Author Topic: Reading old books.  (Read 988 times)

grampster

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Reading old books.
« on: November 09, 2022, 06:45:31 PM »
Recently I've been reading some old pocket books in my library.  I just finished 7 written by Damon Runyon that my dad passed down to me and I've read many times.  The books themselves are about 80 years old and the stories by Runyon predated that.  They are getting a bit fragile.  If you can find any of his stories on the innertube, I'd highly recommend them as they are great, funny books and Runyonese is a terrific language for the books of those times along Broadway in NY in the late 20's and 30's.

I'm going to read another favorite by John D MacDonald tomorrow.  The Girl, the Goldwatch, and Everything.  The book I bought probably around 1962 when it came out in paperback.  That paperback made two trips to VietNam and back.  I sent it to my pal Jim on his first tour and then again when he did his 2nd.  He mailed it back to me when he was done both times.
"Never wrestle with a pig.  You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it."  G.B. Shaw

Hawkmoon

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #1 on: November 09, 2022, 08:04:27 PM »
I think the title is The Girl, the Gold Watch [two words], and Everything. Sounds VERY familiar, and I'm pretty sure I read it around that same time you first bought it.

Speaking of old books, I've been on an Edgar Rice Burroughs kick lately. Not the Tarzan books, but the John Carter on Mars series, the Carson of Venus series, and some lesser-known books such as Cave Girl, Jungle Girl, the Center of the Earth series, and a few others. They are difficult to find as e-books in the U.S. because Burroughs' heirs have done an end run around the copyright laws. The books are old enough and ERB has been dead long enough that the copyrights have all expired. So his heirs have registered the titles and the main characters as trademarks.

I discovered completely by accident that, while this ploy worked in the U.S., it didn't work in Australia, and the books are available as free downloads from the Gutenberg Project Australia.
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230RN

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #2 on: November 09, 2022, 10:41:04 PM »
Every once in a while I relive my high school days by pulling out some of my Mickey Spillane / Mike Hammer novels and reading them.

Someone once said he was the #1 selling fiction writer in the world until the Harry Potter series.

Never read one Harry Potter book.

I also pull out some of my Philip Wylie books occasionally, but that was more college years.  He in fact, shaped a  lot of my so-called "thinking."  (Ayn Rand also played a big role in my college years, thanks to a fellow dorm resident who pulled me out of my New York statist attitude.)

Terry, 230RN

JTHunter

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #3 on: November 09, 2022, 11:06:58 PM »
The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything was a TV movie from 1980 with Robert Hays (Airplane) & Pam Dawber (Mork & Mindy).
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080792/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
It was a cute movie that spawned a sequel - "The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Dynamite".
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HankB

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #4 on: November 10, 2022, 08:24:14 AM »
The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything was a TV movie from 1980 with Robert Hays (Airplane) & Pam Dawber (Mork & Mindy).
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080792/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
It was a cute movie that spawned a sequel - "The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Dynamite".

I remember seeing the 1st movie before reading the paperback book, which IIRC I spotted in a used book store - I still have it in my collection. (The original cover price was 75 cents.) It was an enjoyable read.

From what I remember, the 1st movie was better than the sequel.

. . . Speaking of old books, I've been on an Edgar Rice Burroughs kick lately. Not the Tarzan books, but the John Carter on Mars series, the Carson of Venus series, and some lesser-known books such as Cave Girl, Jungle Girl, the Center of the Earth series, and a few others. They are difficult to find as e-books in the U.S. because Burroughs' heirs have done an end run around the copyright laws. The books are old enough and ERB has been dead long enough that the copyrights have all expired. So his heirs have registered the titles and the main characters as trademarks.

I discovered completely by accident that, while this ploy worked in the U.S., it didn't work in Australia, and the books are available as free downloads from the Gutenberg Project Australia.

I've got a bunch of old paperbacks by ERB in my collection as well. If you want a chuckle, take a look at this 1931 exchange between a high school student with a nasty English teacher and ERB.  https://www.erbzine.com/mag28/2857.html (I can relate to ERB and his take on assigned reading in schools.)
Trump won in 2016. Democrats haven't been so offended since Republicans came along and freed their slaves.
Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it. - Mark Twain
Government is a broker in pillage, and every election is a sort of advance auction in stolen goods. - H.L. Mencken
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. - Mark Twain

Ben

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #5 on: November 10, 2022, 08:38:57 AM »
I've really been getting into reading older stuff, including classics both fiction and nonfiction. The old guy I hunt with loves history, and we have some interesting conversations. He also does the senior citizen thing about hitting garage sales and used bookstores, and is always bringing me old books - way more than I can keep up with. He just last week dropped of 14 books on WW2. I'm running out of space.  :laugh:

For most of my older stuff, I go to one of the Gutenberg Project sites or the Internet Archive American Libraries site. Just excellent resources that let you download in a wide variety of formats. What's neat about many of the Internet Archive libraries is that the files are the scanned (vs digitized) books, so you can see the neat old covers and stuff.

https://www.gutenberg.org/
https://archive.org/
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grampster

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2022, 10:04:23 AM »
I think the title is The Girl, the Gold Watch [two words], and Everything. Sounds VERY familiar, and I'm pretty sure I read it around that same time you first bought it.

