These are stone killers, little man. They ain't cuddly like me.

Jayne ,'The Train Job'


Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.

There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."


megan walker - May 08, 2008 1:07:23 pm PDT #5750 of 28352
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist

Give it up. Read La Chartreuse de Parme instead!! or War and Peace !


Susan W. - May 08, 2008 1:20:19 pm PDT #5751 of 28352
Good Trouble and Righteous Fights

I put The Charterhouse of Parma on my library list! And I've decided to buy War and Peace with the Borders card my boss gave me for Administrative Professionals Day, as soon as I figure out which translation to get!


Ginger - May 08, 2008 1:24:02 pm PDT #5752 of 28352
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda

Read The Education of Henry Adams. He has a lot to say about how Jacksonian Democracy was bringing about the end of civilization.

(I'll use any excuse to talk about Henry Adams, but he was particularly horrified by populism.)


Tom Scola - May 09, 2008 8:51:55 am PDT #5753 of 28352
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.

The new Penguin editions of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels: [link]


Nutty - May 09, 2008 9:33:49 am PDT #5754 of 28352
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."

revisit the Bonds and cover them in a package that says, yes these are fun

Ah ha ha ha ha. Because the eleventy-millionth loving description of arcane torture inflicted upon the protagonist is fun.

(Actually, I'm sure it is, for some people.)


Hayden - May 09, 2008 10:46:31 am PDT #5755 of 28352
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."

Read The Education of Henry Adams. He has a lot to say about how Jacksonian Democracy was bringing about the end of civilization.

I've never read this. I think I'm going to have to.

(I'll use any excuse to talk about Henry Adams, but he was particularly horrified by populism.)

The late-19th century populist movement? I'll use any excuse to talk about that, but instead of derailing conversation, I'll ask: have you read Larry Goodwyn's The Populist Moment?


Ginger - May 09, 2008 10:59:39 am PDT #5756 of 28352
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda

I'm always gratified to see the Education up there at #1 in the Modern Library top 100 nonfiction books list.

I haven't read that, but it looks interesting. I'll add it to the list. Late 19th century American history is my special obsession.

One of the conceits of The Education of Henry Adams is that Adams is analyzing why he, the grandson and great-grandson of presidents, was not president himself. He uses that idea to talk about the shift in American politics from Eastern aristocracy to populism.


Polter-Cow - May 09, 2008 11:01:00 am PDT #5757 of 28352
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!

You know another guy who should have been president but bafflingly was not? Henry Clay.


Hayden - May 09, 2008 11:22:35 am PDT #5758 of 28352
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."

Late 19th century American history is my special obsession.

I'm actually working on a novel set in the late 19th century. One of the main characters is a lecturer/recruiter for the Farmers' Alliance, which later turned into the Populist Party.

He uses that idea to talk about the shift in American politics from Eastern aristocracy to populism

Gotcha, that's the general democratic populism, not the specific populists.


§ ita § - May 09, 2008 3:43:23 pm PDT #5759 of 28352
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

Actually, I'm sure it is, for some people.

::raises hand::

Hey, they were popular, weren't they? I always got the impression the books did a decent job of supporting the movies.

I like those covers out of context. In context I want more excitement and violence.