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12 hours ago, satyanash said:

Appropriately, I just recently finished reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World.

 

It's very interesting to read Doyle's description of an Allosaurus, based on the state of paleontology in 1912:

In the deep shadow of the tree there was a deeper shadow yet, black, inchoate, vague—a crouching form full of savage vigor and menace. It was no higher than a horse, but the dim outline suggested vast bulk and strength. That hissing pant, as regular and full-volumed as the exhaust of an engine, spoke of a monstrous organism. Once, as it moved, I thought I saw the glint of two terrible, greenish eyes... The thing moved forward with a dreadful snarl. Lord John never hesitated, but, running towards it with a quick, light step, he dashed the flaming wood into the brute's face. For one moment I had a vision of a horrible mask like a giant toad's, of a warty, leprous skin, and of a loose mouth all be-slobbered with fresh blood. The next, there was a crash in the underwood and our dreadful visitor was gone.

 

Off topic, but I do wish more people used 'inchoate' and other expressive words in their vocabulary. The idea that one is a snob or high falutin' for possession of such vocabulary when languages are as much art as they are communication tools is one I lament. I fear it is something being lost in education (no CR) when having a wide range of words from which to select is denigrated. Sure, sometimes the most appropriate phrase is "Oh shit, the brakes are out" as opposed to " a calamitous tragedy is upon us," but it's nice to have both at one's disposal.

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1 hour ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

Off topic, but I do wish more people used 'inchoate' and other expressive words in their vocabulary. The idea that one is a snob or high falutin' for possession of such vocabulary when languages are as much art as they are communication tools is one I lament. I fear it is something being lost in education (no CR) when having a wide range of words from which to select is denigrated. Sure, sometimes the most appropriate phrase is "Oh shit, the brakes are out" as opposed to " a calamitous tragedy is upon us," but it's nice to have both at one's disposal.

I've had this same conversation and idea. The wife, and moreso her family, have "no use" for a diverse vocabulary. Ironically, she's a great communicator, which illustrates that accumulating an inventory of language doesn't always facilitate getting one's ideas across, or vice versa.

But the purpose of language to communicate nuances tactfully, elegantly or artfully is lost on them. "Just use the simple word." 

Succinctness has its place but the increasing disdain for language, as you note, isn't without consequences. If only monotony and boredom.

But I think that notion dovetails with an insecurity and a fear of words, which is just a fear of ideas, that extends into book burning. It is increasing, and spoiler alert, in Texas and Florida the most. That could go full CR as well; I digress.

I've recently renewed my interest in writing and started noticing these things, so I also started a list of words. I save the ones I come across that have a delightfully specific meaning.

Altricial was one, a zoological term describing animals born helpless and requiring significant care until older. It struck me it can apply to many people well-past childhood.

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As for bringing the thread back in focus, I'm finally reading Lonesome Dove after (finally) reading The Old Man and the Sea and, tangentially related to that, "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again."

I was inspired on the last after being cajoled to go on my first cruise this past spring. So the story was needed, and therapeutic.

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I recently read something that resonated with me. It was in the context of the decline of punctuation and rise of abbreviation in common communication. Basically, it said that given that native English speakers often speak and write only one language, the least we can do is speak and write it well and correctly.  

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2 hours ago, gofuckyourself said:

I've had this same conversation and idea. The wife, and moreso her family, have "no use" for a diverse vocabulary. Ironically, she's a great communicator, which illustrates that accumulating an inventory of language doesn't always facilitate getting one's ideas across, or vice versa.

But the purpose of language to communicate nuances tactfully, elegantly or artfully is lost on them. "Just use the simple word." 

Succinctness has its place but the increasing disdain for language, as you note, isn't without consequences. If only monotony and boredom.

But I think that notion dovetails with an insecurity and a fear of words, which is just a fear of ideas, that extends into book burning. It is increasing, and spoiler alert, in Texas and Florida the most. That could go full CR as well; I digress.

I've recently renewed my interest in writing and started noticing these things, so I also started a list of words. I save the ones I come across that have a delightfully specific meaning.

Altricial was one, a zoological term describing animals born helpless and requiring significant care until older. It struck me it can apply to many people well-past childhood.

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On 4/26/2024 at 3:01 PM, Post Oak said:

This was recommended to me from someone. Maybe here.  I'm really enjoying it so far.  The first chapter is one of the best first chapters I've ever read.  Instantly hooked.

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Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried (1990) is considered one of the finest books about the Vietnam War. Far from a combat story of pride and glory, it is a compassionate tale of the American soldier, brimming with raw honesty and thoughtful reflection.

