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08-23-2016, 07:58 PM
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#2401
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 1,688
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Neal Stephenson - Seveneves
Excellent, although I felt he could have cranked up the tension a bit more in the first half by showing more of what was happening on earth as most people were preparing to die.
I'm looking for novels which deal with AI's becoming sentient (like Skynet from the Terminator series or I, Robot) - any recommendations much appreciated.
__________________
Budgeting is a skill practised by people who are bad at politics.
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08-24-2016, 07:40 PM
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#2402
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Charleston, SC
Posts: 13,566
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Just finished Christopher Moore's Dirty Job, and it was quite good. We'd read Lamb a few years ago and this was on par with it for witty and compelling writing.
Set in San Francisco, it is about an unassuming secondhand store owner who winds up fighting with demons from the underworld, or as he calls them, sewer harpies.
Funny stuff, with enough action to keep it moving right along.
Oh and I struggled all the way through Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood on audio. It never really grabbed me, and I was fairly creeped out by the songs inserted somewhat randomly into the book. I loved the Handmaiden's Tale, and The Heart Goes Last, but this one was just too weird and slow.
__________________
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching.”
Gerard Arthur Way
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08-25-2016, 06:58 AM
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#2403
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Flyover country
Posts: 25,358
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Christopher Moore is one of my favorites.
If you like him, you might also enjoy Magnus Mills. Very different, but seems to appeal to a similar audience.
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08-26-2016, 03:24 PM
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#2404
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 8,368
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Fiction Book Review: The Ghosts of Belfast by Stuart Neville, Author . Soho Crime $24 (336p) ISBN 978-1-56947-600-0
The Ghosts of Belfast........read most of this today while sitting in Emergency at the local hospital.......the story of an IRA killer, haunted by the 'ghosts' of his victims, who tries to make them disappear by eliminating those who were penultimately responsible for their deaths.
Very good...(hey, if James Ellroy, John Connolly & Ken Bruen profess to liking it how could I go wrong.........discounting the possibility that they might have written the blurbs sight unseen).
__________________
"Exit, pursued by a bear."
The Winter's Tale, William Shakespeare
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08-27-2016, 06:55 PM
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#2405
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Confused about dryer sheets
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 4
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Last thing I read was a Shadowrun 2nd edition sourcebook. I really like tabletop games, but SR2e is home for me.
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08-27-2016, 07:31 PM
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#2406
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 17,774
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarah in SC
Just finished Christopher Moore's Dirty Job, and it was quite good. We'd read Lamb a few years ago and this was on par with it for witty and compelling writing.
Set in San Francisco, it is about an unassuming secondhand store owner who winds up fighting with demons from the underworld, or as he calls them, sewer harpies.
Funny stuff, with enough action to keep it moving right along.
Oh and I struggled all the way through Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood on audio. It never really grabbed me, and I was fairly creeped out by the songs inserted somewhat randomly into the book. I loved the Handmaiden's Tale, and The Heart Goes Last, but this one was just too weird and slow.
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I like your taste! I absolutely adore A Dirty Job, the first Christopher Moore book I read. We listened to all his other books on road trips and had to pull off the road a few times from laughing so hard, like during Island of the Sequined Love Nun. I liked YOTF but I didn't do it as an audiobook. It was the first Atwood I had read since The Blind Assassin.
I'm reading Ellie Griffiths' Ruth Galliway series now, not quite so literary but good imo.
__________________
“Would you like an adventure now, or would you like to have your tea first?” J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
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09-03-2016, 02:40 PM
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#2407
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2006
Location: west coast, hi there!
Posts: 8,809
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I read this new Stella Rimington book Breaking Cover : https://smile.amazon.com/Breaking-Co...ords=rimington
I think this is probably her best novel to date. It is rare to have an author of such spy novels that has inside knowledge. It doesn't hurt that I tend to agree with her world view. About the author:
Quote:
Dame Stella Rimington joined the Security Service (MI5) in 1968. During her career she worked in all the main fields of the Service: counter-subversion, counter-espionage, and counter-terrorism. She was appointed Director General in 1992, the first woman to hold the post. She has written her autobiography, Open Secret, and nine Liz Carlyle novels, including Close Call and The Geneva Trap. She lives in London and Norfolk.
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09-03-2016, 02:57 PM
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#2408
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 1,069
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Price of inequality, stiglitz.
Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
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09-03-2016, 03:03 PM
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#2409
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Chattanooga
Posts: 3,895
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Currently reading "Originals" by Adam Grant. How non conformists move the world.
__________________
Earning money is an action, saving money is a behavior, growing money takes a well diversified portfolio and the discipline to ignore market swings.
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09-03-2016, 10:17 PM
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#2410
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: West Tx
Posts: 1,392
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Just finished Life, Animated by Ron Suskind. It's about raising his son who has Autism and how they learned to communicate with him through dialogue in Disney animated movies. It's really interesting and touching.
Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
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09-04-2016, 08:12 AM
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#2411
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ally
Just finished Life, Animated by Ron Suskind. It's about raising his son who has Autism and how they learned to communicate with him through dialogue in Disney animated movies. It's really interesting and touching.
Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
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I just finished Thinking in Pictures, as part of my research on mental illness. It's written by an autistic woman who didn't speak until age four. You can see her talk here:
There's a Hollywood version of her life in the movie Temple Grandin.
You can view my ratings of many books on my GoodReads shelves.
__________________
Al
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09-05-2016, 05:17 PM
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#2412
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 8,368
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Alibi by Joseph Kanon
ALIBI - Joseph Kanon
"Alibi is at once a murder mystery, a love story, and a superbly crafted novel about the nature of moral responsibility."
__________________
"Exit, pursued by a bear."
The Winter's Tale, William Shakespeare
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09-05-2016, 06:54 PM
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#2413
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,532
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Long Time Gone: The Autobiography of David Crosby. I knew he had had drug problems, but did not know how serious they were. I am surprised he is still here. Saw him a few times when he was with CSNY. He is coming to our town 12/1 and we bought tickets to see him. I figure it will probably be our last time seeing him. He is 75 yrs old.
I just finished Second Honeymoon by James Patterson and Howard Roughan. It was about FBI agents and serial killers. I enjoyed it.
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09-05-2016, 07:50 PM
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#2414
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2008
Location: No fixed abode
Posts: 8,765
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreamer
Long Time Gone: The Autobiography of David Crosby. I knew he had had drug problems, but did not know how serious they were. I am surprised he is still here. Saw him a few times when he was with CSNY. He is coming to our town 12/1 and we bought tickets to see him. I figure it will probably be our last time seeing him. He is 75 yrs old.
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Yeah, but his liver is only in it's 20s.
__________________
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." - Anonymous (not Will Rogers or Sam Clemens)
DW and I - FIREd at 50 (7/06), living off assets
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09-05-2016, 07:53 PM
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#2415
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,532
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09-05-2016, 08:02 PM
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#2416
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2008
Location: No fixed abode
Posts: 8,765
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If you want another good book that's largely about David Crosby, read Graham Nash's Wild Tales: A Rock & Roll Life. I swear it's more about Crosby than Nash. Nash obviously worshipped Crosby, while being aware of his faults. Although I think the shine is finally off the apple. I remember reading somewhere recently that Nash said he'd never perform with Crosby again.
__________________
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." - Anonymous (not Will Rogers or Sam Clemens)
DW and I - FIREd at 50 (7/06), living off assets
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09-05-2016, 08:05 PM
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#2417
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Toronto
Posts: 3,321
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I was up at the cottage and got 11/22/63 by Stephen King out of the LittleFreeLibrary box near our place. Good fun and the price was right!
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09-06-2016, 04:30 PM
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#2418
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: West Tx
Posts: 1,392
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TromboneAl
I just finished Thinking in Pictures, as part of my research on mental illness. It's written by an autistic woman who didn't speak until age four. You can see her talk here:
There's a Hollywood version of her life in the movie Temple Grandin.
You can view my ratings of many books on my GoodReads shelves.
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I'm very familiar with Temple Grandin.😊 She spoke at our Education Service Center a couple of years ago for a training day for educators.
I have a very good friend who has a 22 year old son with Autism, but he is far less able to be independent. In fact, he can't be unsupervised. He sometimes has become very aggressive with my friend and it's just heart breaking. This is why I am drawn to learning more about what happens to adults with Autism and their families. 😥
Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
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09-06-2016, 04:32 PM
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#2419
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: West Tx
Posts: 1,392
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I'm currently reading My Family and Other Animals by Durrell. I wanted to retread it before the PBS show comes on.
Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
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09-06-2016, 06:37 PM
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#2420
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
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Wow, Gerald Durrell. We read his books as kids.
__________________
Al
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