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| # | cover | title | author | isbn | isbn13 | asin | num pages | avg rating | num ratings | date pub | date pub (ed.) | rating | my rating | review | notes | recommender | comments | votes | read count | date started | date read |
date
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date purchased | owned | purchase location | condition | format | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1442414030
| 9781442414037
| 4.18
| 680
| Sep 01, 2012
| Sep 2012
|
I had to add this to my favorites, my 5 yr old son and I enjoyed it so much! Reserved it at the library after reading a review here on Goodreads. So g...more
I had to add this to my favorites, my 5 yr old son and I enjoyed it so much! Reserved it at the library after reading a review here on Goodreads. So glad I did! It's about a little girl who's bored but then meets a potato who is bored as well. When she asks it why it's bored, he says it's because he has to hang out with her, a kid, which is boring. She then proceeds to list all the reasons why kids aren't boring. (You can see where this is going) You think I would have seen the end coming but I didn't. I won't give it away. Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended! I loved the illustrations as well. I can't imagine any child not enjoying this.(less)
| Notes are private!
| none
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1
| not set
| May 2013
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Apr 25, 2013
| Hardcover
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| 0747263744
| 9780747263746
| 4.10
| 188,947
| Jun 19, 2001
| Mar 04, 2005
|
American Gods by Neil Gaiman was wow. Just wow. I haven't read a book that's touched me this deeply in awhile. Let me start off by discussing the two...more
American Gods by Neil Gaiman was wow. Just wow. I haven't read a book that's touched me this deeply in awhile. Let me start off by discussing the two biggest things I enjoyed about this book. First of all, those who know me, know that I'll read anything. I've even been dared to read things. From Satanic ritualistic books, to obscure Foreign history books, to books about math, politics, or even how a fish changed the world, I read it all. So when a novel comes along that stands out as different than anything I've ever read, I sit up and take notice. The second reason I loved it was because I was constantly surprised. With or without foreshadowing, I usually can guess where a story is going or how it will end. With American Gods, I was confounded at every turn. I laughed out loud often at the plot, at the bewilderment, and at myself for my assumptions with where the book was headed. Even though many have given summaries on the plot, I don't think that I can really describe accurately what this book is about. Part of me still isn't sure, and I feel I'll need to read it a few more times before I can begin to grasp it. But as far as the book jacket goes, it's about a man named, Shadow, who gets put in jail for three years over something stupid. Upon getting out he's excited to go home to his wife Laura, when he finds out she's been killed in an auto accident. On his way home to the funeral, he meets up with a special elusive character, who offers him a job as a driver/body guard/errand boy. Although it doesn't completely sit well with him, he has nothing better to do, so he takes it. And that is just the first chapter. This book goes all over America. It explores our history, our religions, our ancestry. It covers the things we do that makes us alive, love, mystery, action, murder, revenge and so much more. The book is about all of these things, and then none of these things, and it was beautiful. Gaiman's writing is exquisite. It makes you gulp in awe, reach out and touch the lightning because it's right in front of you, and it makes you repulsed from character acts that are revolting. Any horror or fantastical thing the mind can think of, this book has covered an aspect of it. I adored this book. I've always wanted to read a Gaiman, ever since I discovered that one of my favorite singers, Tori Amos, was a good friend of his. She mentions "Neil" in at least one song on every album. I had picked up a few copies of Sandman, his graphic novel years ago, because I knew one of his characters was based on Tori, but never really read the whole story. This was my first Gaiman. I've heard mixed reviews on it, long-time Gaimen fans either love it or hate it, and it has gotten lots of acclaim, sometimes more than any of his others. I'm glad it was my first. It gave me insight into this author who has been so controversial in my reading circles. As for being a classic, this has so much potential. So many unique ideas, and so superb in its style of writing, I think it definitely has potential. It's only been out a little over ten years and doesn't have as many followers yet, so it might just take time. I can't, for the life of me, label this style of writing, or tell you what the original concept is. I know it has underlying themes and substantial influence it the fantasy genre, but I'm not sure it's enough to put it in those categories. It's probably not well known enough to consider it a knowledge base of its field, but I believe it's a good representation of the fantasy genre, or at least what is possible in fantasy when we strive for such creativity and imagination in this field. And even though it's not a collection of authors, I still think this can be classified as an anthology of sorts, since the history of its topic is so diverse. Because of all of these reasons, I am putting it on my classics list. It might take fifty years, but I believe this book read far from now, will have just as much impact on its reader. It's been a long time since I've been so touched by an author. I am in love again. ClassicsDefined.com(less) | Notes are private!
