Sunday Morning Book Thread - 11-05-2023 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

(HT: From about that time)

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

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

PIC NOTE

This depicts the beautiful Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. "From about that time" sent it in with the accompanying blurb:

This beautiful, surreal library is called Cuypers, and it is home to thousands of books. This library holds the distinction of having the largest collection of art history books in the Netherlands. These colorful books glow in the beams of sunlight that waft into Cuypers.
You can climb up spiral, metal staircases to find the books of your choosing. This aesthetically-astounding library is located within the famous Rijksmuseum of Amsterdam, though it is not often crowded with tourists.

FLAWED WORLD BUILDING

I'm fascinated by world building. I have a few books on the subject, but have never gotten around to really writing up my own stories set in strange worlds. Most of the time, I gloss over the details that would not make a whole lot of sense in the real world because I want to stay immersed in the narrative. Every once in a while, though, I come across a small detail that could have important ramifications when it's placed under a microscope.

I've been reading Jim Butcher's Cinder Spires series, which takes place on a world where humanity is confined into massive cylinders two miles high and two miles across scattered across the surface of an alien world. It's clear that humans are *NOT* natives but were relocated here in the distant past. These "Spires" are made of a super-dense, nearly indestructible material dubbed "cinderstone." They are self-contained and self-sufficient communities for the most part, as the inhabitants have ready access to air and water thanks to ingenious ventilation and plumbing systems that capture and recycle air/water from outside. Food is all hydroponically grown in large vats. Even meat. So far, so good, nothing too far outside the realm of plausibility.

However, the humans also seem to have ready access to wood and raw metals for construction. This is a bit of a problem because it's repeatedly mentioned that stepping out onto the surface of the planet is a death sentence thanks to the ultra-lethal wildlife that will fly into a murderous rage whenever they are around humans. Thus, humans are mostly prevented from harvesting any of the natural resources that would be available near their Spires such as forests or mineral deposits. They could, in theory, grow wood hydroponically, I suppose, or have a forest atop the Spire that is harvestable. The metals present a couple of problems. There's no explanation of where they obtain iron and copper, which are crucial to their civilization. Furthermore, the air seems to be mildly corrosive to iron, as any exposed iron must be covered by copper or it suffers from "iron rot." This is never explained, but it could be a form of rapid oxidation that only affects iron for some reason, and not the copper (which also tends to oxidize in Earth's atmosphere quite readily). Assuming they can even obtain iron, how can they forge it into tools and weapons before it succumbs to "iron rot?" Oddly, cladding them in copper is easily explained (assuming the tools can be fashioned safely) because the Spire inhabitants do have access to electricity, so electroplating would be an option.

Anyway, this is an example of how world building can sometimes fall apart at the seams when you look closely at it. I still enjoy Butcher's writing and I'm looking forward to The Olympian Affair (Book 2 of The Cinder Spires) coming out in a few days. This small little detail is not a show-stopper, just something I noticed and pondered while trying to get to sleep one night.

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KILLING OFF CHARACTERS

Last week, I shared a meme that stirred up some interesting conversation in the comments:

Naturally, this got me thinking. Death, of course, is a frequent element in storytelling. It can be disheartening to us as the reader when our favorite character is killed off by the author, even if it is necessary for the story to continue. Not all deaths are permanent, though, as it's possible for the author to bring the character back. Famously, Arthur Conan Doyle attempted to kill Sherlock Holmes, but did it in such a way that he had a little bit of wriggle room. When readers protested Holmes' death, Doyle eventually brought him back to life for more stories, as Sherlock Holmes is one of the most popular literary characters of all time.

Some authors seem to delight in killing off their characters, or at least are not all that attached to them. Let's just say if you are adventuring in the Four Lands of Terry Brooks' Shannara series, and you don't have Ohmsford blood running through your veins, your chances of surviving the adventure are pretty slim. Usually, the characters are given at least one moment to shine before they fall, but sometimes characters are killed elsewhere to heighten the tension in the story. Murder mysteries rely on killing off characters as part of their literary charms, so that we the reader can work with the detective in the story to unravel the mystery.

Plot armor is one way to keep characters alive, at least for a while. However, once they have finished their role in the story, the plot armor can come right off. This happened in Robert Jordan's final volume of The Wheel of Time. By the time of the Last Battle, it was a tossup as to which main characters would survive the conflict, though a few of the main characters still had their plot armor going strong. Everyone else was more or less fair game for elimination at some point, leading to several tragic and poignant moments for characters that we'd enjoyed reading about for thirteen previous books.

What are some of your favorite character deaths?

MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

Book Recommendation: From friend of the blog Andrew Fox, who has penned a rather timely novel entitled The End of Daze. Per Andrew, it's "a satirical novel about Jews falling all over themselves to prove themselves properly progressive, identifying with those who would kill them." "Although full of science fiction and apocalyptic tropes, the book was very much intended as a social and political satire, a tool with which to metaphorically grab hold of the shoulders of Jewish defenders of Hamas and shake them out of their willful blindness and self-destructive moral vanities." Always a good thing to support one of our own in the culture war, especially with something this timely. [J.J. Sefton]

Comment: I honestly wasn't quite sure if I should categorize this as a Moron Recommendation because it came from J.J. Sefton, or as a Book By Morons because it was written by a friend of the blog. Either way, I'm happy to share J.J. recommendation here. It's also been featured in the sidebar content of the main blog page.

+++++

Currently in the middle of The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut. A novel centered around a semi-fictional John von Neumann. It has tons of positive book industry reviews, which is lately a counter correlation on expectations.
So far it's holding my interest, and I'd say very well written. The issue is with lots of fictional content there are bound to be areas where the characters deviate greatly from the real person.
Feynman feels right, but I'm pretty sure some early parts related to him are pure fiction. I've not read a full length bio on von Neumann, so have a nagging feeling as I'm 'learning' about him from this book.
Since it is a novel, I do expect it'll be diverging from history increasingly towards the end.
Posted by: InspiredHistoryMike at October 29, 2023 10:38 AM (G7gvJ)

Comment: Von Neumann often showss up as a reference in science fiction stories, as he postulated the idea of a self-replicating machine that could potentially be used to colonize the galaxy. The basic idea is to send out swarms of these devices to set up shop on remote worlds, terraforming them ahead of time so that the worlds are "move-in ready" when humans come along behind them. Of course, some stories have Von Neumann machines that run amok, causing untold havoc while humans desperately try to shut them down. NOTE: The black monoliths in Arthur C. Clarke's 2001 stories are suggested to be such a device.

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I'm reading JFK and the Unspeakable, that a couple of folks here have commented on. I like its granular detail, but I noticed one of Douglass' other books was called "The Nonviolent Coming of God", and as an evangelical Christian I want to tell him "Dude, it's going to be violent." Plus, from what I have read about the CIA I don't think they were competent enough to pull off an event of the magnitude of the Kennedy assassination and get away with it. I read a few books about the assassination before I was 29 and concluded that it was all Oswald, but must admit that the current Deep State has given me cause to be open to other possibilities.
Posted by: Norrin Radd at October 29, 2023 09:24 AM (hsWtj)

Comment: Knowing what we now know about the machinations of the intelligence community, I can't dismiss out of hand the possibility that the CIA (or someone) used Oswald to take out JFK, for reasons we may never fully understand. On the other hand, we also know there are lone whackos out there that are capable of causing great mayhem should they so choose. Of course, Occam's Razor applies here as it usually does in many complex situations.

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I was travelling this week, and horror of horrors, forgot my current book. I had to make an emergency book stop and picked up Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie. Everyone has seen a movie or play version of this, but getting into the original text is interesting. The story involves Poirot vacationing on an Egyptian cruise, while a rich, recently married, nasty young woman is killed. Of course, there are several viable suspects on board, and each must be investigated. The original work has the benefit of knowing Poirot's thoughts instead of having to read them on an actor's face. It is a good story, and easy to see why it has been adapted so often.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at October 29, 2023 09:23 AM (ZdOio)

Comment: I have one rule above all others when it comes to traveling: Take at least 3 books with me. Even if I bring my iPad, which has a couple of hundred books on the Kindle app, I still pack a few paper books. Just in case. There was one time when I was stuck in a hospital with only a single book to keep me company. I read it cover to cover at least three times. Never again!

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

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WHAT I'VE ACQUIRED THIS PAST WEEK

Proxima by Stephen Baxter

Limbo of the Lost by John Wallace Spencer -- This is a copy of the rather well-worn book featured in Alberta Oil Peon's story from last week.

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:

The Cinder Spires Book 1 - The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher - The author of The Dresden Files and Codex Alera takes us to a new world where mighty warships sail through the skies between ancient spires inhabited by humans, while even more ancient evils stir on the ground beneath them. Book 2 is coming out in a couple of weeks.

Proxima by Stephen Baxter - Humanity takes its first steps among the stars by colonizing an earthlike planet around our nearest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri (part of the Alpha Centauri trinary solar system).

That's about all I have for this week. Thank you for all of your kind words regarding the Sunday Morning Book Thread. This is a very special place. You are very special people (in all the best ways!). The kindness, generosity, and wisdom of the Moron Horde knows no bounds. Let's keep reading!

If you have any suggestions for improvement, reading recommendations, or discussion topics that you'd like to see on the Sunday Morning Book Thread, you can send them to perfessor dot squirrel at-sign gmail dot com. Your feedback is always appreciated! You can also take a virtual tour of OUR library at libib.com/u/perfessorsquirrel. Since I added sections for AoSHQ, I now consider it OUR library, rather than my own personal fiefdom...

PREVIOUS SUNDAY MORNING BOOK THREAD - 10-29-23 (NOTE: Do NOT comment on old threads!)

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Tolle Lege

Posted by: Skip at November 05, 2023 10:00 AM (fwDg9)

2 hiya

Posted by: JT at November 05, 2023 10:00 AM (T4tVD)

3 I did not read this week.

Posted by: rhennigantx at November 05, 2023 10:01 AM (lwOKI)

4 Finished Tolkien Silmarillion

It really could use editing, the 5 names for everything under the sun and useless making things never to be seen again could be cut out.

Posted by: Skip at November 05, 2023 10:02 AM (fwDg9)

5 So will go see what is next from my box of books rediscovered from my late 20s

Posted by: Skip at November 05, 2023 10:03 AM (fwDg9)

6 Book Thread!!

I didn't read enough this week.

Posted by: Reforger at November 05, 2023 10:03 AM (CpTFW)

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

Posted by: JTB at November 05, 2023 10:03 AM (7EjX1)

8 Dang, I was in Amsterdam a few weeks ago, but didn't have much time, what with my numerous visits to the red light district, so didn't visit the Rijksmuseum. I probably wouldn't have visited the library anyway, since I didn't know of its existence.

Posted by: Archimedes at November 05, 2023 10:03 AM (I/Qkd)

9 I didn't read enough this week.
Posted by: Reforger at November 05, 2023 10:03 AM (CpTFW)
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Neither did I, if that makes you feel better...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 05, 2023 10:04 AM (BpYfr)

10 I don't think the Pants guy is a guy.

But if he is.....you know what I'm gonna say.

Posted by: JT at November 05, 2023 10:04 AM (T4tVD)

11 Not sure which is dumber, those pants or the shoes. At least the pants won't lead to a broken ankle.

Posted by: JTB at November 05, 2023 10:05 AM (7EjX1)

12 another headache day

But I finished another audiobook this week - The Icarus Plot by Timothy Zahn.
I enjoyed the book & narrator - he made the character sound a bit like a Han Solo in a non-SW universe.
Would rec.

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 05, 2023 10:05 AM (vHIgi)

13 I'm in the early stages of two books, a history of Russia, and a history of the Habsburgs, so no book reviews this week. The way things have been going, it may be awhile.

Posted by: Archimedes at November 05, 2023 10:05 AM (I/Qkd)

14 Dang, I was in Amsterdam a few weeks ago, but didn't have much time, what with my numerous visits to the red light district, so didn't visit the Rijksmuseum. I probably wouldn't have visited the library anyway, since I didn't know of its existence.

Posted by: Archimedes at November 05, 2023 10:03 AM (I/Qkd)

Does it smell like weed 24/7 over there?

Posted by: Dr. T at November 05, 2023 10:05 AM (m9hmt)

15 Book Recommendation: From friend of the blog Andrew Fox, who has penned a rather timely novel entitled The End of Daze. Per Andrew, it's "a satirical novel about Jews falling all over themselves to prove themselves properly progressive, identifying with those who would kill them." "Although full of science fiction and apocalyptic tropes, the book was very much intended as a social and political satire, a tool with which to metaphorically grab hold of the shoulders of Jewish defenders of Hamas and shake them out of their willful blindness and self-destructive moral vanities." Always a good thing to support one of our own in the culture war, especially with something this timely. [J.J. Sefton]
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I think I'm going to make this a coffee table book.

Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at November 05, 2023 10:05 AM (bAJ1Y)

16 I plan to read Cinder Spires

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 05, 2023 10:06 AM (vHIgi)

17 FLAWED WORLD BUILDING
____________

Sounds similar to the Apple TV series "Silo."

Posted by: Martini Farmer at November 05, 2023 10:06 AM (Q4IgG)

18 I never click on the pants link. Wouldn't be prudent.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, Freelance speechwriter to G HW Bush at November 05, 2023 10:06 AM (PiwSw)

19 Reading this week? Revisiting some of the articles included in the six-volume set of Roger Zelazny's collected stories (all now available in print and ebook from NESFA Press, Amazon, etc, and worth every dime) and also revisiting interviews with J. G. Ballard, whose stuff often goes right by me but appeals somehow.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 10:07 AM (a/4+U)

20 Does it smell like weed 24/7 over there?

They've cleaned up the city a lot since I was last there 45 years ago. I can't say I remember ever smelling it.

Posted by: Archimedes at November 05, 2023 10:07 AM (I/Qkd)

21 Good morning fellow reading enthusiasts.
I am here bright and early because I just realized that DST actually helps my being a not a morning person. So morning is good but I will be very unhappy at 5 pm.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 10:07 AM (t/2Uw)

22 Wouldn't be prudent.

My wife and I still say that line to each other all the time.

Posted by: Archimedes at November 05, 2023 10:08 AM (I/Qkd)

23 Didn't read enough this week?

Hmmm.

Don't feel bad about it -- nobody else did either, because it just ain't possible to read enough.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 10:09 AM (a/4+U)

24 As a nod to our Tolkien fans, fyi Ilona Andrews had a post about his character descriptions, and an interesting comment thread.

Also, JRRT fans, which one of you has this?

https://tinyurl.com/5ybaf48t

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 05, 2023 10:09 AM (vHIgi)

25 The 1998 Democratic National Convention is in high gear in the Wild Cards series book "Ace in the Hole." In addition to a platform fight over jokers' rights -- those are the people deformed by the "wild card" virus -- the reporter who believes the candidate who used his mind control powers to kill her sister publicly accuses him, and loses her job and reputation as a result. The candidate, who is fighting a losing battle with his Puppetman persona because of outside influence, calls in his personal hit man. And another hit man, hired to kill the candidate, infiltrates the convention hotel. Yep, quiet this book isn't.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 05, 2023 10:10 AM (4YHb/)

26 I've been going through these massive books, "All American Ads" edited by Jim Heimann. Each one is devoted to magazine ads from a particular decade.

It's fascinating and a little sad to see how the early ads (1940s) would depict their products as a matter of community ("Hey, we're all smoking Chesterfields and driving Oldsmobiles!" and the like). Later ads were more individual-oriented, as in "It's your pleasures and you, nothing else." You can trace the decline of the American community through the years.

I don't have the book for the 90's. The sample pages were too depressing. You can see the cultural rot right in front of your faces.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at November 05, 2023 10:11 AM (CHHv1)

27 They've cleaned up the city a lot since I was last there 45 years ago. I can't say I remember ever smelling it.
Posted by: Archimedes at November 05, 2023 10:07 AM (I/Qkd)

Color me surprised. Nice to see some parts of the world aren't completely tumbling into ugliness.

