Ace of Spades HQ

December 02, 2012

Sunday Morning Book Thread 12-02-2012: Brotherly Love Edition [OregonMuse]
— Open Blogger

Yeah, some dumb guy in Philadelphia actually thought putting up this sculpture was a good idea

Good morning, 'rons and 'ettes, and welcome to the Sunday Morning Book Thread. I had to be out of town most of the day yesterday, so today's content will be light.

Book by Morons for Morons

You're all probably familiar with longtime moron commenter Wyatt Earp. You've heard him bitch about his home town, Philadelphia ("the crack whore of cities"), and you've heard him piss and moan about the Eagles, an NFL team known primarily for being used by other NFL teams to blow their noses on, but despite all this, he got off his sorry ass and actually wrote a book. When I was highlighting moron authors awhile back, I somehow missed him. Anyway, Mr. Earp's book Only Son, is available on Kindle for the ~~absolutely outrageous~~ very reasonable price of $3.99. The plot of this crime novel involves "a discharged U.S. serviceman [being] found dead on a Philadelphia street and a pair of homicide detectives struggle to solve a crime with no witnesses, no leads, and no family to speak for the victim."

And you know no one knows the mean streets of Philadelphia ("we're not as corrupt as Baltimore") quite like Wyatt Earp, a police officer who no doubt spends all of his time dealing with perps, creeps, scrotes, toughs, punks, thugs, and Methodists.

So buy his book and read it, dammit.
From the Mailbag

I received an e-mail from moronette commenter DangerGirl who recommends Injured Reserves, available on Kindle. Subtitled "a song of war", DG says this 16,000-word novella is "one of the most beautifully written accounts of a war situation I've ever read. Not only is it horrifying, but it is uplifting as well and patriotic in a way." When I tracked down a link for it on Amazon, I was struck by the superlative language used by the reviewers: "blown away", "like nothing else", "you'll never forget this" and my favorite, "it's not even about the words, it's the way they're woven. It's like a fine Persian rug. You stare and admire the beauty but can't figure out how the creator put it all together."

Whew. Anyway, for $2.99, it's definitely worth a look.

And that pretty much wraps it up for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, and insults may be sent to aoshqbookthread@gmail.com

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

Update (and bleg): This is really strange. I have lost the ability to post comments on this blog. It doesn't tell me I've been banned, it's just that when I enter a comment and click on the 'Post' button, the screen refreshes and the comment simply disappears and does not appear in the comment list. This occurs whether I use IE, FF, or Chrome, and it doesn't matter if I'm in Linux or Windows. I've also reset my modem and gotten a new IP address, but I still can't comment. Anyone else run into this before?

Posted by: Open Blogger at 06:54 AM | Comments (191)
Post contains 524 words, total size 3 kb.

1 Re-reading old stuff again.

Posted by: Vic at December 02, 2012 06:58 AM (YdQQY)

2 Two worst jobs in America: 1 - Crack whore 2 - Assistant crack whore

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at December 02, 2012 07:00 AM (XkWWK)

3 Hey, where can I get me a copy of that Clock Management for Dummies book?

Posted by: Andy Reid at December 02, 2012 07:01 AM (8qoXL)

4 Trying to work my way through Kant's Introduction to Logic. Again. Making notes this time, because I'm pretty sure that's the only way I'll be able to grok this stuff.

Posted by: Secundus, Caring Life Coach at December 02, 2012 07:02 AM (rndzn)

5 COCK Management or GLOCK Management? There goes my eyesight.

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at December 02, 2012 07:02 AM (XkWWK)

6 Anyway, Mr. Earp's book Only Son, is available on Kindle

I did my part, Morons.

Posted by: fluffy at December 02, 2012 07:02 AM (z9HTb)

7 And Phillip K. Dick kinda had a thing for psychics, huh?

Posted by: Secundus, Caring Life Coach at December 02, 2012 07:03 AM (rndzn)

8 Started Tau Zero by Poul Anderson but I haven't really made any headway so I might put it aside for now. Anderson does his best work, IMHO, when people are hacking away with swords (The High Crusade, The Broken Sword). Given that he helped found the Society for Creative Anachronism, this shouldn't surprise anyone.

Posted by: BornLib at December 02, 2012 07:05 AM (zpNwC)

9 Finished my Newbery Medal of Daniel Boone, very unPC written in 1940. Liked it. Starting A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Finished a Tecumseh bio. Very interesting also.

Posted by: NCKate at December 02, 2012 07:05 AM (V1oS8)

10 Just finished The Passage by Justin Cronin. Started off well, slowed down real quick, I thought. Overall I liked it, but not what I expected. I think I'll read the sequel at some point. Biggest problem now is figuring out what to read next. My ereader has so many books I can't decide what I want to read. First world problems, I know.

Posted by: kalel666 at December 02, 2012 07:06 AM (DgQHz)

11 I didn't see a hard copy of the Injured Reserves. Would have been a nice xmas gift for my dad (who won't touch the ebook technology). I'm going to download it, though, for myself, on my wonderful Kindle. Thanks. It sounds like a gem.

Posted by: beach & a kindle at December 02, 2012 07:06 AM (LpQbZ)

12 3 Hey, where can I get me a copy of that Clock Management for Dummies book?

Posted by: Andy Reid at December 02, 2012 11:01 AM (8qoXL)

Hahahaha awesome.

Posted by: DangerGirl at December 02, 2012 07:13 AM (GrtrJ)

13 I was going to tell why that comment thingie happens, but I don't think I can post comments now, either.

Posted by: Tom Servo at December 02, 2012 07:14 AM (hTDbY)

14 Just finished reading a nonfiction book by Joel Garreau, called _Radical Evolution_. It's full of gee-whizzery about how genetics, robotics, information tech, and nanotechnology are going to make us all into transhumans superbeings. Back when it came out in '05, I probably would have said "What an awesome book! The future's going to be awesome!" Now? I guess we can watch from the sidelines as the children of Chinese Politburo members and Russian oligarchs transcend into posthumanity. I hope they exterminate us painlessly.

Posted by: Trimegistus at December 02, 2012 07:15 AM (gS5Da)

15 Anyone else run into this before?

Only about every fucking day.

Posted by: typical moron commenter interfacing with Pixy's hamsters at December 02, 2012 07:16 AM (d/5qf)

16
     I've been too busy reading "real" books (ie. required reading for my grad school history classes) to actually sit down and read something enjoyable. Actually, that is a bit unfair, there is one book that I would highly recommend. The Tools of Empire by Daniel Headrick came out in 1981 and is a very nice account of how technology was used by European countries to spread European power and influence around the globe. Very old-fashioned in the way that it presents things without the reflexive self-flagellation that usually attends any work focused on European imperialism in the 1800s.

     And by the way, since I mentioned that, when did everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) in human history get shoved through the unholy trinity of class, race and gender? Is that the only way historians know how to look at the world anymore? This is a serious question, I have taken three classes this semester and two of them were taught by Obama-worshipping liberal jackasses who never shut up about those three things. Thank God for the third teacher, a no-nonsense military historian who hates anything that was invented or designed prior to 1960, including computers, cell phones, hippies and slack-jawed undergraduates who show up to class in their pajamas (for which they were promptly kicked out of his class). If it wasn't for him, I seriously might have changed schools.

    I can't wait to get my M.A. in history and start teaching somewhere, I'm going to correct some of this "class, race and gender" bullshit and it's going to piss some people off, which will fill my heart with joy and/or glee.

Posted by: Pave Low John at December 02, 2012 07:17 AM (iv6vl)

17 Oh and beach, I don't think Injured Reserves comes in hard copy at all. My guess is because it's probably self-published and ebook is the cheapest/easiest way to go for that these days.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.

Posted by: DangerGirl at December 02, 2012 07:17 AM (GrtrJ)

Reading the third 'Sandman Slim' book, Devil Said Bang, by Richard Kadrey.

Kind of a punk/horror/supernatural thing with some humor thrown in. I've enjoyed the whole series so far.

