Book Log 2016 #17: Tooth and Nail by Ian Rankin
It's been long enough since I've read this to not remember any particular feelings about this entry in the John Rebus series, which sees Rebus sent to London to help the locals solve a serial killing where the murderer likes to bite his victims. I'm sure it was fine.
21 December 2016
Book Log 2016 #16: Bombs Away by Harry Turtledove
American forces in Korea find themselves increasingly trapped, as Chinese soldiers pour into the country to support their fraternal communist Korean allies. President Truman, looking for ways to turn the tide, takes Douglas MacArthur's advice and drops a nuclear bomb on China. The Russians don't take kindly to nuking a fraternal Communist (for now) ally, and drop their own nuclear bomb in Europe.
And so starts Turtledove's latest war alternative history, turning a relatively localized affair into a potential World War III with mushroom clouds. It's pretty much along the lines of his previous war books, and while I liked it OK I'm concerned that future books in the series will follow the game plan in previous series, wrapping actual plot around repetitive pages about the banalities of war. I'll eventually give in and read the second book.
American forces in Korea find themselves increasingly trapped, as Chinese soldiers pour into the country to support their fraternal communist Korean allies. President Truman, looking for ways to turn the tide, takes Douglas MacArthur's advice and drops a nuclear bomb on China. The Russians don't take kindly to nuking a fraternal Communist (for now) ally, and drop their own nuclear bomb in Europe.
And so starts Turtledove's latest war alternative history, turning a relatively localized affair into a potential World War III with mushroom clouds. It's pretty much along the lines of his previous war books, and while I liked it OK I'm concerned that future books in the series will follow the game plan in previous series, wrapping actual plot around repetitive pages about the banalities of war. I'll eventually give in and read the second book.
20 December 2016
Book Log 2016 #15: The Bat by Jo Nesbo
Harry Hole is a detective on the Oslo crime squad, but we first meet him in Australia, where he's been sent to observe during a murder investigation where the victim is Norwegian. Of course, he can't stay out of the case, and quickly develops relationships that allow him to be part of the action, which (inevitably) points to a serial murderer.
I'd wanted to start this series for a while, both on reputation and on enjoying other Scandinavian crime series. But I just couldn't get into the book, and found that the things that were supposed to make me root for Harry as an anti-hero didn't do anything for me. I also found the book's treatment of Aboriginals a little patronizing.
Even so, I may pick this up again to see if the series improves, but I'm in no rush to do so.
Harry Hole is a detective on the Oslo crime squad, but we first meet him in Australia, where he's been sent to observe during a murder investigation where the victim is Norwegian. Of course, he can't stay out of the case, and quickly develops relationships that allow him to be part of the action, which (inevitably) points to a serial murderer.
I'd wanted to start this series for a while, both on reputation and on enjoying other Scandinavian crime series. But I just couldn't get into the book, and found that the things that were supposed to make me root for Harry as an anti-hero didn't do anything for me. I also found the book's treatment of Aboriginals a little patronizing.
Even so, I may pick this up again to see if the series improves, but I'm in no rush to do so.
Book Log 2016 #14: Last Orders by Harry Turtledove
The war that came early finally ends, with similar results to the actual World War II. Other than it being the end of the series, the book is still pretty similar to the preceding five installments, though with perhaps a little less repetition and page-filling as story lines get tied up.
I've really begun to sour on these longer series, too many books with too many characters who aren't doing enough interesting things to justify the page counts. And yet, as you'll see in a couple of entries, I still come back to them. So I should really complain the most about myself.
The war that came early finally ends, with similar results to the actual World War II. Other than it being the end of the series, the book is still pretty similar to the preceding five installments, though with perhaps a little less repetition and page-filling as story lines get tied up.
I've really begun to sour on these longer series, too many books with too many characters who aren't doing enough interesting things to justify the page counts. And yet, as you'll see in a couple of entries, I still come back to them. So I should really complain the most about myself.
Book Log 2016 #13: The Book on the Bookshelf by Henry Petroski
A book about the history of the book and the various methods for storing books? Right up my alley, and when coupled with Petroski's ability to explain design and technology in lay terms, I expected this to be really interesting and enjoyable.
Expectations subverted. This turned out to be a slog, with interesting bits hidden among copious (and too often tedious) detail. I think this would have been better if it weren't so linear in tracing the development of books, shelves, carrels, windows, etc. I'd also have liked more emphasis on the personal, as the book seemed to do best when Petroski talks about his home library or the libraries frequented while a student or during his academic career.
A book about the history of the book and the various methods for storing books? Right up my alley, and when coupled with Petroski's ability to explain design and technology in lay terms, I expected this to be really interesting and enjoyable.
Expectations subverted. This turned out to be a slog, with interesting bits hidden among copious (and too often tedious) detail. I think this would have been better if it weren't so linear in tracing the development of books, shelves, carrels, windows, etc. I'd also have liked more emphasis on the personal, as the book seemed to do best when Petroski talks about his home library or the libraries frequented while a student or during his academic career.
19 December 2016
Book Log 2016 #12: The Catcher Was a Spy by Nicholas Dawidoff
Even without the spying, Moe Berg would have been one of the more peculiar men to play major league baseball. He was an Ivy League-educated lawyer, had an interest in languages, and was an inveterate reader. That he managed 17 seasons is equally surprising, given his weak bat and lack of playing time (he only played in more than 100 games once). It seems like he was kept around as much for his rapport with pitchers and clubhouse presence than anything he did on the field.
In many ways that sums up Berg's life. He seems like the sort of guy who just showed up, and you didn't mind him hanging around.
As for the spying, the book suggests that his contributions in that area were as thin as those he made with his bat. It's as likely that Berg embellished his missions (such as photographing the Tokyo skyline while on an all-star tour and attending a physics lecture in Switzerland to potentially assassinate Werner Heisenberg) than they were actual assignments. The knack for embellishment crops up elsewhere in his life, as Berg's gift for langauge, while real, was not the fluency in a dozen tongues that it was made out to be, and his attempts to learn physics before going to Switzerland were a mixed bag at best.
All of this leads to the saddest part of the book, the chronicle of Berg's appearances after his retirement from baseball. These were typically unexpected (both in the coming and going), with several people noting that Berg would seem to recognize them, but then either ignore them or give a signal to not show recognition, almost as if he was on a spy mission. To me this reads as someone who is mentally ill and drifting to survive. It also makes me wonder if baseball was the one thing that kept Berg at least somewhat in reality (the author tries his hand at armchair psychology as well, focusing on Berg's relationship with his father, and he's probably closer to the mark than I am).
I'd wanted to read this for a while, and was a little disappointed in it, primarily in the post-baseball chronology of Berg sightings. I felt like it dragged a bit, though I can understand the desire to give as much information about Berg's life at a time when it was hard to pin him down. Maybe I'll like the film adaptation starring Paul Rudd better.
Even without the spying, Moe Berg would have been one of the more peculiar men to play major league baseball. He was an Ivy League-educated lawyer, had an interest in languages, and was an inveterate reader. That he managed 17 seasons is equally surprising, given his weak bat and lack of playing time (he only played in more than 100 games once). It seems like he was kept around as much for his rapport with pitchers and clubhouse presence than anything he did on the field.
In many ways that sums up Berg's life. He seems like the sort of guy who just showed up, and you didn't mind him hanging around.
As for the spying, the book suggests that his contributions in that area were as thin as those he made with his bat. It's as likely that Berg embellished his missions (such as photographing the Tokyo skyline while on an all-star tour and attending a physics lecture in Switzerland to potentially assassinate Werner Heisenberg) than they were actual assignments. The knack for embellishment crops up elsewhere in his life, as Berg's gift for langauge, while real, was not the fluency in a dozen tongues that it was made out to be, and his attempts to learn physics before going to Switzerland were a mixed bag at best.
All of this leads to the saddest part of the book, the chronicle of Berg's appearances after his retirement from baseball. These were typically unexpected (both in the coming and going), with several people noting that Berg would seem to recognize them, but then either ignore them or give a signal to not show recognition, almost as if he was on a spy mission. To me this reads as someone who is mentally ill and drifting to survive. It also makes me wonder if baseball was the one thing that kept Berg at least somewhat in reality (the author tries his hand at armchair psychology as well, focusing on Berg's relationship with his father, and he's probably closer to the mark than I am).
I'd wanted to read this for a while, and was a little disappointed in it, primarily in the post-baseball chronology of Berg sightings. I felt like it dragged a bit, though I can understand the desire to give as much information about Berg's life at a time when it was hard to pin him down. Maybe I'll like the film adaptation starring Paul Rudd better.
Book Log 2016 #11: Hide and Seek by Ian Rankin
So as you might have noticed, I've been pretty quiet until recently with regards to the Book Log. For this I blame Goodreads, which has allowed me to keep track of what I've read on my phone (where, coincidentally, I've been doing most of my reading) and even give a quick rating. This reduced the need to hurry out to the blog to put in a placeholder entry before I forgot what I'd read, and so here we are with me trying to recap 30-some odd books in December.
And as you can imagine, the time between reading and writing makes it difficult at best to come up with anything meaningful. I vaguely remember liking this, the second book in the Rebus series, but couldn't tell you much more than the blurb I've linked to above (and couldn't have even told you that much before Googling the title and Ian Rankin).
That being said, I remember liking the book, but I only gave it three stars on Goodreads, so there must have been something holding me back from going higher. Feel free to read this and tell me what it was.
So as you might have noticed, I've been pretty quiet until recently with regards to the Book Log. For this I blame Goodreads, which has allowed me to keep track of what I've read on my phone (where, coincidentally, I've been doing most of my reading) and even give a quick rating. This reduced the need to hurry out to the blog to put in a placeholder entry before I forgot what I'd read, and so here we are with me trying to recap 30-some odd books in December.
And as you can imagine, the time between reading and writing makes it difficult at best to come up with anything meaningful. I vaguely remember liking this, the second book in the Rebus series, but couldn't tell you much more than the blurb I've linked to above (and couldn't have even told you that much before Googling the title and Ian Rankin).
That being said, I remember liking the book, but I only gave it three stars on Goodreads, so there must have been something holding me back from going higher. Feel free to read this and tell me what it was.
14 December 2016
Book Log 2016 #10: Slade House by David Mitchell
This prequel to The Bone Clocks provides some background to the events of that novel, and provides a kind of origin story for the Anchorites, the cult that seeks immortality through the ingestion of souls. The history of the house and its inhabitants is told through a series of what are more like interconnected short stories rather than chapters, culminating in a clash with the Horologists that puts the very existence of Slade House in jeopardy.
I didn't like this as much as The Bone Clocks, though I did find it helpful in putting that book into better context within Mitchell's universe (it also provided some plot points that helped make connections with Cloud Atlas and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet). Worth reading if you're already into Mitchell's works and want to get the full measure of their shared environment.
This prequel to The Bone Clocks provides some background to the events of that novel, and provides a kind of origin story for the Anchorites, the cult that seeks immortality through the ingestion of souls. The history of the house and its inhabitants is told through a series of what are more like interconnected short stories rather than chapters, culminating in a clash with the Horologists that puts the very existence of Slade House in jeopardy.
I didn't like this as much as The Bone Clocks, though I did find it helpful in putting that book into better context within Mitchell's universe (it also provided some plot points that helped make connections with Cloud Atlas and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet). Worth reading if you're already into Mitchell's works and want to get the full measure of their shared environment.
Book Log 2016 #9: The Big Short by Michael Lewis
Good news: this is probably the best general explanation of what caused the worldwide financial meltdown about a decade ago. Bad news: it's still not particularly easy to understand.
OK, that may be an overstatement. On one level, it's perfectly easy to understand: financial institutions made ridiculous bets on certain classes of mortgage-based financial instruments, and the rating agencies that should have alerted the public that these instruments were basically failures waiting to happen did not do so. But on the next level, where Lewis explains just how these instruments were created and traded, was hard for me to understand. To be fair, I have zero background in finance, but it was frustrating that I couldn't pick up all the details.
That being said, the easier points to see regarding the failures of the financial industry to properly understand the potential catastrophe are important to keep in mind now that we appear to be heading back to a financial climate where this sort of thing could happen again.
