No More Ranger Games

So, I knew about this book. I heard about it years ago, and I meant to read it, just never did. Well, I had some time recently, so I picked it up and gave it a shot. 

The beginning of the book was a walk down memory lane for me. It was fun to hear about all the training I went through and the challenges and the schools, from the point of view of this other private who had to do it in 2003 or 04. 

Friends Again?

I got to go out to lunch the other day with an old friend. We used to be quite close, but life and times and work have driven us apart lately. Still, it was nice to see them. 

What I found funny was that they kept saying "they wished we saw one another more." I thought that was funny if only because I'm right here. Not going anywhere. Haven't gone anywhere. It's on them to make it happen. In fact I had been the one to invite them out for lunch or coffee multiple times, they had been the one who canceled on me all those times. 

Most Recent First Line

When I first read Tom Clancy's books, I think I was in college, I skipped Red Storm Rising. Jack Ryan isn't in it. Where's the central character? This is now my second time to read it, and although sure I miss Jack Ryan as a central character, but man, oh man is it ever a great story. 

Regardless, it's my time to read for fun, and I'm in the midst of a "series" jam . . . Hackett's, WEB Griffin, etc etc. So I read Hunt for Red October last month. This month, book 2 by Clancy, Red Storm Rising. 

Second Sackett

Well, as I said earlier, I'm invovled in a lot of "series" books. Clancy, Griffen, etc etc. I'm also involved in Louis L'amour and his series on the Sacketts.

I've read a lot of Louis L'amour books in my life. I started reading them back when I was a tween and every now and then another will pop up. But I've never read the Sackett Series. 

Reading Across the Line

I got a chance to review Crossing the Line by Joy Slaughter as a part of a “book reviewing” and “author’s support” group that I’m in. I liked it from the start. It’s fun and moves at a nice-ish clip and the plot and writing aren’t terrible  . . . In fact that pretty good. 

Adam are a myriad reasons I like it, but perhaps the one reason I like it most is that I could have easily gone this route with my career. 

AITA (Am I the Asshole)

I love the AITA string in Reddit (see HERE). I could read these all day and never get tired. It's amazing to me that there are people like those that are described here. 

I read one today, and it's very similar to aspects of my own family and the problems that we are forced to deal with. This might be a bit worse, but not by much!

Context: For every holiday, My mother would ask the women in the family (my sisters, sister in-law, my wife, my female cousins) to send "samples" of the desserts they plan to bring to the celebration for testing and to see if these desserts could make it to the "food menu". My wife has been complaining about my mother deliberately rejecting every dessert sample she sent. So many times my mother has told her that she's being honest and keeping the guests best interest at heart. Yet my wife still thought that my mother is deliberately excluding her since 2 of her dessert samples were rejected before.

New Series to Add to the Series Goal

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I'm deep in the midst of a "series reading goal." This means I'm looking into a series of books and reading them straight through. In some cases . . . for example Tom Clancy . . . its a series I've read before. In other . . . the Sackett's . . . it's new to me. 

Well, I stumbled on a new series that I can't wait to continue. It's The Stranger Times by CK McDonnell. It's fun, easy to read, and super fresh, meaning it's a new concept that's done quite well. 

Book 3 Line 1

So, now I'm into the third book of this series. After this I'll be moving to the third book of the Clancy series. We're starting to get into the heat and the meat of these series!

This one? Same as the others, right? I mean, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit with WEB. 

Two I Read for the Competition

Several years ago I was asked to take on the chore of helping to judge the novels of many of the members of the Houston Writer's Guild. It's not a tough task and worthwhile. It's also illustrative in terms of that favorite series of mine (see HERE) on the first lines. The contestants only have that first chapter or so to get the judge's interest. I can usually tell within the first few paragraphs how things are going to go. 

I read two military thrillers the other day, and boy they just about killed me. 

Why? 

Lost in a Good Book

I had a chance to read Lost in Shangri-La the other day and it was so fun to read, for many reasons. First, it was written about an era I love to read about. Secondly, it reminded me of the time I was in Panama. And third, it reminded me about how crazy life can be. 

It’s a great book, although I might not trust the author again. The first few pages read like the story will be an epic adventure on the scale of Shackleton, or The Kingdom of Ice. I wrote about The Kingdom of Ice a few months back, and wow, talk about an epic. The arctic explorers get trapped on their boat in the arctic ice for two years then have to make their way to Siberia then walk to civilization! That’s not this book. 

Frustration? Challenges? Frustrations with Challenges?

I broke up with a gal once, I didn't do it well. I was rather harsh. But I was frustrated and I let my frustrations out on her. What's funny is that she always thought I was mad or angry . . . but I wasn't. And she made it worse by thinking that I was mad. She would come back tentatively. 

That was what made me most frustrated. I wasn't upset until she thought I was upset. 