Posted by: Phat at December 02, 2012 07:19 AM (7rP1z)

19 Moar cheerleader butt please.

Posted by: . at December 02, 2012 07:20 AM (Q8Wa9)

20 Since I'm on my Renaisaince kick, I finished off the bio of Caterina Sforza,
the Tigress of Forli, surprisingly the pattern of scurrilous defamation, that we've seen with certain figures, was present 5 centuries ago, it makes it into
the Borgia's series, into the Kalpakian novel and one by Boyala, it came from
certain figures, that she refused to accept her puerile advice, like Machiavelli,

Posted by: phillip fry at December 02, 2012 07:21 AM (ctjsq)

21 Current reads:

DTB: About 75% through The Walking Dead Compendium One

Kindle: "Hollywood Interrupted" by Breitbart and someone else (too lazy to look it up)

iPhone Kindle app: "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth. Book #2 in a young adult dystopian series, pretty good.

Posted by: DangerGirl at December 02, 2012 07:21 AM (GrtrJ)

22 I can't wait to get my M.A. in history and start teaching somewhere, I'm going to correct some of this "class, race and gender" bullshit and it's going to piss some people off, which will fill my heart with joy and/or glee. Posted by: Pave Low John at December 02, 2012 11:17 AM (iv6vl) *clap

Posted by: beach & a kindle at December 02, 2012 07:21 AM (LpQbZ)

23 I'm reading Tom Wolfe's latest, "Back to Blood.". Kind of a standard TW novel. Meh.

Posted by: Wodeshed at December 02, 2012 07:22 AM (a9L+B)

24 Trump's 737 is still parked in the executive jet parking lot at Palm Beach International.

Posted by: Palm Beach Pooter Hound at December 02, 2012 07:22 AM (ufLRj)

25 Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Posted by: DangerGirl at December 02, 2012 11:17 AM (GrtrJ) Yeah, I hit the author link, and only saw a handful of ebooks. It's okay. I have a backup for my dad's xmas present! Thanks for the suggestion, though. It sounds exactly down my alley.

Posted by: beach & a kindle at December 02, 2012 07:23 AM (LpQbZ)

26 I don't read. That's why I write movie scripts!

Posted by: J.J. Sefton at December 02, 2012 07:23 AM (XkWWK)

27 Anybody know if there is software one can use to download Kindle books and read them on, you know, a PC? I'd sure consider buying some of these e-only books if I didn't also have to buy an expensive piece of hardware to read them.

Maybe a Kindle-file to pdf converter?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 02, 2012 07:26 AM (pFqpP)

28 Anybody know if there is software one can use to download Kindle books and read them on, you know, a PC?

Yeah, amazon has a free Kindle reader for the PC.

Posted by: Waterhouse at December 02, 2012 07:27 AM (DBrXN)

29 Fuck this brotherly love shit. I live in a country where I'm surrounded by imbeciles that think socialism is a good idea, and a president who thinks he's a king. so, yeah... and the horse you rode in on.

Posted by: billypaintbrush at December 02, 2012 07:28 AM (qhyJx)

30 Anybody know if there is software one can use to download Kindle books and read them on, you know, a PC? I'd sure consider buying some of these e-only books if I didn't also have to buy an expensive piece of hardware to read them. Maybe a Kindle-file to pdf converter? Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 02, 2012 11:26 AM (pFqpP) I know it can be done. My husband does it. But, he's in the Middle East atm, and the internetz is down where he is. (seriously) Else, I would ask him. I'm sure it's out on the web somewhere, after a fine-tuned search.

Posted by: beach & a kindle at December 02, 2012 07:28 AM (LpQbZ)

31 Reading is for dinosaurs.

Posted by: Truman North at December 02, 2012 07:29 AM (I2LwF)

32 Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 02, 2012 11:26 AM (pFqpP)

Kindle for PC. It's on the Amazon site.

Posted by: Horatio Nelson at December 02, 2012 07:29 AM (GsoHv)

33 I'm reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons. There's a second book called The Fall of Hyperion which I also have.

Good thing, too, because it looks like Book 1 is merely the setup for the actions to come in Book 2. So far this ain't ranking in my top 3 for Mr. Simmons.

Novels now take me quite a while to read, as I spend a lot of reading time on the net.

Posted by: GnuBreed at December 02, 2012 07:29 AM (ccXZP)

Pave Low John @ 16

Where are you going to teach? Who would accept you with those counter-revolutionary reactionary ideas?

The intellectual Marxists control the Academy (as you have found out) and the synthesis of race, class and gender is all about the Marxist dialectic being taught. Facts are irrelevant.

Good luck, though. Someone has to fight this fight in the academy. I sincerely wish you find a place to teach and speak truth to idiocy.

Posted by: Reader C.J. Burch is Eddie Willers at December 02, 2012 07:29 AM (Md8Uo)

35 This is really strange. I have lost the ability to post comments on this blog. It doesn't tell me I've been banned, it's just that when I enter a comment and click on the 'Post' button, the screen refreshes and the comment simply disappears and does not appear in the comment list. This occurs whether I use IE, FF, or Chrome, and it doesn't matter if I'm in Linux or Windows. I've also reset my modem and gotten a new IP address, but I still can't comment. Anyone else run into this before? It's just Pixy's way of saying that you're no longer welcome around here.

Posted by: rickl at December 02, 2012 07:31 AM (sdi6R)

36 Kindle for PC:

http://tinyurl.com/2e3r7fe

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at December 02, 2012 07:31 AM (GsoHv)

37 23) It's a very exaggerated view of Miami, I grew up there, so I recognize some elements, considering this was written before the whole Zimmerman business, it was somewhat prescient,

Posted by: phillip fry at December 02, 2012 07:31 AM (ctjsq)

38 k this brotherly love shit. I live in a country where I'm surrounded by imbeciles that think socialism is a good idea, and a president who thinks he's a king. so, yeah... and the horse you rode in on. Posted by: billypaintbrush at December 02, 2012 11:28 AM (qhyJx) That book was titled: Out of Left Field

Posted by: beach & a kindle at December 02, 2012 07:31 AM (LpQbZ)

39 Gnu: actually Hyperion is a much more enjoyable book than Fall of Hyperion. It's a space-opera Canterbury Tales.

Posted by: Trimegistus at December 02, 2012 07:32 AM (gS5Da)

40 28 Anybody know if there is software one can use to download Kindle books and read them on, you know, a PC? Yeah, amazon has a free Kindle reader for the PC. Posted by: Waterhouse at December 02, 2012 11:27 AM (DBrXN) And for the Mac, too. I've downloaded and installed it, although I still generally prefer old-fashioned books.

Posted by: rickl at December 02, 2012 07:32 AM (sdi6R)

41 the mighty USS Strongly Worded Letter?

Posted by: whiskey tango at December 02, 2012 07:34 AM (JvP2I)

42 Relevant link: http://tinyurl.com/czmyaux Neil DeGrasse Tyson on the books every intelligent person should read. It's an excellent list, and Mr. Tyson goes up a notch in my estimation because of it.

Posted by: Trimegistus at December 02, 2012 07:36 AM (gS5Da)

43 The next big tea party rally happens December 5th in Tennessee, rallying against the implementation of Obamacare exchanges. If you can be there, please go. Relevant info linked in my sig.

Posted by: Truman North at December 02, 2012 07:37 AM (I2LwF)

44 Trump's 737 is still parked in the executive jet parking lot at Palm Beach International.

Probably been booted. Time are tough, and he notorious for not paying local bills.

Posted by: @PurpAv at December 02, 2012 07:37 AM (xZLI3)

45 anybody read greg gutfeld's new one? that guy kills me.

Posted by: whiskey tango at December 02, 2012 07:40 AM (JvP2I)

46 'The Dancing Wu Li Masters" by Gary Zukav. Great introduction to quantum physics which is some of the strangest shit you can imagine.

Posted by: Libra at December 02, 2012 07:40 AM (kd8U8)

47 Cheer up Philadelphia fans there is always Chuck Bednarik and 1960.

Posted by: McCarthy was Right at December 02, 2012 07:42 AM (Kflw4)

Just finished Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois Mcmaster Bujold. Very good. It is a romantic comedy set in her Warrior's Apprentice / Barrayar SF worlds. Hardcover, but Baen.com has it as an E-book for $6.00.

Looking forward to Sarah Hoyt's Darkship Renegades out next week. FYI --- Sarah is a conservative who has been posting on Instapundit with Glenn R.

Posted by: rd at December 02, 2012 07:44 AM (zLp5I)

49 I like "Alice in Quantum Land" for a non-scientist intro to quantum physics.

Posted by: Truman North at December 02, 2012 07:44 AM (I2LwF)

50 Anybody know if there is software one can use to download Kindle books and read them on, you know, a PC? I'd sure consider buying some of these e-only books if I didn't also have to buy an expensive piece of hardware to read them.

