Ace of Spades HQ

November 25, 2012

Sunday Morning Book Thread 11-25-2012: Thanksgiving Leftovers [OregonMuse]
— Open Blogger

Good morning, 'rons and 'ettes, and welcome to the Sunday Morning Book Thread.

All Hail Content Providers!

You might not think so, but coming up with new material each week for the book thread, to avoid repetition and banality, can be frustratingly diffiult. That's why I admire guys like ace who can crank out the content week in, week out, and not be boring, and even come up with fresh, now ideas now and again.

I think one of the most amazing content providers ever was this guy, novelist, poet, newspaper columnist, and playwright Don Marquis. One of his earliest jobs was as a newspaper columnist, and during the 1910s, he worked for The Evening Sun, a New York Newspaper that required him to deliver 'x' amount of content every day, where 'x' is measured in column inches, and I think the value of 'x' Marquis had to produce was 24. That's an amazing amount of material. He did this 6 days a week, month after month, for 11 years. And when he wasn't cranking out his daily column, he spent his time writing poems, essays, plays, short stories, and novels.

Naturally, in order to make the production of content less burdensome, Marquis had themes and characters he returned to again and again. Probably the most famous of his creations is archy the cockroach and his flighty feline companion, mehitabel the alley cat (the lower case is intentional). The story Marquis told was that archy had been a free-verse poet who had died and whose soul had transmigrated into a cockroach (Marquis apparently hated free-verse poetry). So archy would come out at night and type his observations on life and current events on Marquis' typewriter by jumping on the keys, only he couldn't jump on the shift key simultaneously in order to make capitals, so there weren't any, nor any punctuation. Which made an 'archy' column look like a rambling pile of free-verse poetry or the sort that Marquis hated.

A number a number of Marquis' archy compilation books are still in print (for example, this one, and this one, and this one.) Even though the Kindle editions are somewhat pricey, I do not hesitate to recommend them all.

Marquis also developed other characters for his column material, such as Hermione and Her Little Group of Serious Thinkers, Pete the Pup, and Warty Bliggins.

I wonder what kind of man he was. I commented last week on the tragedy of CS Lewis losing his wife and how it irreparably changed him, but Marquis' life was arguably more tragic. According to the wikipedia entry, Marquis was born in 1878, married in 1909, had a son in 1915 who died in 1921, then his wife died in 1923, but not before having a daughter who died in 1931. Marquis' second wife, whom he married in 1926, died ten years later.

I wonder how he he dealt with so much death and grief. It appears as if he had to watch anyone he loved die. That's got to take a lot out of a man.

Marquis himself died in 1937, after a series of strokes. Below the fold is one of my favorite archy pieces. It was written during Prohibition, about which Marquis, who was known wet his whistle upon occasion, complained bitterly.
archy interviews a pharaoh

boss i went
and interviewed the mummy
of the egyptian pharaoh
in the metropolitan museum
as you bade me to do

what ho
my regal leatherface
says i

greetings
little scatter footed
scarab
says he

kingly has been
says i
what was your ambition
when you had any

insignificant
and journalistic insect
says the royal crackling
in my tender prime
i was too dignified
to have anything as vulgar
as ambition
the ra ra boys
in the seti set
were too haughty
to be ambitious
we used to spend our time
feeding the ibises
and ordering
pyramids sent home to try on
but if i had my life
to live over again
i would give dignity
the regal razz
and hire myself out
to work in a brewery

old tan and tarry
says i
i detect in your speech
the overtones
of melancholy

yes i am sad
says the majestic mackerel
i am as sad
as the song
of a soudanese jackal
who is wailing for the blood red
moon he cannot reach and rip

on what are you brooding
with such a wistful
wishfulness
there in the silences
confide in me
my perial pretzel
says i

i brood on beer
my scampering whiffle snoot
on beer says he

my sympathies
are with your royal
dryness says i

my little pest
says he
you must be respectful
in the presence
of a mighty desolation
little archy
forty centuries of thirst
look down upon you

oh by isis
and by osiris
says the princely raisin
and by pish and phthush and phthah
by the sacred book perembru
and all the gods
that rule from the upper
cataract of the nile
to the delta of the duodenum
i am dry
i am as dry
as the next morning mouth
of a dissipated desert
as dry as the hoofs
of the camels of timbuctoo
little fussy face
i am as dry as the heart
of a sand storm
at high noon in hell
i have been lying here
and there
for four thousand years
with silicon in my esophagus
as gravel in my gizzard
thinking
thinking
thinking
of beer

divine drouth
says i
imperial fritter
continue to think
there is no law against
that in this country
old salt codfish
if you keep quiet about it
not yet

what country is this
asks the poor prune

my reverend juicelessness
this is a beerless country
says i

well well said the royal
desiccation
my political opponents back home
always maintained
that i would wind up in hell
and it seems they had the right dope

and with these hopeless words
the unfortunate residuum
gave a great cough of despair
and turned to dust and debris
right in my face
it being the only time
i ever actually saw anybody
put the cough
into sarcophagus

dear boss as i scurry about
i hear of a great many
tragedies in our midsts
personally i yearn
for some dear friend to pass over
and leave to me
a boot legacy
yours for the second coming
of gambrinus

archy

Books I Just Bought

I've read a lot of sci-fi in my day, but for some reason, I've never read any books by Andre Norton. Unlike my brother, who read every one of her books he could get his hands on at our local library (including those under her other pseudonym "Andrew North"), her books never interested me. But a few days ago, when I discovered that the Kindle edition of Visions of Distant Shores: An Andre Norton Collection was only 99 cents, I broke down and coughed up the buck. It is now on my (even growing) stack.

White googling for into for this thread, I discovered an author I had never heard of before: Kate Chopin, who lived around the turn of the 20th century, apparently is viewed as some kind of proto-feminist author, but maybe she's worth reading, anyway. At least her books can be had for cheap. Are any of you morons familiar with Ms. Chopin, and if so, is she worth reading?

And that about wraps it up for this week. As always, book thread tips and denouncing of enemies of the people may be sent to aoshqbookthread@gmail.com

So what have you all been reading this past week? Something good I hope.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 07:01 AM | Comments (152)
Post contains 1286 words, total size 8 kb.

1 I picked up two Daniel Boorstin tomes (The Discoverers and The Creators) for 25 cents a piece at a library sale. Any thoughts about whether they are worth reading?

I posted this question last week, but I think too late to get any responses.

Posted by: SEM at November 25, 2012 07:18 AM (Z4nQ1)

2 NaNoWriMo word count: 70,507 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/ jamscience527/novels/the-kicker-190319/stats

Posted by: Gregory of Yardale at November 25, 2012 07:23 AM (dF8d/)

3 Thanks for that link., Andre Norton for 99 cent, can't beat that.

And I am re-reading old stuff that I had in paperback and went ahead and sprung for the Kindle version.

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 07:23 AM (YdQQY)

4 Someone brought this up last night: Have you ever liked a movie that was based on a book that sucked? I can think of one, and the movie was a masterpiece IMHO: "Bladerunner," based on Phillip K Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep."

Posted by: Brave Sir Robin at November 25, 2012 07:24 AM (Nc/0B)

"...born in 1878, married in 1909, had a son in 1915 who died in 1921, then his wife died in 1923, but not before having a daughter who died in 1931. Marquis' second wife, whom he married in 1926, died ten years later."

His personal losses were not untypical of the times. That was pretty much a normal life until the advent of modern medications and other medical technologies. People who *didn't* lose one family member after another after another, to one disease or another, were the rare exception in life.