Need vs Want

I've written about this before, . . . probably many times. . . but it's a huge part of my life, and a major theme in the novel I'm currently pecking away on in my Reedsy account. I have a good clip going, got some momentum, and Reedsy hooks you up with an editor, so hopefully, this time, I won't get reviews that say "could really use a professional editor."

But I'm writing about Need vs Want. I wrote earlier that men want to be needed and women need to be wanted. I think I wrote about this in terms of Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. The way that men and women communicate, and fail to communicate and the challenges and problems that grow from that. 

Describing Millions of Enlisted with the First Line

Anyone who knows me and this blog knows that I love this series on First Lines (see HERE) even more so than any of these other series that I post about (HERE, HERE, and HERE). So, this one, from WEB Griffin resonated with me. 

It's bit of a doozey, longish, but ultimately worth it. Plus the book itself is a long one so why shouldn't the first line be too. 

Hoover Article and Tips

I ran across this article (see HERE) about Colleen Hoover and her "CoHort." I really enjoyed reading it and got a lot out of it. It could be that have just gone a long time without reading or writing with the aim toward novel writing or publishing (we can blame this PhD on that), but it was refreshing to read this and dream about writing more creatively again. 

There is nothing too revolutionary in this article or in what the author outlines about Colleen Hoover's methods and techniques, but what is there is worthwhile to remember for any writer. 

More On Priorities

A while back, I wrote about priorities… And I think I want to expand on that just a bit more.

Terms of self-authorship one of the more important things I've learned is about ill-structured problems. The world is filled with ill-structured problems. And earlier I also wrote about ill-structured people. Basically what I meant by that was there are people out there who create  . . . by their very nature . . . ill-structured problems. I coined the term ill-structured people and I hope I can trade the market and make some money off of it very soon.

I've also authored the terms . . . "complifiers" and "complify." A play on the word simplify that I'm still stunned hasn't gone viral yet. 

Leave No Man Behind . . . (But leave 8 if you have to)

Last month I wrote about the somewhat abbreviated ending of the first book in the WEB Griffin’s The Corps series of books. Well I just finished Call to Arms, the second in the series, and the ending was vastly different. 

First, the end is not abbreviated. In fact the entire book leads up to the climactic ending quite well. So from a story and book point of view, this second was far better paced and set up than the first. 

Down Time

So I have a bit of down time. Not a ton, but just a bit. What do I mean by that? I mean my classes are over and I have about a month before my next two or three classes begin. So, what am I doing with this little bit of extra time?

I’m reading.

Another First Line and Series

I won’t go through it again, except to say I like the first lines series (see HERE). It’s one of my favorite to keep in these posts, but they’re also, at the moment 

I like to read these books to allow my mind to rest and to enjoy reading again. They're fun and they're easy and quick. They're also a bit of a formula. 

She's Not Saying Anything (at all)

I heard an instrumental the other day. It was an acoustical and instrumental version of A Great Big World's Say Something. The songwriters, Mike Campbell, Ian Axel, and Chad Vaccarino are obviously soulmates with me. They have had the same experience in life that I have, obviously. 

The lyrics aren't necessarily complex, but they are deep. They resonate with me. 

Lonesome Dove First Line

 The other day I wrote that Lonesome Dove is one of my favorite books (see HERE). Has to be. I even checked the tickmarks in the book . . . it says it was only 3 times. But I know it's more than that. I'm going with 5. 

WHEN AUGUSTUS CAME OUT on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake—not a very big one. It had probably just been crawling around looking for shade when it ran into the pigs. They were having a fine tug-of-war with it, and its rattling days were over. The sow had it by the neck, and the shoat had the tail. 

First Line at the Mo

First line right now? It’s from a little novel I’m reading just for fun. Is it perfect? No. Is it okay? Sure. Does it make me want to read more. Sure. 

 I’ll read the rest, but it might not be for sake of the first line. It’s a good-ish one, but not the best ever. 

First Lines Second Time

 This will be my second time to start a first lines post. The first time was for the other blog (see HERE) and it was one of my favorite series. 

I read a blog post by Jay Nordlinger and all he did was talk about the importance of great first lines. I ho-hummed it. I think the totality of the work matters so much more than that first line. I've changed my mind. The first line, the first passage, the first paragraph, the first chapter, they're all critical. 

Priorities

I was thinking about priorities. There was a podcast wherein they discussed how much work there is out there to be done. Basically if you have a worker, we have the work for em. I think about my folks at work. They are overwhelmed with work. They have to prioritize. 

Then I also think about that gal who came to work a few weeks back, new on the job. By the middle of the morning she had her head down on the desk bored and exhausted. She looked up and said, “is there any room for advancement at this job?” All of my advancement, and the advancement I promote comes by way of more work. Her words should have been, “anything I can help with?” Overload yourself with work, and the advancement will come. 

