Richardderus thread 8 for 2012

My 2012 NEW books ticker:




Previous reviews:

1. Under the Dome...thread two.
2. The Night Circus...thread three.
3. The God Engines...thread three.
4. A More Perfect Heaven...thread four.
5. Everybody Says Hello...thread five.
6. 11/22/63...thread five.
7. Under Your Skin...thread six.
8. The Emperor of Lies...thread six,
9. The Coroner's Lunch...thread six.
10. A Wrinkle in Time...thread six.
11. Brother's Keeper, a novella...thread seven.
12. Thirty-Three Teeth...thread seven.
Lucky 13! Comet in Moominland...thread seven.
14. Masquerade (Kindle Single)...thread seven.
15. A Shot in the Bark...thread seven.
16. THIS IS YOUR HEART IN LOVEThis is Your Heart in Love...thread seven.
17. Burial to Follow...thread seven.
18. Disco for the Departed...thread seven.
19. STRONGBOX...thread seven.
20. Sending Rupert Home...thread seven.
21. Burritos and Gasoline...thread seven.
22. Palo Alto: Stories...thread seven.
23. Racing the Devil...thread seven.
24. Best Mets...thread seven.

My 2012 ORPHANED books ticker:




Books are reviewed in post:

25. Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead...#85.

26. The Zona...#97.

27. The Song of Achilles...#143.

28. Accomplished in Detection...#163.

29. The Technologists...#176.

30. The DVD Murders...#191.

31. Miss Peregine's Home for Peculiar Children...#249.

Am I first?

Indeed you are, Ellen!

I always worry about posting too quickly in case the thread owner wants to reserve a few posts for lists and things!

I always put in my space reserved message before I tell anyone where I am. It saves disgruntlement later.

Good evening, Richard! Lovely new digs here.

6> Okay, good to hear. That's what I do, as well. Sneaky bunch, we are.

Ciao, Ronista! Glad you like them. So far, so good, I guess.

>6 richardderus: disgruntlement
That's my favourite new word as of now.
Hmmm, now to put it into every day conversation.
3.5 year old: "Mum can I pour my water with food floaties all through it into your coffee?"
Me: "Only if you want to be on the receiving end of some severe disgruntlement!"
That works for me. Thanks Richard.

PS sorry for seemingly mocking your page turning prowess back in the last thread. I thought that your condition was a foot thing?

>10 LovingLit: Ha! Yours will be some erudite kids, Megan.

>11 LovingLit: It's a joint condition, and the tophus accumulates wherever there are ligaments. Makes for some gnarly-lookin' knuckles.

>12 richardderus: well that = a lot of places! :(
And I bet it sucks.

Sucking dirty ass since 1981! Today's a rotten day for it. I hate this pestilential disorder.

Richard so sorry you are hurting. Hope that you have a pain free Sunday with lots of good reading.

:{

um, that's suppose to be a frowny face at your pain not the Frito Bandito

(but yay, now I know how to do the Frito Bandito)

Just not having a great day today either. It rots on ice that I get internet access back and feel crummy.

On the hemidemisemi-bright side, Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead is keeping me chortling!

Hello Handsome! Sorry you are having a hurtsome day. I totally relate. Mine is more midsectionish. : ( Love the title of your latest amusement!

Richard, you have my total sympathy and empathy! My RA apparently is taking advantage of my current hiatus from meds and is beginning to make itself felt in joints...fingers, thumbs, wrists, neck, feet and shoulders. Just a little bit right now but I am sure it will worsen. Will be talking with the RA doc on Monday and get some strategies for next steps.

I am reading Steve Jobs and enjoying it. What a character he was! And I will admit his story is reminding me to take non-mainstream medical advice with a grain or two of salt.

I am grateful that I am able to hold the Nook as I probably would have a hard time with non-electronic books right now.

Take care of yourself, as best you can, and stay in touch with us!

>19 Berly: Howdy do, dearie, yeah this pain crud will make a person a bit testy. I'm so very happy my kid days are behind me, and my girl is 31. She knows from aches and pains herself now! You, OTOH, have two still at home. *there there, pat pat*

>20 maggie1944: So glad you're taking the non-traditional road with a salty tang. I use all available modalities myownself, and am very very quick to drop the non-productive ones.

Hallo RichardDear! Hugs and smooches your way.

Husband, daughter and I are watching Carolina getting beat by Florida in the ACC championship - daughter and I are much less stressed about the game than husband.

I just might take your $80 kindle advice.....

>22 karenmarie: Oh, do! Y'see, Horrible dearest, there's this little feature called "lending" that means I can hook your unsuspecting eyes introduce you to finds of mine without you having to purchase anything! Like my current fun read, or the dog park mystery, or the like.

Hi Rd- Sorry to hear that you are having a bad day. I hope you are finding some comfort here and with a good book.
I do have a recommendation: Have you read On Writing? It's an excellent memoir and one that might be right up your proverbial alley. Seek it out.

Oh yes indeed, Mark, I loved On Writing! LOVED it! Even back before I was reading King's novels with gusto, I thought this was a really superior book. I suppose, at some point just prior to my inevitable death, I'll finish reviewing the books I've read but never reviewed.

*snort*

I'd best not plan on dyin' this century.

I suppose, at some point just prior to my inevitable death, I'll finish reviewing the books I've read but never reviewed......I'd best not plan on dyin' this century.

Tee shirt anyone....or just a tasteful bumper sticker? Actually, it could be a great logo for the 75 group if we have a talented artist(e).

Where's Cheli?

I've heard about On Writing, someone whose opinion I respect recommended it to me years ago, still haven't read it, I mustn't respect their opinion as much as I thought!

ETA: hey, is that a new quote on post #1, I love it! Damn that's true. ('scuse the cuss'n word)

RD- As a writer yourself, I'm sure there was much in On Writing that you could appreciate. There is a new anniversary copy out, I'm thinking about picking it up for my "keeper" shelf.
BTW- Thanks for the rec on Safe Area. I'm nearly finished with it. It's superbly done but BOY is it bleak. The Horrors that went on over there, while we enjoyed the Clinton era.

{{{Rdear}}}
but very gentle ones, carefully avoiding joints.

What a disease. Urg.

Dutifully adds On Writing to the long list.

Hello Richard my dear! Sorry to hear you are having a crap ass day! Hopefully your book takes your mind off things
On a lighter note your post "Sucking dirty ass since 1981" made me laugh and now the dog is looking at me funny ;)

Hi Friend
I'm so sorry you are hurting.

Consider yourself lightly patted on the head.

Chili fries on the house, Richard. Hope you feel better.

Grump. All my friends are hurting in one way or another. Too many. Feel better soon - like NOW.

I'm lying here basking in the warm glow of palhood! I don't feel less pain, but I do feel better.

I reviewed an old favorite SF novel, Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, in my thread...post #133. I love it when something enjoyed in youth retains its charm in old age.

I love it when something enjoyed in youth retains its charm in old age. Amen.

I hope the pain eases soon, Richard. Take care.

Not sleeping huh? All riled up I see!

Dude- you've been spammed!
I flagged them good and proper as the thread police were elsewhere :)

pestilential disorder ... nice turn of phrase there ..... I do hope your disorder settles down as the seasonal cusp moves into the past.

Richard, I wasn't without internet and I still can't keep up with your thread. 44 posts already? And I missed all of what I assume to be the "Yay welcome back!" posts on the last thread. I'll just fill in the blanks myself. I'm sorry your E-reader pooped on the rug and I look forward to seeing your nude self-portrait. So when will you be posting that again?

***Waves*** Once again trying to catch up with your thread.. Sigh..

"Well, I've wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it".

I think Stephen's post says it all. Hope the internal bugs are leaving you alone. BTW, your chastisement hit home, and I belatedly posted that review. Many heart-tugging excuses given back at the cafe.

>38 EBT1002: Hi Ellen...I hope it does too. My hopes dim.

>40 Berly: It's Stupid Tuesday tomorrow. I'm permanently riled.

>41 corbic:, 42 *sigh* Spammers annoy me, but this one seems fairly benign.

