In reply to Duke :
The original Pentagon Papers published by the NY Times. I read it while cruising in the Tonkin Gulf in 1971.
In reply to Duke :
The original Pentagon Papers published by the NY Times. I read it while cruising in the Tonkin Gulf in 1971.
In reply to tuna55 :
Sorry it took so long to reply, I was on vacation.
Please read " A Matter of Honor" by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan. The story of the Admiral in Command at Pearl Harbor and his and his family's effort to clear his name. It may change your opinion of FDR.
Ever wonder why there is a State Park in Florida named "Jonathan Dickinson"? Turns out he wrote a detailed journal about being shipwrecked on the coast of Florida in 1696.
Read about the real Florida before the USA, CSA, Flagler, and the Yankee invasion.
Just finished "A Stolen Season" by Steve Hamilton. It was really good. Alex is not the same kind of Quixotic knight errant as Travis McGee, but he's an interesting one. I enjoy the series even if it's a bit harder to relate to.
Incidentally, I tried to listed to the Don Quixote audiobook, but couldn't get through it (it is LONG) before the library loan expired. I'll try again someday. It wasn't as good as I had hoped.
My commute got much smaller, so these will be coming far less frequently.
Just finished this: “How to Unf#ck Your Writing.”
It’s a fairly quick, easy read that captures a lot of the lessons that have guided GRM for decades: the audience comes first and narrative matters.
A little nugget I’d like to share with the rest of the class:
Shared “Unf#ck Your Writing” with the rest of the editorial department. Taking it our local writing meet-up later this month. :)
On the home stretch of “Punk Rock Entrepreneur” so what next?
Duke said:Recently finished:
Zero Day by Mark Russinovich - Not to be confused with the book by the same name by David Baldacci. Russinovich is a senior fellow at Microsoft and this is a novelized thesis on cybersecurity. It was written around 2011-2012, so it will be interesting to see how much of his prediction came to pass. I'm only a chapter or two in, but the writing seems competent so far, in a genre sort of way. I picked this up at random from a Little Library along one of our evening walks.
Finished this one a week ago. "Competent" stands up as a descriptor. Not bad, not great. The first 2 acts were pretty slow, but the author warmed up a little, got off his soapbox for a minute, and remembered that there is supposed to be action in a thriller. Everything was bought to a fairly tidy conclusion, with a clear opening for a series of sequels to follow, which I won't read.
Up next:
Probably Virtual Light by William Gibson. I haven't read any of the Bridge books.
Still up next. I reserved it at my local library and it took them a few days to retrieve it from storage.
In the interim, I picked up this:
In the mid-Oughties, the author discovered an elderly acquaintance of his had been a B-17 crewmember in 1944-45, so he began interviewing the gentleman. Through the network, he got in touch with 3 or 4 other Fortress alumni and interviewed them as well. Most had never really told their stories much; certainly not to family or non-vet friends.
It's not that long a book. Each chapter is maybe 60 pages, and covers some background on one of the interviewed airmen, significant events during their tour, the other members of their crews, and what happened to them after the war. Some of the stories are amazing, of course, especially when you consider that most of these guys were 18-22 years old at the time.
It's well written and goes quickly. It doesn't concentrate on the military history itself; it's far more about the individual experiences. It's not overly dramatic, much like The Greatest Generation themselves, but it gives you enough that you can start to feel what it must have been like to be there.
Got tired of the book I was reading and decided it was time to revisit Discworld. Reading Guards! Guards! right now.
35
Just finished the Mobius trilogy.
For a series about time slips, it was very interesting to follow through.
Yesterday’s total impulse purchase while visiting one our local bookshops: “Hashtag Authentic” by Sara Tasker. I often tag my Instagram photos with #authentic, so maybe there’s something in here for me. I’ve been taking photos for a long time yet still feel like I learn something new whenever I pull a camera from the bag. Heading up to read in a few.
Piers Anthony.
Thought I would try a different fantasy author. This guy is awful.
Update: Had an idea for a piece for Classic Motorsports so I wound up writing instead of reading. Piece written so now can go to bed.
