tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-349392962009-10-24T11:54:22.953-07:00A literary travelogue. (If you can call some of the stuff I read literature...)Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.comBlogger357125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-72847561820163243682009-10-24T11:51:00.002-07:002009-10-24T11:54:22.959-07:00

by Charles SchulzMy wife, the family Peanuts maven, has declared that this is the first volume of The Complete Peanuts that she will not be purchasing. In her opinion, Schulz's comic genius had lost its edge by this time in the life of the strip. It's also past the era when she would eagerly search the daily paper for her Peanuts fix, so unlike, say, the previous volume of the collection, this

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-89022005466025222182009-09-26T20:10:00.000-07:002009-09-29T20:17:09.535-07:00

by Robert LipsyteIn one sense, this is a typical sports story--young, underprivileged kid finds a sport and works hard to overcome the obstacles and become a success. In this case, Alfred Brooks, a high school dropout living in Harlem in the mid 1960s finds himself trying to succeed as a boxer. But Mr. Lipsyte has done a good job of it, adding some depth to the plot and setting. I was impressed

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-74985552249717771462009-09-22T18:23:00.000-07:002009-10-11T18:36:34.286-07:00

by John JaechThis one's a second volume of news headlines interspersed with personal comments and recollections, this time from 1938. While the most interesting part of the previous volume was Uncle John's take on local events, in When I Was Nine, I found the international news to be more intriguing. As Europe drew closer to war, the German-American Jaech family had to re-evaluate their opinions

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-49108199777818878412009-09-05T20:50:00.000-07:002009-09-07T20:52:24.255-07:00

by Carol MatasThe problem recounting the saga of history is the question of where to end the story. History, of course, doesn't end... or at least it hasn't ended yet. Even if you bring the tale to the present day, all you need to do is wait until tomorrow, then go to the newspaper and find out what happens next. Of course, to be practical, you need to pick a stopping point--a place where events

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-76026441938209686062009-08-07T11:41:00.000-07:002009-10-24T11:46:22.383-07:00

by Roy Franklin NicholsWay back when, I read the book Star-Spangled Men, a book about the worst Presidents in American history. It was that book that inspired me to embark on my presidential biography reading list. Anyway, I forget if that book had pegged Franklin Pierce as the worst president ever, or if he was merely one of the contenders for the distinction. Either way, his reputation was

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-62476247575405859632009-07-31T20:38:00.000-07:002009-09-07T20:41:21.861-07:00

Janet & Geoff BengeAnother volume in the Christian Heroes series, this book presents the life of the Scottish missionary kid who won a gold medal in the 1924 Olympics and then headed back to China to continue the family line of work. It's an inspiring story of endurance and faithfulness.Check it out. LibraryThing link

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-76239659164315109272009-07-29T18:40:00.000-07:002009-10-11T18:43:23.997-07:00

by Martin LutherThis is an abridged translation of Luther's Commentary of Galatians. All I can say is that the original must be a pretty hefty tome, because Dr. Luther does seem to carry on. But that's not so bad, because he's also interesting to read. (I suppose that's one reason his words have lasted all these centuries.) As a history buff, it was interesting to see how Dr. Luther drew

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-86054298400062906462009-07-25T11:26:00.001-07:002009-10-24T11:32:02.330-07:00

by Alexandre DumasOkay, this year I got around to reading the real Monte Cristo. Last year, you may recall, I had picked up an abridged version and was well over halfway through before I discovered my error. I finished the book and at the next library sale, I made sure to pick up the full version in all its massive wordiness. It was just as enjoyable the second time through, though knowing the

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-58735961609380555432009-07-09T14:16:00.000-07:002009-07-11T14:17:58.515-07:00

by John JaechThis is another of those family publications that you'll never get to read unless you come over to my house and pull it off my shelf. (And maybe not even then, if my sister-in-law lays claim to it.) What Uncle John has done, in his spare time, is to pull news headlines from 1937 and intersperse them with his own comments and recollections. It yields an interesting peak into community

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-17353784418640363042009-07-06T13:54:00.000-07:002009-07-11T13:58:12.820-07:00

by Robert J. ScarryWho would have expected a book about Millard Fillmore to have an agenda? I mean, you can expect a book about Lincoln or FDR to take sides in a controversy. But A bio of Millard Fillmore? How could there even be a controversy about him? Isn't it common knowledge that he's one of those dull one-termers who merely kept the presidential chair warm until Lincoln got elected? Well,

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-34885742706138566142009-06-13T20:24:00.001-07:002009-09-29T20:27:16.653-07:00

by Kim Stanley RobinsonThis is an interesting tale on two levels. The basic milieu is an alternate reality--a world in which the Black Death killed off three times the number of Europeans than it did in our world, 99% of the total population. The role that European nations played in world history is now taken by other nations, other cultures. Mr. Robinson postulates the rise of Chinese and

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-1466254897402738742009-06-08T20:29:00.000-07:002009-09-07T20:31:35.886-07:00

by Alan PatonMy words could never do justice to this story of the search of Rev. Steven Kumalo, a Zulu man, for his son Absalom in the streets of 1940s Johannesburg. It's sheer poetry, a deep look at racial prejudice and injustice but also truth and hope. Get a copy and read it already.It's already on my shelf.LibraryThing link