>43 LovingLit: What earthly purpose does this sort of thing serve? Do people silly enough to follow such links have the mother-wit to use a computer?

>44 roundballnz: Hiya Alex! Me too, me too!

>45 Ape: OMG Adam isn't aging welll...graying redheads should dye their hairs. The day I appear nude before a camera of any description is the day the photo will have "County Morgue" stamped across it.

The Kindle problem was solved, and it purrs along like a Jaguar in fifth at a hundred miles an hour.

>46 MonicaLynn: No worries, Monica, don't try any harder than the reward you'll get...little enough around here, no one comes and visits, talks to me, y'know all that stuff...not like Joe or Mark or Darryl or anybody *popular*

*chinwobble*

>47 magicians_nephew: LOL Jim! I like that one.

>48 jnwelch: Good morning, Joe, and thanks. Your excuses duly laughed at noted. I'll be over for breakfast shortly.

Richard: He doesn't look terrible on TV (of course), and he still has that youthful personality, which is all that matters right? :)

Good morning sunshine!

>52 Ape: No. It assuredly is NOT all that counts. Women want a fat bank balance. Men want bodacious (fill in fetishized body part du jour). Everybody wants to feel heard and cared about. What's a broke-ass old slut like me to do?

>53 Berly: *smooch* to my dear Berly-boo!

What's a broke-ass old slut like me to do?

Have you tried my method? Say 'fuck it' and just don't talk to anyone. Ever. Then masturbate to pictures of OTHER people having sex and feel like crap afterward. You don't need a fat bank balance and no one will see you when you cry. :D

"Broke-Ass Slut" - is there a hit movie there?

56 - No, just a kickass memoir.

>45 Ape: am I supposed to know who that is? He looks like Philip Seymor Hoffman....but i see he's referred to as ageing Adam....

>57 London_StJ: or a club. So that like minded people can get together and ...well....whatever :)

Megan: It's Adam Savage from one of the few television shows worth watching, Mythbusters. It's a show where they tackle classic myths with modern science to see if they have any foundation in fact. Although they sort of ran out of 'classic' myths a long time ago so now they just seem to test commonly 'assumed' knowledge that has never really been tested, and Youtube videos.

#55 It's an option. I was going to suggest that he enjoy the young men who in turn enjoy his wit and intellect until he finds one he wants to keep...

From 277 of the old thread - Then I'm doubly-glad you've become a Kindle-convert.

59 - I love when they test "movie magic."

>55 Ape: No, I think I'll just keep haunting the liberry and picking up students from the various colleges around. Thanks for the tip, though!

>56 jnwelch: Been made a million times..."Pretty Woman," anyone?

>57 London_StJ: Ha! Who'd read my dull maunderings?

>58 LovingLit: ...likin' the "whatever" idea...

>59 Ape: Efficient lad!

>60 BekkaJo: Hell, Bekka, I don't want to *talk* to them. Distracts from the main event.

>61 London_StJ: This Kindle is a joy and I couldn't be happier with it. I certainly haven't given up tree books, though. I think someone should start a movement to get all Twilight and Lord of the Rings and other suchlike wastes of resources and dumbers-down of the reading public released solely to NooKindlEreader formats. Siberia's forests could be saved this way.

I must object to your vociferous belittling of Lord of the Rings as tree wastage. Your Jefferson quote mollifies me a little.

@ 63

Okay, I respect your right to dislike or even hate The Lord of the Rings, but I cannot fathom how you could lump it in with Twilight. I may need to lie down for a minute.

:( you were lost

sad was me

Lord of the Rings as a "dumber-down"?! I know a certain professor who would protest. ;)

I'm not responsible for y'all's misperception of value. LotR is Twilight's older sibling. The degree of suckage in the billion-page nonsense that is Twilight's nonillionology is not perceptibly different from the trillion-word snoozefest and bulimic's friend that is LotR.

This being a republic that (in theory) defends every citizen's right to be wrong, y'all're entitled to disagree with my self-evidently correct opinion.

La la la la! I can't hear you! Wait. That's better. No, I am still being assaulted by a hurricane of hot air. Did you say something?

*sigh* You can lead a horticulture....

*laughing* and *waving hi*

I can count on you to have some interesting conversations* going....

carry on, and enjoy your considerable skill at expressing your many and varied opinions!

#68 A certain professor DID protest. See No. 63 above. Said professor's mother chimes in here with a protest of her own. I do understand that you were probably referring to THE Professor. ;>)

dammit rd.... possssion? really? that is the one thing that can creep me out.
GAH!!!

>69 richardderus: *laugh*
*laugh*
*LAUGH*

We should all know by now not to try and state our opinions as if they are going to change Richards! :)

LoTR movies? Great (scenery), the novels? meh

(((hugs))) for you Richard dear
I hope the joints ache a little less today

>72 maggie1944: Hi Karen44! No one around here is likely to win Cyberviolet of the Year award for Shrinking.

>73 laytonwoman3rd: Linda3rd, Luxx is also a professor of English, and (for reasons that surpasseth the Ken of Man) a fancier of the dullest book imaginable. No, not Ulysses, LotR.

>74 mckait: ::confused::

>75 LovingLit: ...but they haven't changed mine in the smallest, Megan me luv...

>76 FAMeulstee: Your hope is in vain, Anita, but I very much appreciate your wishes. Big doggie-kisses to Ari and Chimay!

73/7- *snort* I was actually thinking of my Tolkien professor from grad school - Dr. Flieger. I actually didn't read Tolkien until I enrolled in her class, and it was an enlightening experience.

77 - Actually, I prefer The Silmarillion to LoTR.

my self-evidently correct opinion. Careful, Padre - you don't want to sound like a conservative...

:-p

you don't want to sound like a conservative... Oh. Ouch. Ten points to Gryffindor.

>79 London_StJ: Fightin' fire with fire, Crypto darling. THEY act all kingathaworldy, why can't WE?

>80 laytonwoman3rd: I always wanted to hear more about Ravenclaw. Just based on the name, I think that'd be my house.

I love this and have already sent it onward!

The Silmarillion! Ack! Reading a phone book would be preferable. Not that the experiences wouldn't be similar.

I liked The Hobbit though.

Responded to the freak gif on my thread.

Review: 25 of seventy-five

Title: SOMEBODY TELL AUNT TILLIE SHE'S DEAD

Author: CHRISTIANA MILLER

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Book Report: Mara's a thirtysomething Angeleno girl with the best kind of life a slightly portly, extremely witchy fag hag can have: Her GBFF Gus keeps her in snack food and gossip, her gay uncle/landlord keeps her in a super-cool apartment for less than market rent, and her spirit guides keep her in grocery money by enabling her to read Tarot with such accuracy she's scary. All in all, an enviably calm existence.

Until it isn't anymore. Gay uncle's new inamorato has a mama who needs a job, so he installs her as manageress of the apartment complex where Mara lives. Trouble is, the lady's a wacko fundamentalist with a major hate on for witches like Mara. Since what makes Mama unhappy keeps Uncle from gettin' laid, Mara has a month to vacate.

*Just* in the nick of time, and thanks to an ill-advised piece of spellcrafting, Mara's Great Aunt Tillie dies and leaves her a beautiful cottage in Devils Point, Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Superior. (Side note: One pities the lassie on the first whiteout due to a lake effect blizzard, being from LA and all.) Mara packs up her entire worldly goods and sets out for Wisconsin in Gus's SUV, which she has traded her beloved 1965 Mustang convertible for (stupid woman).

Arriving in her new home-sweet-home brings many unsettling feelings, including being possessed by an ancestress, hit on by a super-centenarian, boinked to exhaustion by a ghost, and chatted up by a poison toad. It also brings a sense of complete and utter satisfaction, because after a lifetime of rootlessness, Mara is Home.

In the end, what Mara has to do to defend her home is heroically demanding of her witchly talents and worldly energies. Her life, however, is at stake, and her world finally has contours that please and delight her, so Mara sets about making what's hers safe and welcoming for her chosen family, no matter the cost to herself.