Speaking of old books, I've been on an Edgar Rice Burroughs kick lately. Not the Tarzan books, but the John Carter on Mars series, the Carson of Venus series, and some lesser-known books such as Cave Girl, Jungle Girl, the Center of the Earth series, and a few others. They are difficult to find as e-books in the U.S. because Burroughs' heirs have done an end run around the copyright laws. The books are old enough and ERB has been dead long enough that the copyrights have all expired. So his heirs have registered the titles and the main characters as trademarks.

I discovered completely by accident that, while this ploy worked in the U.S., it didn't work in Australia, and the books are available as free downloads from the Gutenberg Project Australia.

I have all the ERB Mars books in hardcover.  My dad bought 'em.  I believe they are all first editions.  Also ERB Cave Girl, At the Earth's Core, The Land That Time Forgot and Pellucidar.  Also several other first edition hardcovers from Arthur Conan Doyle and books i and II of Ivanhoe and other old hardcovers by some notable authors from my dad.
"Never wrestle with a pig.  You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it."  G.B. Shaw

HankB

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2022, 12:03:52 PM »
I have all the ERB Mars books in hardcover.  My dad bought 'em.  I believe they are all first editions.  Also ERB Cave Girl, At the Earth's Core, The Land That Time Forgot and Pellucidar.  Also several other first edition hardcovers from Arthur Conan Doyle and books i and II of Ivanhoe and other old hardcovers by some notable authors from my dad.
Braggart.   ;)

ERB still has influence today - I use the screen name "Bolgani" when I'm playing Armored Warfare online - so far I don't think anyone has made the connection with ERB.
Trump won in 2016. Democrats haven't been so offended since Republicans came along and freed their slaves.
Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it. - Mark Twain
Government is a broker in pillage, and every election is a sort of advance auction in stolen goods. - H.L. Mencken
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. - Mark Twain

Hawkmoon

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #8 on: November 10, 2022, 01:34:21 PM »
I remember seeing the 1st movie before reading the paperback book, which IIRC I spotted in a used book store - I still have it in my collection. (The original cover price was 75 cents.) It was an enjoyable read.

From what I remember, the 1st movie was better than the sequel.

I've got a bunch of old paperbacks by ERB in my collection as well. If you want a chuckle, take a look at this 1931 exchange between a high school student with a nasty English teacher and ERB.  https://www.erbzine.com/mag28/2857.html (I can relate to ERB and his take on assigned reading in schools.)

My second wife was a high school English teacher. Probably due to her being the low person on the tenure totem pole, she didn't have any honors classes -- she got all the low-track students who really had no interest in even being in school. My then-wife used to complain that she couldn't get them to read their assigned books. So I suggested that she forget about Wuthering Heights and other "classics," since those kids couldn't relate to them and didn't care about them. I suggested she assign them Edgar Rice Burroughs. The ERB books have little "redeeming social value," but they also didn't have gratuitous violence, sex, or a number of other things that high school kids probably shouldn't be exposed to, the ERB books were generally easy to read, yet they were written in clear, grammatically-correct English. What's not to like if your goal is just to get the kids to read?

She tried it, and it worked.
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HankB

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #9 on: November 10, 2022, 06:50:16 PM »
My second wife was a high school English teacher. Probably due to her being the low person on the tenure totem pole, she didn't have any honors classes -- she got all the low-track students who really had no interest in even being in school. My then-wife used to complain that she couldn't get them to read their assigned books. So I suggested that she forget about Wuthering Heights and other "classics," since those kids couldn't relate to them and didn't care about them. I suggested she assign them Edgar Rice Burroughs. The ERB books have little "redeeming social value," but they also didn't have gratuitous violence, sex, or a number of other things that high school kids probably shouldn't be exposed to, the ERB books were generally easy to read, yet they were written in clear, grammatically-correct English. What's not to like if your goal is just to get the kids to read?

