Well quite a lot has been happening around here lately and I was forced to take a break from the blogging world for a while, for that I am sorry. However, I haven't stopped reading and I will be working on a new post to be published soon. I look forward to getting back to writing and reviewing and thank all of you who will be joining me on this ride.
"I think of life as a good book. The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense."–Harold Kushner
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Thursday, June 13, 2013
"Ysrael" and "Fiesta, 1980" from "Drown"
208 pages
Written by Junot Diaz
Overall grade: F-
Written by Junot Diaz
Overall grade: F-
Yes there are plot spoilers and you can thank me for saving you from this book later.
What can I say about this book? I hated it. Ha. I can count on one hand how many books I’ve said that about and this is on that hand. I will admit that I did not read the whole thing and only for one reason. It wasn’t a novel. It was a collection of short stories. I read the 1st and 2nd stories and was completely abhorred at what I read. I'm serious, it was truly horrifying. I read the first one,"Ysrael" and didn’t like it but decided to give the author another chance because not all short stories are alike and maybe the first one was his ‘edgy’ one. Well I read the second one, "Fiesta,1980" and decided then that the rest of the book wasn’t worth reading. I was offended and I think a great deal more people should be offended as well. I will tell you why.
First off the book was written by a Latino man, is that the politically correct way of putting it now? I don’t know where he’s from and after reading that garbage I don’t really care. Anyway so the author is of Hispanic descent ok. Both stories I read were so derogatory in the depiction of Hispanic men and women it was nauseating. First off both the father’s were the two worst kinds of fathers. In "Ysrael" the dad was not there, he was off working in “North America”. I don’t remember if he ever said the United States, but I think he kind of left it open like the dad could’ve been working in Canada as well. Anyway, in the second story the father was abusive, both verbally and mentally, and he was cheating on his wife. Not only was he cheating on his wife but he took his 2 sons with him to his mistress's house while they went off and fornicated upstairs. Gross. And if you want to play the devil's advocate and say "well all Hispanic men are like that, it's just being realistic", well that's just sick and I think all Hispanic men should be offended. I'm offended for them!
Now let me get to the women. They were either too busy and tired from working that they didn’t have time for their children, which I can see being a real problem when they make so little money in Mexico. But to me the second mother was the more offending. She is the typical doormat. Her husband cheats on her, he’s overly aggressive and abusive with her kids and her and she says nothing. Ugh. Where are the feminists screaming against this garbage? It really irritated me. I can’t express to you how much this attitude in women bothers me.
Anyway, the stories were just filthy too. There was quite a bit of cussing and multicultural cussing at that. And the words in Spanish were more foul than the English, probably because he knew the gringos wouldn't understand it. Well I did. Not to mention the fact that the "children" in this book were discussing completely inappropriate things. Granted the older brother in "Ysrael" is like 15 but all he talks about is trying to have sex with the girls in the village and how some girls will "let you stick it in their mouths or their butts". I mean seriously, is that really necessary?
Finally for the main reason I hate this book. I read 2 stories and no one learned anything, ever. What is the point of literature? To educate? To enlighten? The main character never learned anything or grew at all during the short stories. Nor did the audience learn an insight or get left with a question that challenged any of their preconceived notions. It was like "There was a rabbit. It pooped on the ground. A coyote ate it." Except it was dumber than that. Seriously. Ugh I'm getting mad all over again talking about it so I'm just going to stop now. If you liked these books message me. I'd love to hear someone's defense of these stories.
"The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it." - James Bryce
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
"Beowulf"
101 pages
Translated by David Wright
Overall grade: B-
I know what you’re thinking. Beowulf? Really? Isn’t that like a really old book? Ha ha. Yes you’re right. It is really old, but it’s also a pretty awesome story too! It’s got a dragon, weird monsters, pretty intense fight scenes, and as much gore as they felt they could handle during the 8th to 10th century, which is not as much as you’d think. It really was a good book, and honestly I was a little skeptical at first. I didn’t have to read it in high school so it was a new one for me. I did know before reading it that it is actually an epic poem. An epic poem is a lengthy narrative concerning a serious topic (heroic deeds or something of that nature). The Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer are two more well known epic poems, I did learn upon doing some research that people are still writing epic poems today. I don't know why I thought no one wrote them anymore,I guess in the modern age of literacy where a 500 page book isn’t considered “that long” epic poems just seemed a thing of the past.
