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I loved The Stand,classic "good v evil" potboiler

I quite enjoyed it, too, Timb. If you like a post-apocalyptic tale, have a read of Cormac McCarthy's short but powerful 'The Road'.

He can nail in one Biblical-style sentence what King might take a chapter to do.

[SSGGeezer]

Clownfish Blues by Tim Dorsey Don't Vote. It Just Encourages the Bastards by P. J. O'Rourke

Two of my favorites! love Dorsey's dark view of Florida!

---------- Post added 01-27-19 at 16:50 ----------

I quite enjoyed it, too, Timb. If you like a post-apocalyptic tale, have a read of Cormac McCarthy's short but powerful 'The Road'.

He can nail in one Biblical-style sentence what King might take a chapter to do.

I certainly hope the book was better than the movie, because I was expecting much better. I know books as source material is almost always better except in the case of a book like Jaws versus the movie.

[clackers]

I certainly hope the book was better than the movie, because I was expecting much better. I know books as source material is almost always better except in the case of a book like Jaws versus the movie.

Agree totally, Tom.

Anything which relies on state of mind rather than a sequence of visually appealing events is unsuitable. I wouldn't want to see someone attempt 'Catcher In The Rye.'

McCarthy's Pulitzer winning masterpiece 'Blood Meridian' is astounding, a tremendous feat, a sort of 'Apocalypse Now' set in the Wild West, but unfilmable IMHO.

But his more straightforward 'No Country For Old Men' worked well enough to win Oscars.

[timb64]

I quite enjoyed it, too, Timb. If you like a post-apocalyptic tale, have a read of Cormac McCarthy's short but powerful 'The Road'.

He can nail in one Biblical-style sentence what King might take a chapter to do.

Although it was very well written I found The Road too bleak to make it "enjoyable" but a great novel still.

[clackers]

Although it was very well written I found The Road too bleak to make it "enjoyable" but a great novel still.

Then don't read Blood Meridian!

His thesis seems to be forget a Reckoning, Hell is already around us.

There's a suggestion the novel's villain, the manipulative 'Judge', is not fully human.

[gifthorse]

Let's see... I just finished Kaboom by Matt Gallagher. An inside view of the Iraq war. Interesting view fortunately not heavy on the blood and guts. The Education of a Coroner by John Bateson. OK but not great. Cave of Bones by Anne Hillerman. The daughter of Tony Hillerman. She's not a bad writer. I liked her father's stories better but it wasn't a bad read. The Mandalorian Armor by K.W. Jeter. another of the Star Wars series. It was a little disappointing but readable. Now I'm on to The Stainless Steel Rat goes to Hell by Harry Harrison, Retribution by Max Hastings and Starship Mercenary by Mike Resnick.

"Killers of the Flower Moon" was a good read. I'll second the recommendation.
"The Stand" was good. I don't read much Stephen King. I get enough horror looking in the mirror. I can't see paying someone to frighten me.
"Two of my favorites! love Dorsey's dark view of Florida!" If you like the humorous stuff, Carl Hiassen does some fun Florida stuff. I'd also suggest Terry Pratchett and Janet Evanovich for laughs. Some post-apocalyptic suggestions are Alas Babylon by Pat Frank, Swan Song by Robert McCammon, Pulling Through by Dean Ing and my favorite post-apocalype The Postman by David Brin. Do not waste time and money on the movie! I was so pissed at what Kevin Costner did to the story that I haven't watched a Costner movie since then. Book good. Movie sucks.

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Book good. Movie sucks.
[/

Yeah, seems to be often the case. Sometimes the movie *is* better (Chuck Palahnuick suggests that of his Fight Club).

But perhaps it's too hard to do justice to a full length novel in two hours. Maybe a Netflix style eight or ten hours does a better job.

[ffking]

I certainly hope the book was better than the movie, because I was expecting much better. I know books as source material is almost always better except in the case of a book like Jaws versus the movie.

There's an old saying in the business, I believe, that " great books make mediocre movies, mediocre books make great movies" - not sure the second is always the case, but the first usually is.