Posted by: Dr. T at November 05, 2023 10:12 AM (m9hmt)

28 Well, this last week I risked exposing myself to the woke mind virus (tm): I bought a comic book collection of modern material from a mainstream publisher. I don't normally do things like that, but the price was right, I was tempted, and I was weak.... But I lucked out! The story was good. Nothing gross, nothing offensive, nothing intrusively preachy....Just a classic adventure story. Sure, there was one MAGA reference, but it was just a character paraphrasing a campaign slogan for his own personal political campaign. (And if it was meant as a cheap shot, it failed at that, because while the character was a sleazy bully, he was also repeatedly shown doing the right thing when anything important was at stake). Its was almost a great read. Buuuuuut...

(continued)

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 05, 2023 10:12 AM (Lhaco)

29 I am reading Book 9 of Wheel of Time. I think. This week has been a blur and since I have all 15 books, sometimes I skip ahead to check what happens next with a character. I've read the entire series once before, but that was 11 years ago and I'm picking up way more this time around. Favorite male character is still Mat, and I think Nynaeve is my favorite female character.

Posted by: pookysgirl's braid isn't long enough to tug at November 05, 2023 10:13 AM (A8yyK)

30 I am reading a book by Rick Renner entitled, "Christmas The Rest of the Story." It is the story about Jesus' actual surroundings when He came to earth. I am amazed at the detail that is available but almost never taught as we rely on a familiar narrative and comfortable stories. I would recommend for the coming season to give us a fresh view of the Greatest Story Ever Told.

Posted by: StewBurner at November 05, 2023 10:14 AM (Guh8+)

31 I was in Amsterdam in the 70's and there a couple of years ago. The city has changed but I found it just as charming although busier.
I visited the Rijksmuseum both times and it couldn't have been more different.
The first time, a leisurely stroll on a winter's day. The second, more recent time in August. You could hardly move in the rooms with famous paintings.
I had no idea that there was a library there.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 10:14 AM (t/2Uw)

32 Happy Sunday morning, Horde!

I wonder how close (distant?) "Rijksmuseum" is in pronunciation to "Reichsmuseum?"

As different as Dutch and German sound, the spellings can be surprisingly similar.

Posted by: SPinRH_F-16 at November 05, 2023 10:14 AM (eT12Z)

33 I am reading Book 9 of Wheel of Time. I think. This week has been a blur and since I have all 15 books, sometimes I skip ahead to check what happens next with a character. I've read the entire series once before, but that was 11 years ago and I'm picking up way more this time around. Favorite male character is still Mat, and I think Nynaeve is my favorite female character.
Posted by: pookysgirl's braid isn't long enough to tug at November 05, 2023 10:13 AM (A8yyK)
---
I found "the slog" (books 8-11) much more enjoyable reading them again because they focused a lot on character development, rather than plot development. Once you understand that, they are tolerably easy to read.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 05, 2023 10:14 AM (BpYfr)

34 This week I read a fascinating book, A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books by Nicolas A. Bashbanes. This was recommended here months ago. The first half of the book is devoted to the ancient libraries and collections with Alexandria being the foremost. There is a section on the history of early printing. The second half deals with collections amassed in the late 1800's through contemporary times.

While reading, I was reminded of the awe I felt about forty years ago when I toured the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA. Among the many treasures on display was a Gutenberg Bible, Shakespeare folios, and a manuscript of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales from about 1410. Looking down over all was Gainsborough's Blue Boy. I think any book lover would love this book.

Posted by: Zoltan at November 05, 2023 10:15 AM (7EvEN)

35 Good Sunday morning, horde!

I finished Exodus this week (Leon Uris). I learned some things I didn't know about how Israel was created during the World War eras.

Just purchased on kindle The End of Daze--thanks, J. J. for the rec.

And last night, I started movique's book, Silk Unspun (pre-release copy for review).

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at November 05, 2023 10:15 AM (OX9vb)

36 I frequently have overdue library books. Now that our library system doesn't charge fines, and I have physical possession of the book, I'll keep it until I'm finished. I would hope they know by now that they'll get it back. My shelves are too full now.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 05, 2023 10:15 AM (4YHb/)

37 This week I read the third book in "The Groundskeeper" series by Cedar Sanderson. This is a series of three (so far) novellas, maybe 40-50 pages each or so, available on KU if you subscribe. They are pitched to the YA audience but I enjoyed them very much.

A young woman takes a job as groundskeeper at a cemetery instead of going to college. As this is an urban fantasy/light horror series, she soon finds many supernatural entities haunting the grounds. Each installment revolves around a mystery which requires investigation. The heroine, Chloe, is assisted by her boss; he is an older man with a mysterious background. (I love the wise mentor trope, so I greatly enjoy their scenes together.) I will note that the stories leave a few background issues unexplained, but this seems to be a running issue and I think it's because the heroine's POV limits what the reader is told. Recommended.

Posted by: Dr Alice at November 05, 2023 10:16 AM (oFuPp)

38 (continued)

However.......After the main story, there was a bonus issue with a bunch of side stories, done by a different writer. The new writer made me cringe by her second page, and I just flipped through the rest of that book. The first side story featured sign language; Not inherently bad, but a little bit virtue-signal-ly. Second story had the black character go do DC and interact with other black characters; that raises some red flags. Third story had horses; whatever. The first page of the fourth story had some character complaining about foreigners. F--- this s--- I'm out!

I read/watch a lot of reviews discussing terrible writing, but nothing quite prepares you for seeing it live in the wild. It really is just like a slap in the face.

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 05, 2023 10:16 AM (Lhaco)

39 My recommendation this week is Empire by Niall Ferguson. Empire is the story of how the tiny island of Britain became the largest empire the world has ever seen. Ferguson details the development and growth of all of the colonies in a cogent way, and strives to be as objective as possible, giving the reader the bad as well as the good. His overarching thesis is that the British empire was a force for good, and this is demonstrable merely by looking at her former colonies. Most of these former colonies are counted among the first world, excepting those that rejected the values Britain imposed. The US, Australia, New Zealand, India, Canada, Singapore, and the list goes on. In an age when western civilization is derided by its so-called thought leaders, this is an invaluable book. Think of the principles that are recognized as rights in much of the civilized world - many of these were put forth by Britain, and don't forget that Britain spent a fortune in blood and treasure to correct her mistakes, like abolishing the slave trade in the Atlantic.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at November 05, 2023 10:17 AM (3U2zN)

40 Learned by accident that gun writer Dean Grennell was not only a big SF fan and knew people like Bloch and Silverberg, but published fanzines for years! So I looked around on a whim and found, on ebay for $20, issues #s 1, 2, and 4 of his 'zine 'The Golden Apple' from 1960-1961, which reads like Grennell, just not about guns or reloading.
They're lots of fun and are real artifacts of a long-gone time.
They seem to be mimeographed, maybe? He had access to other repro services by then so they might be early photocopies but it's hard to tell.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 10:18 AM (43xH1)

41 Good morning, fellow book freaks.

Perfessor, I'm glad to see you're reading "Proxima". I think you'll enjoy it.

And I'd like to revise my criticism of "waffer thin" characters. By "Ultima" I was quite endeared to many of them.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 05, 2023 10:19 AM (h3wbV)

42 So a few interesting choices, but either The Dogs of War from Frederick Forsyth or The Battle of the Bulge by John Toland

Posted by: Skip at November 05, 2023 10:19 AM (fwDg9)

43 Hey Professor!
Did a little digging on the names of SpaceX drone ships.

- "'Just Read the Instructions' and 'Of Course I Still Love You' are two of the sentient, planet-sized Culture starships which first appear in Banks' 'The Player of Games,'"

-”A Shortfall of Gravitas is named after a spacecraft titled 'Experiencing A Significant Gravitas Shortfall' from the novel 'Look to Windward', by author Iain M. Banks's from the Culture series."

Keep up the great work. As usual you just cost me money each week. I didn't realize Him Butcher had a new series. I need to read it now. Want to see if it's WOOL in space. (BTW, Silo is a good adaptation on Apple TV, yes, not a book...)

Posted by: Ooohm at November 05, 2023 10:19 AM (C7Yya)

44 By the time of the Last Battle, it was a tossup as to which main characters would survive the conflict, though a few of the main characters still had their plot armor going strong. Everyone else was more or less fair game for elimination at some point, leading to several tragic and poignant moments for characters that we'd enjoyed reading about for thirteen previous books.

>>> Yeah, how Rand fulfills the prophecy at the end is interesting and (for me) unexpected. And the "biggest character death" is definitely poignant, I agree. I think it's how that character would have wanted to go out, though.

Posted by: pookysgirl's braid isn't long enough to tug at November 05, 2023 10:19 AM (A8yyK)

45 Neither did I, if that makes you feel better...
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 05, 2023 10:04 AM (BpYfr)

It's getting ready for winter month. Roof repairs, Snowblower maintenace, snow tires on the cars.... It seems endless.
Global Warming™ has snow in the mountains already.

Does AOS new comments thingy count as reading. I find this place as entertaining as any book I have ever read. Half the time I'm a thread behind trying to catch up.

Posted by: Reforger at November 05, 2023 10:20 AM (CpTFW)

46 I’ve been to the Rijksmuseum and never saw that library.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at November 05, 2023 10:20 AM (7evkP)

47 I forgot. . . I'm almost finished with "The Lean Startup" by Eric Ries.

It's okay. It had a couple nuggets of useful (to me) info.

If you're building a business from the ground, it may be useful. Carefully analyzing whether your growth metrics are showing that you're delivering value to the customer or whether you were unhelpfully using "Vanity" metrics was probably the most helpful tidbit.

Posted by: SPinRH_F-16 at November 05, 2023 10:22 AM (eT12Z)

48 I went to Amsterdam for the first time last year. Greatly enjoyed it and did tour the Rijksmuseum, but likewise did not see the library.

Posted by: Dr Alice at November 05, 2023 10:22 AM (oFuPp)

49 I've been reading Alison Weir's historical novels on the wives of Henry VIII. They're interesting; the dialogue between characters is probably closer to modern English than it ought to be, though I imagine that's unavoidable, but I think Weir does a good job of reconstructing the actions and motivations of the characters caught up in that huge drama. As far as they can be traced, anyhow.

Posted by: Dr. T at November 05, 2023 10:23 AM (m9hmt)

50 His overarching thesis is that the British empire was a force for good...Think of the principles that are recognized as rights in much of the civilized world - many of these were put forth by Britain, and don't forget that Britain spent a fortune in blood and treasure to correct her mistakes, like abolishing the slave trade in the Atlantic.

At the risk of slightly hijacking the thread, Bill Maher, of all people, actually addressed this topic very well in a recent episode. See the link below and watch the extracts. He managed to get in a lame dig at moderate Republicans, I suppose to keep his street cred with the barking seals in his audience.

Maher laid into this narrative noting the lunacy of going against a set of values that gave us freedom of speech, religious liberty, a right to trial, a free press, women’s rights, gay rights, and democracy. The world's marginalized people live better lives because of Western ideals...

“Young people who hated Trump because he wouldn’t condemn the people with the Tiki torches, talking about Jews – you’re the ones with the Tiki torches now” –

https://tinyurl.com/2wdrauj2

Posted by: Archimedes at November 05, 2023 10:24 AM (I/Qkd)

51 I started reading The Scarlet Pimpernel and so far it is entertaining even if not great literature. Baroness Orczy has no problem establishing the good guys and the bad ones. She was not a fan of the French Revolution. I don't know if the idea of Clark Kent ( a mild mannered reporter) was based on the Blakney character but it seems likely.

I'll finish the book but doubt it will be a favorite worthy of re-reading.

Posted by: JTB at November 05, 2023 10:25 AM (7EjX1)

52 When you get right down to it, in storytelling, is world building really any different than magic?

Posted by: Muldoon, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes elegant at November 05, 2023 10:26 AM (991eG)

53 “thought leaders”

This phrase needs to GO. If you need them, NO ONE IS THINKING.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at November 05, 2023 10:27 AM (7evkP)

54 For History Buffs, I strongly recommend "The Phoenicians: The Purple Empire of the Ancient World," by Gerhard Herm. Very readable overview of a lesser known Mediterranean society and its connection with Carthage, Rome, etc. Well worth one's time.

Posted by: RS at November 05, 2023 10:27 AM (E7m29)

55 When you get right down to it, in storytelling, is world building really any different than magic?
Posted by: Muldoon, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes elegant at November 05, 2023 10:26 AM (991eG)
----
Storytelling is inherently a magic of the human heart.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 05, 2023 10:28 AM (BpYfr)

56 I’ve been to the Rijksmuseum and never saw that library.
Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33

Same here. Then again, often I have been to places on business with little time left for sightseeing. I recall a two hour long running tour of the Louvre. Literally running.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at November 05, 2023 10:28 AM (3U2zN)

57 - "'Just Read the Instructions' and 'Of Course I Still Love You' are two of the sentient, planet-sized Culture starships which first appear in Banks' 'The Player of Games,'"

-”A Shortfall of Gravitas is named after a spacecraft titled 'Experiencing A Significant Gravitas Shortfall' from the novel 'Look to Windward', by author Iain M. Banks's from the Culture series."

SpaceX needs to come correct and have a drone ship called “The Spice Must Flow”.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at November 05, 2023 10:29 AM (7evkP)

58 Finished Tolkien Silmarillion

It really could use editing, the 5 names for everything under the sun and useless making things never to be seen again could be cut out.

Posted by: Skip at November 05, 2023 10:02 AM (fwDg9)
---
It was heavily edited to make it coherent. Christopher Tolkien subsequently brought out standalone books of the more completed stories.

Its purpose is to give a window to the world beyond Lord of the Rings, and the backstory that people craved. The latter half of the work is brilliant and evocative. Watching each elf-kingdom crumble is heartbreaking, and I'm sure Tolkien was inspired by the death of the Old World of his youth and early adulthood.

Speaking of character deaths, there's plenty! The death of Fingon at Unnumbered Tears is about as dark as you can get.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 05, 2023 10:29 AM (llXky)

59 There are here sometimes discussions of The Gulag Archipelago, and I'm pretty sure few people have read Solzhenitsyn's book 'Two Hundred Years Together', his history of Russia and its relationship to Jews. Some years back I pieced together most of it from a variety of sources (there is no definitive English translation, and the AS Center warns any of those are illegal; it takes 3 languages: Russian, French, and bootleg English, to get it) and it's fascinating stuff. I highly recommend it. Supposedly someone is going to release it in English scheduled for 2024. We'll see about that.
I'd genuinely characterize the book as 'suppressed' and it's wholly ironic to me that one of his most interesting and honestly passionate books, has ended up so far, in the West, as samizdat.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 10:29 AM (43xH1)

60 For me, the gold standard for poorly-thought-out world-building is the Temeraire series by Namoi Novik. It's a series about the Napoleonic Wars, with Dragons. Dragons have been an integral part of war since at least Roman times, yet the Dragonriders are a secret society, completely cut off from society at large, and keeping basic facts about dragons a secret. Sure. Every single culture has decided to keep the same sets of secrets, even during times of complete cultural collapse. And unlike any other military culture (sailing, knighthood, being in the trenches) Dragonriders have not impacted society one bit. Right.

Ultimately, it felt like the author just wanted to set up a bunch of straw-men situations so her main characters could change society into what it rightfully should be--aka, our society.

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 05, 2023 10:30 AM (Lhaco)

61 So a few interesting choices, but either The Dogs of War from Frederick Forsyth or The Battle of the Bulge by John Toland
Posted by: Skip at November 05, 2023 10:19 AM (fwDg9)

How about 'The Odessa File'? Isn't that Forsyth?

Posted by: dantesed at November 05, 2023 10:31 AM (88xKn)

62 >>>His overarching thesis is that the British empire was a force for good, and this is demonstrable merely by looking at her former colonies. Most of these former colonies are counted among the first world, excepting those that rejected the values Britain imposed. The US, Australia, New Zealand, India, Canada, Singapore, and the list goes on.

