drneutron's (Jim's) Reading and Eating in 2019 Part 4

I'm Jim, 56, husband of 34 years, father of a son in a PhD program in Comp Sci at Notre Dame, who reads pretty much anything. We're in central Maryland with roots in Louisiana. I like to read (obviously), cook, want to learn to fly fish, and trail bike riding/kayaking with mrsdrneutron. Of course, LT is a big time sink, but mrsdrneutron seems to have come to terms with my LT addiction...8^}

Chicago style I shared with The Son on a recent business trip - same trip when I got to meet up with some LT folks!

The Man Who Couldn't Stop by David Adam
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling
Legion: the Many Lives of Stephen Leeds by Brandon Sanderson
Revival by Stephen King
Spying on Whales by Nick Pyenson
The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss
The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
The Re-Origin of Species by Torill Kornfeldt
In Search of Mary Shelley by Fiona Sampson
Hell Divers by Nicolas Sansbury Smith
Black Skies by Arnaldur Indridason
Darker Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab
Hell Divers II: Ghosts by Nicolas Sansbury Smith
Atlas of a Lost World by Craig Childs
The Void Protocol by F. Paul Wilson
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levinson
Nightblind by Ragnar Jónasson
Underground by Will Hunt
Crucible by James Rollins

Palace of Treason by Jason Matthews
Faithful Place by Tana French
Ghettoside by Jill Leovy
Out of the Dark by Gregg Hurwitz
Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth
The Lost Puzzler by Eyal Kless
Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys
The Crocodile by Maurizio de Giovanni
Border Son by Samuel Parker
These Truths by Jill Lepore
River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
Dance of Death by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
How Long til Black Future Month by N. K. Jemisin
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
Bird Box by Josh Malerman
City of Broken Magic by Mirah Bolender
Heir of Novron by Michael J. Sullivan
Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston

The 2019 Stats (So Far!)

Total Books: 39

Author Gender
Male: 25 (63%)
Female: 15 (38%)

Author Status
Living: 38 (95%)
Dead: 2 (5%)

Publication Medium
Hardback: 10 (26%)
Trade: 8 (21%)
Mass Market: 0 (0%)
eBook: 21 (54%)

Category
Fiction: 27 (69%)
Nonfiction: 12 (31%)

Source
Library: 34 (87%)
Mine: 5 (13%)

ARC: 2
Re-Read: 2
Series: 19
Group Read: 7

Open for business! Three new ones included above:

37. City of Broken Magic by Mirah Bolender

Interesting fantasy concept that was less than ideal in execution, especially in the world-building. Mostly, I think this is due to a new author that needs to mature a bit.

I may get the next if the library has it, but lower on the priority list...

38. Heir of Novron by Michael J. Sullivan

Third (really 4th and 5th combined) volume to end the Riyria series. Decent fantasy, but nothing to write home about. A few surprise scenes in the third, but the ending was telegraphed well in advance. Still, I'd recommend it for someone who wanted some brain candy.

39. Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston

In 1927, Hurston interviewed the last surviving slave from the last ship to bring Africans to the US over the space of a few months. Barracoon records, in his own words as best as possible, his story. And it's mostly a tragic story - not just his capture, or his slavery, but also his effort to get back to Africa, then when that didn't happen, his life here as a "free" man.

The forward by Alice Walker was especially interesting. All in all a sad, but necessary read.

Happy new one, Jim! And happy belated anniversary!

And you can have that abomination in the top photo all to yourself. "Pizza" indeed... harumph. ;-)

>5 drneutron: Thanks, and thanks!

I'm an equal opportunity pizza eater - love me some NY style too!

Happy New one, Jim!

Have you read The Haunting of Hill House?

BUT IT'S NOT PIZZA! It's like some kind of weird casserole.

Anyhoo, I don't feel strongly about it or anything, so whatevs :D

>8 brodiew2: Thanks! Yup, read it several times. One of my faves!

>9 katiekrug: Crust, cheese, stuff, cheese, sauce, cheese. How can one go wrong? 😂

>9 katiekrug: Ha! That's what Jon Stewart said, too, Katie. You East Coasters; what a bunch of pizza wimps. Stuffed pizza is one of the gods' great creations. If I didn't mind hippopotamus weight, I could eat it every day of the week.

Happy New Thread, Jim!

>11 jnwelch: - The Wayne is a fan of it and all I can do is shake my head.

>11 jnwelch:, >12 katiekrug: 😂 I'm such a troublemaker...

Happy new thread, Jim! I've decided to skip dinner tonight, so seeing that photo of a deep dish pizza was not what I needed.

Thanks for your review of Barracoon. I'll add it to my wish list.

Happy New Thread, Jim! Any chance you'll join us for James H. Schmitz?

>14 kidzdoc: Heh, sorry to whet your appetite! Barracoon was a very interesting read - short, no real interpretation from an anthropological perspective (which was Hurston’s profession). Just a record of his experiences in Hurston’s best effort to represent his speech. I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

>15 ronincats: Working on finding a copy of something he wrote. May have to resort to Amazon...

>16 drneutron: Check out the thread for some links to free on-line copies of many of his works. Legacy on Gutenberg is the only full-length novel for free that I see, but there are lots of his shorter works.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/307199

Oooo, Gutenberg! Will do!

>1 drneutron:

UNO's and DUE's used to be the primo deep dish pizza destinations in 60s Chicago - where is this lovely descendant located?

