Ace of Spades HQ

March 23, 2014

Sunday Morning Book Thread 03-23-2014: Racism [OregonMuse]
— Open Blogger

Good morning morons and moronettes and welcome to AoSHQ's prestigious Sunday Morning Book Thread.

All non-book discussions should go in to Andy's open thread below. Thank you.

Uncle Tom, We Hardly Knew Ye

We all know that the epithet 'Uncle Tom' is a much-used stock insult in the progressive left's toolkit of avoiding having to actually discuss issues. It is hurled at black men or women who stray from the progressive agenda, as if such deviation constitutes some an unacceptable betrayal of black people by another black person, a selling out to white privilege and hegemony.

But that sort of selling out bears little resemblance to the real Uncle Tom. Since I have never read 'Uncle Tom's Cabin', this blog post, Of Toms and Sambos put me some knowledge about the origins of this expression. It's worth reading the whole thing.

The author also encourages you to read the book:

Uncle TomÂ’s Cabin is an astonishing book that remains relevant even to this day, every American should read it, as should every Christian in the entire world. By design it is filled with types and archetypes. Uncle Tom, the protagonist of this allegory; is a type of Christ. Tom is the perfect Christian, in fact he is a super Christian...

I'm actually kind of ashamed I haven't read it. It is an important book in its time that greatly influenced events leading up to the Civil War, being the number one best-selling book other than the Bible. So I found this Kindle edition for 99 cents, which is actually part of a bundled collection, and it also contains '12 Years A Slave' by Solomon Northrup, Booker T. Washington's autobiography 'Up From Slavery', Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and two other slave narratives, as well as Uncle Tom's Cabin.

'You Are Consumed With Hopelessness And Despair - Lose 25% Health'

Maybe this should go on the gaming thread. They're about to release a video game based on the novels of Franz Kafka. No, it's not an FPS, it sounds like you have to run around solving puzzles.

Here is the opening line for the Kafka short story 'Metamorphosis':

One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin.

So the guy is now a bug. What a way to start the day,

The game ought to be a real hoot.

Yes, This Is A Real Book

I can hardly believe there's a need for the instructional book How to Poo on a Date, but apparently there is. I know this because this book the winner of the 2014 Diagram Prize 2014 for Oddest Book Title of the Year, which is awarded by The Bookseller web site. Runner-ups include Are Trout South African? by Duncan Brown Pie-ography: Where Pie Meets Biography by Jo Packham; How to Pray When You're Pissed at God by Ian Punnett; and The Origin of Feces by David Walter-Toews.

The guys who wrote the poo book are also responsible for How to Poo at Work, another classic.

Mispronunciations

'Apron' used to be 'napron' and 'wasp' used to be 'waps'. So says this article on how pronunciation errors have changed the English language. Rebracketing, metathesis, and syncope, among others, are to blame. My personal disfavorite: 'nucular' for 'nuclear'. I've been hearing it for years, and it still sets my teeth on edge.

Nixon's the One!

I am amused at how much being a cheap bastard influences what I buy. For example, if I saw a Kindle edition of the first of a 3-volume biography of Richard Nixon selling for $12.99 or $13.99, i wouldn't even consider it. But when I see something like Nixon Volume I: The Education of a Politician 1913-1962 by Stephen E. Ambrose for $2.99, I snap it right up (although, dang it, I see the price is now back up to $12.74, so I guess there was some special sale going on that I just happened to catch. And I missed out on picking up Vols. 2 and 3 for the low $2.99 price).

Anyway, so I've read the first few chapters and here are some things about Richard Nixon that I either did not know or was only dimly aware of:

1. His background and upbringing were intensely religious. His father was a hootin'-and-hollerin' Methodist, very loud, very boisterous, very emotionally expressive, and his mother was an austere, very reserved Quaker lady. He had older relatives on her side of the family who used 'thee' and 'thou' in everyday speech. Most of this he gave up by the time he got to college.

2. He lost two brothers, Arthur and Harold, to tuberculosis. Not unusual in the days before antibiotics.

3. He worked his butt off. His father worked at a variety of occupations, and he enlisted his sons to help out wherever he could. Richard did both agricultural labor and helped run the family store, long grueling hours and there were never any vacations, ever. Contrast this with Choom Boy, who spent his high school years hanging out with his fellow slackers and getting high.

3. Dude was scary smart. At age 10, he was reading the daily newspaper and conversing about current events with adults. His memory was phenomenal, he read 'Tom Sawyer' so often that he had the 'whitewashing the fence' episode memorized, which he could recite, even decades later as an adult.

4. This is probably not that surprising for someone who grew up to be a politician, but in high school and college, he was a formidable debater. He could take his'n and beat your'n, and then take your'n and beat his'n.

5. In college, Nixon liked to act and perform in stage plays, and was so good at it that his drama coach believed that after he graduated, he would start looking for acting jobs in New York. One of the things actors need to know how to do is cry on cue. Nixon learned this lesson well:

Forty-five years later, Nixon told interviewer David Frost that he never cried except in public before an audience. When, in 1952, Eisenhower kept him on the ticket after the Checkers speech, Nixon put his head on Senator William KnowlandÂ’s shoulder and wept. Upton [Nixon's drama coach], watching on television, exclaimed, Â“ThatÂ’s my boy! ThatÂ’s my actor!"

I'm old enough to remember how badly the progressive left infected itself with "Nixon Derangement Syndrome", which, by comparison, makes "Bush Derangement Syndrome" seem like a mild cough. But I don't think they had any idea who he was. And, if I may indulge in a personal value judgment here, I much prefer Nixon, with all of his faults, to a bunch of self-important, ignorant hippies.

So yeah, I'm very much enjoying reading this biography.

Books of Note

I stumbled upon this one as I was looking for something else: Getting It Wrong: Ten of the Greatest Misreported Stories in American Journalism by W. Joseph Campbell. This is not some conservative guy attacking the liberal media, or a surly hippie complaining about corporations. Only 2 of the chapters deal with events that could be called current (Iraq and Katrina). The other ones, such as William Randolph Hearst sending a telegram allegedly promising to start a war, Edward Murrow's supposed takedown of McCarthy, and Woodward and Bernstein's alleged central role in exposing the Watergate scandal, are more or less past history. Or, as Campbell claims, myth. That is, the way these stories are commonly told is false and Campbell is claiming to set the record straight.

Also, the author, W. Joesph Campbell, is not the Joseph Campbell who wrote all of those books about religion. That was a different Joseph Campbell, and he's dead.

___________

Here's another book I ran into that might be interesting: Mission at Nuremberg: An American Army Chaplain and the Trial of the Nazis by Tim Townsend.

This pastor had a tough job:

Lutheran minister Henry Gerecke was fifty years old when he enlisted as am Army chaplain during World War II. As two of his three sons faced danger and death on the battlefield, Gerecke tended to the battered bodies and souls of wounded and dying GIs outside London. At the warÂ’s end, when other soldiers were coming home, Gerecke was recruited for the most difficult engagement of his life: ministering to the twenty-one Nazis leaders awaiting trial at Nuremburg...raises questions of faith, guilt, morality, vengeance, forgiveness, salvation, and the essence of humanity.

I wonder if Gereke got any of these Nazi guys to admit that what they did was wrong?

___________

I wouldn't have thought this possible, but as it turns out, none of mystery writer Ellis Peters' wildly popular, best-selling "Brother Cadfael" novels have ever been released as digital editions. Until now. Well, in about 3 months, actually. British publisher House of Zeus has acquired the rights and will be releasing e-versions of all of the 21 Cadfael novels on June 1st.

In a statement published on their site, House of Zeus says these novels are

Set in Shrewsbury between AD 1120 (A Rare Benedictine) and AD 1145 (Brother CadfaelÂ’s Penance), the series follows Benedictine monk Cadfael against the backdrop a land riven by a bitter, twenty-year conflict for the crown. Digital Publisher Nicolas Cheetham said, Â‘Brother Cadfael is one of crime fiction's iconic detectives and Ellis Peters' evocation of medieval life remains unmatched. The Cadfael Chronicles are the Gold Standard for Historical Crime and Head of Zeus are delighted to be bringing them to a new audience.'

If we're lucky, maybe they'll release some kind of 'Brother Cadfael Omnibus' of all the novels in one volume.

Books by Morons

Dang, I missed mentioning this two weeks in a row. Moron author Gregory of Yardale has released Book 9 of his "World's Apart" series. You can buy it here for 4 bucks.

___________

Longtime moronette baldilocks is thinning out her library. She has books listed among her other auctions here, and you may be able to pick up a deal or two.

Also, she is trying to fund the writing of her second novel, and you can contribute here.

___________

So that's all for this week. As always, book thread tips, suggestions, rumors, threats, and insults may be sent to OregonMuse, Proprietor, AoSHQ Book Thread, at aoshqbookthread, followed by the 'at' sign, and then 'G' mail, and then dot cee oh emm.

What have you all been reading this week? Hopefully something good, because, as I keep saying, life is too short to be reading lousy books.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 06:09 AM | Comments (200)
Post contains 1771 words, total size 12 kb.

1 Speaking of "a bunch of self-important, ignorant hippies," The NY Post has a very positive review/opinion piece on Gutfield's new book, Â“Not Cool: The Hipster Elite and Their War On YouÂ”

http://tinyurl.com/lrjd92y

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (anti-Irish Bigot) at March 23, 2014 06:16 AM (QFxY5)

2 I tried reading Uncle Tom's Cabin once and gave it up as a poorly written melodramatic polemic. Maybe people have drawn incorrect conclusions from it because they were so fucking bored and infuriated from having wasted so much time on it.

I'm mostly through Old Goriot by Balzac and it continues to be a good portrait of people on the make for money and love in post Revolutionary Paris.

Posted by: Captain Hate at March 23, 2014 06:19 AM (R26RO)

3 PJ Media Interview: Adam Bellow Unveils New Media Publishing Platform Liberty Island "A place for conservative creatives to grow their followings, make money, and experiment!" http://t.co/nBPyN3NJBx

Posted by: BornLib at March 23, 2014 06:21 AM (zpNwC)

4 if you haven't read "Uncle Tom's Cabin" READ IT!!!! Tom was a hero....

Posted by: phoenixgirl @phxazgrl at March 23, 2014 06:22 AM (u8GsB)

5 I'm reading Map of Bones by James Rollins. 318/427 on Amazon give it either 4 or 5 stars. It's another "competing ancient societies seek even more ancient artifacts, one group wanting to save the world while another wants to kill almost everyone and rule what's left" type of novel sure to be compared to a Dan Brown novel but is in fact much, much better. Rollins is one of those guys I read on planes and business trips on my Kindle because his stuff is interesting, reasonably well-researched, exotic and hangs together in surprising and clever ways. Recommended for casual reading.

Posted by: Blacksheep at March 23, 2014 06:27 AM (bS6uW)

6 Finished reading Sharon McCrumb's "The Song-catcher" this week - some elements are very, very good, hair-curlingly vivid, but some others ... I wish that she had taken some advice with regard to a substantial edit. (That is, arranging the plot lines. As for working on books - a month or so about I bought out my partner in the Tiny Publishing Bidness of Watercress Press. She founded it thirty years ago, and wanted to retire for reasons of health. (Hers is not very good at present, and likely to get worse, and she just could not carry on any more. She always intended that I should take over the business.) Just this week I finished off the first book for another writer that I have done entirely by myself - W. Paul Burrier is a retired Army officer with a passionate interest in local history. He has a series of five books; collections of original documents with annotations regarding the Civil War in Texas. Since Watercress Press did such a good job on the second, we'll be doing the remaining volumes as well. I have also arranged for Watercress Press to have an exhibitor booth at the San Antonio Book Festival, on April 5th. It's only the second year for the festival, which will be at the central library downtown on the Riverwalk. If any of the other 'rons and 'ronettes are going to be in San Antonio two weeks from now, stop on by. Start off Fiesta with a good book!

Posted by: Sgt. Mom at March 23, 2014 06:27 AM (Asjr7)

7 I took a break from the re-read of the Jack Ryan and Mitch Rapp series to redo the 162 series. The first one is available on Amazon for FREE.

Posted by: Vic[/i] at March 23, 2014 06:28 AM (T2V/1)

8 Should be 1632

Posted by: Vic[/i] at March 23, 2014 06:30 AM (T2V/1)

9 On the topic of Nixon, his youngest brother Edward Nixon is still alive and give a hell of a good first hand account of the man who would be president. I heard him do a interview with Micheal Medved a few years back.

Anyways Edward Nixon's book, "The Nixons: A Family Portrait" is an interesting read http://amzn.to/1dn5xLb

If you want another odd Nixon book check out 1999: Victory Without War by Richard Nixon published in 1989. The guy never stopped being smart
http://amzn.to/1jqu3cj

Posted by: Sayomara at March 23, 2014 06:34 AM (GpuRX)

10 My folks have a 1900 edition of Uncle Tom's Cabin with illustrated plates sitting on the shelf. Never got around to anything beyond thumbing through it. Will take a second look.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at March 23, 2014 06:34 AM (V4CBV)

11 Read The Battle (French: La Bataille) by the French author Patrick Rambaud. A history written as fiction on the 1809 Battle of Aspern-Essling between the French Empire under Napoleon and the Austrian Empire. Balzac did the research for the novel in 1830. Rambaud wrote this from Balzac's notes. A tad outside my SF comfort zone, but an entertaining read. To get some healthy perspective on our current era of the SCOAMT, I read Poetry of the First World War : an anthology, edited by Tim Kendall. Well done and most informative. Lots of good book titles in those poems. And I did feel better about today.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 23, 2014 06:35 AM (u82oZ)

12 I'm about halfway through Mark Steyn's "After America." Yet more inspiration to stockpile food and ammo, because by the time I hit retirement age, this country may be irretrievably bankrupt.

Posted by: PabloD at March 23, 2014 06:39 AM (ier/8)

13 Tom Kratman. Carerra series. That is all.

Posted by: Trainer's looking to join a Militia. at March 23, 2014 06:39 AM (7EbAY)

The name "Uncle Tom" being used as an insult has always bothered me. It doesn't say anything about the target, but speaks volumes about the one making the insult.

It's a good book with great historical significance. I highly recommend it.

Posted by: 29Victor at March 23, 2014 06:41 AM (ES9R7)

15 Posted by: PabloD at March 23, 2014 10:39 AM (ier/

"may be" That's so funny stuff right there.

Posted by: weirdflunky at March 23, 2014 06:45 AM (BeIpE)

16 RE Nixon. He was the most liberal Republican President in history. If nothing else he should be demonized for giving us the EPA.

Posted by: Vic[/i] at March 23, 2014 06:47 AM (T2V/1)

17 207 That guy nailed it about Uncle Tom's Cabin. The concept of "Uncle Tom" character has been distorted by the left and has become a pejorative.

His analogy of Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton being modern-day equivalents of Sambo and Quimbo is spot on.

Sort of the same thing happened with "ugly American". The actual character in the book "The Ugly American" actually represented the US quite well, but was physically ugly.

But the left, being the left, turned things upside down.... again

Posted by: Albie Damned at March 23, 2014 06:49 AM (cGaCp)

18 The name "Uncle Tom" being used as an insult has always bothered me. It doesn't say anything about the target, but speaks volumes about the one making the insult. It's a good book with great historical significance. I highly recommend it. Posted by: 29Victor at March 23, 2014 10:41 AM (ES9R7) i read it for the first time a couple of years ago...i was angered by the misuse .....

Posted by: phoenixgirl @phxazgrl at March 23, 2014 06:50 AM (u8GsB)

19 The best part of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was the preface. Harriet Beecher Stowe described why she wrote the book and how abolitionists were outraged at the Fugitive Slave Law. This extended slavery into the free states by requiring the return of escaped slaves to their rightful owners: democrats.

Posted by: yooper at March 23, 2014 06:50 AM (0cBMc)

20 Well got on shelf Fortress Rabaul and Target Rabaul that a friend loanded. Not read them yet.

Did read the first six chapters of Pat C. Hodgell's next Kencryath novel. Had to stop myself from spending $15 for a digital Advanced Reader Copy, it was that good.

April is Camp NaNoWriMo. 30 days of mad writing if you dare.

---
And a side note. Is the racism charge losing its sting? Last night hanging with a bunch of twenty somethings of various ethnic and gender persuasions while watching anime something happened that might be an indicator it is. Or is the whole racism industry that is out of touch with reality?

A friend had brought her miniature dachshund with her, she is Anglo with green hair and piercings. One of our friends, an extroverted African-American was talking smack on how he don't like dogs. So my friend tells her dog to bark. Dog barks. We are laughing. Dog keeps barking and guy is acting up and finally says 'Dog must be racist.' And we keep laughing and this white guy over on the couch says 'Wondered if you would say that.' And we keep laughing, including the guy the dog barked at.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 23, 2014 06:51 AM (BL00c)

21 GoY needs to fix the typo in his overview of Worlds Apart.

Posted by: Burn the Witch at March 23, 2014 06:52 AM (gBnkX)

22 Bill O'Reilly's Killing Jesus is a good read.

No, I am not an O'Reilly fan at all but my father passed the book to me as a good read. The old man is seldom wrong.

Good historical perspective of the life of Christ and it helps knit the Gospels together for you.

Posted by: typo dynamofo at March 23, 2014 06:53 AM (IVgIK)

23 Do yourself a favor and get parts two and three. Ambrose's biography is definitive, in my opinion. Also, although a self-admitted Nixon hater when he began to work on his biography, Ambrose grew to admire Nixon. (Who was a liberal Republican in many ways.) The last sentence in the last book is "when Nixon resigned, we lost more than we gained".

Posted by: GT at March 23, 2014 06:54 AM (8Ir6J)

24 Only real sickos want to poo on their dates.

I mean, how does that even come up?

"Sooo...wanna go back to my place so I can relieve myself on you?"

Posted by: Albie Damned at March 23, 2014 06:55 AM (cGaCp)

25 25 Only real sickos want to poo on their dates. I mean, how does that even come up? "Sooo...wanna go back to my place so I can relieve myself on you?" Posted by: Albie Damned at March 23, 2014 10:55 AM (cGaCp) What? That's just a normal Friday night!

Posted by: Martin Bashir at March 23, 2014 06:56 AM (mx5oN)

26 Talk of Nixon reminded me of an excellent biography of his wife. Great read. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pat-nixon-julie-nixon-eisenhower/1112126600?ean=2940014337151 Another anomaly of the Nixons: the usual trajectory of ambitious politicians is to "marry up" into more "socially advanced" or wealthy families. Both Nixon and Pat Ryan came up with intelligence and hard work. Fascinating and admirable people in a lot of ways.

Posted by: Mustbequantum at March 23, 2014 07:02 AM (MIKMs)

27 Argh, Sgt. Mom, I'd come to the Bookfest--but I've already committed to be in Harker Heights giving a calligraphy class! Maybe another time. OregonMuse, I'll try to send those pictures I promised later today, when I get my camera unpacked. And just added to my mile-long to-read list: Olmstead's Texas Journey by Frederick Law Olmstead. I've seen some quotes in other books, and it sounds like an interesting resource for early Texas life.

Posted by: Elisabeth G. Wolfe at March 23, 2014 07:04 AM (jlzkk)

28 Latest round of SFWA glittery ho-ha outrage, this time sparked by a post Baen editor Toni Weisskopf made on Sarah Hoyt's blog. John Scalzi promptly took umbrage with a bunch of stuff Weisskopf never actually said and then called down the wrath of his Twitter followers upon her: http://tinyurl.com/omds4t4 Rick Boatright points out that Scalzi is a lying asshole, while Brad Torgersen and Larry Correia enumerate all the reasons why they do business with Baen and Toni Weisskopf rather than the fuckwits that run the other big publishers. Also Kate Paulk tore into one of the bigger trolls: http://tinyurl.com/osc9y3f

Posted by: BornLib at March 23, 2014 07:06 AM (zpNwC)

29 One mispronunciation that has become rather widespread, sadly even among professionals, is the butchering of "height" - mispronounced as 'hyth' with a 'th'-sound ending, as in faith or breath. Instead of the correct 'hite', as in light, fight, bright, sight.

Hyth is wrong. Wong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Posted by: The height of my faith in correct pronunciation at March 23, 2014 07:10 AM (yRkPK)

30 Reading non-fiction book "Dragnet Nation: A Quest for Privacy, Security and Freedom in a World of Relentless Surveillance" by Julia Angwin, a long-time WSJ reporter. Quite good. Google for interviews by the author. For geeks, the back cover has a very positive blurb by noted cryptographer and security expert Bruce Schneier. For the non-geeks, the book is highly readable and assumes absolutely no geekiness on the part of the reader. All is explained -- very clearly, in non-technical language. Instead of just bemoaning our loss of privacy, the author describes practical ways to circumvent commercial and government surveillance without giving up the net altogether. Highly recommended.

Posted by: doug at March 23, 2014 07:11 AM (ey25o)

31 Not really related to Uncle Toms Cabin but the original Sambo's restaurant is still open, in Leningrad-with-palm trees, also known as Santa Barbara. Still has the "little negro boy" wallpaper.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at March 23, 2014 07:12 AM (c2oll)

32 Yesterday evening this book arrived: Norbert G Pressburg, "Good Bye Mohammed" now called, in a form of English, "What the Modern Martyr Should Know". The original is in German; this English translation was a rush job, put out through self-publishing platform CreateSpace. This means it hasn't been edited for mistakes, like that famed Temple of Herodias (sic; p. 95) or like all the times Abd al-Malik is called "(al-)Malik" (pp. 85f). Some of these mistakes must derive from the original. p. 122: "According to Islamic tradition the Umayyads... descended from Umar". That was only true for Umar II. The Umayyads as a group descended from... Umayya. That's why they're called Umayyads. Duh. I get the impression Pressburg has read Ibn Warraq and/or the Christian apologetics sites, remembered some stuff, but then forgot where exactly he found it all. p. 91: Muhammad is called Qutham in Ibn Saad's "Tabarakat". First, it's "Tabaqat". Second, that's not true. Mo *is* called Qutham, but in *other* sources, like those cited by Henri Lammens, "Qoran et tradition" (tr. in Ibn Warraq, "Quest for the Historical Muhammad"). Then p. 23: the amusing story of the Zayyat, who read from sura 2 "this is the Book in which there is no oil". This is from the Tasheef, probably the Cairo: 1908 edition as recounted by Margoliouth, "Textual Variations" and probably also as transmitted by Ibn Warraq ("Origins of the Koran"). Pressburg mainly distills the Inarah circle in Germany: Christoph Luxenberg, Volker Popp, Gerd Puin. Luxenberg's raisins of paradise make their appearance; and - from Popp - the whole Marwanid family has traveled in from Merw in Asia. This stuff isn't even worth refuting here since he makes no attempt to refine it all, he's just accepted it. If you're looking for an introduction to the Inara's output, I suppose this book is all we got. But it's not good on its own, and IMO the Inara itself is not worth taking seriously.

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 23, 2014 07:14 AM (VSaCl)

33 Project A-kon 25 in Dallas, TX has the following writers scheduled to appear for June 6-8:

Jack Campbell - Lost Fleet series
Robin Wayne Bailey - FROST novels.
Esther Friesner - Princesses of Myth series.
Lee Martindale - editor and short story writer
Elizabeth Moon - Deed of Paksenarrion, Paladin's Legacy, Speed of Dark
Elizabeth Ann Scarborough - Healer's War and 16 other novel.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 23, 2014 07:14 AM (BL00c)

Hello from Down Under!

Little Miss Spellcheck mentioned in another thread that she was watching "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" - a TV series based on books by Kerry Greenwood, an Aussie author

Kerry Greenwood has written 20 books based on Miss Phryne Fisher and they are a good read so I do recommend them to you and the books are available on Kindle and Amazon/Book depository

She has also written some science fiction books which I haven't read ..

Posted by: aussie at March 23, 2014 07:15 AM (7bNcL)

35 Uncle Tom's Cabin is one of the greatest books I have ever read. You won't be sorry if you read it. Uncle Tom was a great man that I would be honored to emulate in real life.

Posted by: Mekan at March 23, 2014 07:15 AM (zG16+)

36 Scalzi is a worthless attention-whore, the David Frum of SF.

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 23, 2014 07:17 AM (VSaCl)

37 Currently devouring Brandon Sanderson's sequel to Way of Kings. He helped Robert Jordan out, but I won't hold it against him. Great read.

