false6256206true5666286read1true3237369currently-reading49true3237368to-read54false4873446200950false3345405poetry40false3345406manga22false3642676fiction20false3345407non-fic9false3238206favs
<![CDATA[Jennn added 'World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77206138
to: World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (Paperback)byMax Brooks bookshelves: 2009,
fiction
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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<![CDATA[Jennn added 'Book of Questions']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76873721
to: Book of QuestionsbyPablo Neruda bookshelves: 2009,
favs,
poetry
This book was fantastic and amazing. The length was short, clipped even, but stuck into the very core and refused to be removed. Even now, I still feel it in me, the words tumbling around in my head and asking the same questions over and over.
I recently went on a trip and had to fly. I hate flying and have the completely irrational fear of falling and crashing. It's ridiculous, I know. When I was packing, I brought a few things for entertainment, but I also thought, 'If I'm going to die, what would I want to bring with me?' Like a pharoh being buried with his earthly goods, I sought out the things I would want to comfort me if the plane was plummeting and the world beyond that. I carefully packed a Rumi book, Yotsuba&!, a Lynne McMahon book, and El Libro de las Preguntas. These were my riches. On the plane, the book I pulled out to ease my mind was this book. I still was freaked out, I'll admit, and grabbing onto the seat handles at the slightest bump, but I tried to disconnect myself with his questions.
Ok, anecdote finished, here's the review.
The questions are usually diconnected from each other, some more powerful than others, but they're simple and beautiful. Any age could appreciate them and understand them, but learn different things. They are meditative and soft, like a breeze against your ear. His voice is not loud and maybe that's why he's even more influential. I could gush on and on, but I'll save us both some time.
Bottomline: I need this book. I don't have it, but I'm scraping the money together. I want to have it for the rest of my life.
Some questions:
Cua*l es el pa*jaro amarillo/que llena el nido de limones?
Which yellow bird/fills its nest with lemons?
Do*nde puede vivir un ciego/aquien persiquen las abejas?
Where can a blind man live/who is pursued by bees?
Por que* los a*rboles esconden/el esplender de sus rai*ces?
Why do trees conceal/the splender of their roots?
Por que* se suicidan las hojas cuando/se sienten amarillas?
Why do leave commit suicide when/they feel yellow?
Por que* el sombrero de la noche/vuel con tantos agujeros?
Why does the hat of night/have so many holes?
Por que* ensen~a el profesor la geographi*a de la muerte?
Why does the professor teach the geography of death?
Co*mo se llama ese cocktail/ que mezcla vodka con rela*mpagos?
What is the name of the cocktail/that mixes vodka with lightening bolts?
Y que dijerons los rubi*es/ante el jugo de las granadas?
And what did the rubies say/standing before the juice of pomegranates?
Pero es verdad que se prepara/la insurreccio*n de los chalecos?
But is it true that the vests are preparing to revolt?
Trabajan la sal e el azu*car/construyendo una torre blanca?
Do salt and sugar work to/build a white tower?
Co*mo se llama una flor/que vuela de pa*jaro en pa*jaro?
What do they call a flower/that flies from bird to bird?
Y cuando se munda el paisaje/son tus manos o sontus guantes?
And when you change the landscape/is it with bare hands or with gloves?
(I love this one)
Por que* es tan dura la dulzura/del corazon de la cereza?//
Es porque tiene que morir/o porque tiene seguir?
Why is it so hard, the sweetness/of the heart of the cherry?//
Is it because it must die/or because it must carry on?
Hay sitio para unas espinas?/le preguntaron al rosal.
Do you have room for thorns?/they asked the rosebush.
Y encuentras en la calavera/tu estirpe a hueso condenada?
And in the skull do you discover/your ancestry condemned to bone?
Cua*nto dura rinoceronte despue*s de ser enternecido?
How long does a rhinoceros last after he's moved to compassion?
Por que* no naci* misterioso?
Why was I not born mysterious?
Hay dos colmillos ma*s agundos/que las si*labas de chacal?
Are there two fangs sharper/than the syllables of jackal?
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<![CDATA[Jennn added 'Introduction to Spanish Poetry']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77968728
to: Introduction to Spanish Poetry (Dual-Language) (Dual-Language Book)byEugenio Florit bookshelves: 2009,
poetry
Since my husband was taking Spanish for school, I was designated his study-buddy. Knowing as much Spanish as a kitten, I decided to get a few Spanish books to make it fun and help with sentence structure. Unfortunately, after weeks of hard work (and one –in my opinion- bad teacher), he dropped the class with an aversion to all things Spanish. For me, as a language, I never had fun with it and more often than not was wary of it since there was always so much homework dumped on us and watching Spanish movies, it was always spoken too fast for us to understand. However, left over were the Spanish books and not wanting them to go to waste, I picked up a few to read before time to return. This was one of them and I was pleasantly surprised to find an accompanying CD inside the book.
