Sunday Morning Book Thread - 01-21-2024 ["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. As always, pants are required, unless 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, and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

PIC VIDEO NOTE

I decided to mix things up a bit with a short video of one man's hidden library/man cave. I'm jealous. I plan on moving in there soon. Just have to remove an inconvenient obstacle first...Fortunately, I know a guy...

CLASSIC BOOKS EXPOSED!

How do books become classics? Who decides which books will become classics? The BookTuber below provides a partial answer. According to his own research on the subject, it's "The Passionate Few" that determine, over time, which books will become true classics, to be read over and over again by future generations. The Passionate Few is difficult to quantify for various reasons. What is the minimum threshold of The Passionate Few for any given work of literature? How does The Passionate Few influence the "Casual Majority" of readers that will enjoy the books, but don't share that same passion for reading? The rise of BookTube has given The Passionate Few a platform/soap box on which they can expound their opinions about their favorite books and attempt to bring in more readers. We see this all the time. As Tristan points out, though, what we see time and time again is that there is often a convergence of opinions on the best books within any given genre. In my own preferred genres--fantasy and science fiction--the same books will rise to the top over and over again on top ten lists. Now, the order in which they are presented will vary. Believe it or not, there are some folks who do not put Tolkien's Lord of the Rings in its rightful position in the number one slot. (Yes, I may be slightly biased.) However, you will see the same books or series being recommended and the reasons for those recommendations will tend to be consistent. Again, as Tristan points out, this is because the tastes of these readers have become highly refined within their preferred genres so they are able to recognize true quality storytelling.

The Moron Horde, in general, seems to be much more well-read than your average American. And the members of the Moron Horde who participate in the Sunday Morning Book Thread are indeed members of The Passionate Few. We are *voracious* readers. If I'm not reading at least 100 books a year, I feel like I'm doing something wrong. As I read more and more, I find that my own tastes are becoming more refined. I can appreciate storytelling in other genres simply because I've become so intimately familiar with the process of storytelling. Sure, I read a lot of trashy books that I find entertaining. I have no illusions that anyone would consider them classics. But I also read quite a lot of top-shelf literature within fantasy and science fiction. In science fiction, I've read tons of Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, etc. In fantasy, I've read J.R.R. Tolkien (of course), Robert Jordan, Tad Williams, J.K. Rowling, Steven Erikson, C.S. Lewis, etc. So I consider myself fairly knowledgeable within those genres. Each of us has our strengths and weaknesses when it comes to reading, but overall the Moron Horde is incredibly well read and knowledgeable on just about any subject.

One of my criteria for determining a "personal classic" is if I will have an enjoyable reading experience re-reading a book again after years or even decades. If a reading experience is at least as enjoyable again, if not more so, after a second or third go at it, then it's probably going to fall in my "personal classics" category. A great example is my re-read of Michael Ende's The Neverending Story. I had not read that book since I was a child, but I read it again a couple of years ago (right after I took over the Sunday Morning Book Thread) and was just blown away by how much it impacted me when I read it through adult eyes. It's just a fantastic book. Definitely a classic in every sense of the word.

DUST JACKETS

Question from the Horde:

Here's another question for the Horde: Dust jackets; yea or nay?

I tend to keep my dust jackets, because books that come with them tend to be very plain (or even un-labeled) without them. But, I take off the dust jacket whenever I actually read a book, because the jacket tends to slide around in my grip, and get bent/crumpled if it doesn't remain perfectly aligned with the real cover. This means that at any given time I have a pile of empty dust jackets cluttering one of my shelves....

