Whatcha reading?

[El Diablo 4232]

Downloaded and have been listening to Carlos Castaneda's "Journey To Ixtlan". Not sure what to make of it, it doesn't seem to be going anywhere fast and the writing is simple and uninspiring. I'll soldier on. 

[CycleTex87 2972]

On 3/12/2021 at 4:46 PM, UT_OB1 said:

Read the first 4 Harry Potters to the (now) 6 and 8 year old. Wanted to change it up a little. Found a copy of the Dark is Rising series (in one book) on eBay for ~$5. They liked Over Sea Under Stone but are really liking DiR, which I remember being my favorite...25 years ago?  Pacing is a little slow for the 6 year old. I’m really enjoying the RE-read myself, maybe almost as much as the 8 year old. 

I read the Dark is Rising series in Jr High or High School, 40 or so years ago.  Probably more than any other books I read in that period, those books ignited my love of reading. 

Edited March 21, 2021 by CycleTex87

[castolon 193]

A bit of a slog at times but one hell of a ride. 

[El Diablo 4232]

Funny how one book leads to another of the same era or genre etc... I started with McMurtry last summer and that led to Kesey and then to Kerouac. In there I was introduced to Neal Cassady as the bus driver in Kool-Aid Acid Tests. Then came the realization that he was the character Dean Moriarty in On The Road. Got intrigued by his story and found his wife's bio. Dude was unique and he unintentionally became the face of the Beat generation even if many couldn't put a name to the face. Well, mostly speech patterns and mannerisms but yeah, he was the source material for a lot of shit. 

[WBT 20615]

I read this in advance of the Taylor Sheridan movie that's coming out and it was excellent.

[Post Oak 20245]

So far so good.

[El Diablo 4232]

"Reading" audio book "Post Office" by Charles Bukowski. I've read a lot of his poetry but never any novels. It's alright, certainly not high brow literature. 

[Chad Fuck 17684]

I think I've finally exhausted my interest in Gallipoli with this one.  This book is mostly for aviation fanatics.  It has a lot of very interesting info and is a magnifying glass into the origins of air warfare.  These guys were basically flying motorized kites into action in a very difficult environment.  Seaplanes that can't get off the water unless the seas are just so - such that when they land and can't get off again they're prop boats.  The very first aerial torpedo attack.  Lots of interesting aviation firsts you wouldn't have known about otherwise.  Unfortunately, it's told in prose that feels like a masters or Ph.D thesis.  Worth a gander as it's really a short read.  

[atomheartbevo 89729]

Just finished Ken Williams' memoir about Sierra Online. Depressing at what could have been.  Sierra was absolutely killing it for a long time, and Williams had solid plans at keeping the company's revenue diversified so that they would continue to do well even as markets shifted.  This is on Kindle Unlimited if you are a subscriber.

Would have loved to have seen Roberta Williams get another crack or two at modern games, along with Al Lowe and the rest of those folks.

Now reading Sid Meier's memoir

 

Edited April 17, 2021 by atomheartbevo

[SimonBolivar 10958]

Does it come with a copy of SimGolf?

[Post Oak 20245]

I've read books on Krakatoa and Tambora but now the granddaddy of them all.  

I find this topic endlessly fascinating.

[PittsburghTiger 6190]

Just started the second volume in this two-book series on Wilhelm II. I can't help thinking of Baron Bomburst from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang while reading this.

Wilhelm was an embarrassing clown.

 

 

 

[Mdhorn 5970]

On 3/26/2021 at 8:46 AM, El Diablo said:

Funny how one book leads to another of the same era or genre etc... I started with McMurtry last summer and that led to Kesey and then to Kerouac. In there I was introduced to Neal Cassady as the bus driver in Kool-Aid Acid Tests. Then came the realization that he was the character Dean Moriarty in On The Road. Got intrigued by his story and found his wife's bio. Dude was unique and he unintentionally became the face of the Beat generation even if many couldn't put a name to the face. Well, mostly speech patterns and mannerisms but yeah, he was the source material for a lot of shit. 

A friend of mine knew Kesey's brother and gave her a video of all of them on acid--one of the first acid tests.  I thought it would be cool to watch and after a few minutes couldn't handle anymore.  It probably belongs in the Smithsonian.  Our ideas of Cassady are different from the reality--if you're not on acid, it's not really that cool. 

