1 Love the monkey.

That is all.

2 Enjoyed the other Sabrina Chase books so far! Will be reading Caesar's Rules: your way to train a well-behaved dog this week.

3 Re-read Parliament of Whores this week.  It remains as hilarious and timely as ever.

4 I am reading Sharpe's Escape by Bernard Cornwell

5 I guess Bastiat wouldn't like the FDA's 10-year plan to change the palate of America, to eliminate sale. Wouldn't like Soda Jerk Bloomberg much either.

6 Reading "A Fifth of Valu-Rite"

7 Hair clippers - unless Amazon won't ship to Oregon? Yeah right..... http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=234949011

8 Made some more headway in "The Great Upheaval" mostly on the beginning of the Rooski's battle with the Turks.  Learned a lot about Potemkin that I didn't know previously.  Turns out the term "Potemkin Village" may have been based on what his detractors wanted to believe (predecessors to the MFM?) because they didn't want to concede that the Caucasus could've been populated so fucking swiftly as actually happened.  Quite a mover and shaker; and cocksman although dear God Catherine the Great looks like a three bagger.  Didn't know that John Paul Jones got involved in this because he'd fallen so far in the public eye (he seemed to be a bit of an asshole to all his superiors which is never a good idea in any organizational setting, particularly the military) here and in France.  I'm thinking he ran afoul of Potemkin and got reassigned to the coming battle with Sweden.  Then as now the moooooslims were untrustworthy cocksuckers since they beheaded the emissaries sent by the Rooskis to negotiate a settlement; Ivan said fuck that shit and set as many of their ships on fire with the predecessors of molotov cocktails, frying all the slaves, including Euros, that were chained in place which shook up Jones pretty bad.  I'm really gaining lots of insight into a time in history that was a pretty significant blank spot  previously.

9 In Connecticut, they way they wrote their dentistry regulations is worded such that if you do any dental work ON YOUR OWN TEETH you can be found guilty of practicing dentistry.

I filled a cavity once with some epoxy just to keep food from accumulating and making the decay worse until I could get to (afford) the dentist.

This guy (he said he was joking) told me I could be charged with practicing dentistry. I told him it wasn't a very funny joke. (Especially seeing as how a dentist making that charge would be taken very seriously I assume.)

Needless to say, I never went back to that dentist ever.

10 I suggest we all read SOMETHING about the LDS church to prepare for the campaign by the left to discredit Mitt Romney for being Mormon.

I've read Fawn Brodie's "No Man Knows My History" which is an apostate's telling of the Joseph Smith history. 

Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven" tells the tale of some FLDS idiots, but within the story, gives some history.

What else is recommended?

11 I need for some other moronette to read the Shades of Grey series so we can discuss. The books are bad and the characters shallow---Twilight with sex--however the male lead is a "dominant" and this is apparently appealing like crazy to all the chicks. Either they are in dire need of non-beta males or perhaps our beta Obama era gheyness is past? Please?

12 Me, I'm a big Sci Fi fan.

Just went back to a trilogy (more on that in a second) called the Chaos Chronicles by Jeffrey A. Carver.

I have the first 3 titles:
Neptune's Crossing
Strange Attractors
The Infinite Sea

It's about a outer system pilot who gets tangled up in an alien device that is monitoring the system and has found there will be a cataclysmic event soon if this pilot doesn't help.

Some science speculation but mostly it's about how this guy deals with dealing with a suspect alien and then how to deal with the various other aliens that he is brought into contact after the initial adventure. Some subtle and not so subtle lessons about dealing with alien societies and the assumptions that can arise and cause confusion and mistakes and misunderstandings.

Not too sciencey and not to shoot em up.

This is a series from the mid '90's and I just found out that this lazy bugger (joking) finally finished the 4th episode. It's called Sunborn and I hope to get a copy soon. It only came out inn 2008 so it took him 12 years to get back to the series. (he's worse than George RR Martin).

I recommend it if your into Sci Fi. Even if you're not, like I said it's not too heavy and it's like most Science Fiction in that it's really Speculative Future with an emphasis on the social issues that will be different and why.

13 I mean, great googly moogly, the man was supposed to be this evil, right-wing fanatic. Only he sounded just like FDR.

Partway through W's time I finally figured him out, and realized exactly what it was that drove libtards nuts:  He wasn't conservative.  He simply mated his political leftism with social traditionalism.  Given that most libtards go the other way, he was their worst nightmare--someone who used all their tools for ends they considered anathema.

Not that any of us should have been terribly happy, either.  Which those who put it together early weren't.  And here we are...

14 You should all read my books. I'm bigger than Mao.

15 Just finished "Ordinary Thunderstorms" by William Boyd, after finishing his "Waiting for Sunrise" last week.

"Ordinary" is set in today's London, and features some great images of yob gangsters.  I could not help but thinking of Sasha Baron Cohen's terrific skewering of this type in "Da Ali G Show."

Hooked on British gangsters now, and loving the cockney voice, I am reading JJ Connolly's "Layer Cake" and will follow it with "Viva La Madness."

To get into the right frame of mind so you can hear the voices with their accents when reading these, one must Netflix some older but great films:  "Alfie" to listen to Michael Caine, "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover," for Michael Gambon's rants, and everyone from Ray Winstone down in "Sexy Beast."

16 The National Review website seems to be down.  Will someone try it for me?

17 I am sitting in the Paramount Cafe (1966) drinking little Knicks and shots of Old Thompson shooting the bull with owner, bartender, Heaphy, Heaph leans over, removing his Top Stone cigar, says Kev ,Do you know why we have laws? Playing along, I don't know, why do we have laws? Heaph says To keep the little man out of the big mans racket

18

"Ghost on the Throne" by James Romm is an excellently written history of the little known period following the death of Alexander the Great in which his generals attempted to divide up Alexander's conquests and consists of battles, backstabbing, double crossing, etc.

 

It would probably be well to read a bio of Alexander prior to "Ghost" as it serves as a sequel to Alex's story.  I would suggest Philip Freeman's "Alexander the Great" which reads like an adventure tale.

19 Off and on reading "Born to Kvetch," a book about Yiddish. Very good, especially for language geeks.

20 Came across this top 10 list for sci-fi: http://tinyurl.com/7yh2pzg I agree with some, others, not so much... A couple, I hadn't even heard of, so will do some research of my own.

21 #17

It's been down since yesterday evening for me.

22 #23

Direct links to articles still work but the front page is blank.

