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.
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This groundbreaking book mixes psychology and history to provide a picture of an increasingly nonviolent …
When [social] media makes it feel like the world is getting more violent and authoritarian, let us review how it is actually becoming a more free and peaceful world.
The New Joys of Yiddish brings Leo Rosten's masterful work up to date. Revised for the first time by Lawrence …
The definitive and official biography of one of the 20th century's most important and beloved …
Sometimes I feel my reviews read more like book reports.
Saleem Sinai is born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the very …
I'm almost a quarter of the way through and our protagonist hasn't even been born yet. It's a slog. Some of the longest sentences I have ever read. They are elongated by semicolons, ellipses, and dashes. The narrator keeps interrupting his story to mention his discussions with his wife about this part of the story. So far I don't feel it adds to the book at all. I'm hoping it gets better after our main character shows up.
I'm almost a quarter of the way through and our protagonist hasn't even been born yet. It's a slog. Some of the longest sentences I have ever read. They are elongated by semicolons, ellipses, and dashes. The narrator keeps interrupting his story to mention his discussions with his wife about this part of the story. So far I don't feel it adds to the book at all. I'm hoping it gets better after our main character shows up.
Saleem Sinai is born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the very …
The insurance money came; January ended; and in time it took to close down their affairs in Delhi and move to the city in which - Dr Narlikat the gynecologist knew - property was temporarily as cheap as dirt, my mother concentrated on her segmented scheme to love her husband.
— Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (Page 90)
What the heck does "cheap as dirt" mean? Property is dirt and anyone who has tried to buy a peice of dirt knows it ain't cheap.
What the heck does "cheap as dirt" mean? Property is dirt and anyone who has tried to buy a peice of dirt knows it ain't cheap.
Saleem Sinai is born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the very moment of India’s independence. Greeted …
Neither Darwinian nor Creationist, this discussion of the concepts related to creation ranges from the doctrinal, through the scriptural, the …
The definitive and official biography of one of the 20th century's most important and beloved …
I didn't know that much about Lamar Hunt prior to reading this biography. I knew him primarily as the guy the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup soccer tournament and trophy is named after. I knew they had re-named the Open Cup after him due to his work to bring soccer to main stream USA, but I didn't realize just what impact he had on American Spector sports that take up so much entertainment time/value of so many people.
Turns out Hunt was the of an oil Barron who could have done most anything he wanted to. Most of what he wanted to do was play American football.
He went to a boarding school were he made the football team because daddy was a large donor. He did well enough there to make the team at Southern Methodist (SMU) but rode the bench.
Upon graduation he went to …
I didn't know that much about Lamar Hunt prior to reading this biography. I knew him primarily as the guy the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup soccer tournament and trophy is named after. I knew they had re-named the Open Cup after him due to his work to bring soccer to main stream USA, but I didn't realize just what impact he had on American Spector sports that take up so much entertainment time/value of so many people.
Turns out Hunt was the of an oil Barron who could have done most anything he wanted to. Most of what he wanted to do was play American football.
He went to a boarding school were he made the football team because daddy was a large donor. He did well enough there to make the team at Southern Methodist (SMU) but rode the bench.
Upon graduation he went to queen for dad in the oil business but his love for sports was so strong he wanted desperately to be involved past his playing career. He tried to purchase a second NFL team, with dad's money, but the good old boys declined. He found enough others that he started the American Football League ( AFL). When his Dallas Texans couldn't compete with the cowboys he was forced to move to Kansas City and rename them the Chiefs. For the rest of his life the Chiefs would be his primary love, his first wife lost to the team.
He was the one who coined the name Super Bowl, and after 10 years his Chiefs one that game, and the AFL merged with the NFL.
He fell in love with soccer and was instrumental in founding the NASL of the 60s-80s most known for bringing Pelé to the American public.
At the same time he worked on professionalising tennis. As with the Olympics at the time Tennis claimed to be ammature, but was in name only, but the good old boys again when against him and again he started his own leauge the World Championship of TENNIS (WCT). Just when that leauge was starting to make a profit the players revolted and started their own tournament as the PFA had in golf years earlier.
After NASL folded his b love for driver continued never missing a world cup with ridiculous travel schedules to make as mentioned games as possible. Thankfully his second wife loved games as much as he so he could jet set while enjoying her company.
His family lost most of their fortune during the silver crisis of the 80s, Lamar had to sell his mantion in Dallas and get a regular house, but they still had their penthouse at Arrowhead stadium in Kansas City. The silver crisis didn't hit him as hard as his brothers.
He was instrumental in bringing the World Cup to the states in '94. Part of that deal was to establish a Division I Leauge in the USA. Learning from his mistakes in NASL he was the one who came up with the single entity system that MLS is so known for. Most of the football ⚽ world derided it, but it allowed soccer to not fold. Those first years were hard with many "owners" opting out after a few years due to the cysts of ruining a soccer team in a football 🏈 market . Eventually only 3 owners were left for 10 teams. But they made it and today, though still not the highest quality of play, MLS us the most competive leauge in the world, and has like 6 of the 10 most valuable teams.
He ends his life much as he loves it, watching the Kanas City Chiefs, though on TV in a hospital rather than at his beloved Arrowhead. Last thing he tells his son, make sure mom goes to the Super Bowl to keep her streak going of being at more Super Bowls than any other woman.
@hankg@bookwyrm.social what's it about?
@hankg@bookwyrm.social what's it about?
The definitive and official biography of one of the 20th century's most important and beloved sporting figure, Lamar Hunt, who …
The definitive and official biography of one of the 20th century's most important and beloved sporting figure, Lamar Hunt, who …
Ponniyin Selvan is Kalki R Krishnamurthy's magnum opus, set in 10th century Tamil Nadu, exploring …
The boat reaches the opposite banks. "Go to hell!" The Saivite hurled a last, liberal curse at Azhwarkkadiyaan's head and went his way.
— Fresh Floods by Kalki Krishnamurthy, Pavithra Srinivasan (பொன்னியின் செல்வன், #1) (Page 112)
So far in this story we have been introduced to Hindus, Buddhists and Jaynes. To my knowledge none of them believe in hell, so it's interesting that such a curse would be used.
So far in this story we have been introduced to Hindus, Buddhists and Jaynes. To my knowledge none of them believe in hell, so it's interesting that such a curse would be used.
