What Are You Reading ?

[Mad Mac]

Terry Texas Ranger Trilogy about the 8th Texas Cavalry
which I will present at this month's meeting
of the local chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

[The Meat man]

I've recently been reading some history about the late Roman Empire. So far I've finished reading Diocletian and the Roman Recovery by Stephen Williams and Constantine the Great: The Man and His Times by Michael Grant

I am in the middle of reading Constantine the Emperor by David Potter.

As well as the odd P.G. Wodehouse book or two.

[gac]

BABEL by R.F. Kuang in audio. Alternate history fantasy.
ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE by Eddie Little. Crime novel.

[riclaw]

In the midst of "Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said" by Philip K. Dick on audiobook. First try with audiobooks over paper.

I'd like to hear how much you enjoy the audiobooks. I've never tried them either, but I might.

[MacLaren]

Fr. Gabriele Amorth
An Exorcist Explains The Demonic: The Antics of Satan and His Army of Fallen Angels

R.I.P. Father Gabriele

[Jim Malone]

I'm reading "beetgenomen, 16 manieren om de bende van Nijvel nooit te vinden" by Hilde Geens. A book about the " years of the lead" in Europe and how an unknown gang terrorised Belgium by doing hold-ups in supermarkets and "Diane: 50 jaar Speciale Eenheden in België" by Philippe Urbain about the Federal Police Special Intervention Unit

[shunsui]

Hadn't read anything in a long time and then went on a binge:

THE EXPANSE book series (SciFy)
The Party's Over (political venting)
The Deep State (political venting)
The Prince (Machiavelli)
The Ancient Art of War (Sun Tzu)
Keeping Time (Collection of period writings on Jazz by historical contemporaries other than professional critics.)

[Wandering_About]

Every spring in preparation for a trip to Utah, I read Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. Don't agree with all his views, but his descriptions and storytelling of the tortured canyon country of the Colorado Plateau is excellent.

[Naperville]

Joe Allen writes about technologies that may impact all of us like transhumanism, robotics, and the singularity. I read his material once in a while.

His Substack
https://joebot.substack.com/

His new book, which I plan to buy:
https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Aeon-Transh ... dium=email

[Paul Ardbeg]

Nazi Billionaires by David de Jong. Very interesting read how some of the richest families in Germany got their fortunes during WW2.

[RustyIron]

Every spring in preparation for a trip to Utah, I read Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. Don't agree with all his views, but his descriptions and storytelling of the tortured canyon country of the Colorado Plateau is excellent.

Yeah, although I love Southern Utah, I don't know if I'd like Abbey. He was a good writer, but we can never truly judge a writer or actor merely by his art. He might have been ok to hang with.

[The Meat man]

Been doing a fair bit of reading the last several months -

Alexander the Great: Man and God by Ian Worthington. Very interesting book, well written.

Also read re-read a favorite, How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveller by Ryan North.

The Extraordinary Voyage of Pytheas the Greek by Barry Cunliffe. Interesting book, but unfortunately there's just not much meat on the bone when it comes to what we know of Pytheas and his voyage. Still, Cunliffe does a good job with what we've got.

Listened to some PG Wodehouse audiobooks - Jeeves in the Offing and Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves. Wodehouse is my favorite writer of humor.

Also read a couple biographies of Constantine I (the Great). Fascinating figure.

The Andromeda Galaxy and State of Fear by Michael Crichton. I've read maybe 6 or 7 of Crichton's books and been disappointed by all of them except for Jurassic Park, which is my favorite science fiction novel hands down. These two were better than I expected and I enjoyed reading them.

Also recently finished reading To the Last Man by Jeff Shaara. A Novel of WWI. A great read.

I'm about finished reading Coinage in the Roman Economy by Prof. Kenneth Harl. A scholarly work but well-written and easy to read. Kenneth Harl is one of my favorite Great Courses lecturers - I have his courses on The Vikings, Era of the Crusades, and Great Ancient Civilizations of Asia Minor.

I just ordered a few books: a short biography of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, The Gallic Wars by Julius Caesar, and Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. Looking forward to reading them!

[Doc Dan]

The Andromeda Galaxy and State of Fear by Michael Crichton. I've read maybe 6 or 7 of Crichton's books and been disappointed by all of them except for Jurassic Park, which is my favorite science fiction novel hands down. These two were better than I expected and I enjoyed reading them.

The only two Crichton books I think are worth reading is the dated Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park.

You should read Plutarch's Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans. Probably more educated people have read it than any other book than the Bible, at one time.