Edited April 21, 2021 by Mdhorn

[atomheartbevo 89729]

On 4/18/2021 at 11:17 PM, SimonBolivar said:

Does it come with a copy of SimGolf?

No, but it has a chapter devoted to SimGolf. During the beta, they named some of the lakes/water hazards after Robin Williams' kids, because they knew he was going to test it and would think it was cool, but they had to take the names out, because they thought Nintendo might bitch.

[El Diablo 4232]

5 hours ago, Mdhorn said:

A friend of mine knew Kesey's brother and gave her a video of all of them on acid--one of the first acid tests.  I thought it would be cool to watch and after a few minutes couldn't handle anymore.  It probably belongs in the Smithsonian.  Our ideas of Cassady are different from the reality--if you're not on acid, it's not really that cool. 

Yeah, I've taken a bit of a deep dive into Cassady as I began to realize what role he played in that era. Frankly from what I've read I'm a bit mystified by the love everyone seemed to shower on him. In "On The Road" Kerouac says it pretty plainly, the guy was a con artist and I have not found him in my reading to be a sympathetic character and yet there he was, beloved by those who have documented their adventures where he played a role.

I've read probably 5 or so Kerouac books (currently reading "Tristessa") and his writing can be exhilarating in its style and flow. Like Cassady though his personal life, which has a large presence in what I've read, is not one that I'd desire to have. Lost souls, both of them. 

[Mdhorn 5970]

4 hours ago, El Diablo said:

Yeah, I've taken a bit of a deep dive into Cassady as I began to realize what role he played in that era. Frankly from what I've read I'm a bit mystified by the love everyone seemed to shower on him. In "On The Road" Kerouac says it pretty plainly, the guy was a con artist and I have not found him in my reading to be a sympathetic character and yet there he was, beloved by those who have documented their adventures where he played a role.

I've read probably 5 or so Kerouac books (currently reading "Tristessa") and his writing can be exhilarating in its style and flow. Like Cassady though his personal life, which has a large presence in what I've read, is not one that I'd desire to have. Lost souls, both of them. 

I'm with ya--for some reason, when I read some of those books and the Electric Cool Aid Acid Tests and Hunter S Thompson, I thought it was a freeing lifestyle.  After watching the video of the fastest man alive and the group of merry misfits, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near them.  Also, I remember seeing photos of them at the National Gallery of Art and by mid thirty's to forties, they looked tired and spent.  Pretty sure the lifestyle took its toll.  Kerouac really relies on the imagination where everything makes sense, is congruent and works out in the end.  That's not life.  I remember driving in DC near some night club warehouses to grab breakfast on a Sunday morning and passing a guy at the bus stop wearing nothing but a diaper.  That's probably closer to the truth.  

But what an imagination we all share when everything clicks right--a car commercial steered by speed induced lunatics is the only machine on the road.

[Bama Llama 1450]

The Wolf Border, by Sarah Hall.  The Gray Wolf is reintroduced to Britain on the nation's largest private estate owned by a zillionaire with a short attention span. Wolves went extinct in GB ~600 years ago.  Evidently there is a "wilding" move afoot in the developed world.  Slow but well-written read.  Now and then a languid read is nice IMHO.  Every book doesn't have to be a "Cracking page-turner, sez the New York Times."

[4th&Five 41558]

I’ve always liked Vlautin. This is another good one. If you’re not familiar his stuff is usually like a Drive-By Truckers song in book form. 
 

[lmao 178]

On 4/7/2020 at 12:52 PM, The University said:

hah! probably back orifice and/or bo2k. the funny thing about that tool is that the early release version actually installed the trojan on your system when you used the front-end to exploit other systems. supposedly that was a "mistake".

Sub7

[TexPx 2323]

What a crazy history for a town of this size.

