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Tim O Neill
Byrne Robotics Security
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 10932
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| Posted: 26 July 2011 at 8:41am | IP Logged | 1
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A few weeks ago, Erik Larson was on NPR's FRESH AIR talking about IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS for the whole hour, and it was a fascinating interview about the book. I really want to read it myself!
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132620
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| Posted: 27 July 2011 at 6:51am | IP Logged | 2
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Last night's reading of GARDEN produced a rather stunning paragraph. Remember the book is principally about William E. Dodd, the American ambassador to Germany in 1933, and his 23 year old daughter, Martha."These parties and banquets yeilded moments of fun and humor. Goebbels was known for his wit; Martha, for a time, considered him charming. 'Infectious and delightful, eyes sparkling, voice soft, his speech witty and light, it is difficult to remember his cruelty, his cunning destructive talents.' Her mother, Mattie, always enjoyed being seated next to Goebbels at banquests; Dodd considered him 'one of the few men with a sense of humor in Germany' and often engaged him in a brisk repartee of quips and ironic comment." Yikes!!
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Michael Penn
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 April 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 12551
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| Posted: 27 July 2011 at 7:15am | IP Logged | 3
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Maybe Goebbels was known for his "a priest, a minister, and a rabbi" jokes... .
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132620
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| Posted: 27 July 2011 at 7:17am | IP Logged | 4
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A priest, a minister and a rabbi walk into a bar, and the bartender sez "What is this, a joke?"
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Andrew Hess
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 9844
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| Posted: 27 July 2011 at 8:03am | IP Logged | 5
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Just finished IN THE GARDEN OF BEASTS.
Interesting, but the narrative is a bit stilted and lacking in detail. Understandable because it comes primarily from only a couple of sets of diaries (Dodd's and his daughter's), but I wish Larsen had gone to other sources to build up detail.
Not nearly the page turner that Devil in the White City was.
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Brad Brickley
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 29 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 8286
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| Posted: 27 July 2011 at 11:23am | IP Logged | 6
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GARDEN sounds like a interesting book. Thanks for the heads up.
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Michael Tortorice
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 15 November 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 2903
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| Posted: 27 July 2011 at 8:16pm | IP Logged | 7
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Just starting LORD FOUL'S BANE, just finished MOSTLY HARMLESS.
I obviously blocked out every memory I had of my first reading for a reason. And that reason is, dead or not, I want, nay, need to punch Douglas Adams in the face as hard as I can.
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Keith Thomas
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 06 April 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 3082
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| Posted: 27 July 2011 at 9:28pm | IP Logged | 8
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Finished Michael Crichton's NEXT, kinda focuses too much on being preachy rather than telling a good story imo, still a thought provoking read on how the law really lags behind science especially in genetics.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 132620
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| Posted: 28 September 2011 at 11:02am | IP Logged | 9
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Finished DOROTHY PARKER, WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS, the bio by Marion Meade. Thickish book, and the last half was much like driving by a traffic accident. More than half, really.Confession: I don't think any of the members of the Algonquin Round Table were people I would really have liked to know! Also just finished CAPTAIN NEWMAN, MD, by Leo Rosten. One of my favorite movies, and, happy to report, one I have not now "lost" due to reading the book. The book IS different from the movie, and vice versa, but I can legitimately excuse the changes under a realistic application of the old Hollywood saw, "A book is not a movie." A good read, and beautiful use of language. Embarking now upon a rereading of THE 1950s by David Halberstam, and a first time reading of SACCO AND VANZETTI by Bruce Watson. I have been peripherally (very peripherally!) aware of the latter infamous criminal case for years, and was inspired to finally read up on it after learning of Dorothy Parker's involvement in the protests surrounding the case and its verdict. Reviews of this particular volume described the author's position as "agnostic", which is really what I look for in books like this. Lets me form my own opinion.
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Matt Reed
Byrne Robotics Security
Robotmod
Joined: 16 April 2004
Posts: 35786
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| Posted: 28 September 2011 at 11:12am | IP Logged | 10
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Finished THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS by Rebecca Skloot last week. Fascinating story of the creation of the first immortal cells created in culture for testing of anything and everything. It's also an incredible human interest story about the family of the woman from whom the cells were taken. Highly recommended. Just started THE BIG BURN: TEDDY ROOSEVELT AND THE FIRE THAT SAVED AMERICA by Timothy Egan. It's about one of the biggest forest fires in modern American history and how that tragedy helped support the nascent National Forest Service at a time when clear cutters and robber barons painted them as encroaching on industrialism.
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Brad Brickley
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 29 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 8286
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| Posted: 28 September 2011 at 11:26am | IP Logged | 11
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I finished up Hitch-22, a nice memoir. I then read Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell and Know. I really liked this book, helped me to see things from what we know of how a dog perceives things. A fun read.
I'm now reading David McCullough's The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris. I enjoy McCullough's writing of history, he has a way of inserting you in the period of time you're reading about. This book is about how young Americans, from the early days of the Republic (1830's onward), who came to Paris,to learn a little of the world outside America, and how that affected them on their return to the United States.
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Adam Hutchinson
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 15 December 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 4502
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| Posted: 28 September 2011 at 11:29am | IP Logged | 12
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QUOTE:
| I'm currently reading ON STRANGER TIDES by Tim Powers. The last PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN movie was loosely based on the novel; although I disliked the movie, the basic story was enough to intrigue me about the book. |
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I prefer to think of On Stranger Tides as the inspiration for the Monkey Island series of games.
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