Let me try safari
Yup, shows up in safari
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 09:16 AM (204zP)
----
Weasel (who posts the Book Threads for me) embedded the actual video...It's worth watching!
----
I don't see a youtube link?
On DDG browser on my phone
Let me try safari
Yup, shows up in safari
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 09:16 AM (204zP)
----
Weasel (who posts the Book Threads for me) embedded the actual video...It's worth watching!
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 09:19 AM (K5n5d)
39
I read a lot of articles on Ukraine and oligarchs this week. We have enough oligarchs already, hell with them all. Let Zelensky sell his 30M dacha in Florida and buy ammo.
I also decided that I was too much like that running joke about people with huge piles of books, on the night stand, on the floor...etc. So I moved them back to the cases in our library room. It took more than a few trips, but it was absolutely absurd. It was a good way to use up some of the frustrated anger over politics.
Among the books, now moved, I located a few short story anthologies. Hemingway (mostly read), Jack London, Fitzgerald (read twice) and a book of William Maxwell stories. I'll start the Maxwell stories, as I recall liking Time Will Darken It.
I also decided that I was too much like that running joke about people with huge piles of books, on the night stand, on the floor...etc. So I moved them back to the cases in our library room. It took more than a few trips, but it was absolutely absurd. It was a good way to use up some of the frustrated anger over politics.
Among the books, now moved, I located a few short story anthologies. Hemingway (mostly read), Jack London, Fitzgerald (read twice) and a book of William Maxwell stories. I'll start the Maxwell stories, as I recall liking Time Will Darken It.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 09:19 AM (ONvIw)
40
Eagerly awaiting Captain Hate's thoughts on Dostoevsky's "The Demons."
Posted by: Brett
(whatever ya do, don't mention James Jones.....)
Posted by: Brett
(whatever ya do, don't mention James Jones.....)
Posted by: JT at March 06, 2022 09:19 AM (arJlL)
41
28 I'm in the middle of "The Guns of August" by Barbara W. Tuchman.
It seems appropriate to read it now.
Posted by: gourmand du jour at March 06, 2022 09:15 AM (jTmQV)
Instead of a cousins' war we have a billionaires war brewing.
It seems appropriate to read it now.
Posted by: gourmand du jour at March 06, 2022 09:15 AM (jTmQV)
Instead of a cousins' war we have a billionaires war brewing.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 09:20 AM (ONvIw)
42
Reading Dodge City, by Tom Clavin. It is centered on the city of that name and how Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson brought their brand of justice to tame an out of control city. Quite interesting. A lot of characters passed through Dodge City. If you like westerns, I think you will like this book.
Posted by: RetsgtRN at March 06, 2022 09:20 AM (5uNrs)
43
Spiffy hat perfesser. The squirrel panel is currently discussing your sense of fashion.
Posted by: Sock Monkey * Ungovernable at March 06, 2022 09:21 AM (Thzcc)
44
I have been reading the Bob and Nikki series by Jerry Boyd, it's a guilty pleasure. Only thing about it is, there aren't any chapter divisions.
I've also been reading The Drovers by John D. Brown and Brannigan's Blackhearts by Peter Nealen. I just picked up Servants of War by ILoH and Steve Diamond.
So many books. So little time.
Next week I will be between classes, just finished up Intro to Automation and will be doing PLC's for the next 8 weeks.
I've also been reading The Drovers by John D. Brown and Brannigan's Blackhearts by Peter Nealen. I just picked up Servants of War by ILoH and Steve Diamond.
So many books. So little time.
Next week I will be between classes, just finished up Intro to Automation and will be doing PLC's for the next 8 weeks.
Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at March 06, 2022 09:21 AM (CcOog)
45
Every interaction must start with how race plays into it,
-
ABC News had a Ukraine special Friday night. They had a segment about Ukrainian discrimination against African American Africans on Ukrainian trains. War is hell.
-
ABC News had a Ukraine special Friday night. They had a segment about Ukrainian discrimination against African American Africans on Ukrainian trains. War is hell.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet at March 06, 2022 09:22 AM (FVME7)
46
(A Canadian-style pipe, as it happens; don't hold it against me. Actually the shape is a "Lumberman," which has to do with the shape of its stem. The pipe itself is French, though.)
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 09:12 AM (c6xtn)
That's ok.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 09:12 AM (c6xtn)
That's ok.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 06, 2022 09:22 AM (7bRMQ)
47
-
ABC News had a Ukraine special Friday night. They had a segment about Ukrainian discrimination against African American Africans on Ukrainian trains. War is hell.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet at March 06, 2022 09:22 AM (FVME7)
Poland doesn't want African and Middle Eastern migrants. Respect their borders, not just Ukraine's libs!
ABC News had a Ukraine special Friday night. They had a segment about Ukrainian discrimination against African American Africans on Ukrainian trains. War is hell.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet at March 06, 2022 09:22 AM (FVME7)
Poland doesn't want African and Middle Eastern migrants. Respect their borders, not just Ukraine's libs!
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 09:23 AM (ONvIw)
48
Greetings:
This week, I've been reading "The Greeks: A Global History" by Roderick Beaton which I can recommend as a concise (400+ pp) 4000 year history of not quite the whole global and what pops up but their problems with the Run and the Ukrainians.
Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
This week, I've been reading "The Greeks: A Global History" by Roderick Beaton which I can recommend as a concise (400+ pp) 4000 year history of not quite the whole global and what pops up but their problems with the Run and the Ukrainians.
Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
Posted by: 11B40 at March 06, 2022 09:24 AM (uuklp)
49
This week's books are a reread of A Canticle for Lebowitz and The Gardens of Monticello.
Posted by: Sock Monkey * Ungovernable at March 06, 2022 09:24 AM (Thzcc)
50
Between MeTV and FeTV Perry Mason is on 6x a day. Raymond Burr was asked at the end of his life if he had any regrets. He said playing Perry Mason because the character took over his life.
Posted by: JuJuBee at March 06, 2022 09:25 AM (mNhhD)
51
I'm continuing to read LOTR and the 100 Days of Dante. No big surprises with LOTR after all these decades, just enjoyment while listening to the Andy Serkis narration as I read along.
We're up to Canto 10 of the Paradiso. The value of the program has been to introduce me to The Divine Comedy and understand the context of Dante's poetry. (Some of the attitudes are so foreign to modern norms.) But I still feel I'm missing huge amounts of meaning and structure in the poem. It would require much more intensive study to scratch that surface.
We're up to Canto 10 of the Paradiso. The value of the program has been to introduce me to The Divine Comedy and understand the context of Dante's poetry. (Some of the attitudes are so foreign to modern norms.) But I still feel I'm missing huge amounts of meaning and structure in the poem. It would require much more intensive study to scratch that surface.
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022 09:25 AM (7EjX1)
52
Squirrels got pimps?
Posted by: fd at March 06, 2022 09:26 AM (vrz2I)
53
One of the reasons I'm on this Mason binge is to compare the TV versions of Gardner's actual stories with the novels -- to see what the adapter had to cut or change. In the books, Mason doesn't always extract a courtroom confession, and the killer is sometimes identified without being taken into custody.
I'm closing in on the end of "TCOT Crooked Candle" and finding myself having to reread parts to get everything straight in my mind. Advantage: book.
I regret that none of the six-pack I got from the library has covers, as I've been researching the various covers from the numerous printings of these books. On the other hand, that means that I don't have to hide any of the absolutely ridiculous covers from the run of Pocket Books in which, as Sam Levinson put it, "every book has a girl on the cover and no cover on the girl."
I'm closing in on the end of "TCOT Crooked Candle" and finding myself having to reread parts to get everything straight in my mind. Advantage: book.
I regret that none of the six-pack I got from the library has covers, as I've been researching the various covers from the numerous printings of these books. On the other hand, that means that I don't have to hide any of the absolutely ridiculous covers from the run of Pocket Books in which, as Sam Levinson put it, "every book has a girl on the cover and no cover on the girl."
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 06, 2022 09:27 AM (Om/di)
54
I'm continuing to read LOTR and the 100 Days of Dante. No big surprises with LOTR after all these decades, just enjoyment while listening to the Andy Serkis narration as I read along.
---
I'm currently watching Critical Drinker's "Happy Hour #48". His special guest is Professor Tosspot from Voxis Productions. Their topic of discussion is the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings (movie and book). Great stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0765M20V21I
---
I'm currently watching Critical Drinker's "Happy Hour #48". His special guest is Professor Tosspot from Voxis Productions. Their topic of discussion is the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings (movie and book). Great stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0765M20V21I
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 09:27 AM (K5n5d)
55
Huggy Squirrel
Posted by: fd at March 06, 2022 09:27 AM (vrz2I)
56
They had a segment about Ukrainian discrimination against African American Africans on Ukrainian trains.
It never ceases to simultaneously amuse and annoy me that black people all the world round are called "African Americans" by Americans, regardless of if the PoC in question is, in fact, either African or American. In a not-surprising number of cases, when speaking of events outside of the US, they are neither.
It never ceases to simultaneously amuse and annoy me that black people all the world round are called "African Americans" by Americans, regardless of if the PoC in question is, in fact, either African or American. In a not-surprising number of cases, when speaking of events outside of the US, they are neither.
Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde, NC Chapter at March 06, 2022 09:27 AM (CcOog)
57
Every interaction must start with how race plays into it,
-
ABC News had a Ukraine special Friday night. They had a segment about Ukrainian discrimination against African American Africans on Ukrainian trains. War is hell.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet
How many African Americans are in Ukrainia ?
-
ABC News had a Ukraine special Friday night. They had a segment about Ukrainian discrimination against African American Africans on Ukrainian trains. War is hell.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet
How many African Americans are in Ukrainia ?
Posted by: JT at March 06, 2022 09:28 AM (arJlL)
58
Squirrel sez:
Diamond in the back, sunroof top, diggin' the scene widda gangsta lean...
Diamond in the back, sunroof top, diggin' the scene widda gangsta lean...
Posted by: klaftern@yahoo.com at March 06, 2022 09:28 AM (taPSh)
59
52 Squirrels got pimps?
Posted by: fd at March 06, 2022 09:26 AM (vrz2I)
Needs a fur coat and gold chains
Posted by: fd at March 06, 2022 09:26 AM (vrz2I)
Needs a fur coat and gold chains
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 09:29 AM (ONvIw)
60
Oh, some advice --
Before you start in on TV Tropes, make sure you have lots of time available. You'll wind up with as many tabs open as Sefton has links.
Before you start in on TV Tropes, make sure you have lots of time available. You'll wind up with as many tabs open as Sefton has links.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 06, 2022 09:29 AM (Om/di)
61
Between MeTV and FeTV Perry Mason is on 6x a day. Raymond Burr was asked at the end of his life if he had any regrets. He said playing Perry Mason because the character took over his life.
Posted by: JuJuBee at March 06, 2022 09:25 AM
For a while the wife and I were on a Perry Mason binge watching run. I enjoyed the cars and the clothes. How mannerly people were. And most importantly, how beautiful the women were.
Posted by: JuJuBee at March 06, 2022 09:25 AM
For a while the wife and I were on a Perry Mason binge watching run. I enjoyed the cars and the clothes. How mannerly people were. And most importantly, how beautiful the women were.
Posted by: RetsgtRN at March 06, 2022 09:29 AM (5uNrs)
62
How many African Americans are in Ukrainia ?
Posted by: JT at March 06, 2022 09:28 AM (arJlL)
I got the impression that most of these people were migrants.
Posted by: JT at March 06, 2022 09:28 AM (arJlL)
I got the impression that most of these people were migrants.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 09:30 AM (ONvIw)
63
My light reading was Margaret Ball's "A Pocketful of Stars", Book 1 in her Applied Topology series. A group of theoretical mathematicians has learned how to apply their theories in the material world (teleportation, telekinesis, and cloaking/camouflage), and now the mysterious agency funding their Institute wants them to use their unique set of skills. Wackiness ensues.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 09:30 AM (Dc2NZ)
64
Squirrels got pimps?
Posted by: fd at March 06, 2022 09:26 AM (vrz2I)
Needs a fur coat and gold chains
Posted by: CN...FJB
And shades.
Posted by: fd at March 06, 2022 09:26 AM (vrz2I)
Needs a fur coat and gold chains
Posted by: CN...FJB
And shades.
Posted by: JT at March 06, 2022 09:30 AM (arJlL)
65
When something just falls into place as you're thinking about a scene, is that having a writer's moment or just dumb luck?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 06, 2022 09:30 AM (7bRMQ)
66
All Hail Eris: Great find! Only one (01) teeny-tiny-eentsy-weentsy historical error I find, and that's the inclusion around the 2
x segment of WWII American troop uniforms. Other than that slight aberration, everything else appears to be spot-on historically - and it's in keeping with the original HG Wells book premise, too. Love the graphics, esp the period headlines and typographically-correct fontage. Thanks for sharing that find. Oh - the title slide also has some interesting dates for the time period ... so close to real life, but ... Hey! Gotta have fun with history, yes?
x segment of WWII American troop uniforms. Other than that slight aberration, everything else appears to be spot-on historically - and it's in keeping with the original HG Wells book premise, too. Love the graphics, esp the period headlines and typographically-correct fontage. Thanks for sharing that find. Oh - the title slide also has some interesting dates for the time period ... so close to real life, but ... Hey! Gotta have fun with history, yes?Posted by: Dr_No at March 06, 2022 09:30 AM (mu5GU)
67
Oh, some advice --
Before you start in on TV Tropes, make sure you have lots of time available. You'll wind up with as many tabs open as Sefton has links.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 06, 2022 09:29 AM (Om/di)
---
When I said it was a timewaster, I was NOT exaggerating in the slightest. It's a tremendous resource for studying stories in virtually any media...
Before you start in on TV Tropes, make sure you have lots of time available. You'll wind up with as many tabs open as Sefton has links.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 06, 2022 09:29 AM (Om/di)
---
When I said it was a timewaster, I was NOT exaggerating in the slightest. It's a tremendous resource for studying stories in virtually any media...
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 09:31 AM (K5n5d)
68
Greetings, CN...FJB:
RE: @ 47 above
I first got wind of that ploy via Mark Owen of the France24 English language broadcast last Monday. He just threw out a simple sentence. The next evening, the BBC started the ball rolling farther with about a paragraph's worth and an attribution to the African Union, no less.
Poland and Hungary will be the EU's red-haired step children fo just about ever. The sexual dysfunctional can't be too far behind.
RE: @ 47 above
I first got wind of that ploy via Mark Owen of the France24 English language broadcast last Monday. He just threw out a simple sentence. The next evening, the BBC started the ball rolling farther with about a paragraph's worth and an attribution to the African Union, no less.
Poland and Hungary will be the EU's red-haired step children fo just about ever. The sexual dysfunctional can't be too far behind.
Posted by: 11B40 at March 06, 2022 09:31 AM (uuklp)
69
Recently finished Omnibus numbers 5 and 6 of the Conan the Barbarian comic. They were kind of a slog. The original comic writer left, they had run out of Robert E Howard stories to adapt, and the new writers were.....middling, at best. Between the two books, there was a two-year stretch of almost nothing: generic adventures with no over-arcing story, no supporting cast, and no real change of scenery. But it was still Conan, and the art was still fantastic.
And now Omnibus number 7 is about to come out. So I will be 'all caught up' for one whole week...
And now Omnibus number 7 is about to come out. So I will be 'all caught up' for one whole week...
Posted by: Castle Guy at March 06, 2022 09:32 AM (Lhaco)
70
Perfessor, I've never read Lileks' books, but he does excerpt some occasionally on his site. Or at leasts does posts about it.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 06, 2022 09:32 AM (7bRMQ)
71
Eagerly awaiting Captain Hate's thoughts on Dostoevsky's "The Demons."
Posted by: Brett at March 06, 2022 09:04 AM (sgJMJ)
Thanks. It's probably my favorite Dostoyevsky (alternate titles The Demons and The Possessed) because it sticks to trashing political radicals in Russia, which is kind of odd considering he was once jailed for being a radical and Nabokov's uncle oversaw a fake execution of him. But Fyodor wasn't like that at all and spends the entire book trashing them as worthless wankers. I picked up my copy at a library sale not knowing what to expect and took it on a family camping trip in Maine and read it by the campfire while mosquitoes feasted on me. I don't remember specific characters (it was over 40 years ago and I probably should reread it before I shift off the mortal coil) but some were more sympathetic than others but they were all pretty much naive dimwits except for the really manipulative pricks. According to the Wikitards, this is regarded as one of Fyodors masterpieces, which I don't recall the eggheads feeling that way; but it's surely deserving of the highest praise and much more coherent than The Idiot.
Posted by: Brett at March 06, 2022 09:04 AM (sgJMJ)
Thanks. It's probably my favorite Dostoyevsky (alternate titles The Demons and The Possessed) because it sticks to trashing political radicals in Russia, which is kind of odd considering he was once jailed for being a radical and Nabokov's uncle oversaw a fake execution of him. But Fyodor wasn't like that at all and spends the entire book trashing them as worthless wankers. I picked up my copy at a library sale not knowing what to expect and took it on a family camping trip in Maine and read it by the campfire while mosquitoes feasted on me. I don't remember specific characters (it was over 40 years ago and I probably should reread it before I shift off the mortal coil) but some were more sympathetic than others but they were all pretty much naive dimwits except for the really manipulative pricks. According to the Wikitards, this is regarded as one of Fyodors masterpieces, which I don't recall the eggheads feeling that way; but it's surely deserving of the highest praise and much more coherent than The Idiot.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 09:33 AM (y7DUB)
72
When something just falls into place as you're thinking about a scene, is that having a writer's moment or just dumb luck?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 06, 2022
***
Yes!
By the way, I was going to scan your 2 manuscripts back to you with comments on Friday, and wound up being busier at work than I expected. Tomorrow!
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 06, 2022
***
Yes!
By the way, I was going to scan your 2 manuscripts back to you with comments on Friday, and wound up being busier at work than I expected. Tomorrow!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 09:33 AM (c6xtn)
73
Still reading "The Sampo". I'm at the part where Ilmarinen creates a fiery eagle to catch the Great Pike of Tuonela, but the eagle goes berserk and shreds the Pike leaving IImarinen with nothing but the head.
Posted by: fd at March 06, 2022 09:34 AM (vrz2I)
74
LOL. The TV Perry Mason would generally not even have to go to trial. He would find the guilty person in the Preliminary Hearing.
Posted by: Chatterbox Mouse at March 06, 2022 09:35 AM (lKAqb)
75
Poland and Hungary will be the EU's red-haired step children fo just about ever. The sexual dysfunctional can't be too far behind.
Posted by: 11B40 at March 06, 2022 09:31 AM (uuklp)
The migrants need to go right back where they came from. That's another blessing of the oligarchy: internal division through unlimited migration. May the oligarchs be erased, including Zelensky
Posted by: 11B40 at March 06, 2022 09:31 AM (uuklp)
The migrants need to go right back where they came from. That's another blessing of the oligarchy: internal division through unlimited migration. May the oligarchs be erased, including Zelensky
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 09:35 AM (ONvIw)
76
New York, 1911:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWtWJAmHuc8
Clean shaven men in suits, no graffiti on the trains.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWtWJAmHuc8
Clean shaven men in suits, no graffiti on the trains.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 09:35 AM (Dc2NZ)
77
Muslims from everywhere have invaded Allport of Europe, and the Soviet Union had big interactions with Africa, so wouldn't doubt there are more Black's in Ukraine than you think. I still vividly remember in Germany in late 70s and ran into ( with no interactions) a BlackGerman family.