Hey, we did all right for ourselves!

Posted by: Zimbabwe at November 05, 2023 10:31 AM (m9hmt)

63 Castle Guy, would you please name the book? You can't libel a book.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 05, 2023 10:32 AM (4YHb/)

64 60 For me, the gold standard for poorly-thought-out world-building is the Temeraire series by Namoi Novik.

***

A shame, because the first couple of books were such fun.

Same thing with her new Scholomance trilogy - first 2 books fun, third one is kinda meh

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 05, 2023 10:33 AM (vHIgi)

65 I finally got a copy of the newest Galbraith book in the Cormoran Strike series, The Running Grave.
I finished it yesterday binge reading most of the day because I had to know what happens at the end.
The book starts off a little slow with a lot of relationship stuff and was worried that the book would not live up to my expectations but then...wow.
It is not a spoiler to say that the book revolves around Strike's partner's decision to go undercover into a cult. The detective agencies operatives often go undercover for short stints but not in the same way a police or spy agency would. She is not some martial arts trained gun toting super woman. This is London after all where guns are pretty much verboten.
This is the factor that makes this one of the most tension filled books I have ever read. The cult resembles Scientology, leftist fever dream religion. It is scary how real it is and how it indoctrinates its adherents.
The sad part is that now I have to wait for the next one.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 10:33 AM (t/2Uw)

66 Twenty years ago various forums and fan sites started Tolkien Reading Day on March 25th. That's the date of Sauron's defeat and destruction of the Ring. It is a popular time for uber Tolkien fans.

In that vein, this November 29 will be the first CS Lewis Reading Day, his birthday. YT and various sites will have read-alongs and discussions of Lewis' writings. I'm curious to see how much will be about his Narnia stories and the space trilogy and how much about his apologia and academic works. As much as I treasure Lewis' fiction, his non-fiction writings are my main interest. I find it interesting that there is increasing appreciation of Lewis' works. Might say something about the current culture.

Posted by: JTB at November 05, 2023 10:35 AM (7EjX1)

67 World building is tricky. I remember hate-reading my way through the Dragonlance Chronicles because a friend assured me that "it got better." No, it didn't. The whole setting was stupid, with *steel coins* because war.

Um, no. Steel was more precious than gold in the Dark Ages, and in fact for most of history. It wasn't until the Industrial Revolution that steel was regarded a cheap.

I've tried to keep my world-building as simple and relatable as possible. The most comprehensive work - the Man of Destiny series - is of course inspired by Star Wars, but I added some features to make space combat more realistic (basically at sublight speeds the fleets pass each other blazing away like mad). Computer use is minimal because of AI fears and arming 'bots is strictly forbidden (for good reason! Plot point alert!). Battle Officer Wolf's world could actually fit in Man of Destiny, and I borrowed some ideas about long-range communication for the later work.

Scorpion's Pass is just fun - Jane Austen on Arrakis. With orcs. And landships. It was fun to write and more people should read it.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 05, 2023 10:35 AM (llXky)

68 "FLAWED WORLD BUILDING"

If the Enterprise can time travel back to 20th century Earth, why is the crew not fabulously wealthy?

Posted by: fd at November 05, 2023 10:37 AM (vFG9F)

69 Also, this week, I read The Singing Bone, by Beth Hahn.

Four teenaged friends in the late 1970s find themselves in thrall to a Manson-like character. Lots of drugs and sex, and emotional manipulation. Things go terribly wrong, people die, and the survivors are forever haunted.

Nauseatingly creepy. I want to kill that guy myself.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at November 05, 2023 10:38 AM (OX9vb)

70 I 'killed' the main character at the end of my SF book. But it's one of the sequences I wrote first, and most of the book was filling in how to get from Point A to Point Z. I did and do feel bad for the guy: he never really had a chance in life. His death isn't particularly heroic, just more or less inevitable.

He is mourned, though, that was important.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 10:39 AM (43xH1)

71 Speaking of Tolkien, I'm re-reading LotR and contra the Tolkien nerds, fall is the best time to read the tale as you progress in time along with the characters.

I've written before about how much I hate Peter Jackson's films because they prioritized stupid dwarf jokes and tangents like orc origins over good storytelling and faithful adherence to the plot. The wolf attack in Hollin, for example, is awesome, and scary as hell on the first reading. It's still creepy. And Tolkien's actual description of Moria as being confined, oppressive, and above all pitch black beats Jackson's Tomb Raider sequence.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 05, 2023 10:39 AM (llXky)

72 Reading two books at the moment ("only two, Eris?"): Jack Williamson's history-to-be "The Legion of Space" and Ann Patchett's charming story of love and family "Tom Lake".

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 05, 2023 10:40 AM (h3wbV)

73 24 ... vmom,
Thanks for that link. It's hilarious and really cool.

Posted by: JTB at November 05, 2023 10:40 AM (7EjX1)

74 51 I started reading The Scarlet Pimpernel and so far it is entertaining even if not great literature. Baroness Orczy has no problem establishing the good guys and the bad ones. She was not a fan of the French Revolution. I don't know if the idea of Clark Kent ( a mild mannered reporter) was based on the Blakney character but it seems likely.

Posted by: JTB at November 05, 2023 10:25 AM (7EjX1)

Funny that you should make a Superman reference. I read that book a few years back, and my first thought was that it was the Batman story, told from the perspective of Vicky Vale.

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 05, 2023 10:40 AM (Lhaco)

75 If the Enterprise can time travel back to 20th century Earth, why is the crew not fabulously wealthy?

Posted by: fd at November 05, 2023 10:37 AM (vFG9F)
---
Isn't the protagonist in The Forever War the richest man alive at the end due to all the compound interest on what started out as junior enlisted pay? That was funny.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 05, 2023 10:41 AM (llXky)

76 Steel was more precious than gold in the Dark Ages, and in fact for most of history. It wasn't until the Industrial Revolution that steel was regarded a cheap.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

Andrew Carnegie was sort of the Elon Musk of his day.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at November 05, 2023 10:41 AM (3U2zN)

77 “Young people who hated Trump because he wouldn’t condemn the people with the Tiki torches, talking about Jews – you’re the ones with the Tiki torches now” –

-
I don't understand these references to Tiki torches.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With Pumpkin Spice! at November 05, 2023 10:41 AM (FVME7)

78 Storytelling is inherently a magic of the human heart.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel

********

I'm not sure what that means. Particularly in regard to the nuts and bolts of "how things work" in a fantasy world.

Care to elaborate.

Posted by: Muldoon, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes elegant at November 05, 2023 10:41 AM (991eG)

79 fd --

I'll bet the killjoy Federation would regard using time travel for personal benefit as something like insider trading. Maybe the Federation can't stop it, but they probably tax it at 100%. (And just where did the Federation get all its resources in the first place...)

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 10:42 AM (a/4+U)

80 I don't understand these references to Tiki torches.

The marchers in the Charlottesville Unite the Right protest carried cheap tiki torches from Walmart.

Posted by: Archimedes at November 05, 2023 10:43 AM (I/Qkd)

81 >>66...In that vein, this November 29 will be the first CS Lewis Reading Day, his birthday...

What happens to me if I just watch _Shadowlands_?

Posted by: SPinRH_F-16 at November 05, 2023 10:44 AM (eT12Z)

82 He is mourned, though, that was important.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 10:39 AM (43xH1)
---
Yes, it's very important. If a character dies and everyone is like "How awful! Anyway..." the reader loses interest as well.

The fact that Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli give Boromir a funeral demonstrates how significant his death is to them, and it elevates Boromir from a bit player to a much more significant character. As the news of his death spreads, everyone expresses shock and sadness, and you get the idea that he was a really noble and good man, which means the Ring is really, really evil.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 05, 2023 10:44 AM (llXky)

83 Morning Hordemates.
Last week I started two books via Kindle Unlimited but returned both after the third chapter. What is it with kindle anyway? Doesn't anyone proof read the writing? I quit after the third misspelling and/or typo.
Annoyance.

Posted by: Diogenes at November 05, 2023 10:44 AM (uSHSS)

84 I'm not sure what that means. Particularly in regard to the nuts and bolts of "how things work" in a fantasy world.

Care to elaborate.
Posted by: Muldoon, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes elegant at November 05, 2023 10:41 AM (991eG)
---
World-building is NOT confined to fantasy or science fiction, though we tend to regard those genres as primarily about world building.

ANY story--even literary fiction--relies on the author to weave together characters, events, and setting to create a believable story. It all derives from the power of the imagination and emotions of the author, who strives to forge a connect with his or her audience.

How is that not magical?

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 05, 2023 10:44 AM (BpYfr)

85 I don't know if the idea of Clark Kent ( a mild mannered reporter) was based on the Blakney character but it seems likely.
I'll finish the book but doubt it will be a favorite worthy of re-reading.
Posted by: JTB'

I've wondered that myself! I believe, don't hold me to it, that it's the first use in popular culture of a firm 'secret identity'. Stories feature disguises and subterfuges from way back but in that case, it's an actual whole other person, like a superhero, two totally different people, ongoing in parallel.
Zorro, Superman, Peter Parker, I'm not sure if The Scarlet Pimpernel is actually the very first but it seems to have been very influential.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 10:45 AM (43xH1)

86 Storytelling is inherently a magic of the human heart.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel

See, for example, the Hallmark Channel.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With Pumpkin Spice! at November 05, 2023 10:45 AM (FVME7)

87 "fd --

I'll bet the killjoy Federation would regard using time travel for personal benefit as something like insider trading"

I'd bet Harry Mudd would be fat and happy and living in the 50s.

Posted by: fd at November 05, 2023 10:46 AM (vFG9F)

88 Read Jim Storr's 'The Wars of King Arthur' which is a history of a little known era in Britain after the Roman Empire quit and left, and the full takeover of the Germanic tribes that ran things in the 800-900s.

His analysis begins with earthworks; why are they there and when were they built? He then expands into some whos and whys. Good reading!

Posted by: Brewingfrog at November 05, 2023 10:46 AM (aJmA5)

89 On the cinder thing: especially when back-handing somebody's Kultur, we often say "cinderblock" when we mean concrete block. Cinder blocks were a by-product of iron making, popular during a time when building materials were scarce, and you seldom see them any more. They're lighter than concrete, not as strong, and need to be painted right after installation because they have iron slag in them (to different degrees -- part of the issue), and they will rust. They were often painted with early alkyds, which smelled bad forever.

Properly cited, they call back an era of cheap institutional marginal construction, corner-cutting, dorm life, poverty-stricken church basements -- a real Burgess/Orwell atmosphere. In narrative, don't confuse them with real masonry or stonework. They mean something different.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at November 05, 2023 10:46 AM (4PZHB)

90 fd --

Mudd probably would be happy in the 50s. Unless Stella found him...

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 10:47 AM (a/4+U)

91 I made a rare double bookstore raid yesterday, as one local store was doing a grand opening of a new location, and another store had their quarterly Big Sale. So now I have about 10 new books to read.

The first one I tackled, and read through in a single sitting, was a book called _The Diamond Smugglers_ by Ian Fleming. It's hard to say whether it's fiction or nonfiction, and whether Fleming wrote it or if it's just "as told to" him. It's reminiscences of an Englishman working in the International Diamond Security Organization (=DeBeers's private spy agency). How much of what he's relating really happened is anyone's guess, as is how much Fleming embellished it.

Unsurprisingly, Fleming wrote this at the same time as his Bond novel _Diamonds Are Forever_, and the influence is plain.

Fun book, especially the "inadvertent documentary" of Africa in the era just before "decolonization," when old-school imperial attitudes coexisted with airline travel and the Cold War. Recommended.

Posted by: Trimegistus at November 05, 2023 10:48 AM (78a2H)

92 It was originally about a farmer called The E-I-E-I-Odessa File.

Posted by: JT at November 05, 2023 10:48 AM (T4tVD)

93 I had the chance to visit Santa Barbara recently and went into the independent book store Chaucer's Books. Really happy to see a successful independent, though of course the store was in danger of toppling over as it leaned so far left.

Picked up a new author for me, Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway. A great read, a weird blend of detective noir and science fiction. Highly recommended.

Posted by: Candidus at November 05, 2023 10:49 AM (Ya7DW)

94 What is it with kindle anyway? Doesn't anyone proof read the writing? I quit after the third misspelling and/or typo.
Annoyance.
Posted by: Diogenes'

Modern ebooks are AWFUL. It's really distracting.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 10:49 AM (43xH1)

95 I think Sanderson's Way of Kings is the best world building I have ever read. There are actually drawings throughout the book that perfectly picture the descriptions in the book.
I'm not as enthusiastic about some of the other planets in his Cosmere but Tress of the Emerald Isle is a close second.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 10:49 AM (t/2Uw)

96 92 It was originally about a farmer called The E-I-E-I-Odessa File.
Posted by: JT at November 05, 2023

*beady eye*

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 05, 2023 10:49 AM (vHIgi)

97 What's up with the guilty pleasure reference to the Masons?

Posted by: Haven't even changed my clock yet at November 05, 2023 10:49 AM (vaEwX)

98 83 Yes, that's a recurring problem. I think many independent writers edit the work themselves, and it's much easier to overlook one's own mistakes. Better to hire an editor. Plus autocorrect won't correct homophones (e.g., 'fourth' and 'forth'). I think too many writers rely on that as well.

Posted by: Dr Alice at November 05, 2023 10:50 AM (oFuPp)

99 Hire a professional proofreader, and hire a professional artist or graphic designer for your cover.

Posted by: Trimegistus at November 05, 2023 10:51 AM (78a2H)

100 What's up with the guilty pleasure reference to the Masons?
Posted by: Haven't even changed my clock yet at November 05, 2023 10:49 AM (vaEwX)
---
Just one of the odder books in my collection....

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 05, 2023 10:52 AM (BpYfr)

101 World-building is NOT confined to fantasy or science fiction, though we tend to regard those genres as primarily about world building.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 05, 2023 10:44 AM (BpYfr)
---
Westerns, film noir, even modern romance are about creating fictional places and people that resonate. Vampires of Michigan has what one might call "low power" Vampires and that's because I wanted to make them relatable. Basically they're people who can leapfrog through time and are hard to kill. What would you really do if you could live forever? How would your mind deal with all the changes?

And what if - bored as you are - you suddenly feel love again? Wouldn't you go on a reckless spree? That's really what that story is about and "world building" was keeping the vampires out of the mainstream of history. Rather than them acting as the WEF or Illiminati or whatnot, they're minor players just trying to survive. Not damned, not sparkly, just really, really old.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 05, 2023 10:52 AM (llXky)

102 Between all the comic book reading, I worked my way a little farther through Harold Lamb's "Riders of the Steppes" collection. And, so far, there has been a lot more sailing than riding. The two big stories in the collection feature pirates on the Dniepper River, and then Cossaks sailing across the Black Sea to raid the Ottomans. The current book isn't as good as I remember the first collection ("Wolves of the Steppes") being. Most of the characters feel weird and hard to relate too--which may be accurate, they are 17th Century Cossaks, after all, but it makes the stories hard to get into.

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 05, 2023 10:52 AM (Lhaco)

103 Plus autocorrect won't correct homophones (e.g., 'fourth' and 'forth'). I think too many writers rely on that as well.
Posted by: Dr Alice at November 05, 2023 10:50 AM (oFuPp)

Here here!

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 05, 2023 10:52 AM (PiwSw)

104 Huh. It never occurred to me before but I could likely do a pretty good 'magic' book. Between historical studies on Alchemy, Central Asian mystical union/energy beliefs, and prehistoric mythology, it actually wouldn't be hard and it would most certainly have rules.

Ha ha! The dumb vampire book I work on for fun has the main character, upon it sinking in she's a for-real vampire, asks herself out loud, "Well, shit, does this mean werewolves are real, too?"

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 10:53 AM (43xH1)

105 Hire a professional proofreader, and hire a professional artist or graphic designer for your cover.

Posted by: Trimegistus at November 05, 2023 10:51 AM (78a2H)
---
LUXURY! I wrote my books in a lake, edited them in a gravel quarry, and did the cover art in a sewer pipe. But I had fun then...