My Review: I think most of us desire a trip down the river of another's life as an escape, and so we read fiction or gossip magazines (minimal difference there), or watch "reality" TV, or listen to Faux News and pretend it's truthsome and logical.

When that mood hits, there needs to be something at hand that will scratch the itch as well as offer some pleasure in the process. This story did that for me on a few levels. I was quite taken by the characters...I've even been told by some "friends" that the annoying, arrogant, opinionated Gus reminds those perfidious ingrates of me!...and I was quite pleased with the author's plot-crafting.

I wasn't quite so taken with a few details, such as the missed opportunities for world-building and the overdrawn secondary characters that don't get the screen-time (so to speak) that their qualities set readers up to expect. Still, these are quibbles, and readily susceptible to ironing out as the series (Toad Witch, blurgh not the name I'd've chosen) progresses.

This is an investment of $3.99 that pays Kindle owners back with smiles, thrills, and fun in abundance. I say hit the Buy Now button without any hesitation.

You'd think that church of his would teach him tolerance. Whatever happened to love thy neighbor?"

"Did you miss the Crusades? The Inquisition? Since when has any fundamentalist religion taught religious tolerance?"

"You have a point," he snorted.

Kindle Locations 3851-3853. HekaRose Publishing. Kindle Edition.

I wet myself laughing at this:

D___ you, Richard dear! ANOTHER book bullet!! I'll have to get it from Kindle immediately.

And I love the picture above with a passion!

ETA you are forgiven! I got Aunt Tillie on March 6 when it was offered for free!

Love the review... you put it all together perfectly, as usual.

I love the JC thing, too :) did you put it on FB?

If yes, I will steal it immediately..

Witches now seem to be the "goto" group for comic romantic mysteries. Ive enjoyed a few of them - probably too much to ask that they get Wicca belief and practice right.

>87 ronincats: I'm glad you got it free, Roni, but I tell you true: I'd be as happy with the read had I paid the $3.99 for it. Other freebies, not so much.

>88 mckait: I did indeed "like" it there, and stole it for here.

>89 magicians_nephew: I think you'll be shocked and awed at the accuracy level of this one, Jim. I can't say anything is howlingly wrong, at least to my own eye. Read it and let me know!

I love and adore you, Richard. Your quotes are making my smile. Post #86 is so good.
Doing quick drive-bys before I pack up for my plane ride today.
As you say, *smooch*

Ha! I just posted my own (less developed) review of Aunt Tillie. What good fun.

I almost mentioned RD's review to you on your thread, Luxx! You both enjoyed it - it's on my tbr list.

I absolutely love your post on #86, Richard!

93 - He had mentioned reading it a few posts back, so I just couldn't resist picking it up myself. I hope you enjoy it if you find time for it!

Yes, Richard...you and Luxx were a one-two punch. Just bought it on my Kindle. Perfect beach reading!

Review: 26 of seventy-five

Title: THE ZONA

Author: NATHAN YOCUM

Rating: 4.25* of five

The Book Report: Lead is a Preacher in the service of the Reformed Theocracy of Arizona...The Zona...which means he seeks out those lost in sin and error and delivers them, either to Purgatory or to Heaven. No trial is needed, no expiation is offered, the Church has decreed them marked (the Mark of Cain) and so Lead (so nicknamed because he was in Lead Group Two during the Battle for Las Vegas, which ended in nuclear conflagration thanks to the Mormons attacking The Zona's foot army and the People's Republic of Northern California's air force, all supposed allies in the cleansing of sin from the face of the earth) may execute his duty with impunity and without stain on his soul.

He shoots them dead on the spot, or he takes them to the foulest prison imaginable, there to die. In God's name let it be done.

You will by now have perceived that this is not the world of 2012. It is a post-Apocalyptic world, one in which The Storms have ended technological civilization, and the survivors of the initial climate apocalypse next faced catastrophic pole shift, then myriad plagues. In the space of about thirty years, humanity's glittering edifice of civilization has utterly vanished. In its place are a few shattered remnants of humankind, struggling to eke out minimum survival and to make some tiny degree of sense out of this tragedy. Up rears the Church, using its time-tested lies and bullshit to harass and hector the shocked walking wounded into a herd, dedicated to the preservation and future wealth of...the Church. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

So Lead hunts down Preacher Terence, for reasons he doesn't know...he's never told why he's going after a mark, it would only confuse his purpose...and the unthinkable happens. Lead talks to Terence, Lead listens to Terence, and Lead, for the first time since his plague-victim mother dropped dead in the fugee camp and left him to starve or not as best he could, Lead thinks. Why, he thinks., Why, he wonders. Why, he asks, am I killing people to save them? Am I saving them, or damning myself? Is this what God wants of me? Terence, who traveled this road before Lead, answers, “It's what the Church wants, and the Church is not God.”

And there it is, the basis of heresy, and it lights a rocket in Lead's soul that propels the plot into its fast, furious, fiery hot trajectory as Lead and Terence form a little family, attempt to escape the Church and its hideous, hateful strictures, share their horrific pasts (each was, in his own way, part of the Cleansing at Las Vegas, and it left them both irredeemably scarred), and evade their Crusader pursuit team.

The journey to redemption is never easy. It takes its toll on the heartiest and healthiest of men. It leads Lead through the Purgatory he sent other men to, and it sends him, naked and frightened and covered in filth, on a pilgrimage through the desert seeking New Pueblo, a purported Land of Milk and Honey, where the Old Ways still exist.

My Review: The first paragraph of the book is what did it for me. I mean, completely hooked me like I was a marlin and it was the goddamned Old Man from that Hemingway farrago.

Lead woke with the sun peeling his eyelids back like the tips of God’s fingers. His vision shifted to focus on the haze of brown earth and the beige nothing of sand and grit. His wrists were bound together on the other side of a sandstone boulder, pulled to an excruciating limit, shoulders popped and throbbing. His beaten face felt like a mask worn off-center, swollen and repugnant. – Kindle Locations 12-14, Kindle Edition.

I like post-Apocalyptic literature, and this novel is some good-quality stuff for my fix. It's a lot like The Road meets A Canticle for Leibowitz to produce a bastard Earth Abides. Author Yocum has a lot to be proud of in this book, and its periodic infelicities of punctuation and occasional lapses into wrong-worditis are readily overlookable because, for heaven's sake, this story is SCARILY PLAUSIBLE. Like “where did this dude get the time machine” plausible. And it's written quite well. And it's paced to maximize excitement. And it's character-development arcs are beautifully calculated to give the minor characters depth and major characters motivation and not bring the bus to a juddering halt during the info-dumps.

Applause, applause, Mr. Yocum, and may you get a mini-series contract from Starz to develop this into a multi-episode successor to The Stand yesterday at the latest. I downloaded the Kindle freebie at about 11am and did not stop reading until I was done. That's how exciting I found this book.

Love the "Freak" Gif ..now that had to be shared on FB ....... would be wrong not to

Morning RD- Excellent review of the Zona. It sounds great. I'll have to add that one to the mighty List. Aunt Tillie has some potential too! Thank you sir.

>99 roundballnz: I snagged it after sharing it on FB, Alex. It's perfect!

>100 msf59: Mark, I can't tell you strongly enough to get The Zona while it's free! Through the 18th, eeek my sister's 62nd birthday I almost forgot!, it's free as a little birdie-wird and worth the full purchase price. This is one of those books I'm going to shove at people. Dystopic fiction isn't everyone's cuppa, I know, but the story is so tightly made and the background so well used (a background, not The Point) that I feel it will make it on its merits as a novel. The way some benighted fools think The Road *ickyptooptoo* did.

First Kath makes me hungry on her thread thanks to you calling her banana muffin, and now I must leave here and find Zona!! Good morning Richard!!

You hit me! I just downloaded The Zona for Kindle price $0.00. Thank you, Richard, I think. My TBR piles are enriched, darn it. So little time....

And oh, I did give you a little thumbs up as you did move me off my tightly held position of "no more books"!