Posted by: Skip at March 06, 2022 09:35 AM (2JoB8)
78
Perfessor, I've never read Lileks' books, but he does excerpt some occasionally on his site. Or at leasts does posts about it.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 06, 2022 09:32 AM (7bRMQ)
----
Lileks may have gone of the deep end with regards to Trump, but his "Institute of Official Cheer" is a hilarious website. "The Gallery of Regrettable Food" and the sequel "Gastroanomalies" are basically the print-based version of those sections of the website.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 06, 2022 09:32 AM (7bRMQ)
----
Lileks may have gone of the deep end with regards to Trump, but his "Institute of Official Cheer" is a hilarious website. "The Gallery of Regrettable Food" and the sequel "Gastroanomalies" are basically the print-based version of those sections of the website.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 09:36 AM (K5n5d)
79
@56 I worked with a guy from Uganda. Some called him African-American he said no I am African-African!
Posted by: blaster at March 06, 2022 09:36 AM (9otr5)
80
Errr alternate titles The Devils or The Possessed...
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 09:36 AM (y7DUB)
81
According to the Wikitards, this is regarded as one of Fyodors masterpieces, which I don't recall the eggheads feeling that way; but it's surely deserving of the highest praise and much more coherent than The Idiot.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 09:33 AM (y7DUB)
That's another book I located during my big book clean up and reorganization.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 09:33 AM (y7DUB)
That's another book I located during my big book clean up and reorganization.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 09:37 AM (ONvIw)
82
@61 --
Notice how the show's hairstylist was credited by only one name, "Annabelle"?
I get the idea that she was tops in her profession.
I also like how so many of the actresses were in their 30s and 40s. Imagine a current TV show with a lead actress that old.
But this is the Book Thread! No more TV talk!
Notice how the show's hairstylist was credited by only one name, "Annabelle"?
I get the idea that she was tops in her profession.
I also like how so many of the actresses were in their 30s and 40s. Imagine a current TV show with a lead actress that old.
But this is the Book Thread! No more TV talk!
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 06, 2022 09:40 AM (Om/di)
83
By the way, I was going to scan your 2 manuscripts back to you with comments on Friday, and wound up being busier at work than I expected. Tomorrow!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 09:33 AM (c6xtn)
No worries. I'll send you an e-mail to explain what happened in regards to my post.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 09:33 AM (c6xtn)
No worries. I'll send you an e-mail to explain what happened in regards to my post.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 06, 2022 09:40 AM (7bRMQ)
84
18th century American history is one of my favorite periods to study for many reasons. And the Townsends YouTube channel is outstanding for bringing that time to life by delving into the culture, technology, and attitudes of the period.
The channel just started a 'sort of' book club. Jon Townsend will read portions of a period book on a YouTube live stream each Wednesday at 4pm eastern and offer context for what was read. It is like an audio annotated book. The first is "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin". The first session went well with commenters asking questions that occurred to them. I've had seminars by acclaimed professors that weren't as good. Unless you are a history nerd, a reading like this is very helpful.
Franklin's Autobiography is worth reading on many levels.
The channel just started a 'sort of' book club. Jon Townsend will read portions of a period book on a YouTube live stream each Wednesday at 4pm eastern and offer context for what was read. It is like an audio annotated book. The first is "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin". The first session went well with commenters asking questions that occurred to them. I've had seminars by acclaimed professors that weren't as good. Unless you are a history nerd, a reading like this is very helpful.
Franklin's Autobiography is worth reading on many levels.
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022 09:40 AM (7EjX1)
85
Lileks' books "The Gallery of Regrettable Food" and "Interior Desecrations" are hilarious. You can see similar skewering at his site:
https://tinyurl.com/7zvdhp2c
https://tinyurl.com/7zvdhp2c
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 09:40 AM (Dc2NZ)
86
From the "Times" obituary of George IV: "There never was an individual less regretted by his fellow-creatures than this deceased king."
This is not clear to me. What was never regretted less, his passing or his being? That is, is it an insult of praise? My first reading was praise but maybe I'm dense.
This is not clear to me. What was never regretted less, his passing or his being? That is, is it an insult of praise? My first reading was praise but maybe I'm dense.
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 09:41 AM (nfrXX)
87
I finished The American Sector by L. Neil Smith.
Set it an alternate world where Earth is colonizing the Asteroids and accepting refugees from totalitarian alternate versions of the Earth, Win Bear is a private detective in LaPorte, Colorado, the capital city of the Anarchistic North American Confederacy. He is asked by that world's version of Clarke Gable to find out who is importing alternate versions of his movies, possibly to ask them either to stop it or give him a cut.
At this time there are a series of terrorist attacks (one is a bomb on a fusion powered commuter zeppelin) that appear to be aimed at forcing the Confederacy to set up a security state to protect itself.
Win goes to the American Sector, the run down area where new arrivals to the NAC congregate in LaPorte, to find leads for his case, and incidentally help old friends who are trying to find out who is behind the attacks.
This book is overtly digging at standard conservative voices and has veiled cameos by notables.
It is a good walk and talk detective novel, but has sections in it to push philosophy, which slow it down, and push out some characters. Libertarian propaganda gets old too.
Set it an alternate world where Earth is colonizing the Asteroids and accepting refugees from totalitarian alternate versions of the Earth, Win Bear is a private detective in LaPorte, Colorado, the capital city of the Anarchistic North American Confederacy. He is asked by that world's version of Clarke Gable to find out who is importing alternate versions of his movies, possibly to ask them either to stop it or give him a cut.
At this time there are a series of terrorist attacks (one is a bomb on a fusion powered commuter zeppelin) that appear to be aimed at forcing the Confederacy to set up a security state to protect itself.
Win goes to the American Sector, the run down area where new arrivals to the NAC congregate in LaPorte, to find leads for his case, and incidentally help old friends who are trying to find out who is behind the attacks.
This book is overtly digging at standard conservative voices and has veiled cameos by notables.
It is a good walk and talk detective novel, but has sections in it to push philosophy, which slow it down, and push out some characters. Libertarian propaganda gets old too.
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022 09:42 AM (xhaym)
88
Lileks may have gone of the deep end with regards to Trump, but his "Institute of Official Cheer" is a hilarious website. "The Gallery of Regrettable Food" and the sequel "Gastroanomalies" are basically the print-based version of those sections of the website.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 09:36 AM (K5n5d)
Well, he was part of Kapt. Kristol's Kruise Kompany, but he seems to have walked it back a bit. Aboy! I mean, Ahoy!
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 09:36 AM (K5n5d)
Well, he was part of Kapt. Kristol's Kruise Kompany, but he seems to have walked it back a bit. Aboy! I mean, Ahoy!
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 06, 2022 09:42 AM (7bRMQ)
89
Nice job Perfessor.
I'm still having problems with videos. I reboot my computer and it works for a few days then I can't watch them, reboot, watch, can't watch, reboot... etc. Very frustrating. May be time for a new laptop. idk.
I'm still having problems with videos. I reboot my computer and it works for a few days then I can't watch them, reboot, watch, can't watch, reboot... etc. Very frustrating. May be time for a new laptop. idk.
Posted by: Jewells45 deplorablethug#FJB at March 06, 2022 09:44 AM (nxdel)
90
"What are you reading this morning?"
The instructions on how to get the battery off the Ryobi drill. In a million years I would never have designed it THAT way.
'Morning, Horde. Can't stay. Walk looms. But I'll be back.
The instructions on how to get the battery off the Ryobi drill. In a million years I would never have designed it THAT way.
'Morning, Horde. Can't stay. Walk looms. But I'll be back.
Posted by: creeper at March 06, 2022 09:44 AM (cTCuP)
91
I'm a sucker for time travel stories. This week I'm reading A Coin For the Ferryman by Megan Edwards, a time travel story with a twist. Instead of our heroes going back in time to meet Julius Caesar, they're going to snatch Julius Caesar from just before the first dagger strikes and bring him forward. I'm not quite half way through and so far, so good. It has several aspects of a first novel so I was surprised to see that she's actually been writing for sometime. The main problem I have is that each of her characters has a back story that's a little too interesting.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet at March 06, 2022 09:44 AM (FVME7)
92
Wackiness ensues.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes '
Going to add to my list. I could use some wackiness about now. Math heads perpetrating it seems like a bonus.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes '
Going to add to my list. I could use some wackiness about now. Math heads perpetrating it seems like a bonus.
Posted by: Sock Monkey * Ungovernable at March 06, 2022 09:44 AM (Thzcc)
93
In a not-surprising number of cases, when speaking of events outside of the US, they are neither.
Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde
Now do the V.P. and all the AA who are passing like she is doing....
Posted by: GGE of the Moron Horde
Now do the V.P. and all the AA who are passing like she is doing....
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 06, 2022 09:44 AM (vnqom)
94
I was late to the party on yesterday's Lenin thread, but I mentioned the absurd character Kirillov, who intends to kill himself on principle, as his nihilism allows him to see no value in life beyond self-will, and cancelling himself will be the ultimate expression of that will.
So what value does he end up promoting? The revolution, of course. He agrees to postpone his suicide until such time as it may be useful to the revolutionaries' shenanigans.
So what value does he end up promoting? The revolution, of course. He agrees to postpone his suicide until such time as it may be useful to the revolutionaries' shenanigans.
Posted by: Brett at March 06, 2022 09:45 AM (sgJMJ)
95
I always liked "Bloom County".
Posted by: Hairyback Guy at March 06, 2022 09:13 AM (R/m4+)
Loved itbas a kid. Then Outland and now not so much. Berkley B. went full lib and lost his Libratarian edge.
Been doing anything and everything I can find on 1320 ish to 1400 English royalty for about 2 years now.
Since I found out The Black Prince is my G.g.g.g.g.g.g..g.g.g.g.great.... grandfather I suddenly like royalty and want my castles back.
Posted by: Hairyback Guy at March 06, 2022 09:13 AM (R/m4+)
Loved itbas a kid. Then Outland and now not so much. Berkley B. went full lib and lost his Libratarian edge.
Been doing anything and everything I can find on 1320 ish to 1400 English royalty for about 2 years now.
Since I found out The Black Prince is my G.g.g.g.g.g.g..g.g.g.g.great.... grandfather I suddenly like royalty and want my castles back.
Posted by: Reforger at March 06, 2022 09:46 AM (qQGx8)
96
. . . The American Sector by L. Neil Smith.
Set it an alternate world where Earth is colonizing the Asteroids and accepting refugees from totalitarian alternate versions of the Earth, Win Bear is a private detective in LaPorte, Colorado, the capital city of the Anarchistic North American Confederacy. He is asked by that world's version of Clarke Gable to find out who is importing alternate versions of his movies, possibly to ask them either to stop it or give him a cut. . . .
Posted by: Kindltot at Marc
***
Sounds fascinating!
Set it an alternate world where Earth is colonizing the Asteroids and accepting refugees from totalitarian alternate versions of the Earth, Win Bear is a private detective in LaPorte, Colorado, the capital city of the Anarchistic North American Confederacy. He is asked by that world's version of Clarke Gable to find out who is importing alternate versions of his movies, possibly to ask them either to stop it or give him a cut. . . .
Posted by: Kindltot at Marc
***
Sounds fascinating!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 09:46 AM (c6xtn)
97
When something just falls into place as you're thinking about a scene, is that having a writer's moment or just dumb luck?
In more and more areas of life and endeavor, I'm becoming convinced that "being good" and "being lucky" are indistinguishable.
In more and more areas of life and endeavor, I'm becoming convinced that "being good" and "being lucky" are indistinguishable.
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 09:47 AM (nfrXX)
98
That's a lot of cookbooks!
I have a few, the Julia Child French cooking pair, the first Silver Palate Cookcook, Henri Paul Pellaprat's grand tome, one by Martha Diixon who was a Michigan staple in my childhood with her show Copper Kettle, one by Vincent Price, and of course the Horde's book.
I have a few, the Julia Child French cooking pair, the first Silver Palate Cookcook, Henri Paul Pellaprat's grand tome, one by Martha Diixon who was a Michigan staple in my childhood with her show Copper Kettle, one by Vincent Price, and of course the Horde's book.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 09:48 AM (ONvIw)
99
Has anyone here read Proust's In Search of Lost Time? It's surely not a Horde fave for many reasons, particularly because the narrator is a twatty douche and the first time I read it I had more a sense of outlasting an endurance test than really enjoying it. But I was young and stupid then and figured much had flown over my head. So I buckled down for a massive reread interspersed with other shorter books. There were a few times when I wondered how smart that was since the early parts and young Marcel were just as fucking annoying as I originally thought. But when I reached the final part, Time Regained, it gets really really good; so much so that it's hard to put down.
You can't speed read it because the prose is so dense but I finally see what the big deal is about.
You can't speed read it because the prose is so dense but I finally see what the big deal is about.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 09:50 AM (y7DUB)
100
I was very pleasantly surprised by 'The Three Boby Problem'. After a few chapters I felt the need to check if the author was from Taiwan. Instead I found Cixin Liu works to avoid upsetting the party.
A very good hard sci-fi novel, recommended. I've yet to read the sequels.
A very good hard sci-fi novel, recommended. I've yet to read the sequels.
Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at March 06, 2022 09:50 AM (C/fpg)
101
I was very pleasantly surprised by 'The Three Boby Problem'.
---
For a second there, I thought this said, "The Three Booby Problem." Now THAT sounds like a problem the 'rons around here will be glad to investigate...
---
For a second there, I thought this said, "The Three Booby Problem." Now THAT sounds like a problem the 'rons around here will be glad to investigate...
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 09:52 AM (K5n5d)
102
71 "which is kind of odd considering he was once jailed for being a radical and Nabokov's uncle oversaw a fake execution of him. But Fyodor wasn't like that at all and spends the entire book trashing them as worthless wankers."
Like Solzhenitsyn, Dostoevsky's imprisonment and exile starved him of his socialist fever and fed his Christian convictions. Dostoevsky wrote up his Siberian experience in "Notes from the House of the Dead." Solzhenitsyn noted of that book that the prisoners under the Tsars were a bunch of loafers compared to those under the Bolsheviks.
Like Solzhenitsyn, Dostoevsky's imprisonment and exile starved him of his socialist fever and fed his Christian convictions. Dostoevsky wrote up his Siberian experience in "Notes from the House of the Dead." Solzhenitsyn noted of that book that the prisoners under the Tsars were a bunch of loafers compared to those under the Bolsheviks.
Posted by: Brett at March 06, 2022 09:52 AM (sgJMJ)
103
For a second there, I thought this said, "The Three Booby Problem." Now THAT sounds like a problem the 'rons around here will be glad to investigate...
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel
That would be a variation on model train sets for sure!
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel
That would be a variation on model train sets for sure!
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at March 06, 2022 09:53 AM (vnqom)
Posted by: Colorado Alex in Exile at March 06, 2022 09:54 AM (wmDcS)
105
I'd like to thank the guy that told me about the Kings Go Forth book by Joe David Brown.
I ordered it and the DVD that same day.
The Dvd came in 2 days and the book got here 15 days after I ordered it.
It has been my experience that when you choose the Free Shipping option, they strap it to the back of a 3 legged turtle and inject it with barbiturates.
I ordered it and the DVD that same day.
The Dvd came in 2 days and the book got here 15 days after I ordered it.
It has been my experience that when you choose the Free Shipping option, they strap it to the back of a 3 legged turtle and inject it with barbiturates.
Posted by: JT at March 06, 2022 09:54 AM (arJlL)
106
For a second there, I thought this said, "The Three Booby Problem." Now THAT sounds like a problem the 'rons around here will be glad to investigate...
Been there.
Been there.
Posted by: Eccentrica Gallumbits at March 06, 2022 09:54 AM (nfrXX)
107
the absurd character Kirillov, who intends to kill himself on principle, as his nihilism allows him to see no value in life beyond self-will, and cancelling himself will be the ultimate expression of that will.
So what value does he end up promoting? The revolution, of course. He agrees to postpone his suicide until such time as it may be useful to the revolutionaries' shenanigans.
Posted by: Brett at March 06, 2022 09:45 AM (sgJMJ)
I remember him. Fyodor did a good job of skewering those tools and making them look absurd.
So what value does he end up promoting? The revolution, of course. He agrees to postpone his suicide until such time as it may be useful to the revolutionaries' shenanigans.
Posted by: Brett at March 06, 2022 09:45 AM (sgJMJ)
I remember him. Fyodor did a good job of skewering those tools and making them look absurd.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 09:55 AM (y7DUB)
108
You can't speed read it because the prose is so dense but I finally see what the big deal is about.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 09:50 AM (y7DUB)
That used to be called Remembrance of Things Past, didn't it. Swann's Way, etc. I remember having to read the Swann's Way part for a college course.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 09:50 AM (y7DUB)
That used to be called Remembrance of Things Past, didn't it. Swann's Way, etc. I remember having to read the Swann's Way part for a college course.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 09:55 AM (ONvIw)
109
For a second there, I thought this said, "The Three Booby Problem." Now THAT sounds like a problem the 'rons around here will be glad to investigate...
Been there.
Posted by: Eccentrica Gallumbits at March 06, 2022 09:54 AM (nfrXX)
---
"#MeToo" - Captain James T. Kirk
Been there.
Posted by: Eccentrica Gallumbits at March 06, 2022 09:54 AM (nfrXX)
---
"#MeToo" - Captain James T. Kirk
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 09:55 AM (K5n5d)
110
19 ... "I'm settling in with a cup of coffee and a pipe of Prince Albert. (A Canadian-style pipe)"
Wolfus,
A man after my own heart. I keep a couple of pipes for reading time and the Canadian style is a favorite: light weight, well balanced, and that longer stem cools the smoke. I have a 'Hobbit-style' (think of the movies) pipe I use with an English blend. Such things add to the enjoyment.
BTW, if you like Prince Albert tobacco, one of the better 'drug store' brands, try Half and Half. I swear they improved it over the years. YMMV.
Wolfus,
A man after my own heart. I keep a couple of pipes for reading time and the Canadian style is a favorite: light weight, well balanced, and that longer stem cools the smoke. I have a 'Hobbit-style' (think of the movies) pipe I use with an English blend. Such things add to the enjoyment.
BTW, if you like Prince Albert tobacco, one of the better 'drug store' brands, try Half and Half. I swear they improved it over the years. YMMV.
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022 09:56 AM (7EjX1)
Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at March 06, 2022 09:56 AM (C/fpg)
112
This past week I started reading Unknown Remains by Peter Leonard (Elmore's son).
Its pretty good.
Its pretty good.
Posted by: JT at March 06, 2022 09:57 AM (arJlL)
113
Ahoy, bookfagz!
Posted by: Insomniac - Outlaw. Hoarder. Wrecker. Honker. at March 06, 2022 09:57 AM (II3Gr)
114
86 From the "Times" obituary of George IV: "There never was an individual less regretted by his fellow-creatures than this deceased king."
This is not clear to me. What was never regretted less, his passing or his being? That is, is it an insult of praise? My first reading was praise but maybe I'm dense.
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 09:41 AM (nfrXX)
To put it simply, it was a high brow way of saying that everyone was very glad that he was finally dead. This is the guy that has been mocked as the "Prince Regent" for 200 years in British literature and plays (see Black Adder); the portrayal of him as a drunken, clothes obsessed fool is accurate by all accounts. By the end of his life he had become enormously fat; his own wife said it was a pity he was forced to become king, since he would have made a far better hairdresser; and his personal physician said, after the king's death, that before every public speaking engagement, it had been George IV's custom to consume enough opium to have killed 6 ordinary men.
This is not clear to me. What was never regretted less, his passing or his being? That is, is it an insult of praise? My first reading was praise but maybe I'm dense.
