Mahsdad's (Jeff) 2021 Thread - Q4
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Conversazioni75 Books Challenge for 2021
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1mahsdad
Velkommen til årets sidste kvartal og en fantastisk fotofredag
Welcome, if you're new, my name is Jeff. I live in Southern California. I'm an avid reader. My wife might say I'm bordering on the obsessive. But then, I think that could apply to a lot of us in this group. I also enjoy photography, movies, hiking and playing games and hanging out with my family. Book-wise, I have a pretty eclectic taste in what I read and I hope to give you not so much reviews but my impressions about what I read.
What you will find here is mostly my rambling, way too many (according to some :) ) Wishlist and TBR pile temptations and a smattering of my photography. I don't really make a plan for what I'm going to read thru out the year. Its mostly what strikes my fancy from the TBR piles.
2013 Reading Thread
2014 Reading Thread
2015 Reading Thread
2016 Reading Thread
2017 Reading Thread
2018 Reading Thread
2019 Reading Thread
2020 Reading Thread
Come on in and sit a spell...
Welcome, if you're new, my name is Jeff. I live in Southern California. I'm an avid reader. My wife might say I'm bordering on the obsessive. But then, I think that could apply to a lot of us in this group. I also enjoy photography, movies, hiking and playing games and hanging out with my family. Book-wise, I have a pretty eclectic taste in what I read and I hope to give you not so much reviews but my impressions about what I read.
What you will find here is mostly my rambling, way too many (according to some :) ) Wishlist and TBR pile temptations and a smattering of my photography. I don't really make a plan for what I'm going to read thru out the year. Its mostly what strikes my fancy from the TBR piles.
2013 Reading Thread
2014 Reading Thread
2015 Reading Thread
2016 Reading Thread
2017 Reading Thread
2018 Reading Thread
2019 Reading Thread
2020 Reading Thread
Come on in and sit a spell...
2mahsdad
2021 Statistics - Q4
A - Audio
ER - Early Review
GN - Graphic Novel
K - Kindle
LL - Life's Library
December
89. Once & Future Vol 3 - Kieron Gillen :
88. Storm Front - Jim Butcher (A) :
87. Once & Future Vol 2 - Kieron Gillen (GN) :
86. Relic - Alan Dean Foster (A) :
85. My Sister, the Serial Killer - Oyinkan Braithwaite :
84. The Prince and the Troll - Rainbow Rowell (K) :
83. Macbeth - Jo Nesbo :
82. Once and Future Vol 1 - Kieron Gillen (GN) :
81. The Body : A Guide for Occupants - Bill Bryson :
Favorite : MacBeth
November
80. From A Certain Point of View : 40 Stories Celebrating 40 Years of The Empire Strikes Back - edited by Seth Dickinson :
79. Why Fish Don't Exist - Lulu Miller (LL) :
78. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - Suzanne Collins (A) :
77. Dune - Frank Herbert (A) :
76. Night Boat to Tangier - Kevin Barry (K) :
Favorite : Why Fish Don't Exist
October
75. Furiously Happy - Jenny Lawson :
74. Orphans of the Sky - Robert Heinlein :
73. Raw Shark Text - Steven Hall :
72. Alaska - James Michener :
71. Candide - Voltaire :
Favorite : Candide
A - Audio
ER - Early Review
GN - Graphic Novel
K - Kindle
LL - Life's Library
December
89. Once & Future Vol 3 - Kieron Gillen :
88. Storm Front - Jim Butcher (A) :
87. Once & Future Vol 2 - Kieron Gillen (GN) :
86. Relic - Alan Dean Foster (A) :
85. My Sister, the Serial Killer - Oyinkan Braithwaite :
84. The Prince and the Troll - Rainbow Rowell (K) :
83. Macbeth - Jo Nesbo :
82. Once and Future Vol 1 - Kieron Gillen (GN) :
81. The Body : A Guide for Occupants - Bill Bryson :
Favorite : MacBeth
November
80. From A Certain Point of View : 40 Stories Celebrating 40 Years of The Empire Strikes Back - edited by Seth Dickinson :
79. Why Fish Don't Exist - Lulu Miller (LL) :
78. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - Suzanne Collins (A) :
77. Dune - Frank Herbert (A) :
76. Night Boat to Tangier - Kevin Barry (K) :
Favorite : Why Fish Don't Exist
October
75. Furiously Happy - Jenny Lawson :
74. Orphans of the Sky - Robert Heinlein :
73. Raw Shark Text - Steven Hall :
72. Alaska - James Michener :
71. Candide - Voltaire :
Favorite : Candide
3mahsdad
2021 Statistics - Q3
A - Audio
ER - Early Review
GN - Graphic Novel
K - Kindle
LL - Life's Library
September
70. Bird Art Life - Kyo Maclear (LL) :
69. The River - Peter Heller :
68. Hawkeye Vol 1 - Matt Fraction (GN) :
67. Later - Stephen King :
66. Notes from the Internet Apocalypse - Wayne Gladstone :
65. The Rabbit Factory - Larry Brown :
64. The Glass Hotel - Emily St. John Mandel (A) :
Favorite : The Rabbit Factory
August
63. Without You, There Is No Us - Suki Kim (LL) :
62. Ender in Exile - Orson Scott Card (A) :
61. The Calculating Stars - Mary Robinette Kowal :
60. Joe - Larry Brown :
59. Day - Elie Wiesel (A) :
58. From Hell - Alan Moore (GN) :
57. Dawn - Elie Wiesel (A) :
56. Thunder Below - Eugene Fluckey (A) :
55. Dead Astronauts - Jeff VanderMeer :
Favorite : Joe
July
54. Night - Eile Wiesel (A) :
53. A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles (A) :
52. Whose Names Are Unknown - Sanora Babb (LL):
51. The Anthropocene Reviewed - John Green :
50. Out on Blue Six - Ian McDonald :
49. Johnny Tremain - Esther Forbes :
48. Brooklyn - Colm Toibin (A) :
Favorite : Whose Names Are Unknown
A - Audio
ER - Early Review
GN - Graphic Novel
K - Kindle
LL - Life's Library
September
70. Bird Art Life - Kyo Maclear (LL) :
69. The River - Peter Heller :
68. Hawkeye Vol 1 - Matt Fraction (GN) :
67. Later - Stephen King :
66. Notes from the Internet Apocalypse - Wayne Gladstone :
65. The Rabbit Factory - Larry Brown :
64. The Glass Hotel - Emily St. John Mandel (A) :
Favorite : The Rabbit Factory
August
63. Without You, There Is No Us - Suki Kim (LL) :
62. Ender in Exile - Orson Scott Card (A) :
61. The Calculating Stars - Mary Robinette Kowal :
60. Joe - Larry Brown :
59. Day - Elie Wiesel (A) :
58. From Hell - Alan Moore (GN) :
57. Dawn - Elie Wiesel (A) :
56. Thunder Below - Eugene Fluckey (A) :
55. Dead Astronauts - Jeff VanderMeer :
Favorite : Joe
July
54. Night - Eile Wiesel (A) :
53. A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles (A) :
52. Whose Names Are Unknown - Sanora Babb (LL):
51. The Anthropocene Reviewed - John Green :
50. Out on Blue Six - Ian McDonald :
49. Johnny Tremain - Esther Forbes :
48. Brooklyn - Colm Toibin (A) :
Favorite : Whose Names Are Unknown
4mahsdad
2021 Statistics - Q2
A - Audio
ER - Early Review
GN - Graphic Novel
K - Kindle
LL - Life's Library
June
47. The Driftless Area - Tom Drury :
46. The Serpent of Venice - Christopher Moore (A) :
45. Haunting of Tram 015 - P. Djeli Clark (K) :
44. We Are Still Here - Emily Koon :
43. Circe - Madeline Miller :
42. Fool - Christopher Moore (A) :
Favorite : Circe
May
41. Shakespeare for Squirrels - Christopher Moore :
40. A God in Ruins - Kate Atkinson (A) :
39. Sweet Tooth Vol 6: Wild Game - Jeff Lemire (GN) :
38. More Baths Less Talking - Nick Hornby :
37. Sweet Tooth Vol 5: Unnatural Habits - Jeff Lemire (GN) :
36. Sweet Tooth Vol 4: Endangered Species - Jeff Lemire (GN) :
35. John Henry Days - Colson Whited (A) :
34. The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller (LL) :
33. Sweet Tooth Vol 3: Animal Armies - Jeff Lemire (GN) :
32. Sweet Tooth Vol 2: In Captivity - Jeff Lemire (GN) :
31. Inherent Vice - Thomas Pynchon :
Favorite : The Song of Achilles
April
30. Sweet Tooth Vol 1: Out of the Deep Woods - Jeff Lemire (GN) :
29. One Last Thing Before I Go - Jonathan Tropper :
28. Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory - Martha Wells :
27. The Wild Blue - Stephen Ambrose :
26. Lanny - Max Porter (A) :
25. Olive, Again - Elizabeth Strout (A) :
24. How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia - Mohsin Hamid (LL):
Favorite : How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
A - Audio
ER - Early Review
GN - Graphic Novel
K - Kindle
LL - Life's Library
June
47. The Driftless Area - Tom Drury :
46. The Serpent of Venice - Christopher Moore (A) :
45. Haunting of Tram 015 - P. Djeli Clark (K) :
44. We Are Still Here - Emily Koon :
43. Circe - Madeline Miller :
42. Fool - Christopher Moore (A) :
Favorite : Circe
May
41. Shakespeare for Squirrels - Christopher Moore :
40. A God in Ruins - Kate Atkinson (A) :
39. Sweet Tooth Vol 6: Wild Game - Jeff Lemire (GN) :
38. More Baths Less Talking - Nick Hornby :
37. Sweet Tooth Vol 5: Unnatural Habits - Jeff Lemire (GN) :
36. Sweet Tooth Vol 4: Endangered Species - Jeff Lemire (GN) :
35. John Henry Days - Colson Whited (A) :
34. The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller (LL) :
33. Sweet Tooth Vol 3: Animal Armies - Jeff Lemire (GN) :
32. Sweet Tooth Vol 2: In Captivity - Jeff Lemire (GN) :
31. Inherent Vice - Thomas Pynchon :
Favorite : The Song of Achilles
April
30. Sweet Tooth Vol 1: Out of the Deep Woods - Jeff Lemire (GN) :
29. One Last Thing Before I Go - Jonathan Tropper :
28. Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory - Martha Wells :
27. The Wild Blue - Stephen Ambrose :
26. Lanny - Max Porter (A) :
25. Olive, Again - Elizabeth Strout (A) :
24. How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia - Mohsin Hamid (LL):
Favorite : How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
5mahsdad
2021 Statistics - Q1
A - Audio
ER - Early Review
GN - Graphic Novel
K - Kindle
LL - Life's Library
March
23. Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout (A) :
22. Shopgirl - Steve Martin :
21. Recursion - Blake Crouch :
20. Little Weirds - Jenny Slate (A) :
19. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel - Alexander Chee (LL) :
18. Network Effect - Martha Wells (K) :
17. Leonardo da Vinci - Walter Isaacson (A) :
16. Scott Pilgrim Vol 2 - Bryan Lee O'Malley (GN) :
15. Dark Matter : A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora edited by Sheree Thomas :
Favorite : How to Write an Autobiographical Novel
February
14. The Porpoise - Mark Haddon (A) :
13. Scott Pilgrim Vol 1 - Bryan Lee O'Malley (GN) :
12. Forever Free - Joe Haldeman (A) :
11. Forever Peace - Joe Haldeman (A) :
Favorite : The Porpoise
January
10. The Accidental Time Machine - Joe Haldeman (A) :
9. Forever War - Joe Haldeman (K) :
8. House of M - Brian Michael Bendis (GN) :
7. There, There - Tommy Orange (A) :
6. Ready Player Two - Ernest Cline :
5. Rant - Chuck Palahniuk (A) :
4. Pirate Hunters - Robert Kurson :
3. If It Bleeds - Stephen King (A) :
2. Themes and Variations - David Sedaris (K) :
1. The Day I Died - Lori Rader-Day (ER) :
Favorite : Ready Player Two
A - Audio
ER - Early Review
GN - Graphic Novel
K - Kindle
LL - Life's Library
March
23. Olive Kitteridge - Elizabeth Strout (A) :
22. Shopgirl - Steve Martin :
21. Recursion - Blake Crouch :
20. Little Weirds - Jenny Slate (A) :
19. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel - Alexander Chee (LL) :
18. Network Effect - Martha Wells (K) :
17. Leonardo da Vinci - Walter Isaacson (A) :
16. Scott Pilgrim Vol 2 - Bryan Lee O'Malley (GN) :
15. Dark Matter : A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora edited by Sheree Thomas :
Favorite : How to Write an Autobiographical Novel
February
14. The Porpoise - Mark Haddon (A) :
13. Scott Pilgrim Vol 1 - Bryan Lee O'Malley (GN) :
12. Forever Free - Joe Haldeman (A) :
11. Forever Peace - Joe Haldeman (A) :
Favorite : The Porpoise
January
10. The Accidental Time Machine - Joe Haldeman (A) :
9. Forever War - Joe Haldeman (K) :
8. House of M - Brian Michael Bendis (GN) :
7. There, There - Tommy Orange (A) :
6. Ready Player Two - Ernest Cline :
5. Rant - Chuck Palahniuk (A) :
4. Pirate Hunters - Robert Kurson :
3. If It Bleeds - Stephen King (A) :
2. Themes and Variations - David Sedaris (K) :
1. The Day I Died - Lori Rader-Day (ER) :
Favorite : Ready Player Two
6mahsdad
Audiobook Narrators
Will Patton,
Stephen Weber,
Danny Burstein - If It Bleeds
Too Many to List - Rant
Darrell Dennis,
Shaun Tylor-Corbett,
Alma Ceurvo,
Kyla Garcia - There, There
Kevin Free - The Accidental Time Machine
George Wilson - Forever Peace
Peter Berkrot - Forever Free
Tim McInnerny - The Porpoise
Alfred Molina - Leonardo da Vinci
Jenny Slate - Little Weirds
Kimberly Farr - Olive Kitteridge, Olive, Again
Annie Aldington, Clare Corbett, David Timson, Jot Davies - Lanny
John Shea - One Last Thing Before I Go
Peter Jay Fernandez - John Henry Days
Alex Jennings - A God in Ruins
Euan Morton - Fool, The Serpent of Venice
Kirsten Potter - Brooklyn
George Guidall - Night, Dawn, Day
Cory Snow - Thunder Below
Stefan Rudnicki (and a cast of others) - Ender in Exile
Dylan Moore - The Glass Hotel
Seth Numrich - Later
Steve Barry - Alaska
Graham Halstead - Orphans of the Sky
Scott Brick (plus a whole bunch more) - Dune
Santino Fontana - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Jonathan Davis
Marc Thompson, plus a plethora of others - From A Certain Point of View : 40 Stories Celebrating 40 years of The Empire Strikes Back
Bill Bryson - The Body : A Guide for Occupants
Marc Thompson - Relic
James Marsters - Storm Front
Will Patton,
Stephen Weber,
Danny Burstein - If It Bleeds
Too Many to List - Rant
Darrell Dennis,
Shaun Tylor-Corbett,
Alma Ceurvo,
Kyla Garcia - There, There
Kevin Free - The Accidental Time Machine
George Wilson - Forever Peace
Peter Berkrot - Forever Free
Tim McInnerny - The Porpoise
Alfred Molina - Leonardo da Vinci
Jenny Slate - Little Weirds
Kimberly Farr - Olive Kitteridge, Olive, Again
Annie Aldington, Clare Corbett, David Timson, Jot Davies - Lanny
John Shea - One Last Thing Before I Go
Peter Jay Fernandez - John Henry Days
Alex Jennings - A God in Ruins
Euan Morton - Fool, The Serpent of Venice
Kirsten Potter - Brooklyn
George Guidall - Night, Dawn, Day
Cory Snow - Thunder Below
Stefan Rudnicki (and a cast of others) - Ender in Exile
Dylan Moore - The Glass Hotel
Seth Numrich - Later
Steve Barry - Alaska
Graham Halstead - Orphans of the Sky
Scott Brick (plus a whole bunch more) - Dune
Santino Fontana - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
Jonathan Davis
Marc Thompson, plus a plethora of others - From A Certain Point of View : 40 Stories Celebrating 40 years of The Empire Strikes Back
Bill Bryson - The Body : A Guide for Occupants
Marc Thompson - Relic
James Marsters - Storm Front
7mahsdad
Life's Library Book Club
Life’s Library was created by John Green and Rosianna Halse Rojas to celebrate two of their favourite things: good books and good communities. Every 6 weeks or so, they send out a new book. Hopefully, from authors that I've never heard of.
