Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Another Book Thread

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #91
    Re: Another Book Thread

    Originally posted by RustyLO View Post
    Just finished reading Silmarillion. The coolest Tolkien's work I think, even better than LOTR
    Wait, didn't you just start that about a week ago?

    I thought it was like 3000 pages long?

    Next time you have a 6-hour flight you should read Infinite Jest.
    Cornell University
    National Champion 1967, 1970
    ECAC Champion 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1980, 1986, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2010
    Ivy League Champion 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020

    Comment


    • #92
      Re: Another Book Thread

      Originally posted by Kepler View Post
      Wait, didn't you just start that about a week ago?

      I thought it was like 3000 pages long?

      Next time you have a 6-hour flight you should read Infinite Jest.
      Wait, am I missing something here. He has two posts on here and only one is about the book.

      Do I not know something about this person?


      Edit: Dammit. Woosh.
      Code:
      As of 9/21/10:         As of 9/13/10:
      College Hockey 6       College Football 0
      BTHC 4                 WCHA FC:  1
      Originally posted by SanTropez
      May your paint thinner run dry and the fleas of a thousand camels infest your dead deer.
      Originally posted by bigblue_dl
      I don't even know how to classify magic vagina smoke babies..
      Originally posted by Kepler
      When the giraffes start building radio telescopes they can join too.
      He's probably going to be a superstar but that man has more baggage than North West

      Comment


      • #93
        Re: Another Book Thread

        Color me lost.

        Comment


        • #94
          Re: Another Book Thread

          Thanks to everyone who chimed in. If nothing else, I have a few new authors to start reading which will keep me busy for the foreseeable future.

          Comment


          • #95
            Re: Another Book Thread

            Recent Reads

            Faithless (Grant County #5) by Karin Slaughter I had read a couple of Karin Slaughter’s Will Trent series but this was the first of the Grant County I had attempted. It was an okay read as they struggle to find who buried a woman and left her to die in a shallow grave. I think I probably would have benefitted from starting this at the beginning as there appears to be some stuff covered in the earlier books that wasn’t rehashed here.

            Mission Critical (Gray Man #8) by Mark Greaney The 8th of the Gray Man series finds him involved in a situation after the plane bringing him back to the United States is attacked and a prisoner being transported is taken off. Following the kidnappers he gets involved in the case which involved the Russians plotting something in the UK. His friend Zoya just escapes death and goes to the UK and gets involved in the case as well. Good read.

            The First Lady by James Patterson (Goodreads Author), Brendan DuBois This book was okay as it follows the President of the United States caught cheating just before the election and then the 1st Lady vanishes. Following the Secret Service as they seek to find her before everything spirals out of control.

            Celtic Empire (Dirk Pitt #25) by Clive Cussler, Dirk Cussler The latest Dirk Pitt novel finds he, Giordano and the twins trying to track down a scientist who is putting a chemical in various cities drinking water. At the heart is an ancient Egyptian princess who may hold the key to it all.

            Neon Prey (Lucas Davenport #29) by John Sandford The latest Lucas Davenport thriller finds him tracking down a killer on the run thru several states across the US but he seems to be thwarted at every turn. It’s a little interesting that the books have veered away from the Minneapolis locale but it does help keep it from getting stale.

            Lie Down with Lions by Ken Follett A very good book by Follett though a tad out of date as it deals mainly with the Mujahedeen fighting against the Russians in Afghanistan. I tend to prefer his WWII books but this does have a very interesting and compelling storyline that was current at the time it was written.

            Richard Bolitho — Midshipman (Richard Bolitho #1) by Alexander Kent, Douglas Reeman So I have been searching for a new historical fiction writer to read. I loved the Hornblower series and most of Cornwelll’s series’s. I tried Master and Commander and they were okay so decided to give this one a try. It appears as if this is two short stories that tell 2 adventures of young Mid Shipman Richard Bolitho the first one where he is aboard a Man o War fighting pirates was quite good and very similar to an early Hornblower. The second where he is at home on leave and gets involved with his brother to take on smugglers is okay.

