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Book Thread: (03/29/2026) [Sabrina Chase]
The Secrets of Publishing, part 2 : Bookstores and Libraries and Distributors, oh my!
Comments
(Jump to bottom of comments)1
BOING!
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 09:00 AM (1o8D5)
2
Tolle Lege
Posted by: Skip at March 29, 2026 09:00 AM (Ia/+0)
3
Booken morgen horden!
Beautiful top photo, Sabrina!
Just finished Twelve Months by Jim Butcher (book 18 in The Dresden Files) and I really liked it.
Though not without a lot of action, it is mainly a story of healing and character growth.
Beautiful top photo, Sabrina!
Just finished Twelve Months by Jim Butcher (book 18 in The Dresden Files) and I really liked it.
Though not without a lot of action, it is mainly a story of healing and character growth.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 29, 2026 09:02 AM (eZ5tL)
4
Good morning fellow Book Freaks!
The cat took over my reading chair ottoman at precisely 0900 hours. She knows it's Book Thread time.
The cat took over my reading chair ottoman at precisely 0900 hours. She knows it's Book Thread time.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at March 29, 2026 09:03 AM (kpS4V)
5
Foiled
Anyway, reading
A Reasoned Examination of the Properties of the Three Arms - Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery: A Treatise on Lessons from the Napoleonic Wars (1832)
Originally written Gen Nicolai Okunev, actually often spelled very different
Anyway, reading
A Reasoned Examination of the Properties of the Three Arms - Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery: A Treatise on Lessons from the Napoleonic Wars (1832)
Originally written Gen Nicolai Okunev, actually often spelled very different
Posted by: Skip at March 29, 2026 09:03 AM (Ia/+0)
6
"And at that very moment, away behind some courtyard in the City, a cock crowed."
Signifying the launch of today's Sunday Morning Book Thread!
Thank you, Sabrina!
Signifying the launch of today's Sunday Morning Book Thread!
Thank you, Sabrina!
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 29, 2026 09:04 AM (ESVrU)
7
Just finished Twelve Months by Jim Butcher (book 18 in The Dresden Files) and I really liked it.
Though not without a lot of action, it is mainly a story of healing and character growth.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 29, 2026 09:02 AM (eZ5tL)
----
It's the necessary calm before the NEXT chaotic phase in the series.
The books leading up to Twelve Months are some of the most *intense* books I've ever read. Readers need a break.
Though not without a lot of action, it is mainly a story of healing and character growth.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 29, 2026 09:02 AM (eZ5tL)
----
It's the necessary calm before the NEXT chaotic phase in the series.
The books leading up to Twelve Months are some of the most *intense* books I've ever read. Readers need a break.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 29, 2026 09:05 AM (ESVrU)
8
BUT! I am happy to say that without any effort on my part beyond getting in the catalog, my books are showing up in libraries! Including in Dubai.
--
Congrats!
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Congrats!
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 29, 2026 09:06 AM (tcsrY)
9
Pants rule is still in effect! I repeat, PANTS ARE REQUIRED! (Special guest poster exemption for kilts). I keep forgetting to put the disclaimer in the text.
So! What is on the minds of the Book Thread patrons?
So! What is on the minds of the Book Thread patrons?
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 29, 2026 09:06 AM (vAQDP)
10
"An ebook is just a computer file, so why can’t they just have infinite copies? They don’t want to pay for infinite copies. Some publishing houses had insane rules like making libraires purchase a new license after 6 borrows (as if the file expired). "
----
Welcome back, Sabrina. Yes, I was wondering about this.
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Welcome back, Sabrina. Yes, I was wondering about this.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at March 29, 2026 09:07 AM (kpS4V)
11
There are two main ones, Ingrams and Baker&Taylor.
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Baker & Taylor is no more, alas. Died at the end of 2026.
Ingram struggles to keep up with orders, and many libraries just use amazon, which gives them deep discounts,
--
Baker & Taylor is no more, alas. Died at the end of 2026.
Ingram struggles to keep up with orders, and many libraries just use amazon, which gives them deep discounts,
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 29, 2026 09:08 AM (tcsrY)
12
Pants rule is still in effect! I repeat, PANTS ARE REQUIRED!
----
Come back when you have a pants warrant, Copper!
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Come back when you have a pants warrant, Copper!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at March 29, 2026 09:09 AM (kpS4V)
13
Upon the recommendation of several here within the Esteemed Horde I listened to the audiobook The Stranger In The Lifeboat by Mitch Albom.
Four stars. Would recommend.
Four stars. Would recommend.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at March 29, 2026 09:09 AM (2Ez/1)
14
Morning, Book Folken! Good to see you back, Sabrina.
I'm currently 3/4 of the way through Victor Davis Hanson's A War Like No Other, the tale of the Peloponnesian Wars (Athens & allies vs. Sparta and its allies). Fifth-century Greece, only a couple of decades past the more famous wars with the Persian Empire. Hanson does not give us a plodding year-by-year chronology of the war. Instead, his sections focus on elements that proved important in the war, like "Fire," "Disease" (the big plague in Athens early in the war), "Armor," "Walls," and "Horses." He also focuses on the lessons the Greeks learned, and that we can learn, from the war. Not exactly light reading; it requires attention; but it's not dense, not a slog to get through at all.
I hadn't realized how imperial and domineering the Athenians were at this point. Any ally who thought about going over to Sparta got its town besieged, and its inhabitants executed or sold into slavery. We'd always been taught in school that Sparta was such a terrible dictatorship, but Athens (its voting assembly, anyway) was bad too. So much for the joys of pure "democracy."
I'm currently 3/4 of the way through Victor Davis Hanson's A War Like No Other, the tale of the Peloponnesian Wars (Athens & allies vs. Sparta and its allies). Fifth-century Greece, only a couple of decades past the more famous wars with the Persian Empire. Hanson does not give us a plodding year-by-year chronology of the war. Instead, his sections focus on elements that proved important in the war, like "Fire," "Disease" (the big plague in Athens early in the war), "Armor," "Walls," and "Horses." He also focuses on the lessons the Greeks learned, and that we can learn, from the war. Not exactly light reading; it requires attention; but it's not dense, not a slog to get through at all.
I hadn't realized how imperial and domineering the Athenians were at this point. Any ally who thought about going over to Sparta got its town besieged, and its inhabitants executed or sold into slavery. We'd always been taught in school that Sparta was such a terrible dictatorship, but Athens (its voting assembly, anyway) was bad too. So much for the joys of pure "democracy."
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:10 AM (wzUl9)
15
Good morning fellow Book Threadists. I hope everyone had a great week of reading.
Thanks to Sabrina for the info on publishing. Eye opening to say the least.
Thanks to Sabrina for the info on publishing. Eye opening to say the least.
Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2026 09:11 AM (yTvNw)
16
Good morning morons and thanks for a fascinating essay Sabrina Chase. Very educational.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 29, 2026 09:11 AM (RIvkX)
17
Just before this thread, I saw a clip of an interview with Brandon Sanderson where he affirmed hus full and unequivocal support for LGBTQ+ specislly trans.
And just like that my to-read pile got shorter.
And just like that my to-read pile got shorter.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 29, 2026 09:13 AM (tcsrY)
18
"Never judge a book by its cover," they say. I should have believed them, otherwise I wouldn't have lost a week soldiering through a collection of Duncan Rouleau's Metal Men (DC comics) miniseries. But the covers looked nice.
The Metal Men are sentient constructs, each made of an elemental metal: copper, gold, iron, lead, mercury, platinum, and tin. Each has a distinctive personality. They can take on any form and suffer terminal damage, but their creator can reconstruct them. In the Sixties, this was fun, with imaginative art.
Forty years later, this came out. Fun no more.
The art is too stylistic for my taste. The story ... I should have taken heed of the credit "Based on ideas by Grant Morrison." That Brit is too far out for me.
DC has put out several Metal Men miniseries since. From what I've read, all have fallen short. There's a problem when each tries to abandon the concepts in its predecessor.
Maybe someday somebody will hit on what works. I hope to be around to read it.
The Metal Men are sentient constructs, each made of an elemental metal: copper, gold, iron, lead, mercury, platinum, and tin. Each has a distinctive personality. They can take on any form and suffer terminal damage, but their creator can reconstruct them. In the Sixties, this was fun, with imaginative art.
Forty years later, this came out. Fun no more.
The art is too stylistic for my taste. The story ... I should have taken heed of the credit "Based on ideas by Grant Morrison." That Brit is too far out for me.
DC has put out several Metal Men miniseries since. From what I've read, all have fallen short. There's a problem when each tries to abandon the concepts in its predecessor.
Maybe someday somebody will hit on what works. I hope to be around to read it.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026 09:13 AM (c+KNC)
19
Also on my TBR pile: a fairly late Western from Elmore Leonard, Gunsights; a late Donald Westlake Dortmunder caper, What's So Funny; and Agatha Christie's non-series mystery, Passenger to Frankfurt. I've found myself preferring her non-series books to the ones with Miss Marple or Poirot, just as I have with Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:13 AM (wzUl9)
20
So! What is on the minds of the Book Thread patrons?
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 29, 2026 09:06 AM (vAQDP)
What do the bookstores do with the books and magazines they can't sell? Do they send it back to the publishers for credit or what?
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 29, 2026 09:06 AM (vAQDP)
What do the bookstores do with the books and magazines they can't sell? Do they send it back to the publishers for credit or what?
Posted by: dantesed at March 29, 2026 09:14 AM (Oy/m2)
21
I'm still reading Hegseth's book "The War on Warriors" and it is already obvious why Trump selected him and why he is an excellent choice.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 29, 2026 09:14 AM (RIvkX)
22
Just before this thread, I saw a clip of an interview with Brandon Sanderson where he affirmed hus full and unequivocal support for LGBTQ+ specislly trans.
And just like that my to-read pile got shorter.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 29, 2026 09:13 AM (tcsrY)
---
Yep. He went full-woke.
After reading the woke disaster that was "Wind and Truth," I have no desire to read any more Sanderson.
And just like that my to-read pile got shorter.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 29, 2026 09:13 AM (tcsrY)
---
Yep. He went full-woke.
After reading the woke disaster that was "Wind and Truth," I have no desire to read any more Sanderson.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 29, 2026 09:14 AM (ESVrU)
23
This sounds very circular and self-reinforcing! If your book cannot get into book stores it is because it.... cannot possibly get into book stores! And why, you ask? Well, because it cannot, that's why!
Be like Dickens and serialize in a (now online) periodical you yourself own! Skip the whole mess.
Be like Dickens and serialize in a (now online) periodical you yourself own! Skip the whole mess.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at March 29, 2026 09:14 AM (deJNz)
24
Ebooks are turning into the subscription model software model, the seller wants continuous revenue. Real books get sold once, and then loaned around, I don't see why a file would be any different.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 29, 2026 09:15 AM (0U5gm)
25
This past week I re-read a collection of nonfiction pieces about true crime and disasters by Avram Davidson, _Crimes & Chaos_. I think I've discussed it here before, but Davidson is nearly always a good read.
The other book is _New Maps of Hell_ by Kingsley Amis. It's a study of science fiction at the time. This was a big deal when it came out in 1960, because Amis was a big-deal Real Writer and Real Critic and Real English Guy so it was like SF was finally allowed to sit in the room with the grownups (though still not at the big table).
Amis was still a Commie at the time (he got over it by degrees) so he's down on SF for not being Socially Progressive enough. This was 1960, remember, when the people who hired all the current crop of blue-hairs were still in grade school.
He also wanted more sex in SF. I don't think he knew much about the actual readership of SF in America, or about how the magazines had to keep their content family-friendly to stay on the spinner racks in the drugstores.
As criticism it's . . . kinda superficial, really. I think it was intended more as an introduction to the genre for people with no experience in the field.
The other book is _New Maps of Hell_ by Kingsley Amis. It's a study of science fiction at the time. This was a big deal when it came out in 1960, because Amis was a big-deal Real Writer and Real Critic and Real English Guy so it was like SF was finally allowed to sit in the room with the grownups (though still not at the big table).
Amis was still a Commie at the time (he got over it by degrees) so he's down on SF for not being Socially Progressive enough. This was 1960, remember, when the people who hired all the current crop of blue-hairs were still in grade school.
He also wanted more sex in SF. I don't think he knew much about the actual readership of SF in America, or about how the magazines had to keep their content family-friendly to stay on the spinner racks in the drugstores.
As criticism it's . . . kinda superficial, really. I think it was intended more as an introduction to the genre for people with no experience in the field.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2026 09:15 AM (78a2H)
26
Good morning!
Started on Niven's 'Bowl of Heaven' yesterday. So far, disappointed. Lots of ground already covered in other previous works, and not the lean and tight prose of earlier years. Flabby writing, like they were going to write three books and only had about 1 to 1.5 worth of materiel. It hasn't been passed over yet, but...
I did enjoy Tim Powers' 'Web of Medusa' over the last week. Interesting book, and it kept me engaged throughout.
So, is there going to be a collaborative writing adventure, featuring The Adventures of Camilla Flickbean?
Started on Niven's 'Bowl of Heaven' yesterday. So far, disappointed. Lots of ground already covered in other previous works, and not the lean and tight prose of earlier years. Flabby writing, like they were going to write three books and only had about 1 to 1.5 worth of materiel. It hasn't been passed over yet, but...
I did enjoy Tim Powers' 'Web of Medusa' over the last week. Interesting book, and it kept me engaged throughout.
So, is there going to be a collaborative writing adventure, featuring The Adventures of Camilla Flickbean?
Posted by: Brewingfrog at March 29, 2026 09:16 AM (V4wbn)
27
I think indy authors can buy small blocks of ISBN numbers on the cheap compared to the cost of one ISBN number.
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 09:16 AM (cfwti)
28
Violence! Horror!Torture, and More! It's A...
COMIC BOOK APOCALYPSE!
The Death of Pre-Code Comics and Why It Happened, 1940-1955
By David J. Hogan
A delightful wallow in the mid-century filth of crime, horror, war, science fiction, jungle, and romance comics that impressionable young people gobbled up. I'm not one for censorship but I can sort of see why reformer Frederic Wertham's underoos were in a twist. This shit was bananas. Titillating, grotesque, violent, and during the war, pretty racist-y. Lots of strangling and eye-gouging. Like the film industry, it led to internal self-censorship to keep the do-gooders off their backs.
Mad Magazine's William M. Gaines "testified before a senate subcommittee that the cover of "Crime SuspenStories" no. 22 hadn't been in bad taste -- because the woman's severed head was held so that the bones, muscles, and blood vessels in the neck weren't shown. Just saying."
Being a Mad Mag kid, I of course love Harvey Kurtzman's covers "Calculated to Drive You MAD".
COMIC BOOK APOCALYPSE!
The Death of Pre-Code Comics and Why It Happened, 1940-1955
By David J. Hogan
A delightful wallow in the mid-century filth of crime, horror, war, science fiction, jungle, and romance comics that impressionable young people gobbled up. I'm not one for censorship but I can sort of see why reformer Frederic Wertham's underoos were in a twist. This shit was bananas. Titillating, grotesque, violent, and during the war, pretty racist-y. Lots of strangling and eye-gouging. Like the film industry, it led to internal self-censorship to keep the do-gooders off their backs.
