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JIm FUlner

re@d.jimfulner.com

Joined 1 month, 3 weeks ago

I'm trying to get this Bookwyrm thing right. I wish I could just edit the database directly, because trying to add over 1,000 books to my library through the web interface is a pain in the butt.

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JIm FUlner's books

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Currently Reading (View all 6)

2026 Reading Goal

82% complete! JIm FUlner has read 33 of 40 books.

R. D. Reynolds: Wrestlecrap (2003)

So I figured this was just going to be a "Top 10 worst moments in Wrestling" YouTube video from back before that was a thing. I have a watched a lot of those, so I assumed it would be little new to me. While there certainly some items I had heard many times, Hogan is a giant jerk, Giant was thrown off the Cobo Center roof and we thought he died but he had no problem wrestling the main event, etc. I actually did find a lot of information that was new to me. I'm going to ahead and add a few of Hogan's "bad movies" to my DVD queue because they sounded just like the kind of movies I like to watch when I'm in a mood for a "bad movie"

David Boaz: The Politics of Freedom (Hardcover, 2008, Cato Institute)

Not really a book as one normally thinks of a book. A more-or-less random collection of 20+ years worth of articles Boaz has authored. Some published in the likes of the Chicago Tribune and New York Times, and some never made it off some shitty 90s libertarian blog. returnreturnEach article ends with a date and the publication. Would be a lot better if it was included at the beginning of the article because time/date give a lot of context. returnreturnReally out of date in a lot of ways. Some insight was useful on communicating with liberals, but he went off the rails talking about the necessity for the military to strike back after 9/11. That got to be pretty disgusting. returnreturnProbalby would have been better in 2008.

Danny Duncan Collum: White boy (Paperback, 2011, Apprentice House)

In the summer of 1961, black and white Freedom Riders from all over the U.S. …

This book was fantastic, just like everything I have read by Danny Duncan Collum. returnreturnThis book was the first fiction of his that I have read. returnreturnTommy Jackson is just a normal working class white boy from rural Mississippi. Like any 1950s teenager he likes driving around with his friends and getting drunk when mom isn't looking. One day a black boy in town is disrespectful to a white girl, and later that night Tommy inadvertently witnesses his murder. returnreturnFor the rest of his life he tries to pretend he didn't. returnreturnWhen in college in Jackson, Mississippi in the 60s the freedom riders come to town, and he thinks he has found a way to make up for what he didn't do in high school. returnreturnBeing the only white southern boy involved in the movement ends up making him a target for all the locals, and the sit ins don't …

Heather Levi: The World of Lucha Libre (Hardcover, Duke University Press)

The World of Lucha Libre is an insider's account of lucha libre, the popular Mexican …

I found this book absolutely wonderful. Levi looks a wrestling from a whole new angle. Granted occasionally I felt she was seeing things that weren't there, but that is true of almost any academic work. returnreturnMuch of the book is based on her experience, as an American Sociological Academic, training to be a luchadora in Mexico City. Its the way she really get to see how training happens gets to actually have real conversations with Luchadores. returnreturnI found it incredibly suprsing how Lucha Libre had developed quite differently from its American counterpart primarily because it had been banned from being on TV for almost 40 years. returnreturnHer take on the class struggle was interesting and how it relates to various characters and takes on this sport. Her emphasis on the sport of lucha, not sport-like, not sports entertainment was also interesting, always while acknowledging the match outcome is pre-determined still …

Yanis Varoufakis: Talking to My Daughter About the Economy (AudiobookFormat, 2018, Macmillan Audio)

In Talking to My Daughter About the Economy, activist Yanis Varoufakis, Greece's former finance minister …

Review on LibraryThing

This audio book has a good premise. Professional economist takes a break from trying to convince the Eurobank to bail out Greece because reasons, and tries to teach his young daughter what the economy actually is.