Posted by: tangonine at March 23, 2014 07:18 AM (x3YFz)

38 I finally had time to finish Cold City (Repairman Jack: The Early Years #1) by F. Paul Wilson. That was a fun read. I already have book two on reserve and then it's just a matter of waiting for book three to be published. I'm reading two novels right now. The first I'm reading by Larry Correia's recomendation ( http://tinyurl.com/njsnskf ) Death Warmed Over by Kevin J. Anderson, about a zombie private investigator in a city for of unnatural creatures. It's a very lighthearted romp full of so-bad-they-are-good puns. The other is Larry Correia's second Grimnoir Chronicle, Spellbound. This is much darker but is an awesome ride of an urban fantasy action thriller.

Posted by: BornLib at March 23, 2014 07:19 AM (zpNwC)

39 OT: P!NK's concert The Truth About Love Tour is on Netflix. She. Is. Awesome. On so many levels, this woman is just pure badassery.

Posted by: tangonine at March 23, 2014 07:21 AM (x3YFz)

40 RE to Vic: yes Nixon was liberal but remember Democrats aren't just liberal they also want credit for doing liberal things. We could have had Universal Healthcare right now if Ted Kennedy had went along with Nixon but he wanted the Democrats to get credit and we are seeing how well that works out. This reflects Obama helping to quietly help kill Immigration reform under Bush in 2007 it could have passed if not for a small quite behind the scenes vote.

I guess I would say the lessons of Nixon aren't just that we was smart or liberal but he is best example of what James Barber would call the active negative president which most agree Obama is also an example of.

Posted by: Sayomara at March 23, 2014 07:23 AM (GpuRX)

41 34 I thought A-kon was an anime convention.

Posted by: BornLib at March 23, 2014 07:23 AM (zpNwC)

42 Re: Ugg Boots at #20

Lincoln may have made the remark, although the mistake is to take it at face value. Lincoln was well known for wry remarks and humor; he would've known damn well the 'late unpleasantness' wasn't JUST because of Stowe's book.

Posted by: Toastrider at March 23, 2014 07:24 AM (68UOB)

43 37 Scalzi is a worthless attention-whore, the David Frum of SF. Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 23, 2014 11:17 AM (VSaCl) That's brilliant. I'm so stealing that.

Posted by: BornLib at March 23, 2014 07:25 AM (zpNwC)

44 Re: BornLib at #42

They might be expanding. Dragon*Con in Atlanta covers... well, just about everything. Video games, literature, various major fandoms, hard science, skepticism, paranormal interests, costuming and propmaking...

Posted by: Toastrider at March 23, 2014 07:25 AM (68UOB)

45 SFWA is dying: http://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/7782335.html Project A-kon looks like it's setting up to be the new SFWA.

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 23, 2014 07:27 AM (VSaCl)

46 BornLib it is still primarily anime but starting back in 1999 started to branch out. It has science fiction, fantasy, gaming, comics, video games, and a few years back started to invite authors.

So have gotten to meet Elizabeth Moon, Esther Friesner, Lee Martindale, Jody Lynn Nye and her husband, Robin Bailey, and a few others. Sit in on their panels, chat at their tables, and of course buy their books.

This year I have to wonder if Elizabeth Moon's publisher will be more kind to her. Last year at A-kon they did not send any books. So Elizabeth had three books to sell while Esther had a small mountain of her own books to sell.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 23, 2014 07:28 AM (BL00c)

47 I read the Grimnoir Chronicles last week. I really enjoyed them, much more than the Monster Hunter series (which I thought sufficiently enjoyable). But then they were over. And now I really jeed to get back to reading something a bit more challenging, but I'm finding it hard to engage. Too much pulp too fast.

Posted by: .87c at March 23, 2014 07:29 AM (XdlVI)

48 I've read Uncle Toms Cabin and was surprised to find that "Uncle Tom" was not in the least the character that the term is understood to mean in these times.

I did feel that the author was trying to beat the drum, so to speak, and that was certainly not a bad thing, but even in so doing she did not portray every "master/owner" as evil brutish villains. I read somewhere that she tried to weave together bits of eye-witness stories which had been told to her, and some from personal experiences. Also that she had made the acquaintance of people who were just, upright and generous and yet slave holders. She included such in the story.

I found the following on a google search which took me to ferris.edu :

"Despite being a model slave -- hard working, loyal, non-rebellious, and often contented -- Tom is sold, cursed, slapped, kicked, flogged, worked like a horse, then beaten to death. He never lifts a hand to hit his masters nor to stop a blow. Tom does not complain, rebel, or run away. This partially explains why the names "Uncle Tom" and "Tom" have become terms of disgust for African Americans. Tom's devotion to his master is surpassed only by his devotion to his religious faith."

"Never lifts a hand to hit his masters nor stop a blow" - implies that ALL of his "masters" beat Tom, when it was only the final master and his black overseer that beat "Tom". It implies that Tom was worked like a horse by every master, when that is not how the story goes, his final master being the only one who treated him that way.

In this way the modern understanding of the story is perverted.

I read one little blog post about this where the blogger compared "Sambo" to Jesse Jackson, and railed against Dr. Carson being referred to as a Uncle Tom, saying: "So how did we get to the place where the Sambo character was left by the wayside, and the undeserving Uncle Tom assumes the mantle of the modern day pandering snitch?

White folks trying to make a buck."

That last refers to Tom Shows, where the charter of Uncle Tom was rather manipulated to portray Tom as a "passive, docile, unthinking Christian. Loyal and faithful to white employers, duplicitous in dealings with fellow blacks. AKA, the pandering snitch."

It sold tickets, and kept the white hands clean while pitting generations of black people against each other.

I bet Harriet Stowe didn't see that coming.

Posted by: GrandeMe at March 23, 2014 07:29 AM (o5drD)

49 30 Hyth is wrong. Wong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

Yeah, well, Mrs. Chronda lays her head on a pellow and drinks melk and thinks I'm weird when I mention it.

Posted by: Anachronda at March 23, 2014 07:30 AM (U82Km)

50 One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin.

So, he woke up a Leftist Progressive then?

In reading news, still suffering through GRRM's "A Storm of Swords."

Also reading a book on home canning.

Posted by: DangerGirl at March 23, 2014 07:31 AM (GrtrJ)

51 I've never understood why people get so wound up how nuclear is pronounced. I've spent most of my working life around navy and civilian nucs and I've heard it pronounced two ways, Nuc-ya-ler and Nu-cle-er. Nucs don't give a crap how it's pronounced. Ever hear how people from Philly pronounce water? That will drive you nuts.

Posted by: ExSnipe at March 23, 2014 07:31 AM (LKJt3)

52 Probably next on my reading list is "An Anxious Age" by Joseph Bottum who's contention is that with the collapse of mainstream protestant churches, which were the underlying force beneath much of American society, that vacuum has been filled by secular progressivism.

It is a cliche by now that the problem in arguing with progressives is that while conservatives are arguing facts and politics, progressives are defending their religion. Bottum examines how the secular progressive beliefs satisfy the same human hungers that were once filled by religion.

Here's the Amazon link:

www.amazon.com/Anxious-Age-Post-Protestant-Spirit-America-ebook/dp/B004FGMD4G

Posted by: Obnoxious A-hole at March 23, 2014 07:32 AM (PD6iL)

53 suffering through GRRM's "A Storm of Swords." It should have been structured more like the HBO series, with the post-Wedding stuff in a separate book. As it was, I was too shell-shocked to notice the stuff that came afterward - which was important and exciting stuff. STORY STRUCTURE, MOTHER-F*CKER, DO YOU SPEAK IT?! *ahem*

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 23, 2014 07:34 AM (VSaCl)

54 This year I have to wonder if Elizabeth Moon's publisher will be more kind to her. Last year at A-kon they did not send any books. So Elizabeth had three books to sell while Esther had a small mountain of her own books to sell. Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 23, 2014 11:28 AM (BL00c) Moon is published by Del Rey right?

Posted by: BornLib at March 23, 2014 07:35 AM (zpNwC)

55 I wanted to thank (again) whomever suggested "Irregular Scout Team 1" (aka all three volumes + shorts of "Even Zombie Killers Get the Blues" http://tinyurl.com/lnl5ldk ); I have never read a single zombie-themed book before, haven't watched any zombie movies since "Night of the Living Dead," turned off "The Walking Dead" ten minutes into the first episode, and in fact find horror movies tedious and boring (hey, I was an urban paramedic for many years, personally saw and experienced much worse than what is usually shown in those), but I have enjoyed that book capitally. In fact, I went right back and started reading the whole thing again - it is honestly one of the freshest and most enjoyable tales I can recall in recent times. I had my feet propped up on my DOD provided desk the other day, reading IST1 on my Kindle, and laughed out loud to the point it woke up my co-workers, over the part about the sergeant struggling to get his CAC reader working on his laptop. During the zombie apocalypse. This, while my own laptop was down at IT awaiting a new CAC reader! As he said in the story, some things never change in Big Army. On another note, I had what was probably the last author appearance, rant & signing the other night (though I have said this before...), and ended up having quite the debate with what has become a Usual Suspect Reader - this was for my last (literally, presumably) book, "Speaking Ill of the Dead: Jerks in Georgia History" ( http://tinyurl.com/ofjals7 , hey! it's on sale today for $2.99!). Although the second chapter is about John Wesley, I received somewhat serious threats not to include two others that are in the book, and was stonewalled to the point where I could not include two additional others, it is the John Bell Hood fanboys that have sent every single piece of hate mail I have received this time. And two of them were in the audience. What IS it with these folks? On a closing literary note, Hood's memoirs had the absolute best and most applicable title possible to his overall contribution the The War: "Advance and Retreat." (http://tinyurl.com/n79472

Posted by: John the Baptist at March 23, 2014 07:36 AM (Xs981)

56 The Kafka games sounds like a good idea; will teach people about the despair and hopelessness of the bureaucratic state. Painlessly!

ExSnipe, people only became riled about nuclear when George W. supposedly mispronounced it.

Posted by: PJ at March 23, 2014 07:37 AM (ZWaLo)

57 48 I read the Grimnoir Chronicles last week. I really enjoyed them, much more than the Monster Hunter series (which I thought sufficiently enjoyable). Posted by: .87c at March 23, 2014 11:29 AM (XdlVI) I enjoyed Monster Hunter International well enough, but these Grimnoir novels are just blowing me away.

Posted by: BornLib at March 23, 2014 07:37 AM (zpNwC)

58 OT, but Scandinavian authors were a topic recently. All three films of the "Millenium Trilogy" ("Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," etc.) are available free on Hulu (not H+). Note: these are in Swedish, subtitled in English. Decent scores in Rotten Tomatoes.

Posted by: doug at March 23, 2014 07:38 AM (ey25o)

59 There is no "Racism" today as the word is defined. If you are "Racist" you believe you are superior to another based upon your genetic make up. What we have left today is "Cultural"" differences. If you want to get a good education, a good job, make responsible decisions and do not want to be bothered by the collective, you are "white", a "cracker ass" or an "Uncle Tom". If you want to eschew the above list and be irresponsible, play the blame game, and look for handouts you are "Just Keeping it Real G". Your actual "color" has nothing to do with this nonsense anymore like in 1856 but your behavior does. Hate is what fuels the race baiters today as they profit from it. Until the profit for "Racism" goes away "Racism" never will. America today has more "Race" classes than Apartheid South Africa ever had.

Posted by: IrishEd at March 23, 2014 07:41 AM (bfm04)

60 If any of you enjoy historical fiction or mystery let me add my voice to recommending the Ellis Peters books. The Cadfael novels are excellent. They were made it to TV by way of PBS's Mystery series and was pretty damned good. Had Derek Jacobi as Cadfael.

Posted by: Mordineus at March 23, 2014 07:43 AM (xEB1T)

61 "Speaking Ill of the Dead: Jerks in Georgia History" ( http://tinyurl.com/ofjals7 , hey! it's on sale today for $2.99!) Says $9.99 for me.

Posted by: BornLib at March 23, 2014 07:43 AM (zpNwC)

62 45

Dragon*Con in Atlanta covers... well, just about everything. Video games, literature, various major fandoms, hard science, skepticism, paranormal interests, costuming and propmaking...

