Sunday Morning Book Thread - 11-19-2023 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

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?

THANKSGIVING NOTE:

I feel very blessed to be able to do what I do on the Sunday Morning Book Thread. The encouragement from the COBs and Moron Horde is nothing less than exceptional. I could not do this week after week without it. THANK YOU for participating in the Sunday Morning Book Thread! Your own contributions in recommendations, pictures, and creative works of your own is what makes this place (AoSHQ) so special. I am grateful to each and every one of you who reads the Sunday Morning Book Thread. I encourage lurkers to delurk once in a while and post your own thoughts and recommendations on reading, books, or just life in general. Who knows? You might have an opportunity to become a COB yourself someday...

PIC NOTE

Today's pic of the reading room at Boston Public Library comes courtesy of a website that floated up in one of my web browser article feeds. I didn't go looking for it on purpose. "Why We Need Public Libraries Now More than Ever" is your typical woke-Leftist pap about how libraries are essential community centers in many urban areas. Lending out books is only a small part of what libraries do now. Of course the author gratuitously mentions the efforts to censor or ban books without providing any context for why certain books might be considered for removal from a library's shelves. He also neglects to mention how the homeless tend to use library computing centers...

EPIC INSULTS

Every once in a while I come across a passage that fascinates me. Insults tossed from the hero to the villain are particularly interesting because the hero often can deliver them in such a way as to highlight the pathetic nature of the villain they are facing. This usually helps the hero in some way as they get inside the head of the villain. In Jim Butcher's The Olympian Affair, one of the characters (not the main hero) decides to begin a Heel-Face Turn when he realizes that the king whom he serves has sent an honorable man to do a dishonorable task. His "ally" in his quest is a woman who is bonkers insane and is working on behalf of an ancient evil being that drove humanity to seek shelter in the giant citadels known as "Spires." Now she's taken control of a massive superweapon that threatens all of humanity. Colonel Espira is horrified by the uses to which she has already committed this superweapon. At the end of the novel, he's decided that he's had enough of Madame Cavendish's evil plans and delivers the epic insult below, knowing it will most likely result in an excruciating death for him and his men:

"Madame Cavendish," Espira suddenly said in a cold, clear voice, "I find your person repulsive, your actions reprehensible, and your offer selfish, insulting, and in the main unremittingly stupid. Only an idiot would so much as consider extending anything like trust to you, and only a fool would believe in your simplistic blandishments. Moreover, madame, while I am sure your opinion of yourself is very high, I cannot help but think that such an opinion can only be the result of an intense denial of reality so severe that you actually believe you rise to the level of the most debased humanity. I can assure you that a creature of your nature can never aspire to such giddy heights as that of the most pathetic wretch exiled to the surface of the world. You would do me and the rest of the world a great kindness, madame, if you should exit your disgusting, stinking, venomous tank, proceed to the main deck, and hurl yourself over the side of the ship."

The Olympian Affair might as well be retitled Epic Insult: The Novel because insults are a major theme running through the story. Two very significant duels between heroes and villains are arranged as a result of carefully staged insults designed to elicit a specific response. Naturally, the heroes prevail, but they both pay a price for their actions, which may last their entire lives.

Sometimes an epic insult is needed for the hero to buy time or to regain some measure of strength against the villain, especially if the hero is in a weakened position. Insults do wonders for throwing your target off their game. The more personal, the better. Of course, the downside is insults can cause your opponent to do something rash that makes the situation worse. It's always a gamble, but sometimes it's worth it to see the look on their face, even if it's the last thing you see before you die. Spit in their face if you can.

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BOOK SALE BY MORONS

Hans G. Schantz has an open invitation for Moron Authors to join an online book sale for Black Friday. I know there are authors around here who are asking how they can move some books. Well, here's an opportunity for you!

If you're a based author who'd like to sell some based books, join in our Black Friday Based Book Sale.
Offer one or more at $0.99 or free, I'll add it to the list, and we all promote them.
DM's open on Twitter (@aetherczar).
Details below.
https://wiseofheart.substack.com/p/coming-soon-the-big-black-fridaycyber

MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

Due to my Parish's Mass times, I don't get very many opportunities to read the Book Thread "live" anymore. However, I always enjoy it and you're doing a great job! I would like to recommend another book to the Catholic members of the Horde:
St. Austin Press (saintaustinpress.com) reprinted Frederick Knecht's A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture a couple of years ago. This a true facsimile reproduction of the 1930 English edition, and has all illustrations and maps. This commentary was originally intended as a supplementary text for teaching the Roman Catechism (i.e., Catechism of the Council of Trent). Thus, rather than giving an exegesis on every verse of the bible, the commentary on Bible history is used to support and amplify various doctrines of the Catholic Church. Each chapter is fairly short, often a few pages, and divided in 3 parts: Bible passages (sometimes paraphrased), commentary and an application (i.e., a lesson or meditation).
Instead of a conventional index, Knecht's Practical Commentary uses a concordance based on the Apostles' Creed and the Ten Commandments. The writing style is generally clear and direct; however, some of the word forms are archaic (e.g., "Noe" instead of Noah), and English spelling is used. I have numerous Bible commentaries in my personal library, but Knecht's fills a different niche. I highly recommend this book.
The physical characteristics of the book are quite nice. Green cloth-covered boards and sewn binding. The paper is bright white and semi-gloss stock. Amazon does sell this book as a hardcover option for a paperback published by Aeterna Press (be warned: that version is an OCR scan missing the illustrations and concordance). You can apparently buy direct from St. Austin Press if you don't want Bezos to get your money; I didn't have the publisher's information at the time, so I ended up buying from Amazon.
Sincerely,
Retired Buckeye Cop

Comment: I know there is a fairly large contingent of Catholic Morons around here. If you are looking for something to add to your biblical resources, this might be just what you need.

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Got a few chapters into Cannery Row by Steinbeck. Despite Wolfus' good description last week I was surprised. Instead of a single narrative Steinbeck uses short chapters of inner dialogue and painstaking description of the people and area to build an understanding of Cannery Row. I suspect the accumulation of these vignettes will add up to the story. It's different but I like the approach so far even though the overall place isn't jolly. I do appreciate the half cynical and half amusing tone he uses.
Posted by: JTB at November 12, 2023 09:10 AM (7EjX1)

Comment: Authors can sometimes surprise you when they use different narrative devices to tell a story. Steinbeck is a skilled enough writer I'm not surprised he could write in a variety of styles to suit his purposes for the narrative.

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This week I read (most of) The Seedling Stars, a Gollancz "SF Collectors edition" of James Blish's "pantropy" stories pretending to be a novel. The bulk of the book is his novella "Surface Tension" with a couple of sorta-related short stories to explain to the reader about the idea of genetically engineering humans to live on non-Earthlike planets.
Pretty good stuff, especially when Blish sticks to nice crunchy hard-SF worldbuilding about what it would be like for microscopic humans living in shallow ponds on an alien world. When he ventures into social science things get less good. The tyrannical world government in the first story is -- no kidding -- the Port Authority. As in the NY Port Authority. A tyranny of unelected bureaucrats would be great, but that particular bureaucracy just seems snicker-worthy.
Blish knew his biology, but it's all pre-Crick and Watson biology, so instead of genetic engineering it's done by "selective breeding of germ cells" and tinkering during development which somehow gets inherited.
Still, a classic.
Posted by: Trimegistus at November 12, 2023 09:42 AM (78a2H)

Comment: I can't say I've read much, if any, James Blish. I do have his story "Surface Tension" in at least one anthology around here. I should pick it up and read it. One of the challenges of the early science fiction writers was that science kept marching on, often quite rapidly, so it's not surprising that he would get the details wrong in some of his stories simply because science had not advanced far enough yet to reveal the hidden mysteries of the universe. Today's science fiction can get pretty bizarre because some of the extrapolations of today's technology to the far future are very weird indeed.

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My recommendation this week is African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals, by David Hackett Fischer, who is the author of the marvelous book Albion's Seed. The book details the experience of black Americans from the time of the first arrivals in the early 17th century, to the Civil War. His thesis is that black Americans, rather than being the passive recipients of violence by whites, interacted with the broader American society, both as slaves and as free men, and made a real contribution to the fashioning of American culture and polity. It is a rebuke to the "woke" myth of wicked white perpetrators and passive black victims - a myth that is both historically false and condescending to blacks. The author also shows how the presence of enslaved people in America forced Americans to confront the full meaning of those words in the Declaration about all men being equal and having unalienable rights.
African Founders is an important book, deeply researched, well organized, and gracefully written with minimal jargon (and lots of maps). Highly recommended!
Posted by: Nemo at November 12, 2023 10:50 AM (S6ArX)

Comment: It's a shame we don't teach this stuff in schools anymore...African Americans indeed made important and lasting contributions to the fabric of America. They deserve to be recognized and honored for those contributions. But not at the expense of the Europeans who also contributed. Back when America truly was a melting pot, we'd take a little from culture A, add some culture B, and maybe a dash of cultures C and D. The result was a vibrant, powerful idea that all men are indeed created equal, made by God in His image.

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

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WHAT I'VE ACQUIRED THIS PAST WEEK

The local public library had a book sale right before Thanksgiving week. Fortunately, I will be taking off most of next week from work (except Monday), so that means I should have some extra time for reading. I was good this time and only brought home one bag of books:

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams -- I have a paperback version, but I thought I'd upgrade to the hardcover edition for $2.

Hercule Poirot's Casebook by Agatha Christie -- This is a collection of all of the Hercule Poirot mysteries she wrote. Agatha Christie has been highly recommended around here, so again I'll give this a read for the low, low cost of $5.

Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston -- Most everyone here is familiar with Crichton. Richard Preston wrote a rather horrifying book called The Hot Zone documenting the release of a nasty virus similar to Ebola here in the United States.

Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink and Jeffery Cranor -- I'd seen this at Barnes and Noble and had been intrigued, but shied away because I didn't know if I'd like it. For the price I paid for the hardcover edition today ($2.50), I can at least give it a shot.

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein -- I know this has been recommended many times by the Horde, so I figure I should probably read it.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley -- I actually have two other copies, but this is the only one that doesn't have annotations in the margins. The other copies were clearly used in English literature courses.

What the Night Knows by Dean Koontz -- Thought I'd give one of his regular horror/thriller/mystery novels a try. I read Odd Thomas and enjoyed it well enough.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien -- This is the third time I've bought Lord of the Rings. This one is a nice trade paperback edition as a boxed set. It will make a great "reading copy" and my fancier copy can stay on the shelf.

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:

In Conquest Born by C.S. Friedman -- A personal vendetta between sworn enemies threatens the stability of the galaxy. Surprisingly decent book, with lots of intrigue and mad schemes as both sides attempt to out do one another for control of the galaxy. Heavy Star Wars/space opera vibe to it.

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 - 11-12-23 (NOTE: Do NOT comment on old threads!)

Posted by: Open Blogger at 09:00 AM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Here's what I have for this week:

1) Shy Lurking Voter (SLV): If you're here, see comment # 36 from last week's book thread. I suggested the five books from John Van Stry's "Children of Steel" series for you, and gave you the author's suggested reading order.

2) Author Lawdog (Ian McMurtrie) was a guest on Peter Nealen's podcast yesterday, and while I'm not through watching all of it, there's already been a couple of untold Lawdog stories show up.

For those interested: https://youtu.be/caosa59LsWw

3) With any luck, J.L. Curtis (Jim) should have a third book out in his western series, "The Bell Chronicles" by the end of the year. First two were "Showdown on the River" and "Ranching in Colorado". While I don't normally read westerns, these were good enough to have me anxiously awaiting a third entry. (It's a good sign when you actually care about the characters in the story.)

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at November 19, 2023 09:00 AM (qPw5n)

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

Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 09:00 AM (7EjX1)

3 And the nooding duties have been performed.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at November 19, 2023 09:00 AM (qPw5n)

4 Top pic looks like a church. A church of learning. Or, a church of mis/mal/dis information.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 09:02 AM (Angsy)

5 Loved the procrastination display picture.

Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at November 19, 2023 09:03 AM (qPw5n)

6 Tolle Lege
Finished Frederick Forsyth Dogs of War, funny thing was written in 1974 or so I kind of know what a British Pound Sterling was worth yet kept thinking in today's dollars most of us could pay to knock off a African country.
Quite different and better details than the movie which is quite watchable.
Started Douglas Adam's The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Posted by: Skip at November 19, 2023 09:04 AM (fwDg9)

7 Back to "Ace in the Hole" and the realization that the Wild Cards universe is nasty. At the 1988 Democratic National Convention, we have political chicanery, two assassins (one of whom really enjoys his work), a forced miscarriage, a redemption quest, and weaponized sex. Because this is an alternate history, the Rever-end *mh-hmm* Jackson appears in a couple of scenes, the names Dukakis and Gore are dropped, and the name Reagan is drop-kicked, as befits good little liberal writers.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 09:05 AM (p/isN)

8 Hercule Poirot's Casebook by Agatha Christie -- This is a collection of all of the Hercule Poirot mysteries she wrote. Agatha Christie has been highly recommended around here, so again I'll give this a read for the low, low cost of $5.

Who's the publisher?

Posted by: dantesed at November 19, 2023 09:05 AM (88xKn)

9 5 Loved the procrastination display picture.
Posted by: Grumpy and Recalcitrant at November 19, 2023 09:03 AM (qPw5n)

I don't get it.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, Freelance Proxy for TJM at November 19, 2023 09:06 AM (PiwSw)

10 Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is absolutely one of my favorite books by one of the funniest men alive (formerly). For years I'd throw Adams references into conversations, only to get back an uncomprehending stare.

Tying into insults, one from Adams in Dirk Gently is "Oh, sorry, I didn't recognize him from this picture. I never saw him without his mouth moving".

Posted by: Candidus at November 19, 2023 09:07 AM (oFLDw)

11 "Madame Cavendish," Espira suddenly said in a cold, clear voice, "I find your person repulsive, your actions reprehensible, and your offer selfish, insulting, and in the main unremittingly stupid. Only an idiot would so much as consider extending anything like trust to you, and only a fool would believe in your simplistic blandishments. Moreover, madame, while I am sure your opinion of yourself is very high, I cannot help but think that such an opinion can only be the result of an intense denial of reality so severe that you actually believe you rise to the level of the most debased humanity. I can assure you that a creature of your nature can never aspire to such giddy heights as that of the most pathetic wretch exiled to the surface of the world. You would do me and the rest of the world a great kindness, madame, if you should exit your disgusting, stinking, venomous tank, proceed to the main deck, and hurl yourself over the side of the ship."

This, too, is the Story of Hillary!.

Posted by: naturalfake at November 19, 2023 09:08 AM (QzZeQ)

12 Did the squirrel lose his little Bavarian hat?

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at November 19, 2023 09:08 AM (JrojV)

13 Hercule Poirot's Casebook by Agatha Christie -- This is a collection of all of the Hercule Poirot mysteries she wrote. Agatha Christie has been highly recommended around here, so again I'll give this a read for the low, low cost of $5.

Who's the publisher?
Posted by: dantesed at November 19, 2023 09:05 AM (88xKn)
----
Putnam Adult

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 19, 2023 09:09 AM (BpYfr)

14 Started the new expanded editions of JRR Tolkien letters. Rather expensive but the insight into the man is worth it to me. My older version will go to my nephew and his wife who are both Tolkien fans. With two little boys, 4 and 1 years old, something they can dip into at odd moments might suit them.

Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 09:09 AM (7EjX1)

15 Castle Guy! Read "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." The comic is nothing like the movie. The second miniseries is OK, with just one truly memorable scene. I never read any of the others.

Posted by: Weak Geek almost forgot this recommendation at November 19, 2023 09:09 AM (p/isN)

16 Clever insults are so entertaining. This may be apocryphal, but still very funny.
George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill: "I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play. Bring a friend, if you have one."
Winston Churchill's reply: "Cannot possibly attend first night. Will attend second night, if there is one."

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at November 19, 2023 09:09 AM (d9Cw3)

17 Did the squirrel lose his little Bavarian hat?
Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at November 19, 2023 09:08 AM (JrojV)
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He only wears it when he's pimping Books By Morons.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 19, 2023 09:10 AM (BpYfr)

18 From Mark Twain's "How I Edited an Agricultural Paper":

"Tell you, you cornstalk, you cabbage, you son of a cauliflower? It's the first time I ever heard such an unfeeling remark. I tell you I have been in the editorial business going on fourteen years, and it is the first time I ever heard of a man's having to know anything in order to edit a newspaper. You turnip! Who writes the dramatic critiques for the second-rate papers? Why, a parcel of promoted shoemakers and apprentice apothecaries, who know just as much about good acting as I do about good farming and no more. Who review the books? People who never wrote one. Who do up the heavy leaders on finance? Parties who have had the largest opportunities for knowing nothing about it

Posted by: fd at November 19, 2023 09:10 AM (vFG9F)

19 Picking up on an X thread talking about the libertarian impulses of the tech moguls, it was generally agreed that Heinlein had much, much more impact that Hayek or Friedman. The consensus was 'The Moon is a Harsh Mistress' was the most impactful Heinlein novel for Musk et al, but I think Starship Troopers is much more important.

Posted by: Candidus at November 19, 2023 09:11 AM (oFLDw)

20 Top pic looks like a church. A church of learning. Or, a church of mis/mal/dis information.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 09:02 AM (Angsy)

At first glance, I thought everyone was wearing a green hat.

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 09:12 AM (T4tVD)

21 This week I read Dark Aeon: Transhumanism and the War Against Humanity by Joe Allen. Transhumanism is the merger of humankind with the Machine. It is an out growth of the progress towards AGI (Artificial General Intelligence); part of the fast growing religion, Scientism. As expected it's been embraced by the global elites, the World Economic Forum types.

Allen gives a history of the work being done in AI and how AI can be used to enhance humanity; providing, of course, an intelligence greater than all of collective humanity allows humanity to exist. This is a warning of another aspect of what the global elites have in store for the rest of us. Finally, there is a 55-point plan to stay human.

Posted by: Zoltan at November 19, 2023 09:12 AM (7EvEN)

22 Good Sunday morning, horde!

One of the best literary insults I have ever read was posted in these here gray boxes by Jim Sunk New Dawn. You guys know what I'm talking about: that epic takedown of chemjeff. I have it saved, it was so good.

*trots off to get it from the files

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at November 19, 2023 09:12 AM (OX9vb)

23 Sorry I'm late. They're playing "The Lark Ascending" on my classical station and I'm in a bit of a trance.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 19, 2023 09:12 AM (Jys3L)

24 This week I have been reading The Sleeping Sphinx by John Dickson Carr. Carr is famous for his locked room mysteries, and in this case, the locked room has no other doors or any windows, because it is a mausoleum. Donald Holden has returned from the war, where he was reported as dead to further a secret mission. Now, he has returned to life and returned home, to find his love is suspected of insanity and her sister dead. Was it natural causes or murder, and if murder, who did it? Celia Devereux insists her sister was murdered, and everyone else insists she is crazy, and the evidence to determine the truth is inside a sealed mausoleum. Because of the carefully constructed setting, the entire book keeps the reader on edge. Which characters can be trusted to be telling the truth? Are some lying to protect others, or to hide their own secrets? Fortunately, Dr Gideon Fell has arrived to solve the case. This is the seventeenth in the Gideon Fell series of mysteries, and after reading this one, I am ready to find some more stories by this master of mystery.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at November 19, 2023 09:12 AM (baqtI)

25 17 Ah, I see.

How was your recent time in the Barrel, Perfessor?

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at November 19, 2023 09:13 AM (JrojV)

26 I like libraries that look like cathedrals.

Posted by: G'rump928(c) has got nuthin' at November 19, 2023 09:13 AM (aD39U)

27 Clever insults are so entertaining. This may be apocryphal, but still very funny.
George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill: "I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play. Bring a friend, if you have one."
Winston Churchill's reply: "Cannot possibly attend first night. Will attend second night, if there is one."

Posted by: Buck Throckmorton at November 19, 2023 09:09 AM (d9Cw3)
---
My father gave me an collection of Churchill quotes (mostly insults) some years ago. The man could have killed it at stand-up.

Which is kind of what Parliament was back then.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 09:13 AM (llXky)

28 Booken Morgen horden!

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 19, 2023 09:14 AM (SH3A2)

29 The trouble with libraries as community centers is that the parking slots remain full. Even worse, our closest branch library shares parking space with a municipal tennis complex. More than once I've had to schlep books from the farthest end of the farthest lot.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 09:14 AM (p/isN)

30 I don't think that the pants guy is a guy.

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 09:14 AM (T4tVD)

31 " I don't think that the pants guy is a guy.
Posted by: JT"

I don't see a pronoun.

Posted by: fd at November 19, 2023 09:15 AM (vFG9F)

32 23 “The Lark Ascending” is an amazing piece.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at November 19, 2023 09:15 AM (JrojV)

33 And want to wrap up my notes this morning, the streaming version of Dirk Gently with the Hobbit guy is absolute dreck, and the Paul Verhoeven version of Starship Troopers is designed specifically to subvert Heinlein. 20 years later and I'd still punk-slap Verhoeven if I ever met him.

Posted by: Candidus at November 19, 2023 09:16 AM (oFLDw)

34 I finished Lost Kingdom: The Quest for Empire and the Making of the Russian Nation, by Serhii Plokhy. It's a history of Russia and its eternal quest for an empire.

I have recommended two more of Plokhy's books recently, The Russo-Ukrainian War, and The Gates of Europe, because they provide a strong factual foundation for understanding the current war in Ukraine. While the last two books focus on Ukrainian history and the ongoing conflict, Lost Kingdom emphasizes Russian history, and how Russia has dealt with her neighbors, obviously including Ukraine.

Much of the book is given over to Russia's attempts to colonize and "Russianize" conquered populations in what they call Little Russia (Ukraine) and White Russia (Belarus), by forcing them to use only Russian in the schools, media and government.

One especially interesting tidbit was that Vladimir Lenin favored letting the captive nations go, since he assumed that the future would be decided on a class basis across international borders, rather than nationalism. Stalin didn't like that, then he sort of accepted it, and finally went back to his original view of forcing the nations to become Russian.

Highly recommended.

Posted by: Archimedes at November 19, 2023 09:16 AM (I/Qkd)

35 Madam, you suck!...Go take a long walk off a short gang plank!

Fixed.

Posted by: Ju at November 19, 2023 09:16 AM (aTmM/)

36 I just started on the Aeronaut's Windlass audiobook
The voices are upper-crusty Brit. Seems fun so far

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 19, 2023 09:16 AM (SH3A2)

37 They're playing "The Lark Ascending" on my classical station and I'm in a bit of a trance.
Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 19, 2023 09:12 AM (Jys3L)

Is there a good online Classical music station?

Posted by: dantesed at November 19, 2023 09:17 AM (88xKn)

38 Been reading anything and everything I can find about running/programing robots. Again. Nothing stuck when I did it 2 or so years ago.
President "Hey see what you can do here"
Me, two hours later. "I thought I did but I have no idea what I'm doing. I'll try again Monday"
"Hows Monday going to be different?"
"Probably won't but I'll try anyway"

I may come in to a team of Indians working on it.

Thank you Perfessor for the book thread.

Posted by: Reforger at November 19, 2023 09:18 AM (cRqVW)

39 Insults:

The John Astin movie, "The Brothers O'Toole" has a cussing scene that goes something like the insult excerpt.

https://tinyurl.com/mr2tw9bs

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 09:18 AM (Angsy)

40 I'm working through Lord of the Rings, and the discussion a few weeks back about character death is now germane with Gandalf gone and Boromir about to buy the farm.

One of the reasons Tolkien resonates is that his characters feel real. For all their high-flown language, they act like *people.* This is particularly true of their grief. In too many modern works, characters die and we loot the corpse and move on.

Tolkien is much more sensitive to loss (for good reason). Thus, even though Boromir dies early on in the series, his death continues to resonate because that's how it works in real life. As the Fellowship makes its way south, they bring news of Boromir's death, and everyone knew him, everyone mourns him. The little we saw of him showed him to be proud, brave and ultimately greedy for power. But later on we see that he was a real hero, admired by all who knew him, and so the reader also comes to regret his passing, wishing we got to know him better.

The loss of Theoden is even more poignant, and the details of his burial are deeply moving.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 09:19 AM (llXky)

41 Catechism of the Council of Trent

Every Trent I have met, including the one in Pookette's class, does not have Catholic parents.

Weird.

Posted by: pookysgirl, Protestant mom at November 19, 2023 09:19 AM (dtlDP)

42 Contrast Churchill's insults to the universal "F... you" favored by the current left. That seems to be about the limit of their creativity.

Posted by: Archimedes at November 19, 2023 09:19 AM (I/Qkd)

43 Hercule Poirot's Casebook by Agatha Christie -- This is a collection of all of the Hercule Poirot mysteries she wrote. Agatha Christie has been highly recommended around here, so again I'll give this a read for the low, low cost of $5.

Funny, I just found the same book, and it is on my bedtime reading stack. I find Poirot to be the best Agatha Christie stories, and having watched the entire BBC series, it is interesting to read the short stories in their original format, and to see how they were developed for television.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at November 19, 2023 09:19 AM (baqtI)

44 This week I start my annual reading of LOTR. Our friends and families are away for Thanksgiving so this will be a quiet time to begin. I've already picked out the pipes and tobaccos to smoke while reading. Such touches, along with proper libations, add to the enjoyment.

Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 09:19 AM (7EjX1)

45 I just started on the Aeronaut's Windlass audiobook
The voices are upper-crusty Brit. Seems fun so far
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 19, 2023 09:16 AM (SH3A2)
----
Not surprising considering that Albion society is based on British culture. Seems to have a strong Victorian England vibe, which is found in a lot of steampunk works...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 19, 2023 09:20 AM (BpYfr)

46 The latest collection of Wallace The Brave comic strips came out recently and I'm enjoying them a few strips at a sitting. JackStraw turned me onto them several years ago. For my taste they are about the best comic strips since Calvin and Hobbes.

Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 09:20 AM (7EjX1)

47 Prof, is that every Poirot mystery, or just the short stories? If the former, that's one thick book. I'd think it would be impossible to read comfortably.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 09:20 AM (p/isN)

48 Im almost finished with ""Legends & Lattes", a pleasant, low-key cozy fantasy about a retired orc adventurer who uses her acquired treasure to start her own coffee shop. I was surprised something this frothy was up for a Hugo. Not that "frothy" is a knock; fluff can be charming. But I'm not sure it's Novel of the Year material.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 19, 2023 09:21 AM (Jys3L)

49 I also read The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny & Murder by David Grann. Grann is the author of Killers of the Flower Moon which I liked.

Grann uses ship logs, diaries, and books published by survivors to tell the story of H. M. S. Wager which left England in August, 1740 as part of a small fortilla tasked to rounding Cape Horn and capturing the annual Spanish galleon loaded with Peruvian silver bound for the Philippines. It's and exciting, interesting shipwreck story with many twists and turns that has small groups of survivors returning to England over a period of four years. A good read.

Posted by: Zoltan at November 19, 2023 09:21 AM (7EvEN)

50 Accompanying KTE on a drive today. I will pack a book or three as I expect much waiting around. The candidates are:

Yumi & the Nightmare Painter (around a third of the way into it)
Aeronaut's Windlass (in print)
Starling House
Lord of Spirits (pretty cover)

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 19, 2023 09:22 AM (SH3A2)

51 Shifting gears a bit, Evelyn Waugh also makes death meaningful, though it sometimes happens in an arbitrary fashion, particularly during wartime. Thus, he can make deaths ironic, even funny, but also wrenching.

Both authors take the time to show the burial, which help solidify the loss. I killed a bunch of characters in the Man of Destiny trilogy, some off camera (big war!), but I tried to pause a couple of times to show the pomp and solemnity of a funeral - and how the surviving characters dealt with death.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 09:22 AM (llXky)

52 I had my daughter pick up a copy of "Determined" by Robert Sapolski. Sapolski is a neuroscientist and college professor and the book is supposed to be a scientific refutation of the notion of free will. I got ten pages into it and determined that it's psuedo-science at best, not well written, and is simply a lengthy justification of the author's deep prejudices. The main tactic here is to make a claim that his ideological opponents all believe in a very distorted idea (New research PROVES that George Washington never chopped down a cherry tree!) and that disproving that idea invalidates ALL beliefs held by those opponents. Anyway, spend the $35 USD on gas or Value Rite.

Posted by: Erik In Texas at November 19, 2023 09:22 AM (oEXy7)

53 Here we go: will be two parts:

951 ..So, as you can probably tell, I was not actually banned from this place. I left of my own accord, back in 2016.
Posted by: chemjeff at December 11, 2020 11:49 PM (6xXcT)

No, you didn't "leave of your own accord". Let's set the record straight, there.
Rather, you Flounced Out, being driven off by the countless keyboards of enraged regulars who were well and truly sick of your shit and sick of your schtick.

And you now return, post-election, voicing the exact same rhetorical dodges, dives and what is in YOUR mind, "Socratic Questioning".

In. Your. Mind.

In our minds, in our ears, on our screens?

Same old bullshit, ever as before.

Go burn a steak, asshole.
...

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at November 19, 2023 09:23 AM (OX9vb)

54 BBC ruined Dirk Gently for me. Turned him into a fagot.
Same shit tongued wackjob that ruined Dr Who is responsable.

Posted by: Reforger at November 19, 2023 09:23 AM (cRqVW)

55 cont
...But you're the only "man" I've ever brought to the line, who SCREAMED LIKE A GIRL, at the first shot from a Browning Buckmark .22 LR.

That's a fact, and you know it.
Go scream like a girl, somewhere else, while you burn your fucking steak.
Fucking Professariot Psuedo-Commie (socialist) Elitist "expert-class" towering tub of non-accomplishment. Publish or Perish, while your Chemical Betters work in the actual industry of producing compounds, polymers, matrixes and formulations which improve the lives of us all.

You're not fit to stand under Rhomboid's shadow.

And you but stand before a herd of unknowing undergrads, and postulate. IF that is, you're not having a Teaching Assistant do that bit for you.

Office Hours? Yeah. That's when you lecture the poor white male students about their privilege, and such.

Go find another, different herd who you think "suckers".
We're wise TO you here, and weary OF you.
Begone, real-life-troll.

Begone.

Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston TX

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at November 19, 2023 09:24 AM (OX9vb)

56 Prof, is that every Poirot mystery, or just the short stories? If the former, that's one thick book. I'd think it would be impossible to read comfortably.
Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 09:20 AM (p/isN)
---
Just the short stories, I think, with a novella or two.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 19, 2023 09:24 AM (BpYfr)

57 As for insults, Jermah Macro in the Man of Destiny series is my insult artist. He's there to offer running commentary on all the other characters, usually behind their backs, but there are a couple of scenes when he trashes people to their face.

He was supposed to be killed in the initial outline, but I couldn't do it. He was just too much fun, and I realized he served a necessary purpose in keeping the story from turning too dark.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 09:26 AM (llXky)

58 Do folks here have a winter reading list? The forecasts for our area predict more snow and ice than usual. I'm very careful about falling these days so except for shoveling the drive and walkways and a spot for the puppy's business we prepare to be voluntarily housebound as needed. Books on hand, not buried, is part of the prep. Deciding on which books to include is both fun and frustrating.

Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 09:26 AM (7EjX1)

59 Contrast Churchill's insults to the universal "F... you" favored by the current left. That seems to be about the limit of their creativity.
Posted by: Archimedes at November 19, 2023 09:19 AM (I/Qkd)

You can see that in perusing the AoS threads. All the things we reference, and the asides, in the comment section, are so far beyond what leftists write, it's like comparing the civilized man to the barbarian.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 09:26 AM (Angsy)

60 I had my daughter pick up a copy of "Determined" by Robert Sapolski. Sapolski is a neuroscientist and college professor and the book is supposed to be a scientific refutation of the notion of free will. I got ten pages into it and determined that it's psuedo-science at best, not well written, and is simply a lengthy justification of the author's deep prejudices. The main tactic here is to make a claim that his ideological opponents all believe in a very distorted idea (New research PROVES that George Washington never chopped down a cherry tree!) and that disproving that idea invalidates ALL beliefs held by those opponents. Anyway, spend the $35 USD on gas or Value Rite.
Interesting. I was contemplating buying that book.

Posted by: Archimedes at November 19, 2023 09:26 AM (I/Qkd)

61 Is there a good online Classical music station?
Posted by: dantesed at November 19, 2023 09:17 AM (88xKn)
----

I like KUSC.org . It's 24/7 classical (unlike my Detroit station that goes to jazz in the evening). It's a good mix of old and contemporary classical music, and as befits a Southern California outfit, it also features movie music and even compositions for computer games.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 19, 2023 09:26 AM (Jys3L)

62 In Conquest Born by C.S. Friedman

***

She's one of my longtime faves. The Coldfire trilogy especially.

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 19, 2023 09:27 AM (SH3A2)

63 I have a buddy who's expert insulting someone without them knowing it.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at November 19, 2023 09:28 AM (RIvkX)

64 Deciding on which books to include is both fun and frustrating.
Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 09:26 AM (7EjX1)

What genres are your favorites?

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 19, 2023 09:28 AM (SH3A2)

65 Do folks here have a winter reading list? The forecasts for our area predict more snow and ice than usual. I'm very careful about falling these days so except for shoveling the drive and walkways and a spot for the puppy's business we prepare to be voluntarily housebound as needed. Books on hand, not buried, is part of the prep. Deciding on which books to include is both fun and frustrating.
Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 09:26 AM (7EjX1)
----
Here's a handy link!

https://www.libib.com/u/perfessorsquirrel/l/1384512

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 19, 2023 09:28 AM (BpYfr)

66 #6 Thought I might want something humorous for next couple days to read

Posted by: Skip at November 19, 2023 09:29 AM (fwDg9)

67 I enjoyed "The Wager" a lot, if one can enjoy a tale of scurvy, starvation, and violence.

Oh who am I trying to kid, that's right up my alley.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 19, 2023 09:30 AM (Jys3L)

68 Not that "frothy" is a knock; fluff can be charming. But I'm not sure it's Novel of the Year material.
Posted by: All Hail Eris

Guessing it's a " who you know " nomination

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 19, 2023 09:30 AM (SH3A2)

69 And want to wrap up my notes this morning, the streaming version of Dirk Gently with the Hobbit guy is absolute dreck, and the Paul Verhoeven version of Starship Troopers is designed specifically to subvert Heinlein. 20 years later and I'd still punk-slap Verhoeven if I ever met him.

Posted by: Candidus at November 19, 2023 09:16 AM (oFLDw)
---
And yet Verhoeven failed, as even he admits. When Oberubergruppenfuhrer Doogie Howser pronounces the queen afraid, the audience in the theater exploded into cheers.

They loved Nazi Doogie.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 09:30 AM (llXky)

70 Not that "frothy" is a knock; fluff can be charming. But I'm not sure it's Novel of the Year material.
Posted by: All Hail Eris

Guessing it's a " who you know " nomination
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 19, 2023 09:30 AM (SH3A2)

Well, he IS on First !

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 09:31 AM (T4tVD)

71 60 Do folks here have a winter reading list? T
Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 09:26 AM (7EjX1)

My TBR list is so extensive, I don't need a separate one for different seasons. I'll die before I read everything that's come to my attention so far.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at November 19, 2023 09:31 AM (OX9vb)

72 My latest novel just went live on Kindle last night - That Fateful Lightning is available for advance orders, with a release date of 1 December! (Print version to follow soon after.)
https://tinyurl.com/yszm7b85
Sarah Hoyt's "Cover Girls" tiny graphic bidness did the cover for me, and I think it looks just like I visualized the heroine.

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at November 19, 2023 09:32 AM (xnmPy)

73 67 Do folks here have a winter reading list?

No. I don't catalog my towering stacks beyond read, unread and donate back to goodwill.

Posted by: Reforger at November 19, 2023 09:32 AM (cRqVW)

74 @32 A nice companion piece to Lark Ascending is Flos Campi, much less frequently performed. Each of its sections is captioned by a line from The Song of Songs, including the one Ernie Harwell used to read on opening day.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at November 19, 2023 09:34 AM (4PZHB)

75 Do folks here have a winter reading list? The forecasts for our area predict more snow and ice than usual. I'm very careful about falling these days so except for shoveling the drive and walkways and a spot for the puppy's business we prepare to be voluntarily housebound as needed. Books on hand, not buried, is part of the prep. Deciding on which books to include is both fun and frustrating.
Posted by: JTB

I don't necessarily have a winter reading list, but I do have a tradition of reading Stone's Fall by Iain Pears every year during the holidays. I found it a few years ago, and recommended it here. It is such a fantastic and complex story that it can be read many times. It is also around 600 pages, so it fills up the time when the days are short. My review is in the professor's database above.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at November 19, 2023 09:34 AM (baqtI)

76 This week I recieved an unexpected package in the mail: the hardcover of the latest J.R.R. Tolkien compilation: The Fall of Numenor. Christopher's heir is continuing his practice of releasing the great man's works in consolidated form, and this one features new art of Alan Lee.

My father must have a saved search for Tolkien, because every time one comes out, I get a copy. Our interests don't overlap much and our politics are at loggerheads, but he knows I love Professor T, and has been supplying my needs for most of my 29 years. What a guy!

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 09:35 AM (llXky)

77 My latest novel just went live on Kindle last night - That Fateful Lightning is available for advance orders, with a release date of 1 December! (Print version to follow soon after.)
https://tinyurl.com/yszm7b85
Sarah Hoyt's "Cover Girls" tiny graphic bidness did the cover for me, and I think it looks just like I visualized the heroine.
Posted by: Sgt. Mom at November 19, 2023 09:32 AM (xnmPy)
-----
Please let me know when you want it to be shared on the Sunday Morning Book Thread!

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 19, 2023 09:36 AM (BpYfr)

78 23 ... "They're playing "The Lark Ascending" on my classical station and I'm in a bit of a trance."

Dammit All Hail Eris. Now I have to find one of my Ralph Vaughn Williams CDs. Lark Ascending, Fantasia on Greensleeves, etc. As if I didn't have enough to do.

Thanks for mentioning that.

Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 09:37 AM (7EjX1)

79 Although "Drag Queen Story Hour" is obviously a no-go, I tend to stick up for public libraries a bit more than some people. I've been to good ones and bad ones, and while there are definitely some piles of woke sh*t out there, there's plenty that do devote themselves to just giving people books to read and hosting community events.

I just wish that your average librarian would be a bit more discerning when these controversies come up. Some books are not, in fact, worth their weight in gold: like "Mein Kampf," or "This Book is Gay," or "Twilight."

Posted by: Dr. T at November 19, 2023 09:37 AM (m9hmt)

80 The difference between the right word and the almost right word is really a large matter. ’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.

Posted by: Samuel Langhorne Clemens at November 19, 2023 09:37 AM (NBVIP)

81 I'm surprised that the recipient of a long-winded insult allows the speaker to finish it.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 09:38 AM (p/isN)

82 FIRST!!!!!

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at November 19, 2023 09:38 AM (Zz0t1)

83 ... "They're playing "The Lark Ascending" on my classical station and I'm in a bit of a trance."

Dammit All Hail Eris. Now I have to find one of my Ralph Vaughn Williams CDs. Lark Ascending, Fantasia on Greensleeves, etc. As if I didn't have enough to do.

Thanks for mentioning that.
Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 09:37 AM (7EjX1)

Is there an Elvis version ?

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 09:39 AM (T4tVD)

84 Y Squirrel haz no pimp hat?

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at November 19, 2023 09:39 AM (Zz0t1)

85 I just wish that your average librarian would be a bit more discerning when these controversies come up. Some books are not, in fact, worth their weight in gold: like "Mein Kampf," or "This Book is Gay," or "Twilight."

Posted by: Dr. T at November 19, 2023 09:37 AM (m9hmt)
---
The "banned book" list is always skewed because leftist librarians simply don't order books they don't like. Not "banned," just left out.

But when they push smut on 5th graders and parents object, it's The Crucible or something.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 09:39 AM (llXky)

86 My latest novel just went live on Kindle last night - That Fateful Lightning is available for advance orders, with a release date of 1 December! (Print version to follow soon after.)
https://tinyurl.com/yszm7b85
Sarah Hoyt's "Cover Girls" tiny graphic bidness did the cover for me, and I think it looks just like I visualized the heroine.
Posted by: Sgt. Mom at November 19, 2023 09:32 AM (xnmPy)

Interesting cover. Cover design might be an worthwhile topic to cover on the Book Thread. Or at "A Literary Horde."

Who has done your other book covers, Sgt?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 09:39 AM (Angsy)

87 I'm surprised that the recipient of a long-winded insult allows the speaker to finish it.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 09:38 AM (p/isN)
---
Arguably the best moment of the entire decade-plus MCU/Avengers film series was when Loki started to lecture and the Hulk just smashed him into the ground a few times.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 09:41 AM (llXky)

88 Although "Drag Queen Story Hour" is obviously a no-go, I tend to stick up for public libraries a bit more than some people. I've been to good ones and bad ones, and while there are definitely some piles of woke sh*t out there, there's plenty that do devote themselves to just giving people books to read and hosting community events.

I just wish that your average librarian would be a bit more discerning when these controversies come up. Some books are not, in fact, worth their weight in gold: like "Mein Kampf," or "This Book is Gay," or "Twilight."
Posted by: Dr. T at November 19, 2023 09:37 AM (m9hmt)
----
Small-town libraries like mine tend to be fairly decent at that. I'm sure they have their fair share of "woke" books, but they don't force it on their patrons overly much. Even the university library in which I work (but don't work for) only has tepid displays for Pride Month and so on...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 19, 2023 09:41 AM (BpYfr)

89 Have always loved the 1970's thriller films, so I decided to read some of the books that inspired those movies.

Black Sunday by Thomas Harris, before the Hannibal Lecter genre. And Three Days of the Condor

Posted by: Jonah at November 19, 2023 09:41 AM (33nmr)

90 Professor, good call on some of those pick ups. I bought some good hardcover versions of 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, Starship Troopers, etc. a few years ago, in anticipation of the book burning.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at November 19, 2023 09:42 AM (baqtI)

91 I think I'll reread The Hobbit and LotR this winter when we're snowed in. Each visit brings something new.

I was amazed at what I gleaned from the Narnia books after a decade away.

Maybe I'll reread the Chronicles of Llyr. It's been aeons.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 19, 2023 09:42 AM (Jys3L)

92 This talk of insults, especially clever ones, reminds me that ace should re-post his essay about, well, I'm not sure what you call it, but it's the thing where you demonstrate a person's stupidity by agreeing with them and saying inane things that allegedly support their argument. Great fun, especially when confronted with liberal relatives at holiday gatherings.

As for books, I finally finished reading my wife's book while traveling, so I need to attack the piles on my dresser. I'm thinking that 2024 needs to be the year of intentionality with reading (and many other things). I have never micro-managed my time, but I think I need to start.

Posted by: PabloD at November 19, 2023 09:44 AM (ohsd/)

93 Visted Boston 10 years ago, was not really impressed by Cambridge and Harvard, but I did really enjoy the Three Story private bookstore on Campus. One of the last to carry massive amounts of 19th and 20th century fiction, and seeing young people actually reading for enjoyment was refreshing

Posted by: Jonah at November 19, 2023 09:44 AM (33nmr)

94 I'm surprised that the recipient of a long-winded insult allows the speaker to finish it.
Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 09:38 AM (p/isN)

Ha! I might try that in my next western.

"You long-ear'd galoot. Why, my hound craps bigger than"

BLAM....BLAM, BLAM.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 09:45 AM (Angsy)

95 93. Yes, Return of the King is wonderful. Also re read Watership Down quite often

Posted by: Jonah at November 19, 2023 09:45 AM (33nmr)

96 Maybe I'll reread the Chronicles of Llyr. It's been aeons.
Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 19, 2023 09:42 AM (Jys3L)

Is the author Welsh ?

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 09:45 AM (T4tVD)

97 Mein Kampf must be a hot seller on Ivy League campuses these days, along with the Bin Laden papers

Posted by: Jonah at November 19, 2023 09:47 AM (33nmr)

98 Maybe I'll reread the Chronicles of Llyr. It's been aeons.
Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 19, 2023 09:42 AM (Jys3L)

Is the author Welsh ?
Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 09:45 AM (T4tVD)

Obviously not, JT. The words are too short....

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 09:48 AM (Angsy)

99 This talk of insults, especially clever ones, reminds me that ace should re-post his essay about, well, I'm not sure what you call it, but it's the thing where you demonstrate a person's stupidity by agreeing with them and saying inane things that allegedly support their argument. Great fun, especially when confronted with liberal relatives at holiday gatherings.

Posted by: PabloD at November 19, 2023 09:44 AM (ohsd/)
---
That was "gamesmanship," the art of not cheating but violating the spirit of the rules.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 09:48 AM (llXky)

100 I am reading At The Mountains of Madness. How does something so verbose get to be terrifying?
Enid Donaldson's "The Real Taste of Jamaica"has passed several authenticity reviews.

Posted by: Jamaica at November 19, 2023 09:48 AM (Eeb9P)

101 "You long-ear'd galoot. Why, my hound craps bigger than"

BLAM....BLAM, BLAM.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 09:45 AM (Angsy)

LOL

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at November 19, 2023 09:49 AM (OX9vb)

102 I was surprised something this frothy was up for a Hugo. Not that "frothy" is a knock; fluff can be charming. But I'm not sure it's Novel of the Year material.

