Reading | Kevin Barrett's Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Reading’

Vice President J. D. Vance And The Bible

Posted in Faith, Philosophy, Quotes, tagged Books, Faith, Nick Hornby, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, The Bible, Vice President J.D. Vance, Writing on April 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »

We are never allowed to forget that some books are badly written; we should remember that sometimes they’re badly read, too.

— Nick Hornby

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Click here (25 April) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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Getting Darker Before The Dawn…

Posted in 2026 Book Review, Book Review, Economics, Education, General Comments, Politics, Reading, Reviews, tagged 2026 Book Review, Adrift: America In 100 Charts (2022©) -- book review, American Politics, Economics, Education, General Comments, High Moderate Book Recommendation, Middle Class, Professor Scott Galloway, Reading, United States Of America, YouTube on January 8, 2026| Leave a Comment »

“Adrift: America In 100 Charts“ (2022©) — book review
So last night I completed “Adrift: America In 100 Charts“, written by Professor Scott Galloway (2022©). The book is about the current (as of 2022) state / condition of the United States of America written in the form of a page of text with an “issue” and then a supporting “graph / chart” on the facing page.

I have been following Galloway for over a year on YouTube with his various podcasts and interviews as a guest on other vlogs and TV shows I also follow. He is almost always interesting even when I don’t always agree with his premise or his suggested solution – although, usually I do.

So, what’s the point of this book? America has lost its way – socially, politically and economically. Young American males are confused about their role(s) in our society. They are increasing less educated, isolated socially / emotionally, and they have an increasing tendency towards violence (specifically gun violence). The wealthiest 1% of the population have taken over (the government and big corporations) and are using their wealth and position of power to increase both (wealth and power) to the detriment of the American “Middle Class”. Americans spend more on health care and get “poorer / less” good health results. And, America spends more on national defense than the next ten countries COMBINED and other than complete destruction of the planet, it is not clear our military is better off for the absolute dollar amount or percent of GDP spent. He then finishes with generic proposals for “solutions”: increase taxes on the wealthy, lower education costs (particularly higher and continuing education) for everyone, spend better on the military, encourage vocational training, and increase business regulation (particularly on “social” networking companies). The problem – of course – is the solutions are pretty much “wave your hand” and “make it so”, instead of any concrete proposal of how to pass a law to make any of this happen.

Now, all of these things are theoretically “possible” to correct. But, individually and collectively they are virtually impossible. This is partially because we lack the social and political will to make ANY of the changes and partially because to make any of them would also be to risk facing the law of unintended consequences. You can have a nationwide phone system, but in exchange for cheaper and more convenient communication you’ll surrender a great deal of your privacy. You can have a mobile phone, but you’ll give corporations and the government the ability to track every step you take when you have it on your person and every statement you or anyone near you makes in conversation.

Galloway’s general suggestions are just that: general. Will they work? Some, probably, partially… But what are the unintended consequences of doing nothing? We may find many of those would be worse than the conditions we have now, but we won’t ever know if we don’t make the decision to acknowledge we have problems and then DO something about them. Are you “really” adrift if your choice was to refuse to acknowledge something is not working (or is harmful to society) and so continue to do nothing?

Bottom line: This book is an easy read with an interesting presentation of some of the ills facing American society, but it doesn’t offer any practical procedure or steps to address and / or correct any of the issues.

Final recommendation: High moderate recommendation. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has lived under a rock for the last thirty years or if you’ve been subject to the lies offered as “news” on the Fox News channel for any period of time exceeding a combined total of twelve months during the last thirty years. Basically, that’s about 80-85% of the American population. Unfortunately, for anyone who has made more than the slightest effort to stay informed by facts and real news about current events, this book has very little new to say. Its value is in the presentation of this information in one place. I’m not saying other books haven’t done the same or done it better, just that this book is easily readable and the charts are accessible. There is also a substantial “Notes” section for further investigation.

Final Note: This book was “current” as of its publication date. It is no longer. The Trump (II) Presidential Administration has been in power for almost a full year and they have chosen to implement the opposite of almost every one of Prof. Holloway’s limited suggestions. They have virtually declared war on immigration to the United States; they are decreasing taxes on the wealthy and paying for it by increasing taxes on the middle class and poor; they are increasing the cost of education and decreasing its quality; they are decreasing the regulation of business in general and social media, insurance industries, and petrochemical companies in particular. And, the list goes on…

And lest I forget to mention, this is one of a couple of books my wife bought me for Christmas. Thanks dear, this book brought me a several hours of enjoyable reading and reflective thought!!