Maybe a Kindle-file to pdf converter?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 02, 2012 11:26 AM (pFqpP)

Calibre will do conversions and has a built in reader. And it's free.

http://calibre-ebook.com/download

Posted by: Tunafish at December 02, 2012 07:46 AM (oA9th)

51 Rdbrewer?

Posted by: Truman North at December 02, 2012 07:46 AM (I2LwF)

52 I'm reading 'Unconditional Surrender -- The Best Opening Negotiating Position'. Didn't even have to buy it, someone left it in my mailbox.

Posted by: John Boner [/i] at December 02, 2012 07:46 AM (feFL6)

53 A three day detox from media agitprop and news of comrade dear leader the chicago toilet water converting loaves and fishes messiah. It is good to unplug from the glorious collective matrix hive of mediocrity and epic failure.

Posted by: Nebelwerfer at December 02, 2012 07:47 AM (Kflw4)

54 "Captain Vorpatril's Alliance" by Lois McMaster Bujold. Read it because of Instapundit's recommendation. Excellent. Very prolific & popular author. My local library, not great for SF, has lots of her books. I had gotten away from SF because there is so much crap from authors who have great concepts but can't write. Nice to discover Bujold.

Posted by: Doug at December 02, 2012 07:47 AM (CZQx/)

55 American Tabloid by James Ellroy is one awesome book but be warned, Ellroy really messes with your brain wiring and gets you thinking baaaaad thoughts...

Posted by: Stephen Potter at December 02, 2012 07:50 AM (8OfzP)

56 Probably been booted. 1-800-BOOT-FREE No kidding, in Philadelphia they boot, then wait for the tow truck to arrive, because if they just drive away there's someone who comes along and cuts the boot off for a fee. Probably one of those diamond tipped masonry cutting saws.

Posted by: Schrödinger's cat [/i] at December 02, 2012 07:53 AM (feFL6)

57 "when I enter a comment and click on the 'Post' button, the screen refreshes and the comment simply disappears and does not appear in the comment list." It happened to me once on my work computer using Firefox. Next time I logged on the problem was gone. This probably does not help you.

Posted by: real joe at December 02, 2012 07:53 AM (PD2ad)

58 Gotta watch out for them methodists. And the nice thing about Baltimore is that every city in the US except Detroit can look down on them.

Posted by: joncelli at December 02, 2012 07:54 AM (CWlPF)

59 Ellroy, started to go really off the boards with 'the Cold 6000's,' and the last one, Rover, went really nowhere.

Posted by: phillip fry at December 02, 2012 07:54 AM (ctjsq)

60 Detroilet? Isn't that the new model of a socialist utopi in the USSA?

Posted by: failure the new success at December 02, 2012 07:57 AM (Kflw4)

61 Finished rereading Pipes' Russia Under the Old Regime, read The Oxford History of the Middle Ages, in Cantor's Civilization of the Middle Ages, time out for rereading The Oresteia.

Posted by: joncelli at December 02, 2012 07:58 AM (CWlPF)

62 Re: Lord Vorpatril's Alliance Not the way I expected that particular problem to be resolved. Kind of the opposite to how Miles resolved his similar problem.

Posted by: Fox2! at December 02, 2012 07:59 AM (1Qpmy)

63 i haven't been reading anything but news lately....never finished the hunger games from last spring....started moby dick and shoved that sucker aside after the first 6 pages....one day i'll grow up and read it....i did buy "killing floor" might start that tomorrow..and have the "how to kill a million people"

Posted by: phoenixgirl, my baby is 13yrs old today!!!! at December 02, 2012 07:59 AM (GVxQo)

64 52 I'm reading 'Unconditional Surrender -- The Best Opening Negotiating Position'. Didn't even have to buy it, someone left it in my mailbox. Posted by: John Boner at December 02, 2012 11:46 AM (feFL6) THREAD WINNER

Posted by: Truman North at December 02, 2012 07:59 AM (I2LwF)

65 "59 Ellroy, started to go really off the boards with 'the Cold 6000's,' and the last one, Rover, went really nowhere." I agree Cold 6000 was a big disappointment after American Tabloid, but thought Rover was a bit better although still not a patch on the first one. American Tabloid is the one I can (and have) read again and again - love the arcs of each of the main characters...

Posted by: Stephen Potter at December 02, 2012 07:59 AM (emKSZ)

66 Do I see Tipper and Al frolicking in the pool under that statue?

Posted by: Fox2! at December 02, 2012 07:59 AM (1Qpmy)

67 Due to the fact that I am incredibly cheap, I am reading another free book on Kindle, The Three Musketeers by Dumas. I figure since I have seen all the movies, might as well read the original. It's a lot of fun, and very French. The only problem is that I hear it in my head with that atrocious Monty Python French accent.

Posted by: real joe at December 02, 2012 08:00 AM (PD2ad)

I had gotten away from SF because there is so much crap from authors who have great concepts but can't write. Nice to discover Bujold.

Posted by: Doug at December 02, 2012 11:47 AM (CZQx/)

Try David Drake. Space Opera - With the Lightnings.

Virgil's Odyssey updated in - Cross the Stars.

Posted by: rd at December 02, 2012 08:00 AM (zLp5I)

69 OT. Someone should tackle Agenda 21.

Posted by: Butters at December 02, 2012 08:01 AM (NIZHJ)

70 Still reading the atlas of eastern front battles. On the Stalingrad chapter right now.

Posted by: books are racist! at December 02, 2012 08:02 AM (Kflw4)

71 10-- try "The Strain" by del Toro-- i'm just a quarter way through it and i hear it's better than "The Passage"-- good so far!

Posted by: tomc at December 02, 2012 08:02 AM (avEuh)

72 The iconic 'LOVE' design is by Robert 'Indiana' (yeah, sure), a hateful arts-n-crafts hack. You should see his opinion of the state of Mississippi:

http://tinyurl.com/ccqoncg

(If you don't click through, the 'art' basically says 'Mississippi is the a$$hole of America.')

Posted by: RNB at December 02, 2012 08:03 AM (WkjqG)

73 OT. Through some setting on my Firefox, I cant see most pictures on this site. I can see everything when I fire up that big blue E icon on normal settings.

Posted by: Butters at December 02, 2012 08:03 AM (NIZHJ)

74 I read Agenda 21 last weekend. A real eye opener. Credits references to the UN in the back are chilling. Thanks GHWB.

Posted by: Infidel at December 02, 2012 08:05 AM (z/wx3)

75 OT. Someone should tackle Agenda 21.

After the collapse, the north east entity will embrace it and continue hosting the UN. Whatever entity winds up being where CA is today will embrace it too.

The rest of the emerging entities will tell the UN to fuck off.

Posted by: @PurpAv at December 02, 2012 08:05 AM (xZLI3)

Has anybody read the newest WEB Griffin novel? Thumbs up or down?

I think it is set in his WW2 OSS series. I am a little leary because ever since he started writng with his Kid? Nephew?, whoever, the quality has gone way down. As in did not even finish the last one before returning it to the bookstore.

Posted by: rd at December 02, 2012 08:06 AM (zLp5I)

77 72 RNB: yep. 23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art." http://www.uhuh.com/nwo/communism/comgoals.htm

Posted by: rickl at December 02, 2012 08:07 AM (sdi6R)

78 "how to kill a million people" Posted by: phoenixgirl, my baby is 13yrs old today!!!! at December 02, 2012 11:59 AM (GVxQo) Subtitled Obamacare?

Posted by: beach & a kindle at December 02, 2012 08:08 AM (LpQbZ)

79 (If you don't click through, the 'art' basically says 'Mississippi is the a$$hole of America.') We would like to take exception with that claim.

Posted by: Massachusetts at December 02, 2012 08:08 AM (I2LwF)

80 I cant see most pictures on this site.

You've probably blocked images.

Tools/Options/Content - Check the "load images automatically" settings.

Posted by: @PurpAv at December 02, 2012 08:09 AM (xZLI3)

81 76) his son, is really managing the franchise, I like his newer BOTP series,
which is more action oriented, he's in his mid 70s, now.