Olden days ones were served at the table in super hot black cast iron pans which do add to the flavor of the crust.

Happy New Thread, Jim. Hooray for deep-dish pizza. We make the best. I really want to get to Barracoon. It has been on my radar for awhile.

>19 m.belljackson: That particular one was Giordano’s somewhere in downtown Chicago - the kid guided me there!

>20 msf59: I think you’d find it pretty interesting!

Happy new one!

Thanks!

Happy New Thread!

I must get to Barracoon one of these days.

I'm glad you'll be joining the James H. Schmitz read that Roni has hatched!

Happy new thread, Jim, but I'm with Katie >9 katiekrug:!

Happy new thread! Hand me a slice of pizza 😋.

>25 RebaRelishesReading:, >26 mstrust: Thanks!

Happy new thread, Jim, and belated happy Aniversary!

(>1 drneutron: I thought you celebrated 34 years of marriage?)

Heh. Forgot to update. I'll have a birthday before my next thread too, so I'll need to remember to update that!

Hello again, Jim. I hope you have a good one.

I'm not sure which way to go. On one hand I want to read Pines by Blake Crouch. On the other, I'm tempted to start The Haunting of Hill House. Though both are relatively short, I suspect the 'Hill House' is the more dense, literary text. What do you think?

Hill House was quite readable, haven't read the Crouch yet. My call would be for Hill House!

Happy new thread Jim.

>30 brodiew2: >31 drneutron: I've read both Pines and Hill House. They really can't be compared because the stories are so different and set in different decades, though both are very suspenseful. Pines features modern technology. I enjoyed both a lot, though a few years apart.

From previous thread - I figured out my error related to Schmitz, I was confusing The Demon Breed with A Plague of Demons by Keith Laumer. And it seems my confusion is long-standing; apparently I have _not_ read The Demon Breed before! So I plan to read it in June.

>1 drneutron: Holy goddesses, Jim, someone splodged ketchup on that lovely layer cake! Clumsy oaf should be horsewhipped.

>33 mstrust: Strangely enough, I have the sequel to Pines on my wishlist - probably because it popped up on my library's new books list. Sounds like I need to see if they have Pines!

>34 jjmcgaffey: Cool!

>35 richardderus: Heh. It's been a long time since I've been up that way for some NY version of real pizza. Maybe I need a refresher! 😀

I'm late: have I missed all the pizza?

>36 drneutron: This is the Mothership of Good Pizza indeed. *wistful sigh*

Happy new one Jim.

>1 drneutron: That is some topper.

Happy newish thread, Jim! >1 drneutron: Now that's some kind of pizza pie!!

Happy new thread, Jim! My family used to eat at this great deep dish pizza place when I was little. Can't remember the name of it though. Yum! Happy reading.

>21 drneutron:

If you are ever driving up through Madison, there's a real Chicago transplant UNO's on the far east side near the highway.

Last time we were there, they were still serving in the hot black pans.

Happy new thread Jim!

Looks like your new topper is more controversial than the last one.

>37 charl08: Nah, there's always room for more pizza!

>38 richardderus: 😀

>39 PaulCranswick:, >40 Carmenere: Thanks!

>41 Berly: Sounds great! Happy reading to you!

>42 m.belljackson: We have an UNO's here too, but it's on the far side of town and we don't get there much. When we do, the deep dish is my usual - and yeah, I love that they still serve in the cast iron pans!

>43 humouress: Well, I figured it would be. 😀

Hi Jim and Happy New Thread. That pizza looks pretty yummy. Having spent the last two weeks in Taiwan, I'm digging back into more familiar cuisine and pizza from our favorite local place is definitely on the list of things to which I'm looking forward!

Welcome back! I hope the pizza’s good!

Happy new thread, Jim. I read Barracoon recently and found it an enlightening history. Amazing that it just came out recently and that the interviews happened in the recent past.

Yup. I also saw a report this week that The Clothide - the ship that brought him over - has been found where the owner burned it after the voyage.

Happy Memorial Day, Jim!

Thanks! I hope you have a good holiday too!

Finally having time to get to LT! Mrsdrneutron and I did a 6-mile kayak trip followed by a visit to a local winery. Then yesterday was yard work, and more yard work today. But I still got some reading in!

40. The Devil Aspect by Craig Russell

A psychiatrist in 1936 Czechoslovakia takes a job treating six of the most notorious serial killers of the time. His theory - Jungian-esque ideas of a common Devil Aspect deep within all of us - pushes him to experiment within the inmates to horrific effect.

Gothic (set in a great castle!) and atmospheric, with a parallel serial killer story, Russell’s story could only have been better if I’d read it by a fire on a dark Fall night!

41. The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt

The story of the recovery of Lucretius’ On the Nature of Things in the early 15th century. Greenblatt’s description of Epicureanism and its conflict with Christianity is interesting, but I just didn’t get the sense this was that much of a driver of the Renaissance as Greenblatt proposes. Still, quite a good book!

42. The Bastards of Pizzofalcone by Maurizio De Giovanni

Sequel to The Crocodile, read earlier this year. Really good modern-day noir set in an unusual location for me. This one was better than the first, and De Giovanni has introduced a great batch of misfits. Looking forward to more!

>51 drneutron: #40 *eeep* Nightmare fodder!

#41 I liked it better than you did, but we agree it was quite a good book.