Posted by: Toastrider at March 23, 2014 11:25 AM (68UOB)

Heh. The "Skeptics" track. Based upon the descriptions of their sessions at D*Con, it'd be more accurate to call it the "We Hate Christians" track. The one thing they're definitely not skeptical over? Catastrophic anthropogenic climate change. Nope, that's ScienceÂ™!

Posted by: Sandra Fluke's solid gold diaphragm at March 23, 2014 07:44 AM (M5T54)

63 "An Anxious Age" by Joseph Bottum who's contention is that with the collapse of mainstream protestant churches, which were the underlying force beneath much of American society, that vacuum has been filled by secular progressivism. That is pretty much Moldbug 101. Another interesting book is Will Storr's "The Unpersuadables" (earlier called "Heretics"): http://tinyurl.com/onxvar9. Whenever I run across some book on "the war on science" I always dive into the index to see where those aquatic poley-bears will swim by. The book did devote space to Lord Monckton, which is unfortunate, as for all his virtues he's a politician and not on the front line of the science. But Storr generally treats him fairly (and the Left is now pillorying Storr for it). I think Storr, deep down, knows that both of the sides in the AGW / climate-change debate displays traits of a religious cult; I bet Storr started out thinking that Monckton was the villain, and is now less sure.

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 23, 2014 07:44 AM (VSaCl)

64 Zombie book recommendation: Adrian's Undead Diary by Chris Philbrook. Very well-written with a cool twist on the whole zombie thing.

Posted by: eman at March 23, 2014 07:44 AM (AO9UG)

65 @50 Is Mrs "Melk" Chronda by ay chance a native of southeastern Michigan?
"Melk" is supposedly as dead a giveaway as Mary-marry-merry. Sixty mile circle around Detroit.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at March 23, 2014 07:45 AM (xq1UY)

66 @62 - Ah, I see, I had that price because I had purchased the print version (hey, cheaper than buying them from my own publisher!). I didn't realize Amazon was doing that.

Posted by: John the Baptist at March 23, 2014 07:45 AM (Xs981)

67 Reread "Remembered Prisoners of a Forgotten War" by Lewis H. Carlson. It's about the Korean War POWs and later what this country did to them after their release. Ever hear of the Tiger Death March? It was as bad, if not worse, as the Bataan Death March. Historians, the media, the public, and Hollywood have all treated them worse than the Nam vets. The truth is they behaved no different than any of our other war POWs.

Posted by: ExSnipe at March 23, 2014 07:46 AM (LKJt3)

68 And a side note. Is the racism charge losing its sting? Last night hanging with a bunch of twenty somethings of various ethnic and gender persuasions while watching anime something happened that might be an indicator it is. Or is the whole racism industry that is out of touch with reality? A friend had brought her miniature dachshund with her, she is Anglo with green hair and piercings. One of our friends, an extroverted African-American was talking smack on how he don't like dogs. So my friend tells her dog to bark. Dog barks. We are laughing. Dog keeps barking and guy is acting up and finally says 'Dog must be racist.' And we keep laughing and this white guy over on the couch says 'Wondered if you would say that.' And we keep laughing, including the guy the dog barked at. I dunno. It might. The real power of the accusation is when it's used against people who aren't racist because it makes them uncomfortable and puts them on the defensive. You think the Stormf**** assholes mind being called racist? Of course not, being racists is their identity. My own story in a similar vein. I was in a KFC in East Baltimore. Everyone there, customers and employees, is black except me, a middle aged white dude. I ordered a boneless chicken go-cup, and the guy working (young guy, probably 20ish) asked me if I wanted white or dark chicken. I said dark. He commented "You know, nobody's ever asked for dark before, they all want white". I deadpanned right back at him "That's 'cuz they're all racist". He took just a beat and then burst out laughing. I think that this is indicative of a recognition that the charge "racist!" is often used wildly inappropriately.

Posted by: Weirddave at March 23, 2014 07:47 AM (N/cFh)

69 I heard a Milt Rosenberg podcast from a few weeks ago interviewing Fred Siegel about his book "The Revolt Against the Masses: How Liberalism Has Undermined the Middle Class" Lots of interesting insights on the Left, a la Liberal Fascism. What struck me was his observation that liberalism says very different things, depending on whether it's in power. Haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

Posted by: AmishDude at March 23, 2014 07:47 AM (xSegX)

70 57

ExSnipe, people only became riled about nuclear when George W. supposedly mispronounced it.

Posted by: PJ at March 23, 2014 11:37 AM (ZWaLo)

I gave my "earth science" teacher back in high school a hard time about his pronunciation of "noo-cyoo-lar" and that was in the late 80's/early 90's. I attribute it to my father being an EE.

Posted by: Sandra Fluke's solid gold diaphragm at March 23, 2014 07:47 AM (M5T54)

71 Not really related to Uncle Toms Cabin but the original Sambo's restaurant is still open, in Leningrad-with-palm trees, also known as Santa Barbara. Still has the "little negro boy" wallpaper.

Which is actually another myth, which perhaps the restaurant chain is perpetuating. The original "Li'l Black Sambo" story was written by an English lady whose husband was stationed in India, and she was living there with him. It has nothing to do with Africa, or black Africans, at all.

Posted by: OregonMuse at March 23, 2014 07:48 AM (fTJ5O)

72 people only became riled about nuclear when George W. supposedly mispronounced it. Posted by: PJ at March 23, 2014 11:37 AM (ZWaLo) Yep.

Posted by: ExSnipe at March 23, 2014 07:48 AM (LKJt3)

73 The one thing they're definitely not skeptical over? Catastrophic anthropogenic climate change. Nope, that's ScienceÂ™! This always makes me snort when I leaf through the magazines with "skeptic" on the cover. AGW is a Pascal-wager scam: even if it's only 0.001% likely to be true, CAN WE AFFORD TO TAKE THE CHANCE? No. Sorry, dudes; if you won't accept that argument from the Christians, you don't get to accept it from the enviros.

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 23, 2014 07:48 AM (VSaCl)

74 I saw Australian historian Bruce Gamble at a WWII history convention a couple years ago and enjoyed his talk on Lark Force, sent to defend Rabaul, capital of their territories in the southwest Pacific. He wrote a terrific book on their fight with Japanese forces, their flight into the jungle (a formidable foe in itself) and their harrowing experiences as prisoners of war. It's called "Darkest Hour: The True Story of Lark Force at Rabaul - Australia's Worst Military Disaster of World War II".

Posted by: All Hail Eris at March 23, 2014 07:48 AM (QBm1P)

75 I too have read the Nixon book and agree that it is quite eye-opening. As a young Congressman, Nixon was very diligent and hardworking, and relative to his political opponents, honest (really). He was also frequently a voice of reason between extremists of both the left and right. Nixon was flawed, but a much better man than the likes of Clinton, Kerry, Obama.

Posted by: Marc at March 23, 2014 07:51 AM (f+/hq)

76 Try books by Luke Smitherd if you like science fiction horror stories. "The Man on Table Ten" is a good short story that might make you look at an unhappy old person a little differently.

Posted by: eman at March 23, 2014 07:52 AM (AO9UG)

77 Yes Elizabeth Moon is published through Del Rey.

Never been to DragonCon. When a con sprawls across 4 or 5 hotels I lose my enthusiasm. A-kon is getting that way though its my home con, it is now at the Hilton Anatole and they have not released the attendance figure for 24, 23 at the old venue exceeded 21,000.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at March 23, 2014 07:53 AM (BL00c)

78 Uncle Tom's Cabin
a piece of yellow journalism in book form. A model for William Randolph Hurst it was.

Posted by: CO at March 23, 2014 07:54 AM (Uysai)

79 "Sambo" sounds west-African to my ear. It doesn't sound at all Hindi or Dravidian. It's more likely to me that Georgian-era Brits took the word from Africa and brought it to India. Like they took the word "kaffir" from the Islamic world and brought that to Africa.

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 23, 2014 07:54 AM (VSaCl)

80 Posted by: All Hail Eris at March 23, 2014 11:48 AM (QBm1P) Did he say anything about the Sandakan Death Marches on Borneo? It's where about 2400 Aussie and Brit POWs in early 1945 were either marched to death, or outright killed.

Posted by: ExSnipe at March 23, 2014 07:55 AM (LKJt3)

81
Made up word of the week:

NyukNyuklear - a real hard hit from one of the Three Stooges.

Tip your waitress. Just the tip.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at March 23, 2014 07:57 AM (0Kobm)

82 Good morning! I read Michale Totten's zombie novel "Resurrection" this week, which came in handy while stuck at an airport (flight delay). Good read, but with only about 5% left it looks like there will be additional books to resolve the story.

Posted by: Lizzy at March 23, 2014 07:58 AM (udjuE)

83 @68 How does it counter the "charges" and "findings" of In Every War But One?

That was the first book shown me (in 1964) to prove that patriotism was dead, and We are not the Men Our Fathers Were. Pushed by Birchers, but those Birchers were Korea vets.

Posted by: Stringer Davis at March 23, 2014 08:00 AM (xq1UY)

84 One of the kids is taking HS AP Environmental Science so I have to say that the teacher in her group is excellent at outlining all viewpoints and literally debunking extremes and concentrating on sustainability and thoughtfully discussing whether or not some of the more popular tax incentives are worthwhile. Loving and respecting the environment does not include checking your brain at the door. AGW is right there with extremist religious views (Muslim, Animist, Christian, etc) and has nothing to do with current AGW religiosity.

Posted by: Mustbequantum at March 23, 2014 08:01 AM (MIKMs)

85 I haven't read the poo books yet, but FYI two modern products really help with the pooping-away-from-home situation: Just a Drop, and Poopourri. Or so I've heard. Being a lady who never farts or poops, I wouldn't know personally. So that's my contribution to the literary thread.

Posted by: stace at March 23, 2014 08:01 AM (zoyKY)

86 @80 I have a Randolph Hurst shifter on my Borg-Warner T-10. Is the Pullet Surprise menu thread up?

Posted by: Stringer Davis at March 23, 2014 08:02 AM (xq1UY)

87 I made a point to read about Nixon, after I stopped being a liberal. There is an excellent book (sorry I can't find the title) written by someone that researched all the early smears against Nixon. Th dirty tricks didn't exist. And the Pat Nixon bio was good too. People also forget that Uncle Tom's Cabin was performed on stage, probably thousands of times. Yes, it's a melodramatic story. That's what would have appealed to the readers of the time. I've not found anything new to read so will be looking for inspiration today.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at March 23, 2014 08:03 AM (Lqy/e)

88 Apologies -- I meant that comment (86) to go on the open thread. Darn it all, even on slower Sundays I get it wrong!

Posted by: Mustbequantum at March 23, 2014 08:04 AM (MIKMs)

89 Jimmy Carter could not pronounce the word "nuclear," substituting "nukeeyar" and even "nucular " on occasion, and he still does.

Posted by: Go there is SarahW at March 23, 2014 08:04 AM (Lbv/k)

Mispronunciations

I was listening to a WWII era public service announcement and was struck by the pronunciation of tuberculosis. Circa 1945, it was tuber-cu-losis whereas today it is tuber(k)-u-losis. The 'c' migrated and changed its sound.

Don't get me started on Miamuh vs Miamee.

Posted by: John Johns at March 23, 2014 08:04 AM (GuPKL)

91 I have been missing the timing of the book thread every week so I have a long list of books I have read. "the Glass Palace" by Amitav Ghosh is a great book about Burma, Malaysia, and India between the fall of the Burma King and the present. It is fiction, but the world events are real. Never learned much about Burma even though that is where my dad was in WW2, opening the Burma road to China.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlinSeattle at March 23, 2014 08:06 AM (RZ8pf)

92 "I'm actually kind of ashamed I haven't read [Uncle Tom's Cabin]."

I tried. I got about halfway through before the writing style finally forced me to give up. The author tried so hard to phonetically write southern drawl and the slang of the time that it became incomprehensible. Kind of like reading Shakespeare. Too annoying. I hope that slave lady with the white kid got away in the end! But not enough to read it to find out.

Posted by: Kevin at March 23, 2014 08:09 AM (XwvDe)

93 If Aussie is still around -- I want to recommend Sean McMillan "Greatwinter Trilogy" starting with "Souls in the Great Machine." All of us who are concerned with Common Core should take note. The trilogy is excellent, but the Australian SF community just never got off the ground.