            Sunset Express (Elvis Cole #6) by Robert Crais This Elvis Cole book finds him and Joe working for a celebrity and his celebrity lawyer trying to determine if evidence was planted. Pretty good read with lots of action and Elvis wisecracks.

            Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends by Peter Schweizer Another good effort from Schweizer detailing the corruption of Washington. This focuses on just a few people mainly and the ways they get around the various laws enacted to stop corruption. How John Kerry and Joe Biden’s sons made tons of money while their parents were VP and Sec of State. How Mitch McConnell has huge ties to China thru his wife and how the Trump Presidency will be plagued by the same thing due to his worldwide business dealings.

            Trial by Fury (J.P. Beaumont #3) by J.A. Jance The Third in the Beaumont series finds him investigating the death of a high school coach who may have been lynched. Another good quick read from the series. These tend to follow a similar format a damsel in distress who has to be rescued by JP and confrontation with his nemesis Maxy the newspaperman. I kind of liked the old school aspects, pay phone’s, searching for a place on a map and a location by reverse directory instead of googling it or using the GPS.

            Taking the Fifth (J.P. Beaumont #4) by J.A. Jance Another good read from Jance finds JP investigating the deaths of two men who live together. They seem tied together by a show visiting the area for a short period of time. Teamed with a new partner JP has to solve the case before they leave town.

            We are Lincoln Men": Abraham Lincoln and His Friends by David Herbert Donald This is partly a tale of Lincoln’s life and partly a tale of his psyche as the author examines his friendships, of which their were few, throughout his life. I particular enjoyed the section about Joshua Speed, William H. Herndon and Orville H. Browning having already read much about his relationships with William Seward, Nicolay and Hay. It’s not a fabulous book but it isn’t too long and gives some insights into Lincoln’s character.

            The Border (Power of the Dog #3) by Don Winslow The last of the Power of the Dog books is the finale in the trilogy and by far my least favorite. Keller is now the head of the DEA and the gangs in Mexico are fighting over turf after Adan Barrera’s death. There are parts of the book that are top notch, especially the interplay and fighting amongst the members of the cartels. I just felt that there were parts of the book, mainly the DC politics part, where Winslow was jamming his political views down my throat. I can get this 24/7 on cable news which is why I read books to get away from this crap. If I choose to read a non fiction book about politics that is one thing but like to keep it out of my fiction reading as much as possible.

            The Cornwalls Are Gone (Amy Cornwall #1) by James Patterson (Goodreads Author), Brendan DuBois An okay book from Patterson and co author about a Army Intelligence officer who comes home to find her husband and daughter kidnapped and must spring into action to rescue them. Pretty unbelievable and some plot gaps on how things happen as the story, like many of Pattersons, is rushed along.

            On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War's Greatest Battle by Hampton Sides A very telling tale of the Marines battle for survival at the Chosin Reservoir when the Chinese Army came over the border to defend their North Korean allies. It follows the events leading up to the battle from the landing at Incheon, the battle for Seoul and Macarthur’s decisions which helped leave the Marines and Army divisions strung out and more vulnerable to attack. He goes into great detail about the battle for survival and the heroism amongst the men as the Chinese attack them in huge waves.

            Sea of Swords (The Legend of Drizzt #13) by R.A. Salvatore The 4th book in this Drizzt set finally brings back Drizzt who has been missing since early in the 1st book as with the exception of book 3 it has been very Wulfgar centric. This book finds the friends reuniting after and absence and going on a quest for Wulfgar’s missing warhammer. A much better read than the first 2 of the series.

            Desert Heat (Joanna Brady #1) by J.A. Jance The first book by Jance I had read was a Beaumont/Brady crossover. Since then I have read several of the Beaumont books but decided to cross over and read a Brady book. This is a fast moving crime novel where Joanna must get involved to save the reputation of her husband after his is shot and said to be a cop on the take.

