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  • Re: Book Thread number ?

    Originally posted by bigblue_dl View Post
    And ruined the country by taking kids in from the outside playing sports and put them in front of a TV with a Mountain Dew and a bag of potato chips for hours on end.
    I do not disagree.
    Never really developed a taste for tequila. Kind of hard to understand how you make a drink out of something that sharp, inhospitable. Now, bourbon is easy to understand.
    Tastes like a warm summer day. -Raylan Givens

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    • Re: Book Thread number ?

      Originally posted by bigblue_dl View Post
      And ruined the country by taking kids in from the outside playing sports and put them in front of a TV with a Mountain Dew and a bag of potato chips for hours on end.
      Really? What about the kids who simply watched too much TV or the kids who locked themselves away with there books? I always thought it was the lazy parents who didn't know how to tell their kids to go outside and play rather than get all touchy-feely with the game controller.


      **It should be noted that I never blame the legal product that's working as designed. We're people and can make the decision as to whether or not we're going to use it - extending to parent/child relationship, too.
      "The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." George Orwell, 1984

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      • Re: Book Thread number ?

        Originally posted by St. Clown View Post
        Really? What about the kids who simply watched too much TV or the kids who locked themselves away with there books? I always thought it was the lazy parents who didn't know how to tell their kids to go outside and play rather than get all touchy-feely with the game controller.
        Kind of like the people that blame McDonald's for their unhealthy diets. As if there's nowhere else on the planet to eat, or it's impossible to eat at home or pack something.

        I don't have anything on topic to say, as I haven't read anything books worth mentioning lately. I may have to go back and re-read an old favorite, like The Brothers K.

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        • Re: Book Thread number ?

          Originally posted by St. Clown View Post
          Really? What about the kids who simply watched too much TV or the kids who locked themselves away with there books? I always thought it was the lazy parents who didn't know how to tell their kids to go outside and play rather than get all touchy-feely with the game controller.


          **It should be noted that I never blame the legal product that's working as designed. We're people and can make the decision as to whether or not we're going to use it - extending to parent/child relationship, too.
          I agree completely with this, but I don't think that means I can't still agree with what I posted earlier. It used to be that crappy parents let their kids do whatever the hell they wanted, and the kids went out and played baseball in the street and broke neighbors windows. Now the crappy parents let their kids sit in front of a 50 inch TV playing X-Box for 12 hours straight. There will always be crappy parents, the difference is now crappy parents leads to juvenile diabetes and obesity, where it used to lead to juvenile delinquency and athleticism.
          Having a clear conscience just means you have a bad memory or you had a boring weekend.

          RIP - Kirby

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          • Re: Book Thread number ?

            Recent Reads


            Storm Prey by John Sandford This another good effort from Sandford. A group of thieves rob the pharmacy at the hospital where Lucas Davenport's wife Weather works. In the robbery one of the pharmacists in stomped to death and Weather inadvertently witnesses their getaway. The robbers start to eliminate everyone who can put them in prison and Davenport needs to solve the case before his wife ends up dead.

            Throw Them Out by Peter Schweizer This book chronicles how members of Congress use their positions to enrich themselves. Buy some farmland and then put through an earmark to build a highway or highway exit right by the land perfectly legal by the rules of the House and Senate. Get in on hot IPO's offered by brokerage firms no problem. Sit on the Armed Service Committee and use information to trade defense stock once again no problem. While the book is a bit dry and requires a little bit of financial acumen to understand it helps you understand how dysfunctional our professional politicians in Washington are.

            Full Black by Scott Thor Another good Scot Harvath book from Thor. In this one Harvath is trying to unravel the conspiracy started in the previous book about legions of sleeper agents spread throughout the United States and Europe. His mistrust of the government forces him to complete completely off grid or "Full Black" to unravel the conspiracy. Another good effort with a couple of plot twists from Thor.

