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Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend. I’m usually a fast but thorough reader. I just finished his Little Dorrit and it took me an embarrassing number of months. I read War and Peace in 1 month!
So what do I do? Begin Our Mutual Friend, 800 pages.
I’m actually rewarding at a respectable pace. I do love Dickens.
Next up is a comic novel. I have several on my shelf for light going between challenging reads.
I read a lot of music articles regularly too.
You?
I finished Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer a while ago. I'm currently in the middle of Brian Enos' Practical Shooting Beyond Fundamentals.
Also, since you mentioned manuals and such, I'm also reading some hi fi audio guides. I've been into guitar stuff for so long I kinda left the actual pleasure of listening to vinyl behind. I realized I own a lot of great records and my turntable is a POS. I'm planning on putting together a nice Marantz system.
I haven't read anything in a little while, although I have bought some books, lol
Lately I've been buying nice, hardbound editions of stuff I've read. Rise & Fall of the Third Reich, for example. I just purchased a hardback copy in two volumes, & I'll pass off the old paperback to someone who has an interest
My first wife and her family were German, and my father-in-law, great man, had The Rise and Fall...in his bookshelf. I mentally had it on my to-read shelf. Finally a few months ago, I bought a copy. Living in Germany for a decade, getting to know people who experienced the war in some way, often directly engaged in battle, seeing camps, touching the Russian bullet holes in the Reichstag--can't help but to be interested in that book. I have several on my shelf before I can even start to put it on the short list.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cogs
I had a paperback copy for over a decade before I read it. It's just an imposing work, you know? On a whim, I picked it up & began to read. I couldn't put it down!
my only current book is A.W. Bartlett's "History of the Twelfth Regiment: New Hampshire Volunteers in the War of the Rebellion". I need to read and return it to my friend.
A major oil company's technical requirements for API 610 centrifugal pumps in hazardous services.
Re-reading CS Lewis The Screwtape Letters
I do too much work-related reading, so for relaxation I picked up an interesting collection of short stories featuring paired authors in the mystery/action genre (think Jack Reacher, John Ryan, etc.) called Matchup. Just started the first story, "Honor & . . ." by Sandra Brown (Lee Coburn) and C. J. Box (Joe Pickett).
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When I started teaching at the community college here, I was told to give a talk on Tom Sawyer. I over-prepared the event, so over-prepared the event and made a speaker's worst error--I misjudged who my audience would be. Even though I'd given dozens of "talks" and had already taught 15 years, I made a rookie mistake. The next year here, I gave a talk about the way that sci-fi books and films often see science as a threat, something easily abused, something out of human control. I used lots of video clips, so the audience was a lot happier.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sérgio
9 days ago I was diagnosed with COVID. Been resting in quarantine since then, reading a lot.
My wife, daughter and stepdaughter are ok, my father already recovering well. Mother had to spend a few days at the hospital but she’s home now.
My companions are my laptop which I use to work, my red strat that I brought up to my bedroom, a coffee machine and my Kindle. I can’t think of a better gadget than a Kindle, wonderful source of literature and information.
Since I am in no mood for anything else, I’ve been reading Kerouac, his books soothe my head. Revisited Lonesome Traveler and will finish Dharma Bums, which I hadn’t finished last time I picked it up.
Big Sur also in the list.
Be well and stay healthy everyone. If you guys don’t mind, I wouldn’t like to talk about illness at all. Ok to ask how I am, but PLEASE no telling me stories or going into in-depth COVID details, let’s keep it cool, for my mind’s sake. Thanks everyone.
Btw I really enjoy identifying Hemingway’s influence on Kerouac’s works.
For instance, you can clearly associate Dharma Bums with Nick Adams’ adventures. The dinner at the beach reminds me of Big Two Hearted River.
Some of Kerouac's relatives lived in my town, including two houses down the street from me. They for the most part did not think of him very favorably, and didn't like to talk about it.
