8/31/10

I went up to the Legends Mall in KCKS to visit Books-A-Million a big box bookstore. Although I didn't find any thing to purchase, as I knew I wouldn't, I went there to put out Bookview cards. And so I put out ten cards which is delightful.

I am now putting together bookmarks to be sent to conventions that are taking place in October. I have seven conventions that I am planning to send bookmarks to which is perfect.

8/29/10

I finished reading "The Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of An American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disappearance" by David V. Herlihy and it was a enthralling read. David V. Herlihy goes into the bicycling craze of the 1890s and how people like cyclist Frank Lenz and cyclist William Sachtleben could become celebrities through athletic feats. Things don't change much.

8/27/10

I finished reading "Nelson Algreen: A Life On the Wild Side" by Bettina Drew a biography of a writer who lived a rough life and truly suffered. It was a good read and an uncompromising story which made it such a good read.

I also finished reading "Boeing" by Guy Norris & Mark Wagner a large-sized book that chronicles the amazing story of Boeing the manufacturer of aircraft which as had a dramatic impact on transportation not only in the United States but throughout the world in peace and in war. A good read about a company that truly fascinates me.

I am now reading "The Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of An American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disappearance" by David V. Herlihy and is the story of renowned cyclist Frank Lenz who in 1892 decided to cover twenty thousand miles over three continents and in eastern Turkey he mysteriously disappeared. Another cyclist William Sachtleben went on Lenz's trail to bring about justice. This looks to be a fascinating read. I have several other books that I have read that I am planning to put with it to make an issue.

8/26/10

I finished reading "Mr. Confidential: The Man, His Magazine and the Movieland Massacre That Changed Hollywood Forever" by Samuel Bernstein and it was a very good read. Confidential was not just a magazine of Robert Harrison but a family affair. That made it a very good read.

8/25/10

I have taken a break from reading "Nelson Algreen: A Life On the Wild Side" by Bettina Drew, which is going well. I am up to when he has finished writing and has just been published "The Man With the Golden Arm." Reading of his struggles to become a writer and facing censorship and FBI surveillance is making for an interesting read.

I am taking a break from reading the Algreen biography to read "Mr. Confidential: The Man, His Magazine and the Movieland Massacre That Changed Hollywood Forever" by Samuel Bernstein and is the biography of Robert Harrison on how he became a publisher of girlie magazine in the sexually repressed forties and how he came up with the idea of Confidential that would change the face of entertainment journalism. So far a good read. This is the second book about Confidential that I have read with the first being "Shocking True Story: The Rise and Fall of Confidential, 'America's Most Scandalous Scandal Magazine" by Henry E. Scott which was a very good read. I am going to review both books together.

8/23/10

I finally finished reading "Dan Rice: The Most Famous Man You've Never Heard Of" by David Carlyon and is the biography of Dan Rice who, back in the nineteenth century was a minstrel song-and-dance man, Shakespearian jester, American Humorist, and circus showman who would inspire the Ringling Brothers and perform in Hannibal, Missouri when Sam Clemens was a boy and as Mark Twain would write about Rice's circus. Although not as well known as P. T. Barnum today, in his time he was just as famous as Barnum. This biography will be part of an issue about "Showman." Now to read "P. T. Barnum: The Legend and the Man" by A. H. Saxon.

I am now reading "Nelson Algreen: A Life On the Wild Side" by Bettina Drew and it is a very fascinating read.

I had planned to mail off twenty sets of bookmarks today to twenty libraries but I actually mailed off twenty-one sets of bookmarks today to twenty-one libraries! So not only have I meet the quota for this month and next month but I have now just have to do twenty-nine sets for October. So I'm really ahead of myself.

8/22/10

I finished reading another biography of John Reed and it was also a very good read. The book I finished reading was "Romantic Revolutionary: A Biography of John Reed" by Robert A. Rosenstone. This biography is a more detailed one about the life and work of John Reed as a journalist and as a revolutionary. A very good read.

8/20/10

I mailed off forty sets of bookmarks today to forty libraries. Thirty sets meets the quota for this month and the other ten sets count for next month. All I need to do is put together twenty sets to meet the total for next month. I've sent sets of bookmarks to libraries in Kansas and Missouri along with libraries in other sets. Just thought that I should mail some bookmarks out to libraries regionally.

I finished that delightful book today, "Taking On the Trust: The Epic Battle of Ida Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller" by Steve Weinberg. This is amazing story on how an investigative journalist brought down Standard Oil. Which means that she did battle with John D. Rockefeller. This book is a biography of Ida Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller and how their lives became intertwined due to oil wells in Pennsylvania. When I saw this book I was captivated by it since I had already read a biography of Ida Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller some years ago and I am very glad that I did read this book. It was well written and very well researched that brought the whole episode to life.

