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Book Thread: (03/15/2026) [JTB]
Welcome to my attempt at a thread on AOSHQ. CBD asked if I would be willing to try a couple of book threads and that got me thinking. The Horde is so varied and interesting in their reading habits. This is a chance to ask a few questions about reading that intrigue me. So here goes.
Sorry the man, to my mind, who has not in his own home a place to be all by himself, to pay his court privately to himself, to hide.-- Michel de Montaigne Was this the first man cave? The idea is certainly pleasant and one I've sought most of my life. What would you include in your reading space? (BTW, it probably helped to be a wealthy 16th century French aristocrat to make a place like that.) I've always liked this painting, 'The Bookworm' by Carl Spitzweg, circa 1850. This could be me, except I don't like ladders. It's so typical that reading one book makes me dig out five others.
WARNING: A lot of single and double quote marks have been used in this segment.
There's a book coming out in March, "The Real Shakespeare" by Irene Coslet. She 'proves' that Shakespeare was actually a Jewish woman of north African descent living in Venice (Italy not California). The book blurb on Amazon says "Generations of researchers have tried to dismantle the myth of the Stratford man. Now, in this intriguing and well-documented book, Irene Coslet conclusively demonstrates that Shakespeare was a not a man, but a woman: a dark-skinned lady, of Jewish origin, born into a family of Court musicians from Venice" One review describes Coslet as a "feminist historian" who claims that the true author (authoress?) is Emilia Bassano and this 'fact' was buried under "western-centric ideology". The examples of her proof mentioned in reviews make "Chariots of the Gods" look like hard science. Bassano, later Emilia Lanier after marrying an Englishman, may well have been a remarkable woman. So are many of the Ettes in the Horde. Doesn't mean they wrote Hamlet or Macbeth. This level of 'woke' is both tiresome and irritating. And the publisher has the brass-plated gall to charge $36.95 for this 200 page screed. I assume, and hope, it will be remaindered in record time. I find the arguments about who wrote Shakespeare to be intellectual (maybe) curiosity and speculation. Or masturbation. (I suspect some is just academic snobbery.) Because even if it wasn't a glove maker's son turned actor, the plays and sonnets still exist and their perceptions, glorious words, and emotional connections with humanity have continued for four centuries. Feel free to disagree. Is there any one book that made you a life long reader? For me it was Treasure Island with the Wyeth illustrations. I think I was in second grade and kept a dictionary at hand to deal with the many new words. The challenge and difficulty were part of the attraction. It was the first time I realized how words alone could paint a picture in my head and then come to life. A first step into true book nerdom. I'm noticing more articles and YT videos about how physical media, books, DVDs, CDs and so forth are increasingly popular as an alternative to streaming and digital everything. The stories point to increased sales, the success of the revitalized Barnes and Noble stores, and a general preference to own (and control) the materials. These stories appeal to me partly because I didn't grow up with digital versions, which didn't exist, and partly because I don't trust the 'gatekeepers' of the digital world. I don't know if they are true or just a continuation of LPs are better than CDs attitude. Anyone else noticed this one way or another? What I've been reading: LOTR (of course) -my 60th annual rereading. The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, Volume I: The Ancient World and Christendom - usually a few pages at a time since the topics lead to endless rabbit holes. But too interesting to abandon for long. Luis Melendez: Master of the Spanish Still Life - His still life paintings are so well done and appealing. I can get lost studying one image and reading about how he achieved it. I find looking at the works of painters I admire to be soothing and a welcome distraction from all the crap news that tries to bury us. Books I've acquired just because they appear to be fun reads to have on hand. I often learned about these books from the book thread. Route 66 A. D.: On The Trail of Ancient Roman Tourists by Tony Perrottet Poplollies and Bellibones: A Celebration of Lost Words by Susan Kelz Sperling The Adventures of Tom Bombadil edited by Christina Scull and Wayne Hammond - This is an expanded version of the mid-60s edition. I had that but it disintegrated from use so I splurged. Hope everyone has a great week of reading.Comments
(Jump to bottom of comments)1
BOOKS
BOOKS
Posted by: r hennigantx at March 15, 2026 09:00 AM (gbOdA)
2
Tolle Lege
Posted by: Skip at March 15, 2026 09:00 AM (Ia/+0)
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 15, 2026 09:00 AM (1Ff7Z)
4
Yay books! And coffee!
Posted by: Bryce at March 15, 2026 09:00 AM (5GspC)
5
What a great picture
Journal of Assistant Commissary General Tupper Carey
Heard the author Gareth Glover
About 1/2 way through, quite interesting to hear what someone behind the lines went through
Journal of Assistant Commissary General Tupper Carey
Heard the author Gareth Glover
About 1/2 way through, quite interesting to hear what someone behind the lines went through
Posted by: Skip at March 15, 2026 09:02 AM (Ia/+0)
6
JTB,
Welcome to the elite world of Sunday Morning Book Thread co-blogging!
I'm glad to have you on board!
Welcome to the elite world of Sunday Morning Book Thread co-blogging!
I'm glad to have you on board!
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 15, 2026 09:02 AM (ESVrU)
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 09:03 AM (wzUl9)
8
Edward DeVere.
Posted by: davidt at March 15, 2026 09:03 AM (Q+gd/)
Posted by: dantesed at March 15, 2026 09:05 AM (Oy/m2)
10
What a load of bollocks
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 15, 2026 09:05 AM (bXbFr)
11
Emilia was also a Lesbian it turns out
Posted by: Skip at March 15, 2026 09:05 AM (Ia/+0)
12
This coslet woman
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 15, 2026 09:06 AM (bXbFr)
13
Yeah that seems silly
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 15, 2026 09:06 AM (bXbFr)
14
One of my treasures as a kid was a hardcover copy of Kidnapped with the Wyeth illustrations, glorious!
Reading Project Hail Mary now, lived The Martian and sounds like film adaptation is good.
Reading Project Hail Mary now, lived The Martian and sounds like film adaptation is good.
Posted by: Bryce at March 15, 2026 09:07 AM (5GspC)
15
I don't recall a particular book that made me a lifelong reader, there were so many that I wanted to read myself. I do remember the first book I read myself, which was a collection of nursery rhymes, including Hickory Dickory Dock, with a picture of the grandfather clock and the mouse.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026 09:07 AM (0U5gm)
16
Whoa. A five hour Daylight Savings Time clock change?
*taps side of grandfather clock in foyer*
*taps side of grandfather clock in foyer*
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at March 15, 2026 09:08 AM (2Ez/1)
17
Whoa. A five hour Daylight Savings Time clock change?
*taps side of grandfather clock in foyer*
Posted by: Quarter Twenty
2026 might be a leap century.
*taps side of grandfather clock in foyer*
Posted by: Quarter Twenty
2026 might be a leap century.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026 09:09 AM (0U5gm)
18
Probably something about animals
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 15, 2026 09:09 AM (bXbFr)
19
I was a real zoology buff as a yoiuth
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 15, 2026 09:10 AM (bXbFr)
20
Good morning again morons and thanks JTB
Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 15, 2026 09:10 AM (RIvkX)
21
Good Sunday morning, horde!
Nice library picture. That ladder is absolutely not OSHA-approved.
Wonder what kind of books he has on his shelves? I expect a lot of Western classics, as in Greek philosophy, Roman history, maybe some studies of law, religious philosophers....I don't expect there's much light reading in there.
Nice library picture. That ladder is absolutely not OSHA-approved.
Wonder what kind of books he has on his shelves? I expect a lot of Western classics, as in Greek philosophy, Roman history, maybe some studies of law, religious philosophers....I don't expect there's much light reading in there.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 15, 2026 09:11 AM (h7ZuX)
22
Morning, JTB.
Howdy, Horde.
37 bucks for a book of 200 pages? Without looking the thing up, I'd say that's gotta be from a university press.
Howdy, Horde.
37 bucks for a book of 200 pages? Without looking the thing up, I'd say that's gotta be from a university press.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 15, 2026 09:11 AM (q3u5l)
23
My Side of the Mountain by Jean George. Read it a bunch of times as a callow youth.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at March 15, 2026 09:12 AM (2Ez/1)
24
The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, Volume I: The Ancient World and Christendom
That looks like something I would be interested in reading. Thanks, JTB.
That looks like something I would be interested in reading. Thanks, JTB.
Posted by: dantesed at March 15, 2026 09:12 AM (Oy/m2)
25
Imagine a tray. Drop in several marbles. Tilt the tray back and forth. Watch the marbles collide with each other, more than once.
Switch the marbles for an assortment of people vying to find a missing gold statuette, and the tray for the Greater New York area, and you have "Dancing Aztecs" by Donald Westlake. This is a funny, tricky, and absolutely satisfying book.
I thought I had spoiled the story when I was flipping through the book to see how many pages it contained, but fortunately that wasn't the case.
Westlake holds that NYC casts magic over people. Maybe in the '70s, but now? I think he would cry.
************
Somebody posted last week that eBay has bargains for book hunters. I agree. I just picked up a lot of 10 Westlake hardbacks for less than $10 each. So much for THAT New Year's resolution.
Switch the marbles for an assortment of people vying to find a missing gold statuette, and the tray for the Greater New York area, and you have "Dancing Aztecs" by Donald Westlake. This is a funny, tricky, and absolutely satisfying book.
I thought I had spoiled the story when I was flipping through the book to see how many pages it contained, but fortunately that wasn't the case.
Westlake holds that NYC casts magic over people. Maybe in the '70s, but now? I think he would cry.
************
Somebody posted last week that eBay has bargains for book hunters. I agree. I just picked up a lot of 10 Westlake hardbacks for less than $10 each. So much for THAT New Year's resolution.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 15, 2026 09:13 AM (p/isN)
26
Currently reading “Skagboys” Irvine Welsh’s prequel to “Trainspotting” with the sequel “Porno” in the on deck circle.
One question…does Welsh have any say in how his books are marketed? “Porno”, “Filth”, “Skagboys” and others have the least appealing cover art possible, designed to repel not attract readers. Hilarious books but jeez, reading them out in the general population does tend to scare off others.
Get off my lawn.
One question…does Welsh have any say in how his books are marketed? “Porno”, “Filth”, “Skagboys” and others have the least appealing cover art possible, designed to repel not attract readers. Hilarious books but jeez, reading them out in the general population does tend to scare off others.
Get off my lawn.
Posted by: Buzzy Krumhunger at March 15, 2026 09:13 AM (AiDq0)
27
Congrats on your first Book Thread, JTB.
I owe CBD one. I even know the topic. But I'm paralyzed by depression. This comment is the longest thing I've written in a week.
I owe CBD one. I even know the topic. But I'm paralyzed by depression. This comment is the longest thing I've written in a week.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 09:13 AM (ufSfZ)
28
Back in the days of my yute, I was law clerk for a Denver district court judge in the old City and County Building. The law library had high stacks which you would climb up to on ladders attached at the top by rollers fitted to a rail greatly reducing the chance that a ladder would fall over. I'd find the volume I needed, roll the ladder to the proper spot, and then clamber up.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at March 15, 2026 09:14 AM (ndZc7)
29
2026 might be a leap century.
Posted by: Thomas Paine
Years go by and nothing happens.
Then days go by and years happen.
~ Old Russian proverb
Posted by: Thomas Paine
Years go by and nothing happens.
Then days go by and years happen.
~ Old Russian proverb
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at March 15, 2026 09:15 AM (2Ez/1)
30
I couldn't possibly identify a book that made me want to be a life-long reader. Our house was never lacking books. We were read to from our births. Weekly trips to the library, with each of five kids checking out the maximum number per kid. Reading was as essential as eating, for us.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 15, 2026 09:15 AM (h7ZuX)
31
I recently finished The MANIAC by Benjamín Labatut . Overall a fictionalized biography of von Neumann, the early parts of the book also cover Paul Ehrenfest and the tremendous physics and mathematics environment of early 20th century Europe. von Neumann is largely unknown in popular imagination in favor of Einstein, IMO because Albert was the anti-war pacifist and von Neumann liked himself some commie-killing. The book portrays him as a bit more eccentric than he really was, I believe, but overall still a good read. 4/5 eyepatches
Posted by: Candidus at March 15, 2026 09:16 AM (XTezJ)
32
Currently I am starting Gregory Benford & Larry Niven's Bowl of Heaven, having just finished the third in that series, Glorious. Talk about sweep of grandeur and imagination! Bowl begins with the crew of a slower-than-light starship, employing cold sleep for the decades of travel, headed for an Earthlike world they plan to colonize. About forty years in, 3/4 of the way there, they encounter a huge object: a half-Dyson Sphere, a gigantic bowl about as far around as the orbit of Venus, with a Sol-like star both lighting it and powering it through a manipulated jet. From Glorious I know that the Bowl is inhabited -- and is millions of years old. Good stuff so far.
Glorious recounts their arrival at the planet, Glory, to find that it's part of a double planet system connected by a miles-wide tube and living zone, the Cobweb, some 250K kilometers long. These grand concepts and other wonders make Niven's Ringworld look almost small!
Glorious recounts their arrival at the planet, Glory, to find that it's part of a double planet system connected by a miles-wide tube and living zone, the Cobweb, some 250K kilometers long. These grand concepts and other wonders make Niven's Ringworld look almost small!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 09:16 AM (wzUl9)
33
I owe CBD one. I even know the topic. But I'm paralyzed by depression. This comment is the longest thing I've written in a week.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 09:13 AM (ufSfZ)
----
You've got a couple of weeks to figure something out.
I often use comments from the Horde for inspiration.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 09:13 AM (ufSfZ)
----
You've got a couple of weeks to figure something out.
I often use comments from the Horde for inspiration.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 15, 2026 09:17 AM (ESVrU)
34
I read The Little Liar by Mitch Albon. Eleven-year old Nico of Salonika, Greece has never told a lie; but a German officer, Udo Graf, tricks him by telling him that he can save his family if he persuades his fellow Jews to board the trains going north where jobs and safety await. Albon weaves the stories of Nico, his brother Sebastian, Fannie, the girl who must choose between them, and Graf. The book is narrated by the voice of Truth, and is a tale of our deceits and the power of love to inspire forgiveness and ultimately to redeem us. A great little book.
Posted by: Zoltan at March 15, 2026 09:17 AM (VOrDg)
35
Haven't read all of Westlake, but have never been disappointed by him. I seem to recall an interview with Harlan Ellison in which the subject of other books and writers came up, and he said he thought Westlake the best writer in the country.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 15, 2026 09:17 AM (q3u5l)
36
Thanks JTB. Now for the content.
Posted by: 13times at March 15, 2026 09:17 AM (iSfnH)
37
This week's Kindle read was "Another Pennsylvania: A Parallel Multiverse Novel" by indie author Ward Wagher (yes, it's Wagher).
