Finished Sa 12/29/18
This is a hardback novel that Janny lent to me. It's most definitely a Romance Novel, but it's beautifully written and the story is fantastically engaging.
Set in 1899 thru the first decade of the 20th century.
Fortune's Rocks- a beach area in New Hampshire near the border with Maine. This is just a few miles from Ely Falls which was a mill down filled with poor workers and foreigners.
A love affair between fifteen year old Olympia Biddeford and John Haskell, 41 yrs. old with four children and married to Catherine.
Haskell is a doctor and has written a collection of essays. This is why Olympia's father has invited him to Fortune's Rocks. This is their vacation home and Olympia's family lives on Beacon Hill near Boston.
They meet on the first day of the summer solstice in June, 1944; Fourth of July there is a party and John and Olympia go to the hospital in Ely Falls.
The affair is discovered on August 10, 1899. The party for Olympia's birthday. The house used to be a Catholic nunnery and John and Olympia were making love in the chapel area. Her father had given Olympia a telescope and a poet who was at the party suspected the affair, and he dislikes Olympia. He aims the telescope at the chapel window and asks Catherine, John's wife, to take a look. This is the last time that John and Olympia see each other for four years.
Olympia is sent to The Hastings Seminary For Females when she learns that she's pregnant. She is sent to a family with four young men and a widow. This man comes on to Olympia and she leaves and decides to return to Fortune's Rocks and live in the house that has been vacant since the day of the party.
Rufus Philbrick is a wealthy hotel owner and friend to Olympia. She contacts him (he was at the first party when she met John Haskell) with her plan to sue for custody of the child that was taken from her at birth. She maintains that she was given laundnum and was unable to make a real decision. The court will later agree.
She decides to try and keep her son. She learns that his name is Pierre Haskell and has been in foster care with a French couple. They work in the mills.
She engages the legal service of Payson Tucker. She wins the suit because the woman tells the court that the boy will be working in the mills when he is only ten. She sees nothing wrong with this and then the court believes that Olympia and her family could provide a much better future for the child.
At the end of the novel John and Olympia are married and John has a practice among the poor of Ely Falls and the house has been changed into a house for pregnant unwed girls. They can stay and receive services as long as they agree to keep their babies.
As kind of an epilogue, Olympia learns that the French woman and foster mother to Pierre is dying and her husband is on death's door. Since Olympia is already the legal guardian of the child she agrees to take ten year old Pierre. He is brought to the house and is fascinated with the telescope. Rufus Philbrick sets this up.
From the book's page on wikipedia-
"Fortune's Rocks is a 1999 romance novel by bestselling author Anita Shreve. It is chronologically the first novel in Shreve's tetralogy to be set in a large beach house on the New Hampshire coast that used to be a convent. It is followed by Sea Glass, The Pilot's Wife and Body Surfing.
In the summer of 1899, Olympia Biddeford, a privileged, intelligent and confident 15-year-old who is vacationing with her family at Fortune's Rocks, falls in love with a married 41-year-old doctor and journalist, John Haskell. Their passionate affair, and subsequent discovery, produces a son and leads to far-reaching consequences that span several decades.
The novel is loosely based on the seaside neighborhood of Fortunes Rocks, located in Biddeford, Maine."
Sunday, December 30, 2018
Monday, December 24, 2018
A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES by Lawrence Block
Finished Su 12/23/18
This is an old paperback that I bought at the west branch of the library back on Sa 10/25/08. It was one of the first Mathew Scudder series that I had read and there was a notation that I get some of the other Scudder books.
Plot Summary:
Scudder is contacted by the Khoury brothers when Francine Khoury, Kenan's wife, fails to return from a shopping trip. They pay a $400,000 ransome, yet she's returned in pieces in the trunk of an abandoned car.
Kenan spreads the word among his dealer friends that they also might be the targets of kidnapping. A Russian criminal near Coney Island has his fourteen year old daughter taken from her private school. They get her back alive but she has been raped and two of her fingers had been cut off.
They trace the killers to Albert's house in Brooklyn. Ray has garroted Albert in the basement. Scudder leaves and Kenan takes off Ray's feet, hands, ears, and penis. Kenan uses tourniquets and Ray survives but later dies in the hospital. He cannot communicate to authorities.
