http://www.goodreads.com/review/list_rss/710790 en-US Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:12:09 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 27170449 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:12:09 -0700
However, I became really upset with the ending. The final book will not be the same. =(]]>
author: J.K. Rowling
name: Emily
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/23/08
shelves:
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I feel back in love with the Harry Potter series because of this book.

However, I became really upset with the ending. The final book will not be the same. =(
]]> 24174850 Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:24:53 -0700
You can get things done with savvy politicans and right circumstances. Made me want to fly to Washington and control the world. Read it. It will open your eyes to the almighty democracy of U.S. ]]>
author: Alan Murray
name: Emily
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at: 07/08
date added: 07/13/08
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I'm not interested in tax or anything financial but this book really helped me understand how politics work. If you're bad with remembering names, don't read. It was hard for me to keep track with all the names, but I still grasped the underlining theme.

You can get things done with savvy politicans and right circumstances. Made me want to fly to Washington and control the world. Read it. It will open your eyes to the almighty democracy of U.S.
]]> 14768086 Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:45:12 -0700
Overrally I enjoyed it. Kuddos to the author. ]]>
author: M.T. Anderson
name: Emily
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/18/08
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I did not like this book until I was finished. It had a plethora of literature fanciness I can not even anaylze accurately. I think this book would be great for a english/philosophy course!

Overrally I enjoyed it. Kuddos to the author.
]]> 23080773 Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:09:58 -0700
author: M.G. Vassanji
name: Emily
average rating: 3.33
book published: 1996
rating: 2
read at: 06/08
date added: 06/10/08
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review:
I kind of got into this book around page 250. It took major self-control to make myself finish it. Good idea, but drawwwwwwn out.
]]> 10928798 Tue, 27 May 2008 17:00:09 -0700
author: Bruce Grierson
name: Emily
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 12/07
date added: 05/27/08
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I can't quite remember this book in detail, but I remember enjoying it while laying under the summer sky. It calms a nervous person; one who stresses about their future life and the decisions they must make at crossroads.
]]> 11809814 Tue, 27 May 2008 16:57:31 -0700
Refreshing, smiled almost the whole time. My cheeks hurt. ]]>
author: Ian McEwan
name: Emily
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/27/08
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I'm not usually into "love" novels, but this one went above and beyond. The writer expressed the characters acts and thoughts with such verbal realism. The descriptions went beyond fancy adjectives to more of psychological sentence structures.

Refreshing, smiled almost the whole time. My cheeks hurt.
]]> 22158580 Tue, 27 May 2008 16:52:37 -0700
It was a interesting thought and theme, having no personal connection to another person; no family, friends or lovers.

The ending was a little disappointing. I feel as though the author didn't know how to end it so he took the easy way out... the route some sad souls in reality take.]]>
author: Aldous Huxley
name: Emily
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1958
rating: 3
read at: 05/08
date added: 05/27/08
shelves:
review:
This book was a mandatory read in my highschool, but entered the "banned-book" section right before my senior year. I finally decided to be a "rebel" and read it!

It was a interesting thought and theme, having no personal connection to another person; no family, friends or lovers.

The ending was a little disappointing. I feel as though the author didn't know how to end it so he took the easy way out... the route some sad souls in reality take.
]]> 10927658 Tue, 13 May 2008 10:51:34 -0700
I always thought the definition of narcissism was simply "someone who is self-absorbed." This book explains the more complex meaning of a narcissist. Almost makes a person want to diagnose themselves as such.

If you don't feel like reading the full book but want a gist of it, read the "afterword" section.

Excerpts:

"(narcissist) gains 'a sense of heightened self-esteem only by attaching himself to strong, admired figures whose acceptance he craves and by whom he needs to feel supported.' Although he carries out his daily responsibilities and even achienves distinction, happiness eludes him, and life frequently strikes him as not worth living."

"Photographic images provide us with the proof of our existence, without which we would find it difficult even to reconstruct a personal history."

On education:

"The democratic aim of bringing the fruits of modern culture to the masses gave way in practice to a concern with education as a form of social control." ....

" home economics, physical education, and extracurriculars activites -- skills and pastimes formerly centered in the home or taught by means of apprenticeship -- occupied much of the time formerly devoted to Greek, Latin, history, grammar and rhetoric.".....