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 09:41 AM (nfrXX)
To put it simply, it was a high brow way of saying that everyone was very glad that he was finally dead. This is the guy that has been mocked as the "Prince Regent" for 200 years in British literature and plays (see Black Adder); the portrayal of him as a drunken, clothes obsessed fool is accurate by all accounts. By the end of his life he had become enormously fat; his own wife said it was a pity he was forced to become king, since he would have made a far better hairdresser; and his personal physician said, after the king's death, that before every public speaking engagement, it had been George IV's custom to consume enough opium to have killed 6 ordinary men.
Posted by: Tom Servo at March 06, 2022 09:57 AM (evAgx)
115
"None of us know how much of that is true or not. It would explain a great many things, as there is so much going on it's easy to ascribe the crazy stuff to a "master plan" of sorts. " (books, videos, white papers, etc)
Sorry, but when their plans are all made public, it is no longer a guess or a theory. They have been telling us and continue to tell us exactly what they are trying to do. And so far, they are succeeding.
Sorry, but when their plans are all made public, it is no longer a guess or a theory. They have been telling us and continue to tell us exactly what they are trying to do. And so far, they are succeeding.
Posted by: Bonnie Blue - no longer playing the game at March 06, 2022 09:57 AM (hlxe7)
116
I read Nabokov's Pale Fire many years ago and am now listening to it on Audible. I'm wondering why it hasn't been cancelled, what with insane homosexual narrator Charles Kinbote.
Posted by: N.L. Urker, the Phillips screwdriver of the gods at March 06, 2022 09:59 AM (eGTCV)
117
I got it at my Little Free Library of Death.
Posted by: JT at March 06, 2022 09:59 AM (arJlL)
118
I sat in on the first day of a class one time where the professor used the word "trope(s)" about a dozen times in the first paragraph, and when there was a break in his spiel that allowed for a question, I said, "May I ask for a brief definition of 'trope,' please? I'm not familiar with the word." Lead balloon, that went over like.
Posted by: m at March 06, 2022 09:59 AM (6i1Yo)
119
I was very pleasantly surprised by 'The Three Boby Problem'.
Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at March 06, 2022 09:50 AM (C/fpg)
Interesting...I thought it was unbelievably awful and was irritated that a couple of my nephews recommended it!
Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at March 06, 2022 09:50 AM (C/fpg)
Interesting...I thought it was unbelievably awful and was irritated that a couple of my nephews recommended it!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 06, 2022 09:59 AM (XIJ/X)
120
Sorry, but when their plans are all made public, it is no longer a guess or a theory. They have been telling us and continue to tell us exactly what they are trying to do. And so far, they are succeeding.
Posted by: Bonnie Blue - no longer playing the game at March 06, 2022 09:57 AM (hlxe7)
I agree with you. The idea that by 2030 we will own nothing, have no privacy, and be happy was pretty clearly laid out by the oligarchs and their hired hands in government. And they pay well. I'm starting to wonder if Zelensky was made to stay by his bosses and not allowed to scuttle off to the dacha in Florida.
Sorry, but when their plans are all made public, it is no longer a guess or a theory. They have been telling us and continue to tell us exactly what they are trying to do. And so far, they are succeeding.
Posted by: Bonnie Blue - no longer playing the game at March 06, 2022 09:57 AM (hlxe7)
I agree with you. The idea that by 2030 we will own nothing, have no privacy, and be happy was pretty clearly laid out by the oligarchs and their hired hands in government. And they pay well. I'm starting to wonder if Zelensky was made to stay by his bosses and not allowed to scuttle off to the dacha in Florida.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 10:01 AM (ONvIw)
121
I suppose I should mention what I've been reading this week.
I finished Vince Milam's The Texas Job. It's a tightly-constructed thriller. Bad guys do bad things. It's structured around China financing Iranian terrorist operations in the United States. Good guys have to stop them with extreme prejudice.
I'm now reading The Broken Room by Peter Clines. One of the reviews on the back says it's The Professional meets Stranger Things and that's pretty accurate. I like Peter's books because they start out with a slow burn as odd things start happening on a small scale. By the end of his books, all hell is breaking loose and cosmic horrors are being unleashed. Great stuff.
I finished Vince Milam's The Texas Job. It's a tightly-constructed thriller. Bad guys do bad things. It's structured around China financing Iranian terrorist operations in the United States. Good guys have to stop them with extreme prejudice.
I'm now reading The Broken Room by Peter Clines. One of the reviews on the back says it's The Professional meets Stranger Things and that's pretty accurate. I like Peter's books because they start out with a slow burn as odd things start happening on a small scale. By the end of his books, all hell is breaking loose and cosmic horrors are being unleashed. Great stuff.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 10:01 AM (K5n5d)
122
Wolfus,
A man after my own heart. I keep a couple of pipes for reading time and the Canadian style is a favorite: light weight, well balanced, and that longer stem cools the smoke. I have a 'Hobbit-style' (think of the movies) pipe I use with an English blend. Such things add to the enjoyment.
BTW, if you like Prince Albert tobacco, one of the better 'drug store' brands, try Half and Half. I swear they improved it over the years. YMMV.
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022
***
H & H is one of my favorites. It has a wonderful aroma like nothing else I've tried: coriander, cardamom, and mace in with the Virginia and burley tobaccos. I took the pipe up again last year after a long layoff, and have discovered how to puff slowly and breathe easily to keep the leaf from biting or getting too hot.
A man after my own heart. I keep a couple of pipes for reading time and the Canadian style is a favorite: light weight, well balanced, and that longer stem cools the smoke. I have a 'Hobbit-style' (think of the movies) pipe I use with an English blend. Such things add to the enjoyment.
BTW, if you like Prince Albert tobacco, one of the better 'drug store' brands, try Half and Half. I swear they improved it over the years. YMMV.
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022
***
H & H is one of my favorites. It has a wonderful aroma like nothing else I've tried: coriander, cardamom, and mace in with the Virginia and burley tobaccos. I took the pipe up again last year after a long layoff, and have discovered how to puff slowly and breathe easily to keep the leaf from biting or getting too hot.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 10:02 AM (c6xtn)
123
Good morning, book morons and novelettes!
WilliamSonoma is telling me that it's Fava Bean season. Now, all I need is a nice Chianti and some hobo's liver.
WilliamSonoma is telling me that it's Fava Bean season. Now, all I need is a nice Chianti and some hobo's liver.
Posted by: naturalfake at March 06, 2022 10:02 AM (5NkmN)
124
>>> 114 86 From the "Times" obituary of George IV: "There never was an individual less regretted by his fellow-creatures than this deceased king."
This is not clear to me. What was never regretted less, his passing or his being? That is, is it an insult of praise? My first reading was praise but maybe I'm dense.
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 09:41 AM (nfrXX)
To put it simply, it was a high brow way of saying that everyone was very glad that he was finally dead. This is the guy that has been mocked as the "Prince Regent" for 200 years in British literature and plays (see Black Adder); the portrayal of him as a drunken, clothes obsessed fool is accurate by all accounts. By the end of his life he had become enormously fat; his own wife said it was a pity he was forced to become king, since he would have made a far better hairdresser; and his personal physician said, after the king's death, that before every public speaking engagement, it had been George IV's custom to consume enough opium to have killed 6 ordinary men.
Posted by: Tom Servo at March 06, 2022 09:57 AM (evAgx)
Ha! Wonder how ex-prince ginger will turn out.
This is not clear to me. What was never regretted less, his passing or his being? That is, is it an insult of praise? My first reading was praise but maybe I'm dense.
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 09:41 AM (nfrXX)
To put it simply, it was a high brow way of saying that everyone was very glad that he was finally dead. This is the guy that has been mocked as the "Prince Regent" for 200 years in British literature and plays (see Black Adder); the portrayal of him as a drunken, clothes obsessed fool is accurate by all accounts. By the end of his life he had become enormously fat; his own wife said it was a pity he was forced to become king, since he would have made a far better hairdresser; and his personal physician said, after the king's death, that before every public speaking engagement, it had been George IV's custom to consume enough opium to have killed 6 ordinary men.
Posted by: Tom Servo at March 06, 2022 09:57 AM (evAgx)
Ha! Wonder how ex-prince ginger will turn out.
Posted by: Helena Handbasket at March 06, 2022 10:02 AM (llON8)
125
Interesting...I thought it was unbelievably awful and was irritated that a couple of my nephews recommended it!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 06, 2022 09:59 AM (XIJ/X)
I heard it was shitty, but it's being hailed as it's Chinese and ...diversity or die!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 06, 2022 09:59 AM (XIJ/X)
I heard it was shitty, but it's being hailed as it's Chinese and ...diversity or die!
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 10:04 AM (ONvIw)
126
I still vividly remember in Germany in late 70s and ran into ( with no interactions) a BlackGerman family.
Posted by: Skip at March 06, 2022 09:35 AM (2JoB
Milli Vanilli were from Germany.
More coffee.
Posted by: Skip at March 06, 2022 09:35 AM (2JoB
Milli Vanilli were from Germany.
More coffee.
Posted by: Hairyback Guy at March 06, 2022 10:04 AM (R/m4+)
127
That used to be called Remembrance of Things Past, didn't it. Swann's Way, etc. I remember having to read the Swann's Way part for a college course.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 09:55 AM (ONvIw)
Yes on the title; different translators called it different things. I never saw the point of reading Swann's Way as a stand alone book because, at to me, it's mostly the musings of a spoiled douche with none of the appeal of the subsequent text.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 09:55 AM (ONvIw)
Yes on the title; different translators called it different things. I never saw the point of reading Swann's Way as a stand alone book because, at to me, it's mostly the musings of a spoiled douche with none of the appeal of the subsequent text.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 10:04 AM (y7DUB)
128
I've dipped into the TV Tropes site from time to time. But I dare not spend too much time there. Not because it's a time waster; it is. But I don't want to find myself focusing too much on the "how" of writing. Remember the old poem about the centipede who gets asked, "Which leg comes after which?" "This confused him to such a pitch/ He lay distracted in a ditch/ Considering how to run." I don't want to wind up like him.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 10:05 AM (c6xtn)
129
Yes on the title; different translators called it different things. I never saw the point of reading Swann's Way as a stand alone book because, at to me, it's mostly the musings of a spoiled douche with none of the appeal of the subsequent text.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 10:04 AM (y7DUB)
It was for a lit course and there was too much else on the schedule to read the rest of the book.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 10:04 AM (y7DUB)
It was for a lit course and there was too much else on the schedule to read the rest of the book.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 10:06 AM (ONvIw)
130
Reading "Heyday" by Kurt Andersen, set in 1848 Paris, London, New York, and the American west.
What wild times! Do you know how many European monarchies were toppled that year?
What wild times! Do you know how many European monarchies were toppled that year?
Posted by: Mr Gaga at March 06, 2022 10:06 AM (KiBMU)
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022 10:07 AM (7EjX1)
132
Perfessor, I really like Clines' novels too (the "Threshold" series, loosely connected - "The Fold", "14", and "Terminus"). I'll wait till my library has this one. Why are Kindle editions so expensive?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:07 AM (Dc2NZ)
133
87 I finished The American Sector by L. Neil Smith.
Set it an alternate world where Earth is colonizing the Asteroids and accepting refugees from totalitarian alternate versions of the Earth, Win Bear is a private detective in LaPorte, Colorado, the capital city of the Anarchistic North American Confederacy. He is asked by that world's version of Clarke Gable to find out who is importing alternate versions of his movies, possibly to ask them either to stop it or give him a cut.
-----
LaPorte?! What a bizzare choice for a capital! Still, I may have to read that book, since I grew up near La Porte...
Set it an alternate world where Earth is colonizing the Asteroids and accepting refugees from totalitarian alternate versions of the Earth, Win Bear is a private detective in LaPorte, Colorado, the capital city of the Anarchistic North American Confederacy. He is asked by that world's version of Clarke Gable to find out who is importing alternate versions of his movies, possibly to ask them either to stop it or give him a cut.
-----
LaPorte?! What a bizzare choice for a capital! Still, I may have to read that book, since I grew up near La Porte...
Posted by: Castle Guy at March 06, 2022 10:07 AM (Lhaco)
134
115Sorry, but when their plans are all made public, it is no longer a guess or a theory. They have been telling us and continue to tell us exactly what they are trying to do. And so far, they are succeeding.
Posted by: Bonnie Blue - no longer playing the game at March 06, 2022 09:57 AM (hlxe7)
My view is that of course, there are always evil men working to shape events to their favor, and it becomes easy to do and obvious to see when we have a system of Oligarchs emerging around the world (like now).
BUT... history shows that no matter how these things start, once the Years of Change begin (1789, 1861, 1914 were previous such years) then Events take on a power and momentum of their own; and the path then taken is one that has not been imagined by any man, no matter how powerful or clever he may be. There are always people who think they can direct or control what is coming; but the "winners" will only be those who can stay upright, surfing the tidal wave as it rolls along.
Posted by: Bonnie Blue - no longer playing the game at March 06, 2022 09:57 AM (hlxe7)
My view is that of course, there are always evil men working to shape events to their favor, and it becomes easy to do and obvious to see when we have a system of Oligarchs emerging around the world (like now).
BUT... history shows that no matter how these things start, once the Years of Change begin (1789, 1861, 1914 were previous such years) then Events take on a power and momentum of their own; and the path then taken is one that has not been imagined by any man, no matter how powerful or clever he may be. There are always people who think they can direct or control what is coming; but the "winners" will only be those who can stay upright, surfing the tidal wave as it rolls along.
Posted by: Tom Servo at March 06, 2022 10:08 AM (evAgx)
135
If living ng in NYC has one advantage, it would be the library. So, I got Avery's "Nelson and The Nile". The library is a mask outpost. They came up with a touchless way to check out which was designed by someone not an engineer.
Posted by: Jamaica Queens at March 06, 2022 10:08 AM (b+v9B)
136
The good Perfessor Squirrel borrowed a hat from the Queen of England?
Posted by: blake - semi lurker in marginal standing (5pTK/)) at March 06, 2022 10:08 AM (5pTK/)
137
54 ... Perfesser,
Thanks for that link. Any good discussion about LOTR is welcome.
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022 10:07 AM (7EjX1)
----
Critical Drinker is a fan of LOTR and a published author. Professor Tosspot (Voxis) is also a fan and both a filmmaker and teacher of film himself. So it's a great discussion about movies, stories, and popular culture.
Thanks for that link. Any good discussion about LOTR is welcome.
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022 10:07 AM (7EjX1)
----
Critical Drinker is a fan of LOTR and a published author. Professor Tosspot (Voxis) is also a fan and both a filmmaker and teacher of film himself. So it's a great discussion about movies, stories, and popular culture.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 10:08 AM (K5n5d)
138
Arsenal better not eff this up.
Posted by: Jamaica Queens at March 06, 2022 10:09 AM (b+v9B)
139
Ex-prince ginger would make a good 3-boobied touring pole dancer. Synthetic Cachet overload. Watch out for his manager, though.
Posted by: klaftern@yahoo.com at March 06, 2022 10:10 AM (taPSh)
140
I'm trying to decide if I want to hop in the car and, just for fun, drive up the old Federal highway for nearly an hour to hit the Dollar Tree in the next parish. With gas at $3.89 for regular E10 now, "fun" driving is nowhere near fun. (Damn Creepy Joe.) A lot easier, and probably more fun, to stay right here!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 10:10 AM (c6xtn)
141
Sunday comics... once a small joy now simply unbearable to even look at. I have the 3 volume set of all the Calvin and Hobbs cartoons. I'll periodically pull one out and peruse.
Posted by: Martini Farmer at March 06, 2022 10:10 AM (BFigT)
142
g'mornin', book-ish 'rons
g'mornin', book-ish 'rons
Posted by: AltonJackson at March 06, 2022 10:10 AM (DUIap)
143
For those that enjoy history and the Townsend/Nutmeg Tavern videos on utoob, he just started doing a reading/book club live on Wednesdays of the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. I caught the replay last week and found a free digital copy of the book so I can participate. I love this idea. I already had a BF biography on my stack as the next book to read so I will be doing them simultaneously. Here is the first episode: https://youtu.be/nvfBf8Pbi_A
Posted by: Bonnie Blue - no longer playing the game at March 06, 2022 10:11 AM (hlxe7)
144
Hey there AltonJackson.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:11 AM (Dc2NZ)
145
Sunday comics... once a small joy now simply unbearable to even look at. I have the 3 volume set of all the Calvin and Hobbs cartoons. I'll periodically pull one out and peruse.
Posted by: Martini Farmer at March 06, 2022 10:10 AM (BFigT)
---
Me too. It's a timeless treasure of humor and warmth.
Posted by: Martini Farmer at March 06, 2022 10:10 AM (BFigT)
---
Me too. It's a timeless treasure of humor and warmth.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 10:11 AM (K5n5d)
146
Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet
There's a SF short story out there (unfortunately I can't remember the name or who wrote it, only the plot) where they do a similar thing. They go back and snatch a Mozart contemporary who people thought was destined to rival him, but instead died very young of excesses (alcohol, VD). They get him into the future, clean him up, and expect to see him complete all this great baroque music that had never seen the light of day because of his untimely death. Instead he becomes enthralled with the punk rock and drug abuse of the future and dies young again.
There's a SF short story out there (unfortunately I can't remember the name or who wrote it, only the plot) where they do a similar thing. They go back and snatch a Mozart contemporary who people thought was destined to rival him, but instead died very young of excesses (alcohol, VD). They get him into the future, clean him up, and expect to see him complete all this great baroque music that had never seen the light of day because of his untimely death. Instead he becomes enthralled with the punk rock and drug abuse of the future and dies young again.
Posted by: who knew at March 06, 2022 10:12 AM (4I7VG)
147
My plug for short stories. If you only read the first half of a book and get bored. If you're short on time or attention span, give them a go. All the taste, half the calories.
Posted by: mot at March 06, 2022 10:13 AM (FlUFP)
148
>>> 146 Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet
There's a SF short story out there (unfortunately I can't remember the name or who wrote it, only the plot) where they do a similar thing. They go back and snatch a Mozart contemporary who people thought was destined to rival him, but instead died very young of excesses (alcohol, VD). They get him into the future, clean him up, and expect to see him complete all this great baroque music that had never seen the light of day because of his untimely death. Instead he becomes enthralled with the punk rock and drug abuse of the future and dies young again.
Posted by: who knew at March 06, 2022 10:12 AM (4I7VG)
Hmm, was this set in Seattle?
There's a SF short story out there (unfortunately I can't remember the name or who wrote it, only the plot) where they do a similar thing. They go back and snatch a Mozart contemporary who people thought was destined to rival him, but instead died very young of excesses (alcohol, VD). They get him into the future, clean him up, and expect to see him complete all this great baroque music that had never seen the light of day because of his untimely death. Instead he becomes enthralled with the punk rock and drug abuse of the future and dies young again.
Posted by: who knew at March 06, 2022 10:12 AM (4I7VG)
Hmm, was this set in Seattle?
Posted by: Helena Handbasket at March 06, 2022 10:13 AM (llON8)
149
George IV, then prince regent, is a background character in a lot of the Georgette Heyer Regency romances. It's not a very flattering portrait there either. Not a bad man, just excessively shallow, vain, and profligate.
Okay, so maybe actually is bad. But at 29, you realize how flawed your fellow humans are so maybe I'm a bit more forgiving than is warranted.
Okay, so maybe actually is bad. But at 29, you realize how flawed your fellow humans are so maybe I'm a bit more forgiving than is warranted.
Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at March 06, 2022 10:14 AM (fTtFy)
150
Instead he becomes enthralled with the punk rock and drug abuse of the future and dies young again.
Posted by: who knew
Did he leave a good looking corpse?