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Click here (8 January) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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A Task Well Started Is A Task Half Done

Posted in Education, Faith Family and Friends, Family and Friends, General Comments, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, Science and Learning, tagged Christmas Present 2025, Computer programming, Computing, Donald E. Knuth, Education, Family, General Comments, Lewis Carroll, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, Science, Symbolic Logic, The Art of Computer Programming Volume 4B Combinatorial Algorithms Part 2 on January 4, 2026| 2 Comments »

Begin at the beginning, and do not allow yourself to gratify a mere idle curiosity by dipping into the book, here and there. This would very likely lead to your throwing it aside, with the remark “This is much too hard for me!” and thus losing the chance of adding a very large item to your stock of mental delights.

— Lewis Carroll
From: “Symbolic Logic” (1896)

The above quote was found in the Preface to: “The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 4B Combinatorial Algorithms, Part 2“
Written by: Donald E. Knuth

[This book was my wife’s 2025 Christmas present to me. She said, “Now, you BETTER read this one!” My reply: “I’ll have to go back and re-start Volume 1…” LoL — kmab]

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Click here (4 January) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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Or Blogs And Blogging

Posted in Humor, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, Writing, tagged Blogging, Foundation, Friendship, Literature, P. G. Wodehouse, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, Strychnine in the Soup, Taste, Writing on October 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

There is no surer foundation for a beautiful friendship than a mutual taste in literature.

– P. G. Wodehouse
From the short story: ‘Strychnine in the Soup’

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Click here (6 October) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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Do You Have Room For A Party Of Three?

Posted in Humor, Philosophy, Quotes, tagged Couches, Humor, Introverts, Party, Philosophy, Pillows, Quotes, Reading on September 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »

An introversion party is three people sprawled on couches and pillows, reading and occasionally talking.

— Laurie Helgoe

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Click here (12 September) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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Or One Blog Post

Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, tagged Blogging, Books, Life Changing, Malcolm X, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading on August 22, 2025| 2 Comments »

People don’t realize how a man’s whole life can be changed by one book.

― Malcolm X

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Click here (22 August) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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Free Some Of Yours

Posted in Other Blogs, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, tagged Books, Bookshelves, Imprisoned Souls, Other Blogs, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, Samuel Butler on May 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Books are like imprisoned souls till someone takes them down from a shelf and frees them.

— Samuel Butler

[This quote was found on one of the blog sites I follow: A Pondering Mind found at: https://aponderingmind.org/
The specific post is: 181 – A Pondering Mind
Please visit the original site if you have some time. — kmab]

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Click here (13 May) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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I Would Say: “Read Widely”

Posted in Education, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, Science and Learning, tagged Allusions, Education, Henry Ward Beecher, Pencils, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, Words on April 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I would say to every person: read with your pencil. Never pass a word, or an allusion, or a name you do not understand without marking it down for inquiry. Then go to your dictionary for the definition or explanation; go to the encyclopedia for information as to biographical or historical allusions. Never read about any country without having a map before you. This kind of study will fix things in your minds as no formal method of the schools ever will.

— Henry Ward Beecher

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Click here (25 April) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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Or Live The Same Days

Posted in Faith Family and Friends, Family and Friends, Family History, General Comments, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, tagged Books, Edmund Wilson, General Comments, Happy Birthday to me, Living, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading on March 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

No two persons ever read the same book.

– Edmund Wilson

[Happy 70th Birthday to me…! Hopefully I’ll get at least a few more trips around ol’ Sol!! — kmab]

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Click here (28 March) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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In Support Of Free Libraries And Public Education

Posted in Education, General Comments, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, tagged Books, Carl Sagan, Democracy, Free Libraries, History, Nature, Philosophy, Public Education, Quotes, Reading on March 14, 2025| 6 Comments »

Books, purchasable at low cost, permit us to interrogate the past with high accuracy; to tap the wisdom of our species; to understand the point of view of others, and not just those in power; to contemplate — with the best teachers — the insights, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, drawn from the entire planet and from all of our history. They allow people long dead to talk inside our heads. Books can accompany us everywhere. Books are patient where we are slow to understand, allow us to go over the hard parts as many times as we wish, and are never critical of our lapses. Books are key to understanding the world and participating in a democratic society.

— Carl Sagan

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Click here (14 March) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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Attentive Relaxation

Posted in 2025 Book Review, Book Review, Disclaimer, Education, General Comments, Guitar, Guitar Stuff, Music, Other Blogs, Philosophy, Reading, Reviews, Science and Learning, tagged 2025 Book Reivew, Concentration, Disclaimer, General Comments, Grok, Highly Recommended Book, https://guitarprinciples.com, Jamie Andreas, Learning Guitar, Music Education, Other Blogs, Philosophy, Principles of Correct Practice For Guitar, Quotes, Reading, Relaxation, Zen on February 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Today’s book review is for the “playing / practicing” guitar instruction book: “The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar: The Perfect Start for Beginners and the Answer to the Problems of Players” (1998©). The book is written by: Jamey (Jamie) Andreas. There is a 2nd edition out, circa 2005, but this review is for the 1st edition. The book is available on Amazon and at the author’s web site: https://guitarprinciples.com

