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Other Topics => Entertainment => Topic started by: ER on November 19, 2008, 09:52:20 PM



Title: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 19, 2008, 09:52:20 PM
Just started Bleak House. I have a mixed record of finishing Dickens' books but I'll see how it goes.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Javakoala on November 19, 2008, 10:17:47 PM
I'm not reading anything of such grand value.

Recent titles:

"The Cats"  Which would make a great movie that would p**s off PETA

"The Jeweled Dagger"  Modern romantic suspense (well, modern as of 1974) but it looked like a gothic romance

"Night Of The Crabs"  Another that would be a hoot if they filmed it in all of its blood-soaked gory...uh, um, glory

"The Worms"  People turning into giant grub worms.  No, I'm serious.  Really.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on November 19, 2008, 10:24:46 PM
I am in the middle of Seymour Hersch's THE DARK SIDE OF CAMELOT.  Great read.  Man, the Kennedys are  a slimy clan.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on November 19, 2008, 10:48:07 PM
Finishing up SELECTED WORKS OF EDGAR ALLEN POE.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on November 21, 2008, 12:39:31 AM
Finishing up a very thick bio of Picasso and at the same time "The Last Stand of the DNA Cowboys". 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: frank on November 21, 2008, 05:13:26 AM

"The Tender Bar" by J.R. Moehringer.

Recommended to all barflies...



Looking at you, Rev. ...





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on November 21, 2008, 05:15:22 AM
My brother gave me a copy of William Shatner's Up Till Now for my birthday. A very good book and strangely emotional in places.

One thing that did knock me for 6 was the disclosure that Leonard Nimoy was struggling with alcoholism for many years until his wife convinced him to give up drinking, which he did. I've always had a huge amount of respect for Mr Nimoy and now I have even more.  :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on November 21, 2008, 08:17:58 AM

I just got done reading Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind, started on the Cirque De Freak series (heard it was pretty good, even for a YA series.)

Also have the book Sacrifices by Andrew Vauches that I'm going to start soon as well.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on November 21, 2008, 08:19:14 AM
I'm not reading anything of such grand value.

Recent titles:

"The Cats"  Which would make a great movie that would p**s off PETA

"The Worms"  People turning into giant grub worms.  No, I'm serious.  Really.

Who are those two by?  I couldn't' find them in a search on Amazon.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ghouck on November 22, 2008, 12:18:15 AM
I have a few books I'm trying to pick up, but it only shows me how bad my eyesight is getting. I REALLY want to finish "Into the Wild" and a book of Hemmingway shorts, , but every time I do I realize my eyes aren't that good anymore. I've also started "Foley is good" and "The Prince and the Pauper". . I wonder if my medical covers lasik or whatever it's called?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sister Grace on November 22, 2008, 06:18:44 AM
As a hermit, I read quite a bit. When we moved down here, twenty-three cardboard boxes of books were put into storage. Currently I don't have anything on hand to read; which is rare...going to the flea-market today to try and find some decent books. I was so hard up for something to read last night, that I began to read my daughter's Clue series. Now talk about a trip down memory lane... However, this month I've had the pleasures of...

The Sinner-
by Tess Gerritsen. She is a great author and I love her books, however I read this one out of sequence so I didn't feel as if I got the whole picture.

Triptich-
by Karen Slaughter. Great book; I actually felt so bad for some of the characters that I cried during the 'sex in the closet at the juvie center' scene...

The Long Last Call-
by John Skipp. I waited so long to read this book. It was aweful!! The ending was so anti-climatic and p**s$% me off so bad, I actually threw the book after reading the last page.

Pandora Drive-
Tim Waggoner. Awesome book, but some of the scenes were too graphic, even for my tastes... I really liked the premises of this book, if our imaginations could become real. There was a lot creative violence in this book, which was refreshing for a genre that has been so over-done.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 22, 2008, 06:40:57 PM
Wrapped up an English translation of Ildefonso Falcones' Cathedral of the Sea, the story of Spanish Medieval life and the building of Barcelona's famous fourteenth-century church of Santa Maria de la Mar. While many are comparing this novel to The Pillars of the Earth, that's mostly for marketing purposes, as the stories don't share much common ground beyond their mutual church construction. I have mixed feelings about this book, which was sometimes fascinating and at others a slow moving, marginally far-fetched take on the rise of one person from poverty to society's greatest heights, all set during the era of the Black Death and Inquisition. It was descriptive as far as the laws and customs of the era, and some practices of the time are shocking, but it also required a reader to just accept some improbable happenings. I'm glad I read Falcones' work but its sheer size required an investment of about a week to get through. Apparently it was and is a record-setting best seller in Spain but I don't think it's making similar waves here so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 28, 2008, 10:29:55 AM
2001's Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival by the Sansum Medical Research Institute's T.S. Wiley, is a scary book about how modern people are suffering the catastrophic health effects of chronic sleep deprivation. Wiley provides copious data that correlates spiking levels of heart disease, cancer, obesity, insanity, even the increasing global phenomenon of male infertility, to the recent decline in the time people spend asleep.

Through most of history, going back tens of thousands of generations, humans have slept nine to twelve hours nightly in patterns ruled by the seasons, and the human body was created/evolved/adjusted to operate in conjunction with this downtime, but in the last three generations as we in the developed nations stay up late to watch TV and read via readily-available artificial lighting, that figure has fallen to about six hours a night, with potentially horrifying results for our blood sugar levels, hormones, brain chemistry and much more.

With our long, light-soaked hours, we have tricked our bodies into thinking we dwell in perpetual summertime, resulting in the body staying in a metabolic mode with enhanced cravings for carbohydrates, the rapid storing (for leaner wintertime) of consumed calories, and a minimizing of the production of vital chemicals. For example, the hormone melatonin, necessary to life itself, is only produced in darkness, and only during specific periods in the human sleep cycle. The average modern person neither sleeps in darkness nor gets enough sleep for the body to cycle through the peaks and valleys of the slumbering process necessary to produce nearly enough melatonin, leaving the majority of us literally starved for this age-retarding, weight-regulating, mood-enhancing hormone.

As Wiley convincingly points out, the results of all this, our sleep deprivation and the demonstrated effects in lab rats, in monkeys, in humans under test conditions, mirror many of our modern health ills.

A frightening book!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on November 28, 2008, 04:09:14 PM
2001's Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival by the Sansum Medical Research Institute's T.S. Wiley, is a scary book about how modern people are suffering the catastrophic health effects of chronic sleep deprivation. Wiley provides copious data that correlates spiking levels of heart disease, cancer, obesity, insanity, even the increasing global phenomenon of male infertility, to the recent decline in the time people spend asleep.

Through most of history, going back tens of thousands of generations, humans have slept nine to twelve hours nightly in patterns ruled by the seasons, and the human body was created/evolved/adjusted to operate in conjunction with this downtime, but in the last three generations as we in the developed nations stay up late to watch TV and read via readily-available artificial lighting, that figure has fallen to about six hours a night, with potentially horrifying results for our blood sugar levels, hormones, brain chemistry and much more.

With our long, light-soaked hours, we have tricked our bodies into thinking we dwell in perpetual summertime, resulting in the body staying in a metabolic mode with enhanced cravings for carbohydrates, the rapid storing (for leaner wintertime) of consumed calories, and a minimizing of the production of vital chemicals. For example, the hormone melatonin, necessary to life itself, is only produced in darkness, and only during specific periods in the human sleep cycle. The average modern person neither sleeps in darkness nor gets enough sleep for the body to cycle through the peaks and valleys of the slumbering process necessary to produce nearly enough melatonin, leaving the majority of us literally starved for this age-retarding, weight-regulating, mood-enhancing hormone.

As Wiley convincingly points out, the results of all this, our sleep deprivation and the demonstrated effects in lab rats, in monkeys, in humans under test conditions, mirror many of our modern health ills.

A frightening book!

That's an interesting theory.  I suspect he's on to something. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on November 28, 2008, 04:21:08 PM
post-war by Tony Judt.  it is about europe 1945-1989  though it was started in 89 and finished in 99 so there is the beginings of the post commie era as well.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 28, 2008, 05:24:19 PM
Hey, lester, another book you might like is Nicholson Baker's Human Smoke. If you haven't heard about it, it concerns the time between the world wars, thru to the end of 1941, and traces the decisions made that ultimately led to the beginnings of World War Two as we know it. The entire book, written by a pacifist, is composed of virtually nothing except quotes from the major figures or descriptions of the actions of literally thousands of people alive in the period between the wars, each of whom played some part in the outcome of history. It's a familiar story told from a different angle.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on November 28, 2008, 08:21:34 PM
Currently reading Michael Slade's "Crucified" which seems, at first glance, like an attempt to compete with Dan Brown.

Recently finished Slade's most recent Special X crime novel, "Kamikaze." I really enjoy Slade's books. Kind of like a horror story wrapped in a whodunit wrapped in a history lesson wrapped in a police procedural. Riveting stuff, and meticulously researched. The books are currently written by a father-daughter team with backgrounds in criminal law and history. Apparently, the Slade pen name has had a couple of owners over the years.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on November 29, 2008, 04:10:35 AM
At present, I'm reading Off Season by Jack Ketchum, having just finished The Twilight Realm by Christopher Carpenter (aka Christopher Evans). 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 30, 2008, 07:59:04 PM
The Collected Stories of Louis Auchincloss

The most unique American writer of his times.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on November 30, 2008, 10:09:38 PM
I read Off Season. It was enjoyable, and didn't leave me with the kicked-in-the-stomach feeling that The Girl Next Door did.

I'm currently reading a multitude of books, but am focusing on The Terror (http://www.amazon.com/Terror-Novel-Dan-Simmons/dp/0316008079/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228100711&sr=8-1) by Dan Simmons. It's a historical horror based off of the lost Franklin expedition to find the Northwest Passage. The men on the two ships get trapped in the ice and must spend the time trying to stay warm while fighting off malnutrition and scurvy. Unfortunately, there is something else out on the ice that slaughters the occasional man from time to time.

It's a great book. I admire how thoroughly the situation goes from bad to worse, and then much worse.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 01, 2008, 12:13:54 PM
Anyone gotten Stephen King's latest yet? Time was I'd have rushed out and bought it and read it in a sitting, but....times change. It might be good, though. Anyone read it?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: princess dragonmom on December 01, 2008, 12:28:01 PM
Are you talking about " Just after Sunset" the new collection of short stories?  I've been reading it for the last few days.  So far I'd give it 3 stars.  A few of the stories have been pretty flat, in that you read it  and say "Is that it?"  A couple of them have been good, I'm in the middle of "The Gingerbread Girl" right now and it's the best I've read so far. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: WilliamWeird1313 on December 03, 2008, 08:35:20 AM


I'm currently in the middle of...

Zombie C.S.U. -by Jonathan Maberry

The Backwoods- by Edward Lee

The Long  Walk- by Richard Bachman




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 03, 2008, 09:00:26 AM
The Long Walk is a hard-hitting book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on December 03, 2008, 09:49:56 AM
ER-  I had a choice between that and Pat Buchanans latest which has a similar theme and I'm a big fan of pats believe it or not so I opted for that one "churchill hitler and the unneccasary war" but they both have the same sort of idea.  post war is very interesting thusfar.  1939 thru 1945 were basically a battle between germany and russia to see who could be the most horrible.  I can't fairly say who won.  then after the war came retributions against collaborators and so forth and massive ethnic cleansing.   


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Javakoala on December 03, 2008, 01:01:34 PM
I'm not reading anything of such grand value.

Recent titles:

"The Cats"  Which would make a great movie that would p**s off PETA

"The Worms"  People turning into giant grub worms.  No, I'm serious.  Really.

Who are those two by?  I couldn't' find them in a search on Amazon.

SARRANTONIO, AL  wrote "The Worms"  and Nick Sharman wrote "The Cats".  You'll need to haunt your used books stores for those delightful wrecks.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 03, 2008, 02:04:08 PM
I have the Buchanan book, too, lester, but I've only read the first few chapters so far. I don't think it's as similar to Human Smoke as it might seem once you get into it, but you're right, there are points in common, yeah. Both are re-examinations of the accepted versions of World War Two history, and neither makes Churchill come off unblemished or accepts that the war was inevitable or had to be as bloody as it was. I'll get back to finishing the book soon. Studying mistakes is fine but overall I think it might just be ungrateful for those of us who are the heirs to the post-war world to be too critical of those who won WWII and gave us the world we've lived in since.

I think Buchanan's best work was probably State of Emergency, his dead-on accurate diatribe on the illegal immigrant catastrophe not only in America but in the entire west, which he claims is under invasion.

I think for the first time in modern history right-wing intellectuals (not neo-cons but the old school kind, what few remain) seem to be writing better books than their left-wing counterparts. Never thought I'd say so, but I think it's true.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: WilliamWeird1313 on December 03, 2008, 02:44:39 PM
The Long Walk is a hard-hitting book.

I found copies of all four original Bachman books at a flea market not too long ago and I was thrilled. I'd read Running Man before and thought it was great. I instantly preferred the Bachman persona titles to the actual King ones. Anyway, I'd been hoping (in vain, I thought) to run across Rage for a while, 'cause I know that one's out-of-print and a bit controversial due to it's subject matter. I was excited to read it and I thought it was great. Now, I just started The Long Walk. I'll read Road Work last, since I'm not really terribly interested by that one. But if The Long Walk is as good as Running Man and Rage (which I suspect it will be) then I'll be happy.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on December 03, 2008, 03:15:16 PM
Danny Peary - "Cult Movies".  Reminds me of some of the great and not-so-great-but-certainly-unique movies I have yet to see.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on December 04, 2008, 10:28:09 AM
ER-  have you heard of the ludwig von mises institute (http://www.mises.org/)?  they have released alot of excellent right wing history and economics books.

     my favorites are probably the Driver by garett garet,  The discovery of freedom by Rose Wilder Lane,  and the politically incorrect guide to capitalism by robert Murphy, which is actually put out by someone else but he writes alot for them.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 04, 2008, 12:43:02 PM
lester, I hadn't heard of that institute, but thanks for the link. I'll check it out. Is that the same Rose Wilder Lane who was the daughter of Laura and Almanzo Wilder of Little House fame?

Today I'm re-reading The Waterworks, by E.L. Doctorow. He is a deft writer and that's probably my favorite among his books. Well, maybe...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: peter johnson on December 04, 2008, 05:44:21 PM
Mofo:  Dan Simmons lives up the road a piece from me in Longmont, Colorado.  I've never gone up and knocked on his door, nor bothered him in our local pubs, so can't claim personal contact.  Hoping to meet him as part of our local theatre audiences.  Many of his contemporary bits are set in towns very much like Longmont.

I recently finished reading "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman.  My wife went to hear him read from it, but I was rehearsing that night & couldn't go.  She did get me an autographed copy.

Very good young adult book -- sort of on a Harry Potter level.  Not much really gross, apart from when the protagonist meets up with some ghouls, and no sex to speak of.  Mostly deals in atmospherics and a then-what-happened-next plot.  The villians, especially the central villian, are quite deadly and very dangerous.  Not at all cartoony, and may scare the willies out of younger readers.

As reviewers have noted, it's sort of like The Jungle Book, but rather than wild animals, the boy is raised in a graveyard by ghosts and a vampire.  One of the nice things about it is that the book never ever comes right out and says that the vampire is a vampire, but you're able to get it by inference.  Also, there's a werewolf thrown in for good measure.

Like the best of childrens' books -- eg.  The Wind in The Willows, Stuart Little, et. al. -- it can be enjoyed very much by adults as well.  The writing is about what you'd expect:  Precise, concise, and evocative.  Gaiman can have a character say three words, and you immediately know what sort of being they are.  In its own way, I liked it even better than "Anansi Boys", the last book for adults of his I read.  Though I must say, I recently read a short story of his called "A Study In Emerald" that's better than both of them!!

peter johnson/denny crane


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 04, 2008, 07:34:59 PM
I am about a third of the way into Colleen McCullogh's FIRST MAN IN ROME.  I am reading the series out of order, but oh!! they are brilliant.  I want to live in that world so badly at times it hurts.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on December 05, 2008, 10:15:08 AM
Quote
Is that the same Rose Wilder Lane

indeed.  you can also download all their books for free


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Derf on December 05, 2008, 06:12:00 PM
Mofo:  Dan Simmons lives up the road a piece from me in Longmont, Colorado.  I've never gone up and knocked on his door, nor bothered him in our local pubs, so can't claim personal contact.  Hoping to meet him as part of our local theatre audiences.  Many of his contemporary bits are set in towns very much like Longmont.

I recently finished reading "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman.  My wife went to hear him read from it, but I was rehearsing that night & couldn't go.  She did get me an autographed copy.

Very good young adult book -- sort of on a Harry Potter level.  Not much really gross, apart from when the protagonist meets up with some ghouls, and no sex to speak of.  Mostly deals in atmospherics and a then-what-happened-next plot.  The villians, especially the central villian, are quite deadly and very dangerous.  Not at all cartoony, and may scare the willies out of younger readers.

As reviewers have noted, it's sort of like The Jungle Book, but rather than wild animals, the boy is raised in a graveyard by ghosts and a vampire.  One of the nice things about it is that the book never ever comes right out and says that the vampire is a vampire, but you're able to get it by inference.  Also, there's a werewolf thrown in for good measure.

Like the best of childrens' books -- eg.  The Wind in The Willows, Stuart Little, et. al. -- it can be enjoyed very much by adults as well.  The writing is about what you'd expect:  Precise, concise, and evocative.  Gaiman can have a character say three words, and you immediately know what sort of being they are.  In its own way, I liked it even better than "Anansi Boys", the last book for adults of his I read.  Though I must say, I recently read a short story of his called "A Study In Emerald" that's better than both of them!!

peter johnson/denny crane

Hey! I'm reading Anansi Boys right now! I had read Gaiman's collaboration with Pratchett (Good Omens) and enjoyed it reasonably well, though I think ultimately I prefer Pratchett on his own. I figured I'd give Gaiman a chance on his own as well. I can't say this one has me riveted, but it is entertaining if slightly pretentious at times (that's just my impression, so take it for what it's worth). Maybe I'll give The Graveyard Book a try and see if I can get into it more than this current one I'm reading. The plot for The Graveyard Book sounds vaguely similar to one of my favorite novels: Peter S. Beagle's A Fine and Private Place, which tells the story of an older man who lives in the graveyard, never leaving it after burying his wife (nothing morbid like a murder or necrophilia; he just wants to stay near her). I can heartily recommend anything by Beagle; the worst thing (and it wasn't really bad) I've read by him was his most famous work, The Last Unicorn.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on December 05, 2008, 06:19:37 PM
Reading my favourite fictional novel again for the 6th time...

(http://darrylslibrary.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/kings-fromabuick8.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 05, 2008, 10:26:27 PM
One of the few King books I haven't read, circus. I'll add it to my list. Ugh, my list, though. It's like two pages long and growing.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on December 06, 2008, 08:36:14 AM
One of the few King books I haven't read, circus. I'll add it to my list. Ugh, my list, though. It's like two pages long and growing.

I think it's very underrated and highly recommend it. It's not full of loads of pointless information and confusing back story to flesh out characters. King flicks between the present day situation involving the car and police station and back to the past when it was first discovered and left in the garage. I also didn't see coming, the route that the story took either. Very interesting, so much so, that I've always kept reading and finished this book in 2 days.  :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BeyondTheGrave on December 07, 2008, 02:21:21 PM
I'm reading "People's History of The United States" by Howard Zinn. So far its a great read and tells it like it was and is.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on December 07, 2008, 03:25:49 PM
I read Off Season. It was enjoyable, and didn't leave me with the kicked-in-the-stomach feeling that The Girl Next Door did.

I'm currently reading a multitude of books, but am focusing on The Terror ([url]http://www.amazon.com/Terror-Novel-Dan-Simmons/dp/0316008079/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228100711&sr=8-1[/url]) by Dan Simmons. It's a historical horror based off of the lost Franklin expedition to find the Northwest Passage. The men on the two ships get trapped in the ice and must spend the time trying to stay warm while fighting off malnutrition and scurvy. Unfortunately, there is something else out on the ice that slaughters the occasional man from time to time.

It's a great book. I admire how thoroughly the situation goes from bad to worse, and then much worse.


By the time I got to the end of Off Season, I was pretty desensitized to the story and its elements.  I do want to read The Girl Next Door some time, especially since they've made a movie out of it, and I'd like to match the two up.

As stated above, I finished Off Season and will begin reading The Cipher by Kathe Koja.  I've never read any of her stuff, but a friend of mine raved about her.  He even gave me two of her books, the previously mentioned one and Bad Brains.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Torgo on December 08, 2008, 12:21:38 AM
I'm going to start reading Duma Key by Stephen King sometime this week. I don't think that he's written a good book in quite a few years but this one has been getting good reviews and some critics have said it's kind of a return to form for him.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: peter johnson on December 10, 2008, 12:35:24 PM
Derf:
If you're not as familiar with Gaiman, you may find "Neverwhere" or "American Gods" to be more impressive -- "Anansi Boys" is more of a leitmotif for him.  If you read graphic novels, I'd heartily recommend the "Sandman" series that he wrote -- there he really goes all out re. heavy plotting & wild side-stories.  "Anansi Boys" is much more straight-ahead.

A suggestion:  Check out his website & download his short story, "A Study in Emerald", one of the single best Sherlock Holmes imitations ever written:  Conan Doyle meets H.P. Lovecraft!!

peter gaiman/denny fan


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mr. DS on December 11, 2008, 06:28:09 PM
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bf/PercyBattleLabyrinth.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sister Grace on December 11, 2008, 07:49:49 PM
At present, I'm reading Off Season by Jack Ketchum, having just finished The Twilight Realm by Christopher Carpenter (aka Christopher Evans). 

Off Season was a great book; be sure and read its sequeal titled The Offspring, not only is it a fantastic story also, but fills us in alot about the cave family beginnings...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 12, 2008, 12:46:20 AM
The Ballad of Frankie Silver, by Sharyn McCrumb. It's the sort of novel that takes its toll on a reader's emotions. It's brilliant storytelling but frustrating because of its subject matter: the unjust hanging of a young woman in 19th century Appalachia.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on December 12, 2008, 02:09:42 AM
Mofo:  Dan Simmons lives up the road a piece from me in Longmont, Colorado.  I've never gone up and knocked on his door, nor bothered him in our local pubs, so can't claim personal contact.  Hoping to meet him as part of our local theatre audiences.  Many of his contemporary bits are set in towns very much like Longmont.

peter johnson/denny crane

I've only read Song of Kali in addition to The Terror. Dan Simmons is a pretty good writer. Better than a lot; but what really impresses me is that he spans so many genres. Fairly rare to see that these days.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Brother Ragnarok on December 14, 2008, 03:32:42 PM
Working on Danse Macabre by Stephen King right now. It started strong, but now that he's talking about novels instead of movies, he's becoming very "lit professor"-ish, and it's pretty dull.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: HappyGilmore on December 14, 2008, 08:28:28 PM
I've been reading The Catcher in The Rye.  Picked it up over the summer, just now about reading it.  Good book.  Never read it before.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: CheezeFlixz on December 14, 2008, 11:20:19 PM
The Rommel Paper's and A Soilders Story

Pretty only read history and military tactic books.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 15, 2008, 10:33:29 AM
Re-reading Shape Your Self, by my on-court hero, Martina Navratilova.

I also picked up a little tract called What If You Died Tonight? that someone had left in the organic food aisle at Krogers. It was well-drawn, lurid, quite entertaining, frightening if you let your mind drift that way. In a mere sixteen pages good prevailed, the wicked saw retribution for their wayward "secular" habits, and the rectitude of the artist's personal epistemology was demonstrated. A fast-moving plot to say the least.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on December 29, 2008, 04:09:01 PM
IT.....again!  :lookingup:

(http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n0/n707.jpg)

My friend gave me a brand new copy on boxing day, so it's another bash at over 1,300 pages  :buggedout:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on December 29, 2008, 04:57:14 PM
V for Vendetta
Judge Dredd Case File 08
Batman : Dark Victory
And I've placed an order for Clive Barker's Books of Blood vol 4-6
Thinking about getting Stephen Kings "IT"...I've read The Shining, Christine and Dream Catcher (was it one word or two). Didn't like any of them, in fact, found them really boring but I have IT on DVD and it seemed cool. Who knows maybe it's worth getting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on December 29, 2008, 05:12:17 PM
MY IDEA OF FUN - Will Self - A satirical novel.  I haven't gotten far into it.  The author is obviously in love with his own prose, but he pulls it off for the most part.  I'm about 10% of the way through and the plot isn't apparent yet, but the main character seems to have disturbing fantasies about killing and molesting hobo's (in that order) and there's an ominous character referred to only as "The Fat Controller" who's slated to show up in the future.

MONDO MACABRO - Pete Tombs - A great little trade paperback on weird 3rd world exploitation cinema, covering Hong Kong, Indonesia, Turkey, the Philippines, etc.  I think it would be impossible for anyone on this board to read this book without highlighting a dozen or more titles that sound like must-sees.
 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on January 06, 2009, 10:51:57 AM
I'm reading the Immortal Iron Fist series

(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee71/HammockRider/TI_IRONFIST_001_COVER_RGB.jpg)

And I can't wait for this to finally come out. Amazon says October 27, 2009.

(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee71/HammockRider/ADWD.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on January 06, 2009, 10:54:26 AM
This came yesterday....


(http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c0/c3811.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on January 06, 2009, 02:03:05 PM
This came yesterday....


([url]http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c0/c3811.jpg[/url])


Is that the one with Rawhead Rex in it?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Saucerman on January 06, 2009, 02:23:11 PM
"A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series" -- pretty good, I had a copy years ago that got donated to the library by accident, so I was quite happy to receive a new copy this year for Christmas...a little disappointed that it hasn't been updated to include the Shinsei series, instead ending with "Godzilla vs. Destroyah" (1995). 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on January 06, 2009, 03:28:09 PM
This came yesterday....


([url]http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c0/c3811.jpg[/url])


Is that the one with Rawhead Rex in it?


No, that's vol 1-3.
It has the story that Candyman was based on, though.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on January 21, 2009, 07:40:45 PM
Re-reading Ghost World. Bought a copy to send to my cousin for his birthday but bought myself a new one too.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 21, 2009, 09:55:37 PM
I just finished a book called SEARCHING FOR THE ORIGINAL BIBLE by Randall Price - about how accurately the Scriptures have been copied and transmitted through the centuries.  Very educational.  And I am nearly done with CENTENNIAL CRISIS, by Chief Justice William Renqhist - the story of the disputed 1876 Presidential Election.  Got several more "haven't read yet" on my shelf to choose from next.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: CheezeFlixz on January 21, 2009, 10:37:43 PM
I just finished a book called SEARCHING FOR THE ORIGINAL BIBLE by Randall Price - about how accurately the Scriptures have been copied and transmitted through the centuries.  Very educational.  And I am nearly done with CENTENNIAL CRISIS, by Chief Justice William Renqhist - the story of the disputed 1876 Presidential Election.  Got several more "haven't read yet" on my shelf to choose from next.

This is my current problem ... to many book and not enough time/energy to read them.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on January 26, 2009, 01:49:01 PM
I just placed an order for this...
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41H41NZRSPL._SS500_.jpg)

I'm desperate to get the second one...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on January 27, 2009, 02:20:04 PM
Been going through the Andrew Vachss Burke series books, just finished Footstep of the Hawk.  Also just finished Nightworld by F Paul Wilson, and I'm in the middle of Blood of the Fold by Terry Goodkind, third in the Sword of Truth series.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Torgo on January 28, 2009, 03:18:20 AM
I just started re-reading The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 28, 2009, 08:07:51 AM
I bought Colleen McCullogh's ANTHONY AND CLEOPATRA yesterday.  It's pretty good - the woman really makes me want to live in ancient Rome.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on January 28, 2009, 12:35:31 PM
I just started re-reading The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker.

I don't know where the "hell" my copy has gone??


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Torgo on January 28, 2009, 03:56:46 PM
I just started re-reading The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker.

I don't know where the "hell" my copy has gone??

I actually had to replace my copy about a year or two ago. My original one just disappeared.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Allhallowsday on January 28, 2009, 04:26:33 PM
I'm reading CHARLES DICKENS' A Christmas Carol (just about done)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on January 28, 2009, 06:37:41 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41DMY13BMVL._SS500_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BeyondTheGrave on January 30, 2009, 06:54:50 PM
Our Enemies in Blue by Kristian Williams
(http://www.kristianwilliams.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/enemies_in_blue_small.jpg)

Contrary to the title of the book, this not a I hate cops rant but indepth look and policing history, tatics and just realness of policing in america.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on February 01, 2009, 05:02:48 PM
The Journals of Louisa May Alcott. She wrote her diary from age eleven till four days before her death forty-five years later, and was skilled in the art of recording the many tiny moments that create a lifetime.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on February 20, 2009, 07:36:42 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/211PX4N8HXL._SL500_AA180_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on February 20, 2009, 07:59:51 PM
Reading my favourite fictional novel again for the 6th time...

([url]http://darrylslibrary.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/kings-fromabuick8.jpg[/url])


Found a copy in a used book store. On your recommendation, I bought it, and I'm enjoying it so far. At this point, everybody is still puzzling over what a weird car it is, but it has yet to do something.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Zapranoth on February 20, 2009, 09:47:43 PM
Read _Lonely Werewolf Girl_ which is highly entertaining.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Torgo on February 20, 2009, 11:01:15 PM
I just got done reading through Watchmen in preparation for the release of the movie on March 6th.  Great stuff. Took me years to get around reading it but it was well worth it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on February 21, 2009, 05:42:22 AM
Reading my favourite fictional novel again for the 6th time...

([url]http://darrylslibrary.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/kings-fromabuick8.jpg[/url])


Found a copy in a used book store. On your recommendation, I bought it, and I'm enjoying it so far. At this point, everybody is still puzzling over what a weird car it is, but it has yet to do something.


That's great Andy!  :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 21, 2009, 08:35:18 AM
Just finished a biography of Andrew Jackson called AMERICAN LION by John Meacham.  It was a very well-written and sympathetic portrait of our seventh President,  who was not the brute he was sometimes portrayed as.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on February 21, 2009, 08:59:21 AM
Just finished...for the first time since high school...John Hershey's Hiroshima.

Got from ebay...

Famous Monsters of Filmland mags! Issue #34-which has a fun articale on the HORRORS of SPIDER ISLAND,FM 1965 Fearbook-with a cool Basil Gogos Glenn Strange/Frankenstein cover, and...this one...!

FM # 20!!! Yowsa!

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/06c8_2.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on February 21, 2009, 09:24:53 AM
That's great Andy!  :thumbup:


One thing that struck me about that particular cover, though. Looks like they're trying to evoke thoughts of Christine, since they didn't use an actual Buick Roadmaster in the design.
(http://darrylslibrary.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/kings-fromabuick8.jpg)
The Roadmaster described in the story is a far more sinister looking car.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/1949_buick_roadmaster.jpg/800px-1949_buick_roadmaster.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on February 21, 2009, 09:28:45 AM
That's great Andy!  :thumbup:


One thing that struck me about that particular cover, though. Looks like they're trying to evoke thoughts of Christine, since they didn't use an actual Buick Roadmaster in the design.
([url]http://darrylslibrary.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/kings-fromabuick8.jpg[/url])
The Roadmaster described in the story is a far more sinister looking car.
([url]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/1949_buick_roadmaster.jpg/800px-1949_buick_roadmaster.jpg[/url])


There's a couple of different covers for the book, the others do depict a Buick Roadmaster tho'.  :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on February 21, 2009, 09:36:36 AM
That's great Andy!  :thumbup:


One thing that struck me about that particular cover, though. Looks like they're trying to evoke thoughts of Christine, since they didn't use an actual Buick Roadmaster in the design.
([url]http://darrylslibrary.files.wordpress.com/2006/12/kings-fromabuick8.jpg[/url])
The Roadmaster described in the story is a far more sinister looking car.
([url]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/66/1949_buick_roadmaster.jpg/800px-1949_buick_roadmaster.jpg[/url])


There's a couple of different covers for the book, the others do depict a Buick Roadmaster tho'.  :smile:


I've tried to read four King books and I haven't finished any of them. I think he's over-rated, I prefer Clive Barker.

The four I tried to read:

The Shining
Christine
Dreamcatcher
Tommyknockers


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on February 21, 2009, 10:03:38 AM
For me, King is one of those authors who rewards patience. His stories can start out pretty slow, there's a lot of setup, and it's tempting to put the book down a couple of chapters in. Read far enough, though, and it gets pretty engrossing. When I read The Shining last year, the only thing that kept me reading was that I'd seen the movie many times and knew what was coming, but also that the book was sufficiently different that there would be surprises. It paid off as the book got going, but I might have moved on to something else had the story been entirely new to me.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: CaptnTripps on February 21, 2009, 10:05:53 AM
currently reading, Wolves of the Calla (S.K.)... almost done with the series.

(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0743251628.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on March 03, 2009, 01:14:57 AM
(http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n11/n57041.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Wag on March 03, 2009, 05:42:35 PM
For me, King is one of those authors who rewards patience.

I have only read From a Buick 8 of Stephen King (at the insistance of Circus) but from what I have read, I have to say I agree with that. I am impressed with him so far because Buick is a potentially stupid concept but it is pulled off so effectively.

I'm currently trying to read a Heroes novel (Saving Charlie) but as big a fan as I am of Heroes, it is proving less than engrossing, so am open to suggestions for my next read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on March 03, 2009, 10:11:11 PM
Coraline, by Neil Gaiman

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/61/Coraline.jpg)

I was interested in the changes in the story between the novel and the movie version.  Actually, the story so far is a bit darker and more surreal, but there's a lot more detail in the movie.  And, Coraline herself was sort of a cypher in the story, whereas in the movie she has a definite character as an ingrate kid.  I think that change was really effective in bringing out the "there's no place like home" theme.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: schmendrik on March 04, 2009, 06:41:46 AM
I mentioned elsewhere that I'm working my way through this collection of pulp stories:

(http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/1052/42159175.jpg)

I just made the pleasant discovery that The Saint is a character from this era, in a story called "The Invisible Millionaire" by Leslie Charteris. I thought when Roger Moore played The Saint on TV, that was an original character. Now I've got a new mission: tracking down other Saint stories.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on March 05, 2009, 07:37:21 PM
I'm reading The Red Badge of Courage and Fahrenheit 451 for school.

I just finished reading MW by Omeza Tezkua, here's the guy behind Astro Boy.  I must say, as a Christian, that was certianly a bit of a... different story that was a bit weird to read.  It was overall good, but I hate the ending.  I mean I could see this coming a mile away after that guy got shot to death.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on March 10, 2009, 11:04:51 AM
Hey doggett Carl Hiaasen is tops. So is this guy, who writes in a similar vein:

(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee71/HammockRider/152.jpg)

When I'm finished with this one I plan to check out his newest, Nuclear Jellyfish.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on March 10, 2009, 03:48:13 PM
Finished From a Buick 8. Very entertaining story. Having a family full of cops, and having worked with the police as a reporter, the story struck a chord with me. I also love a good "object of unknown origin" story. King was really at his most Lovecraftian.

I've now moved on to Michael Slade's Headhunter. I got into his Special X thrillers a couple of years ago, and read all the ones that were readily available. Now I'm tracking down the earlier ones that keep getting referenced. Headhunter is the first. Slade is an amazing author. He comes up with stuff that is sick beyond belief, yet very compelling. And the stories always have a lot of real history behind them. They're sort of a mix of police procedural, horror and history lesson.

(http://www.specialx.net/specialxdotnet/images/headhun2.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sister Grace on March 14, 2009, 09:29:47 AM
I've now moved on to Michael Slade's Headhunter. I got into his Special X thrillers a couple of years ago, and read all the ones that were readily available. Now I'm tracking down the earlier ones that keep getting referenced. Headhunter is the first. Slade is an amazing author. He comes up with stuff that is sick beyond belief, yet very compelling. And the stories always have a lot of real history behind them. They're sort of a mix of police procedural, horror and history lesson.

([url]http://www.specialx.net/specialxdotnet/images/headhun2.jpg[/url])


I have a copy of Headhunter that I've cherished for long time.
Lately, I've been reading Brian Keene's The Rising. So far so good, but not as promising as I thought it would be. Someone told me I had to read the sequel to really appreciate the first one...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on March 14, 2009, 07:26:29 PM
Picked up Hermann Hesse's STEPPENWOLF today at the library.  I've been meaning to reread it since my college days, when I didn't really enjoy it.  According to the preface, Hesse says its about middle-age, and he was surprised to find it championed by young people...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on March 14, 2009, 09:03:26 PM
Right now I'm reading Whispers of the Moon: the life and times of Scott Cunningham. Also, I'm reading parts of The Dread of Difference, which is basically a collection of papers on gender in the horror film.

(http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c375/fausto963/5110A1KN07L__BO2204203200_PIsitb-st.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on March 16, 2009, 12:27:31 PM
Michael Tolliver Lives, by Armistead Maupin.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pilgermann on March 17, 2009, 11:18:04 AM
I've been reading the trade paperbacks of Y: The Last Man that a friend loaned me.  It's a pretty interesting last man on earth scenario, but I'm not too crazy about the artwork.

I just got a copy of Russell Hoban's The Moment Under the Moment in the mail and I'll be digging into that tonight.  It's a collection of short stories, essays, poems, and a libretto.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on March 25, 2009, 08:26:32 AM
(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee71/HammockRider/royko1.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on March 25, 2009, 11:04:32 AM
Last year, I signed up for the 100 Greatest Books Ever Written from the Easton Press.  They send me one book every month.  They're really nice leather-bound books with gold leaf pages and illustrations on some of the pages.

Currently, I'm reading THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (one of the best novels I have ever read, by the way).  I'm about 700 pages into the story with about another 500 or so pages to go.  Next up is probably either A TALE OF TWO CITIES or OF MICE AND MEN.

Also last year, I bought the entire James Bond paperback collection in a boxed set.  I'm reading them in chronological order and am currently near the end of DR. NO (which I already read 2 or 3 times many years ago).  Next up is GOLDFINGER. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on March 25, 2009, 10:59:20 PM
The Last Rock Star, Or, Liz Phair, a Rant by Camden Joy.

Despite the warm fuzzy title this crazy book is not actually about Liz Phair, which sucks. Now I know how an equally mislead Otto felt all those years ago when he left Stoners' Pot Palace. (Um, you know, Simpsons reference? Back from when the show was good?) Seriously, this novel is about almost nothing except the writer's fictionalization of his own life as he goes off the deep end and takes his girlfriend, Brian Jones' daughter, more or less with him. In college my boyfriend said I was in love with Liz Phair, a wistful fantasy from his little head, but come on, something about Liz Phair would've been nice in here. A fictionalized cameo from the queen of 90's indie? Jeesh this is a bad book. Mad, bad, and nauseating to know. Makes me want to drive to Chicago and get my money back from whotheheckever Camden Joy is. As I see it the man owes me money and three wasted hours of my life, plus compensation for the headache I got sifting through his prose, looking for something redeeming. I mean this book is so utterly terrible it leaves something I'd only THOUGHT was horrid, something like Shelia Levine Is Dead And Living In New York, for instance, looking like Tolstoy. This book could put me off reading, and that's akin to food poisoning putting some 300-pound person off fried chicken: in other words, pretty danged tough to accomplish. What scares me now as I think about it is what if this Camden Joy dude writes again? It's bad enough the world of American fiction has had inflicted on it the blunt force trauma of The Last Rock Star, Or, Liz Phair, a Rant, but what if like Camden Joy launched a writing career that got Oprah's attention and she book clubbed him and then women and gay men the world over started reading his books just cause Oprah said for them to, and then universities offered seminars in The Late-Period Works of Camden Joy, and someday Camden Joy became writer laureate and represented the United States overseas and...and people all over the world thought he was the best our nation had to offer, so they laughed and sneered and no longer feared the bold audacity that has been the hallmark of American literature yea unto these four centuries? Oh, my gosh, what if, seriously, like, what if Camden Joy's novels became enshrined in the public consciousness, and in seventy years Easton Press released leather-bound gold leaf editions of his collected forty-nine novels?  Can't Camden Joy's next novel be stopped? Somehow? Um, non-violently? Can't the rightful place of our great nation be preserved against the harm this Chicagoan stands to do it? Ye gods, what if our grandchildren study the bovine scatology with which he assaults the pristine page? Just a little Liz Phair in the book would've done a bunch, I'll tell ya what, just, like, Guyville material or even her much-ballyhooed 2003 self-titled release, the one people got on her case over, saying she went mainstream and sold out to the world of pop. (Nobody ever gives U2 attitude when Bono and company do the same thing.) So anyway, not a very good book. Kinda like twisting your ankle in a mudpuddle and slipping onto broken glass. Funny to see as long as it's not you or someone you care about doing it, but dude, this is exactly like you being the one to suffer the fall. It's that bad.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 25, 2009, 11:18:25 PM
Well, my last book was a very positive experience!!!

I just finished Lee Strobel's THE CASE FOR THE REAL JESUS.

It is tough to be a Christian when there is literally one book, TV special, or movie PER WEEK coming out with the basic premise that everything the New Testament tells us abou the life of Christ is a lie, a myth, propaganda, borrowed from Eastern mystery cults, or some sort of masculine plot to suppress the "Divine Feminine".  (Wow, Anne Hathaway was alive 2000 years ago!?!?! :buggedout:)

Anyway, Lee Strobel interviewed a dozen and more leading scholars and historians all over the world, bombarding them with the questions posed by discoveries like the Judas Gospel, the "Jesus Family Tomb", the Nag Hammadi library, as well as some of the more scholarly works (?) like MISQUOTING JESUS and all the other attacks on the faith that have emerged in the last 5 years.

Their unanimous verdict?

The New Testament remains, to this day, the earliest and most accurate account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth.  Even the accounts of His miracles and His resurrection pass the test of historical scrutiny.  The attacks that have emerged in recent years are all guilty of bad scholarship, academic bias, and inconsistent standards according to the ulterior motives of the authors.  (One of the Gnostic Gospels, "Secret Mark", has actually been exposed as a forgery perpetrated by a disgraced academic back in the 1950's, but the Jesus-bashing crew still cites it regularly as "proof" that Jesus was a homosexual).

I realize that many people here are not Christians and have little interest in Christian apologetics.  But if you were to read this book with an open mind, it might very well change your life!  Or at least, raise some very interesting questions.  At amy rate, it is well-written, informative, and has a ton of very credible scholarship to back it up.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: schmendrik on March 26, 2009, 08:30:49 AM
Well, my last book was a very positive experience!!!

I just finished Lee Strobel's THE CASE FOR THE REAL JESUS.

It is tough to be a Christian when there is literally one book, TV special, or movie PER WEEK coming out with the basic premise that everything the New Testament tells us abou the life of Christ is a lie, a myth, propaganda, borrowed from Eastern mystery cults, or some sort of masculine plot to suppress the "Divine Feminine".  (Wow, Anne Hathaway was alive 2000 years ago!?!?! :buggedout:)

Anyway, Lee Strobel interviewed a dozen and more leading scholars and historians all over the world, bombarding them with the questions posed by discoveries like the Judas Gospel, the "Jesus Family Tomb", the Nag Hammadi library, as well as some of the more scholarly works (?) like MISQUOTING JESUS and all the other attacks on the faith that have emerged in the last 5 years.

Well, you can be interested in the historical questions without getting tangled up in the theological ones. As I'm sure you know, there was a contemporary Jewish historian who used the latin name Josephus, who mentions Jesus. Unfortunately, there are questions about the authenticity of some of what is attributed to him. There's pretty good evidence that some over-enthusiastic monk inserted some stuff into a translation that he didn't actually write. I find the historical questions fascinating. So far as I know, outside of Josephus we have no secular mentions of Jesus.

Equally fascinating, I've read the statement that there seems to be nothing in Egyptian writings that corresponds to the whole Moses story which is so basic to Jewish written and oral history, including the Jews being kept as slaves in Egypt. But a story so important to a culture's history surely has some basis in fact, doesn't it? Interesting stuff.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on April 08, 2009, 12:29:50 AM
Danny Danziger's 1215: The Year of Magna Carta is a nice overview of daily life for all levels of society in England in that famous year. I enjoyed this immensely.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Zapranoth on April 08, 2009, 08:35:40 PM
Just read _The Host_.

Damned good book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 08, 2009, 09:33:20 PM
Well, my last book was a very positive experience!!!

I just finished Lee Strobel's THE CASE FOR THE REAL JESUS.

It is tough to be a Christian when there is literally one book, TV special, or movie PER WEEK coming out with the basic premise that everything the New Testament tells us abou the life of Christ is a lie, a myth, propaganda, borrowed from Eastern mystery cults, or some sort of masculine plot to suppress the "Divine Feminine".  (Wow, Anne Hathaway was alive 2000 years ago!?!?! :buggedout:)

Anyway, Lee Strobel interviewed a dozen and more leading scholars and historians all over the world, bombarding them with the questions posed by discoveries like the Judas Gospel, the "Jesus Family Tomb", the Nag Hammadi library, as well as some of the more scholarly works (?) like MISQUOTING JESUS and all the other attacks on the faith that have emerged in the last 5 years.

Well, you can be interested in the historical questions without getting tangled up in the theological ones. As I'm sure you know, there was a contemporary Jewish historian who used the latin name Josephus, who mentions Jesus. Unfortunately, there are questions about the authenticity of some of what is attributed to him. There's pretty good evidence that some over-enthusiastic monk inserted some stuff into a translation that he didn't actually write. I find the historical questions fascinating. So far as I know, outside of Josephus we have no secular mentions of Jesus.

Equally fascinating, I've read the statement that there seems to be nothing in Egyptian writings that corresponds to the whole Moses story which is so basic to Jewish written and oral history, including the Jews being kept as slaves in Egypt. But a story so important to a culture's history surely has some basis in fact, doesn't it? Interesting stuff.


The passage in Josephus was almost certainly edited in later years by a Christian copyist, however, textual; critics have succeeded in pretty much restoring the original text with the aid of a couple of surviving, unaltered copies.  That  Josephus did mention "Jesus, called the Christ," is very evident, for in the next chapter, he mentions the martyrdom of James "the brother of Jesus called Christ" in a narrative that no critic has ever challenged.  There is actually a substantial discussion of this particular passage of Josephus in Strobel's other book, THE CASE FOR CHRIST.  Other non-Christian references to Jesus include an ancient letter from a Greek scholar to his son, written about 75 AD, in which he refers to the destruction of the Temple being a judgement on the Jews "for crucifying their wise king."  Also, Suetonius mentions Jesus briefly in his writings.  But one of the earliest references to Christ, albeit an indirect one, is an inscription of an Imperial decree found in the town of Nazareth.  The decree was issued by Claudius Caesar, who ruled from 41 - 54 AD.  It pronounced a death penalty on anyone who stole a body from a sealed tomb.  Why would Claudius issue such a decree, and why would he make sure a copy of it was posted in an obscure town like Nazareth, especially since no other copies of the decree have been found elsewhere?  The most obvious answer is that some garbled account of the Resurrection had reached Rome, and he decided to address the problem by posting this decree at its source, Jesus' home town.  (Interestingly enough, Suetonius mentions that the Jews had been expelled from Rome during the reign of Claudius because there had been much rioting "at the instigation of one Chrestus".  Chrestus is a Latin corruption of the Greek word "Christos", the title for Christ, and the reference probably refers to the feuding between Jews and Christians so vividly described in the Book of Acts.
   As far as the lack of reference to Moses in Egyptian records goes, it's hardly surprising.  The Egyptians were a fiercely proud and fairly xenophobic people, who were notorious for their selective recording of history.  Would you like to write down for posterity that you got your clock cleaned by a rag-tag gang  of slaves and their foreign god?  There is, however, some pretty interesting archeological data that certainly seems to conform to some details of the Exodus story.  I'll admit, Old Testament apologia is an area where I haven't read nearly as much as I have of the later stuff.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on April 09, 2009, 01:24:39 PM
(http://religiasatanista.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/thestanicbible.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on April 09, 2009, 04:59:43 PM
Still reading The Red Badge of Courage for school, but we'll soon be moving onto Fahrenheit 451.  I'm also reading the comic series Case Closed and Naruto.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on April 09, 2009, 05:33:54 PM
Won this on ebay....

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/3370009875_5e42e036b3.jpg)

Many of the stories I haven't seen before...such as the HOUND and the MOON BOG.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on April 12, 2009, 04:54:29 PM
Tennis Confidental II, by Paul Fein.  It's a little gossipy at times with its behind the scenes tell-alls from the tournament circuit but it's also an interesting read for anyone who likes the sport of tennis.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 15, 2009, 04:17:12 PM
Kevin Roose's "The Unlikely Disciple," or, how a nineteen-year-old secular Quaker spends a semester at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, and what he learned, when he was there.

The funniest chapter is the one where he's attempting to witness at Daytone, during Spring Break, and all his attempts blow up in his face. I couldn't get beyond each paragraph without going into hysterics.

And yet, there is an undercurrent of sadness there.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on April 16, 2009, 03:42:39 PM
Finally finished Red Badge of Courage and now I'm onto Fahrenheit 451.  I'm also reading Air Gear and The Drifting Classroom as well.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on April 28, 2009, 08:34:35 AM
This was turned into a movie with Tony Randall called The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao
(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee71/HammockRider/F2755.jpg)

And of course this book needs no introduction.

(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee71/HammockRider/Seagalogynew-thumb.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on April 28, 2009, 10:56:03 AM
Finished Headhunter and now reading Slade's second book, Ghoul. Apparently, Alice Cooper inspired this 1987 thriller, having been a fan of Slade's first book. Just a few chapters in and so far, there's an axe-murderer obsessed with Poe and Lovecraft, a mad bomber, a gang of heroin-dealing gay bikers, a drug dealer/porn king, a heavy metal band called Ghoul, who will no doubt become important, and what looks like the makings of a joint investigation between Scotland Yard and the RCMP. Various people have been buried alive, blown up, shot, stabbed through the eyes, drained of blood and chopped into bits, and one cat has been euthanized. I'll say one thing for Michael Slade, he packs his books.
(http://www.specialx.net/specialxdotnet/images/ghoul_guitar.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on April 28, 2009, 10:59:28 AM
The Complete Tales of Nicolai Gogol.  He wrote some ghost stories based on Ukrainian folklore, although I'm getting more of an absurd comedy vibe from them than a fear vibe.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Moreau on April 28, 2009, 03:11:25 PM
the keep, by f paul wilson. i love the idea, even if the delivery is a little workman-like. good for reading in the bath while sipping a beer. i'd love to watch the michael mann adaptation, as i've heard so many mixed things about it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on April 28, 2009, 03:16:57 PM
I'm finally reading Fahrenheit 451 and it is pretty good.  Also, I'm just finishing up all the volumes of Case Closed I have so I'll be moving onto Uzumaki or Pluto to read next.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on April 28, 2009, 04:35:34 PM
I'm finally reading Fahrenheit 451 and it is pretty good.  Also, I'm just finishing up all the volumes of Case Closed I have so I'll be moving onto Uzumaki or Pluto to read next.

Fahrenheit 451 is a great book. It was one of the staples of the English curriculum when I was in high school. Read a few really good books back then - Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, The Ox-Bow Incident, In the Heat of the Night, among others.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on April 28, 2009, 09:00:36 PM
I'm finally reading Fahrenheit 451 and it is pretty good.  Also, I'm just finishing up all the volumes of Case Closed I have so I'll be moving onto Uzumaki or Pluto to read next.

Fahrenheit 451 is a great book. It was one of the staples of the English curriculum when I was in high school. Read a few really good books back then - Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, The Ox-Bow Incident, In the Heat of the Night, among others.

It is one of the books I have to read for High school as well. 

My French class has just issued us to read Le Petit Prince.  It's good, but I have to translate most of the text to figure it out.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: kakihara on April 29, 2009, 05:29:36 PM
the book of 5 rings.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: wickednick on May 01, 2009, 06:46:17 AM
Right now Im reading Beowulf. I also tried reading Paradise Lost but its old english writting is almost impossible for me to figure out, maybe its the version I bought anyone know a good easy translation of this poem. After Beowulf I think im going to start reading the Dune series.Im finding my self reading more lately because tv sucks.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on May 02, 2009, 09:12:18 AM
I'm readin "Introducing Marx"  from the  introducingbooks (http://www.introducingbooks.com) series.  I am ideologically the polar opposite of a marxist but I was curious about what it actually was.  The book is cartoons!  so it's easy to read and learn.  marxism is like if yuo took someone who never had a job and had no idea how the world worked and gave them the task of laying the rules for an economy and a country.  It's easy to see why it's reaked havoc over so much of the world.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Zapranoth on May 07, 2009, 02:25:17 AM
Re-reading the Wild Cards books.  Not going to read much beyond book 4 or 5 (I forget which one starts to seriously suck, but I'm going to stop at that one).   Almost a pulp scifi feel -- had forgotten how much fun these stories are.  Particularly the stories about the Turtle.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Moreau on May 07, 2009, 12:59:15 PM
'london fields' by martin amis. i like to read it in the bath with a cup of tea.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 08, 2009, 04:09:02 PM
I am sure all of us are familiar with Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. This is something similiar, as the author P. C. Doherty uses the same group of travelers to tell tales of mystery and murder.

This is the sixth in the series and entitled "A Haunt of Murder" and subtitled: "Being the Clerk of Oxford's Tale."

Very much English, as the author lives in England. Very much Catholic, as the author is a devout Catholic. I would say very much mumbo jumbo, but that does not do credit to the authors' faith. Perhaps, a better word would be very much mystical.

Even if you do not like mysteries, you might try this series, as it is part horror novel. The first in the series, which I also read is "An Ancient Evil: Being the Knight's Tale" and deals with vampires and vampire hunters. Also part historical saga, as the series includes real historical personages from that era. It is also part religious parable. And it is very short in length. This one runs under 200 pages.

The second in the series is "A Tapestry of Murders: Being the Man of Law's Tale." The third in the series is "A Tournament of Murders: Being the Franklin's Tale.. The fourth in the series is "Ghostly Murders: Being the Priest's Tales," And the fifth in the series is "The Hangman's Hymn: Being the Carpenter's Tale." All of which I'll have to go back and read.

Try 'em, you'll may like 'em.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ghouck on May 08, 2009, 07:44:47 PM
"Industrial Society and it's Future". On Chapter 87.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on May 09, 2009, 09:00:15 PM
Still reading "IT".... :lookingup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on May 09, 2009, 09:29:12 PM
Still reading "IT".... :lookingup:

That might be next on my list, assuming I can't acquire the next Michael Slade book in the next few days.

I'm just getting into the home stretch of Ghoul, where all the various story threads come together. You'd probably enjoy it, Circus. A late-80s setting (present-day when it was written), a Lovecraft-obsessed serial killer in the London sewers, and a heavy metal band somehow tied to the crimes.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on May 09, 2009, 09:31:37 PM
Still reading "IT".... :lookingup:

That might be next on my list, assuming I can't acquire the next Michael Slade book in the next few days.

I'm just getting into the home stretch of Ghoul, where all the various story threads come together. You'd probably enjoy it, Circus. A late-80s setting (present-day when it was written), a Lovecraft-obsessed serial killer in the London sewers, and a heavy metal band somehow tied to the crimes.

Cheers Andy, I will make sure I check that one out.  :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 12, 2009, 04:53:10 PM
Harry Turtledove
The alternate history writer

What if . . .
If the earth, during World War II, had been invaded by space aliens.

What if . . .
If the South had won the Civil War, then several decades later, had become involved with another war with the North. This time the South being supported by England and France, and the North being supported by Germany and Russia.

What if . . .
The island of Atlantis had really existed in the Atlantic Ocean and had been settled by England and France.

And his latest what if . . . the one I'm reading now . . . "After the Downfall."

What if . . .
A Wehrmacht officer, during the fall of Berlin, had fallen out of our world and into a world of magic, dragons, and unicorns, and inhabited by two types of people: one tall, blond, and blue-eyed and the other short, dark haired, and dark-eyed, and our hero used what he knew from fighting the Russians to support first one side then the other in their constant struggle for superiority.

The book does two things well. It shows how complex life can sometimes be, as there is some bad in the best characters, and some good in the worst characters. And as the hero questions almost everything he has learned up to that point, the book also gets the reader to question his or her beliefs.

Try it. You'll like it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 12, 2009, 04:57:19 PM
Turtledove is an absolute genius.  He knows his history and is also an engaging writer.  The alternative versions of WWI and WWII he envisioned are so plausible as to be almost frightening!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: WingedSerpent on May 12, 2009, 05:16:35 PM
Currently reading The Terror by Dan Simmons.  It's a Historical fiction meets Supernatural monster novel.  Its about the crews of two ships that got trapped in the ice looking for the North West Passage in the Artic. Both crews were lost. (That parts true).  The books says a lot of them were lost to some sort of spirit creature.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on May 12, 2009, 08:43:16 PM
Still reading Fahrenheit 451.  It's a pretty scarey universe they live in.  It's like a creep episode of the Twilight Zone.  Interesting enough, I heard the author worked on some episodes of that series and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

I'm now also reading Ghost Hunt, another Japanese comic.  Very interesting and it is the first book I ever bought on a wim.  The detail for the ghosts and supernatural are quite good and the book provides a proper feeling of dread for the horror in it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pilgermann on May 13, 2009, 01:05:31 AM
Recently read 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke.  It's certainly a little less abstract than the film version, but still conjures up the awe inspiring feeling of one's littleness (I don't think I've ever used that word until now) in the universe.

I've begun to tackle Moby Dick.  So far it's actually pretty engaging and often amusing, but I'm not too far in and have a while before I get to the dreaded Guide to Whaling section.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on May 13, 2009, 07:09:17 PM
Turtledove is an absolute genius.  He knows his history and is also an engaging writer.  The alternative versions of WWI and WWII he envisioned are so plausible as to be almost frightening!


Ah yes. I read the whole Worldwar series a few years back, followed by the Colonization and Homeward Bound books that continued the story. Worldwar was an amazing piece of work. This cover pretty much jumped off the shelf at me:
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5e/In_the_balance.jpg)
My brother is an even bigger fan of Turtledove, having read pretty much everything he's written. But then, his taste in books is far more focused.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Neville on May 14, 2009, 03:20:17 PM
I'm always reading something, most of the times obtained through my local library. I always keep like six books piled up in my nighstand, and finish each in a week or two.

Last week I picked up a novel by Michael Connelly starring Harry Bosch. I've already read a bunch of them and enjoyed them all, although only a few struck me as particularly great.

Right now I'm reading Tom Clancy's Teeth of the tiger. I enjoyed The hunt for Red October a lot, but I've hated every single novel he's written since then, save for Red Rabbit. Too much jingoism going on, and the cardboard characters are laughable, they all come with "love me" and "hate me" crudely written post-its in their foreheads. This one isn't exactly memorable, but I found it slightly less bad than, say, Patriot games or The bear and the dragon.

Just don't ask me why I keep reading his books. It might be some kind of morbid fascination with how Clancy's mind works, but I'm not even sure of that.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on May 15, 2009, 06:08:45 AM
Still reading Fahrenheit 451.  It's a pretty scarey universe they live in.  It's like a creep episode of the Twilight Zone.  Interesting enough, I heard the author worked on some episodes of that series and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

I'm now also reading Ghost Hunt, another Japanese comic.  Very interesting and it is the first book I ever bought on a wim.  The detail for the ghosts and supernatural are quite good and the book provides a proper feeling of dread for the horror in it.

I read many of Bradbury's books years ago. Try SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES,the MARTIAN CHRONICHLES,the ILLUSTRATED MAN or for someting different-DANDOLION WINE. Bradbury also wrote the short story 'the Lighthouse'-which the film BEAST from 20,000 FATHOMS was based. Some of his prose is a little syrupy at times...and some reads almost like poetry.

 Almost done with BELA LUGOSI:DREAMS and NIGHTMARES by Gary Don Rhodes and Richard Sheffield. Rhodes is an exhaustive researcher. An amazing piece of work about Lugosi's final years. Sometimes sad,always interesting-a wonderful book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Neville on May 15, 2009, 06:24:44 AM
InformationGeek, if you haven't read The Martian chronicles yet and you are enjoying Fahrenheit 451, put that one in your list. It's even better than Fahrenheit, and, simply put, one of the most wonderful things I've ever read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on May 17, 2009, 11:45:08 PM
Still taking my time with The Stand.  I only ever seem to read when I'm at work, on a slow day.  I've only got something like 120 pages left, so it shouldn't be too much longer.  :cheers:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on May 18, 2009, 08:47:57 AM
Just starting on "It" while I wait for the next Michael Slade book (Cutthroat) to arrive on interlibrary loan.

Of the Stephen King books I've read, I have to say that It starts out pretty interesting, rather than taking a while to set everything up. Kind of encouraging, what with the length of the book. It's very Lovecraftian, which I like.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on May 18, 2009, 11:52:06 AM
Just starting on "It" while I wait for the next Michael Slade book (Cutthroat) to arrive on interlibrary loan.

Of the Stephen King books I've read, I have to say that It starts out pretty interesting, rather than taking a while to set everything up. Kind of encouraging, what with the length of the book. It's very Lovecraftian, which I like.

I'm just at the bit where Bill is having a flashback, just before they all get back to Derry. I've had a hard time reading it this time round, as I've just been completely exhausted after work.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on May 18, 2009, 01:06:32 PM
I'm at the part where Stanley's wife is recalling their years together, leading up to his recent bath. The significance of the bath has only been hinted at, but having seen the miniseries two or three times, I know what's coming.

What I'm really enjoying is the extra detail. I don't think the miniseries gave quite the same feeling that Derry itself is a bad place, that there is an evil shadow hanging over the whole town that some people can sense and most locals have learned to ignore. That really comes through in the book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on May 18, 2009, 01:14:11 PM
I'm at the part where Stanley's wife is recalling their years together, leading up to his recent bath. The significance of the bath has only been hinted at, but having seen the miniseries two or three times, I know what's coming.

What I'm really enjoying is the extra detail. I don't think the miniseries gave quite the same feeling that Derry itself is a bad place, that there is an evil shadow hanging over the whole town that some people can sense and most locals have learned to ignore. That really comes through in the book.

Wait 'til you get to Mike Hanlon's compiling of the town history. The whole backstory King has written for Derry in that section is superb, not to mention very creepy.  :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Derf on May 18, 2009, 06:18:15 PM
I just finished Gregory Maguire's Wicked. I HATE THIS BOOK! It is even worse than Philip Jose Farmer's Barnstormer in Oz, which I thought had to be the worst take on Oz I would ever see. I grew up with the Oz books (both the Baum series and the Thompson series after that). They hold a very special place in my heart, even though they are dated and cheesy. Wicked takes the mythos, throws it out, makes the bad guys the good guys and the good guys the bad guys, ignores well established facts (okay, fictions) in the books, and just does its best to ruin the story.

I don't have a problem with someone trying to flesh out the characters a bit, or even with making the Witch more of a misunderstood person than someone truly wicked, but to make her the heroin and the Wizard into an evil despot was just unnecessary. I bought the sequel, Son of a Witch before I bought the original, and I was so disappointed with the first that I don't think I will even read the second. I know I'm overreacting a bit, but the Oz mythos is a sacred part of my childhood. Oz was my Harry Potter, and I was every bit as big an Oz fan as any rabid HP fan has ever been (well, I never wrote fan fiction; I wouldn't sink that low  :twirl:).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on May 18, 2009, 09:22:35 PM
I just finished Gregory Maguire's Wicked. I HATE THIS BOOK! It is even worse than Philip Jose Farmer's Barnstormer in Oz, which I thought had to be the worst take on Oz I would ever see. I grew up with the Oz books (both the Baum series and the Thompson series after that). They hold a very special place in my heart, even though they are dated and cheesy. Wicked takes the mythos, throws it out, makes the bad guys the good guys and the good guys the bad guys, ignores well established facts (okay, fictions) in the books, and just does its best to ruin the story.

I read Wicked a few years ago and thought it was a really interesting book. I can't say I liked everything in it, but I thought it was fun to approach the story from the point of view that history is written by the victors. And I don't think it reversed the good guys and bad guys as much as it blurred the lines between the two, and made things a little less black and white. And to be fair, Dorothy and her friends were still the good guys. Of course, I don't have any special attachment to the stories, apart from memories of watching the movie on TV at least once a year as a kid.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Derf on May 18, 2009, 10:18:01 PM
I just finished Gregory Maguire's Wicked. I HATE THIS BOOK! It is even worse than Philip Jose Farmer's Barnstormer in Oz, which I thought had to be the worst take on Oz I would ever see. I grew up with the Oz books (both the Baum series and the Thompson series after that). They hold a very special place in my heart, even though they are dated and cheesy. Wicked takes the mythos, throws it out, makes the bad guys the good guys and the good guys the bad guys, ignores well established facts (okay, fictions) in the books, and just does its best to ruin the story.

I read Wicked a few years ago and thought it was a really interesting book. I can't say I liked everything in it, but I thought it was fun to approach the story from the point of view that history is written by the victors. And I don't think it reversed the good guys and bad guys as much as it blurred the lines between the two, and made things a little less black and white. And to be fair, Dorothy and her friends were still the good guys. Of course, I don't have any special attachment to the stories, apart from memories of watching the movie on TV at least once a year as a kid.

To me, it's a bit like the movie Titanic: a mediocre story that wouldn't have made it had it been set anywhere else. And while it did leave Dorothy and her friends as the good guys, it most definitely made the wizard out to be hateful, and it also very clearly made Elphaba the only honest and truthful character outside of Dorothy and her immediate friends (who play a very small part in the story). Elphaba's friends and family are presented as either weak-willed, weak-minded, or corrupt in some way. Glinda has become a society dame and general airhead (not stupid, but one who refuses to use her intellect whenever possible). Ozians in general are weak followers, and the Oz society is presented as cruel or indifferent. This just isn't Oz, any more than Australia is the Oz of Baum's imagination.

I don't really mean to argue with you, AndyC, but, as I said, the Oz mythos does have significance to me, and I tend to get a little worked up over bastardizations like this. Wicked is more an exploitation of Oz than a rethinking of it; it seems that Maguire couldn't sell the story on its own, so he set it in Oz to give it a "hook."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: sideorderofninjas on May 18, 2009, 10:42:47 PM
While back, I have read Wicked and wasn't impressed with it.  Taking the Oz ideas and standing them upside down is one thing but having all the characters changed completely is a totally different thing. 

I just finished the Looking Glass Wars which was an alternate take on Alice in Wonderland.  This alternate take on Wonderland doesn't leave the bad taste like Wicked's take on Oz. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pilgermann on May 25, 2009, 11:40:30 PM
Just finished Cormac McCarthy's The Road.  I started it Sunday morning and I've read it in a few long sittings.  Quickest I've gone through a book in a while, and now tha I've gotten a taste of his writing I need more!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on May 26, 2009, 02:38:24 AM
Just finished Cormac McCarthy's The Road.  I started it Sunday morning and I've read it in a few long sittings.  Quickest I've gone through a book in a while, and now tha I've gotten a taste of his writing I need more!

I'd go straight to Blood Meridian.

I checked out Pilgermann on interlibrary loan due to your recommendation on this board from quite a while back. Hopefully I'll get to it soon. I'm currently trying to finish up The Satanic Verses (so-so), Memoirs of My Nevous Illness (interesting), the Letters of John and Abigail Adams (oddly fascinating), and the Living Dead (zombie stories!).

Also I'm halfway done with George R.R. Martin's fourth book in his Song of Ice and Fire. Great series, but can we be done with this Cersei character already?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 03, 2009, 05:38:56 PM
Did you know that we got the word teetotal because of a speech impediment?

One of the first founders of the teetotal movement stuttered, so when he said "totally abstain," it came out as "t-t-totally abstain," and so the word was born.

From Iain Gateley's "Drink" subtitled "a cultural history of alcohol."

The Good
It's a fairly complete history of the 10,000 year history of alcohol from China in 7000 B.C. to the United States in 2006.

The Bad
It's a Westernized history of alcohol. While the author does cover the history of alcohol in Asia and Africa, most of the book is given over to its history in North America and Europe. And by that, I mean western Europe.

The Ugly (or, what is neither good nor bad.)
The author is English, so you get a viewpoint of America that might be a little bit different from that of an American. Which viewpoint I always enjoy.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on June 04, 2009, 06:34:20 PM
I've wrapped up my reading on Fahrenhiet 451, but I am still working my way through Ghost Hunt and The Drifting Classroom.  I've also just read Case Closed Vol. 28, which was a pretty good mystery comic book.  It's a very long series, but I enjoy it none the less.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Torgo on June 05, 2009, 08:49:28 AM
I have began to re-read Clive Barker's "The Great and Secret Show".   I just finished up "Baal" by Robert R. Mccammon.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: flackbait on June 06, 2009, 01:28:35 AM
Finished re-reading Catch 22... man I never knew a book that could depress a guy and make hime laugh at the same time.

I think next I'm going to try to read Nam-a-rama, from what I hear its an interesting book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on June 06, 2009, 09:32:16 AM
Lives of the Saints


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on June 06, 2009, 10:04:33 AM
(http://www.footballaudio.com/podcasts/185/goat2.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 3mnkids on June 06, 2009, 11:05:26 AM
The name of the wind~ Patrick Rothfuss


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on June 07, 2009, 11:47:22 PM
Taking a break from IT to read another Slade thriller that arrived on interlibrary loan earlier than expected. So far, Cutthroat is a good read. A series of brutal murders in Vancouver and San Francisco, which are somehow connected to Custer's last stand, Charles Darwin, an Asian gang, the Wendigo legend, the Zodiac Killer and a Chinese pharmaceutical company. I'm not even a third of the way through. Slade can really pull together some wild stories.
(http://www.specialx.net/specialxdotnet/images/cthroat2nd.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on June 08, 2009, 03:34:23 PM
(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee71/HammockRider/nourish.jpg)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Javakoala on June 10, 2009, 09:07:06 PM
The Searchers by Alan LeMay (after watching the movie recently)

U.S. History For Dummies  My girlfriend is taking a history class and I realized I'm no whiz on history. Time to read up!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Moreau on June 23, 2009, 03:05:24 PM
'daemonomania' by john crowley. it's part three in a series of magic realist, esoteric genius


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BeyondTheGrave on June 25, 2009, 03:04:55 PM
(http://www.cersc.org/events/blackwater/book-cover.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on June 27, 2009, 07:11:01 PM
A little over halfway through Weaveworld by Clive Barker at the moment.  Hoping to start Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde afterward.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 27, 2009, 10:38:56 PM
I just finished NERO'S KILLING MACHINE: THE TRUE STORY OF ROME'S FOURTEENTH LEGION.  It was an excellent read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on June 28, 2009, 12:08:58 PM
Finished Cutthroat and resuming IT.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 29, 2009, 04:29:45 PM

Franz Wisner's "How the World Makes Love" subtitled ". . .And What It Taught a Jilted Groom"

After the writer's bride-to-be leaves him at the altar, he and his younger brother travel around the world and try to make some sense of what happened to him.

Besides "The World's Worst Pickup Lines," there is some good news (No. That's not the good news) he finds his future wife. An TV actress in southern California with a four-year-old son, with whom he bonds.

He may be one of the few writers to marry someone more famous than he, as his bride turns out to be Tracy Middendorf. Trakers may remember her as Ziyla on "Star Trek: DS9."

While this is a work of non-fiction, if you read a book, even if it's fiction, you'll become personally acquainted with the author. Maybe more personally acquainted than you want. For a good author always puts something of themselves into a book, even if subconsciously. His hopes. His fears. Her likes. Her dislikes. Etc.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on July 01, 2009, 09:28:44 AM
Lucky You - I've fallen in love with the main character...JoLayne Lucks, man, what an awesome name !


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 3mnkids on July 01, 2009, 01:03:50 PM
The traveler~ john twelve hawks


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pilgermann on July 02, 2009, 02:31:51 PM
(http://www.geocities.com/rayharry_2000/necroscope.gif)

Recently started Necroscope by Brian Lumley.  I have a short story collection of his and I really enjoyed it so I thought I'd give this a go.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: sideorderofninjas on July 02, 2009, 10:44:08 PM
"Wind Rider's Oath" by David Weber and trying to slog through "Quicksilver" by Neal Stephenson...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on July 03, 2009, 10:38:05 AM
"Hunger" by Knut Hamsun... about a writer who starves himself and goes mad, for no good reason.  Hamsun wrote in the late 19th century and is supposed to be a forerunner to Kafka.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on July 03, 2009, 05:13:07 PM
Well, its the usual manga for me, while sneaking in The Andromeda Strain to read as well.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on July 04, 2009, 10:27:31 PM
Well, its the usual manga for me, while sneaking in The Andromeda Strain to read as well.

The Andromeda Strain is a good book. I read it back in the early 90s, along with some of Crichton's other earlier books. I think reading Jurassic Park prompted me to check out some of the other stuff. Didn't care much for Crichton's later work. Toward the end, it seemed like he was pretty much writing with movie deals in mind, with books that read like movie novelizations.

But early Crichton is good stuff. The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man and Sphere are all books I'd highly recommend.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Neville on July 05, 2009, 05:01:21 AM
It's ben a while since I last read something really absorving, but Ann-Marie McDonald's "The way the crow flies" has kept me awake for a couple of weeks. Beware, it's like 1,000 pages long and the plot doesn't really kick in until the final 500, but it's a terrific book.

It's set in the early 60s, in an American airbase in Canada. It focuses on a small family who moves in there right before the Cuban missiles crisis. The father has an administrative job in the base and the daughter makes friends with the adopted kids of another family. Later on some other subplots start gaining importance. The daughter is sexually abused at school and the father is asked by a British friend to babysit an Eastern German scientist that seeks asylum in the USA. And that's just the beginning.

It's a terrific book, as I said, easily the best I've read in the past six months, but it's not an easy read. The style is extremely literary, with most chapters written with a 9 year old kid POV, and some of its passages, given the themes explored, are vey disturbing.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Monster Jungle X-Ray on July 05, 2009, 05:36:42 AM
Well, its the usual manga for me, while sneaking in The Andromeda Strain to read as well.

The Andromeda Strain is a good book. I read it back in the early 90s, along with some of Crichton's other earlier books. I think reading Jurassic Park prompted me to check out some of the other stuff. Didn't care much for Crichton's later work. Toward the end, it seemed like he was pretty much writing with movie deals in mind, with books that read like movie novelizations.

But early Crichton is good stuff. The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man and Sphere are all books I'd highly recommend.
I couldn't agree more, his early stuff was pretty good up until around Jurassic Park, and The Lost World. A few of his later novels (especially that nanobyte swarm one which I've forgotten the title of) do seem like by-the-numbers affairs which is sad as the man definitely had talent. Timeline may be a crime against humanity, at least the film was.

The last novel I read is World War Z by Max Brooks, it is pretty good I thought even if some of the accounts were somewhat repetitive in places. How they handle the inevitable movie adaption will be interesting to see, as it comes off more like a war story.

I just finished Love, Sex, Fear, Death by Timothy Wyllie about the Process Church of the Final Judgment psychotherapy cult of the '60s-70s. Pretty enlightening read written by ex-members who don't shy from showing their experiences warts and all. The Process was most infamously linked to the Manson Murders with some researchers suggesting that they were behind it all. In actuality it turns out that they were only peripherally connected when two members went to visit Manson in jail after he was arrested for a magazine interview. I'd recommend it to any of you who are interested in weird cults, and the like.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on July 05, 2009, 09:14:23 AM
Well, its the usual manga for me, while sneaking in The Andromeda Strain to read as well.

The Andromeda Strain is a good book. I read it back in the early 90s, along with some of Crichton's other earlier books. I think reading Jurassic Park prompted me to check out some of the other stuff. Didn't care much for Crichton's later work. Toward the end, it seemed like he was pretty much writing with movie deals in mind, with books that read like movie novelizations.

But early Crichton is good stuff. The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man and Sphere are all books I'd highly recommend.

I own and read Sphere.  It was pretty good, but hard for me to follow.  (I read it when I was 14, very complicated).  I haven't read much of his later works outside of Prey, which was pretty good to me.  I'll probably read his final book that comes out later this year in honor of his memory.

Also, I'm almost finished with The Drifting Classroom, a story about an entire grade school in Japan being transported into the distant future where the whole world has turned into a desert.  They must learn to survive in the harsh wasteland filled with unseen dangers and a food and water supply that is constantly running low.  Worse of all, some of the students aren't that nice when pushed to the extremes.  Made back in 1975, it combines The Lord of the Flies with Battle Royale.  It is my most favorite horror/science fiction comic I have ever read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on July 05, 2009, 09:34:04 AM
info G-  it was a movie too.  it got horribly panned in the latest Shock cinema but i've never seen it.



I'm reading "introducing machievelli" from the introducing books series.  I really dislike his philosophy but he is referenced rather alot in political sort of writing so I wanted to get a better handle on what he actually said rather than just what he "represents".  I read the introducing marx one for the same reason.  don't like marx but wanted to know what he actually talked abuot.

if I'm going to read a REAL book it will be about murray rothbard or someone I like



also reading "jerusalem 1913" about how the palestinian israeli conflict started.  It talks about the original zionists back in the late 1800's and how basically the whole thing was doomed to become what it has indeed become


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on July 05, 2009, 03:04:27 PM
I own and read Sphere.  It was pretty good, but hard for me to follow.  (I read it when I was 14, very complicated).  I haven't read much of his later works outside of Prey, which was pretty good to me.  I'll probably read his final book that comes out later this year in honor of his memory.

Ah, Prey. That was the nanobot swarm book that Monster Jungle X-Ray couldn't put a name to. Funny, I was thinking of the same book as the ultimate example of post-JP Crichton and couldn't remember the title either. Not a bad book. An easy read with interesting ideas, but I didn't think it measured up to the earlier work. It felt like Crichton was trying to repeat past success, cranking out a sci-fi thriller based around a current hot science topic, throwing in some stock characters and setting it all up so it would be easy to film. Seemed like he was just going through the motions. Again, not a bad book, but not on the same level as Crichton's earlier books.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Monster Jungle X-Ray on July 05, 2009, 08:41:28 PM
I own and read Sphere.  It was pretty good, but hard for me to follow.  (I read it when I was 14, very complicated).  I haven't read much of his later works outside of Prey, which was pretty good to me.  I'll probably read his final book that comes out later this year in honor of his memory.

Ah, Prey. That was the nanobot swarm book that Monster Jungle X-Ray couldn't put a name to. Funny, I was thinking of the same book as the ultimate example of post-JP Crichton and couldn't remember the title either. Not a bad book. An easy read with interesting ideas, but I didn't think it measured up to the earlier work. It felt like Crichton was trying to repeat past success, cranking out a sci-fi thriller based around a current hot science topic, throwing in some stock characters and setting it all up so it would be easy to film. Seemed like he was just going through the motions. Again, not a bad book, but not on the same level as Crichton's earlier books.


Yes Prey, it wasn't a bad read it did just seem like Crichton was going through the motions on that one, a quickie. As far as his non sci-fi efforts I enjoyed Airframe, and Rising Sun. The Great Train Robbery with Sean Connery, and Donald Sutherland for which he also wrote the screenplay based on his book and directed is an enjoyable film.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 05, 2009, 11:30:18 PM
I think MIchael Crichton's last book, STATE OF FEAR, was incredibly well-written and prescient, given current political trends.  At least he ended on a solid note.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Monster Jungle X-Ray on July 06, 2009, 04:15:57 AM
I think MIchael Crichton's last book, STATE OF FEAR, was incredibly well-written and prescient, given current political trends.  At least he ended on a solid note.


Thanks I'll have to check that one out.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 08, 2009, 04:12:11 PM
David Thomason's "Have You Seen . . . ?" Subtitled: "A Personal Introduction to 1000 Films." Actually, I counted 1009 films, but who's counting.

Alot to like about this one.

1. He knows his earlier films, but he also knows his later films (1895-2007)

2. He knows it is not only the stars, but also the other actors who make up a film.

3. He knows it is not only the acting, but also the writing, sets, music, costumes, etc. which make up a film.

4. He knows his camera angles.

5. It's not only the usual suspects, but also some more obscure films.

6. He likes not only the critical successes/popular flops, but also the popular successes as well.

7. He likes generas (horror, westerns, etc.) sometimes slighted by other critics.

8. He likes remakes and sequels.

9. He likes films that were hated by both critics and audiences. And he dislikes films that were loved by both critics and audiences.

10l. He has some interesting things to say about films. For example: Elsa Lanchester based her character in "Bride of Frankenstein" upon the swans she saw in Hyde Park.

And at an early read through of "Sparatcus," Olivier came in a three-piece suit. Ustinov came in a lightweight summer suit. Laughton came in a bathrobe. And Douglas . . . Douglas came in period costume, which sent the other three men into giggbles, but says more about their different approaches to acting than most books.

11. Unlike some critics, he seems to have a life outside of films. He is--was--married and seems to have a family.

12. Unlike some critics, even in the films he likes, he points out what is wrong with the film.

13. And he writes well.

But, with so much that is right, why can't I recommend it wholeheartedly?

Because, there is so much wrong with it. To whit . . .

1. While there is an useful film chronology, it needs another list. A list of films listed by the director.

2. The profanity must go. He drops in the "f-bomb" ever now and then, which has no context within the revieww.

3. He understands alot about films. More than I do. But, like alot of people, he has no understanding of action sequences. He says "El Cid" has the best action sequences, when in all actuality the action sequences in "The Fall of the Roman Empire" are better shot and lit, and the action seuences in "55 Days at Peiking" make better use of the extras and are more exciting. Thus, of the three, "El Cid" is not the best, but the worst.

4. You'd think, if you'd wanted to introduce films to your friends and neighbors, you'd pikc films you'd like. He does, but he also picks films he dislikes, without an explanation as to why he picked them, which doesn't make sense. Thus, what is needed is a clear explanation as to why the films were picked, which we don't get.

5. He comes across as an intellectual. And Lord protect me from intellectuals and films. Films are not for intellectuals, but for the masses. The masses may be right, or they may be increasingly wrong, but films were made for the masses and not for intellectuals.

6. Which is why he is wrong so much. Not only when we disagree, and we disagree 27% of the time, but even when we agree, I think he/we/I are wrong. What this book needs is a companion volume to point out where and why he is wrong.

Thus, I'd read this book, but I wouldn't use it as a guide as to what to see. As there are better guides out there for that, including this website.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: bladerunnerblues on July 10, 2009, 01:44:18 AM
Mere Anarchy by Woody Allen
Creepy #11
Judge Dredd #3(Eagle Comics)
Savage Sword of Conan volume 1


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sister Grace on July 11, 2009, 08:15:56 PM
Barbara Gowdy- Mister Sandman (so far its been pretty good).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on July 12, 2009, 09:54:21 AM
Clive Barker's Books of Blood Volume 2
So far, not as good as volume 1 but I'm only half way, so there's hope yet.
Only two stories are memorable...and I was dissapointed with The Forbidden.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: PhilosophyMixtapes on July 14, 2009, 08:27:33 AM
Just finished Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead (9/10), Rob Sheffield's Love is a Mixtape (6/10) and Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead vol 3 (9/10).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 14, 2009, 05:59:08 PM
Nevada Barr's (Now, there's a name for you.) "Borderline." Subtitled: "a Novel." The 16th in the Anna Pigeon mystery series, but the first one I've read. Maybe because it takes place in an area, where I've been. Big Bend National Park. One of the few national parks in Texas, and as about as far west as you can get, before you hit the river than Mexico.

That is the hook of the series. Anna Pigeon is a National Park Service ranger, so each of the mysteries happens in a different national park.

Anyway, we are along way from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dame Agatha Christie, and Erle Stanley Gardner, where you reaped the clues and weeded out the red herrings to find out who did it, before the last page. Now, as in this series, it is more about the personalities of the people involved, than the puzzle of who did it.

And anyway, the best story in the book is not one of the fictional stories, but a true story used to illustrate a fictional point. It seems that a number of years ago, a bush pilot landed on a deserted beach in a National Park and picked up a load of contraband and tried to take off. Well, he was spotted by a National Parki Service ranger, who was determined to stop him. Well, the pilot was equally determined he was going to take off, and, as both men were armed, they pulled their six shooters on each other and opened fire. Now, the incredible thing is, that after both men had emptied their guns, they both stopped, reloaded, and opened up again.

Total shots fired: 24
Hits: 0
Misses: 24

And both men were only fifty feet apart, when they shot at each other. At that distance, they probably could have done more damage by throwing their guns at each other. Thus legends are made.

Enjoy this book or another one in the series.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 19, 2009, 01:35:04 PM
Okay. Finished that one and began Joan Rivers' (Yes, that Joan Rivers) "Murder at the Academy Awards," subtitled: "a Red Carpet Murder Mystery."

It's the story of Joan Rivers (I mean Maxine Taylor) and her daughter Melissa Rivers (I mean Drew Taylor.)

Joan Rivers is a published author, but all her books have been in the non-fiction category. The mystery comes in part because of Jerrilyn Farmer, who has written eight mysteries, excluding this one.

Her name is in smaller print and comes beneath Joan's, but at least she gets credit as co-writer, which is more than I can say for some celebrity authors.

But, she lets Joan's voice through, for when you hear Maxine speak, you hear Joan.

There are actual people in the book. (More name dropping than you can shake a stick at.) Most of whom are well enough known you'll recognize them.

There are the totally fictional people

And there are the real people whose names have been changed to protect their identities. Those are the ones I find interesting, but I don't know Hollywood well enough to know who they are.

There is one more thing about the book. Each chapter title begins with the word "Best."

Whether this is only an one shot thing or will develop into a series of books, only time will tell.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on July 23, 2009, 04:20:16 AM
Finished Weaveworld and began Lonesome Traveler by Jack Kerouac today. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 23, 2009, 08:25:16 AM
I am in the middle of THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE.

Preparations are underway. The zombies are coming.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on July 23, 2009, 01:58:35 PM
(http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/1845291115.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on July 23, 2009, 02:14:04 PM

Preparations are underway. The zombies are coming.

I've lived in Eastbourne.

Trust me, the zombies are already here.  :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on July 23, 2009, 03:36:44 PM
I'm reading "jerusalem 1913"  it describes how the jews began returning to what was then palestine en masse and the arabs pretty much knew what was going to happen and were powerless to stop it and remain so to this day


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on July 23, 2009, 03:42:56 PM
I'm still working on the 100 Greatest Books collection from the Easton Press.  I'm currently reading 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA and THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW AND OTHER STORIES by Washington Irving.  Today, TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES arrived in the mail.  And, yes, I will read it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on July 23, 2009, 04:04:36 PM
Still reading Stephen King's IT. Thanks to a rainy camping trip, I'm nearly halfway through it. It's been getting steadily more interesting.

I'm actually trying to convince my wife that it would be something she'd like. What I've read so far is mostly about misfit kids growing up in the 50s, brought together by a higher power, who discover their own hidden strengths and defeat an evil in their town. She absolutely refuses, because it's "that story about an evil clown in the sewer." I can't seem to convince her it's more than that.

Oh well, gotta keep reading. The final book of Dean Koontz's Frankenstein, which I preordered, has finally arrived. Read the first two books (tight, fast-paced and interesting) nearly four years ago. The third was due to come out in the summer of '06, but seeing as it involves all hell breaking loose in New Orleans, it was postponed indefinitely after Katrina, then Koontz rewrote it, and here it is, three years later than expected. Reading the back cover, it looks like Katrina might have been incorporated into the story. I've already interrupted IT once to read another book, so I think I'll wait until I finish it, but I'm looking forward to wrapping up the Koontz trilogy.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on July 26, 2009, 10:24:17 AM
I've never read any dean Koontz novels but I belive he wrote "demon seed" which is one of my favorite movies and a very demented one at that


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on July 26, 2009, 10:38:17 AM
I actually haven't read much Koontz either. I just picked up the first Frankenstein book in a grocery store when I needed something to read, and I liked it. Mind you, I've tried reading Darkness Comes since then, and found it had little of what I enjoyed in Frankenstein.

Actually, Koontz has a few interesting sci-fi/horror books I might try. Demon Seed, the book, actually sounds quite different in tone from the film.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on July 26, 2009, 11:30:05 AM
it was an incredibly strange movie. not strange like abstract or surreal, strange like it's about a woman who is sexually dominated by her computerized house, sorry for the slight spoil


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 26, 2009, 02:39:51 PM
Finished the Zombie Survival Guide; now I am reading WORLD WAR Z to see what the future holds.




It's bleak.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on July 26, 2009, 03:53:19 PM
it was an incredibly strange movie. not strange like abstract or surreal, strange like it's about a woman who is sexually dominated by her computerized house, sorry for the slight spoil

Apparently, the story was heavily altered for the movie. The original book was set in a future where artificial intelligence was already commonplace, and had only two characters, Proteus and a rich, reclusive woman living alone in an automated house. Proteus accesses the house from a nearby university, and sets about terrorizing this woman as he learns more about what makes her tick. There's the same plan to impregnate her, but it's apparently more about breeding an improved human race than about the poor computer wanting to feel the sun on his face. The husband, the backstory, all the stuff about proteus rebelling against its creators, all added later. The book is apparently just a battle of wits between a woman and a computer.

Koontz himself rewrote the book a few years back, telling the story from the computer's point of view, and turning it into something of an allegory on the objectification of women.

Haven't read either book, although I've seen the movie a few times. I should actually give both versions a try.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on July 26, 2009, 05:50:21 PM
Did you like the movie?  I thought it was pretty awesome and pretty edgy for a movie that normal people went and saw


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on July 27, 2009, 08:14:20 AM
AndyC: keep trying; 'IT' indeed is very much more than an evil-clown-in-a-sewer.

I just finished "Unidentified" by Matthew Costello.  Quantum physics, evil incursions from the multiverses...nicely creepy, if perhaps a bit too understated, all considered.  I cannot shake the impression that I have seen the final chapters as film/TV somewhere.  I have not found reference to anything being made based on the book - it seems to have been pretty minor in impact - but the scenes I am recalling are annoyingly persistent.  Arrgh!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on July 27, 2009, 05:31:39 PM
Did you like the movie?  I thought it was pretty awesome and pretty edgy for a movie that normal people went and saw

I liked it. It's one of those dark, intelligent (if slightly cheesy), high-concept sci-fi films that were practically a genre in their own right in the 70s. It's the sort of movie I'd watch anytime it happened to be on TV when I was a kid.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 3mnkids on August 01, 2009, 11:14:54 AM
The family~ Jeff Sharlet     :buggedout:   


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on August 01, 2009, 01:54:56 PM
About to dive into "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess.  Wish me luck.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on August 01, 2009, 01:56:32 PM
About to dive into "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess.  Wish me luck.

Good luck  :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on August 02, 2009, 09:04:45 AM
AndyC: keep trying; 'IT' indeed is very much more than an evil-clown-in-a-sewer.

I'm well into the adult Losers' exploration of Derry. King does an amazing job of conveying that feeling of returning to your hometown after many years. It's a different town, but still familiar, and the combination can be kind of disturbing. I feel it when I visit my hometown, so it really strikes a chord.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 02, 2009, 02:06:24 PM
I'm about halfway through a biography of William Lloyd Garrison, the famous American abolitionist, entitled ALL ON FIRE.  It's a pretty good read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on August 03, 2009, 06:44:20 PM
I'm currently reading the UFO ENIGMA : A new Review of the Evidence by Prof.Peter Sturrock. No sensationalism here-but a scientific study of the evidence...it's fascinating!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on August 04, 2009, 11:30:45 AM
I just read and would recommend "The stewardess is flying the plane!!"  about 70's movies. mainly lots and lots of really great pics and trivia

(http://www.bookgasm.com/wp-content/images/082125751X.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on August 08, 2009, 09:22:44 AM
various defences of market anarchy (http://blogofbile.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/chaos-theory.pdf)  ("won't the mafia take over?")


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on August 08, 2009, 09:29:55 AM
(http://www.nexternal.com/dreamland/images/1sh1.jpg)

One of my faves ! :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on August 08, 2009, 10:21:25 AM
doggett- that looks awesome


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on August 08, 2009, 02:37:38 PM
I've been reading The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte. Its the book that The Ninth Gate was based on, although the film cut out most of the stuff about Dumas and the Three Musketeers. The more I read, the more I want to start an Antiquarian book library of my own (yeah right, I can barely afford to spend 20 bucks on a new book, and thats on a good week). The closest I've come is having some reprints of old grimiores. The insides are nice to look at, but the cheap paperback bindings are no substitute for gilded leather.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 08, 2009, 10:01:23 PM
fAUSTO - I have several 100 year old books for sale on EBay right now . .  . sellername indianasmith1, and they're cheap . . .  Kipling, Byron, Churchill among others.  Picked em up in an estate sale last weekend.


Now that the entire series is finished, I am reading Stephen King's THE DARK TOWER in its entirety.  Finished THE GUNSLINGER and am nearly done with THE DRAWING OF THE THREE.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on August 09, 2009, 06:49:26 PM
fAUSTO - I have several 100 year old books for sale on EBay right now . .  . sellername indianasmith1, and they're cheap . . .  Kipling, Byron, Churchill among others.  Picked em up in an estate sale last weekend.

Cool, I'll check it out.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 09, 2009, 09:37:13 PM
They expired this afternoon with no bids, but i'm gonna re-list for another week and see what happens.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on August 10, 2009, 01:25:17 AM
Finished Lonesome Traveler the other day and have now begun Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  It's pretty interesting so far.  Too bad I haven't had time to read much, what with work and moving.   :bluesad:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on August 10, 2009, 04:06:40 AM
([url]http://www.nexternal.com/dreamland/images/1sh1.jpg[/url])

One of my faves ! :thumbup:


Dan Slott's run on She-Hulk is great! If you like that, I highly recommend finding his GLA (Great Lakes Avengers) stuff. Very funny stuff.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on August 10, 2009, 08:36:55 AM
They expired this afternoon with no bids, but i'm gonna re-list for another week and see what happens.

Okay, I placed bids on Byron and Kiplyng, username srow6109.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on August 17, 2009, 07:58:02 AM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51P6XMGQJCL._SS500_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BeyondTheGrave on August 24, 2009, 11:48:12 AM
(http://bookpeopleblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/pride_prejudice_zombies1w11.jpg)

This book rocks. Simply as that.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on August 24, 2009, 12:33:24 PM
([url]http://bookpeopleblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/pride_prejudice_zombies1w11.jpg[/url])

This book rocks. Simply as that.


I wish I'd thought of that.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 25, 2009, 07:39:59 PM
"Swim the Fly" a teen comedy by first time novelist Don Calame.

It has all the gross things that teenage boys supposedly like. Flatulence jokes. Jokes about diarrhea. Vomiting into the swimming pool during a swimming meet. Having involuntary erections. Well, maybe not the last.

A two goal novel.

The hero of the novel and his two best buds, each year, set a goal for themselves to accomplish over the summer. Last year, they saw a girl's naked breast. So, this year their goal is to see a girl totally naked. Of course, all their attempts to do so end in disaster.

But the hero also has a more individualistic goal. To impress the hot new girl on his swim team, he volunteers to swim the butterfly. Even though he has never swam the butterfly before, and it is the hardest swimming stroke to learn. This goal ends in a way he did not expect, but it does not end as disasterly as the other goal.

Recommended for the comedy and the reality of it.

And anyway, it'd make a great film.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on August 25, 2009, 10:59:41 PM
(http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c375/fausto963/TheNeverendingStory1997Edition.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SkullBat308 on August 26, 2009, 01:49:34 AM
([url]http://bookpeopleblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/pride_prejudice_zombies1w11.jpg[/url])

This book rocks. Simply as that.


I'm reading that and a book called A Living Revolution: Anarchism in the Kibbutz Movement


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on August 28, 2009, 03:12:46 AM
I just got done reading the third Solomon Vs Lord book, "Kill All the Lawyers" by Paul Levine.  It was a good read, the SvL series is really funny, you guys should check it out.  What was nice about this one is Bobby, Solmon's nephew, finally gets some chapters from his perspective and becomes a bigger character in the series, something I think is great. 

Also just got done reading Master of Lies by Graham Masterson.  First book by the guy, and I guess it was okay, nothing really exciting or inventive, I thought. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on August 28, 2009, 11:13:26 AM
I just started WATCHMEN. 

You guys may find this hard to believe, but I'd never even heard of it before someone started a topic on the board about it a year ago.  Then I saw the movie and was intrigued enough to order the graphic novel.  Good stuff!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Bargle5 on August 28, 2009, 07:50:29 PM
Profiles in Murder by Russ Vorpagel.

Book version of the lectures and scenarios he used to teach to Law/Legal types to learn when to call in a profiler.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on August 29, 2009, 08:59:44 AM
fAUSTO - I have several 100 year old books for sale on EBay right now . .  . sellername indianasmith1, and they're cheap . . .  Kipling, Byron, Churchill among others.  Picked em up in an estate sale last weekend.

Dude, where are you getting all these arrows heads?  Did you loot a burial ground or something?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Cthulhu on August 29, 2009, 09:18:09 AM
I've just read Animal farm.
Good.

Good.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on August 29, 2009, 01:40:06 PM
I'm not currently reading, but I will be in the future.  I'm back in school and my English teacher gave us the list of things we will be reading.  Here's what I'll be reading in the future:

The Tell Tale Heart, The Birds, The Lottery, Frankstein, 1984, Lord of the Flies, and Brave New World.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on August 29, 2009, 08:53:48 PM
I'm not currently reading, but I will be in the future.  I'm back in school and my English teacher gave us the list of things we will be reading.  Here's what I'll be reading in the future:

The Tell Tale Heart, The Birds, The Lottery, Frankstein, 1984, Lord of the Flies, and Brave New World.

Man, you lucked out.  You could have got a lot worse assignments than those.  No Jane Austen is always a good thing.  :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on August 31, 2009, 04:25:49 PM
I just finished reading the Lottery in class and I really have to ask, "What happened?"  I am just confused at how everything was told and explained.  From what I could gather, it seemed like it was an early verison of the Wicker Man.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on September 05, 2009, 08:37:52 AM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41coZqaQqGL._SS500_.jpg)

I'm not currently reading, but I will be in the future.  I'm back in school and my English teacher gave us the list of things we will be reading.  Here's what I'll be reading in the future:

The Tell Tale Heart, The Birds, The Lottery, Frankstein, 1984, Lord of the Flies, and Brave New World.


Man, you lucked out.  You could have got a lot worse assignments than those.  No Jane Austen is always a good thing.  :thumbup:


When I was in high school, I had to read 1984, Of Mice and Men, Mayor of Casterbridge, Macbeth, Midsomer Nights Dream and A Christmas Carol.


All pointless because I was asleep when the exams took place*. So I did all that reading for nothing. In fact, as I never took the English Lit exam...every English Lit lesson I ever had was pointless !
Don't worry, I did turn up for me English Lan exams !



*There was an error printed on the exam timetable I was given. I wasn't deliberately trying to avoid exams. I'm still a little bitter about it...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on September 05, 2009, 03:25:05 PM
Over four years of high school and five English courses, I can barely remember all the books I was required to read. The ones that stood out were Lord of the Flies, In the Heat of the Night, The Ox-Bow Incident, A Tale of Two Cities, Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, as well as an assortment of Greek myths and several Shakespeare plays, the most enjoyable of which was Twelfth Night, although Julius Caesar and "the Scottish play" were both good as well. That's just what was enjoyable enough to remember. I have to say, there is something nice about so many people all having a few books in common, thanks to high school English. My friends and I used to quote lines out of Lord of the Flies for years afterward. I could probably call any of them up today and say "sucks to your assmar" in my best approximation of an upper-class British accent, and they'd know exactly what it meant. Probably get all nostalgic too.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on September 05, 2009, 03:48:30 PM
Since you are talking about those stories, my class is currently on the short story unit.  We have just read Jumping Frogs (By Mark Twain, can't remember the full story) and The Lady or The Tiger.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Saucerman on September 05, 2009, 05:58:51 PM
I just started David J. Skal's The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror and my mind has already been blown. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 08, 2009, 05:41:37 PM
Two mysteries.

The first is "The Crack of the Lens" by Steve Hockensmith.

The 4th in the "Holmes on the Range" series.

The others being . . .
"Holmes on the Range"
"On the Wrong Track"
"Black Dove"

Two brothers, ex-cowboys, who pattern themselives on Holmes and Watson, roam the Old West, just  before the turn of the century, solving crimes.

In this one, they have to solve the mystery of who's killing the town's prostitutes. Is it another prostitute, the county sheriff, the preacher, the newspaper editor, the photographer, the town marshal, the pimp, or a stranger?

The second is "The Second Death of Goodluck Tinubu" by Michael Stanley (i.e. Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip.)

The second in the "A Detective Kubu Mystery" series.

The other being . . .
"A Carrion Death"

What sets this one apart from most mysteries is its location. The mystery series takes places in Botswana.

In this one, police detective Kubu, or "Hippo," as he is also known for his great size, has to solve a string of murders at a bush camp in northern Botswana.

And, actually, both mysteries are better than I make them out to be.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: El Misfit on September 08, 2009, 08:22:19 PM
Cirque Du Freak
Batman: No Man's Land 1-5 and Hush :thumbup: :teddyr:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on September 09, 2009, 12:30:00 AM

Just got done reading Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson.  It's a VERY interesting account of the 1900 hurricane that really did a number on Galveston, Texas. We're talking about four thousand or so dead.  The book really gets into details on the lives of the people in the town and what happened.  A very good read!

Larson also co-wrote the novel Devil in the White City, another very good historical read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: schmendrik on September 09, 2009, 09:30:40 AM
Since you are talking about those stories, my class is currently on the short story unit.  We have just read Jumping Frogs (By Mark Twain, can't remember the full story) and The Lady or The Tiger.

Why do we make kids read stuff in high school and college which is too advanced for them? I know, I know, it's good for us. Probably sets up good habits.

Every once in awhile I feel guilty about my junk reading and get something "good for me", some classic which I either didn't read when I was supposed to or somehow never had assigned in school. So I recently got a book of Hawthorne out of the library and read Scarlet Letter and House of the Seven Gables. Also an early novel that Hawthorne disowned and nobody knew it was his till after his death.

I admit it was slow going at first, but I started getting into it, and then started realizing that Hawthorne actually had a sense of humor and inserted a number of cynical little comments in there. I was actually chuckling out loud sometimes. Plus I got this whole fascinating perspective on the culture of circa-1850 that I'd never paid attention to first time around.

However, I've tried Dickens in the same spirit and never managed to finish one.

Twain is great. Very modern. I've read a bunch of his stuff. It always surprises me how modern he sounds, when contemporaries writing at the same time sound like they're about 1000 years older.

Anyway, right now I'm back to the junk food. Got a bunch of sci-fi out of the library and I'm currently reading The Alien Years, an invasion story by Robert Silverberg.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on September 09, 2009, 12:21:04 PM
(http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n0/n1421.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on September 09, 2009, 01:19:33 PM
Still reading IT. Holy smokes, this is a long book, but it hasn't failed to hold my interest. And the end is finally in sight.

Of course, to be fair, I've been really busy lately and haven't had much time for reading.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on September 10, 2009, 05:34:58 AM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Ta5-vOB2L._SL500_AA240_.jpg)

I'm nearly at the end of the first book !
It's taken me nearly a year...I'm hoping the plot gets a little more exciting in the second book. There's only so much singing and walking I can take before I want to scream !!!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: schmendrik on September 10, 2009, 08:11:47 AM
([url]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Ta5-vOB2L._SL500_AA240_.jpg[/url])

I'm nearly at the end of the first book !
It's taken me nearly a year...I'm hoping the plot gets a little more exciting in the second book. There's only so much singing and walking I can take before I want to scream !!!


I gobbled these up when I first read them.

But even so the second book is deadly dull. The problem is the section with the talking trees called the Ents. O... M... G... that was deadly. I wanted to go out and set forest fires before I was halfway through it.

So you may want to do some skipping.

I highly recommend "Bored of the Rings".


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on September 10, 2009, 03:08:34 PM
Continuing on in our Short Story Unit in English class, we have justed finished reading A Rose for Emily.  It was rather interesting and I see it as a story that had another hidden story within it with how it is all set up.  Also, I have just dived into The Birds as well.  I finished reading it and I thought it was pretty good, though a couple of my friends said it was too long for a short story.  Anyways, we might be able to even watch the movie once the whole class is all done reading it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: venomx on September 10, 2009, 03:21:19 PM
Bruce Lee - Jeet Kune Do

Goonies by James Kahn

Ninja Mind Control by Ashida Kim


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on September 10, 2009, 10:40:28 PM
Did someone just criticize the brilliance that is LotR???

Surely not.  I would hate to have to break out my Dwarven mace and mithril body armor . . . . .  :teddyr:

I finally finished King's THE DARK TOWER series.  Incredible, dark, brilliant, and also, after seven long books, NOT ENOUGH!!

There is so much about Gilead and the Gunslingers that we never know.

Great series!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Ash on September 10, 2009, 10:44:57 PM

I finally finished King's THE DARK TOWER series.  Incredible, dark, brilliant, and also, after seven long books, NOT ENOUGH!!

There is so much about Gilead and the Gunslingers that we never know.

Great series!


I started the Dark Tower series years ago and have yet to finish it.
So far I've read the first 5 books and got bogged down in "Song of Susannah" about a yer ago.
Man, that book is awful!  By far the worst of Roland's adventures in my opinion.
Still haven't finished it yet.

My all time favorite book out of that series is the one that people seemed to dislike the most: Wizard and Glass.

As for what I'm reading now...
I picked up this book for $1 at the nearby Dollar Tree.

(http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/23/084395958401lzzzzzzz401.jpg) (http://img15.imageshack.us/i/084395958401lzzzzzzz401.jpg/)

It's a hard-boiled pulp crime novel about a porn star named Angel Dare who's shot and left for dead in the trunk of a car.
She survives and comes back for revenge.
It's pretty good so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: schmendrik on September 11, 2009, 10:46:26 AM

As for what I'm reading now...
I picked up this book for $1 at the nearby Dollar Tree.

([url]http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/23/084395958401lzzzzzzz401.jpg[/url]) ([url]http://img15.imageshack.us/i/084395958401lzzzzzzz401.jpg/[/url])

It's a hard-boiled pulp crime novel about a porn star named Angel Dare who's shot and left for dead in the trunk of a car.
She survives and comes back for revenge.
It's pretty good so far.



I'm not sure what the deal is with those "Hard Case Crime" books. They're new, they seem to have solicited new stories from a bunch of well-known authors, and they're deliberately packaged to look like old pulp stories whether they read that way or not.

Stephen King did one:
(http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/579/coverbig.jpg)

It's not at all a hard-boiled story. The girl on the cover ("Would She Learn the Dead Man's Secret?") is an intern at a small-town Maine newspaper, hearing a yarn from a couple of old-timers on the paper. If you like King's storytelling style even without supernatural monsters (I do), this is a decent read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mr. DS on September 11, 2009, 10:56:49 AM
(http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i56/rockerbaby39/lastolympian1.gif)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SkullBat308 on September 11, 2009, 04:23:31 PM
Just textbooks and stuff for school, I started my 4th year of university yesterday :thumbup:

*100th post


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on September 15, 2009, 07:47:00 PM
(http://www.now.org/store/images/items/bk-hh2.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: jimmybob on September 15, 2009, 09:54:29 PM
(http://www.getscottkellettout.com/images/Pics/Desperation.jpg)

Spooky stuff.

-Jimmybob


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 3mnkids on September 16, 2009, 08:16:18 AM
The Golden City: A Novel~ John Twelve Hawks.. Its the third book in the fourth realm trilogy and so far its pretty good. Not as good as the traveler or the dark river though.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on September 16, 2009, 04:12:00 PM
I recently finished 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA.  Decent book, but too many paragraphs describing undersea plants and creatures using long, Latin words.  Not enough danger and excitement for my taste.  I also read SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER, a humorous play from the late 1700s that involves social classes and mistaken identities.  These are part of the 100 Greatest Books Ever Written collection from Easton Press.  Right now, I'm in the midst of two other Easton Press books: I'm about 40 pages into THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (one of my favorites . . . I read it several times when I was younger).  Also, I'm about 120 pages into a book of short stories by Washington Irving.  I read one of the stories every now and then when I don't feel like reading whatever novel I happen to be in the middle of.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SkullBat308 on September 16, 2009, 10:38:50 PM
(http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/1645/zombiemovies.jpg)

And for school I'm reading:
Social Problems: An Introduction to Critical Constructionism
At War With Metaphor: Media, Propaganda, and Racism In The War on Terror
Contemporary Political Issues


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on September 24, 2009, 04:01:43 AM
(http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n0/n734.jpg)

I'm just over 100 pages into it.  It's pretty good so far.  I've seen the movie, and so far the book is better.  Even though Ben Affleck is supposedly "da bomb" in the movie. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on September 24, 2009, 10:44:42 PM
That is my favorite Dean Koontz book!   

"OUR ANCIENT ENEMY" - Timothy Flyte


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Allhallowsday on September 25, 2009, 08:45:03 PM
Continuing on in our Short Story Unit in English class, we have justed finished reading A Rose for Emily.  It was rather interesting and I see it as a story that had another hidden story within it with how it is all set up.  Also, I have just dived into The Birds as well.  I finished reading it and I thought it was pretty good, though a couple of my friends said it was too long for a short story.  Anyways, we might be able to even watch the movie once the whole class is all done reading it.
A Rose For Emily is quite a fine story.  What do you suppose FAULKNER meant when he described her face as being "like an old flag"?  :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on October 03, 2009, 10:25:20 AM
I downloaded "the sacredness of questioning everything" by david dark.  it's about spirituality and how to overcome the sort of fear based image of God to see the loving sort of God, if that makes any sense.  He calls the former "uncle Ben" for some reason

http://bit.ly/ii7mu


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on October 03, 2009, 10:39:27 AM
(http://www.1journey.net/stdavids/SD/BookStudy/support/godDelusionUK200.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on October 03, 2009, 11:56:59 AM
I am currently rereading Congo.  It was a pretty interesting story the first time around so I am giving it another shot.  My English class just finish reading Teenage Wasteland and The Old Man with Enormous Wings.  As for my manga collection, I am still reading through Black Lagoon and Oishinbo.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on October 03, 2009, 01:18:41 PM
I am reading "Thank You For Smoking" by Christopher Buckley and I am almost finished.  It's pretty good. The movie that is based on it is pretty good too but they are vastly different.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on October 03, 2009, 01:57:59 PM
(http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c375/fausto963/ZMG9005_360.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 03, 2009, 03:03:01 PM
I just finished reading BECAUSE THEY HATE by Brigitte Gabriel.  A Lebanese Christian, Gabriel was 12 years old when the Lebanese Civil War began . . . she saw many of her country's Christians slaughtered by Islamic radicals before finally fleeing to sanctuary with her aged parents to Israel.   She had been raised to hate the Israelis, as all Lebanese, both Christian and Muslim, had been.  But when she saw what that country was like as opposed to the nightmare that Lebanon had become, she threw off her blinders and rejected Islamic propaganda forever.   She wrote this book after 9/11 to warn Americans of the very real danger she sees coming from the Middle East - not that a few fanatics have hijacked a noble, peaceful faith and turned it into an excuse for mass murder, but a rather more unpleasant truth - that Islam is, by its very nature, hateful and intolerant of all other faiths, bent on the forcible conversion of the whole world, and that the command to wage jihad is taken very seriously by most of its adherents. 

Obviously, the author is exceedingly biased.  But she backs every assertion she makes with quotations from the Q'uran and from leading Islamic clerics, as well as the words of the most dangerous radicals themselves.  For example, did you know that Hamas' charter dedicates the organization not only to the desctruction of Israel and the overthrow of the U.S. government, but also singles out Freemasons, Kiwanis, and Lions Club members as "agents of Zionist oppression" that must be rooted out and destroyed?  This is a VERY disturbing book.  I don't agree with all Gabriel's assertions or her proposed solutions, but at the same time, ignoring what she has to say may be a dangerous alternative.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jack on October 03, 2009, 06:55:56 PM
I read the newsletter from my golf course today.  They're having lots of end-of-the-season deals on golf clubs and stuff.  Other than that, not much of interest.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 3mnkids on October 06, 2009, 01:04:38 PM
The Devil you know~ Mike Carey~ It took a little bit to really get going but im enjoying it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on October 08, 2009, 12:07:08 AM
Finished Phantoms.  It was pretty good, especially towards the end. 

I recently bought a huge book of HP Lovecraft stuff called "Necronomicon."  Because of this, the two small Lovecraft books I have are pretty much obsolete, save for about five or so stories between the two that aren't in Necro.  So, I'm planning on read Celephais, The Temple, and The Moon Bog before plowing into anything else. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on October 08, 2009, 12:51:19 PM
indiansmith-  the christians of lebanon aren't so innocent either

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabra_and_Shatila_massacre


reading "The Jesus Myth" http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=1286423

it's a misleading title, it's not saying Jesus is myth but its about how the image of Jesus was created by the people of his time using whatever symbols were available.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on October 08, 2009, 04:22:01 PM
Reading through Congo like I said before, but I am also started on Frankenstien.  With my manga, I am still reading through Black Lagoon, Oishinbo, Children of the Sea, and Vagabond.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SkullBat308 on October 09, 2009, 02:06:19 AM
(http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/9053/5548popup.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on October 09, 2009, 04:30:56 PM
My English class just finish reading Teenage Wasteland and The Old Man with Enormous Wings. 

AN OLD MAN WITH ENORMOUS WINGS was made into a movie that has been recommended to me, but it's out of print and unavailable.  It would be cool if your English teacher showed you a copy. 

As for me, I am reading THE ANNOTATED WIZARD OF OZ and 1,000 RECORDINGS TO HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 09, 2009, 06:42:51 PM
indiansmith-  the christians of lebanon aren't so innocent either

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabra_and_Shatila_massacre[/url]


reading "The Jesus Myth" [url]http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=1286423[/url]

it's a misleading title, it's not saying Jesus is myth but its about how the image of Jesus was created by the people of his time using whatever symbols were available.


She actually refers to those massacres in her book - her explanation was that hatred breeds hatred, and atrocities breed atrocities.  But the Lebanese Christians did not respond in kind until thousands had been massacred.

As far as THE JESUS MYTH goes, I am familiar with the premise, but unfortunately it totally ignores historical reality.  The authors treat Jesus as a blank slate on whom the NT writers built whatever legendary embellishments they wanted, but they ignore the fact that the books were written very soon after Jesus' actual earthly life, by people who either knew him in person or had easy access to eyewitness testimony.  That makes overt mythologizing rather difficult!

After you finish it, may I recommend Lee Strobel's THE CASE FOR THE REAL JESUS?  That book is a real eye-opener.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on October 11, 2009, 07:14:16 AM
Finally finished IT. Wow. Aside from all the action, the b-movie references and the cool metaphysical stuff, which I enjoyed, it was a story I could really relate to. That idea of growing up and losing touch, forgetting the kids you used to hang out with and the things you did, and the weird sensation of visiting a hometown that is familiar but so different. Was just in my hometown last week, and it's very unsettling. And I haven't been away all that long. Four or five years.

Now, I suppose Dean Koontz's Frankenstein is next, and I might see about getting another Michael Slade thriller from the library.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on October 11, 2009, 10:44:00 AM
indiana- I think you may be thinking of a different "jesus myth".  this guy is a priest and not at all prone to bashing the early church.  It's not one of those new testament revisionist things


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 11, 2009, 05:05:50 PM
I need to check it out then.  In my defense, there was an identically titled book that came out in the 1980's.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on October 12, 2009, 06:36:17 AM
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7pjkLSzqzAg/SgSwbLkjATI/AAAAAAAAAKE/pqB-55vqoOk/s320/n81047.jpg)

Started reading this today.  Slow to start, but feels like it'll pick up soon.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 16, 2009, 03:42:16 PM
Yes, two new ones: the manga version of "Star Trek" and the "Star Wars" omnibusses.
And frankly, I'm enjoying the manga more than the omnibusses for a number of reasons, which we'll enumerate. And we'll also keep up a running score.

Storytelling
* Wars: Tells a complex story, but it tells it so complicatedly, that I often find it frustrating and lose interest.
*Trek: Also tells a complex story, but tells it simplely. As simplely as a rif on "The Wizard of Oz" with Wesley having to play all the parts and Worf having the best lines.
* Wars 0 * Trek 1

* Wars: Talks about fear, but it relates it to nothing which I can relate.
* Trek: Also talks about fear, but it relates it to something which I can relate. The fear oi going insane, as insanity runs in my family.
* Wars 0  * Trek 2

*Wars: Extraneous material which does nothing to advance the story, unless they are setting up for the next story.
* Trek: Also extraneous material, but less of it.
* Wars 0 * Trek 3

* Wars: It takes itself so seriously, that's there little humor.
* Trek: It also takes it self seriously, but there's more humor.
* Wars 0 * Trek 4

Characters
* Wars: Uninteresting characters.
* Trek: Interesting characters. That might because I'm more familiar with them, or for the following reasons.
* Wars 0 * Trek 5

* Wars: unrecognizable aliens.
* Trek: : recognizable humans, as a human being, it might be easier for me to recognize a fellow human being than a humanoid alien.
* Wars 0 * Trek 6

* Wars: more characters. 12 Jedi council members. 9 X-wing Rogue pilots.
* Trek: fewer characters. "The Original Series" 7 major characters. "The Next Generation," depending upon how you count them, 7 or 8 eight  major characters.
* Wars 0 * Trek 7

And this is shallow, but . . .
* Wars: Looks. Homeliness.
* Trek: Looks. The men are more handsome. The women are more beautiful.
* Wars 0 * Trek 8

* Wars: They have a good idea for a new character, but--seemingly--because they have no idea how this character relates to the other characters, he becomes uninteresting.
* Trek: Seemingly, they have a better idea how a new character relates to the other characters.
* Wars 0 * Trek 9

* Wars: Incredible characters. Some of the abilities of the characters are so incredible, they they verge into the unrealistic. Thus (IMHO) they become less interesting.
* Trek: Credible characters. At least more credible abilities than some of the "Star Wars" characters.
* Wars 0 * Trek 10

Miscellaneous
* Wars: Violent.
* Trek: Non-violent, or, at least less violent than "Star Wars." And as I get older and closer to my own demise, violence bothers me more and more.
* Wars 0 * Trek 11

Now for something "Star Wars" does better and a couple of things they do equally well or poorly.

Miscellaneous
* Wars: Consistency. The characters look the same as the characters in the films, and they look the same from story to story.
* Trek: Inconsistency. Not only do the characters sometimes not look like the characters in the films and TV shows, but depending upon the artist, they vary from story to story.
* Wars 1 * Trek 11

* Wars: Action. Confusing.
* Trek: Action should be realistically confusing, but it should be also clear enough to tell what is going on. The action sequences in both are just confusing and not clear.
* Wars 1.5 * Trek 11.5

Characters
* Wars: Death.
* Trek: When a character dies, I should feel something, but I fell nothing, because I
have nothing invested in the characters in both.
* Wars 2 * Trek 12

And in the battle of "Star Trek" manga vs. "Star War" omnibusses, manga wins.

Next time: an author who really understands men.








Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on October 20, 2009, 11:57:03 PM
Almost done with The Resort.  The first few chapters are a bit slow, but after about the third or fourth it really picks up.  Towards the end, though, begins to crash a little.  We go from demon worship and torture to... a hotel that brainwashes people into playing brutal games of basketball, golf, and volleyball.  Awesome.  I guess I get what Little is saying, the way he's subtly comparing cult mentality to high school popularity.  The book is very creative, but nowhere near as good as the other novel I read by him, Dispatch.  That one was real mind-f**k. 

I'm planning on reading The Shining by Stephen King when I'm done.  Guess I figured I just finished reading one book about a haunted resort, I might as well read another.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on October 21, 2009, 02:24:54 AM
Believe it or not, I'm reading Twilight.  Not particularly interested in it, but I was semi-coerced into reading it.  It's OK, honestly, but if I'd read it without the social context of what has happened with the series I'd never have guessed it'd become so popular.

After that, I'll be reading a werewolf novel.  I forget the name.

Quote
After you finish it, may I recommend Lee Strobel's THE CASE FOR THE REAL JESUS?  That book is a real eye-opener.

At one point in my life, I had intended to become a journalist.  Thus, it annoys me when Lee Strobel makes this big deal about being one and then never bothers to look at both sides.  He doesn't even attempt AT ALL to talk to people on the flip side of the subject.  At least, not in the Case for Faith and the Case for Christ.  This makes the entire concept a deception at best.

It'd have bugged me less if they were advertised as what they are - a religious man seeking out scholars (as I recall, quite well-informed and intelligent ones) to confirm his own beliefs.  It'd have been a much more interesting book if he had gotten some opinions from the other side - perhaps even taken points from each side, and worked them into the book against each other.

From what I can gather, The Case for the Real Jesus follows this same path as his other books, so my thoughts apply.  I must admit to not having read it though.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 21, 2009, 09:46:13 PM
That is a fair criticism - but in his defense, the title of the book is THE CASE FOR CHRIST, not THE CASE FOR AND AGAINST CHRIST.  As a Christian, I see the case against Christ being argued all the time.  It's nice to have some things to cite back in return.  But in THE CASE FOR FAITH, his first interview was with a former evangelical turned atheist who raised 8 very powerful challenges to the Christian faith, and Strobel then sought out scholars who could refute those questions.  So I think he is a little more even-handed than perhaps you give him credit for.

But yes, he is an evangelical Christian and makes no bones about it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on October 22, 2009, 02:51:54 AM
That is a fair criticism - but in his defense, the title of the book is THE CASE FOR CHRIST, not THE CASE FOR AND AGAINST CHRIST.  As a Christian, I see the case against Christ being argued all the time.  It's nice to have some things to cite back in return.  But in THE CASE FOR FAITH, his first interview was with a former evangelical turned atheist who raised 8 very powerful challenges to the Christian faith, and Strobel then sought out scholars who could refute those questions.  So I think he is a little more even-handed than perhaps you give him credit for.

But yes, he is an evangelical Christian and makes no bones about it.

Really?  I think my version of The Case for Faith is missing this first interview.  It was like a "student" edition or something, it was only around 70 pages.  Been a while since I read it, too.  I do feel the Strobel books are worth looking at due to the people he interviews, I just feel those going in should be fully aware of what they're in for. 

On another note, if it sounded like a criticism with my bit about confirming beliefs and such, that's not how I meant it.  I mean, I'm non-religious, and occasionally enjoy reading stuff from atheist writers like Sam Harris, and remember enjoying a book called the Happy Heretic years back.  I like to be able to, at least in theory, argue both sides.   :tongueout:



I finished Twilight.  Meh.

Just started reading Lonely Werewolf Girl, by Martin Millar.  Good so far, but it seems to take its time to get where it is going.  Enjoyable journey though.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on October 22, 2009, 03:25:28 PM
the jesus myth was really good.  one interesting thing he brought up was how "irrelevent" jesus was in his own time.  the big issues of the day were when is the end of the world coming,  the roman occupation, and various issues about torah law and which is the right interprettation.  Jesus really didn't have much to say on any of these subjects, he mainly was about announcing that the kingdom of God was at hand.  and he called god Abba which is aramaic for "daddy" or somehting which further freaked people out. 

I took out two books and returned them on time which is more a testament to how good they are rather than how fast or studius a reader I am.  the other was Tom Woods "meltdown", the only good book I've seen about the crash last fall.  it tells you how it happened using austrian busines cycle theory and so forth, rather than just going over a soap opera like thing with these idiots on wall street .  It's the definitive statement on the crash  in my opinion


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on October 22, 2009, 03:27:19 PM
Outside of the usual Black Lagoon and Real, I have started to read What A Wonderful World.  The same author behind solanin did this series.  I've only read one chapter so far, but it seems good so far.

Continuing with my English class, I am still reading through Frankstein and will soon enough behind A Brave New World.  Also, for the fun of it, I am reading Congo and for Halloween, I've decided for the first time to read Dracula.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SkullBat308 on October 22, 2009, 03:30:12 PM
The State in Capitalist Society: The Analysis of the Western System of Power- Ralph Miliband

(http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/4909/millibandbookcoverweb.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on October 22, 2009, 03:31:24 PM
HOw to s**t round the World (http://bit.ly/3hDVV1) 

 I have a gift certificate to a local bookstore, but I thik I'd be a little embarassed to order this and I really doubt the library has it


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BeyondTheGrave on October 25, 2009, 05:57:41 PM
(http://images.seekbooks.com.au/9780349118857.jpg)

Guerrillas: Jounerys Into The Insurgent World


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on October 27, 2009, 02:17:41 PM
On my trip to Brazil, I read the following trashy Doc Savage pulp novels:

* THE ANNIHILIST
* DUST OF DEATH
* THE TERROR IN THE NAVY

I also started reading an Avenger novel (similar to Doc Savage books) titled THE SKY WALKER.

On the serious side, I'm working my way through THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (one of my all-time favorites).  I just received UNCLE TOM'S CABIN in the mail . . . I might read that one next.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 28, 2009, 03:44:32 PM
"Toughest broad there is alive. Wears clothes made from a vampire's hide."

The Anita Blake series. Picked it up and started reading it again.

What is unusual about this, is that usually I'll come upon something on my own, but this was introduced to me by a fellow employee at the place where I use to work. I read most of the early ones, then someplace, as much as I like Laurell K. Hamilton, and she is one of my favorite authors, I found her books increasingly unreadable, so I gave up on the series. But I picked up one of her later ones, "Blood Noir," and found it as enjoyable as her earlier ones. The next one after that, "Skin Trade," also looks good, and I might give it a try.

If someone is interested in starting the series, it's hard to tell that someone where to begin. While her latest ones are better written than the earliest ones, and can be read as a stand alone novel, the earliest ones do provided needed information. And the less said about her middle period, the better.

Anyway, as I said, whatever one thinks (IMHO) she understands her male characters better than most female writers. Heck! I'll even say she understands her male characters better than most male writers. There is a scene of a deathbed reconciliation between a father dieing of cancer and his illegitimate stripper werewolf of a son, in "Blood Noir," that is the nearest thing to a tearjerker, that I've seen in many a day.

Next time: "Graphs and Novels."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on October 30, 2009, 01:29:08 PM
I'm starting "Koko" again for the 3rd time. Yes, it's that good.  :thumbup:

(http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n0/n1256.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Derf on October 31, 2009, 03:02:28 PM
Just finished Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policeman's Union. It was pretty good, though I thought the ending could have been stronger. It's set in a slightly alternate time line, where Israel lost the Six Day War and was temporarily granted some land in Alaska. That lease is ending, and the Yiddish police force is about to be disbanded and all the people evicted. One policeman, on the skids, takes on a case that has been officially closed (a murder that happened in his building). He wrestles with his faith (or lack thereof), his nation's identity, and his failed marriage while he investigates. I plan to read Chabon's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Adventures of Kavalier and Klay in the near future. Right now, I'm getting into Terry Pratchett's Nation, one of his non-DiscWorld novels.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on October 31, 2009, 09:12:24 PM
I'm starting "Koko" again for the 3rd time. Yes, it's that good.  :thumbup:

([url]http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n0/n1256.jpg[/url])


After IT and From a Buick 8, there's another recommendation from Circus I'm determined to check out. I remember seeing the cover on store shelves, but hadn't looked into it until now. So far, the clown's taste in horror/thriller novels has been impeccable. Anyway, still have some of Koontz's Frankenstein and a Slade thriller to finish before I get around to it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SkullBat308 on November 11, 2009, 09:21:14 PM
(http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/130/mythmakers.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on November 11, 2009, 09:46:31 PM
Just finished Louis Freeh's MY FBI, a memoir of his troubled years as head of the Bureau. A good read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on November 11, 2009, 09:52:44 PM
My English Class is now reading Tuesdays with Morrie.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on November 11, 2009, 10:56:39 PM
About halfway through the conclusion of Koontz's Frankenstein, and it's proving to be a good read. Very interesting and fast paced.

Waiting on the next Slade thriller to arrive. Believe it or not, the cheapest way to buy a copy was to get a used one from England on eBay. So far, I've read about half his dozen Special X thrillers. There's apparently a new one coming out soon, with grisly murders at the Winter Olympics. I'm trying to avoid reading them out of order, but I discovered Slade around the 11th book, and I do get the new ones when they come out.

While I'm waiting for that, I have a new book on deck - Frozen Beneath, by Brian Horeck. Apparently, he's local, or at least in the general area. I see a display of these books every time I'm in the supermarket, and after about a year of wondering if I should, I finally bought a copy. It's actually a brilliant bit of marketing to have his books in grocery stores along a major tourist route. People are constantly going through there in the summer. They stop in to grab some supplies before moving on to wherever, quite a few will want something to read, and there's an eye-catching display of these books, promising "Blood, Gore and So Much More!" I've managed to avoid learning too much about the story, except that two guys make a horrifying discovery while ice fishing. I'm looking forward to it.
(http://www.frozenbeneath.ca/images/book_frozen_sm.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on November 12, 2009, 01:14:32 AM
"Toughest broad there is alive. Wears clothes made from a vampire's hide."

The Anita Blake series. Picked it up and started reading it again.

Anyway, as I said, whatever one thinks (IMHO) she understands her male characters better than most female writers. Heck! I'll even say she understands her male characters better than most male writers. There is a scene of a deathbed reconciliation between a father dieing of cancer and his illegitimate stripper werewolf of a son, in "Blood Noir," that is the nearest thing to a tearjerker, that I've seen in many a day.

Here's the thing, I used to LOVE the series, especially the older ones.  I preferred her early attitude of, "I don't date vampires, I kill them."  Then somewhere along the way, the novels starting sliding downhill, becoming less about her and her cases and more about her increasingly complicated love life.  Now a lot of the later novels are pretty one sex scene after another, interspersed with loooooooooooooooong conversations about vampires, werewolves, monsters, their powers, her powers, and the new powers she gains every time she has sex with someone (I'm not joking.)

At some point in series she's gotten to where she HAS to have sex or she'll literally go insane or die or some stupid nonsense.  This has lead to her doing whatever guy's available, regardless of whether she even likes the guy, or in some cases, has even meet him before.  Seriously, if a MAN wrote a story like this, he'd be accused of writing some adolescent fantasy.

As for the knowing males part, she knows some things a lot of women don't, I'll give her that, but I find it REALLY unrealistic that all these handsome guys are willing to share ONE girl, and don't seem to mind that fact that she doesn't want them getting tail on the side (unless it's with each other.)  I can't think of many guys I'd know that'd be happy with that arrangement.  It kind of comes across as more LHK's fantasy than anything based in reality.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 3mnkids on November 12, 2009, 08:53:17 AM
Horror Show~ Greg Kihn~ yep, the Greg Kihn that brought us the song jeopardy   :smile:  Its pretty good so far


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 12, 2009, 07:36:36 PM
I just read The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt.

Contrary to its billing as the latest installment of her fiction set in Victorian England (Angels and Insects, Possession, etc.) when I was finished I was left feeling she had actually pulled a cunning slip on her readers by writing what was essentially a novel about World War One: even though that event comes in only in the final four-score pages of the book itself. Only by spending six-hundred pages giving us such carefully rendered characters could Byatt do the near impossible and make a twenty-first century person care deeply about the tragedy of a long-ago war. As one by one the likable, complex individuals we'd spent so much time with, first as Victorian children and then as Edwardian adults, were shredded on the battlefields, Byatt's prose became powerful in a way most war fiction is not. I've long thought A.S. Byatt among the most clever of genre authors active today, and now I'm even more certain of that.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on November 13, 2009, 01:56:03 AM
I just got done reading the first three Nightside books by Simon R Green.  

(http://i404.photobucket.com/albums/pp128/jackofbree/nightside.jpg)

The books center around John Taylor, a detective who works in the Nightside, an alternate dimension in London that, as its name suggests, exist perpetually in a state of night (3am to be exact.)  The series combines everything from gumshoe noir, to fantasy, horror, and sci-fi.  The Nightside is a sort focal point for all types of beings, including the usual stock and trade like vampires, werewolves and shape changers, but other things as well, like living cars, incarnated gods, even cybernetic beings.  John left the place five years ago because he was being relentlessly pursued by various enemies.  As the first novel (Something From the Nightside) starts he's living a rather miserable, if ordinary, existence in London.  Against his better judgment, he takes a case to find a wealthy woman's daughter who's gone missing.

Anyway, it's a very interesting series, although so far but the books have been oddly short concerning the depth of things that can be explored with the setting.  Still, it the synopsis sounds interesting, I recommend picking them up.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on November 13, 2009, 06:48:05 AM
I've read the first three Nightside books.  I've also read some longer books by Simon Green, like The Man With the Golden Torc.  He does a great job with world building stuff, but he seems to get lost a bit in his own plot threads in longer works.  Seems like he is better at the short novel than the full-length novel.

BTW, The Man With the Golden Torc series is in the same universe as the Nightside books.  I think the later books have some characters cross over.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on November 13, 2009, 09:40:41 AM
Just finished reading Haggards She as part of a world history class. I've read better, but I've read worse, as well. Somehow, reading it as part of a school assignment kind of kills the enjoyment factor.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on November 13, 2009, 09:00:28 PM
I've begun reading Alex Ross's Justice and DC's Infinite Crisis.  Very good comics.  I hope to get Kingdom Come and 52 soon.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SkullBat308 on November 13, 2009, 10:20:16 PM
(http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/9049/cellstephenking.jpg)

(http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2811/fundamentalist.jpg)

(http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/4867/waronmetaphor.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on November 14, 2009, 06:43:28 AM
([url]http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/9049/cellstephenking.jpg[/url])


How are you finding that one Jesse? I thought it was one of SK's worst books.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SkullBat308 on November 15, 2009, 11:50:28 PM
([url]http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/9049/cellstephenking.jpg[/url])


How are you finding that one Jesse? I thought it was one of SK's worst books.


Eh, I like it just because I'm a sucker for apocalypse or zombie stories and the idea of wiping the brain clean like a hard drive and have it reboot at our primal instinct level was pretty interesting. Definitely not his best, but far from one of his worst IMO. I found this very similar to Brian Keenes book The Rising, which is about a man trying to find his son during the apocalypse but instead of the phone thing people are possessed by demons released by government experiments with other dimensions. I just checked and Keenes was written first......


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on November 16, 2009, 07:32:34 AM
I am most of the way through Stephen King's newest book, UNDER THE DOME.  It is a very solid piece of work, as good as anything he has done in 20 years.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 3mnkids on November 16, 2009, 08:55:34 AM
I am most of the way through Stephen King's newest book, UNDER THE DOME.  It is a very solid piece of work, as good as anything he has done in 20 years.

I stopped reading King for a lot of years, picked up the cell and remembered why... Maybe I will give him another shot and pick up under the dome. I read a little bit of it in a magazine and I might actually like it.

I finished horror show last night. I read a lot of books and this is the first one that I can remember that was really, really good and then lost it in the last 10 freaking pages. Instead of closing the book and saying damn, that was good all I could say was WTF! How disappointing.  :hatred:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 16, 2009, 05:44:09 PM
Yes.

The local library has a section dedicated to graphic novels, and I've been perusing those recently, and it surprises me how many there are out there.

Stories based . . .
. . . on film characters
"Indiana Jones"

. . . on TV characters
"Angel"
"Buffy"

Collections . . .
. . . of old comics
"Modesty Blaise"
"The Spirit"

. . . of original comics
"Disney"

Prequels to films
"Jim Henson's 'The Dark Crystal'"

Sequels to films
"Jim Henson's 'Labyrinth'"

Graphic adaptations . . .
. . . of historical events
The United States Constitution

. . .of historical personages
Nat Turner

. . . of computer games
"The Prince of Persia"
This has been made into a film and should be out in May, 2010. How close the film will be to any of the computer games, is anybody's guess.

Picture novelizations . . .
. . . of books I've read
"The Dragonlance" series

. . . of books I haven't read
"The Artemis Fowl" series

The last two are in what is known as "limbo hell," but if they ever come out, we may see "Dragonlance: the Movie" and "Artemis Fowl: the Movie." No idea how far along "Dragonlance: the Movie" is, but, at least, "Artemis Fowl: the Movie" has reached the script stage.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on November 23, 2009, 04:29:49 AM
Finished The Shining, and started...

(http://a2.vox.com/6a00e3989eb38f000200e398cc85f20005-500pi)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on November 23, 2009, 08:41:55 AM
I'm currently reading Crisis on Infinite Earths and for the fun of it, The Dilbert Principle.  I don't work in the business world... yet, but I do enjoy learning about the secret truths of that world.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on November 23, 2009, 10:37:00 AM
http://mises.org/media.aspx?action=category&ID=139


some guy sat down and read the entirety of Ludwig Von Mises' 912 page economic treatise "Human Action" so I figure I have no choice but to listen to it.

it's sort of like 9 deaths of the ninja


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on November 23, 2009, 03:38:49 PM
I started reading the Grossman translation of Don Quixote.  I think I might end up buying this.  I got it from the library and the thousand page length means it'll be tough to finish in two weeks, especially around Thanksgiving.

And, more importantly, I'm surprised at how readable this is.  It's an EXTREMELY good translation.  At least, in the way I like it to be.  It reads like modern english, but at times you can tell sentences are clunky to better mimic the original writing.  It's also genuinely funny.  I mean, I know Quixote is SUPPOSED to be funny, but my experience has been that older books that are supposedly hilarious find their humor destroyed by aging language and other impediments.  Not this one.

The storyline is incredibly modern, as well.  I'm not too far into it, but I hope I find the whole book as enjoyable as the first few chapters have been.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on November 23, 2009, 11:27:27 PM
I just finished Stephen King's newest work, UNDER THE DOME.
The master has his mojo back.  This is one incredible work.  Just when you think the plot can't get anymore twisted . . .


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on November 23, 2009, 11:43:20 PM
I just finished Stephen King's newest work, UNDER THE DOME.
The master has his mojo back.  This is one incredible work.  Just when you think the plot can't get anymore twisted . . .

I'll add that one to the list, after Michael Slade's Ripper, Frozen Beneath and Koko. :teddyr:

Not much time for reading, so I'm still on Koontz's Frankenstein but I highly recommend the series, and I think the final book is turning out to be the best. Koontz managed to make a subplot about a pair of psychotic artificial humanoids on a door-to-door murder spree into some really hilarious comic relief. It sounds weird, but it works surprisingly well.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on November 25, 2009, 11:52:32 PM
Still reading HHGTTG series, but I did get a whole bunch of new books today.  I think I found one of my favorite mom n' pop stores ever.  It's a small used bookstore in Spokane proper simply called Book Traders.  The place has mountain and mountains of used books like something out of a movie, plus they give you good deals on the ones you bring in.  I took a whole bunch in and walked out with a whole bunch.  Of course, you still have to pay a small trade fee, but it's worth it, especially since paperbacks there are dirt cheap. 

Books I got:
The Policy by Bentley Little
Bag of Bones by Stephen King
Nightwing by Martin Cruz Smith
The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
In the Night Room by Peter Straub
Midnight Voices by John Saul

Great place.  They even take books that are over twenty years old.  I had some paperbacks older than I am, and no other bookstore will take them.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on December 01, 2009, 11:00:33 AM
Don't laugh, but I'm about 60 pages into TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES by Thomas Hardy . . . and I'm enjoying it . . .


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on December 01, 2009, 11:03:50 AM
I just got a case of need by michael crichton. haven't started it yet


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on December 01, 2009, 08:56:44 PM
Don't laugh, but I'm about 60 pages into TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES by Thomas Hardy . . . and I'm enjoying it . . .

I just finished reading Pride and Prejudice. Of course, I really only read it so I could read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Derf on December 01, 2009, 09:27:03 PM
I just started on The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. It was recommended to me by a friend, and so far (I'm on book 3), it's been pretty good. I've never seen the TV show, though I've heard good things about it.

And Mofo Rising, I just bought Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; not sure when exactly I'll get to it.

I also just recently finished Terry Pratchett's Nation. It's not one of his Discworld books. It's more of an alternative history book, with some familiar things mixed in with fantastic things. It has touches of Pratchett's wit, but overall it is a much more serious story than his usual stuff.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on December 02, 2009, 01:12:36 AM
I just started on The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. It was recommended to me by a friend, and so far (I'm on book 3), it's been pretty good. I've never seen the TV show, though I've heard good things about it.

And Mofo Rising, I just bought Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; not sure when exactly I'll get to it.

I also just recently finished Terry Pratchett's Nation. It's not one of his Discworld books. It's more of an alternative history book, with some familiar things mixed in with fantastic things. It has touches of Pratchett's wit, but overall it is a much more serious story than his usual stuff.


Thing that's most amazing about the Dresden Files is that each book is better than the last for quite a while.  Then White Knight came out and is by far the weakest book in the series..  It's been getting better again (the last book in particular was solid) but I'm a little worried the series has peaked.  They're all worth reading though.

I just read The Sword Edged Blonde by Bledsoe.  Cross between hard-boiled detective fiction and a medieval fantasy.  So, you've got a main character named Eddie LaCrosse and bad guys with names like Frankie and Jimmy...  Who are running around with swords and riding on horseback.  It's a little strange, but it works.  The ending was terrible, utilizing a genre cliche I've always hated.  This book is the second in the series, and from what this one implies, the original book ended in a similar way.  Solid book, but because of the endings I'm not going to read any more of them.

Dragon Rule just came out.  

(http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n62/n311869.jpg)

Bought it today.  I don't remember the details of the previous book in the series that well, so I'm going to reread it before getting to it.  I quite enjoy the Age of Fire series though.  Fantasy fans should enjoy it, as long as you can deal with some grim material (they're pretty dark and gory at times).  And, of course, if you love dragons few books are better.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 04, 2009, 05:46:39 PM
Yes. "People of the Thunder" by Gear and Gear.

He is an archaeologist that specializes in Native American archaeological sites, and she is a Native American, in part, so they really know their stuff.

This is a continuation of their earlier book "People of the Weeping Eye," which I have also read, but, I like "People of the Thunder" better. Because most of the characters were introduced in the first book, this one has less exposition, and because we are over half way to the conclusion, this one has more action in it.

These are not the only books they have written. They have written sixteen books in total about the Native Americans. While not written in any chronological or geographical order, they do cover the history of the Native Americans from 13,000 B.C. to 1300 A.D. and an area as far north as Alaska, as far south as Florida, as far east as Chesapeake Bay, and as far west as the Pacific Coast.

While I may not go back and pick up any of their previous books, I am interested in their next two books: "People of the Longhouse" and "People of the Forest."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Allhallowsday on December 07, 2009, 05:22:09 PM
I just finished Reel Tears a memoir of BEVERLY WASHBURN here she sings her Top 40 hit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P441MSnDEYE&feature=PlayList&p=C0E35A8F2874B12F&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=78


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on December 08, 2009, 03:21:55 AM
Still reading HHGTTG.  Currently on the third book: Life, the Universe, and Everything.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on December 08, 2009, 09:24:13 AM
I'm re-reading Michael Moore's Stupid White Men.  :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on December 08, 2009, 09:28:17 AM
I'm re-reading Michael Moore's Stupid White Men.  :smile:

His autobiography?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on December 08, 2009, 09:34:08 AM
I'm re-reading Michael Moore's Stupid White Men.  :smile:

His autobiography?

 :teddyr: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle:

I bought this paperback at the Frankfurt Airport in 2003 ~ my first and so far only trip overseas. I asked the lady at the airport bookshop for something funny that would keep me sane during the 12 hour flight to Johannesburg and she said that I should buy this. She said that it was very funny, even "the German translation is funny".  :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on December 08, 2009, 10:00:58 AM
chris elliots "shroud of the thwacker" is hilarious


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on December 10, 2009, 09:18:57 PM
(http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c375/fausto963/house-of-leaves.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on December 10, 2009, 11:24:35 PM
Finally finished Koontz's Frankenstein. The third book is not nearly as intense as the first two, but it has a lot of dark humour. The ending, however, was a letdown. A few really interesting ideas were developed earlier in the story, then very little was actually done with them. The book built up expectations until it reached what should have been the big, climactic confrontation, then suddenly wrapped itself up in a neat little package without much of anything happening. No suspense, no real twists, just a straight line to the end. It's like Koontz got about two thirds of the way through the book, said "f**k it" and tied up all the loose ends in a couple of chapters. I enjoyed most of the book, but everything resolved itself far too easily in the end, and quite a few good ideas just seemed to get discarded along the way. But I suppose this book is heavily rewritten from the original that was completed around the time of Hurricane Katrina (the story is set in New Orleans), so maybe the weak story and general unevenness of the book is due to that.

I've just started Michael Slade's "Ripper" which starts out with a satanic ritual in the 1920s, vividly described, with lots of masked naked people dancing about in a big, old mansion with a thunderstorm going on outside. So far, so good.

Oh, and one of the activities described, involving a large statue of Old Nick, bears a striking resemblance to the one depicted in this pic from the Humorous Captions board. It's called the osculum obscenum and it's exactly what it looks like.
(http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c375/fausto963/PDVD_028.jpg)

One thing I can say about Slade books - the author does his research and he delivers the freakiness.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on December 11, 2009, 11:08:53 AM
FAIRY TALES OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 11, 2009, 11:50:30 PM
Just re-read Jack Brooks' THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE.  Can't be too prepared.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SPazzo on December 12, 2009, 12:02:47 AM
I'm reading Michael Crichton's State of Fear.  I finished reading Next a week or so ago.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 13, 2009, 05:59:20 PM
Speak Russian In 30 Days.

I want to tell this guy named Andrei off in his native language.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on December 14, 2009, 08:37:34 PM
Completed Life, the Universe, and Everything and started So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish.  I've decided after I've finished the HHGTTG series that I'll start reading Farewell to Arms by Hemmingway.  Yeah, strange shift, I know.   :teddyr:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 17, 2009, 07:30:46 PM
Christian fiction for Christians and non-Christians who might not read fiction.

Specifically, Ted Dekker's "The Lost Book Series." At least six books in the series.

Chaos
Infidel
Renegade
Chaos
Lunatic
Elyon

At least the first four in the series have been adapted into graphic novel format, and I've been the second and third in the series.

While Christian and Christianity are never mentioned in the series, the parallels to Christianity are quite obvious, at least in the ones I've read.

But, I should have known what I was reading, when I saw it was published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, who are a big Christian publishing house, publishing both Christian non-fiction and fiction.

He apparently has another series, using some of the same characters, his "Circle Trilogy," which is now a quadrilogy, with the publication of at least a fourth book.

Black
Red
White
Green

The "Left Behind series" by Tim LaHaye, John S. Lyman, and Jerry B. Jenkins has also been adapted into a graphic novel series, but Dekker is a much better author than those three. But, none of them are as good as C. S. Lewis, but we'll probably never see his like again.

I've got another graphic novel series I've read at about the same time, but we'll take up that one at a later date.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on December 19, 2009, 04:18:17 AM
Still reading So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish.  I'm having a hard time finishing it.  It's just so.......boring.  I guess I'm part of that small percentage that doesn't like the book, but I loved the first three.  This one is driving me nuts.  It just doesn't have the feeling that the first one did.  After reading some reviews for Mostly Harmless, I'm afraid to even start that one. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 21, 2009, 06:30:45 PM
About a decade ago, Cross Generation Comics published a series of six original comics. The company may no longer be extant, as their website is no longer extant, but the comics were . . .

Mystic for those who like stories about magic and mysticism.

Sigil for those who like "pure" science fiction.

Meridian for those who like romantic fairy-tale fantasy.

The First for those who like stories about larger than life gods.

Crux for those who like both apocalyptic science fiction and fantasy.

Sojourn for those who like high fantasy with a Tolkien-esque twist.

I've read the first fourteen chapters of "Sigil," which I didn't like at all, but then I mostly prefer fantasy to science fiction.

I also read the first seven chapters of "Meridian," which I liked better, but like many stories, it fell into the trap of making the villains more interesting than the heroes.For example: most of the enemy soldiers are mere boys. Some of them not even out of their mid teens yet. And I think it also goes to the fact that villains are drawn as being more complex and complicated, than the heroes, who come across as being more simple. Not simple minded, but simple in almost every other way.

Something else about "Meridian." It was written to appeal to teen-age girls.

I'm interested in finishing "Meridian" and reading the other four series, to see if I like them better or not than the two I've already read.












Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 3mnkids on December 21, 2009, 08:01:14 PM
Just finished the Princess of landover~Terry Brooks~  and I gotta say Im a little disappointed. It just didnt do it for me like  magic kingdom for sale, the black unicorn and wizard at large did. Granted I read those years ago but this addition just felt out of place to me.

Im starting on.. Devices and desires by K.J. Parker now. So far, so good.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 22, 2009, 10:27:43 PM
I just finished Dinesh D'Souza's WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT CHRISTIANITY.

He does a magnificent job of responding to the wave of assaults on the faith in recent years by the likes of Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchins . . . . intelligent, logical, and appealing far more to reason than to Scripture, this is one of the best defenses of Christianity I have ever read.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Allhallowsday on December 23, 2009, 10:38:38 PM
I just finished HELLRAISERS by Robert Sellers.  It was an entertaining and enlightening read.  I bought it for my alcoholic brother who is now so incapacitated by his own drinking, he can't get out and get his own booze.  He wanted it and I know he will love it, but it is disgusting, sad, and disturbing... and quite amusing. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 27, 2009, 05:47:25 PM
Actually, yes.

Groo

Sergio Aragone's Groo

About two decades ago, it was a series of comics published by Marvel Comics. Then about a decade later, it was repackaged and republished by Dark Horse Comics, which is the format I read.

Groo is the stupidest man in the world, but he continually gets the better of people who are smarter than him, which is everybody, because he is the stupidest man in the world.

It also features his enemies, friends, and relatives. Some of whom are one and the same. Also his faithful dog Rufferto, who might be the only creature in the world more stupid than Groo, as the dog continually misinterprets Groo's actions.

Two of the most interesting characters, other than Groo and Rufferto, are the Minstrel, who always speaks in rhyme and the Sage, who started out speaking normally, but as the series progressed, began to speak in adages.

There are at least 18 books in the series. Of which I have read 5. 14 which include a letter of the alphabet in the title and 4 other titles.

It started out as a rather lighthearted series, but as it progressed it became darker in tone, as it dealt with subjects of death, war, and ecological disasters by the score.

But, that is not the only reason it is not for children. While there is no bad language or sex, there is a surprising amount of nudity and semi-nudity in the series. Most of which, again surprisingly, is male. It is also violent, as Groo loves nothing more than charging into a fray, slaying both friend and foe, with his trusty swords. And while most of the violence is of the comedic nature, it is still there.

A number of years ago, there was suppose to be a movie version with Chris Farley as Groo, but that idea ended with Farley's death. And while I regret his premature death, he'd be wrong for the character.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on December 27, 2009, 06:22:32 PM
I'm just starting in on White Night by Jim Butcher.  Then I have The Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman and And Another Thing by Eoin Colfer waiting.  After those I will likely try for something 'heavier'.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: El Misfit on December 27, 2009, 06:24:50 PM
pride and pred, and zombies


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SkullBat308 on December 29, 2009, 11:42:13 PM
(http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/1782/clockworkorangeo.jpg)

(http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/400/parralaxview.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on December 30, 2009, 12:20:59 AM
(http://store.exploratorium.edu/prodimg/17931.jpg)

An excellent book! If you are at all interested in chemistry, or material science, or just curious about what the world around you is made of, this is a great book. It's full of big, beautiful pictures of each element, along with a quick discussion of its properties and applications. Plus, it's pretty funny.

If you like that, I also recommend Theo Gray's Mad Science.

(http://www.ebooknetworking.com/books/157/912/big1579127916.jpg)

That one is full of actual experiments you can perform at home, but only if you have a really good machine shop set-up. If you don't, it still has bunch of pretty pictures and practical information.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on December 30, 2009, 06:36:29 AM
Still reading Slade's "Ripper." Thanks to the Christmas holidays, I got half the book read in a couple of days. As always, Slade combines horror, psycho thriller, mystery, police procedural and real history. This one has a killer who makes a Jolly Roger out of his victims by painting crossbones on the chest and skinning the face. And the investigation requires extensive study into the occult and Jack the Ripper, and a number of real historic people connected to both. Fascinating stuff. The research that goes into these books is amazing.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on December 30, 2009, 11:45:39 AM
Richard Dawkins' "The Selfish Gene."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on December 30, 2009, 12:05:08 PM
jim powell "bully boy"  it's position is that TR was a bad president


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Time_Signature on January 02, 2010, 05:41:44 PM
Erik W. Hansen and Hans Frede Nielsen "Irregularities of Modern English"
Erik W. Hansen "Om Histore og Sproghistorie"

Both are books on historical linguistics.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on January 03, 2010, 01:01:47 AM
About done with A Farewell to Arms.  Planning to read Cell pretty soon. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SkullBat308 on January 05, 2010, 12:00:29 AM
(http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/6665/gutstein.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 05, 2010, 07:21:16 AM
I just finished A MAGNFICENT CATASTROPHE, the story of the turbulent 1800 Presidential election that ended in the only tie in U.S. history.  A nice piece of  political history.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 08, 2010, 05:03:29 PM
Fowl and Montag.

Fowl is, of course, Artemis Fowl from Eoin Colfer's "Artemis Fowl" and adapted into graphic format by Andrew Dunkin, which is how I read it.

Something of a reverse, as I read the sequel "Artemis Fowl: the Arctic Incident," before I read the original, which, actually, may be the best way to read them, as I thought the sequel was better than the first one. Maybe, because the sequel seemingly has more humor in it.

The characters are also seemingly reversed. As what would normally be the villain is the hero, and the what would normally be the heroes are the villains.

This is also one of the few books in which both sides scared the s*** out of me.

Fowl
1. intelligent
2. amoral
3. ruthless
4. fearless

Elves
1. intelligent
2. amoral
3. ruthless
4. nasty

And what really scares the s*** out of me, is that both sides like to "cut it close," which leaves little margin for mistakes.

Next time: Montag


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on January 09, 2010, 07:55:35 AM
Peter Stiff's See You In November ~ an account of the Rhodesian war as seen through the eyes of an ex-SAS soldier turned operative for the government and codenamed "Taffy".  :question:

I liked the book up until the part where "Taffy" goes to the SPCA to buy a dog to see how long a certain poison will take to kill it.  :bluesad:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SPazzo on January 11, 2010, 12:37:03 AM
Oscar Wilde's a Picture of Dorian Grey.  Everyone knows what that is.

Also, the Bone Parade by Mark Nykanen.  It's about a serial killer who turns families into bronze statues.  I'm having second thoughts about it actually.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on January 11, 2010, 04:32:50 PM
Finally started reading Don Quixote again.  On a classics of lit note, I'm thinking about reading the Count of Monte Cristo.  Anyone suggest a translation?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 11, 2010, 07:12:08 PM
I just finished 30 QUESTIONS YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO ASK ABOUT AMERICAN HISTORY.  Lester would have loved it.  Very opinionated, and passionately libertarian, and almost as obnoxious as Lester on his better days . . . .  :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: El Misfit on January 11, 2010, 07:13:01 PM
The Kite Runner


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on January 11, 2010, 09:12:55 PM
1984: I finished it and like Animal Farm, I dislike the unhappy ending.  It's brutally honest and understand the point the writer is getting across, but still.

What I learned from this book is this: 2 + 2 = 5 and the following phrase:

"Peace is War
 Freedom is Slavery
 Ignorance is Strength."

Nothing like backwards thinking.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on January 14, 2010, 02:56:13 PM

I just got done reading In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect, which, in addition to having one of the longest titles of any book I've ever read, is about the Secret Service.  It gives a quick overview of its history, they training and exercises they go through, how the investigate threats on the President's life, and then various stories about Presidents,  and their familes they've protected.  The last half of the book is how a lot of corner cutting, lack of funding, and just overall mismanagement has lead to some near disasters and a lot of agents leaving for better paying (and better treating) jobs in the private sector.

It's a fascinating book, but I did think it was a little short though, wish they had went into more details on some of the stories about various figures.  We get some interesting stories and insights though, some more surprising than others.  For instance, Kennedy had the secret service set up an "alarm" system for in case his wife would abruptly return to the White House without notice (no real surprise there).  Carter was pretty much considering a dick to the agents and considered them all the be guy who could get "a real job" (which is kind of surprising considering his humble beginnings as a peanut farmer.)

Clinton, according to agents, was a decent enough fellow, although he was constantly on "Clinton time" which meant being about two hours late for everything.  Hillary (again, no surprise here) was a bit of a b***h to all the agents.  Neatly enough though, of all the kids they've guarded they said Chelsea Clinton was the easiest to work with.  She would always let the agents know in advance her schedule and, unlike some (the Bush and Carter kids) wouldn't try to ditch the agents. 

One of the disturbing things though is the book insists that with all the craziness going on with management and lack of funding, that many inside the agency insist it's only a matter of time before someone manages to take out the President.

Anyway, it's a good book, and I recommend it for those interesting in a behind the scenes look at Washington and it's politics. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on January 14, 2010, 03:09:00 PM
1984: I finished it and like Animal Farm, I dislike the unhappy ending.  It's brutally honest and understand the point the writer is getting across, but still.

What I learned from this book is this: 2 + 2 = 5 and the following phrase:

"Peace is War
 Freedom is Slavery
 Ignorance is Strength."

Nothing like backwards thinking.

I remember when I finished 1984 basically thinking "That was probably the most powerful book I've ever read.  And I'll never, ever read it again."

Also, the best bit from either of those books has got to be "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others."

I might suggest seeing the cartoon version of Animal Farm (or the live action TNT version) as both have different endings.




Anyway, I just read Green Dragon Codex.  Probably the best of the "Codex" books, but still just a decent young adult fantasy book.  It also reminded me why I don't like the current version of D&D dragons as much as the old ones..  They're too far removed from a "normal" life these days.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on January 14, 2010, 04:07:14 PM
Slade's "Ripper" is turning out to be a great read. Besides a pretty disturbing pair of serial killers, the investigation covers Satanism in the late 19th/early 20th century, Jack the Ripper, radical feminism, owls, Tarot cards, taxidermy and detective novels. I've got about a quarter of the book left, and it's turned into an homage to "And Then There Were None." Lots of fun.

I've started finding more time to read again, which is good, because I've also built up a backlog of books I want to read. Next up is Brian Horeck's "Frozen Beneath," followed by another Slade Book, "Evil Eye," after which I might skip ahead temporarily and read the new Slade Book, "Red Snow." Murder and mayhem at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Can't wait to read it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 3mnkids on January 14, 2010, 04:34:38 PM
Has anyone read "The death of Bunny Munro"? I received a very nice hardcover, limited edition copy yesterday but its so nice I dont really want to open it.   :teddyr:  I may buy a copy to read if its good. anyone?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 14, 2010, 07:54:10 PM
Fowl and Montag.

Montag is, of course, Guy Montag from Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" and adapted into graphic format by Tim Hamilton, which is how I read it.

I must admit, the only book I have read by Bradbury is his "Something Wicked this Way Comes." Thus, I know "Fahrenheit 451," not from the book, but by the 1966 film version w/ Oskar Werner, Julie Christie, and Cyril Cusack, which I saw only once than over thirty years ago, but has stuck with me ever since.

Unlike a Chandler, whose strength lies in his poetic images, Bradbury's images are rather prosaic. Thus, the film may be one of those rare films that is actually better than the book, as I can remember the film taking Bradbury's images and expanding on them and even improving on them.

I also remember Montag being more likable in the film than he is in the book. Which is not a surprise. As a film requires more people to be a success than a book. The rough edges of a book's character are often toned down to make him or her more liable for the film.

And unlike a Verne or Wells, Bradbury was not good at predicting the future. I will credit him with predicting the flat screen TV mounted on the wall, or its '50's equivalent. But he failed to see the mandatory use of seat belts in cars. Even though the seatbelt was invented in 1949. He failed to see the demise of the billboard. And he failed to see that firemen might get a raise between the some forty years between when the book was written, and when it takes place. And the one thing he predicted, the hound which can find one person in the midst of a whole city. It never came to be.

No, like Orwell, Bradbury's strength is in his ideas. Indeed, there are a number of parallels between this book and Orwell's "1984."

Both books were written about the same time.
"1984" 1949.
"451" 1953.

Both books take place about the same time.
"1984" 1984
"451" Less than a decade later.

Both books deal with the subject of censorship.

In both books, the hero is a member of a government organization, who backslides, when he begins to question almost everything he knows.

Book books deal with the subject of "What is the truth?" The truth is what we tell you, even though it may be a lie.

In both books, the characters deal with almost constant warfare.

Both books deal with the corruption of children.

In both books, the ending is rather bleak. Though, "Fahrenheit 451" has a somewhat happier ending than "1984."

The book was made into one film in 1966, and it is scheduled for another film version in 2012. Just shoot me now.

As for the title "Fahrenheit 451," I heard it is the temperature at which a book will burn.

Next time: Weiss' and Hickman's "Bones of the Dragon."






Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on January 14, 2010, 11:13:56 PM
One other thing Bradbury got right: The live broadcast of the manhunt and the use of television to get everyone looking for Montag. I think of COPS, America's Most Wanted, and even the OJ chase. Bradbury had TV entertaining people with sensationalized real-life drama long before anyone knew what a reality show was. He was also spot on about people popping in their earbuds and tuning out the world around them. And he gave a very accurate description of the kind of political correctness that did not yet exist in 1953. And then there were the wars going on overseas, that the populace were somewhat aware of, but not overly concerned about. Family members being isolated from one another, taking drugs to manage the stress they feel but don't know how to communicate, and basically suffering sensory overstimulation at the same time they're suffering a lack of emotional stimulation from human interaction. Overall, I think the book is one of the most prophetic SF stories I know.

The robot dog, as a whole, was not a great prediction, but he was right about police using robots in some situations, and about portable chemical detection equipment that can do some of the work only dogs could do in the past. There's just no real device that comes anywhere close to the dog in the book.

But you're right. Bradbury wasn't aiming to predict the future. He was commenting on the society that existed when he wrote it. Television was rapidly catching on, and he was seeing the effects of mass media and easy entertainment in your home on people who are generally prone to following the crowd and doing what's easiest. Something that requires effort, imagination and individual thought, like a good book, was threatened by the easy, homogenized pap on the boob tube that any idiot could just sit and stare at. That's been the concern with TV from the beginning, and I think it's justified. And of course, the Cold War, the bomb, McCarthyism, etc. were looming over everything. Bradbury did a pretty good job of carrying it to a possible extreme.

Man. It's been close to 25 years since I read that book, and it's stuck with me that well. I'd say that's a pretty good sign of a good book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Time_Signature on January 15, 2010, 04:41:39 PM
Holger Steen Sørensen: Word-classes in Modern English with Special Reference to Proper Names with an Introductory Theory of Grammar, Meaning and Reference from 1958.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on January 15, 2010, 10:36:33 PM
(http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c375/fausto963/TraitortotheCrownbyFinlay.jpg)

The Traitor to the Crown series by CC Finlay. I started with the second book, A Spell for the Revolution, by accident. At the moment I'm in the middle of the first, The Patriot Witch. The plot centers around a male witch, a member of the local militia, who discovers that an evil cult of witches is using the british government as a means of controlling the world. He and a group of like-minded American witches have to use their powers to ensure the Colonists win. The supernatural plot acts as a pretext for a "tour of the war" so to speak. The main character, Proctor Brown, finds himself convieniently interacting with real life heroes, including George Washington and Thomas Paine, and takes part in many of the major battles and incidents.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Cthulhu on January 17, 2010, 03:36:38 AM
Has anyone read "The death of Bunny Munro"? I received a very nice hardcover, limited edition copy yesterday but its so nice I dont really want to open it.   :teddyr:  I may buy a copy to read if its good. anyone?
Nick Cave wrote that, right?

Anyway, no, I haven't read it. :teddyr:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on January 18, 2010, 02:50:11 AM
Been reading my bank statements.....  :buggedout: :buggedout: :buggedout: :buggedout: :buggedout:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on January 21, 2010, 04:35:30 AM
Finished reading Cell and started Offspring by Jack Ketchum. 

(http://www.dreadcentral.com/img/reviews/offspringbookbig.jpg)

I read and loved the previous book, Off Season, and am hoping to enjoy this one as much.  I was sad to find that there is already a straight-to-video movie for Offspring, and the Off Season movie isn't even out yet (and it looks like it may have fallen to the wayside, since there's no longer an IMDb page for it). 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1262413/

In any case, I've heard the movie blows.   :tongueout:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 21, 2010, 07:35:26 AM
I just finished ALL ON FIRE: WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON AND THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY.
An incredible work about one of the true heroes of the 19th century.  He never compromised his commitment to equality; he simply stood his ground until, gradually, the country came to agee with him.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Time_Signature on January 21, 2010, 05:02:39 PM
Niels Danielsen: An Essay on Nomos and Human Language

Oh, and to those who think I should read more comics, I am also reading Cerebus the Aardvark by Dave Sim:

(http://www.comicwiki.dk/images/Cerebus.jpg)

;-)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on January 21, 2010, 05:24:06 PM
The History of the Science Fiction Magazine Vol. 1: 1926-1935 edited by Michael Ashley. Just finished the first short story by G. Peyton Wertenbaker entitled "The Coming of the Ice", a terrific little sci-fi story about the end of man.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on January 21, 2010, 07:20:59 PM
Finished Ripper (another great read), and moved on to Frozen Beneath. Got a couple of chapters into that before the lifeless writing and the stilted dialogue made me put it down and grab the next Slade thriller, Evil Eye. I suppose a lot of self-published books are probably self published for a reason, even if they have a cool cardboard standee in the supermarket. Seriously, the first two chapters took place at NORAD and Area 51, and it still managed to be dull. I was left wondering how somebody could write that many words without describing anything.

Evil Eye shows a lot of promise. One of the things I like about Michael Slade is he doesn't waste any time getting the ball rolling. Chapter One, and we're already flashing back to the Anglo-Zulu War, because something that happened at the Battle of Rorke's Drift will connect to the present-day crimes. Then whoosh, to present-day (the 90s) Vancouver, where a bats**t-insane skinhead stomps a couple of sheriff's deputies to death while they're taking him for a psych evaluation. Meanwhile, an unknown party is skulking around outside a formal RCMP dinner, hearing voices that tell him to kill mounties. And around the same time, yet another of the recurring characters has a close relative murdered (seems to happen to somebody about every second book). All this is in the first couple of chapters, and all very vividly described, in spite of being so densely layered into the story. I can't wait to read how everything fits together.

I'm thinking I should give Frozen Beneath another chance, but I've got two more Slade books waiting on the table, and a copy of Koko that should be arriving soon.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on January 22, 2010, 04:40:09 AM
Ordered some more books from AbeBooks. 

(http://www.clivebarker.info/bob5usp1emb.JPG)

(http://www.petdance.com/perl/great-non-oreilly-books/elements-of-style.jpg)

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71TF9GRS54L._SL500_AA240_.gif)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on January 22, 2010, 04:46:33 AM
I just finished 1812, an Eric Flint alternate history novel.  Pretty interesting point of change - Sam Houston, in a battle, takes a minor wound instead of a serious one.  So, he doesn't sit out much of the rest of the War of 1812.  This snow balls into him changing history, and leads in a variety of ways to the Cherokee moving voluntarily early to Arkansas and basically forming their own country.

Looks like the sequel will have this new country fighting the US of A. 

Well written novel, good characters, and actually quite informative about real history (much of the book follows the real stuff). 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on January 22, 2010, 11:17:10 PM
Read the second short story "The Machine Man of Ardathia" by Francis Flagg. Pretty weird little story about a meeting between a machine man of the future unrecognizable as a descendant of the example of 1930s man to whom he pays a visit in his time machine. Liked it almost as much as "The Coming of the Ice" although it lacks a bit of the emotional punch that story had.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on January 23, 2010, 02:52:58 PM
The next story selected was "Out of the Sub-Universe" by R. F. Starzl. It's a short little tale about a journey into a microscic world with an unexpected twist at the end. It rather reminded me of an old EC Comics Weird Science or Weird Fantasy story. Nowhere near as good as the previous two stories in terms of getting across the real human loss involved but a fun little time waster nonetheless.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 25, 2010, 05:04:29 PM
Yes. Weiss' and Hickman's "Bones of the Dragon."

The first in their six-book series "Dragonship."

Heroic Vikings, villainous Romans, and dragons, druids, fairies, gods and goddesses, orges, werewolves, etc.

Not the best thing they've ever done, but not their worst neither.

There are two unique things about it.

(1st) Normally, you can tell who is telling the truth and who is not telling the truth, but the characters are so complex and what they say is so contradictory, you can't tell who is telling the truth or who is not telling the truth.

(2nd) I've seen books where some of the villains were just as "good" as some of the heroes. I've seen books where the heroes and villains were so intertwined, you couldn't tell one from the other, but this is the first time I've seen where some of the villains were actually "better" than some of the heroes.

This one was published last year. The next one, "Secret of the Dragon," will be published in March, 2010. At that rate, the final book will be published in 2014.

And I do hope this does not turn into their "Deathgate Cycle" series. The first two or three books in that series was some of their best writing, but they tried to stretch too thin of a story over too many books, and by the end of the series, the books were almost unreadable.

Next time: "The James Bond Omnibus: vol. 001"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on January 26, 2010, 04:32:58 PM
"The Eternal Man" by D.D. Sharp which first appeared in the magazine Science Wonder Stories in 1929 (the August issue). I really enjoyed this somewhat dark, twisted short story that warns one to be careful when it comes to eternal life, you just might get what you wished and the results might not be at all as you hope. Gets to the heart of what science fiction is all about, warning against the consequences of blindly committing to scientific advancement. This story is almost as good as "The Coming of the Ice" but not quite. Still recommended.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on January 26, 2010, 05:27:21 PM
"The Eternal Man" by D.D. Sharp which first appeared in the magazine Science Wonder Stories in 1929 (the August issue). I really enjoyed this somewhat dark, twisted short story that warns one to be careful when it comes to eternal life, you just might get what you wished and the results might not be at all as you hope. Gets to the heart of what science fiction is all about, warning against the consequences of blindly committing to scientific advancement. This story is almost as good as "The Coming of the Ice" but not quite. Still recommended.

Made me think of "Cautionary Tales" by Larry Niven, probably my favourite short story on the quest for physical immortality. Really puts things in perspective.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on January 27, 2010, 03:26:17 AM
Finished Offspring yesterday.  Started Wolfsbane.

(http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n12/n60548.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on January 27, 2010, 07:31:16 AM
Re-reading BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE by Dee Brown.

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/12731.jpg)

Everyone should read this. It's a real heartbreaker.

"The white man made us many promises-but kept only one. They promised to take our land-and they took it."

Red Cloud

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/RED_CLD.gif)

Black Elk

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/BlackElk.jpg)


Young Man Afraid of His Horses

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/414px-young_man_afraid_of_his_horse.jpg)

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/wndknee.jpg)

Big Foot in death


(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/img_66_648_26.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on January 27, 2010, 08:05:14 PM
"The Eternal Man" by D.D. Sharp which first appeared in the magazine Science Wonder Stories in 1929 (the August issue). I really enjoyed this somewhat dark, twisted short story that warns one to be careful when it comes to eternal life, you just might get what you wished and the results might not be at all as you hope. Gets to the heart of what science fiction is all about, warning against the consequences of blindly committing to scientific advancement. This story is almost as good as "The Coming of the Ice" but not quite. Still recommended.

Made me think of "Cautionary Tales" by Larry Niven, probably my favourite short story on the quest for physical immortality. Really puts things in perspective.

I'll have to try and keep an eye for that. Sounds interesting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Allhallowsday on January 27, 2010, 09:03:27 PM
Re-reading BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE by Dee Brown.
([url]http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/12731.jpg[/url])
Everyone should read this. It's a real heartbreaker.
Agreed.  I lost my own copy many years ago, for I'd surely be re-reading every year or so. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on January 30, 2010, 08:14:04 AM
Last night I started reading LAST OF THE MOHICANS.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on January 31, 2010, 06:43:46 PM
Just finished "The Power and the Glory" by Charles Willard Diffin (First appeared in ASTOUNDING STORIES July 1930 issue). I was a little disappointed with it overall although it moved well enough and was easy to read and deserves a bit of credit for a slightly unpredictable ending. Still it paled next to the previous stories I've read in this collection.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on February 01, 2010, 09:29:29 PM
Putting off reading "The Demon Redcoat"  for the time being. Instead, I'm starting on Oishinbo a la Carte: The Joy of Rice. It sounds like a cook book, but its actually a set of manga volumes collected and translated from a 1983 series (its as old as I am). It centers on a food critic and his attempts to come up with the perfect japanese meal. No giant robots, no magical girls, no shinto spirits, just food and culture. There's also other volumes besides Joy of Rice, including Sake, Vegetables, and Fish (the title reflecting the type of food the main character will work with, apparently). The english translation has gotten great reviews, even from gourmet food sites that otherwise have nothing to do with manga or comics.

(http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c375/fausto963/oishinbo-rice.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on February 01, 2010, 09:35:12 PM
Putting off reading "The Demon Redcoat"  for the time being. Instead, I'm starting on Oishinbo a la Carte: The Joy of Rice. It sounds like a cook book, but its actually a set of manga volumes collected and translated from a 1983 series (its as old as I am). It centers on a food critic and his attempts to come up with the perfect japanese meal. No giant robots, no magical girls, no shinto spirits, just food and culture. There's also other volumes besides Joy of Rice, including Sake, Vegetables, and Fish (the title reflecting the type of food the main character will work with, apparently). The english translation has gotten great reviews, even from gourmet food sites that otherwise have nothing to do with manga or comics.

([url]http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c375/fausto963/oishinbo-rice.jpg[/url])


I know that series.  I own all the current volumes, except the last one, Pub Food.  It's a pretty good series, but I do wish they would go beyond just making 7 collection volumes.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SPazzo on February 01, 2010, 09:51:02 PM
I'm about to start The Razors Edge by Somerset Maugham.  Also, Linus Torvald's autobiography.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on February 01, 2010, 09:52:46 PM
I know that series.  I own all the current volumes, except the last one, Pub Food.  It's a pretty good series, but I do wish they would go beyond just making 7 collection volumes.