Mr. Wagher's Parallel Multiverse was created by a having a botched time travel experiment in the 24th century randomly toss people across time and dimensions, so they wind up in alternate timelines and get to cope with their new circumstances. It sounds dumb when you say it out loud, but it results in some pretty good page-turning adventure stories.
Mr. Wagher's Parallel Multiverse was created by a having a botched time travel experiment in the 24th century randomly toss people across time and dimensions, so they wind up in alternate timelines and get to cope with their new circumstances. It sounds dumb when you say it out loud, but it results in some pretty good page-turning adventure stories.
Posted by: Idaho Spudboy at March 15, 2026 09:18 AM (4mmkh)
38
And Emilia Bassano hasn't been 'buried,' FFS. I remember reading about her as a Shakespeare candidate years ago. IIRC, she's also been put forward as a candidate for the 'Dark Lady' of the Bard's sonnets.
But people have been arguing about the identity of Shakespeare since the middle of the 18th century. It started out as somewhat of an obscurantist pastime, devolved into a parlor game and now, IMO, is a truly dangerous pursuit seeking to erase the achievement of a white, Christian, heterosexual man in favor of the current woke category of the oppressed.
But people have been arguing about the identity of Shakespeare since the middle of the 18th century. It started out as somewhat of an obscurantist pastime, devolved into a parlor game and now, IMO, is a truly dangerous pursuit seeking to erase the achievement of a white, Christian, heterosexual man in favor of the current woke category of the oppressed.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 09:18 AM (ufSfZ)
39
Yay book thread! Reading this week was somewhat scattershot. After finishing Graham Greene's The Human Factor, I shifted to preparations for an ongoing D&D campaign based on Out of the Abyss, a hard-bound adventure campaign that runs from 1-15th level. Those of us 29 and up remember buying "modules" or pre-generated individual adventures, some of which were designed to be run in sequence. This is a fully contained adventure that basically covers most of a character's career. It's very well done and takes a lot of the load off of the DM, allowing for more improvisation and customization.
I also re-read the rules for GDW's Persian Gulf game from 1986. Still haven't worked up the energy to play it, but the maps are laid out. I had the first two games in the Third World War series and they got lots of use back in the day. I picked this up a few years ago when Iraq had wound down and these were going cheap. There are fancy reprints with updated graphics which I hate. Give me basic 80s graphics.
Bedtime reading is of course Unfinished Tales, my go-to book to help me sleep. I read "Of Tuor and His Coming to Gondolin."
I also re-read the rules for GDW's Persian Gulf game from 1986. Still haven't worked up the energy to play it, but the maps are laid out. I had the first two games in the Third World War series and they got lots of use back in the day. I picked this up a few years ago when Iraq had wound down and these were going cheap. There are fancy reprints with updated graphics which I hate. Give me basic 80s graphics.
Bedtime reading is of course Unfinished Tales, my go-to book to help me sleep. I read "Of Tuor and His Coming to Gondolin."
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 15, 2026 09:19 AM (ZOv7s)
40
14 ... "One of my treasures as a kid was a hardcover copy of Kidnapped with the Wyeth illustrations, glorious!"
Per my post and Bryce's comment 14 about RLS and Wyeth illustrations. A few years ago Abbeville Press released a gorgeous slip case edition of Treasure Island and Kidnapped with the Wyeth illustrations. I lusted for it but figured I already have decent copies. Finally gave in to the temptation and glad I did. Clothbound hard covers, sturdy case, excellent binding and paper quality and print size. And the illustrations are beautifully printed. Books that are a pleasure to hold while reading enhance the whole experience.
Per my post and Bryce's comment 14 about RLS and Wyeth illustrations. A few years ago Abbeville Press released a gorgeous slip case edition of Treasure Island and Kidnapped with the Wyeth illustrations. I lusted for it but figured I already have decent copies. Finally gave in to the temptation and glad I did. Clothbound hard covers, sturdy case, excellent binding and paper quality and print size. And the illustrations are beautifully printed. Books that are a pleasure to hold while reading enhance the whole experience.
Posted by: JTB at March 15, 2026 09:19 AM (yTvNw)
41
I didn't notice yet should have figured out seeing our author was reading LotR
Fantastic job JTB
Fantastic job JTB
Posted by: Skip at March 15, 2026 09:20 AM (Ia/+0)
42
This past week I've been reading the novel Dorsai! by Gordon Dickson. Somehow I missed reading it in the 1980s during my omnivore phase, even though I distinctly remember seeing it in the bookstore. It's pretty good.
One can definitely trace a line of influence from Dorsai! to Lois McMaster Bujold's books about Miles Vorkosigan. I wonder if Bujold read about Dickson's protagonist Donal Graeme and wondered "how would people _really_ react to someone who is always insufferably right about everything -- and what if he wasn't always right after all?"
One can definitely trace a line of influence from Dorsai! to Lois McMaster Bujold's books about Miles Vorkosigan. I wonder if Bujold read about Dickson's protagonist Donal Graeme and wondered "how would people _really_ react to someone who is always insufferably right about everything -- and what if he wasn't always right after all?"
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 15, 2026 09:20 AM (78a2H)
43
“a 200 page screed”. Maybe she’s trying to monetize her PhD dissertation. Thanks for the book thread JTB. Much appreciated.
Posted by: Rufus T. Firefly at March 15, 2026 09:20 AM (b9j2K)
44
The Agony and the Ecstasy. was the book that turned me into an avid reader. It would also have turned me into an artist ifi it weren't for that utter lack of talent thing.
Posted by: Candidus at March 15, 2026 09:20 AM (XTezJ)
45
. . . Westlake holds that NYC casts magic over people. Maybe in the '70s, but now? I think he would cry. . . .
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 15, 2026
***
His NYC of the '50s through the '70s, and that of his contemporaries like Lawrence Block, is an attractive place for any big city lover.
Block, I think, is still alive. If he lives in NYC still, I hope he has someplace else to flee to.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 15, 2026
***
His NYC of the '50s through the '70s, and that of his contemporaries like Lawrence Block, is an attractive place for any big city lover.
Block, I think, is still alive. If he lives in NYC still, I hope he has someplace else to flee to.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 09:20 AM (wzUl9)
46
[inspiring comment]
Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 15, 2026 09:20 AM (RIvkX)
47
Did she even live in the uk
Posted by: Miguel cervantes at March 15, 2026 09:21 AM (bXbFr)
48
Who was it who said (in a discussion of the intelligence of most actors) that Shakespeare couldn't have written Shakespeare's plays because Shakespeare was known to have acted in some of them?
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 15, 2026 09:21 AM (q3u5l)
49
You've got a couple of weeks to figure something out.
I often use comments from the Horde for inspiration.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 15, 2026 09:17 AM (ESVrU)
As I said, I know the topic; I'm even looking at the book that inspired it. I just haven't the energy or desire to write.
I often use comments from the Horde for inspiration.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at March 15, 2026 09:17 AM (ESVrU)
As I said, I know the topic; I'm even looking at the book that inspired it. I just haven't the energy or desire to write.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 09:22 AM (ufSfZ)
50
"It started out as somewhat of an obscurantist pastime..."
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing
"obscurantist" might be a fun word for a limerick.
*scribbles note for Art Thread*
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing
"obscurantist" might be a fun word for a limerick.
*scribbles note for Art Thread*
Posted by: Limerick Lover at March 15, 2026 09:24 AM (2Ez/1)
51
Emilia was also a Lesbian it turns out
Posted by: Skip at March 15, 2026 09:05 AM (Ia/+0)
---
Much of academia is Gnostic. They no longer use facts and evidence but instead proclaim deeper, intuitive mysteries that pervious scholars were unable to access because of their sex or skin color.
The old stereotype was a bunch of nerds arguing in Latin about Vergil vs Homer, but now it's just impenetrable largely made-up jargon that is meaningless in the real world. I would argue that this is partly why they are so comfortable with chaos around them - their minds are already full of it.
Posted by: Skip at March 15, 2026 09:05 AM (Ia/+0)
---
Much of academia is Gnostic. They no longer use facts and evidence but instead proclaim deeper, intuitive mysteries that pervious scholars were unable to access because of their sex or skin color.
The old stereotype was a bunch of nerds arguing in Latin about Vergil vs Homer, but now it's just impenetrable largely made-up jargon that is meaningless in the real world. I would argue that this is partly why they are so comfortable with chaos around them - their minds are already full of it.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 15, 2026 09:24 AM (ZOv7s)
52
Hooray for JTB!
'A Room of One's Own' by Virginia Woolf came to mind immediately, spanning both depressing feminism and personal spaces.
'A Room of One's Own' by Virginia Woolf came to mind immediately, spanning both depressing feminism and personal spaces.
Posted by: mustbequantum at March 15, 2026 09:24 AM (VUoPf)
53
book that made me a reader? - parents had me reading under my own steam at 3, so I can't remember, at all.
- but book that made me a lifelong sci-fi reader? (well, the genre got destroyed; don't get me started) - The Wonder War, Laurence M. Janifer, Pyramid Books, January 1964
gave a classmate 50 cents for it.
I suspended disbelief and never looked back.
love that picture up top, yes that's me in a previous life - my library/cave would like to have:
- at least 2 Comfy Chairs
- maybe a cough for Reading While Horizontal
- its own small half-bath, with shelves, a table, and a lot of bookmarks so I don't have to use squares of TP
- means of making coffee
- maybe a small refrigerator
- enough shelves to hold ALL OF THE BOOKS!
- but book that made me a lifelong sci-fi reader? (well, the genre got destroyed; don't get me started) - The Wonder War, Laurence M. Janifer, Pyramid Books, January 1964
gave a classmate 50 cents for it.
I suspended disbelief and never looked back.
love that picture up top, yes that's me in a previous life - my library/cave would like to have:
- at least 2 Comfy Chairs
- maybe a cough for Reading While Horizontal
- its own small half-bath, with shelves, a table, and a lot of bookmarks so I don't have to use squares of TP
- means of making coffee
- maybe a small refrigerator
- enough shelves to hold ALL OF THE BOOKS!
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 15, 2026 09:24 AM (MIIRH)
54
Hope you're enjoying Route A.D. 66, JTB. I think I was the one who recommended it.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 09:24 AM (ufSfZ)
55
Archeologist Nora Kelly is called in when a skeleton is found in the New Mexico desert by a film crew in a remote area. Nobody knows how old it is, but this is an ancient indian region, and two prasiolite lightning stones were found with the remains. This is the opening of book 5 of the Nora Kelly series by Preston and Child entitled Bad Lands.
FBI agent Carrie Swanson is assigned to investigate, and finds that the remains are female and only a few years old. As they delve into the case, the pair find that the dead woman was a former archeology student, and that her professor had been taking his students into this area on several occasions, and more than one of them is missing. While they investigate, another former student is found alive in the desert, holding lightning stones and trying to reach a remote outcrop.
What they reveal is that an ancient tribe known as the Gallina lived in the region and were believed to be sorcerers by the other tribes. The Gallina used lightning stones in their rituals to summon their spiritual warriors. The indians of the Chaco valley exterminated the Gallina tribe hundreds of years ago. Has the old magic resurrected this tribe?
FBI agent Carrie Swanson is assigned to investigate, and finds that the remains are female and only a few years old. As they delve into the case, the pair find that the dead woman was a former archeology student, and that her professor had been taking his students into this area on several occasions, and more than one of them is missing. While they investigate, another former student is found alive in the desert, holding lightning stones and trying to reach a remote outcrop.
What they reveal is that an ancient tribe known as the Gallina lived in the region and were believed to be sorcerers by the other tribes. The Gallina used lightning stones in their rituals to summon their spiritual warriors. The indians of the Chaco valley exterminated the Gallina tribe hundreds of years ago. Has the old magic resurrected this tribe?
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026 09:25 AM (0U5gm)
56
Coem to think of it, at the library yesterday I picked up a Westlake, one of his comic capers featuring Dortmunder and his crew of Seinfeld-like thieves: What's So Funny? from 2007. Oddly, it was in the regular fiction section instead of mystery, where you find most of Westlake's works.
He wrote so many novels under his own name and as Richard Stark (the grim "Parker the professional thief" novels) that I'm continually finding new stuff by him when I don't expect it. He even wrote at least one Western with Brian Garfield.
He wrote so many novels under his own name and as Richard Stark (the grim "Parker the professional thief" novels) that I'm continually finding new stuff by him when I don't expect it. He even wrote at least one Western with Brian Garfield.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 09:25 AM (wzUl9)
57
24 The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, Volume I: The Ancient World and Christendom
That looks like something I would be interested in reading. Thanks, JTB.
Posted by: dantesed at March 15, 2026 09:12 AM (Oy/m2)
It's been in my amazon wish list since he first mentioned it here. $72 per volume (two vols) for hard cover. I'll pull the trigger one of these days.
That looks like something I would be interested in reading. Thanks, JTB.
Posted by: dantesed at March 15, 2026 09:12 AM (Oy/m2)
It's been in my amazon wish list since he first mentioned it here. $72 per volume (two vols) for hard cover. I'll pull the trigger one of these days.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 15, 2026 09:26 AM (h7ZuX)
58
Oh, and congratulations on your Book Thread, JTB!
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 09:26 AM (wzUl9)
59
But people have been arguing about the identity of Shakespeare since the middle of the 18th century. It started out as somewhat of an obscurantist pastime, devolved into a parlor game and now, IMO, is a truly dangerous pursuit seeking to erase the achievement of a white, Christian, heterosexual man in favor of the current woke category of the oppressed.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 09:18 AM (ufSfZ)
---
It falls into the same line of reasoning that Beethoven was black and so was Cleopatra. Doesn't matter that contemporaries made images and described them, that's part of the coverup, you see.
The coming collapse of higher education (due to demographics and unaffordability) will be of great benefit to both society and scholarship.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 09:18 AM (ufSfZ)
---
It falls into the same line of reasoning that Beethoven was black and so was Cleopatra. Doesn't matter that contemporaries made images and described them, that's part of the coverup, you see.
The coming collapse of higher education (due to demographics and unaffordability) will be of great benefit to both society and scholarship.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 15, 2026 09:27 AM (ZOv7s)
60
My favorite Shakespeare Conspiracy Theory is that the works of Shakespeare were actually written by a different guy with the same name.
Posted by: Toad-0 at March 15, 2026 09:28 AM (nAxfo)
61
Archeologist Nora Kelly is called in when a skeleton is found in the New Mexico desert by a film crew in a remote area. Nobody knows how old it is, but this is an ancient indian region, and two prasiolite lightning stones were found with the remains. This is the opening of book 5 of the Nora Kelly series by Preston and Child entitled Bad Lands. . . .
