The obligatory “Pat Schroeder condescends exquisitely to conservatives” post
posted at 11:11 am on August 22, 2007 by Allahpundit
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We did a drive-by on this last night in the quote of the day but I guess it warrants a full post. HA’s resident best-selling author is understandably annoyed at this:
“The Karl Roves of the world have built a generation that just wants a couple slogans: ‘No, don’t raise my taxes, no new taxes,’” Pat Schroeder, president of the American Association of Publishers, said in a recent interview. “It’s pretty hard to write a book saying, ‘No new taxes, no new taxes, no new taxes’ on every page.”…
She said liberals tend to be policy wonks who “can’t say anything in less than paragraphs. We really want the whole picture, want to peel the onion.”
Really? That love affair with the paragraph doesn’t seem to have hurt “Bush knew” or “No war for oil.” Here are the crosstabs. The breakdown:
Surprising to see history so high and sci fi so low. Fully 57% have read five books or less; included in that percentage, I regret to say, is the big A. I read all day long online and catch up with magazines when I can, but I’ve always preferred to read books at long stretches and long stretches simply aren’t available anymore. Offhand, I can recall starting three books since January and finishing two: Steyn’s “America Alone” and, of course, Hitchens’s atheist polemic. I took a run at “Mere Christianity” on the advice of two friends but gave up in exasperation about halfway through. Exit question, and be honest: How many have you read this year?
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Hard to say exactly. I make a point of finding some time to read every day even if its just one chapter. In the past couple of months alone I’ve read at least six books. Currently working on the third book of Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy. Before that it was Sergei Lukyanenko’s Watch series. And before that a book on Texas Ranger history.
Rip Ford on August 22, 2007 at 4:52 PM
I haven’t been as impressed with either authors’ [Lincoln Child/Douglas Preston] solo efforts though. The fact that I’m having trouble even remembering them – something in an amusement park? – suggests I wasn’t too impressed.
Professor Blather on August 22, 2007 at 4:09 PM
I don’t recall the solo books either, although I know I have sampled them. I hesitate to pan them; Amazon is chock-full of enthusiastic reviews.
Yes. The series has the same sort of jolt as “The Usual Suspects” that makes you want to read them again!
Prof, have you ever ready any P.T. Deutermann? Firefly is just AWESOME as is Scorpion in the Sea and Train Man. The author has an impressive military background that makes his novels incredibly authentic.
RushBaby on August 22, 2007 at 5:03 PM
Ug…This conservative go read Plutarch now…Ug
“Alley Oop…Oop…look at that caveman go…”
Matt Helm on August 22, 2007 at 5:28 PM
Thirty two books so far this year (yes, I keep a list).
The ones I loved the most and would recommend:
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
The New Destroyer: Guardian Angel by Warren Murphy and James Mullaney (Remo and Chiun take on illegal immigration)
White Night by Jim Butcher (fantasy)
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (fantasy)
What’s So Funny by Donald Westlake (Maybe not as good as previous Dortmunders, but still worthwhile)
Little Heathens by Mildred Armstrong Kalish (memoir of growing up on a farm during the Depression)
I’m looking forward to the new Child/Preston Pendergast book. Have it on hold at the library. Or, being an ignorant conservative, should that be “liberry”?
NoSquids on August 22, 2007 at 6:01 PM
No Squids: I’m reading White Night right now. I just finished putting the new Dean Koontz and the new Daniel Silva on hold at the “liberry.” Funny thing is, I was trying to remember the name of a book I had read earlier this winter, so I searched under “political humor.” I found one book by Dennis Miller, two by Dave Barry, and the remaining 36 divided between Al Franken, Michael Moore, Molly Ivins, and Bill Maher. Not only are we conservatives illiterate, we ain’t funny either.
damececily on August 22, 2007 at 6:22 PM
Question for all of the high-volume readers in this thread – When I was a kid I took a speed reading course, which is how I get so many books in per week. (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows took about 3 hours.) But I can’t remember the name of the course, and I want my daughter to take one. Have any of you taken a course, and do you have any recommendations?
Laura on August 22, 2007 at 6:23 PM
It’s hard to say, but I think I average one a month. I have a book I read on the train to work (Egypt (Eyewitness Travel Guides)), a book I read at lunch (Lincoln), and a book I read in bed (Why I Am Not A Muslim). I just finished “Exposing the Real Che Guevara: And the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him,” which I highly recommend.
I have a shelf and a stack of books next to my bed that I’m gonna read. My magazine situation is quite out of control.
Tantor on August 22, 2007 at 6:39 PM
never have, never will.
I’m just copying down some authors and titles for winter, great overall suggestions.
