Trying to find a better way to track books I want to read than a random spreadsheet. I had used readinglog.info which was provided by my local public library until they shut down the program. Luckily, I regularly backed it up via their CSV export. I've used Library Thing for years, but adding books for "To Read" really screwed up a lot of the other features of the website, like recommendations, etc. I really love Free Software & the Fediverse particularly. My primary social media account is on Friendica @fu@libranet.de for now everything I post here is automatically "re-tooted" there.
The year is 1837. The American West is untamed, uncivilized, and largely unclaimed. U.S. President …
I bought this for my dad for Christmas a few years ago because I saw it at the bookstore and I know he likes cowboys. He got into it so much it read practically the whole series from the public library, until he eventually decided it was trashy romance novels in chaps. Now I want to see what all the fuss was about.
Immigration is one of the most pressing issues on the national agenda. In this accessible …
I'm hoping to get a new perspective on why loving our neighbor and open borders are intertwined. In particular I'm hoping for new apologia to convince my fellow Christians of the need for open borders and there having been drawn into closed border xenophobia by fear and the devil.
I have had a hard time explaining to my friend and neighbors how libertarian socialism goes from an idea to reality. How products are made and market demands met. I'm hoping Chomsky will help me with that.
The unexpected delivery of a large crate containing an Antarctic penguin changes the life and …
A childhood favorite
3 stars
I wanted to buy a copy of one of my children favorites. It wasn't quite as entertaining as I remember, but the pictures where better, I was pleasantly surprised to find they were done by Robert Lawson
Common Prayer Pocket Edition helps individuals and today's diverse church pray together across traditions and …
A good introduction to an old way of worship for a new millennium
4 stars
Claiborne's common prayer is primarily pointed at introducing the liturgy to evangelicals. Evangelicals traditionally have been weary of anything traditional, religious, or repeadative, but with today's western "church" leaving more questions than answers geared towards making seekers feel welcome rather than challenging believers, many young endangering are looking to the past to improve their future. Common Prayer is based, in part, on the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, but it's been "updated" to remove the barrier of the three year cycle to a more digestable one year. It ads to the daily liturgy some modern readings about MLK, Ghandi, Sojourner Truth, and others that can inspire Christians of today. Its designed to be used in communion with other belivers, such as in the radical monestosem that Shane is known for.
Most of the contents is absolutely available free of charge on their website commonprayer.net but it's so much better to …
Claiborne's common prayer is primarily pointed at introducing the liturgy to evangelicals. Evangelicals traditionally have been weary of anything traditional, religious, or repeadative, but with today's western "church" leaving more questions than answers geared towards making seekers feel welcome rather than challenging believers, many young endangering are looking to the past to improve their future. Common Prayer is based, in part, on the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, but it's been "updated" to remove the barrier of the three year cycle to a more digestable one year. It ads to the daily liturgy some modern readings about MLK, Ghandi, Sojourner Truth, and others that can inspire Christians of today. Its designed to be used in communion with other belivers, such as in the radical monestosem that Shane is known for.
Most of the contents is absolutely available free of charge on their website commonprayer.net but it's so much better to have a dead tree in your hand.
The only down side to the pocket edition is it's small size, unlike traditional daily liturgies you'll need some additional books at hand such as a bible and a hymnal. This ends up mashing commonprayer.net almost necessary anyway, and for me the internet is a place far too distracting to help direct prayer with the all mighty.
Common Prayer helps today's diverse church pray together across traditions and denominations. With an ear …
I finally picked up the full version after struggling through the pocket edition for years. Though you still need a Bible to go along with and the included "hymnal" is still incomplete.
The unexpected delivery of a large crate containing an Antarctic penguin changes the life and …
I first read this book over 30 years ago. My brother got it for me at Christmastime, so I'm going to see if it was as good as I remember. Already impressed as I hadn't known the few illustrations had been drawn by Robert Lawson, my favorite author.
I finally gave up on finding this library book that i haven't seen since the beginning of December. I was almost done too and I have no idea where it is.
When Nurse Esther Flannagan travels to Dallas for the Saints-Cowboys …
Another forgetabale TV Tie-In Story
2 stars
Butterworth gives us another tale of some random foreigners trying to get together with Hawkeye and Trapper and it takes nearly the whole book for them to get there.
This time they through in a congressman who had been mentioned before and his wife who is all mad that their daughter wants to be more than just a big boobed cheerleader.
Somehow the Uncle of the wife ends up in a chewing tobacco commercial with his Indian Compatriot, but they wouldn't include their buffalo because that just wouldn't be believable. Said Buffalo, Teddy Rosevelt, ends up driving the Hurse so they can meet up with Hot-Lips all pansi ac-apella choir, but can they do it before the Knights of Columbus Marching band shows up?
If that sounds fun, read this book if not, give it a pass.
This is William D. Haywood's own story, written during the last year of his life. …
A working class hero in his own words
5 stars
Big Bill Haywood was raised in Salt Lake City, because that's where his family was forced to deboard the train headed to the California Gold Rush as they realized his younger brother wasn't with them. His father passed not long after getting established in Utah. Bill had to be the man of the house since a young age. He has his first strike when he was 11 years old after her mother lent him out to a distant uncle for farm work, and the uncle wouldn't even give him a water break. By the time he is 15 he's out of school and working as a miner full time. Living in the bunk house with everyone else.
He's introducted to the ideals of socialism by an old member of the Knights of Labor and clings to it for the rest of his life.
What I found most surprising is how …
Big Bill Haywood was raised in Salt Lake City, because that's where his family was forced to deboard the train headed to the California Gold Rush as they realized his younger brother wasn't with them. His father passed not long after getting established in Utah. Bill had to be the man of the house since a young age. He has his first strike when he was 11 years old after her mother lent him out to a distant uncle for farm work, and the uncle wouldn't even give him a water break. By the time he is 15 he's out of school and working as a miner full time. Living in the bunk house with everyone else.
He's introducted to the ideals of socialism by an old member of the Knights of Labor and clings to it for the rest of his life.
What I found most surprising is how firmly Haywood is convienced their is no God while everyone close to him has such faith. His wife is a believer in Christian Science, his mother an Episcopalian, in whose church Haywood is confirmed only because his mom knowns no other way to legally get his name changed so that he can pay honor to his late father without a religious ceremony, and he indicates he had seen Bringham Young in the temple, so he must have spent some time in the LDS Church without actually admitting such.
Joining the Western Federation of Miners not long after he starts in his chosen profession they are able to levy for stronger involvement in many mines. Though his description of a bull pen I learned really what the boss class can do.
Never again! He lost his eye in a mining accident. By the time he was in his 30s his Fellow Workers elected him the Secretary-Treasurer of the WFM. I was surprised that after this he never went back to manual labor again. While there he set off the IWW one Big Union for all industries. The first convention in Chicago sounds like a heck of an adventure.
I was surprised, but probably shouldn't have been, that by the end of that first year of the IWW there were two different groups claiming to be the only legitmate union. In-fighting and sidetrackign since the beginning. Haywood is accused of murder, which he claims is is only because he organized well.
My "favorite" legal troupe here was the little girl who was shot by a police officer and Haywood and two additional organizers are tried as responsible for the murder because the girl wouldn't have been on the picket line to be shot if they hadn't called a Strike.
After reading his autobiography I am only further convinced that there needs to be a movie of which he is the primary subject. I still think the one scene with Haywood was the best of the 80s masterpiece "Reds"