Posted by: Castle Guy at January 07, 2024 10:13 AM (Lhaco)

Like Castle Guy, I'll remove the dust jacket of hardcover books while I'm reading them and put them back on the book when I'm finished reading them. This does prevent the dust jacket from sustaining damage. I don't know how much actual "protection" they provide to the books while they are on the shelves. They do give the books a very nice visual appearance, especially from a distance. However, when you get closer, you can often note the small tears and creases the dust jackets have sustained over time. For those of you who are serious about protecting dust jackets, you can purchase Mylar and wrap the book covers in that to really add a layer of protection. The advantage of this method is that you can tape the Mylar to itself in such a way as to keep the cover intact on the book even as you are reading it. The book cover itself will then be protected even as it's protecting the book. This is, in fact, what public libraries do to their books so that they can lend them out to numerous patrons over the years or decades. I've seriously considered it.

BOOKS BY MORONS

Sabrina Chase has something new in the pipeline for the Moron Horde...

Hail to the guardian of the sacred Book Thread! I have a new book out, Book 2 in the Red Wolf series.

Red Wolf: Scout Part 1

(It is serialized, so this is part 1 of Book 2.)

More fun for a SF-wannabe in an alternate timeline Asia that went even worse than ours! Chases, escapes, trying to explain the concept of swimsuits to people who don't know how to swim ... and unexpected uses for a modern travel guide combined with a reluctant geology degree. May contain confused Buddhist monk medics, too.

Thanks for all you do!

Sabrina Chase

MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

What can you do to pass the time if you are a policeman laid up in hospital with a broken leg? Why not solve a centuries old cold case? This is the plotline of The Daughter of Time, the last novel by Josephine Tey, a book mentioned here a few months back. Detective Alan Grant needs something to occupy his mind while he heals, and becomes interested in the infamous killing of the Plantagenet boys in the Tower of London during the War of the Roses, officially blamed on Richard III. Grant's friends provide him with documents from the time that contradict the official story, and he collates them and ties the clues together. This novel reminds me slightly of Hunters Lodge by Agatha Christie, where the crime is solved from a sickbed. The clues in Tey's story come from actual historical documents, and provide convincing evidence that Richard was innocent of the murders, and in fact the likely murderer was Henry Tudor. This story sneaks up on the reader, becoming more interesting as it goes. No wonder it was voted the best UK crime story of the last century. Grant slowly builds his case fact by fact, until it seems certain that Richard has been blamed for 500 years for a Tudor crime.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at January 14, 2024 09:06 AM (ec9mh)

Comment: The idea of a detective solving a crime while in a sickbed is hardly new. It does give an interesting twist because the detective's normal resources and skills become limited in key ways that inhibit his ability to solve the crime. He can't visit the crime scene except through proxies. He can only evaluate evidence directly if it's brought to him. He may or may not be able to tap into human sources of information that are usually at his disposal. On the other hand, he does have a lot of time to think about and reflect on the crime, thus he can channel his energy in other productive ways. In the book described above, the extra challenge is that the murders took place centuries ago. There are no contemporary eyewitnesses. Most of the evidence has been lost, either destroyed deliberately or simply disappeared via the vagaries of time and neglect.

I have been reading Cutting For Stone, by Abraham Verghese for a while. It wonderfully written, but the characters are hit and miss. Some are described well, with real depth, but others seem like caricatures. And the book veers into reportage, which is okay because the topics are fascinating, but still...

Anyway, I finished it a few days ago and I think I can recommend it as an excellent read with some frustrating flaws.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at January 14, 2024 11:00 AM (EXR5U)

Comment: I'd say that most books worth reading fall into the category of "excellent read with some frustrating flaws." It's very difficult to find the "perfect" read, after all. In this case, it looks like the book was written by a medical doctor-turned-author, which may account for some of the flaws. Although the author has had success with previous novels and has gone through numerous writing workshops, it's possible that the "clinical" nature of the doctor's training may creep in from time to time. Science fiction authors who are engineers first and foremost tend to suffer the same problems with their writing, no matter how awesome the story is. They don't always handle characters very well.