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1
| not set
| Aug 30, 2012
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Aug 06, 2012
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0743273567
| 9780743273565
| 3.79
| 1,159,494
| 1925
| Sep 30, 2004
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This bombastic roaring novel goes from eliciting Bronx Cheers to being the Cat's Meow. A faithful embodiment of what the twenties were like, the book...more
This bombastic roaring novel goes from eliciting Bronx Cheers to being the Cat's Meow. A faithful embodiment of what the twenties were like, the book thrusts us into the thick of things with no buildup whatsoever other than the most beautiful of slanged prose. "The abnormal mind is quick to detect and attach itself to this quality when it appears in a normal person, and so it came about that in college I was unjustly accused of being a politician, because I was privy to the secret griefs of wild, unknown men." I've never known an author to use such different styles of adjectives, from classical to modern vernacular, and have it come off as anything less than choppy. But Fitzgerald pulls it off, over and over again. His writing astounds me and leaves me breathless with new experiences, and for that, I thank him. The story is told from Nick Carraway's point of view, both a participant in the story and also someone who fades easily into the background to observe. It seems from a surface look at his writing, that he despises these people he associates with, and finds their habits and actions distasteful, yet he can't seem to get away from them. He is fascinated and repelled at the same time. "There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired." Living next to Jay Gatsby, he is pulled into the life of the rich socialites. At first he thinks it's because of mere whim but then finds out it's because Gatsby wants an afternoon tea arranged with one Daisy Buchanan, Nick's cousin, a married woman, and the girl whom Gatsby was once in love with. Nick arranges it against his better judgment and from there, the story never seems to slow down. Whether fast-paced in action, or fascinating conjecture of life's little moments, this book had me hooked from beginning to end. "Daisy, was too wise ever to carry well-forgotten dreams from age to age." Fitzgerald has a unique and different style of writing that doesn't come close to anything I've ever read before. He also has an uncanny way of making you not only be able to imagine the 1920's, but feel it, taste it, smell it, and, in this case, sweat it. All of it adding to the list of reasons we should consider him a classical writer. There are many underlying themes here, not the least of which are love, hate, revenge, guilt, self-worth, and infidelity. The Great Gatsby has definitely withstood the test of time, selling more books with each passing year, and along with the magic factor, he also has a huge following. For all these reasons and more, I consider this book a classic. "It vanished in the trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder." One last thing I'd like to mention is that I'm really looking forward to the movie coming out in May. And it was in no small part of my decision for reading this book on my list. I also have to say, Leonardo Dicaprio never impressed me much in Titanic, my first movie of him. But then I saw Who's Eating Gilbert Grape, and Gangs of New York, and Catch me If you Can, and Blood Diamond. And even though I never particularly enjoyed watching him, I was greatly impressed with his talent, and grew to enjoy watching him, so that when I heard he was going to play Gatsby, I was satisfied that he would do the character justice. Dicaprio, combined with Toby Maguire, was enough to make me blissfully anticipate the coming of this film. I do believe, ever since Spider-man, the critics don't give Maguire enough credit as an actor. But I will never forget him in The Cider House Rules and especially The Ice Storm. Those alone give him credit as an actor. So, I happily look forward to watching this movie, especially after having just added this book to my favorites. ClassicsDefined.com(less) | Notes are private!
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1
| Apr 21, 2013
| Apr 28, 2013
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May 30, 2012
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 030788743X
| 9780307887436
| 4.28
| 59,847
| Aug 16, 2011
| Aug 16, 2011
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Notes are private!
| none
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1
| May 27, 2012
| Jun 07, 2012
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May 17, 2012
| Hardcover
| ||||||||||||||||
| 0007181701
| 9780007181704
| 3.92
| 514,574
| 1953
| 2004
|
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury was a mind blowing gasoline fire to the brain. While I rarely give out 4 stars on goodreads.com, it's even rarer to giv...more
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury was a mind blowing gasoline fire to the brain. While I rarely give out 4 stars on goodreads.com, it's even rarer to give a book a 5, which indicates the book is one of my favorites. This got 5 stars for me. As I sat stood ran in my mind crazy home with kids playing screaming fighting calgon take me away running getting dirty wondering why I didn't drink more often and who was going to pay the bills as I filtered out the blast bang from the weasel dinosaur singing on TV and the ipad tablet going with sounds from angry birds and computer's singing out a tune unlike the mario brothers theme song I began to to wonder if the world ever slowed down or turned off. I realized I did not know a single person or family who didn't immediately turn on the boob tube for comfort relaxation down time after work school driving coming home. The radio was screaming was used to be called music the TV in the bedroom sang about brushing your teeth and the TV in the living room was screaming about the next presidential election when I sat down in front of the computer to check on notifications for goodreads and updates on facebook. This world where kindles are replacing books and flashing images on a screen are replacing self thought I wondered where we were all heading and where was my release escape quiet down time from this all consuming noisy hell? I remembered a time of sitting on the porch at my grandmother's farm watching the sun go down after a hard day's picking strawberries sipping lemonade waiting for the cabbage truck that would