The book's narrator follows a platoon of infantrymen through the jungles of Vietnam. We see them trudge through the muck of a constant downpour, get hit by sniper fire, pull body parts out of a tree, laugh while they tell their stories to each other, and fall silent when faced with making sense of it all—both in the moment and twenty years later.

The book is split into a lush mosaic of vignettes drawn from O'Brien's own experiences. The title story describes what the soldiers must lug with them—both literally and figuratively—as they march: food, canteens, flak jackets, and weapons, as well as grief, terror, secrets, and memories. In another story, O'Brien tells of a young medic who brings his high-school sweetheart to his aid station in the mountains of Vietnam, chronicling her transformation from an innocent girl in a pink sweater to a cold night stalker who dons a necklace of human tongues. Yet another story tells of a soldier back from the war who drives his Chevy around his Iowa hometown, struggling to find meaning in his new life.

Central to the book is O'Brien's unique style, which blurs the lines between fact and fiction, then examines how and why he does just that. O'Brien challenges readers to ponder larger philosophical questions about truth and memory, and brings the reader closer to the emotional core of the men's experiences. "For the common soldier," O'Brien writes in "How to Tell a True War Story," "war has the feel—the spiritual texture—of a great ghostly fog, thick and permanent. There is no clarity. Everything swirls. The old rules are no longer binding, the old truths no longer true."

The Things They Carried is not just a tale of war, and the book's themes are no less relevant today than they were decades ago. This award-winning work is a brutal, sometimes funny, often profound narrative about the human heart—how it fares under pressure and what it can endure.

 

Nabbed this one at a thrift store a couple weeks ago for like 2 bucks. It's on my short list to read this month. 

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On 4/29/2024 at 7:59 PM, mdmost said:

This was an excellent read. Very captivating. I'm planning to explore more nautical themed non-fiction like the biography of Captain Cook that just came out and Endurance. But next up is something that seemed right up my HBO's Perry Mason loving alley.

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I also have this one my list. 

The Bishop and the Butterfly was excellent. Tells a great story of how the murder of a con-woman led to the downfall of Tammany Hall, the rise of FDR, and the reshaping of NYC. 

Does anyone have any good recommendations on some non-fiction in the same vein as the above book but focusing on old Hollywood/LA of the early 20th century?

Going to read A Fever in the Heartland as next book.

9780735225282

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Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee  by Caey Cep (2019) (Audio)

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I was really impressed with this book.  It goes off in different directions and is sort of like four different long New Yorker articles all mashed together.  But the writing is so swift and spare that the story just moves along.  It's just a good read/listen.

The idea of her publishers pushing for To Kill a Mockingbird over her finishing Go Set a Watchman - set years after To Kill a Mockingbird with an older and more problematic Atticus is something I never knew of but is a perfect reflection of the race politics of our own time. 

 

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I signed up for Kindle Unlimited, so I've been reading a lot of books from there.  Not any bestsellers, but some pretty interesting stuff.  I just finished the Jerry McNeal series.  It's about a police dog that gets killed in the line of duty and comes back as a ghost to help his partner solve crimes.  Now I want to adopt a ghost dog.

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Posted (edited)
48 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

I signed up for Kindle Unlimited, so I've been reading a lot of books from there. 

The public library is the way to go for digital books. Get library cards for as many systems as you can. City, county et al. Download Libby and enter your accounts. They have tens of thousands titles. Multiple copies of many. Check them out and easily send to your device, or get in a queue. Many bestsellers have long waits but you’ll eventually get there. New titles come out on Tuesdays and you can set alerts to notify you when the library gets it. You can keep each title for 2 weeks. Pro tip: If you’re not finished with the book by expiration, just put your Kindle on airplane mode and it won’t go away. 

Edited by TonyTexas
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On 5/30/2024 at 4:48 PM, TonyTexas said:

Download Libby and enter your accounts. They have tens of thousands titles. Multiple copies of many. Check them out and easily send to your device, or get in a queue.

Libby is great. Lots of audiobooks available too. 

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Posted (edited)
On 5/26/2024 at 4:27 PM, mdmost said:

The Bishop and the Butterfly was excellent. Tells a great story of how the murder of a con-woman led to the downfall of Tammany Hall, the rise of FDR, and the reshaping of NYC. 

Does anyone have any good recommendations on some non-fiction in the same vein as the above book but focusing on old Hollywood/LA of the early 20th century?

Going to read A Fever in the Heartland as next book.

