(April 5, 2024 at 2:05 pm)arewethereyet Wrote:

(April 5, 2024 at 1:55 pm)Foxaèr Wrote: I don't have the attention span or desire to read like I used to, it seems. Read forty-eight pages the first day I purchased the book, and haven't opened it again since then.

I have done the same with several books I've purchased in the past few years.

Audible has turned out to be the thing for me.  I can listen to books while I sew.  And sometimes in the evening or on the weekend when husband is watching something that doesn't interest me, I put on my headphones and listen to a book.

I'm glad of my Audible account, but if I had to rely on Audible alone, there's no way I could support my book habit and have little luxuries like food and a warm place to sleep.

Overdrive from the local libraries is what keeps me going, with books from Amazon that are exclusive to their platform.

(April 5, 2024 at 4:15 pm)Ravenshire Wrote:

(April 5, 2024 at 2:05 pm)arewethereyet Wrote: Audible has turned out to be the thing for me.  I can listen to books while I sew.  And sometimes in the evening or on the weekend when husband is watching something that doesn't interest me, I put on my headphones and listen to a book.

I'm glad of my Audible account, but if I had to rely on Audible alone, there's no way I could support my book habit and have little luxuries like food and a warm place to sleep.

Overdrive from the local libraries is what keeps me going, with books from Amazon that are exclusive to their platform.

My Overdrive/Libby is too limited.  If I find an author or a series I like, they seem to only have a small selection.  That and when I used to use it a fair amount the wait list for some books was stupidly long.  I haven't looked in a while and should.  Our area has grown a lot in the last few years so maybe they have upped their game.  During COVID people were applying for library cards in all the 'burbs so they put a stop to that.

(April 5, 2024 at 4:42 pm)arewethereyet Wrote:

(April 5, 2024 at 4:15 pm)Ravenshire Wrote: I'm glad of my Audible account, but if I had to rely on Audible alone, there's no way I could support my book habit and have little luxuries like food and a warm place to sleep.

Overdrive from the local libraries is what keeps me going, with books from Amazon that are exclusive to their platform.

My Overdrive/Libby is too limited.  If I find an author or a series I like, they seem to only have a small selection.  That and when I used to use it a fair amount the wait list for some books was stupidly long.  I haven't looked in a while and should.  Our area has grown a lot in the last few years so maybe they have upped their game.  During COVID people were applying for library cards in all the 'burbs so they put a stop to that.

I'm fortunate to live in an area with accessibility to 11 different library consortia (Across Colorado, Anythink/Rangeview, Arapahoe Libraries, Aurora Public Libraries, Denver Public Libraries, Douglas County Libraries, Front Range Libraries, High Plains Library District, Marmot Library Network, Poudre Libraries, and Jefferson County Libraries). I have at least one library card to each and it's pretty rare for me to not find the complete series, though not typically all volumes from one consortium. Yeah, the wait lists can be frustrating, but I read so much and so widely, I almost always have at least a dozen books checked out at any given time with even more on hold. One really nice feature of Overdrive, if book four comes in ahead of book three and you're still reading book two, you can let the next hold in line have it without losing your place.

Mars by Ben Bova. On deck: Return to Mars by Ben Bova.

Way too many humans in the space programs.

The Midway Inquest from Dallas Isom, attempting to understand the Japanese defeat at Midway.

(April 5, 2024 at 11:34 pm)Thumpalumpacus Wrote: The Midway Inquest from Dallas Isom, attempting to understand the Japanese defeat at Midway.

Brain me up when you finish, please.

(April 6, 2024 at 6:18 pm)Gawdzilla Sama Wrote:

(April 5, 2024 at 11:34 pm)Thumpalumpacus Wrote: The Midway Inquest from Dallas Isom, attempting to understand the Japanese defeat at Midway.

Brain me up when you finish, please.  

He's essentially arguing that Nagumo's decision to recover the Midway strike, rearm, and only then attack TFs 16 & 17 was correct. He takes issue with Kido Butai flight-deck logs showing that CAP ops would have prevented spotting that strike. For instance, Akagi shows CAP landings at 1010 hrs, preventing the planned 1030 launch because it takes 45 minutes to spot those airplanes.

Some good info on IJN deck-handling but a flawed analysis imo.

Weekend is a great time for some novelization reading

Woot!  My hold on a library book was finally fulfilled.  I want to buy the book, but it's $19, so I'll sample it first.



I've got the audiobook, but I haven't been listening to audiobooks.  I'm greedy.  I want fast information!

And my Audible subscription is up for renewal.  They're offering the first year for $85.  I'm tempted.

Winter Is Coming: Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped by Garry Kasparov

Great book that gives chronology of Western leaders failure to not only punish Putin but why they even tolerate him as if he was a normal leader and not someone who dismantled democracy in Russia and has committed countless crimes against humanity.

He equates Putin to the scorpion in the The Scorpion and the Frog animal fable, meaning that Putin will never be your friend no matter how much West tries to tolerate him and trade with Russia.

(The Scorpion and the Frog: A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that it would drown if it killed the frog in the middle of the river. The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion. Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both. The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence, to which the scorpion replies: "I am sorry, but I couldn't resist the urge. It's my character.")

Needless to say that the book is very prophetic and important today (it was written in 2015)

Also, Russia arrested Garry Kasparov in absentia just a few days ago on a charge of creating and leading a "terrorist" group.
https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-kasparov-...20221.html