The Book Thread

[billy.pilgrim]

https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/defen ... rce=mo&t=1

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2022 ... your-state

“Florida alone has banned 22,825 titles in prisons, but the majority of states don’t track books banned in prisons.”

“Over the past year, reporters for The Marshall Project asked every state prison system for book policies and lists of banned publications. About half of the states said they kept such lists, which contained more than 50,000 titles. We’ve created a searchable database so you can see for yourself which books prisons don’t want incarcerated people to read.”

I quickly scanned through the first 47 of the 2021 pages of Florida’s banned books and these two are typical. One may make sense, one probably doesn’t.

AMERICA'S LARGEST BOOK OF RESOURCES FOR INMATE SERVICES. 2015/SPRING-2015/SUMMER.

AMERICA'S MOST NOTORIOUS CRIMINALS. SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION. NO. 15

[Whack9]

Anyone here read anything good lately?

Some standouts for me:

The walk of the wandering man: https://www.goodreads.com/series/237251 ... dering-man

Chronical Worlds: Halfway home: https://www.amazon.com/Chronicle-Worlds ... a0c8203308

A bunch of short stories by different authors set in the same "universe". Cool concept imo. Both the story and the idea of having different authors contribute.

Got really sucked into the previous two.

Red Mars (and the rest of the trilogy, still working on it): https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/77507

The overstory: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/401 ... W0m0&qid=1

Various Ursula Leguin. One of the best sci-fi writers imo.

[Vrede too]

The overstory: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/401 ... -overstory

Thanks.

The Overstory is a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of - and paean to - the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers’s twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside ours—vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see that world and who are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe.

A New York Times Bestseller.

I'm a small part of those "late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest". I'll have to see if I identify with any of the characters.
More info from Wiki

Chant : the origins, form, practice, and healing power of Gregorian chant

This companion book, which includes the full text of the Chant CD with translations from the Latin, traces the historical and liturgical sources of the chant and provides answers about what Gregorian Chant is, how it is written and sung, the latest research on its therapeutic qualities, and the effect its simple, pure, unaccompanied tones can have on the body, mind, and heart

I'm not too interested in the religiosity and much of the music scholarship is over my head, but I found the history interesting. I have not downloaded any Gregorian chants yet, but I might.

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail is a 1998 travel book by the writer Bill Bryson, chronicling his attempt to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail during the spring and summer of 1996....

Reception

A Walk In the Woods was named by CNN as the funniest travel book ever written. A review in The New York Times stated that readers, "may find themselves turning the pages with increasing amusement and anticipation as they discover that they're in the hands of a satirist of the first rank". The New Yorker described the book as a "wry, well-researched account".

The book was met with anger amongst some members of the Appalachian Trail community, with letters to the Appalachian Trailway News, a newsletter of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, excoriating Bryson for his perceived cynicism, ill-informed complaints and demeaning portrayal of Southerners. Despite this, it has been credited with a 50% increase in long-distance hiker numbers during the two years after publication....

I would not recommend this book. I did not think it was that funny, PERHAPS because I've spent more time in the woods than Bryson and the CNN and NYT critics. I wasn't offended as a Southerner, but otherwise agree with the "Appalachian Trail community". I read too little discussion of nature and too much of experiencing the trek as a chore. If it's not joyful, why do it?

Otoh, I'm now reading:

A Short History of Nearly Everything by American-British author Bill Bryson is a popular science book that explains some areas of science, using easily accessible language that appeals more to the general public than many other books dedicated to the subject. It was one of the bestselling popular science books of 2005 in the United Kingdom, selling over 300,000 copies.

A Short History deviates from Bryson's popular travel book genre, instead describing general sciences such as chemistry, paleontology, astronomy, and particle physics. In it, he explores time from the Big Bang to the discovery of quantum mechanics, via evolution and geology.

Well-written and fascinating, so far, maybe because Bryson isn't personally trudging back in time, to any quasars or to a subatomic level

[Whack9]

Oh yeah I've heard of Bryson. Haven't read any of his books though.

Another author you might like

A natural history of trees: eastern and central US:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/500 ... th_America

Picked it up for a few bucks at a used book store. Was pleasantly surprised. If you're interested in trees this book goes deep in depth about all the species we're familiar with in our area in a well written, captivating manner.

Sounds dry, but it's really not.

Or maybe I'm just really into trees idk.

[Vrede too]

Chant : the origins, form, practice, and healing power of Gregorian chant


I'm not too interested in the religiosity and much of the music scholarship is over my head, but I found the history interesting. I have not downloaded any Gregorian chants yet, but I might.