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026
***
I read one of that series recently. Liked it, but I can't recall if it was the one you describe.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026
***
I read one of that series recently. Liked it, but I can't recall if it was the one you describe.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 09:30 AM (wzUl9)
62
Lloyd: I played the GDW Third World War games a couple of times. My opponent (who owned the games) was from an Eastern European family and absolutely refused to play the Russians, so I wound up running the Warsaw Pact. I'm sure my friend found it frustrating because if I couldn't reach the POMCUS depots before the US troops arrived and magically transformed into armored divisions, then there really wasn't any point in continuing, so I'd sue for peace before he could really start ripping up the Red Army.
One element I thought completely unrealistic in that game was the A-10 units. Shyeah, right, no air unit could have _that_ high an attack strength against ground units! Then we got to see them in action about five years later, and . . . yikes.
One element I thought completely unrealistic in that game was the A-10 units. Shyeah, right, no air unit could have _that_ high an attack strength against ground units! Then we got to see them in action about five years later, and . . . yikes.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 15, 2026 09:30 AM (78a2H)
63
The Gallina used lightning stones in their rituals to summon their spiritual warriors. The indians of the Chaco valley exterminated the Gallina tribe hundreds of years ago. Has the old magic resurrected this tribe?
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026 09:25 AM (0U5gm)
Sounds like the inspiration for an H.P. Lovecraft story.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026 09:25 AM (0U5gm)
Sounds like the inspiration for an H.P. Lovecraft story.
Posted by: Idaho Spudboy at March 15, 2026 09:30 AM (4mmkh)
64
My favorite Shakespeare Conspiracy Theory is that the works of Shakespeare were actually written by a different guy with the same name.
Yes, William "Shakspeare' as opposed to 'Shakespeare.'
Incidentally, Bill Bryson, in his short bio, notes about 20 different spellings of the Bard's name, but points out that the one we use was the only one Will himself never did.
Yes, William "Shakspeare' as opposed to 'Shakespeare.'
Incidentally, Bill Bryson, in his short bio, notes about 20 different spellings of the Bard's name, but points out that the one we use was the only one Will himself never did.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 09:31 AM (ufSfZ)
65
42, oh that's real interesting, I'm'a hafta noodle that for a while myself, and maybe re-read some more old Gordon Dickson ...
thx for the food for thought Trimegistus!
I dug out a book of Gordon Dickson short stories the other week to reread In The Bone ... if I have any of the Dorsai stories left they are pretty darn deeply buried ... that was the Childe Cycle, right?
thx for the food for thought Trimegistus!
I dug out a book of Gordon Dickson short stories the other week to reread In The Bone ... if I have any of the Dorsai stories left they are pretty darn deeply buried ... that was the Childe Cycle, right?
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 15, 2026 09:31 AM (MIIRH)
66
I have no idea what single book turned me into a book addict-sorry, avid reader. I read a lot of Berenstain Bears books when I was pre-kindergarten age (I didn't really have preschool). I do remember begging my dad constantly to read Dr. Seuss' "The Sneetches (And Other Stories)." Several years later, I had the privilege of reading that one to my nephews and turning them into book addicts-sorry, avid readers.
Posted by: pookysgirl does not have stars upon thars at March 15, 2026 09:32 AM (Wt5PA)
Posted by: Nazdar at March 15, 2026 09:33 AM (NcvvS)
68
I also read Mitch Albon's The Stranger in the Lifeboat. After three days adrift, a life raft full of survivors from a sunk luxury yacht spots a man floating. After they pull him in, he whispers that he is the Lord. When he is challenge to save them, he says he will when all the people in the raft believe that he is the Lord. The backstories of the survivors are told, except that of a young girl whom no one can recall seeing on the yacht.
A year after the sinking the raft washes up on the shore of the Island of Montserrat, over 2,000 miles from the sinking. The unraveling of the mystery of what really happened has a nice twist and a satisfactory ending. A really good read.
A year after the sinking the raft washes up on the shore of the Island of Montserrat, over 2,000 miles from the sinking. The unraveling of the mystery of what really happened has a nice twist and a satisfactory ending. A really good read.
Posted by: Zoltan at March 15, 2026 09:33 AM (VOrDg)
69
JTB! What a great painting.
Fantastic Book Thread. Thank you.
Fantastic Book Thread. Thank you.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 15, 2026 09:33 AM (tcsrY)
70
My wife and I have this tradition of reading aloud to each other on long car trips. (Ok, I do 90% of the driving, so she reads 90% of the trip). ANYWAY, we just finished "River of Doubt" about Teddy Roosevelt's descent of a un-run S. American river. It's an amazing tale and like Teddy's life, tainted by tragedy. It's like reading the [bold/b] Nat'l Geographic.
This got me thinking about Trump and Roosevelt and how many parallels in life they share.
They were both second sons born to iconic NY families.
Both became heir apparent to their families fortune and titles when the first born in each case succumbed to alcoholism.
They both ran for President as outsiders in their own parties
They were both targets of DC "insiders" trying to protect their grift
They both (miraculously) survived assassination attempts during primary speeches. (Roosevelt was saved when his folded over speech in his breast pocket stopped the bullet. Teddy finished his speech in a blood stained shirt.)
I'm sure there is more, butI find this interesting.
This got me thinking about Trump and Roosevelt and how many parallels in life they share.
They were both second sons born to iconic NY families.
Both became heir apparent to their families fortune and titles when the first born in each case succumbed to alcoholism.
They both ran for President as outsiders in their own parties
They were both targets of DC "insiders" trying to protect their grift
They both (miraculously) survived assassination attempts during primary speeches. (Roosevelt was saved when his folded over speech in his breast pocket stopped the bullet. Teddy finished his speech in a blood stained shirt.)
I'm sure there is more, butI find this interesting.
Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at March 15, 2026 09:34 AM (lPeS+)
71
Lawrence Block once said, as he was accepting an award, "The great thing about writing is, nobody else has to fail in order for me to succeed."
Posted by: Wenda at March 15, 2026 09:34 AM (wPfxR)
72
Can't remember one book that made me a lifelong reader -- I can't remember not being a reader. Heinlein's The Puppet Masters hooked me on science fiction to the point where sf was almost all I read for pleasure for a decade.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 15, 2026 09:35 AM (q3u5l)
73
Also on my TBR pile from the library: Gunsights, a late (1979) Western by Elmore Leonard; and Passenger to Frankfurt, a 1970 and non-series crime or mystery novel by Agatha Christie. Instead of trains as in her early work, the characters are traveling by plane.
I may have read this one and forgotten it. That happens sometimes.
I may have read this one and forgotten it. That happens sometimes.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 09:36 AM (wzUl9)
74
Lloyd: I played the GDW Third World War games a couple of times.
n about five years later, and . . . yikes.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 15, 2026 09:30 AM (78a2H)
---
Over Christmas break in 1990, we linked Battle for Germany and Southern Front together and because the Wall had just fallen, we made the Pact start in Poland. We did it with teams: three NATO commanders, two for the Pact. I was in charge of the Central Front. It went poorly, because of the ticking clock you referenced. My opposite number was giddy because he was able to stop me on the "old" frontier almost across the line.
However, he had overlooked the fact that I had quietly shifted all of my airmobile units and a bunch of my best aircraft to the Balkans, and my colleague was tearing things up, forcing the Bosporus and penetrating into northern Italy. The game was technically a draw, but I loved the idea of Russians in Milan.
We set up a ladder over the middle of the table so that people could take a moment to view the "satellite picture" of the entire front, which was epic. Later on I did a Yugoslav Devolution scenario using Southern Front counters.
n about five years later, and . . . yikes.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 15, 2026 09:30 AM (78a2H)
---
Over Christmas break in 1990, we linked Battle for Germany and Southern Front together and because the Wall had just fallen, we made the Pact start in Poland. We did it with teams: three NATO commanders, two for the Pact. I was in charge of the Central Front. It went poorly, because of the ticking clock you referenced. My opposite number was giddy because he was able to stop me on the "old" frontier almost across the line.
However, he had overlooked the fact that I had quietly shifted all of my airmobile units and a bunch of my best aircraft to the Balkans, and my colleague was tearing things up, forcing the Bosporus and penetrating into northern Italy. The game was technically a draw, but I loved the idea of Russians in Milan.
We set up a ladder over the middle of the table so that people could take a moment to view the "satellite picture" of the entire front, which was epic. Later on I did a Yugoslav Devolution scenario using Southern Front counters.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 15, 2026 09:37 AM (ZOv7s)
75
57 ... "The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, Volume I: The Ancient World and Christendom"
"It's been in my amazon wish list since he first mentioned it here. $72 per volume (two vols) for hard cover. I'll pull the trigger one of these days."
DMLW and others. Just a warning. The book is wonderful but it is actually heavy. Expect to read it on a table or at least with a pillow on your lap for support. Definitely not appropriate for reading in bed.
"It's been in my amazon wish list since he first mentioned it here. $72 per volume (two vols) for hard cover. I'll pull the trigger one of these days."
DMLW and others. Just a warning. The book is wonderful but it is actually heavy. Expect to read it on a table or at least with a pillow on your lap for support. Definitely not appropriate for reading in bed.
Posted by: JTB at March 15, 2026 09:37 AM (yTvNw)
76
If you like River of Doubt, may I suggest (as I think I've already done) Into the Amazon, by Larry Rohter. It's a bio of Candido Rondon, the co-commander of that expedition and the man who absolutely transformed the interior of Brazil. There are literally entire tribes of people in Brazil who probably would not be alive today but for Rondon -- he was a military man who decided that you can't just go around shooting people in your own country, even if they are Indians.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 15, 2026 09:38 AM (78a2H)
77
my costly book purchase of the week was Calendrical Calculations, mentioned in a Pixy thread earlier in the week, spozed to arrive tomorrow.
I tried programming some of that in college and quickly overwhelmed (a lot more to that than easily accommodated as a quarter's class project)
all the algorithmic stuff is in LISP, which I haven't done since those ancient days, either, but I still have the books ...
I tried programming some of that in college and quickly overwhelmed (a lot more to that than easily accommodated as a quarter's class project)
all the algorithmic stuff is in LISP, which I haven't done since those ancient days, either, but I still have the books ...
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 15, 2026 09:38 AM (MIIRH)
78
I was hooked by A A Milne. (Imagine that!) The word "heffalump" particularly delighted me. As did "Gon out. Backson. Bisy backson."
Posted by: Eeyore at March 15, 2026 09:38 AM (AlhUl)
79
pervious scholars
Know it's a typo, AH Lloyd, but it's so apt.
Posted by: Nazdar at March 15, 2026 09:33 AM (NcvvS)
---
A happy accident!
Know it's a typo, AH Lloyd, but it's so apt.
Posted by: Nazdar at March 15, 2026 09:33 AM (NcvvS)
---
A happy accident!
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 15, 2026 09:38 AM (ZOv7s)
80
I actually read a book. "Project Hale Mary". My son gave it to me. It was a little sciencey for me but I enjoyed it.
I enjoyed "The Martian" from the same guy as well.
A good friend gave me a biography of Thomas Paine. Just cracked it. Good so far.
I enjoyed "The Martian" from the same guy as well.
A good friend gave me a biography of Thomas Paine. Just cracked it. Good so far.
Posted by: javems at March 15, 2026 09:38 AM (zFsEm)
81
I also read Mitch Albon's The Stranger in the Lifeboat. After three days adrift, a life raft full of survivors from a sunk luxury yacht spots a man floating. After they pull him in, he whispers that he is the Lord. When he is challenge to save them, he says he will when all the people in the raft believe that he is the Lord. The backstories of the survivors are told, except that of a young girl whom no one can recall seeing on the yacht.
A year after the sinking the raft washes up on the shore of the Island of Montserrat, over 2,000 miles from the sinking. The unraveling of the mystery of what really happened has a nice twist and a satisfactory ending. A really good read.
Posted by: Zoltan
A smart aleck in the boat might have pointed out that if he really was the Lord, he could have walked himself out of the situation, but it does sound fascinating.
A year after the sinking the raft washes up on the shore of the Island of Montserrat, over 2,000 miles from the sinking. The unraveling of the mystery of what really happened has a nice twist and a satisfactory ending. A really good read.
Posted by: Zoltan
A smart aleck in the boat might have pointed out that if he really was the Lord, he could have walked himself out of the situation, but it does sound fascinating.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026 09:39 AM (0U5gm)
82
>>She 'proves' that Shakespeare was actually a Jewish woman of north African descent living in Venice
You cannot satire these people!
But really, isn't she being ableist, ignoring Shakespeare's well-known gimp from a birth defect!! /s
You cannot satire these people!
But really, isn't she being ableist, ignoring Shakespeare's well-known gimp from a birth defect!! /s
Posted by: Lizzy at March 15, 2026 09:39 AM (Suwql)
83
I dug out a book of Gordon Dickson short stories the other week to reread In The Bone ... if I have any of the Dorsai stories left they are pretty darn deeply buried ... that was the Childe Cycle, right?
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 15, 2026 09:31 AM (MIIRH)
---
I liked The Dragon and the George. A neat take on sci-fi and fantasy. The sequel was meh.
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 15, 2026 09:31 AM (MIIRH)
---
I liked The Dragon and the George. A neat take on sci-fi and fantasy. The sequel was meh.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 15, 2026 09:40 AM (ZOv7s)
84
Hubby nec and I have been streaming two Youtube channels on the renovations to French chateaus. One channel has stalled since the couple is filming a HGTV show. The other has been fascinating. Reawakening Chateau de Purnon. My tie in to the book thread is that I just ordered the book chronicling their first 2 years or so rehabbing the shambles of this chateau. The book is by Tim Holdings, former Aussie politician and his now wife Felicity. The Youtube segments have been great and several dealt with them setting up a library in a room that has been used as a bedroom. They needed a place to store their books and the ones left in the chateau after decades of neglect, a small collection. The original library will be restored later. I'm guessing it's a room that needs professional restoration.
Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at March 15, 2026 09:40 AM (2NHgQ)
85
Far more dangerous than pirate accountants are the Pervious Scholars who r@pe others' ideas and works to make themselves feel better.
Posted by: Anna Puma at March 15, 2026 09:41 AM (2GVsD)
86
The first thing I did when I moved here was convert a big tuff shed into a nice study/office. Pulled Ethernet out of the main house, and 220 on a new breaker box, installed HVAC, etc.
I don't say man cave because first of all, it sounds both juvenile and homosexual to me, and secondly because it's not that. Anyone is free to come in whenever I please, and I even set up a separate, good workstation for the wife and kids.
But the fact is, wives and children aren't too interested in sitting at a computer, and they don't often have to, so they rarely do. And the room is very clearly for grown men, with bookshelves and firearms and masculine art all over the place. Chicks and kids have a natural aversion to great stuff like that.
My youngest does go out there frequently because she looooves her daddy, but that's why I put a TV in there - I anticipated that so I installed that, and I keep some blankets and toys for her on the couch.