23 The Corner, The Campaign Spot, etc work.  It's just the main page.

24 Shades of Grey series Posted by: Dagny at June 03, 2012 11:48 AM (WCAIB) --- author James or Phelps?

25 Huh. Just got "The Law" this week over at Laisse Fair Books. Tiny little book jammed with intelligence.

26 Warren: I Would Be MassachusettsÂ’s First Native American SenatorÂ… http://tinyurl.com/7vu9z5a Not a joke.

27 we'll be having none of your crap in the book thread, Gerg. Take it somewhere else

28 If you have some fun books lying around, please think about giving them to your local jail or mental hospital.  I have a lot of these guys and gals in my practice and I know how grateful they are when someone, anyone, gives them a moment's thought.  You could also pick up a bucket of books from your used bookstore for them.  I saw Marc Bolan and Harelquin Romance (for the female prisoners) books for 75 cents a piece.  Our Lord told us to remember widows, orphans and prisoners.  We all tend to forget/ignore the latter.

29 Partway through W's time I finally figured him out, and realized exactly what it was that drove libtards nuts: He wasn't conservative. He simply mated his political leftism with social traditionalism. Given that most libtards go the other way, he was their worst nightmare--someone who used all their tools for ends they considered anathema.

Not that any of us should have been terribly happy, either. Which those who put it together early weren't. And here we are...

Posted by: Brother Cavil, New Caprica Sanitation Department at June 03, 2012 11:51 AM (Fs7RJ)

I liked GWB and think he's a good man but he fucked over conservatism as much as Rove wanted him to.  In many ways he was the second coming of Nixon; complete with turning things over to a massive clusterfuck.

30

Just finished Hunger Games trilogy. People supporting the Capital, what else is new?

31 the only thing law can reasonably hope to do is prevent, by the threat of force, injustice of one person to another.

It can't even do that. All it can do is sometimes punish, with the use of force, injustice of one person to another. The 'prevention' is based on the idea of deterrence. For a non-rational person there is no deterrence. If the force is not sufficient or if the frequency such force is applied is too low then there is no deterrence.

32
Aaaaaand another upcoming book from your disapproving betters:

National Latino Writers Collective founder and debut children's author Angela Cervantes's untitled middle grade novel, about a Latina sixth-grader who, while volunteering at an animal shelter, discovers that she has a lot in common with the motley crew of abandoned cats and unwanted dogs there: they want a loving family, and she wants her mother -- who was deported to Honduras -- back. Scholastic, for publication in 2013.

33 #32

You're right. I should have used 'deter' rather than 'prevent'.

34 I give Bush somewhat of a pass on spending because a lot of it was bribe money to get dumbocrats to not abandon troops in the field. But then again, he didn't fight that war to my liking and spent a hell of a lot more than I would have, with the rebuilding shit. But as head of the government whose charter is mainly to provide for common defense, I suppose it was his perogative. 

35 O/T McEnroe best tennis commentator ever, hehe. "Looks like they lined up all the ball boys and picked the best one (to play Federer)." hehe Federer's winning against Goffin atm, but the little scrappy newcomer, Goffin, is doing quite well. (And, the WSJ piece "An AmericanÂ’s Fine Grind at French Open" re: Varvara Lepchenko is a nice read. A quaint story of An ethnic Russian from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, who's family defected and applied for political asylum, citing prejudice against Christians. She's shooting for representing the US in the London Olympics.)

36 28 Greg, who gives a shit? If Walker wins, that's the end of union bullshit in Wisconsin. God, Greg. You're such an asshole. Unless this is a sock. If so: well played.

37 I've read Fawn Brodie's "No Man Knows My History" which is an apostate's telling of the Joseph Smith history.

Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven" tells the tale of some FLDS idiots, but within the story, gives some history.

What else is recommended?
Posted by: TheLittlShiningMan at June 03, 2012 11:45 AM

I read "American Massacre" by Sally Denton about the Mountain Meadows massacre in 1857.  Not much of that going on in the LDS church these days, as far as we know.  It offered a historical perspective of the extreme paranoia of church leaders and actual persecution Mormons experienced on the way west and their utter ruthlessness in dealing with what they perceived as threats.  They were also a greedy lot.

38 It's OK so far. It's not technical so it is very accessible. The logic is a little simplified in parts but it's a good way to introduce a complicated subject to your average person.Posted by: runninrebel

Pardon the snark, but how does one get technical in a diet book?

39 17 The National Review website seems to be down. Will someone try it for me? Posted by: Jimbo at June 03, 2012 11:54 AM (O3R/2) ========= This was how it has been for me since yesterday, tho if there is a link to a specific piece, sometimes I could get in. Not sure what is going on. Still down to me. Thought it was some sort of filter/fluke from some software I just installed. Guess not.

40 From that list: Ender's game is really 3 books (4?) that all should be read as they tie a lot of the first book together and give a finish to it all.

Same as Dune. Although you can stop there, you really should read it all. You don't have to start into the post death books but at least read up to God Emperor. the others are also good also and were finished off quite well.

I never got into the prequels that much. Waited for the paper back to read most of them.

Fantasy isn't my favorite except for the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan which I highly recommend. The 14th and supposedly the final book will be out the end of this year or start of 2013. (if were still here. Those crazy Mayans)

41 Listening to audi book of P.G. Wodehouse's "Code of the Woosters". Part of a huge series featuring a bumbling half-assed aristocrat and his loyal, capable butler, Jeeves. All comedy of manners and language, it's a nice change of pace from thrillers/military/history.

42 4 I am reading Sharpe's Escape by Bernard Cornwell

Posted by: Jones in CO at June 03, 2012 11:27 AM (8sCoq)

Any Sharpe is good.

I am reading "Fated", by Benedict Jacka. Dresdenesque.

43

TheLittlShiningMan,

William Boyd's "Restless" is also very good.   

44 I sent an email to webmaster@nationalreview.com  Maybe that will wake them up.

45 Greg, you stupid slut. This is a book thread. B.O.O.K. Ever read one?

Read any lately?

We don't want to hear your concern or gloating or uninformed speculation and if you're trolling for some response well here it is:

STFU. STFD. FOAD.

46 Currently reading "Highlights for Kids" in the waiting room.

47 36 I give Bush somewhat of a pass on spending because a lot of it was bribe money to get dumbocrats to not abandon troops in the field. But then again, he didn't fight that war to my liking and spent a hell of a lot more than I would have, with the rebuilding shit. But as head of the government whose charter is mainly to provide for common defense, I suppose it was his perogative.

Posted by: Jimmah at June 03, 2012 12:17 PM (cWkOB)

Bush used to drive me nuts until I figured this out. He WAS bribing the opposition so they wouldn't pull a Vietnam.

48 Has anyone read "Wool"?  My wife's cousin sent me the mobi file.

49 The books are bad and the characters shallow---Twilight with sex--however the male lead is a "dominant" and this is apparently appealing like crazy to all the chicks. Either they are in dire need of non-beta males or perhaps our beta Obama era gheyness is past? Please?