“Back in the days before Vegas was big, when the Mob was at its peak and neon lights were but a glimmer on the horizon, a little Southern town styled itself as a premier destination for the American leisure class. Hot Springs, Arkansas was home to healing waters, Art Deco splendor, and America's original national park--as well as horse racing, nearly a dozen illegal casinos, countless backrooms and brothels, and some of the country's most bald-faced criminals.
Gangsters, gamblers, and gamines: all once flocked to America's forgotten capital of vice, a place where small-town hustlers and bigtime high-rollers could make their fortunes, and hide from the law. The Vapors is the extraordinary story of three individuals--spanning the golden decades of Hot Springs, from the 1930s through the 1960s--and the lavish casino whose spectacular rise and fall would bring them together before blowing them apart.
Hazel Hill was still a young girl when legendary mobster Owney Madden rolled into town in his convertible, fresh off a crime spree in New York. He quickly established himself as the gentleman Godfather of Hot Springs, cutting barroom deals and buying stakes in the clubs at which Hazel made her living--and drank away her sorrows. Owney's prot g was Dane Harris, the son of a Cherokee bootlegger who rose through the town's ranks to become Boss Gambler. It was his idea to build The Vapors, a pleasure palace more spectacular than any the town had ever seen, and an establishment to rival anything on the Vegas Strip or Broadway in sophistication and supercharged glamour.
In this riveting work of forgotten history, native Arkansan David Hill plots the trajectory of everything from organized crime to America's fraught racial past, examining how a town synonymous with white gangsters supported a burgeoning black middle class. He reveals how the louche underbelly of the South was also home to veterans hospitals and baseball's spring training grounds, giving rise to everyone from Babe Ruth to President Bill Clinton. Infused with the sights and sounds of America's entertainment heyday--jazz orchestras and auctioneers, slot machines and suited comedians--The Vapors is an arresting glimpse into a bygone era of American vice”


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[TexPx 2323]

“The Splendid and the Vile" chronicles the first year of his prime ministry, from May 1940 to May 1941, a time when Britons lived in constant fear of bombs and invasion, and western civilization hung in the balance. It is a tale of despair, hope, love and loss — and Larson, clearly amazed by the drama he recounts, warns, “Although it may at times seem to be otherwise, this is a work of nonfiction.”


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[bluto 4932]

“The Splendid and the Vile" chronicles the first year of his prime ministry, from May 1940 to May 1941, a time when Britons lived in constant fear of bombs and invasion, and western civilization hung in the balance. It is a tale of despair, hope, love and loss — and Larson, clearly amazed by the drama he recounts, warns, “Although it may at times seem to be otherwise, this is a work of nonfiction.”


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Wellllll how is it

[abuelo gringo 321]

Currently re-reading Conan Doyle's The Complete Sherlock Holmes.  I first read it in late elementary or early jr. high school.  I find it as easy a read and as interesting as then.  I was prompted after watching Sherlock on Netflix, and recognized some of the names, but the stories seemed not the same, so I decided to return to the originals.

[TexPx 2323]

Wellllll how is it

Since it only covers one very important year, it is very in depth on his thought processes and how they are dealing with the impending storm.

Lots of info about his family, friends and his relationships with them and other world leaders at the time.

Great descriptions of how the common Brits deal with the situation as the war and bombings ramp up.

I’ve enjoyed Larson’s other books and this is no exception.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Post Oak 20245]

7 hours ago, bluto said:

Wellllll how is it

Maybe my favorite Larsen book.  

I loved Isaacs Storm. This is right up there with it.  

I'm probably in the minority but I didn't care for Devil in the white city.   Better than Dead Wake and Thunderstruck imo 

[Post Oak 20245]

 

[Bama Llama 1450]

On 4/29/2021 at 1:59 PM, abuelo gringo said:

Currently re-reading Conan Doyle's The Complete Sherlock Holmes.  I first read it in late elementary or early jr. high school.  I find it as easy a read and as interesting as then.

I can enthusiastically recommend the audiobook Sherlock Holmes, in which Stephen Fry does a fine job with Conan Doyle's complete Holmes works.  Fry's personal introduction sets the table.

[wild_turkey 3166]

“The Splendid and the Vile" chronicles the first year of his prime ministry, from May 1940 to May 1941, a time when Britons lived in constant fear of bombs and invasion, and western civilization hung in the balance. It is a tale of despair, hope, love and loss — and Larson, clearly amazed by the drama he recounts, warns, “Although it may at times seem to be otherwise, this is a work of nonfiction.”


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Just finished this and I’m pretty sad for it to end. Great read that gave me a lot of insight.

I’ve read most of Larson’s other books and this is right up there with them. The only one I haven’t read is “In the Garden of Beasts” which has been on my shelf for a while, so I guess I’ll move onto it next.

