How bout this one?

Order now!

https://www.amazon.com/TRUMP-NOT-RACIST ... 170825546X

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https://bookshop.org/

A good Amazon alternative (fuck Amazon). If my local library doesn't have something, I see if Bookshop has it. If not, then I'm not reading it lol.

Just finished Like You'd Understand Anyway by Jim Shepard, a very good collection of short stories that primarily discuss the world of male familial relationships. I'm currently reading Warren Zanes' Tom Petty biography. It doesn't have the rock & roll excess of something like The Dirt but it tells the stories behind my favorite Petty albums from the early 90's.

Two new McCarthy novels this fall:

https://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/ ... ertainment

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Why are only 14 percent of black CPS 11th-graders proficient in English?

I've been reading Circe by Madeline Miller.

This is supposed to have been Book of the Year in 2020 and a lot of people have given it 5 star reviews on Amazon, but I have found the book disappointing and boring.

The author has a large vocabulary but uses it in the wrong places. The plot development of the book is excruciating slow.

It reads more like a badly written romance novel than a classic Greek mythological story. You can tell it was written by a woman. Except for Harper Lee and Mary Shelley, women can't write well.

I'll probably still finish it but I give it only 2 out of 5 stars. I'll stick with the Odyssey.

.

Anne Rice

One of the featured sections that I need to explore more when I get the chance.

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

this sounds like a lost John D MacDonald/Travis McGee novel, with a veneer of southern gothic MacDonald, a Northerner by birth and temperament, never could've mustered the shits to give:

I'm starting the Bernie Gunther series by Philip Kerr again. If you like police detective stories mixed with WW2 Germany, it doesn't get any better. Bernie Gunther along with Charlie Parker by John Connolly are my two all time favorite fictional detectives.

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"I give you my word as a Biden"

I gave up on the biography on Andrew Jackson. It read like a textbook and it mostly talked about his presidency and a bunch if social drama. I couldn’t do it anymore with a few hundred pages to go. Picked up a brand new biography I found at Costco on Daniel Boone that is good this far. Also have these little local libraries in my neighborhood and while walking the dog and found what appears to be an interesting book by Jack London so I brought it home. I’ll dump the Jackson book back in that library, maybe someone else would like it.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

The Life of AndrewJackson by Robert Remini was pretty good. It was relatively slim and hit, what I thought were, all the high notes. I'm only familiar with Jon Meacham from his television appearances. He seems like the kind of guy who would wax poetic or tie himself into knots finding some deeper meaning that wasn't really there. However, from your comments, it seems like his writing is more on the dry side.

I think there was another book about Jackson that focused on The Battle of New Orleans. This one just flew through his upbringing through the death of his wife and then focused entirely too much time on his family and a cabinet member whose wife everyone thought was a big skank which was very scandalous back then.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I pissed on AJ's tomb once. True story.

How to Hide An Empire: A History of the Greater US

A must read for badrouge, Caller Bob, JORR, a genius, WaitingforPuffcorn, etc. All the nasty stuff you'd never learn in an American school lol.

Just finished the first book in the Dune series. It was probably the first time I read a book after seeing the movie. Surprisingly, it was still an enjoyable experience. It didn't hurt that the story in the book continued on well past the point that the story in the movie ended.

I know its boring investing stuff, but "The Bogle Effect : How John Bogle and Vanguard Turned Wall Street Inside Out and Saved Investors Trillions" is a pretty amazing book that discusses how Jack created Vanguard after getting fired from the company he ran and basically pissed off all the major brokerages and fund families in the late 70's and drove the cost of investing down for us joe baloneys.

I read it in a few days.

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He was a okay pres.

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

After working in two trading firms, the losing of trading abilities to let non pros do it is a huge mistake and should never have been allowed

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

Picked up the updated Thrawn trilogy of novels. I read the books that kind of helped introduce him back in the 90s but that is not considered canon anymore but this set of novels is. I am confident we will be seeing Thrawn show up in some of the upcoming Star Wars shows and I found him to be fascinating during the Star Wars Rebels cartoon series that I finished earlier this spring. I am about halfway through the Clone Wars animated series which has also been very good. Just was curious if anyone else had read this most recent set of books. Quick synopsis below...