Posted by: Dagny at June 03, 2012 11:48 AM (WCAIB)

____________________________________

Haven't read Shades of Gray, but  3 women I know who have raved about it happen to be  liberal feminists married to - well, calling them betas would be giving them a promotion. Makes me wonder if "all the chicks" who love SoG aren't libs who secretly yearn for a rarity in their world - a guy with a set. 

50 43 Listening to audi book of P.G. Wodehouse's "Code of the Woosters". Part of a huge series featuring a bumbling half-assed aristocrat and his loyal, capable butler, Jeeves. All comedy of manners and language, it's a nice change of pace from thrillers/military/history.

Posted by: Lincolntf at June 03, 2012 12:23 PM (HethX)

Fry and Laurie do a great adaptation of the books for TV.

51 Anyone keeping up with the Mitch Rapp series from Vince Flynn?

I still haven't read American Assassin. Is thee another after that one?

52 http://tinyurl.com/7vu9z5a Not a joke. Posted by: Joffen, fucking sunshine patriot at June 03, 2012 12:06 PM (nUY/O) ===== Seriously, for the the love of God.

53 Pardon the snark, but how does one get technical in a diet book?

A lot of the paleo/atkins/low carb diets like to get into detail with how they affect the body.  It's not just "eat this, not that", but why and the bio-chemistry behind it.

54 'In Green's Jungles' - Book two of Gene Wolf's 'The Book of the Short Sun'.

55 55 Well, it's not like it's hurting her much in the polls.

56 53 I read 2 of those books. (Isn't it a trilogy?) Allright alt-history stuff.

57 And, everyone in 1942 is a racist bigot homophobe who can't handle the multi-ethnic folks of 2021.Posted by: USS Diversity

Life is too short to read books by raging Leftists.

58 I don't pay much attention to it but the last few books I looked up on Amazon seemed to have a very high price for the Kindle edition.

Like about the same for a paperback.

Are the days of the .99 and 1.99 kindle edition costs finally over? Now that they've sucked in as many users into purchasing a kindle and increased their user base, their going to increase the price?

That'll shock some of the braggart first adopters. I got very very tired of listening to them go on and on about how easy it was to use and the extent  of their libraries. Blah, blah blah dios.

I'm a paper and mostly hardcover man. If I want to read a screen and ruin my eyes, I'll come here to comment.

I personally am concerned about the extent of the trend to put everything on file in transitory bits that can disappear if power is ever disrupted.

 A book on country survival ain't gonna be too helpful on kindle come the apocalypse.

59

Has anyone read "Wool"?

 

No.

There used to be a knitting shop by me called 'Never Enough Wool'.

60 >A lot of the paleo/atkins/low carb diets like to get into detail with how they affect the body.


I'm eating paleolithic

I'm in 2 holes on my belt in a month

61 55:

hey MY mommy told me I was a freaking genius and could do anything I wanted when I got older.

Filed under: Lies My Parents Told Me.

Along with Santa Clause, Easter Bunny and Going to College will give you secure employment.

62 Has anyone read "Wool"? My wife's cousin sent me the mobi file.

The 'Wool' series has been highly recommended by several morons in previous book threads.

63 The Dune prequels and the last couple in the main line (the posthumous ones) are teh maximum suxorz. To call them tripe is to insult valuable meat by-products.

64 50 Has anyone read "Wool"?

-------

Just started into the Wool Omnibus Edition; read the first story and into the second. Enjoying them so far.

65 Can anybody tell me if Ken Burns' Baseball series is worth seeing/renting?  I'd like to see a show that covers the history of baseball, but Burns is such a lefty.  If he keeps his ideology out of it, fine, but I'm tired of being smacked in the face with leftism when I'm reading or watching things that have nothing to do with politics.

66 Bush didn't give us Obama. Freaking John "Marquis of Queensbury Rules of Politics" McCain gave us Obama.

Him and the lying, leftist Media.

Unfortunately only the Media is receiving any payback for their f up.

67

"Nocturnes" by John Connelly-- good horror short stories

68 Fantasy isn't my favorite except for the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan which I highly recommend. The 14th and supposedly the final book will be out the end of this year or start of 2013. (if were still here. Those crazy Mayans) Posted by: Bitter Clinger and all that at June 03, 2012 12:21 PM (CP+yl) ===== Same here. I like the science based/tech based novels, more so. With that said, yeah, the Wheel series and The Sword of Truth series are both excellent.

69 Rosley @45. Thanks. My library has it coming for me on interloan

70 The Law by Bastiat

http://is.gd/ATZwQF


I gave up on "Legacy: Arthurian Saga"  by Mary Stewart. It started OK with book one, but like many long series (4 books) it bogged down about the third book by the fourth I could not continue.  It is more of a early dark ages history of England than a novel.


So after putting it aside (on the Kindle) I am now reading Bede's Ecclesiastical History of The English People.

71 A lot of the paleo/atkins/low carb diets like to get into detail with how they affect the body. It's not just "eat this, not that", but why and the bio-chemistry behind it. Posted by: Alex at June 03, 2012 12:29 PM (tGh6R) ========= The first Fit for Life book is almost all technical and science based. They despise the dairy industry, and explain why. They despise the meat industry, and explain why. They pretty much despised everything but mostly vegetarian (although some chicken and fish were on their menus - but limited). Paleo is great, imho. I think the premise is a bit wonky. Back to primitive times tied to genetics, but the diet itself is pretty good, and can be more flexible versus some others.

72 Amazon had the first book in the Sword of Truth series on sale for .99 a few weeks ago (for the Kindle). both my wife and I got a copy of it.

73 I'm eating paleolithic I'm in 2 holes on my belt in a month Posted by: Jones in CO at June 03, 2012 12:32 PM (8sCoq) ==== yeah, this is pretty much how I eat. I feel great pretty much all the time.

74 So after putting it aside (on the Kindle) I am now reading Bede's Ecclesiastical History of The English People. Posted by: Vic at June 03, 2012 12:39 PM (YdQQY) After you finish reading it, maybe you should try your hand at writing a new final chapter, updating the theological history of the English people for the 21st century: the majority of the formerly Christian population atheist, and great swaths of urban areas effectively Muslim territory off limits to outsiders. It would make for fascinating, albeit rather grim, reading.

75 alright- I'm turning this computer off and I'm going outside to play-

You should too- yes, you

76 Fantasy isn't my favorite except for the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan which I highly recommend. Posted by: Bitter Clinger

Have you read Mistborn? It's a new take on the genre. Well done, IMHO.

77

With that said, yeah, the Wheel series and The Sword of Truth series are both excellent.