Good news: this is probably the best general explanation of what caused the worldwide financial meltdown about a decade ago. Bad news: it's still not particularly easy to understand.
OK, that may be an overstatement. On one level, it's perfectly easy to understand: financial institutions made ridiculous bets on certain classes of mortgage-based financial instruments, and the rating agencies that should have alerted the public that these instruments were basically failures waiting to happen did not do so. But on the next level, where Lewis explains just how these instruments were created and traded, was hard for me to understand. To be fair, I have zero background in finance, but it was frustrating that I couldn't pick up all the details.
That being said, the easier points to see regarding the failures of the financial industry to properly understand the potential catastrophe are important to keep in mind now that we appear to be heading back to a financial climate where this sort of thing could happen again.
Book Log 2016 #8: The Last Bookaneer by Matthew Pearl
In the 19th century, when copyright law was lax and manuscripts still had to be sent out in hard copy, there was a thriving trade in stolen works, where bookaneers (a kind of literary pirate) would try to steal books so their employers could publish them before the official copies hit the street. As laws became tighter the practice faded away.
This novel follows one of the great bookaneers as he attempts one last, great score, traveling halfway across the world to steal what looks like the final work of Robert Louis Stevenson. Along the way he has to fight of his remaining rivals and deal with the political situation on Samoa (as local differences are stoked by Britain and Germany's rivalry) in the hopes of getting his hands on the book.
I didn't like this novel as much as Pearl's previous ones, for reasons I can't quite quantify (having read the book about eight months ago). Which isn't to say it's a bad book - I didn't know much about bookaneering before reading it, for example - but maybe not as much to my taste as the earlier novels. Still very much worth reading, though.
In the 19th century, when copyright law was lax and manuscripts still had to be sent out in hard copy, there was a thriving trade in stolen works, where bookaneers (a kind of literary pirate) would try to steal books so their employers could publish them before the official copies hit the street. As laws became tighter the practice faded away.
This novel follows one of the great bookaneers as he attempts one last, great score, traveling halfway across the world to steal what looks like the final work of Robert Louis Stevenson. Along the way he has to fight of his remaining rivals and deal with the political situation on Samoa (as local differences are stoked by Britain and Germany's rivalry) in the hopes of getting his hands on the book.
I didn't like this novel as much as Pearl's previous ones, for reasons I can't quite quantify (having read the book about eight months ago). Which isn't to say it's a bad book - I didn't know much about bookaneering before reading it, for example - but maybe not as much to my taste as the earlier novels. Still very much worth reading, though.
09 November 2016
The other thing I've been thinking about today is the First Rule of Economics over at Charlie Pierce's blog on Esquire - "Fk The Deficit. People Got No Jobs. People Got No Money" - and the seeds of voter discontent.
Among the inevitable unpacking of results, I expect we'll find that one of the themes of why people voted Trump was economic uncertainty. The idea that even with improvements in employment and (although lagging) higher wages, there isn't a feeling of financial security, that people can't save for larger expenses and aren't confident that what work they do have is going to provide for their family (or even continue).
Which leads to this question - what if, rather than spending the bulk of his political capital and Democratic majorities in Congress getting the Affordable Care Act passed, President Obama focused on a comprehensive recovery and jobs bill? I know, there were a number of measures passed along these lines, but I can't help but think that the seeds yesterday's results were sown when the recovery seemed to benefit the financial sector (and largely passed on holding anyone accountable) at the expense of individual workers.
Among the inevitable unpacking of results, I expect we'll find that one of the themes of why people voted Trump was economic uncertainty. The idea that even with improvements in employment and (although lagging) higher wages, there isn't a feeling of financial security, that people can't save for larger expenses and aren't confident that what work they do have is going to provide for their family (or even continue).
Which leads to this question - what if, rather than spending the bulk of his political capital and Democratic majorities in Congress getting the Affordable Care Act passed, President Obama focused on a comprehensive recovery and jobs bill? I know, there were a number of measures passed along these lines, but I can't help but think that the seeds yesterday's results were sown when the recovery seemed to benefit the financial sector (and largely passed on holding anyone accountable) at the expense of individual workers.
I've been thinking a lot about Scott Brown today.
Brown, as some of you may know, was the Republican state senator who parlayed the popular anger over whatever people were angry about in 2010 to win the special election to complete the US Senate term of Teddy Kennedy. He did so by beating Martha Coakley, the somewhat flawed and uneasy campaigner who was, at the time, the state's attorney general.
A Republican of middling talents fueled by populism taking a surprise victory from a more experienced Democratic woman.
Sound familiar?
For those of you wondering how history might repeat itself, Brown lost his re-election bid to Elizabeth Warren. Ponder that.
Thinking about Brown also has me realizing that, as an early Trump supporter, he could wind up being the US ambassador to the UN or something. I need to stop thinking about Scott Brown.
Brown, as some of you may know, was the Republican state senator who parlayed the popular anger over whatever people were angry about in 2010 to win the special election to complete the US Senate term of Teddy Kennedy. He did so by beating Martha Coakley, the somewhat flawed and uneasy campaigner who was, at the time, the state's attorney general.
A Republican of middling talents fueled by populism taking a surprise victory from a more experienced Democratic woman.
Sound familiar?
For those of you wondering how history might repeat itself, Brown lost his re-election bid to Elizabeth Warren. Ponder that.
Thinking about Brown also has me realizing that, as an early Trump supporter, he could wind up being the US ambassador to the UN or something. I need to stop thinking about Scott Brown.
22 October 2016
With less than 20 days to go until the election, it's time for a semi-annual tradition: the coveted Blogalicious endorsements!
Local Races
We have local races for state representative, Governor's Council, and Essex County sheriff. Blogalicious endorses voting for somebody. Honestly, I have no real feel for any of these races, but there are two interesting notes:
Four statewide questions in Massachusetts this year:
Question 1 would allow for the licensing of a new slot machine parlor. The way it's written limits the location of the parlor to horse tracks, pretty much limiting its location to Suffolk Downs.
We're not against gambling per se, but another slots parlor on top of Plainridge Park, the Wynn casino in Everett, the MGM casino in Springfield, Twin River in Rhode Island, and Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods in Connecticut, just means the regional share of gambling revenue will just be split that much more narrowly. Suffolk Downs is ripe for redevelopment now that it no longer offers regular horse racing, but it needs a plan that can stand on its own. Blogalicious endorses a NO vote on Question 1.
Question 2 would lift the cap on charter schools in the state and allow the approval of 12 new schools (or increased enrollment at existing schools) each year. We're against commodifying public services on principle, and stories like this give us little faith in what is essentially for-profit primary and secondary education. Charter schools with appropriate local control and oversight have their place, but it should be within a revamped public school framework, not by opening the door to the likes of Michelle Rhee. Blogalicious endorses a NO vote on Question 2
Question 3 would ban the confinement of pigs, veal calves, and egg-laying hens where they cannot enjoy a certain freedom of motion. It also bans the sale of products from animals raised in overly-confined space.
This sounds like a good thing - who among us wants to be intentionally cruel to animals? - but it's an odd question for our state, where only one farm uses methods the question would ban (the linked story is a pretty good overview of both sides of the question). There's also the question of how this will impact food costs, especially for lower income families and individuals. Similarly, the ban on out of state products may weigh more heavily on smaller businesses, who don't have the resources to independently verify that the products they're buying were raised properly.
To our mind, this is probably an issue better served by a more thorough investigation by the legislature that results in legislation better tailored to farming practices in Massachusetts (we can dream, can't we?). Blogalicious endorses a NO vote on Question 3
Question 4 would see Massachusetts follow Colorado and Washington in legalizing marijuana use for anyone 21 and older. Individuals would be allowed to use, grow, and possess marijuana subject to certain guidelines and limitations (no use in public, limits to amounts one can possess and grow at any one time). A state board would regulate the sale and taxation of marijuana and related products.
Supporters see this as a common sense move that would put marijuana on par with alcohol and tobacco, provide new revenue, and remove non-violent drug offenses from court dockets. Opponents voice concern over public health and safety, the potential accessibility of marijuana for minors, and consequences for cities and towns home to marijuana stores (as depicted in a charmingly absurd TV ad).
We understand the concerns of those opposed to legalization, and there would clearly be a need to review how this gets implemented and what impacts it has on individuals and communities, but looking at other states, their experience suggests that the benefits of "legalize and tax" outweigh the negatives. Blogalicious endorses a YES vote on Question 4
President
We often endorse a third party option here - though usually in general (more than once) - and this seems like the perfect year to follow the trend. Neither major party candidate is especially well-liked, both have significant baggage, and the two best-known third-party candidates are back from the 2012 campaign (Gary Johnson for the Libertarians, Jill Stein for the Greens). And then there's Evan McMullen, the conservative independent whose run is motivated by providing an alternative to Donald Trump for Republicans.
But these options have their drawbacks as well. Gary Johnson showed his limitations on foreign policy with his Aleppo moment and inability to name a world leader. Jill Stein has gone around the bend in her quest for votes, courting both anti-vaxxers and 9/11 truthers. Evan McMullin is in the best position to win electoral votes, but his road to victory involves the election going to Congress (he's also only on the ballot in 11 states).
Which leaves us with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. And if the Arizona Republic, which has never endorsed a Democrat in its 126 year history, opts to do so, it's a pretty clear sign. Trump is woefully underqualified and tempermentally unfit to serve as the leader of the free world. Blogalicious endorses Hillary Clinton.
Local Races
We have local races for state representative, Governor's Council, and Essex County sheriff. Blogalicious endorses voting for somebody. Honestly, I have no real feel for any of these races, but there are two interesting notes:
- The state representative race features an incumbent Democrat versus a candidate from the United Independent party, a reform-minded party originally formed for the 2014 governor's race. The UI candidate is a bit of a local gadfly, having run for other offices as a Libertarian and an independent.
- The sheriff's race is the first one in decades that does not involve the current sheriff, who is retiring. It's a four way race with a Republican with a background in corrections, a Democrat who is currently the police chief in Lynn, and two independents.
Four statewide questions in Massachusetts this year:
Question 1 would allow for the licensing of a new slot machine parlor. The way it's written limits the location of the parlor to horse tracks, pretty much limiting its location to Suffolk Downs.
We're not against gambling per se, but another slots parlor on top of Plainridge Park, the Wynn casino in Everett, the MGM casino in Springfield, Twin River in Rhode Island, and Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods in Connecticut, just means the regional share of gambling revenue will just be split that much more narrowly. Suffolk Downs is ripe for redevelopment now that it no longer offers regular horse racing, but it needs a plan that can stand on its own. Blogalicious endorses a NO vote on Question 1.
Question 2 would lift the cap on charter schools in the state and allow the approval of 12 new schools (or increased enrollment at existing schools) each year. We're against commodifying public services on principle, and stories like this give us little faith in what is essentially for-profit primary and secondary education. Charter schools with appropriate local control and oversight have their place, but it should be within a revamped public school framework, not by opening the door to the likes of Michelle Rhee. Blogalicious endorses a NO vote on Question 2
Question 3 would ban the confinement of pigs, veal calves, and egg-laying hens where they cannot enjoy a certain freedom of motion. It also bans the sale of products from animals raised in overly-confined space.
This sounds like a good thing - who among us wants to be intentionally cruel to animals? - but it's an odd question for our state, where only one farm uses methods the question would ban (the linked story is a pretty good overview of both sides of the question). There's also the question of how this will impact food costs, especially for lower income families and individuals. Similarly, the ban on out of state products may weigh more heavily on smaller businesses, who don't have the resources to independently verify that the products they're buying were raised properly.
To our mind, this is probably an issue better served by a more thorough investigation by the legislature that results in legislation better tailored to farming practices in Massachusetts (we can dream, can't we?). Blogalicious endorses a NO vote on Question 3
Question 4 would see Massachusetts follow Colorado and Washington in legalizing marijuana use for anyone 21 and older. Individuals would be allowed to use, grow, and possess marijuana subject to certain guidelines and limitations (no use in public, limits to amounts one can possess and grow at any one time). A state board would regulate the sale and taxation of marijuana and related products.
