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Reading Minds: The CoastGab Book Club

Started by PhantasticSanShiSan, October 23, 2008, 12:06:30 AM

Eddie Coyle

Quote from: Zircon on May 31, 2012, 11:20:20 PM


Well Ed, I certainly hope you're getting paid well. Is combat pay included? How long do the educated elite from Elite U. take before they have to take them out in a straight jacket or on a gurney? Violence?
When I was a junior in my rotten public high school, we had a student-teacher from...Harvard. Probably 21 or so, a total preppie, and he was assigned to my English class. He lasted 12 minutes.

       It was maybe the funniest thing I've ever seen. He was querying the class individually with cornball nonsense "who is your favorite writer?". He says "feel free to ask me a question"

         So, 19 year old junior Alphonso Brown asked him..."you suck dicks, muthafucka? Don't lie- you a dicksucka, that's why you here"

           The student teacher turned beet red and fled the class verging on tears. About two minutes later the Dean of Discipline, a very stern West Indian man, comes flying "Brown, get your monkey ass in that hallway, now!"

      We never saw the student-teacher again, and Fonzie Brown got his usual 3 day suspension/vacation. Just being a witness to that age 16 basically codified how I would ever handle such a situation...by never letting it happen. This Harvard kid never stood a chance. Nobody ever prepared him for something like that. He probably never even told his family or friends for fear of sounding "racist" or perpetuating stereotypes.

BobGrau

Touching from a distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division by Deborah Curtis (his widow)

Wow. That guy was an ASSHOLE. Yet another great band ruined by a frontman's ego.

McPhallus


You couldn't pay me enough to be a substitute teacher.

Hey wait.... isn't that what Fort Rock does for a living?  That would explain much.

Quote from: Eddie Coyle on May 31, 2012, 11:47:19 PM
         When I was a junior in my rotten public high school, we had a student-teacher from...Harvard. Probably 21 or so, a total preppie, and he was assigned to my English class. He lasted 12 minutes.

       It was maybe the funniest thing I've ever seen. He was querying the class individually with cornball nonsense "who is your favorite writer?". He says "feel free to ask me a question"

         So, 19 year old junior Alphonso Brown asked him..."you suck dicks, muthafucka? Don't lie- you a dicksucka, that's why you here"

           The student teacher turned beet red and fled the class verging on tears. About two minutes later the Dean of Discipline, a very stern West Indian man, comes flying "Brown, get your monkey ass in that hallway, now!"

      We never saw the student-teacher again, and Fonzie Brown got his usual 3 day suspension/vacation. Just being a witness to that age 16 basically codified how I would ever handle such a situation...by never letting it happen. This Harvard kid never stood a chance. Nobody ever prepared him for something like that. He probably never even told his family or friends for fear of sounding "racist" or perpetuating stereotypes.

McPhallus

Quote from: BobGrau on June 25, 2012, 05:54:56 PM
Touching from a distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division by Deborah Curtis (his widow)

Wow. That guy was an ASSHOLE. Yet another great band ruined by a frontman's ego.

I always thought he sounded like Kermit the Frog.

Great music, though.

Quote from: Eddie Coyle on May 31, 2012, 06:35:04 PM
       laborer at a hockey rink(greatest job ever-age 18-20)
       

Possibly the best way to meet women...ever.

Eddie Coyle

Quote from: Mind Flayer Monk on June 26, 2012, 07:30:46 PM
Possibly the best way to meet women...ever.
Sorry for the delayed response...but ABSOLUTELY. The downside: only AA meetings, strip clubs and inner city parent-teacher meetings have more single mothers. But they were young single mothers and I was 19, so...

       And plenty of jailbait for my older co-workers, who tended to be lecherous creeps.

        But what a fun place to "work"...I got spoiled. All downhill since I left there in 1995.

Eddie Coyle


         I didn't hear Noory's interview with Ronald Kessler last night, but in a similar vein, I just finished Tim Weiner's "Enemies: A History of the FBI" this morning. I was surprised at it's even-handedness. Weiner absolutely decimated the CIA in his "Legacy of Ashes", but he's not nearly as hard on the FBI. Interesting reading, particularly in how Hoover really was the driving force in anti-Communist/Cold War thinking. It's not an expose of Hoover's peccadilloes, it basically stays on a straight and narrow path of the Bureau's history, particularly between he 1920's-60's, essentially Hoover's term. Worth reading if you're interested in Cold War/terrorism. Also reveals some methods used against the KKK in the 60's(LBJ basically twisted Hoover's arm to get involved) and little remembered domestic terrorists like FALN or The Order. 

b_dubb

"90 Minutes in Heaven" by Don Piper. An interesting account of an NDE/life after death experience. I find it cuious that the brain is able to form any memory at death or near death as it is typically deprived of blood flow and oxygen at that moment. It's not slam dunk proof but it's pretty interesting. 

coaster

"Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History" by Erik Larson. An in-depth description of Isaac Cline's life and the hurricane of 1900 that destroyed Galveston, Texas.  He was a meteorologist in the days when meteorology was still in its infancy. Politics and shoddy science kept the people of Galveston from knowing the true path of the hurricane until it was too late. Larson has a very vivid way of describing the storm, and I felt like I was trying to brave the storm myself. It's very hard for me to find a page turner, but I devoured this book in a few hours. 

