All the Literature and Reading Stuff...

[Leferd]

I'd put The Far Side, Calvin & Hobbes, and Peanuts in my holy trinity of comic strips as I grew into my teenage years. But Garfield was tops, pre-adolescence.

[Guard Dog]

 

 

 

I've recently finished a deep novel and two books about politics. Now it's time for something lighter. Now reading Bottom of the 33rd: Hope and Redemption in Baseball's Longest Game. In 1981 the Rochester Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox of the International League played a 33 inning game. I always knew about it but the back story is fascinating. 

I never thought of you as an avid  reader ....living out in the wilderness, having no creature comforts like electricity and paying homage to primordial earth spirits 

 

Do people generalize about people like you and assume you are what I suppose is a redneck, do they assume you are not informed of current events for example? It must be fun taking them apart with your impressive knowledge of many things 

 

I am always either reading a book (or two) or looking for my next one. I have well over 1000 on my shelves here and about 150 or so on my Kindle. All kinds. From Wheel of Time to War to Peace and de Tocqueville's Democracy in America to the one I just mentioned in the Election thread. I even have a few rare collectibles in the mix. I'm an educated man Bruce. I drive a pick up truck, and I live in a house way out in the sticks. I'm adept at firearms and farming that's true but I can also speak in complete sentences most of the time. I'd hope I make the correct impression on people I meet.

 

Yes, did I not say you are very well informed. I hope I didn't offend you ?

 

 Trust me, you didn't.

[Guard Dog]

I'd put The Far Side, Calvin & Hobbes, and Peanuts in my holy trinity of comic strips as I grew into my teenage years. But Garfield was tops, pre-adolescence.

Me too only swap Peanuts for Bloom County. I was happy to see that making a comeback by the way.

[Guard Dog]

Oh man, I would spend all my lawnmowing money on a new Garfield book every year when the school book drive came around. I had plush toys of Garfield, Odie, and Nermal. I'm weird.  

 Not even a little bit!

[Leferd]

I spent my paper route money on Green Lantern, and read how my favorite superhero watched his home city get blown to smithereens (population 6 million), lose his marbles and one by one kill off a number of his fellow Green Lanterns and take their power rings, drain the central power battery and the life force of the Guardians of the Universe, and this destroying the Green Lantern Corps. Then he literally ended the universe so he could make everything right again; only he got shot in the chest by an arrow from his best friend.

 

I hate superhero comics.

[Guard Dog]

 

I've recently finished a deep novel and two books about politics. Now it's time for something lighter. Now reading Bottom of the 33rd: Hope and Redemption in Baseball's Longest Game. In 1981 the Rochester Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox of the International League played a 33 inning game. I always knew about it but the back story is fascinating. 

 

If I recall correctly, wasn't Wade Boggs a participant?

 

 

 

Wade Boggs played 3rd base for the Red Sox, Cal Ripken played third for the Red Wings. Boggs went 4-12 that night with a double. There were a few others that got to the majors but those are the two biggest names that played that night. You should check this book out. It's really interesting. 

[Leferd]

 

 

I've recently finished a deep novel and two books about politics. Now it's time for something lighter. Now reading Bottom of the 33rd: Hope and Redemption in Baseball's Longest Game. In 1981 the Rochester Red Wings and the Pawtucket Red Sox of the International League played a 33 inning game. I always knew about it but the back story is fascinating.

 

 

If I recall correctly, wasn't Wade Boggs a participant?

Wade Boggs played 3rd base for the Red Sox, Cal Ripken played third for the Red Wings. Boggs went 4-12 that night with a double. There were a few others that got to the majors but those are the two biggest names that played that night. You should check this book out. It's really interesting.

I actually read a children's pocketbook biography of Wade Boggs (still in mid career) in elementary school. I remember that he played in that game, but I guess they neglected to mention Ripken.

 

Thanks for the rec.

[Guard Dog]

Keeping in the baseball theme I'm now reading Slouching towards Fargo by Neal Karlan. Also reading George Washington: The Crossing by Jack E. Levin. It's about Washington's victory at Trenton. Watching the show Turn has rekindled my interest in the American revolution. 