            The Mark of the Assassin by Daniel Silva This is a non Gabriel Allon book by Silva. it starts with the downing of a airliner off the coast of Long Island by terrorists. CIA operative Michhael Osbourne is intrigued by the terrorist left dead with 3 shots to the face. It matches the M.O. of an assassin who killed his girlfriend 10 years ago. As Osbourne investigates the case he is drawn into a international conspiracy and marked for death by the assassin he seeks.

            The Marching Season by Daniel Silva This is the second Michael Osbourne book by Silva. In this one a new splinter group in Ireland threatens to disrupt the peace process in Northern Ireland. Osbourne's father in law a retired Senator is pressed into service as Ambassador to help smooth out the process. Osbourne's old nemesis the assassin October is back once again trying to kill the Ambassador and Osbourne. Another good novel from Silva with lots of nice twists and turns.
            Oswego State Lakers 2007 NCAA Div III Champs

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            • Re: Book Thread number ?

              Just finished Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds. It's pretty good, but I think it plays a little too much like the lead-in to a following book for what is (by his own website) a standalone book—not only that, but a setting to which he does not intend to return. I'd put it in the same class as Revelation Space—fairly solid on its own, but a lot of the quality is the hint of what's to come, but unlike the earlier book, there's no sequel forthcoming.
              Last edited by Craig P.; 01-01-2012, 11:22 AM.
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              • Re: Book Thread number ?

                Just finished Bomboozled, a collection of photos, advertisements, and clips about how we should all be prepared to live as survivors of a nuclear war during the early days of the cold war. Most of the book consists of copies of Civil Defense pamphlets, pages from magazines, and copies of newspaper clippings of the era and accompanying editorial comments. Amazing to think they tried to convince people that a nuclear war was completely survivable if you built a simple bomb shelter or ducked and covered when the bombs began to fall.

                Now reading the book Tylenol Mafia by a guy named Scott Bartz, about the Tylenol tampering case in 1982. But the book is so poorly edited and organized I am beginning to doubt the accuracy of some of the writing. The guy has a major axe to grind with Johnson and Johnson anyway, so I knew to take it with at least a few grains of salt. Not sure if it is worth finishing.

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                • Re: Book Thread number ?

                  Gifted myself a bunch of reading material for Christmas/my birthday. In Defense of Food, Fast Food Nation, Medium Raw, Unwasted, The Game, and The Dark Side of Disney. Should keep me covered for a few months.

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                  • Re: Book Thread number ?

                    You're going to like Medium Raw and In Defense of Food. You might also want to check Food Matters by Mark Bittman out. Bittman is like Pollan, only a bit more practical.
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                    • Re: Book Thread number ?

                      I finished a couple over the last weeks.

                      Gideon's Sword by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. These are the guys that write the Pendergast books, if anyone is familiar with them, and this book is the first in a new storyline featuring a guy named Gideon Crew. It starts with Gideon getting vengence for his father's wrongful death, and moves on from there when a former Preston and Child character, Eli Glinn, contacts him with a job offer. Crew ends up in pursuit of a weapon that a Chinese scientist was trying to get into the US, and goes head to head with a Chinese assassin trying to track down the information the scientist was carrying. It was a pretty good read, about the same as is normal from these 2, nothing too deep, but pretty entertaining.

                      The Devil Colony by James Rollins. I really enjoyed this one, as well. This is the lastest book in Rollins' Sigma Force series. This book goes back to the forming of the USA, and in particular it deals with Thomas Jefferson and Merriweather Lewis (of Lewis and Clark), and their interactions with the Native Americans. In the modern day, the book starts when a couple college kids come across a cave, in Utah, that is full of mummies dressed in Native American clothes, and tons of gold. It turns out that there is a volitile substance in the cave, that gets let loose, and sets off a chain of events that could set off a super volcano. The Sigma Force team traces the historical story, and the modern day story, to try to stop the impending disaster. The book gets into the several religious topics, regarding Christianity, Mormanism, Native American religions and Judaism, and it is put together in a way that makes sense, even if it is completely fiction. Also, during this book, the true source of Sigma Force's enemy, The Guild, is revealed, and it is one helluva twist. I like this series, even though it is very unbelievable, and this book fit in well with the whole series of books. If you like books that take snippets of history, and build a completely fictional story around them, this is a series you'd probably enjoy.
                      Having a clear conscience just means you have a bad memory or you had a boring weekend.

