DansDeals Book Club

[YitzyS]

למשל?

I'm not in the sugya now, but a few come to mind. "Formidable," "ejaculated," "sprang forward," "curious," "when you have eliminated the impossible, what remains, however improbable, must be the truth," and many others that fail to rise to through the windows of my conscious at the present moment.

[biobook]

Are there any Sherlock Holmes fans on the forums? I've read most of the stories throughout the years, some multiple times, and I've found myself becoming quite an admirer.

Am I a fan?  On my first trip to London, with no hansom cabs in sight, I walked all the way to 221B Baker Street.  Couldn't stay long though.  The game was afoot! 

[yungermanchik]

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle once called a cab in London. After the cabbie put his suitcase in the trunk, he turned to Sir Arthur and exclaimed, "you're the author of Sherlock Holmes." When asks how he knows he said, "well, from the rubbed out cuff of your suit, I can see you're a writer. From the fact that it's an expensive suit, I can tell you're a successful writer. From the deep furrows in your brow, it's obvious that you a deep thinker. A deep thinker who's also a writer must be a mystery writer. A successful mystery writer must be the author of Sherlock Holmes." Sir Arthur was duly impressed by the deductions, but had one question, "there are two other successful mystery writers in England, how did you know I wasn't one of them?" "Oh that," replied the cabbie with a grin, "simple, I saw Doyle on your suitcase"

[YitzyS]

Am I a fan?  On my first trip to London, with no hansom cabs in sight, I walked all the way to 221B Baker Street.  Couldn't stay long though.  The game was afoot!

It's natural for the one who can track down a tombstone in a few hours to admire the reasoning of Holmes..

[biobook]

It's natural for the one who can track down a tombstone in a few hours to admire the reasoning of Holmes..

Reading Holmes started it all, when I was about 11-12 years old.  Then came Hercule Poirot, using his little gray cells, and I had finished all of Agatha Christie's books before I finished high school.  They introduced me to the idea that searching for clues and solving mysteries could be actual adult activities.  Of course, I also expected to be smoking a pipe, but fortunately didn't try to emulate Holmes quite that closely.

[YitzyS]

Of course, I also expected to be smoking a pipe, but fortunately didn't try to emulate Holmes quite that closely.

Opium?

[Iz]

I'm not in the sugya now, but a few come to mind. "Formidable," "ejaculated," "sprang forward," "curious," "when you have eliminated the impossible, what remains, however improbable, must be the truth," and many others that fail to rise to through the windows of my conscious at the present moment.

[biobook]

Opium?

The pipe had tobacco.  He also injected cocaine, apparently, but I'm sure I didn't get what that meant at the time I read it.

[YitzyS]

The pipe had tobacco.  He also injected cocaine, apparently, but I'm sure I didn't get what that meant at the time I read it.

I think Opium was when he had to go undercover to an Opium den.

[YitzyS]

Speaking of Sherlock Holmes...

Rav Yisroel Reisman once cited a Homes story when giving a shiur. He was talking about Ehud ben Gera killing Eglon, and being a lefty, he hid the knife under his right lapel so that he can access it with this left hand. Rabbi Reisman said that in order to kill someone with a knife, the killer needs to use their full strength, a concept that is found in Sherlock Holmes, in the story "Black Peter," when Holmes realized that the scrawny old guy couldn't be the murderer because he did not have enough strength to drive a harpoon through the victim's body.

[Randomex]

To inflict a fatal wound using a knife (that is, one that would inevitably prove fatal given the limits
of the medical profession in Eglon's time), I am certain that one would not need one's full strength.
Also, that is very different from the amount of strength required to drive a harpoon through a man.

[Something Fishy]

Anyone have a recommendation for a book that covers South African history, specifically apartheid? How it came to be, how it was justified, and how it fell?

I'm looking for something that covers it from all sides, not a Nelson Mandela biography.

@Dawie @Yehuda57 @other African-American DDFers

[Yehuda57]

Anyone have a recommendation for a book that covers South African history, specifically apartheid? How it came to be, how it was justified, and how it fell?

I'm looking for something that covers it from all sides, not a Nelson Mandela biography.

@Dawie @Yehuda57 @other African-American DDFers

Sorry, totally not your guy for this.

[Yaalili]

Atomic Habits was an excellent read.

[dm123]

I didn't even know that the second book existed until last week, and then I devoured it in one sitting. Must-read for anyone even remotely interested in Jewish history. It's absolutely mind-blowing in its simplicity:

The Memoirs of Gluckel of Hameln

You could see the original in Yiddish here: http://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/mshebr/content/pageview/1557447

Some background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gl%C3%BCckel_of_Hameln

If you liked that I highly recommend Rememberings by Pauline Wengeroff There is also a more "academic/complete translation" but this abridged version is fantastic and I've heard gets whatever most people are interested in.

Also a good read if you like memoirs from last few centuries of Ashkenazi history is Solomon Maimon's Autobiography, although I borrowed it from a friend, not sure if this is that version/translation.

Has anyone else read Isaac Walterson's Books? I enjoyed The Innovators and Steve Jobs so far the most but have found all his books to be well written and very nicely sourced (at least the one's I've read until now).

Are there any Sherlock Holmes fans on the forums? I've read most of the stories throughout the years, some multiple times, and I've found myself becoming quite an admirer.

Not sure I'd consider myself a super-fan but definitely loved them when I read them.

[aygart]

I didn't even know that the second book existed until last week, and then I devoured it in one sitting. Must-read for anyone even remotely interested in Jewish history. It's absolutely mind-blowing in its simplicity:

The Memoirs of Gluckel of Hameln

You could see the original in Yiddish here: http://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/mshebr/content/pageview/1557447

Some background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gl%C3%BCckel_of_Hameln

"17th-century Jewish woman’s diaries to be adapted into new graphic novel - The Jerusalem Post" https://m.jpost.com/diaspora/article-716093/amp

[sddd]

If you liked that I highly recommend Rememberings by Pauline Wengeroff There is also a more "academic/complete translation" but this abridged version is fantastic and I've heard gets whatever most people are interested in.

Also a good read if you like memoirs from last few centuries of Ashkenazi history is Solomon Maimon's Autobiography, although I borrowed it from a friend, not sure if this is that version/translation.

Has anyone else read Isaac Walterson's Books? I enjoyed The Innovators and Steve Jobs so far the most but have found all his books to be well written and very nicely sourced (at least the one's I've read until now).
 Not sure I'd consider myself a super-fan but definitely loved them when I read them.

These both seem super interesting but hesitant to read as it seems both went otd.
Would love if anyone had similar first person historical accounts along the same lines.

[sguitarist18]

Are there any good websites for really great book recommendations?

I like fiction, preferably sci-fi and fantasy. Trying to google reviews, most websites seem to give more weight to how many trans characters there are than how good the story is.

I'm looking for a story that has moments where you say, "oh my god, that was awesome!" Presumably, it owuld have a good plot and characters.

[Randomex]

GoodReads is mostly non-professional reviews/ratings.

[Randomex]

Are there any good websites for really great book recommendations?

I like fiction, preferably sci-fi and fantasy.
<snip>

Best-of-year genre anthologies often have forewords that go over the year's notable releases. Your local public library should have some.