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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 12:02 pm 
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denisdman wrote:
Just finished 1776. I was a little underwhelmed. It is ok, but leaves you wanting since it literally stops at the end of 1776 and simply says the war will go on for about six more years.......

Very detailed and somewhat depressing.

Quite a spoiler.

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 1:58 pm 
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denisdman wrote:
Just finished 1776. I was a little underwhelmed. It is ok, but leaves you wanting since it literally stops at the end of 1776 and simply says the war will go on for about six more years.......

Very detailed and somewhat depressing.

Well the title sort of tells you it is about a year so duh.

Just finished the first Jack Reacher book, not bad for what it is. The big question is how the holy hell did Tom Cruise get the part?

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 2:11 pm 
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And that's my complaint- doing a book about one year of a seven year war doesn't make much sense. It wasn't that compelling as there were very few important battles. The Americans spent more time running than fighting. It was interesting to see the opinion that Washington was an indecisive leader.

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 6:23 pm 
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denisdman wrote:
And that's my complaint- doing a book about one year of a seven year war doesn't make much sense. It wasn't that compelling as there were very few important battles. The Americans spent more time running than fighting. It was interesting to see the opinion that Washington was an indecisive leader.

Wait, I thought these colors didn't run?


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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 3:16 pm 
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Hank Scorpio wrote:
Psycory wrote:

If you like high fantasy stuff, you should try Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive. It has two books in the series but each is almost a thousand pages and it is really good but I'm a huge fan of Sanderson (he finished Jordan's Wheel of Time series with the best three books, he wrote another fantastic trilogy called 'Mistborn.' He's really good at setting up a world and compelling characters).


I'm re-reading the Mistborn trilogy right now. Really solid.

Justin Cronin just had the third book in his Passage series come out. Nice trilogy, the ending was a little bumpy but I enjoyed it overall.


reading the last WOT books pushing me to read the mistborn trilogy. I can't tell you how mesmerized i am by the cosmere. this thing he's created is quite amazing.

i have finished the trilogy and then polished it off with Secret History (a behind the scenes novella if you will....just blew my mind) and am halfway through alloy of law.


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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 6:59 pm 
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"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?" isn't half bad after the 100th time.

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 7:25 pm 
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hnd wrote:
Hank Scorpio wrote:
Psycory wrote:

If you like high fantasy stuff, you should try Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive. It has two books in the series but each is almost a thousand pages and it is really good but I'm a huge fan of Sanderson (he finished Jordan's Wheel of Time series with the best three books, he wrote another fantastic trilogy called 'Mistborn.' He's really good at setting up a world and compelling characters).


I'm re-reading the Mistborn trilogy right now. Really solid.

Justin Cronin just had the third book in his Passage series come out. Nice trilogy, the ending was a little bumpy but I enjoyed it overall.


reading the last WOT books pushing me to read the mistborn trilogy. I can't tell you how mesmerized i am by the cosmere. this thing he's created is quite amazing.

i have finished the trilogy and then polished it off with Secret History (a behind the scenes novella if you will....just blew my mind) and am halfway through alloy of law.

If you haven't tried the Stormlight Archive, try the first book. Right now whatever Sanderson writes, I'm reading.

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Wed Sep 07, 2016 12:14 pm 
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Just about done with this: https://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Hidden- ... 0743269195

It's very good. A ton of things in there that make you question what happened in Dallas, without going to far down conspiracy-nut wormhole.

RFK made a secret trip to Mexico City after the assassination to investigate why Oswald visited a CIA office there in 63. Also, some pretty amazing details on the covert operations against Cuba, including a CIA plan to blow up a NASA launch and blame it on the Cubans in order to justify an invasion.

The Warren Commission might have been right, but they certainly were not looking for the entire truth. Way too many skeletons.

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 12:56 pm 
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I finished Lamb by Christopher Moore a few weeks ago. Wow was that bad. It's this satirical look at Jesus' life between his childhood and when he starts preaching in his 30s, as told by his friend Biff. The most unfunny thing I've read in a long time. It's one of those books people who enjoy Southpark would like. Something a college atheist would rave about during a rambling monologue about religion. A Tim Baffoe type recommendation. I always finish bad books no matter how much I detest them and this fucker was a chore to get through.

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 8:05 pm 
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I'm still a fan of Sock by Penn Gillette. Very Pahaliniuk like but sorta dumber if that's possible but at the same time less annoying. In regards to Palahinuk is anyone a better idea man with poorer execution than him? Haunted is theoretically genius in a way Short Cuts and Magnolia was. (If you mention crash I wil, hunt you down and kill you)

I am about te reread House of Leaves to see if it stands up. Yeah it is hokey for sure but that craftsmanship is truly second to none. It is far from perfect or even that readable but I don't think it was supposed to be.