Posted by: who knew
Did he leave a good looking corpse?
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet at March 06, 2022 10:14 AM (FVME7)
151
It was for a lit course and there was too much else on the schedule to read the rest of the book.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 10:06 AM (ONvIw)
I understand the thought process in the old folks home in the college but think they could have found a better use of their students' time and just done the whole work as a stand alone course. But Nabokov included it in his overview course at Cornell SWTFDIK?
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 10:06 AM (ONvIw)
I understand the thought process in the old folks home in the college but think they could have found a better use of their students' time and just done the whole work as a stand alone course. But Nabokov included it in his overview course at Cornell SWTFDIK?
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 10:14 AM (y7DUB)
152
Not much chance to read this past week, due to a combination of household chores and obsessive news-following.
I did start a book by Dava Sobel, _The Planets_, which is a collection of essays about the Solar System, focusing on the history of how they were discovered and their roles in mythology and such. It's entertaining, and I can't escape the suspicion that this was supposed to be the text for a coffee-table book, accompanied by big glossy photos from NASA.
I did start a book by Dava Sobel, _The Planets_, which is a collection of essays about the Solar System, focusing on the history of how they were discovered and their roles in mythology and such. It's entertaining, and I can't escape the suspicion that this was supposed to be the text for a coffee-table book, accompanied by big glossy photos from NASA.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 06, 2022 10:14 AM (QZxDR)
153
Instead he becomes enthralled with the punk rock and drug abuse of the future and dies young again.
Posted by: who knew
Can't escape your fate trope.
Posted by: who knew
Can't escape your fate trope.
Posted by: mot at March 06, 2022 10:15 AM (FlUFP)
154
Kurt's diaper is full!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:15 AM (Dc2NZ)
155
A neighbor recommended a book called The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox as it had a psych hospital theme. I decided to give it a miss as the idea of someone being locked away for absolutely no reason seems over done.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 10:15 AM (ONvIw)
156
Soviet writers the Strugatsky brothers wrote a lot of fantasy and sci-fi fiction beginning in the very late fifties; Roadside Picnic, It's Hard to be a God and Solaris among them. The theme in one of the books being a solely Eurasionist concept of a noosphere-like middleman consciousness connecting earth and another planet to the greater universe. Interwar Russian Eurasianist thinkers wanted to create a unified field theory of everything social, scientific and artistic for Soviet eurasia. The problem being no one had discovered this new academic discipline called 'personology'. The Strugatsky novels use these interwar themes as narrative fodder.
Posted by: 13times at March 06, 2022 10:15 AM (yxp1g)
157
My plug for short stories. If you only read the first half of a book and get bored. If you're short on time or attention span, give them a go. All the taste, half the calories.
Posted by: mot at March 06, 2022 10:13 AM (FlUFP)
----
I think anthologies are great for reading on the Kindle because you can just open one up when you have a few minutes (e.g., waiting at the doctor's office) and get through a story or two without having to feel like you need to invest a lot of time/emotion into the story.
Posted by: mot at March 06, 2022 10:13 AM (FlUFP)
----
I think anthologies are great for reading on the Kindle because you can just open one up when you have a few minutes (e.g., waiting at the doctor's office) and get through a story or two without having to feel like you need to invest a lot of time/emotion into the story.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 10:15 AM (K5n5d)
158
Interesting piece of news coming out. 900 Missouri residents panic because their names are now public after they snitched on companies -including their own employers - who violated COVID restrictions.
Two words: Karma, bitch!
Two words: Karma, bitch!
Posted by: Our Country is Screwed at March 06, 2022 10:16 AM (vL++3)
159
(preemptive desocking)
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 10:17 AM (nfrXX)
160
Bloom County and C&H are the pinnacle of the comic strip genre.
Zalensky is a puppet. The whole bisiness is about joining NATO and that door is locked.
It seems Arsenal want to screw this up.
My paternal GF smoked a pipe until his doctor said stop or you'll be dead in six months.He had a miserable final 8.
Zalensky is a puppet. The whole bisiness is about joining NATO and that door is locked.
It seems Arsenal want to screw this up.
My paternal GF smoked a pipe until his doctor said stop or you'll be dead in six months.He had a miserable final 8.
Posted by: Jamaica Queens at March 06, 2022 10:17 AM (b+v9B)
161
My plug for short stories. If you only read the first half of a book and get bored. If you're short on time or attention span, give them a go. All the taste, half the calories.
Posted by: mot at March 06, 2022 10:13 AM (FlUFP)
----
I think anthologies are great for reading on the Kindle because you can just open one up when you have a few minutes (e.g., waiting at the doctor's office) and get through a story or two without having to feel like you need to invest a lot of time/emotion into the story.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel
Yes, and it's like a concentrated shot of the writer's shiznit.
Posted by: mot at March 06, 2022 10:13 AM (FlUFP)
----
I think anthologies are great for reading on the Kindle because you can just open one up when you have a few minutes (e.g., waiting at the doctor's office) and get through a story or two without having to feel like you need to invest a lot of time/emotion into the story.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel
Yes, and it's like a concentrated shot of the writer's shiznit.
Posted by: mot at March 06, 2022 10:17 AM (FlUFP)
162
I understand the thought process in the old folks home in the college but think they could have found a better use of their students' time and just done the whole work as a stand alone course. But Nabokov included it in his overview course at Cornell SWTFDIK?
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 10:14 AM (y7DUB)
I never would have taken a stand alone Proust class. I took that course more for the other authors that were included.
I understand the thought process in the old folks home in the college but think they could have found a better use of their students' time and just done the whole work as a stand alone course. But Nabokov included it in his overview course at Cornell SWTFDIK?
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 10:14 AM (y7DUB)
I never would have taken a stand alone Proust class. I took that course more for the other authors that were included.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 10:19 AM (ONvIw)
163
I wish people could get it through their heads that it is possible to know Ukraine was a cesspool of corruption and still think the Russian invasion is an abomination that must be stopped. Pre-WWII Poland was a pretty crappy country, too. That didn't make it okay for Germany and Russia to conquer it.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 06, 2022 10:19 AM (QZxDR)
164
This past week I finally finished Off The Beeten Path: Adventures in Brussels on a Blue Bicycle by Lars Ingvold Johanssen. This is a lighthearted autobiographical travelogue by the son of Iowa beet farmers who drops out of college and begins a bicycle trip across Europe just as the threat of WWI begins to loom over the continent. He gets a flat tire just outside of Antwerp and cuts the bike journey short, returning to Des Moines in time for the Autumn Beet Harvest Festival, where he meets his future wife. I can't recommend this book too highly.
Posted by: Muldoon at March 06, 2022 10:20 AM (m45I2)
165
Last night at 1 am I was 100 pages from the end of the second book in Sandereson's Mistborn series The Well of Ascension. So many things had gone wrong for the heroes I had to keep reading until I could at least see a path out of their trials. I fell asleep trying to figure out where he was going to go with the story.
How many authors manage to keep one enthralled like that? The twists and turns were impossible to predict. Yes, I am still in love with Brandon Sanderson and have already reserved the 3 rd book at the library.
How many authors manage to keep one enthralled like that? The twists and turns were impossible to predict. Yes, I am still in love with Brandon Sanderson and have already reserved the 3 rd book at the library.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 06, 2022 10:21 AM (Y+l9t)
166
163 I wish people could get it through their heads that it is possible to know Ukraine was a cesspool of corruption and still think the Russian invasion is an abomination that must be stopped. Pre-WWII Poland was a pretty crappy country, too. That didn't make it okay for Germany and Russia to conquer it.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 06, 2022 10:19 AM (QZxDR)
This is true, but I don't want us to shed American blood for Ukraine or to retroactively admit them into NATO.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 06, 2022 10:19 AM (QZxDR)
This is true, but I don't want us to shed American blood for Ukraine or to retroactively admit them into NATO.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 10:22 AM (ONvIw)
167
Instead he becomes enthralled with the punk rock and drug abuse of the future and dies young again.
Posted by: who knew
Agggh! I know that story and now it's bugging me that I can't remember the author or title.
At first, I though it was from one of the Dangerous Visions anthologies, but that would be too early.
So...I got nuthin'.
Posted by: who knew
Agggh! I know that story and now it's bugging me that I can't remember the author or title.
At first, I though it was from one of the Dangerous Visions anthologies, but that would be too early.
So...I got nuthin'.
Posted by: naturalfake at March 06, 2022 10:22 AM (5NkmN)
168
I am reading also. About half-way through The Scarlet Pimpernel and it may become a favorite. About a third of the way through Papillion and it's good but a bit of a slog. All that's left to read in the Dos Passos volume is the letters.
Posted by: who knew at March 06, 2022 10:22 AM (4I7VG)
169
I'm starting to wonder if Zelensky was made to stay by his bosses and not allowed to scuttle off to the dacha in Florida.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 10:01 AM (ONvIw)
Oh, I think so. His history is typical WEF/New World Order club member stuff! I just read some info about him last night.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 10:01 AM (ONvIw)
Oh, I think so. His history is typical WEF/New World Order club member stuff! I just read some info about him last night.
Posted by: Bonnie Blue - no longer playing the game at March 06, 2022 10:23 AM (hlxe7)
170
Shouldn't you be wearing a cowboy hat not a pimp hat while reading the Texas Case?
Posted by: lin-duh at March 06, 2022 10:23 AM (UUBmN)
171
Shouldn't you be wearing a cowboy hat not a pimp hat while reading the Texas Case?
Posted by: lin-duh at March 06, 2022 10:23 AM (UUBmN)
It's never not time for a pimp hat, and -
platform shoes with goldfish in the heels.
Posted by: lin-duh at March 06, 2022 10:23 AM (UUBmN)
It's never not time for a pimp hat, and -
platform shoes with goldfish in the heels.
Posted by: naturalfake at March 06, 2022 10:24 AM (5NkmN)
172
I haven't noticed anyone at all urging US troops to Ukraine. That's a stupid strawman. Stop it.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 06, 2022 10:24 AM (QZxDR)
173
This is true, but I don't want us to shed American blood for Ukraine or to retroactively admit them into NATO.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 10:22 AM (ONvIw)
I don't want to hijack the book thread over current events, so I'll wait until the next for any discussion of this.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 10:22 AM (ONvIw)
I don't want to hijack the book thread over current events, so I'll wait until the next for any discussion of this.
Posted by: Tom Servo at March 06, 2022 10:24 AM (evAgx)
174
Shouldn't you be wearing a cowboy hat not a pimp hat while reading the Texas Case?
Posted by: lin-duh at March 06, 2022 10:23 AM (UUBmN)
---
Vince Milam said that when he corresponded with OM, OM brought up the idea of "pimping" Vince's book. So I thought the pimp hat would be appropriate. Didn't even think about a cowboy hat...I'll have to think about different "hats" PS can wear for various books...Good idea!
Posted by: lin-duh at March 06, 2022 10:23 AM (UUBmN)
---
Vince Milam said that when he corresponded with OM, OM brought up the idea of "pimping" Vince's book. So I thought the pimp hat would be appropriate. Didn't even think about a cowboy hat...I'll have to think about different "hats" PS can wear for various books...Good idea!
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 10:25 AM (K5n5d)
175
Hail, Eris
Hail, Eris
Posted by: AltonJackson at March 06, 2022 10:25 AM (DUIap)
176
I don't want to hijack the book thread over current events, so I'll wait until the next for any discussion of this.
Posted by: Tom Servo at March 06, 2022 10:24 AM (evAgx)
----
Thanks!
Posted by: Tom Servo at March 06, 2022 10:24 AM (evAgx)
----
Thanks!
Posted by: Weasel at March 06, 2022 10:26 AM (0IeYL)
177
Very nice thread, PS; those pants...I think that fellar could be a Swiss Vatican Guard! Getting ready to guard the Papa.
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 10:26 AM (V13WU)
178
There are always people who think they can direct or control what is coming; but the "winners" will only be those who can stay upright, surfing the tidal wave as it rolls along.
Posted by: Tom Servo at March 06, 2022 10:08 AM (evAgx)
We sure, there will always be unforeseen (by them) circumstances that can alter the path, but with the mass formation firmly in place these days, their job has been made much easier.
The people of today are not made of the same cloth as our founding fathers, that is for sure, and that is why these evil people can get by with what they are doing.
Posted by: Tom Servo at March 06, 2022 10:08 AM (evAgx)
We sure, there will always be unforeseen (by them) circumstances that can alter the path, but with the mass formation firmly in place these days, their job has been made much easier.
The people of today are not made of the same cloth as our founding fathers, that is for sure, and that is why these evil people can get by with what they are doing.
Posted by: Bonnie Blue - no longer playing the game at March 06, 2022 10:27 AM (hlxe7)
179
Sanderson!!!...keeps me crawling back...Book 3 Stormlight series
Posted by: Qmark at March 06, 2022 10:27 AM (emnp2)
180
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 06, 2022 10:19 AM (QZxDR)
Ukraine shouldn't have had a coup overthrowing a Russian friendly government backed by the CIA and threatened to join NATO. And this is nothing like Poland. We wouldn't let any similar thing happen in Mexico .
Ukraine shouldn't have had a coup overthrowing a Russian friendly government backed by the CIA and threatened to join NATO. And this is nothing like Poland. We wouldn't let any similar thing happen in Mexico .
Posted by: Anti doesn't matter at March 06, 2022 10:27 AM (4lzWT)
181
Shouldn't you be wearing a cowboy hat not a pimp hat while reading the Texas Case?
As incredible as it may sound, I may be insufficiently cynical. I saw the purple hat with the gaudy hatband and feather and my first association was "granny" not "pimp."
As incredible as it may sound, I may be insufficiently cynical. I saw the purple hat with the gaudy hatband and feather and my first association was "granny" not "pimp."
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 10:28 AM (nfrXX)
182
99 "Has anyone here read Proust's In Search of Lost Time?"
Proust is one of my cultural lags. I've never read him. I did notice that the old English title, "Remembrance of Things Past," is a quotation of Shakespeare's Sonnet 30. I thought that rather clever of translator Moncrieff.
Proust is one of my cultural lags. I've never read him. I did notice that the old English title, "Remembrance of Things Past," is a quotation of Shakespeare's Sonnet 30. I thought that rather clever of translator Moncrieff.
Posted by: Brett at March 06, 2022 10:29 AM (sgJMJ)
183
Just looked at your hat Perfessor Squirrel, maybe your going to start a new dress requirement, a hat
Posted by: Skip's Phone at March 06, 2022 10:29 AM (2JoB8)
184
Someone mentioned Andrew Roberts's bio of George IV. Right now I'm off-and-on reading his ENORMOUS bio of Napoleon. Not exactly in my wheelhouse, but I picked it up because of one burning question: after many years of war and, eventually, privation for the French, why on earth did so many follow him again after he escaped from Elba?
Anyway, I'm not quite halfway through and I can see the attraction. He was an amazingly complex and deep man. I am interested to see the decline in the second half.
Anyway, I'm not quite halfway through and I can see the attraction. He was an amazingly complex and deep man. I am interested to see the decline in the second half.
Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at March 06, 2022 10:30 AM (fTtFy)
185
Both Poland and Ukraine were part of the Bloodlands, getting trashed by the Nazis and commies. Poland seemed less ethnically divided compared to the east/west split of Ukraine.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 10:30 AM (y7DUB)
186
I don't recognize that short story, but the description's got kind of a Paul diFilippo vibe to it.
Still revisiting Robert Silverberg. I think more highly of DYING INSIDE and THE BOOK OF SKULLS all the time.
Still revisiting Robert Silverberg. I think more highly of DYING INSIDE and THE BOOK OF SKULLS all the time.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 06, 2022 10:30 AM (JzDjf)
187
Good morning, Perfessor Squirrel, Horde,
If movies about books count, I watched "Knives Out" last night. Fun, with a bunch of plot twists.
If movies about books count, I watched "Knives Out" last night. Fun, with a bunch of plot twists.
Posted by: callsign claymore at March 06, 2022 10:31 AM (ZMNt0)
188
@97 "In more and more areas of life and endeavor, I'm becoming convinced that "being good" and "being lucky" are indistinguishable."
that's pretty much the thesis of Taleb's Fooled by Randomness. w/the minor update of "being good" to "being good at something".
that's pretty much the thesis of Taleb's Fooled by Randomness. w/the minor update of "being good" to "being good at something".
Posted by: yara at March 06, 2022 10:31 AM (hBsVD)
189
Back to books: I'm just finishing, "Jefferson at Monticello" which is recollections from one of his slaves and one of his overseers. Fast read, really interesting.
I also finished Jefferson's Shadow - the Story of his Science" by Keith Stewart Thomson.
I continue to be amazed by the depth of the man that is my favorite founding father.
I also finished Jefferson's Shadow - the Story of his Science" by Keith Stewart Thomson.
I continue to be amazed by the depth of the man that is my favorite founding father.
Posted by: Bonnie Blue - no longer playing the game at March 06, 2022 10:32 AM (hlxe7)
190
I like the idea of a "Pimp of the Week" with Huggy Squirrel directing attention to a worthy piece (of literature).
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:32 AM (Dc2NZ)
191
his week I read Ellery Queen's The Siamese Twin Mystery. It was one of the American Mystery Classics series of reprints with an introduction by Otto Penzler, the publisher. I do not particularly like mysteries, particularly those that were imitated in subsequent decades. Detective forced to take shelter in a mansion full of odd characters with secrets? Check - although the plot device of a forest fire continues to menace. Bizarre clue in a murder victim's possession? Check. False confession? Check. Another murder that sheds doubt on previous suppositions? Check. But somehow it all manages to be fresh. Good book.
Posted by: NaughtyPine at March 06, 2022 10:32 AM (/+bwe)
192
63 My light reading was Margaret Ball's "A Pocketful of Stars", Book 1 in her Applied Topology series.
**
I remember reading her fantasy back in the day - fun with a math twist.
I will check this out
**
I remember reading her fantasy back in the day - fun with a math twist.
I will check this out
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 10:32 AM (lCui1)
193
Adam Weishaupt is my favorite Founding Father.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:32 AM (Dc2NZ)
194
.I'll have to think about different "hats" PS can wear for various books
Oh, this could be fun.
I'm thinking of several types already.
Oh, this could be fun.
I'm thinking of several types already.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 06, 2022 10:33 AM (Om/di)
195
For those wondering about The Three-Body Problem by Liu CiXin, it is an "interesting" but not necessarily fun read. Your mileage may vary. Because Chinese, the novel conventions Western books generally follow in the current time are different or missing, which took some getting used to.
What I found fascinating was the very frank depictions of what the Cultural Revolution was like and did to the survivors. The mental scars are clearly deep. How this got past the censors is a mystery. It isn't all Maoist China though, there are VERY strange aliens that have evolved to survive a trinary star system (the three-body problem of the title) They are not nice aliens....
What I found fascinating was the very frank depictions of what the Cultural Revolution was like and did to the survivors. The mental scars are clearly deep. How this got past the censors is a mystery. It isn't all Maoist China though, there are VERY strange aliens that have evolved to survive a trinary star system (the three-body problem of the title) They are not nice aliens....
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 06, 2022 10:33 AM (P+D9B)
196
The squirrel hat is a good color match with the pants that shall not be worn. Do they come in squirrel sizes?
Posted by: 4thewin at March 06, 2022 10:33 AM (EHOZp)
197
Qmark, you will be happy to know that his next series is just as good but not quite as dense( book is only 764 pages instead of 1100).
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 06, 2022 10:33 AM (Y+l9t)
198
From my fractured memory, Peter the Great, Tsar of all the Russians, made Kiev his 'summer palace.' Memory fracture again, he had a black slave named Gannibal, who became some kind of a lord. Darned if I can remember the specific Peter biography, but eventually I'll find it.