bring the farmer next street down and hopefully his three cute farmhands. I remembered playing outside in fields playing house in mud on swing sets hide and seek in corn fields imagination pretend under trees until the sky was pink purple blue midnight blue against black trees and porch lights coming on I was booking it home so as to not get in trouble for being so late lest I wouldn't be able to do it all again tomorrow. I thought about this crazy fast speeding world and listened to the crickets in the back yard and the beaded prisms I made hanging from the trees when I was pregnant on bed rest and forced to quiet times and self contemplation. I look at the flowers painted on the beams of the back porch I did using blues and reds and yellow. The green of the grass and trees and moss calls to me like a song rising about the yelling and noise of the house. But there is no one else, no time no room no place to escape, not now, with noise everywhere and kids yelling and dinners needing cooked and sticky fingers needing washed and diapers and beds needing changed. Instead I look to the computer and do bills and yell and scream Stop it! Don't touch that! I said no! Leave him alone! And I blow air at the escaped tendrils of hair on my forehead trying to get them out of my eyes, no time to run to the bathroom to even fix my messy ponytail. And I yell and scream Come here! Where is it? Do you want a timeout? Brush your teeth! And I pick up dirty laundry and cry inside and the noise gets louder and the kids start running and something crashes and my teeth grind and suddenly I can't stand it any longer and I lock myself in the bathroom and just try to breathe and see my book sitting on the counter and open it to read a few pages and... Silence. Serenity. Calm. I have found my peace. My head clears. My mind starts to work. The mush that used to be brain cells I used for computer programming start firing synapses again and I can breathe. All I have is this binding with some paper pages between and suddenly my world goes quiet and I can think again. I finish the chapter and lay the book down smiling. Ready to face what's on the other side of the door again. If I could be any of the hobos following the train tracks of Bradbury's book, which would I be? Leviticus? The Merchant of Venice? Paul Lawrence Dunbar? Ray Bradbury? As long as there are people like me out there, treasuring like the gold the written word, I can only dream the reality of Bradbury's world won't come to fruition. But the words so powerful entrench my soul and saturate my mind with thought and feeling and passion. So, for now, my thirst is quenched. ClassicsDefined.com (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Apr 24, 2012
| May 05, 2012
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Apr 24, 2012
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0743482751
| 9780743482752
| 4.04
| 100,738
| 1598
| Dec 30, 2003
|
Click here for William Shakespeare Disclaimer Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare is absolutely fantastic. I've only read a few Shakespeare...more Click here for William Shakespeare Disclaimer Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare is absolutely fantastic. I've only read a few Shakespeare so far, but I have a feeling it will be my favorite. I love the characters, the plot, the dialogue and the interaction between the characters. Every other Shakespeare will have to surpass this. Like the typical Shakespeare, it's difficult to give highlights of the plot because there is so much going on, but basically it's one of his comedies about Leonato, a nobleman who lives in the idyllic Italian town of Messina. Leonato shares his house with his lovely young daughter, Hero, his playful, clever niece, Beatrice, and his elderly brother, Antonio (who is Beatrice's father). As the play begins, Leonato prepares to welcome some friends home from a war. The friends include Don Pedro, a prince who is a close friend of Leonato, and two fellow soldiers: Claudio, a well-respected young nobleman, and Benedick, a clever man who constantly makes witty jokes, often at the expense of his friends. Don John, Don Pedro’s illegitimate brother, is part of the crowd as well. Don John is sullen and bitter, and makes trouble for the others. When the soldiers arrive at Leonato’s home, Claudio quickly falls in love with Hero. Meanwhile, Benedick and Beatrice resume the war of witty insults that they have carried on with each other in the past. Claudio and Hero pledge their love to one another and decide to be married. To pass the time in the week before the wedding, the lovers and their friends decide to play a game. They want to get Beatrice and Benedick, who are clearly meant for each other, to stop arguing and fall in love. Their tricks prove successful, and Beatrice and Benedick soon fall secretly in love with each other. But Don John has decided to disrupt everyone’s happiness. Once Don John starts to cause mischief, the group is torn apart and characters begin to choose which side they're on. At one point, Benedick even challenges Claudio to a duel on behalf of Beatrice. Much chaos ensues. It's a delightfully entertaining story, with much wit between Beatrice and Benedick, my favorite characters. As they are being tricked into believing the other one is in love with them, they are still trying desperately to cling to dignity, and the wit and jibes at each other escalate. Their banter and play with words is one of the highlights of the play and only gets better and better as they each try and outdo each other. When reading reviews and plot summaries of this play online, I've sadly come to notice that one of the absolute best characters often gets underplayed, or not even mentioned at all. Dogberry, our chief policeman, is the one who uncovers Don John's evil plot and brings it to Leonato. He is the only middle-class character and often tries desperately to use big words to impress the nobles, and often fails. This is cause for much of the humor of the play as we can't help but love him. He misuses words or uses the wrong word completely when trying to explain things. And then, when one of the plaintiff's (he means defendant's) calls him an ass, he wants to make sure it goes on record because he's so offended. So he goes around saying, "Let it be known, that I am an ass!" Too funny! He's a fantastic character and doesn't get enough recognition in my opinion. I absolutely loved this play. The movie I chose to watch was one I watched years ago back in college and revisited again after reading the play. It has