Posted by: phillip fry at December 02, 2012 08:09 AM (ctjsq)

82 http://tinyurl.com/d8mklqf Tom Cruise too short and clean-cut for tough guy giant in Jack Reacher, say fans from the telegraph

Posted by: phoenixgirl, my baby is 13yrs old today!!!! at December 02, 2012 08:10 AM (GVxQo)

83 "how to kill a million people"

Believe Rachel Carson's bullshit? No, wait, that's more like 20 million people by now...

Posted by: @PurpAv at December 02, 2012 08:11 AM (xZLI3)

84 oops got the title wrong..... How do you kill 11 million people

Posted by: phoenixgirl, my baby is 13yrs old today!!!! at December 02, 2012 08:12 AM (GVxQo)

85 77 Jebus, It's happening. *shiver*

Posted by: Infidel at December 02, 2012 08:13 AM (z/wx3)

86 So when is Peter Tsouras coming out with the third volume of "Britannia's Fist: From Civil War To World War"? It's been a loooong wait.

Posted by: mrp at December 02, 2012 08:13 AM (HjPtV)

87 andy andrews is the author

Posted by: phoenixgirl, my baby is 13yrs old today!!!! at December 02, 2012 08:13 AM (GVxQo)

88 Divide Bill Ayers by two? He's willing to kill 25M Americans to get his agenda installed.

Posted by: @PurpAv at December 02, 2012 08:13 AM (xZLI3)

89 How do you kill 11 million people Posted by: phoenixgirl, my baby is 13yrs old today!!!! at December 02, 2012 12:12 PM (GVxQo) oh subtitled: Recognize a palestinian state... say that Israel has no empathy...

Posted by: beach & a kindle at December 02, 2012 08:15 AM (LpQbZ)

90 Decided to start reading some Don DeLillo stuff which everyone says is great but which I've been putting off forever. Read "Cosmopolis" yesterday in one day ... a decent short novel, vaguely prescient of today's financial / technological / Occutard problems (written in 2003, before the financial collapse) and a little reminiscient of old cyberpunk. I'm looking forward to the movie ... having seen the trailer I automatically pictured Robert Pattinson as the main character while I was reading it, fwiw. Going to move on to End Zone and Americana next.

Posted by: nobama2012 at December 02, 2012 08:15 AM (13IVx)

91 80 That's not it. Not Ad-block either. I'm stumped.

Posted by: Butters at December 02, 2012 08:16 AM (NIZHJ)

92 85 77 Jebus, It's happening. *shiver*

Commies are patient when they have to be. In reality, we lost the cold war.

Posted by: @PurpAv at December 02, 2012 08:17 AM (xZLI3)

93 *waiting on football thread because I feel dirty posting o/t in the book thread.

Posted by: beach & a kindle at December 02, 2012 08:17 AM (LpQbZ)

Posted by: LIGuy at December 02, 2012 08:18 AM (HYD/Y)

95 There are a ton of good SF authors out there.

Posted by: Vic at December 02, 2012 08:18 AM (YdQQY)

96 I can't even see the symbol on top of AoSHQ or the Mencken quote.

Posted by: Butters at December 02, 2012 08:20 AM (NIZHJ)

81 Yes, WEB Griffin is actually in his 80's now. I almost wish he would quit writing with his son, rather than put his name on the last few books I read. But the publishers will mine every dollar they can get out of a name. Look at Clancy, Cussler, and a few others. Hell, L Ron Hubbard (of Scientology fame) was still publishing new stuff 10 years after he died.

If you look at his wikipedia page, Griffin has written under a dozen pseudonyms since the 1950's. I think I read a lot of his other stuff growing up, especially the "this is how it works" stuff. He finally hit the big time with his "officer" series in the 1980's.

Posted by: rd at December 02, 2012 08:20 AM (zLp5I)

98 79: Here's his opinion of Florida:

http://tinyurl.com/czjc3n6

(This is from an 'art' series called, I believe, 'The Confederacy,' so I suspect he's calling the entire Southeast 'the a$$hole of the nation.' Good thing that's not hateful or anything.)

Posted by: RNB at December 02, 2012 08:21 AM (WkjqG)

99 Take Miami and the points! I'll take the other side of that bet, just because I'm such a nice guy.

Posted by: Truman North at December 02, 2012 08:23 AM (I2LwF)

100 OM, Seamus Muldoon just got his comments showing again after what sounds like a similar problem. He may have some tips.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette, still a Hobbit at December 02, 2012 08:23 AM (640Q8)

101 85 77 Jebus, It's happening. *shiver* Posted by: Infidel at December 02, 2012 12:13 PM (z/wx3) No, it already happened. By my count, at least 40 of those 45 goals have already been achieved. Particularly chilling is this one: 19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack. At the time that was written, there were no student riots. Yet.

Posted by: rickl at December 02, 2012 08:25 AM (sdi6R)

102 95: and about half that ton is George R.R. Martin.

Posted by: Trimegistus at December 02, 2012 08:25 AM (gS5Da)

103 (This is from an 'art' series called, I believe, 'The Confederacy

Fuck him. The south has largely come to grips with its past and moved past the bad parts.

Curiously, there are dramatically FEWER "hate crimes" in those redneck KKK loving southern states today than there are in the more "enlightened" northern and west coast states.

Go figure.

Posted by: @PurpAv at December 02, 2012 08:26 AM (xZLI3)

104 Anything by Tom Kratman. Several book for free on the Baen free scifi library. Check them out! Great sci if with a conservative viewpoint.

Posted by: Dread0 at December 02, 2012 08:27 AM (MAAnZ)

105 and about half that ton is George R.R. Martin.

Posted by: Trimegistus at December 02, 2012 12:25 PM (gS5Da)

I do not like him at all. Wifey got me the first 3 books of that Game of Thrones series in hardback. Could not get past the first two or three chapters in the first book.

Wound up donating them to the library.

Posted by: Vic at December 02, 2012 08:28 AM (YdQQY)

106 Curiously, there are dramatically FEWER "hate crimes" in those redneck KKK loving southern states today than there are in the more "enlightened" northern and west coast states.

Go figure.

Posted by: @PurpAv at December 02, 2012 12:26 PM (xZLI3)

The current hot bed of the KKK is Indiana.

Posted by: Vic at December 02, 2012 08:29 AM (YdQQY)

107 @74 Agenda 21 in the glorious USSA will have everyone living in shipping containers in the crown jewel of utopian socialism Detroilet. The hinterlands will be stripped of those bitter clingers so the animals can re-wild.

Posted by: McCarthy sheds a tear at December 02, 2012 08:30 AM (Kflw4)

108

Infidel, it didn't just start. Leftist artists have been producing ugly replusive crap for decades now.

I'd like to read Camille Paglia's new book on art. She's someone who can produce a great insight in one line and follow it up with something utterly stupid, like her professed belief in astrology and silly Madonna (the singer, not the Virgin) worship. Paglia correctly saw that Obamacare is a trainwreck and a totalitarian expansion of state powers - but then she stated that she was going to vote for the Green candidate. Paglia sees the 1960's through rose-colored glasses and her romanticism about her own generation makes her an incoherent thinker. However, I still read her because at least she's not a boring cookie-cutter lefty like 99% of academics these days.

Posted by: Donna V. at December 02, 2012 08:30 AM (BStAJ)

109 Oregonmuse, I think you usually have a url in your name, have you tried posting with that link removed?

Posted by: buzzion at December 02, 2012 08:33 AM (GULKT)

110 Well, advice taken. I have downloaded the Kindle app from Amazon, and I will order Wyatt's book.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 02, 2012 08:33 AM (pFqpP)

111 The best SF writers who are still alive:

David Weber

John Ringo

Mercedes Lackey

Eric Flint

Posted by: Vic at December 02, 2012 08:33 AM (YdQQY)

112 Vic

No David Drake? I would recommend you read Jack Campbell (John Hemry)?

Posted by: Penfold at December 02, 2012 08:36 AM (7jGlJ)

113

I finished reading "Feed" which is a post-zombie apocalypse novel about a blog news team covering a Presidential election. The author was frustrated with zombie stories that didn't really explain how they became zombies. She had studied virology so she came up with an intriguing backstory whereby someone invented the cure for the common cold (in virus form), some eco-terrorists steal it because they are afraid the guy is going to sell it and they wanted to "free" the cure for everyone. So, they release it in the atmosphere, unfortunately someone had been working on a cure for cancer at the same time and when the virus to cure a cold encountered the virus to cure cancer they mutated and, voila, now when someone dies they become a zombie.