There are yourpeein' 'houses' that are proud to own black African Gannibal as an ancestor.
I have to find those references.
There are yourpeein' 'houses' that are proud to own black African Gannibal as an ancestor.
I have to find those references.
Posted by: mustbequantum at March 06, 2022 10:34 AM (MIKMs)
199
I liked Demons, I think Crime and Punishment is excellent and more accessible to the masses. It's been a while since I read them. You have to be in a particular mind set to read those works. Especially Demons.
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 10:34 AM (V13WU)
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 10:34 AM (V13WU)
201
that was close !
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 10:34 AM (V13WU)
202
Those are HEMA pants (not Hammer pants).
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:34 AM (Dc2NZ)
203
I like the idea of a "Pimp of the Week" with Huggy Squirrel directing attention to a worthy piece (of literature).
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:32 AM (Dc2NZ)
----
So I added the "pimp hat" because I was "pimping" moron author Vince Milam's book (definitely an entertaining read). I'll need more books written by moron authors to bring back Huggy Squirrel (It's official--That is now his name!)
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:32 AM (Dc2NZ)
----
So I added the "pimp hat" because I was "pimping" moron author Vince Milam's book (definitely an entertaining read). I'll need more books written by moron authors to bring back Huggy Squirrel (It's official--That is now his name!)
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 10:35 AM (K5n5d)
204
From my fractured memory, Peter the Great, Tsar of all the Russians, made Kiev his 'summer palace.'
...You might be thinking of Peterhoff.
...You might be thinking of Peterhoff.
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 10:35 AM (V13WU)
205
193 Adam Weishaupt is my favorite Founding Father.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:32 AM (Dc2NZ)
The founder of the Illuminati? Yes, I had to look him up.
Are you being sarcastic? Or should I do some research?
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:32 AM (Dc2NZ)
The founder of the Illuminati? Yes, I had to look him up.
Are you being sarcastic? Or should I do some research?
Posted by: Bonnie Blue - no longer playing the game at March 06, 2022 10:36 AM (hlxe7)
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:36 AM (Dc2NZ)
207
"Roadside Picnic" is one of the greatest SF stories of all time.
Just superb in all aspects...if the translation is correct.
Due to fate and a fire, "Roadside Picnic" got made into the longest and most peculiarly Russian episode of "Seinfeld" evah.
That's a novelette that really needs to be revisited by a great director with great love for the story as is.
Just superb in all aspects...if the translation is correct.
Due to fate and a fire, "Roadside Picnic" got made into the longest and most peculiarly Russian episode of "Seinfeld" evah.
That's a novelette that really needs to be revisited by a great director with great love for the story as is.
Posted by: naturalfake at March 06, 2022 10:37 AM (5NkmN)
208
@138 Arsenal better not eff this up.
at 3-1 w/20 minutes left, i don't think even they could do it, but if anyone can ...
at 3-1 w/20 minutes left, i don't think even they could do it, but if anyone can ...
Posted by: yara at March 06, 2022 10:37 AM (hBsVD)
209
I'm not sure you'd want to go from St. Petersburg to Kiev for the summer.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 06, 2022 10:38 AM (QZxDR)
210
Good morning Professor and Hordemates.
I've just finished Mary Stewart's second book on Arthurian legends, The Hallowed Hills. I gotta say, she was an excellent writer. Scenes so vivid that you feel you are there. Very well told story.
I've just finished Mary Stewart's second book on Arthurian legends, The Hallowed Hills. I gotta say, she was an excellent writer. Scenes so vivid that you feel you are there. Very well told story.
Posted by: Diogenes at March 06, 2022 10:38 AM (axyOa)
211
Anyway, like I was sayin', hats is the fruit of the library. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There's uh, hat-kabobs, hat creole, hat gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple hat, lemon hat, coconut hat, pepper hat, hat soup, hat stew, hat salad, hat and potatoes, hat burger, hat sandwich. That- that's about it.
Posted by: Bubba Gump Pimp Hats Co. at March 06, 2022 10:38 AM (m45I2)
212
Best King of the Hill episode of all time was when Hank unknowingly became a pimp . His rival was pimp Alabaster Jones. I may have used that as my nic from time to time.
Posted by: Anti doesn't matter at March 06, 2022 10:38 AM (4lzWT)
213
@198 From my fractured memory, Peter the Great, Tsar of all the Russians, made Kiev his 'summer palace.' Memory fracture again, he had a black slave named Gannibal, who became some kind of a lord.
in "The Romanovs" it says Hannibal became a lord and then Pushkin's grandfather.
in "The Romanovs" it says Hannibal became a lord and then Pushkin's grandfather.
Posted by: yara at March 06, 2022 10:39 AM (hBsVD)
214
I'm getting to the stage where I want to read some clever, gentle humor. Happens about twice a year. Wodehouse, Edmund Ware Smith, even some of the silly MASH books. Smiles and some laugh out loud moments make the world a better place. And there is always my hardcover Complete Calvin and Hobbes.
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022 10:39 AM (7EjX1)
215
I'm having fun seeing what is now out of date. Mason's phone is the kind with a separate earpiece. He wears a vest. Of course, smoking is rampant.
_________
In the Drowning Duck (1941), detergents feature. But they are so new that neither Perry nor the judge has heard of them.
One scene that was kept on TV was the arcus senilis scene in the Rolling Bones. Excellent.
_________
In the Drowning Duck (1941), detergents feature. But they are so new that neither Perry nor the judge has heard of them.
One scene that was kept on TV was the arcus senilis scene in the Rolling Bones. Excellent.
Posted by: Eeyore at March 06, 2022 10:39 AM (R0Tis)
216
@191 --
I skimmed "The Siamese Twin Mystery" as a youth, but all I remember about it is a forest fire, Inspector Queen shoots somebody, and "sonofabitch" was spelled as one word.
Guess I should consider it for a reread.
I skimmed "The Siamese Twin Mystery" as a youth, but all I remember about it is a forest fire, Inspector Queen shoots somebody, and "sonofabitch" was spelled as one word.
Guess I should consider it for a reread.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 06, 2022 10:40 AM (Om/di)
217
FYI / PSA:
the EMT is still open at this time for current events / politics / non-book thread comments.
Thank you.
the EMT is still open at this time for current events / politics / non-book thread comments.
Thank you.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 10:40 AM (lCui1)
218
WOW! The photo of Perfessor Squirrel reading Moron author Vince Milam's book! What an honor.
Posted by: m at March 06, 2022 10:41 AM (6i1Yo)
219
3 Nerds! *knocks books out of hands*
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 09:00 AM (Dc2NZ)
That wasn't very nice. I thought Eris was nice.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 09:00 AM (Dc2NZ)
That wasn't very nice. I thought Eris was nice.
Posted by: m at March 06, 2022 10:42 AM (6i1Yo)
220
From what I remember , reading Dostoyevsky's bios, reading his letters, he was trying to develop a character representing a perfect human being. An example of purity and good. Almost a Christlike person. At the end , he decided that the only way to achieve that in our imperfect world is to make him slightly "touched". He looked at various literary characters , like Jean Valjean I think, but found them wanting.
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 10:42 AM (V13WU)
221
This week's books are a reread of A Canticle for Lebowitz and The Gardens of Monticello.
Posted by: Sock Monkey * Ungovernable at March 06, 2022 09:24 AM (Thzcc)
I mentioned a few days back at the end of a thread where it was probably lost, but the Kindle version of A Canticle for Leibowitz was finally released. A few minor transcription errors, which is pretty typical. My only beef is that Amazon did not transcribe the Hebrew characters in the original text.
Posted by: Sock Monkey * Ungovernable at March 06, 2022 09:24 AM (Thzcc)
I mentioned a few days back at the end of a thread where it was probably lost, but the Kindle version of A Canticle for Leibowitz was finally released. A few minor transcription errors, which is pretty typical. My only beef is that Amazon did not transcribe the Hebrew characters in the original text.
Posted by: Additional Blond Agent, STEM Guy at March 06, 2022 10:42 AM (ZSK0i)
222
From my fractured memory, Peter the Great, Tsar of all the Russians, made Kiev his 'summer palace.'
...You might be thinking of Peterhoff.
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 10:35 AM (V13WU)
Peter the Great wanted Russia to be more associated with Europe which surely outraged the Slavs.
...You might be thinking of Peterhoff.
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 10:35 AM (V13WU)
Peter the Great wanted Russia to be more associated with Europe which surely outraged the Slavs.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 10:42 AM (y7DUB)
223
Arsenal love to give a penalty.
Posted by: Jamaica Queens at March 06, 2022 10:45 AM (b+v9B)
224
(Trying to follow the conversation while fixing breakfast and falling behind...)
that's pretty much the thesis of Taleb's Fooled by Randomness. w/the minor update of "being good" to "being good at something".
Yes, good at something is clearer. My thoughts is "what if you assume that dumb luck is real and, like most real attributes, is normally distributed?" That is, most people have some, a few have little and a few have a lot. Then there is no difference between good at, say, stock trading and being lucky at stock trading.
that's pretty much the thesis of Taleb's Fooled by Randomness. w/the minor update of "being good" to "being good at something".
Yes, good at something is clearer. My thoughts is "what if you assume that dumb luck is real and, like most real attributes, is normally distributed?" That is, most people have some, a few have little and a few have a lot. Then there is no difference between good at, say, stock trading and being lucky at stock trading.
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 10:45 AM (nfrXX)
225
LaPorte?! What a bizzare choice for a capital! Still, I may have to read that book, since I grew up near La Porte...
Posted by: Castle Guy at March 06, 2022 10:07 AM (Lhaco)
Smith was a reservist with the Denver police or Sheriff. He claimed Denver was principally a railroad stop, but LaPorte was ideal if your transportation net was based on the original trails and would have been pre-eminent if there had not been so much graft slipped to the railroads by Congresss. (A lot of the financial panics during the Gilded Age were related to defaults in the railroads that had bubbled due to congressional grants)
You might want to read the first book, The Probability Broach, first.
Posted by: Castle Guy at March 06, 2022 10:07 AM (Lhaco)
Smith was a reservist with the Denver police or Sheriff. He claimed Denver was principally a railroad stop, but LaPorte was ideal if your transportation net was based on the original trails and would have been pre-eminent if there had not been so much graft slipped to the railroads by Congresss. (A lot of the financial panics during the Gilded Age were related to defaults in the railroads that had bubbled due to congressional grants)
You might want to read the first book, The Probability Broach, first.
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022 10:45 AM (xhaym)
226
Peter the Great wanted Russia to be more associated with Europe which surely outraged the Slavs.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 10:42 AM (y7DUB)
well, the old boyar guard for sure. cutting their beard off did not sit well with them, destroying their hold on power did not sit well with them.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 10:42 AM (y7DUB)
well, the old boyar guard for sure. cutting their beard off did not sit well with them, destroying their hold on power did not sit well with them.
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 10:46 AM (V13WU)
227
YI / PSA:
the EMT is still open at this time for current events / politics / non-book thread comments.
Thank you.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 10:40 AM (lCui1)
----
Thank you for the reminder, vmom! P Squirrel clearly works very hard putting these threads together and it's only good manners to keep the comments at least sort of on track!
the EMT is still open at this time for current events / politics / non-book thread comments.
Thank you.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 10:40 AM (lCui1)
----
Thank you for the reminder, vmom! P Squirrel clearly works very hard putting these threads together and it's only good manners to keep the comments at least sort of on track!
Posted by: Weasel at March 06, 2022 10:46 AM (0IeYL)
228
I read Ellery Queen's The Siamese Twin Mystery. It was one of the American Mystery Classics series of reprints with an introduction by Otto Penzler, the publisher. I do not particularly like mysteries, particularly those that were imitated in subsequent decades. Detective forced to take shelter in a mansion full of odd characters with secrets? Check - although the plot device of a forest fire continues to menace. Bizarre clue in a murder victim's possession? Check. False confession? Check. Another murder that sheds doubt on previous suppositions? Check. But somehow it all manages to be fresh. Good book.
Posted by: NaughtyPine at March 06, 2022
***
Yes -- one of the best of the early EQ novels. Greek Coffin is astonishingly complex; Egyptian Cross is dynamite also. Try their Cat of Many Tails from 1949: a pioneering serial killer story without being gory, and with great characterizations, including of Ellery himself.
Posted by: NaughtyPine at March 06, 2022
***
Yes -- one of the best of the early EQ novels. Greek Coffin is astonishingly complex; Egyptian Cross is dynamite also. Try their Cat of Many Tails from 1949: a pioneering serial killer story without being gory, and with great characterizations, including of Ellery himself.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 10:47 AM (c6xtn)
229
Also, I think most people's idea of "random" is not correct. For example, imagine the sh*tstorm if this week's Lotto numbers are 1-2-3-4-5-6, or the same as last week's. But the odds are exactly the same as for any other combination.
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 10:47 AM (nfrXX)
230
I skimmed "The Siamese Twin Mystery" as a youth, but all I remember about it is a forest fire, Inspector Queen shoots somebody, and "sonofabitch" was spelled as one word.
Guess I should consider it for a reread.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 06, 2022
***
You should. It turns the trope of "detective and suspects trapped by a snowstorm" on its head, and provides extra suspense.
Guess I should consider it for a reread.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 06, 2022
***
You should. It turns the trope of "detective and suspects trapped by a snowstorm" on its head, and provides extra suspense.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 10:48 AM (c6xtn)
Posted by: Muldoon at March 06, 2022 10:48 AM (m45I2)
232
I think I have all of Vince Milan's books on my Kindle.
Always a good read.
Currently I am reading the next book in the Orphan X series, "Dark Horse" by Gregg Hurwitz.
Always a good read.
Currently I am reading the next book in the Orphan X series, "Dark Horse" by Gregg Hurwitz.
Posted by: Scuba_Dude at March 06, 2022 10:49 AM (mcfjc)
233
I always find it fascinating that Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky were of the same era.
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 10:49 AM (V13WU)
234
214 "I'm getting to the stage where I want to read some clever, gentle humor."
I recommend the "Chet and Bernie Mysteries," by Spencer Quinn. Chet and Bernie are detective partners, Chet being a dog, who narrates the stories. Very funny!
Perhaps this recommendation belongs in a Pet Thread.
I recommend the "Chet and Bernie Mysteries," by Spencer Quinn. Chet and Bernie are detective partners, Chet being a dog, who narrates the stories. Very funny!
Perhaps this recommendation belongs in a Pet Thread.
Posted by: Brett at March 06, 2022 10:49 AM (sgJMJ)
235
Thanks Sharon...the length is really no bother...quality is keeping me going...can't remember last book I LOL'd so much spontaneously...I shall enter it in the Queue...
Posted by: Qmark at March 06, 2022 10:50 AM (emnp2)
236
keep the comments at least sort of on track!
Posted by: Weasel
*****
You must be new here!
Posted by: Muldoon at March 06, 2022 10:48 AM (m45I2)
----
I dialed that back from "on topic"
Posted by: Weasel
*****
You must be new here!
Posted by: Muldoon at March 06, 2022 10:48 AM (m45I2)
----
I dialed that back from "on topic"
Posted by: Weasel at March 06, 2022 10:50 AM (0IeYL)
237
I'm getting to the stage where I want to read some clever, gentle humor. Happens about twice a year. Wodehouse, Edmund Ware Smith, even some of the silly MASH books. Smiles and some laugh out loud moments make the world a better place. And there is always my hardcover Complete Calvin and Hobbes.
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022
***
Look for Richard Bradford's Red Sky at Morning.
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022
***
Look for Richard Bradford's Red Sky at Morning.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 10:51 AM (c6xtn)
238
Weasel, it's not jusy good manners for me - The Book Thread is a weekly respite for me.
It's only March and I am already on a reading slump - staring listlessly at my to-read pile.
I blame my useless mental agitation of FJB and don't want him spoiling our book thread.
It's only March and I am already on a reading slump - staring listlessly at my to-read pile.
I blame my useless mental agitation of FJB and don't want him spoiling our book thread.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 10:51 AM (lCui1)
239
well, the old boyar guard for sure. cutting their beard off did not sit well with them, destroying their hold on power did not sit well with them.
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 10:46 AM (V13WU)
Were they the ones who slaughtered his family in the Kremlin when he was a child after which he got his revenge on every fucking one of 'em? That wasn't a good foundation for a happy alliance.
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 10:46 AM (V13WU)
Were they the ones who slaughtered his family in the Kremlin when he was a child after which he got his revenge on every fucking one of 'em? That wasn't a good foundation for a happy alliance.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 10:52 AM (y7DUB)
240
That wasn't very nice. I thought Eris was nice.
Posted by: m at March 06, 2022 10:42 AM (6i1Yo)
---
*stuffs M into a locker*
Posted by: m at March 06, 2022 10:42 AM (6i1Yo)
---
*stuffs M into a locker*
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:52 AM (Dc2NZ)
Posted by: Weasel at March 06, 2022 10:52 AM (0IeYL)
242
Posted by: who knew at March 06, 2022 10:12 AM (4I7VG)
There was a Bruce Sterling short story where Mozart had been saved from the past, and was doing the punk rock thing, while knocking on with Marie Antoinette who had also been saved from the past.
Two Austrians in a strange land as it were.
The sponsors who pulled them from the past were pissed because he didn't do more Baroque music
never finished the story, Sterling was a little too avant garde for my taste, then.
There was a Bruce Sterling short story where Mozart had been saved from the past, and was doing the punk rock thing, while knocking on with Marie Antoinette who had also been saved from the past.
Two Austrians in a strange land as it were.
The sponsors who pulled them from the past were pissed because he didn't do more Baroque music
never finished the story, Sterling was a little too avant garde for my taste, then.
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022 10:52 AM (xhaym)
243
My interest in mysteries and crime fiction sort of starts and ends with Agatha Christie. I did read an Anne Perry book, but only after I found out she was, herself, a murderess.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 10:53 AM (ONvIw)
244
I've read several of the Vince Milam books. I like that they are stand alone books so it doesn't matter what order you read them in. I always get a kick when he goes back to his houseboat. Those of you who have read his books will know why.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 06, 2022 10:54 AM (Y+l9t)
245
Lileks is a long time big newspaper figure. He is Minnesota nice. He grew up in the 60s and 70s. I think that he skews "right" at all is a result of that his dad was a rural gas station guy but he has lived in gentry liberal world since he went off to college. His site is fun to kick around in though cause he is fascinated with pop culture stuff no-one else is and is very good at presenting it.
Posted by: azjaeger at March 06, 2022 10:55 AM (3/XaG)
246
That wasn't very nice. I thought Eris was nice.
Posted by: m at March 06, 2022 10:42 AM (6i1Yo)
---
*stuffs M into a locker*
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:52 AM (Dc2NZ)
***
Good morning Eris! Dang. Daughter of Diogenes #1 would kill for those shoes! Very nice!!!
Posted by: m at March 06, 2022 10:42 AM (6i1Yo)
---
*stuffs M into a locker*
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:52 AM (Dc2NZ)
***
Good morning Eris! Dang. Daughter of Diogenes #1 would kill for those shoes! Very nice!!!
Posted by: Diogenes at March 06, 2022 10:56 AM (axyOa)
247
13 times, Solaris was written by Stanislaw Lem, but I don't disagree with what you are saying.
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022 10:56 AM (xhaym)
248
Were they the ones who slaughtered his family in the Kremlin when he was a child after which he got his revenge on every fucking one of 'em? That wasn't a good foundation for a happy alliance.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 10:52 AM (y7DUB)
Oh yes. That was them.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 10:52 AM (y7DUB)
Oh yes. That was them.