8/18/10

I finished reading "John Steinbeck: A Biography" by Jay Parini which was a really good read. I learned so much about the writer John Steinbeck and am very pleased that I found this biography. I am planning to review this biography with a biography of Ernest Hemingway that I have already read. To complete the issue I am planning to read "Nelson Algreen: A Life On the Wild Side" by Bettina Drew. Nelson Algreen was a Chicago-born writer who gained fame with his novel "The Man with the Golden Arm" but had a troubled life. Another writer I would like to include in the issue is William Faulkner of which I have a biography in my collection.

8/16/10

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings I have dialysis. The dialysis runs from 6 am to 10:20 am and is very important to keeping me alive. The doors open to the dialysis center around 5 am and usually we are able to get in. As for me I like to arrive at the hospital about 3:30 am. After eating a light breakfast I use the remaining time to read. This is always a nice, quite time which give me an hour or more to read. It is always a pleasurable experience and I am so glad to have this time in which to read.

8/14/10

Today I've been addressing envelopes. Thirty of them which will be sent out to libraries with bookmarks. The libraries are in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Ohio, and West Virginia. A good spread of libraries. Now all I need to do is put the bookmarks in the envelopes, stamp them, and send them out.

8/13/10

Today was a hellish day at dialysis. But the whole week has also been a rough day. Just so very tired.

I finished reading a interesting biography today. The book I finished is "Too Close to the Sun: The Audacious Life and Times of Denys Finch Hattan" by Sara Wheeler. Wheeler did an excellent job in chronicling life in England at the beginning of the 20th century and the reason so many English traveled to Africa to recreated their lives and the impact that World War One had on English society. Very good.

I am now reading "John Steinbeck: A Biography" by Jay Parini which chronicles the life of the novelist and how he struggled to become a successful writer and then struggled with the success. So far a good read.

8/11/10

Had a rough night and an equally rough day. The hell continues as usual. Just can't back into writing reviews even though I want to. Just having a rough time. And the stress is really killing.

I did finish reading two books today. Just need to review them.

I finished reading "The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture" by John Battelle and is a chronicling of the short history of searching on the World Wide Web and how it has become so profitable and brought about the company Google. A very fascinating history lesson that really isn't so much in the past.

I also finished reading "Boeing: Plane maker to the World" by Robert Redding & Bill Yenne. Boeing is more than just a plane maker, as the authors of this book point out, and since its beginnings has had quite an impact on the United States and in other countries throughout the world. Boeing not only manufactures airplanes for military and civilian uses, but has also been an important player in the space program and in information technology. A very fascinating book about a very interesting company.

I am now reading two books: "Cousteau: The Captain and His World" by Richard Munson a biography of the famous captain who not only coinvented the Aqua-lung but also launched the science of undersea studies through his documentaries and books. This is the second biography of Cousteau I have and there has been a third published that I want to get and put all three together in an issue. "Too Close to the Sun: The Audacious Life and Times of Denys Finch Hattan" by Sara Wheeler which is the biography of Denys Finch Hatton who was a champion of Africa, and legendary for his charm, lover, soldier, hunter, and bush pilot. This biography will be reviewed in an issue I plan to call "In Africa."

8/9/10

I finished reading a delightful biography today. It was indeed a excellent read that I am so happy that I had the chance to read. "Pearl Buck In China: Journey to the Good Earth" by Hilary Spurling is a biography of Pearl Buck and her life in China that no longer exist. First as a child growing up in China of a missionary family and how she became more Chinese than American and then as the wife of a missionary who worked in China. A very good biography that illustrates how her life in China made her into the person who would become one of the greatest writers on China. I am planing to review this biography in an issue I am planning to title "In China."

8/8/10

I mailed off 300 bookmarks today which will go out tomorrow. One hundred bookmarks each will be going out to three conventions: Foolscap, MadCon 2010, and the 16th Annual Damfinos Convention (a Buster Keaton festival). So all the bookmarks have been sent out to the conventions that I had planned.

I finished reading "A Very Dangerous Citizen: Abraham Lincoln Polonsky and the Hollywood Left" by Paul Buhle and Dave Wagner and is the biography of Abraham Lincoln Polonsky a respected screenwriter in Hollywood and director who was blacklisted and yet continued writing. An excellent biography of a man and his times.

8/7/10

Had a delightful time today. I went over to the Museum of Natural History at KU and viewed all the displays. It is a very complete museum and is always delightful to visit. While at the museum I put out fifty bookmarks.

I then mailed off bookmarks to two conventions. Each convention got two hundred bookmarks. These conventions are Armadillo Con 32 and Dragon*Con.

The story of the California gold rush of 1848 is a very fascinating story and I just finished reading a book about it that was totally enthralling. The book is "Gold!: The Story of the 1848 Gold Rush and How It Shaped A Nation" by Fred Rosen. He describes how the gold rush came about and one of the people he writes about is Robert James, the father of Frank and Jesse James, and how his death in California would change their lives. As the gold rush in California changed the nation. It was a very good read.

I also finished reading another book. A delightful book of business trivia. Just the type I do enjoy. "How It All Began: The Stories Behind Those Famous Names" by Maurice Baren was a delightful read and very interesting.