#42 Jim. We've had this conversation. Series reads are *always*bad* remember? Do we need the battery and the clamps again?

>51 drneutron: that sounds like a wonderful trip! It's already hit 97 here so kayaking is out for the season for us.

>52 richardderus: I get the feeling RD was in there aiding and abetting your psychiatrist :0o

Hi Jim and happy belated new thread!

>5 drneutron: Re Barracoon – I was impressed with it and also read the National Geographic article about the Clotilda online. It’s fascinating.

>51 drneutron: Richard BB'd me with The Swerve in 2012. I think I liked it less than RD did, too, although it was fascinating.

>52 richardderus: Nightmare fodder? Yup, but oh so good!

😀 Clearly if I'm continuing with series books, the discipline isn't working. Now, if you take away my coffee, that might have an impact...

>53 genesisdiem: We hit the high 80s this weekend, but it was nice being on the water. We kayaked the Monocacy river coming out of the Catoctin mountains, so shady and cooler. River was high from all our rain, so had a nice current and no paddling needed for the most part.

>54 humouress: Richard's always trying to help! 😀

>55 karenmarie: It was a happy coincidence that I got Barracoon from Overdrive just now. The NG article on the Clothide was a good one! Weird how these things happen sometimes.

I thought The Swerve told a good story, and the history of that time was fascinating. Really, my only knock against it was that the argument for this as a key event leading into the Renaissance was weak, though I get that really he was using this as an exemplar of the changes that were happening at the time. It did make em want to hunt down a good English translation of the poem!

>54 humouress: ...a point to consider, eh what La Overkill?

*smooch*

>56 drneutron: ...take...away...coffee...

>51 drneutron: Looks like a good reading streak. I've Someday-Swamp'd all three (well, The Crocodile instead of the last, but still).

Hi, Jim.

I loved The Swerve; I'm glad you at least had a good time with it. He's such a smart writer.

>57 richardderus: 😂

>58 swynn: Cool! I hope you like them.

>59 jnwelch: Oh, don't get me wrong, I thought it was great and Greenblatt is definitely a good writer. I'll be reading more.

130 Years of The Astronomical Society of the Pacific!

I just looked them up. Cool! They do good work.

Jenn has posted a link for free online copies of all of Schmitz' work in those Baen compilations on the group read thread!
https://www.librarything.com/topic/307199#6833006

Oh, cool!

Happy newish thread, Jim.

Thanks!

A VERY belated happy anniversary. Our 29th is on the 23rd.

And I'm going to have to add deep dish pizza to my food bucket list. Looks verrrrry interesting.

Ooh, I see I've missed some talk about The Haunting of Hill House. I've been planning on reading it (the amazing TV series made me interested) but I think I might save it fo the autumn.

>51 drneutron: Six miles kayaking? My arms ache just thinking about it.

>67 Morphidae: Happy anniversary! Deep dish is awfully good.

>68 PawsforThought: Hill House is a really good book - but yeah, I tend to read scary stuff in the fall. Six miles wasn't too bad. It was all downstream. 😀 Plus the winery we visited afterward has a landing right on the river, so if we do this route again, we can stop in the middle for refreshment!

>1 drneutron: That looks soooo good. And I will not be drawn into any pizza controversy. I never met a piece of pizza I didn't like, honestly.

>69 drneutron: Ha, well, downstream is a lot easier I suppose. And the promise of mid-trek wine would almost be enough to entice me to pick a paddle up.

>70 laytonwoman3rd: Yeah, I'm an equal opportunity pizza-er! Well, except for anchovies, I suppose... 😀

>71 PawsforThought: 😀

>72 drneutron: Oh, well...toppings. That's an entirely different subject. Anchovies have their place, but I don't think it's on top of my pizza. In all my years of eating it here and there, I don't think anchovies have ever even been an option!

>73 laytonwoman3rd: Anchovies are available at a significant minority of local pizza places. But I've found that anchovy paste can be added to savory items to up the umami and no fishy flavor is obvious.

>74 quondame: Can't really have a proper Caesar salad without a touch of anchovy in the dressing, either.

Heh. Another great controversy!

>76 drneutron: Indeed. Ew.

Two anchovy fillets dissolved in the oil/lemon used to cook the garlic before the broccoli rabe goes in to be steamed in the pan...mmm

>75 laytonwoman3rd: Yum.

>78 richardderus: If you substitute broccolini for broccoli rabe I'm completely with you.

What's wrong with anchovies on pizza?!

Pineapple on pizza: now that's a crime.

Uh oh, gettin’ personal now... I’ve on occasion enjoyed a ham and pineapple pizza. 😀

>79 kidzdoc: The kind of "pizza" that...those people...put pineapple on is the bread-dough-circle kind, so I've never actually eaten it.

>79 kidzdoc: :( Our "saved" order at the local place is 'pineapple, canadian bacon, roma tomatoes, and 3 cheese blend'. We've eaten it that way our entire marriage. So :P to you!!

>80 drneutron: Say it isn't so, Jim! 😎

>81 richardderus: I have tried pineapple and bacon on pizza...once. 🤢 I don't like pineapple, though, so I should have known that it wouldn't be for me.

>83 kidzdoc: I don't like cooked cherries very much (read: I spit 'em out) but finally tried fresh ones and they are The Bomb. Good to challenge tastes...not like allergies!...and so discover new loves.

