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  • Originally posted by CardiacCoug View Post
    I think the points are obvious for people on this board but not so obvious to a lot of men in their 20s and 30s who think that happiness will come from maximally avoiding commitment, responsibility, and hard work.
    Are you suggesting that's not the path to happiness?
    "I think it was King Benjamin who said 'you sorry ass shitbags who have no skills that the market values also have an obligation to have the attitude that if one day you do in fact win the PowerBall Lottery that you will then impart of your substance to those without.'"
    - Goatnapper'96

    Comment


    • I've typed up my thoughts on a couple of recent reads. For anyone interested

      John Norwich's A History of France

      https://www.goodreads.com/review/sho..._review_page=1

      and Hampton Sides' On Desperate Ground

      Sides take of the iconic battle of the Korean War - the Chosin Reservior

      https://www.goodreads.com/review/sho..._review_page=1

      I also finished a short, newish biography of my favorite author when I was a toddler (so I'm told) Beatrix Potter, the author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" among many others

      Over the Hills and Far Away
      Last edited by happyone; 02-19-2019, 08:31 PM.

      I may be small, but I'm slow.

      A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

      Comment


      • I finished the last book in Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series, A Column of Fire. I enjoyed all of the books in the series, but this was by far the weakest. One of the things I like most about these novels is the history that he incorporates. Unfortunately, I feel lik he decided he had to include way too many historical events in this one to the point where it made for a very disjointed story with character arcs that don't really come together and don't intersect much.

        I also feel like it was a significant departure from the other books, and probably should have been a stand-alone book and not part of the Kingsbridge series. There is very little actual connection with Kingsbridge and very little happens there or in the surrounding areas. Follett spends way more time in Paris and London than he does in Kingsbridge or Shiring, and the characters from those places are sort of peripheral (except for Ned).

        Anyway, I'd rate the first two books 8.5/10, while I'd only give this one 6/10.
        Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

        "The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

        GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

        Comment


        • Originally posted by falafel View Post
          I finished the last book in Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series, A Column of Fire. I enjoyed all of the books in the series, but this was by far the weakest. One of the things I like most about these novels is the history that he incorporates. Unfortunately, I feel lik he decided he had to include way too many historical events in this one to the point where it made for a very disjointed story with character arcs that don't really come together and don't intersect much.

          I also feel like it was a significant departure from the other books, and probably should have been a stand-alone book and not part of the Kingsbridge series. There is very little actual connection with Kingsbridge and very little happens there or in the surrounding areas. Follett spends way more time in Paris and London than he does in Kingsbridge or Shiring, and the characters from those places are sort of peripheral (except for Ned).

          Anyway, I'd rate the first two books 8.5/10, while I'd only give this one 6/10.
          I agree with you on all your points about book 3.

          I finished book one of his other trilogy (Century) and I liked the first book, but it didn't pull me in nearly as much as the first Kingsbridge book.

          Comment


          • Originally posted by LiveCoug View Post
            I agree with you on all your points about book 3.

            I finished book one of his other trilogy (Century) and I liked the first book, but it didn't pull me in nearly as much as the first Kingsbridge book.
            I thought the books in the Century trilogy went progressively downhill. I liked the first one, the second was meh. The first half of the third one was pretty good, but its second half was week. I still enjoyed them though

            I may be small, but I'm slow.

            A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

            Comment


            • Just finished "The Left Hand of Darkness" by LeGuin. It won both the Hugo and Nebula award back when it was published. It is supposedly her best known work. This is my eighth Le Guin book, and I think I've finally learned how to read her. Her writing style can be beautiful and moving at times. She infuses a very Taoist outlook in some of her stories. But for me it has been frustrating that she doesn't take some of her emphasis on characters and side stories to develop what are really interesting plots. For science fiction/fantasy, that seems really weird to me. It's the same with The Left Hand of Darkness. It took a couple of tries to finish it, but I'm glad I did. It's the ideas and emotions that LeGuin was most interested in exploring, and not the story. And the book really has some novel ideas.

              If you're a sci-fi/fantasy fan, I would recommend it.
              "...you pointy-headed autopsy nerd. Do you think it's possible for you to post without using words like "hilarious," "absurd," "canard," and "truther"? Your bare assertions do not make it so. Maybe your reasoning is too stunted and your vocabulary is too limited to go without these epithets."
              "You are an intemperate, unscientific poster who makes light of very serious matters.”
              - SeattleUte

              Comment


              • Originally posted by Northwestcoug View Post
                Just finished "The Left Hand of Darkness" by LeGuin. It won both the Hugo and Nebula award back when it was published. It is supposedly her best known work. This is my eighth Le Guin book, and I think I've finally learned how to read her. Her writing style can be beautiful and moving at times. She infuses a very Taoist outlook in some of her stories. But for me it has been frustrating that she doesn't take some of her emphasis on characters and side stories to develop what are really interesting plots. For science fiction/fantasy, that seems really weird to me. It's the same with The Left Hand of Darkness. It took a couple of tries to finish it, but I'm glad I did. It's the ideas and emotions that LeGuin was most interested in exploring, and not the story. And the book really has some novel ideas.