She tried it, and it worked.
In elementary school we read stuff like The JungleAnimal Farm and 1984 . . . they threw in Uncle Tom's Cabin along the way. (First three were worthwhile.) High school we got stuff like Diary of Anne Frank, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, To Kill a Mockingbird, and (  [barf]  ) Vanity Fair. 

There were a couple of other crapola books thrown in along the way. Diary and Mockingbird each had a point to make, but I never developed a taste for Shakespeare. Still wouldn't have chosen ANY of these HS books myself.
Trump won in 2016. Democrats haven't been so offended since Republicans came along and freed their slaves.
Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it. - Mark Twain
Government is a broker in pillage, and every election is a sort of advance auction in stolen goods. - H.L. Mencken
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. - Mark Twain

MechAg94

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #10 on: November 10, 2022, 08:53:21 PM »
My Dad has a big collection of Louis L'Amour novels.  I have read some of them.  Might need to read some more.
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MechAg94

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #11 on: November 10, 2022, 09:17:51 PM »
Not sure if the Hero and the Crown and (I think) The Blue Sword are considered old.  They were the earliest fantasy books I ever read. 

Armor and The Forever War are decent books.  They are considered anti-war I think, but anti-BigGov at least. 
“It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones.”  ― Calvin Coolidge

grampster

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #12 on: November 10, 2022, 09:44:13 PM »
I spent many hours in the high school library in the '50's reading Joseph Altsheler's great Young Trailer series about the frontier in Kentucky and the Ohio rivier valley.  All eight volumes center around the adventures of five characters: Henry Ware, Paul Cotter, Solomon Hyde (Shif'less Sol), Jim Hart (Long Jim), and Tom Ross (Silent Tom).  About 5 years ago I was able to get all 8 books for a couple bucks on my NOOK to enjoy them again.
"Never wrestle with a pig.  You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it."  G.B. Shaw

Hawkmoon

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #13 on: November 11, 2022, 03:55:18 AM »
I have all the ERB Mars books in hardcover.  My dad bought 'em.  I believe they are all first editions.  Also ERB Cave Girl, At the Earth's Core, The Land That Time Forgot and Pellucidar.  Also several other first edition hardcovers from Arthur Conan Doyle and books i and II of Ivanhoe and other old hardcovers by some notable authors from my dad.

I didn't know Cave Girl was ever available as a book. I thought it was a two-part serial in some magazine.

I stumbled across it on-line somewhere, many years ago, made a copy of the text, and then reformatted it into a moderately civilized PDF for my own e-library. I'cve never seen it for sale in print.
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Kingcreek

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #14 on: November 11, 2022, 08:52:52 AM »
I just finished a round of re reading Peter Capstick and Roark. Saving Theodore Roosevelt for mid winter.
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Ben

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #15 on: November 11, 2022, 09:17:09 AM »
Saving Theodore Roosevelt for mid winter.

He's a great fireside read. Which book(s) are you reading?
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

grampster

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #16 on: November 11, 2022, 09:43:29 AM »
My Cave Girl hardcover was published in 1925.
My favorite TR book is American Ideals and Other Esays.  A compilation of Roosevelt's essays.  I have 3 others, 2 by Edmund Morris...The Rise of Theodore Roosenelt and Theodore Rex .  The River of Doubt by Candice Millard.  It describes his journey down the Amazon River.
"Never wrestle with a pig.  You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it."  G.B. Shaw

HankB

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #17 on: November 11, 2022, 10:06:43 AM »
I just finished a round of re reading Peter Capstick and Roark. Saving Theodore Roosevelt for mid winter.
Capstick is the only noteworthy author I've ever met - sat down and chatted with him for about a half hour over a cup of coffee at a Safari Club convention back in the '80s. Seemed like a nice guy.

Only book I've read by TR was African Game Trails. IIRC he wrote a few things in there which were too politically incorrect to get published today. African hunting was a LOT different back in his day. Ruark - of course. In fact, I took some inspiration from Ruark and put the shoulder mount of my warthog in the guest bathroom. (What better place for something that ugly?)

One lady guest remarked "Animals are looking at you EVERYWHERE in Hank's house - even when you go to pee!"  :rofl:
« Last Edit: November 11, 2022, 12:18:17 PM by HankB »
Trump won in 2016. Democrats haven't been so offended since Republicans came along and freed their slaves.
Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it. - Mark Twain
Government is a broker in pillage, and every election is a sort of advance auction in stolen goods. - H.L. Mencken
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. - Mark Twain

grampster

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #18 on: November 11, 2022, 11:04:43 AM »
I have enjoyed reading Ruark's Old Man and the Boy, The Old Man's Boy Gets Older, The Lost Classics of Robert Ruark, and The Horn of the Hunter.  I have them in my library so I'll have to re read those this winter.  I read most of those old books coming up as kid as my dad had a ton of interesting books and I inherited them when he died.