>84 richardderus: Agreed. There aren't many things I don't like, and I'm willing to try anything I historically don't like, save for broccoli, which doesn't agree with me. Pineapple is far too sweet for me, though, and I don't have much of a sweet tooth anyway, so I don't like any foods that contain it.

I had the best cherries last June when I visited Porto!

>80 drneutron: That's not pizza. It's an abomination.

>85 kidzdoc: I don't like pineapple on pizza either, seems so out of place somehow. The main food I avoid are mussels and squid - both of which Hani adores. Mussels because I was violently ill after eating a bad batch in 1989 (yep it is only 30 years ago but my stomach won't forget) and squid because it tastes like rubber bands. Hani makes a spicy dish of it using the ink which, I am told by her many culinary admirers is wonderful, but I dare not venture there. Funny because both clams and oysters and octopus I eat and enjoy without a moment's hesitation.

>83 kidzdoc:, >86 Morphidae: *hangs head in shame*

Nah, not really. 😀

>84 richardderus:, >85 kidzdoc:, >87 PaulCranswick: yeah, we tend to be pretty adventurous trying food. My mom thinks it’s funny because I was a very picky eater growing up.😀

I've had a Ham and Pineapple Pizza tonight for my tea, I love Pineapple and don't mind it on a Pizza.

Happy birthday, o adventurous one!

Happy Birthday Jim, hope you have a good one mate.

^I hope you have a great birthday, Jim. Thanks again for all you do around here. Look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks. B.A.G.

Happy Birthday, Jim!

Happy Birthday, Jim! Hope you have had a great one!

Thanks for the birthday wishes!

>92 msf59: B.A.G. Indeed!

Happy birthday, Jim. I hope you have a special day.

Yes, happy belated birthday, Jim! give yourself a present by locating and watching X Company. Guaranteed homerun!

(probably shouldn't guarantee anything, but I think it's that good.)

Happy birthday Jim! I hope you have many happy years eating pineapple and ham pizza (which I agree is wonderful)!

Have a Happy Birthday, Jim!

It's not that pineapple is so bad on pizza, it's just that there are so many better things to put on it!
Pesto! Mushrooms! Anchovies! Artichokes! but not all at once.

Happy Happy Birthday!!

My favorite pizza has garlic butter as the sauce, extra extra cheese, double bacon and double jalapenos on a pleasantly thinnish crust.

The only pizza topping I refuse to have is pepperoni because it seriously disagrees with me. Such a miserable thing to have bad reaction to because it's so yummy.

>101 richardderus: So tragic not to be able to enjoy pepperoni. If I can get pepperoni pesto I'm in heaven. We finally found a place that delivers decent pizza, but unlike our previous, now closed, place the center is always too gooey and messy for me.

Happy belated birthday, Jim!
pineapple and ham on a pizza is not my thing, but the discussion brought to light beautiful old memories to me:
Toast Hawaii (A lightly toasted toast, butter, cover with a slice of ham, a slice of pineapple and soft cheese, then gratinate.)
Tastes better than it sounds.

My favorite pizza* has a regular but thin-ish crust. It has: Our Original Crust topped with Creamy Garlic Sauce, Whole-Milk Mozzarella, Grilled Chicken Raised Without Antibiotics, Cheddar, and Herb & Cheese Blend plus we add fresh Mushrooms, Zucchini, and double Spinach.

*From Papa Murphy's - they put on all the ingredients to order then you bring it home and cook it in your own stove, "Love at 425 degrees." :D

*****

All you pineapple pizza lovers out there are barbarians, I tell you, barbarians!

I like meatball and onion pizza, but The Best pizza is a New York slice with pepperoni, folded in half, and eaten on the street.

I wouldn't eat a thick crust pizza if my life depended on it (of course I would, but I'd be complaining about it).

I want my pizza to be as thin as humanly possible, and the topping to be tomato sauce, mushroom, shrimp and a light layer of cheese - preferably mozzarella, but I'm not picky. And sometimes, yes, pineapple.
And if there's no oregano it doesn't count as a pizza.

And I want a side of pickled cabbage salad, because that's how we do things in this country.

>96 BLBera:, >97 brodiew2:, >98 RebaRelishesReading:, >99 quondame: Thanks for the birthday wishes!

Never expected to create all the pizza buzz. This is awesome!

>104 Morphidae: We used to have a local Papa Murphy’s and loved it! Unfortunately, they closed... 🙁

>105 katiekrug: What Katie said.

Oh, I can definitely dig that!

Although I'm generally a traditionalist when it comes to pizza I will occasionally try a gourmet pizza, especially when I'm in Europe. One of the best ones I've had recently was the fantastic mushroom truffle white pizza with a fried egg (pizza de trufa y huevo Poché) I ate at Ôven Mozzarella Bar (http://www.oven.es), a small chain of Italian restaurants in central Madrid; the one I went to was on the Calle de Atocha, a short distance from Atocha railway station, the main terminal station in the city, and the Paseo del Prado, where the famous Museo del Prado is located a few blocks to the north. This is my photo of that delightful pizza:

>110 kidzdoc: I adore white pizza in general, though I'll usually wait until the next morning before putting an egg on it. I'd certainly agree to try that one, though, it looks Lucullan.

Stopping by and discovering it is so wrong to visit this thread on an empty stomach!

Hello Jim! Pizza looks great! I hope all is well with you?