Yeah, in Japan there's like 100 different volumes, not to mention an anime series. No export for us, I guess.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 3mnkids on February 02, 2010, 12:52:55 PM
Incarceron~ Catherine Fisher.. so far im really liking it.

(http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/6052/9780803733961l.jpg) (http://img109.imageshack.us/i/9780803733961l.jpg/)

And..

Attila~ William Napier.. Its interesting.

(http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/364/35490.jpg) (http://img97.imageshack.us/i/35490.jpg/)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on February 02, 2010, 12:57:22 PM
I'm listening to the quran in english!  so far it's very old testamenty


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on February 04, 2010, 02:32:06 PM
(http://i672.photobucket.com/albums/vv84/KevinTarot/ZEO.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on February 06, 2010, 11:23:05 AM
David Bowie: Living on the Brink by George Tremlett.  I'm only 35 pages in, but it looks good.

Also picked up biographies of George Takei, Richard Burton, Gene Roddenberry and Hume Cronin, as well as a couple of cartons-worth of assorted SF, fantasy and other interesting stuff, so I am set for a while.  Got to love the indoor yard sales this time of year!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 07, 2010, 03:37:01 PM
Yes.

"The James Bond Omnibus: vol 001."

If you are looking for an adaptation of the films, you'll be disappointed, but if you're looking for an adaptation of the novels and stories, you'll be appointed. Since it is a graphic adaptation of the novels and stories and not the films.

All the novels and stories are there.

vol. 001 has "Casino Royale," "Live and Let Die," "Moonraker," "Diamonds are Forever," "From Russia with Love," "Dr. No," "Goldfinger," "From a View to a Kill," "For Your Eyes Only," "Thunderball," and "Risco."

vol. 002, which will be published this year, has "The Man with the Golden Gun," "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," "You Only Live Twice," "The Living Daylights," "Octop***y," and "The Spy Who Loved Me."

I can remember reading "From Russia with Love" in the comic section of the local paper and thinking how closely it followed the book.

If the good news is how closely they follow the books, the bad news is that it is an extremely dated series, and the graphics don't help any.

It is a series based on the politics and social mores of the '50's and '60's, when the books were written, or, at least, the politics and social mores filtered through the likes and dislikes of Ian Fleming, the author.

And being a man of his time and background, his dislikes are long and alphabetical, While he does like individuals of certain races, just on principle he seems to dislike . . .

Albanians, Bulgarians, the Chinese, Cubans, Germans, the Japanese, Koreans, Russians, and blacks from any country.

And he has mixed feelings for Italians, Gypsies, the French, and Americans. His mixed feelings toward Americans come out clearer in the books than they do in the graphic adaptations of the books.

The only people he seems to like wholeheartedly are Turks and Canadians.

Next time: the "Alex Rider" series.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sister Grace on February 09, 2010, 08:07:02 PM
Aldous Huxley- Brave New World.
I had just finished his Doors of Perception. Brave New World is good and one of him more well-known works, but i'm not enjoying it as much as Doors of Perception. Still good food for the soul....


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on February 13, 2010, 10:14:01 AM
I've decided to put my lecture things i listen to here because I cannot figure out where to put them


http://bit.ly/6Vj3fG


^this was good.  "economics for high school students."  granted I'm 35 and have read most of the works of these authors but it was still fun, especially robert murphy and Jeff tucker.

It doesn't give you any theory, just shows in geneal guys who call themsevles economists look at the world.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on February 16, 2010, 05:14:09 AM
Still struggling through Son of a Witch.  The only thing keeping me from shutting the book and starting another one is that my fiancee wants to talk about this one, as she read it and has no one to talk with about it.  It feels to me like Gregory Maguire is far too in love with his language and voice.  He spends far too much time dwelling on events and minor details that most writers would either underscore or leave out all together.  I understand that there's supposed to be some kind of metaphor or allegory behind even the blandest scenes, but dammit Greg, you're not Ralph Ellison. 

Hopefully I can finish this torture device within a week or so and start my next book, Soon To Be a Major Motion Picture.  It's got promise.  Every review I've read for it has been a good one. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on February 16, 2010, 09:10:08 AM
More than halfway through Evil Eye. It was kind of moving along at a nice pace and then hit with a couple of serious action chapters. I don't want to spoil it for anybody who might want to read the book, but it was pretty wild. I'll just say the book has two separate crazies - a paranoid psychotic who sees police as living skeletons in uniforms, and a sociopath out to avenge some as-yet-unrevealed injustice. Both are interested in killing a lot of cops in one go. The psychotic just made his play in a suitably crazy yet unexpected manner.

Apart from that, the book is about one of the regulars getting framed for his mother's murder, which is somehow connected to everything. I don't know why Michael Slade (or rather Jay Clarke and partners) is so hard on his heroes, but this is the fifth Special X book and at least four members of his elite team of cops have lost at least one person close to them in a really horrible manner. One of them also finished the last two books by getting shot and stabbed, respectively.

And each Slade book usually has some kind of subtext, and Evil Eye deals with racism and political correctness. It came out in 1993, when PC had really gotten out of hand, and it's written against a backdrop of the Rodney King beating and LA riot, the end of apartheid, and white cops getting crucified for shooting black suspects, along with flashbacks to the Anglo-Zulu war, which has something to do with the events of the story.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on February 17, 2010, 03:42:07 AM
I just bought and started reading the collection of Solomon Kane stories.  Pretty entertaining.  He's the other famous character Robert Howard, the creator of Conan, made in the 1920s.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on February 18, 2010, 05:45:19 PM
The Voice From the Ether by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach (Amazing Stories July 1931)

A clever, original and terrifically twisted little tale of revenge. Earth receives its first communication with Mars and learns of a mad scientist's diabolical twisted plot of vengeance against his home Martian world. I was enthralled by this one which feels part sci-fi, part disaster epic. Lots of horrific details included too. Very, very good IMO...right up there with The Coming of the Ice and The Eternal Man.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on February 20, 2010, 05:56:05 AM
I'm reading Soon to be a Major Motion Picture by Warren Dunford, and I realized before long that it's target audience is gay males (a gay mystery, no less).  It's not that I have a problem with homosexuality, but I feel out of place reading it. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 20, 2010, 05:44:16 PM
Yes.

"The Alex Rider" series by Anthony Horowitz.

Bond. James Bond, jr. But a Bond who can go where no adult Bond can go.

7 books in the series. Which I have not read.
The first three being converted into graphic novels. Which I have read.
The first one being made into a film. Which I have not seen.

Like the "Artemis Fowl" series there are scenes of high intensity in the series, which makes you wonder why Europeans seem to be better at writing such scenes than any American author writing for teens.

It is an apt comparison with "Artemis Fowl," even though the "Alex Rider" series is more violent, and the "Artemis Fowl" series comes across as being the more realistic. Even though that series is populated with centaurs, dwarfs, fairies, goblins, trolls, etc.

One similiarity between the two series is that just as I liked the second book in the "Artemis Fowl" series better than the first book, so I liked the second book in the "Alex Rider" series better than the first book. Maybe because the second book skips all the character introductions and gets right to the action. And the second book also has a more plausible villain than the first book.
 
If Ian Fleming was a man of his time and background and seemingly disliked everyone on principle, so Anthony Horowitz is a man of his time and background who seeminly likes everryone. Who does he like?

Russians
Germans
French
Dutch
Cubans
Canadians
blacks
And Americans, even though both national spy agencies are still at loggerheads. Though, there seems to be more coooperation between them than there was fifty to sixty years ago.

And who does he dislike, and Trevor is going to love this.

White South Africans
and for some strange reason Mexicans. There is a Mexican villain in one of the books, and a nasty piece of goods he is, too. Without any redeeming features of some of the other villains. And the author hates politicans, considering them all to be blowhards.

There is one similiarity between Fleming and Horowitz. Both see drugs as corrupting the children of England. But while Fleming saw a political motive behind it, Horowitz sees greed behind it. But both consider drugs as corrupting.

As I said, the first book in the series "Stormbreaker" was made into a film, which I have not see, but now wish I had. For even though the author produced the film, wrote the screenplay, and pikced the actor who appears as Alex, apparently something went wrong with the film. Before it went wrong, there were plans to turn all the books into film. Whether that is still true, I don't know. Or maybe the who series is going to get a reboot, as there is a film called "Storembreaker" coming out in 2011.

Nest time: "Queen and Country"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on February 20, 2010, 08:45:42 PM
Finished Evil Eye. Lots of action in the second half, and a couple of twists I honestly did not see coming. There's a big trial, which is filled with a lot of insight, as the author is an experienced criminal lawyer. The cop killing goes up another notch. Africa comes into the story more, and the history turns more toward European colonialism and all of the turmoil of the Twentieth Century as that period came to an end. Gave me a much better understanding of the politics in Trevor's part of the world.

And although nothing has been said specifically, I get the impression one of the recurring characters (the guy who has been shot, stabbed, lost his mother, son and fiancee, gotten romantically involved with a psycho, been framed for murder, developed epilepsy from his head wound, and had another love interest dropped down an elevator shaft, in addition to childhood abuse by an alcoholic father) might well have contracted AIDS from knifing an African mercenary who had done a little too much raping with his pillaging over the years. Can't remember if it's come up in the two or three later books I read out of order, but I imagine it will come into the next one if there's anything to it. I can't help but be reminded of the scene in Last Action Hero, when Slater meets Schwarzenegger and tells him "You've brought me nothing but pain." In spite of what Stan Lee would have us believe, if heroes could actually meet the people who create their adventures, instant hatred would be the most likely result.

Now, on to the next book, Primal Scream. It apparently ties up a loose end from the first book, Headhunter, that has been dangled in front of readers a number of times. Can't wait to read it, as Headhunter is definitely in the top two or three Slade books I've read so far.
(http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/n5/n29408.jpg)

If anybody wants to check out these books, the author's site is at http://specialx.net


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on February 21, 2010, 04:28:37 AM
I decided Soon to be a Major Motion Picture wasn't for me.  As such, I've started reading something else:

(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/088038901X.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg)

Now I can finally finish the trilogy.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: El Misfit on February 21, 2010, 11:38:56 AM
Batman: Hush Vol. 1 and 2 (again)
X/1999 Prelude


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on February 21, 2010, 10:00:07 PM
Batman: Hush Vol. 1 and 2 (again)
X/1999 Prelude

Hey!  I have all of those, but I haven't gotten around to reading them.  How are they?

Anyways, I'm reading Bamboo Blade, Eyeshield 21, School Rumble, and Case Closed. 

I just finished Sand Land, which was interestingly enough done by the same author as Dragon Ball.  I'm not a fan of Dragon Ball, but I caught the book since it was only one volume and I could buy it for 50 cents.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on February 22, 2010, 10:57:45 AM
Just started 'Reborn' by F. Paul Wilson - the sequel to 'The Keep'.  It does not have to be too too good: I need a change of pace from the biographies I just finished.   :tongueout:

AndyC: I will be looking for 'Evil Eye' and 'Primal Scream' - thanks!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on February 22, 2010, 01:34:51 PM
Just started 'Reborn' by F. Paul Wilson - the sequel to 'The Keep'.  It does not have to be too too good: I need a change of pace from the biographies I just finished.   :tongueout:

AndyC: I will be looking for 'Evil Eye' and 'Primal Scream' - thanks!

Cool. Have you read any of the other Slade novels?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on February 22, 2010, 07:10:57 PM
Cool. Have you read any of the other Slade novels?

Oh yes: I got hooked instantly when I received a copy of 'Swastika' for Christmas a few years back.  Since then I have read 'Headhunter', 'Cutthroat', 'Ripper' and 'Burnt Bones'.   I am glad to have your assessment of the ones you have read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: El Misfit on February 22, 2010, 07:46:00 PM
Batman: Hush Vol. 1 and 2 (again)
X/1999 Prelude

Hey!  I have all of those, but I haven't gotten around to reading them.  How are they?

Anyways, I'm reading Bamboo Blade, Eyeshield 21, School Rumble, and Case Closed. 

I just finished Sand Land, which was interestingly enough done by the same author as Dragon Ball.  I'm not a fan of Dragon Ball, but I caught the book since it was only one volume and I could buy it for 50 cents.

Hush is AWESOME! I'm still trying to cope with the fact that i need to read from right to left.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on February 22, 2010, 10:35:24 PM
Cool. Have you read any of the other Slade novels?

Oh yes: I got hooked instantly when I received a copy of 'Swastika' for Christmas a few years back.  Since then I have read 'Headhunter', 'Cutthroat', 'Ripper' and 'Burnt Bones'.   I am glad to have your assessment of the ones you have read.

Swastika was the first one I read as well. The cover caught my attention, and the synopsis on the back was enough to make me buy it. Loved the book. Headhunter was amazing, and I'm glad to be starting the follow-up, since Sgt. Spann has been in the background of a few books. Ripper was fun. Cutthroat was so dark and disturbing, but hard to put down. I notice you haven't read Ghoul. If you liked Cutthroat, that one almost matches it for dark and disturbing, and introduces Zinc Chandler as the main hero. It's one I think Circus would enjoy, with much of it set in England (in the 80s) and a plot that involves H.P. Lovecraft and heavy metal.

Burnt Bones was great, especially with some of my own family history in it. You'll be pleased to know that Mephisto is back in two more books, one of them being Death's Door, which is a pretty entertaining book from the first page on. Swastika, Burnt Bones and Death's Door were the ones I read out of order before deciding to start the series from the beginning. I also couldn't resist reading Kamikaze, and will probably give in and read Red Snow out of order as well.

It's good to know somebody else on the board is a Slade fan.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on February 27, 2010, 02:36:00 PM
The Asteroid of Gold by Clifford D. Sidmak (Wonder Stories November 1932). A pair of prospecting brothers having just struck a rich vein of gold on a distant asteroid find their good luck suddenly changed very much for the ill when a notorious space pirate sets his sights upon their hard-earned findings.

This story is very much in the vein of two-fisted pulp action heroics as our leads, two strong-willed space miners, fight back as best they can against a powerful and prosperous nefarious space pirate determined not only to rob them of their gold but to also break them of their very wills. It makes for fun and enjoyable reading experience but is definitely more in the realm of action Sci-Fi than hard Sci-Fi. The fight and attack scenes are described in all their harsh brutality in this story of a battle of wills.

The Island of Unreason by Edmond Hamilton (Wonder Stories May 1933) . In the Earth's not so distant future, a man finds himself sent to an isolated island as punishment for not acting "reasonable". This future Earth is a world that provides for everyone in utmost comfort as long as they act "reasonably" which means they go along with whatever they're instructed by their governing supervisors to do or act upon. If they should defy any of these instructions, they are deemed unreasonable and brought to an island offshore far away from civilization, there left to fend for themselves as punishment. At first our lead is horrified by his plight, thrown out of his comfortable predictable existence into a place where threats loom around every corner and he actually has to fend and think for himself. There he meets a young woman named Lita, who is being pursued by others on the island, and in coming to her aid and her befriending and helping him adjust to his plight, he suddenly finds a purpose....on the island of unreason.

This is a very intriguing little story. In fact, it won the Jules Verne Prize as the best story of the year. It really is quite good and thoughtful. After reading this, it makes one realize that reason (and conformity) alone isn't always enough in this world. Freedom (ironically achieved in this tale after one has been arrested), purpose, individuality, emotions, even  unpredictably seem to truly be things to be valued after all. Definitely one of the best stories (and it's in pretty fine company with "The Coming of The Ice", "The Eternal Man" and "The Voice From the Ether") in this collection (A History of the Science Fiction Magazine 1926-1935 edited by Michael Ashley).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on March 01, 2010, 03:12:39 AM
Downloaded and read The Damned Thing by Ambrose Bierce on my Kindle.  Good idea for a story.  I think it was adapted into an episode of Masters of Horror with Sean Patrick Flanery.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: joejoeherron on March 02, 2010, 06:13:42 AM
started reading THE EXECUTIONER #3  Battle Mask again

already read everything in the house this winter

mack bolan is a good way to pass the time


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on March 02, 2010, 02:14:40 PM
I finally finished reading the collection of stories in The History of the Science Fiction Magazine Part 1: 1926-1935 edited by Michael Ashley. The last two stories in it were One Prehistoric Night by Philip Barshofsky (real name M.M. Kaplan) and Davy Jones' Ambassador by Raymond Z. Gallun.

One Prehistoric Night (Wonder Stories November 1934) feels kind of like a EC Comics style Weird Science or Weird Fantasy tale, with a kind of surprise ending or is it? Basically it has an advanced invading Martian colony landing on prehistoric Earth in the Jurassic period. The Earth as described here then is filled with giant, lumbering monsters, themselves locked in a seemingly constant violent, bloody, endless  battle for survival. Can even these advanced aliens stay outside the realm of this constant conflict? It's a fun little story but plays out pretty much the way I expected it would in truth.

Davy Jones' Ambassador (Astounding December 1935) is quite different. It basically focuses on a human who has been captured by bizarre, intelligent undersea creatures, described as a cross by crustacean and shark-like creature with tentacles, who in turn study him while he himself plots and plans for any hope, any potential for his escape and continued survival. It's an interesting read and is definitely rather unique in this anthology as it focuses on a completely different kind of alien than the usual. Where it falters though for me personally is it goes on a bit too long in terms of its MacGyver-isque qualities what with the human constantly improvising out of the scattered elements the undersea intelligent monstrosities provide him with. Still I quite liked it and it deserves recognition as being somewhat unlike any of the stories provided in this anthology. I also quite liked the surprise twist towards the end.

Overall this collection of stories was intriguing to read. There really seemed to be little to no limits in terms of imagination of the era of storytelling involved here . Stories could be told of aliens, monsters, future civilizations quite unlike anything that might well be imagined today. It makes for fun and surprisingly imaginative reading although many of these stories seem more akin to fantasy than out and out science fiction although all have elements true to the science fiction genre as well and most seem still just as plausible now and hold up surprisingly well (particularly The Coming of the Ice and The Eternal Man) as they probably did back when they first appeared, in some cases perhaps even more so strangely enough.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 02, 2010, 07:10:05 PM
Yes.

Greg Rucka's "Queen & Country."

As of 2007, there were seven books in the series, but, so far, I've only read the 3rd one, "Crystal Ball."

If James Bond and Alex Rider are the schoolboy fantasy version of the British spy business, then this is closer to the real thing.

What makes it odd, if the other two series are written by Englishmen, then this one is written by an American.

And, yes. Greg Rucka also wrote "Whiteout."

If they ever do a film version of his "Queen & Country," I hope they do a better job of adapting it, then they did with "Whiteout."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on March 05, 2010, 06:53:43 AM
Finished reading the third Icewind Dale book and started The Cellar by Richard Laymon.  Decent so far, although I could do without the pedophilia.  Also started reading UR by Stephen King on Kindle. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on March 05, 2010, 06:57:04 PM
(http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/isbnthumbs/033/042/0330420151.jpg)

I've begun reading Red Tide by G.M. Ford. It's pretty good so far, easy to read and moves well building up its suspense. I actually found it in a dollar store.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 05, 2010, 08:37:02 PM
I just finished  a biography of Francis Drake, the famous Elizabethan sea dog.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 12, 2010, 05:48:32 PM
Yes.

"Emma."

But this is not Jane Austen's "Emma," but Karou Mori's "Emma."

Time: the 1870s and 1890s

Place: London and the surrounding countryside. With side trips to America and India.

A story about the social divide between the upper and lower classes.

Thus, a little bit Romeo. A little bit Juliet. And the characters are very Dickensian.

One of the neatest things about this story is all the neat information it. For example, not only did the people of that time and place divide along the lines of upper and lower, but they also divided along the following lines.

Servants and servants. Even the servants had a pecking order.
The rich and the poor.
Public school and non-public school.
Parents and children.
Older siblings and younger siblings.
The old and the young.
Mothers and daughters
Men and women.
Masters and servants.
Locals and non-locals.
Husbands and wives.
Fathers and sons.
English and non-English.
City and country.
Aristocracy and non-aristocracy.

If we had been communicating in that time and place, we'd have to communicate through an ouija board, as the average life expectancy was only 50, so I'd have been dead for almost a decade.

Maybe the life expectancy was so low, because the average banquet consisted of . . .

seaturtle soup
followed by . . .
lobster and flounder in orange sauce
followed by . ..
chicken topped with supreme truffle
followed by . . .
pureed snow grouse
followed by . . .
roast duck
bollowed by black thrush
and topped off by a rich souffle.

All washed down by glasses of port, hoch, claret, sherry, and madera.

And, of yes, throw up afterwards.

The story was firs serialized in a Japanese magazine betwee 2002 and 2006. Then it was translated into  English and published in 7 volumesbetween 2006 and 2008, which is how I read it.

There is also 3 more volumes in the magna series of side stories dealing with some of the side characters in the first 7 volumes. The authoress also has another magna series called "Shirley" of stories about other English maids None of which I've read.

But, if you want to read a story that realistically depicts that time and place, "Emma" is that realistic depiction.

Next time: "The Indiana Jones Omnibus"




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on March 13, 2010, 01:32:48 PM
I just finished Red Tide by G.M. Ford. It was quite an involving book as we follow several different characters in Seattle as the city is basically taken under siege due to a terrorist threat - one involving germ warfare and a potential airborne virus capable of wiping out most of the world's populace if not contained in time. The most entertaining character here is perhaps Ford's continuing character Frank Corso, a detective/true crime story writer, who gets tangled up in this whole affair, himself becoming a suspect for having his nose in the wrong place at the wrong time. I also quite liked the different local Seattle detectives and the police captain Harry Dobson who are determined to get to the bottom of things and clean up this mess in their own city and set out to do it in much better fashion than all the outside intrusive government agencies that also show up in town including the CDC, the FBI, the CIA, etc., etc..

It basically gives us the perspective of many different characters and eventually the narrative weaves into an whole that makes sense and builds and builds a terrific sense of suspense. I really couldn't put it down as I reached the climax. I just had to see how it would all play out. Very good book IMO :thumbup: ...kind of a mix of Outbreak meets Pulp Fiction meets Cold Case but completely unique too.  


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on March 13, 2010, 02:31:07 PM
http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/12/23/60-in-60-9-gibbons-the-christians-and-the-rise-of-rome-penguins-great-ideas/

the christians and the fall of Rome.  I'ts good and interesting but a little slow going unless your preferred style is 18th century formality including page long sentences with 11 commas


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on March 14, 2010, 03:13:26 AM
[url]http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/12/23/60-in-60-9-gibbons-the-christians-and-the-rise-of-rome-penguins-great-ideas/[/url]

the christians and the fall of Rome.  I'ts good and interesting but a little slow going unless your preferred style is 18th century formality including page long sentences with 11 commas


I just read two more of the Repairman Jack books.  Very good and entertaining.  Lester, think you might like some of the title character's viewpoints on a few things (which appear to be author F. Paul Wilson's as well). 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on March 14, 2010, 11:22:59 AM
(http://images.andrewsmcmeel.com/media/2393/medium.jpg)

The title speaks for itself.  A collection of movies reviewed 1.5 stars or less.  Lots of fun.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on March 15, 2010, 09:24:45 AM
rev- that looks awesome.  there's one called "hollywood talks turkey" that is really good. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on March 18, 2010, 02:23:08 AM
Finished reading UR by Stephen King on Kindle.  Decent, but not as good as some of his other works.  It somewhat felt like a forced effort. 

However, I have decided to start reading Lair of the White Worm by Bram Stoker.  Hopefully it won't disappoint.  [Sidenote: I hated the movie]


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on March 18, 2010, 01:00:11 PM
rev- that looks awesome.  there's one called "hollywood talks turkey" that is really good. 

I have to scale back my enthusiasm after reading it a bit.  In fact, there are several 2 star reviews in here, which are films he didn't "hate" at all, just sort of "blah" films.  Yet, he put out a companion volume called "You Movie Sucks" with more bad reviews.  It's a bit of a ripoff to stretch the bad reviews over two volumes by putting mediocre ones in with the truly awful.   


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on March 18, 2010, 02:55:33 PM
that's too bad.  Hollywood talks Turkey, I haven't read it in like 15 years, but it was from the golden age of Hollywood and it delt with real stinkers.  I think it might have been Jane Russell I can't remember, some other actor goes to visit her on the set and she is drinking vodka from a jar and going "get me out of here,please!"  :cheers:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on March 18, 2010, 11:59:38 PM
rev- that looks awesome.  there's one called "hollywood talks turkey" that is really good. 

I have to scale back my enthusiasm after reading it a bit.  In fact, there are several 2 star reviews in here, which are films he didn't "hate" at all, just sort of "blah" films.  Yet, he put out a companion volume called "You Movie Sucks" with more bad reviews.  It's a bit of a ripoff to stretch the bad reviews over two volumes by putting mediocre ones in with the truly awful.   

That's too bad. Ebert's very negative reviews are often pretty amusing.  I recall enjoying his Rollerball (remake) review. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 20, 2010, 08:29:37 AM
I just finished Conrad Black's masterful biography of President Nixon, entitled RICHARD NIXON: A LIFE IN FULL .   It is a very detailed, unflinching, but fairly sympathetic chronicle of the remarkable life and career of the most maligned President in U.S. history.  Black is a great storyteller, and was also personally acquainted with Nixon.  As a Brit, he has no "dog in the hunt" when it comes to American politics, and so he does not hesitate to indict Nixon, his aides, or his many critics when he finds them guilty of falsehood or self-serving hypocrisy.  His comments on the turbulent relationship between Nixon and Kissinger alone make the book worth the time it takes to read . . . . which is quite a bit, since it runs about 1000 pates.  Highly recommended for history buffs and those who are interested in the lives of our Presidents.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on March 20, 2010, 09:37:25 AM
I just finished Conrad Black's masterful biography of President Nixon, entitled RICHARD NIXON: A LIFE IN FULL .   It is a very detailed, unflinching, but fairly sympathetic chronicle of the remarkable life and career of the most maligned President in U.S. history.  Black is a great storyteller, and was also personally acquainted with Nixon.  As a Brit, he has no "dog in the hunt" when it comes to American politics, and so he does not hesitate to indict Nixon, his aides, or his many critics when he finds them guilty of falsehood or self-serving hypocrisy.  His comments on the turbulent relationship between Nixon and Kissinger alone make the book worth the time it takes to read . . . . which is quite a bit, since it runs about 1000 pates.  Highly recommended for history buffs and those who are interested in the lives of our Presidents.

Black is no Brit. He's a Canadian who gave up his citizenship to get himself a title. Now, after badmouthing the country for years because we wouldn't let him have his cake and eat it too, he's trying to get his citizenship back, because it suits his purposes.

I'm not at all surprised he'd be sympathetic to Nixon, being a powerful man who considers himself above the law. Black is a crook, currently serving 6-1/2 years for fraud and obstruction of justice. His history as a businessman in Canada is mostly about buying companies to dismantle them and trying to steal from employee pension funds. He's filth.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 20, 2010, 12:31:28 PM
That may be, but he's still a fine writer.  His work on Franklin Roosevelt, CHAMPION OF FREEDOM, is probably going to be the definitive Roosevelt biography for our generation.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on March 20, 2010, 05:15:54 PM
That may be, but he's still a fine writer.  His work on Franklin Roosevelt, CHAMPION OF FREEDOM, is probably going to be the definitive Roosevelt biography for our generation.

Of course, and Michael Jackson might have molested a few children, but he was a heck of a showman.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 21, 2010, 12:40:10 AM
Ouch!!  I get the feeling you really hate this guy!  I looked up his bio, and I still can't figure out exactly what it was he went to jail for.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on March 21, 2010, 12:34:07 PM
Finally got into reading The Demon Redcoat. I think I'll go outside to read today, its too nice to stay indoors.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on March 22, 2010, 06:24:03 AM
I'm currently digging into Michael Slade's Ghoul, which was sent to me by AndyC! So far, so good...  :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on March 22, 2010, 10:28:20 AM
I'm currently digging into Michael Slade's Ghoul, which was sent to me by AndyC! So far, so good...  :smile:


Great. It didn't take long to get there.

I've finished Primal Scream and jumped out of order for the newest, Red Snow. I'm already halfway through, and the story is full of surprises. Slade brings back characters from a few earlier books, kills off a couple of regulars, and has a criminal mastermind attack the Olympics at Whistler, BC. with both large-scale terrorism and more intimate homicide.
(http://www.specialx.net/specialxdotnet/images/Slade_RedSnow_TPB.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on March 23, 2010, 12:41:35 PM
Just started UNCLE TOM'S CABIN by Harriett Beecher Stowe



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on March 24, 2010, 06:01:59 PM
I have 76 pages left in The Chosen by Chaim Potok.

I'm really enjoying it so far!     


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 24, 2010, 06:23:06 PM
Just finished ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER.  A fascinating look into a little-known aspect of the life of our 16th President, based on his recently discovered journals.  By the editor of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES.  It is an amazing tale of heroism, and the REAL meaning behind America's Civil War!  Best line so far, from Lincoln's journal:

"I cannot escape the conclusion that as long as this nation is cursed with slavery, it will likewise be cursed with vampires."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Ozzymandias on March 25, 2010, 08:48:11 PM
Ozzymandias speaks: I just finished Dangerously Funny. It is about the Smothers Brothers and their late 60's TV show. It starts with their rough childhood and go thorugh to present day. However, much of the focus is on the problems with network over their TV show. It clears up many misconceptions about the show and the ultimate termination of the show.

Ozzymandias has spoken!!!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on March 25, 2010, 10:40:07 PM
Finished Red Snow in just a few days. Very easy read. I must say that the title is very apt. It's as if Slade decided by the 13th Special X book to cull some of the supporting characters he's accumulated since the early 80s. I mean, he's killed off one or two before, but he totally cleans house in this book. I can imagine it must get hard to write a taut thriller with an army of minor characters who continue to multiply as their backstories get longer and longer.

This was the third appearance of the criminal mastermind Mephisto, who aside from being an insane genius with lots of ill-gotten money and a penchant for seeking out other maniacs to do his dirty work, is also very concerned about global overpopulation. He'd like to get that number back to a nice, comfortable 700 million people. And after being foiled in two previous books, he has a real hate on for the RCMP.

Now, I can't decide whether to start another Slade book, since I only have two left in the series, or get into Peter Straub's Koko.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 26, 2010, 04:17:45 PM
Ye-es.

The Indiana Jones Omnibus

In the early '80's, as a movie tie-in, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was published as a monthly comic book over a period of three months by Marvel Comics.

Then, some fourteen months later, a demand was seen to publish the further adventures of Indiana Jones as a monthly comic book.

Some of the adventures lasting only one issue. Some two issues. And some three issues.

Then just recently both the comic book version of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and the further adventures was repackaged and republished by Dark Horse Comics. Which is how I read 'em.

I don't know how long the series lasted, as I've only read the first dozen issues, but it lasted at least one more issue after the first dozen.

Next time: Rick Geary's "A Treasury of Murders"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on March 27, 2010, 03:06:36 AM
I'm still reading The Beast House by Richard Laymon.  Not nearly as good as The Cellar.  It feels like he had a quota to make and decided to do a sequel to The Cellar, but also padded it out with romance.  I'm almost 200 pages into this 334 page book and there has yet to be much of anything scary in it at all.  Just a lot of raunchy sex and powder puff nonsense between characters.  I'm hoping the last 100 pages will make up for it.  I enjoyed The Cellar because it was fresh, well written, and succinctly narrated.  There was a little romance and some screwing now and then, but he at least kept the ball rolling. 

It's one of those books that pretty much isn't good, but I have to finish it.  I'm still reading the next book in the series next, that being The Midnight Tour, and I'm hoping that one will not disappoint like this one has. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on March 27, 2010, 06:11:00 PM
 http://mises.org/daily/4183 - lord acton on the american revolution




 audio version:  http://mises.org/media/4758 (mp3) 27 mins


Basically, once the french threat to the colonies was gone, england was useless to them and The American Revolution was inevitable


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 28, 2010, 12:29:19 AM
I read a British history of the Revolution a few years ago - I think it was called A FEW BLOODY NOSES - that adopted that same premise, and also insisted that it was actually the French that won the Revolution, which I feel is stretching things a bit.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on March 28, 2010, 10:36:20 AM
IS- I agree. It's his pro liberty sentiments that got it reproduced on that site and they are very nice


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on March 28, 2010, 12:16:41 PM
I've started reading a compilation of time based short stories in a book named Time After Time edited by Denise Little. So far it's been kind of disappointing.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BeyondTheGrave on March 29, 2010, 10:44:56 AM
(http://img.infibeam.com/img/0157adf6/942/0/9781608190942.jpg)

Love military history and this ones a good one so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on April 04, 2010, 09:19:49 PM
(http://images.contentreserve.com/ImageType-100/0293-1/%7BA68DFBC3-743D-42BC-93BE-7B6B4E312515%7DImg100.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on April 04, 2010, 09:25:50 PM
I've been reading Oishinbo: Japanese Cuisine again.  It was good book for a collection of stories from the series.

I'm going to be rereading When They Cry: Cotten Drifting Arc soon for a review on my blog.  I had already read it before hand and it was really good.  Hopefully, it is still good after I do a hard examination of it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 04, 2010, 10:37:44 PM
Just finished the latest in the Special Agent Pendergast series by Doug Preston and Lincoln Child - it's called CEMETERY DANCE and is a rollicking good read.  The novel begins with the brutal murder of one of the series' recurring characters, NYT journalist William Smithback.  He is brutally stabbed in his apartment by a man who apparently committed suicide two weeks before.  Then the story rolls on to an exciting adventure involving voodoo, zombies, a mysterious, ancient cult operating out of a park on Manhattan Island, and angry animal rights protesters.

I finished it in a single day!!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on April 04, 2010, 11:20:52 PM
Reading Promise to a Dead Man.  Fast moving and short western story.  Pretty enjoyable.

I also just read a big chunk of the Enemy Papers.  This has the novella, Enemy Mine, which the film of the same title is based on.  It also has a lot of the Talman, the alien bible, in it, as well as two followup stories.  Worth checking out for anyone who likes hard sci-fi.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on April 07, 2010, 10:26:06 AM
I checked this book out from the school libray: Social Reform Movements: The Civil Rights Movement.  We are getting close to that in our history and since it is one of the most interesting parts of U.S.'s history, I wanted to know more about it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 08, 2010, 06:47:38 PM
Ye-es.

Rick Geary's "A Treasury of Murder"

Some from the 19th century. Some from the 20th century. Some in the U.K. Some in the U.S. Some well known. Some lesser known, but all seemingly have the . . .

Who: people involved.
Where: maps provided to show location
What and When: the events, as can be best determined, in chronological order.

As of 2008, there were nine books in the series. I've only read two of them so far. The Borden murders and the Lindbergh kidnapping.

The others . . .

Jack the Ripper
"The Fatal Bullet." From the cover, it looks like the murder of President Garfield.
Mary Rogers., which gave rise to Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Mystery of Marie Roget," one of the first detective short stories in American literature.
"The Beast of Chicago" aka Herman Webster Mudgett aka H. H. Holmes. Regarded as being one of the first serial killers in American crime.
The murder of President Lincoln.
Madeleine Smith, who was tried for the poisoning of her blackmailing lover.
The Bloody Benders, who ran a boarding house in the Midwest, during the 19th century. A boarding house where their boarders checked in but did not check out.

If you are interested in the subject of murder, there are a good introduction, as the author and illustrator is apparently totally neutral about the guilt or innocence of the murderers. In the case of the Borden murders, he provides reasonable evidence, as to why she was guildty. And in the case of the Lindbergh kidnapping, he provides reasonable evidence as to why the kidnapper might have been innocent.

Next time: "Graphic classics"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on April 09, 2010, 04:27:48 AM
I just started reading Showdown in the Show-me State: The Fight Over Conceal-and-Carry Gun Laws in Missouri.

Yeah, what a title, huh?  For those not aware of the issue, and those outside the country, concealed carry had a long and arduous process of being passed in Missouri, and in fact Missouri was one of the last states to pass it.  Took about 14 years, with many failed efforts.  This sort of political book I often find interesting, as Missouri is often divided more regionally than by party.  That is, numerous democrats were very important in getting concealed carry past, and there were also republicans who fought against it.   It's more rural VS urban, than democrat VS republican. 

The book is also dated in several aspects (as it came out when passage was still new).  And considering how recent this history is, it seems a shame there's no new research conducted for the book (it's all newspapers, etc).  But, as a basic and mostly correct chronology, it's still interesting reading.  So are the amazon reviews, where a couple of the important politicians/people involved in the story comment very negatively.

http://www.amazon.com/SHOWDOWN-SHOW-ME-STATE-CONCEAL-CARRY/product-reviews/0826215874/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?ie=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending (http://www.amazon.com/SHOWDOWN-SHOW-ME-STATE-CONCEAL-CARRY/product-reviews/0826215874/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?ie=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending)

I'm not through with it yet, but in a lot of ways it's interesting reading.  Sometimes it's actually inspiring, as it's nice to read about political action and government workers fighting, debating, and working hard (on both sides) to do something they obviously believe in. 

It's refreshing after seeing so much cynical political posturing at a more national level.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on April 09, 2010, 06:33:04 AM
I'm currently re-reading John Wyndham's The Day of The Triffids ~ I haven't read it since high school and the BBC series in 1981 with John Duttine, Emma Relph and the late Maurice Colbourne was great.  :smile:

Now the Beeb have gone and remade it: is nothing sacred?  :buggedout:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on April 09, 2010, 04:51:12 PM
Now the Beeb have gone and remade it: is nothing sacred?  :buggedout:

No Trevor. Please come over here and help me murder absolutely everyone.  :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 3mnkids on April 12, 2010, 01:53:59 PM
How to make friends with demons by Graham Joyce.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Torgo on April 13, 2010, 08:50:11 AM
I'm currently working my way through "Peter Jackson: A Filmmaker's Journey".  Got it for my birthday this past March.

 (http://tolkiengateway.net/w/images/thumb/4/40/Peter_Jackson_-_A_Film-maker%27s_Journey.jpg/250px-Peter_Jackson_-_A_Film-maker%27s_Journey.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on April 13, 2010, 09:45:45 AM
Figured with only two more left in the series, I'd keep going with Slade's Special X thrillers. The one I'm on right now, slightly out of order, is Bed of Nails, which happened to be at the local library. Funny, they have about three of the books from ten years ago, but nothing before or since. I might donate a set of paperbacks.

Anyway, The Ripper returns, having been locked up following his tribute to Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" a couple of books ago. He's completely broken with reality at this point, and he's directing a similarly delusional killer from within a high-security mental hospital. Pretty good so far. It digs further into the occult and the story of Jack the Ripper, which were explored in the earlier book, "Ripper."

(http://www.specialx.net/specialxdotnet/images/bedofnails.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BeyondTheGrave on April 14, 2010, 02:39:22 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51jQcX84qyL._SL500_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on April 15, 2010, 05:52:22 AM
Still reading Lair of the White Worm, and it's failing to impress.  :bluesad:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on April 15, 2010, 11:57:56 AM
I just started reading Alice in Wonderland + Alice Through the Looking Glass.  Never read them before.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on April 15, 2010, 06:47:42 PM
A few days ago I read Robert Englund's memoir/autobiography Hollywood Monster.
It took me about 2 days to read it. 
It was very interesting and Robert seems like he is a very nice and down-to-earth person.

I borrowed it my from my local public library.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on April 15, 2010, 08:11:16 PM
"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Famous Tales" by Robert Louis Stevenson

I've never read "Dr. Jekyll" or any Stevenson at all, so this should be interesting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on April 20, 2010, 04:55:35 PM
Edward Hollis' The Secret Lives of Buildings which discusses about a dozen famous landmarks, from the Parthenon to Notre Dame to Gloucester Cathedral to the Las Vegas Strip and talks about, well, their sometimes shocking hidden histories. Sounds better than it is because except for the part about Manchester's Hulme Crescents*, which always fascinated me, the book is a letdown.

*I went a couple years ago to where the Crescents used to stand and was asking a gentrified local we met what would've happened if I'd wandered in there back in the day. He told us, "They used to eat Americans alive in there." So I said, "What if I'd said I'm Irish?" He said, "Then they'd kill you first, then eat you." Heck of a place....


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 20, 2010, 05:16:05 PM
Ye-es.

The "Graphic Classics"

As of 2004, there were . . .

bierce, doyle, london, lovecraft, poe, stevenson, stoker, twain, and wells.

I read . . .

bierce, lovecraft, poe, stevenson, and twain.

A short intro. A brief bio. And then the author's short stories, poems, novels, etc.

And while the author's works are sometimes abbreviated and/or adapted by the illustrator, you always get the gist of the author's writings.

And, having tried to read many of these, without the illustrations, believe me, the illustrations help immeasurabely in trying to understand what the author is trying to say.

Also while each author's best known works are included, some of each author's lesser known works are also included. And these, I often find, are as interesting or even more interesting than the author's better known works.

A good introduction to each author.

Next time: "Rod Serling's 'The Twilight Zone'"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on April 21, 2010, 03:22:40 PM
(http://gagasisterhood.com/wp-content/uploads/Water-for-Elephants.jpg)

I was reading this excellent book until I found out they're making a film adaptation with that jackass from Twilight. It's about a 90+ year old man, who is wheelchair bound recounting important parts of his life, mostly from his time spent in the Benzini Bros. travelling circus. There's plenty of romance and revenge, violence and a fascinating insight into the circuses of America's past. Water is a big recurring theme within the book, used as a metaphor for many situations.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on April 22, 2010, 01:56:30 PM
([url]http://gagasisterhood.com/wp-content/uploads/Water-for-Elephants.jpg[/url])

I was reading this excellent book until I found out they're making a film adaptation with that jackass from Twilight. It's about a 90+ year old man, who is wheelchair bound recounting important parts of his life, mostly from his time spent in the Benzini Bros. travelling circus. There's plenty of romance and revenge, violence and a fascinating insight into the circuses of America's past. Water is a big recurring theme within the book, used as a metaphor for many situations.


My fiancee has that book, and I've wanted to read it for a while.  I'll probably do that and just ignore the fact that there's a film being made.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on April 22, 2010, 02:35:00 PM
([url]http://gagasisterhood.com/wp-content/uploads/Water-for-Elephants.jpg[/url])

I was reading this excellent book until I found out they're making a film adaptation with that jackass from Twilight. It's about a 90+ year old man, who is wheelchair bound recounting important parts of his life, mostly from his time spent in the Benzini Bros. travelling circus. There's plenty of romance and revenge, violence and a fascinating insight into the circuses of America's past. Water is a big recurring theme within the book, used as a metaphor for many situations.


My fiancee has that book, and I've wanted to read it for a while.  I'll probably do that and just ignore the fact that there's a film being made.


My wife read that one a while ago. Sounded interesting, but not really my cup of tea. I'll be interested in hearing what you guys think.

By the way, Circus, how was the Slade?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: jimmybob on April 22, 2010, 03:12:03 PM
The Shining. Finally read it.

It makes the movie look like it sucks.

-Jimmybob


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on April 25, 2010, 06:44:18 AM
By the way, Circus, how was the Slade?

Great Andy, and thanks again. It was nice to be able to read one of those creepy short stories each night. Slade's got a really interesting way of putting images into the mind and building good suspense even when there's not much of a real conclusion to each story. I found myself creating a whole backstory to one short in my head and further endings to others.

 :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on April 25, 2010, 07:19:56 AM
Sure you've got the right book? I don't remember any short stories. Or do you mean the different scenes where he switches from one killer to another? Those are kind of self-contained.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on April 25, 2010, 07:27:41 AM
Sure you've got the right book? I don't remember any short stories. Or do you mean the different scenes where he switches from one killer to another? Those are kind of self-contained.

That's what I meant. Everything is cut up at the start before Chandler is introduced fully. I got a bit confused and treated it mostly as seperate stories that were slowly interlinked.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on April 25, 2010, 08:10:19 AM
Sure you've got the right book? I don't remember any short stories. Or do you mean the different scenes where he switches from one killer to another? Those are kind of self-contained.

That's what I meant. Everything is cut up at the start before Chandler is introduced fully. I got a bit confused and treated it mostly as seperate stories that were slowly interlinked.

That's the way a lot of his books are. They follow a few different threads, past and present, that all gradually come together. Half the fun is trying to figure out how they fit. The style has evolved somewhat over the years, and Jay Clarke has written with a number of different partners under the Slade pen name.

If you liked Ghoul, you'll probably like Headhunter. A little less complicated than Ghoul, not quite as dark, but still an amazing book. It was actually the first of the series, although it and Ghoul were written as self-contained stories. Headhunter introduces Chief Superintendent Robert DeClercq, who then gets teamed up with Chandler in the third book, where it starts to focus on Special X, which becomes sort of the elite branch of the mounties. Chandler settles in as DeClercq's subbordinate, and continues to be the action guy.

If you want, I'll keep an eye out for a copy of Headhunter.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on April 26, 2010, 02:30:36 PM
this (http://mises.org/store/We-P5642.aspx)  looks interesting. 1984 type dystopian novel written in 1921. new translation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_(novel)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on April 26, 2010, 05:03:12 PM
I just read Maus: A Survivor's Tale.  It's biographical/autobiographical comic book by Art Spiegelman.  Most of it is his father's true account of surviving the Holocaust.  To say the least, his father had a rather harrowing tale - as all survivor's did, of course, but his is one of the most detailed and filled in I've read.  It's also one of the few where the person telling the story ever had any control of what was going on around him - in a limited way, of course.  This story is interspersed with bits where Art deals with his father, who is aging and in failing health, and how their relationship struggles.  The whole thing is illustrated in a simple style, with all Jews depicted as mice, Germans as cats, Americans as dogs, Poles as pigs, and so on.  It works remarkably well.

Well worth a read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on April 29, 2010, 02:23:05 PM
I'm "reading" this. listening to it anyway at this moment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU3c7Qfb1jY

describes how central banks inflate currency to pay for wars while also hiding those costs.  inflation shuld rightly be seen as synonomous with debt and taxation, instead it's seen as this bizarre naturally occuring phenomenon.  It's just printing too much money, always and every time: too much money chasing too few goods


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 01, 2010, 01:35:29 PM
Ye-es.

Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone." or to be more specific a graphic novel based on one of the classic TV show's episodes.

As of 2009, there were eight titles in the series . . .

The After Hours
The Big Tall Wish
Deaths-Head Revisited
The Midnight Sun
The Mosters Are Due on Maple Street
The Odyssey of Flight 33
Walking Distance
Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?

So far, I've only read "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" That was not the first episode I saw, but the second, but it was the last one I saw for a long time, as frankly, that is one of the few things I've ever seen on TV that scared the s*** out of me.

Except for the twist ending, which has to be one of the best twist endings ever seen on TV, I don't remember too much about it, but I do remember that it was supposedly set sometime in the early '60's, when the episode was first shown on TV.

On the other hand, for some strange reason, the graphic novel is set some thirty years on, or sometime after the '80's. Which doesn't really make any sense, because an alien invasion from space made more sense in the '60's, as by the '90's not only did we know that there was not life on Mars or Venus capable of interstellar space travel, but if there was life out there capable of it. How difficult it'd be to travel millions of light years to reach earth.

I don't know whether there are plans to turn the other episodes of "The Twilight Zone" into graphic novels, or whether the plans stop with these eight. Still, if there are plans to convert the other episodes into graphic novels, they have 148 more to choose from.

Next time: Backwards, sidewards, and forwards


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on May 06, 2010, 08:44:55 PM
Lots of good stuff:

1. A paperback collection of the comic series Planetary. I'm not a regular follower of any comic series, but I do enjoy comics.  This one was great!

2. I took a break from the great book The Chosen by Chaim Potok. I definitely need to finish.

3. My English class is about halfway through Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I am enjoying it.

4. I picked up The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty today at my school's used book sale. I'm already halfway through! It's very good! I have not seen the movie yet, but now I want to even more so I can compare the movie with the novel. I know I will feel freaked out when I go to bed soon...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 06, 2010, 09:55:55 PM
I am almost done with LONE SURVIVOR: THE STORY OF THE HEROES OF SEAL TEAM TEN by Marcus Luttrell.  Four of our Navy Seals, ambushed by nearly 200 Taliban fighters in the remote mountains of Afghanistan.  The Taliban killed three of the four, plus shooting down a helo sent to rescue them, but the Seals took down nearly 100 Taliban fighters.  I tell you, I almost cried when I read just how brave our men truly are.  This is an incredible story of courage, heroism and sacrifice! 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on May 07, 2010, 01:53:49 AM
1. A paperback collection of the comic series Planetary. I'm not a regular follower of any comic series, but I do enjoy comics.  This one was great!

Planetary was amazing. Probably the best work both Warren Ellis and John Cassaday have done yet. Let me know when you finish. I've got some observations, but I don't want to ruin anything for you.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on May 07, 2010, 07:20:30 AM
1. A paperback collection of the comic series Planetary. I'm not a regular follower of any comic series, but I do enjoy comics.  This one was great!

Planetary was amazing. Probably the best work both Warren Ellis and John Cassaday have done yet. Let me know when you finish. I've got some observations, but I don't want to ruin anything for you.

I've finished book 1 of a paperback collection. It took a while to start coming together, but not in an annoying way. I actually got it for free from a raffle held by my local comic store on Free Comic Book Day (a national annual event held by comic stores). I definitely want to finish the series! The stories so far have been lots of fun and the artwork is great. I will definitely alert you when I finish!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 11, 2010, 06:06:31 PM
Ye-es.

Actually, several under what I call "Backward, Sideward, and Forward.

Backward
Dekker's "The Lost Books"
Having read volumes 2 and 3, I went back and read volume 1 in the series "The Chosen."
While it provides useful information, one need not read the graphic novels in order, nor is it necessary to read all of them, as each one is a more or less self-contained work of fiction. Of course, now I'm looking to read volume 4 and thereafter.

Sideward
"Graphic Classics"
Finally, read the one based on Bram Stoker's works of fiction. While he is best known for writing "Dracula," he did write several other novels and short stories, which are included with their illustrations.

Forward
The Indiana Jones Omnibus
Having read volume 1, I then read volume 2, which includes the 12 monthly issues for 1984 and the three issues which make up the official comic book adaptation of "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." His adventures occuring sometimes in 1, sometimes in 2, and sometimes in 3 issues, before they are completed. It may have taken them an year, but it looks like they finally got the hang of it. While the villains in volume 1 are mostly simple and/or stupid, the villains in volume 2 are more complex and smarter, and a hero is only as good as the villains  he faces.


Mori's "Emma"
Having read volumes 1 to 7, I then read volumes 8 to 10. These being side stories about some of the side characters in the first 7 volumes. The stories running from a half page to 102 p. with the average being 34 p. The longest story being Emma and William's marriage.

This does allow me to talk about two problems I have with Japanese manga. (1st) Alot of the characters have a tendency to look alike, which makes them hard to identify and differenate. And (2) while translated into English, they are often published in the Japanese manner, which means the pages read from right to left, and I have a hard time trying to remember that.

And at least for the American publishing company that published the series, there is a rating system. Everyone = G rating. Teen = PG or PG-13 rating. Teen Plus = R rating. And Mature = NC-17 rating.  The "Emma" series received a Teen Plus rating for nudity and suggestive situations (i.e. sexual situations.)

Next time: Miyazaki's "My Neighbor Totoro"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on May 12, 2010, 10:04:27 AM
Sarah Silverman "the bedwetter". It's  good but it's a biography not a bunch of jokes so really more for people who are already fans


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BeyondTheGrave on May 12, 2010, 08:30:20 PM
(http://images.filedby.com/bookimg/1410/9781410414137.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on May 12, 2010, 10:52:57 PM
I finished reading The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. It was very good and made me feel creeped out!

Today I finished reading Legion by William Peter Blatty. It was also very good!

I plan on re-reading Legion eventually because although I understood the story, there were some ideas presented in the story that I did not totally grasp. 

My English class is about halfway through Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  I'm enjoying it.

I still need to finish The Chosen by Chaim Potok. It's a very enjoyable book, but I just need to get back into it.  I took a break and got distracted.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 12, 2010, 10:56:52 PM
I just finished a book called INSIDE THE REVOLUTION: HOW THE FOLLOWERS OF JIHAD, JEFFERSON, AND JESUS ARE TRANSFORMING THE MIDDLE EAST.

It is a fascinating account of the emergence of the modern jihadist movement, the moderate Muslims who are trying to counter it and regain control from the thugs they feel have hijacked their religion, and the rapid growth of evangelical Christianity in the Middle East despite ferocious persecution.  It is written from a strongly Christian perspective, but still is quite fascinating, and the author presents all three perspectives from the words of their practitioners.  Alternately frightening and hopeful, it's the best book on the region I've read in awhile. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on May 13, 2010, 12:24:42 AM
I just finished a book called INSIDE THE REVOLUTION: HOW THE FOLLOWERS OF JIHAD, JEFFERSON, AND JESUS ARE TRANSFORMING THE MIDDLE EAST.

It is a fascinating account of the emergence of the modern jihadist movement, the moderate Muslims who are trying to counter it and regain control from the thugs they feel have hijacked their religion, and the rapid growth of evangelical Christianity in the Middle East despite ferocious persecution.  It is written from a strongly Christian perspective, but still is quite fascinating, and the author presents all three perspectives from the words of their practitioners.  Alternately frightening and hopeful, it's the best book on the region I've read in awhile. 

How does Jefferson fit in?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 13, 2010, 06:23:38 AM
The Reformers - deeply religious Muslims who are also interested in seeing democracy and freedom come to the Middle East - are considered followers of Jefferson.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on May 14, 2010, 12:41:10 PM
my search for the Yeti by reinohld messner. with a title like that written by a guy with a name like that you figure it would be completely awesome and so far it really is.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: oxode on May 14, 2010, 02:29:22 PM
Lots of good stuff:


3. My English class is about halfway through Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I am enjoying it.


One tip:
Check if Your copy bases -as I guess when You read it at school- on the censored second edition. If it is so, try to get a copy of the reprinted first edition. It was republished a few years ago. And I promiss You'll see Mrs. Shelly with totally new eyes.
And if You want to torment Your teacher ask him/her about the changes Mrs. Shelly had to make. I bet my hat he/she will twitch like a worm.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: oxode on May 14, 2010, 02:31:53 PM
I am almost done with LONE SURVIVOR: THE STORY OF THE HEROES OF SEAL TEAM TEN by Marcus Luttrell.  Four of our Navy Seals, ambushed by nearly 200 Taliban fighters in the remote mountains of Afghanistan.  The Taliban killed three of the four, plus shooting down a helo sent to rescue them, but the Seals took down nearly 100 Taliban fighters.  I tell you, I almost cried when I read just how brave our men truly are.  This is an incredible story of courage, heroism and sacrifice! 

Navy Seals? Must be hard to fight in mountans with flippers on . . . :twirl:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on May 14, 2010, 07:01:37 PM
Lots of good stuff:


3. My English class is about halfway through Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I am enjoying it.


One tip:
Check if Your copy bases -as I guess when You read it at school- on the censored second edition. If it is so, try to get a copy of the reprinted first edition. It was republished a few years ago. And I promiss You'll see Mrs. Shelly with totally new eyes.
And if You want to torment Your teacher ask him/her about the changes Mrs. Shelly had to make. I bet my hat he/she will twitch like a worm.

Actually, my teacher made sure to get the original version. She told us the history of why it was changed


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 14, 2010, 10:09:52 PM
I just finished a reather neat volume called GEORGE WASHINGTON ON LEADERSHIP.  A fascinating look at how the Father of Our Country dealt with his problems, and how his solutions can be adapted and used by today's business and civic leaders.  Really well done and quite historically accurate.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on May 15, 2010, 10:58:59 AM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517o2doOo4L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg)

She was a great writer, but it's remarkable how few movies she actually liked


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on May 18, 2010, 06:40:56 PM
Thank You For Smoking by Christopher Buckley

It's a great book and very funny!  I almost finished it once, but got distracted. I now plan to finish it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on May 18, 2010, 06:57:11 PM
(http://www.2000adonline.com/books/assets/covers/judge_dredd_vs_aliens_incubus.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on May 18, 2010, 09:57:17 PM
I just read Monkey Girl.  It's about Intelligent Design and the Dover case which basically trashed its hopes of being taught in the USA.  What's probably most fascinating about the book is the incredible amount of ignorance on display by the people on the Dover schoolboard who were involved in adding ID.  All of them, quite literally, know next to nothing about evolution, intelligent design/creationism, and even the bible.  Yet, of course, they're the ones deciding what to put in the science classroom.   :lookingup:

The book is clearly on the side of the evolutionists, but I'd question seriously anyone who isn't in this case.  Not only is ID not science (I mean, proponents want to REDEFINE science to fit ID in, how anyone can take the "It's science!" bit seriously after that is beyond me), the school board also lied, manipulated, bullied and threatened to get what they wanted.  The way the school board acted was atrocious - and of course, they ended up costing the tax payers over 1 million dollars.

They should be ashamed.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 22, 2010, 03:57:52 PM
Ye-es.

Hayao Miyazaki's "My Neighbor Totoro"

A graphic adaptation of the film, using stills from the film, in four volumes.

The Good
What draws me to these types of films is not so much the animation, as the characters. Seldom in an animated film do I see such complex characters.

The Bad
The story. Not much happens in the film. At least in comparision to his other films which I've read or seen.

The Interesting
It's an interesting look at how some Japanese live in modern Japan, as seen through the eyes of someone who is Japanese himself.

It is interesting to note how many times in his films, the hero is actually a little girl. Which in this aspect is similiar to the animated films made by Walt Disney. No wonder some people call Hayao Miyazaki the Walt Disney of Japan.

Next time: Lois H. Gresh's "The Twilight Companion"



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on May 22, 2010, 09:53:11 PM
Hayao Miyazaki's "My Neighbor Totoro"

A graphic adaptation of the film, using stills from the film, in four volumes.

I have something similiar to that, but it the Princess Mononoke one instead and it is in five volumes.

Anyways, I'm currently reading through Batman Hush.  It's pretty good and the artwork is great!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on May 23, 2010, 07:11:11 PM
Still reading Slade's "Bed of Nails." A bit past the halfway point. Pretty good so far. The central theme is cannibalism, and goes into some detail with regard to past customs in the South Pacific, as well as some psychos of the last century or so. The investigation has thus far centred around a multiple murder at the World Horror Convention in Seattle, which Slade attended in real life as a guest of honour prior to writing the book. And the two chief suspects are a couple of feuding lawyers-turned-authors from Vancouver, much like the author himself.

I think I will take a break from Slade after this one. I've got just one more in the series to read, and I'm in no hurry, since he's probably not going to have anything new on shelves for a year or two, having a new book out just last year. I have a copy of Peter Straub's Koko waiting on the night stand.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 23, 2010, 07:49:20 PM
I just read DAVE BARRY TURNS 50 .  Barry is always funny, and even though the book is a bit dated (written in 1998, that means Dave is about 15 years older than I am), as a 46 year old adolescent, I can identify with much of what he is saying.  His "history of the boomers" is pretty hilarious.  Not as good as DAVE BARRY'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO GUYS or my favorite, DAVE BARRY HITS BELOW THE BELTWAY, but still good for some nice hard belly laughts.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on May 23, 2010, 07:52:58 PM
I just read DAVE BARRY TURNS 50 .  Barry is always funny, and even though the book is a bit dated (written in 1998, that means Dave is about 15 years older than I am), as a 46 year old adolescent, I can identify with much of what he is saying.  His "history of the boomers" is pretty hilarious.  Not as good as DAVE BARRY'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO GUYS or my favorite, DAVE BARRY HITS BELOW THE BELTWAY, but still good for some nice hard belly laughts.

Dave Barry is great! He is one of my all-time favorite writers.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on May 24, 2010, 03:48:08 AM
I just read DAVE BARRY TURNS 50 .  Barry is always funny, and even though the book is a bit dated (written in 1998, that means Dave is about 15 years older than I am), as a 46 year old adolescent, I can identify with much of what he is saying.  His "history of the boomers" is pretty hilarious.  Not as good as DAVE BARRY'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO GUYS or my favorite, DAVE BARRY HITS BELOW THE BELTWAY, but still good for some nice hard belly laughts.

If you haven't read it already, check out Dave Barry Slept Here: A Sort of History of the United States. It's a funny book and it got me in trouble at work. Well, sort of.

At one point in the book, Barry starts talking about Samuel Gompers, one of the leaders of the Labor Movement. He freely admits he knows nothing about Samuel Gompers, but thinks Gompers would be a great name for a large dog--something I've stored in my brain for years.

At any rate, I was at my place of employment, a public library, and one of my coworkers began discussing thinking of a name for her new dog. So, loudly, I said, "You know what would be a good name for a dog? Gompers!" My coworker cringed and all of a sudden I had stepped into a minefield.

See, unbeknownst to me, there is a school for the developmentally disabled in Phoenix known as the Gompers Habilitation Center. Apparently, the term "gomper" has arisen to refer to the mentally challenged in a quite hurtful manner. So basically I had just loudly used a very negative epithet. Did I mention I was in a very public part of the library?

Insert foot directly in mouth.

Anyway, it's a great book, especially if you're a fan of U.S. history.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 24, 2010, 06:17:49 AM
That one is funny - I read it several years ago.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on May 25, 2010, 04:23:02 AM
Finished reading the last two books in the Beast House series, The Midnight Tour and Friday Night in Beast House.  Now that I'm done with that affair, I've decided to kick myself in the nuts and read four things at one time:

-Dominant Species by Michael E. Marks (sadly, it's the Kindle edition with tons of conventional mistakes)
-Horus Rising by Dan Abnett
-Complete Kick-Ass graphic novel
-Complete (at least I think it's complete) Scott Pilgrim

I have a lot of work to do...  :buggedout:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Joe the Destroyer on May 27, 2010, 06:04:13 PM
Well, I finished Kick-Ass and the first Scott Pilgrim book.  On to the next one. 

Also got a start on Dominant Species and Horus Rising.  The Kindle edition of Dominant Species is kind of annoying.  I don't know if it's in the hardcover version, but there are a lot of conventional errors (i.e. someone says, "Your on."  or it's instead of its). 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on May 29, 2010, 01:17:46 PM
I finished reading Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley

This book was hilarious! I want to read more by the same author now.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 3mnkids on May 30, 2010, 12:17:55 PM
The name of the wind~ Patrick Rothfuss

This is the 3rd maybe 4th time I have read this book. Its my favorite book of the last few years. Its just amazing.   :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on May 30, 2010, 11:48:22 PM
I just read DAVE BARRY TURNS 50 .  Barry is always funny, and even though the book is a bit dated (written in 1998, that means Dave is about 15 years older than I am), as a 46 year old adolescent, I can identify with much of what he is saying.  His "history of the boomers" is pretty hilarious.  Not as good as DAVE BARRY'S COMPLETE GUIDE TO GUYS or my favorite, DAVE BARRY HITS BELOW THE BELTWAY, but still good for some nice hard belly laughts.

DAVE BARRY'S BOOK OF BAD SONGS is one my prized possessions  :teddyr:

Recently purchased/finished The Killing Joke.  Still not sure how I feel about slapping a backstory on The Joker, but it's one of the most gorgeous-looking graphic novels I've ever seen.
I'm about halfway through AJ Jacobs' THE KNOW-IT-ALL.  The author decided to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica and the book is kind of his "journal" of the experience.   I'm enjoying it so far; it's pretty funny and I'm picking up all kinds of ridiculous trivia.   I just picked up HOUSE OF LEAVES too, interested to see if it lives up to its hype.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on June 01, 2010, 08:01:13 PM
Batman: No Man's Land The Novel

Man!  What a story!  The premise just sucked me in from the beginning!  Gotham City is abondeon by the U.S. after a 7.6 earthquake and leaving over hundreds of billions in damages.  Now, only the police, Batman, and a few of his allies are left in town and have to face down a city overrunned by gangs, cannibals, and many dangerous villians still left in the city, like Two-Face and the Joker.

So far, so good!  I'm on chapter 8 now and I am just eating this story up!  I cannot wait to see how this all ends!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 03, 2010, 09:36:33 AM
I just finished Laura Bush's memoir, SPOKEN FROM THE HEART.

She is an all-around classy lady, whatever you may think of her husband, and this inside story of their life and marriage, and the ups and downs of his political career, is very, very interesting.  I wish some of the knee-jerk Bush-haters would read it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on June 03, 2010, 11:51:59 AM
I just finished The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

I started reading yesterday afternoon and finished at about 9:15 this morning.
 My thoughts:
Wow! This book was hilarious! I loved the goofy humor and I finally understand all the quotes people use from it. I don't know how to put into words exactly why it's so funny, but I loved every second of it. I will definitely finish the entire series.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 05, 2010, 02:29:13 PM
Ye-es.

Lois H. Gresh's "The Twilight Companion"

Actually, the fact that I read this is something of a misapprehension. I saw "Twilight" on the cover and thought "The Twilight Zone," but it is actually about the other "Twilight." Still, if one wants to understand the "Twilight" phenomena, without reading any of the books or seeing any of the films, this is the book for that.

The Good
As a heterosexual female, she really gets down as to why this series appeals to people like her.

And she gives a good explanation on how both vampire and werewolf, both literature and films, have morphed from their beginnings to the "Twilight" series."

The Bad
She is a heterosexual female. So, if you are looking for the viewpoint of the heterosexual male, the lesbian female, the gay male, or the bisexual male or female, you aren't going to get it in this book.

The Interesting
She doesn't treat the characters in the series as fictional, but as actual people. Thus, she has figured out, if you are a vampire and active, then you need to feed every night.
But, if you are a more sedentary vampire, then you need to feed only every other night.

This is not the only one she has written. She has also written books on Dragonball Z, Eragon, Indiana Jones, James Bond, Lemony Snicket, the Spiderwick Chronicles, and the world of Phillip Pullman. And she has n upcoming book on Artemis Fowl coming out this year. All written in the same manner as "Twilight," I presume. Treating the characters not as fictional, but as actual people. Or, you can see the movie, as they've all been made into movies, except for Artemis Fowl.

Next time: a double review. Nicholas Sparks' "The Last Song" and "The Simpsons."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on June 06, 2010, 07:07:58 AM
I might have to check out some of Gresh's other books. Sounds interesting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Raffine on June 06, 2010, 09:44:55 AM
I'm currently reading the 'Peculiar Crimes Unit' series by Christopher Fowler. While these novels are fun reads, his short fiction is superb - very darkly humerous and disturbing.

EDIT: I've just discovered Fowler's blog.

http://www.christopherfowler.co.uk/blog/ (http://www.christopherfowler.co.uk/blog/)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on June 07, 2010, 12:59:28 AM
I just finished my last batch of books, which unfortunately featured a few stinkers. Luckily, I can move on to the next batch, with the sole holdover of Gravity's Rainbow and it's annotations, which is a very long, but wonderful, project.

So here they are:

The Savage Detective by Roberto Bolano - A peculiar trip through Mexican literature of the latter half of the 20th century. We follow two disreputable "poets" through their travels in the world over the course of thirty years through recollections of the people they knew him. Very good, but halfway through I'm not really sure what this book is about.

American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph J. Ellis - This is not a history of Jefferson, but more of an exploration of why he was the person he was. I am not a fan of Jefferson. To simplify Ellis' simplification, he is America's eternal adolescent. But, agree with him or not, Ellis has some interesting things to say. Not a good place to start if you want to know Jefferson, but interesting nonetheless.

The Great Derangement by Matt Taibbi - I like Taibbi, he's fearless in his excoriation of both parties in the sordid world of American politics. He's strongest when he is the court jester mocking the palpable fallibility of our elected officials, less so when he tries to figure out the lost state of Americans. I can admire that he never fails to include himself in his indictments.

Biological Inorganic Chemistry by Robert Crichton - An introductory book to the role of transition metals in biologic systems. Not bad, but it doesn't really work as an introduction. If you weren't familiar with both the chemical and biologic concepts he introduces, this book wouldn't help you. If you already are familiar, the book is too basic. Might serve better as a supplemental to a course, which may be why he wrote the book.

Songs of a Dead Dreamer by Thomas Ligotti - A collection of short horror stories. Pretty damn good so far. Ligotti is clearly influenced by Lovecraft, but he also treads on the territory of psychological and philosophical dread. This is exactly what I'm looking for in a writer. An unholy mishmash of Lovecraft and Philip K. Dick, I'm pretty excited to see what he does with the rest of the book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Moreau on June 07, 2010, 01:25:35 PM
quote]I just read Monkey Girl.  It's about Intelligent Design and the Dover case which basically trashed its hopes of being taught in the USA.[/quote]

i'll have to check that out. i'm a religion and philosophy teacher and it always disappoints me how uninformed people are about the great science vs. faith non-debate. at my last school, the science department didn't go near evolution because they were so unconfident about discussing its alternatives.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on June 07, 2010, 05:57:20 PM
Going through the comics I checked out at the library, I have been reading the following:

Power Girl:  It is a collection of all her origin stories.  She really have a confusing past that is hard to follow admittedly.  Although, she is still a fun character and I like her.  Not for the obvious reasons mind you...

Batman: Long Halloween:   Another pretty darn good story that actually kept me guessing on who was the real killer.  Still a little confused in the end though...

The Dark Knight Returns:  Just started reading and I am really sucked into the story.  Frank Miller sure knew how to write some great stuff back in the day.  Not so much now a days.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on June 07, 2010, 06:12:35 PM
quote]I just read Monkey Girl.  It's about Intelligent Design and the Dover case which basically trashed its hopes of being taught in the USA.

i'll have to check that out. i'm a religion and philosophy teacher and it always disappoints me how uninformed people are about the great science vs. faith non-debate. at my last school, the science department didn't go near evolution because they were so unconfident about discussing its alternatives.
[/quote]

Highly recommended then - the book also covers the history of evolution and creationism in the world in general and the US in particular, both legally and socially.  It's not flawless, but it's a very good and very well-written overview.  It does get into how very few science teachers are willing to get deeply into evolution because of all the trouble it leads to in the US. 

I found it particularly interesting that evolution and other science was taught much more strictly in the Cold War days - you know, to compete with the Soviet Union.  In other words, when science was on the line and was felt to be truly important to the country as a whole, in large part the country allowed evolution to be taught.  It was only when we felt it wasn't as big an issue that religion intruded so strongly into the science classroom.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on June 07, 2010, 08:00:23 PM
I just started on the Tao Te Ching.  I haven't really read any Eastern religious/spiritual/philosophical texts before, and this one is the shortest and easiest!  :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on June 10, 2010, 04:55:12 PM
I just started on the Tao Te Ching.  I haven't really read any Eastern religious/spiritual/philosophical texts before, and this one is the shortest and easiest!  :wink:

I'm reading an introductory book on Buddhism, as I just started attending a Buddhist group at the UU Church. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble following it. They gave me it and another book, although the second is just a loan. Unfortunately, the loaner was lying facedown in an awkward position on the floor of my truck when I noticed the back said something to the effect of "this book contains sacred Buddhist teachings and should be treated with respect." Crap.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on June 12, 2010, 11:27:15 AM
^ a cool and also small book on a similar topic is "there are no secrets" about the great tai chi guy chen man ching

and I'm rereading "Everyone's asking who I was" it's a compilation of crazy quotes a guy working at an old folks home compiled.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Allhallowsday on June 12, 2010, 11:39:34 AM
I'm rereading Severed The True Story of the Black Dahlia 
(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff259/allhallowsday/SEVERED.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on June 12, 2010, 12:06:10 PM
Finished Bed of Nails. Pretty good book. The second half had more of a focus on the Cook Islands and their cannibal history, with the climax taking place there. The killer's agenda involves indulging in some old-school cannibalism, going as far as to lure the intended victim to the appropriate setting. One of the things I liked about this book is that it is one of only two or three Special X thrillers that revolve almost entirely around Insp. Zinc Chandler. Of all the recurring characters, he's the one most likely to engage in a high-speed chase, nearly get himself killed and score some tail, usually in the same book.

With only one Slade book left in the series, I'm going to take a break from Special X. Just started Peter Straub's Koko, based on a recommendation from Circus a while back. Looks good so far, although switching authors after reading the same one for several books in a row always requires a little time to shift gears. Takes me a couple of chapters to get used to a different style of writing.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on June 12, 2010, 12:47:37 PM
Just started Peter Straub's Koko, based on a recommendation from Circus a while back.


So, you've finally got round to it after you're Michael Slade marathon. I actually read Koko again last week, still the best novel I've ever ploughed through.  :thumbup:

Just finished reading this:
(http://blisstree.com/files/2010/04/n61831764125_3376.jpg)

The former guitar player of failed Sunset Strip band Onyxx recalls his wild days as a 16 year old rockstar. Totally my kind of read, short and sweet, packed full of hair metal madness and embarressing memories.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on June 12, 2010, 02:38:20 PM
52 Vol. 1-4: After the events of Infinite Crisis, all DC comics jumped ahead one year in comics.  So what happened during that odd and missing year?  Well this comic breaks down what happened every week from the rise of the Religion of Crime, the cult of Superboy, Lex Luther's Everyman Project, to return of the Multiverse.  It is one of the most interesting and well put together stories I have ever read.  Of course four of my favorite writers were in on the story: Mark Waid (Kingdom Come), Grant Morrison (All Star Superman), Greg Rucka (Gotham Central), and Geoff Johns (Green Lantern: Rebirth).

The Killing Joke: The short comic by Alan Moore about the possible origin of the Joker and his quest to drive Comissioner Gordon insane.  To sum it up in one word: Wow


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 17, 2010, 09:50:37 PM
This week I finished two books:

THE CRUSADER: RONALD REAGAN AND THE FALL OF COMMUNISM by Paul Kengor

Using many recently declassified documents from the 1980's and earlier, the author shows how the fall of the Iron Curtain on Reagan's watch was no accident of history but rather the result of a policy that Reagan was formulating as far back as the early 1960's.   Reagan's lifelong hatred of Communism was based on two things: its militant atheism, which stood opposed to his own Christian faith and the Judeo-Christian principles he believed to be the bedrock of Western Civilization, and its cruel denial of human rights, something he witnessed firsthand on a visit to East Germany in 1978.  I make no bones about believing that Reagan was the greatest President of my lifetime, and this book confirmed a lot of things I've suspected for years about Reagan, with very heavy documentation and use of primary sources to back it up.

WORLD WITHOUT END by Ken Follett.  This is the long awaited sequel to THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH, his epic tale of the building of Kingsbridge Cathedral in  12th century  England.  Set in the same village, and beginning about 150 years later, it describes a sworl of events that started when four children from Kingsbridge witness a swordfight between a weary, wounded knight and two men-at-arms.  It spans the beginning of the 100 Years' War and the devastation of the Bubonic Plague.  While not as original or compelling as PILLARS, it was still a very entertaining read.  I devoured its 1000 pages in three days!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on June 17, 2010, 09:53:24 PM
Dracula by Bram Stoker

Only about 30 pages in, it's pretty good so far!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on June 17, 2010, 10:26:52 PM
Once again, I continue through my comic books checked out from the library and here's where I am now:

Nightwing: Year One
Green Lantern Corps: Recharge
Batman: Haunted Knight
Superman: Secret Identity (If you can find a copy, it is an aboslute must read!)
Ultimate Spider-Man: Ultimate Collection Vol. 1
Batman: Year One (A must read for any Batman fan!)

Next up to read: Batman R.I.P.!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on June 20, 2010, 03:54:35 PM
I just got done reading the first two books in the Aleron Codex series by Jim Butcher.  It's a pretty good series!  It's a fantasy story set in a world where people can control various elementals (called Furies).  It's sort of like Avatar The Last Airbender.  I highly recommend it.  

I also recommend Butcher's other series The Dresden Files.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on June 20, 2010, 05:51:40 PM
KWAIDAN: The collection of Japanese ghost stories on which the movie was based.  I'm going to see the film after I've read the stories first.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on June 21, 2010, 06:06:40 PM
Voodoo: Strange Tales and Fascinating Lore, edited by John Richard Stephens. In the intro, the editor does a good job of sorting out the facts and rumors surrounding voodoo (along with other African diasporic religions), and then the stories (including those by Robert Louis Stevenson, H  Rider Haggard, and HG Wells, among others) take all the misinformation and run with it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on June 22, 2010, 04:38:01 AM
(http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/c4/c22922.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on June 22, 2010, 11:17:33 AM
 I started but got bored with "crunchy cons" which is a book about the "alternative" right: republicans who are into organic food co ops and paying lip service to various ideas you think of as left wing like the evironment and ...you know good wines and stuff.

It's a good phenomenon but not one I am a part of. I hate vegatables organic or regular and don't really hae any ethical concerns with anything.

So I started rereading "the discovery of freedom" by rose wilder lane. I'ts one of my favorite books. Basically, her  belief is what we know as progressive is actually very regressive and doesn't look to the future but back to our ancient pagan past where we worshipped inumerable gods and believed heavily in fate and predestination.  

It was written in he 40's and it's interesting because it's right when the government was starting to become huge and she was cautioning people that you know, it wasn' long ago when we had no sort of free market and great populations of people starved to death and their were eras when really nothing of interest happened because everyone was so paranoid about offending the various gods.  No one listened to her of course.

Her mother was Laura Ingalls Wilder and she actually sort of ghost wrote alot of the Little House books


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 22, 2010, 07:50:40 PM
I just read WORLD WAR Z again today.  Awesome book, kind of like what might have happened if ALL Romero's zombie flicks came true at once.  Max Brooks is a genius.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on June 23, 2010, 08:29:47 PM
AMERICAN ON PURPOSE by Craig Ferguson.  Plenty of sordid stuff, like any entertainer's memoirs, but also very wry and funny.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on June 24, 2010, 11:04:13 AM
Finished Comfort to the enemy, great fast read.
I just got a bunch of screenplays I'll be reading next. ( Good Will Hunting, Invaders from Mars, The Thing, Evil Dead II, Natural Born Killers (original by Tarantino)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on June 24, 2010, 01:36:01 PM
Finished Comfort to the enemy, great fast read.
I just got a bunch of screenplays I'll be reading next. ( Good Will Hunting, Invaders from Mars, The Thing, Evil Dead II, Natural Born Killers (original by Tarantino)

Ooooh.  Let us know how that one is.  I'm quite curious what is different, as I've heard Stone changed it A LOT.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on June 30, 2010, 05:14:54 PM
Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War, 1941-1945 by Leo Marks.  It's an autobiography of his days with the Special Operations Executive.  A unique perspective on the 'inside' of the war.  Reads like a spy novel and has many fascinating moments.  Marks' style is engaging and his subtle (mainly self-deprecating) humour makes an enjoyable read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on July 01, 2010, 02:34:40 AM
Caught In The Crossfire: The Stevie Ray Vaughan Story

Basically 35 years crammed into 275 pages, his early life upto gaining international recognition as one of the greatest guitar players and bluesmen of all time until his untimely death. It's told by various friends and family along with two co-authors filling in the rest. It's been a very interesting and enjoyable read so far...  :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on July 01, 2010, 03:25:37 PM
Finished Comfort to the enemy, great fast read.
I just got a bunch of screenplays I'll be reading next. ( Good Will Hunting, Invaders from Mars, The Thing, Evil Dead II, Natural Born Killers (original by Tarantino)

Ooooh.  Let us know how that one is.  I'm quite curious what is different, as I've heard Stone changed it A LOT.

I got the script yesterday, and finished reading it yesterday. It's seriously great and would of made an awesome movie. I'm a big fan of Stone's film, but I'm really not sure if he changed it for the better.
Great read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Flick James on July 01, 2010, 04:58:19 PM
The user's guide for my new Droid phone. This thing does everything but iron my shirts.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on July 02, 2010, 06:58:59 AM
Just finished reading the ' Invaders from mars (1986)' script. I haven't seen the movie though, the script was alright, but the ending was absolutely stupid. I hate the 'it was all a dream' endings.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on July 04, 2010, 04:02:13 PM
Superman: Red Son

This is part of the Elseworld series, where certian superheroes are changed or the world is changed in order to tell a new story that wouldn't work with the regular continuity of the certain series.  This is a huge what if story if I have ever seen one.  What would happened if Superman's rocket land in the Soviet Union instead of in America?  Well apparently by 1953, Lois would marry Lex, Lex himself is actually trying to help America, Jimmy Olsen is apart of the government, Jonathan Kent (Superman's adoptive father in America) would pass away sooner, and Superman would become the poster boy for Communism.

There's more, but that would be spoiling things.  I'm on issue one of three so far, but I really like what I am seeing here.  It is a well written story that isn't an American propaganda story, but a story that protrays both America and Soviet Union as good and bad countries and an interesting look at communism vs. captialism.  The story has a lot of references to things happening during the 50s and everything feels just like the time period, with even President Eisenhower being called Ike and the old classic propaganda posters of Russia.  There's even more stuff, with appearances from other superheroes including Wonder Woman before she became who she is.  The art style is also very good as well.

This is one of the best Superman stories I have ever read, especially along side the already fantastic All Star Superman.  If you even like the character or even curious about the premise, you just have to see this.  I highly recommend this even when I'm only a third of the way in.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on July 05, 2010, 06:51:00 AM
Screenplays can be fun to read. Back around the time Freddy vs. Jason came out, maybe just before, I read a few rejected screenplays that had gotten leaked, any one of which would have been much better than what they actually made.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on July 05, 2010, 09:48:28 AM
Screenplays can be fun to read. Back around the time Freddy vs. Jason came out, maybe just before, I read a few rejected screenplays that had gotten leaked, any one of which would have been much better than what they actually made.
Any chance you still have them ?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on July 05, 2010, 09:53:09 AM
It was years ago, and I never had hard copies of them.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on July 05, 2010, 11:48:25 AM
"Basketball and Philosophy."  This is part of a series teaching philosophical concepts in the context of popular culture: there are books on the Lord of the Rings, film noir, science fiction films, and the X-Files, among others.  I've read two essays so far---one touching on the vanished community spirit of Indiana high school basketball, the other on the ethics of the "hack-a-Shaq" strategy---and they were both interesting, clearly written for laymen.  It's a good idea and I might pick up some other books in the series.

But the coolest thing about this volume is the foreword (called the "power foreword"  :lookingup:) by none other than Dick Vitale.  Sample: "...who would ever think to associate basketball with the term 'communitarianism'? That's a mouthful, baby!"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on July 06, 2010, 08:05:55 PM
SILAS MARNER


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on July 08, 2010, 04:07:17 PM
(http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj23/tectech/tourist.gif)



(http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc133/tonyisabella/DocSavage8.jpg)

   This is one of the Nostalgia Venture reprints which include full uncut adventures plus additonal information, usually interviews or essays by pulp historians. They put out The Shadow adventures too and I highly recommend them all.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on July 08, 2010, 04:20:12 PM
(http://www.nickpage.co.uk/Reading/bird.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 08, 2010, 05:34:58 PM
Ye-es.

And since I haven't posted any reviews in a while, and since I have several more I can post in the future. this will be a double post.

Nicholas Sparks' "The Last Song"

Sometimes you just have to read something you wouldn't normally read.

I see that he's listed on the cover of the paperback, that he's the #1 Romance Author in America.

Which surprises me in a couple of ways. (1st) It has always been my opinion that while men write the best action, women write the best romance. Thus, there's that. And (2nd) he uses his own name. While there are not many male romance writers out there, there are more than one supposes, as they are often forced to use a female pseudonym to get their work published and read.

As for the book itself, not an unpleasant surprise, but a surprise how much religion is in the book, which may be why he is the #1 Romance Author in America.

And he is definitely a product of the old South, as the calls it The War Between the States. Not many people call it that, not even in the South, as if calling it that makes it less than a civil war, which it was.

Simpson Comics by various authors

A republishing and repackaging by HarperCollins of five or six issues first published between 1999 and 2008.

When did the Simpson stop being funny? Were they ever funny, but certainly, the lack of humor could be note at least a decade ago, when the first of these were published. I can see their attempt to be funny, but it doesn't work. At least for me.

Next time: Lewis Caroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on July 08, 2010, 07:14:20 PM

When did the Simpson stop being funny?


1998.  Brad Bird (who was a creative consultant and occasional episode director) left, Phil Hartman died, the writing staff started taking their cues from "hip" new shows like South Park and, later, Family Guy.  Many fans of the show cite the "Homer's Enemy" ep as the turning point, as it is the first episode where Homer's oafish tendencies are viewed as an amusing thing to be tolerated, rather than a character flaw that he has to try to overcome; and the quality does begin to drop off from there.  Seasons 9 and 10 had a few bright spots but once they killed off Maude Flanders they entered a dimension of suck that they've never come back from.

Anyway, back on topic....
I'm about halfway through The Passage by Justin Cronin.  So far it's really really good, reminds me a little of The Stand.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on July 08, 2010, 07:48:25 PM
I've been through Grant Morrison's works recently.  Here's how I rank them in order from best to worse:

+ Batman and Son (I certianly wasn't confused when reading it, unlike the rest of the works this guy did...)
+ Batman: R.I.P. (VERY CONFUSING, but it was a blast to read with some great twists and pure moments of awesome)
+ Batman: The Black Glove (Very interesting mystery, but I certianly need to read more in the Batman mythos more)
+ Final Crisis (Oh my god.  I've never been so confused and lost at the same time.  There's some great moments here for characters, fights looked great, and I liked it a bit.  However, this is ultimately just purely crazy and hard to follow)

These are all fun to read, but you seriously need to do a lot of research to follow all of these stories and even then, these comics are pretty hard to understand.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on July 09, 2010, 01:37:25 AM
I've been reading Grant Morrison for almost 20 years now. It's a weird tick of fate that he has become DC's go-to guy. He's a great writer, but he's a die-hard counter-culturalist whose personal philosophy is colored by lots and lots of drug use. Final Crisis is split amongst so many comics, even I can't make sense of it.

His recent Batman stuff is great, though. Especially the Black Glove, but that may have to do with the phenomenal work of J.H. Williams.

I am currently reading:

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. I finally finished up my second reading of Gravity's Rainbow (with annotations), so a new 1100 page novel is right up my alley.

Medical Biochemistry. Yet another textbook.

Brain Thief by Alexander Jablokov. Just a sci-fi book I picked up for fun.

Information: The New Language of Science by Hans Christian von Baeyer. I got interested in information theory. I don't think this book will be very illuminating, but you have to start somewhere.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on July 09, 2010, 05:43:11 AM
([url]http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj23/tectech/tourist.gif[/url])



([url]http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc133/tonyisabella/DocSavage8.jpg[/url])

   This is one of the Nostalgia Venture reprints which include full uncut adventures plus additonal information, usually interviews or essays by pulp historians. They put out The Shadow adventures too and I highly recommend them all.


I have the entire collection of Doc Savage paperback books from Bantam Books and I've been reading them over a period of years.  I recently finished #34 MAD EYES.  Next up is #35 THE SQUEAKING GOBLIN.  (Of course, the books aren't numbered in the same sequence as the stories were originally published).  These are great books to read on airplanes because you can usually finish an entire book on one flight (more than one if the flight is long enough).  I also have all but one of THE AVENGER paperbacks.  The last one I read was #3 THE SKY WALKER.  Up next is #4 THE DEVIL'S HORNS.




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 09, 2010, 08:37:26 AM
Just finished IMPEACHED: THE TRIAL OF ANDREW JOHNSON AND THE FIGHT FOR LINCOLN'S LEGACY.

Johnson was once portrayed as a heroic martyr who was persecuted by the vicious radicals who wanted to further punish the broken, bleeding South after the Civil War, and his impeachment as an unconstitutional assault on the executive branch by the Congress. Now he is seen more as a brooding racist, a "hater when the nation needed a healer," who was determined to let the Rebels in the South regain power and do nothing to stop the mass murder and violence committed against the newly freed slaves.

This is an excellent book, well worth the legalese you have to wade through, to get a picture of the country at the end of the Civil War and the beginning of Reconstruction.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on July 09, 2010, 11:18:39 AM


Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. I finally finished up my second reading of Gravity's Rainbow (with annotations), so a new 1100 page novel is right up my alley.


An impressive and imposing book.  My advice is to consider each segment as a short story; if you expect all the different threads Wallace creates to come together in the end in a satisfying way, you may be disappointed.  I did like the entire Don Gately arc a lot.  Another tip: once you reach the end of the book (which should occur sometime in 2014), go back to the beginning and re-read the very first segment. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on July 13, 2010, 09:12:21 AM
I'm done with Bird by Bird. It's great non-fictionnal, funny book on writing. If you're into writing I definately recommend it, it has some good advice.
I'm gonna read some quick screenplays now, ( Juno, John Carpenter's The Thing, Arcade, From Dusk till Dawn ) when I get them. I'm also planning on reading ' Mary Mary ' by James Patterson.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on July 13, 2010, 09:42:33 AM
Still reading Koko. I'm enjoying it a lot, but it's longer than it seems. I'm not nearly as far along as I would have expected for the time I've spent reading.

Not that I mind. It's a good book, and my usual complaint with thrillers is that they're over too quickly. This is one I can savour a bit.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on July 15, 2010, 09:34:22 PM
"Altered States: Creativity Under the Influence."  Not so much about artists and drugs as it is about the author's belief in paranormal phenomenon and his interest in any kind of fringe, New Agey spiritualism.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on July 15, 2010, 11:57:59 PM

I just NOW (as in five minutes ago) got down reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. 

It tacks place sometime in the future where the United States has been divided up into the Capital and twelve districts.  As continual punishment for a long ago rebellion, the rulers make each district send two participants, a boy and girl chosen by lottery, to compete in The Hunger Games, a battle royale where there can be only one survivor.  When her younger sister's name gets drawn, Katniss volunteers to take her place.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41An3EkuVCL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg)

The book is a bit like Battle Royale and Death Wish 2000, only not as graphic.  It's a great read, and I'm looking forward to reading the next two books in the trilogy.

http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Games-Suzanne-Collins/dp/0439023483/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279255848&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Games-Suzanne-Collins/dp/0439023483/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1279255848&sr=8-1)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on July 16, 2010, 02:22:30 AM
After a couple of screenplays I started reading ' Mary Mary ' by James Patterson yesterday.
(http://i641.photobucket.com/albums/uu133/measter99/marymary.jpg)
It's good so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BeyondTheGrave on July 16, 2010, 07:10:39 PM
(http://traversa.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/07/28/largeanimepaperscans_planetes_nic_2.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on July 28, 2010, 11:17:43 AM
GULLIVER'S TRAVELS


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 28, 2010, 04:30:33 PM
Ye-es.

But, first I want to thank Chaos Theory for answering my question, as I now see I'm not missing anything by not watching "The Simpsons."

Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland."

I had read it before, but after seeing the film, I thought I'd read it again. And while there was nothing like it before, there's been nothing like it since.

Not only is it a children's book, but it is also . . .

a book of puns and puzzles . . .
a poetry book . . .
and a book of parodies.

I had forgotten how short it was, as it runs only about 100 pages.

And while I read an unannotated version, I'd recommend "The Annotated Alice" by Martin Gardner, as it explains alot of what is going on in the book.

Next time:  "A. V. Club's Inventory"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on July 28, 2010, 08:25:39 PM
Ye-es.

But, first I want to thank Chaos Theory for answering my question, as I now see I'm not missing anything by not watching "The Simpsons."



(Merlin voice) "You're welcome!"  :cheers:
 
Finished The Passage, got a little muddled in the third act but still quite good; am just starting A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, a collection of essays by David Foster Wallace. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 28, 2010, 08:40:44 PM
I read a biography last week entitled GOEBBELS, by Georg Reuth.  A fascinating look at the life of Hitler's Minister of Propaganda, and one of the most loathsome hatemongers of all time. He was the most anti-Semitic of the Nazi leadership, after Hitler himself, and poured out his venom on the radio, movie screen, and in print.  He packaged and sold Hitler to the German people as if "Der Fuhrer" was a new brand of soap, and was rewarded with many honors once Hitler seized power.   Goebbels was the most loyal of the Nazis, however - after Hitler's death, while the others were scrambling to get out of Berlin while the getting was good, he supervised the burning of the Fuhrer's body, then he and his wife poisoned their 6 children and killed themselves, giving orders for their bodies to be burned in the same courtyard as Hitler's.



And they burn together to this day!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on July 28, 2010, 08:58:35 PM
am just starting A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, a collection of essays by David Foster Wallace. 

What is it with folks on this board suddenly deciding to read D.F. Wallace?  Anyway, that's a good essay collection.  The title essay and the one where he goes to the state fair are hilarious.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on July 30, 2010, 01:28:36 AM
I started reading Paradise Lost.  Yeah.  It'll probably take me a while, but for some reason I actually like epic poetry.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on July 30, 2010, 01:52:28 AM
am just starting A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, a collection of essays by David Foster Wallace. 

What is it with folks on this board suddenly deciding to read D.F. Wallace?  Anyway, that's a good essay collection.  The title essay and the one where he goes to the state fair are hilarious.

I've had a coworker, who is aware of my Pynchon fascination, pushing Wallace on me for a while. It just happened to come up on my reading list. It's a long list that I perversely attack in a sequential order.

On the other hand, I threw in a couple of hardcore chemistry texts that I will have to explore before I can move onto something else.

Lastly, I was going to put off this book, "James Madison: The Founding Father," but somebody else put it on hold. I'm reading it now, but how did a book on James Madison become the most sought after book on my reading list?

Apparently I'm not the only dude interested in James Madison.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on July 30, 2010, 08:14:33 AM
'Eyes of the Dragon' by Stephen King
(http://rgr-static1.tangentlabs.co.uk/images/ar/97803409/9780340952726/150/0/plain/eyes-of-the-dragon.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 31, 2010, 09:53:37 AM
I just finished 1864: LINCOLN AT THE GATES OF HISTORY by Charles Flood.  One of the best Lincoln books I have ever read, second only to TEAM OF RIVALS, this book looks at the incredible hardships and looming disasters that Lincoln faced as he tried to manage the Civil War and run for re-election at the same time, with the fate of the Union hanging in the balance.  Very well done, this book shows all sides of Lincoln - the master politician, the political dealer, the tortured soul,  and the idealistic hero that was our 16th President.  A very worthwhile read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on August 01, 2010, 11:51:51 AM
re reading "where the right went wrong" by patrick buchanan. it's great but some of these issues, the wmd in iraq was the war justified things, it's too early to want to hear all that stuff again. they were on every pundit show every day for years.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on August 01, 2010, 02:10:47 PM
(http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c375/fausto963/RedChurch.jpg)

Interesting and very researched work on PA Dutch folk magic, specifically healing. My only complaint is that its badly edited, with major spelling mistakes and grainy photos. Both the author and the material deserve better.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on August 01, 2010, 02:24:28 PM
I hit an out of town comic book shop in search of the latest issue of Green Lantern Corps when I discovered the following series to read:

Gotham Central:  Only managed to find the first issue, but it was pretty good and has put this series on the radar for me.  I will try to find some of the other issues when I can.

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane: This is techincally the only Marvel series I have (Not many series from that company makes me want to read them outside of Ultimate Spider-Man.) and it is pretty good.  The art style is pretty decent and it is strongly written.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on August 01, 2010, 02:35:23 PM
Gotham Central:  Only managed to find the first issue, but it was pretty good and has put this series on the radar for me.  I will try to find some of the other issues when I can.


Thats a great comic series !  :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on August 03, 2010, 06:16:42 AM
Finished 'The eyes of the Dragon' and it's one of the best books I read in a while.
Now I started reading 'Salem's lot'
(http://images.contentreserve.com/ImageType-200/1535-1/%7BC336087D-CC8E-4A58-9A34-5A68C3C700E0%7DImg200.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on August 03, 2010, 08:07:21 AM
Gotham Central:  Only managed to find the first issue, but it was pretty good and has put this series on the radar for me.  I will try to find some of the other issues when I can.


Thats a great comic series !  :thumbup:

Of course.  Greg Rucka is behind it!  He wrote 52, the novel version of Batman: No Man Land, for Wonder Woman, and really awesome Batwoman: Elegy for Detective Comics.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on August 08, 2010, 03:35:57 AM
Salem's Lot was quite good. I think I'm gonna start reading 'Running Man' next.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on August 10, 2010, 04:29:05 PM
In addition to GULLIVER'S TRAVELS, I've been reading quite a few comics lately.  I recently subscribed to about 15 titles (mostly Marvel, but a few DC . . . and I even subscribed to MAD MAGAZINE), plus I've been reading Silver and Bronze Age back-issues.  Last night I read X-MEN #47.  Not one of the best X-MEN stories, but you still gotta love those books from the 1960s.

(http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100708170127/marveldatabase/images/thumb/6/67/X-Men_Vol_1_47.jpg/300px-X-Men_Vol_1_47.jpg)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Derf on August 11, 2010, 08:34:18 AM
I just started reading Fart Proudly, a collection of essays by Benjamin Franklin that don't normally get read in schools. It shows more of the mischievous side of Franklin. It includes portions of Poor Richard's Almanack, which he shamelessly used to lampoon marriage, morality, the Crown, and often, even the almanac itself (he wrote his own letters to the editor when he felt like it). The book also contains essays that Franklin published elsewhere, many of which have to do with farting. Apparently Franklin never killed off his inner 8-year-old. Ya gotta admire that in a man.  :tongueout:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on August 11, 2010, 09:27:42 AM
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uE0wtsbZdVk/SP-HejlKWpI/AAAAAAAABuc/ydop3C7G6A8/s320/IncredibleShrinkingManBook.jpg)


includes "nightmare at 20,000 feet" short story


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on August 11, 2010, 10:04:34 AM
I just read through all three big volumes of DC's Blackest Night.  The Blackest Night one that has the main story, the Green Lantern one, and the Green Latern Corps one as well in order to complete and make the story at very least understandable.  Very good work.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Gravekeeper on August 11, 2010, 04:33:26 PM
"Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper Case Closed" by Patricia Cornwell as part of some research for an upcoming project.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 11, 2010, 04:35:16 PM
Do you think she really closed the case?  I'm not so sure, although it was a good read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Gravekeeper on August 11, 2010, 05:20:19 PM
Do you think she really closed the case?  I'm not so sure, although it was a good read.

For the purposes I'm using the book for, it's a moot point. I'm just doing some general research on the Victorian era and reading a few horror stories from that period in order to get a good feel for how to write a pseudo-gothic horror story.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 11, 2010, 05:52:36 PM
Ye-es.

The A.V. Club's "Inventory"

A book of 100 pop culture lists.

As with all such books, it has the normal faults.

Inclusions
"The Simpsons"

Exclusions
In a list of movie drunks who sobered up enough to save the day, they forgot the classic Kid Shelleen played by Lee Marvin in "Cat Ballou," who not only sobered up enough to saye the day, but then fell off the wagon, only to save the day again.

Uptodateness
In a list of TV animated series loved by both adults and children, they forgot "Phineas and Ferb," which is loved by children for the title characters, and adults for the jokes, most of which go right over the heads of the children in the audinece.

Still, I like to see another edition of the book. If only because the last list is a list of pop culture items that did not make the first book. For me "Heady Entertainment: 11 Memorable Beheadings Not Found in Horror Films." And for everyone else 'Going Postal: 5 Uwe Boll Films That Are Actually Good."

Nex time: The Vampire Archives


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on August 12, 2010, 07:24:49 AM
The Running Man was really good. I'm now reading a few other screenplays and I've been reading the 'Preacher' comics. They're awesome. I also ordered 'Batman: The Dark Knight Returns' of Amazon  :teddyr:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on August 12, 2010, 12:35:57 PM
"Moviemakers' Master Class: Private Lessons from the World's Foremost Directors."  Advice from 20 top directors, including Tim Burton, the Coen Brothers, David Cronenberg, David Lynch, Martin Scorcese, John Woo.... should be very interesting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on August 12, 2010, 03:09:00 PM
"Moviemakers' Master Class: Private Lessons from the World's Foremost Directors."  Advice from 20 top directors, including Tim Burton, the Coen Brothers, David Cronenberg, David Lynch, Martin Scorcese, John Woo.... should be very interesting.
Sounds like something I need to read  :teddyr: Let us know how it is.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on August 21, 2010, 11:42:49 AM
THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE by Robert Louis Stevenson


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on August 22, 2010, 08:42:31 PM
THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE by Robert Louis Stevenson

I read that for the 1st time not very long ago.   :thumbup:

Wanted to tell Vik that the Moviemaker's Master Class book is a definite must read if you're at all interested in filmmaking.  I'm about halfway through, and some of the directors are starting to repeat themselves... which suggests they're all onto something.  Topics include philosophy in dealing with actors, planning vs. spontaneity, what kind of lens or shot to use to get an effect.  Very interesting for anyone who loves movies.  :thumbup:   


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 25, 2010, 04:37:23 PM
Ye-es.

"The Vampire Archives"

81 of the best vampire stories as selected and edited by Otto Penzler.

Vampire stories fall into three categories: pre-Stoker, Stoker, and post-Stoker.

Pre-Stoker, we get stories from . . .

Ambrose Bierce
Lord Byron
Von Goethe
John Keats
Sheridan LeFanu
Edgar Allen Poe

Stoker
"Dracula" was the first vampire novel he wrote, but his first vampire story was the short story "The Fate of Fenella," which was published some five years before "Dracula."

Post-Stoker, we get stories from the normal suspects . . .

Clive Barker
Robert Bloch
August Derleth
Stephen King
Richard Laymon
H. P. Lovecraft
Brian Lumley
Richard Matheson
Anne Rice
Dan Simmons

And maybe because science fiction is so close to horror, we get stories from writers who are better known for their science fiction, such as . . .

Ray Bradbury
Harlan Ellison
Fritz Leiber
Roger Zelazny

And then we get stories from people you don't suspect to write a vampire story, such as . . .

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
D. H. Lawrence
Guy de Maupassant
Gahan Wilson.

The collection also contains a one page short bio on each of the writers, and for some of the writers their bio is stranger than any piece of fiction they could write.

And there seems to be an inclusive bibliography containing every vampire story ever published. Chronologically it ranges from Dr. John William Polidori's "The Vampyre" from 1819, which is considered the first vampire story ever written, to vampire stories published as late as 2008. And alphabetically it ranges from Tony Abbott's "Trapped in Transylvania" to Susan Zoon's "Vampire Lover."

Next time: "This is not your father's omnibus."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on August 26, 2010, 09:03:24 AM
THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE by Robert Louis Stevenson

I read that for the 1st time not very long ago.   :thumbup:

Wanted to tell Vik that the Moviemaker's Master Class book is a definite must read if you're at all interested in filmmaking.  I'm about halfway through, and some of the directors are starting to repeat themselves... which suggests they're all onto something.  Topics include philosophy in dealing with actors, planning vs. spontaneity, what kind of lens or shot to use to get an effect.  Very interesting for anyone who loves movies.  :thumbup:   
Awesome, I'm going to check that one out  :teddyr:
Right now I'm reading 'The Mist' by Stephen King and a bunch of other short stories out of 'Skeleton Crew'


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on August 26, 2010, 11:54:06 AM
Needed to put Koko down for a while. It kind of started to drag as the guys were wandering around Singapore. Give it a week or so, and I'll be able to pick it up again.

Right now, I'm about halfway through Watchmen. I remember seeing it in comic shops in the 80s, I remember hearing a little bit about it, but I never actually read it, and until the movie came out, I didn't really know what it was about. The whole graphic novel thing was something I never got into when I was reading comics. I just assumed it was some new, edgy team of heroes and forgot about it.

So far, it's very interesting. Well thought-out and well written. Very dark and grim though, but I suppose that's part of the premise that a world with real superheroes might be worse, not better. The alternate history is very good, and the psychological analysis of the characters is interesting, if depressing at times. Visually, it's excellent.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on August 26, 2010, 12:55:51 PM
http://mises.org/books/lessons_for_the_young_economist_murphy.pdf

anarchist economist Roberty Murphy's new econ textbook. I don't really like reading PDF files but I have nothing else to do


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on September 06, 2010, 08:28:49 PM
I've been reading the owner's manual for my new Libre e-reader, although it's kind of sparse.  I probably figured out more of the functions just playing with it.

Also reading Under The Dome, almost halfway through.  I have mixed feelings about it.  The story's good but the characters are pretty cliche (or maybe they just seem that way b/c I've read a lot of King.  He likes his tropes.)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on September 06, 2010, 09:40:55 PM
I've been thinking about getting a Libre, when I can justify the expense. I've been getting a lot more reading material in electronic form, and reading books off a monitor can be a pain.

Is the Libre any good? The reviews seem positive, the specs look good and the price is right.


As for what I'm reading right now, I finished Watchmen. I can certainly understand why fans were disappointed with the revised ending of the movie. The scheme in the comic was much cooler.

I'm back on Koko, and wouldn't you know the story picks up steam within a few pages of where I put it down. It's also gotten more complicated, which I like in this kind of thriller.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 07, 2010, 06:58:09 PM
Ye-es.

This is not your father's omnibus.

Apparently, there were two omnibuses based on the film Character Indiana Jones.

The first one was subtitled: "The Further Adventures," and was published by Marvel Comics as a monthly between January, 1983, and March, 1986, except for the months of June, August, October, December 1985; and February 1986.

They also published special illustrated editions of "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark," "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."

The second one was not subtitled and was published by Darkhorse Comics between 1991 and 1996 and was meant for an older audience than the first omnibus.

In comparison to the first omnibus, there are both ++ and -- to the second omnibus.

++
The artwork is better.
The stories are more complex.
The characters are more colorful.
And it references characters and events from the past.

--
It is more violent.
The stories are more confusing.
The characters are more unlikable.
The evens are more illogical.
And there is less comedy.

One of the strangest differences I found between the two ominbuses is that in the first omnibus, as in the films, Jones teaches at Marshall in Connecticut, but in the second ombibus he teaches at Barnett in New York State.

Next time: "Robin: Year One"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on September 07, 2010, 07:43:30 PM
I've been thinking about getting a Libre, when I can justify the expense. I've been getting a lot more reading material in electronic form, and reading books off a monitor can be a pain.

Is the Libre any good? The reviews seem positive, the specs look good and the price is right.


I've only had mine a couple days but I'm liking it so far.  I hear ya on the price thing; what sold me on the Libre was, it has an SD slot so you can really expand the holding capacity.  It's a little smaller screen but you can rotate it to read vertically or horizontally.  It's compatible with epub, pdf and text files and the 100 free books it comes with are actually legit classics like Frankenstein, Dracula, The Iliad, Plutarch's Lives.  There's no backlight on the screen and no glare if you read outside.  The only bad things, it loads a little slow when you select your books (although transfering from the computer to the reader is fast) and the battery life isn't great, but it does come with a charger.  Overall it seems to be a good reader for the price.  If you're looking for lower-priced readers, I would advise not getting a Kobo, at least not yet.  The Borders where I work has had to return at least half a dozen due to bugginess.    Hope that's helpful!  :cheers:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Gravekeeper on September 07, 2010, 07:47:53 PM
I just picked up "Frankenstein" again. So yeah, I'm among the few people who get annoyed when people call the monster "Frankenstein" and when they assume that the monster was this lumbering, dumb creature. Maybe people just assume that because it's an old book that it will contain lots of flowery language that they don't understand. I personally don't think the general use of language in the novel is that different from what we'd hear today (except that there are few contractions and slang is pretty minimal, though that's likely because the writer was associated with poets and whatnot). As for coming across words you don't understand: it's called a dictionary.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on September 10, 2010, 03:56:37 PM
I just picked up "Frankenstein" again. Maybe people just assume that because it's an old book that it will contain lots of flowery language that they don't understand.

I recently finished reading THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE and I think your FRANKENSTEIN comments apply to this one, too.  I anticipate reading both FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA in the near future as they are included in the 100 Greatest Books Ever Written by the Easton Press, which I'm currently working my way through slowly but surely.  I started reading both books when I was much younger, but didn't finish either of them.  I probably made 2 or 3 attempts at each.  They were library books and I always ended up returning them before I finished.  I thought DRACULA was brilliant, so I'm not sure why I never finished it.  I was less enthusiastic about FRANKENSTEIN.  But I was probably only 12 or 13 years old when I tried to read them and I'm sure I'll have a much better appreciation now.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on September 10, 2010, 04:03:05 PM
I just picked up "Frankenstein" again. Maybe people just assume that because it's an old book that it will contain lots of flowery language that they don't understand.

I recently finished reading THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE and I think your FRANKENSTEIN comments apply to this one, too.  I anticipate reading both FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA in the near future as they are included in the 100 Greatest Books Ever Written by the Easton Press, which I'm currently working my way through slowly but surely.  I started reading both books when I was much younger, but didn't finish either of them.  I probably made 2 or 3 attempts at each.  They were library books and I always ended up returning them before I finished.  I thought DRACULA was brilliant, so I'm not sure why I never finished it.  I was less enthusiastic about FRANKENSTEIN.  But I was probably only 12 or 13 years old when I tried to read them and I'm sure I'll have a much better appreciation now.



That reminds me I need to finish Dracula! It was really good. I only got about 30-50 pages in so I might as well re-start the book since it's been so long.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on September 16, 2010, 03:14:52 PM
I've been reading several of the trade paperbacks from the series Astro City.  It's a really good series!  It's about a city where lots of superheros dwell, but it focuses more on the various human aspects of their lives rather than super battles and stuff.  What's really unusual is that in many of the issues a regular person, rather than a superhero, is likely to be the main character (some stories have even centered around villains of various types.)

The series is written by Kurt Buseik who also wrote Thunderbolts, another great series.

If you like comics, I'd recommend you check it out!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: metalmonster on September 16, 2010, 03:22:13 PM
I Have Read A Few Books In The Past Week


SCOOBY DOO AND THE ZOMBIE'S TREASURE
BEAUTY IS A BEAST
FAWN AND THE MYSTERIOUS TRICKSTER
BEEZUS AND RAMONA


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on September 16, 2010, 05:30:29 PM
"A Mencken Chrestomanthy" ("Chrestomatthy" is an obscure, pretentious word Mencken chose because he didn't want to put out yet another book title "anthology" or "omnibus"). These are short pieces, mostly newspaper column length, and I'll be picking it up and putting it down for a while. 

"Labyrinths" by Jose Luis Borges.  Philosophical fantasy. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BeyondTheGrave on September 16, 2010, 06:02:38 PM
"War" by Sebastian Junger


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on September 16, 2010, 07:07:20 PM
I recently finished reading THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE and I think your FRANKENSTEIN comments apply to this one, too.  I anticipate reading both FRANKENSTEIN and DRACULA in the near future as they are included in the 100 Greatest Books Ever Written by the Easton Press, which I'm currently working my way through slowly but surely.  I started reading both books when I was much younger, but didn't finish either of them.  I probably made 2 or 3 attempts at each.  They were library books and I always ended up returning them before I finished.  I thought DRACULA was brilliant, so I'm not sure why I never finished it.  I was less enthusiastic about FRANKENSTEIN.  But I was probably only 12 or 13 years old when I tried to read them and I'm sure I'll have a much better appreciation now.

I made the mistake of trying to read a few classics at too early an age, and it's actually made me wary of reading them now. Moby Dick springs to mind. I tried reading that when I was 9 or 10, and found it too long, too slow and too hard to follow. But Ishmael wasn't even on the ship yet when I gave up. I think he'd just encountered Queequeg for the first time. I've probably read plenty of books more challenging than that, but I still remember Moby Dick as it seemed to me at that age.

Had a similar experience with War of the Worlds when I was maybe a bit younger than that, but I picked it up around the time the Tom Cruise movie came out and almost finished it in a sitting. Not a long book at all, and for being over a century old, the language was surprisingly similar to the present day. A few odd turns of phrase, but other than that, it could have been a period story written today. Although, if it were, it would probably come off sounding more archaic.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on September 16, 2010, 08:59:35 PM
"Labyrinths" by Jose Luis Borges.  Philosophical fantasy. 

I wanted to pick that up the other day, but the only edition I could find was a mass market paperback with a shiny silver cover which I cannot stand. A case where the book is the selling point trying to make up for the cover.

I made the mistake of trying to read a few classics at too early an age, and it's actually made me wary of reading them now. Moby Dick springs to mind. I tried reading that when I was 9 or 10, and found it too long, too slow and too hard to follow. But Ishmael wasn't even on the ship yet when I gave up. I think he'd just encountered Queequeg for the first time. I've probably read plenty of books more challenging than that, but I still remember Moby Dick as it seemed to me at that age.

But... spooning with Queequeg is the best part of the book!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on September 20, 2010, 07:58:35 PM
This morning it was slow at work so I read "This Is Water", the commencement speech David Foster Wallace gave at Kenyon College (I've been on a Wallace kick lately).  It was really beautiful, not like most commencement speeches  :teddyr:; I'll have to get my sister a copy when she graduates.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 23, 2010, 07:19:39 PM
Ye-es.

Robin Year One. Chuck Dixon, Scott Beatty, Javier Pulido, Marcos Martin, and Robert Campanella. DC Comics. 2002.

The first meeting of Robin and Batman. It has its moments, but alot of it doesn't make much sense, so Bob Kane did it better, as well as first, in 1940.

So what are the moments. It allows Alfred Pennyworth and Commissioner Gordon, here Captain Gordon, to step out of Batman's shadow and into the limelight.

The villains, such as Hatter and Killer Moth, are such ditzs, for example: Hatter is captured, when he hits the back of his head against a pipe and knocks himself cold, that I find them more entertaining than some of the better known villains.

The humor works surprisingly well. For example the Joker's and Batman's discussion of nuts and bolts. "I disposed of the nuts by swallowing them, and you really really don't want to know how I disposed of the bolts."

As for what doesn't make sense.

p. 132-139. Robin locks four of Mr. Freeze's goons into a room, but five break out.

p. 146-148. Why was Robin jumped by Shrike, Boone, and their junior ninjas?

p. 168. Why didn't they escape the same way from the museum?

p. 192. Why did Dent shoot Louis?

p. 194.  How did Shrike fall upon his blade without falling upon Boone at the same time?

p. 194. Why did Robin and Batman walk away from Boone?

p. 197.  After all that has happened, Dent's capture reduced to one page.

And the usual not limited to this.: confusing fight scenes and poorly differentated minor characters.

Next time: Sherlock Holmes







Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: metalmonster on September 23, 2010, 10:44:32 PM
I Started Reading The Book DRAGON'S KEEP , I'm About A Third Of The Way Through It And It's Pretty Good So Far


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on September 24, 2010, 08:36:43 AM
Still reading Koko, at a much more accelerated pace. Everything's starting to come together about two thirds of the way through. It's just flashed back to its fictionalized version of the My Lai massacre, which is apparently where the killer completely snapped 15 years earlier. Feels like there are lots more revelations to come.

Great book. Another fine recommendation from Circus.

It's kind of put me in the mood for military themes, so I've got Joseph Heller's Catch 22 on deck for after I finish this one. Been meaning to read it for years.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on October 03, 2010, 01:44:58 PM
Against Intellectual Property-Stephan Kinsella . argues against patents, trademarks and copyrights.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on October 03, 2010, 08:20:29 PM
I'm rereading the entire Monster manga series.  It's a pretty good serial killer thriller.  I would recommend it to all of you, but a bunch of the books are now out of print.  Don't know why the company is still having ads for the books if they are oop though.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: El Misfit on October 03, 2010, 08:43:28 PM
Grendel: Behold The Devil- It's a good start for a noir type graphic novel, it's my first non-DC Graphic novel


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on October 04, 2010, 12:36:08 AM
Grendel: Behold The Devil- It's a good start for a noir type graphic novel, it's my first non-DC Graphic novel

That's a great series. Matt Wagner was really at the top of his game when he was putting it together. Pay attention to the form of the comic--the art and words and page layout. The technical artistry at work was great, especially when so many are tied to comic panels that simply show the scene.

I actually met Matt Wagner at a comic convention when he was writing this. He held a panel talking about his covers.

Grendel's a series that has changed massively over time. My favorite is probably War Child, which is one of the best action comics I've ever read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on October 04, 2010, 09:21:22 AM
I recently read 'Sophie's World', very very interesting.  :thumbup:
At the moment I am reading 'Million Dollar Baby' which has really good written stories.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on October 04, 2010, 10:34:14 AM

I just finished reading Mockingjay, the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.  It's a really good series, and I highly recommend it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: metalmonster on October 05, 2010, 07:55:09 PM
THE PRINCESS AND THE UNICORN - By Carol Hughs

I'm About 170 Pages Into It And It's Getting Pretty Interesting


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on October 05, 2010, 09:51:25 PM
A couple of comics: The Dark Knight Returns, Green Lantern: Secret Origin, and Green Lantern: Rebirth.

For my latest college paper on the fast food industry, I am currently reading through Fast Food Nation.  Strangely enough, I still want to go to Burger King after reading it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Gravekeeper on October 05, 2010, 10:53:41 PM
Re-reading "Good Omens." I've barely had time to do my share of the chores and get my groceries, let alone go out and buy/borrow a new book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on October 06, 2010, 09:02:13 AM
Re-reading "Good Omens." I've barely had time to do my share of the chores and get my groceries, let alone go out and buy/borrow a new book.
:thumbup: I really enjoyed that one!  Pratchett and Gaiman make a great writing team.  :teddyr:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on October 06, 2010, 10:25:14 AM
LES MISERABLES . . . my most ambitious book-reading experience since I read THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO a couple years ago.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on October 06, 2010, 11:13:29 AM
I got these from the library today:
To have and have not by Ernest Hemingway
The old man and the sea by Ernest Hemingway
Dreams by Carl Jung (collection of 5 articles of his)
and 'Sin City' by Frank Miller (graphic novel)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SkullBat308 on October 06, 2010, 03:57:53 PM
The Book Of Negroes- Lawrence Hill
Frankenstein Book 1- Dean Koontz
The Shock Doctrine- Naomi Klein
The Body and Social Theory- Chris Shilling
Where Race Does Not Matter: The New Spirit of Modernity- Cecil Foster
Sociology of the Body: A Reader


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on October 07, 2010, 02:27:41 PM
The Vampire economy - it's about the latter not the former. an insiders view of the demented economic system of the nazis


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on October 09, 2010, 07:22:34 PM
"The Complete Poetry of Cesar Vallejo."  No, I do not like modern poetry.  I'm only reading it because I'm about to review SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR and the director says it inspired him to make the movie.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 10, 2010, 03:30:45 PM
Ye-es.

Sherlock Holmes. v.1. The trial of Sherlock Holmes in 5 chapters. Published by Dynamite Entertainment and including one of the lesser known Holmes short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

If anything, this proves Doyle was a better writer than most of his imitators.

Plot
Doyle: unique
Imitators: old hat

Story
Doyle: clear
Imitators: confusing

Characters
Doyle: memorable
Imitators: unmemorable

Descriptions
Doyle: Colorful
Imitators: Colorless

Details
Doyle: that add to the story
Imitators: that add nothing to the story

Still, I have a certain amount of sympathy for anybody that tries to come up with something new in a graphic format, as because, almost as soon as the first Holmes story was off the presses, there were graphic adaptations, original stories in graphic format, and even graphic parodies.

Actually, my first introduction to Holmes, almost fifty years ago, were the stories in graphic format. Both adaptations of the stories and original stories.

And, while I'm not impressed by this, I did hear that the authors are working on a v. 2, which I would be interested in reading.

And finally, one thing about doing a graphic version of the story, one can draw the characters to reflect what you think they should look like. When one does a film version, one is stuck with whatever the actor looks like. And I doubt if many people think Holmes would look much like Robert Downey, jr.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on October 14, 2010, 06:48:06 PM
Just finished A Journey: My Political Life by Tony Blair.  Boring title, interesting book.

This morning at the library I picked up The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexandar McCall Smith.  I'd seen the show but never read any of the books so I figured I should give it a try.  Also picked up Urban Gothic by Brain Keene, b/c it's time for some Halloween reading  :teddyr:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: metalmonster on October 16, 2010, 04:30:36 PM
LET ME IN - By John Lindqvist Ajvide

After Reading The Book I Went Out And Saw Both Movie Versions The Swedish And The American , Both Movies Were Pretty Good But Neither One Was As Good As The Book Wich Was Awesome!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on October 23, 2010, 07:45:32 PM
I'm currently reading through Stephen King's It.  This will certianly take quite a while being that the book is over 1,000 pages!  So far, it's pretty good, but not enough It.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on October 23, 2010, 09:04:03 PM
So far, it's pretty good, but not enough It.

Wait for It.  :twirl:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on October 23, 2010, 11:14:30 PM
I'm currently reading through Stephen King's It.  This will certianly take quite a while being that the book is over 1,000 pages!  So far, it's pretty good, but not enough It.

I read that a few years ago and I really enjoyed it, but it was also very confusing to me. I think part of that is due to my ADHD... Still the parts that I totally understood I really liked! Now of course I don't remember them very well... I'll just have to re-read it someday!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on October 28, 2010, 08:53:49 AM
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/Wildcardgal/wadebook.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on October 28, 2010, 09:46:49 AM
I'm currently reading through Stephen King's It.  This will certianly take quite a while being that the book is over 1,000 pages!  So far, it's pretty good, but not enough It.

I read that a few years ago and I really enjoyed it, but it was also very confusing to me. I think part of that is due to my ADHD... Still the parts that I totally understood I really liked! Now of course I don't remember them very well... I'll just have to re-read it someday!

I read it a little over a year ago myself. What I liked best was the way King conveyed the idea of growing up in a pre-1980s small town, and returning years later to find it changed, yet disturbingly familiar. I can relate to that.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 28, 2010, 05:30:53 PM
Ye-es.

The sublime and the ridiculous.

The sublime. They're back and they're in hard cover.  Classics illustrated.  Deluxe edition. "Wind in the Willows." "Tales from the Brothers Grimm." and "Frankenstein." Regular edition. "Great Expectations" "The Invisible Man" "Through the Looking Glass' "The Raven and Other Poems." "Hamlet" and forthcoming "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

I read "Hamlet," which is not only regarded as being Shakespeare's greatest play, but one of the greates plays ever written. It is not my favorite of his plays, but I did study it in college, and I've seen umpteeneth versiions of it, and this, while an abbreviated version, is a fairly decent version, as it gets at the gist of the story. Adapted by Steve Grant and Tom Mandrake.

The ridiculous. "Twilight: the Graphic Novel" Stephanie Meyer and Young Kim. It starts out well enough. While the plot has been done multitude times before, it is passable. And the early writing is decent, but as the writing continues it seemingly--unintentionally--becomes increasingly bizarre. They sparkle. She'll never live that down. And as the story becomes increasingly bizarre, it becomes increasingly laughatble and increasingly illogical. Here's a vampire family that doesn't want to draw attention to itself, so it lives for--apparently--generations in the same town without growing older or changing. Yeah, that makes sense.

Next time: "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies"



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on October 29, 2010, 09:12:25 AM
I just got David Alexander's Gene Roddenberry: Star Trek Creator from the library.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on October 29, 2010, 12:27:15 PM
Trevor- read it quickly enough so you can return it on time, otherwise you will receive a fine.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on October 30, 2010, 11:44:24 AM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51OKyPzo9NL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)

Its a victorian adventure !

Why am I reading it ?
Erm... No idea. I was in the libarary and felt guilty that I wasn't taking any books out so I took out the above book's sequal too:

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519NjGuKo5L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)

And I took out this:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51G9RmnIsdL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)

Which is part of a series of books, only it doesn't mention that on the cover. So I'm in the middle of a bunch of characters and situations I don't understand. I'm determined to finish it though.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on November 09, 2010, 02:13:31 AM

I just got done reading Changes by Jim Butcher, the latest in the Dresden Files series.  A pretty good book, but I have to admit, I didn't care for the ending, as it pretty much ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger.  Gotta feel sorry for Harry though, he goes through a lot of crap in this book. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on November 09, 2010, 09:29:03 AM
Finished Koko. Overall, a good book. It dragged in a couple of places, and I found myself taking a break from it more than once, but very interesting. I did, however, find the ending to be something of a letdown. I liked the way it ended, as well as the epilogue, but I found the confrontation with Koko to be a little less tense and exciting than I'd expected. Not to mention that we begin to get a clearer picture of what a bona fide monster one of the other characters (Beevers) is, just in time for him to get shoved into the background. Admittedly, irrelevance was the most fitting fate for him. We get some idea of Koko's motives, but he's still largely a mystery, although we do learn a lot about the forces that shaped him into a psycho killer.

Weird how the ending can be disappointing, but on close examination, be exactly how the story should have ended.

Anyway, I haven't quite decided what to read next. I was thinking of Catch-22, but I also have Darkly Dreaming Dexter waiting on the Kindle. I think I'll probably peruse some non-fiction before starting another novel. I've got an idea for a home automation project that I'd like to do some research for.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 09, 2010, 08:21:39 PM
Ye-es.

"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies"

Not much to say about this one.

The Good
The perfect Jane Austen parody, but . . .

The Bad
I found the graphic novel confusing as heck. Hard to know who to blame, as there are so many suspects: Jane Austen, who wrote the original novel, Seth Grahame Smith, who adapted Jane Austen for this novel, Tony Lee, who adapted Seth Grahame Smith for the the graphic novel, or Cliff Richards, who did the illustrations for the graphic novel.

The Interesting
Jane Austen herself. Ever since we studied her in college for English Lit., I've always found her unreadable, but her novels are some of the oldest in the English language that are still studied and read. Maybe because the themes of her novels are timeless. And in a day when most English writers were men, she was one of the few English writers who was a women.

"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" is to be a film released sometime in 2011, as in the author's "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," which is also scheduled for release in 2011. And the author is working on the script for "Dark Shadows," which should be released sometime in 2012.

Next time: It's not the movie. It's the movie tie-in.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on November 09, 2010, 11:21:24 PM
I'm starting to try to read Watchmen.  I read the first chapter in August, but I never continued after that.  Don't know why.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on November 10, 2010, 11:32:57 AM
I'm reading The Tartan Sell by Jonathan Gash. It's a Lovejoy mystery. Lovejoy is a bit of a shady character, part hero, part rogue who deals in gray market antiques. This one has him pulling off a huge scam with the McGunn clan in Scotland. If you like antiques, British mysteries or charming, witty rogues, then you can't go wrong with Lovejoy.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on November 14, 2010, 09:37:49 AM
I'm starting to try to read Watchmen.  I read the first chapter in August, but I never continued after that.  Don't know why.

Because its a bit dull and self important only no-one has got the guts to say so.

V for Vendetta is a much better book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on November 14, 2010, 10:33:19 AM
The True Gen: An Intimate Portrait of Ernest Hemingway by Those Who Knew Him - Denis Brian
Brian arranges snippets of multiple interviews and deftly arranges them to resemble a group conversation with a minimum of elaboration.  It's quite effective and interesting: the portrait that emerges seems well-rounded (differing views are presented: it's a true 'discussion') and brings some life to reality behind the Hemmingway myth.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Cthulhu on November 14, 2010, 02:25:20 PM
I'm reading And the Ass Saw the Angel by Nick Cave.

It takes place in the deep south, and follows Euchrid Eucrow, a mute boy with an alcoholic mother, and a father who is the sole survivor of an inbreeding mountain clan.
He lives next to a town of religoius fanatics, who made his life a misery. And he is planning to exact his vengeance upon them.

Great book. It has an atmosphere you can drown in.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 21, 2010, 03:29:35 PM
Ye-es.

I said, "It's Not the Movie, It's the Movie Tie-in," but that has to wait till next time, as I have to return the following to the library, before it's over due, so . . .

John Byrne's "Superman & Batman : Generations 2 : an Imaginary Tale"

77 years in the life of Superman and Batman and their friends and families and foes. Beginning in 1942 and continuing to 2019 in 11 years inclements.

Superheroes are not immortal. They grow old and die, but before they do, the women become pregnant and have children. And the children grow up and take their parents' place. And as the children grow older, they have children, who take their place.

But, darn! It was simpler when there was only one Superman and one Batman. In 77 years, we get Abin Sur; Atom; Batgirl; Batman I-III; Blackhawks; Blackhawk II; Cyborg; Deadman: Doctor Occult; Flash II, IV, and V; Flying Fox; Green Arrow; Green Lantern I-III; Hawkman; Kid Flash; Knightwing; Robin I-III; Spectre: Superboy; Supergirl; Superman; Wondergirl I-II; and Wonderwoman I-II.

I'm impressed by all the research that went into this. As all the automobiles, buildings, cosutmes, furniture, and telephones reflect the appropriate decade in which they appear.

The thing about the future is that it quickily becomes the past. Published in 22003, 2008 was five years in the future. But now 2008 is two years in the past.

No Verne or Welles to predict what the future brings, even a person totally guessing gets some things right. He was only off by an year, but in 22008, he predicted a black man would be president.

Next time: "it's Not the Movie, It's the Movie Tie-in."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on November 21, 2010, 07:17:19 PM
I'm starting to try to read Watchmen.  I read the first chapter in August, but I never continued after that.  Don't know why.

Because its a bit dull and self important only no-one has got the guts to say so.

V for Vendetta is a much better book.

I just got through reading it and it was... alright.  I wasn't blown out of the water by all the hype surrounding it.  I think that is the ultimate weakness in most hyped movies, games, and books for me, they never seem to knock my socks off.  Psycho, Blade Runner, Jaws, and Bonnie & Clyde for example are all good movies (B.R. is confusing as hell though), but they never live up to that hype.

V for Vendetta I saw at the library and I might look into that.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on November 26, 2010, 01:05:18 AM
I'm starting to try to read Watchmen.  I read the first chapter in August, but I never continued after that.  Don't know why.

Because its a bit dull and self important only no-one has got the guts to say so.

V for Vendetta is a much better book.

I just got through reading it and it was... alright.  I wasn't blown out of the water by all the hype surrounding it.  I think that is the ultimate weakness in most hyped movies, games, and books for me, they never seem to knock my socks off.  Psycho, Blade Runner, Jaws, and Bonnie & Clyde for example are all good movies (B.R. is confusing as hell though), but they never live up to that hype.

V for Vendetta I saw at the library and I might look into that.

Now that you've read it once and gotten the superficial story, I suggest you go back and read it again.

Watchmen is incredibly dense, probably too dense for it's own good, but there isn't a single superfluous moment in the entire book. Every single piece of the book relates back into itself to dig a deeper groove (even the pirate story).

I think what a lot of people overlook is the importance of visual motifs throughout the book. On your first read they may just seem like story-telling gimmicks, but Watchmen is one of the first comics that actually used words and images in synchrony to tell a story that you could not create without an intimate discussion between the two.

Look at it this way, there are a couple of easily deciphered symbols. Rorschach sees things in black and white, the happy face with a blood stain is a symbol of the essential dysfunction in humanity.

But here's another example: every chapter ends in an image of a clock approaching midnight. You could take that as the story tells you to, as the "nuclear clock" approaching Armageddon. But did you notice that Dr. Manhattan chooses the hydrogen atom as his personal symbol (and if you know chemistry you know that symbol is as meaningless as the one he argues against). Dr. Manhattan's symbol is the clock at midnight.

Bit silly, there, but I hope it relates to you that there is a lot more to the book than the bare bones of the plot provide. I didn't even mention the eternally recurring motif of man trying to assert his dominance over woman, often violently.

In comparison, I've always thought that V for Vendetta is one of Alan Moore's weaker works. Don't get me wrong, I like it a lot, but it's quite a lot of wish fulfillment for the angry young anarchist upset with the hypocrisy of human society.

Then again, I think Alan Moore's most complete and literary work is From Hell. Not a big audience for what Alan Moore was selling there, though. Great book, no audience.

Take another look at Watchmen, preferably with some annotations. There's an entire world in that book you may not have even suspected.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on November 26, 2010, 09:55:13 AM
I only read Watchmen recently myself, but I agree, it is a story that can be examined in many different ways. Symbolically, psychologically, philosophically, politically.

I enjoyed the alternate history of the story, and its presentation of a 20th Century that aims to be realistic in every way except for the existence of superheroes. You have the big stuff, like the victory in Vietnam, Nixon holding onto power, and the Cold War worsening due to the end of mutual assured destruction (until America's advantage decides to leave). But then there are the little things, some of them specific to the comic book industry, like pirates becoming the main focus of comics, since superheroes aren't fantasy. Superman comics help to inspire the first masked vigilantes, then fade into obscurity. And comics are far more violent and gruesome, because the Comics Code Authority never comes into being, thanks to support for violent comic-inspired vigilantes.

For me, the backdrop of Watchmen was at least as interesting as the story, and possibly more.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Neville on November 29, 2010, 06:00:59 PM
I'm reading "Devil may care", by Sebastian Faulks. Don't let the name of the author confuse you: it's a James Bond novel! Seriously, somehow Faulks has been allowed to use the James Bond universe and he has written a book much in the vein of Ian Fleming's novels about 007. Faulks nails the writing style, but the plot is a bit disjointed. One scene seems right out of "From Russia with love", then another one from the newer Bonds starring Moore or Brosnan. It's not entirely a bad feeling, it's similar as when you watch a Bond film from the 80s onwards.

I can't say it's any deep, but sure it's fun to read, and a great homage to Fleming.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on November 29, 2010, 06:27:39 PM
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_MqYsHWQ7fo4/S8OOxAaOeHI/AAAAAAAAArE/auYdm2Zogvo/s800/anderson-psi-files.jpg)

Can't go wrong here.  :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on November 29, 2010, 10:28:33 PM
I'm reading a crap ton of graphic novels from the local library, from Justice League of America to Ultimate X-Men.  I'm getting more hits then misses, but occasionally get the confusing and strange.  Reading Tornado's Path arc of Justice League is quite confusing towards the end.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on November 29, 2010, 11:16:11 PM
Ended up taking a diversion from fiction for a while. Currently reading this:
(http://books.mcgraw-hill.com/authors/predkorbb3/Images/cover2.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on November 30, 2010, 12:15:17 AM
Just read a book called John Dies at the End by David Wong, which was previously available as an online novel.

(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1283620272l/8017585.jpg)

Here's an excerpt from my Goodreads review.

"The book opens with a deliriously off-kilter parable and follows it up with a chapter that suggests the banality of evil is nothing compared to its outright stupidity. I caught that bit when it was still a fledgling online novel, and it was enough to hook me to buy the book.

This book promises to deliver a terrifying sermon on true insanity, as filtered through the incredibly crude viewpoint of its narrator. Well, it starts off strong in that direction, but ends up trading insanity for a coherent plot.

If you're not a fan of sci-fi and are put off by puerility, well, stay away from this book. However, if you can appreciate the craftsmanship it takes to describe existential angst in the crudest, most joke-laden from possible, check it out."

Also read Horns by Joe Hill, which was pretty good. Not a huge stretch from his previous novel, but an engrossing story.

(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275832291l/6587879.jpg)

I cleared out all the other books I was reading, too. The only thing I'm still hammering away at is Infinite Jest (it's long).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on November 30, 2010, 08:54:29 PM
Just ordered this....got in the mail yesterday...

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/9781410418197.jpg)

I've always been fasinated by the Depression era outlaws. So much so that my son Eddies middle name is Clyde....my first name in Ronny...as in Ronny and Clyde!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on December 03, 2010, 12:24:26 PM
I've been into the Lovejoy mysteries lately.

I must be going thru some kind of British kick because I'm also reading the Brother Cadfael novels.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: voltron on December 03, 2010, 12:42:19 PM
(http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/qq64/voltron_014/GHR2.jpg)

Great book. Lotsa cool recording tips and tricks.  :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on December 03, 2010, 05:06:46 PM
voltron- the Tape OP book is good


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 03, 2010, 06:35:38 PM
Ye-es.

It's not the movie. It's the movie tie-in.

I use to remember a time that when a film was released to theaters, a paperback tie-in, based on the script, would also be released. Those times are fewer now, and I regret that for the following reasons.

(1) The tie-in would add further depth to the characters.

(2) The tie-in would often fill in plotholes in the film.

(3) The tie-in would be based on an early script, so you could see the changes made in the script.

So . . .  I was glad to find Justin Mechner's "Prince of Persia: Before the Sandstorm."

5 characters from the film. 5 prequel tales. 5 artist renderings, which range from cartoonish to photographic realistic.

What impressed me also was the way the rulers were depicted in the stories, even the evil ones. Ever since 1940's "Thief of Bagdad" the rulers have been depicted as both incompetent and fools. But here they are not incompetent and fools, but competent and wise.

I was also impressed with Sheik Amar. Not only by the way he was played by Alfred Molina in the film, but also by how well he was written as a character in the book.

Next time: "A Triple Dose of King" or something else.




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on December 03, 2010, 07:36:46 PM
Yeah, there was a time when I used to read a lot of movie novelizations. That was back when I needed my parents to drive me to the city for a movie, and thus only went a couple of times a year. Before home video took off, you had to see the movie in the theatre or wait at least two or three years for it to possibly reach television. Reading the book was often the best available option.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on December 03, 2010, 07:49:59 PM
Reading through a bunch of graphic novels I got at the library:

Ultimate Fantastic Four Vol. 8-11 (Vol. 11's artwork is shocking not finished at all.  You can still see the pencil lines that were not inked over)
Ultimate Galactus (Contains all of the mini-series)
Justice League of America Vol. 1-4 (The new series starting with Tornado's Path)
Justice Society Vol. 3-5
Ultimate X-Men Ultimate Collections 2-3


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on December 15, 2010, 01:27:50 PM
My wife read Ro a bedtime story last night, without really knowing the details, other than it was a classic tale by Hans Christian Andersen.

The Little Match Girl.

That has got to be the saddest story I've ever heard. I was somewhat familiar with it, but I didn't remember the specifics - like it being about a little girl's series of near-death experiences as she froze to death, because she was afraid to go home to her abusive father.

Fortunately, Ro had no idea, and was simply delighted at this poor girl having visions of a Christmas tree and a feast and her beloved dead grandmother. I was only half listening, but when the girl has a vision of going with her grandmother, I got very uneasy. And then we got to the illustration that Ro loved best, of the little girl "sleeping" peacefully in the morning after all her wonderful visions (as my wife silently mouthed to me "she's D-E-A-D.")

Between Ro's innocent enjoyment, the beautiful illustrations, and the contrast between the joyful visions and the bleak reality of the story, it was enough to make me teary and haunt my thoughts for the rest of the evening. I'm just thankful Ro didn't figure it out. That kid has so much empathy for fictional characters, it would have devastated her. Hell, I'm getting all weepy again just writing this.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 15, 2010, 01:34:58 PM
Just ordered this....got in the mail yesterday...

([url]http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/9781410418197.jpg[/url])

I've always been fasinated by the Depression era outlaws. So much so that my son Eddies middle name is Clyde....my first name in Ronny...as in Ronny and Clyde!


I've got that one sitting on my table downstairs waiting to start it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on December 15, 2010, 01:48:12 PM
I used to absolutely love reading like crazy for many years. Now I can barely focus my attention on a few sentences. I'm thinking of setting a goal for 2011 to read at least 4 books.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on December 15, 2010, 10:15:28 PM
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/dd/Supermanredson.jpg/250px-Supermanredson.jpg)

This is an Elseworld's story from DC.  A sort of What If story.  In this case, the what if tale is this: It is early 50s and America is dealing with the Cold War with the U.S.S.R.  Then in one news announcment, the tide of war changes when the Soviets announces their new weapon, a super human or Superman if you will.  From here on in, this is the story of Superman and his rise in the Soviet Union while in America Lex Luthor, the world's smartest man apparently, tries to find a way to kill him.  It's a 3 issue story (Part 1 in the 50s, Part 2 in the 70s, and Part 3 in the 00s) and I won't spoil anymore of it because there is so much in it crammed into the 3 issues.  You will be seeing Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Batman, and other recongizable characters in this story, but in ways you might not imagine.

This story is written by Mark Millar, who you may remember as the man behind The Unfunnies which I brought up, and I have to say, this is probably the best comic I ever read by him.  It's a fasincating story with a very gray morality, which no character being that heroic or evil when you look at both viewpoints.  I cannot highly recommend this enough to people, you got to give this one a look.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 16, 2010, 09:00:42 PM
I just finished Ron Charnow's biography of George Washington.  It is the best book on the Father of our Country I have ever read; Charnow does a great deal to humanize the "marble man" that Washington's contemporaries strove so hard to turn him into.  This is better than Joseph Ellis' HIS EXCELLENCY and Willard Sterne Randall's WASHINGTON:  A LIFE.  As good as anything David McCullough has written, I think this one is a must have for any fans of the Revolutionary generation.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on December 17, 2010, 04:03:29 AM
I am very looking forward to reading Chernow's Washington biography. I loved his biography of Alexander Hamilton, but you'd be pretty hard-pressed to make Hamilton non-interesting. Volatile guy, that Hamilton.

Washington's a hard nut to crack. There's a man who knew exactly his place in history and conducted himself better than probably anybody else will ever be able to. He knew that 200 hundred years later we would be scrutinizing his every move, and he made so very little mistakes. He may have been too successful. We can all relate to the spitfire John Adams and the relentless idealism of Thomas Jefferson. Washington, not as easy to read.

I've read "The Indispensable Man," but I'm curious to see what Chernow can say.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: theedinburghbteam on December 17, 2010, 05:29:47 AM
(http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0451195086.01._SX220_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)


I started reading this a few weeks ago, and it's pretty damned good. Always been interested in the Vietnam War, but these stories of secret missions is pretty mindblowing.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on December 17, 2010, 10:24:08 AM
Reading a couple of books at once, kind of alternating back and forth.
(http://www.jrhackett.net/images/EGcover200.jpg)
A nice introduction to Picaxe microcontrollers. It does a very thorough job of explaining how to use and program the chips. I'm reading it for a couple of separate ideas that converged when I saw how simple and versatile microcontrollers are.

I want to do a little robotics project with my daughter over the winter. I'd like to involve her in designing and building a little wheeled critter that will explore the house while avoiding furniture. Apart from a few components, I should be able to scavenge the materials from broken toys and the usual bunch of plastic and wood scraps, assorted hardware and junk I keep around. That in itself should be educational. If that works well, we might move up to a hexapod and scare the s**t out of Mom.

The other reason is I wanted to install a zone controller and dampers on the HVAC system in my shop, so the two rental units and I can have separate temperature control. My commercial tennant is only in half as much as I am, and the whole building currently has to be heated 24-7 because of the apartment upstairs. I figure I can put a serious dent in my heating bill, and make everybody more comfortable, but a commercially available zoning system could cost me over $1000. I figure for under $200, I can build my own controller with a microcontroller, write my own software to control the furnace, AC and dampers, and use RC servos as actuators.

The other book I'm reading is this one.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_RB_3EFu9s-8/TMv0-ZHqCQI/AAAAAAAABLo/b-2Txq1CFYw/s1600/Blatchford.jpg)
It's about a recent and particularly nasty native occupation of a housing development in Caledonia, Ontario. My wife's family has roots there, so it's been of particular interest. It's also just up the road from Newt. I knew it was bad down there, but this book is shocking me with the kind of anarchy they had, thanks to the government and the police leadership totally screwing up in the name of political correctness and covering their own asses. Imagine a situation where the police have lost so much credibility with the public that a cop tries to write somebody up for a seatbelt infraction, and the guy tells him to f**k off and do his job, then leaves as bystanders applaud. And that was the townspeople, not the occupiers.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on December 17, 2010, 10:55:53 AM
... It's also just up the road from Newt. I knew it was bad down there, but this book is shocking me with the kind of anarchy they had...

Thanks for that, Andy.  It is a shocking situation.  We have had some 'spillover' effects here too - we're only 45 minutes away and within the original disputed zone.  People outside the area obviously have have no idea what it has been like to have two-tier justice in effect.  It is amazing to me how little of the true situation was allowed to 'leak out' - and what did just made the non-occupiers look bad in the media.  It especially got a bit hard to take, having busloads brought in from far outside (Toronto and other centres) to tell the locals how wrong (and evil) they are, based on incomplete and biased information.  The current atmosphere of distrust is distressing.  (Won't get into the astonishment that the former OPP Chief is being lauded as an upholder of "law and order" :buggedout: and in line for a cabinet post!  :buggedout: ) "Helpless" it is; and a horrible feeling to live with.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on December 17, 2010, 12:07:12 PM
(http://books.google.com/books?id=Ew4hQAAACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=1&l=220)

Simpsons/Futurama Crossover Crisis.  Bought it as a present for my nephew, but I'm trying to finish it before I wrap it up for him!  :bouncegiggle:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: trekgeezer on December 17, 2010, 01:27:12 PM
Reading my first William Gibson novel (Spook Country).    I should say I'm wading through it, the guy's style not exciting me much.  I guess it will help things out when I figure out what the story is about. 

I will finish it though, I like to always finish what I start.  Never know what will happen if you don't finish. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 17, 2010, 04:51:57 PM
Ye-es.

A triple dose of King. All in graphic format.

"The Stand"
Just the 1st vol. so far. The least confusing, but also the least interesting, so far, of the three. Actually, (IMHO) this one has the least interesting story of all the King novels I've seen. And the so-called government cover-up stretches credulity to the breaking point, if not pass it.

"The Talisman"
 With Peter Straub. Again, just the 1st vol. so far. The most confusing, but also the most interesting, so far, of the three.

"The Dark Tower"
In 5 vols. Read 'em out of order. Vol. 4, then vol. 1, and then, finally, vol 5. Yet to read vols. 2 and 3. Actually, I found vols. 4 and 5, a better read than vol. 1. Vol. 4 slightly better than vol. 5, because the humor works better in vol. 4. Of course, these 5 vols. then leads to the graphic series "The Dark Tower: the Gunslinger," which I have yet to read.

Of course, "The Stand was a TV miniseries." "The Dark Tower" is to be a theatrical film released in 2013. And "The Talisman" is to be a TV miniseries for airing on TV in 2012.

Next time: ?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Neville on December 17, 2010, 05:06:05 PM
I loved "The talisman" and its sequel, "Black House". Peter Straub is a hell of a writer, but sometimes his writing is just too hard to follow. His works with King are easily his most accesible.

If you feel tempted to check out Straub's books after reading "The Talisman", my favourites are "Mystery", "Shadowland" and "Ghost Story". "Ghost Story" is maybe his best-known book, but of the three I mentioned it's the one I had more trouble reading it. Too many dry spots, but in the end it's worth the effort.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on December 17, 2010, 05:34:40 PM
I just got done reading John Dies In the End by David Wong.

A very interesting, but often surreal book.  And, since it's the one written by the main editor of Cracked we're talking here, so the word "penis" and variants thereof are mentioned about 100 times.  All in all it's a pretty entertaining book, more creepy than outright scary IMHO, and there's a couple of twists near the end I certainly didn't see coming.  


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on December 18, 2010, 01:35:32 PM
... It's also just up the road from Newt. I knew it was bad down there, but this book is shocking me with the kind of anarchy they had...

Thanks for that, Andy.  It is a shocking situation.  We have had some 'spillover' effects here too - we're only 45 minutes away and within the original disputed zone.  People outside the area obviously have have no idea what it has been like to have two-tier justice in effect.  It is amazing to me how little of the true situation was allowed to 'leak out' - and what did just made the non-occupiers look bad in the media.  It especially got a bit hard to take, having busloads brought in from far outside (Toronto and other centres) to tell the locals how wrong (and evil) they are, based on incomplete and biased information.  The current atmosphere of distrust is distressing.  (Won't get into the astonishment that the former OPP Chief is being lauded as an upholder of "law and order" :buggedout: and in line for a cabinet post!  :buggedout: ) "Helpless" it is; and a horrible feeling to live with.


Getting a little farther into the book, I really understand what you mean about the true situation not making it outside. In the papers, it just seemed like the trouble was in and around an empty subdivision. Right now, I'm reading the accounts of people with homes between the reserve and town who were living under what amounted to an occupation by a hostile paramilitary force. And I'm amazed that it wasn't a big worldwide news story when OPP riot and tactical units were forced to retreat after the badly planned raid that basically escalated the whole thing. Just totally insane that something like that was allowed to happen in Canada, and all because cops weren't allowed to do their jobs in the normal way. I'm blown away by this book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on December 18, 2010, 02:45:52 PM
Reading through a bunch of graphic novels I got at the library:

Ultimate Fantastic Four Vol. 8-11 (Vol. 11's artwork is shocking not finished at all.  You can still see the pencil lines that were not inked over)
Ultimate Galactus (Contains all of the mini-series)
Justice League of America Vol. 1-4 (The new series starting with Tornado's Path)
Justice Society Vol. 3-5
Ultimate X-Men Ultimate Collections 2-3


I just got done reading Marvel Masterworks Fantastic Four Vol 1 and Vol 2! Great Kirby artwork! Ever notice how the Thing looks like John Agar in HAND OF DEATH?

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/10353766215043173656_610w.jpg)

 tink Stan and Jack were B movie fans! The story line for BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS mirrors the HULK origin!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on December 22, 2010, 04:47:01 AM
It's about a recent and particularly nasty native occupation of a housing development in Caledonia, Ontario. My wife's family has roots there, so it's been of particular interest. It's also just up the road from Newt. I knew it was bad down there, but this book is shocking me with the kind of anarchy they had, thanks to the government and the police leadership totally screwing up in the name of political correctness and covering their own asses. Imagine a situation where the police have lost so much credibility with the public that a cop tries to write somebody up for a seatbelt infraction, and the guy tells him to f**k off and do his job, then leaves as bystanders applaud. And that was the townspeople, not the occupiers.

You might want t post a review of the book on Amazon.  There's only a single one star review and that's just because the idiot was bithcing about how much the kindle version of the book costs (and he makes no mention of rather or not he actually READ the book in question.)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on December 22, 2010, 08:58:03 AM
I'm blown away by this book.

There was a general feeling of relief and even celebration when this book came out.  I have only one problem with it: from what I have seen, people in general are taking away the impression that the conditions described in the book have been resolved as of 2010. That it all ended in 2010. Nothing has been resolved; nothing has changed; the situation is on-going.  There simply has not been much recent activity.  Local expectations are that there certainly will be more 'incidents'.  It is very scary how quickly the rumor mill gears up and that cannot be good for anyone.  :bluesad:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on December 22, 2010, 09:44:51 AM
I'm blown away by this book.

There was a general feeling of relief and even celebration when this book came out.  I have only one problem with it: from what I have seen, people in general are taking away the impression that the conditions described in the book have been resolved as of 2010. That it all ended in 2010. Nothing has been resolved; nothing has changed; the situation is on-going.  There simply has not been much recent activity.  Local expectations are that there certainly will be more 'incidents'.  It is very scary how quickly the rumor mill gears up and that cannot be good for anyone.  :bluesad:

There is definitely that impression, even halfway through, although a recurring theme is that every time things start to seem hunky-dory, some new violence breaks out. There's no way that amount of resentment can be allowed to build up without it poisoning the community for years. All the fault of law enforcement for turning it into something it didn't have to be.

Are you planning to read the book? Seemed like everybody down that way was rushing out to buy it. My mother-in-law was here for a visit last week. She grew up in Caledonia (she's a Douglas, in fact, so the history is kind of personal), and was kind of surprised I was already reading the book. I almost bought her a copy for Christmas, but I can't be sure she didn't go out and buy one already. I do regret getting the Kindle version, only because my wife will want to read it too, and a paper copy would be much easier than lending her the whole Kindle.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Flick James on December 22, 2010, 12:42:10 PM
Just starting The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul. Yes, I'm a bonafide supporter of this man.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on December 22, 2010, 01:48:56 PM
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's "Faust."  I wanted to read the play that inspired THE APPLE.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on December 28, 2010, 11:51:59 AM
(http://podularity.com/wp-content/images/siege.jpg)

re released/ translated book from my favorite author. about the foibles of governments and so forth. this one is set in the dark ages.  His book "The Pyramid" is insane.

flick james- when you are done with that check out my 7 part play (http://www.youtube.com/user/lesterhalfjr#p/c/FC0967FBEDE53CC1/0/xGkZxgzxTlk) based on Nock's "Our Enemy the State". done with xtranormal cartoons which no one likes and bad jokes.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 29, 2010, 12:34:14 AM
In the last week I finished GOD DOWN TOGETHER: THE STORY OF BONNIE AND CLYDE (which is first-rate; I have a vested interest since they operated in my neck of the woods and my Dad can remember his father reading all their exploits to him from the newspaper when he was a boy).  Then I got Stephen King's FULL DARK, NO STARS for Christmas and gobbled it up in two days . . . it is like DIFFERENT SEASONS in that it features four different novellas, all first-rate.  King on his worst day is more entertaining than many more critically acclaimed authors are in their mose celebrated works . . .  I love the way the man writes!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on December 29, 2010, 11:24:28 AM
Finished Helpless, which I highly recommend. Now reading Darkly Dreaming Dexter. I'm still not sure if I'll like it, having seen five seasons of the TV series. I'm aware that the series deviates rather quickly from the books, and there are already some interesting differences in the characters and the plot. The first-person style is also great, since the reader is inside Dexter's head for the entire story, instead of just bites of narration. The only problem is that for the first novel at least, all the major surprises are blown.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on December 29, 2010, 11:30:31 AM
(http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee71/HammockRider/phanchron.jpg)


 I'm halfway through it and it's pretty good. I picked it up after re-watching the Billy Zane Phantom and I'm glad I did.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 30, 2010, 05:37:14 PM
Ye-es.

Sinclair McKay's "The Man with the Golden Touch."

The first Bond film (Dr. No) for the cinema came out in 1962, and Ian Fleming was writing and publishing the Bond books a decade for that. So, that's almost fifty to sixty years of Bond, and McKay covers that as he writes how the real world influenced Bond, and the Bond world influenced . . .

the real world and world of fiction
the U.K. and the U.S.
films and literature
the cinema and TV
and attitudes toward women, minorities, homosexual and homosexual women.

But despite all the serious topics covered, the author  keeps a light touch on his subject and makes the book an easy read. Highly recommended for any Bond fans out there.

Next time: Stan Lee's "The Silver Surfer"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Allhallowsday on December 30, 2010, 10:43:19 PM
Just finished Father Does Know Best the shocking memoirs of LAUREN CHAPIN.  I have already started Life by KEITH RICHARDS which spurred my recent interest in middle period ROLLING STONES


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on December 30, 2010, 10:57:06 PM
Marvel Masterworks: the Fantastic Four Vols. 1 and 2!!!!

Vol 1 has issues 1-10 and vol.2 has 11-20 plus the first annual.
And all the art is vintage Jack Kirby! Some guest stars-Sub Mariener! the HULK! Dr.Doom (of course)! Ant Man!Spiderman! And MORE! MORE! EXCELCIOR!

( I plan on getting the Marvel Masterworks SGT FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS when I get the pennies...kinda in a hole now....)

(http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr264/luciddreamer1780/comic%20book%20covers/fantastic_four_10.jpg)

side note-ever notice that in the old FF's the Thing looked like John Agar in HAND OF DEATH? That film came out shortly before FF #1. Coincidence? Hmmmm...I wonder...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ImaginaryFoot on January 01, 2011, 03:04:22 AM
Yes


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on January 03, 2011, 04:59:37 PM
I'm almost finished with the entire James Bond series.  I have about 70 pages remaining in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE.  Then it's on to MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (which I read several times many, many years ago).  One more book after that and I will have finished the entire series.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on January 08, 2011, 06:46:22 PM
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on January 08, 2011, 06:58:38 PM
shock cinema magazine


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 08, 2011, 08:43:21 PM
I just finished Laura Ingraham's THE OBAMA DIARIES.
A pretty funny piece of right-wing political propaganda; I wouldn't have paid money for it, but since it was a gift, I did enjoy it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 09, 2011, 03:09:50 PM
Ye-es.

Stan Lee's "The Silver Surfer"

If you want to see the sheer genius of the incredible mind of Stan Lee, then look no farther than his "The Silver Surfer."

If "The Fantastic Four" is represntative of the early '60's, then "The Silver Surfer" is representative of the late '60's, which shows what a momentous decade it was. For one thing, Afro-Americans start to appear in major roles in the stories of Stan Lee.

The Silver Surfer also almost becomes a Christ like figure. For if the New Testament tells us that Christ was tempted while in the Wilderness, then The Silver Surfer is also tempted by one of Satan's minions in one of the stories.

But darn, Lee sure lays the philosophy on with a trowel in the stories. Which does lead to a great parody called "The Simple Surfer," which starts with the origins of the Simple Surfer and ends with a surf off between the Simple Surfer, Archie and Jughead, Little Orpahn Annie and Sandy, and Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.

Next time: "The Men Who Would Be King" by Nicole LaPorte.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Couchtr26 on January 12, 2011, 07:26:42 PM
Various collections by Clark Ashton Smith, HP Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard.  I enjoy Smith's writing more then the other two.  However, his subject matter seems less varied except for poems. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on January 12, 2011, 08:21:12 PM
Next week I'm ordering The Works of SHIRLY JACKSON-which includes all her short stories,and the two novels THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE and WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE. If you have never read any of Miss Jacksons writing-change your life.  :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on January 12, 2011, 08:45:43 PM
Got in the mood for something Lovecraftian, so I picked up Cthulhu 2000. It's an anthology of Lovecraft-inspired stories, published around 1995. Pretty good so far.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fc/Cthulhu_2000.jpg/200px-Cthulhu_2000.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on January 12, 2011, 10:53:35 PM
I've started reading The Big Book of UFOs by Chris A. Rutkowski. Cool so far...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on January 13, 2011, 06:41:10 PM
I've started reading The Big Book of UFOs by Chris A. Rutkowski. Cool so far...

That sounds like something I would enjoy. Im a big UFO buff.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on January 13, 2011, 11:15:18 PM
The book is like a general overview of the complete history of UFOs...so far there's been little in it I hadn't heard about before somewhere or another along the line but it does mention many Canadian sightings in there which are of particular interest to me. The author Chris A. Rutkowski is Canadian and he's put out several previous UFO books. The cover art is excellent.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on January 14, 2011, 02:27:47 AM
Still making my way through Infinite Jest, only 300 or so pages to go.

Also reading:

The Time Dweller by Michael Moorcock, a collection of short stories. Not all that great.

Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk. First book I've read by him. A couple of chapters in and I don't think I'm going to like it very much.

The Cunning Man by Robertson Davies. Part of my Modern Library reading list. Not far enough in to make any statements.

The Penultimate Truth by Philip K. Dick. Alright so far. I'm guessing it isn't the greatest Dick book. (Get your mind out of the gutter.)

Comic Books and Other Necessities of Life by Mark Evanier. A collection of columns written by Evanier (half of Groo) written for a magazine I can't place at the moment. A joy to read. Evanier has been working in the comic and animation industry for forever now, and he has plenty of warm-hearted and enlightening anecdotes about the unsung creators of comicdom (also a bunch of stories about his wayward youth as a comic fan). A great picture of a pre-Internet era when comic fans had only the letters page as an outlet. He's got a website, POV Online (http://www.povonline.com/), which I highly recommend to anybody interested in either comics or animation.

(http://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/iss/450w/963/19009632/19009702_1.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Used Meathook on January 16, 2011, 01:50:00 PM
The I-5 killer by Ann Rule.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on January 16, 2011, 09:50:31 PM
Just hours away from starting on

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31lo2wHhirL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)

The original "Cult Movies" is one of my favorite movie books.  I need to track down volume 2 someday as well.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 20, 2011, 05:33:46 PM
Ye-es..

Nicole LaPorte's "The Men Who Would Be King"

Subtitled: "An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called Dreamworks"

The Goods
(1) She makes the business side of Hollywood very interesting.
(2) What good have been a hard slog, she makes into an easy read.
(3) She's fair to everyone, pointing out both their good points and theri bad points, and everyone in the tale has both their good and bad points.
(4) And she even makes the unsympathetic sympathetic.

The Bads
(1)The epilogue at the end helps, but its a confusing tale, which is as confusing at the beginning of the book as it is at the end of the book. Part of it is . . .
(a) The nature of Hollywood, which is a place you can be born, live all your life, and on the day you die, you'll still not know all the ins and outs.
(b) Her emphasis. While she does go somewhat into the psychological movtivations of the players, she should have done more of it, because that's the only way you are going to understand the story.

The Interestings
(1)The prime demographic of Hollywood is the 13-year-old boy. If you can get their seats into the seats then you'll probably have a hit.
(2)Why some liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans have a love/hate affair with Washington. It's the mirror image of Washington, D.C. So much so, you could call Washington, D.C. the Hollywood of the Potomac and Hollywood the Washington, D.C. of the Pacific.
(3) Maybe because she was a member  of the Hollywood Press, it comes off badly in the book. As being unable to ask the big question, as being vindicative, as blaming others for their mistakes, wanting to fan the flames of a story instead of dousing the flames,  and taking sides in a story.
(4)Why Eisner and Katzenberg had an acrimonious breakup. They were more alike than different. When one looked in the mirror, one saw the other one.
(5) But probably the most interesting fact coming out of the book was that Eisner was right. He could have handled the situation better. He could have handled the situation alot better, but in 1994, Katzenberg was unqualified for the job he wanted at Disney.  You only need to see how he ran Dreamworks into the ground to see that.

Next time: Stud Terkel's "Working"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on January 20, 2011, 10:32:44 PM


Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. I finally finished up my second reading of Gravity's Rainbow (with annotations), so a new 1100 page novel is right up my alley.


An impressive and imposing book.  My advice is to consider each segment as a short story; if you expect all the different threads Wallace creates to come together in the end in a satisfying way, you may be disappointed.  I did like the entire Don Gately arc a lot.  Another tip: once you reach the end of the book (which should occur sometime in 2014), go back to the beginning and re-read the very first segment. 

Finished, and three years ahead of schedule!

You're right about that first chapter, seems to be a void at the heart of the book. A darkness, if you will.

Well, since the current literary fad is to appropriate old text and insert b-movie elements into it, I plan to fill that void. Expect my novella Infinite Jest and Zombies to come out sometime in 2014.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SPazzo on January 21, 2011, 09:13:26 AM
I'm reading The Piano Man's Daughter right now for English class.  I'm really enjoying it, although the in-class essay on it next week is looming over my head.
(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0060936436.01._SX140_SY225_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
Oh, and don't watch the Whoopie Goldberg produced made-for-TV movie based on it.  My professor laughed when I asked about it. :tongueout:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: metalmonster on January 25, 2011, 04:18:54 PM
CIRQUE DU FREAK : BOOK 1 A Living Nightmare


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 25, 2011, 10:21:22 PM
DECISION POINTS by George W. Bush

I realize the former President doesn't have a lot of fans on this board, but he wrote a good memoir, discussing the most important decisions in his life and Presidency.  The book is a lot like the man himself: simple, straightforward, and easy to understand - but not stupid.  I really enjoyed it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on January 25, 2011, 11:42:51 PM


Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. I finally finished up my second reading of Gravity's Rainbow (with annotations), so a new 1100 page novel is right up my alley.


An impressive and imposing book.  My advice is to consider each segment as a short story; if you expect all the different threads Wallace creates to come together in the end in a satisfying way, you may be disappointed.  I did like the entire Don Gately arc a lot.  Another tip: once you reach the end of the book (which should occur sometime in 2014), go back to the beginning and re-read the very first segment. 


You're right about that first chapter, seems to be a void at the heart of the book. A darkness, if you will.


Someone said the narrative structure is like a circle that's three-quarters complete.  A crucial part of the story is left untold.  I found it frustrating, needlessly so.  But I loved a lot of the individual incidents.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Nukie 2 on January 26, 2011, 01:00:35 AM
Super Freakonomics- Levitt & Dubner

It's just like applying economics principles to everyday things, it's interesting but they seem to go off on tangents--rather informative tangents.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on January 27, 2011, 10:54:05 AM
I'm re-reading volume 2 of Sherlock holmes: The Complete Novels and Short stories. Apparently I somehow have missed the Adventure of the Lion's Mane, which is told first person by Holmes! Wow!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on January 27, 2011, 12:51:59 PM
Got in the mood for something Lovecraftian, so I picked up Cthulhu 2000. It's an anthology of Lovecraft-inspired stories, published around 1995. Pretty good so far.
([url]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fc/Cthulhu_2000.jpg/200px-Cthulhu_2000.jpg[/url])


About halfway through this book, and having mixed feelings about it. The stories are good, some more so than others, but most seem to suffer from the same problem. The authors use the mythology of Lovecraft, but they can't resist giving blatant nods to the stories that inspired them. It's fine to refer to the events and characters of Lovecraft's stories, or even create a fictionalized equivalent of Lovecraft if it serves the plot, but it gets kind of lame if Lovecraft and his stories actually exist exactly as they do in the real world. For me, it just wrecks a story to have a character praise the works of Lovecraft and his contemporaries for no reason other than fanboy self-indulgence on the part of the author. In one case, an actual copy of At the Mountains of Madness provides clues for the protagonist, when the story would have worked better without it.

It's all the more annoying, because the stories are generally good, and manage to evoke a Lovecraftian mood in a variety of settings. That mood suffers every time I get jerked back to reality by a direct reference to Lovecraft. Especially so when the story is treating Lovecraft's fiction as real events at the same time as it's referring to Lovecraft's fiction as works of literature.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 31, 2011, 11:28:56 PM
Just finished Edmund Morris' last installment of his biograhical series on Theodore Roosevelt, entitled COLONEL ROOSEVELT.  He chronicles the last decade of TR's life, from his exiting the White House to go on an African safari, his grand tour of Europe, representing the U.S. at the funeral of Edward VII, and his doomed run for the Presidency in 1912.  Then it covers his disastrous expedition to the Amazon, in which he developed a severe infection in his wounded leg that nearly killed him, his return to the USA.  The last section of the book covers his reaction to World War I and his frantic desire to fight in that conflict.  When he was not allowed to form his long-dreamed of volunteer division and go to the front himself, he sent all four of his sons off to fight.  Three were wounded, two severely, and his youngest son Quentin was shot down flying a Nieuport fighter plane over the Western front.  This loss nearly killed the former President, but he hung on long enough to help the Republicans win huge majorities in the fall of 1918 mid-term election, and to see his name rise to the top of the list for the 1920 Presidential contest.  But, in January 1918, his great heart gave out at last, and the old lion left his cubs desolate.

A magnificent book about a magnificent man.  I have read many books on America's presidents, and this one is near the top of the list.  Roosevelt packed more living into the last decade of his life than most men do in a lifetime.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 14, 2011, 06:32:57 PM
Ye-es.

Studs Terkel's "Working"
in graphic format, w/ Henry Pelker as adapter and Paul Buhle as editor.

Not a balanced account of working, as he talks to alot of union people, but--apparently--no one from management in an unionized company. And while not every union is good, the stories do show what a good union can do for its members

Nor do the stories represent that profession, but solely the person telling the story.

But . . . Studs has an ear, eye, and nose for an interesting story, which most of these are. Even though the original book was--apparently--written some 37 years ago.

Not all the stories are told by people unknown. Actor Rip Torn tells his story, and if you are a denizen of the sports world, one should recognize the names of baseball player Steve Hamilton and jockey Eddie Arroyo.

Each story is done by a different artist, so you get different layouts and fonts. Some of which are better than others.

Next time: Miscellaneous


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on February 17, 2011, 10:20:04 AM
(http://acomicbookblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/supermanlastsongif.jpg)

I recommend this story to everyone and sole reason that Richard Donner helped wrote.  It's the closest we'll ever get to a Superman 3 by him.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on February 17, 2011, 05:17:58 PM
ANIMAL FARM


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 17, 2011, 07:23:50 PM
FELTON AND FOWLER'S BEST, WORST, AND MOST UNUSUAL.
If you love trivia, bizarre facts, and having a large volume of useless but utterly fun information to flip through during boring meetings, flights, waiting in the doctor's office, or marathon sessions on the porcelain throne, this book is awesome.  A bit dated - the hardback edition is simply a combination of the two paperbacks, one written in 1975 and one in 1976 - but in a wide variety of categories, both human, animal, and natural, the authors have compiled a list of the Best, the Worst, and the Most Unusual.  It is hard to turn a single page without finding a conversational gem.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: bob on February 18, 2011, 09:06:37 AM
I've been reading The Catcher and the Rye for the last 2 weeks and enjoying every second of it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on February 18, 2011, 04:10:53 PM
I've been reading The Catcher and the Rye for the last 2 weeks and enjoying every second of it.

One of the best books I ever read.  I think I finished it in 2 days.  I need to read it again . . . it's been almost 30 years!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on February 28, 2011, 02:48:20 AM
I recently read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. (SPOILERS follow.)

I loved the book. I got so swept up I read most of the book in one marathon session until I got so tired I had to go to sleep. I then woke up and finished the book.

At the same time, it was a troubling and deeply untrustworthy book. In looking up discussion on the book (and if there's one thing the internet is sorely lacking, it's decent discussions on literature), it shocked me how many people take Humbert Humbert's narration at face value. One of the not-so-hidden aspects of Lolita is Humbert's craven and self-serving view of life. If you trust his side of the story, he's a desperate romantic who just happens to have a penchant for young girls. You may even excuse his pedophilia as a broad metaphor about Europe and America.

Hogwash, of course. Humbert is a truly detestable human being, and only at several crucial points in the narrative does he let slip the true damage he has done. I watched the Kubrick film, and it's a pretty good movie, but it also lets Humbert present his side of the story.

However, as a work of literature, Lolita is a masterpiece. In Humbert, Nabokov created a wordsmith nonpareil. The embedding of Quilty into the narrative was as good a mystery (with an obvious answer) as any potboiler.

I own the annotated version, but since this was the first time I read the book, I didn't read them. I plan on going back, but I want to put some distance between me and the book first.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 03, 2011, 08:30:01 PM
Ye-es.

Several miscellaneous and short graphic novels.

"Kickass"
In graphic format. One of the few graphic novels I actually found unreadable. Once I started it.

The prequel to Jim Henson's "The Dark Crystal" and the sequel to Jim Henson's "Labyrinth." As "The Dark Crystal" had fewer characters that looked alike, had fewer characters in double roles, and no two worlds with the characters traveling back and forth between them, I found it alot more readable than "Labyrinth."

Joss Whedon's "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer." Some people need to be on a short leash and a tight budget. The TV show lasted seven seasons, but Whedon had an idea for an 8th season, which he made into a graphic novel, and if he had gotten the money to do it, it would have just sucked (IMHO.)

"The Unwritten" subtitled "Tommy Taylor and the Bogus Identity" w/ words and art by Miles Carey and Porter Gross.

There are three ways to do a fantasy novel. One world that is all fantasy such as Tolkien's Middle Earth. Two worlds: one reality based and one fantasy based, but separate from each other, such as Carroll's Wonderland or Lewis' Narnia. One world where reality and fantasy are based together, such as Hamilton's Anita Blake series.

These are all great fantasy series. "The Unwritten" is none of these, as while it is readable, it is no where near being a great fantasy series.

Next time: "The Star Wars" omnibus.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on March 03, 2011, 10:08:32 PM
"Kickass"
In graphic format. One of the few graphic novels I actually found unreadable. Once I started it.

Best to stick with the movie adaption which is actually enjoyable and isn't as bad.

Anyways, I just finished reading Fables: Deluxe Edition Vol. 1  DAMN!  That was awesome.  Probably one of the best comic series I ever read.  It's just awesome.  You got to read this!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: bob on March 04, 2011, 12:18:38 AM
I've been reading The Catcher and the Rye for the last 2 weeks and enjoying every second of it.

One of the best books I ever read.  I think I finished it in 2 days.  I need to read it again . . . it's been almost 30 years!

Wow, that makes me feel kind of young as i'm not even 30.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on March 04, 2011, 11:58:55 AM
I've been reading The Catcher and the Rye for the last 2 weeks and enjoying every second of it.

One of the best books I ever read.  I think I finished it in 2 days.  I need to read it again . . . it's been almost 30 years!

Wow, that makes me feel kind of young as i'm not even 30.

I did a book report on it in high school.  That's the last time I read it!



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Gravekeeper on March 04, 2011, 07:18:00 PM
Reading through Poe's works (including his non-horror short stories and poems; yes, he wrote for other genres!) and some key Lovecraft stuff.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on March 05, 2011, 11:07:01 AM
I recently read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. (SPOILERS follow.)

I loved the book. I got so swept up I read most of the book in one marathon session until I got so tired I had to go to sleep. I then woke up and finished the book.

At the same time, it was a troubling and deeply untrustworthy book. In looking up discussion on the book (and if there's one thing the internet is sorely lacking, it's decent discussions on literature), it shocked me how many people take Humbert Humbert's narration at face value. One of the not-so-hidden aspects of Lolita is Humbert's craven and self-serving view of life. If you trust his side of the story, he's a desperate romantic who just happens to have a penchant for young girls. You may even excuse his pedophilia as a broad metaphor about Europe and America.

Hogwash, of course. Humbert is a truly detestable human being, and only at several crucial points in the narrative does he let slip the true damage he has done. I watched the Kubrick film, and it's a pretty good movie, but it also lets Humbert present his side of the story.

However, as a work of literature, Lolita is a masterpiece. In Humbert, Nabokov created a wordsmith nonpareil. The embedding of Quilty into the narrative was as good a mystery (with an obvious answer) as any potboiler.

I own the annotated version, but since this was the first time I read the book, I didn't read them. I plan on going back, but I want to put some distance between me and the book first.

My favorite novel.  Personally I prefer to accept Humbert's assertion that he is redeemed. The story has less impact if you don't allow yourself to trust him a little, despite all the warnings not to.

Dying, dying, Lolita Haze,
Of hate and remorse, I'm dying.
And again my hairy fist I raise,
And again I hear you crying.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: bob on March 05, 2011, 12:04:22 PM
Reading through Poe's works (including his non-horror short stories and poems; yes, he wrote for other genres!) and some key Lovecraft stuff.

I'm a big fan of his. I've liked his work since I was in gradeschool. In fact a class I took in college was litereally a 20 page paper on how events in his life influenced his works.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on March 08, 2011, 05:03:55 PM
I'm reading / listening to Human Action again. just like I was a year ago.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on March 08, 2011, 05:38:24 PM
"The Ascent of Mt. Carmel" by St. John of the Cross. 

It's supposed to be one of the inspirations for THE HOLY MOUNTAIN, which I'll be reviewing soon.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on March 08, 2011, 09:07:22 PM
Also reading:

(http://static.letsbuyit.com/filer/images/uk/products/original/209/50/the-official-razzie-movie-guide-enjoying-the-best-of-hollywood-s-worst-20950375.jpeg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on March 09, 2011, 06:38:55 AM

For the millionth time...
(http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/d/de/JRSSCPRKZH1993.jpg)
Still my fave book after all these years...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on March 09, 2011, 09:58:40 AM

For the millionth time...
([url]http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/d/de/JRSSCPRKZH1993.jpg[/url])
Still my fave book after all these years...