Posted by: Warren Bonesteel at November 25, 2012 07:25 AM (WwR1j)

6 archy the cockroach is wonderful. One of the greatest Marquis lines ever is when archy is talking by radio to the planet Mars, and Mars asks archy to describe himself. archy replies: i am brunette and stand over six feet

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 07:27 AM (Nnx4L)

7 BTW, the archy books were illustrated by the incomparable George Herriman, creator of Krazy Kat. If you're buying a volume of archy, try and find one which includes the Herriman illustrations.

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 07:29 AM (Nnx4L)

8 Kate Chopin is available free at Gutenberg

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/160

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 07:29 AM (YdQQY)

9 Just read The Last Man by Vince Flynn. Excellent read. Still going through Michener's The Source.

Posted by: bigred at November 25, 2012 07:29 AM (mIcI8)

10 It is also instructive to look at Marquis' columns and marvel at the level of literacy that the common straphanging reader was presumed/expected to have as a matter of course ninety to one hundred years ago.

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 07:30 AM (Nnx4L)

11 I read a book called "Altar of Bones" by Philip Carter. It involves Siberia and San Francisco. Many plot twists. Lots of action and such.

You gotta love an author who manages to connect Marilyn Monroe and Rasputin!

This is an enjoyable read without any redeeming social value. Highly recommend it.

Posted by: Miss Marple at November 25, 2012 07:31 AM (GoIUi)

12 Just read The Last Man by Vince Flynn. Excellent read. Still going through Michener's The Source.

Posted by: bigred at November 25, 2012 11:29 AM (mIcI

I am #17 on the waiting list for that at the library. I may get it by next year. But I refuse to pay big bucks for the Kindle version.

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 07:32 AM (YdQQY)

13 Marquis was known as a heavy drinker. After going on the wagon for an extended period, during which he was not seen in his usual haunts, he one day reappeared and announced, "I've conquered that goddam willpower of mine. Give me a drink."

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 07:32 AM (Nnx4L)

14 David Lindsay, "Voyage to Arcturus" (another freebie from Gutenberg Project). It evokes that Sense Of Wonder as should all the best SF and fantasy.

As science, it's wonky at best; but as an exploration of philosophy and morality I can see why CS Lewis liked it.

Posted by: zimriel at November 25, 2012 07:32 AM (p39hN)

15 #10 For some time I have collected copies of old textbooks, which show up from time to time at the auctions I frequent.

It is very instructive to trace the reading level expected of 4th graders from 1900 through the 1970's.

Posted by: Miss Marple at November 25, 2012 07:33 AM (GoIUi)

16 That's not turkey -- that's puppy!

Posted by: Walkers! at November 25, 2012 07:34 AM (TYO2p)

17 I am #17 on the waiting list for that at the library. I may get it by next year. But I refuse to pay big bucks for the Kindle version.

Pray tell, what is this "library" thing?

Posted by: Ben Franklin at November 25, 2012 07:35 AM (wR+pz)

18 Miss Marple: I, too, accumulate old textbooks when I run across them---partly to see what used to be taught/required of students, partly because they are treasuries of obscure short stories and half-forgotten verse, and partly because I have the uneasy feeling that they will become valued building blocks when it is necessary to raise our society from the ashes.

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 07:35 AM (Nnx4L)

19 I was an instructor for adults many years ago. When developing lesson material for class we were told to write to a 10th grade level when teaching college graduates.

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 07:35 AM (YdQQY)

20
Andre Norton was one of my favorite writers when I was young. Speaking of prolific authors, she cranked out books by the dozen, yet her quality was astonishingly high. She was a born storyteller. I can't claim to have read them all, but her novel "Daybreak 2250 AD" remains one of my favorite post-atomic-holocaust books.

Posted by: Brown Line at November 25, 2012 07:36 AM (w/wSF)

21 LA Confidential - great movie; book sucked.

Posted by: Walkers! at November 25, 2012 07:36 AM (TYO2p)

22 Thank you dusting off our early 20th century, so-called "middle brow" journalists (Marquis, Mencken). I'll have to read more of both of them. So much of our clever class today couldn't hold the jockstraps of the working journalists and humorists of 60+ years ago. This site, at its best, can approach something of what Steele and Addison had in mind (with pointy elbows of course). Good on ya.

Posted by: NYC Parent at November 25, 2012 07:37 AM (Yl/80)

23 Vic, got mine on nook. Since stroke books are hard to hold, still using walker. Pricey, yes. But much more convenient for me. Lvoe your morning news posts.

Posted by: bigred at November 25, 2012 07:37 AM (mIcI8)

24 Happy post Thanksgiving Sunday Morning to all ... if it's not the label on a paint can, I haven't been reading it ...

Posted by: Adriane at November 25, 2012 07:39 AM (gh+mp)

Good morning.

Marco Rubio-Tom Cotton 2016!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great post on default last night. Indeed, these fucking idiots are putting us down the road to serfdom. Wonderful.

Posted by: prescient11 at November 25, 2012 07:40 AM (GApHM)

26 put the cough
into sarcophagus

Now I know where that joke comes from....

Posted by: Dept. of Accuracy Dept. at November 25, 2012 07:41 AM (BAnPT)

27 Can I recommend a book I read years ago? Kinda hoping ace sees this and takes a chance on it as well as many of you. "The Case for Christ" by Lee Stroebbel (sp?) Read about his background and how he went about his research for the book. The evidence is there if your mind is at all open. And there is a "take away line" in this book, at least for those who consider themselves too intellectual and educated to be a believer, that might just cause you to pause and think.

Posted by: In Cognito at November 25, 2012 07:42 AM (cWpCn)

28 Speaking of old books, do not forget that pre-1985 children's books have been outlawed on "safety" grounds, because of alleged traces of lead in the printing ink. 100 years of brilliant illustrations and non-PC childhood tales, a century of culture, gone---not on any crude "censorship" move, oh, no, never that; it's a matter of "safety" for the dear li'l kiddies. Never mind that the dear li'l kiddies' brothers and sisters and uncles and aunts and parents and grandparents somehow managed to handle these deadly tomes without damage to their health.

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 07:43 AM (Nnx4L)

29 Read David Grossman "Someone to Run With". Amazing good written story.
Best book I read this year. This book help me to struggle with post election depression

Posted by: remonkey at November 25, 2012 07:43 AM (OmxJU)

30 Just read Lee Child's latest Reacher book -- "A Wanted Man." Liked the first half, but was quite disappointed by the end. Requires massive suspension of disbelief. Most reader reviews mixed at best. Borrow from library, even if (like me) you have been a Reacher fan.

Posted by: Doug at November 25, 2012 07:44 AM (deJd4)

31 Andre Norton is also available free at Gutenberg.

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 07:46 AM (YdQQY)

32 Speaking of old books, do not forget that pre-1985 children's books have been outlawed on "safety" grounds, because of alleged traces of lead in the printing ink. Please tell me that's a joke.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at November 25, 2012 07:47 AM (cQPiF)

33 Posted by: bigred at November 25, 2012 11:37 AM (mIcI

Thanks

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 07:48 AM (YdQQY)

34 #32: No, it's not a joke. The law's been in place for several years, and many of the few existing purveyors of used books---charity resale places and used bookstores---will no longer carry them for that reason, and many have already been pulped. Do a little Googling on it.

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 07:50 AM (Nnx4L)

35 I like historical fiction. Its fun when the background of a story describes actual times and places. Two recent reads were "Hope in Hungnam" by David Watts Jr. Very interesting description of actual evacuation of Korean civilians and the military to the south after the retreat from Chosin and the cargo ship Merchant Victory which was the last ship and filled its holds with people rather than leave any desperate refugees behind along with the fictional story. Then "The Last Eagle" by Michael Wenberg. It is all fictional tale but inspired by real events with the author filling in the "wonder what really happened and what motivated those people" out of his imagination. Both were free or 99 cent kindle downloads, I don't know if they were temporary specials or author introductions with the deal still available.