Did you see the Amazon series 'Jack Ryan'?

I am in sitting the discomfiture of my wandering eye trying to locate my next read. This happens a lot lately where I read something good and them wander listlessly for a month or more trying to locate the next great thing. I don't have this problem as much on audio because I'm not as picky if that makes sense. It'll come.

>112 lkernagh: 😀

>113 brodiew2: Yep, and I thought it was great! I was skeptical of the casting at first, but it worked really well.

I finished The Age of Miracles the other day - a bit lower key than usual apocalyptic story. You might like it.

I'm a big fan of almost all pizza. I've never had anchovies on it...but I would try it. And full disclosure...I really really love "Hawaiian" pizza as made in the shop beneath my former office. It had ham and pineapple--and here's the key---bacon. I live in backyard of the self-proclaimed Pizza Capital of the World (Old Forge, PA), and so I have learned to love "square" pizza and white pizza, and even double-crust pizza. And now I need a slice. Any slice.

😀 My work is done...

So we spent the last week driving to Arkansas (and back) for a family reunion (with a 90 year old mother-in-law in tow, but that’s another story) and I got a chance to get some serious reading in!

43. Superior: The Return of Race Science by Angela Saini

Biologists tell us over and over - there’s no biological or genetic difference between what we call different races. And in fact, “race” has been defined and redefined to fit the purposes of the times. And yet there have been, and still are, people who define others by skin color or place of origin or ethic grouping. Angela Saini walks us through a history of race science, mostly (though not entirely) Western race science, eugenics, and all the bad stuff it’s brought. This is a well written and eye-opening book that ought to be on everyone’s list.

44. The Debatable Land: The Lost World between Scotland and England by Graham Robb

There’s a small stretch of land near Carlisle that for a very long time was neither Scotland nor England. The people who lived around this land (no one lived in it) didn’t think of themselves as either/or; they were just one people. And for a very long time, this area was known for raids by reivers back and forth across the land.

Robb’s work is part walking tour, part history of these lands and people. Quite a nice read.

45. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

A quiet apocalyptic story about what happens when the Earth’s rotation suddenly starts slowing down and the days and nights get longer and longer. Outstanding debut.

46. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling

Third in the series. No comments needed...

47. Too Close by Natalie Daniels

In Too Close, a not-so-thrilling thriller, Daniels explores the relationship between a forensic psychiatrist and a patient who did something very bad. As we go, we find out how events played out, and also get buried in the thoughts of the psychiatrist who sees so much of the patient in herself.

Good concept, decent writing, not a successful follow-through on the promise.

>117 drneutron: #43 is intriguing. One of my library's unique collections is on the Eugenics movement, including a set of papers from the Eugenics Records Office in the early 20th century. Conversations with the staff who administer that collection are sometimes ... well, "eye-opening" is as good a phrase as any. I hadn't heard of this one, but will have to pick it up and make sure a copy gets in our collection also.

Re book 43: sounds like I should pick this up. I've read a few things on the topic, but nothing recent.

>118 swynn: I'd say this would be a great volume to include in the collection. It's not an in-depth analysis, but is a good intro to the subject for those who haven't learned much about it.

>118 swynn:, >119 charl08: One thing I forget to mention in my review - the book was originally published in Britain, so the perspective is more global than books on race written in the US. Lent a different viewpoint that I found interesting and some things I hadn't really considered before.

As usual, I drop in and the BBs are zinging hither and thither. Intriguing stuff.

Okay. Pizza. I vote for pizza in every oven. My wife still makes most of the pizza we eat. From scratch. She customizes— mushrooms on her slices. Hot sausage, prosciutto, artichoke hearts, garlic (of course), different cheeses—shredded moz, soft moz, parm, irish cheddar, etc. Baked on a stone in the oven.

Like to get to the meet-up in DC, but the logistics are iffy for me.

ETA: Happy new thread. (New to ME, anyway.)

>117 drneutron: ...with a 90 year old mother-in-law in tow, but that’s another story...
I've been on two trips with my MIL, with the last being over a decade ago. At least it didn't turn into a murder mystery :-)

>117 drneutron: #43 is a direct hit for me as well. *sigh*

>117 drneutron: >122 mstrust: If I were to take a trip with my MIL, there would very likely be a murder, but no mystery about it...

Morning, Jim!

>121 weird_O: All the pizza talk got this one off with a bang! Glad you wandered over!

>122 mstrust:, >124 scaifea: Memory issues aside, we get along just fine, so wasn’t too bad. It’s just hard for her to ride that far, so we stop a lot. But in the afternoon and evening, she sometimes forgets who I am and gets kinda weird about it. Not usually a problem, but being away from her normal space exacerbated it and she got a little testy with a couple of days. We made it work, though.

>123 richardderus: Excellent!

Superior: The Return of Race Science sounds so interesting

I was lucky I was eating brunch while catching up with your thread, Jim. I also had pizza for supper last night so all that topping talk didn't get to me. All the reactions to #43 did though. I had to go back and look and now I am waiting for my library hold of Superior: The Return of Race Science. I enjoyed her Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong - and the New Research That's Rewriting the Story. Did you read that one?

>126 The_Hibernator: Definitely was!

>127 Familyhistorian: Haven't read Inferior yet, but based on this one, I immediately dropped it on the wish list. Glad you liked it!

Happy Father's Day, Jim!