It was a very quick read, but that’s not to say the collection was wrongly paced. The poets chosen provided a wide example of Spanish poetry, which was perfect as an “introduction”. I knew as soon as I saw it that Lorca would be involved, which he was, but in as much moderation as the rest of the poets and giving everyone their due credit without favoritism. It’s a book worth reading to get a taste of Spanish writing and I grow fonder and fonder of Spanish poets. It’s bilingual, which is necessary for me even if I was not studying the language (even if I don’t understand it, I feel the poems should be also shown in their original language).
The last poem trailed off the book to a somber silence with Miguel Herna*ndez’s “The Trail of the Wounded”, which was an exceptional poem, but an interesting place to leave off.
Just a few side notes:
I was a bit unsettled by “Noche oscura del alma” by San Juan de la Cruz. I understand what it was shooting for but it just reminded me of the South Park episode of Faith +1. Example (and this is about God): “On my flowering breast/that kept itself entirely for Him alone,/He fell into deep slumber,/and I caressed Him,/cooled by the breeze from the cedars” and “my face rested against my Lover;/all ceased and I was left,/leaving all my cares/forgotten among the lilies.” That’s…pretty intense God-love.
I loved “Magrigal” by Luis de Go*ngora y Argote and “Soneto a Lisi” by Francisco de Quevedo y Villegas. I want to check out more poems by Gustavo Aldolfo Be*cquer and Miguel Herna*ndez.
Some examples:
“A aquel a*rbol que mueve la hoja/algo se le antoja.” “That tree whose leaves are trembling/is yearning for something.” By Diego Hurtado de Mendoza
“No tardes, Muerte, que muero;/ven porque viva contigo;/quie* reme, pues que te quiro, que con tu venida espero/no tener guerra conmingo.” “Do not linger, Death, for I am dying;/come, so I may live with you;/love me, because I love you, for with your coming I hope/not to struggle with myself.” Jorge Manrique
Bottomline: A good taste of Spanish poetry. It does its job and is a good introduction.
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<![CDATA[Jennn added 'Phenomena Poems']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76003322
to: Phenomena Poems (Breakthrough Book)byCathryn Hankla bookshelves: 2009,
poetry
I wanted to like her book so much more than I did; the poems that I liked, I really liked, and I see so much potential. However, the book slowed and lurched its way through, often stepping backwards in the process. Her imagery is well-constructed, but dizzy, sometimes leading down into a dead-end or back where it started. Perhaps I'm so hard on it because I could see how much better it could be and was so entranced by her other poems. I only want her to be at her best and would be interested in reading more of her poems.
She relies heavily on nature in her book, but moves around and doesn't get complacent with one scenery, which I liked. The reader wasn't forever stranded in the snow, or quietly walking down an autumn path - she mixed up the different faces of nature, showing that nature itself is a character falling into its old habits, still beautiful, but sometimes cruel.
Although the beginning and end are strong, stable foundations, the middle really sagged, not quite falling through, but noticeable. Another pet peeve that is a constant style throughout the book (which was avoidable at first, but increasingly annoying) was her echoing: "Sing simple/rain; singing darkness; sing" and "You have seen yourself/in the dream, dreamer and dreamed".
Some notes:
"A Tunnel to the Moon" kicked it off and it's chaotic, disconnected, but somehow she makes it work: "It is the instant of an eye drawn back,/the second you would have kissed off-camera/had the reel not split" and "You are bending down, getting under white cotton socks, you are/finding false angel wings./It is like hearing an airplane touch down,/or your first sudden notice of spring."
I found that style in the same vein as Jerome Rothenberg and although it's not my favorite, it's hard to dislike and admire. "Paradox of Gravity" continues the style.
"The Water is the Skin of the River" was a little less inventive, and "Answering the Past" was heartfelt, but sometimes pushed too hard ("white crumble of guilt to cut/my palms" and "the picture/of who I am, dressed in the color of air."
"Swift Current" was very emotional and empowering, especially at the end with the simple, but fantastic line: "Everything in the world with be wrong/except your heart."
"The Dark" was a delicious poem, except for the stiff and awkward first line "The dark lets you walk where you would not walk". I think that "My Friend Who's Afraid of the Dark" is her strongest length and style.
"Nothing is Obvious" was fantastic, using the over-used image of the magician ("The magician/holds one cupped, puckers the cloth in his palm./Pulls the bird from the air"), but pushes him back into the spotlight with all new tricks, "He keeps feathers to construct/another bird."