 

Have you read 'Name of the Wind' by Rothfuss?

Pretty good stuff...at least the first two are...

78 Reading concurrently n various hardcover, iBook, Kindle formats: "The Myths of Innovation" - Scott Berkun "Steve Jobs" - Walter Issacson "Tyranny of Cliches" - Jonah Goldberg "Poke The Box" - Seth Godin

79 It would make for fascinating, albeit rather grim, reading.

Posted by: CoolCzech at June 03, 2012 12:43 PM (niZvt)

I would have to title it for Europe instead of England.

80 7 The Dune prequels and the last couple in the main line (the posthumous ones) are teh maximum suxorz. To call them tripe is to insult valuable meat by-products. Posted by: The Atom Bomb of Loving Kindness at June 03, 2012 12:33 PM (jqHOY) Would you believe... Pink Slime?

81 76 Amazon had the first book in the Sword of Truth series on sale for .99 a few weeks ago (for the Kindle). both my wife and I got a copy of it. Posted by: Vic at June 03, 2012 12:41 PM (YdQQY) ======= You'll get hooked. And each book is pretty big - in comparison to the thinner books these days. But, you will not want to put them down. The series takes a bit of detour around the 5th? book...

82 Heretics and Chapterhouse weren't Posthumous. Which two do you mean?

I got lost there as they came out with prequels and posthumous books all in a row there.

I did think that Heretics and Chapterhouse weren't as dramatic but then after God Emperor, where could he go with it?

He's got a couple older novels. I particularly enjoyed The Dosadi Experiment and another one I can't remember the name of it.

Want to read some weird Sci Fi, read Rudy Rucker:

Hacker and the Ants.
Software
Wetware
Freeware
Realware

The three 'ware books are about a post dnamanipulating/biologicalwarfare/body modifying future that's has a flavor of an acid trip and living in Haight Ashbury during the '60's to it.

It can be hard to follow but it's very very far far out.

It will stretchhhhh your perceptions.

83 The question for 21st century Christians must be, really, how did the Church manager to fruck up so damn bad? After two millenia of church building, church teaching, church going... they succeeded in producing a continent of nihilistic atheists that don't even bother to reproduce. How did the church manager all that?

84 Have you read Mistborn? It's a new take on the genre. Well done, IMHO. Posted by: weft cut-loop at June 03, 2012 12:43 PM (famk3) ===== I tossed this on my amazon wishlist. thanks

85 Have you read 'Name of the Wind' by Rothfuss? Pretty good stuff...at least the first two are... Posted by: garrett at June 03, 2012 12:44 PM (EXMBt) ======== No, I haven't, I tend to read other sci-fi subgenres, but I put this on my wishlist too, thanks.

86 just lay off the doughnuts, fat bastard. Posted by: USS Diversity at June 03, 2012 12:47 PM (cjTjM) ========= I SAID DOUGHNUTS WERE OKAY!

87 I partially blame Grover Norquist for the combination of nation building bullshit and refusal to say anything about radical Islam in GWOT. The retrograde influence that he had over W will most likely never come to light for many years due to his connections. When we fought the Barbary Pirates, Jefferson had the government publish a Koran in order to show the public just what we were up against. Today's mulitcultural bullshit prevents anything close to honesty about Islamism.

88

Posted by: sci-fi lover at June 03, 2012 12:51 PM (HOOye)

 

If you like 'Wheel' you'll like the Rothfuss books. 

I'm kinda pissed that Sanderson is taking so fucking long to wrap up the Wheel of Time.   Book 14 was due out two months ago...can't wait to be done with that series.

89 I'm reading John Buchan's "Richard Hannay" series right now. These were the precurser to the modern spy thriller and James Bond. The guy who voices "Archer" for the FX channel read them to prepare for his spy role, too. "Greenmantle", the second in the series is pretty much all about Germany propping up a fake Mahdi in order to take Africa from the Allies. These books were published before and during WWI and his discourse on the role of political Islam in the consideration of national strategy threw me for a loop because everything he talks about is applicable today. And they're jolly fun!

90 The Church became a bureaucracy once it became the state religion.

Involvement with politics poisoned the Popes and Cardinals with power and the material things it brings.

They lost their direction and so the Church lost their covenant with God.

BUT they can still recover themselves. They have to purge the priesthood of those who abuse their position of authority instead of putting them somewhere else. Too much CYA and not enough For the greater glory of God.

Most of the Protestants aren't much better anymore. Most of the major faiths spend too much time trying to attract members than trying to spread the Gospel.

And so we have Churches that are filled on Sunday but are full of unbelievers. "cough" OBAMA and MICHELLE "cough"

91 Good old Oregon
.
You didn't mention that Obama couldn't buy liquor in Oregon.

When I went to UofO (go Ducks!), I turned 21. I went to the local Fascist State Run Liquor Store to buy my way to hell, and my CA drivers license was turned down.

So, I get a duplicate type birth certificate and return. Nope! No good. Have to have a facsimile copy of the original with state seal.

I still have that very copy tucked into my double LP of Todd Rundgren: Back to the Bars since 1978.

92 You'll get hooked. And each book is pretty big - in comparison to the thinner books these days. But, you will not want to put them down.



I have already read the whole series. I have all of his books but the first 3 of the SOT series I had in paper back and when they had the Kindle version for .99 I couldn't pass it up. I wish they had all of them for .99

93 When W came out and said that Islam was a Religion Of Peace, I knew we were screwed right then. Even though he held the line and did go after them, he allowed the entire cult to be given cover instead of taking it to them as  they are and not as they claim to be.

94 69 I saw "Baseball" when it first aired on TV. It's very good overall, but Burns was absolutely obsessed with race and never missed an opportunity to drag it in. I also thought he glossed over the most recent decades.

95 CC,  Look up the Lambeth Conference.

96 To be clear, by "the Church," I mean ALL Christian denominations, Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox.

97 Oregon and New Jersey , you can't pump your own gas.

98 Per Weasel Zippers, something overheard at a Wisconsin rally featuring Bill Clinton as guest speaker: Before Clinton’s 18-minute speech, rally-goers were treated to a poem and song, “Hit the Road Scott,” by Rep. Gwen Moore. “This guy is 65-years old and he’s getting hit on by porn stars,” one rally goer could be heard gushing over Clinton in anticipation of his arrival. “This guy is a god.” Well... there you have it. The new definition of a god is a dirty old man consorting with cinematic whores. Good one!

99 From what I've read, Robert left notes to the extent that the last episode had to be split into three books.

The latest installment Towers of Midnight was over 800 pages long.
I believe it's the longest of the entire series.

So he's not doing too shabbily. Also in my opinion he's doing a better job of style and pace than Herbert's son did for his sequels/prequels.