Cold deep dish cheese pizza is The Best for Breakfast - maybe you will be lucky and get that for Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Jim.

Thanks folks!

Hi, Jim. I hope you had a good Father's Day. 4 more work days and then this book dude is on vacation. Looking forward to the weekend. And it looks like I might be hooking up with Bill, (Weirdo) in Gettysburg.

Saw that Bill is working toward another meet up. That'll be fun!

We had stuffed pizza from Lou Malnati's for Father's Day, Jim. Oh man, so good. And I had a big leftover piece today for lunch.

I hope you had a good Father's Day, and some pizza showed some way, somehow.

Been holding on to an update - got time to finally fit it in!

48. The River by Peter Heller

Two guys taking a backwoods trip down a river in Canada run into a forest fire and a woman who may have been nearly killed by her husband. And now it’s a race down the river for survival.

Top notch writing, tension-filled story, great characters - this one’s got it all. Not a gentle story, though.

49. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

Second in the Murderbot series - and really good continuation of the story. Wells really knows how to tell a tale.

50. The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

Once again, Walker tells a quiet dystopian story. Something mysterious causes a college student to fall into an unending sleep, dreaming deeply. As the sleeping spreads throughout this small California town, things fall apart, and the best and worst in us comes out.

51. Autocomplete by Justin Hook

Start typing something in google’s search box, and a bunch of suggestions pop up. They come from an aggregate of searches that have been done all over the world. And weird they can be...

Hook’s collection is funny, weird, and curiously revealing. Won’t take long to read, but a fun way to spend the time!

52. A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab

Middle of the Shades of Magic series. Still great, on to the finale!

Book haul from ALA!

>137 drneutron: Holy Mothers of Literature! Helluva haul there, dude.

Yup, and my stack is small compared to Marianne.

Mark and I are planning to do some book swapping, and I thought i’d offer books up as I finish them.

>137 drneutron: Nice haul. Debbi and I really liked the Changers series. It has a clever premise that sheds a lot of light on gender issues.

Yeah, Mark talked me into that one - said you really liked it. 😀

By the way, I signed up for Litsy today. Let me know if you're on and I'll flow you!

Nice book haul, Jim.

>141 drneutron: Ha! He's dangerous, that guy. :-)

>137 drneutron: ooh, nice pile of books!

I'm on Litsy with the same name as here.

>143 BLBera: Thanks!

>144 jnwelch: 😀

>145 charl08: Cool! I'll look you up.

Same as Charlotte re: Litsy, but I'm not active on it.

Great ALA haul!

Following you now, even so. 😀

I was definitely a good haul!

Great book haul, Jim! I'm most interested in Out of Darkness, Shining Light by Petina Gappah. I attend her talk at the Edinburgh International Book Festival this past August, got her to sign my copy of her previous book Rotten Row, and had an enjoyable short conversation with her; she's very funny in person! I need to read that book, and I'll be on the lookout for this one.

>149 kidzdoc: Once I've read it, I'd be happy to send it to you, if you don't mind waiting.

>150 drneutron: Not at all! I just read the description of it on Amazon, and I'll definitely want to read it. TYIA!

BTW, if there is anything I can send you in return please let me know.

>137 drneutron: Hey wait a minute! You've got Chances Are in there and I've got it pre-ordered but am told I won't be released until July 30!! *goes to the next room to sulk*

Heh. The glories of advance copies... 😀

Great haul, Jim!

I'm on litsy, too, and I think I'm the same as here, but I'm not very active over there. Maybe I'll get back to it at some point...

Not very active, she says. Last post was 2 years ago...

Following you anyway!

>155 drneutron: Litsy started out okay with me, but I resist the whole camera thing. I don't Bookstagram for the same reason. Maybe now they've made it desktoppable I'll discover a reason to want to use it?

>155 drneutron: Two year?! Surely it hasn't been that long...? Yeesh.

>156 richardderus: Richard: Same.

>156 richardderus: I’m having fun with it right now, but it’ll probably get old quick.

>157 scaifea: 😀

Hi there! I never made it far with Litsy. I have too many things going on as it is.

What Kim said about Litsy, Jim. I like the idea, but it's hard to keep up with what I've already got going.

>159 Berly:, >160 jnwelch: Yeah, I can already see it could be a huge time sink. I'm already finding myself unfollowing a few folks - need to limit myself to people who are really concentrating on book talk.

>134 drneutron: Hi Jim - I echo your thoughts on The River. I love everything he's written (Celine a little less than the others.) What a great book haul!

I do Litsy a bit...but it seems I mostly interact with the same people I see here, and this is easier for me, so...

>161 drneutron: Apparently you can set filters on the desktop version, although I've not done that yet, would like to as it is super busy on there.

Hail Jim! I hope all is well with you.

I finished up Agent Zigzag on audio this morning. Ben Maintyre and narrator John Lee are unstoppable in my opinion. Love them both. British Double Agent Eddie Chapman was quite a rascal.

I just started a pretty compelling thriller called The Occupied. Full disclosure. It is a Christian supernatural legal thriller. Crazy jumble of genres, but I am hooked out of the gate and nearly 100 pages in the first day.

That's an impressive book haul, Jim!

>163 laytonwoman3rd: Surprisingly, of the 15 or so people following me, only 20% or so are LTers. On the other hand, most seem to be follower-collectors, and I may do some trimming as I find out who's more in line with my reading.

