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Howard N

Howard N

has 51 followers and is following 51 people

Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them. -- Arnold Lobel
  • Farmington, MO, USA
  • member since February 22, 2009

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Howard N’s last login was 8 hours ago. show recent activity »

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Public Notes

  • Sharon Anne B

    Sharon Anne B says

    Great minds and all that....

    posted 7 hours ago. ( send a note )
  • Sharon Anne B

    Sharon Anne B says

    Hi Howard. It's good to hear from you. Funny thing about "Throw Them All Out" - I think I saw it on your
    To Read list or your Activity and added it to mine as it
    seemed interesting. I've just started it it, and so far it
    gives many examples of insider trading by members of
    Congress. It should be a fast read. My problem is I
    have several others going now too, ones that aren't as
    infuriating. Yesterday I signed a petition to Cantor protesting
    his efforts to water down the new anti-insider trading bill. As
    I recall Peter Schiff is quite reflexively conservative and I'm
    bearing that in mind. Re "Washington Rules" I must have
    accidentally re-rated it yesterday. Had read it quite a few
    months ago and believe I'd rated it 4 stars then. As I recall
    it was a good one. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
    Belated congrats for the World Series win! We were in Mexico
    at that time and I was so far behind with everything when we
    returned that I neglected to write you then. My apologies.
    What a thrill it must have been! Did you go to many of the
    games? What great memories, hmmm? Haven't read too many
    especially memorable books lately aside from "Rules of Civility."
    I did like it and you might want to read some of the very good Shelfari reviews of it if you think it might be of interest to you.

    Take care.

    posted 10 hours ago. ( send a note )
  • Mark V

    Mark V says

    Wow! Howard! Pretty high rating for What Liberal Media. Let me know why you rave about it (I teach Journalism). Or, write a review and I'll see it there. Either way, I'll be looking for your insight.

    posted 5 days ago. ( send a note )
  • Amanda B

    Amanda B says

    Thanks--it's a novel I never tire of re-reading!

    posted 8 days ago. ( send a note )
  • Darra W

    Darra W says

    Hi Howard,

    I really liked the Branca book. It isn't the kind of in-depth telling you'd get from a highbrow ghostwriter/co-author, but it is heartfelt, at times funny (sometimes I think unintentially so), nostalgic, and well-written.

    I never realized Branca was an NYU man (during his early years with the Dodger organization) at a time when it was still a fairly rare thing for the average guy to go to college. I also never realized that he pitched (albeit) very briefly for the Yankees(!) at the end of his career. Even as a life-long student of baseball, pretty much all I ever knew about him other than the very basics (he pitched for the Dodgers in the mid-40 to the mid-50s) were the Thomson pitch and "Branca's Bullpen," the pre- pre-game show for the early Mets on WOR-TV.

    It was very interesting to see the effect his notoriety has had on "the rest of his life." (The book has a 2011 pub date, and he was 85 at the time of publication.) He speaks of the impact very candidly, including the camera scam by the Giants to steal signs beginning in July 1951. I believe it was uncovered by an investigative reporter for the Wall Street Journal back in the early 2000s...but I must have been under a rock, because I don't seem to have that on my radar.

    Anyhow...probably much more than you wanted to know! In a nutshell: Read the book. You'll enjoy it ;-)

    Darra PS: I still haven't cracked that Mays bio, but I'll get to it this winter, I'm sure. I'm missing baseball.

    posted 9 days ago. ( send a note )
  • Darra W

    Darra W says

    Hi Howard, I read Articles of War about two years ago and thought it was really well done. I'll be interested to hear what you have to say about it when you've finished. I just picked up a used copy of Matterhorn for $2. I've read so little, fiction or nonfiction, about the Vietnam conflict; I've been curious about this book since it came out. I also recently caught Marlantes on BookTV talking about his newest, What It Is Like to Go to War, and now I want to read that too! Darra

    posted 4 weeks ago. ( send a note )
  • Darra W

    Darra W says

    Happy New Year, Howard. Enjoy Edgar Sawtelle. I loved it! Darra

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Darra W

    Darra W says

    Hi Howard, The Pujols announcement took me by surprise; I truly (naively?) thought he would stay in St. Louis. It will be interesting to see how he does in the AL...

    I had to put the LaMott book aside for a few days to slip in a book-club read, but I'm back to it now. It's the first fiction of hers I've sampled, and I'm enjoying it. I loved "Bird by Bird," and--like you--I'll never forget the significance of the title. I've called on that memory more than once!

    Hope all is well in the Heartland! Darra

    posted 2 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Darra W

    Darra W says

    Congratulations, Howard, on the stunning, spectacular success of the new World Champs! Turns out that they were, indeed, this season's "team of destiny." Darra

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Darra W

    Darra W says

    Howard: Re last night's game: WOW! Tonight will seem like a bit of an anticlimax...along the lines of the 2008 home-run derby. Darra

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Darra W

    Darra W says

    Thanks for the recommendation on "The Badlands," Howard. I'll be on the lookout for it.

    As for the Ralston book: I'm just starting it today, and will see how I do. Interestingly, when my stepson was going into his freshman year in high school a few years back (he's a senior now), it was one of two books on his required summer-reading list. (I think the other was "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card.) These seemed like interesting choices to me at the time, and very different from what I remember being assigned. For one thing, I think I had to choose eight books from a list of about 15 or so, and the choices were things like "The Plague" by Camus!

    In any event, since I just finished a story of survival against all odds, I figured I might as well give it a go. I know for certain that I will NOT be watching the movie version, "127 Hours."

