PTOITWCFTPP wrote:I'm about 1/3rd through Zolecki's Halladay book. Anybody else started it? Very interesting, alot of early Roy tidbits I either didn't know or had completely forgotten. The opening chapter is just about the playoff no-hitter.

It's on deck for me. Pun intended. Will probably start it in a couple weeks.

but he was a pitcher, mostly in the AL, so he wasn't really on deck that much

Just finished Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. I really should just stick to the alcoholic/cocaine-fueled classics. Sober SK is a drag.

Finished Otessa Moshfegh's latest, Death in her Hands. It's a quick read, and she's a good writer, but the plot and point of view are really too thin for me to give it great marks, though I'm glad I spent the time. Really need to go back and read Eileen..

I've really faded on my reading in the last 4 or 5 years, even though I still buy a lot of books. I'm hoping to jump start my back log.

With The Devil All The Time movie is coming to netflix in September. I Started reading it again tonight. It's still a fantastic disaster.

I have no idea how they capture this story on film, but I can't wait.

Hope this motivated me to dive into the rest of accumulated books.

Should I read Dune?

yeah, it's great

I put it off for a long time because I thought there would be lots of walls of text but the worldbuilding is all pretty graceful and it gets into the action right away

It seems up my alley but for some reason I have always avoided it. Not sure why. Maybe the quality of the (original) movie turned me off.

Dune is great

First three books of the series are all worth reading, I'd say. But the first one also stands alone pretty well.

Yeah, I'd say read it. I'm not a huge fan of the genre (It's really more fantasy than sci fi in my opinion and I really don't like fantasy) and I haven't read them in forever, but I do remember enjoying them.

I'm trying to get into the habit of working with more physical media as instruments to my hobbies and work. That goes for reading and writing, and any art I choose to create. So for a while, I've wanted an actual Dictionary to be my handy reference guide for word play. Looking into it, i'm quite fascinated at all the types of dictionaries out there, and what I'm looking for, is a full-size American guide, non-collegiate, non-learners. I don't think those Merriam-Websters will cut it, but apparently Random House publishes their own series with the Webster name, something they won the right to in court. So I'm thinking, anything by them post 2000, and even better, an unabridged version, although they might get pricey.

Any of you guys use a Dictionary book and know how to sort out the versions?

haven't thought too deeply about it in a while but the Concise OED is a great balance of comprehensive definitions without being too unwieldy: https://global.oup.com/academic/product ... s&lang=en&

A bit bigger would be American heritage unabridged, now in its 5th edition. Lots of cool features in addition to basic dictionary stuff. The companion website gives an indication of the kinds of things you will find.

TenuredVulture wrote:A bit bigger would be American heritage unabridged, now in its 5th edition. Lots of cool features in addition to basic dictionary stuff. The companion website gives an indication of the kinds of things you will find.

yeah, i haven't bought a new dictionary in over 25 years, but when I did the american heritage stood out. still go to it regularly.

Houshphandzadeh wrote:haven't thought too deeply about it in a while but the Concise OED is a great balance of comprehensive definitions without being too unwieldy: https://global.oup.com/academic/product ... s&lang=en&

swishnicholson wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:A bit bigger would be American heritage unabridged, now in its 5th edition. Lots of cool features in addition to basic dictionary stuff. The companion website gives an indication of the kinds of things you will find.

yeah, i haven't bought a new dictionary in over 25 years, but when I did the american heritage stood out. still go to it regularly.

Both, good suggestions. I spent most of the past day familiarizing myself with their style and features. I appreciated the enormity of words offered by the OED, but found myself drawn to the definitions and details supplied by the AHD. So I got myself a good 4th edition hardcover with some neat features. I think eventually I'll supplement that with a more portable OED. Thanks guys!