>102 Berly: Berly-boo, since it's a free Kindle download, what'cha gotta lose? xoxo

>103 maggie1944: Y'know, Karen44, the degree to which our TBRs are...enriched, like uranium is enriched, and with similar far-reaching results...is the degree to which we reinforce the scientific drive to make life longer and longer. I have *NO* interest in dying until I'm through reading. That should be in, oh, I'm thinking 2101 or so.

Ah, I see. Well, that is an interesting theory, and probably well worth using as a "working hypothesis". I'll go ahead and continue to read, then. (-:

Pace yourself...it's a long, long road!

Oh no! My theory is that in order to get all the reading done that I want to I must omit from my life distractions of all forms, such as sex, friends, and occasional showering. If science allows us to live indefinitely for the sole purpose of reading, then all this would be for naught! It seems like such a waste...

Clearly the lad is fevered. We must help him. Someone fan the pages of War and Peace over his face, and someone else bathe his wrists in eau de Faulkner!

Fevered? Well that would explain the crazy dreams, hallucinations and weird smell.

Fever? Contagion? Outta here!

It's a boy germ....you can't catch it from him.

Phew! Thanks! Sneaks back in.

Could I have a cup of coffee, please. Oh! Wait! this isn't the cafe, is it? Sorry.... *wanders off in search of a quiet place to read* I just started reading The Warden by Trollope. First time I've ever, ever read anything by him....

Hallo, RD! Hugs and smooches your way from your own Horrible.

59 messages... sigh.

Great reviews as always.

The one thing that caught my attention from all the palaver is LoTR - I personally can't stand LoTR in any way, shape, or form, including The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. Husband and daughter love the movies. I find it all terminally mawkish.

>85 richardderus: or listen to Faux News and pretend it's truthsome and logical.
bwa ha ha, Im so calling i that from now on!

>86 richardderus: yes yes, like it a lot! Keep 'em coming RD

xoxo to all and sundry, having hurty hands today so a general smooch-fest will have to do, sorry.

That's quite all right with me. xoxo back. toddling off to what I hope will be sweet dreams.

>you need voice recognition software! It cant cost that much can it? Oh, ok, probably costs a whole heap. Sorry for your hurty hands.

*group hug*

Richard love 82, 86 & 98 :) Just passing through on my lurking and sending out some love and Waves.. :)

Sorry you're hurting Richard. Hope you feel better soon. {{{hugs}}} and *smooches*

I am so sorry your hands are hurting. Mine hurt quite a lot, quite frequently, also, and so.... I so wish I could offer a suggesting to help relieve the pain.

Soaking in a bowl of ice water helps me when they are really bad, but its not a tool to use unless the pain is really over the top!

I hope your body gives you a break, soon!

I think I downloaded The Zona. Not sure though..

All of the books I download, even though I select to download them to
my iPad, end up on Dans Kindle. I have to go through and archive them or
something. Or figure out a way to make it stop. Any thoughts on that all of
you kindle folk? I might have to call support.

Sorry that you are still ouchy. You know how I feel about it ..

xo

Another great review, Richard. The Zona sounds intriguing - I'm mulling. I did get my hands on a hard copy Aunt Tillie, which I may save for a trip, we'll see.

Friday Hugs. With a sprinkle of "Pain-be-gone"!!!

>117 ffortsa: Hey there, Judy, glad to see you 'round these parts!

>118 LovingLit: It's about USD100, and I don't have that much spare cash, I fear. It's called "Dragon" for reasons I can't fathom. But yes, one day that would be an interesting experiment. *smooch*

>119 laytonwoman3rd: *smooch* to Linda3rd too!

>120 MonicaLynn: I'm glad you like them, Monica! *smooch* to you, too.

>121 calm: Hugs and smooches right back, calm! It's a wee tiny bit better today, I'm thrilled to report.

>122 maggie1944: Oh yes indeed, that ice-water soak is a familiar solution, as is arnica salve. I think it's best left for times when death begins to look like an attractive option, though. *smooch* to my fellow sufferer

>123 mckait: Dan has a separate account at Amazon, or no? Everything is available to up to seven devices from the same Amazon account, and if y'all's two accounts are linked, then they'll show up everywhere. They can be archived on Dan's Fire from the main Kindle menu, I'm told, but it would have to be title by title. Which sounds to me like a royal pain.

>124 mckait: *smooch*

>125 jnwelch: Oh, The Zona is worth it, Joe, and I can't say enough: Free. Kindle. Download.

>126 Berly: Huggles and smoochings, Kimmers!

More Friday hugs coming your way.

How sweet, Ellen! Thanks! *smooch*

Howdy-dee-do Richard Dear. I'm glad you're doing some better but totally better would be best.

Hugs and smooches from your own Horrible

Horrible! *smooch* I need to get over to your thread. I am *sure* you're reviewing The Coroner's Lunch!

Right?

Weeeelllllll.. not exactly. It's sitting here staring at me. I started Insomnia by SK this morning.

What can I say?

>134 karenmarie: "I will read The Coroner's Lunch before Monday."

I went ahead and downloaded The Zona while it was free, even if I'm not sure I'll read it, simply on your say-so! I am going to get to the Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead book, though, as soon as I get through my library books.

Hope the hands are feeling a little better. I'm starting to get arthritis in my hands and live in fear of being incapacitated down the road of all the things I love to do with my hands.

If it's osteoarthritis, Roni, then doing finger and joint exercises and taking anti-inflammatories will help.

I hope you'll make some room for The Zona soon, though I think Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead is more jolly and gay; they're both very good reading.

ronincats, I second Richard's advice about osteoarthritis in the hands. I stretch out my fingers widely several times every day, and am happy to take anti-inflammatories when I can. The enemy of osteoarthritis is inactivity, darn it! I know it is tempting to "rest" which is sometimes a good idea, but real inactivity just makes it worse.

I life without hands sounds thoroughly unpleasant.

>136 ronincats:/138: One thing you may find helpful is to either get ahold of a book of mudras (hand gestures from Indian Classical dance, and also to some extent used in yoga, and also referred to as "yoga for your hands") or download a couple of charts online, and use those as guidelines for hand/wrist/finger exercises! They'll keep the joints mobile and challenge all the different muscles (including those that a simple stretch might not target as effectively). I have several ladies in my Bollywood dance classes who have severe arthritis in their hands, who find that during the 10-weeks they're taking my classes each session, they have reduced pain and greater mobility! One lady was able to stop taking her anti-inflammatories for a time. I also recommend to them some daily mudra exercises and they find it helps in a significant way. Might be worth a shot! :)

>140 dk_phoenix: great advice, and a fun way to do the exercises.
*spots RD running off to get his sari*

*picturing rd in a sari*

*giggle*

Review: 27 of seventy-five

Title: THE SONG OF ACHILLES

Author: MADELINE MILLER

Rating: 5* of five

The Book Report: Here I am faced with a conundrum:: What can I say here? This is The Iliad, told from Patroclus's point of view. Miller starts the story with Patroclus's memories of his father, King Menoitius, whose unloving, unforgiving horridness blighted Patroclus's childhood. When Patroclus causes the death of a bully who happens to be a powerful noble's son, the boy's family gives the king what he wants: An excuse to rid himself of unpromising Patroclus. He is exiled (a nine year old boy) to Phthia, and the court of King Peleus.

Father of Achilles. Born to the sea-nymph Thetis. Best of all the Greeks...Aristos Achaion...in each and every thing, yet mortal and so consigned to our world.

Patroclus and Achilles find each other, and Achilles chooses the unpromising boy to be his companion. Peleus says, when the choice is made, are you sure about this, son? This boy will add nothing to your lustre. Achilles responds, without rancor or boastfulness, “I don't need him to.” This being self-evident and inarguable, Peleus shrugs and life goes on. The boys spend a golden childhood as best friends, a golden adolescence as lovers, and, after being outed by Odysseus in Scyros where Thetis was trying to hide Achilles from the Trojan War where he is fated to die, a long (for the times) manhood as husbands. Everyone knows what time it is. No one says boo about it, except Thetis who LOATHES Patroclus because he's not good enough for her little boy. Who would dare? Achilles is a killing machine. He is the Aristos Achaion for a reason.