Supporters see this as a common sense move that would put marijuana on par with alcohol and tobacco, provide new revenue, and remove non-violent drug offenses from court dockets. Opponents voice concern over public health and safety, the potential accessibility of marijuana for minors, and consequences for cities and towns home to marijuana stores (as depicted in a charmingly absurd TV ad).
We understand the concerns of those opposed to legalization, and there would clearly be a need to review how this gets implemented and what impacts it has on individuals and communities, but looking at other states, their experience suggests that the benefits of "legalize and tax" outweigh the negatives. Blogalicious endorses a YES vote on Question 4
President
We often endorse a third party option here - though usually in general (more than once) - and this seems like the perfect year to follow the trend. Neither major party candidate is especially well-liked, both have significant baggage, and the two best-known third-party candidates are back from the 2012 campaign (Gary Johnson for the Libertarians, Jill Stein for the Greens). And then there's Evan McMullen, the conservative independent whose run is motivated by providing an alternative to Donald Trump for Republicans.
But these options have their drawbacks as well. Gary Johnson showed his limitations on foreign policy with his Aleppo moment and inability to name a world leader. Jill Stein has gone around the bend in her quest for votes, courting both anti-vaxxers and 9/11 truthers. Evan McMullin is in the best position to win electoral votes, but his road to victory involves the election going to Congress (he's also only on the ballot in 11 states).
Which leaves us with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. And if the Arizona Republic, which has never endorsed a Democrat in its 126 year history, opts to do so, it's a pretty clear sign. Trump is woefully underqualified and tempermentally unfit to serve as the leader of the free world. Blogalicious endorses Hillary Clinton.
20 August 2016
Book Log 2016 #7: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
As someone whose experience with David Mitchell started with the unique narrative of Cloud Atlas and then moved to the supernatural sprawl of The Bone Clocks, this book proved to be a total surprise given that it is a fairly straightforward historical novel. The very good news is that Mitchell is as skilled with the straightforward as he is with the experimental and fantastical.
Jacob is a young Dutchman who has signed on with the Dutch East India company to serve at it Japanese outpost, whose provision of copper to headquarters in Batavia is critical to the continued operation of the outposts. He is there to earn enough money and status to marry (his intended is back at home), but he quickly falls afoul of a faction of his coworkers who are using the trading post for their own enrichment. This is compounded by his smuggling in of a psalter (religious books being banned by the Japanese), which further exposes Jacob to risk.
Jacob also proves to be a quick convert to local ways, befriending an interpreter and falling for a local midwife. He doesn't go fully native, but he develops an interest and sympathy in Japanese ways pretty quickly, and risks his future as a married man of means to get closer to the midwife, thanks in part to the outpost's doctor, who is providing medical training to the locals.
Jacob finds himself tested in various ways - when the midwife disappears, whe she's discovered to be working at a mysterious fertility cult, and when the British pay a less than pleasant visit to the outpost (among other things). It's these clashes that shape the story, and show how this young, pious, naive man grows and becomes everything he is expected to be, and a bit more.
Very much recommended.
As someone whose experience with David Mitchell started with the unique narrative of Cloud Atlas and then moved to the supernatural sprawl of The Bone Clocks, this book proved to be a total surprise given that it is a fairly straightforward historical novel. The very good news is that Mitchell is as skilled with the straightforward as he is with the experimental and fantastical.
Jacob is a young Dutchman who has signed on with the Dutch East India company to serve at it Japanese outpost, whose provision of copper to headquarters in Batavia is critical to the continued operation of the outposts. He is there to earn enough money and status to marry (his intended is back at home), but he quickly falls afoul of a faction of his coworkers who are using the trading post for their own enrichment. This is compounded by his smuggling in of a psalter (religious books being banned by the Japanese), which further exposes Jacob to risk.
Jacob also proves to be a quick convert to local ways, befriending an interpreter and falling for a local midwife. He doesn't go fully native, but he develops an interest and sympathy in Japanese ways pretty quickly, and risks his future as a married man of means to get closer to the midwife, thanks in part to the outpost's doctor, who is providing medical training to the locals.
Jacob finds himself tested in various ways - when the midwife disappears, whe she's discovered to be working at a mysterious fertility cult, and when the British pay a less than pleasant visit to the outpost (among other things). It's these clashes that shape the story, and show how this young, pious, naive man grows and becomes everything he is expected to be, and a bit more.
Very much recommended.
Book Log 2016 #6: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
This is one of those books I'd always meant to read, but never got around to actually picking up. That was until Goodreads suggested it, and with it in my mind again I finally read it. And I liked it, seeing how it served as a blueprint for books like The Executioner's Song and the works of writers like Michael Lewis and Ben Mezrich.
Questions about the book's accuracy remain - as seen in reviewing the fact-checking of The New Yorker and claims that Capote covered up a delay in the Kansas Bureau of Investigation's work that may have allowed the killers to strike again. This is troubling if not surprising, as claims of inaccuracy often dog books that blur the line between fact and fiction (I didn't mention Mezrich for nothing). I've tried to approach books in this genre by appreciating the writing while understanding that the narrative has been massaged. It's the degree to which it's been massaged that determines my comfort zone, and I generally think In Cold Blood stays within it.
This is one of those books I'd always meant to read, but never got around to actually picking up. That was until Goodreads suggested it, and with it in my mind again I finally read it. And I liked it, seeing how it served as a blueprint for books like The Executioner's Song and the works of writers like Michael Lewis and Ben Mezrich.
Questions about the book's accuracy remain - as seen in reviewing the fact-checking of The New Yorker and claims that Capote covered up a delay in the Kansas Bureau of Investigation's work that may have allowed the killers to strike again. This is troubling if not surprising, as claims of inaccuracy often dog books that blur the line between fact and fiction (I didn't mention Mezrich for nothing). I've tried to approach books in this genre by appreciating the writing while understanding that the narrative has been massaged. It's the degree to which it's been massaged that determines my comfort zone, and I generally think In Cold Blood stays within it.
07 June 2016
Book Log 2016 #5: Dictator by Robert Harris
Ten years after the first book in the trilogy, we finally get the closing volume in this fictional biography of Cicero, covering his exile from Rome to his death. And while it was a long wait, it was worth the wait.
In this end part of his life, Cicero is down but not out of Roman politics, finding a way to remain relevant while the republic descends into empire. For every reversal that could see Cicero finally put out to pasture - or worse - there comes another change that rises him up, putting him in the mix with the new leaders of Rome and making him a pivotal figure in restoring the republic or supporting the great men of the Triumvirate (and occasionally both, as fortunes turn). We do get a little more insight into Cicero's personal life, too, but as that part of the story fades we get the sense that for Cicero, his personal life was his public life.
A fine end to an excellent trilogy. Worth reading all at once, I think, if you've not read any of the books yet.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: A book set in Europe)
Ten years after the first book in the trilogy, we finally get the closing volume in this fictional biography of Cicero, covering his exile from Rome to his death. And while it was a long wait, it was worth the wait.
In this end part of his life, Cicero is down but not out of Roman politics, finding a way to remain relevant while the republic descends into empire. For every reversal that could see Cicero finally put out to pasture - or worse - there comes another change that rises him up, putting him in the mix with the new leaders of Rome and making him a pivotal figure in restoring the republic or supporting the great men of the Triumvirate (and occasionally both, as fortunes turn). We do get a little more insight into Cicero's personal life, too, but as that part of the story fades we get the sense that for Cicero, his personal life was his public life.
A fine end to an excellent trilogy. Worth reading all at once, I think, if you've not read any of the books yet.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: A book set in Europe)
Book Log 2016 #4: The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver
I know I'm late to reading this - it was pretty much required in the aftermath of Five Thirty Eight's impressive performance in predicting the results of the 2012 Presidential election - but it's another presidential election year, so I figured it was a good time to catch up.
As much as I enjoy the Five Thirty Eight website, I struggled to get through this book. Partly it was from the explanations of the math and science behind forecasting - it doesn't require specialized knowledge, but there are the occasional points where it would help - and partly it was not having more of a discussion of political analysis and polling. There is plenty of that, of course, but there are also discussions of weather forecasting, poker, and other topics that are used to illustrate points and demonstrate how people get in the way of what the data is telling them. So in some respect, the problem with the book for me was that it wasn't the book I wanted it to be. Which is really my problem.
In any case, if this sort of thing interests you, it's worth picking up, if for no other reason than to get some grounding in Bayseian analysis, which underpins much (if not all) of Silver's work and, increasingly, the work of other forecasters.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: A New York Times best-seller)
I know I'm late to reading this - it was pretty much required in the aftermath of Five Thirty Eight's impressive performance in predicting the results of the 2012 Presidential election - but it's another presidential election year, so I figured it was a good time to catch up.
As much as I enjoy the Five Thirty Eight website, I struggled to get through this book. Partly it was from the explanations of the math and science behind forecasting - it doesn't require specialized knowledge, but there are the occasional points where it would help - and partly it was not having more of a discussion of political analysis and polling. There is plenty of that, of course, but there are also discussions of weather forecasting, poker, and other topics that are used to illustrate points and demonstrate how people get in the way of what the data is telling them. So in some respect, the problem with the book for me was that it wasn't the book I wanted it to be. Which is really my problem.
In any case, if this sort of thing interests you, it's worth picking up, if for no other reason than to get some grounding in Bayseian analysis, which underpins much (if not all) of Silver's work and, increasingly, the work of other forecasters.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: A New York Times best-seller)
26 May 2016
Book Log 2016 #3: The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
So the good news in 2016 is that I've started using Goodreads to keep track of what I've read and what I would like to read in the future. The bad news is that after I finish the book and rate it, I forget to come over here to write about it. So I've got about a 10 book backlog and vague memories at best of what I thought about each.
I am less vague in my feelings on this book, which I really liked. Lost in the story of Jesse Owens is this tale of how a group of college kids from the University of Washington challenged the best that the US and the world could offer, and came out on top (spoiler alert, I suppose). The book focuses on a few of the rowers, their coach, and the boat builder who supplied their shell (and those used by many of their opponents as well). And for knowing how things turn out, it's a compelling read that still manages to build tension during the races that build up to the final race.
If you're looking for a good read in this Olympic year, pick this one up.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: A book recommended by a family member. My wife gave this to me for Christmas, which I'm taking as a recommendation.)
So the good news in 2016 is that I've started using Goodreads to keep track of what I've read and what I would like to read in the future. The bad news is that after I finish the book and rate it, I forget to come over here to write about it. So I've got about a 10 book backlog and vague memories at best of what I thought about each.
I am less vague in my feelings on this book, which I really liked. Lost in the story of Jesse Owens is this tale of how a group of college kids from the University of Washington challenged the best that the US and the world could offer, and came out on top (spoiler alert, I suppose). The book focuses on a few of the rowers, their coach, and the boat builder who supplied their shell (and those used by many of their opponents as well). And for knowing how things turn out, it's a compelling read that still manages to build tension during the races that build up to the final race.
If you're looking for a good read in this Olympic year, pick this one up.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: A book recommended by a family member. My wife gave this to me for Christmas, which I'm taking as a recommendation.)
26 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 40: This blog may not be the best example
PSA for Catholic Charities aside, I thought the idea of putting faith into action was a good one to end on. Not that I have much faith (at least in the church as an institution), and blogging isn't much of an action (especially as most, if not all, of these posts are done after the fact and back-dated). But I hope there was at least one point where the four of you who've been reading these posts had a laugh or a thought got provoked. And I hope you'll be back for Lentorama 2017: Lenten Observers of Instagram.
Day 40: This blog may not be the best example
As we approach the final days of #Lent here's one final tip from #PopeFrancis: https://t.co/DtzYHuvOTc pic.twitter.com/g011d3mQfk— Catholic Charities (@CathCharitiesNY) March 25, 2016
PSA for Catholic Charities aside, I thought the idea of putting faith into action was a good one to end on. Not that I have much faith (at least in the church as an institution), and blogging isn't much of an action (especially as most, if not all, of these posts are done after the fact and back-dated). But I hope there was at least one point where the four of you who've been reading these posts had a laugh or a thought got provoked. And I hope you'll be back for Lentorama 2017: Lenten Observers of Instagram.