And last but not least, reading Trent Horn's The Case for Catholicism, Classic and Contemporary Answers to Protestant Objections. Horn is an excellent Catholic apologist who has Masters Degrees in Theology, Philosophy and Bioethics. He's a very good writer and a very, very deep thinker, indeed, who explains things very calmly and clearly and without animosity even when presented with the most outrageous Protestant calumnies issued against the Church.

Posted by: Sharkman at January 14, 2024 09:54 AM (/RHNq)

Comment: I'm not Catholic, but I know many of you folks are Catholic. One of my dearest friends is Catholic. Note that the "outrageous calumnies issued against the Church" tends to go both ways. Protestants don't always regard the Catholics in high regard and vice versa. Many of the mainline Protestant denominations seem to have lost their way these days. But the Catholic Church also has some problems it needs to address (Pope Francis?). ANY organization that is managed by humans is going to be flawed eventually, no matter how noble it was intended to be from the beginning. I say live and let live with respect to my Catholic brothers in faith, and please do me the courtesy of allowing me to pursue my own Christian spiritual journey in peace.

More Moron-recommended reading material can be found HERE! (1000+ Moron-recommended books!)

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:

After reviewing some of OregonMuse's old Book Threads, I thought I'd try something a bit different. Instead of just listing WHAT I'm reading, I'll include commentary as well. Unless otherwise specified, you can interpret this as an implied recommendation, though as always your mileage may vary.

Malazan Book of the Fallen 4 - House of Chains by Steven Erickson

Things take a bit of a twist in Book 4. We start out in the past on the continent of Genabackis, where Book 1 and Book 3 take place. The giant Korsa Orlong leaves his home to raid nearby villages, but ends up captured by the Malazans, who plan to sentence him to indentured servitude for his crimes (slavery is technically outlawed in the Empire, but certain criminals can be sentenced to become slaves in practice). He escapes and makes his way to the Seven Cities, then to the Holy Desert of Raraku, where he becomes the protector of the Sha'ik. In the meantime, the Malazans are attempting to recapture the Seven Cities after they rebelled by laying siege to Raraku, in hopes of crushing the rebellion once and for all. It's not quite as good as Book 3, but there are some pretty cool moments in this story. We also find out much more about the magic system and how the gods play an important role in maintaining the nature of reality. I've really been enjoying this series so far. I doubt I would enjoy it as a novice fantasy reader, though. It does require some "preparation" in the genre before one is ready to tackle this particular series.

Malazan Book of the Fallen 5 - Midnight Tides by Steven Erickson

STATUS - 50% read (466 pages)

In the epilogue of Book 4, one of the characters promises to share his life story with another character. Well, Midnight Tides is that story, more or less. We now move to an entirely different continent that is far distant from the Malazan Empire. A new war is heating up between the Tiste Edur and the expansionist Letherites to their south. It is still tied into the overarching narrative of the series, however. I'll be interested to see exactly how this fits into the Malazan storylines in the previous four books. For some reason, I get a weird Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim vibe from this book as it involves a war between a corrupt empire and Nordic-style tribes ruled by a king who has harnessed mysterious powers. The book was published several years before Skyrim was released.

WHAT I'VE ACQUIRED THIS PAST WEEK:

I do have a couple of books added to my library this week:

• Secret Project Book 1 - Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson -- Two independent recommendations convinced me to purchase this book. I decided to go ahead and get the rest of the books in this series as well. Each is an independent story. the "Secret Project" name just refers to the way Sanderson ran his kickstarter campaign to fund these book projects.
• Secret Project Book 2 - The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson
• Secret Project Book 3 - Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson -- This one seems to have garnered negative reactions from Horde members who have attempted it, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

PREVIOUS SUNDAY MORNING BOOK THREAD - 01-14-24 (NOTE: Do NOT comment on old threads!)

Disclaimer: No Morons were harmed in the making of this Sunday Morning Book Thread. One poor soul was forcibly ejected from his awesome library/man cave under mysterious circumstances...

posted by Open Blogger at 09:00 AM

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