That's not even getting into the whole coverage of the Presidential election by a team of bloggers. It was a good book, surprisingly because it started slow but then really picked up the pace and I couldn't put it down. It also has a very tragically sad ending.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at December 02, 2012 08:39 AM (RZ8pf)

114 Vic: "There are a ton of good SF authors out there." Probably. But there are several tons of hack SF authors. Problem is to find the worthwhile stuff.

Posted by: Doug at December 02, 2012 08:40 AM (CZQx/)

115

Speaking of the South (and Mississippi specifically) it's interesting that a region Northern snobs enjoy mocking for its' illiteracy has produced so many great writers: Faulkner, Welty, Flannery O'Connor,Walker Percy, Tennessee Williams, etc. Not to mention music - Mississippi was the birthplace of the blues and without the blues you don't have rock and roll.

The South's contributions to American culture outweigh anything produced by no-talent asshat Robert Indiana.

Posted by: Donna V. likes the South at December 02, 2012 08:41 AM (BStAJ)

116 Someone suggested I pick up a copy of "Implementing Beta Tested Mission Critical Software Applications In An Accelerated Time Frame -- And Why You Shouldn't".

Posted by: M. Romney [/i] at December 02, 2012 08:42 AM (feFL6)

117 105: I was mostly joking about the guy's size. However, I will say this: George R.R. Martin really is, or was, a great science fiction writer, and it's too damned bad he found he could make a better living writing fantasy. I liked his SF a lot more than slogging through the Wars of the Roses With Dragons.

Posted by: Trimegistus at December 02, 2012 08:42 AM (gS5Da)

118 There are a ton of good SF authors out there. Posted by: Vic at December 02, 2012 12:18 PM (YdQQY) geez, yes! That's mostly what I read. Other than an occasional Liberty & Tyranny, Son of Hamas, philosophy and The Tao of Pooh. Oh, and....

Posted by: beach & a kindle at December 02, 2012 08:42 AM (LpQbZ)

119 I would like to add to the person studying history's rant about seeing history through race and gender now and point out what annoys me the most is how much of history is being re-written to cast the Muslim nations and those who followed Islam as the ones who invented all sorts of stuff and who were more enlightened and tolerant than Christians. I just found it again when I was looking at some information on the historical development of printing. And it is all over my kid's social studies text book about how aggrieved the Muslims were and how it was the fault of the mean Christians.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at December 02, 2012 08:43 AM (RZ8pf)

120 Hi PGiS! Long time No see

Posted by: Truman North at December 02, 2012 08:44 AM (I2LwF)

121 They saw Obama coming in 1934...

http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=45690

Posted by: @PurpAv at December 02, 2012 08:44 AM (xZLI3)

122 Just finished- "Syndrome E" by Franck Thilliez Thilliez is a French thriller writer and this is his first book in English. "Syndrome E" starts off nicely as a sort of Michael Crichton-esqe thriller where a film buff goes blind after watching a strange old film he bought from a deceased film collector. This event brings together a lady cop Lucie Hennebelle and a paranoid schizophrenic cop (yes, really) Franck Sharko when another case involving five bodies of men with the top of their heads sawn off and their brains and eyes removed intersects with the film. The rest of the novel is concerned with the budding romance between the lady cop and the hallucinating, paranoid schizophrenic (yes, really) cop and their efforts to uncover a decades old conspiracy involving murder, mind-control, mass-hysteria, brainwashing and murder. Thilliez has obviously done his research and there are some nice reference points to film history, the surrealist movement, CIA experiments with LSD, etc. He can also write a good punchy scene and the book moves along at a fast clip. The final reveal of the main villain is a great twist. But, as a story the novel falls off the tracks about two thirds of the way through or so and never really recovers. The problem, I guess, is that Mr Thilliez is French. And apparently, a hard socialist or communist and becomes more interested in settling scores with the Catholic church, anti-communists, mental hospitals, orphanages, fiscal conservatives, the CIA and of all things, the French Foreign Legion, than in following through on the expectations that he set up. Which is something that Crichton would never do. Yeah, there was some speechifying in say, "Jurassic Park" but it never came at the expense of the expectation of some serious dino on human horror which the book set up. Thus, "Syndrome E" transforms into a story about trying to gain "justice" for a little girl from 1954 which just kills the narrative flow instead of the headlong rush to stop the use of a terror weapon unleashed in an every day movie theater that's promised by the secrets of the strange old mysterious film, the frequent mentions of the tribal slaughter in Rwanda, and the idea of a manipulated "patient zero" in cases of violent mass hysteria. Thilliez kills his own story by thinking his boring, old commonplace leftist tropes are the point of his novel. Also, the final resolutions of problems of the hallucinating paranoid schizophrenic (yes, really) cop are handled with all the last minute subtlety of a TV sitcom. Hopefully, the makers of the upcoming movie of "Syndrome E" will recognize these weaknesses and address them. Ultimately, "Syndrome E" is strike-out for the would be Frog Crichton.

Posted by: naturalfake at December 02, 2012 08:45 AM (G9qZk)

123 116 Someone suggested I pick up a copy of "Implementing Beta Tested Mission Critical Software Applications In An Accelerated Time Frame -- And Why You Shouldn't". Posted by: M. Romney at December 02, 2012 12:42 PM (feFL6) Nice.

Posted by: Truman North at December 02, 2012 08:46 AM (I2LwF)

124 Re: 104 -- "Anything by Tom Kratman" IIRC, his "Caliphate" was criticized on Ace recently. What would be better?

Posted by: Doug at December 02, 2012 08:47 AM (CZQx/)

125 "How to dupe dunces and intellectuals alike" by Barack Obama

Posted by: @PurpAv at December 02, 2012 08:48 AM (xZLI3)

126 No David Drake? I would recommend you read Jack Campbell (John Hemry)?

Posted by: Penfold at December 02, 2012 12:36 PM (7jGlJ)

I read his General series but not too fond of it.

Posted by: Vic at December 02, 2012 08:48 AM (YdQQY)

127

Eric Flint and David Drake teamed up for the Belisaurius series which I liked a lot.

Drake's Lt. Leary series is good. Some things like Hammer's Slammers didn't excite me much.

Posted by: Invictus at December 02, 2012 08:56 AM (OQpzc)

128 113 she came up with an intriguing backstory whereby someone invented the cure for the common cold (in virus form), some eco-terrorists steal it because they are afraid the guy is going to sell it and they wanted to "free" the cure for everyone. So, they release it in the atmosphere, unfortunately someone had been working on a cure for cancer at the same time and when the virus to cure a cold encountered the virus to cure cancer they mutated and, voila, now when someone dies they become a zombie. Let me guess. The zombies are immune to colds and cancer?

Posted by: rickl at December 02, 2012 09:01 AM (sdi6R)

129 To get a taste of sci-fi writers, there are at least 3 good annual compilations of short stories/novellas from up and coming, or current sci-fi authors. Examples: The Year's Best Science Fiction, Year's Best SF #, etc. There's always Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the 20th Century and such, to introduce you to some heavyweights. You can look up these collections and/or anthologies, but also look at the lists of hugo and nebula award winners. I'm pretty sure amazon has a link to award winners. Also, I like the sort by 4+ stars filter. Then check to see just how many recommended and what they say. I know what I want.

Posted by: beach & a kindle at December 02, 2012 09:02 AM (LpQbZ)

130 121 They saw Obama coming in 1934... http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=45690 In a Chicago paper, no less.

Posted by: rickl at December 02, 2012 09:04 AM (sdi6R)

131 This past week's YA novel was Origin by Jessica Khoury.   It's about a girl who has been bred to be immortal and perfect and is about her discovery of how this came to be.   It's well written and the heroine of the story is actually sympathetic. The big huge reveal of how the process works is telegraphed right from the start, mainly because of course that's how it works because that's how these things go. I did like that it's playing with the idea that ancient legends are true, you just have to know how to interpret them. I enjoyed it but I wouldn't say it was great.

Just started reading Trapped, the new Kevin Hearne book, and so far I'm liking it far more than I did Tricked. If you read the Iron Druid series, I highly recommend it, even though Tricked suffers from being a segue work into the next plot arc.

I re-read Fragment by Warren Fahy and I continue to love it. It's about the discovery of an island where evolution went a completely different way and it's a lot of fun.