25 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 39: Wait, what?
OK, this has always confused me, but if this article is accurate I get why Lent apparently ended yesterday but I'm only on day 39 of this thing. In short, Lent as a liturgical season ends on Holy Thursday, when we start the Easter Triduum. But the Lenten fast continues through the Triduum. So you may want to put that chocolate down, at least for another day or two.
Day 39: Wait, what?
— MimZWay (@MimZWay) March 25, 2016
OK, this has always confused me, but if this article is accurate I get why Lent apparently ended yesterday but I'm only on day 39 of this thing. In short, Lent as a liturgical season ends on Holy Thursday, when we start the Easter Triduum. But the Lenten fast continues through the Triduum. So you may want to put that chocolate down, at least for another day or two.
24 March 2016
23 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 37: A timely question
I don't know the answer, but I'm going to guess that "have an armed police presence at all times in certain neighborhoods" isn't it.
Day 37: A timely question
It is never easy to reach out to those who wish us harm. What would Jesus do? John 13: 21-32 #Lent— John Sentamu (@JohnSentamu) March 23, 2016
I don't know the answer, but I'm going to guess that "have an armed police presence at all times in certain neighborhoods" isn't it.
22 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 36: Curious under what theory of pedagogy this is acceptable
The flip side, then, is failure to meet the canned food drive goal is punished by more learning. That seems like a solid lesson to teach the kids.
Day 36: Curious under what theory of pedagogy this is acceptable
DB will be CLOSED on Holy Thursday, March 24 because we met our goal in the canned food drive! Great job everyone and thank you! #Lent— Bishop DuBourg HS (@BishopDuBourg) March 22, 2016
The flip side, then, is failure to meet the canned food drive goal is punished by more learning. That seems like a solid lesson to teach the kids.
21 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 35: is anyone going as the donkey?
I didn't expect to find a tweet that combined Lent and a furry convention in Virginia, but here we are. I'd like to see how the circles on the Venn diagram intersect on these groups.
Day 35: is anyone going as the donkey?
Aside from getting a last-minute badge for #FurMore16, my first commish priority for once #Lent is over is getting a group-sing pic w/ Ara— Sky the 'More 16! (@skynero19) March 21, 2016
I didn't expect to find a tweet that combined Lent and a furry convention in Virginia, but here we are. I'd like to see how the circles on the Venn diagram intersect on these groups.
19 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 34: At least there's no comparison to hairstyles
A piece that compares Jesus to Donald Trump, in an indirect way. More on point than expected.
Day 34: At least there's no comparison to hairstyles
Over at @HuffPostRelig with my latest post: The Politics of Palm Sunday#palmsunday#lenthttps://t.co/o18AWXYWdj— Chris Gilmore (@iamchrisgilmore) March 19, 2016
A piece that compares Jesus to Donald Trump, in an indirect way. More on point than expected.
18 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 33: They pulled off the tricky double asshole
So this is the Twitter account for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops initiative to "defend" marriage. I've awarded them the double asshole for the following:
Assholery the First: the crack about bacon always smelling the best on Lenten Fridays. You're the people who keep us from eating bacon in the first place, why rub our noses in it?
Assholery the Second: the use of the term "religious liberty" on the attached image. Look, if the church wants to oppose same sex marriage, so be it. But to somehow say that religious liberty is at stake simply because same sex marriage exists - when the church is in no way required to solemnize or recognize such marriages - is asinine. We've had same sex marriage in Massachusetts for over a decade, and in no way has my liberty to worship been infringed. Make your argument on positive theological points, not reliance on some PR phrase that's turned into a thinly veiled code for bigotry.
Day 33: They pulled off the tricky double asshole
Bacon always smells the best on Fridays in #Lent. Join the #CalltoPrayer intention to your fasting today! pic.twitter.com/rcWOL6ezeN— USCCB Marriage (@MUR_USCCB) March 18, 2016
So this is the Twitter account for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops initiative to "defend" marriage. I've awarded them the double asshole for the following:
Assholery the First: the crack about bacon always smelling the best on Lenten Fridays. You're the people who keep us from eating bacon in the first place, why rub our noses in it?
Assholery the Second: the use of the term "religious liberty" on the attached image. Look, if the church wants to oppose same sex marriage, so be it. But to somehow say that religious liberty is at stake simply because same sex marriage exists - when the church is in no way required to solemnize or recognize such marriages - is asinine. We've had same sex marriage in Massachusetts for over a decade, and in no way has my liberty to worship been infringed. Make your argument on positive theological points, not reliance on some PR phrase that's turned into a thinly veiled code for bigotry.
17 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 32: I expected more from you, Twitter!
OK, it may be my primitive Twitter search skills, but I expected, many tweets about not being able to drink on St. Patrick's Day. But I found very few. This was my favorite.
Day 32: I expected more from you, Twitter!
I'm not trying to start anything but.. Lol #lent #leprachaun #saintpatricksday #beer #green… https://t.co/vQTKE2fIRn— Worthy Woman (@womenare_worthy) March 17, 2016
OK, it may be my primitive Twitter search skills, but I expected, many tweets about not being able to drink on St. Patrick's Day. But I found very few. This was my favorite.
16 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 31: I don't make saints, but if I did there'd be a samurai
Really not much to do with Lent other than the timing of the announcement, but how can you pass up posting about a samurai saint?
Day 31: I don't make saints, but if I did there'd be a samurai
Samurai, Martyr, Soon a Saint: Dom Takayama Justo https://t.co/BRpSyzsVBA move over Mother Theresa for the Samurai Saint! #Catholic #Lent— Monk(ish) Habits (@MonkishHabits) March 16, 2016
Really not much to do with Lent other than the timing of the announcement, but how can you pass up posting about a samurai saint?
15 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 30: Remind Him to clean around the baseboards this time
Consider sin like the messiest room in your house, then sit down and have a little conversation with Jesus. #Lent. #40Days. #Reconciliation.— St. Bernard L.A. (@stbernardla) March 15, 2016
14 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 29: Here's your Netflix lineup for Holy Week
Day 29: Here's your Netflix lineup for Holy Week
If you're in the mood for some reflective movie-watching this #Lent, why not revisit our Seven Deadly Sins on Film? https://t.co/q1I2givtaL— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) March 14, 2016
12 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 28: I'm guessing the first reminder is rhetorical
The second reminder, though, is something we can all use from time to time.
Day 28: I'm guessing the first reminder is rhetorical
— Pat Durham (@PatDurhamAuthor) March 12, 2016
The second reminder, though, is something we can all use from time to time.
11 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 27: "Knot bread" - you get it?
I guess this means I should stop eating waffle pretzels for the next few weeks?
Day 27: "Knot bread" - you get it?
Did you know that the pretzel is a traditional food for #Lent? See why from @CatholicIcing: https://t.co/2MahfLKl7r pic.twitter.com/MMjFs2qRnX— Catholic Review (@CatholicReview) March 11, 2016
I guess this means I should stop eating waffle pretzels for the next few weeks?
10 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 26: I assume there will be no windows of Mercy once the doors are closed
So this is a Jubilee Year of Mercy, of which one of the symbols is the opening of a door of mercy, such as they Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica. Walking through such a door is supposed to have some sort of spiritual benefit, so if you're so inclined, here's a list of all the holy doors in the US.
Day 26: I assume there will be no windows of Mercy once the doors are closed
— CatholicBishops (@CatholicBishops) March 10, 2016
So this is a Jubilee Year of Mercy, of which one of the symbols is the opening of a door of mercy, such as they Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica. Walking through such a door is supposed to have some sort of spiritual benefit, so if you're so inclined, here's a list of all the holy doors in the US.
09 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 25: Probably no Easter egg hunts in this one
The targeted marketing for this movie has been interesting. Whenever I've seen an ad on cable, it's included positive blurbs from well known conservative sources like Focus on the Family, Hugh Hewitt, and... Kathie Lee Gifford? The ads on local TV only include blurbs from one person: Sean Cardinal O'Malley. Know your audience, I suppose.
Day 25: Probably no Easter egg hunts in this one
Praying the Movies for #Lent: Reflection on #TheYoungMessiah https://t.co/SSunJwrWZB pic.twitter.com/AJApppH2Yi— Marie Paul Curley (@SisterMPaul) March 9, 2016
The targeted marketing for this movie has been interesting. Whenever I've seen an ad on cable, it's included positive blurbs from well known conservative sources like Focus on the Family, Hugh Hewitt, and... Kathie Lee Gifford? The ads on local TV only include blurbs from one person: Sean Cardinal O'Malley. Know your audience, I suppose.
08 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 24: in case you want to coordinate with your priest.
While not as interesting/funny as the unique haberdashery of the Catholic church, this explanation of the liturgical colors is a pretty good basic explanation of when what color is worn and why.
Day 24: in case you want to coordinate with your priest.
What do the purple and pink mean again? #Lent https://t.co/YiiwbqyBQg @acatholicherald pic.twitter.com/UyQNy7dsr2— Arlington Diocese (@arlingtonchurch) March 8, 2016
While not as interesting/funny as the unique haberdashery of the Catholic church, this explanation of the liturgical colors is a pretty good basic explanation of when what color is worn and why.
07 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 23: or Day 1 if you live in Cairo
So while Christians in the west have been dealing with a lack of coffee and meat on Fridays for about three weeks, Orthodox Christians are just getting started. Everyone uses the same starting point to determine when to start figuring out when Easter is, but not the same calendar - western Christians use the Gregorian calendar (the same one we use day to day), while Orthodox use the Julian calendar. Without going into details, this alters the calculations enough that the dates can be, like this year, more than a month apart.
But then there's next year, when they're on the same date. Time is hard.
Day 23: or Day 1 if you live in Cairo
First day of #Lent in #Coptic #Orthodox calendar. Praying it is a blessed time of spiritual growth preparing for Glorious Resurrection Feast— Bishop Angaelos (@BishopAngaelos) March 7, 2016
So while Christians in the west have been dealing with a lack of coffee and meat on Fridays for about three weeks, Orthodox Christians are just getting started. Everyone uses the same starting point to determine when to start figuring out when Easter is, but not the same calendar - western Christians use the Gregorian calendar (the same one we use day to day), while Orthodox use the Julian calendar. Without going into details, this alters the calculations enough that the dates can be, like this year, more than a month apart.
But then there's next year, when they're on the same date. Time is hard.
05 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 22: Note: actual refreshments not served
Day 22: Note: actual refreshments not served
Did you know? The fourth Sunday of #Lent is known as #LaetareSunday - "Rejoice, O Jerusalem!" pic.twitter.com/HUVUhKCm1g— Archdiocese of TO (@archtoronto) March 5, 2016
04 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 21: In case you weren't having enough trouble giving something up
Day 21: In case you weren't having enough trouble giving something up
Pretty sure anybody going through #Lent can relate to these struggles. https://t.co/SBw8DZLSrl pic.twitter.com/SECHlo65WF— Latina Magazine (@Latina) March 4, 2016
03 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 20: Halftime show!
Also, in a textbook example of understatement, that choir is performing in the King's College Chapel. I've seen less impressive cathedrals.
Day 20: Halftime show!
— Dawn (USMC Mom) (@3Quarters2Day) March 3, 2016
Also, in a textbook example of understatement, that choir is performing in the King's College Chapel. I've seen less impressive cathedrals.
02 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 19: Without the visual, this has a very different meaning.
Day 19: Without the visual, this has a very different meaning.
— Catholic News Agency (@cnalive) March 2, 2016
01 March 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 18: Yeah!
And now I'll have Lil Jon reciting the Our Father in my head. "Give us this day our daily bread... THAT'S RIGHT!"
Day 18: Yeah!
Trying to read Augustine's work, 'Confessions', but all I hear in my head is Usher with "these are my confessions" .... #Lent— Leah Darrow (@leahdarrow) March 1, 2016
And now I'll have Lil Jon reciting the Our Father in my head. "Give us this day our daily bread... THAT'S RIGHT!"
29 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 17: Just hope you didn't give up french fries for Lent. Or chocolate. Or beer.
Though being there for Carnival means you've not started to give anything up yet. So enjoy!