Matthew Scudder
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Elaine- Art Historian; call girl. A Final Twist- in the end Matthew admits that he loves Elaine and he doesn't want her to continue to be a call girl. She has actually stopped taking clients for many months.
Francine Khoury
Kenan Khoury
Peter Khoury- recovering heroin/ alcohol addict. He jumps off of the Brooklyn bridge at the end of the novel. He feels responsible for Francine's death. At an AA meeting he let slip that his brother, Kenan, was a mid-level drug dealer. This is how Ray and Albert targeted Kenan.
The Kongs- two teenagers who are hackers. One from Hong Kong and one is Jewish; last names 'King' and 'Kong'.
T.J.
Raymond Callandar
Albert
Brighton Beach
Yuri
This is an old paperback that I bought at the west branch of the library back on Sa 10/25/08. It was one of the first Mathew Scudder series that I had read and there was a notation that I get some of the other Scudder books.
Plot Summary:
Scudder is contacted by the Khoury brothers when Francine Khoury, Kenan's wife, fails to return from a shopping trip. They pay a $400,000 ransome, yet she's returned in pieces in the trunk of an abandoned car.
Kenan spreads the word among his dealer friends that they also might be the targets of kidnapping. A Russian criminal near Coney Island has his fourteen year old daughter taken from her private school. They get her back alive but she has been raped and two of her fingers had been cut off.
They trace the killers to Albert's house in Brooklyn. Ray has garroted Albert in the basement. Scudder leaves and Kenan takes off Ray's feet, hands, ears, and penis. Kenan uses tourniquets and Ray survives but later dies in the hospital. He cannot communicate to authorities.
Matthew Scudder
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Elaine- Art Historian; call girl. A Final Twist- in the end Matthew admits that he loves Elaine and he doesn't want her to continue to be a call girl. She has actually stopped taking clients for many months.
Francine Khoury
Kenan Khoury
Peter Khoury- recovering heroin/ alcohol addict. He jumps off of the Brooklyn bridge at the end of the novel. He feels responsible for Francine's death. At an AA meeting he let slip that his brother, Kenan, was a mid-level drug dealer. This is how Ray and Albert targeted Kenan.
The Kongs- two teenagers who are hackers. One from Hong Kong and one is Jewish; last names 'King' and 'Kong'.
T.J.
Raymond Callandar
Albert
Brighton Beach
Yuri
Friday, December 21, 2018
GO SET A WATCHMAN by Harper Lee
Finished Th 12/20/18
This is a hardback that Janny loaned to me. She was a big fan of 'TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD'.
Jean Louise "Scout" Finch returns to Maycomb, Alabama on her annual two week vacation with her father and aunt, Alexandria.
She meets her old boyfriend Hank Clinton who now works for her father- both men are lawyers.
The best part of the novel is when Scout learns of her father's true beliefs. He is trying to slow down the incursion of the federal government regarding integration. Scout witnesses him in action at a Citizens' Council meeting which is a thinly veiled racist organization.
From the book's page on wikipedia-
"During a discussion with his daughter, Atticus argues that the blacks of the South are not ready for full civil rights, and the Supreme Court's decision was unconstitutional and irresponsible. Although Jean Louise agrees that the South is not ready to be fully integrated, she says the court was pushed into a corner by the NAACP and had to act. She is confused and devastated by her father's positions as they are contrary to everything he has ever taught her. She returns to the family home furious and packs her things. As she is about to leave town, her uncle comes home. She angrily complains to him, and her uncle slaps her across the face. He tells her to think of all the things that have happened over the past two days and how she has processed them. When she says she can now stand them, he tells her it is bearable because she is her own person. He says that at one point she had fastened her conscience to her father's, assuming that her answers would always be his answers. Her uncle tells her that Atticus was letting her break her idols so that she could reduce him to the status of a human being.
Jean Louise returns to the office and makes a date with Henry for the evening. She reflects that Maycomb has taught him things she had never known and rendered her useless to him except as his oldest friend. She goes to apologize to Atticus, but he tells her how proud of her he is. He hoped that she would stand for what she thinks is right. She reflects that she didn't want her world disturbed but that she tried to crush the man who is trying to preserve it for her. She tells him that she thinks she loves him very much. As she follows him to the car, she silently welcomes him to the human race, seeing him as just a man for the first time."
I'm not that familiar with Lee's Pulitzer winning novel, but I somewhat liked this book. It's kind of a defence of the racist policies of the American South. I suppose that this would make a good novel to read in a book club- lots of divergent positions to discuss.