Oh and in why Amazon owns my soul news, my kindle 2d gen kicked the bucket yesterday.   I called Amazon to see if there was a fix and within 10 minutes it was determined that there wasn't but that Amazon would still honor the extended warranty, even though it expired nearly a year ago.   I'll have a new kindle keyboard on Wednesday. Can't beat that.

Dear heavens.   My football choices are Jags and Bills or Panthers and Chiefs.   Yeah.   Those will be fun.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Our only hope. Literally. at December 02, 2012 09:04 AM (Gk3SS)

132 20 Since I'm on my Renaisaince kick, I finished off the bio of Caterina Sforza Posted by: phillip fry at December 02, 2012 11:21 AM (ctjsq) One of my favorite figures in history.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at December 02, 2012 09:05 AM (Rhie+)

133 125 "How to dupe dunces and intellectuals alike" by Barack Obama Posted by: @PurpAv at December 02, 2012 12:48 PM (xZLI3) Must be a pretty thin book.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at December 02, 2012 09:07 AM (Rhie+)

134 Right now thinking of writing 'How I deleted an Anti-Virus program and its programmers.'

Avast! on the laptop just reported down in AdAware files that I had two instances of HTML:Bankfraud-J. So it wanted me to delete them and is now doing a deep scan after I did that and rebooted.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 02, 2012 09:10 AM (BZocQ)

135

Hi Truman North.

Rickl, the living are immune to colds and cancer. The zombies aren't immune to anything but decapitation or bullets to the brain.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at December 02, 2012 09:11 AM (RZ8pf)

136 You can't comment by yourself.

Posted by: Barry at December 02, 2012 09:13 AM (C56P/)

137 I read 'Syndrome E' as well, they took particular aim at the Duplessis regime,
in Canada, which all in all, wasn't too bad, but he has been published in the Nation, so your hunch, was not off.

Posted by: phillip fry at December 02, 2012 09:16 AM (ctjsq)

138 Half way through "The War of 1812" by Bourneman. This author is on a hot streak - loved "Polk" and others of his too.

Heard an author (Copley) on the John Batchelor show the other night discussing his book "Uncivilization" - Amazon is sold out but I'm back-ordering it. His premise is the the world's population is ready to peak and recede over the next 40 years as this phase of urbanization peters out. There are several analogous historical occurrences of this contraction and he makes predictions of that it will mean to the planet.

Posted by: Whitehall at December 02, 2012 09:17 AM (1+mGd)

139 135 Rickl, the living are immune to colds and cancer. The zombies aren't immune to anything but decapitation or bullets to the brain. So that's actually an improvement to the current state of affairs.

Posted by: rickl at December 02, 2012 09:18 AM (sdi6R)

140 #135 ParanoidGirlInSeattle wrote, "The zombies aren't immune to anything but decapitation or bullets to the brain." Either that's backwards, or the book's even more interesting than before. (&

Posted by: Looking Glass at December 02, 2012 09:24 AM (g3wOT)

141 Re: 124 A Desert Called Peace

Posted by: BornLib at December 02, 2012 09:24 AM (zpNwC)

142

In a Chicago paper, no less. Posted by: rickl at December 02, 2012 01:04 PM (sdi6R)

The Trib was a conservative paper in those days. Imagine that.

Posted by: Donna V. likes the South at December 02, 2012 09:25 AM (BStAJ)

143 @137 Posted by: phillip fry at December 02, 2012 01:16 PM (ctjsq) Yeah, this is the kind of book I find frustrating. Great premise, the author has the writing chops but then murders his own story by thinking that his underlying political philosophy is the reason people read his stuff.

Posted by: naturalfake at December 02, 2012 09:29 AM (G9qZk)

144 "we're not as corrupt as Baltimore" -- probably true, but we've got crab cakes and Natty Boh...

Posted by: affenhauer at December 02, 2012 09:29 AM (wEyLB)

145 Test for Pixy from my iPhone

Posted by: Teh geezer at December 02, 2012 09:31 AM (yxa5A)

146 That's not even getting into the whole coverage of the Presidential election by a team of bloggers. It was a good book, surprisingly because it started slow but then really picked up the pace and I couldn't put it down. It also has a very tragically sad ending. Posted by: ParanoidGirlInSeattle at December 02, 2012 12:39 PM (RZ8pf) Read it, too. Good book.

Posted by: eman at December 02, 2012 09:31 AM (57VGh)

147 Read the first page of Injured Reserves and clicked the "buy now" button.

Posted by: Retired Geezer at December 02, 2012 09:34 AM (trh5+)

148 Yes! Yes! I' having the exact same problem with posting comments! They never show up! So you'll never see this one, either, or the ten thousand others that never show up! Arrrrrrrgh!

Posted by: John the Libertarian at December 02, 2012 09:41 AM (oshol)

149

I've been working on Rose in Bloom by Loisa May Alcott. It's the sequel to Eight cousins which I read as a teenager. So far the books fine, not great, not bad, good enough to keep reading.

I'd like to point out that I reviewed Only Son on the book thread a couple of weeks ago, I guess the review wasn't exactly riveting ;-).

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette, still a Hobbit at December 02, 2012 09:51 AM (wbeNt)

150 @42 - Perhaps you agree with his choices of books, but after a couple of clicks, I found his rationale for picking them: "The Bible [to learn that it's easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself]; The System of the World (Newton) [to learn that the universe is a knowable place]; On the Origin of Species (Darwin) [to learn of our kinship with all other life on Earth]; Gulliver's Travels (Swift) [to learn, among other satirical lessons, that most of the time humans are Yahoos]; The Age of Reason (Paine) [to learn how the power of rational thought is the primary source of freedom in the world]; The Wealth of Nations (Smith) [to learn that capitalism is an economy of greed, a force of nature unto itself]; The Art of War (Sun Tsu) [to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art]; The Prince (Machiavelli) [to learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it]. If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world." I believe that the term of art for such a person is douchebag, a benighted douchebag, even.

Posted by: turfmann at December 02, 2012 10:01 AM (GgGgG)

151 131 ...I re-read Fragment by Warren Fahy and I continue to love it. It's about the discovery of an island where evolution went a completely different way and it's a lot of fun... Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Our only hope. Literally. at December 02, 2012 01:04 PM (Gk3SS) AtC, And here I thought I was the only person to have read "Fragment" in the whole of the SMOD strike zone. I didn't love "Fragment" like you do, though believe me, I wanted to because it's got a great premise and pretty decent plotting and action. The main reason it failed for me was- SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT - that Fahy ultimately forgot or didn't respect the science of the island which he set up, which Crichton never would've done. Lemme 'splain. The ending was written as a feel good triumph but it was anything but that. The happy fun highly evolved proto-humanoid arthropods may have been "friendly" on their highly-competitive, eat-or-be-eaten, increasingly resource-poor inescapable island- -but they would've become a true horror once they got on the continental US. Think the introduction of rabbits to Australia to the tenth power. Or perhaps more in keeping with the sf theme- Tribbles. It would be their nature as animals of that environment even if they were friendly and cute. Also, a bit of the "Prometheus" problem where supposedly intelligent people did stupid things so they could get killed. Fahy should do a follow-up where the unintended consequences of rescuing the happy fun highly evolved proto-humanoid arthropods play out as a tragedy of Greek proportions.

Posted by: naturalfake at December 02, 2012 10:11 AM (G9qZk)

152 I believe that the term of art for such a person is douchebag, a benighted douchebag, even. Posted by: turfmann at December 02, 2012 02:01 PM (GgGgG) No, not really. His list is pretty good, except for the Capitalism thing.

Posted by: eman at December 02, 2012 10:12 AM (57VGh)

153 I read Lady Go Die!, a Mike Hammer mystery left unfinished by Mickey Spillane and completed by Mike Collins. It's set in 1950 shortly after the events of I The Jury. Mike and Velda go to the coast for some R&R and get drawn into a rich woman's disappearance. Enjoyable fast read, liked it a lot. Currently reading another Hammer story by Collins, Goliath's Bone, which I believe is set in the 1990's. Mike and Velda now much older are about to tie the knot when Mike stops an attempted murder. Not nearly as good as the other book, wouldn't recommend it.