                      RIP - Kirby

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                      • Re: Book Thread number ?

                        I haven't updated in a while so here is a quick summary...

                        Finished Bad Blood and Killer Heat both by Linda Fairstein. Both a solid efforts with the typical sex crime and murder theme. Her writing is improving greatly compared to her first efforts.

                        Hell's Corner by Baldacci. Very good read IMO. A nice spy thriller with a few twists.

                        Progressing through the list of Top 100 Fantasy novels...Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. Good read. I can understand why it is on the list. I am not sure I would have it as high as 13, but it is listed by the series as a whole so that probably factors in.

                        Currently reading, and almost finished with, Lethal Legacy by Fairstein.

                        On deck Ghost Stories by Jim Butcher, followed by Royal Assassin by Hobb, and finally Foxey Brown: A story of an Adirondack outlaw, hermit and guide as he might have told it by Charles Yaple.
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                        • Re: Book Thread number ?

                          Finally, a book I enjoyed. Cookoff: Recipe Fever in America by Amy Sutherland. It's about people who spend their time entering recipe/cooking contests. She spent a lot of time discussing the "contesters" relationships within their circles, as well as covering a few different contests (not just Pillsbury, which is the biggest). I thought the differences between the male-dominated contests (chili and BBQ) and other cookoffs were interesting. And it made me want to enter a contest. But probably not a chili or BBQ cookoff.

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                          • Re: Book Thread number ?

                            This week's books


                            Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva This Gabriel Allon novel should be read in conjunction with book 9 The defector because both books involve Russian arm dealer Ivan Kharkov as the main villain. In this book Gabriel runs a operation against Ivan who is suspected of delivering arms to Al-Queda. the trouble is much of this book is conducted in Russia under "Moscow Rules". A good effort although these books tend to follow the same formula, with some good twists and turns.

                            The Defector by Daniel Silva- This book is the continuation/conclusion of the Moscow rules. In this book Grigori Bulkharin the FSB agent who helped out Gabriel in the Moscow Rules along with Gabriel's wife Chiarra have been kidnapped by Ivan Kharkov. Gabriel struggles to come up with a plan against a ticking clock to save his wife and the man who saved his life. Good action and some nice twists and turns.

                            The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva This book from Silva starts with Gabriel Allon his erswhile hero retired with his wife to the English countryside. He is drawn back into public life when his friend Julian Isherwood contacts him about finding a missing Rembrandt that was stolen from him. This sets off a hunt involving Holocaust survivors missing Nazi Art and plundered riches across 3 continents. Good non-stop action.


                            I am basically finishing up books by authors I like just finished Daniel Silva now I am working my way through John Sandford.
                            Oswego State Lakers 2007 NCAA Div III Champs

                            Adirondack Red Wings 4 time Calder Cup Champs 81,86,89 & 92

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                            • Re: Book Thread number ?

                              Halfway through "Money Players: The Amazing Rise And Fall of Bob Goodenow and the NHLPA" by Bruce Dowbiggin.

                              Very interesting. A good look at the behind the scenes politicking, and in-depth look at the schools of thought over the years in the NHL regarding free agency, salaries, etc.
                              Never really developed a taste for tequila. Kind of hard to understand how you make a drink out of something that sharp, inhospitable. Now, bourbon is easy to understand.
                              Tastes like a warm summer day. -Raylan Givens

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                              • Re: Book Thread number ?

                                I finished Full Black by Brad Thor over the weekend. I figured out after 100 pages that I missed a book in the series, oh well. This book has some extra twists from the standard "kill the terrorist" books in this series, which makes it a little more interesting. I especially like that the guy behind the attacks is who he is, it makes it much more satisfying when the good guys end up winning in the end.
                                Having a clear conscience just means you have a bad memory or you had a boring weekend.

                                RIP - Kirby

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