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 05, 2023 10:53 AM (llXky)

106 Half way through Get Shorty and it makes me want to get more Elmore Leonard. Finished Beowulf, spoiler alert, the dragon dies and so does Beowulf. Also half way through A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute and I'm really liking it. Every time I think I know what's going to happen next, something else happens. Excellent read.

Posted by: who knew at November 05, 2023 10:54 AM (4I7VG)

107 How is that not magical?
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at

*********

Oh, I see what you were sayinng. But you missed my point, being that magic, in storytelling is not a good thing (in my view), because it allows the author to 'hand wave' away any logical inconsistencies in the plot. In the same way world-building can explain away things like food in a 2-mile high cylinder by invoking the word "hydroponics".

I think storytelling can entertain and inspire with real tangible tales of human accomplishments against high odds. Without invoking illogical magical tricks or imaginary technology. YMMV

Posted by: Muldoon, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes elegant at November 05, 2023 10:54 AM (991eG)

108 Hearty endorsement of the importance of solid worldbuilding. For me that's the quickest way to get me to toss a book aside. I can put up with unmemorable characters, but if the world is inconsistent then I simply can't believe the story any more.

Posted by: Trimegistus at November 05, 2023 10:54 AM (78a2H)

109 92 It was originally about a farmer called The E-I-E-I-Odessa File.
Posted by: JT at November 05, 2023

*beady eye*
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 05, 2023 10:49 AM

LOL !

Posted by: JT at November 05, 2023 10:55 AM (T4tVD)

110 Posted by: Castle Guy at November 05, 2023 10:30 AM (Lhaco)

Agreed. Book one was fun and I didn't want to sway your opinion of the subsequent books by giving my view too strongly at the time.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 05, 2023 10:55 AM (nC+QA)

111 Hire a professional proofreader, and hire a professional artist or graphic designer for your cover.
Posted by: Trimegistus'

Doesn't work for me: I'm a professional proofreader! And an accomplished illustrator in my own right.
I'm the worst.
I'm not sure I could handle having either another proofreader on my stuff, or accept another artist.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 10:55 AM (43xH1)

112 71 ... "I'm re-reading LotR and contra the Tolkien nerds, fall is the best time to read the tale as you progress in time along with the characters."

Absolutely agree. This year will be my 58th annual reading of LOTR and it always starts in autumn. Just coincidence that my first time reading was in November 1965. I have a wall map of Middle-Earth and will have it handy to follow the various travels in the books which should add a bit of fun to the process.

Posted by: JTB at November 05, 2023 10:55 AM (7EjX1)

113 What did one homophone say to comfort the other homophone?

Their, there, they’re.

Posted by: Ok, just one at November 05, 2023 10:55 AM (vaEwX)

114 63 Castle Guy, would you please name the book? You can't libel a book.
Posted by: Weak Geek at November 05, 2023 10:32 AM (4YHb/)

[Looks down and mumbles in embarrassment] Go Go Power Rangers, Hardcover 1. Most of the book makes adds some depth and pathos to the franchise. The bonus issue make it feel just as childish and trite as it has a reputation for being.

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 05, 2023 10:56 AM (Lhaco)

115 who knew-

Elmore Leonard is EXCELLENT !

Posted by: JT at November 05, 2023 10:57 AM (T4tVD)

116 I'd bet Harry Mudd would be fat and happy and living in the 50s.

Posted by: fd at November 05, 2023 10:46 AM (vFG9F)

It would be his only way to escape the "Stella" series. lol

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at November 05, 2023 10:58 AM (VwHCD)

117 Properly cited, they call back an era of cheap institutional marginal construction, corner-cutting, dorm life, poverty-stricken church basements -- a real Burgess/Orwell atmosphere. In narrative, don't confuse them with real masonry or stonework. They mean something different.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at November 05, 2023 10:46 AM (4PZHB)
---
The university built out huge apartment complexes during the 60s for graduate and overseas students and I didn't think much of it until I went through Basic Training. When I came back I realized they were modeled on military housing, which is of course awful. Over the last 20 years it's been getting torn down. It's weird seeing vast empty spaces on campus where it used to be. It's well-tended (come on, ag college), but one of those old fart things where I can reference vanished buildings.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 05, 2023 10:58 AM (llXky)

118 @91 --

I read "The Diamond Smugglers" a few years ago and enjoyed it. I think I traded it in. One read was sufficient.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 05, 2023 10:58 AM (oJfKM)

119 "Hearty endorsement of the importance of solid worldbuilding."

[Jehovah has entered the chat.]

Posted by: RS at November 05, 2023 10:59 AM (E7m29)

120
*Without invoking illogical magical tricks or imaginary technology.*

The Dick Tracy two-way wrist radio and Star Trek transporterTransporter have entered the chat.

Posted by: And yet... at November 05, 2023 11:00 AM (vaEwX)

121 " "Hearty endorsement of the importance of solid worldbuilding."

[Jehovah has entered the chat.]
Posted by: RS "

You have to pay attention to the fiddly bits.

Posted by: Slartibartfast at November 05, 2023 11:00 AM (cuqfS)

122 With all the crap going on I was looking for something light, so I picked up a copy of "A Confederacy of Dunces"....anybody?

Posted by: BignJames at November 05, 2023 11:00 AM (AwYPR)

123 In a werewolf story I read years ago, the newly Lycan protagonist learns that many famous people were weres, especially in the military. Looking at a photo of General Sherman, she thinks It's so obvious once you know.

"I will make Georgia howl!"

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 05, 2023 11:01 AM (h3wbV)

124 73 24 ... vmom,
Thanks for that link. It's hilarious and really cool.
Posted by: JTB at November 05, 2023 10:40 AM

Isn't it?! I want one.

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 05, 2023 11:02 AM (vHIgi)

125 Oh, this week's annoyance was an editing/proofreading thing for an EastBloc museum in which the staff misidentified a statue set formerly displayed at Auschwitz. The original title was 'Apel': Slavic transliteration from the German 'Appell' as Slavic doesn't do double consonants. So: 'Roll-call'. During some business in the 1990s the statue set was returned to the artist, who re-purposed it for that conflict and retitled it, it seems, to the English 'Appeal (For Peace)', confusing the *original* title. In the piece I got sent they titled it, while at Auschwitz, 'Appeal', which is incorrect, at that time (1960s) it was 'Apel' (Appell).
They got pissy so I had to prove I was correct, which wasn't even hard, but I did it as it was sloppy work and I didn't want to be associated with a project that mistitles a statue from Auschwitz.
So annoying.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 11:02 AM (43xH1)

126 The thing about the Universe of Douglas Adams is that anything infinitely improbable is possible at any time. That can get you out of a whole bundle of troubles.

Posted by: fd at November 05, 2023 11:03 AM (cuqfS)

127 120
*Without invoking illogical magical tricks or imaginary technology.*

The Dick Tracy two-way wrist radio and Star Trek transporterTransporter have entered the chat.
Posted by: And yet... at November 05, 2023 11:00 AM (vaEwX)

You will pry my ansible from my cold, dead hands.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 05, 2023 11:03 AM (PiwSw)

128 Spell check, autocorrect, etc., can only do so much. But given what comes out of the schools sometimes, I fear we may be starting to see proofreaders who don't see the mistakes as mistakes.

And it's not just the indies -- I've seen ebook titles from big commercial publishers with major typos. Cases where they clearly just scanned the text and never proofed it at all before putting out the ebook.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 11:03 AM (a/4+U)

129 re-read the Keeper Chronicles. I remember now why I recommended it. Magic, but not super power magic. And there's a cost to using it. well, maybe not for elves or kobolds, but for humans.
who still have to deal with problems and who can't keep their relationships completely functional.

re-started the Origins of Keepers, whose main character wants the freedom to do what she wants and can't get it (yet? I don't remember), but who refuses to grant it to her sisters.

Probably should've read some more edifying stuff.

Posted by: yara at November 05, 2023 11:04 AM (xr64u)

130 Not whole lot of time for reading this week. Need to do something about that... Still working my way through Brant Pitre's Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary. I try to have something fiction and nonfiction going at the same time. However with all the books I have in my "to read" pile, there is nothing that is appealing to me right now. It's sort of like being hungry while looking into a fridge packed with food and wanting to go order a pizza.

Thank you Perfessor and Book People. I really look forward to this Book Thread each week.

Posted by: KatieFloyd at November 05, 2023 11:05 AM (cBfCi)

131 Len: I'm a professional copy editor myself, but when I've put up ebooks on Amazon, I always get someone else to go over them -- even if it's a reprint of something which already got proofed and edited.

Posted by: Trimegistus at November 05, 2023 11:05 AM (78a2H)

132 anything infinitely improbable is possible at any time. That can get you out of a whole bundle of troubles.

Posted by: fd at November 05, 2023 11:03 AM (cuqfS)

Ah, the Clinton/Biden technique.

Posted by: BignJames at November 05, 2023 11:06 AM (AwYPR)

133 "Magic" is just a word for things we don't understand.

My rational brain knows that physics allows 100 tons of aluminum and people to float above the ground at hundreds of miles an hour.

Meanwhile, my eyes are screaming, "That's black sorcery! Burn the witches!"

This inability for me to reconcile the two voices is why I don't fly.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 05, 2023 11:07 AM (BpYfr)

134 I gotta go seize the day.

Thanks for The Book Thread Perfessor !

Posted by: JT at November 05, 2023 11:07 AM (T4tVD)

135 Vampires of Michigan has what one might call "low power" Vampires and that's because I wanted to make them relatable. Basically they're people who can leapfrog through time and are hard to kill.'

My vampire is an unsympathetic monster who doesn't care about human beings except as occasional amusements; sometimes interesting but otherwise irrelevant to their lives.
I based her on my ex-wife

Posted by: LenNeal will be here all week try the veal at November 05, 2023 11:08 AM (43xH1)

136 49 I've been reading Alison Weir's historical novels on the wives of Henry VIII.
Posted by: Dr. T at November 05, 2023 10:23 AM (m9hmt)

I'll look those up to add to the Tudor mysteries I'm currently reading. Thanks!

Posted by: sal: tolle adversarium et afflige inimicum at November 05, 2023 11:09 AM (KB0Aa)

137 Greetings!
I finished Two Years Before the Mast.
A ripping good seafaring tale.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at November 05, 2023 11:09 AM (MeG8a)

138 Magic, technology, etc. can work if used consistently and with restraint. For me the read line is death.

Once you bring one person back from the dead, the world is broken. No tension, no real risk. Star Wars has been gutted by this - people take mortal wounds and just shake them off.

Superheroes also have this vibe - don't worry, we'll reboot your character.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 05, 2023 11:09 AM (llXky)

139 I based her on my ex-wife

Posted by: LenNeal will be here all week try the veal at November 05, 2023 11:08 AM (43xH1)
---
As I always say: write what you know!

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 05, 2023 11:10 AM (llXky)

140 Speaking of world building, I recently came across references to Guy Gavriel Kay for fantasy and historical fiction. Never heard of the guy. Anyone familiar with his books and are they any good? A lot of modern fantasy writers don't do much for me.

Posted by: JTB at November 05, 2023 11:12 AM (7EjX1)

141 Hey, folken!

I'm finishing a recent Amos Walker private-eye novel, Cutthroat Dogs, in which Walker is hired to find out if his client's brother really did the murder he was convicted of and for which he's spent twenty years already in prison. Tangled up with it is the dead woman's father, a John Walsh-like, true-crime TV host and reporter. Quite readable, like all Loren D. Estleman's work.

It amazes me, though. I've been reading the AW series for many years, and only with this book did I realize that Darren McGavin back in the Sixties and Seventies would have been the perfect actor to play the Detroit investigator. Why did I never see this before?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 05, 2023 11:12 AM (omVj0)

142 Len: I'm a professional copy editor myself, but when I've put up ebooks on Amazon, I always get someone else to go over them -- even if it's a reprint of something which already got proofed and edited.
Posted by: Trimegistus'

One of the readers here on the blog caught a typo I missed probably 100 times. You're right.
I am in awe of older books, even cheap paperbacks, with no typos in them at all, and they NEVER do. All the misspellings and issues that infest modern publishing simply aren't there. Some drugstore-rack actioner from 1962 has no typos. None.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 11:13 AM (43xH1)

143 129 re-read the Keeper Chronicles. I remember now why I recommended it. Magic, but not super power magic. And there's a cost to using it. well, maybe not for elves or kobolds, but for humans.
who still have to deal with problems and who can't keep their relationships completely functional.

Posted by: yara at November 05, 2023 11:04 AM (xr64u)

Ooh, I think I read those a summer or two ago. For me, the best part was that each book (well, at least the three that I read) was a stand-alone story. Sure, there were some ties to the previous book, but each story had its own conclusion, and it didn't spiral out-of-control into some never-ending epic.

My favorite of the bunch was the second one, with Will going undercover as a bard among the plains nomads. There were some genuinely fun twists to that one.

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 05, 2023 11:13 AM (Lhaco)

144 Regarding Death, I especially enjoy Terry Pratchett's version of DEATH as a character in the Discworld novels, who owns his own font in the series. I guess I enjoyed the actual deaths where people were expecting DEATH, and peacefully accepted it, one even trying to see if she could bring a ham sandwich with her.

Posted by: Nancy at 7000 ft at November 05, 2023 11:13 AM (0tmoY)

145 Been working my way through the vintage books I got at the Library Book Sale.

One little treasure: the 20th Anniversary Anthology of the Reader's Digest. They took the best article from each of the first 20 years, and added some of their popular features.
It's joining the 30th Annie I inherited from my grandfather and Fun Fare.

Posted by: sal: tolle adversarium et afflige inimicum at November 05, 2023 11:14 AM (KB0Aa)

146
My vampire is an unsympathetic monster who doesn't care about human beings except as occasional amusements; sometimes interesting but otherwise irrelevant to their lives.
I based her on my ex-wife
Posted by: LenNeal will be here all week try the veal at November 05, 2023

***
Thou'rt not alone, LN. I've based at least two major characters in different stories on my second ex-wife.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 05, 2023 11:14 AM (omVj0)

147
...one even trying to see if she could bring a ham sandwich with her.

Posted by: Nancy at 7000 ft at November 05, 2023 11:13 AM

hey...a girl's gotta eat

Posted by: Mama Cass at November 05, 2023 11:16 AM (ENBF0)

148 And because my TBR pile isn't big enough I picked up a copy of "What if" where actual historians play the alternate history game. And now I'm worried, what if I don't like it?

Posted by: who knew at November 05, 2023 11:17 AM (4I7VG)

149 I've read Guy Gavriel Kay but it was a while ago. As I recall it is set in Byzantium so kind of exotic. Historical fantasy?. I know I read several and enjoyed them but that's about it.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 11:17 AM (t/2Uw)

150 All the misspellings and issues that infest modern publishing simply aren't there. Some drugstore-rack actioner from 1962 has no typos. None.
Posted by: LenNeal

Isn't modern technology great? It has replaced outdated notions like correct spelling and being able to do simple math in your head.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at November 05, 2023 11:18 AM (e7V+g)

151 hey...a girl's gotta eat
Posted by: Mama Cass'

Death: "Sorry, but no, you'll just have to choke it down before we go."

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 11:18 AM (43xH1)

152 Re: consistency

Do all vampires poop?

Do ANY vampires poop?

Posted by: Muldoon, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes elegant at November 05, 2023 11:19 AM (991eG)

153 Fleming had that "Part-time Novelist" gig about down pat. He got paid, and apparently a handsome paddable expense account, to travel as a feature writer for a newspaper syndicate. Then he'd take his vacation and work up the same notes into a thriller. In the Bond novels, you'll find the sexy super-spy carefully annotating his costs in a notebook, and resenting it. Bond could only afford the rich playboy lifestyle as a function of his civil service employment, and this was likely true of Fleming as well.

