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Book One, Chapter 15.

Through the novel part of the book. The remaining 30-some pages are the life stories that Precious and her classmates wrote. Not entirely sure I care, but let's give it a chance.

Part III.

Part II, wherein Precious goes to the alternative school. I went to an alternative school in tenth grade. It was bigger, but otherwise sounds like theirs. There were some troublemakers there, but more students were the targets of bullying; they got picked on so much at the regular school that they couldn't get their work done, so they came here.

(Doing catchup entries for previous reading)
If I didn't know better, I would think Precious' situation to be over the top and unbelievable. Unfortunately, this is not the first time I've heard about a barely pubescent girl getting molested by a much older man, and then when it comes out, she is accused of having seduced him.

Book 1, Chapter 5: Whatcha gonna do with your life, Pierre?

Book 1, Chapter 1, wherein we meet Prince Vasily and Miss Anna Pavlovna. Early on they've established the threat of Napoleon, which I understand will be a running theme here. We're also trying to marry off the Prince's more obnoxious son (though he admits they're both awful.)

I've decided to do another full year read, and this time it'll be War and Peace. It seems there are other people doing the same thing, which will be great because I'm worried this will be a bit over my head and I'd like to have someone to discuss this with.

Some of the language in these stories is very South-specific, which makes it a bit difficult to read, but they are fantastic stories. It does feel though like she throws in a lot of superfluous details just for the purpose of being symbols.

Part 1 reviews a few ethical frameworks to first establish base questions like "what is tolerance?" and "why tolerate anything?" My personal leaning is toward the "presumption of governmental incompetence", meaning that I don't trust the majority to decide these things for everyone. Beyond the things essential for public safety, it generally doesn't work out well when people try to legislate morality.

Book IX: To have his chance at immortality, Gilgamesh must face an endless darkness not unlike the underworld that he so fears. His tenacity pays off though, and he comes out the other side, where he finds the Tavern at the End of the Universe.

In television, there's a concept called a "breather episode", wherein two dramatic and important episodes are separated by something more playful, to give the audience time to recover. Book VI appears to serve the same purpose here; it doesn't tie in with the Humbaba story, but instead provides some bawdy humor to lighten the mood.

I found this at the library; I was looking for something else and this one caught my eye with its provocative title. The idea is not quite so controversial: should petitions based on religious identity and values be given greater weight by our government than similar petitions that are not based in faith?

About the marriage of the Duke of Suffolk to the 13-year-old Katherine Willoughby: "The 48-year-old Duke had wanted her when she had been betrothed to his son, and had broken the betrothal to marry her himself."

"Anne Boleyn... was jubilant [at the death of Cardinal Wolsey] and staged a masque for the edification of the court entitled 'The going to hell of Cardinal Wolsey'." Damn girl. You won, let it go.

Dropping this book like a baby on the Dursleys' doorstep. This guy has no coherent message, he frequently goes off on tangents that add nothing to the book, and he plays fast and loose with facts as the earlier AT&T example illustrates.

Also, apparently monopolies are engines for innovation because
1. AT&T used to be a monopoly and rate were high
2. ???
3. Now you can get cheap cell phone service.

Gosh, I wonder what could have happened between AT&T and the US government in 1982 that could explain this?

I'm reminded of one of Warren Buffett's letters to his shareholders, wherein he discusses a hypothetical national coin flipping contest. By virtue of big numbers and pure chance, some people would win ten or twenty flips in a row, but thanks to the Fundamental Attribution Error, people would assume it was skill and start asking these people for their secrets.

Okay book, you're now on notice. I'll give you 18 more pages to impress me - that's the end of chapter 4 - or I'm dropping you.

"'Perfect competition' is considered both the ideal and the default state in Economics 101" - Default, perhaps, but nobody said it's ideal. It's an extreme where there is zero product differentiation.

"Google is a good example of a company that went from 0 to 1" - wait, I though "0 to 1" meant inventing something new, whereas Google made its name by improving something that already existed.

The author makes an interesting point: Henry often catches flak for his obsession with having a male heir, but England needs it just as badly. Henry's father took the throne after a thirty-year civil war, and without a clear heir in place that would likely happen again. The people need stability.

Reading through Paul's letters, currently on 1 Timothy. I don't like the idea that this one guy's interpretations are part of the canon, especially since he outright says "women < men" without any real support. I also find it interesting that Paul seems to be holding himself out as an authority by virtue of his experience. That seems to go against the whole "he who considers himself first shall be last" thing.

Initial impression: what a load of tripe. The first two chapters are full of obvious observations made to sound bold and contrarian. Maybe things are different in the startup world, but every business that I've worked for and most of the clients I've worked with put a high emphasis on strategy and innovation.

Is there a limit to how long I can keep a book on my Currently Reading shelf without actually making any progress?

Mark 1:1 - Out with the Old, in with the New.

We're currently speeding through the 20th century. Most interesting bit here is the author's claim that the ridicule against Christian literalists following the Scopes Trial is responsible for the emergence of the Moral Majority decades later. Fundamentalists of any stripe use such attacks as evidence that they're being persecuted, so they create their own enclaves where they can quietly build up their numbers.

I'm on the book of Lamentations, which as you might expect is kind of a downer. Jerusalem has fallen, the people have been scattered to many nations, and the lands of Israel and Judah won't see any significant settlement for seventy years. The Big Guy doesn't hate them, He's just really disappointed in their behavior and thinks they need some time to get their heads straight.

I'm on the book of Lamentations, which as you might expect is kind of a downer. Jerusalem has fallen, the people have been scattered to many nations, and the lands of Israel and Judah won't see any significant settlement for seventy years. The Big Guy doesn't hate them, He's just really disappointed in their behavior and thinks they need a time-out to get their heads straight.

I'm on the book of Lamentations, which as you might expect is kind of a downer. Jerusalem has fallen, the people have been scattered to many nations, and the lands of Israel and Judah won't see any significant settlement for seventy years. The Big Guy doesn't hate them, he's just really disappointed in their behavior and thinks they need a time-out to get their heads straight.

This has been an interesting experience so far. If I wanted to, I'm sure I could get up on my middle-class pedestal and describe this book's language as vulgar and its plot as shallow and predictable. I could say that the book glamourizes materialism, crime, and extramarital affairs. Behind that, though, there's a story about finding your self-worth and learning that your past doesn't have to dictate your future.