I did not look up the specific recording that the book is a companion to and I'm certainly not hooked, but this is quite pleasing to me as background noise:


10 Magnificent Gregorian Chants by Benedictine Monks

Plus, the image is cool, very wizardly.

[billy.pilgrim]

Chant : the origins, form, practice, and healing power of Gregorian chant


I'm not too interested in the religiosity and much of the music scholarship is over my head, but I found the history interesting. I have not downloaded any Gregorian chants yet, but I might.

I did not look up the specific recording that the book is a companion to and I'm certainly not hooked, but this is quite pleasing to me as background noise:


10 Magnificent Gregorian Chants by Benedictine Monks

Plus, the image is cool, very wizardly.

In 1967 we went to a church built in the 1200s in Prague or possibly Sofia. Hidden somewhere above us were monks chanting. I bought my first Gregorian chant album there. I’ve been a lonely fan in a world of rock and roll ever since.

[neoplacebo]

Some years ago (probably about twenty) I bought a CD titled "Chant" by some monks. It got a lot of publicity at the time, which is why I ever heard of it in the first place. I may have to find it and take another crack at it.....it might be inspirational to listen to while contemplating either fish slapping something or stomping it.

[GoCubsGo]

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail is a 1998 travel book by the writer Bill Bryson, chronicling his attempt to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail during the spring and summer of 1996....

Reception

A Walk In the Woods was named by CNN as the funniest travel book ever written. A review in The New York Times stated that readers, "may find themselves turning the pages with increasing amusement and anticipation as they discover that they're in the hands of a satirist of the first rank". The New Yorker described the book as a "wry, well-researched account".

The book was met with anger amongst some members of the Appalachian Trail community, with letters to the Appalachian Trailway News, a newsletter of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, excoriating Bryson for his perceived cynicism, ill-informed complaints and demeaning portrayal of Southerners. Despite this, it has been credited with a 50% increase in long-distance hiker numbers during the two years after publication....

I would not recommend this book. I did not think it was that funny, PERHAPS because I've spent more time in the woods than Bryson and the CNN and NYT critics. I wasn't offended as a Southerner, but otherwise agree with the "Appalachian Trail community". I read too little discussion of nature and too much of experiencing the trek as a chore. If it's not joyful, why do it?

Glad I'm not the only one that felt that way.

[O Really]

[
Glad I'm not the only one that felt that way.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Listened to it on audiobook, though. That might have made a difference. I didn't really expect a serious documentary travel guide.

[Vrede too]

Otoh, I'm now reading:

A Short History of Nearly Everything by American-British author Bill Bryson is a popular science book that explains some areas of science, using easily accessible language that appeals more to the general public than many other books dedicated to the subject. It was one of the bestselling popular science books of 2005 in the United Kingdom, selling over 300,000 copies.

A Short History deviates from Bryson's popular travel book genre, instead describing general sciences such as chemistry, paleontology, astronomy, and particle physics. In it, he explores time from the Big Bang to the discovery of quantum mechanics, via evolution and geology.

Well-written and fascinating, so far, maybe because Bryson isn't personally trudging back in time, to any quasars or to a subatomic level

Oh yeah I've heard of Bryson. Haven't read any of his books though.

TIL: Marie Curie's papers from the 1890s are still contaminated with radiation, and researchers must wear protective clothing before removing them from the lead-lined boxes which contain them.

[Vrede too]

I'm now reading:
A Short History of Nearly Everything

TIL:
Ernest Rutherford at Cambridge theorized the existence of neutrons in the early 1920s, but it took his colleague, James Chadwick, 11 years to prove their existence in 1932. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1935. Neutrons are fired at atomic nuclei to create fission. Had the neutron been isolated in the 1920s the atomic bomb likely would have been invented by the Germans Phew.

[Vrede too]

TIL:

Thomas Midgley Jr. (May 18, 1889 – November 2, 1944) was an American mechanical and chemical engineer. He played a major role in developing leaded gasoline (tetraethyl lead)

Remember Ethyl anti-knock gasoline? It had nothing to do with ethyl alcohol (ethanol), and the removal of any mention of lead was deliberate

and some of the first chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), better known in the United States by the brand name Freon; both products were later banned from common use due to their harmful impact on human health and the environment.

Midgley contracted polio in 1940 and was left disabled; in 1944, he was found strangled to death by a device he devised to allow him to get out of bed unassisted. It was reported to the public that he had been accidentally killed by his own invention, but his death was privately declared a suicide.

Either way, karma?

