Skip to main content

HamAlong, Week 2: The Adventures of Bacon Face

This week's HamAlong is dedicated to this redoubt:


Yes, those are toy soldiers and tiny sticks. But LOOK that's what Hamilton and Lafayette had to deal with when they were fighting at Yorktown. How interesting. Redoubts. What a concept.

I definitely did not read the last 40 pages of the reading that I assigned, but I highly enjoyed the other 60 or so. The war part was fine, but Hamilton and Eliza. Man. I'm such an Eliza fan. Yes, Angelica's great, etc etc, but Eliza. When the book was talking about her dad's property, did anyone else flash to this?



Chernow's continuing to laud Hamilton when it seems maybe not deserved? I'm not saying Hamilton doesn't seem like an amazing genius, because he DOES, but his wife list? Is kind of what everyone writes. Like "Oh, I want someone pretty and nice and smart and maybe funny, I dunno." And Chernow is like "SUCH BRILLIANCE, what a remarkable man." I mean, in other ways, yes, sir. But not with the WifeList.

Oh! oh -- ALSO, I feel like he's glossing over some shit. And I mean, I'm not saying his book should be longer. Because it's long enough. But there's some stuff where I've been like "...wait, wasn't there more of a reason for them doing that?" Like he basically acts like the Howe brothers are both idiots and terrible at war, when the book I read last year, Revolutionary Summer by Joseph Ellis, says that they never destroyed the Continental Army because they kept hoping they could effect a reconciliation.

And with Benedict Arnold -- wasn't he passed over for promotion like a lot and in need of money or something? I seem to remember there was more to it than him just being a grasping dickweed. But I feel like to Chernow, anyone who's not constantly saying how awesome Hamilton is is suspect. He's taken some early shots at my man John Adams and I am watching you, sir.


How're you all feeling two weeks into this massive book? It is kind of satisfying opening it and not being at the beginning. And I can tell you, without this readalong, I would never finish this book ever. So thanks for everyone being there for each other. #HAMALONG.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Harry Potter 2013 Readalong Signup Post of Amazingness and Jollity

Okay, people. Here it is. Where you sign up to read the entire Harry Potter series (or to reminisce fondly), starting January 2013, assuming we all survive the Mayan apocalypse. I don't think I'm even going to get to Tina and Bette's reunion on The L Word until after Christmas, so here's hopin'. You guys know how this works. Sign up if you want to. If you're new to the blog, know that we are mostly not going to take this seriously. And when we do take it seriously, it's going to be all Monty Python quotes when we disagree on something like the other person's opinion on Draco Malfoy. So be prepared for your parents being likened to hamsters. If you want to write lengthy, heartfelt essays, that is SWELL. But this is maybe not the readalong for you. It's gonna be more posts with this sort of thing: We're starting Sorceror's/Philosopher's Stone January 4th. Posts will be on Fridays. The first post will be some sort of hilar

Minithon: The Mini Readathon, January 11th, 2020

The minithon is upon us once more! Minithons are for the lazy. Minithons are for the uncommitted. Minithons are for us. The minithon lasts 6 hours (10 AM to 4 PM CST), therefore making it a mini readathon, as opposed to the lovely Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon and 24in48, both of which you should participate in, but both of which are a longer commitment than this, the Busy Watching Netflix person's readathon. By 'read for six hours' what's really meant in the minithon is "read a little bit and eat a lot of snacks and post pictures of your books and your snacks, but mostly your snacks." We like to keep it a mini theme here, which mainly means justifying your books and your snacks to fit that theme. Does your book have children in it? Mini people! Does it have a dog! Mini wolf! Does it have pencils? Mini versions of graphite mines! or however you get graphite, I don't really know. I just picture toiling miners. The point is, justify it or don't

How to Build a Girl Introductory Post, which is full of wonderful things you probably want to read

Acclaimed (in England mostly) lady Caitlin Moran has a novel coming out. A NOVEL. Where before she has primarily stuck to essays. Curious as we obviously were about this, I and a group of bloggers are having a READALONG of said novel, probably rife with spoilers (maybe they don't really matter for this book, though, so you should totally still read my posts). This is all hosted/cared for/lovingly nursed to health by Emily at As the Crowe Flies (and Reads) because she has a lovely fancy job at an actual bookshop ( Odyssey Books , where you can in fact pre-order this book and then feel delightful about yourself for helping an independent store). Emily and I have negotiated the wonders of Sri Lankan cuisine and wandered the Javits Center together. Would that I could drink with her more often than I have. I feel like we could get to this point, Emily INTRODUCTION-wise (I might've tipped back a little something this evening, thus the constant asides), I am Alice. I enjoy