tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post7342553494234048150..comments2024-03-19T10:41:35.976-05:00Comments on Bronze Age Babies: From Chicago to Wakanda to Plaszow to Selma - Doug's Summer Reading ListDoughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-35061367873155120882016-09-07T13:26:29.715-05:002016-09-07T13:26:29.715-05:00@Edo: Argghhh, I got it backwards; I knew it was o...@Edo: Argghhh, I got it backwards; I knew it was one or the other . Thanks for the correction :)<br /><br />@Doug: Thanks for the encouragement; if I ever actually get it off the ground, I'll let you know. (And I'll still be willing to contribute to BAB, as long as you guys still want me :)<br /><br />Mike WilsonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-23018610972423944682016-09-07T12:11:50.728-05:002016-09-07T12:11:50.728-05:00Nice to read all the lists here.
Recent comics:
...Nice to read all the lists here. <br /><br />Recent comics:<br />The 4 Parker graphic novels by Darwin Cooke. All great for art and storytelling, although the last one was a little thin.<br /><br />Autobiographies! <br />John MacEnroe- You Cannot Be Serious. I disliked him as a player with his bratty attitude, but he's turned into a very good commentator. <br /><br />Andre Agassi- Open. More literary and sensitive than MacEnroe's book. Agassi should be writing for a living. <br /><br />Maureen McCormick- Here's the Story. Like tabloid reading but fascinating for anyone who grew up with the Bradys in the '70s.<br /><br />Nelson Mandela- Long Walk to Freedom. Still reading this one, but very interesting to learn about Mandela's humble beginnings and the series of opportunities that allowed him to rise up.<br /><br />Kenny Rogers- Luck or Something Like It. I had no idea about Rogers' musical background before The Gambler, including jazz and psychedelic rock. Took him a while to find his place. <br /><br />I much prefer autobiographies to biographies, as you get the voice of the person. Even if they had help writing, it still comes through.Garettnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-53440311843677368062016-09-07T02:53:19.799-05:002016-09-07T02:53:19.799-05:00Always interesting to hear what everyone is readin...Always interesting to hear what everyone is reading. It seems like there is a wide range of interests. It doesn't surprise me - I kind of assume we are all readers first and formost. <br /><br />So far this year I've plowed through 16 books - a lot of that on my lunch break. Just focusing on titles since May, there was The Black Powder War, by Naomi Novik, which is part of a series that is essentially 'the Napoleonic Wars with dragons'; On The Move, the late Oliver Sack's autobiography; The Perdition Score, continuing the Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey; Life by Keith Richards (first 1/3 of the book about Richards' early life was good, middle was one long search for heroin, and last 1/3 was boring beyond belief); Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Nuevel - Highly touted SF novel that had a great premise but I found disappointing, mostly underdeveloped; and Killfile by Chris Farnsworth which was very entertaining- sort of a psychic Jason Bourne.<br /><br />I just started reading Ready Player One, which is loaded with more 80s references than I actually remember being in the 80s....<br /><br /><br /><br />Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17032477453891087135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-49080402120778595112016-09-07T02:49:51.276-05:002016-09-07T02:49:51.276-05:00Mike from T&T: a backlog of 21 unread books? H...Mike from T&T: a backlog of 21 unread books? How adorable... :P<br /><br />Mike W.: Bryson is American, born and raised somewhere in the Midwest (Iowa, I think); he talks about it in one of his earlier books (the only one I've read) about his travels through small-town America. He's been living in the UK more or less permanently since the late '70s, though.<br /><br />David, re: Graham. Yep, and if you click his name at the top of the page where all of the authors are listed under the book title, it goes to a link of the evangelist's books. I suppose it's kind of funny, but it's also kind of sad that a really solid (and sadly, now deceased) comic book artist's identity basically gets erased by Amazon because he shares a name with someone more famous than him.Edo Bosnarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-4251626402775899812016-09-06T23:02:11.880-05:002016-09-06T23:02:11.880-05:00Currently reading A Dance with Dragons (by George ...Currently reading A Dance with Dragons (by George RR Martin of course). Funnily enough, I have all 6 seasons recorded on DVD, but have only watched up to season 3. Dunno why, but I seem to read the books at a faster pace than watching the series. I read the second novel, A Clash of Kings, a 1000+ page monster in no time flat yet sitting down to watch one episode seems like a huge slog for me. Maybe I prefer reading to watching TV?<br /><br />As for lighter fare, I'm halfway through my Essential Captain America Vol 4 which I picked up recently at a local comic con (yay T&T has comic cons now!). I have a box filled with 21 unread books, titles at a glance - Cyborg by Martin Caidin, To Sell is Human by Daniel H. Pink, Mythology by Edith Hamilton, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer, Working With Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman and The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights by John Steinbeck. Talk about diverse and eclectic! <br /><br />At the snail's pace I'm reading at right now, I'll probably finish them by, oh, say 2045!