Mad Magazine's William M. Gaines "testified before a senate subcommittee that the cover of "Crime SuspenStories" no. 22 hadn't been in bad taste -- because the woman's severed head was held so that the bones, muscles, and blood vessels in the neck weren't shown. Just saying."
Being a Mad Mag kid, I of course love Harvey Kurtzman's covers "Calculated to Drive You MAD".
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at March 29, 2026 09:17 AM (kpS4V)
29
You know whose books NEVER show up in any of the three library ebook library systems I have access to - Larry Correia.
I suspect he is blacklisted for being too rightwing political
I suspect he is blacklisted for being too rightwing political
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 29, 2026 09:18 AM (tcsrY)
30
Morning, Sabrina.
Howdy, horde.
While I have no numbers, I've long had the impression, from my library days and from the higher library ebook fees charged by publishers, that a number of publishers aren't too crazy about libraries either. While a library sale is a sale, every circulation represents a sale the publisher should have had if only the cheapskate reader had bought the book the way God intended. The publisher can't really gouge the libraries on those physical copies, but the publisher can try to make up some of the loss by charging libraries an idiotically high price for ebook licenses. Last I heard it was usually after 25 circulations -- 6 is just insane.
Howdy, horde.
While I have no numbers, I've long had the impression, from my library days and from the higher library ebook fees charged by publishers, that a number of publishers aren't too crazy about libraries either. While a library sale is a sale, every circulation represents a sale the publisher should have had if only the cheapskate reader had bought the book the way God intended. The publisher can't really gouge the libraries on those physical copies, but the publisher can try to make up some of the loss by charging libraries an idiotically high price for ebook licenses. Last I heard it was usually after 25 circulations -- 6 is just insane.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2026 09:18 AM (q3u5l)
31
We'd always been taught in school that Sparta was such a terrible dictatorship, but Athens (its voting assembly, anyway) was bad too. So much for the joys of pure "democracy."
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:10 AM (wzUl9)
---
It's interesting that among political theorists, Sparta is much preferred. The Spartan constitution had several innovative elements, such as a dual monarchy, that is to say there were two royal lines descended from Heracles, which meant both kings had to agree on policy. There were also the Ephors, magistrates who also acted as a check on royal power.
Both states depended on a slave underclass, and Athens' democracy was often fickle, swayed by demagogues and stampeded into rash decisions. Outside of modern American academics, Sparta was always held up as a better way of government, and Rome used a system of two co-rulers in emulation of it.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:10 AM (wzUl9)
---
It's interesting that among political theorists, Sparta is much preferred. The Spartan constitution had several innovative elements, such as a dual monarchy, that is to say there were two royal lines descended from Heracles, which meant both kings had to agree on policy. There were also the Ephors, magistrates who also acted as a check on royal power.
Both states depended on a slave underclass, and Athens' democracy was often fickle, swayed by demagogues and stampeded into rash decisions. Outside of modern American academics, Sparta was always held up as a better way of government, and Rome used a system of two co-rulers in emulation of it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:19 AM (ZOv7s)
32
Trimegistus, I'm a big fan of Avram Davidson too, beginning with the first short story of his I read as a teen, "Hark, Was That the Squeal of an Angry Thoat?"
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at March 29, 2026 09:20 AM (kpS4V)
33
I am struggling through a Cormoran Strike crime thriller. The main take-away from the book is some writers are so big they can escape editors attempts to tighten plots and eliminate long meaningless travels through casual writing cul-de-sacs and J.K.Rowling is one such writer.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at March 29, 2026 09:21 AM (5ZDo1)
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 29, 2026 09:22 AM (tcsrY)
35
You know whose books NEVER show up in any of the three library ebook library systems I have access to - Larry Correia.
---
I just buy his ebooks...all of them.
---
I just buy his ebooks...all of them.
Posted by: lin-duh is offended at March 29, 2026 09:22 AM (VCgbV)
36
I would rather have a hard book if using it for reference often
Posted by: Skip at March 29, 2026 09:23 AM (Ia/+0)
37
Finished reading "When the Stones Speak: The Remarkable Discovery of the City of David and What Israel's Enemies Don't Want You To Know," by Doron Spielman. Amazon book link:
https://tinyurl.com/3n4epx2x
Author bio:
https://tinyurl.com/yjsakntk
Quite a life experience for a boy born and raised in Farmington Hills, Michigan!
Grokepedia - City of David:
https://tinyurl.com/323jp95a
Very easy read. Spielman explains how he got involved in the first place in the City of David project, which was not up his alley.
The book introduces the early archaeological history of the era, beginning with Britain's famous Captain Charles Warren and a few who followed through the early 20th century but missed the grand prize(s).
The author flips between ancient and modern history, draws parallels but mainly highlight the major and massive discoveries made over the years. The book was written after the Oct. 7th war began, so it is sufficiently up to date.
We and our pups, knowing one of the City of David guides very well, were given a private pre-opening tour of the major discovery of the route leading up to the side of the Temple Mount way above the City of David. It was very moving.
https://tinyurl.com/3n4epx2x
Author bio:
https://tinyurl.com/yjsakntk
Quite a life experience for a boy born and raised in Farmington Hills, Michigan!
Grokepedia - City of David:
https://tinyurl.com/323jp95a
Very easy read. Spielman explains how he got involved in the first place in the City of David project, which was not up his alley.
The book introduces the early archaeological history of the era, beginning with Britain's famous Captain Charles Warren and a few who followed through the early 20th century but missed the grand prize(s).
The author flips between ancient and modern history, draws parallels but mainly highlight the major and massive discoveries made over the years. The book was written after the Oct. 7th war began, so it is sufficiently up to date.
We and our pups, knowing one of the City of David guides very well, were given a private pre-opening tour of the major discovery of the route leading up to the side of the Temple Mount way above the City of David. It was very moving.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 09:23 AM (1o8D5)
38
Pericles was considersd the standard but then again he started the pelopennesian war ans it descended into the rule of niciss and cleon and later alcibiades
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 09:24 AM (bXbFr)
39
That top painting is special!! It so completely illustrates the feelings of wonder and possibility for young people as they find adventure and new worlds from books. It's how I felt when I first read Treasure Island or explored the galaxy in the Lensman series or rode through Sherwood Forest on the way to the archery tournament. My feet may be on the ground but I still love the view in the clouds and the possibility of new paths to follow.
The walking songs in The Hobbit and LOTR captures this feeling.
Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.
The walking songs in The Hobbit and LOTR captures this feeling.
Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.
Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2026 09:24 AM (yTvNw)
40
I am struggling through a Cormoran Strike crime thriller. The main take-away from the book is some writers are so big they can escape editors attempts to tighten plots and eliminate long meaningless travels through casual writing cul-de-sacs and J.K.Rowling is one such writer.
Posted by: Huck Follywood
---
Which one?
Posted by: Huck Follywood
---
Which one?
Posted by: lin-duh is offended at March 29, 2026 09:25 AM (VCgbV)
41
Chatles warren who according riocc searched for the ark in turn of the century palestine (not where you think)
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 09:25 AM (bXbFr)
42
Good Sunday morning, horde!
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 29, 2026 09:25 AM (h7ZuX)
43
Sabrina,
Is that top picture available to purchase as a print or poster? And who is the artist?
Is that top picture available to purchase as a print or poster? And who is the artist?
Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2026 09:26 AM (yTvNw)
44
One of the (many) things I've been reading through is The Rippaverse Omnibus. A ridiculously thick book that reprints everything put out in the first three years of a recently-started comic book publisher. It has complete collections of the company's flagship characters, plus a bunch of 'Part 1's of lesser yet-to-be-completed stories.
One such side story is 'The Great War of Separation' which has a part 1 and a part 2, out a planned 4. Part 1 is bleak, and kind of disturbing. As you might guess from the name, it's the story of a modern-day civil war. And it is disturbing because it so plausible. Mexican Cartels kill a few boarder-patrolmen in Texas. Border patrol kills cartel operatives. Things escalate. The response from Washington is just to say 'knock it off, just calm down and let it go.' That doesn't go over so well, and Texas essentially secedes. The situation gets more overtly violent in Part 2, but that story doesn't seem as bleak, because it's less tied to the real world. The two governments use super-hero/super-villain operatives to achieve their ends. With the story now fully in the realm of comic-book-fantasy, it is far more escapist and enjoyable.
One such side story is 'The Great War of Separation' which has a part 1 and a part 2, out a planned 4. Part 1 is bleak, and kind of disturbing. As you might guess from the name, it's the story of a modern-day civil war. And it is disturbing because it so plausible. Mexican Cartels kill a few boarder-patrolmen in Texas. Border patrol kills cartel operatives. Things escalate. The response from Washington is just to say 'knock it off, just calm down and let it go.' That doesn't go over so well, and Texas essentially secedes. The situation gets more overtly violent in Part 2, but that story doesn't seem as bleak, because it's less tied to the real world. The two governments use super-hero/super-villain operatives to achieve their ends. With the story now fully in the realm of comic-book-fantasy, it is far more escapist and enjoyable.
Posted by: Castle Guy at March 29, 2026 09:26 AM (Lhaco)
45
Fascinating. I did not know Baker&Taylor had taken a dirt nap. I *do* know Ingram is getting ... er, flakier by the minute, so the distributor ecosystem could be doing a Hindenburg entirely in a year or so.
I do not know what is done with unsold magazines. They use distributors too but different ones. I do know the magazines that used to publish Fantasy and SF short stories have all but vanished. Mostly that market has gone online. (Why not? no paper expenses, and can be sent anywhere with an internet connection)
I do not know what is done with unsold magazines. They use distributors too but different ones. I do know the magazines that used to publish Fantasy and SF short stories have all but vanished. Mostly that market has gone online. (Why not? no paper expenses, and can be sent anywhere with an internet connection)
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 29, 2026 09:26 AM (vAQDP)
46
Davidson is one of those writers the public probably doesn't know about but every writer has something by him on the shelf.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2026 09:26 AM (78a2H)
47
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card is not a sequel to Ender's Game, but is a parallel novel, the same timeline told from a different character's perspective. If you enjoyed the original, you will likewise enjoy this one.
Bean, the protagonist, is a highly intelligent child living on the streets in Holland after escaping from the genetic engineer who created him. He joins a gang by befriending its leader, Poke. The gang comes into contact with a nun, Sister Carlotta, who suggests him for battle school, and he is accepted.
Despite his young age and small size, Bean's intelligence on display leads him to be selected as the backup to Ender, and over time Bean becomes a valuable lieutenant to him, helping with planning for battles, and eventually determining that the battle simulations are in fact real battles. This novel gives an interestingly different view of the Ender story.
Bean, the protagonist, is a highly intelligent child living on the streets in Holland after escaping from the genetic engineer who created him. He joins a gang by befriending its leader, Poke. The gang comes into contact with a nun, Sister Carlotta, who suggests him for battle school, and he is accepted.
Despite his young age and small size, Bean's intelligence on display leads him to be selected as the backup to Ender, and over time Bean becomes a valuable lieutenant to him, helping with planning for battles, and eventually determining that the battle simulations are in fact real battles. This novel gives an interestingly different view of the Ender story.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 29, 2026 09:27 AM (0U5gm)
48
My big read this week is Thomas Mullen's weirdly prescient 2006 novel "The Last Town on Earth", about an isolated logging town in Washington State that decides to quarantine itself from the outside world during the 1918 flu epidemic. There's a backdrop of labor unrest, suspicion of outsiders, and the Wilson administration's attack on "seditious" speech. The new flu strain is fast-acting and vicious and nobody knows how long they have to wait until it manifests in the body. Masking and social distancing are required in the cities. Business and transportation grind to a halt from both the draft and illness claiming workers.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at March 29, 2026 09:27 AM (kpS4V)
49
Started on Niven's 'Bowl of Heaven' yesterday. So far, disappointed. Lots of ground already covered in other previous works, and not the lean and tight prose of earlier years. Flabby writing, like they were going to write three books and only had about 1 to 1.5 worth of materiel. It hasn't been passed over yet, but...
Posted by: Brewingfrog at March 29, 2026
***
I noticed that about Bowl of Heaven. It might have something to do with his collaboration with Gregory Benford, though. I haven't read any Benford so I don't know anything about his style. I read the third in the series, Glorious, first. It also has some BIG, mind-bending engineering concepts in it. Shipstar is the middle one, and my library has it.
Posted by: Brewingfrog at March 29, 2026
***
I noticed that about Bowl of Heaven. It might have something to do with his collaboration with Gregory Benford, though. I haven't read any Benford so I don't know anything about his style. I read the third in the series, Glorious, first. It also has some BIG, mind-bending engineering concepts in it. Shipstar is the middle one, and my library has it.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:28 AM (wzUl9)
50
43 JTB
That picture is pure AI art, from a prompt of "librarian catching flying books with a butterfly net, in the style of Rackham". It took several attempts, mostly because MidJourney appears to have no concept of a butterfly net. I feel old.
That picture is pure AI art, from a prompt of "librarian catching flying books with a butterfly net, in the style of Rackham". It took several attempts, mostly because MidJourney appears to have no concept of a butterfly net. I feel old.
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 29, 2026 09:28 AM (vAQDP)
51
Umpteen years ago when I worked for a Chicago bookstore, paperback 'returns' were done by tearing off the cover and then ripping the book itself down the spine. This was to avoid having the coverless book turn up on sale somewhere, which did happen. I dimly recall a small shop in Chicago Lawn that was stocked almost entirely with paperback books without covers -- whoever ran the place must have had a contact inside Charles Levy (the big magazine & paperback distributor at the time) or else raided a number of big bookstore dumpsters.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2026 09:29 AM (q3u5l)
52
Morning, 'rons and 'ronettes. Another chilly day here at Stately Poppins Manor.
Now to read the comments.
Now to read the comments.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 29, 2026 09:29 AM (ufSfZ)
53
And so we come at last to "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields."
Rohan has answered Gondor's request for aid, arriving at dawn on the field of battle.
For such a momentous event, it's a rather short chapter, only about 10 pages or so, though it takes up a considerable chunk of screentime in the movie.
Rohan has answered Gondor's request for aid, arriving at dawn on the field of battle.
For such a momentous event, it's a rather short chapter, only about 10 pages or so, though it takes up a considerable chunk of screentime in the movie.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 29, 2026 09:29 AM (ESVrU)
54
Glad to see Miguel Cervantes here. One question: Since you reputedly composed Don Q while in prison and with no access to writing materials, how did you train your memory to recall the writing in such detail when you finally got free? I ask because I can barely remember a thought from five minutes ago and you managed to remember and entire novel composed in your head. Truly astounding, if true.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at March 29, 2026 09:29 AM (I2GmU)
55
the rule of niciss and cleon and later alcibiades
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 09:24 AM (bXbFr)
Donald Kagan argued that Cleon was right. He was winning the war until he got skewered taking general Brasidas off the board.
This is distilled in "Thucydides", which Bryn Mawr knocks as being a cut-and-paste job from earlier books, but it's the one I read and the shortest read.
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 09:24 AM (bXbFr)
Donald Kagan argued that Cleon was right. He was winning the war until he got skewered taking general Brasidas off the board.