Probably the last really good book Crichton wrote.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on March 09, 2011, 10:04:14 AM
Oh, I think Timeline was pretty good !  :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on March 09, 2011, 03:43:30 PM
I loved PREY by Michael Crichton.  It would make a really good movie, but they'll probably screw that up.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RD on March 10, 2011, 02:32:12 PM
Finished Blood Meridian recently. Now halfway through Spook Country. Any other William Gibson fans here??


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 14, 2011, 04:53:45 PM
Ye-es!

The "Star Wars" omnibus.

Over 40 titles.
Over 100 volumes, as some of the titles are multi-volumed works.
Covering over 5000 years of history in the Star Wars Universe.

Many of them I find almost unreadable, because I find so many of the characters totally unlikable, but these I'm reading now are the earliest Star Wars adventures, which were published monthly between July, 1977 and August, 1986 in 111 issues. Some of them being comic book adaptations of the films. Others being original adventures of characters from the films and original characters. Thus, while I may find the characters uninteresting, I don't find them unlikable. The unlikable characters would come later.

And since they are the earliest adventures, they do show some of the changes that have taken place over time. For example, originally, Luke's father and Darth Vader were to be two separate characters. Another change between the comic books and the films is Jabba the Hutt's appearance. He's almost unrecognziable in the comic book.

Other surprises, both pleasant and unpleasant. Pleasant: I'd forgotten what a strong part religion played in the early Star Wars adventures. Unpleasant: how violent the early adventures were. Nothing particularly graphic, but alot of people are killed off in the stories.

I've only gone through the first two volumes, and I'm less than half way through, so I have more volumes to come.

Of the first two volumes, while the adventures are more complicated and complex in volume two, the better stories are actually the earlier ones in volume one. And I also like the android's desire for equality with humans which is found in volume one, but was dropped in volume two.

And volume one also features one of the greatest in-jokes I've ever seen in a comic book format. One of the characters in one of the adventures is a six-foot rabbit, who prefers hambones to carrots, but bears a certain resemblence to a certain cartoon rabbit, who shall remain nameless, but who's initials are BB. So, what are the names of two more of the characters in the adventure? Dafi as in Daffy Duck and Fud as in Elmer Fudd. ROTFL!

Next time: More miscellaneous or short reviews of recently read graphic novels.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Couchtr26 on March 14, 2011, 05:17:12 PM
New work manual.  Don't you love them like the old Be sure all pubic places are clean for the customers. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on March 14, 2011, 06:26:16 PM
I loved PREY by Michael Crichton.  It would make a really good movie, but they'll probably screw that up.

I found Prey kind of disappointing for basically the same reason. Seemed like Crichton was writing a screenplay in novel form, as though he was fishing for a movie deal with it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on March 14, 2011, 11:09:58 PM
New work manual.  Don't you love them like the old Be sure all pubic places are clean for the customers. 

I ALWAYS make sure all pubic places in work are clean for the customer's enjoyment. Well, some customers at least.  :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on March 15, 2011, 05:06:39 PM
(http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/gallerypictures/9900L.jpg)

I just got done reading the first two volumes of Y: The Last Man.  

A mysterious plague has hit the earth and wiped out all male mammals except for Yorick Brown, amateur escape artist and his pet monkey.  Yorick sets out to try and find his family (and eventually reunite with his girlfriend who's in Australia) in a world that's been literally unmanned.  

It's an interesting read, although Yorick does come off as a bit of an idiot at times, especially in a few scenes where he's not very good at keep his identity a secret.  

Anyway, if you get a chance, check it out.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Flick James on March 16, 2011, 01:07:31 PM
Just started reading The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul. I adore that man.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on March 16, 2011, 07:23:15 PM
([url]http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/gallerypictures/9900L.jpg[/url])

I just got done reading the first two volumes of Y: The Last Man. 

A mysterious plague has hit the earth and wiped out all male mammals except for Yorick Brown, amateur escape artist and his pet monkey.  Yorick sets out to try and find his family (and eventually reunite with his girlfriend who's in Australia) in a woman that's been literally unmanned. 

It's an interesting read, although Yorick does come off as a bit of an idiot at times, especially in a few scenes where he's not very good at keep his identity a secret. 

Anyway, if you get a chance, check it out.


I shall.  I've trying to read nonsuperhero comics.  Fables, which is awesome and you should be reading, is the only one I've tried besides The Walking Dead.  That was a bit disappointing, so I'll give this one a try.  Thanks for the recommendation.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Killer Bees on March 18, 2011, 06:46:21 AM
I'm usually an avid reader but I've been really slack and uninterested lately.  But I did pick up Dean Koontz's Breathless the other week.  I started reading it yesterday and so far so good.

I know he's not considered high brow by the purists, but books to me mean entertainment, especially fiction.  So if I'm entertained, I'm happy.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on March 19, 2011, 09:26:46 PM
It was a gift
(http://static.letsbuyit.com/filer/images/uk/products/original/59/56/coldheart-canyon.jpeg)

So far, so good.  :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sister Grace on March 20, 2011, 06:53:17 AM
I'm usually an avid reader but I've been really slack and uninterested lately.  But I did pick up Dean Koontz's Breathless the other week.  I started reading it yesterday and so far so good.

I know he's not considered high brow by the purists, but books to me mean entertainment, especially fiction.  So if I'm entertained, I'm happy.

i completely agree on your outlook when it comes to books. yes, books are important and many make great statements about the human condition, social unrest, ect. ect. However, if you aren't entertained then you are less than likely to gain anything from it. I like many different genres. I've been in a bit of a slump when it comes to reading lately though. I read Paluniuk's Snuff, then someone gave me a copy of Thank You For Smoking. Everybody talks about how great Christopher Buckley is, however i haven't been able to make it through the second chapter...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Killer Bees on March 21, 2011, 04:31:14 AM
I know what you mean Sister Grace.

I read Richard Matheson's I Am Legend and I disliked it immensely *ducks at bricks being thrown*

I saw the movie with Will Smith and I enjoyed it.  So I borrowed the book.  Matheson wrote well.  He was clear and concise and I enjoyed Hunted Past Reason, but I Am Legend really failed to live up to the....um....legend of him.

I found out about him via this site many years ago and finally gave him a go last year.  I will read all his other stuff and I will probably buy I Am Legend in hardcover just to have in my collection.  But I really was disappointed.  Maybe because it was written in the 50s and things were different then, I don't know.

I didn't understand Robert Neville's actions or motivations.  Maybe if Matheson had written it today I would have enjoyed it more.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on March 22, 2011, 08:49:23 PM
I've been raiding the local library's manga section and trying almost any series that has a volume one available.  Here's what I've been reading:

xxxHolic
Fairy Tail
Amnesia Labyrinth
Future Diary
A Distance Neighborhood
Chobits
Nana


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on March 23, 2011, 12:55:46 AM
I am currently reading:

The Near Complete Essential Hembeck Archives Omnibus by Fred Hembeck - You may or may not be familiar with Hembeck, his goofy art style used to be the "in-house" humor for Marvel. This giant 900+ page collection is currently sitting in a place of honor on the back of my toilet. At this rate, I will probably never finish this book.

Hembeck example (comic not in omnibus):
(http://www.hembeck.com/Images/FHDesMU/FHMUCover.jpg)

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn - As an introduction for a dialogue, it's okay. As a history book, it's pretty annoying. Interesting exercise; I'm only partially through it.

Voice of the Fire by Alan Moore - So far, his only novel. I'm really liking it, once I slogged through the first "ur-man" chapter. Seems more of Moore's idiosyncratic views on life, but with some awful decent stories thrown in.

Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs - Infamous novel of obscenity. Occasionally brushes with brilliance, too often mires down in some admittedly very imaginative muck. I like some of Burroughs' other work much better than his most famous novel.

Mars by Ben Bova - Was in the mood for some good "hard" sci-fi, so I thought I'd make my way through Bova's "Grand Tour." This was the first published, and though I've read it before, I'm starting here again.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Sleepyskull on March 23, 2011, 01:04:28 AM
I'm usually an avid reader but I've been really slack and uninterested lately.  But I did pick up Dean Koontz's Breathless the other week.  I started reading it yesterday and so far so good.

I know he's not considered high brow by the purists, but books to me mean entertainment, especially fiction.  So if I'm entertained, I'm happy.

i completely agree on your outlook when it comes to books. yes, books are important and many make great statements about the human condition, social unrest, ect. ect. However, if you aren't entertained then you are less than likely to gain anything from it. I like many different genres. I've been in a bit of a slump when it comes to reading lately though. I read Paluniuk's Snuff, then someone gave me a copy of Thank You For Smoking. Everybody talks about how great Christopher Buckley is, however i haven't been able to make it through the second chapter...



I really enjoyed Thank You For Smoking, but it was defintely different than how many people seemed to describe it... Also word of advice for anybody interested based on the movie: They are very different.  Lots of fun, but in different ways.



I really want to get back into pleasure reading... It seems like I've had a very hard time focusing on pleasureable things for the past 2 years or so... I love books and movies, but can barely read or watch... My goal is to read at least 4 books this year.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Zapranoth on March 23, 2011, 01:12:07 AM
I read the first 2/3 of _The Road_.. then couldn't finish it.   Dark, dark.  :(

Gotta say, re-reading Pohl's Heechee books recently on vacation was fun.

If you like big and bad space opera, read _Revelation Space_ by Alastair Reynolds.  That book is awesome.  its sequels are variable but also quite good. 

I have here a copy of _Velvet Elvis_ (Bell) that I'm just starting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on March 23, 2011, 09:18:58 AM
In addition to a few books I'm in the middle of, I just started reading:

(http://pics.livejournal.com/dr_hermes/pic/007dfqhe/s640x480)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 25, 2011, 04:06:18 PM
Ye-es.

More miscellaneous, or a couple of short reviews of graphic novels.

"Noir" subtitled "a Collection of Crime Novels." One story with illustrations and twelve sets of illustrations with stories. Each with a twist at the end. But all it does is make me long for a Dashiell Hammett, a Raymond Chandler, or even a Mickey Spillane, all of whom were far better noir authors than the ones in this collection.

Well, if Lincoln could do it, then I guess Pinocchio can do it.

"Pinocchio Vampire Slayer" in two volumes. The second volume subtitled: "And the Great Puppet Theater." Unlike alot of graphic novels, where I find the first volume being better than the second volume, here the second volume is better than the first. The characters are more complex, and the storyline is more complicated, and for once complex and complicated comes off being better than simple and straightforward. And there is more humour in the second volume, which humour is also better intergrated into the story. And I presume there will be more volumes after the first two, as at the end of the second volume we left Pinocchio and his surviving puppet friends in the middle of the sea. Just be aware, when you start to read this, this is the Pinocchio of the original story and not the Pinocchio of the animated film.

As for "Y: the Last Man," I can and will read almost anything once it's in graphic form, but after one volume I just found this unreadable. It's an interesting idea behind the story, but just be aware the whole story goes on for ten or more volumes. Some of which are filled with some fairly graphic lesbian sex. But, what did you expect in a world of almost all women and no men.

Next time: Darren Shan's "The Thin Executioner"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: SpringZhang on March 30, 2011, 03:24:59 AM
I've read Charles Dickens' Hard Times and Little Dorrit. l like Dickens' works very much, though nearly all are very very long.

Bleak House in on my shelf, but I haven't started yet.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on March 30, 2011, 08:18:32 AM
Kind of lost interest in the Lovecraft-inspired circle jerk, and after a couple of weeks of trying to get back into it, I put it down and picked up Roger Ebert's book, Your Movie Sucks. It's an interesting collection of past reviews, but I'm a little disappointed that relatively few are movies Ebert really skewered. Those reviews are funny, but most of the others are just negative reviews. They're interesting, and I usually agree with them, but they aren't really what the book promised. And I keep running across movies that are so notoriously bad, I expect Ebert to rake them over the coals in a humorous fashion, but the review reads as almost a straight critique.

I'm about halfway through, and so far, nothing has topped the beginning of the book, and the Rob Schneider review from which it takes its title. That one is a classic, but it would be nice if it wasn't the high point of the book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on March 30, 2011, 08:36:44 AM
I've read Charles Dickens' Hard Times and Little Dorrit. l like Dickens' works very much, though nearly all are very very long.

Bleak House in on my shelf, but I haven't started yet.

Over the past couple of years, I read A TALE OF TWO CITIES and GREAT EXPECTATIONS.  Dickens is my favorite author of all time. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on March 31, 2011, 06:52:31 PM
Right now I'm reading Fritz Leiber's Our Lady Of Darkness. If you're familiar with Argento's Three Mothers Trilogy (which includes Suspiria, Inferno and Mother Of Tears) or the De Quincey poem on which they were based, then you'll be interested in this. It came out the same year that Suspiria was released, and sort of involves Mater Tenebrarum, the Mother of Darkness. The book and films aren't related, though I have a sneaking suspicion that Argento read it before he made Inferno, as they have a few thematic simularities. There's also a ton of references to HP Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith (part of the story involves a journal owned by Smith), and various real life occultists. The prose isn't the greatest (Leiber sure loved commas) but the story is really engrossing.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on April 01, 2011, 03:44:31 AM
I've just finished reading Catcher In The Rye after years of meaning to get round to it. I absolutely loved it, couldn't put the damn thing down and I was totally not expecting the language or writing style considering it was a book first published in 1951. It just seemed like it could have been written this year and for a book that's quite short where nothing of any note really happens, it had me engrossed. Don't know whether to be worried that I found alot of similarities with myself in Holden Caulfield though....


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Zapranoth on April 03, 2011, 10:28:42 AM
@Circus, be afraid.  Be very afraid.  :)

I'm re-reading _Neverwhere_  (Neil Gaiman).   I love his writing style!  (If you love short stories that are grim, read _Fragile Things_, look up the story "We Can Get Them For You Wholesale.")  He has a truly wicked sense of humor, grim and capable of taking the oldest fairy tale concepts and twisting them to his own ends.

An example:  the protagonist is preparing to leave to London to seek his fortune, and he's sitting outside the pub during his send-off party, not feeling well.  A little old lady stops and talks with him, and reads his fortune (it is a disturbing fortune).  He thanks her by giving her his umbrella, as it's a stormy night:

The old woman took the umbrella, gratefully, and smiled her thanks.  "You've a good heart," she told him.  "Sometimes that's enough to see you safe wherever you go."   Then she shook her head.   "But mostly, it's not."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 07, 2011, 05:27:14 PM
Ye-es.

Darren Shan's "The Thin Executioner" Perhaps best known for his "Cirque du Freak" series, but if that is by an author who has yet to reach his full potential, then "The Thin Executioner" shows the reader, what he can do, when he has reached his full potential.

Ashes to ashes
Dust to dust
If the animals don't get ya,
then the weather must.

For not only are the horrors more numerous in "The Thin Executioner," but more realistic. Beginning with a bloody execution and ramping up the horrors from there. Not only animal attacks, but freezing weather as well, and . . .

beheadings -- brandings -- cannibalism -- dismemberments --graverobbings -- lewd violence -- self-mutilations

And unlike the other series of books, it is not only a horror novel, but also an adventure story, a dark comedy, a political treatise, and a religious epic.

And the villains are more dangerous in this one. You don't underestimate the villains in "Cirque du Freak," but you do the ones in this book, which several characters do to their regret. And that's what makes them dangerous. The underestimation. Which is the kind of villain that gets you killed. Which may be why the author named two of the chief villains Bush and Blair. Yes, that Bush and that Blair.

An estimable piece of writing, which will not lead to a sequel, as the author has said it is a stand alone novel.

Next time: Still more miscellaneous or more brief reviews of recently read graphic novels.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on April 07, 2011, 06:10:23 PM
I am just about to give up on The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury.  I don't usually quit a read I have started, but one more egregious error and I am outta there.  He started losing me by page 10.  I have not seen the movie, but as Khoury is first and foremost a screenwriter I am sure it is very similar - and no doubt works better.  The writing style is OK but the flaws in his factual research are too glaring to ignore (and he insists on tossing tidbits in there on stuff he does not know well enough :lookingup: ) and I am afraid that spoils it for me.   :bluesad:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on April 11, 2011, 03:08:11 PM
BILLY THE KID: THE ENDLESS RIDE by Michael Wallis.  Pretty interesting because Wallis starts out by saying a lot of what has been written about Billy the Kid is conjecture and there isn't a lot of evidence to back up the stories.  I'm only about 50 pages into the book, but so far Wallis has done a nice job presenting information about Billy and describing things that may or may not be accurate (such as exactly when and where Billy was born and who his father was).  Prior to reading this book, I always thought Billy's real name was William Bonney.  But that was just one of his aliases.  His birth name was Henry McCarty.   


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on April 13, 2011, 12:28:05 PM
I'm reading Young Men in Spats. I've never read Wodehouse before and I have to say it's better than I expected.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 15, 2011, 04:28:50 PM
Ye-es.

Some "still more miscellaneous" or short reviews of some recently read graphic novels.

James Patterson's "Daniel X: Alien Hunter" and James Patterson's "Daniel X." Both graphic versions of the teen novel series about an teenage alien, who after his parents are killed, takes over their job of hunting down all the alien criminals on earth. The first takes place in Japan, and the second takes place on the West coast and then on Danel's home planet in outer space.

I like the first one better even though, the second one points out the credibility problem of a teenage boy running around earth without attracting attention to himself, and as the aliens can be seen by humans, the explanation of everyone who sees the aliens, having hallucinations, only goes so far.

Also the second graphic novel in Dean Koontz's Odd series "Odd Is on Our Side," which I actually liked better than the first graphic novel in that series, as the second one has a villain who seems to be guilty, but is actually innocent, and a villain who seems to be innocent, but is actually guilty, and alot of nice unexpected twists and turns in the story.

Also the first volume of Dean Koontz's "Fear Nothing" in graphic format. Which shows with a good adapter, how a novel, as in this case, can be stripped now to its bare essence. For example: any descriptive passages can be stipped out, as the illustrations in the graphic novel serve the same purpose. Thus, I'm looking forward to the other volumes in the story.

Next time: Hal Butler's "Abandon Ship" and John Rousmaniera's "After the Storm"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on April 15, 2011, 04:42:44 PM
Sandman by Neil Gaiman.  I'm up to the second volume now and well, it's alright.  I'm not entirely into it.  It's good and all, but it's like Watchmen to me.  It just doesn't live up to this hype that surrounds it.  The only comic to ever live up to its hype for me was The Dark Knight Returns.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Siren on April 19, 2011, 09:39:30 PM
Started re-reading Hitch Hikers Guide forget where I left off and this time im determine to find out the potted plants story!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: WilliamWeird1313 on April 21, 2011, 03:00:14 AM

Zombie Holocaust: How The Living Dead Devoured Pop Culture, by David Flint

I picked it up because, as the title implies, it's not a review or reference tome, nor an academic analysis of the zombie-as-metaphor, but rather a history of the zombie in pop culture in general, from their roots in voodoun to the early poverty row chillers a la' White Zombie and Revenge Of The Zombies to their predominance in E.C. and E.C.-esque pre-code horror comics, to the Romero reinvention, and on and on and on, covering literature, gaming, advertisements, etc. ...to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and the Resident Evil video games to the modern phenomenon of Zombie Walks and the now-staggering number of low budget/no-budget zombie flicks on the market, to the point where we are now where zombies are mainstream and the culture, one might argue, is oversaturated.

Bummer. The book sucks. I really thought that it would be an interesting read, especially as I've been a diehard zombie fan ever since I glimpsed the NOTLD remake on TNT MonsterVision when I was a kid (the first zombie flick my innocent, prepubescent mind was ever exposed to, and a moment that also turned me into a full-blown horror fan for life). But it's more like Zombies 101, or Zombies For Dummies. The author gives himself too little room for the breadth of subjects he covers, which means that the book ends up moving too fast and discussing topics too superficially and vaguely. It's just a step away from being one big list of zombie appearances in pop culture and nothing more.

On top of that, the guy's tastes just clash really nastily with my own, to the put where I find it off-putting. You all know I'm a big Fulci fanatic, and any book where Doom (yes, the movie starring The Rock) gets more kind words said about it than The Gates Of Hell is a total turn-off to me.

Bah.

Oh well. I'm much more looking forward to reading Teenage Wasteland: The Slasher Movie Uncut by J.A. Kerswell (the same fella who runs the excellent Hysteria Lives website).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on April 21, 2011, 10:28:05 AM
Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops, by James Robert Parish. Just getting into the first of 15 expensive bombs Parish discusses in this book, Cleopatra (1963).

The book's introduction was long, and a bit heavy on dry facts, but explained very well the changes in the film industry since the late 40s, and the factors that contribute to a big-budget cinematic disaster. Now that the book is dealing with an actual movie, I'm enjoying the way Parish follows the production from the first ill-conceived idea through every major misstep, while putting it all into the context of what was happening in the industry at that time, and what was motivating the people involved. Also nice that Parish adjusts the costs for inflation, since it really puts the numbers in perspective. Cleopatra, for the time it was made, was a more expensive movie than Waterworld.

Enjoying it so far, and looking forward to reading about the other movies. I know some of the story behind movies like Ishtar and The Last Action Hero, but nothing that goes as deep as Parish has been going in this book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: bob on April 21, 2011, 11:06:03 AM
I finally finished The Catcher in the Rye two days ago.  :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: WilliamWeird1313 on April 21, 2011, 10:34:45 PM
Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Iconic Flops, by James Robert Parish. Just getting into the first of 15 expensive bombs Parish discusses in this book, Cleopatra (1963).

The book's introduction was long, and a bit heavy on dry facts, but explained very well the changes in the film industry since the late 40s, and the factors that contribute to a big-budget cinematic disaster. Now that the book is dealing with an actual movie, I'm enjoying the way Parish follows the production from the first ill-conceived idea through every major misstep, while putting it all into the context of what was happening in the industry at that time, and what was motivating the people involved. Also nice that Parish adjusts the costs for inflation, since it really puts the numbers in perspective. Cleopatra, for the time it was made, was a more expensive movie than Waterworld.

Enjoying it so far, and looking forward to reading about the other movies. I know some of the story behind movies like Ishtar and The Last Action Hero, but nothing that goes as deep as Parish has been going in this book.

Sounds good, and right up my alley. I'm going to have to check that out.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mr_Vindictive on May 07, 2011, 02:00:58 PM
Recently I read through the Old Mans War series by John Scalzi. The man seems to be the next Heinlein. Superb hard science fiction. The books are a hell of a good read.

I'm currently reading Hard Magic by the same author of the Monster Hunter International books. Pulpy, early 1930s detective novel with some magical elements thrown in. Excellent book so far, and is really taking the idea of alternative history and running with it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on May 07, 2011, 04:00:56 PM
The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon.  This was a diary/collection of miscellaneous observations by a 10th century lady-in-waiting in the Japanese empresses court.  It's one of a couple of primary sources that reveal what life was like in medieval Japan.  It is interesting, because Sei's world is so different from ours or even from medieval Europe, but its very dry reading.  There are a ton of footnotes and lots of detail to catch up on, like the incredibly complicated Japanese calendar and the almost impenetrable system of ranking for nobles (I forget, does the Great Minister of the Right outrank the Chancellor?)

Also re-reading through this for the 3rd or 4th time:

(http://media.us.macmillan.com/jackets/258H/9780312131494.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on May 07, 2011, 08:30:41 PM
J Michael Straczynski's run on Spider-Man and Thor, which is rather apporiate since he also wrote Thor the movie.  What a concidence!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 08, 2011, 12:38:51 AM
Just finished James McPherson's TRIED BY WAR: LINCOLN AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF.
Very interesting look at President Lincoln's military skills, and his role in shaping the
President's military status.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: crackers on May 15, 2011, 05:01:10 AM
I Just bought The Secret Diary Of Laura Palmer i can't wait to get stuck into it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on May 15, 2011, 05:50:33 AM
Currently reading Dean Kootz's "Lightning"

(http://www4.alibris-static.com/isbn/9780747231646.gif)

I think Mr. Koontz is fast becoming my favourite author, I just seem to be flying through book after book wanting more. Having recently finished Strangers, Hideaway and The House Of Thunder, I've began Lightning, which has some lightning in and so far, a woman dying in childbirth and an alcoholic doctor held hostage by a mysterious intruder. Dean's got a pretty damn good knack of getting you hooked right from chapter one.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 15, 2011, 08:28:28 AM
His books are my favorite mental junk food - I plow through them in a single day and enjoy every minute of it!!  BTW, PHANTOMS is my all time favorite by him.  It is one genuinely creepy work!!

I just finished GAME OF THRONES and now I am reading CLASH OF KINGS.
Good stuff!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on May 16, 2011, 04:56:19 PM
I might have to give Koontz another try. I liked his Frankenstein trilogy up until the second half of the third book, where it seemed he didn't so much end the story as stop it as efficiently as possible. Seemed kind of hastily thrown together, which it probably was. That volume was delayed a couple of years and totally rewritten after Hurricane Katrina, what with it being about monsters wreaking havok in New Orleans and all.

The only other Koontz I've read was Darkfall, and I didn't make it halfway through before tossing that one aside.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on May 17, 2011, 12:00:41 PM
I might have to give Koontz another try. I liked his Frankenstein trilogy up until the second half of the third book, where it seemed he didn't so much end the story as stop it as efficiently as possible. Seemed kind of hastily thrown together, which it probably was. That volume was delayed a couple of years and totally rewritten after Hurricane Katrina, what with it being about monsters wreaking havok in New Orleans and all.

The only other Koontz I've read was Darkfall, and I didn't make it halfway through before tossing that one aside.

Andy, read Watchers or Intensity and I guarantee that you'll change your mind on 'ol Mr. Koontz. You know I'm always right...  :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on May 17, 2011, 01:51:16 PM
I Just bought The Secret Diary Of Laura Palmer i can't wait to get stuck into it.


  This is a fun read. The Diary of Agent Dale Cooper is excellent too. As kids we had a lot of fun reading these and trying to figure out Who Killed Laura Palmer?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on May 17, 2011, 07:52:53 PM
I just got done reading Dc Universe by Alan Moore,  To quote Tvtropes (and God, have been reading that site waaay too much), it's pretty much what it say on the tin: a collection of stories set in the DC Universe written by Alan Moore.  It's a rather interesting collection, especially if (like me) you're mainly just familiar with Moore from Watchmen.  You can see some of the lighter side of his works.

Neatly enough, when I was heavily into comics (back when I had extra money and no computer to spend it on) I never really read much DC stuff, but even I found a lot of the stories to be good reads, as you don't have too know too much "background" info to "get it" (although there's is one or two where being familiar with the characters would have probably lent more of a "punch" to the story.)  For example, one story centers around Clayface, but apparently not THE Clayface, I'm familiar with from the cartoon series. I think Batman mentions in the story there's been three different guys to go by that nickname. (You think the writers would have just called them something else, but hey, how many "Goblins" have there been over at Marvel?)

We start out with, "For the Man Who Has Everything", a story where Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman arrive at the Fortress of Solitude to deliver some "birthday" gifts to Superman, only to find him standing frozen in place with a bizarre plant-like thing growing into his chest. 

Also in the book are a Superman/Swamp Thing crossover, "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" which is basically a "possible future" story about how the saga of Superman comes to an end, a story further detailing the death of the alien (can't recall his name) who possessed the Green Lantern ring before Hal Jordan found it, and, probably one of Moore's most famous DC stories, "The Killing Joke." 

Neat enough, one of my personal favorite stories is, "In Blackest Night" which is about one of the female Green Lanterns (can't remember her name, she has red skin though) goes to a sunless solar system to find someone worthy of becoming a Green Lantern.  She find a suitable candidate in a silicon based lifeform, but a problem comes when she can't explain exactly what the Green Lanterns are.  You see, although her ring translates his (it's?) musical notation language to hers, there are NO words in his for "color", "light", "green", "lantern" etc.  The solution she comes up with is rather clever and I just think the whole story has a neat idea on Moore's part.

Anyway, if you like DC or Moore, it's a decent pick up!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on May 18, 2011, 08:23:47 AM
I'm reading Young Men in Spats by PG Wodehouse.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 18, 2011, 02:02:14 PM
Ye-es.

Hal Butler's "Abandon Ship," published in 1974, but part of it written in 1959, and John Rousmaniara's "After the Storn," published in 2002.

Between them, they cover two dozen shipwrecks that occurred between 1809 and 1996 with no duplications in their stories.

They have some good news and some bad news about shipwrecks for you. Using their examples, you have a 79% chance of surviving a shipwreck. The bad news is, if you want a better than 50% chance of surviving a shipwreck, your odds are now 37%. And if you want an 100% chance of surviving a shipwreck, your odds are now 4%.

What else is interesting is how the thought processes of two white American males can differ so much between the older generation (Butler) and the younger generation (Rousmaniara.)

Butler: seemingly sees everything in shades of black and white.
Rousmaniara: seemingly sees everything in shades of gray.

Butler: seemingly uninterested in any aftermath of the shipwreck.
Rousmaniara: seemingly interested in any aftermath of the shipwreck.
Even years later.

Butler: seemingly uninterested in the why?
Rpis,amoara: seemingly interested in the why?

While man has always been reflective and introspective. It only seems to have come more permissible for the younger generation.

Next time: And still more miscellaneous (in graphic fromat)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Criswell on May 23, 2011, 11:18:03 PM
Reading Lord of the Rings. Halfway through the Two Towers.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on June 01, 2011, 09:22:34 AM
The Destroyer #122-Syndication Rites . The Mafia gets involved in the stock market and Chiun discovers the joys of country music. Nothing but the classics for me!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 01, 2011, 10:31:53 PM
Just finished George R.R. Martin's FEAST OF CROWS, the last available volume in the SONG OF ICE AND FIRE series (GAME OF THRONES, for HBO watchers).  I began to suspect, and finally saw those suspicions confirmed by the end of the book - THE STORY ISN'T OVER!  I hate getting sucked into a fantasy series and then realizing it isn't complete yet!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on June 02, 2011, 03:29:39 AM
Just finished George R.R. Martin's FEAST OF CROWS, the last available volume in the SONG OF ICE AND FIRE series (GAME OF THRONES, for HBO watchers).  I began to suspect, and finally saw those suspicions confirmed by the end of the book - THE STORY ISN'T OVER!  I hate getting sucked into a fantasy series and then realizing it isn't complete yet!

I love A Song of Ice and Fire.

George R.R. Martin is taking his sweet time. Don't get me wrong, I want him to take the time to really finish his story right. I'm just hoping he doesn't pull a Robert Jordan.

My brother is reading the series right now, and he's about halfway through the third book. I can't talk to him about it at all, because Martin is one of those writers who is not afraid of the actual consequences of a full scare war. It's a lot like the comic book The Walking Dead.

"Yeah, I'm hoping you're not really attached to that character."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 02, 2011, 08:12:13 AM
I KNOW!!!  I actually wanted to punch the author in the face after I read about the "Red Wedding!"  But at least one of the victims came back from the dead . . . . kind of.

My wife is reading it now, and I have given her no  spoilers whatsoever.  She's gonna be TICKED!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 06, 2011, 01:24:10 PM
Ye-es.

And still more miscellaneous, or, short reviews of several graphic novels recently read.

Janet and Alex Evanovich's "Troublemaker" in 2 vols.

Best known for her Stephanie Plum series, she has another mystery series about a race car driver named Hooker and his female mechanic Barnaby. This is the 3rd book in the series, but the 1st in graphic format.

I was surprised at how much humor there was in it, but the humor worked well within the story.
Living in south Florida, the author seems to have the flavor of Miami and Key West down pat.
And, surprising, what happens in the story is alot more plausible than what happens in alot of other stories. I was impressed.

Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game" and Ender's Shadow" in grapic format. Each in 2 vols. v.1. "Battle School." v.2. "Command School."

I know Card has his adherents, including some on this board, but I was singularly unimprssed. Maybe it's the graphic format, but . . .

I found none of the characters to be credible.
The boys' by-play was unbelievable.
And I found the profanity grating to my ears.

Next time: the "Fantome," the "Kursk,", the "Medusa," and the "Titanic."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Hammock Rider on June 13, 2011, 11:57:57 AM
I KNOW!!!  I actually wanted to punch the author in the face after I read about the "Red Wedding!"  But at least one of the victims came back from the dead . . . . kind of.

My wife is reading it now, and I have given her no  spoilers whatsoever.  She's gonna be TICKED!


  This series blows me away. And Dance of Dragons is coming out next month!


   Right now I'm reading Upriver & Downstream. It's a collection of short stories and articles about fishing originally published in The New York Times.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on June 13, 2011, 05:39:59 PM
"early economic thought"  I am kind of shocked by Aristotle. It's really barbaric and awful in many respects, yet for his time it was probably pretty forward thinking.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: El Misfit on June 13, 2011, 06:19:11 PM
eh, I should start reading Blink sometime soon. If I finish it soon, I could start reading Dark Star


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on June 13, 2011, 07:30:01 PM
For my philosophy class, I had to sit down and read The Subjection of Women.  Damn, that was a hard one to read and get through.  The paragraphs just never seemed to end!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 17, 2011, 05:41:14 PM
Ye-es.

The Fantome, The Kursk, The Medusa, The Titanic

4 ships sank.
2 civilian. 2 military.
1 American. 1 British. 1 French. 1 Russian.
1 Aground. 1 Collision. 1 Internal explosion. 1 Storm.
1 west African. 1 north Atlantic. 1 Caribbean. 1 Murmansk.

You think there'd be no similiarities between them. But . . .

1. Politics played a large role in all four. If not before the loss, then after the loss.

2. Everyone forgets the all for one and one for all. As everyone starts looking out for number one. The lines being drawn along the lines of age, class, politics, and race.

3. All the losses were due to lack of knowledge.

4. Almost no one was punished for the losses. And if someone was punished, it was often the wrong person.

5. All the losses brought out the best and worst in human behavior.

And the four books . . .

Jim Carrier's "The Ship and the Storm"
Robert Moore's "A Time to Die"
Jonathan Miles' "The Wreck of the Medusa"
Jay Stevension's "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Titanic"

Next time: Even more miscellaneous



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Cthulhu on June 26, 2011, 02:35:53 PM
I just read Just after Sunset by Stephen King. It had a few lame short stories, but also some pretty good ones. N. kicked ass, for example.
I'm also about to read The 3 Stigmata of Palmer Eldricht by Philip K. Dick.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on June 26, 2011, 09:43:39 PM
My continuing adventure through my public library's comic collection continues forward.  I am now reading the following:

American Vampire (Best damn vampire anything in the past few years, expect possibly Let Me In)
Dragon Drive (It's a new form of Digimon apparently)
Hunter X Hunter (Not too bad for the first two volumes)
Moonphase (More vampire stuff.  Not too bad, nothing special)
Emma (Who knew romance and British maids from the late 1800's made such a compelling story?)
K-On! (A pretty good comedy about a group of girls and their music club.)
Hikaru No Go (A very surprisingly good sports comic about the game of Go.  Makes me want to play it!)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Criswell on June 26, 2011, 11:15:46 PM
I'm currently about halfway through The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. Its pretty good so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Cthulhu on June 27, 2011, 12:45:42 PM
Should I buy Dragons of Winter Night? (Second book in the Dragonlance series.) I've heard that the series is really good, but the first one just seemed allright. I was kinda p**sed off at some points, too:(SPOILERS for example, a few characters die, only to be brought back pages later. You can't do that.)
So I was wondering:Will it get better? Because I kinda feel like there is no weight to it.  feel like characters dying doesn't have any consequences.
So, should I buy it?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 29, 2011, 04:48:36 PM
Should I buy Dragons of Winter Night? (Second book in the Dragonlance series.) I've heard that the series is really good, but the first one just seemed allright. I was kinda p**sed off at some points, too:(SPOILERS for example, a few characters die, only to be brought back pages later. You can't do that.)
So I was wondering:Will it get better? Because I kinda feel like there is no weight to it.  feel like characters dying doesn't have any consequences.
So, should I buy it?

The series (IMHO) gets better as it goes along. And I really like the series and the authors. What you must understand is that the book you read was the first one written by the team of Weis and Hickman, and like most first time collaborations by somewhat inexperienced writers their first novel is normally not their best work. But as they become more experienced with their second novel and so on, their writing skills improve as do the books. But, I must add, I love the character of Fitzban in the first novel. A character that just makes me ROTFL!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 29, 2011, 05:00:48 PM
Ye-es.

Even more miscellaneous or short reviews of several graphic novels.

Two in the Halo series. Peter David's "Helljumper" and Fred van Lente's "Bloodline." I actually found the 2nd one to be the better of the two, as it is the more complex of the two graphic novels. Which is somewhat of a surprise as Peter David is one of my all-time favorite authors. But on the downlow, "Bloodline" is also the more confusing of the two, and when the characters get into their armour, it is almost impossible to tell one from the other. And both graphic novels suffer from overly confusing fight scenes.

Peter S. Beagle's "The Last Unicorn" A writer of over 30 books. Both fiction and non-fiction. Children's and adult's. This is probably his best known work. And if you read it, read it also for the interview with the author. A great ranconteur who has some great stories about the great people he has known, including Marilyn Monroe and her then husband Arthur Miller, who he knew when he was still in high school.

Terry Brooks' "Dark Wrath of Shannara." One of my favorite fantasy series. Supposedly written originally as a graphic novel. Maybe. But I swear I read it also in a  print version at sometime.  The only problem is that the artist's interpretation of the characters never match up with your interpretation of what the characters should look like.

Next time: Gary Corley's "The Pericles Commission"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Cthulhu on June 29, 2011, 06:26:11 PM
Should I buy Dragons of Winter Night? (Second book in the Dragonlance series.) I've heard that the series is really good, but the first one just seemed allright. I was kinda p**sed off at some points, too:(SPOILERS for example, a few characters die, only to be brought back pages later. You can't do that.)
So I was wondering:Will it get better? Because I kinda feel like there is no weight to it.  feel like characters dying doesn't have any consequences.
So, should I buy it?

The series (IMHO) gets better as it goes along. And I really like the series and the authors. What you must understand is that the book you read was the first one written by the team of Weis and Hickman, and like most first time collaborations by somewhat inexperienced writers their first novel is normally not their best work. But as they become more experienced with their second novel and so on, their writing skills improve as do the books. But, I must add, I love the character of Fitzban in the first novel. A character that just makes me ROTFL!
Thank you for the advice! :teddyr: :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on July 04, 2011, 09:26:51 AM
Nearly finished Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest. It's the first steampunk novel I've tried, and it's very good.

Yesterday afternoon was nice and sunny, so I took my boat out on the lake with my book and a few cans of pop, and just kind of drifted and gently rocked, and read in near perfect peace and quiet. I hate being interrupted when I'm reading, so it's hard to beat being surrounded by water, far enough from anything that the loudest noises are only faintly heard.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Cthulhu on July 04, 2011, 09:51:25 AM
I'm reading Neuromancer by William Gibson.
I also bought some books on Amazon.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on July 05, 2011, 08:57:24 AM
Finished "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut the other day, liked it a lot. Currently reading "The Definitive book on Body Language" which is very interesting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on July 05, 2011, 07:37:09 PM
Currently reading The Unwritten by Mike Carey (who wrote Lucifer, the spinoff of sorts to Sandman).  The series is about Tom Taylor, the son of a famous author, who was the basis for the main character of a fantasy series more popular than Harry Potter.  One day at a convention, it is discovered that he may not be the real Tom Taylor and rumors go around about him being the main character of the series, Tommy, turned flesh.  However, there is much more to this then what it seems.  Excellent series that sold me on everything from the very first issue.  I highly recommend this to almost anyone here.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 06, 2011, 05:07:14 PM
Ye-es.

Gary Corley's "The Pericles Commission"

We have all see this one before. As it'd be centuries before a public police force would be established, a private citizen is asked to investigate a murder, and see if he can find the murderer and the motivation for the murder. Of course, almost everyone, including his employer has a motive for the murder, so the only people the hero can trust are his own family and his girlfriend, who just happens to be the daughter of the murder victim.

I've seen them for ancient Rome, ancient Egypt, and even ancient Babylon, but this is the first one I've seen for ancient Greece.

What the author does right.

He keeps present ideas out of the ancient past, which is harder to do than it looks.

He includes alot of people who actually existed, so if you have any knowledge of ancient Greek history, you should have some idea of what is going one.

What the author does wrong.

He includes a second murder later on in the book, which is not well intergrated into the book, which makes everyone's motives, especially the murderer's motive, a bit murkier than they should be.

What is odd or maybe not.

From an era that is regarded as being one of the friendliest for gays, there are no homosexuals in the book.

Maybe there'll be in the next book, as the author is suppose to be wriing a sequel to this one.

Next time: And even more miscellaneous or short reviews of graphic novels read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on July 07, 2011, 08:20:45 PM
"Selected Tales of Edgar Allen Poe (Norton Critical Edition)" - I've read most of these, but this edition contains a few stories and pieces that aren't in my other Poe collection.  I also want to read the critical essays. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on July 16, 2011, 02:33:15 AM
As usual, I've got nine books I'm reading concurrently.

I'm just going to talk about three, because they kind of play off each other.

The first is The People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, which I was reading the last time I chimed in. The book purports to be a trek through American history from the point of view of the down-trodden and the under-represented. It is, in parts. But as the book progresses, it very clearly becomes a history of the United States through a pro-Socialist, pro-Communist agenda. I am in sympathy with the book's originally stated goal, but it is very clear that the author, Zinn, is committing the primary political sin of equating "the people" with his own agenda. Note: Every single political party believes that they represent "the people." This book is very poor history. The author cherry-picks the arguments the viewpoints that best suit his point of view. He very rarely ventures into actual research, instead relying on the thoughts of third-parties and, please help me, poems. There's a point in the book where he mentions the mid-20th century Communist revolution in China as a positive. Zinn, I know the history of China. Were you one of those teenagers wandering around public parks handing out Mao's Little Red Book? That did not end well.

(Listen to Zinn praise Eugene V. Debs, the one true hero I've managed to find in his book. Did I mention this book won the Eugene V. Debs Award?)

Second, Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Human and Other Animals by John Gray. The gist of this book is that many of the beliefs we hold dear are outmoded. The sense of free will, of our own identity, of our belief that we are separate "special creatures" from the rest of life, is all attacked here. More properly, this book should have been called "Paper Tigers," as the author reduces all arguments into something he can easily refute.

It truly bugs me, because these are viewpoints I can sympathize with, but the books here are slapdash, easily argued against, just poor excuses for arguments.

The last is an anomaly, because I picked it up because it seemed such a weird historical artifact. Cannibals All! by George Fitzhugh is a defense of slavery written pre-Civil War by a man who did not only view the enslavement of Africans as alright, but thought most of humanity deserved to be enslaved. His viewpoint was that owning slaves was not only natural, but desirable. He attacks capitalism for being a form of slavery where the masters have no obligation to their workers, as opposed to that wonderful slice of life that was the Southern plantation. The attack on capitalism he elicits is probably the least offensive to me of these books. I think his criticisms are pretty valid today. Unfortunately, he gives himself a complete blind-eye to the horrors of antebellum slavery. It's hard to imagine a book more antithetical to most of the ideas the United States prides itself on.

I'll finish all these books, but they are tiresome to the extreme. There are kernels of ideas I agree with (slavery is not one of them), but these horrid attempts at explaining them are awful. Dear World, stop priding your dumb ideas and try to make a sad song better.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on July 16, 2011, 07:16:32 PM
Kind of drifting from one thing to another right now, trying to figure out what I feel like reading. Been re-reading a little Lovecraft, a little Poe.

Figured I would finally read the only Michael Slade thriller I haven't read so far, "Hangman." It was at the public library in town for a while, but when I went to sign it out, it wasn't there. Seems they've been culling titles that haven't been signed out for a while. It's a tiny library, and this book has been around for 11 or 12 years, so it makes sense. Of course, older books in the series are still there. I suspect that's because I signed them out a couple of years ago. Oh, the irony.

Noticed Dean Koontz has continued the Frankenstein series, and I'm tempted to check that out, but I didn't care much for the third book. Don't know if it's worth picking up the fourth and fifth.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 16, 2011, 10:12:27 PM
As usual, I've got nine books I'm reading concurrently.

I'm just going to talk about three, because they kind of play off each other.

The first is The People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, which I was reading the last time I chimed in. The book purports to be a trek through American history from the point of view of the down-trodden and the under-represented. It is, in parts. But as the book progresses, it very clearly becomes a history of the United States through a pro-Socialist, pro-Communist agenda. I am in sympathy with the book's originally stated goal, but it is very clear that the author, Zinn, is committing the primary political sin of equating "the people" with his own agenda. Note: Every single political party believes that they represent "the people." This book is very poor history. The author cherry-picks the arguments the viewpoints that best suit his point of view. He very rarely ventures into actual research, instead relying on the thoughts of third-parties and, please help me, poems. There's a point in the book where he mentions the mid-20th century Communist revolution in China as a positive. Zinn, I know the history of China. Were you one of those teenagers wandering around public parks handing out Mao's Little Red Book? That did not end well.

(Listen to Zinn praise Eugene V. Debs, the one true hero I've managed to find in his book. Did I mention this book won the Eugene V. Debs Award?)

Second, Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Human and Other Animals by John Gray. The gist of this book is that many of the beliefs we hold dear are outmoded. The sense of free will, of our own identity, of our belief that we are separate "special creatures" from the rest of life, is all attacked here. More properly, this book should have been called "Paper Tigers," as the author reduces all arguments into something he can easily refute.

It truly bugs me, because these are viewpoints I can sympathize with, but the books here are slapdash, easily argued against, just poor excuses for arguments.

The last is an anomaly, because I picked it up because it seemed such a weird historical artifact. Cannibals All! by George Fitzhugh is a defense of slavery written pre-Civil War by a man who did not only view the enslavement of Africans as alright, but thought most of humanity deserved to be enslaved. His viewpoint was that owning slaves was not only natural, but desirable. He attacks capitalism for being a form of slavery where the masters have no obligation to their workers, as opposed to that wonderful slice of life that was the Southern plantation. The attack on capitalism he elicits is probably the least offensive to me of these books. I think his criticisms are pretty valid today. Unfortunately, he gives himself a complete blind-eye to the horrors of antebellum slavery. It's hard to imagine a book more antithetical to most of the ideas the United States prides itself on.

I'll finish all these books, but they are tiresome to the extreme. There are kernels of ideas I agree with (slavery is not one of them), but these horrid attempts at explaining them are awful. Dear World, stop priding your dumb ideas and try to make a sad song better.



I've heard of Zinn, he is typical of the Marxist/leftist professors that crowded the halls of academia in the 1970's thru the 1990's - guys who stayed in college and got their advanced degrees so they could get deferments and avoid Vietnam, and spent their careers bashing the country that enabled them to live better than 90% of the world, while praising governments that routinely executed intellectuals like themselves.  Not that America is flawless, but academics like Zinn should have been deported en masse to the Soviet Union before they could corrupt an entire generation of American youth!

Fitzhugh was one of slavery's most eloquent defenders, but he was very typical of the antebellum Southern intellectual who was absolutely blind to the real horrors of the institution that was the foundation of Southern society.  His "Sociology of the South" was another soaring assertion of the "positive good" theory of slavery.  I wish I could go back in time and take him, John C. Calhoun, and a few others, dye their skins black, and sell them to a cotton plantation in Alabama for a year or so.  Let's see how they feel abou the "peculiar institution" then!!!! :hatred:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on July 17, 2011, 09:35:14 AM
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ILi5pjUAbZY/R0ymPMuWGpI/AAAAAAAAADY/c5JTKi8sLfs/s320/NeedfulThingsBookCover.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 17, 2011, 01:50:02 PM
Ye-es!

And still even more miscellaneous . . . [in graphic format form]

Darren Shan's "Cirque du Freak"

v.4. Vampire Mountain -- v.5. Trials of death -- v.6. The vampire prince -- v.7. Hunters of the dusk.

The best thing in these next four volumes are the villains.

Ted Dekker's "The Lost Books"

Finished the series. It takes a special author to move the same characters between different worlds. He's special, but not that special. He should have stuck with future day earth, where he does the better job, and skipped present day earth, where it just gets confusing.

Rod Serling's "The Twilight Zone"

"The After Hours" -- "The Big Tall Wish" -- "Deaths-head Revisted" -- "The Midnight Sun" -- "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street" -- "The Odyssey of Flight 33" -- "Walking Distance"

Stick with the ones you've seen, or see the episode before reading the graphic adaptation. You're get more out of the adaptation that way.

Matt Groening's "The Simpsons Futurama Crossover Crisis"

The best thing is that it is filled with a ton of in-jokes. See how many you can recognize?

"A Long Time Ago . . ." v.3.

Issues 50-62 and Annual #2 in the comic book adaptation of the "Star Wars" series of films.

They seem to want to expand their readership beyond the "Star Wars" fanboys and fangirls as you get more romance and more science in these comics. There also seemss  to be an effort to individualize the heroes and humanize the villains.

To be coninued . . . But first, Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist" and et al.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RD on July 17, 2011, 02:19:34 PM
I'm reading Neuromancer by William Gibson.
   
:cheers: I just cracked open Burning Chrome by gibson for the first time in nearly 10 years. I realized I had only a read about three of the shorts in it, and finished the rest. Date, but still fun stuff. Especially enjoyed Dogfight and the winter market.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on July 17, 2011, 02:46:20 PM
Just starting this tonight:

(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_eP-TQH6WbX0/SVr20tJ2tfI/AAAAAAAAGm8/6kuZuPEnl00/s1600/George%2BOrwell%2Bx%2BObey%2BGiant%2BPrint%2BSet%2B-%2B1984%2BCover%2Bby%2BShepard%2BFairey.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on July 17, 2011, 03:17:49 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41OqASbcreL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)

The Russian Anarchists


It's okay but these anarchists are anti private property and also ignorant of economics.  At the same time, Russia was pretty bleak under the tsars plus the anarchists criticized Marx in some good ways. Alot of the book is just about inter organiziational disagreements and bomb throwing.

I think I prefer "Defending the Undefendable" and other modern far out libertarian stuff.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on July 18, 2011, 01:34:57 AM
([url]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41OqASbcreL._SL500_AA300_.jpg[/url])

The Russian Anarchists


It's okay but these anarchists are anti private property and also ignorant of economics.  At the same time, Russia was pretty bleak under the tsars plus the anarchists criticized Marx in some good ways. Alot of the book is just about inter organiziational disagreements and bomb throwing.

I think I prefer "Defending the Undefendable" and other modern far out libertarian stuff.


I read that book. It struck me as historical retelling of the people involved during that time, rather than an exploration of the ideas they were expounding. Interesting, but very dry.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on July 18, 2011, 09:58:41 AM
100 Bullets by Brain Azzarello

I picked up the first volume at the library to read.  The artstyle is a bit different and strange for my taste.  Kind of reminds me of Frank Miller's Dark Knight Strikes Back for some reason.  On the other hand, the story is pretty good.  I won't say much to spoil it, but I think I could seriously find myself enjoying all of this.  I'll be picking up volume 2 soon enough to read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Criswell on July 20, 2011, 09:59:52 PM
Currently working on - The Hobbit, The Great Hunt, and the Drawing of the Three.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 20, 2011, 11:43:25 PM
Just finished George R. R. Martin's latest installment in A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, entitled A DANCE WITH DRAGONS.  It is totally engrossing from start to finish, and - without giving away any specifics - he maintains his annoying habit of killing off truly admirable characters and allowing some that are total b*****ds to go one maiming and killing their merry way along!  That being said, you never quit caring about the story.    The man is truly one of the greats of our time.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on July 21, 2011, 05:33:52 PM
mofo rising- yeah, I would have preferred more ideas and less info.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: sideorderofninjas on July 23, 2011, 11:10:06 PM
I'm working on Asmiov's "Foundation" series for the first time in years...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 26, 2011, 04:47:29 PM
Ye-es.

The Monteparts' "Around the World on the 'QE2'" or 29 countries in 80 days and Paul Coelho's "The Alchemist" in graphic format.

While one masquerades as a travelogue, and the other masquerades as a work of fiction, both are on the subject of philosophy.

They, at least, get one thing right and one thing wrong.

What they get right. If you want to say something profound, then keep it simple.

And what they get wrong. "Change happens." In the 30 years since the Monteparts have sailed around the world . . .

The Panama Canal has become obsolete. It is now so obsolete, they are either building another canal along side it, or seriously consdering building another canal along side it.

Hong Kong is no longer part of the British empire, but part of mainland China.

Ceylon has had a name change to Sri Lanka.

Yalta is no longer part of the Soviet Union, nor is it part of Russia. It is part of the Ukraine, which became its own independent country, when the Soviet Union became Russia.

And Romania is no longer a communist country.

What has not changed are the natural and manmade wonders featured in the book. Of the 29 listed, only . . .

The World Trade Center in New York City, New York, of course, no longer exists.

The replica of the "Santa Maria" in Barcelona, Spain was destroyed in an arson fire.

And the Sky Parachute Jump was removed from Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.

Next time: Weis and Hickman's "Secret of the Dragon" and et al.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Criswell on July 27, 2011, 10:13:58 PM
The Way of King - Really good read so far, but as Ambrose Bierce once said, "The covers of this book are too far apart".  Still the first 75 pagers point to it being a good book.

The Dragon Reborn - 3rd book in the Wheel of Time series. I'm really enjoying these so far, and its likely some of the best fantasy iv'e read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on July 28, 2011, 12:34:29 PM
Currently reading "The Shimmer" by David Morrell after I finished 1984 (which was very good). It's been quiet at work, so I've managed to read about 200 in the last two days, 200 to go. It's pretty good so far, as there's some weird lights in this Texas town that cause people to go apes**t and kill each other. A pilot's wife disappears and he has to go and track her down in said town.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on July 28, 2011, 12:51:11 PM
The first book of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series.  :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on July 28, 2011, 02:09:16 PM
The first book of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series.  :thumbup:

What a concidence!  I'm reading that too... in comic book form.   :teddyr:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on August 02, 2011, 02:45:51 PM
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YhrLAYLQ8So/SsQemJdG-jI/AAAAAAAAIyc/zyA2JrsFuKE/s400/The+Sad+Tale+of+the+Brothers+Grossbart.jpg)

Half-way through this entertaining yet foul piece of adapted fiction. I bought this book basically because the cover caught my eye (it looked very intriguing) and because it had a lot of mixed reviews based on the nature of the content. This book is absolutely diabolically disgusting that it will turn the stomach of most casual readers. There's baby's being burned, horses being spat on, dogs having their throats chewed out, demons, appalling language and that's just the first 15 pages! It tells the tale of two brothers travelling (and being hunted) across Europe in the thirteen hundreds seeking their fortune and always finding trouble. I am loving this book as it is genuinely engaging, shocking and even funny. 100/10 so far....


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on August 02, 2011, 06:27:57 PM
Bed of Nails by Michael Slade.  Somehow I missed this one.  I have read just over 100 pages and it has already been pretty odd.  Which is just fine as that is at least half the reason I like Slade's work.   :wink:   Jack the Ripper, cannibals, Cthulhu, cannibals, a Viking biker, cannibals, Goths, the World Horror Convention in Seattle, cannibals, an island in the South Pacific - with cannibals - and the RCMP (of course).  What's not to love?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on August 02, 2011, 07:33:04 PM
Bed of Nails by Michael Slade.  Somehow I missed this one.  I have read just over 100 pages and it has already been pretty odd.  Which is just fine as that is at least half the reason I like Slade's work.   :wink:   Jack the Ripper, cannibals, Cthulhu, cannibals, a Viking biker, cannibals, Goths, the World Horror Convention in Seattle, cannibals, an island in the South Pacific - with cannibals - and the RCMP (of course).  What's not to love?

What a coincidence. I finally got around to reading Hangman, which is the one Slade book I'd managed to miss. And I'm about 100 pages into it. Weird.

The story itself is not so weird at this point, at least by Slade standards. Victims being hung from a noose in their homes, each with one more limb sawed off, and a word puzzle scrawled in blood on the wall. As Slade goes, that's a pretty straightforward detective story. Still plenty of pages left for things to get weird though.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Zapranoth on August 02, 2011, 08:37:55 PM
Re-reading all original Lovecraft.  Have re-read many of the greater classics ("At the Mountains of Madness,") for example.   Thoroughly enjoyable.  :)

Also am reading _A Game of Thrones_ for the first time.  Rip-roaring soap opera for men.  :)  Brutal books too.  Enjoying.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on August 03, 2011, 02:21:23 PM
Currently reading "Does the Noise in my Head Bother You?", the autobiograpy of Aerosmith's Steven Tyler. Some funny stuff but it's been a bit of a chore to get through because he writes the same way he talks -- lots of stream-of-consciousness, rapid fire rambling. Some chapters are coherent, while others remind me of the homeless guys I'd see in the Staten Island Ferry terminal wandering around talking to themselves.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: HarlotBug3 on August 03, 2011, 02:36:53 PM
http://www.cracked.com/blog/8-hilarious-moments-from-otherwise-terrible-movies/


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on August 05, 2011, 09:14:54 PM
The first book of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series.  :thumbup:

What a concidence!  I'm reading that too... in comic book form.   :teddyr:

Just got through it.  Man, I could not keep focused while reading it.  It just didn't engage in the storyline or characters at all.  That sucks because I was hoping to really enjoy it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 06, 2011, 02:58:33 PM
Ye-es.

Weis and Hickman's "The Secret of the Dragon."

The second in that series. As in the first they keep up the trend of creating "villains" that are "better" than some of the "heroes." But even the "worst" of the "heroes" and "villains" gets a moment when you can feel some sympathy for them.

And again they continue with their being more than two sides in the story. If done right, as here, that adds complexity to the story, for yesterday's enemy can become today's ally, and today's ally can become tomorrow's enemy.

The story should wrap up in the third and last volume, which I have yet to see.

Also Clive Cussler's "The Wrecker."

The second one in that series, and why sophomore efforts are normally regarded as being weaker than the freshman effort.

More villains and heroes this time, but that only diffuses the conflict between the main hero and the main villain. Though, some of the villains are complex enough, that one can actually have some sympathy for them.


Both books feature a climatic chase between the hero and the villain. But the chase in the first book is more exciting.

Unlike the first book, where you know the villain from the get go, this time the villain is introduced more slowly. An introduction which I don't think works that well. But, there is a second secret villain, who is also introduced slowly, and I think that introduction works better.

I do cred both the hero and author with, even at the end, seeking justice instead of revenge, when the hero can quite justifiablely seek revenge.

There is a third in the series after this one, in which the hero goes after international villains instead of the previous national villains, as several international spy rings seek the plans for a super secret American submarine. The third I have yet to read.

Next time:  Warcraft" and "Starcraft" in graphic format.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Criswell on August 11, 2011, 11:07:48 PM
Trying to re-get into the Star Wars expanded universe by re-reading Heir to the Empire.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on August 12, 2011, 12:57:03 PM
Also re-reading through this for the 3rd or 4th time:

([url]http://media.us.macmillan.com/jackets/258H/9780312131494.jpg[/url])


I have read this and THE PSYCHOTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FILM over and over again.  I look up movies in them just about every day.  In fact, I read my original copy of THE PSYCHOTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FILM so may times, the spine split in half and I had to buy a new copy. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on August 12, 2011, 12:58:12 PM
This, among other things:

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bds20m9bL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on August 12, 2011, 02:07:09 PM
Finished Hangman, which I'd have to say is Michael Slade's weakest book. Good, very readable, some interesting facts mixed with the fiction and one twist I didn't see coming, but his other books are much better in terms of creepiness, surprises and overall weirdness. Probably didn't help that I already knew the book's biggest shock, which is referenced in the later books I'd read previously.

Once again reading bits and pieces while looking for another book that really appeals to me. More Lovecraft, and the first couple of chapters of Cinderella Ate My Daughter, Peggy Orenstein's analysis of the "girly-girl culture" that has exploded in recent years, and the effect it's having on children. Interesting, but not quite what I'm looking for right now.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on August 13, 2011, 08:15:41 PM
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/FrameBreaking-1812.jpg/275px-FrameBreaking-1812.jpg)

Kirkpatrick Sale "Rebels Against The Future: The Luddites And Their War On The Industrial Revolution: Lessons For The Computer Age"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on August 14, 2011, 04:31:54 AM
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5H4qCwZQFT0/TFzuEfo0jNI/AAAAAAAAAD4/x_-GjQFVrWU/s320/Beyond+Good+and+Evil+(Nietzsche).JPG)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on August 14, 2011, 09:27:00 AM
Weirdness  continues...picked up a copy of Nietzsche yesterday at the bookstore.  :buggedout:

Finished the Slade: found I had predicted the outcome at about half way through.  Too much familiarity perhaps.  :tongueout:

Went to my favourite 'antiquarian' book shop in Toronto yesterday: confined myself to purchasing three books, all on fairly technical aspects of horseback riding and training.  Two of them are by famous "ODGs" - Old Dead Guys - written before I was born, and I am having SO much fun reading them.  They support my own observations for the most part and (by current standards) are delightfully outspoken doing it!  :teddyr:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on August 14, 2011, 12:38:36 PM
Finished the Slade: found I had predicted the outcome at about half way through.  Too much familiarity perhaps.  :tongueout:

Both Bed of Nails and Hangman seem to be weaker books in the series (although I think Bed of Nails was better than Hangman), and both seem to be between really awesome books. Hangman sits between Burnt Bones and Death's Door, two really disturbing and interesting Mephisto stories. Bed of Nails falls between Death's Door and Swastika, the book that hooked me on the series. There just seems to be a little stretch in there where Slade knocks it out of the park in one book, follows it with something that's just OK, then puts out another great book, and another weaker book. It stands out for me because the first seven books, up to Burnt Bones, are consistently great. I think it might be mostly due to changes in the writing team over the years, and perhaps also the growing cast of characters, with all their increasing backstory and assorted baggage. I thought they were starting to weigh the books down after a while, and it seems Slade might have thought the same, since the latest, Red Snow, killed off so many characters in what seemed to me like he was culling the herd.

I'm very eager to see the next Slade book, just to see how everything shakes out in the aftermath of that, and what he does with the story now that the cast is whittled back down to DeClercq, Chandler and some of the more distinctive and functional supporting characters.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Cthulhu on August 16, 2011, 08:22:12 AM
I just finished Elric of Melniboné.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: wickednick on August 19, 2011, 07:58:34 AM
The first book of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series.  :thumbup:
The first three are awesome books after that they just kinda drop off. I haven't even finished the last book because it was just kinda boring.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: wickednick on August 19, 2011, 08:00:53 AM
Just finished A Game of Thrones, that was such a good book! Now i've got to catch up on some philosophy. I got a book about cynic philosophers and Plato's The Republic.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 22, 2011, 03:47:20 PM
Ye-es!

"Warcraft," or I should say graphic novels based on the video game. "Legends" are the short stories, that come four to the volume, but there are some longer stories, such as "Death Knight," "Shaman," "Shadow Knight," and "The Sunwell Trilogy," some of which I have read, and some of which I have not read, that cover two or more volumes.

The good is that many of the stories are by authors that I have read and enjoyed before, such as Richard A. Knaak and Christie Golden..

The bad is like in most graphic novels, the fight scenes are needlessly confusing, so you cannot tell what is going on. And as in some graphic novels, the characters are poorly defined, both in the drawings and the writings, so it is hard to tell one character, from the other. And for the first time, some of the captions for the stories are basically unreadable.

The interesting is that for some reason minotaurs are now called taurens, and zombies are called the undead. And such fantasy villains as goblins, ogres, and orcs can now be the heroes in some stories.

And I am also reading "Starcraft," or stories based upon the video game, which is the science fiction counterpart of "Warcraft."

"Frontline" is the series of short stories, and there is at least one longer story called "The Ghost Academy."

"The Ghost Academy" has a good concept, ten academy students, who have some extrasensory powers, including the power to become invisible, but it is poorly executed in both the drawings and the writing, so it is sometimes hard to tell one student from the other students.

The good is that many of the stories are written by David Gerrold and Keith R. A. DeCandido, or authors who I have enjoyed reading before.

The bad is much the same faults as that can be found in the "Warcraft" graphic novels. Still whatever the faults, I found the stories to be better than the graphic novels based on "Halo" or Orson Scott Card's "Ender."

The interesting. In worlds where everyone seems to have become heterosexual, there are seemingly two bisexual characters in one of the stories. One male and one female.

Next time: Douglas Ward's "Berlitz's Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on August 22, 2011, 08:59:10 PM
Reading a little Edgar Allan Poe, while I decide on a novel to read. Just read The Cask of Amontillado for the umpteenth time. It's been a favourite since I first read it in Grade 10 English.
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4020/4633976043_ffc539534f.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 22, 2011, 11:37:33 PM
I'm about halfway through FORTUNE'S FAVORITES, the third in Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series.  I love the way she takes what we know of the history of the late Roman Republic and fills in the gaps in ways that are so plausible that it is often hard to tell where history ends and historical fiction begins.

If you are fascinated by Rome, this series is an absolute must!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on August 23, 2011, 02:55:10 AM
My calendar.

Only 16 working days left until I go on long leave.

Long leave at the beach?  :thumbup: :teddyr: :teddyr:

Away from here?  :thumbdown: :bluesad: :bluesad:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on August 23, 2011, 04:07:24 AM
Also re-reading through this for the 3rd or 4th time:

([url]http://media.us.macmillan.com/jackets/258H/9780312131494.jpg[/url])


I have read this and THE PSYCHOTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FILM over and over again.  I look up movies in them just about every day.  In fact, I read my original copy of THE PSYCHOTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FILM so may times, the spine split in half and I had to buy a new copy. 


Mine split too. My copy of the VIDEO GUIDE fell completly apart. I did replace that one!

Just reread Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: bob on August 23, 2011, 10:29:48 AM
Also re-reading through this for the 3rd or 4th time:

([url]http://media.us.macmillan.com/jackets/258H/9780312131494.jpg[/url])


I have read this and THE PSYCHOTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FILM over and over again.  I look up movies in them just about every day.  In fact, I read my original copy of THE PSYCHOTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FILM so may times, the spine split in half and I had to buy a new copy. 


Mine split too. My copy of the VIDEO GUIDE fell completly apart. I did replace that one!

Just reread Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin.


is that what the movie of that same name is based upon?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 08, 2011, 05:23:22 PM
Ye-es!

Douglas Ward's "Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships." 2001 edition.

That may be an odd thing to read. Why? I'll get to that in the weeks and months ahead, but of all such guides out there, both on and off the worldwide web, it is the only one I'd recommend, if one can find a later edition. The 2001 edition, unfortunateley, is the second newest one I can find in the local library. But "hats off to the real nicky picky." That is one of the reasons I like it. He and the Maritime Evaluation Groups or MEG, which hed heads, are real nicky picky as to what they take points off for. Such as . . .

points off . . . accomodations
intrusive announcements
polyster sheets
uninteresting ceilings
worn carpeting
poor room service menus
no cabin TV
no bell push outside suite
exposed plumbing in bath
illogical numbering system (I hate decks that are assigned a name instead of a number.)

points off . . . dinner
baked alaska (Which I quite like.)
paper cups and plastic glasses at any time
no fish knives (What is it about Europeans and their fish knives?)
poor selections of cheeses and fruits
tap water instead of mineral water

points off . . . ship
no forward observations lounge
no fresh flowers in public areas
no library
no balconies (I only get a cabin now if it has a balcony.)
no wraparound promenade deck
no spa at all
ligthing is too bright or too dark
too much artifical grass (There are ships that now have real grass and trees.)
artwork is of poor quality
dull passageways
restrooms need better decor
dated decor
plastic deck lounge chairs (They must be teak.)
no cushioned pads for deck lounge chairs

points offf . . . other
smokers (A big no no.)

Next time: something from TV

And the time after that: the above, but the 2004 edition

 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on September 08, 2011, 08:59:23 PM
(http://peterdsmith.jmdentand.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/doomsday-men-cover.jpg)

Doomsday Men: The Real Dr. Strangelove and the Dream of the Superweapon, by P.D. Smith. Very interesting book. The Doctor Strangelove character and Leo Szilard's hypothetical cobalt doomsday bomb are recurring themes in the book, but it's about much more.

I'm not very far into the book, but it's already covered a lot of history. Going back to the discovery of X-rays, radium, radioactivity and breakthroughs in physics, it not only discusses these things in scientific terms, but also explores them from a cultural perspective - the media coverage, the fads, the effect on fiction, and speculation about the possibility of atomic weapons all the way back in the late 1800s. It goes further in showing the effect of those cultural influences on people who would make great discoveries decades down the road.

And throughout, there is this dream of science creating a weapon so unbeatable it would put an end to war, which the book follows through the discovery of radioactivity, the development of chemical and then nuclear weapons. And alongside this, it explores the popular image of the scientist, and how that image went from the noble "savior scientist" of the 1800s to the familiar mad scientist of the 20th Century, again using the example of Doctor Strangelove.

Very interesting book all around. I especially liked the descriptions of what people used to do with radioactive materials before they knew about the dangers involved. X-ray tubes being used as a parlor trick, people drinking health tonics with radium in them, and the shocking amount of harm the Curies were doing to themselves in the course of their research.

I'd recommend this book to anybody who likes a mix of science, history and popular culture.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on September 08, 2011, 09:48:39 PM
The Punisher by Greg Rucka

(http://insidepulse.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/punisher1-329x500.jpg)

Brand new series this year and I picked up the first two issues.  I never read the Punisher before (I heard Garth Ennis' run on it was incredible, but since I'm not a fan of him, I ignored it), but hearing that Rucka was on it and the praise it has been getting made this an instant buy.  It is awesome and I will be picking up the first story arc at least.  Any Punisher fans who haven't checked this out yet must do so now.

Currently waiting on my copies of Swamp Thing & Animal Man to show up and waiting for Batgirl to actually appear on the shelf in my book store.  I'll be back later once I read them.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on September 09, 2011, 08:38:44 AM
(http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/603/christiner.jpg)

Loving it!

 :cheers:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on September 09, 2011, 08:51:13 AM
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-68bEbQPCU4g/TY5dD910zpI/AAAAAAAAAGs/LH7UYyE5n5s/s320/wasp%2Bfactory.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: tracy on September 09, 2011, 02:30:44 PM
I just finished this and I liked it a lot...

(http://www.harpercollins.com/harperimages/isbn/large/8/9780061959158.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Gravekeeper on September 10, 2011, 09:25:37 PM
"The Invention of Murder." You know how the typical view of Victorian England is that everyone (aside from street urchins) was polite, that social standards were expected of everyone, and society was just better all around? Yeah, no. These were the same people who not only went to public executions, but sold souvenirs, sometimes kept the rotting corpse in a cage (sometimes on tours!), were known to attempt lynchings when they felt the justice system let them down, romanticized at least a couple of murderers, were heavily influenced by the period's equivalent of tabloids, etc. Higher society than us? Not really. But they did have a generally killer sense of style.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on September 13, 2011, 07:59:25 PM
Just finished JUST MISSING by Chevy Stevens.  It was terrible - like if Jodi Picoult wrote a torture porn.  I should've known better when I saw the kind of hype it was getting.  I think maybe it's time to break into one of the Lovecraft books I nabbed at Borders' going out of business sale......


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Couchtr26 on September 13, 2011, 11:08:41 PM
The forum here.   :question:  What it doesn't count?   Alright, I'll comeback and post again when I'm reading something better. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on September 20, 2011, 01:42:35 PM
(http://i43.tower.com/images/mm113300471/heat-lightning-john-sandford-paperback-cover-art.jpg)

     I've read just about everything Sandford's written, particularly the Prey series, of which this is a spin-off.

     Supposedly, there's a film in the works, based on one of the Prey novels....

http://www.deadline.com/2011/03/usa-to-do-movie-starring-mark-harmon/


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on September 20, 2011, 01:49:27 PM
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Tbi9tVixcTM/Sr2nbOVG2pI/AAAAAAAACvc/a6zaUdyPy2A/s400/Hideaway+by+Dean+Koontz.jpg)

300 pages in. Not his best work, but pretty good so far...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on September 21, 2011, 04:25:07 AM
I've heard of Zinn, he is typical of the Marxist/leftist professors that crowded the halls of academia in the 1970's thru the 1990's - guys who stayed in college and got their advanced degrees so they could get deferments and avoid Vietnam, and spent their careers bashing the country that enabled them to live better than 90% of the world, while praising governments that routinely executed intellectuals like themselves.  Not that America is flawless, but academics like Zinn should have been deported en masse to the Soviet Union before they could corrupt an entire generation of American youth!

While I'm not defending Zinn's book, I think it should be mentioned that Howard Zinn did serve in the Air Force during WWII, something he volunteered for as a young man, eager to join the fight against facism. He was a bombardier in the 490th Bombardment Group. He only went on to his higher education after he had served his time in WWII. In this case, Zinn does not fall under the stereotype of the "draft-dodging leftist professor."

As for A People's History, I finally finished it, annoyed as I was with it. When Zinn focuses on the dispossessed and voiceless, his book manages to achieve some level of historical importance. Unfortunately Zinn is very clearly in the pro-Socialist camp, and views the entirety of history through the eyes of dissent. Don't get me wrong, I view dissent in the highest light. It's important. But Zinn's approaches dissent through his Socialist filter and gives an inordinate amount of "screen-time" to those who share his view.

I'm not attacking socialism here, especially not in the way it has become a political epithet recently. But Zinn's book clearly has an agenda, and it corrupts what otherwise could have been an important and valuable book about the under-represented parts of American history. I'm still waiting for a book that truly is a people's history, and not just another mouthpiece for a political point of view.

There's a lot I don't like about American foreign policy and the ridiculous fervor for ultra-capitalism that seems to have gripped our nation. But don't tell me you're standing up against tyranny and then gloss over the atrocities done by socialist/communist nations (Cuba, China) because they sort-of agree with your economics.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on September 21, 2011, 07:32:24 PM
Armchair Reader: Vitally Useless Information: A Incredible Collection of Irrelevance.

Yeah kind of pointless stuff but still oddly fascinating in parts.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on September 21, 2011, 08:20:16 PM
Finally got my issues I preordered for the DC 52 Relaunch, so I've been reading the following:

Swamp Thing #1: If you are even a little bit of a fan of this character, then seek this comic out admittedly.  Heck, check it out even if you are not one.  Probably one of the best new comics to out recently.  Just fantastic.

Batman #1: Same author as Swamp Thing and same thing with what I said.  Any comic book reader should be reading this.

Batgirl #1: Great story, but it will put off older readers if they are too attached to Barbara as Oracle.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on September 25, 2011, 12:39:17 AM

I just got done reading Ghost Story, the latest Dresden novel by Jim Butcher.

A few months before that I read Ex-Kop by Warren Hommand.  It's a pretty good sci-fi/noir novel.

http://www.amazon.com/Ex-KOP-Warren-Hammond/dp/B003D7JV1Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316928143&sr=8-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Ex-KOP-Warren-Hammond/dp/B003D7JV1Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316928143&sr=8-1)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on September 25, 2011, 12:27:17 PM
Borrowed "Enter Night: A Biography of Metallica" by British rock journalist Mick Wall from the library a couple of days ago. I'm about 1/3 of the way through it and I'm enjoying it immensely.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on September 25, 2011, 05:38:59 PM
resumed "The Vampire Economy" it's too bad it's a dry econ heavy analysis because it's message is really interesting.

It's about the Nazi's economic policies. They were not very different from the commies that Hitler so disdained and certainly didn't do much to uplift the people of Germany. It says alot about the nazi ideology that the state was so powerful and led to higher prices, lower quality and engaged in so many abhorrent practices.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on September 25, 2011, 10:21:51 PM
Finished Doomsday Men. It got even more interesting as it progressed through the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s, and continued to illustrate the effect of nuclear weapons on fiction and popular culture, as well as the influence of science fiction on the real scientists. Goethe's Faust and The World Set Free by H.G. Wells are of particular significance. A good analysis of the growing link between scientists and the military, and the radically different approach to war that came as a result of the large-scale technological warfare of the 20th century. Quite a bit on the creation of Dr. Strangelove, and an interesting analysis of the character as compared to the most probable influences - Edward Teller, Wernher Von Braun, Herman Kahn, John Von Neumann, etc. Very good book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on September 26, 2011, 08:16:44 PM
My manga library raiding continues and now I'm reading:

20th Century Boys
Kekkaishi
Black Cat
Hikaru No Go
One Piece
Vampire Knight
Last Vampire
Fullmetal Alchemist


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 29, 2011, 07:09:32 PM
Ye-es!

Joss Whedon's "Buffy: the Vampire Slayer" Tales. A graphic series of tales. Though the best tales are not by Whedon. Nor do the best tales feature any of the characters from the TV series. Nor are the best tales the vampire tales. The best tale is a non-Whedon slayer tale, occuring in a time before the TV series, but it does have a double twist in it.

Laurell K. Hamilton's "Circus of the Damned" in graphic format. Or the third in the Anita Blake series. So far, only volume 1.

Also Laurell K. Hamilton's "Skin Trade" in paperback. The 17th in the Anita Blake series.
If you can get past the sex scenes, there are a number of reasons to read it.

(1) From the 14-year-old weretiger she accidentally sleeps with to the centuries old vampire she deliberately sleeps with, Hamilton understands men better than most female authors.

(2) Heck! From those who walk the lawful side of the street to those who walk the lawless side of the street to those who walk both sides of the street, she understands men better than most male authors.

(3) Individualized characters. Every character in the book stands out from all other characters.

(4) Unlike some writers, she can create real hardcases. The type if they really existed, would make you sweat as soon as their name were mentioned.

(5) While somewhat rushed, a nice suspenseful climax.

(6) And it doesn't hurt that one of the heroes is a person of your own religious faith.

Next time: Ward's Berlitz's . . . the 2004 edition.

And the time after that: Something from King.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on September 30, 2011, 09:39:10 AM
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dc/Real_frank_zappa_book_front.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Gravekeeper on October 02, 2011, 12:29:58 AM
Reading a ton of stuff for research purposes. I've got a big paper coming up, two presentations this month, and I have to constantly be on the lookout for material to illustrate by midnight every Friday.

At the moment, I've got bookmarks in:

The Best of American Comics Criticism

Johannes Cabal the Necromancer

Happily Ever After (anthology)

Maus

Urban Fantasy (anthology)

The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities

Cult Cinema (Ernest Mathius and Jamie Sexton)

Horror (Brigid Cherry)

And that's not even getting started on scientific literature and world mythologies. If you guys could send any great short (better yet, micro) stories my way, it'd be very much appreciated.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on October 02, 2011, 06:57:54 PM
Reading The World Set Free, by H.G. Wells. It was one of the works heavily cited in Doomsday Men, and it is very interesting. Published in serial form in 1914, before the outbreak of WW1, this story deals with the discovery of nuclear power and its possible financial, social and political implications. In the middle section, Wells describes a war with aerial combat and atomic bombs. His idea of an atomic bomb is interesting, with a large chunk of radioactive material that is kicked into an accelerated decay that doesn't stop until the fuel is exausted. Bright light, lots of heat and wind, just like nukes as we know them, but Wells' nukes keep on "exploding" for weeks, months or even years. They become something like a meltdown, sinking into the ground to create a molten pit that continues to belch fire, brimstone and radiation. Very interesting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on October 04, 2011, 10:11:14 PM
The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Zapranoth on October 05, 2011, 12:49:15 AM
Just finished reading a large heap of Green Lantern comics, ROM the Space Knight, a heap of Hulk comics, and now am happily reading my way through the Chris Claremont days of X-Men. 

I also am partway through _A Dance With Dragons_ but I sorta petered out and need to re-boot my reading efforts.  Kinda hard to get too stoked up when i know it'll be YEARS before the next comes out.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on October 05, 2011, 04:32:47 AM
Just finished HIROSHIMA by John Hersey.
Now re-reading BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE by Dee Brown.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on October 13, 2011, 01:58:31 PM
The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer by Jennifer Lynch. I recently started watching Twin Peaks on Netflix streaming, and found a pdf file of the diary on a fan site. It gets pretty disturbing, but it really helps put some pieces together about what's going on.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on October 13, 2011, 02:03:41 PM
(http://www.qbd.com.au/products/l/4195/9780552124195.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on October 13, 2011, 03:07:29 PM
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Familiar with the story, seen any number of derivative works, homages, parodies, etc., but never actually read the book. I like it so far, even knowing what's going on. It must really have been something when it was first published. The relationship between Jekyll and Hyde is a mystery that is only hinted at for much of the book. All we know is that Jekyll is discreetly supporting a younger man of poor reputation. The openly-discussed theory is that Hyde is blackmailing the doctor, but there are moments when I think Stevenson subtly suggests that a homosexual relationship is suspected. That Jekyll and Hyde were the same person must have been a shocking plot twist in its day.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on October 13, 2011, 07:47:27 PM
Fearful Majesty: the Life and Reign of Ivan the Terrible by Benson Bobrick.

After reading several biographies of actors and musical groups and ending up feeling disappointed and unimpressed with the subjects, I thought I'd tackle one that could not possibly make the person look any worse than my expectations.   :bouncegiggle:  I am only 60 pages in and I am enjoying this immensely!  Bobrick does an outstanding job of pulling together all sorts of information - there are twelve pages of bibliography  :buggedout: - and making it very readable.  Much of what Bobrick writes goes toward explaining the whys and wherefores of Russian attitudes and perspectives: a great deal is making more sense to me now.  It is both fascinating and entertaining.  I am not sure if the humour that keeps arising is Bobrick's, or is inherent to the material.  For example: (discussing the Moskovite legal system under Ivan III)  "...Though the Mongolians had introduced torture into Russian legal procedure, it was High Church enthusiasm for the methods of the Spanish Inquisition that apparently contributed to its wider adoption."  I'm looking forward to the next 280 pages.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 13, 2011, 09:27:14 PM
I love Russian history, and that one sounds awesome!

If you've never read it, Robert K. Massey's PETER THE GREAT is one of the finest biographies ever written, about one of the most fascinating men who ever lived.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on October 16, 2011, 04:29:09 AM
On a new cycle of books after finishing the last ones, which were not so good (see above).

The Riddle of Gravitation by Peter G. Bergmann - Having a difficult time with this one. It's a slim volume. The first few chapters are the obligatory recap of the already understood basics before he gets to the good stuff. I'm not a physicist, and I have a tenuous understanding of relativity. This book does not do a good job of explaining the basics. I really just need to sit down and spend some time with these equations...

Truman by David McCullough - Fantastic so far. McCullough is really the go-to guy for popular history. In depth with out sacrificing readability. I'm several hundred pages in, and I haven't even got to Truman as a Senator. Really, a great read.

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray - Pretty good so far. Thackeray is a sly observer of humanity, and his text makes it sound like he is being straightforward while he is actually saying the exact opposite thing. Amusing, but I'm not very far in yet.

A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin - Love this series. This book hasn't really grabbed me yet, but this is probably the best fantasy series I've ever read.

Dagon and Other Macabre Tales by H.P. Lovecraft - The third book in the seminal Arkham House collections. These are clearly Lovecraft's lesser works, but still well worth reading.

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks - History of a singular copy of the Holy Bible. Seems decent enough so far. Interesting structure.

The Savage Sword of Conan, Volume II by Various - You know what you're in for with Conan comics. These are really some fantastic '70s comics. I love the artwork, I'd read it solely for that reason. Luckily, the stories aren't too shabby either.

Cycle of Myths by John Smelcer - A fairly slim volume of Alaska Native mythology. I'm Tlingit. This is a bit better than his last book, in that it provides some background to the cultures which provide the stories he presents. Not amazing, but a decent enough effort.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on October 16, 2011, 07:10:58 AM
I love Russian history, and that one sounds awesome!

Indy, every few pages I hear the closing line from that Boney M song in my head:  "Oh, those Russians!"   :wink:

Thanks for the suggestion of the Peter the Great bio. I'll keep it in mind.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on October 17, 2011, 08:40:40 AM
*Prepares to duck shoes* I bought a copy of Bill O'Reilly's Pinheads and Patriots last week: most entertaining and very funny too. I'm going to try and get hold of his book Killing Lincoln next.  :teddyr:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on October 17, 2011, 09:31:15 AM
Finished Jekyll and Hyde. Interesting to get the story from Utterson's viewpoint, then Lanyon's and then finally the doctor's. Reading Jekyll's motives, what he wanted to accomplish vs. what he actually achieved, why he continued as he did and how it all worked, I see that most of the stories derived from this do not do it justice at all. Jekyll is a great study of the contrast of a man's public image and his private pleasures, and the tragedy caused by refusing to own and acknowledge and take responsibility for that part of his nature that embarrassed him.

What really makes it effective is that the reader never specifically finds out what Hyde has been up to for most of his existence, spent fulfilling the secret fantasies of Jekyll. He might be a sadist or have some peculiar fetish. He might enjoy the company of prostitutes. He might be gay. He might like to drink or do drugs or maybe just get rowdy. It could be anything, which invites readers to supply their own secret desires and put themselves in Henry Jekyll's position. What would you do if you could have a whole other identity with which to enjoy your wildest fantasies without any risk to your reputation or any personal responsibility?

And what would happen when your chickens finally come home to roost? Jekyll did not separate Hyde from himself. Hyde was always part of him when he was himself, and he'd made Hyde stronger, bolder and more eager to be set free. Not to mention that Hyde without Jekyll's influence had indulged himself far more than the good doctor would ever have imagined. It reminded me of a quote from Lovecraft, to the effect that when you hide things out of shame, there is no limit to how shameful they can become. By pushing that part of himself away, Jekyll lost control of it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 23, 2011, 04:16:31 PM
Ye-es!

Douglas Ward's and MEG's (Maritime Evaluation Group) "Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruiseships." 2004 edition

One  tends to think change happens slowly, but change can happen quickly as this book shows the changes that occurred in cruise lines and cruise ships in only three years, between this edition and the last edition in 2001, which I read.

And it shows that not all decreases are bad, and not all increases are good.

Decrease in . . .
speed
service
age of ship
age of passengers
libraries
smoking
aesthetics
fares
cuisine
amenities
visits to the bridge
guests on board
tables for 2
dancing
midnite buffest

Increase in . . .
size of ship
number of passengers
cost of ship
balconies
handicap accesibility
cabin TVs
self-service laundrettes
cinemas
safety concern
children
entertainment
"nickel 'n' diming"
casualness
enviromental concern
standardization

Next time: Something from King

Next next time: another guidebook to cruise lines and cruise ships


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on October 23, 2011, 04:24:23 PM
(http://images.mobilism.org/?dm=6GNE)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on October 24, 2011, 05:01:52 AM
([url]http://images.mobilism.org/?dm=6GNE[/url])


I thought that this was a picture of Steve Coogan: just for a minute there.  :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on October 24, 2011, 05:18:56 AM
I thought that this was a picture of Steve Coogan: just for a minute there.  :smile:

It is.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on October 24, 2011, 08:35:56 AM
The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on October 24, 2011, 12:33:58 PM
     Just finished this....

(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_P1aSfh7IEUE/S_U8q75AojI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/_QDt3A5Bng8/s1600/storm+prey.JPG)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on October 25, 2011, 10:58:59 AM
Animal farm by George Orwell


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on October 25, 2011, 11:02:31 AM
Animal farm by George Orwell

I just read this a few months ago.  Interesting story and I really liked the ending.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on October 25, 2011, 11:04:40 AM
I'm about 2/3 of the way through THE FROSTED DEATH.  If you're a fan of The Avenger and Doc Savage pulp novels from the 1930s and 40s, this is one of the best.

(http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRUAoKvhJNlRRWwNKN-wClOQt8ml4sv5jU3u97-Kcw998dr3gOEKb1P7K0k)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on October 25, 2011, 02:02:23 PM
Continuing with the literary classics, I've been reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, another story I know from its influence but have never actually read. Interesting book, but getting a little tiresome. We had Dorian Gray and the picture, and the wish that it could age instead of him all the way back in the first chapter. Then page after page of Oscar Wilde being clever. Not that it isn't interesting in spots, but I'm getting impatient for the story to go somewhere.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on October 25, 2011, 02:26:18 PM
Animal farm by George Orwell

I just read this a few months ago.  Interesting story and I really liked the ending.


You should definitely read 1984 also by Orwell if you liked Animal Farm. Awesome book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on October 25, 2011, 03:27:59 PM
Animal farm by George Orwell

I just read this a few months ago.  Interesting story and I really liked the ending.


You should definitely read 1984 also by Orwell if you liked Animal Farm. Awesome book.

I have read 1984 . . . and I liked it more than ANIMAL FARM!




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on October 25, 2011, 03:29:14 PM
Continuing with the literary classics, I've been reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, another story I know from its influence but have never actually read. Interesting book, but getting a little tiresome. We had Dorian Gray and the picture, and the wish that it could age instead of him all the way back in the first chapter. Then page after page of Oscar Wilde being clever. Not that it isn't interesting in spots, but I'm getting impatient for the story to go somewhere.

I read about 1/2 or 2/3 of this book when I was about 12 or 13 years old.  Never finished it.  I think I was hoping it was more of a horror story.  I should give it another try.





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on October 29, 2011, 05:59:58 AM
East of Eden by John Steinbeck


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 29, 2011, 12:16:22 PM
I just finished AGAINST ALL THINGS ENDING, by Stephen R. Donaldson.  It's part of THE LAST CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on October 29, 2011, 12:19:09 PM
I just finished AGAINST ALL THINGS ENDING, by Stephen R. Donaldson.  It's part of THE LAST CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT.

My friend reads those and say they are excellent. Not for the faint-hearted but good. I've been meaning to get copies of the first 2-3 at least. What do you think of that series Indy?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 29, 2011, 12:25:15 PM
The First Chronicles are a masterpiece = LORD FOUL'S BANE absolutely captured me when I was about 16 or so, and I have read it many times since.  I only read the Second Chronicles once, when I was in college, and no longer have my copy.  I remember liking it but not being as impressed with it as I was with the first one.  The current series is excellent, and the climax of the book I just finished was heartrending.

He also wrote a series called MORDANT'S NEED, which is only two books long - MIRROR OF HER DREAMS and A MAN RIDES THROUGH.  Both those books left me absolutely aching for more stories set in that world.

Donaldson is a master.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on October 29, 2011, 10:00:49 PM
Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth by: Grant Morrison

One of Grant Morrison's first big tales and his first big Batman story and it's... okay.  Due to artwork with it sometimes being nearly impossible to follow at some points, it makes reading the story really difficult.  It's good, but it makes it hard to identify what is going on in the scene unfolding.  Though it is nice to flesh out the background for the asylum.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on October 29, 2011, 10:16:09 PM
Continuing with the literary classics, I've been reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, another story I know from its influence but have never actually read. Interesting book, but getting a little tiresome. We had Dorian Gray and the picture, and the wish that it could age instead of him all the way back in the first chapter. Then page after page of Oscar Wilde being clever. Not that it isn't interesting in spots, but I'm getting impatient for the story to go somewhere.

I read about 1/2 or 2/3 of this book when I was about 12 or 13 years old.  Never finished it.  I think I was hoping it was more of a horror story.  I should give it another try.

The picture finally started changing almost halfway through the book, and it has been getting more interesting since. Much as I found with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, there is more to this strange phenomenon in the book than what I had understood from other sources. For one thing, the portrait not only ages, but also reflects the development of Gray's personality. The first change he notices is that the expression on the face goes from boyish innocence to something harder and more cruel. It doesn't just get uglier, it lays a guilt trip on him by reflecting whatever corruption, depravity or evil takes hold of him. And, much like Dr. Jekyll, Dorian Gray starts treating his discovery as a licence to indulge himself without consequences, and a means of turning his back on darker aspects of himself that make him uncomfortable. He's beginning to lead a double life.

I'm starting to really enjoy this book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on October 31, 2011, 10:29:57 PM
The Nobody by Jeff Lemire

It's a retelling and modern look at the story of the Invisible Man.  It's much more tragic and much sadder than the original story and rather good.  Glad to read it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on November 01, 2011, 08:32:29 AM
Dorian Gray is a very uneven book. Just when it starts to get good, Wilde launches into some kind of imagery that goes on for pages before I realize none of it is even making sense to me. My mind actually wandered while reading it. Then a few chapters of tapestries, jewels and such - descriptions mostly. Then, just as it's getting intolerably tedious, the plot starts moving again, in a big way, and it draws me back in. I wonder if this is intentional, or whether Wilde just had trouble writing a tight, well-paced story.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on November 01, 2011, 09:21:37 AM
The Pink Triangle. It's about how homosexuals were put in concentration camps along with jews, gypsies and other non aryans.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on November 02, 2011, 09:32:06 PM
Picked up my issues of Swamp Thing and Animal Man #3:

Swamp Thing: The story continues its slow pace towards the eventual the confrontation between Alec Holland and Sethe, the creature of The Rot (the force that brings death where it goes, like all major plagues throughout the ages).  We are also introduced to more of the history of Arcane family.  Also, we get some more messed up images as we see another force of The Rot decide to its powers against a hospital.

Animal Man: Buddy (Animal Man) and Maxine, his daughter, finally meet the Totems, the caretakers of The Red (the source and connection between all animal life in the world), who want to make Maxine their new Avatar.  The reason is that they'll use be needing her is because The Rot (There will be a crossover between these two titles) has declared war on them.  Speaking, the horrific monsters known as The Hunter 3 have targeted the family and want to wipe them, attacking Buddy's wife and son.

Both of these titles are extremely good and utterly scary.  You must be reading them if you are a fan of comics.  You won't be disappointed.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 04, 2011, 04:53:24 PM
The Ramayana. The most genuinely entertaining religious epic I've ever come across!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on November 04, 2011, 07:50:00 PM
The Ramayana. The most genuinely entertaining religious epic I've ever come across!

Even more than "Battlefield Earth?"  :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on November 05, 2011, 02:51:31 AM
Toussaint Louverture: A Biography (http://www.amazon.com/Toussaint-Louverture-Madison-Smartt-Bell/dp/0375423370) by Madison Smart Bell.

Fascinating stuff. During a point when America was a new nation and the French Revolution was wreaking havoc across the civilized world, here is a man who was leading a slave/black uprising to gain control of a nation. Imagine slaveholder's worst fears made real, just miles away from their stronghold. Their worst possible fears realized.

Toussaint Louverture is a truly mysterious man, pathologically averse to recognition while he creates a secret empire that eventually controls the whole island. That empire goes on to create the sole slave uprising that actually succeeds in creating a new nation.

Don't get me wrong, it's a bloody, bloody business.

Well, we all know how Haiti ended up, but it's a great story. Toussaint Louverture is either a great man or an evil genius. Either way, he is a force of history.

I'm really enjoying this book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on November 05, 2011, 09:20:25 AM
That does sound very interesting.  Shame Haiti is what it is today.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on November 07, 2011, 04:02:13 PM
Dorian Gray is a very uneven book. Just when it starts to get good, Wilde launches into some kind of imagery that goes on for pages before I realize none of it is even making sense to me. My mind actually wandered while reading it. Then a few chapters of tapestries, jewels and such - descriptions mostly. Then, just as it's getting intolerably tedious, the plot starts moving again, in a big way, and it draws me back in. I wonder if this is intentional, or whether Wilde just had trouble writing a tight, well-paced story.

I find the same to be true of LES MISERABLES.  When Victor Hugo actually spends time on the story, it is captivating.  But he keeps veering off into historical interludes and/or descriptions of convents and things that really slow down the pace.  He did the same thing on a much smaller scale in THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (one of my favorite books).  There's a fairly long chapter in that book where Hugo describes Paris . . . up and down various streets, describing the architecture and stuff.  It's as dull as all hell.  I've seen some abridged versions that cut out this entire chapter.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 09, 2011, 12:23:45 AM
My Life in France, by Julia Child


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 10, 2011, 12:12:19 AM
Re-reading American Gods.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on November 10, 2011, 09:06:02 AM
Re-reading American Gods.

Oh, that's next on my "to read" list!  :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on November 10, 2011, 05:30:29 PM
iZombie Vol. 1: A story about a young gravedigger who is sort of a zombie, but still alive and normal looking in some sense.  She has to eat the brains of someone (in this case, someone dead and recently buried) in order to avoid turning into a shambling corpse.  However, whose ever brain she eats, she gains that person's memories.  She's also friends with a young woman ghost from the 60's and her boyfriend is a wereterrier.  The first story arc is set up and her deciding to solve a murder of a recent deceased person after she ate his brains.

I like this story, but I especially like the dialogue between the characters.  It's some of the best I've seen, with good charactizeration and plenty of witty humor.  I bought the first volume on a spur of the moment and I'm glad I did.  Just recently got volume 2 in the mail so I'll be digging into that later.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on November 11, 2011, 12:19:25 PM
About 2/3 through Infinite Jest.  It's....hard to describe.  There's a storyline (several, actually, all interconnected), but it doesn't feel like a novel so much as a manifesto on the nature of addiction.  And Wallace's addiction was words.  Brilliant but also exhausting.
Alternating between that and The Memory Keeper's Daughter (something a little more "bestsellerish" to counter D.F. Wallace).  In 1964 a woman delivers twins, and the girl has Down's Syndrome.  The dad shuffles her away with the nurse, under the assumption she'll put the baby in a home, and tells the mother that she died in childbirth.  The nurse instead leaves town and raises the girl on her own, and everyone spends the next couple decades dealing with the aftermath.  It's soapy, but not bad.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on November 12, 2011, 09:50:01 AM
Just read Shrine by James Herbert which was a great horror book. Now reading The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brook, which is really entertaining and clever.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on November 12, 2011, 09:58:28 AM
Just read Shrine by James Herbert which was a great horror book.

 :thumbup: :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on November 12, 2011, 11:43:24 PM
Hey Newt!  Nice to see ya!

I'm over halfway through THE OCTOBER HORSE by Colleen McCullough.  Julius Caesar has just been murdered, and Mark Antony, a complete boor, is looting the Roman treasury as Consul while young Gaius Octavius Caesar is positioning himself to claim his Great-uncle's legacy as First Man in Rome.

What an incredible series!  If Caesar was even half the incredible person that McCullough paints him to be, he was truly one of the most remarkable men in history, and those who slew him were a crowd of losers and wannabes. If I could step back in time with an AK-47, I'd waste the lot of them and then join Caesar on his campaign to crush the Parthians!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on November 14, 2011, 03:08:25 PM
Women by Charles Bukowski. It's the only novel of his I haven't read yet, I'll be sad when it's done. Best writer ever.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 18, 2011, 05:08:10 PM
Ye-es!

Somethings from Stephen King.

While I read 'em out of order, the last two volumes in his "Dark Tower" series, or, I should say the prequel to his "Dark Tower" series: "The Long Road Home" and "Treachery."

There is also a graphic version of his "Dark Tower," but I haven't got around to starting that one as of yet.

The next three volumes, after volume 1,  in his "The Stand" in graphic format.

v.1.
v.2. American Nightmare
v.3. Soul Survivor
v.4. Hardcases

They remind me of the "Star Trek" films, because just as the even numbered films were suppose to be better than the odd numbered films, so I find the even numbered volumes to be better than the odd numbered volumes. For example, I find the horrors in volume 2 more realistic than the horrors in volume 1, so I like volume 2 better than volume 1.

Volume 3 has a good shootout between the good guys and the bad guys, which is depicted second by second, but it also has one of the worst characters I have ever found in one of King's novels. Mother Abigail, who is so good and so perfect, that she becomes ever more uninteresting and boring. A much better character is that Stephen King clone, Harold Lauder, who is so complex and complicated, that you never know what he is going to do next.

Mother Abigail does become more interesting in volume 4, as she begins to develop a sense of self-doubt.

But the problem with the whole series so far, is that there are too many extraneous events and characters that add little if anything to push the story forward. King also seems to have a problem of, once his characters leave the story, of not being able to bring them back in an effective manner.

I will credit King with being able to do one thing well, and that is being able to create a credible child character. As I have found most authors, though they were once all children, unable to create a credible child character if their life depended upon it.

Next time: another guidebook to cruise ships/cruise lines.

Next next time: A few somethings from Star Wars.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on November 18, 2011, 05:41:41 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41SZK2VFADL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)

Pretentious analysis.  It's the kind of film criticism where you think "I'm glad the director didn't actually think like this guy, or his movies would have been unbelievably boring."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on November 19, 2011, 01:31:00 PM
    Found a copy of this at the DAV yesterday, read it years ago....for a quarter, why not?

(http://cb.pbsstatic.com/l/02/2702/9780553282702.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on December 08, 2011, 01:20:05 PM
     I'm just finishing this....

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/76/World_War_Z_book_cover.jpg/200px-World_War_Z_book_cover.jpg)

     I was pleasantly suprised; rather than  being a literary gorefest, it was a fictional account of the Zombie War years, told through the eyes of the survivors.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on December 08, 2011, 01:30:23 PM
Picked up a copy of The Running Man, by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman). It's a very good book so far. I'm about a third of the way through, and it is nothing at all like the movie. The movie used the title, a couple of character names and the basic premise of a deadly game show in a dystopian future, and that's it. Suits me fine, because I always liked the movie, and I can also enjoy the book for what it is, without anything spoiled.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on December 08, 2011, 09:55:36 PM
Speaking of Stephen King, I just started Pet Semetary. Haven't seen the movie yet either.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on December 09, 2011, 10:34:51 AM
Almost to the end of The Running Man. As Stephen King goes, it's a surprisingly tight little book, and a very easy read.

Found one other similarity to the movie. As the story progresses, Ben Richards meets people willing to stand up for their beliefs, becomes more of a revolutionary and starts getting public support. Of course, it's a little more complicated, and part of a whole journey of discovery. The Running Man (which is a nationwide manhunt in the book), gets Richards out of his little slum apartment and lets him see more of the big picture. At the same time, he's surprised at the qualities he finds within himself.

Oh, and one other similarity between book and movie - Richards is a smartass. Not the cheesy Arnie type of smartass, but a much more deadpan, subversive kind. There's a lot of contempt for authority in the Ben Richards of the book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 17, 2011, 02:09:47 PM
Ye-es!

Kay Showker's "The Unofficial Guide to Cruises"

Another guidebook to cruise lines and cruise ships and part of the "Unofficial Guide" series, but, other than that, a book that totally escapes my mind as to what it was about.

So, let's have Jane Yolen's "Foiled," which is a much more memorable book, and a book that shows what an experienced authoress, almost 100 books to her credit, can do with the printed page.

Life in New York City. Check.
Life of a teenage girl in New York City. Check.
Life of a teenage girl in New York City who fences. Check.

Everything is down pat and realistic, and the heroine is so likable, you wish her to find some happiness, but you know she is destined to find only unhappiness.

The only thing I can wish for from this graphic novel is a better explanation as to how her foil and fencing mask allows her to see not only the people who live in New York City, but also the fae who live in an alternate New York City.

I haven't seen anymore, if this is meant to be a series, or whether it is just an one shot story.

Next time: a compare and contrast of two "Star Wars" graphic novels.
and next next time: a compare and contrast of two guidebooks to cruise ships.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on December 17, 2011, 09:55:43 PM
Reading Magnificent Desolation, by Buzz Aldrin. Interesting autobiography that starts on the morning of the Apollo 11 launch, with Aldrin suited up and waiting his turn to be strapped in. The first few chapters are his personal account of the mission, which is very interesting. I've just finished that part, which is kind of a setup for the bulk of the book, dealing with what happened to Buzz in the 40 years since. At this point in the book, the excitement has settled down, and Buzz is haunted by the thought that he's only 39 and he's just done the greatest thing he will ever do. He ponders this between sips of scotch.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on December 18, 2011, 10:49:29 AM
(http://mises.org/store//Assets/ProductImages/SS424.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on December 23, 2011, 11:39:21 PM
Almost to the end of The Running Man. As Stephen King goes, it's a surprisingly tight little book, and a very easy read.
I read that about two years ago, I found it surprisingly good as well. Loved the ending.

Recently read 'The Men Who Stare at Goats', which was okay I guess. It felt kind of pointless. And 'Into the Wild' by Jon Krakauer which I really liked, even having seen Sean Penn's film first.

I went to a book convention last week and got a bunch of stuff for only 16 euros in total (the classics were particularely cheap):

H.P. Lovecraft - Collected stories: Volume one
Leo Tolstoy - The Death of Ivan Ilyich & Other Stories
Jules Verne - Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Jules Verne - Twenty Thousand Leages under the Sea
Mary Shelley - Frankenstein
Fyodor Dostoevsky - Death and Punishment
Isaac Asimov - Foundation
And a The Hills Have Eyes comic book.

I've read a couple of H.P. Lovecraft stories: Dagon, The Festival, The Hound, The Call of Cthulhu, and The Case of James Dexter Ward. I liked all of them, very atmospheric, though I find them hard to read at times.

Right now I'm about 1/4th through Foundation, which is really good so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: the Rev. J. Darkside on December 26, 2011, 07:03:07 AM
I recently finished Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and How Few Remain, both very well researched books.
(http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef0147e2f3711a970b-500wi)
(http://images.wikia.com/turtledove/images/e/eb/HowFewRemain.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 26, 2011, 10:18:26 AM
I got Stephen King's new book, 11/22/63, for my birthday and read it in three days.  It's the best thing he has written in years, and thoroughly enjoyable - even if he did give Dallas a bit of a rough treatment.  Then again, I live 50 miles from the place and ain't that fond of it myself!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on December 26, 2011, 11:21:31 AM
I'm in the middle of Roger Ebert's second collection of his most brutal bad revews, titled "YOUR MOVIE SUCKS."

After that I've got Stephen King's "11/22/63" on hold for me @ the library (I will be picking it up this afternoon sometime) and I got Ace Frehley's autobiography, "No Regrets," for Christmas yesterday.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on December 26, 2011, 06:28:37 PM
@FatFreddysCat: If you like that book by Ebert you should also check out "Awake in the Dark" also by Ebert. It has some good interviews and reviews in it.

I started reading The Stand by Stephen King. 180 pages in right now, but it's only just starting. Enjoying it so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on December 27, 2011, 10:22:32 AM
@FatFreddysCat: If you like that book by Ebert you should also check out "Awake in the Dark" also by Ebert. It has some good interviews and reviews in it.

Cool, will look into it. I just read his other collection of bad reviews, "I HATED, HATED, HATED This Movie" -- it was a hoot. I rarely agree with Roger when it comes to films but I love the way he writes, always have. Sometimes I'll just go to his web site and flick through the review archive.

...and now in addition to the books I mentioned in my last post, one of my co workers just loaned me "White Line Fever," the autobiography of Motorhead's Lemmy!! Sweet.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 27, 2011, 08:35:04 PM
Just finished SEAL TARGET GERONIMO, the story of the Seal Team 6 operation that took out Osama bin Laden last spring.  Very well written piece of work; Navy's high command dissed it, which means it probably has a high percentage of truth.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on December 27, 2011, 10:56:32 PM
I got Stephen King's new book, 11/22/63, for my birthday and read it in three days.  It's the best thing he has written in years, and thoroughly enjoyable - even if he did give Dallas a bit of a rough treatment.  Then again, I live 50 miles from the place and ain't that fond of it myself!

I want to read that one. Just waiting until I can get it cheaper.

Finished Magnificent Desolation over the holidays. While I was always a fan of Buzz Aldrin, reading this book gave me an even greater respect for the man. The battles with depression and alcoholism, going public with mental illness back when it carried much more of a stigma, joining expeditions to the north pole and the wreck of the Titanic as a senior citizen, loads of work put into promoting space tourism and private-sector space travel, continuously pushing to get space exploration moving forward again, and just generally trying to put the adventure back into space.

Now reading "Knots and Crosses" by Ian Rankin. Was looking for some more crime thrillers, having read every Michael Slade book, and decided to give this Scottish writer a try after reading some good things about his work. Still too early to say much about the book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on December 29, 2011, 05:10:18 AM
This is now makes seven books that I have on the go!

(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LTgGvDJTo9g/Rvgqb-8f9fI/AAAAAAAAAmw/avfXKSGRvl4/s400/Tpbridebook.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on December 29, 2011, 10:50:31 AM
BioShock: Rapture

The original story/prequel to the events that happened in BioShock 1 & 2 from the point of view of many different characters.  It pretty cool so far.  I'll get back to you after I finish it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on January 03, 2012, 02:01:37 AM
On King books too (must be something in the air...)

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51tn4xOHDqL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41W0JzCYDQL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)

and this one...

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51kSAoBRtAL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on January 03, 2012, 10:43:36 PM
On King books too (must be something in the air...)


If you are still into some King's book, I recommend this one (Comic, yes, but I must spread the word.  Other must see a vampire tale done very right):

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3e/American_Vampire_Cover_-1.jpg/250px-American_Vampire_Cover_-1.jpg)

One of the best modern day horror comics ever and probably the best vampire tale in a very long time.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on January 04, 2012, 10:49:48 AM
Ghosts And Others I Have Met, by John Kendrick Bangs. Written about 1898, this recounting of famous and little-known ghost stories from a number of regions is at times satirically funny, at others almost a little spooky. More or less faded from the public mind today, this book was wildly popular in its time (Mark Twain loved it). In a lot of the cases, Mr. Bangs, who had a gift for language, retells these tales in a tongue-in-cheek first-person perspective, as if it is he, like some unflappable Gilded Age X-File researcher, who actually experienced them.


"Who are you?" I cried, starting back, the physical symptoms of a ghostly presence manifesting themselves as usual.

"I am the ghost of one long gone before," was the reply, in sepulchral tones.

I breathed a sigh of relief, for I had for a moment feared it was a burglar....


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pilgermann on January 04, 2012, 01:01:02 PM
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn.  I read it several years ago but I recently found a copy for a buck and decided to revisit it.  It's basically about a family who run a traveling circus and sideshow.  The freaks are the children of the couple who own the show, but they're the result of experimentation with drugs and poisons during each pregnancy.  The story is told by one of the children, now an adult, and she's been anonymously trailing her own daughter who was given up for adoption in a part of the novel that bookends the circus bits.  I really don't want to give much away but it's pretty gruesome and bizarre stuff, dealing with murder, cults, incest, love, hate, and the moral complexities of all these things, but it's so well-written and compelling that the ugly details don't feel like they're simply there for shock value.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on January 04, 2012, 01:27:37 PM
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn.  I read it several years ago but I recently found a copy for a buck and decided to revisit it.  It's basically about a family who run a traveling circus and sideshow.  The freaks are the children of the couple who own the show, but they're the result of experimentation with drugs and poisons during each pregnancy.  The story is told by one of the children, now an adult, and she's been anonymously trailing her own daughter who was given up for adoption in a part of the novel that bookends the circus bits.  I really don't want to give much away but it's pretty gruesome and bizarre stuff, dealing with murder, cults, incest, love, hate, and the moral complexities of all these things, but it's so well-written and compelling that the ugly details don't feel like they're simply there for shock value.

First thing I saw was "Greek Love" and I thought "What kind of book is this?" Then I read the title again. :teddyr:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on January 05, 2012, 01:09:28 PM
I just finished The Stand today. It was really good but not great. In my opinion, King's written better things. It was very easy to read for a book that's 1300 something pages in length, with parts ranging from OK to pure excellence. The characters I thought were a mixed bag. Some were sublime like Tom Cullen, Nick Andros, Harold Lauder, ... while certain others we were supposed to like I just couldn't stand (e.g. Frannie Goldsmith). The final chapter was also anticlimatic in many ways. With 1000 pages build-up, it seemed to end very abruptly. But despite those complaints, it was still an awesome read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on January 06, 2012, 02:02:06 AM
Just finished Pet Sematary - pretty darn solid, creepy, unsettling little horror story. Really grabs you and involves you in places and ways you don't want to be involved. I found it really gripping the more I read into although the Wendigo described doesn't entirely match my own experience although it some ways it does.

Getting set to read Wrath of the Lion by Jack Higgins next.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on January 06, 2012, 10:20:26 AM
"A History of Experimental Film and Video."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on January 06, 2012, 10:39:37 AM
Started "Rebel Without A Crew" by Robert Rodriguez today. It's really interesting and inspiring so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on January 07, 2012, 08:15:02 PM
Scalped: Indian Country by Jason Aaron

The story of Dashiell Bad Horse who returns his old home on the Prairie Rose Indian Reservation or the "Rez" where corruption and violence runs rampage, especially under the crime boss, Lincoln Red Crow.  It's a very gritty and dark series, but a very well written and fasincating crime drama.  Of all the comics I read, I think this series would make a great TV series.  People, check this bad boy out!

(http://www.dccomics.com/media/product/7/7/7722_400x600.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on January 09, 2012, 05:50:51 AM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510CemFn5lL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on January 09, 2012, 10:16:27 AM
Got a couple of chapters into Knots and Crosses and felt like something else. Seems like a good book, just can't get going on it right now. Might also be because I was expecting something similar to Michael Slade, who dishes up the weird and disturbing and violent right away. Rankin is still in introductions at this point. Mind you, it is the first book of a series, and I believe it is only Rankin's second book overall, as well as his first crime thriller. I'm sure the series gets better as everything becomes familiar, and as it reflects Rankin's developing skill as a writer.

Have spent several days reading at least a dozen Kindle samples in search of something that will scratch my reading itch. Mostly non-fiction, because I appear to be in that kind of mood.

Topics have included:

- Adult ADHD
- Essays on the mythology of Doctor Who
- Model rocketry
- Sexual fetishes
- The history of space travel

And more. So far, I've found each book either isn't what I'm in the mood for, or it costs more than I want to pay.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on January 10, 2012, 04:09:13 PM
I recently read Monster Hunter International and Monster Hunter Vendetta, and I think a lot of you guys would LOVE this series!

It's about a former pit fighter (long story) turned accountant who, after his boss turns into a werewolf and tries to kill him, discovers that monsters are REAL, and there's an organization out there who makes it there mission to fight them.  The guy takes a job with the group and finds himself embroiled in a fight involving vampires, elves, and a plot to end the world. 

It's a really fun series, combining a lot of humor with lots of b movie elements.  Among other things, the writer is obviously a huge gun nut (er, excuse me... enthusiast), most of the tech details in that department went over my head, but he's also big into b movies, and stuff getting blown up! 

So, yeah, check it out!

http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Hunter-International-Larry-Correia/dp/1439132852/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326229692&sr=1-1 (http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Hunter-International-Larry-Correia/dp/1439132852/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326229692&sr=1-1)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on January 23, 2012, 09:36:36 AM
Controversial Cinema: The Films That Outraged America

A book that discusses films that, obviously, had tons of controversy surrounding them on the themes of sex, violence, race, and religion.  The book centers on four differrent films, one for each catergory: The Silence of the Lambs, Natural Born Killers, Do the Right Thing, and The Passion of the Christ.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on January 23, 2012, 12:28:23 PM
Finally found a book that's hooked me, and I'm already halfway through it. Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth, by Andrew Smith. About ten years ago, Smith travelled around America, tracking down the nine surviving Apollo moonwalkers, to see what they were doing and how their experience might have changed them. He manages to interview most of them, as well as some command module pilots, and also adds in some stories about the missions from other sources, as well as some biographical information and historical context. It's a very well researched book.

It's very interesting so far. Smith's interview with Buzz Aldrin was very fortunately timed - the day after Buzz punched a hoax theorist. He caught up with d**k Gordon signing autographs at a Star Trek convention, and being virtually ignored in favour of make-believe space heroes. There was a funny and kind of sad account of Neil Armstrong dodging fans at a reunion in Reno, before beating a hasty retreat. And Smith describes the mildly unsettling feeling of meeting these guys and finding them familiar, but.... old.

What I like about this book so far is that Smith not only shows the differences and similarities in what the astronauts have done in the previous 30 years, he really captures them as human beings, looking at the emotional and psychological side, their relationships with each other, and little observations he makes while talking to them. And he goes beyond repeating the same stories that have been told many times already. There is a lot in this book I didn't know.

A very good book so far.

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NWPyHwRdrsA/TiioaPx1mBI/AAAAAAAAALQ/zxZFQa9LkQM/s1600/moondust.gif)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on January 23, 2012, 02:36:08 PM
(http://www.epubbud.com/uploads/1/7/3/1737267/images/The_Ship_Who_Searched___Anne_McCaffrey_and_Mercedes_Lackey_epub/Anne%20McCaffrey%20-%20Tsw%202%20The%20Ship%20Who%20Searched.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on January 23, 2012, 08:44:58 PM
(http://paradisecomics.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/u/n/unwritten_ontogenesis_vol5.jpg)

The Unwritten Vol. 5: Onto Genesis by Mike Carey

The Cabel takes the battle against Tommy Taylor up a notch and more of the past of Tommy's father is shown.  Sort of the slow period besides the first two issues in this volume, it's the build up into the big storm in War of the Words (currently happening at this moment, but no where near being collected into a volume now).  It's not as good as the past volume, but still an important and fasincating part.  I really like the flashback scenes and the use of a different artist for those points.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on January 23, 2012, 08:57:02 PM
(http://images.betterworldbooks.com/193/Reclaiming-the-American-Right-9781933859606.jpg)

 :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on January 24, 2012, 02:38:53 AM
The Unwritten Vol. 5: Onto Genesis by Mike Carey

The Cabel takes the battle against Tommy Taylor up a notch and more of the past of Tommy's father is shown.  Sort of the slow period besides the first two issues in this volume, it's the build up into the big storm in War of the Words (currently happening at this moment, but no where near being collected into a volume now).  It's not as good as the past volume, but still an important and fasincating part.  I really like the flashback scenes and the use of a different artist for those points.

The Unwritten is great. Certainly one of the most ambitious titles currently being released.

I'm a sucker for these "story as super-reality" tales, and I think it's one area where comics have really shined. They seem to do it better than anybody else. You can see the same thread in the works of Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and probably most notably Neil Gaiman's Sandman.

The Unwritten has got my brother wound up something fierce. Fantastic series.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on January 24, 2012, 07:45:43 AM
(http://www.bazillionpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/9780979616310.jpg)

Cost me £23!!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on January 24, 2012, 02:50:55 PM
(http://redditorschoice.com/img/necronomicon_2636_500.jpg)

It's been on my shelf for a while, am just now starting it.  Set up as a translation of Lovecraft's "forbidden text", has a lot of details about the Sumerian gods and it's a lot of fun so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on January 24, 2012, 04:02:21 PM
The Unwritten is great. Certainly one of the most ambitious titles currently being released.

I'm a sucker for these "story as super-reality" tales, and I think it's one area where comics have really shined. They seem to do it better than anybody else. You can see the same thread in the works of Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and probably most notably Neil Gaiman's Sandman.

The Unwritten has got my brother wound up something fierce. Fantastic series.

Interestingly enough, the writer of The Unwritten, Mike Carey, has been involved with Neil Gaiman's work in the past.  He did the comic adaption of Neverwhere and wrote the entire Lucifer series, neither of which I actually like.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 28, 2012, 03:27:36 PM
Ye-es!

Nine graphic stories of Boba Fett as the hero gathered into one volume.

We have talked about George Lucas' skill as a writer, or the lack thereof, but what about the other writers in the world of Star Wars? Or, has ever so little produced so much of so little, or not so much. These being an example of what is wrong in the writings of Star Wars.

(1st) A good writer can turn the villain into anything, but (IMHO) not the hero, as the differences between the hero and the villain are too great to overcome.

(2nd) None of the stories have any suspense to them. The ending is foreseen in everyone.

(3rd) I know that Boba Fett has his adherents, but for me, he is one of the most uninteresting characters in fiction. And none of these stories makes him interesting.

(4th) Poor storytelling.

(5th) Confusing illustrations.

(6th) Humor that does not work.

But, sometimes in the world of Star Wars, you get a writer who can really write such as Henry Gilroy's "Star Wars: the Clone Wars: Slaves of the Republic."

And what is right with this one.

(1st) The author realizes that not everyone can be saved, so people die.

(2nd) Heroes are not immortal. So they die.

(3rd) He writes the villains as being smart and not stupid.

(4th) He writes the heroes as not always being right, which they admit.

(5th) He has the hero have a romantic affair with the villainess, which adds a touch of complexity to both characters.

(6th) He writes humor that works.

(7th) The villain never becomes the hero.

(8th) He writes one of the ultimate moments in literature. The moment when a character realizes that they are dieing, and that up to this moment their whole life has been a lie, but a that same moment they finally realize what is the truth, and the turth shall make them free, so they can die free and at last happy.

(9th) There are more than two sides to the story, which adds complexity to the story.

(10th) Even when a character seemingly does something uncharacteristic, it is presented in a believeable way.

It is too bad that more of the writers in the world of Star Wars do not write as well as Gilroy.

Next time: Something different.




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on February 01, 2012, 08:32:16 PM
Picked up my latest comics...

Aquaman #5: In a strange turn of events, Aquaman is found lost and wandering the desert.  Why?  Oh you have to read to find out.

Animal Man #6: After the gigantic and epic ending to the first story, writer Jeff Lemire takes a breather for an issue.  In this one, we get to see the mysterious indepent film Animal Man acted in it.

Swamp Thing #6: HOLY S**T!  Really!  Things have gotten very serious and in a very horrific way.  Hope you aren't queasy, but this series just got very nasty.  I feel we finally gotten to the root of horror in this series as the Rot begins its utter destruction of the Green and its take over of Abbey.

Remember that scene from Troll 2 where that girl turns into plant food for the trolls?  Well, this comic has sort of a similiar scene, but less hammy and actually done right!  My god, I'm going to have nightmares after see this.  Are you fan of Swamp Thing?  If you are and you are not reading this, get your butt in gear and starting this thing!  You got to see one of the best horror comics on the markets in years!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on February 06, 2012, 10:18:25 PM
Sweet Tooth Vol. 4: Endangered Species by Jeff Lemire

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VkBZ2bHFsvw/Tx5bXfotMpI/AAAAAAAAAHc/XFjYyAY162o/s1600/SWEET_TOOTH_volume4.jpg)

After finally breaking Gus and the rest of the animal kids out of their captivity, Jeppard and a small group head north to Alaska to see if they finally discover the truth of the plague that killed the world and the origin of Gus.  Along the way, they discover an old dam with a mysterious crippled man named Walter Fish living in it.

The series starting off as a very slow series for me when I first read the first volume of it, but overtime, it has gradually grown into a dark and fasincating tale of survival in a hostile and dying world, much like The Road.  The artwork by Jeff Lemire is rather ugly, but matches well with the tone of the story.  I especially like the sequences where everything is done with water colors.

Sweet Tooth I find to be a very underrated and a lot of the times, overlook comic in the grand scheme of things.  With Jeff Lemire finding more and more success as he currently writes Animal Man, Frankenstien, and later on Justice League Dark; I hoping those runs can encouraging people to check out this work.  It's a slow burn, but the characters and mystery are so worth the journey.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: bob on February 07, 2012, 12:22:11 AM
I started reading my copy of 1984 which I bought 3 years ago.......I'm 7 chapters in and love it


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Snivelly on February 07, 2012, 02:05:05 PM
I just finished A Dance with Dragons...I had waited to buy it because I'd read so many bad reviews, but I enjoyed it greatly.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BTM on February 07, 2012, 02:06:21 PM
Not to long ago I read all of Stieg Larson's books (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Girl Who Caused a Bit of a Ruckus, The Girl's Who's Only In Half the Book Yet Still Gets a Title Mention, etc).  

I have to say, while I thought they were good, I'm not sure they're 65 million copies sold good.  I suppose certain parts (especially dealing with various historical events) carry more weight if you're from Sweden, but to me, I think the biggest problems is Lisbeth Salander, by far the most interesting character in the three novels, is not even really the focus.  I mean, she's only in about half the first book, and the next two books, while a direct result of her actions, she's missing for big chunks as we go around seeing what other characters are doing.  (I often kept thinking, "Come on, let's get back to Sally!")


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on February 07, 2012, 04:32:23 PM
I think the biggest problems is Lisbeth Salander, by far the most interesting character in the three novels, is not even really the focus.  I mean, she's only in about half the first book, and the next two books, while a direct result of her actions, she's missing for big chunks as we go around seeing what other characters are doing.  (I often kept thinking, "Come on, let's get back to Sally!")

Have you ever read LES MISERABLES?  Jean Valjean disappears for huge chunks of the book while they talk about historical events and introduce new characters. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on February 08, 2012, 02:27:10 PM
     For the fifth time since I was thirteen....

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/de/A_wrinkle_in_time_digest_2007.jpg/200px-A_wrinkle_in_time_digest_2007.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on February 08, 2012, 07:24:36 PM
Just picked up a goodie from the library today... Roger Corman's autobiography, "How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost A Dime." Can't wait to start reading it!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on February 09, 2012, 02:45:57 PM
(http://wndbooks.wnd.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/wndb.Lindsey.THE_EVERLASTING_HATRED.Front_Cover.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on February 09, 2012, 02:58:25 PM
Just picked up a goodie from the library today... Roger Corman's autobiography, "How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost A Dime." Can't wait to start reading it!


     Really fun  book! If you can find them, I'd recommend....

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Z54P3EVHL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51tSNVzAX3L._SL500_AA300_.jpg)

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HsjWHrRvL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg)

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31NZcQJQ3AL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on February 10, 2012, 08:43:24 AM
Right now I'm in the midst of Roger Corman's autobiography, "How I Made a Hundred Movies in Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime." Very entertaining read!!!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on February 11, 2012, 02:36:17 PM
Not to long ago I read all of Stieg Larson's books (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Girl Who Caused a Bit of a Ruckus, The Girl's Who's Only In Half the Book Yet Still Gets a Title Mention, etc).  

I have to say, while I thought they were good, I'm not sure they're 65 million copies sold good.  I suppose certain parts (especially dealing with various historical events) carry more weight if you're from Sweden, but to me, I think the biggest problems is Lisbeth Salander, by far the most interesting character in the three novels, is not even really the focus.  I mean, she's only in about half the first book, and the next two books, while a direct result of her actions, she's missing for big chunks as we go around seeing what other characters are doing.  (I often kept thinking, "Come on, let's get back to Sally!")

That was my reaction too.  Might not have mattered so much if Blomkvist wasn't such a giant nothing of a character (& I love how literally every woman under the age of 80 can't wait to have marathon sessions of no-strings sex with him just b/c he isn't a nazi or a rapist.  Projecting much, Larsson?) 
But if you like Swedish potboilers, Herman Mankell's Wallander series is pretty OK.

Currently reading Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way - loving it, even better than If Chins Could Kill.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on February 11, 2012, 08:41:44 PM
Fatale #1 by Ed Brubaker & Sean Philips

(http://comicsmedia.ign.com/comics/image/article/120/1200439/nycc-brubaker-gets-fatale-20111014024831342-000.jpg)

After the death of his story writing godfather, Nicolas Lash discovers an old manuscript for a novel his godfather wrote back in the 50's before he ever wrote his first novel.  Apparently, whatever is written in it is very important to a mysterious group of people.

The story from there flashbacks to the 50s to Dominic Raines during the time and investigating a dirty cop named Walter with the help of Josephine, the cop's lover who never ages.  Meanwhile, a mass and brutal series of murders has happened and the dirty cop is investigating what seems to be a cult involvement.


Fatale is a noir horror comic, that takes its inspirations from H.P. Lovecraft.  If that isn't obvious, please refer to the variant cover of the first issue to make that all clear.  The story has set up tons of mysteries, in the present and in the past, that are quite engaging and interesting.  Not much in the work of character development, but only two issues have been released at this point and this minor detail will soon be resolved.  The art work is very good, looking very much like an old school detective comic, but with far more grisly details to it.

Fatale #1 is an interesting start to what seems like a very promising series.  Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (the men behind Criminal, Sleeper, and Incognito) have spun a tale here that hopefully keep up the intrigue as it goes along.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on February 12, 2012, 06:46:19 AM
Recent reading:

How not to write a screenplay - Denny Martin Flin
Story Engineering - Larry Brooks
Carrie - Stephen King
Ubik - Philip K. Dick

Right now I'm reading Direct your own damn movie! by Charles Kaufmann, which is interesting so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 12, 2012, 10:22:17 AM
I just finished Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child's newest Agent Pendergast story, COLD VENGEANCE.  It is a direct follow  up to the last Pendergast story, FEVER DREAM, and the story will be concluded in the next volume. 

Agent Pendergast discovered in the last novel that his wife, Helen, had been deliberately murdered instead of dying in a tragic hunting accident 15 years before.  He spent the previous story trying to discover the reason for the murder, which involved a giant pharaceutical company, a lost painting by John James Audobon, and several daring chases.  At the end of the tale, he discovered that his wife's brother, Judson Esterhazy, may have played some role in her death.

COLD VENGEANCE begins with Pendergast attempting to lure Esterhazy deep into the Scottish moors to confront him about his sister's death, and then embarks on a wild chase story that eventually links both Helen and Judson to a top secret group of neo-Nazis called the Covenant.

I absolutely DEVOURED this novel!  The Pendergast stories are irresistably compelling, and I highly recommmend them.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Cthulhu on February 14, 2012, 10:23:17 AM
I just read  Night in the lonesome October by Richard Laymon.
It rocked.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on February 14, 2012, 01:36:58 PM
Listened to the audiobook of 'Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity', by David Lynch. It was very interesting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 15, 2012, 05:49:17 PM
Ye-es!

Budnick's and Baron's "Ticket Masters: the rise of the concert industry and how the public got scalped."

Despite the subtitle, it is a fairly even handed look at how electronic ticketing came to be, as they point out, if you want to know why tickets are so high, everybody's hands are dirty. Even the audience. For if the audience did not pay such high prices for tickets, the tickets might not be so high.

Anyway, the authors do a couple of things right. They seemingly talked to anybody who might have some knowledge on the subject. According to the directory of names in the book, that is over 200 people. They also let the people talk, without interjecting their opnions in there. Which is hard to do.

But, probably the best thing about the book is that the authors cover the early history of electronic ticketing, which dates back to the '60's, or the time that computers really started becoming available to the public.

Also Roger Ekirch's "Birthright: the true story that inspired 'kidnapped.'"

And about four or five other fiction books on the most notorious legal case of the 1st half of the 18th century. Besides the legal and literary history, the book also covers the military, political, religious, and social history of that time in Ireland and in what is now Pennsylvania, where the plaintiff wound up after being kidnapped.

As for the results of the case, while the actual case was fairly rapidly settled, the appeal process just dragged on and on to both the plaintiff and defendant were deceased.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on February 16, 2012, 10:44:01 AM
Batman #1-6 by: Scott Snyder

Beware the court of owls, that watches all the time,
Ruling Gotham from a shadow perch, behind granite and lime.
They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed,
speak not a whispered word of them
or they'll send the talon for your head.


A discovery of a body one day and a message that Bruce Wayne is marked for death brings to light that an old nursery rhyme may actually be true.  A Court of Owls may exist and they want Bruce dead.  Batman doesn't believe they exist, but what comes next may make a believer out of him.

There are no words to properly describe how incredible this current run on Batman is.  Scott Snyder, writer of American Vampire and Swamp Thing, is just knocking it out of the park with one of the best runs  to date.  Probably one of the most mysterious and scariest stories I ever seen told about Batman.  If you are a fan, you must be reading this.

(http://i.newsarama.com/images/bm_cv6_02.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on February 17, 2012, 05:38:00 AM
As always, I'm reading something like 10-12 books concurrently, but the one that has really got me at the moment is Truman by David McCullough.

It's a great book, McCullough is fantastic writer who really brings alive any subject he puts his mind to. The first couple hundred pages were a bit dull (it's a long book), since it focuses on Truman's early life; he was a regular farmer for the first three decades of his life. However, now that I have gotten to the point where he gets to the Senate and starts heading the Truman Commission the book has become fascinating.

I just got through the chapter wherein he was nominated to the Vice Presidency of the not-long-for-this-world FDR. It's a sad and befuddling chapter involving some of the worst instances of political insiderism and people being horrible to each other.

But it is very compelling stuff. A lot of writers manage to make American history boring, McCullough is not one of those. History, real history, is alive and meaningful for anybody who wants to understand the world. I'm really enjoying this book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on February 17, 2012, 06:38:33 AM
I just bought a copy of Let Freedom Ring by Sean Hannity. *Ducks flying shoes*  :twirl: :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on February 17, 2012, 11:46:57 AM
The Mind at Work by: Mike Ross

It's a book I've been assigned to read in one of my classes.  Only read the introduction so far, so I can't say much about it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on February 18, 2012, 11:04:15 AM
'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on February 20, 2012, 05:23:35 AM
'The Art of War' by Sun Tzu
which was really good.
Started reading 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values' by Robert M. Pirsig this morning.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on February 20, 2012, 10:26:58 PM
Batgirl #1-6 by Gail Simone

(http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/355/3/c/batgirl_cover_5_by_adamhughes-d4jrik9.jpg)

The first complete story arc to Barbara Gordon's return as Batgirl, after recovering from the gunshot  wound in The Killing Joke (In the new 52 DC universe, she wasn't paralyze).  Barbara is back in action, but still quite rusty  since it has been years since she has been a superhero.  However, she's going to have to get back  into the game quick to face off against The Mirror, a killer going after survivors of near death experiences, and Gretel, a hair coloring changing woman who hypnotizing men with the number 338.

How does this series work?  Well, it's rather average to say the least.  The writing is fine, but suffers from an overabudence of internal monologue and a rush conclusion with the second villian.  The art is fine, but has issues with some of the movement of the characters and sometimes the artist forgets or draws poorly one of the eyes on a person (coloring was good though).  On the plus side, there is a ton of set up and ground work being laid down for future issues, with plenty of interesting mysteries being developed.  The story gets better goes on, so prehaps it is better to skip to issue 7 or issue 5.

Regardless, it is a fun, but nothing special first story arc for Babs first outing in quite a while.  It's better to buy cheap instead of paying full price for these comics or when the first trade comes out.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 05, 2012, 05:04:18 PM
Ye-es!

"Marvel's 70th Anniversary Collection"

A full day of lessons--art, economics, geography, history, science, sociology--in one collection.

Art
30s-60s. 4 decades of artwork which remained basically the same.
70s-mid 80s. minor changes in the artwork.
late 80s. major changes in the artwork.
90s-00s. major changes in the artwork every decade.

Economics
1939 to 1960 or 1961. 10 cents per comic book.
1962. price increase of 2 cents, which price continued to at least 1967.
1975. by . . . the price had doubled to more than a quarter.
1979. by . . . the price had gone up another 15 cents to 40 cents. It'd remain the same price for the next year.
1981. by . . . the price had gone up to 50 cents.
1987. by . . . the price was now 75 cents.
A price increase of 750% in almost 50 years or more than 15% per year.

Geography
Unlike Batman or Superman, the Marvel Superhero Universe clearly takes place in New York City, as you get the following New York City landmarks in some of the comic books.

Broadway, Brooklyn, Central Park, Columbia University, Coney Island, the East River, 5th Avenue, Gracie Mansion, the Lower East Side, Manhattan, Roiker's Island, Rockerfeller Center,Washington Square, etc.

History
Some 20 years after the "hot" war with the Nutzis ended, we were still at war. It may have been a "cold" war, bt we were now at war with the Commies.

Science
Almost 100 years later, we still do not know what struck Siberia, early in the last century, but unlike in 1963, we know it was not a meteorite, for no meteorite fragments were found in the area. Unlike other areas we know where a meteorite has struck.

Sociology
The science of human progress.

We have become a less violent society, or, at least, a society less tolerant of violence. For, as pointed out by the editors, today's readers would not condone the violence seen in the early Submariner comic books.

Whereas, most of the early superheros were white heterosexual males, today, we are not only seeing more female superheroes, but Asian, black, Hispanic, and Native American superheroes. And superheroes that are lesbian, gay, and bisexual.

We have gotten past our hatreds. If in the '40's, the Germans were the bad guys, by 1980, at least, a German could be a good guy. Nightcrawler.

Next time: the problems


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 05, 2012, 10:52:57 PM
As always, I'm reading something like 10-12 books concurrently, but the one that has really got me at the moment is Truman by David McCullough.

It's a great book, McCullough is fantastic writer who really brings alive any subject he puts his mind to. The first couple hundred pages were a bit dull (it's a long book), since it focuses on Truman's early life; he was a regular farmer for the first three decades of his life. However, now that I have gotten to the point where he gets to the Senate and starts heading the Truman Commission the book has become fascinating.

I just got through the chapter wherein he was nominated to the Vice Presidency of the not-long-for-this-world FDR. It's a sad and befuddling chapter involving some of the worst instances of political insiderism and people being horrible to each other.

But it is very compelling stuff. A lot of writers manage to make American history boring, McCullough is not one of those. History, real history, is alive and meaningful for anybody who wants to understand the world. I'm really enjoying this book.

I'm actually re-reading this one right now - I first read it shortly after it came out.  I just got to the part where Truman is suddenly elevated to the Presidency.  It's odd, since I am a lifelong Republican, but Harry S Truman is, to me, one of the most admirable men in the history of American politics.  He had courage, character, and a lot of good old common sense.  America was blessed with the right man at the right time.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on March 06, 2012, 12:34:17 AM
Just finished a fun thriller called Red Moon, By David S. Michaels and Daniel Brenton. An international lunar mission in 2019 visits the landing site of the Soviet Luna 15 probe that launched three days before Apollo 11. Instead of the unmanned probe, they find a Soviet lander with evidence of a human pilot. As the characters get to the bottom of the mystery, the story alternates between three main settings - the moon and Moscow in 2019, and the Soviet Union in the late 1960s. Of course, there are people who don't want the mystery solved.

What I especially liked about the book is the authors' research into the Soviet lunar program, and the way fictional events and characters were woven into real events, with Soviet secrecy accounting for their absence from history. And they use a couple of popular "lost cosmonaut" legends as part of the basis for the story. The part in 2019 Moscow has sort of a Dan Brown feel to it, as one of the protagonists digs into the history and finds himself in danger, while the crew on the moon are dealing with the revelation that at least one of them is under secret orders from some very powerful and mysterious people.

Just a real page-turner all around.

(http://www.variancepublishing.com/images/breakneck_titles/REDMOON_big.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on March 06, 2012, 03:00:34 AM
As always, I'm reading something like 10-12 books concurrently, but the one that has really got me at the moment is Truman by David McCullough.

It's a great book, McCullough is fantastic writer who really brings alive any subject he puts his mind to. The first couple hundred pages were a bit dull (it's a long book), since it focuses on Truman's early life; he was a regular farmer for the first three decades of his life. However, now that I have gotten to the point where he gets to the Senate and starts heading the Truman Commission the book has become fascinating.

I just got through the chapter wherein he was nominated to the Vice Presidency of the not-long-for-this-world FDR. It's a sad and befuddling chapter involving some of the worst instances of political insiderism and people being horrible to each other.

But it is very compelling stuff. A lot of writers manage to make American history boring, McCullough is not one of those. History, real history, is alive and meaningful for anybody who wants to understand the world. I'm really enjoying this book.

I'm actually re-reading this one right now - I first read it shortly after it came out.  I just got to the part where Truman is suddenly elevated to the Presidency.  It's odd, since I am a lifelong Republican, but Harry S Truman is, to me, one of the most admirable men in the history of American politics.  He had courage, character, and a lot of good old common sense.  America was blessed with the right man at the right time.

Truman's story is really weird. For all intents and purposes, he is the very model of a straight-shooting middle American. And yet every entry into his path to power was paved by the worst of insider politics. Somehow this eminently competent man became the go-to guy when the country needed him most. And then he became the only man to utilize the atomic bomb in wartime, a decision we're still reeling from.

It's almost Shakespearean. I respect and admire Truman, but man alive, being Truman must have been horrible.

"You've got to be a good man, because there's way too many of the bad ones."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 06, 2012, 07:05:04 AM
Truman commented later on that he "never lost a night's sleep" over his decision to use the bomb.  I don't know if that is true or not, but he wasn't noted for his falsehoods.  We were in a war where over 50 million had already died, and they brought him a way to end it.  It was a horrible way.  But war is horrible.  So he used it.  It couldn't have been easy, but I'm glad he did.  Because one of the American boys preparing to storm ashore on the beaches of Japan that fall was my Dad.  He was supposed to hit the beach with the second wave - and they were told that their survival rate would be about 1 out of 132.  I'm just glad it never came to that.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on March 06, 2012, 03:14:59 PM
     Just finished this....

(http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0553587900.jpg)

     Enjoyable, although I'm a Koontz fan no matter what.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 06, 2012, 06:11:10 PM
Marvel's 70th Anniversary Collection

As I said in my last post at this thread, the collection does bring out problems. Not so much problems from past days, but problems from the present day.

In the past, superheroes were clearly defined, so you could tell one from the other. Today, while some superheroes are still clearly defined, such as Spiderman, and others can be recognized from their names, such as Antman, who is no bigger than an ant, and the Scarlet Witch, who wears, scarlet apparel, what with . . .

The Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Heroes for Hire, the Junior League, the New Avengers, the New Warriors, X-Force, X-Men, the Young Avengers, etc.

They are not as clearly defined as they once were, so it is becoming harder and harder to tell one superhero from another.

Nor does it help, that superheros often have two names, one a superhero name and one a non-superhero name, such as Spiderman and Peter Parker, which are often used interchangablely, which only adds to the confusion.

Then, for many years, basically from the '30's to the mid-'80's, the stories were clear and concise, but after the mid-'80's, when there started to be major changes in the artwork, the stories started becoming less clear and concise. So, now you not only have confusing characters, but confusing stories as well.

It is as if, where once the artwork served the story, now the story started serving the artwork.

And where the illustrations once served to clarify any minor confusion in the story, now the illustrations only increased the confusion.

Next time: Zombies, Zombies, Zombies, edited by Otto Penzler.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on March 07, 2012, 03:38:09 AM
Truman commented later on that he "never lost a night's sleep" over his decision to use the bomb.  I don't know if that is true or not, but he wasn't noted for his falsehoods.  We were in a war where over 50 million had already died, and they brought him a way to end it.  It was a horrible way.  But war is horrible.  So he used it.  It couldn't have been easy, but I'm glad he did.  Because one of the American boys preparing to storm ashore on the beaches of Japan that fall was my Dad.  He was supposed to hit the beach with the second wave - and they were told that their survival rate would be about 1 out of 132.  I'm just glad it never came to that.

I didn't mean to reduce Truman to the decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan. I kind of view that now as a fact of history that happened. We can debate morality and the consequences, but it was a decision that was made, and now here we are.

Do I think it saved lives? Yes. More importantly, I think the sole use of a nuclear weapon during wartime was so traumatic to the entire world that nuclear weapons have not been used since. We are approaching 70 years where nuclear weapons have not been used again during wartime.

I hope to hell we can keep that up for as long as possible.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on March 07, 2012, 12:32:50 PM
Rereading Story Structure by Larry Brooks as I prepare my new screenplay, and also reading Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: theblooblob on March 07, 2012, 02:27:21 PM
Currently reading The Dark Tower Series (currently Wizard & Glass). Second time around which must mean I like them as I never normally re-read books (I'm good at remembering the story's well). Halfway through Woman in Black too. An okay book. There is something wrong about the book which stops it from being brilliant, but I really can't put my finger on what it is....


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Andrew on March 07, 2012, 05:25:19 PM
"The Thirty Years War:  Europe's Tragedy"

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Dwz21ooHL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 07, 2012, 06:13:31 PM
That looks very interesting - I don't know much about that conflict.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Flick James on March 07, 2012, 06:15:46 PM
Black & Decker's The Complete Photo Guide to Home Repair.

I like books with lots of pictures.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Andrew on March 07, 2012, 06:45:34 PM
That looks very interesting - I don't know much about that conflict.

1618-1648.  It was a political and religious war that savaged most of the Habsburg empire, meaning quite a bit of Germany.  France, Spain, Sweden, Bavaria, Denmark, and other countries all deployed armies that ravaged the countryside.  Quite a lot of progression in military tactics, including artillery and pike and shot.  It's estimated that about the same number of people died as died in Germany during WWII - and this was centuries earlier.  The best guess is that about 33% of Germany's population was killed.  The area that became Prussia was largely spared, setting it up to become what it did (passing a lot of itself onto Germany).

This book goes into a lot of the political, personal, and religious background.  There are two other books that cover the battles in depth, which are amazing resources.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Flick James on March 07, 2012, 07:23:30 PM
That looks very interesting - I don't know much about that conflict.

I'm surprised, as the Thirty Years' War represents a lengthy and significant step in the progression of Protestant/Catholic adversity. For a short time, the Peace of Augsburg was looking like it might work to provide a peaceful coexistence between Protestants and Catholics. The rise of Calvinism is an important aspect of that time, as it lent to the growing tensions that cut that peace short.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on March 07, 2012, 08:07:31 PM
(http://mises.org/store/Assets/ProductImages/SS360.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on March 07, 2012, 11:03:52 PM
Reading my comic picks for the week...

Animal Man #7: After a quick filler issue, we get back to the main plot as Buddy and his family travel the country to find Alec Holland, Swamp Thing, the one person or plant to help them defeat the Rot.

Not much happens this issue and we have a new artist start to take over as main artist for the series, Steve Pugh (An artist who use to draw for the original Animal Man back in the 90's).  While the plot is slow, the character interaction and development is just as great as always.

Swamp Thing #7: It's official.  Swamp Thing by Scott Snyder is now going to become one of the best runs for the character ever.

The Rot as cornered Alec and all seems to be lost.  All that is left now is for the Parliment of Trees to finish burning and Alec to go down with them.  However, is that really it?

The writing is as sharp as ever, the artwork is just utterly beautiful as ever, the scope of it continues to grow, and it has one of the more chilling and strong endings I have seen in a long time.  Read this book.  Read it now!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on March 12, 2012, 01:52:40 PM
(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z77/alandhopewell/PrimalScream.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on March 12, 2012, 04:34:54 PM
iZombie Vol. 3: Six Feet Under and Rising

(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320489875l/12137592.jpg)

As Gwen continues unliving as a zombie and trying to hide her real self from her monster hunter boyfriend, a new threat rises: a plague of zombies that start appearing all over the city.  Why are they there and what secret is wrapped around them?

Meanwhile, a secret government group called The Dead Presidents, a super agent monsters, hunts down a Russian doctor whose brain is inside of a coffee pot and is guarded by a gigantic solider zombie.  Their trail leads them to the same town where Gwen and her friends are at.  What will happen when everyone collides?

iZombie is a very enjoyable series, have a rich mythology and history while also having really fun and well written characters to boot.  This latest volume is brings new characters and starts woving in different plot threads, bringing in, easily, the best volume of the series yet.  The art is also enjoyable with a nice guest artist for a filler issue that dives into one of the side characters and expanding on who they are.

This series started off to me as a random book I just grabbed off the shelf to see what it was like.  After two solid volumes of build up and expanding everything, the series has hit a very highpoint and I cannot recommend this series enough.  You got to give it a try if you like monsters and fun characters.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on March 13, 2012, 10:04:02 AM
([url]http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z77/alandhopewell/PrimalScream.jpg[/url])


Great follow-up to Headhunter. Have you read many other Slade books?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Frank81 on March 13, 2012, 11:24:50 AM
I'm  always  reading, sometimes several  books  at the same time. I'm a  huge book collector. I reading  these  two books, at this moment,  in the evening.  Iommi is a new one, the other  one I'm reading again.

(http://images.popmatters.com/news_art/b/book-ironman-cvr.jpg)

(http://www.stanford.edu/group/sreview/Archive/XXIVno1/images/blackbookofcommunism.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on March 13, 2012, 01:28:03 PM
([url]http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z77/alandhopewell/PrimalScream.jpg[/url])


Great follow-up to Headhunter. Have you read many other Slade books?


     GHOUL, HEADHUNTER, and another whose title escapes me.
Have you read the Sonja Blue series by Nancy A. Collins?

(http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z77/alandhopewell/51-pfCBrnvL__SL500_AA300_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on March 13, 2012, 03:17:52 PM
Ghoul and Headhunter are certainly at the top of my list, and either makes a great start to the series, being written as stand-alone stories before deClercq and Chandler come together in Special X.

My introduction to Slade was Swastika, which was about ten books into the series, but he recaps so much in each book that you get the gist of the backstory. Swastika is a really wild book, combining Nazi wunderwaffen, the Roswell conspiracy and the Robert Picton pig farm murders, among other things.

If you want to read the background of the stories, and even discuss them with Slade himself, check out http://specialx.net (http://specialx.net)

Haven't read any Nancy A. Collins books. Are they similar to Slade? Having read everything of his so far, I've been searching for something similar to scratch that itch. Not having much luck finding the same mix of police procedures, history, thriller, horror and far-out craziness.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on March 14, 2012, 02:14:11 PM
Ghoul and Headhunter are certainly at the top of my list, and either makes a great start to the series, being written as stand-alone stories before deClercq and Chandler come together in Special X.

My introduction to Slade was Swastika, which was about ten books into the series, but he recaps so much in each book that you get the gist of the backstory. Swastika is a really wild book, combining Nazi wunderwaffen, the Roswell conspiracy and the Robert Picton pig farm murders, among other things.

If you want to read the background of the stories, and even discuss them with Slade himself, check out [url]http://specialx.net[/url] ([url]http://specialx.net[/url])

Haven't read any Nancy A. Collins books. Are they similar to Slade? Having read everything of his so far, I've been searching for something similar to scratch that itch. Not having much luck finding the same mix of police procedures, history, thriller, horror and far-out craziness.


     SUNGLASSES AFTER DARK, and the other four books in the series, deal with Sonja Blue, a young woman who was raped and fed upon by a vampire at the age of fourteen.Rather than dying, she becomes a hybrid, similar to Blade.

     Rex Miller wrote a really intense series about a serial killer named Chaingang, back in the 90's. Of course, there's the Prey series by John Sandford, which are quite good. Joe R. Lansdale has done some great, balls-out murder mysteries, particularly those starring Hap Collins and Leonard Pine.
 




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on March 14, 2012, 03:21:15 PM
'Lullaby' by Chuck Palahniuk.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 14, 2012, 05:39:36 PM
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have authored an amazing series of books about an eccentric FBI Agent named Aloysius Pendergast.  THE RELIC was the first (please ignore the TERRIBLE movie made from it), followed by RELIQUARY and STILL LIFE WITH CROWS.  The most recent was entitled COLD VENGEANCE.  Not as edgy and gross as Slade's stuff, but still very fascinating.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on March 14, 2012, 10:03:03 PM
About two thirds of the way through The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe. Always liked the movie, but the book goes so much deeper into the people and events, and makes clearer just what "the right stuff" is. I'm also very much in agreement with Wolfe's interpretation of the space race as a substitute for war between two nuclear superpowers, with the astronauts and cosmonauts as champions in the old tradition of single combat.

I'm looking forward to rewatching the movie. No doubt I'll notice things I hadn't before.

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/58/The_Right_Stuff_%28book%29_2.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on March 15, 2012, 09:48:49 AM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41W2QD1QE1L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg)

"The Cinema of Werner Herzog: Aesthetic Ecstasy and Truth" by Brad Prager

Much better than the last two film books I've read. It's actually comprehensible.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on March 15, 2012, 12:38:37 PM
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child have authored an amazing series of books about an eccentric FBI Agent named Aloysius Pendergast.  THE RELIC was the first (please ignore the TERRIBLE movie made from it), followed by RELIQUARY and STILL LIFE WITH CROWS.  The most recent was entitled COLD VENGEANCE.  Not as edgy and gross as Slade's stuff, but still very fascinating.

     I LOVE Preston and Child!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: spongekryst on March 16, 2012, 11:51:33 AM
Love in the Time of Dinosaurs by Kirsten Alene

Slaughterhoue 5 by Kurt Vonnegut


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on March 20, 2012, 02:48:37 AM
'The doors of perception and heaven and hell' by Aldous Huxley.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Frank81 on March 20, 2012, 07:42:43 AM
Slaughterhoue 5 by Kurt Vonnegut

I feel  like Billy Pilgrim more every day, unstuck  in time, place and culture.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on March 20, 2012, 12:57:04 PM
([url]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41W2QD1QE1L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg[/url])

"The Cinema of Werner Herzog: Aesthetic Ecstasy and Truth" by Brad Prager

Much better than the last two film books I've read. It's actually comprehensible.


I'm not much of a Herzog fan, but that photo is BADASS. 

Currently reading "The Phantom of the Opera" by Gaston Leroux


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on March 20, 2012, 09:33:57 PM
Been going through some new comic books recently.  I'll go into more details when I finish one of them:


Batgirl Vol. 3: The Lesson by Bryan Q. Miller
Bone: Complete Edition by Jeff Smith
Gotham Central Vol. 1: In the Line of Duty by Greg Rucka & Ed Brubaker
John Constantine: Hellblazer Vol. 1: Original Sins by Jaime Delano
Resurrection Man Vol. 1 by Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Scalped Vol. 2: Casino Boogie by Jason Aaron


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on March 21, 2012, 12:38:31 PM
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GcmBHnI2hF8/TlNLIX9GcdI/AAAAAAAAABg/Wn3V5o-srDU/s1600/V_Flynn_Memorial_Day.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on March 21, 2012, 03:29:39 PM
([url]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41W2QD1QE1L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg[/url])

"The Cinema of Werner Herzog: Aesthetic Ecstasy and Truth" by Brad Prager

Much better than the last two film books I've read. It's actually comprehensible.


I'm not much of a Herzog fan, but that photo is BADASS.


The expression seems to say "Yeah, whatever. I've worked with Kinski."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on March 22, 2012, 07:47:22 AM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514gJOBiqLL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Frank81 on March 22, 2012, 07:59:43 AM
([url]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514gJOBiqLL._SL500_AA300_.jpg[/url])


You don't need that  book in NYC, here people  are  used  to p**sing ON the public.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 22, 2012, 04:42:34 PM
Ye-es!

"Zombies! Zombies! Zombies!" edited by Otto Penzler.

Something of a companion volume to his short story collection "Vampire Archive."

The stories in this one contain action, horror, humor. Are commentaries on the political, religious, and social issues of the day. And contain everything that makes life worth living, namely, nudity, profanity, sex, and violence.

What they do not contain is the quality of the stories in his previous volume on vampires. That is not Penzler's fault, as he includes the best zombie stories he can find in the pulps, but the quality of the writers does not reach the level of the other volume.

Also you do not get the variety of locations you get in the other volume, as vampires seem to be universal. Here the locations mostly seem restricted to Africa, Haiti, the U.S., and for some strange reason the U.K.

This volume does contain the first zombie story "Dead Men Working in the Canefields," which was published in 1929. There were zombie stories before that, but the zombies were called "the lving undead." This story seems to be the first time in a story that zombies were called zombies.

And there is an 1-page bio on each author, which I enjoy reading, unlike some people.

Now, I'd like to see a collection of wereanimal short stories. Not only werewolves, but also, as there are . . .

werehyenas and wereleopards in Africa.
weresnakes and weretigers in Asia
weredingos in Australia
werebears and wereboars in Europe
werecoyotes and wereeagles in North America
werejaguars in in South America
and weresharks in the South Pacific.

Only Antarctica, which was uninhabited much of the time, seems to lack wereanimals. And, frankly, werepenguins do not seem to cut it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on March 24, 2012, 09:45:43 PM
Animal Man Vol. 1 by: Grant Morrison

(http://www.vegetus.org/vegtoon/animalman.jpg)

Buddy Baker is a former c/d list superhero known as Animal Man who decides to get back into the game.  However, things won't be easy, even on his first assignment involving a research lab and a bunch of monkeys.  Even as he has to deal with those things, his family also deals with their own issues as well.

When DC relaunched 52 brand news titles in September 2011, one of them was Animal Man.  Out of curiousity, I decided to head to the character's first series and most iconic run ever.  It's a solid superhero story, with some mystery that is hiding itself in the background at first and very solid character development.  Heck, I don't even mind the flat coloring in this comic like I normally due with old comics from the past.  The only problem I find with this is that it feels very heavyhanded and trying to push an agenda, that while is good, comes off as very annoying (even to some of the characters in the book).

It's an interesting start to a famous run, but has yet to revealed what make it so special so far in my eyes.  I'll keep reading, but it's going to have impress me more than it did so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on March 24, 2012, 10:38:32 PM
Animal Man Vol. 1 by: Grant Morrison

([url]http://www.vegetus.org/vegtoon/animalman.jpg[/url])

It's an interesting start to a famous run, but has yet to revealed what make it so special so far in my eyes.  I'll keep reading, but it's going to have impress me more than it did so far.


It, um, changes considerably after the first paperback collection.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on March 25, 2012, 07:38:08 AM
Shirly Jackson-Novels and Stories

(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/art11015nar.jpg)

I can't think of any authour that I like better...maybe Charles Fort.

GO DOWN TOGETHER

Wow.

Just f**king wow.


(http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l79/RCMerchant/Go-Down-Together-The-True-Untold-Story-of-Bonnie-and-Clyde-Novel.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on March 25, 2012, 10:53:32 AM
Finished reading 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho today. It was pretty good? Not sure what the big deal is, honestly.

Now reading this:

(http://zazenlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/BC_dmt_spirit_molecule_0.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on March 25, 2012, 03:31:46 PM
Animal Man Vol. 1 by: Grant Morrison

([url]http://www.vegetus.org/vegtoon/animalman.jpg[/url])

It's an interesting start to a famous run, but has yet to revealed what make it so special so far in my eyes.  I'll keep reading, but it's going to have impress me more than it did so far.


It, um, changes considerably after the first paperback collection.


Oh I know.  The Internet has sadly spoiled a lot of the run already for me so I know already of what is to come.  Volume 3 is going to be much different.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on March 26, 2012, 03:14:52 AM
Animal Man Vol. 1 by: Grant Morrison

([url]http://www.vegetus.org/vegtoon/animalman.jpg[/url])

It's an interesting start to a famous run, but has yet to revealed what make it so special so far in my eyes.  I'll keep reading, but it's going to have impress me more than it did so far.


It, um, changes considerably after the first paperback collection.


Oh I know.  The Internet has sadly spoiled a lot of the run already for me so I know already of what is to come.  Volume 3 is going to be much different.


Yeah, you really lose a lot in not being there when it happened. At the time, this was really revolutionary stuff, but now it's normal. One thing, if you can ignore what you know now, pay attention to what an incredibly tight narrative Morrison accomplished. Remember, there was nothing out there like this when he was originally writing it.The next two volumes of Animal Man are fantastic.

"The last enemy that shall be defeated is Death."

It's really a great run, and you don't need the meta-fiction stuff, it's really good.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Frank81 on March 26, 2012, 11:24:47 AM
Animal Man Vol. 1 by: Grant Morrison

([url]http://www.vegetus.org/vegtoon/animalman.jpg[/url])

Buddy Baker is a former c/d list superhero known as Animal Man who decides to get back into the game.  However, things won't be easy, even on his first assignment involving a research lab and a bunch of monkeys.  Even as he has to deal with those things, his family also deals with their own issues as well.

When DC relaunched 52 brand news titles in September 2011, one of them was Animal Man.  Out of curiousity, I decided to head to the character's first series and most iconic run ever.  It's a solid superhero story, with some mystery that is hiding itself in the background at first and very solid character development.  Heck, I don't even mind the flat coloring in this comic like I normally due with old comics from the past.  The only problem I find with this is that it feels very heavyhanded and trying to push an agenda, that while is good, comes off as very annoying (even to some of the characters in the book).

It's an interesting start to a famous run, but has yet to revealed what make it so special so far in my eyes.  I'll keep reading, but it's going to have impress me more than it did so far.


I'm not a  Grant Morrison fan, mainly cause of his animal 'rights' views in tis series.


Title: Re: (re) Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on March 26, 2012, 02:27:17 PM
(http://ia600809.us.archive.org/zipview.php?zip=/26/items/olcovers654/olcovers654-L.zip&file=6541361-L.jpg)

     I first read it in '76.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on March 26, 2012, 08:48:24 PM
I'm not a  Grant Morrison fan, mainly cause of his animal 'rights' views in tis series.

I think the he is pretty good and definitely nowhere close to as preachy as he was in this run.  However, I suspect of him taking lots of drugs.  There is no way he wasn't on something while writing Arkham Asylum and Batman R.I.P.

Yeah, you really lose a lot in not being there when it happened. At the time, this was really revolutionary stuff, but now it's normal.

That's probably why I'm not in love with like Watchmen or Sandman either, both series being very meh for me.  On the plus side though, Hellbazer by Jamie Delano is pretty damn awesome so I suppose there is a classic series from the past that I can love.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on March 28, 2012, 08:52:08 AM
Im just following the cool kids...

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51piuUu%2B1hL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)

Its great.
Books with female leads should be more like this and less like Twili... Ah, that other popular female lead teen book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on March 28, 2012, 11:43:59 AM
Carrying over my current James Bond obsession from films to books, I'm currently reading Roger Moore's autobiography, "My Word Is My Bond"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 01, 2012, 01:36:48 PM
Ye-es!

Darren Shan's "Cirque du Freak" (in graphic format)
v.08 Allies of the Night
v.09 Killers of the Dawn
v.10 The Lake of Souls
v.11 Lord of the Shadows
v.12 Sons of Destiny (final volume)

There are beginnings of a good writer here, but this isn't yet. You need to be a good writer to cover the time span in this 12-volume series, and he wasn't that good yet. He needed to tighten up the time covered for it to be better. But you can see what he was to become.

Robert K. Elder's "The Film that Changed my Life"

There are few better at disecting a director's film, then another director. And here's proof of that.

The only name you need to know is Edward Rowe Snow for books on the subjects of the sea and/or New England. And here's his . . .

"Tales of Terror and Tragedy"

He had almost a hundred books published on those subjects, and maybe because he was so successful, because many of the stories he tells began on his radio program, where you had to be clear, concise, and interesting. And this continues into his books.

William Hoffer's "Saved the Story of the 'Andrea Doria' the Greatest Sea Rescue in History"

Another sea story and probably next to the sinking of the "Titanic," the greatest passenger ship disaster of the 20th century. For a number of reasons.

(1) The passengers included actress Ruth Roman, songwriter Jerry Stoller, the mayor of Philadelphia, etc.

(2) It happened just outside New York City, or the media capital of the world at that time.

(3) And I believe it was one of the first sinkings captured on film and broadcast on TV.

It does have a number of other similiarities with the "Titanic."

(1) A ship going to fast for the weather conditions.

(2) Passengers left to their own devices by the crew, which led to a needless loss of life

(3) And lifeoboats, too few in number, or could not not be lowered because of the list of the ship.

Fortunately, there were a couple of reasons the loss of life was not as great as the "Titanic."

(1) The weather and seas were calm.

(2) Because it happend just outside New York City, there were alot of other ships that came to the rescue with their own lifeboats. Freighters, naval vessels, other passenger ships, tankers, etc. From many countries.

(3) And it took along time for the ship to sink, which gave time to get everyone off that was still alive. Actually, everybody was surprised at how long it took the ship to sink.

Next time: because this is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, a couple of books on the subject with a slightly different slant on the subject.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 01, 2012, 04:16:54 PM
Finished McCullough's TRUMAN last night.  A great book about a great man.  They just don't cut them from that mold anymore.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on April 02, 2012, 01:59:16 AM
Finished McCullough's TRUMAN last night.  A great book about a great man.  They just don't cut them from that mold anymore.

I'm still halfway through the book, but I have to say that I don't think Harry S. Truman will ever be duplicated in American politics. Maybe even any politics.

He's such a weird case. A straight-forward American shooter, yet elected due to insider politics. Rose to prominence during one of the most vital periods of world history, WWII. Insane that the consummate politician FDR was followed by the Midwest farmer Truman was, and it was all sanctioned by party politics.

I really admire Truman, because I think he is the last principled guy who will ever be elected. It's to Truman's credit that he (eventually) found his own backbone and buckled down for some truly difficult decisions.

The game changed after that. Nobody like Truman will ever be elected again; not in this atmosphere of endless vetting and public opinion. For better or worse? Almost meaningless to contemplate because it just won't happen.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on April 02, 2012, 06:52:11 PM
Just finished Roger Moore's autobiography, My Word Is My Bond, today.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on April 02, 2012, 07:46:18 PM
Reading "The Dig," by Michael Siemsen. Pretty good so far.

The main character is Matthew Turner, a 20-something psychic with the ability to read imprints left on objects by other people who have touched them at times of great emotion. He actually experiences the events as if he were those people, right down to their thoughts. Being kind of an anxious sort, Turner keeps his power a secret from all but a handful of people, but does some consulting work for a museum, analyzing artifacts and antiques.

The story surrounds an object found in Kenya, at a dig site run by a paleontologist who is clearly using it as a front for something illegal. A scrap of metallic fabric is removed from rock dating back about 150 million years. Matthew is reluctantly recruited to go and do what he does, and you can imagine where that might lead.

Very good book so far. A few interesting plot threads to follow, and I'm finding it hard to put down.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hchB5Am8L._SS500_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on April 04, 2012, 09:37:26 PM
Fables Deluxe Edition Vol. 4 by Bill Willingham

(http://media.dcentertainment.com/sites/default/files/book-covers/20909_900x1350.jpg)

Following the events of March of the Wooden Soliders; we see the fallout among several characters, the results of the election between Old King Cole and Prince Charming, and Snow White delivers her babies.  During all of this, Blue Boy sneaks off and heads back to the Homelands to find his lost love, Red Riding Hood.

This volume also contains 1001 Nights of Snowfall, a seperate book that tells the tale of Snow White's trip to the Middle East a long time ago and having to tell tales to a sultan in order stay alive.  Probably one of the greatest comics I have ever read in my entire life with fantastice tales and great artists to go with each one.

The story collected in this volume is sort of the slow arc that resides between the heavy March of the Wooden Soliders and the Blue Boy's journey arcs, but still provides a solid story and explores a bit more of the characters in the series.  Not much else to say, but read this book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on April 04, 2012, 09:46:27 PM
Selina's Big Score by Darwyn Cooke

(http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llknqd00SS1qg1iejo1_500.png)

Having gone underground for awhile after pretending to be dead, Selina Kyle returns to the thieving business to gain some more cash.  To pull herself out of the hole, she's going to have to pull off one huge score and she'll need a big team for it, including reuniting with the person who taught her all of her theiving skills.  However, the target is Falcone family and there is no garantee that this will end well for her and team of crooks.

Darwyn Cooke writes a mean Selina Kyle story (I would say Catwoman, but she really isn't in her outfit at all in this comic) with strong likeable anti-heroes and a great setup.  What I really love about it is the artwork, which reminds me heavily of the Batman Animated series and really works with it, despite the heavy violence of this story.

This story is collected alongside a 4 part story staring Slam Bradley (also in the story) and the first 9 issues of the Catwoman series from the past in the new Catwoman collection: Catwoman Vol. 1 Trial of the Catwoman.  If you like Selina Kyle even a little bit, I highly recommend this comic strongly.  It doesn't work in the new contiunity DC set up recently, but don't let that stop you reading this one.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 04, 2012, 09:59:16 PM
Reading "The Dig," by Michael Siemsen. Pretty good so far.

The main character is Matthew Turner, a 20-something psychic with the ability to read imprints left on objects by other people who have touched them at times of great emotion. He actually experiences the events as if he were those people, right down to their thoughts. Being kind of an anxious sort, Turner keeps his power a secret from all but a handful of people, but does some consulting work for a museum, analyzing artifacts and antiques.

The story surrounds an object found in Kenya, at a dig site run by a paleontologist who is clearly using it as a front for something illegal. A scrap of metallic fabric is removed from rock dating back about 150 million years. Matthew is reluctantly recruited to go and do what he does, and you can imagine where that might lead.

Very good book so far. A few interesting plot threads to follow, and I'm finding it hard to put down.

([url]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hchB5Am8L._SS500_.jpg[/url])

I love this kind of fiction.  I'll have to pick it up at Hasting's!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on April 08, 2012, 11:50:26 AM
Reading all the LitReactor craft essays. A lot of interesting articles if you are a writer: http://litreactor.com/essays


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 10, 2012, 04:50:50 PM
Ye-es!

Last time, I said I talk about a couple of books about the Civil War, which I had read, but I think I'll put those off to next time, and instead talk a little "Star Wars." From best to worst.

Star Wars Omnibus: a Long Time Ago
Star Wars in a comic book format. 107 monthly issues plus annual issues. From Marvel Comics and gathered together in 5 volumes. Excluding the 1st volume, volume 5 probably contains the best stories for a number of reasons.

More humor.
A littlle humor, that works well, as it does here, really makes a story more enjoyable.

More kids.
Kids change the tone and mix of a story from an all-adult story.

But, mostly, more interesting characters, especially the villains.
While since the 1st film there has been an attempt to make the villains more human, and thus more realistic, everyone was fettered by the pre-conceived notion of what was a villain. But here we bring in totally new villains that have never been seen before, so with no pre-conceived notions of villainy, everyone, including writers, readers, and evern the characters are constantly reaccessing who is and who is not a villain. It makes for a better story.

The volume also stops at a good stopping point, but what if they had continued with a dozen characters from the last issue.

A couple of ex-Imperial space jockeys, a male Nagai and a female Zeltros, who have a love-hate relationship going on, a Correllian/Nagai half breed, and his Nagai half brother, who hates everyone, including himself, and one of the last Mandalorians still alive plus Luke, Leia, and Han plus C3P0 and R2D2.

On a mission that looks increasingly suicidal.

On a planet, where they are outnumbered about a hundred to one by the villainous Tofs, who like to take prisoners, so they can enjoy clubbing 'em to death afterwards.

Nothing one hasn't seen before, but a good writer can go great things with that set up.

The volume does have its faults.

Did you hear the one one about Leia's 4 teenage attaches and the governor's 5 daughters. Well, the governor certainly heard about it, so when he puts in an appearance at the party to welcome Princess Leia to the Planet Zeltron, the 4 boys think it is healtheir, if they were somewhere else.

Thus, while we do not need a prono version of "Star Wars"--though, that is possible--the stories would be better with a little more sex and nudity in 'em.

Thhe stories would also be better, if if they could have found an illustrator who could draw teenagers that looked like teenagers, instead of some 20-something.

And drew characters that did not change in appearance from issue to issue. Oh, what the heck. Even within the same issue, some of the characters change appearance.

Star Wars Omnibus: Quinlan Vos
A collection of stories about one of the most interesting Jedi Knights. And an omnibus that has a better ending than most of the other omnibuses. Which brings up a gripe I have with "Star Wars." I think it is the characters that are most interesting that are killed off, leaving the uninteresting characters to survive.

Star Wars Omnibus: the Complete Saga
All 6 films in comic book format. Plays out much as one expects. The best films are the 1st 3 films, but of the last 3 films, I think the best story comes with the 1st or 4th films.

Which brings up another criticism of "Star Wars."  The weakes part has always been the writing. And that continues from the films to any of the novels or graphic novels based on the films.

Star Wars: at War with the Empire
In 2 volumes, Stories that take place between the 1st and 2nd films. Typical stories. Readable, but mediofcre writing. But still better than . . .

Veitch's Star Wars: Dark Empire Trilogy
Leaves a number of questions asked, but unanswered. Why were the 2 teens--brother and sister--tied to the tree? And the best villain they could come up with is a revived empror clone. Whoa! That is original.

Next time: two books on the American Civil War.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on April 10, 2012, 11:02:54 PM
I just finished Alice Cooper's autobiography, "Golf Monster" ...a very entertaining read

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SBnVujliL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Flangepart on April 12, 2012, 05:15:48 PM
NEPTUNE'S INFERNO The U.S.Navy at Guadalcanal.
By James D. Hornfischer.
http://www.historynet.com/book-review-neptunes-inferno.htm

This book is a perfect blend of historical overview, and the human experience of war.
I had never know the extent of the sea war at Guadalcanal, and it's a major piece of the little known the should be known.
And if they ever found a way to do what Band of Brothers/The Pacific did on HBO...yeah, that would go with those two titles on my list of classics.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 12, 2012, 05:16:59 PM
Just finished THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO.  Now I want to read the rest of the series.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on April 12, 2012, 08:27:45 PM
Finished The Dig, which was an easy read. Always something interesting going on.

Now, I've just started Eclipse. Not the Twilight Eclipse, but a weird story by an author named Briane Pagel. I stumbled across it on the Kindle for 99 cents and thought what the heck.

Not sure where it's going at this point, because it's entirely the thoughts and recollections of the main character, an astronaut hurtling through deep space after the breakup of his spacecraft. His mind drifts between his present predicament, his abusive childhood, high school, a mental hospital and other settings. It's still early in the book, but I'm already guessing as to what's real and what isn't. This guy seems to be coming unglued, or already is.

Not at all what I expected, but I wasn't really sure what to expect. An engaging read so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Frank81 on April 13, 2012, 08:07:52 AM
Finished McCullough's TRUMAN last night.  A great book about a great man.  They just don't cut them from that mold anymore.

Trumans  dropping the bomb at the end of  WW 2, fighting Communism and addressing  the Civil  Rights of Americans on a  national level  made him one of the greats, as opposed  to what we have now.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on April 13, 2012, 09:25:24 AM
Resurrection Man Vol. 1 by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning

(http://media.dcentertainment.com/sites/default/files/book-covers/20874_900x1350.jpg)

Mitch Shelly has a problem.  He can't remember who he is outside of his name.  He also has the problem of dying a lot, but coming back with a different super power everytime.  In his quest to discover who he is, he takes it on himself to help out whoever he meets along the way, becoming the urban legend known as Resurrection Man.  However, this trip won't be an easy ride.  Hot on his trail is a man named Hooker who like Mitch cannot die, but never heals or recovers from any wounds he gets.  Also following him are the Body Doubles, two former strippers turned crazy killer bounty hunters hired to bring him in for a special group to study.

This is just a great comic.  I love the characters, I love the high concept, I enjoy the art even though I'm not a big fan of the coloring, I enjoy the action, I dig the crossovers with Batman and Hitman, and I just enjoy finding out where this story will go to next.  I got this book on recommendation from other comic fans who said to check out and I have been enjoying it since.

This is the perfect kind of comic for us b-movie fans.  A high ridiclous concept with a fun character and hilarous to amusing characters.  I mean we got strippers turn psychotic bounty hunters, how does that not want you to read this comic?  I highly recommend it and I hope you guys check it out.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on April 15, 2012, 01:02:19 PM
Rereading 'The Eyes of the Dragon' by Stephen King.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 21, 2012, 01:08:54 PM
Ye-es!