But AP is not alone. I read one third of what I used to read, and HA is VERY much to blame.
Might have to fast HA…. again. or not.
shooter on August 22, 2007 at 6:40 PM
Laura: I never took a speed reading course, but I seem to read blocks of text rather than word by word. I think the more you read helps also. I’ve read 4 books this week, have 11 checked out, and 13 on hold. I will have read them all by next week. It helps that I spend 2 hours a day in the car waiting for my daughter to finish track (and now cross country) practice. It’s also amazing how many books you can start and finish at a relays invitational!
damececily on August 22, 2007 at 6:45 PM
Pat Shroeder has a long history of stupidity. I recall that when a C-5 crashed on takeoff while carrying orphaned babies out of Vietnam, she demanded the entire C-5 fleet be grounded. When the USS Vincennes accidently shot down an Iranian jetliner, Shroeder claimed that the military told her that they can pick out a civilian aircraft by its radar return. Complete nonsense and an idiot’s lie.
Tantor on August 22, 2007 at 6:48 PM
Thanks for the post. Fantastic thread.
ps. “drive-bys” are what the Enemedia does.
RushBaby on August 22, 2007 at 6:55 PM
OK now…who is fibbing here, c’mon honestly.
.
I just perused the entire list above, all comments and suggestions, and didn’t see one Sig Sigler or a “How to influence your dog”, or any other “make me feel good tomorrow” book.
I could have missed one if one is listed, but I think we conservatives somehow omitted any ’self help’ books. Why is that?
Oh well.
.
Do MENSA quiz books count? yeah?
Then I’ll admit to Norman Vincent Peale – The Power of Positive Thinking and add two more to my list.
shooter on August 22, 2007 at 7:02 PM
Dang! You’re right! Here is a list of the self-help books I have read:
High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton
Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right
Her third book, Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism
How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)
Godless: The Church of Liberalism
And when it comes out in October, I’ll be reading
If Democrats Had Any Brains, They’d Be Republicans
There’s bound to be a lot of self-help in there!!!
RushBaby on August 22, 2007 at 7:11 PM
I listed John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life. That’s one for AP – a much better read than CS Lewis. ;-)
Laura on August 22, 2007 at 7:31 PM
My idea of a self help book is something like “Cascading Style Sheets 2.0 Programmer’s Reference”.
Rip Ford on August 22, 2007 at 7:46 PM
How ’bout “The Muzzleloader’s Handbook”?
jdawg on August 22, 2007 at 7:49 PM
I didn’t really like that. Have you read The Scarlet Letter? It came out in the same year (1865?) and was also about a heroine facing adversity. Far superior in my opinion.
aengus on August 22, 2007 at 8:30 PM
Was it the Evelyn Woods speed reading course? There are still links on google but it has been a long time since I heard it advertised. As with anything sold on the internet be sure to use the better business bureau online source to check on vendors.
Bradky on August 22, 2007 at 10:29 PM
hmmmmm…. I’m only 15, so I have lots of time to read.
To the Last Man – Jeff Shaara
Gone for Soldiers – Jeff Shaara
Rising Tide – Jeff Shaara
The Truth About Muhammed – Robert Spencer
The Lays of Belieriand – JRR Tolkien
The Children of Hurin – JRR Tolkien
Culture Warrior – Bill O’Reilly
Wild at Heart – John Eldredge
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
Bible
Tons of magazine articles, American Civil War, Guitar World, Guitar One….ect
You should see the stack of books I read when I was homeschooled, ah…. those were the days.
aclark on August 22, 2007 at 10:33 PM
I’ve lost count of the number of books I have read in the past year, but here is a sampling.
Several fiction books, inlcuding all of the John Rain assasin series and several of the Jack Reacher series, some random suspense novels and some mystery/lawyer novels, one or two Lincoln Rhyme books, the book upon which The Shooter movie was based (and its sequel), and some other novel about a sniper that was written by an ex SWAT sniper.
Several historical/bigographical/technical books inluding 1776, a biography of George Washington and another of Albert Einstein (asbout 20 pages remaining), a short history of the revolution, a book about of all the federal and state court cases touching on the 2nd Amendment, a history of the Federal Reserve Bank, a book about the design and testing of silencers, another book about the history of machine guns, a Glock armorour’s training guide, several business type books about the Scrum development process and Coping with Darwin (about business innovation – not evolution), a book about interface design priciples by Cooper, part of a book about data presentation by Edward Tufte, an electronic book about the underlying technology for digital photography, two wilderness survival guides, a book about how the body stores or metabolizes fat and other nutrients, and I suppose a few others I can’t recall right now.