Posted by: Palerider at November 25, 2012 07:51 AM (FYUWS)

36 14 David Lindsay, "Voyage to Arcturus" (another freebie from Gutenberg Project). It evokes that Sense Of Wonder as should all the best SF and fantasy. As science, it's wonky at best; but as an exploration of philosophy and morality I can see why CS Lewis liked it. Posted by: zimriel at November 25, 2012 11:32 AM (p39hN) Arcturus, hmm? The chapter on poontang was awesome.

Posted by: Pvt Frost at November 25, 2012 07:51 AM (c2oll)

37 Please tell me that's a joke.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at November 25, 2012 11:47 AM (cQPiF)

No it isn't. One of those stupid laws passed when the commies owned all branches of government.

http://is.gd/MQcfBn

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 07:51 AM (YdQQY)

38 #34. That tears it. We are now being ruled by madmen.

Posted by: OregonMuse at November 25, 2012 07:53 AM (4gI2C)

39 The same ban also applies to toys. This is a law that was passed to eliminate competition from small toy makers.

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 07:54 AM (YdQQY)

40 I stumbled on what I am going to the best author you have never heard of the other day by the name of JL Doty the 2 books I read were "A Choice of Treasons" and "The 13th Man" I particularly liked Treasons it was $3 for the kindle and 600 pages. In my opinion he could be the next David Webber. Both were space opera with a good dose of royal court intrigue and enough plot twists and turns to be unpredictable.

Posted by: Vmaximus at November 25, 2012 07:54 AM (YQiOq)

41 It also applies to bicycles. You don't want your child eating a bicycle and getting lead poisoning.

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 07:55 AM (YdQQY)

42 Yes, we are being ruled by madmen. But, in the case of children's books being destroyed on "safety" grounds, we are also experiencing one of the greatest acts of cultural vandalism to take place in our lifetime---almost wholly under the radar.

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 07:55 AM (Nnx4L)

43 35 Colleen McCullough.
Masters of Rome.

Starting with.

The First Man in Rome.

Posted by: Butters at November 25, 2012 07:55 AM (NIZHJ)

44 Vic and buzz, what I'd like to say is too filthy for even this site. But I'm thinkin' it, all the same.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at November 25, 2012 07:56 AM (cQPiF)

45 RE Lee Strobel, "The Case for Christ": Read about his background and how he went about his research for the book. The evidence is there if your mind is at all open.

And if your mind is actually open you will also consider the debunkings of that huckster, like here: http://www.caseagainstfaith.com/

Posted by: boulder hobo at November 25, 2012 07:57 AM (QTHTd)

46 Butters, thanks for the author tip.

Posted by: Palerider at November 25, 2012 07:57 AM (FYUWS)

47 Due to time constraints my reading has all been very light of late.

Fort Freak, the latest in the Wild Cards shared universe series. This revolves around a NYPD precint station in the Jokertown section of New York City.

I'm on the second book of a series by a Michael Owen Carroll which revolves around young superhumans. The first is Super Human. They're YA oriented but enjoyable as a bit of fluff.

Posted by: epobirs at November 25, 2012 07:58 AM (kcfmt)

48 Someone brought this up last night: Have you ever liked a movie that was based on a book that sucked?

We actually had a thread devoted to this topic a few months back. My favorite in this category is Jaws, a very good Spielberg movie. The book, by Peter Benchley, blows chunks.

Posted by: OregonMuse at November 25, 2012 07:58 AM (4gI2C)

49 If you find a classic children's book---at a charity sale, at a used bookstore, at a house or garage sale---buy it. It is an act of cultural preservation. Many older children's books are not PC; the original Lofting "Doctor Doolittle" books were bowdlerized long ago because the black characters and the illustrations were "racist." They are difficult to find. There are books by illustrators like the great Howard Pyle, books like the original illustrated Oz books, which are disappearing except as high-priced collector's items---and if they are reprinted (less and less likely in the age of electronic books) the illustrations are either gone, only partially reproduced, or reproduced in inferior third-generation quality.

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 07:59 AM (Nnx4L)

50 There is a 15-novel Andre Norton collection that has all seven of the ones in the collection you linked: http://www.amazon.com/The-Andre-Norton-Megapack-ebook/dp/B007NLCJBC/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1 $.99 Kindle book. And yes, I found this out after I purchased the smaller one.... :-/

Posted by: NukemHill at November 25, 2012 08:00 AM (7WLzC)

51 Kate Chopin herself wasn't bad but it's the feminist types who shove the sane idea from her stor(ies?)y that women shouldn't be treated as men's property (unless they want it, but that's another story) into their insane feminist anti-male screeds.

Posted by: JJ Stone at November 25, 2012 08:01 AM (lORSA)

52 we are also experiencing one of the greatest acts of cultural vandalism to take place in our lifetime that's because the vandals are inside the walls and have taken over.

Posted by: Fox2! at November 25, 2012 08:01 AM (1Qpmy)

53 Someone brought this up last night: Have you ever liked a movie that was based on a book that sucked?

My winner for that category was The Princess Bride.

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 08:01 AM (YdQQY)

54 $.99 Kindle book.

And yes, I found this out after I purchased the smaller one.... :-/

Posted by: NukemHill at November 25, 2012 12:00 PM (7WLzC)

Also available free at Gutenberg.

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 08:02 AM (YdQQY)

55 You know, OregonMuse...a theme isn't really necessary. I love them, and I look forward to them, but I don't want you to get burned out. I was so thrilled when you started the book thread up again and I'd be bummed if it went away, so don't get to the point where you dread doing it and stop!

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at November 25, 2012 08:03 AM (cQPiF)

56 Masters of Rome.
Starting with.
The First Man in Rome.

I could not get past the first few pages of TFMIN. Guy kept going on about all the young boys he had sex with, i just said enough, i have other books to read.

Posted by: OregonMuse at November 25, 2012 08:03 AM (4gI2C)

57 #56 Oh, you Masters of Rome You that spread the kids' buns... ---not Bob Dylan

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 08:05 AM (Nnx4L)

58 1 I picked up two Daniel Boorstin tomes (The Discoverers and The Creators) for 25 cents a piece at a library sale. Any thoughts about whether they are worth reading? Posted by: SEM at November 25, 2012 11:18 AM (Z4nQ1) Yes. I have them both (as well as The Seekers). You can pick any chapter and start reading. Boorstin was what most historians used to be; neutral, erudite, curious, and enthusiastic, and it's conveyed in his prose.

Posted by: BuddyPC at November 25, 2012 08:06 AM (jfUIE)

59 I recently read the book All In by Paula Broadwell, the new biography of General Petraeus. It is one of the most penetrating and pleasurable books I've ever read. You can tell the author is passionate and devoted to her subject, and that she is willing to offer an intimate look at Gen. Petraeus. The book read as if he had gotten inside her while she was writing it. I appreciate her concern for all members of our military, right down to the smallest privates.

When I started reading the book, I figured I'd just get a chapter or two in before going to bed. Instead, Ms. Broadwell's appreciation for the meat of recent military history kept me up all night. When I finished, I was exhausted but deeply satisfied with the book, and I felt like emailing everyone I know repeatedly to tell them about it.

Posted by: The Lost Dutchman at November 25, 2012 08:06 AM (9F2c1)

Andre Norton was a remarkable novelist. I just re-read one of her novels on Kindle (it was free) that I read over 40 years ago. Interesting in what I missed.

She died nearly destitute, living with a family of fans that adored her work.

