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That one looks pretty interesting scrum. Might have to check it out.
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They released the short list for the Tournament of Books
Silence Once Begun by Jesse Ball
A Brave Man Seven Storeys Tall by Will Chancellor
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante
An Untamed State by Roxane Gay
Wittgenstein Jr by Lars Iyer
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
Redeployment by Phil Klay
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
Adam by Ariel Schrag
The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
All the Birds, Singing by Evie WyldComment
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The Fever by Megan Abbott.
I chose this book because it was on the original Tournament of Books list. It wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't "good" either.Comment
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4. Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories - by Simon Winchester
A book about the Atlantic Ocean and its role in the development of civilization as we know it.
Scrumhalf Review: 3 stars
This was a mixed bag. Winchester is a great author and I have read many fo his books but I think he missed on this one. The idea was great - write about the Atlantic Ocean and the role that it played in the development of mostly the last 1000 years of western civilization. However, the book seems to be a bit of a stretch with a lot of unconnected ideas thrown together.Comment
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5. The Maze Runner - Book 1
6. The Scorch Trials (Maze runner book 2)
7. The Death Cure (Maze Runner book 3)
Dystopian science fiction.. first book was made into a movie in 2014
Scrumhalf Review: 4 stars
Not bad. Fast moving, as it was written for young adults. Very nice story with more twists than a Ludlum novel. Recommended.Comment
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Good to hear. I was debating this.Originally posted by Scrumhalf View Post
I started greatest show on earth and will finish that first and maybe go straight into the magic of reality. Sounds to be kind of a sequel. It is good and kind of funny how it starts off discussing some of the same things we were debating here a few months back.Comment
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Good choice! I have the Magic of Reality on my Kindle but haven't had a chance to read it yet.Originally posted by TKD View PostComment
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8. Revelation Space - Alastair Reynolds
A vast space opera involving a colonized galaxy, machine- biological combined species and a mystery that lurks orbiting a neutron star.
Scrumhalf Review: 3.5 stars.
Not bad. Reynolds is obviously a writer of great imagination and skill. He wove 3 threads into the narrative and while a bit dizzying to the reader, they meshed well in the end. I thought the book dragged on a bit but was decent nonetheless. Looking forward to reading Chasm City which is book 2 in the series.Comment
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Slowed down a bit but still on track - 8 books for the year so far with 2 more weeks left in February.Comment
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Just started "With Liberty and Justice for Some" by Glenn Greenwald. Greenwald has been a hero of mine for a long time, and I usually don't want to review or recommend a book until I am done reviewing it, but this is an exception.
BEG, BORROW OR STEAL THIS BOOK AND READ IT!!! NOW!!!
Just the introduction is worth the cost of the book. Trust me.
I'll write a more detailed review when I am done reading it.Comment
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Originally posted by Scrumhalf View Post
So have I. I've been falling asleep at night after just a few pages. 3 in, so I'm definitely on track, too. :thumb:Comment
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2015-9: With Liberty and Justice for Some: How the Law Is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful - Glenn Greenwald
A devastating critique of the deliberate mockery of the Constitution and the outright illegality of the post 9/11 Bush and Obama presidencies.
Scrumhalf Review: 5/5 stars.
Where do I even begin. Glenn Greenwald is a personal hero of mine and I feel privileged to even write a review of his work.
The central principle that the founding fathers of the new American republic follwed was that the rule of law was the essential equalizing force in American society. Regardless of what inequality existed in a person's social standing relative to another, before the law, everyone was the same, from the President down to the beggar on the street. This fundamental concept figures time and time again in the writings of the founding fathers.
" In America, the Law is King. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other." - Thomas Paine
The founding fathers also recognized that power corrupts and good intentions are rarely a safeguard against the corrupting influences of power. This is why they insisted on the rule of law being the best weapon against this.
"Why has government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint." - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist 15.
"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty." - John Adams
"The true and only true basis of representative government is equal application of law to all citizens: rich and poor, strong and weak, powerful and powerless, landowner and tenant." - Thomas Paine.
If the founding fathers were to come alive today, they will hardly recognize the country they bequeathed to their successors. After 9/11, the Bush Administration steadily eroded Constitutionally protected rights, explicitly breaking the law under numerous occasions, most egregiously in the form of the warrantless domestic surveillance of electronic and telephonic communication of American citizens, something that is explicitly illegal under FISA.
Moreover,the Bush administration violated international treaties that the United States is signatory too, like the Geneva Convention and the Convention against Torture by subjecting detainees, mostly innocent, to extreme torture methods that are explicitly outlawed.
In this manner, the Bush administration was complicit in both illegal activities under the US constitution, and also engaged in what is undeniably war crimes. However, not a single person has been charged, tried and convicted for these crimes. The Obama administration has been complicit as well by expanding NSA wiretapping procedures (as highlighted by Edward Snowden), as well as refusing to prosecute Bush administration officials, which in itself is a war crime according to the Convention against Torture.
In addition, bankers who through their greed, brought the entire banking and financial systems to their knees, were rewarded with bailouts funded by the taxpayer, with virtually nobody spending a day in jail.
Contrast that to the near-simultaneous ratcheting up of stiff jail sentences for the common man for petty transgressions, primarily with the so-called war on drugs and one can easily see how the worst fears of the Founding Fathers have been realized. America truly now has a two tier justice system, where the rich and powerful can break laws and commit crimes with impunity, while the common man has the book thrown at him for the pettiest of offenses.
Glenn Greenwald, constitutional lawyer, and the Guardian reporter who broke the story of Edward Snowden, writes a devastating critique of the state of American law and justice today, and how the state of affairs could not be more different from what the founding fathers envisioned.
THIS IS A MUST READ FOR ALL AMERICANS!! BEG, BORROW OR STEAL THIS BOOK (WELL, NOT #3 - BUY IT INSTEAD :)) AND READ IT FROM COVER TO COVER!
VERY VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!Comment
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I could never read a book like this. Politics just frustrates and angers me to much. I won't say any more so this thread doesn't get derailed.Comment
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Originally posted by TKD View Post
I could never read a book like that because I would be bored out of my mind! :panic:Comment
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That's what I thought too, but this read like a thriller. Very well written and not dry at all.Last edited by Scrumhalf; 02-18-15, 10:12 AM.Comment
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