This is distilled in "Thucydides", which Bryn Mawr knocks as being a cut-and-paste job from earlier books, but it's the one I read and the shortest read.
Posted by: gKWVE at March 29, 2026 09:30 AM (olyA2)
56
Davidson is one of those writers the public probably doesn't know about but every writer has something by him on the shelf.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2026
***
I've read a few of his short stories. Mainly I know his work from his ghostwriting on the late Ellery Queen novels of the Sixties. Odd that the cousins, or at least Fred Dannay, picked SF writers in the main to be his ghostwriters: Davidson and Theodore Sturgeon. Jack Vance did write some of the non-series paperback mysteries published as by Queen, but I don't think he ever collaborated with Dannay.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 29, 2026
***
I've read a few of his short stories. Mainly I know his work from his ghostwriting on the late Ellery Queen novels of the Sixties. Odd that the cousins, or at least Fred Dannay, picked SF writers in the main to be his ghostwriters: Davidson and Theodore Sturgeon. Jack Vance did write some of the non-series paperback mysteries published as by Queen, but I don't think he ever collaborated with Dannay.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:31 AM (wzUl9)
57
I've long had the impression, from my library days and from the higher library ebook fees charged by publishers, that a number of publishers aren't too crazy about libraries either. While a library sale is a sale, every circulation represents a sale the publisher should have had if only the cheapskate reader had bought the book the way God intended.
Posted by: Just Some Guy
I though the whole idea of libraries was to give people an opportunity to read books they might not be able to afford, or to try out an author or book with no risk to see if they liked what they read.
Posted by: Just Some Guy
I though the whole idea of libraries was to give people an opportunity to read books they might not be able to afford, or to try out an author or book with no risk to see if they liked what they read.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 29, 2026 09:31 AM (0U5gm)
58
Which one?
Posted by: lin-duh is offended at March 29, 2026 09:25 AM (VCgbV)
-----------
"The Hallmark Man", about the murder victim found in the safe of a silver dealer specializing in Masonic silver.
Posted by: lin-duh is offended at March 29, 2026 09:25 AM (VCgbV)
-----------
"The Hallmark Man", about the murder victim found in the safe of a silver dealer specializing in Masonic silver.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at March 29, 2026 09:33 AM (I2GmU)
59
A protege of the late donald knox john hale had an entirest___ treatise of the oarsmen of the athenian navy from pericles to demosthenes
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 09:34 AM (bXbFr)
60
I though the whole idea of libraries was to give people an opportunity to read books they might not be able to afford, or to try out an author or book with no risk to see if they liked what they read.
Silly Wabbit, as if the (current) publishing houses care about readers! Please refer to my rant at the top of the post. They care about *money* and libraries don't make them *money* and want special reinforced hardbacks and so on. Really, they consider readers a species of pest. But I'm not biased, no...
Silly Wabbit, as if the (current) publishing houses care about readers! Please refer to my rant at the top of the post. They care about *money* and libraries don't make them *money* and want special reinforced hardbacks and so on. Really, they consider readers a species of pest. But I'm not biased, no...
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 29, 2026 09:35 AM (vAQDP)
61
1000s of books that were available in public libraries are now being banned under Trump inspired policies at the state and local levels
1.5% of all live births in USA show hormonal or general results that could be classes as intersex
1 birth out of 5000 about 600 per year are born with genetalia classes by doctors as "ambiguous" should they be euthanized or accepted as human?
1.5% of all live births in USA show hormonal or general results that could be classes as intersex
1 birth out of 5000 about 600 per year are born with genetalia classes by doctors as "ambiguous" should they be euthanized or accepted as human?
Posted by: Aliassmithsmith at March 29, 2026 09:35 AM (WGH+P)
62
50 ... Sabrina, Thanks for the info and process. Since my technical knowledge is 40 years out of date, AI never occurred to me.
Just learned I can download the image so I can look at it whenever I want for my enjoyment. (I hope that is okay.)
Just learned I can download the image so I can look at it whenever I want for my enjoyment. (I hope that is okay.)
Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2026 09:36 AM (yTvNw)
63
Sabrina Chase bringing her big brain. Nice image if not strange.
We've had two brick and mortar book store closures in this area and it sucks. Online and digital is fine but it's not the same experience.
We've had two brick and mortar book store closures in this area and it sucks. Online and digital is fine but it's not the same experience.
Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at March 29, 2026 09:36 AM (Fbc0I)
64
Chatles warren who according riocc searched for the ark in turn of the century palestine (not where you think)
Warren was also Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police during the Jack the Ripper murders.
Warren was also Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police during the Jack the Ripper murders.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 29, 2026 09:37 AM (ufSfZ)
65
This came up early in the week but seems germane here. I lot of people struggle with Tom Bombadil - why he is there, what he means, etc.
Ace suggested he was a self-insert or leftover from an earlier draft. Both are completely false. Tolkien wrote LotR with great care and precision, even to the point of preferring words derived from Anglo-Saxon over Latin roots. He did not "just leave stuff in."
Bombadil is a Maia, and his purpose is twofold. First he is there to show how the Shire is really protected, and that it's not just the Dunedain, it is also Bombadil.
He is also there to show that Eru's servants are still at work. Guardian angels are real, and he saves the hobbits not as a deux ex machina, but to demonstrate that prayers are in fact answered. He teaches them a "song" (prayers are often sung) and it is promptly answered.
Ace suggested he was a self-insert or leftover from an earlier draft. Both are completely false. Tolkien wrote LotR with great care and precision, even to the point of preferring words derived from Anglo-Saxon over Latin roots. He did not "just leave stuff in."
Bombadil is a Maia, and his purpose is twofold. First he is there to show how the Shire is really protected, and that it's not just the Dunedain, it is also Bombadil.
He is also there to show that Eru's servants are still at work. Guardian angels are real, and he saves the hobbits not as a deux ex machina, but to demonstrate that prayers are in fact answered. He teaches them a "song" (prayers are often sung) and it is promptly answered.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:37 AM (ZOv7s)
66
Kingsley Amis's book on Ian Fleming and James Bond is a lot of fun, as I recall. "When Mr. Bond is injured in the course of a mission, he goes decently to hospital."
His continuation novel, Colonel Sun as by "Robert Markham," has a lot to recommend it. It's not as exciting as Anthony Horowitz's recent period-piece, Trigger Mortis, but it is quite good and sends Bond somewhere Fleming never did, the isles of Greece.
His continuation novel, Colonel Sun as by "Robert Markham," has a lot to recommend it. It's not as exciting as Anthony Horowitz's recent period-piece, Trigger Mortis, but it is quite good and sends Bond somewhere Fleming never did, the isles of Greece.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:37 AM (wzUl9)
67
18 The Metal Men are sentient constructs, each made of an elemental metal: copper, gold, iron, lead, mercury, platinum, and tin. ...
The art is too stylistic for my taste. The story ... I should have taken heed of the credit "Based on ideas by Grant Morrison." That Brit is too far out for me.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026 09:13 AM (c+KNC)
Oh, yeah, 'Grant Morrison' is a giant red flag. He's on my personal blacklist. I've read a few things where the Metal Men guest-star, but never read anything featuring them specifically. Not dissing them, but they just aren't my thing. It's not helped by the somewhat goofy character designs that seem to follow them around.
The art is too stylistic for my taste. The story ... I should have taken heed of the credit "Based on ideas by Grant Morrison." That Brit is too far out for me.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026 09:13 AM (c+KNC)
Oh, yeah, 'Grant Morrison' is a giant red flag. He's on my personal blacklist. I've read a few things where the Metal Men guest-star, but never read anything featuring them specifically. Not dissing them, but they just aren't my thing. It's not helped by the somewhat goofy character designs that seem to follow them around.
Posted by: Castle Guy at March 29, 2026 09:38 AM (Lhaco)
68
I'm reading Larry Correia's, Monster Hunter Files 2, and listening to, Of War and Ruin, by Ryan Cahill. I listen to books during the day and read before bed since I only like to read in bed.
Posted by: lin-duh is offended at March 29, 2026 09:38 AM (VCgbV)
69
I have two rock and roll Audible books for you. The first is Miss O'Dell by Chris O'Dell. She started out working for the Beatles at Apple. Became friends with George and Patti, Ringo and Maureen. Went on to be tour manager for several bands, including the Rolling Stones. She had a interesting life and managed to survive the drugs and booze. Had two songs written for her, Pisces Apple Lady by Leon Russell and Miss O'Dell by George Harrison. The book reader does a goos job.
Still working on Waiting on the Moon by Peter Wolf. He was lead singer for J Geils Band, and involved with Faye Dunaway at one point. Another interesting life. He reads his own book and does an entertaining job of it. I saw that band in concert at least three times and they always put on a good show.
I tried to start on about Joni Mitchell, but am not sure I will get back into it. Chris O'Dell was managing Dylan's Rolling Thunder tour and having a relationship with Sam Shepherd, who was filming the tour. He wound up sleeping with Joni Mitchell, who dropped by to check out the tour. And that led to a mention of Chris in Joni's song Coyote, about Sam.
Still working on Waiting on the Moon by Peter Wolf. He was lead singer for J Geils Band, and involved with Faye Dunaway at one point. Another interesting life. He reads his own book and does an entertaining job of it. I saw that band in concert at least three times and they always put on a good show.
I tried to start on about Joni Mitchell, but am not sure I will get back into it. Chris O'Dell was managing Dylan's Rolling Thunder tour and having a relationship with Sam Shepherd, who was filming the tour. He wound up sleeping with Joni Mitchell, who dropped by to check out the tour. And that led to a mention of Chris in Joni's song Coyote, about Sam.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at March 29, 2026 09:38 AM (gQ15S)
70
30 ... I've long had the impression, from my library days and from the higher library ebook fees charged by publishers, that a number of publishers aren't too crazy about libraries either. While a library sale is a sale, every circulation represents a sale the publisher should have had if only the cheapskate reader had bought the book the way God intended.
****
The public library movement would never have gotten off the ground today -- or even been thought of.
****
The public library movement would never have gotten off the ground today -- or even been thought of.
Posted by: werewife at March 29, 2026 09:39 AM (5ayY3)
71
My big read this week is Thomas Mullen's weirdly prescient 2006 novel "The Last Town on Earth", about an isolated logging town in Washington State that decides to quarantine itself from the outside world during the 1918 flu epidemic.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at March 29, 2026 09:27 AM (kpS4V)
Gunnison, Colorado, "successfully avoided the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 by implementing strict quarantine measures, including closing schools and churches, banning public gatherings, and erecting barricades to prevent outsiders from entering the town."
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at March 29, 2026 09:27 AM (kpS4V)
Gunnison, Colorado, "successfully avoided the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 by implementing strict quarantine measures, including closing schools and churches, banning public gatherings, and erecting barricades to prevent outsiders from entering the town."
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 09:39 AM (cfwti)
72
It's interesting that among political theorists, Sparta is much preferred. The Spartan constitution had several innovative elements, such as a dual monarchy, that is to say there were two royal lines descended from Heracles, which meant both kings had to agree on policy. There were also the Ephors, magistrates who also acted as a check on royal power.
Both states depended on a slave underclass, and Athens' democracy was often fickle, swayed by demagogues and stampeded into rash decisions. Outside of modern American academics, Sparta was always held up as a better way of government, and Rome used a system of two co-rulers in emulation of it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd
=======
Speaking from the world of political science, Sparta was actually the model for Plato's Republic--so theorists that like Plato, like Sparta. Aristotle though, an Athenian, is the countervailing model through Thomism in Western Thought.
Aristotle taught there was NO perfect form of government but that the form of government must fit the people. As society of people change, the form of government will eventually change to fit that society as well.
Both states depended on a slave underclass, and Athens' democracy was often fickle, swayed by demagogues and stampeded into rash decisions. Outside of modern American academics, Sparta was always held up as a better way of government, and Rome used a system of two co-rulers in emulation of it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd
=======
Speaking from the world of political science, Sparta was actually the model for Plato's Republic--so theorists that like Plato, like Sparta. Aristotle though, an Athenian, is the countervailing model through Thomism in Western Thought.
Aristotle taught there was NO perfect form of government but that the form of government must fit the people. As society of people change, the form of government will eventually change to fit that society as well.
Posted by: whig at March 29, 2026 09:39 AM (E4rtv)
73
Gunnison, Colorado, "successfully avoided the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 by implementing strict quarantine measures, including closing schools and churches, banning public gatherings, and erecting barricades to prevent outsiders from entering the town."
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026
***
Gunnison was probably pretty hard to get to anyway in 1918!
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026
***
Gunnison was probably pretty hard to get to anyway in 1918!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:40 AM (wzUl9)
74
I never read Amis' book on Bond, but I flipped through a copy decades ago and found a line that's stuck with me:
"M is Bond's chief adversary."
"M is Bond's chief adversary."
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026 09:40 AM (p/isN)
75
Regarding the Ring, Bombadil does not have power over it, and it does not have power over him. He and Sauron are of the same kind, and both have rooted themselves to a particular realm.
Bombadil treats the ring as something of a joke, because to him, it is. Sauron is a jerk co-worker who fought with the boss and then made a toy. Boring. Bombadil has a garden to tend to and people who need protection, who count on him. He knows five (!) other Maia came over to deal with Sauron, so not his monkey, not his circus.
Bombadil treats the ring as something of a joke, because to him, it is. Sauron is a jerk co-worker who fought with the boss and then made a toy. Boring. Bombadil has a garden to tend to and people who need protection, who count on him. He knows five (!) other Maia came over to deal with Sauron, so not his monkey, not his circus.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:41 AM (ZOv7s)
76
I first saw that message about “If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that it is stolen property” back in 1992 when I first read Larry Bond’s “Vortex” in paperback.
Damn good book incidentally.
Damn good book incidentally.
Posted by: Cow Demon at March 29, 2026 09:41 AM (nqStX)
77
I haven't been doing any steady reading lately, just bouncing around from book to book. I picked up a few at the local book sale last week, but I think they fall into the "read once then give away" category.
One that intrigues me is Evening in the Palace of Reason, about the relationship between Frederick the Great and JS Bach. I'll get to it at some point.
One that intrigues me is Evening in the Palace of Reason, about the relationship between Frederick the Great and JS Bach. I'll get to it at some point.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 29, 2026 09:42 AM (ufSfZ)
78
I have a funny story about ISBNs (really!)
The library software company I worked for was a subsidiary of Bowker, the company that manages ISBNs in the United States. There was a big company meeting one day where they invited questions from the peons. I had just started my indie publishing journey so I asked "Is there any plan to offer discounted ISBNs to company employees as a benefit?" I figured why not, maybe I'd get lucky. The Big President apparently saw this, decided it was a good idea and to encourage employees to write books offered everyone 10 FREE ISBNs!
This sounds like a lot, but if you factor in one ISBN per format (ebook, print, audiobook) it adds up fast. Technically you should have one for different types of ebook, but I usually just file one and call it good. I purchased a big block in addition that I am still working through, but it was a very nice company perk!