The book is, surprisingly enough, about a man named Beowulf. He is a heroic man with great strength, and what I love most, great character. He hears about a king and his kingdom being terrorized by the monster Grendel. Beowulf comes to fight Grendel and help the downcast king. Beowulf wins that fight but must then fight Grendel’s mother who is seeking revenge for her murdered son. It’s pretty intense, but in a good way.
This is a really old story and a narrative at that so the author didn’t go really deep into description or deep dialogue. I imagine this story being told in a giant longhouse, late at night, while everyone was eating around a giant bonfire. I wish I could hear this tale like that. To have it told to me instead of reading it. I bet that would be so cool! Since I’m homeschooling maybe we’ll have a Viking night and do that. We’ll all take turns reading and we’ll eat “Viking” food. Wow sorry I got really off topic there planning future fun things to do with my kiddos. A lot happens in this book, but it’s not modern literature so just remember that when reading it, and don't be disappointed when there isn't ushy-gushy romance scenes or highly detailed narrative. It really is written like someone dictating a story being told. It's awesome. :)
I would recommend it though because I had a great time reading it! And just so you know the movie is pretty good, the one I have linked is an animated version from 2007 but there have been other movies made about Beowulf before that.
"The failure to read good books both enfeebles the vision and strengthens our most fatal tendency-- the belief that the here and now is all there is." -Allan Bloom
"The failure to read good books both enfeebles the vision and strengthens our most fatal tendency-- the belief that the here and now is all there is." -Allan Bloom
Saturday, May 4, 2013
"October Baby"
266 pages
Written by Eric Wilson and Theresa Preston
This was truly a powerful story. Based on real life events, the book depicts a young girl named Hannah’s struggles to discover who she is and where she belongs. This is made even more difficult when at the age of 18 she learns she was adopted after a failed abortion. With the help of a lifelong friend she goes on a journey to meet her birth mother.
This story of redemption and forgiveness is profound. It’s not the longest book you’ll ever read, but the emotion and depth was surprising. I imagine all stories of adoption are layered with hurts, disappointments, and frustrations more complex than the average person can comprehend. But the authors wrote very well and the story was very accessible. Most of the conflict was in the character’s head and they fleshed out all her thoughts and concerns very well. It was very insightful, not only into her struggles but also her adopted father’s struggles and the mental anguish of her birth mother.
I know abortion is a subject that before now has rarely been talked about. I think that’s sad. In 2008 approximately 1.21 million abortions were performed in the United States. That is potentially 1.21 million women who are choosing to end a pregnancy for a variety of reasons. Regardless of where you stand on the issue that is a lot of women. That’s 4-times as many men that are diagnosed and diagnosed and die from prostate cancer. And how much have you heard recently about the importance of men getting checked for that?
Abortion is in the news even more in the last several weeks as we’ve heard the story of the abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell. I know you’re initial response to hearing about this case will be to turn your head and say “I don’t want to know the details”, but I implore you to read what this man has done and become informed. This stuff is happening everyday! And burying your head in the sand while trying to avoid hearing bad news didn’t work before WW2 and it shouldn’t work now that the atrocities are happening on our own shores.
Ultimately this story is about healing, forgiveness, and finding where you’re truth worth comes from. I would highly recommend this book and now that I’ve read it I plan on watching the movie. I hope you all enjoy the book as much as I did!
"Show me the books he loves and I shall know the man far better than through mortal friends. " -Dawn Adams
Written by Eric Wilson and Theresa Preston
Overall grade: B
This was truly a powerful story. Based on real life events, the book depicts a young girl named Hannah’s struggles to discover who she is and where she belongs. This is made even more difficult when at the age of 18 she learns she was adopted after a failed abortion. With the help of a lifelong friend she goes on a journey to meet her birth mother.
This story of redemption and forgiveness is profound. It’s not the longest book you’ll ever read, but the emotion and depth was surprising. I imagine all stories of adoption are layered with hurts, disappointments, and frustrations more complex than the average person can comprehend. But the authors wrote very well and the story was very accessible. Most of the conflict was in the character’s head and they fleshed out all her thoughts and concerns very well. It was very insightful, not only into her struggles but also her adopted father’s struggles and the mental anguish of her birth mother.