Season 1
1. If You Come Softly- Jacqueline Woodson -
2. A Field Guide to Getting Lost - Rebecca Solnit -
3. We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled - Wendy Pearlman -
4. The House of the Spirits - Isabel Allende -
5. The Yiddish Policemen's Union - Michael Chabon -
6. Stories of Your Life and Others - Ted Chiang -
7. Mountains Beyond Mountains (The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World) - Tracy Kidder -
8. The Summer Book - Tove Jannson -
9. Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones -
Season 2
1. The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler :
2. All Systems Red by Martha Wells :
2a. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne :
3. Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo :
4. Space Struck by Paige Lewis :
5. Faces in the Crowd by Valeria Luiselli :
6. On Immunity by Eula Biss :
7. Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard :
8. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - Read several years ago. Skipping it this time.
9. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee :
Season 3
1. How to get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid :
2. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller :
3. Whose Names are Unknown by Sanora Babb :
4. Without You There Is No Us by Suki Kim :
5. Birds, Art, Life by Kyo Maclear :
6. Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller :
7. Rosewater by Tade Thompson
8. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
8mahsdad
Pulitzer's Read
Ongoing bucket list to read all the Pulitzer winning novels. Santa was very good to me this year on this front, so I got plenty to work with
Bold : On the Shelf
Strikeout : Completed
Total Read - 33
2020 - The Nickel Boys
2019 - The Overstory
2018 - Less
2017 -Underground Railroad
2016 - The Sympathizer
2015 -All the Light We Cannot See
2014 -The Goldfinch
2013 -The Orphan Master's Son
2012 - NO AWARD
-Swamplandia - Nominee
2011 -A Visit from the Goon Squad
2010 -Tinkers
2009 -Olive Kitterridge
2008 -The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
2007 -The Road
2006 -March
2005 -Gilead
2004 - The Known World
2003 -Middlesex
2002 - Empire Falls
2001 -The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
2000 -The Interpreter of Maladies
1999 -The Hours
1998 - American Pastoral
1997 - Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer
1996 - Independence Day
1995 - The Stone Diaries
1994 - The Shipping News
1993 -A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain
1992 -A Thousand Acres
-My Father Bleeds History (Maus) (Special Awards & Citations - Letters)
1991 - Rabbit at Rest
1990 - The Mambo Kings
1989 - Breathing Lessons
1988 - Beloved DNF
1987 - A Summons to Memphis
1986 -Lonesome Dove
1985 - Foreign Affairs
1984 -Ironweed
1983 -The Color Purple
1982 - Rabbit is Rich
1981 -A Confederacy of Dunces
1980 -The Executioner's Song
1979 -The Stories of John Cheever
1978 - Elbow Room
1977 - NO AWARD
1976 - Humboldt's Gift
1975 -The Killer Angels
1974 - NO AWARD
1973 - The Optimist's Daughter
1972 -Angle of Repose
1971 - NO AWARD
1970 - The collected Stories of Jean Stafford
1969 - House Made of Dawn : DNF
1968 -The Confessions of Nat Turner
1967 - The Fixer
1966 - The Collected Stories of katherine Anne Porter
1965 - The Keepers of the House
1964 - NO AWARD
1963 - The Reivers
1962 - The Edge of Sadness
1961 -To Kill a Mockingbird
1960 - Advise and Consent
1959 - The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
1958 - A Death in the Family
1957 - NO AWARD
1956 - Andersonville
1955 - A Fable
1954 - NO AWARD
1953 - The Old Man and the Sea
1952 -The Caine Mutiny
1951 - The Town
1950 - The Way West
1949 -Guard of Honor
1948 - Tales of the South Pacific
1947 - All the King's Men
1946 - NO AWARD
1945 - A Bell
1944 - Journey in the Dark
1943 - Dragon's Teeth
1942 - In This Our Life
1941 - NO AWARD
1940 -The Grapes of Wrath
1928 -The Bridge of San Luis Rey
Ongoing bucket list to read all the Pulitzer winning novels. Santa was very good to me this year on this front, so I got plenty to work with
Bold : On the Shelf
Total Read - 33
2020 - The Nickel Boys
2019 - The Overstory
2018 - Less
2017 -
2016 - The Sympathizer
2015 -
2014 -
2013 -
2012 - NO AWARD
-
2011 -
2010 -
2009 -
2008 -
2007 -
2006 -
2005 -
2004 - The Known World
2003 -
2002 - Empire Falls
2001 -
2000 -
1999 -
1998 - American Pastoral
1997 - Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer
1996 - Independence Day
1995 - The Stone Diaries
1994 - The Shipping News
1993 -
1992 -
-
1991 - Rabbit at Rest
1990 - The Mambo Kings
1989 - Breathing Lessons
1988 - Beloved DNF
1987 - A Summons to Memphis
1986 -
1985 - Foreign Affairs
1984 -
1983 -
1982 - Rabbit is Rich
1981 -
1980 -
1979 -
1978 - Elbow Room
1977 - NO AWARD
1976 - Humboldt's Gift
1975 -
1974 - NO AWARD
1973 - The Optimist's Daughter
1972 -
1971 - NO AWARD
1970 - The collected Stories of Jean Stafford
1969 - House Made of Dawn : DNF
1968 -
1967 - The Fixer
1966 - The Collected Stories of katherine Anne Porter
1965 - The Keepers of the House
1964 - NO AWARD
1963 - The Reivers
1962 - The Edge of Sadness
1961 -
1960 - Advise and Consent
1959 - The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
1958 - A Death in the Family
1957 - NO AWARD
1956 - Andersonville
1955 - A Fable
1954 - NO AWARD
1953 - The Old Man and the Sea
1952 -
1951 - The Town
1950 - The Way West
1949 -
1948 - Tales of the South Pacific
1947 - All the King's Men
1946 - NO AWARD
1945 - A Bell
1944 - Journey in the Dark
1943 - Dragon's Teeth
1942 - In This Our Life
1941 - NO AWARD
1940 -
1928 -
9mahsdad
Hugos Read
Ongoing bucket list to read all the Hugo winning novels.
Bold : On the Shelf
Strikeout : Completed
Total Read - 37
2020 - A Memory Called Empire - Arkady Martine
2019 -The Calculating Stars
2018 - The Stone Sky
2018 -All Systems Red - Novella
2017 - The Obelisk Gate
2016 - The Fifth Season
2015 - The Three-Body Problem
2014 -Ancillary Justice (DNF)
2013 -Redshirts
2012 -Among Others
2011 - Blackout/All Clear
2010 -The Windup Girl
The City & the City
2009 -The Graveyard Book
2008 -The Yiddish Policemen's Union
2007 - Rainbows End
2006 -Spin
2005 - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
2004 - Paladin of Souls
2003 - Hominids
2003 -Coraline (novella)
2002 -American Gods
2001 -Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2000 - A Deepness in the Sky
1999 -To Say Nothing of the Dog
1998 -Forever Peace
1997 - Blue Mars
1996 -The Diamond Age
1995 - Mirror Dance
1994 - Green Mars
1993 - A Fire Upon the Deep
Doomsday Book
1992 - Barrayar
1991 - The Vor Game
1990 - Hyperion
1989 - Cyteen
1988 -The Uplift War
1988 -Watchmen - category : Other forms
1987 -Speaker for the Dead
1986 -Ender's Game
1985 -Neuromancer
1985 -The Crystal Spheres - David Brin - Short Story
1984 -Startide Rising
1983 - Foundation's Edge
1982 - Downbelow Station
1981 - The Snow Queen
1980 - The Fountains of Paradise
1979 - Dreamsnake
1978 - Gateway
1977 - Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
1976 -The Forever War
1975 - The Dispossessed
1974 -Rendezvous with Rama
1973 -The Gods Themselves
1972 - To Your Scattered Bodies Go
1971 -Ringworld
1970 -Left Hand of Darkness
1969 -Stand on Zanzibar
1968 - Lord of Light
1967 -The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
1966 -Dune
This Immortal
1965 - The Wanderer
1964 -Way Station
1963 -The Man in the High Castle
1962 -Stranger in a Strange Land
1961 -A Canticle for Leibowitz
1960 -Starship Troopers
1959 - A Case of Conscience
1958 - The Big Time
1956 - Double Star
1955 - The Forever Machine
1953 -The Demolished Man
Retro Hugos - this are given for years when no award was given (more than 50 years ago). Of those...
1939 - The Sword in the Stone
1951 -Farmer in the Sky
1954 -Fahrenheit 451
Ongoing bucket list to read all the Hugo winning novels.
Bold : On the Shelf
Total Read - 37
2020 - A Memory Called Empire - Arkady Martine
2019 -
2018 - The Stone Sky
2018 -
2017 - The Obelisk Gate
2016 - The Fifth Season
2015 - The Three-Body Problem
2014 -
2013 -
2012 -
2011 - Blackout/All Clear
2010 -
The City & the City
2009 -
2008 -
2007 - Rainbows End
2006 -
2005 - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
2004 - Paladin of Souls
2003 - Hominids
2003 -
2002 -
2001 -
2000 - A Deepness in the Sky
1999 -
1998 -
1997 - Blue Mars
1996 -
1995 - Mirror Dance
1994 - Green Mars
1993 - A Fire Upon the Deep
Doomsday Book
1992 - Barrayar
1991 - The Vor Game
1990 - Hyperion
1989 - Cyteen
1988 -
1988 -
1987 -
1986 -
1985 -
1985 -
1984 -
1983 - Foundation's Edge
1982 - Downbelow Station
1981 - The Snow Queen
1980 - The Fountains of Paradise
1979 - Dreamsnake
1978 - Gateway
1977 - Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
1976 -
1975 - The Dispossessed
1974 -
1973 -
1972 - To Your Scattered Bodies Go
1971 -
1970 -
1969 -
1968 - Lord of Light
1967 -
1966 -
This Immortal
1965 - The Wanderer
1964 -
1963 -
1962 -
1961 -
1960 -
1959 - A Case of Conscience
1958 - The Big Time
1956 - Double Star
1955 - The Forever Machine
1953 -
Retro Hugos - this are given for years when no award was given (more than 50 years ago). Of those...
1939 - The Sword in the Stone
1951 -
1954 -
10mahsdad
National Book Award Winners
2015 - Fortune Smiles
2014 - Redeployment
2001 - The Corrections
1988 - Paris Trout
1985 - White Noise - Don Delillo
1983 - The Color Purple - hardback award
1981 - The Stories of John Cheever - paperback award
1980 - The World According to Garp - paperback award
1953 - Invisible Man
Man Booker Books
2002 - Life of Pi
2009 - Wolf Hall - sadly I never finished this, never hooked me.
2015 - A Brief History of Seven Killings
2016 - The Sellout
2017 - Lincoln in the Bardo
2015 - Fortune Smiles
2014 - Redeployment
2001 - The Corrections
1988 - Paris Trout
1985 - White Noise - Don Delillo
1983 - The Color Purple - hardback award
1981 - The Stories of John Cheever - paperback award
1980 - The World According to Garp - paperback award
1953 - Invisible Man
Man Booker Books
2002 - Life of Pi
2009 - Wolf Hall - sadly I never finished this, never hooked me.
2015 - A Brief History of Seven Killings
2016 - The Sellout
2017 - Lincoln in the Bardo
11mahsdad
The 75'r Chunkster List
1. The Overstory by Richard Powers
2. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
3. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco READ
4. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
5. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell READ
6. The Witch Elm by Tana French
7. The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood
8. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr READ
9. Little, Big by John Crowley
10. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides READ
11. The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt
12. Possession by A.S. Byatt
13. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel DNF
14. The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee
15. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
16. The Parisian : A Novel
17. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
18. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
19. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami READ
20. Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
21. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie OWNED
22. American Gods by Neil Gaiman READ
23. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon READ
24. The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
25. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen READ
26. Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
27. A Naked Singularity by Sergio de la Pava
28. An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
29. A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James READ
30. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson READ
31. The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
32. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
33. Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin READ
34. JR by William Gaddis
35. Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko
36. Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon
37. Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
38. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett READ
39. The Stand by Stephen King READ
40. Underworld by Don DeLillo
41. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
42. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
43. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry READ
44. 2666 by Roberto Bolano
45. Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra
46. Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
47. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
48. Parallel Stories by Peter Nadas
49. Women and Men by Joseph McElroy
50. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
Paul's Alternative 20
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
The Far Pavilions by MM Kaye
Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman
Saville by David Storey
To Serve Them All My Days by RF Delderfield
Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
Sophie's Choice by William Styron
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving READ
The Singapore Grip by JG Farrell
Magician by Raymond E Feist
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
A Chain of Voices by Andre Brink
Bill's Alternative Weird Dozen
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis READ
Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
Rabbit at Rest by John Updike
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger READ
Cider House Rules by John Irving
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo
The Book and the Brotherhood by Iris Murdoch
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak READ
August 1914 by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey
Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams READ
11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King READ
His Dark Materials Omnibus (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman
The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer
Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling READ
1. The Overstory by Richard Powers
2. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
3. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco READ
4. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
5. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell READ
6. The Witch Elm by Tana French
7. The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood
8. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr READ
9. Little, Big by John Crowley
10. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides READ
11. The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt
12. Possession by A.S. Byatt
13. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel DNF
14. The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee
15. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
16. The Parisian : A Novel
17. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
18. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
19. The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami READ
20. Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
21. Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie OWNED
22. American Gods by Neil Gaiman READ
23. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon READ
24. The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
25. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen READ
26. Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
27. A Naked Singularity by Sergio de la Pava
28. An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
29. A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James READ
30. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson READ
31. The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
32. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
33. Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin READ
34. JR by William Gaddis
35. Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko
36. Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon
37. Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
38. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett READ
39. The Stand by Stephen King READ
40. Underworld by Don DeLillo
41. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
42. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
43. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry READ
44. 2666 by Roberto Bolano
45. Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra
46. Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
47. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
48. Parallel Stories by Peter Nadas
49. Women and Men by Joseph McElroy
50. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
Paul's Alternative 20
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
The Far Pavilions by MM Kaye
Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman
Saville by David Storey
To Serve Them All My Days by RF Delderfield
Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
Sophie's Choice by William Styron
Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving READ
The Singapore Grip by JG Farrell
Magician by Raymond E Feist
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
A Chain of Voices by Andre Brink
Bill's Alternative Weird Dozen
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis READ
Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi
Rabbit at Rest by John Updike
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger READ
Cider House Rules by John Irving
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo
The Book and the Brotherhood by Iris Murdoch
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak READ
August 1914 by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey
Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams READ
11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King READ
His Dark Materials Omnibus (The Golden Compass; The Subtle Knife; The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman
The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer
Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling READ
13mahsdad
Books of the Month
January : Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
February : The Porpoise by Mark Haddon
March : How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee
April : How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
May : The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
June : Circe by Madeline Miller
July : Whose Names are Unknown by Sanora Babb
August : Joe by Larry Brown
September : The Rabbit Factory by Larry Brown
January : Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
February : The Porpoise by Mark Haddon
March : How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee
April : How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
May : The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
June : Circe by Madeline Miller
July : Whose Names are Unknown by Sanora Babb
August : Joe by Larry Brown
September : The Rabbit Factory by Larry Brown
14mahsdad
Well its Friday, and the topper is my FFP for the day. :)
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - Candide by Voltaire. Yes, I'm reading a 262 year old book. And its quite good. Its funny and perverse and surprising.