Howard Roark Laughed

I've always liked Howard Roark more than I have John Galt in Atlas Shrugged. Part of it might be the first sentence… Don't we all wanna know why he laughed? Who the hell cares who John Galt is when you can try and find out why Howard is laughing. 

I'm done that one class so that means I have a little bit of time… I decided to read one of my favorite books… Last time it was Lonesome Dove this time it's the fountainhead

New Perspective on Clara's Hands

This is without a doubt my favorite book. I remember when it came out. It was on sale at the middle school book sale in St. John's Gym. My mother bought it there. I almost bought it myself but it was so big I was scared away. But, now, almost 40 years later, it's without a doubt my favorite book. 

The last few weeks have been perhaps the busiest I've had in a long long time. Work has been crazy both politically organizationally and in terms of volume… School has been crazy; I've got two classes going at the same time plus I'm writing my dissertation… Then there's just a general hoi polloi of having two children and a wife who works and travels… But I figured out why I have felt so busy and overwhelmed and it's primarily because I trusted Julie. About a month ago when I wasn't busy Julie recommended I read the Thornbirds instead of reading Lonesome Dove. So I read Thornbirds and it was as good as she said it might be. 

Do Leopards Ever Change Their Spots? What About Stripes on a Tiger?

We've heard the saying, a leopard never changes his spots . . . or is it a tiger can't change his stripes? Which is it? I guess, after my slight google search, it's leopard.

Why does this have anything to do with my life?

A Heady Love Affair

I'm reading a great book about the ambassador to Germany during Hitlers rise to power. One of the main stories that the author focuses on is the story of the ambassador's daughter, Martha. She was a bit of a romantic to put it lightly. She slept around a lot with a lot of men, even when she was married, and with many, many married men. She hopped around a lot. 

Still I see some of my life in her. There are moments when she writes that hit me right in the heart. 

Lot to Love

My BFF told me to go read the Thornbirds by Colleen McCoullough. It was an interesting choice. I remember my mother reading it when I was very young because she was inspired by the mini-series. So, I must have been in third grade since it came out in '83.

So I took a month or so off to focus on enjoying a good book. I read so much non-fiction and text books and articles, it's nice to sit back and enjoy a read. And, it's a terrific book. Lyrical. Like reading James Dickey or Patrick McCormick (two of my favorites), so I'm glad she recommended it. 

Problems with Ducks

 Anyone who reads this blog knows I have a problem with ducks. 

I have a long history with ducks, none of it good. And it keeps getting worse. I don’t know which I dislike more, ducks or squirrels. Kinda a toss up really. 

Risk and Unease

I finished Risk the other day. I’m in the UK, I have some time, I read a Dick Francis I’ve never read before. If you’re surprised by any of that, then you don’t know me well. 

I forgot to post the first line, so I’ll do it here. 

I Want to Go to This Cafe!

I’m great with deadlines I’ve found. I do NOT wait till the last minute. In these Master’s level classes we are always doing work in teams. I’ve found that in work that requires a team, I’m the task master and the leader, even if the team doesn’t want it. Imagine, since I’m reading this series, Hermione Granger. That’s me. When the assignment comes in, I do it. My papers are completed the first week the syllabus comes out, not the night before. 

But this cafe (see HERE) would still be a great thing for me, or for those who wait till the last day. 

Now I Remember Why I Hate Ruck Marching

As another update in my workout series (see HERE) . . . Well, it's May 1st, which means I have started the USAA Ruck Marching Challenge to help stop soldier suicide! 

I remember now how much I hated ruck marching. Slow, long boring, . . . ugh! But, it was different and fun to a degree. Wow, does a fella ever have some time to think on a ruck march? 

Repost of Douchery

Every now and then I check out some of the posts that are being viewed by followers. I get about 300 blog viewers a month so it's not easy to determine what's being followed at any one time, but there are some gems that stand out, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why.

This is one of those times.

Hard Truths

As the savvy reader will know, I use this space to catalog information for novels and ideas for stories. There my Great Lines thread (HERE), my Last Lines thread (HERE), Evershade thread (HERE) and now the Everyday Sox thread (HERE).

Well, as a part of the story I'm developing for Everyday Sox - it's already written, but it needs to be refined - there is a character who is the foundation for the main character, the lodestone, the stabilizing agent. He's a speaker of plain truths. 

More Shorts

As I wrote before (HERE),  I like to read short stories before hitting the sack. There's the aspect of the "blue light" and sleep soundness, there's the relaxation and calmness that comes from reading, plus there's that feeling of completion at the end of the day of finishing a little story. 

Sadly, I'm a bit tired of Alfred Hitchcock stories, which is too bad cause I have about 200 of his books of short story collections on my bookshelf. So I went ahead and switched horses midstream. 

