false 1 43 42 true 5812766 read 1 true 896888 currently-reading 0 true 896887 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7045717 to: Shakey: Neil Young's Biography (Paperback) by Jimmy Mcdonough
Rock autobiographies are a dime a dozen and usually poorly written, nothing but extended reports for a "History of Rock" class. This book, written in the style of a crazy old hippie was extremely entertaining, and paints Neil as an anti-rock star who simply loves playing music for the joy of playing it. I often got the impression that Neil likes to be left alone and surrounds himself with people who will get things done in his life, no matter how crazy they are.
Neil is often portrayed as being caught in the middle of things, the best example being his jaunts with spoiled sellouts Crosby, Stills, and Nash being balanced with playing music with Crazy Horse. I didn't think too highly of much of Neil's 80's stuff (Except "Trans", "Old Ways", and "Freedom")but I see now that much of it was a reaction to the politics of the music biz. I wish that a sequel was being written detailing Neil's recent brush with death, and the story behind "Greendale" and "Living With War." It would be interesting to see the story of the latter, especially since Neil was portrayed as an avid Reagan supporter in the 80's. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7046313 to: Galapagos (Paperback) by Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut is the only author I know that can get away with pointed commentary about mankind without getting bogged down in a swamp of dark cynicism. This book is a hilarious, sad, and angry commentary on the concept of evolution and how modern society might impact Darwin's theory. Just like in "Slapstick" and "Cat's Cradle," Vonnegut makes light of the impending apocolyptic end that mankind faces with his destructive ways. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/359.Creative_Souls Andy joined the Creative Souls group. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2296649 linda's review of Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
by Azar Nafisi

I read this book for my global lit class, and while it was an interesting look inside a country racked by fundamentalism, I thought that much of the book slightly reeked of manifest destiny. Indeed, I read somewhere that Nafisi was friends with Paul Wolfowitz, who we all know as one of the chief archetects of the Iraq invasion.

The New York Times bestseller list is yucky. Most of the books I've read off that list all read like screenplays, the most recent being "The Kite Runner." Hossenini carefully researched that book, it seems, to make a blockbuster tie-in. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7221723 to: Residence on Earth/Residencia en la Tierra (Paperback) by Pablo Neruda
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7105348 to: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Paperback) by Philip K. Dick
This novel is pure PK Dick the whole way. The theme of questioning identities rings true throughout this novel. I was rather suprised by the strong environmentalist bent that this novel has. The scene where replicants torture a spider is quite disturbing and sad.

Note to people who watched "Blade Runner" first: this book is a zebra and the movie is a horse. While they are built the same way, they are of a completely different color. Paranoia plays a bigger role in the book, While "Blade Runner" is more of a personal quest. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7046443 to: Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History (Hardcover) by Art Spiegelman
This is the most accessible book on the Holocaust that I have ever read. The story is deeply personal as Spiegelman documents the effect that the Holocaust not only had on his parents, but on himself as well. Spiegelman relates to the reader his own strained relationship with his father, and throughout the course of both books reveals the reasons behind why his father is such a hard man to get along with. The notion of prejudice is emphasized here very well as each nationality is depicted by a different animal. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7046139 to: Storyteller (Paperback) by Leslie Marmon Silko
This book made me feel like I was in the southwest with its varied collection of stories, poems, and pictures. What really drew me to this collection was the common theme of folklore trying to survive in the modern age, the most famous example here being that of "Yellow Woman." This collection is will be loved for those who feel a spiritual connection to nature as Silko commonly brings up different aspects of nature as an inspiration for the characters that populate this book. ]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7045969 to: The Complete Short Stories: Volume 1 (Paperback) by J.G. Ballard
If you're a fan of a certain author who likes to trace their history from their early writings to the realization of their main concepts, then this is a book for those JG Ballard fans. This first collection features Ballard as a mostly sci-fi writer and hints only at his concepts of technology and dehumanization that would cme to fruition in Crash and The Atrocity Exhibition. As a writer, Ballard is always in top form, but a few stories here have concepts that seemed rather half baked to me, like the one of the man who is stuck repeating the same moments in time. However, the stories involving the sonic sculptures were entertaining. I look forward to volume 2, which I will also have to order imported, since these collections are not in print in the U.S. ]]>