A collection of his travel essays was published as "Thrilling Cities," and it's full of unconscionable upper-class-twit 1950's British Empire attitude. It's fun to just wallow in it.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at November 05, 2023 11:19 AM (4PZHB)

154 I've also been reading _New Orleans, Mon Amour_ by Andrei Codrescu. It's a compilation of various stuff he's written about N.O. over the past forty years. A lot of them look like NPR radio pieces.

I can't help but wondering how much of Codrescu's career is based on some joker at NPR thinking it was funny to have their "New Orleans Correspondent" speaking in a heavy Bela Lugosi accent.

Anyway, the book's an odd mix. When he's good, he's got a nice eye for details and local characters. But he often just phones it in with cod-Williams and faux-Faulkner blather about "slower pace of life" and "haunted by the past," which of course panders perfectly to what New York leftists like to imagine about N.O.

His politics are blatant and stupid. Talks about young reformist mayor Marc Morial trying to rein in corruption without mentioning Marc's father Ernest Morial's role in creating that corruption. Talks about David Duke but only vaguely alludes to the corruption of the Democrats.

Posted by: Trimegistus at November 05, 2023 11:19 AM (78a2H)

155 Killing off characters?

In the last Bosch (actually Bosch/Ballard) book, Bosch had been diagnosed with cancer, and it didn't look good.

In Ian Rankin's last Rebus novel, retired Edinburgh cop Rebus was on trial for killing his long-time nemesis, crime boss "Big Ger." (Rebus also had to move to a ground-floor flat because of emphysema.)

If an author ages his character, he has to face reality at some point.

Posted by: Wethal at November 05, 2023 11:20 AM (NufIr)

156 What are some of your favorite character deaths?

All the ones where the commie gets killed.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 05, 2023 11:20 AM (Angsy)

157 This inability for me to reconcile the two voices is why I don't fly.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 05, 2023 11:07 AM (BpYfr)

Presssure.
It was truly a struggle to wrap my head around the concept when I was doing Hydraulics school. It's easier with fluids than air.
There are some really good vids on youboob and studying pressure starting at "You can't compress a liquid" hydraulic side makes the pressurised gas side easier to understand.

Simultaneously doing electricity is a fun head kick to do to yourself.

Posted by: Reforger at November 05, 2023 11:20 AM (5dsPO)

158 And what am I reading - I've been rereading the Cadfael series by Ellis Peters. Currently on the Sanctuary Sparrow. I have a far too deep pile of non-fiction books that are waiting for lousy weather.

Posted by: Nancy at 7000 ft at November 05, 2023 11:21 AM (0tmoY)

159 With all the crap going on I was looking for something light, so I picked up a copy of "A Confederacy of Dunces"....anybody?
Posted by: BignJames at November 05, 2023

***
The book is fun even if you aren't familiar with the early Sixties version of New Orleans that Toole lived in and wrote about. To me it's not a laugh-out-loud book, at least most of the way; it's more the kind of thing where you shake your head at the characters and read on with a wondering kind of delight. (If you want hilarious dialog, try Richard Bradford's Red Sky at Morning.)

One of the ex-members of my writing group, a woman from Nebraska, commented that she did not find it funny in the least. I stopped listening to her after that.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 05, 2023 11:22 AM (omVj0)

160
hey...a girl's gotta eat
Posted by: Mama Cass'

Death: "Sorry, but no, you'll just have to choke it down before we go."

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 11:18 AM

if Mama Cass would have shared half her sammich with Karen Carpenter, they both might still be alive today

Posted by: AltonJackson at November 05, 2023 11:22 AM (ENBF0)

161 Deaths-
Even though we know not the day or the hour, I really hate the ones that come out of nowhere.
Josh Deets' demise in "Lonesome Dove" shocked me,
but his epitaph wrecked me.

Posted by: sal: tolle adversarium et afflige inimicum at November 05, 2023 11:22 AM (KB0Aa)

162 As I always say: write what you know!
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 05, 2023 11:10 AM (llXky)

======

Nobody wants to read a book about sitting on the couch watching TV and playing Candy Crush.

Posted by: Jordan61 at November 05, 2023 11:22 AM (0mWPK)

163 I've read Guy Gavriel Kay but it was a while ago. As I recall it is set in Byzantium so kind of exotic. Historical fantasy?. I know I read several and enjoyed them but that's about it.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 11:17 AM (t/2Uw)

Same, although I couldn't remember what the setting was at all.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 05, 2023 11:23 AM (nC+QA)

164 Hugh Howey‘s world building in his Silo trilogy Wool, Shift and Dust is robust. I thought the trilogy could be edited down a few hundred pages.

Jeff Vandermeer’s world building in his Southern Reach Trilogy. By design the world is never complete or explanatory.

Posted by: 13times at November 05, 2023 11:24 AM (fRCJ2)

165 Again I recommend WW IV - The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism by Norman Podhoretz published in 2007.

It covers his reasons for his support of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. A lot which people have forgotten. He also covers how the Left was going to ruin everything and basically how we end up where we are today. He was prescient in his warnings.

Posted by: Drive by at November 05, 2023 11:24 AM (MNhXM)

166 consistency

Do all vampires poop?

Do ANY vampires poop?
Posted by: Muldoon, sometimes funny

I find this to be a problem in most books. Characters tend to go for a very long time without food, sleep or bathroom breaks.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 11:24 AM (t/2Uw)

167 Re: consistency
Do all vampires poop?
Do ANY vampires poop?
Posted by: Muldoon'

Mine don't. The blood they consume is absorbed into their bodies and burned as energy with no waste. When it's all gone they need more. There is a sequence where my (female) vampire realizes she doesn't have periods and can't recall using a toilet. Sometimes under stress they'll sweat blood and then have to have more blood sooner than normal.
It's vampires, not thermodynamic engineering.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 11:25 AM (43xH1)

168 All the misspellings and issues that infest modern publishing simply aren't there. Some drugstore-rack actioner from 1962 has no typos. None.

Posted by: LenNeal

Agreed. It's shocking how nonexistent editing is nowadays. And it *isn't* just indie authors or even ebooks.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 05, 2023 11:25 AM (nC+QA)

169 I like stories set in Ancient Rome and many suffer from a lack of world building. Rome may have been real but even reality needs to be built. I have a theory that culture informs architecture and architecture informs culture. A story written with contemporary attitudes and values creates a phony.feeling world even if they are wearing togas. Neglecting to include the difficulties, dangers, sights, and smells of the ancient world doesn't allow you to become immersed in the world.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With Pumpkin Spice! at November 05, 2023 11:26 AM (FVME7)

170 Nobody wants to read a book about sitting on the couch watching TV and playing Candy Crush.
Posted by: Jordan61'

"Are you on Twitch?"

Posted by: Gen Z at November 05, 2023 11:26 AM (43xH1)

171 I frequently have overdue library books. Now that our library system doesn't charge fines, and I have physical possession of the book, I'll keep it until I'm finished. I would hope they know by now that they'll get it back. My shelves are too full now.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 05, 2023 10:15 AM (4YHb/)

Our library sends out e-mails saying, great news you can keep the book longer. I just wonder if circulation is down?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 05, 2023 11:26 AM (Angsy)

172 Re: consistency
Do all vampires poop?
Do ANY vampires poop?
Posted by: Muldoon'

They do it when they are in the form of a bat.

Vampire quano.

Posted by: Drive by at November 05, 2023 11:26 AM (MNhXM)

173 Viewers got downright angry about the world building and plot holes in the TV show Lost.

Posted by: 13times at November 05, 2023 11:27 AM (fRCJ2)

174 "Write what you know" is a terrible idea. That's how you get short stories about neurotic young women in creative writing classes, or stories about middle-aged literary men contemplating adultery.

A better rule is "know what you write." Do the research. Do a LOT of research. Visit the places your characters go, talk to people in similar situations. Observe, read, and ask questions.

Posted by: Trimegistus at November 05, 2023 11:27 AM (78a2H)

175 I REALLY shouldn't but the county library is having a big book sale this weekend. If I had any will power I would avoid it if only because there is no damn place left to put more books. (Note: That hasn't ever stopped me before.) The problem is I always find some good stuff at these sales although it saddens me that they aren't left on the library shelves.

It is a chance to pick up good copies of books that will be gifts for nieces and nephews and their kids. At least that is what I tell myself.

Posted by: JTB at November 05, 2023 11:27 AM (7EjX1)

176 I read/watch a lot of reviews discussing terrible writing, but nothing quite prepares you for seeing it live in the wild. It really is just like a slap in the face.

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 05, 2023 10:16 AM (Lhaco)

Oh, you seen some of my stuff, then.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 05, 2023 11:28 AM (Angsy)

177 The other notable thing about Toole's A Confederacy is that he really does reproduce in print the way local people talk. Foryears I'd read novels and stories with Southern people, white or black, referring to their offspring as "chillun." I never heard that in my life.

Toole renders it, dead accurately, as "chirren." Not till I read that did I realize how it was possible to reproduce the way people speak. You listen to them.

Toole's use of dialect is not heavy; and he rarely does the misspelling thing which can make it hard for the reader to follow. HIs dialect is more in word choice and rhythm, and words left out, as people do in everyday speech.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 05, 2023 11:28 AM (omVj0)

178 I am reading Montaigne's Essays. I expect to get to the good part any minute now.

Posted by: Oglebay at November 05, 2023 11:28 AM (ogTiX)

179 Stephen Pressfield very good at historical fiction . Tides of War may be my favorite of his though Gates of Fire is a thrilling read.

Posted by: Drive by at November 05, 2023 11:28 AM (MNhXM)

180 Agreed. It's shocking how nonexistent editing is nowadays. And it *isn't* just indie authors or even ebooks.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette

It is enlightening to read emails from my twenty-something colleagues. And not in a good way.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at November 05, 2023 11:29 AM (e7V+g)

181 The blood they consume is absorbed into their bodies and burned as energy with no waste.

********

Oh. Sort of like...dare I say it?...

...magic!

Posted by: Muldoon, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes elegant at November 05, 2023 11:29 AM (991eG)

182 My library wil automatically renew books if there is no waiting list but ebooks are only two weeks no matter what.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 11:29 AM (t/2Uw)

183 With all the crap going on I was looking for something light, so I picked up a copy of "A Confederacy of Dunces"....anybody?
Posted by: BignJames at November 05, 2023

I find ACoD to be laugh out loud funny.
Wolf's is correct in that the New Orleans of the book is almost ancient history. I didn't find that a problem as I haven't found Smolett's Old England to hinder his humor. And if you're the slightest bit woke, you probably will be a bit shocked by some of the humor.

Will you find it funny?

Eh, humor appreciating is like eating Roquefort cheese. Some will love it. Some will hate it. Some will think it's okay but wish it tasted a little more cheddary. And for those people, there's Stilton.

Posted by: naturalfake at November 05, 2023 11:31 AM (QzZeQ)

184 They do it when they are in the form of a bat.

Vampire quano.
Posted by: Drive by'

My vampires don't shape shift either, they're just a sort of apex predator that have been around forever, no religion involved, mostly solitary like some larger cats, nothing fancy. My main character routinely enters churches and has conversations with baffled priests. There have never been very many and there is no 'vampire society'.

Posted by: Gen Z at November 05, 2023 11:31 AM (43xH1)

185 Another not 'favorite", but intensely moving death scene is Melanie Wilkes' in GWTW.
It is the perfect coda to their complicated (on Scarlett's part, at least) history. The arc of Scarlett's feelings for her
was handled masterfully over the span of the novel to this last scene.

Posted by: sal: tolle adversarium et afflige inimicum at November 05, 2023 11:32 AM (KB0Aa)

186 I moved to ebooks mainly because of the no place to put more issue (though keeping particular titles in hard copy as well). Lord knows it makes it easier to have a book or ten handy at all times.

I find, though, that it doesn't keep me out of bookshops or library sales if I run across one...

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 11:32 AM (a/4+U)

187 Posted by: Ooohm at November 05, 2023 10:19 AM (C7Yya)

All the Space X ships were named after ships in Bank's Culture series. I know that to begin with but I don't know if they intend to continue or what they will do if they run out of names.

I am waiting for one to be named "Grey Matter" since that one was a real bastard.

Posted by: Kindltot at November 05, 2023 11:32 AM (xhaym)

188 I REALLY shouldn't but the county library is having a big book sale this weekend. If I had any will power I would avoid it if only because there is no damn place left to put more books. (Note: That hasn't ever stopped me before.) The problem is I always find some good stuff at these sales although it saddens me that they aren't left on the library shelves.

Posted by: JTB

It is also a little depressing to think of what the library is making room for.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at November 05, 2023 11:32 AM (e7V+g)

189 Posted by: Trimegistus at November 05, 2023 11:27 AM (78a2H)

"Write what you know" worked a lot better when the authors had held multiple jobs in a number of places.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 05, 2023 11:32 AM (nC+QA)

190 The university built out huge apartment complexes during the 60sj Lost Worlds of The American Novel. When we think of, and curse, the University in Being as it now exists, we envision pretty ritzy major state investments. Colleges not so long ago still reeled under the influence of the original GI Bill, with forests of transplanted farmhouses, trailer parks, and semi-temporary military inspired malls.

The local "municipal" college had actual barracks huts right down the main campus, between the stately old halls, from WWII until the late 70's. An odd by-policy of this was that for a while between student surges, they actually had too much space, so everybody got an office and things like jazz lab bands and the Sigma Delta Sigma fraternity were allotted room. At my university, assistant professors were rated as grad students, and if you were not in a favored field your office assignment was in the Old Stadium, where the former locker rooms, with stair-step ceilings formed by the seating rows above, had been subdivided like a slumlord's apartments.

Details like this showed up often in the numerous 1960's novels of professorial life. That world went away.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at November 05, 2023 11:34 AM (4PZHB)

191 I find this to be a problem in most books. Characters tend to go for a very long time without food, sleep or bathroom breaks.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 11:24 AM (t/2Uw)

Call me Ishael.

Oops, Gotta poop. Back in a sec...

- Moby Dick Improved

Posted by: naturalfake at November 05, 2023 11:35 AM (QzZeQ)

192 I have to chime in about the difficulties with the Kindle books. I truly appreciate the convenience. However, I often like to flip back to previous pages to reread a passage or to keep track of who's who in a story with a lot of characters. The Kindle seems to move the text in a way that makes it harder to pick up where I left off. And the last book I read on the the Kindle made it difficult to read the final page. Maybe it's just me being less tech-proficient than I should be but dammit, I just want to read the story, not fight with the Kindle.

Posted by: KatieFloyd at November 05, 2023 11:36 AM (06+Jg)

193 "Write what you know" worked a lot better when the authors had held multiple jobs in a number of places.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 05, 2023 11:32 AM (nC+QA)

I'm on job #43. I should be great. Where is my pencil?

Posted by: Reforger at November 05, 2023 11:37 AM (5dsPO)

194 ugh.

Israel = Ishmael

And now, I have spoiled my own joke.

*kicks rock*

Posted by: naturalfake at November 05, 2023 11:38 AM (QzZeQ)

195 Speaking of vampires and world building and research:

vampire hunters having trouble finding Holy Water in 19th century Paris ruined an otherwise really good read.

Posted by: sal: tolle adversarium et afflige inimicum at November 05, 2023 11:38 AM (KB0Aa)

196 My favorite shape shifting scene is when Blacula enters an alley, turns into a bat, and flies away and some drunk black guy sees him and just says "sheee-itt!!!"

Posted by: Tom Servo at November 05, 2023 11:38 AM (S6gqv)

197 Grigorio Allegri's "Miserere":

https://tinyurl.com/3emsv5vu

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 05, 2023 11:39 AM (h3wbV)

198 One of the vampires lives in the remote mountains in Eastern Europe, is known to the locals, and is so old he just goes by the name 'Perun' because nobody knows what else to call him.