[Malcador]

Finished off Peripheral. Ending is a bit..too cheery. Didn't really mesh with the rather weary dystopic settings in both worlds, either the usual grimdark future US society or the even more grimadrk post apocalyptic future. Though I suppose thinking on it, it's a bit depressing as the former setting is supposed to be ours maybe 20 years ahead and there's no deus ex machina for us ?

[Raithe]

Heh. I missed seeing this on April Fools.

 

Ring of Fire Series “All a Dream”
New York Times Bestselling Author of 1632 and creator of the legendary Ring of Fire series reveals magnum opus to be the coma dream of Grantville citizen Mike Stearns
 

March 24, 2016—Wake Forest, NC: After more than fifteen years and twenty novels, author Eric Flint confessed, in a phone conversation with Baen staff early this morning, that his ongoing and much-beloved series is all “an elaborate fiction, and not in the sense that I made it up and wrote it down.”

 

“None of it’s actually happening,” said Mr. Flint, speaking from his Indiana home. “Really, I thought after all these years someone would have caught on.” Mr. Flint went on to explain how everything that happens in the series is part of an elaborate dream experienced by protagonist Mike Stearns. “There was an accident—a mining accident—and Mike’s been in a coma for several years now. That’s how a union organizer finds himself in control of all these people. It’s wish-fulfillment at its finest.” This evinced a sensible chuckle, Mr. Flint was a labor union organizer himself for many years.

 

Fans needn’t worry, however. When asked if he planned to continue writing the series now that the cat was out of the bag, Mr. Flint responded enthusiastically, “Of course! But this changes everything, doesn’t it? Now that we know it’s a dream, you can expect the people of Grantville to turn up in the seventh century, hell, maybe even the thirty-seventh century.”

 

Mr. Flint’s next novel, tentatively titled 1066 And All That, will be released in 2017 with co-authors William the Conqueror and Harold Godwinson

Edited April 19, 2016 by Raithe

[the_dog_days]

I listen to audio books while working my second job. I just finished Hard Luck Hank: Screw the Galaxy, and it was the single funniest thing I've ever read/had read to me. Highly recommend especially if you have an Audible account.

[Guard Dog]

Believe it or not I'm actually reading The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. I've been meaning to get around to this one and I saw it in a used book store this weekend. I am a christian and nothing I read here has changed my mind about that. He does make a interesting argument about the evolution of complex systems that refutes the idea that a "fine tuned machine" requires an complex design process. From a theoretical standpoint at least. He is approaching it from from the standpoint of theoretical physics however without any consideration of core engineering principles (which is not his area of expertise, I get that). Although his theory taken at face value (and ignoring that fact that it cannot be taken at face value because it does not match with the second core principle of engineering; maintainability) is a passable hypothesis on how a complex machine can operate and expand by itself without outside influence. However, the notion does no preclude the existence of God. In other words even accepting the universe was not created by God does not mean God does not exist. 

 

The rest of the book is really an exposition on how terrible religion is because it drives people to do terrible things. The thing if people were not killing on the name of God wouldn't they be killing in the name of something else? He hits the barbarity of the crusades pretty hard but it seems he failed to consider that although the crusades were, on the surface, about retaking the Holy Land from the Muslims they began because the Muslims shut down the "silk roads" cutting off trade to the east. In the end isn't everything really about money?  Once sea routes to Asia were established no one gave a f--k who controlled the Holy Land anymore. 

[Guard Dog]

Has anyone seen the new Kindle Oasis first hand? I use the 1st version of the Paperwhite and I was considering upgrading. But it looks like the resolution is the same (300 dpi) and the functionality is the same. More memory, more LEDs in the display and longer battery life don't seem to justify a $300 price tag for just an e-reader. 

[the_dog_days]

I bought a new Kindle about a year ago because my old one (which was like a Kindle 2 or something) died well after the warenty expired. I got a Fire, but really wanted a Paper White (doesn't strain eyes as much), instead I use a black background and white text and for the most part it works. Anyway, I wouldn't pay $300 for a new e-reader and I'm a voracious reader. Instead I'd just download a Kindle app to my phone (which I have).

[Raithe]

Just for that visual...

 

[Vaeliorin]

You know, I've had A Memory Of Light since it came out and I've never read it. I have no idea how the series ends, other than what's in my head. Kind of afraid the ending is terrible.

