The Library

[lonewolfz28]

Have we got any readers here? If so, whatcha reading?

I just finished Clive Cussler's (RIP ) "Final Option" from his Oregon Files series. It wasn't one of his better ones, but still enjoyable. I'm really curious where the series goes now that he's passed away. He's been co-writing with his son and other authors for many years now. It'll be interesting to see if his co-author, Boyd Morrison (for the past 4 books in the series) carries on with it solo or if his son, Dirk Cussler (co-author on his Dirk Pitt series), steps in as a co-author. He left it at a point where there's a major change at the end where there could be some really interesting directions to go from here.

I started Sword of Kings by Bernard Cornwell from his "The Saxon Files" series last night. It's set in England between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Norman Conquest. It's a really good series if you're interested in Vikings. Fair warning though, I swear Cornwell must have been molested by a Catholic priest as a child or something because he's got a distinct disdain for Christianity that comes through loud and clear in his writing. The series seems to be winding down as the main character is quite old by now (12th book in the series) and has evolved from fearless and unstoppable warrior to fading lord who is struggling to keep up with the young pups.

BBC America used to have a TV series called "The Last Kingdom" based on the first few books in the series. They stopped showing it in the states after the 2nd season, but I purchased the first three on Amazon before just saying the heck with it and buying the books.
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Socially distancing since 1970.

[goobee]

I used to read a lot and have collectd hundreds of serial paperbacks, mostly science fiction and action novels. At some point after i retire, I'll get back to reading them. They've been gathering dust for the past 30 years or so. I gather most people use kindle or similar electronic readers instead of books now.
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[lonewolfz28]

I have a bunch of ebook files that I...err...found. Most of them are Kindle files that I can't open until somebody comes up with a free converter that actually works instead of installing a bunch of crap and then not converting the files to .pdf or some other useable file type.

I do have a bunch that are .pdf or will open with another free program like Sumatra that can open .mobi files.

I still prefer printed books though. I've got a 36" wide by 84" tall 6 shelf bookcase that is overflowing. I need to build another shelf for it but matching it will be tough. My sister has a bunch of my books upstairs that she still needs to read. I wish I had kept a lot of the books I gave away over the years.

Right now, I just started reading the Harry Potter series. I held off for years because it just didn't interest me. After watching the movies because they were the only thing on that I hadn't seen a half dozen times, I decided to buy the entire movie series and the books. The movies were good, but the books are almost always better.

About the only exception I can think of is the Jason Bourne books. The movies were great, but the books sucked. Way too plodding and the amount of psychological BS just ruined it for me.
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Socially distancing since 1970.

[goobee]

Marissa is a big Potter fan. I took her to Orlando Florida when Universal Studios opened their Harry Potter attraction. At that time, there were lines that snaked all over the place just to get inside. Then you had to stand in line for each attraction. It was a madhouse that I don't miss ever going back to.
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[lonewolfz28]

Sounds like every amusement park I've ever been to. Which is why I stopped going to them back in the 90's.

I wasn't a fan of crowds even before the COVID-19 thing. I'll make the occasional exception for a concert, but I draw the line on standing in line over and over again to have a day of "fun".
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Socially distancing since 1970.

[goobee]

Tell me about it. My patience is about 6 hours in a theme park which hardly justifies the 100+ dollars per ticket.
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[lonewolfz28]

There's only one theme park around here (The Great Escape) and it's pretty lame. It's pretty much a bare minimum to give the kids that get dragged up here to the boonies by their parents "something" to do that isn't "outdoorsy" type stuff.

No way in hell I'd travel the 300+ miles to go to a real park. I enjoyed the rollercoasters at Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens in VA back when I was in my 20's. Not so sure I'd enjoy them so much now even without the long waits. I remember a couple of them beat me up pretty good.
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Socially distancing since 1970.

[goobee]

When I was at Universal Orlando, I rode a very tame coaster and felt sick afterwards. I've always loved coasters when I was young and rode the craziest and fastest ones possible.

But after hitting 50 years olds, my body no longer wants to do them. That and the twisting and turning made me sore. Damn it sucks to get old.
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[lonewolfz28]

Yeah, there was one called "Draconfire" at Paramount's Kings Dominion that my friend and I rode 3 times straight. I was in my mid-20's and in the best shape of my life and I still was sore as hell the next day. There's no way I'd even ride it once now.

That beat me up worse than my incentive ride in an F-15.
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Socially distancing since 1970.

[goobee]

I imagine that they have dreamed up far worse coasters now. Taller, faster, more G's. The engineer capabilities of today allow so much more "thrill" (for lack of a better term) to be built into rides now.

Not a ride but they built this crazy cantilever walkway over the of the Grand Canyon:

https://www.canyontours.com/guides/visiting-the-grand-canyon/grand-canyon-skywalk/
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[lonewolfz28]

Yeah, I remember seeing that when they first opened it. Looking down from great heights is not one of my favorite things in life. I've been getting vertigo easier and easier as I get older.
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Socially distancing since 1970.

[goobee]

It didn't bother me when I was younger but when I got about 30, I was diagnosed with an inner ear condition that makes me dizzy all the time. One day I got out of bed and the room started spinning and I fell down. It was scary enough for me to go to ER. After a bunch of tests including a head MRI, I was told it was a congenital defect and nothing could be done. Great.

It comes and goes. So far, it hasn't hit me the few times I had to do field sobriety tests for the cops. Like they would believe that story.
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[lonewolfz28]

My eustachian tubes are smaller than normal so it's harder for me to clear my ears during rapid altitude changes and while diving. I'd use up half of my air just trying to get down to 30' for my certification dives. That was $150 down the drain as I never dove again.

I think it's gotten worse as I've gotten older. Right now I've got what feels like liquid trapped inside my left eardrum. It's been there for a couple days now and makes it painful to wear earplugs so I can sleep through must of Maye's banging around upstairs. Hopefully, it goes away soon. I need my sleep.
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Socially distancing since 1970.

[goobee]

Sounds similar to an issue Marissa has. When she was a kid, some jack-ass threw a lit m-80 towards her which blew out one of her eardrum. Now when water gets in, she experiences pain and pressure from the trapped liquids inside her ear.
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[lonewolfz28]

Sounds like she grew up around assholes like me.

We used to have bottle rocket fights...on bicycles. We'd tape a beer bottle in the "V" of the handlebars and chase each other through the trails around the lakeshore. It was all fun and games until one of the guys managed to send a bottle rocket in through the open driver's side window of a cop car. Luckily, nobody got hurt.

It did put an end to riding the bikes for a few weeks until the heat was off.
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Socially distancing since 1970.