This summer I finished off Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, and now I'm working on Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I've also got Green Lantern / Green Arrow by O'Neil and Adams on the go.

Jasmine

Two books just finished.

John Steinbeck - A Russian Journal  . An absolutely fascinating account of the author's journey through this remarkable country.



David Yallop - The Power & The Glory: Inside the Dark Heart of John Paul II's Vatican. A riveting and disturbing look at the crime, corruption, political intrigue and cover-ups and lies of Vatican Inc.



                                                         




BobGrau

Recently finished Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks, some of the very best sci-fi I've ever read. He does things on such a huge scale. Thoroughly recommended.

Eddie Coyle

 
       Ron Suskind's "Confidence Men:Wall Street, Washington and the Education of a President"

       What a depressing read about the slimiest bunch of megalomaniacs, egotists, psychopaths and cynical, soul stealing miscreants. Instead of current affairs, this book should be in the true crime section.

 

Sardondi

I've recently finished my second reading of the Aubrey/Maturin historical fiction series by Patrick O'Brian. This series is the source of the not-bad Russel Crowe movie from a few years ago, Master and Commander, which took from several different novels in the series.

I was given the 20-title set (5 volumes and some 7,000 pages) as a Christmas present a few years ago, and it has become one of my most prized sets of books. It is about a Royal Navy officer and his naval surgeon (and intelligence agent) friend during the Napoleonic Wars, the golden age of warships of sail. Those of you familiar with the series already know its excellence. O'Brian, who was about 85 y.o. when he died about 10 years ago after spending over 30 years writing the series, did such a magnificent job of creating a sense of bygone time and place that his works are generally considered "the finest historical fiction ever written". Here is a page of resources which include numerous reviews: http://www.prismnet.com/gibbonsb/pob/

They are not only unsurpassed tales of classic high adventure, with plenty of buckle-swashing, cannon-roaring and blood-spattering, they also have multi-level plot lines stretching over several volumes. They are filled with characters memorable enough to rival those of Dickens, and O'Brian was never hurried in painting them for us. It would be more than enough if O'Brian's books were just tales of the grand adventures as well as character studies of "Lucky Jack" Aubrey, the badly battle-scarred, lecherous and close-to-fat career naval officer, and that of his devoted friend, the brilliant naturalist, famously skilled physician, deadly duelist and coldly vengeful spy Stephen Maturin, who over some 15 years had struggled greatly with addictions to both opium (in the form of the alcoholic tincture of laudanum) as well as the coca-leaf. What sets this series of historical fiction apart from even the great ones like C.S. Forester's "Horatio Hornblower" is O'Brian's insightful examinations of virtually every aspect of the life and character of a man of action, as well as a man of the mind: battle, violent death, maiming, pain, suffering, sex, chastity, infidelity, love, religion, honor, duty, wealth, loyalty, betrayal, knowledge, science and the arts, especially music, which plays a surprisingly large part of the lives of the two main characters. They are complex figures, and O'Brian spent much of his career as a writer expounding at length on them.

These are intelligent books written for the adult  mind. And they are magnificent.

stevesh

Three hundred pages into Stephen King's 11/22/63 and it's excellent. Some really interesting takes on time travel. I haven't read King in a while and I'd forgotton what a great storyteller he is.

ChewMouse

Quote from: stevesh on September 09, 2012, 09:12:17 AM
Three hundred pages into Stephen King's 11/22/63 and it's excellent. Some really interesting takes on time travel. I haven't read King in a while and I'd forgotton what a great storyteller he is.
Me too!!! I was on the wait list at the public library and finally got the book; I'm on page 460. I'm loving it!

Quote from: Sardondi on September 08, 2012, 07:08:44 PM
I've recently finished my second reading of the Aubrey/Maturin historical fiction series by Patrick O'Brian. This series is the source of the not-bad Russel Crowe movie from a few years ago, Master and Commander, which took from several different novels in the series.

These are intelligent books written for the adult  mind. And they are magnificent.

Master and Commander the movie was fantastic. Good story, fantastic visuals and fantastic sound. Its the blu ray I put on when I want to be impressed by my home theater system.

I will have to try and pick up one of his books to read.

I did like the Horatio Hornblower series when I was a kid so O'Brian should work for me.