I think his books were offered in our high school English class, but were not selected when voted on by the students. I thought I had read something by him but after looking at the titles, none of them were familiar (apart from the fame of the book such as "On The Road".)
The first theological treatise on the atonement, by Anselm of Canterbury. It's pretty chewy reading
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Cogs, are you reading the book for spiritual reasons, or are you a theologian or historian?
I think that's all kind of tied in together for me. I want a better understanding of the subject for spiritual reasons, so that leads me into the theology. But if you are going to study theology, that's going to draw you into church history as well. So I've been going backwards in time.
Mind you, the book's title is Latin, but the rest of the work has been translated into English
lol
Cogs, you and I are learned monks, ha ha. I'm a secular humanist one, but I'm an old-school scholar, and what you're doing is what this old purfessur loves. In the mid-80s, I was interested in Catholicism as part of a spiritual search I'd begun after being raised as a Baptist. Along the way, I attended a good number of different religious services. I read St. Francis of Assisi, tracts from European and American Christians from the Middle Ages on. I discovered writers such as Søren Kierkegaard, Paul Tillich, and other Christian existentialists. I am agnostic, but I loved what I learned by going to different churches, but even more, what I read. I'm just a scholar at the end of it all.
Me, I like Clive Staples Lewis (C. S. Lewis, for short). Perhaps best known for his "children's" stories - The Chronicles of Narnia, for example, or the Space Trilogy - after a life-changing exchange with his friend Jack, Lewis became a Christian convert and wrote some of the most famous and recognized apologetics of the modern era. Mere Christianity may be one of the most widely read books dealing on the subject.
By the way, his friend "Jack" was none other than J. R. R. Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, among others.
I'm no monk, I'll tell you that
Lol
I don't have a Catholic background, & I think it shows to my Catholic friends. My family attended a Baptist church when I was growing up, but how they got that name "baptist" is a mystery. It was a kooky mash of neo-orthodoxy & metaphysics. I'm pretty sure that church (in the Springfield, VA area) held one of the first ever "psychic fairs". I heard the names Tillich, Barth, & Van Til pretty early on, but I'm pretty much at the other end of the spectrum nowadays. I don't think there's a chasm between faith & reason
I just bought a couple copies of The Great Divorce (my favorite piece of his, more like a short story) to hand out to a couple friends. He's a great writer & Christian thinkerQuote:
Originally Posted by OldStrummer
I had to look this up because I first thought of 70's ambient-synth-pop-electronica musician Brian Eno, lolQuote:
Originally Posted by Sérgio
I think a lot of firearm training can be directly applied to musicianship & help to develop proficiency on your instrument. Plus it can make you an instrument of vengeance
lol
Quite likely the way I approach playing guitar: I won't play if you won't play. :biglaugh:Quote:
Originally Posted by Cogs
Kind of like when I'm asked if I play the guitar. I answer, "Yes, but usually the guitar wins."
Oxford boys. I read Mere Christianity about 30 years ago. I was impressed by his intelligence, but couldn't agree with him. Much respect though. Narnia's wonderful too. Loved the movie Surprised by Joy.Quote:
Originally Posted by OldStrummer
I just picked up this Vietnam War novel I found at a local book fair. Will start digging into it tonight.
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Anatomy of a Division, the 1st Cav in Vietnam.
I was in Alpha 1st of the 5th 66/67.
Hand salute, Sir!Quote:
Originally Posted by Laker
:salud:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Laker
Blessings to you for that.
<Humble brag> On Tuesday, we saw the Rolling Stones at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas</HB>. My wife had never seen Gimme Shelter, so we watched the documentary the Saturday prior to the concert. It's a brilliant film, and unlike the Woodstock documentary, it's only about 90 minutes long, so it's really just impressions of the horrors of the Altamont concert.