Posted by: waelse1 at December 02, 2012 10:13 AM (vU8Jc)

154 Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette, still a Hobbit at December 02, 2012 01:51 PM (wbeNt) I cede to no one my title of Louisa May Alcott's Number One Fangirl, but I believe she took some sort of perverse delight in coupling off her heroines to the least likely men. I have never forgiven her for the whole Jo and Laurie debacle. I think probably because I never liked Amy. (And I do love the good professor, but...) Anyway, have you read An Old-Fashioned Girl? I liked that a bit better than Rose and her cousins...though I did really love her uncle.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at December 02, 2012 10:18 AM (67DpE)

155 Was in the mood yesterday to start rereading Asimov's "Foundation" for some reason: "The fall of Empire, gentleman, is a massive thing, however, and not easily fought. It is dictated by a rising bureaucracy, a receeding of initiative, a freezing of caste, a damming of curiosity--a hundred other factors. It has been going on, as I have said, for centuries, and it is too majestic and massive a movement to stop."

Posted by: Bitblt at December 02, 2012 10:20 AM (++jnv)

156

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at December 02, 2012 02:18 PM (67DpE)

I don't think I've read that one but I got a lot of free ones for Kindle so I'll make sure to move that one up my list.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette, still a Hobbit at December 02, 2012 10:33 AM (wbeNt)

157 Watched a movie last week and immediately ordered the companion non-fiction book. Farewell:The Greatest Spy Story of the Twentieth Century, by Sergei Kostin et al. It's about a KGB colonel of intelligence who decided, at the beginning of the Reagan era, that the USSR needed to be brought down. He provided a list of agents in key western commercial and defense companies. After these were rolled up, the Commies were blind as to US tech capabilities going forward. Reagan took advantage by announcing Star Wars. Another little detail that the effin' MFM would rather you not know. And I didn't until I watched the French movie, which surprisingly enough wasn't anti-US or anti-Reagan. Reagan knew the Commies couldn't assess whether we create a space based anti-missile system. A nice counterpoint to this book is any of several written about BCCI. The guy who called Reagan an amiable dunce, Clark Clifford, advisor to Dem presidents from Truman to Carter, was a figurehead of the US (secret) subsidiary of BCCI, widely acknowledged to be the most corrupt bank evah. (A strong assertion considering MF Global and a lot of Wall Street in the oughties.) Clifford escaped Federal indictment by virtue of being in his 80's and in ill-health. So who is the amiable dunce now?

Posted by: chuckR at December 02, 2012 10:44 AM (UGxsK)

158 It looks a befitting setting where enlightened libtard patrons might enjoy some nice street theater.

Posted by: FURPC at December 02, 2012 11:09 AM (0ImZM)

159 Well, that was frustrating. Squared.

Went to the Amazon link, and downloaded Kindle for PC. Ordered the book; charged the 3.99 to my credit card. Did I mention that I had to deal with a lost Amazon password TWICE? Well, I did. Kindle for PC didn't fucking work. Seems it requires Google Chrome. Fuck that noise. Downloaded Calibre. Looks pretty, but it could not find the Kindle Cloud version of Only Son that I had fucking paid for. Instead it sent me to the French Amazon site, from which I was supposed to pay a few frigging Euros to download it again. Fuck that noise. Fuck the Cloud. If I can't OWN the fucking bits on my OWN fucking hard drive, I don't want to pay for it. I wouldn't trust the "Cloud" any further than I trust Obama.

So I went back to Amazon and tried to void the order, seeing as I bought something I can't friggin' access. Tried all the various return and refund buttons, and they all say I have had no transactions in the past two months. Which, excluding today, is true. So, after much travail, I finally found their "contact us" button (do you think they deliberately make it obscure?) and sent them an e-mail, quoting the order number, and asking them to cancel the order, and refund my 3.99 bucks. I guess we'll see what happens.

Meanwhile, I have shitcanned the Kindle app and Calibre out of my system.

No disrespect to Wyatt Earp. I'd like to read his book, but there is simply too much monkey business involved with those damn e-books for me to get involved in. If I can get it as a pdf via e-mail, or from an FTP site, I will.

Apologies for the profanity, but this has been an exceedingly frustrating experience, and I have wasted altogether too much time on it.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 02, 2012 11:15 AM (pFqpP)

160 137 I read 'Syndrome E' as well, they took particular aim at the Duplessis regime,
in Canada, which all in all, wasn't too bad, but he has been published in the Nation, so your hunch, was not off.

Posted by: phillip fry at December 02, 2012 01:16 PM (ctjsq)

The Duplessis regime was not in Canada, per se, but in Quebec, one of ten provinces. Kind of like saying the Huey Long regime was in the USA, when in fact it was only in Louisiana. Both before my time, but I gather they had much in common.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 02, 2012 11:20 AM (pFqpP)

161 Earp?

"Draw, you g*dammned belch, you!"

Posted by: Jack Crabbe at December 02, 2012 11:20 AM (opLk0)

162 I have never had a problem downloading a Kindle book from Amazon, but then again, I am downloading to an actual Kindle.

You can get the plane jane wifi version now for $69

Posted by: Vic at December 02, 2012 11:23 AM (YdQQY)

163 Glad to see you did a post about my friend's book, Only Son. "Wyatt" & I have been communicating for about five years now. This is my first time to comment here at AoS, but I am a regular reader. I really enjoy the great job you guys do here, as does Wyat at his blog. Y'all keep up the good work. Many thanks from this old world traveller.

Posted by: Robert B. at December 02, 2012 11:28 AM (s/Wto)

164 Apologies for the profanity, but this has been an exceedingly frustrating experience, and I have wasted altogether too much time on it. Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 02, 2012 03:15 PM (pFqpP) I understand your frustration. I never had any trouble getting it to my HP Touchpad from Amazon, but I had a terrible time from other sites...ePub, PDF, mobi, I know not what else. WTF? I don't understand any of it, and I can't help but feel like there might be something fishy about Calibre.....not the company, per se, but I am not sure if what they do is legal? Anyway, a lot of rambling to say a) give Amazon a chance to help you and b) I have the paperback, which I'd be happy to send you if you really want to read the book!

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at December 02, 2012 11:31 AM (67DpE)

165 162 I have never had a problem downloading a Kindle book from Amazon, but then again, I am downloading to an actual Kindle.

You can get the plane jane wifi version now for $69

Posted by: Vic at December 02, 2012 03:23 PM (YdQQY)

Thanks, but no thanks. I've seen a few in use, simply don't like the idea one bit. Why should I burn up electric power to read a book? Why do I need a special piece of hardware just to do that?

Understand that I don't for one second think I shouldn't have to pay for the content, but once I pay for it, I should own it, and that means possess it. 88mB of digits, somewhere in the ether, aren't in my possession if I am temporarily without an Internet connection. So I don't own them, do I?

Guess I'm just an old fogy.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 02, 2012 11:31 AM (pFqpP)

166 Many thanks from this old world traveller. Posted by: Robert B. at December 02, 2012 03:28 PM (s/Wto) Hey, welcome and by all means, keep commenting!

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at December 02, 2012 11:32 AM (67DpE)

167 One of my favorite authors, Sarah Hoyt, has a new book out this month but I can't get it until pay day. It's _Darkship Renegades_. Also, another friend (of the virtual internet sort), Bill Swears, has his book _Zook Country_ available on Kindle and Nook. I was a beta reader for this but I haven't seen the final version. He sold it in German translation before he sold it in English, which is a trick. It's sort of a twist on fast-zombies. Also on hold until pay day. Mostly what I've been re-reading are mindless romances because I don't have the extra neurons lately.

Posted by: Synova at December 02, 2012 11:34 AM (7/PU+)

168 165 If you like what Baen publishes (or has in the Free Library) you can load it and save it on your computer forever. It's yours.

Posted by: Synova at December 02, 2012 11:35 AM (7/PU+)

169 I read the Sequoyah trilogy this week after letting book one sit on my iPod for months. Awesome story. Has everything. Firefly, Star Wars, Neal Stephenson, Mote in God's Eye, Battlestar Galactica, Heinlein, The Big Front Yard and Firefly. p.s. Never had any problem with Kindle on iPod, Droid or P.C. Mostly read free G.A. Henty historical fiction so ownership isn't quite as big a deal with me. A lot of e-books cost less than a rental video so the value of the reading experience becomes a consumable kind of commodity rather than a bookshelf leave it to your kids kind of commodity.