But when I say I need to be left alone in there to concentrate or just relax for a couple hours, that is generally respected. And the door locks, if it ever isn't, for some reason.
I don't say man cave because first of all, it sounds both juvenile and homosexual to me, and secondly because it's not that. Anyone is free to come in whenever I please, and I even set up a separate, good workstation for the wife and kids.
But the fact is, wives and children aren't too interested in sitting at a computer, and they don't often have to, so they rarely do. And the room is very clearly for grown men, with bookshelves and firearms and masculine art all over the place. Chicks and kids have a natural aversion to great stuff like that.
My youngest does go out there frequently because she looooves her daddy, but that's why I put a TV in there - I anticipated that so I installed that, and I keep some blankets and toys for her on the couch.
But when I say I need to be left alone in there to concentrate or just relax for a couple hours, that is generally respected. And the door locks, if it ever isn't, for some reason.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 15, 2026 09:41 AM (N8lHa)
87
The Dragon and the George was a good isekai.
Posted by: Anna Puma at March 15, 2026 09:42 AM (2GVsD)
88
>>I actually read a book. "Project Hale Mary". My son gave it to me. It was a little sciencey for me but I enjoyed it.
I want to read that - waiting for it to show up at the used book store. This week found some interesting cookbooks, mostly newer, such as food blogger "Smitten Kitchen's" first book. Score!
I want to read that - waiting for it to show up at the used book store. This week found some interesting cookbooks, mostly newer, such as food blogger "Smitten Kitchen's" first book. Score!
Posted by: Lizzy at March 15, 2026 09:42 AM (Suwql)
89
I don't know which book turned me into a reader, but I remember feeling very sad about "Are you my mother?" And thrilled by "Go dog, go!"
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 15, 2026 09:42 AM (znREB)
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 15, 2026 09:43 AM (MIIRH)
91
Sounds like a cool 'study', YD!
Posted by: Lizzy at March 15, 2026 09:43 AM (Suwql)
92
I really can't pinpoint one book that made me a lifelong reader and wannabe writer. Certainly the Whitman Books Authorized TV Adventures for Young Readers -- original novels based on Have Gun -- Will Travel, Maverick, Annie Oakley, Gunsmoke, and others, esp. the Roy Rogers series -- had a lot to do with it. But I started those when I was about eight or nine, and I'd been reading since I was about five. I can recall a kid's book called Space Cat Goes to Mars I read at school in first grade.
The one that turned me to the true mystery would probably be the Roy Rogers novel Ghost of Mystery Rancho from the late Forties. Roy, a young Texas Ranger, battles and tries to uncover the identity of a murderous bandit who wears a skeleton costume and mask, so that no one, even his men, knows who he is. Reading it again a few years ago, I was struck by its narrative speed and energy, and the neatly-concealed solution to the mystery.
The one that turned me to the true mystery would probably be the Roy Rogers novel Ghost of Mystery Rancho from the late Forties. Roy, a young Texas Ranger, battles and tries to uncover the identity of a murderous bandit who wears a skeleton costume and mask, so that no one, even his men, knows who he is. Reading it again a few years ago, I was struck by its narrative speed and energy, and the neatly-concealed solution to the mystery.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 09:44 AM (wzUl9)
93
my costly book purchase of the week was Calendrical Calculations, mentioned in a Pixy thread earlier in the week, spozed to arrive tomorrow.
Posted by: sock_rat_eez
Being a fan of mechanical timepieces, it is fascinating to see how watchmakers going back two hundred years developed what are called complications. Complications were mechanical means to add features such as dates and moon phases to timepieces. There were some incredibly complicated features that were made to watches and clocks many years ago.
Posted by: sock_rat_eez
Being a fan of mechanical timepieces, it is fascinating to see how watchmakers going back two hundred years developed what are called complications. Complications were mechanical means to add features such as dates and moon phases to timepieces. There were some incredibly complicated features that were made to watches and clocks many years ago.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026 09:45 AM (0U5gm)
94
The earliest man cave was probably somewhere in Africa. The Ur cave of man caves, the Primordial Cave, the First and Only (at the time) had to have been full of pictures because books didn't exist yet, and primitive man was too early to be sad about that.
Posted by: unwenchable at March 15, 2026 09:45 AM (nrUfy)
95
77 my costly book purchase of the week was Calendrical Calculations, mentioned in a Pixy thread earlier in the week, spozed to arrive tomorrow.
I tried programming some of that in college and quickly overwhelmed (a lot more to that than easily accommodated as a quarter's class project)
all the algorithmic stuff is in LISP, which I haven't done since those ancient days, either, but I still have the books ...
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 15, 2026 09:38 AM (MIIRH)
calc Easter
pls show werk
I tried programming some of that in college and quickly overwhelmed (a lot more to that than easily accommodated as a quarter's class project)
all the algorithmic stuff is in LISP, which I haven't done since those ancient days, either, but I still have the books ...
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 15, 2026 09:38 AM (MIIRH)
calc Easter
pls show werk
Posted by: r hennigantx at March 15, 2026 09:46 AM (gbOdA)
96
Can't remember one book that made me a lifelong reader --
===========================
Except for the Hardy Boys mysteries (which after my second book I pegged as formulaic and predictable) I think Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was the first chapter book to light my lifetime reading fire.
===========================
Except for the Hardy Boys mysteries (which after my second book I pegged as formulaic and predictable) I think Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was the first chapter book to light my lifetime reading fire.
Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at March 15, 2026 09:46 AM (lPeS+)
97
I've mentioned this before that our house had 2 books. the Bible and Ben Hur that belonged to my grandmother who lived with us. I don't remember which book made me want to read so much more, possibly Shadow Castle a book I purchased through Scholastic Books. I spent a lot of time in the local library after reading that book.
Posted by: neverenoughcaffeine at March 15, 2026 09:47 AM (2NHgQ)
98
Pretty sure I typed Hail instead of Hale. Looked it up and everything
Posted by: javems at March 15, 2026 09:47 AM (zFsEm)
99
As I noted upthread, I've been too depressed to write or read. But I did try to start Advance Britannia by Alan Allport, which is the second volume in his history of England in WW2. This one begins just at the Pearl Harbor attack, which not only satisfies Churchill's desire for the US to enter the war, but also satisfied the general public, who thought the US' aid too stingy, too strings-attached and who secretly delighted that the isolated, smug Uncle Sam had got a bloody nose.
It's quite well written (at least the few pages I made it through), but it's also very long, so I gave it back to the library, as I can't see when I would have time to settle down and read it.
It's quite well written (at least the few pages I made it through), but it's also very long, so I gave it back to the library, as I can't see when I would have time to settle down and read it.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 09:47 AM (ufSfZ)
100
that was a goody for sure, A. H. L.! &I dimly remember feeling the same about the sequel.
which reminds me of another-ish one; The High Crusade bu Poul Anderson
which reminds me of another-ish one; The High Crusade bu Poul Anderson
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 15, 2026 09:47 AM (MIIRH)
101
100
Posted by: r hennigantx at March 15, 2026 09:47 AM (gbOdA)
102
Except for the Hardy Boys mysteries (which after my second book I pegged as formulaic and predictable) I think Roald Dahl's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was the first chapter book to light my lifetime reading fire.
Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at March 15, 2026
***
Yeah, I gave up on the Hardy Boys pretty early too. As Bart Simpson observed, "All the books are about smugglers."
Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at March 15, 2026
***
Yeah, I gave up on the Hardy Boys pretty early too. As Bart Simpson observed, "All the books are about smugglers."
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 09:48 AM (wzUl9)
103
MP4, may the Holy Spirit fill your heart and banish the darkness.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 15, 2026 09:49 AM (DoBxX)
104
Nice, YD! O happy!
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 15, 2026 09:49 AM (MIIRH)
105
Ides of March
Posted by: r hennigantx at March 15, 2026 09:50 AM (gbOdA)
106
LOL, no sooner than I typed that, than the girl showed up at the shed door, hauling our big black lab by his collar... "Daddy, Charlie ate my Lunchable! He's a naughty dog and a liar! Punish him!"
I duly yelled at the dog. But I have to wonder what he managed to lie about.
I duly yelled at the dog. But I have to wonder what he managed to lie about.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 15, 2026 09:51 AM (N8lHa)
107
I have a very clear memory (confirmed by my father) that while sitting in his Toyota Landcruiser, I spelled out a stop sign. "S - T - O - P. Stop!" Based on the date of their divorce (this was when they were still married) and a receipt for nursery school found tucked into his train collection as scrap paper, I would have been no older than 3.
Richard Scary's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go and Dr. Seuss' The Lorax were my favorite books.
Richard Scary's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go and Dr. Seuss' The Lorax were my favorite books.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 15, 2026 09:51 AM (ZOv7s)
108
The High Crusade has a nice twist at the end, Drake's stories about a Roman legion sold to aliens is another in the same vein. There is also Pournelle's The Janissaries. And IIRC Eric Flint did it also in more recent times with a group of English soldiers.
Posted by: Anna Puma at March 15, 2026 09:51 AM (2GVsD)
109
A few weeks ago someone on this thread recommended The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson.
On a lark I checked with my library and found it available via audiobook on the Libby app. It was five hours long and I listened to it mostly while commuting.
I would give it a rating of 6.5 out of 10.
I had to install a vulgarity filter and it was necessary to clean said filter at least twice in the first half of the book. After about the first hour he seemed to leave the four letter words behind stay focused on the pop psychology self-help message.
He reinforced a lot of principles I've already embraced from another author I much prefer: John Eldredge, who comes from a much different world view.
I'm not sorry I listened to it, but wouldn't do so again.
On a lark I checked with my library and found it available via audiobook on the Libby app. It was five hours long and I listened to it mostly while commuting.
I would give it a rating of 6.5 out of 10.
I had to install a vulgarity filter and it was necessary to clean said filter at least twice in the first half of the book. After about the first hour he seemed to leave the four letter words behind stay focused on the pop psychology self-help message.
He reinforced a lot of principles I've already embraced from another author I much prefer: John Eldredge, who comes from a much different world view.
I'm not sorry I listened to it, but wouldn't do so again.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at March 15, 2026 09:52 AM (2Ez/1)
110
oh, and just in passing, I too had the Wyeth-illustrated books; might even still have one of them somwhere among the still-unboxed ...
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 15, 2026 09:53 AM (MIIRH)
111
Still on Bleak House. I don't dislike it and it's not boring, but am just not enjoying this one as I did other Dickens that I've read. May wind up setting it aside and trying it again later; I'll give it a few more chapters before I toss the coin on it.
Besides Bleak House, have been looking over a Simenon or two.
Besides Bleak House, have been looking over a Simenon or two.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 15, 2026 09:53 AM (q3u5l)
112
Hope everyone has a great week of reading.
Posted by: Open Blogger at 04:00 PM
Wow, your first time hosting a thread and already Ace is letting you use the time machine.
Good job. I think it was probably The Chronicles of Narnia that hooked me into being a reader.
Posted by: Open Blogger at 04:00 PM
Wow, your first time hosting a thread and already Ace is letting you use the time machine.
Good job. I think it was probably The Chronicles of Narnia that hooked me into being a reader.
Posted by: tankdemon at March 15, 2026 09:53 AM (cMLgw)
113
The one that turned me to the true mystery would probably be the Roy Rogers novel Ghost of Mystery Rancho from the late Forties. Roy, a young Texas Ranger, battles and tries to uncover the identity of a murderous bandit who wears a skeleton costume and mask, so that no one, even his men, knows who he is. Reading it again a few years ago, I was struck by its narrative speed and energy, and the neatly-concealed solution to the mystery.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026
***
I admit, though, that for all its virtues, Ghost has plot holes big enough to ride Trigger through. Doesn't matter. It sent me looking for more mysteries, Western or not, which years later led me to Rex Stout, Ellery Queen, and John Dickson Carr.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026
***
I admit, though, that for all its virtues, Ghost has plot holes big enough to ride Trigger through. Doesn't matter. It sent me looking for more mysteries, Western or not, which years later led me to Rex Stout, Ellery Queen, and John Dickson Carr.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 09:54 AM (wzUl9)
114
Thank you, vmom.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 09:54 AM (ufSfZ)
115
What made me an avid reader all my life were biographies in the Childhood of Famous Americans series with the orange covers. I sought them out in the basement of the Carnegie library in town.
Posted by: Zoltan at March 15, 2026 09:55 AM (VOrDg)
116
yeah, Anna, the twist at the end really made that story!
"You're really from Earth? How wonderful!"
laughing out loud just thinking about it!
"You're really from Earth? How wonderful!"
laughing out loud just thinking about it!
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 15, 2026 09:57 AM (MIIRH)
117
Still reading the novel Callista by Cardinal Newman.
It is an interesting process, as a 20th century-formed reader, to read in the forms and tropes of the 19th century a story set in the 3rd century, on a 21st century electronic "book."
Books are time machines.
It is an interesting process, as a 20th century-formed reader, to read in the forms and tropes of the 19th century a story set in the 3rd century, on a 21st century electronic "book."
Books are time machines.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 15, 2026 09:57 AM (DoBxX)
118
My mom gave me a collection of short sci-fi stories when I was 8 or 9. One of the stories, "The Weapon Shop" by A.E. Van Vogt, contributed to my lifelong conservatism and 2A support.
Posted by: Nicless at March 15, 2026 09:57 AM (nPp6w)
119
That painting is the logo and on the bookmarks of the Combs & Ketterson bookstore in Omaha, NE, an awesome used bookstore in the Old Market neighborhood there, which is itself awesome, that I used to frequent when I lived there.
Posted by: Quentin Trumpantino at March 15, 2026 09:57 AM (tRYqg)
120
Yeah, I gave up on the Hardy Boys pretty early too. As Bart Simpson observed, "All the books are about smugglers."
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 09:48 AM (wzUl9)
Lets think about the other types of crime the Hardy Boys could stop. Sex traffic and prostitution? Murder-for-hire? Drug dealers? Child molesters? Pornographers? All taboo subjects, so it had to be smugglers.
Having the Hardy Boys go undercover as jazz musicians to bust up a heroin ring would be cool, though. Especially the part where they wear blackface so they can join the band.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 09:48 AM (wzUl9)
Lets think about the other types of crime the Hardy Boys could stop. Sex traffic and prostitution? Murder-for-hire? Drug dealers? Child molesters? Pornographers? All taboo subjects, so it had to be smugglers.
Having the Hardy Boys go undercover as jazz musicians to bust up a heroin ring would be cool, though. Especially the part where they wear blackface so they can join the band.
Posted by: Idaho Spudboy at March 15, 2026 09:57 AM (4mmkh)
121
And Emilia Bassano hasn't been 'buried,' FFS. I remember reading about her as a Shakespeare candidate years ago. IIRC, she's also been put forward as a candidate for the 'Dark Lady' of the Bard's sonnets.