I'm having fun with another one in Mexico who came to the New World across the Bering Land Bridge, after there were tons of people already here, and has a library full of ancient codexes, one of which features a glyph portrait of himself drawn in human blood by Indians who thought he was a god.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 11:39 AM (43xH1)

199 FUUUUUUUUUUUU

Israel = Ishmael

Fuck you, AC!!!! Just fuck you. You inconsistent bastard!!!111!!11

Posted by: naturalfake at November 05, 2023 11:39 AM (QzZeQ)

200 Dick Tracy's two-way wrist radio, later a two-way television, never broke any laws of physics. It was eminently predictable with what was known at the time about electronics.

If you own an Apple watch, basically you have one. I think the main reason we don't have wrist-worn cellphones is that they have proven to be clumsy. A smartphone in the pocket with a Bluetooth earpiece has it beat all hollow.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at November 05, 2023 11:39 AM (5LuQg)

201 find this to be a problem in most books. Characters tend to go for a very long time without food, sleep or bathroom breaks.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 11:24 AM (t/2Uw)

Call me Ishael.

Oops, Gotta poop. Back in a sec...

- Moby Dick Improved

Posted by: naturalfake
Point taken but was referring to more modern works where chase sequences often go on for days.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 11:39 AM (t/2Uw)

202 I'm on job #43. I should be great. Where is my pencil?

Posted by: Reforger at November 05, 2023 11:37 AM (5dsPO)

Lol, I've had enough jobs I used to joke that I should be able to have enough experience to write something. Problem is, I'm not very observant. As Wolfus noted, paying attention is important to making your setting and characters seem real.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 05, 2023 11:40 AM (nC+QA)

203 My favorite shape shifting scene is when Blacula enters an alley, turns into a bat, and flies away and some drunk black guy sees him and just says "sheee-itt!!!"
Posted by: Tom Servo at November 05, 2023

***
Wasn't there something similar in the George Hamilton comedy Love at First Bite? I remember that when Hamilton's Dracula arrives in New York in 1979, he turns into a bat and flies accidentally into a tenement apartment in Spanish Harlem. All the members of the family are trying to catch him thinking he's a new kind of chicken!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 05, 2023 11:41 AM (omVj0)

204 I got a wrist cellphone over 10 years ago. I still have it. It really worked, badly. It even had a camera in it.

Posted by: fd at November 05, 2023 11:41 AM (vFG9F)

205 "Call me Shitmael. Now if you'll excuse me, I feel a whale breaching."

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 11:41 AM (43xH1)

206 I am reading Jerusalem: A Biography by Simon Seleg Montefiore. . I'm familiar with Jerusalem from the biblical viewpoint. This fills in the secular history.

Posted by: That Northernlurker what lurkd at November 05, 2023 11:42 AM (HfNu5)

207 65 I finally got a copy of the newest Galbraith book in the Cormoran Strike series, The Running Grave.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 10:33 AM (t/2Uw)

Just started that series- glad to hear it holds up.

Posted by: sal: tolle adversarium et afflige inimicum at November 05, 2023 11:42 AM (KB0Aa)

208 "My favorite shape shifting scene is when Blacula enters an alley, turns into a bat, and flies away and some drunk black guy sees him and just says "sheee-itt!!!"
Posted by: Tom Servo at November 05, 2023 "
----

It's called world-building, Tom.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 05, 2023 11:43 AM (h3wbV)

209 Now that I think about it... I have self published a book.
Last time I was looking for work I had to do a lifetime employment history.

Posted by: Reforger at November 05, 2023 11:46 AM (5dsPO)

210 Storytelling is inherently a magic of the human heart. Posted by: Perfessor

Pooping is inherently a magic of the human colon.

(NOTE: a good editor would have changed that to a semicolon.)

Just trying to tie all the threads together.

Posted by: Muldoon, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes elegant at November 05, 2023 11:46 AM (991eG)

211 I am reading Jerusalem: A Biography by Simon Seleg Montefiore. . I'm familiar with Jerusalem from the biblical viewpoint. This fills in the secular history.
Posted by: That Northernlurker what lurkd'

I've read a few books that are basically biographies of cities, and the thing that always strikes me is how certain places end up being the same things no matter how hard anyone tries to change them. I think it was Herbert Asbury? who wrote a book, not 'Gangs Of New York', another one, pointing out that some shitty dive bar in NYC had been various things but always ended again being a shitty dive bar going back to, like, 1640.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 11:48 AM (43xH1)

212 Some Moron needs to write a book about a weresloth. When life begins to get too tedious, he just weres into a sloth, and hangs in a tree doing nothing.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at November 05, 2023 11:49 AM (5LuQg)

213 Muldoon, in one of the Pratchett science books, I think it was Darwin's Watch, they referred to humans as Pan Narrans, the storytelling chimp. The point was that the one thing that humans do uniquely is to tell stories, which is part of the unique ability to hold multiple future possibilities and multiple present possible conditions in our minds, map them out against the present and probable future results. The greater ability to do so seems to be reflected in the individuals' brilliance - not smarts or intelligence, but that shining brilliance some people have.

Posted by: Kindltot at November 05, 2023 11:50 AM (xhaym)

214 I like that in Tides of War , Pressfield had his narrator talk of not being able to piss because of the lack or absence of water when he was taken prisoner and made to work in a pit.

Posted by: Drive by at November 05, 2023 11:50 AM (MNhXM)

215
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.

It had a perfectly round toilet where five or six hobbits could shit out their various puddings and cheeses, meats, and delicate desserts.

One such hobbit was Bilbo Baggins, famous for the volume and quality of his excuation of digesting comestibles. Just now, Bilbo shat out a turd the size and shape of a sweet potato, yet colored a beautiful emerald green.

The other hobbit's shitting upon the Baggins' Family toilet complimented Bilbo on his colon art.

"Aw, yes, good sirs but wait you until Gandalf gets here. Then you will surely see some grand shitting and anal fireworks!"

...

Posted by: naturalfake at November 05, 2023 11:51 AM (QzZeQ)

216 Haven't read his Cinderspires book, but the metals acquisition could be rationalized by tunneling down from a spire and mining underground.

Posted by: Kyle Kiernan at November 05, 2023 11:51 AM (W6WwW)

217 Some Moron needs to write a book about a weresloth. When life begins to get too tedious, he just weres into a sloth, and hangs in a tree doing nothing.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon'

I'm fairly certain more than one of my co-workers at the supermarket do exactly this when they go home.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 11:51 AM (43xH1)

218 Hire a professional proofreader, and hire a professional artist or graphic designer for your cover.

Posted by: Trimegistus at November 05, 2023 10:51 AM (78a2H)

That can run into a lot of money. New authors could spend thousands for a book that doesn't sell well. How many can afford it? Money is supposed to flow to the author.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 05, 2023 11:52 AM (Angsy)

219 "Aw, yes, good sirs but wait you until Gandalf gets here. Then you will surely see some grand shitting and anal fireworks!"

...
Posted by: naturalfake at November 05, 2023 11:51 AM (QzZeQ)

I'll be in my bunk.

Posted by: The US Secretary of Transportation at November 05, 2023 11:52 AM (PiwSw)

220 There's a scene in a book, The Thin Red Line by James Jones if I recall correctly, where all the guys in the company are anxious to be the first to kill a ~~Jap~~ Asian American Asian. When it finally happens, a guy is relieving himself when he's attacked but manages to kill his attacker. He is so embarrassed to be caught with his pants down, he doesn't tell anyone of his first.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With Pumpkin Spice! at November 05, 2023 11:53 AM (FVME7)

221 I think the Weresloth was probably caught and executed pretty easily.

Posted by: Reforger at November 05, 2023 11:54 AM (5dsPO)

222 "Aw, yes, good sirs but wait you until Gandalf gets here. Then you will surely see some grand shitting and anal fireworks!"

...
Posted by: naturalfake

*******

Ha!

Thus illustrating my point.

Magick!!

Posted by: Muldoon, sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes elegant at November 05, 2023 11:54 AM (991eG)

223 Captains Courageous had to kill Manuel .

Damn Kipling was a great writer.

Posted by: Drive by at November 05, 2023 11:55 AM (MNhXM)

224 As usual, I am running way behind in reading the comments, so forgive the long delay.

This comment is absolutely perfect:

Storytelling is inherently a magic of the human heart.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 05, 2023 10:28 AM (BpYfr)

Posted by: Legally Sufficient at November 05, 2023 11:56 AM (Zb5iS)

225 There's a terrific sequence in Goldman's Marathon Man where Scylla (the Roy Scheider character in the movie) realizes that two operatives took out their target while the guy was in a men's room stall; his reaction to this is, um, somewhat disapproving.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 11:58 AM (a/4+U)

226 Something I've done with old books I wanted a hard copy of, which isn't terribly expensive but kind of a hassle, is download a pdf, format it, then have it printed/bound by lulu.
I've never down that with anything in copyright or anything anyone cared about, and if you're not reselling lulu doesn't care, so no harm no foul and you get a brand-new personal copy.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:00 PM (43xH1)

227 310
A premise for a novel I'd read in a New York minute. The president is disabled and removed via the 25th Amendment. He gets better and wants to re-assume office. The VP and cabinet say, "Not on your nelly."
=======
I vaguely remember reading a novel (in Reader's Digest condensed version) from the Sixties(?) where a President is blinded by a bomb at a detente summit. (The bomb was meant for his USSR counterpart.) the President attempts to demonstrate that being handicapped doesn't affect his job performance, in the face of great opposition, and personal betrayal. Wish I could remember the title now.

Posted by: exdem13 at November 05, 2023 12:00 PM (W+kMI)

228 Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:54 PM (43xH1)

Working at a grocery store is where I came to *really* appreciate the difference between Christmas carols and Christmas songs. I still love carols and, almost 30 years later, still can only bear songs in *very* small doses.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 05, 2023 12:00 PM (nC+QA)

229 1910 Fruit Gum Co. for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkxAf6RxC-g
Posted by: BignJames'

There is no way in Hell I'm clicking on that link.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:00 PM (43xH1)

230 WE HAZ A NOOD

Posted by: Skip at November 05, 2023 12:01 PM (fwDg9)

231 310
A premise for a novel I'd read in a New York minute. The president is disabled and removed via the 25th Amendment. He gets better and wants to re-assume office. The VP and cabinet say, "Not on your nelly."
=======
I vaguely remember reading a novel (in Reader's Digest condensed version) from the Sixties(?) where the President is blinded by a bomb at a detente summit. (The bomb was meant for his USSR counterpart.) the President attempts to demonstrate that being handicapped doesn't affect his job performance, in the face of great opposition, and personal betrayal. Wish I could remember the title now.

Posted by: exdem13 at November 05, 2023 12:01 PM (W+kMI)

232 1910 Fruit Gum Co. for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkxAf6RxC-g
Posted by: BignJames

No way in Hell I'm clicking that link.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:01 PM (43xH1)

233 The saddest part of Sunday morning again, the end of the Book Thread. Thanks, Perfessor.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 05, 2023 12:03 PM (Angsy)

234 And now, Poetry Corner with Jon Lovitz.

Jon Lovitz
@realjonlovitz
From the river to the sea,
Israel will always be!
No matter what you say,
Israel is here to stay!!!

Stick that up your ass, Hamas lovers!!!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With Pumpkin Spice! at November 05, 2023 12:03 PM (FVME7)

235 Harkaway mentioned up thread:

I've really enjoyed Nick Harkaway's books.

He comes up with a very unique idea and then builds a whole world around it. His character development is vey sophisticated.

I don't think you have to be a sci-fi guy to get into him but it doesn't hurt.

I would say don't read Gnomen first if you want to check him out. It's really very different from his others but stands alone in the level of mind-bending.

Posted by: pawn at November 05, 2023 12:04 PM (QB+5g)

236
Captains Courageous had to kill Manuel .

There goes the hurdy gurdy man.

Posted by: Donovan at November 05, 2023 12:04 PM (63Dwl)

237 There's a terrific sequence in Goldman's Marathon Man where Scylla (the Roy Scheider character in the movie) realizes that two operatives took out their target while the guy was in a men's room stall; his reaction to this is, um, somewhat disapproving.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 11:58 AM (a/4+U)

Eh, if your job assignment is to murder some poor schlub, why would you wait until he was in a good position to defend himself? Business is business.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at November 05, 2023 12:04 PM (5LuQg)

238 There's a terrific sequence in Goldman's Marathon Man where Scylla (the Roy Scheider character in the movie) realizes that two operatives took out their target while the guy was in a men's room stall; his reaction to this is, um, somewhat disapproving.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 11:58 AM (a/4+U)

And there's also the cowardly lawyer trying to hide from the T Rex in the port-a-potty in "Jurassic Park."

Posted by: Wethal at November 05, 2023 12:04 PM (NufIr)

239 With natural functions, much like reloading guns, in my writing I just figure any intelligent person can assume these things occur without having to spell it out.
I've reached a point where I mostly just don't care about obsessive technical points in fictional work. I know they're highlights for a lot of readers/consumers but it bores me to death to write about them.
"The Turkish irregular fondled his prized Winchester carbine, a veteran of Plevna, in .44 Henry Flat Rimfire, serial number 128,632 with Arabic inscription on the brass frame perpendicular to the wrist of the butt stock. He laid it across the saddle pommel and..."

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:06 PM (43xH1)

240 And there's also the cowardly lawyer trying to hide from the T Rex in the port-a-potty in "Jurassic Park."
Posted by: Wethal at November 05, 2023 12:04 PM (NufIr)

Mmmm! Crunchy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside!

Posted by: a T. Rex at November 05, 2023 12:07 PM (5LuQg)

241 I find this to be a problem in most books. Characters tend to go for a very long time without food, sleep or bathroom breaks.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 11:24 AM (t/2Uw)

Did anyone ever see a sign for the Head on the Enterprise?
And is flushing in space as difficult as from a submarine?

Posted by: Diogenes at November 05, 2023 12:10 PM (uSHSS)

242 African or European saddle pommel?

Posted by: Monty Python at November 05, 2023 12:10 PM (vaEwX)

243 And there's also the cowardly lawyer trying to hide from the T Rex in the port-a-potty in "Jurassic Park."
Posted by: Wethal at November 05, 2023 12:04 PM (NufIr)

Mmmm! Crunchy on the outside, soft and tender on the inside!
Posted by: a T. Rex'

Objection, prejudicial, running from a T. Rex is not cowardly.

Posted by: LenNeal objects! at November 05, 2023 12:10 PM (43xH1)

244 Well, time to go meet the day, which now has daylight in it, an added bonus.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at November 05, 2023 12:10 PM (5LuQg)

245 Ahh.
We were wondering where you had gone?
Posted by: Diogenes at November 05, 2023

I was in the shower. Range day today.🤠

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 12:12 PM (t/2Uw)

246 My issue with a Kindle book on the Samsung app anyway is finding a exact page ( unknown) in a reference book. A novel isn't a issue so get those but for instance have a book on Russian Napoleonic officers and finding a certain officer to see other information is not easy.

Posted by: Skip at November 05, 2023 12:12 PM (fwDg9)

247 And is flushing in space as difficult as from a submarine?

Posted by: Diogenes at November 05, 2023 12:10 PM (uSHSS)

A bubblehead once told me of a tampon clog, and the procedure to clear it.

Posted by: BignJames at November 05, 2023 12:12 PM (AwYPR)

248 Nood.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at November 05, 2023 12:13 PM (PiwSw)

249 Number One, assemble an Away Team and I will meet you in the transporter room. I have to drop a deuce first.

Posted by: Diogenes at November 05, 2023 12:13 PM (uSHSS)

250 African or European saddle pommel?
Posted by: Monty Python'

Turkish, specific form with high, decorated pommel and tombak stirrups. So... Asian, actually.