Also, the idea that a child can be so in love with a parent that they refuse to acknowledge the parent's faults.
I thought that the book was written in a 'Young Adult' style. I think that there are better writers that could handle this theme. The defense of racist policy is something that is quite popular these days- the Alt-Right Agenda.
This is a hardback that Janny loaned to me. She was a big fan of 'TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD'.
Jean Louise "Scout" Finch returns to Maycomb, Alabama on her annual two week vacation with her father and aunt, Alexandria.
She meets her old boyfriend Hank Clinton who now works for her father- both men are lawyers.
The best part of the novel is when Scout learns of her father's true beliefs. He is trying to slow down the incursion of the federal government regarding integration. Scout witnesses him in action at a Citizens' Council meeting which is a thinly veiled racist organization.
From the book's page on wikipedia-
"During a discussion with his daughter, Atticus argues that the blacks of the South are not ready for full civil rights, and the Supreme Court's decision was unconstitutional and irresponsible. Although Jean Louise agrees that the South is not ready to be fully integrated, she says the court was pushed into a corner by the NAACP and had to act. She is confused and devastated by her father's positions as they are contrary to everything he has ever taught her. She returns to the family home furious and packs her things. As she is about to leave town, her uncle comes home. She angrily complains to him, and her uncle slaps her across the face. He tells her to think of all the things that have happened over the past two days and how she has processed them. When she says she can now stand them, he tells her it is bearable because she is her own person. He says that at one point she had fastened her conscience to her father's, assuming that her answers would always be his answers. Her uncle tells her that Atticus was letting her break her idols so that she could reduce him to the status of a human being.
Jean Louise returns to the office and makes a date with Henry for the evening. She reflects that Maycomb has taught him things she had never known and rendered her useless to him except as his oldest friend. She goes to apologize to Atticus, but he tells her how proud of her he is. He hoped that she would stand for what she thinks is right. She reflects that she didn't want her world disturbed but that she tried to crush the man who is trying to preserve it for her. She tells him that she thinks she loves him very much. As she follows him to the car, she silently welcomes him to the human race, seeing him as just a man for the first time."
I'm not that familiar with Lee's Pulitzer winning novel, but I somewhat liked this book. It's kind of a defence of the racist policies of the American South. I suppose that this would make a good novel to read in a book club- lots of divergent positions to discuss.
Also, the idea that a child can be so in love with a parent that they refuse to acknowledge the parent's faults.
I thought that the book was written in a 'Young Adult' style. I think that there are better writers that could handle this theme. The defense of racist policy is something that is quite popular these days- the Alt-Right Agenda.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
ANATOMY OF A MIRACLE by Jonathan Miles
Finished Sa 12/15/18
October, 2018 selection for the Contemporary Book Club
'Tongue in Cheek' style (sections of the book are hilarious), but I was kind of confused that the author maintained that it was a 'true' story to the very end. Why was this necessary? His first novel, 'DEAR AMERICAN AIRLINES' was a book written in the form of a complaint letter.
Cameron Harris- Lost the use of his legs in Afghanistan and in August of 2014 he rose from his wheelchair on the parking lot of the Biz-E-Bee Convenience store. 4 years in the chair; injury occurred when his sargent stepped on a landmine in 2010. This man, Damarkus, was even more injured; lost part of both legs and major upper body damage. He was a black man originally from the back hills of Georgia.
Lost his legs. lost his mother, and Katrina within a matter of months.
Tanya Harris- His older sister. She was always protective of Cameron. A bit of a hardass; drink and drugs.
Quynh and Hat- owners of the Biz-E-Bee; Like a 'Cracker Barrel at Lourdes'
Dr. Janice Lorimar-Cuevas- Cameron's doctor. She cannot reconcile the fact that his spine was healed. It's impossible, but it happened.
Nap (Napoleon) Cuevas- Janice's husband; a lawyer who tries to add his view to the 'miracle'.
Mrs. Dooley- The 90 year old woman who lives on Tanya and Cameron's street. She wanted Cameron to pray for her nephew in Chicago. This man was shot and killed and she blames Cameron because he either forgot to pray for her son or he facked his miracle because he doesn't have any power.
Scott T. Griffin- Independent reality-television producer; tries to make Cameron's dilemma a reality TV series- MIRACLE MAN..
Landry- the football player who 'outs' Cameron in high school. Christy/ Chris on his texts; no calls. He did it just for spite. Cameron attacks him viciously. Cameron cannot stand to be laughed at. It wasn't the gay slur, but the fact that he laughed at him.
Dr. Fahey- this was an old radio preacher who was mentioned on Facebook by an old woman. She said that you should pray to Dr. Fahey for Cameron's miracle. Dr. Fahey is the one who made the miracle because he 'interceded' so that it could occur.
Euclide Abbsscia- Hired by the Vatican to research the veracity of 'the miracle'. He drives a Maserati.
Bronya- abandoned Russian tank in Afghanistan where Cameron and Damarkus hook up.
MORE NOTES- We 12/19/18
Miracle- exclusively attributed to divine power
Beyond the power of created nature
PROTESTANT REFORMERS REJECTED THE IDEA THAT MIRACLES CONTINUED BEYOND THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Two miracles needed to be canonized as a saint
Usually five years after death . Canonization requires the documentation of a miracle resulting from the intercession of a prospective saint.
Mother Teresa- healed stomach tumor of an Indian woman after application of a locket with her picture. Second miracle- Brazilian man with multiple brain tumors.
LEFT SHARK/ CONFEFE
Dre. Janice/ Eurclide (Maserati)
TRUTH IS MESSY, COMPLEX, NOT EASILY FIT INTO A NARRATIVE
Winston Lorimar- Janice's Father
HYPOTHESIS IS A STORY TOLD A DIFFERENT WAY
People Shouting The Loudest On the Internet!!!!!
Novelist/writer creates a miracle when he composes his characters.
p.44- "O'Bummer Run Veterans Administration'
p.63 Unidentified Walking Object
p.24 A Novel!!
p. 83 'The lord works in mysterious ways- NO!! the lord works in very predictable ways. Dr. Turnbull VS, Dr. Janice.
'Stop investigating...VA Miracle turns out to be a VA Mistake???
p,111 A lot of things happened in Afghanistan
p115 Father Fahey
p.115 What is a miracle
p. 131' Hit the spiritual lottery'.
NO LONGER NEEDS MEDS- HE CAN WALK SO HE'S SANE
Gil Poleman- the cross man
p. 165 Tom Landry Thing
Norton Skag- magnate who wants Father Fahey canonized.
p. 181 Facebook post
p.217- "FAGGOT'"!!!!
p. 314- Damarkus tells Cameron to forget it happened.
p. 332 "Frame it as coming out of the closet". No! makes Gayness into something wrong.
October, 2018 selection for the Contemporary Book Club
'Tongue in Cheek' style (sections of the book are hilarious), but I was kind of confused that the author maintained that it was a 'true' story to the very end. Why was this necessary? His first novel, 'DEAR AMERICAN AIRLINES' was a book written in the form of a complaint letter.
Cameron Harris- Lost the use of his legs in Afghanistan and in August of 2014 he rose from his wheelchair on the parking lot of the Biz-E-Bee Convenience store. 4 years in the chair; injury occurred when his sargent stepped on a landmine in 2010. This man, Damarkus, was even more injured; lost part of both legs and major upper body damage. He was a black man originally from the back hills of Georgia.
Lost his legs. lost his mother, and Katrina within a matter of months.
Tanya Harris- His older sister. She was always protective of Cameron. A bit of a hardass; drink and drugs.
Quynh and Hat- owners of the Biz-E-Bee; Like a 'Cracker Barrel at Lourdes'
Dr. Janice Lorimar-Cuevas- Cameron's doctor. She cannot reconcile the fact that his spine was healed. It's impossible, but it happened.
Nap (Napoleon) Cuevas- Janice's husband; a lawyer who tries to add his view to the 'miracle'.
Mrs. Dooley- The 90 year old woman who lives on Tanya and Cameron's street. She wanted Cameron to pray for her nephew in Chicago. This man was shot and killed and she blames Cameron because he either forgot to pray for her son or he facked his miracle because he doesn't have any power.
Scott T. Griffin- Independent reality-television producer; tries to make Cameron's dilemma a reality TV series- MIRACLE MAN..
Landry- the football player who 'outs' Cameron in high school. Christy/ Chris on his texts; no calls. He did it just for spite. Cameron attacks him viciously. Cameron cannot stand to be laughed at. It wasn't the gay slur, but the fact that he laughed at him.
