Ace: aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com
Buck: buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com
CBD: cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com
joe mannix: mannix2024 at proton.me
MisHum: petmorons at gee mail.com
J.J. Sefton: sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info: maildrop62 at proton dot me
Sunday Morning Book Thread - 6-14-2026 ["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 (from the pages of DRAGON® magazine!). 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 NOTE
St. Augustine's City of God has been mentioned quite a bit around here lately. I vaguely remember reading parts of it way back in college during my Western Civilization I course. I had a great professor for that course. We didn't have a textbook, just a variety of primary texts translated into English for our convenience. City of God was just one of them. I've hung on to it for all these decades. I finally decided to dig it up. Turns out it was super easy to find, barely an inconvenience. It was stashed in an open box of books in my garage. As I bought it USED, it's filled with annotations from the previous student(s). Maybe one day I'll get around to reading it with purpose.
WHY WE NEED VIRTUOUS CHARACTERS
Although the YouTuber above focuses on Hollywood storytelling in movies and televisions, I'd argue that her points are relevant to the modern state of literature right now as well.
For NerdWord (the YouTuber), virtuous characters are necessary for the following reasons:
Narrative Expansion -- The best stories involve continuous struggle by the main characters to reconcile their virtuous nature with the chaos and darkness that confronts them. In many cases, they always have an easy way out, but their refusal to take the easy way is what drives the narrative and gives the conflict in the story the depth we enjoy as readers. That choice demonstrates the strength of their virtue. They may suffer terrible short-term consequences as a result, but in the end, we as readers are rewarded in the long term when we see the characters develop over time into people worthy of respect and admiration.
Values -- Virtuous characters have values that define them. Honor, honesty, compassion, sacrifice, and so forth. The challenge for the character is to uphold these virtues despite the cost or difficulties of holding on to those virtues. One defining characteristic of a virtuous character is their selflessness. They are prepared to give up even their lives to save their friends and loved ones. They do not lust after riches and power, though those may come to them through their actions as a reward for their efforts. If they are already rich and powerful, they will gladly give it all up to achieve a more important goal, such as saving a loved one from tragedy or death. They also seek out and encourage others to embrace virtues for their own sake.
Inspiration -- Above all, a virtuous character is meant to be INSPIRING to the reader. One of the reasons why I love epic fantasy so much is because traditional epic fantasy has abundant examples of characters that I admire and respect and who possess those qualities that I seek to develop within myself. I don't always succeed, of course, but that's the point. Journey before destination.
Virtuous characters are important for a thriving, vibrant civilization. I think we've lost quite a bit of that here in America in recent decades. We only have to look to the Left and see what THEY celebrate to understand just how far we have fallen as a society.
Never lose sight of virtue. It matters far more on a personal level than many people realize.
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THE MAN BEHIND THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOKS IN THE WORLD
A lot of artistry goes into designing a quality font. It's clear that this man cares about the products he creates, because they are used in texts that deeply matter to their readers.
Out of curiosity, I looked at my own bible to see if I could find any information about the font used in it. Sure enough, on the copyright page, I found this notice:
This Bible was set in the Zondervan NIV Typeface, created at the 2K/DENMARK type foundry.
I'd be curious to know if any of you have books that are set in typeface created at 2K/DENMARK...
MORON RECOMMENDATIONS
I read The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt. The generation which matured using flip phones are mentally much healthier than Gen Z which matured using smart phones and social media apps. Haidt gives an overview of the many studies in this area and how almost constant screen time affects pre-teen and teens. Finally, he suggests actions that parents, schools, and various levels of government can do to restore sound mental health in our children.
Posted by: Zoltan at June 07, 2026 09:10 AM (VOrDg)
Comment: There does seem to be a psychological epidemic affecting younger people these days. Children are growing up with technology practically glued to their fingers as soon as they are born. There's a tendency to think of them as "digital natives" as though they have a better understanding of the technology than us old codgers. I'm not sure that's true, though. They may be able to USE the technology, but that doesn't mean they have a clue how it actually works.