I know abortion is a subject that before now has rarely been talked about. I think that’s sad. In 2008 approximately 1.21 million abortions were performed in the United States. That is potentially 1.21 million women who are choosing to end a pregnancy for a variety of reasons. Regardless of where you stand on the issue that is a lot of women. That’s 4-times as many men that are diagnosed and diagnosed and die from prostate cancer. And how much have you heard recently about the importance of men getting checked for that?
Abortion is in the news even more in the last several weeks as we’ve heard the story of the abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell. I know you’re initial response to hearing about this case will be to turn your head and say “I don’t want to know the details”, but I implore you to read what this man has done and become informed. This stuff is happening everyday! And burying your head in the sand while trying to avoid hearing bad news didn’t work before WW2 and it shouldn’t work now that the atrocities are happening on our own shores.
Ultimately this story is about healing, forgiveness, and finding where you’re truth worth comes from. I would highly recommend this book and now that I’ve read it I plan on watching the movie. I hope you all enjoy the book as much as I did!
"Show me the books he loves and I shall know the man far better than through mortal friends. " -Dawn Adams
Saturday, April 20, 2013
"The Hobbit"
239 pages (on my nook)
Written by J. R. R. Tolkien
Overall Grade: A-
What can anyone say about the Hobbit that hasn’t already been said? That it’s amazing or that it is a brilliant piece of literature - see its already been said. But luckily I have proved that its all true. I read this book for the first time when I was in the 7th or 8th grade. I was prompted to read it then as I was preparing for the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring to come out in theaters. I didn’t know then as much as I know now of the Hobbit and it’s sequel series, the Lord of the Rings. Also, when I first read the Hobbit I really had no idea that it was written for children. Tolkein geared it for his then 12-year-old son, who gave it rave reviews. When the publishers saw how well it did, they asked Tolkein to come out with a sequel. They later got over 1000 pages of the Lord of the Rings, then as one book because it was never meant to be a trilogy. I just love that story.
Anyway, I love this book. It’s great. And honestly the only reason I gave it an A- is because one of my favorite characters dies. I hate it when people die and my opinion of a book usually goes down when someone does die, unless it’s a villain. (I know that’s a little childish but I don’t really care.) That’s also why I don’t read war books or anything by Nicholas Sparks. Ha ha. That was a joke.
Most of you are probably familiar with the Hobbit, or at least the first 90 pages if you’ve seen the recent movie by Peter Jackson. I liked the movie quite a lot, although I don’t know if I agree with them making it a trilogy. I know a lot happens in the book but for heaven’s sake it isn’t even 250 pages long! I think 2 movies would have been more than adequate. But I digress. In the story we follow a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, as he joins in an adventure of enormous proportions, when a group of dwarves request his services to steal their treasure back from the terrible dragon, Smaug. Hobbits, you should know, are good English characters in that they never want to have fun or go on any kind of adventurous outings. (Again, kidding.) For those of you who have seen the films of the Lord of the Rings, you also know that this story also tells how Bilbo gets the Ring that young master Frodo later receives and has so much trouble with.
Honestly there isn’t much else to be said. There are scholars in universities that study Tolkein’s work every day, and get paid to do it. It really is a great work and if you are hesitant to read Tolkein, I highly recommend this book as Tolkein wasn’t quite as verbose as he later gets in the Lord of the Rings. However you still are able to bear witness to the man’s talent at prose, imagery, and storytelling.
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” - J. R. R. Tolkien
Written by J. R. R. Tolkien
Overall Grade: A-
Beware of a PLOT SPOILER! (kind of)
What can anyone say about the Hobbit that hasn’t already been said? That it’s amazing or that it is a brilliant piece of literature - see its already been said. But luckily I have proved that its all true. I read this book for the first time when I was in the 7th or 8th grade. I was prompted to read it then as I was preparing for the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring to come out in theaters. I didn’t know then as much as I know now of the Hobbit and it’s sequel series, the Lord of the Rings. Also, when I first read the Hobbit I really had no idea that it was written for children. Tolkein geared it for his then 12-year-old son, who gave it rave reviews. When the publishers saw how well it did, they asked Tolkein to come out with a sequel. They later got over 1000 pages of the Lord of the Rings, then as one book because it was never meant to be a trilogy. I just love that story.