David Williams' "Bitterly Divided: the South's Inner Civil War'

and

Andrew F. Smith's "Starving the South: How the North Won the Civil War"

Some differences, but more similiarities than differences.

Smith: the Northerner from New York State.
Williams: the Southener from Georgia.

Smith: college professor.
Williams: same.

Smith: covers agriculture and food distribution in both the North and South.
Williams: same, but also the draft in the South, and the violence that occurred in the South, between Southeners, during the Civil War.

Smith: covers both North and South.
Williams: covers primarily the South.

Smith: food hoarding and food speculation in the South, which lead to food shortages, which lead to widespread food riots.
Williams: same.

Smith: harshly condemnatory of Southern leadership in the South during the Civil War.
Williams: same, if somewhat less harshly.

Smith: provides summary.
Willliams: same.

Also covers . . .
Smith: military maneuvers during the Civil War.
Williams: the role of African-Americans and Native Americans in the South during the Civil War.

Biggest disagreement.
Support for the North by Southeners due to lack of support for Southener leadership.
Smith: little
Williams: lots

Biggest agreement
Despite the subtitle of Smith's book, the North did not win the Civil War, the South lost the Civil War, and the South lost the Civil War, because it loss the support of the people living in the South at that time, and the support of the people was lost, because the Southern leadership was incompetent, or, at least more incompetent than the Northern leadership.

Something few people North or South have faced up to, even within the last 150 years.

Next time: Brandon T. Sniders' "D.C. Comics: the Ultimate Character Guide."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 21, 2012, 01:12:39 PM
An interesting analysis, and one I would enjoy reading.
However, I think I would disagree with the conclusion.  Between the North's population advantage, its enormous advantage in manufacturing capacity, and the military leadership it had in the form of Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, and Thomas, I think that, even if Southern troops had been better fed and supplied, the result would have been the same. Irresistible application of overwhelming force.

However, I will read both tomes, if I can find them.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Flick James on April 21, 2012, 01:39:04 PM
An interesting analysis, and one I would enjoy reading.
However, I think I would disagree with the conclusion.  Between the North's population advantage, its enormous advantage in manufacturing capacity, and the military leadership it had in the form of Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, and Thomas, I think that, even if Southern troops had been better fed and supplied, the result would have been the same. Irresistible application of overwhelming force.

However, I will read both tomes, if I can find them.

The South quickly identified Grant as a butcher who won by brute force, but I'm not so sure. I think he was a fine military leader. I also think that his heart was in the right place as President. Unfortunately I don't think he really knew what he was doing and is well known for his corrupt appointees.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on April 21, 2012, 01:40:44 PM
book of old master paintings of biblical scenes


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on April 21, 2012, 02:15:28 PM
Back to Knots and Crosses, by Ian Rankin. This time, it seems I'm more in the mood for a detective story, so I'm already halfway through. A bit light on the thrills so far, but the characters and situations are interesting enough to keep me reading. There are several subplots that keep things moving while the murder mystery is not much more than a backdrop for the first half. It makes sense. The police know nothing, so the reader is not given much more information than is known, and exhaustion from long hours of boring legwork kind of drives some of the other events.

Interesting to read a Scottish police procedural for a change. I've gotten used to reading about mounties.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 21, 2012, 02:56:24 PM
Flick - Jean Smith wrote an excellent biography of Grant a few years back; it is definitely worth a read!
I may read it again this summer.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on April 21, 2012, 03:02:43 PM
'The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three' by Stephen King.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Flick James on April 21, 2012, 03:07:01 PM
'The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three' by Stephen King.

I haven't read any of the final three volumes. However, out of the first four, The Drawing of the Three is my favorite.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on April 22, 2012, 06:44:45 AM
'The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three' by Stephen King.

I haven't read any of the final three volumes. However, out of the first four, The Drawing of the Three is my favorite.
Besides the great ending, I was disappointed with Volume I. This one is great so far, though, and I'm only 60 pages in.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on April 24, 2012, 06:07:45 AM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51x6JuT8V2L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on April 24, 2012, 09:08:13 AM
Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris. 
I prefer ...Engulfed in Flames but this one's good too.  I love when he writes about his childhood; specifically when he portrays Amy as having been a deviant straight from the cradle  :bouncegiggle:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on April 26, 2012, 11:21:32 AM
Girlfriend bought me these. Dunno when I'll get to read them.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41PVdlnBM-L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-70,22_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RTP8vHRgL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-70,22_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Qloeff2xL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-70,22_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IBeJ6ZnEL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-70,22_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41dLkiqR83L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-70,22_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41aNn%2BcKkXL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-70,22_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on April 27, 2012, 08:50:23 AM
^ Avoid "The Dark Half", it starts off quite interesting and then gets proggressively more ridiculous, plus it's actually poorly written.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on April 27, 2012, 04:05:54 PM
^ Avoid "The Dark Half", it starts off quite interesting and then gets proggressively more ridiculous, plus it's actually poorly written.


I'm determined to finish all, no matter how bad.
Its 'The Tomnmyknockers' I'm dreading, it huge. You could beat a zombie unconscious with it. I'm a big fan of 'Needful Thing's and 'The Dark Half' is the precursor to it so I figured it's worth a shot. The film wasn't too awful.

And if that wasn't enough king, I found this in hardback for £4.99.
I'd be a fool to not buy it.

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CkYkGCNSL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)

I seriously think I have enough for a while...  :buggedout:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 27, 2012, 05:10:24 PM
Read 11/22/63 FIRST.  It is an amazing piece of work!
(I live an hour from where Kennedy was shot.  I have walked Dealey Plaza and been to the Sixth Floor Museum more times than I can count.)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Flick James on April 27, 2012, 07:33:10 PM
Read 11/22/63 FIRST.  It is an amazing piece of work!
(I live an hour from where Kennedy was shot.  I have walked Dealey Plaza and been to the Sixth Floor Museum more times than I can count.)

My wife picked that up for me because she thought I would find it interesting. I haven't picked it up yet. Since I've finished my MBA, however, I might actually have a little time to crack it. The evening weather is gorgeous in Arizona and it looks like just the book to settle into the hammock with along with a nice cold beverage.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 27, 2012, 08:36:04 PM
I'm nearly done with THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST.
It's a fascinating trilogy, although I'll admit some aspects of Swedish culture are very  . . . . foreign!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Frank81 on April 30, 2012, 11:46:47 AM
Read 11/22/63 FIRST.  It is an amazing piece of work!
(I live an hour from where Kennedy was shot.  I have walked Dealey Plaza and been to the Sixth Floor Museum more times than I can count.)

UhOh, You're  an hour  away  from Dealy and  been to the sixth floor many times.. folks, we've  found the second  gunman, call  Oliver  Stone. :teddyr:  Seriously, It is  an ongoing tragedy  that  the Kennedy  assassination has become  a  cottage  industry  for every  raving mad person who can write  any theory and present it as  fact. It's a  Closed Case  to me. It's  just sad it'll never  go away. :bluesad:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on May 01, 2012, 04:57:02 AM
And I bought this...


(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zn22IcaoL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 01, 2012, 06:19:18 AM
Read 11/22/63 FIRST.  It is an amazing piece of work!
(I live an hour from where Kennedy was shot.  I have walked Dealey Plaza and been to the Sixth Floor Museum more times than I can count.)

UhOh, You're  an hour  away  from Dealy and  been to the sixth floor many times.. folks, we've  found the second  gunman, call  Oliver  Stone. :teddyr:  Seriously, It is  an ongoing tragedy  that  the Kennedy  assassination has become  a  cottage  industry  for every  raving mad person who can write  any theory and present it as  fact. It's a  Closed Case  to me. It's  just sad it'll never  go away. :bluesad:

I was a serious conspiracy buff in college, as I have grown older I can see that Oswald may indeed have acted alone, but there are just enough odd pieces of evidence that point to a second gunmant that I never can completely buy it. That is what makes the whole thing so fascinating to me - there is so much we will never know.

BTW, I was born three weeks afterward, so unless my mom let me play with guns in utero, I am absolved as a suspect!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Frank81 on May 01, 2012, 07:40:59 AM
Read 11/22/63 FIRST.  It is an amazing piece of work!
(I live an hour from where Kennedy was shot.  I have walked Dealey Plaza and been to the Sixth Floor Museum more times than I can count.)

UhOh, You're  an hour  away  from Dealy and  been to the sixth floor many times.. folks, we've  found the second  gunman, call  Oliver  Stone. :teddyr:  Seriously, It is  an ongoing tragedy  that  the Kennedy  assassination has become  a  cottage  industry  for every  raving mad person who can write  any theory and present it as  fact. It's a  Closed Case  to me. It's  just sad it'll never  go away. :bluesad:

I was a serious conspiracy buff in college, as I have grown older I can see that Oswald may indeed have acted alone, but there are just enough odd pieces of evidence that point to a second gunmant that I never can completely buy it. That is what makes the whole thing so fascinating to me - there is so much we will never know.

BTW, I was born three weeks afterward, so unless my mom let me play with guns in utero, I am absolved as a suspect!

Oh, You mentioned the name? Oswald is completely innocent, a patsy, remember, rinse and repeat. :twirl:

Yeah, I was a baby. But, I could have pulled a trigger. :teddyr:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on May 02, 2012, 06:59:18 AM
I just bought Under the Dome in hardback. It was cheap so I had to buy it. I don't have a King addiction. I don't. I don't have to justify my book buying choices to you or anyone!

I can stop reading King anytime I want.

Anytime.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 04, 2012, 03:27:48 PM
Ye-es!

Brandon T. Snider's "DC Comics: the Ultimate Character Guide" featuring the 201 most important individual characters and groups of characters from DC Comics.

The groups range from the villainous Crime Syndicate to the heroic Teen Titans. Some of whom also get their own individual entry.

While written for teens, it can be used by anyone as an introduction to the DC Comic characters.

Each entry consists of one page and includes a color illustration of the character, their powers, a brief bio-history, their real name, their heighth-weight, their occupation, a list of friends-foes, and their base of operations.

Now I like to see one for the next 201 most important characters from DC Comics and one for the characters from Marvel Comics.

And Alan Villiers' "Posted Missing: the Story of Ships Lost without Trace in Recent Years," as it was first published in 1956, recent years are 1909 to 1956, with a preface taking the book up to 1973.

The title is something of a misnomer, as they have found wreckage and even the occasional body from some of the wrecks. Experts just want to know what caused the ships to go missing. And here, even they can make an educated guess. If there were storm in the area, then the ship sank in a storm. If the ship was in an area of icebergs, then it most likely struck an iceberg and sank.

And editor Laura Manske's "Family Travel: the Farther You Go, the Closer You Get." A travel book containing essays on traveling with the family.

It is one of those situations, where you think the last two books have nothing in common, but . . . Awe. Respect. Children.

As many times as the writer has put to see, every time he puts to sea, he still is in awe of it. And the writers are in awe of the countries they visit.

The writer has respect for whoever sails upon the sea. No matter what their nationality is. And the writers have respect for the people who live in the countries that they visit.

A loss at sea is always a tragedy, but a loss of a child, whether as passenger or member of the crew ia always a greater tragedy. And the writers like the children they encounter on their travels.

And, perhaps, it is time to say, that the writer being British, I have yet to find a British writer who dislikes children. Well, maybe one or two, but they are mighty thin on the ground.

Next time: Henry A. Giroux's "The Mouse That Roared," or how to win, when the facts are not on your side.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 11, 2012, 03:41:05 PM
Ye-es!

Henry A. Giroux's "The Mouse That Roared,"
or how to win, when the facts do not support your case, by using "bad thinking."

When I was in school, we were taught not only what was "good thinking," but what was "bad thinking," as well. And, probably, while I have used what I was taught, many times since then, never have I used it to the extent that I used it while reading this critique of the Walt Disney Company. While it is not meant to be, it comes across as a classic textbook of "bad thinking," as there are so many different samples of it in the book. For example . . .

01. Use outdated facts that no longer apply.
02. Use facts that are totally wrong.
03. Cherry pick your facts. Only use facts that support you. Ignore all facts that do not support you.
04. Make assumptions without providing proofs for said assumptions.
05. Tar your opponent at every opportunity.
06. Make statesments that are hyperbolic and/or hypocritical.
07. Always show your subject in the worst possible light.
08. State that only your opinions are right. Anyone else that states an opinion is wrong.
09.Never use a neutral or positive word, when you can use a negative word.
10. State something, then later totally contradict yourself, as you believe your  audience has no memory of what you said earlier.
11. While showing no precognizance yourself, criticize your subject for not being precognizant.
12. Reduce what is complex to the simplistic.
13. And never associate your subject with anything positive or neutral, but always with something that is negative.

Next time: William H. Miller's "S.S. United States" and etc.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on May 14, 2012, 10:36:33 AM
'Film' by Ronald Bergan.

Rudimentary, but decent.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on May 15, 2012, 03:57:46 PM
I recently purchased the entire WAR OF THE WORLDS comic book run that appeared in AMAZING ADVENTURES during the 1970s.  I have only 4 issues remaining.  Overall, an enjoyable series with only 2 or 3 stories that were duds.

(http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSXAwwq3WoPz4Xk10nCGWei53zwMqz4x2Ck2qOfHInv_RkrOAo0p8IAdKnn)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on May 15, 2012, 05:30:50 PM
Reading two novels concurrently. I'm a little over halfway through reading The Hobbit to my daughter at bedtime. She's really enjoying it.

A little bit different from my first introduction to the story, watching the Rankin-Bass animated movie that creeped me out as a little kid. The story itself is not as disturbing as that late-70s animation made it.

For myself, I'm exploring novels I can find on the Kindle for 2.99 or less, and I've found a couple of decent ones so far. Right now, I'm reading Dome City Blues, by Jeff Edwards. Kind of a William Gibson, Philip K. Dick, film noir type of thing. Burned-out private eye in a cyberpunk future, solving a bizarre murder case for a beautiful woman. Standard stuff, but entertaining so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on May 16, 2012, 02:56:48 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514S4JHHQ7L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on May 16, 2012, 04:33:20 PM
([url]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514S4JHHQ7L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg[/url])


Wait a minute . . . we all know you can't read!



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pacman000 on May 16, 2012, 05:48:30 PM
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card, a sequel to Ender's Game, also by Orson Scott Card.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on May 16, 2012, 10:25:08 PM
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card, a sequel to Ender's Game, also by Orson Scott Card.

I liked that one. Didn't much care for the books that followed, but Speaker wasn't a bad follow-up to Ender's Game. I thought it was pretty cool that the setting jumped forward a few thousand years, with Ender spending so much (greatly slowed) time traveling around at near-light speed. People curse history's greatest mass-murderer and revere the original Speaker for the Dead, while having no idea they're the same guy, he's still alive and he's standing right there.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: tracy on May 17, 2012, 03:55:27 PM
A trilogy of 3 Xanth novels:

(http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/277060_240310682679071_2793623_n.jpg)

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/88/N4883.jpg/200px-N4883.jpg)

(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/87/Roogna.jpg/200px-Roogna.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 17, 2012, 04:55:36 PM
I am about 3/4 done with MY THOUGHTS BE BLOODY, a history of the Booth brothers, Edwin and John Wilkes, and their talented, tragedy-ridden father, Junius Brutus Booth.  The author's thesis is that the lifelong rivalry between the two brothers is what drove Wilkes Booth to murder Abraham Lincoln, a shame that Edwin spent his life trying to atone for.  It is a wonderful read!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JoeTheDestroyer on May 17, 2012, 06:57:43 PM
Just finished Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.  So I'll resume my other projects:

Go Rin no Sho by Miyamoto Musashi
Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King

Also planning on starting a few other books, particularly Defiant Light by Jason Venter.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: bob on May 22, 2012, 10:46:38 AM
1984 and I'm loving every word of it.  :cheers:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on May 22, 2012, 12:33:08 PM
Nearing the end of The Hobbit with Rowan, and trying to think of another book we'll enjoy just as much. I don't think she's quite ready for Lord of the Rings yet, and it would be a heck of a commitment to read LOTR in 15-minute bites at bedtime.

I'm thinking about introducing Ro to some of the easier books I enjoyed as a kid - Encyclopedia Brown, The Mad Scientists' Club and the like.

I've kind of stalled out reading Dome City Blues. Just not in the mood for it. Might also be that I've been trying to pick up a cyberpunk detective thriller right after reading The Hobbit, when my imagination is still in Middle Earth.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: tracy on May 22, 2012, 12:35:55 PM
I am about 3/4 done with MY THOUGHTS BE BLOODY, a history of the Booth brothers, Edwin and John Wilkes, and their talented, tragedy-ridden father, Junius Brutus Booth.  The author's thesis is that the lifelong rivalry between the two brothers is what drove Wilkes Booth to murder Abraham Lincoln, a shame that Edwin spent his life trying to atone for.  It is a wonderful read!
That reminds me of an episode of "Branded",with Chuck Connors,we were watching a short while back. The  brother of John Wilkes Booth was out to find and execute the man responsible for falling asleep so Lincoln could be shot. He blamed him for the death of Lincoln and also his brother. Interesting episode.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 22, 2012, 04:59:58 PM
Ye-es!

William H. Miller's "S.S. United States: the Story of America's Greatest Ocean Liner"

In three parts.

pre- 1952
1952-1969 or from the S.S. United States' first trans-Atlantic voyage to its last.
1970-1991 or from its mothballing to the date the book was published.

The title might be slightly hyperbolic, but several superlatives stick to the ship.

(1) The largest and still the largest American ocean liner ever built in an American shipyard.
(2) For many years, the fastest ocean liner ever to cross the Atlantic. Winner of the much coveted Blue Riband.
(3) And then there were three. One of the last ocean liners to make regularly scheduled trips across the Atlantic. Only the S.S. France and the S.S. Queen Elizabeth lasted longer on the Atlantic crossing.

No idea what happened to the ship after 1991 or when the book was published. All kind of ideas were advanced, including making it into a seaside hotel, but none came to fruition.

And . . .

Dave Madden's "The Authentic Animal: Inside the Odd and Obsessive World of Taxidermy"

While the business of taxidermy may fly under the radar, it still is a big business. There are taxidermy classes, taxidermy competitions, taxidermy conventions. Though now what mostly gets the stuff is the family pet Spot and Puff.

I will also say, that while the book starts out as a straight history of taxidermy, and here we are talking about the subject of the book and not the author's sexual orientation, the books morphs into a discussion of the relationship between man and animal.

"Encyclopedia Brown" I can remember when the first book in that series came out, and that was over 50 years ago. AndyC, if your daughter likes mysteries and/or puzzles, that'd be a good series to read to her. And see if she can solve the mystery, before you read the solution to her.

Next time: a he said/she said.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 22, 2012, 05:03:39 PM
Nearing the end of The Hobbit with Rowan, and trying to think of another book we'll enjoy just as much. I don't think she's quite ready for Lord of the Rings yet, and it would be a heck of a commitment to read LOTR in 15-minute bites at bedtime.

I'm thinking about introducing Ro to some of the easier books I enjoyed as a kid - Encyclopedia Brown, The Mad Scientists' Club and the like.

I've kind of stalled out reading Dome City Blues. Just not in the mood for it. Might also be that I've been trying to pick up a cyberpunk detective thriller right after reading The Hobbit, when my imagination is still in Middle Earth.

Not sure how old she is, but my girls LOVED "A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on May 22, 2012, 05:12:25 PM
Nearing the end of The Hobbit with Rowan, and trying to think of another book we'll enjoy just as much. I don't think she's quite ready for Lord of the Rings yet, and it would be a heck of a commitment to read LOTR in 15-minute bites at bedtime.

I'm thinking about introducing Ro to some of the easier books I enjoyed as a kid - Encyclopedia Brown, The Mad Scientists' Club and the like.

I've kind of stalled out reading Dome City Blues. Just not in the mood for it. Might also be that I've been trying to pick up a cyberpunk detective thriller right after reading The Hobbit, when my imagination is still in Middle Earth.

Not sure how old she is, but my girls LOVED "A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket.

She's six, going on seven. I'm not familiar with A Series of Unfortunate Events, beyond the movie adaptation, and my memory's fuzzy on that. I assume the book is much better than a Jim Carrey movie.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ulthar on May 22, 2012, 05:24:52 PM
Nearing the end of The Hobbit with Rowan, and trying to think of another book we'll enjoy just as much. I don't think she's quite ready for Lord of the Rings yet, and it would be a heck of a commitment to read LOTR in 15-minute bites at bedtime.

I'm thinking about introducing Ro to some of the easier books I enjoyed as a kid - Encyclopedia Brown, The Mad Scientists' Club and the like.

I've kind of stalled out reading Dome City Blues. Just not in the mood for it. Might also be that I've been trying to pick up a cyberpunk detective thriller right after reading The Hobbit, when my imagination is still in Middle Earth.

Andy, my almost 7 yo loves the dickens out of "The Magic Treehouse" books. He got 1-28 as a set for Christmas and blew through them.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 22, 2012, 05:34:59 PM
There are 13 books in the series, and they are delightfully fun to read.  My girls enjoyed them starting about age 9.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: HappyGilmore on May 23, 2012, 08:33:08 PM
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.

Pretty delightful reading.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on May 23, 2012, 10:09:54 PM
Nearing the end of The Hobbit with Rowan, and trying to think of another book we'll enjoy just as much. I don't think she's quite ready for Lord of the Rings yet, and it would be a heck of a commitment to read LOTR in 15-minute bites at bedtime.

I'm thinking about introducing Ro to some of the easier books I enjoyed as a kid - Encyclopedia Brown, The Mad Scientists' Club and the like.

I've kind of stalled out reading Dome City Blues. Just not in the mood for it. Might also be that I've been trying to pick up a cyberpunk detective thriller right after reading The Hobbit, when my imagination is still in Middle Earth.

Andy, my almost 7 yo loves the dickens out of "The Magic Treehouse" books. He got 1-28 as a set for Christmas and blew through them.

Ro has brought some of those home from the library. I didn't realize that there were so many of them, or that they covered so many settings and situations. And they're at a level she can read for herself. I might have to look at that 28-book set for her birthday or Christmas.

I'm still pondering what I can get in the way of a novel I can read to her over a couple of weeks. The Hobbit worked out amazingly well. My wife has been reading Ro some Laura Ingalls Wilder - Little House in the Big Woods, Farmer Boy, etc. - which is her thing. I'd like to find some novels or novellas in fantasy, adventure, science fiction or mystery that are at about that same level. Enjoyable for a first-grader, but a little more advanced than what she can handle reading on her own.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fausto on May 23, 2012, 10:38:59 PM
(http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c375/fausto963/0914732145_01_LZZZZZZZ.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on May 28, 2012, 03:11:47 PM
Getting back into comics. Finished reading the 12 issues of Marvel's 'Secret Wars', which was very enjoyable. Now reading 'Watchmen'.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: HappyGilmore on May 28, 2012, 04:40:55 PM
They were great, Pillow.

They now have an ongoing book: Avengers vs. X-Men.

Decent.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on May 31, 2012, 12:37:46 PM
WATCHMEN was awesome. Great artwork, intricate story, interesting characters. I just wish I hadn't seen the film beforehand. It was over 2 years ago, but still.

Now reading the first book of AKIRA. Pretty good so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on May 31, 2012, 01:28:53 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41z6MRuwAiL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)

I honestly dont know whats wrong with me...


 :teddyr:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 31, 2012, 01:55:13 PM
That one is pretty awesome!  You need to read the companion volume,


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on May 31, 2012, 03:26:17 PM
You need to read the companion volume,

Whats that?

 :question:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on May 31, 2012, 04:24:09 PM
Books on

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/411a2-Z-naL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)

Jan Svankmajer and

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51T3END86TL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)

David Lynch


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on June 01, 2012, 05:35:32 AM
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_8hsiH4qGYOM/TJS0PXonlNI/AAAAAAAAAPo/vALmprM6tKU/s1600/relentless.jpg)

About to start this today. Managed to finish the other 3 books I had been reading last October and gave up on the awful "Less Than Zero". Hoping Relentless is good, should be as Koontz has yet to disappoint me...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on June 01, 2012, 11:45:06 AM
Just finished "Feed" by Mira Grant - book one of the "Newsflesh" trilogy, detailing the adventures of a group of young journalists forty years after a zombie apocalypse. (Got book 2 on deck, the title slips my mind at the moment...)

Currently reading: "The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History" by John Ortved


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Allhallowsday on June 01, 2012, 01:43:43 PM
I just finished FRANK LANGELLA's "Dropped Names"
(https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQZacjsQHMgQZS-ExvuhgWx6rWBm01L78VQZzRWqJYitso7Dlxq)

Then I read SCOTTY BOWER's "Full Service"  Disgusting. :bluesad:
(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff259/allhallowsday/FULLSERVICEbyScottyBowers.jpg)

Now I'm reading "Is Paris Burning?" 
(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff259/allhallowsday/ISPARISBURNING.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on June 03, 2012, 01:47:14 AM
Reading V FOR VENDETTA by Alan Moore.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 05, 2012, 04:27:21 PM
Ye-es! More or le-ess!

A he said/she said comparison.

He: Douglas Ward
She: Kay Showker

Both have published guidebooks to cruise ships and cruise lines. If you want to see the individual titles, then look at some of my older posts on this thread, but, as I said, this is a comparison of the two writers and their guidebooks.

Facts included for each review
He: 36 from size of ship to classification society that classified ship
She: 14 from age of ship to space ratio per passenger
Winner: He

Standard features for each ship
He: 17
She: 18
Winner: She

Ships rated
He: 256
She: 456
Winner: She

Value (?)
He: No
She: Yes
Winner: He

Explanation of ratings
He: 6 p.
She: 2 p.
Winner: He

Ratings form included
He: No
She: Yes
Winner: She

Maximum passengers per ship (only)
He: No
She: Yes
Winner: He

Repetitive reviews
He: Yes
She: No
Winner: She

Length of review
He 1-5 p.
She: 1-29 p.
Winner: Tie

Arrangement of reviews
He: by ship
She: by cruise line
Winner: She

Readability (Humor)
He: Yes. On one ship's disco "For the young at heart or the hearing impaired." ROTFL!
She: None
Winner: He

Rating scale
He: 2000 points
She: 130 points
Winner: He

Introduction
He: 118 p.
She: 140 p.
Winner: Tie

Alternative cruises
He: 13 p.
She: 86 p.
Winner: She

Cruises for special people (families, honeymooners, romantics, singles, etc.)
He: Yes
She: Yes
Winner: Tie

Cruises for the physically challenged
He: Yes
She: Yes
Winner: Tie

Trivia
He: Yes
She: No
Winner: He

Illustrations
He: Yes. Many and some in color
She: Yes. Few and none in color
Winner: He

Maps
He: Yes
She: Yes
Winner: Tie

Indexes
He: 1 (Subject)
She: 4 (Cruise line, cruise ship, place, subject)
Winner: She

Latest edition found
He: 2004
She: 2011
Winner: She

Print size
He: Same through out
She: Reviews 10% smaller print. Indexes 10% smaller print than reviews.
Winner: He

Price
He: $23.95 (2004)
She: $23.99 (2011)
Winner: Tie

Miscellaneous
He: "A man of the sea"
She: Biased
He: Adaptive
She: Accepting of unacceptable excuses
Winner: He

Thus, by a score of 10 (He) to 8 (She) with 6 ties, He wins. With the big proviso, that you can find an edition of his guidebook that is not older than 2 years. Otherwise, she is better than nothing.

Next time: a mystery from "You betcha!" land.




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on June 11, 2012, 03:27:51 PM

(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223172886l/4918621.jpg)





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 11, 2012, 04:45:53 PM
I just finished "An Artist in Treason: The Secret Life of General James Wilkinson."
It was a wonderful account of one of the most colorful characters in American history - Wilkinson served as the Commanding General of the U.S. Army under our first four Presidents, and was also "Secret Agent 13" in the Imperial Spanish Secret Service.  He actively betrayed his country for nearly 30 years, but was never punished for it.  He survived four Congressional inquiries and three courts-martial without a conviction, earning him the nickname of "the General who never won a battle or lost a court martial."  A very good read.  The author's last name was Linklater.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on June 11, 2012, 06:02:01 PM
(http://navythriller.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/dome-city-blues1.jpg)

Got back into Dome City Blues, and it's turned out to be quite an engaging detective story. It takes some dystopian paranoia and cyberpunk in the style of William Gibson and Philip K. D!ck, and blends it with old-fashioned hard-boiled private eye fiction. Retired P.I. David Stalin is pulled back into the business by a beautiful blonde who insists her brother was framed for murder. Thing is, her brother confessed on video to a string of brutal killings, describing them in detail, then blew his brains out.

It takes a while for the story to get going, but it actually does pay off.

It's interesting how the story sometimes seems predictable, but always has more questions to be answered. It's pretty easy for the reader to figure out how the killer did it, but then you still don't know who did it or why. Then when the who seems very clear, the why remains unclear. Add to that the growing sense that there is more than just murder going on, and bits of subplot that start to seem more important as the story progresses.

I'm about 85% of the way through the book, and it appears things are just about to come to a head.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on June 12, 2012, 03:51:17 AM
([url]http://navythriller.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/dome-city-blues1.jpg[/url])

it appears things are just about to come to a head.


Not to a boob?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on June 12, 2012, 03:27:38 PM
I'm not even sure what that cover has to do with anything. There are a couple of sex scenes in the book, and that's about it. Nothing nearly as salacious as that cover would suggest.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 15, 2012, 03:25:54 PM
Ye-es!

A couple of mysteries.

Joanne Fluke's "Devil's Food Cake Murder" 14th in the (Hannah Swanson mystery series)

From "You Betcha!" Land. One of the characters in the book even says: "You Betcha!"

One can understand why Swedes settled in that part of America, when they first came to America. The land and weather must have reminded them of their old home in Sweden.

The highlight of the book is not the mystery, but the more than a score of recipes in the book. Mostly cookie recipes, but there are other recipes as well.

With an average of 23 recipes per book, I thought the authoress ought to publish a cookbook, and she has.

Margaret Coel's "The Spider's Web" 15th in the (Wind River mystery series)

Almost every character in the book has been damaged in some way or the other. From the Irish-American priest who once had problems with the bottle to the Native American lawyer who once had problems with her ex-husband. Some of the damage being self-inflicted, and some of the damage being inflicted by others.

While there could be a great number of villains in the story, the authoress has such empathy for her "walking wounded," there are only one or two "true" villains in the story.

Next time: why the Brits are the funniest people on this earth.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on June 15, 2012, 06:04:11 PM
Finished Relentless by Dean Koontz. I did enjoy it even though it was one of his most far fetched plots, but the ending was terrible. Completely absurd, rushed and a total let down. Has by no means put me off the guy though, at least his worst stuff is better than a certain Mr. King's passable output these days.

Just started reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It's very well written, although I'm nearly 150 pages in and I still have no idea what it's about...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on June 15, 2012, 10:13:49 PM
Reading The Hellbound Heart, by Clive Barker. Very good book. I have the added benefit of not having seen the original Hellraiser since the 80s. I get the greater depth of the novel without remembering enough of the movie plot to really spoil anything.

Interesting that Pinhead was not originally written as the leader of the Cenobites, and had a female voice.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Jim H on June 17, 2012, 01:24:20 PM
I just read Zombies VS Robots, a comic.  It's friggin' weird, but it was fairly entertaining.  Pretty good art too.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: retrorussell on June 18, 2012, 01:57:35 AM
The Hagakure.  A collection of feudal-era stories, sayings, wisdom, etc.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on June 23, 2012, 12:50:12 AM
Shopgirl, by Steve Martin. This would have been a better read either compressed as a short story or fleshed out to a novel, but as a novella it lacked something. I do think Steve Martin is a genius though.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 23, 2012, 01:02:04 AM
I just finished Karl Rove's memoir of his years working for George W. Bush, COURAGE AND CONSEQUENCE.  It is a well written and fascinating inside look at some pretty consequential years for our country by a man who helped shape public policy during that time.  Love Bush or hate him, this book is a good read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on June 23, 2012, 08:21:34 AM
Read "Batman The Killing Joke" yesterday, which was awesome. Also read this short "Sigmund Freud in 90 minutes" book today, and now halfway through a collection of short stories by a Flemish writer.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on June 25, 2012, 12:05:59 AM
Today a friend gave me the manuscript for the writing portion of a graphic novel he's collaborating on, and it was darn good. They haven't ironed out the title but the plot is about a war on earth between Heaven and Hell, set in the 1960s with some flash-forwards into the 1980s, and the main character is this badass archangel whose violence toward demons on earth isn't particularly angelic. Not a religious work in the slightest, filled with twists and tips of the hat to some influential figures in the GN field, like Gaiman and Moore and McFarlane. I hope they find a publisher, as they did on a less ambitious work of theirs from a couple years ago. I was pleasantly surprised by how good this thing was!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 27, 2012, 03:44:30 PM
Ye-es!

"The Mammoth Book of Great British Humor." Michael Powell, editor

Or the best of British humor from the past 500 years from the 16th century to today.

Did you hear the one about the father who used his teenage son's bum-hole as the family doorbell, because it had a nice ring to it?

When the Brits say something risque it sounds funny. When we Americans say something risque it just sounds embarrassingly unfunny.

When the Brits say something absurd it sounds funny. When we Americans say something absurd it just sounds stupid.

British humor is relatively subtle. It comes at you sideways. American humor is relatively unsubtle. It comes at you straight-on.

Most Brits know that "Brevity is the soul of wit." Most Americans don't.

Alot of Brits like jokes that contain hyperbole, non-sequiteurs, and wordplay. Alot of Americans don't.

Alot of British jokes contain irony, put-downs, satire, and sacrcasm. Alot of American jokes don't.

And that is why Brits are the funniest people on earth, or, at least funnier than most Americans.

One thing did surprise me. The lack of ethnic humor. Except for the people who live in the U.K., the only people who got their own section of jokes were we Americans. Which probably says something good about us. We can take it, but can we dish it out? Probably not, for when it comes to ethnic humor Americans tend to be politer, more sensitive, and less courageous.

When asked why he had asked for a raise, the actor replied: "It is because I can't eat my notices." Who ever knew Claude Rains had a sense of humor.

Next time: a book from a man who goes where most men fear to tread.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on June 28, 2012, 12:30:15 PM
Read the 6 issues of "Infinity Gauntlet" yesterday, which were great. Now reading "Writing Short Films" by Linda J. Cowgill, which has some interesting things to say, but it generalizes a lot and gives advice that's not necessarily true, in my opinion.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: El Misfit on June 28, 2012, 12:36:50 PM
Some Grendel graphic novels, I believe I got 6 graphic novels plus 5 comics.
The novels are:
Behold the Devil
Devil's Quest
God and the Devil
Devil's Reign
Devil Child
Devil Deed

and for the comic book versions, they are the ones set in New Orleans. I'm missing the last issue of that series. (I actually didn't now that at the time, I just picked them up because I like Grendel :teddyr:)

I also picked up some Stephen King novels, the big ones:
Dream Catcher
Insomnia
and another one that slipped my mind.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on June 28, 2012, 01:58:21 PM
Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on July 06, 2012, 03:24:24 PM
Just finished: "Carnivore" by Leigh Clark - pulpy horror nonsense about scientists at a remote Antarctic outpost being menaced by a recently-thawed-and-hatched Tyrannosaurus Rex they found in the ice. (Does that plot line sound familiar to anyone else? Hmmm...) Gory nonsense that would probably make a great SyFy Channel movie.

Started: "The Grays" by Whitley Strieber - alien abductions 'n' weird genetics experiments, oh my!!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 06, 2012, 04:04:33 PM
Ye-es!

Piers Brendon's "The Decline and Fall of the British Empire, 1781-1997."
or from the end of the American Revolution to the War in the Falklands.

First, what must be understood is that the British Empire was fertilized with the bodies of the dead and watered with their blood. Just in those 216 years, in the Colonial Wars alone, some 3903 Brits (military and civilians: men, women, and children) and 124,896 natives (again military, some fighting for the British, and civilians: men, women, and children) died. And both of those figures are lowball figures.

Other than that there are a number of reasons to read the book.

(1) He has something good to say about most of the people in the book.
(2) But he is not adverse to point out their shortcomings, and everyone has shortcomings.
(3)Which means his writing is remarkablely evenhanded in how he treats the subject.
(4) Unlike some writers, he talks about what makes life worth living. Sex. Profanity. Sex. Nudity. Sex. The bodily functions. Did I mention sex?
(5) There is no accounting for some people's tastes, but for some odd reason, he seems to like Americans.
(6) He has a good eye for the humorous quote, which makes the subject more enjoyable.
(a) Some original. "The only test he ever passed was his test for VD." On one British colonial official who was notorious for his stupidity.
(b) Some not. "Dickie, you're so crooked, if you swallowed a nail, you'd s**t out a corkscrew." And the guy said it to Mountbatten's face.

People had courage then. They were also greedy racists, and if they had been a little less greedy and a little less racist, their problems would have been fewer, but some problems were inherent in the Empire itself. Two reasonable sides can come to a reasonable compromise, but throw in one or more other sides, who are uncompromising in any compromise with another side, and you have problems. What I found interesting was the number of countries and the number of different sides involved.

Sudan - Arabs and Africans
Rhodesia - whites and blacks
Palestine - Jews and Arabs
Malaya - Malays, Indians, and Chinese
Ireland - Protestants and Catholics
India - Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs
Cyprus - Greeks and Turks
Canada - French and English

Next time: a book with 151 reasons to check it out.




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on July 09, 2012, 04:48:01 PM
While I was keeping inside during our recent heat wave (109 at its worst) I read my own diary from 1991. Fifty-two pages of the politics of 7th grade society, with an aside into the apparently life threatening effects of not getting this tape I wanted at the crack of dawn on the morning of its release. Makes me smile to see how little things seemed so ridiculously important back then, but also, as I read through all those lists of homework, how hard school really could be. It was also the year of the Persian Gulf War, Magic Johnson's HIV announcement, and South Africa repealing apartheid laws, all of which I wrote about from my young perspective. It actually wasn't a bad read as well as a trip down memory lane.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on July 09, 2012, 06:19:56 PM


Started: "The Grays" by Whitley Strieber - alien abductions 'n' weird genetics experiments, oh my!!

I recently purchased that one as well.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 10, 2012, 12:02:04 AM
Ye-es!

Piers Brendon's "The Decline and Fall of the British Empire, 1781-1997."
or from the end of the American Revolution to the War in the Falklands.

First, what must be understood is that the British Empire was fertilized with the bodies of the dead and watered with their blood. Just in those 216 years, in the Colonial Wars alone, some 3903 Brits (military and civilians: men, women, and children) and 124,896 natives (again military, some fighting for the British, and civilians: men, women, and children) died. And both of those figures are lowball figures.

Other than that there are a number of reasons to read the book.

(1) He has something good to say about most of the people in the book.
(2) But he is not adverse to point out their shortcomings, and everyone has shortcomings.
(3)Which means his writing is remarkablely evenhanded in how he treats the subject.
(4) Unlike some writers, he talks about what makes life worth living. Sex. Profanity. Sex. Nudity. Sex. The bodily functions. Did I mention sex?
(5) There is no accounting for some people's tastes, but for some odd reason, he seems to like Americans.
(6) He has a good eye for the humorous quote, which makes the subject more enjoyable.
(a) Some original. "The only test he ever passed was his test for VD." On one British colonial official who was notorious for his stupidity.
(b) Some not. "Dickie, you're so crooked, if you swallowed a nail, you'd s**t out a corkscrew." And the guy said it to Mountbatten's face.

People had courage then. They were also greedy racists, and if they had been a little less greedy and a little less racist, their problems would have been fewer, but some problems were inherent in the Empire itself. Two reasonable sides can come to a reasonable compromise, but throw in one or more other sides, who are uncompromising in any compromise with another side, and you have problems. What I found interesting was the number of countries and the number of different sides involved.

Sudan - Arabs and Africans
Rhodesia - whites and blacks
Palestine - Jews and Arabs
Malaya - Malays, Indians, and Chinese
Ireland - Protestants and Catholics
India - Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs
Cyprus - Greeks and Turks
Canada - French and English

Next time: a book with 151 reasons to check it out.




MEMO TO SELF: Must read this!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on July 11, 2012, 11:02:39 AM
TREASURE ISLAND



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 11, 2012, 12:57:17 PM
Currently re-reading (for the third time!) WORLD WAR Z.  Why I don't know, except that the history it envisions is so compelling and horrifying I can't get enough of it!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on July 12, 2012, 08:52:09 AM
Recently read the first two WALKING DEAD books which were awesome. Better than the show, imo. Also read SECOND FOUNDATION by Isaac Asimov, which is the most amazing, intricate and clever piece of science fiction I've ever read/seen.
Now reading a beginners-psychology book which is poorly written.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Psycho Circus on July 12, 2012, 06:12:28 PM
Currently re-reading (for the third time!) WORLD WAR Z.  Why I don't know, except that the history it envisions is so compelling and horrifying I can't get enough of it!

That's exactly what my girlfriend is reading and for the second time.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 18, 2012, 03:52:42 PM
Ye-es!

Leonard Maltin's "151 Best Movies You've Never Seen"

Of which I have seen only 6 or 4%, but I liked 5 of the 6 or 83%, so pick out 1 or 2 titles from the book, and you may like them as much as I liked the ones I saw.

But, the strength of the book is not only in the movies listed, but the reasons they failed at the box office. Which are . . .

Wrong direction -- Wrong promotion -- Wrong release date -- Wrong star -- Wrong subject -- Wrong title.

Too ambitious -- Too atypical -- Too clever -- Too complicated -- Too dark -- Too foreign -- Too honest -- Too intelligent -- Too much story -- Too nice -- Too offbeat -- Too similiar -- Too stylized -- Too subtle -- Too unique -- Too whimsical.

Non-condescending -- Non-explosive -- Non-linear.

Bad luck -- Confusing tone -- Emotionally draining -- Ends unsatisfacorily -- Heavy handed -- Hostile reviews -- Isn't edgy -- Little promotion -- Multi-episodic --Out of touch -- Poor distribution.

One looks at the reasons they failed at the box office, and one realizes the problem is not so much with the films, they may not be out there in the number they once were, but they are out there. The problem is with today's audiences. Of which I am one. And till this problem is solved, we will continue to have problems.

The strength of the book also lies in the fact like most good books it serves as a mirror to the reader. I look at the book, and I see the 145 films I have not seen, and I see that I am part of the problem.

He is also one of the few film critics to take on his fellow critics, stating . . .

(1st) Critics are for the most part powerless. Whereas, a negative review can cause someone NOT to see a film. A positive review canNOT, for the most part, cause one to see a film.

(2nd) Critics often disagree about a film.

(3rd) And when they disagree, they are sometimes wrong, especially, if they disagree with him.

And I am sure the lst is a mutual feeling from his fellow critics.

Next time: 2nd verse. Same as the 1st.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on July 18, 2012, 04:25:20 PM
I like Maltin's reviews. I don't always agree with him but still he often likes a lot of the same stuff I do.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on July 20, 2012, 04:43:10 PM
I like Maltin's reviews. I don't always agree with him but still he often likes a lot of the same stuff I do.

Same here.  He can usually justify his opinions pretty well even when I don't agree with him. Plus, he was a pretty good sport with the MST3K crew, so that's in his favor.  I'll have to check that book out  :cheers:


Just started CRISSCROSS by F. Paul Wilson, book 8 (I think?) in the Repairman Jack series.  I started reading the series a while back but it fell by the wayside, so I'm returning to it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Zapranoth on July 21, 2012, 10:15:01 PM
I'm playing through the Steve Jackson Sorcery! series again.

Ah, such middle school memories.  :)  What an awesome set of game books these are.  Awesome, awesome. awesome.     If you never played them, they're a takeoff on the Choose Your Own Adventure type story, but with the twist of some basic RPG elements (combat scores, stamina, dice rolling, spellcasting).   Ingeniously done, great story, excellent and creepy art.  Many ways to be just abruptly snuffed out. 

There's an actual spellbook for the game system that details the spells -- which have three-letter codes.  You can study the book until you start the adventure, then you are supposed to not refer to it (because your character would not risk taking the book into enemy lands).  There are material components for some.  There are bogus spell entries as choices in the book, and if you choose a false spell you just lose stamina for no reason.

I most highly recommend them if you're into this kind of simple game at all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorcery!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 27, 2012, 03:21:44 PM
Ye-es!

Nathan Rabin's "My Year of Flops"

Is Leonard Maltin Jewish?

This author's Jewishness bleeds into his reviews, but, of course, there is not much you can do, when your name is Nathan Rabin.

More problematic is that his politics also bleed into his reviews.

He does say at least one thing that makes sense. That the more profanity is used, the less impact it has. I just wish he had practiced what he preached. The profanity he uses in his reviews just grates on my ears.

But, he does confirm a couple of things Maltin said.

(1st) That just because a film is a financial failure at the boxoffice, and here a critical failure as well, does not make that film a bad film.

(2nd) Also that critics are sometimes wrong in their opinions, but he puts a more personal spin on it than Maltin. At one time and place he gave a negative review to a film, but at a later time and place, looking at the exact same film, he thought it was not so bad after all and gave a positive review to the exact same film.

Also . . .

The first two volumes, in graphic format, in the "Daniel X" serues by James Patterson.

Earth has become a haven for alien criminals, and two alien bountyhunters are sent to earth to capture or kill these criminals. But, when they themselves are killed by one of the criminals they are seeking, their son decides to take over for them.

In. v. 1. he goes after #6 in the Pacific Coastal area.
In v. 2. he goes after #5 in the midwest.
In v.3., which I have not yet read, he goes after #3 in London, England.

The lower the number, the more difficult and dangerous his task becomes.

Next time: a book 7 years in the making.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 27, 2012, 08:21:10 PM
I just finished Candice Millard's THE DESTINY OF THE REPUBLIC, a history of the unlikely nomination, election, and assassination of James Garfield by certified nut job Charles Giteau.  Garfield sounds like a thoroughly decent fellow who had the potential to be a truly exceptional President, as well as already being a thoroughly decent, quality human being, and a loving husband and kind father.  The fact that a man as crazy as Giiteau was able to get as close to the President as he did as often as he did when everyone who knew him realized he was unbalanced is a testament to what an innocent, trusting place this country once was.  This is a fine piece of history, well-written and compelling, and the indictment of the sheer ignorance and incompetence of Garfield's doctors - who were more responsible for his death than the assassin's bullet was - is a reminder of how far medicine has come in the last 131 years.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on July 27, 2012, 08:46:08 PM
Streiber's The Grays is a surprisingly gripping piece of fiction that deals with a lot of the known UFO "mythology" out there.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on July 28, 2012, 07:12:02 AM
I have several on the go.  Right now the front-runner has been "A History of British Secret Service" by Richard Deacon.  It's a brief overview (477 pages) starting with Throgmorton and Walsingham and ending in the 1980's.  The part about the agent with no arms and no legs hunting tigers in India after the rest of his party had died was a high point (thus far)!  :buggedout:

Also nibbling at Temple Grandin's "Animals in Translation", a book of Robert Silverberg stories and another on forensic detection through history ("Written in Blood" maybe?).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Olivia Bauer on July 29, 2012, 07:49:12 AM
I got the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft. I have a LOT of reading to do.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Allhallowsday on July 29, 2012, 09:03:38 PM
I have a hardback copy of this, sent to me by the author and inscribed by him, I've finally gotten around to reading it. 
Room Full Of Mirrors A Biography of JIMI HENDRIX by CHARLES R. CROSS
(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff259/allhallowsday/JIMIHENDRIXRoomFullofMirrors.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AndyC on July 30, 2012, 12:01:02 AM
Recently finished Death Has a Name, by Jerry Hanel. Interesting book about a psychic named Brodie Wade who assists police departments. Wade spent several years in a mental institution as a boy, because he suffered from weird delusions and apparently harmed himself. In fact, Brodie is able to interact with The Truth. Not the subjective truth, but rather an intelligent supernatural force that resides in a world just a little bit out of phase with ours, and incorporates things such as ghosts and psychic imprints of past events. People are aware that Brodie is a very nervous person who exhibits strange behaviour and talks to things other people don't see. The Truth always has things it wants known, and if Brodie is in the right place when the right questions are being asked, some strange apparition appears that only he can see. It can't communicate clearly, so he has to figure out what it wants. The Truth is desperate to make its information known, and when it knows someone can see and hear, it becomes quite forceful, to the point of doing real physical harm. The cops think he's crazy, but he comes up with useful information, which scares most of them but also buys him some tolerance and earns him a living. So, into this situation, the book introduces a couple of grisly and bizarre murders and an unusual theft that kick off a whole series of events. Not bad for a bargain ebook.

I'm currently about halfway through the second Detective Rebus book by Ian Rankin, Hide and Seek. Starts with a dead junkie, some suspicious circumstances and possible connections to the occult and male prostitution. Unfortunately, despite all the weirdness and his own gut instincts, Rebus is thus far having a hard time defining an actual case that would make sense to anyone. Pretty good so far, and if it's anything like the previous book, the pace of the story will pick up in the second half, and questions will start getting answered, which will make it very hard to put down.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pilgermann on July 30, 2012, 12:40:24 AM
I got the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft. I have a LOT of reading to do.

Nice!  I picked up a complete collection a couple weeks ago myself.  Don't think I could manage to read it all straight through, but it's great to have everything at my fingertips when I'm in a Lovecraft mood.

Just started Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.  It's gonna be rough and gruesome but so far I dig it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 06, 2012, 04:07:54 PM
Ye-es!

Sam Brower's "Prophet's Prey : My Seven-year Investigation into Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints"

The subtitle is self-explanatory.

A p.i., process server, bounty hunter, bail bondsman, but not a writer, as one can see if one reads his book, but it is still good enough to be both readable and enjoyable. Basically, a man not to mess with, which they found out, much to their regret, when they started messing with him, as he had the knowledge and contacts to do what was needed to be done, and the patience to take all the time it needed.

As to why it took so long . . .

Money
The wealth of the church could be measured not in the millions of dollars, but in the hundreds of millions. Some of it earned legitimately . . .

Hard workers -- Successful businesses -- Tithing

Some of it not . . .
Business fraud -- Ignoring child labor laws -- Money laundering -- Tax fraud -- Welfare fraud

But that is just the tip of the illegal iceberg. While not all members were criminals, and no one member was guilty of all these. They were believed guilty of . . .

assault and battery -- attempted murder -- breaking and entering -- child abandoment -- child abuse -- child neglect -- conspiracy -- contempt of court -- extortion -- falsifying records -- harboring a fugitive -- incest -- kidnapping -- obstruction of justice -- racketeering -- rape -- sex trafficking -- sexual assault -- sexual misconduct -- smuggling -- soliciting prostitution -- unlawful sexual conduct -- violating the Mann Act.

The only thing they seemed not to be guilty of, was murder. And there is some idea they might have tried that, if they could have gotten away with it.

Ignorance, Ifluence, Indifference of . . .

the local, county, state, federal . . .

judicial system, law enforcement, legal system, politicians.

Misunderstanding by . . .

the press and public.

It had nothing to do with polygamy, but the abuse of children: sexually, physically, and emotionally.

And again money . . .

If it was spend the money and do what was right, and not spend the money, not spending the money trumped spending the money.

Nex time: 932 films. 101 years. 1 man's opinion.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 17, 2012, 04:06:19 PM
Ye-es!

John Landis' (yes, that John Landis) "Monsters in the Movies."

There is alot right with it and little wrong, so we will start with what's right.

The Author
He knows his stuff.
He's a good writer, but if one has any of the scripts he has written, one already knows that.
He has a wide taste in movies, but what do you expect from someone who's first movie was called "Schlock."
Though he ids himself as an atheist Jew, he is not adverse to talking about the politics, the religion, the sexuality inherent in horror movies.
He knows the importance of music in horror movies.
Maybe because of his own kids, he is one of the few to talk about the importance of kids and teens to the horror movies. Both in the audience and on the screen. There are . . .

Space babies -- Teenage zombies -- Vampire children -- Teen werewolves (It's puberty I tell ya!)

The Book
It's all there or almost all there.
From "A.I." to "Zombies on Broadway"
From 1904's "Barbe-Bleue" to the movies of last year.
From atomic mutations to zombies.
From vampires to werewolves.
From scary children to scary older women.

There is alot of obscure titles
"Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane" (It's like "Snakes on a Plane," but with zombies.)
"Gay Zombie" (It's like "Harry Met Sally," but with zombies.)
The Japanese "Big Tit Zombie" (it's like . . . It's like nothing you've ever seen before.)

And the last chapter deals with the unseen . . .

animators -- artists -- designers -- directors -- painters

who brought you all these horror movies.

Trivia
It is full of trivia. Does the name Richard Wordsworth, who starred in "The Creeping Unkown," mean anything to you? It should. His great-great-grandfather was the poet laureate Williams Wordsworth.

Posters
There are some great pictures of old movie posters in the book.

The Interviews
He gets Christopher Lee to talk about what Lee hates to talk about. Dracula.
He has one of the last interviews that Ray Harryhausen has given.

But, the highlight of the book is . . .

The Pictorial Essays
As they allow one to scan several movies at once. Some of the essays are on . . .

Actors who have played Dracula
Vampire stakings (Have you ever staked a motorcycle?)
Actors who have played the Devil.
Dystopias (or, you wouldn't want to live there.)
Actresses who have played a wicked witch.
Killer Dolls.
Actors who have played Jekyll and Hyde. (I should say actresses, too, as a couple of them have been played by women.)
But, the best one is the "Monster Carry." That one has to be seen, but I can say in all 28 cases the monster is male and the carry is female.

I did say there were a few things wrong with it.

The author has a tendency to toot his own horn.
Both the interviewer and the interviewee allow the interview to wander.
There are a few mistakes. For example the book says "Son of Frankenstein" was Karloff's 2nd appearance as the Monster. It was his 3rd.
I wish the title had been something else. When it says monsters, I think horror monsters, but as the author points out there are also fantasy and sci fi monsters, but I still think in terms of horror monsters.
And he picks some odd titles. For example, he sees Steven Spielberg's "Duel," as a horror film. Though, to give the author his due, he is not the first one to do that.

Thus, if there is any book so far this year, that I recommend. It is this one. Expecially for anybody who posts to this board.

Now, if the events of 1983 had never happened.

Next time: 1919, or the year Chicago went up in fire and flame.




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Ed, Ego and Superego on August 17, 2012, 04:39:55 PM
"just my Type" by Simon Garfield.  A history of fonts and an introduction to font and typography design,

Just finsihed re-reading Sex Lives of Cannaibals by J. Maarten Troost


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on August 17, 2012, 06:44:52 PM
Just finished:

I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution by Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum. Faaaaan-tastic book about the first 10 years of the channel (y'know, when it was actually cool) and explores its impact not only on television and the music industry, but pop culture in general. There are tons of great behind-the-scenes stories in here.

Now in the middle of:

Black Sabbath - Doom Let Loose by Martin Popoff - an album by album pictorial history of Black Sabbath, loaded with tons of geek trivia about the band, behind the scenes photos, and tons of fascinating pix of vintage concert advertisements, magazine covers, weird foreign 45s and EP covers, etc., etc.





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on August 25, 2012, 09:25:34 PM
I tried to read the first book of The Wheel of Time series, approaching it with excitement and high hopes because it sounds like a great collection of novels, but I could not get into it at all and finally shelved it. I'm bummed.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 25, 2012, 09:34:36 PM
I read the first five, and found out the series wasn't finished, and never came back to them.  I know that the series has a huge following, but I found them drawn out and boring (this from a guy who has read THE SILMARILLION about 20 times!!).

I just finished CATCHING FIRE, the second volume in THE HUNGER GAMES series.  I cannot recommend these books highly enough.  You will NOT be able to put them down!!!!

(The movie ain't bad either!!)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on August 26, 2012, 01:50:35 PM
Dreamcatcher by Stephen King. About halfway through, really, really good. Also reading 'Striking Thoughts' by Bruce Lee, which is very interesting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on August 26, 2012, 07:11:28 PM
It's So Easy and Other Lies by Duff McKagan of Guns N Roses/Velvet Revolver fame.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on August 27, 2012, 01:47:21 PM
The Diary of Ralph Josselin. Available online, this 17th century Puritan minister kept a diary for almost half a century.

A frequent theme:

Sunday August 12, 1649
"...the lord in mercy keep me in his fear continually..."

But he was also a first-person witness to several civil war battles:

Friday 29 March 1644
"Waller victorious over Hopton , near Alsford; and turned back the forces of Rupert that we feared would have come on after they had routed our forces at Newarke..."

It's a window on rural England 350 years ago, and an insight into the mind of a Puritan clergyman. Dry but filled with small bits of unique information.

Available in full at:
http://linux02.lib.cam.ac.uk/earlscolne/diary/index.htm


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 27, 2012, 11:11:35 PM
Sounds interesting, but I am not sure I could wade through it.  At least not right now.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on September 04, 2012, 11:13:00 AM
Amy, My Daughter by Mitch Winehouse.

Poor Amy...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on September 04, 2012, 04:12:34 PM


(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4073/4943998698_4796a2623d.jpg)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on September 05, 2012, 07:00:35 PM
Except for Ray Bradbury, a couple of the big name writers, a subscription I used to have to Asimov's, and the occasional dabbling in anthologies here and there, I don't read a lot of science fiction, but I often enjoy the little bit I do get into. I discovered Michael Swanwick 3-4 years ago and thought his work was absolutely great. Does anyone know of any sci-fi writers who are like Michael Swanwick? I feel the urge to get lost for a while in something escapist and any recommendations would be highly appreciated.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on September 05, 2012, 11:16:17 PM
Have you read any of the GAME OF THRONES series? (Technically it's called A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, but most folks know it by the title of the first book).  Very compelling read!

I've started re-reading my Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child collection.  Finished RELIC monday and am now reading CABINET OF CURIOSITIES (my copy of RELIQUARY somehow got ruined, I bought a replacement copy on EBay).  Great series.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on September 06, 2012, 08:24:50 AM
Yeah, I did read those, indy. I sort of picked up the first book and ended up reading right through all five last year. That was the first time since LOTR in eighth grade I'd read that genre. I thought the series, A Song of Fire and Ice, not LOTR, ranged from absolutely great to not bad at all, and I hope the writer lives long enough to finish the remaining books. It must have been sucky to have been a fan waiting for years between the release of each title, and I wish he'd hurry.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Andrew on September 06, 2012, 12:04:47 PM
Currently reading "A Military History of the Western World Vol 2, from the Defeat of the Spanish Armada to the Battle of Waterloo."

Dreamcatcher by Stephen King. About halfway through, really, really good. Also reading 'Striking Thoughts' by Bruce Lee, which is very interesting.

So it is much better than the movie?  Obviously, the book seemed marketable enough to make into a movie, but being popular fiction is not equal to an enjoyable book.  I haven't read any new King books in a long time. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 08, 2012, 02:17:27 PM
Ye-es!

Gary Krut's "City of Scoundrels : the 12 days of Disaster That Gve Birth to Modern Chicago."

Chicago figuratively and literally exploded the summer covered in the book, as a blimp flying over the city crashed into down, killing 13 and injuring dozens. The first civilian air disaster in American aviation history.

Then a few days later, the city once more exploded into fire and flame, as whites started attacking blacks and blacks started fighting back. Up to that time, the worst race riot of the 20th century and with 38 dead and 537 injured, still one of the worst race riots of the 20th century.

That was the worst divide in the city, but there were other divides, as Chicago was a bitterly divided city in 1919.

Democrats vs. Republicans

Ethnicity vs. Ethnicity
(As the animosties that gave rise to the recently concluded WWI continued to be played out in the streets of America.)

"Good government" vs. current government

Jews vs. Jews
(or the assimilatred, educated Jews of northern and western Europe vs. less assimiliated, less seducated Jews of eastern and southern Europe.)

Jews vs. Poles
(Continuing the pogroms then on going in Poland.)

Labor vs. Labor
(See Black vs. White)

Labor vs. Management
(or, inflation vs. a business downturn.)

Lithuanians vs. Poles
(See Ethnicity vs. Ethnicity)

Local officials vs. State officials


Police (both black and white) vs. rioters (both black and white)

Politicans vs. the Press barons

The poor and the middle class vs. the Rich

Republicans vs. Republicans
(See Local officials vs. State officials)

The book, besides pointing out all the differences in the city, made  several other points.

(1) History is not the simple subject, they tried to teach us in school.

(2) The more things change, the more they stay the same.

(3) Which means, when people complain, maybe they should look in the mirror, because people often bring their complaints down on themselves.

(4) Though, even though they brought it down upon themselves, they deserved better.

(5) Unfortunately, the honest proved incompetent at running the city, while the dishonest proved competent, they also proved themselves to be venal.

(6) If you want to hear the good, then you must hear the bad, but to see only the good is to miss the bad.

(7) And most importantly, the effects of history today, do not end the next day or the next week or the next month or even the next year. Indeed, the book has a chapter that shows how the events of that year reverberated into the next decade. But, if one knows one's history, one realizes that the events of 1919 continue to reverberate even today and will continue to reverberate till the earth is a blackened cinder orbiting a burnt out star.

One last point. If anything good can be said for Chicago in 1919, it was that year it was the home of some some of the most influential Americans of the 1st half of the 20th century.

Jane Addams -- Clarence Darrow -- Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis -- Ring Lardner -- Charles Macarthur -- Carl Sandburg -- Ida B. Wells-Barnett.

Next time: something from that other great American city New York City.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on September 09, 2012, 09:19:16 AM
Currently reading "A Military History of the Western World Vol 2, from the Defeat of the Spanish Armada to the Battle of Waterloo."

Dreamcatcher by Stephen King. About halfway through, really, really good. Also reading 'Striking Thoughts' by Bruce Lee, which is very interesting.

So it is much better than the movie?  Obviously, the book seemed marketable enough to make into a movie, but being popular fiction is not equal to an enjoyable book.  I haven't read any new King books in a long time. 
I haven't seen the movie, but the book's awesome. Finished it a couple of days ago. The first 300 pages are arguably better than the rest, and it's definitely not perfect, but I really enjoyed it. Recently read 'The Book: On the taboo against knowing who you are' by Alan Watts which was extremely interesting. Now reading 'Stick' by Elmore Leonard. Enjoyable crime novel.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Andrew on September 09, 2012, 06:36:27 PM
Currently reading "A Military History of the Western World Vol 2, from the Defeat of the Spanish Armada to the Battle of Waterloo."

Dreamcatcher by Stephen King. About halfway through, really, really good. Also reading 'Striking Thoughts' by Bruce Lee, which is very interesting.

So it is much better than the movie?  Obviously, the book seemed marketable enough to make into a movie, but being popular fiction is not equal to an enjoyable book.  I haven't read any new King books in a long time. 
I haven't seen the movie, but the book's awesome. Finished it a couple of days ago. The first 300 pages are arguably better than the rest, and it's definitely not perfect, but I really enjoyed it. Recently read 'The Book: On the taboo against knowing who you are' by Alan Watts which was extremely interesting. Now reading 'Stick' by Elmore Leonard. Enjoyable crime novel.

Thanks, I'm going to put Dreamcatcher on my list of books to read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on September 19, 2012, 10:42:42 AM

As I continue to work my way through the entire Doc Savage paperback collection from Bantam Books:

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51d9Hr0YBfL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on September 19, 2012, 12:26:56 PM
Read today that the sequel to The Shining is to be released next September. Despite my better judgment I can't help but be excited about that.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 19, 2012, 04:16:36 PM
Ye-es!

The story of a city that morphs into a story of a man and a city.

Richard Zacks' "Island of Vice : Theodore Roosevelt's Doomed Quest to Stop Sin Loving New York."

The author's 5th non-fiction book and a native New Yorker, for only a native New Yorker could give you that feel for the city at the dawn of a new century--the 20th.

He also gives you a good feel for Theodore Roosevelt, who was a remarkable man with many remarkable strengths, especially for that time in American history.

a.) He was not a racist.
b.) He was not an antisemitic.
c.) He did not believe in the "double standard," when it came to marriage.
d.) And he hired one of the first women to work for the NYPD.

But, the author is fair enough to point out for all of Teddy's remarkable strengths, he also had a number of remarkable weaknesses.

a.) He could be condescending.
b.) He often wore blinders. If he did not see it, then it did not exist.
c.) If something went wrong, he blamed everyone but himself.
d.) He saw everything in shades of black and white, but never shades of gray or grey.
e.) He saw no contradiction in shutting down the working man's bar, but leaving open the upper class drinking clubs.
f.) He believed if a woman was virtuous enough, she would never fall into vice. We now know it is a little more complicated than that.
g.) You were either for him or agianst him. There was no middle ground.
h.) And he was an utopian in a job that required a realist.

Which is why he started off well, but in two short years alienated almost everyone in New York City.

The politicans. Both . . .
a.) Democrats and Republicans.
b.) Reformers and Tammany Hall.
The public
The press
The police
And his fellow police commissioners.

The author also gives you a good handle as to why Teddy did what he did, during that time. For example: his zealous pursuit of Demon Rum may have been due to the fact that his feloved younger brother died an alcoholic.

Where the author fails is giving you an handle on why Teddy's opponents, and they were many, did what they did.

Next time: continuing the historical vein, but this time something mysterious and fictional.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 30, 2012, 02:25:20 PM
Ye-es!

If the invading Angles gave their name to England, then the fleeing Britons gave their name to the Breton area of France. Which makes that area linguistically interesting, as the local dialect spoken there is closer to the dialects spoken in certain areas of England, such as Cornwall, then the rest of the French dialects.

Peter Tremayne's "The Dove of Death : a Mystery of Ancient Ireland." 19th in the Sister Fidelma of Cashel series.

The subtitle is a bit of a misnomer, as the story like the last one, which I have not read takes place in France. The next one, which I have read and hope to review later, does take place in Ireland. But while it does not take place in Ireland, the author continues to delve in the linguistics, military tactics, politics, religion and social mores of the 670s A.D., but in that area of France.

Politically, it was a divided time. Not only did you have the continuing struggle between the Angles and the Britons, but in France you had the struggle between the Bretons and the Franks, and Ireland was divided between 5 kings. One of whom was the brother of the heroine of the story.

As for religion, while I knew about the split in the Christian church between East and West, I did not know that the Christian church in the West was split between the Church in Rome and the Celtic Church. The author being one of those who think the wrong side lost in that split.

Next time: a miscellaneous array of books


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on October 06, 2012, 12:21:43 PM
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BGcyj3RKaRw/Tbizn4YPstI/AAAAAAAADdo/Y1q003XCa4g/s1600/4-24-2011%2B10%253B09%253B37%2BPM.JPG)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 06, 2012, 03:31:22 PM
Ye-es!
Miscellaneous.

Orson Scott Card's "Ender in Exile" (in graphic format)
The sequel to "Ender's Game" and one year after.
As a followup, a film version of "Ender's Game" is coming to theaters in November of next year.

Laurell K. Hamilton's "Circus of the Damned" (in graphic format)
The 1st 3 volumes.
v.1. The charmer -- v.2. The ingenue -- v.3. The scoundrel.

Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes" (in graphic format)
One of the times the film version is better than the book, and I have read the book. For a couple of reason.
1.) I have always found horror better presented visually than verbally. And . . .
2.) Whereas the book is presented in the present, the film is presented in the past, and the story just seems to work better in the past than the present.

Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles" (in graphic format)
While there never seems to have been a film version of the story, there was a TV miniseries version of the story, which was on TV a number of years ago, and which I remember as being a fairly faithful adaptation of the book. At least, the first parts of the book.
What I think most interesting about the book is that the present is interpreted as being from 1946 to 1958, while the future is interpreted as being from 1999 to 2026. Some of which is already our past.

Next time: More miscellaneous


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on October 06, 2012, 04:07:58 PM
(http://www.fictiondb.com/coversth/th_0553587196.jpg)

Piccirilli is a very strange  man.



Also just picked up  vol. one of the Complete Bloom County.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 19, 2012, 04:47:04 PM
Ye-es!
Miscellaneous mysteries.

Graham Moore's "Sherlockian"

Nothing particularly original, but what is unoriginal is pretty prime.

A present problem can only be solved by resolving a problem in the past.
Past: When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle died, he left a multi-volume diary to posterity. Unfortunately, the diary is not complete, as there are several volumes missing. This tells what happened to one of those volumes.
Present: Who took it. When it was taken. Why it was taken. Where it was hidden. And what happened to it after it was rediscovered is quite logical.

Doyle as detective. Bram Stoker in a work of fiction. These always work, as does the writer's description of the pain of violence, and the emotional sense of betrayal one feels, when one is betrayed by someone one thinks one can trust. The writing also comes across as being remarkablely self-assured for a writer who has only written one previous novel.

What does not work is the villain the past, who comes across as being gay. (And we really, really must talk about gays in mysteries sometime in the future.) That is not why it does not work. It does not work, because we never really get to know the villain, so he never really comes across as being credible.

Next time: more miscellaneous mysteries, but first Ebert's lates, but far from greatest.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: spongekryst on October 22, 2012, 12:24:08 AM
Re-reading these, because they're short.

(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y3diyDsgtCM/TeGO-nR0gdI/AAAAAAAAAJI/8vnXSoTuRug/s1600/KingscratchCover.jpg)
(http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1330389466l/13503084.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on October 28, 2012, 09:19:28 AM

(http://ca.pbsstatic.com/l/60/0360/260360.jpg)




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 28, 2012, 01:50:33 PM
Ye-es!

Roger Ebert's "A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length: More Movies that Suck."

Ebert's latest, but far from greatest.

A couple of things that are good. A couple more that are ugly (i.e. neither bad nor good), but mostly just bad. So, we'll start with the bad.

Total films = 211
Films seen = 12 or 6%
Films liked = 10 or 83%

A sequel to "Your Movie Sucks," which I have not read, but I did read the one previous to that "I Hated, Hated This Movie."

Total films = 247
Films seen = 51 or 21%
Films liked = 33 or 65%

I. His ability to differentate between what sucks and what does not suck is in decline.

On the other hand . . . On the other hand . . .

"Ebert's the Great Movies"

Total films = 100
Films seen = 40 or 40%
Films liked = 25 or 62.5%

II. Roger, the films that you dislike are not the ones that suck. The films that suck are the ones you like.

Except for his ex-partner, the late Gene Siskel, which is understandable, he does not think much of his fellow film critics.

III. They are idiots, at least some of them, and their opinions, at least some of them, are idiotic, too.

IV. And, oh yes. Fanboys are idiots, as well.

Some time ago, there was an exercise on the world wide web, maybe more than one, as to which film generas Ebert should go nowhere near. At least near enough to write a review. I don't know whether there was any concensus, but I wonder it it wasn't action films. He likes the action film "The Mummy: the Tomb of the Dragon Emperor." It is watchable. I have seen it, but it is not a good film, but more importantly there are no good action scenes in it. On the other hand, there are four films listed in his latest book, that have some of the best action scenes I have seen. All, of which, he, of course, dislikes.

V. He does not know action as well as he thinks he does.

As he rightly points out, there is nothing worst than a comedy that thinks it is funny, but is not. He should have taken that to heart.

VI. He is not as funny as he thinks he is.

He decries the lack of realism in a film, but when a film tries to be a bit more realistic, he decries the lack of unrealism in the film.

VII. He contradicts himself.

He thinks Abilene is the prettiest town he has ever seen. He must not get out much. I have been to Abilene. It is not the prettiest town in the U.S. It is not even the prettiest town in Texas.

VIII. He shows his ignorance, when he talks about something besides films.

Okay. What is ugly?

IX. He talks about himself constantly. Normally, that is bad, as ht detracts from your subject, but as I do it, too. I can't critize him too much.

X. His reviews are at most two pages. Good if you want a quck read. Bad, if you want some fine detail about a film.

And what is good?

XI. He is a braver man that I am. Some of his reviews are hard enough to read, but he not only had to write the review. He had to see the film.

XII. He is knowledgable about films.

Next time: More miscellaneous mysteries.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on October 28, 2012, 05:18:02 PM
Ye-es!


Except for his ex-partner, the late Gene Siskel, which is understandable, he does not think much of his fellow film critics.


Ironic, considering those two genuinely hated each other when Gene was alive, and his replacement co-critics were constantly kissing Roger's butt (at least in the episodes I saw).

I hadn't really thought about it, but you're right, Ebert's not a good judge of action.   Fair enough if that's just not your thing, and I realize most critics believe themselves to be "above" the genre in general, but when you watch as many movies as he does, you should be able to at least objectively tell the difference between action that's well-presented and what isn't.  (I mean, he didn't even like DIE HARD! Siskel at least liked DIE HARD!)
Ebert always struck me as taking a little too much, unwarranted pride in his own intellect.   But his reviews are often entertaining, I'll give him that.





As for my reading, I just started Cormac McCarthy's OUTER DARK.  Because I'm a masochist.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on October 28, 2012, 05:45:34 PM
(https://mises.org/store/Assets/ProductImages/B242.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 04, 2012, 02:36:28 PM
Ye-es!

More miscellaneous mysteries.

Anne Perry's "Treason at Lissengrove"
The 27th in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series

While it stands alone and can be read before reading the others, this might not be a good start to the series. Not because the hero has just left the London police for the governmental agency that would morph into M.I.5/M.I.6 or protecting the U.K. from terrorists home and abroad, but because the motivations are rather murky and the villains' final plot is rather far fetched. And while it is readable, alot of it is internal monologues, which are more difficult to read.

C. J. Sansom's "Heartstone"
The 5th in the Matthew Shardlake Tudor mystery series

Positives . . .
Complex
Realistic
A good write

Negatives . . .
Confusing
Inconsistent characters
And I seldom have seen such angry characters in a novel, which hardly makes for the most pleasant read.
And the profanity in the book just grates on the ears.

Charles Todd's "A Bitter Truth"
The 3rd in the Bess Crawford mystery series

I have also read the 4th in the series, which we'll get to later, so we'll just talk about the authors now. Charles Todd is actually a pseudonym for a two person writing team, and to make it more unusual, it is a mother-son duo. Certainly, he/she/they have had someone close to them in the army, but one wonders if one of them or both were once a nurse. They have that part so nailed down. Of course, not from WWI, as everyone from then is dead, but from one of the later wars.

Ellen Crosby's "The Sauvignon Secret: a Wine Country Mystery"
The 6th in the series All Wines

There is at least one later one in the series, which I have not read. The series is easy enough to recognize. There is a different wine in each of the titles, and each mystery deals in some small part with winemaking.

Next time: Okay, everyone. We can all go home now. Everything on the subject has already been written.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 05, 2012, 11:58:46 PM
A friend of mine threw Cloud Atlas down on the ground, spat at it, kicked it and called it terrible names. Not liking to see any book abused, I picked it up and put it on my "READ SOON" shelf.  Heard mixed things about it. We'll see...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 15, 2012, 05:46:51 PM
Ye-es!

Okay, everyone. We can all go home now. Everything on the subject has already been written.

Amanda Foreman's "A World on Fire : Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War.'

What apparently started out as a diplomatic history of the U.K. and U.S. during the War, apparently morphed into something more like a economic, literary, military, political, religious, and social history of the U.K. and the U.S. during the War.

And quite an achievement on the authoress' part, as this is only the 2nd book she has ever written.

Eminently readable, because of the illustrations, maps, and her eye for the humorous situation.

It also gives credence to the belief, "That the more things change. The more they stay the same."

If the press does not lie, then neither does it tell the complete truth.
Some politicans are still self-serving. Saying something in public and doing the total opposite in private.
Moderation is still held in low regard.
And compromise is still held as being an act of cowardice, instead of an act of courage.

Of course, some things do change.

It is no longer the amateur hour at the state department, as the U.S. now does have a professional diplomatic corp.
Civil service has weeded out some of the worst examples of the patronage system.
And Washington is now a plum assignment. Now only because of the position of the U.S. in the world, but because Washington, D.C. is a far more livable city than it was 150 years ago.

Probably the last word on the subject.

Next time: the most powerful book of the 19th century.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on November 15, 2012, 06:18:59 PM
"Cinema 1: The Movement-Image" by Gilles Deleuze

I have a feeling I am going to regret it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on November 18, 2012, 02:41:06 PM
(http://www.marieclaire.com/cm/marieclaire/images/yb/book-reviews-1112-1-de.jpg)

*fangirl squeal*


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on November 19, 2012, 02:00:10 PM
(https://www.bibdsl.co.uk/imagegallery2/bookdata/cd359/9780091900427.JPG)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 30, 2012, 02:22:23 PM
Ye-es!

David S. Reynold's "Mightier Then the Sword : Uncle Tom's Cabin and the Battle for America"

It was not the message that was so mighty, which had been presented previously. It was the way it was presented that made it mightier. For it was a more nuanced message then previously. Not all Southeners were bad. Not all Northeners were good. That's what made it mighty. That and the previous shrill rhethoric of the message which had turned off alot of people was now toned down.

But, as mighty as it was, when read, it was even mightier when seen. For more people saw the stage presentation, then read the book. And it even changed American theater.

Which had previously been mostly comic skits, interspersed with song and dance interludes, was now one-long form play with acts and scenes.
Which had previously been suitable for only men to see, was now suitable for women and children to watch.
Which had previously been seen only on weekday nights, because of the demand, now gave rise to afternoon matinees and weekend performances.
It gave blacks some of their first starring roles on the stage.
It gave blacks and whites a change to mingle on stage.
And it gave some future white stars, such as Mary Pickford, their first acting experience.

And the message was such, that even in the days of "Birth of a Nation" and "Gone with the Wind," which espoused the superiority of whites over blacks, the message was still being espoused, but it was coming from a strange source. It was coming from the cartoon studios of Walt Disney and Warner Brothers. And here the message was not that blacks  were equal to whites, but that blacks were superior to whites, and miscegnation was to the good.

And the message was not only an abolitionist message, but a temperance message, and a call not only for the empowerment of blacks, but a call for the empowerment of women and workers, as well.

Next time: a miscellany of fiction and non-fiction.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on November 30, 2012, 02:47:28 PM
Currently in the middle of a Star Wars novel, "Tatooine Ghost," by an author whose name escapes me at the moment.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 09, 2012, 02:28:18 PM
Currently in the middle of a Star Wars novel, "Tatooine Ghost," by an author whose name escapes me at the moment.

Troy Denning. A good writer. I haven't read any of his "Star War" novels, but I have read some of his fantasy novels, and as I said a good writer.

Ye-es!

A miscellaney of fiction and non-fiction.

Miller and Shales' "Those Guys Have All the Fun : Inside the World of ESPN.'

An oral history by the same writers who did a previous oral history on "Saturday Night Live."

As long as you do not make the mistake of thinking their latest is a reflection of the great
moments in sports, as seen by ESPN, this is a good read or, how a father and son's idea for an all-sports network morphed into the biggest sports network in the world. They do seemingly get everybody to talk, especially when there are two or more sides to an issue that might be controversial. The only thing it needs is a "Dramatis Personae," while the speakers are identified with their position the first time they appear, that is the only time this happens, so afterwards, it is hard, especially for the off-air personalities to be identified with their position.

Stephen King's "The Stand" v. 5 in graphic format.

This reminds me alot of the "Star Trek" films, for just as the even number films were thought to be better than the odd number films, so the even numbered volumes in this series are better than the odd numbered volumes. Thus, this volume is not as good as volume 4 or volume 6, which is the next and last volume. And which we'll try to get to later.

Next time: a cdontinuing miscellaney of fiction and non-fiction.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on December 10, 2012, 09:04:46 AM
About to start a zombie Western (!) called "Portlandtown: A Tale of the Oregon Wyldes" by Rob DeBorde.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Vik on December 11, 2012, 05:01:47 AM
Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson
and
Batman: The Long Halloween (comic).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on December 13, 2012, 12:14:34 PM
About to start a zombie Western (!) called "Portlandtown: A Tale of the Oregon Wyldes" by Rob DeBorde.

This one simply wasn't grabbing me after around 100 pages so I ditched it. Returned it to the library and picked up:

Making Friday the 13th: The Legend of Camp Blood by David Grove - a very thorough, trivia packed book on the making of each installment in the legendary slasher film series. I'm already enjoying this a ton and I'm only finished with the chapters on the first two movies.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 14, 2012, 12:03:20 PM
Jeeves in the Springtime, by P.G. Wodehouse.

Still amazingly funny after seventy-five years.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on December 16, 2012, 01:03:16 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51wO3P8NmUL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg)

Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe - traces the history of Stan Lee's four color empire from its humble late 1950s beginnings to the current multi-media powerhouse of today. Tons of geek trivia, right up my alley.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 19, 2012, 04:57:13 PM
Ye-es1

Stephen Budiansky's "Perilous Fight : America's Intrepid War With Britain in the High Seas, 1812-1815."

His 13th book. So, one of those writers who'll turn their hand to almost anything, where there might be some money to be made.

The subtitle is a bit of a cheat, as the book actually covers the U.S. Navy from about 1804 to about 1820. Other than that, how does this book differ from previous books on the subject, including a well-received book by Teddy Roosevelt.

The writer goes into more detail how bloody and brutal was naval warfare in the 1810s. Thus, he covers the cost of such warfare, especially as the cost was greater because of the incompetence of some of the Americans involved, and because of the in-fighting among the Americans.

He also expresses more sympathy for the racial minorities involved, then I've seen before. And he covers in greater detail the British side of the war, then I've seen before.

Patricia Briggs' "Mercy Thompson : Moon Called" v. 1 of 2 in graphic format.

Mercy is a coyote shapeshifter who runs with a pack of werewolves in the area, who don' trust the local vampires, who don't trust the local witches, who don't trust the local fae, who don't trust the humans in the area, who don't trust none of the above. So, a bit of conflict. Not only among the groups, but within the groups as well, as everyone seems to be looking out for their own interests, as opposed to the interests of the group.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is that it is set in Washington State, and how Washington State seems to be the new stomping ground, not only for werewolves, but for vampires as well. As they are seeming almost everywhere, from Spokane in the east, to Forks in the west, to Seattle in the north, to the Tricities area in the south, where this one is set, or almost the whole state.

Including the "Twilight" series which is set in Forks, which drives me nuts. I know Forks, having lived near there for a number of years. And no self-respecting vampire would be caught living or dead in Forks. If there were such things as vampires, and they lived on the Olympia Penisula, where Forks is located, then they'd live in old Port Townsend or the newer Port Angeles.

Next time: an almost continuously continuing selection of fiction and non-fiction.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Archivist on December 19, 2012, 11:48:35 PM
Recently, I started to go through Eric Lustbader's Ninja series again, for the first time in well over ten years.  I first read The Ninja in the mid 80's and worked my way through as they came out.  Right now I'm halfway through The Miko and enjoying it.  Far from being a 'straightforward' American author, he has some quite florid turns of phrase, and tells the story through a series of flashbacks that illuminate present characters.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 24, 2012, 06:06:51 PM
The 125th anniversary issue of National Geographic. Just came out and it's about human exploration. Good stuff!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 24, 2012, 08:30:23 PM
Jeeves in the Springtime, by P.G. Wodehouse.

Still amazingly funny after seventy-five years.

It's actually ROADHOUSE, not Wodehouse.  And the movie was R, not PG.
I do not recall a character named Jeeves, but it has been awhile since I've seen it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on December 28, 2012, 01:05:56 PM
THE DEVLIN DIARY, which is pretty much just a chick-flick version of THE DA VINCI CODE, but oh well...

Also just finished CAUGHT by Harlen Coben.  Enjoyed it.  The moral is, don't believe anything you read on the internet, ever.   :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 29, 2012, 01:04:57 AM
The Diary of Dorothy Wordsworth, 1798. I like her keen descriptive powers that verbally illustrate rural life in the placid west country of England amid the symphonic rhythms of nature, but the chick lived with her brother and seriously needed: A) her own place, and B) some good "kissing."

Happy 2013 to everyone!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on December 29, 2012, 02:00:58 PM

Also just finished CAUGHT by Harlen Coben.  Enjoyed it.  The moral is, don't believe anything you read on the internet, ever.   :wink:

I don't believe that was the moral.  :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on December 31, 2012, 07:13:24 PM
(http://www.thetelegram.com/media/photos/unis/photo_1087143_resize.jpg)

Started this one while the power was off the other night (we had a power outage). Seemed appropriate somehow...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on January 01, 2013, 04:47:36 PM
Received up "Lint" by Steve Aylett for Christmas. It's a satirical biography of a fake science fiction author (based on Phillip K. Dick).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on January 08, 2013, 09:14:49 AM
(http://s4.hubimg.com/u/7546391_f260.jpg)

I just finished this excellent (although depressing, infuriating and horrifying) book on the infamous 2003 "Great White Nightclub Fire" in Rhode Island, written by one of the lawyers involved in the class action lawsuit on behalf of the survivors and the victims' families.

I wrote a review of it on my blog here....

http://hub.me/aeIxW


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 08, 2013, 06:04:35 PM
I just finished re-reading Doris Kearnes Goodwin's TEAM OF RIVALS: THE POLITICAL GENIUS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. This is far and away the best Lincoln book I have ever read, and maybe one of the best ever written.  Certainly by the end of it you really get a feel for Lincoln as his contemporaries saw him, and as history has judged him.  A bit on the lengthy side, but never a dull moment. The garrulous Seward, the serene and competent Edward Bates, the ever ambitious and double-dealing Salmon Chase, and the anal retentive Edwin Stanton all are wonderful extras in this great literary stage piece.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on January 15, 2013, 03:52:12 PM
"Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey in Rural North Dakota" by Chuck Klosterman.

Since he published this debut book a few years back, Klosterman has gone on to become an in-demand pop culture writer, music critic and occasional VH1 commentator ("I Love the 80s"). Here he recalls his formative years growing up in a hick town, when he was obsessed with the music of Poison, Motley Crue, Guns N Roses and the like.

Some funny stuff here, but be warned that Klosterman has apparently grown up into one of those snide, hipster douches who says "Oh yeah, I used to listen to that stuff, then I grew up." So if you're one of the humorless, diehard "metal warrior for life" types this book is just gonna p*ss you off. However, if you can look back on the '80s rock era with a healthy dose of irony, you're gonna laugh a lot.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Andrew on January 15, 2013, 05:03:50 PM
Fat Chance by Lustig. It's a study about a driving factor of metabolic disease. Yes, obesity but he is more focused on the disease of which obesity is just a symptom.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: spongekryst on January 16, 2013, 11:24:14 PM
Almost finished with Carrie by Stephen King (first time reading it).

Before that I blazed through this:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5133MJ17lJL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)

I highly recommend Bizarro Fiction to everyone on this site (shameless plugging: activated). Seriously, for everyone of us who love bad/b/z/cult/strange/horror/sci-fi movies, there is a literary equivalent.

http://bizarrocentral.com/ (http://bizarrocentral.com/)
Check it out! Please! There are pickled meats! And squid jerky!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 19, 2013, 01:04:16 PM
Ye-es!

Chaucer's Canterbuyr Tales
Adapted into graphic format by Chawst.

Probably the greatest work to come down to us in Middle English. And probably one of the greatest unfinished works in English Lit. While there were suppose to be anywhere from 60 to 120 stories in the collection, we get only get from 40% to 20% of that number, before the author quit. For reasons that are still unclear. But what we get is prime stuff, and a good look at what life was like in medieval England.

The problem is to find a format in which to read the stories. For even if the stories are translated into modern English, they can prove to be a bit of a slog. A good way, I have found to read them, is to read them in a children's adaptation of the story, but the problem with that is the more risque of the stories are often omited. So a graphic format may be the best way yet.

The BBC a number of years ago did do a series based on the stories updated to modern times, which I saw when I was in the U.K. But the problem with that was that you needed some knowledge of the stories to understand the series. Even earlier there was a stage musical version of the stories, which I also saw, when I was in the U.K. While not a complete collection of stories, at least you needed no prior knowledge of the stories to understand what was going on.

And a bit of a warning. While not rare for those days, the author's anti-semitism is strong enough to make one squirm. On the other hand, his Wife of Bath is one of the great liberated female characters in English lit, especially one for that day and age.

Also Matt Phelan's "Around the World"

Some of the best books are for children and/or teens, and this is one of them. The story of three Americans who soloed around the world. Thomas Stevens a Colorado miner and bicyclist, who was the first man to bicycle solo around the world in 1884. Nellie Bly a New York reporter who was the first woman to solo around the world in 1889. And Josh Slocum a Massachusetts sea captain who was the first man to sail solo around the world in 1895. All three of whom who wrote best sellers.

M. J. McGrath's White Heat

A mystery set in northern Canada and Greenland. Knowledgable on that area, maybe because she has written five previous non-fiction books on that subject. The problem is that there are too many villains with too many different motivations. But she does have a recent sequel out. Another mystery, but this one is set in Alaska.

Ann Parker's Meercury's Rise.
The 4th in the Silver Rush mystery series

About a single woman in 1870's Colorado Territory, who not only has to face the problem of murder, but life as a single woman in that place and time. All the titles are recognizable because they all have an element of the periodic table in them

Next time: 2984


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: bob on January 24, 2013, 11:39:51 PM
Inspired by the upcoming film adaptation and by my Cracked article I'm going to be giving The Great Gatsby another read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 24, 2013, 11:58:15 PM
I just finished RICHARD AND JOHN: KINGS AT WAR by Frank McLynn.  This is a fascinating look at the life and reigns of the two children of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II who both became kings of England.  The five children of that famous couple were nicknamed "the Devil's Brood" by their contemporaries, and several of them lived up to the name! While modern revisionism has done its best to besmirch and downplay the accomplishments and character of Richard and tried to rehabilitate the reputation of John, McLynn uses extensive primary source research as well as careful scholarship from later authors to confirm that what the bards said was true: Richard was a brave, skilled, and ferocious warrior, a careful and capable diplomat, and a largely honorable and admired king, while John was, in fact, pretty much the toad he has always been portrayed as.  Written in fine prose, this book runs a bit dry in places, but then serves up some wonderful verbal nuggets that make you glad you kept reading.  A really excellent work of medieval history.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 26, 2013, 04:01:28 PM
Ye-es!

"2984," which is actually two books by Charles A. Mann.

"1491," which covers the Americas and its inhabitants up to Columbus' discovery, and "1493," which the sequel and which covers the Americas and its inhabitants after Columbus' discovery, and which I like better, as it also covers the inhabitants of Africa, Asia, and Europe and takes the story up to the 1st half of the 20th century.

What both books due, having the latest information available, is to show how much of what we thought was true was actually false. It is not that people set out to be false, but that they were working with information that was often incomplete, and as people have dug down deeper--both literally and figuratively--the information has become more complete, and thus more true.

This has nothing to do with the book, but it is an example of what I mean. For a long time, it was thought that there was no such thing as a distinct period known as childhood in the Middle Ages. That is because almost everything that came down to us from that time showed children as being no more than little adults. But as people have dug down into the earth and found toys for children, they have discovered that there was a phase known as childhood which was distinct from adulthood. No idea of how long it lasted, but there was something known as childhood which was distinct from adulthood.

The 1930's. A bad time for the world economy, but a good time for the comics. 1929 to 1939, was indeed the Golden Age of Comics.

Some of the characters which got their start at that time and still strive and thrive today and are still some of my all time favorites include . . .

Batman -- Superman -- Blondie -- Buck Rogers --  Dick Tracy -- Flash Gordon -- Jungle Jim -- Lil' Abner -- Mandrake the Magician -- Popeye -- Prince Valiant -- Secret Agent X9 -- Tarzan -- Terry and the Pirates -- TinTin.

And some of the illustrators and writers include . . .

Calkin -- Caniff -- Capp -- Davis -- Eisner -- Falk -- Foster -- Gould -- Hammet -- Herge -- Raymond -- Young.

The only problem is that most likely we'll never see its like again.

Next time: a little more Batman.

 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: InformationGeek on January 29, 2013, 04:19:20 PM
Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein (reading for Women's Studies class): Talks about screwed up the media, commericalization, and the idea of pretty and pink is screwing up young girls, leading to premature sexualization, depression, increase rates of narcissim, etc.

As Long as They Don't Move Next Door by Stephen Grant Meyer (reading for U.S. History class): Looks at the dark side of the North states regarding their own racism and segregation when it came to neighborhoods.

Rule and Ruin by Geoffery Kabaservice (reading for personal interests): Focuses on the downfall of moderation and destruction of the Republican Party, saying it did not start with the Tea Party but truly began when Eisenhower left office back in 1960.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 07, 2013, 04:12:46 PM
Ye-es!

A little Batman.

Batman has always been one of my favorite comic characters, but he has never been one of my favorite comic characters to read. Reasons for which we will get to later. Here are at least some I found readable. Not good. Only two  or three stories, excluding the early comics, which have never been topped (IMHO), have I found to be good, but at least they are readable. Unlike most of the Batman stories.

Paul Dini's "Streets of Gotham: Hush Money."
Yoshinori Natsuma's "Batman: Death Mask"
Chuck Dixon's "The Chalice"
"Batgirl, the Greatest Stories Ever Told"
Kevin Smith's "Batman: Cacophny"
Judd Winick's "Batman; Long Shadows"
Grant Morrison's "Batman: R.I.P."

As to reasons I dislike so many of the stories . . .

Maybe it is the way that they are drawn, but I often find the secondary villains, or the "hired help," as I call 'em, overshadow the primary villains.

The confusion. I find the stories often to be confusing. And the pictures as well, especially if they are trying to express any type if action.

But mostly it is the lack of . . .

Consistency. It may be the hobgoblin of little minds, but I like it. Snow White is the same as she was 76 years ago, and she will be the same 76 years from now. And I like that. I don't like the lack of consistency in Batman. Not so much the pictures, which I understand, but in the storytelling, which seems to be going off in all directions.

There are, though, a couple of things I found in all these. First, Commissioner Gordon, seemingly, has become the heart and soul of the stories. And if Commissioner Gordon is the heart and soul, then Alfred is the rugged rock round which all the ragged characters run.

Next time: Something different and new.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 16, 2013, 04:53:00 PM
Ye-es!

Hugh Aldersey-Williams'
"Periodic Tables: a Cultural History of the Elements, from Arsenic to Zinc"

The periodic table from a cultural perspective (art, literature, music, etc.) While he does not cover every element in the table, he does make those he does cover more interesting. At least more interesting that the ones we learned about in school.

Richard Coniff's
"Swimming with Piranhas at Feeding Time: My Life Doing Dumb Stuff with Animals"

A man who travels the world writing essays for magazines on the subject of animals and the people who study them. And believe me. If there is an animal out there, there is someone somewhere studying it. The title comes from his swimming in a tank of piranhas in an aquarium. And their reputation is worst than their bite.

Hal Foster's
"Prince Valiant"
v.4 v.5

Every volume covers two years, so v.4 covers 1943 and 1944, and v.5 covers 1945 and 1946. With the page size being the same size at the comic in the Sunday papers. Foster probably the greatest Sunday comic cartoonist who ever lived. Even Barks, who knew something about drawing the Sunday comics, bowed to the superior skills of Foster.

More next time . . .


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on February 21, 2013, 05:54:01 PM
My buddy Rob sent me what he claims is a leaked page from the upcoming Sandman prequel. It certainly looks authentic, and the story seems Gaiman-esque. It might be the real deal...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on February 21, 2013, 07:11:13 PM
I bought the Poseiden however you spell it Adventure to read at the tire store. its pretty good.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Bushma on February 21, 2013, 07:58:16 PM
I just finished "Warm Bodies". I saw the trailer want was interested in the movie then I learned there was a book. The book was kind of dull, the trailer seems like the movie will be more interesting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on February 22, 2013, 10:38:51 AM
Almost finished with Carrie by Stephen King (first time reading it).

Before that I blazed through this:
([url]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5133MJ17lJL._SL500_AA300_.jpg[/url])

I highly recommend Bizarro Fiction to everyone on this site (shameless plugging: activated). Seriously, for everyone of us who love bad/b/z/cult/strange/horror/sci-fi movies, there is a literary equivalent.

[url]http://bizarrocentral.com/[/url] ([url]http://bizarrocentral.com/[/url])
Check it out! Please! There are pickled meats! And squid jerky!


The book I was reading before, Steve Aylett's "Lint," is considered Bizarro. Although "Lint" was more of a literary outing than a typical Bizarro story.

Now I'm reading

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61W3nkqX%2B-L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg)

"150 Movies You Should Die Before You See." I bought it based on the title, but it's very disappointing. Anyone on this site could do as good or better of a job. Some of his choices for "bad" movies are indefensible (he considers THE BLACK CAT with Karloff and Lugosi one of the worst movies of all time?? Seriously??)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on February 22, 2013, 12:07:27 PM
I have 50 pages to go in Bastards & Boneheads: Canada's Glorious Leaders Past and Present.  It is sort of a 'crash course' in Canadian history and culture and contrary to what all Canadian school kids come to believe it is very VERY funny!  The author - Will Ferguson - has a way with words and an appreciation for the extreme ironies that make reading about our country's past hysterical.  And all the while remaining oh-so-very Canadian.  It is not necessary to agree with the author in order to appreciate the points he makes. :thumbup:  His chapter on the '90's is a classic!  It's a quick read and packed with entertainment (again, despite the subject matter!)  I recommend it to anyone with an interest in our history and/or in understanding Canadian perspectives.  


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on February 22, 2013, 12:11:41 PM
"150 Movies You Should Die Before You See." I bought it based on the title, but it's very disappointing.

With that title and cover, I would have bought it too.  Still might, if I come across it in a bin somewhere.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: spongekryst on February 23, 2013, 11:22:30 PM
Almost finished with Carrie by Stephen King (first time reading it).

Before that I blazed through this:
([url]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5133MJ17lJL._SL500_AA300_.jpg[/url])

I highly recommend Bizarro Fiction to everyone on this site (shameless plugging: activated). Seriously, for everyone of us who love bad/b/z/cult/strange/horror/sci-fi movies, there is a literary equivalent.

[url]http://bizarrocentral.com/[/url] ([url]http://bizarrocentral.com/[/url])
Check it out! Please! There are pickled meats! And squid jerky!


The book I was reading before, Steve Aylett's "Lint," is considered Bizarro. Although "Lint" was more of a literary outing than a typical Bizarro story.

Now I'm reading

([url]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61W3nkqX%2B-L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg[/url])

"150 Movies You Should Die Before You See." I bought it based on the title, but it's very disappointing. Anyone on this site could do as good or better of a job. Some of his choices for "bad" movies are indefensible (he considers THE BLACK CAT with Karloff and Lugosi one of the worst movies of all time?? Seriously??)


Really? Did he ever see the Fulci one?

That's pretty cool that someone on the site has at least heard of Bizarro. I really dig Jordan Krall's books. You should give him a read sometime, especially Penetralia, which reads exactly like a lost Andy Milligan script.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 25, 2013, 04:25:16 PM
Ye-es!

Charles Finch's
"A Burial at Sea"
4th in the Charlies Lennox series.

Who is killing the officers of a British warship in the middle of the Med during the last half of the 19th century.

One would like to see the author do a straight spy novel, but this is neither fish nor fowl. It starts off as a spy novel, then morphs into a murder mystery, and then morphs back into a spy novel at the end.

There is at least one more book in the series. Charlie is back on land and trying to solve a murder mystery set in a small English village.

Peter Tremayne's
"The Chalice of Blood: a Mystery of Ancient Ireland"
21st in the Fidelma of Cashel series.

After the last two books being set in France, Fidelma is back in Ireland and trying to solve a locked room mystery set in an Irish monastery.

What I find interesting is how advanced they were in the treatment of the insane. I don't know what happened, but it'd be another 1100 years, before the treatment of the insane were so advanced.

Cassandra Clark's
"Parliament of Spies: a Mystery"
4th in the Abbess Hildegard

I've read the first in the series, but then missed the next two.

On the way down to London to attend the opening of Parliament, who killed one of the fellow travelers, and is now seemingly trying to eliminate all the witnesses to the first murder.

A time of threats both internal and external and divides. Externally, France is threatening to invade. Internally, the friends and foes of Richard II are jockeying for position. And the Catholic church is divided between the adherents of the Pope in Rome and the Pope in Avignon. Just don't think you'll get an unbiased account, as the authoress is a supporter of Richard II.

Anne Perry's
"An Acceptable Loss"
17th in the Monk series. Monk. ex-London policeman. ex-Amnesiac. He has regained his memory. ex-private enquiry agent. Now member of the river police, which is separate from the London police, and is responsible for solving crimes on the river and/or next to the river. And her second series.

Like a previous book in the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series, which I have read, a pedophile ring operating on the river has to be taken down. And this time the heroes are determined to also take down the man who has been funding these rings.

Elly Griffiths'
"The House at Sea's end: a Ruth Galloway Mystery.
4th in the series

Ruth Galloway is a forensic archaeologist, or someone who is called upon by the police to gather evidence at a crime scene, where someone or someones have been buried.

Here she has to gather evidence for a crime that was committed during World War 2, and which may be the cause of why so many people associated with the crime are apparently being murdered today.

Again, what I found interesting, is that one cannot only tell the age and sex of someone from their skeletal remains, but also where they are from.

Peter Helton's
"Four Below: an Inspector McLusky novel"
2nd book in the series and the author's 5th book overall

A modern day police procedure. The interest is in the author, who is not a native Brit, but an ex-pat German, who came to the U.K. and stayed. So his take on the subject is a little bit different.

Next time: Even the nicknames are now forgotten.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on February 25, 2013, 04:31:49 PM
Just finished Clive Barker's "The Damnation Game" - like all things Barker it's vivid and unsettling, but more accessible than some of his other stuff.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 25, 2013, 05:15:36 PM
"150 Movies You Should Die Before You See." I bought it based on the title, but it's very disappointing.

With that title and cover, I would have bought it too.  Still might, if I come across it in a bin somewhere.

Agree.

I don't know where they get these people, who think they know what bad movies are, as I have seen better bad movie lists on this board, then the ones listed in the book.

I have seen 18 of the movies listed in the book. Liking 9 and disliking 9. Which says something about the book, but more than that, as REV. Powell as pointed out "The Black Cat" should be nowhere near a bad movies list.  And I'd add the somewhat sequel to that "The Raven." That doesn't belong. And also "Cemetery Man," "Creature from the Black Lagoon," and "The Mask of Fun Manchu..

And while "Moonraker" may be far from the best Bond film ever made, it is certainly not the worst. Nor is "Gothic" the worst film that Ken Russell has ever made. Making several films that are considered worst.

Good title. Bad contents.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on February 25, 2013, 05:36:13 PM
I'd read that but from the cover I suspect I'd end up throwing it against the wall or something given I actually love many of the movies already on the cover...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on March 05, 2013, 07:06:46 AM
I joined the local 'Friends of the Library' group.  I was helping sort donated books yesterday for our upcoming book sale.  I was told to throw out any non-fiction book published before 2000...so I ended up rescuing a number of books from the recycling bin, this one included:

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ay99oor2L._SL500_.jpg)

The other volunteers were chuckling at me, but I could not help but think of all the older OOP books I have been scouring the sales for - for years - that they might have stripped of their covers and thrown in the trash.  :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :thumbdown: :bluesad: :bluesad: :bluesad:  My stomach still has not settled.  At least I have saved a few - and will have opportunity to save more.  :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 05, 2013, 01:56:24 PM
Ye-es!

Harold Schechter's
Psycho USA : Famous American Killers You Never Heard Of
14 previous works of non-fiction and 5 previous works of fiction, which seem to have some connection to Poe.

179 years of murders, murderers, and murderesses, or, over 2 dozen of the worst of the worst. Including . . .

the poison fiend -- the pittsburgh poisoner -- the witch of staten island -- the family annihilator -- the veiled murderess -- the cherry hill murderer -- the black-eyed borgia -- the inhuman butcher -- the monster in shape of a man -- the "tell tale heart" killer -- the man of two lives -- the waterville poisoner -- the virago of vermont -- the smutty nose butcher -- the fox -- the northwood murderer -- the siren of the swamps -- the french monster -- the bluebeard of quiet dell -- the pocasset horror -- the cape cod vampire -- the mad sculptor -- the worst man who ever lived -- the brownout strangler -- and the world's worst demon.

They had nicknames then.

Also . . .

Julie Flynn Siler's
Lost Kingdom : Hawaii's Last Queen , the Sugar Kings, and America's First Imperial Adventure

Problem with this is is it's a bit one sided. You get an understanding of one side, but not the other. Even though both sides were willing to use violence to get what they wanted. And both sides were willing to overturn the will of the majority of the islanders to get what they wanted.

One thing brought out, is that like the North American continent, whites got their toehold on the islands, the continent, but introducing their diseases to the natives. Diseases which the natives had no natural immunity. Thus, creating a vacuum exploited by the whites.

And . . .

Denise Mina's
The End of the Wasp Season
1 previous trilogy plus 5 or 6 more fiction.

If you like Ian Rankin's Rebus, then . . . the homophobes, the racists, the sexists. The hatred of one's superiors. The close connection between the law and the lawlesss. She also has the teenage male nailed down, but this still may not be a good start to her writings. As she herself admitted, it was a mess, and required alot of work by others to get it into shape to be published.

Next time: one of those stories that once made the headlines around the world, but is now mostly forgotten.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on March 05, 2013, 04:48:00 PM
I'm about halfway thru "Superman Vs. Hollywood: How Fiendish Producers, Devious Directors, and Warring Writers Grounded an American Icon" by Jake Rossen - a very interesting book on how badly the Superman character has been mishandled (barring a few exceptions, like the Fleischer Bros. animated shorts of the 40s and the first two feature films w/Christopher Reeve) by show-business over the years.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on March 06, 2013, 12:38:31 AM
The Carrie Diaries.
(I lost a bet...)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on March 07, 2013, 02:23:15 AM
Finally sat down and finished this Wally Hickel book called "Who Owns America?"

My Mom gave it to me, and unless you are really super-interested in Alaskan history, I recommend you give it a go.

It's a typical politico book. "I was right, they were wrong, here's my newsletter."

There were a couple of amusing points. One, Hickel was fired from the Nixon administration in 1971, a few years before the Spiro Agnew and Nixon resignations. The book was written before that particular imbroglio. Two, current politicos are there in nascent form. Donald Rumsfeld and George Romney show up.

Pretty crappy book, but I'm an Alaskan with a keen interest in history. I may be the only person to have actually read this book in the last fifty years.

Ah well, at least it was better than George Fitzhugh's "Cannibals All."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 12, 2013, 05:44:02 PM
Ye-es!

Paul French's
"Midnight in Peking : How the Murder of an Young English Woman Haunted the Last Days of Old China"

Take one dead girl, a grieving father, an unknown murderer, two detectives (one Chinese, one English) Add 3000 other foreigners, who were sent there, came there, or drifted there, and never left. Plus an American school, English and Russian banks, a French post office, a German hospital, an Italian confectionery, a Portuguese church, and a Swiss hotel. Toss in a handful of criminals: Asian, European, and North American. Surround by a million Chinese, who owe their loyalty to the Nationalists, the Communists, and those whose only loyalty is to themselves. Top with the Japanese army, and you have a heck of a story for a film. Especially because of the colorful characters, including the grieving father.

A man you literally could not kill. Twice he survived attacks by bandits. Two fires. Two massacres. Death by drowning, Death by shipwreck. Death by trainwreck. And falling through a building skylight to the floor many feet below. Plus when he was in the Taiwanese jungle, he became so ill, he was thought to be at death's door, but, he saved himself by walking to safety alone and unaided. And he spent two years in a Japnese internment camp and walked away from that as well.

The only problem is that the case was never solved. While the author comes up with a logical supposition explaining the why, the who, the where, the when, the what, and the how, that is all it is is supposition.

Also read . . .

William Ryan's
"The Darkening Field"
or, the 2nd in Alexi Korolev series

How do you make someone likable, when you have been told almost all your life, that all Russians are unlikable. It's not easy.

Elizaabeth Hand's
"Available Dark"
The 2nd or 3rd in a trilogy with at least one more to follow. Plus 10 or 11 more works of fiction.

A book with one of the better endings, I have read. And we thought we had economic problems. This book takes place in Iceland, just after the total collapse of the Icelandic economy. The situation was so dire, that it was thought the Iceland government would have to declare bankruptcy to get out of the economic mess.

Just names, titles, and serieses and my recommendations for these two.

Anna Dean's
"A Gentleman of Fortune, or, the Suspicions of Miss Dido kent."
2nd in the Dido Kent series.

Robert Barnard's
"A Charitable Body"
The 41st in the Charlie and Felicity Peace series

More to follow next time


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 20, 2013, 03:10:33 PM
Ye-es!

Eric Chaline's
Fifty Animals That Changed the Course of History

Chosen because they were edible, medicinal, commercial, and/or practical. Gives their native range, scientific class, and size. An interesting mixture for both the scientist and the public.

Gareth Rubin's
Crap Days Out

Title should be "Crap Days Out [in the U.K., or the 148 Worst Tourist Attractions in Great Britain] But I've seen 14 or about 9% of them, and I enjoyed all 14. So don't let the author's opinions stop you from visiting them, as I am not sure whether he is totally serious or not.

Andrew Lane's
Rebel Fire
2nd in the Sherlock Holmes : the Legend Begins series

Sherlock takes on an exotic animal collector and an unconverted Rebel to prevent the invasion of Canada. Where he meets people both factual and fictional. Among the factual people he meets is Count Zeppelin and John Wilkes Booth, who is a little worst for wear. If the 1st in the series shows how Sherlock became interested in bees, this shows how and where he learned to play the violin. A promised 3rd in the series coming, where Sherlock and his older brother Mycroft go traveling and encounter the Giant Rat of Sumatra.

Only names and titles for these, but they do come with my recommendation.

Jaden Terrell's
A Cup Full of Midnight
2nd in the Jared McKean mystery series

Benjamin Black's
Vengeance
5th in the Quirke series

Hakan Nesser's
Munster's case
6th in the An Inspector Van Veeteren mystery series

Next time: 6, no 7, graphic novels


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on March 23, 2013, 06:24:51 PM
Spent Friday helping to sort books at the library again and came home with a carton-full of 'rescued' tomes.   I was very excited to spot a paperback copy of Shirley Jackson's "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" on the top of one box.  It turned out to have loose pages, so I scooped it before it went into the recycling bin.  If you have read "The Haunting of Hill House" (yes, the source of the movie) you will understand my interest in this one: Jackson's writing is a phenomenon not to be missed.  Such a talent.  Always intense.  Who can resist a novel that opens with:

My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live withmy sister Constance. I have often thought that with any luck at all I could have been born a werewolf, because the two middle fingers on both my hands are the same length, but I have had to be content with what I had. I dislike washing myself, and dogs, and noise. I like my sister Constance, and Richard Plantagenet, and Amanita phalloides, the death-cup mushroom. Everyone else in my family is dead.

 :thumbup:  Whee!

Then there is an odd little book, translated from the Polish and somewhat obscure perhaps, by Alexandra Orme entitled "Comes the Comrade!" about the experiences of a well-to-do family of mixed Polish and Hungarian heritage during WWII and the Russian occupation of the part of Hungary they were living in.  It is 'odd' because it is equally humorous and awful by turns.  It may well represent the chaos and bizarre order of the conditions of war.  It is a good read, so far.  Here's a review that gives a good idea of what it is like:   https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/alexandra-orme-2/comes-the-comrade-2/



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 23, 2013, 07:56:21 PM
I am re-reading THE GRASS CROWN, the second volume of Colleen McCullough's enormous MASTERS OF ROME series. I have read all these books before, twice, but when I start one I always wind up re-reading the entire series.  Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, if they were anything like she portrays them, were truly larger than life figures.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on March 24, 2013, 05:37:56 AM
I'm reading about 10 or 12 books at the moment. That's not impressive, it just means I read books in fits and starts.

But I have got a fixation at the moment on Joseph Stalin.

I first got interested in him when I read McCullough's Truman, which is a fantastic book. In that book, both Truman and Churchill, knowing full well what atrocities Stalin had done, could still refer to him in friendly terms. "Uncle Joe." They liked the guy.

I read Young Stalin, which approaches his start. Now I'm reading The Court of the Red Tsar, by the same author, Sebag Montefiore, which really gets into his terrifying reign. At the same time, I'm reading Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Judt, which, at least in the beginning, describes the machinations of Stalin to carve the world into a Soviet Empire.

Let me say, I don't like Stalin. (I know, hard hitting.) But he is probably the most powerful man that has ever lived. Whatever you think about Socialism versus Capitalism, Stalin managed to twist it all into Bolshevism, which captured half the world. His means were less than friendly. Basically fascism with a better ideology (because it was backed by military power).

Well, it all eventually failed, but I wasn't interested in that. I was interested in how one of history's greatest monsters, of which Stalin is, he killed more of his own citizens than Hitler ever succeeded in exterminating the Jews, could be regarded as a "good guy" by both Truman and Churchill.

So I'm reading. Stalin is one of history's greatest monsters.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on March 24, 2013, 08:03:17 AM
He saved the world from Trotsky at least. Not his followers unfortunately http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoconservatism


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 24, 2013, 01:38:08 PM
A very interesting take on Stalin's ongoing effect on Russia and Europe is a novel called ARCHANGEL by Thomas Harris. Fiction, but with a strong factual background.

One thing I find fascinating is that we STILL have no idea of just how many Stalin killed.  Estimates range from a low of 20 million to a high near 60 million.  That's INSANE!

BTW, I have read both books you mention, as well as numerous biographies of Truman and Churchill (and FDR).  I think Truman and Churchill both knew Stalin for what he was, but  also recognized that he was A.  a very valuable ally against Hilter and B. a personally charming man when he wanted to be.  The one who truly seemed to have no clue what a monster Stalin truly was would be FDR.  If you like this time period, I recommend Thomas Fleming's THE NEW DEALER'S WAR.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 25, 2013, 04:05:07 PM
Ye-es!

All graphic novels. All the time.

Hal Foster's
"Prince Valiant" v.5.

Two years worth of full-size Sunday comics in every volume. This covers the years 1945 and 1946.

Ian Fleming's and Jim Lawrence's
"The Spy Who Loved Me" and "The Harpies"

The last of Fleming's original novels serialized for the comic pages, and Lawrence picking up where Fleming left off with hardly a miss. Lawrence and others would continue the comic strip series, off and on, for almost another two decades, from the '60's to the '80's.

Mark Ward's
"Ruse : the Victorian Guide to Murder"
In the manner of Sherlock Holmes, but Ward isn't the storyteller that Doyle ws.

Jeff Jensen's
"Green River Killer : a True Detective Story"

A graphic novel by the son of the lead detective in the case. The story does point out, that serial killers don't spend all their time serial killing, as they do have some sort of home life. And the police detectives who chase these serial killers don't spend all their time chasing serial killers, as they, too, have some sort of home life.

Rick Geary's
"Lovers' Lane : the Hall-Mills Mystery"

His 2nd true crime series. His 1st deals with murder in the U.S. and the U.K. during the 19th century. This series deals with the same subject in the 20th century. His graphic telling of the story and the other stories in the series makes them easy to follow.

"Star Wars Omnibus: Droids and Ewoks"

Another Star Wars omnibus or collection of comics and comic books featuring the characters from the "Star Wars" films. Here the emphasis is on C3P0, R2D2, and the Ewoks. While the Ewoks stories are mainly geared toward kids, the Droid stories, and they are the only ones I have seen so far, are geared toward both kids and adults.

Dean Koontz'
"House of Odd"
3rd in the series in graphic format.

Not effective (IMHO) as the previous two, which you have the natural doing the unnatural, as here the author delves somewhat into the supernatural. As a side note, there is talk of adapting the series into a film for the big screen.

Next time: ?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: WingedSerpent on March 26, 2013, 08:28:07 PM
The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the war for the Holy Land by Thomas Asbridge.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 01, 2013, 03:03:51 PM
Ye-es!

First 2 from Paul C. Doherty

Bloodstone:
being the 11th of the sorrowful mysteries of Brother Athelstan

Who's killing off the last surviving members of a company of archers that many years ago fougt in France.

The Mysterium:
a Hugh Corbett medieval mystery

Our hero tries to track down a hired killer operating in medieval London, before he can kill again.

These are only two of seven on-going series of 56 fiction books by Doherty. One of the most interesting is a combination mystery horror series based on the characters from Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales." For example, in the first in the series, who is killing off the residents of a town in England? Is it the hive of vampires that has recently been spotted in town?

And . . .

David King's
Death in the City of Light : the Serial Killer of Nazi-occupied Paris..

If anybody was said to be a product of his time, it's this serial killer, who during the war made use of the Nazis or Germans occupying Paris. The collaborators, who thought the best way to survive was to collaborate with the enemy. The resisters, who were divided into the Communists and Gaullists, who thought the best way to survive was to resist the enemy. And everybody else, including most of the Jews, most of whom actually survived to the end of the war, who thought the best way to survive was to keep one head's down and get on with life, the best way one could. The exception to the Jews being those who were shipped to the concentration camps. Few of whom actually returned to France.

There are several other books on this story, but this is probably the best one yet, as he does not suggest anything that cannot be proven by the facts as we know them. And as a sidenote, Georges Simenon fictional detective Commissaire Maigret, was based on the man, who for a time, was the lead detective on this case.

And several graphic novels.

Tales from the Crypt
in 9 volumes

Volumes 1 to 6 being stories of terror. Volume 7 being a mixture of stories. And volumes 8 and 9 being story parodies. Maybe because terror seems to be simpler to write than parodies, the best volumes are the early volumes in the series.

The compendium "Flying Blind"
made up of "The Amazing Spider-man" #674 to #677 and "Daredevil" #8

And just an author, title and a recommendation for these.

Catherine Aird's
Past Tense:
a Sloan and Crosby Mystery

James Thompson's
Lucifer's Tears
2nd in the Inspector Vaara series

C. S. Harris'
When Maidens Mourn
7th in the St. Cyr mystery series

Next time: More miscellaney


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on April 02, 2013, 03:10:01 PM
     One of the library aides recommended this to me; gonna start it tonight....

(http://jacketupload.macmillanusa.com/jackets/high_res/jpgs/9780765326454.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on April 07, 2013, 03:03:09 PM
Twelve Years A Slave - one of the bestselling pre-Civil War slave narratives, this is the account of Solomon Northup who was born a free man in New York but was nabbed and sold into slavery by - apparently - a human trafficking ring.  I'm only three chapters in and it's already pretty horrific.  Indie director Steve McQueen (yep, that's really his name, and ironically he's neither American nor white) is doing a movie adaptation of it which should be interesting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 07, 2013, 03:33:38 PM
Ye-es!

Laura Lenright's
Vaampires Most Wanted :
the Top 10 Book of Bloodthirsty Bites, Stake-wielding Slayers, and Other Undead Oddities

The subtitle says it all. A top list book of most things vampire.

Andrew Humphrey's
Grand Hotels of Egypt :
in the Golden Age of Travel

A way of life that is dead, except for that which is remembered in the colored and black-and-white illustrations in the book, and in the writings of . . .

christie -- coward -- doyle -- durrell -- faulkner -- flaubert -- forster -- lear -- kipling -- maugham -- melville -- shaw -- thackeray -- twain -- waugh.

All of whom stayed in one of the grand hotels mentioned in the book, and in all the times the Aussies went wild during WWI, when they were stationed in Egypt. Beating up the natives, overturning the buses and trams, shooting up the bars and cafes, and burning down the brothels. They were so well remembered that when WWII came around, the Egyptian government asked that no more Aussies be stationed in Egypt.

David Meeker's
Jazz in the movies :
a guide to jazz musicians, 1917-1977.

Either their appearance on the screen and/or in their contribution to the film score. A comprehensive collection, and a good collection if one is interested in such. Of course, now out of date. And, oh yes, Probably the oldest book I've read.

Next time: We'll continue with nonfiction read and recommended.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on April 07, 2013, 03:55:51 PM
Indiana - am surprised you would recommend New Dealer's War. Isn't it a little revisionist for your tastes? I haven' read it but have read Buchanan's one. and Bully Boy, where Fleming makes fun of TR.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 07, 2013, 08:18:55 PM
Fleming is an absolute flamethrower - I am currently reading  his THE ILLUSION OF VICTORY: AMERICA'S WORLD WAR I EXPERIENCE.  I rarely agree with him, but he still makes his points with clarity and eloquence and is never boring, which is the most I ask out of any historian.  Revisionists are a necessary part of the historical process; they force us to re-think our conventions and question whether or not we got it right.  From what I have read of Fleming, he seems to be one who just loves to take aim at idols and see if he can knock them off their pedestals.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on April 07, 2013, 08:53:43 PM
inevitably history gets turned into a one dimensional tale with heroes and villains out of central casting. Liberals do that with FDR who had many bad ideas as chronicaled by unpopular revisionists like Garet Garrett in Peoples Pottage. Everyone's starving: lets kill thousands of pigs!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 07, 2013, 09:36:42 PM
FDR's actions with the AAA saved American agriculture, according to many.  He was a very complex and Machiavellian character; I think many of his New Deal actions were absolutely necessary at the time, but led to unintended negative consequences.  I do think he usually meant well, and had the sense to abandon initiatives that did not work.  Conrad Black wrote an excellent biography of him a few years ago.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on April 08, 2013, 08:06:30 AM
I don't think they saved anything. If they had it would have been called the not that bad Depression, instead it was Great. He ended prohibition though so that helps his legacy in libertarian terms.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on April 08, 2013, 11:15:56 AM
"One Human Minute" by Stanislaw Lem. A collection of three fake book reviews from the Polish science fiction author.

Also, I picked up Roger Ebert's "I Hated, Hated, HATED This Movie" again for my bathroom reading.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on April 08, 2013, 03:34:28 PM
I used to read this book "Hollywood talks turkey" at the library in college. It was epic, amazing


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on April 11, 2013, 08:49:33 AM
Mallowan's Memoirs (1977) by Sir Max Mallowan.  (Subtitled on the cover "Agatha and the Archaeologist": he was married to Agatha Christie.)   A very dense book - it's astounding how 'small' the world was once upon a time; everyone you have heard of interacted with everyone else who has become 'known'.    Between the (now famous) archaeological adventures and the personal notes on Ms Christie's doings they make a fascinating couple.  Hearing it in Sir Max's own words brings it all closer.

Tolkien: a Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings" by Lin Carter (1969).  A compilation of essays on many aspects of the trilogy.  This one is fun because being from 1969 it acts as a 'time capsule' of a sort.  I remember 1969...and 'discovered' LOTR in the mid/late-70's, so Carter's views are both nostalgic and revealing to me. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on April 11, 2013, 05:10:39 PM
Started reading The Box by Richard Matheson. Actually it's a collection of short stories that are so far proving somewhat interesting and different in that the lead protagonist is often a detestable and unlikable character.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 12, 2013, 04:23:40 PM
Ye-es!

Moushey and Dvorchak's
Game Over :
Jerry Sandusky, Penn State, and the Culture of Silence.

A couple of reporters take on the story. Fair and balanced. Concise, but complete, up till the date it was published. Of course, events have now overtaken it.

Steve Coll's
Private Empire
Exxon/Mobil and American Power
His 7th work of non-fiction

Everything you wanted to know about Exxon/Mobil and more. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Ben Taylor's
Apocalypse on the Set
Nine Disatrous Film Productions

Perhaps, not so much disatrous as difficult productions of films that were financial successes. Financial failures. Critical successes. Critical failures. Not much similiarity between the films, except that bad news is better than good news. And if the film press can't find bad news in a production, they'll make it up. One more knock on the book is that most of the stories are already well known.

Tracie McMillan's
The American Way of Eating
Undercover at Walmart, Applebees, Farm Fields, and the Dinner Table.
Authoress' 1st book

She begins in the farm fields of California, working as a migrant picker, then goes to her home state of Michigan, where she covers the middle in the food process working at a Walmart, and then she goes to New York City, where she covers the end of the food process working at an Applebee's. And then returns to Michigan to work in a different Walmart. And  the last chapter provides hints on how people can eat healthier and better, if cheaper.

I'll give her credit as having more courage than I do, because I wouldn't have the courage to do what she does. She also has a personality that allows her to succeed.

Next time continuing with fiction and a graphic novel read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on April 17, 2013, 11:22:25 AM
Recently finished Rowling's The Casual Vacancy, and enjoyed it. I used to say she was a better storyteller than a writer (not a put-down, it's a trait many authors share) but this novel was well-written and impressively literary. I look forward to her next work!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Bushma on April 17, 2013, 12:17:57 PM
I just finished Day by Day Armageddon: Shattered Hourglass third/last book in the series.  I didn't like the way this one was written compared to the first two, and I didn't like the ending either.  Oh well.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on April 17, 2013, 03:59:56 PM
David Stockman "the Great Deformation" Amazing so far


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 20, 2013, 01:08:16 PM
Ye-es!

Three mystery novels and a graphic novel.

Qiu Xiaolong's
"Don't Cry Tai Lake"
8th in the Inspector Chen series. Also a poet and translator of Chinese poetry into English.

Who killed the Chinese industrialist? Was it his wife? His son? His mistress? An underling? A business rival? The enviromentalist?

A reminder that politics is more deeply embedded into a criminal investigation over there, then it is even here.

Robin Blake's
"A Dark Anatomy"
1st in the Cragg and Fidelis' series

A lawyer (middle age, married, a Christian) joins forces with a doctor (younger, single, an atheist) to discover who murdered the squire's wife, who has some real dark secrets, especially for 18th century England, when and where the mystery takes place.

Donna Leon's
"Beastly Things"
the 21st in the Commissario's Guido Brunetti series. Since most, if not all, of the books in the series take place in Venice, she has also written a guidebook to Venice and a Venetian cookbook.

Who killed the slaughterhouse vet? And what does his death, if anything, have to do with what is going on at the slaughterhouse?

And the graphic novel.

Gail Corrigan's
"Soulless"

1st we have the werewolves, who travel in a pack and are always headed by an alpha male, who is seconded by an alpha female and a beta male.

Then we have the vampires, who travel in a hive, and are headed by a male or a female, with the rest of the vampires being known as drones.Actually, the head vampire determines the sexual orientation of the other vampires. If the head is a male, then the other vampires are homosexual, but if the head is female, then the other vampires are heterosexual.

The werewolves and the vampires don't like each other or trust each other, but they will work with each other.

There are werewolves and vampires that are solo operators. The werewolves being called loners, and the vampires being called bleeders, but they are more vulnerable.

Then there are the humans who neither like nor trust the werewolves nor vampires, but who use then anyway. The werewolves for their brawn, and the vampires for their brains.

And then there is the last group, the soulless, who are the most dangerous, as they can kill with a touch, at least werewolfves and vampires, and who are used to keep everyone else in line.

Pluses: the illustrations which are done by the Japanese, and the secondary characters in the story.

Negatives: the human villain, who is not effective as a villain, and the unnecessary violence.

Next time: more recommendations.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on April 21, 2013, 02:00:42 PM
A Life magazine from April 1945 I found in a thrift store. The best fifteen cents I've spent on something that wasn't edible.

In fact, this is it right here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=B1AEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

(Doesn't the future queen look purdy?)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on April 25, 2013, 10:33:05 AM
Stephan King's 11/22/63. It concerns a man who goes back in time to try and prevent the assasination of JFK. Very long book! But excellent! One of his best!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 25, 2013, 01:48:24 PM
Ye-es!

Charles Todd's
The Confession
14th in the Ian Rutledge Mystery series

After WWI, people are dieing and disappearing from a family estate in a village near London. Who is responsible?


Elizabeth George's
Believing the Lie
18th in the Inspector Lynley novels. Also writer of one non-fiction book and two books of short stories.

A man dies while out boating on a lake near the family estate. Was it accident, or was it murder? As Lynley investigates, at the behest of the family, other family secrets come out.

This starts out as one thing. Then morphs into something else. Then morphs into something else again. And then morps into several something elses. Besides all the morphs, it is long for a mystery. Most mysteries run between 200 and 400 pages, but this runs somewhere between 500 and 700 pages. Long, but readable.


Ian Rankin's
The Impossible Dead
2nd in the Matthew Fox series

Fox investigates an accident that may not have been an accident.

I actually like this series better than the author's better known Rebus series. Fox actually shows up in the next Rebus novel after this one.


Eleanor Kuhns'
A simple murder
1st novel

When an ex-soldier, ex-farmer, now a traveling weaver, becomes the main suspect in the murder of several members of a Shaker village in New England at the end of the 18th century, he stays on to try and solve the mystery. While working to solve the murders, he finds romance with an ex-Shaker gal and re-establishes a relationship with his teenage son, who he has not seen for several years.

Enter a contest for best first novel and win. A bit rough, like most first novels, but you can see why the authoress won. She certainly has a talent for writing. Of course, the question is: "Where does her character go from here?"


And just a name, a title, and a recommendation.

Hilary Davidson's
The Next One to Fall
2nd novel


Next time: a half dozen graphic novels


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on April 25, 2013, 02:14:16 PM
Some instructions I found for putting up speakers from a 1980s vintage "home theater surround-sound TV."  I guess the Japanese didn't want to spring for a genuine American translator and I got a pretty good little laugh off this.

An excerpt: "To regard wires into speaker 'A' forcefully to secure wires into slot marked 'red'. To join with TV backward face wire with prong ends into hole marked 'yellow'. Press until securely joined."



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: spongekryst on April 26, 2013, 04:17:36 PM
(http://forrestarmstrong.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/cameron.jpg)
(http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/swamp.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on May 03, 2013, 02:09:28 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51k5Yhv0kYL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU02_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 03, 2013, 04:09:47 PM
Ye-es!

Stephen King's
"The Night Has Come"
v.6. and final v. of the graphic version of "The Stand"

As I said before, these remind me of the "Star Trek" films. Just as those even numbered films are better than the odd numbered films, so this is better than v.5., even if it does have 3 endings. The 1st and 3rd endings are fine, but the 2nd ending goes on too long. And, oh yes, King himself gets to make a cameo in the 6th and final v.

Laurell K. Hamilton's
"The Scoundrel"
v.3. and final v. of the graphic version of "Circus of the Damned"

Jonathan Kellerman's
"Silent Partner"
The 4th in the Alex Delaware series in graphic format.

He has written at least  23 more books in that series, and 7 other fiction books, 4 non-fiction books, and 2 childrens' books.

Richelle Mead's
"Frost Bite"
v.2. in her 6 v. "Vampire Academy" series. In graphic format.

Pendis' and Andreyko's
"Torso"

aka The Cleveland Butcher. For the murderer's area of operations. aka The Headhunter of Atterbury Run. For the murderer's decapitation of his victims. Some before they were dead. The crime that brought wrack and ruin to Eliot Ness' career. (Yes, that Eliot Ness.) Though, he had a good suspect in the case, whose murders stopped, when the man was sent to a mental asylum by his politically connected family, Ness never had enough proof to prove guilt.

This is not the first fiction or non-fiction book on the case, but except for a couple of twists at the end, it does follow the case fairly accurately, as far as I remember, so it may be a good intro. And there are photos of what the area looked like, during the time of the murders.

Next time: How many times can I say "Not impressed" and a HIGH RECOMMENDATION.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 03, 2013, 10:51:45 PM
I just finished Thomas Fleming's THE ILLUSION OF VICTORY,  a scathing denouncement of Woodrow Wison's leadership in World War I.  Now I am reading his THE NEW DEALER'S WAR, a scathing denunciation of Franklin Roosevelt's leadership in World War II.  Thomas Fleming is fond of scathing denunciations.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: jimpickens on May 04, 2013, 02:45:54 AM
Be Bad Now by W. Hock Hochheim.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 08, 2013, 03:05:59 PM
Ye-es!

George R. R. Martin's
The Game of Thrones
(in graphic format) v. 1.

Most fantasy writers will give you some idea that they have a little knowledge of what "life" was like in "those days," but not Martin. From hiring the wrong people you'd never hire in the first place to using the wrong armour in snow country to not knowing how to kill someone without drawing attention to yourself, he shows a substantive lack of knowledge.

Not impressed

As for the book upon which the graphic version was based . . .

Anybody that needs more than a thousand pages to tell a story needs a better editor.

Not impressed

I have read some of his prior fiction.

Not impressed

As for the TV show which is based on the books . . .

I do not have a TV at home, so the only time I watch TV is when I am away, and once in my hotel room I was channel surfing using the remote, and I came upon the show, so I stopped to watch it for the first time. I lasted 3 minutes, before I had to change the channel. While it looks good, I will give them that, it is the most ridiculous unpleasantness I have ever had the misfortune to watch on TV.

Not impressed

On the other hand, something that did impress me on TV . . .

Continuing on with my channel surfing, I came across an episode of "Phineas and Ferb," where all the characters went back in time and became cavemen and cavewomen and one monkey. And they were all speaking caveman gibberish or monkey gibberish, but all the characters were so similiar to what they were in present time, you could understand them without really understanding what they said. And "Swampy" Marsh and his creative partner Dan Povenmire had cameos as the guys explaining everything that was happening, both to each other and to the audience. That was both clever and funny as heck.

As for something else that impressed me . . .

Jacques Tardi's
It Was the War of the Trenches

The author took the stories he heard from sitting at his grandpere's knee, and the stories he read, and he wrote and he drew, and he came up with the best thing I have ever read or seen about WWI. But, it is intense. It was so intense that it was the only graphic book that I could not finished in one sitting, but had to set it down and come back to it later. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Next time: a little of this and a little of that.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on May 08, 2013, 06:10:26 PM
Started reading Darkest Days by Stanley Gallon. It appears to be a science fiction apocalyptic political thriller...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 14, 2013, 01:14:16 PM
Ye-es!

This . . .
Michele Hunter Mirabile's
Your Mother Wears Combat Boots :
Humorous, Harrowing, and Heartwarming Stories of Military Women

The subtitle says it all. 59 stories, 5 from the authoress, from women in all branches of the U.S. armed services, from WWII to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That . . .
Simon Brett's
Bones Under the Beach
Guns in the Gallery
12th and 13th in the Feithering mystery series

1st) A boy mysteriously disappeared from the beach a number of years ago, but when his bones are found buried under the beach hut rented for the summer by the heroine, it becomes less a case of mystery and more a case for murder.
2nd) After a controversial art show for a controversial artist, one of the female attendees is found dead. Who killed her? Was it her sister, the artist, the art dealer, or someone else in the town of Feithering?

The 2nd one is the better one. At least, it hangs together better. The 1st one seems to fall apart at the end.

This . . .
T. Lindsay Baker's
Gangster Tour of Texas

Photos of both then and now, maps, and directions on how to find some of the crime scenes in Texas that happened between the end of WWI and the end of the Korean War. I found it surprising how many of those crime scenes are still extant. And some of the most interesting crime stories I found to be of the lesser known crime scenes.

That . . .
Patricia Brigg's
Mercy Thompson, Moon Called.
2nd v. of a 2 v. graphic novel.

Too much is attempted to be covered in only 2 v., so the story is somewhat hard to follow, especially in the 2nd v.

Next time: more of this and that.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on May 18, 2013, 01:25:40 PM
I decided I needed to tackle one of those "100 Books You Must Read Before You Die" lists, so I picked up "The Illiad," which I was supposed to read in school but didn't actually finish.

At the rate I'm reading I'm going to die before finishing the list.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on May 19, 2013, 10:36:15 AM
I decided I needed to tackle one of those "100 Books You Must Read Before You Die" lists, so I picked up "The Illiad," which I was supposed to read in school but didn't actually finish.

At the rate I'm reading I'm going to die before finishing the list.

I do that with everything. Presidential biographies, AFI lists, the Criterion collection...

Right now it's stuck me with Vanity Fair by Thackeray. I'll admit it's well written, insightful, and pretty funny. Problem is, I could not care less about anything that happens in the book. (And it's a very long book.)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 20, 2013, 02:18:50 PM
I decided I needed to tackle one of those "100 Books You Must Read Before You Die" lists, so I picked up "The Illiad," which I was supposed to read in school but didn't actually finish.

At the rate I'm reading I'm going to die before finishing the list.

I do that with everything. Presidential biographies, AFI lists, the Criterion collection...

Right now it's stuck me with Vanity Fair by Thackeray. I'll admit it's well written, insightful, and pretty funny. Problem is, I could not care less about anything that happens in the book. (And it's a very long book.)

Mofo, you might do what I do and cheat. Instead of reading it, watch it. Between 1911 and 2004, it has been made into a TV series, a TV mini-series, and a film, both under its title and the title "Becky Sharp."

As for myself . . . Ye-es!

That
Anthony Horowitz's
House of Silk

When Homes and Watson find a boy brutally murdered, they seek to find the boy's killers. Only to discover the trail leads to the House of Silk, whose inhabitants will do anything, even kill to keep the secret of the House of Silk.

This
Antonio Prohias'
Spy vs. Spy Omnibus

All 241 cartoons drawn by the artist between Jan. 1961 and Nov. 1987. Also the artist's other cartoons and other cartoons in the series.

The idea itself was simple. The genius lay in converting the idea into the cartoon. And not only was the artist an outstanding cartoonist, he was an outstanding human being. I don't think there was anybody outside of Cuba who disliked the man. Even his ex-wife remained friends with him, and was the person who cared for him during his last days. And unlike many artists, he was sure enough of his skill, that he was not threatened by somebody else's skill. So, when they came to him to ask him to help them become a better artist, he often helped them. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

That
Kieran Shields'
The Truth of All Things
1st novel. There is a 2nd novel in the series, which I have also read and will get to later.

A deputy, an ex-Pinkerton half breed, a female archivist, and a doctor join forces to stop a madman who is bent on bringing Hell to earth by re-creating the Salem Witchcraft Trials.

Next time: a 3rd helping of this and that.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on May 21, 2013, 05:37:51 AM
I decided I needed to tackle one of those "100 Books You Must Read Before You Die" lists, so I picked up "The Illiad," which I was supposed to read in school but didn't actually finish.

At the rate I'm reading I'm going to die before finishing the list.

I do that with everything. Presidential biographies, AFI lists, the Criterion collection...

Right now it's stuck me with Vanity Fair by Thackeray. I'll admit it's well written, insightful, and pretty funny. Problem is, I could not care less about anything that happens in the book. (And it's a very long book.)

Mofo, you might do what I do and cheat. Instead of reading it, watch it. Between 1911 and 2004, it has been made into a TV series, a TV mini-series, and a film, both under its title and the title "Becky Sharp."

Ah, can't do it.

One of my rules is to always check out the source material before checking out the new stuff. Usually that means "read the book before seeing the movie", but not always.

And then that feeds into my other rule, never put down a book or movie until it is finished to completion. A lot of people give this up, because life is too short to spend on something you don't like. I agree with that, but I also agree that you can learn as much consuming things that are awful as you can as you can by consuming the things that are good. It's just that the lessons you learn are different.

It's a discipline thing.

That being said, Vanity Fair is actually a good book. I just don't care for it.

I did just pick up To Kill a Mockingbird on a whim. I read it in high school, and recalled really liking it. I'm finding it a joy to read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on May 24, 2013, 09:44:22 AM
Past Lives of the Rich and Famous, by Sylvia Browne. So bad it isn't even good for a laugh. Her spirit guide Francine should definitely fire her and get new representation.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on May 24, 2013, 12:33:39 PM
     Just finished re-reading this excellent book....

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41iwa%2BpfDXL._SL500_AA300_.jpg)

     I liked it because it was not a "And then I, I'm so great, and then I"-type book, nor was it about running anyone's shorts up the flagpole; it was one man's recounting of a love affair with a profession, and other practicioners of same.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 25, 2013, 02:52:38 PM
Ye-es!

That . . .
Peter Robinson's
Before the Poison
21 more books of fiction, including one series

Who killed the village doctor? His wife. The servant. His wife's young lover. The couple staying at the house that night. Or was it just a case of accidental death mistaken for murder?

They are hanging the heroine today. An almost minute by minute account of a hanging. Before. During. And after. And one of the most horrifying things I have ever read.

Also horrifying, if not so much, is the perils of a civilian caught in the horrors of war, when outside her own country.

That . .  .
Julia Fox's
Sister Queens :
the Noble, Tragic Lives of Katherine of Aragon and Juana, Queen of Castile
2nd non-fiction book

I thought the more interesing story was on Juana, who they called the Mad. Mad as insane. Not angry. Maybe because I knew less about her than her better known sister Katherine.

Juana, the almost perfect example of a the emotionally battered woman. 1st by her father. Then her husband. And then by her son.

Unfortunately, the authoress never makes clear whether Juana was . . .
(a.) totally mad.
(b.) mad sometimes/sometimes sane.
(c.) pretended to be mad for her own reasons.
(d.) declared mad for political reasons.
(e.) or none of the above.

Still, she outlived her sister Katherine. Actually, she outlived all her brothers and sisters.

If Juana was the almost perfect example of the emotionally battered woman, then Katherine was the almost perfect example of the woman who tries to hold on to everything. Only to lose it all.

(a.) She tried to hold on to her marriage. Lost it.
(b.) Her dauther's right to succession to the throne. Lost it.
(c.) England for Catholicism. Lost it.

If she had given up her marriage and gone into a convent, which almost everyone, besides her, wanted her to do. With some provision for her daughter's right to the throne. There is the possibility that England still might be Catholic today.

That . . .
Laurie R. King's
Pirate King :
a Novel of Suspense Featuring Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes
11th in the Mary Russell series. Plus 10 more fiction books, including 5 in another series.

When Ms. Russell aka Mrs. Holmes secretly joins an English film company, which is shooting a silent film version of Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance." 1st in Spain then in Morocco, to try to track down the person dealing in illegal drugs and guns, she discovers almost everybody involved in the film, both before and behind the camera, have their own secrets to protect.

I remember the 1st book in this series. Tried, but could not get into it; therefore, the authoress seems to have become a better writer, as this one is readable.

Next time: a 4th lashing of this and that.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on May 28, 2013, 07:23:24 AM
Just finished DOES THE NOISE IN MY HEAD BOTHER YOU? A Rock 'N' Roll Memoir (2011) by Steven Tyler with David Dalton.  This is your brain on drugs.  Even with help, the first third to half of the book is nigh-on incoherent stream-of-consciousness stuff.  At that point, either I finally caught on to how to read it, or the text became more comprehensible.  Peeking (leering?) out between the lines from time to time is an intelligent, creative human being who abused himself (and his health) horrendously.  Overall, the book gives the strong impression that it gives valid insight into the Rock Star lifestyle and Steven Tyler himself.  For that, as a biography it has to be counted as a success.

Picked up an autographed copy of If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor (2001) by Bruce Campbell at the thrift shop.(C'mon: how could I not?)  I'm only 45 pages in but Campbell's voice comes through in every line.  Which may or may not be a good thing...

Also taking perfunctory stabs at reading An Affair to Remember: the Remarkable Love Story of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy (1997) by Christopher Andersen.  Only 34 pages in, but it promises to be insightful as well.  I can remember my parents being scadalised by the affair: it will be nice to 'see' the human beings in the full story.  I may send it to my Mom after.   :teddyr:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on May 28, 2013, 12:00:17 PM


Picked up an autographed copy of If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor (2001) by Bruce Campbell at the thrift shop.(C'mon: how could I not?)  I'm only 45 pages in but Campbell's voice comes through in every line.  Which may or may not be a good thing...


 :thumbup: :thumbup:
That book is definitely one of the best celebrity memoirs I've come across.  Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way is also quite entertaining.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 28, 2013, 12:38:49 PM
Jean Edward Smith's GRANT is not only the best Grant biography out there, it is quite possibly the best biography, or at least one of the best, that I have ever read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: spongekryst on May 28, 2013, 10:55:29 PM
(http://theawesomer.com/photos/2009/05/050109_shatner_1.jpg)
(http://www.comicrelated.com/graphics/shatnerquest.jpg)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on May 31, 2013, 02:55:56 AM
Just finished rereading To Kill a Mockingbird, which I hadn't read since high school. I remember this being as one of the few American classics that my teachers foisted upon that I really enjoyed and latched onto. I thought it was a great book.

Reading it again, my estimation is only higher. Having read much more, and probably now being too critical, it's amazing how much this book stands up. From a constructionist point of view, it seems all wrong. Mostly what's remembered these days, and a lot of this has to do with the movie, is Atticus Finch's principled stand-up for civil rights in a time when that was a dangerous attitude. Justifiably, it's a benchmark for lawyers and a hope for integrity.

At the same time, while it is central to the book, it's not the whole book. The majority of it is the exploration of Scout, Jem, and Dill and their experience in a very specific time and place. For example, the inherent racism in the community is usually what is remembered, but just as strong a theme in the book is the relations of women in the book, of who Scout is always an outsider. The whole of society is considered, with a strong emphasis on the experience of the outsiders.

Probably not explaining this right, but the subtlety in which Harper Lee has all of her characters either make a stand or bow out in the complexity of what seems to be very simple society is no mean trick. It really stands up.

What really makes it stand out is the writing. Some books, especially those they make you read in high school, are a chore to read. I would have been more than happy to spend all my time reading this book. It was joy to read, and of the few "classics" I would consider a page turner.

I think the only other time I had this experience in high school (when they forced me to read A Scarlet Letter which I think is garbage), was when I had about fifteen minutes of free reading. I found the opening chapter of Ellison's Invisible Man, which was included in my reader. That was one of the most intense fifteen minutes of my life, but we didn't read it in high school.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Derf on May 31, 2013, 07:29:41 AM
Just finished rereading To Kill a Mockingbird, which I hadn't read since high school. I remember this being as one of the few American classics that my teachers foisted upon that I really enjoyed and latched onto. I thought it was a great book.

Reading it again, my estimation is only higher. Having read much more, and probably now being too critical, it's amazing how much this book stands up. From a constructionist point of view, it seems all wrong. Mostly what's remembered these days, and a lot of this has to do with the movie, is Atticus Finch's principled stand-up for civil rights in a time when that was a dangerous attitude. Justifiably, it's a benchmark for lawyers and a hope for integrity.

At the same time, while it is central to the book, it's not the whole book. The majority of it is the exploration of Scout, Jem, and Dill and their experience in a very specific time and place. For example, the inherent racism in the community is usually what is remembered, but just as strong a theme in the book is the relations of women in the book, of who Scout is always an outsider. The whole of society is considered, with a strong emphasis on the experience of the outsiders.

Probably not explaining this right, but the subtlety in which Harper Lee has all of her characters either make a stand or bow out in the complexity of what seems to be very simple society is no mean trick. It really stands up.

What really makes it stand out is the writing. Some books, especially those they make you read in high school, are a chore to read. I would have been more than happy to spend all my time reading this book. It was joy to read, and of the few "classics" I would consider a page turner.


I will agree with this assessment. We did the play version in high school, and I got to play Jem (I threw that in just in case anyone might want my autograph  :teddyr: ). Another one we read in high school that I enjoyed then and then again later was T. H. White's The Once and Future King.

As for what I am reading right now, that would be Christopher Moore's Sacre Bleu. I love most of Moore's novels, but this one is work. It hasn't captured my mind or heart yet, and I am about a third of the way into it. I felt the same about Fluke, but it was all right by time I finished it. I consider it by far his weakest novel. We'll see if Sacre Bleu can pull itself out of the hole it's digging and not take Fluke's place.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Andrew on May 31, 2013, 08:08:35 AM
The Year's Best Science Fiction:  Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DyEOHakLL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg)

These can have some real gems in them.  I'm about halfway though this volume and haven't found one I really love yet, but there are some good ones.  There are two in older volumes that I absolutely love.  One is "The Days of Solomon Gursky" and another is "Mongoose."  The latter is a neat story borrowing names from Lewis Carroll.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 02, 2013, 01:58:10 PM
Ye-es!

That . . .
Rhys Bowen's
Bless the Bride
The 10th in the Molly Murphy series
10 more works of fiction, including one more series

Who killed the Chinese businessman, while he was sleeping on the roof of his house? Was it his son, his mail-order bride, a rival Tong member, a neighbor, a business client, or was it an accident just waiting to happen?

Throw in cops (both corrupt and incorruptible) + racists + feminists + a wedding = and you have a mystery set in NYC sometime just after the turn of the last century.

This . . .
Warren Littlefield's
Top of the Rock :
Inside the Rise and Fall of Must See TV
1st book, as far as I can tell.

Or, "Must Not See TV." (IMHO) The only show that he talks about that I ever watched was "The Cosby Show." Still . . . I always find it nice to have an inside look at somehing.
And a couple of reminders.

(1st) Once you could put something that was fairly intelligent on network TV, and people would watch it. A nd . . .
(2nd) TV is like a wheel. Once NBC was on the top (then) and now NBC is on the bottom (now) but just as the wheel turns, NBC will once more be on top.

That . . .
Barbara Hambly's
Ran Away :
a Benjamin January novel
11trh in the Benjamin January series

Benjamin January. surgeon, musician, free man of color living in the decade before the Civil War in New Orleans.

Who killed the Turkish charge d' affaire's concubines? His wife, his son, a neighbor, the mysterious visitor, who seems to have disappeared, or someone else. And what happened to all the gold that was stolen that same night? Are the two crimes related?

I read the first two books in the series, then fell out, so this is my return to the series.

Next time: just names, titles, and recommendations.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on June 03, 2013, 12:30:01 AM
I finally finished Vanity Fair. In all the film versions I have seen Becky Sharp is toned down to be an amoral social climber/her own worst enemy, but as Thackeray presents her, the woman is absolutely sociopathic. I admired her early on in the book as she confronted seemingly insurmountable challenges in order to rise above the limitations of her disadvantaged beginnings, but I was appalled by novel's end, and I can usually like the great heroines and anti-heroines of nineteenth century literature, from Emma Bovary and Dorothea Brooke, to Bathsheba Everdene, but Becky Sharp...Jesus, Mary and Joseph the woman had no soul. Still, Vanity Fair is a fine novel, and Becky Sharp is a brilliant character who would surely shove aside the Kardashians to grab global fame and fortune were she around today. I read Vanity Fair in on-again and off-again installments over a long course, and I'm glad I stayed with it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on June 08, 2013, 02:52:29 AM
Just finished Autumn: The City be David Moody after recently reading the first book, simply title Autumn.

Basic premise, almost everybody in the world dies all at once due to some as yet unexplained factor. A tiny fraction of the populace is unaffected, something like 1:1,000,000. Over the course of the next few weeks, as the survivors find each other, about a third of the dead people get back up. At first they do nothing, just wander around. But eventually their actions become more directed and eventually outright hostile.

So, zombie novel.

The books are okay. David Moody originally published these online for free, so points to him for managing to build up a readership and now make a living through the self-publishing route. (He now has a publishing deal, and at least one movie has been made from his work: Autumn.)

My main problem with the books is, at least in the first two, most of the characters' reaction to the near annihilation of the human race is to be traumatized to the point of near catatonia. Even when the survivors find each other, they don't communicate due to the pain of having to deal with everybody they loved dying. They also tend to remain at whatever convenient shelter they find because of their fear of going out in the world. Since both of the first two books begin at the same point, the first half of each book is spent with characters who not only don't communicate with each other, they also don't really do anything. While this may be a valid psychological assessment, it doesn't make for very entertaining reading.

Still, entertaining enough. I'm going to read the rest of the series, since there is enough potential there to keep me interested.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 10, 2013, 01:35:55 PM
Ye-es!

I don't remember whether this is fiction or non-fiction, but as I did find it readable, when I find most books unreadable, I do recommend it.

Peter Bart's
Infamous players :
a tale of movies, the mob (and sex)

As for the others . . .

Susan Hill's
The betrayal of trust :
a chief superintendent simon serrailler mystery
6th in the series
Also 15 more works of fiction, 3 juvenile novels, 2 non-fiction books, and a collection of short stories. One of those authoresses who seemingly will turn their hands to anything.

Marjorie Eccles'
Broken music :
a mystery
Her 4th fiction book.

Helene Thurston's
Night rounds
4th in the inspector irene huss series

Sally Spencer's
Backlash :
4th in the dci monika paniatowski series
She has written 21 more works of fiction, including two more series

Next time: 2 books as an example of what makes books worth reading: politics, religion, sex. (Not necessarily in that order.)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on June 12, 2013, 12:18:43 PM
(http://i2.listal.com/image/644371/600full-house-of-leaves%3A-the-remastered-full--color-edition-cover.jpg)

A guy stumbles across a dead neighbor's scribblings analyzing a (apparently not real) documentary about a photojournalist's house which may or may not be a gateway to Hell, or an astral projection, or something else.  Confused yet?

This book was inventive and the author definitely put a lot of work into it, but it's also wayyyyy too high on its own cleverness, and I never really cared about the major characters.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 23, 2013, 01:44:48 PM
Ye-es!

Nick Drake's
Egypt :
the Book of Chaos

When the queen of ancient Egypt feels threatened by the commander of her army, she decides the only way to save her life and her throne is to marry her country's greatest enemy. At the same time, who is flooding Egypt with a new source of low cost, high grade opium? Are the two events related?

The author is good enough he gets one to change one's sympthaties from one character to another. A book where the women, minorities, and homosexuals come off better than the men, non-minorities, and heterosexuals. And yes, the author is gay. But one need not find a gay author to find non-heterosexual characters.

On another thread, another board a poster was asking for recommendations for books to read, except he didn't want to read any books with homosexuals in them, except he didn't use the word homosexual. I hope the poster doesn't like mysteries. It is harder to find a mystery with all heterosexual characters than one without. And that applies to LBGT and straight authors. Americans, Brits, and Scandinavians. Mysteries set in the past or present.

Jim Garrison's
The Great Reader :
 a Faux Mystery

One of those authors who'll turn their hand to anything. He also has 16 more fiction out, 11 books of poetry, 2 books of essays, a book of memoirs, and a children's book out.

The hero of the book chases the villain from the Canadian border to the Mexican border and half way back again, before he catches up with him, and the villain gets his just desserts. Though, that is more by happenstance than actual planning.

In the upper U.P., where the author is from, there are only two types of politics: left wing and right wing with little in between. One guess as to which way the author swings.
While that does not apply to all authors, most of them, whether Americans, Brits, Scandinavians, and the lone Israeli lean left.

It also helps that the book's hero shares the same religion as myself. Why something specific instead of something more generic, but it is good to see . . .

001 radio program
003 plays, including one by Shakespeare
004 short stories
012 television movies and specials
012 motion pictures
014 television programs
and 122 novels

features it, either explicity or implicity. Mostly in a very positive way.


Next time: the perfect example of the more you know. The less you know.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on June 27, 2013, 01:12:34 PM
Courage and Consequence by Karl Rove. I spent most of my life thinking this man was a demon in human form*, and I still do not much care for him, but there are some interesting behind the scenes details in this book that fill in the gaps about the inner workings of the G.W. Bush administration, and by extension geopolitics as they unfolded in the first decade of the century. Mr. Rove is obviously a bright man but in many ways he embodies what is wrong with the neo-conservative wing of his party, and he seems too ready to make enemies when tact would better suit a situation. Still, setting personal feelings aside, this is a book that is worth the time if you're studying recent American political history and can get past the deliberate injections of controversy that needlessly weight it down.

* A few years ago one of my friends in Austin moved to the neighborhood where Rove has a house, and I joked, "When you see him out at night, do his eyes shine in car headlights?"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Gory Video Games on June 29, 2013, 02:11:10 AM
American Psycho
Probably the most violent book I have ever read!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on June 29, 2013, 08:10:57 PM
Finished reading Darkest Days by Stanley Gallon...a  lot of it is pretty far fetched stuff. Honestly I doubt much of the world would be habitable at all if the events it described unfolded. Still it kind of involves you in the story and keeps you guessing as to how it's all going to play out.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 03, 2013, 02:39:39 PM
What is it about the English and their need to be complete?

Lizzie Collingham's
The Taste of War :
World War II and the Battle for Food
2 previous non-fiction books

Being English, she not only talks about the U.K. and the U.S., but also . . .

Australia -- Canada -- China -- India -- New Zealand -- Russia

and . . .

Germany -- Italy -- Japan

and the occupied lands in . . .
Asia . . .

Burma -- Dutch East Indies -- French Indo China -- Korea -- Malaya -- New Guinea -- Philippines -- Siam -- Taiwan

Europe . . .

Austria -- Belgium -- Bulgaria -- Czechoslovakia -- Denmark -- France -- Greece -- Holland -- Hungary -- Norway -- Poland -- Romania -- Yugoslavia

and . . .

Africa -- the Caribbean -- Latin America -- the Middle East

Which may be why she makes a strong case for one of the forgotten causes of the War, food or the lack of food or the fear of the lack of food.

She also makes a strong case for the fact that half of the people who died in the War probably died of starvation and diseases associated with starvation, such as . . .

beriberi -- botulism -- bronchopneumonia -- dropsy -- diptheria -- influenza -- jaundice -- gastritis -- malaria -- measles -- neuritis -- ricketts -- scurvy -- spotted fever -- tuberculosis -- typhoid -- typhus -- whooping cough -- and yaws.

And how during the war, when there was no meat, people would eat . . .

acorns -- duckweed -- grass -- leaves -- nettles -- roots -- water lilies -- weeds -- and clay. CLAY? CLAY!

And when there was meat, it might be . . .

bats -- butterflies -- caterpillars -- cats -- centipedes -- crocodiles -- dogs -- foxes -- frogs -- gophers -- grasshoppers -- grubs -- horses -- kangaroos -- leeches -- lizards -- locusts -- maggots -- mice -- moles -- rats -- silkworm cocoons -- snails -- snakes -- songbirds -- and worms.

I don't care what anyone in the past has done. No one deserves to live like that.

She also honest enough to  point out that neither side was immune to . . .

arrogance -- the black market -- corruption -- cruelty -- the double standard -- disorganization -- envy -- exploitation -- greed -- hatred -- hoarding -- incompetency -- inefficiencey -- military expropriation -- mismanagement -- racism -- rationing -- starvation as a weapon -- stupidity -- and vengeance.

How it ran rampant to one degree or another on both sides.

But yet . . . but yet . . . there were differences from place to place and person to person, so sometimes the "other" side came out better than "our" side.

It is this completeness and honesty that gives her words such an impact. An impact that few other writers are able to achieve.

Next time: the Good, the Bad, and the Obtuse




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on July 10, 2013, 12:19:41 AM
My next purchases will probably be these two:

(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/07/10/article-2359143-1ABD1FF8000005DC-687_306x463.jpg)

(http://images.kalahari.com/img/2013/04/29/47329647_0_Img2.jpg)

I can't leave 'Dame' Joan out of the running, can I?  :wink:



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 12, 2013, 04:41:33 PM
Ye-es!

Normally, I remember the author and the title, then forget what's it about, but this time I remember what it's about and forgot the author and title, which is probably to the good.

Here's the good and the bad.

Tourism is neither bad nor good of itself, but does have good and bad impacts. And that's it.

The rest is an obtuse series of errors of fact and errors of opinion. I'd name all of 'em, but there are 35, and that's just the ones I found, in a book that runs slightly more than 350 pages.

Errors of fact is self-defining, so let me just define how to get to errors of opinion in 14 easy steps.

01. DO compare "apples" with "oranges."

02. And even then, fail to Do a competent critical comparison of the two.

03. DO make what is complex simplistic and simplistic complex for your own critical purposes.

04. DO ignore information that does not support your viewpoint.

05. Or DO just omit necessary information.

06. DO apply a double standard to others. DO NOT criticize those you like, but DO criticize those you dislike. Though, both may be guilty of the same thing.

07. DO apply the double standard to yourself. Deny others what you have had or have.

08. DO believe that everyone who does not agree with you is wrong.

09. DO assume, but DO NOT explain your assumptions.

10. DO lack an understanding of economics.

11. DO define words to fit your definition of them.

12. DO have trouble with the concept of math. 1 + 1 = 3.

13. DO lack an empathy for others, even those for whom you espouse an empathy.

14. And faulty logic + illogical thinking = errors of opinion.

Next time: Arthur Waybourne or a blast from the past or the illogic continues or maybe not.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on July 14, 2013, 09:28:54 AM
Normally books are better than movies made of them, but sometimes it's a disillusioning experience to read the source material of a film you love (LA Confidential being an example; Friday the 13th being another), but Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It, while different in many ways from the wonderful movie version, held up well on its own without diminishing the regard I have always had for the onscreen version. (I really think the 1992 film is one of the 100 best of all time.) I'm glad I read it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on July 17, 2013, 03:56:27 PM
Re-read a childhood favorite of mine, Lizard Music, by Daniel Pinkwater. Possibly the uber-weirdest children's book ever written, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 18, 2013, 12:41:49 AM
Just finished re-reading CAESAR'S WOMEN, the fourth volume in Colleen McCullough's MASTERS OF ROME series.  I cannot put these books down when I pick them up, and they are so massive - but I do love them! So cool to just immerse yourself in another time and place, when titans strode the earth in human form!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on July 18, 2013, 04:58:53 PM
American Psycho
Probably the most violent book I have ever read!

Ah, American Psycho! How into this novel I was back in spring 2000.

It is violent, you're right, almost to the point of overkill, so that by about the fifth slaying the body count begins to seem secondary to other aspects of the jumbled plot. Did you notice, though, that Bateman kills exactly as many men as women in this so-called misogynistic book?

That's assuming he ever really kills anyone at all, which he may not. If you read Rules of Attraction, probably B.E.E.'s best book, Patrick Bateman's brother Sean drops some big hints that Patrick really isn't all that in the grand scheme of things, and except for a couple reasons I really WOULD think the big secret to American Psycho is that much of what Patrick Bateman describes takes place between his ears. (He describes dumping his fiancée, but other Yuppies are heard gossiping about how she dumped him; Bateman has a drawn-out description of murdering a rival with an ax and then taking over his apartment and using the dead man's name, but at least one witness tells of meeting the same man alive and well in London. He tells us he has this massive shoot-out with police that surely could never have taken place. Even the detective who comes and harasses Bateman at Pierce & Pierce---even that name's an inside joke---was, if you notice, the exact same age as Bateman, which may indicate it's his conscience or at least his sense of worry chasing him.)

I say I WOULD conclude the book is a low-ranking Yuppie's empowering revenge fantasy except in other books Bateman shows up in front of new characters with blood on his clothes and is described as a creepy dude obsessed with serial killers. And then of course in Lunar Park, the final verdict seems to be that he is exactly what he told us he was in American Psycho: namely a murderous American Psycho!

You know the whole book probably works best as a morbid satire, and at times it's really pretty funny. I should re-read it one of these days.

And by the way, don't know if you've seen it but at the time of the movie Ellis authorized a twenty-ish page short story that shows us Bateman a decade after the conclusion of American Psycho, divorced and with a son, whom he describes as "instinctively" knowing for his own survival which fabrics, which stocks of paper, etc. are of the finest quality. As Bateman tells it, it's his paternal approval of the boy's appreciation of quality that has stayed his hand.

A twisted little tale indeed!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 19, 2013, 03:19:24 PM
Ye-es!

Anne Perry's
Bluegate Fields
5th or 6th in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series
Reprint edition

You always remember your first one. I had picked up a book at random and was reading it, when I came upon a character, and I said: "Wow! That's me." Or, more likely, I said: "Wow! That's just like me." And over 40 years and almost 80 characters later, I'm still looking for 'em and still finding 'em. Characters for whom I have an EXTREME empathy. Characters for whom I know what they'll say. What they'll do. Almost even before the author or authoress does. But, especially I know what drives 'em:  their weaknesses.

the cowardice -- the envy -- the fear -- the greed -- the hatred -- the jealousy -- the lust -- the pride -- the rage -- the slyness -- the stupidity -- the wrath.

And to push back the veil, to pull back the curtain, to reveal something of myself, here is an example of what I mean from the story above.

Name:
Arthur William Waybourne

To be continued below . . .


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 19, 2013, 03:30:37 PM
Nickname:
the Human MacGuffin

As an intellectual exercise, I like to give nicknames to the characters to which I i.d. Here are some more of the nicknames.

Brain Trust -- Crosscut -- Deadmeat -- Deep Closet -- the Gold Dust twins -- Kid Irony -- The Little Marquis -- Mr. Unlonely -- the Oh, Yeah Kid -- Poster Boy -- Smiley -- Squid Bait -- the Virgin Stud

Hero or villain or neither:
Neither

Overall:
"Every man's hand raised against 'em." I i.d. more with the villain than the hero Maybe, because the unloved and unlovable need love, too.

Adult or juvenile
Juvenile. Age 16

Overall:
An adult: 20 and older
A juvenile: 19 and younger

I i'd. more with adults than juveniles, but I have not forgotten my childhood, so I still i.d. with juveniles as in this case. Youngest character i.d.: 12

To be continued below . . .


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 19, 2013, 03:39:47 PM
If you want a strong male character, then read something written by a man. They have a better understanding of other males than most female writers, and that applies to both adult and juvenile characters. I will say that when women do write about a male character, they are better with sons and younger brothers than fathers and husbands.

Nationality
English

Overall:
Americans 1st
English 2nd
Germans 3rd

Maybe because I came out of a stolid German-American family on my father's side. Plus a half dozen other European nationalities. No problem there. Though, not surprising, I've never i.d. with a female character. And perhaps more surprisingly, I've never i.d.  with a racial minority for some reason.

To be continued below . . .


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 19, 2013, 04:06:03 PM
Crine victim, criminal, or both

Both:
Crime victim: murder
Criminal: Prostitution

Heroes are just as likely to be criminals as villains. Oddly enough, or maybe not, criminals are also often victims of a crime. And other crimes committed . . .

Assault 'n' battery -- Attempted murder -- Bank robbery -- Blackmail -- Breaking 'n' entering -- Cheating at cards -- Embezzlement -- Kidnapping -- Murder -- Prostitution -- Receiving stolen goods -- Sexual assault -- Theft -- Treason

The one that bothers me the most is the sexual assault, but it only happened twice, and both were dead before the end of the book "I ain't foolin' 'round!" Actually, it is simpler to name those that do not get an automatic death penalty, then those that do.

Assault 'n' battery -- Breaking 'n' entering -- Cheating at cards -- Receiving stolen goods

To be continued below . . .



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 19, 2013, 04:14:27 PM
Deceased, injured, or both
Deceased: drowned in a bathtub

There is no truer test of a character's character than to watch 'em as they die. Which is probably why the death rate is over 50%. Then for those who are not killed off somehow, the injury rate is another 33%. Making a casualty rate of over 80%.

Other deaths come by . . .

Asphyxiation -- Animal attack -- Beheading -- Burning -- Drowning -- Explosion -- Falling or jumping -- Fever -- Hanging -- Heart failure -- Impalement -- Landslide -- Old age -- Plane crash -- Shooting -- Stabbing -- Vehicular accident

Sexual Orientation
Bisexual

But also asexuals, heterosexuals, and homosexuals. No problem there.

To be contined below . . .




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 19, 2013, 04:22:05 PM
Past, present, or future:

Past:
1886

Past: 1949 and before
Present: 1950 to 2013
Future: 2014 and after

Overall:
I i.d. with characters more from the past than anyother time. Which I like to think puts me one up on most people.

A book set in the past, like this one, can also serve as a mirror projection of our progression or regression over time.

Anyway . . . HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. And maybe one will find one's own characters, if not in this book than in another book or TV show or film.

Next time: Something must shorter. "They are so wrong, but they sound so good, or, what do you expect from the English?" And thank-you for listening.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Javakoala on July 28, 2013, 10:25:08 AM
Just finished Make Your Own Damn Movie by Lloyd Kaufman and other folks. It's a good read, even if you aren't intending to make a movie. It certainly gave me a much greater appreciation of the work that goes into even the crappiest movies. Plus, Kaufman's rather bitter rants about the Corporate Monsters doing what they can to snuff out truly independent filmmaking are interesting as most of the "independent" films that get released are processed through some tentacle of a Corporate Monster. Not like the old days when any whack-a-noodle with enough energy could hustle local theaters to show some brokendown piece of crap they made. And, yes, I'm pointing a finger at Al Adamson, among others.

Still, politics aside, worth reading if what goes on behind the camera and/or Troma is your cup of bile.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on July 28, 2013, 10:46:30 AM
"Film Art: An Aintroduction": This is the basic textbook they give you for any Freshman Film 101 class. Figure picking up a used copy off a buddy is cheaper than going to film school.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Javakoala on July 28, 2013, 01:18:05 PM
"Film Art: An Aintroduction": This is the basic textbook they give you for any Freshman Film 101 class. Figure picking up a used copy off a buddy is cheaper than going to film school.

Rev, I think it's safe to say that you probably won't find anything in there that you haven't already taught yourself. I've read your reviews; you could teach a class on cinema analysis.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Mofo Rising on July 29, 2013, 04:07:26 AM
"Film Art: An Aintroduction": This is the basic textbook they give you for any Freshman Film 101 class. Figure picking up a used copy off a buddy is cheaper than going to film school.

Rev, I think it's safe to say that you probably won't find anything in there that you haven't already taught yourself. I've read your reviews; you could teach a class on cinema analysis.

But then we would never get to see the Rev. in a black turtleneck and poorly-informed mustache! The cure would be worse than the disease!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on July 29, 2013, 08:40:09 AM
"Film Art: An Aintroduction": This is the basic textbook they give you for any Freshman Film 101 class. Figure picking up a used copy off a buddy is cheaper than going to film school.

Rev, I think it's safe to say that you probably won't find anything in there that you haven't already taught yourself. I've read your reviews; you could teach a class on cinema analysis.

But then we would never get to see the Rev. in a black turtleneck and poorly-informed mustache! The cure would be worse than the disease!

You can insult me all you want but leave my mustache out of it!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 31, 2013, 05:31:57 PM
Ye-es!
From "F for Effort!"

Question: What part did the U.S. Navy play in the War?

Answer: "The Star Spangled Banner"

My father who played trumpet in the United States Navy Construction Battalion Band during the War would have appreciated someone's answer to a question on someone's history test.

Also . . .

Carol McCleary's
The Formula for Murder
3rd in the Nellie Bly series

When Nellie's BFF is pulled out of the Thames and is declared a suicide, she travels to London to investigate and discovers that not all is as it seems. But, with the help of Oscar Wilde, H. G. Wells, and Conan Doyle, who she meets over there, she sets things right. And when Nellie is captured by the villains, "Here come the Marines!" or their English equivalent--Doyle, Wells, and Wilde--to the rescue.

The book is illustrated with photos of people, places, and things, and two of the photos show how much Wells and Doyle looked alike. Doyle was a much bigger man than Wells, but they look enough like to be related to each other.


The Mammoth Book of Weird But True
edited by Geoff Tibballs

Not as funny as his book on the best of British humor, but there are still alot of laughs in it.


Stephen Gallagher's
The Bedlam Detective
Whether this is the start of a series or only an one-off. It's his 16th book of fiction.

2 dead schoolgirls
a piece of film that may or may not show what happened.
a man who may or may not be mad.
a house that may or may not be haunted.
a sinister doctor.
a failed scientific expedition to the Amazon.
a woman who may be more than she seems
a moor that may or may not have a monster on it.
and the man sent down from London to investigate it all.


Bart Simpson : Prince of Pranks
Collection of the Bart Simpson comics. v. 38 to v.42. 2007 to 2011.


Tarquin Hall's
The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken
3rd in the Vish Puri mystery series
An ex-pat Englishman living in India, he has also written 3 non-fiction books.

When the father of the captain of the visting Pakistani cricket team is poisoned at a banquet, it is up to our hero to discover who did what to whom, and discovers secrets going back almost 70 years to the time that the Indian subcontinent was partitioned into India and East and West Pakistan. Our hero also discovers corrupt politicans, diamond smugglers, high-stake gamblers, incompetent policement, moustache thiefs, professional killers, women with old agendas, and both friends and foes in both India and Pakistan.

Next time: Past and Present. Progression and Pregression. Similiarities and Differences.





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on August 09, 2013, 09:57:46 AM
The Forsyte Saga. So many words, so little subject matter.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 09, 2013, 11:03:04 AM
I just finished a parallel reading of Julius Caesar's COMMENTARIES ON THE GALLIC WARS with Colleen McCullough's CAESAR: LET THE DICE FLY!, a novelized version that covers both the latter half of the Gallic Wars and the beginning of the Civic Wars, concluding with the death of Pompey the Great.  It is interesting to see  how closely McCullough followed the history of the times, and where she diverged from the written accounts.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 09, 2013, 03:04:34 PM
Ye-es!
But that is for later.
As I said before, as long as a novel that takes place in the past, is not too anachronistic, it can be used as a guide to measure how things have changed or not changed, as the case maybe. As an example of what I mean, here is Anne Perry's "Bluegate Fields," which is set in 1876.

Similiarties to now
1. The more lurid the trial. The greater the attendance. Still true today.

2. People don't like procurers. Still true today.

3. Beauty is a curse. "It is a curse I tell ya. A curse!" Not that I'd know, as I have always looked like something that crawled out from beneath the proverbial rock. But for a boy who is beautiful, he is either . . .

(a) conceited
(b) dumb as a rock. Because someone who is beautiful cannot have a brain.
(c) automatically gay.
(d) all of the above.

Still true today.

4. To end child prostitute, alter the social climate. Never get ride of it altogether, but might reduce it massively. Still true today.

That's what the Europeans did, when they start taking it seriously. Unfortunately, while they reduced it in Europe, they pushed it into the more poverty stricken areas of Asia. But actions are being taken to end it there, as well.

5. Bath time is erotic time. Still true today. Maybe because it nearly always comes across as something slightly illicit to me. 1876: A 16-year-old boy in the tub with a man who is at least a decade older. Today: an underaged boy scout in the bath with a woman who is much, much older than him.

We'll post this and then continue.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 09, 2013, 03:15:44 PM
Continuing from previous post.

Differences

1. A child alone, under 18, can live alone in their own apartment. For the most part, not true today.

2. Male child prostitution is worst than female child prostitution. Not true today, as we have rid ourselves, for the most part, from that double standard.

3. Homosexual = pervert
1876: majority opinion
Today: minority opinion

4. The gay or bisexual teen today vs. the gay or bisexual teen in 1876
I do not want to say that being a gay or bisexual teen today is easy. It is not, but, for the most part, as long as it is done in private, consensual, and age appropriate, it is legal. In 1876, it did not matter whether it was done in private, consensual, or age appropriate, as anything of that type was illegal.

5. Hanging 16s and under.
You can't do that today. You can't even sentence a criminal under 18 to the death penalty, even if they commit a capital offense, because, as far as I know, the U.S. Supreme Court has declared that to be cruel and unusual.