Posted by: Mustbequantum at March 23, 2014 08:11 AM (MIKMs)

94 Hitler's Furies: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields by Wendy Lower. Especially good study for those who think women are all that and a moral bag of chips-

Posted by: Mrs. Mittens, still waiting for spring at March 23, 2014 08:12 AM (8m3cb)

95 Posted by: ExSnipe Did he say anything about the Sandakan Death Marches on Borneo? It's where about 2400 Aussie and Brit POWs in early 1945 were either marched to death, or outright killed. ------ I don't *recall* that he did, but now you've got me furiously looking up Sandakan. Got any recommendations?

Posted by: All Hail Eris at March 23, 2014 08:15 AM (QBm1P)

96 Read my 2014 tax forms today. A challenging read. The beginning seems like an easy read, but then it gets to be a droning harangue. The ending sucks too.

Posted by: Soona at March 23, 2014 08:15 AM (DatQ/)

97 Uncle Tom's Metamorphosis One morning, when Uncle Tom woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible, leftwing cliche utilized to keep Blacks on the Democrat plantation. "What the heck.", he said...

Posted by: Harriet Kafka-Stowe at March 23, 2014 08:15 AM (0cMkb)

98 I'm more sympathetic to the racism accusations against "Uncle Tom's Cabin". My first experience of it was not the book itself, but Henry Louis Gates's (yes, him) foreword to "The Bondswoman's Narrative", by Hannah Crafts. UTC is phenomenally racist. Now, I don't much care about that. The American mid 19th century didactic tone (think Little Women) annoys me either way. And I make no claim to liking coloured people anyway - for one thing, Gates had it coming with that run in with the cop. But that doesn't change how balls to the wall racist UTC is. (The Bondswoman's Narrative, on the other hand, is excellent *and* non racist - if the latter means anything to you.) Yes, the race card has been severely devalued, but sometimes things are actually racist.

Posted by: Lizzie at March 23, 2014 08:15 AM (hNRJo)

99 93 Never learned much about Burma even though that is where my dad was in WW2, opening the Burma road to China. -------------- Paranoid Girl, so was my dad. He was in the ACE building roads and airstrips. I have a photo of him on the Ledo Road.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at March 23, 2014 08:17 AM (QBm1P)

100 58 Read the MHI Book 1 and found it OK but not sufficient to drive me to read another in the series. But you are the second person here that thought the Grimnoir Chronicles were good, so I will give it a try. Thanks

Posted by: Hrothgar at March 23, 2014 08:17 AM (o3MSL)

101 I am also listening to Greg Gutfeld's new book. It is good, makes many points that has you shaking your head in agreement. Not as laugh out loud funny as us last book, but there are a few of those moments. The reader for the audio book is a challenge though, I really want to hear it in Gutfeld's voice because he has such good delivery, but he isn't reading it so I think that is why some things, which if delivered in his voice would be hilarious, just don't come across as funny.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlinSeattle at March 23, 2014 08:18 AM (RZ8pf)

102 Tried to force my way through all five books of the "HHGG" trilogy again. I could only make it to half way through "So Long and Thanks..." Douglas Adams should never have attempted writing while sober.

Posted by: 29Victor at March 23, 2014 08:18 AM (ES9R7)

103 Thanks for the mention of How to Pray When You're Pissed at God by Ian Punnett. I checked it out on Amazon, and it sounds like something I could use, so I ordered it.

I have a funeral pouch where I put everything related to my husband's death - Mass cards, letters from strangers who apparently read obituaries and pray for survivors, pamphlets on mourning, thank yous from the organ donor place. I haven't read any of the advice on mourning. Don't know why, but it's been 3 months now and I feel so cut off from God. Maybe this book will help me.

Posted by: Miley's Tongue at March 23, 2014 08:18 AM (R+h7Q)

104 Posted by: Harriet Kafka-Stowe at March 23, 2014 12:15 PM (0cMkb) Heh

Posted by: 29Victor at March 23, 2014 08:19 AM (ES9R7)

105 33.Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 23, 2014 11:14 AM (VSaCl)
***********

I love the Book Thread and have gotten so much from all of you. I largely lurk, occasionally comment. I need some help with basic starter reading list -- History of ME and Islam.

Historian by training. Concentration Russia, and then EE and CE . Comfortable with Europe and Asia, to a lesser extent. Suck at the Middle East -- more general world history there, complicated with recent events.

I am an American, but not raised here until my 20s and my lack of knowledge of American history is embarrassing, even though I come from a military/state dept. family -- they were Slavic immigrants. And most of my work was international.

A few years back I was fortunate to acquire someone's almost new library of books with concentration of ME -- some current, some history.

I am trying to stay away from junk and crazies, realizing that everyone's opinion of what and who that might be differs. That said, after much circling and procrastinating I am going to start with B Lewis, The ME, A Brief History of the Last 2,000 Years. Primer -- dangers. But I have to start somewhere.

I would appreciate recommendations of maybe 5 or so starter books to get a good enough foundation to comfortably branch out on my own after that.

I wish I had a Map Room too. sigh

Many thanks for the recs and for the Sunday Book Thread.

Posted by: gracepmc at March 23, 2014 08:20 AM (rznx3)

106 Posted by: Stringer Davis at March 23, 2014 12:00 PM (xq1UY) That book is mentioned in Carlson's book, as are others. It was a time of the Red Scare. They implied that the Korean War POWs were easily brainwashed and were momma's boys and collaborators. Yet they grew up during the depression and WW2, and some fought in WW2 and were also POWs of either the Nazzies or Japs. Momma's boys? I don't think so. As for collaborators? Image the outrage if the POWs of the Japs who worked on the Burma-Siam railroad, or in mines and factories were called and treated as collaborators when they returned home.

Posted by: ExSnipe at March 23, 2014 08:21 AM (LKJt3)

107 The one star review that keeps Mission At Nuremberg from having a five star average is written by a secularist who has no sense of theology, Christian or Jewish. I strongly recommend the book.

Posted by: Patrick at Popehat at March 23, 2014 08:21 AM (2EddW)

108 Paranoid Girl, so was my dad. He was in the ACE building roads and airstrips. I have a photo of him on the Ledo Road.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at March 23, 2014 12:17 PM (QBm1P)

----------------------------------------------

My dad was in the Phillipines. Going from island to island cleaning out the Japanese. Didn't talk about it much, even toward the end of his life. The Pacific war was a nasty war. Much worse than Europe.

Posted by: Soona at March 23, 2014 08:21 AM (DatQ/)

109 66 @50 Is Mrs "Melk" Chronda by ay chance a native of southeastern Michigan?

Nope. Southern Utah. When she did telephone support, callers often accused her of being from upstate New York based on her accent. Her family was from that area before they moved to Utah back in the mid 1800s.

Posted by: Anachronda at March 23, 2014 08:22 AM (U82Km)

110 105?

Miley's Tongue ?

I've been widowed twice. It's a tough journey. God bless....

Posted by: backhoe at March 23, 2014 08:23 AM (ULH4o)

111 What I still remember about "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was Eva's death scene. Yes, it's gooey and sentimental but it's also clinically accurate. The poor kid died from suffocation and sepsis related to TB. Being rich, white and privileged did not protect you from infection in those days.

Posted by: Dr Alice at March 23, 2014 08:23 AM (tRcjU)

112 57 The Kafka games sounds like a good idea; will teach people about the despair and hopelessness of the bureaucratic state. Painlessly!

I presume The Trial will be some sort of text adventure, like Zork.

Posted by: Anachronda at March 23, 2014 08:25 AM (U82Km)

113 Happy 4th Birthday to the greatest horror story ever written. Happy Birthday ACA!

Posted by: RWC at March 23, 2014 08:25 AM (QeH9j)

114 Thanks for the mention of How to Pray When You're Pissed at God by Ian Punnett. I checked it out on Amazon, and it sounds like something I could use, so I ordered it.

Yeah, I should have mentioned, that title made me interested, too...

Posted by: OregonMuse at March 23, 2014 08:26 AM (fTJ5O)

115 Posted by: All Hail Eris at March 23, 2014 12:15 PM (QBm1P) No books, just internet sites. There is one interesting site that refutes the charge against MacArthur (that I have read before) that he caused the Aussies to cancel a rescue mission for them. I'll link it if I can find it again.

Posted by: ExSnipe at March 23, 2014 08:27 AM (LKJt3)

116 Posted by: gracepmc at March 23, 2014 12:20 PM (rznx3) ==================== 'Sup. I really liked Michael Axworthy's book "Revolutionary Iran". Yes, he has his tongue firmly up the Democrat's posteriors, but he's an honest historian and he shows, almost against his will, what an utter abomination Islam is. Plus, it's a great primary on Iranian history.

Posted by: Lizzie at March 23, 2014 08:28 AM (hNRJo)

117 Uncle Tom's Cabin in txt html Epub and kindle available free at Project Gutenberg and other library sites on the 'Net.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/203

Posted by: Sphynx at March 23, 2014 08:28 AM (cll/q)

118 Being rich, white and privileged did not protect you from infection in those days.

Posted by: Dr Alice at March 23, 2014 12:23 PM (tRcjU)

-----------------------------------------------

It's where we got sanitariums (mistakenly thought of as psycho hospitals). Places (some quite large) where TB patients were warehoused to die, seperate from the rest of society.

Posted by: Soona at March 23, 2014 08:28 AM (DatQ/)

119 Posted by: Miley's Tongue at March 23, 2014 12:18 PM (R+h7Q I'm so sorry about your husband. Three months ago is like it just happened. You probably don't need another book recommendation, but when my sister in law gave me a little book called God is in the Tough Stuff, I found it helpful.

Posted by: stace at March 23, 2014 08:29 AM (zoyKY)

120 Wow, that is cool All Hail Eris, it is nice to run into someone else who had a dad stationed there. Growing up people were like, Burma? What did that have to do with WW2? we don't have any photos of my dad over there, just the ones from home when he was in his uniform getting ready to leave. He received a Purple Heart there, he was injured in a grenade attack.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlinSeattle at March 23, 2014 08:29 AM (RZ8pf)

121 Right now I'm reading Greg Gutfeld's "Not Cool", imagining him reciting it in his patented RedEye rant mode. Fun stuff! On dull-but-dependable competence vs. being a beautiful prog butterfly, he writes: "There's nothing more boring than a train schedule, but without it how would the hip find the right subway to that Williamsburg flea market where they can spend one hundred bucks on a T-shirt from a late-seventies Cheap Trick tour? (I was there -- a stoner threw up on my shoes.) Without uncool, the cool wouldn't exist."

Posted by: All Hail Eris at March 23, 2014 08:30 AM (QBm1P)

122 Don't know why, but it's been 3 months now and I feel so cut off from God. Maybe this book will help me. Posted by: Miley's Tongue at March 23, 2014 12:18 PM (R+h7Q) We felt the same way after our last, and most difficult, miscarriage. It feeling will pass, but it's quite disconcerting and painful in the interim. A Catholic friend of mine discussed with me "the long, dark night of the soul" - a time of spiritual dryness and feelings of separation from God. He said that Mother Teresa spoke of it as had other great saints. I'm not Catholic, but the revelation that it was not that uncommon a thing (so common there is a name for it in fact) was comforting. Some good advise I got at the time (even though I wasn't really in the mood for advise) was to just keep believing - even though it may not feel like it used to. You are still in the hand of God even though your emotions, which are all probably pretty negative and confusing at the moment, may be lying to you. I know that I didn't want to feel better at the time - it felt like a betrayal of the memory of my child. I didn't want this to "be the will of God" or to believe that everything would turn out ok eventually because everything shouldn't be okay when someone you love dies and it should never, ever be "the will of God" - like somehow that would make the death of my child a good thing, ya know? Anyway, sorry for babbling, but just saying that it took quite a while to work through all of this and reassess my faith at the same time -- but there is an end to it, you may feel cut off from God, but He is still near to you and will wait it out with you.

Posted by: 29Victor at March 23, 2014 08:31 AM (ES9R7)

123 I'm reading the biography of Warren G. Harding by John W. Dean (yes, THAT Dean) as research for a musical I'm writing with my husband. (He likes musicals. He likes Harding. Ergo...) And the lead picture of the column reminds me, I've been trying to find a good way to introduce into the lyrics the phrase "Uncle Tom's Cabin" -- see there was a rumor going around that he had African-American blood, so there were pictures distributed of the White House with the caption "Uncle Tom's Cabin?" I was born in Whittier at a time when you could still find proud references of the President's stint there. I still have a Chamber of Commerce map with particular points of interest in Nixon's young life marked out on it ....

