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< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 962 OF 962 ·
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| Mar-14-20 | | thegoodanarchist: <jessica fissure queen:
After I get out of the bathtub, I put on my clothes. Then (and this is the crucial part) I look at myself in the mirror. Only at this point can I be sure the "denuding" process has been successful.> <OhioPresleyFan: As <JessicaFlasherQueen> alluded to, Mark Twain is a definite literary antecedent.> Splendid! Everything is crystal clear now:
We must apply our antecedent/deodorant before "denuding"! |
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Mar-14-20
 | | OhioChessFan: My favorite scene, rather disturbing, I suspect purposely so by the author, is when Mr. Robichaux holds Mrs. Reilly's hand in the theater. Her reaction/thoughts are a strange nod to Oedipus. |
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| Jun-08-20 | | mckmac: “In addition, I am at the moment writing a lengthy indictment against our century. When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occasional cheese dip.” Ignatius J. Reilly |
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Jul-11-20
| | OhioChessFan: So, to further my intellectual development, I thought I should read Catch-22. For several chapters, I was greatly amused as the madhouse military characters zoomed in and out of the pages. I felt like I was reading MASH on steroids. But now, 20 chapters in, I'm bored. I'm probably going to stop reading. Too many characters, too few notes(one), too repetitive, too preachy-yes, preachy-whilst pretending to be mere satire, too insulting to the military members who did in fact die.... Perhaps Mr. Heller would have preferred allowing Hitler to take over Europe without opposition. Hey, there'd have been no war. Of course, there'd have also been no dissenting novels, which point the war protesters conveniently forget. MASH at least recognized the surgeons as skilled, the enlisted men as proficient, not everyone as totally and insanely self-serving. Heller has a wonderful way with words, and is truly hilarious as he skewers his characters. But it's already gotten massively old 1/3 of the way in. I am greatly disappointed to give Catch-22 a thumbs down. |
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| Sep-22-20 | | Cheshire Matt: <Dom> You are sorely missed 'round this place on days like these. Todays Quote of the Day is by Petrosian, and says, "One must beware of unnecessary excitement" Fair play, but didn't you once put it better when chatting with Jess? "It's always too soon to get excited" |
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Nov-13-20
| | OhioChessFan: I don't remember that quote as thoroughly as I should.... A book review: 13 1/2 by Nevada Barr, she of Anna Pigeon fame. 4 1/2 stars out of 5. New Orleans dominates, the sense of place palpable throughout. A girl escaping an awful childhood spent in dreary trailer parks, a convicted 11 year old murderer of his family, meet and marry years later in New Orleans. A strange pastiche of psychological battles, with self, with others, with life. Well written characters, all damaged and flawed, ergo, true to life. Loses half a star for the predictable resolution of the central mystery, a bit disturbing in its portrayal of violence, but overall a compelling read I am happy to recommend. |
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| Nov-22-20 | | mckmac: <Domdaniel> Gerry, I am dropping this gem here because I totally believe you would have absolutely, unconditionally, nay, fundamentally, dug it. 'The Caitlin Smith Quartet'
"Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen
https://youtu.be/uEO14_raey4 |
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Jan-12-21
| | OhioChessFan: I just finished Fahrenheit 451. Absolutely astounding. It's one of those books you know you should read, but I'd never gotten around to it. Fabulous premise, interesting self conversations, not the greatest payoff(rather preachy, but okay) after an escape you knew had to succeed, but a quick read that makes you wish there was more. The dreary descriptions of people mindlessly obsessed with TV and entertainment are painfully spot on. The encouragement to tell on your neighbor is both an ugly nod to history and a probably never to be heeded warning to the future. Two thumbs up, 5 stars, life changing, an easy addition to the top 10 books I've read list. Wish I could talk with <Dom> about it. |
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Jan-12-21
| | OhioChessFan: I think a nice set of French Defense games from the past year and posted here would be in order. Here's one I really like: V Bernadskiy vs Vitiugov, 2020 That tension early on with the Queens claustrophobic on the Queenside is an interesting start. A materially unbalanced middlegame follows. Then Black carefully and patiently converts a King and Pawn endgame. It isn't perfect. 59...Kb3 screams to be played but I'll attribute that to time trouble. So, what 2020 French got your attention? |
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Mar-11-21
| | OhioChessFan: Just finished A Prayer for Owen Meany. A real winner. My top 10 list of all time list might be getting too crowded. In any case, it's a must read. |
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Mar-15-21
| | OhioChessFan: Just finished The Book Thief. Fantastic. I will wait a while before declaring it the best book I've ever read. Maybe in a week my initial exuberance will wane. But I doubt it. |
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Mar-28-21
| | OhioChessFan: Well, I'll put The Book Thief in my top 10. Not sure about best ever. I just finished Watership Down. Very good, thumbs up. But not essential, not top 100 good, not one you need to read before you die. |
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Mar-29-21
| | OhioChessFan: About 60 pages into The Help. I like it so far, although I'm not crazy about multiple narrator books. |
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May-07-21
| | OhioChessFan: The Help is very good, maybe essential.