>164 charl08: definitely super busy. I'm playing with the settings to make it better for me.

>165 brodiew2: All is well! Will check out Agent Zigzag! I'm ok with Christian fiction, it's just that so much of it is crap. Peretti and Dekker are new-ish faves. I'll definitely check out The Occupied.

>166 Familyhistorian: Thanks! It was a great time!

>137 drneutron: Great book haul, Jim! We may have to share a few titles.

It was great spending so much time with you, Jim, on Saturday. I had a terrific time and thanks for the recommendations, for the state and national parks. I though Great Falls was stunning and look forward to going back there, some day.

>168 msf59: I'm planning to share!

I'm glad you had a good trip. Saturday was a blast! Great Falls is one of our day trip places - always fun to see, especially when folks are kayaking down that stretch.

53. The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases by Michael Capuzzo

True story - once a month in Philadelphia, 82 of the top investigators and forensic specialists meet to solve cold cases. Named after renowned French policeman and rogue, the Vidocq Society only looks at cases more than two years old, and only at the request of the investigating police force, with a claimed 90% success rate. Capuzzo‘s telling of their story is fascinating, even if it does slip into the maudlin occasionally.

54. The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War by Joanne B. Freeman

The US Congress is messed up by anyone’s definition. But in the decades before the American Civil War, it was - unbelievably - worse. Conflicts then were regional, not split along party lines, with Southern Representatives bullying the more staid Northern contingent to shut down any opposition to slavery and to push for the expansion of slavery as states were added. Even to the point of violence on the Capitol floor, mirroring society as a whole as they drove headlong into the Civil War. It’s quite a story, and Freeman tells it well. And is a bit scary as we see the divisions today and wonder where all this is headed.

>170 drneutron: Oooh, The Murder Room sounds very interesting. I might go looking for that one.

>170 drneutron: #54 I beg to amend your statement...Congress has always been divided along party lines and geographical ones simultaneously. It's switched from Democrats being the vilest of the parties to the Repulsivecans, true, but it's just the labels that switched. The divide is still Southerners/Gross Old Pedophiles = jackasses, Northerners/Demoncraps = wimps. None of what's going on now is new.

Chester A. Arthur, rapist and scumbag, was the 19th Century's 45.

>171 PawsforThought: Well worth it!

>172 richardderus: Definitely nothing new under the Sun... What amazes me is how much physical abuse the Southerners were able to get away with, to the point of pulling guns on people on the floor of the House.

And yeah, Arthur was a piece of work, alright.

55. The Gameshouse by Claire North

If you’re serious about gaming, you’ve been to the Gameshouse, where you can gamble on anything. But a small group of gamers play at a higher level, for stakes that include youth, longer life, someone’s memories...

North’s fantastic - no other way to put it!

56. His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik

Novik’s reimagining of the Napoleanic War, this time with dragons. Superb alternate history/fantasy!

57. Darkness for the Bastards of Pizzofalcone by Maurizio De Giovanni

Third in a series about a group of misfit police in Naples solving crimes in spite of their bad reputation and faults. I really like this series because De Giovanni invented these flawed characters that could have slipped into comedy, but instead made them real with real capabilities. One of my new favorites. Now to wait for the rest to be translated!

Happy 4th July, Jim

>174 drneutron: I really enjoyed Naomi Novik's first 3 books, but she wrote her characters into a situation without providing them the inner resources to make enduring it with them less of a drag.

>175 PaulCranswick: Thanks!

>176 quondame: hmmm. That’ll be interesting to see, I suppose. I’m at least going to read the first three as that’s what’s on Overdrive.

>176 quondame: I'm pretty much in Susan's camp. But the first three are terrific fun, so enjoy those with verve.

I found Black Powder War rather dull, because most of it seemed to be about the details of the Napoleonic wars and how they would have been different with dragons. Since I have an extremely sketchy idea of the Napoleonic wars (bits of Portugal, and Waterloo are about it), the book kept presenting scenes that were clearly supposed to be significant, but I had no idea why. The various dragons were mildly interesting, but I felt like I was missing the point the whole book.

The first one was fabulous, the second was good, there have been interesting scenes since then but BPW kind of killed my forward momentum. I still haven't gotten around to the last two or three.

>179 jjmcgaffey: I'm admittedly not the standard reader for judging these - I spent 30yrs doing early 19th cent recreations and am a fan of Heyer, Forrester, O'Brian and of course Jane Austen and have read at least a half dozen other authors who write straight or fantasy historical of Regency/Napoleonic era. (don't get me started on Sharpe)

>167 drneutron: Realised I hadn't done this - so thanks for the reminder about the settings - have just had a go (curbed the fitness challenge - admire the people doing it, but so many posts) I wish there was a way to see the trending books on the android version - always interesting to see what people are reading (of course!).

>179 jjmcgaffey:, >180 quondame: I haven't studied the era so much as hit it in various books I've read. So I think I'll catch most of the events of significance. I am a bit disappointed that the series fades - I thought the first was fantastic, even if the last scene in the books felt a bit deus ex machina, what with Temeraire suddenly finding an ability that saved the day. Didn't affect me enough to stop reading, though. 😀

>181 charl08: There have been a few others that I'm seeing pop up that are flooding my feed and need to be trimmed, I think. 😀

>51 drneutron: The Swerve does fill in a void though -- I hadn't understood before that so many of these books were saved "by accident" -- as in busy work for the monks. That was my biggest takeaway. I think he chose the discovery and recovery and appreciation of Lucretius as more of an indicator of the beginning of a great shift?