[tantric superman 4667]

I guess if any of you folks have a recommendation for a counterargument, that might save my soul.

[tantric superman 4667]

On 4/8/2021 at 1:21 PM, El Diablo said:

"Reading" audio book "Post Office" by Charles Bukowski. I've read a lot of his poetry but never any novels. It's alright, certainly not high brow literature. 

The whole audio vs. hard copy is an interesting deal.  I LOVED Post Office. But I forget the publisher of some of his books and I remember the binding and paper and font were very cool and that was part of the appeal. 

***Black Sparrow Press. 

Martin acted as publisher, as well as editor of many projects, though also worked with freelance editors regularly such as Seamus Cooney. Barbara Martin designed Black Sparrow covers and title pages between the late 1960s and 2002. The interior typography and printing of the multicolor title pages were the work of different printers over the years including the Plantin Press, Noel Young, Graham Mackintosh, Mackintosh & Young (the men's joint operation for many years). Once Black Sparrow moved to offset printed interior pages, those pages and the binding was handle exclusively by Edwards Brothers, Inc. The hand-binding of limited was done in the early years by Emily Paine, and then for many decades by Earle Gray Bookbinding Company in California.

[tantric superman 4667]

I thought I already posted about this.  A slog, but really really good I thought.  Grant was fucked up but what a life.  I had recently finished the biography of James Baker, and it was interesting comparing Baker, a frat rat and smooth operator who seemed to glide through everything, and Grant, who could ride a horse and handle logistics but was seemed so inept at what came to Baker naturally.  It was an interesting, of not completely logical, juxtaposition.

[Post Oak 20245]

I find all of Chernow's books slogs but I liked this one

Edited May 7, 2021 by Post Oak

[Post Oak 20245]

A majority of what I read is non-fiction so sometimes I need a fun quick read.  

I'm enjoying this.  1 of 4 in a series.

 

[Damor 1236]

14 hours ago, tantric superman said:

I guess if any of you folks have a recommendation for a counterargument, that might save my soul.

Funny, because it seems like a lot of my reading lately has gravitated toward religious discussion.  I don't know this book or its central argument, but what I understand of Hitchens is that a large part of his outlook is that science and religion are incompatible.  Here are a couple books I have really enjoyed lately which speak to that, and address some of Hitchens' arguments specifically:

Francis Collins' The Language of God

This is well written for an intelligent general audience and has the further benefit of being written by someone who, like CS Lewis in Mere Christianity, began from the atheist perspective.  It makes some very interesting arguments from Collins' own experience with genetics, as well as addresses some more universal issues (literally).  One thing that I find very refreshing is that he not only makes cogent arguments for the existence of God in opposition to atheism, but also spends a very significant amount of time calling out the anti-intellectualism and ignorance of fundamentalism and young Earth creationists for the damage that they do.  Really great read IMO.

Stephen Barr's The Believing Scientist

I'm pretty sure it was someone on a previous iteration of Surly/Shaggy/Shitty/Whatever who turned me on to Barr's Modern Physics and Ancient Faith,  which is a really outstanding book but can get very technical (especially if, like me, you have little understanding of particle physics or quantum theory beyond Schrödinger's Cat).  This is a collection of essays which largely distill and shorten those arguments so that they can be digested in smaller bites.  As such, it can get a little repetitive and can be a little superficial, but it's still a very interesting read.  If you were to read this and like it, I'd strongly suggest following it with Modern Physics and Ancient Faith, where he fleshes out a lot of these concepts much more fully.

I just started in on a biographical novel about Pontius Pilate which looks to be good, but these might be more relevant to what you're talking about.

BTW, this is one of my favorite threads on the site.  Thank y'all for all the contributions.

[Red Five 40862]

New Michael Lewis. On covid.

[Post Oak 20245]

On 5/6/2021 at 9:03 PM, Post Oak said:

A majority of what I read is non-fiction so sometimes I need a fun quick read.  

I'm enjoying this.  1 of 4 in a series.

 

This turned out to be pretty good.  Had a Last of the Mohicans feel to it.

On to this one.