She wrote a lot about telekinetic powers in some of her books. I think that she wanted to believe that would empower the physically weaker members of society (like herself).

And destroying old children's books? Yes, we live in an age of growing barbarism. But it's for our own good.

Posted by: Reader C.J. Burch is Eddie Willers at November 25, 2012 08:06 AM (Md8Uo)

61 Just finished "This is how you lose her" by Junot Diaz. Halfway through, I kinda hated it. Finished, I kinda like it. The style is refreshing. The characters, well, see for yourself.

Posted by: eman at November 25, 2012 08:06 AM (bWwMZ)

62 28 Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 11:43 AM (Nnx4L) ---------- Methinks the govt has been trying to find an excuse for why some children are either juvenile delinquents or functionally illiterate, and the lead is the excuse.

Posted by: Baldy at November 25, 2012 08:07 AM (opS9C)

63 #62: When I was a kid, I used to devour books---but not literally. I can't see how lead in printing ink could possibly be a problem even if some kids chewed on the pages.

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 08:09 AM (Nnx4L)

64 #55 Thank you for your kind words, Tammy, I appreciate them very much. I just think I should do something a little more than put up a minimal post and call it a book thread. I like to give folks something to talk about, if they want to.

Next week, though, I'll be out of town until way late on Sat. night, so it might just be a minimal thread.

Posted by: OregonMuse at November 25, 2012 08:09 AM (4gI2C)

65 I could not get past the first few pages of TFMIN. Guy kept going on about all the young boys he had sex with, i just said enough, i have other books to read. Posted by: OregonMuse at November 25, 2012 12:03 PM (4gI2C) You missed out on some great stuff, then.

Posted by: eman at November 25, 2012 08:10 AM (bWwMZ)

66 56: Good to know. I don't mind a bit of reminder that depravity is as old as mankind and not unique to our postmodern world but I don't want to wallow in it.

Posted by: Palerider at November 25, 2012 08:10 AM (FYUWS)

67 In the Jaws of the Dragon: America's Fate in the Coming Era of Chinese Dominance

Got it in HC for a buck at Dollar Tree.

Posted by: Winston Smith at November 25, 2012 08:10 AM (MNbCC)

68 "Masters of Command" by Barry Strauss compares the tactics and strategy of Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar and gives a good rundown on their major battles--Guagamela, Cannae, and Pharsalus. A must for amateur tacticians and those interested in ancient history.

Posted by: Libra at November 25, 2012 08:10 AM (kd8U8)

69 Noticed in the credits for the Fox show "The Mob Doctor" that the series was based on a book. While the TV show is middling at best, I borrowed the source book from the library -- Ron Felber's "Il Dottore: The Double Life of a Mafia Doctor." Good book. Far more realistic than the TV show. Covers the NY mob from the 70s to the 90s. Portrayal of Rudy Giuliani as a prosecutor is not entirely sympathetic nor is it particularly flattering to the doctor or the mobsters. TV show has some great actors and the way they ***very*** loosely based it on the book is ingenious, there is relatively little similarity between show and book. Book is worthwhile; show not so much.

Posted by: Doug at November 25, 2012 08:11 AM (deJd4)

70 That pic is racist.

Posted by: pc at November 25, 2012 08:18 AM (zeWyX)

Anybody ever read Asimov's Fantastic Voyage? I haven't, but I thought the movie was pretty good with Raquel Welch in a form fitting suit.

Posted by: Count de Monet at November 25, 2012 08:19 AM (BAS5M)

72 Books are for fucking idiots. The shit I make up as I go along if much better.

Posted by: Joe Biden at November 25, 2012 08:19 AM (+rajA)

Speaking of old books, do not forget that pre-1985 children's books have been outlawed on "safety" grounds, because of alleged traces of lead in the printing ink.

That, and having counter-revolutionary messages. Mostly having counter-revolutionary messages.

Posted by: Jay Guevara at November 25, 2012 08:20 AM (4u2LN)

When I was a child in the early '50s, I discovered my father's copy of Marquis' "archy and mehitabel" and fell in love with that little cockroach and his head-pounding typing technique, sans shift key!

"archie" was such an influence that to this day I still sign my personal correspondence with just my initials, lowercase.

My favorite Marquis poem (written by "archy", of course!) was "pity the poor spiders":

twas an elderly mother spider
grown gaunt and fierce and gray
with her little ones crouched beside her
who wept as she sang this lay

curses on these here swatters
what kills off all the flies
for me and my little daughters
unless we eats we dies

swattin and swattin and swattin
tis little else you hear
and we ll soon be dead and forgotten
with the cost of living so dear

my husband he up and left me
lured off by a centipede
and he says as he bereft me
tis wrong but i ll get a feed

and me a working and working
scouring the streets for food
faithful and never shirking
doing the best i could

curses on these here swatters
what kills off all the flies
me and my poor little daughters
unless we eats we dies

only a withered spider
feeble and worn and old
and this is what
you do when you swat
you swatters cruel and cold

i will admit that some
of the insects do not lead
noble lives but is every
man s hand to be against them
yours for less justice
and more charity

`` jcp

Posted by: Clayton in Mississippi at November 25, 2012 08:20 AM (Y8KBs)

75 Frankly I always thought that "2001" and "2010 . . ." were great movies but suck azz books. I actually read "Star Wars" before I ever saw it back in the '70s. Book was decent and more detailed than the flick. "The Longest Day", while a great flick, plays fast and loose with incidents described in Ryan's book, including outright changing incidents told to him by participants. Still a great movie though. "Downfall" about Berlin in April '45 is also way better than the text. Kinda is the norm for war flicks though.

Posted by: The Man from Athens at November 25, 2012 08:21 AM (9Ec02)

76 I can't see photos on this site in Mozilla. I can in the big blue e thing though.

Posted by: Butters at November 25, 2012 08:21 AM (NIZHJ)

77 68 I concur! Strauss is a very good historian and writer. For those interested (a non-Strauss book) try "Lords of the Sea".

Posted by: The Man from Athens at November 25, 2012 08:24 AM (9Ec02)

78 #42 This is true. My daughter was a library science major and discovered this was going on. I about went nuts when I found out.

I buy older children's books as well, whenever I can find them (auctions, garage sales, etc.) The ones from the 1920's are particularly beautiful.

In the years ahead, I figure either the feds will come to my door and confiscate them, or they will be a fabulous and expensive collection for my grandparents to inherit.

If your library has book sales as mine does, you can also discover older novels and such. They periodically cull the stacks and get rid of things which I consider NOT junk but for whatever reason the librarians toss them.

Posted by: Miss Marple at November 25, 2012 08:25 AM (GoIUi)

Posted by: Miss Marple at November 25, 2012 12:25 PM (GoIUi)

Problem is, where do you store them? I'd love to do that, but don't have the room.

Posted by: HH at November 25, 2012 08:28 AM (XXwdv)

80 Anybody ever read Asimov's Fantastic Voyage? I haven't, but I thought the movie was pretty good with Raquel Welch in a form fitting suit.

Posted by: Count de Monet at November 25, 2012 12:19 PM (BAS5M)

---------->>>

I read the book about 30 years ago. I remember liking it, but I tend to like Asimov books. I can't tell you anything about the book other than I think it was based on the movie rather than the other way around.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop at November 25, 2012 08:29 AM (nYHk7)

81 I have got a lot of books at those library book sales. My wife and I get advance notice on them because we joined "friends of the library".

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 08:30 AM (YdQQY)

82 A huge thank you to Oregon muse for listing my books in his horror thread. Also a huge shout out to the moron horde that increased my sales tremendously - you guys rock! George Milonas

Posted by: George at November 25, 2012 08:30 AM (RPxMO)

83 I meant my grandchildren to inherit!

One would think I had had enough coffee by now.