Of course it helped that Robert wrote extensive notes on his plans and directions knowing he was going to die soon.

I too am impatient to see exactly how things all turn out. Frankly, given all the threads that have to be tied up, I wouldn't be surprised if the book tops 1,000 pages. I don't see how it can be much less without losing all the detail.

One of the things that sucked me in was the detail yet paced so you didn't get bored or bogged down trying to figure out who's who and who's doing what. I have the entire series most of the last ones as first editions. Total value is over $350 if paid cover price. I've NEVER bought an entire series hardcover ever before.

That's how good they are.

100 Heh. Joe Biden's daughter Ashley is getting married and didn't invite the Obamas. Is she as brain damaged as Dad... or actually saner than the 52% that voted for Barry in the first place?

101

Joe Biden's daughter Ashley is getting married and didn't invite the Obamas.

Is she as brain damaged as Dad... or actually saner than the 52% that voted for Barry in the first place?

 

 

Nobody wants to share their coke with the Bogarter in Chief!

102 I've also got the entire SOT series. I liked them but Goodkind had too much gratuitous torture, sadism and blood for my taste. (and I'm a bloody, gory kinda guy when it comes to reading)

Too many times he'd have someone do something bloody or sadistic that just didn't make sense with the storyline and I got turned off by it. I think he did it when he'd lost inspiration or needed to pad the word count for the publisher.

Anyone want to buy the set of hardcover's, make me an offer.

103 I don't think you can lump them all together. Too much doctrinal differences and blood.

104

**Tugs Braid**

105 We loves you Pres Bama. Brattleboro will always loves and if that idiot Romerney wins you will always be our Presadant....

106 Afternoon y'all, I just finished Soldier Dogs, by Maria Goodavage. I am almost certain it has been recommended here before, but if you haven't read it-run to the library and check it out. For a smart military blog, this is a must-read. But I warn you, read it with a box of tissues nearby. Goodavage did a wonderful job of explaining the training and science behind the military dogs who patrol and sniff for IED's, and she does a wonderful job of eulogizing those who gave all. It is heart rending, and joyous at the same time. Also, if you are interested in adopting retired or washed out military dogs, she gives the address to write and get on the list. And one last thing-apparently congress wants to shut down the program for training-it costs $750,000 per year to train dogs and handlers for the rigors of Afghanistan. But the survival rate of soldiers on patrol with these dogs is much higher. A note to a congress critter to keep the program going as long as we have soldiers there would not be amiss, to my thinking.

107 The evangelicals and Mormons are growing.  30 years ago, a work colleague emigrated (the US) to go to England to, get this, be a missionary for The Church of Christ.

Christianity in Africa, South America, and even China is growing. 

108 113-I have a pastor friend who has been traveling to China, working with house churches. He met with pastors who say that the small congregations who refuse to be part of the "official" church (sanctioned by the PRC government) are bigger and growing far more rapidly than the official church is. He is going to Cuba this summer, to work with underground churches there. For a man of God, he is one of the toughest people I know.

109 Thinking of breaking down and finally buying an e-reader. I have too many books and am running out of room for more. What are the best e-readers? I'm looking at both the Kindle Fire and Nook Color. I already have a discount for B&N but will go with Amazon if necessary. I actually hate the thought of not reading a real book but I guess times really do chane.

110 I just started reading "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn, a theological study on, bet you can't guess, heaven.  My son "loaned" it to me via Kindle and I have 12 days to finish it.  I didn't realize you could loan books back and forth on Kindle.  I think that's a nice feature.  You get them for 2 weeks.

111

Posted by: Bill R. at June 03, 2012 01:32 PM (QnRSM)

 

I have the old style Kindle 3G w/the keyboard. I wanted something I could use to do rudimentary email and commenting on.

  I thought I'd dislike using it, but I was wrong.  I read a TON more than I did without it.  I am also spending a TON more on books than I used to...

112 Bill R.  -

My above-mentioned son sent me the Kindle Fire for Mother's Day.  I had never thought I would enjoy an e-reader.  I absolutely love it!

113 Have you read Mistborn? It's a new take on the genre. Well done, IMHO.
Posted by: weft cut-loop at June 03, 2012 12:43 PM (famk3)


I finished book 3 yesterday

I'm starting Nightworld today, the last book in the Repairman Jack series.

114 LittleShiningMan, on Mormonism the goto place is Utah Lighthouse Ministry in SLC. Shadow or Reality is a good starter. Utlm dot org

115

86 Heretics and Chapterhouse weren't Posthumous. Which two do you mean?

Not sure of the names, but they used their retcons from the prequels to screw with the story after chapterhouse. The two mysterious face dancers are the two AI from the prequels who turn into face dancers... ummm... becuase... Hey look! it's a Paul Muad'dib ghola! Leafed thru them in a bookstore, looked at the Wiki article and left them alone.

Name of the Wind recommended.

Robin Hobb's stuff isn't bad either (Assassin, Liveship, Fool trilogy of trilogies).

We can't blame Tolkien for all of the trilogies. He wrote one book. Rayner Unwin is the one to blame, he was the publisher and he created the now-sterotypical fantasy trilogy meme.

116

Still on The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.  Still.  Did pause to read The Tyranny of Cliches, which I got through rather quickly.  Reading The Psychopath List, which leaves me wondering when it was that authors started inserting themselves so blantantly into non-fiction:  I did this, I read that, then I decided I should talk to this guy7.  Other than that crap, it's a very interesting book.

 

And I got 11/22/63 from the library yesterday.  I've read maybe 75 pages and I think I hate it, mostly because the premises is "St. John Kennedy."  I don't understand why stopping the assassination would make EVERYTHING better, other than it being Stephen King's favorite wet dream.

 

And Mama AJ, please don't use Cesar Millan's methods.  Try Pat Miller or Karen Pryor or Patricial McConnell.  Once you make a breakthrough with positive training methods, every subsequent thing you try to teach your dog becomes easier and easier.,

117 Lincolntf @ 43: Look up the BBC series of the Jeeves and Wooster stories. Hugh ("House") Laurie as Bertie and Stephen Fry as Jeeves. Very well done, and faithful to the spirit of the stories, if not every plot detail.

118 Question for the Moron Horde re: eReaders:

While my family is usually pretty conservative with gift-giving (we're all much the happier for it), it seems I may be up for an iPad this year. Here's the problem. I can't get over how cool the display is on the B&W Kindles. It looks so natural and is so easy to read.

Are there iPad apps that can approximate this? What about Android based tablets?

Thanks in advance.

119 What a rec!
The Law, thanks I needed that.

120 For a Mormon overview book I'd recommend "Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints" by Bill McKeever and ....  I got it on kindle when it looked inevitable that Mitt was going to be the one.  It was the second Mormon book I bought, the first one just hit on the we should all be friends social aspects.  This one has some theology and doctrine.