Day 17: Just hope you didn't give up french fries for Lent. Or chocolate. Or beer.
Belgian's Best: The Craze for #Carnival >> https://t.co/Hzgrt1bqPM #Belgium #Lent #MardiGras #travel— GoAbroad (@GoAbroad) February 29, 2016
Though being there for Carnival means you've not started to give anything up yet. So enjoy!
27 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 16: I'll stick with fish, thanks
Day 16: I'll stick with fish, thanks
— Benjamin Cooper (@BenCooper_MA) February 27, 2016
26 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 15: 99 bottles of Chianti on the wall, 99 bottles of Chianti...
Day 15: 99 bottles of Chianti on the wall, 99 bottles of Chianti...
A "cold call" pick from #PopeFrancis asking "favor," Italian Servite to lead #Lent Curia Retreat...Bus departs Mar 6 pic.twitter.com/NUFG7FQnAW— Rich Raho (@RichRaho) February 26, 2016
25 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 14: Seriously, a good option for alms giving
CAFOD is the aid agency for the Catholic church in England and Wales, and they've gotten the UK agency for international development to match donations for water projects in Uganda. Seems like a decent idea, even if the Ugandan government is dodgy.
Day 14: Seriously, a good option for alms giving
Double the impact of your donations this #Lent! @DFID_UK will match what you give £1 for £1> https://t.co/RqrWqHp7gF pic.twitter.com/eHmEobRVSU— CAFOD (@CAFOD) February 25, 2016
CAFOD is the aid agency for the Catholic church in England and Wales, and they've gotten the UK agency for international development to match donations for water projects in Uganda. Seems like a decent idea, even if the Ugandan government is dodgy.
24 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 13: Um, I think that's actually a dog.
Day 13: Um, I think that's actually a dog.
9yo sister got her hair chopped off! That's 11 inches for Locks of Love. I couldn't be more proud. #Lent #BigFamily pic.twitter.com/SF6aZHVMSz— Martha Myrick-W (@MarthaMyrick) February 24, 2016
23 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 12: Let's keep this in mind for the other 325 days, too.
Day 12: Let's keep this in mind for the other 325 days, too.
Our diverse team works to break barriers and reach all young people irrespective of how they might differ. #LENT pic.twitter.com/2fvI2YgPl6— e:merge (@emergeonlineUK) February 23, 2016
22 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 11: They didn't say it was a good idea.
I hadn't planned on back-to-back food posts, but found this too unusual to pass up. I really would like to know in what way is ketchup a Lenten idea - use it, give it up, add some reality to your passion play? Inquiring minds and all that.
Day 11: They didn't say it was a good idea.
I have eked a whole LJ post out of my supermarket's ketchup-for-Lent suggestion https://t.co/UPp0pLkzee #Lent pic.twitter.com/AzlyL4OQjR— one more voice (@morinotsuma) February 22, 2016
I hadn't planned on back-to-back food posts, but found this too unusual to pass up. I really would like to know in what way is ketchup a Lenten idea - use it, give it up, add some reality to your passion play? Inquiring minds and all that.
20 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 10: You've heard of vegetables, right?
This is actually something that hits close to home, as the wife doesn't really like fish (other than tuna out of a can). Her dinner this past Friday: an appetizer sampler with fries, mozzarella sticks, jalapeno poppers, and fried pickles (which she doesn't care for and give to me, to my everlasting thanks). Admittedly we were on the road and had fairly limited options (she was going to have pancakes, only the restaurant was out of batter)
Remember: a garden salad with beans is always a nice choice. Your local Indian restaurant will also have a number of tasty vegetarian dishes, which you can bulk out with paneer (a type of cheese), lentils (look for dal), or chickpeas (also used in dal sometimes, but usually called channa or chole). Just because it's Lent doesn't mean you can't widen your palate.
Day 10: You've heard of vegetables, right?
This is what happens on Fridays during #Lent when you don't like fish pic.twitter.com/te7NjGTz9q— Chris Knoblock (@cknoblock17) February 19, 2016
This is actually something that hits close to home, as the wife doesn't really like fish (other than tuna out of a can). Her dinner this past Friday: an appetizer sampler with fries, mozzarella sticks, jalapeno poppers, and fried pickles (which she doesn't care for and give to me, to my everlasting thanks). Admittedly we were on the road and had fairly limited options (she was going to have pancakes, only the restaurant was out of batter)
Remember: a garden salad with beans is always a nice choice. Your local Indian restaurant will also have a number of tasty vegetarian dishes, which you can bulk out with paneer (a type of cheese), lentils (look for dal), or chickpeas (also used in dal sometimes, but usually called channa or chole). Just because it's Lent doesn't mean you can't widen your palate.
19 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 9: Mixed messages
These appeared in order in my most recent search for Lenten tweets:
Which led me to think about the number of people who give up social medial for Lent. I can say anecdotally this is a growing thing, as it seems like I've seen more mention of it this year than last. Based on this article about Google's research into what people are giving up, there are four states where some form of social media topped the list.
I can see why this would be a popular choice - social media is time consuming (says the guy on his blog) and can be relentlessly negative. Taking some time away would give a person a chance to clear their minds and focus on the season. On the other hand, I did see one tweet (right when I started to think about this year's theme, which I forgot to save/bookmark/do whatever you do in Twitter to save posts) which wondered if Lent was the right time to abandon relationships, even digital ones, when they can be so supportive.
For me, I tend towards the latter camp (says the guy on his blog). It's not that I don't think that giving up social media isn't worthy of Lent, as I do think it would provide a tangible loss (if not an actual physical sacrifice). But like many people I use social media to keep in touch with friends and family, and while I could do something crazy like actually call or write, I think the value of more frequent, less formal contact outweighs what good I could get from giving it up. But as they say online, YMMV (does anyone actually say that anymore?).
Day 9: Mixed messages
These appeared in order in my most recent search for Lenten tweets:
Consider a digital fast this #Lent and exchange some screen time for prayer time. He is eager to listen to you and speak to your heart!— Bishop Paul Loverde (@Bishop_Loverde) February 18, 2016
Listen to the free podcast of Reflections for #Lent. https://t.co/H89p6bk0Jw pic.twitter.com/0kXxNZbPiH— Ch House Publishing (@CHPublishingUK) February 18, 2016
Which led me to think about the number of people who give up social medial for Lent. I can say anecdotally this is a growing thing, as it seems like I've seen more mention of it this year than last. Based on this article about Google's research into what people are giving up, there are four states where some form of social media topped the list.
I can see why this would be a popular choice - social media is time consuming (says the guy on his blog) and can be relentlessly negative. Taking some time away would give a person a chance to clear their minds and focus on the season. On the other hand, I did see one tweet (right when I started to think about this year's theme, which I forgot to save/bookmark/do whatever you do in Twitter to save posts) which wondered if Lent was the right time to abandon relationships, even digital ones, when they can be so supportive.
For me, I tend towards the latter camp (says the guy on his blog). It's not that I don't think that giving up social media isn't worthy of Lent, as I do think it would provide a tangible loss (if not an actual physical sacrifice). But like many people I use social media to keep in touch with friends and family, and while I could do something crazy like actually call or write, I think the value of more frequent, less formal contact outweighs what good I could get from giving it up. But as they say online, YMMV (does anyone actually say that anymore?).
18 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 8: Stay right there, Jesus is coming over from the last post with a special message.
I'm as much a fan of solid financial planning as the next guy, but maybe this isn't the best angle for drumming up business.
Day 8: Stay right there, Jesus is coming over from the last post with a special message.
Failed in the first week of #Lent? Don't fail in the future! Here's our tips for funding your #retirement: https://t.co/dAFe1nisDP— Parasol (@parasolgroup) February 17, 2016
I'm as much a fan of solid financial planning as the next guy, but maybe this isn't the best angle for drumming up business.
17 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 7: Bernie Sanders approves! (Inasmuch as he can as a non-Christian).
Day 7: Bernie Sanders approves! (Inasmuch as he can as a non-Christian).
Tuesday in the 1st week of #Lent: "#Jesus entered the temple of God & cast out all those who were selling & buying" pic.twitter.com/JHto7CB9jE— Silverstream Priory (@cenacleosb) February 16, 2016
16 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 6: And if he doesn't... there are still 40 days in Lent.
Day 6: And if he doesn't... there are still 40 days in Lent.
— Susan Russell (@revsusanrussell) February 15, 2016
15 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 5: Thanks for the clarification!
There's always confusion about how Sundays fit into Lent, and this is a pretty good one sheet explanation of how things work. Those Canadians, always so helpful!
I was trying to find a tweet about Lent and Valentine's Day, but the first two that kind of fit the bill put me off of further searching:
Day 5: Thanks for the clarification!
If we gave something up for #Lent, can we indulge in it on Sundays? pic.twitter.com/27tpwUzs7d— Archdiocese of TO (@archtoronto) February 14, 2016
There's always confusion about how Sundays fit into Lent, and this is a pretty good one sheet explanation of how things work. Those Canadians, always so helpful!
I was trying to find a tweet about Lent and Valentine's Day, but the first two that kind of fit the bill put me off of further searching:
Hey, Christians. This is not Valentine's Day. This is the 1st Sunday in #Lent. (Unless you are Orthodox, in which case, you get a pass.)— Drew McIntyre (@DrewBMcIntyre) February 14, 2016
I'm just trying to fuck all of you for #lent— kylie aqua (@circaqua) February 14, 2016
14 February 2016
With things heating up in the US Presidential primaries, it's time to give out the coveted Blogalicious endorsements.
On the Democratic side, Blogalicious endorses Bernie Sanders. We don't think he'd make a particularly great President, but do think he's spot on about the increasingly corruptive influence of dark money on politics and the burgeoning financial-governmental complex. A Sanders presidency would also make various GOP heads explode, which would be entertaining.
Speaking of the GOP, Blogalicious endorses John Kasich, due to his positive campaign and executive experience. He's not as moderate as portrayed - we think he gets the label by being graded on a curve, and he's been pretty conservative where abortion is involved - but is moderate enough that bipartisan governing is a possibility. He's not exactly the candidate for this cycle where the party is concerned, but in the long term is more likely to attract independents and conservative Democrats, which will help in the swing states that someone like Ted Cruz is unlikely to win.
So there you go, endorsements for candidates who have almost no shot at winning - until now!
On the Democratic side, Blogalicious endorses Bernie Sanders. We don't think he'd make a particularly great President, but do think he's spot on about the increasingly corruptive influence of dark money on politics and the burgeoning financial-governmental complex. A Sanders presidency would also make various GOP heads explode, which would be entertaining.
Speaking of the GOP, Blogalicious endorses John Kasich, due to his positive campaign and executive experience. He's not as moderate as portrayed - we think he gets the label by being graded on a curve, and he's been pretty conservative where abortion is involved - but is moderate enough that bipartisan governing is a possibility. He's not exactly the candidate for this cycle where the party is concerned, but in the long term is more likely to attract independents and conservative Democrats, which will help in the swing states that someone like Ted Cruz is unlikely to win.
So there you go, endorsements for candidates who have almost no shot at winning - until now!
13 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 4: Crossover episode!
Today's installment not only works for Lentorama but for the Book Log as well. It's actually an interesting list, with a couple of books that I've read but never considered in a Lenten context.
Day 4: Crossover episode!
The best novels, poetry, and more for #Lent https://t.co/5S9VF7aX45— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) February 13, 2016
Today's installment not only works for Lentorama but for the Book Log as well. It's actually an interesting list, with a couple of books that I've read but never considered in a Lenten context.
12 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 3: Monetizing the suffering of our Lord!
Just three of the many tweets from companies who want tomake a buck off of Catholics help maintain Lenten discipline. Honestly, though, these may have helped, as there were very few "OMG, I ate meat!" tweets. But that could just be my lack of search skills on Twitter.
Day 3: Monetizing the suffering of our Lord!