You should have caught the trap: there were no 1866 carbines at Plevna, rather muskets. The gun is cut-down.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:14 PM (43xH1)

251
Annoyance: buying a book that looks interesting, coming home, and seeing a copy already in your book case.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at November 05, 2023 12:15 PM (MoZTd)

252 Music.(technically) rather than books but although I had heard the name I never paid any attention to Taylor Swift until recently and had no idea how financially successful she was. As Madonna was not so much a musical expert as she was a genius at marketing herself as The Naughty Girl, Swift seems to have genius as marketing herself as The Basic Girl. Everything about her seems carefully calculated to be Normal. Pretty but not too hot, dancy pop music that is never extreme or edgy (women's clothes store music), songs apparently about how men don't live up to her emotional standards... she's apparently another marketing genius

Posted by: Azjaeger at November 05, 2023 12:15 PM (3/XaG)

253 A bubblehead once told me of a tampon clog, and the procedure to clear it.
Posted by: BignJames'

Okay, THAT got me. Someone actually tried to flush a tampon in a submarine??!!! I've rodded many drains where women did that and I would have whoever did it shot out of a torpedo tube.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:17 PM (43xH1)

254 Annoyance: buying a book that looks interesting, coming home, and seeing a copy already in your book case.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

Alternatively: fail to note the duplicate book and read some number pages to find yourself anticipating the next page.
Doh, you bought a book you've read *and* remember.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 05, 2023 12:17 PM (C5fiz)

255 To go boldly where no man has gone before!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Now With Pumpkin Spice! at November 05, 2023 12:17 PM (FVME7)

256 Did anyone ever see a sign for the Head on the Enterprise?
And is flushing in space as difficult as from a submarine?

That's where they get the material for the converter. They try not to think about that.

Posted by: Azjaeger at November 05, 2023 12:18 PM (3/XaG)

257 My favorite shape shifting scene is when Blacula enters an alley, turns into a bat, and flies away and some drunk black guy sees him and just says "sheee-itt!!!"

Posted by: Tom Servo at November 05, 2023 11:38 AM (S6gqv)

A chicken! A black chicken!

Posted by: Black Family in Love at First Bite at November 05, 2023 12:19 PM (Angsy)

258 dancy pop music that is never extreme or edgy (women's clothes store music), songs apparently about how men don't live up to her emotional standards... she's apparently another marketing genius
Posted by: Azjaeger'

Numerous pissy curmudgeons here have boasted of their ignorance of TS and brag they've 'never heard any of her songs'. Oh, yes you have. If you have been in any store in the last what 20 years I guarantee you have heard many of her songs hundreds of not thousands of times.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:19 PM (43xH1)

259 Currently reading, /F-35-Inside-Story-Lightning-II, super interesting about the changing of long held beliefs in the defense industry.
Just snowed last night so everyone is talking about this: Norwegian Wood: Chopping, Stacking, and Drying Wood the Scandinavian Way

Posted by: Mudshark at November 05, 2023 12:20 PM (aD7sR)

260 Alberta --

"Business is business." True enough. The Marathon Man sequence isn't really about the efficiency of the job getting done, though. It's about Scylla's outrage that "They had wasted a legend with his pants down." The dead man was past his prime and knew it, and Scylla is starting to fear that he's on the downhill slide himself.

Goldman kills off a bit player who maybe shouldn't be all that sympathetic a character, but is, and the sequence shows us a vulnerability and fear in one of the book's key players. A terrific sequence that unfortunately never made it into the finished movie. The book is, for me anyway, one of the best thrillers of the 70s and it's much better than the film.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 12:20 PM (a/4+U)

261 When I'm done with the Amos Walker novel, I have a Lawrence Block paperback original from 1961, reissued by Hard Case Crime in 2009: Killing Castro.

Once that's gone, well, it might be the weekend and time for a new trip to the library on Saturday morning!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 05, 2023 12:20 PM (omVj0)

262
Suggestions needed; what do you do for old paperbacks you want to keep but the spine is cracked and the pages starting to fall out. I want to re-read Malachi Martin's The Last Conclave, but replacing my copy is prohibitively expensive.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at November 05, 2023 12:20 PM (MoZTd)

263
Doh, you bought a book you've read *and* remember.
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron

_________

*And* lost the receipt.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at November 05, 2023 12:21 PM (MoZTd)

264 Don't worry Koala, libraries have a 3-day grace period before they charge a fine

Posted by: The Doctor at November 05, 2023 12:23 PM (KeK9z)

265 Suggestions needed; what do you do for old paperbacks you want to keep but the spine is cracked and the pages starting to fall out. I want to re-read Malachi Martin's The Last Conclave, but replacing my copy is prohibitively expensive.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at November 05, 2023 12:20 PM (MoZTd)

That's a great question. I have about half a dozen paperbacks that I have had for years that are in the same condition.

Posted by: Diogenes at November 05, 2023 12:24 PM (uSHSS)

266 Goldman kills off a bit player who maybe shouldn't be all that sympathetic a character, but is, and the sequence shows us a vulnerability and fear in one of the book's key players. A terrific sequence that unfortunately never made it into the finished movie. The book is, for me anyway, one of the best thrillers of the 70s and it's much better than the film.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023

***
Both, though, display Goldman's trademark, the One Line That Changes Everything. Classic example: In his script for Butch Cassidy, Sundance confronts Etta Place in her house at gunpoint and makes her start to undress. We think we're about to witness a rape. Then Etta mutters, "Just once I wish you'd be on time!" -- and everything changes as we realize this is their foreplay.

He does it twice in Marathon Man, I think.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 05, 2023 12:24 PM (omVj0)

267 Numerous pissy curmudgeons here have boasted of their ignorance of TS and brag they've 'never heard any of her songs

That would be me.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at November 05, 2023 12:24 PM (V8he0)

268 Disappeared my last post. I know I posted it. Anyway, thanks for the thread, Perfessor.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 05, 2023 12:24 PM (Angsy)

269 If you have been in any store in the last what 20 years I guarantee you have heard many of her songs hundreds of not thousands of times.
Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:19 PM (43xH1)

But does it really count if you have no idea what you are hearing and it's so bland and uninteresting that you don't listen at all?

Posted by: Azjaeger at November 05, 2023 12:25 PM (3/XaG)

270 Doh, you bought a book you've read *and* remember.
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron
_________

*And* lost the receipt.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

What is the 'receipt' you speak of?
"Do you want a receipt?"
"no".
Doh!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 05, 2023 12:25 PM (C5fiz)

271
TS performs what I call five-minute music. That is, five minutes after listening to it, you can't remember a thing about it.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at November 05, 2023 12:25 PM (MoZTd)

272 I store my Lucifer's Hammer in a quart-size freezer bag but leave the top open. Maintains the book-shape so I can still store it on a shelf.

Posted by: Wenda at November 05, 2023 12:25 PM (Tji/p)

273 Numerous pissy curmudgeons here have boasted of their ignorance of TS and brag they've 'never heard any of her songs

That would be me.

Posted by: Notorious BFD at November 05, 2023 12:24 PM (V8he0)

Who?

Posted by: BignJames at November 05, 2023 12:26 PM (AwYPR)

274 Numerous pissy curmudgeons here have boasted of their ignorance of TS and brag they've 'never heard any of her songs

That would be me.
Posted by: Notorious BFD

Go shopping in a store?
Nope not in the last 20 years, at least.
Pop radio? You jest!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at November 05, 2023 12:26 PM (C5fiz)

275 Suggestions needed; what do you do for old paperbacks you want to keep but the spine is cracked and the pages starting to fall out. I want to re-read Malachi Martin's The Last Conclave, but replacing my copy is prohibitively expensive.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at November 05, 2023 12:20 PM (MoZTd)

There are lots of YouTube channels about bookbinding, and a few about rebinding damaged books. I usually do sewn bindings, but there are tutorials on glued bindings. Which is probably what you need.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 05, 2023 12:27 PM (nC+QA)

276 Could have added, though mentioned in past weeks probably that Silmarillion was recently rediscovered in my parents cubby hole in the attic from my 20s. Probably got it when first read the Tolkien Hobbit and Trilogy and then bought this but didn't get far in it I remember. Since read all again in my 40s but lost Silmarillion until a month ago.

Posted by: Skip at November 05, 2023 12:27 PM (fwDg9)

277 I want to re-read Malachi Martin's The Last Conclave, but replacing my copy is prohibitively expensive.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh'

Well, a couple of ways. The only real way to do it is to remove the paper spine, which can be done with a paper guillotine or clamping the book together and even sanding the spine off. Then coat the now-non-bound pages with bookbinding glue. That can be covered with bookbinding tape.
Obviously it ruins the 'collectability' of the book but if it's really brittle and gone that won't matter much. There are YT videos that can show you.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:27 PM (43xH1)

278 19 Reading this week? Revisiting some of the articles included in the six-volume set of Roger Zelazny's collected stories (all now available in print and ebook from NESFA Press, Amazon, etc, and worth every dime) and also revisiting interviews with J. G. Ballard, whose stuff often goes right by me but appeals somehow.
======
Zelazny had some truly excellent short stories, and some that were not so short but still excellent anyways. Too many to completely list here, but I'm still a fan.

Posted by: exdem13 at November 05, 2023 12:27 PM (W+kMI)

279 TS performs what I call five-minute music. That is, five minutes after listening to it, you can't remember a thing about it.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at November 05, 2023 12:25 PM (MoZTd)

The same could be said for Cher. Listen to her first hit and then her last hit. Sounds exactly the same.

Shenia Twain is similar but at least she looks good.

Posted by: Diogenes at November 05, 2023 12:28 PM (uSHSS)

280 But does it really count if you have no idea what you are hearing and it's so bland and uninteresting that you don't listen at all?
Posted by: Azjaeger'

She gets her cut whether you remember it or not, and that was the point of the original post.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:28 PM (43xH1)

281 TS performs what I call five-minute music. That is, five minutes after listening to it, you can't remember a thing about it.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at November 05, 2023

***
Here first two singles, which aired on country stations, were pretty darn good. One called "Our Song" lists the elements in her relationship with her boyfriend which constitute a kind of song; and the one (I've forgotten the actual title) in which her persona is that of the quiet nerdy girl pining after the guy involved with the flashy cheerleader. "You Should Be With Me" or something like that?

Taylor took off after those songs, I think, moved away from country, and I no longer have any idea about her stuff. But those two were pretty good.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 05, 2023 12:29 PM (omVj0)

282 Goldman can be sneaky that way. In Marathon Man, he begins with alternating chapters for Babe the grad student, and Scylla the super-spy. Seemingly unrelated, but when he brings them together in the book it knocks you out of your chair. Impossible to do it that way in the movie.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 12:29 PM (a/4+U)

283 As far as the 3rd picture goes, if it's George R. R. Martin it's the latter. The whole Game of Thrones series is a horrible jumble of mishmashed tales with no effort to develop any of them into a centralized story. There is no respect for the reader as main characters being killed off for no good reason after the reader has spent hours and hours following them to an unsuccessful conclusion (usually death or catastrophic maiming). I gave up in disgust years ago on this stupid series. Martin is VASTLY overrated.

Posted by: The Guy at November 05, 2023 12:30 PM (4cEdi)

284 252 There is a tape made for book binding. It's a sturdy cloth tape. Do a search on book binding or book repair.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at November 05, 2023 12:30 PM (MeG8a)

285 Numerous pissy curmudgeons here have boasted of their ignorance of TS and brag they've 'never heard any of her songs ---

That's like saying you've never heard of Kanye West or Kim Kardashian even though you've never listened to a song or watched the reality program.

Posted by: Drive by at November 05, 2023 12:30 PM (+EGzv)

286 Goldman can be sneaky that way. In Marathon Man, he begins with alternating chapters for Babe the grad student, and Scylla the super-spy. Seemingly unrelated, but when he brings them together in the book it knocks you out of your chair. Impossible to do it that way in the movie.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023

***
True, and Goldman understood that when he wrote the script. A film script is different from a printed novel; that's just the way it is.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 05, 2023 12:32 PM (omVj0)

287 Point taken but was referring to more modern works where chase sequences often go on for days.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 11:39 AM (t/2Uw)

Well, the stuff I pretend to write will use a bathroom, but only for taking a shower and cleaning up. I don't want to see anyone pooping and I don't think readers do either. You'd just assume they'd use a toilet when they need to. Unless you want to make a plot point out of a bathroom break.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 05, 2023 12:32 PM (Angsy)

288 Have heard of Swift, West, Kardashian, etc, but to my knowledge have never heard any of their stuff or seen the program.

For a nice riff on that kind of thing, check out Joseph Epstein's essay "Nicely Out of It."

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 12:33 PM (a/4+U)

289 My workplace at night plays '70s Rock Classics. This has resulted in my being unable to tolerate listening to a multitude of otherwise excellent bands that people here adore, from overexposure over many years.
If I NEVER hear another Allman Brothers song it will not bother me in the slightest. I can no longer listen to any Eric Clapton anything. Many 1970s 'guitar rock bands' are now dead to me from sheer repetition and overexposure.
T. Swift does not bother me as they are literally instantly forgettable.
The best shifts are when the feed goes out and there is no music at all. Those are wonderful.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:33 PM (43xH1)

290 A lot of modern fantasy writers don't do much for me.
Posted by: JTB at November 05, 2023 11:12 AM (7EjX1)

I really liked them. Except for the Tigana trilogy, there's not much magic, more alternate history.
But I read them before the culture got so polarized - didnt read with any proto-wokeness radar at the time.

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 05, 2023 12:33 PM (vHIgi)

291 Numerous pissy curmudgeons here have boasted of their ignorance of TS and brag they've 'never heard any of her songs ---

That's like saying you've never heard of Kanye West or Kim Kardashian even though you've never listened to a song or watched the reality program.

>>>>Posted by: Drive by at November 05, 2023 12:30 PM (+EGzv)

Or maybe some of us aren't fixated on modern and dissolute culture and are content not to be wannabe teenagers.

Posted by: test field at November 05, 2023 12:33 PM (FBntW)

292
Here first two singles, which aired on country stations, were pretty darn good.

____________

Agreed as to those two songs, but the memorability factor plummets after them.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at November 05, 2023 12:34 PM (MoZTd)

293 Or maybe some of us aren't fixated on modern and dissolute culture and are content not to be wannabe teenagers.
Posted by: test field at November 05, 2023 12:33 PM (FBntW)

I you don't have to be. It's ubiquitous information that you'd have to be a semi hermit not to know about.

Posted by: Drive by at November 05, 2023 12:36 PM (+EGzv)

294 Numerous pissy curmudgeons here have boasted of their ignorance of TS and brag they've 'never heard any of her songs'.

Who you calling a curmudgeon you little scamp!!??
*turns up volume on Three Dog Night CD*
And git off my lawn!

Posted by: Diogenes at November 05, 2023 12:36 PM (uSHSS)

295 I could see throwing in a poop scene for a couple of reasons:

1. To highlight the realistic details of something we tend to ignore in fiction. "We've been ridin' after them bushwhackers for two days and I gotta take a shit now!"

2. If the event is significant. "He saw blood, far too much blood."

3. Amusing real-life detail -- Frank Borman's determination to wait until he got back from the Moon because the in-flight "relief system" was so nasty to use.

Posted by: Trimegistus at November 05, 2023 12:37 PM (78a2H)

296 There are lots of YouTube channels about bookbinding, and a few about rebinding damaged books. I usually do sewn bindings, but there are tutorials on glued bindings. Which is probably what you need.
Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 05, 2023 12:27 PM (nC+QA)

Oh, man, I have fallen down the book-binding rabbit hole numerous times. To the point where I've seriously considered creating some custom-bound-sewn-binding books. But that's a lot of work (with supplies I don't have), so I usually end up going outside and hiking/biking/walking until the urge subsides.

Those videos have also gotten me to look closer at the books that I buy, and become angry when a hardcover book has glued binding instead of sewn binding...

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 05, 2023 12:37 PM (Lhaco)

297 A lot of modern fantasy writers don't do much for me.
Posted by: JTB at November 05, 2023

***
Me either, and I write the stuff (or try to). Pick up a random fantasy volume at the bookstore, and it's "Book Seven of the Fishbugger Chronicles" or "Book Nine of The Way to Krugerrand." And many I've actually opened seem to start with someone, usually female, in a tower, remembering the good old days when King Arglebargle ruled the land. Not very exciting.

