So anyway, the book I mentioned upthread, Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America has a good 5-6 pages on Ghislaine Maxwell (the Epstein associate that just got arrested) and her, and her father's connection to Trump if anyone is interested. I mean, recommended either way, but her arrest actually had me revisit the book a little to brush up on the specifics. Currently reading Love by Toni Morrison because I need something a little less heavy to consume and I thought it might fit the bill.
A good read about the book and an interview with the author. My next purchase. OCCUPIED TERRITORY: WHY CHICAGO’S HISTORY MATTERS FOR TODAY’S DEMANDS TO DEFUND POLICE https://theintercept.com/2020/07/04/chicago-police-simon-balto-intercepted/
I know that this is absolutely not the target audience, but I figured that I'd at least mention it. I just finished releasing the final volume of my light novel for the near future. It's only part one of three, but the first arc is finished. "After 10 years living overseas in America, Seira Honjou returns to her childhood home in Tokyo to finish her last year of high school. At that high school, she joins the soccer team, where she finds the robotic and cold Hana Nakamura. When Seira and Hana come into conflict with those closest to them, they find comfort together in their love of the beautiful game (and possibly each other)." There's a lot of Chicago Fire influence in there, including a casual mention of how sh!t the team is. There's also some Red Stars mention in there too. There's also a lot in there that I got directly from that one interview I did with Piotr Nowak, stuff about coaching philosophy and training. There's a whole thing in there about morning runs for the team that I took directly from Nowak. The story is more focused on the drama and romance, but I do my absolute best to make sure the soccer reads as realistic as possible. So only if you're interested, please check it out. https://www.pixiv.net/novel/series/7608073
Finished Daniel Silva's "The Cellist" last night. His usual shining light on how power and money work through intelligence agencies.
Currently reading about how people were displaced and alternates that would have lead to less displacement were rejected because of Bridgeport racists when the new Comiskey Park was built in Field of Schemes. Feels like it should be required reading for US sports fans, but it also makes me feel bad for being a sports fan seeing as how we collectively allow billionaires to raid tax money to build their stadiums, instead of funding schools, housing,or just, whatever tf with that money. I’ve held off reading the book for a while because I follow the equally awesome blog one of the authors maintains on the subject, but felt like I’d finally check it off of my reading list and I’m glad I dove in.
Got all the way to the final chapter and lost the book which I found TODAY in my wife's car. I'm not sure how that happened but it was lost for at least a month and now I must finish it. I forgot about this thread. Pretty good read and exposes Bugliosi (Helter Skelter) for a the self serving turd he was. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CHAOS:_Charles_Manson,_the_CIA,_and_the_Secret_History_of_the_Sixties
Just finished this book. A very interesting and disturbing read. Chicago plays a major role in the book.
Originally titled an Intelligent Person's Guide to Colonialism, but that title got cancelled due to Colonialism=Horror circa 2018.
What's a "book"? Is that some legend from long ago, lost to the distant past, like "MLS Champion Chicago Fire"?
I really do love Don Quixote, but ever since I had to read it in the original early modern Spanish (think reading Shakespeare but in a second language) before abandoning my Spanish major, I struggle to convince myself to read it again.
I've heard the Edith Grossman translation is the version that best captures the "spirit & essence" of the characters in modern english. I can verify that so far. She's done translations for many of the big spanish language authors like Garcia Marquez, Vargas Llosa, etc
“Delight,--top-gallant delight is to him, who acknowledges no law or lord, but the Lord his God, and is only a patriot to heaven” Herman Melville, Moby-Dick or, The Whale
Working on Beneath the Underdog - the World as Composed by Charles Mingus. It his autobiography but it seems to be written in the third person by someone - he’s referred to as “my boy” but he also refers to his father in the third person too. Odd, but it doesn’t make it hard to follow somehow. I think Mingus is the greatest American composer ever, so the book is an interesting look at the person behind the compositions, and he definitely seemed to be an interesting (and imaginative) person.
Working on Richard Belzer's "Hit List". Yes THAT Richard Belzer. It's a JFK rabbit hole of conspiracy FACT I've been going down since I first read David Lifton's "Best Evidence" in 1981 and realized how truly f**ked we all were. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hit-list-richard-belzer/1113641913