Dr. Fahey- this was an old radio preacher who was mentioned on Facebook by an old woman. She said that you should pray to Dr. Fahey for Cameron's miracle. Dr. Fahey is the one who made the miracle because he 'interceded' so that it could occur.
Euclide Abbsscia- Hired by the Vatican to research the veracity of 'the miracle'. He drives a Maserati.
Bronya- abandoned Russian tank in Afghanistan where Cameron and Damarkus hook up.
MORE NOTES- We 12/19/18
Miracle- exclusively attributed to divine power
Beyond the power of created nature
PROTESTANT REFORMERS REJECTED THE IDEA THAT MIRACLES CONTINUED BEYOND THE APOSTOLIC AGE
Two miracles needed to be canonized as a saint
Usually five years after death . Canonization requires the documentation of a miracle resulting from the intercession of a prospective saint.
Mother Teresa- healed stomach tumor of an Indian woman after application of a locket with her picture. Second miracle- Brazilian man with multiple brain tumors.
LEFT SHARK/ CONFEFE
Dre. Janice/ Eurclide (Maserati)
TRUTH IS MESSY, COMPLEX, NOT EASILY FIT INTO A NARRATIVE
Winston Lorimar- Janice's Father
HYPOTHESIS IS A STORY TOLD A DIFFERENT WAY
People Shouting The Loudest On the Internet!!!!!
Novelist/writer creates a miracle when he composes his characters.
p.44- "O'Bummer Run Veterans Administration'
p.63 Unidentified Walking Object
p.24 A Novel!!
p. 83 'The lord works in mysterious ways- NO!! the lord works in very predictable ways. Dr. Turnbull VS, Dr. Janice.
'Stop investigating...VA Miracle turns out to be a VA Mistake???
p,111 A lot of things happened in Afghanistan
p115 Father Fahey
p.115 What is a miracle
p. 131' Hit the spiritual lottery'.
NO LONGER NEEDS MEDS- HE CAN WALK SO HE'S SANE
Gil Poleman- the cross man
p. 165 Tom Landry Thing
Norton Skag- magnate who wants Father Fahey canonized.
p. 181 Facebook post
p.217- "FAGGOT'"!!!!
p. 314- Damarkus tells Cameron to forget it happened.
p. 332 "Frame it as coming out of the closet". No! makes Gayness into something wrong.
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
A MILLION LITTLE PIECES by James Frey
Finished Tu 12/11/18
I reread this book because of a discussion at last months book club meeting. 'The Church Lady' attacked the book and brought up all the controversy between James Frey and Oprah. I didn't say anything, but I remembered how much that I liked the book. This is my third time through the book since Feb., 2006.
Originally, Frey tried to sell the book as fiction, but his publisher said that they couldn't sell it, so they changed it to a memoir. Some of the details were faked, but the thrust of the work is still very compelling. He embellished his criminal history and that his girlfriend at Hazelton committed suicide.
He has written several more novels, and I am getting his book about the second coming of the messiah, 'THE FINAL TESTAMENT OF THE HOLY BIBLE'. Directly after 'A MILLION LITTLE PIECES' he wrote a book about Leonard, one of his friends that he met at Hazelton.
Notes On The Book-
The opening pages of the book are absolutely riveting. James awakes in the back of a commercial airline missing all of his front teeth, a hole through his cheek, and covered in blood. He has no memory of what happened, how he got on the plane, or where he is headed.
Soon after he gets into the rehab center he has four root canals done without any form of anesthetic. I will never feel the same about a dental visit again.
'The Fury' is what he calls his overpowering need for drugs and alcohol- "Anything to Stop The Fury".
When his mother and father join him for family therapy, it's revealed that when he was a young child he was always screaming and crying. The family had little money and it wasn't for a few years that they were able to afford a competent doctor and he found that James had severe ear infections and this was causing excruciating pain. Had the infections been addressed sooner, would James be addiction free?
The book is a refutation of the philosophy of AA. The program is only 17% successful, and this is only one year after leaving the program. Many people might relapse after one year or two years. AA believes that 'There Is No Other Way' to combat addiction, and when someone suggests that we tweak 'the plan' or try something else, the response is always 'There Is No Other Way'.
James Frey combats his addiction by fiercely facing his desires and just refusing to give in to them. This approach is judged impossible by AA, but Frey is able to do it. I would imagine that an adherent of AA would just say that his addiction is just waiting to reassert, and even if he lives to be 110 and never takes another drink or drug, they would say that that he still hadn't beaten his disease because it was still there, waiting to come back. This point of view is absurd.
Link to James Frey's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Frey
The book's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Million_Little_Pieces
I reread this book because of a discussion at last months book club meeting. 'The Church Lady' attacked the book and brought up all the controversy between James Frey and Oprah. I didn't say anything, but I remembered how much that I liked the book. This is my third time through the book since Feb., 2006.
Originally, Frey tried to sell the book as fiction, but his publisher said that they couldn't sell it, so they changed it to a memoir. Some of the details were faked, but the thrust of the work is still very compelling. He embellished his criminal history and that his girlfriend at Hazelton committed suicide.
He has written several more novels, and I am getting his book about the second coming of the messiah, 'THE FINAL TESTAMENT OF THE HOLY BIBLE'. Directly after 'A MILLION LITTLE PIECES' he wrote a book about Leonard, one of his friends that he met at Hazelton.
Notes On The Book-
The opening pages of the book are absolutely riveting. James awakes in the back of a commercial airline missing all of his front teeth, a hole through his cheek, and covered in blood. He has no memory of what happened, how he got on the plane, or where he is headed.
Soon after he gets into the rehab center he has four root canals done without any form of anesthetic. I will never feel the same about a dental visit again.
'The Fury' is what he calls his overpowering need for drugs and alcohol- "Anything to Stop The Fury".
When his mother and father join him for family therapy, it's revealed that when he was a young child he was always screaming and crying. The family had little money and it wasn't for a few years that they were able to afford a competent doctor and he found that James had severe ear infections and this was causing excruciating pain. Had the infections been addressed sooner, would James be addiction free?
The book is a refutation of the philosophy of AA. The program is only 17% successful, and this is only one year after leaving the program. Many people might relapse after one year or two years. AA believes that 'There Is No Other Way' to combat addiction, and when someone suggests that we tweak 'the plan' or try something else, the response is always 'There Is No Other Way'.
James Frey combats his addiction by fiercely facing his desires and just refusing to give in to them. This approach is judged impossible by AA, but Frey is able to do it. I would imagine that an adherent of AA would just say that his addiction is just waiting to reassert, and even if he lives to be 110 and never takes another drink or drug, they would say that that he still hadn't beaten his disease because it was still there, waiting to come back. This point of view is absurd.
Link to James Frey's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Frey
The book's page at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Million_Little_Pieces
Saturday, December 8, 2018
'FEAR' by Bob Woodward
Finished Fr 12/7/18
From the author's page at wikipedia-
"Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He has worked for The Washington Post since 1971 as a reporter and is now an associate editor there.
While a young reporter for The Washington Post in 1972, Woodward teamed up with Carl Bernstein; the two did much of the original news reporting on the Watergate scandal. These scandals led to numerous government investigations and the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon. The work of Woodward and Bernstein was called "maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time" by longtime journalism figure Gene Roberts.
Woodward continued to work for The Washington Post after his reporting on Watergate. He has since written 18 books on American politics, 13 of which topped best-seller lists."
My notes for the write up of - 'Fear':
The book reveals Trump to be a narcissistic, headstrong, bully who suffers from low self esteem, although it's not a complete hatchet job. And, the 'Fear' in the title, I think, refers to the complete disarray of the West Wing at the White House. There is no real leadership 'at the top' and how can the most powerful country in the world exist in this manner?
Trump has about the same worldview as the average American fifth grader.
Although he is a major fan of Tweeting, he does not use a computer keyboard and cannot touch type. I thought that this was very weird- prefers 'thumb typing' and obviously very good at it.
He actually believes that he hasn't made a single mistake in all of his 71 years, and he will never admit that he's been wrong. If anyone who dares to call him on a misstep, he violently pushes back. 'Never Admit, Always Deny'
Kellyanne Conway- He's an idiot. Crazy Town. Worse job ever.
Dowd; lawyer- couldn't get Trump coached to testify. Had to resign. 'What do you do for a living' turned into a sixteen page answer. This is the hallmark of a very bad witness: 'You are a liar'.