Posted by: Sister Sestina at March 23, 2014 08:31 AM (Em6d4)

124 There's also "Islamic Imperialism", by Efraim Karsh. It's a little dry, but it shouldn't be an issue for a historian. It's also nice because it shows that Islam has its own cultural dynamics, as opposed to the arrogance that says that everything awful they do (so, everything they do, then) is simply the poor dears responding to white westerners.

Posted by: Lizzie at March 23, 2014 08:31 AM (hNRJo)

125 I read 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' a few months ago because my daughter had it as a choice in her high school English class and I wanted to read along. I loved it! A real page turner (melodramatic yes, but so good)! However, my daughter could not understand the dialect and chose another book. Same problem when I tried to get my son to read 'Tom Sawyer'. Or even things like "Treasure Island". I don't remember having such trouble as a kid with that. I wonder if kids are not as adaptable these days. on't know how they would ever get through "Huck Finn". Anyone else's kids like that?

Posted by: Alix at March 23, 2014 08:34 AM (56HR4)

126 120 Being rich, white and privileged did not protect you from infection in those days. Posted by: Dr Alice at March 23, 2014 12:23 PM (tRcjU) ----------------------------------------------- It's where we got sanitariums (mistakenly thought of as psycho hospitals). Places (some quite large) where TB patients were warehoused to die, seperate from the rest of society. Posted by: Soona at March 23, 2014 12:28 PM (DatQ/) ==================== This brings to mind "Taking the Medicine", by Druin Burch, which scared the living daylights out of me. Effective medicine - heck, even medicine that doesn't actively kill you - is both incredibly recent and incredibly precarious.

Posted by: Lizzie at March 23, 2014 08:34 AM (hNRJo)

127 122 He received a Purple Heart there, he was injured in a grenade attack. -------------- Mine too! He used to keep a hunk of the shrapnel on his key chain. I don't think they managed to dig it all out. He didn't get into the revolting details of the suckage, me being just a kid, but he would tell amusing tales of trying to build airstrips even as airplanes are trying to land (the streamroller operator used to paint miniature US flags on his rig from all the wings he clipped trying to get out of the path of oncoming planes.) Aldo, many hair-raising encounters with aggressive snakes.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at March 23, 2014 08:34 AM (QBm1P)

128 @50 - I'm late to the party here, but my sister says 'pellow' and 'melk' too! Or at least she used to until I teased it out of her. Uncle Tom's Cabin was inspired by the autobiography of Rev. Josiah Henson. His cabin is located in Montgomery County, Maryland, in a very expensive area. It was purchased by the county historical society in 2006 and is now part of the parks system, but is only open to the public a few times a year.

Posted by: biancaneve at March 23, 2014 08:35 AM (2sR50)

129 Miley's Tongue--

So sorry about your loss. My prayers are with you.

Not that this will bring you relief, but 3 months is hardly any time at all in a loss as big as the one you're going through. Remember that God hasn't abandoned you, despite what you're feeling right now.

Posted by: OregonMuse at March 23, 2014 08:36 AM (fTJ5O)

130 I would appreciate recommendations of maybe 5 or so starter books to get a good enough foundation to comfortably branch out on my own after that. Posted by: gracepmc at March 23, 2014 12:20 PM (rznx3) I finally worked up the strength to being "The Ottoman Centuries" by Lord Kinross a few years ago (640 pages of Turkish history) -- and have been thankful ever since. It's not ME per se, but it does set the stage for all that happened in the ME from the end of WWI to now. It also gave me insight into the kind of Muslim Utopia that our enemies have in mind when they think back to "the good old days." There is some Russian and Baltic stuff in there too so you might feel pretty comfortable with it. Once I got into the book I couldn't put it down. It's a great read and the author does a great job of laying everything out in an understandable way without ever taking sides over anything. http://amzn.to/1deUV0D

Posted by: 29Victor at March 23, 2014 08:39 AM (ES9R7)

131 105 Thanks for the mention of How to Pray When You're Pissed at God by Ian Punnett. I checked it out on Amazon, and it sounds like something I could use, so I ordered it. I have a funeral pouch where I put everything related to my husband's death - Mass cards, letters from strangers who apparently read obituaries and pray for survivors, pamphlets on mourning, thank yous from the organ donor place. I haven't read any of the advice on mourning. Don't know why, but it's been 3 months now and I feel so cut off from God. Maybe this book will help me. Posted by: Miley's Tongue at March 23, 2014 12:18 PM (R+h7Q) I am very sorry for the loss if your husband. Three months isn't all that long a time to grieve properly for such a thing. I've personally felt alienated from God for many years. I hope your journey will be a better one.

Posted by: Insomniac at March 23, 2014 08:39 AM (mx5oN)

132 I thought every kid had to read uncle tom's cabin in school? nck had it this year, I think I did as a freshman

Posted by: navycopjoe at March 23, 2014 08:40 AM (bDxDx)

133 I don't remember having such trouble as a kid with that. I wonder if kids are not as adaptable these days. on't know how they would ever get through "Huck Finn". Anyone else's kids like that? Posted by: Alix at March 23, 2014 12:34 PM (56HR4) ----------------------------------------- My kids didn't have a problem with "Huck Finn". In fact, he started talking like him for a while.

Posted by: 29Victor at March 23, 2014 08:41 AM (ES9R7)

134 The dam up-river from us just developed a 65 foot long, two inch wide CRACK on its upstream face.

Reading "The History of Dams" from the public library.

Rule One in dam design - never let concrete go into tension.

Posted by: Whitehall at March 23, 2014 08:44 AM (sH5KC)

135 136 The dam up-river from us just developed a 65 foot long, two inch wide CRACK on its upstream face. I got this.

Posted by: Little Dutch boy at March 23, 2014 08:48 AM (mx5oN)

136 All Hail Eris, This is the link I mentioned above about the Sandakan Death March and MacArthur. http://tinyurl.com/og9czve Heh, I like this part; "When the Japanese surrendered, and the Australians found out the fate of their POW, they disarmed the Japanese and ordered then to march to a collection point across the BorneoÂ…and gave them no escort. They turned a blind eye to the head hunting natives of Borneo taking revenge, and heads. Very few Japanese soldiers in Borneo survived the head hunters."

Posted by: ExSnipe at March 23, 2014 08:49 AM (LKJt3)

137 Miley's Tongue, my condolences for your loss. I am sure it has already been recommended, but in case it hasn't C.S. Lewis's "A Grief Observed" is a very good book on the subject of struggling with faith after the death of a spouse.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlinSeattle at March 23, 2014 08:49 AM (RZ8pf)

138 Rule One in dam design - never let concrete go into tension.

Posted by: Whitehall at March 23, 2014 12:44 PM (sH5KC)

That civil engineering stuff isn't very civil and it is also not very forgiving!

Posted by: Hrothgar at March 23, 2014 08:50 AM (o3MSL)

139 105 -

The classic book on this topic is Harold Kushner's "When Bad Things Happen to Good People."

I read it as part of my undergrad education, and it stuck with me enough that when things really did start to happen, I found it had shaped my view enough that I was able to sustain myself and my faith through the worst of it.

I think the gist of it is that we need to stop thinking God is doing these things to us for a reason. Like we're supposed to be learning something from our pain. Screw that. I would never tell anyone how to believe, but I would think it would be darned near impossible NOT to be angry with God if one believes He is taking people we love simply to provide us with life lessons.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 23, 2014 08:53 AM (BeSEI)

140 102 58 Read the MHI Book 1 and found it OK but not sufficient to drive me to read another in the series. But you are the second person here that thought the Grimnoir Chronicles were good, so I will give it a try. Thanks Posted by: Hrothgar at March 23, 2014 12:17 PM (o3MSL) MHI was Correia's first novel and he has grown as an author since then. The first Grimnoir novel is either his third or fourth published novel. I also liked Dead Six better than MHI, just FYI, and it isn't even a fantasy novel.

Posted by: BornLib at March 23, 2014 08:53 AM (zpNwC)

141 That is suppose to be our black president being whipped by the republicans and it makes everyone sick.

Posted by: Dorcus Blimeline at March 23, 2014 08:54 AM (iB0Q2)

142 I finally managed to make it through The Way of Kings again and have started Words of Radiance. It's interesting, but in my opinion, Sanderson takes *entirely* too long getting from the foreshadowing to the actual event!

SPOILER ALERT if you're not about a fifth of the way SPOILER ALERT

I mean, it's obvious early on that Kaladin is going to be the first of the new Knights Radiant, and not much further along that Shallan's going to be another of them. I'm pretty sure most if not all of Bridge Four are going to be part of Kaladin's Order. This is at about 19%.

Now I'm kind of slogging along waiting for it to actually *happen*!

Posted by: Empire1 at March 23, 2014 08:54 AM (OGBz2)

143 Miley's tongue I am so sorry about your husband. What a terrible loss. I've had some painful experiences in my life that left me feeling far adrift from God. A couple of books that were helpful to me were Philip Yancey's "Where Is God When It Hurts" and, "Disappointment With God". He is an excellent Christian author who writes with great insight, gentleness and grace about painful realities in the lives of God's children. I wish you peace, and someday, joy.

Posted by: grammie winger at March 23, 2014 08:55 AM (oMKp3)

144 The Shield of Achilles, by Philip Bobbitt. Trust.

Posted by: Knemon at March 23, 2014 08:58 AM (JlNQG)

145 @Miley's Tongue: I'm so sorry. Since it's the book thread, I'd like to recommend "An Exact Replica of a Figment of my Imagination", by Elizabeth McCracken, about the author's stillbirth, which I found enormously helpful. Yes, it's a different topic and no, it doesn't involve god. But it had me sobbing on public transport, especially the parts about the months after giving birth to her dead baby. I think it was James Baldwin who said that most of the comfort of reading is discovering that what's rending you apart right now has been experienced so often that it's basically a universal experience. Speaking of god, I liked "Unapologetic", by Francis Spufford. His grasp of everyday, commonsense theology had me scurrying back to the Bible because I just wanted to gain that sustenance. His grasp of politics and economics is...disappointing, and by that I mean it's so lazy and reflexively left wing that it's basically an insult to the theological bits. But the theological bits are wonderful. I don't know what will make things right with you and god, but I just liked this book. If it's any consolation, it says a lot - all good - that you miss your husband so much.

Posted by: Lizzie at March 23, 2014 08:58 AM (hNRJo)

146 Posted by: Miley's Tongue at March 23, 2014 12:18 PM (R+h7Q) Thought's and prayers for you. Hang in there.

Posted by: ExSnipe at March 23, 2014 08:59 AM (LKJt3)

147 Gracepmc - recs on islam/me histories: Hourani's Brief History of the Arab Peoples The Turks in World History by iforgetwho The Closed Circle by Pryce-Jones The Venture of Islam is a 3-volume epic, I wasn't a fan of volume 1 but some people swear by it.

Posted by: Knemon at March 23, 2014 09:03 AM (JlNQG)

148 On a lighter note, I think most of us did not expect to be having a discussion about loss and grief and God with Miley's tongue this morning.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 23, 2014 09:04 AM (BeSEI)

149 Miley's Tongue, I am so very sorry for your loss. In keeping with the book thread, I found To Begin Again by Naomi Levy very supportive and comforting in some of my dark times.

Posted by: Mrs. Mittens, still waiting for spring at March 23, 2014 09:08 AM (8m3cb)

150 The classic book on this topic is Harold Kushner's "When Bad Things Happen to Good People."

I think this is a misguided and unhelpful book and I would not recommend it to anyone.

Although losing your son at age 14 from old age, something like that, I would not presume I could tell the poor father anything. I just disagree with the conclusions he came to.

Posted by: OregonMuse at March 23, 2014 09:08 AM (fTJ5O)

151 152 -

What conclusions?

Posted by: BurtTC at March 23, 2014 09:10 AM (BeSEI)

152 149 The Turks in World History by iforgetwho Posted by: Knemon at March 23, 2014 01:03 PM (JlNQG) Carter V. Findley?