Posted by: Miss Marple at November 25, 2012 08:31 AM (GoIUi)

84 Problem is, where do you store them? I'd love to do that, but don't have the room.

Posted by: HH at November 25, 2012 12:28 PM (XXwdv)

Same problem here. We have 7 book shelves down stairs and two upstairs and they are overflowing with the shelves stacked two deep.

The kindle is helping with that now.

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 08:32 AM (YdQQY)

85 #79 If you don't have the room, of course you can't. I do have the room so it's something I do. I have bookshelves in almost every room.

Posted by: Miss Marple at November 25, 2012 08:32 AM (GoIUi)

A few years ago, I saw a tv movie about a US aircraft carrier that went through a time warp, and ended up back in time right before the jappanese hit Pearl Harbor. Was this based on a book?

Posted by: by any means necessary at November 25, 2012 08:33 AM (uKaFc)

87 1941 I think?

Posted by: Butters at November 25, 2012 08:33 AM (NIZHJ)

88 Here are some zombie book recommendations. Flu by Wayne Simmons. Takes place in Ireland. White Ash on Bone by Jason Campagna. Takes place in Pennsylvania and then Kentucky.

Posted by: eman at November 25, 2012 08:34 AM (bWwMZ)

I remember reading about this lead-in-children's-books-and-toys when it first came out. The worst of it is, you can't just say I made this without any lead; you have to spring for testing to prove that you made it without any lead. Even if you made it with your own two hands and know exactly what went into it, you have to prove yourself innocent, so it's definitely "The Big Toy Makers' Proection Act." It's so hard to decide what the biggest evil is nowadays, the biggest threat to freedom, but right now I'm favoring the "administrative state." Congress should not be permitted to delegate its powers to the executive branch.

I have that "Wisdom of Psychopaths" on reserve at the library. For whoever it was who asked, the library is this place with books. Lots and lots of books. You can borrow the books for "free" (if you can overlook your taxes) after they've been damaged and manhandled by others (also a free service) and then read them. But there's a catch: the library wants them back, and they are relentless.

I am reading "Stop dressing your 6-year-old like a skank" or something like that - it's mildly amusing but not good neough for me to really remember the title - and "Dangerous Instincts" subtitled "how gut feelings betray us." It's moderately interesting, or, I should say, very interesting in some parts and really boring in others, so uneven.

On my Kindle, I gave up on the endless introduction of "The Road to Serfdom" and will doubtless return but settled on Paul Johnson's "History of the Jews" to be followed by his "History of Christianity."

By the way, "The Case for Christ" contains much good and useful information, but I hated the way it was written, with little narrative bits inserted in the interviews, like "He stood and pulled a book from the shelf" and "He rubbed his chin thoughtfully" and junk like that, so fake that it was extremely annoying and distracting.

Posted by: Tonestaple at November 25, 2012 08:34 AM (gvVlx)

90 71 Anybody ever read Asimov's Fantastic Voyage? -------- Yes, but *ages* ago, so I have little memory of it. I will happily read pretty much anything by Asimov, except for that last couple of Foundation books, where he gets all Gaia-ized.

Posted by: Anachronda at November 25, 2012 08:35 AM (c16IJ)

91 re: 86 ... The Final Countdown

Posted by: Grumpy the Younger at November 25, 2012 08:35 AM (jts1f)

92 The Final Countdown?

Posted by: Butters at November 25, 2012 08:35 AM (NIZHJ)

93 They periodically cull the stacks and get rid of things which I consider NOT junk but for whatever reason the librarians toss them.

In the 1960's the Troy NY public library went through a great culling of old "junk"...

..."junk" like Michael Faraday's 1830's vintage Electricity and Magnetism volumes, originals of Darwin's stuff, etc.

It was like the burning of the library at Alexandria. A nickle/dime per. My mom scored the Faraday's. They're worth thousands today.

Posted by: Winston Smith at November 25, 2012 08:36 AM (MNbCC)

94 A few years ago, I saw a tv movie about a US aircraft carrier that went through a time warp, and ended up back in time right before the jappanese hit Pearl Harbor. Was this based on a book?

Posted by: by any means necessary at November 25, 2012 12:33 PM (uKaFc)

-------------->>>>

The Final Countdown -- I don't think it was based on a book.

Posted by: Retired Buckeye Cop at November 25, 2012 08:37 AM (nYHk7)

95 Posted by: Winston Smith at November 25, 2012 12:36 PM (MNbCC) Damn.

Posted by: eman at November 25, 2012 08:38 AM (bWwMZ)

96 I remember seeing the poster. Roughly the same time as the Empire Strikes Back. The Nimitz I think.

Posted by: Butters at November 25, 2012 08:38 AM (NIZHJ)

97 The book was based on the script for the TV movie The Final Countdown.

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 08:39 AM (YdQQY)

98 I am not a huge fan of post apocalyptic books but the best one ever was "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller Jr. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz

Posted by: Grumpy the Younger at November 25, 2012 08:39 AM (jts1f)

99 I am not a huge fan of post apocalyptic books but the best one ever was "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller Jr. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz Posted by: Grumpy the Younger at November 25, 2012 12:39 PM (jts1f) That book is a science fiction classic and deservedly so.

Posted by: eman at November 25, 2012 08:40 AM (bWwMZ)

100 #86

The Final countdown was a 1980 theatrical release. The concept has been done many, many times in all sorts of variations. IMDB doesn't list any specific work adapted but you can find numerous books and short stories whose authors could claim the idea before the movie entered production.

Posted by: epobirs at November 25, 2012 08:40 AM (kcfmt)

101 I am not a huge fan of post apocalyptic books but the best one ever was "A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller Jr

Oh yes, that book has been discussed on many previous threads. It's a moron favorite!

Posted by: OregonMuse at November 25, 2012 08:41 AM (4gI2C)

102 The book was based on the script for the TV movie The Final Countdown. Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 12:39 PM (YdQQY) It came out in the theaters. The F-14's were cool, the rest was meh.

Posted by: eman at November 25, 2012 08:41 AM (bWwMZ)

103 Elbows a bunch!

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 08:41 AM (YdQQY)

104 I really wanted to see the strike force from the Nimitz clobber the Imperial Japanese Fleet. The producers could have had the decency and forethought to film it and release it on VHS or DVD as a bonus feature.

Posted by: eman at November 25, 2012 08:44 AM (bWwMZ)

105

The F-14's were cool, the rest was meh.

"Splash the Zero's. I repeat, splash the Zero's"

I loved that.

Posted by: HH at November 25, 2012 08:46 AM (XXwdv)

106 Methinks the govt has been trying to find an excuse for why some children are either juvenile delinquents or functionally illiterate, and the lead is the excuse.

Posted by: Baldy at November 25, 2012 12:07 PM (opS9C)

Which is clearly born out by the fact that nearly all the juvenile delinquents were enthusiastic readers as toddlers.

Posted by: somebody else, not me at November 25, 2012 08:47 AM (nZvGM)

107 The Troy library was built with old Carnegie money back in the robber baron era. Its collection of rare and groundbreaking works exceeded that of the NYC public library.

A huge amount of robber baron money was pumped into Troy/RPI back in the day.

Posted by: Winston Smith at November 25, 2012 08:48 AM (MNbCC)

108 I'm wading through all of the Newbery Medal winners. Slow going. Reading Call it Courage right now. Read Chopin last year for book club. Was not a fan of The Awakening.