Listening - Alaska by James Michener. Its the neverending story. We're now up to about the 1830s. Though I do think they were punishing me a bit, I think there was a glitch that duplicated about an hour or so. I swear there was a whole section I listened to twice. The downside of audio, its its really tough to find your way back when you've lost your place. Ebooks too. Nothing like being able to flip back and forth in a DTE.
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - Candide by Voltaire. Yes, I'm reading a 262 year old book. And its quite good. Its funny and perverse and surprising.
Listening - Alaska by James Michener. Its the neverending story. We're now up to about the 1830s. Though I do think they were punishing me a bit, I think there was a glitch that duplicated about an hour or so. I swear there was a whole section I listened to twice. The downside of audio, its its really tough to find your way back when you've lost your place. Ebooks too. Nothing like being able to flip back and forth in a DTE.
16FAMeulstee
Happy new thread, Jeff!
17richardderus
New thread orisons, Jeff! The spooky lamps are perfect 4Q/Halloween/Samhain decorations. Shadows always work as added drama.
19PaulCranswick
Happy new one, buddy.
>1 mahsdad: Your comments made me smile. I was walking across the site office a couple of days ago and bumped into the Design Manager (not literally of course). Bearing in mind I was on my way back to my desk after a meeting with the Project Managers; she said to me. "Hi Mr. Paul, where's your book?" I am so rarely seen without one!
>1 mahsdad: Your comments made me smile. I was walking across the site office a couple of days ago and bumped into the Design Manager (not literally of course). Bearing in mind I was on my way back to my desk after a meeting with the Project Managers; she said to me. "Hi Mr. Paul, where's your book?" I am so rarely seen without one!
20ursula
Hello there, just read the end of the last thread. I lived in Denver for almost 5 years and it's one of the few places I would move back to. I kind of hated it at first (the dryness of the air cannot be overestimated), but grew to quite enjoy it. Another nice thing about it is that it's 500 miles or so from anything of even comparable size, so you can find essentially everything there, and if you're into live music, bands always stop there.
21richardderus
Jeff, you really need to go look at Anton Petrov's 10-min video about nature photography!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvkSvKkLBCI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvkSvKkLBCI
22mahsdad
>15 quondame: Thanks Susan, its more decorated now. :)
>16 FAMeulstee: >18 drneutron: Thanks Anita, Jim
>17 richardderus: >21 richardderus: Thanks for the photo love RD. Yeah, it came out quite nice. And I will definitely check out that video
>19 PaulCranswick: Hey Paul, Its what I love about Dad shorts (aka cargo shorts), they fit a paperback quite nicely. I too, am very rarely without a book on my person, forgetting, of course, the regular access to ebooks.
>20 ursula: Thanks Ursula, I guess, I'm going to have to make my way over there, at least for a visit. Sounds wonderful. :)
>16 FAMeulstee: >18 drneutron: Thanks Anita, Jim
>17 richardderus: >21 richardderus: Thanks for the photo love RD. Yeah, it came out quite nice. And I will definitely check out that video
>19 PaulCranswick: Hey Paul, Its what I love about Dad shorts (aka cargo shorts), they fit a paperback quite nicely. I too, am very rarely without a book on my person, forgetting, of course, the regular access to ebooks.
>20 ursula: Thanks Ursula, I guess, I'm going to have to make my way over there, at least for a visit. Sounds wonderful. :)
23quondame
>22 mahsdad: So it is. And nicely too.
24mahsdad
Thanks Susan!
For everyone, here is a very interesting video from Smarter Every Day on how the new James Webb Space Telescope works
https://youtu.be/4P8fKd0IVOs
Destin interviews Dr. John Mather, who is the chief project scientist for the telescope. Very cool.
For everyone, here is a very interesting video from Smarter Every Day on how the new James Webb Space Telescope works
https://youtu.be/4P8fKd0IVOs
Destin interviews Dr. John Mather, who is the chief project scientist for the telescope. Very cool.
25mahsdad
Viernes de fotos fantásticas
Hidey-Ho Folks! Happy Friday. Well we made it past our Summer in October heat wave, got a wonderful unexpected thunderstorm the other day and that was glorious to watch. Today's image comes from a visit to the PV cliffs we made last weekend. You are looking at the Pt. Vincente lighthouse.
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books - I think its going to be a light month
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading : Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
Reading : Raw Shark Texts by Stephen Hall
Listening : Alaska by James Michener. Yes, I'm still reading this. I've renewed once, and I upped the speed to 1.5x, so its going a "little" quicker. We're up to the late 1800's and all the gold prospecting. I'm at 56%. If I keep up the pace, I might actually finish this month.
Hidey-Ho Folks! Happy Friday. Well we made it past our Summer in October heat wave, got a wonderful unexpected thunderstorm the other day and that was glorious to watch. Today's image comes from a visit to the PV cliffs we made last weekend. You are looking at the Pt. Vincente lighthouse.
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books - I think its going to be a light month
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading : Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
Reading : Raw Shark Texts by Stephen Hall
Listening : Alaska by James Michener. Yes, I'm still reading this. I've renewed once, and I upped the speed to 1.5x, so its going a "little" quicker. We're up to the late 1800's and all the gold prospecting. I'm at 56%. If I keep up the pace, I might actually finish this month.
26richardderus
>25 mahsdad: That view is a stunner, Jeff. And speaking of being stunned...why are you still beating yourself about the ears with that Michener listen? Have you made it past the point where stromatolites have oxygenated the planet's oceans yet?
27mahsdad
>26 richardderus: Ha. Yes that didn't last too long, but there was a bunch of that. the inner monolog of a wooly mammoth matriarch was a bit much. We're now in the late 1890s, during the heady gold rush days. He spent a bit too much time, IMO in the Yukon, which is technically Canada. I just learned that the there was a big rush on getting gold out of the beaches of Nome. Everything that they didn't get out of the rivers had to end up somewhere. Their still pulling gold out of the ocean, TLC ran a (maybe they still do) show called Bering Sea Gold. People were building dredgers and just pulling muck off the bottom of the ocean.
I've been to Alaska a couple times and I really like it and its fun getting the backstory, however over dramatized it may be.
Sure its WAY long, but I'm enjoying it. Luckily, the narrator (Larry McKeever), as a good voice and it lends itself well to listening 1.5x. Some voices don't do well accelerated.
Thanks for the photo love!
I've been to Alaska a couple times and I really like it and its fun getting the backstory, however over dramatized it may be.
Sure its WAY long, but I'm enjoying it. Luckily, the narrator (Larry McKeever), as a good voice and it lends itself well to listening 1.5x. Some voices don't do well accelerated.
Thanks for the photo love!
28kidzdoc
>25 mahsdad: Great photo, Jeff!
31richardderus
Jeff, plenty o' time to get registered for BoucherCon 2022...Minneapolis! W00t!
But seriously, your gal-pal Lori Rader-Day will be heavily present: http://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2021/10/bouchercon-2022-minneapolis-land-o...
But seriously, your gal-pal Lori Rader-Day will be heavily present: http://mysteryreadersinc.blogspot.com/2021/10/bouchercon-2022-minneapolis-land-o...
32mahsdad
>30 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita!
>31 richardderus: Not sure if that's really my cup-o-tea. To be perfectly honest, Mystery isn't a go-to genre for me. I'll ready it, if the opportunity arises, but its not my first thought. And my gal-pal Rader-Day? Not sure where you're getting that. Sure, I read the The Day I Died and I sent it to you, but I got that from LTER and its my first of hers that I read. I liked it, but certainly not enough to make me get on a plane to Minneapolis. LOL. That's for thinking of me, tho. ;)
>31 richardderus: Not sure if that's really my cup-o-tea. To be perfectly honest, Mystery isn't a go-to genre for me. I'll ready it, if the opportunity arises, but its not my first thought. And my gal-pal Rader-Day? Not sure where you're getting that. Sure, I read the The Day I Died and I sent it to you, but I got that from LTER and its my first of hers that I read. I liked it, but certainly not enough to make me get on a plane to Minneapolis. LOL. That's for thinking of me, tho. ;)
33richardderus
Weeelllll, here I am...just wanderin' through...seein' what's doin'...laaa deee daaah
34msf59
Happy Friday, Jeff. Happy Belated New Thread. I am not sure how I missed the occasion. Are you still enjoying Raw Shark Texts? I am currently loving Tears of the Trufflepig. Keep this one in mind. It really feels like it would be your cuppa.
35mahsdad
>33 richardderus: Yeah, yeah. I know. Sorry. Damn I got to win the lottery so I can retire. Oh wait, Damn I got to start playing the lottery so I can win the lottery so I can retire.
>34 msf59: Hey Mark, Thanks! I am enjoying RST. Trufflepig - surreal, magical realism, political parable.... Yes please. :)
>34 msf59: Hey Mark, Thanks! I am enjoying RST. Trufflepig - surreal, magical realism, political parable.... Yes please. :)
36mahsdad
Fantastische foto vrijdag
I'm late I know my humble apologies. Had a nasty bit of excel data comparisons to wade thru. Heating up again, I guess I spoke too soon last week about our October summer being over. Couple more days of Santa Anas. To quote Steely Dan... Here come those Santa Ana winds again... Laura has a craft show tomorrow so I'll be on my own, which means sitting around on my ass tryinig to stay off of TikTok and keep my nose in a book. In otherwords, a usual Saturday, whether she's here or not. LOL. Today's image is a screen grab from a video I took of last weekend's Lightning storm. It was glorious, very rarely do we see lightning around here. And, as a follow on to my posts in Mark's thread. All those yellow light blobs you see are cargo ships.
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books - maybe I'll come in strong at the end, but this is going to be my lightest month so far
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
Reading - Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall
Listening - Alaska by James Michener. I'm just at 80%. We've just made it to WWII. I will say that if I thought the anthropomorphized Mammoth was a bit much at the beginning, the anthropomorphized Salmon a little bit ago was WAY too much. Still enjoying it at any rate.
I'm late I know my humble apologies. Had a nasty bit of excel data comparisons to wade thru. Heating up again, I guess I spoke too soon last week about our October summer being over. Couple more days of Santa Anas. To quote Steely Dan... Here come those Santa Ana winds again... Laura has a craft show tomorrow so I'll be on my own, which means sitting around on my ass tryinig to stay off of TikTok and keep my nose in a book. In otherwords, a usual Saturday, whether she's here or not. LOL. Today's image is a screen grab from a video I took of last weekend's Lightning storm. It was glorious, very rarely do we see lightning around here. And, as a follow on to my posts in Mark's thread. All those yellow light blobs you see are cargo ships.
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books - maybe I'll come in strong at the end, but this is going to be my lightest month so far
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
Reading - Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall
Listening - Alaska by James Michener. I'm just at 80%. We've just made it to WWII. I will say that if I thought the anthropomorphized Mammoth was a bit much at the beginning, the anthropomorphized Salmon a little bit ago was WAY too much. Still enjoying it at any rate.
37richardderus
>36 mahsdad: Ooo! I remember one (1) thunderstorm from the years I was living in/traveling to Cali, in 1963. It's beautiful.
Yes, Long Beach is near Bayonne, NJ, a major cargo port, and we see goboodles of cargo ships a half mile or so off shore all the time. Here lately they've been moving at a good clip! I went looking for a decent photo of the shoreline but got dispirited....
"Enjoy" that last 20%!
Yes, Long Beach is near Bayonne, NJ, a major cargo port, and we see goboodles of cargo ships a half mile or so off shore all the time. Here lately they've been moving at a good clip! I went looking for a decent photo of the shoreline but got dispirited....
"Enjoy" that last 20%!
38FAMeulstee
>36 mahsdad: Thanks for speaking Dutch this Friday, Jeff, it immediately caught my eye :-)
39mahsdad
>36 mahsdad: you are so welcome Anita. It’s one the best things about my silly Friday posts. And I definitely love when people recognize the language
40benitastrnad
I have a copy of Raw Shark Texts on my shelves. Mayperhaps I should get it off the shelf and read it?
41mahsdad
Hey Benita, I'm always hesitant t recommend books, that are a little bit out there, I never know how others tastes are going to align with mine. I'm weird and I'm liking it, I think its worth a shot.
42Berly
We are finally back to normal weather in Portland and I am loving it! I had a great trip to NY and I loved taking pictures of the architecture. Posted a few on my thread. I can't believe all those cargo ships off the coast. What a mess! In fact, in light of this major backup, Portland is going to reopen our port up here. I just hope they can find workers....
43mahsdad
>42 Berly: Hi Kim, glad the weather's getting back to normal. I'll have to swing by and take a look at your shots.
As much as I wouldn't like to see the business move from my backyard (actually front yard), but expanding the capabilities of the whole west coast is a good thing, IMO.
As much as I wouldn't like to see the business move from my backyard (actually front yard), but expanding the capabilities of the whole west coast is a good thing, IMO.
44mahsdad
72. Alaska by James Michener 8/10
So 38 days later, I finally finished it. Yes it was an epic of a door stop novel that I listened to mostly at 1.5x. But ultimately it was a good read. The epic history of our largest, but 4th least populated state. I've been there twice and would go again in a heartbeat. Sure it was a dramatized history, but it spanned all the various styles and trends of it. From the land bridge that brought both us and the mammals that feed us, to the Russian fur trade, to gold and the corporate corruption from Seattle, to salmon and hunting, to oil, to native empowerment and exploitation of native people to tourism. It ran the gambit. There were a lot of familar names and places and I'll have to do a bit of research to see how much was real and how much was imagination.
Ultimately a worthwhile read, if you want to devote a month to a single book. :)
So 38 days later, I finally finished it. Yes it was an epic of a door stop novel that I listened to mostly at 1.5x. But ultimately it was a good read. The epic history of our largest, but 4th least populated state. I've been there twice and would go again in a heartbeat. Sure it was a dramatized history, but it spanned all the various styles and trends of it. From the land bridge that brought both us and the mammals that feed us, to the Russian fur trade, to gold and the corporate corruption from Seattle, to salmon and hunting, to oil, to native empowerment and exploitation of native people to tourism. It ran the gambit. There were a lot of familar names and places and I'll have to do a bit of research to see how much was real and how much was imagination.