And now we rejoin the mainstream of The Iliad for the remainder of the plot, with only a slight change in angle of view.


My Review: I think I wrote three heart-felt appreciations of this book. It is strong, and beautiful, and passionate. It is tough, and cruel, and inevitably sad. It is tender, and loving, and generous. It is indeed the Song of Achilles, sung by Patroclus, and it is a fitting funerary offering to them both.

But let me get out of the story's way. It speaks for itself.

”I will go,” he said. “I will go to Troy.”
The rosy gleam of his lip, the fevered green of his eyes. There was not a line anywhere on his face, nothing creased or graying; all crisp. He was spring, golden and bright. Envious death would drink his blood, and grow young again.
He was watching me, his eyes as deep as earth.
“Will you come with me?” he asked.
The never-ending ache of love and sorrow. Perhaps in some other life I could have refused, could have torn my hair and screamed, and made him face his choice alone. But not in this one. He would sail to Troy and I would follow, even into death. “Yes,” I whipsered. “Yes.”
Relief broke in his face, and he reached for me. I let him hold me, let him press us length to length so close that nothing might fit between us.
Tears came, and fell. Above us, the constellations spun and the moon paced her weary course. We lay stricken and sleepless as the hours passed.

--pp167-168

I can't make any stronger a case for the book than this. I hope you will read it.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Glad I wasn't drinking me tea at the moment when the Irish yoga popped up on my screen! And I will check out the "hand yoga"--thanks for all the suggestions.

Irish Yoga!
bwa haha, excellent

Irish Yoga - love it ! must send to all those who are suffering after a weekend of excess

Well I dodged that particular BB but only because I already have it requested from the library. Just have to wait for it to be returned.

xo

Wow, a full 5 stars? That never happens. Most astonishingly my library has a copy! I've added ti to the list, because it sounds like something I would like.

Lovely review of The Zona - you got me!

-Snort. Irish Yoga indeed!

Love the Irish Yoga!! LOL :)

Great review of The Song of Achilles, Richard! I received it in the mail on Friday, and I'll almost certainly read it next month.

RD- I loved your review of The Song of Achilles. Big Thumbs Up! I will try tracking a copy down, pronto!

>145 ronincats: I wasn't so lucky, Roni, I was drinking (on St. Paddy's, imagine that!) and sprayed the netbook. Hilarious!

>146 LovingLit: I sure thought so, Megan, and I sent it to every Irish person I know. Several Took Umbrage. *snort*

>147 roundballnz: Oh, do that, Alex! Then come tell me if I'm the only one with tender-souled Irish friends.

>148 calm: I suspect, calm, that you'll enjoy the book if not adore it. The quote I've chosen is only one of several that I'd stack up against anyone's best. The last 35pp of the book are simply amazing to me, so heartfelt and so beautiful.

>149 mckait: *smooch*

>150 Ape: I really hope you'll like it, Stephen. The writing is beautiful and spare and the images are lush and harsh. It's not perfect, nothing is, but I couldn't see the point of picking nits.

>151 sibylline: Thanks, Lucy! I really really really want people to read this book. It's a chilling look at a plausible dystopic future that I pray goddesses I'm dead and gone so I won't see it.

>152 MonicaLynn: It still makes me smile, too, Monica.

>153 kidzdoc: Oh, please do, Darryl, it's such a *you* book...death and sadness and misery and frustration and longing, all told in beautiful sentences that make the agony worse!

>154 msf59: Oh goody good good Mark! You'll be glad you did...it's a veritable Jacuzzi of beautiful, delicious images and sentences.

A Real Basket Case is suffering by comparison to its predecessor, The Song of Achilles. Mrs. Groundwater is a competent writer, not much more, and the book is a competent mystery, not much more, and that feels like a zero-star experience after the beauty of Madeline Miller's magnum opus.

Yeah....the hazard of a great book is the eclipsing of books that follow soon after.

Oh boy, ain't that the truth! I was so enthralled by this beautiful bird of paradise in full courtship plumage of a book, and then along comes this perfectly serviceable Rhode Island Red hen of a book. Tell me which one is "better"...but the contrast is stark.

#135 Gads, RD, you are a harsh taskmaster. I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I will at least pull The Coroner's Lunch off my shelves (location tag S23) and contemplate it.

Done.

I read the first page, Tran, Tran, and Hok. Two weeks later in Vientiane.....

>161 karenmarie: *smoochies* to my dear, if recalcitrant, Horrible!

Review: 28 of seventy-five

Title: ACCOMPLISHED IN DETECTION

Author: DARA ENGLAND

Rating: 3.75* of five

The Book Report: A Kindle original novella. Miss Mariah Featherstone is visiting her friend Charlotte at the home of Charlotte's guardian and uncle, Sir Harold Morley. She knows Charlotte's fondest wish is to marry the local curate, Mr. Pettifor, who most regrettably turns up dead...whit Mariah's rejected suitor and fellow houseguest. Mr.Edwin Winterbourne, hovering over him. A rush to justice then begins, and poor Mr. Winterbourne...Mariah might not want to marry him, but she does not want to see him hanged for the crime of another person.

So off goes Mariah, speaking to the son of the Morley house, to Lady Morley, to the mad daughter of the house, to Miss Pettifor the curate's very young sister, all in aid of Mr. Winterbourne's proof of innocence. She must clamber over fences (dressed as a man, no less!), interview angry people on every side, and still maintain a watch over poor, poor Charlotte's bedside, as her friend is prostrated with grief.

In the end, of course, justice is served and punishment is meted out to the guilty. It is what mysteries do best, after all.

My Review: This was a perfect palate-cleanser between my recent five-star read of an historical novel and the rest of literature. It is short, and it is a mystery, and it has a charming premise, so I thought whattheheck and Kindled it up.

Very glad I did. Its aforementioned virtues are delivered upon with charm and verve. I thoroughly liked Miss Featherstone, and while the novella length doesn't allow for such fripperies as careful characterization or extensive puzzle-building, it does deliver the goods in shorthand versions of same.

Charming. Winsome. Most amusing. Worth two hours or so of your reading time, when heavier fare lacks savor.

An amuse bouche, perhaps? Nice review!

>164 jnwelch: No, not as substantive as an amuse bouche. It was just perfect for this moment in time, and I'd've been a LOT meaner about the slightness of the mystery and the shallowness of the characterization on another day.

Just popping in to say... although I'd passed up an opportunity to purchase it last week, after reading your eloquent 5-star report/review, I asked El Husbando to stop this afternoon and grab me a copy of The Song of Achilles. The ever-patient man obliged, I have my fresh, shiny copy in hand, and I'm definitely looking forward to reading it... :D

Oh goody good good, Faith! I'll eagerly await your report.

Monday morning smooches. You and your plethora of must-reads are my Achilles Heel!! Ha,ha, ha!

*smoochings* Now go read The Song of Achilles.

Stopping in for an 'ello, LT version..since we "see" each other on FB

Yeah yeah..you read a lot and like your books...Oy!

***big sloppy hug & smooch....you "character" you***

;-}

Hello dear!

The stars, and the Milky Way, as seen from the International Space Station. So beautiful it hurts.

Love the Irish yoga pic, Richard ... I definitely saw more than a few Irish yogis on Saturday evening while we were out in Boston.

168> Very good.

Having not read The Iliad (can I admit to that on LT?), I don't know how The Song of Achilles would go down. It sounds so wonderful, though.....

Isn't it amazing how we shed so much light ourselves that we block our view of the stars?

But I must say, seeing the Great Lakes outlined like that from space was stunning.

Annoyingly The Song of Achilles doesn't seem available in the Kindle shop ......why this regional claptrap when we live globally ....

Review: 29 of seventy-five

Title: THE TECHNOLOGISTS

Author: MATTHEW PEARL

Rating: one ill-tempered star (p54)

I gave up on this boring, clanking, juddering steampunk-lite edifice of rusty cogs and leaking pipes when I read one character from MIT's first graduating class saying to another that their technological age had an engine but no engineer.