Star Wars: Thrawn Series Books 1 - 3 Collection Set by Timothy Zahn:

Star Wars: Thrawn:
One of the most cunning and ruthless warriors in the history of the Galactic Empire, Grand Admiral Thrawn is also one of the most captivating characters in the Star Wars universe, from his introduction in bestselling author Timothy Zahn’s classic Heir to the Empire, through his continuing adventures in Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, and beyond. But Thrawn’s origins and the story of his rise in the Imperial ranks have remained mysterious.

Thrawn: Treason:
Such was the promise Grand Admiral Thrawn made to Emperor Palpatine at their first meeting. Since then, Thrawn has been one of the Empire’s most effective instruments, pursuing its enemies to the very edges of the known galaxy. But as keen a weapon as Thrawn has become, the Emperor dreams of something far more destructive.Now, as Thrawn’s TIE defender program is halted in favor of Director Krennic’s secret Death Star project, he realizes that the balance of power in the Empire is measured by more than just military acumen or tactical efficiency.

Thrawn: Alliances:
Ominous words under any circumstances, but all the more so when uttered by Emperor Palpatine. On Batuu, at the edges of the Unknown Regions, a threat to the Empire is taking root―its existence little more than a glimmer, its consequences as yet unknowable. But it is troubling enough to the Imperial leader to warrant investigation by his most powerful agents: ruthless enforcer Lord Darth Vader and brilliant strategist Grand Admiral Thrawn. Fierce rivals for the emperor’s favor, and outspoken adversaries on Imperial affairs.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Same thing: Saw the movie and then decided to give the book a try, mostly because the film was intriguing but I felt I was missing out on something. I avoided the book because the people who liked it were almost always very, very strange. But so far I am really liking it.

One strange thing is that whenever the Guild is mentioned, the theme from The Great Space Coaster starts playing in my head. It's really annoying, and I am not sure how the connection was forged, or why.

The chick on The Great Space Coaster was fairly do-able.

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So you're saying you were ready to get on board.. I see.. I suppose that's better than having a thing for Gary Gnu.

I'm currently reading the second book and it's not as good as the first. I'm not going to give anything away, but some of the plot seem like it's straight out of a teenage boy's fantasy.

Welcome back Tommy.

I watched an episode a while back and the whole Gary Gnu thing was kind of funny but really, really strange. They had a laugh track and everything. It was hard trying to figure out who the intended audience was.

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Gracias!

I might read it. I went back and started re-reading the first one and it is making so much more sense on the second time through.

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Dune took some turns in the second half that I was not expecting. The narrative wasn't as gripping in the second half, but I respected it more because it was so different. Not sure I'll read the next in the series.

I remember fans of the book being kind of weird, and I can see why it attracts them.

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I thought the first book lost a lot of steam in the second half as well. It got bogged down with all that mystical shit about Paul being the chosen one. Too many of these science fiction/fantasy stories go to that well and I'm just bored to tears by it.

Tackling Les Misérables, definitely one of the longest novels ever written. I barely made it through War and Peace. Thoughts and prayers for me.

This guy has hipped me to lesser known works but is such a jagoff.

https://twitter.com/_LarryJ_/status/1567506646091370497

Leaving for about a month tomorrow. I'm bringing Game of Thrones prequel Fire and Blood and Surf is Where You Find It by Gerry Lopez. I started reading the Game of Thrones books last year and they're very easy reads. There are a lot of differences from show too and the books are way better. I've always been a big fan of Gerry Lopez. One of the early guys at Pipeline he's surfed Jaws and even did some acting after becoming friends with John Milius.

I'm happy I read War and Peace, but I never want to do something like that again. I see why it's held out as a classic novel, but the opportunity cost of reading it is huge. Infinite Jest used to be on my list, but I've taken it off based on the War and Peace experience.

Anna Karenina was plenty for me

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