Ultimately a worthwhile read, if you want to devote a month to a single book. :)
45richardderus
>44 mahsdad: YOU'RE DONE!!!
Bravo, you silly masochist you.
But...of course...there is Something Missing....
Bravo, you silly masochist you.
But...of course...there is Something Missing....
46mahsdad
Sawirka Fantastic Jimcaha
Yeah I know RD, here yinz go. ;) Another week has come and almost gone. Weather's been very pleasant, yeah fall. I'm actually wearing pants, as opposed to the Dad shorts (aka cargo shorts) that I usually live in. :) We're headed out to Palm Springs tomorrow to check in on Laura's Mom. Hopefully do some more decluttering, maybe spend a bit of time in the pool (which for me means standing mostly submerged at the wall with a book), and have a nice dinner.
Today's image, while looking like a brag about my new phone, is actually how cool the reflection was when it was sitting on the table. Took it with Laura's phone. Have a great weekend.
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books - Yeah, I finally finished something
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall
Reading - Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
Listening - Orphans of the Sky by Robert Heinlein. Needed a short little palette cleanser after the epic of Alaska. A collection of 2 novellas, only about 5 hours long.
Yeah I know RD, here yinz go. ;) Another week has come and almost gone. Weather's been very pleasant, yeah fall. I'm actually wearing pants, as opposed to the Dad shorts (aka cargo shorts) that I usually live in. :) We're headed out to Palm Springs tomorrow to check in on Laura's Mom. Hopefully do some more decluttering, maybe spend a bit of time in the pool (which for me means standing mostly submerged at the wall with a book), and have a nice dinner.
Today's image, while looking like a brag about my new phone, is actually how cool the reflection was when it was sitting on the table. Took it with Laura's phone. Have a great weekend.
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books - Yeah, I finally finished something
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall
Reading - Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
Listening - Orphans of the Sky by Robert Heinlein. Needed a short little palette cleanser after the epic of Alaska. A collection of 2 novellas, only about 5 hours long.
47richardderus
>46 mahsdad: ...I am not to understanding image...why please are phone's backsides with lights geplonken?
48mahsdad
>47 richardderus: And that is why I love this image. It messes with yon brain. The phone is sitting face UP on a table. The roof above (actually a sunshade/tarp) with a string of lights is being reflected in the screen. I'm not sure how the blurryness got in there, but probably because the camera was focused on the lights, it thought that it was far away from the table and thus the blur.
Bizarre...
Bizarre...
49PaulCranswick
I am toying with adding Raw Shark Texts to the pile, Jeff and await your final views/ recommendations.
50Berly
>46 mahsdad: Cool image on the phone glass!! I like.
51mahsdad
>49 PaulCranswick: Hey Paul, thanks for stopping by. I finished Raw Shark Text over the weekend and I did enjoy it quite a bit. Its a weird book and I should have seen the conceit of the endgame coming before I did, but I enjoyed it. I like books/stories that play with words and the lives that might exist inside of words.
>50 Berly: Hey Kim! Thanks for the photo love.
>50 Berly: Hey Kim! Thanks for the photo love.
52mahsdad
Lightning Round
66. Notes from the Internet Apocalypse by Wayne Gladstone 6/10 : An odd little satire about what happens when the internet inexplicably stops working. Oh my stars and garters what so ever shall we do? Our hero (a similarly named Wayne Gladstone) sets out to find the internet, and the huddled masses group together to do in real life what they were addicted to on the 'Net. "drum" circles for Reddit, Youtube, 4chan. It was okay, a little dated. Only written 7 years ago, but the internet has moved on so much since then.
67. Later by Stephen King 8/10 : A young boy who sees dead people is forced to solve some gruesome crimes by his Mom's ex-girlfriend. Listened on audio. It was King (IMO) sticking with the crime genre that he's been doing well with, and throwing in some old school creepiness of young kids with special powers getting manipulated by the adults. Not too bad, worth a read.
69. The River by Peter Heller 8/10 : Not what I was expecting. Two post-college friends take an epic canoe trip down a river where they encounter the dual challenges of a looming wildfire and a husband and wife who may not be what they seem. Very intense little story, I could feel the tension of the environment as they were paddling down the river.
70. Birds Art Life by Kyo Maclear 7/10 : A Life's Library Bookclub pick. A memoir of sorts that chronicles the author's year of coping with life, her family and her ailing father, by becoming a birder and following a musician/photographer around Toronto. A good read, but not really my cuppa.
71. Candide by Voltaire 9/10 : The satirical and witty adventures of the young Candide, who is kicked out of the castle and high society for kissing the Baron's daughter. This sets him on a path from one tragedy to another, but yet some how he comes out on top. A classic I always knew about, but never read. This was a really fun and engaging read, even though it was written well over 200 years ago.
73. Raw Shark Text by Steven Hall 8/10 : Eric wakes up with no memory, only to find he isn't the first Eric. That Eric is leaving him messages about what went wrong and how to protect himself from what's coming. For reasons, he embarks on a quest to find the people who can tell him who he is, why he is and what's chasing him. As I've said before I really enjoyed getting behind the books and words and memories of life to see what's below the surface. A worthwhile read.
*review*
66. Notes from the Internet Apocalypse by Wayne Gladstone 6/10 : An odd little satire about what happens when the internet inexplicably stops working. Oh my stars and garters what so ever shall we do? Our hero (a similarly named Wayne Gladstone) sets out to find the internet, and the huddled masses group together to do in real life what they were addicted to on the 'Net. "drum" circles for Reddit, Youtube, 4chan. It was okay, a little dated. Only written 7 years ago, but the internet has moved on so much since then.
"We just escaped a park full of zombies," I said. "I thought we might, y'know, chill for a bit." "Yeah, that was pretty crazy. You have more followers now than you ever did on Twitter." "Yeah, I never really got Twitter," I confessed. "Well, reading Twitter's a lot like staring at an ant farm," Tobey explained. "Except without all the productivity." "And the ants hate themselves," Oz added.
67. Later by Stephen King 8/10 : A young boy who sees dead people is forced to solve some gruesome crimes by his Mom's ex-girlfriend. Listened on audio. It was King (IMO) sticking with the crime genre that he's been doing well with, and throwing in some old school creepiness of young kids with special powers getting manipulated by the adults. Not too bad, worth a read.
69. The River by Peter Heller 8/10 : Not what I was expecting. Two post-college friends take an epic canoe trip down a river where they encounter the dual challenges of a looming wildfire and a husband and wife who may not be what they seem. Very intense little story, I could feel the tension of the environment as they were paddling down the river.
70. Birds Art Life by Kyo Maclear 7/10 : A Life's Library Bookclub pick. A memoir of sorts that chronicles the author's year of coping with life, her family and her ailing father, by becoming a birder and following a musician/photographer around Toronto. A good read, but not really my cuppa.
When I waited it was early spring. Green snowdrop shoots and the first show of crocuses. It was a time to feel optimistic, and yet somehow I felt the opposite. The musician and I were sitting in a booth of a family restaurant...The dirty walls of snow lining the streets had begun to thaw. Now the roads were filled with a substance that resembled grey margarita mix.
According to Webster's dictionary, the word wait means to stay in a place of expectation, to not do something until something else happens. To wait mans to remain stationary in readiness. The etymology of wait is to look upon, to be attentive, awake
71. Candide by Voltaire 9/10 : The satirical and witty adventures of the young Candide, who is kicked out of the castle and high society for kissing the Baron's daughter. This sets him on a path from one tragedy to another, but yet some how he comes out on top. A classic I always knew about, but never read. This was a really fun and engaging read, even though it was written well over 200 years ago.
"You see" said Candide, "that crime is sometimes punished. That rogue of a Dutch skipper has met with the fate he deserved." "Yes", said Martin, "but was it necessary for all the passengers on his ship to die too?" "God has punished the villain, but the Devil drowned the rest"
"Have you ever been to France, Monsieur Martin?" asked Candide. "Yes, I have traveled thru several provinces. There are some where half the people are mad, some where they are too cunning; in others they are quite weak and simple, in others they affect to be witty; but in all regions, the principal occupation is making love, the next is slander, and the third is talking nonsense".
73. Raw Shark Text by Steven Hall 8/10 : Eric wakes up with no memory, only to find he isn't the first Eric. That Eric is leaving him messages about what went wrong and how to protect himself from what's coming. For reasons, he embarks on a quest to find the people who can tell him who he is, why he is and what's chasing him. As I've said before I really enjoyed getting behind the books and words and memories of life to see what's below the surface. A worthwhile read.
I looked again at the assortment of wood and boxes and cardboard and wires. "This is another conviction thing, isn't it?" Fidorous looked to be searching his brain for something. After a second he found it. "Have you heard of Matisse?" I nodded. "Good. Well, one day a man, a potential buyer, visited Matisse in his studio. This man spent a while looking at one of the artist's latest works before suddenly declaring 'That woman's arm is too long.' Do you know what Matisse said to him?" I shook my head. "He said, 'That is not a woman, sir. It's a painting'"
*review*
54scaifea
>52 mahsdad: I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed Candide, too. I'm glad you liked it!
55mahsdad
>53 drneutron: Thanks Jim. I did not, and now that's on the WL.
>54 scaifea: I'm not usually ones for the "classics", but it was on the really cheap pile at B&N a while ago and I couldn't pass it up. Didn't know what I was expecting, going in, but it definitely exceeded them.
>54 scaifea: I'm not usually ones for the "classics", but it was on the really cheap pile at B&N a while ago and I couldn't pass it up. Didn't know what I was expecting, going in, but it definitely exceeded them.
56mahsdad
So we're old school around the Helm residence. Consequently we still have a land line, which is primarily only used to receive many many spam calls (yeah we are working on transferring the number that we've had for 30 years to a cellphone plan, so we can come up to the modern age)
At any rate, today I got my most favorite call ever. Phone rings and I answer it, there is a brief pause while it connects and then in the background not quite directly on the phone, I hear a man belching. I say, Hey, wow, what did you have for lunch, sounds pretty good. Then the man in a deep voice says, No, not really, I gotta go, and hangs up.
Best ever, and that includes the time I had a guy tell me to F myself because I asked him what company he was with because it had been the third call that day of the same type. :)
At any rate, today I got my most favorite call ever. Phone rings and I answer it, there is a brief pause while it connects and then in the background not quite directly on the phone, I hear a man belching. I say, Hey, wow, what did you have for lunch, sounds pretty good. Then the man in a deep voice says, No, not really, I gotta go, and hangs up.
Best ever, and that includes the time I had a guy tell me to F myself because I asked him what company he was with because it had been the third call that day of the same type. :)
57jessibud2
>56 mahsdad: - I sometimes pick up the phone and say nothing, just wait for whoever is at the other end to begin. If the silence goes on too long, I hang up. Mostly, I don't bother answering at all, especially if there is no caller ID or if there is just a number showing that I don't recognize. Problem is, if I don't answer, no message is left. If I do, no one is there. So what, exactly, is the purpose of the calls? What do they gain from it? And who are *they*?
I used to hear about people who would answer, ask the caller for their name and number and say they will call them right back. That always cracked me up, even though I doubt it ever worked.
I used to hear about people who would answer, ask the caller for their name and number and say they will call them right back. That always cracked me up, even though I doubt it ever worked.
58mahsdad
>57 jessibud2: Yeah, usually I don't answer either, but sometimes I do, just for the fun of it. We don't have caller id on the phone so I don't know who's calling, but now its pretty much 99% spam calls and 1% someone or some business we've forgotten to change contact over to one of our cell phones.
Sometimes when I get them on my cell phone where I do see the caller id, I'll call that back just to see. Usually its a dead number because they're spoofing, but I have occasionally gotten a real person (not the spammer), and told them their number was being hacked.
Sometimes when I get them on my cell phone where I do see the caller id, I'll call that back just to see. Usually its a dead number because they're spoofing, but I have occasionally gotten a real person (not the spammer), and told them their number was being hacked.
59mahsdad
75
Boom goes the dynamite.
Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson was my 75th. A couple weeks earlier from last year. Yeah me. ;)
Boom goes the dynamite.
Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson was my 75th. A couple weeks earlier from last year. Yeah me. ;)
60benitastrnad
I still have a land line. I have a phone that has an answering machine built into it, but I am thinking of just removing that phone and putting my old princess phone back on it. That way nobody can leave me a message, but if I feel like answering it I will. The other thing, is that my phone is in my office, and my cell phone is in the car. If people call me, I don't answer. I figure the phone is there for me to call others. It is a good thing for people like me that most people are addicted to their phones and will answer when I get in the mood to call. Maybe this is the reverse of herd immunity. I am depending on the bad habits of others and living my life phone free - except when I want to use it.
61drneutron
>59 mahsdad: Congrats on hitting the goal!
62mahsdad
>60 benitastrnad: We live in earthquake country and we're always concerned that if the power goes out, cellphones stop working. And land lines generally keep working. But ATT have jacked up their prices and its virtually impossible to get a reasonably priced plan just for emergencies. I'll pay $20 a month to keep it even tho I never make calls but not $50. Time to look for a burner pay as you go plan and port the number.
I pretty much got to put myself firmly in the addicted to my phone camp. Though besides my wife, you all are the only ones I "talk" to, so I generally don't actual speak to anyone. LOL.
>61 drneutron: Thank you kind sir!
I pretty much got to put myself firmly in the addicted to my phone camp. Though besides my wife, you all are the only ones I "talk" to, so I generally don't actual speak to anyone. LOL.
>61 drneutron: Thank you kind sir!
64quondame
>59 mahsdad: Yay you! Congratulations on 75!
66FAMeulstee
>59 mahsdad: Congratulations on reaching 75, Jeff!
67figsfromthistle
Congrats on reading 75 books!
69mahsdad
A PSA for the FF. It will be delayed. I’m at the Dr’s office for follow up from yesterday’s cataract surgery. Now I have 2 bionic eyes. 🤪
70msf59
Happy Friday, Jeff. Congrats on hitting 75 & now possessing a pair of bionic eyes.
" We can rebuild him. We have the technology... Better, stronger, faster."
" We can rebuild him. We have the technology... Better, stronger, faster."
71richardderus
>69 mahsdad: It can wait! Bionic eyes need maintenance, and I'm glad you're getting yours done.
72weird_O
Congrats on getting to 75, Jeff. I got there two years ago. Oh wait, you're talking about books read, not age. Sorry sorry.
73mahsdad
>72 weird_O: LOL! Not quite there yet Bill. I just hit the double-nickel this year.
74mahsdad
Mirinda Foto Vendredo
Well hey there Friendly Folks. Coming to you a little late today. Yesterday, I went under the eye knife for the second time in 3 years. This time, to get the cataract in my right eye taken care of. They replaced it with a new lens that corrected my vision (without any lasik or the like) back to 20/20 Haven't had that uncorrected in 40+ years. Still healing but very pleased. Today had my post-op followup. Still have a bit of irritation and inflammation, but that's to be expected. The take away of being a 55 year old who's had 2 cataract surgeries.... Where your sunglasses. UV radiation can be a big factor. I'm sure there's a genetic component, but living in sunny CA, didn't help.
On to better topics, pictures. I am totally loving have a new camera (by way of my phone) to take the serendipitous pictures as I walk by. This one is just along the sidewalk on our way to lunch the other day. Just like the crusty railing. Have a great weekend all!