I also have a bunch of old Thorne Smith and PG Wodehouse books, but I never had much interest in reading them for some reason.
"Never wrestle with a pig.  You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it."  G.B. Shaw

230RN

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #19 on: November 13, 2022, 02:02:11 PM »
...

I've got a bunch of old paperbacks by ERB [Edgar Rice Burroughs] in my collection as well. If you want a chuckle, take a look at this 1931 exchange between a high school student with a nasty English teacher and ERB.  https://www.erbzine.com/mag28/2857.html (I can relate to ERB and his take on assigned reading in schools.)

On the evils(?) of "assigned reading."

Without going through the agony of finding and reading the images of ERB's letters, I wonder how teachers are supposed to teach substantive points about specific things and relationships in an "assigned reading" if every student is reading something different as a "free choice."

What was this presumably rebellious student's "take" on that?  Help me out, here.  Specific quotes would be nice.

Terry, 230RN

Boomhauer

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #20 on: November 13, 2022, 03:48:32 PM »
On the evils(?) of "assigned reading."

Without going through the agony of finding and reading the images of ERB's letters, I wonder how teachers are supposed to teach substantive points about specific things and relationships in an "assigned reading" if every student is reading something different as a "free choice."

What was this presumably rebellious student's "take" on that?  Help me out, here.  Specific quotes would be nice.

Terry, 230RN

The problem with assigned reading and such these days is the schools and teachers pick the shittiest books possible and then spend forever trying to drag obscure meanings and other abstract bullshit out of them in the name of
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230RN

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #21 on: November 13, 2022, 05:31:07 PM »
I  understanad that, and agree, but the problem is not with the concept of "assigned reading," it's with the lessons and relationships which are being illustrated.  That's endemic in the hiring practices, not in the concept of assigned readings.

One of my most influential assigned readings in high school was the novel "Arrowsmith."

It allowed an extensive discussion of science and the scientific method in English class mind you, as well as illustrating the necessity ot conflicts, character faults, wrongdoing, etc. to bring out the essence of the author's message. 

But this was in the late '40s, early '50s when things in general and teachers specifically were less attuned to what are modern "liberal" issues and were more realistic, at least in my specialty high school.

Terry, 230RN

REF:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrowsmith_(novel)

"In the course of the novel Lewis [the author]describes many aspects of medical training, medical practice, scientific research, scientific fraud, medical ethics, public health, and personal/professional conflicts that are still relevant today."
« Last Edit: November 13, 2022, 05:49:57 PM by 230RN »

RoadKingLarry

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #22 on: November 13, 2022, 10:27:12 PM »
It's not classic literature, but I just acquired a pile of old woodworking books. Most are mid 20th century but a few are early turn of the century,  1902, 1903 range. Several college/tradeschool textbooks from the late '30s.
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HankB

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #23 on: November 14, 2022, 08:32:34 AM »
The problem with assigned reading and such these days is the schools and teachers pick the shittiest books possible and then spend forever trying to drag obscure meanings and other abstract bullshit out of them in the name of
This is correct, and covers much of the assigned reading in my HS during the early '70s. I think part of the problem is that many HS teachers are women, and they choose books THEY enjoy - none of which have ANY interest to male HS students.

Many textbooks today are terrible - some years ago I was visiting my cousin and her husband, and their son had left his history textbook out. I paged through it and while WWI and WWII were covered in just a few pages, there were entire chapters devoted to women's rights, civil rights, and racism. They asked me what I thought, so I said "About the women's movement - I really like it, especially when I'm walking behind it." (Got that one from Rush L.) My cousin laughed - and then turned to her kid and told him "Don't you dare say that in class!!"

I have a neighbor now who's homeschooling - for basics like reading, history, and arithmetic, they're using OLD textbooks from a generation or two (or three) back, which are apparently in high demand among homeschoolers.
Trump won in 2016. Democrats haven't been so offended since Republicans came along and freed their slaves.
Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it. - Mark Twain
Government is a broker in pillage, and every election is a sort of advance auction in stolen goods. - H.L. Mencken
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. - Mark Twain

MechAg94

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Re: Reading old books.
« Reply #24 on: November 14, 2022, 11:29:09 AM »
That reminds me of Catcher in the Rye.  Odd book about a troubled kid who had a nervous breakdown, but apparently gets interpreted 100 ways.  At least the Sun Also Rises was a bit more obvious (if a bit pointless in the end). 
“It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones.”  ― Calvin Coolidge