ingres77 – Page 16 – Cannonball Read 17

My new obsession

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

February 15, 2021 by ingres77 2 Comments

I’m fast approaching 40, and I’ve never read F. Scott Fitzgerald. That seems to be my answer for a lot of the standard reading people do in high school. I can’t stress enough how terrible I was as a student. Also, I can’t stress enough how good I was at finding loopholes. The Beautiful and Damned was Fitzgerald’s second novel, published in 1922, and it is the novel that propelled him into the literary elite. He and Zelda had firmly settled into their marriage, and […]

A couple sci-fi stories that I enjoyed, but which probably won’t really stick with me.

Feedback by Dennis E. Taylor

The Salvage Crew by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne

February 13, 2021 by ingres77 Leave a Comment

Feedback (4 stars) This is a pretty simple short story by Dennis E. Taylor, released on Audible. It tells the story of a group of scientists who create a time machine. They then fine themselves living out “the grandfather paradox” (without any actual dead grandfathers), and then try to find a way to get the timeline back to where it’s supposed to be. Short, simple (but complex), and interesting. And it’s narrated by Ray Porter – who is one of my favorite narrators. There isn’t […]

DNF of January – Your mileage may vary

Harriet Tubman: The Moses of Her People by Sarah H. Bradford

Midnight in Mexico by Alfredo Corchado

February 7, 2021 by ingres77 Leave a Comment

Harriet Tubman by Sarah Hopkins Bradford (3 stars) I know surprisingly little about Harriet Tubman. Were I to sum up the totality of my knowledge, I would say, “she freed a bunch of slaves using the Underground Railroad.” That’s it. I literally don’t know anything else. This book…was ok. It’s not thorough, at all. It’s really short, and would probably be best for a young audience. I downloaded it as a free book on Audible, and I was hoping it was going to be a […]

Even the greatest of us may be blind

Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington

February 6, 2021 by ingres77 2 Comments

Booker T. Washington was born into slavery sometime around 1856. Following emancipation, he and his family moved to West Virginia to be with his mother’s husband, an escaped slave. He taught himself to read, and was able to attend school through perseverance and hard work. Working in coal mines and salt furnaces, he was eventually able to go to Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) for higher education. In 1881, Samuel Armstrong, Hampton Institute president, recommended Washington to be the leader of the new Tuskegee Normal […]

Whistleblowers are an integral part of any free society

The Unarmed Truth: My Fight to Blow the Whistle and Expose Fast and Furious by John Dodson

February 5, 2021 by ingres77 Leave a Comment

Around the middle of January, I kept seeing a meme getting passed around that listed the last several presidents and their biggest controversies. I don’t remember all of them, but the basic gist was that Republican presidents have been riddled with controversial policies and/or behavior (Watergate, Iran/Contra, Iraq, the entirety of Trump’s presidency…). What stood out to me, though, was that the most controversial part of Obama’s presidency, according to this meme, was that he wore a tan suit once. Even though this was just […]

2020 stats round-up!

January 17, 2021 by ingres77 20 Comments

There are times in life when you’re riding pretty high. You think well of yourself. Any task is within your reach. Oh, you’re almost 40 years old and want to learn how to play a musical instrument for the first time in your life? Sure, why not? Pick up that guitar and start teaching yourself. Oh, you drifted through six years of learning the Russian language and walked away knowing only a handful of phrases and the first stanza to one song? Sure, sign […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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