Recently finished Jim Lehrer's Super.  It's a short, humorous, nostalgic murder mystery novel set in 1956 on the "Train of the Stars" - the Santa Fe Super Chief - where it was possible to run into President Truman, Clark Gable, etc. as the luxurious train bulleted between Chicago and the West Coast.  Toward the end of the book, I began to believe I had some idea of Gable's private life, but Lehrer's easy storytelling was merely setting me up for a twisted Revelation. Gable was one of several non--fiction characters skillfully fictionalized by Lehrer. The book rang so true that suspension of disbelief was effortless.

Perfect light reading at 200 pages.  Lehrer's technique is adroit, organic, and concise. At times, his approach reminds me of the dead on character development style of John D. MacDonald's McGee series.

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I just finished the graphic novel X-Men: Dark Phoenix. I had forgotten how great this story was.
Now onto Days of Future Past!

Quote from: Agent : Orange on September 23, 2012, 06:05:48 PM
I just finished the graphic novel X-Men: Dark Phoenix. I had forgotten how great this story was.
Now onto Days of Future Past!

I just reread the Claremont X-men run over the summer too. I was actually disappointed, not as good as  I remembered. I did like the "Inferno" plot line though which I guess is a conclusion to Dark Phoenix.

The ones I reread and enjoyed still were:
1. Savage Sword of Conan
2. Groo

Quote from: Mind Flayer Monk on October 08, 2012, 07:29:27 AM
I just reread the Claremont X-men run over the summer too. I was actually disappointed, not as good as  I remembered. I did like the "Inferno" plot line though which I guess is a conclusion to Dark Phoenix.

The ones I reread and enjoyed still were:
1. Savage Sword of Conan
2. Groo

I really love both Dark Phoenix and Days of Future Past. They've been my favorite XMen stories since I was a kid, so I have a soft spot for them. Reading through the collected editions I was surprised how seemingly self contained each book was, which is good for selling a monthly book on a newsstand but makes for a lot of overlap and repetition when you read it in a graphic novel.

Also, I love Groo. :)

Meggini

Some great recommendations here. I just finished:

A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage

In order, he looks at the influence of  beer, wine, coffee, tea, spirits, and Coca-Cola (the brand specifically) on different periods in history and how they drove trade and culture. It might sound dry, but it was a fun read - and not just for fans of economics and history. It's strange to think how new some of these drinks are and that it was simple fad-chasing that made them staples and changed our little social-rituals. 

His prediction for our next world-changing beverage? water.... but I'm hoping for something a little more exciting - something strange and new - something beyond caffeine, alcohol, or a sugar-rush. A mild psychedelic perhaps?   ;)  It would be nice wouldn't it? But IMO, our current world-changing trade item is electronics not a fun drink.

Quote from: Meggini on October 26, 2012, 09:05:59 AM
Some great recommendations here. I just finished:

A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage

In order, he looks at the influence of  beer, wine, coffee, tea, spirits, and Coca-Cola (the brand specifically) on different periods in history and how they drove trade and culture. It might sound dry, but it was a fun read - and not just for fans of economics and history. It's strange to think how new some of these drinks are and that it was simple fad-chasing that made them staples and changed our little social-rituals. 

His prediction for our next world-changing beverage? water.... but I'm hoping for something a little more exciting - something strange and new - something beyond caffeine, alcohol, or a sugar-rush. A mild psychedelic perhaps?   ;)  It would be nice wouldn't it? But IMO, our current world-changing trade item is electronics not a fun drink.

Woah I just read that a few months ago after reading "The Turk"

Meggini

Quote from: Mind Flayer Monk on October 27, 2012, 07:51:31 AM
Woah I just read that a few months ago after reading "The Turk"

It's amazing that Standage could write a whole book about one chess-playing automaton. I'll have to try it.

I admit that I actually listened to 6 Glasses on audio book. The reader was very dry. I kept wishing it was read by the same guy who did Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World by Michael Lewis. His narrator caught every nuance and had me laughing out loud. Great listen.

I've only listened to a few audio books, but World War Z blew me away. It's impossible for me to not associate Henry Rollins and Mark Hamil with those characters now.


Eddie Coyle

 
          Re-read Joe McGinniss "The Selling of the President-1968"

         I think those under about 45 who loathe and detest Fox News(and have never read this) would probably slip into anaphylaxis because your bete noire is a heavily featured player in this book.

Meggini

Quote from: Agent : Orange on October 27, 2012, 04:34:49 PM
I've only listened to a few audio books, but World War Z blew me away. It's impossible for me to not associate Henry Rollins and Mark Hamil with those characters now.

Amazing listen. I never thought I'd be moved by a book about Zombies, but it's really a collection of  stories from survivors of battle, refugee camps, and invasion. Makes me want to read The Good War by Studs Terkel.

Quote from: Meggini on October 28, 2012, 07:31:18 AM
Amazing listen. I never thought I'd be moved by a book about Zombies, but it's really a collection of  stories from survivors of battle, refugee camps, and invasion. Makes me want to read The Good War by Studs Terkel.

Hell yes! Everything about it was interesting, and even left me wanting to hear more about the nonfiction it was based off of. That says something about the quality of the work right there.

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