What are you reading now?
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I'm about halfway through this right now. Enjoying it.
Amazon: "From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Residence and First Women—also a New York Times bestseller—comes a poignant, news-making look at the lives of the five former presidents in the wake of their White House years, including the surprising friendships they have formed through shared perspective and empathy.
"Team of Five takes us inside the exclusive world of these powerful men and their families, . . . this insightful, illuminating book overflows with anecdotes . . . "
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Here's one I liked from Dubya.
George W. said the most surprising moment during the early days of his presidency came directly after the inaugural parade, when it sank in that he was indeed president. "I decided to go into the Oval Office to see what it felt like," he recalled. "Unbenownst to me [chief of staff] Andy Card had called upstairs in the residence and asked Dad to come in so I was sitting in the Oval Office at the desk there kind of just taking it all in, and in walks my dad, and I said, 'Welcome, Mr. President,' and he said, 'Thank you, Mr. President'. Barbara Bush was decidedly less sentimental. 'Get your feet off the Jeffersonian table,' she told him. -
More "Dune-iverse."
I'm plowing through the first (the first-written, not the first chronological) three books by Brian Herbert (Frank's son) and Kevin Anderson. I really enjoyed the books set in an earlier time (the "Schools" books and the "Jihad" trilogy).
The first in this trilogy was "House Atreides." It was fun enough, but it really felt like a set-up for books to come. Yeah, I know, it's a trilogy.
I finished the second, "House Harkonnen," yesterday. What a disaster. It was totally boring, and really added little to the Dune-iverse. I suppose I'll finish the third book, "House Corrino," in the near-ish future, but I am not at all enthused by it.
Meanwhile, back to The Expanse. Two novellas on the agenda. Today, I finished "Auberon." Good enough story, but not really "Expanse-ey." The story could have been set in any other world, including mid-20th century Chicago without losing anything. I'm halfway through the final novella, "Sins of The Father." Much better fit with the entire Expanse world. Totally enjoying it, so far.
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ive always been a sucker for all things maritime, maybe in a previous life i was a naval officer somewhere...anyway my latest naval adventure is this...
i was a bit familiar with the story of the naval engagement at actium, enough that in the past I looked at google maps to see the area from a birds eye view and even landed at actium airport in flight simulator a ways back.
so...true story, was on one of many of my (real, not sim) flights on the TLV-Milano route on a clear day glancing out the window, i see us flying over the corinthian canal (a geographical landmark impossible to miss) into the gulf of corinth heading north west and sure enough there it was....the ambracian gulf, actium, (the airport runway on the tip of thesouthern cape just like in FS) and i thought wow, thats the place where ocatvian defeated marc antony and cleopatra. Im such a nerd. this is the view from one of space shuttles, looking west to east
And for the truly nerdy, here is a nice video of landing at the airport at actium which shows the geography well, this approach flies west to east and turns over the gulf to land east to west on runway 25.
Link to videoOk u can’t have landing without a takeoff. This one leaves on the same runway 25 and turns right (north) over the Ionian Sea giving a great view of the entrance channel to the gulf.
Link to videoMaritime history. The absolute best thing in the world.
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@bachophile Cool story and map!!
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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KV1MH7C?
Krav Maga brings together skills and training from many martial arts, ranging from jiujitsu to judo to boxing. It shares with is students critical lessons in maintaining awareness and making each strike count in self-defense. In its instructional and updated edition, Krav Maga: Use Your Body as a Weapon teaches athletes about their own anatomy and muscles to help them avoid injury.
From the Look Inside: "Throughout history, law enforcement has been successful in curbing crime, but never in completely destroying it. In modern democracies, though adult citizens have the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness, any day could still turn into a life or death confrontation in an instant. Just as individuals have the right to vote, they should also have the right to control their fate . . . While we rely on trained professionals in many aspects of our lives, we should also be able to resort to the basics if everything else fails. This book shows readers how to use their bodies in a physical confrontation.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^While I have no intention of pursuing this (I mean, please), I'll enjoy reading about it, I think.
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Having sort of enjoyed "All the Old Knives" series on Netflix (Amazon?) I thought I'd seek out some of the author's other stuff. Olen Steinhauer has written a series of books set in post WWII Europe. The books are not sequels, but separated chronologically with different plots and characters.
The first is set in the immediate period after the war in an unnamed Eastern European country struggling to become a communist paradise. It's the story of a murder investigation, and a bureaucracy.
I gave up halfway through. Too meandering, no focus, too many irrelevant characters. Bleecch.
So, instead, I started this.
Because Bosch.
I don't remember which season of Bosch this book is, but it's the one where the dog finds a child's bone...
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Recco for George?
"USA Today bestseller with over 2,900 five-star Goodreads ratings: Humanity’s survivors inhabit decrepit ships orbiting the planet. Teams collect vital supplies from the surface — but deadly terrors await them there. “You won’t be able to put this book down” (New York Times bestselling author Mike Shepherd)."