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 10:56 AM (V13WU)
249
My interest in mysteries and crime fiction sort of starts and ends with Agatha Christie. I did read an Anne Perry book, but only after I found out she was, herself, a murderess.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022
***
Christie was not a bad storyteller and she was a good plotter, but I've never been as enamored of her work as I have people like Ellery Queen, Rex Stout, and John Dickson Carr. I think it a shame that she is still remembered, her stuff still in print, and her work endlessly dramatized when superior writers like the 3 above are basically forgotten.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022
***
Christie was not a bad storyteller and she was a good plotter, but I've never been as enamored of her work as I have people like Ellery Queen, Rex Stout, and John Dickson Carr. I think it a shame that she is still remembered, her stuff still in print, and her work endlessly dramatized when superior writers like the 3 above are basically forgotten.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 10:56 AM (c6xtn)
250
234 ... "I recommend the "Chet and Bernie Mysteries," by Spencer Quinn."
Brett,
Absolutely agree!! We have every one of the series and have enjoyed them. Don't forget about the Chet and Bernie short story he wrote a few years ago: "A Cat Was Involved". I think it is still available as a 99 cent Kindle book.
Brett,
Absolutely agree!! We have every one of the series and have enjoyed them. Don't forget about the Chet and Bernie short story he wrote a few years ago: "A Cat Was Involved". I think it is still available as a 99 cent Kindle book.
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022 10:57 AM (7EjX1)
251
Said yesterday some day I need to find a book by Dostoyevsky
Posted by: Skip at March 06, 2022 10:57 AM (2JoB8)
252
In addition to his art history novels, Iain Pears also wrote An Instance of the Fingerpost, Stone's Fall and A Dream of Scipio all of which are excellent.
Posted by: Sharkman at March 06, 2022 10:57 AM (8gxrg)
253
Said yesterday some day I need to find a book by Dostoyevsky
Posted by: Skip at March 06, 2022
Last year I actually sat down and read Crime and Punishment. Fascinating until the actual murder is over; then it's a slog. His prose is dense by today's standards, and the Russian habit of referring to Person A by 2 or even 3 different nicknames is confusing.
Posted by: Skip at March 06, 2022
Last year I actually sat down and read Crime and Punishment. Fascinating until the actual murder is over; then it's a slog. His prose is dense by today's standards, and the Russian habit of referring to Person A by 2 or even 3 different nicknames is confusing.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 10:59 AM (c6xtn)
254
It's only March and I am already on a reading slump - staring listlessly at my to-read pile.
I blame my useless mental agitation of FJB and don't want him spoiling our book thread.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 10:51 AM (lCui1)
I feel something similar only more concentrated on how badly the GOP has sold us out. But make no doubt about it: I consider FJB an insult to our founding principles.
I blame my useless mental agitation of FJB and don't want him spoiling our book thread.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 10:51 AM (lCui1)
I feel something similar only more concentrated on how badly the GOP has sold us out. But make no doubt about it: I consider FJB an insult to our founding principles.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 11:00 AM (y7DUB)
255
237 ... "Look for Richard Bradford's Red Sky at Morning."
Wolfus,
Thanks, I picked up a copy last year but haven't read it yet. Will have to dig it out, if possible. (It may be a long process.)
Wolfus,
Thanks, I picked up a copy last year but haven't read it yet. Will have to dig it out, if possible. (It may be a long process.)
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022 11:02 AM (7EjX1)
256
I am finally starting on book 1 of SPQR mysteries, after having read a couple out of order LOL
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 11:03 AM (lCui1)
257
"keep the comments at least sort of on track!"
Trains were yesterday.
Speaking of trains, I have a book "A History of Georgia Railroads" but I have never read it. I should move that up in the stack.
Trains were yesterday.
Speaking of trains, I have a book "A History of Georgia Railroads" but I have never read it. I should move that up in the stack.
Posted by: fd at March 06, 2022 11:04 AM (vrz2I)
258
well, the old boyar guard for sure. cutting their beard off did not sit well with them, destroying their hold on power did not sit well with them.
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 10:46 AM (V13WU)
I supposed making Spaghetti-Os was not enough for the boyardi
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 10:46 AM (V13WU)
I supposed making Spaghetti-Os was not enough for the boyardi
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022 11:04 AM (xhaym)
259
A lot of the financial panics during the Gilded Age were related to defaults in the railroads that had bubbled due to congressional grants)
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022 10:45 AM (xhaym)
Made for some really badly laid out property lines across my state, Nevada, too. Whole mountain range West of my house burned to nothing as several gooberment agencies debated over who was responsable for what due to a checkerboard of squares next to a train track that has been gone for 80 years or so. All debates took place in a casino buffet fresh stocked and empty of the public due to evacuations.
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022 10:45 AM (xhaym)
Made for some really badly laid out property lines across my state, Nevada, too. Whole mountain range West of my house burned to nothing as several gooberment agencies debated over who was responsable for what due to a checkerboard of squares next to a train track that has been gone for 80 years or so. All debates took place in a casino buffet fresh stocked and empty of the public due to evacuations.
Posted by: Reforger at March 06, 2022 11:04 AM (GF3Jj)
260
Both Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky had a slight gambling problem. One night while serving in the Caucasuses, artillery officer I believe, (count) Tolstoy gambled aways his entire inherited estate. Someone helped him to gamble it back. I think he was able to stop after that.
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 11:04 AM (V13WU)
261
If you're interested in reading a couple of great novels written by a Russian on the whole East/West dealio (indirectly, it has to be said), then check out:
"The Silver Dove" and "Petersburg" by Andre Bely (sometimes spelled Biely).
They were books one and two in a never completed trilogy titled "East or West" written in the 1910s. They don't directly relate to one another so you can read them in whatever order you wish. The prose is very lush, sensual, and symbolic. It would probabluy be called magic realism these days.
Nabokov was a huge fan of "Petersburg". There is some controversy over what constitutes a complete copy of "Petersburg", which was re-editted a couple of times by Bely himself.
Bely also wrote an interesting book, roughly relating to his childhood memories titled, "Kotik Lataev".
All three are worth your time. Check them out.
"The Silver Dove" and "Petersburg" by Andre Bely (sometimes spelled Biely).
They were books one and two in a never completed trilogy titled "East or West" written in the 1910s. They don't directly relate to one another so you can read them in whatever order you wish. The prose is very lush, sensual, and symbolic. It would probabluy be called magic realism these days.
Nabokov was a huge fan of "Petersburg". There is some controversy over what constitutes a complete copy of "Petersburg", which was re-editted a couple of times by Bely himself.
Bely also wrote an interesting book, roughly relating to his childhood memories titled, "Kotik Lataev".
All three are worth your time. Check them out.
Posted by: naturalfake at March 06, 2022 11:05 AM (5NkmN)
262
it's the passion and the risk, man !
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 11:05 AM (V13WU)
263
Said yesterday some day I need to find a book by Dostoyevsky
Posted by: Skip at March 06, 2022 10:57 AM (2JoB
The Brothers Karamazov is long but remarkably coherent. I was surprised at how easy a read it was.
Posted by: Skip at March 06, 2022 10:57 AM (2JoB
The Brothers Karamazov is long but remarkably coherent. I was surprised at how easy a read it was.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 11:05 AM (y7DUB)
264
"Look for Richard Bradford's Red Sky at Morning."
Wolfus,
Thanks, I picked up a copy last year but haven't read it yet. Will have to dig it out, if possible. (It may be a long process.)
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022
***
It is charming and laugh-out-loud funny -- a "retro" novel from 1968 or so, set during WWII New Mexico.
Wolfus,
Thanks, I picked up a copy last year but haven't read it yet. Will have to dig it out, if possible. (It may be a long process.)
Posted by: JTB at March 06, 2022
***
It is charming and laugh-out-loud funny -- a "retro" novel from 1968 or so, set during WWII New Mexico.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 11:06 AM (c6xtn)
265
Since art forgery has come up, I will recommend "The Art Forger" by B. A. Shapiro. A great read.
Posted by: who knew at March 06, 2022 11:06 AM (4I7VG)
266
I bunch conspiracy nuts, i.e., flat-earthers, UFOlogists, 9/11 truthers, Obama birthers, JFK assassination freaks, QAnon Q-bots, anti-Semites, flat-earthers, vegans, chemtrail lunatics and socialists all in the same category: barking moonbat insane.
Posted by: TANSTAAFL at March 06, 2022 11:06 AM (fBtlL)
267
You can get free Dostoyevsky on Gutenberg. Probably in Russian too. Unless they banned him.
Posted by: fd at March 06, 2022 11:06 AM (vrz2I)
268
Capt maybe will try it.
Even in movies Russians like the 3 names used every time it seems
Even in movies Russians like the 3 names used every time it seems
Posted by: Skip at March 06, 2022 11:07 AM (2JoB8)
269
Tolstoy is good. AK is better than W&P. Dostoyevsky is a slog, worth reading once. First Circle and Cancer Ward by Solzhenitsyn are antidotes to the Gulag books.
Arsenal tried, but, did manage to hang on.
Arsenal tried, but, did manage to hang on.
Posted by: Jamaica Queens at March 06, 2022 11:09 AM (b+v9B)
270
Stopped but still reading Napoleon and the Queen of Prussia from Gutenberg, lighter reading than Race Marxism
Posted by: Skip at March 06, 2022 11:09 AM (2JoB8)
271
The pants look like the legit Swiss Guard (Pope's bodyguards) but he is not wearing the top. Fun fact, the Swiss guard uniforms were designed by Michaelangelo. And the Swiss Guard might be funny but they are ready to take anyone down.
Posted by: Sassy at March 06, 2022 11:10 AM (xSICi)
272
Captain Hate, yup yup yup. They're all the same.
Illiterate heathens who've never read history or ethics.
There's a saying that "The past is a foreign country" (true!) but a culture divorced from the past is an barbaric infestation.
Illiterate heathens who've never read history or ethics.
There's a saying that "The past is a foreign country" (true!) but a culture divorced from the past is an barbaric infestation.
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 11:11 AM (lCui1)
273
Going to re-read "An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists..." by Simon Greenleaf, a top Harvard law professor back in the day when that meant something. He applies the rules of evidence in court to the Gospels.
Posted by: callsign claymore at March 06, 2022 11:12 AM (ZMNt0)
274
I am reading another Tommy Hambledon spy story, The Green Hazard, set in 1941 Berlin.
There is a discussion about how if you replace motor oil with molasses, it turns a tank into a toffee machine. "I wonder if the Russians like toffee?"
There is a discussion about how if you replace motor oil with molasses, it turns a tank into a toffee machine. "I wonder if the Russians like toffee?"
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022 11:12 AM (xhaym)
275
Both Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky had a slight gambling problem. One night while serving in the Caucasuses, artillery officer I believe, (count) Tolstoy gambled aways his entire inherited estate. Someone helped him to gamble it back. I think he was able to stop after that.
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 11:04 AM (V13WU)
Did not know that about Tolstoy. He was quite the cooch hound when younger and generally treated his wife like trash. Dostoyevsky was a lowlife with his gambling; pawning his wife's jewelry behind her back and literally starving his children. Love the art; not the artist.
Posted by: runner at March 06, 2022 11:04 AM (V13WU)
Did not know that about Tolstoy. He was quite the cooch hound when younger and generally treated his wife like trash. Dostoyevsky was a lowlife with his gambling; pawning his wife's jewelry behind her back and literally starving his children. Love the art; not the artist.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 11:13 AM (y7DUB)
276
I'm cleaning out my back room (the Shameber) and found a couple Caedmon records of Tolkien reading his LotR.
Vinyl, man!
Vinyl, man!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 11:13 AM (Dc2NZ)
277
Speaking of trains, I have a book "A History of Georgia Railroads" but I have never read it. I should move that up in the stack.
Posted by: fd at March 06, 2022 11:04 AM (vrz2I)
I inherited a couple of boxes of books from a Railhead that passed away. Didn't know him well but he figured I was the only person that would appreciate them.
They really pulled off some cool shit in GA with steam engines. There were several top tier shops there that were world famous.
Posted by: fd at March 06, 2022 11:04 AM (vrz2I)
I inherited a couple of boxes of books from a Railhead that passed away. Didn't know him well but he figured I was the only person that would appreciate them.
They really pulled off some cool shit in GA with steam engines. There were several top tier shops there that were world famous.
Posted by: Reforger at March 06, 2022 11:14 AM (GF3Jj)
278
never finished the story, Sterling was a little too avant garde for my taste, then.
For sure, Sterling is an acquired taste -- especially in novel length -- but you should at least read his short story "Swarm" for an interesting take on what intelligence means.
For sure, Sterling is an acquired taste -- especially in novel length -- but you should at least read his short story "Swarm" for an interesting take on what intelligence means.
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 11:15 AM (nfrXX)
279
I am reading another Tommy Hambledon spy story, The Green Hazard, set in 1941 Berlin.
There is a discussion about how if you replace motor oil with molasses, it turns a tank into a toffee machine. "I wonder if the Russians like toffee?"
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022
***
If that's the one I think it is, a central element, a McGuffin, in it is referenced by David McDaniel many years later in his Man From U.N.C.L.E. novel The Rainbow Affair.
There is a discussion about how if you replace motor oil with molasses, it turns a tank into a toffee machine. "I wonder if the Russians like toffee?"
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022
***
If that's the one I think it is, a central element, a McGuffin, in it is referenced by David McDaniel many years later in his Man From U.N.C.L.E. novel The Rainbow Affair.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 11:18 AM (c6xtn)
280
The Brothers Karamazov is long but remarkably coherent. I was surprised at how easy a read it was.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 11:05 AM (y7DUB)
Saw a movie version from late 50s? Capt. Kirk was the priest bro.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 11:05 AM (y7DUB)
Saw a movie version from late 50s? Capt. Kirk was the priest bro.
Posted by: BignJames at March 06, 2022 11:19 AM (AwYPR)
281
249. I think that is largely due to the potential for costumes and British country house settings. I have no other explanation for Downton Abbey's continued popularity, either.
Posted by: CN at March 06, 2022 11:20 AM (ONvIw)
282
Good morning!
Let's smile & be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.
Let's smile & be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.
Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at March 06, 2022 11:20 AM (u82oZ)
283
Good morning!
Let's smile & be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.
Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at March 06, 2022 11:20 AM (u82oZ)
---
Live well, my friends!
Let's smile & be happy & strike fear in the hearts of killjoy leftists everywhere.
Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at March 06, 2022 11:20 AM (u82oZ)
---
Live well, my friends!
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 11:21 AM (K5n5d)
284
I liked Sterlings Schismatrix, and Islands in the Net, I guess because of the intense sense of dealing with cultural anomie caused by technological change and dislocation. I like survivor stories.
His other stories seem to be about change without consideration of what is being lost, and it is not a favorite theme of mine. It is a principal cyberpunk trope, though.
His other stories seem to be about change without consideration of what is being lost, and it is not a favorite theme of mine. It is a principal cyberpunk trope, though.
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022 11:21 AM (xhaym)
285
Thanks for another lovely Book Thread, Perfessor!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 11:22 AM (Dc2NZ)
286
255, JTB, I purely love "Red Sky at Morning" as it is a "coming of age" story where that phrase doesn't mean "had sex for the first time." It means the character became a man, and he did. It's an outstanding novel.
Posted by: Tonestaple at March 06, 2022 11:23 AM (5aF+L)
287
Yes -- one of the best of the early EQ novels. Greek Coffin is astonishingly complex; Egyptian Cross is dynamite also. Try their Cat of Many Tails from 1949: a pioneering serial killer story without being gory, and with great characterizations, including of Ellery himself.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 10:47 AM
I am waiting for Cat of Many Tails to arrive from the Interlibrary loan.
PSA: Use the Interlibrary loan at your local library. It's not as fast as buying a book on Kindle (*spits on Amazon*), but it helps old books stay out of the discard pile and alerts the librarians to what they should buy next. The EQ hardcover I borrowed was copyrighted 2020.
I've saved roughly $200 so far this year by using MELcat (Michigan's electronic library system).
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 10:47 AM
I am waiting for Cat of Many Tails to arrive from the Interlibrary loan.
PSA: Use the Interlibrary loan at your local library. It's not as fast as buying a book on Kindle (*spits on Amazon*), but it helps old books stay out of the discard pile and alerts the librarians to what they should buy next. The EQ hardcover I borrowed was copyrighted 2020.
I've saved roughly $200 so far this year by using MELcat (Michigan's electronic library system).
Posted by: NaughtyPine at March 06, 2022 11:24 AM (/+bwe)
288
I think that is largely due to the potential for costumes and British country house settings. I have no other explanation for Downton Abbey's continued popularity, either.
Posted by: CN at March 06, 2022
***
John Dickson Carr's "impossible" mysteries were mostly all set in England and during the same time periods as Christie's. I'll admit Carr's are more complex stories and would be harder to adapt to film. But the 1970s TV series Banacek handled impossible crimes and the explanations of same very well. As for complexity, The Last of Sheila (1974) works beautifully.
It can be done.
Posted by: CN at March 06, 2022
***
John Dickson Carr's "impossible" mysteries were mostly all set in England and during the same time periods as Christie's. I'll admit Carr's are more complex stories and would be harder to adapt to film. But the 1970s TV series Banacek handled impossible crimes and the explanations of same very well. As for complexity, The Last of Sheila (1974) works beautifully.
It can be done.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 11:25 AM (c6xtn)
289
If that's the one I think it is, a central element, a McGuffin, in it is referenced by David McDaniel many years later in his Man From U.N.C.L.E. novel The Rainbow Affair.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 11:18 AM (c6xtn)
A lot of the Tommy Hambledon spy novels (written by Manning Coles by the way) are about creating MacGuffins for the other side to chase after, while you do your thing, unbothered.
MI-6 invented the Knapsack and Operation Mincemeat after all. Tommy would have done those things, too, if they hadn't been done for real.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 11:18 AM (c6xtn)
A lot of the Tommy Hambledon spy novels (written by Manning Coles by the way) are about creating MacGuffins for the other side to chase after, while you do your thing, unbothered.
MI-6 invented the Knapsack and Operation Mincemeat after all. Tommy would have done those things, too, if they hadn't been done for real.
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022 11:26 AM (xhaym)
290
Perfessor's mentions of the Libib application reminded me I had played with it a year or so ago. When I received my latest Hamilton Book order and found I had ordered a couple of books I already had, I thought I'd try it again.
I thought I remembered that I could just enter the ISBN and it'd pull up all the other information. But when I went to Libib, I now need to enter more than just the ISBN. And that just doesn't work for a crummy two-fingered "typist" like me.
Anyone know if it's a bug or feature related to the update mentioned or if it's just the new interface?
Thanks.
I thought I remembered that I could just enter the ISBN and it'd pull up all the other information. But when I went to Libib, I now need to enter more than just the ISBN. And that just doesn't work for a crummy two-fingered "typist" like me.
Anyone know if it's a bug or feature related to the update mentioned or if it's just the new interface?
Thanks.
Posted by: Peter (My friends call me Pete) Zah at March 06, 2022 11:26 AM (a4vvV)
291
271, Sassy, you forgot to mention how they look. Goodness gracious, they do tend towards handsome.
Posted by: Tonestaple at March 06, 2022 11:27 AM (5aF+L)
292
I liked Sterlings Schismatrix, and Islands in the Net...
Those were exactly the two I had in mind when I mentioned novel length. I liked both of them but both take some, uh, dedication to get through.
Those were exactly the two I had in mind when I mentioned novel length. I liked both of them but both take some, uh, dedication to get through.
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 11:27 AM (nfrXX)
293
I'm a sucker for time travel stories. This week I'm reading A Coin For the Ferryman by Megan Edwards,
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet at March
You might consider "The Far Arena," by Richard Ben Sapir (recommended here years ago.)