Next time: Just names, titles, recommendations, and a little "Star Wars."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on August 09, 2013, 07:43:53 PM
Danny Peary's "Cult Movies 2: Fifty More of the Classics, the Sleepers, the Weird, and the Wonderful."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on August 12, 2013, 07:58:41 PM
Book Of Enoch


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Javakoala on August 13, 2013, 10:16:49 PM
I've finished two books by James Hadley Chase: No Orchids For Miss Blandish and Miss Callaghan Comes to Grief. I'm reading another one of his now.

Miss Blandish was the novel used for the basis of The Grissom Gang, which RC posted a video clip from in another thread.

Chase's style is very straightforward and almost script-like, but the stories he spins--mercy, they are brutal and twisted in ways I hadn't even thought of. The ones I've read and am reading are are 30s and 40s era crime novels with vice, gangsters, Tommy guns, sassy dames and enough blood and violence to out-do the biggest gorefests except maybe Dead Alive. Fast, raw and exciting stuff that you don't question until you've finished them.

So far, No Orchids For Miss Blandish is his masterwork. It is Faulkner-esque in how the characters all have their own story arcs, but without Faulkner's verbal projectile vomiting or literary airs. (Yes, I've read a good 8 or more Faulkner novels and about 15 of his shorter works, and while I appreciate his "art", it doesn't mean I don't think the man could have used some hardcore editing.)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Archivist on August 14, 2013, 11:10:30 PM
Just started "House of Suns" by Alastair Reynolds.  It's science fiction novel that is shaping up to be a fascinating read.  Set wayyy in a starfaring future, an incredibly rich woman 'split' herself into dozens of male and female clones in order to observe humanity's development over the millenia.  They gather every ten thousand years to pool their knowledge.  It's my first Alastair Reynolds novel; I'm normally into Iain Banks and Peter Hamilton these days.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on August 15, 2013, 12:06:07 PM
(http://i.ebayimg.com/t/THE-AVENGER-6-THE-BLOOD-RING-KENNETH-ROBESON-DOC-SAVAGE-DICK-BENSON-JUSTICE-INC-/00/s/MTM4Mlg4NDI=/$(KGrHqJ,!hQFC7g9QEKjBQ5MOP2Nc!~~60_35.JPG)

and

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81pWYTR1YGL._SL1500_.jpg)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 18, 2013, 01:59:25 PM
Ye-es!
Leif G. W. Persson's
Another Time, Another Life
2nd novel

Star Wars Omnibus: the Clone Wars
v.1. The Republic Goes to War

Jussi Adler-Olsen's
The Absent One
2nd in the Department Q series

Star Wars: the Crimson Empire Saga

Thank-you for kids. The problem I have with most of the Star War stories is their lack of characters that interest me. Such as in this one, the only characters I find interesting are the 3 Solo children.

Cynthia Harrad Eagles'
Blood Never Dies
5th in the Bill Slider series
16 more novels

Star Wars Omnibus: the Clone Wars
v.2. The Enemy on All Sides

Ellen Hart'sx
Rest for the Wicked
20th in the Jane Lawless series
At least 6 more novels

Star Wars Omnibus: Tales of the Jedi
v.1.

Louise Penny's
The Beautiful Mystery
7th in the Chief Inspector Gamade series

Star Wars Omnibus: the Clone Wars
v.3. The Republic Falls

The Clone Wars series features comics published between 2004 and 2006 and republished in 2012.

And I now know why so many fanboys and fangirls are high on the Clone Wars. For me, the Star War comics, except for the original series of comics, feature stories that are best readable and at worst unreadable. But, the Clone Wars series features stories that I actually quite enjoyed.

Next time: along the same vein, but with a little more detail and a little less Star Wars.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 23, 2013, 03:39:42 PM
Ye-es!

I don't know why, but I have a harder time remembering novels written by Scandinavian authors, then I do American or British authors. This is the exception.

Camilla Lackberg's
The Stonecutter

4 generations and 90 years in the life of one Swedish family or
Will the sins of the father be visited upon the children, the grandchildren, and the great-grandchildren or
Who killed the little girl, then stuffed her mouth with ashes? Was it one of her relations with which she lived? The neighbor who has deep, dark secrets of his own? The neighbor's creepy son? Or someone else?

While pedophilia has become a common thread in mysteries, this is one of the few which attempts to understand why a pedophile does what he does.

Jeanette Keith's
Fever Season : the story of a terrifying Epidemic and the People Who Saved a City
5th non-fiction

Yellow fever had struck Memphis before, but this was the worst one to date, but everyone--blacks and whites, Northerners and Southerners, locals and outsiders, and Catholics, Jews, and Protestants-- put aside their differences to save the city of Memphis.

The problem was, that while there were a number of guesses as to what caused Yellow Fever, all the guesses were wrong. And it be almost a decade later, before the cause was discovered. Thus, if what was done was not harmful, it was mostly useless.

Next time: More of this along the same vein.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 28, 2013, 04:28:04 PM
Ye-es!

Charles Todd's
An unmarked grave
by the mother and son writing team
4th in the Bess Crawford mystery series

When our heroine discovers the body of a man she knows, then the body disappears, she seeks to find the man's killer. Only to put herself in the sights of a ruthless murderer.

Someone better then the previous one, as the heroine is in danger through most of the book, the suspense factor is ramped up. Still, the way the story is laid out, makes it somewhat hard to follow.

Laura Joh Rowland's
The incense game
16th in the Chancellor Sano series

When a devastating earthquake strikes Tokyo, not all the casualities were caused by the quake. An incense teacher and two of her students are found dead--murdered. Now the students' father is vowing all-out warfare if his daughters' murderer is not caught and punished. But who did it? The teacher's associate? A rival teacher? One of her other students? Or, someone else? And which one of the three was the target?

And to make things more complicated, an old political rival of our hero is back, and the man wants our hero and his whole family destroyed.

Ruth Rendell's
The Vault
22nd in the Inspector Wexford Series
38 more works of fiction

Most books in a series are sequels, but this is a true sequel, as it follows one of the early books in the series, but was published much later.

There were 3 bodies in the abandoned coal chute. Now there are 4. Who are they? Where did they come from? How did they get there? When did they get there? And how were they killed?

Keigo Higashino's
Salvation of a saint
2nd in the Detective Galileo series

Who killed the modern day businessman in Japan? Was it is wife? His business associate? His ex-girlfriend? A business rival? A neighbor? Or was it someone else? And how did the murder occur, when everyone has an ironclad alibi for the time the murder occurred?

A murderer that scares the s**** out of me, as the murderer is so focused on committing the murder.

Peter May's
The Black House
A stand-alone novel, but the author has 2 on-going series

When a murder occurs on an island off the coast of Scotland, one bearing an eerie similiarity to a murder that our hero is investigating on the mainland, he returns to where he was born and raised, and somewhere he vowed he'd never return.

Both an author and a character 3x removed from this world. Scotland, because of its geographic location, and for other reasons, has never really been part of Europe. Then the islands off of Scotland, where even the mainland Scots consider to be isles of backwardness. And then a man who is forced to leave the islands. 3x removed.

Next time: continuing in the same vein in both fiction and non-fiction


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pacman000 on August 28, 2013, 05:22:34 PM
Sloooooooowly working my way through The Lord of the Rings.

I've made it through most of Return of the King.  Only a few more chapters!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 07, 2013, 04:20:03 PM
Ye-es!

Jeffrey Toobin's
The Oath :
the Obama White House and the Supreme Court
6th nonfiction book

He dislikes . . .
1. Originalism
2. The Supreme Court from 1835 to 1955, when Chief Justice Earl Warren dragged the Court into the 20th century.
3. Politicaliazation of the current Court.
4. Citizens United

Not his best work, but you'll like
1. His ability to make the most complicated legalese understandable.
2. His fairness to both sides in an issue.

Matthew Westfall's
The Devil's Causeway
An ex-pat. That would never happen in my day.

From the cover, you'd think its a book about WWII in the Philippines, but it's actually a book about an event that happened some 40 years earlier, when the Americans, Filipinos, and Spanish were fighting for control of the Phillippines. For when a Navy boat crew disobeys orders and is captured by Filipino insurgents, the Army is sent in to rescue them. For what would seem such a minor incident, we know alot about the people involved. For example: the Army consisted of 19 officers, 132 enlisted men, and 1 Filipino scout. Their ages ranged from 17 to 48 with an average age of 26. Men who could put their hands to anything, for while most of them were farmers or laborers, their former occupations ranged from attorney to undertaker or "Marry 'em and bury 'em." What is most surprising is the number of foreigners involved: 4 Germans, 3 Irishmen, 2 Swedes, an Austrian, a Canadian, an Englishman, a Hungarian, a Russian, a Scotsman, a Swiss, and a Welshman + 1 Filipino scout or 12% of the total force.

The Navy contingent was even more heavily foreign. Of the 1 officer and 14 enlisted me, whose ages ranged from 44 to 17, with an average age of 26, there was 1 Dutchman, an Englishman, a Frenchman, a German, an Irishman, and a Pole or 40% of the total force.

John Barylick's
Killer Show :
the Station Nightclub Fire, America's Deadliest Rock Concert

Already been a report on this one, which was better than the one I could do, so I won't say much, but do read the legalese behind all this. As the author tells us how we got here legally, and where we are today legally. Unfortunately, he doesn't tell us, where we need to go. Of course, that's not the purview of the book.

Next time: another continuation


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on September 09, 2013, 06:31:46 PM
Many, many Little Golden Books.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 14, 2013, 02:11:39 PM
Ye-es!

Susan Hill's
A Question of Identity
7th in the Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler series
And one of those authoresses who'll turn their hands to anything
18 more fiction books. 2 more nonfiction books, and 3 juvenile books.

Quinrose's and Hoshiro's
Alice in the Country of Hearts

There's old man Gowland and his theme park, which looks alot like Tokyo Disneyland. The queen Veronica who lives with Peter White at the palace. Blood DuPree of the Hatter DuPrees, who lives with Edmund March and the twins Dee and Dum at DuPree Mansion. And then there is the watch repairer who lives alone. And they are all best friends till the moment they all start trying to kill each other. And then Alice drops by for a visit, and things really get weird.

"Off with their heads! Off with their heads!" Probably the best adaptation yet at showing how really bizarre and violent the original one was.

John Barylick's
Killer Show

There has already been a report, at this site, on this one, which is a better report then I could do, so I won't say much, except to read the legalese of the case, which the writer makes comprehensible, as it tells you where we are today, and how we got there. Unfortunately, the writer doesn't say, where we go from there, but then again, that is not the purview of the book.

Kurt Eichenwald's
500 Days :
Secrets and lies in the Terror Wars
4th nonfiction book

A well-seasoned look at how the 2nd Bush administration screwed up the War on Terror before September 11, then really screwed it up after September 11.

Peter Agluszka's
Thunder on the Mountain :
Death at Massey and the Dirty Secrets Behind Big Coal
1st nonfiction book

Why, besides "Matewan," we'll never see a film on what is called the Coal Wars. The whole story is just too complex for Hollywood, who like things simple. And the story is not simple. The writer, who has spent most of his life writing on this area, and lived there even longer, can barely get around the story.

Next time: 4 or 5 more fiction books. Mostly mysteries.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 20, 2013, 05:00:06 PM
Ye-es!

Margaret Coel's
Buffalo Bill's Dead Now
16th in the Wind River mysteries

When several  Native American artifacts disappear, as they are being shipped from Germany to the U.S., it is up to an Irish-American priest and a Native American female lawyer to discover what happened to them.

I like this one a little bit better than the previous one. Which I have also read, as there are fewer "walking wounded" walking around.

Frances Brody's
Dying in the Wool
2nd in the Kate Shackleton series

Just before her BFF gets married our heroine is asked to discover what happened to her friend's father, who disappeared a number of years ago after escaping from a mental asylum. And what does that escape have to do with a munitions plant that blew up that same day.

Brill Crider's
Murder of a Beauty Shop Queen
19th in the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series

Who murdered the owner of the beauty shop in the small town in east Texas? Was it one of her employees, one of her customers, one of the townspeople, one of the illegal Mexicans living across the street from the shop, or someone else.


Not really distinctive Texan, but distinctively small town tural.


Next time: a book with several surprises.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on September 20, 2013, 10:49:48 PM
I just finished Ian Kershaw's HITLER: 1936-45 - NEMESIS.
This is the second volume of his massive two-volume work on the dictator of Nazi Germany.  It's pretty  hefty at 700 or so pages, but very well-written and informative.  He tries to answer the question of how such an utterly uneducated, unskilled, hate-mongering race-baiter could have risen to the leadership of one of Europe's most civilized nations - and then locked his grip on power so firmly that even with his nation burning down around his ears, no one of any significance dared to move against him.
This two volume set drags a bit in places but is worth the time for anyone who is fascinated with the darkest chapter of the 20th century.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 25, 2013, 02:22:00 PM
Ye-es!

Mike Mayo's
The horror show guide :
the ultimate fright fest of movies

Good
The writing. He takes 10 words to say what it took me 25 words to say, and he said it better than I did.
It's up to date, or as up to date as of last year or 2012.
Sequels and remakes, even if their titles are different, are grouped with the original film that spawned them. And as a matter of record, about 38% of the horror films made since 1910, have been a remake or a sequel.

Bad
The mistakes. I haven't seen one of these books that doesn't have mistakes in it. Though, most of the mistakes made in this one are mistakes of dates, so the mistakes may be due more to the editing than the writing.
He uses no rating system. You can tell which films he likes, and which films he dislikes, but a rating system of some sort (star, number, letter, etc.) would tell you to the degree which he likes or dislikes a film.

Unsurprising
His politics lean to the left like most horror writers and horror filmmakers.

Surprising
His reviews are leavened with a surprisingly effective sense of humor.
He has a surprising sympathy for children threatened in horror films. That is dramatic threats. With comedic threats, such as those in "Lair of the White Worm," all bets are off.
The film definition of involving = believability + logic + realism. You get too far from the last three, and the film definition changes to uninvolving. (Your mileage may vary.) Something I've always thought, but again, he says it better than I could.

Interesting
The most interesting film reviews (IMHO) are not those for the better known films, but for the lesser known films.
And we know what films most people like and/or dislike, but there again, the most interesting film reviews are for those with which he goes against the flow. Liking those films most people dislike, and disliking those films most people like.

Next time: a continuing continuation of a mixture of fiction and non-fiction.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on September 29, 2013, 12:06:49 PM
Doctor Sleep. It breaks a streak of Stephen King's recent books being much better than his 1990-2007-ish output. Admittedly much of the appeal of Doctor Sleep came in the fact it was more or less a sequel to King's greatest novel, but I was not expecting it to be as terrible as it was. A dreary, mislabeled, BAD sort of book that I regret buying and wouldn't recommend to my worst enemy, although I might throw it at him.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 30, 2013, 05:20:34 PM
Ye-es!

Gina Keating's
Netflixed :
the Epic Battle for America's Eyeballs
1st non-fiction

How an idea beat back all the competition to become the largest distributor of dvds in the U.S. Or, how to do it, and more importantly, how not to do it.

Donna Leon's
The Jewels of Paradise
24th work of fiction

She has a series of mysteries set in Venice, but this is a stand-alone novel.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
(in graphic format)
DeFilippis and Weir, adapters

The case of a man who was born an old man, but then regressed in time till the time he died as an infant.

Though, probably, the most curious feature of this is the author, who is better known for his novels set in the Roaring '20's. And this was adapted into a feature film, which I have never seen.

Edward Ifkovic's
Make Believe
3rd in the Edna Ferber mystery series

Who killed the Hollywood agent, who was also Edna's friend, while Edna was in Hollywood overseeing the film adaptation of her book "Show Boat."
Was it the man's wife, a client, a rival agent, a studio executive, someone who didn't like the man's politics, or someone else?

Road Rage
(a graphic novel)
Consisting of Richard Matheson's "Duel" and Hill and King's adaptation "Throttle."

"Throttle" is a good adaptation, but "Duel" is further proof, that the best stories are often the simplest stories. And made into a TV movie, which I have seen.

Carola Dunn's
The Valley of the Shadow
3rd in the Cornish mystery series
20 more fiction books

When a naked man, more dead than alive, washes up on the Cornish coast, he is found to be part of a much larger group of illegal immigrants fleeing turmoil in Africa. Thus the search is one to find whoever brought them illegally into this country. But more importantly, to find the group of immigrants, before they starve to death.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on September 30, 2013, 09:59:26 PM
I'm about halfway thru "Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History" by Tony Mendez. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 14, 2013, 04:48:28 PM
Ye-es!

Malla Nun's
A Beautiful Place to Die
1st in the Detective Emmanuel Cooper series

Who killed the South African police captain? Was it one of his white relatives? The Englishman, who is the richest man in the area? The Jewish doctor turned shopkeeper? The German nun? The Portuguese pornographer, who lives on the other side of the river? Or was it one of the other whites in the area? Certainly, it was none of the blacks or coloreds who live there. Though, the authorities would like to pin it on the black Communist, they are trying to catch. Then, to complicate matters, it is found that the man has been co-habiting with a colored woman, which was illegal in the '50s.
It is up to the man from the city to sort all this out.

Michael Grunwald's
The New New Deal :
the Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era
1st non-fiction book

Title and subtitle are self-explanatory, but . . .
If Obama is often the smartest man in the room, then Grunwald is the 2nd.
He understands Obama better than perhps Obama understands himself.
And, probably most importantly, he not only tells us how a bill is passed, which we should have learned in civics class, but why or why not a bill is passed.

Muller and Pronzini
The Bughouse Affair
1st in the Carpenter and Quincannon mystery series

Who killed the prominent lawyer in the locked study of his home? Was it his wife? A neighbor? A fellow lawyer? The burgular? The pickpocket? The man who claims he is sherlock Holmes returned from the dead? Or was it suicide made to look like a murder. And while he tries to solve this, she tries to solve the case of a female pickpocket, who has left a trail of bodies in her wake.

A husband and wife writing team. I recognized him from his Nameless Detective series, but I should have recognized her from her Sharon McComb series. They prove that writing is like peanut butter. A novice writer has a writing style like chunky--all bumps. But an old pro, like these two, their writing is as smooth as chocolate silk.

Andrew Hunt's
City of Saints
3rd non-fiction book

Barbara Cleverly
Not My Blood
5th in the Joe Sandilands' murder series
And 5 more fiction books besides

Ed Greenwood's
Dungeons and Dragons :
Forgotten Realms (graphic novel)

Why is this man still writing. I can think of almos a score of fantasy writers who are better and are not writing, but then I'd have to take off my shoes.

Next time: a half dozen more books read and recommended


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 24, 2013, 05:56:55 PM
Ye-es!

A miscellanea of a half dozen fiction and non-fiction since last time.

Mary Jane Clark's
Footprints in the Sand
1st in the Piper Donovan series
14 more fiction and one more series

When the wife of the local dentist disappears, then an Amish youth, snowbirding from up north, hangs himself, our heroine has to decide whether the two are related or just a coincidence.

Sam Thomas
The Midwife's Tale
1st fiction book

Who murdered the merchant of York? Was it his wife? A servant? A neighbor? A business rival? A political rival? Or someone else? It is up to our heroine to find out, before the wife may be hanged for a crime she did not commit. And things are not helped as the city is besieged by enemies both within and without.

Two things came out of this which I had forgotten. Thanks to the Irish Catholics, we know about all the Catholics in Ireland, including women and children, killed by the Protestants in the religious wars there. Yet the Irish Catholics are mute about all the Protestants, including women and children, killed by the Catholics in the religious wars there. And while female servants were more vulnerable to sexual harrassment then the male servants, the male servants were not immune to a liitle sexual harrassment, especially the young and/or pretty ones. Anything from rape by the masters to seduction by the mistresses.

Neitzel and Welzer
Soldaten

Secretly recorded conversations during WWII by German P.O.W.s in the U.K. and the U.S.

Probably one of the most honest books to come out of that war, as the P.O.W.s are not telling one what they want to hear nor not telling what one does not want to hear, but just telling each other their opinions. And their opinions, to my surprise, don't differ that much. Yes, there is some difference, but not as much as I expected. And what differences do exist, exist among the different branches of the German armed forces: the air force, the army, the navy, the SS, etc.

And what cannot be decided is whether one comes out with a better opinion of the German armed forces in WWII or a worst opinion. What can be decided is if there is anyone that dislikes what the older generation of Germans did during WWII, it is the younger generation of Germans.

David Mark's
The Dark Winter Night
the 1st in the Aetor McAvoy series of mysteries

Laughter: the Best Medicine: Holiday edition

A collection of holiday jokes from "Readers' Digest" "Laughter: the Best Medicine"

Elly Griffith's
A Room Full of Bones
4th in the Ruth Galloway series of mysteries

When a coffin with a curse on it is opened, people start to die. Is the curse coming true or something more mundane? It is up to our heroine to decide.

I've read the one before this, and the one after this, which we'll review later.

Next time: a stand-alone book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 29, 2013, 06:46:28 PM
Ye-es!

The Annotated Bros. Grimm
edited and annotated by Maria Tater
13th annotated book in the series
3rd by her and 7 more non-fiction by her

Almost up to the last moment before they both died, they were editing and revising their first edition of fairy tales.

before: oral tradition and first edition by the Grimm Bros.
after: last edition by the Grimm Bros.

before: told by adults to adults
after: told by adults to children

before: written down for scholars
after: written down for children as moral lessons

before: sex is acceptable
after: sex is unacceptable

before: paganism is acceptable
after: paganism has been replaced by Christianity.

before: basically unreadable
after: more readable

before: short versions
after: longer versions

And 180 years of commentaries by everyone from Atwood to Yolen.

Next time: Chicago. Chicago. That toddlin' town


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on October 30, 2013, 09:42:58 AM
Just picked up

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513MNBUjgkL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

Looking forward to it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 02, 2013, 11:38:11 PM
Berlitz' German in Thirty Days

I may have to quit, though, since it feels too much like I'm cheating on the English language.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Javakoala on November 03, 2013, 09:04:44 AM
The Mole People: Life in the Tunnels Beneath New York City by Jennifer Toth

I remember wanting to read this when I saw it while shelving books at Hastings a lifetime ago. An easy read that gives a reasonable sense of the communities that have grown in the vast depths of the world under New York City.

Given that this book in nearly 20 years old, it makes me wonder what changes have taken place in those communities.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 04, 2013, 12:09:37 AM
I've been told by a friend in New Jersey who works in New York City (for the health department, no less) that Superstorm Sandy brought massive flooding into those tunnels and it's thought there was some loss of life among the mole people communities, as well as a great deal of destruction of what they'd established.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Javakoala on November 04, 2013, 06:36:43 AM
I've been told by a friend in New Jersey who works in New York City (for the health department, no less) that Superstorm Sandy brought massive flooding into those tunnels and it's thought there was some loss of life among the mole people communities, as well as a great deal of destruction of what they'd established.

I hadn't even thought about that. Good lord, I hope someone tried to hustle them out before all that hit.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 06, 2013, 05:12:52 PM
Ye-es!

Thomas Dyja's
The Third Coast :
When Chicago Built the American Dream

An cultural history of Chicago between the wars. The wars being WWII and the War in Vietnam. The most surprising thing I learned from the book is how many people "came of age" (i.e. got their start and/or gained their first fame)  in that time, or just before it, and in that place. They included, but are not restricted to . . .

aretha franklin -- barbara harris -- burr tillstrom -- carl sandburg -- chuck berry -- curtis mayfield -- chess brothers and Chess Records -- dave garroway -- dinah washington -- Downbeat -- Ebony -- ed asner -- elaine may -- Esquire -- fran allison -- gwendolyn brooks -- hugh downs -- hugh hefner and Playboy -- irv kupcinet -- Jet -- john cage -- kurt vonnegut -- laszlo moholy-nagy -- leo burnett -- lorraine hansberry -- marlin perkins -- mies van der rohe -- mike nichols -- mike wallace -- mortimer j. adler -- nat king cole -- nelson algren -- philip johnson -- Poetry  -- ray kroc -- richard wright -- saul bellow -- severn darden -- shelley berman -- walter gropius -- william paley -- and willie dixon.

And they had names then. Others include, but are not restricted to . . .

bo diddley -- buckminster fuller -- howlin' wolf -- little walter -- muddy waters -- studs terkel -- sun ra -- and . . .

probably one of the greatest names ever given to a child maha-LIA JACK-son.

But all is not sunshine and roses, the author also talks about the . . .

corruption -- drug usage --drunkedness -- greed -- jealousy -- mental illness -- plagarism -- promiscuousness -- racism -- sexism -- and violence . . .

that affected Chicago at that time and how Chicago was a great city, but it could have been greater if the politics of Chicago had not made it banalville.

There is one other thing that is odd, or at least, I found odd, it seem to me that the author saw everything through a "gay" filter. Or, maybe I should say "bisexual" filter, as the author is married and has children.

Next time: since we are celebrating the 150 anniversary of the Civil War, a book to celebrate the celebration.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 14, 2013, 11:41:54 AM
The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Well-written and approachable history of American politics a century ago concentrating on the biographies of two of the key players who shaped that era by first working together, and later working against one another: to the painful regret of each. She tells how (hometown favorite) William Howard Taft was probably far too kind a man to ever be happy as President, and how Theodore Roosevelt was a god in mortal form. The best lesson I took away from the book was Goodwin's analysis of how Roosevelt's courage was not one of nature but of will. In other words, he was not innately brave, he taught himself to be so despite whatever fears he may have harbored during his surprisingly difficult and at times tragedy-filled life. I was moved by that and found a strong lesson there. If this book doesn't win a slew of awards next year I'll be very surprised.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 16, 2013, 04:35:05 PM
Ye-es!

Allan C. Guelzo's
Gettysburg :
the last invasion

After 150 years and an unknown number of books on the subject, is there anything more that is new to say. Actually, yes. Which we'll get to later, but first, what has been said before, even if here, the author sometimes says is better.

Civilians
More so than most writers on the subject, he includes the civilian side of the story, and he tells it well.

Courage
You can say whatever you want about either side, but you cannot fault the courage that both sides showed.

Lee
The case from the writer is not so much the North won, but the South lost, and part of the lost can be attributed to Lee's leadership, who fought this battle like every other battle he had previously fought, seemingly not taking into consideration the changes that had occured, especially the personnel changes in the army.

He also makes this point about Lee, which I call "being able to see the trees, but not seeing the forest." The threat to the South was not so much in the East, as Lee thought, but in the West at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Thus by not peeling off as many men as he could to go to the relief of Vicksburg, which he refused to do, he kept them in the East to protect his home state of Virginia. And thus, with the fall of Vicksburg being assured, the South still might have lost the war, but they would have lost it later rather than sooner.

"U.S. amateur hour"
Reading this book, the mind boggles how either side could have accomplished anything, as the armies of both sides were not only filled with amateur soldiers, but led by amateur officers for the most part.

"You are there!"
More than any other book I have read about the Civil War, he gives you the feeling that you are actually there.

As for what is new . . .?

Pickett's Charge
He makes the case, Pickett's Charge was not as boneheaded as I have always thought, that there was a chance, however slim, that it could have succeeded in doing what it was suppose to do.

Politics
If the Southern army was riven by personality differences, then the Northern army was riven by political differences. And the sad thing about both differences is that at times they had a negative effect on the way the war was waged.

Rifling
Rifling musketry was not the advance that we have always thought. Yes, you could shoot farther, but you still had to see what you shot at, and till the invention of smokeless powder, the battlefield became so besmeared with smoke, you could no longer see your target, but just fired in the general direction of the enemy.

That is not too say, that I don't think any mistakes were made, but . . .

Maybe not so much a decision by the writer, but a decision by the editor, and it all depends upon how you define the word "last," but the subtitle seems to preclude the later Southern invasions by Hood into Tennessee and Price into Missouri.

And he argues that the South should have taken the offensive more often against the North, when I, and most other writers on the subject, think the South would have been off to take a more defensive posture, if it wanted to win the War.

Next time: something from a man who could do almost anything.
 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: whatwasthatmovie on November 26, 2013, 05:39:01 PM
Might as well jump in - currently reading "Physics Made Simple"....voluntarily...because I'm just that kind of a nerd...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 27, 2013, 04:46:41 PM
Ye-es!

B. Kingston's
"Messages in a Bottle"
Greg Sedowski, ed.

Or a selection of the comic book art of Kingston, one of the great comic book artists of the past century.

I am not as big on the artist's art as the editor of this collection. Though the way he does draw some of the characters does add immeasurabely to the stories. Some of which are actually stronger than the ones I have normally found.

What grabs my attention is the artist's ability to illustrate almost any type of story . . .

adventure -- Biblical -- biographical -- crime -- historical -- horror -- juvenile -- literary -- mystery -- romance -- science fiction -- war -- and western.

Examples of all of which are included in this collection.

Highly recommended!

Next time: they are not like you and me.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on November 27, 2013, 06:13:29 PM
ER and Kevin - both of those are on my "To Read" list!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ChaosTheory on December 04, 2013, 03:43:39 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517zg3%2B69IL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg)

Greg (O Hai Mark) Sestero's account of meeting & befriending Tommy Wiseau, and the making of THE ROOM. 
Wiseau is even more insane than any of you imagine.  It's marvelous.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Kooshmeister on December 16, 2013, 04:36:24 PM
(http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1283509622l/11573.jpg)

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519LJFOjuDL.jpg)

(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Hw65Q39SvA/TayviWEVTzI/AAAAAAAAARk/iemM_RaqbFs/s640/Sun+Demon+Cover.jpg)

(http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1280905738l/438741.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 18, 2013, 04:12:52 PM
Ye-es!

They're not like you and me. Oh, they have one head, one body, two arms, two hands, two legs, two feet, and I presume ten toes and ten fingers, but if you take one of the people pictured in the book's photos and/or illustrations and put 'em in today's crowd. They'd stand out. Just as if you took one of us and put us into a crowd a century ago, we'd stand out. Thus, the best part of the book is the photos and illustrations.

Sarah Warwick's
Upstairs and Downstairs :
the Illustrated Guide to the Real World of "Downtown Abbey."

While the book covers the years 1825 to 1945, it concentrates on the years 1901 to 1910. And some statistics from that time.

20% of the servants were male.
80% were female.
Thus, having male servants gained you a higher prestiege than just having female servants.

5% of the total population of the U.K. worked as servants.
11% of the total working population of the U.K. worked as servants.
40% of the total female working population worked as servants.

There were few if any child labor laws and little in the way of social security, so a servant normally started working at the age of 14 and might continue working, if able, past the age of 70.

What a servant had to endure.
1. The hours were brutal. They often got up at 4:00 a.m. and might work to midnight.

2. Commons ailments common strictly to servants included such things as "housemaid's knees," because of the time she spent kneeling on the floor scrubbing it.

3. A servant could be fired for any reason or no reason at all with little recourse.

4. Boredom was common. While there might be between a dozen to two dozen type of servants on an estate, a servant did the same thing day after day, week after week, month after month for years.

5. Sexual abuse often raised its ugly head. If a female servant was caught with a man in her room, she could be dismissed for immorality and without references, which meant she was forced to turn to working the streets as a whore, as few people would hire someone without references. And while female servants were more vulernable to sexual abuse than the male servants, the male servants were not immune, as it ranged from rape or attempted rape from the master to seduction or attempted seduction by the mistress, especially for those who were young and/or pretty.

6. Hypocristy ran rampant. At weekend house parties, the guests had their names put on the doors of the bedrooms, so they could find the right bed, even if it was not the bed they were originally assigned. As for the servants, see #5 above.

7. There was little if any privacy.

8. Mandatory religious services. While most estates did not have a chapel and/or chaplain of their own, there was most always the local church, which the family and servants attended together,  and if not that, then the master held religious services, which the servants had to attend.

As to the reason people became servants. Probably the most important reason . . .

Money. The beginning salary of a servant was equivalent of the salary for the average working man in the U.K. And a servant could triple or even quadruple that before they retired.

Tips. More work, but a servant working in a house that was holding a weekend house party could expect to earn a month's salary in tips over that one weekend.

As to why a decline in servants, several reasons.

1. It was the beginning of the Social Welfare state in the U.K., which meant an increase in taxation. More outgo. Less income to spend.

2. The minimum wage raised the wages of servants and others.

3. Other opportunities for women arose, which gave 'em an opportunity to work at something other than as a servant.

4. The War. It not only almost wiped out a generation of masters, but it almost wiped out a generation of male servants. Thus those that survived found that demand  exceeded supply which also raised wages.

5. The War also brought about a new sense of egalitarianism among the people. After equally sharing the hardships of the trenches, it was hard to go back to a sense of the master being the superior and the male servant being the inferior in the relationship.

6. And labor saving devices made less the need for servants.

Next time: 6 of 1. Half a dozen of the other.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Kooshmeister on December 25, 2013, 04:28:48 AM
Nabbed this on a whim at Spencer's.

(http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/i/2013/09/30/Let-Me-Off-at-the-Top.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on December 25, 2013, 03:55:30 PM
(http://static1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110903185243/alf/images/1/1a/Permanent_Midnight_-_book.jpg)

Jerry Stahl's memoir about being a heroin-addicted television writer.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 25, 2013, 06:49:32 PM
Well, I had always heard that Ulysses Grant's PERSONAL MEMOIRS were the greatest military memoir ever written by any American General - indeed, some scholars have said they are the second only to Julius Caesar's COMMENTARIES ON THE GALLIC WARS. I have read both of them now - Caesar's book this summer (English translation, of course) and Grant's book over the last couple of months. I must say that, for a work completed 130 years ago, Grant's style is simple, clear, easy to follow; his analysis insightful, and his respect for his enemies commendable. If you have never read this classic of American history, I highly recommend it!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 26, 2013, 08:28:33 PM
Ye-es!

Daniel Stashower's
The Hour of Peril :
the Secret Plot to Murder Lincoln Before the Civil War
writer of 3 more non-fiction

What a difference in history, if Lincoln's assassains had been successful. One of the most memorable things I got out ot if, was how much Lincoln was criticized, even by his friends and allies, for sneaking through Baltimore at night, and thus escaping assassaination, instead of facing his assassains in the day and risk assassaination. The only thing I can put this down to, is that there had yet to be a successfull assassaination of an American president, Lincoln was the first, and only one previous attempt to assassainate an American president, that of Andrew Jackson, which, of course, failed.

Bruce Levine's
The Fall of the House of Dixie :
the Civil War and the Social Revolution that transformed the South
writer of 5 more non-fiction

Finally, an answer to a question that has always perplexed me: "Why did the South try to defend all the Confederacy, when they did not have enough men to defend all of it adequately?" Which the author does answer in some depth. Along with a number of other questions about the South and the Civil War.

Geoff Williams'
Washed Away :
the Great Flood of 1913, America's most Wide Spread Natural Disaster, Terrorized a Nation and Changed it Forever
Writer of 1 more non-fiction

The most wide spread flood ever to strike the U.S. affecting an area of from New Hampshire in the north to Louisiana in the south to Massachusetts in the east to Nebraska in the west. And excluding floods caused by hurricanes, the 2nd most destructive in human life. From 700 to 1000 people lost their lives. Only the Johnstown Flood saw more lost of life.

And before they were famous, the following were caught up in the flood.

John Dillinger -- Mischa Elman -- Hart Crane -- Clark Gable -- Ben Hecht -- Bob Hope -- Carole Lombard -- Vincente Minnelli -- Roy Rogers -- Mary Jane Ward -- and James Thurber, who wrote one of his best short stories about his experiences in the flood.

Jane Yolen's
Curses :
Foiled Again
a graphic novel and sequel to "Foiled"

Worth reading, even if I found it inferior to the original.

Scott W. Berg's
38 nooses :
Lincoln, Little Crow, and the Beginning of the Frontier's End
Writer of 1 more non-fiction

The Indian wars in Minnesota. Almost forgotten today, because it occurred during the time of the American Civil War, but a war that resulted in the greatest mass hanging ever to occur in American jurisprudence. There would have been an even bigger hanging if Lincoln had not pardoned most of the defendants. Even then, it looks like at least one of the defendants was innocent. The war, of all the Indian Wars in the U.S., during the 19th century, also resulted in the greatest number of whites--593--ever killed in one war.

Patricia Cornwell's
The Bone Bed
20th in the Scarpetta series. Writer of 2 other fiction series, 3 nonfiction books, and 2 cookbooks.

When a billionaire is tried for the murder of his wife, whose body has disappeared, and then found not guilty, questions arise as to whether justice was served or not.

Next time: Be careful what you wish for. You may get it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on January 02, 2014, 08:15:09 PM
Indiana - Not a big fan of military history but I recall Claudius, the God, the sequel to I Claudius, had a lot of that sort of information.  Grant also figures somewhat in the book I'm reading now

(http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1327994598l/7423.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 02, 2014, 09:10:27 PM
That was an interesting episode.  Grant's brother-in-law tried to take advantage of him, if I recall correctly, and the President
didn't realize what the robber barons were up to until the last minute . . . . or at least, that was the take of the author I read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on January 03, 2014, 05:19:07 PM
I'm just getting into the part with the President's brother in law. In the early 80's a couple guys tried to corner the silver market. A guy who worked on that story wrote this book.

The gold price was very volatile during the civil war. Every time the south won a battle the price would go up. Events affect it's price now too though people deny it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 04, 2014, 12:36:52 AM
I just finished Bill O'Reilly's KILLING JESUS.
Some artistic license here and there, a couple of glaring historical errors, and a bit of a sensationalist take, especially in some of the descriptions of Rome.
But a good read, especially if you aren't really familiar with the narrative.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: jimpickens on January 07, 2014, 03:31:01 AM
Molon Labe The Revolution begins, Molon Labe Power To The People, and Jernigan's War.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on January 08, 2014, 12:26:59 PM
The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott. A 1904 collection someone gave me for Christmas. It includes Proud Maisie, which I've always found one of the most haunting poems in our language.

PROUD Maisie is in the wood,
    Walking so early;
Sweet Robin sits on the bush,
    Singing so rarely.

'Tell me, thou bonny bird,
    When shall I marry me?'
—'When six braw gentlemen
    Kirkward shall carry ye.'

'Who makes the bridal bed,
    Birdie, say truly?'
—'The grey-headed sexton
    That delves the grave duly.

'The glow-worm o'er grave and stone
    Shall light thee steady;
The owl from the steeple sing
    Welcome, proud lady!'


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 14, 2014, 01:30:44 PM
Ye-es!

After reading a character guide to the DC comic characters, I had wished for the same thing for the Marvel characters, and I got my wish. Little realizing it had been published before the character guide to the DC comic characters, I just did not know that it existed. So . . .

Alan Cowsill's
"The Avengers :
the Ulitmate Character Guide"

With a list of vital stats . . .
real name -- occupation -- base of operations -- height -- weight -- colour of eyes -- hair colour -- power -- allies -- foes.

Then a power ranking in 7 categories (1-7) . . . With 42 being the highest score possible and 6 being the lowest score.
energy projection -- strength -- durability -- fighting skill -- intelligence -- speed

Of course, it is not, by any means, a perfect book.

While there are 204 characters listed, it is, of course, not totally inclusive of the Marvel characters.

And while there is an effort by Marvel to do something other than white bread super heroes and super villains, except for black characters, there are not a great number of minority characters. More a problem with Marvel than the writer.

Women fare better, as there are 52 women listed.

And it'd be nice, since age is so important for a character, what the age is for each character, if one could determine the character's age.

Still, there seems to be 16 teenage characters, age from 16 to 19.

And unlike the character guide to the DC characters, where groups are included, only individuals are included in this one, even though the individual may also be a member of some group.

Yet, this is an essential introduction and guide to the the Marvel characters, if one has an interest in such.

Next time: another 6 of 1 and a half dozen of the other


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Josso on January 14, 2014, 03:04:17 PM
Decided to re-read the hyperion cantos


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Kooshmeister on January 20, 2014, 10:46:15 PM
(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS8IlGuNlscbG66e78xXwU0Nhsei-OVxJGGiPwn-cmj1xkV0Kl1)

(http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clone_cover_6239.jpg)

(http://ep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-4629489178037/creature-from-the-black-lagoon-vargo-statten-j-r-fearn-1st-us-hc-ed-250-copy-1.gif)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 20, 2014, 11:35:54 PM
Been re-reading the Agent Pendergast series by Preston and Child. 
Finished DANCE OF DEATH and nearly done now with THE BOOK OF THE DEAD.
These guys have created a very memorable main character and woven a seamless series
of adventures featuring him. A great series, even if the movie adaptation of RELIC was awful.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on January 27, 2014, 09:04:16 AM
(http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9781470885410_p0_v2_s260x420.JPG)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Andrew on January 27, 2014, 11:58:02 AM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51C2X32MHnL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
The Year's Best Science Fiction:  Thirtieth Annual Collection


(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31bMi9gBjXL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
1984


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Josso on January 27, 2014, 02:14:19 PM
1984 is one of those novels that seems to get more relevant as time goes on.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Josso on January 27, 2014, 02:15:08 PM
Also reading Hyperion cantos, on another note attempting re-read of Naked Lunch soon - see if I can decipher the madness within


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: frank on January 28, 2014, 04:34:38 AM
Been re-reading the Agent Pendergast series by Preston and Child. 
Finished DANCE OF DEATH and nearly done now with THE BOOK OF THE DEAD.
These guys have created a very memorable main character and woven a seamless series
of adventures featuring him. A great series, even if the movie adaptation of RELIC was awful.

I did not really get behind the two triologies (brother whatshisname and Helen). I greatly enjoyed relic, probably followed by still life with crows. I was actually on the verge of letting this series go, but got the new book (White fire) as a gift. I liked it - it toned down a bit on the story (improvement to me) and takes a shot at a new Sherlock story by Arthur Conan Doyle. On the downside some twists are rather predictble and the story is mainly driven by someone making exceptionally dumb decisions.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Raffine on January 28, 2014, 10:00:59 AM
I just finished Stephen King's latest doorstop novel Doctor Sleep. It's a fun sequel of sorts to The Shining, and follows the adventures of the now middle-aged alchoholic Danny Torrance and his battle with a gang of harmless looking senior citizens who travel the US in RVs and campers eating kids that shine.

I just got a couple of books by the (in)famous crypto writer Ivan T. Sanderson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_T._Sanderson). So far they read a lot like the works of John Keel (The Mothman Prophecies and Mysterious Beings) but without Keel's sly tongue-in-cheek humor.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on January 28, 2014, 10:17:19 AM
Nothin' To Lose: The Making of KISS, 1972-1975, by Ken Sharp (with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley) - an extremely cool, in depth book about the band's formative years. In addition to having access to the KISS archives via Simmons and Stanley, Sharp digs up interviews with a lot of people who were pivotal in getting KISS off the ground back then, but haven't been heard from much since, and they've got a lot of entertaining stories. The photos are great too, particularly the shots of them playing early gigs in tiny clubs in New York's outer boroughs, wearing t-shirts and jeans and half-assed early versions of their soon-to-be-famous make up on their faces.
This book is a treasure trove of trivia for the KISS fanboy (i.e. me)!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Kooshmeister on January 28, 2014, 11:26:59 AM
(http://people.uncw.edu/smithms/Ace%20singles/s5N-series/47026-2.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 28, 2014, 05:15:36 PM
Ye-es!

Since there is so much s@@@ out there I can't stand to read, if I can read something all the way through, that's a recommendation, even if I can't remember anything else about it.

Charles Todd's
Proof of Guilt
15th in the Ian Rutledge Series.
1 more series + 2 more fiction

A mother-son writing team, even if the name doesn't indicate it so.

Kieran Shields'
A Study in Revenge
2nd in the series

When a family heirloom, a rock with cryptic symbols carved into it is stolen, and then the thief is killed, the question becomes why was the rock stolen and for whom.

The series is becoming more like an American version of Sherlock Holmes, especially now that the series has picked up a villain similiar to Professor Moriarty. Which does not make for a bad series.

Oliver Harris'
The Hollow Man
1st novel

Hal Foster's
Prince Valiant
v.6. from 1947 and 1948 in the Sunday comic series

Valiant has been to Africa, Asia, and through most of Europe, now he comes to North America, specifically Canada.

Craig Ungar's
Boss Rove : Inside Karl Rove's Secret Kingdom of Power
2 more nonfiction

Probably the biggest a###### unhanged. Though, you probably can't hang someone for just being an a######. Though, the book points out Rove is lucky he is not cooling his heels in jail. Still, a remarkablely balanced book, as the writer talked to both Rove's friends and foes (not all of whom are Democrats.) And while he could not get an interview with Rove, he does include a number of excerpts from Rove's writings.

Elly Griffith's
A Dying Fall
5th in the Ruth Galloway series

While our heroine investigates a gravesite that may or may not contain the bones of King Arthur, her ex-lover and the father of her newborn daughter investigates a death by fire, which turns out to be arson and murder.

Throw in campus politics, modern day Druids, and racist skinheads, and you have a more than passable mystery in an intriguing series.

Next time: the more you think about it. The better it becomes.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 04, 2014, 01:56:54 PM
Ye-es!

Marty Sklar's
Dream it! Do It! :
My Half Century Creating Disney's Magic Kingdom

Actually 53 years, as the author worked for the Walt Disney Company from 1955 to 2008. And he does not have the longest tenure at Walt Disney. One man worked for the company for 64 years. That's longer than I've been alive.

We'll take up the problems first.
(1) Like such books it is one-sided, presenting only his side of the story. Not that he isn't saying something that everybody else has said, but you'd like to hear the other side of the story.

(2) It is not the "ultimate" story about the Walt Disney Company, while he had alot to do with it, there are parts of the company, such as films, TV, etc., he had nothing to do with.

(3)There are mistakes. He credits the multi-plane camera, which allowed cels to be photographed on top of each other, and thus gave greater depth to animation,  to Walt Disney, when the credit should go to Walt Disney employee Ub Iwerks, who invented the camera. Ub's son continues to work for the company in Imagineering.

(4) His writing is uneven, which is odd, as he was first hired as a writer for the company and worked as a writer before he joined the company.

(5) He slightly contradicts himself here and there.

(6) There is no index.

Still, the pluses outnumber the minuses.

(1) He has a good eye and ear for a funny story. A LOL! story about every 12 pages.

(2) He is honest enough to list the company's failures as well as its successes.

(3) But the best part of the book is the photographs included. It puts faces to the names you know, but for whom you haven't seen photos.

(3a.) There are also photos of his family. And the interesting thing that I find about this, is while his father looks more Jewish than he does, while his son looks less Jewish than he does, and his grandson looks even less Jewish than father and grandfather.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Next time: Again another 6 of 1 and a half dozen of the other.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on February 04, 2014, 05:13:24 PM
My Life As a Ten Year Old Boy by Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson) - the renowned voice artist's autobiography provides fanboys with a decent behind-the-scenes look at the making of their beloved animated sitcom, but overall this book is not nearly as entertaining as I'd expected it to be. Without the Simpsons writers feeding her dialogue, Nancy seems like a nice, but rather dull, gal.

Oh well. The main reason I even borrowed it from the library was to show it to my two sons, who refused to believe me when I told them that Bart Simpson's voice was done by a woman :D


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: dean on February 05, 2014, 01:55:37 AM
Cryptonomicon by Neale Stephenson

Very dense book.  I feel like I've been reading it forever and I'm only about 60% through.  Pretty good so far though.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on February 12, 2014, 04:34:04 PM
Press Here by Herve Tullet, one of the most delightful young children's books ever written. The book begins with a single yellow dot, and when you push it and turn the page, voila, the dot multiples to three dots! Can you believe that??? You push the dot on the end and and, wow, on the next page one of the dots turns red! Oh, the magic just goes on and on until the most amazing thing happens on the last page.

I won't spoil that cliffhanger for you though....


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Bushma on February 13, 2014, 04:03:54 PM
I just finished "The Spartacus War" after watching the Spartacus series from Starz.
(http://media.npr.org/assets/artslife/books/2010/02/spartacus_custom-s6-c30.jpg?t=1312420671)

I'm starting on
(http://www.ebookmall.com/Public/Images/Products/ProductPage/2/1448177022.jpg)


and listening to...
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b6/Wizard,_the_Life_and_Times_of_Nikola_Tesla.png)
during my commute


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 13, 2014, 07:47:55 PM
I would like to read a good scholarly work on Spartacus - the STARZ series was historically inaccurate to the point of ridiculousness! LOL


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 15, 2014, 06:12:04 PM
Ye-es!

2nd verse. Same as the 1st. If I list it, it is a recommendation. Though sometimes I can remember no more than the author and the title.

Peter Robinson's
Watching the Dark
23rd in the Inspector Banks series

When a policeman is shot and killed by a crossbow at a health retreat for the police, it is discovered the man may have been a corrupt copper. And what does his death have to do with the disappearance of an young Englishwoman in Estonia a number of years before.

Readable, but I do prefer Robinson's stand alone novels to his series novels.


John Thaws'
The Vatican Diaries :
a Behind the Scenes Look at the Power, Personalities and Politics at the Heart of the Catholic Church
1st non-fiction

Not a history of the Papacy nor a history of the Papacy during the 3 decades the writer worked as a newspaper reporter at the Vatican, but it does shine a public spotlight on much that is closed off to the public.


Denise Mira's
Gods and Beasts
2nd in the DS Alex Morrow series
8 more fiction


Don Summer's
Horror Movie Freak

The title says it all. What the title does not say that a dvd copy of the original "Night of the Living Dead" is packaged with each copy of the book.


Chris Mitchell's
Cast Member Confidential :
a Disneyfied Memoir
1st nonfiction

Part confessional memoir. Part job description of what it is like to work as a cast member at Walt Disney World. Though on the principle of "Fool me once. Shame on you. Fool me twice. Shame on me." You can see the writer making the same mistakes in his personal relationships time and time again. Though even the biggest cynic in the world can lose some of their cynicism in what is reported to be "The Happiest Place in the World."

One of the more interesting aspects of the book is his roommate's attempt to fulfill an unfulfilled niche, that of a gay boy band promoted as a gay boy band. I thought it hadn't happened, but, and it may be the same band, there is a gay boy band out there that promotes itself as a gay boy band.


Sue Hallgarth's
On the Rocks :
a Willa Cather and Edith Lewis mystery
1st fiction book and 1st in the series

When Cather and her female partner are vacationing at an artists' retreat on an island off the coast of Canada, they see a man fall off a cliff, to his death, on the rocks below. Was it an accident? Murder? or Suicide?


Next time: it all began with radio.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Neville on February 17, 2014, 02:21:36 PM
I just finished reading "Metro 2033" by Dmitry Glukhovsky. It's a distopian novel where the last survivors of a nuclear apocalypse live in the abandoned subway stations under Moscow. By the time the novel begins they have already spent decades underground, so they have their own society -more like societies- down there. Some stations have embraced Communist or Fascist ideologies, while other see themselves as the responsibles for keeping trade or knowledge alive. The main character is Artyom, a young man who is asked to take a message to the very limit of the populated stations. Travelling between stations is very dangerous: there are mutant creatures, collapsed tunnels and places where people are known to disappear without a trace for no apparent reason.

Funny thing, I learned of the book by stumbling into a FPS called "Metro: Last Light". Turns out the author is involved with the videogame studio, and they have realeased at least two games based on this universe.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 25, 2014, 05:59:09 PM
Ye-es!

Jordan R. Young's
The Laught Crafters :
Comedy Writing in Radio and TV's Golden Age
13th non-fiction book

An oral history

The highlight for me, being, as normal, the photographs, as I now can put unknown faces with known names. Some of which include . . .

Bert "The Mad Russian" Gordon -- Beryl Markham -- Fanny Brice -- Frances Langford -- Gregory Ratoff -- Jack "Baron Von Munchausen" Pearl -- James "Wanna Buy a Duck" Penner -- Marilyn Maxwell -- Peggy Lee -- and Skinny Ennis.

One of my true regrets is that I did not live thru the time when radio was the main source of entertainment in the home, but as the subtitle makes clear, may of those radio programs made the transistion to TV, and became some of the early TV programs. They include . . .

"The Abbott and Costello Show" -- "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" -- "Amos 'n' Andy" -- "Art Linkletter's House Party" -- "The Beulah Show" -- "The Burns and Allen Show" -- "The Danny Thomas Show" -- "December Bride" -- "The Ed Sullivan Show" -- "The Ed Wynn Show" -- "Fibber McGee and Molly" -- "The Jack Benny Show" -- "The Life of Riley" -- "Our Miss Brooks" -- "The Milton Berle Show" -- "My Favorite Husband" -- and "The Red Skelton Show."

We will never see their like again, and we are all poorer for that.

Next time: and again another 6 of 1 and a half dozen of the other


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 05, 2014, 01:00:59 PM
Ye-es!

Cara Black's
Murder Below Montparnasse
13th in the Aimee LeDuc series
And an autographed copy as well.

When a valuable painting is stolen in that area of Paris, then the owner is killed. And then the thief is killed. And then another art thief is killed. The question is not only who is the killer, but also who has the painting.

Each mystery being located in a different part of Paris.

E. S. Harris'
What Darkness Brings
8th in the Sebastian St. Cyr series
7 more works of fiction

Simon Brett's
The Corpse on the Court
14th in the Fethering mystery series

When an old man is found dead on one of the courts of the local lawn tennis association, it is thought it was due to natural causes, as the old man was known to have a bad ticker. But, it turns out that the man may have been deliberately scared to death, which would make it murder.

Better than the last two, which I have also read. Maybe because the author sounds less uncomfortable discussing lawn tennis than the subjects of pedophilia and modern art, which were the subjects of the last two mysteries in the series.

Tessa Harris
The Dead Shall Not Rest
2nd in the Dr. Thomas Silkstone mystery series
I have not read the 1st nor the 3rd, which was apparently just published. This comes with a study guide, which is an idea I have not seen before.

Who killed the Italian musico? Was it the . . . ?

American doctor -- the Austrian composer -- the English medical student -- the French barber -- the Irish giant -- the Polish dwarf -- or one of the other characters: both English and non-English.


G. M. Malliet's
A Fatal Winter
2nd in the Max Tudor series
I have not read the 1st, but I have read the 3rd, which we'll get to later, and she has one more mystery series out.

When an old man is murdered in his bed, and then his sister and heir drops dead, apparently of natural causes a shortime later, the battle is on among his children and grandchildren for the old man's money.

A series in the manner of Agatha Christie. With the detective being the local minister. And like Christie the author does well with gather all the suspects in the same room, while the detective lays out who is the killer. And unlike Christie the authoress is better with child characters, as there are a couple of children in this one. In Christie, having read most of her 80 or some mysteries, I thnk the number of times children appear in them can be counted on both hands with fingers left over.

Peter James
Not Dead Yet
8th in the Roy Grace series
11 more works of fiction and a children's book

Deborah Crombie's
The Sound of Broken Glass
In the Kincaid and James series
14 more works of fiction

Next time: it does "Young Sherlock Holmes" one better.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 11, 2014, 04:41:55 PM
Ye-es!

Andrew Lane's
Black Ice
3rd in the Sherlock Holmes : the Legend Begins series
With a 4th one out, which we'll get to later, and a 5th one promised

When young Sherlock comes to Russia to absolve his older brother Mycroft of a murder charge in the U.K., he finds himself trapped between two secret organizations. One is known, and one is unknown, but . . .

both are all-seeing, all-knowing -- both are international in scope -- both are large -- and both are ruthless.

Besides bringing up the idea that it is those who you think you can trust are those who you can't trust, and those who you think you can't trust, are those who you can trust, the series, for a series for teens, has nothing prosaic about its threats to life and limb. So far death and near-death have come about by . . .

bees -- boat oar -- brass knuckles -- cosh -- falcons -- feral kids -- icicle -- knout -- leopards -- lizards -- ship's machinery -- slingshot -- whip -- and wild dogs.

And next time: back to the beginning or 1 of 6 and a half dozen of the other.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on March 11, 2014, 05:25:05 PM
(http://faculty.catawba.edu/cmcallis/history/greece/greece/Odyssey%20Fagles.jpg)

Part of my "books I was supposed to read in college but I read the Cliff Notes instead" series


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Javakoala on March 17, 2014, 03:52:16 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QrY7QsMsL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-v3-big,TopRight,0,-55_SX278_SY278_PIkin4,BottomRight,1,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg)

An insanely readable account of a filmmaker's work with Sultan Productions, a company like The Asylum but much, MUCH lower tech, if you can believe it. I want to watch some of their movies, but I don't think they would be as much fun as the stories behind the scenes.

It's cheap enough if you have an e-reader. I'm buzzing through it between calls at work.

Next title I can't wait to dig into:

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51kGiAPMaiL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-v3-big,TopRight,0,-55_SX278_SY278_PIkin4,BottomRight,1,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 25, 2014, 02:35:01 PM
Ye-es!
But, we'll put off what I was going to post to post this.

Beginning with "Bitter River" and Anne Perry and ending almost 70 mysteries later, here are the 16 mysteries that have . . .

a. a child either a boy or a girl or both in it. And here a child is someone of 17 years or younger.
b. a murder,
c. and sex with a child.

Girls
Cara Black's "Murder in Pigalle"
C. J. Box's "The Highway"
Julia Keller's "Bitter River"
Lynda LaPlante's "Backlash"
Anne Perry's "Murder at Marble Arch" and "Paragon Walk"
Kathy Reich's "Bones of the Lost"
Priscilla Royal's "Covenant with Hell"
Cath Staincliffe's "Dead to Me"

Boys
Ellen Hart's "Taken by the Wind"
D. A. Mishani's "The Missing File"
Anne Perry's "Blind Justice" and "Bluegate Fields"

Both
Benjamin Black's "Holy Orders"
Michael Pearce's "The Bride Box"
Anne Perry's "Death in Devil's Acre"

The interest for me lies in the percentages.

Total books 69 So 16 is  %23
Boys 4 %25 Girls 9 %56 Both 3 %19 or boys 34% and girls 66% or not far off from actual crime statistics.
Present time 9 %56 Past time 7 %44
In the U.S. 4 %25 Outside the U.S. 12 %75

Authors 12 total
Americans 5 %42 non-Americans 7 %58
Male authors 4 %33 Female authors 8 %67

Next time: What I was going to post this time.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: jimpickens on March 28, 2014, 03:13:52 AM
Local Space 2200 AD a good introduction into the Terran Trade Authority/ Galactic Encounters universe.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 07, 2014, 03:01:46 PM
Ye-es!

Donna Leon's
The Golden Egg
part of the Comissario Guido Brunetti series

Infinities
Another one in the Star Wars omnibus series

Speculative fiction in the world of Star Wars. What if the Death Star had not been destoryed at Yavin? What if Luke had died on the iceplanet Hoth?, etc.

Janet Hubbard's
Champagne : the farewell
1st one in the Vengeance in the Vineyard mystery series

Who killed the French vineyard owner and winemaker? Was it the heroine's boyfriend? The German who is buying up alot of the vineyards in the area? One of the man's neighbors in the Champagne area of France? A relative? Someone else?

Each book in the series is suppose to cover a different wine making area in France.

Yael Kohen
We Killed :
the Rise of Women in American comedy

Or 7 decades from 1957 to 2012 or from Phyllis Diller and Elaine May to Sarah Silverman and Chelsea Handler

The writer also talks to their agents, club owners, critics, directors, male colleagues, managers, network executives, producers, and writers.

Ewart Hutton's
Good People
A 1st novel

Robert Crais
Suspect
28 more works of fiction

When his female partner is killed in a botched street robbery gone wrong, a L.A. cop suffering from PTSD, with the help of his new partner, a German shepherd, named Maggie, who is also suffering from the dog version of PTSD, after her handler was killed in Afghanistan, decides to go after and take down the robbers himself.

I had problems trying to follow some of the events in the book, but it is regarded as one of the best suspense novels of last year.

Gail Carriger's
Souless
v. 2 or chapters 8-14 in the graphic version of the juvenile book

The illustrations being better than the story.

Next time: another 6 of 1. A half dozen of the other


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on April 07, 2014, 03:46:40 PM
Love, Peace and Soul: Behind the Scenes of America's Favorite Dance Show, Soul Train by Ericka Blount Danois


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 15, 2014, 04:32:26 PM
Ye-es!

D. A. Mishani's
The Missing File
1st in the Avraham Avraham series
1st novel

When a teenage boy disappears on the way to school, who was responsible for his disappearance. His parents, his tutor who lives in the same apartment building, the convicted sex criminal who lives in the area, or is the boy just a runaway.

1st mystery that I read that takes place in the present Middle East, which made it interesting. The hero also has one of the most interesting hobbies I've ever seen. He reads old mysteries to prove the detective in the mystery was wrong. Using the same clues as the detective in the mystery, our hero sets out to prove that the detective arrested the wrong person. And while the hero proves to be competent, there are questions about his competency. Maybe because we ssee him not only thru his own eyes, but thru the eyes of another.


Timothy Zahn's
Star Wars : the Thrawn Trilogy
(in graphic format) and part of the Star Wars omnibus series

Normally, I prefer a graphic version of a novel to its original version, but this time I actually found the original version superior to its graphic version.


Larry D. Thompson's
Dead Peasants
2 more works of fiction


Elizabeth J. Duncan's
A Small Hill to Die Upon
4th in the Penny Brannigan series


Erin Hart's
The Book of Killowen
4th in the Maguire and Gavin series

When a car is pulled out of an Irish peat bog, two bodies, both murder victims, are found in the boot or trunk, but one was murdered just a year ago, and the other was murdered over a 1000 years ago. And what do the bodies have to do with a near-by artists' retreat, and a medieval book, as old, as the first murder victim, which is also found in the peat bog.


Geoffrey Kabaservice's
Rule and Ruin :
the Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party from Eisenhower to the Tea Party.

The history of the Republican Party over the past 60 years, and a plea by the Republican author for the Party to moderate its political positions or face its destruction.

One stop reading. It is surprising how much of what the author writes about that I remember. Though, one of things he writes about that I had forgotten is how at one time the Republican Party had a better Civil Rights voting record than the Democrat Party. Though, that has changed over the years. Also the book raises the question is whether the U.S. would be better or worst off, knowing that politics hates a vacuum, without the Republican Party. No way of actually knowing, except if history is any judge, if pne thinks things are bad now. They can only get worst in the future.

Next time: another 6 of 1 and a half dozen of the other.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 15, 2014, 04:56:53 PM
After a free-view weekend of HBO last week, I decided to start re-reading the SONG OF FIRE AND ICE series, better known by its TV title,
GAME OF THRONES.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Javakoala on April 20, 2014, 01:39:44 PM
Been reading two books on classic exploitation (meaning they exploited what the Hayes Codes would not allow). Great stuff when you view it from a class/sociological point of view. And I've been watching movies mentioned in the texts. Not only are they interesting, but they are also major hoots!.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on May 05, 2014, 04:28:37 AM
Necroscope by Brian Lumley.

It's a Cold War thriller between soviets and the UK.
With psychics. And vampires.

It's got a nice hero, devious villain. Lots of ogre and freaky horror stuff and it's very easy to read. There's loads of sequels and spin offs to read which I'm looking forward too.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on May 10, 2014, 10:13:13 AM
After a free-view weekend of HBO last week, I decided to start re-reading the SONG OF FIRE AND ICE series, better known by its TV title,
GAME OF THRONES.


Funny how my views on that series (the books) have changed. When I read them in 2011 I thought they were brilliant and today I can barely stand them. Shrug.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 10, 2014, 03:43:41 PM
After a free-view weekend of HBO last week, I decided to start re-reading the SONG OF FIRE AND ICE series, better known by its TV title,
GAME OF THRONES.


Funny how my views on that series (the books) have changed. When I read them in 2011 I thought they were brilliant and today I can barely stand them. Shrug.

You are not the only one. I find the TV series unwatchable, and the books, which I am reading in graphic format, almost unreadable. I wonder if that is because, as a proud fantasy reader, back to the time I discovered Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" back in junior high or middle school, there are at least a half dozen contemporary  fantasy writers out there, that I considered far superior to Martin.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Josso on May 10, 2014, 04:22:35 PM
There seems to be a trend with people mistaking very popular with the best thing ever. I enjoy GoT but it isn't the best TV show in the world, it's of similar production values and ideologies as boardwalk empire / rome / anything like that on HBO. Someone asked me what it was recently and I described it as "lord of the rings with sex & violence"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 10, 2014, 04:42:21 PM
Ye-es!

Some I remember better than others, but a read is a recommendation.

David Morrell's
Murder as a Fine Art

One of those writers who'' turn their hand to almost anything to earn some money.

25 more works of fiction, including 3 in the Rambo series -- 3 collections of his short stories -- 3 books of non-fiction --
1 graphic novel -- and 3 books edited.

Stuart Macbride's
Close to the Bone
8th in the Logan Mcrae series
3 more works of fiction and 1 collection of his short stories

Craig Johnson's
A Serpent's Tooth
The Walt Longmire series
8 more works of fiction

What do a 15-year-old boy running around the county butt naked, a man who claims to be someone long thought dead, a woman who tends bar in the next town, a leader of a Mormon cult recently moved into the area, a mysterious Mexican, and a more mysterious American have to do with each other? It is up to our hero to make all the connections.

This series has been adpated into a TV series for A&E Television, and while this book has yet to be adapted for the TV series, I like to see it done so, If only to see whether it is the TV series or the book which does a better job of depicting the "True West." I'm betting on the book.

The book also has one of those inevitable, but you hate to see it, because both characters are so likable, final confrontations between the hero and the villain, in which only one man can walk away alive.

And, oh yeah! This one of the few mysteries in which the villains actually scared the s@@@ out of me.

Archer Mayor's
Paradise City
23rd in the Joe Gunther series

When a burgularly ring clashes with a ring that brings in illegal immigrants for slave labor, it is up to our hero to set things right.

Actually, I am afraid, I did not recognize the author, the title, nor the series, till I was reading the 24th and next one in the series, which I'll review later.

Jo Bannister's
Deadly Virtues
10 more works of fiction

Eleanor Kuhn's
Death of a Dyer
2nd in the William Rees series

Who murdered the 18th century American dye maker in his dye house? Was it his wife? His teenage son? A servant? A neighbor? Someone who owed the dead man some money? Or someone else? It is up to our hero to find out, before an innocent is hanged for the crime.

This mystery contains one of the most unique relationships I have seen in a mystery, While the relationship is made clear only at the end, and is covered in only a couple of paragraphs, it is so unique, because it crosses so many boundaries, especially for that day and time.

And the auhoress has been practicing her writing. This is much better than her first book.

Keith McCafferty's
The Grey Ghost Murders
2nd in the Sean Stranahan series

What do a Congressman running for Governor, a fly tiers club, Richard Connell's classic short story "Most Dangerous Game," some missing flies, and murder have to do with each other? It is up to our hero to figure all this out by joining all the dots.

Set in Montana, which has become the go to state for new mystery writers. Some of the other mysteries set there. We'll review later.

Next time: 6 of 1 and a half dozen from Anne Perry + 1.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on May 22, 2014, 09:17:32 AM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/512P959PBNL.jpg)

Cool so far to learn something about the pre-feature era (1890s to 1910s) when "movies" were just one-reelers you watched through an eyepiece at a nickelodeon.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on May 22, 2014, 10:05:01 AM
I recently scored a half dozen old books from the "Mack Bolan" aka "The Executioner" pulp-adventure series, which I haven't read since I was in high school. Currently I'm a little more than halfway thru "Blood Testament," #100 in the series, from 1987.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 22, 2014, 05:05:29 PM
I used to read those when I was in the Navy.  I called them the masculine response to Harlequin Romances.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Neville on May 24, 2014, 07:07:07 PM
I just picked up a couple of interesting reads from my local library.

The first one is "Horns" by Joe Hill. I liked Hill's previous books, specially his collection of short stories, an I think he's worth following. Here he mixes small town misteries (the main character lost his girlfriend and everybody thinks he killed her but managed to skate) with some rumiations regarding the devil, because as the book starts the main character has grown a couple of horns (!) and seems to posses some supernatural abilities. A great read, but I think the end somehow falls short.

The second book is "A Man Without Breath" by Philip Kerr. Is the latest book in a series starring Bernie Gunther, a German investigator who works in Nazi Germany. This time he works for the War Crimes department, where he's find a temporary shelter from the nazis, and he is sent to Poland to investigate the founding of human remains near the Katyn forest. If you know your WWII history you don't need to be told the mess he just got into. I'm still reading it, but so far it's very interesting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 27, 2014, 05:14:13 PM
Ye-es!

Anne Perry's mysteries set in Victorian times are seldom about just one thing, especially her early books.

From the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series.

If "Paragon Walk" and "Midnight at Marble Arch" are about the rape and murder of teenage girls, then . . .

"Bluegate Fields" is about the sexual abuse of teenage boys and sexually transmited disease.

"The Hyde Park Headsman" is about spousal abuse and homosexuality.

And "Death in Devil's Acre" is about prostitution in all its forms and abortion.

And from the William Monk series.

"Blind Justice"
The trial begins with the judge on the bench and a man in the dock for fraud, and ends with the man dead--murdered--and the judge in the dock for the man's murder. And it is up to our hero to prove the judge, a friend of his, innocent of the murder and to find out who did commit the murder.

And Lindsey Davis' "The Ides of April"
1st in the Flavia Alba series

Who is poisoning the citizens of Rome and why, since the victims seem to have nothing in common?

I can remember when there was at least a half dozen mystery series set in ancient Rome, and I read them all. As that, for some reason, is one of my favorite times for mysteries set in the past. This is the only one that is left and is a continuation of her early Falco series, where--here--the adopted daughter takes over from her father who has more or less retired. This series will continue with the next book in it "Enemies at Home," which I look forward to reading.

Next time: 6 of 1. Half dozen of the other + 1 non-fiction.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on June 02, 2014, 06:28:25 AM
I just ordered this from www.kalahari.com (http://www.kalahari.com):

(http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server4600/13a06/products/3630/images/3019/Krauthammercover__19248.1378492869.1280.1280.jpg?c=2)

This should be very, very interesting to read: after all, it is written by a guy who shrugs off his quadriplegia as 'no big deal' so it should be inspiring too.  :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on June 02, 2014, 07:26:28 AM
(http://www.chud.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/376913_258533074260563_1436374085_n.jpg)

Had to but it, I'm cited in a footnote!  :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on June 04, 2014, 02:12:00 AM
I just picked up a couple of interesting reads from my local library.

The first one is "Horns" by Joe Hill. I liked Hill's previous books, specially his collection of short stories, an I think he's worth following.

Is that Stephen King's son?  :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Neville on June 04, 2014, 05:38:03 AM
Yep.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on June 04, 2014, 08:37:33 AM
Yep.

 :thumbup: :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pilgermann on June 05, 2014, 11:01:44 PM
(http://www.thenivbible.com/images/sized/assets/images/uploads/products/0310436125-275x443.jpg)

Decided to read the entire Holy Bible.  I'm reading the NIV but I kind of think I might switch to the King James because this one is less stimulating from a linguistic standpoint.  I'm only in Numbers right now and my god, some of this stuff is a tough slog.  Mind-numbing lists of names of descendents and tribes, anguished and detailed descriptions of all the sacred ritual B.S. and what have you.

I've spent the majority of my life identifying as a Christian but over several years my feelings of devotion have waned to almost nothing.  I'm at least willing to gain a better understanding of the religion but so far the god of the Old Testament is not deserving of love or admiration.  Anywho, I don't want to go off on a religious tangent here.  While I doubt much of the Bible is truthful I can admire the historical and (some) literary value.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Void Mother on June 06, 2014, 03:29:22 PM
"Fanged Noumena"

Nick Land's mad intellectual ramblings from '87-2007. Very nihilistic philosophy, but very engaging. Helped me discover the great poet Georg Trakl, whose gorgeously morbid prose are referenced a few times throughout.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on June 06, 2014, 05:35:50 PM
([url]http://www.thenivbible.com/images/sized/assets/images/uploads/products/0310436125-275x443.jpg[/url])

Decided to read the entire Holy Bible.  I'm reading the NIV but I kind of think I might switch to the King James because this one is less stimulating from a linguistic standpoint.  I'm only in Numbers right now and my god, some of this stuff is a tough slog.  Mind-numbing lists of names of descendents and tribes, anguished and detailed descriptions of all the sacred ritual B.S. and what have you.


SPOILER ALERT: When you get to the end, Paul's going to tell you you don't need to pay attention to that stuff in Leviticus and Numbers anyway.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pilgermann on June 06, 2014, 11:29:22 PM

Decided to read the entire Holy Bible.  I'm reading the NIV but I kind of think I might switch to the King James because this one is less stimulating from a linguistic standpoint.  I'm only in Numbers right now and my god, some of this stuff is a tough slog.  Mind-numbing lists of names of descendents and tribes, anguished and detailed descriptions of all the sacred ritual B.S. and what have you.

SPOILER ALERT: When you get to the end, Paul's going to tell you you don't need to pay attention to that stuff in Leviticus and Numbers anyway.

lol, but I still want to torture myself with elaborate descriptions of fabrics and the number of specific animals necessary to sacrifice for a particular sin offering.  If we have anything in common with God it's that the smell of barbequed meat is a pleasing aroma.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 07, 2014, 05:06:01 PM
Ye-es!

6 of 1. Half a dozen of the other + 1 non-fiction

Bess Lovejoy's
Rest in Pieces :
the Curious Fate of Famous Corpses
1 more non-fiction

The abuse, misuse, and use of over 50 of the most famous and infamous people who ever lived then died.


Pankhurst and Hawksley's
When Art Really Works
20 more non-fiction by Hawksley

10 aspects of each work of art described then explained. Also a history, quotation about the art or artist, and similiar examples of each work of art.

Plus artists biographies and galleries where each work of art can be found.


Brian Stelter's
Top of the Morning :
Inside the Cut Throat World of Morning TV
1 more non-fiction

Or the rise of "Good Morning, America" on ABC and the fall of "The Today Show" on NBC.


Jonathan Alter's
The Center Holds :
Obama and His Enemies
4 more non-fiction

Obviously an Obama centric book.


Joline Godfrey's
Raising Financially Fit Kids
5 more non-fiction

And you thought your training days were done, when you potty trained them.


Robert Keilder's
The Best Film You've Never Seen :
35 Directors Champion the Forgotten or Critically Savaged Movies They Love
4 more non-fiction

The directors make a better case for some other director's film, then they do when championing one of their own films.


Lawrence Leamer's
The Price of Justice :
a True Story of Greed and Corruption
14 more non-fiction


Next time: 6 of 1. Half a dozen of the other. + 1 graphic novels


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: spongekryst on June 18, 2014, 04:10:28 PM
(http://media.insidepulse.com/zones/insidepulse/uploads/2013/09/Forever-Evil-1-final-cover-by-David-Finch.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 18, 2014, 05:27:31 PM
Ye-es!

Derf Backderf's
My Friend Dahmer
3 more graphic novels

Before there was Jeff Dahmer, serial killer, there was Jeff Dahmer, high school student.

Written and illustrated by a man who went to school with Dahmer. What most struck me was how the same place at the same time could produced such diametrically different people. One a serial killer, and the other who had his head screwed on straight as anybody that I have seen. Especially, when he said that he had empathy for Dahmer, till Dahmer killed his 1st victim, and that is when he lost all his empathy for Dahmer.

There is also a photo of Dahmer, when he was in high school. Darn! But he was a big sucker. He'd have been a good fullback on the high school football team. It is unfortunate that he did not participate in sports when in school, as he might have found what he was looking for in a more appropriate manner then how he found it.


Glen Weldon
Superman :
the Unauthorized Biography
1st non fiction


Superman Batman :
the Greatest Stories Ever Told
various writers and artists between 1952 and 2003.


Geoff Johns
Superboy :
the Boy of Steel
4 more graphic novels


The Simpsons :
Fun-filled Frightfest


Matt Groenig's
Simpson's Comics Confidential


Star Wars Omnibus
Dark Times
v.1.

Next time: 6 of 1. A half dozen of the other + 1 "Doctor Who" over the next few weeks.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 24, 2014, 04:44:53 PM
Y-es!

Rhys Bowen's
The Family Way
12th in the Molly Murphy series
2 more series


Loren D. Estelman's
Alive
3rd in the Valentino series
2 non-fiction books

When test footage of Bela Lugosi's screentest as Frankenstein's Monster becomes available, after it's owner dies a suspicious death, everyone seems to want it, including the previous owner's widow, a gangster, the gangster's lawyer, a man who collects horror memorabilia, a woman who buys and sells film collectibles, and our hero.


C. M. Wendel Boe's
Death on the Greasy Grass
3rd in the Spirit Road series

When a Native American reenactor is killed at an reenactment of Custer's Last Stand, the question is not who killed him, which is known, but who wanted the victim dead and why. And what does the death have to do with a diary from one of the participant's at the original battle. A diary which has suddently gone missing. It is up to a full-blooded FBI agent and his best friend, a tribal policeman, to find the answer.


Jacqueline Winspear's
Leaving Everything Most Loved
10th in the Maisie Dobbs series


James Henry's [writing duo]
First Frost :
a DS Jack Frost Investigation
1st in the Jack Frost series

The original Jack Frost series had an interesting history. It was originally written to be a series of books, but when the publisher turned down the series, the author rewrote the books, as a radio series, which was so successful, that the originals were then published as a book series. The series was also a TV series, which is how I first came across it.


Alex Grecian's
The Black Country
2nd in the Scotland Yard Murder Squad series

When a family disappears from a town up north, 2 policement are sent up from London to investigate, and discover that it is not only people who are disappearing, but so is the town, which was originally built over an old abandoned coal mine, causing the buildings to slowly sink into soil. And who is the mysterious American, with the ruined face, who got off the train at the same time as our policemen.

The author has trouble with dialogue and moving the characters around in the story, but it is better than his first in the series, which I found totally unreadable. He has published a 3rd in the series, which we'll get to later, and he is working on a 4th in the series.


Justin Richards'
Doctor Who :
Plague of the Cybermen
3rd in the series with Matt Smith as the Doctor.

Take a familiar story, but throw in a couple of twists to keep it fresh. Kill enough of the characters to get the emotional resonator going, but leave enough alive at the end to keep going, and most importantly, remember those who passed on before. That is good writing.


6 of 1. Half a dozen of the other non-fiction + 1 Doctor Who.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on June 28, 2014, 10:46:07 AM
I have been reading a few Young Adult novels lately, and will say many aren't bad at all, the genre is probably keeping the publishing industry afloat right now, and the fact that books are enjoying so much popularity among young people these days is an encouraging trend.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 05, 2014, 03:35:57 PM
Ye-es!

Daniel Harmon's
Super Pop :
Pop Culture's Top Ten Lists to Help You win at Trivia, Survive in the Wild, and Make It Through the Holidays.


William Andrews'
Medieval Punishments :
an Illustrated History of Torture
4 more non-fiction

Not so much torture, but means of execution during Medieval times in the U.K.
A reprint of an earlier edition, which in and of itself was an reprint of an earlier edition.
For something written so long ago, it is surprisingly readable. Not all books written almost a hundred years ago can be said to be that.


Mike Mayo's
The Horror Show Guide :
the Ultimate Frightfest of Movies
4 more non-fiction. 1 more fiction.


Joe Moto's
An Atheist in the Foxhole :
a Liberal eight-year Odyssey Inside the Heart of the Right-Wing Media

Nothing he says is likely to change one's mind. If you dislike Fox News before, this just confirms your opinion. If you like Fox News before, this won't change your opinion.


John O'Bryan's
A History of Weapons :
Crossbows, Caltrops, Catapults, and Lots of Other Things That Can Seriously Mess You Up.

Almost 800,000 years in the history of weapons from the rock to the Maxim gun, and a popular, and somewhat humorous look, at the development of the sword, the gun, the cannon, and the bow and arrow, etc.

One jarring note to what is basically a fine and easy read. The unnecessary profanity in the book.


Zimmerman and Vansant's
The Hammer and the Anvil :
Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the End of Slavery in America.

The story of the two men who were probably the most responsible for ending slavery in America. (In graphic form.)

I actually found the story of Douglas more interesting than that of Lincoln. Maybe because I knew kess about Douglass than I did about Lincoln.


Loborik, Gibson, and Laing's
Doctor Who :
Character Encyclopedia

Aliens from Abzorbaloff to Zygon
Companions (All) from Ace to Zoe Heriot
Humans from Adelaide Brook to Weng-chiang
Time Lords (All)
Also Cyborgs, earth creatures, entities, and robots.

Actually, I found the Companions more interesting than the Time Lords. Maybe because an effort was made to do something other than an all-white, adult, male.

What I also discovered for new, maybe because I first saw it as an adult, first enjoyed it as an adult, and at a  time it was turning into a more adult-oriennted program with a more adult audience, was that while, you could not call it a children's program, much of it was written for children, and there is no greater proof than this, then the fact that a surprising number of the Companions, were still teenagers.


Next time: 6 of 1. A half dozen mysteries + a Dr. Who.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Flangepart on July 10, 2014, 05:06:25 PM
Tim Conway's autobiography WHAT'S SO FUNNY?

The man is funny. And with his background, how could he not be?
His dad was a 5' 10" Irishman who married a 5" Romanian, and it starts from there.

From his days working with Ernie Anderson in Cleveland, to the Carol Burnett show to today (And a form of apology for the failed attempts to do lead roles. He's a second banana and happy with it) this is a fun read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Neville on July 10, 2014, 05:47:13 PM
Dashiell Hammett's "The Dain Curse".

I've had this anthology of Hammett's works sitting for a while in my "to read" pile of books on my nightstand. I finally cleared most of the books I wanted to read inmediately and started with "The Dain Curse", just because I found the title interesting. It's a series of connected short stories about the dealings of an unnamed private eye with the Dains, a rich family whose daughter has an irresistible tendency to get herself involved in murders, either as a suspect or as a witness. The plots are tipically hard to decipher, and the characters a bit too Victorian for my taste, but as usual Hammett's writing is terrific, straight to the point and filled with implied violence.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: jimpickens on July 14, 2014, 03:10:50 AM
The Ultimate Survival Manual by Rich Johnson and the editors of Outdoor Life very useful.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 15, 2014, 01:22:45 PM
The Ultimate Survival Manual by Rich Johnson and the editors of Outdoor Life very useful.

I like those survival manuals for their good advice.

Does this one tell you how to prevent attacks from aliens from outer space?

The one I saw said the 3 things to do to prevent an attack from aliens from outer space is to . . .

(1) Do not make any loud noises!
(2) Do not make any fast moves!
(3) And do not look hostile!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 15, 2014, 01:49:19 PM
Ye-es!

Susan Spann's
Claws of the Cat
1st in the the Shinobi series
1st novel

When a Japanese geisha is accused of murdering a Japanese samurai, it is up to a Japanese ninja and a Portuguese priest to prove her innocence within 3 days, or she may be executed for a crime she did not commit.


Peter Tremayne's
The 7th Trumpet :
a mystery of ancient Ireland
23rd in the Fidelma of Cashel series


Martin Walker's
The Devil's Cave
6th in the Bruno, Chief of Police series

When the body of a naked woman comes floating down the river through the center of town, in a boat covered in Satanic symbols, our hero has to figure out whether the woman's death was an accident, murder, or suicide? And what does the woman's death have to do with the caves in the cliffs that overlook the town.

What separates this one from most mysteries is here is a hero who likes everyone he meets, or, at least, understands the foibles of everyone he meets.


Anne Cleeland's
Murder in Thrall
1st in the Acton and Doyle series
1st novel


Benjamin Black's
Holy Orders
6th in the Quirke series

When the body of a naked man is found floating face down in one of Dublin's canals, it is discovered that the man was a good friend of the hero's daughter and as a reporter, was working on a story which he said would blow the lid off of the Catholic Church.

The author also has another mystery series. One featuring the private detective Philip Marlowe. Yes, that Philip Marlowe. One we will get to later.


Bill Crider's
Compound Murder
20th in the Dan Rhodes series

Just a normal day in the neighborhood.
Someone has broken into the local beauty parlor.
A professor at the local community college is found dead on campus under suspicious circumstances.
And someone else is stealing aluminium and copper and selling it as scrap metal.
Do any of these cases have anything to do with each other?
And what if anything do they have to do with the compound of armed survivalists on the outskirts of town?


Stephen Bast's
Doctor Who :
the wheel of ice
2nd in this particular Doctor Who series

Some great writing, for when 4 young men, 3 not yet out of their teens, and one not much older are exploring an ice cave on one of the moons circling one of the planets in the solar system, the cave begins to collapse in and around them. Not knowing whether any of them will get out alive, they gather in a group, form a square, put their hands on each other's shoulders, bow their heads, and say a silent prayer to whatever Deity they believe in. What makes this great writing is the writer realizes that whatever has happened in the past, whatever will happen in the future, no moment will be ever as great as this moment of male bonding.


Next time: 6 of 1 and a half dozen more mysteries + what made "Dr. Who" a great TV show. It was the writing.




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 21, 2014, 05:37:06 PM
Ye-es!

Michael Pearce's
The Bride Box
17th in the Mamur Zapt series

When an young girl is found hiding on board a train in Egypt, and her older sister is found dead on the same train, the head of Egypt's secret police, a Welshman, and his best friend, an Egyptian lawyer, head to southern Egypt to find out what is going on and encounter Egyptian rebels, English gunrunners, and Sudanese slavers.


Alex Kava's
Stranded
11th in the Maggie O'Dell series


William Kent Krueger's
Tamarack County
in the Cork O'Connor series


Louise Penry's
How the Light Gets In
8th in the Chief Inspector Gamache series

When an elderly woman is found dead in her home under suspicious circumstances, it is discovered that she was the last surviving member of the 1st set of quintuplets born in Canada. And the chief law enforcement official and the chief politician in Quebec are conspiring together. No doubt to do something very illegal.

Two stories. The 1st one is better than the 2nd (IMHO), but the 2nd one has the better denouement. This would seem to be a good place to end the series, but there is at least 1 more book in the series upcoming.


Lynn Shepherd's
A Fatal Likeness

A series of historical psychological mysteries with a bit of suspense. 2 already in the series, besides this 1. At least 1 more upcoming.


Robert Galbraith's
The Cuckoo's Calling
1st in the Cormoran Strike series

When a high end fashion model takes a dive off her apartment balcony to land smack on the street below, was it an accident? Murder? or Suicide? And if it was murder, who helped her take the dive? Was it . . .

her half brother -- her BFF -- a building employee -- her fiance -- the gay fashion designer -- the make-up artist -- the movie producer, who also lives in the building -- the producer's wife -- the rap artist, who is moving into the building -- the rival model -- or someone else.

Of course, Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym for J. K. (Harry Potter) Rowling. There is a 2nd one coming up in the series, and so far it has gotten stellar reviews, but I wonder if that does not have more to do with who wrote it, then what was written, as the reviews for the 1st one was at best only mediocre.

Plus . . .

The 50 year success of "Dr. Who" had a lot to do with the well-written scripts that were produced. Scripts with . . .

imaginative ideas -- emphatic characters -- no restrictions on place -- no restrictions on time period -- and scripts that emphasized the cheap jack production values, which actually added to the appeal of the program (IMHO.)

Next time: 6 of 1. Half a dozen of the other non-fiction and travel guides + some Sherlock Holmes, as an young man.




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on July 27, 2014, 02:38:16 PM
I just finished an unpublished manuscript called A Guide to Preshistoric Surgery given to me last spring. It was to be its writer's Master's thesis but he left graduate school and is now just looking for a publisher down the road when he polishes it a little more, but this describes how evidence shows surgery, even complex surgery, was carried out far back into the Stone Age, in a few cases with the operation in question changing very little into modern times. He takes a few procedures into much later eras, but his study is on surgery that pre-dates anesthesia and mostly surgery that pre-dates written history itself. It is fascinating, revealing, gruesome, and in a way it testifies to how amazing human beings have always been.

In one chapter he tells of Neaderthals performing tooth extractions, in another it is shown that there was apparent trepanning of skulls of Neolithic patients who actually survived the operations and lived on long after the holes drilled into their heads had healed. C-sections were far older than the era of Julius Caesar, after whom the procedure is supposedly named, and here and there he talks about how even in the 21st century there are types of surgeries routinely undertaken with no pain killers administered at all, something uniting people today with humans of distant epochs. In China acupuncture needles were placed by Zhou Dynasty physicians as a means of pain control some 800 years before Christ, and in modern China doctors still do the same thing, seemingly with the same pain-deadening result. He cites a Babylonian text that relates how a doctor around 600 BC removed a tumor from a woman's eye so skillfully she did not lose her sight. And then there's his chapter on shudder-inducing ritual surgeries among the classical Maya, but I'll spare descriptions of those!

It's a good read and I hope he is able to get it into book form.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 28, 2014, 04:32:04 PM
Ye-es!

Geoff Tibball's
Unbelievably zany :
Ripley's Believe It or Not

All the latest of the weird and the bizarre.


Andrew Shaffer's
Literary rogues :
a scandalous history of wayward authors

The highlights and low lights of 37 authors over 273 years.


Stephen V. Ash's
A massacre in Memphis :
the race riot that shook the nation one year after the civil war

The first, but, unfortunately, not the last, as the reasons as to the why would be much the same for other race riots, including . . .

contradictory beliefs -- hatreds old and new -- ignorance -- lack of cooperation -- paternalism -- political differences -- prejudices -- racism -- sense of superiority -- simplistic ideas, but complex reactions -- and uncompromising attitudes.


Showker and Sehlinger's
The unofficial guide to cruises

One in the unofficial guide series.


Wiley and Jenkins'
Walt Disney World with kids
24th ed.

The writer has been doing this since 1989, when she was pregnant with her daughter. Now her daughter is a grown woman with kids of her own, who has worked for the Mouse, and now is the co-writer with her mother of the series. No doubt, with some idea of taking over the series from her mother some day.


Tina Rinaldi's
What the brochures don't tell you about cruise vacations.

The title says it all. What it does not say is how poorly made and illogical are the writer's arguments. There is a need for a book like this, but this is not it.


Andrew Lane's
Fire storm
4th in the Sherlock Holmes : the legend begins series

The deaths and near deaths continue, with death and near death being dealt out by . . .

crossbow -- dead rabbit -- grizzly -- landslide -- sword cane -- and tanning vat.

Still, not quite up to the previous titles in the series, as this is really 2 stories in 1, and those never seem to be merged properly.

Next time: he was shanghaied on an ocean freighter.
he was shanghaied eating beans and taters.
he was shanghaied on the "Gloria Scott."

I don't know about the 1st 2 lines, but if you recognize the name in the 3rd line, you know your Sherlock. Looking forward to it, and seeing whether we finally get a glimpse of the giant rat of Sumatra.

Next time: just 1 review. A longer 1 than average.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: jimpickens on July 29, 2014, 02:27:33 AM
The Ultimate Survival Manual by Rich Johnson and the editors of Outdoor Life very useful.

I like those survival manuals for their good advice.

Does this one tell you how to prevent attacks from aliens from outer space?

The one I saw said the 3 things to do to prevent an attack from aliens from outer space is to . . .

(1) Do not make any loud noises!
(2) Do not make any fast moves!
(3) And do not look hostile!
Nope but it does show you how to escape from kidnappers and how to turn your homestead into a compound.
Right now I'm reading Wolf Creek Origin if you think the movies are creepy the books at least this one make them look tame by comparison.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Neville on July 29, 2014, 04:41:25 AM
I just got a ton of Mike Hammer novels from Amazon. They are collected in three volumes, each with 2-3 novels. I already read "I, the jury", so I'll skip that one.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on July 29, 2014, 04:46:27 AM
Stephen King: The Haunted Heart by Lisa Rojak. Very good thus far.  :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 29, 2014, 09:37:31 AM
I just finished ANTHONY AND CLEOPATRA by Adrian Goldsworthy, a dual biography of history's most famous star-crossed lovers.
A pretty good read, even if it is rather disappointing that we know much less about the two than most novelists seem to think.
Anthony's great mistake, IMO, is that he thought he was Julius Caesar's equal as a general and as a politician - and he was neither.
Cleopatra simply fell in love with a man who ultimately could not protect her.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on August 04, 2014, 09:17:53 PM
Just finished The 13th Hour  by Richard Doetsch (2009).  A thriller involving time travel.  Doetsch is known for his thrillers and apparently this is his only foray into SF. (It is time travel: technically it is SF, even if it is the only facet of SF in the novel) Read it in one day as every time I put it down I picked it right back up.  I was pleasantly surprised: it is convoluted and complex yet fast-paced.  Fairly clever and enough out-of-the-ordinary that I would not hesitate to recommend it.

Also recently read Return From the River Kwai  by Joan and Clay Blair, Jr. (1979).  About what happens to the POW’s on the final leg(s) of the journey home.  Reads like an additional chapter or two to the story rather than a book in its own right.  Of interest mainly for filling in the details of the end of the story and setting a few things straight.

Just finishing up the final chapter of Monty and Rommel: Parallel Lives  by Peter Caddick-Adams (2011) As the author states, it is more a study of the personalities of each man than it is simply another history of the war.  It deals with specific battles and such only as context for revealing character and motivations.  The parallels in their lives are interesting.  Once in a while the author’s bias seems to show, mainly in comments he makes, but he does manage to be fairly even-handed and both men are portrayed as human beings, warts and all.

Just starting Crazy Good: The True Story of Dan Patch, the Most Famous Horse in America  by Charles Leerhsen (2008).  If the name “The Great Dan Patch” means nothing to you, the book might still be of interest if you are into that period of American history, as it deals with the social and economic/business contexts – and some colourful personalities – of the very early 20th century, centered on the life and career of one of the first great (some still hold him to be the greatest) Standardbred race horses.
 
Also picked The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo  by Stieg Larsson out the pile. Figured it was time.  I’m only 45 pages in, but finding it hard to stick with.  It reads okay: just has not managed to engage me yet.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 04, 2014, 10:44:56 PM
His books take awhile to connect with but they are worth the time it takes to read them.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 10, 2014, 01:39:17 PM
Ye-es!

Alissa Nutting's
Tampa

The story of a female teacher and her the sexual relationship she has with a couple of her under aged male students.

Comedic, but not as comedic as it should be.
Erotic, but not as erotic, as it could be.
Gut wrenching, but not as gut wrenching, as it would be.
Realistic, but not as realistic, as it should, could, would be.

There are 2 things that keep it from being the big steaming pile of mediocrity that it is.

1 is the courage of the writer. Certainly, she must have been aware of the hate she would get, when she wrote the story.

2 is the uniqueness of the story. If Brett Ellis' "American Psycho" is the story of the male psychopath, then this is the 1st or one of the 1st stories of the female psychopath.

Actually, 3, as it is also a warning to . . .

Parents to protect your sons from those who would sexually prey on them. We protect our daughters, but too often we think our sons are invulnerable, which makes them vulnerable to . . .

abusive behavior
alcohol abuse
criminal behavior
--including prostitution
death
drug abuse
emotional issues
health issues
mental issues
pregnancy
sexual problems
--from frigidity to promiscuity.

The results of which are compounded by manifesting themselves only years later.

And further compounded by sometimes having no effect at all. If . . .

(1) an one time affair.
(2) violence does not occur.

Violence: what should be obvious but is not often. And sometimes a surprise to researchers. Everything from pinching and slapping to what could only be called sado-masochistic torture.

Tampa. Not Tampa. I have read books so detailed that they could only happen in Tampa, but while the title is "Tampa," this really could have happened anywhere.

She said. It needs a he said/she said. She said, then turn it over, turn it upside down, and he said his side of the story.

I have read writers who can speak in many voices: young/old, male/female, all sexual orientations, all races, but she seems to be incapable of speaking in more than 1 voice.

Actually, 3. She seems to have a surprising lack of empathy for the young victims in the story.

As to the why . . .?

Like so many, she seems to be an adult who never totally grew up. She is still socially and emotionally immature.

Still . . .?! I'd like to see a film version of the story, if only to see how they do it, but I am unlikely ever to see it, for if "American Psycho" was controversial with its adults doing adult things to other adults. This would be even more controversial with its adults doing adult things to children.

Next time: 6 of 1 and a half dozen fiction + 1 non-fiction


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on August 10, 2014, 02:39:36 PM
Just started

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516UHAs6VIL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Dennis on August 15, 2014, 10:11:57 AM
The last reading that I did was online, here at work, as there is very little else to do, "The Drums of the Fore And Aft" and "Toomai of the Elephants" by Rudyard Kipling, both are easy to read and enjoyable. The first is a fairly realistic portrayal of a soldier's life in the British army in India during the reign of Queen Victoria, the second is a story of a boy and his father's elephant.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JoeTheDestroyer on August 16, 2014, 04:50:34 AM
A text book for Central Service (hospital stuff). Most of the material contained within can be learned on the job.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on August 16, 2014, 08:48:03 AM
A text book for Central Service (hospital stuff). Most of the material contained within can be learned on the job.


Central Services?

http://youtu.be/0B61_5sRoBI (http://youtu.be/0B61_5sRoBI)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 18, 2014, 02:19:45 PM
Ye-es!

Craig Johnson's
"Spirit of Steamboat"
in the Walt Longmire series

When a girl is critically injured in an automobile accident, and the roads are being closed due to a blizzard, there is only 1 pilot and 1 plane, that can get her to the medical help she needs to survive.

Johnson's skill is taking what can be dull and making it more or less exciting. And if you'd rather see it, then read it, the book series has been made into a TV series.


Ruth Rendell's
No Man's Nightingale
24th in the Inspector Wexford series


Margaret Coel's
Killing Custer
17th in the Wind River series

When the re-enactor who plays Custer in the Battle of the Little Big Horn is killed. Once more, as before, the blame falls upon the Native Americans that were there. And it is up to our heroes to prove that Custer's killer may have been someone else this time.


Vidar Sundstol's
The Land of Dreams
1st in the Minnesota trilogy

When a Norwegian canoeist is found beaten to death in an area that is suppose to be off-limits, the case is serious enough, that a Norwegian police detective comes over to help his American colleagues solve the case.

Americans are fearless. They will write about any time and any place. Not so foreigners. This is only the 3rd time that I have found a foreigner writer writing about a case that happens in America. We will get to the other 2 later. Of course, the writer has the advantage of writing about an area in which he has lived and worked. And, of course, since the book was originally published in Norwegian I presume that the Norwegians were most interested in the Norwegian-Americans in the story and the parts that took place in America, while, I, as an American, found the parts set in Norway and the Norwegian characters the most interesting.


Tim O'Mara's
Crooked Numbers
2nd in the Raymond Donne series

When a promising black student from the school, where our hero works, is found dead with drugs on him, our hero sets out to prove this is something more than another black drug dealer killed in a drug deal gone wrong.


Laura Joh Rowland's
The Shogun's Daughter
17th in the Ichiro Sano series

When the Shogun's only female heir dies of natural causes, then his only male heir dies in an accidental fire, it looks more and more like the deaths were neither natural nor accidental. And an old enemy is back to threaten not only our hero, but the hero's entire family.

+ 1 non-fiction

Bendo and Chernack's
Awkward Family Holiday Photos
3rd in the series from the popular web site.
With at least 1 more promised forthcoming.

Next time: Continuing with 6 of 1 and a half dozen fiction + 1 non-fiction


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on August 19, 2014, 08:31:54 PM
(http://www.johndominiccrossan.com/Books/Jackets/JARB%20Image.jpg)

written by the old guy from those History channel Bible shows. Basically, most of the New Testament is made up to either confirm biblical prophecy, give authority to the apostles, or illustrate a point and there was no ressurection. He is one of the greatest living experts on the historical Jesus and a former monk.

Its pretty mind blowing stuff.


I think often of Jesus' original followers who did not have any book of his life to read or crucifix necklaces. They didn't see him rise from the dead because he hadn't died yet. They were just taken with what they observed him say and do, something we only read basic summaries of in the bible. He talked for hours to Pontius Pilate alone about what who knows.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on August 19, 2014, 10:51:11 PM
([url]http://www.johndominiccrossan.com/Books/Jackets/JARB%20Image.jpg[/url])

written by the old guy from those History channel Bible shows. Basically, most of the New Testament is made up to either confirm biblical prophecy, give authority to the apostles, or illustrate a point and there was no ressurection. He is one of the greatest living experts on the historical Jesus and a former monk.

Its pretty mind blowing stuff.


I think often of Jesus' original followers who did not have any book of his life to read or crucifix necklaces. They didn't see him rise from the dead because he hadn't died yet. They were just taken with what they observed him say and do, something we only read basic summaries of in the bible. He talked for hours to Pontius Pilate alone about what who knows.


By any chance, lester, did the author discuss his own childhood? I find antitheists often have had sad childhoods.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 19, 2014, 11:15:34 PM
I love how people who lived two thousand years later think they know Jesus better than the Apostles of His who wrote the New Testament.
To claim there is no Resurrection is to ignore ALL the contemporary evidence!

I guess that's why he's a FORMER monk.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on August 20, 2014, 07:54:26 PM
ER- he's not an antitheist or even an atheist from what I understand. You've probably seen him he's the guy on like Banned from The Bible and those things.

Indiana- his basic point about the resurrecction was

1. part of what made crucifixion so horrible was the fact that your body was usually either eaten by dogs afterwords or buried in a shallow grave and dug up quickly by animals. Jesus didn't mean anything to the Romans the idea that they would take extra care with him makes little sense. The mysterious figure who procures his body, Joseph of whatever, is like come on.

2. the nature of what Christ says after he returns is vague and contains little new knowledge.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 20, 2014, 11:46:49 PM
But the historical evidence totally contradicts both of those rather enormous leaps of logic.
First of all, the four Canonical Gospels are the ONLY sources we have for the life of Jesus that are actually based on eyewitness testimony.
Even if you reject the traditional claims of authorship (something that there is no valid historical reason to do), the most skeptical
scholars acknowledge that the three Synoptic Gospels were completed by 70 AD - and I think you can make a very solid case that they
are much earlier than that.  John's Gospel is a smidge later, but all the early histories of the Second Century agree that he lived to be nearly
100 years old and wrote his Gospel near the end of his life.  Paul's letter to the Corinthians is SOLIDLY dated by even the most skeptical
scholars to 54 AD, barely 20 years after the Crucifixion, and he lists multiple eyewitnesses of the risen Christ, and freely acknowledges that,
if Jesus was not raised from the dead, then their faith was in vain and that Christians were the most pathetic people on earth.

And all of this dodges the HUGE, fundamental problem with the "there was no resurrection" argument.
Without the Resurrection there is NO SUCH THING AS CHRISTIANITY!  The entire faith is based on the idea that Jesus conquered death.
That was the Gospel that his disciples were willing to give their lives to proclaim.  The idea that they would dare the wrath of Rome and
the murderous retaliation of the Jewish religious establishment in order to proclaim Jesus as risen when the KNEW he was rotting in a ditch
somewhere is nothing short of ludicrous.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on August 21, 2014, 07:44:03 AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Bible (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Bible)


"Without the Resurrection there is NO SUCH THING AS CHRISTIANITY! "

so who were the people who were following him before he died? His words and healing and actions transformed their lives

"The idea that they would dare the wrath of Rome and
the murderous retaliation of the Jewish religious establishment in order to proclaim Jesus as risen when the KNEW he was rotting in a ditch
somewhere is nothing short of ludicrous"

They believed in Jesus's message and that he was the fulfillment of the old testament prophecy. Christianity is about that not magic tricks. all the miracles do is confirm the power of his message and to live life as he did after all we can 't turn water into wine


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 21, 2014, 10:10:57 PM
OK, let me phrase it this way:

FIVE separate written accounts composed within the lifetime of eyewitnesses, or by eyewitnesses, all agree on these fundamentals:
1. Jesus was crucified.
2. He was buried.
3. He rose again.
4. The power of his Resurrection and victory over death are the final proof that he was the Son of God.

NO contemporary source contradicts ANY of these claims.

Now a scholar comes along 2000 years later WITH NO EVIDENCE, ONLY SUPPOSITION, and says that Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul were all liars who made it up and founded a new religion based on a known fraud, then died for that fraud . . . or else were too somehow victims of a mass hallucination in which multiple eyewitnesses all saw the same thing: a dead man walking around, talking, alive again.

I choose to believe the guys who were there.

And again, if you don't believe that Christianity was based around the doctrine of the Resurrection, read Peter's challenge to the Sanhedrin in Acts 2 and 3 - issued only weeks after Jesus was killed!  and then Paul's lengthy exposition on the Resurrection in I Corinthians 15.
"If Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain . . ."  Uttered in 54 AD, while most of the Disciples and many other eyewitnesses were still around to verify his claim.

Sorry, not trying to turn this into a flame war, but anyone who dismisses the Resurrection does so only by dismissing the earliest and most reliable accounts we have of those events.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on August 21, 2014, 10:59:12 PM
He's saying if we don't continue with the movement than it will have been in vain. When he died they realized they had to go on being his apostles and spreading his message which was a good idea considering the imperial nature of Rome and the inward looking sometimes harsh worldview of Judaism were not going to move anything forward.

The notion they had of truth back then was different than what we have today. they spoke symbolicaly. Theres no record of Herod having every male child killed, it's an obvious nod to Moses life. The sea was turbulent Jesus made it calm. They couldn't catch fish, he told them where they put the net. There was no net or fish it's just saying your life is lost with God.

Christianity is based on what he taught before he died. the simple words he spoke gave hope to the hopeless and put fear into the hearts of the powerful.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 22, 2014, 07:16:17 AM
That makes no sense.  "We're going to honor the most truthful man we have ever known by making up a huge, ridiculous lie about him and telling future generations that their eternal salvation depends on believing this lie?"  After all, the fundamental claim of Christianity is NOT that we are saved by honoring the ethical teachings of Jesus but by embracing His death and resurrection as the price for our sins.

"They understood truth differently" is a dodge. They got it, just as we do today: Truth is stuff that actually happened.  A lie is stuff that is made up.  There's a simple reason Herod's massacre of the infants at Bethlehem wasn't recorded by Josephus, the only other historian of note from that era: at the time Jesus was born, Bethlehem was a tiny town of 200 people or fewer.  The number of boys under the age of 2 would have been small - maybe as few as ten.  Compared to Herod's many other monstrous crimes, it was a small operation, most likely unnoticed outside the tiny town where it happened and largely forgotten by the time Josephus was writing, 90 years later.

Again, to see the earliest, rawest version of the claims of Christianity, read Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 and 3.  This was only a few weeks after Jesus' crucifixion, and Peter was already proclaiming the Resurrection of Jesus as proof that he was the Son of God.  Don't you think if Jesus was still dead, someone in the crowd would have stood up and said "Wait a minute!  I was the one who flung his body into the valley of Gehenna!"  But no one did.  There is not a single contemporary source disputing the Resurrection, even from among those who had Jesus put to death.  The silence of his enemies as the disciples began proclaiming Jesus to be risen again is a very compelling argument that he was, in fact, no longer dead.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 26, 2014, 03:48:12 PM
Ye-es!

C. J. Box's
The Highway

When the girlfriend of the teenage son of our hero and her younger sister disappear along a stretch of highway notorious for the number of women who have disappeared along that same stretch of highway, it is up to our hero to find them, before something worst happens to them.

Most writers, both domestic and foreign, swing from the left, but this one is a bit more conservative than that. Which inadvertently or advertently, and there are differences between the two, points out the similarities between the two ends of the political spectrum. I wish I had wrote down the similarities, but I did not, but I do remember, and this does not apply to all, but it does apply to some, that hypocrisy runs rampant at both ends.

The writer also pulls off what I call a "Psycho." I won't say anything more than that, as not to give anything away, but if you read the book, I think you'll see what I mean.


G. Malliet's
Pagan Spring :
a Max Tudor novel
3rd in the Max Tudor series

When the local boy made good as a London actor and playwright returns to his home town to retire, he stirs up animosities, both old and new. No wonder someone wants him dead. But who did it?

Not quite as good as the previous one in the series (IMHO.) (1) Is that the best location for a mystery is an island cut off from the world, the lone house on the moor, or the isolated castle by the sea, as in the previous one, and not the village connected to the world, as in this one. (2) Not from this one, but children should seldom be the villain. As, and there is some proof of this, a child's mind has not developed enough so that they can always tell right from wrong. And I want a villain that does wrong, because they know it is wrong. Still looking forward to the 4th in the series.


H. Terrell Griffin's
Found :
a Matt Royal mystery
8th in the Matt Royal series


Colleen McCullough's
Sins of the flesh
3rd in the Carmine Delmonico series

Women, for the past several years, have been disappearing, never to be seen again from the town. So have several young men, but their bodies are found later, having been starved to death. Are the two connected, and what is the connection, if any, with the town's largest employer, the mental institution at the edge of town?

The 2nd of 3 foreign writers who write a mystery set in the U.S. The 3rd to come later, but like our previous writer, she is writing about an area in which she has lived and worked.

A couple of items of particular note. (1) She is one of the few to include men as victims. Men actually make particularly good victims, because they are so little used as victims, but victim denotes weakness, and God forbid that men be denoted as being weak. (2) And outside of the late Margaret Truman, she is the only mystery writer, who I have found, who includes asexuals, a distinctive sexual orientation, among her characters.

And if the name is familiar, then think "Thorn Birds." And she and her husband live in one of the most remote and exotic parts of the world or Norfolk Island, which is an island some distance off of the Australian coast.


Lynda LaPlante's
Backlash
2nd in the Anna Travis series

When as suspect is found with a dead woman in his vehicle, he comes under suspicion of having been involved in the disappearance and possible murder of several other women.

Again, if the name sounds familiar, then think one of the greatest British police procedures seen on TV or "Prime Suspect." She was responsible for writing much of that limited TV series.


Priscilla Royal's
Covenant with Hell
10th in the medieval mystery series

The king is coming to town and so is a reported assassin. When the only person who knows who is the assassin is killed, then two more people are killed, it is up to our heroes to find who is the assassin and prevent a possible regicide of the king.

What does an ex-nun look like? She looks a lot like the writer. What does a lesbian look like? No way of telling, but the writer does beat the "gay" drum louder than most writers, even though characters that are either lesbian or gay are often found now days in most mysteries.

+ 1 non-fiction

Linda Rodriguez McRobbin's
Princesses behaving  badly :
real stories from history without the fairy tale endings
1st non-fiction book by the writer

30 princesses covered in depth. 34 more covered somewhat more in less depth.
Princesses from 23 to 88. Average age: between 58 and 59.
Princesses from 1508 B.C. to the 21st century.


Next time: still continuing with 6 of 1 and a half dozen of the other fiction + 1 non-fiction


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Javakoala on August 31, 2014, 01:40:34 PM
In a far less theological side of things, The Disaster Artist is great book if you wanted to know more about the filming of The Room as well as more about the very weird Tommy Wiseau.

It is shockingly well written. Almost too smoothly put together, but it doesn't let anyone off easy, so it has that going for it.

I wouldn't want to ruin any of the fun for those who wish to read it, but it will send you going back to The Room for addition viewings, just to look for the details mentioned in the book.

Now I need to find a copy of Retro Puppet Master to watch Greg Sestero do a French accent.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on September 04, 2014, 07:34:34 AM
I read the book Things That Matter by Dr Charles Krauthammer and enjoyed it up until page 237 where he started to talk BS about South Africa.

I closed the book and have never opened it again: I would like to throw it away but it cost too much.  :tongueout:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 06, 2014, 03:48:09 PM
Ye-es! But . . . ?!

What I said I was going to do, I'll postpone to next time, so I can post this, before I lose my notes.

Justin Somper's
Allies and Assassins
1st in the . . .
Archenfield series

When you have a well-written character, as here.
When you have empathy for a character, as here.
You can go beyond what you read and/or see, as here.
Because you have such an outstanding understanding of the character, as here.
So . . .?! Though, little of this is from the book. I do think it is a fairly faithful depiction of the character in the book.

At age 14 . . .
Prince Edvin . . .

Smokes
Wears a monocle
Wears Spanish boots with Cuban heels
Wears a great coat that reaches down to his his ankles and has a collar that is always turned up.
Wears his unruly blond hair past his shirt collar.
But . . .?! is clean shaven, having his man shave him with a straight razor, every morning, as needed.
Does not sit in a chair, but slouches in a chair, which drives his widowed mother wild.
When he was 6 and his older brother was 8, they use to stand on one of the towers of their palace home and urinate on the people below them.
And when they were a year older, they use to sneak out of the palace at night and go skinny dipping in the reflecting pool in the castle gardens.
While younger by 2 years, then his older brother, he was always the more mature of the two.
Was one of those people of whom you say was born "old."
Like his much older brother was to their deceased father, he was his much older brother's standard bearer in battle.
(a) because he was expendable, and his middle brother, the heir to the throne, was not.
(b) and was a much better horseman than his older/middle brother.
(c) and swordsman
(d) and shot
(e) and dancer
But . . .?! not a better ruler, which is why he does not want to be his older brother's heir to the throne, like his older brother was to their much older brother.
Who is dead, and who he misses tremendously. Though, he would never admit it.
Now, that his older brother is ruler, succeeding their father and much older brother, he has his back.
What he saw and heard in battle, still gives him nightmares, 2 years later, which is why he'd be one of the last to advocate going to war with their neighboring kingdoms.
And maybe yes or maybe no, I still have not worked this out, he has a couple of hide-out blades secreted upon his person.

Try this. You'll like it.

Next time: What I said I was going to do last time.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Olivia Bauer on September 14, 2014, 10:10:00 PM
Oh joy, a theological debate.

Aaaaanyway...

I don't know about "reading" but I got a free Audible.com audio book from the Drunken Peasants podcast.

The book in question is Bram Stoker's Dracula, narrated by Tim Curry and an all-star cast.

You can get a free audio book and a 30 day free trial if you know what link to go to.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on September 15, 2014, 02:03:38 PM
(http://www.giantitp.com/Images/products/OOTS00_7in72dpi_RGBds.gif)

Without a doubt the nerdiest thing I've ever ordered as an adult. But the webcomic makes me laugh.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on September 15, 2014, 07:50:43 PM
I am about halfway through Adrian Goldsworthy's CAESAR: THE LIFE OF A COLOSSUS.

Very well written and meticulously researched biography of one of the most fascinating men in history,
Gaius Julius Caesar.  Forget ROME; here is the real Caesar, as nearly as we can reconstruct him two
thousand years after the fact.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on September 15, 2014, 08:19:31 PM
(http://www.journeywithjesus.net/BookNotes/Gregory_Of_Nyssa_The_Life_Of_Moses_sm.jpg)

Gregory of Nyssa's Life of Moses


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Flangepart on September 18, 2014, 05:23:53 PM
I read the book Things That Matter by Dr Charles Krauthammer and enjoyed it up until page 237 where he started to talk BS about South Africa.

I closed the book and have never opened it again: I would like to throw it away but it cost too much.  :tongueout:
So, send him a correction letter. I like his work, but who's perfect? Not me.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 20, 2014, 12:07:37 PM
Ye-es!

Muller and Pronzini's
(the husband and wife writing duo)
The spook lights affair
. . . in the Carpenter and Quincannon series

While one of the heroes investigates the supposed suicide of a debutante, whose body has mysteriously disappeared, our other hero investigates a robbery in downtown San Francisco and a reported ghost seen among the sand dunes outside of the city. Of course, all the cases are connected together at the end.


Gwen Florio's
Montana
1st novel


Ellen Hart's
Taken by the wind
. . . in the Jane Lawless series

When two tween boys disappear from a camp out in the backyard of one of them, a search is immediately put into effect. For are the boys being held by a kidnapper for ransom, by a pornographer for a porn film, or are they just runaways from troubles at home.

Who would have thought that an avowed lesbian, with apparently no children of her own, would have a better idea of how tween boys act, react, and behave than the writer of "Broad church," who apparently does have children.

Also does this writer throw problems at the characters in the book.

business problems -- financial problems -- marital problems -- mental problems -- physical problems -- problems at church -- problems at school -- problems with friends -- problems with relatives -- and sexual problems.


Richard Castle's
Deadly heat
. . . in the Castle series


Sandra Dallas'
Fallen women


Elizabeth George's
Just one evil act
. . . .in the Inspector Lynley series

When the wife and daughter of her next door neighbor disappear from their home in London, one of our heroes helps him look for them. Only to find them in a small town in Italy. Only now to have the daughter disappear. Only to reappear. Only to have the wife die under mysterious circumstances. What is going on?

Most writers describe a character by what they wear, this writer--here--describes a character by some physical affect.

the androgyne -- the beautiful one -- the ugly one -- the really, really ugly one -- the tall one -- the short one -- the simpleminded one -- the one with big ears -- the one with 6 digits on one hand -- the one with scars on his face -- the one with scars on her arms -- and the one with terminal dandruff.

And months after finishing the book, the characters are still distinctive enough, that I still remember them.

+ one non-fiction

Adam Minter's
Junkyard planet :
travels in the billion dollar trash trade.
1st non-fiction

By a 3rd generation junk yard dog, if there is anybody who knows more about the business, they can be counted on one hand with fingers left over. What surprised me is how well the system works on an international scope. It is not perfect, but it does work surprisingly well.


Next time: a reversal. 6 of 1 and a half dozen non-fiction + 1 fiction book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 29, 2014, 07:15:44 PM
Ye-es!

"The Best American Comics" 2012
Abel and Madden, editors
Francoise Mouly, guest editor

Comics publicly published or privately printed between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2011.

and

"The Best of American Comics" 2013
Abel and Madden, editors
Jeff Smith, guest editor

Comics publicly published or privately printed between September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2012.

It surprised me how much a comic reminds me of a film. Where each comic panel is a frame of film. And in some ways superior to a film, because unlike films, comics are still done without dialogue and in black-and-white. Though, unlike film trailers, the excerpts here never really tell you anything about the comic.


Brian Lavery's
The conquest of the ocean :
the illustrated history of seafaring

Or, a good introduction to seafaring from the time man first went to sea to see what they could see to the last half of the 20th century. Enlivened by personal accounts of life at sea. By a man who has spent most of his life at sea. Either in the Royal Navy or as a civilian sailor.

Several things I thought were interesting came out of this book.

1st. It was only till the 2nd half of the 20th century did a seafarer had a better than 50/50 chance of surviving a disaster at sea. So, why did people go to sea, if they did not have to? Two reasons.
One the pay was better at sea than it was at land. There was one account of an experienced sea captain who earned $60,000 a year, which is good pay, even now days, but when he gave up the sea to become a church minister on land, his salary dropped to $3,000 a year. Typical for that time period, but certainly not as much as before.

Two. And while the book doesn't directly say so, life was seldom boring at sea. Unlike life on land, which could be mind numbing boring.

2nd. The Brits could never get along with anyone. No, but the book does point out that the Brits did fight the following foes at sea.

Americans -- Argentinians -- Chinese -- Danes -- the Dutch -- the French -- Germans -- Japanese -- the Spanish -- Pirates -- and Vkings.

3rd. And I don't know how true this is, but the book does make the case for the Brits having a lot of respect for their sea foes. Which is not always the case for a lot of other nationalities.


Greg Wolf's
Rome :
an empire's story

There are two types of histories. One that is scholarly and is written for one's peers, and one that is popular that is written for the populace at large. This is a somewhat strange combination of both. Though, it does comes across as Roman history that should be read by today's American leaders. For, there might have been more powerful empires, and there certainly have been larger empires, but none lasted as long as the Roman empire. But, the writer does pick a somewhat strange date to end it. Most historians end the Roman empire with the fall of Rome to the barbarians. Some end it with the fall of Constantinople to the Muslims, but the writer ends the Roman empire with the fall of Visgothic Spain to the Muslims.

Still, the Roman empire does provide a good lesson as to what to do, and what not to do for American leaders, and the similarities and differences between the two. For example, most of the taxes collected by the Romans went to the military. Just as the plurality of American taxes still goes to the military.


Dave Thompson's
Dr. Who FAQ

You learn between November 23, 1963, and December 25, 2012, 237 programs (lasting from 1 episode to 12 episodes) specials, and TV movies have been produced for TV.
That between 1999 and 2013, 323 audio plays, with the Doctor, have been produced for the radio.
That between 1964 and 2012, 449 original works of fiction, with the Doctor, have been published for the reading public.
That between 1965 and 2011, the Doctor has made 435 comic book appearances.
And that, during that time, 33 songs, inspired by the Doctor, have been produced and recorded.


Sandra Hempel's
The inheritor's powder :
a tale of arsenic, murder, and the new forensic science.

Or, the 1st time that someone went on trial for using arsenic to murder someone for an inheritance. It is not the 1st time this had been done, but it was the 1st time that the new art of forensic sciences was advanced enough to detect the use of arsenic to murder someone.

+1 fiction

Wood and D'Anda's
In the shadow of Yavin
v.1.

Or another in the series of Star Wars omnibuses.

Next time: just the reverse. 6 of 1 and a half dozen mysteries + 1 non-fiction book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: jimpickens on October 01, 2014, 03:21:15 AM
Wolf Creek Desolation Game very creepy.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on October 04, 2014, 08:45:07 AM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JwAFgs3EL._SL500_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-big,TopRight,35,-73_OU01_AA300_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 04, 2014, 10:58:54 PM
I just finished Adrian Goldsworthy's CAESAR: LIFE OF A COLOSSUS.  It is an epic biography of Gaius Julius Caesar, one of the most fascinating and complex characters of Roman history, as well as (IMO) the greatest general of all time.  Well-written and easy to follow, this book sets the stage of the late Roman Republic and lays out the life of its protagonist in chronological order.  Goldsworthy sticks to the known facts and rarely speculates - and informs the reader when he does.  An excellent tale about a fascinating man.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on October 05, 2014, 08:04:54 AM
Also picked up

(http://www.echocave.net/images/wgc_book_cover.jpg)

This is director Trent Harris' story of traveling the world after being depressed that his big movie RUBIN & ED was a flop and no one in Hollywood would return his calls. He literally goes to Timbuktu.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on October 05, 2014, 11:21:55 AM
Picked up at a yard sale yesterday: Himalaya (1992) by Nicholas Luard.   Cost me a whole 20 cents.  The cover blurb got me:

"To escape her parents' bitterly contested divorce, thirteen-year-old Iona is taken on an expedition to the Himalayas by her godfather...Once there, the haunting nightmares of her childhood become a terrifying reality - she falls into the hands of real monsters - the abominable snowmen of Himalayan legend, the yeti.

But on the ridges above, the crazed mountaineer Geraint Hughes watches and waits.  Obsessed by his ambition to climb Everest, he knows that Iona is in the hands of the yeti, and that she is the key to his ambition..."

 :buggedout: :bouncegiggle:  I knew I was sold at "crazed mountaineer"  :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle:

Please oh please let this read like a bad movie!  :cheers:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 07, 2014, 04:20:02 PM
Ye-es!

Catherine Dilts'
Stone Cold Dead
1st in the Rock Shop aka Morgan Iverson mystery series

When our hero takes over her brother's and sister-in-law's rock shop, while they are working as missionaries in Central America, she also takes possession of a dead body that she finds behind the shop. A body that appears, disappears, and then reappears. Afraid of being accused of the murder, our hero sets out to find out who killed the young woman she has found.


Sam Thomas'
The Harlot's Tale
2nd in the Midwife mystery series

When a new preacher and his followers come to town and starts to preach that adulterers should be in Hell, someone takes the man up on his word and starts to kill all the adulterers in town, and there are a lot of adulterers in 17th century York, but is the murderer the preacher, one of his followers, one of the town's residents, even someone related to our hero. It is up to our hero to find out and stop the killings.


Mark Billingham's
From the Dead
12th in the DI Tom Thomerson mystery series


Helene Thurston
The Fire Dance
6th in the Irene Huss series

When a young woman, missing for several weeks, is found dead in a burnt out building, it is a case of murder and arson. Which relates to a case from more than a few years ago, when the victim's stepfather was found dead in their burnt out home. At that time, it was put down as a tragic accident of the man smoking in bed, but now with this case that too is beginning to look more like a case of arson and murder as well.

Probably better than the previous one in the series, which I have also read. At least this one is a more memorable story.


David and Aimee Thurlo's
(husband wife writing duo)
The Pawnbroker


Michael Robertson's
Moriarty Returns a Letter
4th in the Baker St. mystery series


+ 1 non-fiction

Chris Skidmore's
The Rise of the Tudors :
The Family That Changed English History
3rd non-fiction book by the author

If anything, the book is proof that the more things change, the more they stay the same. To whit . . .

1. That hindsight being 20/20. Both sides in the conflict really made some boneheaded decisions.
2. That foreign countries have been interfering in the foreign affairs of other countries for over 500 years.
3. That the most successful people are also often the most unlikable.
4. That the victors write the histories.
5. That people of 500 years ago could give lessons today on how to slant the news.
6. That it is not over till it is over.
7. That the words of your foe can be used to smear your foe.
8. And that it may have been the men: husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, etc., who went off to war, but it is also the women who suffered, as they mourned fallen husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, etc.

Next time: 2 individual reports, including 1 for the best book I have seen this year so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 16, 2014, 03:03:56 PM
Ye-es!

Sherill Tippins'
Inside the Dream Palace :
the Life and Times of New York's Legendary Chelsea Hotel
2nd non-fiction

Slices of life as seen through the windows of a building.

Not a new concept, but previously, most such books have been about a commercial building. This is one of the 1st that I have seen about a residential building. And of the others I have seen, this is probably one of the best written.

It can also be said, that if someone dropped a bomb on the building, anytime during its life, or from 1884 to 2014, it'd have wiped out a good part of the Avant-garde movement in America. Thus, here are some of the artists, both Avant-garde and non, who lived in the building.

Abbie Hoffman -- Abel Ferrara -- Agnes Boulton -- Alice Cooper -- Allen Ginsberg -- Andy Warhol -- Arthur B. Davies -- and Arthur C. Clarke
Barry Miles -- Ben Stolberg -- Bob Dylan -- Brendan Behan -- and Brian Jones
Charles Jackson -- Charles Kleinsinger -- Childe Hassam -- Christo -- Claes Oldenburg -- Clifford Irving -- and Country Joe McDonald - the Fish.
Dee Dee Ramone -- Dennis Hopper -- and Dylan Thomas.
Edgar Lee Masters -- Edie Sedgwick -- Edwin Denby -- Elizabeth Gurly Flynn -- and Ethan Hawke.
Francesco Clemente
Gaby Hoffman -- Gerald Busby -- Gerald Malanga -- Germaine Greer -- Gore Vidal -- Grace Slick -- and Gus Hall
Henri Cartier-Bresson -- and Herb Gentry
Isabella Gardner -- and Isabella Rossellini
Jack Kerouac -- Jackson Pollock -- James Farrell -- James Schuyler -- Jane Fonda -- Janis Joplin -- Jim Carroll -- John Cale -- John Sloan -- Joni Mitchell -- Julian Schnabel -- and Juliette Hemel Court
Katherine Dunham
Lance Loud -- Larry Rivers -- Lee Grant -- and Leonard Cohen
Madonna -- Malcolm McLaren -- Marianne Faithful -- Mary Balin -- Mary McCarthy -- Maurice Girodias -- Michel Auder -- and Milos Forman
Nelson Algren -- and Nicolas Nabokav
O. Henry
Patti Smith -- Peter Brook -- and Phil Ochs
Richard Leacock -- Robbie Robertson -- Robert Blackburn -- Robert Flaherty -- Robert Mapplethorpe -- Roger Waters -- and Rufus Wainwright
Sam Shepard -- Shaun Costello -- and Sid Vicious
Terry Southern -- Thomas Wolfe -- Tom Hayden -- and Tom Waits
Virgil Thomson
William Burroughs -- William de Kooning -- William Dean Howells -- and William Eggleston

Next time: another individual report on the best book I have read, so far, this year.













Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 24, 2014, 04:32:22 PM
Ye-es!

Brandon Stanton's
Humans of New York
1st book
from the author's blog of the same title

1 empty wheelchair
1 Big Bird
2 dogs
and about 600 people
or less than 0.01% of the population later . . .

. . . of the young and the old,
men and women,
the abnormal and the normal,
and all races.

We have the best book I have seen so far this year, and if you only look at one book, this is it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Even if it is hard book to understand what  the author is trying to say in his photos, but you'll get it, if you stay with it. It's not that the photos somehow get better, as they are fine through out, it is just that the diversity of its people is what makes America, the greatest nation on God's green earth, and that what is more, we, with some exception, are learning to tolerate this diversity.

I don't think there has been a book I understood less and got more out of, then this book. "Why is it necessary to include photo captions by the subjects of the photos?" I thought. Then I started to read them, and if you are like me, you'll be laughing hysterically at one, then crying hysterically at the next. And that is all for that.

Next time: 2 x 2. 2 non-fiction + 2 mysteries + 2 graphic novels. And we'll see how long that lasts. Till then . . . ?!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 02, 2014, 03:16:57 PM
Ye-es!
2 by 2 by 2

(1st) 2 mysteries

Cara Black's
Murder in Pigalle
14th in the Aimee Leduc series

When someone starts sexually assaulting girls who are left alone, our hero begins to worry about the daughter of her BFF, who lives next door to her in the Pigalle section of Paris. She especially starts to worry, when she learns all the girls, including the one next door, play the violin. Thus, she decides to solve the case before the police can.


Leighton Gages'
The Ways of Evil Men
7th and last in the Mario Silva series
Last because the author died last year.

Welcome to the backside of HELL! When someone helps along a native tribe that is dying out in the Amazon Basin rain forest, by poisoning its members, and local and state officials will do nothing to help find the murderers, it is up to the federal government to send in our hero to investigate.

One note: the two gay villains in the book are the only villains that are not into illegal logging, illegal mining, getting themselves killed, or killing others. That is a long way from when you could recognize the villain, because he was gay.


(2nd) 2 non-fiction books

David A. Price's
The Pixar touch :
the Making of a Company
1 more non-fiction book

The subtitle says it all. I found, because I knew the least of that part of the company, the part that talked about the company, which was once owned by Steve Jobs of Apple, before it was bought out by the Walt Disney Company, the most interesting part of the book. Also interesting was that sometimes failure is the best part of success. Seeking to sell the company for $50 million, or the amount of money he paid for it + the amount of money he lost in it, Jobs could find no buyers. It was only later that it was bought by the Walt Disney Company for $7.4 billion. And even that looks like a bargain price, as the company has earned to date or December, 2013, $8.7 billion for its new owners.


Laughter Still Is the Best Medicine
1001 jokes. 215 p. 52 LOL!
A selection of jokes from the "Readers' Digest" Magazine


(3rd) 2 graphic novels

Ransom Rigg's
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children :
the Graphic Novel [version]
Art by Cassandra Jean

Soon to be a motion picture


William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
adapted and illustrated by Gareth Hinds

"Othello" is Shakespeare's great play on racism, but "Romeo and Juliet" also works as a screed against racism, as the Montagues are black and the Capulets are Indians. I especially like the look of Tybalt who was all tats, bare chest, and attitude.


Next time: Continuing 2 by 2 by 2




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on November 02, 2014, 04:27:35 PM
I just finished reading David Limbaugh's JESUS ON TRIAL.  A fascinating apologetic work that analyzes the case for faith on
many different levels.  A bit over-broad in places, but still very though-provoking and well written.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on November 02, 2014, 07:48:13 PM
A public domain collection of "English Fairy Tales" I downloaded to test my Kindle app.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on November 02, 2014, 10:38:24 PM
"Across the Blood-Red Skies" by Robert Radcliffe.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 11, 2014, 06:33:01 PM
Ye-es!
2 + 2 + 2

2 non-fiction books

Brad Steiger's
Real Vampires, Night Stalkers, and Creatures from the Darkside
4 more non-fiction written

It'd be a better book, if he was more of a doubter and less of a true believer, but there still is information to be garnered from his book.


Martha Klickstain's
Slimed :
an Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age
5 more non-fiction written

We won't say much now, as we'll have a more detailed report next time.


2 mysteries

Cath Staincliffe's
Dead to Me

Who killed the "good time gal?" Was it her mother, her brother, her mother's female lover, her half breed boy friend, who is also her drug supplier, or was it someone else? It is up to our heroine to decide.


C. C. Benison's
Ten Lords a-Leaping
3rd in the Father Christmas series

Who killed the man staying as a house guest at the house in the country? As the man was probably the most hated man there,  it is a long list of suspects. Was it one of his relations, including the owner of the estate, one of the other guests, including our hero and his 10-year-old daughter, one of the servants, or someone from the near-by village?

Written by a Canadian, one of the most intriguing things about the book, is the amount of sex in it. It must be due to those cold Canadian winters. There's . . .
appropriate sex between adults,
inappropriate sex with children: both boys and girls,
bisexuality and homosexuality,
non-violent sex and violent sex, etc.

Another intrigue I found interesting is the relationship between the hero's daughter and the estate owner's son, who is 12 in the book. They would seem to have nothing in common . . .
He is of the nobility. She is of the middle class.
He is well to do. She is not.
He is Roman Catholic. She is Church of England.
He is politically Conservative. She is politically Liberal/Labor
but . . .

They have a couple of things in common already, that would make them right for each other as husband and wife in a decade or so.
They have mutual respect for each other.
They both are willing to compromise.

Thus, I hope their relationship continues in the next book in the series.


2 graphic novels

Hickman and Dragotta's
East Is West
v.1

Scott and David Tipton's
Doctor Who :
Prisoners of Time
in 3 v.

v.1. Is 4 stories featuring the 1st 4 doctors. Read
v.2. Is 4 stories featuring the 2nd 4 doctors. Unread
v.3. Is 4 stories featuring the 3rd 3 doctors + a story featuring all 11 doctors up to the time the stories were published. Read


Next time: 1 report on Klickstein's "Slimed."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 17, 2014, 04:24:39 PM
Matthew's Klickstein's
Slimed :
an Oral History of Nickelodeon's Golden Age
writer of 5 more non-fiction

The interesting story of the 1st cable channel to specifically program for children.

Not my channel, as the only show I watched on it regular basis was "Are You Afraid of the Dark?," which I must admit I watched from the 1st episode to the last episode, but as I said, an interesting story, if for no other reason, if the best thing someone can do for you to show you how to do something, then the 2nd best thing someone can do for you is to show you how not do do something, which is the story of Nickelodeon. As to the why . . . ? Which the book fails to cover, and which is it's one weakness, I have some ideas.

(1) While the Disney Channel is/was known for its mainstream programming, then Nickelodeon was known for its edgy programming, which is harder to do consistently.

(2) The talent finally wasn't there. Where it started off with talented people, those people left, and the people who came in later, were not as talented.

(3) While the Disney Channel is/was known for its sitcoms, Nickelodeon was known for its game shows and sketch comedy shows, which again are harder to do consistently.

(4) Programming was kept around too round, It should have been replaced, but Nickelodeon had nothing to which replace it.

(5) Nickelodeon was part of Paramount, which is owned by the Redstone family, and the feuds within that family certainly didn't help management wise.

Or, at least that is my take on what went wrong. And I must say, if Nickelodeon is a product of good management going to bad, then Marvel Entertainment is the reverse, or a product of bad management becoming good. Now, there's a story worth telling.

Next time: back to 2 + 2 + 2


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on November 17, 2014, 06:03:56 PM
I just finished IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS, by Erik Larson - a ground level view of Berlin in 1933-34 from the perspective of the new American Ambassador, William Dodds, and his family.  A fascinating look at a totalitarian society in its infancy, with horrifying hints of what was to come.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on November 17, 2014, 08:35:31 PM
Gospel of Thomas


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 23, 2014, 04:55:03 PM
Ye-es!

2 mysteries

Ann Cleeves
Dead Water :
a Shetland mystery
5th in the Shetland series

Who wanted to kill the local boy made good as a reporter in the big city of London, who returns to his hometown to work on the story of his lifetime. And what, if anything, does a later murder, have to do with the 1st murder.

Same authoress
Silent Voices
1st in the Vera Stanhope series

Who wanted to kill the social worker while she was in the steam room of the local spa. And does it have anything to do with an adoption some years before.


2 non-fiction

Marcus Hearn's
BBC Doctor Who :
the vault
4 more non-fiction by the writer

Doctor Who from . . . to . . . and at times, not only science fiction, but also . . .
a western -- a war film -- scientific -- religious -- political -- philosophical -- horrorific -- historical -- fantastical -- economical (which adds to its appeal) -- comical -- adventureous --  and even a musical.

Eric Jager's
Blood Royal :
a True Tale of Crime and Detection from Medieval Paris
3 more non-fiction by the author

Several salient points.

(1st) While forensic sciences have advanced the detection of crime, some things have never changed in over 500 years.
Visit crime scene. Check
Gather evidence. Check
Interview witnesses. Check

(2) The book does give a look at the common people who inhabited the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country of that time.

(3) If you like the hero in the book, try to do what is right, then someone will screw you over. That hasn't changed much.

(4) I have always disliked Henry V, as I have always disliked men who are portrayed as being too perfect, but as much as I dislike the man, the writer really, really dislikes him.


2 graphic novels

Barnes and Ambaum's
What Would Dewey Do? :
an Unshelved Collection
1 more graphic novel by the writers

a collection of comic strips featuring as its hero, the teen librarian of a small public library, and his compatriots and patrons.

Colfer's and Donkin's
Artemis Fowl :
the Graphic Novel
v.3. The Eternity Code

The 3rd volume in the continuing series about the world's youngest master criminal and his friends and foes.

As they are still publishing these in graphic format, maybe, just maybe we will some day get a film version of his adventures. The idea for the film being kicked around Hollywood for years.


Next time: 2 by 2 by 2




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: bob on November 30, 2014, 01:49:35 PM
Band of Brothers


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on November 30, 2014, 02:49:39 PM
Just finished David Potter's EMPERORS OF ROME, a survey of all the men who ruled the Empire from the rise of Julius Caesar to the fall of the Western Empire in 476.  Sweeping in its scope, it was short of details, but still a fascinating read.  I learned a lot about the later Emperors (from 200 - 476 AD) which I did not know.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 30, 2014, 03:03:29 PM
Ye-es!

2 mysteries

Lillian Stewart Carl's
The Avalon Chanter
7th in the Jean Fairbairn and Alasdar Cameron series

When an American archaeologist and her husband, a Scottish policeman, attend a combination archaeological dig and folk music festival on an isle off of the coast of Scotland, they find what they came to find. A body where they thought it'd be buried, and some good music, but they also find something they did not expect to find, an unexpected body buried with the expected body. Does the unexpected body belong to a man who disappeared from an earlier folk music festival some years before, and as the murderer was never caught in that disappearance, is he or she still living on the island, that is now cut off from the mainland by the weather.


J.A. Jance's
Moving Target
9th in the Ali Reynolds series


2 non-fiction books

Steven Levingston's
Little Demon in the City of Light :
a True Story of Murder and Mesmerism in Belle Epoque Paris
2 more non-fiction books by the writer

The 1st time the defense of the murderer being under the influence of hypnosis or mesmerism was used in a murder trial.


Lloyd, Mitchinson, and Harkin's
1227 Quite Interesting Facts to Blow Your Socks Off
7 more non-fiction books by the 3 writers

The title says it all.


2 graphic novels

Layman and Guillory's
Major League Chew
5th in the Chew series

I know this graphic series has its fans, but I have never been able to get into it. Actually, this is the 1st in the series, that I have been able to read to the end and finish.


Tarantino and Hudlin's
Django Unchained

The graphic novel version of the recent film. Based upon the 1st script and not the script used in the filming. So, you can see the changes made between the 2 scripts. Changes that made the film a better film, a worst film, and had no influence on the film.

While I do not expect historical perfection in a film. It's just not possible. I did expect something better than this. From minor problems with the weapons and explosives used in the film to major problems with the characters' actions, reactions, and attitudes expressed, there were many historical offs in the film. Still, the film held together as being sensible to one point in the film, where what a character did made no sense at all.

Thus, just from this, as I have yet to see the film and will most likely never see the film, after reading this, an overrated film by an overrated filmmaker.


Next time: a "doorstopper" of a biography about a man who has had more biographies written about him than any other American outside some of the U.S. Presidents. If I can finish it in time. If not, then back to 2 by 2 by 2.




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on November 30, 2014, 04:09:16 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Xhi2yfEjL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

I swear I'm not really this nerdy!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 04, 2014, 11:06:45 AM
Finished a re-read of The Graveyard Book, which I think is not just Neil Gaiman's best novel, but among the top novels of any genre in the decade of the 2000s. If anything I enjoyed it more this time than I did in 2010. Gaiman is a one-person-in-a-billion sort of living treasure.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Javakoala on December 06, 2014, 12:24:31 PM
([url]http://www.giantitp.com/Images/products/OOTS99_7in72dpi_RGBds.gif[/url])

I swear I'm not really this nerdy!


You're not nerdy. You're embracing your inner geek. Stand proud.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Javakoala on December 06, 2014, 12:40:14 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51uxKaOwGrL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-v3-big,TopRight,0,-55_SX278_SY278_PIkin4,BottomRight,1,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg)

As I mentioned in another thread (about movies), I've been reading the Jumper novels. Just the first two, Jumper and Reflex.

Pretty entertaining sci-fi mixed with some political stuff. Kid learns he can teleport to places he knows and uses the ability to escape his abusive father. After a tragedy disrupts his life, he decides to use his ability to find the man who caused the horrible event.

For heaven's sake, do NOT watch the movie. It turns the main character from a sympathetic character into a shallow jerk and brings in a whole different storyline that is typical Hollywood crap.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 09, 2014, 06:15:24 PM
Ye-es!

Outside of some of the American presidents, more bios have been written about this man than any other American. Some of whom are so complicated that they are not the same from month to month. Some of whom are so complex that they are not the same from week to week. But here is an American that was so complicated and complex, that those who knew him best since they never understood him, because he was never the same two days in a row. But, here's a good stab at it as anything ever written about the man. At least it is long enough, that it can be used as a doorstop.

Neal Gabler's
Walt Disney :
the Triumph of the American Imagination
3 more non-fiction books by the writer

If his friends and supporters never understood him, his enemies and critics not only misunderstood him, but also underestimated him, were more short sighted than he was, and where he was constantly changing, they were unchanging, as made manifest in this bio.

Something else he had, where stupidity often runs rampant. He was not always right, but he was more right than wrong, which made him the smartest guy in the room, and made everybody else look stupid. And the stupidest of the stupid.

I am beginning to understand why so many people have come to dislike politics. During the War, Walt agreed to make a film supporting the war effort for the government, and for cost, which means he would charge the government only what it cost to make it, and there'd be not profit for the studio. Then politics intervened. And the political people wanted the film made, but they did not want to pay for the film. In other words, the studio was to make it for free. They might as well told Lockheed to build bombers for the government, but then we aren't going to pay you for building them. And while Democrats are not immune from doing or saying something stupid, all the stupidity this time came from the Republican side of the aisle. It was enough for a good Republican like Walt to turn in his Goldwater button and become a Democrat. And one of the best/worst examples of stupidity was from Representative Carl Curtis Republican of Nebraska. And 20 years on, little had changed. Carl was now Senator Curtis Republican of Nebraska, but he was as still as stupid as ever. Indeed, muckraker Anderson said he was the stupidest man in the Senate and considering the competition, that's saying something.

And the 2nd stupidest group from this bio. The critics, as where Walt was a visionary looking to the future, the critics were mired in the past and in the present.

One of the best features of this bio are all the photo sections, as they put faces on the people you have heard of, but have never seen.

And besides the photos, whether advertent or inadvertent, while Walt can not be totally absolved of all his problems, the bio does point out that he can be absolved some of the responsibility. For he'd try something, and people would be dissatisfied. He'd try something else, and they'd be dissatisfied. He was working with people who never would be or could be satisfied. And to compound the problem of dissatisfaction, when they looked in the mirror, they blamed everyone but themselves for their dissatisfaction.

Not that the bio is perfect. There are a number of mistakes in it. Most of them minor. The evil queen/witch in "Snow White and the 7 Dwarves" did not jump to her death at the end of the film, but fell to her death after being struck by lightning.

The cricket, who remains nameless throughout, in the original novel of "Pinocchio" was not killed by being stomped on, but seemingly killed by Pinocchio, who threw a hammer at him. Thus, the hammer throw entered the Summer Olympics.

But, the biggest mistake the writer makes is that he underestimates the Mickey who was Walt. For example, who is the spokesmouse for the mightiest entertainment empire the world has ever seen or likely will ever see. It is not Minnie or Donald or Goofy or Pluto or the 200 and 1 other characters created, but Mickey. And in comparison with the cartoon characters from Warner Brothers, maybe they once shone more brightly than Mickey and the other characters named, but now they arte stumbling around in the dark, because Warner Bros. did not/does not know how to keep them in the spotlight.

And at the end of the bio, the writer lists all the accomplishments of Walt. Who, again excluding most of the American presidents, probably accomplished more in his life than any other American outside of Thomas Alva Edison. This is only a partial list as to what Walt accomplished.

1. Animation.
There are only two eras in animation. BWD and AWD or before Walt Disney and after Walt Disney.

2, Hollywood and TV
He changed the relationship between Hollywood and television.

3. The parks.
Enough said.

4. While he was alive, he surpassed, outlasted, or ignored most of his rivals, foes, and the envious.

5. And most importantly, he founded the foundation of the mightiest entertainment empire the world has ever seen or likely will ever see. One that has overshadowed, overtaken, or overwhelmed the ignorant, its enemies, and its competitors.

No, while not perfect, this bio is probably as close to a perfect bio of Walt as you'll likely ever get.

Next time: back to 2 by 2 by 2.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on December 09, 2014, 08:28:36 PM
(https://dcomixologyssl.sslcs.cdngc.net/c/SUB008191.jpg?h=d8ce982cea8fe7b5d9c92d2c303dbd60&width=400)

This was a free download from the SANTA CLAUS Rifftrax show. I paid about right for it.  :wink: Eh, it's not bad, but nothing special.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Javakoala on December 10, 2014, 02:27:28 AM
Here's the real Christmas comic this forum needs.

(http://www.contestofchampions.net/classiccontests/lobovssantaclaus/lobovssantaclaus_arena.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 18, 2014, 06:50:48 PM
Ye-es!
2 by 2 by 2

2 mysteries

Christopher Fowler's
The invisible code
10th in the peculiar crimes unit series

When a woman is mysteriously killed,  then a man meets an equally mysterious death, and then their apparent killer is killed in an accident, our heroes still have to decide who hired the killer and why, and do the deaths have anything to do with a scientific experiment gone wrong from many years ago, and relating to it, a man's suicide or was it murder?

If the book still retains its jacket, then there is a clue on the jacket as to who is the guilty parties. And the next book is suppose to take place here in America.

Ely Griffiths'
The outcast dead
6th in the Ruth Galloway series

When our heroine uncovers the skeleton of a woman with a hook for a left hand, who is buried in an odd place and in an odd position, then it looks like she has uncovered the final resting place of the notorious Madame Hook, who was hanged for the murder of one of the children in her care more than a century ago.

Every British author worth their salt does at least 1 book about children in peril. This is hers, and she does a good job with it, as he does a great 3-year old. Probably not because she remembers when she was 3, but she does have children and probably remembers what it was like, when they were 3.


2 non-fiction books

David Beasley's
Without mercy :
the stunning true story of race, crime, and corruption in the deep South.
1 more non-fiction book by the writer.

A time, when, if you were rich and white, you could practically buy your way out of jail, but if you were poor and black, then you were s*** out of luck, especially if you had the bad fortune to kill a white person.

Harriet Baukus'
Hidden treasures :
what museums can't or won't show you
5 more non-fiction books by the writer.

The reasons for the can't and/or won't are actually as interesting as what is not shown of the over 60 items from 56 different museums.

For reasons . . .
political -- legal -- and/or ethical.

Or too . . .
controversial -- sexist -- racist -- pornographic -- valuable -- old -- large -- fragile -- disgusting -- dangerous -- creepy -- and/or bizarre.


2 graphic novels

Bunn, Jones, Filardi, and Brisson
Helheim
bk1: the witch war

A war between 2 witches with the populace caught between the 2.


Lobdell, Nicieza, and Green
Red Hood and the outlaws
v.3. death of the family


Next time: more 2 by 2 by 2. Till then . . .?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on December 22, 2014, 07:44:36 PM
(http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388201807l/386559.jpg)

Beyond Belief: The Gospel of Thomas


 Excellent book on the Gospel of Thomas, which was the pick of the littler of the texts discovered at Nag Hammadi in the 1940's. While most of the so called gnostic gospels and so forth discovered there are generally believed to have been written much later than the 4 main ones, some people think this was actually written earlier and was source material for the New Testament. Who knows if it really was. It's pretty much the gospels without the story, just the oral traditions of the early Christians, some of them rather mysterious.

The text is included it's entirety but it's not that long. Much of the book is taken by the authors giving context for it. Essentially, there was a battle of sorts in early Christianity. The first 3 gospels do not refer to Jesus as God. It was the last gospel, John, which was written long after Jesus died and which is at odds with the other 3 in many ways that does. Justin Martyr, Ignatius, and other early Christians were not aware of John and didn't read it. it had the effect of breaking Christianity away from Judaism completely and also marginalizing the so called Thomas Christians because it painted Thomas as a doubter of Christ's divinity.

When the Christ of John took over Christianity the apocryphal gospels were ordered to be destroyed but some were save in these big urns and buried in the desert.

  


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 23, 2014, 12:10:14 AM
Anyone who says that the first three Gospels don't acknowledge Jesus as God simply hasn't read them closely or else chooses to ignore large chunks of them.  Jesus' favorite title for Himself, "the Son of Man," used in all three of the Synoptic Gospels, is actually a divine reference as cited in the Old Testament Book of Ezekiel.  The phrase "Son of God," used in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, is a clear claim to divinity - the Greek concept of half-gods or demigods had no place in Jewish theology.  While Justin Martyr and Ignatius do not cite John as often as they do the other three, to say they that it was unknown to them was a real stretch - especially since their contemporaries, Origen and Polycarp, both quoted John frequently.
   While many have tried to push the Gospel of Thomas back into the First Century AD, the fact is that most scholars (aside from this author) still give it a mid-to-late Second Century date - over a century after Jesus was crucified, and sixty years after John was written in the  90's AD.
  The main reason so many secular scholars are crazy about the Gospel of Thomas is that it contains no resurrection, no miracles, and no clear claims to divinity on the part of Jesus.  He's just a wise little zen master spouting pithy sayings, not the commanding divine figure of the canonical Gospels - in other words, he's a purely secular Jesus, so secular scholars like him!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on December 23, 2014, 08:45:13 AM
To most of the people who encountered Jesus in his lifetime that is who he was. His message formed what would be the conscience of western civilization, for which the previous dominant moralities were a poor substitute.

60 years after the death of Jesus is a little late at any rate and most experts seem to believe the author was not there which calls the whole thing into question however accurate it may be about the nature of Christ.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 23, 2014, 10:16:37 AM
According to Papias, John's Gospel was written by the Apostle John near the end of his very long life . . . several early second century sources say that John lived nearly 100 years, well into the reign of Domitian.

To Jesus' disciples, he was "the Christ, the Son of the Living God" - a phrase used by Simon Peter and reported in all 3 Synoptic Gospels.  I think the reason John's narrative was so different from the others was because John knew the other 3, was familiar with them, and wanted to report on the parts of Jesus' life that they had not mentioned.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 23, 2014, 10:32:13 AM
60 years after the death of Jesus is a little late  

I haven't read the book you reviewed, lester, or know the full case its author presents, but even if the outside figure of sixty years is taken as accurate as to written records on Jesus, which many historians would argue is putting the date much later than in some cases it actually was, that still means Jesus' biography falls closer to his lifetime than almost any other from the ancient world, as there exist no written records of the sayings of Buddha that come any closer to his lifetime than three-hundred years, nor any biographies of Alexander the Great that were penned within four-hundred years of his death, nor any of Mohammad that come closer to his time than a century. Strangely I hear few people calling the accuracy of the record of those figures into question, even if they were arguably written from a much more distant perspective than the records that exist concerning Jesus. If anything archaeological discoveries of recent times have confirmed New Testament place names and the names of Biblical people lending strength to the four Gospels' case for being exactly what they claim to be: records of events told within living memory of their happening.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on December 23, 2014, 01:19:54 PM
fair criticism of Thomas and defense of John. I certainly wouldn't know what the answer is. I don't think the author is discounting John as much as I appeared to have. There was also a lot of weirdness in early Christianity that was probably rightfully expunged.

One thing I've noticed in the whole kind of apocryphal gospel scene if you will is how large Enoch looms. I think a lot of it is simply interest in old books and ideas and the stories themselves being so colorful.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 24, 2014, 12:33:02 AM
The Book of Enoch was part of the Hebrew Apocrypha, probably written around 300 BC, although its date is not certain.  Even the canonical Book of Jude quotes it; apparently it was a very popular work during the NT era.  I am not sure if an extant copy of it survives or not, but it would be fun to read if it did.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: VenomX73 on December 24, 2014, 08:37:42 AM
Here on Gilligan's Isle/the Professor's Behind-The-Scenes Guide to Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Gilligan's Island.

by Russell Johnson

(http://media2.s-nbcnews.com/i/streams/2014/January/140116/2D11345102-today-russell-johnson-140116-02.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on December 24, 2014, 08:40:35 AM
I've listened to it on youtube. theres a guy who reads all of those Book of Jubilees, The other revelation, etc

https://www.youtube.com/user/Apocryphile1970 (https://www.youtube.com/user/Apocryphile1970)

Yes there are a number of apocryphal books cited in the bible

There was one that was like a New Testament version of Enoch where Jesus goes down to hell and the guy does all the different voices I can remember which one it was


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 27, 2014, 06:37:43 PM
Ye-es!
2 by 2 by 2


2 mysteries

Anne Perry's
Death on Black Heath
27th in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series

When a ladies' maid disappears from a house in the Black Heath section of London, apparently as a result of violence, our hero is called in to investigate, as there is a fear that the work that the home's owner is doing for the Royal Navy and the maid's disappearance is connected.

Paul Grossman's
Brotherhood of Fear
3rd in the Willi Kraus series


2 non-fiction books

Craig Shemin's
The Muppets :
Character Encyclopedia

Over 150 characters from the Afghan Hound to Zoot. Up to date as of 2014.

Tom Zoellner's
Trains :
Riding the Rails that Created the Modern World--from the Trans-Siberian to the Southwest Chief
4 more non-fiction books by the writer

The history of the passenger train from the 1st trains to the trains of today, as told by a man who rode the trains in . . .

United Kingdom -- India -- United States -- Russia -- China -- Peru -- and Spain.


2 graphic novels

Adventures
in the Star Wars omnibus series

6 old characters in 6 new adventures.

Brian Michael Bendis'
Cosmic Avengers
in the Guardians of the Galaxy series


Next time: 2 by 2 by 2


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on December 30, 2014, 07:42:23 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41gvsmL24%2BL.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on January 02, 2015, 01:43:03 PM
Just finished:

Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil - a warts 'n' all history of the punk rock movement which starts in the late 60s with early agitators like The Velvet Underground and then moving on thru the MC5, the Stooges, the Ramones, Television, Blondie, the Dead Boys and the Sex Pistols. McNeil was a co-author of the legendary "Punk" magazine who was smack in the middle of the genre's rise and fall and yet somehow managed to make through the entire narcotic-addled era with his brain cells intact. A hilarious, sometimes gross, but always entertaining read.

Just started:

Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen and Candy-Stripe Nurses: Roger Corman, King of the B Movie by Chris Nashawaty
..an amazingly cool book covering Roger Corman's 60 eventful years in Hollywood, chock full of quotes from pretty much everybody who's ever worked for him (James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, Sylvester Stallone, Ron Howard, Dick Miller, Joe Dante, etc., etc.) and lavishly illustrated with tons of vintage photos, movie posters, and artwork. This is a treasure trove of movie-geek trivia!!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 05, 2015, 04:20:00 PM
Ye-es!

2 mysteries

Dave Handler's
The Coal Black Asphalt Tomb
10th in the Berger and Mitry series

Archer Mayor's
Three Can Keep a Secret [If 2 of Them Are Dead]
No! No! No! I made up the last part, but 24th in the Joe Gunther series

A body, where there should be no body. Where there should be a body, there is no body. And a female escapee from the state mental hospital, who may or may not have drowned in the tunnels under the hospital. All compounded by floods and a massive hurricane bearing down on the state.


2 non-fiction

Earp and Fowler's
U. S. Marshals :
Inside America's Most Starred Law Enforcement Agency

And the federal government's oldest law enforcement agency. A history of the agency with emphasis on today's agency. And, yes! Earp is related to the legendary Wyatt Earp.

Iain McCalman's
The Reef :
a Passionate History
4 more non-fiction books by the writer

A history of one of the few natural wonders that can be seen from the moon--the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, as told through the eyes of a half dozen individuals who had the greatest effect on the struggles in that area. (1st) The struggle between man and nature with man winning. (2nd) The struggle between the whites and the natives with the whites winning. (3rd) The struggle between those who would preserve it, and those who would exploit it with the preservationists winning. And (4th) back to the struggle between man and nature with this time nature leading with the advent of global warming.


2 graphic novels

Quinrose and Sakura's
Alice in the Country of Hearts
v.2. The Mad Hatter's Late Night Tea Party

The continuing adventures of Alice in Wonderland, which consists of the House of Dupree and its residents "Blood" Dupree [the Mad Hatter], Mr. March, and the Twins: Dee and Dum; the Castle of Hearts and its residents the Queen of Hearts and Peter White; Old Man Gowland's amusement park; and the Watchmaker and his house. All of whom are friends, unless they are trying to kill each other.

Wood, Kelly, and D'Anda's
Star Wars :
from the Ruins of Alderaan
v.2.

The ending of the story which began in v.1.


Next time: 2 by 2 by 2


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on January 08, 2015, 10:39:57 AM
Just finished:

The Boy Who Loved Batman by Michael Uslan - an autobiography by the producer of 1989's megahit "Batman" film (as well as all Bat-films since then), who started out as just another comic-book obsessed kid growing up in 1960s New Jersey. The story of his long, strange road to Hollywood and the many years of struggle it took to finally bring his favorite superhero to the big screen was a very entertaining, inspiring read.

Next up:
Sean Connery: From 007 to Hollywood Icon by Andrew Yule


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on January 08, 2015, 12:28:59 PM
Downloaded a public domain translation of the Hindu epic "the Mahabharata." Since this is the longest poem ever written---3 times the length of the Old and New Testament together---I am not planning on finishing it anytime soon. I'll read a little here, a little there.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on January 08, 2015, 01:22:26 PM
along similar lines: listen to the so called Super Gospel. it's a compilation of a lot of the New Testament Apocrypha. Some of it is revealing some of it, such as the gospel of Nicodemus is from way later and is pretty useless. 16 hours long


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on January 08, 2015, 01:45:23 PM
along similar lines: listen to the so called Super Gospel. it's a compilation of a lot of the New Testament Apocrypha. Some of it is revealing some of it, such as the gospel of Nicodemus is from way later and is pretty useless. 16 hours long

I read a lot of the apocryphal gospels years ago. Gospel of Thomas was interesting, nothing at all like the "official" Gospels. I liked the ones where young Jesus used to kill his schoolmates for looking at him the wrong way. Queue Indy in 3, 2, 1...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on January 08, 2015, 04:48:36 PM
that's in the super gospel and is hilarious. He's like the twilight zone kid.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 08, 2015, 07:37:17 PM
I believe that is from a Gnostic Gospel called I Infancy.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on January 08, 2015, 09:58:36 PM
You could pretty much date them based on their quality. the more absurd and loopy they are the later they seem to be whereas Thomas and the Didache are very sober. pretty much so the ones written by Jewish Christians up to and including Revelation are the best, which is the bible and maybe a few other things.

Questions of Bartholemew was the one I was thinking of before. the one where Jesus goes down to hell and stuff a la Enoch


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 08, 2015, 10:36:26 PM
The Didache, I and II Clement, and several of those others were actually highly regarded by the early
church, although they were not included in the NT because they were not directly associated with the
disciples.  There was a strong distinction drawn between the so-called "Apostolic Fathers," who were
widely read and respected in the early church, although not considered Scripture, and most of the Gnostic
works, which were generally condemned as heretical from the get-go.  And of course, there were some
that straddled the line between the two.  But you are right - some of the later Gnostic stuff is pretty goofy.
There is one called the "Cross Gospel" where a 200 foot high cross comes out of the tomb before Jesus
rose, and begins talking to the women outside the tomb.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on January 09, 2015, 01:32:07 AM
I read the book Things That Matter by Dr Charles Krauthammer and enjoyed it up until page 237 where he started to talk BS about South Africa.

I closed the book and have never opened it again: I would like to throw it away but it cost too much.  :tongueout:
So, send him a correction letter. I like his work, but who's perfect? Not me.

Dr K claims in that column (which he wrote in 1985) that white South Africans should be sentenced to isolation because of their acquiescence of apartheid. That is BS: apartheid was a true evil and not every white person in SA liked it or supported it, me least of all.

Saying that is like saying Germans should be isolated because of what occurred in their country under Hitler or Britons should be isolated because of the genocide in the concentration camps during the Anglo-Boer War.

Incidentally, I gave the book to my Mom. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on January 09, 2015, 01:33:22 AM
I bought the book Killing Kennedy a few months back: very good.  :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on January 09, 2015, 11:45:53 AM
The neoconservatives are all hard core globalists and there aren't too many situations where they don't think "international pressure" should be applied, usually to the detriment of the already suffering citizens of so called rogue states.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 10, 2015, 10:33:21 PM
I just finished WASHINGTON'S CROSSING, a very detailed account by David Hackett Fischer about the Battles of Trenton and Princeton and the events before and after them, during the American Revolution.  Thoroughly documented and very well written, this book explodes the myth of the "drunken Hessians" surprised after their Christmas celebrations and instead portrays a desperate gamble that paid off in a big way for George Washington - but also how his decision to attack was actually driven by the guerilla warfare the people of New Jersey had already launched against the Hessian occupiers.  This is one of the best books about the Revolutionary War I have ever read, and I highly recommend it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on January 10, 2015, 11:11:15 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZEN7XN1VL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

Essays and stories about Elvis with one rule: Elvis must be dead. Contains essays by Roger Ebert and Lou Reed, stories by Clive Barker, Harlan Ellison and Joyce Carol Oates. The reason I got it is because it's where the "Bubba Ho-Tep" story was first published.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: retrorussell on January 11, 2015, 01:09:28 AM
2015 Leonard Maltin Movie Review Book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on January 12, 2015, 06:14:51 AM
I seem to have an ever mounting stack of books to read. I am trying to work through the last 4 Terry Pratchett novels, but I've been finding him slowly getting harder to read and less enjoyable over the years. Partway through the middle book of Memory, Sorrow & Thorn while recently I was given a lovely edition of the original Brothers Grimm fairy tales (the ones you maybe don't want your kids to read), as well as The Empire Strikes Back & Return Of The Jedi as Shakespeare might have written them (What light through Yoda's window breaks?) as well as the various collections of Michael Moorcock.

At some point I need to go back and finish the Game of Thrones novels too, I think I made it as far as After The Feast, then I got married and suddenly all my free time seems to have vanished.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on January 12, 2015, 08:32:51 AM
2015 Leonard Maltin Movie Review Book.

 I read somewhere that the 2015 edition will be the last: I don't know how true that is.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on January 12, 2015, 08:44:57 AM
2015 Leonard Maltin Movie Review Book.

 I read somewhere that the 2015 edition will be the last: I don't know how true that is.

It's true (unless Maltin changes his mind).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on January 13, 2015, 07:45:48 AM
2015 Leonard Maltin Movie Review Book.

 I read somewhere that the 2015 edition will be the last: I don't know how true that is.

It's true (unless Maltin changes his mind).

I was hoping to perhaps read what his thoughts were on Searching For Sugarman: perhaps it's included.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 14, 2015, 01:51:26 PM
Ye-es!

2 mysteries

Carol Miller's
Murder and Moonshine
1st novel

When an inoffensive old man's moonshine is poisoned, and the possible poisoner is killed in a vehicular accident, the heroine decides to investigate before she or her mother become the next victim. And our heroine finds herself trapped between a revenuer and a moonshiner.

Kristna Ohlsson's
The Disappeared
3rd in the Alex Recht series


2 non-fiction books

Elizabeth L. Cline's
Overdressed :
the Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion
1st non-fiction book

High cost in terms of economics, environmentalism, and geographic exploitation. While centering on female fashions and the East Coast, there are still things worth reading in it.

Sarah Pinborough's
Mayhem :
the Thames Torso Killer

Who, apparently killed 1 person in Paris and 4 in London, between 1886 and 1889, One reason this serial killer is not better known, as it killed at the same time and in the same place as the more notorious Jack the Ripper.


2 graphic novels

[Marvel's] The Heroic Age

a dozen opening chapters from a dozen comic books +
25 brief bios, featuring both friend and foe, on the character got their start in comic books +
a directory of 55 other characters. Again, both friend and foe, individuals and groups.

Doctor Who :
Prisoners of Time

3 doctors in 3 stories + all 11 doctors and 2 old friends from the past in the final story.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on January 23, 2015, 12:16:24 AM
Downloaded a public domain translation of the Hindu epic "the Mahabharata." Since this is the longest poem ever written---3 times the length of the Old and New Testament together---I am not planning on finishing it anytime soon. I'll read a little here, a little there.


Hindu scripture is some of the best reading in the world. Arjuna's dialogues with Krishna are brilliant.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Derelict Coin-op on January 24, 2015, 01:12:22 AM
My reading spurts tend to come and go. Right now I'm reading the non-fiction The Eerie Silence by Paul Davies, a book on the search for extraterrestrial life. Musashi Miyamoto's Book of Five Rings. Daniel Dennett's Consciousness Explained, though that one will probably take awhile. The Feminist Papers by Alice s. Rossi, kind of old,but for a cheap pickup at a sale I thought it'd be worth a shot. And my two fictions Voltaire's Candide and Monster by A. Lee Martinez a book about a guy who runs a supernatural monster extermination service. I have a lot of other books that need reading, but those are the ones that capture the majority of my attention for now.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 27, 2015, 05:21:00 PM
Ye-es!
2 by 2 by 2

2 mysteries

C. S. Harris'
Why Mermaids Cry
3rd in the Sebastian St. Cyr series

Who is killing the only sons of prominent men who live in the London area, and what if anything do the murders have to deal with a shipwreck of several years ago. A shipwreck that began in mutiny and ended in murder and cannibalism.

One of the early ones in the series, but in an interesting series, some of them I find readable, and some I find unreadable, I think it is one of my favorites.

18- and 19-year-olds may be pass the age of majority, and they may be on the cusp of manhood, but they are really just still wee bairns, as they still wet themselves when scared.

Jussi Adler-Olsen's
The Purity of Vengeance
4th in the Department Q series


2 non-fiction

Dinah Williams'
Secrets of Walt Disney World :
Weird and Wonderful Facts About the Most Magical Place on Earth

The subtitle says it all.


Melinek and Mitchell's
Working Stiff :
2 years, 262 bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner
1st book

Welcome to New York City. Our writer is there less than 2 months, when September 11 happens, and she is one of those who have to identify the remains found at the crash site. But, as interesting as her story is, her husband actually comes across as being the more interesting. Here is a man who gave up his career, his family, and the city where he lived to follow his wife, so she could have her own career. That did just not happen in that time and place. Let alone today.


2 graphic novels

Aguirre Sacasa and Francavilla's
Afterlife with Archie
bk.1. Escape from Riverdale

with a dollop of . . .
Sabrina, the Teenaged Witch
Pet Sematary
and Night of the Living Dead

When zombies, including Jughead, invade Riverdale, it is up to Archie to lead the human survivors to safety.

Back stories on many of the characters. Surprisingly or may be not, the most poignant features Smithers the butler or the butler Smithers.

On the other hand, while I do appreciate the effort to make Riverdale something besides all-white, all-heterosexual, it is these new characters that I find the hardest to recognize.

Gail Carriger's
Soulless :
the Magna
v.3.

The continuing story of our heroine, a human, and her husband, the leader of a clan of Scottish werewolves. And when the werewolves and the vampires go to war over our heroine, and you throw in a sect of humans, who may or may not be a threat to one or the other or both werewolves and vampires, anything can happen.

One of those magna that is rated for Older Teens for its language, nudity, sex, and violence, and all the other good stuff.

Next time: more 2 by 2 by 2




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on January 29, 2015, 06:32:45 PM
Farewell, Colleen McCullough, and thanks for some fine books...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 05, 2015, 07:46:23 PM
Ye-es!

2 by 2 by 2


2 mysteries

Victoria Thompson's
Murder in Chelsea
15th in the Gaslight Series

When a woman who comes to NYC seeking to find the heroine's adopted daughter is murdered, then the mother of the girl, who also comes to NYC, is murdered, the heroine decides to investigate the murders, before she or her adopted daughter become the next victim.

Rhys Bowen's
City of Darkness and Light
13th in the Molly Murphy series

After their house is firebombed, because of her husband's role as a NYC police captain, our heroine and her newborn daughter flee to Paris to stay with two friends who are studying art in Paris, only to find out that her friends have disappeared, after being the last ones seen with an American ex-pat artist, who has recently been murdered. Now our heroine not only have to find her friends, she has to try to solve the murder to absolve her friends of the crime. Which she does with the help and unhelp of characters both fictional and factual.


2 graphic novels

Boudreau, Cavalcanti, and Fabela's
Black Acre :
v.1. An Errand into the Wilderness

Swierezynski, Saiz, and Foreman's
Birds of Prey :
v.1. Trouble in Mind -- v.2. Your Kiss Might Kill


2 non-fiction books

Ray and Lesley Adkins
Jane Austen's England
(husband and wife writing duo)
5 more non-fiction from the writers

A social history of England during the time of Jane Austen. What I came away with is how many prejudices existed at that time. There were . . .
sexual prejudices -- sex prejudices -- religious prejudices -- racial prejudices -- geographical prejudices -- and class prejudices.

Anne de Courcy's
The Fishing Fleet :
Husband-hunting in the Raj
5 more non-fiction books by the writer

The subtitle says it all with the Raj being India between the 2nd half of the 19th century and the 1st half of the 20th century.


Next time: 2 by 2 by 2


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 09, 2015, 07:58:05 AM
A COUNTRY OF VAST DESIGNS by Robert Merry is a biography of President James K. Polk, one of America's most consequential but least known Executives.  This book tells the story of his election to the Presidency and the Mexican-American War that followed.  Through all the intense political battles as well as the military struggles of the war itself, this book traces the path of this incredibly hard-working but colorless executive.  A very worthwhile read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on February 09, 2015, 09:50:06 AM
The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Even second-tier Gaiman is still better than 95% of what's out there in his genre(s). Worked a little better on a re-read than it did last year.

Also still plowing through The Biography of a Marriage, by Clementine Churchill, which is her inside description of her parents' nearly sixty-year union. A well-written and interesting book, but dense and frustrating in some of the things she sidesteps, though I understand why she chose to do so.

Soon I hope to finally begin some vintage PD James paperbacks I was given at Christmastime.

Happy reading to all!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on February 12, 2015, 11:23:28 AM
([url]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41gvsmL24%2BL.jpg[/url])


Finished this one. Nothing in here that would surprise or enlighten any of our regular posters but he did give badmovies.org a shout-out at the end.

Now I picked up

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61UGBGOkfPL.jpg)

One of the first regular comic strips, started in 1905, a more adult comic from the guy who went on to do "Nemo's Adventures in Slumberland."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on February 12, 2015, 11:50:12 AM
MAD Art: A Visual Celebration of the Art of MAD Magazine and the Idiots Who Create It, by Mark Evanier


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 13, 2015, 12:47:08 PM
Ye-es!
2 mysteries by 2 graphic novels by 2 non-fiction


2 mysteries
Barry Maitland's
The raven's eye
12th in the Brock and Kolla series

Richard Castle
Wild storm
part of the Derrick Storm series


2 graphic novels
Lob and Rochette's
Snow piercer
in 2 volumes: v.1. The escape, which I have read and v.2. The explorers, which I have yet to read, but will read later.

I have yet to see the film based on v.1., but I have seen the trailer, and I can understand why the filmmakers had to make changes to the graphic novel, which is not the most visual of works, but what a metaphor it is for life. Train journeys always make good metaphors. I guess the reason they are not used more often in films today is that fewer people travel by train than in the past, when it was one of the main means of mass transportation.

Bendis, Pichelli, Immonen's
The trial of Jean Grey
Combining Guardians of the galaxy issues 11 - 13
and The All new X-men issues 22 -24.

The characters (primary)
Who'd have thought that a gun toting raccoon and a sentient tree would become two of my favorite characters in the Marvel Universe. "Not I," said he.

The characters (secondary)
Most of them fully fleshed out.

The humor
The raccoon noticing the tree noticing a grove of trees on Earth, where they are at the moment. "You are not going to go all weird again right last time. Are you?" ROTFL!

The in-jokes
One character says: "I feel like a Disney princess!" Well, we know where they got that, don't we?

The sexuality
Not everyone is heterosexual in the Marvel Universe. There are hints of homosexuality and bisexuality, if not lesbianism, in the story.

The villains
Not people who do wrong, because they know it is wrong, but people who do wrong, because they think it is right. Thus more like us.

Anyways, it is a great read.


2 non-fiction
Hampton Sides'
In the kingdom of ice :
the grand and terrible polar voyage of the USS Jeanette
5 more non-fiction by the writer

The subtitle says it all!

Wiley and Jenkins'
Walt Disney World with kids 2015 :
with Universal Orlando, SeaWorld and Aquatica

When the writer wrote the 1st one in this series, she was pregnant with her daughter. Now, years later, her daughter has a daughter and is old enough to be her mother's co-author.

There's a great story in the book, and one of the most memorable I have ever seen.

A 2-year-old girl making her first visit to Walt Disney World is with her parents on the bus that runs between the Orlando airport and Walt Disney World. When she first passes under the gates that lead to Walt Disney World, she stands up on the bus seat and yells out as loudly as he can: "Hold on, Mickey! We're coming!" And it is said that the human roar that tore through the bus after that was like nothing you have most likely never heard before.


Next time: 2 by 2 by 2


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on February 13, 2015, 03:33:32 PM
     I just finished reading AMERICAN SNIPER; a great read, that if nothing else shows why Jesse Ventura is in need of a physical intervention.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on February 13, 2015, 06:01:03 PM
Ventura won that lawsuit though


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Doggett on February 14, 2015, 05:25:46 AM
Lots of Horus Heresy stuff. I'm on Flight of the Eisenstien.
I'm also reading House of Leaves, Abarat and The Stand (which I started when I joined this forum. So really taking my time with that one...)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 17, 2015, 01:05:41 PM
Ye-es!