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-53393934469871215562009-06-05T20:18:00.000-07:002009-09-07T20:20:36.248-07:00

by Robert Asprin and Linda EvansThis one's a run-of-the-mill time agent story, in this case the agents are tour guides. In this tale, an experiment gone wrong has resulted in wormholes through time, linking past and present locations. Entrepreneurs have capitalized on the wormholes--called "gates" at their present day end--offering tours of the past to those wealthy enough to afford the trip. Of

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-47172287755106765642009-05-28T18:39:00.000-07:002009-05-30T18:43:42.666-07:00

by Jess NevinsHey, I have the second volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, so I had to go and read Jess Nevins' companion volume, right? I mean, LOEG II has even more obscure references than it's predecessor, so it's almost a necessity. Like Mr. Nevins' first book, this one has all the notes you'd need to explain the lush detail of LOEG. It also features interviews with LOEG creators

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-21160518351594482322009-05-21T18:00:00.000-07:002009-09-07T18:03:00.020-07:00

by Bill Finger and many othersOf all the old books I'd like to add to my collection, one of the most desired would be Batman From the 30s to the 70s, a book I checked out time and time again from the library when I was a kid. Cheapskate that I am, I don't have much hope of actually obtaining that tome, but I was delighted to find at least some of the reprints I remember in Batman in the Fifties.

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-87963671001615169832009-05-18T18:19:00.000-07:002009-05-30T18:35:08.810-07:00

by Jess NevinsThis is a read once kind of book--"The Unofficial Companion to The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." If you've read LOEG, you know that is is packed full of characters from and references to other works of fiction. Mr. Nevins has gone through and made notes about them all. Since I'm not quite as well read as him, I loved paging through the book and finding out about the references

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-69820464236905299362009-05-15T16:46:00.000-07:002009-09-07T16:53:12.038-07:00

by C.S. LewisA Grief Observed is the journal C. S. Lewis kept after losing his wife, Joy, to cancer. In it he pours out his feelings, as his faith is battered by the storms of grief. I felt a bit awkward reading it, kind of like I was standing around, gawking at a car accident. On one hand, you want to see what's happening, but on the other you don't want to intrude on another's misfortune and

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-90046406315199826442009-05-10T14:03:00.000-07:002009-07-11T14:04:59.768-07:00

by H. Rider HaggardThis is the first of the Alan Quartermain novels, that adventure series from the late 1800s. As a ground breaking adventure novel, I suppose I should have liked it better. The problem is, I've read so many "lost world" tales in my day that King Solomon's Mines seemed a bit cliched. I do have to admit, though, that despite the racism and other 19th Century attitudes, the story

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-59468600897914274162009-05-04T18:30:00.001-07:002009-05-09T18:33:54.005-07:00

by Paul GallicoI'm not sure what to call this--a 20th century fable? It's a short tale of Philip Rhayader, a kind and artistic soul with a deformed body. In his twenties, he moves to the English seacoast to live in seclusion, away from the repulsive looks and attitudes of "normal" people. He spends his time painting, sailing his boat and caring for the birds that take up residence in his property

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-25734787614701626842009-05-02T20:09:00.000-07:002009-06-24T20:14:04.192-07:00

by James BlishThis sucker is actually four novels collected into a single volume. The collection starts with They Shall Have Stars. The year is 2013 and humanity is out among the solar system while, back on Earth, a quiet struggle is going on between the West and the Soviets. It's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between the two, however, as the Western governments seek to impose

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-37382985131329596402009-04-22T20:54:00.000-07:002009-04-23T20:57:15.207-07:00

by John B. SeveranceThis one's a nice little biography of the former Prime Minister of Great Britain and only honorary citizen of the United States. It's written for kids so the text is quick and easy to read and there are nice pictures to illuminate the story. The biggest problem I had with the book was that since Churchill was such a fascinating individual, I would much have preferred a book

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-32130012352198063512009-04-18T21:38:00.002-07:002009-04-23T20:47:03.144-07:00

by Jean FritzIn 1934, the Chinese Communist First Front Army began a strategic retreat from the Chinese Nationalist forces which resulted in a hard, 6,000 mile trek through the countryside of western China. This is known as the Long March and is quite a remarkable story of struggle, perseverance and triumph. If it's true, that is. Having read Jung Chang's Mao, I approached Ms. Fritz's account of

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-56170656547004676592009-04-11T19:54:00.000-07:002009-06-24T19:59:56.216-07:00

by Joy HakimMs. Hakim takes on 1880 through 1917 in this eighth volume of A History of US. It was the time of robber barons and labor unions, populists, inventors and immigrants. Ms. Hakim presents it with her usual mix of social and political history, giving special attention to those whose ideas weren't quite so popular at the time.Check it out.LibraryThing link

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-53450031744087777432009-04-06T20:22:00.000-07:002009-04-08T20:24:32.800-07:00

by Aldous HuxleyThis is a scary, scary book. 'Twas written in 1932, yet it resonates far too well with 2009. Brave New World features a dystopian future, where all the world is regulated and happy. No, seriously, people are conditioned from conception to fill and be satisfied with a particular niche in society. After work, they're given a variety of pleasures to keep them happy and satisfied.

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34939296.post-29287194645941483472009-04-03T20:12:00.000-07:002009-04-05T20:15:49.559-07:00

by Charles M. SchulzThis is a very funny collection of strips.... er, make that a collection of very funny strips. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say a collection of strips, some of which are very funny. (others being just plain funny and others being meh) The highlights of this collection are running gags about The Six Bunny-Wunnies series, Joe Cool, the introduction of Marcie, Charlie

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13725435155373619743noreply@blogger.com0