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
eBook - Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry 45%
Listing - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins 26%
Well hey there Friendly Folks. Coming to you a little late today. Yesterday, I went under the eye knife for the second time in 3 years. This time, to get the cataract in my right eye taken care of. They replaced it with a new lens that corrected my vision (without any lasik or the like) back to 20/20 Haven't had that uncorrected in 40+ years. Still healing but very pleased. Today had my post-op followup. Still have a bit of irritation and inflammation, but that's to be expected. The take away of being a 55 year old who's had 2 cataract surgeries.... Where your sunglasses. UV radiation can be a big factor. I'm sure there's a genetic component, but living in sunny CA, didn't help.
On to better topics, pictures. I am totally loving have a new camera (by way of my phone) to take the serendipitous pictures as I walk by. This one is just along the sidewalk on our way to lunch the other day. Just like the crusty railing. Have a great weekend all!
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
eBook - Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry 45%
Listing - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins 26%
75richardderus
Nice fence palings! The color and the texture are very nicely contrasted with the gravel, the concrete...all that order and iron, meets the stochastic world of li'l rocks.
Great that you're fully eye-fixed again. It'd scare me leaky to have someone come at my eyes.
And the Barry book...isn't that somethin'!
Great that you're fully eye-fixed again. It'd scare me leaky to have someone come at my eyes.
And the Barry book...isn't that somethin'!
76mahsdad
>75 richardderus: Thanks RD!
With reading being my main and favorite hobby, anything "cutty" to do with eyes is fraught with danger, but the benefits certainly outweigh the negatives. My right eye was completely clouded over, like looking thru a glass of skim milk. Now, I'll still need readers, cause I'm old, but can see just fine otherwise.
The Barry was a slow burn initially for me, but its getting better and better. About 3/4s thru. Enjoying it a bunch.
With reading being my main and favorite hobby, anything "cutty" to do with eyes is fraught with danger, but the benefits certainly outweigh the negatives. My right eye was completely clouded over, like looking thru a glass of skim milk. Now, I'll still need readers, cause I'm old, but can see just fine otherwise.
The Barry was a slow burn initially for me, but its getting better and better. About 3/4s thru. Enjoying it a bunch.
77PaulCranswick
Well done for reaching 75, Jeff!
79mahsdad
January : Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
February : The Porpoise by Mark Haddon
March : How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee
April : How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
May : The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
June : Circe by Madeline Miller
July : Whose Names are Unknown by Sanora Babb
August : Joe by Larry Brown
September : The Rabbit Factory by Larry Brown
October : Candide by Voltaire
February : The Porpoise by Mark Haddon
March : How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee
April : How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
May : The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
June : Circe by Madeline Miller
July : Whose Names are Unknown by Sanora Babb
August : Joe by Larry Brown
September : The Rabbit Factory by Larry Brown
October : Candide by Voltaire
80mahsdad
Forgot to post about it the other day, we actually went out to the movies on Saturday. It was nice to be forced to put the phone and other distractions down for a couple hours and immerse ourselves in the big screen. Tho that big screen took some getting used to again. :)
We saw Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch. Loved it, just my kind of quirky and weird. If you like Wes Anderson movies, you'll love it, too. If you don't, maybe not so much.
From IMDB - "A love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in the "French Dispatch Magazine"
Here's the trailer.. https://youtu.be/TcPk2p0Zaw4
We saw Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch. Loved it, just my kind of quirky and weird. If you like Wes Anderson movies, you'll love it, too. If you don't, maybe not so much.
From IMDB - "A love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in the "French Dispatch Magazine"
Here's the trailer.. https://youtu.be/TcPk2p0Zaw4
81scaifea
I don't know when we'll get back the the movie theater, really. We've been to a couple of restaurants and we seem fine with that, but for some reason the movies seem still too much for us? Doesn't really make any sense, but there you go. I'm glad you go there!
I laughed at your description of Wes Anderson movies because when we saw the trailer commercial for this new one, I turned to Tomm, who is a big Anderson fan while I'm very much not, and said, "Welp, that looks like a Wes Anderson film trying to be a caricature of a Wes Anderson film. Ugh." And his response was something like, "Yes! It looks great!" HA!
I laughed at your description of Wes Anderson movies because when we saw the trailer commercial for this new one, I turned to Tomm, who is a big Anderson fan while I'm very much not, and said, "Welp, that looks like a Wes Anderson film trying to be a caricature of a Wes Anderson film. Ugh." And his response was something like, "Yes! It looks great!" HA!
82mahsdad
>81 scaifea:. We’re all faxed and masked and we figured that it wasn’t going to be packed a this particular movie, and it wasn’t. I think if it was packed I might have felt a little sketchy.
I LOVE your exchange with Tomm, that totally sums up Anderson. 🤣
I LOVE your exchange with Tomm, that totally sums up Anderson. 🤣
83mahsdad
Station Eleven trailer for the HBO series
Don’t have HBO so I won’t see it, but it looks pretty good.
https://youtu.be/25ECFdDHTFw
Makes me want to read the book again
Don’t have HBO so I won’t see it, but it looks pretty good.
https://youtu.be/25ECFdDHTFw
Makes me want to read the book again
84mahsdad
Fantastična fotografija petek
Hey Friendly Folks, we made it another week. Nothing much on tap for me this weekend. Laura has another craft show, so I'll help her setup then I'll be on my own for the day. I wonder what kind of mischief I can get up to? Probably goto Target, lunch, read, ... the usual.
Today's image comes from our trip out to Palm Springs a couple weeks ago. Just some nice sky and wind blown palm trees. Have a Great weekend!
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller. This month's Life's Library Bookclub selection
Listening - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. Its the prequel to the Hunger Games. Pretty good, for what it is. Had to put it on pause, however, because...
Listening - Dune by Frank Herbert. My hold finally came in. So I started listening to it. I'm sure I'll be able to renew the Collins when I'm done with Dune.
Hey Friendly Folks, we made it another week. Nothing much on tap for me this weekend. Laura has another craft show, so I'll help her setup then I'll be on my own for the day. I wonder what kind of mischief I can get up to? Probably goto Target, lunch, read, ... the usual.
Today's image comes from our trip out to Palm Springs a couple weeks ago. Just some nice sky and wind blown palm trees. Have a Great weekend!
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller. This month's Life's Library Bookclub selection
Listening - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. Its the prequel to the Hunger Games. Pretty good, for what it is. Had to put it on pause, however, because...
Listening - Dune by Frank Herbert. My hold finally came in. So I started listening to it. I'm sure I'll be able to renew the Collins when I'm done with Dune.
85benitastrnad
Palm Springs in on my Before I die list. In the past I would joke about it, saying things like, When I get to Palm Springs, ... or If I ever make it to Palm Springs, ... I am seriously thinking of taking a short trip to Palm Springs in the future.
86richardderus
>84 mahsdad: Lovely! And I dislike palm trees, and Palm Springs. Impressive feat to please me with a photo of both.
87quondame
>85 benitastrnad: My sister once kidnapped me to Palm Springs to do summer shopping at spring break, because that's the end of a season there. I remember an outfit I got because I wore it to my mother's memorial service. As I only saw the inside of a mall and a lot of desert, rather duller sort of a desert than what I grew up in, I can't say anything in favor of the place.
88mahsdad
>85 benitastrnad: >86 richardderus: >87 quondame: Yeah, if you like the desert and like it HOT half the year, then Palm Springs is for you. There is definitely some good hiking around, Indian Lands, Joshua Tree is close, and there's an aerial tram to go up to San Jacinto, where you can actually see a good bit of snow in the winter.
Nowadays, we go out to visit the MIL, help her around the house and take her to dinner. We don't get too far out of Palm Springs to any of the other towns that are further south.... Palm Desert, Indio, La Quinta, etc.
Nowadays, we go out to visit the MIL, help her around the house and take her to dinner. We don't get too far out of Palm Springs to any of the other towns that are further south.... Palm Desert, Indio, La Quinta, etc.
89richardderus
Deserts are the Devil's Own. I hate the heat and the parchedness. MISerable car trip one summer with my sister...sixteen years of it in the goddamned desert. (She quibbles with my math.)
Y'all can have it, should you want it. (Needles! UGH)
Y'all can have it, should you want it. (Needles! UGH)
90mahsdad
>89 richardderus: I hear ya. The heat is a bit oppressive, but its a DRY heat. LOL. You know they have these things called freeways now, its not such a bad drive. Tho it is California, so what might take just about 2 hours on the way out, could take 4 hours on the way back. I like being able to visit it every so often, but then come back to my ocean view. ;)
91richardderus
Yes, the Conestoga was constantly getting stuck in the ruts left by the other pioneers' oxen. And those lousy Donners...!
92mahsdad
Followed Laura down deep behind the Orange Curtain to Irvine for her craft show today, to help her setup. Once she released me from my duties, I took the coast back up home, knowing that in addition to a nice drive, there was a B&N on the way. Couldn't pass up that opportunity to build the stacks.
I was good, I only bought 2 books off the BOGO @ 50% off table.
The Cold Millions by Jess Walter. Been waiting on this for a while. Its now out in paperback
A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage. Beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca-Cola. A history of how these beverages and the glasses they are served in have shaped and told our history. I've been wanting this one for a while
Added 4 to the WL
D (A Tale of Two Worlds) by Michel Faber - added on the strength of a blurb from Neil Gaiman
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. A novel about climate change. Jonathan Lethem blurbed it by saying "The best science-fiction nonfiction novel I've ever read"
Crossings by Alex Landragin. Just caught my eye
The Body Scout by Lincoln Michel. Another one that just looked interesting. Most of my WL is books that just looked interesting that I don't want to forget about. A good portion, I'm sure I'll never read, but I've "collected" them.
I was good, I only bought 2 books off the BOGO @ 50% off table.
The Cold Millions by Jess Walter. Been waiting on this for a while. Its now out in paperback
A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage. Beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and Coca-Cola. A history of how these beverages and the glasses they are served in have shaped and told our history. I've been wanting this one for a while
Added 4 to the WL
D (A Tale of Two Worlds) by Michel Faber - added on the strength of a blurb from Neil Gaiman
The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. A novel about climate change. Jonathan Lethem blurbed it by saying "The best science-fiction nonfiction novel I've ever read"
Crossings by Alex Landragin. Just caught my eye
The Body Scout by Lincoln Michel. Another one that just looked interesting. Most of my WL is books that just looked interesting that I don't want to forget about. A good portion, I'm sure I'll never read, but I've "collected" them.
93richardderus
>92 mahsdad: You *do* know that D (A Tale of Two Worlds) is only $2.99 on Kindle? https://smile.amazon.com/D-Tale-Two-Worlds-Novel-ebook/dp/B0886GJ3S1/
94quondame
>92 mahsdad: Near me the B&N or maybe it was once a Borders, became a Ross, and at some point was a Soup Plantation, is reconfiguring into a 99-Ranch, which while not so edifying will be quite welcome as I am hopeful of scallion pancakes and Szechwan pepper, and possibly less expensive chili-garlic paste.
>93 richardderus: So you read the Amazon blurb "A stunning modern-day Dickensian fable" and are encouraging others to try it?
>93 richardderus: So you read the Amazon blurb "A stunning modern-day Dickensian fable" and are encouraging others to try it?
95richardderus
>94 quondame: It ain't *me* readin' so....
97quondame
>96 mahsdad: The ones in Torrence and Cerritos are closer to you than the ones in Van Nuys and San Gabriel are to me, but if you've never had to go on an ingredient hunt or hung out with the right crowd they could easily have stayed off your radar. The condiments in Vons have improved vastly since the 80s and 90s, so I just shell out $2-$3 more a bottle for various concoctions - unless Mitsuwa carries them. Or one of the other local Japanese markets which are pretty good for kimchi and other pickles to use as banchan.
98mahsdad
>97 quondame: How did I forget to reply to that. I'll have to go look for the one in Torrance, the next time I'm over there, and I haven't been to Mitsuwa for years, I keep forgetting about that place. thanks!
99mahsdad
Fantastiline foto reede
Hey there folks. Just when I thought summer was over, it came roaring back. Currently 85. Stupid Santa Ana's. Should be back to a pleasant 70 by Monday. Oh well, such a tragic thing to have warm weather in November. LOL. Laura has another craft show this weekend, so I'll be on my own again. Going to a Blues Festival tomorrow afternoon with some friends, so that should be fun. Today's image, comes from last weekend's show in Irvine. It was at a big park that is on the former grounds of the El Toro Marine Corp Air station. They had this old plane sitting on the tarmac outside of an old hanger. Who was I to resist. Enjoy...
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller. A fascinating story about David Starr Jordan, who was a taxonomist, who had massive bad luck with his collections. He was the first President of Stanford, and about 2/3s of the way thru the book, his life and this story took a massive left turn, when it comes to light that he was a raging proponent of eugenics. And news to me, in the 20's how much the whole damn country was into eugenics. Excellent book. 73% done, will probably finish this weekend.
Listening - Dune by Frank Herbert. Better than the last time I read it. 95% done. Will finish today
Listening - Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. Hopefully will get back to this and finish it up before the due date. 63% done.
Hey there folks. Just when I thought summer was over, it came roaring back. Currently 85. Stupid Santa Ana's. Should be back to a pleasant 70 by Monday. Oh well, such a tragic thing to have warm weather in November. LOL. Laura has another craft show this weekend, so I'll be on my own again. Going to a Blues Festival tomorrow afternoon with some friends, so that should be fun. Today's image, comes from last weekend's show in Irvine. It was at a big park that is on the former grounds of the El Toro Marine Corp Air station. They had this old plane sitting on the tarmac outside of an old hanger. Who was I to resist. Enjoy...
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller. A fascinating story about David Starr Jordan, who was a taxonomist, who had massive bad luck with his collections. He was the first President of Stanford, and about 2/3s of the way thru the book, his life and this story took a massive left turn, when it comes to light that he was a raging proponent of eugenics. And news to me, in the 20's how much the whole damn country was into eugenics. Excellent book. 73% done, will probably finish this weekend.
Listening - Dune by Frank Herbert. Better than the last time I read it. 95% done. Will finish today
Listening - Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. Hopefully will get back to this and finish it up before the due date. 63% done.
100richardderus
That's a cool image, Jeff! I think the spinner of a propeller is like the hubcap of an old plane.
Enjoy your reads! Finishing Dune *has* to feel good.
Enjoy your reads! Finishing Dune *has* to feel good.
101quondame
>98 mahsdad: There are ever so many wonderful markets here, bursting with so much deliciousness - I have to do a picked turnip run real soon now.....
There is a great supermarket sized Mediterranean market somewhere near you that my food group did an field trip to - all the breads!
There is a great supermarket sized Mediterranean market somewhere near you that my food group did an field trip to - all the breads!
102mahsdad
>100 richardderus: hubcap, absolutely. Hubcaps, something that the youths of day will generally never know about. We actually had a store back in PA called Hubcap City. Pittsburgh was known for its potholes, and we well know what potholes do to hubcaps.
Dune has been an enjoyable read, not nearly the slog that Alaska became, and less than half as long. LOL
>101 quondame: Ooo Mediterranean, that would be a good place to find. Yum
Dune has been an enjoyable read, not nearly the slog that Alaska became, and less than half as long. LOL
>101 quondame: Ooo Mediterranean, that would be a good place to find. Yum
103quondame
>102 mahsdad: I find I've committed the all distant places are close to each other fallacy. I was thinking of the Fresh Choice Market that is in Anaheim Hills Plaza. It is a fabulous place.