"Walking in the Path of the Moon" was sweet and slow, a stroll into her soft words: "our language holds land on water; water/on air, air lifting lighter;/husband, wife. Each to each and linked/by touch."
The book started to slow, but "The Night Hunting" was gruesome, cold, and very much needed. Very well-consructed and perfect.
"A Moment of Violence" was very enjoyable and "So Lightly She Must Be Air" pulled me back in when I was getting bored: "Her memory/is rivulose, going round with lists,/a roulette of the ancient."
"The Fate of Making" was in a few parts. The first part sounded really pretentious and mentioned a variation of "dream" six times (way too much for me). The second part was WAY better and was more powerful. The fourth part was disturbing, haunting and amazing: "Driving, the blade seperates/her ribs, reaches as far/ as his arm can go. He keeps/his eyes on the dotted road." The fifth had a unique rhythm. The sixth was incredible with a sad mix of science, astrology, and longing.
"Easter" was one of her best, "it froze at once, so foreign/was its blood - pure liquid, a clear spring/ with the taste of rain."
With that, it suddenly became *amazing* and good poems were a constant flow. Unfortunately, it didn't last for the rest of the book.
Bottomline: I'm interested in some of her newer works because I like what she can do...just not all that she does.
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<![CDATA[Jennn added 'Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73501632
to: Voodoo Science: The Road from Foolishness to Fraud (Paperback)byRobert L. Park bookshelves: 2009,
non-fic
I found this book interesting and very disconcerting. Being a part of society that doesn't exactly understand physics and most sciences (except for my beloved paleontology and geology), I found this book terrifying and eye-opening. It's one thing to say that voodoo science is out there (in all its ambiguity), but it's another thing to be shown examples: this is where you're being screwed and how.
Park is what you'd expect from a Physics professor - a little dry, skeptical, but willing to explain what's going on in words that can be easily understood. This book is not for physics majors or other scientists, he made this labor of love for me, and for you if you're in the same boat. And it's a warning: *question everything*. Unfortunately, American society (in my opinion) has grown complacent in trusting most of what they hear and not taking the time of effort to question it. We're distrustful of doctors and scientists and don't trust them to look into our best interests from the stories we've heard from a friend-of-a-friend, but at the same time we feel overwhelmed by the information that could be researched and feel defeated before we even begin. What Park is stating is that we *need* to question them and to demand scientific proof. We all can't be scientists, but we can all be skeptics.
For me, his book was eerie and I kept thinking, 'Then who can I trust?' Unfortunately, voodoo science looks so much like real science until you start picking it apart, but even bad scientists can write very convincing books. I know even to trust the media as far as I can throw it (//tosses celeb magazine//), but even reporters can be the victims of bad science. So, what I've gleaned from his book, and the most important lesson of all, is to be skeptical and ask why, then take that information and compare it to what else has been studied about the same subject by different scientists. Hard work, I know. But I'm sure the pay-off is worth it because we all understand that knowing is half the battle.
Sometimes it was a bit over my head, I won't lie, but I tried very hard to reread the parts I didn't understand (if just to soak it in).
Some random notes:
all perpetual motion machines...are fake.
on page 127, when Lee started praying, I thought, "Oh great, here we go." And then came the head-desking, which left me in pain, dizzy, and forgetting which state I'm currently in. Especially things like: "I'm not really a bright man - but I'm God's man." Now, granted this is just Park's accounts and I'm not sure if that's what he actually said, but...really?
"No wonder the public has trouble distinguishing the hucksters from the experts. There is no one to tell them which is which." - Park, pg 132
on pg 155, I love the 'sharp-shooter' analogy of shooting a bunch of holes in the side of the barn and then drawing the bulls-eye. I loved that!
pg 83 and 84 had me nerdy for Gundam Wing :)
Emily Rosa on pg 209 is awesome! I love it when I'm convinced the generation after mine is going to destroy us all or is going to sloth itself into inexistence and then someone surprises me and leaves me feeling like somehow the future may be a little brighter than I thought. I wish her the absolute best.
The only truly unfortunate thing was the sloppy wrap-up at the end, which was weaker than it was leading up to. I would have liked something stronger and give a better direction for the future, but you can't win 'em all.
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<![CDATA[Jennn added 'Anna Karenina']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39493450
Anna Karenina (Mass Market Paperback)
byLeo Tolstoy bookshelves: currently-reading
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<![CDATA[Jennn added 'Real World']]>
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73505620
to: Real WorldbyNatsuo Kirino bookshelves: 2009,
fiction
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.