[Raithe]

You know, I've had A Memory Of Light since it came out and I've never read it. I have no idea how the series ends, other than what's in my head. Kind of afraid the ending is terrible.

 

It's not too bad, there are bits I quite like and bits I'm more so-so on. They actually do have a kind of 24 hours after the final Great Battle which gives an interesting view of the fallout and characters in the aftermath.

[Guard Dog]

You know, I've had A Memory Of Light since it came out and I've never read it. I have no idea how the series ends, other than what's in my head. Kind of afraid the ending is terrible.

Like Raithe said, not terrible. Rand's part in it (the last three books) started out really strong. The confrontation with the Dark One himself was a little underwhelming. I'm not sure I like how his part tied up in the end but at least they had been laying groundwork for it was far back as book 4 so it did not come in from out of left field. The other characters that survived until the end did so with varying degrees of success and happiness. There were a few questions that never get answered (as in who the hell WAS Noemi the woman Aviendha met in the waste and the one who spoke to Rand near the end) There were questions about Alannah's true role that were never resolved. But for the most part the loose ends were tied up. When you put that one down you do feel like you accomplished something. Because if you climbed that mountain of books and actually read every one, you did!

[Guard Dog]

Now reading "Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond"  the memoirs of longtime NASA Flight Director Gene Kranz. Some of you might remember he was played by Ed Harris in the movie Apollo 13. Ironically he does not ever remember saying that famous line he was credited with. He wrote that it didn't need to be said, it was always understood. 

[Raithe]

The way I treat the house..

 

[the_dog_days]

Finished Hard Luck Hank: Basket Full of Crap. Listening while driving may not have been the smartest decision I've ever made. I imagine who saw me laughing uncontrollably at a stop light must have questioned my sanity.

[Guard Dog]

I haven't read any fantasy stuff since finishing A Memory of Light so i started looking around. The problem I have with the whole fantasy genre is most of it is just so f-----g awful. A Song of Ice And Fire, Rothfuss's Kingkiller books, and Tolkiens work are the only ones I've ever really liked. Terry Goodkind never had an original thought in his life, Terry Brooks just re-wrote Lord of the Rings for all intents and purposes and the rest just reads like it was written for children.

 

But, be all that as it may I wanted to climb back on the horse again so I downloaded a sample of the first book of Sanderson's Mistborn series on the Kindle. After 25 pages or so, I'm not sure about it. Has anyone here read it? Does it suck? 

 

Can anyone recommend a book or series with a lot of political intrigue in a fantasy setting that has an atypical plot progression? As in no "heroes journey" to find the magical sword and defeat the dark lord kind of crap. 

[ShadySands]

I've had the Malazan and Black Company books recommended to me but I haven't yet had a chance to get to them

 

I really liked the first book of the Raven's Shadow Trilogy, Blood Song, but the next two book were less and less appealing. I also enjoyed The Thousand Names and the Way of Kings but I also thought their second books were less interesting and I'm not exactly very picky either

 

Sorry, I know that's not very helpful

[Raithe]

Glen Cook's Black Company series is worthwhile for that different look at fantasy.

 

It does add a certain flair of grim-darkness, and it has a lot of Vietnam parallels for a fantasy world. It has that blending of dark fantasy and epic fantasy, having the central characters being the small group of mercenaries that due to political circumstances end up working for the "Dark Lord" element in the setting. It also had a certain level of humour that works quite well. However, I will say that some of the later books in the series get a bit hm, I'd almost say wrapped up in themselves.

 

It's pretty much three separate but linked series that cover around 40 odd years of the elite mercenary group. The initial trilogy, the Books of the North focuses on the main characters of the company and their work for the "Dark Lord" type and the shenanigans involved. A follow-on duology that has the company following its 400 year history to rediscover where they originally come from, and then a finale tetralogy that I found not as entertaining but pulls together a lot of strands from all the previous books and chronicles the destiny of the company.

There was also a sort of stand-alone book that orbits the series as a whole, and is about some beloved company members who left the group at a certain stage in the story and charts what happened to them.

[the_dog_days]

Mistborn is an action adventure in a fantasy setting. If that's not your thing, best to look elsewhere.