So I downloaded the 2016 book, Altamont: The Rolling Stones, The Hells Angels, and the Inside Story of Rock's Darkest Day by veteran rock journalist Joel Selvin, and devoured it on Friday and Saturday afternoon. It's amazing book -- the section on the concert day reads like war reportage. If Cornelius Ryan had written a book about a rock concert this would have been it. But it bookends that day with tons of details of why the concert was staged (so that the Stones could either beat the Woodstock documentary to the punch, or at least have a rival that would be playing in theaters). Why a film? In part because the ticket sales wouldn't be under Alan Klein's purview, as the Stones were effectively broke at the beginning of the 1969 tour thanks to the awful contract they had signed with Klein, and his funneling of their record royalties into his own bank account.
Why the Altamont Speedway? As Wikipedia notes:
As Selvin notes, the stage at Sears Point would have been on a natural hill there, so a short four-foot high stage was built. Because there wasn't time to rebuild the stage for Altamont, that same four-foot high stage was carted over to the new location, making it very easy for the LSD-tripping audience in the front rows to jump onto the stage, as anybody who has seen the 1970 movie knows all too well.Quote:
The concert was originally scheduled to be held at San Jose State University's practice field, as there had recently been a three-day outdoor free festival there with 52 bands and 80,000 attendees. Dirt Cheap Productions was asked to help secure the property again for the Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead to play a free concert. The Stones and the Dead were told the city of San Jose was not in the mood for another large concert and the grounds were out of bounds. Golden Gate Park in San Francisco was next on the list. However, a previously scheduled Chicago Bears–San Francisco 49ers football game at Kezar Stadium, located in Golden Gate Park, made that venue impractical, and permits were never issued for the concert. The venue was then changed to the Sears Point Raceway near Sonoma.[14] However, a dispute with Sears Point's owner, Filmways, Inc., arose over a $300,000[citation needed] up-front cash deposit from the Rolling Stones and film distribution rights, so the festival was moved once again. The Altamont Raceway, east of Livermore, was chosen at the suggestion of its then-owner, local businessman Dick Carter. The concert was to take place on Saturday, December 6; the location was switched on the night of Thursday, December 4.[5][15]
On the other hand, the film is a reminder that the Stones of the 1960s were genuinely dangerous. Seeing the Stones last week was great entertainment, but very safe and predictable as well.
It’s no secret that I have been busy and enthusiastic about my return to the shooting ranges.
Just finished Brian Enos’s Practical Shooting and picked this one from my father’s library:
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Elmer Keith is a legend beyond just being the inventor of the .44 Magnum pistol round.
I found a place for the 100 or so westerns that my Dad used to teach himself to read. Pretty amazing. He read quite a bit considering his background of literacy. I've set up a space for children to read and have those and Dad's books. Charles Schultz to Louis L'Amour, Cormac McCarthy, and back to German versions of Harry Potter.
In a rare move for me, I've ordered a DVD copy of an online course, “Mathematics and Logic: From Euclid to Modern Geometry.”
Before you get the idea I'm an egghead, I do find mathematics and logic fascinating. I've built a life using both, although I confess my understanding o classical Euclidian geometry and syllogistic argument have been beyond my ken. I'm hoping this course will improve my shortcomings.
Pretty cool, OS. I’m thinking of getting active with learning Spanis since I have oth professional and private connections to people who speak it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sérgio
I just picked this one up once again after having put it down like twice. Such an interestin novel, but although I can read English much better than I speak it, and despite being an avid American Literature reader, I am finding it hard to read this one. I stumble on an unknown word or phrase every four or five sentences. I don't know if it features too much 60s Vietnam slang or if the author really made a particular choice of uncommon terms.
Anyway I will try again.
I'm not familiar with that novel but if you e-mail me I'll try to help you decipher the slang. It was a different universe there with its own set of values and its own language......a mix of military terms, bastardized Vietnamese, French, and home-spun argot.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sérgio
I appreciate it, Roger! If I come across something I can't figure out with the dictionary I'll ask you. The author uses some words I never heard/read before. For instance, I had never heard anyone call a helicopter a 'slick'.Quote:
Originally Posted by phantomman
Well, after reaching page 45 I confess I finally gave up. Very interesting novel, but written in such a particular style that makes it too hard to read. Having to look up 60s war slang all the time just breaks the deal for me.