I don't normally write about lords and ladies; I write about ex-soldiers, prostitutes, and the like.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 05, 2023 12:38 PM (omVj0)

298 Andrea True > Tay Tay

Posted by: Hairyback Guy at November 05, 2023 12:38 PM (R/m4+)

299 Some Moron needs to write a book about a weresloth. When life begins to get too tedious, he just weres into a sloth, and hangs in a tree doing nothing.

AOP, I could write that book but it would be short.😏

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 12:39 PM (t/2Uw)

300 Also since working at a supermarket, it's impossible for me to 'not know' whatever is the current stupid thing as whoever/whatever it is, is plastered all over every magazine cover by the checkouts.
A while back I asked The Kid what she thought of the whole Harry/Meghan business and she asked in total honesty, "WHO?"

At which point I realized I get way too much of my news from supermarket tabloids. Hazard of the job.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:40 PM (43xH1)

301 Zelensky invites Trump to Ukraine.

Posted by: It's happening at November 05, 2023 12:40 PM (VLqtF)

302 Last week I promised a more in depth review of John Van Stry's new book, "Serendipity", the first book in his new Ghost Warrior series.

This one's different and it takes place about three or four human generations (about a century) after his "Days of Future Past" trilogy where mankind really messed themselves up with a large war, but then came back and a lot of the older gods took pity on the remnants of humanity, and came back to guide them more actively.

This is probably why Coyote shows up to offer advice and give direction to our protagonist, because there is a great need. (There's a very satisfying result of one of those nudges, you'll recognize it when it happens.)

The Navajo all seem to understand what it means when Coyote takes an active interest in your life, and while they all respect that deeply, it's also amusing to see them almost to a man have a reaction of, "Ah, we're sorry." Apparently once Coyote takes an interest, he never really stops, so your life isn't really yours.

There's more, but... spoilers. Enjoyable book, there will probably be a series of 3 to 5 books in it if I know John. I'll be picking up the sequels. I want to see how this plays out.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at November 05, 2023 12:41 PM (qPw5n)

303 Print and bindings were another element in my move to ebooks. Paperbacks seemed to be falling apart more quickly than they used to, and print sizes seemed to be getting ridiculously small in too many cases. I remember buying one (from Penguin? A Stewart O'Nan title?) -- opened the book and the print was so damned small I knew I wouldn't be able to read more than a couple of pages before suffering terminal eyestrain and put it straight into the donate pile.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 12:42 PM (a/4+U)

304 I found out several years ago that the libraries around here don't charge late fees.

Imagine that.

Posted by: Cybersmythe at November 05, 2023 12:42 PM (iZEhM)

305 Fifth of November Guy!

"Remember, remember,
The fifth of November --"

Think how galling it would be to Fawkes's spirit if he knew that his name and likeness, and the fact that he failed in his Gunpowder Plot, are still mocked even today, 400 years later.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 05, 2023 12:43 PM (omVj0)

306 I use clear gorilla glue and 3" clear gorilla tape. the glue is water activated and wicks into moisture. So I get the pages all lined up and square. Clamp the book and use a damp sponge on the spine until the pages are just damp then with the same sponge work a thin coat of glue in. Let set up a bit and piece together the paper from the spine into the glue. Smoothe to flat. Wait about 4 hours, unclamp and cut a piece of tape. Center the book on it and press the spine into it. Slowly roll each side on making sure no bubbles. I sometimes do the whole cover with the tape. Most of my Heinlien collection is done this way.

Posted by: Reforger at November 05, 2023 12:43 PM (u5Ojf)

307 The best shifts are when the feed goes out and there is no music at all. Those are wonderful.
Posted by: LenNeal

I wonder what would happen to the shoplifting fad if good old Bible revival music was played instead.

Posted by: nurse ratched, otter 841 has a BABY! at November 05, 2023 12:44 PM (yWv01)

308 found out several years ago that the libraries around here don't charge late fees.

Imagine that.
Posted by: Cybersmythe at November 05, 2023 12:42 PM (iZEhM)

are you sure the waiver of a late fee is not based certain class of borrower?

Posted by: Drive by at November 05, 2023 12:44 PM (+EGzv)

309 Well, folk, I've got some chores to do. Thanks to the Perfessor and all of you for another fine Sunday morning in our virtual Book Club!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 05, 2023 12:45 PM (omVj0)

310 Let's see, character deaths that matter in stories I've read.

Gandalf & Aslan, Fellowhip of the Ring and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe respectively. I know both these semi-Messianic figures return to triumph, but their on-screen deaths hit like a ton of bricks.
Boromir. The Two Towers. Boromir repents of being a misled douchebag and failing at the Quest he had accepted. Then he dies, removed from any healing magic or other such convenient devices.
Tom, Treasure Island: Some walk-on sailor tells off Long John Silver, who promptly kills him. The mask drops away, and the heartless, driven pirate chief is revealed in full.
Dally, the Outsiders the genuine hoodlum out of the gang proves to be unable to handle the death of the nicest one, and his lack of coping leads to suicide by cop. It's a small tragedy, but it still is one.

Posted by: exdem13 at November 05, 2023 12:46 PM (W+kMI)

311 I write about ex-soldiers, prostitutes, and the like.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere'

Hm, that's interesting.
My 'characters' are all over the place. Some male, some female, a couple were/are children. No gays or trannies, but if I did a book about historical (Pagan) magic there certainly would be. I have a book that languishes, featuring a black guy in the 1940s that got good traction and then I was unable to get behind it at the time. It's completed and everything, I've just not re-packaged it. More than a few people then were shocked to meet me and find I'm white! They thought I was the author's agent.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:46 PM (43xH1)

312 Not that this is particularly a selling point, but I used a couple of bathroom/pooping scenes in "Wearing the Cat".

However, one, they were used for humor and two, they contributed to the plot.

I think it's important that even humor set pieces have meaning and not just be silly clowning around.

Anyway, they're in WtC if anyone is dying for some of the realities of daily life in your fiction. used in a humorous manner.

Posted by: naturalfake at November 05, 2023 12:46 PM (QzZeQ)

313 Posted by: Castle Guy at November 05, 2023 12:37 PM (Lhaco)

I already had crochet cotton thread and both sharp and tapestry needles so Japanese binding was easy to pick up.

Glued hardbound?! Good reason to be upset. I suspect it's pretty common now though.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 05, 2023 12:47 PM (nC+QA)

314 So I walk away for a minute(um you probably know why) and when I come back, OMG.
I'm sorry. Okay. I will not bring up the subject again.

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 12:47 PM (t/2Uw)

315
I wonder what would happen to the shoplifting fad if good old Bible revival music was played instead.
Posted by: nurse ratched, otter 841 has a BABY!

A number of convenience stores play classical music to discourage the riff-raff hanging out.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at November 05, 2023 12:47 PM (MoZTd)

316 252
Suggestions needed; what do you do for old paperbacks you want to keep but the spine is cracked and the pages starting to fall out. I want to re-read Malachi Martin's The Last Conclave, but replacing my copy is prohibitively expensive.
Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh

===

Those are tough to repair.
How much time are you willing to spend on it?
You could do a full rebind as a hardbound as shown here

youtu.be/NW6-OQ2pUW0

Or you could use acid free glue, wax paper, tight rubber bands and some kind of clamp to keep it spine down as it dries and hope for the best
Demco might have a video, or various libraries - If I see one I'll post it

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 05, 2023 12:47 PM (vHIgi)

317 I use clear gorilla glue and 3" clear gorilla tape. the glue is water activated and wicks into moisture. So I get the pages all lined up and square. Clamp the book and use a damp sponge on the spine until the pages are just damp then with the same sponge work a thin coat of glue in. Let set up a bit and piece together the paper from the spine into the glue. Smoothe to flat. Wait about 4 hours, unclamp and cut a piece of tape. Center the book on it and press the spine into it. Slowly roll each side on making sure no bubbles. I sometimes do the whole cover with the tape. Most of my Heinlien collection is done this way.
Posted by: Reforger

Copied and saved, that's a good and economical way to do it! Thank You!

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:48 PM (43xH1)

318 In romance novels, bathroom scenes generally involve shower sex.
( sorry, I brought it up again.)

Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 12:49 PM (t/2Uw)

319 Copy editors unite!

Posted by: Weak Geek was a newspaper copy editor at November 05, 2023 12:49 PM (5J28T)

320 An acid-free glue is recommended, by the way

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 05, 2023 12:49 PM (vHIgi)

321 I'm currently reading The Coming of the Horseclans, the first novel in a long series of heroic fantasy adventures in a post-Apocalyptic USA that has been transformed into the time of Alexander the Great's Successors. The central figure is a seemingly immortal man who can telepathically speak to animals, and is searching for anyone else who is like him, leaving legends in his wake.

Posted by: exdem13 at November 05, 2023 12:50 PM (W+kMI)

322
A premise for a novel I'd read in a New York minute. The president is disabled and removed via the 25th Amendment. He gets better and wants to re-assume office. The VP and cabinet say, "Not on your nelly."

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at November 05, 2023 12:51 PM (MoZTd)

323 In "Ace in the Hole," the ace who can kill with his gaze follows a guy of similar appearance into the men's restroom at the Atlanta airport. He enters the stall next to his target and slides on his back under the barrier. The target looks down at him, and zap.

The killer fishes out the corpse's wallet from his pants and lea es with his ID, including a press pass to the convention.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 05, 2023 12:52 PM (6Wyms)

324 A lot of new fiction is released in glued hardbound binding

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 05, 2023 12:52 PM (vHIgi)

325 The weird part is that (if memory serves) they call it "perfect binding" when referring to the glued hardbound.

Character deaths that matter -- Don Robertson's novels Mystical Union and Miss Margaret Ridpath and the Dismantling of the Universe really do it for me.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 12:52 PM (a/4+U)

326 JFK and the Unspeakable is on my reading list now. I don't think it'll change my mind, but I'll give it a go. History is a story, after all!

Posted by: exdem13 at November 05, 2023 12:52 PM (W+kMI)

327 I am currently 15 books into the Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/Maturin serial novel....I had read them all as they came out, beginning in approx '73 with the first 3 books, then immediately upon publication thereafter. Right up to the final unfinished manuscript in 2004.
I remembered them as being very good, but have been gobsmacked after returning to the story with the whole stack standing by just HOW good they are.
Sir Francis Chichester called them "The best sea story I have ever read..."(I would never doubt Chichester on ANY assertion nautical in nature)

Richard Snow(NYT Book Review) declared them, "The best historical novel ever written"(not a fan of anything NYT, but in this case? The truth is the truth even if a liar speaks it)

Part of the reason it all rings so "True" is that most of it actually IS. Taken from ships letters, the naval gazettes, log books, contemporary letters and historical documents.The language, politics, social descriptions, scientific understanding, and every line of every ship, movement , battle, design, described is true to the times.(Aubrey is sommat based upon Cochrane, who was also the basis of CS Forresters Horatio Hornblower)

Posted by: birddog at November 05, 2023 12:53 PM (1E8/t)

328 312 The weird part is that (if memory serves) they call it "perfect binding" when referring to the glued hardbound.

***

Because the pages have to be perfectly lined up

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 05, 2023 12:54 PM (vHIgi)

329 I wonder what would happen to the shoplifting fad if good old Bible revival music was played instead.
Posted by: nurse ratched'

I don't know, but if I could time travel I'd go back and murder Mike Brewer and Tom Shipley. After all these years of having to hear their work at least 2X a shift it's what I would immediately do.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:54 PM (43xH1)

330 and the one (I've forgotten the actual title) in which her persona is that of the quiet nerdy girl pining after the guy involved with the flashy cheerleader. "You Should Be With Me" or something like that?

“You Belong To Me”. Stupid. That “nerdy girl” is already possessive.

Lines: “she wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts” So, start wearing short skirts. Problem solved.

“She wears high heels, I wear sneakers” So, wear high heels. Problem solved.

I’m sick to my stomach at knowing this much about that “musician”, that “artist”. And Taylor Swift isn’t even hot.

Posted by: Catch Thirty-Thr33 at November 05, 2023 12:54 PM (7evkP)

331 I wonder what would happen to the shoplifting fad if good old Bible revival music was played instead.
Posted by: nurse ratched'

Also, likely a meeting/party. A good proportion of the night crowd is black so it would probably be a huge hit.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:55 PM (43xH1)

332 Well, suppose I should go try to deal with the so-called real world.

Have a good one, gang.

Thanks for the thread, Perfessor.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 12:56 PM (a/4+U)

333 bathroom scenes generally involve shower sex.
( sorry, I brought it up again.)
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice)'

The shower or the sex?

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:56 PM (43xH1)

334 272 As far as the 3rd picture goes, if it's George R. R. Martin it's the latter. The whole Game of Thrones series is a horrible jumble of mishmashed tales with no effort to develop any of them into a centralized story. There is no respect for the reader as main characters being killed off for no good reason after the reader has spent hours and hours following them to an unsuccessful conclusion (usually death or catastrophic maiming). I gave up in disgust years ago on this stupid series. Martin is VASTLY overrated.
---------------
I want to say you're wrong, but....

Posted by: exdem13 at November 05, 2023 12:56 PM (W+kMI)

335 In romance novels, bathroom scenes generally involve shower sex.
( sorry, I brought it up again.)
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at November 05, 2023 12:49 PM (t/2Uw)

Ahh.
We were wondering where you had gone?

Posted by: Diogenes at November 05, 2023 12:56 PM (uSHSS)

336 Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 05, 2023 12:52 PM (a/4+U)

I was honestly shocked to learn that a "perfect" binding was glued. Perfect by what criteria?

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at November 05, 2023 12:56 PM (nC+QA)

337 In "Ace in the Hole," the ace who can kills with his gaze goes into the bathroom stall next to a guy who looks like him and slides on his back under the barrier. The guy looks down, and zap. The Ace takes the guy's wallet which includes a press pass to the convention.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 05, 2023 12:58 PM (mUik7)

338 I don't know, but if I could time travel I'd go back and murder Mike Brewer and Tom Shipley.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 05, 2023 12:54 PM (43xH1)

1910 Fruit Gum Co. for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkxAf6RxC-g

Posted by: BignJames at November 05, 2023 12:58 PM (AwYPR)

339 Go shopping in a store?
Nope not in the last 20 years, at least.
Pop radio? You jest!

Outside my locked compound? Where all the Americans live?
The horror!

Most Moron thing you'll see all morning, at this point.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at November 05, 2023 12:59 PM (4PZHB)

340 Sorry, all, my first bathroom scene post didn't show, so I rewrote it and tried again.

First draft, second draft.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 05, 2023 01:24 PM (mUik7)

341 Every author has had one of his his/her characters do something completely unexpected, including dying. Leo Tolstoy, in a letter to a friend, wrote, "You'll never guess what my Anna [Karenina] did yesterday. She threw herself under a train!"

Posted by: Nemo at November 05, 2023 02:15 PM (S6ArX)

342 @Grumpy and Recalcitrant

Late joining the book thread today because I just started Book 11 in "Portals" this morning!

Thanks again for the excellent recommendations!
-SLV

Posted by: Shy Lurking Voter at November 05, 2023 02:20 PM (e/Osv)

343 Wolfus: "The Fishbugger Chronicles" would be the perfect title for a fantasy parody.

Posted by: Dr Alice at November 05, 2023 03:02 PM (oFuPp)

344 Footnote to the thread for those who are deploring typos: The reason you see so many is that no publisher bothers to pay for proofreaders any more, and I think they are probably also cutting out copy editors.

When I first started in book publishing in the 1980s, we would hire a proofreader and an outside editor and we would have a total of five people reading a given manuscript; we also had professional typesetters who would go 180 words a minute, and they would also catch things -- and that's why you never saw typos in the old books.

They simply don't pay for the service any more because they don't give a damn: and also, to be fair, because it is a low-margin business.

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Posted by: modifica pdf at November 10, 2023 05:04 PM (TOkBB)

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