His legacy is one of inventing the two chemicals that did the greatest environmental damage. Environmental historian J. R. McNeill stated that he "had more adverse impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth's history." Author Bill Bryson remarked that he possessed "an instinct for the regrettable that was almost uncanny."

This is the book I'm reading.

Science writer Fred Pearce described him as a "one-man environmental disaster"....

The risks associated with exposure to lead have been known at least since 2000 BC, while efforts to limit lead's use date back to at least the 16th century....

Wow, one guy poisoned hundreds of millions and caused skin cancers in tens of millions more, risking our extinction 2 different ways!

The Ethyl Corporation, now a subsidiary of NewMarket Corporation, was originally formed by General Motors and Standard Oil of New Jersey (Esso). It actively suppressed knowledge of the harm being done and Thomas Midgley Jr, who had been made seriously ill from over exposure, enthusiastically participated in the coverup. It's still poisoning people, here and more commonly in the developing world.

Think the CFC issue has been resolved? Nope:

... According to NASA in 2018, the hole in the ozone layer has begun to recover as a result of CFC bans. However, research released in 2019 reports an alarming increase in CFCs, pointing to unregulated use in China.

Crap. Genocidal Thomas Midgley Jr lives on


The Man Who Accidentally Killed The Most People In History

[billy.pilgrim]

Accidental? He seemed too aware to get away with accidental. Besides, that title is firmly in competition between Moses,Jesus and Muhammad.

[Vrede too]

Accidental? He seemed too aware to get away with accidental.

Yeah, that's on the video creator. With tetraethyl lead Thomas Midgley Jr. was at the least reckless and at worst intentionally genocidal. With CFCs he probably died before anyone knew the extreme dangers, and he did save people from more immediately dangerous refrigerants like ammonia and chloromethane.

Besides, that title is firmly in competition between Moses, Jesus and Muhammad.

Good point. I'm not sure how the calculations could be figured for them. Then, there are god's spontaneous abortions (miscarriages). Probably safest to say, 'Other than religion founders Killed The Most People In History'.

[Vrede too]

Kyle Rittenhouse's New Book Bombs on Kindle

... Rittenhouse may be disappointed because according to figures from Amazon, the work is sitting at #9,569 in the Kindle Store sector as of Tuesday. It also ranks 510 in Nonfiction in the Kindle store....

One reviewer, who admitted to only reading the sample, wrote: "Rittenhouse went to Kenosha to 'help my community' and ended up killing 2 people from that community and 1 from a neighboring state. Legal issues aside, it seems much more likely that no one would have been killed if Rittenhouse had stayed home that day. In the end, that would have helped the community a lot more. The media, legal, and political aspects of this incident are controversial and (to me) sickening. In the end, the victims were blamed for their own deaths."

"The forward remarks by Kyle's attorney do not match Kyle's on-line persona that I see on Xwitter," another wrote. "That tells me this book is a sob story for garnering sympathy and more grift. The first 2 chapters tend to ramble and go back over and over how Kyle's parents were failures. I'm feeling lied to already..not going to waste more time and money to support Kyle."

A third person wrote in their one-star review: "Waste of money and time. Rittenhouse had no business being there that night ..."

... "Karma is gonna snatch your a** up and most of us can't wait to see it," one person wrote.

"So is now the time to get my republican on and support book burning," said another.

A third added: "Oh wow ! Now you published a book. Hope you're ready for judgement [sic] day!" ...

Now, the begging is pathetic:

Kyle Rittenhouse Message Sparks Backlash

... On Rittenhouse's website, the book is being offered for $22.99, while signed copies will set customers back $59.99.

Rittenhouse's promotional post sparked a negative reaction from a number of X users, one of whom wrote that they were "boycotting a murder book. [It's] blood money."

"Grifter still peddling this garbage," one detractor commented ...

Scoffing at the idea of presenting the book as a gift, another responded: "Why would I order your book as a Christmas present? I like my family and friends!"

... Rittenhouse's book promotion comes weeks after his criminal defense attorney said that he has lost his money since he was acquitted in the Wisconsin shootings.

Talking to Court TV, attorney Mark Richards, who represented Rittenhouse at the trial, said: "He is working, he is trying to support himself. Everybody thinks that Kyle got so much money from this. Whatever money he did get is gone.

Rittenhouse has been open about needing money in the past and previously used an appearance on Fox News to request donations to his legal fund. He faces lawsuits from the man he shot and injured, as well as from the father of one of the two men he killed. Rittenhouse has denied wrongdoing....

I'll look forward to the verdicts.