Ugh.

I started the book with serious interest, based on some good reviews of people whose taste I trust, and on my great desire to see technology applied to problem-solving in extreme situations (the reason I read thrillers). I was wincing from the first scene, where a naked "charity scholar" swims in Boston's Charles River, then is dragooned by his buddies to crank up a rowing scull, and then there is engineered (bad pun, sorry) a confrontation with one of the men's acquaintance from Harvard. It was both too much information, and too little characterization. The utterances of the parties to this watery contretemps simply made no difference to me, I felt they were there to further some Point the author wanted to make.

Anyway. Mr. Pearl and I are not a good fit. I've tried his Dante book, and foundered about 60pp in, then I read his Dickens book to about the same place. We do not seem to be made for each other. As his books are tremendously successful commercially, he won't miss my money, and as his critical reception is rapturous, he won't miss my praise.

I will miss the interesting ideas all of his works to date have served rather unappealingly. Who loses? Me. Which makes me really grumpy.

>172 cameling: lol I'll just bet you did, Caro! *snort* Some stereotypes hold up well.

>173 EBT1002: I suspect, Ellen, that a fast trip to Wikipedia for the outlines of the story would more than suffice to render you In The Know. And then you can bathe in the pool of warm, scented prose that is The Song of Achilles!

>174 ffortsa: Very well said, Judy.

>175 roundballnz: Publishers still want their old, accustomed rents, Alex, despite the fact that they're working in a totally new world. Foolishness. And I'm really sorry to hear it isn't available in NZ yet.

I like it that you give some books the boot, Richard. Gives me strength to do the same, from time to time.

Stopping by to say hello!! how are ya?

I'm with you on Matthew Pearl, Richard. (He lost me after The Dante Club). As Karen says, it's good to see you give some books the boot. Inspires the rest of us not to slog when it just ain't working.

>178 maggie1944:, 180 It was Nancy Pearl that taught me about that. Until I read Book Lust lo these many years ago, I was a completionist of the first water. I'm too old, and there are too many books I *want* to read coming out every day, to keep slogging through something I am not enjoying.

And the first job of ANY book is to please Me the Reader, no matter who Me is.

>179 mckait: Not great, I'll live...are you a step-orphan yet?

the pool of warm, scented prose that is The Song of Achilles

Well, I can hardly resist that endorsement!!!!

>182 EBT1002: I truly hope you'll get to it soon, and expect a report of your opinion!

Nancy Pearl's rule of thumb which takes into account the age of the reader is to take 100 and subtract your age; the remainder is the number of pages you could try reading before giving up on a book. Not too many pages in my case....

I'm a huge fan of the Pearl Rule.

>184 maggie1944:, 185 I'm only *obligated* to read 48pp, now; but I am constitutionally incapable of leaving off before the end of a chapter, and so sometimes I go over my required page-count, and sometimes I'm under it. The most important thing to me is that I now have permission to quit! From a liberrian, no less!

Woo hoo! Permission to quit. A good thing.
And I'm laughing about your comment about being constitutionally incapable of leaving off before the end of a chapter. I don't know how many times I've told P that dinner (or a walk to the p-patch, or helping with that bookshelf that needs moving, or....) because "I just want to finish this chapter" before I can get out of my chair!

186-187: Agree! I cannot do it either. My partner gets so mad at me, when I will not turn out the light until I finish the chapter I am reading.

He'll say, "But it's after midnight." And I'll say, "But just three more minutes and I will be done with the chapter, no problem." He just doesn't get it.

Then if I am too easy with stopping in the middle of a chapter he asks, "You are just going to wait until I fall asleep and then finish the rest of that aren't you?" Big Grin ... Why, yes I am.

Poor abandoned books, to think the remainder of their miserable existence will be spent having never known the love and affection of our dear Richard. Such rejection must be simply devastating. It's okay though, I still like you even if you can be so cold and ruthless. *Hugs*

>187 EBT1002: Oh, I've given that excuse so often that now I only need to raise a single finger to make that point.

>188 jmaloney17: Better training needed, Jennifer, need to get on that...can't let it slide too long.

>189 Ape: *snort* That's me, all cold and ruthless. *chortle*

Review: 30 of seventy-five

Title: THE DVD MURDERS

Author: BOB FREY

Rating: 3* of five

The Book Report: A Kindle original mystery novel, first in the Frank Callahan series. When three famous actors are murdered, and defaced DVDs of their most famously obnoxious roles found near their dead bodies, LAPD isn't just puzzled. They're stumped. Frank Callahan, out gay homicide detective, and his hetero partner Barry Sullivan, are named leads on this high-profile investigation. As the body count mounts, the men are driven to some pretty desperate measures, including a hilarious trip to a gay bathhouse for Barry, and the strangest movie audition there ever was. Along the way, the scumbag politico Police Commissioner, the squad's resident homophobes, and even the Captain of their unit variously do little to help or actively hinder the two men in their efforts to prevent further loss of Hollywood life at the hands of a social conservative nutball with an axe to grind with the modern world.

In the end, justice is served, but not in the way I was expecting it to be.

My Review: There's a really good mystery in here. The problem is that it's buried under a whole lot of unnecessary and unhelpful words. The characters are promising, and there are some real issues the author grapples with...vitiated by way too many words. And to make that more frustrating, the words are used to build up things that a) aren't important to the mystery or the main character's path, and 2) don't have grace or elegance to recommend them.

The writing is not bad. It's a first novel, so I give a lot of extra credit for that. There are the (sadly now) standard cases of wrong-worditis, and there are punctuation infelicities, and there are a few real puzzlers...who in the hell has heard a busy signal in the past 10 years? Why isn't anyone texting?...but in the main, the characters have differentiated voices and are more than mouthpieces for a point of view.

EXCEPT for Moose, a really creepy homophobe who is Callahan's nemesis. His 'tude is so OTT that any boss with this fool on his team would be looking to offload him simply to avoid future trouble. Half a star vanished for that. Another half-star vanished for the badly handled romantic angle, picked up and dropped and picked up and dropped, and never made enough of to make it the plot driver that it's clearly meant to be. But this is a first book. I'll be patient, read another one, and see where this intriguing set-up takes me. Coming with?

193: Can't...focus...on the...text... *Slumps foreward on desk*

No seriously. I think all politicians should be forced to stare at internet GIFs before being allowed to run police the level of government of their choosing.

I've been reading about these weird laws that they are proposing or already passed in Arizona or Texas that impinge on women's rights....scary...

Richard, I'm impressed with all the kindle books you've been reading though it sounds like quite a few would have done better with serious editing. I'm being bombarded over on a goodreads group by self-published New Zealand writers with their e-books up on Amazon, so far I haven't been tempted to read even the free ones, I have too many books on Mt Tbr to tackle...but here's an e-book sampler...
Fiji is a spellbinding novel of adventure, cultural misunderstandings, religious conflict and sexual tension set in one of the most exotic and isolated places on earth.

Ripple - A Dolphin Love Story - follow Ripple as she negotiates the beauties and horrors of the ancient oceans and falls in love with the fighter Cosmo in the wild surf of Point Savage. Be there beside her when love stimulates her to a single achievement which brings renown to this planet, changes the universe forever, exalts the angels and ensures Ripple’s fame will outlive the planet itself.

>195 Ape: Heh I thought so. Was planning on putting it up in your thread, but thought of the consequences before doing so.

>196 avatiakh: It's Indiana that's got some scary monsters a-brewin'! I want to know what happened to my country. How the hell did it get this way?! And I vote all the time! (When there are elections, obviously.)

>197 avatiakh: I get a lot of that too, Kerry, and even though most of my reasons for Kindle-ing are physiological, I go to amazon and hunt up free antique writers. Most recently Mrs. Gaskell. I'm part-way into The Poor Clare...not her best...but free! I go to Kindle Store, and enter the author's name adding "free Kindle books" at the end, and almost always get a bajillion items.

I got Fiji when the Morcars, or whatever, first offered it, and haven't ventured in just yet.