On this first Friday of #Lent, try one of these 5 classic New Orleans shrimp recipes https://t.co/pLjI3IDtye pic.twitter.com/yGsKIILydc— NOLA.com (@NOLAnews) February 12, 2016
#Lent is here. We are stocked, but #crawfish will be tight around town this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/dKdbkcz1p2— Bevi Seafood Co (@BeviSeafoodCo) February 12, 2016
Looking for a seafood option for lunch or dinner? Our fresh oysters are the obvious choice. #Lent #MeatlessLent pic.twitter.com/xjTjWlv5Zo— Doc Crow's (@DocCrows) February 12, 2016
Just three of the many tweets from companies who want to
11 February 2016
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Day 2: Clearly, someone is better at this than I am.
Yes, a Lenten bracket for saints. And to think how much time I've wasted here! Well done.
Day 2: Clearly, someone is better at this than I am.
The #Lent Madness Saintly Smackdown bracket is pure genius: https://t.co/FWFQbuyC0N— Ally Ley (@allyley) February 11, 2016
Yes, a Lenten bracket for saints. And to think how much time I've wasted here! Well done.
10 February 2016
It looked for a while like this may be the year that Lentorama finally went by the wayside. I didn't even have any marginally interesting ideas, and didn't think anything I could come up with would reach even my incredibly modest goals for humor. But then I had an idea: why not let others come up with my entries for this year. Which is how we got to:
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Yes, 40 days of letting someone else do the heavy lifting while all I do is search and repost the tweets that I like the best. Hope Twitter doesn't go under before we get to Easter!
Day 1: #AshWednesday
Lentorama 2016: #Lent
Yes, 40 days of letting someone else do the heavy lifting while all I do is search and repost the tweets that I like the best. Hope Twitter doesn't go under before we get to Easter!
Day 1: #AshWednesday
— someecards (@someecards) February 18, 2015
01 February 2016
A few weeks back I was driving home from work and heard Adele's "Hello" and The Police's "Don't Stand So Close to Me" back to back. Ever since then, I can't hear Adele's song without thinking she's singing from the point of view of the girl in "Don't Stand So Close to Me," who is trying to reconnect with the teacher from the song.
It's not a perfect fit, but I do get some humor out of thinking that the girl (now woman, really) is trying to get back in touch with the teacher, and maybe doesn't understand that the teacher would be reluctant to talk to the person over whom he (probably) threw away his career. No, he never did make it out of that town where nothing ever happens because he can't afford to move based on what he's making by working as Tesco. Not that it isn't his fault.
It's not a perfect fit, but I do get some humor out of thinking that the girl (now woman, really) is trying to get back in touch with the teacher, and maybe doesn't understand that the teacher would be reluctant to talk to the person over whom he (probably) threw away his career. No, he never did make it out of that town where nothing ever happens because he can't afford to move based on what he's making by working as Tesco. Not that it isn't his fault.
Book Log 2016 #2: The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz
So when we last left the Millennium trilogy the talk of a fourth book was stalled as Stieg Larsson's long-time partner was in possession of a partial manuscript for a fourth book and all of Larsson's notes. But thanks to an improperly witnessed will, Larsson's estate was awarded to his father and brother. And with ownership of the series, they hired Lagercrantz to write this book.
And I'm not sure he was the best choice, based on the results. The book is OK, but it just feels like your average thriller steeped in the Edward Snowdon/shadowy intelligence community zeitgeist, but with the Millenium characters. It does set up the future conflict between Lisbeth Salander and her twin sister (who now heads the criminal empire started by their father), but I don't know if I'm all that interested in that story at this point.
I suppose it was too much to hope that all of the parties would get together and figure out a way to get the Millennium series written more towards what Larsson had in mind. But I hope that future attempts to cash in on the characters will be more of a piece with the original books.
(2016 Popsugar Reading Challenge: a book translated into English)
So when we last left the Millennium trilogy the talk of a fourth book was stalled as Stieg Larsson's long-time partner was in possession of a partial manuscript for a fourth book and all of Larsson's notes. But thanks to an improperly witnessed will, Larsson's estate was awarded to his father and brother. And with ownership of the series, they hired Lagercrantz to write this book.
And I'm not sure he was the best choice, based on the results. The book is OK, but it just feels like your average thriller steeped in the Edward Snowdon/shadowy intelligence community zeitgeist, but with the Millenium characters. It does set up the future conflict between Lisbeth Salander and her twin sister (who now heads the criminal empire started by their father), but I don't know if I'm all that interested in that story at this point.
I suppose it was too much to hope that all of the parties would get together and figure out a way to get the Millennium series written more towards what Larsson had in mind. But I hope that future attempts to cash in on the characters will be more of a piece with the original books.
(2016 Popsugar Reading Challenge: a book translated into English)
26 January 2016
Book Log 2016 #1: Alex's Wake by Martin Goldsmith
The recent debate over whether or not the US should admit refugees from Syria saw a brief revival of interest in the SS St. Louis, a ship carrying Jewish refugees that was refused entry in a number of Western Hemisphere ports before returning to Germany, dooming many of its passengers to dying in a concentration camp. This book traces the journey of two of the passengers - the author's grandfather and uncle - as they left home in Germany, saw refuges slip through their fingers, and eventually wind up in Auschwitz, where they both perished.
Goldsmith makes this trip for a number of reasons, from honoring his family to confronting his own feelings about the Holocaust and the way average Germans did nothing while genocide unfolded around them. Most notably, he makes the trip as a way to make up for his parents' apparent lack of effort to get their family out of Germany before it was too late. It makes for a highly emotional tale, but one that pays off as the author and the many people he encounters along the way make some amount of peace with history.
That being said, I had a hard time connecting with the book until I got fairly deep into it. Not sure why; it could have been having to reconcile the travelogue/historical aspects of the book with the deeply personal tragedy, or just not having enough of a personal connection to get into it right away. I am happy that I stuck with it, though.
(2016 Popsugar Reading Challenge: a book about a road trip)
The recent debate over whether or not the US should admit refugees from Syria saw a brief revival of interest in the SS St. Louis, a ship carrying Jewish refugees that was refused entry in a number of Western Hemisphere ports before returning to Germany, dooming many of its passengers to dying in a concentration camp. This book traces the journey of two of the passengers - the author's grandfather and uncle - as they left home in Germany, saw refuges slip through their fingers, and eventually wind up in Auschwitz, where they both perished.
Goldsmith makes this trip for a number of reasons, from honoring his family to confronting his own feelings about the Holocaust and the way average Germans did nothing while genocide unfolded around them. Most notably, he makes the trip as a way to make up for his parents' apparent lack of effort to get their family out of Germany before it was too late. It makes for a highly emotional tale, but one that pays off as the author and the many people he encounters along the way make some amount of peace with history.
That being said, I had a hard time connecting with the book until I got fairly deep into it. Not sure why; it could have been having to reconcile the travelogue/historical aspects of the book with the deeply personal tragedy, or just not having enough of a personal connection to get into it right away. I am happy that I stuck with it, though.
(2016 Popsugar Reading Challenge: a book about a road trip)
01 January 2016
Book Log 2015 Extra: The 2015 Popsugar Reading Challenge
I tried to tailor my reading for 2015 to complete the reading challenge put out by Popsugar, but didn't quite finish. Which wasn't surprising, given some of the entries. So what didn't I read?
Classic romance - not a genre I typically read, so it wasn't shocking that I didn't read something here.
A book a friend recommended - kind of a ridiculous miss, as how hard would it have been to ask for recommendations on Facebook?
A book you mom loves - my mother's reading was almost exclusively of Harlequin romances, which she favored as it was easy to put them down when needed (she worked overnights at a nursing home, so the books filled the time between patient calls). She would occasionally branch out to the more popular romance authors, but rarely anything beyond. And as I've already noted that I'm not a romance person, it was unlikely that I'd read something to meet this part of the challenge.
A book that scares you - also not much of a horror reader. Or taking this in a different direction, I was apprehensive about tackling Moby Dick, and considering I've been a third of the way through it since March my apprehension was apparently correct.
A play - I started Othello, but didn't get that far into it. I should have chosen something contemporary.
A book that takes place in your hometown - my hometown has about 5500 people and is unlikely to be the setting for a novel (but a movie...). Even my current home, in a city of about 40,000, is an unlikely book setting. The 2016 challenge changes this to a book set in your home state, which will be much easier to complete.
A book that makes you cry - I don't know that I've ever cried while reading. It certainly didn't happen in 2015.
A book set in high school - another one that looks easy that I didn't knock off.
A book with bad reviews - I did try a bit to cross this off, but more often than not by retroactively checking reviews for books I didn't quite care for. That's probably not the best method.
A book that came out the year you were born - possibly the easiest entry that I didn't complete, given that there are several books that would fit the bill that I'd be interested in reading- A House for Mr. Biswas, Slaughterhouse-Five, I Sing the Body Electric, The Godfather, Portnoy's Complaint, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and so on.
A book with antonyms in the title - well, OK, I couldn't be bothered with this one.
So there you are. I am mulling trying to do this with the 2016 challenge, but don't know if I'll bother as I expect my reading time will decline this year.
I tried to tailor my reading for 2015 to complete the reading challenge put out by Popsugar, but didn't quite finish. Which wasn't surprising, given some of the entries. So what didn't I read?
Classic romance - not a genre I typically read, so it wasn't shocking that I didn't read something here.
A book a friend recommended - kind of a ridiculous miss, as how hard would it have been to ask for recommendations on Facebook?
A book you mom loves - my mother's reading was almost exclusively of Harlequin romances, which she favored as it was easy to put them down when needed (she worked overnights at a nursing home, so the books filled the time between patient calls). She would occasionally branch out to the more popular romance authors, but rarely anything beyond. And as I've already noted that I'm not a romance person, it was unlikely that I'd read something to meet this part of the challenge.
A book that scares you - also not much of a horror reader. Or taking this in a different direction, I was apprehensive about tackling Moby Dick, and considering I've been a third of the way through it since March my apprehension was apparently correct.
A play - I started Othello, but didn't get that far into it. I should have chosen something contemporary.
A book that takes place in your hometown - my hometown has about 5500 people and is unlikely to be the setting for a novel (but a movie...). Even my current home, in a city of about 40,000, is an unlikely book setting. The 2016 challenge changes this to a book set in your home state, which will be much easier to complete.
A book that makes you cry - I don't know that I've ever cried while reading. It certainly didn't happen in 2015.
A book set in high school - another one that looks easy that I didn't knock off.
A book with bad reviews - I did try a bit to cross this off, but more often than not by retroactively checking reviews for books I didn't quite care for. That's probably not the best method.
A book that came out the year you were born - possibly the easiest entry that I didn't complete, given that there are several books that would fit the bill that I'd be interested in reading- A House for Mr. Biswas, Slaughterhouse-Five, I Sing the Body Electric, The Godfather, Portnoy's Complaint, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and so on.
A book with antonyms in the title - well, OK, I couldn't be bothered with this one.
So there you are. I am mulling trying to do this with the 2016 challenge, but don't know if I'll bother as I expect my reading time will decline this year.
31 December 2015
Book Log 2015 #47: The Fifth Gospel by Ian Caldwell
A little over a decade ago, Ian Caldwell co-wrote a novel called The Rule of Four, a literate thriller about four roommates and the obsession with a mysterious 15th century book. It was on the best-seller lists for months. Great things were expected from both men.
But both of them fell off the radar, book-wise. Dustin Thomason found work writing and producing TV shows, but did have another best-selling book in 2012 with a plot focused on the Mayan calendar and the potential end of the world. Caldwell spent a good decade coming up with this book, his follow-up. It uses the schism between Roman Catholics and Orthodox churches to drive the plot, with a Greek Catholic priest (a member of one of the Eastern rites that kind of straddle the schism) trying to figure out who killed a local museum curator who was working on an exhibit about the Shroud of Turin, its history between the Roman and Orthodox communities, and how a work called the Diatessaron could shed added light on the shroud's pre-Turin whereabouts.
Throw into that mix added Vatican politics and the sudden reappearance of the main character's wife after years of absence, and you have a pretty packed story. Thankfully, Caldwell is writer enough to pull this off, balancing story lines and providing explanations that help keep the plot moving. It's much more realistic than the breathless exposition of Dan Brown and the like.
That being said, an afterword that went into a further discussion of the factual basis of the book would have been helpful. Still, I hope it's not another ten years before we get another book from Caldwell.