Herikutsu on August 22, 2007 at 10:47 PM
I read The Scarlet Letter in high school–about 20 years ago. I don’t remember much of it.
I did read The House of the Seven Gables a few years ago and really enjoyed it. Hawthorne is an acquired taste for many, I think.
jaleach on August 22, 2007 at 11:05 PM
Oh yeah, as far as self-help books go, I primarily read reloading manuals and ballistics tables.
Herikutsu on August 22, 2007 at 11:27 PM
The last book I read was 1984 along with Animal Farm for a report I did at 26 my first year droping out of full time sales and into full time college! What a shock! But I never was a book reader. Since I’m on line I don’t even pick one up. All I need to find out is with my search bar and mouse.
auspatriotman on August 23, 2007 at 12:03 AM
Currently re-reading Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. (I’m not kidding.) The first time through was about 10 or 12 years ago, and it’s amazing how much detail you forget. Right now, I’m in Chapter X, where the Goths have just made their first major eruption across Dacia and into Maesia. Great quote in this chapter: “A censor may maintain, he can never restore, the morals of a state.”
Oh, BTW, Gibbon is my bedtime reading. Those of you who say you don’t read books, try turning off the TV at night and just do your reading in bed. Very relaxing.
Ali-Bubba on August 23, 2007 at 3:24 AM
For those who like umm optimistic, up beat and typically conservative Sci Fi I recommend Baen Books. In particular folks will probably enjoy Tom Kratman’s books for some of their biting attacks on tranzis
Francis Turner on August 23, 2007 at 3:36 AM
Numenorean on August 22, 2007 at 11:25 AM
True to my word, I’ve perused my bookshelf for some ideas…hopefully you haven’t already read the entire list!
Got ‘em organized by topic too –
World History:
A World Lit Only by Fire by William Manchester
The Discoverers by Daniel J. Boorstin (liked better than his The Creators & The Seekers)
English History:
Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir
Wars of the Roses by Alison Weir
The Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir
American Revolution:
Negotiating the Constitution by Joseph M. Lynch
Civil War:
The Class of 1846 by John C. Waugh
Stonewall Jackson by James I. Robertson
19th Century Europe:
The Affair: The Case of Alfred Dreyfus by Jean-Denis Bredin
WWII:
The Sisters by Mary S. Lovell
Patton: A Genius for War by Carlo D’Este
Vietnam:
A Thousand Tears Falling by Yung Krall
Historical Fiction:
The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman
Foucalt’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco
Fantasy:
Fire & Ice Series by George R.R. Martin
Dark is Rising Series by Susan Cooper (good series for adolescents)
Chronicles of Thomas Covenant Series by Stephen R. Donaldson
Mystery:
Maltese Falcon by Dashell Hammett (just like the movie)
The Thin Man by Dashell Hammett (a little darker than the movie)
The Continental Op by Dashell Hammett
I can even recommend Classical Literature if you’d like, but I stopped reading a lot of Fiction after 1993, when I couldn’t find any book I hadn’t read already! English Lit. majors have to find something else to read…so I’ve been hitting the Historical portions of the book store ever since. You know it’s bad when you’ve even read Russian poetry…in Russian! Moi Bog!
Miss_Anthrope on August 23, 2007 at 9:21 AM
I read voraciously. Probably 20~25 novels and 6~7 non-fiction books that I hadn’t read before. Plus I reread Atlas Shrugged along with four or five others that I consider important and wanted to remind myself about. After the Bourne Ultimatum came out as a movie, I needed to reread Ludlum’s Bourne books to remind myself how much different the storylines were from what Hollywood made of them. I read Mere Christianity for probably the eighth time about two months ago, as well as Lewis’ The Abolition of Man, and the Great Divorce.
Freelancer on August 23, 2007 at 9:53 AM
Made you uncomfortable did it?
srhoades on August 23, 2007 at 11:14 AM
I forgot a short one that’s worth a read:
“Six Memos for the Next Millennium” by Italo Calvino.
(Actually 5, but you have to read it to find out why.)
A tasty writer.
profitsbeard on August 23, 2007 at 11:46 AM
just finished stranger in a strange land and cracked the art of modernism.
progressives also count any book review longer than 500 words as having “read the book”. you know, their bottomless potential for pretention.
for instance, i was thinking: if the thing that can be said of bush is that he accidentally mispronounces words because he can’t help himself, the thing that can be said of kerry is that he purposely mispronounces words as a feint to make himself seem more astute. i.e., “nucular” vs. “jenjis”.
jummy on August 23, 2007 at 2:32 PM
*waves goodbye to awesome book thread*
RushBaby on August 23, 2007 at 3:10 PM
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