I have to admit that I've got the Morcans' Fiji book too as it was free last weekend, but I'll probably not get to it for a long while.
I've downloaded & read freebies like Jane Austen on our iPad, but am still mainly in the real book world. I can understand the blessing of an e-reader for people with health issues though and I can see myself enjoying the benefit of increased font sizing sooner. I'm loving the idea of out-of-print backlists coming to life through e-reading.

I'm loving the idea of out-of-print backlists coming to life through e-reading.

Slowly I see this happening. mostly it's out-of-copyright material, but sloooooowwwwwwly some long-dead stuff comes zombifying up from the dead.

198: But you don't seem to hesitate when it comes to posting naked men on my thread...

196/198: Really? I'm completely unaware of this. What's happening, exactly? I always tell people that the prejudice and discrimination we still face today, at least when it comes to sexism, is mostly a social prejudice and nothing that is 'government regulated,' so to speak. As frustrating as that is already, the thought that LEGAL discrimination is not only still in existence as it is with homosexuals but also being created now is...horrifying... :(

Oh, Stephen...time to join us here in the big bad real world. We are regressing in a big way.

My daughter blogged on this subject recently.

just popping in to say good morning !

>201 Ape:, 202 Listen to the lady, Stephen.

>203 mckait: Merry Wednesday! *smooch*

Oh, I know, like I said, social prejudice is something we've been dealing with. My point is I don't know of any government legislation against women specifically, as far as equal rights are concerned. Women still suffer social prejudice, in the work place, the media, and in their personal lives every day, but it's not like that can be blamed on the government, nor can they control it. We, as people, have to work that out ourselves, I'm afraid.

Well, that WAS my belief, until I read the blog post. The contraceptive legislation is horrendous, and definitely an invasion of privacy. I can't imagine what business it is of the employers whether or not a person is on a contraceptive, or WHY, and if such things are against the employers beliefs it would be a violation of the law on THEIR part not to hire the woman in question.

just popping in to say HI & give you a big fat HUG!

..and then I thought our country was sliding away... seems to be worse at you all place :-(

>205 Ape: I suppose it's the anti-religion zealot in me that makes me want to say that a person's religious sentiments should have no place whatsoever in that person's public life, be it business, social, or political. I think religious people should be ridiculed and held up for public demonization, and it should be perfectly permissible to not hire them, and discriminate against them in housing, social benefits, and medical care.

Like they feel about me, a gay man.

>206 FAMeulstee: I don't understand how the world's conversation about itself has gone so far back to the wrong side. It reaffirms my belief that people are, au fond, evil.

*smooch*

"people are, au fond, evil" Not your people, man.

>208 laytonwoman3rd: Hmmm dunno about that....

I saw, for at least the fourth time, the Doctor Who episode called "Blink" written by Steven Moffat. For those who haven't seen it, the episode is about the Weeping Angels, aka the Lonely Assassins, who kill people by sending them to random points in the past. The entities then feed off the potential energy of the unlived life in the present day.

The joke here is that the entities cannot move if another living being can see them. They turn instantly to stone when another living thing looks at them. It's how they have survived for billions of years.

The episode creeps me out. The idea of stone things that are actually alive, but unable to move, makes me feel completely desperate and claustrophobic and panicky. Next to being eaten by a shark, being unable to move, speak, or communicate is the most terrifying nightmare I have, and should it ever happen to me, I will simply will myself to death. The horror of it! I know I'm supposed to root for the people who are in danger of being shoved into the past and abandoned. I always think I will, this viewing, think about the *people* but I never do. I feel so so sorry for the Weeping Angels!

And the next time the episode comes on, of course I will watch it and panic all over again. I guess I'm a weirdo.

> 207 & 209:
I keep hoping that "people are, au fond, good"...

I have never seen that episode of Doctor Who (only saw a few, not my cuppa), but I empathise with your feel.

Cannot brain enough to join in any discussion here..

Oooh Richard, one of my favourite episodes. I'm not all that wrapped up in Dr Who, but my kids are and often get me to watch with them.

#205: Stephen - there is also new legislation in Texas for women seeking a termination.

>209 richardderus: I've seen that Dr. Who Weeping Angels episode, Richard, and it creeped me out, too.

>205 Ape:, 212 yes, we've even heard of the legislation changes in New Zealand. How these things get through I'll never know.

>205 Ape:, 212, 214 It's worth remembering that all of these to date are proposed changes. It's still terrifying, but it's not a done deal, except in Indiana.

I can't believe this is happening.

>210 FAMeulstee:, 213 The show is often silly, but I find it irresistible. Something campy and over-the-top and lovably looney about it.

>211 mckait: *smooch*

Richard, I love the "posters" you find to put on your thread. And I can tell that we would have a delightful time sharing stories over dinner!

I thought you would appreciate this Tweet from Maryland Governor George O'Malley to Mitt Romney:

http://twitter.com/#!/GovernorOMalley/status/182559541416824834

love the tweet!

Once again way behind RD.. :) I need to start setting aside time just to read through your threads.. LOL ;) I scanned through quickly to here I love the Pics.. and what they stand for in 193 & 194.. Waves Hope your having a lovely day. SMOOCH

It would seem that yet again, men-in-power and their obviously drugged-into-submission female accomplices are attempting to keep women barefooot, pregnant, and/or frightened.

Up theirs. This will be terrifically fought, one hopes. Folks thought it was settled after all the women's rights hoo-hah in earlier years--I once announced in the teachers's lounge, circa 1989, that I was a feminist. The shocked silence and pained looks made me do a quick mental review to make sure I hadn't said I was a pederast. So I have known that this was coming back to bite us on the uh-uh. Women, gays, old people, the poor---anyone who seemingly is weak and can't fight back...we'll see about that part. The Neanderthals are in for a considerable, unpleasant surprise.

Way behind here...almost got stalled at that gal's belly, #193

*smoocheroo*, you

;-}

Gail, I think Santorum should wear an outfit that befits his mindset ...

>216 EBT1002: Thanks, Ellen! What time shall I be there?

>217 norabelle414:, 218 HA! Love that tweet, too!

>219 MonicaLynn: Thank you, Monica, and same back at'cha!

>220 Matke: Such is my sincere hope...backlash is a bitch, and I hope she stomps the poo-waddin' outta these mofos.

>221 jdthloue: I stalled there myself.

>222 cameling: HA! Caro, the truthteller!

Well put Gail, and my agreement with all !

#215: back to Dr Who, I've just started reading Running Through Corridors, Volume 1: The 60s: Rob and Toby's Marathon Watch of Doctor Who and finding it rather fun. Rob Shearman wrote one of the episodes of the new Dr Who and Toby is a comedian, both are long time Dr Who fanatics.

>225 mckait:

>226 avatiakh: I can see that being a lot of fun! I think it's interesting to see what fans, esp. long-time fans, have to say about the object of their fandom.

that's a great quote from Ali.

I love that quote. Being 51, myself, it brings up a bit of regret that I didn't realize (at 20) how important every year was, how fast they would fly by, how precious time was and how not to be wasted. I know every parent tells their kids what mine told me: "don't wish your life away" but it's a lesson that can only be learned by living.

Good morning, dear Richard.

Love the quote, and love Ali. I got to shake his hand many years ago when he was walking on the street where I worked at a bookstore - the foolish grin on my face must have defused his security guards when I beelined to shake his hand, as I later realized. I'm lucky I didn't get KO'd. Ali was very gracious, as you'd expect.

>228 ffortsa:, 229, 230 Ali was a wise man. A lot of pain and suffering teaches a person what's what, if he's paying attention.

BIIIIIIG if, that one.

As someone somewhat older than 51, I agree wholeheartedly. Paying attention is a big part of the learning process.

On another topic, RD, do you search for free Kindle books by author? Sonehow I don't have the patience to just scroll through the list. And all the books I might actually want are a good deal more expensive that 0.00 - sometimes more expensive than the paperbacks. I can't quite bring myself to do that, as much as I believe artists and writers should reap the rewards of their work.

222: But Captain Caveman worked alongside of women and did not denegrate them - I think you're being a little unfair to the ol' Captain.

