Sunday, October 30, 2022
Flying Colours
(Of course I had to read the next Hornblower right away.)
First read in February of 2017.
On my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CSForester, HornblowerSaga, OnMyShelf
Saturday, October 29, 2022
Oboe Jones
When putting Doonesbury Deluxe away, I happened to pick this one off the shelf. It's a collection of comics from the late Cornerstone magazine from about 1985 to 1992. The strip features Oboe, an apartment building manager, and the people in his life. Most the characters are born-again Christians with a Baptist-flavored theology, so the book is a humorous peek into the life of folks in that sub-culture at that time. (As a Lutheran, I get most of the jokes, even if they don't always hit deep.) While many aspects of the strip have become dated, the humor and stories still work and the characters are appealing. Definitely a keeper for me.
Labels: OnMyShelf
Friday, October 28, 2022
Ship of the Line
First read in January of 2017.
On my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CSForester, HornblowerSaga, OnMyShelf
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Doonesbury Deluxe
In this collection, the Walden crowd has graduated and moved on to begin their careers. Mike and JJ relocate to New York where Mike works at an ad agency and JJ tries to make a place for herself in the NY art scene. BD and Boopsie are on the other coast, where Boopsie is an actress and spiritual channeler and BD is third string quarterback for the LA Rams. Mark is now working for National Public Radio, and Zonker enters medical school. Well, at least that's what his Uncle Duke calls it. In the background are the events of the mid-1980s: homelessness, musical artists raising funds for Africa, the Star Wars defense, Iran-Contra, and the AIDS epidemic.
It's on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Labels: Doonesbury, GarryTrudeau, OnMyShelf
Slayer Slang
This one was an impulse borrow. It's a lexicon of slang connected to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I somehow stumbled across it on the Library website and thought it might make for some entertaining waiting room material. Kind of like one of Leo Rosten's books. What I discovered is that Professor Adams is a bit more academic that Mr. Rosten. Before you get to the glossary of creative Buffy-isms, there are pages of serious study of language, how new words enter a language, and how verbiage from Buffy has been following the process. I found it--the whole book, actually--somewhat interesting, but not as entertaining as I hoped. The bits of "Slayer slang" that one encounters in the show add some spice to the episodes, but this book showed me that its appeal isn't intrinsic, but stems from the characters and stories from the show.
Labels: WaitingRoomMaterial
Sunday, October 16, 2022
Doonesbury Dossier
Okay, I've read a Ronald Reagan biography, so it's time to dig into the next Doonesbury collection on my shelf. This one covers 1980 through 1984. In addition to the 1980 election and the first Reagan administration, the collection covers: Zonker's stint on the professional tanning circuit, Mike's campaigning for John Anderson (and meeting J.J.), Honey's testifying against the Gang of Four, Joanie and Rick's marriage and the birth of their son, Mark's father's business adventures under the Reagan administration, and Duke's problems as an ex-hostage and attempt to start a charter boat business.
Labels: Doonesbury, GarryTrudeau, OnMyShelf
Sunday, October 09, 2022
Reagan
I wasn't looking forward to reading this. As I've been reading through presidential biographies, I knew I would eventually get to Ronald Reagan, the man holding the office when I reached adulthood and started thinking (and voting) for myself. Suffice it to say, I wasn't a fan of the man. I wondered if the story of his life would reveal that he was worse than I thought or--even more frightening--that he was better.
All in all, however, the man portrayed in Mr. Spitz's biography jibe with my recollections. Ronald Reagan is not presented as a great man. Oh, he was charming, athletic, and had a good memory. But he also was a mediocre student and an actor of limited talent. Where he excelled was in dreaming big and convincing others to go along with him. He truly earned the title of "Great Communicator". His administrations as governor and president are portrayed as collaborations of competent men and women following his general direction.
Unlike other biographies I've read, Reagan is not overly political. It focuses more on Reagan himself and his personal life than the political details of his administrations. I suppose that works better here than, say, a biography of Lyndon Johnson or FDR. And in the end, I'm glad I checked it out.
Labels: CheckItOut, PresidentialBioReadingList
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