Interesting … and true when I first looked at it. How about you?

| March 14, 2024

Pilots and Planes: Smithsonian on Capt. David McCampbell, World War II aviation and the Grumman Hellcat

| February 24, 2024

A few of the history oriented books I read in 2023 were about World War II Naval Aviation in the Pacific … after the previous years studying Navy and US Marine battles. As much as I enjoyed the books by several aviators who flew Corsairs (1, 2, 3, 4) … I really enjoyed reading last […]

Book: “The Fund” about Ray Dalio by Rob Copeland

| February 21, 2024

Once again I started a new book before finishing the last book (audiobook). This time it was on the recommendation of a business journalist that I enjoy (often quirky) and follow online. The book is “The Fund” which so far seems to be a less than polite account of famed Wall Street legend Ray Dalio […]

Books: The Anti-Capitalism Mentality by Ludwig von Mises

| January 30, 2024

As usual, I’m currently reading several different books — different genres for different moods. The one highlighted today is because I don’t really like taking my eReader to the beach. We’ve generally just been going just to walk so haven’t been sitting long enough to read anyway … I don’t want it to be a […]

A Right-of-Center Take on Jason Chaffetz’s “The Puppeteers” – Exposing Hidden Hands in American Politics

| January 18, 2024

As a right-of-center political person, Jason Chaffetz‘s “The Puppeteers” struck a a chord with me. His exposé of the unelected forces shaping American politics confirmed many suspicions and shed light on shadowy corners that aren’t always clear to the casual political observer. Whether you agree with every conclusion, the book sparks vital questions about who […]

Books: Pacific Thunder (audiobook) and standing in line to vote

| November 8, 2023

On Tuesday, November 7th, 2023, I actually stood in line for 20- 30 minutes at the polls in order to vote in an off-year election! It wasn’t a big deal, but I wasn’t expecting a line considering I met my son for brunch after his doctor’s appointment and timed it purposely to not be at […]

Audiobook: “With The Old Breed” by E. B. Sledge

| October 17, 2023

As I’ve blogged a few times before, when it comes to history books, I enjoy reading and learning about World War II history and those of “the Greatest Generation” who rose to moment to save the world in the 1940s. My focus for the last decade or so has been in studying the Pacific Theater […]

Books: Starting “The Next Hundred Years’ War” by Eran Nitzan

| October 7, 2023

This past week I started a book titled “The Next Hundred Years’ War” — it grabbed my attention from the ‘Preface’ and captured my attention to the point I could not comfortably put it down. Eran Nitzan, served as Israel’s economic attaché in Washington DC, and began his book with the back and forth conversation […]

Reading – “Saved: A War Reporter’s Mission to Make It Home” by Benjamin Hall

| June 27, 2023

This past weekend I started a new book that I’ve been looking forward to reading since “Saved: A War Reporter’s Mission to Make It Home” was released in March 2023. Benjamin Hall’s book is one I should have purchased in the spring, but since I had a pile of reading to get through, I opted […]

Books: Started my birthday book as a Sunday devotional read

| June 6, 2023

The above subject line of this post needs to be clarified a bit as I “only started” to read my birthday present book on Sunday … but it will be excellent. The new birthday gift book, “God’s Bible Timeline: The Big Book of Biblical History” from Katelyn, Drew and family should be an enjoyable one […]

Books: Reading Yeonmi Park’s “While Time Remains”

| May 28, 2023

The “hold” for the ebook by Yeonmi Park titled “While Time Remains” became available this past weekend and even though I haven’t finished the last book I started; I guess I’m going to “start” another anyway (it is a “forever problem” — start a book, but never finish it).  From all the interviews of her […]

An ebook is great … but it is not the same thing as reading an ink on paper book shelved at home in ones personal library

| May 20, 2023

An opinion article by Faith Bottum in the Wall Street Journal about ink on paper books, ebook readers and bookshelves spoke to me last week … so I tweeted about it in agreement; I love having books in the home. Perhaps being in printing and publishing established my love for ink on paper, but for […]