Several staffers taking papers off of Trump's desk to keep the country from falling apart. They do this because Trump's ideas are so obviously wrong and if implemented would cause worldwide disruptions.
Won't listen if his mind is already made up.
What about the Ukrainians interfering to help Hillary? Why aren't they investigating that? The intelligence services knew that this was a Russian bot, but Trump refused to believe it.
Melania's job is to raise their twelve year old son, Baron. She did pitch in to try to stop his position on The Dreamers because she's from a 'shit hole country'. What's that mean that her main job is to raise her son....doesn't he go to school all day.
After Trump's 'Twitter War' with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, he wanted to evacuate all American civilians from South Korean. Had no idea what kind of a panic this would cause.
Trump is incapable of empathy
Only thinks in terms of how much it costs. and has no idea about diplomacy, alliances, or pledges and agreements that have been signed by former American leaders.
Likes hot dogs and hamburgers
Watches six to eight hours of TV a day and even devotes time to the 'D List' political discussions on Sunday Morning CNN.
The kind of guy that wouldn't study, but on the night before the test, would borrow his fraternity brothers' notes, study all night, and get a 'C'. He felt he only needed to pass because he was going to become a billionaire.
He has declared bankruptcy six times...THIS ALONE SHOULD HAVE BARRED HIM FROM BECOMING PRESIDENT.
Tillerson, ex-CEO of Exxon/Mobil called him a fucking moron because of his views on Importing more than we Export- (Trade Deficit). 'We can buy excellent TV's for $250 and if they were made here, they would be much more expensive. Consumers can invest this saving into other products, so it's an actual boost to he economy.'
Had an incredibly short attention span. Staffers must pitch accordingly and they seem to spend an inordinate amount of time crafting their positions because of this deficit.
From the author's page at wikipedia-
"Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He has worked for The Washington Post since 1971 as a reporter and is now an associate editor there.
While a young reporter for The Washington Post in 1972, Woodward teamed up with Carl Bernstein; the two did much of the original news reporting on the Watergate scandal. These scandals led to numerous government investigations and the eventual resignation of President Richard Nixon. The work of Woodward and Bernstein was called "maybe the single greatest reporting effort of all time" by longtime journalism figure Gene Roberts.
Woodward continued to work for The Washington Post after his reporting on Watergate. He has since written 18 books on American politics, 13 of which topped best-seller lists."
My notes for the write up of - 'Fear':
The book reveals Trump to be a narcissistic, headstrong, bully who suffers from low self esteem, although it's not a complete hatchet job. And, the 'Fear' in the title, I think, refers to the complete disarray of the West Wing at the White House. There is no real leadership 'at the top' and how can the most powerful country in the world exist in this manner?
Trump has about the same worldview as the average American fifth grader.
Although he is a major fan of Tweeting, he does not use a computer keyboard and cannot touch type. I thought that this was very weird- prefers 'thumb typing' and obviously very good at it.
He actually believes that he hasn't made a single mistake in all of his 71 years, and he will never admit that he's been wrong. If anyone who dares to call him on a misstep, he violently pushes back. 'Never Admit, Always Deny'
Kellyanne Conway- He's an idiot. Crazy Town. Worse job ever.
Dowd; lawyer- couldn't get Trump coached to testify. Had to resign. 'What do you do for a living' turned into a sixteen page answer. This is the hallmark of a very bad witness: 'You are a liar'.
Several staffers taking papers off of Trump's desk to keep the country from falling apart. They do this because Trump's ideas are so obviously wrong and if implemented would cause worldwide disruptions.
Won't listen if his mind is already made up.
What about the Ukrainians interfering to help Hillary? Why aren't they investigating that? The intelligence services knew that this was a Russian bot, but Trump refused to believe it.
Melania's job is to raise their twelve year old son, Baron. She did pitch in to try to stop his position on The Dreamers because she's from a 'shit hole country'. What's that mean that her main job is to raise her son....doesn't he go to school all day.
After Trump's 'Twitter War' with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, he wanted to evacuate all American civilians from South Korean. Had no idea what kind of a panic this would cause.
Trump is incapable of empathy
Only thinks in terms of how much it costs. and has no idea about diplomacy, alliances, or pledges and agreements that have been signed by former American leaders.
Likes hot dogs and hamburgers
Watches six to eight hours of TV a day and even devotes time to the 'D List' political discussions on Sunday Morning CNN.