The library software company I worked for was a subsidiary of Bowker, the company that manages ISBNs in the United States. There was a big company meeting one day where they invited questions from the peons. I had just started my indie publishing journey so I asked "Is there any plan to offer discounted ISBNs to company employees as a benefit?" I figured why not, maybe I'd get lucky. The Big President apparently saw this, decided it was a good idea and to encourage employees to write books offered everyone 10 FREE ISBNs!
This sounds like a lot, but if you factor in one ISBN per format (ebook, print, audiobook) it adds up fast. Technically you should have one for different types of ebook, but I usually just file one and call it good. I purchased a big block in addition that I am still working through, but it was a very nice company perk!
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 29, 2026 09:42 AM (vAQDP)
79
Gunnison was probably pretty hard to get to anyway in 1918!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:40 AM (wzUl9)
Grandpa was born there in 1905.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:40 AM (wzUl9)
Grandpa was born there in 1905.
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 09:43 AM (cfwti)
80
How to get your books into libraries?
Funny, someone just posted about that on A Literary Horde.
https://tinyurl.com/rvera5t8
Funny, someone just posted about that on A Literary Horde.
https://tinyurl.com/rvera5t8
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 09:43 AM (1Ff7Z)
81
Speaking of free books and destroyed copies, I was on the team that assessed the corpse of the Houston Post when it was closed down. I and a colleague spent quite a bit of time in the extraordinarily messy book review room, full of publisher's copies and the requisite number of properly damaged books to be returned.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 29, 2026 09:43 AM (0U5gm)
82
Regarding the Ring, Bombadil does not have power over it, and it does not have power over him. He and Sauron are of the same kind, and both have rooted themselves to a particular realm.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:41 AM (ZOv7s)
---
Tolkien himself rejected the idea that Bombadil was a Maia. He's an enigma, placed there deliberately by Tolkien to be an eternal mystery to the reader.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:41 AM (ZOv7s)
---
Tolkien himself rejected the idea that Bombadil was a Maia. He's an enigma, placed there deliberately by Tolkien to be an eternal mystery to the reader.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 29, 2026 09:43 AM (ESVrU)
83
and erecting barricades to prevent outsiders from entering the town."
Posted by: 13times
___________
Did the people manning the barricades and turning outsiders back then also have to leave town?
Posted by: 13times
___________
Did the people manning the barricades and turning outsiders back then also have to leave town?
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at March 29, 2026 09:44 AM (XvL8K)
84
Let us pause and pray for those lost souls compelled by need or uncontrolled wrath to troll on a Sunday morning. Early on a Sunday morning. You do not have to do this. There is lots of other work out there. Return to God. He is waiting. Believe it or no, He misses you. Come home.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:44 AM (ZOv7s)
85
@67 --
It's not helped by the somewhat goofy character designs that seem to follow them around.[\i]
If you want to see Rule 34 in effect, search for Platinum with no filters.
It's not helped by the somewhat goofy character designs that seem to follow them around.[\i]
If you want to see Rule 34 in effect, search for Platinum with no filters.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026 09:44 AM (p/isN)
86
I dimly recall the Metal Men comics of the early Sixties. I might have bought one along with that month's Superman or Jimmy Olsen at some point. The concept of showing superheroes with personal issues and individual personalities sounds intriguing to me now, but at age nine I didn't get it.
The DC Comics of those days were not about personalities except in very general terms. Superman was heroic and clever, Jimmy Olsen was brash though smarter than he appeared, Lois Lane was fixated on proving Clark Kent was really Superman and dreaming (simultaneously) that Superman would marry her, Perry White was gruff and a boss to be feared. Et cetera.
The DC Comics of those days were not about personalities except in very general terms. Superman was heroic and clever, Jimmy Olsen was brash though smarter than he appeared, Lois Lane was fixated on proving Clark Kent was really Superman and dreaming (simultaneously) that Superman would marry her, Perry White was gruff and a boss to be feared. Et cetera.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:45 AM (wzUl9)
87
I think indy authors can buy small blocks of ISBN numbers on the cheap compared to the cost of one ISBN number.
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 09:16 AM (cfwti)
You buy a single one for $125, or you can buy 10 for $295, making them $29.50 each. But if you can't swing $125, you certainly can't swing $295.
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 09:16 AM (cfwti)
You buy a single one for $125, or you can buy 10 for $295, making them $29.50 each. But if you can't swing $125, you certainly can't swing $295.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 09:45 AM (1Ff7Z)
88
They firmly believe Amazon is stealing all their business. Well, that part is true ... .
“Stealing” is the wrong word. Amazon and most indie bookstores serve entirely different markets. Bookstores stock books that readers ought to read. Amazon stocks books that readers want to read.
“Stealing” is the wrong word. Amazon and most indie bookstores serve entirely different markets. Bookstores stock books that readers ought to read. Amazon stocks books that readers want to read.
Posted by: Zombie Paul McCartney at March 29, 2026 09:45 AM (EXyHK)
89
Oh, and Batman was a Sherlock Holmes in cape and mask; the Silver Age comics didn't deal with the "obsessed avenger" trope at all.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:46 AM (wzUl9)
90
Very cool, thanks Sabrina
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards, Buy ammo at March 29, 2026 09:46 AM (xcxpd)
91
Wrong way?
Attempted fix
Attempted fix
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026 09:46 AM (p/isN)
92
And, you also see that those who are more pro military tend to like Sparta better while those who are less enamored with professional militaries like Athenian models better. And this was reflected somewhat in elite behavior in the US. Before the ACW, Southern elites praised Sparta along with military preparedness, not Athens. Converse was true in the North.
Southern elites also emotionally felt their reliance on slave labor placed them in a similar situation to that of Sparta. That and the Haitian rebellion, is where you begin to see slave patrols starting about the 1810's or so becoming a regular feature in the Deep South to prevent slave uprisings.
Southern elites also emotionally felt their reliance on slave labor placed them in a similar situation to that of Sparta. That and the Haitian rebellion, is where you begin to see slave patrols starting about the 1810's or so becoming a regular feature in the Deep South to prevent slave uprisings.
Posted by: whig at March 29, 2026 09:46 AM (E4rtv)
93
I wuz gonna ask Sabrina and Sarah something, but I can't remember what it was. Something something publishing, etc....
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 09:46 AM (1Ff7Z)
94
"I thought the whole idea of libraries was to give people an opportunity to read books they might not be able to afford, or to try out an author or book with no risk to see if they liked what they read."
True enough. Also to preserve good books. But the publishers can't really count on that library patron going out and buying an author's books after enjoying one from the library; some readers may do just that, but even more readers are content with the library read. Ergo: lost sales. Publishers probably won't say this about libraries (and after all, they do get the $$ from the library purchase), but the ebook licensing absurdities suggest that line of thought is there.
True enough. Also to preserve good books. But the publishers can't really count on that library patron going out and buying an author's books after enjoying one from the library; some readers may do just that, but even more readers are content with the library read. Ergo: lost sales. Publishers probably won't say this about libraries (and after all, they do get the $$ from the library purchase), but the ebook licensing absurdities suggest that line of thought is there.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2026 09:47 AM (q3u5l)
95
Conspiracy theory Paul begone.
Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at March 29, 2026 09:47 AM (EXyHK)
96
Did the people manning the barricades and turning outsiders back then also have to leave town?
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at March 29, 2026 09:44 AM (XvL8K)
----
That's a plot line in my book. A young sentry tangles with a lost soldier trying to get in, and they both end up locked in an abandoned building until the doctor gives them clearance.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at March 29, 2026 09:44 AM (XvL8K)
----
That's a plot line in my book. A young sentry tangles with a lost soldier trying to get in, and they both end up locked in an abandoned building until the doctor gives them clearance.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at March 29, 2026 09:47 AM (kpS4V)
97
Tolkien himself rejected the idea that Bombadil was a Maia. He's an enigma, placed there deliberately by Tolkien to be an eternal mystery to the reader.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 29, 2026 09:43 AM (ESVrU)
---
He is the functional equivalent though. Not part of the same angelic order, but obviously made by Eru for a purpose.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 29, 2026 09:43 AM (ESVrU)
---
He is the functional equivalent though. Not part of the same angelic order, but obviously made by Eru for a purpose.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:47 AM (ZOv7s)
98
We'd always been taught in school that Sparta was such a terrible dictatorship, but Athens (its voting assembly, anyway) was bad too. So much for the joys of pure "democracy."
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere
Both sides were barbarous and both sides were swept away Alexander (who was a Great Asshole himself).
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere
Both sides were barbarous and both sides were swept away Alexander (who was a Great Asshole himself).
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at March 29, 2026 09:48 AM (ndZc7)
99
I haven't been to a bookstore in over 5-6 years.
Posted by: dantesed at March 29, 2026 09:49 AM (Oy/m2)
100
We and our pups, knowing one of the City of David guides very well, were given a private pre-opening tour of the major discovery of the route leading up to the side of the Temple Mount way above the City of David. It was very moving.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 09:23 AM (1o8D5)
Always thought the "City of David" meant all of Jerusalem. So what is the feeling about that section being the location of the temple and the Wailing Wall being the wall of the Roman garrison?
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 09:23 AM (1o8D5)
Always thought the "City of David" meant all of Jerusalem. So what is the feeling about that section being the location of the temple and the Wailing Wall being the wall of the Roman garrison?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 09:49 AM (1Ff7Z)
101
72
...
Speaking from the world of political science, Sparta was actually the model for Plato's Republic--so theorists that like Plato, like Sparta. Aristotle though, an Athenian, is the countervailing model through Thomism in Western Thought.
Aristotle taught there was NO perfect form of government but that the form of government must fit the people. As society of people change, the form of government will eventually change to fit that society as well.
Posted by: whig at March 29, 2026 09:39 AM (E4rtv)
________
1. Aristotle was NOT Athenian. He was from Hegira. Plato was from Athens.
2. Plato did prefer Sparta, but his Republic wasn't based on it, though it contributed. He was also an admirer of Crete.
3. Thomism has not been the dominant model in Western thought (alas).
4. Note that Plato also didn't think there was a perfect form of government. People miss this, but notice the end of the Republic, where he goes through the progression of decline, ending in tyranny.
...
Speaking from the world of political science, Sparta was actually the model for Plato's Republic--so theorists that like Plato, like Sparta. Aristotle though, an Athenian, is the countervailing model through Thomism in Western Thought.
Aristotle taught there was NO perfect form of government but that the form of government must fit the people. As society of people change, the form of government will eventually change to fit that society as well.
Posted by: whig at March 29, 2026 09:39 AM (E4rtv)
________
1. Aristotle was NOT Athenian. He was from Hegira. Plato was from Athens.
2. Plato did prefer Sparta, but his Republic wasn't based on it, though it contributed. He was also an admirer of Crete.
3. Thomism has not been the dominant model in Western thought (alas).
4. Note that Plato also didn't think there was a perfect form of government. People miss this, but notice the end of the Republic, where he goes through the progression of decline, ending in tyranny.
Posted by: Eeyore at March 29, 2026 09:49 AM (AlhUl)
102
The Barnes and Noble in town reopened in a new location and seems to be doing well. Meetings with authors can have lines out the door. I've been pleased to see young families spending time there, the kids excited to look for their new books. The place isn't always crowded but it is normally busy.
My taste in books is pretty esoteric these days but the store has surprised me by how often they have a title I want on the shelf. By my standards, one out of five titles on hand is good. I want the store to succeed so if I order a book I do it at the store, not online. It still gets sent to my house but the store gets the credit for the sale.
My taste in books is pretty esoteric these days but the store has surprised me by how often they have a title I want on the shelf. By my standards, one out of five titles on hand is good. I want the store to succeed so if I order a book I do it at the store, not online. It still gets sent to my house but the store gets the credit for the sale.
Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2026 09:50 AM (yTvNw)
103
14 I'm currently 3/4 of the way through Victor Davis Hanson's A War Like No Other, the tale of the Peloponnesian Wars (Athens & allies vs. Sparta and its allies).
I hadn't realized how imperial and domineering the Athenians were at this point. Any ally who thought about going over to Sparta got its town besieged, and its inhabitants executed or sold into slavery. We'd always been taught in school that Sparta was such a terrible dictatorship, but Athens (its voting assembly, anyway) was bad too. So much for the joys of pure "democracy."
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026
I read that many years ago, when it was new, and when I was still on a VDH kick after reading Carnage and Culture. (Man, that was a long time ago, now) So I don't recall too many specifics. But this does remind me that I do have VDH's 'Savior Generals' on my e-reader waiting to be read.
To the second point, yeah Athens has definitely been whitewashed in recent history. Its 'democracy' was basically mob rule. Unchecked, and subject to wild mood-swings.
I hadn't realized how imperial and domineering the Athenians were at this point. Any ally who thought about going over to Sparta got its town besieged, and its inhabitants executed or sold into slavery. We'd always been taught in school that Sparta was such a terrible dictatorship, but Athens (its voting assembly, anyway) was bad too. So much for the joys of pure "democracy."
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026
I read that many years ago, when it was new, and when I was still on a VDH kick after reading Carnage and Culture. (Man, that was a long time ago, now) So I don't recall too many specifics. But this does remind me that I do have VDH's 'Savior Generals' on my e-reader waiting to be read.
To the second point, yeah Athens has definitely been whitewashed in recent history. Its 'democracy' was basically mob rule. Unchecked, and subject to wild mood-swings.
Posted by: Castle Guy at March 29, 2026 09:50 AM (Lhaco)
104
Hard to type. Big black cat on lap. Send lawyers, guns, and money.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:50 AM (wzUl9)
105
Ace endorsedA H Lloyd. Just bought Walls of Men this week.
Read more in Nostromo. Brilliant
Also more Cousin Bette. Also brilliant
Started Stanley Payne’s Civil Wars in Europe 1905 - 1945. Very dry but very interesting sketches of a very turbulent errer
Read more in Nostromo. Brilliant
Also more Cousin Bette. Also brilliant
Started Stanley Payne’s Civil Wars in Europe 1905 - 1945. Very dry but very interesting sketches of a very turbulent errer
Posted by: Who Knew at March 29, 2026 09:52 AM (0QMbS)
106
I went from bafflement to bafflement with a bit of affection for Oswald Spengler and got started with a Spenglier Faustian Playlist:
1. Rondeau from Sinfonies de fanfares
2. La Réjouissance
3. Trumpet Tune in D
4. Trumpet Voluntary
5. Toccata and Fugue in D minor
6. Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. Allegro
7. California Blue (Orbison with the LPO)
8. Largo from Xerxes
9. Erbarme dich, mein Gott
10. Adagio for Strings
11. Spiegel im Spiegel
12. Gymnopédie No. 1
1. Rondeau from Sinfonies de fanfares
2. La Réjouissance
3. Trumpet Tune in D
4. Trumpet Voluntary
5. Toccata and Fugue in D minor
6. Brandenburg Concerto No. 2. Allegro
7. California Blue (Orbison with the LPO)
8. Largo from Xerxes
9. Erbarme dich, mein Gott
10. Adagio for Strings
11. Spiegel im Spiegel
12. Gymnopédie No. 1
Posted by: Kam Fong as Chin Ho at March 29, 2026 09:52 AM (2ap+5)
107
You buy a single one for $125, or you can buy 10 for $295, making them $29.50 each. But if you can't swing $125, you certainly can't swing $295.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 09:45 AM (1Ff7Z)
I don't swing either way! Seriously though, is that the cheapest block purchase (10) available to indy authors?