Posted by: NCKate at November 25, 2012 08:50 AM (7b5aK)

109 Kate Chopin is a pretty good writer who's been "confiscated" by the idiot branch of new Feminism, which is all of it. Her argument was that women also have orgasms, which almost got her thrown out of the country way back when. Short stories are lovely Creole bits.

Posted by: Quint&Jessel, Sea of Azof, Bly, UK at November 25, 2012 08:51 AM (7v5Ct)

110 The Final Countdown is available from Amazon and ITunes.

Posted by: Butters at November 25, 2012 08:51 AM (NIZHJ)

111 The original library in my hometown was built with Carnegie money. It is now a historical artifact and museum.

I walked home with an arm load of books from there many a time. The new library is a lot bigger and further away so folks that walk have a long walk to do.

http://is.gd/33508q

Posted by: Vic at November 25, 2012 08:53 AM (YdQQY)

112 Of course that old "knowledge storehouse" legacy is all gone now...given over to liberal library fadism (which closely tracked public school fadism at the time).

Liberalism is not about standing on the shoulders of greatness to push civilization forward, is about destroying greatness.

Posted by: Winston Smith at November 25, 2012 08:53 AM (MNbCC)

113 56 & 57: The peddlers and the meddlers They buy and they sell They destroyed your city They'll destroy you as well The lecherous and treacherous Are hell bent for leather Each of them bigger Than all them put together Sluggers and muggers Wearing fancy gold rings All the women goin' crazy For the early Roman kings

Posted by: rickl at November 25, 2012 08:54 AM (sdi6R)

114 The best SF/Fantasy series I have read happens to be from a female author named Julian May. It is the Saga of the Pliocene Exile series, the first book (of four, then two prequels, then three sequels to the prequels) is The Many-Colored Land. The alternate world she developed is so deep it makes you fear for her sanity. She actually released an encyclopedia of sorts called A Pliocene Companion that was basically a compendium of her author's notes she used to keep everything straight while writing the series. They are out in Kindle form but the reviews say that the Kindle formatting is very poor. The first book came out in 1981, they are available in dead-tree form.

The gist of the story is that humans develop "metafunctions", basically psychic powers in a variety of flavors and in doing so they attract the (mostly benign) attention of the Galactic Milleu, several other races that also have metafunctions and have been observing the Earth for years, waiting for us to mature. A scientist also develops a one-way time gate to the past, to a point six million years ago and localized to a specific area in France. Seems pretty useless unless you are a square peg that does not fit into the Galactic Milleu's New World Order and want to start fresh in the unspoiled pastoral beauty of Pliocene Europe. What happens on the other side of the gate is the rest of the story that weaves in Celtic mythology, fairy tales, the legend of Atlantis and always stays coherent and involving.

IMO a great SF/Fantasy series needs a coherent magic or technology system, serious bad guys and then a great plot, and this series has all of those. I have yet to recommend the series to someone who hasn't enjoyed it. Not quite as funny as Neal Stephenson can be, but no less entertaining. Very highly recommended.

Posted by: Darren at November 25, 2012 08:55 AM (7K2n8)

115 #106

That is how the suppressive Comics Code Authority came into existence, thanks to a extremely stupid book entitled, 'Seduction of the Innocent.'

The author interviewed a lot of juvenile delinquents, which was considered a pressing issue in the 50s for reasons that defy credulity today. He found that nearly all of the JDs he asked read comic books. Therefore, the content of comic books lead to juvenile delinquency.

Never mind that nearly ALL children in the nation read comic books at the time. You might as well claim the eating of bread inspired criminal behavior, as there was scarcely anyone in prison who hadn't eaten bread.

Posted by: epobirs at November 25, 2012 08:55 AM (kcfmt)

116 "I told you that 'juvenile delinquent' is a contradiction in terms. 'Delinquent' means 'failing in duty.' But duty is an adult virtueÂ—indeed a juvenile becomes an adult when, and only when, he acquires a knowledge of duty and embraces it as dearer than the self-love he was born with. There never was, there cannot be a 'juvenile delinquent.' But for every juvenile criminal there are always one or more adult delinquentsÂ—people of mature years who either do not know their duty, or who, knowing it, fail."

Posted by: Lt. Col. Jean V. Dubois (Ret.) at November 25, 2012 08:55 AM (jts1f)

117

"The Troy library was built with old Carnegie money back in the robber baron era."

Funny thing is, even as those old buildings still exist, they tend to no longer be libraries.

And I'm pretty sure that the one my family used to take me to as a youngster back in Utica was also a Carnegie.

Posted by: HH at November 25, 2012 08:56 AM (XXwdv)

118 42 Yes, we are being ruled by madmen. But, in the case of children's books being destroyed on "safety" grounds, we are also experiencing one of the greatest acts of cultural vandalism to take place in our lifetime---almost wholly under the radar. They're not madmen. They know exactly what they're doing. George Orwell himself couldn't have conceived of such a crime.

Posted by: rickl at November 25, 2012 08:57 AM (sdi6R)

119 I added Daniel Boone by James Daugherty to my Newbery collection this week. I now have everything from 1922 to 2007. Cost me a pretty penny but it's my Christmas present to myself.

Posted by: NCKate at November 25, 2012 08:57 AM (7b5aK)

120 Very highly recommended. Posted by: Darren at November 25, 2012 12:55 PM (7K2n

Yes, it is a great favorite of mine.

Posted by: eman at November 25, 2012 08:58 AM (bWwMZ)

121 #104

You're talking about a production taking place mainly in 1979. Home video was a very new and exotic market then. The story of how the first pre-recorded Beta tapes were marketed is a big eye opener as to how utterly ignorant the studios were of the opportunity.

Posted by: epobirs at November 25, 2012 09:01 AM (kcfmt)

122 #78: If your library has book sales as mine does, you can also discover older novels and such. They periodically cull the stacks and get rid of things which I consider NOT junk but for whatever reason the librarians toss them. #93: In the 1960's the Troy NY public library went through a great culling of old "junk"... ..."junk" like Michael Faraday's 1830's vintage Electricity and Magnetism volumes, originals of Darwin's stuff, etc. It was like the burning of the library at Alexandria. A nickle/dime per. My mom scored the Faraday's. They're worth thousands today. In the mid-Nineties, San Francisco built a new public library. It was the middle of the dot-com boom---and the library consigned 250,000 volumes to the landfill. The library had been designed to hold fewer books---hey, it was the computer age; who would need 'em? Librarians style themselves as the Keepers of the Culture. This is crap; they periodically toss stuff in order to get in new videos or Danielle Steele books to play to the mob. Most of what they toss is precisely the rare archival material that libraries are supposed to retain. Some years ago, a fellow was dumpster-diving behind the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress is, among other things, the repository of all the deposit copies sent in for copyright registration. This dumpster diver found a dumpster full of paper film rolls---that is, the frame-by-frame prints, on long paper rolls, of masses of silent films that had been deposited in the process of copyright registration and which were now in the public domain. The films were printed on paper rolls because the film of that time was so unstable and liable to deterioration. The film rolls in the Library dumpster were, in many cases, the only extant copies of films which would now be lost forever but for an alert and educated garbage picker. Anti-copyright advocates, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and much of Silicon Valley, are great advocates of "the public domain." But the actions of librarians show that "the public domain" is largely an illusion---if there is no money to be made from preserving something, it is not preserved, and certainly not "available to all," except in rare instances; it is lost.

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 09:03 AM (Nnx4L)

123 Also reading a biography of Tecumseh free on Kindle. Interesting so far.

Posted by: NCKate at November 25, 2012 09:04 AM (7b5aK)

124 Currently reading Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, the latest in Bujold's Vokosigan Saga. Ivan and By are the main characters already known. The new dramatis personae include Jackson Whole refugees. If you have read the other 15 books, you will enjoy it. If you have not, start with "Shards of Honor."