            Band of Brothers (Richard Bolitho #3) by Alexander Kent The Third of the Bolitho books, chronologically, finds him still a midshipman but taking his exam to be named a Lieutenant. Afterwards this short story finds him heading out to deliver a schooner when they get involved in another smuggling plot. Very good book which reminds me a lot of Hornblower but the book was a quick read at about 120 pages.
            Last edited by Probert; 06-01-2019, 06:26 AM.
            Oswego State Lakers 2007 NCAA Div III Champs

            Adirondack Red Wings 4 time Calder Cup Champs 81,86,89 & 92

            Comment


            • #96
              Originally posted by MadTownSioux View Post
              Has anybody read 'Where the crawdads Sing'? At the Southern Wisconsin library system there were over 1300 holds with over 60 available a few weeks ago. It's been on the 'Top 20 fiction' list in the local paper, all but 1 week at #1, for 38 weeks now.
              I did and loved it. I’m a big fiction reader along the lines of Lisa Scotoline and Sidney Sheldon. If you enjoy that genre I think you’ll like it.
              Last edited by hockeymom of 2; 06-08-2019, 08:11 AM.

              Comment


              • #97
                Re: Another Book Thread

                Originally posted by Probert View Post
                Trial by Fury (J.P. Beaumont #3) by J.A. Jance The Third in the Beaumont series finds him investigating the death of a high school coach who may have been lynched. Another good quick read from the series. These tend to follow a similar format a damsel in distress who has to be rescued by JP and confrontation with his nemesis Maxy the newspaperman. I kind of liked the old school aspects, pay phone’s, searching for a place on a map and a location by reverse directory instead of googling it or using the GPS.

                Taking the Fifth (J.P. Beaumont #4) by J.A. Jance Another good read from Jance finds JP investigating the deaths of two men who live together. They seem tied together by a show visiting the area for a short period of time. Teamed with a new partner JP has to solve the case before they leave town.
                .
                My favorite Jance series. Really enjoyed all of them. The theme does change over time with the damsels in distress.

                I've also read the Ali Reynolds ones - those are OK, but not as good. Didn't really like the Joanna Brady ones.

                Comment


                • #98
                  Re: Another Book Thread

                  My LGBT book club is reading Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown.

                  Just started it; haven't formed an opinion yet.
                  Facebook: bcowles920 Instagram: missthundercat01
                  "One word frees us from the weight and pain of this life. That word is love."- Socrates
                  Patreon for exclusive writing content
                  Adventures With Amber Marie

                  Comment


                  • #99
                    Re: Another Book Thread

                    Originally posted by jen View Post
                    My favorite Jance series. Really enjoyed all of them. The theme does change over time with the damsels in distress.

                    I've also read the Ali Reynolds ones - those are OK, but not as good. Didn't really like the Joanna Brady ones.
                    The first one I read, I had picked up several at the libraries used book sale on the recommendation of my Mom, was a Brady/Beaumont crossover, the second one with both of them. I enjoyed it so I went back to the beginning. I've read the first 4 of Beaumont and just read the 1st of the Brady series. I kind of like both of them but one of the Beaumont ones, I think it was #2 I wasn't that enthralled with. They are quick reads as I can read them in less than a day.
                    Oswego State Lakers 2007 NCAA Div III Champs

                    Adirondack Red Wings 4 time Calder Cup Champs 81,86,89 & 92

                    Comment


                    • Re: Another Book Thread

                      Starting The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendahl, the book about which Tolstoy said he hadn't understood war until he read it. The author is very witty and so far the book is a good companion. I read very slowly so I am looking forward to this as my summer fiction book.

                      I am also still reading (auditing) the non-fiction All Things Shining; it's a wonderful book. I'll illustrate with a very short note. At one point the authors talk about a chapter in the Odyssey which frankly I don't remember. Helen is back home after the events of the Iliad and she's at a dinner feast. The guests are trading stories, as in the Decameron or Canterbury Tales. As hers she tells the story of her going off to Troy with Paris. All the guests are enchanted by her story, especially Menelaus, the husband she cuckholded. Homer is highly complimentary of her and describes her as at her most beautiful and emblematic of "all things shining," hence the title of the book.

                      The question is: w t f do we make of this? The Homeric Greeks thought differently than us and they admire Helen both as a wife and mother in her domestic role and as a demigoddess of erotic love as the face that launched a thousand ships. They have no trouble with the contradiction between these and simply would not think to reconcile them: they are just different contexts for her as a woman. We lack the mental equipment to do this because we have a completely different sense of being as something coming from inside us that should be consistent. But the Greeks viewed being as winds and muses that blow through us, so just as the wind can shift suddenly, our being can shift and all we can do is behave excellently given the context.

                      I didn't expect the book to be anywhere near as thoughtful and deep as it is. I highly recommend it.
                      Last edited by Kepler; 06-09-2019, 12:37 AM.
                      Cornell University
                      National Champion 1967, 1970
                      ECAC Champion 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1980, 1986, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2010
                      Ivy League Champion 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020

                      Comment


                      • Re: Another Book Thread

                        Originally posted by Kepler View Post
                        Starting The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendahl, the book about which Tolstoy said he hadn't understood war until he read it. The author is very witty and so far the book is a good companion. I read very slowly so I am looking forward to this as my summer fiction book.

                        I am also still reading (auditing) the non-fiction All Things Shining; it's a wonderful book. I'll illustrate with a very short note. At one point the authors talk about a chapter in the Odyssey which frankly I don't remember. Helen is back home after the events of the Iliad and she's at a dinner feast. The guests are trading stories, as in the Decameron or Canterbury Tales. As hers she tells the story of her going off to Troy with Paris. All the guests are enchanted by her story, especially Menelaus, the husband she cuckholded. Homer is highly complimentary of her and describes her as at her most beautiful and emblematic of "all things shining," hence the title of the book.

                        The question is: w t f do we make of this? The Homeric Greeks thought differently than us and they admire Helen both as a wife and mother in her domestic role and as a demigoddess of erotic love as the face that launched a thousand ships. They have no trouble with the contradiction between these and simply would not think to reconcile them: they are just different contexts for her as a woman. We lack the mental equipment to do this because we have a completely different sense of being as something coming from inside us that should be consistent. But the Greeks viewed being as winds and muses that blow through us, so just as the wind can shift suddenly, our being can shift and all we can do is behave excellently given the context.

                        I didn't expect the book to be anywhere near as thoughtful and deep as it is. I highly recommend it.
                        As a woman I find this a microcosm of our current society- schizoid on what it would like to expect from women. Clever way to make sure no women is never enough and great way to sell a whole lot of things to make her try to be anyway. This has definitely escalated with the increase of media at your fingertips.

                        Media is saturated with things that publicly celebrate all the demigod characteristics, the implication being if a woman doesn't try to have a face that launched a thousand ships then there is something wrong with her and she is deficient. It is getting ridiculous- wildly exaggerated characteristics-long and intricately painted fake nails, fake eyelashes, fake eyebrows, fake hair color ad extensions, heavy make up to sculpt the face smooth and perfect, all sorts of shapewear/surgery to magnify or diminish attributes- women are starting to look like cartoon characters blown all out of proportion).

                        We get told the ideal is to be all things- smart, funny, self sufficient, not be dependent on men, happy with out bodies, be fit, organized- the feminist ideal but.... At the same time if the woman does these things and is even slightly successful then she is not meeting the expectation of emulating Beaver Cleever's Mum and is criticized for being to beautiful, smart, pushy. It is impossible to be all things simultaneously but if you read the media aimed at women they imply it is and also sell all sorts of articles, classes, seminars with hints of how that are impossible to implement

                        Comment


                        • Re: Another Book Thread

                          Originally posted by leswp1 View Post
                          As a woman I find this a microcosm of our current society- schizoid on what it would like to expect from women. Clever way to make sure no women is never enough and great way to sell a whole lot of things to make her try to be anyway. This has definitely escalated with the increase of media at your fingertips.
                          Kind of.