                If you're a sci-fi/fantasy fan, I would recommend it.
                I've tried three or four times to read it - I've never been able to finish it.

                I'm currently reading Antony Beevor's new book on Operation Market Garden - Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges
                The battle is better known as "A Bridge Too Far", the title of Cornelius Ryan's book on the same subject.

                I may be small, but I'm slow.

                A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

                Comment


                • Originally posted by happyone View Post
                  I've tried three or four times to read it - I've never been able to finish it.

                  I'm currently reading Antony Beevor's new book on Operation Market Garden - Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges
                  The battle is better known as "A Bridge Too Far", the title of Cornelius Ryan's book on the same subject.
                  is it as good as his other stuff?
                  Te Occidere Possunt Sed Te Edere Non Possunt Nefas Est.

                  Comment


                  • So far - yes!

                    I may be small, but I'm slow.

                    A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by happyone View Post
                      I've tried three or four times to read it - I've never been able to finish it.
                      Yeah it took me a bit. Honestly, the only reason I stuck with it was because I was more than half way through it. But thinking about it, and the way it ended, made me glad I finished it.
                      "...you pointy-headed autopsy nerd. Do you think it's possible for you to post without using words like "hilarious," "absurd," "canard," and "truther"? Your bare assertions do not make it so. Maybe your reasoning is too stunted and your vocabulary is too limited to go without these epithets."
                      "You are an intemperate, unscientific poster who makes light of very serious matters.”
                      - SeattleUte

                      Comment


                      • Originally posted by Jeff Lebowski View Post
                        The Boys in the Boat.

                        http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Boat-Amer...ys+in+the+boat

                        I put off reading it because I assumed it would be about a bunch of spoiled rich kids from Harvard or Yale or something. Wow, was I ever wrong. One of the best books I have read in a while. Highly recommended.
                        Boy am I late to the party....just finished this one of Friday. This book was absolutely amazing. I pretty much loved everything about it.

                        Comment


                        • Just finished In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown. This is the latest book by Nathaniel Filbrick. I am a big Filbrick fan and I enjoyed this one very much also. Crazy how many stars had to line up for Washington, et al to defeat Cornwallis so completely at Yorktown.
                          "There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
                          "It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
                          "Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

                          Comment


                          • I'm re-reading The Nix, after recommending it to my sophomore son who needed to choose a book to read for his English class. With some of the scenes and descriptions of child sexual abuse, ejaculation (thanks Laura Potsdam) and other somewhat mature topics, I'm sort of regretting the recommendation.

                            Still a great book though.
                            Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

                            "The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

                            GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

                            Comment


                            • Originally posted by Jeff Lebowski View Post
                              Just finished In the Hurricane's Eye: The Genius of George Washington and the Victory at Yorktown. This is the latest book by Nathaniel Filbrick. I am a big Filbrick fan and I enjoyed this one very much also. Crazy how many stars had to line up for Washington, et al to defeat Cornwallis so completely at Yorktown.
                              I really liked that one

                              I finished Beevor's book on Arnhem. In a word - excellent. He really doesn't think much of the British commanders, from Monty on down to the divisional GOCs. He openly states that the way the British handled the Polish Parachute Bde COG was despicable. As an aside he talks about the killing of prisoners on both sides. At one point he states that the 82nd ABN had a reputation of just not taking any. His coverage of the Dutch Civilian participation is outstanding. The helped in both caring for casualties and in recon for the British. I gave it 5 stars on GoodReads. I haven't typed up my thoughts yet, but I'll post them when I do.

                              Currently reading one of John Norwich's last histories Four Princes. Its a short history of the first half of the 16th century. In Norwich's opinion a golden age for Monarchy. The four monarchs are Henry VIII of England, Francis I of France, Charles V of Spain as well as the Holy Roman Emperor and last but no where least, Sulieman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire.

                              One of the main themes is how Francis used an alliance with Sulieman and Henry to try and contain Charles. Henry kept changing who he was allied with between Francis and Charles. Sulieman was on the march and captured Hungary and well and laid siege to Vienna (he wasn't successful)
                              Last edited by happyone; 03-06-2019, 03:47 PM.

                              I may be small, but I'm slow.

                              A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to, "The United States of America ", for an amount of "up to and including my life - it's an honor."

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by falafel View Post
                                I'm re-reading The Nix, after recommending it to my sophomore son who needed to choose a book to read for his English class. With some of the scenes and descriptions of child sexual abuse, ejaculation (thanks Laura Potsdam) and other somewhat mature topics, I'm sort of regretting the recommendation.

                                Still a great book though.
                                I listened to that one in the car. Paused it when riding with my kid - never know when something's going to come up.
                                "I think it was King Benjamin who said 'you sorry ass shitbags who have no skills that the market values also have an obligation to have the attitude that if one day you do in fact win the PowerBall Lottery that you will then impart of your substance to those without.'"
                                - Goatnapper'96

                                Comment

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