<br /><br /><br />- Mike 'booksnail, not bookworm' from Trinidad & Tobago.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-38250998646273577622016-09-06T19:39:55.392-05:002016-09-06T19:39:55.392-05:00Thanks for the interaction and suggestions today, ...Thanks for the interaction and suggestions today, friends. Nice forum for us to exchange ideas. <br /><br />And Mike Wilson, you go right ahead and start a blog. We have appreciated having you as a guest writer at this space, and I am certain there would be some among us who would love to read your musings.<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-79521852012625132142016-09-06T19:12:29.068-05:002016-09-06T19:12:29.068-05:00@Colin Jones: I think Bryson is actually British, ...@Colin Jones: I think Bryson is actually British, but moved to the States and lived there for a long time. He's written a couple of interesting-sounding books about England that I haven't read yet.<br /><br />@Martinex1: Yeah, I thought it sounded like an interesting premise too, that's why I read the book. A lot of the situations are very noir-ish (he has a friend on the "police force", he's constantly getting the crap kicked out of him or thrown in jail), but there are some inversions of the usual tropes too...for instance, he's afraid of his domineering mother! There's a whole series and I've only read the first one so far, but it was pretty good, so I'll probably check out some more.<br /><br />Mike WilsonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-13176050644442508772016-09-06T18:45:32.377-05:002016-09-06T18:45:32.377-05:00Amazing and eclectic list Doug. Like others I ha...Amazing and eclectic list Doug. Like others I have not read as much as I'd like to lately. I read the Devil in the White City recently. And I am glad to see you recommend March as I've been eyeing that and have heard good things. <br /><br />My next book to read though is "Pym" by Mat Johnson; it's a satire following up on and responding to "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym" by Poe. I've had that on my list for a while and need to get to it.<br /><br />The Silver Pigs sounds interesting Mike W. - I've never thought about detective work in Roman times.Martinex1https://www.blogger.com/profile/15772734018573677099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-41241962825048834762016-09-06T16:24:33.646-05:002016-09-06T16:24:33.646-05:00Mike, I read "One Summer: America 1927" ...Mike, I read "One Summer: America 1927" a couple of years ago - it was especially interesting to me because my (late) father was born in October 1927 - but not in America :DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-80348545883187599902016-09-06T16:16:06.582-05:002016-09-06T16:16:06.582-05:00Tooo Funny..:
I just looked up Panther's Rage...Tooo Funny..:<br /><br />I just looked up Panther's Rage on Amazon and under "About the Author", it lists Billy Graham as 'world-renown evangelist'. <br /><br />Sheesh, not trying to be cynical here, but I sort of expected it would say that.<br /><br />https://www.amazon.com/Black-Panther-Epic-Collection-Panthers/dp/1302901907/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473196207&sr=8-1&keywords=panther%27s+rage<br />david_bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00218727673816200051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-16721566890422052752016-09-06T13:41:49.335-05:002016-09-06T13:41:49.335-05:00Some cool books there, Doug. I might have to check...Some cool books there, Doug. I might have to check a couple of them out. I keep meaning to read McGregor's Jungle Action stuff, but I never seem to get around to it.<br /><br />I actually had a fairly busy reading schedule this summer too. I managed to devour a number of books: Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters (about an unconventional lady in Victorian times who takes an interest in archaeology and ends up helping to solve a murder); Swords and Ice Magic by Fritz Leiber; Callahan's Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson; a couple of Star Trek novels; The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis (about a P.I. in Ancient Rome named Marcus Didius Falco, there's a lot of historical detail but it's written kind of in the style of Chandler or Hammett); and Neil Gaiman's American Gods (with the TV show coming out, I figured I'd better finally read the book!) I also read "One Summer: America 1927" by Bill Bryson (a cool look at a pivotal year in 20th century history)<br /><br />At the moment, I'm reading A History of Food by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat. As for comics, I've been reading some early 70s Dr. Strange and some old Superman stuff; I've actually been thinking about starting a blog, but I'm not sure if I'll do it or not...as Doug and Karen know, it's a major commitment! So I'm messing around, practicing reading comics and writing reviews to see if I can stick to a schedule, but I'm still not sure if I can or not...I guess I'll see how I feel after a few weeks of it :)<br /><br />Mike Wilson Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-17724118823761266222016-09-06T09:25:01.055-05:002016-09-06T09:25:01.055-05:00Wow and WOW, I haven't read too much for leisu...Wow and WOW, I haven't read too much for leisure this year yet, but have been picking up the old floppies of the original Panther 'Jungle Action' series. I'm still amazed/annoyed they did such a limited run of the Masterworks edition, so I'm boycotting it in exchange for the original run. <br /><br />(Eh, I needed to invest in another short-box anyways, making my count now at seven....) <br /><br />Along with what you mentioned Doug, I assumed 'Rage' would go to softcover at some point. I just decided to buy essentially 'reader copies' of the run for $2-$5 each.