Larry’s Comments (group member since Nov 23, 2020)

Larry’s comments from the Nonfiction Reading - Only the Best group.

Carol, I understand John’s stance toward Amazon, but I generally share your sentiments. Based on my thousands of purchases, no online merchant has served me as well as Amazon over more than 20 years. Returns, in particular, are handled in a truly amazing way. The main thing that I don’t like about Amazon is the way that their warehouse employees have been treated.

As for Kindles, the improvement has been steady. You don’t really easily see this because the Kindle models have barely changed. But it’s the handling of content where the improvement is spectacular. I’m reading a particular book imported as a pdf now that a few years ago I wouldn’t have bother trying to read on a Kindle. And now it’s great.

If I didn’t use a Kindle, I would probably use a Kobo … based on the reviews. But if I were using a Nook like John does, I might just stay with it.

John, 35 percent of a sale could be a huge boost for some independent book stores.

Anisha, I’ve seen the movie and read the book. I like Michael Lewis a lot, but even though I have a Ph.D. In Economics, I found parts of the more technical parts of the book hard to follow. I prefer the movie.

I think I understand now. The questions as posed!

Anisha, what do you mean by “discussion points”? Sounds interesting.

Anisha, that issue of not getting the notification for updates … I truly wish I could help. I have spent too much time trying to figure out for myself why the notifications sometimes work and sometimes and sometimes don’t. If I am involved—in any sense—in a thread, I will just go to it periodically and see if there are new messages. Truly frustrating.

Carol wrote: "There seem a lot of storms here at the moment and we are expecting another tomorrow, I think. The sea very calm this morning, the waves gently lapping the cliff. The lull before the storm perhaps! ...Why do TV commentators stand out in a storm to report? Very very foolish it always strikes me."

Incredibly foolish!

Carol wrote: "Finished watching Sam Mendes' film '1917'. Intensely sad as might be imagined from a film set in WW1 on the front line, but atmospheric and gripping, the characters well drawn."

I felt like I held my breath for about an hour as I watched that film. "Gripping" barely begins to describe it. I was deeply moved by it.

Carol wrote: "The US entered WW1 on April 6, 1917, 3 years after its start.
"Lafayette, we are here," said Lieutenant Colonel Stanton for General J. Pershing, commander-in-chief of the American Expeditionary Fo..."

I had two great aunts, both of whom worked as nurses in France in Gen. Pershings's HQ company. I never realized that either of them had been overseas. I was visiting their home in Covington, Tennessee in 1970 (?) and they kept on talking about England, making some really strange remarks about what they liked and what they didn't like. So eventually I asked when they had last been to England ... and I think they said 1919. And I asked them what they were doing and then they told me about being Army nurses in France in 1918. Aunt Annie eventually told me how she had spilled coffee on Gen Pershing's boots as she was climbing some wooden stairs while he was descending those stairs.

Thanks, Cynda.

47 of Your Favorite Writers on Their Favorite Poems

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/47...

Carol, I watched the BBC news when I got up this morning. The first 15 minutes were devoted to this storm. Scary. I hope that it leaves you unscathed.

Cynda wrote: "Sounds good, Larry. I will see if that magazine is available in one of my services. . . . This article is also good for me as I want to live like a tourist--parks, restaurants, museums, cathedrals,..."

I think living like an informed tourist is a great way to live. I try to do that myself in the DC area, although I've lived in the area since 1957!

Carol wrote: "Cynda wrote: "I want to live near one of the two big parks--either Audubon or City. We will have two cats who will live in a condo, so they will have to be walked, preferably in a park, not a concr..."

I would not argue that Audubon has found his match in Amy Tan, but her new book of bird illustrations is wonderful. It's The Backyard Bird Chronicles and these words from David Allen Sibley are spot on:

""The drawings and essays in this book do a lot more than just describe the birds. They carry a sense of discovery through observation and drawing, suggest the layers of patterns in the natural world, and emphasize a deep personal connection between the watcher and the watched. The birds that inhabit Amy Tan’s backyard seem a lot like the characters in her novels.” —David Allen Sibley, from the foreword"

Cynda wrote: "This article Larry? I am reading it now.

https://gardenandgun.com/travel-guide..."

Cynda,

I think that's from an older issue. The article that I was referencing was from the January 2025 issue. Here's a link ... I'm not sure if it works if you don;t have Apple News+ .

https://apple.news/AbEua_7HLRY2DG1v3J...

Cynda wrote: "Anisha, I did find A Brief History in Time be a challenge. Sometime later I discovered the books if Neil deGrasse Tyson (NDT) who writes on similar topics. Because NDT writes for a p..."


I bought Tyson's Astrophysics for People in a Hurry ... and then wanted to share it with my older granddaughter. So I bought Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry. And I thought that this second book was totally worth reading myself. Yeah, Tyson is that good.

There is a great story in the GARDEN & GUN magazine that just came out today, titled “New Orleans for All.” It’s about drinking, eating, and having a good time generally in New Orleans.

Easy solution then. Whenever Alisha starts, we can!

“Enjoy the party scene” … that can range from incredibly negative to wonderfully positive. Tom Piazza, in his short book WHY NEW ORLEANS MATTERS, captures a lot of what makes New Orleans very special.

That is exactly right. What makes them really effective is a fan that pumps out that heat.