And I finished "Our Kingdom of Dust" by Leonard Kinsey, a novel set in Walt Disney World about and for those who are addicted to Disney. It's a good read with a twist.

121

Bill R -

I have a Nook color that I have rooted and use it like a tablet. I love it. My husband has a Nook simple touch and loves his and our son has the Nook classic.We were in the same situation as you are, we are running out of space for books plus my husband is retiring and we will be full time RV'ers. No room for books. It will break my heart to get rid of the books, but I will look for good homes for them.

122 And I got 11/22/63 from the library yesterday. I've read maybe 75 pages and I think I hate it, mostly because the premises is "St. John Kennedy." I don't understand why stopping the assassination would make EVERYTHING better, other than it being Stephen King's favorite wet dream.

Surprisingly enough, at one point they do prevent the assassination and it makes things a lot worse. MAYBE there's some hope for King after all.

I read The Wind Through The Keyhole last week - book 4.5 of the Dark Tower series. It seemed painlessly apolitical.  If there was any of his lefty shit it was well hidden.  And I'm usually hyper-sensitive to that crap.

123 Has anyone read "Wool"? My wife's cousin sent me the mobi file.

Posted by: Jimbo at June 03, 2012 12:25 PM (O3R/2)

Is that the mystery where sheep help to solve it?  If so my book group read it and it was ok; but it was shortly after that I left the group for a variety of reasons, including that they were choosing to read substandard garbage (although Wool was pretty far down on the list of offenders).

124 Tonestapple @ 122: There's a great story in a collection titled "Alternate Kennedys" that dares to ask the question (from a 2063 vantage point): "If you could travel back to 1963 and stop JFK before things got out of hand, would you?"

125 While my family is usually pretty conservative with gift-giving (we're all much the happier for it), it seems I may be up for an iPad this year. Here's the problem. I can't get over how cool the display is on the BW Kindles. It looks so natural and is so easy to read.

Are there iPad apps that can approximate this? What about Android based tablets?


Nothing will beat the plain jane Kindle for text reading.  It doesn't use a TV type screen therefore it can make the text nearly perfect.


I would recommend getting the Kindle for reading and if you want something for portable computer/phone etc then consider some type of android device.

126 129 Has anyone read "Wool"? My wife's cousin sent me the mobi file.

Is that the mystery where sheep help to solve it?

-------

No. Wool is a series of short stories set in a world were people have been forced to leave the surface and have been living for untold generations in something like an old missile silo.

127 130 Thanks!  I'll get that.  My first thought about the non-assassination of Kennedy was how badly he did against the Commies.  I was thinking if he didn't get assassinated, we would end up with a nuclear war.

128 I would recommend getting the Kindle for reading and if you want something for portable computer/phone etc then consider some type of android device.
Posted by: Vic at June 03, 2012 02:30 PM
------------------
Thanks Vic!

I'm really digging the idea of a full-featured tablet but am torn due to that awesome E-Ink thingy. I'm leaning toward the full tablet at this point.

129 "115 Thinking of breaking down and finally buying an e-reader. I have too many books and am running out of room for more. What are the best e-readers? I'm looking at both the Kindle Fire and Nook Color."

I own multiple readers. I prefer the Amazon Kindle DX Graphite when I'm out of doors when the sun is up. My Nook Color works pretty good when reading at night in bed with the light off (lest I disturb dear wife). Downside of this is I have to buy all books for Kindle, break DRM, and convert them to ePub before copying to Nook Color. A simpler approach might be to own a normal Kindle plus a Fire. Or perhaps a normal e-ink Kindle plus an Android or iPad tablet running a Kindle app. The latest retina-display iPad makes ebooks look really good from what I've seen in the stores.

130

>>And Mama AJ, please don't use Cesar Millan's methods. Try Pat Miller or Karen Pryoror Patricial McConnell. Once you make a breakthrough with positive training methods, every subsequent thing you try to teach your dog becomes easier and easier

 

I know nothing! We don't even have a dog yet...

 

Got the book to get the 11 yr old to start thinking about how we're going to train the hypothetical future dog. It supposedly compares various methods so we shall see.

 

Can you describe briefly what you don't like about his methods? If you feel like like it...

 

We're planning to adopt a golden retriever. I'm not looking for a puppy but we shall see.

131 43 Listening to audi book of P.G. Wodehouse's "Code of the Woosters". Part of a huge series featuring a bumbling half-assed aristocrat and his loyal, capable butler, Jeeves. All comedy of manners and language, it's a nice change of pace from thrillers/military/history.

One of the best books ever!

132

>> It looks so natural and is so easy to read.

 

If your eyes get tired reading this blog with the racist color scheme, I'd get the Kindle. Mine definitely do, but not so much with a Kindle or one of those paper things. Books, that's what they were called back in the day.

133 Anyone looking for an interesting book, not on Mormonism but very much involved in it, should try "Doc" by Jack Olsen.  Yes, it's "true crime" but Olsen was the best at that genre and this is one of my two favorites (the other being "Son").  The main "characters" in the book, if nonfiction can have characters, are an upstanding Mormon family and much is told of the church's beliefs and much is seen of its actions, or inactions.  And it's just an excellent book too.

134 I listened to Instapundit and Sarah Hoyt's recommendations and bought "Temporary Duty" by Ric Locke. When I got around to reading it I was amazed. It starts with a dystopian USA much like "Fallen Angels" and the hero manages to just be reasonable and use common sense while everyone around him is acting stupidly, and he does very well for himself. And even managed to take the IRS down a peg.

I also recommend "Knox's Irregulars" which is in bizzaro world. First, the book's heroes are CALVINISTS. When David Drake write a story like this he makes the heros Satanists. The author creates a "New Geneva" that's chock full of those kinds of people the religious left warns us about. And they get attacked by a bunch of Commie, Atheist, Islamofascists, who have Nazi in their name. The Calvin cadets have mechanized armor and they have some good battles, but the books is merely good, not great. When I wrote my "planet of the baptists" stories, I kept the religion covert, but here the religion is overt and happily, Calvinistic. Imagine David Drake possessed by John Bunyan.

The book's ending is no 3rd-act fail, but it could be more satisfying by giving the last act a gimmick or two such as Robert Buettner used with the Jason Wander Orphan series. I wanted to see more of the New Geneva society and I wanted to see inventiveness when the good guys face off against the bad guys.

135 #128

The thing that shows how disconnected from reality King is, is that he fails to consider that nearly everything Johnson did that he approves of Kennedy not only would have said no, but hell no!