But people have been arguing about the identity of Shakespeare since the middle of the 18th century. It started out as somewhat of an obscurantist pastime, devolved into a parlor game and now, IMO, is a truly dangerous pursuit seeking to erase the achievement of a white, Christian, heterosexual man in favor of the current woke category of the oppressed.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 09:18 AM (ufSfZ)
See, you can write, MP!
But people have been arguing about the identity of Shakespeare since the middle of the 18th century. It started out as somewhat of an obscurantist pastime, devolved into a parlor game and now, IMO, is a truly dangerous pursuit seeking to erase the achievement of a white, Christian, heterosexual man in favor of the current woke category of the oppressed.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 09:18 AM (ufSfZ)
See, you can write, MP!
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 15, 2026 09:58 AM (1Ff7Z)
122
National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory. It will be 75 today, 80 tomorrow.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 15, 2026 09:59 AM (RIvkX)
123
Come to think of it: Have there been many mystery novels set in the Old West? Or Westerns with a strong mystery/detective element? By which I mean the hero has to uncover the identity of an antagonist -- a murderer, a bandit, the man or woman behind a secret society, etc.?
You'd think Loren D. Estleman, who writes in both genres, would have done it, but I can't recall one.
You'd think Loren D. Estleman, who writes in both genres, would have done it, but I can't recall one.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 09:59 AM (wzUl9)
124
John Eldredge, who comes from a much different world view.
I'm not sorry I listened to it, but wouldn't do so again.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty
I was just listening to an interview of Eldredge, on the Exorcist Files.
He seems sincere and, it's hard to tell on a podcast, genuine.
What book of his do you rec?
I'm not sorry I listened to it, but wouldn't do so again.
Posted by: Quarter Twenty
I was just listening to an interview of Eldredge, on the Exorcist Files.
He seems sincere and, it's hard to tell on a podcast, genuine.
What book of his do you rec?
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 15, 2026 09:59 AM (DoBxX)
125
now, IMO, is a truly dangerous pursuit seeking to erase the achievement of a white, Christian, heterosexual man in favor of the current woke category of the oppressed.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing
I dunno, a lot of the theories are circling around Sir North, who was also white, Christian and heterosexual.
on the other hand, de Vere and Marlowe...
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing
I dunno, a lot of the theories are circling around Sir North, who was also white, Christian and heterosexual.
on the other hand, de Vere and Marlowe...
Posted by: gKWVE at March 15, 2026 09:59 AM (YrZHI)
126
I pretty much bypassed "kid" books after I got away from Dr. Seuss and stuff. War was my thing. Tanks and planes and guns and stuff. Still is my thing.
I still have Weapons and Warfare of the 20th Century, which my grandmother bought for me when I was 9. Those of you who have read Long Live Death will recall the use of silhouettes in the appendix on military aircraft and tanks used in the conflict. I got the idea from that book.
I still have Weapons and Warfare of the 20th Century, which my grandmother bought for me when I was 9. Those of you who have read Long Live Death will recall the use of silhouettes in the appendix on military aircraft and tanks used in the conflict. I got the idea from that book.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 15, 2026 10:00 AM (ZOv7s)
127
I stayed with the Hardy Boys through middle school. Those books triggered two impulses: reading and collecting. I still have the 26 blue spines that I accumulated.
I found the first HB book, "The Tower Treasure," in our Little Free Library. Having never read that one, I snatched it. I'll return it to the LFL once I've finished it. Wouldn't feel right to add it to my holdings.
I found the first HB book, "The Tower Treasure," in our Little Free Library. Having never read that one, I snatched it. I'll return it to the LFL once I've finished it. Wouldn't feel right to add it to my holdings.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 15, 2026 10:00 AM (p/isN)
128
Don't know where it got stuck in my mind but William Shakespeare's mysterious woman of the sonnets will always be Lady Dark to me. *shrugs*
Posted by: Anna Puma at March 15, 2026 10:00 AM (2GVsD)
129
Bleak House; I read about half of that last year, apropos of a scholarly paper showing that most of the college English majors in the study could not comprehend the opening paragraph of that book ...
I got about as far as the setlling of Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce ...
I got about as far as the setlling of Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce ...
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 15, 2026 10:01 AM (MIIRH)
130
One of the stories, "The Weapon Shop" by A.E. Van Vogt, contributed to my lifelong conservatism and 2A support.
Posted by: Nicless
Fantastic book - wasn't it a book?
Posted by: Nicless
Fantastic book - wasn't it a book?
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 15, 2026 10:01 AM (DoBxX)
131
I'm pretty sure I have recommended it before, but since the Shakespeare question has been raised, a good read is John Michell's Who Was Shakespeare. It's a broad overview of most of the candidates for the Bard, though it concentrates mostly on Bacon and deVere. Michell himself never states his own opinion, though at the end of the book he appears to come down on the theory that 'Shakespeare' was the agreed-upon name for a group of collaborators.
Michell himself is an interesting writer, described as 'an esotericist who was a prominent figure in the Earth mysteries movement.' Besides the Bard book, I also recommend his Eccentric Lives and Peculiar Notions (a fave of Eris).
Michell himself is an interesting writer, described as 'an esotericist who was a prominent figure in the Earth mysteries movement.' Besides the Bard book, I also recommend his Eccentric Lives and Peculiar Notions (a fave of Eris).
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 10:02 AM (ufSfZ)
132
That painting is the logo and on the bookmarks of the Combs & Ketterson bookstore in Omaha, NE, an awesome used bookstore in the Old Market neighborhood there, which is itself awesome, that I used to frequent when I lived there.
Posted by: Quentin Trumpantino at March 15, 2026 09:57 AM (tRYqg)
I *knew* I'd seen it somewhere!
Posted by: Quentin Trumpantino at March 15, 2026 09:57 AM (tRYqg)
I *knew* I'd seen it somewhere!
Posted by: pookysgirl used to live on Offutt at March 15, 2026 10:02 AM (Wt5PA)
133
I duly yelled at the dog. But I have to wonder what he managed to lie about.
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 15, 2026 09:51 AM (N8lHa)
This reminds me of a YouTube trend that the algorithm has deemed necessary for my viewing of a little child facing the corner in a time-out with the dog standing dutifully next to him. Mommy asks the child why they are in time-out, then asks why the dog is also there, and the child explains how the puppy was an accomplice. A typical example:
https://youtube.com/shorts/kvUTX38nPKI
Posted by: Yudhishthira's Dice at March 15, 2026 09:51 AM (N8lHa)
This reminds me of a YouTube trend that the algorithm has deemed necessary for my viewing of a little child facing the corner in a time-out with the dog standing dutifully next to him. Mommy asks the child why they are in time-out, then asks why the dog is also there, and the child explains how the puppy was an accomplice. A typical example:
https://youtube.com/shorts/kvUTX38nPKI
Posted by: tankdemon at March 15, 2026 10:02 AM (cMLgw)
134
I couldn't relate to the Hardy Boys. Pretty sure they would have had a hard time in my neighborhood. They hung out with that Nancy Drew chick.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 15, 2026 10:04 AM (RIvkX)
135
Lets think about the other types of crime the Hardy Boys could stop. Sex traffic and prostitution? Murder-for-hire? Drug dealers? Child molesters? Pornographers? All taboo subjects, so it had to be smugglers.
Having the Hardy Boys go undercover as jazz musicians to bust up a heroin ring would be cool, though. Especially the part where they wear blackface so they can join the band.
Posted by: Idaho Spudboy at March 15, 2026
***
I haven't reread it recently, but I believe David McDaniel's last and unpublished Man From U.N.C.L.E. novel, The Final Affair, mentions Frank and Joe's father, private detective Fenton Hardy!
McDaniel loved doing that. In the same book he mentions Saul Panzer from the Nero Wolfe series; and in an earlier work he has Solo mention Rusterman's restaurant, the one Wolfe's oldest friend Marko Vukcic established in NYC.
Lets think about the other types of crime the Hardy Boys could stop. Sex traffic and prostitution? Murder-for-hire? Drug dealers? Child molesters? Pornographers? All taboo subjects, so it had to be smugglers.
Having the Hardy Boys go undercover as jazz musicians to bust up a heroin ring would be cool, though. Especially the part where they wear blackface so they can join the band.
Posted by: Idaho Spudboy at March 15, 2026
***
I haven't reread it recently, but I believe David McDaniel's last and unpublished Man From U.N.C.L.E. novel, The Final Affair, mentions Frank and Joe's father, private detective Fenton Hardy!
McDaniel loved doing that. In the same book he mentions Saul Panzer from the Nero Wolfe series; and in an earlier work he has Solo mention Rusterman's restaurant, the one Wolfe's oldest friend Marko Vukcic established in NYC.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:04 AM (wzUl9)
136
I assume that the Dark Lady in the sonnets is the prof's proof that Bassano was a lesbian? Or was Bassano writing sonnets to herself, in which case maybe we're talking auto-lesbianism here, which means we're in dire need of further rigorous academic investigation...
The work of scholarship is never done.
The work of scholarship is never done.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 15, 2026 10:04 AM (q3u5l)
137
I did pick up Claudius The God at a book sale a couple of weeks ago. Started it, but haven't got far. I do have Graves' translation of Suetonius.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 10:04 AM (ufSfZ)
138
71 Lawrence Block once said, as he was accepting an award, "The great thing about writing is, nobody else has to fail in order for me to succeed."
Posted by: Wenda at March 15, 2026 09:34 AM (wPfxR)
I've been on a Lawrence Block binge lately. Specifically, continuing with the Matthew Scudder series. Currently reading "A Dance at the Slaughterhouse," which is quite dark. Subject matter is pederasty and snuff porn, and law looking the other way. I'm near the end, and it looks like Scudder is going to mete out the justice himself.
I digress. One of the thinks I love about Block is how he weaves his story using casual conversation and banter. Just pulls me in, as if I'm sitting at the table listening to him tell his stories with his friends.
Posted by: Wenda at March 15, 2026 09:34 AM (wPfxR)
I've been on a Lawrence Block binge lately. Specifically, continuing with the Matthew Scudder series. Currently reading "A Dance at the Slaughterhouse," which is quite dark. Subject matter is pederasty and snuff porn, and law looking the other way. I'm near the end, and it looks like Scudder is going to mete out the justice himself.
I digress. One of the thinks I love about Block is how he weaves his story using casual conversation and banter. Just pulls me in, as if I'm sitting at the table listening to him tell his stories with his friends.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 15, 2026 10:05 AM (h7ZuX)
139
I was just listening to an interview of Eldredge, on the Exorcist Files.
He seems sincere and, it's hard to tell on a podcast, genuine.
What book of his do you rec?
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 15, 2026 09:59 AM
###
1. Wild At Heart
2. Fathered By God
He seems sincere and, it's hard to tell on a podcast, genuine.
What book of his do you rec?
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 15, 2026 09:59 AM
###
1. Wild At Heart
2. Fathered By God
Posted by: Quarter Twenty at March 15, 2026 10:05 AM (2Ez/1)
140
National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory. It will be 75 today, 80 tomorrow.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 15, 2026 09:59 AM (RIvkX)
Blizzard warning here. Darn you San Franciscans and your perfect weather!
Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 15, 2026 09:59 AM (RIvkX)
Blizzard warning here. Darn you San Franciscans and your perfect weather!
Posted by: pookysgirl, watching the snow float by at March 15, 2026 10:05 AM (Wt5PA)
Posted by: r hennigantx at March 15, 2026 10:05 AM (gbOdA)
142
- but book that made me a lifelong sci-fi reader? (well, the genre got destroyed; don't get me started) - The Wonder War, Laurence M. Janifer, Pyramid Books, January 1964
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 15, 2026 09:24 AM (MIIRH)
Today's your lucky day, then! I received my last section comments and edits back from my editor - and Wolfus's editor as well (still waiting to hear what he thought of her work) - for an old style SF adventure. Just gotta make some changes, work on the formatting, get a cover designer, create a KDP account, etc, then there will be something new for you to read.*
*Sorry for the plug and length. I'm sure nobody cares anyway.
Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 15, 2026 09:24 AM (MIIRH)
Today's your lucky day, then! I received my last section comments and edits back from my editor - and Wolfus's editor as well (still waiting to hear what he thought of her work) - for an old style SF adventure. Just gotta make some changes, work on the formatting, get a cover designer, create a KDP account, etc, then there will be something new for you to read.*
*Sorry for the plug and length. I'm sure nobody cares anyway.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 15, 2026 10:06 AM (1Ff7Z)
143
Never got into Shakespeare, except through Kurosawa, but isn't there write ups from his Globe theater ?
Posted by: Skip at March 15, 2026 10:06 AM (Ia/+0)
144
I guess we definitely know that Bassano was Sephardic or is she herself a complete work of fiction conjured up by fevered minds?
Posted by: Anna Puma at March 15, 2026 10:06 AM (2GVsD)
145
I haven't reread it recently, but I believe David McDaniel's last and unpublished Man From U.N.C.L.E. novel, The Final Affair, mentions Frank and Joe's father, private detective Fenton Hardy!
Gloria Swanson is a character in my new Theda Bara novel. At her first appearance, I have her say "You there! Why are you so late?", which were her first words in Sunset Boulevard.
A little fan service for my one reader.
Gloria Swanson is a character in my new Theda Bara novel. At her first appearance, I have her say "You there! Why are you so late?", which were her first words in Sunset Boulevard.
A little fan service for my one reader.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 10:06 AM (ufSfZ)
146
Fantastic book - wasn't it a book?
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 15, 2026 10:01 AM (DoBxX)
I read it as a short story but I believe the novel "The Weapon Shops of Isher" was based on it. Have to read that one.
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at March 15, 2026 10:01 AM (DoBxX)
I read it as a short story but I believe the novel "The Weapon Shops of Isher" was based on it. Have to read that one.
Posted by: Nicless at March 15, 2026 10:07 AM (nPp6w)
147
Just reread A Man In Full by Tom Wolfe. A big shot Atlanta real estate developer gets way overextended and runs into trouble after the 80’s boom. All kinds of characters get wrapped up in a brewing racial scandal that somehow offers the developer a way out:
Wolfes writing is insanely descriptive and insightful and he can paint a picture of a person or location or situation like no one else.
A long read but well worth the time.
Going to tackle a reread of Bonfire of The Vanities next!
Wolfes writing is insanely descriptive and insightful and he can paint a picture of a person or location or situation like no one else.
A long read but well worth the time.
Going to tackle a reread of Bonfire of The Vanities next!
Posted by: rm at March 15, 2026 10:07 AM (n/1Oj)
148
Definitely not appropriate for reading in bed.