I can also understand how depriving them of technology could induce withdrawal symptoms. Yesterday the power at my house went out for an hour or so. Within minutes, I could feel myself getting anxious because the comforting familiar sounds of technology were no longer humming around me. I even left the house and drove around town because I didn't want to be surrounded by the silence and darkness (OK, it was early afternoon, but quite cloudy).
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I purchased Caroline Glick's book, Shackled Warrior: Israel and the Global Jihad, when it came out in 2008. I somehow let it slip off of my to-read pile and gather dust on a shelf until about a month ago. 18 years. But maybe there's good in the delay.
The book compiles many of Glick's media columns published worldwide between around 2003 and 2007. The material covers the post-9/11 world, including the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions and Israel's 2nd Lebanon War - and Iran's nuclear threat to the world. It points out the obvious failures of most everyone but especially of Israel, especially Prime Ministers Barak and more so Olmert (yuk!).
It's deja vu all over again. You could lightly edit some of these essays and republish them now. In 2026, it's practically an entire book of unintended I Told You Sos.
The last section of the book contains some of Glick's essays written as she travelled during battle in Iraq with US troops.
Whether it's Bush, Powell, Rice, Olmert, Netanyahu or US military brass and personnel - or to Glick herself, for that matter - the one thing everyone got wrong and still doesn't get is that you can't fix Islam.
Regards from northern Israel.
Posted by: Biden's Dog sniffs a whole lotta malarkey, at June 07, 2026 09:33 AM (5UTWB)
Comment: Fixing Islam is one of those thorny problems that really only has one solution, but nobody wants to talk about it. Nobody even wants to *think* about it because it will require a solution so drastic that normal minds are horrified by the implications. As it should be. Going down that road will stain our souls for generations, no matter how necessary it might be to end the threat of Islam once and for all.
The Dragonrealm - The Horse King by Richard A. Knaak
The human kings are asserting their power and authority now that the Dragon Kings are waning. King Lanith of Zuu is launching a war of conquest against his neighbors. He's gathered an array of sorcerers to assist him. He's also discovered another entity that possesses incredible power, but may have its own hidden agenda. Cabe Bedlam's son is kidnapped and enslaved, so Cabe and his friend Darkhorse embark on a quest to rescue Aurim Bedlam, stop King Lanith from his mad plans, and uncover the truth behind Lanith's agenda. Darkhorse will be forced to confront his greatest fear.
Journeys to the Twilight Zone edited by Carol Serling
You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension - a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just journeyed into the Twilight Zone.
Rod Serling's wife edited this anthology of Twilight Zone style stories long after Rod Serling passed away. As with most speculative fiction, some of the stories are really good, some are OK, and some are just "meh." But the entire anthology is less than 300 pages long and they are all an easy read. The last story, "Suggestion," was written by Rod Serling himself and is a great way to end the anthology. Disturbing implications arise when an amateur hypnotist uses his skills at a cocktail party that results in a horrible tragedy.
Star Trek - The Next Generation #16 - Contamination by John Vornholt
She's a sexy empathic Betazoid counselor. He's a tough-as-nails Klingon security officer. Together, they must overcome their differences and solve a murder mystery...IN SPACE!
Counselor Deanna Troi and Security Chief Worf are assigned by Captain Jean-Luc Picard to find whomever murdered one of the leading scientists of the Federation aboard the starship Enterprise. It's one part buddy-cop movie, one part Agatha Christie murder mysters, and one part Perry Mason courtroom drama. Yet, somehow it all works (more or less). Just to make things more complicated, the Federation is in delicate negotiations between the Krell and the Klingons, who hate each other.
The Quorum by Kim Newman
Kids...Don't make a deal with the Devil.
This is NOT part of Kim Newman's Anno Dracula series. It's a stand-alone novel of loosely connected stories. The main characters made a deal with the enigmatic media mogul Derek Leech for wealth, but he demands a terrible price.
With a name like "Leech" you just know he's up to no good. Apparently he just appeared at the bottom of the Thames River and walked out of the muck. A leech in human form, existing and profiting off the misery and chaos of others' lives.
Tips, suggestions, recommendations, etc., can all be directed to perfessor -dot- squirrel -at- gmail -dot- com.
(Huggy Squirrel takes a side trip to...the Twilight Zone!
Disclaimer: I mean it! Don't make a deal with the Devil!