Things would be different. Not necessarily better or worse, what with so many variable to consider, but certainly different.

136 The latest retina-display iPad makes ebooks look really good from what I've seen in the stores.
Posted by: Steve Poling at June 03, 2012 02:49 PM
---------------
Yep - just reading that. Thanks Steve.

137 Books, that's what they were called back in the day.
Posted by: Mama AJ at June 03, 2012 02:58 PM
-----------------
I've got a thing for books. Problem is, I impulse-buy. I'm never patient enough to hit a used book store. The Kindle is the closest attempt I've seen but I'm also a geek and would love a stinking computer in my hand. Aah..the difficult and trying times of living in the wealthiest nation in the world. My problems are so burdensome.

138 I only own one eReader, a Kindle Fire.  The only thing that is wrong with it is that Amazon did not put in the free WiFi that the cheaper models have. So I have to find a WiFI connection to use to buy books.  I get a lot of books from the library.  I am particularly blessed to live in Tulsa because our City/County library system is awesome.  The branch library a mile from my house came in third in a national contest for Best Regional Branch Library.

I use it for music at work so that I do not have to listen to my asinine Liberal cube neighbors natter on about obama (the only three Catholics in my tiny slice of heaven are all ardent Liberals, including my dimwit boss who goes to Mass every week and actually gets tears in his eyes when he talks about the Holy Father, yet, somehow can't find it in his heart to listen to the Pope). 

Books that I have loved lately are the "Share" books by Nathan Lowell, Quarter Share, Half Share, Full Share, Double Share.  I am looking forward to Captain's Share and Owner's Share.  I also loved the Ric Locke book, Temporary Duty, so thanks to whichever moron recommended it in a past book thread.

139 Speaking as Mr Pyle's co-author, I am greatly obliged for the kind notice to our Titanic work. Mind you, he's going to throttle me for my having put all our titles on free promotion for HM's Jubilee on the day you so graciously sent us all that traffic. Like Mr Roosevelt's dog, his Scots soul shall be outraged, I make quite certain.

(The review you so kindly cite, by the way, was kindly given by James Delingpole.)

140 Temp Duty was awesome. So nice to not have a clue what would happen next.

141

THE BOOK THREAD IS SACROSANCT.  DO NOT VIOLATE UNDER PENALTY OF HAVING SQUAW ELIZABETH WARREN'S 1/32 INDIAN ASS SIT ON YOUR FACE UNTIL THE RETURN OF RED RYDER AND LITTLE BEAVER. .

142 One of the best books ever!Posted by: microcosme

The TV show is better!

143 #144

I think you mean 3G rather than WiFi. It would have been prohibitively expensive, due to the more elaborate material supported on the Fire.

As it is, publishers, including indies, get dinged fifteen cents a megabyte on 3G downloads. This is not trivial if you're selling 99 cent novels.

144 I'd like to toss in a moron recommendation for Sabrina Chase's The Long Way Home. I liked enough to immediately go to her site and buy the ARC for book 2 in the trilogy. I finished that last night and am now impatiently waiting for book 3.

Also, as a data point in the great e-reader debate, I do all my e-reading on my IPad and am happy as a nearsighted clam who needs reading glasses.

145 Very few of my e-books are larger than 1 meg

146 BTW, if you get book with no DRM you can download to your computer and then transfer the book to your Kindle using the hard wire. However, it is incredibly easy and cheap to put in a Wi-Fi now so everyone should do that.


And even if you don't have Wi-Fi you can go to a library with Wi-Fi or to Barns and Noble who now runs Wi-Fi in their stores.

147 #151

If you're trying to make a real living at 99 cents a book with a 30% royalty rate, every penny counts.

Say you had a big hit and sold a million copies. $290,000!!! Your book comes in at around 512 KB. You're royalty statement shows $75,000 has been billed against your account for 3G delivery costs. You've really made $215,000.

Still very good money but you know now if you could make that book come in smaller without any notable reduction quality, it's very well worth your time to do so or pay someone else to make it happen.

I've come across a bunch of e-books that have had no optimization to the graphic elements. Covers that double the size of the book that can be made two-thirds smaller without any loss of image quality at typical display sizes.

Worse, if you trust Amazon's KindleGen to convert an EPUB file to a MOBI, the result will be MUCH larger than it should be. The file produced has an entire copy of the EPUB encapsulated within it. I and others have complained about this to Amazon numerous times with no response. Utter silence. These days I use Calibre for format conversion but until fairly recently Calibre was far too unreliable to be used professionally. Random errors would appear throughout the resulting file

Note that when Amazon charges 15 cents for a megabyte of 3G data transfer, it is at a profit. The same service is widely available at 10 cents a megabyte to consumers and Amazon likely gets a much better rate than that. Whether this has any relation to KindleGen's odd behavior...

148 150 I'd like to toss in a moron recommendation for Sabrina Chase's The Long Way Home.

-----------

Indeed. All her stuff is just fantastic. Can't say enough good things about them.

149

Posted by: Anachronda at June 03, 2012 04:56 PM (6fER6)

 

Yes.  I got The Long Way Home, but haven't read it yet (to much Twitter and HQ time) but I *really* liked her two fantasy books I've read.

150 I have a WiFi network at home. Sorry that I did not realize authors were charged for buyers downloading their books. My significant other had a bout with cancer and I bought the Fire just a few days before it all commenced. The Fire was a blessing while he was in the hospital and for the waiting on his chemotherapy/radiation therapy visits. It was a small inconvenience to find a WiFi when I finished a book. Now, that I know I am keeping authors from being ringed a fee, I will feel virtuous when I hunt down a connection.

151 I'm eating paleolithic I'm in 2 holes on my belt in a month Posted by: Jones in CO at June 03, 2012 12:32 PM (8sCoq) ==== So are my wife and I, I'm down 52 pounds (and waist size 58 down to 4 since February, and the wife is down roughly half that. A great book to introduce the diet/lifestyle, if a bit "wonky" on the biochemistry, is Robb Wolf's "The Paleo Solution." Robbwolf.com has a lot of good info on it, as well as Mark's Daily Apple, at http://www.marksdailyapple.com What a problem to have, in a way, but I'm having to replace my entire wardrobe. At least it's cheaper heading in this direction!

152

136, Mama AJ, First, according to a fairly recent book whose name I can't recall right now, dogs are descended from European wolves, not any of the kinds in America and the European species are quite different.  Among other things, their "packs" were actually family groups and they weren't about hierarchy and dominance as Milan seems to think they were.

 

Second, all the stuff about dominance is just silly.  Do you want your dog to be afraid of you or do you want your dog to willingly and happily do what you say because the dog knows good things come from doing that?  Either way you still get to be boss, but the dog will be happier.