8/6/10

I mailed off bookmarks to four conventions today. Each convention got 100 bookmarks and the conventions I sent bookmarks to are: DumDum 2010, SetiCon 2010, Copper Con 30, and Bubonicon 42. These are conventions that are taking place this month.

I also finished reading two books today.

I finished reading "Amazon.com: Get Big Fast" by Robert Spector and it was a truly fascinating read. This book describes how Jeff Bezos got the idea and with the people he recruited he was able to created a fascinating success story.

The other book I finished reading was "Straight On Till Morning: The Biography of Beryl Markham" by Mary S. Lovell and is the biography of the simply amazing Beryl Markham. She grew up in British East Africa (Kenya) and was raised by Africans and grew up like a native with the ability to speak their languages, hunt like them, and live like them. And like her father she became an excellent horse trainer who was able to raise winners. She also became a pilot who earned her living in Africa flying supplies for hunters and also spotting trophy big game for hunters. She was an extraordinary bush pilot who flew in a time when the airplane was very primitive and flew on a continent that was very primitive. Markham then attempted a flight from England to the Untied States and almost succeeded. She then wrote a remarkable book about her exploits that is just an amazing read. Beryl Markham was just an amazing person and Mary S. Lovell has really done a great job at bringing Markham's life to light!

And now I am doing some light reading. A book full of business trivia that is a pleasure to read. This book is "How It All Began: The Stories Behind Those Famous Names" by Maurice Baren and chronicles the business in Great Britain got started.

8/5/10

I am here at the Country Club branch of the KCMO library system for a book talk and signing by David Thomson, film historian/writer/educator. I missed his other book events in KCMO in past years due to health problems and I had decided that I was not going to miss this one. He wrote an excellent biography of David O. Selznick that I really enjoyed reading years ago and I will get it signed this time. Missing him the last two times was very frustrating.

While here at the library I have put out book marks. Fifty each in two locations. Just perfect.

David Thomson talk was most delightful and I was able to get two books autographed and was able to tell him how much I enjoyed his biography of David O. Selznick. Finally got to attend a David Thomson event!

8/4/10

I finished reading "Contrails: A Boeing Salesman Reminisces" by Eugene E. Bauer. It was an excellent memoir of of Boeing salesman who, in the 1970s, completed with other airplane manufactures to sell planes in Central and South America. Just a fantastic account. What took me so long to read this excellent memoir?

Thanks to reading "The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World" by David Kirkpatrick I am now reading "Amazon.com: Get Big Fast" by Robert Spector. This is the story of Jeff Bezos who through his jobs on Wall Street got the idea of selling books on the Internet when the Internet was just starting. Bezos was able to build something the world had never seen and he created the most recognized brand name on the Internet and in the world. An amazing story of a startup that faced competition from established bookstores and succeeded.

8/3/10

I had to go up to the KCMO Metro area today. So coming back I stopped over at Bonner Springs, Kansas and visited their new library and put out fifty bookmarks. Their new library is a very nice one and I'm glad that I decided to visit it.

I got a book today: "Pearl Buck In China: Journey to the Good Earth" by Hilary Spurling which is the biography of Pearl Buck who grew up in an imperial China. She was the child of American missionaries who spoke Chinese before she learned English. In 1932 she wrote "The Good Earth" that would sell millions of copies and transfixed a whole generation of readers. I am looking forward to reading about her life. I am planning to review this book with two other books about Westerners in China. It should make an interesting issue.

I am currently reading "Contrails: A Boeing Salesman Reminisces" by Eugene E. Bauer. His memoir os being a Boeing Regional Sales Director who sold commercial airplanes in nine countries in South America and Latin America from 1973 - 1978. A very fascinating read of how he dealt with competition from other airplane manufactures and the governments in the countries. I am planning to review this book with other memoirs of business people.

I am also putting together bookmarks which I am planning to send to conventions in August and in September. One convention is a Buster Keaton convention in Muskegon, Michigan and the other conventions are science fiction related. I'll need to start sending out the bookmarks.

8/2/10

I started reading "The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Han Van Meegeren" by Jonathan Lopez yesterday and I just couldn't put it down and finished reading it today. This book of an incredible read. Not only does Jonathan Lopez chronicle Han Van Meegeren twisted career, but he also reconstructs the insidious network of illicit trade in the art market's underworld. Just a compelling read that exposes the myths and crimes. Just how much has really changed in the art world?

8/1/10

I got two books today and both of them are connected to art history.

"The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Han Van Meegeren" by Jonathan Lopez. Since World War II the story of forger Han Van Meegeren is of the man who ripped off the Nazis. But as Jonathan Lopez writes, the story of Han Van Meegeren is much more complex and that makes the story of forger Han Van Meegeren much more fascinating. So I am reading this book now.

"Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures" by Robert K. Wittman & John Shiffman. Robert K. Wittman was the founder of the FBI Art Crime Team and this is his story of his twenty year career to catch art thieves, scammers, and black-market traders saving hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of art and antiques. This should prove to be a fascinating read.

(c) copyright 2010 by William Tienken