104mahsdad
>103 quondame:. Okay lets try this again. I could have sworn I replied to this already, but the LT gremlins took my post.
I do that too, my sense of distance is crappy. I checked and Anaheim Hills is quite geographically undesirable for me in Pedro. Heck, I don't want to drive the 10 miles over the hill to Torrance or Carson (a trip to Ikea is an event), let alone drive 45 just to go to the grocery store. :) For 10 years I drove almost as far one way to Brea, but I've been working from home for the last 5. The thought of an every day commute gives me the shakes. :)
I do that too, my sense of distance is crappy. I checked and Anaheim Hills is quite geographically undesirable for me in Pedro. Heck, I don't want to drive the 10 miles over the hill to Torrance or Carson (a trip to Ikea is an event), let alone drive 45 just to go to the grocery store. :) For 10 years I drove almost as far one way to Brea, but I've been working from home for the last 5. The thought of an every day commute gives me the shakes. :)
105mahsdad
>100 richardderus: Finished it. I think the only think I dislike is that it ends rather abruptly. But there's about a million sequels and prequels that Frank wrote and then Brian continued to write, to go thru, if I so choose. I'm going to try the next one to see if I can get any further than I did when I was a teenager.
106richardderus
Dune Messiah is memorable to me for one, and only one, reason: "Oh the price! The terrible price!" every third page. Or once a spread. Or every eighth sentence. Something like that....
107quondame
>104 mahsdad: I may have become the same way, but am not ready to admit it. I keep thinking of all the shopping I'm going to do, but does it get done? Not yet.
At least IKEA lets you order the stuff online and pick it up so you don't need to surrender to the maze.
I've never missed my west LA to Camarillo or later Calabasas commutes. I might have had a longer working life if I could have worked from home, but 2+ hrs a day on top of 10-12 hour days 6 days a week burnt me to a crisp.
At least IKEA lets you order the stuff online and pick it up so you don't need to surrender to the maze.
I've never missed my west LA to Camarillo or later Calabasas commutes. I might have had a longer working life if I could have worked from home, but 2+ hrs a day on top of 10-12 hour days 6 days a week burnt me to a crisp.
108mahsdad
>106 richardderus: Well I'm a completist, to a certain degree, and a glutton for punishment, so I think I'll try to continue on with Herbert. Have to wait about 3 months for Messiah, so I'm not the only crazy person. :)
>107 quondame: Wow, you were a serious road warrior. Commuting is a young person's game. :)
>107 quondame: Wow, you were a serious road warrior. Commuting is a young person's game. :)
109mahsdad
For those of you that might follow me, but not the Message thread, you might have missed my Christmas pesterings.
If you didn't know, its Swap time....
Hey its your Christmas Pest, just wanted to make sure everyone has the opportunity to join. I know not everyone sees the message threads every day, unlike crazy people like myself. If your interested, come on over.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/336572
If you didn't know, its Swap time....
Hey its your Christmas Pest, just wanted to make sure everyone has the opportunity to join. I know not everyone sees the message threads every day, unlike crazy people like myself. If your interested, come on over.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/336572
110richardderus
Ah, the Pest of Christmases Past is upon us! A festive pox on thee, Krampus-loving nisse!
111mahsdad
>110 richardderus: Ha! I just might have to send you the collected works of Chuckles to punish you for your lack of Festivness. :)
112quondame
>108 mahsdad: No kidding. I was approaching 50 with a small child. I always was shit at planning. But the kid is good stuff.
113mahsdad
Fantastické piatkové foto
Well here we are again. Nothing much on the agenda for the weekend. Laura doesn't have any shows, so we'll see what kind of mischief we can get up to. I'm off next week so I should be putting in some serious page turning, hopefully. Monday we're going to the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit. It might be a little cliché from when we signed up for it almost a year ago, cause now there are several different "immersive" shows out there. Hopefully it won't be too cheesy, especially when you've seen the real thing. I still remember the profound experience seeing his work at LACMA 25 some years ago. Especially his (supposedly) last work; Wheat Field with Crows. At any rate, its an excuse to get us out of the house. Then we'll be heading out to Palm Springs to see the MIL for Thanksgiving. In our continued tradition of not doing tradition, we're going to a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner. :)
Today's image comes from our last trip to PS. And you know my love of odd images, well here's one I liked....
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - MacBeth by Jo Nesbo. This is the Hogarth Shakespeare series. This time MacBeth is the head of a SWAT team during the 70's in a corrupt vaguely Norweigan town. Pretty interesting and gritty.
Listening - From A Certain Point of View edit by Seth Dickinson. A collection of stories set around the "universe" of Empire Strikes Back. A bunch of authors were asked to write stories about the supporting characters and situations that you might only see briefly in the movie, but flesh them out. Pretty interesting. There's also one for A New Hope that I read several years ago.
Well here we are again. Nothing much on the agenda for the weekend. Laura doesn't have any shows, so we'll see what kind of mischief we can get up to. I'm off next week so I should be putting in some serious page turning, hopefully. Monday we're going to the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit. It might be a little cliché from when we signed up for it almost a year ago, cause now there are several different "immersive" shows out there. Hopefully it won't be too cheesy, especially when you've seen the real thing. I still remember the profound experience seeing his work at LACMA 25 some years ago. Especially his (supposedly) last work; Wheat Field with Crows. At any rate, its an excuse to get us out of the house. Then we'll be heading out to Palm Springs to see the MIL for Thanksgiving. In our continued tradition of not doing tradition, we're going to a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner. :)
Today's image comes from our last trip to PS. And you know my love of odd images, well here's one I liked....
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - MacBeth by Jo Nesbo. This is the Hogarth Shakespeare series. This time MacBeth is the head of a SWAT team during the 70's in a corrupt vaguely Norweigan town. Pretty interesting and gritty.
Listening - From A Certain Point of View edit by Seth Dickinson. A collection of stories set around the "universe" of Empire Strikes Back. A bunch of authors were asked to write stories about the supporting characters and situations that you might only see briefly in the movie, but flesh them out. Pretty interesting. There's also one for A New Hope that I read several years ago.
114richardderus
Ooohhh...interrogating light-v-shadows, how mundane things morph into fantasy objects, what color does to images and to edges that define images as well as colors...nice!
116jessibud2
>113 mahsdad: 0 Cool image! Looks like a flag (though I know it isn't)
For what it's worth, I saw the immersive Van Gogh show last year and I loved it. I was only disappointed that, of all the music that was played, Don McLean's *Starry Night* was not included. Seems an obvious choice but there ya go. The dhow was well done and the distancing etc was good, too. I saw it in pre-vaccine days and so admission was by timed appointments, only a certain number of people allowed into the area at a time, and the circles on the floor that you stood on were 6 feet apart. Everyone was good with that and it worked very nicely. I hope you enjoy it.
Immersive Klimt is playing here now but I think I want the experience of the Van Gogh to be it for me. Maybe if there was no covid I'd feel differently and go but I am still not that comfortable with indoor activities here yet, Van Gogh not counting.
For what it's worth, I saw the immersive Van Gogh show last year and I loved it. I was only disappointed that, of all the music that was played, Don McLean's *Starry Night* was not included. Seems an obvious choice but there ya go. The dhow was well done and the distancing etc was good, too. I saw it in pre-vaccine days and so admission was by timed appointments, only a certain number of people allowed into the area at a time, and the circles on the floor that you stood on were 6 feet apart. Everyone was good with that and it worked very nicely. I hope you enjoy it.
Immersive Klimt is playing here now but I think I want the experience of the Van Gogh to be it for me. Maybe if there was no covid I'd feel differently and go but I am still not that comfortable with indoor activities here yet, Van Gogh not counting.
117mahsdad
Thanks Shelley, for both the photo love and the mini-review of Immersive. Glad to hear that it was well worthwhile. Yeah the Don McLean is a no brainer. Perhaps they tried and couldn't get the rights.
118jessibud2
>117 mahsdad: - Before the show opened here, I saw a link to it when it first appeared (in Paris? I forget) and the Don McLean song was in the background on that youtube link. I just expected it but you could be right, that maybe it was part of whoever posted it to youtube and not part of the actual show, though why he would deny rights is a head-scratcher. Still, worthwhile.
121mahsdad
Yeah, you were quicker than me. I was able to test it too.
I was testing something with my picture storage site and it didn't work. I was trying to share pictures in a "easier" way. Oh well, I will go back to the old way
I was testing something with my picture storage site and it didn't work. I was trying to share pictures in a "easier" way. Oh well, I will go back to the old way
122mahsdad
This is the image I actually tried to share. We went to see the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit this week. It was much better than I expected, they did a really good job of animating the images and morphing them in and out of each other. The accompanying music was pretty good too.
It was in the old Ameoba Music building on Hollywood Blvd, in, yes Hollywood. This was just an interesting door with years of old music stickers. There's more images of the Van Gogh themselves is forthcoming...
It was in the old Ameoba Music building on Hollywood Blvd, in, yes Hollywood. This was just an interesting door with years of old music stickers. There's more images of the Van Gogh themselves is forthcoming...
123richardderus
Oh wow! The entire history of pop music on one door.
125PaulCranswick
A Thanksgiving to Friends (Lighting the Way)
In difficult times
a friend is there to light the way
to lighten the load,
to show the path,
to smooth the road
At the darkest hour
a friend, with a word of truth
points to light
and the encroaching dawn
is in the plainest sight.
Jeff, to a friend in books and more this Thanksgiving
In difficult times
a friend is there to light the way
to lighten the load,
to show the path,
to smooth the road
At the darkest hour
a friend, with a word of truth
points to light
and the encroaching dawn
is in the plainest sight.
Jeff, to a friend in books and more this Thanksgiving
126Berly
Jeff, I am so very grateful for you, another wonderful friend here on LT.
I wish you (and yours) happiness and health on this day of Thanksgiving. And cookies. : )
And you should check out the photos of my recent hike!!
128richardderus
Taking the day off, I see...still can't fit behind the keyboard? Too much dressing to make dressing possible?
129mahsdad
Ha, not not any dressing. We went to a Japanese steak house last night. I’m at my MIL’s without my computer. Posting a full post is too cumbersome on the phone. I’ll do a full post tomorrow when we get home. My humble apologies
130richardderus
>129 mahsdad: No worries. No, really. None at all. Why, the stress of wondering what happened to Photo Friday, of worrying that a 9.8 temblor happened and the entire basin filled up with magma and fried all y'all, has been downright salubrious!
131Berly
>130 richardderus: Chill, Ricardo!! He's fine. Funny, I never took you for the nervous type. Smooch.
132mahsdad
Kamangha-manghang Larawan Sabado
Hey everyone, I'm back, thanks for your patience with me not posting FF yesterday. I am so much better with posts when I can type with an actual keyboard. I'm old and can't type fast with my thumbs. :) This is only the 2nd time this year I posted on Saturday, a pretty good track record if I say so myself. We had a good visit with my MIL out in Palm Springs. We forewent (if that's a word) the traditional Thanksgiving fixings for a Japanese Steakhouse, and we weren't alone. It was pretty good. Then we just hung out yesterday, and visited the Whitewater Nature Preserve. Yes there was water, but not so much white at the moment, I supposed it will be better come spring, assuming we get some rain this winter. Today's image is a stitched panorama of the magificent vista. Enjoy!
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - MacBeth by Jo Nesbo
Listening - The Body : A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson
Hey everyone, I'm back, thanks for your patience with me not posting FF yesterday. I am so much better with posts when I can type with an actual keyboard. I'm old and can't type fast with my thumbs. :) This is only the 2nd time this year I posted on Saturday, a pretty good track record if I say so myself. We had a good visit with my MIL out in Palm Springs. We forewent (if that's a word) the traditional Thanksgiving fixings for a Japanese Steakhouse, and we weren't alone. It was pretty good. Then we just hung out yesterday, and visited the Whitewater Nature Preserve. Yes there was water, but not so much white at the moment, I supposed it will be better come spring, assuming we get some rain this winter. Today's image is a stitched panorama of the magificent vista. Enjoy!
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - MacBeth by Jo Nesbo
Listening - The Body : A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson
133mahsdad
And lest I forget, thanks >125 PaulCranswick:, >126 Berly: and >127 jessibud2: for coming by and giving me warm wishing on Thanksgiving. And to RD for keeping me honest on my FF posts.
I really value yours and everybody in the 75 group's friendship. You all are an important part of my life.
I really value yours and everybody in the 75 group's friendship. You all are an important part of my life.
134richardderus
>132 mahsdad: It's very beautiful! What an amazing technology that is...and readily available. Of course it doesn't matter if it's great tech if the images aren't as good as yours.
Really special.
Really special.
135mahsdad
>134 richardderus: Thank you sir! Amazingly, its Microsoft's Image Composite Editor. Its free and its the best stitcher I've every used. Very rarely can you see the stitch lines or errors.
And you're right, I'll take a little bit of humble-brag, that the source material helps. ;)
And you're right, I'll take a little bit of humble-brag, that the source material helps. ;)
136mahsdad
Books of the Month
January : Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
February : The Porpoise by Mark Haddon
March : How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee
April : How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
May : The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
June : Circe by Madeline Miller
July : Whose Names are Unknown by Sanora Babb
August : Joe by Larry Brown
September : The Rabbit Factory by Larry Brown
October : Candide by Voltaire
November : Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller
January : Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
February : The Porpoise by Mark Haddon
March : How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee
April : How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
May : The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
June : Circe by Madeline Miller
July : Whose Names are Unknown by Sanora Babb
August : Joe by Larry Brown
September : The Rabbit Factory by Larry Brown
October : Candide by Voltaire
November : Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller
137mahsdad
So yesterday, I was out for a walk, and as I was crossing the street, there was this forlorn library book splayed out in the road. So of course I picked it up. Its a bit damaged but still usable. How many karma points do I get for return it to the library? :)
The Hidden Life of a Toad by Doug Wechsler
The Hidden Life of a Toad by Doug Wechsler
138Berly
>137 mahsdad: HUGE karma points!!
>136 mahsdad: And nice mix of faves for the year
>132 mahsdad: Beautiful!! And you stitch well, too.
>136 mahsdad: And nice mix of faves for the year
>132 mahsdad: Beautiful!! And you stitch well, too.
139scaifea
>137 mahsdad: Oh yes, all the points!!
140mahsdad
>138 Berly: >139 scaifea: Karma FTW :)
>138 Berly: And thanks Kim for the other book and photo kudos!
>138 Berly: And thanks Kim for the other book and photo kudos!
141mahsdad
අපූරු ඡායාරූපය සිකුරාදා
Hey everybody, welcome to the first Friday of the last month of the year. Holy Crap, how did that happen. There's only 4 more to go. Geesh. Nothing much to report, other than to share an image from our experience with seeing the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit last week. Enjoy...
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - MacBeth by Jo Nesbo. When you read it as a police thriller, boy is this play intense. :)
Listening - The Body: A Guide for the Occupants by Bill Bryson. Everything you wanted and didn't want to know about the packaging we come in.
Graphic Novel - Once & Future Vol 1 by Kieron Gillen King Arthur brought back to life to wreak havoc on a modern world. Seemed interesting.
Hey everybody, welcome to the first Friday of the last month of the year. Holy Crap, how did that happen. There's only 4 more to go. Geesh. Nothing much to report, other than to share an image from our experience with seeing the Immersive Van Gogh exhibit last week. Enjoy...