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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 9:12 pm 
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WaitingforRuffcorn wrote:
Just about done with this: https://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Hidden- ... 0743269195

It's very good. A ton of things in there that make you question what happened in Dallas, without going to far down conspiracy-nut wormhole.

RFK made a secret trip to Mexico City after the assassination to investigate why Oswald visited a CIA office there in 63. Also, some pretty amazing details on the covert operations against Cuba, including a CIA plan to blow up a NASA launch and blame it on the Cubans in order to justify an invasion.

The Warren Commission might have been right, but they certainly were not looking for the entire truth. Way too many skeletons.

Speaking of JFK, I've read a lot of books about the assassination and I particularly enjoyed this inside look at the Warren Commission: A Cruel and Shocking Act. It's a meticulous look at the intense, Type-A people on the Warren Commission, and overall highly interesting. The writer's goal is not to discount some of the more wacko theories, but in reviewing the work the WC did, he essentially does that.

It was fun to see these Really.Smart.Men do their work.

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 10:32 pm 
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leashyourkids wrote:
"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?" isn't half bad after the 100th time.



FUCK. THAT.

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 12:13 am 
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Brown Bear saw a red bird?


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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 9:13 am 
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Spaulding wrote:
Brown Bear saw a red bird?

He did ... and it had been mauled by a group of Cubs.

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 9:27 am 
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Don Tiny wrote:
Spaulding wrote:
Brown Bear saw a red bird?

He did ... and it had been mauled by a group of Cubs.


And not even country Joe West could prevent it from happening.

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 7:39 pm 
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hnd wrote:
Hank Scorpio wrote:
Psycory wrote:

If you like high fantasy stuff, you should try Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive. It has two books in the series but each is almost a thousand pages and it is really good but I'm a huge fan of Sanderson (he finished Jordan's Wheel of Time series with the best three books, he wrote another fantastic trilogy called 'Mistborn.' He's really good at setting up a world and compelling characters).


I'm re-reading the Mistborn trilogy right now. Really solid.

Justin Cronin just had the third book in his Passage series come out. Nice trilogy, the ending was a little bumpy but I enjoyed it overall.


reading the last WOT books pushing me to read the mistborn trilogy. I can't tell you how mesmerized i am by the cosmere. this thing he's created is quite amazing.

i have finished the trilogy and then polished it off with Secret History (a behind the scenes novella if you will....just blew my mind) and am halfway through alloy of law.


I endorse Sanderson as a fantastic writer of his genre. His books move incredibly fast too compared to Malazan which was a much slower harder read.


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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2016 8:54 pm 
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If you've ever wanted to read poetry (which makes the rest of literature seem like warm piss), here's an easy way in:

Alliance, Illinois, by Dave Etter

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2016 8:56 pm 
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And I'm the queer for appreciating fine dining....

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Thu Sep 22, 2016 11:35 pm 
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IMU wrote:
And I'm the queer for appreciating fine dining....

Yes! Poetry is queer and stupid. Fall in line--conform!!!

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 6:24 am 
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Best of both worlds for you:

http://hellopoetry.com/words/282362/arbys/poems/

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 7:51 am 
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Killer V wrote:

Solid.

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 4:48 pm 
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Killer V wrote:

Those Arby's poems were hysterical....

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2016 11:38 pm 
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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 11:39 am 
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I think I mentioned this one before, but I'm gonna do it again because I've been reading it on my phone lately:

The Old Ball Game: How John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, and the New York Giants Created Modern Baseball by Frank Deford.

I'm not sure about his claim that Mathewson and McGraw created modern baseball, but this is a fun book to read. Deford doesn't try to get away from his sportswriter style, and while that can occasionally lead to cliches, it grew on me. The story pretty much takes over, anyway: You get to watch Mathewson and McGraw, polar opposites, mesh (each man and his wife lived together for a while) and to see how McGraw built a winning team, as well as the Giant battles with the A's and Cubs (including the Merkle's Boner and Fred Snodgrass games) and how Pirates fans attacked the Giants with cantaloupes. You get to see what hand McGraw had in the foundation of the first incarnation of the Baltimore Orioles and, of course, his three decades as the manager of the New York Giants. (Deford claims that Matty was the game's first superstar.) You'll also hear any number of colorful McGraw quotes. The book is something of a snapshot of the dead ball era, meaning that this is full of immigrants, hicks, rubes, deaf players nicknamed "Dummy" and Native American players nicknamed "Chief." Deford also mentions how McGraw tried to enlist the services of an African-American player by claiming he was a Native American.