Later editions give it the subitle "How Capitalism Works and how it doesn't"

This was originally written in Greek, so maybe something is lost in translation, however basd on the forward written in English by the author I don't think so. He usually writes in English and specifically worked with the translator of his original work. Some of the lessons on Greek roots of economic words may have made more sense but that's it. I suspect I have read and studied as much economies as anyone without an Ecnomics degree and this seems really really too deep and technical for a child.

He goes on basically to say …

Yanis Varoufakis: Talking to My Daughter about the Economy (Paperback, 2017, Penguin Random House)

Why is there so much inequality? In this short book, world famous economist Yanis Varoufakis …

This audio book has a good premise. Professional economist takes a break from trying to convince the Eurobank to bail out Greece because reasons, and tries to teach his young daughter what the economy actually is. returnreturnLater editions give it the subitle "How Capitalism Works and how it doesn't" returnreturnThis was originally written in Greek, so maybe something is lost in translation, however basd on the forward written in English by the author I don't think so. He usually writes in English and specifically worked with the translator of his original work. Some of the lessons on Greek roots of economic words may have made more sense but that's it. I suspect I have read and studied as much economies as anyone without an Ecnomics degree and this seems really really too deep and technical for a child. returnreturnHe goes on basically to say that capitalism is working just fine, …

David R. George III: Rough Beasts of Empire (Paperback, 2011, Pocket Books)

Still on Romulus in pursuit of his goal of reunifying the Vulcans and Romulans, Spock …

I highly recommend reading this before you read Zero Sum Game If you can, I think it would improve it greatly. returnreturnThis one was hard to rank. The middle was very good but the beginning and the end where not. returnreturnI was so mad at George, who usually does such a good job at keeping story lines straight that it felt like he was having Commander Vaugn well and serving when in the previous book in the series had him on his death bad with no explanation.It ended up being OK but one of the issues with the whole book here was the explanation, a number of flash backs that where not clearly communicated to the reader they were flash backs. I'm not sure how to fix it because the jumping with no explanation in Star Trek novels I usually like, having to figure it out just like a scene …

William Harrison Ainsworth: Guy Fawkes (Hardcover, 2007, Kessinger Publishing, LLC)

It wasn't really what I expected. I expected the protagonist to be a devout Catholic who will stop at nothing to remain true to the Church as he understands it. I'm not sure how devout he actually is, and he is willing to stop at nothing, including digging into the occult, seeking assistance of wizards and magic potions, to see that he is on the path to restore he holy religion. returnreturnAdd to that the female lead Viviana, who has a THIRSTY boy running after her, even though she wants to leave England and go to Belgium to be a nun. At every turn even the priest tries to stop her and get her to marry Courtland instead. returnreturnMakes me thing Ainswroth is just some Protestant who wants to make the Catholic Conspirators look bad.

reviewed Donut Dolly by Joann Puffer Kotcher (North Texas military biography and memoir series, #6)

Joann Puffer Kotcher: Donut Dolly (2011, University of North Texas Press)

I wanted to read this book after hearing the author on public radio. returnreturnDonut Dolly was the nick name of the American Red Cross girls. Something I had never heard of before. The American Red Cross had sent young women (who had to be college educated and unmarried and under 25) to the war front to make the men feel more at home. In Korea they handed out donuts hence where the name came from. returnreturnIn Vietnam donuts would melt in the hot sun, so it was more just kool-aid and being able to see a pretty american girl. The world has changed so much in the near 60 years since Vietnam that I still have a hard time fathoming.returnreturnI kept expecting her boyfriend to die since she kept talking about how much danger she was in and the last name on the authors page wasn't the same as Bob's, …

Rudyard Kipling, Flo Gibson: The Jungle Books I (AudiobookFormat, 1992, Prince Frederick, Md. : Recorded Books, [1981])

This was not very good. Maybe the first book I ever read that the movie was way better (and not just for the singing). returnreturnThis is a collection of short stories about anamorphic animals in the Inidan Jungle of the 19th century. I added it to my queue when I wanted more English stories from India in hopes of better communicating with my Indian colleagues. returnreturnThey aren't well written, they have no redeeming or overarching story and even though they are very short, they feel very long and boring. returnreturnThis audio book collection was particularly poor. there Were three distinct different narrators, I believe it was first recorded for Tape in the 80s and then re-released on CD in the 90s (and maybe digital in the 21st) and each time they added some artifacts and it's just not good. returnreturnNot worth stabbing yourself in the eye, but not worth reading.