At present I am reading The Darkening Age by Laura Nixey and that too is answering some questions about the destruction of so much of roman art and culture and literature. The question that remains for me, though, is why? Why this extreme repression, this rage and fury?

And you got me with a book bullet -- for The Debatable Land. Up here in Vermont we have these areas (five in all) that no town wanted to deal with -- all remote and mountainous. They are called gores. We have a gore near us -- the state maintains the roads (which all used to be dirt until the 70's, gradually bit by bit being paved since, mainly for tourism) and (the few) people who live in the gores only pay state taxes, no town taxes. They can also choose where to send their child to school and for the duration pay taxes to that town.

Thanks so much for stopping by my thread now and then. You do such a fine job looking after us all here.

Happy Wednesday, Jim. I hope the week has been going smoothly for you. Have you started any of the ALA books? I have not, but I do have a couple of them lined up for August.

>170 drneutron: I've been eying Field of Blood on our New Books rack for a couple of weeks. Now I'll have to add it to the Tower of Due.

>183 sibylline: I really enjoyed The Debatable Lands - hadn’t thought about connection to other areas, but I can see how remote regions like Those areas in Vermont would be similar.

>184 msf59: Still finishing up a few library books before hitting them - I’d guess August to start as well.

>185 swynn: Go for it! It was pretty interesting.

Hi Jim! Just skimming through and catching up. I'm on Litsy as humouress but I'm still not sure how best to use it. I currently use it as an extension of LT.

I’ve followed you there!

Followed you back!

I will go there and follow you both!

Have a great weekend, Jim.

Gone there but it doesn't seem to work so well. I cannot upload a profile picture and I cannot search for friends. Maybe just a glitch.

Funny that it is owned by LT but you can only upload your catalogue from goodreads - a bit perverse that.

Hmm, I haven’t had trouble finding folks.

And yeah, Tim needs to get on the stick and provide LT connectivity. I wonder if thst’s coming with all the work they’ve been doing.

>192 drneutron: I avoid the Officialdom whenever possible, so I don't know if they decided to acquire FictFact or not...do you?

>170 drneutron: The Murder Room looks good. I seem to remember the Vidocq Society turning up in something else I saw or read.

>193 richardderus: Haven't heard about FictFact - there've been no announcements.

>194 Familyhistorian: It was pretty good! They were involved with America's Most Wanted episodes across the years, so maybe there. Also, they've popped up in a few true crime books I've read over the years, but no specific example comes to mind.

>195 drneutron: I saw very few America's Most Wanted episodes so it probably wasn't there. I do read a lot of true crime though so that is likely where I saw the Vidocq Society mentioned. I have the book on my library list now, Jim.

Awesome! Looking forward to your thoughts on it.

Time for an update!

58. Wicked Baltimore by Lauren R. Silberman

Short, light book giving stories about strange, usually bad events happening in Baltimore. Fun, but would have enjoyed it better if I hadn’t been familiar with many of the events. 😀

59. The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan

Second in the Wheel of Time series. A reread for me, but I enjoyed it just as much this time. Epic fantasy at its best!

60. The Mansion of Happiness by Jill Lepore

Lepore uses the old “stages of man” trope to talk about cultural history - childhood, the invention of adolescence, family planning and birth control, retirement and aging, death. Surprisingly, Milton Bradley and the game of Life feature prominently. And also surprisingly, many of the people and events touch her personally. Good stuff!

>198 drneutron: #59 Are you excited for the Wheel of Time series coming to Amazon? Since I love The Expanse but much less so the novels (actually I pretty much dislike the novels), I'll give the series a watch as soon as it comes out.

Oh, I'll definitely watch it! For these sorts of things, I tend to treat them as separate works in my brain, so differences and implementation variations don't bother me. I'll either like it or not on its own merit.

>193 richardderus: Just delurking for a moment to ask: or clarify, is LT acquiring FictFact and if so, what's the attraction? I've never looked into Litsy...

>200 drneutron: Here's to hoping the chance will come along before I'm dead. Development can take forever.

>201 SandyAMcPherson: It was mooted; I heard about it maybe twice and then nothing, so there's probably zero chance left. FictFact was a series-book database/tracking service.

Yeah, it was speculated when FictFact closed, but it was more wishful thinking than anything else.

I miss FictFact SOOO much...(sob)...

Karen O.

Hello Jim! I hope all is well with you.

>198 drneutron: This may sound like a silly question, but is there a way to enter the Wheel of Time without fully entering the Wheel of Time? does the first, second, or third book contain a sub story with a resolution?

Perhaps you could recommend a single volume or trilogy?

>204 klobrien2: Yep, me too. 🙁

>205 brodiew2: unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a good way to do that. The first does end after a confrontation and you could consider it an ending of sorts, but lots of threads are hanging. It would give a flavor of his writing.

>206 drneutron: Thanks, Jim. I may give the first book a try on audio.

I'm enjoying Jeffery Deaver's first in a new series, The Never Game. The new character has a fascinating background.

Hi Jim, hope you and Danica are having a good start to the weekend. Sending love and hugs to both of you.

Thanks! I hope you and Karen have a good one too!

Please join me on my new thread!