Both men died relatively young (Mathewson was 45, McGraw 60) and Deford laments that their names are not as well known as they might be. For instance, Deford suggests that the Cy Young Award should be named for Mathewson, who was one of the original members of the Hall of Fame.

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 8:06 pm 
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formerlyknownas wrote:
Scooter wrote:
formerlyknownas wrote:
Here's a good book:

Once Around the Bases: Bittersweet Memories of Only One Game in the Majors, compiled by Richard Tellis.

The author interviewed 40 men whose MLB careers lasted just a day or two. Included are John Paciorek, who went 3-3 with two walks for the Houston Colt .45s. What went wrong? Read and find out.

The book's chapters are short, and overall, it's very readable. You can pick up the book and put it down at any time. But the stories are, almost without exception, engaging and interesting. The voices are honest.

The players range from the Depression era to the late 1970s.

Gotta run. Great book!

Ordered this tonight for .01 on amazon. I love a good baseball book. Sounded really interesting.

Ah, let me know what you think! I love this book. Would have love to have been the one to have compiled it!

Compelling read. Enjoyed the hell out of it. Thanks for turning me on to it.


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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 8:14 pm 
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formerlyknownas wrote:
I think I mentioned this one before, but I'm gonna do it again because I've been reading it on my phone lately:

The Old Ball Game: How John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, and the New York Giants Created Modern Baseball by Frank Deford.

I'm not sure about his claim that Mathewson and McGraw created modern baseball, but this is a fun book to read. Deford doesn't try to get away from his sportswriter style, and while that can occasionally lead to cliches, it grew on me. The story pretty much takes over, anyway: You get to watch Mathewson and McGraw, polar opposites, mesh (each man and his wife lived together for a while) and to see how McGraw built a winning team, as well as the Giant battles with the A's and Cubs (including the Merkle's Boner and Fred Snodgrass games) and how Pirates fans attacked the Giants with cantaloupes. You get to see what hand McGraw had in the foundation of the first incarnation of the Baltimore Orioles and, of course, his three decades as the manager of the New York Giants. (Deford claims that Matty was the game's first superstar.) You'll also hear any number of colorful McGraw quotes. The book is something of a snapshot of the dead ball era, meaning that this is full of immigrants, hicks, rubes, deaf players nicknamed "Dummy" and Native American players nicknamed "Chief." Deford also mentions how McGraw tried to enlist the services of an African-American player by claiming he was a Native American.

Both men died relatively young (Mathewson was 45, McGraw 60) and Deford laments that their names are not as well known as they might be. For instance, Deford suggests that the Cy Young Award should be named for Mathewson, who was one of the original members of the Hall of Fame.


Thanks for the suggestion; I enjoy reading about baseball in the early 1900s and will definitely pick this up.

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 8:26 pm 
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leashyourkids wrote:
"Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?" isn't half bad after the 100th time.


leash, I just saw this comment.

I really miss reading that to the kids.


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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Fri Oct 21, 2016 8:30 pm 
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Scooter wrote:
formerlyknownas wrote:
Here's a good book:

Once Around the Bases: Bittersweet Memories of Only One Game in the Majors, compiled by Richard Tellis.

The author interviewed 40 men whose MLB careers lasted just a day or two. Included are John Paciorek, who went 3-3 with two walks for the Houston Colt .45s. What went wrong? Read and find out.

The book's chapters are short, and overall, it's very readable. You can pick up the book and put it down at any time. But the stories are, almost without exception, engaging and interesting. The voices are honest.

The players range from the Depression era to the late 1970s.

Gotta run. Great book!

Ordered this tonight for .01 on amazon. I love a good baseball book. Sounded really interesting.


I just got the same deal. Looking forward to it.


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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 10:12 am 
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Working on part two of Robert Caro's multi-volume LBJ biography. I enjoyed The Path to Power despite it only covering the younger years of LBJ. The amount of scheming, plotting, and ingratiating actions undertaken by Johnson, even as a kid, is staggering. Caro keeps you interested despite the endless asides into Texas politics and the various other players (Sam Rayburn, the Brown brothers, etc.). The Hill country of Texas is its own character. I'm about halfway through the second part, Means of Ascent, and it's setting up the battle for the Senate seat in 1948 between two individuals with contrasting personalities (Johnson and Coke Stevenson). I've already ordered up part three!

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 Post subject: Re: Books
PostPosted: Thu Nov 03, 2016 4:41 pm 
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I'm thinking that there will be three times as many books out about 2016 than 2005. (Lemme save you the effort: That's because Sox fans can't read.)

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