Anyway, I love this book. It’s great. And honestly the only reason I gave it an A- is because one of my favorite characters dies. I hate it when people die and my opinion of a book usually goes down when someone does die, unless it’s a villain. (I know that’s a little childish but I don’t really care.) That’s also why I don’t read war books or anything by Nicholas Sparks. Ha ha. That was a joke.
Most of you are probably familiar with the Hobbit, or at least the first 90 pages if you’ve seen the recent movie by Peter Jackson. I liked the movie quite a lot, although I don’t know if I agree with them making it a trilogy. I know a lot happens in the book but for heaven’s sake it isn’t even 250 pages long! I think 2 movies would have been more than adequate. But I digress. In the story we follow a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, as he joins in an adventure of enormous proportions, when a group of dwarves request his services to steal their treasure back from the terrible dragon, Smaug. Hobbits, you should know, are good English characters in that they never want to have fun or go on any kind of adventurous outings. (Again, kidding.) For those of you who have seen the films of the Lord of the Rings, you also know that this story also tells how Bilbo gets the Ring that young master Frodo later receives and has so much trouble with.
Honestly there isn’t much else to be said. There are scholars in universities that study Tolkein’s work every day, and get paid to do it. It really is a great work and if you are hesitant to read Tolkein, I highly recommend this book as Tolkein wasn’t quite as verbose as he later gets in the Lord of the Rings. However you still are able to bear witness to the man’s talent at prose, imagery, and storytelling.
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” - J. R. R. Tolkien
Friday, February 22, 2013
"Raise the Titanic"
Written by Clive Cussler
373 pages
Overall Grade: A-
I first started reading Dirk Pitt novels when I was in middle school. I was trying lots of new books out from all different genres, and I honestly think the librarian was tired of giving me suggestions so she told me to read a book about 400 pages long. I think she was thinking it might slow me down and give her a break. Ha! Boy, was she wrong! I tore through that thing in one weekend and I’ve been a Clive Cussler fan ever since. I will also admit to having quite a crush on Dirk Pitt for a number of years in middle and early high school. Who could blame me? He’s supposed to be this rugged, handsome, virile man who can fly a plane, sail a boat, drive in a car chase, in any of his classic automobiles that he collects I might add, all in the same day, and look salacious the whole time while doing it. Who wouldn’t be impressed right? Anyway, like I said I’ve been a fan ever since. I even convinced my husband to read one of Pitt’s adventures and now he loves them too. We currently have 17 of Cussler’s books on our shelf, and I’ve read all but a couple. There’s really everything you could want in a book: mystery, adventure, a little romance here and there, and quite a bit of humor.
Cussler started writing his Dirk Pitt adventures in the 1970’s and Raise the Titanic is Cussler’s fourth book. What’s great about this “series”, and I use the term loosely, is while they all center on a single main character and there is a chronological sequence you do not need to read them in order to appreciate the books. The first one I read was Valhalla Rising which was published in 2001 and I didn’t know until after I’d read it that there were more books in the “series”. I will also say this about Cussler’s writing: he is not the cleanest of writers. They are not Harlequin romance novels by any means, but there are some “adult situations” in some of his books and I would not recommend them to anyone below the age of 17 (I say 17 because that’s the age you can go see a rated-R movie with no adult). Also, in certain situations he can have a tendency to make his characters use some profanity, but compared to some other authors I’ve read, it’s really not that bad.
As to Raise the Titanic in particular, it is one of my favorite of
his I’ve read so far, probably in the top 3. What strikes me so how ahead of
the curve Cussler actually was on this one. Raise the Titanic was
published in 1976, the first pictures taken of the Titanic were in 1985, and
the movie was made in 1997. Of course since he wrote the book before they found
the Titanic and were able to take photos of her, not all of his information is
right, but really who cares? The book is so much fun! It was also written
before the fall of the Soviet Union, so the Russians are the bad guys, as they
are in quite a few of Pitt’s adventures. But who could blame Cussler for using
the Russians as his villains, darn commies.
All of Cussler’s novels take something from the past whether it’s the legend of El Dorado, what really happened to Abe Lincoln, or the hidden mystery of the Titanic and weaves it in to “present day” adventures. I love stories like this. I love it when writers take a little liberty with history and make something new and exciting. Clive Cussler really is a master at this. Interestingly enough Cussler owns all of the classic cars Pitt uses in the books, the back cover usually has him pictured next to them. And Cussler himself is an avid sailor and has been on many salvage operations. He is very knowledgeable about the sea, sailing, and much of what he writes about. Click here for a link to Cussler's biography and website.