Background:
In January of 2021, I decided to teach myself to play guitar. Ms. Andreas was one of the first instructors I discovered on YouTube when I began my “journey / education”. Back then, I was able to find one chapter of this book as a teaser to buy the full book or take some instruction from Ms. Andreas. I didn’t do either, but (with permission) I did use a couple of quotes from the book in posts (way back then). I recently found a full “PDF” of the first edition, which I just assumed was another copy of the first chapter. I downloaded the PDF to refresh my memory about the material. I was surprised to find the copy was of the entire book and not simply Chapter 1. Anyway, I’ve now read the book…

Review:
Is THIS a good book about the topic (playing / practicing guitar) and would I recommend it to others? The answer to both questions is: “YES!!“.

First (good): this is not a “traditional” learn to play guitar book. This is more of a Zen – “learn how to learn to play guitar book“. Seriously, there are NO chord charts, no song tabs, no scales. What there is, is FAR more valuable for someone who seeks to “Grok” guitar: How you sit, how you hold the guitar, and how to press / pluck a string. The keys are: attention, intention, concentration, and relaxation. Basically, being in the moment with your body as you extend the music from your mind into the guitar via the path of your body / arms / hands / fingers. Like I said, VERY Zen.

Everything in the book is foundational to learning to “play” guitar which all of the other books – and there are a host of others – will teach you. “Foundational” doesn’t mean simple to learn to do or even easy to repeat once you have learned the basics. These are lessons you will have to return to over and over again throughout your guitar learning journey. The greatness of this book is that it will assist you in recognizing yourself and your current (in the moment) state(s), so you can improve consistently even as you get closer to your own natural limitations and personal goals with the guitar.

Second (bad): If that’s the good, what’s wrong? Price. A hard copy of this (first) edition is listed at $100 on Amazon and an electronic copy is listed at $30 on the author’s website. Are these “fair” prices? For the treasure trove of information you are getting and the amount of practice time (years) you will save by learning and incorporating the book’s lessons into your practices, this book pays for itself many times over. That doesn’t mean it’s a good price for me personally: an older, retired person on a very limited budget who is still just learning to play guitar. (LoL!!) For a “normal” person, I would say: the current price for a music lesson is between $50-$100 per half hour. Your average “chord, scales, and song” book will run you $50 (new). I can’t really place a value on your practice time. So, yeah, while the price is steep for me, it’s VERY reasonable for most guitar learners.

Third (good): The book is short and a pretty fast read. My version is about 80 pages of text and slightly more including un-numbered pages. I read the book through (thoughtfully) in an evening and a bit. This included going back through to hi-light a great deal of content. Don’t be fooled by the weight / length of the book. This is a book you’ll use extensively for about a year (I’d say that’s a rough guess if you are practicing most days) and then you’ll come back to it for the next decade or so as a refresher / reference. Let me put it this way: I’ve been “practicing” guitar for almost four years and I still consider myself a rank beginner. Objectively, I’m pretty terrible!! I’m light-years beyond where I was when I started, but still I’m still pretty BAD. I will never know for sure if this book would have helped me from the start, but is definitely a book which can help me now AND for the foreseeable future. If this last sentence is true, why don’t I know if the book would have helped me from the start? ‘Cause I’m one of those folks who doesn’t know what he doesn’t know and I rarely appreciate what is valuable until I know enough about a subject to establish its personal value to me. This book “probably” would have seemed so basic I (as a true beginner) would not have been able to appreciate the value of it’s nuances. But that’s just me…

Final recommendation: very strong recommendation. If you are interested in learning the absolute foundation of how to practice and how to play guitar, this is an excellent resource. Is it going to “vastly” improve MY (or your) music skills. I don’t know. I do feel it will help me appreciate the process of practicing and playing the guitar and that, by itself, will help me enjoy my practices more. For me, that’s more than enough to recommend this book to others.

Disclaimer: No compensation has been provided to me by anyone for my opinions in this review.

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Click here (13 February) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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A Bear Of Few Brains

Posted in 2025 Book Review, Book Review, Family History, Reading, Reviews, tagged 2025 Book Reivew, A. A. Milne, Canada, Christopher Robin, Donkey, E. H. Shepard, Eeyore, General Comments, Kanga, Kangaroo, Moderate to Strong book Recommendation, Owl, Rabbit, Reading, Roo, The House At Pooh Corner, The World Of Pooh - book review, Tiger, Tigger, VHS Tapes, Winnie the Pooh, Winnipeg on January 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Last night I finished reading: “The World Of Pooh” by A. A. Milne (1957©) with illustrations by E. H. Shepard. The book is actually a combination of two books by Milne: “Winnie The Pooh” (1926©) and “The House At Pooh Corner” (1928©).