Posted by: BornLib at March 23, 2014 09:10 AM (zpNwC)

153 Books are a weird world. About two months ago my book, The Stars Came Back, got plugged here as an indie-published sci-fi. (To the twenty or so of you that bought it because you saw it here, THANKS!) It's been doing as well as any indie-book can expect. This last week I got a deal with Castalia House, a new publisher that is publishing Tom Kratman's new book (Big Boys Don't Cry), picked up a lot of John C. Wright's stuff, and more. For those that thought it looked good but didn't like the screenplay-like format, I'm rewriting it into a standard prose novel format. So it looks likely that this moron will get talked into writing some more. A wild ride it is.

Posted by: Rolf at March 23, 2014 09:12 AM (41Kyj)

154 155 Will the original format still be available?

Posted by: BornLib at March 23, 2014 09:16 AM (zpNwC)

155 Finished "21" this week, the story of the MIT kids who beat Vegas at blackjack. Interesting and entertaining. Right now can't read much of anything, as I'm drinking a 9.27% ABV Cappuccino Stout that I just got home with. From the local beer store's new "Growler Station", 64 ounces of fresh beer!

Posted by: Lincolntf at March 23, 2014 09:20 AM (ZshNr)

156 Yeah, I always thought that anyone using "Uncle Tom" as a perjorative was revealing their basic ignorance, as well as the clear fact that they had never read the book, or even the freakin' Cliff's Notes. This weeks books: - "Gun Machine" by Warren Ellis. Let's just say a quirky police procedural with some fairly twisted twists ... - also reread a few good ones, "Captain Vorpatril's Alliance" by Bujold, and "The Human Division" by Scalzi. - From a few weeks ago when I couldn't take time on Sunday to post on this thread: "Wool" by Hugh Howey Joys of life in a silo after the global (non-zombie) apocalypse. Yes, it's fairly grim, but I found it a good read, also with unforeseen plot twists. (and why does spellcheck think I misspelled perjorative ? jeesh, illiteracy is even creeping into software now ....) Stay happy and healthy, Horde, until next week.

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 23, 2014 09:22 AM (gUoN4)

157 ExSnipe, thanks for the link! I'm going to read more on this.

Posted by: All Hail Eris at March 23, 2014 09:23 AM (QBm1P)

158 Sincere condolences, Miley's tongue, that's really rough. Hang in there and God bless. Agree with the poster above re: Billy O'Reilly's Killing Jesus. Very good book. LOL @ 99 above. Nicely done. Kafka's Metamorphosis is a good book but mostly psychological. Not sure how a video adaption would work. I haven't read Stowe. No real reason, just haven't gotten to it. I will soon.

Posted by: Blacksheep at March 23, 2014 09:28 AM (bS6uW)

159 I think I will check out the recommended Hitler's Furies. Thank you. The book thread is always great. Miley's Tongue, I can't imagine the pain of your loss. The morons have some good advice above, and I hope you'll stick around here and let us know how you're doing.

Posted by: LadyS at March 23, 2014 09:28 AM (tMTsS)

160 grace: thanks. I've been concentrating on the Umayyad era; so I haven't read much beyond Yazid III... and I try *not* to read much about Islam before Muawiya on account of the primary sources just being not there. That said -Robert Hoyland, "Seeing Islam as Others Saw It" (for primary sources) -Patricia Crone, "Slaves on Horses" -Fred Donner, "Muhammad and the Believers" -the now-free older books downloadable from Google Books or archive.org: Julius Wellhausen, "The Arab Kingdom and its Fall"; William Muir, "The Caliphate"

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 23, 2014 09:31 AM (VSaCl)

161 Well since the book thread is still the top thread I will continue enumerating the books I have finished in the last couple of weeks. I am on the verge of finishing "The Whole Shebang" by Timothy Farris, a state of the universe book from 1998. Obviously cosmology has come farther in the 14 years since the book was published, but it is a good read about universe theories and how they came to be. And the author doesn't seem antagonistic to Christianity.

Posted by: ParanoidGirlinSeattle at March 23, 2014 09:31 AM (RZ8pf)

162 152 -

Well, without an answer to my question, I'll answer it for you.

Kushner suggests the world happens the way it does because the created world is not controlled by God, like a puppeteer, doling out life's lessons, and rewards and punishments.

Instead, God created a world where humans have free will, and the rules of the universe operate as they do, unimpeded by a God that needs to put His hand in, whenever things aren't quite going the way He wants.

Which means... evil sometimes/often happens. Evil, and other awful things will sometimes happen to each of us, not because God is hoping we'll learn some valuable lesson from it, but because, they do. Happen, that is.

So your faith, if it depends on God rewarding you for the good things you do, and punishing you for the bad thing you do, is going to be tested when the rewards and punishments don't match up right. In your eyes, at least.

And a lot of people just shrug their shoulders and say "oh well, everything happens for a reason."

Bullshit. Not everything happens for a reason, and there isn't always a lesson. It happens because God gave us a world where people can act as they do, and sometimes we do horrible things. And sometimes infants are born addicted to crack, and sometimes genetics screw up, and your child is born with a horrible disease that you can't explain away by saying "God wants to test me."

Sorry, it just doesn't work that way, and any rational review of how the world works, and has been working since the creation of time would tell you so.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 23, 2014 09:33 AM (BeSEI)

163 I also finished a book version of Dr. Strangelove, which convinced me the genius of that movie was visual. Didn't finish yet Bill Bryson's "I am a Stranger Here Myself". It is OK but geez, never realized how much progressive angst riddled the books of the 90s. I mean seriously, Clinton was President, didn't that mean everything was awesome?

Posted by: ParanoidGirlinSeattle at March 23, 2014 09:34 AM (RZ8pf)

164 ot (for the book thread): this being Boulder, of course the chick in the table behind me just sparked up a bowl. Ugh. Now my head is spinning. Miley's Tongue: very sorry for your loss. I hope you pull through.

Posted by: boulder toilet hobo at March 23, 2014 09:38 AM (VSaCl)

165 I read all the Harry Potter books to my oldest. I read them all to my daughter. And in another week or so, I'll be done reading them to my youngest (with the other 2 listening in every night). I don't want to be done!! I'm threatening to read them all to the cat.

Posted by: Mama AJ at March 23, 2014 09:40 AM (SUKHu)

166 "just sparked up a bowl" Wow, it's been a while since I heard that phrase .... let alone seen it done. Far out. Miley's Tongue, commiseration from everyone here. Come back any time you want to talk about anything at all, it's one of the things the Horde does best.

Posted by: sock_rat_eez at March 23, 2014 09:48 AM (gUoN4)

167 Started a list of books I should've read when I was in school (I'm retired now). Have been able to get to several (thanks to Kindle), including Animal Farm, Brave New World, Lord of the Flies, Road to Serfdom, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Tale of Two Cities, Witness, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and a handful of newer ones.

Uncle Tom's Cabin was a real surprise for me since my only knowledge of it was that it was about slavery. When I got around to it, I found it to be a bit oddly structured. I think that was because it was serialized in abolitionist newspapers. Didn't realize that it covered some info on the underground railroad; how the abolitionists wanted the slaves to be free, but many of the abolitionists didn't want the freed slaves living next door to them. But the biggest thing was how Uncle Tom wasn't a slobbering knuckleheaded yassaboss slave, but a noble and honest man, even once he'd been sold downriver. Geez. I sound like a sixth grade book report here.

Nonetheless, If you haven't read it, you really should.

Posted by: OldFert at March 23, 2014 09:49 AM (bx/lO)

168 Fert- I read Uncle Tom's for the same reason you did. To fill a hole in my education. I too have read many books because they are considered classics and I knew that they had been on the must read lists for better schools than I attended.

For those who can- I highly recommend inheriting the collection of your local librarian. No way I finish all that she left me.

Posted by: typo dynamofo at March 23, 2014 09:53 AM (IVgIK)

169 OK, I ordered UTC on the recommendations here - all of $2.99 since I got the luxury Kindle version. ("Hey, Big Spender!")

Hope it's nothing like "Atlas Shrugged" which I could NOT endure.

Posted by: Whitehall at March 23, 2014 09:57 AM (sH5KC)

170 Instead, God created a world where humans have free will, and the rules of the universe operate as they do, unimpeded by a God that needs to put His hand in, whenever things aren't quite going the way He wants. >>

He created a giant Pachinko machine. You have some control of the initial direction you want to go but the pins of life can and do knock you in different directions. There are obvious bad initial inputs but even what you think is a perfect direction can go awry when the pins of life knock you around. Not completely random but also not completely controllable.

Posted by: The Hickster at March 23, 2014 09:58 AM (TI3xG)

171 I just present this as another view of Harold Kushner's book by another Jewish person of religious faith. I read Kushner years ago as well. While at the time I found it helpful I now find Yancey's books already recommended by grammie more helpful. However, how people deal with grief is not a matter for debate. They grieve how they grieve and all you can do is say "I'm sorry" and to pray for them as I do for Miley's Tongue. It's also probably not the best time for debates on how much God is in control over things. :^) http://tinyurl.com/kbbsmxw But three months is really a very. verey short time since a death and (in my own experience) there's a wash of emotions including anger, sadness, despair and just a numbness. MT. be gentle with yourself. The colleague who preceded me at one of the churches I served had his son-in his early thirties commit suicide which was, of course, devastating. He found herself unable to pray and told his congregation that. "It's o.k. that you can't pray. Pastor. We will pray for you." That one of the things we do as people of faith-hold people up when they are unable to go further-by listening, by loving, by crying with them and by praying. There are a lot of prayers and caring here, MT, and I hope and pray you have a strong support system where you are too.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 23, 2014 10:07 AM (XyM/Y)

172 Ten Months of Lessons Learned Â– by Peter Grant (author of the Maxwell Saga) http://tinyurl.com/mrrvazl

Posted by: BornLib at March 23, 2014 10:11 AM (zpNwC)

173 "just sparked up a bowl"

Wow, it's been a while since I heard that phrase ....
let alone seen it done.

----

This being the horde, I should be afraid to look that up, shouldn't I?

Posted by: Retread at March 23, 2014 10:11 AM (cHwk5)

174 174 -

Yeah, Kirzner is wrong. And he presents the concepts in Kushner's book either inaccurately or dishonestly. I'm not sure which.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 23, 2014 10:20 AM (BeSEI)

175 You found it helpful. Burt.. That's great Some people did not. It doesn't make how any one deals with these questions either right or wrong-which is why I don't like the title of that particular book but I presented because his view is just as worthwhile as that of Kushner..

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 23, 2014 10:23 AM (XyM/Y)

176 156 - Yes. The plan is to keep the existing format in "print," put a new cover on the "traditional prose format" version, and put that out. Just about every Amazon review that gave it 3, 2, or 1 star didn't like the format. I don't know why, it seems pretty clear to me :-) But a number of readers who gave it 4 or 5 stars said that it was either not a problem, or something that was easily adapted to, some even saying they liked it a lot. It will be an interesting experiment to see which sells more, and how the reviews/rating differ. Vox expressed shock that it was selling well at all, given the cover, the format, and the fact that I'm a total noobie at it all. (briefly discussed here:
http://www.voxday.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-stars-came-back.html )
But as he said, "who am I to argue with the market?" He's said earlier, in effect, "the way to win is write good stories." So that's what I tried to do. Apparently a few thousand people agree.
Thank you, horde, whether a formally recognized member or not.

Posted by: Rolf at March 23, 2014 10:28 AM (41Kyj)

177 And this is a prayer from my (Christian) tradition regarding an untimely death. I'm always found it comforting: God of us all, we thank you for Christ's grace,through which we pray to you in this dark hour. A life we love has been torn from us. Expectations the years once held have vanished. The mystery of death has stricken us. O, God,you know the lives we live and the deaths we die-woven so strangely of purpose and chance, of reason and the irrational, of strength and frailty, of happiness and of pain. Into your hands we commend the soul of our loved one. No mortal life you have made is without eternal meaning. No earthly fate is beyond your redeeming. Through your grace that can do far more for us than we can think of imagine, fulfill in _______ (our loved one) your purpose which reaches beyond time and death. Lead____from strength to strength and fit the for service in your kingdom. Into your hands we also commit our lives. Whom, finally, have we on earth of heaven but you? Help us to know the measure of our days and how frail we are. Hold us in your keeping. Save our minds from despair and our hearts from fear. And guide and guard us with your peace. Amen

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 23, 2014 10:36 AM (XyM/Y)

178 178 -

It doesn't help anyone's argument to misrepresent the views of what one is opposed to.