What are the author's "intersectionalities*?" That matters a lot more than the actual book to the voting members.

* surprisingly, and happily, spell-check does not recognize that "word"

Posted by: Oddbob at November 19, 2023 09:49 AM (nfrXX)

103 @97 --

Future DIL shared a photo of rabbit meat in a supermarket. The display sign said: "You've seen the movie. You've read the book. Now eat the cast!"

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 09:50 AM (p/isN)

104 Maybe I'll reread the Chronicles of Llyr. It's been aeons.
Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 19, 2023 09:42 AM (Jys3L)
----
I'm not familiar with that one and a cursory internet search doesn't turn it up...

Are you thinking of the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander? Book 3 is called The Castle of Llyr. I read that series somewhat recently (within the past couple of years). It holds up very well indeed.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 19, 2023 09:50 AM (BpYfr)

105 What's your favorite edition of Tolkien? I devoured the paperbacks as a tween, and my present of the faux-leather bound Houghton Mifflin Company versions of The Hobbit and LotR got me swooning. But for burrowing in, none can beat my HMCo hard bound trilogy with maps.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 19, 2023 09:51 AM (Jys3L)

106 Mein Kampf must be a hot seller on Ivy League campuses these days, along with the Bin Laden papers

Posted by: Jonah at November 19, 2023 09:47 AM (33nmr)
---
For all the constant references to Nazis and Fascists, leftist academics know remarkably little about either. It's just secular shorthand for evil. Hitler is the devil.

The last couple of years have convinced me that humans are not rational, but they are spiritual. The curse of our age is that people believe the opposite.

Scratch a liberal and you'll find a fallen-away Calvinist, a frustrated Puritan looking for a witch to burn.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 09:51 AM (llXky)

107 8 1/2 minute video of Winston Churchill's 21 most recommended books. Pretty prosaic list and he doesn't know who wrote Brave New World.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T91w0VEuUYY

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here at November 19, 2023 09:51 AM (FVME7)

108 That's it, Prof! "Chronicles of Prydain". So good.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 19, 2023 09:51 AM (Jys3L)

109 Future DIL shared a photo of rabbit meat in a supermarket. The display sign said: "You've seen the movie. You've read the book. Now eat the cast!"
Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 09:50 AM (p/isN)

WD had that pic on Thurs ONT.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 09:52 AM (Angsy)

110 Hi, Perfessor - next week's Book Thread would work - will send message shortly.
Orange Ent @88, Covers Girl did my last novel - My Dear Cousin. All the others were either done by my younger brother the graphics artist (who, alas is not doing graphics any more) or something I whanged together myself.
Book cover design would indeed be a good topic for discussion - there are basically two big caveats: the design and font should strongly indicate the genre of the book, AND it should look good in thumbnail. Discussion over specifics is lively and ongoing...

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at November 19, 2023 09:52 AM (xnmPy)

111 A picture of a library I've actually been to! I did research there quite a few years ago and even got a library card--despite the fact that I live 2000 miles away. I'm sure it's filled with squalid homeless now but it was lovely then.

Many of the Geogrette Heyer regency novels have those elegantly veiled insults peppered throughout them.

From Cotillion: Freddy (to his father) "I ain't clever like Charlie, but I ain't such a sapskull as you think."
Lord Ledgerwood: "I have always known you could not be dear, boy."

From Devil's Cub: French innkeeper (obsequiously trying to disagree): "Yes, monseigneur, yes indeed. It shall be as monseigneur wishes. But..."
Duke of Avon: "'I do not think,' said the Englishman sweetly,' that I evinced any desire to converse with you."

I've been tempted to use the second one myself but I don't think I could pull it off.

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at November 19, 2023 09:52 AM (FEVMW)

112 @111 --

Well, she sure didn't get that from here.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 09:53 AM (p/isN)

113 Obviously not, JT. The words are too short....
Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 09:48 AM (Angsy)

LOL !

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 09:54 AM (T4tVD)

114 What are the author's "intersectionalities*?" That matters a lot more than the actual book to the voting members.

* surprisingly, and happily, spell-check does not recognize that "word"
Posted by: Oddbob at November 19, 2023 09:49 AM (nfrXX))
----

Travis Baldree. Doesn't intersect, or even bisect AFAIK. Maybe they just liked his story.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 19, 2023 09:55 AM (Jys3L)

115 I just finished "The Couples Trip" set in near-present Sweden, way way up near or north of the arctic circle in its big national park, Sarek.

Three of the four have a common background from 15 years ago, as students in Uppsala, Sweden's big university town. The odd man out is an enigma. Suspicions and secrets abound.

It's a murder mystery, with a great climax. Think "Into Thin Air," wrapped around a killing.

Posted by: Mr Gaga at November 19, 2023 09:55 AM (4ZE6o)

116 Posted by: Sgt. Mom at November 19, 2023 09:52 AM (xnmPy)

Thanks. You're right. I'd bet there's not as much discussion about covers for the not yet (or maybe ever) published writers. Perfessor?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 09:55 AM (Angsy)

117 Just one OT from me:

Hen Mazzig @HenMazzig 53m
Hamas and Al-Jazeera confirmed with video footage that three Hamas terrorists have stormed into Rantisi Hospital in Gaza and blew it up.

@ICRC ????

Hen Mazzig @HenMazzig 53s
I’m seeing people saying that there were soldiers in the hospital, and if combatants are in a hospital it loses its’ protection.

Which is what we’ve been saying about Shifa Hospital for over a month — so keep your mouth shut as Israel destroy Hamas there.

https://tinyurl.com/37ed8zay
25 seconds; no sound.

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023 09:56 AM (krqg6)

118 I hate writing. I love having written.

Posted by: Dorothy Parker at November 19, 2023 09:57 AM (NBVIP)

119 The gamesmanship essay is posted on the main page, under "some humorous asides" in the right column.

I might have spotted it sooner were I not still tired from travel and under-caffeinated this morning.

Posted by: PabloD at November 19, 2023 09:57 AM (ohsd/)

120 Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams -- I have a paperback version, but I thought I'd upgrade to the hardcover edition for $2.

-
I don't know whether this is a guilty pleasure or not but I love this book.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here at November 19, 2023 09:57 AM (FVME7)

121 Do folks here have a winter reading list?...
.
Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 09:26 AM (7EjX1)

That's not really the way I read.

I tend not to reread stuff until I've forgotten a significant amount the story, and won't get bored by the reread. Or, unless I really admire their writing or way of telling a story. Then I'll reread for learning purposes.

Anyway...

I like the British dealio of reading ghost stories during the Christmas season. So, I'll often do that.

The top dude of the ghost story would be MR James. He's brilliant.

Also, Peter Straub's "Ghost Story" is perfect for this time of year being set during winter. Probably the best modern ghost story evah. I read it in high school and have realized that after decades, I've finally forgotten enough of it to make a reread fun. I'll probably do that this winter.

Posted by: naturalfake at November 19, 2023 09:58 AM (QzZeQ)

122 Many of the Geogrette Heyer regency novels have those elegantly veiled insults peppered throughout them.
---------
Your wife is so fat, Milord, that when she sits around the chateau, she really sits around the chateau.

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023 09:58 AM (krqg6)

123 ...only a fool would believe in your simplistic blandishments.

******

Ooooh, sick burn! That's going to leave a mark!

Reads like a sternly worded letter from Congress to Merrick Garland.

Posted by: Muldoon at November 19, 2023 10:00 AM (991eG)

124 "Madame Cavendish," Espira suddenly said

-
This, too, is the Story of Hillary!.
Posted by: naturalfake

I was thinking Roomba Joe.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here at November 19, 2023 10:01 AM (FVME7)

125 66 ... "Deciding on which books to include is both fun and frustrating.
Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 09:26 AM (7EjX1)

What genres are your favorites?"

I go for a variety. Historical fiction, humor, books for my hobbies, the complete Conan collection, etc. My Tolkien, CS Lewis, and Chesterton books are always at hand. It's choosing within genres that gets 'interesting'.

Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 10:02 AM (7EjX1)

126 Speaking of covers --

The Wild Cards series is still going (it fell off my radar in the early '90s). I found a website that includes a cover gallery for all the books.

The latest ones look dull. Just an image of one of the characters standing. Pretty much like current comics.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 10:02 AM (p/isN)

127 Travis Baldree. Doesn't intersect, or even bisect AFAIK. Maybe they just liked his story.

I stand corrected. And shocked. Maybe it's time to start paying some attention to the Hugos again.

Posted by: Oddbob at November 19, 2023 10:02 AM (nfrXX)

128 French insults here...

https://tinyurl.com/yecjwwzp
59 seconds; like your Bicentennial Minutes.

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023 10:04 AM (krqg6)

129 Edmund Blackadder had florid insults.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 10:06 AM (p/isN)

130 In other news, I rearranged my shelves again, relegating most of my nonfiction books to boxes in the garage. I like most of them, but I'm unlikely to read them any time soon.

That frees up a few more shelves for fiction books...

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 19, 2023 10:07 AM (BpYfr)

131 I was thinking about the FIRST!!!!! (Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden) Amendment.
I think the freedom of the "press" part has nothing to do with newspaper reporters or that stuff but refers to the actual press itself. Which reporters have taken as their name. 'We are the Press"
No, that is a Press *points to imaginary giant machine in the middle of a literal Library of hand carved single letter stamps.
Which were some of the most tightly controlled items out there at the time. You could get a Battery of Cannons easier than a printing press.

Posted by: Reforger at November 19, 2023 10:07 AM (kFKW0)

132 About to start another Ace Atkins book, I like his biographical fiction, and this one is set in the midwest in the 1930s with Machine Gun Kelly as a sideline player.

His "White Shadow," was set in Tampa in the early 50s. Ybor City was the setting of the murder that begins that exciting story, and I expect a good read with this one, "Infamous."

Posted by: Mr Gaga at November 19, 2023 10:08 AM (4ZE6o)

133 Last week I read "The Book of Lost Things" by John Connolly, who is the author of the Charlie Parker series and I thought it was terrific. There is a sequel out now. I will read that, too.

High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother. He is angry and alone, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness, and as he takes refuge in his imagination, he finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a land that is a strange reflection of his own world, populated by heroes and monsters, and ruled over by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book... The Book of Lost Things.

Posted by: huerfano at November 19, 2023 10:09 AM (Q4KYm)

134 @132 --

Is the car still in the garage?

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 10:09 AM (p/isN)

135 As always, thanks for the book thread Perfesser. I struggle with reading due to concentration issues, but I read vicariously through the posters here. Many thanks.

Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at November 19, 2023 10:11 AM (5ZdQt)

136 Edmund Blackadder had florid insults.
Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 10:06 AM (p/isN)

So did Don Rickles !

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 10:11 AM (T4tVD)

137 15 Castle Guy! Read "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." The comic is nothing like the movie. The second miniseries is OK, with just one truly memorable scene. I never read any of the others.
Posted by: Weak Geek almost forgot this recommendation at November 19, 2023 09:09 AM (p/isN)

We'll see. I'm dubious of a lot of the big-name comic writers. At least the 'edgy' ones. The couple times I've tried to read one of them (admittedy, not Allan Moore) I've hated them.

That said, I've got family obligations this week, so I may not be bowing out of the book thread soon.

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 19, 2023 10:12 AM (92RsY)

138 Hey, Book Folk! Got held up at the Walmart (held in line, I mean, though the total I paid was like being robbed), so I'm late.

Currently reading an author new to me, Peter Lovesey, a 1986 novel set in 1964 called Rough Cider. A grabber from page one, but it is not one of his series detective books. I have one of those, and will try it next.

Yesterday I finished Jim Thompson's 1955 After Dark, My Sweet. Hardboiled stuff, which normally I love. But Thompson's style, or subject matter, or method of narration -- something about his work doesn't sit quite right with me. Dunno why.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 19, 2023 10:14 AM (omVj0)

139 No reading this week;

But I picked up Brother West , by Cornell West.

Not sure who he is. I've seen his name mentioned here.

I thought of asking CBD, but I recently sent him several memes that I thought were funny and received no reply.

NUTHIN' !

Not even a 'Ahhhh you stink !"

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 10:14 AM (T4tVD)

140 Thou art a hockey-puck, Baldrick!

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023 10:14 AM (krqg6)

141 Thanks for The Book Thread Perfessor !

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 10:16 AM (T4tVD)

142 Thou art a hockey-puck, Baldrick!
Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023 10:14 AM (krqg6)

LOL !!!

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 10:16 AM (T4tVD)

143 If we're lucky, we all have family obligations this week.

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 10:17 AM (p/isN)

144 Welcome to the senior's Sunday School class, have a sausage biscuit. Wouldyou like grape, strawberry, honey, or mustard with your biscuit? What's that on your belt? No, not the onion, the gun?

Posted by: Eromero at November 19, 2023 10:17 AM (DXbAa)

145 After seeing a book on the shelves that started 'Court of...' as the title.

And what popped to mind was 'Court of Thorn and Thistles.'

Posted by: Anna Puma at November 19, 2023 10:17 AM (9JMiK)

146 A winter reading list? I might have one, if I ever had any winter. (Maybe next year. . . .)

I had breakfast with a member of my former writing group yesterday. Among other topics, we discussed the know-it-all member who caused me to leave the group. The others agree that he is abrasive in the way he presents his opinion, and my friend says they are working on him. I'm not going anywhere near the group until he's gone. My blood pressure won't take arguing with him any more, and he won't give an inch, though I asked more than once. Scruit.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 19, 2023 10:17 AM (omVj0)

147 107 ... "What's your favorite edition of Tolkien? I devoured the paperbacks as a tween, and my present of the faux-leather bound Houghton Mifflin Company versions of The Hobbit and LotR got me swooning. But for burrowing in, none can beat my HMCo hard bound trilogy with maps."

I have several hardcover versions of LOTR but my favorite, by far is the slip case, hardcover version I got in the mid-60s. The spines show the decades of use and many moves, the dust jackets are a bit tattered but the pages and maps are still good. Sitting down with that copy is like visiting with a dear friend.

Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 10:18 AM (7EjX1)

148 48 The latest collection of Wallace The Brave comic strips came out recently and I'm enjoying them a few strips at a sitting. JackStraw turned me onto them several years ago. For my taste they are about the best comic strips since Calvin and Hobbes.
Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 09:20 AM (7EjX1)

That comic has come to may attention on a couple of ocassions (maybe thanks to JackStraw) but I've never actually read them. Hm. Maybe it's time to pull the trigger...

On that note, the Sunday-only "Forest Folk" is another comic strip that at least tries for the old Calvin and Hobbes vibe. It stars a boisterious cartoon fox who thinks he's far more awesome than he actually is, and tends to let his ego/imagination run wild. So he's the Calvin of his story, but without and direct Hobbes analog. The second collection is my favorite of the three that have been released so far.

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 19, 2023 10:21 AM (92RsY)

149 For epic insults in literature, few can compare to Cyrano de Bergerac's "your nose is so big..." monnologue.

https://tinyurl.com/cyrano-knows-noses

Rustic: 'That thing a nose? Marry-come-up!
'Tis a dwarf pumpkin, or a prize turnip!'