Posted by: JTB at March 15, 2026 09:37 AM (yTvNw)
Oh, I can't read that kind of subject matter in bed, anyway. I'll be fighting sleep all the way and not remember any of it. This will be a porch book.
Posted by: JTB at March 15, 2026 09:37 AM (yTvNw)
Oh, I can't read that kind of subject matter in bed, anyway. I'll be fighting sleep all the way and not remember any of it. This will be a porch book.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 15, 2026 10:07 AM (h7ZuX)
149
I couldn't relate to the Hardy Boys. Pretty sure they would have had a hard time in my neighborhood. They hung out with that Nancy Drew chick.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 15, 2026
***
Since they were older -- college age, right? -- and had cars, I found them much more interesting (for a while) than reading about kids my age then (9-10). I always identified with adults in fiction more than I did with kids. Even Heinlein's hero in Have Space Suit -- Will Travel was a high school boy. And I certainly loved reading about Sherlock Holmes (not only not a kid, but not even of my country or century) and James Bond.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 15, 2026
***
Since they were older -- college age, right? -- and had cars, I found them much more interesting (for a while) than reading about kids my age then (9-10). I always identified with adults in fiction more than I did with kids. Even Heinlein's hero in Have Space Suit -- Will Travel was a high school boy. And I certainly loved reading about Sherlock Holmes (not only not a kid, but not even of my country or century) and James Bond.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:08 AM (wzUl9)
150
My aunt struggled to get my cousin to read books. She bought dozens of Hardy Boys books for him, and paid him a dollar for each one he read. I thought it was kind of ridiculous to get paid for reading; if I had been paid for each book I read, I could probably have retired wealthy at about twelve.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026 10:08 AM (0U5gm)
151
I always tell myself I'm not going to comment on this thread because I get myself in trouble sometimes but then often I feel drawn to anyway. The Oz books were very influential to my early reading. My piano teacher had the whole set though they were long out of print and were a wonderful discovery at an early age, like Byron first opening Chapman's Homer or something.
Sorry about the Quentin T. sock puppet earlier that I forgot to change.
Sorry about the Quentin T. sock puppet earlier that I forgot to change.
Posted by: Norrin Radd, sojourner of the spaceways at March 15, 2026 10:09 AM (tRYqg)
152
Just reread A Man In Full by Tom Wolfe. A big shot Atlanta real estate developer gets way overextended and runs into trouble after the 80’s boom. All kinds of characters get wrapped up in a brewing racial scandal that somehow offers the developer a way out:
Wolfes writing is insanely descriptive and insightful and he can paint a picture of a person or location or situation like no one else.
A long read but well worth the time.
Going to tackle a reread of Bonfire of The Vanities next!
Posted by: rm at March 15, 2026
***
A Man in Full is dynamite. I don't recall Bonfire catching, well, fire with me the same way, or his later novel about late '90s college life, I Am Charlotte Simmons -- though both were very good.
Wolfes writing is insanely descriptive and insightful and he can paint a picture of a person or location or situation like no one else.
A long read but well worth the time.
Going to tackle a reread of Bonfire of The Vanities next!
Posted by: rm at March 15, 2026
***
A Man in Full is dynamite. I don't recall Bonfire catching, well, fire with me the same way, or his later novel about late '90s college life, I Am Charlotte Simmons -- though both were very good.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:09 AM (wzUl9)
153
After pausing in the middle for several months, I finished reading "Tomb Raider: Colossal Collection 1." A bunch of comic-book adventures of Lara Croft. The first half of the book (the first 14 issues) was pretty good. Well, pretty okayish. It was dumb fun starring a hot chick. It was what you expected from the title. Alas, the second half of the book was not as good. It didn't rise to the level of okay. It was just dumb, and the new artist didn't even draw Lara looking as good.
There are two more books in the series, which I will not be buying. Indeed, there are older, out-of-print books that only collected half of the material that was in the book I have, and I wish I had that smaller collection. It would have kept a lot of sub-par material off of my shelf.
There are two more books in the series, which I will not be buying. Indeed, there are older, out-of-print books that only collected half of the material that was in the book I have, and I wish I had that smaller collection. It would have kept a lot of sub-par material off of my shelf.
Posted by: Castle Guy at March 15, 2026 10:11 AM (Lhaco)
154
‘The Real Shakespeare’ makes me think of Shatner saying ‘Did it really happen that way?’.
Posted by: Eromero at March 15, 2026 10:11 AM (DXbAa)
155
Can’t really say what made me a reader other than words and language just came to me easier.
Posted by: Cow Demon at March 15, 2026 10:11 AM (kBisb)
156
Going to tackle a reread of Bonfire of The Vanities next!
Posted by: rm at March 15, 2026 10:07 AM (n/1Oj)
I Am Charlotte Simmons is great
Posted by: rm at March 15, 2026 10:07 AM (n/1Oj)
I Am Charlotte Simmons is great
Posted by: r hennigantx at March 15, 2026 10:13 AM (gbOdA)
157
Let's see. Off the top of my head, the crimes that the Hardy Boys investigated include:
Organized theft
Espionage, primarily industrial
Counterfeiting
Sabotage
Searches for missing treasure
Piracy (subset of theft)
Smuggling
Two of my favorites, "A Figure in Hiding" and "The Masked Monkey," involved identity-changing operations, with both false ID and plastic surgery.
Organized theft
Espionage, primarily industrial
Counterfeiting
Sabotage
Searches for missing treasure
Piracy (subset of theft)
Smuggling
Two of my favorites, "A Figure in Hiding" and "The Masked Monkey," involved identity-changing operations, with both false ID and plastic surgery.
Posted by: Weak Geek at March 15, 2026 10:14 AM (p/isN)
158
I read it as a short story but I believe the novel "The Weapon Shops of Isher" was based on it. Have to read that one.
Posted by: Nicless at March 15, 2026
***
The short was included in the anthology The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, featuring stories from the days before Nebula Awards existed, voted as HOF-worthy. Heinlein's "The Roads Must Roll" is in there, along with Bradbury's "Mars is Heaven!", Blish's "Surface Tension," and Asimov's "Nightfall." Vols. 2 and 3 contained novellas. Worth having on your shelf.
Posted by: Nicless at March 15, 2026
***
The short was included in the anthology The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, featuring stories from the days before Nebula Awards existed, voted as HOF-worthy. Heinlein's "The Roads Must Roll" is in there, along with Bradbury's "Mars is Heaven!", Blish's "Surface Tension," and Asimov's "Nightfall." Vols. 2 and 3 contained novellas. Worth having on your shelf.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:15 AM (wzUl9)
Posted by: Way, Way Downriver at March 15, 2026 10:15 AM (zdLoL)
160
Speaking of the Hardys and such, there's a series I am trying to collect: the Moving Picture Girls mysteries from the early 'teens by Laura Lee Hope (author of The Bobbsey Twins.
They're about two young actresses and their adventures as they go around the country making movies. They aren't very accurate when it comes to the actual work of making movies in 1914, but they appeal to me.
There were five in the series that I know of. I have three.
They're about two young actresses and their adventures as they go around the country making movies. They aren't very accurate when it comes to the actual work of making movies in 1914, but they appeal to me.
There were five in the series that I know of. I have three.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 10:15 AM (ufSfZ)
161
I digress. One of the thinks I love about Block is how he weaves his story using casual conversation and banter. Just pulls me in, as if I'm sitting at the table listening to him tell his stories with his friends.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 15, 2026 10:05 AM (h7ZuX)
Agreed. I read most of the Matthew Scudder books. I found him less interesting when he went on the wagon.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 15, 2026 10:05 AM (h7ZuX)
Agreed. I read most of the Matthew Scudder books. I found him less interesting when he went on the wagon.
Posted by: Nicless at March 15, 2026 10:15 AM (nPp6w)
162
This one begins just at the Pearl Harbor attack, which not only satisfies Churchill's desire for the US to enter the war, but also satisfied the general public, who thought the US' aid too stingy, too strings-attached and who secretly delighted that the isolated, smug Uncle Sam had got a bloody nose.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 09:47 AM (ufSfZ)
So, we can laugh at their predicament now?
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 09:47 AM (ufSfZ)
So, we can laugh at their predicament now?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 15, 2026 10:17 AM (1Ff7Z)
163
Well done on the Book Thread!!
Posted by: RS at March 15, 2026 10:17 AM (SuU/K)
164
On December 8 1941 Churchill's job changed from making sure Britain survived to making sure Britain remained relevant.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 15, 2026 10:18 AM (78a2H)
165
Last night I purchased "The War of The Spanish Succession" by James Falkner. Because that's some new-to-me subject matter, and because the e-book version of the book was on sale for cheap.
Notably, although most of my ebook purchases come through Amazon, I bought this book from Barnes and Noble. Because B&N had the price just as low, because I want there to be a viable alternative to Amazon, and because my Nook Glowlight 4 is a better device than my (admittedly old) Kindle Paperwhite. The Glowlight has some physical button on the side of the device that turn pages, rather than just relying on the touchscreen. It's a small detail, but it dramatically improves the reading experience.
Notably, although most of my ebook purchases come through Amazon, I bought this book from Barnes and Noble. Because B&N had the price just as low, because I want there to be a viable alternative to Amazon, and because my Nook Glowlight 4 is a better device than my (admittedly old) Kindle Paperwhite. The Glowlight has some physical button on the side of the device that turn pages, rather than just relying on the touchscreen. It's a small detail, but it dramatically improves the reading experience.
Posted by: Castle Guy at March 15, 2026 10:18 AM (Lhaco)
166
2025 and 2026 are proving to be the years of fancy (sometimes expensive) hardcover books. The two book RLS collection mentioned above, The Golden Thread, a lovely edition of Pride and Prejudice, the three volume collection of Tolkien's poetry, and next month's release of the first volume of Malcolm Guite's Arthuriad epic poem. (I ordered the super fancy edition.) I never buy books as investments but do think about editions that I would like to pass on to the next generations.
I recently learned of a new one: "Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, a Prose Rendering: A Text-Faithful Translation of the 1590s Epic Poem". Haven't had the chance to start reading it yet but it is a beautiful three volume, slipcase edition. Again, quality binding and paper, wonderful original illustrations (think Alan Lee LOTR quality), and a pleasure to hold. I start reading it this week and plan to have a copy of the poem from Penguin Classics at hand to compare. A completely nerdy thing to do, but 'mine own'.
I recently learned of a new one: "Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, a Prose Rendering: A Text-Faithful Translation of the 1590s Epic Poem". Haven't had the chance to start reading it yet but it is a beautiful three volume, slipcase edition. Again, quality binding and paper, wonderful original illustrations (think Alan Lee LOTR quality), and a pleasure to hold. I start reading it this week and plan to have a copy of the poem from Penguin Classics at hand to compare. A completely nerdy thing to do, but 'mine own'.
Posted by: JTB at March 15, 2026 10:19 AM (yTvNw)
167
Irene Coslet conclusively demonstrates that Shakespeare was a not a man, but a woman: a dark-skinned lady, of Jewish origin, born into a family of Court musicians from Venice.
-
Lie shock.
-
Lie shock.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 15, 2026 10:19 AM (1o8D5)
168
"The Camp of the Saints" by Jean Raspail is an incredible fictional dystopian account of the overthrow of France by refugees.
The invasion is known about for weeks, yet no government does anything but talk. The real issues cannot be discussed because Big Other shuts down the debate.
If never realized how fucked up France is.
The invasion is known about for weeks, yet no government does anything but talk. The real issues cannot be discussed because Big Other shuts down the debate.
If never realized how fucked up France is.
Posted by: no one of any consequence at March 15, 2026 10:20 AM (d6BF2)
169
National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory. It will be 75 today, 80 tomorrow.
Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 15, 2026 09:59 AM (RIvkX)
80 is hot?
(looks out across the desert landscape)
Posted by: San Franpsycho at March 15, 2026 09:59 AM (RIvkX)
80 is hot?
(looks out across the desert landscape)
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 15, 2026 10:21 AM (1Ff7Z)
170
JTB, I wonder if you've ever tried to read LOTR chronologically, i.e., reading the events on the day they take place, starting on Sep 22. I've read the books about a dozen times and tried it that way the last time, and I thought it was interesting that way, though there are some long gaps and I perhaps inevitably fell behind in Feb and Mar when most of the action of the 2nd and 3rd books takes place.
Posted by: Norrin Radd, sojourner of the spaceways at March 15, 2026 10:21 AM (tRYqg)
171
Hatchet, Hobbit, Pratchett? Couldn't say what was the firstest of firsts. The one book shaped worm what caught me. Dragonlance, Battletech, Baen books? Somewhere in that messy pile.
Could have been my parents reading to me as a child. Could have been the story songs sung in the car on long trips. Could have been the storytelling festival that happened once a year a couple towns over. Could have been grandparents, uncles, aunts and whatnot that always told stories when they got together, the taller the better the tale.
Fiction is my addiction. Not caffeine, not nicotine, not drinkable, smokable, injectable things. If the reading gets too slow someday I'll write a book just so I have something good to read.
Could have been my parents reading to me as a child. Could have been the story songs sung in the car on long trips. Could have been the storytelling festival that happened once a year a couple towns over. Could have been grandparents, uncles, aunts and whatnot that always told stories when they got together, the taller the better the tale.
Fiction is my addiction. Not caffeine, not nicotine, not drinkable, smokable, injectable things. If the reading gets too slow someday I'll write a book just so I have something good to read.
Posted by: unwenchable at March 15, 2026 10:21 AM (nrUfy)
172
On December 8 1941 Churchill's job changed from making sure Britain survived to making sure Britain remained relevant.
Within the first few pages of Advance Britannia, Churchill's advisers and cabinet are fretting that the entry of the US into the war will render England either a satrapy of the USSR or an American-owned protectorate.
They were also concerned about Japan attacking the US, because it necessarily meant any American aid would be siphoned off to wage war in the Pacific and render the European conflict a longer, bloodier one.
Within the first few pages of Advance Britannia, Churchill's advisers and cabinet are fretting that the entry of the US into the war will render England either a satrapy of the USSR or an American-owned protectorate.
They were also concerned about Japan attacking the US, because it necessarily meant any American aid would be siphoned off to wage war in the Pacific and render the European conflict a longer, bloodier one.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 10:22 AM (ufSfZ)
173
Yeah, Bacon came to mind immediately...then I thought about breakfast.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at March 15, 2026 10:23 AM (XeU6L)
174
When I was in 3d grade, a woman in my church gave me her collection of Vogue magazines from the 1940's. No idea why she picked me.