A little over a decade ago, Ian Caldwell co-wrote a novel called The Rule of Four, a literate thriller about four roommates and the obsession with a mysterious 15th century book. It was on the best-seller lists for months. Great things were expected from both men.
But both of them fell off the radar, book-wise. Dustin Thomason found work writing and producing TV shows, but did have another best-selling book in 2012 with a plot focused on the Mayan calendar and the potential end of the world. Caldwell spent a good decade coming up with this book, his follow-up. It uses the schism between Roman Catholics and Orthodox churches to drive the plot, with a Greek Catholic priest (a member of one of the Eastern rites that kind of straddle the schism) trying to figure out who killed a local museum curator who was working on an exhibit about the Shroud of Turin, its history between the Roman and Orthodox communities, and how a work called the Diatessaron could shed added light on the shroud's pre-Turin whereabouts.
Throw into that mix added Vatican politics and the sudden reappearance of the main character's wife after years of absence, and you have a pretty packed story. Thankfully, Caldwell is writer enough to pull this off, balancing story lines and providing explanations that help keep the plot moving. It's much more realistic than the breathless exposition of Dan Brown and the like.
That being said, an afterword that went into a further discussion of the factual basis of the book would have been helpful. Still, I hope it's not another ten years before we get another book from Caldwell.
Book Log 2015 #46: Idiot America by Charles Pierce
One of the many books that have come out in recent years about the anti-intellectual streak in American life and politics, this one does forward a specific theory about the trend based in three premises: anything can be true if you say it loud enough, fact is what a person believes and the truth of that fact is how strongly its believed, and any theory based on these truths or facts is validated by how well it sells. The rest of the book shows in various ways how these premises are put into action by our leaders, from the Iraq war to global warming.
There are some interesting diversions in the book - an early chapter talks about cranks and their role in American life before the rise of mass communications - but a lot of it is familiar to anyone who reads Pierce with any regularity (his Esquire work refers to his theory frequently). It's also slightly outdated, as it doesn't really consider the impact of social media and Citizens United (though you can imagine what the impacts have been).
Still, Pierce writes well and is clearly personally invested (the chapter on the Terry Schiavo case is equal parts application of theory and personal animus towards Jeb Bush and his ilk). It's worth a read in the coming political season.
One of the many books that have come out in recent years about the anti-intellectual streak in American life and politics, this one does forward a specific theory about the trend based in three premises: anything can be true if you say it loud enough, fact is what a person believes and the truth of that fact is how strongly its believed, and any theory based on these truths or facts is validated by how well it sells. The rest of the book shows in various ways how these premises are put into action by our leaders, from the Iraq war to global warming.
There are some interesting diversions in the book - an early chapter talks about cranks and their role in American life before the rise of mass communications - but a lot of it is familiar to anyone who reads Pierce with any regularity (his Esquire work refers to his theory frequently). It's also slightly outdated, as it doesn't really consider the impact of social media and Citizens United (though you can imagine what the impacts have been).
Still, Pierce writes well and is clearly personally invested (the chapter on the Terry Schiavo case is equal parts application of theory and personal animus towards Jeb Bush and his ilk). It's worth a read in the coming political season.
Book Log 2015 #45: The Golden Princess by S.M. Stirling
A battle against Haida raiders and an unexpected remnant of the Church Universal and Triumphant results in the deaths of the High King of Montival and the Emperor of Japan. Now it is up to the two new leaders, both young women in their early 20s, to avenge their fathers and secure this part of the world from further incursion.
They do this by talking. To each other, to leaders of other groups, to their subordinates. They talk a lot. As do the subordinates, who are still wondering if their new leaders are up to the task (less so with the future High Queen of Montival, who now carries the sacred sword her father did, but apparently now tailored to her). I found myself wishing for more songs about elves and overheated descriptions of horse tack, as that usually came with battle scenes.
Speaking of swords, it turns out that this series of Emberverse books will be about another sword quest, as the Japanese were in the former US looking for a sword which is apprently in Palm Springs or a similar desert location in what was California. I feel like we've done this before.
This is also the first book in the series (I think) that didn't have an appearance by an original character. There were mentions, but no actual dialogue. There weren't even that many appearances by second generation characters. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I do wonder if the transition is being rushed a bit.
Still, in for a penny, in for a pound. I'm a book behind in the series, which I'll eventually get to.
A battle against Haida raiders and an unexpected remnant of the Church Universal and Triumphant results in the deaths of the High King of Montival and the Emperor of Japan. Now it is up to the two new leaders, both young women in their early 20s, to avenge their fathers and secure this part of the world from further incursion.
They do this by talking. To each other, to leaders of other groups, to their subordinates. They talk a lot. As do the subordinates, who are still wondering if their new leaders are up to the task (less so with the future High Queen of Montival, who now carries the sacred sword her father did, but apparently now tailored to her). I found myself wishing for more songs about elves and overheated descriptions of horse tack, as that usually came with battle scenes.
Speaking of swords, it turns out that this series of Emberverse books will be about another sword quest, as the Japanese were in the former US looking for a sword which is apprently in Palm Springs or a similar desert location in what was California. I feel like we've done this before.
This is also the first book in the series (I think) that didn't have an appearance by an original character. There were mentions, but no actual dialogue. There weren't even that many appearances by second generation characters. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I do wonder if the transition is being rushed a bit.
Still, in for a penny, in for a pound. I'm a book behind in the series, which I'll eventually get to.
Book Log 2015 #44: A Christmas Far From Home by Stanley Weintraub
This book tells the story of the American soldiers who, in 1950, had to fight their way to safety in the face of a Chinese offensive, bitter cold, and poor living conditions. The book opposes this with the actions and lifestyle of supreme commander Douglas MacArthur, who was trying to run the war from his comfortable digs in Tokyo. The book comes down very strongly against MacArthur, portraying him as out of touch and completely disinterested in opinions and facts that countered his own beliefs.
I have to admit I didn't get more than a third into the book before quitting. I could never quite get into the story, as I was trying too hard to keep up with the unit names and other details to keep things straight. Weintraub has found a niche in writing books about was and Christmastime, and I don't know if this is typical of his efforts. Maybe his earlier books are better.
This book tells the story of the American soldiers who, in 1950, had to fight their way to safety in the face of a Chinese offensive, bitter cold, and poor living conditions. The book opposes this with the actions and lifestyle of supreme commander Douglas MacArthur, who was trying to run the war from his comfortable digs in Tokyo. The book comes down very strongly against MacArthur, portraying him as out of touch and completely disinterested in opinions and facts that countered his own beliefs.
I have to admit I didn't get more than a third into the book before quitting. I could never quite get into the story, as I was trying too hard to keep up with the unit names and other details to keep things straight. Weintraub has found a niche in writing books about was and Christmastime, and I don't know if this is typical of his efforts. Maybe his earlier books are better.
Book Log 2015 #43: Y: The Last Man by Brian Vaughan and Pia Guerra
An unknown sickness kills every male creature in the world - except for Yorick Brown and his pet monkey. Yorick wants to go to Australia to find his girlfriend, but others - including his mother - have other ideas. They want to figure out why Yorick and his monkey survived, and if they can be used to create new males. Yorick gets hooked up with a mysterious secret agent and an ethically-challenged geneticist, with the group trying to get to California to get to the doctor's lab. Along the way, they run into various militant feminists, including a group whose members now include Yorick's sister, who would happily kill Yorick and his monkey.
I've read about half of the issues of this graphic novel, and am enjoying it, though I'm not sure if I'm that into graphic novels generally. Still, I'm looking forward to the second half of the series.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: a graphic novel)
An unknown sickness kills every male creature in the world - except for Yorick Brown and his pet monkey. Yorick wants to go to Australia to find his girlfriend, but others - including his mother - have other ideas. They want to figure out why Yorick and his monkey survived, and if they can be used to create new males. Yorick gets hooked up with a mysterious secret agent and an ethically-challenged geneticist, with the group trying to get to California to get to the doctor's lab. Along the way, they run into various militant feminists, including a group whose members now include Yorick's sister, who would happily kill Yorick and his monkey.
I've read about half of the issues of this graphic novel, and am enjoying it, though I'm not sure if I'm that into graphic novels generally. Still, I'm looking forward to the second half of the series.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: a graphic novel)
Book Log 2015 #42: Layover in Dubai by Dan Fesperman
A corporate auditor stops over in Dubai to check in on a colleague who likes to live on the edge a bit, causing concerns that he may hurt relations between the company and the authorities. When that colleague ends up dead, and a visit by the firm's chief security officer leads the local police right to the auditor's door, he has to team up with an unorthodox police detective to get to the bottom of things.
This is a very solid thriller, which benefits greatly from its unique setting. I only wish it had been written during the global financial slowdown, as that would have added an additional interesting angle to things. Still, a good choice if you're looking for something contemporary and set outside of the usual locations for this sort of book.
A corporate auditor stops over in Dubai to check in on a colleague who likes to live on the edge a bit, causing concerns that he may hurt relations between the company and the authorities. When that colleague ends up dead, and a visit by the firm's chief security officer leads the local police right to the auditor's door, he has to team up with an unorthodox police detective to get to the bottom of things.
This is a very solid thriller, which benefits greatly from its unique setting. I only wish it had been written during the global financial slowdown, as that would have added an additional interesting angle to things. Still, a good choice if you're looking for something contemporary and set outside of the usual locations for this sort of book.
Book Log 2015 #41: Dead Wake by Erik Larson
Larson's skill at narrative non-fiction is well on display in this telling of the Lusitania sinking, which bounces between the passengers and crew of the ship and the men of the U-boat that sank it. The strength of the book probably lies with the Germans, as we get a much clearer idea of why the policy around sinking passenger lines changes and why this specific U-boat was in the right place at the right time to fire her torpedoes.
Which isn't to say that the parts about the boat and its passengers aren't informative and entertaining. These sections only serve to underscore the human tragedy of the sinking, as characters we've followed throughout the voyage are put in harm's way, with not all of them surviving (which doesn't even begin to address the hundreds of unmentioned passengers who died).
The only thing about the book I didn't care for was the story of President Wilson and his courting of future wife Edith Galt. I don't feel like the stories meshed very well, and didn't really add much to the overall proceeedings.
Very much recommended, even so.
Larson's skill at narrative non-fiction is well on display in this telling of the Lusitania sinking, which bounces between the passengers and crew of the ship and the men of the U-boat that sank it. The strength of the book probably lies with the Germans, as we get a much clearer idea of why the policy around sinking passenger lines changes and why this specific U-boat was in the right place at the right time to fire her torpedoes.
Which isn't to say that the parts about the boat and its passengers aren't informative and entertaining. These sections only serve to underscore the human tragedy of the sinking, as characters we've followed throughout the voyage are put in harm's way, with not all of them surviving (which doesn't even begin to address the hundreds of unmentioned passengers who died).
The only thing about the book I didn't care for was the story of President Wilson and his courting of future wife Edith Galt. I don't feel like the stories meshed very well, and didn't really add much to the overall proceeedings.
Very much recommended, even so.
Book Log 2015 #40: Wrath of the Furies by Steven Saylor
The latest entry in the series following the young Gordianus the Finder sees him still in Alexandria, waiting out the war in the Italian peninsula where Rome is fighting its local client states, while closer to Egypt Mithradites is taking over many of Rome's Asian territories. Gordianus's former tutor and agent for Mithridates, Antipater, apparently finds himself in trouble, forcing Gordianus to enter enemy territory - Romans found in Mithradates's territory are likely to be executed - to find Antipater and save him from harm.
This book feels much more like an entry from the original series, though it captures enough of Gordianus's youth and inexperience to keep things interesting. There's also the continued development of his relationship with Bethesda, which is still pretty much in her favor.
The best of the young Gordianus books to date, which makes me look forward to future entries.
The latest entry in the series following the young Gordianus the Finder sees him still in Alexandria, waiting out the war in the Italian peninsula where Rome is fighting its local client states, while closer to Egypt Mithradites is taking over many of Rome's Asian territories. Gordianus's former tutor and agent for Mithridates, Antipater, apparently finds himself in trouble, forcing Gordianus to enter enemy territory - Romans found in Mithradates's territory are likely to be executed - to find Antipater and save him from harm.