2 by 2 by 2


2 mysteries

Alex Grecian's
The Devil's Workshop
3rd in the Scotland Yard's Murder Squad series

When a train is deliberately crashed into a prison, several murderous inmates escape. It is now up to our heroes to track them all down and recapture them, before they kill again.

Actually, this is one of my favorite mystery series, and the writer has made a lot of progress in writing . . .
dialogue
characters on and off the page, but . . .?!

It is so trite to include Jack the Ripper, as one of the characters. Hopefully, next time, something not so trite.

Nevada Barr's
Destroyer Angel
19th in the Anna Pigeon series
1 more non-fiction by the writer

When our heroine and her 2 BFFs, one of whom is physically challenged,  and the 2 daughters of the BFFs are kidnapped by 4 men, it is up to our heroine, who is the only one to evade the kidnappers to save the other 4 females.

As always, I am late in coming to this series. And while this one was readable, the previous 2 being too introspective for my taste, and while the ending did make sense, the whole plot leading up to the ending not much. For if the kidnappers had been a little more competent, and the females been a little less competent. We would not have the plot that we have.


2 non-fiction

Tougias and Campbell's
Rescue of the Bounty :
Disaster and Survival in Super Storm Sandy
a dozen more non-fiction books by the writers

The subtitle says it all.

Actually, Tougias has another of his books being made into a film by the Walt Disney Company and Whitaker Entertainment. Not this one, but "The Finest Hours." When 2 oil tankers run aground off the coast of Cape Cod during a storm in 1952, it is up to the Coast Guard to put to sea in their boats and rescue both crews. While scheduled for release next year. This is trading places with "The Jungle Book," whose release is now 2016, and this being release in October of this year.

John Feinstein's
Where Nobody Knows Your Name :
Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball
23 more non-fiction books by the writer

Again, the subtitle says it all.


2 graphic novels

Jack London's
The Sea Wolf
Riff Reb, adapter
11th in the Classic Illustrated Deluxe series

The only way that I ever found London's classic novel to be readable. Though, the film version with Edward G. Robinson as the title character is well worth seeing. A great adaptation of the book, if not a true adaptation.

And that's all for now, as I am running out of time. We'll take up the other graphic novel next time.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 17, 2015, 04:37:30 PM
Okay! He's back, and here's the review of the 2nd graphic novel, which he promised before.

Avengers vs. X-Men
in 3 parts

Parte Uno
38 Avengers + 47 X-Men + 4 or 5 who can't make up their mind to which they belong + 1 Nova in 12 rounds of rock 'em, sock 'em melee action.

Parte Dos
19 X-Men and 19 Avengers in individual combat. With the winners and losers declared for each combat.

Parte Tres
Marvel's app

=Part heart + part tears + part brain + part laughs + all courage, and it was all good while it lasted.

And the answers to a couple of questions I never thought to ask myself before.

Q: Why follow the wrong leader, even if you know he or she is wrong?
A: It is better to follow and thought to be wrong than it is not to follow and be thought a traitor.

Q: What is the hardest punch?
A: The 1st punch thrown is the hardest. After that they become easy.

Next time: 2 x 4 or 2 graphic novels x 4 mysteries



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on February 25, 2015, 10:00:59 AM
(http://media.tumblr.com/0becbcc3abb1d51876ddeefebf273c78/tumblr_inline_mmhvgtOayQ1qz4rgp.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on February 27, 2015, 08:22:36 AM
Almost done with:

How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present and Future
by Chris Taylor

On deck:
Cinema Wars: Hollywood Film and Politics in the Bush-Cheney Era by Douglas Kellner


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: sprite75 on March 02, 2015, 09:46:52 PM
I've been working on this one lately;

(http://img1.imagesbn.com/p/9781463618360_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG)

I've also been working on these two as well;

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61agGo%2B0liL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

(http://www.discountbrew.co.uk/image/cache/data/the-art-of-making-wines-and-liqueurs-by-betty-sampson-3851-420x420.jpg)

(No I'm not currently planning on making Sprite wine or beer.  My brother makes beer and I just got curious as to what it would take to make a small amount of wine). 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on March 03, 2015, 08:45:33 AM
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/62/2001_NAL.jpg)

Going to read the novel before watching the movie again.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 07, 2015, 05:33:06 PM
Ye-es!
2 by 4

And don't think those Canadians to the north of us aren't tough s.o.b.s. My uncle, by marriage, who is actually the reason for my existence, as he introduced my father, who he was building railroad bridges with, across the Pacific Northwest, to my mother, who was the younger sister of the woman, who he was dating--and later married--at the time. Sometime in his life, he got into a brawl with another Canadian, who laid him out with a 2 by 4. He survived, but to the day he died, or, at least, as long as I knew him, you could see the dent in his head made by that 2 x 4.

4 fiction

Charles Todd's
(mother and son writing duo)
Hunting Shadows
11th in the Inspector Ian Rutledge series

What is the connection between an army officer shot and killed at a wedding by a sniper and a politician killed at a political rally by the same sniper. It is up to our hero to find the connection to find the motivation and the murderer.


Donna Leon's
By Its Cover
26th in the Commissario Guido Brunetti series
4 more non-fiction books by the writer


Harry Dolan's
The Last Dead Girl
a prequel to the 2 previous fiction books by the writer


Karin Salvalaggio's
Bone Dust White
1st novel


2 graphic works


Rick Geary's
A Treasury of Victorian Murder Compendium
in 2 vols.

vol. 1, which I have read

The assassination of Garfield--The 1st serial killer H.H. Holmes--Jack the Ripper--Dr. E. W. Pritchard--Mrs. Pearcey--and the mystery of the Ryans.

and vol.2, which I have not read

Lizzie Borden--The Mary Rogers murder--The assassination of Lincoln--Murderess Madeleine Smith--and the Benders


Next time: more 2 by 4



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 07, 2015, 08:02:05 PM
I just finished a book called RETRIBUTION by Max Hastings.  It was a history of the last two years of World War 2 in the Pacific.
It covered everything from the costly island campaigns to the little remembered fighting in the China-Burma-India theater.
This book really just brings home how incredibly brutal the war against Japan was, and how abominably cruel the Japanese were
to the peoples they conquered.  HIGHLY recommended for all WW2 buffs.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on March 08, 2015, 09:10:05 PM
Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman. His third short story collection and most recent release.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on March 09, 2015, 10:14:07 AM
Currently:

Good Days and MAD: A Hysterical Tour Behind the Scenes at MAD Magazine by Dick DeBartolo

On deck:
The Great Comic Book Heroes by Jules Feiffer

The Comic-Book Book by Don Thompson and Dick Lupoff



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 15, 2015, 02:21:35 PM
Ye-es!
2 x 4


2 graphic novels

Bendis, Pichelli, Franeavilla, and Maguire
Guardians of the Galaxy
v.2. Angela


Terry Brooks
Dark Wraith of Shannara
Edwin David, illustrator
Robert P. Napton, adaptor

Part of the Shannara series.
There was some talk of doing a theatrical film based on the series. That is unlikely to happen, but it does appear that there is to be a TV series on MTV based on the series.



4 mysteries

Benjamin Black's
The Black-eyed Blonde
1st in the Philip Marlowe series

The author also has a police procedural series, which takes place in Dublin in the 1950's, but I like the start of this series better, even if many of the characters have become clichés since the days of Raymond Chandler.


Linda Rpdriguez'
Every Hidden Fear :
a Mystery
3rd in the Skeet Bannion series


Martin Cruz Smith
Tatiana
12th in the Arkady Renko series

When a translator is murdered, and his coded notes from the last job disappear, it is up to our hero to solve the case with or without the help of . . .
a female reporter, who may or may not be actually dead.
a Russian gangster, who may or not be man enough to fill his father's shoes
a female reporter, who may or may not be a love interest of our hero
a Russian poet, who may or may not be trustworthy
a teenage chess hustler, who may or may not be capable of decoding the notes, when found.
and the hustler's little girlfriend.

If one wants to watch something in the series, instead of reading it, then the 1st book in the series, "Gorky Park," was made into a theatrical film, which I have not seen, but which does star Lee Marvin, who does not play the Park or our hero.

And if you look at the 1st half of the last century, the people who really got screwed over by their government were the Germans, the Italians, the Japanese, and the Russians. While the other three have made some progress with their governments, the Russians are still being screwed over by their Government.


Sharon Bolton's
A Dark and Twisted Tide
in the Flint and Joesbury series

When the dead bodies of young women start appearing in the Thames River in London, the questions become Who are they? Where are they from? and How were they killed? And what is that that is seen swimming in the same area, where the bodies are found. It is not a whale. It is not a seal. Is it a mermaid? But mermaids do not exist, or do they?

And one of the great endings in fiction. Forget primitive. The end fight is primeval. Forget hand-to-hand combat. The ending fight is tooth and claw. "They gave their lives for tourism."

The writer is also capable enough to get the reader to change their sympathies from one character to another character and more than once.


Next time: 2 x 4



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on March 23, 2015, 11:56:13 AM
Right now:
Shock Value: How a Few Eccentric Outsiders Gave Us Nightmares, Conquered Hollywood and Invented Modern Horror by Jason Zinoman

On deck:
A Vulgar Display of Power: Courage and Carnage at the Alrosa Villa by Chris Arnold


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 23, 2015, 05:19:42 PM
Ye-es!
2 x 4


2 graphic novels

Kieran Gillen's
Journey Into Mystery
Collective issues 622-632

Jake Parker's
Missle Mouse
v. 2. Rescue on Tankium 3


4 mysteries

Eleanor Kuhns'
Cradle to Grave
3rd in the Will Rees series

When his wife's BFF kidnaps the children of a woman, who the BFF thinks is an unfit mother, the BFF alienates the whole town, Shakers and non-Shakers alike. Thinking to be of help, our hero and his wife head to the town, where the BFF lives, only to find things have become even more complicated, as the "unfit" mother is found dead, and the last one to be seen in the area, where she was found dead, was the BFF.

Rachel Howzell Hall's
Land of Shadows
in the Detective Elouise Norton series

When a woman goes missing, then is found later, a victim of an arson fire, people remember another fire, in which the woman was involved, as her stepfather was killed in a fire that was then put down to his smoking in bed, but now, with the most recent fire and murder, that is beginning to look like arson and murder as well.

Catherine Aird's
Dead Heading
in the Sloan and Cosby series

A woman gone missing. Vandalism of a nursery greenhouse. Are the two crimes connected somehow?

Victoria Houston's
Dead Lil' Hustler
in the Loon Lake series

When an investment banker,  then a grad student are found dead, in an area that is off-limits, because of major wolf activity in the area, the question becomes what, if anything is going on in that area, are the two deaths connected somehow, and what if anything does it have to do with the wolves in that area?

Next time: 2 x 4


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 23, 2015, 07:03:17 PM
I finished two books this week; Ken Follett's EDGE OF ETERNITY and Alan Bullock's massive dual biography, HITLER AND STALIN: PARALLEL LIVES. 

Follett's book is the last volume of his "Century" trilogy; I enjoyed the first one but this one was so politically biased that it got in the way of the story.  Every liberal character was a hero, every conservative a villain.  Neither ideology has a monopoly on villainy, a simple lesson that you'd think an experienced writer would have learned.  But Follett, as gifted a writer as he is, can't seem to grasp that.  All that being said, it was still a well-written story with engaging characters, and I'm glad I finished it.

Bullock's work is a massive 900+ page epic, a bit dry in spots but very informative.  Took me two years to wade through it, reading it on my lunch breaks.  Might have done it sooner, but it was a re-read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 31, 2015, 11:56:42 AM
Ye-es!
2 x 4


2 graphic novels

Loeb and McGuinness'
Nova :
origin
v.1.

The subtitle says it all. What it does not say is what a weird blending this is of humor, sex, and violence. Still, an enjoyable read, and I hope sometime in the future, Marvel will do more with the character. And by character, I mean the son and not the father.

Richard Castle's
Storm season
2nd in the Derrick Storm series
graphic novel version by . . .
Bendis and DeConnick

Really, this does show what a good writer Castle can be. The story is complex. It is complicated, but . . . it is not confusing, which is a sign of a good writer. And Bendis has become my "go to man" for a good graphic novel.


4 mysteries

Linda Castillo's
The Dead Will Tell
6th in the Kate Burkholder series

When a home invasion goes wrong, there is only one survivor. Then, years later, when the home invaders start getting killed off, is the lone survivor finally getting his revenge? Was there another hitherto unknown survivor? Or, is it someone else, with motivations of their own?

If one wants something to watch, instead of read, the 1st in the series was made into a TV movie "An Amish Murder."

Tim Weaver's
Never Coming Back
4th in the Dave Raker series
but . . .?! 1st published in the U.S.

In the U.S., what do a chance encounter with an old friend and a warning from a stranger have to do with, in the U.K., a body found on the beach, a family gone missing, and a coastal town lost to the sea. It is up to our hero to put it all together.

What the writer does, better than most writers, is understand what it means to lose one's life and/or take another's life, which few writers can do as effectively as this one. He can also create, apparently, though it is yet to be published here, a novel, where the villain is, apparently, a serial killer who preys on homosexuals. I'd like to find this, if only for its novelty, for such is often equated with homophobia, which is often not the case.

Peter Tremayne's
(pseudonym)
Atonement of blood :
a mystery of ancient [7th century] Ireland
24th in the Sister Fidelma series

William Dietrich's
The 3 emperors
7th in the Ethan Gage series
5 more non-fiction books by the writer

While our hero searches for his wife and son across the battlefields of Napoleonic Europe, his wife and son search for the philosopher's stone, which will turn base metals into gold. Both are both helped and hindered by characters both factual and fictional.

Surprising poignant in some scenes.


Next time: 2 x 4


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on March 31, 2015, 02:58:04 PM
A Vulgar Display of Power: Courage and Carnage at the Alrosa Villa by Chris Arnold - the full story of the events that led up to the death of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, guitarist of Pantera and Damageplan, who was killed by a deranged fan during a concert in December of 2004.

On deck:
Reel Terror: The Scary, Bloody, Gory Hundred-Year History of Classic Horror Films by David Konow


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on April 02, 2015, 03:21:41 PM
"The Earth" ("La Terre") by Emile Zola. 500 small print pages of 19th century French peasant drama. It's pretty imposing.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on April 04, 2015, 09:36:25 AM
This book that talks about all the different references to Revelation in classical literature. and Revelation itself


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on April 04, 2015, 11:28:57 PM
I been re-reading all my old Sgt Fury comics. I got a lot of old comics and magazines-when I was trying to sort all the s**t out-I got side tracked and started reading my old Sgt Fury comics.

this s**t is fantastic insane.

(http://i1380.photobucket.com/albums/ah192/mydoginky/sgtfury48f_zpsjwgraazp.jpg) (http://s1380.photobucket.com/user/mydoginky/media/sgtfury48f_zpsjwgraazp.jpg.html)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 08, 2015, 04:55:01 PM
Ye-es!
2 x 4


2 graphic novels

Hickman, Dragotta, and Martin's
East of West
v.2.

I am sure this series has its fans, I'm just not one of them. It is just too unmemorable for my taste. Still, it is readable, so if they ever come out with a v.3., then I'll probably read it.

Tony Cliff's
Deliah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant
1st graphic novel


4 mysteries

Mark Billingham's
The Bones Beneath
12th in the DI Tom Thorne series

2 policemen + 2 prisoners + 2 prison guards + 2 other people find themselves on an island looking for the body of a boy who apparently died on the island many years before. They find the body, then an unexpected body, and then they are cut off from the mainland, when something goes wrong.

The story starts well. The writer just nails the main villain in the story, which is actually a little scary, if you think about it, but then the story just falls apart at the end.
One of the reasons being we never find out what motivates the main villain in the story.

If you want to watch something, instead of read it, then there is the TV series "Thorne."

A. D. Garrett
(The writing duo of Ms. Margaret Murphy and Professor D. Barclay.)
Everybody lies
in the Simms and Fennimore series

Justin Semper's
Allies and Assassins
1st in the Archenfield series

3 brothers.
3 princes of the realm.
When their father dies in battle, the oldest has to step forward and prove himself worth to rule, which he does. Then, he is murdered, as his wife, and now it is the turn of the middle brother, not only to prove himself worthy to rule, but solve the murders, which he tries to do with the help of his younger bro and his Council of 12, but not all the council members have his best interests in heart, and some are co-conspiring with his enemies.

The writer has someone going around trying to interest someone into making his a film or a TV program, and I hope they are successful, because I'd like to see a film version of it, especially how they treat the youngest bro, Prince Edvin, who is my favorite character in the book, and one of my favorite characters of all time.

Elizabeth Adler's
Last to Know
. . . in the Harry Jordan series


Next time: 2 x 4


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 08, 2015, 10:35:51 PM
After seeing all the movies, I finally got around to reading the Harry Potter books.
I really believe these are classics that kids and grown ups will be reading fifty and a hundred years from now!
Rowling is, in her own way, as brilliant as Tolkien!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on April 10, 2015, 02:17:09 PM
Just started:

A Biography of Led Zeppelin: When Giants Walked the Earth by Mick Wall

On deck:

Drawn Together: The Collected Works by Robert Crumb and Aline Kominsky-Crumb


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on April 12, 2015, 02:46:26 PM
Tried to read the first book in the Discworld series and gave up because it didn't draw me at all, though the idea of a disc-shaped world is mind-expanding, kind of like how in some Michael Swanwick story or other, he had an entire civilization dwelling on the eye of a giant grasshopper.

Personally I think our planet is perched on the back of a turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is which is standing on the shell of another turtle ,which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the shell of another turtle, which is standing on the leg of a flea.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on April 15, 2015, 05:15:54 AM
If you want to read Pratchett I'd actually start with the second book, The Light Fantastic. That was the first one I ever picked up and didn't read The Colour Of Magic until many years later which I was quite glad of. I am pretty sure if I had read the Colour first (or Strata / Dark Side Of The Sun for that matter), I'd have never picked up any other of his books.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 18, 2015, 03:14:59 PM
Ye-es!
2 x 4


2 graphic novels

Immonen and Schiti's
Journey into Mystery
v.1. Stranger than monsters
Issues 646-650

Immonen, Schiti, and Larrae's
Journey into Mystery
v.2. Seeds of destruction
Issues 651-655


4 mysteries

Craig Johnson's
Any other name
11th in the Longmire series

And if you want something to watch, instead of read, and while the series has since been canceled, several of the Longmire books were made into episodes for a TV series

Ace Atkins'
The forsaken
3rd in the Quinn Colson series

When a black man rapes two white girls and kills one of them, and then an innocent black man is hanged for the crimes, it is a long time before anyone gets something like true justice.

The writer is one tough s.o.b.
A liberal in one of the most political conservative states in the Union
Not anti-religious, but non-religious in the Bible Belt
A believer in integration in an area that is growing increasingly segregated
Not pro government, but not anti-government, as he sees the government as a bulkhead against those anti-governments, who would use their anti-governmentalism to exploit their fellows
And I'd add that he is gay, but on his photo on the book jacket, one can see he is wearing a silver wedding ring, so NOT gay
but . . .?! Truly from his photo, a man you'd not want to mess with.

He is also, for the Robert B. Parker estate, continuing the Spenser series

Robert Galbraith (pseud.)
for J. K. Rowling's
The Silkworm
2nd in the Cormoran Strike series

When a writer, with a purported tell-all book threatens to publish the book, he is killed, before it is published. Was it his wife, his daughter, his agent, his editor, his publisher, another publisher, or a fellow writer, it is up to our hero to figure out who?

All the characters in the mystery are supposedly actually based on real people in the book world in London.

Andrew Lane's
Death Cloud
1st in the Young Sherlock Holmes series, but the last one I've read, as I started with the 2nd book in the series.

And the deaths or near deaths keep on coming, as the book presents death or near death by . . .

bees -- boat hook -- broken neck -- fire -- human puppet -- knife -- rats -- saber -- spinning saw -- wagon -- water -- and whip.

Next time: something new. 6 mysteries.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 24, 2015, 04:17:16 PM
Ye-es!
A half dozen mysteries

John Verdon's
Peter Pan Must Die
4th in the Dave Gurney series

Chelsea Cain's
1 Kick
1st in the Kick Lannigan series

While trying to take down a notorious child pornographer, our heroine finds herself involved with four men.

Her "brother"
The boy she bought out of sexual slavery some years ago for $20,000.

Her "father"
The man who kidnapped her. Who enslaved her. And who used her to make child pornography, but for whom she still feels some affection

The FBI agent
Who rescued her, but then broke up her "real" family by having an affair with her "real" mother.

And the mystery man
The man who lost his little bro to a child pornographer and who almost lost his life to the same pornographer.

The "father" here is both better and worst than the man in "Broad church." Worst, because he does worst, but better, because he is a more realistic and credible character than the one in "Broad church."

1st, I have no interest in child pornography, what little I have seen it, mostly European, literally and figuratively turns my stomach, but even if I had a slight interest in it, I wouldn't touch it. Child pornographers, according to the book, just go to too much work to stay out of jail, for my doing.

And, whereas child victims of such, the best I can tell is 60% girls and 40% boys. This book, with 2 girl victims and 3 boy victims, reverses that ratio to 40% girls and 60% boys.

Archer Mayor's
Proof Positive
25th in the Joe Gunther series

Clara Donoghue's
Never Look Back
1st in the Lockyer and Bennett series

Mark Pryor's
The Button Man
4th in the Hugo Marston series
a prequel to the others
1 more non-fiction by the writer

D. E. Ireland
(writing duo)
Wouldn't It Be Deadly?
1st in the Doolittle and Higgins series

When the Professor is accused of murdering an arch rival, it is up to Eliza to clear his name and find the real murderer.

And, yes, the book is based upon the musical "My Fair Lady," which was based on Shaw's play "Pygmalion." Both of which were turned into films.

Next time: Same



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 24, 2015, 05:16:01 PM
I recently finished RISE TO GREATNESS: ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND AMERICA'S MOST PERILOUS YEAR.
One of the best Lincoln books I have ever read, and I have read a lot of them.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on April 28, 2015, 07:18:17 PM
Pulled out the ol' holy tome for a little spiritual renewal.

(http://www.subgenius.com/bigfist/pics2/Bob_test.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 30, 2015, 07:41:28 PM
Ye-es!

6 mysteries

Johnny D. Boggs'
The Killing Trail
in the Kill straight series

When our hero hears of a fellow Native American being arrested for the murder of an young girl, he heads south on the train, to see if he can help. Only to find a couple of surprises awaiting him. One is not really a surprise, as the man was arrested in a rush to judgment and may not be guilty of the crime of which he was charged. The second is a bit of surprise. The prisoner is not a Native American, but a white man who has done the worst thing a white man can do. He's gone native.

While Boggs is not on par with a Kelton or a L'amour, as a storyteller, in setting the scene he is up there with the best.

Margaret Coel's
Night of the White Buffalo
18th in the Wind River series

James Haddam's
Fighting chance
27th in the Gregor Demarkian series

When the local Greek Orthodox priest is found standing over a woman judge, holding the gavel that was used to kill her, our hero has his work cut out for him to prove the man innocent, especially as the man refuses to say anything about what happened.

Edgar Cantero's
The supernatural enhancements
1st novel

Just impossible to describe, except the story is told thru the use of . . .

book excerpts -- a diary -- a dream journal -- interviews -- letters -- magazine and newspaper articles -- notes on a note pad -- telegrams -- and transcriptions of audio and video recordings.

Tana French
The secret place
5th in the Dublin murder squad series

When the body of a boy from the local all-boys school is found on the grounds of the local all-girls school, there the case rests without any solution. Till a year later, when a hitherto unknown witness comes forward claiming to know who killed the boy.

The writer may be considered a good writer, but she has no knowledge of the teen male psyche, or, at least, she shows no knowledge of the teen male psyche. For instead of creating teen male characters of some complexity and complication, she falls back on the crudest teen male stereotypes, and what is more, the only halfway decent male teen character in the book is, of course, the one that gets expelled from school.

Louise Penny's
The long way home
10th in the chief inspector Gamache series

When a man, to find himself, leaves his home, but promises to return in an year and a day, then fails to return at that time, his friends and family go out to look for him. Afraid of what might have happened to him, and even more afraid of what he might do, if not found.

Next time: same


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on May 01, 2015, 07:29:33 AM
Right now:
So, Anyway... by John Cleese

On deck:
Dancing With Myself by Billy Idol


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on May 07, 2015, 02:15:35 PM
Grain Brain

by David Perlmutter, MD

Want to avoid senility? Heart disease? Diabetes? Stroke? High blood pressure? Want to lose weight, and slow aging? Ever wondered why after half a century of low-fat diets being hailed as cure-alls, heart disease rates have not sharply declined? Or why diabetes is almost the cultural norm, with more children than ever taking insulin?

Then read this book to find out what doctors themselves often don't know. Likely you're doing many things wrong, and no matter how dedicated your doctor is, she's probably unintentionally misleading you, because she herself was blissfully mislead. We live in an age when the medical community is simply wrong about so many things, as many outsiders, with copious evidence to support their views, have long been claiming. Finally people are beginning to listen and understand the major contributors to death in western society are sugars and carbohydrates, not most fats.

Grain Brain is a brave book that should not still, in 2015, be as revolutionary as it sounds, since the data its author cites was established long ago.

The food companies, the deep-pocketed drug companies, and even sadly misinformed physicians, are killing millions every year. An entire pharmaceutical industry (five times bigger today than it was a generation ago) exists with a financial interest in keeping people sick. The entire food pyramid is upside down. You've been lied to for decades. Educate yourself for your own good.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 10, 2015, 02:08:11 PM
Ye-es!

Carrie Le Seur's
The home place
1st novel


Julia Keller's
Summer of the dead
3rd in the Bell Elkins series


A. M. Malliet's
A demon summer
4th in the Max Tudor series

Similar to Tana French's book, mentioned previously, but a much superior read. Reasons for which are given at writer's website.


Bernard Minier's
The frozen dead
translated from the French by Alison Anderson
1st novel

The sexual abuse of children, both boys and girls, from years ago, comes back to haunt the sexual abusers.

While there have been a number of mysteries set in France, both past and present, the ones I have read have all been by foreigners. This is the 1st one by someone who is French that I have read. It does have the trope, that the one you know you can trust, is the one you can't trust, and the one you know you can't trust, is the one you can trust. And the book is set up for a sequel.


Barbara Hambly's
Crimson angel
13th in the Benjamin January series


Diana Kelly's
Paw enforcement

A policewoman and her faithful companion, her police dog, try to take down a serial bomber, ere he sets off the big one.

Set in the area in which I live, it does a good job of realistically describing that area. And a sequel is coming.

Next time: something a little different, as we take from 1 book to 4 books previously read and deal with them in more detail than usual.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 15, 2015, 05:00:25 PM
I just finished THE GREAT BIG BOOK OF HORRIBLE THINGS by Matthew White.
The author sets out to chronicle the 100 worst atrocities in human history, listing them in chronological order, then ranking them from the most lethal on downward.  Each event gets its own entry, as well as special bonus chapters on everything from "Accepting Ancient Casualty Lists" to 'Religion and War".  Given that this is an incredibly grim and depressing topic, White opts to handle it in a tongue-in-cheek fashion. Nearly every entry contains a quip or quote that made me smile despite the grim prognosis.  For instance:

"With leaderless soldiers and pantless bureaucrats running amok in the capitol, chaos quickly descended over China."

This is a very readable and informative book which settles many questions.  The deadliest event in human history?
World War II - 66 million dead (he includes the dead from the Holocaust in this total).

Tied for second place?

Mao Tse-Dong's rule over China and Ghengis Khan's spree of conquest, each of which left an estimated 40 million dead.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough for anyone interested in history, multicides, or just death in general.
A great read!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on May 16, 2015, 10:27:32 PM
i'm about to finish "Stephen King's IT" i have only 36 pages left in it no pun intended he he. and i have no idea what i'm going to pick up next perhaps Lisey's Story? i dunno yet


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on May 17, 2015, 09:45:39 AM
well i finished "IT" and i have no idea just yet what i'm going to read next, and thinking about that remake they are working on now. i hope it's an R rated film and isn't no PG film cause the story calls for it be R i think. i also hope they use the book ending where Derry is about 50% destoryed by a storm from them Killing Pennywise i'd love to see them do that in a film version of it. there is no doubt it wasn't done in the (1990) version cause they no doubt could not afford to do it plus the

technology  just wasn't there yet.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 18, 2015, 02:02:14 PM
Ye-es!

Amanda Kyle Williams'
Stranger in the room
2nd in the Keye Street series

and
Don't talk to strangers
3rd in the Keye Street series

Our heroine takes on serial killers. In Atlanta in the 2nd, and not in Atlanta, but in the Atlanta area in the 3rd.

One thing that makes these a fun read, despite the topic, is the writer's sense of humor. And from the set-up at the end of the 3rd one, the 4th in the series should have something to do with the heroine's birth mother, as the heroine is Asian-American, who was given up by her birth mother for adoption, and adopted by a white couple. But . . . ?! What I'd like to see is a prequel about the heroine's days in the FBI, where she was a good FBI analyst, before she became a better drunk. And one of her 1st cases as a FBI analyst was what was known as the Marshland Murders, as the bodies of the victims were placed in steel drums and dumped into a marsh.

Now fiction, like real life, a serial killer's victims will be the same age and the same sex, and if not the same age, then the same sex, and if not the same sex, then the same age, but . . .  .? Here we have neither the same age nor the same sex, as the killer's victims were young boys and older women.


Mala Nunn's
Present darkness
4th in the Emmanuel Cooper series

When a white couple is found dead in their home in South Africa, and a black man is found dead in the backyard, the only survivor is the couple's teenage daughter, who lies about what happened, as she implicates the teenage son of our hero's black sergeant in the murders. Why? And why won't the boy talk about where he was that night.

Andrew Brown's
Cold sleep lullaby
in the Detective Eberard Februarie series
a prizewinner in South Africa

When a young girl is found nude and floating face down in the river that runs through the town, the question becomes who and why? A story in two parts. Part I is the present day. Part II is the same town, when it was 1st founded by whites over 300 years earlier. And how the 2 parts connect.

One thing that comes through South African literature is how South Africa has left an emotional hole in its fictional characters. And this is true, whether the writer is . . .

a woman or a man
of mixed race or white
setting the story in the past or the present
and is an émigré or still lives in the country.

Next time: mysteries set in the time of the Roman Empire



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on May 18, 2015, 08:39:47 PM
From A Buick 8 i'm almost 100 pages into it and i still haven't made up my mind if it's a good one so far or a bad one.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 18, 2015, 10:24:20 PM
I really liked that one.  Not real long on explanations, but lots of mystery and human drama.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on May 18, 2015, 10:46:15 PM
that's nice to hear to be honest cause i dunno how many people i've read online say how bad the book is. i'm only on like page 80 now. but it's slowly moving along. i look at it this way he has done far far worse books. it's already one up on The girl who loved tom Gordon where stuff actually happens! where in that nothing happens at all but putting me to sleep when i was reading it. that one i only read once and i'll never read again because of how bad that one is.

anyways i first thought for many years it was going to be a Christine Clone and i've thought this for years and it's clearly not so i'm grateful for that. this one would be interesting to see as a film. i dunno if it would be a good one or a bad one but it's different to say the least.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: dean on May 19, 2015, 02:38:56 AM
Just read two of the three Strain novels by Guillermo Del Toro. Pretty decent reworking of the vampire myth. Makes me want to check out the TV series: has anyone seen it?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on May 19, 2015, 02:17:23 PM
no and i had no idea he even wrote any books so that's news to me my friend


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on May 19, 2015, 04:26:12 PM
Almost finished Whitley Strieber's Communion.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on May 22, 2015, 02:26:31 PM
i'm nearly done with From a Buick 8 and i just started it on sunday!  only have 87 pages left! i prolly will try and finish that tonight in fact. and i at first didn't really like it when i 1st started it i mean. but instead of reading one chapter and giving up on it. cause you no doubt have to give books a chance cause it does take more than just one chapter for things to  happen. and it took awhile for me to get into it. in short for things to start happening and it's not like some of his other books for those who haven't read it. and it more or less in a way doesn't even feel like a book he'd even write cause it's so different than the normal kind of stuff he'd write.

i looked up on wikipedia cause i was just curious on what genre it was listed as cause it's not a horror novel at all.
it's not like Christine where that car went around killing people who tried to destroy her or even if it was against or mad i mean with Arnie. anyways, it was Labeled as Science Fiction and i thought about that for a minute and i think that suits it to be honest. this one has less action than your typical King book and while stuff does happen, it doesn't have the villian which in this case is the car going around the state killing people who did it wrong. so far of where i am it did kill one person, but that wasn't on the road it was in the garage that it was put in. so far it's not even been driven on the road at all. it's a book that i wonder how it will turn out if and when it gets it gets turned into a film?

the film may be labeled as horror when it's clearly so far not a horror novel at all, for those who have read it what do you think?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 23, 2015, 12:04:13 AM
I think it is kind of an old-school, almost Lovecraftian horror/sci-fi story.  I really liked it.

BTW, for your next King book, pick up 11/22/63.  It is probably his best book in the last 20 years!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on May 24, 2015, 03:13:08 AM
i do have that one on hardback but i haven't read it all yet. i did finish from a Buick 8 late last night and i really enjoyed it.

it's a book that took awhile for things to happen and for me to also get used to the way he decided to write that one. now i'm reading dream catcher.  i did think about reading the book you mentioned but i wanted a book that was well a little shorter than that one. he he. and 'Dream Catcher' is shorter than it even though it's still a LONG book too. what did you think of that one?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 24, 2015, 07:07:18 AM
I read it when it first came out and wasn't too impressed, honestly.  It just didn't resonate with me the way most of his books do.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on May 24, 2015, 07:53:39 AM
i was on wikipedia the other nite and on the page there it said he was on i forget what drug when he wrote that book. he was in the hospital after his accident and i think it was the 1st book he wrote after it. i realize he also did on writing the year before but i forget if he wrote that before or after his accident. anyways, you win some you lose some i guess.

i think everyone expects all his books to be great each time he does a new one, and while there is nothing wrong with that i'm the same way. they i also should realize that regardless on profilic you are. sorry about my crappy spelling.

your favorite authors will no doubt do books that are terrible. i've also read some of his books that are horrible such as the girl who loved tom gordon which is easily one of his most boring books. as for Dreamcatcher i did try and read that years ago than i think i got burnt out by King he he. i hope to finish it this time around. from how far i got i was enjoying it though. i don't remember how far i got though. many people say his early work is the best and some of it is no doubt is, but he's also done some books back than before he got sober that i thought were terrible as well. Carrie is one of his worst books as well. that's the rare case where the original 70's film is actually far far superior to the book.

anyways wikpedia also said that King came out last year saying dreamcatcher isn't one of his favorite books.
and yes that i agree isn't the most reliable sources so weather he said any of this or not i have no idea but it still interesting don't you think? what do you think is his best and worst novel anyways?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 24, 2015, 09:06:27 AM
I guess my least favorites by him were INSOMNIA and CHRISTINE.

Too many faves to list, but I particularly liked THE STAND and 11/22/63.  Of his more recent ones, MR. MERCEDES was
interesting - no supernatural elements at all, just a straight murder mystery.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on May 24, 2015, 04:26:15 PM
really i love both of those, but to each their own i guess.  please say you didn't like the regulators! that one is easily one of his worst books. i'm curious what he thinks of it now? honestly the connection he did to that book and Desperation i love, some characters lived in one book while those same characters died in another, plus those fantastic hardback covers. that was a great idea he did have. but i result was terrible! i love Desperation but can't stand the regulators. i even read it

i think a 2nd time a few years later hoping i'd like it. but naw it was still a bad book.  there is a great deal of King's work i haven't read yet so me reading From a buick 8 is a good start. i have ADD and my concentration at times can be utter garbage. plus i have to be in the mood to read too. i'm weird like that so for the last 10 years or so i'd say it's gotten worse. but for some reason knock on wood lately i'm able to read again and i'm loving every second of it!

i'd still like to know what he was thinking when he wrote about those kids in it having an orgy though? i wonder what he has to say about that now? he he



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 28, 2015, 01:47:34 PM
Ye-es!

There was 6, and then there were 2.

I can remember a time, when there were 6 mystery series set in the time of Ancient Rome, which is actually my favorite time period for historical mysteries. Now, there are only these 2.

Ruth Downie's
Semper fidelis :
a novel of the Roman Empire
5th in the Medicus series

and her
Tabula rasa :
a crime novel of the Roman Empire
6th in the Medicus series

and this one, which is actually a continuation of an older series by the writer

Lindsay Davis'
Enemies at home
2nd in the Flavia Albia series

Can we agree not to make these type of characters not the villain, because they have not been steeped in villainy long enough to be credible, and does the writer know how hard it is to kill someone that way? Not emotionally or mentally, but physically. Still . . .?!

It does gets one to raise a question, when someone does something so boneheaded stupid, to whom does one's loyalty belong? One's fellow slaves? One's master and mistress? Or oneself?

Next time: a Mash-up to match any Mash-up


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on May 28, 2015, 03:32:47 PM
i've never even heard of those series but to each their own. so correct me if i'm wrong in what you are trying to say is that you all know who the vililans are if these writers in these stories would make the villians well not so obvious than the story would be much more enthralling? better i mean. not that those books are bad but it's kinda like when you make a horror movie and during the whole movie you wonder who the killer is, and than if you cast certain actors it no doubt will turn out to be them. hence it can be a dead give away by whom is cast in a particular horror film.

 you are welcome to correct me if i read that wrong i don't mind


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 28, 2015, 05:22:37 PM
i've never even heard of those series but to each their own. so correct me if i'm wrong in what you are trying to say is that you all know who the vililans are if these writers in these stories would make the villians well not so obvious than the story would be much more enthralling? better i mean. not that those books are bad but it's kinda like when you make a horror movie and during the whole movie you wonder who the killer is, and than if you cast certain actors it no doubt will turn out to be them. hence it can be a dead give away by whom is cast in a particular horror film.

 you are welcome to correct me if i read that wrong i don't mind

Yeah, I guess I could have been clearer, and for that I apologize, but . . . what I was trying to say in my own way, without trying to give anything way, is that children should seldom, if ever, be made the villain, because . . .? (IMHO) they are just not credible as villains, because . . .? They have not been around long enough to learn how to be villains. Children make good victims, because . . .(IMHO) their supposed innocence. They can even be made into good heroes, but . . .? As villains, for the most part no. And as knowing who is the villain in the 3 books, if you had read them, and I am always glad to introduce something unknown to the people who post at and read these boards, you might have been able to cotton out who were the villains, but . . .? As typical, I was not, till the villains were introduced to the reader (me) by the writer. Again, my apologies for not being clearer, but . . .? as I said previously, I didn't want to reveal the villain in Lindsay Davis' book to someone who had not read it, but . . .? To allow the reader to scope out the villain themselves.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on May 28, 2015, 06:07:42 PM
Just finished Emile Zola's "The Earth," which was not at all what I expected. I thought it would be a dry 500 page novel about French peasantry in the 1800s. Instead there was drunkeness, fornication, blasphemy, conspiracy, flatulence, fraud, prostitution, rape, murder, incest, and arson. Almost every character, and there were 100 of them counting minor characters, was completely detestable. The French countryside in the 19th century was apparently the trailer park of its day. The book was prosecuted for obscenity. Not bad!

Next up: William Peter Blatty's "The Ninth Configuration" (I'm reading it before seeing the movie, which might be a mistake).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 28, 2015, 09:25:44 PM
I just finished THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF DRACULA, a collection of short stories spanning over 100 years - starting with an entry by Bram Stoker himself - all about the King of Vampires.  With authors as diverse as Graham Masterton to Charlaine Harris, there were a lot of different versions of the Count, some more memorable than others, but all entertaining.

RC, you need to read this one!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JaseSF on May 29, 2015, 11:05:11 PM
Finished Strieber's Communion. It was a well written book, honestly I liked the first 3/4ths of the book recounting events reported to have involved the author to be the most interesting.

Just started Ghost Radio by Leopoldo Gout. Seems to have a cool spooky atmosphere so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 03, 2015, 02:35:55 PM
Ye-es!
With a mash-up to match almost any mash-up!
And while these characters have more than 1 name, these are the names under which I best know them.

from v.1. of
Gillen and McKelvie's
Style and substance

Loki. as the Norse god reborn as a boy
[Miss] American Chavez. as the girl with 2 Moms
Marvel Boy. as the exiled Kree warrior
Hawkeye. as the girl with the bow
and Wiccan and Hulking. as the 2 teen lovers, who love each other, as only two 17-year-olds can love.

from
Bendis and Copal's
Siege

Slingshot
Bucky and Patriot
Phobos
Stature and Speed[ball]
and Spiderman as a teen

and from v.1.
Nova : origins

Justice
and Nova

In a reverse "V" with . . .

Justice (1st) leading at the point
and Nova flying coverage overhead

and 1st right
Bucky and Patriot (2nd)

and 1st left
Speed[ball] and Stature (3rd)

and 2nd right
[Miss] America Chavez and Marvel Boy

and 2nd left
Slingshot and Hawkeye

and because they are so independent . . .
Loki and Spiderman
to work the outside fringes

and in reserve
Hulking and Wiccan
and put the youngest member
Phobos
between those two.

Give me those 14 teens and 1 preteen, and I'll give you a victory over almost any group of adult villains, you can name.

Because, these 15 have . . .

the agility -- the magic -- the marksmanship -- the marital skills -- the smarts -- the speed -- the stamina -- the telekinesis -- and the unpredictability

and most of all . . . one's underestimation, and therein lies the road to defeat.

Next time: 1 of ea. 1 non-fiction book + 1 graphic novel





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 03, 2015, 07:42:50 PM
i'm finally under 200 pages in Dreamcatcher it's a long book folks, especially if it's in paperback form


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 03, 2015, 11:06:06 PM
There's this new book, THE REDEMPTION OF PONTIUS PILATE, that is supposed to be really good . . .


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 03, 2015, 11:18:12 PM
who's it by anyways? you know what i really want to read? Harper Lee's new one when that comes out in I think July ?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 04, 2015, 12:51:24 AM
To be perfectly honest, that one was shameless self-promotion.
I wrote it.

Harper Lee's new book sounds interesting, but I'll want to re-read TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD first.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 04, 2015, 01:39:39 AM
did it turn out like you wanted it to? and if not than hey you can at least say you wrote a book even if it does poorly you wrote one. really if you want to save time watch the film. and that's something i NEVER say when it comes for books turned into movies cause the film is 100% perfect! just like the book i can't think of anything that was changed at all. when they do a film of it at some point it's a shame that Gregory Peck is now dead no doubt he would have LOVED to be in it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 04, 2015, 10:37:53 AM
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is one of those rare examples of a near-perfect book with a near-perfect screen adaptation - something very rarely achieved.

As for my book, I am very happy with it.  It's my second published work - my first one came out last fall and another being released in December, but overall, I think PILATE is the finest thing I have written.  I love ancient Rome and I fell I recreated that world accurately and came up with a very interesting protagonist.  The problem, of course, is getting noticed as a new author.  It's so easy to publish these days that there are thousands of new books to compete with every week.

But hey, when you finish Dreamcatcher, give PILATE a read and let me know what you think!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 04, 2015, 02:59:57 PM
your book isn't my type of book i normally read, plus i have plenty of books to read anyways at home. i spent about a hundred bucks at half price books about a month or so ago and i went to a flea market last week and spent another 40. plus i have books i bought back in the 90's i still haven't gotten around to reading.

some of the ones that i have this year i had for years, these are the books i've read so far

1. Two For The Dough-by Janet Evanovich  from (1996) i really enjoyed that one. i bought that about i think 2 years ago or so?
2. Postmortem-by Patrica Cormwell or Cornwell i forget which is her last name? anyways i bought that one in the early 2000's. and i finally got around to reading that in i think March? this one is her 1st in the Kay Scarpetta Series from (1990) onto the next book

3. Blood Relatives-Ed McBain  and old one from (1975) i bought that at a goodwill a few years back i dunno the year however. and that one is actually out of print. and not a very good book either. onto the next book.

4.Hail, Hail The Gang's All Here and old one from (1971) i bought this one early 2000's. and i enjoyed it quite a bit. all these Ed McBain books are part of his 87th Precinct Series that i started reading way back in (1995) i think the year was?

anyways the next one is

5.Three To Get Deadly-by Janet Evanovich from (1997) and i loved this one, i bought that one at half-price this year.

6.Four Blind Mice-(2002) i bought this sucker when it 1st came out and it took me 13 years to read it! a medicore Alex Cross novel. if you read this one it's been done before pretty much.

7. The Big Bad Wolf' (2003) i really loved this one. i also  bought this brand-spanking New and i finally got around to read it recently too.

8. Now You See Her-(2011) James Patterson- i bought this one this year at Half-price books and i really loved it. it makes it sound like the entire book is about a woman who has a cop for a husband and than she learns he's a dirty cop and fakes her death.  he at some point 18 or 19 years later learns she's still alive. and goes after her. but he's by than a chief of Police and is a really dirty cop. the book isn't just about that though, the 1st part is about her marriage to the guy. the next part is her trying to save an innocent man from being killed by the state. she ends up changing her name and becoming a Lawyer. and she does save him. and the very last part of the book is about the ex husband going after her. so it's told very differently than you would normally read it.

a really great book you should check out.

9. IT" (1986) i have read this old Stephen King book at least a dozen times or so. 1st time i was oh 13 or 14 years old. and i picked it up about 2 years ago and read about #728 pages of it and than this year i picked it up and finished it.

10. From A Buick 8. (2002) another King Novel i bought Brand spanking NEW and i finally got around to reading it recently. and i really did love it. when it 1st came out i thought it was another clone of Christine but it's written VERY different than he normally writes and it's told differently too. part of it is in flashback

part of it takes place in the present. and it's a pretty fine book actually. i read it in i think 6 days? some of these i read in one weekend. they were all short books. leaving out "IT" of course. some of these took me a week or so to read.

11. Dreamcatcher (2001) i first bought back when it 1st came out and lost the hardback and had to re-buy it!  a couple years later. i never did find what happend to it. one of those things you know? and i started reading it a few times and i just never for some reason finished it. i never thought it was a bad book though. i'm on Day 13 on reading it and this so far is the longest time i've spent on a book this year.

i've got 130 pages left in it i think now? my point is i have a LOT of catching up to do cause i went a LOOOOONG time without even reading a book and i HATED it. oh and sorry about my ramblings too lol


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 04, 2015, 03:04:49 PM
who's it by anyways? you know what i really want to read? Harper Lee's new one when that comes out in I think July ?

Yeah, that (IMHO) is the big surprise. 54 years after writing her 1st and only novel, Harper Lee wants to bring back the characters from "To Kill a Mockingbird." Well, if J. K. Rowling, if the rumor I heard is correct, wants to bring us more Harry Potter, I guess Harper Lee can give us more of "To Kill a Mockingbird."

And we shall see what we shall see.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 04, 2015, 04:14:34 PM
I think Harper Lee actually wrote this book first, then lost the manuscript for many years, if I have the story straight.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on June 04, 2015, 05:52:07 PM
Classical Economics Reconsidered by Thomas Sowell


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 04, 2015, 09:17:57 PM
yes that is correct, she wrote it in the 50's i believe? which is when the book i believe takes place i think? and than she put it away in i forget what type of container it was is called? sorry i'm still tired as hell from today. anyways the story goes she submitted it and than her i think publisher said well we like this

one but we want like the flashbacks in the story even more. can you write a story about those? so she goes ok and wrote To Kill a Mockingbird which takes place i believe 20 years eariler. in the new book she's in adult in it and it's not edited at all it's like i think Mockingbird was edited like all books are. but what she wrote is what was left in. so she puts it away and really did forget about it. you'd think that she want to i dunno write another book or more books, i wish i knew why she never did? anyways so the manuscript was found really by accident pretty much.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 07, 2015, 01:45:14 AM
well i just finished DreamCatcher and frankly i LOVED IT! Stephen King in some books i think has done some really terrible endings. but the end of this one i enjoyed a lot in fact. i think one day i have no idea when though i shall read it again at some point but it won't be for a long time i'm sure. now i will have to watch the film again to see what's in and what's cut. he he


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 08, 2015, 10:28:17 PM
I just finished reading A SNIPER IN THE TOWER by Gary Lavergne; this was a true account of the terrible day when Charles Whitman barricaded himself on the observation deck of the University of Texas clock tower and shot people for the next 96 minutes, until two officers from the Austin PD got onto the deck and killed him.  Whitman had already killed his mother and his wife the night before; he then went to a series of sporting goods stores and bought a small arsenal before heading to the Tower, where he killed 16 people and wounded 32 more.

This story has a special resonance for me because my parents and my three older siblings were there that day.  They were leaving the Tower as Whitman arrived, pushing a covered dolly which contained an army footlocker full of weapons.  They actually got off the sidewalk for him and said good morning to him as he passed by; then they got in the car and drove away.  Ten minutes later the shooting started.

This is a fascinating account of one of the crimes of its kind in American history.  Whitman was "an All American Boy," a former Marine and Eagle Scout whose previous life gave no hint of the murderous rage that was building in him.  Lavergne chronicles Whitman's entire story in a very readable fashion; this is a fascinating account of a horrifying moment in my state's history - and the history of my family.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 09, 2015, 06:14:33 AM
WOW your family was that close? i'm not a religious guy but i'd say someone was looking out for them that day. it also reminds me of the song by The insane clown posse' from a few years back called" The Tower' a song i love but after reading your story i have a feeling it was prolly based of that. but that's just a guess i have no idea if it actually was. anyways i finished Dreamcatcher and i loved it. now i'm 137 pages into Body of Evidence by Patrica Cornwell'  it's an old one from (1991) have you ever read any by her?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 09, 2015, 07:58:45 AM
I read a couple of her Kay Scarpetta novels and also her book about the Jack the Ripper murders.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on June 09, 2015, 08:03:17 AM
Just finished:
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock N Roll Generation Saved Hollywood by Peter Biskind

Just started: I Am Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourne w/Chris Ayres


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 09, 2015, 02:25:52 PM
this is only my 2nd book by her that iv'e read so did you like them? i think Post Mortem was a good book but like many 1st books in a series it was poorly written.
and it's really has to do with more of she's learning how to write for her characters that she creates. Ed McBain for example his 1st 87th Precinct wasn't a bad book but it was poorly written as well and that's like i said they are still learning about their characters, for Mcbain he was still learning the lingo that cops have. and so forth.


the 2nd book though was better than the 1st in Mcbain's case, and so far in the Current book by Cornwell it's vastly better written. at least i think so i dunno what anyone else would think to be honest.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 10, 2015, 12:58:11 AM
I know my second book was better than my first!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 10, 2015, 02:30:17 PM
that's how it is sometimes my friend, you no doubt are proud you wrote your 1st book but your writing is no doubt getting better. hell Stephen King's 1st published novel Carrie is i think his 5th book? he ever wrote. though that book is terrible Salam's lot is a great book. i can name other authors that i didn't care for the 1st book but i don't think i need to. i've written a lot of poetry but there's really only a few of them that i like or think are any good. and i've prolly written over #130 poems. some of them i can't post on here mainly for Language and plus i dunno where those are anyways. he he


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 10, 2015, 04:47:12 PM
Ye-es!

My Lunches with Orson :
Conversations between Henry Jaglom and Orson Welles
[1983-1985]
Peter Biskind, editor

Very, very distinctive -
voice

Very, very honest -
by his own lights

Very, very Knowledgeable -
knew everyone worth knowing

Very, very smart -
knew a lot, as did Jaglom

Very, very talented -
at what he did

Very, very funny -

Very, very tragic -

he deserved better
and in the end

Very, very human

Finally . . .

a b.s. artist of the 1st water
a representative of a life gone bye
and one of the greats, when there are no more greats.


Legrand and Rochette's
Snow Piercer
v.2. The explorers

v.1. 1984
v.2. pt.1. 1999
v.2. pt.2. 2000

More children
being used for the adults' ulterior reasons. Though, here not sexual.

More confusion
Not as clear as v.1.

More people of color.

More politics.
Though, while religion and the military come off worst here, the politicians come off better.

More sex
Including more homosexuality. Though, it does fall back to that old trope: "Who is the villain? The one that is gay."

More violence

Less originality

And more questions
For example: why did the filmmakers not use v.2. instead of v.1. to make their film, as v.2. is more visual, and thus would make the better film, and it is not like you need v.1. to know what is happening.

There are 3 great things, that have come out of Denmark : ham, Victor Borge, which is like saying ham twice, and Tivoli Gardens, which was one of Walt's inspirations for Disneyland. Actually, there are 4. Thus . . .

Next time : the 4th


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 11, 2015, 06:16:14 PM
There is a new volume to "Snow piercer." It is v.3. and called "The Crossing." I have not seen it, as they apparently only publish a new volume every 14 to 15 years, so, it was only published last year or 2014. I am looking forward to see it, as from the title, it appears to continue the story began in v.2.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 13, 2015, 03:16:43 AM
 i've never even heard of that series before. but to be fair there's also a LOT of authors i've never heard of let  alone read before. anyways i finished my current novel i was just reading. (1991)'s "Body Of Evidence' by Patrica Cornwell and i gotta say it's a great book. i have no idea what i'm going to read next. i'm going to sleep on it i think. cause that seems to be helping me as of late to help me make up my mind on what i want to read next.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 14, 2015, 09:23:41 PM
well i decided to read the next book in the Kay Scarpetta Series that i'm really enjoying. it's (1992)'s All That Remains and it's starting out good so far. but i'm only on page 41 in it so i'm not that far into it yet.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 20, 2015, 02:38:53 PM
well i decided to read the next book in the Kay Scarpetta Series that i'm really enjoying. it's (1992)'s All That Remains and it's starting out good so far. but i'm only on page 41 in it so i'm not that far into it yet.

If you like that, then you might like this. Kathy Reich's series featuring Temperance Brennan. They are easy to recognize, as they have the word "bones" in the title, and I believe the 18th or 19th in the series should be released some time later this year, or, if you prefer to watch rather than read, the TV series "Bones" on Fox is based on the books.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 20, 2015, 02:50:45 PM
Ye-es!

This is the 4th as I posted in a previous post.

Warren Elsmore's
Brick Wonders :
Ancient, Modern, and Natural Wonders made from Legos.
Sequel to Brick City

7 ancient + 7 historical + 7 modern + 7 natural = 28 wonders

and . . .

Sarah Herman's
Extreme Bricks :
Spectacular, Record-breaking, and astounding Lego Projects from Around the World

31 builders in 11 countries building 33 Lego projects between 1986 and 2012.

Size: from 9475 sq. ft. to 6 sq. ft.
Bricks: from 3.5 million to 8000
Time to build: from 2 years to 3 days

There is Disney, there is Universal, and then there are your Lego lands in . . .

California -- Denmark -- Florida -- Germany -- Malaysia -- and the U.K.

As for myself and Legos . . .

No time -- No talent -- No skill -- No money -- and no interest.

Next time: if I can find my notes, a compare and a contrast.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 20, 2015, 02:55:27 PM
oh i love the show Bones and i've watched it since Episode #1 in fact. i do have the 1st book in the series and a few other as well. but i haven't gotten around to actually read it oddly. the way i am with books and reading is going to sound strange to you so bear with me. and if you think it's strange that's ok i do too.

the way i am is i have to be in the mood for a good mystery or a good author. i normally pick up about 5 or 6 books sometimes more and if the 1st few chapters don't strike me that i am in the mood to read it i don't read it. yes at some point i do read it for example i tried reading From a Buick 8 for years off and on and it wasn't cause it was a bad book at all. it was cause each time i started to read the 1st paragraph i could tell right away i'm not in the mood to read it.

i've never been able to figure out why i'm like this, i'm the same way with movies and music as well. is it strange yeah i think it is, but i guess it's just the way i'm wired. Post Mortem is one book that i bought in the early 2000's. and it wasn't until this past March that i was in the right mind and the right mood to want to read it. i'm like that with any author i love or any author that i've never read before. in fact so far out of the if you count "IT" by Stephen King that i finished after starting it 2 years ago for the dozenth or so time. i've read 12 books so far this year. and out of 12, 8 of them are ones that i had for years that i never got around to reading. and half of the rest are ones that i bought within the past oh 2 or 3 years, and the rest outside that bunch are ones i bought just a couple months ago.

i have no idea if anyone else is like this when it comes to music, i have to be in the mood for a certain band, genre, decade you get the message i'm sure.
movies genre, decade etc.. like i said it's weird i admit that but i'd love it if i was able to find someone who's weird like that and it's not just me. he he


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on June 21, 2015, 07:58:32 AM
Not so weird pennywise37.  Have to say I'm the same way: got to be in the right mood or on to another that 'fits'.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on June 21, 2015, 09:30:11 AM
I always read two books at the same time (one "heavy" and one "light") and right now I just started both these:

(https://pantherhorror.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/bradburyillustratedman.jpg)

(http://img2.imagesbn.com/p/9780060934729_p0_v1_s260x420.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 21, 2015, 10:57:53 AM
i haven't read those, but i do have to say THANK GOD i found someone who is weird like me that way. i've never had anyone in my 36 years say to me oh that's not weird i'm the same way. because most people can pick up a book if they are in the mood for reading and just read it. i'm nearly done with my book now i have only 73 pages left in it and i will prolly be done with it today. only 3 chapters left in it as well.

i have no idea what i'm going to read next at this moment.  somewhere around here i have it written down all the books i have started and on that paper i think i have 22 books? or 20 to make a guess.  if only i knew where that was?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on June 21, 2015, 12:35:35 PM
pennywise, I have stacks of books all over the house and some days I just cannot find the right one to start reading.  I'll spend a good bit of time picking them up, taking a look and rejecting them.  I know I am interested in each one of them, just not right at this moment.

Most often I finish a book and will think, "That was good - I'd like more of the same" or "That was good, now what to follow it with to balance things out?"  It is a bit like dining on food: you might want seonds, or you might want a contrast  - some sweet to go with the salt, or salad to go with the steak.  :tongueout:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 21, 2015, 01:56:55 PM
oh i believe you i'm just thrilled i'm not the only one out there that is like that. i also have a LOT of books i haven't read yet either. there's paperbacks i bought at a libary sale and sorry for my spelling i never can get that word spelled right for some weird reason. anyways, i bought some books at a Libary Sale way back in (1992) in the Summer of that year when i was 13 that i still have yet to read! one of the books i haven't finished is i think the 1st Sword of Shananra books? i forget how to spell that one so bear with me. i liked what i was reading but for some reason i lost interest in it.

i buy King's New book every time he does one. plus i collect Ed McBain's books, Piers Anthony, Dean Koontz. John Saul, Anne Rice, i love her Mayfair witch series.
John Grisham. among others etc.. i'm sure i left out and i have oh it has to be about 60 or 70 of Piers Anthony's books some on hardback most on paperback that i have yet to read. because of the way i read books. what i have been doing as of late is sleeping on it and that seems to be working for me for some strange reason. i try to clear my head 1st and sometimes that's quite difficult. i have ADD as well so i went years without really reading that much. i read Stephen King's Wizard & Glass a couple years back. and was able to read the whole damn thing! man was i thrilled that was one book that for some reason i had tried to read at least a dozen times before i finally actually finished it. and i did end up enjoying it. cause i love the dark tower series. now i just need to finish the wolves of Calla.

i also Collect James Patterson on Hardback and there's a ton of his books i have yet to read. i prefer holding the books in my hands i don't believe in kindle's or e-books or anything like that. i'm old fashioned i love the smell of a new book and it's just my preference.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 22, 2015, 04:01:14 AM
well i finally finished my book and it was a good book but not as good as i thought it was going to be. it was just the ending that did it. it felt rushed actually

and they killed off a character they really didn't need to kill off to be honest. though i will say this the ending so far to these books have been a little different. in the 1st book we had Scarpetta get saved by Marino a Cop from the killer, in the 2nd one it's her that killed the killer. and this one she wasn't even in the room.

so at least she's not repeating herself i will give her credit for that. as for what i'm reading next i have no idea just yet. i may read the 4th novel or i may read the 1st Temperance Brennan book i dunno just yet.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on June 22, 2015, 11:26:42 AM
Just started:

Super Boys: The Amazing Adventures of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, The Creators of Superman by Brad Ricca


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 22, 2015, 02:55:08 PM
Shannara

the original shannara trilogy
the heritage of shannara tetralogy
prequel to the original shannara trilogy
the voyage of the jerle shannara trilogy
high druid of shannara trilogy
genesis of shannara trilogy
legends of Shannon duology
the dark legacy of shannara trilogy
the defenders of shannara trilogy
and paladins of shannara

Plus . . .

the word and void series
the magic kingdom of landover series

Plus . . .

the novelizations of . . .
"Hook" and . . .
"Star Wars Episode 1: the Phantom Menace"

And, yes, I have read most of these going back to the 1st one "The Sword of Shannara" in 1977.

Of course, if you prefer to watch rather than read . . .

While Warner Brothers did have the option to do a film version, but . . .?! When they let that option expire, it was picked up by MTV to do as a TV series--apparently--live action called "The Shannara Chronicles" aka "Shannara." Scheduled for at least 10 episodes, and scheduled to be seen this year (2015) the pilot or 1st episode has yet to be broadcast.

One similarity between Warner Brothers and MTV, instead of starting with the 1st novel in the series "The Sword of Shannara," it starts with the 2nd novel in the series "The Elfstones of Shannara" from 1982.

Despite all the years and all the novels since, the 1st one "The Sword of Shannara" has always remained one of my favorites, if not my favorite, for its . . .

action scenes
hero, one of my all time favorite characters of all time, Prince Menion Leah, and its . . .
battle cry "LEAH! LEAH! LEAH!" which I rate right up there with the real battle cry heard by Henry Morton Stanley in Africa "MEAT! MEAT! MEAT!"

Wherever one starts in all those mentioned, I have enjoyed most of them, as their author Terry Brooks, is one of my favorite fantasy writers.

ENJOY!




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 22, 2015, 03:36:21 PM
the (1977) one i think is the one i just haven't finished for some strange reason. and really MTV? i never pay any attention to MTV anymore cause it's not even a music channel anymore and hasn't been since i was in my 20's. and i think i have the rest of the original trilogy all on paperback. and those i haven't started either. after i wake up a bit i may start a book soon. i just dunno what yet. i'll of course post what i start.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 28, 2015, 01:40:02 PM
Ye-es!

With random reading, sometimes you come across consecutive, but different, books with the same story, as in . . .

Peter Robinson's Children of the revolution
and
Victoria Thompson's Murder on Murray Hill
and a story of . . .
murder, rape, and revenge.

As to which is the better read . . .

M: a Brit
W: an American

M: the present
W: the past

M: the U.K.
W: the U.S.

Man's villains more dangerous. String pullers and influence peddlers.
Woman's villains less dangerous. Just physically violent.

Man's weak villains more credible.
Woman's weak villains less credible.

Man more moral. Murder and revenge never justified.
Woman less moral.  Murder and revenge sometimes justified.

Man writes better mystery about the horrors of rape and revenge than woman.

Man writes more believable female characters than woman writes male characters.

Man's better plotted than woman's, as fewer twists needed to get to ending.

Excluding, man writes in time when sex was more open. Woman writes in time when sex was less open. It is not a total walkover by the man, as the woman does do a couple of things better than the man.

Woman more clear when story takes place.
Man less clear when story takes place.

Woman's story more focused.
Man's story less focused.

Next time: another compare and contrast





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on June 28, 2015, 05:38:33 PM
i don't really pay attention to if a woman is a better writer on certain things than a woman and vice versa. i always go by if the writer is a good writer or if it's written poorly. it doesn't matter if a man or woman writes it. all writers have their own style they develop themselves and they i think should have their own style. nobody wants to read a copy cat even though some writers do feel like that.

as for what i picked up. i did end up picking up Deja Dead' it's the 1st Tempe Brennan novel. and i like it so far, but it took forever for things to actually happen in it. for those who have read her in the past. are all her books like this? or is it just this one? cause it's her 1st book and you can easily tell it is.

i just hope her 2nd novel is better written. this one isn't at all horribly written but it has far far too much detailed in the science,  now don't get me wrong that stuff is important to the story but there's litary pages and pages of talking about Saws. that it was boring. Patrica Cornwell in her 1st Kay Scarpetta novel
also did the same thing as well when talking about the science. it brought the story to a stand still cause she put too much of the science in the novel. i realize what these women's jobs are in real life and in the novels. but with Patrica Cornwell in her 2nd Novel in the Kay Scarpetta Series which is like i said before called Body of Evidence. that i read not that long ago, she fixed that and paid more attention to the story and the characters. and yes she did put science in it but only when it was needed. she didn't overdue it like she did in her 1st novel. she in short learned what NOT to do. i'm curious if the same happened with Kathy Reichs?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 07, 2015, 10:30:02 AM
Ye-es!

Another compare and contrast or 24 Reasons G. M. Malliet's "A Demon Summer" is a better read than Tana French's "The Secret Place."

01. The female characters are better written.
Thus . . . they are more credible and believable.

02. More variety of characters.

03. More differentiation of characters.

04. The male characters are better written.
Thus . . . they are more credible and believable.

05. Less stereotypical characters.

06. The blame is both greater and lesser when a female character has a male problem.

07. The female characters blame themselves more and the males less.
Thus . . .

08. The female power is mightier, as they realize they have the power to initiate change. They don't need to rely on a male for change. And so is the liberation.

09. It is clearer who is the villain and who is the victim.

10. The villainy and danger is broader.

11. The blot on the innocent is wider, involving those who are innocent, but caught up in the plot.

12. The provocation is higher and vaster to do in the villain.

13. The victims' woes are more troubling.
Thus . . .

14. The loss of the villain is a smaller loss.

15. Malliet's characters who have no children or no children--yet, seemingly love children with more love than French's characters who do have children.

16. A truth. We oft love more what we do not have, then what we do have.

17. The denouement is brighter.
Thus . . .

18. It may be a cliché to gather all in one room at the end, but . . .?! it is used cleverer here.

19. The characters' morality is higher. There are no ifs ands or buts, but . . .?! only a wrong.
Thus . . .

20. Those who admit wrong, admit not only to the others gathered together of their wrong, but . . .?! more importantly, they admit to themselves their wrong.

21. The writer's admissions are higher thru the characters. It is a sad, sad tale made sadder by the ending.
Thus . . .

22. The readers' emotions are broader and bigger and deeper.

23. No unborn children were used as major characters in the making of this book. Indeed, the youngest major character is 18 or the age of majority in much of fiction.

24. And the book is shorter by 70 pages.

Next time: actually, there are 27 reasons why Malliet is a better read than French, and we'll get to those reasons next time, and the 1 reason French is the better read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on July 09, 2015, 08:37:21 AM
Just finished: Batman and Me: An Autobiography by Bob Kane

Just started: Stan Lee and the Rise & Fall of the American Comic Book by Jordan Raphael & Tom Spurgeon


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on July 09, 2015, 11:25:44 AM
Bob Kane did a bio? i don't remember that coming out. and if i do than it was eons ago. anyways i have since Finished Deja Dead and i enjoyed it, but too much Science Talk, it took me out of the book actually, are all her books like that i sure as hell hope not. cause i'd love to read more of them when i get the 2nd novel at some point that is. anyways i've since started Cruel and Unusual which is Patricia Cornwell's (1993) 4th Kay Scarpetta novel and it's pretty good so far. i'm only 90 pages into it and on Chapter 4. the chapters in this sucker are longer than normal cause there's only 14 chapters for some reason?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 11, 2015, 10:16:52 AM
I just finished SOUTHERN STORM: Sherman's March to the Sea, by Noah A. Trudeau
This is an exhaustively researched and very well written account of the Civil War's most controversial campaign: General William T. Sherman's drive from Atlanta, in the NW corner of Georgia, to capture the seaport of Savannah, over 300 miles away.  Cutting loose from his supply lines with some 60,000 men under his command, Sherman destroyed every military resource he could lay his hands on, wrecking hundreds of miles of railroad, burning warehouses full of cotton, and devouring or destroying foodstuffs that could be used to support Confederate armies.  All the while he and his men lived off the land, sending out foraging parties to gather enough food for the entire army, and liberating over 100,000 slaves along the way.
   Drawing heavily on contemporary sources, especially letters from soldiers on both sides and from civilians who lived in Sherman's path, Trudeau debunks some of the mythology surrounding Sherman's march - civilian casualties were almost non-existent, and there was only one rape recorded during the whole march - but does not flinch away from describing the massive property damage and harshness of the war overall.  This is one of the better Civil War books I have read in awhile.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on July 16, 2015, 08:30:55 AM
Quote
Bob Kane did a bio? i don't remember that coming out. and if i do than it was eons ago.

Yep, it came out right around the time of the first Batman film w/Michael Keaton. It was an OK read, even though it's obviously a bit out of date now.

Right now:
Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes & Trends of the '70s and '80s by Gael F. Cooper and Brian Bellmont


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on July 16, 2015, 02:17:58 PM
i think i faintly very faintly remember that. cause i saw batman back than in the theatres and i still love that movie. i even remember how it was such a big deal that Keaton was playing batman. well out of date or not Kane died just a few years later anyways i believe. didn't he?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on July 17, 2015, 02:01:08 PM
i think i faintly very faintly remember that. cause i saw batman back than in the theatres and i still love that movie. i even remember how it was such a big deal that Keaton was playing batman. well out of date or not Kane died just a few years later anyways i believe. didn't he?

Yep, Bob Kane passed away in 1998... which means he lived just long enough to see George Clooney and Joel Schumacher utterly destroy the franchise with Batman & Robin, haha.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on July 17, 2015, 08:47:31 PM
that one i doubt he even saw. but i don't hate that film as much as many people seem to. it's not a great film but for me it's watchable.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 17, 2015, 10:51:46 PM
I just finished THE LAST LION:  WINSTON SPENCER CHURCHILL, DEFENDER OF THE REALM - 1940-1965
This was the last volume of William Manchester's 3 part biography of Churchill, which the great author was unable to finish due to encroaching health problems.  Before his death, Manchester asked Paul Reid to finish his masterpiece for him, and Reid did so in a remarkable fashion.  I can't really tell where Manchester's voice ends and Reid's begins.  This is a fantastic story about a remarkable man, a man who, for all practical purposes, saved the world from Nazi domination by refusing to surrender in 1940.  It was a wonderful look at the man and his times, and a reminder that, for all the faults of our modern world, things would be very, very different if this brilliant, stubborn, prejudiced, courageous, cantankerous, and awesome human being had not been there to stand in the gap when the rest of the free world had its head in the sand.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 21, 2015, 10:47:24 AM
Previously, I gave 2 dozen reasons I thought Malliet's 'A Demon Summer" was a better read than French's "The Secret Place." For me, here are 3 more reasons, and 1 reason it is not (IMHO.)

And the 25th reason.
For me, a character with a good sense of morality, even if they lose it for a moment, especially if they lose it for a moment, is far more interesting than a character with no sense of morality or a bad sense of morality.

And the 26th reason
For the most part, adults are far superior to children as the villain, because (IMHO) a child has not been steeped in villainy long enough to make a credible villain--normally.

And the 27th reason.
Malliet comes nearer to stating that fact that not everyone is heterosexual, and thus is truer to real life.

And the not reason.
My favorite character in both books is--even though truly mischaracterized--is Christopher (Chris) Harper in French's "The Secret Place," because he is the character with whom I have the most empathy. And that is Chris Harper IV, and his son will be Chris Harper V.

Next time: 6 of 1. A half dozen of the other.
And then: a retro look at Batman.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on July 23, 2015, 10:03:42 AM
I'm going to start Strunk and White's "Elements of Style," the writer's Bible, which I think I may have read before but forgotten---if so, it's clearly time for a refresher.

Also "Love Sick," which is a collection of vintage graphics about love and dating, with some snarky commentary by Mike Nelson.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on July 23, 2015, 12:30:53 PM
In the middle of:

Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone by Marky Ramone

On deck:

Underneath It All by Traci Lords


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on July 23, 2015, 02:25:11 PM
Just starting The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (3rd ed.)  2007 by Christopher Vogler.  Fully aware that it is more or less the 'cliff notes' for Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces - which I have already read.  Picked it up as something lighter and looking forward to the promised pop culture references.

Finishing Boris Yeltsin: From Bolshevik to Democrat (1991) by John Morrison.  Morrison was a Mid-Career Fellow of the Russian Research Center at Harvard University when he wrote this and his familiarity with the context really shows.  It has been interesting enough to keep me reading.  Interesting times.

Prior to that read Comes the Comrade (1950) by Alexandra Orme.  By turns comic, alarming and somewhat baffling account of the Soviet 'liberation' of Hungary toward the end of WWII.  She paints quite the picture of cultural differences.  What you can read between the lines is often astounding.  Have to assume it reflects the insanity of wartime life.

And prior to that read "Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga" (1985) by Stephen Davis.  Davis expended a lot of energy admiring the group and presents them as a bunch of immature boys-next-door who were rich and famous before they grew up as well as being largely misunderstood.  Um...yeah right.  Starts off well enough but runs out of energy/changes tone and seems to rush to a finish so the last 50+ pages just weren't any fun any more.

Read the first two books of The Darksword Trilogy (Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman) before/during that.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 28, 2015, 04:04:51 PM
Ye-es!

Charlie Finch's
The laws of murder
8th in the Charlie Lenox series

Peter May's
The Lewis man
2nd in the Fin McLeod series
both a sequel and a prequel to the 1st in the series

Asa Larsson's
The 2nd deadly sin
an award winner

Stuart Neville's
The final silence

Laura Joh Rowland's
The iris fan
18th in the Sano Ichiro series
After 18 books and 20 years, the authoress is hanging up her pen, as this is her final one in the series


Christopher Fowler's
Bryant and May and the bleeding heart
11th in the Peculiar Crimes Unit series

Next time: a half dozen of the other


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on July 29, 2015, 07:42:12 AM
Comic Wars: How Two Tycoons Battled Over the Marvel Comics Empire - and Both Lost! By Dan Raviv


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 01, 2015, 12:22:35 AM
REAGAN: THE LIFE by H.W. Brands

It's been 11 years since 94 year old President Ronald Reagan passed away.
A conservative icon, a beloved actor, a controversial figure, and a man at once amiable and approachable and utterly unknowable, President Reagan has not been the subject of many serious biographies yet.  But H.W. Brands, UT historian and one of America's finest biographers (his book on Theodore Roosevelt is a favorite of mine) tackles Reagan with honesty, scholarly credibility, and the keen prose and good humor that make his books such a pleasure to read.  He makes a number of comparisons between Reagan and Franklin Roosevelt, and ranks Reagan as the greatest President since Roosevelt.  This book was a great read for me, and I highly recommend it.  Reagan was the first President I ever voted for, and the 80's were the halcyon days of my youth. Reading this book was a trip down memory lane to a simpler America that I loved being a part of.  A must read for anyone who likes Presidential history.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on August 02, 2015, 12:27:48 PM
"No Future for You: Salvos from 'The Baffler'" - slightly humorous political essays from the far left; so far more rhetoric than actual analysis


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 03, 2015, 07:18:22 PM
Ye-es!

C.B. McKenzie's
Bad country
1st novel
award winner

Jo Bannister's
Perfect sins

M.C. Beaton's
The blood of an Englishman :
an Agatha Raisin mystery
25th in the Agatha Raisin series

Lene Kaaberbol's
Doctor death
translated by Elisabeth Dyssey
in the Madeleine Karno series

Tess Gerritsen's
Rizzoli and Ioles :
Die again :
a novel
in the Rizzoli and Ioles series
Supposedly there's a TV series as well

Laura Lippman's
Hush
in the Tess Monaghan series

Next time: a retro look at Batman


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 09, 2015, 04:29:45 PM
Ye-es!

Jeff Parker's
Batman 66

A graphic novel based upon the old TV series.

v.1. 9 stories. 12 villains.

The Riddler (Frank Gorshin)
Catwoman (Julie Newmar)
The Penguin (Burgess Meredith)
Mr. Freeze (Otto Preminger)
Chandel (Liberace)
The Siren (Joan Collins)
The Joker (Cesar Romero)
Egghead (Vincent Price)
The Mad Hatter (David Wayne)
The Clock King (Walter Slezak)
The Sandman (Michael Rennie)
Catwoman (Eartha Kitt)

v.2. 10 stories. 10 villains

with . . .
The Bookworm (Roddy McDowell)
King Tut (Victor Buono)
Queen Olga (Anne Baxter)
Shame (Cliff Robertson)

and with the return of . . .
The Joker (Cesar Romero)
The Riddler (Frank Gorshin)
Mr. Freeze (Otto Preminger)

and in the manner of, but not on the TV show . . .
Cleopatra
Harvey "2 Face" Dent
Zelda the Great

Next time: 6 of 1


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 18, 2015, 04:26:02 PM
Ye-es!, but . . .? 6 of 1 to come next time.

I visit the local library, not only to get on a Pac, but . . .?! also to read the magazines available. These are not the only magazines I read, but . . .?! they are a selection of magazines I recently read one day at the local library.

Wired
--for the news of the future

Rolling Stone
--for the political news

People
--for the gossip

Parents Magazine
--for a laugh. for out of the mouths of babes . . .

The New Yorker
--for the cartoons

National Geographic
--for a look at the world beyond the U.S.

Fortune
--for the business news

The Economist
--for the world news

and

Aviation Weekly
--for something different.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on August 25, 2015, 08:42:06 AM
Just finished:
Anti-Rock: The Opposition to Rock N Roll by Linda Martin

Just started:
VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV's First Wave by Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter and Martha Quinn


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on August 26, 2015, 03:50:43 AM
Normally when I try to read classic novels I get disappointed by them (seriously, how many pages does Jules Vern spend just listing types of fish in 20,000 leagues under the sea, and the same for Herman Melville with whales in Moby Dick), so when I finally got around to reading a copy of Dracula I picked up a few years ago I was expecting to be let down. Got to say, so far its been a lot better than I thought it would be. Only a few chapters in though. Frankenstein is up next.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 02, 2015, 04:52:53 PM
Normally when I try to read classic novels I get disappointed by them (seriously, how many pages does Jules Vern spend just listing types of fish in 20,000 leagues under the sea, and the same for Herman Melville with whales in Moby Dick), so when I finally got around to reading a copy of Dracula I picked up a few years ago I was expecting to be let down. Got to say, so far its been a lot better than I thought it would be. Only a few chapters in though. Frankenstein is up next.

Yeah, I know where you are coming from, having read all 4 novels, and I must say, that while there never, much to my regret, been a film version that has been faithful to any of the four, except for "Dracula," which no film has ever done it justice (IMHO.) I have found most of the films made from the other 3, more enjoyable than their source material, which may be why no film version has ever been fully faithful to the material. I will also say that I found "Dracula" a better read than "Frankenstein."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on September 02, 2015, 07:08:57 PM
(http://www.newyorker.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/it-chooses-you-thumb-233x335-116404.jpg)

Received as a gift. It's about the author procrastinating on working on her second screenplay by going around and conducting interviews with people who posted unusual ads in the local "Penny Savers" classifieds.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 03, 2015, 03:02:07 PM
Ye-es!

Sophie Hannah's
The monogram murders :
the new Hercule Poirot mystery
in the manner of Agatha Christie

The story is serviceable, but . . .?! The highlight is a complete bibliography of Christie's books sorted by type, character, and arranged in the order in which they were published. Thus, we have . . .

39 mysteries with Poirot
14 mysteries with Marple
05 mysteries with Tommy and Tuppence
25 mysteries without the above 3 or 4
06 romances as Mary Westmacott
05 collections of her plays and
03 non-fiction books
97 total

Quinrose, story. Iwaki, art
Alice in the Country of Clover :
March Hare
Continuing the adventures of Alice in Wonderland

Richard Castle's
Raging heat
in the Niki Heat series

Charles Todd's
(a mother and son writing duo)
An unwilling accomplice
6th in the Bess Crawford series

Anne Perry's
Blood on the ater
20th in the William Monk series

Lisa Wiehl's
with April Henry
Lethal beauty :
a Mia Quinn mystery
3rd in the Mia Quinn series
with a reading group guide

And now let me continue on the subject of Jules Verne.

1st. He is the only classical French author I enjoy reading. Maybe, because I find classical French literature so obtuse. The only classical literature I find more obtuse is Russian, which defeats me completely.
2nd. I agree that his "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" is a bad place to begin. Instead, I'd recommend . . .
a. "Around the World in 80 Days." While there have been several film adaptations, I have found none of them to be as enjoyable as the original source material.
b. "Mysterious Island." While the film version has many fans, including some who post here at this board, I have always found the original source material superior to the film.
c. And one I can't find, because I just can't remember the title, but . . .?! Verne writ at least one children's book. About a group of schoolboys, who find themselves without adult supervision, and at drift on a ship in the middle of the ocean, till they come to a desert island, where they run into conflict, not only with a gang of criminals, but . . .?! each other as well.
3rd. People forget what a prolific writer Verne was, and he was prolific. Maybe people forget, because much of his writings have faded into obscurity. Known only to the experts. Which is probably for good reason.
4th. Many of his novels have been made into films. One of the more obscure of his films, but . . .?! One of my favorites is "5 Weeks in a Balloon." Probably because of the cast, which includes . . .

Red Buttons -- Fabian -- Barbara Eden -- Sir Cedric Hardwicke -- Peter Lorre -- Richard Haydn -- Billy Gilbert -- Herbert Marshall -- Mike Mazurki -- Henry Daniell -- Ronald Long -- Hedley Mattingly -- and Vic Tayback.

Based upon the novel of the same title, which, I must admit, I have not read.

Next time: a half dozen of the other. beginning with 2 anthologies back-to-back


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 13, 2015, 01:29:01 PM
Y-es!

Otto Penzler, editor
The black lizard big book of locked room mysteries :
the most complete collection of impossible crime stories ever assembled

71 writers. 68 stories. O'er 39 heroes and heroines, including . . .

Albert Campion -- Arsene Lupin
Barnabas Dreth -- Bernie Rhodenbarr
Crooks, Inc.
Dr. Fell -- Dr. Hawthorne -- Dr. Thorndyke -- Don Diavolo
Ellery Queen
Father Brown -- Fidelity Doe
Hercule Poirot
James W. Bailey
Lester Leith
Madame Roiska -- Mme. Koluchy -- Merrivale -- Mr. Tarrant
Nick Velvet -- Norman Heard
Professor Fen
Raphael, MD -- Rolf Le Roux -- Rowland Hearn
Scientific Crime Club -- Senator Banner -- Sherlock Holmes -- Simon Ark -- "Slot Machine" Kelly -- Superintendent Wiles
The Continental Op -- The Great Merlini -- The Infallible Godahl -- The Nameless Detective -- The Saint -- The Thinking Machine -- Trent
Uncle Abner

Besides the subject matter, the anthology lacks a variety of authors. Besides a couple of Aussies and one or two South Africans, all the writers are either Americans or Brits.

On the other hand . . .
the stories range from those written in the 1830s to the last decade of the last century

Next time: 2nd of a half dozen. another anthology





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 20, 2015, 04:19:06 PM
Ye-es!

John Joseph Adams, editor
Wastelands :
stories of the Apocalypse

Thoughts
disappointments -- editors -- empathy = comprehension -- explorations -- far-fetched -- humorous--not -- ignorance -- interests -- intro. -- logic -- loners -- mistakes -- predictions -- questions -- realism -- religion -- ridiculousness -- saddest -- sex -- stories -- thinking -- unsubtle -- vibes -- and well-written?

What I cannot tell is whether the stories in this anthology are better written than the stories in the previous anthology read. What I can tell is there is less variety in the stories, as all the stories here are written within the past 2 decades of the last century, so there is less chronological difference in the stories, and that while there are such writers as Terry Brooks, who write stories of the Apocalypse from a fantasy stand-point, and writers like Richard Matheson, who write stories of the Apocalypse from a horror stand-point, all the stories here are from a science fiction stand-point. There is 1 difference between the stories, and we'll get to that next time.

To be continued . . .


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on September 26, 2015, 06:57:22 PM
Just finished:
The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry by Legs McNeil

Just started:
Mr. Playboy: Hugh Hefner and the American Dream by Steven Watts


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on September 27, 2015, 10:06:07 AM
Tonight I'll be starting "The Rise of the Vampire" (nonfiction look at vamps in pop culture)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 01, 2015, 07:47:03 PM
Ye-es!

A continuation of Wastelands : stories of the Apocalypse. John Joseph Adams, editor.

As I said previously, some of the stories here can be divided into those with a religious slant and those with a non-religious slant, and I must admit, I prefer the stories with a religious slant, maybe because I prefer stories that are "quieter and softer," which I find the religious stories to be, or, it might be the logic expressed in one of the stories with a non-religious slant. Of course, this logic is not pertinent to all the stories with a non-religious slant, but . . .?! It is logic expressed by some of the characters in one of the stories.

!That a Christian can never made a decision based on logic and reason, because emotions affect the decision.

@That a non-Christian, or, at least a non-religious person always makes a decision based on logic and reason never emotion.

#Unless a person prays to the Christian God, he or she is never noticed by the said God.

$When we pray to the Christian God, and he does not answer, right away, that is because does not notice our prayer.

%When we die or taken up by God, while still alive, then we cease to exist in all forms both spiritual and physical.

^The Rapture as described by the author is the only Rapture possible.

&The Christian Bible is the only place to learn about the Christian God.

*Man is wiser than God.

?People who want to believe there is a God are gullible. They always believe what they are told.

Logical aren't they?

Next time: the 3rd of a half dozen.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 01, 2015, 09:17:34 PM
Just finished THE FOLLY OF THE  WORLD, by Jesse Bullington.
It's a madcap account of the bastard son of a Dutch aristocrat, his murderous, mentally unstable male lover, and a feral peasant girl who plot to steal a signet ring from a drowned Dutch village and claim the family inheritance of a now-extinct line.  Fairly entertaining, although I could have done without the graphic descriptions of homosexual intercourse.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 10, 2015, 03:28:23 PM
Ye-es!
The 3rd of a half dozen non-fiction books.

Sexpectations Girl/Sexpectations Boy

One of those 2 in one 1 books. "Turn it around. Turn it upside down." And you have your 2nd book.

From the title, one can see it is a sex guide for boys and girls, but . . .?! What makes this one interesting, or, maybe not, it is not written for American boys and girls, but . . .?! Aussie boys and girls. And even more interesting, or, maybe not, Aussie boys and girls, both gay and straight, have the same hopes, fears, desires, and questions that American boys and girls, both gay and straight, have.

And as always, when in Australia be careful what you do, where you do it. For just like in the U.S., what may be legal in one part of the country, may be illegal in another part of the country. For as in the states, the age of sexual consent varies from state to state in Australia. And as in some parts of the world, some parts of Australia require a higher age of consent for a homosexual act than they do for a heterosexual act.

Next time: 4th of a half dozen.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on October 10, 2015, 06:23:04 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51SA2KQ0PDL._SX365_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

A little reading, mostly looking at the pictures.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 24, 2015, 03:24:29 PM
Ye-es!
The 4th of a half dozen of non-fiction books.

Elwes and Layden's
As You Wish :
Inconceivable Tales from the Making of "The Princess Bride"
Yes, that Elwes

Exhibits A, B, and C, as to why the quantity of money earned at the box office does not equal the quality of the film, or, why promotion is everything.

Here we have a film that . . .
. . . was one of the 10 Best Films of the Year,
. . . had one of the 10 Best Scripts of the Year,
. . . and had one of the 10 Best Swordfights of All time,
but . . .?! died at the box office, because no one knew how to promote it.

A Hollywood aphorism: "You are only as good as your last film."
Obviously, that is not apply here, as the only people involved in this, both behind and in front of the camera, who do not have something on his or her plate this year or next, excluding those that are deceased, of course, are . . .

actor Christopher Guest, who has apparently not worked since 2013
and producer Andy Scheinman who has apparently not done anything since 2014.

And no wonder Cary Elwes has been so successful, for as an actor, he's quite a mimic. You read this, and when he channels director Rob Reiner, you do not hear Cary channeling Rob, but Rob himself.

Next time: the 5th of a half dozen non-fiction


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 24, 2015, 04:12:53 PM
SONS OF CAESAR: IMPERIAL ROME'S FIRST DYNASTY by Philip Matyszak

This was a fascinating look at Rome's ruling family from 48 BC until 68 AD - the Julio-Claudians.
First the author looks at the history of Rome's two oldest and most powerful Patrician families, the Julii and the Claudii.
Then he embarks on a lively look at the life of Julius Caesar, who was not an emperor but created the conditions that allowed the Principate to come into being.  After that, he discusses the reign of Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, the last Julio-Claudian emperor.
Not too long (indeed, not long enough for this Romanophile), but very informative and written in a wry, entertaining fashion, this is a good primer on how one family took a fractious Republic and turned it into a surprisingly well-run Empire.  Great for Roman history buffs!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 31, 2015, 01:33:14 PM
Ye-es!
The 5th of a half dozen non-fiction

Robert Wilder's
Daddy Needs a Drink :
an Irreverent Look at Parenting from a Dad Who Truly Loves His Kids--Even When They're Driving Him Nuts
1st book from a newspaper columnist

An equal opportunity offender, he talks about and gets laughs from . . .

baby monitors gone berserk
changing baby diapers in public restrooms -- child prodigies -- CSI
Disney films -- dwarves with "hipples"
Fatty Arbuckle -- Friends (the TV show)
gang bangers -- gay minorities
Hugh Hefner -- hyperventilating fathers
kitchen utensils
microwave ovens
old women, who wear Depends
Piglet
Texas tourists -- the "dreaded" question -- the penis -- Tim Allen -- toilet training
and even childbirth

Next time: the 6th of a half dozen non-fiction


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 07, 2015, 05:26:49 PM
Ye-es!
The 6th of a half dozen non-fiction

Ruth Goodman's
How to be a Victorian :
a dawn-to-dusk guide to Victorian life
3 more non-fiction

From the years 1826 to 1911.

Normally, when a writer writes about something they have personally done, my esteem for them goes up. Yet . . .?! When she writes about something she has done, my esteem for her goes down. Still . . .?! She has written the most complete book I have seen to date about the Victorian Age, as she writes about everything, and I do mean everything.

abortion -- the age of consent
bodily functions -- breast feeding
contraception
the double standard
impotence
laxatives and colonic irrigation
masturbation -- menstruation
nudity
prostitution (both male and female)
sexuality, including homosexuality -- skinny dipping
toilets
underwear
and venereal diseases

The life that our Victorian ancestors lived come across as mindboggling and heartbreaking, but . . .?! They lived long enough to sire future generations, including us.

Though the most horrendous thing about it was how often when nearly anyone took a progressive step forward to improve life, they were met with opposition.

Next time: 6 of fiction minus 1 non-fiction


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on November 07, 2015, 06:01:42 PM
Also started "Phase IV," the novelization of the 1974 movie about an alien intelligence using ants to do its bidding.

(http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1384697707l/6093929.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on November 07, 2015, 10:48:24 PM
I just started one that promises to be fascinating:

UNDER THE LOVING CARE OF OUR FATHERLY LEADER: North Korea and the Kim Dynasty.

Just a chapter in, and it feels like a visit to the twilight zone!   :buggedout:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 08, 2015, 10:40:07 AM
Ye-es!
The 6th of a half dozen non-fiction

Ruth Goodman's
How to be a Victorian :
a dawn-to-dusk guide to Victorian life
3 more non-fiction

From the years 1826 to 1911.

Normally, when a writer writes about something they have personally done, my esteem for them goes up. Yet . . .?! When she writes about something she has done, my esteem for her goes down. Still . . .?! She has written the most complete book I have seen to date about the Victorian Age, as she writes about everything, and I do mean everything.

abortion -- the age of consent
bodily functions -- breast feeding
contraception
the double standard
impotence
laxatives and colonic irrigation
masturbation -- menstruation
nudity
prostitution (both male and female)
sexuality, including homosexuality -- skinny dipping
toilets
underwear
and venereal diseases

The life that our Victorian ancestors lived come across as mindboggling and heartbreaking, but . . .?! They lived long enough to sire future generations, including us.

Though the most horrendous thing about it was how often when nearly anyone took a progressive step forward to improve life, they were met with opposition.

Next time: 6 of fiction minus 1 non-fiction


I read that book too and my reaction was exactly like it sounds yours was. I like Ruth Goodman and enjoy her books and shows (The Victorian Farm, The Edwardian Farm, The Victorian Pharmacy, etc.) but when she got to that one part in this where she said she went four months without bathing, just buffing off with a dry cloth "and nobody noticed" I kind of went, "....huh." And that was the moment dear Ruth Goodman jumped the sharks!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 18, 2015, 05:38:45 PM
Ye-es!
6 fiction - 1 non-fiction

The fiction

Cara Black's
Murder in Champ de Mars
15th in the Aimee Leduc series
Each title named after an area in Paris.
And each title comes with a contest that'll net one a vacation in Paris with a personal tour of Paris by the writer.

Elly Griffith's
The Janus Stone
2nd in the Ruth Galloway series
With this, the only one I have not read in the series is the 1st title in the series

Michael Pearce's
The Mouth of the Crocodile
6th of the recent titles in the Mamur Zapt series

Andrew Klavan's
Werewolf cop :
a novel
24 more fiction by the writer

P.J. Brackston's
Gretel and the Case of the Missing Frog Prints
in the Brothers Grimm series
Part comedy, part fact, part fantasy, part fiction, part mystery, and a little part of almost everything.
Though to get a better perspective of Hansel and Gretel as adults, try the film Hansel and Gretel : Witch hunters

And the non-fiction

James Herriot's
Favorite dog stories
reprint edition
8 more books for adults
9 more books for children
To get an idea of the area which he was writing about, then travel to Thirsk in the Yorkshire Dales. Of course, there have been some changes in the decades, since he began writing about the area.

Next time: India's 9/11.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 18, 2015, 06:34:10 PM
My 3,660 page diary, begun in 1988. I started reading it in the summer, got bogged down with heavy memories, put it aside for a while out of emotional necessity, and to the flinching worry of my family I am wading back in now at around the turn of the century mark.

You know, though, I realize in retrospect my high school was a heavy-stress environment of success at all costs. Get good grades (or else), have good behavior (or else), and get in good colleges (or else). Above all keep your cocaine well hidden, students, the Archdiocese has a certain reputation to uphold in the community.

And check this out:

"Thursday May 19, 1994

Right To Life Day 1994. Charming as always. Who doesn’t want to see dumpsters of mutilated, half-formed fetuses/babies? Who doesn’t want some fat lady with hypertension getting in their face? But this year was different. I didn’t sign their pledge, Julie didn’t sign their pledge, six of us in all. We’re marked now. I expect to get called in over it but AJ said if they do that call a lawyer. Two things: she never volunteers to help; she says hire someone else. Also she must not remember Catholic school. They kick people out who make waves, and they become publics. I am not…worried about being expelled, I’m in AP Group, but I do think something is going to be said. In fact when we didn’t sign they went after us right there and said, “Are you going to kill your babies, then? If not, why not make it official and sign a promise?????” I said I did last year, and asking me to sign again this year is like doubting my word. I mean, wasn’t that a good point? One came and prayed for us and we got stared at. Thing is, later at least four people came over and said we were cool for not letting them bully us.

RTL Day is total stress. And this year was the worst ever."



I mean holy crap in a tuxedo, it's a wonder none of us climbed a tower in Austin!




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on November 18, 2015, 09:51:36 PM
I just finished re-reading Lee Strobel's THE CASE FOR A CREATOR.

All I can say is, anyone who doubts there is some sort of guiding intelligence behind our cosmos needs to read this book.
A wonderful arraying of scientific evidence that all points in one direction . . .


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on November 21, 2015, 12:33:12 PM
(http://bookscans.com/Publishers/ref-pulps/images/PurePulp.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on November 27, 2015, 05:18:46 AM
Finished reading "A knight of 7 kingdoms". Wonder how long it will be before it gets made into a series.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 01, 2015, 05:16:38 PM
Ye-es!

Scott-Clark and Levy's
(2 Brits)
The siege :
68 hours inside the Taj Hotel
4 more non-fiction

India's 9/11 or as in the Indian calendar 26/11

Excluding the attackers, 33 people in the hotel died within those 3 days.
guests 19 (58%)
staff 12 (36%)
security forces 2 (16%)

men 25 (76%)
women 6 (18%)
children 2 (6%)
and 1 dog

Not only Indians died, foreigners from 8 or 9 different countries also died, and while there were Americans staying at the hotel, at that time, no Americans died at the hotel. Yet 6 Americans died in other attacks, which killed 133 more people, in the city of Mumbai or Bombay.

While most of the people at the hotel during the attack . . .

1250 guests (1.52% died)
500 staff (2.4% died)

escaped death or even injury, everyone at the hotel must have suffered emotional and/or mental distress of some greater or lesser extent.

All the attackers in the city were killed, except 1 who was captured alive and later hanged. The writers telling not only the story of the hotel guests and staff, but . . .?! that of the attackers as well.

Next time: the greatest fad the world has ever seen.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on December 08, 2015, 09:03:31 PM
Just picked "Charlie Kaufman and Hollywood's Merry Band of Pranksters, Fabulists and Dreamers" up off the shelf where it's been sitting for a couple of years. Also revisiting the original "Joe Bob Goes to the Drive-In" collection.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 10, 2015, 08:10:12 PM
Ye-es!

Zac Bissonnette's
The Great Beanie Baby bubble :
mass delusion and the dark side of cute
2 more non-fiction

1. It is a good intro. to the subject, but . . .?! Is it a full explanation of the subject? I am not sure, but . . .?! He makes an valiant try. It was just such a bizarre phenomena, I am not sure anyone can do a complete explanation of it.

2. Part of the problem is that everything about the man behind the phenomena is secondary. The writer just could not get an interview with the man. Not that the writer is alone in that. That man has not given an interview in years.

3. An interesting man. One that is easy to dislike, but . . .?! Beyond that, one you can't help but . . .?! feel sorry for.

4. Another part of the problem of the phenomena is that while the man was lucky, he also was skillful, and it is almost impossible to say how much of his success was due to luck, and how much was due to skill.

5. Inadvertently or not, the writer does show how skewed is the American economy at the present time. The man is a multi-billionaire many times o'er, but . . .?! yet he is not in the top 200 richest Americans. All of whom have more money than the man.

6. Of course, as the writer points out, as in the Gold Rush, the men who got wealthy were not the men who dug the gold with shovels, but . . .?! the men who sold the shovels to the men who dug the gold with the shovels. Or as here, the men who got wealthy were the men who made it and sold it. Not the men who bought it.

7. The writer also points out there are 2 types of fads. The one here, which is "an investment" fad, where one invests in something in the hope that it'll increase in value later, and "a fun" fad, in which you do not do for future investment, but . . .?! just for fun.

8. Thus, before beginning this book, one might want to read a book in general about fads. Several which are mentioned by the writer.

9. As fads, such as the one here, are very much a product of their time and place, as explained by the writer.

To be continued . . .

And a double feature this time.

We have been promised by Marvel some new Star Wars comic books, and I just saw my 1st one. (A report on it later.)

Rucka, Checchetto, and Unzaera's
Star Wars : Journey to Star Wars :
the Force Awakens - Shattered Empire.

Which gave me some more Star Wars titles from Marvel.

Star Wars : the Original Marvel Years : Omnibus vols. 1-3
Star Wars : Episode IV - a New Hope
Star Wars : Episode V - the Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars : Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

All of which are available now, and all of which are now new comic books, being reprints of earlier comic books from Marvel. What I do not know is whether the following titles are new or reprints like the above titles.

Star Wars Legends Epic Collection : the Old Republic vol. 1
Star Wars Legends Epic Collection : Rise of the Sith vol. 1
Star Wars Legends Epic Collection : the Empire vol. 1
Star Wars Legends Epic Collection : the New Republic vol. 1
All TPB

and . . .
Star Wars : Darth Vader. vol. 1 - Vader
Unknown availability

Next time: the conclusion of The Great Beanie Baby Bubble


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on December 13, 2015, 12:26:30 AM
i just read 2 books more or less back to back. the most i had read Since September. and they are  Patrica Cornwell's (1994) book "The Body Farm' which is the 5th book in her Kay Scarpetta Series and it was a decent book. it had plenty of flaws and i hated Marino in it he was nothing but a well a dick to pretty much everyone. for those who have read the series ya will know who i'm talking about.  that's not what hurt the novel the most though. i dunno it just wasn't one of her better books.

but you will have that with any author i suppose so it doesn't make me mad that i didn't love it though. so rather than dwell on how that was a medicore book at best. though it did have some stuff in it i liked. such as Kay telling her sister off and calling her not only a horrible mother but a horrible human being and that it's a tragedy her niece Lucy has her for a mother. ok that part  i freaking loved!  cause her sister is one of those characters that really does make one mad if you think about it too long. yet the character is fiction and it's amazing how some books and some stuff in books can really make one mad ya know?

anyways the other one i read is Ed Mcbain's 2nd 87th Precinct novel and that's (1956)'s The Mugger i read i believe the longer extended version if you want to call it that. i have read this one before like 20 years ago i think? i may have read it since but i honestly don't remember. anyways

this version which my paperback is 178 pages long the original i think was 153 so it's a little longer. anyways it was well a pretty good book.
sometimes when authors make their books longer later in life i think it can help the book as in the case of this one and the 1st one that also came out the same year. called Cop Hater. i read both books originally in (1995) and i didn't care for both of them back than. but i have the longer version of Cop Hater that's like over 100 pages longer and the book to be honest is so much better than the original version. 

the 3rd book i may read next also came out the same year called "The Pusher' and that's the 1st one i remember saying to myself the book that really made me fall in love with the series. it's also the 1st really good book in the series as well at least i think so anyways. i' am now reading those in order and that's going to take me forever cause there are 55 books in the series and i'm only on the 3rd book now.  i've read about half of them i think. anyways any Ed McBain fans on here?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 20, 2015, 03:07:11 PM
Ye-es!

Continuing with . . .
Bisonnette's "The Great Beanie Baby Bubble"

10. It probably could not have happened today or yesterday ere the advent of E-Bay, which made much of it possible, as it was a product of its time and place.

11. And while there are probably more fads out there, then I know exist, I still miss the fads that happened when I was growing up. Not the "investment' fads like this one, but . . .?! The "fun" fads of my youth.

12. One could not be unaware of it, when it happened, but . . .?! What surprised me was how big it all was, as I had nothing to do with it.

13. And how small was the company. It was not an Amazon nor an Apple nor a Wal-Mart nor a Walt Disney with billions of sales and thousands of employees worldwide. The company--indeed--had billions in sales, but . . .?! Probably fewer than a thousand employees worldwide.

14. The man also did everything he could to run the business into the ground, according to what I learned in business school, but . . .?! his product was such that e'er he did didn't matter.

15. Going back to the problem of whether this is a "full explanation" or  a "good intro." while he does highlight those who lost money, the writer highlights far more of those who got in early and out early and made money, which was not the case for most people.

16. Indeed, most people could not explain why they did what they did. That is countered by . . . Anyway?!

17. The company still exists, though contracted in size.

18. And the product still exists, though the value of it is not what it once was.

Next time: 6 mysteries and a half dozen non-fiction and graphic novels.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on December 21, 2015, 09:41:38 AM
.BERLIN DIARY by William Shirer
.SGT FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS vol. 1-issues 1-13!!!!
.LUGOSI:IN PERSON by Gary Don Rhodes.
.DRACULA by Gary Don Rhodes
.THINGS-by Ivan Sanderson
.MORE THINGS by Ivan Sanderson.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 25, 2015, 01:21:10 PM
Some nice titles there RC - Ivan Sanderson is a legend in the field of Cryptozoology!

This month I finished two titles:

CAN THE GOSPELS BE TRUSTED? by Mark D. Roberts is a solid, critical evaluation of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John by Harvard PhD Roberts.  He analyzes some of the more common criticisms of the historical accuracy of the New Testament and picks them apart with vigor - in particular he deftly eviscerates the popular arguments of Bart Ehrman, author of MISQUOTING JESUS.  This is a fascinating book - it may be too technical for some readers, but it is interesting to see someone educated in the more skeptical scholarly traditions who winds up coming down on the side of the Gospels and well able to defend his reasons for doing so.

UNDER THE LOVING CARE OF THE FATHERLY LEADER by Bradley K. Martin is a fascinating look at North Korea and the Kim Dynasty, from its foundations in the struggle against Japanese occupation to the Cold War era and finally ending in the closing years of King Jong-Il's life in 2005.  Martin has visited North Korea five times and interviews dozens of defectors in these pages, trying to penetrate the veil of secrecy that surrounds the Kims and give a balanced picture of the world's most closed society that ignores propaganda from all sides.  A bit of a slog at times, but still a very informative book with some real gems of descriptive imagery and inside peeks at the private life of what one of my students called "a Communist God."  Highly recommended!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: javakoala on December 27, 2015, 01:18:41 PM
Just finished Kelly Kozy's "A Nerd Girl's Guide to Cinema". She's pretty funny, and she does NOT do what a lot of current reviewers like to do, which is trash movies to sound hip and/or superior to what they are talking about.

I've also been reading "Spinegrinder: The Movies Most Critics Won't Write About" by Clive Davies, a Welshman who lives in Japan. Over 7000 reviews. Interesting stuff. He includes a ton of Asian and Japanese films you usually don't see listed in other general film guides. Don't always agree with his likes and dislikes, but he usually avoids trashing a movie, just says it's boring or pointless if it didn't suit him.

Starting on "Nightmare Alley" by William Lindsay Gresham and I have the DVD of the film version on its way. I blame Kelly Kozy and her glowing review of both.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 27, 2015, 03:25:36 PM
Ye-es!

6 of 1 mystery

Charles Todd's
(mother-son writing duo)
A fine summer's day
in the Inspector Rutledge series
something of a prequel to the series

Kathy Reichs'
Bones never lie
17th in the Temperance Brennan series
on TV as "Bones"

Peter Mays'
The Chess men
3rd and final volume in the Finn Macleod trilogy

Ellen Crosby's
Ghost image
2nd in the Sophie Medina series

Simon Brett's
The tomb in Turkey
16th in the Fethering series

Cynthia Harrod-Eagles'
Star fall
7th in the Detective Inspector Bill Slider series

Next time: and a half dozen non-fiction and graphic novels


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on January 04, 2016, 02:04:29 AM
So far, so good:

(http://drn8oiexfsgf1.cloudfront.net/cdn/farfuture/L6CnZkrMQFCKedBPswUjKELdKCFentvWvDRiefRO69Y/mtime:1440064102/sites/penguinbooks.co.za/files/styles/jacket-large/public/cover/9781770228146%20-%20Sugar%20Man%20-%20Craig%20Bartholomew%20Strydom%20and%20Stephen%20Segerman%20-%20LR.jpg?itok=9s_16G1s)

 :teddyr: :teddyr:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 05, 2016, 12:34:14 PM
Ye-es!

a half dozen of the other (i.e. non-fiction and graphic novels)

Jan Russell's
The train to Crystal City :
FDR's secret prisoner exchange program and America's only family internment camp during World War II
2 more non-fiction by the author

3 graphic novels
Stories by Quin Rose
Art by Fujimar

Alice in the country of hearts : the clockmaker's story
Alice in the country of clover : Ace of heart
Alice in the country of hearts : my favorite rabbit

Lucy Worley's
The art of the English murder :
[or, how true crime has inspired fictional novels, plays, prose, paintings, poetry, journalism and later films between 1800 and 1950]
If you rather watch than read, then try the British TV documentary "A very British murder"

Jamie Russell's
Book of the dead :
the complete history of zombie cinema
2nd ed.

Next time: we'll take a greater look at the last title






Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on January 09, 2016, 12:37:40 AM
I'm rereading Shirley Jackson-Novels and Stories-its got the Haunting of Hill House,We Have Always Lived In The Castle,the Lottery,the one with women with a toothache goes into the twilight zone.
Basically-it's everything she wrote.
She is The BEST writer I have ever read!  :thumbup:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on January 11, 2016, 01:33:48 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51XCGPNYCBL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 17, 2016, 05:48:17 PM
Ye-es!

Jamie Russell's
Book of the Dead :
the Complete History of Zombie Cinema

564 films or about 1 every 7 and a half weeks, since . . .

Chronologically
1932's White Zombie
to 2013's with several films.

Alphabetically
Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies
to Zombrex : Dead Rising Sun

Budget wise
from $100
to $200 million

Director wise
from a 12-year-old female to
a 69-year-old male

Geographically
Most from the U.S., but . . .?! also films from some 3 dozen countries in . . .
Africa -- Asia -- Europe -- North America -- and South America

More facts

Most of these films are a product of their time and place. Take the films made in any decade, they could not have been made in any previous decade, and by the next decade, they are mostly passé.

And they are both overtly sexual, especially in Europe, and overtly and covertly political, both here in the U.S. and in Europe.

While the author rues the lack of originality, for the most part only 59 or 10.46% are unoriginal or . . .

parodies -- prequels -- remakes -- sequels -- and/or WTFs.

The problem actually seems to be that more thought went into thinking of a title than making the film, but . . .?! here are . . .

The 10 Best Zombie Films (in Chronlogical Order)

1932 White Zombie
1943 I Walked with a Zombie
1956 Invasion of the Body Snatcher
1968 Night of the Living Dead
1978 Dawn of the Dead
1981 The Beyond
1993 Delamorte Dellamore
2002 28 Days Later
2004 Shaun of the Dead

and pick a 10th

1940 The Ghost Breakers

And yes, the author is a Brit. Thus you not only get a British sensibility to an American subject, you get that delightful Brit wit. You laughs may differ, but . . .?! I LOL! 88 times.

Next time: 6 of 1 mystery and a half dozen non-mysteries


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 17, 2016, 08:17:08 PM
I still think ABRAHAM LINCOLN VS ZOMBIES is an absolutely brilliant film, especially coming from The Asylum.
I enjoyed it more than I did ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER despite the latter's much bigger budget.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on January 18, 2016, 06:14:10 AM
I remember reading an interview with the head honcho at Asylum. Think he was discussing Transmogrifiers and he was saying that he'd made his movie with 1/100 the budget of Transformers, but was Transformers 100 times more enjoyable?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 21, 2016, 10:16:25 PM
I just finished reading DESTINY AND POWER: THE AMERICAN ODDYSSEY OF GEORGE H.W. BUSH by John Meacham.

This was a remarkable book about a remarkable man.  Meacham was given extraordinary access; over 100 hours of interviews plus free use of the former President's personal letters and journals.  He paints a powerful picture of a complex figure, a transitional President who was the last member of the Greatest Generation to hold the nation's highest office.  A fascinating glimpse of his interactions with famous figures ranging from Dwight Eisenhower and LBJ to Chairman Mao, Ronald Reagan, and Mikhail Gorbachev.  I highly recommend this book!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: javakoala on January 22, 2016, 11:11:25 AM
Currently reading Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death.

Deeply disturbing and distressing stuff when you apply it to the technological explosion that took place AFTER this book, but the current trend matches his concepts built around the influence of television on communication and the fragmenting of attention.

You go to Youtube and look up something on international tax scams. In the recommended videos, you get a couple of music videos and clips from reality TV programs. Search for one thing on Amazon, and you get unrelated nonsense recommended.

Watch "the news" and get a blurb about the number of American troops shot in a foreign country immediately followed by 3 minutes of Jaden Smith's new moronic Twitter comment.

Sadly, when you point this stuff out to most people, they either respond with, "So?" or they can't be disturbed while playing with their phones.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on January 24, 2016, 11:21:29 AM
It's been a while so I'm taking another crack at

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51wTdKS5U4L._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on January 27, 2016, 06:41:16 PM
About to crack open

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61CXGUc6EcL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

Looking forward to learning about a few cool movies since I'm a novice in this genre (though I love what I have seen!)

The author didn't respond to my FB friend request so I'm not going to be able to pester him for more details...  :bluesad:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 01, 2016, 05:17:19 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 mysteries

J. A. Jance's
Cold betrayal
10th in the Ali Reynolds series

Kathy Reichs'
Bones of the lost
16th in the Temperance Brennan series
If you want something to watch, rather than read, then watch the TV series "Bones."

Muller and Pronzini's
(husband and wife writing duo)
The Body snatchers' affair
6th in the Carpenter and Quincannon series
I have the next in the series, which I'll get to reading later.

Tasha Alexander's
The Counterfeit heiress
in the Lady Emily series

Nele Neuhaus'
Steven T. Murray, translator from the German
The Ice queen
3rd in the Police Detective Pia Kirchhoff series
I also have the next in this series, which I'll also get to reading later.

Anne Perry's
The Angel Court affair
26th in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series
She also writes the Monk series, and I also have the latest in that series, which I'll also get to reading later.
And if you want something to watch, rather than to read, then watch the TV film "The Cater Street Hangman," which was the 1st book in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series.

Next time: and a half dozen of the other non-mysteries


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 13, 2016, 03:45:52 PM
Ye-es!
A half dozen non-mysteries

Alistair Reynolds
Doctor Who :
harvest of time

George Veasey
Eight World Cups :
my journey through the beauty and dark side of soccer
15 more non-fiction (all non-sports related)
07 more juvenile non-fiction (all sports related)
and 1 more fiction

The 1 more fiction is the one with the interesting history. A number of years ago, the employees of a Long Island (New York) newspaper, the author being one, decided to write a tell-all, trash novel about the sex life of a Long Island divorcee. With each employee, including the author, writing one of the chapters in the novel. The only thing forbidden was any type of good writing. And lo and behold, much to the surprise of everyone involved, especially those who wrote it, the book became a massive best seller. So massive was it, that a female relative of one of the writers had to be hired to go around and pose as the book's writer. And they called it "Naked Came the Stranger." There was even some talk of writing a sequel called "Stranger Than Naked." Though, that never seem to have happened. So, take heed, even the worst written can become a best seller.

John Jackson Miller
Star Wars :
a new dawn
(graphic novel)

Lee Cockerell
Creating magic :
10 commonsense leadership strategies from a life at Disney
1 more non-fiction

Recommended by . . .
ABC Sports
Army Corp of Engineers
ESPN, Inc.
Girl Scouts of America
and the London Business School

By the Book :
writers on literature and the literary life from The New York Times Book Review
Pamela Paul, editor.

Frank Winan
The World of Post Secret

after . . .
1,000,000 postcards
10 years
5 more non-fiction books
art exhibits
live events
show performances
an app
a website

$1,000,000 raised for suicide prevention.

Next time: 6 of 1 (mysteries) and a half dozen of the other (non-mysteries)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 13, 2016, 08:36:26 PM
I have four books going at once now:  Three biographies (Woodrow Wilson, Elizabeth I, and Thomas Jefferson) and one NT analysis: FABRICATING JESUS: How Modern Scholarship Distorts the Gospels.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on February 18, 2016, 03:53:47 PM
     Just finished this....

(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5133OsWzQTL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

     Interesting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: sprite75 on February 18, 2016, 11:32:53 PM
Going back to the old standbys - the Thrawn trilogy novels by Timothy Zahn.  The original Episode VII.

(http://momentumbooks.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/thrawn_trilogy.jpg)

Damn that man can write.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 25, 2016, 07:07:17 PM
Ye-es!

6 of 1--mystery.

James Runce
Sidney Chambers and the problem of evil
3rd in the Grant Chester series
If you want to watch something rather then read something, then watch "Grant Chester," which will begin its 2nd season here in the U.S. on March 27 or there about.

Wiehl and Henry
A deadly business
2nd in the Mia Quinn series

Sara Blaedel
The forgotten girls
in the Louse and Camilla series

Donna Leon
Falling in love
in the Commisario Guido Brunetti series

Mike Befeler
Mystery of the dinner playhouse

Richard Castle
Driving heat
7th the Nikki Heat series
If you want something to watch rather than something to read, then watch Castle on TV.

And here we have fictional characters written by a fictional character played by a real person Nathan Fillion. Nor is this the 1st time this has happened. Earlier and still going on today we have the mystery series "Murder, She Wrote," which is written by the fictional character Jessica Fletcher, but . . .?! played by the real person Angela Lansbury.

Next time: a half dozen of the other--non-mysteries


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on February 27, 2016, 07:54:41 PM
i finally got around to finish A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony. i had put it down a few months ago and i had read other stuff at the time. i forget what though it's written down somewhere i'm sure. but i only had 3 chapters left anyways that's 67 pages i think i had left to throw a random number in there.
and it's still not one of his best books but not his worst either. i don't think the book is terrible by any means but i dunno if it's cause the 1st book i read by him and in the series was the 10th book Vale of the Vole way back in i think (1995) so reading the 1st novel a few years later may change my opinion on it i dunno.

but reading it a 2nd time it's not a book that i think got worse the 2nd time i read it like some books can sometimes. you read a book years later you love and end up what the hell was i thinking? no it was nothing like that. it was a decent book that took forever for things to happen in it. it has a really slow start much like The Source of Magic the 2nd book in the series that i read only the 1st couple of pages so far.

this one i downloaded as i own the 1st novel but not the 2nd one yet. i use to own it but i think i lent it to someone but i never got it back i just can't remember to whom it was? don't you just hate that?  i know I do!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 28, 2016, 03:27:04 PM
Going back to the old standbys - the Thrawn trilogy novels by Timothy Zahn.  The original Episode VII.

([url]http://momentumbooks.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/thrawn_trilogy.jpg[/url])

Damn that man can write.




This is what Is Star Wars canon--at this time.

7 films
Episodes I to VII.

2 TV shows
The Clone wars
Rebels

and 11 books in the order in which they take place in the Star Wars universe.

Dark Disciple
Lords of the Sith
Tarkin
A New Dawn
Heir to the Jedi
Battle Front : Twilight Company

the Aftermath trilogy
Aftermath
Life Debt
Empire's End

New Republic : Bloodline

and the e-book original "The Perfect Weapon."

Thus, Thrawn, who is part of the EU or Expanded Universe,  is not part of the canon. Still . . .?! He is such a popular character, that there is some talk, with an on-going TV series and an "X" number of films still out there, he'll become part of the canon.

And I agree that the Thrawn trilogy is well written, as are some of the other non-canon books, but . . .?! I have found (IMHO) that they are the exception and not the rule to what is "good." No, if one wants something "good" to read in Star Wars, then stick with the canon books. Excluding the last 5 canons, I have read or skimmed in preparation of reading the 1st six, and they are, on average, better than the non-canon, much of which I find unreadable. The only problem I have found with the canon is that the villains are often far more interesting than the heroes.

And some final thoughts.

1st. Actually, my favorite character in Star Wars, canon or non-canon, is in the Thrawn trilogy. Not Thrawn, but . . .?! Captain Pellasson, who--as my wont--with my favorite characters nicknamed "The Old Man."

2nd. The Thrawn trilogy is well written and well worth reading, except . . .?! The graphic novel version of the trilogy is not. Which is the opposite of most books I have seen. The graphic novel version of a book being far more readable than the book itself.

And 3rd. If one is looking for something. Star Wars or not Star Wars. Film or TV show. There are no better introductions to any of those, then those published by the British publishing house Dorling Kindersley, which is named after the 2 men who found the publishing house. I cannot espouse any of those published more highly, if one is looking for an introduction to an hither unknown subject in Star Wars or not Star Wars. Film or TV show. But . . .?!

We'll see what we'll see!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 04, 2016, 02:57:58 PM
Ye-es, I promised you all a half dozen of the others--non-mysteries, but . . .?!
I think I'll postpone that to next time, and instead . . .?!
Open myself up to you all and reveal a little bit about myself.

As I posted previously, one of my favorite pastimes is to think up nicknames for some of my favorite fictional characters. Here are some more.

Crosscut
Get Up and Go
The Gold Dust Twins
The Human MacGuffin
Moon Calf
Mr. Unlonely
Poster Boy
Pretty Boy
Prince Giggler
Reject
Smiley

And here are a dozen more from films and TV.

Brain Trust
Dead Meat
Deep Closet
Dummy (as in stupid)
Innocence Personified
The Little Marquis
Little Snot
Master Mind
The Oh Yeah Kid
Squid Bait
Underage Father
The Virgin Stud

As one can see, I like my characters, and I like 'em dead. Almost 70% are killed off sometime during the story or the next story. And here's some ways on how they were killed.

bayoneted -- black magic -- drowned in the tub -- giant squid -- knifed -- neck broken -- shot -- unknown -- and vehicular accident.

Otherwise . . . they are . . .

Young. Old.
Villain. Hero. Neither.
Every time period.
Every nationality.
and Every economic class.

Next time: a half dozen of the other--non-mysteries




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on March 05, 2016, 09:27:49 AM
BERLIN DIARY by William Shirer-Want to hear a first hand account of the rise of a meglomaniac? Here ya go-and its very similar to whats going on in this country with Trump.
THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH by William Shirer-another great book on the history of Nazi Germany. Scary as hell-this aint ancient history,people-it could happen today.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on March 05, 2016, 09:54:08 AM
If one is looking for something. Star Wars or not Star Wars. Film or TV show. There are no better introductions to any of those, then those published by the British publishing house Dorling Kindersley, which is named after the 2 men who found the publishing house. I cannot espouse any of those published more highly, if one is looking for an introduction to an hither unknown subject in Star Wars or not Star Wars. Film or TV show.

Agreed.  Dorling Kindersley does an outstanding job producing introductory books on any subject.  I know their publications in my areas of expertise are top notch.   Highly recommended.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 13, 2016, 02:30:04 PM
Ye-es!

A half dozen of the other--non-mysteries.

01. Gerald Posner's
God's bankers :
a history of money and power at the Vatican
10 more non-fiction

02. Dave Steven's
The rocketeer

One (IMHO) of the few times the film is superior to its source material, for the following reasons.

a. The film's story is clearer, because it is less convoluted.
b. The film's characters are more likable.
c. The film's story is more straightforward and thus less disjointed.
d. The film's characters are less stupid.
e. The film has fewer plot holes.

3. Michael Farquhar's
Bad days in history :
a gleefully grim chronicle of mistakes, mayhem, and misery for every day of the year.
6 more non-fiction
From 210 B.C. to 2014 A.D. or 2224 years.

4. Jack D. Ferraiolo's
Sidekicks
1 more juvenile fiction

5. Ray Fawkes'
One soul :
the graphic novel

18 children
both boys and girls
from birth to death
from every time period
from every nationality
from every economic class

in memory of the author's son,
who died the same day he was born,
and no child has ever had a better memorial.

6. Adam Rockoff's
The horror of it all :
one moviegoer's love affair with maniacs, frightened virgins, and the living dead
1 more non-fiction

Next time: Doctor Who


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 18, 2016, 04:37:53 PM
Ye-es!

5 writers
Doctor Who :
the visual dictionary
updated and expanded to 2009
up to and including the 10th doctor
32 episodes not previously discussed

The writers wrote themselves into the corner, when they wrote that the Doctor was restricted to only 12 regenerations, but . . .?! There are ways around that.

1st. He can receive more regenerations from someone who can also regenerate.
2nd. He can be given more regenerations by the other Time Lords.
3rd. The other regenerations need not count against the total.
4th. Once he reaches his 12th regeneration, the whole regeneration cycle can begin over again.
5th. When out of regenerations, do not regenerate, but inhabit someone else's body.

7 writers
Doctor Who :
the visual dictionary
updated and expanded to 2014
up to and including the 12th doctor
27 episodes not previously discussed

Next time: reasons the TV show has been around so long. Your reasons may differ.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on March 18, 2016, 11:16:35 PM
well i finished 'From a Potters Field' by Patricia Cornwell and i really loved that book. it i think anyways one of the best in the series so far. i hope the next one is even better but the reviews on bookbub is telling me otherwise sadly. i'm not reading the next one anyways i'm reading 'the bone collector'' by Jeffery Deaver' and i'm really loving it! i have loved the film for years and i finally am getting around to read the book the film is based on and it's a great book so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on March 21, 2016, 11:04:04 PM
Right now:

Reckless: My Life as a Pretender by Chrissie Hynde

On deck:

Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs!: My Adventures in the Alice Cooper Group by Dennis Dunaway


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 23, 2016, 04:26:21 PM
Ye-es!

Continuing with the 2 visual dictionaries posted above, or reasons from them why "Dr. Who," has continued for almost 50 years. Both during the time period covered by the dictionaries and previously.

I. Bigger
A. Budgets

Though, the "cheap jack" earlier budgets never seemed to detract from the show, but seemed to add to its appeal.

II. Complexity
A. The characters
1. bad gone good
2. good gone bad
3. neither bad nor good, but both.

III. Flexibility
A. Where
1. earth
2. parallel earths
3. other planets

B. When
1. from Roman Pompeii to today to sometime in the future.

C. What
1. mostly science fiction, but also . . .
2. adventure
3. historical
4. horror
5. and even western

IV. More
A. Women, including female villains, which broadens the possibilities
B. People of color
C. Non-heterosexuals
D. Children

From a program seemingly made to appeal to children to a program that appealed to adults to a program that continues to appeal to adults, but with more children as characters. With over 2 dozen of them featured in the dictionaries.

children normal and abnormal and normal with abnormal powers -- the sick: both physically and mentally -- and those thought to be possessed and/or in danger.

Next time: back to 6 of 1 mysteries and a half dozen of the other non-mysteries





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 28, 2016, 07:00:30 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 mysteries

01. Anthony Horowitz
award winner
Moriarty
either a prequel or sequel to the author's previous "House of Silk."
Though, if children should seldom be the villain, as they are not credible, these should not be the hero. They can be as good as the hero, they can even be better than the hero, but they should not be the hero, because they are just not credible as heroes.

02. Rhys Bowen
The Edge of  Dreams
14th in the Molly Murphy series

03. Peter Robinson
award winner
In the Dark Places
in the Inspector Bank series

04. Antonio Manzini
translated from the Italian by Anthony Shugaar
Black Run
2nd in the Deputy Police Chief Rocco Schiaure series

05. Martin Walker
American ex-pat
The Children Return
7th in the Bruno, Chief of Police series
9 more non-fiction

06. Ann Cleeves
award winner
White Nights :
a thriller
2nd in the Shetland Island quartet
If you want something to watch, then watch "Shetland."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 04, 2016, 04:09:51 PM
Ye-es!
A half dozen of the other (non-mysteries.)

01. Batman '66.
v.3.

7 new stories. 7 new villains from the '60's TV series.

The Black Widow (Tallulah Bankhead)
The Archer (Art Carney)
False Face (Malachi Throne)
Hilda (Estelle Winwood)
Louie, the Lilac (Milton Berle)
Marsha, Queen of Diamonds (Carolyn Jones)
The Minstrel (Van Johnson)

02. James Lucano
Star Wars : Tarkin

The problem with the new books that are officially canon is that the villains are far more interesting than the heroes, and this is no exception. Though, it does answer 1 question: "How many people died on the Death Star?" 300,000 of your best and brightest. Or enough to man 100 Star Destroyers. I don't care how many people you have, that has got to hurt.

03. De Connick and Lopez
Captain Marvel :
Higher, Further, Faster, More.

04. Ian James Ross
War at the Edge of the World
1st one in the Twilight of the Empire series
and 1st novel

While not the central figure in the story, this is the story of the Emperor Constantine, as seen thru the eyes of our hero. One hopes the series continues, if only because, whereas, most writers cannot write an action scene to save their lives, the action sequences here are surprisingly good. Though, if there is another in the series, one does not know whether we will continue with the same hero, as in this one, or we will get a series of revolving heroes.

05. Star Wars :
the Clone Wars Character Encyclopedia

06. Adam Bry
Star Wars :
Rebels - the Visual Guide

While one has seen clips from both animated TV shows, one has never seen a full episode of neither one. Thus, one cannot say whether one show is better than the other. Though, one can say people are right about one thing. "Rebels" is more geared to children than "The Clone Wars." Of the 206 characters featured in #05, only 5 or 2% can be considered to be children, while of the 17 characters featured in #06, 4 or 24% can be considered to be still children.

Next time: again 6 of 1 (mysteries) and a half dozen of the other (non-mysteries)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on April 05, 2016, 08:10:18 PM
well i finally finished the bone collector last nite and i really loved it. for those who love a great mystery check it out cause it's a MUST read!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 12, 2016, 10:51:25 AM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 (mysteries)

01. Elly Griffith
award winner
The ghost fields
7th in the Ruth Galloway series

02. Kathy Reich
Flesh and bones
14th in the Temperance Brennan series

03. J. P. Sendler
Whispering shadows
translated from the German by Christine Lo
German version published in 2007
English version published in 2015
1 more non-fiction
1 more fiction
from author

04. Lindsey Davis
Deadly election
3rd in the Flavia Albia series

One thing about her books, they are seldom about the mystery, being about something else. This one is about elections and auctions. The other great writer (IMHO) about mysteries in ancient Rome is Stephen Saylor. We'll get to him later.

05. Carol Miller
A Nip of murder
2nd in the moonshine mystery series

The one writer who rivals Chibnall in incomprehension on how the police operate in a case of murder. Still, this writer knows the area in which the story takes place, and the plot, which sets all in motion, is one of the more cleverer ones out there.

06. Conner Brady
A June of ordinary murders
1st novel
1st in a series?

And I do hope it continues as a series, as I did enjoy this one very much. I just hope he stays away from political murders. From the 1880's, when this one takes place to almost the 1980's, a century of political murders, and darn--that's ugly.

Next time: a half dozen of the other--non-mysteries


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 12, 2016, 06:40:57 PM
I just finished two historical works - THE QUEEN'S BED: An Intimate History of Elizabeth's Court by Anna Whitelock, and COLUMBUS: THE FOUR VOYAGES by Laurence Bergreen.

THE QUEEN'S BED draws heavily on the diaries and letters of the Ladies of the Queen's Bedchamber, a group of noblewomen who attended Elizabeth's most private moments: dressing and undressing her, talking with her when she could not sleep, and applying the makeup and wigs she used to disguise her aging countenance.  Overall, very well done and quite readable.

COLUMBUS is a fascinating tale about a very complex man.  Bergreen portrays Columbus as neither the one-dimensional villain so thoroughly despised on today's university campuses, nor the saintly bearer of the light of civilization as he saw himself, but as a deeply divided, almost schizophrenic man, a brilliant navigator, and a poor judge of human character.  I learned a great deal from this book and highly recommend it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on April 12, 2016, 09:22:22 PM
Reading my bank statements: yikes...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on April 15, 2016, 03:43:09 PM
Right now:
Tough Sh*t: Life Advice From a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good by Kevin Smith

On deck:
Living Like a Runaway by Lita Ford


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on April 19, 2016, 02:37:28 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41TD%2BuyRttL.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 19, 2016, 05:07:46 PM
Ye-es! I said I was going to do a half dozen non-mysteries, but . . .? as I seem to have gone on a historical fiction kick, I'll put those off to next time, and do Suzannah Dunn's "The Lady of Misrule." The lady being Lady Jane Grey, who was married at 16 in 1553, served 9 days as Queen of England, between the reigns of Edward VI and Mary I, and then was executed at 17 along with her teenage husband Lord Guildford Dudley in 1554.

Actually, little is known about her, and even less is known about him, and much that we thought we knew about them, now seems to be bogus.

Still what is known is fairly accurately described in this book.

That the dislike of him, and he is generally disliked, while his wife is mostly liked, which is strange, considering his age, makes little or no sense, as they were probably more alike than different.

Both were about the same age. Probably he was a year or two older than her. Though, the case can be made, that he was actually younger than his wife, or, as he is called in the book "a baby hubby."

Both were considered to be good looking, especially him, as he was considered one of the handsomest boys in England of that time. Maybe because he was the complete anti-thesis of his father and older brothers, who were all muscular dudes with dark hair and eyes and facial hair. While he was slim, blond, blue eyed, and clean shaven.

Both were set to marry others previously. She was set to marry Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset's son, and he was scheduled to marry Margaret Clifford, the Earl of Cumberland's son. Ironically, if they had married as originally planned, they both would have probably have lived a longer life.

It is especially interesting to know why the consent for him  to marry Margaret was denied by her father.

Both felt hurt by their spouse and left their spouse to return home to their parents.

He because she would not make him king, but only her consort, even if he had been promised that once married to his wife, he would then become king. That does not make him a mama's boy nor his mother's favorite, as some have suggested, as there is not proof of neither, but . . .?! It does raise questions about his intelligence.

She because he, in his inexperience, apparently hurt her, the first time he attempted to have sex with his wife. Which for some strange reason was sometime after their wedding. Of course, as the book states, if the experience was unpleasant for her. It was probably equally unpleasant for him.

Practice helps. Maybe because one or more of his older brothers, all of whom were married, took pity on him and took him aside and gave him the "sex talk," because she, apparently, came to enjoy their sexual coupling.

Both seemed to have gotten over their hurt, as they both returned to each other.

After they were both imprisoned in separate parts of the Tower of London, again as in the book, they often met while walking in the gardens of the Tower. Chaperoned, of course. As there was to be no more sexual coupling, because of the fear that she might become pregnant and produce a heir to the throne.

If her death was tragic and unnecessary, then his was equally so.

As both were not a threat to the monarchy.

Even though were both loyal to each other, he especially. For if he had walked away from his wife, had their marriage annulled, then he probably would have survived, but . . .?! since he stood by her, for reasons yet known, he was executed along with her.

And both were loyal to their Protestant religion, because neither seemingly converted to Catholicism or the religion of England at that time, unlike his father and her father-in-law who did convert to Catholicism, before he was executed.

An anomaly does exist. While not all men like him, Tennyson called him "that trivial boy" in one of his poems, men seem to like him better than most women, this writer being an exception. Mark Twain, who was a good judge of character, going so far to call him "that splendid stripling" in his "Prince and the Pauper."

Greater understanding? More empathy? Who can say?

Or, it might be as in the book, if we knew more about him and his real life, he'd come across as being a better person than his wife, who his favored by most writers, including most women writers.

And this book would make a good TV series or miniseries.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 20, 2016, 03:17:51 PM
An addendum to the above.

One wishes that there was something called time travel, because one wishes that one could go back in time to talk to people we know so little about, such as him. Who, I think we'd find, was very much the typical upper class teenage male of the 16th century. And not only of the 16th century, but . . .?! with aspects we could understand in the 21st century. Teenage males have not changed that much in the past 500 years.

There are other aspects that aroused my interest, which I suppose is a sign of a well written book.

Consort
He has the unique position of being the 1st consort to rule England. Not the last, there'd be others, but . . .?! The 1st. And a poor lot they were. Even when regarded as being a joint pair (Ferdinand and Isabella, William and Mary, etc.) the distaff half is regarded as being the better half, but . . .?! That raises the question, why would a man supplant himself into an inferior position, in a time, when the male was regarded as being far superior to the female? I don't know whether I'll do anything with that, but . . .?! There are a couple of more topics I'm going to do something with.

Germany
Not only am I reading historical fiction set in 16th century England, I am also reading historical fiction set in 16th century Germany, or, the Germany as it exists today. And while they were much alike at that time, there were some notable differences, which we'll post here.

Wedding
The non-royal wedding of the decade. Everyone who was anyone (all of the 1%ers of that time) was there., for . . .

4 great ruling families
3 couples
2 days of merriment (no expense spared)
1 wedding, but . . .?!

What do you get a teen or tween (average age 14) who has never been married ere? And what'd you get them today?

I'll have to check that out and post it here. Though, the oldest of the couples, as they were old enough to drive, if barely, would probably get their own matching set of wheels, probably a convertible, each costing somewhere in the low 6 figures. I know other couples of such a big wedding have received their own completely furnished apartment somewhere in the world. Though, none of the couples were old enough, then or now, to live on their own. I don't know what living arrangements were made for the youngest couple that was married, but . . .?! the other 2 couples went to live with the groom's parents.

And 5 more historical novels on the same subject. Who knew their story was so popular. And maybe a 6th, though, this one is a little different than the others, as it is a novel for children. Which we'll report on, as I make my way thru a long backlog of books to report on. Though . . .

Next time: a half dozen of the other (non-mysteries) + 1







Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on April 29, 2016, 02:37:18 PM
(http://covers.booktopia.com.au/big/9780007933655/the-dead-town.jpg)

     This is the last book in the series, and I'm not really enjoying it as much as I did the first four; actually, the fourth one wasn't as good, either.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 30, 2016, 04:00:20 PM
Ye-es!
and a half dozen of the other (non-mystery) + 1

J. P. Ahonen and K. P. Alare
Sing No Evil
translated from the Finnish
graphic novel

Duggan, Medra, and Baldeon
Nova Corpse
3rd in the Nova series

While the writing in the series is wildly uneven, it has become one of my favorite series in the Marvel Universe.

George O'Connor
The Olympians

v.1. Zeus -- v.2. Athena -- v.3. Hera -- v.4. Hades -- v.5. Poseidon -- v.6. Aphrodite

Having read v.2. and v.6. As of 2014 with 7 more volumes to come--supposedly--featuring the other gods in the Greek mythos.

Each volumes includes a family tree -- a bibliography -- brief biographies of minor characters in the myths -- discussion questions. Thus, a good introduction to the ancient Greek gods and myths, even if the writer plays down the sex and violence inherent in some of the myths.

Brubaker and McNiven
Captain America
graphic novel

Cornell and Brooks
Dark Reign
in the Young Avengers series

Abrett and Canning
Guardians of the Galaxy
v.2. War of the Kings

Another favorite series in the Marvel Universe

Susan Casey
Voices in the Ocean :
a Journey into the Wild and Haunting World of Dolphins
a Canadian ex-pat
an award winner
2 more non-fiction

They just want to be our friends and we . . .
run over them-both accidentally and deliberately -- shoot them -- poison them -- gaff them -- beat them -- stab them -- and garrote them.

And they fight back by . . .
tooth raking -- jaw clapping -- tail lashing -- head butting -- biting and high speed chasing.

If the writer stands back and just reports what she sees, then it is powerful stuff. Unfortunately, she seems to cater to a double standard. One for people whom she likes, and one for people whom she dislikes.

Next time: a historical novel, while they are still fresh in my mind, and then a compare and contrast.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 14, 2016, 12:51:27 PM
Suzannah Dunn
The Lady of Misrule
9 more fiction

Which we'll take up the next time. Though, now that my interest in the 16th and earlier has seemingly revived, we'll talk about topics we are going to talk about over the year.

Why historical fiction may be good fiction, it is seldom good history.

The non-royal wedding of the decade, if the decade is the 1550's.

It never changes. Even after 450 years, except when it does change.

England vs. Germany 1550's style.

Richard III and John, Duke of Northumberland : separated at birth?

It never changes. Even after 450 years, except when it does change : the teen years.

The ghosts who walk . . . the Tower of London.

Sometimes seeing is believing.

The duties of a page, or, what you job entails, when you are a boy between 7 and 18.

They ain't fooling round or its bark is worst than its bite.

The battle of the broads.

Until then, besides the one named, here are some of the best books on the subject.

Susan Higginbotham
Her Highness the Traitor
One of the few Americans writing on the subject.

Margaret Mullally
A Crown in Darkness

A. C. H. Smith
Lady Jane
One of the few men writing on the subject and a novelization of the film, which we'll talk about later.

These are fiction for a couple of non-fiction books on the subject.

Leandra de Lisle
The Sisters Who Would be Queen

Eric Ives
Lady Jane Grey : a Tudor Mystery

Next time: Suzannah Dunn's The Lady of Misrule




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 16, 2016, 01:53:12 PM
Ye-es!

Or, as I previously posted . . .

Suzannah Dunn's
The Lady of Misrule

As to why it works so well, . . .?

1. The writer knows and understands children, and we are talking about children here. The lady here is no more than 16 or 17, her servant is the same age, and her husband is no more than a year or two older, if not less.

2. The writer is more factual than some writers writing the same story. Giving the husband a servant while he is imprisoned in the Tower of London. Actually, historically, it looks like he had 2 servants and his wife had twice as many: 3 ladies-in-waiting and a pageboy to do the heavy lifting and toting.

3. It is a more focused story. Only covering those days from the time of 1st imprisonment to the double execution.

4. Unlike some writers, she covers their deaths. Deaths that were . . .
--tragic
--inevitable
--banal

5. It still hurts at the end of the story, as it should.

6. The husband or the baby-hubby, as he is called in the story, gets a more sympathetic telling of his story, then some writers give him, which makes for a better story.

7. And he goes from being unlikable to likable, or as my university drama prof said: "A story is good, only if the character is different at the end of the story, then he was at the beginning of the story."

There is 1 thing in the story that does not work, and that is . . .

8. The characters' insistence that their chronological age will eventually give them a "get out of jail free" card, when it has been only 2 generations and thus awareness that Edward V and his younger brother, Richard Duke of York, who were even younger than the characters here, also went into the Tower, never to be see alive again.

Why then when children get a bye in sympathy, baby-hubby always gets such an unsympathetic characterization? Is it because . . .

1. Husband and wife are so diametrically opposed to each other, that to like one is to dislike the other. Except . . .?! The are actually more alike than unlike. Both positively and negatively.

a. If she was so strong in her faith, then so was he.
He actually may have been stronger. She was accompanied to her execution by a Catholic priest, while he asked for a Protestant minister to accompany him, and when that was turned down, he turned down being accompanied by the same priest who accompanied his wife to her execution.

b. If he had a snit and went home to his parents and had to be brought back, so did she.

c. If she was stoic at her death, then so was he.
Why it is thought not is that "He offered up prayers at his execution" was mistranslated as "He offered up tears at his execution." (A paraphrase.) Though how one can mistranslate "prayers" as "tears" is beyond me.

d. If he enjoyed sex with his wife, then so did she. But . . .?! every night?!
After their 1st dismal attempt to have sex, which sent her home to her parents, if we believe in what she said, she said she enjoyed spending every night in her husband's bed with her husband, and this is in a time, when couples not only slept in separate beds, but . . .?! in separate rooms.

e. If she was serious about being a good ruler, then so did he.

f. If he learned anything, while imprisoned, before his death, then so did she.
I think he learned to be a little less arrogant and a little more humble, and I know she learned that her actions had an effect on others beside herself.

g. If she didn't deserve to die, then neither did he.

2. Computer programmers have a name for it. They call it "GIGO!" or "Garbage In/Garbage out!" And what we are now learning about him from previously is probably mostly garbage.

3. Beauty or comely = stupidity.
Which is not only an unworthy stereotype, even if he was one of the best looking/handsomest youths of his generation, we now know it is probably not true, as we now know his brothers and sisters were well-educated, being multilingual, and he was probably the same.

4. Written by women for women about a woman.
No, as a man, while I know we men sometimes do not understand women, the opposite is true, as there are some women who do not understand men, especially those of yesteryear.

And I think the story would make a good TV miniseries.

Next time: a compare and contrast, or, there are only so many ideas in fiction.


 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 21, 2016, 03:56:27 PM
A compare and contrast, or there are only so many ideas in fiction, comparing and contrasting . . .

Colin Cotterill
Six and a half deadly sins
10th in the Dr. Siri Paiboun series

and

Richard Compton
Hell's gate
2nd in the Detective Mollel series

Both writers are white men.
Both are Brits.
Both are ex-pats.

Both heroes are sent on an undercover assignment.
Both uncover a surprise.

Both stories feature actual historical events.
Both feature American characters in major roles.
Both feature Chinese villains.
Both feature characters who you think you can't trust, but can, and characters who you think you can trust, but can't.
Both feature stories where tribalism trumps nationalism.
Both stories are part of a series.
Both feature stories that could be simpler, as they are not easy to understand.
Both stories feature a twist at the end.

Both take place in different times.
--The former in 1979.
--The latter sometime after that.
Both take place in different places.
--The former in Laos.
--The latter in Kenya.

Thus, a bakers' dozen of similarities and 2 differences.

Next time: England vs. Germany : 1550s style.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on May 22, 2016, 10:11:35 PM
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5176%2BdXN%2BJL._SX312_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

Cracked this open while I'm waiting for a book I'm supposed to review to arrive in the mail. It's not a guidebook, it's a history of classic Hollywood studio B-features (and of the smaller studios like Monogram that released nothing but B-movies).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 22, 2016, 10:33:49 PM
Just finished a neat book called CONGRESSMAN LINCOLN.
It's a well-researched history about Abraham Lincoln's single term in the U.S. Congress and how he took the lessons he learned there and applied them to his Presidency.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 02, 2016, 03:11:54 PM
Ye-es!

Jody Hedlund
Luther and Katherine
readers' guide
9 more fiction
2 more young adult fiction
award winner
knowledge of subject comes honestly, as her father and uncle were ministers.

Much of the story I already know. Thus, while the writer deals with his depression, which suffering from, I know is such a black hole, she sands off his rough edges. For a son of a peasant is always a peasant. No matter how you dress him up. He was also a product of his time, so some of what he believed, should be abhorrent to us today. Though, in one way, he was way ahead of his time, even today, as he believed sex between a couple could be used not only for procreation, but . . .?! also pleasure. Something some people even today can not get their heads around.

Now for something a little different, as while it has shrunk somewhat in size, the Holy Roman Empire, was and where Germany is today, thus this is England vs. Germany 1550's style.

Closely knitted families
England: Yes (i.e. the Dudleys)
Germany: Yes (i.e. the Luthers)
Advantage to both

Convents
England: No
Germany: Yes
Advantage to England, as families could not longer dump their unwanted daughters on to the Church.

Peasant Revolts
England: Yes. 15th century
Germany: Yes. 16th century
Advantage to neither

Arranged marriages
England: Yes
Germany: Yes
Advantage to neither

Teenage marriages with either bride, groom, or both still teens
England: Yes
Germany: Yes
Advantage to neither

Marriage consummation
England: after church ceremony
Germany: before church ceremony
Advantage to both

Witness to marriage consummation required
England: No
Germany: Yes
With all did they or did they not, advantage to Germany

Women controlled by male relative (i.e. father, husband, older brother, son, etc.)
England: Yes
Germany: Yes
Advantage to neither

Rigid class system
England: Yes
Germany: Yes
Advantage to neither

Strong relationship between master and servant
England: Yes
Germany: Yes
Advantage to both

Competent political leadership
England: Mixed
Germany: Yes or more so than England
Advantage to Germany

Political stability
England: externally. Seldom, except from Scotland, attacked from the outside, but . . .?! internally . . .?!
Germany: internally, or, at least more so, than England, which was one of the most internally politically unstable countries in Europe, but . . .?! externally . . .?!
Advantage to both

Wracked by religious conflict
England: Yes
Germany: Yes
Advantage to neither

Religious freedom
England: No, as religion of country was decided by ruler for all his or her subjects.
Germany: Yes, or, at least, more so than England, as not the emperor, but the ruler of each German state decided the religion of subjects. Thus more religious variety.
Advantage to Germany

Compulsive church attendance laws
England: Yes
Germany: No (?)
Advantage to Germany

Jews
England: No, as the Jews in England would be expelled some time earlier and not allowed to return to some time in the 17th century.
Germany: Yes. Not that the Jews did not work and live under restrictions nor were they immune to attack nor that some wanted to expel the Jews, but . . .?! a concentrated effort to expel the Jews would not occur to the 1st half of the 20th century.
Advantage to Germany

Mental and physical health systems lacking
England: Yes
Germany: Yes
Advantage to neither

Advantages
England: 5
Germany: 9
Germany wins this time.

One more connection between England and Germany. When the old Holy Roman Emperor died, King Henry VIII of England put in a bid to be the new Emperor, and what history might have been like, if he had won, but . . .?! he was outbid by Carlos V or Charles V, who became the new Holy Roman Emperor. Carlos V or Charles V, between the times of Charlemagne and Napoleon I, the most powerful ruler in Europe. For excluding France, his empire extended from Russia in the east to the Atlantic in the west, from the Baltic and the North Sea in the north to the Med in the south. Some bought and some inherited from his many relatives. There is actually a Spanish TV miniseries about him, and while it is thus in Spanish, I do believe there are English subtitles, I'll have to see if I can find a copy of it, so to do a report on it.

Next time: 6 of 1 + 1 mysteries








Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on June 13, 2016, 11:44:44 AM
(http://www.outpost19.com/MadeleineE/GBlackwell-MadeleineE-promo.jpg)

Sort of a memoir/novel/literary criticism crossover based on VERTIGO. So far I'm digging it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on June 15, 2016, 09:27:48 PM
Brave New World


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on June 15, 2016, 10:11:52 PM
the RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH-by William Shirer.Written by a guy who was THERE.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Allhallowsday on June 15, 2016, 10:42:33 PM
the RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH-by William Shirer.Written by a guy who was THERE.


A long time ago, I got about two thirds of the way through.  That book was interesting and oh so very long...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on June 15, 2016, 11:20:34 PM
the RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH-by William Shirer.Written by a guy who was THERE.


A long time ago, I got about two thirds of the way through.  That book was interesting and oh so very long...
It is a big book-but I still pick it up. The reason I like it is because its got so much to sift through and discover.
The only book I like better is BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE.-by Dee Brown.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 15, 2016, 11:32:30 PM
Ian Kershaw, a British historian, recently wrote a two volume, 1200 page biography of Hitler.  It was a bit of a slog but I found it fascinating!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on June 15, 2016, 11:53:41 PM
Ian Kershaw, a British historian, recently wrote a two volume, 1200 page biography of Hitler.  It was a bit of a slog but I found it fascinating!

Id read it-I love history books.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: frank on June 16, 2016, 03:14:09 AM
Right now:

Reckless: My Life as a Pretender by Chrissie Hynde

On deck:

Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs!: My Adventures in the Alice Cooper Group by Dennis Dunaway


I've seen Alice Cooper with his Hollywood Vampires a couple of weeks ago in - of all places! - Herborn, Germany. Honestly, that's smack dab in the middle of nowhere and I still wonder how they got there for their only concert in Germany...

Was fun, though.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on June 16, 2016, 08:22:34 AM
^^ Cool, man! I've only seen Alice once back in the early 1990s, but he put on one of the best shows I've ever seen.

Anywhoo, on topic - currently reading:

Tearing Down the Wall of Sound: The Rise and Fall of Phil Spector by Mick Brown


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 16, 2016, 09:38:33 AM
Ian Kershaw, a British historian, recently wrote a two volume, 1200 page biography of Hitler.  It was a bit of a slog but I found it fascinating!

Id read it-I love history books.

That's about all I read.  I have a LOT of books on Hitler and his cronies.  Not a normal personality in the bunch!
Kershaw really helps you understand Hitler, and you're left wondering how a man with so little education or talent, who never was able to hold down any kind of steady job outside the military, was able to become so powerful.  It was a fascinating read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on June 16, 2016, 10:32:01 AM
a different sort of book about the third reich is https://mises.org/library/vampire-economy

the Vampire Economy. The guy who wrote was a stock market guy (and a socialist, somehow). It's all about the Nazi economy and the insane business environment there. The only guiding principle was nationalism and even that was more just a fig leaf for unobstructed power. America had nationalist sort of policies in the 1800's and still does to an extent but the Nazis' was just a hodgepodge of different kinds of capitalism, fascism, marxism and whatever the leadership wanted on a given day.

(https://mises.org/sites/default/files/vampireeconomy.gif)

features frequent use of the word ersatz which is always a plus


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: frank on June 17, 2016, 03:01:15 AM
^^ Cool, man! I've only seen Alice once back in the early 1990s, but he put on one of the best shows I've ever seen.

Anywhoo, on topic - currently reading:

Tearing Down the Wall of Sound: The Rise and Fall of Phil Spector by Mick Brown

Forgot my 'on topic':

The harder they come by T.C. Boyle


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 18, 2016, 01:47:01 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 (mysteries) + 1 mystery

Alex Grecian
The Harvest man
4th in the Scotland Yard's Murder Squad series
The series has been so successful, that the 5th in the series, though I forget the title, has been recently released.

What's wrong with it.
I still think that using Jack the Ripper as some type of super criminal is a stale and trite concept.

What's right with it.
"Hold on, Walter! We're coming for ya, boy!"
While a lot of books begin well, but . . .?! fade toward the end, this has one of the best endings I've seen. And the writer, unlike a lot of other writers, knows kids.


Jamie Runcie
Sydney Chambers and the Forgiveness of Sins
4th in the Grant Chester series.
And if you want to watch something rather than read it, then watch TV's "Grant Chester."

As typical 6 stories in 1.
1st. A Supposed murder victim disappears and the supposed murderer seeks sanctuary.
2nd. Possible spousal abuse among the upper class.
3rd. A piano player accidentally, or not so accidentally, has a piano dropped on his head.
4th. A friend upon approach of her wedding starts receiving poison pen letters.
6th. While on vacation in Italy with his German wife and young son, is accused of stealing a valuable painting

But . . .?! It is the 5th story, one of uncovering physical and sexual abuse of the students at an all-boys school, that is the real interesting one, as it shows how poorly Chibnall's "Broad church" was written.
Runcie knows how boys relate to each other. Chibnall did not.
Runcie knows the excuses abusers use to justify their abuse. Chibnall did not.
Runcie knows the excuses non-abusers use to ignore the abuse. Chibnall did not even try.

Runcie. I knew that name sounded familiar. His father was once Archbishop of Canterbury.  Actually, the hero in this series is based on his father.


David Housewright
Unidentified woman #15
in the McKenzie series


Marshall Ryan Mcresca
A Murder of mages
1st in the Maradane Constabulary series
a mystery series with a fantasy twist
1 more fiction. 2nd book. Same as the 1st. Different characters, but . . .?! same location.

Boys are dropping dead in the street, and no one knows why. Girls are disappearing from the street, and no one knows where. I hope the writer goes in one or both of these directions, then the direction he seems to be going in the next in the series. And women writers are not the only ones to fall back on stereotypes for kids. So do men writers. Here being one example.


Bill Crider
Between the living and the dead
22nd in the Dan Rhodes series

He's been writing these since 1986 with this one being published last year or 2015.


Jeanne Dams
The Gentle art of murder
16th in the Dorothy Martin series


Damian Boyd
Swansong
4th in the DI Nick Dixon series


Next time: a concentrate on "Lady in waiting." Susan Meissner



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Allhallowsday on June 21, 2016, 10:11:44 AM
the RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH-by William Shirer.Written by a guy who was THERE.


A long time ago, I got about two thirds of the way through.  That book was interesting and oh so very long...
It is a big book-but I still pick it up. The reason I like it is because its got so much to sift through and discover.
The only book I like better is BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE.-by Dee Brown.

I love BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE.  Unfortunately, I lost my copy.  That's a book I'd be rereading if I had it. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on June 21, 2016, 03:07:58 PM
the RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH-by William Shirer.Written by a guy who was THERE.


A long time ago, I got about two thirds of the way through.  That book was interesting and oh so very long...
It is a big book-but I still pick it up. The reason I like it is because its got so much to sift through and discover.
The only book I like better is BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE.-by Dee Brown.




I love BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE.  Unfortunately, I lost my copy.  That's a book I'd be rereading if I had it. 


I have a first edition-2 of em-I'll give it to you if ya want.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on July 01, 2016, 11:28:01 AM
50 Novels That Have Changed My Life

I’ve read them all and highly recommend them, sometimes because they're great, sometimes because they're disturbing, sometimes because they're sad, sometimes because they made me stop and think, in the best cases because they're darn good. But they all have impact, and I'd recommend every one of them as a worthy read.



The Picture of Dorian Grey, by Oscar Wilde

The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles

The Shining, by Stephen King

Gone With The Wind, by Margaret Mitchell

Interview With The Vampire, by Anne Rice

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien

The Virgin Suicides, by Jeffrey Eugenides

Possession, by AS Byatt

The Rules of Attraction, by Brett Easton Ellis

The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett

Moll Flanders, by Daniel Defoe

Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens

Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte

Junky, by William S. Burroughs

If You Could See Me Now, by Peter Straub

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman

Animal Farm, by George Orwell

Dubliners, by James Joyce

Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert

Mysteries of Winterfell, by Joyce Carol Oates

Sophie's Choice, by William Styron

Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder

You Must Remember This, by Joyce Carol Oates

The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffennegger

Last Day of A Condemned, by Victor Hugo

Washington Square, Henry James

All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque

The Ruins, by Scott Smith

A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess

The Confessions of Nat Turner, by William Styron

The Valley of Fear, Arthur Conan Doyle

This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Memories of the Ford Administration, by John Updike

House of the Spirits, by Isabele Allende

them, by Joyce Carol Oates

American Psycho, by Brett Easton Ellis

11/22/63, by Stephen King

Letters From The Inside, by John Marsden

The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry

The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro

Brightness Falls, by Jay McInerney

The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle

All Creatures Great and Small, by James Herriot

The Death of Ivan Ilyich, by Leo Tolstoy

Shogun, by James Clavell

Sarum, by Edward Rutherfurd

Lost Empires, by JB Priestly



Six For Honorable Mention:

Floating Dragon, by Peter Straub

The Book of Abraham, by Marek Halter

Charlotte’s Web, by EB White

Between the Bridge and the River, by Craig Ferguson

In The Beauty of the Lilies, by John Updike

The Redemption of Pontius Pilate, by Lewis B. Smith



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on July 01, 2016, 02:59:08 PM
The only reason Where The Wild Things Are was not on that list I made up there is it is not a novel, per se, but I am ashamed I forgot to mention The Princess Bride! Grrr, too many wonderful books have been written in this world!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 02, 2016, 04:42:00 PM
The only reason Where The Wild Things Are was not on that list I made up there is it is not a novel, per se, but I am ashamed I forgot to mention The Princess Bride! Grrr, too many wonderful books have been written in this world!

ER. You put me to shame. I have read or partially read only a dozen of them. Though, I am somewhat surprised that you recommend Doyle's "The Valley of Fear." While it is my favorite of the Sherlock Holmes novels, it is not held in high regard by most Sherlockians. I do know how you feel about this, but . . .? off the top of my head, it seems that almost half of the books you recommend have been made into a film or TV production. And while this may not be the case for any of these, sometimes the film or TV production turns out to be better than the book source. For Example: "Lair of the White Worm." Review at this website. I would not recommend the book, even though it is by Bram Stoker of "Dracula" fame.

Now, this will be a long post, which means I'll have to post it in parts, so all bear with me or not as the case may depend.

Ye'es! With a caveat.

Normally, I talk about a book I have read in its entirety, but . . .?! here I have read only the prologue and the 1st 2 chapters. Though, it is on my list of books to read. Thus, the info found here is based upon reviews of the book from people who have read the book.

As for "Princess Bride, . . ."

"My Lady Jane"
3 narrators. 3 writers.

Gifford or G (19) Written by Brandi Ashton
Edward (16) Written by Cynthia Hand
Jane (16) Written by Jodi Meadows.

Do not be put off by . . .
the age of the teenage narrators nor
that this is an YA novel nor
the length of the book. O'er 500 pages,
as it has a lot going for it.

So what does one like?
a. action
b. fantasy
c. historical fact and fancy
d. literary allusions
e. romance
f. writing that is good
g. all of the above

Pick G. All of the above, but . . .?! most of all, pick it for its wit.

G, who involuntarily turns into a horse at sunrise and into a man at sunset, and . . .
Jane, who is soon to be his wife, in an arranged marriage, and who is the sharpest took in the shed, and thus, always one step ahead of her future husband.

She: Why the long face?
He: That's it! No more horse jokes.
She: Neigh!
He: Nay? . . . Wait! . . . Was that a horse joke?
Me: ROTFL!

obviously, the writers tell it better than I can, but . . ?! it has some of the funniest lines I have ever seen in a book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 02, 2016, 05:04:33 PM
Ye-es!
Historical Fact and Fancy

Edward
Who is, by the standards of today, a bit of a sexist.

Jane
Who cannot conceive of a world beyond her beloved books.

G
Who is dumb as a pole.

And there is a grain of truth to all 3. Though, G is the least historically correct of the 3.

The Name
in the book: Gifford or G
in real life: Guildford or Gil.
Though, why he is the only one that gets a name change, I have no idea.

The Age
in the book: 19
in real life: ?
Then: while, at 1st, he was thought, like most husbands of his day, to be older than his wife.
Now: with the belief that she was born earlier, and he was born later, than 1st thought, he may be one of the few cases, where the husband is younger than the wife.

The Brothers
in the book: only 1. Stan "the Man" Dudley
in real life: 4 older. 1 younger
Henry or Harry: who, as a teen, died on a military campaign in France
John or Jack: whose health was so shattered by his imprisonment, that he soon died after his release from prison, and in his 20s.
Ambrose: who outlived them all.
Robert or Robin: who is the best known of them all.
Then Guildford: who, as a teen, was executed for treason.
And Henry or Hal: who, as the youngest of them all, was killed on the battlefields of France.
Note the trend.

Intelligence
in the book: dumber than his wife.
in real life: highly educated. Maybe even multilingual.
He only appears dumb, as he is almost constantly compared to his wife, who'd make almost any man look stupid.

The writers do raise a point about him, that I have ne'er seen raised ere. Though, it does go a long way to explain why he looked so different from his father and brothers.
Was he a cuckoo born and reared in another man's nest? Was he illegitimate? For . . .

If they had dark hair, then he had light hair.
If they had a swarthy complexion, then he had a peaches 'n' cream complexion.
If they had dark eyes, then he had light colored eyes.
If they were of average height, then he was 6' tall, which was tall for that day and age.
If they had facial hair, then he was clean shaven.
If they were handsome, especially Robert, who was known as "The Gypsy," then he was more handsome, being regarded as the most handsome man of his generation.

Fact and Fancy
Fact: it's Edward, Jane, and G versus Queen Mary I,
but . . . instead of . . .
Protestantism versus Catholicism
it's . . .
magic users and their supporters versus the opponents of magic users.

And cameos by . . .
King Henry VIII
Queen Elizabeth I
Mary, Queen of Scots
John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 02, 2016, 05:14:25 PM
Ye-es!
Literary Allusions
Both book and film
Both known and unknown
And maybe a record for the number of film allusions in one book.

Film (known as to why)
Beauty and the Beast: the "Curse."
Dragon heart: the quote.
Game of Thrones: the "Red Wedding"
Jaws: another quote.
Lady Hawke: shape shifting into a horse.
Lady Jane: the characters.
The Lion King: Henry VIII.
Shakespeare in Love: the counterfactual fun.
Tangled: the frying pan as weapon and The Snuggly Duckling!

Film (unknown as to why)
A Knight's Tale
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Robin Hood: Men in Tights

Book (known as to why)
East of the Sun and West of the Moon: man by night. animal by day.
the Harry Potter series: Jane, the 16th century version of Hermione Granger

Books (unknown as to why)
the works of Jane Austen


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 02, 2016, 05:28:04 PM
Ye-es! But . . .?!
Mostly in book and film "Princess Bride."

Can we get a film o'er here?
Actually, we can as Ridley Scott's Scott Free has picked up the film rights to the book.

Let the casting begin, and, while these are not my suggestions, someone has suggested . . .
Arin Logan as Jane
Tom Hughes as Edward
Jeremy Irvine as G

Though, there are several things about this that gives me pause.
1st. Scott Free has done nothing like this ere.
2nd. The length of the book. Though, now, more than 1 film is being made from 1 book, and this book does divide neatly into pre-Queen Jane and post-Queen Jane.
3rd. After the director, the actors, who are they going to get to promote it properly, as improper promotion is 1 reason that "Princess Bride" underwhelmed the box office.




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 02, 2016, 05:34:40 PM
Ye-es!
The Writing

Like all good writing, the characters in the book do grow and develop o'er the course of the book.

Edward
. . .has a major attitude adjustment, when his life is saved by a Scottish pickpocket, who is . . . (wait for it!) . . . a girl.

Jane
. . .comes to understand that there are other worlds out there beyond her beloved books.

G
. . . changes the least. He ain't going to get any smarter, folks, but . . .?! we and they do come to see, that he has . . .
a sensitive soul,
a practical mind,
and a good heart.

And people in this book actually talk like real people talk. With all the hemming and hawing and the ums and the ers.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 02, 2016, 05:41:02 PM
Ye-es!
Finally

This is one of those things that look like it should not work, but . . .?! it does. Maybe, because . . .

That while the relationships here, may not be actually historically accurate, they are remarkably realistic.

That the writes make the good point, that while sometimes we attach expectations and stereotypes to males, especially young males, these expectations and stereotypes may not be good for us nor them.

That for a fantasy novel, the history is surprisingly correct, as far as I can tell.

And the way the book ends, should be the way the real story ended.

Next time: something else.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 02, 2016, 08:18:37 PM
I made ER's "Honorable Mention" list!!!!   :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on July 07, 2016, 09:37:43 AM
Kevin, I think I have a gift for (being dumb) not thinking ahead and guessing how a mystery will come out, and I remember The Valley of Fear's conclusion actually did catch me off guard in a wow moment, and I think I got into the love story, too, lol. Yeah, The Hound of the Baskervilles was much better, a classic and a lot of fun, but The Valley of Fear resonated both because it was a happy time when I read it, and the idea of Freemasons (which they basically were) turning into the mob and terrorizing a community was fun. So I cited it on my list. I love Sherlock Holmes stories and have read all of ACD's. I was way into them in eleventh grade and serially read them, and watched Jeremy Brett's old Mysteries!, and  wow, takes me back.  :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on July 07, 2016, 01:50:24 PM
     My neighbor loaned me this, as my wife had never read the title story, and I haven't read any of them for over twenty years....

(http://pictures.abebooks.com/isbn/9780451099525-us.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on July 13, 2016, 04:16:24 PM
     Just started this, loving it....

(http://images.mobilism.org/?dm=M9AD)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on July 13, 2016, 08:27:48 PM
Around Twenty-five Supposedly Good Novels I Didn’t Like:

(Not saying they’re necessarily bad, I just didn’t like them.)


Carrie, by Stephen King

House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski

The Catcher In The Rye
, by J.D. Salinger

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte

The DaVinci Code
, by Dan Brown

We Were the Mulvaneys
, by Joyce Carol Oates

Divergent, by Veronica Roth

World Without End, by Ken Follett

Beloved, by Toni Morrison

Tess of the D’Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

The Color of Magic
, by Terry Prachett

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
, by Stieg Larsson

Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell

Roots, by Alex Haley

The Mists of Avalon, by Marian Zimmer Bradley

Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden

The Sun Also Rises
, by Ernest Hemingway

Fight Club
, by Chuck Paluhniuk

The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan

The Client, John Grisham

Red Storm Rising
, Tom Clancy

Doctor Sleep, by Stephen King

The Sword of Shannara, by Terry Brooks

The Satanic Verses
, by Salman Rushdie

My Antonia, by Willa Cather


Again, not really blasting them, just saying they failed to reach me the way they did others.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AoTFan on July 14, 2016, 03:15:22 PM

I'm reading The Witch With No Name, the final book in The Hallows series by Kim Harrison.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 21, 2016, 07:08:10 PM
Continuing with My Lady Jane

Jane: placing a pillow and blanket beside her bed on the floor.
G: (Gallantly) You need not sleep on the floor.
Jane: Oh, no, my lord. That is for you.
G: Mouth drops open, but . . .?! nothing comes out.
Me: LOL!

And that is why, or my paraphrase of another scene from the book, is why I am looking forward to the film. Though, we will not see anything ere 2018, as with scenes like that, the film is already half written. Though, we need to find a director who can do comedy, and more importantly 2 actors under 20 and 1 actor under 25 who can do comedy. And most importantly, while we know who is going to try to make it, we do not know yet who is going to promote and distribute it, as it is going to need careful promotion to be a success at the box office.

Other than the comedy, which I find more hilarious than most, it is not that original a story.

Based in part on East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Fantasy writer Dennis McKiernan already took the short folktale and expanded it into a multi-volume fantasy novel. Whose title I am afraid I have forgotten.

Real people as the heroes in a fantasy novel. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, whose title character scholars believe is based on a girl called Alice Liddell, who the author knew.

A land where people turn into various types of animals. Already done. Though, in a book whose title and author escapes me. Though, as here the alpha animal seems to have been the horse, when in human form the rulers, and the beta animal being the hound, when in human form, working for the horse or the rulers. Other animals being everything from snakes to mice and everything in between.  While here we have besides the horse and the hound, the hawk, the fox, the ferret, and the skunk. Do they have skunks in England?

Next time: 6 of 1 mystery + 1 more mystery.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on July 25, 2016, 02:05:12 PM
Around Twenty-five Supposedly Good Novels I Didn’t Like:

(Not saying they’re necessarily bad, I just didn’t like them.)


Carrie, by Stephen King

House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski

The Catcher In The Rye
, by J.D. Salinger

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte

The DaVinci Code
, by Dan Brown

We Were the Mulvaneys
, by Joyce Carol Oates

Divergent, by Veronica Roth

World Without End, by Ken Follett

Beloved, by Toni Morrison

Tess of the D’Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy

The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

The Color of Magic
, by Terry Prachett

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
, by Stieg Larsson

Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell

Roots, by Alex Haley

The Mists of Avalon, by Marian Zimmer Bradley

Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden

The Sun Also Rises
, by Ernest Hemingway

Fight Club
, by Chuck Paluhniuk

The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan

The Client, John Grisham

Red Storm Rising
, Tom Clancy

Doctor Sleep, by Stephen King

The Sword of Shannara, by Terry Brooks

The Satanic Verses
, by Salman Rushdie

My Antonia, by Willa Cather


Again, not really blasting them, just saying they failed to reach me the way they did others.



     I just re-read this (Amazon has it cheap) you might like it....

(http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1173808028l/331010.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on July 31, 2016, 02:58:21 PM
Reading a pre-publication novel as an "inside reader" for a friend. Have to answer a questionnaire about it. Sort of nervous that I won't like it. This will keep me busy for the next three weeks.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on August 01, 2016, 01:06:50 PM
     I read this when it first came out, found it in a library recently and decided to read it again....

(http://bonanzleimages.s3.amazonaws.com/afu/images/2361/9078/DSCN1273.jpg)

    Still enjoyable.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 01, 2016, 03:24:11 PM
I just finished reading THE BORGIAS: THE SECRET HISTORY by C. J. Meyer. This carefully researched work makes a convincing argument that the lurid Borgia family of legend was systematically slandered after they were no longer around to defend themselves and that most of the "Borgia legend" is pure bunk. Don't tell Showtime!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 01, 2016, 06:35:51 PM
Ye-es!

6 of 1 mysteries + 1 more mystery

Elsa Hart
an American ex-pat
1st novelist
Jade Dragon Mountain
1st in the Li Du series
at least, hopefully, the 1st in a series

Alexander McCall Smith
an ex-pat from Africa
The Novel Habits of Happiness
10th in the Isabel Dalhousie series

Mark Billingham
Time of Death
13th in the DI Tom Thorne series
If you want something to see, then there is the TV series with David Morrissey

Paul Doiron
award winner
The Precipice
6th in the Mike Bowditch series

Belinda Bauer
Rubber Necker

Andrea Camilleri
A Beam of Light
19th in the Inspector Montalban
If you want to see something, then it is an Italian TV series

Victoria Thompson
Murder in Amsterdam Avenue
17th in the Gaslight Mystery series

Next time: Susan Meissner's "Lady in Waiting"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on August 03, 2016, 07:22:04 AM
Gilliam-Esque: A Pre-Posthumous Memoir by Terry Gilliam


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on August 03, 2016, 03:06:23 PM
Gilliam-Esque: A Pre-Posthumous Memoir by Terry Gilliam

Cool! I thought about buying that. I think it's still in my Amazon wishlist.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on August 03, 2016, 08:35:09 PM
Gilliam-Esque: A Pre-Posthumous Memoir by Terry Gilliam

Cool! I thought about buying that. I think it's still in my Amazon wishlist.

I got it from the library last week, I'm about halfway thru it at the moment. Very fun read thus far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 15, 2016, 04:04:21 PM
Susan Meissner
Lady in waiting
11 more fiction

2 women = 1 from the present + 1 from the past
their connection = a ring with their name JANE on it.

The writer nails the woman from the present.

woman as wife -- woman as sister -- woman as patient -- woman as mother -- woman as friend -- woman as daughter.

She just nails it. The only one where she misses (IMHO) us woman as employer.

On the other hand . . .

If she nails woman from the present, then she fails at woman from the past. For where the people from the past are remarkably like the people from the present,  which we'll get to later, there are differences, which she fails to note. The most obvious way is that JANE in the past was spelled, not as she has it as JANE, but . . .?! as IANE. And we know this, for this is what was carved on the wall of one of the prison cells in the Tower of London. We are not sure for whom it was carved nor who carved it, but . . .?! ask one of the Beefeaters (who do you think makes the gin?) there, and they'll tell you a romantic tale of love won and lost and not regained till the other side of heaven.

No, if one is ever in London (England) I strongly suggest a visit to the Tower, where I have been twice. For when the 1st new white settlement was founded in North America, the Tower was old, as there is over a 1000 years of history there and criminality, literary, militarily, monetarily, politically, zoologically, and almost every type of -ly, -ry, and -ty that can interest one. So . . .?!

Next time: a half dozen mysteries


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on August 15, 2016, 08:48:41 PM
The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time by Douglas Adams


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on August 17, 2016, 01:42:12 PM
     The latest in one of my favorite series....

(https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/tabs.web.media/b/u/buab/buab-square-orig.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 18, 2016, 02:20:09 PM
Hap and Leonard. A nice series, I haven't read the latest, but . . .?! I have read most of them. Of course, if one wants to watch something rather than read something, then . . .?

The books have been converted into a TV series "Hap and Leonard" w/ James Purfoy as HAP Collins and Michael Kenneith Williams as LEONARD Pine on the Sundance Channel. It's done well enough that's its been renewed for a 2nd season in 2017. I haven't seen the series, so I can't say how closely it follows the books, but . . .?! If one gets the Sundance Channel, then one might want to give it a try.

And that's all folks!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 20, 2016, 12:21:46 PM
Let's see . . . I just finished one that I've been reading on for the last two months, Doris Kearnes Goodwin's THE BULLY PULPIT: ROOSEVELT, TAFT, AND THE GOLDEN AGE OF JOURNALISM.  It was a fascinating look at the friendship and political partnership between Theodore Roosevelt and his Secretary of War, William Taft, and how that friendship was ended when Roosevelt came to believe that Taft had "sold out" his progressive agenda to the party's Old Guard and their robber baron masters.  The book also focused on how the first generation of American investigative journalists, people like Sam McClure, Vincent Steffens, and Ida Tarbell helped bring the facts of abuse and corruption before the American people and create the public outcry for reform.  While not as engrossing as TEAM OF RIVALS, this was still a top-notch work and very readable.

After finishing that epic work of history, I was in a mood for some good fiction, and Stephen King's END OF WATCH fit the bill very nicely.  This is the final volume of a trilogy that began with MR. MERCEDES, and it follows the twisted machinations of the brain-damaged killer, Brady Hartsfield, as he uses his psychic power to continue his homicidal pursuits, with retired Detective Bill Hodges trying to unravel how he is forcing people to commit suicide without ever leaving his hospital room.  This was a very enjoyable conclusion to a good series by a great author.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 24, 2016, 11:01:31 AM
Ye-es!
A half dozen mysteries

Peter May
Entry island
19 more fiction
1 more non-fiction

Linda Castillo
award winner
After the storm
7th in the Kate Burkholder series

Sarah Ward
In bitter chill
1st novel
1st in the Sadler and Childs series
Or, at least, I hope the 1st in a series

Bampton -- Eyam -- Hattersley -- Hattersage -- Clawton -- Matlock
An area that has not much changed in 1700 years.

Where the major crimes are . . .
bicycle thefts -- burglary -- minor drug offenses

No wonder director/writer Ken Russell set his "Lair of the White Worm" in Derbyshire.

Lynda Laplace
award winner
Wrongful death
in the Anna Travis series
If you want to see something, rather than read something, then the TV series "Above Suspicion."

Elly Griffith
award winner
The zig zag girl
1st in the Magic men series

She comes by her knowledge honestly. Her grandfather worked this vaudeville circuit in the U.K.
There is another title in the series, which I have not seen. I just hope the villain less obvious, then in this one. If I can figure out the villain ere the end, then it is too easy.
And she has another series, which we'll get to later.

Steven Saylor
Wrath of the Furies :
a novel of the Ancient World
15th in the Roma Sub Rosa series

Along with Lindsay Davis, the 2 greater writers of mysteries set in Ancient Rome.
Both have a new hero take o'er from the old hero in the series.

He: son takes o'er from father.
She: stepdaughter takes o'er from stepfather

He: a man, of course
She: a woman, of course

He: an American
She: a Brit

He: openly homosexual
She: heterosexual

(IMHO) he does the more credible characters that are children, from royalty to slavery

Next time: again, if I can find my notes, another compare and contrast


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on August 26, 2016, 03:45:05 PM
(http://images.ucpress.edu/covers/isbn13/9780520273023.jpg)

An abridged translation/adaptation of the epic Hindu poem rendered in modern English.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 30, 2016, 01:43:38 PM
Okay. I found my notes, so . . .

Reading books at random, one sometimes comes across books, back-to-back, that are eerily similar. For example . . .

Ace Atkins
The redeemers
5th in the Quinn Colson series

and

Charlene Harris
An ice  cold grave
3rd in the Harper Connelly series

Both feature a southern location
He: Mississippi
She: western North Carolina

Both feature heroes that are outsiders.

Both feature a hero(ine) that has difficulty with a sibling.
He: he an younger sister
She: she an older stepbrother

Both feature more than one villain.

Both feature a female sheriff.
He: acting
She: elected

Both feature teenage villains.

In both Texarkana (Texas) plays a part.
He: the present
She: the past

Both feature villains that are shot and killed.

Both feature sex scenes
He: more sedate
She: more graphic

Both feature villains that go to prison.

Both feature the sexual assault of a child.
He: a girl
She: a boy(s)
He: more graphic
She: more sedate

Both feature more than one law enforcement agency working together in conjunction and cooperation to take down the villains.

Both feature the murder of a child.
He: in the past
She: in the present

Both feature characters that are not all that they seem.

Both feature a major storm.
He: a tornado
She: an ice storm
He: in the past
She: in the present

Both feature an attack with a shovel or spade.

Both feature a suicide.
He: in the past
She: in the present

Both feature profane conversations.

Both feature a hero suffering a wound in the left arm.

Both hint at characters that are not heterosexuals.

Both feature a knife attack.

Both feature a chase thru a forest.

And they live . . .
He: in Mississippi
She: southern Arkansas

But?! . . . after reading both books (IMHO) he could not have written her story, and she could not have written his story.

Next time: magazines read . . . and why










Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on September 03, 2016, 10:47:17 PM
I just finished an interesting book called THE RETURN OF GEORGE WASHINGTON: 1783-1789 by Edward Larson.  Here is my Amazon Review:

This is an invaluable book for Washington scholars, shedding light on a seldom studied era of our first President's life - the six years between the time he surrendered command of the Continental Army to Congress and his taking the oath of office as President in 1789.  We see here how instrumental he was in the framing of the U.S. Constitution, and the crucial role he played during the battle for ratification and the election of the first Federal Congress.  There are also many personal touches, too - his letters to Lafayette, Hamilton, and Madison, his comments during and after the Convention in Philadelphia. Too often seen as the "marble man," here we see a very human and at times anxious Washington, doing all he can to secure the liberties won in the Revolution for future generations.  Well-written, flawlessly researched, and extremely readable, I highly recommend this book!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on September 06, 2016, 06:34:53 AM
I haven't read anything by Clive Cussler in many years - frankly, SAHARA turned me off of him completely - it was just a bit too silly for me.  But my sister handed me one of the adventure series that he is ghost-writing with another author these days, and I found it to be downright fun.  THE SOLOMON CURSE follows archeologists/treasure hunters Sam and Remi Fargo to the island of Guadalcanal, where they discover a sunken city in one of the bays with links to the Japanese occupation, a plot to overthrow the government, and a lost race of giants.  Fun, silly stuff, quickly read and quickly forgotten, but to answer the eternal question posed by Decimus Meridius Maximus,  I was indeed entertained!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on September 06, 2016, 11:56:05 AM
     Another one I've just finished re-reading....

(http://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1358967823i/107105._UY400_SS400_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on September 06, 2016, 09:30:51 PM
Tonight I finished ANDREW JACKSON by Robert Remini, an excellent, brief, and highly readable biography of our seventh President.  I'd forgotten I had this one till I found it while cleaning house this summer!  Now to start in on the pile of books I have purchased in the month since I found out Hastings was closing down!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 10, 2016, 02:33:16 PM
Ye-es!

What magazines I read, and why I read 'em.

Cigar Aficiando
--for a look at a way of life and people beyond our own.

Entertainment Weekly
--for the entertainment news (American perspective)

J-14
--for the teen gossip

Mother Jones
--for a different look at politics

Sceptical Inquirer
--for the truth and nothing but the truth, as they see it.

Sight and Sound
--for the entertainment news (British perspective)

Texas Highways
--for the state

Texas Monthly
--for the state, parte dos

Time
--for the nation and the world

Town and Country
--for another way of life and people beyond our own

Next time: more magazines, and why I read 'em.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on September 10, 2016, 03:42:15 PM
Nerd Girl Rocks Paradise City: Faking It in Hair Metal L.A. by Anne Soffee

--effin' hilarious memoir of a small town rock critic who headed out to L.A. during the waning days of the Hair Metal era hoping to become the next big time Rock Journalist God ala Lester Bangs or Legs McNeil. As you might expect, the streets of Los Angeles were not exactly paved with gold by the time she arrived.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 18, 2016, 01:56:07 PM
Ye-es!
More magazines

AARP
--for the old folk news

Audubon
--for the nature news

Conde Nast Traveler
--for the travel news

Consumer Reports
--for the consumer news

Economist
--for news of the world

Esquire
--for the fashion news

Fortune
--for the business news

New Republic
--for the political news

Sports Illustrated
--for the sporting news

True West
--for news of the Old West

Next time: a compare 'n' contrast of 2 books associated with Empathy! the Breakfast of Champions
and later: 6 of 1 or 6 mysteries + 1 more fiction
and still later: still more magazines



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on September 20, 2016, 03:39:12 PM
     Just started this....

(https://www.buffalolib.org/vufind/bookcover.php?isn=0892967293&size=large&upc=)

     One of my favorite authors; I'd like to find a copy of this, to re-read....

(http://pictures.abebooks.com/isbn/9780446360425-us-300.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on September 24, 2016, 12:24:51 PM
(http://feralhouse.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/its-a-mans-world-510x660.jpg)

This is surprisingly insightful. The prologue feature racist WWII propaganda that is often truly deplorable in its depiction of the Japanese as buck-toothed monsters.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on September 28, 2016, 10:54:11 PM
I just finished SAMURAI: THE LAST WARRIOR by John Man. 
I lived in Japan for over 3 years, but somehow I never heard of the great revolt in 1877 led by Saigo Takamori.  This samurai warrior, who was a cabinet member of the great Emperor Meiji, led a fruitless rebellion against the modernization of Japan which failed utterly, got him and all his followers killed, and somehow made him into a national hero.  Man blends the narrative of Saigo's life with the story of the samurai class and their place in feudal Japan in a lively, readable story that is entertaining and informative at the same time.  Great read!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 29, 2016, 05:07:10 PM
Ye-es!

Susan Higginbotham's Her Highness, the Traitor (SHB)
and The 3 Janes' My Lady Jane (T3J)

While there are differences between the 2 books, which we will get to later, here are the . . .

Sames
BOTH see him--Guildford, Gil,  Gifford, G--from a different perspective than most other writers.
SHB not this tale, their tale: his mother Lady Susan Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland, and his mother-in-law Lady Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk. Still . . .?! He's referenced twice as much as any 3 books in which he appears.
T3J for the 1st time, his tale thru his eyes.

BOTH portray him in a portrait that is--probably, remarkably--true to his life.

BOTH give him credible and believable relationships with others.
His wife
SHB unlike most writers, but . . .?! probably historically correct, more likable than his wife at first. Though, she does become likable as things start to fall apart around her and she learns that her actions have an affect on others.
T3J an arranged marriage that begins with mutual dislike, but . . .?! ends with the acceptance that they need each other, as they complement each other.
His siblings
SHB with his brothers: the Dudley Boys, where he's the little bro.
T3J the finger waggle to his little sister.
His parents
SHB her eye roll, when she asks him where he's been, and he says he's been studying his classical Greek grammar. Not like she hasn't heard that one ere.
T3J his bow to his parents, when he greets them.

While some see him as the villain, BOTH see him as the victim of others, where he works better as victim than villain, as do most children his age.

BOTH make mistakes.
SHB black velvet to his execution. Maybe so, but . . .?! black velvet is so somber. "Dress your best." More likely white satin or silk.
T3J he drinks stout country ale at his wedding. Maybe again so, but . . .?! More likely wine, as was said about another young gentleman, "stout country ale was too coarse a drink for this young gentleman." And anyway, at the wedding of the year, it is more likely wine would be served: the rarest, finest, costliest possible.

And more mistakes.
SHB he protested both his betrothal and his marriage. Probably not. Not from the one known as the "Dutiful Son," and who we can presume was smart enough to realize that any protest would be a waste of breath.
T3J he wears trousers. What we know as trousers would no be invented for another 350 years or so.

Unlike many writers, BOTH emphasize his human side o'er his historical side.

BOTH surprise.
SHB from other writers, those characters that are disliked, come off better here, than those characters that are liked by other writers.
T3J surprisingly historically accurate for a comic fantasy, especially the 1st half of the book.

And more surprises.
SHB gives us a speech, just ere he was executed, which he actually gave, even if none of his contemporaries thought to write it down. And which speech given is probably near to the real speech that he gave.
T3J not Protestant versus Catholic, which has become hackneyed o'er the years, but . . .?! shape shifters versus non-shape shifters, which is a newer and fresher take on the subject.

BOTH understand the young, especially the young male of that time.

BOTH give us, what it means to lose one's . . .
SHB spouse, children to war, prison, the headsman's axe, and sorry spouses, you can be replaced. Children cannot be replaced, even if there are more of them or there are more in the future.
T3J one's ability to control one's shape shifting. While such does not exist, this is probably one of the best takes on that subject.

Next time: the differences



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 29, 2016, 06:35:54 PM
Susan Higginbotham's Her Highness, the Traitor (SHB)
and The3Janes' My Lady Jane (TFJ)

Differences

The differences in TFJ for the most part work, or make no difference in the storytelling, except for a couple, which we will get to later.

Fantastical
T3J more. People change into animals.
SHB less. People do not change into animals.

Humor
T3J more.
SHB less. Though, there is a surprising amount of it in something that is not suppose to be comedic.

Name
T3J Lord Gifford Dudley or G
SHB Lord Guildford Dudley or Gil, which is the historical version of the name.

Readability
T3J simpler to read.
SHB harder to read. Not because it is badly written, it is well written, but . . .?! because the ending is harder to take, as it is more tragic, if more historically correct.

Thus the ending.
T3J happier. The 3 main characters survive.
SHB sadder. The 3 main characters die. Edward of consumption and Gil and Jane from being beheaded.

Now the changes that do not work or make a difference in the storytelling.

The age of Gil
T3J 19 or an young man becoming an adult.
SHB 16 or an young man who is still yet something of a child.
Gil's character works better as a child than an adult.

As a story
T3J a more shallow story.
SHB a deeper story.

Next time: another compare and contrast.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 07, 2016, 09:29:32 PM
YEAR OF FEAR by Joe Urschel is a fascinating look at the kidnapping epidemic that plagued America in the early 1930's, and the nationwide manhunt for "Machine Gun" Kelly, whose kidnapping of oil magnate Charles Urschel made headlines across the nation - and made a little-known Federal agency, the Bureau of Investigation, a household word - along with its heroic director, a little known, obsessed bureaucrat named J. Edgar Hoover.  Well written and highly entertaining, this is a must read for those fascinated by the history of crime.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Archivist on October 08, 2016, 12:01:03 AM
Over the last few years I've read all the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child, and started the Vince Flynn series.  Nothing like the modern version of Mack Bolan adventure novels.

At the moment, I'm reading Frank Herbert's Dune series for about the seventh time, starting from the beginning.  Now up to Children of Dune, and finding that much of my mental imagery has been influenced by the George Lynch movie with Kyle McLaughlin.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 08, 2016, 12:47:35 PM
I just finished reading THE ETERNAL NAZI by Nicholas Kulisch and Souad Mekhennet.
This was the story of the sixty year hunt for Nazi war criminal Aribert Heim.  Heim was a doctor at the Matthausen concentration camp, where he acquired a gruesome reputation among the inmates for killing Jews by injecting gasoline directly into their hearts, performing surgery on live, conscious victims, and for displaying the skulls of his victims, stripped of all flesh, on his desk.  After the war he initially evaded being identified and lived for several years in the German resort town of Baden-Baden.  Then, as the wheels of justice began to turn, he fled to Cairo, Egypt, where he lived in hiding until his death in 1992.  Over time, he acquired a reputation as the most wanted Nazi still at large, and this book describes the ongoing manhunt in vivid detail.  A fascinating read, and one more example of why Holocaust deniers are among the most stupid people on earth.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 10, 2016, 04:45:48 PM
Ye-es!

Peter Robinson's
When the Music Is Over

as I said in "Fact of the Day," this will be a compare and contrast to the British TV show "Broad church," which is similar to this in its subject matter, but . . .?! oh so inferior in so many ways.

Robinson
The villains range from believably nasty to the credibly sympathetic, as hard as that is to believe.

Broad church
The villain is just not realistic.

Robinson
The victim or one of them.
She has just been gangbanged, thrown out of a moving vehicle, while it was still moving, so she is injured. She is high on drugs. She is drunk. And she is naked, but . . .?! when she is assailed by a 4th man in a 2nd vehicle, she fights back to the best of her ability, and when she can no longer fight back, she curls into a ball to protect herself. Not that it does her much good . . .but . . .?! Robinson understands victims and victimizations here and in the other victims.

Broad church
The victim.
He has not been gangbanged. He is not injured. He is not high on drugs. He is not drunk. He is not even naked . . . but . . .?! He does not fight back. No scratching. No punching. No kicking. No biting. Even when any of that would be instinctive. The writer here apparently has no understanding of victims and victimization.

Robinson
Sometimes when a writer delves into the subject of child sexual abuse and child murder, he or she could deal with child prostitution, date rape pills, gang rape, nudity, and underage sex, and the talk of porn videos, sexual arousal, and virginity. All of which Robinson deals with in his book. He is a writer who properly deals with the subject.

Broad church
Here there is no child prostitution, no date rape pills, no gang rape or any type of rape, underage sex, and even no nudity, except when the young victim is on the slab, and then he is covered up to his neck by a sheet. Nor is there any talk of porn videos, virginity, nor sexual arousal. Though the villain probably became sexually aroused as he killed the young victim. What the writer has here is the inability to properly deal with the subject.

Robinson
As sympathetic as he makes some of the villains in his book or not, he never seems to have more sympathy for any of them then he does for their victims.

Broad church
The villain comes across as being as deserving as much sympathy as his victim, if not more so. Especially in the 2nd season of the show, where he is allowed to walk away without being punished for what he has done.

Robinson is thus clearly the superior writer.

Next time: 6 + 1. 6 mysteries + 1 non-mystery.





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on October 14, 2016, 11:38:20 AM
(https://41.media.tumblr.com/5f63a5ea1b9d0cce787716d0eb919671/tumblr_o2any6Zq9S1qkl5tno1_500.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on October 20, 2016, 06:26:44 PM
Twenty-five days til the release of Scrappy Little Nobody, and it's a safe bet you're not as excited about that as I am!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: frank on October 21, 2016, 04:13:37 AM

Currently The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson.

Before that Crimson Shore by Preston and Child.

Next What Do You Care What Other People Think by Richard Feynman.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Ticonderoga 64 on October 22, 2016, 05:29:53 PM
This..

(http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9780399176241_p0_v2_s1200x630.jpg)

A look at paranormal investigations into cryptid sightings across America..


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 22, 2016, 09:25:21 PM
That looks cool!  I love cryptozoology, even if I am a bit skeptical.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Ticonderoga 64 on October 23, 2016, 03:58:17 AM
That looks cool!  I love cryptozoology, even if I am a bit skeptical.

It's worth checking out if only for the creepiness factor.  :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on October 23, 2016, 09:39:21 AM
Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child.  Before that I read Tripwire.  Both are 'Jack Reacher' novels.  Now all I can think of is how badly miscast Tom Cruise is as Jack Reacher in the upcoming movie.  Boggles the mind and it is too bad, really.  Lots of other action stars (and I use the term loosely - Tom Cruise an 'action star'? it is to laugh) should have come to mind long before they got down to the bottom of the barrel with Cruise. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 23, 2016, 02:56:43 PM
6 mysteries + 1 non-mystery

G. M. Malliet
either a Brit or an American ex-pat
award winner
The haunted season
5th in the Max Tudor series
Hero: English
Place: England
Time: present

A woman critic about a woman authoress for a woman reader. As a man it makes me laugh, at how much they overrate authoress Tana French, as this writer is a much better writer, who does not fall back to male stereotypes for her male characters, which Tana French did in her last book, ere her latest, which is now out. Which may be why the Max Tudor series is one of my favorite mystery series, as the authoress seems to understand men and her male characters.

D. E. Ireland
(writing duo)
Brits
Move your blooming corpse
2nd in the Doolittle and Higgin mystery series,
and yes based on the characters from "My Fair Lady"
Heroes: English
Place: England
Time: past

Charles Todd
(mother and son writing duo)
Americans
A pattern of lies
7th in the Bess Crawford mystery series
Heroine: English
Place: England
Time: past

Deanna Raybourn
award winner
A curious beginning
1st in the Veronica Speedwell mystery series (?)
Heroine: English
Place: England
Time: past

Stuart Neville
Northern Irish
award winner
Those we left behind
5 more fiction

Actually, I just read his next novel after this one, which is a sequel to this one, or this is a prequel to that one, which we'll get to later.

Matthew Guinn
The scribe
1 more fiction

the non-mystery
Donita K. Paul
Dragon quest
sequel to Dragon spell

Next time: a half dozen of the other or graphic novels


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 23, 2016, 11:14:09 PM
This past week I read 2 books:  One was PIRATE HUNTER OF THE CARRIBEAN by David Cordingly.
  This book focused on the privateer-turned governor, Captain Woodes Rogers, who helped end the reign of pirates in Nassau and brought some of the most notorious pirate lords to justice.  This was a companion volume to Cordingly's study of the pirates themselves, UNDER THE BLACK FLAG, which I also bought but have not yet read.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and it filled in some corners on my knowledge of the pirate era.  Informative and overall rather easy to follow, although it does jump topics frequently, all the topics covered are pretty interesting.

Then I re-read a work I am quite familiar with - my own first novel, THE TESTIMONIUM.  I was at a book signing the other day and things were going rather slowly, so I went to Amazon to check and see if I had any new reviews.  But then I accidentally hit the "one click purchase" option and downloaded the book to my Kindle App.

  This was my first work, and while I can see a few points where I would love to go back and do one final edit, overall I was pleasantly surprised by how well my first book held up over time.  I wrote it in 2012 and published it in 2014, and this was the first time I read it since I got my first  copies in hand over two years ago.  It is a Christian-based adventure story, but I do think that it is a novel non-Christians can read and enjoy, a memorable tale of faith, archeology, romance, and terrorism.  I did get better as I went along; my second novel, THE REDEMPTION OF PONTIUS PILATE, is a better book.  But for a first novel, I am proud of the work I did on THE TESTIMONIUM!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 30, 2016, 02:01:56 PM
Ye-es!

and a half dozen of the other or graphic novels.

Ted Naifeh
Princess Ugg
v.1. 2014
v.2. 2015
v.3. 2016?

Smith, Tanner, Lehner
Junior Braves of the Apocalypse
book 1: A Brave is Brave

Victor Hugo
Les Miserables
adaptor, Crystal Silverman
artist, Sun Neko Lee
Magna ed.
as of 2014 the 1st in what was to be 5 Magna classics

Abridged? Unabridged? This is the only edition that I found that was readable.

All from the Guardians of the Galaxy series
All by Brian Michael Bendis

v.3. Guardians Disassembled
v.4. Original Sin
v.5. The Black Vortex

Batman '66
v.4
King Tut (Victor Buono) return
The Archer (Art Carney) return
The Bookworm (Roddy McDowell) return
Lord Ffogg (Rudy Vallee) new
The Joker (Cesar Romero) return
Lord Death Man (not on TV)
2-Face Harvey Dent (not on TV)
The Penguin (Burgess Meredith) return

Probably 2-Face (Harvey Dent) is the biggest villain from the Batman comic books, which never appeared on the TV show, even after Harlan Ellison wrote a screenplay featuring 2-Face (Harvey Dent.)

Aaron and Bachalo
Doctor Strange
v.1. The Way of the Wind

To get ready for the Marvel film, which is scheduled to be released on November 4 of this year or 2016, I have gone back and started reading the comics featuring Doctor Strange. And if this is any indication, I think the film might be actually better than the comics.

Doctor Strange. While the Avengers protect the earth from physical threats, Doctor Strange protects the earth from mystical threats from his home in New York.

Here Marvel seems to be more honest than DC. While Marvel sets its stories in New York, actually naming some New York locations, DC's Metropolis and Gotham City seem to be inspired by New York without actually naming them New York. For example,  if you look at the 1st episode of 1952's The Adventures of Superman with George Reeves, the skyline showed in that episode is the New York skyline.

Next time: 6 of 1 or 6 mysteries + 1 non-mystery.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on October 31, 2016, 07:55:09 PM
Just finished "Fleetwood Mac: Behind the Masks" and starting in on "The Autobiography of Christopher Lee: Tall, Dark and Gruesome".


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 07, 2016, 03:41:46 PM
Ye-es!
6 mysteries + 1 non-mystery

The 6 mysteries

Bernard Miners
The Circle
translator, Alison Andersen
2nd in the Servaz series
Published 2012
Translated 2015
One of my favorite mystery series, but, further proof as to why this type of character should not be the villain. They are just not credible.

Peter Robinson
award winner
A dedicated man
2nd in the Inspector Banks series
Published 1988. Thus early in the series
Children done well.

Marjorie Eccles
Heirs and assigns
1st in the Herbert Reardon series
Though, not her 1st series

Jo Bannister
Desperate measure
in the Ash and Best series
Children done well.

Christopher Fowler
award winner
Bryant and May and the burning man
12th in the Peculiar Crimes Unit series
Last in the series
Children done well.

Michael Stanley
(2 white guys writing duo
South Africans Michael Sears and Stanley Trollip)
A death in the family
5th in the Detective Kubu series

and the 1 non-mystery

Kliph Nesteroff
The comedians :
drunks, thieves, scoundrels, and the history of American comedy

It began with . . .
sexism -- racism -- anti-Semitism -- and child abuse

It continued with . . .
alcoholism -- drug abuse -- and political controversy of both left and right.

And it ended with . . .
mental problems -- profanity -- and feuds.

6 Stages of a Comedian
unknown -- ere they were known -- famous -- after they were known -- forgotten -- deceased.

And the 6 Comedy Formats
vaudeville -- radio -- TV -- records -- various -- internet

Next time: and a half dozen more--graphic novels


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 15, 2016, 03:17:29 PM
Yee-es!
a half dozen of the other graphic novels

Weuman and Jones
Invasion
Young Justice ; v.4
Based on the cartoon series of the same title on the Cartoon Network

The Best American Comics 2015
Jonathan Lethen, guest editor
Comics published between September 1, 2013, and August 31, 2014
37 comic comics + excerpts from 17 comics + 95 honorable mentions

Some are familiar. Some are unfamiliar.
Some with words. Some without words
Some in color. Some in black and white
And short bios for each cartoonist included. 13 of whom are women.

Duggan, Medina, Baldeon, Santagati
Nova
v.4. issues 17-22. Original sin
v.5. issues 23-27. Axis

Bendix, Schiti, Cho
Guardians of the Galaxy
v.5. issues 24-27 + annual 1. Through the looking glass.

And they're b-b-a-a-c-c-k-k!

Gillen, Larroca, Delgado
Star Wars : Darth Vader
v.1. Vader

Naid, Dodson, Dodson, and Bellaire
Star Wars : Princess Leia

Marvel originally had the comic book rights to Star Wars. Then they lost the rights to Dark Horse, and (IMHO) the quality of them went down. Now, Marvel has the rights again, and the quality (IMHO) is once more where it was.

Next time: 6 of 1 or a little different. 6 non-mysteries + 1 mystery



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on November 15, 2016, 06:09:35 PM
(http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTQgZ3ISWXjHljuPWtoxC0J5TitrRUqV0yPYV9gP3QdSs9Idkz0)

This is one crazy book, it's sort of an old Gothic horror novel but with stories-inside-of-stories-inside-of-stories.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: bob on November 24, 2016, 08:27:38 AM
I made a real find at Goodwill yesterday with the following Ian Flemming Bond novels: Dr. No, From Russia With Love, The Man With the Golden Gun, Goldfinger, Thunderball, Live and Let Die, Casino Royal, Diamonds Are Forever, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, and The Spy Who Loved Me

oh yes, I'll be busy reading for a while


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 26, 2016, 02:44:06 PM
Ye-es!
6 0f 1 or 6 non-mysteries and 1 mystery.

Bender and Chernack
Born to be awkward :
celebrating those imperfect moments of babyhood
from the website
4th in the series


Christie Golden
Star Wars :
dark knight
4th in the Star Wars series

Normally, she writes books for a series. Having written . . .
14 in the Star Trek series -- 8 in the War craft series -- 5 in the StarCraft series -- 2 in the  Assassin's Creed series -- 1 in the Hex series + 7 non-series novels.

I 1st came across her when I read her Vampire of the Mists for the Raven loft series. A fantasy series with a horror twist or a horror series with a fantasy twist. I hold that her Vampire of the Mists is not only one of the best novels in the series. It is one of the best vampire novels ever written.


Al Roker
(yes, that Al Roker)
The storm of the century :
tragedy, heroism, survival, and the epic story of America's deadliest natural disaster :
the Great Gulf Hurricane of 1900

Not only does he talk about the most deadly hurricane ever to strike the U.S. He also talks about . . .
how weather is formed -- the history of Texas -- the history of the U.S. weather bureau -- the history of the Cuban weather service -- racism in 19th century America -- and American Cuban relations of the late 19th century.

One hopes he continues to write, as all his years of doing the weather on TV has apparently taught him something, and that is keep the story interesting and short.


Kamil and Elder
Great is the truth :
secrecy, scandal and quest for justice at the Horace Mann School

Or how almost 2 dozen employees of the New York City school abused its students--both boys and girls--for almost 3 decades.

A number of things came out of the books.
1st. The sheer number of people abusing the children who attended the school.
2nd. While most child abusers are, for what ever reason, white males, here we have women, Asian-Americans, Afro-Americans, as abusers.
3rd. A couple of hitherto unknown, to me, things arise from being abused.
a. Falling into doing pornography. Both video and pictorial.
b. The inability thereafter to be able to hold a job.

And a couple of oral histories from Svetlana Alexievich.
Voices from Chernobyl :
the oral history of a nuclear disaster
translator, Keith Gessen.

1986 the disaster -- 1996 oral histories collected -- 1997 published in Russia -- and 2005 translation published.


Zinky boys :
Soviet voices from the Afghanistan War
translators, Julia and Robin Whitley

1979-1989 the war -- 1990 published in Russia -- and 1992 translation published


and the mystery

M. J. Arlidge
(despite the initials, a male writer)
Pop goes the weasel
2nd in the Detective Helen Grace series
sequel to the Doll's house


Next time: a half dozen of the other--more mysteries






Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: frank on November 28, 2016, 06:00:38 AM
I made a real find at Goodwill yesterday with the following Ian Flemming Bond novels: Dr. No, From Russia With Love, The Man With the Golden Gun, Goldfinger, Thunderball, Live and Let Die, Casino Royal, Diamonds Are Forever, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, and The Spy Who Loved Me

oh yes, I'll be busy reading for a while


I'm also reading the series currently, just finished "The Spy Who Loved Me" - that was an odd one, not sure about it yet.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: bob on December 01, 2016, 08:07:53 PM
I made a real find at Goodwill yesterday with the following Ian Flemming Bond novels: Dr. No, From Russia With Love, The Man With the Golden Gun, Goldfinger, Thunderball, Live and Let Die, Casino Royal, Diamonds Are Forever, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, and The Spy Who Loved Me

oh yes, I'll be busy reading for a while


I'm also reading the series currently, just finished "The Spy Who Loved Me" - that was an odd one, not sure about it yet.



I bought Only Live Twice, Octop***y and The Living Daylights to complete all the Bonds novels  :smile:



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 03, 2016, 04:49:35 PM
Ye-es!
a half dozen of the other mysteries

Stella Cameron
British ex-pat
Out comes the evil
2nd in the Alex Duggins series

Barry Maitland
British ex-pat
award winner
Crucifixion Creek
1st in the Bell tree trilogy
Hero: Australian
Place: Australia
Time: Present

Denise Moore
award winner
Blood, salt, water
5th in the Alex Morrow series

Felix Francis
son of the late, great Dick Francis,
who went from being a jockey to being a mystery writer
writing 40 fiction,
2 non-fiction,
all on the subject of racing,
and who wrote 4 with his son,
who wrote 4 on his own.
all on the subject of racing
Front Runner

Dean Meyer
"The King of South African crime"
award winner
Icarus
K. L. Seegers translator from the Afrikaans
9 more fiction

Anne Perry
ex-pat Kiwi
Corridors of the night
21st in the William Monk series
Hero: English
Place: England
Time: the Past

Next time: 6 graphic novels of 1 non-graphic novel
P


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on December 12, 2016, 09:41:20 AM
Abject Terrors: Surveying the Modern and Postmodern Horror Film (2005) by Tony Magistrale.   Only 200 pages but presents a lot.  An enjoyable read.  Maybe because of major congruences with my own thoughts.   :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on December 12, 2016, 02:13:50 PM
George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 13, 2016, 05:46:34 PM
Ye-es!
6 graphic novels and of 1 non-graphic novel.

The graphic novels . . .

Ward, Dodson, Dodson, and Bellaire
Star Wars :
Princess Leia

Lee, David, and Daran
Amazing, fantastic, incredible :
a marvelous memoir

Duggan and Baldeon
Nova :
homecoming
consisting of issues 28 to 31 and annual 1

Stevenson, Ellis, and Allen
Friendship to the Max
Lumber janes : v.2 issues 5-8

Duggan and Vinello
1872

Seen . . .
The Black Widow -- Captain America -- Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) -- Doctor Octavius -- Elektra -- Fisk -- The Hulk -- Iron Man -- Red Skull -- and Red Wolf.

Not seen, but mentioned . . .
Ant-man -- Bucky Barnes -- Daredevil -- and Spiderman.

This works both as a straight western and a variation of the Marvel Universe

Gilray and Melching
In service of the Republic
Star Wars, the Clones Wars issues 7-9
+ the story story "The gauntlet of Death" from Free Comic Book Day 2009.

And the 1 non-graphic novel . . .

Vecchione and Schmettterer
award winners
Crooked Brooklyn :
taking down corrupt judges, dirty politicans, killers, and body snatchers.

Next time: and a half dozen of the other various titles


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AoTFan on December 13, 2016, 11:49:11 PM

I just got done reading Magic Shifts by Ilona Andrews.  It's the latest in the Urban fantasy series featuring Kate Daniels.  It's a pretty good series, I recommend Ilona Andrews work. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: javakoala on December 28, 2016, 05:16:23 PM

Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980 by Roberto Curti

So far, it is an interesting book giving the basic description of the "poliziotteschi" genre, its place in Italian cinema history, and its influences before launching into a listing of movies the fit the definition set forth by the author. I have no idea how far into the book I am page-wise, but I just broke into films made in 1970, so I've hardly scratched the surface of this wonderful monster of a book.

Even though the author cites works of critical analysis and traces real-life influences for each film, it is far from a boring work of academic tedium.

One downside I've found so far (other than the price of $50 for the paperback version) is that a lot of the films I've read about are not available on DVD or BD, if they were ever available for sale to begin with.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 31, 2016, 05:05:29 AM
A couple of December reads for me:

AMERICAN EMPEROR: AARON BURR'S CHALLENGE TO JEFFERSON'S AMERICA by David Stewart
   Burr has been getting a lot of attention lately as the nemesis/villain in the life of newly famous founding father Alexander Hamilton.
However, there was much more to his life than the duel which killed the founder of the Federalist Party.  Burr tied with Thomas Jefferson in the electoral college in the 1800 Presidential election, throwing it to the House and provoking a constitutional crisis, then serving for four years as Jefferson's VP, killing Burr near the end of his term.  But it was after he retired from American politics that his life gets very interesting:  Burr hatched a plan to pry the southern half of the Louisiana Purchase away from American control and to set up his own American Empire.  He colluded with American frontiersman, traitor extraordinaire General James Wilkinson, as well as making offers to the governments of France, England, and Spain - at one point even offering to kidnap or kill President Jefferson in order to facilitate the breakup of the Union.  As a result, be became the only former Vice President ever formally tried on charges of treason. Unfortunately, much of the evidence that would have proved his guilt was hidden in letters and diplomatic archives and would not see the light of day for many years, and so he was acquitted - only to proceed to Europe and continue to plot against the USA!  This was a fascinating and entertaining book; I highly recommend it.

THE STONE OF EBENEZER by Susan van Volkenburgh is a historical novel that covers the period chronicled in the last chapters of the Book of Judges and the beginning of I Samuel.  While the dialogue is a bit stilted to our modern ear, much of its contents is lifted both from the Bible and from Canaanite inscriptions.  This is a historical novel that generally gets things right; a few minor grammatical errors don't get in the way of the story.  I was surprised at how good it actually was.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 07, 2017, 12:36:35 PM
Ye-es!, but more likely 6 of 1 or 7 that are different.

Piu Marie Eatwell
The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse :
an Extraordinary Case of Deception and Intrigue.
1 more non-fiction


Muller and Pronzini
(husband and wife writing duo)
Americans
award winners
The Plague of Thieves Affair
in the Carpenter and Quincannon series
Heroes: American
Place: San Francisco, California
Time: the Past


The Clone Wars
Various writers. Various artists.
v.3. The Warriors of Taloraen -- v.4. The Colossus of Destiny -- v.5. Deadly Hands of Shan-ju -- v.6. The Star crusher Trap -- v.7. Strange Allies.


Bonnie Macbird
award winner
Art in the Blood
Sequel to Unquiet Spirits


Kate Gavino, compiler
Last Night's Reading :
Illustrated Encounters with Extraordinary Authors

1st. Draw a portrait of the author.
2nd. Have the author sign it.
3rd. Have author add something profound about writing.

Between March 20, 2013, and September 24, 2015, the compiler attended 105 different book signings or about 1 every 9 days.

Young and Parker
Rocket Raccoon  :
[a graphic novel]
v.1. A Chasing Tale
v.2. Is to be Story Tales

Who'd have believed that 2 of my favorite heroes in the Super Heroes Universe would be a raccoon with anthropomorphism and a sentient tree.


Wilson and Morikaua
Lafcadio Hearn's the Faceless Ghost :
and Other Macabre Tales from Japan
Hearn was an ex-pat Greek who died in Japan in 1904.
Wilson is another ex-pat.
And Morikaua is an award winner.

Next time: and a half dozen more differents.





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AoTFan on January 15, 2017, 09:32:47 PM
I'm re-reading James Herriot's Every Living Thing.  If you like animals, or just funny stories, you should check out his work.  His books chronicle his time as a veteran from the 1940s on up.  The stories are just really funny and down to earth.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Murtlap on January 16, 2017, 07:14:57 AM
I am reading now the Devil in the White city by Eric Larson


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on January 18, 2017, 08:44:19 AM
(http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRruhUKT83VyYIayU3tFI5I_Wgzl3qUUZ0PtxhS5V75uYeBU9EY)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 18, 2017, 04:50:23 PM
Ye-es!
These half dozen.

Graphic Shakespeare
David Salaria, creator and designer
with various adaptors and illustrators

Hamlet -- Macbeth -- Julius Caesar -- Romeo and Juliet -- and A Midsummer's Night's Dream.

The wish is for them to do the other Shakespeare plays. For those without a familiarity, it's a good intro., and for those who have a familiarity, such as myself, it's a good re-intro.


Victoria Thompson
American
Murder on Nicholas Avenue
18th in the Gaslight series
Hero: American
Place: New York City
Time: the past


Nele Neuhaus
German
I Am Your Judge
translator, Steven T. Murray
4th in the Kirchhoff and von Bodenstein series
Hero: German
Place: Germany
Time: 2012 and 2013

German publication 2014  -- Copyrighted 2015 -- English version published 2016.


The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories
editor, and with an intro., by Otto Penzler.

81 different stories by 79 different authors. Stories range from a publication date of 1892, or the year after Doyle published the 1st Holmes story, to 2011.
+an 1 page bio of the author, with other works by the authors, and theatrical film and TV show versions of other works by author.


Simon Schwartz
German
First Man :
Re-imagining Matthew Henson
Laura Watkinson, translator

German publishing date 2012. American publishing date 2015.

A factual/fictional look, in graphic format, at an Afro-American from the U.S., as seen by the Eskimos of Greenland, and told by a German in Germany. That's international.

May you live in interesting times. He lived from 1866, or the decade that slavery ended in the U.S., to 1955, or the decade that is regarded as the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. And his 2nd wife lived to 1968, or the decade that the Civil Rights Movement really took off in the U.S.  And in those racist times, Peary and Henson really had an odd relationship.


R.L. Stine presents . . .
Goosebumps :
Slappy's Tales of Horror

Jamie Tolagson's A Shocker on Shock Street -- Gabriel Herandez' The Werewolf of Fever Swamp -- Ted Narfeh's Ghost Beach -- and Dave Roman's Night of the Living Dummy.


Next time: 5 different books in different formats.







Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on January 19, 2017, 04:43:30 AM
Brought a suitcase full of second hand books back from the states, including most of the Recluse series. Unfortunately I couldn't find the 3rd book in the series (The Magic Engineer) and am waiting on reading any more until I find it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on January 19, 2017, 10:21:28 AM
Trying to read Lord Foul's Bane, but it's making me antsy about leprosy.

Me to my husband: "Dude...it could happen to anyone."

Him: "Aren't there bigger things to worry about?"

Me: "It would make your gazektanazoid fall off into your underwear bit by bit."

Him: "Good God, let's organize a telethon so medical science can cure this dread disease!"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on January 19, 2017, 05:10:09 PM
Trying to read Lord Foul's Bane, but it's making me antsy about leprosy.

Me to my husband: "Dude...it could happen to anyone."

Him: "Aren't there bigger things to worry about?"

Me: "It would make your gazektanazoid fall off into your underwear bit by bit."

Him: "Good God, let's organize a telethon so medical science can cure this dread disease!"


Chill.  From the WHO:
 
"...Leprosy is one of the least infectious diseases, because:

Over 99% of the population has adequate natural immunity;
Over 85% of the clinical cases are non-infectious, and
An infectious case is rendered non-infectious within one week, most often after the very first dose of treatment."


http://www.searo.who.int/entity/leprosy/topics/fact_sheet/en/ (http://www.searo.who.int/entity/leprosy/topics/fact_sheet/en/)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 19, 2017, 07:30:35 PM
I learned a new word today - "gazektanazoid"!    :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle: :bouncegiggle:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 24, 2017, 03:00:08 PM
Ye-es!
So we'll end this, ere the next one, with these 5 books.

Delores Garden-Smith
The Chessmen
9th in the Jack Haldean series


Kathy Lynn Emerson
Murder in the merchant's hall
2nd in the Mistress Jaffry series
Heroine: English
Place: England
Time: the past

I tried the 1st in the series, and while I found this one readable, I found that to be totally unreadable. Which is sometimes that way. What is unreadable becomes readable, and what is readable becomes unreadable.


Alexander Freed
1st novelist
Star Wars :
Battlefront :
Twilight Company


Philip Pullman
English
award winner
The Golden compass :
the graphic novel, v.1.
Stephanie Melcher, adapter
Anne Easton, translator

From the English to the French back to the English.

v.1. (September, 2015)
v.2. (September, 2016) The Subtle knife
v.3. (September, 2017) The Amber spyglass

And if you want to see it, rather than read it, v.1. The Golden Compass was made into a theatrical film in 2007. Though, one might be better off waiting for the BBC TV mini-series, which they are suppose to do sometime in the future.

Zach Dundas
The Great detective :
the amazing and immortal life of Sherlock Holmes
1 more non-fiction
With the 20 essential Sherlock Holmes stories (in order of original publication)

Next time: 6 of 1 or 6 Star Wars and/or graphic novels and 1 non-Star Wars and/or graphic novels



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on January 29, 2017, 10:46:05 PM
Unnatural Causes  by Patrica Cornwell the 8th book in her Kay Scarpetta series, it's okay so far but than i'm only on chapter 6. on good reads people complain that Kay doesn't show much emotion and i get that and i can see why people would complain about that. but in this one she shows a great deal of emotion so that's a nice change. cause they are right there aren't to many scenes where she does show much.  at least in the ones i've read other than fear and stuff like that when crap goes down.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 31, 2017, 12:39:02 PM
Ye-es!
6 + 1 of different types of lit.

12 inkers
11 pencilers
10 writers
09 color artists
etc.

A + X = Awesome

01 volume
06 issues
12 stories
20 characters

Not as awesome as A vs. X, but . . .

it looks like they had fun,
some nice humor in it,
the variety of art nice
and it does make one want an Avengers and X-Men matchup. And there is some talk of the House of Mouse and 20th Century Fox talking to bring such to the silver screen.


Duggan and Weaver
Warzone :
the Infinity Gauntlet
[graphic novel]


Parker and Rosannas
Spiderman 1602

part factual -- part fictional -- part historical -- part fantastical.

factual
Virginia Dare -- King James of Scotland -- Queen Elizabeth of England -- King Henri of France.

fictional (seen)
Spiderman. Here called Peter Parquah -- Norman Osborne -- Jameson -- Hank Pym -- The Beast -- Wilson Fiske. Here called "The King's Pin" -- Bulls eye -- Doc Ock. Here Baron Ock -- Mary Jane Watson. Here Marian Jane Wattson -- Captain America.

fictional (unseen)
The Hulk -- Richard Reed -- Nick Fury. Here Sir Nicholas Fury.

historical
The Mayflower -- Narbonne (France) -- Carcassone (France) -- Jamestown (Virginia) -- Venice (Italy)

fantastical
Virginia Dare who can turn into a deer, an owl, a dinosaur -- dinosaurs.


Rhys Bowen
Brit ex-pat
award winner
Away in a manger
15th in the Molly Murphy series
Heroine: Irish-American
Place: New York City (New York)
Time: the past. early 1900s.


Ann Cleves
Brit
Harbour Street
7th in the Vera Stanhope series
and why these characters should not be the villain.
And if you want to see it, rather than read it, then see the TV series Vera with Brenda Blethyn as the title character (the perfect choice)


Kevin Hearne
Star Wars :
Heir to the Jedi
9 more fiction


Sara Blaedel
The Killing forest
Mark Kline, translator
2nd one translated into English in the Louise Rick series


Next time: a half dozen more in various types of lit


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 31, 2017, 01:00:45 PM
Ye-es!
6 + 1 of different types of lit


12 inkers
11 pencilers
10 writers
09 colorists
etc.

A + X = Awesome

01 volume
06 issues
12 stories
20 characters

Not as awesome as A vs. X, but . . .
it looks like they had fun,
some nice humor,
variety of art nice
and it makes one want an Avengers X-Men matchup. And there is talk that the House of Mouse and 20th Century Fox are in talk to bring such to the silver screen.


Duggan and Weaver
Warzone :
The Infinity Gauntlet
[graphic novel]


Parker and Rosannas
Spiderman 1602

part factual -- part fictional -- part historical -- part fantastical

factual
Virginia Dare -- King James of Scotlant -- Queen Elizabeth I of England -- King Henri of France

fictional (seen)
Spiderman. Here called Peter Parquah. -- Norman Osborne -- Jameson -- Hank Pym -- The Beast -- Wilson Fiske. Here called The King's Pin -- Bulls eye -- Doc Ock. Here called Baron Ock -- Mary Jane Watson. Here called Marian Jane Wattson -- Captain America.

fictional (unseen)
The Hulk -- Richard Reed -- Nick Fury. Here Sir Nicholas Fury.

historical
The Mayflower -- Narbonne (France) -- Carcassone (France) -- Jamestown (Virginia) -- Venice (Italy)

fantastical
Virginia Dare, who can turn into a deer, an owl, a dinosaur -- dinosaurs


Rhys Bowen
Brit ex-pat
award winner
Away in a manager
15th in the Molly Murphy series
Heroine: Irish-American
Place: New York City (New York)
Time: the past. early 1900s


Ann Cleves
Brit
Harbour Street
7th in the Vera Stanhope series
Heroine: English
Place: England
Time: the present
and why these characters should not be the villain.
And if you want to see it, rather then read it, then see Vera with Brenda Blythen (who is perfect for the role)


Kevin Hearnes
Star Wars :
Heir to the Jedi
9 more fiction


Sara Blaedel
The Killing frost
Mark Kline, translator
2nd one in the Louise Rick series translated into English


Next time: and a half dozen more of different types of lit


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 31, 2017, 01:08:29 PM
Ye-es!
6 + 1 of different types of lit.
We'll take these 3, then 2 by 2, as for some reason I can't post all 7 at the same time.

Sara Blaedel
The Killing forest
Mark Kline, translator
2nd of the Louse Rick series translated into English


Kevin Hearne
Star Wars :
Heir to the Jedi
9 more fiction


Ann Cleves
Brit
Harbour Street
7th in the Vera Stanhope series
and why these characters should not be the villain
And if you want to see it, rather than read it, then see Vera with Brenda Blethyn (who is perfect in the part)


To be continued . . .


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 05, 2017, 02:51:39 PM
Ye-es!
6 + 1 of various

12 inkers
11 pencilers
10 writers
09 color artists

A + X = Awesome

01 volume
06 issues
12 stories
20 characters

Not as good, as A vs. X, but . . .
it looks like everyone had fun,
some nice humor,
the variety of art is nice,
and it makes one wish for an Avengers (House of Mouse) and a X-men (20th Century Fox) mash up. And there is talk that the two are in talk to bring such to the screen.


Duggan and Weaver
Warzone :
the Infinity Gauntlet
[graphic novel]


Parker and Rosannas
Spiderman 1602

part factual -- part fictional -- part historical -- part fantastical

Factual
Virginia Dare -- King James of Scotland -- Queen Elizabeth I of England -- and King Henri of France

Fictional (seen)
Spider-man here called Peter Parquah -- Norman Osborne -- James -- Hank Pym -- The Beast -- Wilson Fiske here called The King's Pin -- Bulls eye -- Doc Ock here called Baron Ock -- Mary Jane Watson here called Mary Jane Wattson --and  Captain America.

Fictional (unseen)
The Hulk -- Richard Reed -- and Nick Fury here called Sir Nicholas Fury.

Historical
The Mayflower -- Narbonne (France) -- Carcassone (France) -- Jamestown (Virginia) -- and Venice (Italy)

Fantastical
Virginia Dare who can turn into a deer, a dinosaur, and an owl -- and dinosaurs


Rhys Bowen
Brit ex-pat
award winner
Away in a Manger
15th in the Molly Murphy series
Heroine: Irish-American
Place: New York City (New York)
Time: 1st decade of the 20th century


Ann Cleves
Harper Street
7th in the Vera Stanhope series
If one wants to see it, rather than read it, then see Vera with Brenda Blythen as the title character.
And why these should never be the villain.


Kevin Hearne
Star Wars :
Heir to the Jedi
9 more fiction


Sara Blaisdel
The Killing Forest
Mark Kline, translator
2nd translated into English in the Louise Rick series


Next time: and a half dozen more of various genera of literature










Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 12, 2017, 11:26:40 PM
ROOSEVELT AND THE HOLOCAUST: How FDR Saved the Jews and Brought Hope to a Nation by Robert Beir with Brian Josepher


This was a book whose subtitle totally belied its conclusions.  Its author, an eighty-six year old American Jew, was a noted Roosevelt scholar who was deeply disturbed by several recent works charging that FDR did little to nothing to save the millions of Jews who were perishing in Europe during and even before World War II.  He set out to investigate for himself, and found that the charges were largely true - Roosevelt had multiple opportunities to step in and either say or do something, to make some effort, to put his enormous popularity and political clout on the line, in order to slow down the march to the gas chambers - and he simply didn't.  His State Department stonewalled all attempts to let Jewish refugees into the country, he refused to bomb the railroads leading into Auschwitz or the crematoria where Jews were being incinerated by the thousands daily.  FDR took the attitude that the quickest way to end the Holocaust was to win the war, and in the end, Beir concludes that this approached worked.  Honestly, though, the narrative as he explains it simply doesn't bear out the two claims the book's subtitle makes.  FDR could have, at the very least, taken some symbolic stances in a public way.  An interesting read, but a very sad one at the same time.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 13, 2017, 03:42:33 PM
Ye-es!
And a half dozen more of different types,


Jennifer Wright
It ended badly :
thirteen of the worst breakups in history
writer's 1st book

Stories of love and heartbreak or tragedy with a humorous touch. And a touch of the truth. From 1st Century A.D. Rome to Hollywood the '50's.


Charles Todd
(mother and son writing duo)
No shred of evidence
11th in the Ian Rutledge series
Hero: Brit
Place: England
Time: the past


Helene Thurston
The Treacherous net
Marlaine Delargy, translator
8th in the Inspector Irene Huss series
2008 Swedish publication
2015 English translation
Heroine: Swede
Place: Sweden
Time: the present


Paul S. Kemp
Star Wars :
Lords of the Sith
5 more fiction, including 3 in the Star Wars series


Soule, Maleeu, Mounts
Star Wars :
Lando
[graphic novel]


Azzarello and Bermejo
Luthor
[graphic novel]

My favorite villain in the comic books, but I have never seen a screen portrayal of him that satisfied me.


Millar, McNiven, Vines Hollowell
Civil War
[graphic novel]

It hurts. It hurts bad. For whoever wins--loses. Surprisingly, I found this more gut wrenching than the film.

If one has not had recent access to the internet, the next film in the Avengers series Avengers : Infinity War started shooting this month at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta (Georgia.) The 1st of what is expected to be 2 films. The 1st film to be out in 2018, and the 2nd film to be released in 2019. With everyone you expect. So far the only new actor to the film series is Peter Dinklage, who is rumored to play MODOK.

And a word for Tom Holland, who palys Spider-man. I am IMPRESSED by his accent he uses in the film. For if you hear his natural accent, as they say: "It's thick enough to cut with a knife." Which makes him incomprehensible for me at times.


Next time: 6 + 1 more different types








Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on February 13, 2017, 09:41:19 PM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51LzzYVOSpL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

Of course, this was published in 1979... should be interesting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 19, 2017, 05:45:19 PM
Ye-es!
Even if I can't count. The last time I said a half dozen, and it turned out to be 7.This time I said 7, and it turns out to be a half dozen.

Keigo Higashino
Japanese
A midsummer's equation
Alexander O. Smith, translator
3rd in the Galileo series
Hero: Japanese
Place: Japan
Time: present
And one of the few heroes that actually scares the s@#* out of me.


Alison Weir
Brit
Innocent traitor
1st novel
10 more non-fiction
Heroine: Brit
Place: England
Time: 16th century


Ella Mae Chase
Three maids for a crown :
a novel of the Grey sisters
reader's guide
1 more fiction
Heroines: Brits
Place: England
Time: 16th century


Susan Higginbotham
American
Hugh and Bess
1 more fiction
Heroes: Brits
Place: England
Time: 15th century

Kate Emerson
By royal decree
3rd in the Secrets of the Tudor Court
readers' guide + enhancements to book clubs + conversation with the authoress


Jim Kraus
The Laugh-a-day book of bloopers, quotes, and good clean jokes
Jokes
365 total 82 LOLs! 22%
Quotes
365 total 0 LOLs! 0%
Bloopers
365 total 49 LOLs! 13%
Grand total
1095 total 131 LOLs! 12%

Next time: either 6 of 1 or a half dozen more



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on February 26, 2017, 02:32:51 PM
It's all right for a book to be a time-waster, as long as it's not a waste of time, but the mixed bag of novels written by Cincinnati-born author Curtis Sittenfeld have been a bit of both of those down through the dozen years since she first hit the best seller lists with Prep, her much-decorated and oh-so-lit'ry tale of manners and mores at a New England preparatory school.

I've met Curtis Sittenfeld three times, drive by her childhood home pretty often as I head to town, and she's very nice, slightly shy, and gracious if approached, so I feel a bit guilty about the fact that what I have to say ahead is not all sunshine and bunny rabbits hopping in a dung-free meadow.

Aside from the fact that she has a name that sounds like a boy's, what do you need to know about this author and her heaving brain?

For starters she writes well. Very well. Unfortunately she also lags when it comes to being a storyteller, and all the best writers (Dickens, King, Ugluck of Clan Bear Fat) are storytellers first, writers second. Agreed? She also gets heavy-handed with her personal viewpoints, and sometime circa 2011 she seems to have made it her mission to drag her backward hometown kicking and screaming into the 1980s. In fact the epilogue of her latest novel misquotes Mark Twain, saying "When the world ends I want to be in Cincinnati, it always was twenty years behind the times." (Sorry, dear, his exact quote was ten years, not twenty. It's now the late Bush years in Cincinnati, not the Clintonian era.)

But her books.... Yes, her books.

So Prep, Sittenfeld's starting point, was a decent read, if not quite deserving in my view of the laurel wreaths universally heaped upon it by the literati, as it took us into the mind of a self-righteous prig of a Midwestern girl whose high marks in public school earn her entry into a prestigious East Coast prep school, where, ever the outsider, she skewers the ways of her moneyed peers, gets totally racist about an Asian roommate's nervous breakdown, discovers two unsuspected talents---one is haircutting the other is more PG-13---makes herself unliked by virtually everyone, and cock-teases some poor townie to the point I had to put the book down just to punctiliously face plant a time or two. (Really, girls, nail a townie when you're an undergrad, give yourself something to cringe about when you look back someday.) Prep was worth reading but not worth hanging on to: re-gift it for a friend's birthday, like I did.

2006's The Man of My Dreams, reads like a themed short story anthology, not a novel, as it squishes around time-jumping chapter by chapter in the mind and life of a self-doubting young woman from ages fourteen to about twenty-six, and tells how, apparent to everyone but her, she sees the world through a lens of other people's approval/disapproval, while she semi-openly seeks Mr. Right. Incidentally, the father in this book was probably Sittenfeld's best character ever, managing to be abhorrent in maybe five pages of his total presence. There's also a much better loss of virginity scene in TMOMD than we got in Prep, and now I think of it, does Sittenfeld put one of those into every book she publishes? Huh. May have to get back to you on that. And for a university-dwelling writer who stresses in each book that RACISM IS WRONG, Sittenfeld sure gets herself into some questionable depictions of minorities, non-heterosexuals, and the mentally-challenged. I can only imagine her therapy sessions.

Moving along, 2008's American Wife, a first-person story about the life of a US First Lady, clearly based on Laura Bush, is to date Sittenfeld's magnum opus, a fine hefty book that humanizes the Bush clan---reimagined as a Wisconsin political dynasty---as it collectively surrounds and yet fails to smother the bookish Alice Blackwell. (Barbara Bush's stand-in, a domineering granny known as Sergeant Major, is a gem!) American Wife is a book that rewards a reader for the time invested in it, though how relevant it stands to be as we leave the Bush years ever farther in our rear view mirrors I can't say. I did enjoy it, do own a copy, and have re-read it, so....yeah.

In 2013, Curtis Sittenfeld returned to the scene after a half decade spent teaching, and delivered up what is, sadly, her most off-putting, time-wasting, and unlikable novel, Sisterland, which lures a reader in with an interesting dust jacket description of a pair of psychic twins, one of whom predicts a massive earthquake that's due to level Saint Louis and much of the surrounding Midwest, yet is in reality an unpleasant 400-page tome about the bickering, detestable sisters, one fairly normal, the other a self-created freak in every sense of the word. I would seriously rather watch NASCAR than re-read this novel, and I'd rather get my nostrils waxed than watch NASCAR: that's how bad I thought Sisterland was. Sorry, Curtis.

Which brings us to the present, or at least to late 2016, with Eligible, which my husband called "Ellie-gible" every time he saw me reading it. Eligible is Miz Sittenfeld's take on Pride and Prejudice (ALL HAIL JANE!) set in 2013 Cincinnati. (Every few pages I'd merrily think, "I know where that is! I been there! Wow, Graeter's! Hey, Allie used to live near that corner!!!") Yes, through the first half of this book I was captivated, it could do no wrong, I loved it like I love cloudy days and back rubs, a cool drink of water in the summertime, or the death of my enemy. Yeah, I liked it a lot. But then, like some dirty trick (Oh, he's not quite dead, you say?) the tone of the book changed, and rarely have my feelings on a work of fiction altered so thoroughly, and from loving the novel I began to sneer at how badly ol' Curtis dropped the ball.

True few writers have Jane Austen's gift of wit but where Curtis Sittenfeld could have made an effort to have kept Eligible what it was supposed to be, a sort of satirical tribute to a great Regency novel, she seemed at some point mid-manuscript to become angry at her hometown, and took up an axe to grind, imposing almost punitively a lesson in latter-day political correctness that was as light-handed as an F-5 tornado, and far more loud. I completed Eligible with a good deal of effort and multitudinous heavy sighs, as all pretense to Sittenfeld basing it on P&P went sailing skyward, while her suddenly detestable characters plunged headfirst into a California "reality" dating show. (And did she seriously think anyone in 2016, even in Cincinnati, would be shocked by trans-gendered characters, inter-racial dating, hirsute feminism, or hate sex? Ya been away from home too long Curtis....)

Truly, I can't think of a novel that went from brilliant to bomb quite so fast or so hard, and in so doing broke my heart just a teeny bit, because for a minute I was truly loving that book!

So anyhow, if you've heard of Curtis Sittenfeld and ever feel like reading her works, tread lightly. She is a smart writer but she also represents a sort of vengeful one-woman post-post-(post-)feminist hit squad whose moralist viewpoints are about as subtly delivered as a sermon by Cotton Mather. (If she had a sermon it might be dubbed "Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry Mob." And it'd be about how she hates non-PC people.)

So, yeah, it's Sunday afternoon and I thought I'd take a few minutes to dissert on a hometown darling who sometimes makes me proud of her, and sometimes makes me glad she's moved away.

If you've read this far....thanks. Now get back to your life!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 06, 2017, 04:44:18 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 mystery + 1 mystery more

Ann Perry
award winner
ex-pat Kiwi
Treachery at Lancaster Gate
31st in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series
Heroes: Brits
Place: London (England)
Time: Past

Elizabeth George
award winner
American
A Banquet of Consequences
in the Lynley series
+ 3 young adult novels
+ 2 short story anthologies
+ 1 non-fiction
And if one rather see, then read, some of the earlier novels have been made into TV episodes

Dolores Redondo
Spaniard
The Invisible Guardian
translator, Isabelle Kaufeher
Spanish publication 2013
English translation 2016
1st in a trilogy
+ at least 1 more fiction
Heroine: Spanish
Place: Basque region of Spain
Time: Present

Simon Brett
Brit
The Killing in the Café
in the Fethering series
Heroines: Brits
Place: England
Time: Present

Carol Muller
American
An Old Fashioned Murder
3rd in the moonshine series
Heroine: American
Place: Virginia (USA)
Time: Present
Her best yet. Though, one can't go wrong with a disparate group of individuals trapped in an isolated location by a blizzard with a murderer among them. And, I'll give her credit, when most writers knock off the most unlikable individual, here 2 of the more likable characters fall victim to murder.

S. D. Sykes
The Butcher Bird
2nd in the Somershill Manor series
Hero: Brit
Place: England
Time: Past (15th century)

Carlene O-Connor
Irish ex-pat
Murder in an Irish Village
1st novel
1st in a series (?)
Heroine: Irish
Place: Ireland
Time: Present

Next time: and a half dozen non-mysteries


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 17, 2017, 04:34:21 PM
Ye-es!
Though, more than a half dozen mysteries.

Bendu and Schiti
Guardians of the Galaxy :
Emperor Quill
(graphic novel)

Aaron and Gillen
Star Wars :
Vader Down
(graphic novel)

Sally Andrew
1st novel
Recipes for love and murder
1st in the Tannie Maria series
16 Afrikaans recipes
+Afrikaans-English dictionary
Heroine: Afrikaans
Place: South Africa
Time: Present

Kwei Quartey
Ghanaian ex-pat
Gold of our fathers
4th in the Darko Dawson series
2 more fiction
Hero: Ghanaian
Place: Ghana
Time: Present


Dominic Zieglen Blacke
Brit
Dragon River

For almost 800 years or so, the blood flowed like water, watering the land. And the bodies of the victims fertilized the soil.

The victims . . .
the Chinese . . . the Japanese -- the Koreans . . . the Mongols -- the Russians . . . the natives -- and almost every European . . . and Americans, of course

The causes . . .
the accidents . . . the battles -- the diseases . . . the executions -- the land's harshness . . . the murders -- the natural causes . . . the unnatural causes -- and the weather.


Martin Walker
ex-pat American
Fatal Pursuit
9th in the Bruno, Chief of Police series
9 more non-fiction
Hero: French
Place: France
Time: Present


Justin Krebs
Blue in a red state :
the survival guide to life in the real America
2 more non-fiction


Barbara Hambly
American
Drinking gourd
14th in the Benjamin January series
Hero: Afro-American
Place: the South
Time: the Past


Paul Doherty
Brit
The Great Revolt
11th in the Brother Athelstan
Hero: Brit
Place: London (England)
Time: the Past

Next time: free flow association






Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 27, 2017, 06:00:37 PM
Y-es!
Sometimes as I read a book. I just write down my thoughts as they occur. Which I call free flow association, and we'll do the next few books that way.

Alison Weir
Innocent Traitor

Blame it all on the man . . . though not without sympathy for some men -- Where are the pages (boys 7 to 18 learning how to be adults) attending on the noble lords and ladies? . . . Not a word -- As a historian, her 1st novel and thus more of a historian than a novelist . . .  Where the bad is unbelievable, then so is the good -- Political mistakes repeated . . . Henry VIII scares me -- Has a female writer ever thought, if the description is correct, how difficult it'd be to be married to Lady Jane? . . . Not always the husband's fault -- The religious conflict is poorly handled . . . Failure to understand the male viewpoint . . . Barely readable --- Reason for non-consummation of marriage . . . Not as the writer thinks.

Kate Emerson
By Royal Decree

Not always the man's fault . . . Not always the mother-in-law's fault -- Questions what we know . . . The better person lost -- Pink silk for men . . . or more colors for men than in the 21st century -- As in nature, the male is more colorful than the female . . . About women, by women, for women.

Ella Mae Chase
Three Maids for a Crown

New villain . . . Complex motivation -- Just a pawn? . . . Demeaning -- Ignore the other half . . . Cuts no ice . . . Martyrdom -- Execution portrayed . . . Libel and slander . . . Doe a lie tell a better story than the truth? -- Pragmatic? . . . Parody? -- 2 weddings or 1 wedding short . . . Bride 13 and groom 15? -- 1st sister the brain, 2nd sister the beauty, 3rd sister the back--hunchback . . . What no sympathy nor understanding for the male? -- Why wait to consummate the marriage . . . Mary's sympathy at the expense of Elizabeth -- Place 100% of the blame on Edward VI . . . Demeaning -- Whipsawed periphery . . . A godchild named Guildford -- Like one . . . Dislike the other? -- Condemn one for ambition . . . Condemn all -- Is that why she never left? . . . Still no explanation as to why Guildford -- Historically inadequate . . . Write what you want, but it has to be credible, and in that she fails.

Next time: we'll continue in this mode with another by Weir.




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 06, 2017, 03:05:55 PM
Ye-es!
And all in the same mode.

Alison Weir
A Dangerous Inheritance :
a Novel of Tudor Rivals and the Secret of the Tower

Poor Mary and Huntingdon . . . why not Jane and Guildford? . . . double standard? -- Would a 12-year-old bride really be eager for sex? . . . logical reason not to have sex -- Quell dissent only to increase it . . . you only hurt the ones you love -- Better written heroine . . . as heroine comes across as being less stupid -- That's the pragmatic calling the pragmatic black . . . Religion. The politics of the day -- Trying to make them better than they were . . . failure to understand the males -- Much of what is illogical . . . people believe what they want to -- Childbirth is like warfare . . . we wait and there are casualties -- Almost all is contradictory  . . . as she contradicts the contradictions -- From what was written as contemporary and survives . . . can be untrustworthy . . . as people lied then as now -- They were silenced as to make the throne safe . . . who can see in the future? -- Where the writer sees the character as emotional . . . I see the characters as stupid.

Continuing . . .
Alison Weir
Innocent Traitor

Characters contradict themselves . . . an effort to make her look good, actually makes her to look like a stupid and disengaged . . . her husband was more practical than her -- Interesting . . . female traitor suffers a different death (burning) than a male (drawing and quartering) traitor -- Motivation . . . unable to separate the simple from the complex -- To change one's religion is not to save one's life . . . but one's soul.

To be continued . . .


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 12, 2017, 01:19:59 PM
Ye-es!
And in the same mode as ere.

The scrawny. The gawky.

Not once in the previous 2 books discussed, does Weir use the word "page" (a boy 7-13. sometimes older) nor the word "squire" (an young man 14-20.) While in the next book discussed, Higginbotham uses the word "page" 15 times and the word "squire" 39 times for a total time of 54.

No wonder her "one who got in o'er his head and lost it" his more credible, then Weir's "a wastrel and worst," when they talk about the teenage Lord Guildford Dudley. Thus, here is Susan Higginbotham's . . .

The Traitor's Wife
1st novel
499 p. + a reader's guide

She defends those who can't be defended . . . it must be the ex-lawyer in her -- A winner has many parents, but a loser is an orphan . . . thus I find the losers' story here is less known, but more interesting -- There are no true individual villain . . . the only true villain is the mob -- Whatever they did . . . they didn't deserve that . . . and she makes you feel it -- Characters are deeply flawed . . . even fatally flawed -- She knows how boys and young men relate to each other . . . she feels for the hired help -- The stupidity of some of the characters is mindboggling . . . let loose the psychiatrists -- Where the penalty for stupidity is death . . . no enjoyable and happy time.

To be continued . . .
with another authoress and another novel







Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 12, 2017, 07:40:42 PM
I just finished THE GOSPEL OF PILATE by Paul Creasy.  What he did was take the same basic premise - modern archeologists discover Pilate's long lost report to Rome about the crucifixion of Jesus - and then go in a completely different direction than I did in THE TESTIMONIUM.  The result was a fascinating work; really, he did in one book what I did in two.  He told the story of the discovery of the scroll and the skullduggery that resulted from it, and then told the story of Passion Week from Pilate's point of view.  Although there were a few rough spots where the book could have used better editing, the story overall was really quite good!  I friended the author on FB and chatted with him some; I may try to talk him into joining here - he seems like a kindred spirit.  Anybody who loves Stephen King, H.P. Lovecraft, and cheesy sword and sandals epics should be a natural fit, right?  Anyway, it was a fun book.  If you liked THE TESTIMONIUM, you'll like it, and if you like it, you need to read THE TESTIMONIUM! LOL


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on April 15, 2017, 03:24:06 AM
Just finished re-reading BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE by Dee Brown. I re-read alot. I'm re-reading WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE by Shirley Jackson . Usually I can read a book in a day or so-but I got drunk.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 20, 2017, 06:13:08 PM
Ye-es!
And in the same mode as ere.,

Elizabeth Freemantle
Sisters of Treason
1 more fiction

Are girlish maids the equivalent of boyish pages? -- The past + the present = fear . . . from the authoress -- Bruges safer? . . . They were burning Protestants in Bruges --  1 bad marriage does not mean that all marriages are bad -- "You never think of what your antics might upon anyone else." . . . Think more of God -- "Jane could hardly bring herself to look at him [Guildford] despite his handsomeness." . . . Men almost always come out badly in these stories -- A caution not to rise above one's station -- It is wrong for a man to slap a woman, but a woman can slap a man . . . Double standard? -- The ending fails.

Next time: another one similiar


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 27, 2017, 05:48:32 PM
Ye-es!
And in the same mode as ere.

Brandy Purdy
The Boleyn Bride
4 more fiction + readers' guide

"I always did fancy younger men." . . . at 14. diving into the pre-teen pool -- Blame others for one's mistakes . . . Instead of looking into a mirror -- Be careful what you wish for . . . you may get it -- Statutory rape . . . sexual abuse of young girls -- Underage males . . . boys are safe -- Actually, at this time, boys were no more immune to sexual abuse, by both men and women,  than girls . . . double standard? -- Trust in wrong man . . . trust in the wrong person -- No husband's viewpoint . . . men written out . . . double standard? -- Failure as . . . wife . . . mother . . . mistress . . . lover . . . guilt only as mother failure -- Like mother . . . like daughter? -- Torture makes liars of us all . . . dragging others down . . . unpleasant way to die -- Her enemies . . . enemies her.

Continuing in the same mode ere


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 27, 2017, 09:44:16 PM
I just finished A SHORT HISTORY OF WORLD WAR II by James Stokesbury.  A vast topic, succinctly and analytically covered in fewer than 300 pages.  Very well done!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 06, 2017, 01:37:33 PM
Ye-es!
And in the same mode as ere.

Ella March Chase
The Virgin Queen's Daughter
1st novel

Maids of honor instead of pages . . . 6 instead of 14 . . . a door instead of a curtain cross the doorway . . . a shared bed instead of a pallet on the floor -- Same people different behavior . . . different strokes for different folks -- Men who do not wish to marry . . . are pressured to marry . . .  read your Boccaccio people -- At 3 or 4 boys were betrothed to their future bride .. at 11 or 12 they married . . . at 15 or 16 they consummated their marriage -- History is hindsight . . hindsight is 20/20 in the rearview mirror -- Like father . . . like daughter -- Beat the drum . . . bang the gong . . . get it on -- What goes on . . . is lust -- And make excuses for poor behavior.

Next time: continuing in the same mode as ere


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on May 07, 2017, 10:34:18 AM
About to start

(http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcREtE4ucMoZKC6OddhClSuEA-IEyZEm37xomav74nna1u9X3otD)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on May 11, 2017, 06:40:49 PM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Dq3GMP1fL.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on May 11, 2017, 07:40:01 PM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Dq3GMP1fL.jpg)

Don't let Indy catch you reading that!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 11, 2017, 08:50:27 PM
Meh.
Ehrman's just another bitter ex-Christian with an agenda.
Sloppy scholar, too.  LOL


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on May 12, 2017, 09:12:10 AM
the truth shall set you free


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 12, 2017, 05:44:11 PM
A sentiment I agree with - but Ehrman can be very disingenuous.

One example:  In MISQUOTING JESUS, he cites the "fact" that there are over 400,000 errors in the Greek translations of the New Testament.
Considering the New Testament is only 250,000 words long, that makes it sound as if the text is totally unreliable. BUT -

to arrive at that figure, he counted duplicate errors as individual ones.  (In other words, if a scribe misspelled a word in his copy of Matthew, and 20 scribes who copied from his manuscript repeated that same spelling error, he counted it as 21 errors, not one error repeated 21 times.)
If you cut out all the duplicate errors like that, his figure drops to less than 100,000.
Of those remaining, over 80% are simple spelling errors - easily detected, easily corrected, and actually helpful in tracing manuscript origins.  They change nothing as far as meaning goes.
That brings it down to fewer than 10,000 errors.  Over 90% of those are word reversals, the most common of which is "Christ Jesus" for "Jesus Christ."  Again, it changes NOTHING as far as meaning is concerned.
In the end, less than 1% of the text of the New Testament is in any doubt whatsoever, and none of those passages where the original wording is in dispute change a single basic doctrine of the church.
That's what I mean when I say his scholarship is either deliberately sloppy or disingenuous.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on May 12, 2017, 07:01:06 PM
He counted 400,000 errors I'd hardly call that sloppy. I don't know 400,000 anything.

His point I imagine i haven't read that is that the bible can't be infallible if there is even one error, much less 400,000

actually, the most recent ehrman thing I watched was a debate with robert price who believes Jesus never existed so... he was representing the conservative side on that one



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 12, 2017, 07:38:08 PM
That depends largely on what your definition of infallible is. 
I don't think any denomination stretches it to include every handmade copy ever produced!
Ehrman is a bright guy, he's found his niche and sells way more books than I do, so hats off to him for that.
But he also does go for sensationalist positions sometimes. 
A good counterbalance is "Fabricating Jesus - How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels."  I forget the author's name, but he has actually taught alongside Ehrman and has PhD's in a couple of subjects.
I don't doubt Ehrman believes what he writes; belief, however, is no guarantor of truth or historical accuracy.

I will say that the position "Jesus never existed" is virtually indefensible.  The evidence that He was a real historical figure is overwhelming.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on May 12, 2017, 08:10:15 PM
well, nothing from that era is all that overwhelming. There is some roster that names Pontius Pilate and they relatively recently found a coin that had his name on it, but other than that there is no contemporary record of him either.

Most of Jesus' fame came long after his death via his followers and there is much more of a record of them. Ehrman relied mostly on Paul who of course knew James and Peter who themselves knew Jesus thus creating a lineage.  he discounts the letters of James and Peter in the NT as forgeries though  :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Newt on May 12, 2017, 08:23:49 PM
belief, however, is no guarantor of truth or historical accuracy.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 13, 2017, 02:19:06 AM
well, nothing from that era is all that overwhelming. There is some roster that names Pontius Pilate and they relatively recently found a coin that had his name on it, but other than that there is no contemporary record of him either.

Most of Jesus' fame came long after his death via his followers and there is much more of a record of them. Ehrman relied mostly on Paul who of course knew James and Peter who themselves knew Jesus thus creating a lineage.  he discounts the letters of James and Peter in the NT as forgeries though  :wink:

He is in a real minority with I Peter - the vast majority of scholars, skeptics and believers, believe it to be authentic. James is well-attested and has been attributed to Jesus' half brother as far back as we can attest it.  It is true, however, that many scholars - a huge majority at one time - reject II Peter.  However, in recent years, there has been some reconsideration of that opinion.
I'll probably pick up Ehrman's book and give it a read, though.

About Pilate - there is a lengthy letter from Philo of Alexandria criticizing Pilate as governor that was written while Pilate was alive, and Josephus wrote extensively about him some fifty years after his death.  The fact is, other than the New Testament writings and a handful of inscriptions, there aren't a lot of surviving written records out of Judea from the first half of the first century.
One thing that is fascinating, though, is the recent discovery of a substantial portion of Mark's gospel that has been used as paper-mache for an Egyptian funeral mask.  The mask is early to mid second-century, and they think that the copy of Mark used to make it might date as far back as 70 AD.  That would be a real game-changer!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on May 13, 2017, 09:47:48 AM
I saw that.

There's a good chapter on more overt, recent forgeries some of which you might know of or remember. Someone goes to a monestary and finds some long lost tome describing Jesus going to India or this or that secret gospel.

As a kid I remember the Hitler Diaries. Theres an art to forgery but also "tells", often that they give away what era they are being created in. This happens with fake old master paintings too. the forger ultimately is trying to make money or gain fame so they can't help but try to appeal to the current tastes.

The bible guys had different reasons mainly to try and add apostolic authority to their own opinions. Marcion and those sort of people


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 13, 2017, 10:00:08 PM
I've researched the topic my whole life,  I have yet to see any evidence that shows the Gospels were written by anyone other than the men whose names they bear.  They've never been attributed to anyone else, those designations go back to the very beginning of the Christian era, and there were so many bogus Gospels written in the second century that were immediately rejected as spurious.

But, acknowledging traditional authorship makes it much harder to be a skeptic, so I understand why Ehrman is so anxious to disprove it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on May 13, 2017, 10:39:12 PM
" I have yet to see any evidence that shows the Gospels were written by anyone other than the men whose names they bear.  "

Well, If you've researched this topic your whole life than you knew yours is not the majority opinion. very few scholars outside of evangelicals believe that Luke the companion of Paul wrote the gospel of Luke or that the apostle Mathew wrote Mathew. There are obvious discrepencies between Paul and acts, such as the amount of time between his conversion and his meeting the apostles. In his letters its several years, in Acts its right away

Quote
But, acknowledging traditional authorship makes it much harder to be a skeptic, so I understand why Ehrman is so anxious to disprove it.

the gospels are anonymous so the burden of proof would not be on skeptics to disprove their authorship but on those who think that John,who is described as ignorant and illiterate in Acts, wrote the complex gospel of John in perfect Greek.  the titles were added long after they were written

Papias actually does mention a gospel of Mathew which is just quotes (a la the much later gospel of thomas) but that was in hebrew while the one we know today was in Greek.





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 14, 2017, 07:36:36 AM
John was described as "unlearned" - i.e., not trained in the rabbinical schools - in 32 AD.
He wrote his Gospel near the end of his long life.  Can a man not learn anything in a lifetime?
And his Gospel is far from "perfect Greek" - it's actually filled with Aramaisms.
And I think Erhman exaggerates the consensus of opinion on Luke's authorship.  A majority of scholars accept the "we" passages in Acts as authentic, and Luke's rigorous attention to detail certainly implies he was there for much of those events.  But here is a point: if you accept apostolic authorship, then that would certainly drive you towards believing what the Gospels claim about Jesus is true, which would lead one towards being an "evangelical."  There are many scholars who started off as atheists/skeptics and then became believers because the evidence convinced them of the Gospels' truth.  In short, their journey took them in the exact opposite direction that Ehrman's did.

One of the most important things I learned in college is: "There are no unbiased historians."  That applies in every field of historical study, including the New Testament.  Everyone has an agenda, Ehrman included.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on May 14, 2017, 11:01:20 AM
"He wrote his Gospel near the end of his long life.  Can a man not learn anything in a lifetime?"
 
when did he write Revelation then? which is written in a totally different style going down to the primitve vs refined quality of the Greek itself?

How did he live such a long life when everyone else was martyred. fleet footed?

"  A majority of scholars accept the "we" passages in Acts as authentic"

so Paul was in two places at once. wow that incredible

"In short, their journey took them in the exact opposite direction that Ehrman's did."

I'm sure all of them agree the gospels are in fact anonymous though. in terms of their claims as opposed to Paul's letters. They'd have to theres no "Luke here" moment in any of them


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AoTFan on May 14, 2017, 11:49:57 AM
Meh.
Ehrman's just another bitter ex-Christian with an agenda.
Sloppy scholar, too.  LOL

Where do you get the idea he's bitter?  I mean, I've read two of his books (well, one and a half, I still gotten through Forged yet) and he explains in one of them his reasons for not being a Christian anymore and they sound pretty rational to me. 

To sum up, the guy was studying the Bible, first at Christian universities, then he started learning Greek and studying at secular institutions and he began to notice that the more he studied from non-Christian sources the more they would point out various mistakes and contradictions in the text.  This eventually lead him to start re-evaluating his beliefs.   

Deny it if you want, but there's a BIG trend amongst Christian "scholars" to pretty much say, "Oh, The Bible is perfect and true and ANY source doesn't start from this premise, we're just gonna COMPLETELY ignore!  We might even go so far as to say the people who wrote it were evil/unbelievers/had an agenda etc, etc." 

Anyway, to me though, it's a not a new story.  I know of a LOT of former believers who, once they actually began studying about the Bible and it's history (and not just from whitewashed Christian sources) they came to same conclusion.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 14, 2017, 01:38:52 PM
And there are many who started as atheists who came to the opposite conclusion, who's to say their experience wasn't equally valid?
Believing in the truth of something does not negate your scholarship on that topic - if you think that, then 98% of what scientists wrote about evolution could be dismissed as hopelessly biased and therefore inaccurate.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 14, 2017, 01:55:19 PM
"He wrote his Gospel near the end of his long life.  Can a man not learn anything in a lifetime?"
 
when did he write Revelation then? which is written in a totally different style going down to the primitve vs refined quality of the Greek itself?

How did he live such a long life when everyone else was martyred. fleet footed?

"  A majority of scholars accept the "we" passages in Acts as authentic"

so Paul was in two places at once. wow that incredible

"In short, their journey took them in the exact opposite direction that Ehrman's did."

I'm sure all of them agree the gospels are in fact anonymous though. in terms of their claims as opposed to Paul's letters. They'd have to theres no "Luke here" moment in any of them

I'll answer these points in order.
OK, John, according to early sources, was exiled to Patmos by Domitian.  He wrote the Revelations there, most likely in his own hand.
After Domitian died in 98 AD, John returned to Ephesus, where he was surrounded by his loyal disciples, and knowing his end was near, he wrote the Gospel that bears his name, probably using a scribe to record his words, which (along with the completely different subject matter of the two books) accounts for the difference in the language usage between the two.  John died of old age - the only one of the Twelve to do so.  On that all the second, third, and fourth century sources agree.  In fact, John dealt in the last chapter of his Gospel with the superstitious belief that he was going to live on till Christ came back, showing that he must have been a very old man when he wrote it!
Luke neither says nor implies that Paul was in two places at once; he simply skips the time that Paul traveled in Arabia (two years, according to Paul in Galatians), and picks up the story when Paul rejoined the Christian community.  Ehrman is forcing a contradiction where there is none.
As for your last comment - well, the Gospels are indeed anonymous.  However, nearly everyone agrees that Luke and Acts are by the same person.  The narrative style and the identical introductions both prove that, as does the consistent use of Greek and Luke's eye for historical details.  Only a handful of the most radical scholars reject this idea.  And Luke, by his own admission, was not an eyewitness of Jesus' life.  So he doesn't include himself in his Gospel, but when you get to Acts, he clearly includes himself in Paul's travels, using "we" and "us" repeatedly.
All the Gospels provide clues to the identity of the author - John most clearly, Luke second, and even Matthew and Mark insert little details about themselves into the story that the others neglect.

Also, the Gospels were associated with those four names as far back as we can trace them, to the mid-second century, less than a hundred years after they were written.  The church accepted these four books, and these alone, rejecting dozens of other pseudepigraphical works that bore the names of Peter, Thomas, Judas, Paul, James, and so on.  From the very earliest years of the Christian movement, these books were strongly associated with the men whose names they bear and NEVER once with any other. They were considered authoritative because they came directly, or indirectly, from the apostles of Jesus.

 If the Gospels were any other work of antiquity, the traditional authorship would be unquestioned by anyone.  But, because they are Christian works - because indeed their story is the very heart of Christianity - they have been held to a much higher standard of proof than any other document of the ancient world.  They are better attested, better preserved, and earlier attested, than any work from that time period (did you know our earliest copy of Caesar's COMMENTARY ON THE GALLIC WARS was copied over a thousand years after the original was written, while our earliest texts of the Gospels date within a generation of their composition? We have a good-sized fragment of John that dates to 125 AD, which places it within 30 years of the time John wrote the original text!)

Ehrman no longer believes in Christianity, and his work is guided by his desire to make others disbelieve.  It may not be "bitterness" - that was a poor choice of words - but he DOES have an agenda, and that agenda is skepticism.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on May 14, 2017, 08:53:43 PM
Quote
After Domitian died in 98 AD, John returned to Ephesus, where he was surrounded by his loyal disciples, and knowing his end was near, he wrote the Gospel that bears his name, probably using a scribe to record his words, which (along with the completely different subject matter of the two books) accounts for the difference in the language usage between the two.  

that he had a scribe write his own gospel is not backed by anyone in any school of thought on this. thats you personally supposing something

Quote
, John dealt in the last chapter of his Gospel with the superstitious belief that he was going to live on till Christ came back,

They all thought that Christ was going to come back very soon. 'some standing here will not taste death" etc


Quote
Ehrman is forcing a contradiction where there is none.

Pauls says

"I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother"

acts says

"When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord,"

if thats not a contradiction theres no such tthing as a contradictiton

Quote
However, nearly everyone agrees that Luke and Acts are by the same person.

I did not nor does anyone I know of question that. That doesn't mean it was by Luke. He does use "we" Ehrman would argue it was just part of the forgery intending to show that Paul agreed with him, the author.

Quote
From the very earliest years of the Christian movement, these books were strongly associated with the men whose names they bear and NEVER once with any other.

The apostles and/ or their companions did not give them the names they have, they were added later so... They are believing the people who added the names which is different than believing what the text themselves claim. they were written 40+ years after Jesus died in a language he didn't speak

Quote
Ehrman no longer believes in Christianity, and his work is guided by his desire to make others disbelieve.

what difference would that make? if he's right he's right regardless of his intent. if people who hate Christians criticize the bible for that reason and say "Jesus is portrayed as riding into town on two differnet animals at the same time because the author misread the Hebrew which double up the word donkey for emphasis" they're still right.

If you don't think the bible should be examined critically you can just avoid these sorts of books, debates etc


I'll just add that Jesus' followers when he was alive and immediately after didn't have any accounts of his life  or any letters, forged or not. they were still Christians. They were transformed by what he preached and transformed their lifestyles to be different than those of Jews or pagans. They didn't learn Christianity from Paul, they taught it to him.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pacman000 on May 14, 2017, 09:52:33 PM
The Gospel of John does read like a transcript.  The author rambles, corrects himself (saying that Jesus baptized, then noting it was only his disciples,) and repeats himself (a technique oral story tellers used to remember the next part of their stories.)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 14, 2017, 10:11:20 PM
Point one -  Most first century authors used scribes; Paul used one and refers to them by name in a couple of letters, while adding his own signature at the end.  Peter refers to Silvanus as scribe and co-author of his first letter.  If John wrote his gospel when he was nearly 90, it's not much of a presumption at all to think that he dictated it rather than wielded a pen in his own shaky hand.

Point two - conceded, they thought Christ would return soon, but John still felt obligated to clarify that Jesus never said John would live till Jesus returned, as many were reporting.

Point Three - OK, read the quote from Galatians:  "After three years, I went up to Jerusalem."
Now from Acts:  ". . .  they lowered him in a basket.  And WHEN he had come to Jerusalem . . . "  It's not a huge reach to say those events were separated by a considerable span of time.  It doesn't say "he immediately went to Jerusalem" does it?

Point Four - There is Ehrman's bias: Assuming that Luke/Acts is a forgery.  THAT'S the point of view he is pushing because it enables him to deny that Jesus was the Christ, that he was resurrected, and that Christianity is true.  I can cite a dozen scholars with  just as impressive a resume as Ehrman who would argue that Luke is indeed the author of both books.  Of course, if they believe that, you will call them "evangelicals" and deny they have any credibility, REGARDLESS of the evidence they cite in validating their claims.  

Luke is a painstakingly accurate historian with an eye for detail that is truly impressive; he cites over forty Roman and provincial officials, either by name of by title, and in every case, he cites the right title for the right person at the right place at the right time.  A later forger would most likely get some of those things wrong.  Also, the fact that Acts ends where it does, with Paul under house arrest awaiting the trial before Nero, is a strong indicator that Luke wrote it before that trial was resolved.  Otherwise, why does he not record the Great Fire of Rome in 64, deaths of Peter and Paul in 68, or the death of James in 64?  All those were people he wrote about in great detail.  Why wouldn't he record their deaths?  Because he finished the book before they finished their lives.

Point Five - The Apostles didn't have to give the books their names, everyone knew who wrote them!  
And - you do know that Galilee was surrounded by Greek-speaking cities, right?  Most Galileans of Jesus' time could speak Greek; they would have had to if they were going to sell fish in Tiberias or the Decapolis!  Greek was the universal trade language of the ancient world.  Jesus even quotes the Septuagint (Greek translation of the OT) on a couple of occasions.  So saying He didn't speak Greek is not just presumption but highly unlikely presumption at that!
As for 40+ years - or course, the date is the focal point of the debate.  I will concede John wrote his Gospel in the 90's AD - that was widely  known and even mentioned by some of the ancients.  But if Luke finished Acts in 62 (the point at which his story ends, and I think that is very likely when he finished the book), and he quotes both Matthew and Mark - well, then all three Synoptic Gospels were in existence by then.  That's not even 30 full years, which exponentially increases the odds that the Gospels were written either by eyewitnesses or men like Luke who spoke to the eyewitnesses.  The evidence for the early dates of the Gospels, IF VIEWED WITHOUT BIAS, is stronger than the evidence for the later dates.

Point Six and last - When I see people trying to undermine the truths I have built my life on, I am going to speak out. Period. Bart Ehrman presents his facts selectively to persuade people to his point of view.  There is a difference between critical analysis and deliberately skeptical analysis.
The donkey thing is a silly argument based on an overly literal reading of one word.  They grabbed the donkey and brought her foal so she wouldn't try to go back to it, a sensible enough precaution.  

It's true that Jesus' followers didn't initially write their memories down, they shared them verbally among themselves and with new believers.  But, after a couple of decades, it's not illogical to suppose the aging apostles either wrote down what they recalled or else helped someone else prepare written accounts.

My point in all of this (and I am enjoying it and willing to continue if you wish, or abandon it if you wish) is that Bart Erhman is a smart guy, a great lecturer, and also a man whose active agenda is to make more people abandon Christianity as he did.  That agenda drives everything he writes; it colors his scholarship and causes him to present facts in a very selective manner, ignoring or downplaying anything that doesn't fit his narrative.  By all means read his new book, but I would also challenge you to read some of the scholars who have looked at the same evidence and come to the exact opposite conclusion.  J.P. Moreland, F.F. Bruce, Craig Evans, and Bruce Metzger just to name a few.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pacman000 on May 14, 2017, 10:17:05 PM
Without a printing press it would have made little sense to write everything down at the start of the ministry. Too few followers; little chance the writings would survive. Get the word out then write for future generations.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on May 15, 2017, 10:43:06 AM
Quote
Paul used one and refers to them by name in a couple of letters,

yes exactly. Paul refers to himself and the scribe. John does neither

Quote
it's not much of a presumption at all to think that he dictated it rather than wielded a pen in his own shaky hand.

 I doubt he used two different scribes with two different levels of education to write Revelation and then the gospel that bears his name. and was an apocolyptic Jewish Christian in one and a (relatively) milquetoast but eloquent non judaized Christian very interested, at 90, in the issues of the day circa late 1st century in the 2nd.  

3

Acts says "They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples."

I mean...occum's razor the next sentence and no mention of any years long arabia sojourn means he went right from one to the other

Quote
Of course, if they believe that, you will call them "evangelicals" and deny they have any credibility,

No I listen to and read all kinds of stuff.  Ehrmans youtube channel is filled with him having debates with guys who oppose him, some of them the people you mentioned  https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=barth+ehrman+craig+evnas (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=barth+ehrman+craig+evnas)


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The Apostles didn't have to give the books their names, everyone knew who wrote them!  

 Just because they cancelled Bill oreilly doesn't mean there is a "free spin zone" now. No one doesn't name a book because everyone knws the title thats crazy

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So saying He didn't speak Greek is not just presumption but highly unlikely presumption at that!

you were in israel did people speak Greek?

"According to Hebrew historian Josephus, Greek was not spoken in first century Judea. Josephus also points out the extreme rarity of a Jew knowing Greek.[8]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_of_Jesus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_of_Jesus)

Quote
When I see people trying to undermine the truths I have built my life on, I am going to speak out.

yeah but it comes off as Christian SJW ing. its not enough to counter the arguments you have to impugn the whole IDEA of countering arguments and ascribe motives to the people.

Western civilization to me is being able to criticize tradition AND criticize criticism of that tradition and not freak out about people doing one or the other. If you have no criticism of tradition you are like Wahabis. on the other hand, if you have no criticism of the criticism you are like communists

Quote
They grabbed the donkey and brought her foal so she wouldn't try to go back to

Mathew has has foal and Luke doesnt though. maybe it was one of those talking donkeys and Luke was so horrified he blocked it out? anything is possible in the realm of Indiana smith apologetics!

 more to the point: there was no donkey ride into the city. Jesus walked everywhere. the story was invented to prove a prophecy and convey that the leader would be humble and so forth. except Mathew messed it up.




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pacman000 on May 15, 2017, 05:04:00 PM
Quote
11 Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not based on human thought.[e] 12 For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation from Jesus Christ.

13 For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I persecuted God’s church to an extreme degree and tried to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. 15 But when God, who from my birth set me apart and called me by His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me, so that I could preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone.[f] 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus.

18 Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas,[g] and I stayed with him 15 days. 19 But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. 20 Now I am not lying in what I write to you. God is my witness.[h]

21 Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches in Christ; 23 they simply kept hearing: “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.
Galatians 1:11-21 HCSB Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+1&version=HCSB (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+1&version=HCSB)

Quote
10 There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. And the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Here I am, Lord!” he said.

11 “Get up and go to the street called Straight,” the Lord said to him, “to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there. 12 In a vision[a] he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so he can regain his sight.”

13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.”

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go! For this man is My chosen instrument to take My name to Gentiles, kings, and the Israelites. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for My name!”

17 So Ananias left and entered the house. Then he placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you can regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

18 At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. 19 And after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Saul Proclaiming the Messiah

Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some days. 20 Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: “He is the Son of God.”

21 But all who heard him were astounded and said, “Isn’t this the man who, in Jerusalem, was destroying those who called on this name and then came here for the purpose of taking them as prisoners to the chief priests?”

22 But Saul grew more capable and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that this One is the Messiah.

23 After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. So they were watching the gates day and night intending to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the wall.
Saul in Jerusalem

26 When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to associate with the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple. 27 Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that He had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 Saul was coming and going with them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He conversed and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they attempted to kill him. 30 When the brothers found out, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

31 So the church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace, being built up and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, and it increased in numbers.
Acts 9:10-31 HCSB Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+9&version=HCSB (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+9&version=HCSB)

Seems the basics of the stories are the same; Paul was converted in Damascus, spent some time preaching there before coming to Jerusalem, so at the very least both stories are based on the same set of facts.  The time Paul spent in and around Damascus seems to be the main point of dispute.  Assuming the author of Acts used multiple sources the mystery around Paul's conversion could account for the discrepancy in details; Luke, or whoever wrote Acts, had to unite many similar stories which didn't quite match up. If the author was Paul's traveling companion the author could've asked Paul, but that would've been sloppy research. (See 1 Cor 1: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+1&version=HCSB (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+1&version=HCSB))

(Sorry for the long post. Tomorrow I'll try to write up something about a book I'm reading.  That's what this thread's for.)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on May 15, 2017, 05:44:07 PM


(Sorry for the long post. Tomorrow I'll try to write up something about a book I'm reading.  That's what this thread's for.)

Talking about religion is still more civil than talking about politics, though you're about as likely to change someone's opinion.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 15, 2017, 06:46:49 PM
Y-es!
And in the same mode as ere

Virginia Henley
A Woman of Passion
12-15 more fiction

Our heroine married and buried 4 of them . . . husbands --  An odd mix of both the historically correct and incorrect.

Incorrect
Difference in age from 1st husband. Fictionally: less than 2 decades. Factually: more than 2 decades.
Useless wild moorland. Not useless. You ran sheep on the wild moorland.
Sex is not all in a marriage, but part of marriage.
4 months in the Tower is not a long sentence. It is actually a short sentence. Some prisoners spent over half their life imprisoned in the Tower.

Correct
Age of legal sexual consent. 14 for girls. 12 for boys.
Though, the age of majority for both was 21, or when a couple was old enough to go off and live on their own, instead of living with his parents.
It was painful to lose one's spouse.
Girls got married, on the average, at an younger age than boys. Though, it was not unknown for boys to marry in their teen years or even pre-teen years.
Frances is the female version of the name. Francis is the male version of the name.

Next time: 1 more in this mode and some final thoughts.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 15, 2017, 08:44:14 PM
Hey, Lester, I think they want us to shut up about this for awhile!  Want to continue via PM, or drop it for now?   :teddyr:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on May 15, 2017, 09:10:32 PM
I feel like this round is done but thanks for the offer.  :cheers:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AoTFan on May 15, 2017, 11:09:32 PM
Speaking of reading stuff...

Can anyone recommend any good "History like you were there" type books?  I mean, books that don't just tell you what happened, but they build it up like you're right there with the person.  Some examples like Isaac's Storm, Devil in The White City, Miracle and Massacres, and San Francisco Is Burning? 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 16, 2017, 06:33:37 AM
David McCullough's HARRY TRUMAN is one of the finest biographies I have read.
Doris Kearnes Goodwin's TEAM OF RIVALS is an outstanding book about Abraham Lincoln that I absolutely  loved.
And Candace Millard's RIVER OF DOUBT is an incredible true adventure tale about Theodore Roosevelt and his Amazon expedition.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pacman000 on May 16, 2017, 09:52:30 AM
I've been reading Servants of the Wankh by Jack Vance
Quote
After his starship and crewmates are blown up, Adam Reith is marooned on a planet inhabited by four advanced, mutually hostile, alien species, the Chasch, Wankh, Dirdir and native Pnume, as well as various groups of humans. In his quest to return home, he acquires three human companions (as detailed in City of the Chasch): Traz Onmale, a taciturn teenage barbarian chieftain, Ankhe at afram Anacho, a flamboyant, fugitive Dirdirman, and Ylin-Ylan, a beautiful young Yao woman whom he rescued from a man-hating religious sect.

Ylin-Ylan persuades Reith, her lover, into taking her back to Cath. With her wealthy father's backing, Reith hopes to be able to build a spaceship. As the voyage progresses however, their relationship cools. Anacho explains that Yao society is extremely status conscious, and the closer they get to her homeland, the more Ylin-Ylan dreads being associated with (to her) gauche, uncouth companions. Her attempts to separate herself from them all fail disastrously. Finally, unable to bear the shame any longer, she takes refuge in awaile, a murderous rampage not uncommon among her people, which ends with her throwing herself into the sea.

Reith and his friends continue on to Cath, to notify Ylin-Ylan's father of her demise. They are coolly received, but are eventually given 50,000 sequins (the universal currency of Tschai) as a reward.

Unimpressed with Yao engineering, Reith recruits a crew from those who had worked for the Wankh, to try to steal a Wankh spaceship
From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servants_of_the_Wankh

Sounds interesting, but for the most part it's about people moving from place to place with Anacho describing the cultures of those places.   Not all that interesting, (My opinion.) I bought it because the cover had a cool alien-dinosaur creature, but the book has no such creature.

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e7/Servants_of_the_wankh.jpg)

Doesn't that look cool? Ah well.

(Image from Wikipedia)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 18, 2017, 09:00:11 PM
I just finished THE STATE OF ISRAEL VS. ADOLF EICHMANN, by Hannah Yablonka.
I was hoping for a detailed account of the arrest, trial, and execution of the highest ranking Nazi war criminal apprehended since WWII.
Instead, what I found was a long, detailed historiography on how the trial impacted various segments of the Israeli population, from Holocaust survivors to teens born since the war.  Very little detail about the trial itself was given, to my disappointment.  The book wasn't badly written, it just wasn't what I had wanted to read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 22, 2017, 01:57:57 PM
Ye-es!
And in the same mode as ere.

Victoria Lamb
The Queen's Secret
1st novelist
1st in a trilogy

There are worst places than the Tower.
--As it was a high end jail for the well to do.
----One had some freedom outside one's cell within the walls.
----One had servants whose wages were paid by the state.
----One could have one's pets.
----One had furniture furnished by the state.
----One had a fuel and food subsidy from the state.

Like mother . . . like daughter -- Dance 'round the issues -- Astrology from superstition to science -- All men cheat on their wives . . . all women cheat on their husbands . . . not true then . . . not true now.

About women, by women, for women.
And what do you get. You get . . .

The double standard
What is unacceptable for a man is acceptable for a woman. What is acceptable for a woman is unacceptable for a man (1st)

The double untruth
Women are good. Men are bad (2nd)

When the female character(s) are primary, the male characters(s) are secondary. And though they often add to the story, they are oft ignored (3rd)

That may not be so bad, as the writers seem to have no or little understanding of the male psyche (4th)

And they may have little or no understanding of the male psyche, because they seemingly make little or no effort to try to understand the male psyche (5th)

Of course, there are exceptions, which we'll get to next time.

Next time: exceptions to the above.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pacman000 on May 22, 2017, 02:31:51 PM
Finished Servants of the Wankh by Jack Vance. It gets more interesting near the end (they try to steal a spaceship,) but still lacks something. Too much time is spent moving from place to place with nothing happening, and when something does happen Vance describes it so plainly it's dull. And there wasn't an alien dinosaur.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on May 23, 2017, 10:38:31 AM
     Just re- read this....

(https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-400/2343-1/F13/70C/5A/%7BF1370C5A-3B52-4923-8A87-996CD3C32A12%7DImg400.jpg)

     I first found a copy of this book in 1974, bought it because it was Vincent Price, loved it. It originally came out in 1950, and has been out of print for years; Price's daughter Victoria got it re- printed, and I bought a copy from Amazon. If you're "dog people", and even if you're not, you might like this.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: kakihara on May 29, 2017, 05:47:32 PM
The 4th turning.
Femenism (michael focault).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 30, 2017, 01:34:11 PM
As previously mentioned in my previous post, there are exceptions. One of which is Susan Higginbotham, which we'll get to later. Another is . . .

Hand, Ashton, Meadows
My Lady Jane
a historical novel where the major characters can turn into animals.
as I said previously, they do correct the previous problems mentioned.

1st No double standard
What is inappropriate for a man is inappropriate for a woman. What is appropriate for a woman is appropriate for a man.

2nd No double untruth
Bad women. Good men

3rd While the main character is a woman, the men are not ignored. Indeed, two thirds of the chapters are given to the men in the story. One is her teenage cousin the king. The other is her teenage husband.

4th They understand. They understand how a married couple, even a teenage married couple, can relate to each other.

And most importantly, they understand the young (under 20) male psyche better than most writers. Both women and men.

5th That is because, they try, and you can see them trying, to understand the male psyche.

And a couple more points.

6th For all the wrongs, which we'll get to later, both major and minor, they get some things remarkably right.

7th And it is really quite funny.

Next time: Battle of the broads


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 05, 2017, 06:38:20 PM
Battle of the Broads

The American: Susan Higginbotham
The Brit: Alison Weir

Both are historical novelists.
Both have written novels set in the same place and time.
Thus, let the battle begin.

In an era, when everyone's home was filled with everyone else's children.
Susan: she mentions this many times.
Alison: she seldom mentions this.

Thus
Susan: her characters are credible, especially the children.
Alison: her characters are less credible, especially the children.

Susan: her heroes are flawed, even fatally flawed.
Alison: her heroes are perfect or almost perfect.

Thus
Susan: her characters come across as more human and less stereotypical.
Alison: her characters come across as more stereotypical and less human.

Characterization
Susan: one who got in o'er his head and lost it.
Alison: the upstart fool and worst.

Thus
Susan: more realistic character
Alison: less realistic character

Susan: she defends the indefensible
Alison: she twists the truth to prosecute the defensible

Susan: her writing is more familial
Alison: her writing is less familial

Susan: her sex scenes are better written and include non-heterosexual sex
Alison: her sex scenes are lesser written and do not include non-heterosexual sex.

Thus
Susan: with this and others gives an aura of reality to the story
Alison: with this and others gives an aura of unreality to the story.

Thus
Susan comes across as the better historical novelist.

Next time: not dc vs. marvel, but marvel vs. marvel


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on June 09, 2017, 03:37:21 PM
    Just re-read the second book in the Sonja Blue series....

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Cdk%2B6-bNL._SX326_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

    If you're into non-sparkly, non-whiny, non- navel-gazing vampires, this series is great.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 17, 2017, 03:38:57 PM
I guess I better get my bona fides out of the way, as someone who much prefers Marvel to DC, much of which I find unreadable, and in that I might be like many others, as I believe Marvel comics outsell DC comics. Still, I find some Marvel comics unreadable, some readable, and then there are these from Marvel.

Best group (adult)
Guardians of the Galaxy

Best group (teen)
The Young Avengers

Best group (mash up)
(adult + teen)
The New, the Different Avengers

Best family group (tie)
And this one hurts, and it hurts bad.
The Visions

This one does not hurt as bad. Maybe because it is leavened with some humor
House of M
Head of household: Magneto
Children:
The Twins: Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch and
their sister Lorna
Grandchildren:
The Twins: Wiccan and that goofball Speedball

Best supporting characters
The friends and family of Ms. Marvel
For who else would hold a dance party to celebrate the Eve of the Apocalypse.
Who would stand on the roof of the high school gym, knowing that they would never be more than BFs, but expressing their true feelings for each other, because there are just some things that need to be said ere you die.

Best villain
Wilson "The Kingpin" Fisk

Best duo (tie)
Iron Fist (Danny Rand) and Power Man (Luke Cage)
and
Rocket and Groot

Best gay duo
The teens: Wiccan and Hulking

Next time: a film, a miniseries, a TV movie


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 23, 2017, 08:24:34 PM
THE QUARTET: ORCHESTRATING THE SECOND AMERICAN REVOLUTION, 1783-1789 by Joseph J. Ellis

Ellis is one of the best historians out there when it comes to the Revolutionary era - his FOUNDING BROTHERS is one of my all-time favorites.  This latest book by him focuses on how four men - George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay - combined forces to create a new government for the United States, replacing the unworkable and unworking Articles of Confederation with the Constitution that has governed our country for the last 229 years.  In so doing, he does slay a few sacred cows, but at the same time he points out that the myth of the "miracle at Philadelphia" doesn't even begin to do justice to the real process that the founders used to bring about our Constitution.  Always pithy, there are a number of memorable phrases in the book - my favorite was when he referred to Washington as "the Foundingest Father of them all" - and I also like the fact that he does not commit the all-too common error of judging men of past generations by the moral or political standards of today.  This is a great addition to anyone's American history library.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: alandhopewell on June 26, 2017, 02:53:02 PM
     I'm currently re-reading one of the first science-fiction novels I ever read....

(http://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327794341i/6445194._UY475_SS475_.jpg)

     As I understand, this was originally supposed to be a MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. novel, but the Editor at Ace Books had it reworked as a sci-fi-spy thriller; it proved popular enough to warrant three more books in the series....

(http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/MPoAAMXQeW5TYD-5/s-l300.jpg)

(http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462549000l/30122611.jpg)

(http://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1273627908i/8176018._UY475_SS475_.jpg)

     It was a fun read back in '69, and it still is.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 27, 2017, 01:30:50 PM
A film, a miniseries, a TV movie.
These are the books that I have read and enjoyed, that I'd like to see made into a film, a miniseries, or a TV movie.

Anne Perry
Blue gate Fields

While the 1st book in this series, The Cater Street Hangman, was turned into a TV movie, there have been no attempts, as far as I know, to adapt any of the others to film.


Andrew Shvarts
Royal Bastards

The 1st in a fantasy trilogy.
The 2nd is at the publishers in a rough draft and should be out sometime later this year.
The 3rd should be out sometime next year.

Brought to you by the same publishers who brought you the Descendant series. Thus, can they do for this, what they did for Descendants? This has a lot going for it. More on this later.


Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The White Company

If director John Ford had lived a couple of years longer than he did, there was some talk of him adapting this book, which is about an English mercenary company in medieval France and Spain, into a film. What is perhaps even stranger, than no one else has ever thought of doing this, as far as I know, is that Ford wanted the film to star Sir Alec Guinness, Lord Laurence Olivier, and John "The Duke" Wayne. Well, that is taking everybody out of their comfort zone.


C. S, Lewis
The Narnia Chronicles
--The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (done)
--Prince Caspian (done)
--The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (done)
--The Silver Chair (doing)

Yet I have already seen film versions of these. A number of years ago, when British TV did a miniseries, these are the 4 books that they use. Thus, what I'd like to see is the other 3 . . .
--The Horse and His Boy
--The Magician's Nephew
--The Last Battle
. . . books adapted onto film. For as far as I know, this has never been done to date.


Hand, Ashton, Meadows
My Lady Jane

A film production company has optioned this in an attempt to make a film out of the book. Though, remembering what happened to Princess Bride, to which this has been compared, while the House of Mouse need not produce it. I'd like to see them distribute and promote it. And maybe they will, as they have done previous business with the production company. Again, more on this later.


John Christopher
The Tripods Trilogy
--The White Mountains
--The City of Gold and Lead
--The Pool of Fire

Again, when British TV did a miniseries based on this trilogy, for some reason, which I still cannot understand, they only used the 1st 2 books, even though I hold the 3rd book is the best book in the trilogy. So, let's do it again, and use all 3 books this time. The author did, some years after the trilogy, wrote something of a prequel to the trilogy.

When the Tripods Came


Justin Semper
Allies and Assassins

This is being shopped around with the hope that someone will pick it up and adapt it to film. There is also, apparently, a sequel to this, which I have not read.


Will Henry
Pitchfork Patrol

If John Wayne was still alive, there is a perfect part for him in this Western novel, as the leader of the patrol.


One thing that surprised me is how few of the books that I have read and enjoyed, that I want to see adapted to film.

Yeah, I missed one. Artemis Fowl is a series of 8 books about an young master criminal which was written by Eoin Colfer. While the series has been in the film pipeline since 2001, it is still the series of those listed, that is most likely to be become a film. With Robert De Niro rumored to be producing and Kenneth Branagh rumored to be directing.

Next time: more and more, but 1st, men or women? who writes the best historical novels? men or women?








Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 01, 2017, 08:06:57 PM
INSIDE THE KGB by Vladimir Kuzichkin

This is a fascinating memoir by a Soviet defector, written even as the Gorbachev revolution was beginning the process that ultimately brought the USSR crashing down onto the ash heap of history.  It is easy, reading Kuzichkin's detailed account of his years as a KGB agent, to see why the "Evil Empire" ended as ignominiously as it did - the corruption, cronyism, and ideological bankruptcy of the Soviet Union is on clear display throughout.  Filled with fascinating anecdotes about the political and diplomatic leaders of the country, as well as an insider's view of events like the fall of the Shah's regime and the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, this memoir is a great read!  As a military veteran of the Reagan years, and someone with some knowledge of America's own intelligence community, this book was an eye-opening expose of just how powerless and inconsequential the KGB had become by the end of the Brezhnev years.  I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Russian history, or the Cold War era in general.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: El Misfit on July 03, 2017, 09:25:09 AM
Neil Gaiman's SANDMAN comic, in annotated form.
Also, just look at how big these books are for a graphic novel
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rGa0_n1esC8/TxoZPIGhQ8I/AAAAAAAAAec/KFLmHEBUDb4/s1600/IMG_2840.JPG)
(http://68.media.tumblr.com/3aea67196a89cac7f337975b8e38812f/tumblr_mubwlo0r7i1qd9i8io1_1280.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 03, 2017, 12:23:09 PM
I really need to get those.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: El Misfit on July 04, 2017, 09:31:31 AM
I really need to get those.
I like them more than Watchmen, I highly recommend them.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pacman000 on July 07, 2017, 07:07:14 AM
Collected Works: Adventures Into The UNKNOWN! Volume Three.

A collection of ACG's early 50's horror comics. Somewhat corny, but well drawn and imaginative. I may try to write mini-reviews of some of the stories.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 08, 2017, 02:31:07 PM
Men or women? Who writes the best historical novels? Men or women?

Here are the men who have at least 1 "good" historical novel under their belt. (Maybe more than 1, but at least 1.)

A. C. H. Smith
Alistair Maclean
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Benjamin Appell
C. Walter Hodges
Cy Endfield
Damian Hunter
Ernest Raymond
Evan H. Rhodes
Frank Yerby
Frederic Remington
Jack Higgins
Len Deighton
Marc Rascovich
Owen Parry
Robert E. Howard

And here are the women who have at least 1 "good" historical novel under their belt. (Maybe more than 1, but at least 1.)

Danielle Steele
Ellis Peters
Eve Bunting
Margaret Mullally
Rosemary Sutcliffe
Susan Higginbotham
Suzannah Dunn
and as they write as a trio
Hand, Ashton, Meadows

That means men are twice as likely to write a "good" historical novel compared to a woman. Of course, that's (IMHO.) As for the reasons . . .

Realistic
men: more
women: less

Romantic
men: less
women: more

Action
men: more and better
women: less

Perspective
as I prefer the male perspective in my historical novels,
men: write more  often from the male perspective (82%)
women: write more often from the female perspective (62.5%)

Of course, that means sometimes men write from the female perspective or 18%, and women sometimes write from the male perspective 37.5%.

Next time: Hand, Ashton, Meadows. My Lady Jane








Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pacman000 on July 09, 2017, 04:25:26 PM
Collected Works: Adventures Into The UNKNOWN! Volume Three.

A collection of ACG's early 50's horror comics. Somewhat corny, but well drawn and imaginative. I may try to write mini-reviews of some of the stories.

Story 1: Marriage of Death

An old woman tell a story of another woman she met, an ageless woman who couldn't die. (Spoiler: The other woman married Death by mistake, so he won't take her. She's actually dead, so she can't age.)

8 pages; fairly original. Death is portrayed as a suave young gentleman. Moral: "Death will call on me when he's good and ready, and not before!"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 22, 2017, 12:43:18 PM
Ye-es!

Hand, Ashton, Meadows
My Lady Jane
and between the 3 of them 13 more novels and 5 more novellas

In order to write a "better" novel, a number of historical errors, both big and small, were made. For example . . .

Jane
1 or 2 engagements instead of 4
Father living instead of deceased.
3 weddings that day instead of 1
No coronation instead of a coronation
Imprisonment in the Tower instead of a monastery
No braids instead of braids
Queen for 13 days instead of 9
Non-violent relationship with her mother instead of a violent relationship

That's 8 historical errors, and that is only the ones I know about.

Not G-rated
Violence. A surprising amount of violence. Both human and animal (non-human.)

To be continued . . .

Next time: the male half of our newlyweds.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 22, 2017, 06:32:47 PM
IN THE NAME OF ROME: The Men Who Won the Roman Empire by Adrian Goldsworthy

    Starting with the Punic Wars, this was a history of Rome's most celebrated Generals, from Marcellus and Scipio who defeated the Carthaginians, to Marius and Sulla who worked together to defeat the Germanic hordes and then went to war with each other, Caesar, Pompey, Germanicus, all the way down to Julian the Apostate and Belisarius, during the twilight of Roman power and influence (I kind of wish he had given a not to Basil the Bulgar Slayer, Byzantine Emperor and warrior extraordinaire, but by then the link between Rome and Constantinople had largely been severed.  Readable and entertaining, this is a worthy addition to any Romanophile's library.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on July 22, 2017, 08:34:59 PM
I'm reading unpublished scripts for the film festival I'm judging. The first one is actually fairly interesting, it's a Western ghost story. I could see it getting made.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on July 23, 2017, 09:56:36 AM
Just finished:

Growing Up With George: A Carlin Home Companion by Kelly Carlin


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on July 24, 2017, 08:12:54 AM
Reading the calendar to see how many working days left until my sabbatical: 40!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 30, 2017, 02:33:18 PM
Continuing . . .
from my previous post

Gifford or G
Guildford instead of Gifford

A good relationship with his father instead of a bad one.

5 brothers instead of 1

Henrys, John, Ambrose, Robert instead of Stan.

A good relationship with his brothers instead of a bad relationship with his brother.

2 sisters instead of 1.

Mary and Katherine instead of Temperance.
Oddly enough, or maybe not, he did have a sister called Temperance, who, like half of his brothers and sisters, died in infancy, so this could not be the Temperance seen in the book.

Mother called Jane instead of Gertrude.

15, 16, 17 instead of 19.
While we know when the historical character died, February, 1554, we do not know when he was born. Though, there is some thought that he was born March, 1537, which would make his 16 years, 11 months, when he died. His wife is just the opposite. We thought we knew when she was born, October, 1537. Now there is some thought that she was born earlier. Sometime between February, 1537, and November, 1536. Which would make her somewhere between 17 years, 3 months, and 17 years, when she died. It would also make her atypically older than her husband by 1 month to 4 months. Yet whoever was younger, they'd have the dubious distinction of being the youngest prisoner ever held in the Tower to be executed.

Wine instead of ale drunk at the wedding.

3 weddings that day instead of 1.

Iane instead of Jane carved on the wall of his cell at the Tower.
Because the letter J had yet to be invented. Which carving can still be see at the Tower even 460 years later.

No vest instead of a vest.

No ponytail instead of a ponytail.

A cold chop instead of a hot stake.
While burning was the penalty for heresy, because of his age, and that he was of the nobility, if he can been convicted of heresy, the sentence would have probably been reduced to the more merciful beheading. Actually, burning was also the penalty for women convicted of treason of which was then reduced to beheading for women convicted of treason, including his wife.

Only 1 wedding instead of 2 weddings.

And that is 16 historical errors made, and that is only the ones I know about.

This is not G-rated.
Teenage sex, and even more talk of teens having sex.

Next time: the 3rd in our trilogy of heroes.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 09, 2017, 05:14:31 PM
Continuing . . .

Not G-rated
Nudity. Underage nudity of both boys and girls.

Edward
Cocker spaniel instead of an afghan hound

Trunk hose instead of trousers or pants

Hose instead of tights

The right royal will and testament. His doing instead of John Dudley's.
We don't know which of them came up with the idea 1st. At 1st, we thought it was John Dudley's idea, now there is some thought that Edward originated the idea.

Not to kill him with poison instead to keep him alive.
As strange as it may sound, in actuality they were feeding him arsenic to prolong his life and not to shorten it.

John Dudley and Mary bitter foes instead of allies.

Grandmother dead instead of still alive

Mary sought her support against Jane in England and not on the continent.

No skunk instead of a skunk

No ponytail instead of a ponytail

Not resigning in favor of Elizabeth instead of resigning in favor of Elizabeth.
2 reasons. 1st if Mary was declared illegitimate then Elizabeth was illegitimate as well. 2nd Edward trusted Jane to carry out his religious reforms, where he did not trust Elizabeth.

That's . . .
8 + 16 + 11 or 35 historical errors. Thus, why would we read a book that was so historically inaccurate. At least VI good reasons, which we'll take up next time.

To be continued . . .


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 09, 2017, 10:35:51 PM
Just finished re-reading Colleen McCullough's 1100 page historical epic, FIRST MAN IN ROME.  In about ten days!
Why do I love this book so much that I have read it three times now?
Purely and simply, this lady gets Roman culture and history RIGHT.  She fleshes out, adds personalities, and sometimes speculates, but her stories hew tightly to every thing we know about the era she writes about.
Gaius Marius is magnificently portrayed as a brilliant general and reformer who sees what needs to be done and how to do it, but fights entrenched opposition from the patrician establishment every step of the way.
Lucius Cornelius Sulla is brilliantly sketched as a completely amoral psychopath determined to overcome his dire poverty and rise to the station his patrician ancestry and incredible cunning entitle him to.
Set against the backdrop of Rome's wars with German invaders and Numidian rebels, this book is a refreshing bath in the ancient world that absolutely puts you there and makes you see the world as the Romans saw it!  Five stars, highly recommended for anyone who loves Roman history.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on August 19, 2017, 05:09:13 AM
RE-reading Dee Brown's BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE.
at the same time I been re-reading my old EC horror comics reprints.And the Psychotronic Video Guide. And old crappy ufo books. and Issac Assimov. I read a lot.oh-and WW2 History.
Beyond the news,Star Trek on BBC Fridays,and movies on Comet and TCM-thats the only TV I watch.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: JoeTheDestroyer on August 19, 2017, 07:11:16 AM
I'm just over 100 pages into Midnight Voice by John Saul.  It's got a creepy, mysterious vibe and it keeps you guessing.  I'm still not 100% sure what's going on, but I have some hunches.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on August 20, 2017, 11:15:41 AM
Light reading:

(http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRmu-Bllss_Y3eQalThFi6v5VAvhP_qCw_0uqIJbKfETff_YB1D)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on August 20, 2017, 01:42:48 PM
started re-reading the RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH by William Shirer
It's an amazing book. A big book too! And very insightful.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 21, 2017, 05:52:12 PM
Continuing . . .

Why should one read a book with so many historical mistakes? (IMHO) Here are VI good reasons to read it.

I. 76 LOLs!
It really is quite funny.

II. For the films referenced.
Alice in Wonderland -- Jaws -- The Lion King -- Monty Python and the Holy Grail -- Princess Bride -- The Shaggy Dog -- Tangled.

III. It may become a film sometime in the future.

IV. The writers do make an effort to try to understand the male point of view, and I can't say that about every female writer.

V. While the relationship between newly wed husband and wife may be historically suspect, there are newly wed couples out there who relate to each other like that.

VI. What it feels like to . . .
a. have people come for you in the middle of the night. Not good.
b. know that one day one will rule, and there is nothing one can do about it.
c. rule.
d. know that one has ruled--badly.
e. know that one will die or may die the next morn, either by execution or in battle.
f. know love for someone, and that that person loves you, too.
Thus, it is surprisingly well written.

Though, near perfect it is not perfect. Thus, what is wrong with it.
1st. The 2 two halves are not equal. The 1st half, the more historical half, is much stronger than the 2nd half.
2nd. There is a scene in the book that does not fit, adds nil to the book, and just stops the story dead.
3rd. The familial relationships in the book are so historically inaccurate, they just grate.
4th. The villains are also historically inaccurate, so they grate, too.

As for what's next: a book where the villains do no grate, but are great.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 03, 2017, 02:04:49 PM
Andrew Shvarts
ex-pat Russian
1st novel
Royal Bastards
1st in what is reported to be a trilogy.

Royal Bastards
a mix of . . .

Heroes
a pampered princess and magic user, 15
a noble's conflicted daughter, 16
her half brother, the muscle bound stable boy, 18
her old boyfriend, a chubby scholar, 16
her new boyfriend, a tribal warrior, 16
Except for the 1st, all are illegitimate.

Misunderstandings
among the heroes
among the readers about the heroes
among the heroes about the villains.

Victims
you care about, for here, their deaths truly hurt, which is made worst by the humor in the book.
brother vs. brother
friend vs. friend
parent vs. child
the innocent, who are only trying to do their job.
the young: both the innocent and the guilty.

Villains
the viciously stupid and the smartly vicious
villains you love to hate, but are yet likable.
some so bad that they are good.
villains no older than the heroes, and for once, this concept works.

This is not rated PG.
the violence
just brutal.
which is made more so by the fact, that here you have 15- 16- 17- and 18-year olds killing and trying to kill each other.

Fact of the day
The 1st title of the book was Bastards' Table, but when the author took it to someone, who is an arm of the House of Mouse, they objected to the title. Not for the reason you may think, but because they found the word Table too mundane. Which is why the title was changed to Royal Bastards.

Next time: villains continue





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on September 09, 2017, 01:38:28 PM
(https://pictures.abebooks.com/11116758/9333960117.jpg)

1978 memoir from a former British film censor (who's firmly anti-censorship). The issues are outdated but it's still fun, and its nice running across familiar titles and hearing contemporary opinions of them (she thought BAY OF BLOOD was boring, MANSON was a near-masterpiece, and she makes THE SEX LIFE OF THE THREE MUSKETEERS sound like a promising bad movie).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on September 09, 2017, 08:09:29 PM
A summer's worth of reads:

Batman: The Long Halloween graphic novel by Jeph Loeb/Tim Sale

Kicking & Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul and Rock & Roll by Ann and Nancy Wilson

DC Showcase Presents: Batman (500 pages of vintage Batman/Detective Comics issues from the late 60s)

Bill Graham Presents: My Life Inside Rock and Out by Bill Graham and Robert Greenfield

Ice: A Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption, From South Central to Hollywood by Ice-T and Douglas Century

Cosby: His Life and Times by Mark Whitaker
(this bio was published a year or so before the recent scandal involving Cos' extra-curricular activities became public knowledge -- I can't help but think that if it were released now, it would read quite differently)

Batman: The Dynamic Duo Archives Vol. I by Bob Kane and others

Star Wars Rebellion Vol. I: My Brother, My Enemy by Brandon Badeaux, Michael Williams, and Michel Lacombe


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on September 10, 2017, 06:22:00 AM
I've been re-reading Colleen McCullough's massive saga, THE MASTERS OF ROME.
I have finished FIRST MAN IN ROME and THE GRASS CROWN and am over halfway through FORTUNE'S FAVORITES.
She brings the ancient world to life with great accuracy and colorful storytelling; it's like taking a bath in the late Roman Republic.
The brilliant general Gaius Marius, the charming sociopath Lucius Cornelius Sulla, the arrogant young Pompey Magnus, and the star that would eventually outshine them all, Julius Caesar, stride through these pages larger than life, surrounded by a supporting cast of hundreds of Romans, Greeks, and barbarians. This is ancient Rome done right; my own humble efforts, set about a half century after McCullough's tales draw to a close, pale by comparison.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on September 10, 2017, 01:29:53 PM
The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane

The gathering together of Robert E. Howard's stories into these collections, not only the one I am reviewing here but the others in the series as well, is not only an obvious labor of love to those who undertook the project, but an exercise in the preservation of some really worthy fiction that might easily have been lost to time.

I truly enjoyed every story in this book, which served to introduce me to Howard's Kane tales. I'd unreservedly recommend this anthology to anyone who is a fan of R.E.H., who appreciates a good old fashioned sort of adventure yarn, or who knows anyone who does.

A project like presenting high quality 1920s and 1930s pulp fiction material to today's market deserves support!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on September 10, 2017, 01:34:53 PM
A Dark Matter, by literary genius Peter Straub, a living legend and a fine gentleman of the craft of wordsmithing, is sadly a book that left me feeling cheated of my time and money.

I love Peter Straub, though. Seriously, I do. He is the writer of "fine, fine novels" (anyone ID that quote for 10 points?....No? Okay, take the bamboo outa my nails, it's from The Sandman.) and on top of that he is a nice man who shows generosity toward his fans, has a delightful sense of humor, and for the clencher, he seems to be looking younger today than he did ten years ago, no mean feat! Still, I was livid with him when I came away after spending six hours and twenty-whatever dollars on a book that has its head stuck where the sun doth rarely shine.

Yes, I was disappointed in this book because it never really fulfilled its early promise but just kept going from character to character re-telling the story of the same 1960s event over and over without answering the questions I wanted to know. A Dark Matter sounds much better in its dust jacket description than it ever gets to be in execution, largely because the living treasure who is Mr. Straub delivers a puzzlingly timid tale that is never allowed to flourish. I was rapt early on in the book, bored by the mid-point, infuriated at the end. So many unanswered questions, namely who the hell was the guy in the airport who gave the warning about the flight?

This could have been one of this writer's best novels in years, and for a while I thought it was going to be just that, but in the end...

I think I'll stick to vintage Peter Straub, because for the moment my interest in reading another of his more recent books is as dead as my one-time role model Stony Baxter Friedgood.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on September 21, 2017, 08:27:04 PM
Batman: Eternal Vols. 1 & 2 by Scott Snyder/Tim Seeley

Wally's World: The Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Wally Wood, the World's 2nd Best Comic Book Artist by Steve Sanger and J. David Spurlock


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on September 22, 2017, 08:34:55 AM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51gELTefpGL._SX328_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on September 23, 2017, 12:41:50 AM
it's been awhile since i last was on here. but i am currently reading Mr. Mercedes i'm 162 pages into it which isn't that far. it's decent so far but than nothing really has happend just yet. i have not seen the show yet.. how did you folks like it for those who have read it?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 23, 2017, 04:17:52 PM
Ye-es!
Continuing with Andrew Shvarts' Royal Bastards

The villains
the human element and the leader.
--the one most likely to be conflicted.

the brains
--mother maternal till she turns out to be a cold-hearted b***h, like the one here, which makes her a better villain than most men.

the brawn

the sadistic s.o.b.
--Razz. a great villain from his name to . . .
--his "Jaws-like" teeth to . . .
--fact that he likely grins when he hurts you.

and the rarest villain of them all
--"Pretty Boy" the teen villain, whose number can be counted on both hands with fingers leftover, since they have not been steeped in villainy long enough to be credible, except here.

This is not rated PG
Sexuality
only a couple of sex scenes, though one involves teens, the rest they say is off-stage or off camera.
Homosexuality
Not one of the main heroes, but one of the characters is depicted as being gay. Which you see more often in books, as people become more comfortable with non-heterosexuality in books.

Fact
Most of these--YAs--are written by women and feature a female protagonist. Those that do not have a female protagonist have a male protagonist. Then those written by men normally have a male protagonist. Thus, you have a rarity here, one written by a man, but with a female protagonist.

To be continued . . .

Next time: more on the books villains


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on September 29, 2017, 01:41:29 PM
I finished A Column of Fire, by Ken Follett and while it gives me no joy to write this, I found it a tedious, inaccurate, dull book filled with modern-minded people shoved into a politically correct 16th century as Follett imagined it to be. Its one saving grace may have come had it really been, as advertised, the third Kingsbridge novel, because I was interested in seeing what was new in the town Follett first gave us in The Pillars of the Earth, as the scene shifted yet again, but that locale played almost no role in a plot I couldn't get into. I can name a stack of books that'd give you a better read in the same amount of time it'd take to yawn and frown through the trite and predictable A Column of Fire and would honestly advise anyone to skip this one.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on September 29, 2017, 01:50:36 PM
Finished reading Conan's Brethren (REH's non Conan stories, many set during the Crusades) and now I get to plough through The Chimp Paradox, which is a less fun read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 01, 2017, 02:47:55 PM
Ye-es!
Continuing with . . .

Andrew Shvarts'
Royal Bastards

The best villains (IMHO) are those that are, as here, mirror images of the heroes.

the villain - the hero

the leader
Lord Kent - Tilla

the brains
Lady Hampstedt - Miles

the brawn
Grezza Gaul - Jaxx

the killer
Razz - Zell

the good looking one
Pretty Boy - Princess Lyriana

And the heroes have their own distinctive traits.
Zell the Mysterious One
Miles the Unlikable One
Lyriana the Surprising One
Jaxx the Un(der)appreciated One
Tilla None of these

This is not rated PG.
Nudity
Except for some teen co-ed nude bathing in the tub, only mentions of nude wrestling and skinnydipping.

Fact of the Day
It's a race war out there, but, instead of the non-white natives revolting against their white masters, here we have the white subjects revolting against their non-white rulers.

To be continued . . .

Next time: continuation of the villain


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 08, 2017, 04:19:20 PM
Ye-es!
Continuing with . . .

Andrew Shvarts'
Royal Bastards

As in Spider-man : Homecoming, a villain is only as good as the hired help he or she has, and there are some good ones in this book.

The Old Man
The oldest one
The one with the Santa Claus beard, but you do not want any of his presents.

The short, husky one.
The one with the braided beard

The tall, thin one with the spiky hair.
The one who is turned into a flambeau in the book.

The scrawny one.
The one who is tough as old shoe leather.

Pretty Boy
The youngest one.
Someone has to watch the horses.

And the bald one.
There is always a bald one.

This is not rated PG.
Language
That requires a topic of its own, so we'll take that up later.

Fact of the Day
To kill a child in a book. You just don't do it. Not unless you want to alienate your reading audience, but, this writer does it and more than once, and he gets away with it, too. Which speaks to his skill as a writer.

To be continued . . .


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on October 12, 2017, 08:06:10 AM
Anyone have anything good to say about a writer named Tad Williams? I got gifted one of his books and I'd never heard of him.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on October 12, 2017, 01:09:39 PM
I read his Green Angel Tower series. Found it enjoyable enough, although fairly standard fantasy.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on October 16, 2017, 04:20:58 PM
This:

http://www.galwaydailynews.com/ (http://www.galwaydailynews.com/)

Almost as funny as The Onion, and vurra Irish.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 16, 2017, 06:11:13 PM
I just finished CAESAR'S WOMEN, the fourth book in Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" series.
In many ways, this one is my favorite.   Pompey Magnus is shown at the zenith of his power, settling the affairs of entire kingdoms with the stroke of a pen and making the Senators quake in his wrath; Cicero is portrayed as an oratorical genius with a strong streak of cowardice that battles with his moral center; Cato is perhaps the least likable character in the story, making the reader want to punch him every time he launches into one of his screeds.  But Gaius Julius Caesar is very much center stage in this story - here he is at the beginning of his rise to the top: brilliant, ruthless, mentally and physically attractive and able to turn that attribute to his benefit.  The women of the title are Caesar's mother Aurelia, his daughter Julia, his lover Servilia, and his wives, Pompeia Sulla and Calpurnia Pisa.  No other writer captures the heartbeat of ancient Rome with the ring of truth that Colleen McCullough conveys, and I strongly recommend all her books - but especially this one.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 18, 2017, 02:18:00 PM
Ye-es!
Continuing with . . .
Andrew Shvarts' Royal Bastards

Would this look good on film?
Ye-es!

What?
Not a TV movie or a theatrical film like Hunger Games, but a TV miniseries, as someone, not I suggested, as you could then retain more of the book.

Where?
Again, as the same person suggested: Free Form.
The built-in audience, and it'd then not bump into Descendants, and with Descendants II drawing a 50% larger audience than Descendants I, there will be a Descendants III.

Why?
The villains. Some of the best ever seen in a book.
The victims. Victims you really care about.
The scenes. A feast, especially those inside and outside of the bar in Bridge Town. Bar fight! Bar fight!
All (IMHO)

Who should do it?
The House of Mouse.
The cast. They have the largest pool from which to draw the cast. Maia Mitchell has already been mentioned.
The promotion. They can promote it.

Problems
Not a musical.
No dancing.
Not the language, which can be cleaned up, but the violence. Which is brutal and has teens doing it to other teens.

To be continued . . .

Next time: the language


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on October 18, 2017, 03:43:13 PM
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 316zombie on October 22, 2017, 04:15:15 PM
oh, definitely good things to say! tailchaser's song is a regular reread, as are the adventures of ordinary farm. and the bobby dollar series is also excellent! i liked the shadowmarch series too, and my youngest niece( soon to be EIGHTEEN, GAWD I'M OLD!) has all of his books.
   i have some of his short stories in daw anthologies too, he's very talented!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: stine.greta on October 22, 2017, 07:55:04 PM
Always and Forever, Lara Jean


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 31, 2017, 02:27:01 PM
Ye-es!
Continuing with . . .
Andrew Shvarts Royal Bastard

 33 b"()"'%(
24 s())
06 holy s())
06 b.s.
06 p)() (ed) (ing)
05 s$'_" (ed)
04 piece of s())
03 a-hole
03 b))$( es
03 s.o.b.
01 p)((-looking
01 S()))$
95 total

24 hell
05 a((
04 dammit
04 damn(ed)
03 b.a.
02 balls
01 frozen hell
01 gods-damned
01 holy frozen hell
01 tits
46 total

Noveris
03 titans' breath
03 titans' tits
Zitochi
01 khanzar
07 total

148 grand total

It maybe funny, but I find the language here less offensive than someone who throws in a curse word or two into their story.

Next time: final comments


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on November 03, 2017, 07:38:03 AM
Pulled out one of my HP Lovecraft anthologies to read through.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 316zombie on November 03, 2017, 04:08:23 PM
manuals. lots of them. i start a new job on monday and i like to be able to fix my kitchen equipment myself whenever possible. and be able to fix front of house stuff in a pinch as well.
   so i've got 2 ice machine manuals, 2 reachin fridge manuals, the freezer manual,the fryer manual,the flattop/grill manual, the multi-kegerator manual, the jukebox manual, the projector tv manual, the vacuum cleaner manual and 6 other tv manuals.
  it's VERY strange for me to have to read these, i'm not used to having brand new equipment, lol! at least i don't need to read manuals for the toilets!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 07, 2017, 09:34:22 AM
Ecclesiastes, my favorite scripture in human history, filled with headrush-inducing brilliance.


1:4  One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.

2:16 For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten. And how dieth the wise man? as the fool.

3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven...

3:19-20  For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.

4:5 The fool foldeth his hands together, and eateth his own flesh.

7:5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.

10:12 The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself.


Honestly, there is a great line in nearly every verse. It is the book for humanists, and the faithful, those who love the Bible, and those who enjoy nothing else in it. It is literature of the highest order and a source of advice that increases wisdom.





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 316zombie on November 07, 2017, 11:18:16 PM
ER,have you read the tad williams yet?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on November 08, 2017, 07:33:04 PM
Just finished:

Ramones at 40 by Martin Popoff

Stay Ugly: The Life and Near Deaths of King Fowley by King Fowley/Mike Sloan

On deck:

What Does This Button Do? by Bruce Dickinson


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: frank on November 10, 2017, 04:00:26 AM
Anyone have anything good to say about a writer named Tad Williams? I got gifted one of his books and I'd never heard of him.

I read "The Dragonbone Chair" and some of the follow-ups as a kid. I was quite into fantasy at that time and enjoyed them a lot. If fantasy is your thing, it will be interesting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on November 11, 2017, 11:31:20 PM
This month I finished two LONG books I've been reading simultaneously - one at home, one at work - for a while.

CAESAR: LET THE DICE FLY is the fifth installment in the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough, but it is the first one I read, nearly a decade ago. This was my fourth journey through this volume.  This masterpiece of historical fiction presents Julius Caesar in the midst of the campaign that made him immortal, the conquest of Gaul and the beginning of the Civic Wars.  The story begins with Caesar in Great Britain, where he receives word from Pompey Magnus that Caesar's only daughter - who is also Pompey's wife, Julia, has died, and Caesar's mother, Aurelia Cotta, has starved herself to death in grief.  Caesar swallows that tremendous loss and goes on about the grim business of subduing all of Gaul and bringing it into the growing Roman Empire.  The tragic betrayal and death of the Thirteenth Legion, the heroism of Quintus Cicero, the siege of Alesia - all those great battles unfold even as Caesar's enemies in Rome slowly seduce Pompey into their camp.  Finally they make their move, ordering Caesar to surrender his troops and his imperium and stand trial as a criminal.  Then comes the crossing of the Rubicon, the flight of the Senate, Caesar's great triumph at Pharsalus, and finally the sad death of Pompey Magnus at a remote beach in Egypt.  This is historical fiction at its very best, I am always sorry to finish this book!

At work, on my lunch break, I have been reading TEAM OF RIVALS: THE POLITICAL GENIUS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, for the third time.

I have probably read somewhere around 40 or 50 books on Lincoln, but this one is hands down the best of the lot, and many say the best ever written. Goodwin shows Lincoln here in a capacity where many biographers have fallen short: as the greatest master politician of his era.  She discusses the four men who were Lincoln's rivals for the 1860 Republican nomination:  Henry Seward, Edward Bates, Salmon P. Chase, Edwin Stanton.  After surprising all of these men and their supporters by winning the nomination, Lincoln then named all four to serve in his cabinet, and welded them into a remarkable team, harnessing their strengths, minimizing conflict between them, and finally becoming firm friends with three of the four.  This book shows a remarkably personal portrait of our greatest President, and I always get a little weepy in the last chapter, knowing how it ends yet wishing it could continue.  A must for anyone interested in the life of Lincoln.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 19, 2017, 03:30:28 PM
Ye=es!

Concluding . . .

Andrew Shivarts'
Royal Bastards

Out of a 100 book characters who die . . .
85% will be men
12% will be women
02% will be boys
01% will be girls

But here . . .

80% were men
07% were women
09% were boys
04% were girls.

Thus . . . the percentage of men and women who died declined, while the percentage of boys and girls who died increased.

He has that rare bad character who becomes good, and the even rarer good character who becomes bad.

The more you think about it. The better it becomes.

"Be still my beating heart," she said, rolling her eyes.
Me: ROTFL!

While not as funny as My Lady Jane, there are o'er 3 dozen LOLs!

It works. The female viewpoint from the male perspective.

Not particularly original, but he does unoriginality better than anyone else. He makes it work.

Next time: 6 of 1 or a half dozen of the other.






Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 316zombie on November 19, 2017, 09:38:50 PM
just started on the early winter marathon of diane duane's young wizards series...i need to see if i have them, all, don't think i do.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on November 23, 2017, 09:57:16 PM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81b4ixzECXL.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on November 24, 2017, 12:32:56 PM
Currently: Stephen King, Bazaar of Bad Dreams

On deck: Bruce Dickinson, What Does This Button Do?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on November 24, 2017, 01:00:58 PM
Currently: Stephen King, Bazaar of Bad Dreams

On deck: Bruce Dickinson, What Does This Button Do?

When you've finished What Does This Button Do could you let me know if it happens to mention him being chased by a man with a 2 by 4 before a concert in the early 90s please.

Just don't ask why I am asking.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 27, 2017, 05:09:01 PM
I'd said I'd do a 6 of 1 or a half dozen, but I'm going to put that off to later. Now I want to do a compare and contrast of 2 books.

Miller's
Power House
an oral history of the Creative Artists Agency

and
Altman and Cross'
The 50 Year Mission
an oral history of Star Trek. This is v.2. or the last 25 years. We'll get to v.1. or the 1st 25 years later.

CAA=Creative Artists Agency
ST=Star Trek

01. Both are oral histories.

02. They were both founded about the same time.
ST=1966
CAA=1971

03. Though both were founded in the U.S. by Americans, they have grown into something that is international.

04. Both founders proved to be controversial.

05. Though, without either founder, neither would have been founded.

06. Both later had to turn over to others what they founded.

07. And both founders proved to be 1-trick ponies. Neither before or after were they able to found something comparable.

08. Both of that which was founded was striven by personal conflict within what was founded.

09. Both books open up a window to look thru, but it is an outside window looking out and not an inside window looking in.

10. What both books need?
ST: Whatever became of?
CAA: Something about life outside the founding.
ST: Photos of the people not seen on the screen.

11. Both of what was founded became the largest in their field.

12. Though competitors have since whittled both down in size, if not importance.

13. Both, at founding, were believed to be headed for failure, but both became wildly successful.

Next time: 6 of 1 or a half dozen of the other.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on November 30, 2017, 10:31:34 AM
I'm slowly reading (sometimes re-reading) through a list of the 100 greatest works of world literature (this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokklubben_World_Library).

While I'm waiting for a volume of Greek tragedies I ordered from the library to show up I downloaded a free version of the "Epic of Gilgamesh": https://archive.org/details/TheEpicofGilgamesh_201606

I've read it before but it's short (about 24 pages long). Interesting to see the similarities between this and the Old Testament (including the earliest reference to the Flood).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 06, 2017, 06:13:12 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1. 6 mysteries + 1 comic book series

Debbie Howells
Brit
The Beauty of the End
1 more fiction
includes reading group guide
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: Present

Richard Beard
Brit
The Apostle Killer
5 more fiction + 3 more nonfiction
Hero: Romanized Germanic tribesman
Place: Eurasia
Time: Present

What if the Roman Empire still existed?
What if Christ came to Earth not in the 1st century A.D., but the 21st century A.D.
What if after He was crucified, dead, and buried His disciples were being murdered in the order, place, and manner that tradition states?
What is the motive for the murders, and who is the murderer? Paul aka Saul is a prime suspect.

John Keyse Walker
American
1st novelist
award winner
Sun, Sand, and Murder
1st in the Constable Teddy Creque series
Hero: British Virgin Islander
Place: British Virgin Islands
Time: Present

Lotte and Soren Hammer
(brother and sister writing duo)
Danes
The Vanished
Martin Aitken, translator
3rd in the Konrad Simonsen series
Hero: Dane
Place: Denmark
Time: Present

Anne Perry
ex-pat Kiwi
Revenge in the Cold River
22nd in the William Monk series
+ 49 more in 3 more series + 6 stand alone novels
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: Past

Ace Atkins
American
The Innocents
6th in the Quinn Colson series
+ 13 more fiction including 5 Spenser for Hire
Hero: American
Place: Mississippi
Time: Present

1 comic book series

Whitley and Gordon
Princeless
v. 1. Once Upon a Time -- v.2. Get Over Yourself -- v.3. Short Stories -- v.4. Be Yourself -- v.5. Pirate Princess

Next time: a half dozen of the other




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: stine.greta on December 07, 2017, 12:53:37 AM
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, I have read this a few years ago and here I am again reading it again.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on December 08, 2017, 12:51:20 PM
Started a selection of HG Wells novels, currently going through The Island Of Dr Moreau.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on December 11, 2017, 10:03:42 AM
(https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1372475846l/6059828.jpg)

I think this is the same book I had in college. Kind of an odd selection but contains three classic plays: "Oedipus Rex," "Medea," and "Lysistrata."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 14, 2017, 06:08:10 PM
Yer-es!
and a half dozen more + 1
non-fiction and graphics

non-fiction
Rudits, Golden, Stone, Hugo
The Star Trek Book :
Strange New Worlds Boldly Explained

Andrew Fazekau
Canadian
Star Trek :
the Official Guide to Our Universe :
the True Science Behind the Starship Voyages

Of the 23 futuristic scientific devices seen on Star Trek
17 No or yet to be invented, but we have to 2166

06 Yes or have been invented by 2016
yes - medical tricoder
yes - orbital space diving
yes - stealth mode
yes - replicator (if primitive)
yes - hypno sprays
yes - personal communicators

Rich Cohen
American
award winner
The Sun and the Moon and the Rolling Stones
4 more non-fiction

graphics

Steven and Greene
Battle world : Runaways
issues 1-4
+ 5 stories from Secret Wars : Secret Love
issue 1

Riggs and Jean
Hollow City
Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children : v.2
Following Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Followed by Library of Souls
Film version of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Johnson and Pleece
an Afro-American who can pass for white and a Brit
Incognegro
Hero: Afro-American
Place: the U.S.
Time: Past

Ben Towler
American
Oyster War
3 more graphic novels
Hero: American
Place: Chesapeake Bay (U.S.)
Time: Past

Next time: 6 of 1


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 19, 2017, 03:56:32 PM
I just finished reading GRANT by Donald Chernow.

It's a massive biography, over 800 pages, of a man who has been called "the most underrated President in American history."  Ulysses Grant has fascinated me for years; he was an utter failure in life until his 38th birthday, when the Civil War called him from obscurity to command one of the largest armies in history.  He was a brilliant general (the Encyclopedia of Military History, compiled by two British officers, refers to his Little Black River campaign as the most brilliant military campaign ever waged in the Western Hemisphere"), a reluctant politician, a fearless crusader for civil rights, a globe-trotting goodwill ambassador for the United States, and finally, in his last years of life, a writer whose memoirs have been called the finest military history by any general since Julius Caesar.  Sadly, today he is mainly remembered for the corruption of some of his cabinet members, and for his off and on battle with alcoholism - a battle he finally won by sheer force of will.

This is a great book, that further cements Chernow's place as one of America's greatest biographers.  5/5


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: stine.greta on December 20, 2017, 01:05:03 AM
Always and Forever, Lara Jean

Finally on the third book of Jenny Han...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 23, 2017, 01:38:21 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 or
6 mysteries and 1 non-fiction

Michael Pearce
Anglo-Sudanese ex-pat
The Women of the Souk
19th in the Mamur Zapt series
+ 7 more in 1 more series
Hero: Welsh ex-pat
Place: Egypt
Time: 1910s


Linda Castillo
American
award winner
Among the Dead
8th in the Kate Burkholder series
Heroine: American
Place: Ohio and New York (USA)
Time: present


Kate Saunders
Brit
award winner
The Secrets of Wish tide
1st in the Laetitia Rudd series
+ 3 more fiction + 1 juvenile fiction
Heroine: Brit
Place: England and Belgium
Time: 1850s


Craig Johnson
American
award winner
The Highwayman
12th in the Longmire series
now streaming on Netflix
+ 2 short story collections + 2 more fiction + 1 novella
Hero: American
Place: Wyoming (USA)
Time: Present


Emily Littlejohn
American
1st novelist
Inherit the Bones
Heroine: American
Place: Colorado (USA)
Time: Present


Andrew Hunt
American
award winner
Desolation Flats
3rd in the Art Oveson series
3 more non-fiction
Hero: American
Place: Utah (USA)
Time: 1930s

and 1 non-fiction
Reginald Grant, consultant editor
Brit
The History Book
104 of the greatest events in history + 44 of the greatest characters in history, from 200,000 BCE to 2015 CE, identified and explained.
12 more books in this series from . . . to . . .
business -- economics -- literature -- movies -- philosophy -- politics -- psychology -- religion -- science -- Shakespeare -- Sherlock Holmes -- sociology
A good intro to the subjects. Of course, if one wants more details on the specifics, then bibliographies are included.

Next time: and a half dozen graphic novels



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: claws on December 24, 2017, 02:53:01 AM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 or
6 mysteries and 1 non-fiction

Michael Pearce
Anglo-Sudanese ex-pat
The Women of the Souk
19th in the Mamur Zapt series
+ 7 more in 1 more series
Hero: Welsh ex-pat
Place: Egypt
Time: 1910s


Linda Castillo
American
award winner
Among the Dead
8th in the Kate Burkholder series
Heroine: American
Place: Ohio and New York (USA)
Time: present


Kate Saunders
Brit
award winner
The Secrets of Wish tide
1st in the Laetitia Rudd series
+ 3 more fiction + 1 juvenile fiction
Heroine: Brit
Place: England and Belgium
Time: 1850s


Craig Johnson
American
award winner
The Highwayman
12th in the Longmire series
now streaming on Netflix
+ 2 short story collections + 2 more fiction + 1 novella
Hero: American
Place: Wyoming (USA)
Time: Present


Emily Littlejohn
American
1st novelist
Inherit the Bones
Heroine: American
Place: Colorado (USA)
Time: Present


Andrew Hunt
American
award winner
Desolation Flats
3rd in the Art Oveson series
3 more non-fiction
Hero: American
Place: Utah (USA)
Time: 1930s

and 1 non-fiction
Reginald Grant, consultant editor
Brit
The History Book
104 of the greatest events in history + 44 of the greatest characters in history, from 200,000 BCE to 2015 CE, identified and explained.
12 more books in this series from . . . to . . .
business -- economics -- literature -- movies -- philosophy -- politics -- psychology -- religion -- science -- Shakespeare -- Sherlock Holmes -- sociology
A good intro to the subjects. Of course, if one wants more details on the specifics, then bibliographies are included.

Next time: and a half dozen graphic novels



Sorry for asking but, what exactly is this about? Is this a review of a book you read? or facts from books?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 316zombie on December 25, 2017, 07:07:35 PM
kevin, i love your lists, now that  i think i figured out how to read them. have you heard anything about the new miss peregrine's children trilogy? wiki says it starts next year?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 06, 2018, 03:58:10 PM
kevin, i love your lists, now that  i think i figured out how to read them. have you heard anything about the new miss peregrine's children trilogy? wiki says it starts next year?

My lists are nothing but lists of books I have read. When you say trilogy, are you talking about a trilogy of books, having read the 1st and 2nd in graphic format, I am looking forward to reading a 3rd in the same format as the others? Or, are you talking about a trilogy of films, as the 1st, I believe so underwhelmed the box office, I am surprised if there was a 2nd film. Which does not surprise me, as what little I saw of the film, it was so far off from the book that I read, no wonder it was considered something less than a success. Now for a list of a half dozen more  graphic novels.

Igort
Sardinian
The Ukrainian and Russian Notebooks
Published 2010-2011.
English translation published 2016.
13 more graphic novels.


Bendis and Deodato
Guardians of Know where : Warzones
collecting issues 1-4 of Secret Wars
+ Bendis and Reed
New Avengers : Illuminati (2007) #3


Leth, Williams, Allegri
Patsy Walker, a.k.a. Hellcat :
Hooked on a Feline
Heroine: American
Place: New York (New York)
Time: Present


Wilson, Alphonse, Miyazawa, Andolfo
Ms. Marvel
v.6. Civil War II
collecting issues #7-12


Liu, Brooks, Vines, O'Bache
Star Wars :
Han Solo
collecting issues #1-5


David and Slines
Secret Wars 2099
collecting issues #1-5

Next time: 6 of 1 or a list of 6 mysteries and 1 non-fiction book I have read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 07, 2018, 03:17:38 PM
I just finished reading CALIGULA: EMPEROR OF ROME by Arthur Ferrill.
A fairly slim volume - after all, Caligula was only Emperor for three years and nine months - but well-written and entertaining.
Ferrill's thesis is simple:  Forget the twentieth century revisionists who have desperately tried to rehabilitate the reputation of Rome's third Emperor.
Every available bit of evidence seems to indicate that Caligula was indeed depraved, insane, and wantonly cruel - a monster whose actions had no rhyme nor reason, and in fact often harmed the Empire and its ruler.  The last sentence sums it up nicely:
"Rarely has so little good been done by so powerful a figure . . ."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on January 07, 2018, 03:22:15 PM
I just finished reading CALIGULA: EMPEROR OF ROME by Arthur Ferrill.
A fairly slim volume - after all, Caligula was only Emperor for three years and nine months - but well-written and entertaining.
Ferrill's thesis is simple:  Forget the twentieth century revisionists who have desperately tried to rehabilitate the reputation of Rome's third Emperor.
Every available bit of evidence seems to indicate that Caligula was indeed depraved, insane, and wantonly cruel - a monster whose actions had no rhyme nor reason, and in fact often harmed the Empire and its ruler.  The last sentence sums it up nicely:
"Rarely has so little good been done by so powerful a figure . . ."

It seems like the modernist thrust in history is to tarnish the reputations of good people, and try to convince us the bad were only misrepresented. Margaret George has written some fine novels about Henry VIII,and Mary of Scotland, but her recent take on Nero as a slandered nice guy was hard to stomach.

I think you, personally, got Caligula right in your second novel, The Redemption of Pontius Pilate.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 07, 2018, 04:04:03 PM
Thank you for that!

I will say that the interpretative pendulum now seems to be swinging the other way, finally.
The most recent biographies I have read tend to confirm the more traditional views of historical figures.
Example:  RICHARD AND JOHN: KINGS AT WAR blasts all the recent attempts to rehabilitate King John and vilify Richard as a warmongering, homosexual lightweight.  The author did exhaustive research and concluded that John really was an awful fellow, and that Richard's nickname of "Lionheart" was in fact, well-deserved.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on January 07, 2018, 06:55:34 PM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/519x1x3lMXL._SX330_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: stine.greta on January 08, 2018, 12:59:48 AM
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

I just hope that the movie adaptation will turn out fine.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 14, 2018, 05:01:50 PM
Ye-es! 6 of 1 or 6 mysteries + 1 non-fiction

Anna Lee Huber
American
As Death Draws Near
5th in the Lady Darby series
Heroine: Scottish-Irish
Place: British Isles
Time: 1830s


Elsa Hart
American ex-pat
The White Mirror
2nd in the Li Du series
Hero: Chinese
Place: China
Time: 18th century

The Chinese Columbo of China in the 18th century.


D. A. Mishan
Israeli
award winner
The Man Who Wanted to Know Everything
3rd in the Avraham Avraham series
Hero: Israeli
Place: Israel
Time: Present


Vaseem Khan
Brit
The Perplexing Theft of the Jewel in the Crown
2nd in the Baby Ganash Agency series
Hero: Indian
Place: India
Time: Present


David Casarett
American
Murder in the House of Rooster Happiness
1st in the Ethical Chiang Mai Detective Agency series
3 more non-fiction
Heroine: Thai
Place: Thailand
Time: Present


Keigo Higashno
Japanese
Under the Midnight Sun
translators, Alexander O. Smith and Joseph Reader
4 more fiction in 2 series
Published in Japanese in 1999
Published in English in the U.K. in 2015
Published in U.S. in 2016

Hero: Japanese
Place: Japan
Time: Present

+ 1 non-fiction

Gross and Altman
The Fifty-Year Mission :
the Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized History of Star Trek
v.1. the 1st 25 years

I actually found this more interesting than v.2. which covers the last 25 years. Maybe because I know less about the 1st 25 than the last 25.

Next time: a half dozen of the other. Probably a combination of non-fiction and fictional graphic novels.




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 20, 2018, 05:41:25 AM
I just re-read THE GREAT BIG BOOK OF HORRIBLE THINGS: THE DEFEINITIVE LIST OF THE 100 WORST ATROCITIES IN HUMAN HISTORY by Matthew White. This book is just absolutely fascinating; a terrible catalog of man's inhumanity to man, told with a level of sarcastic snarkiness that is brilliantly entertaining.

Who killed the most people?  Stalin, Hitler, or Mao?
Was Genghis Khan really that bad?
What is the whiny, unanswerable question that everyone always asks about World War One?
Has Communism or religion killed more people?

If these and other questions sound intriguing, you REALLY need to add this book to your library!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 28, 2018, 05:29:51 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 or 6 graphic novels + 1 non-fiction.
We'll take up the non-fiction now and the 6 graphic novels next time.

Jason Porath
1st book
Rejected princesses :
tales of the history's boldest, heroines, hellions, and heretics

Tales of 100 women from the pages of history, literature, and folklore.
From the 13th century B.C. to the 1st decade of the 21st century.

The surprise, for me, is in a time and place dominated by men, and was expected to be dominated by men, how many dominant women there were. Though, as interesting as this was, and it was interesting, more interesting to me, is in a time and place dominated by men and expected to be dominated by men, what makes a man/boy (we'll get to that later) become submissive, submit to a woman, and become her subordinate. And we can start with those who were married to the women who laid some claim to the throne of the U.K.

Matilda
married a Frenchman/boy, who was almost a decade younger than herself, but was himself already highly respected by his older peers.
And while they may not have loved each other, they did apparently respect each other.

Jane
married an Englishman/boy, who was almost the same age as her, and while thought typically to be older than her, there is now some thought, that he was younger than her, which would make him the youngest prisoner in the Tower of London ever to be executed in the Tower of London area.
And again, they may not have loved each other, but they did apparently have respect for each other, which is more than can be said for some royal couples.

1st Elizabeth
unmarried

1st Mary
married a Spaniard.
An unhappy marriage, as he ran into her mental illness, which ran in her family, and the xenophobia and anti-Catholicism of the British people, but, at least he tried, which again can not be said for every British royal couple.

2nd Mary
married a Dutchman.
And, apparently, had a happy marriage.

Anne
married a Dane.
And, apparently, had a happy marriage.

Victoria
married a German cousin.
And, apparently, had a happy marriage.

2nd Elizabeth
married a Greek, and yes, Philip is/was Greek and had claim not only to the throne of Greece, but also Denmark, from where his family originally came, but gave up both claims, when he married.
And had a questionable marriage. Some think that if the couple could have divorced, which they were forbidden to do, they would have divorced. Certainly, divorce runs in that immediate family.

What is a happy marriage? What is an unhappy marriage?

Thus, you not only have each marrying a husband of a different nationality, you have . . .

3 happy marriages
2 marriages where husband and wife apparently had respect for each other
1 marriage open to question
and 1 unhappy marriage.

And while I have not checked out each royal marriage, it seems to me, that a marriage is more likely to be happy, if the husband is subordinate to the wife, than if the wife is subordinate to the husband. This only applying to the British royal couples.

Someone ought to write a book about these men/boys and the others like them (IMHO.)

Next time: a half dozen graphic novels


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on January 30, 2018, 06:40:19 AM
MANSON- IN HIS OWN WORDS as told to NUEL EMMONS

Also- a big stack of early '80's FANGORIA magazines that one of my Tumblr followers found in his attic and sent me!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 30, 2018, 06:57:39 AM
BOSWORTH: THE BIRTH OF THE TUDORS by Chris Skidmore is a definitive history of the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, when Richard III was slain and Henry VII became king of England and the founder of the Tudor Dynasty.  A bit dry in places, but still interesting overall, there is a special bonus chapter on the discovery of King Richard III's body and the post-mortem done on it in 2013.  Overall a nice addition to my British history shelf.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on January 30, 2018, 03:50:28 PM
BOSWORTH: THE BIRTH OF THE TUDORS by Chris Skidmore is a definitive history of the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, when Richard III was slain and Henry VII became king of England and the founder of the Tudor Dynasty.  A bit dry in places, but still interesting overall, there is a special bonus chapter on the discovery of King Richard III's body and the post-mortem done on it in 2013.  Overall a nice addition to my British history shelf.

I still wish you'd read The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey. I think she makes a strong case that Richard III wasn't such a bad man after all.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on January 30, 2018, 03:54:00 PM
BOSWORTH: THE BIRTH OF THE TUDORS by Chris Skidmore is a definitive history of the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, when Richard III was slain and Henry VII became king of England and the founder of the Tudor Dynasty.  A bit dry in places, but still interesting overall, there is a special bonus chapter on the discovery of King Richard III's body and the post-mortem done on it in 2013.  Overall a nice addition to my British history shelf.

I still wish you'd read The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey. I think she makes a strong case that Richard III wasn't such a bad man after all.

There is a totally accurate TV series that does cover the truth behind Richard III. Watch the first season of Blackadder.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 30, 2018, 05:47:24 PM
I watched THE WHITE QUEEN, does that count??

Many things I could forgive, but when your brother leaves you as custodian of his 12 year old and his 10 year old and they BOTH turn up dead on your watch, you're a child-murdering jerk!!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Svengoolie 3 on February 07, 2018, 12:12:30 AM
I've been reading some ultra heavy duty grimdark wh40k novels,  the night lords omnibus featuring 3 novels,  soul hunter,  blood reader and void stalker plus a short story.

Some real grimdark here.  At one point the main character dives out of an airship with a jet thruster flight pack on his back powerdiving to save a brother legionaire who has fallen out of the aircraft after his flight pack was damaged.  Later the same character oversees an attack on a defenceless planet and the massacre,  torture and murder of millions of unarmed civilians as an attack against the empire they are part of.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 10, 2018, 10:07:55 PM
I just finished reading FIRE AND FURY by Michael Wolf.  As with most controversial books, I would encourage people to read it before they dismiss it or embrace it.  Trump fans will find some things in it that they might actually like; Trump detractors will find plenty of ammunition also.  Truthfully, I think it's as balanced as a book can be about such a controversial figure, especially one who is still in office.  One thing I will say, though: Michael Wolf is a very entertaining writer. Love our President or hate him, this is a hard book to put down!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Fox Sake on February 12, 2018, 08:02:07 AM
Difficult Men: From The Sopranos and The Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad - Brett Martin

A behind the scenes look at some of the most controversial, ground-breaking TV dramas from the late 90s early 00s, and the men that made them.

Speciically, "The Sopranos", "The Wire", "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 12, 2018, 03:56:02 PM
Ye-es!
While I did say I'd do a half dozen graphic novels, we'll put that off to next time, as I want to do a compare and contrast this time.

Both writers(')
are fantasy writers,
are in the 1st part of a 3-part trilogy,
books have sexually diverse characters,
books have maps,
are good at nation building,
are bad at math. He numbers. She timelines.
books should be made into films. (IMHO.)

But, if one likes . . .
less sex,
less profanity,
more heavy fantasy (There be fae here.)
more twists and turns,
and a smoother story, or the difference between an experienced writer and a newbie,
then one should like . . .

Holly Black's
Cruel Prince
(1st in the Folk of the Air trilogy)

But, if one likes . . .
more emphatic minor characters,
more racial diversity,
a bolder writer (Children do not make good villains, but here he is not only bold enough to make some of his villains children, but child villains that are credible and  believable.)
a bolder writer  2 (the rarity of a male writer, but a female heroine)
a more visual book (Bar fight! Bar fight!)
a more typical heroine (or one that will not lie to you or betray you)
more emotional punch,
more realistic violence (It is brutal.)
knowing the ages of the teens. (A teen can be from 13 to 19, but that does not make them the same. So, here we have 18, 18, 17, 17, 17, 16 (?), 15, and 15.)
better villains (more individual types and individual appearances)
then, you'll like . . .

Andrew Shvarts'
Royal Bastards
(1st in the Royal Bastards trilogy)

This does not make one better than the other, as I found both to be both eminently readable and memorable. What it does is make both interesting (IMHO.) As here we have 2 writers who look at the same subject--here fantasy--but come up with 2 different books. 1 which I think is typically female, and 1 which is typically male, in some aspects. (Again, IMHO)

Next time: a half dozen graphic novels read and enjoyed.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 12, 2018, 06:18:51 PM
You know, I would be awfully flattered as a writer if one of you guys read and reviewed one of my books here . . . .   :teddyr: :wink:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on February 15, 2018, 03:44:05 PM
I was asked to read a book called The Last Closet, by Moira Greyland, who is the daughter of Marion Zimmer Bradley, San Francisco-based author of The Mists of Avalon, and I have to say this memoir of a childhood is disturbing through and through.

I'd never heard of the book and asked what it was about. I was told: parent-child rape, sadism, brainwashing, battery, and it's a true story.

If Ms. Greyland is telling the truth about the abuse she suffered from her parents, then may MZB's over-rated books lie in dust, unread til the end of time. The twisted verbal, physical and sexual abuse she and her life partner, MENSA-founder Walter Breen, doled out to their child is off the scale, and were they not dead, I'd only hope Bradley and Breen would be hauled up on charges.

Never let it be said an abusive parent trying to push his or her own lifestyle position onto a diverging child has to always be a heterosexual one persecuting a homosexual offspring, because while Breen was"merely" a molesting pedophile, Bradley's torture of her daughter for her heterosexuality is arguably more insane and terrible to read about. She wanted her child to be androgynous before the world and ideally gay in orientation, bi-sexual as a last resort, considering heterosexuality a sociological lie and a hate crime, and when Moira grew up saying she was straight, and when she showed femininity as a teenager, the abuse reached its height.

This book is so disturbing I am not sure I'd recommend it, truthfully, but it does make a point, that abuse of anyone is intolerable whatever its goal, and no parent should ever behave the way Greyland says her own did.





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on February 15, 2018, 03:50:32 PM
Oh wow, I'd picked up a bunch of her books meaning to read them some day, although I haven't gotten around to it yet.

If this is true I really wish I hadn't bothered.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 15, 2018, 11:22:19 PM
I just finished THE BUNKER, by James O'Donnell.  Written in the mid-1970's, this is a detailed account of Hitler's last days, based on 500 hours of interviews with some 40 survivors of the Fuhrerbunker in Berlin.  Fascinating, repulsive, and pathetic, this account of the dying gasps of the Third Reich should be required reading for everyone who promotes the ridiculous lie that Hitler somehow escaped from the rubble of Berlin, made it past the entire Red Army, and escaped to safety in South America or somewhere else.  Lots of historical details, as well as almost amusing accounts of the lies, backstabbing, and power-grabbing among the pitiful remnants of the Nazi leadership that persisted right up to the last minute.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: TYTD Review on February 16, 2018, 06:55:59 PM
Im currently working through "Nomad" by Alan Partridge (A.K.A Steve Coogan) its basically a travelogue following a well loved (Washed up) british chat show host as he follows in his fathers footstaps (Allegedly) on a 160 mile trek from one side of England to the other...only it transpires that the walk might not have actually ever happened...and it also becomes quite apparent that Alan is more interested in turning it into a pitch for a TV show than honouring the memory of his father...its a rediculously funny book though I think a lot of the humor comes from knowing about Coogans Partridge character from the various shows he's been in (I'm alan partridge, Knowing me; knowing you, Scissored-isle, The Day today ect...) its a really good read if you know the backstory mind as Alans recalling of events are often drastically different from what actually happened  :bouncegiggle:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on February 17, 2018, 01:49:49 PM
"Catch-22." A classic I somehow skipped over until now.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on February 17, 2018, 02:35:32 PM
Im currently working through "Nomad" by Alan Partridge (A.K.A Steve Coogan) its basically a travelogue following a well loved (Washed up) british chat show host as he follows in his fathers footstaps (Allegedly) on a 160 mile trek from one side of England to the other...only it transpires that the walk might not have actually ever happened...and it also becomes quite apparent that Alan is more interested in turning it into a pitch for a TV show than honouring the memory of his father...its a rediculously funny book though I think a lot of the humor comes from knowing about Coogans Partridge character from the various shows he's been in (I'm alan partridge, Knowing me; knowing you, Scissored-isle, The Day today ect...) its a really good read if you know the backstory mind as Alans recalling of events are often drastically different from what actually happened  :bouncegiggle:

Isn't he the man who played Tony Wilson in 24-Hour Party People? I think that film got closer to the real Ian Curtis than Control did.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on February 17, 2018, 02:48:36 PM
I remember when Ian Curtis died and his manager hired a town crier to announce it. That was on the national news, although I don't remember if I had really heard their music.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 316zombie on February 17, 2018, 07:15:55 PM
rereading a series of unfortunate events before i donate it to the murdock free library.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on February 18, 2018, 07:33:31 AM
Oh wow, I'd picked up a bunch of her books meaning to read them some day, although I haven't gotten around to it yet.

If this is true I really wish I hadn't bothered.

Can't quite seem to bring myself to burn these books. Just feels wrong after it being something I'#ve been against all my life. Will figure out some way of getting rid of them though. I am glad I got them second hand though so at least the author won't get any money from me.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on February 18, 2018, 12:27:11 PM
Oh wow, I'd picked up a bunch of her books meaning to read them some day, although I haven't gotten around to it yet.

If this is true I really wish I hadn't bothered.

Can't quite seem to bring myself to burn these books. Just feels wrong after it being something I'#ve been against all my life. Will figure out some way of getting rid of them though. I am glad I got them second hand though so at least the author won't get any money from me.
Nooo, burning a book is a worse sin than killing a mockingbird.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on February 18, 2018, 12:36:50 PM
Oh wow, I'd picked up a bunch of her books meaning to read them some day, although I haven't gotten around to it yet.

If this is true I really wish I hadn't bothered.

Can't quite seem to bring myself to burn these books. Just feels wrong after it being something I'#ve been against all my life. Will figure out some way of getting rid of them though. I am glad I got them second hand though so at least the author won't get any money from me.
Nooo, burning a book is a worse sin than killing a mockingbird.

I settled for just throwing them in the bin earlier. Seven of her books. Hopefully they will be recycled into something better in their next life.

And seriously, Mockingbirds are great on toast.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 316zombie on February 19, 2018, 02:53:37 AM
alex, you know i think you're pretty cool. but i WILL HURT you if i ever find out you burned ANY book, i swear it. and my momma will haunt you!! recycling them, okay..no, it's not, really. get them out and give em to an op shop!!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on February 19, 2018, 07:24:53 AM
I would do, but I have a problem with the author being a child abuser. And they are all gone now, the bins were collected today.

I still feel wrong about throwing out books though.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AoTFan on February 20, 2018, 11:58:10 PM
I just finished THE BUNKER, by James O'Donnell.  Written in the mid-1970's, this is a detailed account of Hitler's last days, based on 500 hours of interviews with some 40 survivors of the Fuhrerbunker in Berlin.  Fascinating, repulsive, and pathetic, this account of the dying gasps of the Third Reich should be required reading for everyone who promotes the ridiculous lie that Hitler somehow escaped from the rubble of Berlin, made it past the entire Red Army, and escaped to safety in South America or somewhere else.  Lots of historical details, as well as almost amusing accounts of the lies, backstabbing, and power-grabbing among the pitiful remnants of the Nazi leadership that persisted right up to the last minute.

Looked for that at my libraries catalog, couldn't find that one but wonder how it compares to In the bunker with Hitler : 23 July 1944 -- 29 April 1945 (2007) By Freytag Von Loringhoven and Inside Hitler's bunker : the last days of the Third Reich (2004) By Fest, Joachim C.

Wow, three books on being in the bunker with Hitler.  (And I'm sure there's more under different titles...)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 21, 2018, 07:38:17 AM
I've read Fest's biography of Hitler but I wasn't aware of the book you mentioned.
I'd bet that  the two more recent ones have greater perspective and analysis, while O'Donnell probably talked to more eyewitnesses.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Trevor on February 21, 2018, 07:56:48 AM
I've read Fest's biography of Hitler but I wasn't aware of the book you mentioned.
I'd bet that  the two more recent ones have greater perspective and analysis, while O'Donnell probably talked to more eyewitnesses.

Regarding your books: there is a chain of religious bookstores here called Christelike Uitgewers Maatskappy (Christian Book Publishers) and I will check with them to see if they have your books.  :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 26, 2018, 05:30:30 PM
Ye-es! A half dozen graphic novels + 1 mystery

Soule and Noto
Poe Dameron
v.1. Black Squadron collecting issues #1-#6
v.2. The Gathering Storm collecting issues #8-13
What happened to 7? Did 9 8 7?


John Rodriguez, editor
Colonial comics: New England, 1620-1750
Followed by Colonial Comics : New England, 1750-1755


Aguirre and others
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
v.1. The crucible collecting issues #1-5
Followed by v.2. that Damned Cat
Graphic novel is a sequel to Afterlife with Archie


Robbie Thompson
Silk : the Life and Times of Cindy Moon
v.0. collecting issues #1-#7


Bendis, Schiti, Isanove
Guardians of the Galaxy : Wanted
v.2. collecting issues #6-#10
Followed by Civil War II


Soulte, Checchette, Mosse
Star Wars : Obi-Wan and Anakin
collecting issues $1-#5


Craig Johnson
American
award winner
An Obvious Fact
12th in the Longmire series
5 more fiction + 1 short story collection
Hero: American
Place: United States
Time: Present
If you rather see it, then read it. The series is streaming on the internet.