Texas Legend - a new biography of Jim Hall and his Chaparrals, by George Levy and Jim Hall. As a lifelong Chaparral fan, I had to get this book. Lots of things I didn't know. Not as detailed as the Falconer Chaparral book, but lots of info about Jim and his life, stuff I didn't know about the 2H, and lots about his teams after Chaparral, too. Insights to his relationship with GM, too. So far I'm about 300 pages in, happy with the book so far.
Also re-reading Jimmy Buffett's books. I sing a couple of his songs in a band I play with and always liked his music. He's also a good writer, I'm enjoying re-reading them. Three down, one to go.
In reply to ShawnG :
What did you read?
Piers Anthony became a hack and made a lot of money doing it (though at least he did it consciously and unapologetically).
You have to go way back to the beginning of each of his series, and read the first three of the ones that sound interesting. He can usually get a decent trilogy out of a good idea, but after that they quickly devolve into commodity product and he will keep churning out bulk junk for as long as the checks keep coming in for a particular series.
If you want to give him another chance, suggest the first three books from Xanth, the first three from Incarnations of Immortality, or the first three from the Adept series.
In reply to Duke :
First book in the Xanth series.
ShawnG said:In reply to Duke :
First book in the Xanth series.
Well, that would be a typical place to start. You have to enjoy puns to enjoy Xanth, it's true.
Piers Anthony is like a dumber, cruder, less thoughtful Terry Pratchett. In other words, take away all the things that make Terry Terry.
If you want to try again, try either of the other two series I mentioned. But I understand completely if you don't bother.
In reply to Duke :
That's exactly it.
I've been spoiled by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman and Spider Robinson.
The plot in A Spell for Chameleon seems to go: this happened and then this happened, there were some monsters and then another thing happened. Without really fleshing out any scene or character well.
I enjoy puns (see Spider Robinson) but this is just bottom of the barrel, dad joke material.
I think I'm over half way through, I'll finish it but I may not try another.
I feel like he's trying to fit Discworld into Florida.
Just started "A City On Mars" by Weinersmith published late last year. Weighs the pros and cons of space exploration and proposed paths of exploration. So far, it's very interesting.
ShawnG said:Piers Anthony.
Thought I would try a different fantasy author. This guy is awful.
I thought he was great.......when I was in my early teens.
For escapist pulp of the "modern western" sort, I quite enjoy the Longmire series. Audible features the first 13 books for free with their membership, and George Guidall just nails the narration. I couldn't make it through the first episode of the TV series by the same name, however. Poorly done, IMO.
Duke said:ShawnG said:In reply to Duke :
First book in the Xanth series.
Well, that would be a typical place to start. You have to enjoy puns to enjoy Xanth, it's true.
Piers Anthony is like a dumber, cruder, less thoughtful Terry Pratchett. In other words, take away all the things that make Terry Terry.
If you want to try again, try either of the other two series I mentioned. But I understand completely if you don't bother.
As I see it, you can divide his work into three different eras. The early stuff (say pre-1980 or so) is weird and all over the place. IMHO his best work is Macroscope, it's from this era, the first 2/3 of the book is awesome and then... I'm pretty sure there were some drugs involved at the end. Still good, but strange. Prostho Plus is fun, I enjoyed the Tarot series, and there were some good stories in Anthonology (be warned, there are also a couple that might give you TMI about Anthony's kinks).
The middle era stuff is the 1980s, and includes most of the books you mentioned. First three Adept, first five Incarnations, etc. A lot more mainstream than the early stuff but also less original and a bit more "extruded" fiction.
Post 1990 is what I think of as the late era and consists of a lot of "turning the crank" on the middle era series. I quit reading them probably 30 years ago, but from what I can tell it hasn't really changed.
Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:ShawnG said:Piers Anthony.
Thought I would try a different fantasy author. This guy is awful.
I thought he was great.......when I was in my early teens.
Guess I'm no better than all the adults telling everyone how they managed to get through the Harry Potter series then. 
As for what I'm reading, there is a new book from James S A Corey (pen name for the due of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, who wrote The Expanse), called The Mercy of Gods.
Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:ShawnG said:Piers Anthony.
Thought I would try a different fantasy author. This guy is awful.
I thought he was great.......when I was in my early teens.
As a friend of mine like to say: "The golden age of science fiction is 12". :)
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