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - MacBeth by Jo Nesbo. When you read it as a police thriller, boy is this play intense. :)
Listening - The Body: A Guide for the Occupants by Bill Bryson. Everything you wanted and didn't want to know about the packaging we come in.
Graphic Novel - Once & Future Vol 1 by Kieron Gillen King Arthur brought back to life to wreak havoc on a modern world. Seemed interesting.
143FAMeulstee
>141 mahsdad: >142 mahsdad: Looks lovely, Jeff. I assume those are oversized Van Gogh reproductions, giving a special effect if seen from the righ angle?
At the Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera exposiotion we visited, they had reproductions of murals by Rivera. Usually I prefer to see the originals, but I will never get to see those murals, so had to do with these ;-)
At the Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera exposiotion we visited, they had reproductions of murals by Rivera. Usually I prefer to see the originals, but I will never get to see those murals, so had to do with these ;-)
144mahsdad
>143 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita. Actually they aren't reproductions.
The large flat surfaces are actually video projections. They turned his works into a long interconnected movie with added animation and fade in/out, morphs between the different paintings. All set to music. The vertical images in the 1st and 3rd pictures are mirrors that were setup in the room casting interesting reflections.
I agree seeing the originals are much more impactful, but this was a very unique entertaining way to see them. Living in LA, I've been lucky to see some of his, and Frieda and Diego's work. Amongst many others.
The trend of the immersive exhibits must be very profitable, they're doing other artists around the country, including the aforementioned Frieda, Monet and I think either Di Vinci or a general renessaince painting one. Not sure we'll partake of the others, but for the huddled masses (LOL), it serves a purpose.
The large flat surfaces are actually video projections. They turned his works into a long interconnected movie with added animation and fade in/out, morphs between the different paintings. All set to music. The vertical images in the 1st and 3rd pictures are mirrors that were setup in the room casting interesting reflections.
I agree seeing the originals are much more impactful, but this was a very unique entertaining way to see them. Living in LA, I've been lucky to see some of his, and Frieda and Diego's work. Amongst many others.
The trend of the immersive exhibits must be very profitable, they're doing other artists around the country, including the aforementioned Frieda, Monet and I think either Di Vinci or a general renessaince painting one. Not sure we'll partake of the others, but for the huddled masses (LOL), it serves a purpose.
145mahsdad
So I'm reading Bryson's The Body and learning many interesting facts about our vessel (most of which I probably won't remember). But one thing he just said that was very interesting was that in 2011, for the first time the percentage of people who died from non-communicable diseases like heart conditions, stroke or diabetes was larger than those who died from all infectious diseases.
To a degree, our death is now more likely to be caused by our lifestyle.
To a degree, our death is now more likely to be caused by our lifestyle.
146FAMeulstee
>144 mahsdad: Thanks, Jeff, now I can imagine why these exhibits are so populair. They bring art in a modern, and easy comprehensible way. The other big advantage is that the original doesn't need to be lended, transported, and ensured...
147mahsdad
>146 FAMeulstee: Absolutely!
148mahsdad
Just watched a really good interview on Stephen Colbert's show with Jason Reynolds. I love when late night people have authors on. Seth Meyers is another good one for author interviews.
I read Reynold's poetry/prose story Long Way Down a couple years ago and loved it. I should read more of his stuff.
I read Reynold's poetry/prose story Long Way Down a couple years ago and loved it. I should read more of his stuff.
149scaifea
>148 mahsdad: Oooh, yes, Reynolds is very cool. I saw that he was going to be on Colbert - I should look up the clip. And do read more of his stuff - it's all so good.
151richardderus
>142 mahsdad:, >141 mahsdad: Gorgeous!
I am back from my Time in the Desert without wifi. It was no fun at all. BUT I got a lot of reviews done, and have posted a slew. Getting the others blogged up and then I'll bring 'em over here.
I am back from my Time in the Desert without wifi. It was no fun at all. BUT I got a lot of reviews done, and have posted a slew. Getting the others blogged up and then I'll bring 'em over here.
152mahsdad
>151 richardderus: Boy how important our connection to the net has become. Its almost like it should be a commodity and available to all or something . ;)
Glad you're back and thanks for the comments. Looking forward to seeing your new reviews.
Glad you're back and thanks for the comments. Looking forward to seeing your new reviews.
153mahsdad
Lightning Round - getting to be the end of the year and I'm getting behind
74. Orphans of the Sky by Robert Heinlein 8/10 Audio. Two early novellas about life on a generation space ship, where they've been gone so long they don't really realize they are on a ship. Interesting read
75. Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson 8/10. A collection of stories about Lawson's life. "A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea". But in the best possible way. Excellent book.
76. Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry 8/10. Two old Irish gangsters spend the day/night in a ferry terminal in Spain waiting to find the daughter of one of them. They spend the time reminiscing and flashing back thru their life. A little slow it getting going for me (perhaps because it was on ebook), but ultimately a very enjoyable read.
more later.... at least 6. Time for dinner.
74. Orphans of the Sky by Robert Heinlein 8/10 Audio. Two early novellas about life on a generation space ship, where they've been gone so long they don't really realize they are on a ship. Interesting read
75. Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson 8/10. A collection of stories about Lawson's life. "A hysterical, ridiculous book about crippling depression and anxiety? That sounds like a terrible idea". But in the best possible way. Excellent book.
How can we be expected to properly judge ourselves? We know all of our worst secrets. We are biased, and overly critical, and occasionally filled with shame. So you'll have to just trust me when I say that you are worth, important and necessary. And smart. You may ask how I know and I'll tell you how. Its because right now? YOU'RE READING. That's what the sexy people do.
But still, it seems like it's overkill to schedule away any chance of boredom. It's like when your cat brings you dead mice and you want to yell at her but you can't because she's just doing it because she thinks you're a really shitty cat who won't survive on your own.
76. Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry 8/10. Two old Irish gangsters spend the day/night in a ferry terminal in Spain waiting to find the daughter of one of them. They spend the time reminiscing and flashing back thru their life. A little slow it getting going for me (perhaps because it was on ebook), but ultimately a very enjoyable read.
Fathers throw the longer shadows. We get over the mothers, at last, but hardly ever the fathers, she said
more later.... at least 6. Time for dinner.
155mahsdad
Thanks Jim! I actually hit it back at the end of October and I'm just getting around to "reviewing" them.
156richardderus
Yay for reviewing spurts! I just had one, too.
158mahsdad
77. Dune by Frank Herbert 9/10. I've read this multiple times, this time on audio with a full cast. Excellent read. For me, it still holds up. Some of his contemporaries that I loved growing up, I don't think I'll need to read again (I'm looking at you Stranger in a Strange Land, but not this one.
78. Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins 8/10. Listened on audio. This is a Hunger Games prequel, it tells the story of President Snow when he was a kid in the Capital during the 10th Hunger Games. It was interesting seeing her explore the origins of the game. It was much more raw in this one, and amazingly her ability to make the villan of the the first series is the hero of this one, and a mostly likeable one.
79. Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller 8/10. David Star Jordan was the first president of Stanford University and a taxonomist who was obsessed with classifying nature. He amassed an incredible collection of fish that had never been identified. Due to fire and earthquake, he lost that collection TWICE. Miller was fascinated by his story and how his perseverance could be a model for her life. Until the twist that makes him a not so likeable character. A very good book about a very flawed character.
78. Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins 8/10. Listened on audio. This is a Hunger Games prequel, it tells the story of President Snow when he was a kid in the Capital during the 10th Hunger Games. It was interesting seeing her explore the origins of the game. It was much more raw in this one, and amazingly her ability to make the villan of the the first series is the hero of this one, and a mostly likeable one.
79. Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller 8/10. David Star Jordan was the first president of Stanford University and a taxonomist who was obsessed with classifying nature. He amassed an incredible collection of fish that had never been identified. Due to fire and earthquake, he lost that collection TWICE. Miller was fascinated by his story and how his perseverance could be a model for her life. Until the twist that makes him a not so likeable character. A very good book about a very flawed character.
One important rule about holotypes (the first described example of a species). If one is ever lost, you cannot simply swap a new specimen into the holy jar. No, that loss is honored, mourned, marked. The species line is forever tarnished, left without its maker. A new specimen will be chosen to server as the physical representative of the species, but it is demoted to the lowly rank of "neotype"
Growing up is learning to stop believing people's words about you.
159mahsdad
Fantastinen kuva perjantaina
Hey everybody, we made it another week, so we got that going for us, which is nice. (bonus points if you know where I paraphrased that from ;) ). Going to see Paula Poundstone this weekend. And to brag a bit, late last week, I was able to get tickets for Foo Fighters, probably my favorite band. Its next year the day after my birthday. So its a birthday and Christmas present and maybe Arbor Day and Memorial Day and Labor Day present to me.... yeah, I probably paid way too much, but its been on the bucket list forever. LOL.
Today's image comes from a recent walk around the Cabrillo Marina, enjoy...
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Listening - Relic by Alan Dean Foster
Graphic Novel - Once & Future Vol 2 : more mystical fun with zombie King Arthur, this time with extra Beowulf
Hey everybody, we made it another week, so we got that going for us, which is nice. (bonus points if you know where I paraphrased that from ;) ). Going to see Paula Poundstone this weekend. And to brag a bit, late last week, I was able to get tickets for Foo Fighters, probably my favorite band. Its next year the day after my birthday. So its a birthday and Christmas present and maybe Arbor Day and Memorial Day and Labor Day present to me.... yeah, I probably paid way too much, but its been on the bucket list forever. LOL.
Today's image comes from a recent walk around the Cabrillo Marina, enjoy...
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Listening - Relic by Alan Dean Foster
Graphic Novel - Once & Future Vol 2 : more mystical fun with zombie King Arthur, this time with extra Beowulf
160richardderus
>159 mahsdad: Howinahell'd you get an image with such still water at the marina?!? Amazing.
Glad you're reading the Braithwaite! I enjoyed her weird serial-killer take.
"...zombie King Arthur, this time with extra Beowulf" might actually impel me to go look at it.
>158 mahsdad: When the national museum of Brazil burnt down 5 years ago they lost *countless* holotypes of Gondwanan dinosaurs, ancestral birds, and Pleistocene mammalians.
Makes me sick to think of it.
Glad you're reading the Braithwaite! I enjoyed her weird serial-killer take.
"...zombie King Arthur, this time with extra Beowulf" might actually impel me to go look at it.
>158 mahsdad: When the national museum of Brazil burnt down 5 years ago they lost *countless* holotypes of Gondwanan dinosaurs, ancestral birds, and Pleistocene mammalians.
Makes me sick to think of it.
162mahsdad
>160 richardderus: Calm water - just lucky I guess. It is on the inside of the LA Harbor breakwater, so its pretty protected.
Once & Future - its good escapist fun. I read on your thread about the Read Harder challenge for 2022. One of them was to read a non-fiction GN. Have you read John Lewis' March series? Its about his time during the Civil Rights marches. Its a pretty good read. Almost a history with lots of pictures. ;)
I had totally forgot about the fire in Brazil, how tragic to lose all of that. We are an unworthy species for all of our intelligence.
>161 drneutron: Hey Jim, Yeah, its not too bad so far.
Once & Future - its good escapist fun. I read on your thread about the Read Harder challenge for 2022. One of them was to read a non-fiction GN. Have you read John Lewis' March series? Its about his time during the Civil Rights marches. Its a pretty good read. Almost a history with lots of pictures. ;)
I had totally forgot about the fire in Brazil, how tragic to lose all of that. We are an unworthy species for all of our intelligence.
>161 drneutron: Hey Jim, Yeah, its not too bad so far.
165scaifea
>164 mahsdad: That's one we haven't watched with Charlie yet. We may need to correct that soon...
166mahsdad
>165 scaifea: Absolutely, however, I will warn you that there is at least 1 topless scene. I'm not sure if we every watched this with Michael, but we did watch Airplane once, and until about 30 seconds before, I totally forgot there was a topless scene in that one. Ooops. :)
167ursula
>159 mahsdad: Finnish?
Also, congrats on getting tickets to see the Foo Fighters. I took my daughter to see them for her first concert in ... 2007? I think.
My husband got me My Chemical Romance tickets for my birthday/Christmas/etc gifts. Bought them last June I believe, and were originally going to go to Bologna to see them. But another show got scheduled at a better venue in Budapest, so we're doing that one instead.
Also, congrats on getting tickets to see the Foo Fighters. I took my daughter to see them for her first concert in ... 2007? I think.
My husband got me My Chemical Romance tickets for my birthday/Christmas/etc gifts. Bought them last June I believe, and were originally going to go to Bologna to see them. But another show got scheduled at a better venue in Budapest, so we're doing that one instead.
168scaifea
>166 mahsdad: Ha! Yeah, we don't worry so much about nudity with Charlie, or language. We tend to censor things only if it's too graphically violent, too scary, or if there's attitudes toward women that make us uncomfortable. I appreciate the heads up, though - I thought I remembered that there's something like that in the movie, but couldn't remember for certain.
169mahsdad
>167 ursula: Yes, yes it is. :) I've been doing a kinda pattern in Google Translate. Alternating between the beginning of the alphabet and the end. I'm in the F's and S's. The week before, it was Sinhala, which is apparently one of the two native languages spoken in Sri Lanka. I always love the languages that were created on something other than the Roman alphabet.
See that's what's nice about having so many different COUNTRY options, rather than us with the vastness of this country. Even in our own city, its almost too far. We've seen Green Day twice, once at the Rose Bowl (35 miles away) and most recently at Dodger Stadium (27 miles). LOL. FF will be at a different stadium a little closer.
How cool to go to Budapest to see MCR. I love Budapest. I went there in college on a jazz band tour in '87. It was a fabulous time. Such a surreal experience tho driving from Vienna into Hungary. Tanks at the border, young mean with AK-47's on their shoulder collecting our passports. Me reading Red Storm Rising, thinking this might not have been the best book to read when crossing into a communist country. :)
Here's a picture of a poster we took from a Jazz club we played in
And the poster of our band, when we went to Romania
See that's what's nice about having so many different COUNTRY options, rather than us with the vastness of this country. Even in our own city, its almost too far. We've seen Green Day twice, once at the Rose Bowl (35 miles away) and most recently at Dodger Stadium (27 miles). LOL. FF will be at a different stadium a little closer.
How cool to go to Budapest to see MCR. I love Budapest. I went there in college on a jazz band tour in '87. It was a fabulous time. Such a surreal experience tho driving from Vienna into Hungary. Tanks at the border, young mean with AK-47's on their shoulder collecting our passports. Me reading Red Storm Rising, thinking this might not have been the best book to read when crossing into a communist country. :)
Here's a picture of a poster we took from a Jazz club we played in
And the poster of our band, when we went to Romania
170mahsdad
>168 scaifea: Yeah we ultimately weren't too concerned either, but it was a little bit of a shock and weirdness when it came up. Maybe it was just my insecurities, I certainly didn't want to look over at him at the time. LOL.
171quondame
I know it is the far north for you, but today I got as far south as Redondo Beach for a half hour to pick up an eBay order.
172mahsdad
>171 quondame: Actually I probably complain too much Redondo isn't really that far, pretty much everything is 20-30 minutes away from San Pedro :) We were just over there the other weekend. Laura had a craft show to go to, and we ate at a wonderful Indian restaurant called the Copper Pot. The service was really slow, but if you know that going in, no big deal, but the food was spectacular. I think of the mainstream Asian food "genres", Indian is my favorite.
Did you drive the coast, or just the quick and dirty way?