You indy folk need to co-op ISBN numbers.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 09:45 AM (1Ff7Z)
I don't swing either way! Seriously though, is that the cheapest block purchase (10) available to indy authors?
You indy folk need to co-op ISBN numbers.
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 09:54 AM (cfwti)
108
Started Stanley Payne’s Civil Wars in Europe 1905 - 1945. Very dry but very interesting sketches of a very turbulent errer
Posted by: Who Knew at March 29, 2026 09:52 AM (0QMbS)
---
Payne has a great book on the Spanish Civil War that deeply influenced Long Live Death. He co-wrote the definitive biography of Franco, a must-read that destroys the myths surrounding him.
Posted by: Who Knew at March 29, 2026 09:52 AM (0QMbS)
---
Payne has a great book on the Spanish Civil War that deeply influenced Long Live Death. He co-wrote the definitive biography of Franco, a must-read that destroys the myths surrounding him.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:54 AM (ZOv7s)
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026 09:54 AM (p/isN)
110
I'm currently 3/4 of the way through Victor Davis Hanson's A War Like No Other, the tale of the Peloponnesian Wars (Athens & allies vs. Sparta and its allies).
-------------
A gripping read.
-------------
A gripping read.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at March 29, 2026 09:54 AM (Ki5ky)
111
Hard to type. Big black cat on lap. Send lawyers, guns, and money.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:50 AM (wzUl9)
---
I taught the cats that they have to sit on the *other* side of the screen, the one without a keyboard. Sometimes they forget.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:50 AM (wzUl9)
---
I taught the cats that they have to sit on the *other* side of the screen, the one without a keyboard. Sometimes they forget.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:55 AM (ZOv7s)
112
Hard to type. Big black cat on lap. Send lawyers, guns, and money.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius,
Incoming.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius,
Incoming.
Posted by: Warren Zevon at March 29, 2026 09:56 AM (vjqIu)
113
Chopin playing this morning, but I am changing to Hadyn. That's my big decision post-coffee.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at March 29, 2026 09:56 AM (Ki5ky)
114
Am I the only reader who never had a problem with Tom Bombadil other than his Sid and Marty Krofft goofiness? He and Goldberry always seemed to me to be almost like nature elementals, and heartening reminders that there were beings above and beyond the struggles of the times, untouched by evil.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at March 29, 2026 09:56 AM (kpS4V)
115
I taught the cats that they have to sit on the *other* side of the screen, the one without a keyboard. Sometimes they forget.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:55 AM (ZOv7s)
----
You have better luck than I.
Allie insists on plopping herself down right in front of my keyboard.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:55 AM (ZOv7s)
----
You have better luck than I.
Allie insists on plopping herself down right in front of my keyboard.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 29, 2026 09:56 AM (ESVrU)
116
alcibiades
-
Alcibiades was the Bill Clinton of the era. Remarkably talented but couldn't keep it in his pants (or toga or whatever the hell he wore) which eventually contributed to him becoming a traitor.
-
Alcibiades was the Bill Clinton of the era. Remarkably talented but couldn't keep it in his pants (or toga or whatever the hell he wore) which eventually contributed to him becoming a traitor.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at March 29, 2026 09:57 AM (ndZc7)
117
Tolkien himself rejected the idea that Bombadil was a Maia. He's an enigma, placed there deliberately by Tolkien to be an eternal mystery to the reader.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel
Tom ironically did precede the LOTR. He was a toy doll (action figure!) named by Tolkien's children.
My personal take is that he was literally a spirit of the Original Song of Creation by Eru and embodied the event of Creation itself. This would make Tom more a living embodiment of something like the Holy Spirit of Middle Earth had Tolkien chosen to employ that metaphor. To me, Tom is a living embodiment of the creation of the world and as such he is tied to it at a level beyond even the Valar and Maia.
And because he understood at the deepest level what that song of Creation was and is, he could use that knowledge via song to attack and rebuke those who came from Morgoth's tainted discord in the song of creation.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel
Tom ironically did precede the LOTR. He was a toy doll (action figure!) named by Tolkien's children.
My personal take is that he was literally a spirit of the Original Song of Creation by Eru and embodied the event of Creation itself. This would make Tom more a living embodiment of something like the Holy Spirit of Middle Earth had Tolkien chosen to employ that metaphor. To me, Tom is a living embodiment of the creation of the world and as such he is tied to it at a level beyond even the Valar and Maia.
And because he understood at the deepest level what that song of Creation was and is, he could use that knowledge via song to attack and rebuke those who came from Morgoth's tainted discord in the song of creation.
Posted by: whig at March 29, 2026 09:57 AM (E4rtv)
118
I don't swing either way! Seriously though, is that the cheapest block purchase (10) available to indy authors?
You indy folk need to co-op ISBN numbers.
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 09:54 AM (cfwti)
---
I don't understand. I publish on Amazon and all my books have ISBNs and they cost me nothing. I checked a box that I wanted one during setup, and there it was.
You indy folk need to co-op ISBN numbers.
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 09:54 AM (cfwti)
---
I don't understand. I publish on Amazon and all my books have ISBNs and they cost me nothing. I checked a box that I wanted one during setup, and there it was.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:57 AM (ZOv7s)
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026 09:58 AM (p/isN)
120
Read more in Nostromo. Brilliant
Posted by: Who Knew
__________
I did not dig it for some reason. Aside from Heart of Darkness, my favorite Conrad has been Youth, Lord Jim, and the one with the N word.
Posted by: Who Knew
__________
I did not dig it for some reason. Aside from Heart of Darkness, my favorite Conrad has been Youth, Lord Jim, and the one with the N word.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at March 29, 2026 09:58 AM (XvL8K)
121
Stirling's gone now, but I'm typing here on a laptop as I sit on my couch. If he's on my lap, I have to move the machine to the pillow to my right and reach over him to get to the keyboard. I don't want him to stop being a lap cat and milk-treader, but it does get awkward.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 09:59 AM (wzUl9)
122
Always thought the "City of David" meant all of Jerusalem. So what is the feeling about that section being the location of the temple and the Wailing Wall being the wall of the Roman garrison?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 09:49 AM (1Ff7Z)
-
Well, CoD was the beginning of Jerusalem. Calling all of Jerusalem CoD is perfectly valid and only 1 syllable longer.
Regarding the Temple location, anyone can come to Jerusalem and see how the entire massive Temple Mount wasn't just built for a Roman garrison. Someone's interested in burying history for reasons I'm more than familiar with.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 09:49 AM (1Ff7Z)
-
Well, CoD was the beginning of Jerusalem. Calling all of Jerusalem CoD is perfectly valid and only 1 syllable longer.
Regarding the Temple location, anyone can come to Jerusalem and see how the entire massive Temple Mount wasn't just built for a Roman garrison. Someone's interested in burying history for reasons I'm more than familiar with.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 09:59 AM (1o8D5)
123
I hope Ace is enjoying "The Hobbit".
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at March 29, 2026 10:00 AM (kpS4V)
124
Hard to type. Big black cat on lap. Send lawyers, guns, and money.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius,
Incoming.
Posted by: Warren Zevon at March 29, 2026 09:56 AM (vjqIu)
-
/puts shoes on
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius,
Incoming.
Posted by: Warren Zevon at March 29, 2026 09:56 AM (vjqIu)
-
/puts shoes on
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 10:00 AM (1o8D5)
125
He's an enigma, placed there deliberately by Tolkien to be an eternal mystery to the reader.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 29, 2026 09:43 AM (ESVrU)
Modern readers want everything explained and sifted to the nth degree, but I do prefer eternal mysteries.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 29, 2026 09:43 AM (ESVrU)
Modern readers want everything explained and sifted to the nth degree, but I do prefer eternal mysteries.
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 10:01 AM (cfwti)
126
Let us pause and pray for those lost souls compelled by need or uncontrolled wrath to troll on a Sunday morning.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:44 AM (ZOv7s)
-
Troll lege.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:44 AM (ZOv7s)
-
Troll lege.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 10:01 AM (1o8D5)
127
Also to preserve good books.
--
People assume this of public libraries but it may or may not be true.
Each library has a "mission" or "vision" statement and that is usually not in it.
Instead it's typically some "community blah blah" thing.
--
People assume this of public libraries but it may or may not be true.
Each library has a "mission" or "vision" statement and that is usually not in it.
Instead it's typically some "community blah blah" thing.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 29, 2026 10:01 AM (eZ5tL)
128
Alas, you cannot bulk purchase ISBNs and share among friends. The purchase is tied to either your publishing business (in my case) or your author name.
I also vaguely recall there is a lot of foofaraah if you want to switch ISBNs (like, say, from the auto-issued Amazon one to your own). It's not trivial.
In some countries, like Canada, ISBNs are free for the asking. The government shoulders the cost of maintaining all the data. Here, Bowker does it but it does cost money. I think the cost is pretty high, but the expenses do exist.
I also vaguely recall there is a lot of foofaraah if you want to switch ISBNs (like, say, from the auto-issued Amazon one to your own). It's not trivial.
In some countries, like Canada, ISBNs are free for the asking. The government shoulders the cost of maintaining all the data. Here, Bowker does it but it does cost money. I think the cost is pretty high, but the expenses do exist.
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 29, 2026 10:02 AM (vAQDP)
129
And because he understood at the deepest level what that song of Creation was and is, he could use that knowledge via song to attack and rebuke those who came from Morgoth's tainted discord in the song of creation.
Posted by: whig at March 29, 2026 09:57 AM (E4rtv)
---
Bombadil (and Goldberry) are the opposite of Ungoliant - created beings that are in harmony with the world rather than trying to devour/destroy it.
It's very much "woodland sprite" territory, and haunted forests and things that make the world more magical, less drab. It's a counterbalance to Shelob, and Tolkien does that a lot, deep darkness and bright light.
Posted by: whig at March 29, 2026 09:57 AM (E4rtv)
---
Bombadil (and Goldberry) are the opposite of Ungoliant - created beings that are in harmony with the world rather than trying to devour/destroy it.
It's very much "woodland sprite" territory, and haunted forests and things that make the world more magical, less drab. It's a counterbalance to Shelob, and Tolkien does that a lot, deep darkness and bright light.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 10:02 AM (ZOv7s)
130
Interesting article.
Posted by: GrenadierX at March 29, 2026 10:02 AM (M3pDV)
131
Alcibiades was the Bill Clinton of the era. Remarkably talented but couldn't keep it in his pants (or toga or whatever the hell he wore) which eventually contributed to him becoming a traitor.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at March 29, 2026
***
Dr Hervey Cleckley's The Mask of Sanity, for many years the definitive work on the disorder, suggests that Alcibiades had many traits in common with the psychopath. Charming, brilliant, erratic, doing foolish things for no sensible purpose, etc. I think Plutarch mentions in his mini-biography of Alcibiades that he cut off the tail of his own dog, a beautiful animal. When asked why, he said it was so that people would talk about that instead of accusing him of worse things (or words to that effect).
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at March 29, 2026
***
Dr Hervey Cleckley's The Mask of Sanity, for many years the definitive work on the disorder, suggests that Alcibiades had many traits in common with the psychopath. Charming, brilliant, erratic, doing foolish things for no sensible purpose, etc. I think Plutarch mentions in his mini-biography of Alcibiades that he cut off the tail of his own dog, a beautiful animal. When asked why, he said it was so that people would talk about that instead of accusing him of worse things (or words to that effect).
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 10:02 AM (wzUl9)
132
Just thought, I haven't been to a new book store in years
Posted by: Skip at March 29, 2026 10:03 AM (Ia/+0)
133
58 Which one?
Posted by: lin-duh is offended at March 29, 2026 09:25 AM (VCgbV)
-----------
"The Hallmark Man", about the murder victim found in the safe of a silver dealer specializing in Masonic silver.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at March 29, 2026 09:33 AM
****
Did you go in cold, or have you read the entire series? The Cormoran Strike novels are as tightly arced as the Harry Potter ones. If you follow the series, The Hallmarked Man is one of the very best so far; if you haven't been along for the whole ride, it's merely long and prolix with "too many" characters.
Posted by: lin-duh is offended at March 29, 2026 09:25 AM (VCgbV)
-----------
"The Hallmark Man", about the murder victim found in the safe of a silver dealer specializing in Masonic silver.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at March 29, 2026 09:33 AM
****
Did you go in cold, or have you read the entire series? The Cormoran Strike novels are as tightly arced as the Harry Potter ones. If you follow the series, The Hallmarked Man is one of the very best so far; if you haven't been along for the whole ride, it's merely long and prolix with "too many" characters.
Posted by: werewife at March 29, 2026 10:03 AM (5ayY3)
134
114 Am I the only reader who never had a problem with Tom Bombadil other than his Sid and Marty Krofft goofiness? He and Goldberry always seemed to me to be almost like nature elementals, and heartening reminders that there were beings above and beyond the struggles of the times, untouched by evil.
Posted by: All Hail Eris
======
Tolkien's poems of Tom Bombadil are not as read as the LOTR. And the reaction to him resembles the reader reaction to the Duke of Bridgewater and the King in Huckleberry Finn. Sort of how some readers are appalled the author put levity in the midst of a serious somber tome.
Other readers ride with the punches and view these characters as examples of a wider world barely described by the author. The drunken porter in MacBeth is another example.
Posted by: All Hail Eris
======
Tolkien's poems of Tom Bombadil are not as read as the LOTR. And the reaction to him resembles the reader reaction to the Duke of Bridgewater and the King in Huckleberry Finn. Sort of how some readers are appalled the author put levity in the midst of a serious somber tome.
Other readers ride with the punches and view these characters as examples of a wider world barely described by the author. The drunken porter in MacBeth is another example.
Posted by: whig at March 29, 2026 10:04 AM (E4rtv)
135
"Have Gun -- Will Travel" had an episode about a town that isolated itself because of an epidemic.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026 10:04 AM (p/isN)
136
Being in an algerian dungeon give a lot of time to ponder
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 10:04 AM (bXbFr)
137
I don't understand. I publish on Amazon and all my books have ISBNs and they cost me nothing. I checked a box that I wanted one during setup, and there it was.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:57 AM (ZOv7s)
I've no idea! Ask Sabrina why she wanted free ISBN numbers from the Big Boss?
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:57 AM (ZOv7s)
I've no idea! Ask Sabrina why she wanted free ISBN numbers from the Big Boss?
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 10:05 AM (cfwti)
138
That and the Haitian rebellion, is where you begin to see slave patrols starting about the 1810's or so becoming a regular feature in the Deep South to prevent slave uprisings.
Posted by: whig
I have seen more than one BLM allied "intellectual" argue that today's law enforcement agencies are nothing more than slave patrols brought down to these times...
...and therefore are constitutionally racist due to their heritage.
That and the Haitian rebellion, is where you begin to see slave patrols starting about the 1810's or so becoming a regular feature in the Deep South to prevent slave uprisings.
Posted by: whig
I have seen more than one BLM allied "intellectual" argue that today's law enforcement agencies are nothing more than slave patrols brought down to these times...