DISC in High School

One seminal transformative learning moment in my life was the experience I had immediately following a large merger between two companies. We got the chance not only to perform a DISC personality profile on ourselves, but also see the results and discuss the results from the entire leadership team. I've written about this servarl times on this blog (see HERE). 

What did I find out? Why was this such a transformative moment? 

One Last One?

For a long time I kept alive a series of posts,  . . . poems and lines that I found via other sources mostly, that helped me deal with different aspects of my life and challenges I was going through. I logged them all under the rubrick of Evershade Posts (see HERE). 

I know I've recently closed down this thread but there always comes that time that you see that perfect post for a thread, and it doesn't matter if it's no long-running or not, you realize it has to be added.

Pushing Pause

Yep, I have had to push pause for just a bit for the blog. Took some days off. Why? Cause usually my work for my courses, helps provide content. Really, one of the primary reasons I've been so prolific on the blog is that I needed a place to store the content I write to support my classes. 

In most of my earlier classes, I had to write not just papers, reports, and critiques, most of which you've read on this blog. But I've also had to write "reflective blog posts" that are posted on the class discussion board. Usually, we have to write three to five posts a week for several weeks. Where do I put those? Save them on OneNote? Save them in a Word Doc? What's the best place?

Been a While Since the Last Evershade

I know, I know . . . it's been a while (a LONG while) since I posted any poetry or anything regarding these Evershades (see HERE). I've been working on a new series, Everyday Sox (see HERE). 

BUT! I came across another couple and I just couldn't help myself in posting them and adding to this little series. 

The first, is a part of that image. Isn't it a wonderful quote. I've heard it stated as "love is composed of two bodies inhabiting one soul" which is just as poignant, but I thought that little image up there was pretty good too. 

New Book Club

Started a new little book club and the first book is one of my faves. Agatha Christie novels are always among my favorites, but Death on the Nile holds a particular place in my heart. I think it was the first Agatha Christie novel that I ever saw, then read. 

Locked Doors

Another for this new series I'm starting up (see HERE). Again, it's not the best yet, but since I've closed the EE series, it has to go somewhere, and I think it's only a matter of time before it takes shape. Regardless, these resonate with me, so why not keep em.

More Coffee

Since the end of my Evershade series, I've been struggling to find a spot to put those mote juste that come across my life path. Those quick lines, those memorable memes, those terrific one liners that when I see them I realize my fancy has been struck. 

Last week I wrote one that was on coffee (see HERE). So, I'll follow up with this one I suppose, and maybe we'll have a series dedicated to the Columbian bean juice. 

Coffee

My god!

I fucking want you.

The thought of waking up,

making you hot,

then tasting you on my lips.

Totally consuming you

only to do it again and again and again . . .

because on cup of coffee is never enough.

New Series Start and Aces of Writing

The last series I kept updated petered out, so I'm starting a new one. Thinking of naming it "Everyday Sox" for reasons that should not be at all clear to anyone but me. It's a place to put not just "Great Lines" (see HERE for more of those) but also poetic asides I run across, little mementos of writing I see, or other things that I come across that are poignant and deserve being remembered. 

This first one is from a book I am reading currently. No,  . . . not a Dick Francis book. This is a non-fiction History book I'm slowly wading through, not a novel I blaze through like a runaway horse. I was a double major in college . . . English and History. Every now and then I have to feed that side of my psyche.

Pursuit of Love?

I’m watching a spectacular show. The Pursuit of Love. What makes it spectacular? Is it Lily James? Or maybe Andrew Scott? If you know me you know it’s not Lily James . . . Can’t stand her. Could be Andrew Scott. He’s always good. 

Nope, it’s Dominic West. He plays “Uncle Matthew” and there have been few characters I could love more than his. 

First Line from Last Book

As a follow up from yesterday's post on Enquiry by Dick Francis, I thought a first line was worthwhile. Helps to continue to the first line series (see HERE).

It's not the best ever, in fact I remember I had to read it twice to really get it and feel it. But I also didn't see any morning lines either. Still, good to catalogue it and have it there to refer back to. 

Enquiry Might Be the Last For a While

I may have OD'd on my favorite authors, especially Dick Francis. I wrote a couple weeks back (see HERE) about my reading lately, between classes. 

This last one was Enquiry, and it was really good. It's simple, quick, fun, and fast. Love it. I've been writing alot about covers lately (see HERE), so I wanted to get you an update on Enquiry's covers.

Like the last Dick Francis, this one too has a TON of covers associated with it over the years. My favorite is the top one here. Love the sunset (or maybe a sunrise). I'm also still a fan of the puzzle blocks style that is the second down. Then that third one down is pretty fun too, it captures the whole story and all the sub-plots in one cover.