[SSGGeezer]

There's an old saying in the business, I believe, that " great books make mediocre movies, mediocre books make great movies" - not sure the second is always the case, but the first usually is.

Probably true if you only look at books like "The Postman" which was a brilliant dystopia but I skipped the movie since what I saw in previews made me stay away. Jaws as a book was not very good, but I slogged through it anyway when I was 13 or so. I have enjoyed some of my neighbor Mr. Kings books but generally dislike his style of writing at a 5th grade level.

---------- Post added 01-28-19 at 10:30 ----------

Let's see... I just finished Kaboom by Matt Gallagher. An inside view of the Iraq war. Interesting view fortunately not heavy on the blood and guts. The Education of a Coroner by John Bateson. OK but not great. Cave of Bones by Anne Hillerman. The daughter of Tony Hillerman. She's not a bad writer. I liked her father's stories better but it wasn't a bad read. The Mandalorian Armor by K.W. Jeter. another of the Star Wars series. It was a little disappointing but readable. Now I'm on to The Stainless Steel Rat goes to Hell by Harry Harrison, Retribution by Max Hastings and Starship Mercenary by Mike Resnick.

"Killers of the Flower Moon" was a good read. I'll second the recommendation.
"The Stand" was good. I don't read much Stephen King. I get enough horror looking in the mirror. I can't see paying someone to frighten me.
"Two of my favorites! love Dorsey's dark view of Florida!" If you like the humorous stuff, Carl Hiassen does some fun Florida stuff. I'd also suggest Terry Pratchett and Janet Evanovich for laughs. Some post-apocalyptic suggestions are Alas Babylon by Pat Frank, Swan Song by Robert McCammon, Pulling Through by Dean Ing and my favorite post-apocalype The Postman by David Brin. Do not waste time and money on the movie! I was so pissed at what Kevin Costner did to the story that I haven't watched a Costner movie since then. Book good. Movie sucks.

I have read everything Hiassen has done including his anti-Disney short book. (Of which I am in full agreement with!) I think I have read all of Sir Terry's books and have read a few Evanovich, but generally for my crime novels I will read Andrew Vachss. Very dark themes if you are considering reading him though.


Picked up a copy of "Parliament of Whores" by PJ O'Rourke to re-read. I am tired of anger at politicians so I will attempt to laugh at them again.

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.



Picked up a copy of "Parliament of Whores" by PJ O'Rourke to re-read. I am tired of anger at politicians so I will attempt to laugh at them again.

Old book that, but so good!

As well as laughing at the pollies, I actually had sympathy for them after O'Rourke showed their troubles dealing with expectations and the financial treadmill of getting reelected.

There's probably something to a thesis that normal people don't go into politics. How could anyone other than the weird put themselves through all that?

[timb64]

Someone once said that the very desire to go into politics is reason enough to be banned from doing so.Better not stray any further into this topic though!

[clackers]

Someone once said that the very desire to go into politics is reason enough to be banned from doing so.

Yeah, I guess the argument for representative instead of participatory democracy is that we elect the best amongst us to sort out our issues.

We might think the ordinary Joe or Joanne who watches Big Brother, sits on a couch with a beer and Tweets all day is unsuitable, but you have to ask the question about whether some ambitious dude or dudette who is beholden to the lobby group that got them to office is really any better!

[Craigbob]

Someone once said that the very desire to go into politics is reason enough to be banned from doing so.Better not stray any further into this topic though!

You may be referring to this quote by Douglas Adams.

"It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it... anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."

[timb64]

You may be referring to this quote by Douglas Adams.

"It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it... anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."

That's very similar to what I was thinking of but it was actually Billy Connolly

“The desire to be a politician should bar you for life from ever becoming one.”

He also said

"Don't vote. It just encourages them....”

[monochrome]

1. Eisenhower in War and Peace ~ Jean Edward Smith, 2012
2. Missouri Pacific Eagles in the Streamlined Era ~ Greg Stout (I’m reading this as much for the classic railroad photography as for the history of the MoPac.