From the Amazon blurb: "More than two centuries after World War III poisoned the planet, the final bastion of humanity lives on massive airships circling the globe in search of a habitable area to call home. Aging and outdated, most of the ships plummeted back to earth long ago. The only thing keeping the two surviving lifeboats in the sky are Hell Divers—men and women who risk their lives by skydiving to the surface to scavenge for parts the ships desperately need."
On sale for .99. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083G78K2T?
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Lotsa years ago I redd and loved horror, then I fell off. I've had a yen of late to dip into it again. Are there any horror fans here who can recommend authors?
I loved S.King and Robert McCammon, that sort. Peter Straub kinda bored me, and I disliked Clive Barker.
The horrorist book I ever redd was a book called The Ruins by Steve Smith. From my sporadic small survey, the reactions to this book seem to be of two extremes -- terrifying or yawn.
Anyway, it's interesting to me that over all the horror bigshots, I picked this one by a guy far fewer people have ever heard of.
Can you recommend, please? I like the subtle menacing kind of horror, the kind Ruth Rendell would have written if she'd written horror, and not so much the Michael Myers blood-and-gore screamers.
Thanks!
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Recco for Jolly
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005WKM66E?
The Amazon blurb: "The newest edition of the Special Operations Forces Medical Handbook is perfect and practical for both soldiers and civilians. Nearly 140 comprehensive illustrations show the proper techniques for medical care, from basic first-aid and orthopedics to instructions for emergency war surgery and even veterinary medicine. Questions are listed so that the medic can obtain an accurate patient history and perform a complete physical examination. Diagnoses are made easier with information on the distinctive features of each illness. This straightforward manual is sure to assist any reader faced with a medical issue or emergency."
Kindle version is on sale for $1.99. PB $14.59.
732 ratings, 4.5 stars.
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Just finished the four Bobiverse books. I enjoyed the first two enormously, but they started getting a bit samey after that....
Proud supporter of Plan 2525. Everything you think, do and say will be in the pill you took today.
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@Doctor-Phibes agreed.
It’s a clever concept, but as you say it’s almost like he’s running out of ideas on how to milk it. The fourth book, heavens River, is basically an adventure story into which he shoehorns the whole concept of “Bob “.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
@Doctor-Phibes agreed.
It’s a clever concept, but as you say it’s almost like he’s running out of ideas on how to milk it. The fourth book, heavens River, is basically an adventure story into which he shoehorns the whole concept of “Bob “.
Concept
🤨 Story -
Because Bosch is so much fun...
I believe this is #9 in the series.
It continues to build on previous books. The one before this introduced Bosch's daughter, Madeliine. Other characters return as well.
In the book right before this, Bosch had retired from LAPD, and is working as a private investigator. Here, a former colleague's wife asks him to investigate her husband's death.
The previous book was written first-person. This one starts out as first-person, and then, after about 10 chapters, a seemingly-unrelated story begins to unfold, told in third-person, with a set of wholly new characters.
Then, it all comes together, with the stories merging.
So far (only about 100 pages left) it keeps the dichotomy between first and third-person narratives going.
Fun.
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
Because Bosch is so much fun...
I believe this is #9 in the series.
Actually #10.
Fun read. Typical Bosch. Lots of intertwined stories, with hearkening back to narratives told in the first nine novels.
Harry' retired, and he's approached by the widow of a former colleague who asks him to investigate his death. The trail leads to the pursuit of a serial killer, Las Vegas, Harry's ex-wife, and other connections.
Since it's (mostly) not set in LA, it has a different feel than the other stories.
Fun, popcorn, read. Nice twist at the end where Harry discovers what he thought was the basis of the case was not that at all.
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Time to jump back into some science fiction...
Gets good reviews.
The blurb:
The year is 2380. The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars some four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred worlds, interconnected by a web of transport "tunnels" known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: Over one thousand light-years away, a star . . . vanishes. It does not go supernova. It does not collapse into a black hole. It simply "disappears. Since the location is too distant to reach by wormhole, a faster-than-light starship, the "Second Chance, is dispatched to learn what has occurred and whether it represents a threat. In command is Wilson Kime, a five-time rejuvenated ex-NASA pilot whose glory days are centuries behind him.
Opposed to the mission are the Guardians of Selfhood, a cult that believes the human race is being manipulated by an alien entity they call the Starflyer. Bradley Johansson, leader of the Guardians, warns of sabotage, fearing the Starflyer means to use the starship's mission for its own ends, .
Pursued by a Commonwealth special agent convinced the Guardians are crazy butdangerous, Johansson flees. But the danger is not averted. Aboard the "Second Chance, Kime wonders if his crew has been infiltrated. Soon enough, he will have other worries. A thousand light-years away, something truly incredible is waiting: a deadly discovery whose unleashing will threaten to destroy the Commonwealth . . . and humanity itself.
"Could it be that Johansson was right?"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