However, I went to this nice used book store in the capital last Thursday, and got myself two books I was looking for. I’m devouring both right now.
This one is probably the last Hemingway book I hadn’t read yet:
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And I also got a Penguin edition of Kerouac’s On the road, which I have obviously already read, but never owned a paperback edition (and let’s agree on this: this book should be necessarily a paperback).
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Btw as I dig into On the road for like the 7th or 8th time, I'm thinking about my own love for paperback editions. There's something about these cheap, pocket friendly books that were made for being... read. Not collected, not aesthetically admired or anything. Paperbacks are books, not decoration items or rarities. They're meant to be thrown in backpacks, carried in dufflebags, pockets, back seats... You just pick them up and read them. No fancy covers, no fine paper... You can even use them as toilet paper, if you're on the road and find yoursef in need. Real readers will love them, nonetheless.
They're like lovers. One day you might lose them or they might fall apart on you, but that's life.
Agatha Christie
Craig Johnson
Tony Hillerman
Carl Hiaasen
Levon Helm
Bernie Marsden
ah, I remember the days I would devour entire books in a day. Laundry, hygiene, cooking all took secondary roles. Many late night meals because I've spent all day in a book. Needless to say this could not happen during work but the times between. Sadly those times were few and far between.
Eyesight problems make reading an arduous chore at best these days. I've been trying to slog through things like Mathematica Principa and The Art of War. They have been in my iBook for years
I can read my iPhone, more or less. I'm propping my glasses up a lot to use the bifocal. They just don't sit in a natural position, no matter how the optician tries to fit them. A bigger phone with a larger screen would probably benefit me, if it can fit in my pockets.
Sugarcane, I guess you know which one of the characters in On The Road is actually based upon one of the Pranksters - there's a song about him.
"I have seen where the wolf has slept by the silver stream." Gosh that alliteration can give you chills.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DanTheBluesMan
Reading from cell phones is AWFUL. I try not to. Kindle and actual books for me!
Of course! The Neal Cassady references are one of the things that make me enjoy this read!Quote:
Originally Posted by Offshore Angler
P.S. I changed my username for privacy reasons but you guys can call me Sergio or Serge as always, lol.
I've been recently reading J.A. Wylie's Illustrated History of the Waldenses, which is a reprint of a part of a larger work of his, History of Protestantism. It's a record of an early "proto-reformation" community of Christians that lived in the Piedmont region of northwest Italy. One of the first groups to translate the Bible into the common language, they lived in peace & did their thing until near the end of 1000 AD when the Church of Rome began to make incursions into the region. The friars & monks that arrived in the area weren't too pleased that the Waldensians didn't follow Romish doctines such as the veneration of the saints & respect of holy relics, to name just a couple. They didn't put a lot of stock in the pope, either. They were declared heretics & suffered terrible persecution.
Although they are often thought to have been founded by a merchant by the name of Peter Waldo, they predate him & their name comes from an anglicization of the term "Vaudois" or "Vallenses", which I understand to mean "valley dwellers"
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Bernie Marsden the guitarist from Whitesnake?Quote:
Originally Posted by Grimmy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sugarcane
Met a man who read mysteries and thrillers, five a week--they were such junk. He'd sit with a box full of them, read one, and toss it in a garbage can.
I'm glad my Dad didn't throw away his Western novels--they helped him learn to read when he was already a man in his 20s. I have a shelf full. So many Louis L'Amours. We loved the Lonesome Dove books and could talk about them.
My love of reading, studying, and teaching lit has left me with walls of books, and I can't bear to get rid of even useless ones that I hated. I've only ever thrown away one book, stupid book by the screenplay writer for Rainman. Color of Light or some idiotic copy of Updike. A 70s novel. Sex scenes that read like a cross between Penthouse Forum letter and instructions on pipe fitting at a plumbery.