Announcing The Return of W.A.W.R.

by | Jan 6, 2025 | Books | 65 comments

Every year I set a goal of reading a book a week, sometimes I add the caveat that at least one book a month be non-fiction. I have never met this goal. Thus in an attempt to give myself some extra incentive and If the Powers That Be allow it. I am going to revitalize the What Are We Reading feature. I leave it up to Swiss or Tonio to decide when that will run it, it makes most sense to put it on either the first or last (Monday) of the month, which ever way the editors decide if you want your contributions added you’ll need to send them to me at least one week before the publication date. I have set up a new Proton mail account since I have forgotten my password for the old one. Send your book reports/reviews/synopsis to
whatarewereading25@proton.me.

Editor’s Note: Assume a cheese-eating grin from Swiss.

About The Author

The Hyperbole

The Hyperbole

The Hyperbole can beat any of you chumps at Earthshaker! the greatest pinball machine of all time.

65 Comments

  1. R C Dean

    Send your book reports/reviews/synopsis to
    whatarewereading25@proton.me.

    That should probably go in the sidebar or somewhere else “sticky”*.

    Thanks for taking this on, Hype.

    *IYKWIMAITYD

  2. Brochettaward

    I read Firsts. They are all the nutrition a brain craves.

    • Aloysious

      They do a body good?

      • Chafed

        That’s Q’s department.

  3. Brochettaward

    Trump proposing a “merger” with Canada. Went from worst possible timeline to the best. Not because I like Canadians, but for the lols.

      • PutridMeat

        Perhaps my palate is unrefined, but I like this

      • Spudalicious

        Neat, yes. Pendleton 1910 is a nice mixer.

    • Urthona

      Yes let’s important 20 million democrats.

      Genius.

      • Brochettaward

        I don’t know why some of you get worked up over something that will never happen. Just Trump seriously suggesting that to Trudeau days before he steps down because the tide is turning against the left worldwide is fucking comedy gold.

  4. DEG

    Thanks Hype.

    So the deadline for February WAWR is Jan. 27th?

    I read a bunch of books while I was sick over Christmas break. They are:

    “Classic Monsters Unleashed” – This is an anthology from James Aquilone. Short stories about classic monsters. I liked it.

    “Serbian and Yugoslav Mauser Rifles” by Branko Bogdanovic – This was OK. It was missing the part by part breakdown typical of North Cape Publications books, but had a lot of good information.

    “Westside Barbell Book of Methods” by Louie Simmons – A collection of articles which has some good information about how training at Westside Barbell works.

    “Australian Service Longarms” by Ian Skennerton – It’s a Skennerton book, so it needs an editor. But, it has some good information for people interested in this niche topic.

    “The Conjugate Method Enhanced Through the Research of Westside Barbell” by Louie Simmons – This goes into detail of the primary training method used at Westside Barbell.

    “The United States Rifle Model of 1917” by C. S. Ferris – Excellent book covering technical details of the Model 1917 rifle.

    “The US Model 1917 Rifle” by Bruce Canfield – Another excellent book on the Model 1917 rifle. Canfield goes into how the rifle was developed and used. He does not include the level of technical detail that Ferris does. Canfield covers some information of interest to collectors concerning identification and markings.

    “Tobacco of the Emperor” by Patrick Philips – A book on the niche topic of tobacco in Imperial Japan from the late 19th century until the Second World War. The book includes lots of great pictures of the artwork on Japanese cigarette packages.

    Now reading: “The Treason of Isengard” – another part of the History of Middle Earth series.

    • R C Dean

      Now just send it to the right email address, and you’re set.

  5. R.J.

    I sent you an email with the two books I am reading.

  6. Raven Nation

    TH: I think you mentioned the Phillip Kerr/Bernie Gunther books. Thanks – I read the first three and enjoyed.

    • The Hyperbole

      Twasn’t me, never heard of him, but they do look interesting, I’ve got the first in my TBR pile.

  7. rhywun

    I am reading the longest chin-stroker I have seen to date on Germany’s Nazi Alternative Party.