Posted by: Muldoon at November 19, 2023 10:21 AM (991eG)

150 Travel reading:
'Unforgettable' by Eric James Stone. A really fun SF-kinda idea about a guy who is forgotten by anyone who meets him if he is out of their sight for more than 30 seconds. And not only people but anything computerized. After 30 seconds he is simply... gone, as if he never existed. There is a bizarre sequence where his own parents go home from the hospital having forgotten he was born!
He can't go to school because he goes to the bathroom and on emerging, nobody knows who he is.
He can't date: the girls go to freshen up, return, don't know why they are at a restaurant/movie theater/park, and have absolutely no idea who he is.
It's a weird and well-written kind of thing, and the first part is great and totally disorienting, but then it goes off into a thriller-type business and kind of loses the spark, but it's a cool idea and the author handles it quite well, it's a fun read.
And...

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 10:23 AM (43xH1)

151 Got held up at the Walmart (held in line, I mean, though the total I paid was like being robbed),
---------
The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee 22h
Thousands Already Lined Up For Black Friday After Grocery Store Offers Prices From When Trump Was President
buff.ly/3svwPw5

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023 10:23 AM (krqg6)

152 Neat story ( to me anyway) about a 300 year old Bible found in an Iowa nursing home:

https://tinyurl.com/3jtx5pmn

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at November 19, 2023 10:24 AM (ynQm9)

153 I go for a variety. Historical fiction, humor, books for my hobbies, the complete Conan collection, etc. My Tolkien, CS Lewis, and Chesterton books are always at hand. It's choosing within genres that gets 'interesting'.
Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 10:02 AM (7EjX1

Since you like Conan, have you tried Lord of a Shattered Land by Andrew Howard Jones?
I've not read it, but sword & sorcery fans seem to likebit

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 19, 2023 10:26 AM (SH3A2)

154 NUTHIN' !

Not even a 'Ahhhh you stink !"

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 10:14 AM (T4tVD)

You Stink!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 19, 2023 10:26 AM (3Gtis)

155 Howdy Perfessor, Horde,

Fun fact: Agatha Christie, an Anglican, appealed to Pope Paul VI to save the Latin Mass. Here's just one excerpt:

"The rite in question, in its magnificent Latin text, has also inspired a host of priceless achievements in the arts – not only mystical works but works by poets, philosophers, musicians, architects, painters, and sculptors in all countries and epochs."

A number of people signed the appeal, which became known as the Agatha Christie Indult.

Posted by: callsign claymore at November 19, 2023 10:26 AM (JcnCJ)

156 Len Neal

'Unforgettable' sounds interesting but it seems the lad would die of neglect whilst in the crib.

Posted by: Anna Puma at November 19, 2023 10:26 AM (9JMiK)

157 Sometimes the villain can get off a pretty good zinger o the hero.

Chaney to Rooster Cogburn: "I'd call that mighty bold talk for a one-eyed fat man!"

Posted by: Muldoon at November 19, 2023 10:27 AM (991eG)

158 Greetings! I'm on a James Michener bender of late, now I'm on a 3rd book, Texas, having completed Chesapeake and Hawaii. The guy was certainly prolific.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at November 19, 2023 10:27 AM (MeG8a)

159 Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023 10:23 AM (krqg6)

Lol. Thanks.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at November 19, 2023 10:27 AM (ynQm9)

160 'Lullaby', Ed McBain. Eh. Very 'hard-boiled cop' procedural and not terrible but not great either. It probably didn't help I finished it while sitting on the tarmac for 3 hours in Mexico City waiting to take off, in a Viva Aerobus with no amenities.
It's not a good idea to read a book while you literally have nothing else to do, and are exhausted, frustrated and uncomfortable (that eventually became real physical pain). It makes one disinclined to tolerate authors' little habits and repetitions.
It's an Ed McBain so it's okay, but I got irritated with it.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 10:27 AM (43xH1)

161 Got held up at the Walmart (held in line, I mean, though the total I paid was like being robbed),
---------
The Babylon Bee @TheBabylonBee 22h
Thousands Already Lined Up For Black Friday After Grocery Store Offers Prices From When Trump Was President
buff.ly/3svwPw5
Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023

***
Applause for the Bee! You'd think on the Sunday before T'giving, WM would put on a few more checkout clerks. Nope, two lines only. And I wound up behind a woman (wearing a face diaper, of course) who paid with what looked like two (?) checks, which had to be (slowly) verified. And then, when it's all over, she asks for a pint of liquor and pulls out cash for it.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 19, 2023 10:28 AM (omVj0)

162 Len Neal

'Unforgettable' sounds interesting but it seems the lad would die of neglect whilst in the crib.
Posted by: Anna Puma'

It's handled in an interesting way! I don't want to spoil it if anyone decides to read it.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 10:28 AM (43xH1)

163 107 My favorite edition of Tolkien is the old Ballantine paperbacks from the '60s, probably just because that was how I got started on Tolkien. I found them at random in the school library and thought they looked interesting. Then I read that Tolkien didn't like that edition and didn't understand the cover art. It was definitely aimed at a late '60s audience.

Posted by: Norrin Radd at November 19, 2023 10:29 AM (hsWtj)

164 For epic insults in literature, few can compare to Cyrano de Bergerac's "your nose is so big..." monnologue.

https://tinyurl.com/cyrano-knows-noses

Rustic: 'That thing a nose? Marry-come-up!
'Tis a dwarf pumpkin, or a prize turnip!'
Posted by: Muldoon at November 19, 2023 10:21 AM (991eG)

Is that your nose or are you eating a banana ?

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 10:29 AM (T4tVD)

165 163 *shifty eyes*
Don't tell anyone, but KTE will park by the home & garden section of walmart and pay there.
Usually the lines are much shorter.
But with holiday shopping, tgat may change.

Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 19, 2023 10:30 AM (SH3A2)

166 You Stink!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo
LOL !!!

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 10:30 AM (T4tVD)

167 My Christmas reading includes Dickens' A Christmas Carol. But the last few years I've added The Golden Christmas: A Tale of Lowcountry Life by William Gilmore Simms. Written in 1952 about the season in the South Carolina Charleston area. Simms' writing is delightful and certainly gives a better picture of the South of that era than most history books.

Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 10:30 AM (7EjX1)

168 Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 09:51 AM (llXky)

Or a RC authority figure going after infidels in the Inquisition.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at November 19, 2023 10:31 AM (ynQm9)

169 Picked up a copy of The Portugal of Salazar by Michael Derrick. Looking forward to reading it over the coming holiday.

Posted by: 13times at November 19, 2023 10:32 AM (ogTP0)

170 Since you like Conan, have you tried Lord of a Shattered Land by Andrew Howard Jones?
I've not read it, but sword & sorcery fans seem to likebit
Posted by: vmom stabby stabby stabby stabby stabamillion at November 19, 2023 10:26 AM (SH3A2)

That book suddenly popped up on my Amazon feed. The author is the same guy who edited a bunch of short story collections by Harold Lamb ("Wolf of the Steppes", "Riders of the Steppes", "Swords of the Sea", etc.) I haven't read the story, but I trust the taste of a guy who likes "Wolf of the Steppes."

Ironically, his book popped up after I started re-reading "Riders of the Steppes"....on my old Nook. Unless Amazon is taking information from a Barnes and Noble devise, it is an odd coincidence.... Unless I looked up his books on Amazon to make sure I got the title right when I was talking about them here...

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 19, 2023 10:32 AM (92RsY)

171 123 ... "The top dude of the ghost story would be MR James. He's brilliant."

Naturalfake,

I agree. I have a couple of MR James collections. Should have brought one out over Halloween.

Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 10:33 AM (7EjX1)

172 No, Mister Bond. I expect you to die.

Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at November 19, 2023 10:33 AM (4PZHB)

173 I just saw "The Force," by Don Winslow on one of my book shelves. I had read it several years ago, and was impressed, but then looked into the author and discovered that he was a leftist prick who hates Trump and...shockingly...lies about him!

The downside of being politically aware...

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 19, 2023 10:33 AM (3Gtis)

174 Not a lot of reading this week. Been browsing through a book of interviews with J. G. Ballard and a collection of his non-fiction.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 19, 2023 10:33 AM (a/4+U)

175 Thanks to everyone who posts here. It's been fun, but I'm off to a family obligation!

Posted by: Castle Guy at November 19, 2023 10:33 AM (92RsY)

176 LOL !!!

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 10:30 AM (T4tVD)

I'm using one in the Cooking Thread today, so your gratification will be delayed until 4:00pm eastern!

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 19, 2023 10:34 AM (3Gtis)

177 "You're a lousy f**king softball player, Jack!"

Was this an epic insult or an insult fail?

Posted by: Muldoon at November 19, 2023 10:35 AM (991eG)

178 Morning Hordemates.
I've discovered a fun little series called Cast in Time by Ed Nelson.
It's about an engineer who dies but wakes up in the body of a Baron in England in the 700's. He sets about modernizing. It's a fun read.

Posted by: Diogenes at November 19, 2023 10:36 AM (uSHSS)

179
Being told, "You stink" really isn't so bad.

It's being told, "You stink on ice" which is cold.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at November 19, 2023 10:37 AM (enJYY)

180 In the mid 70s I read Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow which was the hot book at the time. I loved the beginning and hated the ending.* I came across a one hour YouTube in which an expert tells us how to read Gravity's Rainbow. I considered rereading the book since I know more now than I did 50 years ago so I began to watch the video. If the expert can be believed, the book was much more anti-capitalist and conspiracy theorist than I remember including that WWII was created and run by and for the benefit if arms manufacturers. I decided to forgo a second reading.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OmjFQ_-YUfI&t=1331s

* SPOILER ALERT!!!
This 800 page book concerns the V-2 attacks on.London and, specifically, about a mysterious special payload on one rocket. He teases us by giving the objects weight, dimensions and such. After wading through the 800 pages, a character finally finds out what it is but the author never tells the reader. I guess it's a nihilistic comment on our need to seek answers where there can be none.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here at November 19, 2023 10:38 AM (FVME7)

181 yes orange man not only broke him, but bained him,

Posted by: no 6 at November 19, 2023 10:38 AM (PXvVL)

182 For insults, there was a European princess in Medieval period I think (?) who was infamously wild. I cannot recall her name. She'd take off and run into the woods, nobody could catch her; her father tried to marry her off and she fought that, and I read the refusal letter she wrote (she was literate) and it's a doozy, describing her future spouse in absolutely hair-raising terms to the point the other family called it off!
I cannot recall her name, Charlotte someone, maybe? But I will never forget that letter, holy shit i'll see if I can find it

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 10:38 AM (43xH1)

183 Catholic niche post:

I just finished reading "Valid? The Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI" by Steven O'Reilly and highly recommend it
as a good source for those affected by Benepapalism.

Thorough and accessible, with an Objections and Answers section in each chapter.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! So grateful for the Book Thread!

Posted by: sal: tolle adversarium et afflige inimicum at November 19, 2023 10:38 AM (KB0Aa)

184 "The top dude of the ghost story would be MR James. He's brilliant."

Naturalfake,

I agree. I have a couple of MR James collections. Should have brought one out over Halloween.
Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023

***
Not much can top the story "Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 19, 2023 10:39 AM (omVj0)

185 Or a RC authority figure going after infidels in the Inquisition.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at November 19, 2023 10:31 AM (ynQm9)
---
They didn't go after infidels, they went after heretics.

I'm a bit shocked that a Methodist would defend the worst excesses of Calvinism.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 10:39 AM (llXky)

186 Currently reading an author new to me, Peter Lovesey....

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 19, 2023 10:14 AM (omVj0)

Sgt Cribb! Watched the shows on PBS with Alan Dobie. Should try to find the books.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 10:39 AM (Angsy)

187 How I miss Phil Hartmann as Frank Sinatra. One of my favorite insults:

Billy Idol:
Don't provoke me, old man.

Frank Sinatra:
You don't scare me, I got chunks of guys like you in my stool.

The whole clip is great but 5:30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SdIJimk-w8

Posted by: Candidus at November 19, 2023 10:40 AM (oFLDw)

188 Yes pynchon went high on the mescal, in that one, the protagonist tyrone slothrop, was some kind of sacrifice to the Germans or some such, his editor should have said no mas,

Posted by: no 6 at November 19, 2023 10:40 AM (PXvVL)

189 Neat story ( to me anyway) about a 300 year old Bible found in an Iowa nursing home:
-----
Thanks.
Posted by: FenelonSpoke
=====
Likewise.

[And humour isn't considered OT!]

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023 10:40 AM (krqg6)

190 148 ... "A winter reading list? I might have one, if I ever had any winter. (Maybe next year. . . .)"

Hi Wolfus. I enjoy winter, especially cold, cloudy days. Great for reading. But shoveling at my age is no fun and ice is a no go.

BTW, on the hobby thread last night I suggested you at the MacQueen Pipes site if looking for a different style of pipe. Don't know if you saw it since it was very late in the thread.

Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 10:40 AM (7EjX1)

191 BTW, on the hobby thread last night I suggested you at the MacQueen Pipes site if looking for a different style of pipe. Don't know if you saw it since it was very late in the thread.
Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023

***
No, I missed that; I'll go take a look. Thanks.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 19, 2023 10:41 AM (omVj0)

192 And then, when it's all over, she asks for a pint of liquor and pulls out cash for it.
----------
Not an EBT card??

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023 10:42 AM (krqg6)

193 I'm not going anywhere near the group until he's gone. My blood pressure won't take arguing with him any more, and he won't give an inch, though I asked more than once. Scruit.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 19, 2023 10:17 AM (omVj0)

If only there was somewhere else to go....

(ponders)

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 10:42 AM (Angsy)

194 Let's not bicker about 'oo killed 'oo.

Posted by: PabloD at November 19, 2023 10:43 AM (ohsd/)

195 Happy Thanksgiving to all! So grateful for the Book Thread!
Posted by: sal: tolle adversarium et afflige inimicum at November 19, 2023 10:38 AM (KB0Aa)

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yourn, Sal !

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 10:44 AM (T4tVD)

196 Greetings! I'm on a James Michener bender of late, now I'm on a 3rd book, Texas, having completed Chesapeake and Hawaii. The guy was certainly prolific.
Posted by: gourmand du jour

He spoke at my college's commencement. He said that if you reach a certain age, maybe 50, and you're not in prison or a mental hospital, you're a success.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here at November 19, 2023 10:46 AM (FVME7)

197 The photo of the library display about procrastination reminded me of our local branch library display - the 2021-2022 woke branch librarian was demoted and hounded from her job. Her hyper-aggressive “banned book” displays really pissed people off.

This year the banned book display was pathetic since there’s no actual banned books to display. The neo-librarians can only claim books to be “challenged,” or “ignored.”

Posted by: 13times at November 19, 2023 10:46 AM (LkHYv)

198 155 ... "Since you like Conan, have you tried Lord of a Shattered Land by Andrew Howard Jones?"

vmom, I haven't heard of this one but the reviews are excellent. I'll have to check it out.

Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 10:47 AM (7EjX1)

199 Is MR James like DR Jill Biden??

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023 10:47 AM (krqg6)

200 I have several hardcover versions of LOTR but my favorite, by far is the slip case, hardcover version I got in the mid-60s. The spines show the decades of use and many moves, the dust jackets are a bit tattered but the pages and maps are still good. Sitting down with that copy is like visiting with a dear friend.

Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 10:18 AM (7EjX1)
---
As I grew up, my father wasn't sure what to get me at Christmas, and eventually he settled on "something by Tolkien," which was wonderful.

We have six editions in the house. At my bedside is badly damaged Ballentine set I "borrowed" from my father 29 years ago, and for nostalgia's sake I'm re-reading that one. It's funny, because I can spot all the errors in it (first edition).

When I read it in the Great Room (where I now sit), I have HMCO cloth-bound hardcover edition revised, which is also well-used. We have an all-in-one paperback as well as separate books from the early Aughts. There's a leatherbound one-volume in a slip case that no one is allowed to touch, and just a few years ago my father found a combined Hobbit/LotR box still in shrink wrap that he meant to give me but forgot.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 10:48 AM (llXky)

201 Also some reading on the Cristeros Wars (conflicts?) in Mexico in the 1920s-1930s, it always comes up when I'm there because I always end up in Cristeros territory (Guerrero, Jalisco, Michicoan, and it's a Big Deal still). What a tangled mess. Also, the both fascinating and disgusting role of the USA in that, with all kinds of political, economic, and religious meddling that went way beyond any reasonable levels.
'For Christ And Country', edit. Robert Weis
'The Cristero Rebellion', Jean Meyer
'Popular Piety and Political Identity', Matthew Butler

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 10:48 AM (43xH1)

202 Is MR James like DR Jill Biden??
Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023

***
Nah, James was an actual Ph.D. His initials stood for "Montague Rhodes."

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at November 19, 2023 10:50 AM (omVj0)

203 Also some reading on the Cristeros Wars (conflicts?) in Mexico in the 1920s-1930s, it always comes up when I'm there because I always end up in Cristeros territory (Guerrero, Jalisco, Michicoan, and it's a Big Deal still). What a tangled mess.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 10:48 AM (43xH1)
---
The Knights of Columbus ran guns to the Cristeros. And they're not sorry about it.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 10:51 AM (llXky)

204 I think it might be fun, if I was still working as a librarian, to put together huge displays of "ignored" books.

The wokies idea of ignored and mine would probably vary considerably, though.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 19, 2023 10:51 AM (a/4+U)

205 Is MR James like DR Jill Biden??

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023 10:47 AM (krqg6)
---
"That's LOOTenant Kernel Bearclaw, Senator!"

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 10:51 AM (llXky)

206 I'm using one in the Cooking Thread today, so your gratification will be delayed until 4:00pm eastern!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 19, 2023 10:34 AM (3Gtis)

For the folks in Rio Linda, that's 1pm real time.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 10:52 AM (Angsy)

207 Re: Cristeros War or whatever, my Mexican colleague's two grandfathers fought on opposite sides in that, one with the Government the other with the rebels. The first time they had a family sit-down he says his grandmother was terrified she thought they'd kill each other. In fact the just got all drunk and told each other stories and seems no lasting hard feelings despite tales like this:
"So, we got to this town where you guys were, and the priest got lippy, so we hung him from a telegraph pole."

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 10:52 AM (43xH1)

208 MR James.
MR not...

Posted by: PabloD at November 19, 2023 10:55 AM (ohsd/)

209 MR James.
MR not...
Posted by: PabloD at November 19, 2023 10:55 AM (ohsd/)

O S A R.

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at November 19, 2023 10:56 AM (Zz0t1)

210 My main recollection of Dirk Gently was Dirk saying that he was having the sort of day that would make St Francis of Assisi kick babies.

Posted by: TexasDan at November 19, 2023 10:56 AM (9sGyX)

211 "Tolkien" shows up in the main post.

ALWAYS bet the "under".

Posted by: Muldoon at November 19, 2023 10:56 AM (991eG)

212 The Knights of Columbus ran guns to the Cristeros. And they're not sorry about it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd'

I had no idea the impact the whole thing had on the Presidential elections either, with Al Smith and Catholic-vs-Protestant stuff; and in contrast to what I've been told for years, that the Government was a pack of Godless Commies persecuting Good Catholics a certain very radical percentage of the Cristeros seem to have been early practitioners of what later became Liberation Theology.
But I don't really discuss it IN Mexico, finding it potentially bad for my health.
Along with pretty much everything else in Mexico. Whenever I return the first thing I do is take a very long, hot shower and then pour a cold glass of water from my kitchen tap and drink it.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 10:57 AM (43xH1)

213 The wokies idea of ignored and mine would probably vary considerably, though.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 19, 2023 10:51 AM (a/4+U)

Yeah, the left-woke ignore thousands of books considered right wing. Our local library shelves a heavily edited-redacted YA edition of Huck Finn.

Posted by: 13times at November 19, 2023 10:58 AM (hAU6L)

214 The local public library had a book sale right before Thanksgiving week.

That’s a good time for it. I was driving I44 last week for Thanksgiving travel and happened to be going past Rolla, Missouri the day of their library sale so I timed it to be able to stop and walk around. I only bought 2-½ books (one was a 1916 baking powder pamphlet) but it is always enjoyable to browse library sales.

The two books I bought are pop physics books, so I look forward to them with both intrigue and trepidation. John Gribbins’s The Birth of Time and Michio Kaku’s Parallel Worlds.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at November 19, 2023 10:58 AM (olroh)

215 Re: Cristeros War or whatever, my Mexican colleague's two grandfathers fought on opposite sides in that, one with the Government the other with the rebels. The first time they had a family sit-down he says his grandmother was terrified she thought they'd kill each other. In fact the just got all drunk and told each other stories and seems no lasting hard feelings despite tales like this:
"So, we got to this town where you guys were, and the priest got lippy, so we hung him from a telegraph pole."

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 10:52 AM (43xH1)
---
Actual combatants are more mature than their descendants. Consider the Confederate statues. These were put up when veterans will still alive and nobody had a problem with it. It's only bored wokes who need an easy dragon to slay that get worked up over it.

That's the essence of Yard Sign Calvinism - they are saved, you're not, you can't be saved, you just need to be punished. So much work for the righteous!

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 10:58 AM (llXky)

216 I had no idea the impact the whole thing had on the Presidential elections either, with Al Smith and Catholic-vs-Protestant stuff; and in contrast to what I've been told for years, that the Government was a pack of Godless Commies persecuting Good Catholics a certain very radical percentage of the Cristeros seem to have been early practitioners of what later became Liberation Theology.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 10:57 AM (43xH1)
---
Anti-clericalism was pretty popular among socialist/modernist Latin leaders in the 1920. There's a clear link between the Cristeros and the Spanish Civil War. Mexico immediately sent arms to the Republic (and also hosted Trotsky, though that didn't work out so well).

Put simply, a certain type of elite utterly disdains the roots of the culture and wants to wipe it clean. Antifa isn't new.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 11:02 AM (llXky)

217 If memory serves, there was still quite a bit of gribbling over JFK being a Catholic in the 1960 election.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 19, 2023 11:03 AM (a/4+U)

218
Put simply, a certain type of elite utterly disdains the roots of the culture and wants to wipe it clean. Antifa isn't new.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 11:02 AM (llXky)

"Antifa doesn't exist and is a figment of your imagination."

- - - - Chris Wray

Posted by: Sponge - F*ck Joe Biden at November 19, 2023 11:04 AM (Zz0t1)

219
I'm reading 'Better Golf' and it's probably a good gift book for a golfer. Lots of pictures of great courses, famous golfers, the niceties of the game, etc. I don't actually golf myself but I'm very much into landscaping. There was talk a couple decades back of putting a private golf course in the couple hundred acres behind me. The thought of all that manicured landscape really appealed to me, and when the plans fell through I was heartbroken. So I called in a dump truck of sand, leveled it out, and threw some SR7200 velvet bentgrass on top. Amazing grass, so amazing the EPA banned it as 'too invasive' or some such. Then came the sandtrap, cup, flag, etc. It amuses me to try to maintain it as it is a constant battle to keep very short grass healthy. Putting green number one was followed by putting green number two. Speaking of, I don't see 'Golfman' around much anymore.

Posted by: Divide by Zero at November 19, 2023 11:04 AM (enJYY)

220 Anti-clericalism was pretty popular among socialist/modernist Latin leaders in the 1920. There's a clear link between the Cristeros and the Spanish Civil War. Mexico immediately sent arms to the Republic (and also hosted Trotsky, though that didn't work out so well).

Put simply, a certain type of elite utterly disdains the roots of the culture and wants to wipe it clean. Antifa isn't new.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd'

If I go somewhere and there is a statue/portrait/icon of José de Jesús Sánchez del Río I know where I am and how to behave, for the most part.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:05 AM (43xH1)

221 —- one was a 1916 baking powder pamphlet) but it is always enjoyable to browse library sales —

I love that sort of thing. I’ve found old show tunes sheet music at the friends of the library bazaar and resold it same day to a local used book seller. He no doubt resells it online.

Posted by: 13times at November 19, 2023 11:06 AM (hAU6L)

222 (and also hosted Trotsky, though that didn't work out so well).
--------
Icy what you did there.

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023 11:06 AM (krqg6)

223 "BloomsyBox, a flower subscription company, is hiring (more like awarding) one lucky person to be their "Christmas movie maven" to watch and rank 12 of Hallmark's most beloved Christmas specials.
. . . .
"In addition to being sanctioned to watch a dozen made-for-TV movies over the course of 12 days, the movie watcher will be paid $2000 and prizes worth an additional $500 that will make the experience more festive - think fuzzy socks and hot chocolate."

-
Meanwhile, from the Bee . . .

Hallmark Researchers Say They Are Close To Developing A Second Movie Plot

-
Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here at November 19, 2023 11:06 AM (FVME7)

224 Not an insult per se, but a description of an insult from Jerome K. Jerome:

"...they cursed us -- not with a common cursory curse, but with long, carefully-thought-out, comprehensive curses, that embraced the whole of our career, and went away into the distant future, and included all our relations, and covered everything connected with us -- good, substantial curses."

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at November 19, 2023 11:06 AM (Dm8we)

225 "That's the essence of Yard Sign Calvinism - they are saved, you're not, you can't be saved, you just need to be punished. So much work for the righteous!"

Now do vaccines.

Posted by: Quarter Twenty at November 19, 2023 11:07 AM (NBVIP)

226 Also, the both fascinating and disgusting role of the USA in that, with all kinds of political, economic, and religious meddling that went way beyond any reasonable levels.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 10:48 AM (43xH1)

No! That doesn't sound like our government.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 11:07 AM (Angsy)

227 If I go somewhere and there is a statue/portrait/icon of José de Jesús Sánchez del Río I know where I am and how to behave, for the most part.
Posted by: LenNeal'

Also if I go somewhere and there are any of these three: Jesus Malverde, Sante Muerte, San Judas Tadeo; I also know where I am and should leave *immediately*.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:08 AM (43xH1)

228 I have tried several times to read Lord of the Rings. Best effort so far was page 103. Just can't get into it and this after seeing the movie several.times. it just doesn't click.
Oh well.

Posted by: Diogenes at November 19, 2023 11:09 AM (uSHSS)

229 His initials stood for "Montague Rhodes."
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere

Yow! No wonder he went with MR!

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here at November 19, 2023 11:10 AM (FVME7)

230 I only bought 2-½ books (one was a 1916 baking powder pamphlet) but it is always enjoyable to browse library sales.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at November 19, 2023 10:58 AM (olroh)

(shakes fist)
Dammit, SPB beat me to it!!!

Posted by: James Lileks at November 19, 2023 11:10 AM (Angsy)

231 When the squirrel takes his pimp hat off for the holiday week, you know he's working the Johns for a larger slice of that pumpkin pie.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at November 19, 2023 11:10 AM (PbTeh)

232 https://twitter.com/bsbsbsbsbs

Posted by: Noah Bawdy at November 19, 2023 09:17 AM (aLK+x)

Spammer bot.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at November 19, 2023 11:10 AM (sKH26)

233 219 ... "If memory serves, there was still quite a bit of gribbling over JFK being a Catholic in the 1960 election."

Your memory is correct. I heard a lot about it since the Kennedys had a connection with my home town. (Among other things, John and Jackie were married in the same church as my parents.) It wasn't discussed with us kids but we overheard a lot.

Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 11:11 AM (7EjX1)

234 Are you thinking of the Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander? Book 3 is called The Castle of Llyr. I read that series somewhat recently (within the past couple of years). It holds up very well indeed.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at November 19, 2023 09:50 AM (BpYfr)

I read all of Lloyd Alexander as a lad. I have read the chronicles of Prydain to the kids and they love it. I do think Alexander is truly young adult at most though. While fun he's a bit formulaic particularly the cliff hanger at the end of EVERY chapter. But he was definitely my favorite author at one point.

Posted by: TexasDan at November 19, 2023 11:13 AM (9sGyX)

235 Two books I did NOT read recently but completely would if they were real, from the Harry & Paul show!

'Simon Shoots the Smiling Sambos'
and the immortal
'The Day I Killed A Thousand Fuzzy-Wuzzies', by The Right Reverend Aubrey Bagshott

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:13 AM (43xH1)

236 Diogenes, I am with you about LOTR. But I'm not a fantasy/sci fi fan anyway. Did read some Heinlein back in high school (50 plus years ago) and enjoyed it but had no desire to read any more.

I don't begrudge the other members of the Horde their love of LOTR, but I'm glad to know that I'm not alone.

Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at November 19, 2023 11:14 AM (FEVMW)

237 I have tried several times to read Lord of the Rings. Best effort so far was page 103. Just can't get into it and this after seeing the movie several.times. it just doesn't click.
Oh well.

Posted by: Diogenes at November 19, 2023 11:09 AM (uSHSS)
---
A lot of folks have problems getting out of The Shire.

As to the films, while some people love them, I hate them. Jackson really screwed up the story and got worse as the series progressed. The actual Siege of Minas Tirith is brilliantly written and paced, completely different from the low screwball comedy approach of Jackson.

Tolkien understood war - how troops could rally but also how morale could collapse. His description of how the garrison is slowly ground down with despair after the sun is blotted out, is some of best stuff I've ever read. Yet he juxtaposes that with the elite troopers keeping their heads up, like Guard battalions in the Great War. The scene at the Gate is completely f'd up. I hate it.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 11:14 AM (llXky)

238 Your memory is correct. I heard a lot about it since the Kennedys had a connection with my home town. (Among other things, John and Jackie were married in the same church as my parents.) It wasn't discussed with us kids but we overheard a lot.
Posted

I hear "papist" insults in old movies from time to time.

Posted by: TexasDan at November 19, 2023 11:14 AM (9sGyX)

239 Dammit, SPB beat me to it!!!
Posted by: James Lileks

You magnificent bastard, I read your books!

No photos in this one. So Lileks probably wouldn’t want it.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at November 19, 2023 11:15 AM (olroh)

240 The King is a fink!

Posted by: Diogenes at November 19, 2023 11:15 AM (uSHSS)

241 A.H.Lloyd I would think as soon as Mao' Little Red Bokk starts getting on Tik-Tok it will be a best-selling book on campus

Posted by: Skip at November 19, 2023 11:15 AM (fwDg9)

242 On the topic of insults, I recall hearing a recording session for and ad (I think the product was frozen fish sticks) and the person doing the narration (Orson Wells) had executed it perfectly. The engineer in the control booth asked for him to do it again. Orson said "what's wrong with that one?" The engineer came back with "I just want a back up" Orson says" Dear God, man, I've fulfilled my contract, now what is it that you require of me, from the imponderable depths of your impenetrable ignorance???"