Books: “The Courage to Be Free” (2023) – Ron DeSantis

| May 10, 2023

My library borrowing and Kindle game caught up with me this week as the book I borrowed, “Metathreats,”  (and was in the middle of reading) expired … but because I have been keeping my Kindle in “Airplane Mode,” I continued reading. Generally I can’t finish a book without renewing so will often put my Kindle […]

Books: “MegaThreats: Ten Dangerous Trends That Imperil Our Future, And How to Survive Them” by Nouriel Roubini

| April 29, 2023

This past month while semi-vacationing in Florida (condo window installation), I started reading an excellent new book by well-known economist Nouriel Roubini called “MegaThreats: Ten Dangerous Trends That Imperil Our Future, And How to Survive Them” (October 18, 2022). The book follows a trend for me and what I’ve been reading when it comes to […]

Books: “Three Days In January: Dwight Eisenhower’s final mission” by Bret Baier

| March 29, 2023

My daily routine, at least when I’m in town, is to DVR the evening news, “Special Report” at 6PM. I generally watch it and skip the commercials while eating … when it is permitted by Brenda. HA! The daily new wrap-up is probably not edifying since it includes a good dose of disfunctional national politics […]

Audiobook – Inflated: How Money and Debt Built the American Dream by R. Christopher Whalen (published 2010)

| February 28, 2023

This past month on our trip to Florida, I downloaded an audiobook on Hoopla from the library in order to save on iPhone data (our Mint Mobile plan has a 4GB limit). I started it on my AfterShokz headset while on the beach, but Brenda soon wanted to listen with me … so we both […]

Reading list and current Max Hastings Vietnam history book

| February 11, 2023

The WSJ reading list caught my eye this week … most likely due to "The Ship Beneath The Ice" book talking more about the story of Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 expedition to the Antarctic. I’ll be watching for it as a library ebook, but probably after I finished my current history read, "Vietnam:  An Epic Tragedy […]

Amazon book order delay and leftover snow mailbox photo

| December 6, 2022

No … we don’t have snow in Cincinnati just yet, but the snowbelt areas of western New York sure got their share in November. I’ll include a leftover Twitter photo from the Buffalo NY area that is sure to make someone smile (very creative snowman or mailbox)? On the Amazon rant subject, I ordered an  […]

Native American tribes in America before the Europeans #maps

| November 20, 2022

Maps and history have always held my interest (as they do for my son Taylor too). Having grown up when schools glossed over most of American the history prior to Columbus in 1492 (or perhaps the Vikings) … it is interesting to learn a little bit more about the “approximately 20 million” Native Americans that […]

Tech Friday: New Apple Credit Card and library to Kindle books

| November 4, 2022

Posting this late on Thursday night after watching the Houston Astros win game 5 of the 2022 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies making the series 3 games to 2; it has been an enjoyable five games so far … especially since I really am not invested in either team. As for the Tech Friday […]

Book: “The End of the World is just the Beginning” – Peter Zeihan

| October 29, 2022

My friend Jeff and I enjoy discussing and debating nearly every topic under the sun, but few subjects have held our attention over the decades like the impact of technology on society, geopolitics and how changing governments handle or don’t handle the demographics shifts. I tend to look at it from the perspective of an […]

Book: “Team America: The Age of Generals”–Robert L. O’Connell

| September 8, 2022

The WSJ book reviews are a great place to find new and interesting military history books and biographies. The recent download for me is a book by Robert L. Connell highlighting several bigger than life U.S. military generals. “Team America: The Age of Generals,” looks at often written about World War A-list leaders: Gens. Douglas […]

Books: “The Day the Markets Roared” by Henry Kaufman

| September 4, 2022

Having recently read an article about Dr. Doom and “his pinnacle of influence” on August 17th, 1982, I’m adding Henry Kaufman’s book “The Day the Markets Roared” to my Amazon Kindle “want to read” list. Obviously since it is a look back on financial market history, it is not all that crucial that I read […]

Summer 2022: If only every day could be like this

| August 28, 2022

Neither Brenda or I have fully retired yet (although I loaf more than I should), but there is no reason THIS couldn’t be every day during retirement IF the weather was perfect all year around. I probably take more time off during the summer than I should and having the girls for a week in […]

Reading: Long-range winter weather predictions since 1792

| August 21, 2022

While I generally do not plug things on My Desultory Blog, I do enjoy reading the paper edition of a couple of publications. Barron’s Magazine is my go-to weekend reading, but their shrinking size and poor delivery has me giving up on renewing again. If they would promise Saturday delivery again, perhaps with the WSJ, […]

Books: “The Dying Citizen” by Victor Davis Hanson

| July 3, 2022

With a little travel and vacation time coming up, I went into my “want to read” list and downloaded “The Dying Citizen” from the local library to my Kindle. The 2021 book is a longer read (433 pages) from Victor Davis Hanson, a professor and military historian seen regularly on Fox News and Fox Business. […]

Books: “Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America” by Douglas Brinkley

| June 14, 2022

Although I once enjoyed reading biographical and history oriented books by Douglas Brinkley, as well as enjoyed interviews with him on TV, I’ve recently noticed a bit more political partisanship in his commentary and his appearances. To be fair, I wanted to give his writings another shot and try to remain open-minded. The book “Rightful […]

Audiobook: “Land Of Big Numbers” by WSJ’s Te-Ping Chen

| June 8, 2022

In keeping with a previous book, I downloaded another book: “Land Of Big Numbers” by Te-Ping Chen. It is a collection of stories … on the “diverse and legion Chinese people” and according to a review, this book offers an “acute social insight” on Chinese history, their government, “and how all of that tumbled—messy, violently, […]

Birthday Book: “The Old Man and The Boy” by Robert Ruark

| May 24, 2022

My buddy Jeff Pitts is my go-to source for interesting books to read. For my birthday this year (we had lunch last Friday … a Mexican restaurant, of course), he gave me an older 1950’s era book by Robert Ruark called “The Old Man and The Boy.” I passed on reading my other books and […]

Books: “The House of Yan” by Lan Yan and personal tidbits

| May 5, 2022

Although I don’t know all that much more than what I read about China, the culture and history intrigues me. After moving to Sidney, Ohio in high school, I felt like a fish out of water since most kids grew up in town and had gone to school with each other their entire life. When […]

Books: “The End Is Always Near” by Dan Carlin

| February 27, 2022

My son Taylor is a history buff and turned me on to Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcasts. I particularly enjoyed Carlin’s long running Supernova in the East series and commented a couple times previously as it corresponded with quite a few books that I’ve read (and am still reading) detailing World War II and the […]

Books: Downloaded “Unknown Valor” by Martha MacCallum

| January 21, 2022

The hefty book (1139 pages) that I tried to finish by the end of 2021 is finally done (halfway into January 2022) … so now in that same World War II Pacific vein, I’m starting Martha MacCallum’s “Unknown Valor” this week. I remember hearing about it last year, but never added it to my to-read […]

Thinking of Pearl Harbor by finishing a Battle of Midway book

| December 7, 2021

As we remember the day that the Empire of Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and try to “never forget” our ill-preparedness “date that will live in infamy” on December 7, 1941, I’ll finally finish the hefty book “Shattered Sword” by Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully. (it’s a 1139 pages!)  The “untold story of the Battle of Midway” […]

Books: Joe Scarborough’s “Saving Freedom” about “strange little man” called Harry Truman

| November 16, 2021

The author Joe Scarborough is not one of my favorite TV commentators … although I did like him as a politician back in the 1990s. In 2020 he wrote (and narrated) a book published by Harper Collins called “Saving Freedom.” I’ve been contemplating it and since the digital is on my Glose reader app, thought […]

Books: “Brave By Faith” – The winds have changed and appears to be blowing hard behind the forces of secularism

| August 24, 2021

On Sunday night to escape from the distressing domestic politics of the day as well as the Afghanistan debacle … and partly wanting to get my mind on my faith and my attention on what I can control in life … I turned off the TV and put aside the pile of secular topical books […]

Local banking issues, blockchain technology and the interesting book: Crypto Asset Investing in the Age of Autonomy

| August 15, 2021

For decades now I’ve had a fairly positive relationship with both business (CPP) and personal banking … and particularly with local banks. I grumbled the 1990s when multiple bank mergers forced out the manager I worked with in NE Ohio. He knew me by name and often pulled me aside to see if there was anything […]

Tech Friday: Replaced the lithium battery in my Kindle Voyage

| July 16, 2021

My Amazon Kindle Voyage is not used much for reading anymore as I have gravitated to using my iPad, but every time I’ve picked it up lately the battery has been dead. So after ordering an inexpensive replacement lithium battery – it is surprisingly small – I popped the back off with the help of […]

Books: “Beyond”by Stephen Walker about Yuri Gagarin

| July 7, 2021

One of the segments from the Wall Street Journal that I especially enjoy are the book reviews … or the “bookshelf.” I’m always intrigued by the history selections and the review on Stephen Walker’s book “Beyond” was no exception. It so happened that it is also a WSJ+ “free book club read” for the month […]

Books: Brave By Faith by Alistair Begg

| June 13, 2021

The current pile of books to read is too high for my nighttime side table;  I think I need to move a few to my office … or better yet, finish reading them! Since Alistair Begg is a favorite teaching pastor of ours (Parkside Church was our home church when we lived in NE Ohio), […]

Mexican lunches, salsa, discussions, reading and a good friend

| June 6, 2021

For years now … no, it is now decades … my buddy Jeff and I have gone out for lunch ever other week and almost exclusively to a Mexican restaurant … primarily for the chips and salsa (and relaxed conversation). Before that, we lived in different cities (he in Florida and then Alabama … and […]

Book: “The Cost” by Maria Bartiromo and James Freeman

| May 16, 2021

When it comes to reading, I once again have started more books than I can finish. It started with our “rest and relaxation” vacation where I wanted to be sure to have a “paper book” to read on the beach and while relaxing at the condo … but I still haven’t finished “A Random Walk […]

What do MMT economists theorize? “The Deficit Myth” #book

| May 8, 2021

A few times before I’ve thought, and blogged about MMT or Modern Monetary Theory, when it comes to newfangled economics. Personally, I (nor many economists) can accept the thinking or rationalize the large deficits and debt path our country is on. In order to better understand the mind-set, I decided to read Stephanie Kelton’s book […]

Books: Reading the updated investing classic "A Random Walk Down Wall Street" by Burton G. Malkiel

| April 7, 2021

In keeping with a New Year’s resolution from “years ago” to read more non-fiction books and some classic literature still sitting unread on our new bookshelves, I’ve picked up a new edition of an “older” book. For April and more likely May (statistically good months for stock market investing), I’m reading “A Random Walk Down […]

An interesting #book: EPIC – An Around-The-World Journey Through Christian History by Tim Challies

| January 10, 2021

Thanks to my daughter Katelyn and her family, I’m in the process of reading the Tim Challies book, “EPIC – An Around-The-World Journey Through Christian History.” It is the new book I mentioned in my 2020 Christmas wrap-up post … and it has been challenging to put down. BUT … I’m sort of using it […]

World War II book: “I Marched With Patton” by Frank Sisson

| December 30, 2020

When it comes to being the first to read a book, I’m not the guy to turn to, but eventually I do get around to some of them. I’m particularly fond of the history oriented books from the last century and “I Marched With Patton” by Frank Sisson fits that criteria.  This World War II […]

Books: Finished Operation Vengeance, starting Pacific Crucible

| October 14, 2020

This past week I finally finished Dan Hampton’s excellent historical World War II book titled “Operation Vengeance” about the operation to kill Isoroku Yamamoto and can finally move on to the book I mentioned in September after reading a WSJ review. Since the “reviewed” book was the third and finally Ian W. Toll’s book in […]

Spiders, Kadydids, iPhone7+ photos and cooling in the pool

| August 19, 2020

Since I spent most of the weekend outside again doing chores and projects as the weather has been great … I spotted a couple of insects enjoying summer as well. The normal bugs don’t grab my attention, but the brightly colored and unusual ones are worthy of photos (still impressed with the camera on my […]

The Library, Music Room, Bookshelves project in nearly finished

| April 30, 2020

Rather than close out the month of April 2020 with some depressing topic related to COVID19, I’ll post a photo for book lovers (right) and collectors along with a saved newspaper article clipped with a photo to highlight a future project (steps/ladder for the bookshelves) and the latest in the seemingly SLOW progress of putting […]

All things RMS Titanic … now you know the rest of the story

| March 11, 2020

My friend Jeff gave me a couple “used” books for Christmas this year after we talked last year about our favorite authors and books over the decades. Sloan Wilson, of “Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” fame, also wrote several World War II US Coast Guard and Merchant Marine novels that both of us read […]

Tech Friday: Overcoming Paywalls with the help of Pocket

| August 9, 2019

Currently, I pay for a few subscriptions. Some pricey (Wall Street Journal, Barrons, etc) because I avidly read them. Others, like monthly magazines, I continue to pay for and rarely get around to reading, especially online only subscriptions. Several others, I occasionally receive a link or click on one from those annoying “reader apps” that […]

Ohio gas taxes and a book by Kristin Tate – How Do I Tax Thee?

| March 7, 2019

I do miss browsing in bookstores … something our family would regularly do Sunday after church … and something my daughter and I would do “in the good ol’ days” when I would visit her in college. I suppose there are still a few bookstores around to enjoy, but nowadays I read what is recommended […]

Tech Friday: Options to subscriptions services raising prices

| January 18, 2019

The recent price increases rumbling through the economy are starting to be felt in the products we all use and have learned to appreciate. One of the services I’ll likely eliminate before the monthly price increase is the streaming service Netflix. We did this once before, but with all the new added content and lack […]

Book: The Forgotten Highlander: An Incredible WW2 Story …

| October 24, 2018

I can’t vouch for the complete book (I’ve just starting reading it), but for those of us who appreciate first hand accounts of heroism, survival and World War II history … spending $2 on Alistair Urquhart’s "The Forgotten Highlander: An Incredible WWII Story of Survival in the Pacific," is well worth it. An amazing story […]

Books: The Great Revolt – Salena Zito and Brad Todd

| August 26, 2018

I may have pick up my favorite political book of the year with Salena Zito and Brad Todd’s "The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics." It analyzes the unusual rise of once "long shot" billionaire reality-tv GOP candidate Donald Trump who defeated 17 other Republican "politicians" and chipped off enough disgruntled Independent […]

Favorite Book from last couple years: Star Sand by Roger Pulvers

| April 28, 2018

While on the subject of reading and books (after posting about Robert Kurson’s Rocket Men a couple days ago), I realized I didn’t really share much a book I read a couple years ago (mentioned briefly in 2016). Star Sand by Roger Pulvers  (May 2016) is currently a free Kindle download for Amazon Prime customers and […]

Book: Rocket Men by Robert Kurson (author of Shadow Divers)

| April 22, 2018

Ordered the book Rocket Men, The Daring Odyssey of Apollo 8 and the Astronauts Who Made Man’s First Journey to the Moon based on the author Robert Kurson and enjoying the writing style and content in his previous book Shadow Divers. If you enjoy history, space exploration, NASA and the heroic astronauts and scientist that […]

New book: White Working Class by Joan C. Williams

| May 16, 2017

The Kindle ebook reader is my preferred choice ever since getting my "own" ereader. My buddy Jeff has found a new way to entertain me … gifting Amazon books (this one for my birthday). I sense that he assumes everybody reads as much as he does? I assure you that I do not … but […]

Reading Predictably Irrational on a Kindle and some humor

| April 19, 2017

My friend Jeff and I try to get together for a Friday lunch once or twice a month. We often discuss work, politics and management, particularly as it relates to his job and potential advancement … although we recognized the limited number of years for that second part. Anyway, one of the books he is […]

What are you reading: A few saved February 2016 articles

| February 23, 2016

Winter weekends (even warm ones) present an opportunity to catch up on a pile of articles collected during the week. These are one that aren’t necessarily timely or are “required” reading based on the news of the day.  Those who know me, know that I’ve enjoyed a few minutes each morning leafing though the Wall […]

Advice: Best promo for WSJ.com if you want to try it out

| June 22, 2015

For those of you who are NOT Wall Street Journal readers, but have always wanted to try it out, here’s your chance. The $1 price is about as cheap as I’ve ever seen from WSJ.com  … for a 3 month introductory deal. The yearly or normal monthly subscription is higher and can be hard to […]

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
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