9780735225282

This was a great read. It normally takes me a bit to get through a book which is why I set a resolution goal of 1 a month. I read this in under a week. That's how much it grabbed hold of me. I enjoy reading books like this and Empire of the Summer Moon because they fill in the gaps in my knowledge of American history. I had no idea about the massive reach of the Klan in the 20s. I guess I was naive to think the Klan was more of a Southern problem. It certainly was in post Civil War era but it then flipped in the early 20th century.

Don't want to get too CR but there are definite parallels with modern political movements here and in Europe. The rise of one man who almost had total control over an entire state with designs on taking over the nation, all through the use of fiery rhetoric to stoke anger over grievances common folk had with a changing society. It's scary how much our country could've come close to what Germany went through. There's another book I plan on checking out that talks about the growing anti-immigrant sentiment of the post-Great War era called American Midnight by Adam Hochschild but I plan on saving that for later. 

Next up, I think I'll either grab one of these or both since we have a vacation coming up later this month.

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Edited by mdmost
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Bad Mexicans (2022)

Would have liked a subtitle like "But Maybe One or Two are Good People" or "What's an Anarchist to Do When the Revolution's Over"

I liked this.  I did not know much about the turn of the century activity along the border, but it was very interesting and bloody.  Pure narrative.  Didn't know anything about the San Diego Plan or La Matanza. 

A good wide intro to the early thought leaders of the Mexican Revolution.

junta-1910-64f8a081ae6f7.jpg

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Just finished The Hobbit. I loved the first chapter, “An Unexpected Party.”

My main read right now is The Power Broker, but I’m reading it as part of a family book club schedule that is allowing room for some other reads.

I’m reading Cinema Speculation (Quentin Tarantino’s musings about the 70’s cinema he grew up on). I’m taking my time with this one as I’m watching some of the movies that are referenced.

I’m half-way through The Friends of Eddie Coyle, which was adapted into a movie in the 70’s that was mentioned in Cinema Speculation. It’s a crime drama about an arms dealer in Boston. The whole book is dialogue.

Once I finish The Friends of Eddie Coyle, I think I will go on to A Gentleman in Moscow based on recommendations in this thread also from a family member.

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On 5/30/2024 at 4:00 PM, NeverMarryAStripper said:

I signed up for Kindle Unlimited, so I've been reading a lot of books from there.  Not any bestsellers, but some pretty interesting stuff.  I just finished the Jerry McNeal series.  It's about a police dog that gets killed in the line of duty and comes back as a ghost to help his partner solve crimes.  Now I want to adopt a ghost dog.

Pretty fascinating isn't it?  A lot of self-published and Thomas & Mercer, which is Amazon's "imprint" and not exactly Simon & Schuster.

Still, there's some pretty decent reading in there.  Some you have to overlook some bad editing and (not uniformly) poor writing, but some ripping yarns.  William Peter Grasso's war fiction is pretty damn good.

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8 minutes ago, Coach pop a bitch said:

Would you say its the greatest Texas novel? I haven't read it but as far as Texas novels how do you hold it up? 

For me it is. But I also really enjoyed Texas by Michener, which takes a comprehensive look at the the formation and development of this great state of ours. 

Edited by TonyTexas
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1 hour ago, Coach pop a bitch said:

Would you say its the greatest Texas novel? I haven't read it but as far as Texas novels how do you hold it up? 

It's one of the greatest novels I've read, if not the greatest. So much of it actually takes place outside of Texas that I didn't even always think of it as a "Texas" story as I was reading. The characters are so much the focus. And I can see why the name Gus surged in popularity after it was published.

I've also heard this one is a great Texas novel, and is on my list next.

Screenshot_20240614-193001.thumb.png.725e2ccda3e649f0dd414eea39d9caed.png

 

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A few Thanksgivings ago, in False River, LA, I met a cousin by marriage’s dad. His Tshirt said “We Dont Rent Pigs” and I chuckled, knowingly. He died of cancer a month later and a month after that his grandson Gus was born.

Gus and his brothers Bear and Charlie already have their own horses, their dad was a pro rodeo guy for a while.

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17 hours ago, Coach pop a bitch said:

Would you say its the greatest Texas novel? I haven't read it but as far as Texas novels how do you hold it up? 

 

17 hours ago, TonyTexas said:

For me it is. But I also really enjoyed Texas by Michener, which takes a comprehensive look at the the formation and development of this great state of ours. 

My British wife just read it and loved it.  I had pushed her to read it for years and finally she got around to it.  

It's my favorite novel and imo the greatest American novel. 

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