What are you reading ?

[Smoke-Chem BBQ]

I’m going back through my collection of Patrick McMannis. So dang funny. Also revisiting Don Quixote. Super funny.

I've got a decent collection of Patrick McMannis books. About time for me to re-read them as well. I love his stuff!

After years of wanting to read it, I finally got through Atlas Shrugged. It took quite a number of renewals of the library's e-Book to get through all 1200 pages.

I figure the US currently is about where the fictional depiction in the novel was halfway through the book. That's not a good thing.

 

[SmokinEdge]

I've got a decent collection of Patrick McMannis books. About time for me to re-read them as well. I love his stuff!

After years of wanting to read it, I finally got through Atlas Shrugged. It took quite a number of renewals of the library's e-Book to get through all 1200 pages.

I figure the US currently is about where the fictional depiction in the novel was halfway through the book. That's not a good thing.

Agree. Some of these books need to be in your possession in print form. No kidding.

 

[Fueling Around]

Today, I do the bulk of my reading in E form as in off the web. Nothing in particular, just what catches my attention. This is reputable technical information, not the Gen Z hysterical or the left and right outfield BS.
I did happen to check out this hard copy book from the local library the other day

I highly recommend this book to all the sausage and curing fans.
My only warnings is that recipes that call for bacon are meaning raw pork belly and watch the conversions from the 25# recipes to lower amounts.
The other I noticed was the corned beef hash recipe. It referred to corned (salted, but not cured beef) when making the end product.
Also remember this book was published in 1984. Things have changed to current 2024, but not as many as compared to the changes from the 60's to 1984 when Rytek was in the sausage business and wrote the second (revised) edition

 

[Fraser]

non fiction survival stories

I think it was called “Adrift”, absolutely riveting.

 

[Fraser]

I've got a decent collection of Patrick McMannis books. About time for me to re-read them as well. I love his stuff!

My life is an unending vortex of “Sequences”

 

[sandyut]

I think it was called “Adrift”, absolutely riveting.

Yup, loved it! That was a crazy story!

 

[reynys]

I just started this 750 pg behemoth. It will take a while to get through it.

Its by Max Hastings, a Brit historian, who as a young man reported from Vietnam for the BBC. I thought a view of the war from a non American source might be interesting.

I turned draft age in the latter stage of the war, 1970. My views on the war were mostly shaped by my dad. By that time, most had concluded it was a mistake and the focus was on making some kind of exit that salvaged some degree of victory. So grateful to have found such a talented and knowledgeable nursing writer Their work has been a huge help, and I couldn't be happier with the results. Highly recommend!

I’ve just begun tackling Max Hastings' 750-page tome on the Vietnam War. Hastings, a British historian with firsthand reporting experience from the BBC, offers a fresh perspective on the conflict that differs from the American narratives I’m used to. Given that I turned draft age in 1970 and my understanding of the war was heavily influenced by my father's views, I’m intrigued to see how Hastings' analysis contrasts with the prevailing sentiment of the time, which largely saw the war as a blunder and was focused on finding a way out with some semblance of success. This should be an enlightening read.

 

[Smokin Okie]

I think AI is now posting on the forum.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Actually, everyone in America should read the first 100 pages of Hastings book. Its about the French Indochina war that lasted from 1946 to 1954. It provides an understanding of the Vietnam War.

Specifically, its about how the communists took over the north of Vietnam by the Vietminh, who were led by Ho Chi Minh. And how they accomplished that politically. Vietnam was a French colony that was mostly capitalist. There was private ownership of land, by people known as the " landlords " who employed the " peasants " .

The Vietminh convinced the peasants they were oppressed by the French. And they should fight for them under the guise of gaining independence from France and the land would be taken from the landlords and given to the peasants. And the peasants bought into it.

It never happened. After a huge defeat of the French at Dien Ben Phu, an early version of Khe Sanh, the French left. And the peasants never saw their end of the deal. The Vietminh govt took over the land and the peasants became members of a collective. And true to Marxist form, the oppressed became the oppressors.

The Indochina war ended with the Geneva Accords of 1954 that split Vietnam into North and South. Which was never accepted by the communists. All of the capitalists, businessmen, intellectuals in the north migrated to the south.

From one angle, the Vietnamese were fighting a war of independence from the French, the same as our war with the British. But underlying that, it was a war of communism vrs capitalism.

And this set the stage for our involvement in the Vietnam War. We were opposed to colonialism by the French, but even more opposed to the growth of communism.

Hastings calls Vietnam a tragedy. He's harshly critical of everyone involved, the USA, the North Vietnamese communists, the South Vietnamese govt, the Russians, the Chinese. Everyone involved made huge mistakes that contributed to the tragedy.

The real losers were everyday Vietnamese people.

 

[Steve H]

Currently Rose Madder by Stephen King.

 

[normanaj]

Ubuntu Mate 24.04LTS User Guide.

 

[gmc2003]

Does Dr. Seuss count. Reading to the grandson.

Chris

 

[Smokin Okie]

Actually, right now, I'm not reading anything.

I'm just sitting out here waiting for R reynys to rewrite that last lengthy post I made.

 

[okie sawbones]

CJ Box -- Joe Pickett series of books
Lee Child -- Jack Reacher series
Craig Johnson -- Longmire series

 

[Hijack73]

I'm listening (my eyes have gotten so bad I struggle with print) to Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King.

I'm going to the Tower with Roland, again. This is my 3rd full trip.

Next up, Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett. Love that guy, RIP.

 

[Steve H]

I'm listening (my eyes have gotten so bad I struggle with print) to Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King.

I'm going to the Tower with Roland, again. This is my 3rd full trip.

Next up, Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett. Love that guy, RIP.

Yup! I'm ready to check out Roland again as well. I believe that'll be my 5th time. Or maybe the long walk.

 

[Hijack73]

Yup! I'm ready to check out Roland again as well. I believe that'll be my 5th time. Or maybe the long walk.

I did Walk maybe 6 months ago. I had decided that I also missed Bachman. I love the Running Man and Long Walk, Roadwork is pretty good.

I have a 1st edition 1st print of the Bachman collection - will never part with it for any price since it has Rage in it. Hell, I hesitate to even open it and read Rage for fear that I'll fall asleep with it in my hands and damage it.

I found a 1st edition Carrie in an antique store (well, my stepdaughter did) but the pic she grabbed (it was sitting under a 1st Cujo and a 1st IT) makes me wonder. I'm checking it out this weekend. If it truly is a 1st edition, it's immaculate, like right out of the bookstore immaculate - which is why I have my doubts.

 

[indaswamp]

Hillbilly Elegy