    What a shame about the Cards last night...and what a demoralizing way to lose, with your closer losing it in the 9th. Pujols didn't help on that cutoff play, but you've got to give Andrus credit for head's-up baserunning. The Cards didn't help themselves in the bottom of the 9th either. Isn't bunting still considered a fundamental skill? Ouch! Here's hoping they get their mojo back in Arlington.


    Darra

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Darra W

    Darra W says

    Howard, Nice start by the Cards last night. I'm pulling for them as--despite my dislike for Tony L--I never have been able to abide the Rangers. I am the voice in the wilderness in my household, though: both my husband and stepson are pulling for TX, and the latter is absolutely CERTAIN they will prevail. We shall see...

    I've been back on a non-fiction kick for the past few weeks, and currently am reading "River of Doubt" about Teddy Roosevelt's 1914 journey into the Amazon. I'm about halfway through and WOW...what a story! It's one of those tales that make you wonder why anyone would even BEGIN to think about doing something so dangerous by choice. I checked your "have read" shelf and didn't see it (might have missed it); I'll let you know if it holds up. If so, it might be something you'd like to (forgive my pun) wade into.

    The author gives a good bit of backstory, so I'm also learning more about Roosevelt, and wanting to read more. I had forgotten so much about him from my school days (including that the Panama Canal was one of his championed projects...how could I forget that?) I do remember that he was a devoted naturalist, in good part due to my Dad, who took me into the city once every couple of years just to visit the Museum of Natural History. If I'm not mistaken, there is a statue of Teddy outside?

    In any event, I'm thinking that "Mornings on Horseback" might be a good place to start.

    That's it for now. Back to work until I break for the day and the first pitch. Darra PS: Love your new avatar. Where is that particular town?

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Darra W

    Darra W says

    Welcome home, Howard. I'm happy for you and the success of the Cardinals! They sure proved the pundits wrong against the Phillies, didn't they? La Russa is not on my A-list, but Pujols is one of my favorite players on the field today. I'll be pulling for him and the rest of the Cards in the Series. I just don't have the warm fuzzies for the Rangers. As for the Yankees: could they possibly have been more of a disappointment?

    I see you've recently read and obviously enjoyed "Let the Great World Spin." That was one of my top five reads last year. Fantastic! D

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Dave H

    Dave H says

    Howard, I think you would really enjoy: "Hostage Zero," "Scott Free," and "No Mercy" by John Gilstrap, "Daddy" by Loup Durand, "Triple Cross" by Mark T. Sullivan, and "Youth in Revolt" by C.D. Payne. READ ON...

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Robert S

    Robert S says

    I am thrilled that you are interested in what I read. I am due for an update.

    posted 5 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Darra W

    Darra W says

    Howard, How could I have neglected to mention the fantastic finish for the Cards? And yes, I remember '64 well. It was the "end of the innocence" for me, as the Yankees began that long slide down the drain, something I had never experienced in my lifetime! It was not easy being a fan in those Horace Clarke days, but they were my team, so I hung in there, despite taking my lumps from the Giant and Dodger fans (including my Dad) who dominated our neighborhood.

    The Giants and Dodgers had left NY by the time I attended my first professional game in 1960. I did get to see Mays play a couple of times, though, when the Mets joined the NL. He was past his prime by then, but I've always considered him one of the best ever. He could do it ALL.

    I agree that is likely will be the Yanks and Phils in the Series, although I wouldn't mind seeing someone knock the Phils out, if for no other reason than to minimize air time for that ridiculous mascot--in my opinion, the worst in ML baseball. Could be SL; no one expected the Giants to take Halladay & Co out last year.

    Have a great trip, and we'll need to touch base when you get back. Darra

    posted 5 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Darra W

    Darra W says

    Hi Howard, A few months ago, I picked up a used hardcover of the Mays book for just a few dollars. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, and I'll be interested to hear what you have to say. It will probably pop to the top of the pile sometime in October; I always like to read a baseball book or two during the playoffs and World Series. Quite an exciting finish to the AL wild card race, wasn't it? Darra

    posted 5 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Steve

    Steve says

    Thanks--your shelf is packed with good stuff too!

    We're far enough west in NY that all we got was a stiff breeze. Where is Farmington? My wife is from MO (Kansas City).

    SG

    posted 6 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Mark V

    Mark V says

    The next Mark Twain conference will be in Elmira, NY in 2013 and then back to Hannibal in 2015. Both sites plan to rotate them biannually (previously it has only been at Elmira). I was lucky enough to receive a NEH grant to study Twain at Elmira in '07 for four weeks; the presentation I gave Saturday came out of that work. I am just now beginning to submit my essay for publication, so I am hoping for the best. Hal Holbrook had agreed to by the keynote speaker but he declined because he is recovering from hip surgery; he is 85 years old, you know. But filmmakers were on hand in Hannibal filming a documentary on him. Watch for its release about a year from now; it is called, "Holbrook/Twain, An American Odyssey."

    I found Dangerous Waters at my college library and will check it out. I have the large bio by Powers on Twain already but haven't read it. Thanks for the good wishes. Everything went well (although I was sure nervous!). That evening we had a dinner cruise a riverboat (although Twain always called them steamboats) out on the River. Very scenic!

    posted 6 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Sharon Anne B

    Sharon Anne B says

    Much too rare - that makes him even more special. We have several Broncos and Rockies
    who are also good, community driven citizens, but none that approach his extraordinary
    athletic skills.

    Later

    posted 6 months ago. ( send a note )

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