This book feels much more like an entry from the original series, though it captures enough of Gordianus's youth and inexperience to keep things interesting. There's also the continued development of his relationship with Bethesda, which is still pretty much in her favor.
The best of the young Gordianus books to date, which makes me look forward to future entries.
Book Log 2015 #39: When to Rob a Bank by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
For their most recent book, the Freakonomics guys package up some of their favorite blog posts in this volume. And while some entries were as interesting and insightful as what's in their regular books, a lot of it is closer to the bulk of the 8000 posts that the authors consider rubbish. So it's probably worth a read if you're a Freakonomics completist, or a browse if you're interested in specific topics.
For their most recent book, the Freakonomics guys package up some of their favorite blog posts in this volume. And while some entries were as interesting and insightful as what's in their regular books, a lot of it is closer to the bulk of the 8000 posts that the authors consider rubbish. So it's probably worth a read if you're a Freakonomics completist, or a browse if you're interested in specific topics.
24 November 2015
Book Log 2015 #38: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Turns out that A Passage to India wasn't old enough to fulfill the "read a book that's over 100 years old" part of the Popsugar reading challenge. But this one, which I'd been thinking about reading, did.
The basic story: Dorian Gray is a young, handsome man just starting to make his way in London. He is having his portrait painted by Basil Hallward (who is quite taken with Gray) when he meets of friend of Hallward's, Sir Henry Hotton. Gray and Hotton develop a friendship (generally dominated by Hotton), which leads Gray toward a life of aesthetics and hedonism. As part of that life, Gray wishes that his looks would never fade, but rather that they'd be reflected in his portrait. This is exactly what happens; as Gray lives a life where he does not deny himself any sensation, regardless of the consequences, he continues to look like the unblemished youth who first sat for Hallward.
Originally published as a serial, reaction was not favorable. As tame as the book seems now, charges of immorality were bandied about quite widely, with threats of legal charges against publisher and author alike. The publisher even removed what it considered the most questionable passages, to little relief. Wilde would later rework the story, adding chapters and a preface about the philosophical nature of the work and the importance of art in society (this is the version I read).
Unlike A Passage to India, this book stands up better to the ravages of time, thanks to Wilde's prose and the familiarity of the themes. Its brevity also helps keep the book from dragging where it might if it were longer.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: a book more than 100 years old; a popular author's first novel)
Turns out that A Passage to India wasn't old enough to fulfill the "read a book that's over 100 years old" part of the Popsugar reading challenge. But this one, which I'd been thinking about reading, did.
The basic story: Dorian Gray is a young, handsome man just starting to make his way in London. He is having his portrait painted by Basil Hallward (who is quite taken with Gray) when he meets of friend of Hallward's, Sir Henry Hotton. Gray and Hotton develop a friendship (generally dominated by Hotton), which leads Gray toward a life of aesthetics and hedonism. As part of that life, Gray wishes that his looks would never fade, but rather that they'd be reflected in his portrait. This is exactly what happens; as Gray lives a life where he does not deny himself any sensation, regardless of the consequences, he continues to look like the unblemished youth who first sat for Hallward.
Originally published as a serial, reaction was not favorable. As tame as the book seems now, charges of immorality were bandied about quite widely, with threats of legal charges against publisher and author alike. The publisher even removed what it considered the most questionable passages, to little relief. Wilde would later rework the story, adding chapters and a preface about the philosophical nature of the work and the importance of art in society (this is the version I read).
Unlike A Passage to India, this book stands up better to the ravages of time, thanks to Wilde's prose and the familiarity of the themes. Its brevity also helps keep the book from dragging where it might if it were longer.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: a book more than 100 years old; a popular author's first novel)
Book Log 2015 #37: A Passage to India by E.M. Forester
We were assigned this book in a world civilizations class (either 7th or 9th grade, can't remember which), and I didn't get past the first 50 pages. I'd been told since then that the book gets much better as it goes along, so when the Popsugar reading challenge said to read something you were suppose to read in high school but didn't, this seemed like a good choice.
I believe the people who told me the book gets better were lying. Or repeating what they'd heard from others. Because even though I managed to read the whole thing, it was quite the slog. The piece I linked to above kind of hits the nail on the head - it's a dated book, certainly in style, but its observations about the various relations (east-west, racial, and religious) still resonate.
Consider the incident involving Adela Quested and Dr. Aziz, the sort of mistaken identity plot twist that even in Forster's time was a bit of chestnut. Out of it, though, we get Miss Quested's realization that her desire to see the "real" India is naive at best, and Dr. Aziz's rededication to his faith and the cause of Indian nationalism. The event is tired, but the results are the sorts of things we see today.
I don't know if there's an easy way to reconcile this problem, as it's too easy to bail on this book before you start to see how its themes are still fresh. Maybe you can't reconcile it. So if you do pick this book up (or pick it up again, as I did), be prepared to work for your insights, and mostly not in a pleasurable way.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't)
We were assigned this book in a world civilizations class (either 7th or 9th grade, can't remember which), and I didn't get past the first 50 pages. I'd been told since then that the book gets much better as it goes along, so when the Popsugar reading challenge said to read something you were suppose to read in high school but didn't, this seemed like a good choice.
I believe the people who told me the book gets better were lying. Or repeating what they'd heard from others. Because even though I managed to read the whole thing, it was quite the slog. The piece I linked to above kind of hits the nail on the head - it's a dated book, certainly in style, but its observations about the various relations (east-west, racial, and religious) still resonate.
Consider the incident involving Adela Quested and Dr. Aziz, the sort of mistaken identity plot twist that even in Forster's time was a bit of chestnut. Out of it, though, we get Miss Quested's realization that her desire to see the "real" India is naive at best, and Dr. Aziz's rededication to his faith and the cause of Indian nationalism. The event is tired, but the results are the sorts of things we see today.
I don't know if there's an easy way to reconcile this problem, as it's too easy to bail on this book before you start to see how its themes are still fresh. Maybe you can't reconcile it. So if you do pick this book up (or pick it up again, as I did), be prepared to work for your insights, and mostly not in a pleasurable way.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't)
22 November 2015
Book Log 2015 #36: World Gone By by Dennis Lehane
The final book in the Coughlin trilogy sees an older Joe trying to come to grips with the changes to the underworld brought by the end of Prohibition, World War II, and the opening up of Cuba. Joe is as comfortable as ever moving among criminals and the straight world - from high rollers to military intelligence - but there's a pall over things as events of the past start to catch up with him.
It's a fitting end to the trilogy, underscoring the brutal efficiency that maintains power for those who run criminal organizations. I'm glad that I overcame my original reluctance over reading The Given Day so that I didn't miss out on these three books.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: Read a trilogy)
The final book in the Coughlin trilogy sees an older Joe trying to come to grips with the changes to the underworld brought by the end of Prohibition, World War II, and the opening up of Cuba. Joe is as comfortable as ever moving among criminals and the straight world - from high rollers to military intelligence - but there's a pall over things as events of the past start to catch up with him.
It's a fitting end to the trilogy, underscoring the brutal efficiency that maintains power for those who run criminal organizations. I'm glad that I overcame my original reluctance over reading The Given Day so that I didn't miss out on these three books.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: Read a trilogy)
20 November 2015
Book Log 2015 #35: Live by Night by Dennis Lehane
Set 7 years after the events of The Given Day, it's an odd sort of sequel as it focuses on Joe Coughlin, the youngest brother of Danny Coughlin, the main character of the first book. He doesn't show up much in that book, so he's a bit of a blank canvas, which allows Lehane to make him the son who goes in the exact opposite direction of his police-oriented household. The book opens with Joe participating in a robbery that may be a set up, forcing him to go on the run and, eventually, to Tampa, where he quickly asserts himself as someone to be reckoned with in the local underworld.
While I was hoping that this book would continue to follow Danny, his path seems a little dull (he winds up working in Hollywood as a writer and sometimes actor in the movies). One difference I did miss was the historical subplot, which in the first book followed Babe Ruth. I don't know if there would have been an easy way to include one, to be honest.
One interesting way that this book did have some continuity with the first one was in the way Joe is able to work with a multiethnic set of criminals, much in the way Danny cultivated friends and associates who weren't just Irish Catholics. Very forward thinking for the times.
So if you go into this book not expecting it to be a traditional sequel, you should be pretty happy with it. And even if you did, it's certainly the equal to the first book.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: Read a trilogy. Granted, I read The Given Day a few years ago, but I'm counting it.)
Set 7 years after the events of The Given Day, it's an odd sort of sequel as it focuses on Joe Coughlin, the youngest brother of Danny Coughlin, the main character of the first book. He doesn't show up much in that book, so he's a bit of a blank canvas, which allows Lehane to make him the son who goes in the exact opposite direction of his police-oriented household. The book opens with Joe participating in a robbery that may be a set up, forcing him to go on the run and, eventually, to Tampa, where he quickly asserts himself as someone to be reckoned with in the local underworld.
While I was hoping that this book would continue to follow Danny, his path seems a little dull (he winds up working in Hollywood as a writer and sometimes actor in the movies). One difference I did miss was the historical subplot, which in the first book followed Babe Ruth. I don't know if there would have been an easy way to include one, to be honest.
One interesting way that this book did have some continuity with the first one was in the way Joe is able to work with a multiethnic set of criminals, much in the way Danny cultivated friends and associates who weren't just Irish Catholics. Very forward thinking for the times.
So if you go into this book not expecting it to be a traditional sequel, you should be pretty happy with it. And even if you did, it's certainly the equal to the first book.
(Popsugar Reading Challenge: Read a trilogy. Granted, I read The Given Day a few years ago, but I'm counting it.)
16 November 2015
Book Log 2015 #34: The Death Head's Chess Club by John Donoghue
An Israeli chess grand master is in Amsterdam for a tournament that may lead to him becoming world champion. But he is approached by a retired bishop - and former Nazi officer at Auschwitz, where the chess player was imprisoned - who is seeking reconciliation for the past. The chess player, who is stridently anti-German (to the point of almost forfeiting an opening match against a German player), resists his advances, but as they talk (and include the German player in their meetings), it becomes clear that everyone has something they want to atone for, and the best way to do it may be bringing each other into their stories.
This plot line (set in the 1960s) is interspersed with a story set at Auschwitz during WW2, where the bishop - assigned to the camp as an administrator due to an injury - starts a chess club as a way to improve camp morale. And it's a success - until it's discovered that there's a prisoner who may be a better chess player than any Nazi at the camp. And perhaps better than any Nazi, period. This puts the future bishop under pressure from superiors and from those who are using the club and tournaments for their own gain.
It took me a while to warm up to this book, but once I did I really got pulled in. The Auschwitz story line is compelling even though you know that the grand master and the future bishop survive, and the "present" story leads to questions about forgiveness, both within the framework of the Holocaust and within the personal relationship between these three men who, for the most part barely know each other.
The one thing I wasn't crazy about was the title. Otherwise, a very worthy read.
An Israeli chess grand master is in Amsterdam for a tournament that may lead to him becoming world champion. But he is approached by a retired bishop - and former Nazi officer at Auschwitz, where the chess player was imprisoned - who is seeking reconciliation for the past. The chess player, who is stridently anti-German (to the point of almost forfeiting an opening match against a German player), resists his advances, but as they talk (and include the German player in their meetings), it becomes clear that everyone has something they want to atone for, and the best way to do it may be bringing each other into their stories.
This plot line (set in the 1960s) is interspersed with a story set at Auschwitz during WW2, where the bishop - assigned to the camp as an administrator due to an injury - starts a chess club as a way to improve camp morale. And it's a success - until it's discovered that there's a prisoner who may be a better chess player than any Nazi at the camp. And perhaps better than any Nazi, period. This puts the future bishop under pressure from superiors and from those who are using the club and tournaments for their own gain.
It took me a while to warm up to this book, but once I did I really got pulled in. The Auschwitz story line is compelling even though you know that the grand master and the future bishop survive, and the "present" story leads to questions about forgiveness, both within the framework of the Holocaust and within the personal relationship between these three men who, for the most part barely know each other.
The one thing I wasn't crazy about was the title. Otherwise, a very worthy read.
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