    Some of the machinations around Europe’s elite keeping this and similar parties out of power are positively Orwellian. Lots of “we have to kill democracy to save it” bafflegab.

      • JaimeRoberto (carnitas/spicy salsa)

        I’ll say. They stink on ice.

    • SarumanTheGreat

      The model for the cordon sanitaire were the machinations in Italy to keep the Communist Party out of the government post-war through fall of the Berlin War. As a result governments rose and fell like the tide, the Communist party usually got up to a third of the popular vote, and gridlock was the normal state of government. Which was fine by most Italians, they had shit to do.

      • rhywun

        They could have just renamed themselves as “democrats” or some shit as in every other democracy.

  8. juris imprudent

    Taibbi: As years progressed, Trudeau leaned more into a style of government that was authoritarian in character but castrato in delivery.

    Brutal.

    • Chafed

      He is a great writer.

    • Evan from Evansville

      Words flow through him like the salmon of Capistrano.

  9. Gustave Lytton

    From the ded thred re congestion fees and tolling: Fuck Bob Poole with an innovative rusty transportation chainsaw.

    • rhywun

      I’d be happy to entertain market-based answers to this stuff but that ship has sailed halfway to the moon already.

      This fee is largely intended to paper over the waste and fraud of a transit agency that is really a government jobs program with a side dish of providing transportation.

  10. Drake

    Reading Neal Asher’s Brass Man.

    Listening to Alastair Reynolds – Elysium Fire.

    The 2 best sci-fi agent series since Gil the Arm and Jame Retief.

    • rhywun

      Alastair Reynolds – Elysium Fire

      👍 love the Revelation Space books

  11. Fourscore

    I just kept on reading, in spite of Hype’s dereliction. In fact, I ran out of my own books and started reading some that an ex-friend had given me a few years ago.

    He unfriended me over a meme about Obama and watermelons, back in the day, that I had sent him (and probably most Glibs have seen). If that’s all it took it was time to say good bye to him.

    Now I need to look at Hamilton Books on line catalog. I usually stock up before winter but didn’t this year. My own fault and responsibility

  12. Tundra

    Sweet!

    I always liked this one.

    Finished this early on vacation:

    https://www.amazon.com/Carnivore-Diet-Shawn-Baker/dp/162860350X

    Started working my way through this:

    https://www.amazon.com/Provoked-Washington-Started-Catastrophe-Ukraine/dp/1733647376/ref=sr_1_1

    Both are excellent and of course controversial. Horton’s book weighs 2.5 lbs!

    Filling in with a re-read of the Longmire series. Sometimes I need just entertainment.

    Thanks for reviving this, Hyp!

  13. ZWAK, doktor of BRAIN SCIENCE!

    All right, this years books (so far) sent to the email addy.

  14. dbleagle

    Well biden continues to fuck with us. This afternoon they found that his handlers got him to sign documents changing the order of succession for multiple executive agencies.

    https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2025/01/04/ezra_cohen_bidens_last_minute_succession_orders_meant_to_roadblock_trumps_team.html

    That means he has placed the biggest anti-OMB running multiple agencies until the Senate confirms his picks. OMB can change the order back, but since this is Dem EO the agency types can find a judge to block OMB.

    • rhywun

      Too inside-baseball for me but I’m sure Trump’s got some eggheads working on it.

      Or get Elon to raise hell.

      • Gender Traitor

        They need time to bury the bodies and shred the evidence?

      • UnCivilServant

        You’re supposed to bury and shred as you go, not let it all pile up and do a rush job.

        This is why I can’t respect politicians these days – no work ethic.

    • WTF

      What happened to “Our Democracy”? I wonder why the legacy media has no stories about this blatant obstruction of the people’s democratic choice?

      Actually no, I don’t wonder at all.