many stars in it and I think they all do an excellent job except for Robert Sean Leonard. You might remember him as the kid who killed himself in Dead Poet's society. My college professor went on and on about how terrible Keanu Reeves was as Don John, but I myself think he actually did him justice. Leonard, however, especially when realizing he has wronged Hero, does an abysmal job of carrying on about it. Emma Thompson as Beatrice and Kenneth Branagh as Benedict were a brilliant move, as they did an outstanding job. I can't say often enough just how much I love the dialogue between these two characters! And even more of a brilliant move, casting Michael Keaton as Dogberry! If you never see but one of Shakespeare's plays made into a movie, see this one if not for Keaton alone. He's fantastic and hilarious! He brings a new kind of comedy and abasement to Dogberry that no one else could do. Completely wonderful! I can't recommend this play or movie enough! Five stars to both! ClassicsDefined.com (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Feb 25, 2012
| Apr 03, 2012
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Feb 25, 2012
| Mass Market Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0375831002
| 9780375831003
| 4.35
| 304,055
| Sep 01, 2005
| Mar 14, 2006
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The Angel of Death, a war that shouldn't have happened, and a young girl, armed with the knowledge that only words could save her, is what this incred...more
The Angel of Death, a war that shouldn't have happened, and a young girl, armed with the knowledge that only words could save her, is what this incredible novel is about. A thankless job and a timeless journey of collecting souls, has the Angel of Death infatuated with humans. And one day, he comes across this strong-willed and resilient girl who looks death in the eye over and over again, and he is enchanted. Thus begins the story of Leisel, our little German girl who has a penchant for stealing books. One of the first things I thought of upon completing this book is that I didn't feel crucified as person with German history like I usually do when I read these kinds of stories. Let me explain. My mother is German, born and raised there. I grew up listening to my mother speak German, and went on several trips with her to Germany. My grandfather from my Dad's side was in WWII, and my mother's father was a Nazi. That word comes with such negative connotations these days, with people not really understanding the history behind the war. The people that fought in the war, like my grandparents, are dying off, and are replaced with an ignorant younger generation that is only taught Nazi's = evil. I don't believe it's as simple as that. Without getting too philosophical, Nazi's are people, and while you can argue that people are inherently evil, I don't believe this to be true. I believe we make choices, which are good and bad. Both of my grandfathers understood this, as they grew to respect each other over the years. I recently thought about this in depth when my 5-yr-old son asked me why, when asked which were my favorite characters from his shows, I usually ended up choosing the bad guys. "They're bad guys, Mom, how can you like them?" I said it was not that easy to define someone as bad and ended up in a discussion with him using examples of when he's bad and how that doesn't necessarily make him all bad. He got it, but much like this generation I was mentioning earlier, he didn't like it. It's much easier when everything is black and white. Germany had hit an economic all time low and were struggling in numerous areas, including job employment and an economy on a downward spiral when Hitler hit the scene. He was a good speaker, and gave Germans hope, promising a new life and a better Germany. A friend of my mother's, yes, another Nazi, which really just means, a person who was in the war on the German side, talked to me once when I was around ten year's old about Hitler. He had met him once. I was fascinated and asked what he was like. My mother's friend replied, "The best way to describe him was that he was very charismatic. He was very likable. You couldn't help not to like him when you met him." So people followed him, and he made promises about their country to them. Well, nothing helps an economy better than war. By the time people started realizing he might not be all he seemed cracked up to be, he had gained a prolific amount of power and was well on his way to controlling those people who didn't agree with him. It was either follow him or suffer the consequences. The country was divided. But like this book shows, there were many different kinds of people that you might label "Nazi". I loved this book because it showed more sides to the story than most of these stories do. We had Hans, the sad painter and accordion player who tried to help a struggling Jew, in repayment of a kindness shown to him from the Jew's father. We have Rosa, the wife of Hans, who seems to have a vocabulary of little more than swear words and even less words of kindness for anyone, yet does everything she can to help the Jew. We have Rudy, Leisel's friend, who is constantly challenging authority and quits the Hitler youth group. Then we have Rudy's father, who refuses Rudy to the Nazi's, and suffers the consequences when he instead is taken away from his family, and then in a turn of events that no one foresaw, has Rudy a part of the war anyway, only in a way that wasn't expected. Then we have Hans' son, the blond, bright-eyed boy who is filled with pride for Germany and goes off to war proudly. These are just a few of the wonderfully diverse characters Zusak brings to life to represent the different viewpoints of Nazi Germany. My German grandfather was enlisted because he had to, even though he was, by nature, a very gentle non-confrontational sort of man. But even though he was enlisted as a Nazi, my Lutheran grandmother, who had a slightly larger than average nose, was often stopped, checked for papers, and harassed, because Nazi's thought she could have been a Jew. She learned to keep her head down and her, nose clean, so to speak. (Yes, bad pun, but I wanted to see if you were still with me.) Another thing that occurred to me, (and as there are many, I'll leave this as the last one), is that the Allies always seem to get off squeaky clean in their behavior. I just saw the movie School Ties, and thought about the Jewish social persecution. I did a little digging and it turns out, America as a whole did quite a lot of Jewish persecution