Read any good books lately? Rate them here

[Whateverist]

Read the latest Elizabeth Strout book.  Liked it a lot.  The writing is so minimalist.  Makes me badly want to forgo all adverbs and stupid adjectives.

[vorlon13]

"The Way I See It"

Patti Davis



Does your vorlon really need to read any more poop on Nancy Reagan ??

LOL, well, sure, why not.  I wasn't under any illusion Patti was going to rehabilitate Nancy's image, and I wasn't disappointed.  Nancy was certainly a desperately unhappy bitch, and she wasn't shy about sharing the misery.  Ron comes off as even more detached and uninvolved as a father. And poor Micheal, sheesh, hard to imagine just how much shit he had to put up with from Nancy and Ron.

Funny revelation:

Patti informs she isn't liberal because she ignored her father's politics, she is liberal because she paid attention.

Patti also notes wanting to remind her father during several of his speeches when he is rallying conservative audiences to protect their children and grandchildren that he has 2/4 children of his own (Ron, Patti, Micheal and Maureen) and they'd appreciate more (some or any actually) fatherly involvement in their lives.

Patti notes during her dad's campaign for CA governor that Maureen, despite holding similar conservative views, was considered an enormous liability to the campaign as reminding conservative family values republicans that he was divorced and remarried was not good politics.

On weekends when Michael Reagan was visiting, he slept on the couch and lived out of his duffel bag, he experienced the full cold shoulder/ice queen treatment from Nancy, and Michael's dad, Ronald never stepped in to make him feel at home there.

[Whateverist]

That doesn't surprise me. What a bunch of assholes.

[vorlon13]

It's an odd book, I'll grant you that.

The relentless pettiness and craven insecurity of Nancy is weirdly compelling reading. Her reliance on Dr. prescribed pills including miltown and valium plays funny with her 'Just say no campaign" and the family's (this includes Ron and Nancy's parents continuing psychological abuse of Patti is disturbing. Patti is even blamed for being conceived 2 months prior to Ron and Nancy's marriage and gets a big guilt trip for it.

Patti also relates their family is far less dysfunctional in the presence of water for some reason. Beach vacations, lake outings, etc. all seem to passivate Nancy's rage disorder. Additionally, she notes an almost completely inverse relationship between her 'infractions' severity and the punishments meted out. Altering a garment might garner a face slap from Nancy, plotting to run away got her a steak dinner with parents.

Probably comes as no surprise, but Nancy was absolutely and relentlessly vile to all the hired help in her household over the years too.

[Whateverist]

*shudders*

There were flawed people in my family, but thankfully not my in that way.

[vorlon13]

LOL, Patti kisses and tells.

She boinked Dennis Wilson !!


Damn, I'm jealous.  I'd pay just to sniff his dirty shorts and she got the main event.


Shit !

[Cecelia]

Finally got around to reading Carrie by Stephen King. It was a pretty good book, though I'd already seen the movies. I really like the premise though (which is why I've seen all the movies lol). Not the best King book, but I enjoyed it.

[Minimalist]

"The Jesus Wars" by J. P. Jenkins.  Interesting history of how the church dealt with various councils and who became a heretic and who didn't.  Surprising shit and had precious little to do with any fucking "god."

[pocaracas]

Oh... I finished reading "The Believing Brain", by Michael Shermer.
A nice display of how our neurons conspire to make us believe in whatever... religion, politics, economics...

As if it could be any other way...


Now reading "Foundation and Empire", by Isaac Asimov, the second book in the "Foundation" series... quite an interesting sci-fi concept.

[Clueless Morgan]

Just downloaded On The Historicity of Jesus because I don't have the time to sit and read it again.