Did you drive the coast, or just the quick and dirty way?
173Berly
Cool art display, Foo Fighter tix, and yummy Indian Food. Oh and you reviewed your 75th book! Okay, well 79th. So you got that going for you. : )
174ursula
>169 mahsdad: I mean, if they'd scheduled a show in Istanbul I'd have been thrilled. But we've gotta do what we've gotta do.
Hungary was actually our last international trip - February 2019. I liked the country a lot. I did Budapest-Vienna and back by train, and although there was a border crossing/passport checkpoint, there were not any big guns that I recall. (But I admit since you often see guns like that in train stations in various countries, I don't pay that much attention so maybe there were!)
Those posters are very cool, and what an interesting time to be traveling in those countries. I've wanted to get to Romania but it just hasn't worked out so far.
Hungary was actually our last international trip - February 2019. I liked the country a lot. I did Budapest-Vienna and back by train, and although there was a border crossing/passport checkpoint, there were not any big guns that I recall. (But I admit since you often see guns like that in train stations in various countries, I don't pay that much attention so maybe there were!)
Those posters are very cool, and what an interesting time to be traveling in those countries. I've wanted to get to Romania but it just hasn't worked out so far.
175quondame
>172 mahsdad: Quick and dirty is almost always my option.
I grew up being driven on the freeways as they were built and relished every minute saved from surface street driving, it was such a pleasure being confined in the care with one or both of my parents. Later, once the we could go from the 405 to the 5 to the Antelope Valley Freeway(14) my mother and I had many interesting conversations, but those early days of infinite hours stuck behind trucks through Sylmar still excite horror.
I grew up being driven on the freeways as they were built and relished every minute saved from surface street driving, it was such a pleasure being confined in the care with one or both of my parents. Later, once the we could go from the 405 to the 5 to the Antelope Valley Freeway(14) my mother and I had many interesting conversations, but those early days of infinite hours stuck behind trucks through Sylmar still excite horror.
176mahsdad
Neat video from Nasa about what Jim's (DrNeutron) little project's been up to.
NASA's Parker Solar Probe Touches The Sun For The First Time - https://youtu.be/LkaLfbuB_6E
NASA's Parker Solar Probe Touches The Sun For The First Time - https://youtu.be/LkaLfbuB_6E
177drneutron
😀 Yep! And we’re getting the data down for orbit 10 over the next few weeks. Looks like we were even deeper in the corona on this one.
179mahsdad
>177 drneutron: Wow, that's incredible!
180mahsdad
شاندار فوٽو جمعه
Today's greeting is a little small, oh well, some fonts are more delicate than others. Well winter arrived with a small vengence (very small compared to what the folks on the East side are dealing with), but it finally rained. And quite a lot in places, which of course means floods and mudslides a car wrecks cause no one knows how to drive when the roads are slightly slippy. Oh well, at least the mountains got snow, and that's what's important.
today's image is an abstract from the lid of my new Yeti tea (I don't drink coffee much) mug I got from work. It keeps hot things, VERY hot, and cold things cold (how do it know which is which. LOL, paraphrasing an old joke I think I heard once). Stay warm everyone!
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - Gods without Men by Hari Kunzru - a time spanning story where people seem to disappear and reappear after visiting a strange town in the California desert. I think I bought it because of the David Mitchell blurb - -A beautifully written echo chamber of a novel
Listening - Storm Front by Jim Butcher - I figured it was time for me to read the Dresden files.
Graphic Novel - Once & Future, Vol 2 by Kieron Gillen
Today's greeting is a little small, oh well, some fonts are more delicate than others. Well winter arrived with a small vengence (very small compared to what the folks on the East side are dealing with), but it finally rained. And quite a lot in places, which of course means floods and mudslides a car wrecks cause no one knows how to drive when the roads are slightly slippy. Oh well, at least the mountains got snow, and that's what's important.
today's image is an abstract from the lid of my new Yeti tea (I don't drink coffee much) mug I got from work. It keeps hot things, VERY hot, and cold things cold (how do it know which is which. LOL, paraphrasing an old joke I think I heard once). Stay warm everyone!
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - Gods without Men by Hari Kunzru - a time spanning story where people seem to disappear and reappear after visiting a strange town in the California desert. I think I bought it because of the David Mitchell blurb - -A beautifully written echo chamber of a novel
Listening - Storm Front by Jim Butcher - I figured it was time for me to read the Dresden files.
Graphic Novel - Once & Future, Vol 2 by Kieron Gillen
181richardderus
>180 mahsdad: That's so cool! (pun optional)
Happy weekend-ahead's reads, Jeff. Where's Laura's craft show this weekend?
Happy weekend-ahead's reads, Jeff. Where's Laura's craft show this weekend?
182mahsdad
>181 richardderus: Thanks buddy.
Actually, Laura's winter craft season is done. It was quite the whirlwind. She signed up for more shows than she probably wanted to, expected not to get into all of them, but then she did. She had a pretty busy couple of weeks. Now she can spend the winter building up her inventory and hopefully do just as well when Spring rolls around.
Actually, Laura's winter craft season is done. It was quite the whirlwind. She signed up for more shows than she probably wanted to, expected not to get into all of them, but then she did. She had a pretty busy couple of weeks. Now she can spend the winter building up her inventory and hopefully do just as well when Spring rolls around.
183quondame
>180 mahsdad: Inspirational photo - I think I'll get a Yeti mug of my own....
184mahsdad
Thanks Susan,
Yeah, its pretty sweet, I had never really thought of getting one, but it was a gift from my company. We got on the Best places to work in Pennsylvania list for the 5 year in a row. Kind of ironic when there's a good portion of the company who doesn't work in PA. :)
Yeah, its pretty sweet, I had never really thought of getting one, but it was a gift from my company. We got on the Best places to work in Pennsylvania list for the 5 year in a row. Kind of ironic when there's a good portion of the company who doesn't work in PA. :)
187mahsdad
Here's a CBS Morning profile of The Last Bookstore in LA. I have to get back up there, its a really interesting place.
https://youtu.be/bp5NmasX-0Q
https://youtu.be/bp5NmasX-0Q
188bradvaldez6 
Questo utente è stato eliminato perché considerato spam.
189mahsdad
Fantastique photo vendredi et joyeux Noël
Well its the penultimate Friday and we find ourselves on the Eve of Christmas. I hope this finds you well and warm, and whether or not you celebrate this particular holiday, I wish you the best for the season and a better year upcoming. Can't be any worse than the last 2, knock wood. Once again, its been a sincere pleasure to be a part of this group and I value the friendships I've made here! I'll still post some recaps and my final lightning round, but I'll see you all in the 2022 group sometime next week!
Today's image is from our visit to the local botanic gardens, where they are doing a seasonal light-up show. Very nice to stroll thru the gardens in the chilly (for us), night. Enjoy!
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - Men Without Gods by Hari Kunzru
Listening - Some Remarks : Essays and Other Writing by Neal Stephenson. An interesting collection of essays and stories so far. From a Slash-dot interview where he says that authors are either of the Dante's Inferno variety (with patrons) who write "literature" or the Beowulf variety, that were written due to a demand from fans (he posits that Beowulf was written down after an oral tradition of the story), who writes "genre", to a bizarre story where he and William Gibson get into major martial arts fights and eventually team up to fight Bruce Sterling.
Graphic Novel - Once & Future, Vol 3 by Kieron Gillen. The story comes to a conclusion, with Merlin, Gawain and the Green Knight and I'm sure a final battle with Arthur
Well its the penultimate Friday and we find ourselves on the Eve of Christmas. I hope this finds you well and warm, and whether or not you celebrate this particular holiday, I wish you the best for the season and a better year upcoming. Can't be any worse than the last 2, knock wood. Once again, its been a sincere pleasure to be a part of this group and I value the friendships I've made here! I'll still post some recaps and my final lightning round, but I'll see you all in the 2022 group sometime next week!
Today's image is from our visit to the local botanic gardens, where they are doing a seasonal light-up show. Very nice to stroll thru the gardens in the chilly (for us), night. Enjoy!
Book Update
>2 mahsdad: Q4 Books
>3 mahsdad: Q3 Books
>4 mahsdad: Q2 Books
>5 mahsdad: Q1 Books
Reading - Men Without Gods by Hari Kunzru
Listening - Some Remarks : Essays and Other Writing by Neal Stephenson. An interesting collection of essays and stories so far. From a Slash-dot interview where he says that authors are either of the Dante's Inferno variety (with patrons) who write "literature" or the Beowulf variety, that were written due to a demand from fans (he posits that Beowulf was written down after an oral tradition of the story), who writes "genre", to a bizarre story where he and William Gibson get into major martial arts fights and eventually team up to fight Bruce Sterling.
Graphic Novel - Once & Future, Vol 3 by Kieron Gillen. The story comes to a conclusion, with Merlin, Gawain and the Green Knight and I'm sure a final battle with Arthur
190richardderus
May all your surprises be good ones this Holiday season.
193mahsdad
>190 richardderus: >191 ronincats: >192 SandDune: Thanks RD, Roni and Rhian. Such lovely alliteration.
Rhian, is that Welsh?
Rhian, is that Welsh?
194mahsdad
I don't think I'll finish anything that will top the list so, to wrap up 2021, here's my favorites
Books of the Month
January : Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
February : The Porpoise by Mark Haddon
March : How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee
April : How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
May : The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
June : Circe by Madeline Miller
July : Whose Names are Unknown by Sanora Babb
August : Joe by Larry Brown
September : The Rabbit Factory by Larry Brown
October : Candide by Voltaire
November : Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller
December : MacBeth by Jo Nesbo
Books of the Month
January : Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
February : The Porpoise by Mark Haddon
March : How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee
April : How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
May : The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
June : Circe by Madeline Miller
July : Whose Names are Unknown by Sanora Babb
August : Joe by Larry Brown
September : The Rabbit Factory by Larry Brown
October : Candide by Voltaire
November : Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller
December : MacBeth by Jo Nesbo
196PaulCranswick
Have a lovely holiday, Jeff.
198SilverWolf28
Merry Christmas!
200mahsdad
For those, who didn't participate in our 75 Swap, I created a List called 2021 Christmas Gifts, I'd love to see what books you got this year. We all need to expand our Wish lists!
201Berly
These were our family ornaments this year and, despite COVID, a merry time was had by all. I hope the same is true for your holiday and here's to next year!!
203mahsdad
Lightning Round
80. From A Certain Point of View: 40 Stories Celebrating 40 Years of The Empires Strikes Back 8/10 : edited by Seth Dickinson. (AUDIO). A fun collection of stories. Authors were asked to pick a character or situation that we see in Empire and expand on the back story. I love when an established world, like Star Wars, or Star Trek is opened up to other authors.
81. The Body: A Guide for Occupants 8/10 : by Bill Bryson (AUDIO). In the vein of Mary Roach, Bryson gives us a top to bottom and inside/out view of all the interesting and not so interesting bits about the human anatomy and talks about the people who discovered those bits. Fun listen.
82, 87, 89. Once & Future vol 1, 2, 3. 8/10 : by Kieron Gillen. A collection of stories about King Arthur, Lancelot, Beowulf coming back in "monster" form to retake Britain, and the only family that can take them on.
83. MacBeth 9/10 : by Jo Nesbo. Part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series. Nesbo's take on the Scottish play is to set it in a small town in the 70s. MacBeth is the head of the SWAT division of the local police who are battling rising crime and drug usage, and he and his Lady have their sights set on higher office. Really good read.
84. The Prince and the Troll 8/10 : by Rainbow Rowell. An Amazon Prime short, about a man meets, befriends and falls in love with the troll under his bridge.
85. My Sister, The Serial Killer 9/10 : by Oyinkan Braithwaite. A journal like story of the experiences of a Nigerian nurse who discovers her sister is a serial killer, and she gets pulled into her activities. I'm not doing justice to it, but it is an excellent worthy read, albeit a little creepy, in a very good way.
86. Relic 6/10 : by Alan Dean Foster. (AUDIO). Ruslan is the last survior of the human race, wiped out by (what else) a virus. He and the alien minders who found and took care of him, are embarking on a universe wide search for other survivors and artifacts from the lost people. It was a decent read, however, the ending was a little bit.... Really?
88. Storm Front 8/10 : by Jim Butcher. Its Jack Reacher with magic, and I'm there for it. Fun read, looking forward to reading the others.
80. From A Certain Point of View: 40 Stories Celebrating 40 Years of The Empires Strikes Back 8/10 : edited by Seth Dickinson. (AUDIO). A fun collection of stories. Authors were asked to pick a character or situation that we see in Empire and expand on the back story. I love when an established world, like Star Wars, or Star Trek is opened up to other authors.
81. The Body: A Guide for Occupants 8/10 : by Bill Bryson (AUDIO). In the vein of Mary Roach, Bryson gives us a top to bottom and inside/out view of all the interesting and not so interesting bits about the human anatomy and talks about the people who discovered those bits. Fun listen.
82, 87, 89. Once & Future vol 1, 2, 3. 8/10 : by Kieron Gillen. A collection of stories about King Arthur, Lancelot, Beowulf coming back in "monster" form to retake Britain, and the only family that can take them on.
83. MacBeth 9/10 : by Jo Nesbo. Part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series. Nesbo's take on the Scottish play is to set it in a small town in the 70s. MacBeth is the head of the SWAT division of the local police who are battling rising crime and drug usage, and he and his Lady have their sights set on higher office. Really good read.
84. The Prince and the Troll 8/10 : by Rainbow Rowell. An Amazon Prime short, about a man meets, befriends and falls in love with the troll under his bridge.
85. My Sister, The Serial Killer 9/10 : by Oyinkan Braithwaite. A journal like story of the experiences of a Nigerian nurse who discovers her sister is a serial killer, and she gets pulled into her activities. I'm not doing justice to it, but it is an excellent worthy read, albeit a little creepy, in a very good way.
86. Relic 6/10 : by Alan Dean Foster. (AUDIO). Ruslan is the last survior of the human race, wiped out by (what else) a virus. He and the alien minders who found and took care of him, are embarking on a universe wide search for other survivors and artifacts from the lost people. It was a decent read, however, the ending was a little bit.... Really?
88. Storm Front 8/10 : by Jim Butcher. Its Jack Reacher with magic, and I'm there for it. Fun read, looking forward to reading the others.
205mahsdad
>204 jessibud2: Hi Shelley, no worries about being "late" to the game. Happy New Year to you too!
206mahsdad
For those Space Geeks among us, and I know there's a few, here's a neat link to be able to follow were the JWST is at the moment
https://jwst.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/whereIsWebb.html
207drneutron
Wow, NASA’s done a pretty good job with that website. Our experience is that they usually need some help making them fun for the public. The real-time configuration graphic is pretty neat - will be fun to track that as they unfold.
208Berly
>206 mahsdad: >207 drneutron: That's awesome!!
209mahsdad
>207 drneutron: I know. I guess when its a 10 billion $$ project, you might have some extra funds for public website guru. :)
210richardderus
It's so cool living in a time when we can see things we put in space in real time!
211mahsdad
Happy New Year! I've started building my new cubby-hole over in the new group. Come on over
https://www.librarything.com/topic/338077#n7698560
https://www.librarything.com/topic/338077#n7698560
212PaulCranswick
Forget your stresses and strains
As the old year wanes;
All that now remains
Is to bring you good cheer
With wine, liquor or beer
And wish you a special new year.
Happy New Year, Jeff.