"Instead of offering a rounded program of humane learning, the university now frankly served as a cafeteria from which students had to select so many 'credits.'".....

"... the slogan of relevance embodied an underlying antagonism to education itself -- an inability to take an interest in anything beyond immediate experience."

"Society no longer expects authorities to articulate a cleary reasoned, elaborately justified code of law and morality; nor does it expect the young to internalize the moral standards of the community. It demands only conformity to the conventions of everyday intercourse, sanctioned by psychiatric definitions of normal behavior."

"We demand too much of life, too little of ourselves." ]]>
author: Christopher Lasch
name: Emily
average rating: 3.87
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at: 02/08
date added: 05/13/08
shelves:
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Sometimes I felt the author was trying too hard to write complex words, but nonetheless, the meaning behind his writing was enlightening. Some of the comments Lasch writes, I do not agree with and find them a far stretch to explain the complexity of our generation or even human nature.

I always thought the definition of narcissism was simply "someone who is self-absorbed." This book explains the more complex meaning of a narcissist. Almost makes a person want to diagnose themselves as such.

If you don't feel like reading the full book but want a gist of it, read the "afterword" section.

Excerpts:

"(narcissist) gains 'a sense of heightened self-esteem only by attaching himself to strong, admired figures whose acceptance he craves and by whom he needs to feel supported.' Although he carries out his daily responsibilities and even achienves distinction, happiness eludes him, and life frequently strikes him as not worth living."

"Photographic images provide us with the proof of our existence, without which we would find it difficult even to reconstruct a personal history."

On education:

"The democratic aim of bringing the fruits of modern culture to the masses gave way in practice to a concern with education as a form of social control." ....

" home economics, physical education, and extracurriculars activites -- skills and pastimes formerly centered in the home or taught by means of apprenticeship -- occupied much of the time formerly devoted to Greek, Latin, history, grammar and rhetoric.".....

"Instead of offering a rounded program of humane learning, the university now frankly served as a cafeteria from which students had to select so many 'credits.'".....

"... the slogan of relevance embodied an underlying antagonism to education itself -- an inability to take an interest in anything beyond immediate experience."

"Society no longer expects authorities to articulate a cleary reasoned, elaborately justified code of law and morality; nor does it expect the young to internalize the moral standards of the community. It demands only conformity to the conventions of everyday intercourse, sanctioned by psychiatric definitions of normal behavior."

"We demand too much of life, too little of ourselves."
]]> 10927617 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:28:11 -0800
author: Chuck Klosterman
name: Emily
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 01/08
date added: 02/06/08
shelves:
review:
A VERY witty book that made me chuckle out a loud a few times while pissing off my roommates. Even if you're not interested in the entertainment world (I have a very low interest in that, but still loved the book) it's a book worth reading. Fast, funny and a creative outlook on society.
]]> 10927684 Sun, 06 Jan 2008 15:18:11 -0800
Most importantly, this book shows that mainstream thoughts are not necessarily accurate and can be manipulated in such ways that a person can believe “crap”. It also expresses the power of all mediums, such as fictional magazine stories… proof that one should analyze everything! (Communication majors could have a blast with that aspect of the book.)

The chapter on “sex-directed educators” proves that college should enforce critical thinking, not memorization. Students should question every research data “fact” that professors state as truth.

Moral of the story: Imagine how social “truths” today will be proven wrong tomorrow.
]]>
author: Betty Friedan
name: Emily
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 01/08
date added: 01/06/08
shelves:
review:
If this book was written today I would say it was repetitive…. Not for those who can't stand research papers. However, Betty Friedan's take on the "problem with no name" was exactly what American society needed in the 1960s. Her approach was perfect for American housewives to understand that self-actualization is not just for men…it’s the purpose of human growth and the growth of society.

Most importantly, this book shows that mainstream thoughts are not necessarily accurate and can be manipulated in such ways that a person can believe “crap”. It also expresses the power of all mediums, such as fictional magazine stories… proof that one should analyze everything! (Communication majors could have a blast with that aspect of the book.)

The chapter on “sex-directed educators” proves that college should enforce critical thinking, not memorization. Students should question every research data “fact” that professors state as truth.

Moral of the story: Imagine how social “truths” today will be proven wrong tomorrow.

]]>