 

[Bama Llama 1450]

John Sandford's latest, Ocean Prey, narrated by Richard Ferrone.  If you've never read Sandford or listened to him, I strongly recommend.  Clever plot lines, believable non-stereotype characters, overall most interesting and enjoyable read or listen.  His Lucas Davenport series goes back 30 years, I guess.  Davenport has a distinctly surly, snarky mindset. Virgil Flowers series not quite as long but just as good.

Ocean Prey opens with a Coast Guard zodiac crew attempting to board a suspicious motor yacht off Lauderdale; the Coasties are gunned down, and off we go. 

[Mach 1 1677]

Starts slow with backgrounds of all the players, but when things get hairy it takes off.

I found out about it after seeing an interview with a USAF pilot who recalled getting a frantic signal from ground soldiers needing air cover during the Iraq invasion.  He couldn't see shit because of dust but eventually was able to drop enough firepower in the rough vicinity to help these dudes escape.  Pretty wild story.

[workswithseed 2112]

Finally listening to Kafka after hear things being called "Kafkaesque"any times this year. I can't believe how comically inclined it is about some of its events throughout the book (so far) it is. The protagonist kinda reminds me of this. It's kinda like bureaucracy, but the things that you're helpless to fight against is cosmic beings in nature.

 

[Bogeywon 2519]

Just listened to Seth Rogans book year book. Wow I was laughing so hard at times! Such a great book to listen to. It’s awesome

 

[Bartles 769]

Whether you're following the Austin homeless situation or just curious, this is a non-scientific first person description of homeless life in Colorado. Very easy read, and I learned a ton despite living in high-homeless-populated cities my whole life. 

[Zepol87 9188]

On 5/21/2021 at 3:25 PM, Bogeywon said:

Just listened to Seth Rogans book year book. Wow I was laughing so hard at times! Such a great book to listen to. It’s awesome

 

Had a few audible credits available. Gonna check this out

[Tailgate 3022]

Will always pick up a good mafia or narco read.

[tantric superman 4667]

Walter Benjamin at the DQ.  I liked it.  The first and only McMurtry I have ever read.  He recommends a book about Charles Goodnight which he claims is the best biography of a western figure ever.  May have to check that out.  

[Bogeywon 2519]

On 5/25/2021 at 2:35 PM, Zepol87 said:

Had a few audible credits available. Gonna check this out

You won’t regret it! I flew through it in 3 days... 

[Post Oak 20245]

On 5/26/2021 at 4:44 PM, tantric superman said:

Walter Benjamin at the DQ.  I liked it.  The first and only McMurtry I have ever read.  He recommends a book about Charles Goodnight which he claims is the best biography of a western figure ever.  May have to check that out.  

Man, you are missing out if you've only read this one.  

This one is on my Goodreads. Hope to get to it over the summer.

[Post Oak 20245]

Almost done with this one.  The author does a great job of putting you right there with JWB and Herold.  

I've really enjoyed it.

[Sbbruin 21861]

On 6/2/2021 at 3:26 PM, Post Oak said:

Almost done with this one.  The author does a great job of putting you right there with JWB and Herold.  

I've really enjoyed it.

Read Bill O’Reilly’s (yeah, I know, but he writes good historical books) “Killing Lincoln” which covered a good bit of the chase for Booth.  He was fucked from the get-go when he jumped from Lincoln’s box to the stage and broke his leg.

Starting this right now.  Been sitting on it for too long.

 

 

Edited June 5, 2021 by Sbbruin

[TexArcher 37978]

About halfway through Michener's The Source.  It's exceptional.

[Bama Llama 1450]

Audiobook of "Widespread Panic" a novel by James Ellroy, narrated con molto brio by "oh I saw that guy in that movie," Craig Wasson.  Enjoying the fuck out of this.  It's a great sex, booze, pay phone, manual typewriter, watch A-bomb test flash from the roof with Joi Lansing, JFK and Ingrid Bergman scandal sheet, red under every bed type of trip.  It's supposed to be an autobiography of Fred Otash, about whom Wikipedia sez: 

Fred Otash was a Los Angeles police officer, private investigator, author, and a WWII Marine veteran, who became known as a Hollywood fixer, while operating as its "most infamous" private detective; he is most remembered as "the inspiration for Jack Nicholson's character Jake Gittes in the film, Chinatown."

You've never heard such well aligned alliteration.  Loving it so far.