My last note is this, while I do love the Dirk Pitt novels because they are original and entertaining, I do not like some of the other novels Cussler has written. He has a series with a main character called Austin something and well he’s really just a blonde Dirk Pitt. Honestly I would’ve rather Cussler just retired Dirk and moved on to something completely different, but alas he already has such a fan base I can see why he wanted to milk it. I just don’t think Austin’s character is original enough and no one will ever be as cool as Dirk Pitt, I’m just saying.
So anyway, Raise the Titanic is great. You should read it. And that’s the way it is. J
"It is not true that we have only one life to live; if we can read, we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish." -S. I. Hayakawa
373 pages
Overall Grade: A-
I first started reading Dirk Pitt novels when I was in middle school. I was trying lots of new books out from all different genres, and I honestly think the librarian was tired of giving me suggestions so she told me to read a book about 400 pages long. I think she was thinking it might slow me down and give her a break. Ha! Boy, was she wrong! I tore through that thing in one weekend and I’ve been a Clive Cussler fan ever since. I will also admit to having quite a crush on Dirk Pitt for a number of years in middle and early high school. Who could blame me? He’s supposed to be this rugged, handsome, virile man who can fly a plane, sail a boat, drive in a car chase, in any of his classic automobiles that he collects I might add, all in the same day, and look salacious the whole time while doing it. Who wouldn’t be impressed right? Anyway, like I said I’ve been a fan ever since. I even convinced my husband to read one of Pitt’s adventures and now he loves them too. We currently have 17 of Cussler’s books on our shelf, and I’ve read all but a couple. There’s really everything you could want in a book: mystery, adventure, a little romance here and there, and quite a bit of humor.
Cussler started writing his Dirk Pitt adventures in the 1970’s and Raise the Titanic is Cussler’s fourth book. What’s great about this “series”, and I use the term loosely, is while they all center on a single main character and there is a chronological sequence you do not need to read them in order to appreciate the books. The first one I read was Valhalla Rising which was published in 2001 and I didn’t know until after I’d read it that there were more books in the “series”. I will also say this about Cussler’s writing: he is not the cleanest of writers. They are not Harlequin romance novels by any means, but there are some “adult situations” in some of his books and I would not recommend them to anyone below the age of 17 (I say 17 because that’s the age you can go see a rated-R movie with no adult). Also, in certain situations he can have a tendency to make his characters use some profanity, but compared to some other authors I’ve read, it’s really not that bad.
All of Cussler’s novels take something from the past whether it’s the legend of El Dorado, what really happened to Abe Lincoln, or the hidden mystery of the Titanic and weaves it in to “present day” adventures. I love stories like this. I love it when writers take a little liberty with history and make something new and exciting. Clive Cussler really is a master at this. Interestingly enough Cussler owns all of the classic cars Pitt uses in the books, the back cover usually has him pictured next to them. And Cussler himself is an avid sailor and has been on many salvage operations. He is very knowledgeable about the sea, sailing, and much of what he writes about. Click here for a link to Cussler's biography and website.
My last note is this, while I do love the Dirk Pitt novels because they are original and entertaining, I do not like some of the other novels Cussler has written. He has a series with a main character called Austin something and well he’s really just a blonde Dirk Pitt. Honestly I would’ve rather Cussler just retired Dirk and moved on to something completely different, but alas he already has such a fan base I can see why he wanted to milk it. I just don’t think Austin’s character is original enough and no one will ever be as cool as Dirk Pitt, I’m just saying.
So anyway, Raise the Titanic is great. You should read it. And that’s the way it is. J
"It is not true that we have only one life to live; if we can read, we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish." -S. I. Hayakawa
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
We are on Facebook!
I just wanted to take a second and deviate from the usual course of business to announce that we are on facebook! You can search for Thoughts of a Bookworm or you can go to http://facebook.com/ThoughtsOfABookworm. I look forward to seeing and hearing more from the awesome people generous enough to spend some of their valuable time with me!
God bless and don't forget -
"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” - Sir Richard Steele
God bless and don't forget -
"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” - Sir Richard Steele
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)