...and therefore are constitutionally racist due to their heritage.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at March 29, 2026 10:05 AM (xG4kz)
139
Gunnison, Colorado, "successfully avoided the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918 by implementing strict quarantine measures, including closing schools and churches, banning public gatherings, and erecting barricades to prevent outsiders from entering the town."
Posted by: 13times
Gunnison reminds me of Elton John's lyric about Mars, "In fact it's cold as hell."
Posted by: 13times
Gunnison reminds me of Elton John's lyric about Mars, "In fact it's cold as hell."
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at March 29, 2026 10:06 AM (ndZc7)
140
Modern readers want everything explained and sifted to the nth degree, but I do prefer eternal mysteries.
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 10:01 AM (cfwti)
---
They also think that explaining existing stories is of interest to everyone else, hence the prequel and then in-quel fad, where we have to do a movie entirely about backstory, as if having a mysterious past is somehow bad or makes the character incomplete.
I attribute this to helicopter parenting and too much supervised play. They cannot function in a place of ambiguity.
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 10:01 AM (cfwti)
---
They also think that explaining existing stories is of interest to everyone else, hence the prequel and then in-quel fad, where we have to do a movie entirely about backstory, as if having a mysterious past is somehow bad or makes the character incomplete.
I attribute this to helicopter parenting and too much supervised play. They cannot function in a place of ambiguity.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 10:06 AM (ZOv7s)
141
82 ... "Tolkien himself rejected the idea that Bombadil was a Maia. He's an enigma, placed there deliberately by Tolkien to be an eternal mystery to the reader."
Perfessor is correct. Tolkien never said what Tom is, not in LOTR or in his letters. Wherever the character came from in Tolkien's mind, Tom was never supposed to be defined exactly. Goldberry, describing Tom, tells the Hobbits "He is." That's as much as the Hobbits, or the readers, will get from Tolkien.
There is a delightful book about what Tom might be or isn't and what the author believes is the character's importance for Tolkien personally and in the legendarium. It's "In the House of Tom Bombadil" by C. R. Wiley. I've mentioned it several times and consider it to be one of the best LOTR related books ever.
Perfessor is correct. Tolkien never said what Tom is, not in LOTR or in his letters. Wherever the character came from in Tolkien's mind, Tom was never supposed to be defined exactly. Goldberry, describing Tom, tells the Hobbits "He is." That's as much as the Hobbits, or the readers, will get from Tolkien.
There is a delightful book about what Tom might be or isn't and what the author believes is the character's importance for Tolkien personally and in the legendarium. It's "In the House of Tom Bombadil" by C. R. Wiley. I've mentioned it several times and consider it to be one of the best LOTR related books ever.
Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2026 10:06 AM (yTvNw)
142
119 DC was powers with people's names.
Marvel was people who gained powers.
That was then.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026 09:58 AM (p/isN)
Someone, send this post to Victoria Alanzo! And everyone else who still works at Marvel...
(Context, Victoria Alanzo was the dumb--- who thought that Marvel could just race-swap and gender-swap all their heroes, because people just cared about the costume and powers. She was one of the co-runners for Marvel Films (before being fired for unrelated reasons) and is blamed by some for the across-the-board failure of Marvel movies in the past 6 years)
Marvel was people who gained powers.
That was then.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026 09:58 AM (p/isN)
Someone, send this post to Victoria Alanzo! And everyone else who still works at Marvel...
(Context, Victoria Alanzo was the dumb--- who thought that Marvel could just race-swap and gender-swap all their heroes, because people just cared about the costume and powers. She was one of the co-runners for Marvel Films (before being fired for unrelated reasons) and is blamed by some for the across-the-board failure of Marvel movies in the past 6 years)
Posted by: Castle Guy at March 29, 2026 10:08 AM (Lhaco)
143
Other readers ride with the punches and view these characters as examples of a wider world barely described by the author. The drunken porter in MacBeth is another example.
Posted by: whig at March 29, 2026 10:04 AM (E4rtv)
---
I think Bombadil is great. The description of the rain, the smell, water flowing through the forest is just superb. So evocative of a fall rainstorm sitting inside by the fire, telling stories. It's one of my favorite parts of the book, and really drew me in. It's also the transition from the Shire to Outside, and demonstrates that horrible things are *right there* and that the happy hobbit world is more precarious than anyone realized.
Posted by: whig at March 29, 2026 10:04 AM (E4rtv)
---
I think Bombadil is great. The description of the rain, the smell, water flowing through the forest is just superb. So evocative of a fall rainstorm sitting inside by the fire, telling stories. It's one of my favorite parts of the book, and really drew me in. It's also the transition from the Shire to Outside, and demonstrates that horrible things are *right there* and that the happy hobbit world is more precarious than anyone realized.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 10:10 AM (ZOv7s)
144
I don't understand. I publish on Amazon and all my books have ISBNs and they cost me nothing. I checked a box that I wanted one during setup, and there it was.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:57 AM (ZOv7s)
Because now in the Big Bumper Fun Book of Bowker, your book is listed under Amazon as the publisher. Not you, not "A.H.Lloyd Enterprises", just Amazon. And *they* control that listing and any edits to same. Further, as I mentioned in the post, bookstores used Amazon-issued ISBNs as a filter to keep the indie rabble out. If you don't have an Amazon ISBN, how would the bookstore know you are indie? Could be some little micro-press, could be an indie with an LLC. I don't know for sure the rabid anti-Amazon behavior is as bad as it was, but for a while there it was really bad.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:57 AM (ZOv7s)
Because now in the Big Bumper Fun Book of Bowker, your book is listed under Amazon as the publisher. Not you, not "A.H.Lloyd Enterprises", just Amazon. And *they* control that listing and any edits to same. Further, as I mentioned in the post, bookstores used Amazon-issued ISBNs as a filter to keep the indie rabble out. If you don't have an Amazon ISBN, how would the bookstore know you are indie? Could be some little micro-press, could be an indie with an LLC. I don't know for sure the rabid anti-Amazon behavior is as bad as it was, but for a while there it was really bad.
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 29, 2026 10:10 AM (vAQDP)
145
>>>I hope Ace is enjoying "The Hobbit".
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes
>Trapped in his sex den, the hobbit is getting a workout. Let Tolkien write about that one.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes
>Trapped in his sex den, the hobbit is getting a workout. Let Tolkien write about that one.
Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at March 29, 2026 10:10 AM (Fbc0I)
146
In Len Deighton's "Horse Under Water," an agent is killed in a car bombing, and I don't think the culprit was identified.
Need to reread that.
Need to reread that.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026 10:10 AM (p/isN)
147
I actually made a point of memorizing Tom's song as a teenager. Superfan.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 10:11 AM (ZOv7s)
148
Bombadil (and Goldberry) are the opposite of Ungoliant - created beings that are in harmony with the world rather than trying to devour/destroy it.
It's very much "woodland sprite" territory, and haunted forests and things that make the world more magical, less drab. It's a counterbalance to Shelob, and Tolkien does that a lot, deep darkness and bright light.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd
========
IIRC, some argue that Ungoliant was a deformed Maia and thus preceded the song of creation.
Tom , though, was literally the Eldest as he first appeared in a published poem in 1934 inspired by his children's toy doll and was in the earliest drafts of the LOTR.
Tolkien purposefully left him as an enigma and Christopher did not care to share his father's mind on the issue despite most likely knowing what it was.
It's very much "woodland sprite" territory, and haunted forests and things that make the world more magical, less drab. It's a counterbalance to Shelob, and Tolkien does that a lot, deep darkness and bright light.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd
========
IIRC, some argue that Ungoliant was a deformed Maia and thus preceded the song of creation.
Tom , though, was literally the Eldest as he first appeared in a published poem in 1934 inspired by his children's toy doll and was in the earliest drafts of the LOTR.
Tolkien purposefully left him as an enigma and Christopher did not care to share his father's mind on the issue despite most likely knowing what it was.
Posted by: whig at March 29, 2026 10:11 AM (E4rtv)
149
"Have Gun -- Will Travel" had an episode about a town that isolated itself because of an epidemic.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026
***
They did. Measles, I think. June Lockhart plays a woman doctor, a rare thing on the frontier, and she and Paladin get to like each other quite a bit.
She returned in another episode where a cowboy on a ranch got smallpox, and she and Paladin are trying to keep the rest of the herd's riders from going into town and spreading the infection before a vaccine arrives. It's clear in this one that Paladin and Dr. Phyllis Thackeray are *very* fond of each other -- but both realize they'd have to change their lives totally to be together, and they were not ready for that. (I've often wondered if they got together years later, when he'd retired from his soldier-of-fortune career.)
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026
***
They did. Measles, I think. June Lockhart plays a woman doctor, a rare thing on the frontier, and she and Paladin get to like each other quite a bit.
She returned in another episode where a cowboy on a ranch got smallpox, and she and Paladin are trying to keep the rest of the herd's riders from going into town and spreading the infection before a vaccine arrives. It's clear in this one that Paladin and Dr. Phyllis Thackeray are *very* fond of each other -- but both realize they'd have to change their lives totally to be together, and they were not ready for that. (I've often wondered if they got together years later, when he'd retired from his soldier-of-fortune career.)
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 10:11 AM (wzUl9)
150
I don't understand. I publish on Amazon and all my books have ISBNs and they cost me nothing. I checked a box that I wanted one during setup, and there it was.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:57 AM (ZOv7s)
A.H., those ISBNs are marked as "Amazon" ISBNs. You appears as an Amazon published book, or as "Independently Published." That's one marker that keeps bookstores and libraries from purchasing from you. If you buy from Bowker, you get to put a name as the publisher and it's available to anyone anywhere.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 09:57 AM (ZOv7s)
A.H., those ISBNs are marked as "Amazon" ISBNs. You appears as an Amazon published book, or as "Independently Published." That's one marker that keeps bookstores and libraries from purchasing from you. If you buy from Bowker, you get to put a name as the publisher and it's available to anyone anywhere.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 10:12 AM (1Ff7Z)
151
Ah, yes - the problem of indy books getting into bookstores. You have to pay the Ingram catalog fee, and offer a 55% discount off the suggested retail price so that Ingram can offer the 40% discount to bookstores to order. Which wouldn't be such a bad deal, BUT you have to offer returnability of unsold copies, or have them destroyed. Return of those unsold can become unsupportable. Early on, we indy authors were OK with Ingram returning unsold copies to us - they would charge us the print cost and a small fee per copy, and it was OK because we could just add those returned copies to our stock for direct sales. But my little publishing company was damn near bankrupt when a local book store ordered thirty copies each of about 7 or 8 of my books for an event ... and only sold half a dozen books. The rest were returned to me and the costs ran into $1,000s. I barely was able to pay for them all. On the bright side, I had stock for direct sales for years. (I think I just sold the last of them in 2024.) Ever since then, I've specified return-destroy. I make more from Kindle and from direct sales, than I do from bookstores.
Posted by: Sgt. Mom at March 29, 2026 10:12 AM (Ew3fm)
152
Regarding the Temple location, anyone can come to Jerusalem and see how the entire massive Temple Mount wasn't just built for a Roman garrison. Someone's interested in burying history for reasons I'm more than familiar with.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 09:59 AM (1o8D5)
Not surprising, is it.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 09:59 AM (1o8D5)
Not surprising, is it.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 10:13 AM (1Ff7Z)
153
I took "The Hobbit" challenge and have just started chapter 13. Hope to finish tonight. Not sure if I'm going to go on to LOTR.
Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2026 10:15 AM (lJ0H4)
154
They also think that explaining existing stories is of interest to everyone else ...
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 10:06 AM (ZOv7s)
You assume much. The reason for the "in-quel fad" is publishers and filmmakers milking the IP to the last drop.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 10:06 AM (ZOv7s)
You assume much. The reason for the "in-quel fad" is publishers and filmmakers milking the IP to the last drop.
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 10:15 AM (cfwti)
155
@149 --
Oh, that smallpox episode sticks with me. Paladin really cuts loose, and he would have killed that guy bare-handed.
Oh, that smallpox episode sticks with me. Paladin really cuts loose, and he would have killed that guy bare-handed.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026 10:15 AM (p/isN)
156
Sgt. Mom! (waves wildly) A veteran of the early Indie wars! We've known each other for years (let's not say exactly how many years, hmm??)
A lot of us early indie writers are connected ....
A lot of us early indie writers are connected ....
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 29, 2026 10:15 AM (vAQDP)
157
146 In Len Deighton's "Horse Under Water," an agent is killed in a car bombing, and I don't think the culprit was identified.
-
Deighton dies just a couple of weeks ago, on March 15. I'm surprised it wasn't a bigger deal because I thought he was a great writer.
-
Deighton dies just a couple of weeks ago, on March 15. I'm surprised it wasn't a bigger deal because I thought he was a great writer.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at March 29, 2026 10:15 AM (ndZc7)
158
In 20 or 30 years there will be a hologram reading books to you. Or Musk's brain implants that read the books directly as thoughts skipping the eyes interpreting the print.
Posted by: Harry Vandenburg at March 29, 2026 10:16 AM (V4IXI)
159
Oh, that smallpox episode sticks with me. Paladin really cuts loose, and he would have killed that guy bare-handed.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026
***
Because Phyllis had been harmed. It shows just how strongly he feels about her.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 29, 2026
***
Because Phyllis had been harmed. It shows just how strongly he feels about her.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 10:16 AM (wzUl9)
160
I have seen more than one BLM allied "intellectual" argue that today's law enforcement agencies are nothing more than slave patrols brought down to these times...
...and therefore are constitutionally racist due to their heritage.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot
=======
Because far left and the extreme individualist variety of libertarians believe in the utopian ideal of noble humans.
Institutions and society are to blame for warping the basic good nature of humans. Thus, in both situations, existing culture, society, and institutions should be swept away so the individual can flourish.
The fact that law enforcement comes from primordial desires for order so as to not live in a state of nature never comes to mind for BLM types.
They are pig ignorant of anything not related to their own warped desires.
...and therefore are constitutionally racist due to their heritage.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot
=======
Because far left and the extreme individualist variety of libertarians believe in the utopian ideal of noble humans.
Institutions and society are to blame for warping the basic good nature of humans. Thus, in both situations, existing culture, society, and institutions should be swept away so the individual can flourish.
The fact that law enforcement comes from primordial desires for order so as to not live in a state of nature never comes to mind for BLM types.
They are pig ignorant of anything not related to their own warped desires.
Posted by: whig at March 29, 2026 10:17 AM (E4rtv)
161
Further, as I mentioned in the post, bookstores used Amazon-issued ISBNs as a filter to keep the indie rabble out.
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 29, 2026 10:10 AM (vAQDP)
---
It's all so confusing.
I think Amazon is popular with indie authors because it allows them to focus purely on writing, and not dealing with all that stuff which honestly kept me from even bothering. I get that bookstores don't want to support Amazon authors because Amazon represents an existential threat to them. I'm fine with that.
If I understand you, I could go find another publishers, as some folks have done.
Posted by: Sabrina Chase at March 29, 2026 10:10 AM (vAQDP)
---
It's all so confusing.
I think Amazon is popular with indie authors because it allows them to focus purely on writing, and not dealing with all that stuff which honestly kept me from even bothering. I get that bookstores don't want to support Amazon authors because Amazon represents an existential threat to them. I'm fine with that.