[Vrede too]

I'm now reading:

A Short History of Nearly Everything by American-British author Bill Bryson is a popular science book that explains some areas of science, using easily accessible language that appeals more to the general public than many other books dedicated to the subject. It was one of the bestselling popular science books of 2005 in the United Kingdom, selling over 300,000 copies.

A Short History deviates from Bryson's popular travel book genre, instead describing general sciences such as chemistry, paleontology, astronomy, and particle physics. In it, he explores time from the Big Bang to the discovery of quantum mechanics, via evolution and geology.

Well-written and fascinating, so far, maybe because Bryson isn't personally trudging back in time, to any quasars or to a subatomic level

TIL:
In the wake of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event that "caused the extinction of all non-avian dinosaurs" mammals eventually flourished. There "were guinea pigs the size of rhinos and rhinos the size of a two-story house." Early raccoons in South America had "the size and ferocity of bears." There was "a gigantic, flightless, carnivorous bird called Titanis ... that ... stood ten feet high, weighed over eight hundred pounds, and had a beak that could tear the head off pretty much anything that irked it."





As of 20 years ago only about 1000 species of dinosaurs had been IDed, about 1/4 the number of mammal species alive right now, despite dinosaurs ruling for 3 times as long. For millions of years zero species have been found. In other words there is a huge amount we don't know and may never know. Also, most of those large, sexy dinosaurs you've seen in major natural history museums are not fossilized bones but rather plaster casts of bones made from the few specimens that have been found.

[Vrede too]

TIL -

Charles Darwin, one of the most consequential humans ever, and Abraham Lincoln, one of the most consequential Americans, were born on the same day. Not the same date, but rather the same exact day, Feb 12, 1809

When he was 16 years old, Darwin's father Robert pulled him from school because of poor grades, telling him "You care for nothing but shooting, dogs, and rat-catching, and you will be a disgrace to yourself and all your family."

What does one do with a predicted disgrace? "Robert, a successful physician, decided that Darwin should be a doctor and enrolled him in medical school."

Darwin wasn't H.M.S. Beagle's captain Robert FitzRoy's first choice of companion (luckily, that man turned the offer down).

With crates and crates of specimens to sort through it wasn't until 8 years after the voyage that Darwin sketched out On the Origin of Species. Then, he put his notes aside for 15 years and did other things!

Dang, I may have to read a Darwin bio next.

[Whack9]

The Light Pirate

Written by the same author that wrote "Good morning, Midnight" which was recently made into a movie.

I couldn't put this book down. My favorite read of of the year thus far.

Also liked the depiction of the slow and steady dissolution of society facing climate catastrophe.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/604 ... YIz&rank=1

Florida is slipping away. As devastating weather patterns and rising sea levels gradually wreak havoc on the state’s infrastructure, a powerful hurricane approaches a small town on the southeastern coast. Kirby Lowe, an electrical line worker; his pregnant wife, Frida; and their two sons, Flip and Lucas, prepare for the worst. When the boys go missing just before the hurricane hits, Kirby heads out into the high winds to search for them. Left alone, Frida goes into premature labor and gives birth to an unusual child, Wanda, whom she names after the catastrophic storm that ushers her into a society closer to collapse than ever before.

As Florida continues to unravel, Wanda grows. Moving from childhood to adulthood, adapting not only to the changing landscape, but also to the people who stayed behind in a place abandoned by civilization, Wanda loses family, gains community, and ultimately, seeks adventure, love, and purpose in a place remade by nature.

Told in four parts—power, water, light, and time—The Light Pirate mirrors the rhythms of the elements and the sometimes quick, sometimes slow dissolution of the world as we know it. It is a meditation on the changes we would rather not see, the future we would rather not greet, and a call back to the beauty and violence of an untamable wilderness.

[Vrede too]

A little brain candy, 1995:


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231 ... _Flivvers_

The 1920s suddenly seem to be the rage again, perhaps because those wild years embodied the last innocent time for many, before the Great Crash and the Great Depression made their appearance. This book is not a chronological review of that tumultuous decade but rather a collection of heartfelt remembrances from people who actually lived during that time. These are the letters and personal memories of the Greatest Generation, who were mostly children or young adults when flagpole sitters, talking pictures, and the Charleston made headlines.

A collection of memories of 1920s America

From Gibson Girls to suffragists, during the post-WWI’s economic revival, women emerged to express their independence. They made 1920s America roar and so was the emerging technology like radio and automobiles. This was also an exciting period for many families and young people.

Coffee table book I inherited. Little politics or downers. Rather, short first person accounts of mostly positive aspects of the culture. Great pics, including of 1920s autos.