in recent years. What's the deal with this? Why were they so terrible? And if we hated them so much, why did we care that Hitler was killing them? And is social persecution so much better than killing Jews? Social persecution in any form can have many long lasting effects. I'm no so sure it was worse then just killing them. And the big question, if we felt the same way as the Nazi's toward Jews, were we really any better than them? I realize there are many underlying theories on each of the questions above, and no answer is a simple one. But the point I'm trying to make is, We shouldn't use the term Nazi like it's used when referring to villians like Lex Luther or Ming the Merciless. (Yes, I realize that might have dated me.) It's not so black and white. Perhaps I just like playing devil's advocate. Or maybe I just like me a good bad boy. Zusak, shows the realistic picture of a pre-war Germany and it's countrymen. He shows all sides of the picture. He shows that Hitler's rise to power could only end in distress and dispair and how many were forced to follow him. Yet, amidst all of it, there were stories of value. Personalities, people with character, that either rose above the conditions, or persevered despite them. He weaves a tale of many different lives interwoven into the war and its consequences. With bittersweet antics of a girl to heart wrenching despair of a woman, who meets this Angel of Death on her own terms in her own time, he tells a story that you can't help but fall into from the very first page. If you can read this book with an open mind it will fill your heart with a story that will stay with you for a long time. I don't think this has enough meat under its belt to be considered a classic just yet, but it has possibility. Once years have established its fate, I think the underlying themes of human nature and unique style of writing, from the first person viewpoint of the Angel of Death to the intermittent bullet points of the Angel's thoughts strewn throughout the book, will make this a classic. I believe this is different enough and unusual enough that it should be given consideration as a classic, therefore I will add it to my list as a possible classic. I also think this story has something for everyone, no matter who the reader is, and it's different enough, that I'm unable to relate the style of writing to anything I've ever written before. I highly recommend this book. Please Note: I apologize for my soapbox, if it sounded like one. I usually stay away from reading and reviewing my thoughts on anything related to WWI because of my heritage. Perhaps, I will someday write a piece on my history and why I feel this way, that way, when I read and review these books in the future, I can just reference that history for people who want to understand where I'm coming from. And I implore you to remember that we are all prejudice in our own ways. I heard a quote I liked once from an anonymous source which said... "Show me a man who isn't prejudice, and I'll show you a really good liar." ClassicsDefined.com(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Jan 31, 2013
| Mar 20, 2013
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Feb 14, 2012
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 0143034901
| 9780143034902
| 4.19
| 136,171
| 2001
| Jan 25, 2005
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Notes are private!
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1
| not set
| not set
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Feb 07, 2012
| Paperback
| ||||||||||||||||
| 0739326228
| 9780739326220
| 4.00
| 783,282
| Sep 23, 1997
| Nov 15, 2005
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Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden was phenomenal. One of my book clubs picked it this month and I just saw the selection and realized I owned it an...more
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden was phenomenal. One of my book clubs picked it this month and I just saw the selection and realized I owned it and it was already on my list but didn't think I'd have time to read it in the next two weeks. But just for the heck of it, I picked it up and decided to just read the first chapter to see how I liked it. It took me less than three days to finish it. I absolutely loved this book. It was well written and gave an eloquent and sometime graphic portrayal of the lifestyle of a geisha. It was fascinating to learn about the culture through the eyes of this young girl. The way Golden describes the Japanese world is easy to picture and completely draws you in. You find yourself rooting for this girl as her life hits one roadblock after another. His beautiful descriptions of the setting and clothes is enough of a reason to read this book, but it offers so much more as well. I do think this is classic material. Although published not too long ago I think it has the potential to be around for awhile, therefore falling under the longevity category. I also think it's an original concept. Many books touch upon the culture and classes of the Japanese, but I'm unaware of one that writes about the taboo intimacies of a geisha. If there are, I'd have to read them, but I think this book is original enough to be the leader of that group. I also think it has the magic factor. The descriptions of the era, the dress, and especially the differences in facial features of the characters pull you into the story effortlessly. I highly recommend it and believe it's a classic, if not now, then one in the making. As for the movie, I have mixed opinions. When I first saw it years ago before reading the book, I thought it was lovely and moving. Since I just finished the book I decided to watch it again. Once again, I feel like a movie pales in comparison to the book, lacking in definition and finesse. Yes, it's good for what it is, and the actors they choose to play the parts did exceedingly well, but I found myself dictating constantly to my husband who was watching with me, parts that were never explained. Things like why they spark a flint at a geisha's back before they leave the okiya or why the girls had they hands frozen numb while they practiced the shamisen. To me this was imperative in experiencing the richness that all the culture had to offer. But alas, it's the downfall of a movie representing a book. They can't put everything in so you just have to enjoy it for what it is. That being the case, it was an adequate representation of the book, with talented actors playing the parts well. ClassicsDefined.com(less) | Notes are private!