                          Yes, the consumer economy harms people in order to sell them things. Advertising only exists to make you feel like sh-t so you'll expend the wages of your substantial work for their worthless garbage. This is true for any group of people you can imagine. Consumerism is fundamentally anti-human and we have lived under its brainwashing now for close to 100 years. We are bombarded with propaganda 1000x times as lethal and dehumanizing as the worst police state, in the service of commerce. Unless we reject it we will just be the customer serfs this system is designed to produce.

                          But the Homeric Greeks were very, very different. They don't fit that pattern, except by analogy. They sucked, of course, because all societies suck, because all societies are the imposition of the bigotries and fears and vanities of the numerous dumb at the expense of the few smart. But they sucked in a very different way than we do. In a millennium the next culture will suck differently than both of us.
                          Cornell University
                          National Champion 1967, 1970
                          ECAC Champion 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1980, 1986, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2010
                          Ivy League Champion 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020

                          Comment


                          • Re: Another Book Thread

                            True.

                            We had the feminist movement that told us to shake all that but as women have gone more into the workforce things seem to have escalated rather than decreased. It is some kind of masterful marketing to keep women believing all this sh1t and I am not sure why women are so influenced. Men don't seem to have as much aimed at them regarding their attributes. Seems mostly to be about virility issues and bald head products but even then they don't seem as pervasive as the nails, hair, makeup, body shape, any attribute you can think of for women. I can't see that same strategy working when you try to tell men they should wear fake eyelashes so long they look silly, they should have eyebrows a certain shape, nails abnormally long, etc. Some guys do it but most of them would roll their eyes and laugh

                            Comment


                            • Re: Another Book Thread

                              Originally posted by leswp1 View Post
                              True.

                              We had the feminist movement that told us to shake all that but as women have gone more into the workforce things seem to have escalated rather than decreased. It is some kind of masterful marketing to keep women believing all this sh1t and I am not sure why women are so influenced. Men don't seem to have as much aimed at them regarding their attributes. Seems mostly to be about virility issues and bald head products but even then they don't seem as pervasive as the nails, hair, makeup, body shape, any attribute you can think of for women. I can't see that same strategy working when you try to tell men they should wear fake eyelashes so long they look silly, they should have eyebrows a certain shape, nails abnormally long, etc. Some guys do it but most of them would roll their eyes and laugh
                              Men are marketed to on their ability to protect and provide for the womenfolk, but it's the same sh-t.

                              Marketing is finding the target's psychological vulnerability and exploiting it. Find a potential source of anxiety and then crack it wide open like an egg. It's how cults operate.

                              After generations of this, our population is chronically neurotic and hustles desperately to buy the fulfillment they naturally have by simply turning off every advertisement they would otherwise be exposed to. Advertising is radiation poisoning. It is lethal to the spirit.

                              At least religion actually gave a placebo in return for your soul. Consumerism is just a pusher whose product is the perpetuation of need and self-loathing.
                              Cornell University
                              National Champion 1967, 1970
                              ECAC Champion 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1980, 1986, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2005, 2010
                              Ivy League Champion 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020

                              Comment


                              • Re: Another Book Thread

                                "A Queer and Pleasant Danger" by Kate Bornstein.

                                It's about a Jewish boy who joins the Church of Scientology, gets excommunicated, and discovers she's a transwoman. The part where she's describing her time in Scientology was truly fascinating and I couldn't put the book down during that part. I plan on finishing the book tonight, but it's worth the $13 I spent on it.
                                Facebook: bcowles920 Instagram: missthundercat01
                                "One word frees us from the weight and pain of this life. That word is love."- Socrates
                                Patreon for exclusive writing content
                                Adventures With Amber Marie

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X