It's about a Roman gladiator Eugeni who offends Domitian, who has the gladiator poisoned and tossed into the North Sea by the Roman officials in Britain. Eugeni is frozen into ice, and discovered by oil explorers looking for North Sea oil 2000 years later. A geologist on the exploration team contacts a friend, a Soviet cryologist, to see if it would be possible to revive Eugeni. They are successful, and then have to enlist a nun, who is an expert in ancient colloquial Latin. The story then goes back and forth from ancient Rome, the life of the gladiators, Eugeni's wife's interest in a new sect of Jews who follow a risen leader, and the present, where the three try to explain to Eugeni what the world is like, and also try to figure out what to do with him, since the authorities were never informed of the revival project.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet at March
You might consider "The Far Arena," by Richard Ben Sapir (recommended here years ago.)
It's about a Roman gladiator Eugeni who offends Domitian, who has the gladiator poisoned and tossed into the North Sea by the Roman officials in Britain. Eugeni is frozen into ice, and discovered by oil explorers looking for North Sea oil 2000 years later. A geologist on the exploration team contacts a friend, a Soviet cryologist, to see if it would be possible to revive Eugeni. They are successful, and then have to enlist a nun, who is an expert in ancient colloquial Latin. The story then goes back and forth from ancient Rome, the life of the gladiators, Eugeni's wife's interest in a new sect of Jews who follow a risen leader, and the present, where the three try to explain to Eugeni what the world is like, and also try to figure out what to do with him, since the authorities were never informed of the revival project.
Posted by: Wethal at March 06, 2022 11:28 AM (ZzVCK)
294
I don't know Carr at all. As for the Ellery Queen books, they were very unsuccessfully adapted in the 70s with Jim Hutton.
Posted by: CN at March 06, 2022 11:29 AM (ONvIw)
295
Reading "Magritte in 400 Images" though it's mostly looking at pictures. On the Kindle, "Paperbacks from Hell" about 70's-80's horror fiction.
Posted by: BeckoningChasm at March 06, 2022 11:29 AM (m0zqP)
296
Another great books thread, Perfessor! Thanks!
Posted by: Ex-CopyEditor at March 06, 2022 11:29 AM (FlzJ+)
297
Been rereading RX for Chaos by Christopher Anvil. Highly entertaining short stories, with a science fiction patina. But no aliens, just those wacky humans.
And I finished Ryk Spoors latest Grand Central Arena book Shadows of Hyperion (Grand Central Arena series Book 4).
Not as good as the previous 3, where rollicking SF action & the new Faction of Humanity must face off against well, everyone in the Universe. There is a 1/ 2x decay pattern to the book. Seems a bit contrives to limit the new-found Terran powers, which is a lot. But not too bad.
And I finished Ryk Spoors latest Grand Central Arena book Shadows of Hyperion (Grand Central Arena series Book 4).
Not as good as the previous 3, where rollicking SF action & the new Faction of Humanity must face off against well, everyone in the Universe. There is a 1/ 2x decay pattern to the book. Seems a bit contrives to limit the new-found Terran powers, which is a lot. But not too bad.
Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at March 06, 2022 11:30 AM (u82oZ)
298
I thought I remembered that I could just enter the ISBN and it'd pull up all the other information. But when I went to Libib, I now need to enter more than just the ISBN. And that just doesn't work for a crummy two-fingered "typist" like me.
Anyone know if it's a bug or feature related to the update mentioned or if it's just the new interface?
Thanks.
----
Hmmm. Not sure why that might be unless you are trying to add items manually. I just used it a few moments ago to add a book and just needed the ISBN.
Anyone know if it's a bug or feature related to the update mentioned or if it's just the new interface?
Thanks.
----
Hmmm. Not sure why that might be unless you are trying to add items manually. I just used it a few moments ago to add a book and just needed the ISBN.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 11:30 AM (K5n5d)
299
Those were exactly the two I had in mind when I mentioned novel length. I liked both of them but both take some, uh, dedication to get through.
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 11:27 AM (nfrXX)
Involution Ocean, on the other hand . . . Seemed as long as Moby Dick, on which it was clearly based.
I was never a William Gibson fan, but I was fascinated by Sterling
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 11:27 AM (nfrXX)
Involution Ocean, on the other hand . . . Seemed as long as Moby Dick, on which it was clearly based.
I was never a William Gibson fan, but I was fascinated by Sterling
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022 11:30 AM (xhaym)
300
All three are worth your time. Check them out.
Posted by: naturalfake at March 06, 2022 11:05 AM (5NkmN)
I've had Petersburg on my want to read list for a while. Do you recommend starting with either of the three?
Tolstoy's shorter fiction rarely gets mentioned but The Death of Ivan Ilich, The Kreutzer Sonata and Hadji Murad are all worth reading.
Posted by: naturalfake at March 06, 2022 11:05 AM (5NkmN)
I've had Petersburg on my want to read list for a while. Do you recommend starting with either of the three?
Tolstoy's shorter fiction rarely gets mentioned but The Death of Ivan Ilich, The Kreutzer Sonata and Hadji Murad are all worth reading.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 11:31 AM (y7DUB)
301
Thank you for this book thread, "Perfessor" Squirrel. I like the content, comments on new and old books, and your picture.
You did good.
You did good.
Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at March 06, 2022 11:32 AM (u82oZ)
302
Yeah, for sure. It kind of reminds me of that one episode of Cheers where Sam's old friend from the Red Sox comes in the bar.
Posted by: Muldoon at March 06, 2022 11:32 AM (m45I2)
303
Carr's good, but Carter Dickson is much better.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 06, 2022 11:33 AM (QZxDR)
304
I was never a William Gibson fan, but I was fascinated by Sterling
I very much liked Gibson's earlier stuff, up through, say, Idoru. Then, like way too many successful authors, he seemed to get a little too taken with himself.
I very much liked Gibson's earlier stuff, up through, say, Idoru. Then, like way too many successful authors, he seemed to get a little too taken with himself.
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 11:33 AM (nfrXX)
305
The Flat Earthers are amateurs these days. Have a gander at the Mud Flood crowd sometime.
Posted by: Rowsdower: Still Saying Ashli Babbitt's Name and Wondering Whether Ray Epps Is a Fed at March 06, 2022 11:33 AM (og9Yu)
306
And speaking of time travel, I liked Michael Z. Williamson's soldiers-out-of-time novel "A Long Time Until Now" and there is a sequel, "That Was Now, This Is Then".
It's in my TBR zigurrat.
It's in my TBR zigurrat.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 11:33 AM (Dc2NZ)
307
300 before they are canceled for being Russian, like vodka and opera singers
Posted by: CN at March 06, 2022 11:34 AM (ONvIw)
308
Sterling
I have a number of Sterling's books. I like his corrupt Levantine world, with all those dodgy characters. Who knew he was so prescient?
I have a number of Sterling's books. I like his corrupt Levantine world, with all those dodgy characters. Who knew he was so prescient?
Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at March 06, 2022 11:34 AM (u82oZ)
309
A good metaphor is like a simile.
Posted by: Muldoon at March 06, 2022 11:35 AM (m45I2)
310
Captain Hate
Petersburg is the better book. I'd read it first.
The you'll know what Bely's all about when you read SD.
KL is just a fun oddball read. Hard to find too.
Petersburg is the better book. I'd read it first.
The you'll know what Bely's all about when you read SD.
KL is just a fun oddball read. Hard to find too.
Posted by: naturalfake at March 06, 2022 11:36 AM (EAtAT)
311
>>> 305 The Flat Earthers are amateurs these days. Have a gander at the Mud Flood crowd sometime.
Posted by: Rowsdower: Still Saying Ashli Babbitt's Name and Wondering Whether Ray Epps Is a Fed at March 06, 2022 11:33 AM (og9Yu)
I'm not sure I want to look up that phrase.
Posted by: Rowsdower: Still Saying Ashli Babbitt's Name and Wondering Whether Ray Epps Is a Fed at March 06, 2022 11:33 AM (og9Yu)
I'm not sure I want to look up that phrase.
Posted by: Helena Handbasket at March 06, 2022 11:36 AM (llON8)
312
300 before they are canceled for being Russian, like vodka and opera singers
Posted by: CN at March 06, 2022 11:34 AM (ONvIw)
----
Hmmm. You raise an interesting point. How much of Russian literature--arguably among the best in the world--is going to be eradicated because of the current ongoing actions of Russia in Ukraine? Simply for spite.
Posted by: CN at March 06, 2022 11:34 AM (ONvIw)
----
Hmmm. You raise an interesting point. How much of Russian literature--arguably among the best in the world--is going to be eradicated because of the current ongoing actions of Russia in Ukraine? Simply for spite.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 11:37 AM (K5n5d)
313
I cannot encourage people to read Christopher Anvil enough. His story Mission of Ignorance is the classic treatment of how to negotiate with mind readers who are not acting in good faith.
It is also suggests that a lot of the passed over technologies could have a lot of value because of their robustness, that is not inherent in modern techniques.
It is also suggests that a lot of the passed over technologies could have a lot of value because of their robustness, that is not inherent in modern techniques.
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022 11:38 AM (xhaym)
314
305 The Flat Earthers are amateurs these days. Have a gander at the Mud Flood crowd sometime.
Posted by: Rowsdower: Still Saying Ashli Babbitt's Name and Wondering Whether Ray Epps Is a Fed at March 06, 2022 11:33 AM (og9Yu)
---
Holy cow! Nuts!
https://tinyurl.com/34xf2hbu
Have you ever heard of the Tartarian Empire? Chances are you have not because you will not read about it in any history books, and you definitely didn’t learn about it in school. There are many old maps that have a large part of Asia east of the Black Sea simply labeled as Tartaria or Great Tartaria. Many of the conspiracists think that this is a deliberate rewriting of history that supports their arguments. This is all pretty crazy stuff, and if any of this is true then, I would be amazed.
Kind of like looking at a Conan-era map (Hyperborea, Kitai, etc.).
Posted by: Rowsdower: Still Saying Ashli Babbitt's Name and Wondering Whether Ray Epps Is a Fed at March 06, 2022 11:33 AM (og9Yu)
---
Holy cow! Nuts!
https://tinyurl.com/34xf2hbu
Have you ever heard of the Tartarian Empire? Chances are you have not because you will not read about it in any history books, and you definitely didn’t learn about it in school. There are many old maps that have a large part of Asia east of the Black Sea simply labeled as Tartaria or Great Tartaria. Many of the conspiracists think that this is a deliberate rewriting of history that supports their arguments. This is all pretty crazy stuff, and if any of this is true then, I would be amazed.
Kind of like looking at a Conan-era map (Hyperborea, Kitai, etc.).
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 11:38 AM (Dc2NZ)
315
309 A good metaphor is like a simile.
Posted by: Muldoon at March 06, 2022 11:35 AM
Them's fightin' words!
Posted by: Muldoon at March 06, 2022 11:35 AM
Them's fightin' words!
Posted by: NaughtyPine at March 06, 2022 11:38 AM (/+bwe)
316
305 The Flat Earthers are amateurs these days. Have a gander at the Mud Flood crowd sometime.
Posted by: Rowsdower: Still Saying Ashli Babbitt's Name and Wondering Whether Ray Epps Is a Fed at March 06, 2022 11:33 AM (og9Yu)
I'm not sure I want to look up that phrase.
Posted by: Helena Handbasket at March 06, 2022 11:36 AM (llON
---
I took the plunge...It's not as bad as you might think. Mostly refers to hidden levels of architecture that change how we might think of history.
Posted by: Rowsdower: Still Saying Ashli Babbitt's Name and Wondering Whether Ray Epps Is a Fed at March 06, 2022 11:33 AM (og9Yu)
I'm not sure I want to look up that phrase.
Posted by: Helena Handbasket at March 06, 2022 11:36 AM (llON
---
I took the plunge...It's not as bad as you might think. Mostly refers to hidden levels of architecture that change how we might think of history.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 11:38 AM (K5n5d)
317
300 Probably quite a bit for a while
Posted by: CN at March 06, 2022 11:38 AM (ONvIw)
318
You might consider "The Far Arena," by Richard Ben Sapir (recommended here years ago.)
-
I read it and I loved it.
-
I read it and I loved it.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet at March 06, 2022 11:39 AM (FVME7)
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet at March 06, 2022 11:40 AM (FVME7)
320
Have a gander at the Mud Flood crowd sometime.
Posted by: Rowsdower: Still Saying Ashli Babbitt's Name and Wondering Whether Ray Epps Is a Fed at March 06, 2022 11:33 AM (og9Yu)
Uhhh, what?, who?
Posted by: Rowsdower: Still Saying Ashli Babbitt's Name and Wondering Whether Ray Epps Is a Fed at March 06, 2022 11:33 AM (og9Yu)
Uhhh, what?, who?
Posted by: BignJames at March 06, 2022 11:40 AM (AwYPR)
321
Gutenfuckintagen
I'm learning german, using no books or tapes, or even hearing german. Wish me luckenfuckintagen!
I'm learning german, using no books or tapes, or even hearing german. Wish me luckenfuckintagen!
Posted by: Jimco Industries at March 06, 2022 11:42 AM (buTO7)
322
Seems Tolstoy might get a pass as journos are using him to sling poo at Russia, who cannot "get" their great writers. Risible.
Posted by: CN at March 06, 2022 11:43 AM (ONvIw)
323
I am generally in favor of pretty much everything by Michael Z. Williamson but I hate his mustache.
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022 11:43 AM (xhaym)
324
The Death of Ivan Ilich, The Kreutzer Sonata and Hadji Murad are all worth reading.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 11:31 AM (y7DUB)
"The Death Of Ivan Ilyich" is my favorite Tolstoy!
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 11:31 AM (y7DUB)
"The Death Of Ivan Ilyich" is my favorite Tolstoy!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 06, 2022 11:45 AM (XIJ/X)
325
You might consider "The Far Arena," by Richard Ben Sapir (recommended here years ago.)
-
I read it and I loved it.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet at March 06, 2022 11:39 AM (FVME7)
Just requested it. I'll probably forget that I requested it, which makes it more fun when it arrives. I'm currently reading Evelyn Waugh, I'm sure because of a Moron or two.
-
I read it and I loved it.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet at March 06, 2022 11:39 AM (FVME7)
Just requested it. I'll probably forget that I requested it, which makes it more fun when it arrives. I'm currently reading Evelyn Waugh, I'm sure because of a Moron or two.
Posted by: NaughtyPine at March 06, 2022 11:46 AM (/+bwe)
326
A good metaphor is like a simile.
Posted by: Muldoon at March 06, 2022 11:35 AM (m45I2)
"Let a simile be like your umbrella, on a rainy afternoon . . ."
Posted by: Muldoon at March 06, 2022 11:35 AM (m45I2)
"Let a simile be like your umbrella, on a rainy afternoon . . ."
Posted by: Kindltot at March 06, 2022 11:49 AM (xhaym)
327
I enjoy time travel stories too. Hard to pull off well.
The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers, is a great time travel novel.
Isaac Asimov's The End of Eternity is very good, and has elements of time travel and parallel universes.
Parallel universe stories have some of the same sort of appeal to me as time travel stories, and Michael P. Kube-McDowell's Alternities is an excellent one. Hadn't thought of it in years, but I've pulled it off the shelf for a re-read.
The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers, is a great time travel novel.
Isaac Asimov's The End of Eternity is very good, and has elements of time travel and parallel universes.
Parallel universe stories have some of the same sort of appeal to me as time travel stories, and Michael P. Kube-McDowell's Alternities is an excellent one. Hadn't thought of it in years, but I've pulled it off the shelf for a re-read.
Posted by: Splunge at March 06, 2022 11:49 AM (PQ4Fz)
328
The you'll know what Bely's all about when you read SD.
KL is just a fun oddball read. Hard to find too.
Posted by: naturalfake at March 06, 2022 11:36 AM (EAtAT)
Petersburg just became available within the last few years (or a new translation), no? A member of the book group, the same one who hectored us to read The Raj Quartet (I think I see your point on his other book being a preferable investment in time) has been wanting to read it; maybe it's time for a renewed push.
KL is just a fun oddball read. Hard to find too.
Posted by: naturalfake at March 06, 2022 11:36 AM (EAtAT)
Petersburg just became available within the last few years (or a new translation), no? A member of the book group, the same one who hectored us to read The Raj Quartet (I think I see your point on his other book being a preferable investment in time) has been wanting to read it; maybe it's time for a renewed push.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 11:50 AM (y7DUB)
329
I have read War and Peace twice, I think it's a great book
Posted by: Skip at March 06, 2022 11:50 AM (2JoB8)
330
Greetings:
RE: 319 A good metaphor is like a simile.
Posted by: Muldoon
Which one has the "like" again ???
"The road was a ribbon of moonlight" is all I remember
RE: 319 A good metaphor is like a simile.
Posted by: Muldoon
Which one has the "like" again ???
"The road was a ribbon of moonlight" is all I remember
Posted by: 11B40 at March 06, 2022 11:51 AM (uuklp)
331
261 "The Silver Dove" and "Petersburg" by Andre Bely (sometimes spelled Biely)"
I second that motion. One caveat: Bely shortened "Petersburg" in the 1922 Berlin edition, the basis for the first two English translations, by John Cournos, and Malmstad/McGuire. The fuller 1916 version appears in David McDuff and John Elsworth translations. I prefer the 1916 version, but the 1922 version has its champions. The annotations in the Malstad/McGuire translation are excellent.
I second that motion. One caveat: Bely shortened "Petersburg" in the 1922 Berlin edition, the basis for the first two English translations, by John Cournos, and Malmstad/McGuire. The fuller 1916 version appears in David McDuff and John Elsworth translations. I prefer the 1916 version, but the 1922 version has its champions. The annotations in the Malstad/McGuire translation are excellent.
Posted by: Brett at March 06, 2022 11:51 AM (sgJMJ)
Posted by: naturalfake at March 06, 2022 11:51 AM (7KK2w)
333
"The Death Of Ivan Ilyich" is my favorite Tolstoy!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 06, 2022 11:45 AM (XIJ/X)
It's a one of a kind book.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 06, 2022 11:45 AM (XIJ/X)
It's a one of a kind book.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 11:52 AM (y7DUB)
334
If you get onto the TV Tropes website, you better not have anything else planned for the rest of the day.
Posted by: MW at March 06, 2022 11:54 AM (u33s0)
335
I have read War and Peace twice, I think it's a great book
Posted by: Skip
Come for War, stay for the Peace.
Posted by: Skip
Come for War, stay for the Peace.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Proprietor of the Outrage Outlet at March 06, 2022 11:54 AM (FVME7)
336
Ukrainian authors, hmmm. I'll give you Gogol but he would have called himself Russian. Distressing they are trying to blot out Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky and others. Suppose Tchaikovsky is on deck.
Posted by: Indignatio Vindicatorem at March 06, 2022 11:54 AM (oWBc3)
337
don't know Carr at all. As for the Ellery Queen books, they were very unsuccessfully adapted in the 70s with Jim Hutton.
Posted by: CN at March 06, 2022
***
That's what I mean: Carr has been unfairly neglected except by real mystery buffs. As for EQ, the Jim Hutton series (developed by Levinson and Link, the creators of Columbo) was the best adaptation to date of the character and the period (ca. 1947 NYC). The absent-mindedness of the TV Ellery was a bit overdone, and they relied too much on dying clue plots; but the casting was spot on.