If I understand you, I could go find another publishers, as some folks have done.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 10:18 AM (ZOv7s)
162
Tolkien's "The Hobbit" always struck me as being a hodgepodge of "introduction to [ another fantastical character / race ]" sketches strung together like beads on the thin thread of its narrative, an otherworldly "band of brothers undertake a heist" tale. It read as if it were a checklist of what populates fantastical literature. Were it not for Gollum, the Ring of Power, the Eagles, Bilbo, and Gandalf, its connection to LotR via the incidents and creatures involved therein was tenuous at best.
If, indeed, Tolkien had rewritten The Hobbit to bring closer to the surface more of those elements that were germane to LotR, he did not do much of a lift, in my opinion.
Tolkien's "The Hobbit" always struck me as being a hodgepodge of "introduction to [ another fantastical character / race ]" sketches strung together like beads on the thin thread of its narrative, an otherworldly "band of brothers undertake a heist" tale. It read as if it were a checklist of what populates fantastical literature. Were it not for Gollum, the Ring of Power, the Eagles, Bilbo, and Gandalf, its connection to LotR via the incidents and creatures involved therein was tenuous at best.
If, indeed, Tolkien had rewritten The Hobbit to bring closer to the surface more of those elements that were germane to LotR, he did not do much of a lift, in my opinion.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at March 29, 2026 10:19 AM (xG4kz)
163
"The Hallmark Man", about the murder victim found in the safe of a silver dealer specializing in Masonic silver.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at March 29, 2026 09:33 AM
****
Did you go in cold, or have you read the entire series? The Cormoran Strike novels are as tightly arced as the Harry Potter ones. If you follow the series, The Hallmarked Man is one of the very best so far; if you haven't been along for the whole ride, it's merely long and prolix with "too many" characters.
Posted by: werewife
Agree. The CB Strike novels must be read in order.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at March 29, 2026 09:33 AM
****
Did you go in cold, or have you read the entire series? The Cormoran Strike novels are as tightly arced as the Harry Potter ones. If you follow the series, The Hallmarked Man is one of the very best so far; if you haven't been along for the whole ride, it's merely long and prolix with "too many" characters.
Posted by: werewife
Agree. The CB Strike novels must be read in order.
Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2026 10:20 AM (lJ0H4)
164
My mind is a sieve! I listened to the Hallmarked Man and remember enjoying it but I can't remember how it ended... this is the story of my life now. I've turned into my mom! 😱
Posted by: lin-duh is offended at March 29, 2026 10:20 AM (VCgbV)
165
I've been reading "Wardrobes and Rings: Through Lenten Lands with the Inklings". It is a devotional, each brief chapter relating a passage from one of the Inklings, mostly Lewis and Tolkien, that can lead to an appreciation of the Lenten season and its meaning. The chapters were written variously by Malcolm Guite, Julia Golding, and Simon Horobin
I find it refreshing both for the connections I hadn't considered and for the approach. Lent isn't simply a time to deprive yourself of some pleasure as a punishment or penance. The focus is more on eliminating distractions to better contemplate the life and lessons of Christ leading to renewal of life on Easter.
I'm not trying to make a religious statement or start a debate. Just describing the book.
I find it refreshing both for the connections I hadn't considered and for the approach. Lent isn't simply a time to deprive yourself of some pleasure as a punishment or penance. The focus is more on eliminating distractions to better contemplate the life and lessons of Christ leading to renewal of life on Easter.
I'm not trying to make a religious statement or start a debate. Just describing the book.
Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2026 10:20 AM (yTvNw)
166
Political police are okay with the Left.
Posted by: Harry Vandenburg at March 29, 2026 10:20 AM (V4IXI)
167
Trapped in his sex den, the hobbit is getting a workout. Let Tolkien write about that one.
Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at March 29, 2026 10:10 AM (Fbc0I)
---/
"Bored of the Rings" has that covered!
Also the "Hobbit Challenge" sounds like something on the IHOP menu.
Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at March 29, 2026 10:10 AM (Fbc0I)
---/
"Bored of the Rings" has that covered!
Also the "Hobbit Challenge" sounds like something on the IHOP menu.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at March 29, 2026 10:23 AM (kpS4V)
168
Not surprising, is it.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 10:13 AM (1Ff7Z)
-
Ancient news. A primary example of their deceit's failure:
https://tinyurl.com/fahjsjsp
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 10:13 AM (1Ff7Z)
-
Ancient news. A primary example of their deceit's failure:
https://tinyurl.com/fahjsjsp
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 10:24 AM (1o8D5)
169
Wow, the ISBN thing is a real racket.
It's a way for large publishing houses to bar entry to newcomers breaking into the biz. I'm sure it was never intended to work like that, but it really looks like gate-keeping. Kinda like the government charging outrageous fees for gun registration etc.
It's a way for large publishing houses to bar entry to newcomers breaking into the biz. I'm sure it was never intended to work like that, but it really looks like gate-keeping. Kinda like the government charging outrageous fees for gun registration etc.
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 10:25 AM (cfwti)
170
Thank you. That was an interesting read.
The Horde has me reading again. I was never much of a reader of fiction but better late than ever. Starting with 'The Hobbit.'
There's a town in Ontario called Stratford, best known for the Stratford festival and Shakespearean plays. When I was in high school, we went there. They had so many older homes transformed into bookstores.
You could get lost in there. They were the most beautiful mazes with room after room of books.
The Horde has me reading again. I was never much of a reader of fiction but better late than ever. Starting with 'The Hobbit.'
There's a town in Ontario called Stratford, best known for the Stratford festival and Shakespearean plays. When I was in high school, we went there. They had so many older homes transformed into bookstores.
You could get lost in there. They were the most beautiful mazes with room after room of books.
Posted by: Stateless - Day 10 of 14 or so - extreme dog care at March 29, 2026 10:25 AM (Sco7b)
171
I did listen to all the Corman Strike books and did enjoy the series. It could have used a bit of editing.
Has anyone read the Thursday Murder Club series?
Has anyone read the Thursday Murder Club series?
Posted by: lin-duh is offended at March 29, 2026 10:25 AM (VCgbV)
172
Hi, Sabrina! (waves back!)
Yes, a lot of us indy authors go back ... when I finally met with Sarah Hoyt in person, we tried to figure out how long we had been friends on-line. Since the mid-oughts, I believe.
Yes, a lot of us indy authors go back ... when I finally met with Sarah Hoyt in person, we tried to figure out how long we had been friends on-line. Since the mid-oughts, I believe.
Posted by: Sgt. Mom at March 29, 2026 10:26 AM (Ew3fm)
173
Modern readers want everything explained and sifted to the nth degree, but I do prefer eternal mysteries.
Posted by: 13times
Quiet, unbeliever, or you will cause the downfall of the entire universe of "let me break it all down for you" video short reels with the subsequent deafening screeches of those too crabbed and uncurious to figure out a point of view for themselves!
Modern readers want everything explained and sifted to the nth degree, but I do prefer eternal mysteries.
Posted by: 13times
Quiet, unbeliever, or you will cause the downfall of the entire universe of "let me break it all down for you" video short reels with the subsequent deafening screeches of those too crabbed and uncurious to figure out a point of view for themselves!
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at March 29, 2026 10:28 AM (xG4kz)
174
Well, I have some e-mails to send and I really need to edit a chapter, so I suppose I'd better make a cup of tea and get to work.
Hope you all have a lovely day.
Hope you all have a lovely day.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 29, 2026 10:29 AM (ufSfZ)
175
149
The relationship between Paladin and June Lockhart's character kind of weirded me out. I always see her as Timmy's mom.
The relationship between Paladin and June Lockhart's character kind of weirded me out. I always see her as Timmy's mom.
Posted by: Toad-0 at March 29, 2026 10:30 AM (JmrC3)
176
Well, I have some e-mails to send and I really need to edit a chapter, so I suppose I'd better make a cup of tea and get to work.
Hope you all have a lovely day.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 29, 2026
***
MP4, before you go, you might want to let us know again about your surprise good news from this last week. It's possible not everybody saw it!
Hope you all have a lovely day.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 29, 2026
***
MP4, before you go, you might want to let us know again about your surprise good news from this last week. It's possible not everybody saw it!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 10:30 AM (wzUl9)
177
Ancient news. A primary example of their deceit's failure:
https://tinyurl.com/fahjsjsp
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 10:24 AM (1o8D5)
First I've heard of the existence of the stones. I've read Josephus a long time ago, so was probably aware of the prohibitions, but these proofs of the temple location aren't public knowledge outside of certain circles, are they?
https://tinyurl.com/fahjsjsp
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 10:24 AM (1o8D5)
First I've heard of the existence of the stones. I've read Josephus a long time ago, so was probably aware of the prohibitions, but these proofs of the temple location aren't public knowledge outside of certain circles, are they?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 10:32 AM (1Ff7Z)
178
Being of the Cafeteria School, I never had issue as a kid with the Christ figure of Aslan coexisting with and ruling over a land filled with beings from Greek mythology and creatures from Grimm nightmares.
Apparently Tolkien did. He just needed to chill with Tom and Goldie in a hot tub and smoke some Longbottom Leaf.
Apparently Tolkien did. He just needed to chill with Tom and Goldie in a hot tub and smoke some Longbottom Leaf.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at March 29, 2026 10:34 AM (kpS4V)
179
The relationship between Paladin and June Lockhart's character kind of weirded me out. I always see her as Timmy's mom.
Posted by: Toad-0 at March 29, 2026
***
I too grew up with her in that role, but I'm okay with her playing other parts. She was in an early episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., "The Dove Affair," as a schoolteacher shepherding teenagers on a tour of a Balkan country where Solo is on the run with a microdot -- the "Innocent" character in the story.
The nice thing about the Dr. Phyllis episodes is that she is very much her own woman, determined to be a doctor and loving her work. Even if she and Paladin are strongly attracted, she wants to continue being what she is. Which I think appealed to Paladin as well.
Posted by: Toad-0 at March 29, 2026
***
I too grew up with her in that role, but I'm okay with her playing other parts. She was in an early episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., "The Dove Affair," as a schoolteacher shepherding teenagers on a tour of a Balkan country where Solo is on the run with a microdot -- the "Innocent" character in the story.
The nice thing about the Dr. Phyllis episodes is that she is very much her own woman, determined to be a doctor and loving her work. Even if she and Paladin are strongly attracted, she wants to continue being what she is. Which I think appealed to Paladin as well.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 10:35 AM (wzUl9)
180
MP4, before you go, you might want to let us know again about your surprise good news from this last week. It's possible not everybody saw it!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 10:30 AM (wzUl9)
Oh! Well, the other day Sarah Hoyt featured my first novel, The Director's Cut, on Insty, saying she was re=reading it and that it held up, which was very nice. A very unexpected plug!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 10:30 AM (wzUl9)
Oh! Well, the other day Sarah Hoyt featured my first novel, The Director's Cut, on Insty, saying she was re=reading it and that it held up, which was very nice. A very unexpected plug!
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 29, 2026 10:35 AM (ufSfZ)
181
It's a way for large publishing houses to bar entry to newcomers breaking into the biz. I'm sure it was never intended to work like that, but it really looks like gate-keeping. Kinda like the government charging outrageous fees for gun registration etc.
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 10:25 AM (cfwti)
Right. If you buy individually, your ISBN is connected to you. If you buy another one, the number is different even though you make the publisher the same name. I don't know how much difference it makes, but it seems having too many different ISBNs might make your collected works hard to find.
Posted by: 13times at March 29, 2026 10:25 AM (cfwti)
Right. If you buy individually, your ISBN is connected to you. If you buy another one, the number is different even though you make the publisher the same name. I don't know how much difference it makes, but it seems having too many different ISBNs might make your collected works hard to find.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 10:35 AM (1Ff7Z)
182
I have seen more than one BLM allied "intellectual" argue that today's law enforcement agencies are nothing more than slave patrols brought down to these times...
...and therefore are constitutionally racist due to their heritage.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot
No wonder!
The United Nations General Assembly this week overwhelmingly backed a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade "the gravest crime against humanity".
-
The word "transatlantic" is the give away. American slavery was like real bad, mmmkay? Other slavery, not so much.
...and therefore are constitutionally racist due to their heritage.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot
No wonder!
The United Nations General Assembly this week overwhelmingly backed a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade "the gravest crime against humanity".
-
The word "transatlantic" is the give away. American slavery was like real bad, mmmkay? Other slavery, not so much.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at March 29, 2026 10:35 AM (ndZc7)
183
Yeah, spill, Poppins!
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at March 29, 2026 10:35 AM (kpS4V)
184
Oops, too late.
Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes. at March 29, 2026 10:37 AM (kpS4V)
185
Our adult niece visited us this week. One of the highlights for her was visiting the huge used bookstore in town. They don't have one near where she and her husband live. She spent literally two hours just wandering the aisles picking out titles. She ended up leaving with a big box of books and about 70 dollars lighter.
She was bummed out because there wasn't one copy of Count of Monte Cristo. We immediately went to the B and N in town and she picked up the Penguin Classics hardcover edition. (My preferred edition.) She was smiling about the acquisitions the rest of the day. I am immensely pleased for her. She is an exceptional young woman.
She was bummed out because there wasn't one copy of Count of Monte Cristo. We immediately went to the B and N in town and she picked up the Penguin Classics hardcover edition. (My preferred edition.) She was smiling about the acquisitions the rest of the day. I am immensely pleased for her. She is an exceptional young woman.
Posted by: JTB at March 29, 2026 10:37 AM (yTvNw)
186
The relationship between Paladin and June Lockhart's character kind of weirded me out. I always see her as Timmy's mom.
Posted by: Toad-0
So doggy style?
Posted by: Toad-0
So doggy style?
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at March 29, 2026 10:39 AM (ndZc7)
187
Time to go! Thanks, Sabrina!
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 29, 2026 10:39 AM (ZOv7s)
188
but these proofs of the temple location aren't public knowledge outside of certain circles, are they?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 10:32 AM (1Ff7Z)
-
Constantly brought up and ignored - or suppressed.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 10:32 AM (1Ff7Z)
-
Constantly brought up and ignored - or suppressed.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 10:40 AM (1o8D5)
189
the Montecristo story was based on an account of the French prefect, but instead of the person being arrested for being a Bonapartiist he was suspected of being a British spy, some details were changed,
I thought it was merely a revenge plot, but it was more than that,
I thought it was merely a revenge plot, but it was more than that,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 10:41 AM (bXbFr)
190
Sarah Hoyt posted her "I'm re-reading this book and it holds up" review of MP4's The Director's Cut at Instapundit. If you go there and scroll down a few days, or maybe just search for Sarah's name, you should find it.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 29, 2026 10:41 AM (wzUl9)
191
Has anyone read the Thursday Murder Club series?
Posted by: lin-duh is offended
I saw the PBS movie and liked it.