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1
| not set
| Jan 10, 2012
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Feb 07, 2012
| Hardcover
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| 0684847817
| 9780684847818
| 4.00
| 9,207
| Oct 15, 1998
| Oct 15, 1998
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Good Faeries/Bad Faeries by Brian Froud is the faerie bible for any faeriephile. This is not just a catch phrase I'm throwing around. I have read and...more Good Faeries/Bad Faeries by Brian Froud is the faerie bible for any faeriephile. This is not just a catch phrase I'm throwing around. I have read and own hundreds of books on faeries, folklore, Celtic tradition, and the history of faeries throughout the world. Within the faerie lover's community it is widely known that this is the book of basic faerie lore with the most comprehensive selection of fae and the most accurately illustrated of all books on the subject. To those that think the world of Fae is just another cute delusion belonging to the fantasy nerds of the world I tell you two things: 1. You have never been to Ireland or Scotland, where the faerie world is richly engrained in the culture and history, and seen as not only undisputed fact, but a way of life. 2. You are obviously close-minded and blind to magic of any kind in the world around you. Things such as miracles (the things you call happy coincidence) and giving birth are just another part of life you take for granted. To those: I implore you - Please stop reading now, there is no justification in the act of you reading any further. To the rest of you, who can understand the perpetuation of the myth we call Santa Claus to alight the sparkle in a child's eye, for only a moment, well, I speak to you. Brian Froud is widely known as one of the best artists of all things magical, but he is probably best known for his work with Jim Henson in creating the puppets for the movies Dark Crystal and the Labyrinth. His wife had help in designing Yoda from Star Wars and they both have many other books and works under their belt. But this book, by far, in my humble but accurate opinion, is the best. The art alone is worth the purchase price. Not cutesy or childish, the images are seductive, alluring, and sometimes dark and sinister. This is no child's book. He details the main species in the world of Fae, which are not, as many believe, just fairy's. Fae refers to all magical creatures from sprites to elves to goblins to trolls. It is informative and beautiful. It also has an unusual aspect not seen in many books, which is that the first half of the book, Good Faeries, takes up half the book, then, you must flip the book over and backwards, to read the second half, Bad Faeries. The picture in the middle of the book dividing the two is multi-faceted in that it has no top or bottom of the page. That is, the picture looks the same right side up or upside down. There are many hidden gems in this book, both written and illustrated. And because it contains four of the charactaristics of a classic (a source of the highest expertise of its field, unique, the magic factor, and a huge following) I will define it as such. ClassicsDefined.com(less) | Notes are private!
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| 4.35
| 12,859
| 1929
| May 08, 2002
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Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke was an excellent read and definitely one to put on my classics list. A short book that contains a collec...more
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke was an excellent read and definitely one to put on my classics list. A short book that contains a collection of letters to a young poet, Rainer writes advice on anything from passion to love to life. The way he writes is exceptional, bringing an unusual beauty to his advice and a simplicity to his outlook on life. As you read it, you can't help but think, why this is obvious! Why didn't I think of it in this way before? An excellent read and a must for anything with any sort of indecision on following their passions in life. One part of the book struck a familiar chord with me, knowing I had heard this advice somewhere before and then all of sudden I remembered! I hurriedly researched whether or not I was right and I was! This book is quoted by Whoopi Goldberg in the movie Sister Act 2! It was one of my favorites years ago and I had watched it many times. I think the scene bares mentioning here, to show how this book can be useful in any time. Goldberg is a music teacher at a high school and one of the students (Lauren Hill) is struggling with the desire to sing for a living which her mother is totally against. I'll leave you with the quote from the movie said by Whoopi Goldberg: "I went to my mother who gave me this book called Letters To A Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke. He’s a fabulous writer. A fellow used to write to him and say: I want to be a writer, please read my stuff. And Rilke says to this guy, don’t ask me about being a writer. If when you wake up in the morning you can think of nothing but writing, then you’re a writer. I’m gonna say the same thing to you. If you wake up in the morning and you can’t think of anything but singing first, then you’re supposed to be a singer girl." ClassicsDefined.com (less) | Notes are private!
