false 4 40 38 true 5785318 read 0 true 456763 currently-reading 2 true 456762 to-read 15 false 457178 fiction 3 false 485028 re-read_every_couple_of_yrs 3 false 456768 opinion_and_essay 2 false 465210 history_commentary http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3919979 Jill's review of To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee

I'm with you, Sandikal. I re-read this book about every two years.

I have no clue how Harper Lee feels about her life, the success of it therein, etc. I suspect many writers without children wish they could view their books as their children--some say they DO view their books as their children, but I wonder how many actually do. (Voltaire, I believe it was, stated that if there were a fire, he would save his manuscripts. One hopes that that was because his children could run for themselves, but with Voltaire, you never know.)

Nevertheless, I think Harper Lee has given us something infinitely greater--in the sense of larger--than one child. Perhaps the book can influence someone to think better, more openly, live a better life. Who knows what long-range effects the book could have? ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4206034 to: Horton Hatches the Egg (Classic Seuss) by Dr. Seuss
bookshelves: fiction
I was browsing around a bookstore last night and ran across this book. I hadn't thought of it in years, although I had thought of "Horton Hears a Who," which I have no idea whether it was the sequel or precursor to "Egg," but I don't guess it matters as they were both written even before I was born (or that is, the late Pleistocene era).

Both books are absolutely adorable, and two of my fave kids books for any age, but I really think I like "Egg" marginally better than "Who" because of Maize, the lazy bird who turns over her egg-hatching responsibilities to Horton, the always-willing-to-please elephant. (This should probably be an object lesson for too many young women who get pregnant just 'cause they think it's the thing to do, then abbrogate their responsibilities the first time a dirty diaper rears its ugly head.)

Horton, whose motto is, "An elephant's faithful, 100 per cent," is the epitome of reliability and likeability. That's another reason I adore the book. As affable and willing as Horton is in "Who" to attempt to save the minature world of the Who, he is all the more loveable for sacrificing his time--YEARS of his time, by the feel of it--to make sure that he keeps his promise.

The end of the story is only a surprise if you're four or five--which I was when I first heard the story--but it's no less delightful for all of its predictability. If you've read it, I hope you remember now why you love it...if you've not read it--hey, it only takes fifteen minutes! You could do that while standing in the bookstore! ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4150075 to: The Cat in the Hat (Hardcover) by Dr. Seuss
bookshelves: fiction
Go to Shannon's site, where I added a comment. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4150457 to: How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Paperback) by Dr. Seuss
bookshelves: fiction
Go to Shannon's site. I posted a comment there. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3512700 Shannon's review of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
by Dr. Seuss

When I was a kid, I made pocket money by reading this at Christmas parties (this was before the cartoon came out). It was enormous fun for me and for the listeners. It's a fun poem and it has a great lesson and it's a REAL lesson, not some mamby-pamby sugary-sweet storybook "gotta-have-a-happy-ending" lesson. Re-read it. Or better, pay for me to come to your house to read it. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3554825 Shannon's review of The Cat in the Hat
by Dr. Seuss

Gosh, it's a classic! What person raised in the US or a few dozen other countries hasn't read and loved this? Yet, the Cat, and Things 1 and 2, are actually mischievous to the point of irredemability, and the Thing twins can actually be a bit evil, if you define evil as "withholding love."

Still, if you own a stuffed Cat in the Hat and you leave it where your cat at home can find it, you'll probably find its belly shredded eventually. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3558178 Shannon's review of The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger

This book seems timeless. I've read it half a dozen times in the last forty years and it somehow never fails to surprise me, yet at the same time, I'm not surprised by any of it. Ya gotta love a book that is ON high school recommended reading lists, then OFF the list, then ON the list, etc etc. It shows that people continue to be offended by it, but that it's still worth thinking through. (Needless to say, I'm offended by people who are so offended by this book that they keep removing it from the list. I think maybe it's removed by people who are either fundamentalist religionists or they honestly think high school students don't talk like that.) ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4149146 to: Grand Central Winter: Stories from the Street (Hardcover) by Lee Stringer
bookshelves: opinion_and_essay
There's a common belief, I gather, among middle Americans that homeless folk are somehow inferior, whether in talent for living, energy, or ambition, not to mention intelligence and smartness. Lee Stringer's book quickly and with enormous pathos puts this notion to rest. Stringer, without sentiment, gives his account of living in New York City without resources OTHER than wit, intelligence, energy, and ambition. Without asking for sympathy or offering apology for who he is and what he has gone through, he portrays in plain, honest language a life that many Middle Americans might well fear would be a life they could not live up to. This is not an educational study, although it should be studied by educators, nor is it a protest, although the very fact of the conditions it portrays should raise protest. One thing that everyone should take away from Mr. Stringer's flat-footed tale is that human beings of whatever type must always be prepared to do what they must do to live--let alone survive. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3569652 to: Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare, Vols. 1-2 (Hardcover) by Isaac Asimov
bookshelves: history_commentary
This book should be required reading for all non-English majors. (English majors should take it on themselves to read it.) It's also great if your grounding in ancient Greek history, ancient Roman history, mythology, and early-to-middle English history is weaker than it should be (and it probably is--remember, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it").

Basically, the book is just fun to read. Asimov's light wit and appreciation of irony, his understanding of human nature, all fall into perfect step with the same attributes from the arguably greatest English writer ever. Without particularly making literary comment (Asimov claims not to be qualified to do so) on the plays, he takes every literary, historical, or mythological allusion in each of the plays from the first to last and explains them all so that the modern reader who has virtually no training in mythology or history can understand and/or relate to.

It's obvious from Asimov's tone that he adores sharing information with people, and that sense of fun comes across in every sentence. Even if you don't sit down and read the book from start to finish, it's a handy-dandy reference for those hard-to-get bits of Willy's work, and it beats the hell out of Cliff's Notes. ]]>