Posted by: Grumpy the Younger at November 25, 2012 09:06 AM (jts1f)

125

The F-14's were cool, the rest was meh.

"Splash the Zero's. I repeat, splash the Zero's"

I loved that.

Posted by: HH at November 25, 2012 12:46 PM (XXwdv)

>>>>>

Brian Dennehy did a magnificent job as the Enterprise. So realistic.

Posted by: Count de Monet at November 25, 2012 09:15 AM (BAS5M)

126

I met Lois McMaster Bujold about 25 years ago at some SF Con in Cleveland or Columbus or whatever (don't really remember). At the time she was married to a kind of nerdy overweight guy, and they lived in Wisconsin. They have sinced divorced. Who knows what her marital status is now?

She was kinda hawt (in a naughty librairian kind of way) and I was single and I wondered why she was married to the fat nerdy guy, but now we are 25 years older and probably not as hawt now as I remember her.

Never was much interested in her books, though.

Posted by: Reader C.J. Burch is Eddie Willers at November 25, 2012 09:15 AM (Md8Uo)

127 in many cases, the only extant copies of films which would now be lost forever but for an alert and educated garbage picker.

The Visigoths have been running Washington for quite a while now.

Posted by: Winston Smith at November 25, 2012 09:18 AM (MNbCC)

128 Posted by: NCKate at November 25, 2012 12:57 PM (7b5aK) I'm so jealous, what a cool idea. I may have to steal it...I don't think I have many prior to the 40s.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at November 25, 2012 09:20 AM (cQPiF)

129 Posted by: The Lost Dutchman at November 25, 2012 12:06 PM (9F2c1) Such a clever Dutchman...

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at November 25, 2012 09:21 AM (cQPiF)

130

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 01:03 PM (Nnx4L)

Hell, maybe in the show "American Pickers" they are going to the wrong places.

All in all, that is just depressing...

Posted by: HH at November 25, 2012 09:23 AM (XXwdv)

131

OMG! I just Binged pictures of Lois McMaster Bujold.

Yikes, she looks pretty unappetizing. And she got old. Scary.

Don't do that, grow old and stuff.

Posted by: Reader C.J. Burch is Eddie Willers at November 25, 2012 09:23 AM (Md8Uo)

132 126 I met Lois McMaster Bujold about 25 years ago at some SF Con in Cleveland or Columbus or whatever (don't really remember). At the time she was married to a kind of nerdy overweight guy, and they lived in Wisconsin. They have sinced divorced. Who knows what her marital status is now? She was kinda hawt (in a naughty librairian kind ofway) and I was single and I wondered why she was married to the fat nerdy guy, but now we are 25 years older and probably not as hawt nowas I remember her. Never was much interested in her books, though. Posted by: Reader C.J. Burch is Eddie Willers at November 25, 2012 01:15 PM (Md8Uo) http://www.dendarii.com/biolog.html What genre do you prefer? The Vorkosigan series is political military adventure science fiction. The Chalion series is philosophical theological fantasy. I do not think her sharing knife series was on the same level.

Posted by: Grumpy the Younger at November 25, 2012 09:28 AM (jts1f)

133 10 It is also instructive to look at Marquis' columns and marvel at the level of literacy that the common straphanging reader was presumed/expected to have as a matter of course ninety to one hundred years ago. Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 11:30 AM (Nnx4L) Ah, the wages of public schooling...

Posted by: KG at November 25, 2012 09:28 AM (p7BzH)

134 Finishing up World War Z. Not horrible, but not that great either.

Posted by: Zakn at November 25, 2012 09:28 AM (zyaZ1)

135 There is one of her on her website from about 40 years ago where I can see what you were talking about but I had to go look for it because all the ahold I had seen previously were from her later years. If you remember her young and hot, you must have a few miles on the chassis by now. Getting old is better than the alternative. Cheers!

Posted by: Grumpy the Younger at November 25, 2012 09:31 AM (jts1f)

136 #133 Ah, the wages of public schooling... To be fair, the bulk of the population was educated in public school ninety to one hundred years ago too. But the standards were different; the high school graduate was a rare thing, and the high school graduate then was probably more literate than the putative college graduate of today; the graduate of eighth grade in the 1920s could probably shame a high school graduate of our own day.

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 09:32 AM (Nnx4L)

137 136 the graduate of eighth grade in the 1920s could probably shame a high school graduate of our own day. I saw a comment just the other day that said an eighth grade dropout back then had enough arithmetic to become a carpenter. Today he would be stocking shelves at Home Depot.

Posted by: rickl at November 25, 2012 09:37 AM (sdi6R)

138 To be fair, the bulk of the population was educated in public school ninety to one hundred years ago too. But the standards were different; the high school graduate was a rare thing, and the high school graduate then was probably more literate than the putative college graduate of today; the graduate of eighth grade in the 1920s could probably shame a high school graduate of our own day. Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 01:32 PM (Nnx4L) Yes, but public schooling was a goal of the Progressives from the start, and it was a process, they couldn't dumb down the populace instantly.

Posted by: KG at November 25, 2012 09:41 AM (p7BzH)

139 128 Really only Daniel Boone was hard to find. The rest are in print and have tons of reprints still. The two poetry books have been my least favorite so far. I'm not reading in any particular order. Nine books down so far.

Posted by: NCKate at November 25, 2012 09:41 AM (7b5aK)

140 the graduate of eighth grade in the 1920s could probably shame a high school graduate of our own day. Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 01:32 PM (Nnx4L) No doubt! Someone mentioned last week the section in one of Laura Ingalls Wilder books where the school kids give an exibition....it was unreal. I also remember a chapter where she talks about taking the exam for her teaching license (at age 15!) and being amazed.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at November 25, 2012 09:43 AM (cQPiF)

141 #133 Ah, the wages of public schooling... To be fair, the bulk of the population was educated in public school ninety to one hundred years ago too. But the standards were different; the high school graduate was a rare thing, and the high school graduate then was probably more literate than the putative college graduate of today; the graduate of eighth grade in the 1920s could probably shame a high school graduate of our own day. Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 01:32 PM (Nnx4L) I have heard recent college grads talking about the courses they took in college. I kept thinking "I took that in High School" Then they talked about grading on a curve...

Posted by: eman at November 25, 2012 09:43 AM (bWwMZ)

142

Oh, BTW, I'd like to thank Mr. O'Muse for the pic above the post. Nice to see a famiily enjoying a meal together.

One question though. Is that our prez on the left?

Considering the food and all...

Posted by: HH at November 25, 2012 09:46 AM (XXwdv)

143 NCKate, I think it'll be fun collecting them! I am pretty sure I have most from at least 1950; I have a few from the 40s....the Wilder series, Justin Morgan Had a Horse, Misty of Chicoawhatchacallit and Daughter of the Mountains, probably a few more.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at November 25, 2012 09:47 AM (cQPiF)

144 #136 My late mother-in-law, who was born in 1918, only went to 8th grade because her mother died and she had to take care of her younger brother and sister.

She wrote beautifully, with excellent penmanship. Much better than what I saw 20 years ago when I substitute taught in the local high school.

My grandmother was an elementary teacher of the old school. She originally got her degree from one of the normal schools, and somewhere around here I have her book with all of the information she was expected to know. Elaborate story problems about bushels and pecks and tons, geographical questions like "Name in order every principal river and mountain range you would cross while traveling from Baltimore, Maryland west to San Francisco, California.." They had to know so much more than current teachers it was astounding.