Posted by: lin-duh is offended
I saw the PBS movie and liked it.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at March 29, 2026 10:41 AM (ndZc7)
Posted by: Stirfrylaura at March 29, 2026 10:41 AM (xmIHk)
193
as implausible as Dantes inprisonment on the Castle D'if was, it's not really not, as we consider January 6th, some people who knew some people were considered subject to authority, the Capitol prison was much like that,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 10:43 AM (bXbFr)
194
Good morning fellow book enthusiasts
The Hallmarked Man has a lot of different threads but they come together in the end. There is nothing extraneous. One of the things I love about these books is that there is actually detecting that goes on. There are discoveries and hints as well as the day to day operation of a business. She describes the settings in a way that you "see" them.
Yes, I'm a fan and it's important to read them all and then commiserate with Blake and I about how long it takes her to write,the next one.
The Hallmarked Man has a lot of different threads but they come together in the end. There is nothing extraneous. One of the things I love about these books is that there is actually detecting that goes on. There are discoveries and hints as well as the day to day operation of a business. She describes the settings in a way that you "see" them.
Yes, I'm a fan and it's important to read them all and then commiserate with Blake and I about how long it takes her to write,the next one.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2026 10:44 AM (t/2Uw)
195
the problem with libby, the online library is many of the editions don't have notes, as I can see,
as with the Forsyths, which I have also been reading,
as with the Forsyths, which I have also been reading,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 10:45 AM (bXbFr)
196
Ancient news. A primary example of their deceit's failure:
https://tinyurl.com/fahjsjsp
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 10:24 AM (1o8D5)
As much as I appreciate the archeological record that shows conclusively that Israel is the land of the Jews and Judaism, we as a people, and the state of Israel are under no obligation to defend our presence on the land. It is ours. Whether we were there first, or we took it is secondary to our current possession of the land of Israel.
The IDF is the only thing that matters.
https://tinyurl.com/fahjsjsp
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 10:24 AM (1o8D5)
As much as I appreciate the archeological record that shows conclusively that Israel is the land of the Jews and Judaism, we as a people, and the state of Israel are under no obligation to defend our presence on the land. It is ours. Whether we were there first, or we took it is secondary to our current possession of the land of Israel.
The IDF is the only thing that matters.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 29, 2026 10:47 AM (n9ltV)
197
yes if you start Cormorant strike you start with the Cuckoos Heart to get a hold of the characters,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 10:47 AM (bXbFr)
198
Yes, I'm a fan and it's important to read them all and then commiserate with Blake and I about how long it takes her to write,the next one.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice)
I think the next is to be the last in the series. Waiting impatiently for a publication date..
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice)
I think the next is to be the last in the series. Waiting impatiently for a publication date..
Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2026 10:47 AM (lJ0H4)
199
I've heard from multiple people that tradpub started sucking when it was taken over by NYC Karens. That's why there's no shortage of so-called "clit lit" like the minotaur book but any kind of science fiction that isn't some kind of Mary Sue fever dream is basically impossible to get published now.
Posted by: Ian S. at March 29, 2026 10:48 AM (Q5A79)
200
m
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 10:48 AM (1o8D5)
201
Yes, I'm a fan and it's important to read them all and then commiserate with Blake and I about how long it takes her to write,the next one.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2026 10:44 AM (t/2Uw)
Same. In the meantime, we can speculate about whether or not the next one will be the last one, or if they can continue the agency together regardless of what happens with their relationship.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2026 10:44 AM (t/2Uw)
Same. In the meantime, we can speculate about whether or not the next one will be the last one, or if they can continue the agency together regardless of what happens with their relationship.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 29, 2026 10:49 AM (h7ZuX)
202
Did you go in cold, or have you read the entire series? The Cormoran Strike novels are as tightly arced as the Harry Potter ones. If you follow the series, The Hallmarked Man is one of the very best so far; if you haven't been along for the whole ride, it's merely long and prolix with "too many" characters.
Posted by: werewife at March 29, 2026 10:03 AM (5ayY3)
----------
I think I've read them all, save maybe one or so. I think her Potter books are considerably better. These I really think need an editor, particularly the Hallmark book, where the writing wanders all over.
Posted by: werewife at March 29, 2026 10:03 AM (5ayY3)
----------
I think I've read them all, save maybe one or so. I think her Potter books are considerably better. These I really think need an editor, particularly the Hallmark book, where the writing wanders all over.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at March 29, 2026 10:50 AM (EiGGt)
203
The United Nations General Assembly this week overwhelmingly backed a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade "the gravest crime against humanity".
The United Nations! So stunning! So brave! So bold to stomp upon the past while pointedly ignoring its own transgressions, like UNRWA personnel serving as auxiliary members and cheerleaders for Hamas in Gaza.
The United Nations General Assembly this week overwhelmingly backed a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade "the gravest crime against humanity".
The United Nations! So stunning! So brave! So bold to stomp upon the past while pointedly ignoring its own transgressions, like UNRWA personnel serving as auxiliary members and cheerleaders for Hamas in Gaza.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at March 29, 2026 10:51 AM (xG4kz)
204
Recommend the new Pendergast book. It's about his beginning at the FBI and you find out how Procter comes to work for him. Also read the new Orphan X. Also very good.
Posted by: Badgergal at March 29, 2026 10:53 AM (cs22I)
205
true, but possession in 9/10th of the law, I think Benny Morris,did a lot of damage with his first wave revisionism
Posted by: miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 10:54 AM (bXbFr)
206
Same. In the meantime, we can speculate about whether or not the next one will be the last one, or if they can continue the agency together regardless of what happens with their relationship.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs!
Ah, that relationship question. The start of the next book should be interesting in light of Strike's heartfelt yet clumsy declaration of his feelings.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs!
Ah, that relationship question. The start of the next book should be interesting in light of Strike's heartfelt yet clumsy declaration of his feelings.
Posted by: Tuna at March 29, 2026 10:54 AM (lJ0H4)
207
The United Nations! So stunning! So brave! So bold to stomp upon the past while pointedly ignoring its own transgressions, like UNRWA personnel serving as auxiliary members and cheerleaders for Hamas in Gaza.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at March 29, 2026 10:51 AM (xG4kz)
Or the uncomfortable reality that the slave trade in Europe, Asia, and the Arab world was bigger.
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at March 29, 2026 10:51 AM (xG4kz)
Or the uncomfortable reality that the slave trade in Europe, Asia, and the Arab world was bigger.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 29, 2026 10:54 AM (n9ltV)
208
The United Nations! So stunning! So brave!
It didn't get any real media attention, but a few days ago someone connected to the WEF said it's going to be wonderful when the UN takes its place as the one world government, with regional sub-governments like the EU.
It didn't get any real media attention, but a few days ago someone connected to the WEF said it's going to be wonderful when the UN takes its place as the one world government, with regional sub-governments like the EU.
Posted by: Ian S. at March 29, 2026 10:55 AM (h+W32)
209
I think Benny Morris,did a lot of damage with his first wave revisionism
Posted by: miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 10:54 AM (bXbFr)
He is a lying cocksucker.
Posted by: miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 10:54 AM (bXbFr)
He is a lying cocksucker.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 29, 2026 10:55 AM (n9ltV)
210
how many of these general assembly countries still practice slavery or did so until very recently,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 10:55 AM (bXbFr)
211
I've heard from multiple people that tradpub started sucking when it was taken over by NYC Karens. That's why there's no shortage of so-called "clit lit" like the minotaur book but any kind of science fiction that isn't some kind of Mary Sue fever dream is basically impossible to get published now.
Posted by: Ian S. at March 29, 2026 10:48 AM (Q5A79)
So I've been told.
Almost all of the YTers from the publishing world are women. They've been, or are currently in, the business. That's the way it is now, and until the culture changes or tradpub loses it's grip on book sales, that's the way it will be.
Posted by: Ian S. at March 29, 2026 10:48 AM (Q5A79)
So I've been told.
Almost all of the YTers from the publishing world are women. They've been, or are currently in, the business. That's the way it is now, and until the culture changes or tradpub loses it's grip on book sales, that's the way it will be.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 10:55 AM (1Ff7Z)
212
Humble bundle has a bunch of digital book and graphic novel bundles. A huge horror collection including I Am Legend, Every Schulz Peanuts cartoon print, Sundays and Weekdays, A whole lot of those Tony Hillerman Injun novels, James Herbert novels like The Fog. And then a bunch of comic and graphic novels including a Joe Hill collection with Locke&Key.
Posted by: banana Dream at March 29, 2026 10:55 AM (3uBP9)
213
Ian S. at 199,
Can you imagine that any house would take on John D. MacDonald or Robert B. Parker or Robert Heinlein if they showed up as new writers these days?
Can you imagine that any house would take on John D. MacDonald or Robert B. Parker or Robert Heinlein if they showed up as new writers these days?
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2026 10:55 AM (q3u5l)
214
Thanks for another great Book Thread, Sabrina Chase!
And thanks for your words of experience and wisdom regarding the true status of publishing houses, book stores and authors.
And thanks for your words of experience and wisdom regarding the true status of publishing houses, book stores and authors.
Posted by: Legally Sufficient at March 29, 2026 10:56 AM (vrNzf)
215
Also read the new Orphan X. Also very good.
Posted by: Badgergal at March 29, 2026 10:53 AM (cs22I)
I'm still on the waiting list for Antihero. Bout six weeks to go.
Posted by: Badgergal at March 29, 2026 10:53 AM (cs22I)
I'm still on the waiting list for Antihero. Bout six weeks to go.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 29, 2026 10:56 AM (h7ZuX)
216
Speaking of the slave trade, willowed from Pixy's:
X community notes are a good source for historic accuracy:
https://tinyurl.com/yeyvsvze
X community notes are a good source for historic accuracy:
https://tinyurl.com/yeyvsvze
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 10:56 AM (1o8D5)
217
stipulated,
Dan Silva's work, which has lost the plot, and cribs details from Follett's better plots rested much on Morris,
Dan Silva's work, which has lost the plot, and cribs details from Follett's better plots rested much on Morris,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 10:56 AM (bXbFr)
218
He is a lying cocksucker.
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 29, 2026 10:55 AM (n9ltV)
-
Today or yesteryear, way, way back?
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 29, 2026 10:55 AM (n9ltV)
-
Today or yesteryear, way, way back?
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 29, 2026 10:57 AM (1o8D5)
219
If you like yours thrillers on the more cerebral side I would recommend David Hewson's Nic Costa mysteries. Set amongst the Roman police and full of history, art, and other good stuff. If you love Caravaggio that's a plus.
Posted by: Badgergal at March 29, 2026 10:57 AM (cs22I)
220
I was disappointed in John Lithgow who is Dumbledore in the new woke Harry Potter. He issued a statement saying that just because he's Dumbledore doesn't mean he supports Rowling's vicious anti-trans opinions.
Meanwhile . . .
BREAKING NEWS
Transgender child sex offender, Richard Cox, gets a massive win in court today as the Virginia locker room trial is paused.
The Commonwealth Attorneys told me they were “pissed” about the judge’s decision and said that now, “the trial is basically frozen.”
Meanwhile . . .
BREAKING NEWS
Transgender child sex offender, Richard Cox, gets a massive win in court today as the Virginia locker room trial is paused.
The Commonwealth Attorneys told me they were “pissed” about the judge’s decision and said that now, “the trial is basically frozen.”
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at March 29, 2026 10:58 AM (ndZc7)
221
Folks often mention their TBR pile, but do any of you have a TBRA* pile with interesting selections?
*To Be Read Again.
*To Be Read Again.
Posted by: muldoon at March 29, 2026 11:02 AM (qgHp7)
222
Can you imagine that any house would take on John D. MacDonald or Robert B. Parker or Robert Heinlein if they showed up as new writers these days?
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2026 10:55 AM (q3u5l)
That shows what a revolutionary publisher like Bennett Cerf was. A man of the left, but he published Rand, and got a lot of grief from his pals for it, but stood by it.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2026 10:55 AM (q3u5l)
That shows what a revolutionary publisher like Bennett Cerf was. A man of the left, but he published Rand, and got a lot of grief from his pals for it, but stood by it.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 11:04 AM (1Ff7Z)
223
I finished the new Catherine Coulter book, The Heir of Whitestone. Really different than her previous works which were contemporary FBI mysteries. Set in Victorian era England, involves a man with a mysterious past and a young woman willing to flaunt the rules of society to befriend him. There is a lot of talk about updating trains which didn't make much sense but there is a mystery to solve and romance and a satisfying ending. The reason I ended up liking this book a lot was because the people in love don't go through some manufactured crisis. The people around them are good people who do,things to make life better. It is just such a happy book it made me feel good reading it. It was like watching a movie and leaving the theater smiling.
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 29, 2026 11:04 AM (t/2Uw)
224
Is there no human decency remaining?
12 Tons of KitKat Bars Valued at $1 Million Stolen in European Cargo Heist
12 Tons of KitKat Bars Valued at $1 Million Stolen in European Cargo Heist
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at March 29, 2026 11:06 AM (ndZc7)
225
Apparently Tolkien did. He just needed to chill with Tom and Goldie in a hot tub and smoke some Longbottom Leaf.
Posted by: All Hail Eris
--------------
Tolkien disliked allegory because in most cases, the message eats the creative writing. LOTR can be said to be Christian influenced but not an allegory.
Pick up Bunyan's A Pilgrim's Progress for an example of heavy handed allegory. And at one time, it was one of the few books to be found in Puritan households.
Posted by: All Hail Eris
--------------
Tolkien disliked allegory because in most cases, the message eats the creative writing. LOTR can be said to be Christian influenced but not an allegory.
Pick up Bunyan's A Pilgrim's Progress for an example of heavy handed allegory. And at one time, it was one of the few books to be found in Puritan households.
Posted by: whig at March 29, 2026 11:06 AM (E4rtv)
226
some of the previous later series that Follett engaged in, were full of treaclel
Posted by: miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 11:07 AM (bXbFr)
227
That shows what a revolutionary publisher like Bennett Cerf was. A man of the left, but he published Rand, and got a lot of grief from his pals for it, but stood by it.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 11:04 AM (1Ff7Z)
I only recognize the name "Bennet Cerf" from the old tv show I've Got a Secret.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 11:04 AM (1Ff7Z)
I only recognize the name "Bennet Cerf" from the old tv show I've Got a Secret.
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at March 29, 2026 11:08 AM (g8Ew8)
228
Muldoon,
Most of the print books remaining on my shelves and a fair number of those in my Kindle library make up one big TBRA pile.
I don't expect to get to all of them before I'm planted.
Most of the print books remaining on my shelves and a fair number of those in my Kindle library make up one big TBRA pile.
I don't expect to get to all of them before I'm planted.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 29, 2026 11:08 AM (q3u5l)
229
Folks often mention their TBR pile, but do any of you have a TBRA* pile with interesting selections?
*To Be Read Again.
Posted by: muldoon at March 29, 2026 11:02 AM (qgHp7)
I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I'll probably never read all I have.
*To Be Read Again.
Posted by: muldoon at March 29, 2026 11:02 AM (qgHp7)
I'm sure I'm not the only one, but I'll probably never read all I have.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 29, 2026 11:08 AM (1Ff7Z)
230
yeah Lithgow is a long time lefty back to the Nizon era, who like the Bourbons has learned nothing,
Posted by: miguel cervantes at March 29, 2026 11:08 AM (bXbFr)
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