[The Meat man]

The Andromeda Galaxy and State of Fear by Michael Crichton. I've read maybe 6 or 7 of Crichton's books and been disappointed by all of them except for Jurassic Park, which is my favorite science fiction novel hands down. These two were better than I expected and I enjoyed reading them.

The only two Crichton books I think are worth reading is the dated Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park.

You should read Plutarch's Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans. Probably more educated people have read it than any other book than the Bible, at one time.

Have to agree with you on Crichton. The one of keys to a good science fiction story is, you have to make it sound at least plausible - in the real world - to the reader. Jurassic Park does a fantastic job, you can absolutely imagine it happening in real life, but strangely all his other books fall far short in this regard.

Thanks for the Plutarch recommendation. I'll have to pick up a copy. As you might have noticed I like ancient history.

[Doc Dan]

The Andromeda Galaxy and State of Fear by Michael Crichton. I've read maybe 6 or 7 of Crichton's books and been disappointed by all of them except for Jurassic Park, which is my favorite science fiction novel hands down. These two were better than I expected and I enjoyed reading them.

The only two Crichton books I think are worth reading is the dated Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park.

You should read Plutarch's Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans. Probably more educated people have read it than any other book than the Bible, at one time.

Have to agree with you on Crichton. The one of keys to a good science fiction story is, you have to make it sound at least plausible - in the real world - to the reader. Jurassic Park does a fantastic job, you can absolutely imagine it happening in real life, but strangely all his other books fall far short in this regard.

Thanks for the Plutarch recommendation. I'll have to pick up a copy. As you might have noticed I like ancient history.

I left most of my library back in the States because there was no room for them, here. I do have Plutarch's Lives, Twelve Caesars by Suetonius; De Montaigne's Essays, Xenophon's Anabasis, Augustine's City of God, and some others with me.

[The Meat man]

The Andromeda Galaxy and State of Fear by Michael Crichton. I've read maybe 6 or 7 of Crichton's books and been disappointed by all of them except for Jurassic Park, which is my favorite science fiction novel hands down. These two were better than I expected and I enjoyed reading them.

The only two Crichton books I think are worth reading is the dated Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park.

You should read Plutarch's Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans. Probably more educated people have read it than any other book than the Bible, at one time.

Have to agree with you on Crichton. The one of keys to a good science fiction story is, you have to make it sound at least plausible - in the real world - to the reader. Jurassic Park does a fantastic job, you can absolutely imagine it happening in real life, but strangely all his other books fall far short in this regard.

Thanks for the Plutarch recommendation. I'll have to pick up a copy. As you might have noticed I like ancient history.

I left most of my library back in the States because there was no room for them, here. I do have Plutarch's Lives, Twelve Caesars by Suetonius; De Montaigne's Essays, Xenophon's Anabasis, Augustine's City of God, and some others with me.

I'd like to read Suetonius - though I've heard he was a little bit of a sensationalist and wasn't averse to including juicy gossip in his writings. I've read Cassius Dio's 6-volume history of Rome, which was written during the Severan era, and I did recently acquire a volume of the complete works of Tacitus (who wrote during the Flavians I believe) which I think will be very interesting.
I like to intersperse some lighter reading in between the heavier historical stuff though, too.

[Doc Dan]

The only two Crichton books I think are worth reading is the dated Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park.

You should read Plutarch's Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans. Probably more educated people have read it than any other book than the Bible, at one time.

Have to agree with you on Crichton. The one of keys to a good science fiction story is, you have to make it sound at least plausible - in the real world - to the reader. Jurassic Park does a fantastic job, you can absolutely imagine it happening in real life, but strangely all his other books fall far short in this regard.

Thanks for the Plutarch recommendation. I'll have to pick up a copy. As you might have noticed I like ancient history.

I left most of my library back in the States because there was no room for them, here. I do have Plutarch's Lives, Twelve Caesars by Suetonius; De Montaigne's Essays, Xenophon's Anabasis, Augustine's City of God, and some others with me.

I'd like to read Suetonius - though I've heard he was a little bit of a sensationalist and wasn't averse to including juicy gossip in his writings. I've read Cassius Dio's 6-volume history of Rome, which was written during the Severan era, and I did recently acquire a volume of the complete works of Tacitus (who wrote during the Flavians I believe) which I think will be very interesting.
I like to intersperse some lighter reading in between the heavier historical stuff though, too.

I always have my lead characters having read some of these favorite works of mine by these authors. Sometimes I quote them.