Ron Stallworth: Black Klansman (AudiobookFormat, 2018, Macmillan Audio)

The true story of Detective Ron Stallworth, the first black detective in the Colorado Springs …

This book was fairly well written, though he did get repetitive a few times. Having listened to the audio book I always seem to note repetition more than when I read dead trees. This audio book not having good transitions from CD to CD also can lead to it being halfway the second time through Track 1 before I realize I'm back in track 1 and he's not just being repetitive again. returnreturnIt wasn't as exciting nor humors as I had expected it to be. A lot of what it is was over reaching big government police getting into to private citizens life. The KKK is an awful organization and from Stallworth's story most of them are idiots. The part where Stallworth talks about having to be a body guard for David Duke as himself a black cop, rather than as the undercover "white" guy he's been talking to on …

Theresa Fitzgerald: Stress-Free Math (Paperback, 2020, Prufrock Press)

Quick reference guide includes illustrated explanations of the most common terms used in general math …

I received this book as part of LibraryThing's early review project. returnreturnWe are a home school family so having books like this available is always a big plus to us. That being said my oldest is currently in 2nd grade so it will be a time before we use this reference regularly. returnreturnIt says its visual guide to acing math in grade 4-9 but there are some topics in here that I never touched until 10th grade geometry, so your miles may vary. returnreturnFrom the description I had hoped we would be able to use this as a curricular from middles school math, but alas its more of a reference book than a curriculum. But for what it is, it's well put together, though quite heavy.

Eberhard Arnold: Experiencing God (Hardcover, 2020, Plough Publishing House)

What happens when we let the living God into our practical lives? Everyone is looking …

I received this book as part of the LibraryThing early review program. returnreturnI find most modern Christian books incredibly lacking in substance and a lot of feel-good fluff. However, I was very excited to get it, the subject sounded fantastic, and although it is a new 2020 release the original work was written over 100 years ago. returnreturnHowever, I was disappointed. This very short book took me months to get through. I was written in a very odd style. To the point that I think it may have been originally written in some sort of poetic verse when authored in German that didn't translate well to English.

Ariana Franklin: The Serpent's Tale (AudiobookFormat, 2008, Penguin Audio)

Adelia Aguilar, mistress of the art of death, is summoned, along with Rowley Picot, the …

This audiobook was not good. Even worst than the first one, and that one wasn't good either. There is hardly a story here at all, at least half of the book is just feminst propaganda. returnreturnThe little plot that exists is, someone wants it to look like the queen is trying to kill people. Our protagainst, an 11th century single mother who is also a doctor and a forensic scientist, goes on the case to find out. Her baby dady's who is a Catholic Bishop, shows up and then she thinks he dies. in the end every member of the clergy is fornicating and all the nuns are lesbians. and somethign about happily ever after?

Ariana Franklin: The Serpent's Tale (AudiobookFormat, 2008, Penguin Audio)

Adelia Aguilar, mistress of the art of death, is summoned, along with Rowley Picot, the …

Review on LibraryThing

This audiobook was not good. Even worse than the first one, and that one wasn't good either. There is hardly a story here at all, at least half of the book is just feminist propaganda.

The little plot that exists is, someone wants it to look like the queen is trying to kill people. Our protagonist, an 11th century single mother who is also a doctor and a forensic scientist, goes on the case to find out. Her baby daddy, who is a Catholic Bishop, shows up and then she thinks he dies. In the end every member of the clergy is fornicating, and all the nuns are lesbians. and something about happily ever after?