What was it? One thick book, two? King at least could do an excellent short story. On the other hand, Robert Jordan was not a man of few words. Each volume of the Wheel of Time series was at least Hobbit thick. With over a year between releases, I didn't keep up with the series, and that was before Jordan died. He passed writing the final volume. He knew his health was poor, so had extensive notes for someone else to finish it if need be. That volume ended up being lengthy enough that it got the Lord of the Rings treatment, and broken up into a trilogy. Leaving the book count for the series at 14. edit: It's actually 15. A prequel novella was extended to a full novel. The audio books are 19 days, 5 hours, and 25 minutes of listening time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wheel_of_Time
Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky From good reads Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those young rebels who are compelled, in spite of extreme danger, to venture illegally into the Zone to collect the mysterious artifacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the place and the thriving black market in the alien products. But when he and his friend Kirill go into the Zone together to pick up a “full empty,” something goes wrong. And the news he gets from his girlfriend upon his return makes it inevitable that he’ll keep going back to the Zone, again and again, until he finds the answer to all his problems.
Paid a buck or two to have it on my phone, should give it a try. Currently, was casting around for something to read with my wife: when my Dad died in '89, this is one thing I held onto. It's Russian short stories, Russian on side of the page, English on the other. Maybe goes without saying but we're just reading the English side. Intro suggested to start with "The Telegram", by Konstantin Paustovsky, so we're giving that a try. The physical book has a vibe too:
i read a chekov short story, was not impressed. but i find that i'm not much of a short story fan, it just feels like something is missing
I have started The Last Housewife Ashley Winstead From the author of the acclaimed In My Dreams I Hold a Knife comes a pitch-black thriller about a woman determined to destroy a powerful cult and avenge the deaths of the women taken in by it, no matter the cost. This is a repeat for me, I must have picked it up as an audiobook. IIRC it was good.
Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century By Tim Higgins About a 1/3rd of the way throught it. The story is how Tesla became a car company. It is a good read. Very interesting. From the Goodreads site. Power Play is the riveting inside story of Elon Musk and Tesla's bid to build the world's greatest car--from award-winning Wall Street Journal tech and auto reporter Tim Higgins
great plains. not the best writing, and my american history education was almost nil, but i learned a lot from the book. fascinating accounts of homesteading, native americans, african americans, europeans, teddy roosevelt, lots of cowboys, us army, george custer, catherine the great, the mennonites and russian wheat.
On the road is a little off his usual fare, which is American mid-West, sometimes back a few years. He did one that’s supposedly semi-autobiographical, called Suttree, that I especially liked. First one, picked up at library, was Outer Dark, very good. All the dusters are really good. No Country For Old Men was a disappointing read, seems like a rough draft for the movie of same name.
The art of racing in the rain Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance Motorcycle therapy On Walden pond Huckleberry Finn
I appreciate your classical thoughts. There is a more romantic lake a little further to the east you know lol
Happy Birthday Bram Stoker (1847-1912) Irish theater manager and author (Dracula), born in Dublin, Ireland
'a very english deceipt' fascinating acount of the first stock market bubble, circa early 1700's written around Y2K, ties in the internet bubble
I am at page 59 of 260 of THEY WANT TO KILL AMERICANS, Malcom Nance, St. Martin's Press, NY, 2022, ISBN 9781250279002. The first part covers the events of January 6 as we hope the House Committee will document in finer detail. It includes the death of an insurrectionist who fell and was trampled by the others. But this part includes the development of 'the big lie' and what it takes to sustain it: Deny Reality Attack American Democracy Directly Avenge the 2020 Election Create Fear and Chaos These are the tells, the symptoms, of these dangerous insurrectionists. Part II "THE THREATS: AMERICAN INSURGENTS" begins with the Oklahoma City bombing by Timothy McVeigh. That hit home because I had enlisted in the Marine Corps in the Murray Federal Building. An attack that killed 168 American citizens simply because McVeigh and his conspirators were replaying The Turner Diaries. When I was stationed at Marine Corps headquarters in Washington DC, we had the 1-800 number of the American Nazi Party scribbled on a card near the phone. When bored or needing a laugh, I remember calling the number and listening to their rants. But the common message was and remains: "The system is an American government led by 'the jews the news media, Hoolyood, and liberal government politicians.' pp. 58. There is more to read to understand the particular symptoms of these traitors. Hopefully, there will be clues that allow us to quickly confirm the diagnosis of these enemies who want to kill Americans. Bob Wilson ps. One risk of this book is our own PriusChatters who lean that way will get a copy and take notes to improve their camouflage. So they can post their particular nonsense while masking their bloody goals.