Posted by: gourmand du jour at November 19, 2023 11:16 AM (MeG8a)

243 Tolkien understood war - how troops could rally but also how morale could collapse. His description of how the garrison is slowly ground down with despair after the sun is blotted out, is some of best stuff I've ever read. Yet he juxtaposes that with the elite troopers keeping their heads up, like Guard battalions in the Great War. The scene at the Gate is completely f'd up. I hate it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 11:14 AM (llXky)

Glad to know I'm not alone.
As winter sinks in, I may give it another go.
Thanxs for the insights.

Posted by: Diogenes at November 19, 2023 11:17 AM (uSHSS)

244 23 Sorry I'm late. They're playing "The Lark Ascending" on my classical station and I'm in a bit of a trance.
Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 19, 2023 09:12 AM

I love that piece! I’m putting it on my CD player right now. It is mesmerizing!!

Posted by: Moonbeam at November 19, 2023 11:17 AM (rbKZ6)

245 I do have a book in the library somewhere at home I got for a dollar at the Salvation Army, of all places, from the early 1900s, an anti-Papist polemic, filled the craziest accusations and tales. It's got the typical stories, that convents are brothels for priests, Black Legends, the usual, but it's got some truly wild-eyed content, really entertaining.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:17 AM (43xH1)

246 m. Jackson really screwed up the story and got worse as the series progressed

...

Jackson also completely misunderstood the prophetic parts of the books, and the need for the re-taking of the Shite to be included.

The third book is even called Return of the King but Jackson couldn't tell you why.

Posted by: TexasDan at November 19, 2023 11:17 AM (9sGyX)

247 A.H.Lloyd I would think as soon as Mao' Little Red Bokk starts getting on Tik-Tok it will be a best-selling book on campus

Posted by: Skip at November 19, 2023 11:15 AM (fwDg9)
---
When I was working on Walls of Men, I naturally had to get a copy and it's amazing just how many editions there are out there.

BTW, it proves that the PRC isn't necessary a bunch of Sun Tzu disciples. Mao hated old things, and his Red Book was the replacement for everything that came before.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 11:17 AM (llXky)

248 Spammer bot.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at November 19, 2023 11:10 AM (sKH26)

Has he signed you up for his substack, too?

Posted by: James Lileks at November 19, 2023 11:18 AM (Angsy)

249 I like library sale tables, but over the last couple of decades I've started to find them depressing as well. Some of what's on the table will be donations the library can't use -- duplicates, too worn, etc. -- but it's the withdrawals that get me. On my bookcase is a complete run of the novels of Don Robertson (Ohio novelist, a terrific writer -- I've said often that if I could write something one-thousandth as good as his novel Mystical Union I would die a happy man), about a third of which were withdrawn from my local library. They've pulled most of their John D. MacDonald, Maugham, John O'Hara, Simenon... The earlier librarians put together some nice selections, and the newer ones seem to be weeding based on age and/or date of last circulation regardless of the title. Sad to see.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 19, 2023 11:18 AM (a/4+U)

250 Fun fact: Mao started out as an assistant librarian.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 11:18 AM (llXky)

251 Orson says" Dear God, man, I've fulfilled my contract, now what is it that you require of me, from the imponderable depths of your impenetrable ignorance???"
Posted by: gourmand du jour'

That sounds like SCTV with John Candy doing Welles, his parody was spot-on and hilarious

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:18 AM (43xH1)

252 Glad to know I'm not alone.
As winter sinks in, I may give it another go.
Thanxs for the insights.
Posted by: Diogenes

It's a fairly different narrative after the Tom Bombadil stuff.

Posted by: TexasDan at November 19, 2023 11:19 AM (9sGyX)

253 Fun fact: Mao started out as an assistant librarian.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd'

That explains everything. He wanted to be HEAD librarian, and eventually even wrote a book and filled libraries with it.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:20 AM (43xH1)

254 Jackson also completely misunderstood the prophetic parts of the books, and the need for the re-taking of the Shite to be included.

The third book is even called Return of the King but Jackson couldn't tell you why.

Posted by: TexasDan at November 19, 2023 11:17 AM (9sGyX)
---
People try to defend him by saying he couldn't include everything, but my issue is the crap he put in the movies that he made up. Tomb Raider in Moria. Endless dwarf jokes. Aragorn's weird flirtation with Eowyn that makes him look like a cad and a rake. Denethor being too stupid to breathe and a sloppy eater to boot. The Scrubbing Bubbles of Death and Legolas Skywalker rendering the charge of the Rohirrim pointless.

For folks who find The Shire tedious, just skip ahead to Volume II. There is a synopsis in the front, and you get right into the war.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 11:21 AM (llXky)

255 So the hat the squirrel wears is a pimp hat? It looked Bavarian to me.

Or are Bavarians known to be big in the prostitution biz?

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at November 19, 2023 11:21 AM (JrojV)

256 I don't begrudge the other members of the Horde their love of LOTR, but I'm glad to know that I'm not alone.
Posted by: Art Rondelet of Malmsey at November 19, 2023 11:14 AM (FEVMW)

I have no interest in it either. My brother does, but I do not. Probably because of sibling rivalry.

Here's about the only part of it I can stand:

https://tinyurl.com/2pkuzbbk

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 11:21 AM (Angsy)

257 The earlier librarians put together some nice selections, and the newer ones seem to be weeding based on age and/or date of last circulation regardless of the title. Sad to see.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 19, 2023 11:18 AM (a/4+U)
---
As much as the politics of the locals annoy me, our library has an exceptional collection of Evelyn Waugh.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 11:22 AM (llXky)

258 It was Wells. Orson was already in a foul mood for having to condescend to doing frozen fish stick ads. The comeback was priceless.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at November 19, 2023 11:22 AM (MeG8a)

259 In before the Tolkien loonies take over the thread?

Damn!

Posted by: Dr. Bone at November 19, 2023 11:24 AM (PbTeh)

260 Picking up on an X thread talking about the libertarian impulses of the tech moguls, it was generally agreed that Heinlein had much, much more impact that Hayek or Friedman. The consensus was 'The Moon is a Harsh Mistress' was the most impactful Heinlein novel for Musk et al, but I think Starship Troopers is much more important.
Posted by: Candidus at November 19, 2023 09:11 AM (oFLDw)

This is very true and not new. Rachel Carslon, Algore, Margaret Mead to name a few did not write scientific works, they wrote scientific sounding fictional works as much as Erick Von Danniken ever did.

Posted by: Kindltot at November 19, 2023 11:24 AM (D7oie)

261 Orson did fish-stick ads?

Must’ve gotten paid in kind.

A full semi full of fish sticks for each ad.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at November 19, 2023 11:25 AM (JrojV)

262 That sounds like SCTV with John Candy doing Welles, his parody was spot-on and hilarious
----------
Performing the magic coin trick!

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023 11:25 AM (krqg6)

263 Maybe not an insult but years ago when I lived in Hick-Land I dropped by a friend's house, as people do when you live in such places ('dropping by' is a social practice I had to laboriously explain to my now ex-wife, she could not comprehend how anyone would simply 'drop by' at some random time, and she never, ever, understood how such a social practice could exist).

He looked up from the chainsaw he was working on, looked around, sighed heavily, and said:

"The things you see when you ain't got a gun."

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:27 AM (43xH1)

264 But I picked up Brother West , by Cornell West.

Not sure who he is. I've seen his name mentioned here.

Posted by: JT at November 19, 2023 10:14 AM (T4tVD)

Well, Frederick Douglass, he ain't.

He's running for President next year, so he's got that going for him. Which is nice. He's more right on some issues than most of the Republican candidates are, so he's got that going for him too.

Was also in one of the Matrix movies, I think the second.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 19, 2023 11:27 AM (QBaJw)

265 My Zoom book club is reading Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.

It's weird. I enjoy the story. I think it is well written. But I hate reading it. It's a slog. We were going to read the trilogy but changed our mind because it's such a labor to read.

Posted by: blaster at November 19, 2023 11:27 AM (7kd1G)

266 China for the evil empire it is just doesn't grab me, Russia on the other hand seems I can't get enough

Posted by: Skip at November 19, 2023 11:29 AM (fwDg9)

267 A suggestion for those who have problems getting into the LOTR books: Put the movies, any movies, out of your head. Peter Jackson had some good parts in his films and overall they are enjoyable. But the plot elements he made up and the practical needs of filming a long book took a toll. The books are so rich in detail and depth of characters, the pacing is so different from recent fiction, and the writing is both subtle and powerful. Above all, Tolkien leaves room for the reader to bring Middle-Earth into their own experiences and lives.

Guess I'm a fan, huh?

Posted by: JTB at November 19, 2023 11:29 AM (7EjX1)

268 For you non-fantasy types, one of the core strengths of LotR is the way Tolkien absolutely nails but the setup but also the payoff. Rarely has any payoff been more satisfying, and I'm not just talking about the main quest. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields is the culmination of multiple character arcs and plots. Aragon, Gimli, Legolas take the Paths of the Dead. Merry is with the Riders of Rohan. Pippin is with Gandalf. Even Frodo and Sam play a role in meeting Faramir.

I think George RRR Martin knew he couldn't match it, so he tried to sex his version up more, but his constant "subverting expectations" rendered his work an incoherent mess.

Tolkien's plot is like a precision machine, and all the parts run together seamlessly.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 11:29 AM (llXky)

269 People used to drop by all the time in the small Midwestern town where I grew up.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at November 19, 2023 11:29 AM (JrojV)

270 I used to read all the Stephen Hunter books but haven’t read any since 47th Samurai.

Anyone still reading his stuff?

Posted by: Drive by at November 19, 2023 11:32 AM (MNhXM)

271 People used to drop by all the time in the small Midwestern town where I grew up.
Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at November 19, 2023 11:29 AM (JrojV)

At dinner and drinking time?

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 11:32 AM (Angsy)

272 People used to drop by all the time in the small Midwestern town where I grew up.
Posted by: Bulgaroctonus'

Yeah. Not a big deal and there are I guess unspoken 'rules' you are expected to know, like, if someone is outside you 'drop by', on the porch, working in the shed/garage, you don't go banging on the door in the middle of the day or anything, but... yeah.
She could not comprehend such a thing.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:32 AM (43xH1)

273 “dropping by”

I still do my meager house cleaning on Sundays because in our area growing up that was the most common day for unannounced visits.

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at November 19, 2023 11:32 AM (olroh)

274 China for the evil empire it is just doesn't grab me, Russia on the other hand seems I can't get enough

Posted by: Skip at November 19, 2023 11:29 AM (fwDg9)
---
It's funny to watch "experts" slip and refer to the Russians as "the Soviets." Um, no. Get with the times.

China makes a poor villain because it paid everyone off. What's funny about Biden is that his brain is so far gone he can't stay bought, so he's regressing to 1971 or whenever.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 11:32 AM (llXky)

275 I'm reading:
"Spoon," by Barn the Spoon.
It's not only a "how-to" but Barn also waxes lyrical about spoon carving: "When I make a spoon I am also chasing a feeling, or rather trying to communicate or prompt an emotion in a person when they pick it up."

"American Georgics" Writing on Farming, culure, and the Land.
Edited by Hagenstein, Gregg, and Donahue.
Small excerpt Liberty Hyde Bailey Jr., from "The Holy Earth" (1915):
Verily, then the earth is divine, because man did not make it. We are here, part in the creation. We cannot escape. We are under obligation to take part and to do our best, living with each other and with all the creatures. We may not know the full plan, but that does not alter the relation. When once we set ourselves to the pleasr of our dominion, reverently and hopefully, and assume all its responsibilites, we shall have a new hold on life.
...
The surfacer of the earth is particularly within the care of the farmer. He keep it for his own sustenance and gain, but his gain is also the gain of all the rest of us.

+++
A lovely anthology.

Posted by: Question Authority bumper sticker at November 19, 2023 11:33 AM (Rbu5d)

276 When the sheriff dropped by, it was time to dust off the charcoal grill and break out the mason jar of moonshine.

Posted by: Dr. Bone at November 19, 2023 11:35 AM (PbTeh)

277 For you non-fantasy types, grbgihhh hkkiff tooodd tobqueitslc 45skic zinbfielllllisfus brrloiaaplica*& ep quitlerish letewaklewisc
and all the parts run together seamlessly.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:35 AM (43xH1)

278 Has he signed you up for his substack, too?
Posted by: James Lileks at November 19, 2023 11:18 AM (Angsy)

No, I never click on his links. If the fucker would engage here, maybe I would.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at November 19, 2023 11:35 AM (aNACl)

279 Maybe not an insult but years ago when I lived in Hick-Land I dropped by a friend's house, as people do when you live in such places ('dropping by' is a social practice I had to laboriously explain to my now ex-wife, she could not comprehend how anyone would simply 'drop by' at some random time, and she never, ever, understood how such a social practice could exist).

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:27 AM (43xH1)
---
My youngest hosted a Halloween party and my wife was stressing about having enough food and snacks, and she was outraged when my daughter explained that people were also bringing favorites to share.

In her culture (Appalachia), that implied the host was poor and low class. Even after 20 years, I had to remind her that Up North, the culture is very different, and people enjoy bringing things to share. How else can you introduce friends to a new wine, or food or whatever?

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 11:36 AM (llXky)

280 Now and then, I've thought about revisiting Tolkien whom I haven't read since high school (bought the Ace paperbacks as they came out -- yeah, I'm that old), but I'm so far behind on everything else, I just don't think it's gonna happen. But if I do, at least I won't have trouble finding copies.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 19, 2023 11:36 AM (a/4+U)

281 My parents were not drop-in people and neither were there friends.

One night, and only that night that I was ever aware of, TWO couples dropped by.

My dad was a biochemist, and did animal research. Also we had a cat, a tom, who regularly got his ass handed to him. As a result he had a head wound that got badly infected and the cat got really sick. Dad decided to treat him at home. On the kitchen table. That night.

So people dropped by to a mostly shaved cat knocked out on newspaper on the kitchen table. Hair everywhere and my dad cleaning a nasty infection on the cats head.

Posted by: TexasDan at November 19, 2023 11:36 AM (9sGyX)

282 I hear "papist" insults in old movies from time to time.
Posted by: TexasDan at November 19, 2023 11:14 AM (9sGyX)

A lot of people questioned, with reason, whether a President would be held to Papal edicts, thus rendering him incapable of being loyal to the Constitution.

Obviously we don't have that problem anymore, when Catholic politicians neither adhere to the Church's teachings, or have any loyalty/adherence to the Constitution.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 19, 2023 11:37 AM (QBaJw)

283 Possibly the best set of insults is found in the movie Full Metal Jacket from Gunny as the drill instructor.

Posted by: gourmand du jour at November 19, 2023 11:37 AM (MeG8a)

284 Such as "were you born stupid or did you work at it your whole life?"

Posted by: gourmand du jour at November 19, 2023 11:39 AM (MeG8a)

285 Possibly the best set of insults is found in the movie Full Metal Jacket from Gunny as the drill instructor.
Posted by: gourmand du jour at November 19, 2023 11:37 AM (MeG8a

Still can’t believe he voted for Obama.