Posted by: alo89 at December 02, 2012 11:35 AM (IacRz)

170 Just downloaded Kindle for PC, checked it with Aesop's Fables freebie and then bought Wyatt Earp's book. The browser I use on this laptop is Chrome because Firefox locks it up - some incompatibility with FF and the smart (but very stoopid) touchpad. Why a browser should be incompatible with a touchpad is beyond me. But the touchpad driver is 150Mbytes so plenty of code to get screwed up.

Posted by: chuckR at December 02, 2012 11:36 AM (UGxsK)

171 _Darkship Renegades_ is published by Baen. (As well as _Darkship Thieves_ which is the first of the set.)

Posted by: Synova at December 02, 2012 11:36 AM (7/PU+)

172 Don't know if this has been mentioned, but if you think the Love sculpture is idiotic, down the way there's a 20 ft. tall clothespin. My beloved town is indeed the crack whore of cities.

Posted by: Ombudsman at December 02, 2012 11:37 AM (HqXYa)

173 I resisted getting one for a long time. But when I finally got it I love it. I actually prefer reading on the Kindle now. Especially prefer it over paperbacks.

And yes, all Baen books, free or otherwise, are DRM free and can be stored on your computer. In addition, the ones that are not free are cheaper than the standard Amazon price.

Posted by: Vic at December 02, 2012 11:40 AM (YdQQY)

174 An annoying quirk of Baen, however is that you have to buy the e-books from their own website (Baen.com). You can't get them from Amazon or Barns and Noble, even when they carry the paper versions. And yes, they are significantly cheaper than other ebooks, even for their new releases by their major authors. Which is probably why they can't reach a deal with book stores or Amazon to sell the ebook versions. That and the lack of DRM. So even if it's a PITA to go to Baen.com to buy books that I load on my computer and then transfer to my Nook, I'm not actually complaining so much about it.

Posted by: Synova at December 02, 2012 11:45 AM (7/PU+)

175 Well, I sent an e-mail to Wyatt Earp, asking if he has it as a .pdf. The DRM stuff is a red herring. If I buy the dead tree edition, what's to stop me from scanning into a .pdf, and putting it up on some FTP site, other than my own conscience?

My most frequent book purchases are at the used-book store. I probably have more than half a ton of books in my basement, and elsewhere around the house. I probably should do a major dunging-out, and take 90% of them to the used-book store, and trade them in for unread ones. Just retain the few that have a special value to me.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 02, 2012 11:49 AM (pFqpP)

176 Thanks, but no thanks. I've seen a few in use, simply don't like the idea one bit. Why should I burn up electric power to read a book? Why do I need a special piece of hardware just to do that? Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 02, 2012 03:31 PM (pFqpP) Burn a little power, save some pulp trees. Definitely easier to justify with newspapers which is why my paper is the Online WSJ. Well, that plus the fact that my local paper is a whiny third rate liberal rag. I am happy to starve them of revenue. My wife has a serious jones for Folio Society books and there are certain books that justify that level of cost. Acid free paper, original artwork, pages sturdily sewn in signatures with well-attached book boards and slip cases to boot. Oh, and they smell good, too. Damn laptop just smells like ozone.

Posted by: chuckR at December 02, 2012 11:50 AM (UGxsK)

177 The best thing about reading from a Kindle is that you can set the font size. Those of us who are getting old like that feature.

Posted by: Vic at December 02, 2012 12:16 PM (YdQQY)

178 Well, Amazon is giving me a refund. Can't bitch too much about that service, I guess. Hopefully I can buy the book right from the author.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 02, 2012 12:16 PM (pFqpP)

179 Damn you, chuckR, and your Folio Society books. Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Mark Twain and the Mapp and Lucia novels? Like I needed something new to blow my money on. They are truly lovely.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at December 02, 2012 12:16 PM (67DpE)

180 You think that Love statue is bad? It's a masterpiece compared to the giant Clothespin statue that sits two blocks south of there, in front of my office building.

Posted by: Damn Sockpuppet at December 02, 2012 12:17 PM (yJYwC)

181 "You're all probably familiar with longtime moron commenter Wyatt Earp."

I always thought he was buried up the road a ways in Colma. (yes, I've been to his gravesite)

Posted by: Blacque Jacques Shellacque at December 02, 2012 12:17 PM (fJUCF)

182 178 The best thing about reading from a Kindle is that you can set the font size. Those of us who are getting old like that feature.

Posted by: Vic at December 02, 2012 04:16 PM (YdQQY)

I hear you on that. But if you are reading a pdf, you can use the magnifier tool to do the same thing.

If I am going to carry a laptop when I travel, why should I carry another piece of hardware, with lesser capabilities, just to read books, when the laptop has that functionality available?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 02, 2012 12:19 PM (pFqpP)

183 Well, I like my Kindle because I can curl right up in bed and read it...but that may be more of a chick thing.

I have a laptop AND a Touchpad (with the Kindle app) and I love them both. But I was given a bare-bones Kindle last month for my birthday and I do love it. It's the size of a paperback, and weighs even less. I will never, ever ever give up real books, but this is so darn handy for traveling, and even while waiting for appts and such. I can carry it in my purse, which is not practical for a laptop or even my Touchpad, since I don't like large handbags. And obviously, the purse thing is more of a chick thing as well! I never thought I'd like ebooks, but here I am with 2 ereaders. My problem now is that when I get an ebook I love I still want it in my bookshelves...sigh.

Posted by: Tammy al-Thor at December 02, 2012 12:30 PM (67DpE)

184 I'm about 3/4 of the way through World War Z, and I'm frankly unimpressed. I don't care for the fake interview style, and I don't care for the politics behind the assumptions behind the fake narrative style. I'll skip the movie as well, though not because it's going to "ruin" the book. That part was built in.

Posted by: Klawnet at December 02, 2012 12:35 PM (AYfPj)

185 Just bought "Feed" on audible- looks promising! Thanks for the recommendation, paranoidgirl!

Posted by: Mrsp at December 02, 2012 01:07 PM (tgRSU)

186 AoP, with digital versions off Amazon. Since I lack a Kindle. I just read it from Amazon online with laptop or desktop. Not spending money for another electronic toy with I have good systems already.

And I still need to get the third book Queen of Chaos.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at December 02, 2012 02:06 PM (BZocQ)

187 Thanks much, Oregon Muse! I'd suggest the paperback because for some reason, the Kindle layout is all FUBAR. That being said, I just hope people enjoy the story.

Posted by: Wyatt Earp at December 02, 2012 02:20 PM (PRjTQ)

188

Lately Oliver Stone's TV series "The Secret History of America" is reviving a fairy tale from the 1960's New Left. That is, the Cold war was the peaceful Soviet Union reacting defensively to the fanatical anti-Communism of Harry Truman. The case was made by such historians as William Appleman Williams, Gabriel Kolko Gar Alperovitz, and Lloyd C. Gardner, and popularized by Howard Zinn.

I just received "The New Left and the Origins of the Cold War" by Robert James Maddox, (c) 1973, Princeton. He looks at the very influential books of those historians, and others. Maddox does a mean thing: he compares the citations in their books to the original sources. They don't match. He concludes: "Perhaps, after all, the New Left view of American foreign policy during and immediately after World War II can _only_ be sustained by doing violence to the historical record?"

Posted by: Whiggish Boffin at December 02, 2012 02:43 PM (DV9Ls)

189 I wish someone would release Robert Adams books for the kindle; I loved the Horseclans books, and his Castaways in Time books were enjoyable as well.

Posted by: DaveinNC at December 02, 2012 02:53 PM (/NgNT)

190 180 You think that Love statue is bad? It's a masterpiece compared to the giant Clothespin statue that sits two blocks south of there, in front of my office building. I've seen the clothespin a few times, and I actually like it for some strange reason. Then again, I live in the 'burbs, so I don't have to look at it every day. Future archaeologists are going to have fun puzzling that one out. They'll probably think that we ascribed religious significance to clean clothes or something.

Posted by: rickl at December 02, 2012 04:06 PM (sdi6R)

191 157: "Watched a movie last week and immediately ordered the companion non-fiction book. Farewell:The Greatest Spy Story of the Twentieth Century, by Sergei Kostin et al." Very intriguing. Thanks for the tip. I note the Kindle version is only $4.99.

Posted by: shoeless hunter at December 03, 2012 05:00 AM (9196u)

Hide Comments | Add Comment | Refresh | Top

Comments are disabled. Post is locked.

188kb generated in CPU 0.0799, elapsed 0.237 seconds.
64 queries taking 0.2003 seconds, 319 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.