  15. Evan from Evansville

    I’m not proud of my lack of book-readin.’ I read all the time, but rarely books. Hardly *any* fiction, a particular failing. I *do* enjoy seein’ it ’round again. Always good looks into authors whose work needs looking into. No sarcasm, I hope you’re all enjoying the embiggenment your minds. Hope it rubs off.

    Oooh. Usually ya rub one *out* after embiggening. Also: The Embiggenment –> Damn solid band name. Think P-Funk. (Ooh. Should relisten to Pornosonic.)

  16. dbleagle

    I’ve started my monthly email. Mahalo for starting this back up.

  17. LCDR_Fish

    Picked up a LOT of Games Workshop “Black Library” novels the past couple of years. Current read stack is about a meter tall (lots of multi-novel omnibuses) – mostly Warhammer 40k, but a few fantasy ones too. Generally good quality given the subject matter. Some excellent characters with their own series. A massive amount of lore built up over a few decades. I think the big reason I didn’t see a lot of these sooner (before getting into the game) is because they have really short print runs and then get a heavy focus on kindle/ebooks or high quality audiobooks (people “read” them while doing painting projects, etc) – with occasional reprint runs. Just started “The High Kahl’s Oath” yesterday – the first novel focused on the space dwarves (Leagues of Votann) – who have almost no real “lore” developed since they were only introduced as a playable faction in 2022 or so.

    Also, picking up a number of historical Navy biographies/etc from the CNO reading list and Hardcore History – will post some updates once I start getting those in the mail (handy for reading on the watchfloor when I expect it to be pretty slow).

    • UnCivilServant

      The Votann are only new in that name. They were reintroduced after an absense of decades. They still use the old ‘Squats’ name for the Necromunda models.

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, Sean and U!

      I’m still recovering from digging out yesterday. And still pissed at my boss for waiting so long to follow up his “Show up at 11:30!” message with his “Ha ha! Just kidding! Never mind!” message, leaving me to drive all the way to the office and back over truly shitty roads (passing multiple slide-offs on the interstate) for nothing. 😒

      • UnCivilServant

        Well, I am glad you managed the drive safely, despite those conditions.

        I agree, you have to make such a decicion and send notice Before people start their commute.

      • Gender Traitor

        Thank you. I suspect his actions involved some combination of “what are the other local credit unions doing?” and commiserating with his senior managers – “What do YOU think we should do?” Which is all well and good, but you have to make those decisions IN TIME!

      • UnCivilServant

        “What are other credit unions doing?” – Irrelevant, the question he needed to ask is “Are conditions too dangerous to do business today?”

    • rhywun

      We got a dusting last night.

    • DEG

      Mornin’

      No snow here. I like that.

      Good snow tires are better than snow mode. I run Nokian Hakkapeliittas in the winter in a RWD car and have never needed snow mode or anything like that.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        No snow is the only good snow. Maybe I can retire to somewhere in the Sahara.

      • Not Adahn

        Snow is the best. I have the cleanest for three-four months out of the year.

      • UnCivilServant

        “Snow Tires”? “Snow Mode”?

        It’s as if you people don’t appreciate the finer points of low traction manueverability.

      • Sean

        @ UCS – Great, now I’m picturing you doing donuts in a mall parking lot somewhere…

        Donut gloves!

        @ DEG – My S4 was super fun in the snow. Nothing quite like 3 mechanical diffs.

  18. slumbrew

    “Feels like 3°”

    I will admit I enjoy a bit of alone time when my wife is travelling but the morning dog walks are not my favorite part.

    • rhywun

      I got “-15”. That doesn’t seem right.

      • UnCivilServant

        Wind chill around here just got up to 0, was solidly negative for a while.

      • rhywun

        It IS windy.

        I think I’ll stay inside for now.

    • Not Adahn

      Has he legally changed his name yet?

    • Chipping Pioneer

      No trial. Straight to paradise. Right away.

    • rhywun

      You don’t hate the media enough.

  19. Chipping Pioneer

    January 6, 2025 was a bigger “threat to democracy” and the peaceful transfer of power in Canada than January 6, 2021 ever was in the US.

    Change my mind.

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