So while my friends were reading the Bobbsey Twins, I was reading about Dior and Claire McCardell and the menus for dinners given by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
So while my friends were reading the Bobbsey Twins, I was reading about Dior and Claire McCardell and the menus for dinners given by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
Posted by: Wenda at March 15, 2026 10:23 AM (wPfxR)
175
My aunt struggled to get my cousin to read books. She bought dozens of Hardy Boys books for him, and paid him a dollar for each one he read. I thought it was kind of ridiculous to get paid for reading; if I had been paid for each book I read, I could probably have retired wealthy at about twelve.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026 10:08 AM (0U5gm)
---
Having a single television that was invariably set to the most boring adult programming available (to me) was a huge boost to reading. Nothing focuses the mind like crushing boredom.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026 10:08 AM (0U5gm)
---
Having a single television that was invariably set to the most boring adult programming available (to me) was a huge boost to reading. Nothing focuses the mind like crushing boredom.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 15, 2026 10:23 AM (ZOv7s)
176
Good morning.
I've always been a reader. I know I started with Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames, Nurse but then it was anything and everything. History, fantasy, classics. Later I discovered romance novels. I like most of you I only vaguely remember most of them. They have to make a huge impact like Tolkien, Heinlein, recently Sanderson and yes, Shakespeare.
Think about how different his plays are. Historical, Romantic, magical. I like them all except,the ones where a girl pretends to be a boy. lol
I've always been a reader. I know I started with Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames, Nurse but then it was anything and everything. History, fantasy, classics. Later I discovered romance novels. I like most of you I only vaguely remember most of them. They have to make a huge impact like Tolkien, Heinlein, recently Sanderson and yes, Shakespeare.
Think about how different his plays are. Historical, Romantic, magical. I like them all except,the ones where a girl pretends to be a boy. lol
Posted by: Sharon(willow's apprentice) at March 15, 2026 10:24 AM (t/2Uw)
177
Gloria Swanson is a character in my new Theda Bara novel. At her first appearance, I have her say "You there! Why are you so late?", which were her first words in Sunset Boulevard.
A little fan service for my one reader.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026
***
I love it, and expect you have more than just one reader out there.
I used C.C. "Bud" Baxter and Fran Kubelik, in 1964 married and with a small daughter, as the "Innocent" characters in one of my U.N.C.L.E. fan stories. With any luck I managed to capture Bud's ca. 1960 corporate-speak ("I'm pretty familiar with that sort of thing, liar-wise, that is").
A little fan service for my one reader.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026
***
I love it, and expect you have more than just one reader out there.
I used C.C. "Bud" Baxter and Fran Kubelik, in 1964 married and with a small daughter, as the "Innocent" characters in one of my U.N.C.L.E. fan stories. With any luck I managed to capture Bud's ca. 1960 corporate-speak ("I'm pretty familiar with that sort of thing, liar-wise, that is").
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:24 AM (wzUl9)
178
Come to think of it: Have there been many mystery novels set in the Old West? Or Westerns with a strong mystery/detective element? By which I mean the hero has to uncover the identity of an antagonist -- a murderer, a bandit, the man or woman behind a secret society, etc.?
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 09:59 AM (wzUl9)
There has to be some, although I can't think of any either. Just thinking about tv westerns, like Tales of Wells Fargo, where the lead does detective work, there ought to be some. Hopalong Cassidy has a couple where you don't know who the real bad guys are and he has to figure it out could be one. Oh, how about that Ghost Roy Rogers book. Seems to fit, doesn't it?
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 09:59 AM (wzUl9)
There has to be some, although I can't think of any either. Just thinking about tv westerns, like Tales of Wells Fargo, where the lead does detective work, there ought to be some. Hopalong Cassidy has a couple where you don't know who the real bad guys are and he has to figure it out could be one. Oh, how about that Ghost Roy Rogers book. Seems to fit, doesn't it?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 15, 2026 10:25 AM (1Ff7Z)
179
>>I Am Charlotte Simmons is great
I recall disliking her by the end of the book. That was the point, right?
I recall disliking her by the end of the book. That was the point, right?
Posted by: Lizzy at March 15, 2026 10:27 AM (Suwql)
180
Book that started me reading: Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Suess. This was the first book I read by myself.
Book that started me reading more grown up stuff: Tunnel Through Time by Lester Del Rey.
Book that started me reading more grown up stuff: Tunnel Through Time by Lester Del Rey.
Posted by: Fritzy at March 15, 2026 10:28 AM (2GIh1)
181
Was not a big reader as a child. Average. My mother wolfed books down. My father hardly read. Dunno when the matriarchal DNA switched on.
As part of my parental inheritance, I chose my mother's book collection. No regrets.
As part of my parental inheritance, I chose my mother's book collection. No regrets.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 15, 2026 10:28 AM (1o8D5)
182
I digress. One of the thinks I love about Block is how he weaves his story using casual conversation and banter. Just pulls me in, as if I'm sitting at the table listening to him tell his stories with his friends.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 15, 2026
*
Agreed. I read most of the Matthew Scudder books. I found him less interesting when he went on the wagon.
Posted by: Nicless at March 15, 2026
***
To me the interest remains in the later stories, because the unspoken suspense there is: Will Matt go back to drinking? Eventually in the series his sober life settled down, but for the first few books after his time began with AA, there was still that little worry.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 15, 2026
*
Agreed. I read most of the Matthew Scudder books. I found him less interesting when he went on the wagon.
Posted by: Nicless at March 15, 2026
***
To me the interest remains in the later stories, because the unspoken suspense there is: Will Matt go back to drinking? Eventually in the series his sober life settled down, but for the first few books after his time began with AA, there was still that little worry.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:29 AM (wzUl9)
183
A simple ladder on rails would work better than steps. Because there're at least two rows that are too hard to stoop and see when on the platform and too hard to tippy toe and see when on the ground. On a ladder you can be at any height. Or well endowed librarians on trampolines. Either or would work really.
Posted by: banana Dream - Hey, I think I have an idea! at March 15, 2026 10:29 AM (3uBP9)
184
As part of my parental inheritance, I chose my mother's book collection. No regrets.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 15, 2026 10:28 AM (1o8D5)
Heh...I just took all the books I wanted. My sisters barely read, and didn't see a financial windfall from a few thousand books.
Of course I have about 1,000 history books still to go through!
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 15, 2026 10:28 AM (1o8D5)
Heh...I just took all the books I wanted. My sisters barely read, and didn't see a financial windfall from a few thousand books.
Of course I have about 1,000 history books still to go through!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 15, 2026 10:30 AM (n9ltV)
185
Wind is starting to pick up here. Going to have 50-60mph wind gusts in a couple of hours. Oh yeah, and it's gonna get cold.
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons at March 15, 2026 10:30 AM (g8Ew8)
186
A single book that made me a lifelong reader? I dunno. I'm guessing I was already hooked by the time I was looking through Richard Scarry's "What People Do All Day" or "Busiest People Ever." I don't remember exactly which book it was, but I know that somewhere in my parent's home is a old hardcover which has been thoroughly repaired with massive strips of shipping tape...
There was also John Goodall's "The Creepy Castle," (a Redwall-esque picture book) that was so well-worn that my parents just gave up and bought a new copy when the grandkids arrives.
There was also John Goodall's "The Creepy Castle," (a Redwall-esque picture book) that was so well-worn that my parents just gave up and bought a new copy when the grandkids arrives.
Posted by: Castle Guy at March 15, 2026 10:30 AM (Lhaco)
187
"The Camp of the Saints" by Jean Raspail is an incredible fictional dystopian account of the overthrow of France by refugees.
Posted by: no one of any consequence
Vauban Books has reprinted the book in a very nice fashion, and has it in stock. I highly recommend getting a copy. No need to pay a fortune to get a used one.
Posted by: no one of any consequence
Vauban Books has reprinted the book in a very nice fashion, and has it in stock. I highly recommend getting a copy. No need to pay a fortune to get a used one.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026 10:31 AM (0U5gm)
188
So, we can laugh at their predicament now?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 15, 2026 10:17 AM (1Ff7Z)
---
Britain's decline was a choice. They tanked the Empire and then tanked the Commonwealth. The UK economy is strong enough to sustain a far larger military establishment, but they would rather pay foreigners to destroy the country.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 15, 2026 10:17 AM (1Ff7Z)
---
Britain's decline was a choice. They tanked the Empire and then tanked the Commonwealth. The UK economy is strong enough to sustain a far larger military establishment, but they would rather pay foreigners to destroy the country.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 15, 2026 10:31 AM (ZOv7s)
189
"One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" was my first book read to me. We also had both "Cat in the Hat" books.
It's funny. Back then, a mother could leave children at home without a babysitter. Try that these days and someone will call Child Protective Services.
It's funny. Back then, a mother could leave children at home without a babysitter. Try that these days and someone will call Child Protective Services.
Posted by: no one of any consequence at March 15, 2026 10:31 AM (d6BF2)
190
Posted by: Norrin Radd, sojourner of the spaceways at March 15, 2026 10:09 AM (tRYqg)
Why would you get in trouble, Norrin? And, how's your book coming along?
Why would you get in trouble, Norrin? And, how's your book coming along?
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 15, 2026 10:31 AM (1Ff7Z)
191
A note about comment 166. I ordered the gorgeous, and expensive, Faerie Queene mentioned through B and N. I could have gotten it a few bucks cheaper from Amazon but the last couple of expensive books I ordered on Amazon were thrown in an oversized light weight box with no wrapping or protection, able to slide around waiting to be damaged. That's inappropriate for a paperback let alone a hundred dollar hardcover. B and N shipped the books wrapped in plastic, well cushioned and used a sturdy box. Everything arrived undamaged even though it was heavy. It's worth paying a few dollars extra for the B and N service. In increasing numbers, I'm finding that the Amazon book prices aren't much, if any, better than other outlets.
Mini rant off.
Mini rant off.
Posted by: JTB at March 15, 2026 10:32 AM (yTvNw)
192
I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned the controversy about Richard III. My college had a Society for the Vindication of Richard III and I'm sure we weren't the only ones.
Posted by: Wenda at March 15, 2026 10:32 AM (wPfxR)
193
With any luck I managed to capture Bud's ca. 1960 corporate-speak ("I'm pretty familiar with that sort of thing, liar-wise, that is").
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:24 AM (wzUl9)
Walt Kelly did some wonderful parodies of 1960s ad-man speak ("run it up the flagpole and see who salutes") in a storyline about Howland Owl and Seminole Sam persuading Pogo to run for president (I forget the year; it might have been 1956). He also did a standalone story, The Man From Suffern-on-the Steppes, which had Owl, Albert, Porkypine and Churchy LaFemme as ad-men in the USSR.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:24 AM (wzUl9)
Walt Kelly did some wonderful parodies of 1960s ad-man speak ("run it up the flagpole and see who salutes") in a storyline about Howland Owl and Seminole Sam persuading Pogo to run for president (I forget the year; it might have been 1956). He also did a standalone story, The Man From Suffern-on-the Steppes, which had Owl, Albert, Porkypine and Churchy LaFemme as ad-men in the USSR.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 10:32 AM (ufSfZ)
194
Yeah, I got the new translation. It's Introduction and Preface are priceless.
Posted by: no one of any consequence at March 15, 2026 10:33 AM (d6BF2)
195
To me the interest remains in the later stories, because the unspoken suspense there is: Will Matt go back to drinking?
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:29 AM (wzUl9)
Yes, a constant thread of tension, exploring his feelings about alcohol, and whether or not he will have a drink.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:29 AM (wzUl9)
Yes, a constant thread of tension, exploring his feelings about alcohol, and whether or not he will have a drink.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 15, 2026 10:33 AM (h7ZuX)
Posted by: Nazdar at March 15, 2026 10:33 AM (NcvvS)
197
On December 8 1941 Churchill's job changed from making sure Britain survived to making sure Britain remained relevant.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 15, 2026 10:18 AM (78a2H)
Well, we did for a while.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 15, 2026 10:18 AM (78a2H)
Well, we did for a while.
Posted by: Baroness Thatcher at March 15, 2026 10:35 AM (1Ff7Z)
198
I recall disliking her by the end of the book. That was the point, right?
Posted by: Lizzy at March 15, 2026 10:27 AM (Suwql)
She grew up
I am not sure the point was to hate Charlotte but that college (life) was hard and growing up is even harder.
She did turn the basketball stars life around (or maybe he grew up too).
Posted by: Lizzy at March 15, 2026 10:27 AM (Suwql)
She grew up
I am not sure the point was to hate Charlotte but that college (life) was hard and growing up is even harder.
She did turn the basketball stars life around (or maybe he grew up too).
Posted by: r hennigantx at March 15, 2026 10:35 AM (gbOdA)
199
Heh...I just took all the books I wanted. My sisters barely read, and didn't see a financial windfall from a few thousand books.
Of course I have about 1,000 history books still to go through!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 15, 2026 10:30 AM (n9ltV)
It's a pity that we don't have a Moron Book Center. What I mean is a location to which we could send books we no longer wanted and could take out ones that we did, either to read or to keep. Of course, someone would have to staff it and put out a catalogue.
I hate the thought of all of my books headed to the pulper when I die, but there's no one who wants them.
Of course I have about 1,000 history books still to go through!
Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at March 15, 2026 10:30 AM (n9ltV)
It's a pity that we don't have a Moron Book Center. What I mean is a location to which we could send books we no longer wanted and could take out ones that we did, either to read or to keep. Of course, someone would have to staff it and put out a catalogue.
I hate the thought of all of my books headed to the pulper when I die, but there's no one who wants them.
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 10:36 AM (ufSfZ)
200
170 ... "I wonder if you've ever tried to read LOTR chronologically, i.e., reading the events on the day they take place, starting on Sep 22."
Hi Norrin Radd,
I've used different approaches over the years but no that one. Something to keep in mind for the 62nd reading.
Hi Norrin Radd,
I've used different approaches over the years but no that one. Something to keep in mind for the 62nd reading.
Posted by: JTB at March 15, 2026 10:36 AM (yTvNw)
201
>>I'm guessing I was already hooked by the time I was looking through Richard Scarry's "What People Do All Day" or "Busiest People Ever."
Those books are the best! Find goldbug!
I don't think it was one book, it was simply that we always had books, made regular trips to the library where we could check out as many books as we could carry home in our bags (maybe a 1 mile walk?).
I loved the Amelia Bedelia books where she was constantly misunderstanding things (Amelia, draw the drapes! so she sketched them, etc.).
Those books are the best! Find goldbug!
I don't think it was one book, it was simply that we always had books, made regular trips to the library where we could check out as many books as we could carry home in our bags (maybe a 1 mile walk?).
I loved the Amelia Bedelia books where she was constantly misunderstanding things (Amelia, draw the drapes! so she sketched them, etc.).