 

Consider learning to walk on a loose leash (meaning the dog isn't pulling):  If you do it Cesar's way, when the dog isn't cooperating, the dog gets a correction.  If you do it the positive way, aka clicker training, when the dog does it right, the dog gets a marker exactly when the dog is behaving correctly and that is followed by a treat.  (I should have mentioned that the entire process starts with conditioning your dog to associate the clicker or other sound with a treat:  Click and give a treat, click and give a treat, click and treat, until your dog clearly knows a treat is coming.  And I use a soft "Yes!" because I'm not coordinated enough to manage leash, treats, and clicker all at the same time, and Sophie can hear the soft Yes even when we're walking over the freeway.

 

So you start off walking and the dog takes a step right beside you with the leash loose and you immediately click and then treat.  When the dog starts pulling in front, you stop.  When the dog lags behind, you keep going, and initially, when the dog is doing it right, you are clicking and treating A LOT, as close to every step as you can manage.  As the dog gets better at it, you start to get more random with the clicks and eventually with the treats too.

 

To teach the dog to sit, tell the dog to sit and try to get the dog to raise her head (by lifting a treat in front of her nose)  If she even comes close to sitting, click and treat.  As she makes more progress to sitting on command, you will just give the treats for going a little further than she did tha last time until you are only clicking and treating for a full sit.

 

There are no corrections, just rewards for the desired behavior.  The dog learns fast, and the dog will never mistrust you.  Does my dog never misbehave?  Hell no, and she knows some commands (mostly "Off!" and "Leave it") for stopping unacceptable behaviors, but you teach those with clicks and treats too.  How long would you learn if someone jerked on your leash or poked you in the neck when you were doing something wrong?  It's like that old slogan from the One Minute manager (I think):  catch your people doing something right. 

 

Sorry for higjacking the thread and writing a book, but positive training really works.  Milan's stuff may work too, but why introduce fear?

153 One of the interesting things about 'Wool' is finding out why it's called 'Wool'.  As has been said, the first book is grim but it gets more enjoyable as it goes along and is a very good series.  Hope we get more of them.

154 Obama is a stuttering clusterf*ck of a miserable failure.

155

For any fairy tale fans, I just added all of L Frank Baum's Oz books to my Kindle for a dollar from here:  http://tinyurl.com/7j3gmgr

 

But here's a question:  I started with the Pyle/Wymuss book about the Titanic using the link up at the top, and I'm not sure that was an Ace Of Spades store link, but everything else I kept buying (damned Kindle) definitely wasn't.  I thought if I started in the AOS store, anything else I bought in that session would also be through the AOS store.  Am I missing something?

156 162 'Wool'. As has been said, the first book is grim but it gets more enjoyable as it goes along

--------

Well, I've only read the first 2 so far and just started into the third. Reminds me of Marvin the Paranoid Android describing waiting around on Magrathea: "The first million years were the worst. Then the second million years, they were the worst, too. Then..."

That said, I'm enjoying them.

157 #156

Rest assured, any author would rather make the sale than worry about a few pennies. That is why I advise them to do the work going in and not make it an issue for the readers. Smaller books also mean readers have less storage issues to deal with.

I have no doubt Amazon thought long and hard about offering a 3G Fire. But they would have had to limit it to book purchases only and required a data plan from a carrier like AT&T for any other use. They may still ship such a model but having just the one at launch kept things simpler.

158 #166

I have no direct involvement but my sister's life revolves around dog sports like obedience, tracking, and agility. She and her friends all hold Milan in very low regard.

159 I have 3G on my Kindle and I have never used it.

160 Books!

161 Fellow Rons and Ronettes: thank you; and thanks to OB, OM, Ace & Co. I haven't interacted much, I know, over the years, although I've been around here since back when Chuckles Johnson was sane and on our side. You've been very kind, traffic-wise, to the book(s), and I'm grateful. As it happened, today had already been set as the day for our big one-day freebie on all titles, so you were doubly kind (and deservedly lucky - as we are lucky in having you as readers, at Bapton Books). I do hope that those of you who snagged a copy will lend it out on Kindle, and review it, good, bad, or indifferent. Thanks, truly.

162

Oh, please, runninrebel, what isn't territorial and tribal, especially on the interwebs?  Yes, I've seen boards where Milan is the devil and others where he is a saint.  He's just a guy with an idea he has made a pile of money off of and good for him.  But that doesn't mean that what he does is the best way to train a dog.

 

Of course you need special help if a dog is overly possessive or aggressive, but for your average, every day dog, without serious personality issues, you can do it on your own.  What I know about Milan is what I saw on his show which I watched many, many episodes of before I got my current dog.  His dominance looked like physical intimidation to me, and what's with poking dogs in the neck when you don't like their behavior?  He says it's supposed to be mama's teeth teaching manners but I don't see how.  I prefer kindness over intimidation with dumb animals, and I prefer minmal punishment with dumb animals too:  they aren't mentally equipped to understand but they do indeed seem to get motivated to get rewards.

163 As it happened, today had already been set as the day for our big one-day freebie on all titles, so you were doubly kind (and deservedly lucky - as we are lucky in having you as readers, at Bapton Books). I do hope that those of you who snagged a copy will lend it out on Kindle, and review it, good, bad, or indifferent.

Thanks, truly.

Posted by: Markham S. Pyle at June 03, 2012 07:53 PM (Ok21+)

Thank you for the freebies today. I just put them on the top of my TBR pile.

Enjoyed watching the river pageant today. Glorious despite the weather.

164

Well, if that's true, it must be something enacted very recently.  We bought a hair clipper set at the Medford Wal-Mart in 2009 for the princely sum of $20, and have been using it for my son's #3 buzz cut six-week cycles regularly since then.  It has paid for itself many times over. 

And no sales tax too!

165 I'd suggest reading any and all of the Charlie Parker novels by John Connelly-- he's a detective with what may be a touch of psychic in him-- nothing overbearing on the psychic stuff so it doesn't ruin the good PI stuff... Louis and Angel and the Fulci Bros. make for great side-kicks-- can't recommend them enough

166

Reader's Digest use to list a series of "stupid law" from time to time.  Such things as, in Florida, it is illegal to tie an alligator to a fire hydrant.  I use to carry the magazine with me on college campus because it drove the communists on campus crazy.

 

167 "Here in Oregon, you cannot legally purchase certain hair-cutting instruments unless you are certified by the state, that is, unless you obtain a beautician's license. Let me repeat that in case you missed it: without a beautician's license, you cannot buy hair clippers in Oregon."

Wait a second.  Are you sure about this?  Because I'm sitting here in the PRP and I'm pretty sure, without being positive, that you can buy hair clippers.

168 Thanks, Retread (#174, supra).