Just finished Jamaica Inn. I rarely say this, but I expect the movie is better. In any event, it's excellent, but I can't put it on a top 100 list. Gave up on On the Road. Halfway through, it proved too boring and repetitive to finish. Oddly reminiscent of Catch 22 in that regard. And I understand the world of literature, but mercy sakes, the characters in the book are so persistently and unapologetically immoral...whew. Is there anyone in Kerouac's America who's entire life isn't predicated on drugs, adultery and theft? |
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May-08-21
 | | perfidious: Had forgotten--or quite possibly did not realise--<Dom>'s forum was still open. While never having been much of a drinker, this day, I raise an imaginary pint to honour his memory. Gone, but certainly not forgotten. |
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| May-08-21 | | SugarDom: I will vote him Caissar for best last words, without knowing they were his last words. |
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May-31-21
| | OhioChessFan: My review of Grisham's latest, Sooley.
Read it in 2 sittings, a real page turner, but ultimately unfulfillng. If you don't like basketball, it'll be boring, as some of the game descriptions are overly detailed. Some of the basketball factual errors are stunning(30 foot shots from the corner, no 16 over 1 upsets, a 10 seed beating a 4 seed) and seem pretty damaging in a book clearly aimed at pretty serious basketball fans. There are repeated hints at a romance blooming between Sooley and an older woman, which is dropped without comment. The detachment of the head coach as the expected problems crop up is so extreme it isn't even remotely believable. The newly hired agent asks his second in command to watch out for a femme fatale, who promptly leaves with Sooley on an obviously bad idea of a trip, with the second in command's blessing. Huh? The most dramatic moment in the book comes out of the blue and is totally out of character for the person involved. I have to give Sooley a thumbs down. |
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Jun-19-21
| | OhioChessFan: Finished The Assistant, Bernard Malamud. I pick random top 100 Book Lists, and grab some off there I'm not familiar with, and ended up with this one. I liked this book, but definitely not a top 100 for me. Maybe top 1000. Very spare, blunt language, painfully depressing. I read one reviewer mention his desperate childhood and how he could relate far too well with the characters here. Malamud so casually but desperately describes well meaning people always worried if they're going to starve to death. If the main story line was about anything but a Jewish family, I doubt most reviewers would rate it so highly. That's probably true of me also. But somehow that does make it important. Thumbs up, 4 1/2 stars, maybe 5 if I'm feeling generous, a bit overrated to be on anyone's top 100 list. |
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Aug-03-21
| | OhioChessFan: John Steinbeck, East of Eden. 2 thumbs up, 5 stars, maybe just outside the top 100 of all time. Beyond the typical points people raise about the book, I'll note the overbearing and obvious symbolism. It's a bit like Peter and the Wolf in that regard. And the distracting diversions into philosophical musings is a bit tiresome. Huckleberry Finn got its points across through typical character dialogue and trusted its readers to figure out the details. |
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Feb-13-23
| | OhioChessFan: The Handmaid's Tale. Two thumbs up. I'm not big on dystopian literature in general, too partisan, too preachy, but this is a knockout. Brilliant prose, unreliable narrator, unannounced jumps in place and time, you generally figure it out pretty quickly, it all works. |
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Feb-15-23
| | OhioChessFan: We'll put the Handmaid's Tale in the top 1000. Not essential, but really good. I just finished The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. I was greatly disappointed. It shows up in many top 100 lists, but I didn't care for it. Only 171 pages, it still managed to be annoyingly repetitive, really preachy, and bipolar in its lurches from reality to fantasy. It's okay, but nothing special. |
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Mar-08-23
| | OhioChessFan: A new record: I read 2 pages of A Clockwork Orange and gave up. The British vocabulary was like reading in a different language and there's no way I was going to suffer through that. I'll watch the movie instead. |
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Sep-22-23
 | | Stonehenge: I could have sworn last time I popped in, his bio was still there. |
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Sep-22-23
| | OhioChessFan: I think it was. I am guessing <AnnieK> set up a semi-permanent account, intending to keep renewing it, and it happened to run out in her absence. |
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Sep-23-23
 | | Check It Out: That's a shame. Can we get it back? |
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