Background: This is a children’s book which we’ve been carrying around for years (decades). This was supposed to be read to our kids twenty plus years ago, but they watched the VHS tapes instead and I don’t think we ever got around to actually reading them the book. I’ve been using some of quotes from Pooh on this site and I asked my wife if she still had our copy as I’d like to read the original. She said we did still have our copy, but she wanted to read it first (at the tail end of 2024), and I’ve now read it, too.

There is a convoluted real-life story of how “Winnie the Pooh” came into being, but none of that is covered in this book. Basically, Milne purchased a stuffed bear for his son (Christopher) and then a number of other stuffed animals. Milne would frequently take his son to some woods by their home and they would also visit the London Zoo, which had a small bear named after the childhood home of the bear’s owner (before gifting to the Zoo): Winnipeg, Canada (i.e. “Winnie”).

The first book is a series of short stories introducing each of the stuffed animals as if they are real live characters. They include: Christopher Robin (the human boy character), Winnie the Pooh (the bear who loves honey), Piglet (a small, nervous pig), Tigger (a bouncy tiger), Eeyore (a sullen donkey), Kanga (a mother Kangaroo), Roo (Kanga’s baby), Owl (a well spoken, but usually wrong “expert”), and Rabbit (an active, but another, usually wrong “expert”). There is also a mention of a host of extended family members (Rabbit’s) and friends (other small animals), but it is not clear if these are also animated stuffed characters. The second section (“book”) is their shared adventures and ends with the departure of Christopher Robin – presumably he is going off to boarding school, but he may simply be moving away.

So, is the book any good? So-so… If you are a fan of the animated VHS tapes, you will probably enjoy reliving the memories of children’s stories. If you are one of the many parents who actually read these stories to your own children, I’m sure a re-read will raise many happy memories. Unfortunately, I’m neither. I found the book pleasant enough, but ultimately far too simplistic for an adult reading on his own. I’m confident if I had children or grand-children to read it to and act out the characters’ voices, I would thoroughly enjoy the book. Again, though, not my circumstance.

As an elderly male who’s lived through the “Politically Correct” changes over the last 30-40 years, I found two of the stories “questionable”. In one, the animals don’t take to the arrival of Kanga and Roo, so they kidnap Roo with the intent to drive Kanga away. In the second, they want to teach Tigger a lesson, so they lead him out into the woods with the intent to strand him there overnight and come back for him the following day (“or so”). While all of this is harmless enough in the end, it reminded me of the critique of “fairy tales” because children were eaten by witches, bears, and wolves. Those stories / movies never bothered me when I was growing up and these two stories didn’t “bother” me, either. I just found them “interesting” from a modern day perspective.

Final recommendation: strong recommendation – if you are going to use the book to spend time with your children and vocalize (act out) the characters for / with them; moderate recommendation if you are an adult coming to the stories with a shortage of childhood wonder and imagination. I enjoyed the book, but not as much as I had hoped I might. (I admit to still enjoy reading “Twas the Night Before Christmas” each year.) Maybe I’m just getting too old for “new-to-me” children’s stories…

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Click here (30 January) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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Awoke Life

Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, tagged Ability, Cravings, Malcolm X, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, The Autobiography of Malcolm X on December 19, 2024| 7 Comments »

The ability to read awoke inside of me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.

― Malcolm X
From: “The Autobiography of Malcolm X“

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Click here (19 December) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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When A Book Is Real

Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, tagged Books, Good Books, Laurie Halse Anderson, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading on September 17, 2024| Leave a Comment »

You can tell a book is real when your heart beats faster. Real books make you sweat. Cry, if no one is looking. Real books help you make sense of your crazy life. Real books tell it true, don’t hold back and make you stronger. But most of all, real books give you hope. Because it’s not always going to be like this and books-the good ones, the ones-show you how to make it better. Now.

— Laurie Halse Anderson

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Click here (17 September) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.

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Why I Continue To Buy Books

Posted in Philosophy, Quotes, tagged Alek Wek, Barbara Tuchman, Beauty, Bookshelves, Doors, Joseph B. Wirthlin, Libraries, Memories, Philosophy, Quotes, Reading, Travel on September 16, 2024| 2 Comments »

The beauty of reading is that it lets you travel in a way you could never know.
— Alek Wek

Some memories are unforgettable, remaining ever vivid and heartwarming.
— Joseph B Wirthlin

Nothing sickens me more than the closed door of a library.
— Barbara Tuchman

[My bookshelves are full of travels and memories AND they are always open to me. — kmab]

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Click here (16 September) to see the posts of prior years. I started this blog in late 2009. Daily posting began in late January 2011. Not all of the days in the early years (2009-2010) will have posts.