"Captain CAVEMAN!"

The Captain was voiced by Mel Blanc who recorded all of his shouted battle cries in about an hour but but VERY well paid for it.

>232 ffortsa: No, Judy, I use the aggregators on Facebook to find most of them, and when I find one I want, I look at the "customers who bought this book also bought:" pages.

Pixel of Ink
Kindle Author
Power Reads
Dining Downloads
Ereader News Today
Kindle Nation Daily

>233 magicians_nephew: I've never seen Captain Caveman before Caro's GIF! *scurries off to find some Captain Caveman cartoons*

227: That quote obviously won't apply to me, considering I already know everything and whatnot.

:P

Hi Richard- Just stopping in to say hi! I think we are chatting more off LT, so it's nice to keep things alive over here as well. You would LOVE Beat the Reaper. Smart, very funny, with a heavy dose of grit. My kind of book.

>234 richardderus: not seen Captain Caveman before - you have been deprived - your poor soul

This made me laugh sooooo hard!

rofl :)

Amazing, the things I don't know. First Captain Caveman, then Kindle aggregators.

...it would be very hard to think the same way at 50 as one did at 20, surely? Although, years under the belt dont necessarily mean personal growth I guess...and some "habits" die hard.

Rise and be shiny!!!

>235 Ape: Yeahp. Ooomble. Huh.

>236 msf59: Hi Mark! All going well chez vous? What is Beat the Reaper's secret? What is Josh Bazell passing out anyway? You're maybe the fifth or sixth person to tell me that!

>237 roundballnz: Never even heard of the Captain. That's how sad and bleak my childhood was. *sniff*

>239 mckait: I KNOW!!

>240 ffortsa: Oh them aggregators'll git yew, girlie, with they free free free and they easy-sleazy downloads.

>241 LovingLit: Sadly, Megan, I know plenty who do not allow mere facts to change their tiny little mindlets ever. I understand that kind of rigidity in the young, it takes a trellis to train a vine, but as one grows older the world's wiles and temptations should have allowed a little flexibility to creep in. Not always. I think that's sad. myownself.

>242 mckait: I have risen. Shined, quite improbable. Risen, though.

If I was now thinking the way I thought when I was in my 20s, I think I would be terminally depressed. Life is so much better now.

For you mon ami: AMYGDALA

I've just left Cultural Revolution-era China and the North Korea of today. I've reviewed, and ranted a good bit about, The Ginseng Hunter in my thread...post #155.

>246 sibylline: "Self-proclaimed right-wingers had a more pronounced amygdala - a primitive part of the brain associated with emotion.
It is an almond-shape set of neurons located deep in the brain's medial temporal lobe.
However, those aligned to the left had thicker anterior cingulates - which is an area associated with anticipation and decision-making."

In other words, left = smart, right = dumb. It's science, not prejudice! (Well, it's certainly prejudice too, but science is backin' it up, yippeeeeee!) Bless you, Lucy!

Review: 31 of seventy-five

Title: MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN

Author: RANSOM RIGGS

Rating: 3.5 exasperated stars of five

The Book Report: Jacob Portman is a privileged little creep, living in air-conditioned splendor and social isolation with his useless ornithologist father and his rich-bitch shallow mother. He has one friend, smokin' chawin' awkward po' folks Ricky, and other than that, he has his old Jewish grandfather Portman.

The elder Portman tells Jacob fascinating, magical stories about a childhood spent on an island off the coast of Wales where his parents sent him just before the Nazi death machine cranked up. The stories are illustrated by wonderful photos showing kids doing impossible things: Holding boulders on the tip of a finger, for example, or levitating flat-footed, or being invisible (that last is tough to photograph, as you can imagine). For years, Jacob completely buys into Grandfather Portman's tales.

Then he grows up. He starts listening to his own father, whose father is the storyteller. Big mistake.

Events catch up to Jacob, as his conflicted relationship with the old man ends in a spectacular death, a quest for deeper truths than are on the surface where most people are most comfortable, and the usefulness of freaks to the world is fully plumbed. This is a fearless yarn about fears so deeply implanted in most of us that we don't even know they're fears anymore: Do I fit in? Where? How? Does anybody like me, really?

Jacob adds the one question to this list that makes a boy into a man: Do I really care?

My Review: So why only 3.5 stars? Because it started out to be a 5-star read, with haunting photos and fabulous sentences and really involving ideas all schmoozling around, making me forget the narrator is a teenager! As I've said often enough to be boring about it, the presence of teens in a book affects me as garlic does Dracula.

And then the teenager starts whining. And then the story goes into multiple adolescent freaks' PoV. And then I got pissed and stopped wanting to read the really very good story. And the stars began to fall off the rating. And that, friends, makes me sad and mad. So that's where this woeful tale ends.

Sorry it ended up being a bummer for you. I rather liked it but maybe that's because I'm probably a whiny teenager inside and get along well with my ilk.

I just cannot make myself care about adolescence at this remove from it. Tired of it. Can't get into it. No more!

I'm afraid I have to agree with you Richard. Angsty whiney teens and preteens turn me completely off, notwithstanding the fact that I have enjoyed a number of YA novels lately. Those either don't involve too much angst or whining or the angsty whiney characters get killed off. (Just kidding about the getting killed off. Sort of.) Or the story is worth putting up with it.

Love this! mckait shared it on Facebook.

>252 Storeetllr: I dunno, Mary, fewer and fewer stories are worth it to me. I am burnt out, it would seem.

Hmm, that's not good, RD.

Too bad Miss Peregrine's got too angsty for you, RD. I didn't pick up on the whining so much, although maybe I'm desensitized by our kids who recently got into their 20s. I did think it was a good story, and I was impressed with the way the author pieced it together from those found photos.

#256: Weird because I felt the story was contrived to fit those photos and so didn't enjoy it as much. Richard, there is much better YA out there, not all teens are whiny angst ridden fiends.

>255 Storeetllr: It worries me a widgin, I must confess. I fear ossification of my brain like nothing else except living in a theocracy. And being eaten by a shark.

>256 jnwelch: My lassie will be 32 in May. Outta practice, I fear. I too loved the photo angle, I must admit, and was utterly charmed by the beautiful production job they did on the book.

>257 avatiakh: I know there must be, Kerry, and I can even thank you for introducing me to some of it...the Maurice Gee novels, for a terrific example...but the category is landmined with so many crappy whinge-fests that I am really really wary to so much as consider a YA-aimed title now.

I may have to borrow that care-o-meter for some things......
and I, too, love the comic shared by Kath. I'm sometimes astounded by how many hours my relatively well-educated colleagues spend in front of the telly, at least to hear them tell it..... Not meaning to be a snob, and I do occasionally watch, but time is so precious!

Why spend it on sub-standard stories, eh what Ellen?

"I just cannot make myself care about adolescence at this remove from it. Tired of it. Can't get into it. No more!"

add me to the club .....

*thwap* Alex's membership is approved *sninksnink* the seal is affixed

#262 Oh. Damn. Stealing that one.

xo

>263 laytonwoman3rd: Disseminate widely and freely, Linda3rd!

>264 mckait: *smooch*

#262 - very good Richard:)

I think it says it all, and very economically. Clarke was one helluva thinker!

> 262: there might be a lot of truth in that statement ;-)

Amen, Anita! How are you faring?

Okay-ish I think, thanks to a wonderfull member of this group the weaning off my antidepressant goes almost smoothly ;-)
Although my reading speed is a bit affected by it, I am happy (and so is Frank) that I am not going into full-blown-psychotic state this time!

YAY! That is great news, and I hope it keeps up.

So do we Richard dear

Hi Richard! Sorry you didn't like MISS PEREGRINE'S in the end. It was an interesting tale and I loved the addition of the pictures. I didn't pick up on the whining that much though so I liked it a bit more than you.

Anita !! yay!!!! I am so happy for you :) and I am so glad that someone is able to help you !

> 274: thanks Kath
The tip to add extra Omega-3 was right on target :-)

Just stopping in to say hi :)

Hi Katie! Now that you've been here, I have to move to thread nine.