Category Archives: Books & Reading

Clubbing with Clive and the Inklings

Posted on January 4, 2013 by

Are you part of a club? Ever been apologetic or embarrassed by enjoying the company of like-minded souls in an environment where talking is the main activity? Tired of being pushed around by bottom-line types who question the wisdom of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Reading | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Lost in the land of Lincoln, don’t send help

Posted on December 1, 2012 by

A 4th grade reading assignment begat a heated argument with a girl with glasses who I knew was smarter than me but wrong on the issue [so much has changed] of the greatest president; And heated argument begat trip [50 … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Reading | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Culture War standings – 1948

Posted on August 17, 2012 by

The Right wing got off to a beautiful start in the culture wars 64 years ago today, when a ballsy congressman from California, Richard Nixon, smelled a rat in Alger Hiss’s denial of Whittaker Chambers accusation of being a communist. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Reading | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

John Grisham’s mini-brain fart

Posted on August 13, 2012 by

Listening to the audiobook of John Grisham’s new novel, Calico Joe, I heard something which made me pause, not unlike how Jaguar Paw might have reacted to coming across a Chili’s outside a Mayan city. What I heard was that … Continue reading →

Posted in 2TG Favorites, Books & Reading | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Happy Independence Day

Posted on July 4, 2012 by

The Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson during the June 1776 Continental Congress. The beautiful painting to the left illustrates what ‘drafting’ represented. The video below from HBO’s goosebumps inducing [e.g. Adams and Jefferson both died 50 years … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Reading | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Take Nick Hornby leave the cannolli

Posted on June 30, 2012 by

There can be a certain melancholy to discovering writers whose work you love. Are they dead or in their prime? Sometimes dead is better, like when there’s an accessible body of work. I love Tom Wolfe, but after I found … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Reading | Tagged , | 1 Comment

To suffer the pain of what is hidden

Posted on June 26, 2012 by

I am in the middle of reading Nick Hornby’s clever book about books, The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, and came across an amazing letter from the noted motivational speaker, Anton Chekhov. Below are portions of Chekhov’s letter, written in 1886, to … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Reading | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dreaming of G.K. Chesterton in a blue sweater

Posted on May 21, 2012 by

I’ve been trying to complete reading — I’ve mastered just starting the book — G.K. Chesterton’s book, Manalive for over a year. Also in the past year, I have been making great use of the Miami-Dade Public Library system. Whenever … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Reading | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Charles Dickens was in better shape than me

Posted on December 15, 2011 by

Nothing says middle age like, ‘Charles Dickens was in better shape than me.’ Don’t laugh, if you’re even glancing at obscure blogs like mine you are likely a sad sedentary jumble of man boobs and a mid-section that resembles a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Reading | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Stan Musial: Great Catholic American

Posted on November 26, 2011 by

Book: Stan Musial: An American Life by George Vecsey Method: Read library copy What I got from the book: The word nice is essential to understanding who Stan Musial was. The book cloth color is Cardinal Red, naturally. The dust … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Reading | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment