Large Scale Central

Reading is one of my other hobbies

Other Hobbies
#101

Vic Smith said:

Steve Featherkile said:
Vic, you must be reading about Taffey 3.

Yes Taffy 3 and the Battle Off Samar. Steve I think you would really find this book an excellent read. Very informative and hard to put down. I am waiting for the authors next book “Neptunes Inferno” about the naval battles off Guadelcanal to be released in paperback at the end of the month.

Bringing a thread back from oblivion…

I finally got my hands on Neptune’s Inferno and Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors. Like Vic said, hard to put down. Hornfischer doesn’t pull any punches, does he? Four facts from the first several chapters that stand out:

  1. Guadalcanal was more a Naval battle than a Marine show.

  2. Nearly three times as many Sailors died in securing that island than did Marines.

  3. Many mistakes were made in Operation Watchtower, primarily because such a thing had never been attempted before.

  4. Like at Iwo Jima at the end of the war, “Uncommon Valor was a Common Virtue,” but so was the other trait, especially among senior Naval Officers.

#102

The other trait?

oh.

OH!

Um, ah…

#103

Steve Featherkile said:

I finally got my hands on Neptune’s Inferno

What a koinky dink, I just started reading that one.

#104

Yes hard to put down, Both books make an interesting bookend of the Pacific War, Neptunes Inferno being the US Navies first shooting war really since the Civil War. Lots of mistakes and poor command decisions until they got the right people in the right positions, the positive results of that hard deadly learning curve were shown in Last Stand by the shear bravery of the skippers and crews of Taffy 3 when faced with seemingly impossible odds, attacked!

Steve if you can find it, the complimentary book to these two is Japanese Destroyer Captain, by Tameichi Hara, who’s naval career put him the very same battles depicted in Hornfishers books, but its from the Japanese side, and is equally engrossing and fascinating, and gives a broader view of the war and why the Japanese started strong but were eventually brushed from the seas as a fighting force, Hara pulls no punches and gives a damming perspective on the mindset that doomed the IJN.

#105

BTW I’m currently reading “Day by Day Apocalypse” what can I say, I have a fondness for zombie genre stories (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

#106

Hans,

I was just checking if someone had posted something about CP Aircraft that came across my feed and ended up on your contribution to this thread. I didn’t know the CP had an airline, let alone hotels etc. What happened? Were there any other railways that dabbled off-track?

(Oh and I enjoy reading too! Keeping to the thread.)

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#107

Guys;

I’m a self-admitted Tolkie. Love the works of J. R.R. Tolkien, and have read most of them. BUT most of the time I prefer reading The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. My Brandywine & Gondor RR equipment is supposedly set in Middle Earth.

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Regards, David Meashey

P.S. I also like the other version of reading, Reading (pronounced like “redding”), as I grew up in Reading Railroad territory.

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#108

I’m curious Dave, did you find Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit to be as unbelievably awful as I did? I could not believe that a cartoon from the mid 70’s by Rankin/Bass managed in 77 minutes to capture the essence of the book while Jackson’s 3 part 6 hour debacle was so unwatchable. Maybe because I’ve read the hobbit at least 3 maybe 4 times.

BTW current reading list:
A graphic novel on the 24 hours of the day Hirohito ordered Japan to surrender and was then threatened with a military coup d’etat.
I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, a biography of Jimmy Doolittle.
Destroyer Captain, The Life of Ernest E. Evans, By father and son James D. Hornfischer and David J. Hornfischer.
Dog Stories, by James Herriot
Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon. About the espionage behind the Manhattan Project.
Race to the Future, about the first 8000 mile race from Peking to Paris in 1907.
The Last Stand, on how George Custer got Siouxed

Gonna be a summer of reading

#109

Vic;

YOU BETCHA’!! Especially since he made an orc only mentioned in one line in the book a major character! (Come on, get a bit of common sense, Peter!)

Also like the Cat in the Stacks mysteries (anything featuring a very protective Maine Coon gets my interest), the Lis McKinna Moosetookalook Scottish Emporium mysteries, and used to be a big fan of Isaac Asimov’s science fiction works.

Best, David Meashey

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#110

in the end of the '70ies, i found the german version of LotR - by the mid '80ies i had read it all in german, english and spanish. (each version more than once)
exception: the Silmarilion. that one was so dry, i just did read it once.
The Hobbit i found excellent in english, but like bed-time stories for toddlers in german.
middle earth helt me captive till - i read A Song of Ice and Fire (the later, in my opinion, the best adaption of books into movies ever made).

although i made some intents to model some of the buildings of middle earth in 1:32 and for my children’s playmobils, i never got the idea to integrate middle earth into my train hobby.

but not only he should be mentioned. Heinlein and more than a handfull of others were masters of slide rule space operas.

#111

Now we are talking guys.

#112

Rick;

Larry Niven Ringworld and The Integral Trees and C. J. Cherryh The Pride of Chanur series as well.

Best, David Meashey

#113

Dave, the Ringworld I remember the other not so much but sounds familiar.

A few of my favorites over time were; The chronicles of Amber by Zelazny, The Earthsea Trilogy by LeGuin, or any of her Dragon Rider series.

And lets not forget just about anything by Stephan King.

#114

the older ones among us might remember the worlds of M. Moorcock.
and not to forget T.H. White and T. Pratchett…

#115

I will throw in my favourites for this year.

I’m currently working through the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, but these one have stood out for me this year. The Rosie project I listened to on Audible which was a bit embarrassing as I was laughing out loud for no apparent reason.

1. We Are Bob (Dennis E. Taylor)
Smart, funny, and full of geeky charm, We Are Bob follows a software engineer who wakes up as an AI tasked with exploring the stars. It’s a perfect blend of sci-fi, humor, and existential musing—ideal for fans of The Martian or Red Dwarf.

2. The Rosie Project (Graeme Simsion)
A quirky and heartwarming rom-com told through the lens of Don Tillman, a socially awkward genetics professor (clearly a genius on the spectrum) who designs a scientific survey to find a wife—only to have his world upended by Rosie. It’s sharp, and delightfully original.

3. Cryptonomicon (Neal Stephenson)
A rich, sprawling techno-thriller that weaves WWII codebreakers with modern-day cryptographers. Expect deep dives into math, history, and data security, wrapped in a witty, intricate plot that rewards the patient reader. I love real history in a novel.

4. Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson)
A cyberpunk classic packed with sword-wielding hackers, corporate-run city-states, and a deadly virtual drug. Frenetic, bold, and prophetic, it’s a wild ride that helped shape the vision of the metaverse before the word existed.

5. The Three-Body Problem (Liu Cixin)
This mind-bending sci-fi epic begins during China’s Cultural Revolution and grows into a vast, cosmic chess match between civilizations. It’s thought-provoking, suspenseful, and intellectually dazzling—ideal for hard sci-fi lovers.

#116

Rick;

Probably just a slip, but the Dragon Riders of Pern series was by Anne McCaffery. I also have Dragon’s Code, written by Anne’s daughter, Gigi McCaffery.

Best, David Meashey

P.S. Have also read The Wizard of Earthsea, but my favorite wizard is still Gandalf (sorry Harry Potter fans, like him too).

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#117

At present I’ve shifted gears and am in the middle of " The American Claimant" by Mark Twain.
In the Que is "The Girl in the Spider Web’
And upcoming there are:
1932, FDR, Hoover, and the Dawn of a New America
Carrots love Tomatoes
Effortless Greenhouse Gardening for Beginners
and Mini Farming self sufficiency on a 1/4 acre.
Should bore me enough to get back to Middle Earth and Dragon lore

#118

You’re right of course, just another age related slip up on my part. :smiley:

#119

if you are into that stuff look up this guy: John Seymour (author) - Wikipedia

his books saved me from getting broke during the first three years of farming/ranching.

edit: look into this one: https://archive.org/details/TheCompleteBookOfSelfSufficiencyJohnSeymour

its free online read.

#120

HJ

Currently I have been reading this for the 20th time. However the 3d pop up version is incredible!