Sunday Morning Book Thread - 09-18-2022 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading. Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material, even if it's nothing more than student papers that need grading. As always, pants are required, especially if you are wearing these pants...

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, have a piping hot cup of King Harv's finest brew, and crack open a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

PIC NOTE

I work in a library, but not for the library. Sometimes I wander the stacks just to see what sort of odd books might be lurking on the shelves, where I found A Book About a Thousand Things. Apparently the author, George Stimpson, was just a very curious man so he collected nuggets of information and published them for the masses. He authored about 10 different books about mostly random knowledge. Great for trivia buffs like myself, I suppose. He was going to write an eleventh book, A Book About American Government but died before he could finish it. (What did he know about Hillary Clinton in 1952?)

WHAT DEFINES CLASSIC LITERATURE?

The English department at the university where I work has a "Community Bookshelf." It's very similar to those tiny libraries we've featured here before, where readers can take and leave books. Many faculty leave copies of extra books from their office libraries. I've even dropped off a few books now and then, as well as taken a book or two. I managed to snag a copy of Watership Down by Richard Adams. It's one of those books I've always heard of and know a little bit about, but had never read. It's was there for the taking, so why not?

I showed it to one of my coworkers, which sparked a brief discussion about "classic" literature. I had given her a copy of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds not long ago (from the same Community Bookshelf) and she enjoyed it. It's widely considered to be a classic in science fiction. Most people would probably regard Watership Down as a classic, I think. But why? What defines a true "classic" in literature? Is it simply a book that "stands the test of time?" What does that even mean? Many books written long ago would are found to be "unacceptable" among certain groups of readers today, but are still considered classics. Does the book have to have influenced other writers or literary movements? Just what are the criteria for judging a book as a classic and who gets to define those criteria?

What are some of YOUR favorite classics? What do you think should be a classic but isn't? What are some classics that are "overrated?"

Sorry about all of the questions this morning, but this is something that has been bugging me for a while and I don't have any answers...Have at it in the comments! (But please play nice!)

(ht: Iris)

WHO DIS

• CLUE 1: He wrote a science fiction novel where India, Brazil, and Iran were the dominant superpowers after WW III and aliens were using Earth as a proving ground for intergalactic leaders.
• CLUE 2: He was born in Pennsylvania but moved to Florida as an adult, where he greatly influenced other Floridian authors.
• CLUE 3: His most famous character lives on a 52-foot houseboat, the Busted Flush.

BOOKS BY MORONS

A few weeks ago, William H. Hawk let me know about an upcoming book:

Sometime in the last few years, W. H. Hawk realized that most modern science fiction didn't appeal to him. The "social-justice/progressivism" message had finally conquered Hawk's most cherished franchises (you can guess which ones) and it bummed him out.

Then he looked around and got nervous. You see, he realized that the Left dominates our entertainment. They control the narratives that we see in print, on screen, and on stage. Our cultural direction stems from our consumed entertainment and this leftist grip on storytelling is one of the key reasons why our country continues to lurch in an undesirable direction. But when Hawk started looking for science fiction authors who honored and argued for our founding principles, he found far too few.

So he wrote a novel. [Found Here: https://amzn.to/3eUzHvp]

That novel is The Horizon Of Hope. Set on board the Grace O'Malley, the novel follows Bastien Devereaux, a teenage cadet, who wakes up to a damaged vessel, a missing crew, and an unexplainable mystery. The novel follows Bastien as he looks to protect the other cadets on board, fix the ship, and discover just how he ended up in this dangerous predicament.

Hawk's debut novel is the first book in a planned series (Deliverance & Grace) whose core philosophy will be that of traditional American values. It is a series he hopes will help articulate Conservative thought for any and all who love space adventures, galactic intrigue, and heroic journeys. Suitable for teenage and adult readers alike.

The Horizon of Hope is now available on Amazon! Sounds like a classic adventure story:

Cadet Bastien Devereaux is a thirteen-year-old doctor's apprentice who finds himself unexpectedly torn out of cryogenic hibernation. The ship's air is foul and poisoned. His fellow cadets remain asleep. The adult crew is missing. The Grace O'Malley looks as if she's barely survived the fight of her life.

With no assurances of rescue and with an unexplainable mystery on his hands, Bastien is thrust down a path where his life, and the lives of his fellow sleeping cadets, may soon be snuffed out in the void between the stars. With danger in the darkness of space, Bastien must lead the efforts to repair the ship while guarding against the pressures of trauma-induced anxiety and the fear of failing those who now look to him for leadership. And if he succeeds? The doctor's apprentice must still unravel the secrets behind their strange predicament, determine how to keep everyone safe, and plot a course towards a home that may be much farther away than initially believed.

