Sunday Morning Book Thread - 7-6-2025 ["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 (a little something for the 'Ettes, HT: Dash my lace wigs). 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...(fireworks not included)

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, let off any remaining fireworks (preferably not from your lap), and dive into a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

PIC NOTE

I've never really looked at the economic benefits of going to the library. Nowadays, I tend to simply purchase the books I want to read instead of checking them out at the library. I do sometimes, if it's a book that I'm not quite sure about or I am relatively certain that I won't read it again. Also, relatively few of the books in my library are going to be found in current library inventories. Though I have been pleasantly surprised when browsing the shelves in the library in which I work (but do not work for). I've found a number of books that I never would have expected the library to carry. Of course, they are on obscure shelves where no one but me would ever find them, so it's a shame that the students are missing out on such great books. The more popular genre fiction books are displayed on the first floor where students are more likely to see them and check them out.

4 LEVELS OF READING

I'd say the vast majority of us Morons are at levels 3 or 4. However, your children and grandchildren may still be learning. How will you help them advance to the next level?

MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

If you love 80's SF/Fantasy movies, I can't recommend Chris Nashawaty's The Future Was Now enough. It's such a fun read.

AH-nult and John Milius were a match made by Crom, but it was still a dangerous shoot. Schwarzenegger suffered serious falls, was mauled by part-wolf German shepherds, and was almost hit in the jugular by a prop war axe. Milius just grinned at him and said "Pain is temporary, film is forever". I imagine them laughing over kielbasa-sized cigars at the end of each day.

Schwarzenegger helped co-star James Earl Jones train and lift weights, and Jones coached Arnold on his acting and on-camera technique.

It was nice to enjoy movies in the pre-internet age, where I had no idea that my favorite films were considered box office bombs. And before VHS/DVDs and streaming, a movie could hang around the megaplex for a year if it was still pulling in viewers.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at June 29, 2025 09:12 AM (kpS4V)

Comment: This does sound like a fun book. According to the official blurb, it's the story of eight incredible films released in 1982: ET, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, The Thing, and Mad Max: The Road Warrior. All of them went on to become either cult classics or genuine classics beloved by generations of fans. Has there been a current year that has seen such a string of movies that are destined to achieve the same level of nostalgia?

This week I read Blasphemy by Douglas Preston. It is the second in the Wyman Ford series, though there is no need to read the first in the series to enjoy this--there's no significant cross-referencing.

In it, a group of scientists have built a supercollider in hopes of proving the big bang theory. A television evangelist proclaims it the anti-Christ. American Indians are unhappy with the location of the project. Corrupt politicians (is there any other kind?) are stirring the pot.

An incredible clusterf**k of a collision of competing interests ensues.

Posted by: Dash my lace wigs! at June 29, 2025 09:33 AM (h7ZuX)

Comment: I read this some time ago when I picked up Blasphemy at a library book sale (at least, I'm pretty sure that's where I found it). It's one of Preston's solo stories, though it may be set in the same continuum as his collaborations with Lincoln Child. It is a pretty wild read with an epic conclusion. Very cinematic. It would make for a very cool movie, but I would not trust today's modern Hollywood writers to do it justice.

I have also been reading The Testament of Marcellus by Marius Gabriel. It is thus far about a noble Roman of uncertain purpose visiting Jerusalem and Pontius Pilate at Passover. So far he has met Jesus on the road, was present at Jesus' chastisement of the money changers, and at Judas' negotiations with Pilate to betray Jesus. It is interesting.

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Well, This Is Another Fine Mess You've Gotten Me Into at June 29, 2025 11:21 AM (L/fGl)

Comment: I've been watching The Chosen on Amazon Prime recently. It's a fascinating show as we see Jesus through the eyes of his followers and detractors. The Testament of Marcellus tells the story of a Roman lawyer who tried to defend Jesus, but was ultimately unsuccessful as we all know. One of the reviews on Amazon caught my eye with this comment: "What was remarkable about this book is that he dares to intimately include the Crucifiction and Jerusalem, along with all the Jewish/Christian issues that are naturally connected, though I did notice that there was a total absence of the involvement of Islam [emphasis added--PS] in either the characters of descriptions of areas." WHAT? Why would Islam be mentioned in the context of this story which takes place around A.D. 33? Shows the historical ignorance of the commenter...

MORE MORON RECOMMENDATIONS CAN BE FOUND HERE: AoSHQ - Book Thread Recommendations

WHAT I'VE ACQUIRED THIS PAST WEEK:

• Interstellar Medic Book 2 - The Long Way Home by Patrick Chiles -- This was a Moron Authored book featured last week that has now been released. I'm looking forward to reading it as I've enjoyed Patrick Chiles other books.
• The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick -- This was a Moron Recommendation from a couple of weeks ago. I like PKD, so I expect I will enjoy this novel as well.

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.

Night's Dawn Trilogy Book 3 - The Naked God by Peter F. Hamilton

This is the final book in the Night's Dawn Trilogy. Humanity is still fighting a losing battle against the possessed, who have shunted several worlds out of our time-space continuum into an alternate dimension cut off from the "beyond." However, the possessed find out that their supposed "Paradise" is anything but beneficial to them. One habitat discovers that the alternate dimension in which they are trapped experiences entropy far faster than our own universe, so they are slowly being drained of energy. Another slice of an island will soon run out of air. Meanwhile, in normal space, Al Capone and his "Organization" have unleashed forbidden antimatter weapons against the Confederacy. Quinn Dexter, who began this whole mess, has escaped to Earth, where he is unleashing is own plans to bring about the Apocalypse on behalf of "God's Brother" (a.k.a. Lucifer). Starship captain Joshua "Lagrange" Calvert is on a mission to find the Sleeping God, who may be humanity's last hope to avoid oblivion. It's a long read (1200+ pages), but seldom boring.

This book also predicted "smartphones" about a decade before they came into being. They're not called that, of course, and are far more advanced, but the basic idea is there. A young woman goes to an electronics store to purchase "neural nanonics," which are embedded in the base of your skull and allow you to access the global network directly through a mental interface. What was amusing was how the process mirrored today's purchase of a smartphone, complete with asking the customer what apps she'd like installed by d

default. I found that scene highly amusing.

Oh, and there is a slight possibility of someone hijacking your "nanonics" and using them to control you, which is why they always come in a factory-sealed box for your protection!

PREVIOUS SUNDAY MORNING BOOK THREAD - 6-29-2025 (NOTE: Do NOT comment on old threads!)

Tips, suggestions, recommendations, etc., can all be directed to perfessor -dot- squirrel -at- gmail -dot- com.

Disclaimer: No Morons were physically harmed in the making of this Sunday Morning Book Thread. PRO TIP: Never, ever drop a 3" salute shell upside-down into a mortar tube. It goes off like a stick of dynamite.

posted by Open Blogger at 09:00 AM

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