<br /><br />Other than working most of the weekend upgrading Windows servers here at work to 2012, I did pop in the 1st Season of Batman:TAS yesterday.., spent a few hours enjoying what I still feel is THE best Batman treatment, besides Dozer's '60s series.<br />david_bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00218727673816200051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-10919409000067370992016-09-06T07:27:43.275-05:002016-09-06T07:27:43.275-05:00The Summer ? I've only read two books in the w...The Summer ? I've only read two books in the whole of 2016 so far - "Walking The Himalayas" by Levison Wood and "The 100-Year Life" by Lynda Gratton & Andrew Scott which investigates how societies will cope when everybody (supposedly) lives to 100 years old. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-18745068376141725572016-09-06T07:25:49.105-05:002016-09-06T07:25:49.105-05:00Doug, your reading list is incredible! Very impres...Doug, your reading list is incredible! Very impressive! That "March" gn is on my list of "to read" (which is like Edo's- very extensive). <br /><br />My summer list is pretty slim (he writes with some chagrin). I love reading, but just can't seem to get enough time free. Yet I did fit in the following: <br />"DC- The New Frontier" by Darwyn Cooke; a birthday gift from my son and daughter-in-law. Fantastic book.<br />Have been re-reading "The October Country" by Ray Bradbury, after a lapse of several decades. One of my favorites as a teen.<br />Also re-reading "The Stand" by Stephen King (maybe I need to quit re-reading and grab a new read).<br />For some variety, I also dove into some electronics texts and, of course, numerous comics...Redartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221459636234713619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-22458824342788196102016-09-06T07:08:18.914-05:002016-09-06T07:08:18.914-05:00Wow, those are some pretty impressive reading acco...Wow, those are some pretty impressive reading accomplishments, Doug. And your post provokes this sort of love/exasperation response in me, in that I love reading about what other people are reading, and become interested in many of the books, but then kind of get frustrated by the fact that I will probably add a bunch of stuff to my already crippling "to-read" pile.<br />Anyway, as I mentioned in our private correspondence, I just got slammed with work this summer (July and August) and did not get an opportunity to catch up on any reading - like I normally do most summers. Even before July, I was pretty busy, but if we go all the way back to May, here's some of the stuff I managed to read:<br /><br />Glory Season by David Brin - a coming-of-age story set on a planet colonized by humans in the distant future, in which society is entirely dominated by women - and indeed, men only account for a very small percentage of the population. Just a wonderfully constructed, very well-written SF novel. Highly recommended.<br /><br />Old Man's War by John Scalzi - a very easy-to-read enjoyable space opera, which now has me interested in reading all of the follow-up books.<br /><br />Seven of Harlem Cycle detective novels by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Himes" rel="nofollow">Chester Himes</a> - a few years back while eBay browsing I found incredibly cheap copes of the two omnibus volumes that each contain three novels, plus a dirt cheap copy of Cotton Comes to Harlem. This was the only big summer reading project I managed to get through just as July started. These are really fascinating books: hard-boiled detective fiction set in 1950s Harlem.<br /><br />As to comics, I managed to read my Iron Fist and Power Man & Iron Fist Epic collections (and I now have the second PM&IF volume on pre-order). Also read the two-volume Original Johnson graphic novel by Trevor von Eeden, which is basically a biography of early 20th-century heavyweight boxer <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Johnson_(boxer)" rel="nofollow">Jack Johnson</a>, although von Eeden embellished quite a few details and added some fictional elements to the story.<br />And a certain BAB host now has me re-reading the Panther's Rage story for reasons that will become clear later... ;)Edo Bosnarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-62720266252804100532016-09-06T07:01:16.816-05:002016-09-06T07:01:16.816-05:00Holy Cow ! You have very broad horizons, my frien...Holy Cow ! You have very broad horizons, my friend. Where else would you find a Holocaust memoir nestled between a Marvel comic and the Lone Ranger? I've certainly picked up a couple of books for my reading list there. Thanks Doug. <br /><br />RichardAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com