The kind of guy that wouldn't study, but on the night before the test, would borrow his fraternity brothers' notes, study all night, and get a 'C'. He felt he only needed to pass because he was going to become a billionaire.
He has declared bankruptcy six times...THIS ALONE SHOULD HAVE BARRED HIM FROM BECOMING PRESIDENT.
Tillerson, ex-CEO of Exxon/Mobil called him a fucking moron because of his views on Importing more than we Export- (Trade Deficit). 'We can buy excellent TV's for $250 and if they were made here, they would be much more expensive. Consumers can invest this saving into other products, so it's an actual boost to he economy.'
Had an incredibly short attention span. Staffers must pitch accordingly and they seem to spend an inordinate amount of time crafting their positions because of this deficit.
Saturday, December 1, 2018
LET IT BLEED by Ian Rankin
Finished Fr 11/30/18
This is one of my paperbacks that I had read before. The reason I came back to this novel was that I was looking for some 'better' material to loan to Janny. When I read the recent John Grisham novel that she lent me I felt that, although I liked the book, Grisham is more of a 'story teller', not a 'writer'. You can have both, a rich story-line and a higher level of writing, and I think Ian Rankin more than fills the bill.
The novel's title refers to the Stones album, 'Let It Bleed'.
The novel begins with a wild car chase on the Forth Road Bridge. This is located a little north and west of the city of Edinburgh. John Rebus is a passenger in the car and his boss is driving. Rebus's boss goes through the windshield and Rebus is injured. The two teenagers driving the car that they were chasing get out of their vehicle, hug, and then fall of the side of the bridge.
The two teens were part of a kidnapping hoax. A Scottish politician's daughter claimed to be kidnapped. She wasn't. She ran away from home, became a junkie and was at odds with her family because she learned that her father and his politics were completely corrupt.
There's another suicide in the novel. A man recently released from prison goes into a school where a local politician was having a meeting with his constituents. The man had a shotgun and blew his head off in front of the politician.
The whole book is about political corruption and can it really be beneficial if some 'broken eggs are caused during the making of an omlet'.
Scotland stood to benefit mightily from economic growth, but in order to achieve the outcome, lies would be told and people would be murdered to keep the truth from coming out.
Siobhan Clarke plays a minor role in the book. She is one of Rebus's partners. She's much younger, left-leaning, and English. Kind of his polar opposite. They are not romantically involved, but they sure could be.
Her name is pronounced- "Shiv- onne". It's Irish for 'Joan'.
Can an evil plan result in a common good?
Of course, John Rebus cannot abide with this.
I would read anything by Ian Rankin.
This is one of my paperbacks that I had read before. The reason I came back to this novel was that I was looking for some 'better' material to loan to Janny. When I read the recent John Grisham novel that she lent me I felt that, although I liked the book, Grisham is more of a 'story teller', not a 'writer'. You can have both, a rich story-line and a higher level of writing, and I think Ian Rankin more than fills the bill.
The novel's title refers to the Stones album, 'Let It Bleed'.
The novel begins with a wild car chase on the Forth Road Bridge. This is located a little north and west of the city of Edinburgh. John Rebus is a passenger in the car and his boss is driving. Rebus's boss goes through the windshield and Rebus is injured. The two teenagers driving the car that they were chasing get out of their vehicle, hug, and then fall of the side of the bridge.
The two teens were part of a kidnapping hoax. A Scottish politician's daughter claimed to be kidnapped. She wasn't. She ran away from home, became a junkie and was at odds with her family because she learned that her father and his politics were completely corrupt.
There's another suicide in the novel. A man recently released from prison goes into a school where a local politician was having a meeting with his constituents. The man had a shotgun and blew his head off in front of the politician.
The whole book is about political corruption and can it really be beneficial if some 'broken eggs are caused during the making of an omlet'.
Scotland stood to benefit mightily from economic growth, but in order to achieve the outcome, lies would be told and people would be murdered to keep the truth from coming out.
Siobhan Clarke plays a minor role in the book. She is one of Rebus's partners. She's much younger, left-leaning, and English. Kind of his polar opposite. They are not romantically involved, but they sure could be.
Her name is pronounced- "Shiv- onne". It's Irish for 'Joan'.
Can an evil plan result in a common good?
Of course, John Rebus cannot abide with this.
I would read anything by Ian Rankin.
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