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Oct 10, 2011
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| 0545044251
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| 4.71
| 87,763
| Oct 01, 2007
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| 4.17
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| 1980
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| 0452011876
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| 3.67
| 149,121
| 1957
| Aug 01, 1999
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Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand opened a whole new world for me. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. The Earth Children’s Series by Jean Auel w...more
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand opened a whole new world for me. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. The Earth Children’s Series by Jean Auel were my favorite books until reading this and now they both are. Picking up some of the classics to read on my list in Barnes & Noble, I ran into an older gentleman who worked there and noticed what I was perusing. He recommended Atlas Shrugged and I had never heard of it. When I realized it was the same person who wrote Fountainhead, I thought that it sounded vaguely familiar but I had not known of it or could remember anything I had heard about it. So, I bought the paperback with the tiny writing and over 1000 pages. I can not tell you how much I absolutely loved this book. It took me about 200 pages to get into it. I was never much on philosophy and didn’t know much about this Objectivism that Any Rand was writing about. But she used politics as an analogy, and threw in her beliefs about Capitalism which I very much agreed with, so after getting past the setup of the story, I was abruptly drawn in. Objectivism specializes in showing how all our motives are really just stem from selfishness or should be, leading up to the pursuit of one’s own happiness. She wraps this idea around a government in America in the 40’s who begin to embrace Socialism at its worst and follows it to its extreme. It reaffirmed everything I believed in concerning taxes, welfare, and monopolies. An economy that is forced over time to subject itself to extreme socialism eventually fails, and the book, in a nutshell, ends with all social structures collapsing, and NY growing dark for lack of energy being able to be piped to it. Meanwhile, in a little valley far away, the most intelligent, productive minds of the era, make plans for economy regrowth with plenty of new and innovative ideas thrown in. Ideas that they were not allowed to possess in the socialist economy. It also had some good romance thrown in for good measure. It was beautifully written and touched me deeply. I wanted to run around shouting yes! This is what will happen if we let Obama get his way with our health care! But since I don’t have a pulpit, only a car, I instead got a bumper sticker that said, Who is John Galt? Hopefully that might cause at least one person in this world to sit up and ask some questions, like I did. I already got an older copy of Fountainhead and added it to my list of must read classics. I also began acquiring any book written by or about Ayn Rand that I could find. She is a phenomenal writer. I absolutely loved this book and her writing is in such a class all its own, it is, it its own right, a classic. ClassicsDefined.com(less) | Notes are private!
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| 0393970124
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| 3.92
| 281,354
| 1897
| Dec 19, 1997
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Dracula by Bram Stoker was...wow. Amazing. The book that all vampire and even horror stories are judged by, this gem doesn't even come close to touchi...more
Dracula by Bram Stoker was...wow. Amazing. The book that all vampire and even horror stories are judged by, this gem doesn't even come close to touching any other that I've read or seen. Written in 1897, it introduces the epic supernatural creature, the vampyre, for the first time. Dark and vicious, creepy and sexually alluring, this is probably the epitome of all evil characters. I was never much a vampire fan. I passed by the Interview with a vampire with confusion on what all the fuss was about, and when the Twilight phenomena came about, I much agreed with Stephen King when he said, "Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.” I do have to admit a kind of infatuation with the movie Lost Boys for awhile in my teens, but that was mostly due to my attraction to the actors and their "big hair bands" type look. For all that's worth, I do believe this book has finally made a vampire lover out of me. I can see the fascination with the un-dead and immortality that I never really saw before. Stoker has a brilliant way of showing us the sexual allure of Count Dracula that I never really saw in the movies. The woman's accounts of him, such as when Mina Harker is telling of her account of meeting him in the book, she says that it was awful, yet, she didn't want him to stop. You see this over and over again in his attacks, especially in women. A mysterious stranger visiting a woman in the night has got to be extremely intoxicating since it's pretty much unheard of in the 1800's. I also got to see another side of Van Helsing that I never really saw before. Every movie I've ever seen, has portrayed him as this young, buff, bad-ass action star type, which is definitely is not. First of all, he's old! White hair old! And he has this very slow and methodical way about him. More like a professor than an avenger. Yes, in the end, he is the hero, but did you know there were actually a group of five men a woman who tracked Dracula down? Jonathan Harker, Quincey Morris, Dr. Seward, Dr. Van Helsing, Lord Godalming, and Mina Harker? And that one of them is killed in the end? I've also noticed, out of the many movie adaptations out there, they are grossly misrepresentative of the book! Yes, I realize, movies can't be exactly like the book, but none are even close! Did you know that Dracula is not only protected by wolves, but he can take the form of a bat or wolf? Or he can command weather? Snow and fog especially. How about that for those that take his blood, he can link through them so that each of them is aware of what the other is doing and where they are? This is the first old book I've read that has been such a page turner for me. I found myself really liking Jonathan Harker the best. Van Helsing became annoying and almost preachy at times, treating everyone like a student and making them come to the answers themselves. And Dr. Seward seemed a conceited prig. I have to admit, my favorite character, by far, was Count Dracula, and I wish I could have seen more of him. It also introduced me to a new form of writing called epistolary, which basically means it was written in a series of letters or diary entries. It