Posted by: Drive by at November 19, 2023 11:39 AM (MNhXM)

286 Possibly the best set of insults is found in the movie Full Metal Jacket from Gunny as the drill instructor.
Posted by: gourmand du jour'

Oh my YES, those are epic.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:39 AM (43xH1)

287 Thanks for the signal boost, Perfessor.

Posted by: Hans G. Schantz at November 19, 2023 11:39 AM (ZKO7q)

288 Obviously we don't have that problem anymore, when Catholic politicians neither adhere to the Church's teachings,

Why are my ears itching?

Posted by: Francis at November 19, 2023 11:40 AM (olroh)

289 My favorite insult is still the one delivered by Klinger (I think) in MASH:

“If my dog had your face, I’d shave his butt and teach him to walk backwards.”

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at November 19, 2023 11:40 AM (JrojV)

290 46...
Don't forget second breakfast and elevensies.

Posted by: Question Authority bumper sticker at November 19, 2023 11:40 AM (Rbu5d)

291 No, I never click on his links. If the fucker would engage here, maybe I would.
Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at November 19, 2023 11:35 AM (aNACl)

I get links to his posts. Don't know where he got my e-mail, except maybe here from the sidebar about the writer's group.

He posts a complaint, then runs. Sorta feel sorry for him, but don't sign me up for something I may have no interest in. If you want to build a readership, spend more time here than hit and run like a troll.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 11:41 AM (Angsy)

292 Possibly the best set of insults is found in the movie Full Metal Jacket from Gunny as the drill instructor.
Posted by: gourmand du jour at November 19, 2023 11:37 AM (MeG8a)

Frankly, I think my "insult" was better.

Posted by: Zombie Private Pyle at November 19, 2023 11:41 AM (QBaJw)

293 A lot of people questioned, with reason, whether a President would be held to Papal edicts, thus rendering him incapable of being loyal to the Constitution.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 19, 2023 11:37 AM (QBaJw)
---
No, it was unreasonable. We'd had Catholic elected officials since the Founding, and none of them had to ask Rome how to vote or what to do. There were also examples of Catholic political parties in Europe that didn't wait for instructions from the Vatican.

It was just the old paranoia, which is now coming back into fashion.

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 11:41 AM (llXky)

294 Favorite insult?

Bogey in Casablanca --

Ugarte: You despise me, don't you, Rick?
Rick: If I gave you any thought, I probably would.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 19, 2023 11:42 AM (a/4+U)

295 When the sheriff dropped by, it was time to dust off the charcoal grill and break out the mason jar of moonshine.
-----------
It was in the glass.

Posted by: Mags Bennett at November 19, 2023 11:43 AM (krqg6)

296 In Ephraim Kishon's collection, Look Back Mrs Lot, (from the 60's) he talks about trying to visit a friend in hospital and to avoid the staff he had to sneak in out of hours, with part of the problem being that the hospitals were ringed around with barbed wire and fencing during the troubles in the Mandate period, and the Israelis sort of just kept up the practice

Posted by: Kindltot at November 19, 2023 11:44 AM (D7oie)

297 “If my dog had your face, I’d shave his butt and teach him to walk backwards.”
Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at November 19, 2023 11:40 AM (JrojV)

I think it was the motor pool sgt. Rizzo.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 11:44 AM (Angsy)

298 U.S. President Harry S. Truman once defended Churchill’s replacement, Clement Attlee, by saying "He seems a modest sort of fellow."

To which, Churchill replied "He’s got a lot to be modest about."

Posted by: You could look it up at November 19, 2023 11:44 AM (NBVIP)

299 It’s more than a quip but the test monitor’s response in Billy Madison is still my favorite insult.

Posted by: Drive by at November 19, 2023 11:44 AM (MNhXM)

300 No, it was unreasonable. We'd had Catholic elected officials since the Founding, and none of them had to ask Rome how to vote or what to do. There were also examples of Catholic political parties in Europe that didn't wait for instructions from the Vatican. It was just the old paranoia, which is now coming back into fashion.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

"OOH OOH! (Waves hand frantically) Now do, 'We can't elect Jews, they'll work in Israel's interests instead of the United States'!"

Anyway, the Cristeros thing which honestly I had never even heard of until meeting my Mexcian colleague a decade or so ago, was certainly a mess. I read up on it so I know at least something about it when on that home turf.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:45 AM (43xH1)

301 Okay, I'll say it: JFK was a victim of the Secret Service. BOOM!

He's dead because of them. Was there a third shooter?

Posted by: Dr. Bone at November 19, 2023 11:46 AM (PbTeh)

302 Love the insulting examples, but Don Rickles is possibly the most overrated comedian ever.

Bookwise, I started At Dawn We Slept after innumerable positive references on the book thread.

Posted by: who knew at November 19, 2023 11:46 AM (4I7VG)

303 Time to go do battle with the sorta kinda Real World.

Thanks for the thread, Perfessor.

Have a good one, gang.

Posted by: Just Some Guy at November 19, 2023 11:47 AM (a/4+U)

304 Is that why we couldn't elect a Mormon?

Posted by: Plus the magic underwear at November 19, 2023 11:48 AM (NBVIP)

305 And just like that, two comments disappeared.

Posted by: Forest Hump at November 19, 2023 11:48 AM (krqg6)

306 I think Churchill also referred to Attlee as “a sheep in sheep’s clothing.”

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at November 19, 2023 11:48 AM (JrojV)

307 Andy Garcia's passion project for the Glory (released in 2012) gives some perspective, Obregon was a nasty piece of work that Blades the Panamanian softened up, a junior stalin in traiing

Posted by: no 6 at November 19, 2023 11:49 AM (PXvVL)

308 Okay, I'll say it: JFK was a victim of the Secret Service. BOOM!

He's dead because of them. Was there a third shooter?
Posted by: Dr. Bone at November 19, 2023 11:46 AM (PbTeh)

Wasn’t it JFK that demanded a convertible? That said someone had to know before hand that he would be in that vehicle.

Posted by: Drive by at November 19, 2023 11:49 AM (MNhXM)

309 Okay, I'll say it: JFK was a victim of the Secret Service. BOOM!

He's dead because of them. Was there a third shooter?
Posted by: Dr. Bone at November 19, 2023 11:46 AM (PbTeh)

I'm a little suspicious of these people now coming forward, claiming there was a massive head wound in the back.

As for Secret Service, the main question I would ask is, did any of the SS agents work for the CIA? Because, if so.....

Posted by: BurtTC at November 19, 2023 11:49 AM (QBaJw)

310 Were I your husband, Mags, I should drink it.

Posted by: zombie winston churchill at November 19, 2023 11:50 AM (krqg6)

311 I just looked up a few insults and honestly, I don't find this one insulting!

'He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.'
- William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

What's wrong with that?

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:52 AM (43xH1)

312 Posted by: Forest Hump at November 19, 2023 11:48 AM (krqg6)

Funny how that happens...

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 19, 2023 11:53 AM (3Gtis)

313 'His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork.' - Mae West

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:53 AM (43xH1)

314 "Yo mama's so fat, when she goes camping, the bears hide their food."

Posted by: LenNeal Keeps It Real! at November 19, 2023 11:55 AM (43xH1)

315 'He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.'
- William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

What's wrong with that?
Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:52 AM (43xH1)

Sounds like the literary equivalent of accusing a musician of sounding like Taylor Swift.

Posted by: BurtTC at November 19, 2023 11:55 AM (QBaJw)

316 Frankly, I think my "insult" was better.
Posted by: Zombie Private Pyle at November 19, 2023 11:41 AM (QBaJw)

What's your major malfunction, Numb nuts? Didn't your parents give you enough love when you were a child?

Posted by: Boswell at November 19, 2023 11:56 AM (K+UlC)

317 "Yo mama's so fat, she was overthrown by revolutionaries, and now she's known as The Republic of Yo Mama."

Posted by: LenNeal Keeps It Real! at November 19, 2023 11:57 AM (43xH1)

318 I just looked up a few insults and honestly, I don't find this one insulting!

'He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.'
- William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

What's wrong with that?
Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:52 AM (43xH1)

Maybe it means he wasn't too enamored of his own vocabulary. I see it's an insult, coming from a "literary" writer, who doesn't want Joe Sixpack to read his work, but it's better to use common words than to act like WFB. At least, Buckley seemed to use high sounding words as an affectation.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 11:57 AM (Angsy)

319 From In Living Color's "Dishing Dozens" game-show...

Yo mama's teeth so yellow, when she smiles it look like she be eating creamed corn!

Posted by: andycanuck (krqg6) at November 19, 2023 11:58 AM (krqg6)

320 I enjoy learning new words. I don’t respect a writer who doesn’t send me to the dictionary.

Posted by: Bulgaroctonus at November 19, 2023 12:00 PM (JrojV)

321 Actually my favorite one from FMJ is the sister 'exchange', not an insult.
"Why not? What's wrong with my sister?"

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 12:00 PM (43xH1)

322 >>>Sounds like the literary equivalent of accusing a musician of sounding like Taylor Swift.

Posted by: BurtTC

>If Taylor Swift's vagina wasn't front and center at every concert, would anybody care? That being said, Pop tarts are delicious!

Posted by: Taylor Swift's Bodysuit at November 19, 2023 12:00 PM (PbTeh)

323 WE HAZ A NOOD

Posted by: Skip at November 19, 2023 12:01 PM (fwDg9)

324 Well, it's past noon. Thanks again, Perfesser!

Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 12:01 PM (llXky)

325 'He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.'
- William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

What's wrong with that?
Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 11:52 AM (43xH1)

it's a rather entertaining way of saying he has an ignorant mans vocabulary.

Posted by: Tom Servo at November 19, 2023 12:02 PM (q3gwH)

326 I enjoy learning new words. I don’t respect a writer who doesn’t send me to the dictionary.
Posted by: Bulgaroctonus'

Okay, so... you won't like my writing.
The academic work I've done is laborious and will send most people to dictionaries but my fun-stuff, like the vampire fiction, nah I don't get baroque.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 12:03 PM (43xH1)

327 For the folks in Rio Linda, that's 1pm real time.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 10:52 AM (Angsy)

And for the marines, the big hand is on the 12 and the small hand is on the 1.

Posted by: "Big Dan" Ingram circa 1963 at November 19, 2023 12:13 PM (iODuv)

328 On Tolkien movies and books: I enjoyed both for what they were -- entertainment. Both engrossed me and gave me reprieve from the outside world.

Many of you sound like college graduates after too much to drink or have done that one toke over the line.

Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at November 19, 2023 12:13 PM (BdMk6)

329 It's the saddest part of Sunday morning again. The end of the Book Thread. Thanks, Perfessor.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at November 19, 2023 12:14 PM (Angsy)

330 And for the marines, the big hand is on the 12 and the small hand is on the 1.
Posted by: "Big Dan" Ingram circa 1963'

I need a drawing in crayon.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 12:20 PM (43xH1)

331 Now do vaccines.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at November 19, 2023 11:07 AM (NBVIP)

IN THIS HOUSE, WE BELIEVE:
BIGFOOT IS REAL
I AM GOING TO KISS HIM
HE WILL BE MY LOVER
I WILL BE THE LITTLE SPOON
ME AND BIGFOOT WILL F*CK
AND YOU CAN'T STOP US

Posted by: Kindltot at November 19, 2023 12:29 PM (D7oie)

332 Many of you sound like college graduates after too much to drink or have done that one toke over the line.
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at November 19, 2023 12:13 PM (BdMk6)
----

Well now I want a Middle Earth-based C&W song called "One Toke Over The Line", where Frodo and the gang (Gandalf has a headband and Willy Nelson braids) ride through the Shire in a semi with a load of pipeweed evading the sheriff.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 19, 2023 12:38 PM (Jys3L)

333 In her culture (Appalachia), that implied the host was poor and low class. Even after 20 years, I had to remind her that Up North, the culture is very different, and people enjoy bringing things to share. How else can you introduce friends to a new wine, or food or whatever?
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at November 19, 2023 11:36 AM (llXky)

Where I grew up, you brought food because it meant you weren't forcing the host to beggar the house to entertain, and everyone had a specialty dish.

Posted by: Kindltot at November 19, 2023 12:40 PM (D7oie)

334 My mother (originally from Arkansas) would be horrified if I showed up without something for the hostess or guests. It just isn't done.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at November 19, 2023 12:44 PM (Jys3L)

335 It was in the glass.
Posted by: Mags Bennett at November 19, 2023 11:43 AM (krqg6)

I got that reference!

Posted by: Steve Rogers at November 19, 2023 12:45 PM (YRK4R)

336 I had my daughter pick up a copy of "Determined" by Robert Sapolski. Sapolski is a neuroscientist and college professor and the book is supposed to be a scientific refutation of the notion of free will. I got ten pages into it and determined that it's psuedo-science at best, not well written, and is simply a lengthy justification of the author's deep prejudices. ...
Posted by: Erik In Texas at November 19, 2023 09:22 AM (oEXy7)

If humans are simply meat robots, and respond in pre-determined ways due to internal chemical reactions to external stimuli, why do we see such disparate reactions to that stimuli, instead? Why is there a "flight or flight" phenomena to threats?

If we are meat robots, I would expect to see fairly predicable reactions in some sort of distribution within fairly-well defined stochastic bounds. Instead, we see all sorts of reactions to similar stimuli.

I suspect the "no such thing as free will" people make that claim in order to excuse themselves for making choices that reveal them to rather $h!tty human beings.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop is now an engineer at November 19, 2023 01:12 PM (pJWtt)

337 Truman, addressing the concern that JFK was Catholic, said in regard to Joe Kennedy:

"It's not the pope I'm worried about -- it's the pop."

Posted by: Weak Geek at November 19, 2023 02:44 PM (p/isN)

338 I return to express my opinion: if the host knows you, and you are friends, if you bring something it's as a friend and not a judgement. But to bring a multiple dish to another friend's party for, say, a child, not done. That intimates you cannot care for your child and threw the party for charity. It's a social set of rules that are hard to explain.
One can, bring a gift, small, for appreciation for the hostess.

Posted by: LenNeal at November 19, 2023 04:01 PM (43xH1)

339 My favorite James Blish trilogy is CITIES IN FLIGHT.

In the future, planet Earth is basically falling apart and engines are invented called "spindizzies" that can be spun up to create a force field bubble around a city and lift it off the planet's surface. New York City and Scranton Pennsylvania are the two cities that he focuses on who go hobo, as they called it, and sought their fortunes in interplanetary travel and offering their services to other inhabited planets around the Galaxy.

Of course you have to read this tongue in cheek because you have to assume that the cities are self-sustaining and the spindizzies will be able to keep the atmosphere, rather like giant terrariums zooming around the Galaxy but it is a heck of a fun read.

Posted by: Beverly at November 19, 2023 04:30 PM (Epeb0)

340 Willowed but worth it. ... If you are a connoisseur of insults, you must read William Shakespeare's paragraph of ornate invective: Kent versus Oswald in King Lear.

Posted by: Beverly at November 19, 2023 04:35 PM (Epeb0)

341 Very late but oh well: Welcome to Night Vale is the novelization of a story podcast, sort of. Very entertaining, even with (especially because of?) the constant weirdness.

Posted by: Quieti at November 19, 2023 10:42 PM (Op1Aj)

342 Quieti, thanks for the recommendation. Even if it's late, people sometimes still check for late posts.

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