I think a lot of people object to Kushner because what he suggests is that humans need to take more responsibility for their own well-being, rather than waiting for an invasive God to push all the right buttons for them.

It's a scary concept, I know. But it is an objectively more accurate portrayal of the universe.

Posted by: BurtTC at March 23, 2014 10:36 AM (BeSEI)

179 I don't think that Rabbi would suggest that anyone not take responsibility for the own well being and no it's not a scary concept at all. Judaism is very big on responsibility He clearly read the book. He just disagreed with its premises which is o.k. We could all read various books-especialy on theological concepts and differ in our views and reactions.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 23, 2014 10:40 AM (XyM/Y)

180 Rolf, I'm glad it's going well! I certainly enjoyed the story.

Posted by: Mama AJ at March 23, 2014 10:43 AM (SUKHu)

181 Apparently that Rabbi has a book too-"Making Sense of Suffering": http://www.artscroll.com/Books/sufh.html

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at March 23, 2014 10:47 AM (XyM/Y)

182 @Mileys Tongue, 3 months is not enough time to get to the acceptance place. You've not only lost the person you loved, you've also lost the marriage. I found Griefnet helpful, but I don't know if they are still around or not. Just be gentle with yourself. Grief is a journey and your grief will not be like anyone else's. The pain of loss does not go away but it gets easier to deal with.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at March 23, 2014 10:52 AM (Lqy/e)

183 183- You are welcome, and thanks for the support! (don't forget to tell your friends :-) I will be quite humbled if the normal format and/or sequels do as well. I hope so, but it still seems a little surreal.

Posted by: Rolf at March 23, 2014 10:58 AM (41Kyj)

184 118 & 126/132/149/`154/163

Wow. Thanks so much. I have moved all to my reading list to investigate. But what a wealth of starter info. Much appreciated.

Because I wanted to check Findlay as the author I did read a few reviews of that history. That's a real comfort zone for me -- Turkic peoples -- places I've been and known. Plus I started out long ago with Wittfogel's Theory of Oriental Despotism. But unless someone calls Full Stop on me or I on myself, I might start with the 2,000 years of Lewis.

And thanks, BTH for primary. I looked at Seeing Islam -- Kindle and Hard back. Because of price will I suffer for Kindle version or spring for the hardback. Thanks also for the info on free books -- looks like I might need that as well.

I better get cracking. As long as I do not get bogged down in the shiny objects of historical minutiae (where I live) I might make some progress. Again, thanks for your generous sharing. The horde does not disappoint.

Posted by: gracepmc at March 23, 2014 11:01 AM (rznx3)

185 Greetings, Horde! Hope I'm not too late to the thread, because I wanted to pick the brains of the literary morons/ettes. My niece wants to go to a journalism camp this summer. Does anyone know of one that is not bogged down with leftist propaganda? I would love to turn her on to the AoSHQ, but she's only 15 and is too young to be mind-raped by the indelicate topics we address here.

Posted by: Mindy at March 23, 2014 11:38 AM (Ew9Pv)

186 The Origin of Feces by David Walter-Toews. Isn't that a Type O Negative album?

Posted by: The O Negative Hat at March 23, 2014 12:11 PM (AymDN)

187 Thanks to all of you for your sympathy and recommendations and prayers. This truly is a wonderful group of people. I rarely post since I don't get around to reading threads until they've been abandoned by the horde. Fortunately there are no Longoliers ready to gobble up the comments.

First of all, my belief in God hasn't been shaken by my darling's death. I understand that God's purposes are beyond my divination. I understand that God decides when it's time to reshuffle the deck. It's just that we were so happy together, and my husband was really getting into stride with his art AND his music. He was such a good influence on me. We were God's gifts to each other, for a new beginning in middle age.

He was my first love, and then for decades we were out of touch. So we had eight wonderful years together. It kept getting better all the time. His love for me, and mine for him, was like a fuzzy kitten in my brain that I would pet dozens of times each day. It was my protective blankie, and now God has taken that away.

Oh yes, I know that he is still there, on the other side of the veil. But I miss him on this side of the veil, and I feel cheated that he was taken so soon. 59 is way, way too young. We should have had at least 25 years together, actuarially speaking.

God doesn't care about actuarial tables.

I feel dead in the water, with just enough energy to keep it together to go to work and pay the bills. I'm not worried about the future, probably because I don't care enough to "worry." At some point I will care again, which is why I need to keep my options open.

You're absolutely right - three months is a speck of time in the face of this loss. And I look forward to the time when it doesn't consume me with grief, the time when I can remember him lovingly instead of turning away from thinking about him at all.

I don't make any demands on myself in terms of grieving, but I do feel the pressure building up to go through his things and sort them for his kids and other family members. He was the keeper of the family memorabilia (lots of photos and some very valuable 18th century Bibles from early Moravians). Should I decide to move, those need to go to his family.

Right now I can only nibble at the edges of his stuff.

Fenelon, thank you for that prayer. It was cleansing.

I'm fortunate to have the love and support of his family, and friends. One of the blessings that came from Tim's loss was a blooming friendship with his daughters (I always gave them plenty of father-daughter time, so we never really developed our own relationships), and a few of his closest friends. You always have hubby as the filter through which you process his family & friends, but once that filter is gone, you see which of those friendships evolve to more personal connections.

From personal experience I know that miracles happen every day, but few of us acknowledge them. I've been in the depths of despair, unable to imagine that I could ever be happy again. Some of those situations were a lot more desperate than this one is, at least as seen from outside. I've always gotten what I need when I need it, and sometimes a bounty - but that only came when I was in a state of grace. That is, open to God's will and full of faith that He has my best interests as part of His plan.

Right now I'm too wrapped in my dark blanket of sorrow to feel any of the above. I hope to lighten up with the advent of spring and all of the promise of rebirth.

Thanks again to all of you who expressed your sympathy.

Posted by: Miley's Tongue at March 23, 2014 12:12 PM (R+h7Q)

188 190 May God give you strength and envelop you in His grace and love. Prayers for you and your beloved and family.

Posted by: gracepmc at March 23, 2014 12:17 PM (rznx3)

189 Instead, God created a world where humans have free will, and the rules of the universe operate as they do, unimpeded by a God that needs to put His hand in, whenever things aren't quite going the way He wants.

Sorry I'm late with this but I was (ironically?) at church for a couple of hours.

This is not what he said. His main point was that God was unable to prevent evil, even if wanted to. Having created the world, there were still parts of it He has no control over.

Sorry, a god who can't, a god of inability, is no god at all. He's just like us, only bigger and more powerful (see Zeus, Jupiter, etc.). If that's your god, then fine, but that is not the almighty God the Bible speaks about.

Sorry, it just doesn't work that way, and any rational review of how the world works, and has been working since the creation of time would tell you so.

Man cries out for meaning and so you say "tough shit, there isn't any." That's it? What a philosophy of wretchedness.

I'm off again, be back later.

Posted by: OregonMuse at March 23, 2014 12:59 PM (fTJ5O)

190 the height of my faith in correct pronunciation @ 30- wow!
I recall 'As the sun in the South at meridian height,,,,'

Posted by: Erowmero at March 23, 2014 01:04 PM (1gcFZ)

191 OregonMuse, I didn't have the same takeaway from Kushner's book as you. Mine was closer to what BurtTC mentioned.

It's not an all or nothing deal either with me, but I think his main thrust was, those that hold tight to a God that intervenes here or there or that losses or tests are lessons God wishes upon us are the most vulnerable to being badly shaken when the evil that is ever-present revels itself or the senseless loss occurs. Shaken to the point of losing faith, period.

I found it a profound book and have recommended it to many. I know my Baptist brother would have nothing to do with it as he feels very strongly about an active Lord, working in this way and that, daily.

Posted by: Yip at March 23, 2014 01:22 PM (/jHWN)

192 All Hail Eris at March 23, 2014 12:15 PM (QBm1P) Three Came Home by Agnus Newton Keith mentions the march. Her husband, an experienced Borneo naturalist and forester, was one of the very few survivors of that march.

Posted by: NaCly Dog at March 23, 2014 02:27 PM (u82oZ)

193 Pretty sure the Cadfael TV dramas were produced by ITV, not PBS, but yes, they were excellent.

Posted by: holygoat at March 23, 2014 03:43 PM (VPP/0)

194 @188 Mindy, if you check back in:

Don't know if there is such a thing as conservative journalism camp, but there should be. I wouldn't recommend journalism as a career now, but if she's sure, she'll need to know all the tech stuff -- video, social media, etc. And as much coding as she can stand. If she's into long-form journalism ... I don't know if there'll be such a thing in a decade.

As far as I remember, Columbia and Missouri (straight journalism) and Ball State (design) are among the better j schools. Mizzou and Columbia produce liberals by the truckload, of course.

Posted by: RovingCopyEditor at March 23, 2014 04:55 PM (/S5ss)

195 Here are some key quotes from Uncle Tom, after his master strikes him for refusing to beat another slave:

"Yes, Mas'r," said Tom, putting up his hand, to wipe the blood, that trickled down his face. "I'm willin' to work, night and day, and work while there's life and breath in me; but this yer thing I can't feel it right to do; - and, Mas'r, I never shall do it, - never!"

...An't I yer master? Didn't I pay down twelve hundred dollars, cash, for all there is inside yer old cussed black shell? An't yer mine, now, body and soul?" he said, giving Tom a violent kick with his heavy boot; "tell me!"

In the very depth of physical suffering, bowed by brutal oppression, this question shot a gleam of joy and triumph through Tom's soul. He suddenly stretched himself up, and, looking earnestly to heaven, while the tears and blood that flowed down his face mingled, he exclaimed,

"No! no! no! my soul an't yours, Mas'r! You haven't bought it, - ye can't buy it! It's been bought and paid for, by one that is able to keep it; - no matter, no matter, you can't harm me!"

Uncle Tom was no "Uncle Tom."

Posted by: Fr. John Whiteford at March 23, 2014 06:10 PM (z95BI)

196 It is also important to know that most of the characters and incidents in the book have some basis in actual people and events, including this famous scene involving a slave woman escaping across the Ohio River, with an infant in arms:

The trader caught a full glimpse of her just as she was disappearing down the bank; and throwing himself from his horse, and calling loudly on Sam and Andy, he was after her like a hound after a deer. In that dizzy moment her feet to her scarce seemed to touch the ground, and a moment brought her to the water's edge. Right on behind they came; and, nerved with strength such as God gives only to the desperate, with one wild cry and flying leap, she vaulted sheer over the turbid current by the shore, on to the raft of ice beyond. It was a desperate leap - impossible to anything but madness and despair; and Haley, Sam, and Andy, instinctively cried out, and lifted up their hands, as she did it. The huge green fragment of ice on which she alighted pitched and creaked as her weight came on it, but she staid there not a moment. With wild cries and desperate energy she leaped to another and still another cake; stumbling - leaping - slipping - springing upwards again! Her shoes are gone - her stockings cut from her feet - while blood marked every step; but she saw nothing, felt nothing, till dimly, as in a dream, she saw the Ohio side, and a man helping her up the bank.

Posted by: Fr. John Whiteford at March 23, 2014 06:14 PM (z95BI)

197 test

Posted by: Vic[/i] at March 24, 2014 02:18 AM (T2V/1)

198

Nixon tried to make friends with the Democrats. It did him NO good. Democrats could not forgive him for going after KGB spy Alger Hiss. The Democrats have two heros. FDR and Uncle Joe. You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

Posted by: burt at March 24, 2014 08:31 AM (1+kJ5)

199 Michael J. Totten is doing a Kickstarter for his next set of dispatches. Up this time: Vietnam http://t.co/Fo32W5e52X

Posted by: BornLib at March 24, 2014 11:11 AM (zpNwC)

200 Uncle Tom's Metamorphosis One morning, when Uncle Tom woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible, leftwing cliche utilized to keep Blacks on the Democrat plantation. "What the heck.", he said... Posted by: Harriet Kafka-Stowe at March 23, 2014 12:15 PM (0cMkb) ALL-TIME THREAD WINNER!!!!

Posted by: Kathy from Kansas at March 31, 2014 01:21 PM (afLO3)

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