Next time: a half dozen more of a mix of books.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 26, 2018, 08:07:20 PM
I've read Fest's biography of Hitler but I wasn't aware of the book you mentioned.
I'd bet that  the two more recent ones have greater perspective and analysis, while O'Donnell probably talked to more eyewitnesses.

Regarding your books: there is a chain of religious bookstores here called Christelike Uitgewers Maatskappy (Christian Book Publishers) and I will check with them to see if they have your books.  :smile:

Thank you sir!  I know they are available on Amazon at a pretty reasonable price here in the States, but I don't know what that translates to overseas.  The Ebooks are also carried on Barnes and Noble and ITunes websites.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on March 10, 2018, 02:07:45 PM
Sticky Fingers: The Life and Times of Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone by Joe Hagan


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on March 12, 2018, 10:08:50 AM
I've been on a PD James bender this year, serially reading or re-reading four of her novels, and it's reinforced in my mind that she was among the best writers of her time, in any genre. Her scope, her chilly classiness, her imagination were matched by few others.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 12, 2018, 03:28:33 PM
Ye-es!
A half dozen graphic novels.

Lucas, Carasi, Wheatley
Star Wars : Episode III
Revenge of the Sith
issues #1-4

Goodwin, Williamson, Garzon
Star Wars : Episode VI
Return of the Jedi
issues #1-4

Star Wars Omnibus :
Dark Times, v.1. collecting . . .
Star Wars Republic issues #79-80
Star Wars Dark Times issues #0-12
published between 2005 - 2009
copyrighted 2005 - 2014

Philip Pullman
Brit
award winner
The Golden Compass
v.1. in His Dark Materials Trilogy
adaptor, Stephen Melchior
translator, Annie Eaton
Followed by v.2. The Subtle Knife
and v.3. The Amber Spyglass
For the graphic novel, adapted from English to French, then translated back to English.
And if one would rather see it, then read it, v.1. was made into a film.

Johnson, Parrott, Charm
Star Trek :
Starfleet Academy

Walken, Greene, Flavono
Power Man and Iron Fist :
the Boys Are Back in Town

Next time: 6 of 1 or a half dozen mysteries + 1 mystery short story collection





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 316zombie on March 12, 2018, 08:00:05 PM
i just started rereading the jane eyre series by jasper fforde, i love these! i really need to get more of his books, he's a briiliant writer.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: frank on March 13, 2018, 05:01:59 AM

Some time ago I finished the whole Bond series and that was fun to read in a row. Now I'm on the complete Holmes series, which is also fun, especially as I have recently watched the Sherlock series and there were quite a few neat nods to the original work that I did not know of.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on March 13, 2018, 02:48:23 PM
Newsweek: The 1980s. A breakdance down Memory Lane from when I was knee-high to a grasshopper.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 22, 2018, 02:47:44 PM
Ye-es! 6 of 1. 6 mystery novels and 1 mystery short story collection.

Gil North
Brit
Sergeant Cluff Stands Firm
1st in the Cluff series
Hero: Brit
Place: North Yorkshire (U.K.)
Time: Past
And if you'd rather see it, then read it, then check out the TV series Cluff with Leslie Sands.


M.J. Arlidge
Brit
Little Boy Blue
5th in the Detective Helen Grace series
Heroine: Brit
Place: Southampton (U.K.)
Time: Present


Kjell Eriksson
Swede
award winner
Stone Coffin
Ebba Segerberg, translator
7th in the Ann Lindell series
Heroine: Swede
Place: Sweden and Spain
Time: Present


Gavin Fossum
Norwegian
award winner
Hell Fire
12th in the Inspector Sejer series
Hero: ex-pat Dane
Place: Norway
Time: 2010s


Penny Richards
American
An Untimely Frost
1st in the Lilly Long series
Sequel: Though There be Madness (May, 2017)
50 more fiction
Heroine: American
Place: Illinois (U.S.A.)
Time: 1880s


Rob McCarthy
Brit
1st novel
The Hollow Men
1st in the Dr. Henry Kent series
Hero: Brit
Place: London (U.K.)
Time: Present

And the short story collection

Serpents in Eden :
Countryside Crimes
Martin Edwards, editor
Heroes: Brits
Place: U.K.
Time: Past

Next time: A half dozen more or a half dozen graphic novels




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on April 05, 2018, 09:48:45 AM
(https://c1.iggcdn.com/indiegogo-media-prod-cld/image/upload/c_limit,w_695/v1489960332/q0rjcem06qf0hyx0dpf0.jpg)

Basically an advertisement for Cult Epics line of movies, mostly just reprints of the liner notes. But there are a lot of movies here that would appeal to this crowd (including DEATH BED: THE BED THAT EATS, DRILLER KILLER, SCHOOL OF THE HOLY BEAST, the NEKROMANTIC series...). A former contributor here (not me) wrote one of the essays.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 06, 2018, 05:35:34 PM
Ye-es!

And a half dozen of the other or graphic novels.

All-new, all-different Avengers.
v.1. The magnificent 7 -- v.2. Family business

The teenagers
Sam "Nova" Alexander, Miles "Spider-man" Morales, and Kamala "Ms. Marvel" Khan
join forces with . . .

The adults
Jane  "Goddess Thor" Foster, Tony "Ironman" Stark, Sam "Captain America" Wilson, and Vision.

v.1. Combining issues #1-#6 + Free Comic Book Day 2015 -- v.2. Combining issues #7-#12 + Free Comic Book Day 2016.


Assassins Creed : Templars
v.1. Black Cross
collecting issues #1-#5


Ms. Marvel
v.1. No normal -- v.2. Generation why -- v.3. Crushed -- v.4. Last days -- v.5. Super famous
v.1. issues #1-#5 -- v.2.  issues #6-#11 -- v.3. issues #12-#15 + SHIELD 2 -- v.4. issues #16-#19 + Spiderman #7-#8 v.5. issues #1-#6 (2015)


Moon Girls and Devil Dinosaur
v.1. BFF collecting issues #1-#6
With Phobos the youngest characters in the Marvel Universe


Rocket Raccoon and Groot
v.2 Civil War II collecting issues #7-#10 + the 1st appearance of Rocket.


Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre
in the Magna Classic series
And if you'd rather see it then read it, it has been made into several films and TV series.


Next time: 6 of 1 or 6 non-fiction and 1 fiction


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on April 10, 2018, 09:27:02 PM

THE FISHERMAN'S TOMB - THE TRUE STORY OF THE VATICAN'S SECRET SEARCH by John O'Neill

I've been wading through two very hefty books of late, so when this slim title I ordered from Amazon came in I ditched the bio of James Madison and finished O'Neill's book in three days!  This is like one of my novels come to life, a true story of a dangerous and highly secret excavation carried out beneath the massive Basilica  of St. Peter in Rome to determine the answer to a question that had plagued the Church for centuries:  Did the mortal remains of St. Peter really reside there, on Vatican Hill?  Full of intrigue, wartime drama, personal feuds, and amazing discoveries, this is a first rate, real life Biblical archeology thriller!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on April 10, 2018, 10:09:37 PM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/516UNhdPRXL.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 316zombie on April 11, 2018, 05:29:07 PM
rereading" lamb: the gospel according to biff, christ's childhood pal "  by christopher moore.
   


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on April 14, 2018, 09:54:44 AM
(https://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781607745266_p0_v1_s550x406.jpg)

Maybe I shouldn't list this as it's mostly a recipe book, but there are a lot of stories, history and techniques. I want to get into mixing more cocktails.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 316zombie on April 19, 2018, 02:02:54 PM
rev, you should check out " the dead rabbit" and " the drunken botanist", both have recipes and lots of history, and both are pretty funny at times too. :cheers:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on April 19, 2018, 02:08:13 PM
rev, you should check out " the dead rabbit" and " the drunken botanist", both have recipes and lots of history, and both are pretty funny at times too. :cheers:

Thank you for the recommendation. What I really want to start out is a quick recipe guide with all the common drinks in an easy to locate format! I'm enjoying "Death & Co." but its definitely aimed at professionals. Many of the cocktails require ridiculously rare ingredients (infused agave nectar or somesuch).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 316zombie on April 19, 2018, 02:35:54 PM
ah, i see. for that you want what is known in the biz as the red book. the real title is mr. boston's official bartender's guide. check ebay, there's usually used copies at a decent price. mine was published in the late 70's, it's beat to death and filled with scraps of paper with recipes i invented, i should probably get a new copy, lol!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on April 19, 2018, 04:30:54 PM
"Fiasco: A History of Hollywood's Most Iconic Flops" by James Robert Parish


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 29, 2018, 03:24:31 PM
6 of 1 or 6 non-fiction and 1 fiction

Dave Smith
Disney Trivia from the Vault Secrets Revealed and Questions Revealed
4 more non-fiction

From one film archivist to another film archivist. The House of Mouse was the 1st Hollywood studio to realize it needed an archives to preserve its past, its present, and its future. And this was the man given the task of creating the archive, and its 1st head archivist.


Sepinwall and Sesitor
TV : the Book
Two ex-pats pick the greatest American TV shows of all time.


Kevin Smokler
Brat Pack Americana : a Love Letter to '80's Teen Movies
I can't believe how much I hated those Love Letters. Of the 53 movies listed, seen 17 or 32.1%. Hated 14 or 82.4%. Loved 3 or 17.6%.


David Bianco
The Platinum Age of Television.
Another writer picks the best shows on American TV.


Ed Ward
Brit
The History of Rock and Roll
v.1. 1920-1963
3 more non-fiction. 1 more fiction.
Looking forward to v.2.


Jane Wisley
Animal Record Breakers
Rev. ed.
1st published as Book of Animal Records by Mark Carwardine.


Fiction
Kevin Lee Street
American ex-pat
1 more short story collection and 1 more non-fiction
Edgar Allan Poe and the London Monster
1st in the Poe and Dupin series
Heroes: American and French
Place: U.K.
Time: 1st half of the 19th century


Next time: a half dozen of the other or 6 graphic novels.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 05, 2018, 07:21:27 PM
I recently finished Lynne Cheney's JAMES MADISON: A LIFE RECONSIDERED.
This was an excellent biography of our fourth President, the "father of the Constitution," detailed enough to be scholarly and brief enough to be interesting and easy to follow.  One takeaway for me is finding out that Madison suffered from epilepsy, something I was unaware of until now.  All in all, a nice addition to my library of Presidential biographies.  4.5/5


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 06, 2018, 02:01:44 PM
A half dozen of the other or 6 graphic novels.

Vote Loki
collecting Vote Loki #1-#4
+ Journey into Mystery #85 (1st appearance of Loki)
+ Avengers #300
It'd be funny, if it was not so true to life.


Attack on Titan Anthology
a official collection of a dozen stories by 35 artists and writers from over a half dozen countries.
based on Hajime Isayama's Attack on Titan


The Haunted Mansion
artwork by the Walt Disney Imagineers.
collecting issues #1-5
from Marvel's Disney Kingdom series
Other titles in the series:
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad -- Dream finder and Figment -- Enchanted Tiki Room -- Seekers of the Weird.


Guardians of the Galaxy
v.3. Civil War II
collecting issues #11-#14
Sequel: Grounded


Gotham Academy
v.3. Yearbook
18 stories from 25 artists and writers


Assassin's Creed
issue #3
v.1. Trial by Fire
+a brief history of the Salem Witch Trials
Sequel: v.2. Setting Sun


Next time: 6 of 1 in reverse or 6 fiction + 1 non-fiction





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 15, 2018, 03:03:02 PM
6 of 1 or 6 fiction and 1 non-fiction


M. J. Arlidge
Brit
Liar, Liar
4th in the Detective Helen Grace series
Heroine: Brit
Place: Southampton (U.K.)
Time: Present


Christ Nickson
Brit
The Iron Waters
4th in the Inspector Tom Harper series
5 more fiction in 1 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: Leeds (U.K.)
Time: 1st half of the 19th century


John Bude
aka Ernest Ellmore
Brit
The Lake District Murder
in the Inspector (later Superintendent) Meredith series
Hero: Brit
Place the Lake District (U.K.)
Time: 1930s


Rennie Airth
ex-pat South African
award winner
The Death of Kings
5th in the John Madden series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1940s (flashback to the 1930s)


Elly Griffiths
Brit
Smoke and Mirrors
2nd in the Magic Men series
8 more in 1 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: Brighton (U.K.)
Time: 1950s (flashback to the 1910s)


Camilla Lackberg
Swede
The Lost Boy
translated by Tiina Nunnally
in the Patrick Hedstrom series
Hero: Swede
Place: Sweden
Time: Present (flashback to the 1870s)
Published in Swedish in 2009 and in English in 2016.


Sharon Eliza Nichols
Delusions of Grammar :
the Worst of the Worst [or] 350 Pictures of the "Best/Worst" Examples of Bad Grammar from the 8000 Pictures Found on the Facebook Page "I Judge You When You Use Bad Grammar"
Combining Delusions of Grammar (2009) + More Badder Grammar (2011)
Published in 2017


Next time: and a half dozen of the other--graphic novels







Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 21, 2018, 04:21:48 PM
And a half dozen of the other--graphic novels.

Doctor Strange
v.2. The Last Days of Magic
collecting issues #6-10 + Doctor Strange : Last Days of Magic #1


Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
v.1. The Colson Protocols
collecting issues #1-5
Sequel v.2. Under New Management

And what does S.H.I.E.L.D. stand for. Just about anything. No. It is the abbreviation for Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division. And if you rather see it, then read it, then there is the TV series.


Secret Wars : Prelude
combining and collecting . . .
Secret Wars #10-12 + Fantastic Four + Ultimate Comics Ultimates #4 + Ultimate Comics Spider-man #1 + New Avengers #1-3.
And published between February 1985 and April 2013.


Star Wars :
the Force Awakens
collecting issues #1-6


Loki : Agent of Asgard
v.1. Trust Me
collecting issues #1-5 + All-new Marvel NOW! Point One #1


The Vision
v.1. Little Worse Than a Man
collecting issues #1-6

Man! This one hurt--emotionally. While there was a v.2., it hurt even worst--emotionally. So bad, I couldn't finish it.

Next time: 6 of 1 or 6 more mysteries + 1 non-fiction


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on May 29, 2018, 04:25:36 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 or 6 fiction and 1 non-fiction

M. J. Arlidge
Brit
Eeny Meeny
1st in the Helen Grace series
+ a conversation with the writer + discussion questions + readers' guide
Heroine: Brit
Place: Southampton (U.K.)
Time: Present


Charles Todd
(mother-son writing duo)
Americans
award winners
The Shattered Tree
8th in the Bess Crawford series
+ 18 more fiction in 1 more series + 2 more stand-alone fiction
Heroine: Brit
Place: France
Time: WWI


Christopher Fowler
Brit
award winner
Bryant and May :
Strange Tides
13th in the Peculiar Crime Unit series
Heroes: Brits
Place: London (U.K.)
Time: Present


Catherine Lloyd
ex-pat Brit
Death Comes to the Fair
4th in the Kurland St. Mary series
Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1810s


Pronzini and Mueller
(husband and wife writing duo)
Americans
award winners
The Dangerous Ladies Affair
in the Carpenter and Quincannon series
Heroes: Americans
Place: San Francisco (California)
Time: 1890s


Ann Cleaves
Brit
award winner
The Moth Catcher
in the Vera Stanhope series
Heroine: Brit
Place: Northumberland (U.K.)
Time: Present
If you'd rather see it, then read it, then see the TV series Vera
Her other book series with Jimmy Perez is also a TV series Shetland


non-fiction
Michael Sims
American
award winner
Arthur and Sherlock :
Conan Doyle and the Creation of Holmes
6 more non-fiction + 7 anthologies

Next time: a half dozen more (graphic novels) - 1


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 05, 2018, 12:10:46 PM
Ye-es!
a half dozen of the other (graphic novels) - 2

Scarlet Witch
v.1. Witches' Road
collecting issues #1-5


House of M! : Warzones!
combining House of M (2015)
issues #1-4
+ House of M (2005)
issue #1


All-new, All-different Avengers
v.3. Civil War II
collecting issues #13-15 and annual


Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
v.2 Under New Management
collecting issues #7-10 + The Accused #1


Next time: A dozen reasons to read Leandra de Lisle's Tudor : Passion, Manipulation, Murder


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: frank on June 07, 2018, 03:56:01 AM
rereading" lamb: the gospel according to biff, christ's childhood pal "  by christopher moore.
   

I liked that one a lot.


Just finished "The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating" by Elisabeth Tova Bailey.
The author has been confined to bed through a virus (for too long). She takes interest in a snail a visitor brings in in a flower pot (put in a terrarium later). One of the best reads in quite a while.

Just started a German book by Ilona Jerger, which translates to "and Marx stood still in Darwin's garden". A fictional account on Charles Darwin and Karl Marx meeting. Enterteining, but not finished yet.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pacman000 on June 08, 2018, 07:18:12 AM
Failsafe

So that's what the cold war felt like...


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 08, 2018, 08:24:53 AM
I just finished ORTHODOXY, by G. K. Chesterton.  Written in 1908, this ringing defense of the Christian faith in an age of skepticism is witty, conversational, dead serious at some times and funny at others.  I'd heard Chesterton quoted but never read him; now I want to go out and find the rest of his works!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on June 09, 2018, 08:33:35 AM
I just started reading BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 11, 2018, 03:46:14 PM
If one is interested in the Tudor period of history--the more I dig into it, the more interesting it becomes--here are a dozen reasons to read Leandra de Lisle's Tudor : Passion, Manipulation, Murder.

01. We confuse children of today with the children of yesterday, as children from 500 years ago were stronger and harder than we think.

02. Thus, if we think they were pushed around by adults, it is because they allowed themselves to be pushed around by adults.

03. One of the worst things we can do is to try to maintain the status quo.

04. Henry, Anne, Katherine. The excuses they used to excuse what they did.

05. Who had the best excuse? Henry. "I did what I did for the good of my kingdom and my subjects."

06. Who had the worst excuse? Anne. Popular Anne. "I did what I did (1st) to advance myself and (2nd) to advance my family."

07. And somewhere between the two is Katherine's excuse. "I did what I did to hold on to it all." But, by trying to hold on to it, she lost it all.

08. Our problems are not always the fault of the government. Sometimes we bring our problems down upon ourselves.

09. People--then--behaved in an illogical manner, which still does not make a lick of sense.

10. Even then northern England was different from southern England.

11. Most underrated monarch: Richard III.

12. Most overrated monarch: Elizabeth I.

00. Her next book is a biography of Charles I, which I am interested in reading.

Next time: we'll think of something.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 16, 2018, 02:49:23 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 or 6 non-fiction + 1 fiction.

Non-fiction
Doug Mack
The Non-quite States of America
1 more non-fiction


Stephen O'Shea
ex-pat Canadian
The Alps : a Human History from Hannibal to Heidi and Beyond
4 more non fiction

Not only history but also almost 10,000 years of . . .
art -- biography -- botany -- culinary -- economics -- entertainment -- geography -- geology -- linguistics -- literature -- philosophy -- politics -- religion -- sociology -- sports -- and zoology.


Holly Tucker
ex-pat American
City of Light : City of Poisons, Murder, Magic, and the 1st Police Chief of Paris.
2 more non fiction


Glen Frankel
The Searchers : the Making of an American Legend
3 more non-fiction, including one on the making of High Noon.

from the historical event to the novel, from the novel to the film, and from the film to its aftermath ( or 1836-2011)


Richards and Green
A History of Human Kind : the Doctor's Official Quest : from the BBC's Doctor Who series

A book that shows how interesting the TV series was and is, as the Doctor travels Earth's timeline from pre-history to today.


Leandra de Lisle
The Sisters who Would Be Queen : Mary, Katherine, and Lady Jane Grey : a Tudor Tragedy
1 more non-fiction

Fiction
Cynthia Harrod-Eagle
Brit
Old Bones
9th in the Bill Slider series
17 more fiction + 1 short story collection
Hero: Brit
Place: London (U.K.)
Time: Present

Next time: a half dozen more--graphic novels


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Neville on June 21, 2018, 07:59:53 AM
I can't remember if I've already posted in this thread... anyway, I'm always reading something. I'm aregular at my local library and I like to read 30 min - 1 hour before I go to sleep. Most of my readings are not that interesting, thrillers or historical novels from the best seller list, but now and then I run into a gem. A few months ago I stumbled into Dan Simmons' "The Terror". Just ignore the miniseries. They did a decent job but the final result is underwhelming. "The Terror" might easily be the best book I've read in the last 10 years, a highly detailed, riveting read from start to finish.

I'm also trying to get a copy of "The end of the tether" from Joseph Conrad from the same library, but it is rarely available. Conrad is easily hit or miss for me (too psychological, not enough action) but I find the plot summary intriguing.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 21, 2018, 08:16:29 AM
I just finished CICERO: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ROME'S GREATEST POLITICIAN by Anthony Everitt.
It was a fascinating look at one of the best-known figures of antiquity - the witty, urbane former consul who vainly tried to stop the overthrow of the Republic.  At one time Cicero's writings were required reading for high school students in America - in the original Latin!  I think we lost something when we dropped the classics from the curriculum.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Neville on June 21, 2018, 09:25:06 AM
I wouldn't mind some Latin classics in highschool classes, but asking students to read them in Latin might be too much. I did read some classic stuff later in college, and while I wouldn't call it exactly fascinating, it was an eye opener in terms of learning how REALLY poilitical fights went on in classic Rome.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on June 21, 2018, 09:51:51 AM
It just seems kind of sad to me that in the last century we have gone from teaching Greek and Latin in high school to teaching remedial English in college. :bluesad:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 21, 2018, 05:01:39 PM
Ye-es! A half dozen of the other--graphic novels.

Doctor Strange : Strange Origin
collecting Doctor Strange : Season 1 (issues #1-5)
+ Doctor Stranger (issue #1)


Back to the Future
v.1. Citizen Brown
collecting issues #1-5
based on the video game Back to the Future : the Game


Star Wars
v.4. The Last Flight of the Harbinger
collecting issues #20-25
+ Droid Dilemma


Klaus : How Santa Claus Began
collecting issues #1-7


Toil and Trouble
a re-imaging of Shakespeare's Macbeth from the 3 Witches point of view


and Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire
This must hold the record for the longest graphic novel title ever.


Next time: a selection from the British Library Crime Classic series


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 27, 2018, 01:20:47 PM
Ye-es!

British Library Crime Classics
A selection of the best British crime novels published during the Golden Era of British mysteries or 1919 to 1938, then forgotten, and now republished. Here are a selection of 6 + a collection of short stories published during the same era. Including the year of publication.

1931 Freeman Wills Croft. Mystery in the Channel.
1934 Freeman Wills Croft. The 12:30 from Croyden.
1934 Mavis Doriel Hay. Murder Underground.
1935 John Bude. The Cornish Coast Murder.
1935 Mavis Doriel Hay. Death on the Cherwell.
1937 J. Jefferson Farjean. Mystery in White : a Christmas Crime Story

and
Crimson Snow : Winter Mysteries
edited by Martin Edwards
11 writers. 11 stories. chronologically arranged by the date of 1st publication

Next time: 6 of 1 or 6 graphic novels + 1 mystery




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: frank on July 03, 2018, 03:41:21 AM

Finished Karel Čapek's "War with the newts" (1936). Fantastic book, an early satire on  colonialism, arms race, nationalism, industrialism, and more (and with actual newts). Easy and interesting in it's unusual and somewhat antique form. I will definitely try to find more from Čapek (not that easy in German, but there are more English translations), especially R.U.R with, supposedly, the first use of the word "robot" in it's current sense. Strongly recommended to many of this board.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 03, 2018, 12:14:45 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 or 6 graphic novels + 1 mystery novel

Guardians of the Galaxy, v. 2
collecting issues Preludes #1-2 +
Giant size Avengers #4 +
Guardians of the Galaxy (1990) #1 +
Guardians Team-up #1-2

Diary of a Tokyo Teen :
a Japanese-American Girl Travels to the Land of Trendy Fashion, High Tech Toilets, and Maid Cafes
With illustrations and photographs

Nova :
the Human Rocket
v.1. Burn Out (unread)
v.2. After burn (read)

Yvain :
the Knight of the Lion
based on the 12th century epic by Chretien de Troyes

Lumberjanes
v.5. Band Together
collecting chapters 17-20

One Week in the Library
[It only seemed that long.]

Mystery novel
Kathleen Kent
American
The Dime
3 more fiction
Heroine: Polish-American
Place: New York and Texas
Time: the Present








Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 09, 2018, 03:20:17 PM
Ye-es!
and a half dozen of the other or 3 graphic novels + 3 mystery novels

graphic novel
Moon girl and Devil Dinosaur
v.2. Cosmic Cooties
collecting issues #7-12

mystery novel
Helene Turston
Swede
Who Watcheth
Marlaine Delargo
published 2010. Translation published 2016
9th in the Irene Huss series
Heroine: Swedish
Place: Sweden
Time: Present
And if one rather see it, then read it, the series has been made into a TV series for Swedish TV.

graphic novel
Star Wars : Kanan
v.2. First Blood
collecting issues #7-12

mystery novel
Marcus Sedgwick
Brit
award winner
2 more fiction
Mister Memory
Hero: French
Place: France
Time: 1890s

graphic novel
Drax
v.1. The Galaxy's Best Detective
collecting issues #1-5

mystery novel
Shelia Connolly
American
Cruel Winter
5th in the County Cork series
2 dozen more in 4 more series + 2 stand-alones
Heroine: Irish-American
Place: Ireland
Time: Present

Next time: ?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 14, 2018, 05:34:09 PM
Ye-es!
6 0f 1 or 6 graphic novels + 1 mystery novel

mystery novel
Charles Todd (mother-son writing duo)
Americans
award winners
Racing the Devil
19th in the Ian Rutledge series
8 more in 1 more series + 2 standalones
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K. and France
Time: 1920s

graphic novels
Back to the Future
v.2. Continuum Conundrum

Beauty and the Beast :
Belle's Tale
magna adaptation of the 2017 live action film

Beauty and the Beast :
the Beast's Tale
same

Assassin's Creed :
the Hawk Trilogy
v.4. Hawk -- v.5. El Cakr -- v.6. Leila

Star Trek
Harlan Ellison's the City on the Edge of Forever

Sherlock
v.1. a Study in Pink
magna adaptation of the 1st episode of the BBC TV series with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman

Next time: a half dozen more--mystery novels


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Svengoolie 3 on July 17, 2018, 04:01:50 PM
[/i I just binge read the entire bloom county reboot I want to.move there....]


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 17, 2018, 04:45:53 PM
I've been a fan of Bloom County since the early 80's.  Great strip!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 19, 2018, 04:53:13 PM
Ye-es!
and a half dozen of the other (i.e. mystery novels) + 1 more mystery novel

Jane A. Adams
Brit
The Murder Book
the 1st in the Henry John stone series
16 more fiction in 2 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1920s


Anne Perry
ex-pat Kiwi
Murder in the Serpentine
32nd in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series
Heroes: Brits
Place: U.K.
Time: 1890s


Simon R. Green
Brit
Very Important Corpses
3rd in the Ishmael Jones series
8 more fiction in 2 more series
Hero: space alien
Place: U.K.
Time: present


Priscilla Royal
ex-pat Canadian
The Proud Sinner
13th in the Medieval mystery series
Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1280s


Victoria Thompson
American
Murder in the Bowery
19th in the Gaslight series
Heroine: Irish-American
Place: New York (New York)
Time: 1890s


Sally Andrews
South African
The Satanic Mechanic
2nd in the Tannie Marie series
Heroine: South African
Place: South Africa
Time: Present
+ Afrikaan-English glossary
+ 13 recipes


Ann Cleves
Brit
award winner
Cold Earth
in the Jimmy Perez series
Hero: Brit
Place: Shetland Islands (U.K.)
Time: Present
If one rather see it, then read it, then the British TV series Shetland

Next time: ?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on July 22, 2018, 02:51:54 PM
JAMES MONROE: THE SEARCH FOR NATIONAL IDENTITY by Henry Ammon

James Monroe was a President that I knew a little bit about, but I had never read a full biography of him.  A bit player in the American Revolution - he fought under Washington at Trenton and was wounded in action - he enjoyed a long political career as a governor, Senator, diplomat, and cabinet secretary before being elected President in 1816.  While I now know a lot more about his long life than I previously did, I must say this book didn't change my opinion a great deal:  Monroe was a wholesome, bland, and rather boring person who still managed to live a pretty interesting life.  One thing the book pointed out that I knew but had never really thought about: Monroe was the first American president to serve in a time of international peace and tranquility.   Every previous President had to deal with the wars and conflicts that followed the French Revolution in 1789, but Monroe's term was marked by a return of peace to Europe, which gave America a chance to forge its own destiny and, as the title implies, find its national identity.  Overall, dry and LOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNGGGGGGG  but informative book about a rather dry, long-lived American politician. 3.5/5


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 26, 2018, 06:59:27 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 or 6 mystery novels + 1 graphic novel

mystery novels
Stuart Neville
northern Irish
award winner
So Say the Fallen
6 more fiction
Heroine: northern Irish
Place: North Ireland
Time: Present


Mark Billingham
Brit
award winner
Die of Shame
15 more fiction, including 13 in 1 series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: Present


Stella Cameron
Brit ex-pat
Melody of Murder
3rd in the Alex Duggins series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: Present


Gary Corby
Aussie
The Singer from Memphis
6th in the Athenian series
Hero: Ancient Greek
Place: Near East
Time: Ancient past


Con Lehane
Murder at the 42nd Street Library
1st in a possible series
3 more fiction in 1 more series


Elly Griffiths
award winner
The Woman in Blue
8th in the Ruth Galloway series


graphic novel
Star Wars : Shattered Empire
collecting issues #1-4 + Star Wars Special : C-3PO #1


Next time: a half dozen more or graphic novels


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on July 26, 2018, 08:58:09 PM
Just finished Vol.s 1 and 2 of Bill Warren's KEEP WATCHING THE SKIES! A film by film essay of  every Science fiction film from 1950 to 1962. That's 1,241 pages of good film history.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 31, 2018, 12:00:42 PM
And a half dozen more or 6 graphic novels.

Star Wars : Infinities
the 1974 rough draft of what would become the shooting script for 1977 film
This points out the sequel, if the rough draft had been used, was to be called Saga of the Ophuchi.

Star Wars :
Skywalker Strikes

Prince of Persia :
Before the Sandstorm
prequel stories, in graphic format, to the film

Giant-size Little Marvel :
A vs. X
featuring . . .
the Avengers -- the X-men -- the Guardians of the Galaxy -- the In humans -- the Brotherhood of Evil -- and the Mutants

Lumber Janes
v.3. and v.4.
v.3. A terrible plan, including issues #9-12
v.4. Out of time, including issues #13-16

Batman '66
v.5.
featuring from the TV series . . .
Marsha, Queen of Diamonds (Carolyn Jones) -- Cat woman (Eartha Kitt) -- Ma Parker (Shelley Winters) -- and Cat woman Julie Newmar)
and from the comic books . . .
Solomon Grundy -- Clay face -- Harlequin -- Poison Ivy -- Bane -- Scarecrow -- and Killer Croc.

Next time: novels and graphic novels are not the only things I read, and we'll take that up next time.




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on August 04, 2018, 08:12:37 AM
WAR OF TWO: ALEXANDER HAMILTON, AARON BURR, AND THE DUEL THAT SHOCKED THE NATION by John Sedgwick

   This is a well-written, elegant account of the lives and rivalry of the most famous duelists in American history, the brilliant but mercurial Alexander Hamilton, founder of the Federalist Party and America's first Treasury Secretary; and Aaron Burr, Vice President under Thomas Jefferson and general rogue and lady's man.  I've read biographies of both men before, but this one is fast-paced, easy to follow, and brings to light some details that other biographers leave out.  An excellent introduction to one of the most important political feuds in American history!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pacman000 on August 04, 2018, 09:31:16 AM
Started The Time Vault by Poul Anderson. 

After WWIII humanity's reverted to sort-of a neanderthal/medieval existence. Then someone discovers a vault of lost technology...

A lot of stuff seemed familiar, but the author's well-regarded, so I checked the copyright. The novel's from in 1952; I guess it set up a lot of tropes.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: AoTFan on August 06, 2018, 03:17:13 PM
I just read "I Am Ozzy" by Ozzy Osbourne.  

Man, lots of interesting/crazy stories in that one.  As a doctor of his asked him years ago, with all the stuff he's done you'll wonder, "How is that guy still alive?!"

Still, a really fascinating read.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on August 06, 2018, 04:19:48 PM
That was by turns a hilarious and shocking read. Have you ever seen "Ask Dr Ozzy"? Its s collection of replies from his newspaper advice column.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on August 06, 2018, 08:08:59 PM
Ready Player One. I enjoyed it more than anything I've read in a long time.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 09, 2018, 06:23:03 PM
Y-es!
I try to read 3 newspapers a day.

The conservative Wall Street Journal
The liberal New York Times
And somewhere in between USA Today.

I also read a number of magazines.
Aviation Weekly
--for the aviation news

Catster
--for the catty news

Discovery
--for the science news

Dogster
--for the doggie news

New Yorker
--for the cartoons

Parents
--out of the mouths of babes. For the humor

People
--for the gossip

Us
--ditto People

Wired
--for the tech news

Next time: 6 of 1



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 16, 2018, 04:05:07 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 or 6 mystery novels + 1 non-mystery novel.

Mystery novels
Alex Grecian
American
Lost and Gone Forever
5th in the Scotland Yard's Murder Squad
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1890s


Ruth Downie
Brit
Vita Brevis :
a Crime Novel of the Roman Empire
7th in the Gracius Ruso series
Hero: Roman
Place: ancient Rome
Time: A.D.


Emelie Schlepp
Swede
Marked for Life
1st in the Jana Berzelius trilogy
2014 Swedish publication
2016 English publication
Hero: Swede
Place: Sweden
Time: 1990s - 2010s


Karen Harper
American
Mistress of Mourning
14 more fiction, including 4 in 1 more series
Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 16th century
+Readers' guide


Parker Bilal
(i.e. Jamal Mahoub)
Sudanese ex-pat
award winner
City of Jackals
5th in the Makana series
Hero: Sudanese ex-pat
Place: Cairo (Egypt)
Time: 2000s


Simon R. Green
Brit
Dead Man Walking
2nd in the Ishmael Jones series
8 more in 2 more series
Hero: space alien
Place: U.K.
Time: 2010s


non-Mystery novel
Alan Dean Foster
American
award winner
Star Wars :
the Force Awakens
24 more fiction in 4 more series + 5 stand-alones
Heroes: human and alien
Place: a galaxy far, far away
Time: a long, long time ago

Next time: and a half dozen more



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on August 16, 2018, 05:21:30 PM
the Nazarene https://www.amazon.com/Nazarene-Novel-Based-Life-Christ/dp/0786703792 (https://www.amazon.com/Nazarene-Novel-Based-Life-Christ/dp/0786703792)

finally finished this. What can I say I'm a slow reader. in my defense it's about 700 pages long.

Sholem Asch,  the author, is an expert on 1st century Judaism. the book is basically a retelling of the Gospel of mark: the Jesus story but not the 3 wise men and the manger stuff, just the ministry. the first hundred or so pages are just descriptions of what the place ( Jerusalem? I guess) was like then. Jesus shows up around page 150. various bible characters have roles including Mary Magdelene, Pilate, and Judas (a fairly sizeable and excellent section is written in the voice of the latter).

The story is the same but the perspective is not. the narrative switches from a Roman assistant to Pilate guy, Judas Iscariot and a student of a not quite as radical as Jesus rabbi. The latter is the voice where the author's voice comes through the most. As long as this thing is, the details are esqusite( sp?). You really feel like you're there.

at 690 or whatever pages of course there is some creative license, but to good effect. One memorable section is where Jesus and his followers travel outside familiar territory into pagan lands. There they see even worse class differences and immorality than where they came from. Slavery is everywhere. The group even goes to a Pagan ceremony, which Jesus insists they attend. I won't recount the details but it's one of the most insane things I've ever read.

If you aren't interested in this stuff it's just a long version of the story you've heard before. If you are a bible geek like I am it's massively revelatory and not un mind blowing. I'm going to read his book on the apostle Paul next


translated from Yiddish


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 23, 2018, 05:37:14 PM
Ye-es!
And a half dozen of the other
or 6 graphic novels.

Mezolith :
bk. 1. Stone Age Dreams and Nightmares
1st published in the U.K. in 2008
Published for the U.S. market in 2016
Hero: Brit
Place: east coast of the U.K.
Time: 8000 B.C.


Darth Vader
v.3. The Shu-Torun War
collecting issues #16-19


Star Lord and Kitty Pryde :
Secret Wars
in the Battle world series


Star Wars
v.3. Rebel Jail


White Sands
an original graphic novel adaptation of an unpublished 1st novel


Rocket Raccoon and Groot
v.1. Tricks of the Trade


Next time: a versus


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on August 27, 2018, 11:11:09 AM
1916


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Pacman000 on August 27, 2018, 11:42:25 AM
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

Novel based on characters from the TV series. Gomer didn't come from Mayberry in it. Still pretty funny so far.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 28, 2018, 11:06:03 AM
Ye-es!
Sometimes books are so similar it is simple to do a compare and contrast. For example . . .

The 3 Janes'
My Lady Jane (mlj)
Characters: Lady Jane Grey, Lord Gifford Dudley, and Edward VI.

versus

Laura Andersen's
The Boleyn Trilogy (tbt)
Characters: King William, Minuette Wyatt, Lady Jane Grey, Lord Guildford Dudley, and Dominic, Duke of Exeter.

or, 11 reasons (mlj) is a better read than (tbt.)

01. More realistic, thus more believable.
02. More interesting.
03. More emotional.
04. More humor that works, thus a smoother read.
05. A more fun read.
06. Better understanding of characters' character (authors) thus a better understanding of characters' character (audience.)
07. More likable characters.
08. More human characters.
09 More intelligent characters.
10. More historically correct.
11. And a more satisfactory ending.

Next time: 6 of 1


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Svengoolie 3 on August 29, 2018, 06:17:12 AM
''Legion'' by Master Dan Abnett.  Do not get into a fight with the Alpha Legion.  They will xxxx you up in more ways then you'll even know.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 05, 2018, 04:14:43 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 or 6 fiction and 1 non-fiction

Fiction
Martin Limon
American
The Ville Rat
10th in the Sueno and Bascome series
and
Ping Pong Heart
11th in the Sueno and Bascome series
Heroes: Mexican-American and Caucasian
Place: South Korea
Time: 1970s


J. M. Gregson
Brit
Final Act
12th in the Lambert and Hook series
+8 more in 1 more series
Heroes: Brits
Place: U.K.
Time: Present


Jean Luc Bannalee (pseudonym)
German ex-pat
1st novelist
Death in Brittany
translator, Sarcha McDonagh
1st in the Commissaire Dupie series
published in Germany in 2013
translated in 2014
published in 2016

Covering the . . .
art -- architecture -- botany -- cuisine -- geography -- history -- people -- and weather
of Brittany (France.)


Tim Weaver
Brit
award winner
Fall from Grace
5th in the Dave Raker series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: Present


Nevada  Barr
American
award winner
Bear Island
19th in the Anna Pigeon series
+ 2 more fiction + 1 more non-fiction
Heroine: American
Place: Maine (U.S.)
Time: Present

She has her mojo back. (IMHO) this is a much better read than the previous 2 in the series.


non-Fiction
Glen Weldon
The Caped Crusade :
Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture
1 more non-fiction


Next time: a half dozen of the other


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Svengoolie 3 on September 09, 2018, 01:43:31 AM
Just read. ''Shroud of night''. By Andy Clark. Hydra Dominatus!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 11, 2018, 12:05:20 PM
A half dozen of the other or a half dozen books of fiction.

Bill Crider
American
award winner
Survivors Will Be Shot Again
23rd in the Sheriff Dan Rhodes series
6 more fiction in 2 more series
Hero: American
Place: Texas (U.S.)
Time: Present


Lindsay Davis
Brit
The Graveyard of the Hesperides
4th in the Flavia Albia series
20 more in 1 more series + 3 stand alones
Heroine: Romanized Brit
Place: ancient Rome
Time: A.D. 80s

In which she touches on, if only in passing . . .
beastiality -- bisexuality (female) -- bisexuality (male) -- ephebophilia -- hebephilia -- homosexuality -- lesbianism -- male-on-female rape -- male-on-male rape -- necrophilia -- pedophilia -- transvestitism -- and virginity.


Peter Robinson
Brit ex-pat
award winner
When the Music's Over
in the Inspector Banks series
+2 short story collections + 3 standalones
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: Present


Cara Black
American
Murder on the Quai
16th in the Aimee Leduc series
Heroine: French-American
Place: France and Germany
Time: 1940s and 1980s


Sarah Maine
Brit
1st novelist
The House Between the Tides
Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 2010s and 1910s


Jean-Luc Bannalee
(pseudonym)
German ex-pat
Murder on Brittany Shores
translator, Sorcha McDonagh
2nd in the Commissaire Dupin series
Hero: French
Place: Brittany (France)
Time: Present

Next time: we'll finish up with a half dozen various reads.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on September 16, 2018, 06:08:52 PM
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/52/69/3a/52693a37e7ba43bd394a78e2195310e0.jpg)




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on September 16, 2018, 06:36:19 PM
I just finished LIVES OF THE ROMANS by Stephen Matyszak.  It was a collection of 100 short biographies of citizens of ancient Rome both famous and obscure - statesmen, generals, poets, gladiators, governors, bureaucrats, and merchants - written in a very readable format, and richly illustrated.  I enjoyed it and learned from it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 19, 2018, 03:35:59 PM
Y-es!
Finishing up this go round with a half dozen various.

Karen Fossum
Norwegian
award winner
The Drowned Boy
translator, Kari Dickson
13th in the Inspector Sejer series
Hero: Norwegian
Place: Norway
Time: Present


Martinetti, Le Beau, Franc
Agatha :
the Real Life of Agatha Christie

Still the best selling fiction writer of all time. In her 85 years (1890-1976) she had some 86 books published. Some after her death. To whit . . .

39 Hercule Poirot (1920-1998)
13 Miss Marple (1930-1976)
05 Tommy and Tuppence (1922-1973)
17 stand alone mysteries (1924-1970)

as Mary Westmacott
07 mostly romance novels (1830-1956)

as herself
03 books of poetry (1925-1973)
02 autobiographies (1946-1977)

86 total


Steve Olsen
Eruption : the Story of Mount St. Helens

Only half of the bodies of the victims have ever been recovered to date. Yet, since we know who was in the area, and who was unaccounted for, we know the final tally. To whit . . .

40 men
16 women
including 12 couples
and an 11-year-old boy

As much as we rue the loss of life of the 57, there was one bit of good news. If it had happened on a weekday, instead of a Sunday, when the logging crews would have been in the area working, the loss of life would have been far higher than 57.


Guardians of the Galaxy
collecting issues #1-25
+ more stories featuring Rocket and Groot


James Andrew Miller
Power House :
the Untold story of Hollywood's Creative Artists Agency [CAA]

An oral history from its beginning in 1975 to 2016, which, at its height had 5000 employees, including 700 agents, and had offices in 6 countries, including the U.S., and 5 cities, including Los Angeles (California)


Altman and Gross
The 50-year Mission :
the complete, uncensored, unauthorized oral history of Star Trek :
the next 25 years from The Next Generation to J. J. Abrams

2nd v. of a 2 v. work


Next time: there are only so many ideas in literature




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 23, 2018, 02:21:53 PM
There are only so many ideas in literature.

Fossum's The Drowned Boy
vs.
Chiball's Broad church

Both feature a hero who is single.
Both heroes have a medical condition that affects their work.
Both feature a body of water that plays a prominent part in the story.
Both feature a young boy, who has been murdered, as the victim.
Both feature murderers who make excuses for the murder.
Both feature a character who commits suicide.
Both murders are solved by happenstance.

The difference . . .
Fossum is a much better writer than Chiball.

Next time: 6 of 1


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 29, 2018, 04:18:49 PM
Ye-es!
6 0f 1
or 6 mysteries and 1 non-mystery

Mysteries
Carlene O'Conner
Irish ex-pat
Murder at an Irish Wedding
2nd in the Irish village series
Heroine: Irish
Place: County Cork (Ireland)
Time: Present


Sophie Hannah
Brit
Agatha Christie's Closed Casket
2nd in the New Hercule Poirot series
11 more fiction
Hero: Belgian
Place: Ireland
Time: 1920's


Plum Sykes
Brit
Party Girls Die in Pearls
in the Oxford Girl series
2 more fiction
Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1980s


G. M. Malliet
American
award winner
Devil's Breath
6th in the Max Tudor series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: Present


Miraculous Mysteries :
Locked Room Murders and Impossible Crimes
Martin Edwards, editor
in the British Library Crime Classics
the subtitle says it all
16 short stories published between 1898 and 1960 of which 10 were new to me and the other 6 I had already read


and just when you think you read everyplace a mystery can occur and every time it can occur, there is . . .
Benjamin Black
(i.e. John Banville)
Irish
award winner
Wolf on a String
Hero: German
Place: Prague (the Holy Roman Empire and now the Czech Republic)
Time: 1590s


non-mystery
Lucy Wassley
Brit
1st novelist
Maid of the King's Court
Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1st half of the 16th century


Next time: another compare and contrast


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on September 30, 2018, 10:13:58 AM
(https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/GUEST_908a479f-cc16-458b-8284-d1ff550352ce?wid=488&hei=488&fmt=pjpeg)

so far its okay but nowhere near the insanity of his classics like The pyramid or Palace of Dreams


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on October 01, 2018, 05:24:21 PM
(https://www.picclickimg.com/d/w1600/pict/331337262403_/Madame-Bovary-by-Gustave-Flaubert-EASTON-PRESS.jpg)








Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 10, 2018, 05:18:07 PM
Ye-es!
A compare and contrast
Andrew Shvarts' Royal Bastards
and
Lucy Worsley's Maid of the King's Court

Storyteller's similarities
Both are 1st time novelists.

Story similarities
Both have . . .
some nudity -- father-daughter conversations -- teen characters -- bastardy -- a no-choice marriage partner -- an inappropriate boyfriend.

Story differences
Worsley
Characters more consistent -- fewer errors in story -- more realistic -- more sex, less violence, but the violence is more sexual -- non-heterosexual adults having sex with children.

Shvarts
better constructed story -- more emotional -- difference between characters greater --more originality -- more follow-ups of surviving characters -- more racial minorities -- more and better action -- more images generated in minds eye, so a better film and/or TV show -- less sex, more violence, and the violence is more physical -- non-heterosexual adults having sex with adults -- and the ending is better.

Next time: a special report in 5 easy lessons.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Couchtr26 on October 11, 2018, 08:50:41 PM
Caiphas Cain omnibus.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on October 12, 2018, 09:44:13 AM
Heavy Duty: Days and Nights In Judas Priest by K.K. Downing


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on October 16, 2018, 01:19:59 PM
The companion guide to the 1980s series The Story of English. Found it for a dime at a thrift store.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Couchtr26 on October 17, 2018, 09:18:03 PM
(https://www.picclickimg.com/d/w1600/pict/331337262403_/Madame-Bovary-by-Gustave-Flaubert-EASTON-PRESS.jpg)

I have that exact copy, as well as their Decameron.  Lost some others in a move.






Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 18, 2018, 04:38:57 PM
A special report in 5 easy lessons, but, 1st, let me say . . .

a. Whether you like it or not.
b. Whether it is good or not.
c. At this point in time, which is always changing.
d. These are not my opinions, unless otherwise noted.
e. These are the opinions of a reporter who seemingly understands how Hollywood works and is down with that.
f. My opinions are noted with an (IMHO.)
Thus, here is . . .

Ben Fritz'
The Big Picture :
the Fight for the Future of Movies

or, why the House of Mouse will dominate the movie box office for the foreseeable future.

Next time: Reason #1 or the Branded Franchise


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on October 19, 2018, 09:55:59 AM
What Does This Button Do? by Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden vocalist)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 24, 2018, 05:04:31 PM
Ye-es!
Continuing . . .
Ben Fritz'
The Big Picture

Reason #1 The Branded Franchise
a. It is the era of the branded franchise.
b. Only Warner has more branded franchises than the House of Mouse.

Today
--animation
--animation into live action
--Marvel
--nostalgia
--Pixar
--Star Wars

Tomorrow?
--Artemis Fowl
--Avatar
--Indiana Jones

c. This gives them the freedom to develop the next hit.
d. They adjusted to the age of the branded franchise quicker than most of the other Hollywood Studios.
e. Their branded franchised, along with 20th Century Fox, are sucking up most of the air and cash at the box office.
f. With the merger of the House of Mouse and 20th Century Fox, they ought to do even better next year. (And I have a list of their films for 2019, which I'll post later.)
g. Their job is to identify, cultivate, and grow branded franchises, and they do this almost better than anyone.

Next time: Lesson #2 The CEO


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Couchtr26 on October 25, 2018, 09:49:23 PM
Getting ready to start on the Solomon Kane stories.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on October 26, 2018, 03:20:01 AM
Getting ready to start on the Solomon Kane stories.

You are in for some good reading there. :)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Couchtr26 on October 27, 2018, 05:48:53 PM
Getting ready to start on the Solomon Kane stories.

You are in for some good reading there. :)

I keep avoiding them but have been on a reading binge.  If they are anything like everyone says I feel I will have denied myself some great stories for far too long.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on October 27, 2018, 06:25:33 PM
(https://groveatlantic.com/core/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/9780802124128-340x509.jpg)

It's a fantasy/magical realist tale about a pagan boy who's the last one in his tribe who can speak the language of snakes, which gives him powers over other animals. Very interesting so far. From the novelist who wrote the book that was adapted into NOVEMBER (I was looking for that one but it hasn't been translated into English).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on October 28, 2018, 08:08:22 AM
(https://www.picclickimg.com/d/w1600/pict/331337262403_/Madame-Bovary-by-Gustave-Flaubert-EASTON-PRESS.jpg)

I have that exact copy, as well as their Decameron.  Lost some others in a move.

I got it as part of the 100 Greatest Books collection from the Easton Press. I'm slowly working my way through all 100 . . .








Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Couchtr26 on October 28, 2018, 12:32:41 PM
(https://www.picclickimg.com/d/w1600/pict/331337262403_/Madame-Bovary-by-Gustave-Flaubert-EASTON-PRESS.jpg)

I have that exact copy, as well as their Decameron.  Lost some others in a move.

I got it as part of the 100 Greatest Books collection from the Easton Press. I'm slowly working my way through all 100 . . .







Exactly where I got mine as well but ended them unfortunately.  Think I got ten before it was cancelled.  I wonder.. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 29, 2018, 05:31:24 PM
Ye-es!
Continuing . . .
Ben Fritz'
The Big Picture

Reason #2 The CEO
a. He went against what Hollywood has believed for the past 2 or 3 decades.
--Make all types of movies for all types of people.
--Make mid price ($30 to $60 million) films.
--Make a lot of motion pictures
--Make original moving pictures for adults.

b. Or, to put it another way, his decisions were counterintuitive to the typical Hollywood conclusion, as they upended the industry's conventional wisdom.
--Do not make dramas for adults nor thrillers nor romantic comedies nor bawdy comedies nor horror movies nor star vehicles nor anything controversial nor political nor anything R-rated.

c. Stop laying down singles and doubles and start swinging for the fences.

d. (IMHO) The Babe Ruth of Hollywood. Like Babe either strikeout or hit a home run. Though, unlike Ruth, a greater percentage of home runs to strike outs.

e. He has the uncanny ability to smell success. Thus, he knew when and how to spend and make the kind of investments that drive success (i.e. Lucas Films Ltd., Marvel, Pixar, etc.)

f. He thinks long terms.

g. He moved not too quickly, but strategically.

h. He followed the lead of Steve Jobs. Quality + detail, then milk it endlessly.

I. He has a clear view of what the company is doing. It may have taken them a decade to get there, but they got there quicker than many of the Hollywood studios, such as Paramount.

j. Both inside and outside the company, they underestimated him, and that gave him the edge.

k. He smoothed out the corporate feuds and improved the bottom line, thus making a dramatic impact on films.

l. (IMHO) Where schmoozing is an art form, he can schmooze with the best of them.

m. And he is not Michael Eisner.

Next time: lesson #3 Branding



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 29, 2018, 08:47:54 PM
Just finished BLOOM COUNTY: EPISODE XI - A NEW HOPE by Berkeley Breathed.

After a 25 year hiatus, the master of silly satire and laughable lampooning is back, roasting right, left, and center in equal abandon with a heavy dose of the absurd thrown in for good measure.  In short, it's brilliant!!


Between reading that and watching the Irwin family being back on Animal Planet, it was a REALLY nice weekend.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 05, 2018, 03:37:31 PM
Ye-es!
Continuing . . .
Ben Fritz
The Big Picture

Reason #3 Branding
a. It has almost the only brand name that means anything to anyone.

b. Or, how it is possible to create a release slate in which almost every film is a hit.

c. Thus, it is not in the film business, as such, but in the brand business, why it makes more money, more consistently, than almost anyone else.

Next time: Reason #4 Advantages



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 12, 2018, 04:27:57 PM
Ye-es!
Continuing . . .
Ben Fritz
The Big Picture

Reason #4 Advantages
a. They have advantages almost no other Hollywood studio has.
b. They own Marvel, which was one of the 1st to understand the importance of the overarching film narrative.
c. Their action films appeal to almost everyone nationally.
d. They have the heroes and superheroes which have, not only national appeal, but international appeal.
e. It has its fairy tales.
f. Time is on their side.
g. They do not have to worry about the parent company not putting the cash into the studio. They are the parent company.
h. Their films are watched o'er and o'er again.

Next time: reason #5 miscellaneous


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 14, 2018, 08:49:59 PM
lauts and lauts of notes and books and computer screens in fallout 76. i'm told there are thousands of pages worth of reading material.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 19, 2018, 03:25:25 PM
Ye-es!
Concluding . . .
Ben Fritz'
The Big Picture

Reason #5 Miscellaneous
a. It gives audiences what they really want. When they say they want new ideas and fresh concepts, in reality, they want familiar ideas and concepts.

b. It did what Columbia should have done. It took someone from the best run division, the TV division, and put them in charge of the whole ball of wax.

c. It understands that hit films sell a lot of merchandise.

d. Thus, they make films that generate long term value in merchandise, sequels, and spinoffs.

e. Hollywood is a herd animal and the Mouse is the leader of the herd.

f. Thus, it is the one, that most others emulate.

g. It went from a studio where many did not want to work to one--and its subsidiaries--where almost everyone wants to work.

h. It generates profit margins of 30%, when 10% is considered respectable.

I. Where failures exceed successes, it has fewer failures and bigger successes than most of the others.

j. It knows that consistent quality [not as good as some, better than others] = a tiny slate of films + time not being an issue + money not being an issue.

k. It has an infrastructure and resources to market and distribute a film across many media.
--TV -- theaters -- dvds -- digital formats.

l. And (IMHO) some not mentioned by the author.
--Broadway shows -- cruise ships -- ice shows -- publishing -- recording -- theme parks.

m. (IMHO) Success breeds success.

n. And, finally, (IMHO) in a town as schizoid as Hollywood, it is a harrowing ride, and sometimes you just have to get lucky., and, so far, they have been lucky.

Next time: we'll skip the 6 of 1 and go right to the half dozen of the other.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on November 20, 2018, 06:21:08 PM
Just started re-reading Ace Frehley's autobiography, No Regrets.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on November 24, 2018, 10:22:20 AM
I just finished reading IKE'S BLUFF by Evan Thomas, which is far and away the best book on President Eisenhower I have ever read.
This was my Amazon review:

For most young Americans, Eisenhower is a forgotten President.  If anything, he is remembered as "that bald guy from the fifties."  However, as the Cold War fades into the rear view mirror of America, historians are gaining more and more respect for the quiet, confident ex-general who presided over its early years.  Ike had seen war at its most destructive and horrible, and was quick to come to the realization that no one could win a nuclear war between the two great superpowers.  But how to prevent such a conflict from breaking out?
   Ike understood that to avoid war, you have to give the appearance of being ready for it at all times, and to make sure the other side understands that you will not go in with half measures, but go all out. By projecting a willingness to use America's nuclear arsenal, Ike made sure America would never have to.  His calculated bluff kept America safe for eight years, kept the country from being taken over by militarists who would have squandered our resources in an endless arms race, and assured America's allies that the USA would not abandon them in a crisis. 
    A strong, quiet leader whose outward passivity matched a hot temper and a keen understanding of the world, Eisenhower is consistently rated as one of America's top ten Presidents these days - far cry from his near-bottom ranking in the first historian's poll, conducted by Arthur Schlesinger in 1962.  The more time passes, the more we see our national politics dominated by shrill hatemongers of the far right and well-meaning but incompetent ideologues of the left, and the more we appreciate this gentle warrior who united the nation rather than divided it, who kept us at peace by being ready for war, and who presided over a decade of peace and prosperity that his policies made possible.   - Lewis Smith, author of THE GNOSTIC LIBRARY


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on November 24, 2018, 11:16:43 AM
The Apostle - https://www.amazon.com/Apostle-Sholem-Asch/dp/0881841676 (https://www.amazon.com/Apostle-Sholem-Asch/dp/0881841676)

it' the sequel to the Nazarene. That was the story of Jesus, this is the story of Paul. It picks up 7 weeks after the crucifixion and is also a quadrillion pages long


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 26, 2018, 03:37:57 PM
Ye-es!
A half dozen of the other.

Kyle Cassidy
American
1st book
This Is What a Librarian Looks Like :
a Celebration of Libraries, Communities and Access to Information

Total 214 from all 50 cities and 5 foreign countries. With each getting a photo + 1 paragraph, except for 9 who get more coverage..
And librarians are cool. 15 or 7% have visible tattoo.


Marvel Cinematic Universe Guidebook :
the Avengers Initiative

Covering from the 1st Iron Man to the 2nd Thor or from 2008 to 20013 or the 1st 8 films from Marvel Studios
Featuring players, places, organizations, weapons, and more and published in 2017.


Scarlet Witch
[graphic novel] in 3 v.
v.1. Witches' Road -- v.2. World of Witchcraft -- v.3. The Final Hex


Lumber Janes
[graphic novel] v.3. To the Max
collecting chapters 17 - 24, having previously read chapters 17 - 20.

The one long running series that I enjoy reading.


Gareth Russell
northern Irish
Young and Damned and Fair :
the Life of Catherine Howard, 5th wife of King Henry VIII.
2 more non-fiction

about a woman, for women, but by a man! Which is why it is worth reading, as I have found men come at such subjects differently than most women writers. And we'll talk about another such writer, next time, when we talk about Motivation and Colette.


Star Wars
[graphic novel]
v.5. Yoda's Secret War
collecting issues #26 - 30 + annual #2

Next time: motivation and Colette


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 03, 2018, 04:59:13 PM
Motivation
I read a lot of mysteries, which are set in various times and in various places, but, there is one thing they have in common, and that is the villain is often given no motivation for what they do. So, what motivates a villain in a mystery? I thought I'd look at the 61 literary characters for whom I have some empathy, 22 of which are villainous criminals or 36% of the characters. And what did I find out about their motivation? Nothing. But, I did find that 11 or 50% of the characters exist in a time and place that does not exist, has never existed, and never will exist.

Colette
a graphic book on the life of  French authoress Sidonie Gabrielle Colette, better known as Colette, who lived from 1873-1954. A historical anomaly, for in a time and place when men dominated, she was the dominant one and who dominated the men in her orbit. And as interesting as that is, and it is, what is more interesting is what motivates a man, when man is dominant, to become submissive and submit himself to a woman.

Next time: another historical and literary character who submitted himself to a woman, in a time and place when--again--men were dominant.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on December 04, 2018, 08:57:23 AM
(http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRSOp4sxL-6gv6Om-wgR0UafqtG5yRojyyuAQr4GqtUeMcxScQP)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 11, 2018, 01:19:09 PM
Another historical and literary character who submitted to a woman and was so submissive to her, that he has almost no identity of his own. Yet, unlike the men around Colette, we know why.
Lord Guildford Dudley

1. While, in the past, it was thought he was older than his wife, which was typical for that age and place, there is growing evidence, that he was actually younger than her, which would for that age and place, make him subordinate to her. Which gives him the dubious distinction of being the youngest prisoner in the Tower of London to be executed in the area, Tower Hill, of the Tower.

2. As a 4th son, so worth as much as what the cat leaves in the litter box, he married above himself to advance both himself and his family, which most children did in that age and place.

3. We know that for girls in that age and place, they had little or no say who they married. What we forget is that males, at that time and place, had as little say as to who they married. If the parents or some other authority figure said to marry this girl, one married that girl, whether one wanted to or not.

If that answers that question, one question is yet to be answered, and which is why a lot of historical fiction should be taken with a large grain of salt. How did we go from yesterday's reality of someone who was regarded by his peers as being "comely, virtuous, godly" to today's unreality of "spoilt, conceited, disagreeable."

Next time: it's not the profanity nor the sex nor the sexual orientation nor the violence, it's . . .!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 15, 2018, 03:30:14 PM
Ye-es!
Andrew Shvarts
City of Bastards
2nd in the Bastards series

It's not that blacks are the dominant race in the book.
Though, even with books becoming more racially diverse and just more realistic, whites still make up most of the characters in books. Thus, unless a character is described as being non-white, one thinks of them as being white. Not here. One has to think of characters as being black unless described as being non-black.

It's not that women are dominant.
Even in bed.

Nor the profanity.
Though, there are almost 30 profanities, from the American "damn" and "hell" to the Ziotchi "titan's breath," used 12 dozen times or almost 2 profanities every 5 pages.

Nor the sex.
Though, there is more sex in this one than the last one.

Nor the sexual orientation.
Not every character is heterosexual. Though, now days, you can hardly shake a book without shaking out someone who is non-heterosexual.

Nor the violence.
Though, like the previous one, it is brutal, and thus more realistic than what is found in a lot of teen books.

So, what is it? That makes it worth reading.

On a personal level . . .
Kill me once. Kill me twice. Kill me thrice?
He takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
Pretty Boy
"Third tier? Oh, now that hurts. When he was alive, I rode with Razz and his mercenaries. And do you think they'd take anybody that was 3rd tier? 2nd tier, maybe? But, 3rd tier?"
One of the few literary characters for whom I feel some empathy.

Next time: on a less personal level? What is odd? What is good? What is bad?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: frank on December 18, 2018, 04:08:48 AM

I'm on a run with exceptionally good books:

1) Matt Ruff "Lovecraft Country": Mixing the civil rights topic very well with the Lovecraftian supernatural.

2) Michael Palin "Erebus": A detailled, fascinating and entertaining account of the ship Erebus from it's launching in 1826 to it's demise in the ill-fated Franklin expedition for the North-West passage.

3) Neil Gaiman "Anansi boys": I like Gaiman.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on December 18, 2018, 04:14:04 AM
Various campaign books for 2300AD, an old hard science roleplaying game.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 18, 2018, 06:55:46 PM
The Virtue of Nationalism by Yoram Hazony, President of the Herzl Institute in Jerusalem, is one heck of a thoughtful book. It’s probably not the work you think it is judging by its title, and its premise might just challenge you to evaluate not only the way you presently think, but just perhaps the way you’ve been told to think.

Sound controversial? Why?

When I was a child I grew up watching Star Trek the Next Generation on Friday nights and thinking how in its depiction of a 24th century Earth I was seeing a variation on our future. I translated that ideal into an expectation that the one-world order of the United Nations was the great ideal, the first small step toward a time in which all people would come together as one and peacefully co-exist amid guarantees of personal rights and equality and shared humanity. All races, creeds, religions, we’d be part of the same human family, and it’d be great. Later I questioned, universal guarantees of liberty and certain rights for all aside, will we ever reach the all-inclusive central government of Star Trek? Eventually I began to wonder, should we?

So why do we have countries? Ever really thought about it? Why is one person Swedish, another Nigerian? Why do one set of people mostly go to worship on Fridays and another on Saturday or Sunday? Why does one nation cherish a set of heroes, another nation mark entirely different people with greatness? Why do you wear slacks and another wear a robe? Or drive on the right side fo the highway instead of the left?  Why are women in one region given equality under law and women elsewhere denied it? Given these differences, can you truly take one group and place it within another and expect both populations to benefit as a result?

So what exactly is nationality? That’s something this book asks over and over. Is it about living within lines drawn on maps, or is it about who people are in their outlooks and values? And what by its purest definition is nationalism? Is it being content to dwell within a particular nation, and respecting the rights of others to do the same, or is that, as it’s too often been portrayed in this century, the outlook of the xenophobe?

This is a book for those who like good questions, questions like, do good borders make good neighbors? Does multi-culturalism in action boost the happiness of those residing in its midst? Were people such as Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Margaret Thatcher, George Washington, Ronald Reagan, J.R.R . Tolkien, Martin Luther, Winston Churchill, Alexander Hamilton, G.K. Chesterton, Golda Meir, and Mohandas K. Gandhi bigots for being outspoken nationalists?

Is a single world government truly possible, or even desirable? Why do we have national borders, and when did they begin?

Who are the most virulently resistant to the idea of multi-culturalism, westerners living within democracies, or those who come from theocracies that teach a message that is the exact opposite of inclusiveness?

What does it mean to be part of a country, be that country in Africa, North America, Asia, or Europe?

Here in the late 2010s, what does the BREXIT vote in Britain, the election of Donald Trump in America, and the calls for new nations in Canada, Ethiopia, Israel, Spain, Belgium and elsewhere say about what the average person really wants in life? Do they hint that people truly want one global neighborhood, or do they want to hang onto who they are, culturally, and who their forebears were within that culture?

Is it right to hold that certain cherished traits and ideals that compose a national identity are worth preserving? Is one necessarily guilty of retrogressive thinking if one wishes to hold onto his or her country’s values?

In a time in which people worldwide are expressing a revived interest in resisting the pervasive argument that to be a patriot of one’s nation is to be a small-minded bigot on the wrong side of the stirring tide of history, this book explodes many persistent myths of the modern age, such as nationalism being the cause of world wars. (Hitler, for example, was an imperialist with pan-Germanic ideals, not a nationalist. Communism was the ultimate movement against nations, seeking a single imprisoned mass of humankind to dwell as one under an economic political system.)

I don’t like being told what to do or think or how to act, and I do like books that challenge me to step outside my comfort zone and think. This is definitely one of those.  Four stars out of five.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 20, 2018, 10:16:01 AM
The Boat of a Million Years, by Poul Anderson. I recently re-read this great book, which I first read in high school, and found it possibly even better this time around, combining as it does two of my interests, science fiction and history. An absolute classic, this novel is one all lovers of sci-fi should read. (And maybe re-read.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boat_of_a_Million_Years (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boat_of_a_Million_Years)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 26, 2018, 03:37:31 PM
Ye-es!
Andrew Shvarts'
City of Bastards

The Odd
--action is visual. not verbal. So why are there so many good action scenes in this book, and to make it odder, the best action scenes, I have found are written by ex-military. Yet he does not have a military background.
--an interesting mixture of the factual and fantastical.
--a male writer writing as a female protagonist.

The Good
--his words have a force that is not found in most fiction.
--which may be why the images generated are so powerful.

The Bad
--confusing characters
--despite his effort to be different, he still falls back to stereotypes.

Next time: mark this date on your calendar.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 31, 2018, 01:39:49 PM
Ye-es!
So mark this date on your calendar.

Andrew Shvarts
The Bastards series has sold well enough that we are getting a 3rd v. in the series, The Bastards War, in June, 2019.
With the 1st v. The Royal Bastards out in 2017
and the 2nd v. The Bastards City out in 2018.

Hopefully, the 3rd v. will sell well enough, the series will continue after the 3rd v.
And hopefully, the series will sell well enough, we get a TV miniseries or a film series from the books.
As there is a lot to be said for the series to be put on film.

sympathetic heroes
realistic and thus brutal violence
powerful images which would look good on film
great villains
and arousing action, especially the bar brawl in the 1st v.

Of course, they'd have to do something about the title, which is acceptable in print, but not for TV and/or film. Maybe something like . . .
The Royals -- The City -- The War, etc.

Next time: 6 of 1 or 6 mysteries + 1 graphic novel.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on January 06, 2019, 09:27:41 AM
Just started

(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51JtAI7%2BZNL._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on January 06, 2019, 08:06:45 PM
THE SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII by Alison Weir.

This was a powerful tale of one of the most fascinating rules in English history, recounted with great attention to primary sources, yet eminently readable and fascinating.  I had read her other histories of the Tudor era, but I think this one eclipses them all.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 07, 2019, 05:13:06 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 or 6 mysteries + 1 graphic novel


The mysteries
Priscilla Masters
Brit
Crooked Street
13th in the Joanna Ramsey series
Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: Present


Peter Turnbull
Brit
A Cold Case
1st in the Maurice Mundy series
13 more fiction in 2 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: Present


James Runcie
Brit
Sidney Chambers and the Dangers of Temptation
5th in the Grant chester series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1960s

Sidney Chambers and the Persistence of Love
6th in the Grant chester series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1970s

If the name is familiar, his father was Archbishop of Canterbury
If one would rather see it, then read it. There is a TV series. One would wish for one more faithful to the books, but the series lasted 3 seasons + a Christmas special.


Anthony Rolls
(i.e. C. E. Vulliamy)
Family Matters
part of the British Library Crime classics
Martin Edwards, editor
Originally published in 1933.

Continental Crimes
part of the British Library Crime classics
Martin Edwards, editor
14 short stories by 14 British mystery writers and published between 1898 and 1959, but, set not in the U.K., but on the European continent.


1 graphic novel
Star Wars : Poe Dameron
v.2. The Gathering Storm
collecting issues #8-13.


Next time: a half dozen more graphic novels


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 14, 2019, 03:20:57 PM
Ye-es!
a half dozen more graphic novels

The Astonishing Ant-man
v.1. everybody loves team ups
collecting issues #1-4 and the annual


Tim Burton's the Nightmare Before Christmas


Future Quest v.1
from the Hanna-Barbera universe, featuring . . .
Birdman -- Dino Boy -- Frankenstein, Jr. -- Herculoids -- The Impossibles -- Jonny Quest -- Mighty Mightor -- and Space Ghost


Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
v.3. the smartest there is
collecting issues #13-18


Rocket Raccoon
v.1. grounded
collecting issues #1-5 of Rocket Raccoon (2016)


The Incredibles
v.1. secrets and lies


Next time: 6 of 1 or a half dozen non-fiction + 1 more mystery


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 19, 2019, 01:47:15 PM
6 of 1 or 6 non-fiction and 1 mystery
The subtitle says it all.

Nicola Tallis
Brit
Crown of Blood :
the Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey
1 more non-fiction


James Neibaur
American
The Monster Movies of Universal Studio
11 more non-fiction

29 films made between 1931 and 1956 featuring . . .
Creature from the Black Lagoon -- Dracula -- Frankenstein's Monster -- The Invisible Man -- The Mummy -- and The Wolfman.
Seen 72% of the films listed. Liked 91% of the films seen.


Leandra de Lisle
Brit
Tudor Passion, Manipulation, Murder :
the Story of England's Most Notorious Royal Family
2 more non-fiction


David Conn
Brit
The Fall of the House of FIFA :
the Multimillion Dollar Corruption at the Heart of Global Soccer
1 more non-fiction


Tristan Donovan
Brit
It's All a Game
3 more non-fiction

5000 years of gaming in a baker's dozen of board games, from the ancient Egyptian senet to the modern German Catan. Also including . . .
chess -- backgammon -- Life -- Monopoly -- Risk -- Clue -- Scrabble -- Mouse Trap -- Operation -- Twister -- and Trivial Pursuit.


Adrian Miller
Afro-American
award winner
The President's Kitchen Cabinet :
the Story of the African Americans who Have Fed Our First Families from Washington to the Obamas
including 20 recipes
1 more non-fiction


And the mystery
Lindsay Davis
Brit
The 3rd Nero
5th in the Flavia Albia series + 20 more fiction in 1 more series + 5 more stand-alones + 1 non-fiction.
Heroine: ex-pat Romanized Brit
Place: Rome (Italy)
Time: 1st century A.D.


Next time: a half dozen more--unread--from the world of MCU.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 26, 2019, 02:33:00 PM
Ye-es! Just not these.

17 graphic audio books from MCU, including all 5 of these.

Dan Abnett's
Rocket Racoon and Groot : Steal the Galaxy

Corinne Duyvo's
Guardians of the Galaxy : Collect Them All

Devin Grayson's
Doctor Strange : the Fate of Dreams

Stuart Moore
Thanos : Death Sentence

Stephen Petrucha's
Captain America : Dark Design

Though, MCU is not the only one taking its comic book characters into the world of printed books. So is DCEU, as at the time I came across this list, DCEU had books featuring . . .
Wonder Woman -- Batman. And upcoming books featuring Catwoman -- Superman.

Next time: 6 of 1 or 6 graphic novels + 1 more graphic novel



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on January 26, 2019, 03:02:55 PM
Jumping between the Liber Mortis and the Book of Vile Darkness just now.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Svengoolie 3 on January 26, 2019, 05:01:07 PM
Various campaign books for 2300AD, an old hard science roleplaying game.
You like hard SFRPGs and 2300?

Damn I almost wsh I hadn't just booed ER for excessive posting to raise her post count. I'll karma you when i can.

BTW, how did you like the Kafers? I thought they were a very believable alien species.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on January 26, 2019, 05:13:54 PM
We started playing that campaign many, many years ago and got to the point where we raised our own merc company to fight the Kafers. We had the start of the Kafer war, but never managed to get the later books. Luckily we had a GM who was good enough to work on the background he had and come up with his own story. My character ended up captured and being forced into fighting as a gladiator on one of the Kafer worlds. Since he was the group melee specialist he was pretty good at it. He never did get rescued, so I guess he'd still be there.

I enjoyed the very in-depth background to 2300AD. Each of the races seemed to be fairly well thought out and have their own motivations (especially the Pentapods). I liked the Kafers, and that most of their technology was built by a species they'd enslaved rather than having a race which is incredibly dim-witted until their adrenaline kicks in and suddenly they become combat veterans.

I didn't like France being the dominant world power though lol.

As for liking hard sci-fi, well it kinda depends on the system. I'll play almost any game if it is well done. Hell, one of these days I am going to run a game of 'Ug! The Prehistoric RPG'. That's a game where the players are limited to (let's see if I remember correctly) 16 words and you have to deal with the world using only those words (a T-Rex, for example, was a Big Smelly Bang Bang), and I also enjoy the Battle Cattle game (let loose the cows of war!). I think the worst systems I've come across was either Mage or Immortals, both of which had great backgrounds but weak execution.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 02, 2019, 02:51:37 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 or 6 graphic novels + 1 more graphic novel = 7

Guardians of the Galaxy :
Mother Entropy
collecting issues #1-5 from 2017


Nova
v.1. Burn Out
collecting issues #1-6 from 2015


The Death of Stalin
And if you want to see it, rather than read it, then there is the film from 2018.


Star*Lord
v.1. Grounded
collecting issues #1-6 and annual #1


Doctor Strange
v.4. Mr. Misery
collecting issues #17-20 and annual #1


and from the Magna Classics series
Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
and
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice


Next time: a half dozen more fiction


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on February 02, 2019, 04:58:29 PM
World War Cthulhu.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on February 04, 2019, 12:43:45 PM
Picked up Roger (The Who) Daltrey's autobiography, "Thanks a Lot, Mr. Kibblewhite," from the library over the weekend.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 07, 2019, 04:44:56 PM
Ye-es!
A half dozen more fiction.

Hilary Mantell
Brit
award winner
Wolf Hall
13 more fiction + 1 more non-fiction
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1st half of the 16th century
And if you'd rather see it, then read it, there is the BBC2 TV miniseries.


Ace Atkins
American
The Fallen
7th in the Quinn Colson series
10 more fiction in 2 more series + 4 stand-alones
Hero: American
Place: Mississippi
Time: the Present


Kwei Quartey
ex-pat Ghanaian
Death by His Grace
5th in the Darko Dawson series
Hero: Ghanaian
Place: Ghana
Time: the Present


S. D. Sykes
Brit and a woman
City of Masks
3rd in the Sommershill Manor series
Hero: Brit
Time: 1350s
Place: Venice (Italy)


Ann Cleves
Brit
award winner
The Seagull
8th in the Vera Stanhope series
7 more fiction in 1 more series
Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1995 to the preseent
And if you'd rather see it, then read it, there is the TV series


Elly Griffiths
Brit
award winner
The Blood Card
3rd in the Magic Men series
9 more fiction in one more series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K. and U.S.
Time: 1950s


Next time: 6 of 1 or 6 more mysteries + 1 non-mystery


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 14, 2019, 06:08:18 PM
Ye-es! 6 of 1 or 6 mysteries and 1 non-mystery

Elly Griffiths
Brit
award winner
The Chalk Pit
9th in Ruth Galloway series
3 more fiction in 1 more series

Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: Present

Except for tha above and a few others, it never ceases to amaze me how hard it is for writers to create a credible child character. And she out does herself here, creating almost 20 child characters from 1 to 21.


Cara Black
American
Murder in Saint Germain
17th in the Aimee Leduc series
each one named for a different Paris (France) district.

Heroine: French-American
Place: Paris (France)
Time: 1990s


George Bellairs
Brit
The Dead Shall be Raised
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1940s

Raymond Postgate
Brit
Verdict of Twelve
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1940s

Both from the British Library Crime Classics series


Barbara Hambly
American
Murder in July
7th in the Ben January series
4 more fiction in 1 more series
Hero: Afro-American
Place: Paris (France) then New Orleans (Louisiana)
Time: 1830s


Michael Wiley
American
award winner
Monument Road
1st in the Franky Dast series
7 more fiction in 2 more series
Hero: American
Place: Florida
Time: Present


non-mystery
graphic novel
Doctor Strange
v.4. Mr. Misery
collecting issues #17-20 and annual #1


Next time: a half dozen more non-mysteries


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 14, 2019, 06:22:59 PM
I recently re-read Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton; it is remarkably well-done and carries you straight into the events of the American Revolution and the tumultuous political battles of the earliest days of our Republic.  This was partly re-reading a well done book for the fun of it and partly as research for my next novel, but it was a pleasure either way. 5/5 - biographies don't get much better!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on February 15, 2019, 08:58:22 PM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/5164VyTiQ7L._SX348_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

This guy stole my idea. Gonna see what he did with it. (That's a joke: he didn't really steal my idea, we had similar ideas. Although picking 366 instead of 365 makes me suspicious).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 19, 2019, 06:01:35 PM
Ye-es!
and a half dozen of the other or non-mysteries

Deliah S. Dawson
American
Star Wars : Phasma
8 more fiction in 3 more series + 1 stand alone
Heroine: Unknown
Place: Unknown
Time: Unknown


Alison Pittman
American
Loving Luther : a Novel
+ discussion guide
5 more fiction in 2 more series + 3 standalones
Heroine: German
Place: German
Time: 16th century

Whatever you think of the man. He was a man that was ahead of his time. He believed that sex could not only be used for procreation, but also for pleasure. An idea that some can't get their head around even today.


Christie Golden
American
award winner
Battlefront II : Inferno Squad
5th in the Star Wars series
6 stand-alones + books in the Star Trek series, the Ravenloft series + other series


graphic novel
Beauty
translated from the French


Judith Flanders
Brit
Christmas : a Biography
the myths, legends, and history of Christmas
6 more nonfiction + 3 more fiction


P. J. Brackston
a Brit and a woman
The Sorcerer's Appendix
part mystery, but also part horror and part fantasy and part comedy
4th in the Brothers Grimm series
next in the series The Princess and Pinot Grigio
3 more fiction
Heroine: German
Place: Bavaria (Germany)
Time: 1760s


Next time: 6 of 1 or 6 mysteries + 1 non-mystery


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 25, 2019, 05:02:28 PM
YE-ES!
or, 6 of 1 or 6 mysteries + 1 non-mystery

Martin Walker
ex-pat Brit
The Patriarch
9th in the Bruno, Chief of Police series
10 more non-fiction
Hero: French
Place: France
Time: Present


Michael Stanley
(2 white South Africans: Michael Sears and Stanley Trollop)
Dying to Love
6th in the Detective Kubu series
Hero: Motswana
Place: Botswana
Time: Present


Charles Todd
(American mother and child writing duo)
A Casualty of War
9th in the Bess Crawford series
19 more fiction in 1 more series + 2 stand-alones
Heroine: Brit
Place: Europe
Time: 1910s


Vidar Scundstol
Norwegian
award winner
The Devi's Wedding Ring
translated from the Norwegian by Tiina Nunnally
1st in the Max Fjellanger series
3 more fiction in 1 more series
Hero: Norwegian ex-pat
Place: Norway
Time: Present


Linda Castillo
American
award winner
Down a Dark Road
9th in the Kate Burkholder series
Heroine: American
Place: Ohio (U.S.)
Time: Present


Anne Perry
ex-pat Kiwi
An Echo of Murder
23rd in the William Monk series
52 more in 3 more series + 1 stand-alone
Hero: Brit
Time: 1870s
Place: London (U.K.)


non-mystery
Landry Q. Walker
Justice League : the Ultimate Guide
from the beginning in February, 1962 to March, 2017 as seen in 101 iconic comic books.


Next time: a half dozen more of various readings
 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 25, 2019, 07:28:53 PM
I just finished MANHUNT: THE 12 DAY SEARCH FOR LINCOLN'S KILLER, a gripping, blow-by-blow account of the assassination and its aftermath, and Booth's desperate flight southward, seeking refuge in the old Confederacy.  One of the best-written historical works I have read in a while.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 02, 2019, 03:07:10 PM
Ye-es!
A half dozen various books,

Bill Crider
American
award winner
Dead to Begin With
24th in the Dan Rhodes
+ 6 more fiction in 2 more series
Hero: American
Place: Texas
Time: Present

The author has been writing this series ever since 1986, and he likes to throw in a number of Easter eggs, featuring some other known authors. In this one, he features Harlan Coben, Alafair Burke, and Joe R. Lansdale.


graphic novel
The Comic Book Story of Video Games :
the Incredible History of the Electronic Gaming Revolution

From the invention of the vacuum tube in 1857 to the invention of Minecraft in 2011.


Clement C. Moore
A Visit from St. Nicholas
Born 1779
Written 1822
Published 1823
Claimed 1844
Died 1863

The artwork is by Will Moses, the great-grandson of folk artist Grandma Moses. While Moore has the distinct distinction of being born during the middle of one war The American Revolution and dying during the middle of another war The American Civil War.


George Bellairs
Death of a Busybody
part of the British Library Crime Classics
Published 1943
Re-copyrighted 2016
Republished 2017


Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
Brit
Shadow Play
10th in the Bill Slider series
16 more fiction + 1 collection of short stories
Hero: Brit
Place: London (U.K.)
Time: Present


Catherine Lloyd
Brit
Death Comes to the School House
5th in the Kurland St. Mary series
Heroine: Brit
Place: Hertfordshire (U.K.)
Time: 1820s


Next time: Artemis Fowl: the book series and the film


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on March 03, 2019, 08:36:09 AM
The Magic Engineer by L. E. Modesitt.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 07, 2019, 05:39:08 PM
Ye-es!
Artemis Fowl an 8 book series by Irish writer Eoin Colfer, featuring an Irish criminal mastermind, who is only a pre-teen, when the series start. Though, he does age into a teenager, as the series progresses.

bk.1. Artemis Fowl -- bk. 2. Artemis Fowl : the Arctic Incident -- bk.3. Artemis Fowl : the Eternity Code -- bk.4. Artemis Fowl : the Opal Deception -- bk 5. Artemis Fowl : the Lost Colony -- bk.6. Artemis Fowl : the Time Paradox -- bk.7. Artemis Fowl : the Atlantis Complex -- bk.8. Artemis Fowl : tje Last Guardian.

I am reading them in order, so, I have read only bk.1. to bk.6. so far, and the 1st chapter of bk.7. And what intrigues me so far, is the variety of villains, including himself, that Artemis comes across in his adventures. So far, there have been . . .

bk.1. Irish. Artemis himself, though he motes from straight villain to anti-hero, as the series progresses. bk.2. Russians -- bk.3. an American and a Kiwi -- bk.4. an Italian or, I should say a Sicilian -- bk.5. a Frenchman, a Spaniard, and a Chinese-American -- bk.6. a German and a Polish-American. Though, the last is just a guess.

Though, some of these are more aware of their villainy than others, and some are more villainous than others.

And that is just the Upper Element of the Earth, and, on the Lower Element, we have . . .
Trolls -- Sprities -- Pixies -- Goblins -- Elves -- Dwarves -- Demons -- Centaurs. All of whom are heroes or anti-heroes have tangled with, except the centaurs, who are probably the most honesxt of those mentioned.

And the story of the Fowls does not end with bk.8, as in 2020 we take up with Artemis' younger twin brothers Myles and Beckett in The Fowl Twins.,

Next time: the film, coming to a cinema near you soon.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: frank on March 08, 2019, 03:09:05 AM

Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky.

A post-apocalyptic novel where the people of Moscow retreat into the metro after the nuclear holocaust, forming different societies at different metro staions. It has a somewhat antique touch to it, but is different enough to the classics to be interesting.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on March 08, 2019, 05:54:22 AM

Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky.

A post-apocalyptic novel where the people of Moscow retreat into the metro after the nuclear holocaust, forming different societies at different metro staions. It has a somewhat antique touch to it, but is different enough to the classics to be interesting.

Had this one sitting on my to read shelf for a couple of years now. One of these days I'll get around to it.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on March 08, 2019, 09:33:56 AM
Unpublished script for an upcoming independent movie, SISTER TEMPEST. I'm supposed to provide feedback.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 13, 2019, 01:41:05 PM
A follow-up post to my previous post.

Artemis Fowl : the Movie
U.S. release date August 9, 2019. With . . .

Ferdia Shaw as Artemis
I feel sorry for the casting director, who had to interview over 1200 Irish boys, 9 to 13, ere they decided on Shaw. Who knew there were that many young actors in Ireland.

Nonso Anozie
Something different from the book, as Anozie is black, but, not as different as the next change, as Butler is also a racial minority in the book, but there he is an Eurasian.

Judi Dench as Root
Whereas, Root is a male elf in the book. A part originally written for Robert DeNiro, who is now only serving as producer, as is the director Kenneth Branagh. Harvey Weinstein was also suppose to produce, but when he ran into both financial and personal legal problems, he was dropped from the film.

Based on the 8 book series, utilizing the 1st 2  books in the series, Artemis Fowl and Artemis Fowl : the Arctic Incident, by Eoin Colfer. At that rate, if this is a success, we should get 3 more films over the next three years.

Actually, when the 1st book in the series was published in 2001, it was suppose to be a film. It only took them 17 to 18 years to make it.

And then when this series ends, we have Eoin Colfer's next series The Fowl Twins or Artemis' younger brothers Myles and Beckett out in 2020. So, who knows when the films will end.

Next time: 6 of 1 or 6 mysteries + 1 non-mystery


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on March 13, 2019, 02:52:03 PM
The Andromeda Strain.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Ticonderoga 64 on March 17, 2019, 06:52:10 PM
Universal Terrors 1951-1955 by Tom Weaver, David Schecter, Robert Kiss & Steve Kronenberg

(http://mcfarlandbooks.com/mcwp17/wp-content/uploads/978-0-7864-3614-9.jpg)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 19, 2019, 05:47:32 PM
Ye-es! 6 of 1 or 6 mysteries + 1 non-mystery

Peter Robinson
Brit
award winner
Sleeping in the ground
26th in the Inspector Banks series
+3 stand-alones + 2 short story collections
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: Present


Peter Tremayne
(aka Peter Beresford Ellis)
Brit
Penance of the damned
27th in the Sister Fidelma series
Heroine: Irish
Place: Ireland
Time: 7th century A.D.


Anthony J. Ruim
Northern Irish
Trespass
2nd in the Celcius Daly series
1 more fiction
Hero: Northern Irish
Place: Northern Ireland
Time: Present


Abir Mukherjee
Anglo-Indian
1st novel
A rising man
1st in the Wyndham and Banerjee series
Heroes: Brit and Indian
Place: India
Time: 2nd decade of the 20th century


Helen Thurston
Swede
Protected by the shadows
10th and last in the Irene Huss series
1st published 2012
Marlaine Delardy, translator
Published 2017
Heroine: Swede
Place: Goteborg (Sweden)
Time: Present


Chris Nickson
Brit
Free from all danger
6th in the Richard Nottingham series
5 more fiction in 1 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: Leeds (U.K.)
Time: 1730s


non-mystery and graphic novel
Babylon Berlin
based upon the novel by Volker Kutscher
and if one'd rather see it, then read it, there is the German TV series


Next time: and a half dozen more of various types


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 26, 2019, 12:30:36 PM
Ye-es!
a half dozen more of various types

graphic novel
Lumberjanes :
v.7. A bird's eye view
collecting issues 25 - 28


Foreign bodies
Martin Edwards, editor
British Library Crime Classics
15 stories by 15 authors of almost a dozen nationalities and published between 1884 and 1960.


The Long arm of the law :
classic police stories
Martin Edwards, editor
British Library Crime Classics
15 stories published between 1908 anddx 1966


Christopher Fowler
Brit
award winner
Bryant and May :
wild chambers
14th in the Peculair Crimes Unit
+ 1 collection of short stories
Heroes: Brits
Place: London (U.K.)
Time: Present


Simon R. Green
Into the mist of air
5th in the Ishmael Jones series
Hero: space alien
Place: U.K.
Time: present with flashbacks to the past
A book that is part sci fi, part mystery, part horror


Emily Littlejohn
American
A Season to lie
2nd in the Gemma Monroe series
Heroine: American
Place: Colorado (U.S.)
Time: present


Next time: 6 of 1 or 6 mysteries + 1 non-mystery



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on March 31, 2019, 09:36:40 AM
ALEXANDER HAMILTON'S REVOLUTION: HIS VITAL ROLE AS WASHINGTON'S CHIEF OF STAFF by Philip Tucker

A fascinating look at Hamilton's service in the American Revolution and how it shaped both his own political views and his relationship with George Washington.  Full of fascinating details and excellent analysis of how Hamilton essentially created the "Chief of Staff" position in practice, this is a great addition to anyone's library of the Revolution, or American history in general.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 02, 2019, 02:06:19 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 or a half dozen mysteries + 1 non-mystery

Garry Disher
Aussie
award winner
Signal Loss
7th in the Challis and Destry series
+3 more fiction in 1 more series + 1 standalone
Heroes: Aussies
Place: Australia
Time: Present


Alan Melville
Brit
Death of Anton
with an intro. by Martin Edwards
in the British Library Crime Classic series
1st published in 1936 -- copyrighted 2015 -- 1st U.S. publication 2017
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1930s
And if you'd rather see him then read him, Alan Melville was also an actor appearing in films and on TV.


Simon Brett
Brit
award winner
The Liar in the Library
7th in the Fethering series
10 more fiction in 2 more series + 1 stand alone
Heroines: Brits
Place: Sussex (U.K.)
Time: Present


John Bude
Brit
Death Makes a Prophet
intro. by Martin Edwards
part of the British Library Crime Classics series
originally published 1947 -- republished 2017
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1940s


Anne Meredith
Brit
Portrait of a Murder :
a Christmas Crime Story
in the British Library Crime Classics series
Place: the U.K.
Time: 1930s


A. J. Cross
Brit
Something Evil Comes
4th in the Dr. Kate Hansen series
Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: Present

non-mystery
graphic novel
In the Pines :
5 Murder Ballads
graphic adaptation of 5 folk songs each featuring a murder

Pretty Polly and the Ship's Carpenter -- The Long Black Veil -- Taneytown -- Caleb Meyer -- Where the Wild Roses Grow


Next time: and a half dozen more various








Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 09, 2019, 01:58:45 PM
Ye-es!
a half dozen more various

graphic novel
Ian Fleming's James Agent 007 Bond in Casino Royale
based upon the novel


Michael Wolf
American
Fire and Fury :
Inside the Trump White House
6 more non-fiction


graphic novel
Sherlock :
the Blind Banker
2nd in the magna series
and 2nd episode of BBC TV series


Reed Tucker
American
1st non-fiction
Slugfest :
Inside the Epic Fifty-year Battle Between Marvel and DC


graphic novel
Tales from the Age of the Cobra
English language debut of Spanish cartoonist Enrique Fernandez

In Spain, where the age of sexual consent is or was 14, one of the lowest in Europe, one of the villains, even though it has not to do with the tale, is a pedophile. Yet this pedophile makes one of the noblest gestures I have ever seen in a graphic novel.


graphic novel
Penny Dreadful :
the Ongoing Series
v.2. The Beauteous Evil
collecting issues #5-8
based on the Showtime TV series created by John Logan


Next time: 6 of 1 and 1 of another


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on April 17, 2019, 09:11:21 AM
.Hollywood Gothic by David Skal-a history of Dracula on stage and in film up to the 1960's.
.the Spirit Archives- a 75 Year Celebration by Will Eisner.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: 316zombie on April 28, 2019, 10:52:26 PM
i just started rereading esther friesner's "magyk" trilogy. i was in hospital when i first read it, soi don't recall much, should be fun!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on May 27, 2019, 09:43:44 PM

I just finished reading THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH by William Shirer. Originally published in 1961, it is an exhaustive account of Hitler's life and rise to power, the bizarre collection of psychopaths who filled the top ranks of the Nazi Party, and of the twelve chaotic years from the Reichstag fire until Hitler's suicide in the bunker below the Reich Chancellory in 1945. Shirer was in Berlin for much of the 1930's and was an eyewitness to many of the events he chronicled, and his work made heavy use of captured Nazi documents.

This is a massive book - it took me all of five months to finish it - but I think it should be required reading for every American. As the living memories of World War Two are winked out by time, the next generation needs to be reminded of the high cost of weaponized hatred and racism. Simply put, we cannot afford to repeat those costly lessons of the 1930's and 40's.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Svengoolie 3 on May 27, 2019, 10:34:25 PM

I just finished reading THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH by William Shirer. Originally published in 1961, it is an exhaustive account of Hitler's life and rise to power, the bizarre collection of psychopaths who filled the top ranks of the Nazi Party, and of the twelve chaotic years from the Reichstag fire until Hitler's suicide in the bunker below the Reich Chancellory in 1945. Shirer was in Berlin for much of the 1930's and was an eyewitness to many of the events he chronicled, and his work made heavy use of captured Nazi documents.

This is a massive book - it took me all of five months to finish it - but I think it should be required reading for every American. As the living memories of World War Two are winked out by time, the next generation needs to be reminded of the high cost of weaponized hatred and racism. Simply put, we cannot afford to repeat those costly lessons of the 1930's and 40's.

If you want a unique perspective on the third reich, you might want to read "A child of hitler" be Alfonse Heck.  It's the third reich as seen from a child who was like 3-4 when hitler too power and grew up under it, and went thru ww2 as a geman child. It has some hard scenes to read and shows that german children were victims too even if they didn't know it at the time.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 05, 2019, 06:18:58 PM
Ye-es!

6 of 1
Priscilla Royal
ex-pat Canadian
Wild Justice
14th in the Medieval series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1280s


Stella Connolly
American
Many a Twist
6th in the County Cork series
26 more fiction in 4 more series + 2 stand alones
Heroine: Irish-American
Place: Ireland
Time: Present


Michael Gregorio
(husband and wife writing team of Michael Jacob and Daniela DeGregorio. He an ex-pat Brit. She an Italian national.)
Lone Wolf
3rd in the Sebastiano Cangio series
4 more fiction in 1 more series + 1 stand alone
Hero: Italian
Place: Italy and the U.K.
Time: Present


Bill Pronzini
American
award winner
The Bag of Tricks Affair
6th in the Carpenter and Quincannon series
And the 1st written without his wife, and it shows.
Heroes: Americans
Place: California
Time: last decade of the 19th century
And I must mention, not in this one, but earlier in the series, Sherlock Holmes appears. Not Sherlock Holmes, but someone who thinks he's Sherlock Holmes, but--still--one of the greatest characters I have ever seen outside of Sherlock Holmes.


Gregory Dowling
ex-pat Brit
The Four Horsemen
2nd in the Alvise Marangon series
Hero: Italian
Place: Venice (Italy)
Time: 1st half of the 18th century


Rosemary Rowe
(i.e. Rosemary Aitkens)
Brit
The Price of Freedom
11th in the Libertus series
Hero: Romanized Celt
Place: U.K.
Time: 2nd century A.D.


and 1 other
Star Wars : Canto Bight
4 different writers writing 4 different stories about 4 residents of Canto Bight.


And next time: a half dozen of various others




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 14, 2019, 04:55:24 PM
Ye-es!
and a half dozen of the other

Dr. Patrick Johnson
1st book
The Physics of Star Wars :
the science behind a galaxy, far, far away


graphic novel
Ian Fleming's James Bond 007 :
Felix Leiter
collecting isssues #4 - #6


The Annotated Night Before Christmas :
a collection of [76] sequels, parodies, and imitations of Clement Moore's immortal ballad about Santa Claus
edited by . . . Martin Gardner
who has 6 more annotations to his name
and which I always recommend as they always add so much more to the story.

Dates
original 1822
earliest 1850
latest 1990
published 1991


McKenna and Perez
Jane :
inspired by Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre
Heroine: American
Places: Massachusetts and New York (New York)
Time: the Present


Anthony Horowitz
Brit
award winner
Alex Rider :
never say die
11th in the Alex Rider series and 1st published in hardback
the 1st 3 in the series also published as graphic novels
If you want to see it and not read it, then the 1st in the series was made into a film.
Hero: Brit
Places: United States, United Kingdom, France, and Egypt
Time: the Present


graphic novel
Clue
an adaptation of the classic whodunit board game
collecting issues #1-6
If you want to see it and not read it, then there is the 1985 film version.
And while it faired poorly with both critics and audiences, there is talk of doing another film version of the game.


Next time: 6 of 1 of various types and formats


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 23, 2019, 12:59:10 PM
Ye-es!
Robert McParland's
American
A Century of America's Favorite books
6 more non-fiction

Top 10
From 1899 to 2018
Both fiction and non-fiction

Not all bestsellers are created equal. Some are of a higher quality than others, but, what they are, even if not taking place in the U.S. nor in the present time that they were published, they are a product of that time and this place.

Of all the best sellers listed, he has read no more than 3 dozen of them. Yet, he has lived over half the time covered in the book, thus, the book is like having one's own time machine to the past. Surprisingly, not unpleasant, but a bit odd.

Some 250 of them were made into a theatrical film or a best seller was made from a film. Of that number, if I have not read the book, I have seen the film 47% of the time and liked 76% of the films I saw. Both numbers being acceptable.

I don't know what they are basing films on now, but, there does seem to be a decline in basing a film on best sellers.

We also know that a "good" book can make a "bad" film, but, can a "bad" book make a "good film?" That is another question for which I have no answer.

Next time: a delayed 6 of 1 of various types and formats.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on June 29, 2019, 04:57:45 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 in various formats

the graphic version of . . .
Sax Rohmer's Dope
which was 1st published in 1919
with this being published in 2017
If his name sounds a bit familiar, then think Dr. Fu Manchu


Steven Saylor
American
The Throne of Caesar
16th in the Roma Sub Rosa series + 4 more fiction
Hero: Roman
Place: Rome (Italy)
Time: 1st century B.C.
And the best book, either fiction or non-fiction, I have seen yet on Julius Caesar.


Jean Luc Picard
The Autobiography of Jean Luc Picard :
the story of one of Star Fleet's most important captains
edited by David A. Goodman
Hero: French
Place: the galaxy
Time: 24th century
The library where I go identifies books 2 ways: by the birth year of the author and by the year that the book is published. Thus, here we have a book published--2018--with a date of birth--almost 300 years later--2305. Maybe there is such a thing as time travel.


Tori Telfer
1st book
Lady Killers :
deadly women throughout history


Candice Fox
Aussie
Crimson Lake
6 more fiction
Hero: Aussie
Place: Australia
Time: Present


graphic novel
Penny Dreadful :
the ongoing series
v.1. The awakening
collecting issues #1-4
a continuation and sequel to the Showtime TV series


Next time: and a half dozen more in various formats



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on June 30, 2019, 08:17:55 AM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41Owo13Ba3L._SX317_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

Because I'm cited in it (and I'm interested in what the author has to say about the movie, too).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 06, 2019, 03:59:17 PM
And a half dozen more in various formats.

Dee Gordon
Bad Girls from History :
Wicked or Misunderstood
14 more non-fiction


Rhys Bowen
Brit ex-pat
award winner
The Ghost of Christmas Past
17th in the Molly Murphy series
10 more fiction in 1 more series
Heroine: Irish ex-pat
Place: New York State
Time: 1st decade of the 20th century


Ruth Downie
Brit
Memento Mori
Hero: Roman
Place: U.K.
Time: 2nd century A.D.


Sujata Massey
ex-pat Eurasian
award winner
The Widows of Malabar Hill
1st in the Perveen Mistry series
11 more fiction in 1 more series + 2 non-fiction
Hero: Indian
Place: India
Time: 1910s and 1920s


Edward Marston
Brit
The Circus Train Conspiracy
15th in the Railroad Detective series
+37 more fiction in 5 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1860s


Amy Kaufman
Bachelor Nation :
Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure
1st book


Next time: a finishing up with 5 more in various formats


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on July 06, 2019, 04:22:24 PM
Badmovies.org.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 14, 2019, 03:43:15 PM
Ye-es!

graphic novel
Doctor Strange :
Lords of Fear

it took . . .
13 inkers -- 11 letterers -- 10 artists -- 9 writers -- 8 colorists -- 7 editors + 1 more -- and 2 assistant editors
. . . to create these . . .
14 stories,
which were published between 1966 and 1992.


graphic novel
Doctor Strange :
v.5. Secret Empire
collecting issues 21-26.


Wolf Haas
Austrian
award winner
Brenner and God
translater, Annie Janusch
7th in the Detective Brenner series,
but, the 1st translated into English
Hero: Austrian
Place: Austria and Germany
Time: 2000s
If you'd rather see it, then read it, there is a German film series based upon the book series


Anthony Horowitz
Brit
award winner
Magpie Murders

a book . . .
Hero: German-Greek ex-pat
Place: U.K.
Time: 1950s

within a book . . .
Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: Present


Chris Nickson
Brit
The Hollywell Dead
3rd in the Medieval Mystery series
4 more fiction in 2 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1360s


Next time: a special report


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on July 20, 2019, 08:49:05 AM
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51DBwVXudCL._SX389_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)

I can promise you it lists many movies I could have died without seeing. And it shamefully skips over at least one movie everyone should see before they die---PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 21, 2019, 02:12:34 PM
Ye-es!
But, 1st a special report.

Mark Pinsky's
The Gospel According to Disney :
Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust

There is also . . .
The Gospel According to . . .
Dr. Seuss -- Harry Potter -- Peanuts -- Pixar -- Scrooge -- Sesame Street -- the Simpsons -- Tolkien -- and Winnie the Pooh.

Thus proving, at least to me, that while many of us may not be religious, most of us operate under some sort of moral code.

Next time: 6 of 1 in various formats


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on July 25, 2019, 06:57:44 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 of various formats

graphic novel
Fire and Stone
including Ch.1 Prometheus -- Ch.2. Aliens -- Ch.3. Alien versus Predator -- Ch.4. Predator -- Ch.5. Prometheus--Omega.


Stephen "Win" Wiacek
Marvel Black Panther :
the Ultimate Guide

with key themes and storylines, detailed character studies, and an in-depth look at the most iconic comics.


graphic novel
The Baker Street 4
translated from the French


graphic novel
Lumberjanes
v.8. Stone Cold
collecting issues #29-32


Alys Clare
Brit
The Night Wanderer
7th in the Aelf Fen series
6 more fiction in 1 more series
Heroine: Anglo-Saxon
Place: U.K.
Time: 1090s


Marvel Cinematic Universe Guidebook :
the Good, the Bad, the Guardians

Time wise: from 2014 to 2017
Film wise: from Marvel's Captain America : the Winter Soldier to Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy v.2


Edward Marston
Brit
A Christmas Railway Mystery
16th in the Railway Detective series
37 more fiction in 5 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1860s

Next time: and a half dozen more in various formats



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 03, 2019, 05:14:01 PM
Ye-es!
And a half dozen more in various formats.

You Have Killed Me
a graphic novel in the manner of Hammet and Chandler
1st published in 2009.
This version published in 2018.


Abir Mukherjee
Anglo-Indian
award winner
A Necessary Evil
2nd in the Wyndham and Banjeree series
Heroes: Brit and Indian
Place: India
Time: 1920s


Ben Fritz
Amercan
The Big Picture :
the Fight for the Future of Movies
1 more non-fiction


Carlene O'Connor
Irish ex-pat
Murder in an Irish Churchyard
3rd in the Irish Village series
Heroine: Irish
Place: Ireland
Time: Present


graphic novel
All-new, All-different Avengers
collecting All-new, All-different Avengers #1-15 + Annual #1 + Avengers #0 + Free Comic Book Day 2015 (Avengers #1) + Free Comic Book Day #2016 (Civil War #4)


graphic novel
Star Trek : Boldly Go v.3.
collecting issues #13-19


Next time: an even half dozen more in various formats






Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 11, 2019, 03:01:25 PM
Ye-es!
An even half dozen more in various formats


graphic novel
Star Wars : Poe Dameron
v.3. Legend lost
collecting issues #7 + #14-19


Stuart Kells
Aussie
award winner
The Library :
a Catalogue of wonders
2 more non fiction


graphic novel
Star Wars : Darth Maul
collecting issues #1-5


graphic novel
Neil Gaiman's a Study in emerald
from the Neil Gaiman library
an adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's a Study in Scarlet with a touch of horror added


Matthew Kneale
ex-pat Brit
Rome :
a History in 7 sackings
7 more fiction + 1 more non-fiction

the sackings, which include sackings by the Gauls, the Visigoths, the Ostrogoths, the Normans, the Spanish and Germans, the French, and the Germans again, from 387 B.C. to 1944 A.D. or 2331 years.

Not only the history of Rome (Italy) but also its architecture, its cuisine, its economy, its geography, its military, its politics, its religion, its social life, and its theater.


Chris Nickson
Brit
The Tin god
6th in the Tom Harper series
+6 more fiction in 1 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: the U.K.
Time: 1890s


Next time: a special report


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on August 11, 2019, 05:50:25 PM
Just finished:

Honestly: My Life and Stryper Revealed, by Michael Sweet

Next up:
Runnin' With the Devil:  Backstage Pass Into the Wild Times, Loud Rock and the Down and Dirty Truth Behind the Making of Van Halen by Noel Monk


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 18, 2019, 02:54:43 PM
A special report.

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
and Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

300 years between the two, but, great minds still think alive, or 10 similiarities.

01. Both are part of the Magna Classic series.
02. Both feature a 14-year-old hero or heroine.
03. Both feature a dramatic feud.
04. Both are a product of their time and place.
05. But, both feature a story that occurs in an earlier time.
06. Both feature humorous moments.
07. In both, the humor is generated by a servant or a slave.
08. Both writers have an outstanding understanding of the human condition.
09. Both works are often misunderstood by modern audiences.
10. Both works have been often adapted into a film.

Next time: 6 of 1 in various formats


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 21, 2019, 06:29:04 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 in various formats

Charles Todd
(mother and son writing team)
American
The Gate Keeper
20th in the Ian Rutledge series
9 more fiction in 1 more series + 2 stand-alones
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1920s


Joe R. Lansdale
American
award winner
Jack Rabbit Smile
11th in the Hap and Leonard series
15 more stand-alones + 3 short story collections
Heroes: Caucasian and Afro-American
Place: Texas
Time: Present

And if you'd rather see it, then read it. The book series is also a TV series.


graphic novel
Dead Weight :
Murder at Camp Bloom


Richard Hull
(i.e. Richard Henry Sampson)
Brit
The Murder of My Aunt
with an intro. by Martin Edwards
in the British Library Crime Classic series
1st published in 1934
Republished 2018
Hero: Welsh
Place: Wales (U.K.)
Time: 1930s


Penny Richards
American
Murder Will Speak
3rd in the Lilly Long series
Heroine: American
Place: Illinois and Texas
Time: 1880s


graphic novel
The Comic Book Story of Baseball :
the Heroes, the Hustlers, and History-making Swings (and Misses) of America's National Pastime

from the beginnings of its origins in the 11th century to 2016.


Naomi Hirahara
Japanese-American
award winner
Hiroshima Boy
7th in the Mas Arai series
2 more fiction in 1 more series + 5 non-fiction + 1 children's book
Hero: Japanese ex-pat
Place: Japan
Time: Present


Next time: another special report


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 24, 2019, 04:08:19 PM
Ye-es!

graphic novel
Et Tu, Brute :
Deaths of the Roman Emperors

Between 14 A.D. and the death of Augustus Caesar and 491 A.D. and the death of Romulus Augustulus, inclusive, there were 97 Roman emperors.

The longest reign was 25 years.
The shortest reign was for less than an year for many of the Roman emperors.
And the average reign was for 5 years.

Of the Roman emperors . . .
44 were murdered (45.36%)
25 died of natural causes (25.77%)
07 were killed in battle (7.22%)
06 died in an accident (6.19%)
06 committed suicide (6.19%)
04 deaths were unknown (4.12%)
03 were executed (3.09%)
02 were stoned to death (2.06%)
97 total (100%) or thereabouts

Next time: and a half dozen of the other in various formats


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Svengoolie 3 on August 27, 2019, 12:57:23 PM
The grand design by hawking.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on August 27, 2019, 02:30:18 PM
Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock by Sammy Hagar


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on August 28, 2019, 06:33:17 PM
Ye-es!
And a half dozen more in various formats.

Joe R. Lansdale and Kasey Lansdale
(father and daughter writing duo)
Americans
Terror is Our Business :
Dana Roberts' Casebook of Horrors
a short story collection of 7 short stories published between 2011 and 2018


Cara Hunter
Brit
1st novelist
Close to Home
1st in the DI Adam Fawley series
Hero: Brit
Place: Oxfordshire (U.K.)
Time: Present


Blood on the Tracks :
Railway Mysteries
edited and introduced by Martin Edwards
part of the British Library Crime Classics series
15 stories published between 1898 and the 1950s


Jim DeFelice
American
West Like Lightning :
the Brief Legendary Ride of the Pony Exoress
4 more non-fiction
And if you'd rather see it, then read it, there is the film The Pony Exoress and the TV series The Young Riders. Though, I'd not vouch for the accuracy of neither.


Paul Collins
Aussie
Absolute Power :
How the Pope Became the Most Influential man in the World
3 more non-fiction


Mark A. Latham
Brit
Sherlock Holmes :
the Red Tower
13th in the Holmes series by 6 authors and the 2nd by this author.
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1890s

Next time: maybe another special report


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 04, 2019, 07:07:59 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 in various formats

Jim DeFelice
American
West Like Lightning :
the Brief Legendary Ride of the Pony Express
4 more non-fiction

And if you'd rather see it, then read it, there is the film The Pony Express and the TV series Young Riders.


Karen Lee Street
American ex-pat
Edgar Allan Poe and the Jewel of Paris
2nd in the Poe and Dupin series
Heroes: American and French
Places: Pennsylvania (U.S.) and Maryland (U.S.)
Time: 1840s


Lindsay Davis
Brit
Pandora's Boy
6th in the Flavia Albia series
20 more fiction in 1 more series + 7 stand-alones
Heroine: Romanized Brit
Place: Rome
Time: 1st century A.D.


Didier Ghez
American
award winner
They Drew as They Pleased :
the Hidden Art of Disney's mid-Century Era :
the 1950s and 1960s
4th in the series


Rob McCarthy
Brit
A Handful of Ashes
2nd in the Dr. Harry Kent series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 2010s


Al Roker
Afro-American (and yes, that Al Roker)
award winner
Ruthless Tide :
the Heroes and the Villains of the Johnstown Flood, America's Astonishing Gilded Age Disaster
1 more non-fiction


Elly Griffiths
Brit
award winner
The Dark Angel
10th in the Ruth Galloway series
4 more fiction in 1 more series
Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K. and Italy
Time: 2010s

Next time: and a half dozen more or more in various formats



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on September 06, 2019, 05:35:00 PM
THE INVASION OF CANADA: 1812-13 by Pierre Berton

Well-written, rich in detail, and colorful in style, this account of America's disastrous attempt to seize control of British North America during the first year of the War of 1812 is an excellent addition to any library!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 10, 2019, 07:29:39 PM
Ye-es!
Another 6 of 1 in various formats.

graphic novel
I Am Gandhi :
a Graphic Biography of a Hero
illustrations by 25 different illustrators
part of the Ordinary People Change the World series


graphic novel
The Beatles Yellow Submarine
from song to animated film to graphic novel


graphic novel
Lumber Janes
v.9 On a Roll
collecting chapters #33-36


graphic novel
Damnation : the Complete Collection

featuring . . .
Doctor Strange -- Ghost Rider -- Iron Fist -- Scarlet Spider

with cameos by . . .
Wong -- MoonKnight -- Mephisto -- Manthing -- Elsa Bloodstone -- Doctor Voodoo -- Blade

and published between May 11, 2018 - June 12, 2018


Alan Melville
Brit
Weekend at Thrackley
part of the British Library Crime Classic Series
1st novel
1st published 1934
republished 2018
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1930s
If you'd rather see it, then read it. It was filmed in the 1930's as Hot Ice, then refilmed in the 1950's under the novel's title.


E. C. R. Lorac
(i.e. Edith Carolre Rivett)
Brit
Fire in the Thatch :
a Devon Mystery
British Library Crime Classics series
Originally published in 1946
Republished 2018
Hero: Brit
Place: Devonshire (U.K.)
Time: 1940s


Barbara Hambly
American
Cold Bayou
8th in the Benjamin January series
5 more ficttion in 1 more series
Hero: a free man of color
Place: Louisiana (U.S.)
Time: 1830s

Next time: a special report


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on September 10, 2019, 08:03:03 PM
THE INVASION OF CANADA: 1812-13 by Pierre Berton

Well-written, rich in detail, and colorful in style, this account of America's disastrous attempt to seize control of British North America during the first year of the War of 1812 is an excellent addition to any library!

Something I noticed living in Maine, Canadians were polite but if you messed with them to the point they got mad, they'd suddenly want to freaking kill you out of all proportion to the situation. Bet that's what happened back then, we invaded so they charged in waving hockey sticks and throwing hot poutine, hopped up on legal marijuana and fearless of wounds because all that winter and government-managed health care left them welcoming death.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on September 10, 2019, 10:18:35 PM
CITY OF ENDLESS NIGHT by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

This is the latest entry in the Pendergast series by these remarkable authors, featuring the one and only Special Agent Aloysius Pendergast, eccentric FBI agent and all around man of mystery.  I was so engrossed I devoured the entire novel in three hours.  If you  haven't read any of these, I highly recommend them.  Pendergast was first introduced in THE RELIC over 20 years ago, but since then the agent has been the subject of around fifteen novels, all of them first rate.  Check them out!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on September 12, 2019, 03:55:40 PM
My husband bought me a rare pre-publication copy of a 1978 book I have read before in a markedly different version, called The Facts in the Case of EA Poe which was ultimately printed in final form in 1979

It is a novel about a pedophiliac 1970s eccentric who shuns most of the trappings of the modern world and dwells in a 19th century house lighted with candles, as he tries to live out the life of Edgar Allan Poe in contemporary times.

A prissy, oddly germ-phobic man with clear mental peculiarities bordering on insanity, Earnest Albert Pons visits the psychologist he is ordered by the court to see, and either pours his soul out or proves a classic unreliable narrator, depending on your take, telling of his sexual desires for a young girl who may or may not be his cousin, his nightmare and phobias, his obsession with Poe and Poe's death (and his own death), and his efforts to resist believing himself Poe's reincarnation, as some suggest to him he might be.  

While in the course of the plot Pons was based on Poe, he actually reminded me more of Lovecraft with his pretensions of gentility, his Anglophilia, his bigotries, his fanciful outlook on a world he tried to believe was a thin shell over an invisible realm filled with monsters.

Through the flow of the book is the question of how far one can go in trusting what Pons says, is he serious in his way of living, or is he a crafty monster hoping to build an insanity defense up should he ever be caught acting upon his sexual interest in young girls. There is also the question of possession or imitation, and whether a sane man can live in an insane way.

I have to say this version, which clearly represents an earlier draft of the final work the world saw in 1979, is a lot more twisted and dark than the book I read years ago.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 16, 2019, 07:32:09 PM
We'll put off the special report to next time. Till then . . . a half dozen more in various formats.

Martin Walker
Brit ex-pat
A Taste for Vengance
11th in the Bruno, Chief of Police series
Hero: French
Place: France
Time: Present


Leanda de Lisle
Brit
The White King :
Charles I, Traitor, Murderer, Martyr
3 more non fiction


graphic novel
Ant-man and the Wasp :
Prequel


graphic novel
The Astonishing Ant-man :
the Complete Collection


graphic novel
Ant-man and the Wasp :
Adventures

graphic novel
The Astonishing Ant-man

Best posse
Ant-man's with . . .
The Beatle
Giantman
Grizz
Hijacker
The Magician
Ms. Thing
Smith
The Voice
Whirlwind

Best family group
House of M with . . .
Grandfather: Magneto
Children: the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver
Grandchildren: Wiccan and Speed

Best friends
Ms. Marvel's (Kamala Khan)
Supposedly, she is to get her own series, either live action or animated, on Disney+.

Best youth group
Young Avengers with . . .
Wiccan
Miss America Chavez
Marvel Boy
Kid Loki
Kate "Hawkeye" Bishop
Hulking





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on September 22, 2019, 05:43:05 PM
Ye-es!
with a special report on . . .

Marvel's Encyclopedia

featuring almost 900 Marvel comic book characters as seen in Marvel comics published between 1937 and 2019.

Each character gets anywhere from a sixth of a page to a 2-page spread.

Each character also gets . . .

their real name -- occupation -- base -- heighth -- weight -- color of eyes -- color of hair -- and 1st appearance.

Some also get . . .

special powers/abilities -- essential storylines -- allies -- and foes.

The Good
excluding nationality, the diversity of the characters.

sexually -- religiously -- racially -- geographically,

that it is up to date.

The Bad
the lack of other nationalities among the characters, as almost all of them, if from Earth, are Americans.

No Age
given, but from what I know, and the way the characters are depicted in the book, there are some 2 dozen characters that are teens, or 13-19, or 2.69% and almost a half dozen characters that are pre-teens, or 01-12, or 0.78%

it is incomplete. Even with almost 900 characters, if one is familiar with Marvel comics, not all the characters that have appeared in them, are listed in the encyclopedia.

The Ugly Surprise
or maybe not so ugly, but a surprise to me. Captain America was not the 1st Marvel character to appear in comic books. The 1st Marvel character to appear in comic books was Namor, who made his appearance some 2 years ere Captain America.

Next time: 6 of 1 in various formats.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on September 23, 2019, 02:59:54 PM
I was feeling down this weekend after my dog died and I thought, you know, I need a book to make me feel even worse, so I re-re-re-read former Brat Packer Jay McInerney's magnum opus of disaster, Story of my Life, which I first read in college in order to find comfort in the knowledge that there actually were girls out there even more messed up than me, since I at least didn't do drugs and never routinely had sex with multiple men so I could later serially scam them out of abortion money.

What I did not know then and wouldn't for many years was this was not a novel so much as a roman a clef, and that the main character would later become infamous for having a daughter with a Presidential candidate whose faithful wife was dying of cancer. A certain Rielle Hunter, you might remember?  Yes, this is the story of her life!

Still a good book if you like to grit your teeth and wince at a self-authored train wreck of a life, lived on the Preppie East Coast circa 1987.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on September 23, 2019, 10:08:13 PM
firstly i'm sorry to hear that your dog died i'm not an animal person but we had a horse that we had to put down way back i think it was in (2000) ? she had bad

intestines sadly. so we were forced to put her down. like i said i'm not really much of an animal person but we had that horse since i was baby and i do miss her too. but i went outside and said goodbye to her the night before. anyways so i get it and i hope that book helped or another book, the secret is don't listen to music you know that will depress the living hell out of you.  look for more upbeat music and that might help ya a bit at least, anyways as for books

i've been no joke reading Castle Roogna by Piers Anthony, i wish i was making this up i belong to a stephen King fan site of sorts and looking at old posts of mine i started that feb of last year!  and since than i've picked it up a number of times and read more of it, but last night i picked it up and i only had 3 chapters left well i read 2 chapters of it and now i'm gonna finally finish it tonight.

now you may wonder is the book that bad? the answer is no it isn't if you enjoy him as an author like i do this is actually my i think 3rd time reading it and the reason is i started other books and this you may think i'm weird on this but that's okay because i myself think it's weird as well, as long as i remember when i want to read a book i have to be in the mood for it, if i'm in the mood for a horror novel it has to be am i in the mood for a king novel? if so what era am i in the mood for? what i do i can pick 30 books up and when one grips me if i start to read it that's the one i read and the same goes for music as well and movies, tv shows etc.. i'm weird like that i guess lol someone posted an old interview on you tube of Piers Anthony and the guy RARELY if ever gives them and he hasn't really giving one in a long time cause in recent years his wife has been ill so he's 85 now so he spends his time taking care of her and the chores around the house and writing as well.

how i do i know? well on his website he does a newsletter of sorts where he talks about his life and so on and tells his fans about it. so when i saw someone post it i nearly fell out of my chair, the video is apparently from (1990) so as you can see it's an old one i may start the next Xanth book tonight i dunno just yet.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on September 24, 2019, 11:49:47 AM
firstly i'm sorry to hear that your dog died i'm not an animal person but we had a horse that we had to put down way back i think it was in (2000) ? she had bad

intestines sadly. so we were forced to put her down. like i said i'm not really much of an animal person but we had that horse since i was baby and i do miss her too. but i went outside and said goodbye to her the night before. anyways so i get it and i hope that book helped or another book, the secret is don't listen to music you know that will depress the living hell out of you.  look for more upbeat music and that might help ya a bit at least, anyways as for books

i've been no joke reading Castle Roogna by Piers Anthony, i wish i was making this up i belong to a stephen King fan site of sorts and looking at old posts of mine i started that feb of last year!  and since than i've picked it up a number of times and read more of it, but last night i picked it up and i only had 3 chapters left well i read 2 chapters of it and now i'm gonna finally finish it tonight.

now you may wonder is the book that bad? the answer is no it isn't if you enjoy him as an author like i do this is actually my i think 3rd time reading it and the reason is i started other books and this you may think i'm weird on this but that's okay because i myself think it's weird as well, as long as i remember when i want to read a book i have to be in the mood for it, if i'm in the mood for a horror novel it has to be am i in the mood for a king novel? if so what era am i in the mood for? what i do i can pick 30 books up and when one grips me if i start to read it that's the one i read and the same goes for music as well and movies, tv shows etc.. i'm weird like that i guess lol someone posted an old interview on you tube of Piers Anthony and the guy RARELY if ever gives them and he hasn't really giving one in a long time cause in recent years his wife has been ill so he's 85 now so he spends his time taking care of her and the chores around the house and writing as well.

how i do i know? well on his website he does a newsletter of sorts where he talks about his life and so on and tells his fans about it. so when i saw someone post it i nearly fell out of my chair, the video is apparently from (1990) so as you can see it's an old one i may start the next Xanth book tonight i dunno just yet.

I read most of the Xanth series (that existed to that point) in ninth grade and remember liking them a lot, including Castle Roogna. I still think I should give a couple a re-read someday, or encourage my daughter to look into them.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on September 26, 2019, 02:56:01 PM
 apparently for some they haven't aged well and on how style of writing isn't for everyone i didn't grow up reading him like many seem to but if you ever get around to re-reading if you find the time etc...  i hope at your age you can still enjoy them as i still do well i have since finished Castle Roogna  i forget what nite it was i think Tuesday night i think it was. or was it Monday? i forget anymore anyways, i have since started book #4 Centaur Aisle and oldie from (1981) i'm only on chapter 3 i  believe. it's pretty good so far but than honestly for the ones i have read i've enjoyed them all but some more than others i'm not gonna lie about that.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ralfy on September 27, 2019, 10:00:24 AM
Clarice Lispector's Complete Stories


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on September 28, 2019, 01:10:39 PM
Just finished:
"Backstage Pass" by Paul Stanley

Just started:
"Thanks a Lot, Mr. Kibblewhite" by Roger Daltrey


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on October 01, 2019, 01:22:58 AM
how was it? and how is the Roger Daltry one so far?  hmm Elton's John's bio comes out the 15th i gotta get me that one. well i'm reading Centaur  Aisle the 4th book in the Xanth series by Piers Anthony. i'm only on chapter 5 page 89 called Girded Loins how messed up for a name of a chapter is that?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on October 01, 2019, 01:23:03 PM
Based on the only Piers Anthony book I've ever read and the amount of rape scenes in it, I'd have to say it sounds entirely normal and possibly even appropriate for one of his books. Maybe the others are different though. I don't remember the book title but I think it was one in a series about the tyrant of Jupiter, possibly the start of the series?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on October 01, 2019, 10:10:40 PM
it sounds like you may have read one of this Bio of a Space Tryant series there is i think 5 of them?  with that one i really do get why that would turn him off you, i never did finish the 1st book as it's not that good from what i read. his Xanth Series is Fantasy, he's one of those authors i think that's an Aquired Taste, sorry for my crappy spelling lol.  he writes well he's different than most authors i guess you could say,  i don't take his books Seriously like many seem to nor do i give any thought of the content that he puts in them either,

if  i thought that than i would have stopped reading Stephen King after the book IT cause many seem to say he's a Pedophile cause of the child orgy in the book even though he easily easily could have thought of another way to handle that section rather than have them have sex with each other but oh well i guess.

you should see the videos on you tube that has people really lay into his books and wonder why they even read him at all. i haven't read all his work to be honest, but given that he's got one hell of an imagination and weather that is a good or bad thing it really depends on the book i guess. i can see Certain books turn off a new reader or a long time reader than who goes to read a  certain one and Bio of  A Space Tryant is one series i can see do that to and though i've never read Firefly that one has a video on you tube for like 20 minutes on how much the you tuber hates that book. 

but i enjoy his books and yes he's done some bad ones too like any author. Xanth books are fun to read and they are i think harmless books now i dunno if i would give my 8 year old nephew to read them i'd give it a couple more years when he's a bit older to be honest. but they aren't dirty like certain books he's done. Porncopia and the Magic Fart come to mind. yes i said that right that is a name of one of his books,  those are the books that are made for adults only.

i haven't read those either nor do i own them either. the 1st one in fact came out in (1989) and Originally it was on the shelf than kids would get it and so the only way to get it was to ask for it from behind the counter and that makes sense to me. much like those porno Atari games were behind the counter in the early 80's you had to show ID i believe for those and prolly the books as well.

i don't own those games or an Atari i'm only 41 so i am too young to have bought those when they came out anyways. but sorry for the rambling and i hope this makes some kind of sense. lol


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 02, 2019, 06:39:15 PM
Ye-es!
Six of one in various formats.

Lynda LaPlante
Brit
Tennison
prequel to Prime Suspect
29 more fiction
If not the book, then the TV show.
Heroine: Brit
Place: London (U.K.)
Time: 1970s


graphic novel
Lawrence Block's Eight Million Ways to Die
part of the Matt Scudder series
If not the book, then the film, which no one recommends you see, even the author.


graphic novel
Sherlock : the Great Game
3rd in the series
If not the book, then the TV series


Margalit Fox
American
award winner
Conan Doyle for the Defense :
the True Story of a Sensational British Murder, a Quest for Justice, and the World's Most Famous Detective Writer
3 more non-ficion


Jake Grogan
American
Origins of a Song :
202 true Inspirations Behind the World's Greatest Lyrics
1 more non-fiction
Songs from 24 singers and bands and from 1954 to 2016


Jean-Luc Bannalee
pseudonymn
either an ex-pat German or an ex-pat Frenchman
The Fleur de Sol Murders
translated by Sorcha McDonagh
3rd in the Brittany series
1st published in 2014
translation published in 2018
Hero: French
Place: Brittany (France)
Time: Present


Christopher J. Olson
American
100 Greatest Cult Films
with 5 appendixes of 10 films each
International -- Exploitation -- Midnight -- Camp -- Worst
fims from 1932 to 2013
3 more non-fiction

Next time: a half dozen more


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on October 09, 2019, 09:11:20 AM
Finally finished "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" and started on this:

(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zj5Xn3eWq6E/XCHVc44OFTI/AAAAAAAAB3Q/RkrjND48_cwqg2_kkjn22lQDk0H9SawPgCEwYBhgL/s1600/static1.squarespace.jpg)

"Nightmare US: The Untold Story of the Exploitation Independents" by Stephen Thrower


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on October 09, 2019, 09:32:35 AM
Finally finished "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" and started on this:

(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zj5Xn3eWq6E/XCHVc44OFTI/AAAAAAAAB3Q/RkrjND48_cwqg2_kkjn22lQDk0H9SawPgCEwYBhgL/s1600/static1.squarespace.jpg)

"Nightmare US: The Untold Story of the Exploitation Independents" by Stephen Thrower

You finished reading it or you finished all 1001 movies?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on October 09, 2019, 02:02:22 PM
Finally finished "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" and started on this:

(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zj5Xn3eWq6E/XCHVc44OFTI/AAAAAAAAB3Q/RkrjND48_cwqg2_kkjn22lQDk0H9SawPgCEwYBhgL/s1600/static1.squarespace.jpg)

"Nightmare US: The Untold Story of the Exploitation Independents" by Stephen Thrower

You finished reading it or you finished all 1001 movies?

Reading it. I haven't counted how many of them I've seen, it's probably close to half. I would have been fine with dying before seeing a good number of the ones on the list.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on October 09, 2019, 02:39:02 PM
it sounds like you may have read one of this Bio of a Space Tryant series there is i think 5 of them?  with that one i really do get why that would turn him off you, i never did finish the 1st book as it's not that good from what i read. his Xanth Series is Fantasy, he's one of those authors i think that's an Aquired Taste, sorry for my crappy spelling lol.  he writes well he's different than most authors i guess you could say,  i don't take his books Seriously like many seem to nor do i give any thought of the content that he puts in them either,

if  i thought that than i would have stopped reading Stephen King after the book IT cause many seem to say he's a Pedophile cause of the child orgy in the book even though he easily easily could have thought of another way to handle that section rather than have them have sex with each other but oh well i guess.

you should see the videos on you tube that has people really lay into his books and wonder why they even read him at all. i haven't read all his work to be honest, but given that he's got one hell of an imagination and weather that is a good or bad thing it really depends on the book i guess. i can see Certain books turn off a new reader or a long time reader than who goes to read a  certain one and Bio of  A Space Tryant is one series i can see do that to and though i've never read Firefly that one has a video on you tube for like 20 minutes on how much the you tuber hates that book. 

but i enjoy his books and yes he's done some bad ones too like any author. Xanth books are fun to read and they are i think harmless books now i dunno if i would give my 8 year old nephew to read them i'd give it a couple more years when he's a bit older to be honest. but they aren't dirty like certain books he's done. Porncopia and the Magic Fart come to mind. yes i said that right that is a name of one of his books,  those are the books that are made for adults only.

i haven't read those either nor do i own them either. the 1st one in fact came out in (1989) and Originally it was on the shelf than kids would get it and so the only way to get it was to ask for it from behind the counter and that makes sense to me. much like those porno Atari games were behind the counter in the early 80's you had to show ID i believe for those and prolly the books as well.

i don't own those games or an Atari i'm only 41 so i am too young to have bought those when they came out anyways. but sorry for the rambling and i hope this makes some kind of sense. lol

I do get what you are saying. It would be a boring world if everyone enjoyed the same things. I have read that Stephen King was doing a lot of coke when he wrote 'It'. Never read the whole novel myself (I have read the start) myself and the first I heard of the kids having the orgy was after the remake came out.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 09, 2019, 06:26:10 PM
I just finished reading a biography of Henry II of England that did something I did not think possible:
Took one of the most epic lives in European history and made it BORING.  And I read history all the time!
Deeply researched, drowning in detail, and utterly lacking in cohesive narrative.
Read ELEANOR OF AQUITAINE AND THE FOUR KINGS instead!!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 09, 2019, 06:31:51 PM
Ye-es!
a half dozen more in various formats.

Simon R. Green
Brit
Murder in the Dark
6th in the Ishmael Jones series
8 more fiction in 2 more series
Hero: space alien
Place: U.K.
Time: Present


Eric Jay Dolin
American
Black Flags, Blue Waters :
the Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates
7 more non fiction


Brady J. Crytza
American
award winner
Battlefield Pennsylvania :
a Guide to the Keystone State's Most Sacred Ground
3 more non fiction
And if you'd rather see it, then read it, then there is the PBS TV series


Anne Perry
ex-pat Kiwi
Dark Tide Rising
24th in the William Monk series
54 more fiction in 4 more series + 1 stand-alone
Hero: Brit
Place: London (U.K.)
Time: 1870s


Ace Atkins
American
The Sinners
8th in the Quinn Colson series
11 more fiction in 2 more series + 4 non fiction
Hero: American
Place: Missississippi (U.S.)
Time: Present


Elly Griffith
Brit
award winner
The Vanishing Box
4th in the Magic Men series
10 more fiction in 1 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1950s

Next time: 6 of 1 in various formats


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on October 09, 2019, 11:40:30 PM
i may have said this in the past but i honestly don't remember so my apologies if i have, my grandmother years ago read Hilary Clinton's Bio and she said one of the funniest lines i've ever heard her say. it was the most boring book iv'e ever read, now i've said that about books and i'm sure everyone has but i remember that one cause i've never heard my grandmother say that about any other book.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Svengoolie 3 on October 12, 2019, 01:19:35 AM
Persepolis rising, a novel of the expanse universe.

Elysium fire, set in the revelation space series and a sequel to "the prefect"


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 14, 2019, 06:08:50 PM
Ye-es!
And 6 of 1 in various formats.

graphic novel
Wonder Woman/Conan
collecting issues #1-6
a mash-up


graphic novel
Lumberjanes : to the Max Edition
v.4. Out of Time
collecting issues #25-32 + And Your Bird Can Sing


graphic novel
Lumberjanes : the Infernal Compass


Chris Nickson
Brit
The Hanging Psalm
1st in the Simon Weston series
6 more fiction in 2 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: Leeds (U.K.)
Time: 1820s


Elsa Hart
American ex-pat
City of Ink
3rd in the Li Du series
Hero: Chinese
Place: China
Time: 1710s


Denis O. Smith
The Further Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes, v.1
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1880s


graphic novel
Bram Stoker's Dracula
an adaptation of Franis Ford Coppola's film from 1992


Next time: and a half dozen more in various formats


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 16, 2019, 08:19:18 PM
EISENHOWER: SOLDIER, GENERAL OF THE ARMY, PRESIDENT-ELECT by Stephen Ambrose

This is an excellent biography covering the first half of Dwight Eisenhower's remarkable career; the follow up volume covers his Presidency and retirement. The first historian's poll, conducted by Arthur Schlesinger in 1962 at the behest of President Kennedy, ranked Eisenhower near the bottom in terms of legacy and accomplishment; the most recent poll ranked him at #7 overall, at the top of the "near great" list.  It seems like the longer Ike is gone, the more we appreciate him.  This biography explains many of the reasons why as it covers his childhood, education, and military career in a comfortable and readable style. Overall VERY well done!  5/5


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on October 17, 2019, 09:42:04 AM
EISENHOWER: SOLDIER, GENERAL OF THE ARMY, PRESIDENT-ELECT by Stephen Ambrose

This is an excellent biography covering the first half of Dwight Eisenhower's remarkable career; the follow up volume covers his Presidency and retirement. The first historian's poll, conducted by Arthur Schlesinger in 1962 at the behest of President Kennedy, ranked Eisenhower near the bottom in terms of legacy and accomplishment; the most recent poll ranked him at #7 overall, at the top of the "near great" list.  It seems like the longer Ike is gone, the more we appreciate him.  This biography explains many of the reasons why as it covers his childhood, education, and military career in a comfortable and readable style. Overall VERY well done!  5/5

Eisenhower was a gifted administrator who had a talent for finding the best man (as it was then) for the job, then giving that person rein to carry on, and I'm not sure it's always been understood how rare and useful an ability that was.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on October 17, 2019, 10:59:52 PM
THE GNOSTIC LIBRARY - OK, yes, I wrote this book.  But I picked it up last week and started reading it, and it got its hooks in me again! This week I blew through the last 200 pages in one day.  It's just a good old fashioned adventure story, and I don't care if I sound conceited saying that!  I love these characters, and this book was their swan song.  The adventure involved mysterious scrolls, romance, a couple of mummies, some terrorists, a sharp shooting lady archeologist from England, hostage drama, unlikely deliverance, friendship, a couple of minor miracles, one of my most evil villains yet, and a very satisfying conclusion to the Capri Team series.  I'd love it if more people read this book - it hasn't sold well - but if I can pick up my own work and be entertained by it, then I'm satisfied I did a good job.



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on October 18, 2019, 12:51:27 AM
THE GNOSTIC LIBRARY - OK, yes, I wrote this book.  But I picked it up last week and started reading it, and it got its hooks in me again! This week I blew through the last 200 pages in one day.  It's just a good old fashioned adventure story, and I don't care if I sound conceited saying that!  I love these characters, and this book was their swan song.  The adventure involved mysterious scrolls, romance, a couple of mummies, some terrorists, a sharp shooting lady archeologist from England, hostage drama, unlikely deliverance, friendship, a couple of minor miracles, one of my most evil villains yet, and a very satisfying conclusion to the Capri Team series.  I'd love it if more people read this book - it hasn't sold well - but if I can pick up my own work and be entertained by it, then I'm satisfied I did a good job.



Every author should love reading his own stuff.  :smile:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on October 18, 2019, 04:51:48 AM
THE GNOSTIC LIBRARY - OK, yes, I wrote this book.  But I picked it up last week and started reading it, and it got its hooks in me again! This week I blew through the last 200 pages in one day.  It's just a good old fashioned adventure story, and I don't care if I sound conceited saying that!  I love these characters, and this book was their swan song.  The adventure involved mysterious scrolls, romance, a couple of mummies, some terrorists, a sharp shooting lady archeologist from England, hostage drama, unlikely deliverance, friendship, a couple of minor miracles, one of my most evil villains yet, and a very satisfying conclusion to the Capri Team series.  I'd love it if more people read this book - it hasn't sold well - but if I can pick up my own work and be entertained by it, then I'm satisfied I did a good job.



I read it and can say anyone who hasn't doesn't know what he's missing!  :cheers:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 19, 2019, 03:40:54 PM
Ye-es!
and a half dozen more in various formats.

Richard Ratay
American
1st book
Don't Make Me Pull Over :
an Informal History of the Family Roadtrip
the subtitle says it all, including our family's roadtrips.


Clea Simon
American
Cross My Path
3rd in the series
11 more fiction in 2 more series
Heroes: Brits
Place: U.K.
Time: Unknown


Paul Doherty
Brit
Dark Queen Rising
1st in the Margaret Beaufort series
22 more fiction in 2 more series
Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1470s


Eddie Dominguez
Cuban-American
Baseball Cop :
the Dark Side of America's National Pastime


H.W. Crocker III
ex-pat Brit
award winner
Armstrong
1st in the Custer of the West series
6 more non-fiction + 1 more graphic novel
Hero: American
Place: Montana Territory
Time: 1870s
What if Custer had survived the Battle of the Little Big Horn and then had to make his way secretly as a gunfighter for hire.


Sophie Hannah
Brit
award winner
Agatha Christie's Closed Casket
2nd in the new Hercule Poirot series
11 more non-fiction
Hero: Belgian ex-pat
Place: Ireland
Time: 1920s

Next time: 6 of 1 in various formats




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 26, 2019, 01:55:21 PM
ye-es!
and a half dozen more in various formats.

Sophie Hannah
Brit
award winner
Agatha Christie's the Mystery of the Three Quarters
3rd in the New Hercule Poirot series
Hero: Belgian ex-pat
Place: U.K.
Time: 1930s


Antonia Fraser
Brit
award winner
The King and the Catholics :
England, Ireland, and the Fight for Religious Freedom, 1780-1829
14  more non-fiction + 8 more fiction + 2 short story collections + 2 anthologies
And if you'd rather see it than read it, her Marie Antoinette was made into a film.


Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
Brit
but not an award winner
Headlong
11th in the Bill Slider series
17 more fiction + 1 short story collection
Hero: Brit
Place: London (U.K.)
Time: Present


Jeff Pearlman
American
Football for a Buck :
the Crazy Rise and Crazy Demise of the USFL
7 or 8 more non-fiction


E. S. Thomson
Brit
The Blood
3rd in the Flockhart and Quartermain series
Heroes: Brith
Place: London (U.K.)
Time: 1st half of the 19th century
If you see initials, then you know it is a woman (normally) as here.


Charles Todd
(mother and son writing duo)
Americans
A Forgotten Place
10th in the Bess Crawford series
+20 more fiction in 1 more series + 2 stand-alones + 1 short story collection
Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K. and France
Time: 2nd decade of the 20th century


Readable or unreadable
If it is readable, then it may be a slog, but once I start, I can finish it. If it is unreadable, and it has nothing to do with the quality of the writing or the lack thereof, I do not even start. Then there are some like the next two. I can start, but I just cannot finish.

Philippa Gregory's The Last Tudor
and
Jason Porath's Tough Mothers


Next time: 6 of 1 in various formats


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on October 26, 2019, 04:29:04 PM
Servants of Evil, a book filled with interviews of Germans who fought in WW2.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on October 28, 2019, 09:55:18 PM
i've been reading old issues of Superman from (1947) and Batman from (1954) all digital of course


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on October 30, 2019, 04:24:42 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 in various formats


Ellen Wilkinson
The Division Bell Mystery
Originally published 1932

Richard Hull
Excellent Intentions
Originally published 1938

Both with intros. by Martin Edwards
Both British Library Crime Classics
Both republished 2018
Heroes: Brits
Places: U.K.
Times: 1930


Stephen Pastis
American
award winner
Pearls Takes a Wrong Turn :
a Pearls Before Swine Treasury
comic strips published between September 7, 2015 and March 11, 2017
While your laughs may differ, he got 35 LOLs! out of the 253 p.


John Boessenecker
American
Shotguns and Stagecoaches :
the Brave Men Who Rode for Wells Fargo
7 more non-fiction


graphic novel
Notes on a Thesis
translated from the French


graphic novel
Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys :
the Big Lie
with cameo appearances by The Rover Boys, the Bobbsey Twins, and Tom Swift, who is here, an Afro-American


graphic novel
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird
adapted and illustrated by Fred Fordham, who is a Brit
be prepared for the use of the "N word," which is used 27 times in 272 p.
The characters in the novel are based upon the writer, her relations, and her friends, and the city of Maycomb in the book is based upon Monroeville (Alabama.)


Next time: a half dozen more in various formats






Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 02, 2019, 04:24:51 PM
Ye-es!
And a half dozen more in various formats


Ann Cleves
Brit
award winner
Wild Fire
8th and last in the Shetland series
8 more fiction in 1 more series
Hero: ex-pat Spaniard/Shetland Islander
Place: Shetland Islands (U.K.)
Time: Present
If you'd rather see it, than read it, there is the TV series Shetland
And another reason why these type of characters do not make good villains.


Leonard Gribble
Brit
The Arsenal Stadium Mystery
part of the British Library Crime Classics series
published 1939
re-published 2018
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1930s
If you'd rather see it, then read it, there is a film version with the same title


Alys Clare
Brit
The Angel in the Glass
2nd in the Gabriel Taverner series
15 more fiction in 2 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1st decade of the 17th century


graphic novel
Penny Dreadful : the Ongoing series
v.3. The Victory of Death
Based on the Showtime series


Bill Press
American
Trump Must Go :
the Top 100 Reasons to Dump Trump (and one Reason to Keep Him)
9 more non-fiction
If you'd rather see him, then read him, he has been the host or co-host of the following . . .
Buchanan and Press -- Crossfire -- The Spin Room


graphic novel
The Backstagers :
v.1. Rebels Without Applause


Next time: 6 of 1 in various formats


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 06, 2019, 05:57:17 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 in various formats

j. r. r. tolkien
Brit
award winner
The Fall of Gandolin
edited by Christopher Tolkien (his son)


graphic novel
Star Wars : the Empire Strikes Back
adaptation of the film


Gina McIntyre
American
Star Wars Icons :
Han Solo


 Carlene O'Connor
American ex-pat
Murder in an Irish Pub
4th in the Irish Village series
Heroine: Irish
Place: County Cork (Ireland)
Time: Present


Denis O. Smith
The Further Chronicles of Sherlock Holmes, v.2.
a half dozen more short stories featuring Holmes


Tom Clavin
American
Wild Bill :
the True Story of the American Frontier's First Gunfighter
15 more non-fiction


Barry Strauss
American
And that is Dr. Strauss, you peasants
Ten Caesars :
Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine
13 more non-fiction


Next time: and a half dozen more in various formats


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on November 06, 2019, 06:00:49 PM
Right now:
The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture by Glen Weldon

on deck:
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography by Eric Idle


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on November 10, 2019, 05:51:01 PM
Ye-es!
and a half dozen more in various formats


Julian Symons
Brit
award winner
The Colour of Murder
with an intro by Martin Edwards
part of the British Library Crime Classics series
1st published 1957
republished 2018
1st U.S. ed. published 2019
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1950s


graphic novel
Firefly :
part 1. The Unification War
based upon the TV series


graphic novel
Solo :
a Star Wars story
adaptation of the film


Simon Beaufort
(pseudonym of a male and female writing duo)
Mind of a Killer
1st in the Alec Lonsdale series
Hero: Brit
Place: London (U.K.)
Time: 1880s
features some a half dozen characters who actually lived in London at this time


graphic novel
Baggywrinkles :
a Lubber's Guide to Life at Sea
featuring 10 seafaring stories inspired by the cartoonist crewing the tall ship The Lady Washington one summer.


Bill Crider
American
award winner
That Old Scoundrel Death
24th, and last due to the author's own death, in the Dan Rhodes series.
a series that ran from 1986 to 2019
Hero: American
Place: Texas
Time: Present

next time: 6 of 1 in various formats


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on November 20, 2019, 04:08:52 PM
A lot of work-related fare, none of it interesting at all. Must've been written by a megalomaniac with a thing for stealing people's time.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on November 20, 2019, 06:28:09 PM
I just finished NERO: EMPEROR IN REVOLT by Michael Grant.  A fascinating look at the life of Rome's much maligned Emperor that tries to present a balanced portrait; no mean feat when all the contemporary written sources are so overwhelmingly negative.  It was a nice addition to my library, and lavishly illustrated to boot!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 01, 2019, 10:57:20 PM
A WARNING by Anonymous

My loathing of Donald Trump is well known, but it isn't just the man I dislike.  His Presidency has set a track record of criminality, ineptitude, and viciousness unparalleled in our nation's history.  This book, penned by an official who has worked for the President since day one, documents all of it: his complete ignorance of the Constitution, his vindictiveness, his arrogance and stupidity, his absolute  unwillingness to learn, to listen to any opinion other than his own, and his complete disregard for expertise or knowledge on any subject whatsoever.
I recognize that political books about sitting Presidents should ALWAYS be taken with a grain of salt; but even if only half of the things in here are true, it is still an alarming book that every American should read.  Sadly, those who need to read it the most will not only refuse to do so but scream from the rooftops that it is nothing but "fake news." 

I wish it was.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: chefzombie on December 01, 2019, 11:57:51 PM
i wish it was fiction, but it isn't... :bluesad: :buggedout: :hatred:


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 04, 2019, 03:36:18 PM
Re-reading my favorite parts of one of my favorite books The Voyage of the Beagle. When people like my maternal grandmother tell me they don't like Darwin, I tell them how this book reads like a wonderful extended National Geographic style travelogue covering biology, sociology, anthropology, history, geography, and alas a lot of wholescale animal slaughter.  But I remind myself that except for some of the turtles those beasts would be dead by now anyway. (Though bashing the friendly fox who came up on the hill and sat next to you still ranks as a dick move, Chuck.)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 07, 2019, 04:00:35 PM
A WARNING by Anonymous

My loathing of Donald Trump is well known, but it isn't just the man I dislike.  His Presidency has set a track record of criminality, ineptitude, and viciousness unparalleled in our nation's history.  This book, penned by an official who has worked for the President since day one, documents all of it: his complete ignorance of the Constitution, his vindictiveness, his arrogance and stupidity, his absolute  unwillingness to learn, to listen to any opinion other than his own, and his complete disregard for expertise or knowledge on any subject whatsoever.
I recognize that political books about sitting Presidents should ALWAYS be taken with a grain of salt; but even if only half of the things in here are true, it is still an alarming book that every American should read.  Sadly, those who need to read it the most will not only refuse to do so but scream from the rooftops that it is nothing but "fake news." 

I wish it was.


That is one book I have to read. Though, you know what is scary, despite all of Trump's criminality, ineptitude, and viciousness, come November 2020, enough American voters may have voted for Trump, that we have him around for another 4 years, or, so he hopes, as he is hoping to ride the economy for all its worth to another term in the White House. Though, how much he has to do with the present economy is open to debate. And we will see what we will see in less than an year.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on December 07, 2019, 10:30:14 PM
finally finished "the Apostle" by Sholem Asch. the previous book "the Nazarene" was insane. It was based on the gospels, this one is Paul's letters. Most of it is hashing out the differences between Judaism and Christianity. Sometimes they were very close other times not so close. The original Christians were Jewish but they ran into problems when they tried to expand it while keeping its Jewish character. This tension is portrayed in the gospels when Peter won't eat with the gentiles and Paul does. James wrote that faith wthout works are meaningless and Paul wrote that its all about faith and yadda yadda.

Asch is a messianic Jew and was actually banned from Israel for the pro christian sentiments in this series ( the last book "Mary" I haven't read yet) . If you contemplate these sort of issues this book is a must read. One good part is when pagans have some sort of celebration and exhort each other to chop off their genitals which one guy does. it wasn't all fun and games, that stuff. The latter part of the book deals a lot with The Great Fire of Rome and the fallout for both sides of the wacky new Christian sect.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on December 10, 2019, 03:47:26 PM
Aug 9--Fog.

In the early 1990s this book's editor was home from school and spent time going to estate sales with her parents when she found a diary in a box set out for garbage. When she read it she discovered that it was a gift given in 1968 to an 86-year old woman by her daughter. The old woman spent the next four years writing minimalist but deep entries about her life in rural Illinois. The editor, poet Kathryn Scanlan, has placed one except per page from the long-ago entries and in doing so has created a haunting echo of a distant, forgotten life.

It left me wondering what will become of my diary.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 15, 2019, 05:07:06 PM
A special report.

Stephen Pastis is an equal opportunity cartoonist, as in Pearls Takes a Wrong Turn, he depicts the following and not always to their benefit:

airline employees -- the Amish
bank employees -- Biblical characters -- baseball managers
censorts -- CEOs -- childrens' authors -- clowns -- computer programmners -- cyclists -- Charlie Brown
delivery people -- dentists
Europeans -- educators
film critics
Girl Scouts -- government employees -- grandparents
high school classmates
the legal profession
the medical profession -- Mormons -- motivational speakers
Pokemon Go players --politicans -- preachers -- parents
Rube Goldberg
scientists -- siblings -- Southerners -- sports reporters -- Star Wars fans
tech companies -- triathletes
umpires
Waldo

Next time: 6 of 1 in various formats


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 15, 2019, 10:47:21 PM
Just finished Stephen King's THE INSTITUTE.
Best thing I've read by him in a while; he's definitely out of his slump!
I highly recommend it!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on December 24, 2019, 12:39:55 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1 in various formats

Cora Harrison
Irish
Season of Darkness
1st in the Gaslight Mystery series
17 more fiction in 2 more series
Heroes: Brits
Place: U.K.
Time: 1st half of the 19th century


Gaston LeRoux and Erik Forrest Jackson
The Phantom of the Opera
1st in the Muppets Meet the Classics series


John Cleese
Professor-at-Large :
the Cornell Years

lectures and interviews by John Cleese delivered between April 4, 2019 and September 11, 2017, when he was Professor-at-Large at Cornell University.


Dan Hucklebridge
ex-pat American
No Beast So Fierce :
the Terrifying True Story of the Champawat Tiger, the Deadliest Animal in History
2 more non-fiction + 1 more fiction


graphic novel
Star Wars Adventures :
Tales from Vader's Castle

5 scary stories from 5 Rebels who are forced to land on Vader's planet of Mustafar.


Aaron Mehnke
American
Wicked Mortals
Dreadful Places
2nd and 3rd in the World of Lore series
both from the Lore podcast
If one'd rather see it than read it, the podcast is available on Amazon Prime.


Next time: and a half dozen more in various formats


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: The Burgomaster on December 30, 2019, 05:36:58 PM
I just read this for Christmas:

(https://www.eastonpress.com/secure/Content/ImagesProducts/3620-Christmas-Carol-cvr-WEB_500_0.jpg)

This one might be next on my agenda:

(https://www.eastonpress.com/secure/Content/ImagesProducts/ebdce72b-d3dc-4f14-ba08-f9b0ff3cb0e1_500_0.jpg)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on December 31, 2019, 10:43:31 AM
Right now:

That's Not All, Folks! My Life in the Golden Age of Cartoons and Radio by Mel Blanc and Philip Bashe

On deck:
Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped, by Dean Budnick


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on December 31, 2019, 12:26:05 PM
I've been binge-reading fiction over this Christmas break: I read two novels by James Rollins - SUBTERRANEAN and THE DEMON CROWN, and then a recent one by Stephen King: THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE, two enjoyable tales interwoven with one another, set in Midworld, the home of THE GUNSLINGER series.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 02, 2020, 01:39:37 PM
Ye-es!
a half dozen in various formats

M.B. Shaw
(i.e. Tillt Bagshawe)
Brit
Murder at the Mill
1st in the Portrait of a Murder series
Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: Present


Hallie Rubenhold
Brit
The Five :
the Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
3 more non-fiction + 2 more fiction


Claudia Gray
American
Star Wars :
Master and Apprentice


graphic novel
Asgardians of the Galaxy
v.1. The Infinity Armada


Victoria Thompson
American
Murder on Trinity Place
22nd in the Gaslight Mystery series
Heroine: Irish ex-pat
Place: New York City
Time: last decade of the 19th century


Shane and Jessica Steves
(husband and wife photographers)
Abandoned North Texas


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on January 04, 2020, 02:02:51 PM
I'm reading Bart Ehrman "The Triumph of Christianity"

Christianity started off as a handful of people then a few centuries later there were millions of them. How did that happen?

some of the reasons are things like

1. evangelism - other religions didn't do this. religions and gods were local

2. exclusivity - pagans worshipped all sorts of Gods and it was considered okay to do so. Christianity demanded they not do that

etc

edit - I've been sick so I had plenty of time to finish this one.

in the second half of the book the author describes attempts to persecute Christians. These edicts were scattered and random enough in their frequency and severity that they didn't affect the growth of the movement too much.  in some cases they were quite severe though, particularly early on. One reason was that it was a new religion and thus didn't get the respect that say Judaism would. and old group that didn't worship local Gods was one thing, a new one seemed more sinister.

Sadly, when Christianity became the official state religion many Christians returned the favor to Pagans, persecuting them and destroying their temples, most notably the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serapeum_of_Alexandria

in the after word the author goes to the place in the book of Acts where paul gave the speech about the "unknown God" and marvels that in fact, he won against all the naysayers and philosophes who thought he was nuts.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on January 10, 2020, 01:32:46 PM

Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped, by Dean Budnick

Bailed out on this one after about 75 pages because it was very dry, like reading a textbook.

Moved on to:

Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History, by Jason Vuic

...which so far, is much more entertaining.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 12, 2020, 03:34:46 PM
And a half dozen in various formats

Lina and Scott Gaille
(husband and wife travel writers)
(he a corporate lawyer, she a missionary)
Strange Tales of World Travel :
Bizarre, Mysterious, Horrible, Hilarious

Some 50 different stories, half by the couple, the other half by other people, they met on their travels.


George Bellairs
(i.e Harold Blundell)
Brit
Surfeit of Suspects
1st published in 1964
republished in 2019
British Library Crime Classics
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1960s


Robert Scragg
Brit
What Falls Between the Cracks
1st in the Porter and Styles series
Hero: Caucasian and Caribbean Black
Place: U.K.
Time: Present with flashbacks to the past


Jess Sharpe
American
Captain Marvel :
Liberation Run
3 more fiction + 1 short story collection


Ramin Setoodeh
American
Ladies Who Punch :
the Explosive Inside Story of The View
1st book


Donald Bogle
Afro-American
Hollywood Black :
the Stars, the Films, the Filmmaker
part of the TCM Turner Classic Movies Library
8 more non-fiction

140 films from Birth of a Nation in 1915 to Black Panther in 2018

Next time: a half dozen more in various formats




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: lester1/2jr on January 12, 2020, 08:45:32 PM
I also read "Closer You Are" a biography of Robert Pollard, my all time favorite songwriter of Guided by Voices fame. Did you know he threw the only no hitter in Ohio State's history? GBV are the GOAT in my opinion, but it was also a very good book. the writer wisely left himself out of the narrative so it doesn't come off as too rock critic - y

http://youtu.be/aOYPTS3-ZvM (http://youtu.be/aOYPTS3-ZvM)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: RCMerchant on January 16, 2020, 06:40:59 AM
I just read this for Christmas:

(https://www.eastonpress.com/secure/Content/ImagesProducts/3620-Christmas-Carol-cvr-WEB_500_0.jpg)

This one might be next on my agenda:

(https://www.eastonpress.com/secure/Content/ImagesProducts/ebdce72b-d3dc-4f14-ba08-f9b0ff3cb0e1_500_0.jpg)



I read it when I was in the hospital.It's a big book! Fascinating too!
The author, William Shirer, lived in Nazi Germany as a foreign correspondent, until it got too dangerous.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Allhallowsday on January 16, 2020, 01:40:39 PM
...
This one might be next on my agenda:
(https://www.eastonpress.com/secure/Content/ImagesProducts/ebdce72b-d3dc-4f14-ba08-f9b0ff3cb0e1_500_0.jpg)
I read it when I was in the hospital.It's a big book! Fascinating too!
The author, William Shirer, lived in Nazi Germany as a foreign correspondent, until it got too dangerous.

I read that one too.  It is huge... and fascinating. 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 19, 2020, 02:42:51 PM
Ye-es!
And a half dozen in various formats.

Barry Lyga
Thanos :
Titan Consumed
part of the Marvel Studios' Avengers : Infinity War series
3 more fiction in 1 more series + 2 stand-alones
Hero: Titan
Place: Titan and then the universe
Time: Unknown


Bill Pronzini
American
award winner
The Flimflam Affair
7th in the Carpeter and Quincannon series
and the 2nd without his wife
Heroes: Americans
Place: California
Time: 1890s


Adam Bray
Marvel Studios 101 :
All Your Questions Answered

from Phase 1 to Phase 3
from 2008 to 2018
from Iron Man to Avengers : Infinity War


graphic novel
Back to the Future :
Tales from the Time Train


graphic novel
Back to the Future :
the Heavy Collection
v.1. collecting issuess #1-12
v.2. (which he has not seen) collecting the rest of the issues or #13-25


Ella Patrick
Star Wars :
Who's Who in the Galaxy Character Storybook
from the Phantom Menace to the Last Jedi


Next time: a special report





Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on January 22, 2020, 04:27:24 PM
I was among old books recently and came across a hardback, age-yellowed copy of Be My Guest, by Conrad Hilton. I had never heard of the book, his autobiography, and only knew of him as the weirdo on Mad Men, but wound up reading it all in a day.

Highights from Hilton's life:

He was born in San Antonio New Mexico, but the governor of Texas assumed it was San Antonio, Texas, and threw a huge party for Hilton, giving him an award reserved only for native-born Texans. Rather than admit his error in public, the governor invented a new super-power for Texas governors, thereby they could make someone an "honorary" Texan.

Hilton married Zsa Zsa Gabor when she was about half his age; the ink on the marriage certificate was barely dry before Gabor began an affair with Hilton's son.

Hilton grew up speaking German, Swedish, and Spanish and as a child used to have to be reminded  to speak in English.

Always an optimistic forward-thinker, Hilton had plans to put hotels on the moon in his lifeitme.

Hilton's amazing life inspired someone to name hotels after him. Um, at least I think that's true.

Hilton was comfortably long dead before his great-granddaughter made The Hottie and the Nottie.




Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on January 27, 2020, 05:13:15 PM
A special report
The Manga Classics series
It makes even what is unreadable--readable.

So far, I have yet to read in the series . . .
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Stories of Edgar Allen Poe
The Jungle Book
Great Expectations
Emma
Sense and Sensibility

Then there is Shakespeare.
Romeo and Juliet
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Macbeth

And so far, I have read in the series . . .
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Scarlet Letter
Jane Eyre
Les Miserables
Pride and Prejudice

and the latest in the series
Dracula, which we will review next time.

There is one exception, so far, to the above.
The Count of Monte Cristo, which I find unreadable in any form.

Next time: Dracula


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on January 27, 2020, 05:41:04 PM
Right now:

I'm Chevy Chase ... and You're Not: The Authorized Biography by Rena Fruchter

on deck:

Adrenalized: Life, Def Leppard, and Beyond by Phil Collen


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on January 30, 2020, 09:09:50 AM
Just started something called "Great Sanskrit Plays in Modern Translation" and, for bathroom reading, Frank Conniff's "How to Write Cheesy Movies."


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on January 30, 2020, 12:01:47 PM
Right now:

I'm Chevy Chase ... and You're Not: The Authorized Biography by Rena Fruchter

on deck:

Adrenalized: Life, Def Leppard, and Beyond by Phil Collen


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 01, 2020, 05:42:21 PM
Dracula

art by Virginia Nitouhei
adaptation by Stacy King
lettering by Daria Rhodes
editor: M. Chandler
part of the Manga Classics series

Underrated
as a novel for the reasons below

Shakespeare
some things seldom change. 300 years after Shakespeare the humor in the story is generated by the lower class characters.

Product
--of its time

Price
when he went to England to see what he could see, Stoker was dead, but his wife was still living, and she and Price became good friends.

Parents
deceased. One loses their employer who is thought of as a father figure. One loses their mother. And one loses their father.

Men
it may be a product of the past, but in some ways it is remarkablely futuristic, as men are allowed to cry with their male friends comforting in their sadness.

Horror
not only horror, but also action, laughter, and tears--both joyful and sad.

Anti-semitism
as it was common for its time, it is present with Dracula having the facial features of the Jew, and at least one of minor villains is Jewish.

Americans
it is said that at the time the story was written, Stoker was only one of two British authors who had a favorable opinion of Americans, which is why one of the major characters is an American.

Dislike
the only thing I dislike about this edition is the way some of the characters are drawn.

Next time: 6 of 1


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 08, 2020, 11:55:22 AM
I just finished RICHARD III - A RULER AND HIS REPUTATION by David Horspool.  This was a very well-done, carefully researched, and largely neutral biography of a controversial English ruler whose short reign had inspired playwrights, novelists, and historians for over 500 years now.  Horspool contends that Richard's true character is probably impossible to know, based on the surviving sources, and points out that he was a divisive figure even during his lifetime.  An interesting afterward on the 2013 discovery of Richard's body and the 2015 reburial service showed how this long-dead Yorkist King continues to divide English opinion to this day.  An excellent read if you like English history.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Alex on February 08, 2020, 12:20:48 PM
One of Peter Haining's anthologies of short horror stories (Dead of Night).


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on February 08, 2020, 12:43:39 PM
A collection of Christina Rossetti's poems.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 10, 2020, 02:51:53 PM
Ye-es!
6 of 1

Mike Chase
American
How to Become a Federal Criminal :
an Illustrated Handbook for the Aspiring Offender
1st book


Elly Griffiths
Brit
award winner
The Stone Circle
11th in the Ruth Galloway series
+4 more in 1 more fiction series + 1 stand alone
Heroine: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: Present


Joe R. Lansdale
American
award winner
The Elephant of Surprise
12th in the Hap and Leonard series
+15 stand alones + 3 short story collections
Heroes: Caucasian and Afro-American
Place: Texas
Time: Present
If you'd rather see it, then read it, there is the TV series Hap and Leonard


Deep Waters :
Murders on the Waves
edited by Martin Edwards
from the intro " . . . sixteen crime stories which are connected one way or the other, with water"
stories published between 1893 and 1975
part of the British Library Crime Classics series


James Runcie
Brit
award winner
The Road to Grantchester
prequel to the the Grantchester Mysteries
10 more fiction
Hero: Brit
Place: Italy and the U.K.
Time: 1938-1951
If you'd rather see it, then read it, there is the TV show Grantchester


Martin Walker
ex-pat Brit
The Body in the Castle Well
13th in the Bruno, Chief of Police series
9 more non-fiction
Hero: French
Place: France
Time: Present


Simon Brett
Brit
award winner
The Killer in the Choir
8th in the Fethering Mystery series
12 more fiction in 2 more series
Heroines: Brits
Place: U.K.
Time: Present

Next time: and a half dozen more


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 16, 2020, 03:15:18 PM
Ye-es!
and a half dozen more.

Ripley's Believe It or Not :
Beyond the Bizarre!
the 1st Believe It or Not cartoon was published in 1918, and they have been published almost consistently since then.


Chris Nickson
Brit
The Leaden Heart
7th in the Inspector Tom Harper series
7 more fiction in 2 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1890s


S. D. Sykes
Brit
The Bonefire
4th in the Somershill Manor series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1360s


graphic novel
Ms. Marvel :
Destined
w/ a cameo appearance by Tony (Ironman) Stark
v.1. in a series. v.2. to be published 04/20/20


E. C. R. Lorac
(i.e. Edith Caroline Rivett)
 Brit
Murder by Matchlight
+ a short story by the authoress
intro by Martin Edwards
1st published in 1945
short story published in 1953
both re-published in 2019
Heroes: Brits
Place: U.K.
Time: '40's and '50's


Ann Cleeves
Brit
award winner
The Long Call
1st in the Two Rivers series
16 more fiction in 2 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: Devonshire (U.K.)
Time: Present


Next time: a special report



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on February 16, 2020, 06:11:20 PM
a pretty good book so far about Humphrey Bogart i've had this book for years and honestly i forget where the hell i even got it at all. i'm to lazy right now to look up the author he he, anyways it came out in (1997) and i'm only like 35 pages into it. on where i am into it that i can tell you around 1924 i think back when he was still doing plays. funny enough one thing i did love is when he did his first play he as awful i mean beyond awful and for awhile he was too actually but he was believe it or not a stage manager and  it hard to imagine that he was at all a bad actor ya know?

anyways, through time and patience and watching other actors/actress perform  he slowly became better. but he hasn't even at this moment even went to hollywood. apparently one early job of his in 1920 was a film called "Life' that is now lost where he took a stab at directing it and apparently he was so bad at it he was fired and replaced. funny how no place at all credits him with this film and since the film is now lost apparently one wonders if he was credited at all?


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: FatFreddysCat on February 17, 2020, 01:35:16 PM
Just started:

Face It by Debbie Harry (Blondie)


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: pennywise37 on February 17, 2020, 05:31:17 PM
i forgot that was out but the only story that i know of is when she went hitch hiking i think it was the late 70's. i'm not gonna spoil it for you but once you read it you will go HOLY Sh*t! 


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on February 19, 2020, 08:55:50 AM
I'm (re-)re-reading Of Human Bondage. When I first read this novel I was so impressed I thought I'd have a lifelong relationship with Somerset Maugham's writings but so far I haven't found anything else he produced in his long career that moves me like this novel does, though I haven't read The Painted Veil.

Of Human Bondage is one of those novels that makes me feel immersed in another person's lifetime as few other plots have except maybe Helen Hooven Santmyer's ....And Ladies of the Club, which is a much longer work. (ALOTC is so long it makes War and Peace feel like a novella.)

I have had time for a lot of reading lately, and I'm taking advantage of that.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on February 19, 2020, 01:00:05 PM
While I'm thinking of it, ever read A Canticle for Leibowitz, RC? It's a different sort of sci-fi book and you might like it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz)



Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 19, 2020, 06:31:40 PM
A special report

He does not know when the 1st one was published, but, as of 2014, there were 163 books in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.
Again, he does not know when the 1st one was published, but, as of 2019, there were 20 books in the Star Wars Canon Universe.
Thus, here are 8 reasons why he prefers the Canon o'er the Expanded.

1. More villain stories with better villains.
2. Fewer typical stories.
3. More interesting stories.
4. Fewer Solo and Skywalker stories.
5. More child characters. (IHHO) the children in the stories being more interesting than the adults. For example: Kanan. More interesting as a teen than as an adult.
6. Emotionally more realistic.
7. Star Wars: the western. Not Star Wars: the horror.
8. And most importantly, quality o'er quantity.

Next time: 6 of 1


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: indianasmith on February 23, 2020, 08:42:27 PM
THE FORGOTTTEN CONSERVATIVE: REDISCOVERING GROVER CLEVELAND by John M. Pafford

   Cleveland is my favorite President of the Gilded Age; a man of rocklike personal honor and integrity who stuck out like a sore thumb during the most corrupt era in American history; a lifelong bachelor who married a 21 year old WHILE he was President, at age 47; and the man who permanently screwed up our count of Presidents by serving two non-consecutive terms, making him the 22nd and 24th President (meaning we have only had 44 Presidents, even though Trump is #45!).  The author is a rock-ribbed conservative of the libertarian stripe, as evinced by his snide comments about later Presidents, but this makes him predictably sympathetic to Cleveland, who was an extremely strict constructionist even by 19th century standards.  There is also an appendix to the book, an essay written by Cleveland himself several years after leaving office, on "The Independence of the Executive."  All in all, a quick and enjoyable read.

Since I have three more Presidential biographies in my queue at the moment, I decided to read a novel in between.  So I reached into one of the sacks of paperbacks my sister periodically sends our way and chose THE LINCOLN MYTH by Steve Berry, a novel in his popular Magellan Billet series.  A Mormon Senator is masterminding a sinister cabal aimed at uncovering a secret document that dates back to America's founding which would shatter the popular historical view of secession and the Civil War.  As a thriller, it was quite entertaining; its take on history was deeply flawed, completely minimizing the role of slavery in causing the war and ignoring a number of public statements by Lincoln himself as well as earlier takes on secession by leaders like Andrew Jackson. However, as long as one doesn't rely on it for accurate history lessons, the book was quite entertaining.  If I meet Mister Berry, I need to set him straight on the Civil War, though!


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on February 28, 2020, 02:54:06 PM
Added to the bathroom: PRINCIPIA DISCORDIA (the original "fake religion")


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on February 28, 2020, 06:08:51 PM
Ye-es!

David Rose
Brit
They Call me Naughty Lola : Personal Ads from the London Review of Books
edited, and with an introduction, by David Rose
1st book
165 p. 84 LOLs! Yours may differ. The LOLs! Not the p.


Lindsay David
Brit
A Capital Death
7th in the Flavia Albia series
20 more fiction in 1 more series + 8 more stand alones of both fiction and non-fiction
Heroine: Romanized Brit
Place: Italy
Time: AD 89


Ace Atkins
American
The Shameless
9th in the Quinn Colson series
11 more fiction in 2 more series + 4 non-fiction
Hero: American
Place: Mississippi
Time: Present


Matthew Manning
with additional text by Tom DeFalco
Marvel Spider-man : Inside the World of Your Friendly Neighborhood Hero
updated edition


Alexander Freed
American
Star Wars : Alphabet Squadron
+ an excerpt from the graphic novel Star Wars : the Fighter


Jane A. Adams
Brit
The Clockmaker
4th in the Henry Johnston series
17 more fiction in 2 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1920s


Candace Robb
ex-pat Brit
A Conspiracy of Wolves
11th in the Owen Archer series
6 more fiction in 2 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1370s


Next time: and a half dozen of the other


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: ER on March 06, 2020, 11:48:33 AM
The Splendid and the Vile, by Erik Larson. I've found this author to be a completely unpleasant man in real life but he does write good books.


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: BoyScoutKevin on March 06, 2020, 05:14:37 PM
Ye-es!
And a half dozen of the other.


Freeman Wills Croft
Brit
Inspector French and the Sea Mystery
1st published 1928
Republished 2017
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1920s


E. C. R. Lorac
(i.e. Edith Caroline Rivett)
Brit
Murder in the Mill-race :
a Devon Mystrery
with an intro by Martin Edwards
part of the Britisdh Library Crime Classics series
1st published in the 1952
Republished 2019
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1950s


Charles Todd
American
(mother and son writing team)
A Cruel Deception
11th in the Bess Crawford series
22 more fiction in 1 more series + 2 stand alones
Heroine: Brit
Place: France and the U.K.
Time: 1910s


Chris Nickson
Brit
The Hocus Girl
2nd in the Simon Westrow series
13 more fiction in 2 more series
Hero: Brit
Place: U.K.
Time: 1820s


Barbara Hambly
American
Lady of Perdition
9th in the Benjamin January series
6 more fiction in 1 more series
Hero: Afro-American
Place: Texas and Louisiana
Time: 1840s


Agatha Christie
edited and intro by Tony Medawar
Murder, She Said :
the Quotable Miss Marple
a sequel to Little Grey Cells : the Quotable Poirot
quotes from a dozen novels published between 1930 and 1970, the last written in the '40s, but published after the writer's death and a score of short stories published between 1927 and 1956.
If you'd rather see it, then read it. Many of the novels and short stories have been made into films and TV shows.


Next time: a special report


Title: Re: Reading anything?
Post by: Rev. Powell on March 10, 2020, 03:49:59 PM
Post limit: continued here: http://www.badmovies.org/forum/index.php/topic,154719.0.html (http://www.badmovies.org/forum/index.php/topic,154719.0.html)