[Mad Mac]

The local Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter
had a collection of Civil War books and videos
at the library of a high school which is now closed.
I will probably be putting the ones below on Amazon
to raise money for our chapter
as our members have already chosen the ones they want.

PM me if you have any interest.

Hearn Sapp Smith:
Civil War Commanders

Shelby Foote:
Fredericksburg to Steele Bayou
Second Manassas to Pocotaligo
Yorktown to Cedar Mountain
Fort Donelson to Memphis
Secession to Fort Henry
(All but Fort Donelson to Memphis
are still in the original plastic wrapper.)

Time LIfe Books: The Civil War
Gettysburg - The Confederate High Tide
Brother Against Brother - The War Begins

Mario M. Cuomo and Harold Holzer:
Lincoln on Democracy

Frazier:
Cottonclads!

Swanberg:
First Blood - The Story of Fort Sumter

Bruce Catton:
Terrible Swift Sword
This Hallowed Ground
The Army of the Potomac
Mr. Lincoln's Army
The Army of the Potomac
A Stillness at Appomattox

David Detzer:
Allegiance - Fort Sumter Charleston
and the Beginning of the Civil War

Videos VHS
Civil War Battlefields 7 volumes
PBS The Civil War 9 volumes
Field of Lost Shoes
The General's Last Goodbye

[The Meat man]

Doc, have you ever read any of Andrew Klavan's books? If not I have a feeling you'd enjoy them. I especially like his more recent Another Kingdom trilogy, and the new and on-going Cameron Winter series. They're the kind of books that are hard to put down - fast paced and action packed, but with a lot of depth and insight to them; they make you think after you read them.

One thing that made me think of Andrew Klavan is that he's also a lover of the English Romantic poets. He recently wrote a book called The Truth and Beauty: How the Lives and Works of England's Greatest Poets Point the Way to a Deeper Understanding of the Words of Jesus. Never read it but I've heard good things about it.

[Doc Dan]

Doc, have you ever read any of Andrew Klavan's books? If not I have a feeling you'd enjoy them. I especially like his more recent Another Kingdom trilogy, and the new and on-going Cameron Winter series. They're the kind of books that are hard to put down - fast paced and action packed, but with a lot of depth and insight to them; they make you think after you read them.

One thing that made me think of Andrew Klavan is that he's also a lover of the English Romantic poets. He recently wrote a book called The Truth and Beauty: How the Lives and Works of England's Greatest Poets Point the Way to a Deeper Understanding of the Words of Jesus. Never read it but I've heard good things about it.

Thanks! Truth and Beauty sounds like a great book.

I used to hate poetry. I thought it was for girls and sissies. Well, someone introduced me to Robert Service when I was stationed in Alaska so long ago and I fell in love with it. He said all of the things I was experiencing. Anyway, I also discovered Tennyson and Walter Scott. I really like those two. There is nothing sissy about either one of them. After that, I came to appreciate Rossetti, Burns, Browning, and more. I've even tried to write some poetry, myself. I'm not good, I'm afraid, but I still try.

Some of the English poets were pagans or hedonists. However, many, like Rossetti, Tennyson, and others were of deep faith. poems say a lot with fewer words that have to be tasted and reflected upon. Good poetry is meant to be read out loud, even if to oneself. The words have a sound and a taste or something.

Read Tennyson's Idylls of the King or Scott's Lady of the Lake for some manly poetry that are actually stories. Read Service if you want a taste of the Yukon and Alaska.

Here is Robert Service's The Three Voices. The man lies camping on a lonely beach in the far North:

The waves have a story to tell me,
As I lie on the lonely beach;
Chanting aloft in the pine-tops,
The wind has a lesson to teach;
But the stars sing an anthem of glory
I cannot put into speech.

The waves tell of ocean spaces,
Of hearts that are wild and brave,
Of populous city places,
Of desolate shores they lave,
Of men who sally in quest of gold
To sink in an ocean grave.

The wind is a mighty roamer;
He bids me keep me free,
Clean from the taint of the gold-lust,
Hardy and pure as he;
Cling with my love to nature,
As a child to the mother-knee.

But the stars throng out in their glory,
And they sing of the God in man;
They sing of the Mighty Master,
Of the loom his fingers span,
Where a star or a soul is a part of the whole,
And weft in the wondrous plan.

Here by the camp-fire’s flicker,
Deep in my blanket curled,
I long for the peace of the pine-gloom,
When the scroll of the Lord is unfurled,
And the wind and the waves are silent,
And world is singing to world.