And being as I was a 1966 high school graduate, I find I was taught a lot more than my children or grandchildren were (except that I supplemented the curriculum). I was so disheartened to read my granddaughter's American history book. It seemed to me it was written at the 4th grade level and she is in 8th grade.

Posted by: Miss Marple at November 25, 2012 09:49 AM (GoIUi)

145 #138 Yes, but public schooling was a goal of the Progressives from the start, and it was a process, they couldn't dumb down the populace instantly. There is nothing innately wrong with public schooling as a concept. There is something innately wrong with using public schooling as "progressive" indoctrination. The problem lies with the fact that something which may be a good idea changes when it is institutionalized. Public unions, and the teacher's union in particular, are a major part of the problem. Part of the problem is also that a group or a cause is built around what appears to be a good idea, and the idea attracts people who do not realize that they are tools of a small group pushing a nefarious agenda. Think of the many well-meaning dupes who joined innocent-sounding organizations in the '30s and '40s, organizations which were later revealed to be communist fronts. On that note, consider the many well-meaning sheep who go along with the false concept of "marriage equality." The gay-rights lobby was communist-founded from the beginning, and the post-Stonewall version was specifically built around the objective of destroying marriage---something the movement has never been questioned about, never addressed, and never forsworn, yet "marriage" is now the star must-have in the movement's diadem. The gay-rights lobby has been attacking the First Amendment protections of free speech and freedom of religion for over 40 years, and "marriage equality" is the lever it is using now. Yet most of the people who support this movement, whether homosexual or heterosexual, have no idea of this, and are shocked and disbelieving if you try and tell them.

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 09:50 AM (Nnx4L)

146 Hi kids, can't wait to get Vince Flynns next book. Ordered it on Amazon. Working on the Follow up to Amy Lynn, It's called Amy Lynn; To Kill A Child. Here's a couple of paragraphs if your intrested. Agent Bolin, a former NC State college football player that majored in criminal justice, quickly climbed the ranks in the Charlotte North Carolina police dept. A detective the tender age of 29, he was recruited by the FBI for his ability to quickly solve crimes. His gift was the capability to see complex situations and simplify them. While dealing with criminals he was kind and unassuming. It was said he could make you a friend as he charged you with murder. T was paired with Agent Bolin while investigating the infiltration of the Russian Mafia into America. More specifically, Russian Jews that had set up a stronghold in Miami. They had a leadership target and completed the mission but unlike the structured Italian Cosa-Nostra type families, they were made up of loose networks and decidedly more difficult to track. Agent BolinÂ’s ability to put it all together impressed the hell out of her. Staring out of the window of the jet, T thought about him. He never looked at her tits or ass, always in the eye, always listening and learning. She dropped so many subtle hints that she was interested in him but he was clueless. When their mission was over she invited him to her house for dinner. After they ate she went to the bathroom and returned wearing high heels and not much else. He finally figured it out. Doting over him was a joy. T loved their time together. She was still what she was, an assassin, but her ability to separate her personal and professional life made her whole. For the first time in her life, she was a happy woman. Thoughts of marriage and babies began to seep into her consciousness. She fought it, but it was there. Suddenly, six months after it began, it was over. Congressman Â“HonestÂ” Abe Goldman compromised their mission. His affair with a reporter, Cassandra Blake or the name her parents gave her, Irina Slavina, lead to the leak of agent BolinÂ’s name. In true Russian Mob fashion, they didnÂ’t go after Agent Bolin. They killed his parents. One month later after an investigation, Agent Bolin returned the favor. Sitting on a park bench, disguised, Agent Bolin emptied a .45 into Congressman Goldman. He almost escaped except for a beat Cop that got off a lucky shot shattering his femur while Bolin was running away. Agent Bolin could have killed the cop but he wouldnÂ’t shoot an innocent man. By the time T returned from a black op in Iraq, Agent Bolin had pleaded guilty and the trial was all but over. The sentence was life in Leavenworth. T worked every angle she could think of to get him out, including putting a team together to break him out. It wasnÂ’t to be because Brandon didnÂ’t want it. He was a lawman, he broke the law and that was that. She saw him one last time during a visitorÂ’s day at Leavenworth. He asked two things of her. Find out who killed his parents and let justice be done. Finally, never return to visit, forget about him. The first she had already planned on but the second? That would be much harder. She wrote letters and went back to the prison to visit. He wouldnÂ’t see her nor did he read any of her letters. Â“Let justice be done,Â” Brandon had told her, and it was. The man that gave the order to have BrandonÂ’s parents murdered spent his last hours with TÂ’s power tools and a blowtorch. Cassandra Blake? T was sure to do a major mind fuck on her. Posing as a Hollywood agent scouting for a sitcom actress to play a reporter, T played on every vapid narcissistic cell in her body. By the time T was finished with her, Miss Blake did get to play a role. The role of a steaming pile of Alligator shit on a riverbank in the everglades. It was an Emmy award caliber performance.

Posted by: Oldsailors Poet, Wonders what Dagny thinks at November 25, 2012 09:53 AM (3Y7RV)

147 http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/11/25/buzz-ballad-fess-up-little-susie/

Posted by: buzzsawmonkey at November 25, 2012 09:59 AM (Nnx4L)

148 Miss Marple, I attended a little bitty country church-school and all my teachers were of the old-school! I think they waste so much potential now...especially in Kindergarten. We had to learn to read ( from those See Spot Run books...McGuffy?), count to 100, know all our colors and shapes, recite the 23rd Psalm, the Luke version of the Christmas story and tie our shoes, or we were held back. We went 8 hours, and had an hour nap time. We got a gold star if we slept, or, in my case, laid still and didn't whisper to our neighbors. (Which was harder by far than any of the academic goals for me)

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at November 25, 2012 10:00 AM (cQPiF)

149 Tammy-al-Thor, that was my grandmother's style of teaching, too. Many of her contemporaries were still teaching when I went through school. My government teacher (Miss Chandler of the sensible black oxfords and 1930's bobbed gray hair) made us re-write the entire Constitution in our own words. And if you misinterpreted the meaning, points deducted!

I had to memorize long poems and passages from Shakespeare. We were required to do compositions and term papers with footnotes. Written book reports with oral presentations.

And my elementary school put on a big Christmas pageant with a nativity scene while the 5th and 6th grade choirs sang a medley of religious carols. We started every day with the Pledge of Allegiance and the Lord's Prayer.

And there was an actual dress code. I never once wore anything but a skirt to school. Jeans were not allowed, even for boys. And no t-shirts! And all shirts tucked in, too.

Posted by: Miss Marple at November 25, 2012 10:19 AM (GoIUi)

150 134 Finishing up World War Z. Not horrible, but not that great either.

I agree. The conception, the idea, is very good -- describing a Zombie event via a series of "interviews" with people. A better writer might have made a really good book out of that. But as it is, it was just barely worth reading to the end.

Posted by: Splunge at November 25, 2012 12:40 PM (2IW5Q)

151 I liled World War Z. The movie, however, is said to give a whole new meaning to horrible.

Posted by: megthered at November 25, 2012 02:52 PM (iR4Dg)

152 DON MARQUIS!!!!

I love him. Our mom introduced us to archy and mehitabel, and I happily devoured the whole book. He's hilarious. If you haven't read his stuff, you're in for a treat.

He was also the patron saint of the Algonquin Hotel's "Round Table," also known as "The Vicious Circle" -- Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, Franklin P. Adams, George S. Kaufman, Harpo Marx, Alexander Woolcott, Edna Ferber, and some others of that ilk.

Don was a few years older than that crowd, but they adored him as a great wit.

He also wrote a play called "The Old Soak," which was briefly on the Broadway boards.

Posted by: beverly at November 26, 2012 12:37 AM (2EkBl)

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