Posted by: Lizzy at March 15, 2026 10:36 AM (Suwql)
202
Haven't read them, so I may be wrong here, but if I were looking for western mysteries, Bill Pronzini may be worth a look. He's done a long-running PI series, a number of stand-alone suspense novels (a few in collaboration with Barry Malzberg) and he's done westerns as well. Wouldn't be surprised if some of the westerns run along the mystery line.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 15, 2026 10:37 AM (q3u5l)
203
Wind is starting to pick up here. Going to have 50-60mph wind gusts in a couple of hours. Oh yeah, and it's gonna get cold.
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons
Same here. 80 degrees yesterday and 32 is the low tonight.
Posted by: Dr. Pork Chops & Bacons
Same here. 80 degrees yesterday and 32 is the low tonight.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026 10:37 AM (0U5gm)
204
I had a book about Art Arfons I read about 100 times.
Also the original Wizard of Oz and Return to Oz.
Also the original Wizard of Oz and Return to Oz.
Posted by: r hennigantx at March 15, 2026 10:37 AM (gbOdA)
205
It's funny. Back then, a mother could leave children at home without a babysitter. Try that these days and someone will call Child Protective Services.
Posted by: no one of any consequence at March 15, 2026 10:31 AM (d6BF2)
---
In Michigan the age when children can be legally left home alone is 12. We did it without any problems.
Posted by: no one of any consequence at March 15, 2026 10:31 AM (d6BF2)
---
In Michigan the age when children can be legally left home alone is 12. We did it without any problems.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 15, 2026 10:37 AM (ZOv7s)
206
It's funny. Back then, a mother could leave children at home without a babysitter. Try that these days and someone will call Child Protective Services.
Posted by: no one of any consequence at March 15, 2026
***
When I was twelve, Mom (who worked nights as a private duty nurse) decided my brother, age eight, and I could be left sans babysitter. I don't know if the black woman who'd been watching us had raised her price, or decided she didn't want to work for no white woman watching no white kids (I don't remember much about her at all). But what Mom did was not illegal then. And we were good, responsible kids.
Posted by: no one of any consequence at March 15, 2026
***
When I was twelve, Mom (who worked nights as a private duty nurse) decided my brother, age eight, and I could be left sans babysitter. I don't know if the black woman who'd been watching us had raised her price, or decided she didn't want to work for no white woman watching no white kids (I don't remember much about her at all). But what Mom did was not illegal then. And we were good, responsible kids.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:38 AM (wzUl9)
207
Haven't read them, so I may be wrong here, but if I were looking for western mysteries, Bill Pronzini may be worth a look. He's done a long-running PI series, a number of stand-alone suspense novels (a few in collaboration with Barry Malzberg) and he's done westerns as well. Wouldn't be surprised if some of the westerns run along the mystery line.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 15, 2026
***
Good point. I'll have a look.
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 15, 2026
***
Good point. I'll have a look.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:38 AM (wzUl9)
208
Encyclopedia Brown was a big part of my reading when I was very young. The writing was mostly contemporary, I was born in '70 and Sobol started in the late 60s. There were already a dozen available when I started reading. I got them at the library.
The other one was the Boxcar Children because we had those in paperback; my sisters had them I think. I honestly don't remember much about the Boxcar Children other than a vague image in my mind of some of the pictures in the book. I still remember some of Encyclopedia Brown's adventures and the contraptions he'd make.
We also had a bunch of my Dad's old Popular Mechanics and I really loved those. I loved schematics at a very young age.
The other one was the Boxcar Children because we had those in paperback; my sisters had them I think. I honestly don't remember much about the Boxcar Children other than a vague image in my mind of some of the pictures in the book. I still remember some of Encyclopedia Brown's adventures and the contraptions he'd make.
We also had a bunch of my Dad's old Popular Mechanics and I really loved those. I loved schematics at a very young age.
Posted by: banana Dream at March 15, 2026 10:38 AM (3uBP9)
Posted by: r hennigantx at March 15, 2026 10:39 AM (gbOdA)
210
I also read the Encyclopedia Britannica 1970 from cover to cover.
Posted by: r hennigantx at March 15, 2026 10:40 AM (gbOdA)
211
Was not a big reader as a child. Average. My mother wolfed books down. My father hardly read. Dunno when the matriarchal DNA switched on.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 15, 2026 10:28 AM (1o8D5)
---
My parents are both English majors who became reporters and met while working at the same newspaper.
Reading was what one did. There were evenings where the TV just stayed off and everyone read. Maybe some music playing.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at March 15, 2026 10:28 AM (1o8D5)
---
My parents are both English majors who became reporters and met while working at the same newspaper.
Reading was what one did. There were evenings where the TV just stayed off and everyone read. Maybe some music playing.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 15, 2026 10:40 AM (ZOv7s)
212
Da Swamp will rise to 82 or so today, and drop to around 45 tonight with plenty of wind. I believe there will be some rainstorms in the interval.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:40 AM (wzUl9)
213
I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned the controversy about Richard III. My college had a Society for the Vindication of Richard III and I'm sure we weren't the only ones.
Posted by: Wenda
I reviewed The King's Grave here a couple of weeks ago. The author, Phillipa Langley, is a member of the Richard III society, which is dedicated to clearing his name.
Posted by: Wenda
I reviewed The King's Grave here a couple of weeks ago. The author, Phillipa Langley, is a member of the Richard III society, which is dedicated to clearing his name.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026 10:42 AM (0U5gm)
214
>>> Da Swamp will rise to 82 or so today, and drop to around 45 tonight with plenty of wind. I believe there will be some rainstorms in the interval.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:40 AM (wzUl9)
We have some wind here in north GA. It had gotten just up to 80 but after this wind blows through it's dropping down into freezing below 30 again.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:40 AM (wzUl9)
We have some wind here in north GA. It had gotten just up to 80 but after this wind blows through it's dropping down into freezing below 30 again.
Posted by: banana Dream at March 15, 2026 10:42 AM (3uBP9)
215
73 down here by the Bay and going to 83.
Tomorrow AM 57.
Wind 20 to 25
Posted by: r hennigantx at March 15, 2026 10:39 AM (gbOdA)
---
Michigan's temps are like a yo-yo in March. We've gotten into the 70s, back to the teens, and everywhere in between. This week looks to be a little more consistent: high on Sunday of 63, low on Monday of 15.
Tomorrow AM 57.
Wind 20 to 25
Posted by: r hennigantx at March 15, 2026 10:39 AM (gbOdA)
---
Michigan's temps are like a yo-yo in March. We've gotten into the 70s, back to the teens, and everywhere in between. This week looks to be a little more consistent: high on Sunday of 63, low on Monday of 15.
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 15, 2026 10:43 AM (ZOv7s)
216
Is there any one book that made you a life long reader?
For me it was the existence of words itself. From the moment I recognized that they were a secret code to seeing beyond sight, I have read. If there are words in front of me, I will read them.
You might (or might not) be surprised at how often this is a liability.
For me it was the existence of words itself. From the moment I recognized that they were a secret code to seeing beyond sight, I have read. If there are words in front of me, I will read them.
You might (or might not) be surprised at how often this is a liability.
Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at March 15, 2026 10:43 AM (W/QOq)
217
I have the door open but the screen door shut, so any cool-ish breeze can come in if it so chooses. Also so the furry thugs can look out and study things they would love to chase down and kill.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:44 AM (wzUl9)
218
Well, time to get ready for Mass. Today is the Feast of St. Joseph and we're bringing the grandkids because afterwards there were be Italian treats in the parish hall.
Until next week! Thanks, JTB!
Until next week! Thanks, JTB!
Posted by: Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd at March 15, 2026 10:45 AM (ZOv7s)
219
I like to think that the big globe in the picture up top is the kind that holds booze and glasses in it.
Posted by: banana Dream at March 15, 2026 10:46 AM (3uBP9)
220
148 ... "This will be a porch book."
DMLW,
That is a wonderful way to describe a pleasant reading place and session.
DMLW,
That is a wonderful way to describe a pleasant reading place and session.
Posted by: JTB at March 15, 2026 10:47 AM (yTvNw)
221
I remember wondering aloud in high school, after learning how to read some eleven years before, what it would be like *not to know how* to read. My history teacher shrugged and said, "Look at a page of German."
I wasn't sure about that, and said so. "But I'd recognize the letters. What about a page of Chinese, or Arabic?" And he nodded and agreed.
I wasn't sure about that, and said so. "But I'd recognize the letters. What about a page of Chinese, or Arabic?" And he nodded and agreed.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at March 15, 2026 10:47 AM (wzUl9)
222
Illinois Lawmakers Push to Scrap High School Foreign Language Requirement
-
"I mean, hell, we can't even teach English," they explained.
-
"I mean, hell, we can't even teach English," they explained.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at March 15, 2026 10:48 AM (ndZc7)
223
One of the more interesting books I read this past week is L.E. Stemmler’s 1942 The Essentials of Archery: How to Use and Make Bows and Arrows.
I bought this ages ago thinking I might want to take up archery as a hobby; I ran across the book in my reference shelf last week and decided to read it, and if it was any good to offer it to a friend of mine who does do archery.
It’s dense with information on how to shoot, and how to build your kit. Wonderful full-page diagrams of bows of various kinds to help you build them. Almost made me want to revisit my decision not to take up archery as a hobby and dump something else instead. I mean, who needs hobo porn, really?
I bought this ages ago thinking I might want to take up archery as a hobby; I ran across the book in my reference shelf last week and decided to read it, and if it was any good to offer it to a friend of mine who does do archery.
It’s dense with information on how to shoot, and how to build your kit. Wonderful full-page diagrams of bows of various kinds to help you build them. Almost made me want to revisit my decision not to take up archery as a hobby and dump something else instead. I mean, who needs hobo porn, really?
Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at March 15, 2026 10:48 AM (W/QOq)
224
I loved the Amelia Bedelia books where she was constantly misunderstanding things (Amelia, draw the drapes! so she sketched them, etc.).
Posted by: Lizzy at March 15, 2026 10:36 AM (Suwql)
It was a real hoot when she dusted the furniture!
I was fond of Dorrie, the little witch. Would love to find some old copies of those.
Posted by: Lizzy at March 15, 2026 10:36 AM (Suwql)
It was a real hoot when she dusted the furniture!
I was fond of Dorrie, the little witch. Would love to find some old copies of those.
Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at March 15, 2026 10:48 AM (h7ZuX)
Posted by: Mary Poppins' Practically Perfect Piercing (aka Eloquent Depression) at March 15, 2026 10:49 AM (ufSfZ)
226
I liked Bonfire by Wolfe, Charlottes Simmons not so much.
Also enjoyed every book in the Hardy Boys series. I was probably about 10 or so, and at that age, the idea of having a famous detective for a Dad, a great looking gal as a girlfriend, and solving interesting mysteries with a little danger involved in my free time was pretty appealing.
Also, along similar lines I have a full collection of Chip Hilton sports novels. Still read through them every few years or so. I thought it would be awesome to be a superstar athlete in every sport in high school and college and have an athletic complex in my back yard at home.
Also enjoyed every book in the Hardy Boys series. I was probably about 10 or so, and at that age, the idea of having a famous detective for a Dad, a great looking gal as a girlfriend, and solving interesting mysteries with a little danger involved in my free time was pretty appealing.
Also, along similar lines I have a full collection of Chip Hilton sports novels. Still read through them every few years or so. I thought it would be awesome to be a superstar athlete in every sport in high school and college and have an athletic complex in my back yard at home.
Posted by: rm at March 15, 2026 10:50 AM (n/1Oj)
227
I had difficulty learning to read (thanks dyslexia!) but once the engine got going I drove hard to read everything in my parents house. Reading saved my teenage years, since I just spent all my free time reading, and not worrying about all the things teenagers usually worry over.
Posted by: Huck Follywood at March 15, 2026 10:51 AM (d3lyb)
228
Thinking about childhood reading reminded me of The Blue Nosed Witch by Margaret Embry. That was a fun read.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at March 15, 2026 10:52 AM (0U5gm)
229
I thought this was the Booger Thread
Posted by: The Nose at March 15, 2026 10:56 AM (HXT0k)
230
To prepare for Saint Patrick's Day I've been reading Terry Golway's For the Cause of Liberty. It's a slug through Irish history with emphasis on the 18th and 19th century proponents of Ireland's political and national freedom. Not at all leprechauns or pots of gold.
Posted by: Cosda at March 15, 2026 10:56 AM (BtI39)
231
I had forgotten Encyclopedia Brown, but yes, that was a big part of my youthful reading. Also Doctor Doolittle.
Posted by: Trimegistus at March 15, 2026 10:57 AM (78a2H)
232
llinois Lawmakers Push to Scrap High School Foreign Language Requirement
"I mean, hell, we can't even teach English," they explained.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at March 15, 2026 10:48 AM (ndZc7)
The reality is that the ill and mis-educated people being turned out today have no reason to study a foreign language unless they plan to live or work in an area they will need to know one. A ditch digger or paperpusher won't interact much with people of the world, unless their area has been overrun with foreigners that the politicians bend over for. I can see the case for eliminating that requirement.
"I mean, hell, we can't even teach English," they explained.
Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at March 15, 2026 10:48 AM (ndZc7)
The reality is that the ill and mis-educated people being turned out today have no reason to study a foreign language unless they plan to live or work in an area they will need to know one. A ditch digger or paperpusher won't interact much with people of the world, unless their area has been overrun with foreigners that the politicians bend over for. I can see the case for eliminating that requirement.
Posted by: OrangeEnt at March 15, 2026 10:57 AM (1Ff7Z)
233
"Look at a page of German."
In my case, a page of French. I've never really had the patience to sit down with a book and a foreign language dictionary and start reading. Think I remember references from Henry Miller and a couple more of the expats learning some French that way. There are a number of untranslated Simenons or translated books that have been out of print for years.
Just for giggles, I pulled a copy of one in French from one of the 'archive' sites and ran it through Google's free translation service. It did the translation in under a minute. Makes interesting reading. You can follow the story, mostly, but some of the translation is pretty awkward (Simenon is seldom awkward) and it's almost like the translation software has been told not to use masculine pronouns too heavily, so the he and she references don't always match up as they should which throws you out of the story for a minute.
Anyone else tried this? How'd it go?
In my case, a page of French. I've never really had the patience to sit down with a book and a foreign language dictionary and start reading. Think I remember references from Henry Miller and a couple more of the expats learning some French that way. There are a number of untranslated Simenons or translated books that have been out of print for years.
Just for giggles, I pulled a copy of one in French from one of the 'archive' sites and ran it through Google's free translation service. It did the translation in under a minute. Makes interesting reading. You can follow the story, mostly, but some of the translation is pretty awkward (Simenon is seldom awkward) and it's almost like the translation software has been told not to use masculine pronouns too heavily, so the he and she references don't always match up as they should which throws you out of the story for a minute.
Anyone else tried this? How'd it go?
Posted by: Just Some Guy at March 15, 2026 10:58 AM (q3u5l)
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