also startled me to find so many conflicting opinions on the underlying themes running rampant in this book. I always do a little research on the "classics" I read to find out what people are saying about them. For Dracula, there are debates on just about everything from underlying sexual themes, (is he really talking about rape or emasculation here?) to political themes (the labor movement - the aristocrats feeding off of the working class?) to religious themes (a new take on the Christian view of immortality?). Overall, it was a story that will stay with me for a lifetime. It has longevity, as we have seen, it has already withstood the test of time, it has underlying themes about the human condition, and was positively an original concept, the first to come up with the character Count Dracula. It was also very controversial for its time, even though many argue that Stoker was ignorant of the underlying sexual influence it had. It has expertise - it is one of the first instances of horror that many other horror books are compared to. It has a huge following - that is obviously seen in today's subculture of real vampires. A side note, for those of you who don't know, it's always been around but in recent years, it has come out a little more, this subculture of vampires. Ever since Don Henry, a real vampyre, guest starred on a reality tv show for alternative life styles, it is much more widely known. These vampires, who are say they were born this way (no judgment here, just facts), feed off of others, much like our Count Dracula does. There are two types, psychic and sanguine. The psychic feed off of others energy, and the sanguine, like Don Henry, feed off of another's blood. Yes, he drinks real human blood, they showed it on the reality show. These new age vampires have a set of etiquette though, if you will, and will not feed off of others, blood or psychically, without that person's permission. They even have specialized underground clubs for feeding, in which you have to gets an AIDS test done before you become a member. It's fascinating really. For more information on this I recommend the author Michelle Belanger, who is a psychic vampire herself. You can find more information on her at: www.michellebelanger.com That being said, that last aspect of this book which also attributes to it being a classic is number 2 on my list, The Magic Factor. This story pulls you in from the beginning and doesn't let go. So, yes, I believe this is a classic, and enjoyed it so much, it is now on my Top Ten list of Favorites. Now I must mention the two movies I've picked up to watch. The first is Dracula starring Bela Lugosi. Amazing old black and white movie, and the very first to bring Dracula to the big screen. It was fun to watch and see how the old horror flicks were made. And Lugosi was definitely an engaging man. Anyone claiming to be a true Dracula fan needs to read this book and watch this movie. The other movie I saw was the 1992 Dracula starring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, and Keanu Reeves. Gory and explicitly sexual, it depicts the storyline a little more accurately, if not mostly true to form. I found my mind wandering though, and perhaps it was the actors that were not captivating enough for me. Anthony Hopkins does an excellent job as usual for Van Helsing, and I even bought Keanu's version of Jonathan Harker. But Ryder does a terrible job of Mina and it was completely unbelievable. Oldman is an exceptional actor and did credit to the Count, however, I couldn't get past is younger versions likeness to Slash, with the round tinted glasses and long, dark, wavy hair. It made me laugh every time I saw it. And his other forms were definitely creepy, but I didn't get the sexual allure to his character I was hoping for, that came naturally from Lugosi in the earlier movie adaptation. So, in conclusion, I am utterly enthralled by this story. What Twilight and Interview with a vampire couldn't do for me, the actual book by Bram Stoker did instantaneously. It made me an obsessed fan of all things vampire, and an innate curiosity of vampiric lore. I'm hooked, and look forward to reading The Bedside, Bathtub, & Armchair Companion to Dracula by Dawidziak that I just picked up, as well as watch more badly made movies of the classic that I find at the library and on Netflix. ClassicsDefined.com(less) | Notes are private!
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| Oct 11, 2011
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Oct 10, 2011
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| 1561797464
| 9781561797462
| 3.96
| 166,906
| 1843
| Sep 09, 1999
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Click here for Charles Dickens Disclaimer The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was an absolute delight! I was anticipating a dull read but was pleas...more Click here for Charles Dickens Disclaimer The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was an absolute delight! I was anticipating a dull read but was pleasantly surprised. Because I liked this storyline so much, I could finally fully appreciate Dickens style of writing. And it was superb! I can see now why he is so talked about through the ages. When he described the food scene with the second ghost, I felt like I was there, smelling the sounds, my mouth watering. The delicious descriptive detail that this man can write is astounding and pure talent. If you’ve lived under a rock your whole life, you might have not heard about this story. But the basic premise is a selfish, greedy man is visited by his longtime dead business partner to tell him that he will be visited by three ghosts. These ghosts are of the past, present, and future, and show this man how things truly are and the error of his ways. They also show him the possible future if things don’t change. He wakes up on Christmas day a new man and ready to right his wrongs. Truly a classic tale that is written very well. There are hundreds of movie remakes of this book out there, but I will mention only two here. The first is a Christmas Carol starring George C. Scott. It was the first and best adaptation of the play and deserves to have more recognition. The second is A Muppet’s Christmas Carol. The reason I mention this one is that out of the hundreds of adaptations I have seen (and trust me, being the Christmas freak that I am, I have seen hundreds), this is by far one of the most accurate according to the book. I was amazed and some of the dialogue that came directly from the book and even the creations of the ghosts in relation to how they were described in the book. And of course Michael Caine is one of my favorite actors. It was definitely worth watching. If you like Christmas and are in the mood for something festive, read the actual book. It will absolutely go on my Classics list and comes highly recommended. ClassicsDefined.com(less) | Notes are private!
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