Posted by: CN at March 06, 2022
***
That's what I mean: Carr has been unfairly neglected except by real mystery buffs. As for EQ, the Jim Hutton series (developed by Levinson and Link, the creators of Columbo) was the best adaptation to date of the character and the period (ca. 1947 NYC). The absent-mindedness of the TV Ellery was a bit overdone, and they relied too much on dying clue plots; but the casting was spot on.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 11:55 AM (c6xtn)
338
Bulgakov was Ukrainian. Shevchenko too, of course.
Posted by: occam's brassiere at March 06, 2022 11:57 AM (V8JPv)
339
Tail-end Charlie but at least in before the nood.
Just finishing "The Allies Strike Back" by James Holland. Atlantic and North Africa in 1941/1942. Good overview, his style is always very readable. He weaves representative personal stories into the big picture historical flow.
After this a dive into the sub-topic of Stalin and the circumstances surrounding the start of Barbarossa in '41 with two books.
Just finishing "The Allies Strike Back" by James Holland. Atlantic and North Africa in 1941/1942. Good overview, his style is always very readable. He weaves representative personal stories into the big picture historical flow.
After this a dive into the sub-topic of Stalin and the circumstances surrounding the start of Barbarossa in '41 with two books.
Posted by: rhomboid at March 06, 2022 11:58 AM (OTzUX)
340
Time travel stories? I highly recommend Stephen King's 11/22/63. I know SK is not thought well of around here, but this novel is a wonder: time travel, a warts-and-all evocation of 1958-1963 in America, a love story. And the time travel has a gimmick built into it that shapes the overall story.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 12:00 PM (c6xtn)
341
he absent-mindedness of the TV Ellery was a bit overdone, and they relied too much on dying clue plots; but the casting was spot on.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 11:55 AM (c6xtn)
Yet Christie goes on and on. I still think it's the atmosphere and the English accents. The UK does wonderful adaptations, at least visually.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 11:55 AM (c6xtn)
Yet Christie goes on and on. I still think it's the atmosphere and the English accents. The UK does wonderful adaptations, at least visually.
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 12:00 PM (ONvIw)
342
In the Glorious Days of Soviet Power you could buy the Russian classics for pennies in fairly nice editions at Soviet bookstores. Of course I didn't indulge sufficiently, and lost much of my stuff in a move later anyway.
Posted by: rhomboid at March 06, 2022 12:00 PM (OTzUX)
343
240 That wasn't very nice. I thought Eris was nice.
Posted by: m at March 06, 2022 10:42 AM (6i1Yo)
---
*stuffs M into a locker*
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:52 AM (Dc2NZ)
Bad Eris.
Posted by: m at March 06, 2022 10:42 AM (6i1Yo)
---
*stuffs M into a locker*
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 10:52 AM (Dc2NZ)
Bad Eris.
Posted by: m at March 06, 2022 12:01 PM (6i1Yo)
344
Which one has the "like" again ???
"The road was a ribbon of moonlight" is all I remember
Think "simile" -> "similar" -> "like."
"The road was a ribbon of moonlight" is all I remember
Think "simile" -> "similar" -> "like."
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 12:01 PM (nfrXX)
Posted by: Skip guy who says NOOD at March 06, 2022 12:01 PM (2JoB8)
346
Later, my literary taters. The Outside beckons.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at March 06, 2022 12:04 PM (Dc2NZ)
347
Perfessor Squirrel reminds me irresistibly of Prof. Niers Astoragon from "The Wandering Inn", hat and all. Wonder if our Perfessor plays chess?
Posted by: Ann Wilson, aka Empire 1 at March 06, 2022 12:04 PM (y0zVi)
348
I am a big Gibson fan but never really glommed onto Sterling. Didn't he write The Golden Age with Stephenson? I was only so so on that book.
What I like about Gibson is perhaps his worst trait. He jumps right into his world and you feel disoriented until you have read awhile and adjust.
What I like about Gibson is perhaps his worst trait. He jumps right into his world and you feel disoriented until you have read awhile and adjust.
Posted by: blaster at March 06, 2022 12:06 PM (9otr5)
349
347 Perfessor Squirrel reminds me irresistibly of Prof. Niers Astoragon from "The Wandering Inn", hat and all. Wonder if our Perfessor plays chess?
Posted by: Ann Wilson, aka Empire 1 at March 06, 2022 12:04 PM (y0zVi)
I keep thinking Rocky J
Posted by: Ann Wilson, aka Empire 1 at March 06, 2022 12:04 PM (y0zVi)
I keep thinking Rocky J
Posted by: CN...FJB at March 06, 2022 12:06 PM (ONvIw)
350
Have a great day, everyone. Chores continue.
May you find the book that is "protected" in the pile of book boxes, crates, and tubs. .
May you find the book that is "protected" in the pile of book boxes, crates, and tubs. .
Posted by: NaCly Dog (u82oZ) at March 06, 2022 12:06 PM (u82oZ)
351
This week I finished Agatha Christie's Dumb Witness. After finishing As I Lay Dying and before starting 1984 (I read along with the Close Reads podcast folks) I needed something where everything was solved and some sort of justice prevailed. I had the wrong killer picked out (out of a group of 7!) so I am no detective. But I don't read these to "solve the puzzle", I read them to enjoy M. Poirot or Miss Marple.
I am reading Atomic Habits by James Clear, both because I could use some habit changing and because self-help is a genre I do NOT normally read (perhaps to my detriment, perhaps not). One of my book challenges is the read a book in a genre you don't normally read, so this is it. I had also picked "westerns" as a non-usual genre and downloaded True Grit from the library. It gets lots of good reviews in my book groups. We'll see!
I am reading Atomic Habits by James Clear, both because I could use some habit changing and because self-help is a genre I do NOT normally read (perhaps to my detriment, perhaps not). One of my book challenges is the read a book in a genre you don't normally read, so this is it. I had also picked "westerns" as a non-usual genre and downloaded True Grit from the library. It gets lots of good reviews in my book groups. We'll see!
Posted by: SummaMamaT - the one always late to the party at March 06, 2022 12:08 PM (USQVR)
352
I am in a Zoom book club. We are doing Sci Fi and trying to do award winners. We are about to do Three Body Problem. It's a modern Hugo winner.
I'm a little bit afraid.
Posted by: blaster at March 06, 2022
***
If it's modern, it's probably too woke.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 09:13 AM
It's not woke at all. I thought it was pretty good read, although I found it to be kind of dreary and hopeless at the end, which did not encourage me to read either of the other two books.
I'm a little bit afraid.
Posted by: blaster at March 06, 2022
***
If it's modern, it's probably too woke.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius at March 06, 2022 09:13 AM
It's not woke at all. I thought it was pretty good read, although I found it to be kind of dreary and hopeless at the end, which did not encourage me to read either of the other two books.
Posted by: Cybersmythe - SE Texas MiniMoMe March 26 at March 06, 2022 12:10 PM (ezpv1)
353
Muldoon, do you have an ISBN for Off The Beeten Path: Adventures in Brussels on a Blue Bicycle by Lars Ingvold Johanssen.
Bezosworld doesn't have it, and BookFinder can't even find it.
Thanks!
Bezosworld doesn't have it, and BookFinder can't even find it.
Thanks!
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at March 06, 2022 12:12 PM (PiwSw)
354
I'll second the recommendation on King's 11/22/63. The book, like many of King's, is not one you'd want to drop on your foot -- but it doesn't feel that long at all, the closing pages are just lovely, and it's worth looking into just for the bit where the guy who runs the diner explains how he's able to sell his burgers for such low prices.
King is, I think, wildly uneven, and his politics are (to put it as kindly as possible) lamentable, but when he's cookin' he's still got it.
King is, I think, wildly uneven, and his politics are (to put it as kindly as possible) lamentable, but when he's cookin' he's still got it.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 06, 2022 12:13 PM (JzDjf)
355
I am a big Gibson fan but never really glommed onto Sterling. Didn't he write The Golden Age with Stephenson? I was only so so on that book.
I don't think so. I started that book like three times and never finished it.
What I like about Gibson is perhaps his worst trait. He jumps right into his world and you feel disoriented until you have read awhile and adjust.
Agreed. I think it was last week's book thread where somebody was talking about how that matters, especially in short stories. For example, Gibson doesn't explain how The Sprawl came to be, he just tells you that it exists and gets on with the story.
I don't think so. I started that book like three times and never finished it.
What I like about Gibson is perhaps his worst trait. He jumps right into his world and you feel disoriented until you have read awhile and adjust.
Agreed. I think it was last week's book thread where somebody was talking about how that matters, especially in short stories. For example, Gibson doesn't explain how The Sprawl came to be, he just tells you that it exists and gets on with the story.
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 12:14 PM (nfrXX)
356
Oops, boofed the formatting on that last comment. Paragraph 3 was supposed to be quoted.
Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 12:15 PM (nfrXX)
357
"The Death Of Ivan Ilyich" is my favorite Tolstoy!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 06, 2022 11:45 AM (XIJ/X)
It's a one of a kind book.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 11:52 AM (y7DUB)
I'll have to look for that. I have War and Peace in the cue for a second read, but I can shuffle things around.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 06, 2022 11:45 AM (XIJ/X)
It's a one of a kind book.
Posted by: Captain Hate won't forget Michael Byrd Murdered Ashli Babbitt at March 06, 2022 11:52 AM (y7DUB)
I'll have to look for that. I have War and Peace in the cue for a second read, but I can shuffle things around.
Posted by: Pug Mahon, Hi, I'm Folksy Torgo at March 06, 2022 12:15 PM (x8Wzq)
358
Mind you 4.05 is the discount warehouse price
The wawa next block has gas at 4.19
The wawa next block has gas at 4.19
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 12:26 PM (DslaK)
359
THe Perry Mason Books are surprising in their consistently entertaining and interesting writing. Each one stands alone well and they do not run together at all. The latest ones are the weakest of the batch because Perry's style doesn't flow well in to the 60s (its... not like the TV show, believe me), but they still are interesting and well done.
Plus, you'd expect all this courtroom blah blah, but Gardner seems to have understood from the beginning that courtroom drama can be really dull and repetitive so he mixes things up a lot, with most of the action outside the court and each book's court appearance different in pattern, flavor, and stages of the process. Sometimes the courts are barely involved.
Mason is a bit of a naughty fellow, bending the laws and rules of attorney behavior a lot especially in the earliest episodes. But even when he really seems to be going around the bend, he ends up in an ethically defensible place and is able to wrap things up very well for himself.
Plus, you'd expect all this courtroom blah blah, but Gardner seems to have understood from the beginning that courtroom drama can be really dull and repetitive so he mixes things up a lot, with most of the action outside the court and each book's court appearance different in pattern, flavor, and stages of the process. Sometimes the courts are barely involved.
Mason is a bit of a naughty fellow, bending the laws and rules of attorney behavior a lot especially in the earliest episodes. But even when he really seems to be going around the bend, he ends up in an ethically defensible place and is able to wrap things up very well for himself.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 06, 2022 12:32 PM (KZzsI)
360
Oops wrong thread
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at March 06, 2022 12:33 PM (DslaK)
361
Because I barely felt like doing anything and spent almost all my time sleeping and watching dumb videos on youtube last week I got very little read. I did manage to finish The House of the Red Slayer by Paul Doherty.
Paul (sometimes PC) Doherty wrote a kajillion historical mysteries, almost all of which I really enjoy. I especially like his Egyptian series. This is one of his earliest series, and it shows. The writing is not as smooth and practiced, he's not quite as good at weaving the history into the tale, the first book goes disgustingly overboard into the nastiest, filthiest, most squeamish and repulsive parts of medieval life, and he's not quite as good at characterization yet.
But its still pretty good reading as a mystery, and in this second book he's toned down the constant references to bodily wastes, bodily functions, gore lying around, disgusting appearances of things, etc. The main characters are more subtle and appealingly presented as well. The mystery was pretty easy to work out early, I pegged who dunnit in the first third of the book, but not why and their secret identity.
Paul (sometimes PC) Doherty wrote a kajillion historical mysteries, almost all of which I really enjoy. I especially like his Egyptian series. This is one of his earliest series, and it shows. The writing is not as smooth and practiced, he's not quite as good at weaving the history into the tale, the first book goes disgustingly overboard into the nastiest, filthiest, most squeamish and repulsive parts of medieval life, and he's not quite as good at characterization yet.
But its still pretty good reading as a mystery, and in this second book he's toned down the constant references to bodily wastes, bodily functions, gore lying around, disgusting appearances of things, etc. The main characters are more subtle and appealingly presented as well. The mystery was pretty easy to work out early, I pegged who dunnit in the first third of the book, but not why and their secret identity.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 06, 2022 12:40 PM (KZzsI)
362
"What I like about Gibson is perhaps his worst trait. He jumps right into his world and you feel disoriented until you have read awhile and adjust."
I am having the same thing with O'Brian's Master and Commander. I am enjoying it immensely, but there is a definite learning curve. But look forward to reading the rest of the series.
As an off-and-on writer myself, one thing people have said about my stories is that I do not do enough exposition. but exposition is way too easy to over-do. I, on the other hand, do not do enough, apparently. It's a tricky thing, far more difficult for me than dialogue.
I am having the same thing with O'Brian's Master and Commander. I am enjoying it immensely, but there is a definite learning curve. But look forward to reading the rest of the series.
As an off-and-on writer myself, one thing people have said about my stories is that I do not do enough exposition. but exposition is way too easy to over-do. I, on the other hand, do not do enough, apparently. It's a tricky thing, far more difficult for me than dialogue.
Posted by: Pug Mahon, Hi, I'm Folksy Torgo at March 06, 2022 12:44 PM (x8Wzq)
363
Eh, look at Elmore Leonard. He does as little exposition as possible, letting the characters tell you about everything through discussion and their actions. As long as the readers get what they need, there's no formula.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at March 06, 2022 12:51 PM (KZzsI)
364
On an amusing note, I recently loaned a friend a compilation of interesting articles, 'Reading I Have Liked', Clifton Fadiman.
My friend sent me a text, saying how much he enjoyed reading some 'Thunder' again. I'm not a texter, so I did not reply, and I knew I would see him again soon and would then ask, 'Who is Thunder?'. Any guesses? My friends auto-correct had changed 'Thurber' to 'Thunder'.
My friend sent me a text, saying how much he enjoyed reading some 'Thunder' again. I'm not a texter, so I did not reply, and I knew I would see him again soon and would then ask, 'Who is Thunder?'. Any guesses? My friends auto-correct had changed 'Thurber' to 'Thunder'.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 06, 2022 01:11 PM (WZ5i4)
365
Muldoon, do you have an ISBN for Off The Beeten Path: Adventures in Brussels on a Blue Bicycle by Lars Ingvold Johanssen.
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes
*******
No, that was just me being me. Totally made up.
Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes
*******
No, that was just me being me. Totally made up.
Posted by: Muldoon at March 06, 2022 01:23 PM (m45I2)
366
@287 --
I second the recommendation for interlibrary lending. It has saved me a bundle and brought into my temporary possession books that I would have difficulty acquiring otherwise. My library is part of the MOBIUS network, based in Missouri. Member libraries are from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania.
I second the recommendation for interlibrary lending. It has saved me a bundle and brought into my temporary possession books that I would have difficulty acquiring otherwise. My library is part of the MOBIUS network, based in Missouri. Member libraries are from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 06, 2022 01:49 PM (Om/di)
367
Just finished Peter Clines' The Broken Room. Pretty decent climax. Very reminiscent of Stranger Things at the end.
Also, it's not explicitly mentioned, but I wouldn't be surprised to find Dr. Fauci's fingerprints all over the funding surrounding the Project mentioned in the book.
Experimentation with children, releasing a plague into the world...Yeah, it sounds like him.
Also, it's not explicitly mentioned, but I wouldn't be surprised to find Dr. Fauci's fingerprints all over the funding surrounding the Project mentioned in the book.
Experimentation with children, releasing a plague into the world...Yeah, it sounds like him.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 01:49 PM (K5n5d)
368
How many of the Christie adaptations were done by Brits?
Might explain why they continue. Maybe the Brits don't have that many mystery writers. (I wouldn't consider Rumpole stories to be mysteries.)
Might explain why they continue. Maybe the Brits don't have that many mystery writers. (I wouldn't consider Rumpole stories to be mysteries.)
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 06, 2022 02:00 PM (Om/di)
369
Greetings, Oddbob:
Thanks, pal, you solved my multi-decade conundrum with all the grace of a gentleman.
@344 Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 12:01 PM (nfrXX)
Thanks, pal, you solved my multi-decade conundrum with all the grace of a gentleman.
@344 Posted by: Oddbob at March 06, 2022 12:01 PM (nfrXX)
Posted by: 11B40 at March 06, 2022 02:31 PM (uuklp)
370
368 they have plenty of writers. Christie's detectives seem to eclipse the Campion and Wimsey. Sherlock is often in production, too.
Posted by: CN at March 06, 2022 02:33 PM (ONvIw)
371
Hmmm. Not sure why that might be unless you are trying to add items manually. I just used it a few moments ago to add a book and just needed the ISBN.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 11:30 AM (K5n5d)
perfessor... That's how I remembered it as well.
I just tried again and logged in, selected "add items" and got three choices: Search, Manual Entry, and CSV Import. Nothing gives me an easy ISBN entry.
I guess I'll wait until tomorrow and see what support on a free program is like (grin).
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 11:30 AM (K5n5d)
perfessor... That's how I remembered it as well.
I just tried again and logged in, selected "add items" and got three choices: Search, Manual Entry, and CSV Import. Nothing gives me an easy ISBN entry.
I guess I'll wait until tomorrow and see what support on a free program is like (grin).
Posted by: Just John at March 06, 2022 03:13 PM (a4vvV)
372
LaPorte?! What a bizzare choice for a capital!
Posted by: Castle Guy at March 06, 2022 10:07 AM (Lhaco)
I know, right? The geography there would be terrible for any kind of administrative center. Maybe that's the point? Since it's a libertarian story?
Posted by: Castle Guy at March 06, 2022 10:07 AM (Lhaco)
I know, right? The geography there would be terrible for any kind of administrative center. Maybe that's the point? Since it's a libertarian story?
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at March 06, 2022 03:33 PM (nC+QA)
373
I just tried again and logged in, selected "add items" and got three choices: Search, Manual Entry, and CSV Import. Nothing gives me an easy ISBN entry.
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There's some fine print under the "Search" box that says you can search via ISBN. Type in the 10-digit or 13-digit ISBN and it should pull right up.
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There's some fine print under the "Search" box that says you can search via ISBN. Type in the 10-digit or 13-digit ISBN and it should pull right up.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 06, 2022 05:33 PM (K5n5d)
374
Sharkman and Blacksheep,
I agree re. Ian Pears. His books are that rare combination of literate and readable. The art fraud series includes two very compelling lead characters.
I finished the last several of the series last summer.
For a TV version without the art fraud, try "Murder in Provence" just released on Amazon. Almost a virtual travelog as well as wonderful chemistry between the two lead characters.
In our current situation a bit of escapism, at least in books and TV, helps. OTOH, watched Gorky Park last night and realized, yet again, how tyrannical regimes (like what the Party of Davos stooges, including our own FJB) create moral conundrums for all.
I agree re. Ian Pears. His books are that rare combination of literate and readable. The art fraud series includes two very compelling lead characters.
I finished the last several of the series last summer.
For a TV version without the art fraud, try "Murder in Provence" just released on Amazon. Almost a virtual travelog as well as wonderful chemistry between the two lead characters.
In our current situation a bit of escapism, at least in books and TV, helps. OTOH, watched Gorky Park last night and realized, yet again, how tyrannical regimes (like what the Party of Davos stooges, including our own FJB) create moral conundrums for all.
Posted by: groovy girl at March 06, 2022 11:58 PM (ybC9u)
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