For avid science fiction fans and young readers who yearn for thought-provoking galactic adventure, The Horizon Of Hope pulls inspiration from Roddenberry's Star Trek, Lowell's Trader Tales, and Weber's Honorverse, while telling the story of a young man trying to find the inner strength to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges.

MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

Last week I encouraged you to share your recommendations for bingeable reading materials. Naturally, the Moron Horde doesn't disappoint. Y'all came up with some excellent recommendations:

I try to binge read book series, but often get bumped out by something or another. I've binged, then abandoned the Spencer novels when I figured out Spenser or the author wasn't a very good detective. (and it seemed like he was more interested in cooking recipes or dialog instead, you know, solving the crime with some shoe leather and pointed questions).

I've had better luck with Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories, though Death of a Dude made me want to quit...only two books left in the series so I'll finish it up this year.

Louis L'Amour is bingeable if you're in a mood for westerns and very random endings to books.

And I have all of John D. MacDonald's paperbacks I won at auction, I'll make a go at binging them.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards (Logan Tiberius 2012-2021) at September 11, 2022 10:12 AM (xcxpd)

I have a martial arts test coming up, so I have slipped back into my own personal guilty pleasure when it comes to reading: a series of pulp action novels created by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir, called The Destroyer, about a martial-arts assassin working for an extraconstitutional government agency to fight crime and corruption. They're fun books if you like short stories that are part detective story, part action novel, with a reliable undercurrent of humor and takedowns of left-wing idealism. There're something like 100 books in the series, with most of the latter half ghost-written. They're usually found in used bookstores next to Ian Fleming's 007 or Don Pendleton's The Executioner series. There was a movie made out of these once called Remo Williams - The Adventure Begins. It got the main characters mostly right but had a lame villain and a lousy plot. I enjoy the film well enough but would like to see a reboot. Apparently Sony acquired the rights a few years back and got Shane Black to commit to direct, but nothing has ever happened with it.

Posted by: Caiwyn at September 11, 2022 10:19 AM (+dHQK)

The Bernie Gunther series by Philip Kerr. A WW2 Berlin homicide cop solves murders and gets caught up with Nazis. Noir murder mysteries with the backdrop of war.

The Last Kingdom series by Bernard Cornwell. The life of a pagan warlord caught between the worlds of Alfred the Great's nascent Christian nation and Viking invaders.

The Arkady Renko series by Martin Cruz Smith. A cynical Moscow homicide cops squares off against Russian bureaucracy.

The Jack Aubrey series by Patrick O'Brian. A Napoleonic war era chronicle of a British sea officer.

Posted by: Yawrate at September 11, 2022 10:33 AM (518OI)

I think the only time I binge read anything was about 15-20 years ago when I went through all the Horatio Hornblower books. Once I started I couldn't quit.

Posted by: who knew at September 11, 2022 10:46 AM (4I7VG)

More Moron-recommended reading material can be found HERE! (412 Moron-recommended books so far!)

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:

• A Princess of Landover by Terry Brooks -- Part of the Kingdom of Landover series, which is about a lawyer transported to a magical world, where he becomes a champion for good.
• The Joiner King by Troy Denning -- This is Book I of Star Wars: Legends - Dark Nest series. Just mindless entertainment, for the most part...
• The Unseen Queen by Troy Denning -- This is Book II of Star Wars: Legends - Dark Nest series. More Jedi shenanigans...

That's about all I have for this week. Thank you for all of your kind words regarding my Sunday Morning Book Thread. This is a very special place. You are very special people (in all the best ways!). The kindness, generosity, and wisdom of the Moron Horde knows no bounds. Let's keep reading!

If you have any suggestions for improvement, reading recommendations, or writing projects that you'd like to see on the Sunday Morning Book Thread, you can send them to perfessor dot squirrel at-sign gmail dot com. Your feedback is always appreciated! You can also take a virtual tour of OUR library at libib.com/u/perfessorsquirrel. Since I added sections for AoSHQ, I now consider it OUR library, rather than my own personal fiefdom...

PREVIOUS SUNDAY MORNING BOOK THREAD - 09-11-22 (hat tip: vmom stabby stabby stabamillion) (NOTE: Do NOT comment on old threads!)

posted by Open Blogger at 09:00 AM

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