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June 09
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David
gave
 
to:
Into the Wild (Paperback)
by Jon Krakauer
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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David said:
"this book was written by the same guy who wrote into thin air. and i loved tat book, so i decided to read this one too. this one wasnt a personal memoir, it was a book about a different man, chris mccandles, who, after graduating from college, travel...more
this book was written by the same guy who wrote into thin air. and i loved tat book, so i decided to read this one too. this one wasnt a personal memoir, it was a book about a different man, chris mccandles, who, after graduating from college, traveled across america and ventured into alaska on his own (he ended up dying after mistaking poisonous berries for edible ones, he kept all of his experiences in a diary, and jon krakauer wrote a book based on that). he went to alaska mainly to get away from his parents who he has despised since he found out about a child his father had in a previous marriage (the child was kept secret, and he found out by chance). his parents had many problems during his childhood and were on the verge of divorce. on his trip he destroyed every possible trace of where he was going, and made sure no one could track him down. he wanted to be alone and escape everything bad in the world. chris meets many new interesting people on his way to alaska (the trip took over 2 years) and i loved reading the descriptions of them.
i feel like i connect to chris mccandles alot of the time because i see the same flaws in people as he saw. i always feel like i want to go to alaska and live by myself like that, of course i would not like to die. in the end, as he was dying he realized that it was stupid to pus his parents away like that... he really did need people in his life even though he always pushed them away and wanted to live on his own. very good book....less
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David
gave
to:
Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life (Hardcover)
by James Blake
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my rating:
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David said:
"i loved this book so much for so many different reasons. first, i love tennis, and it is about a tennis player, james blake. now, you may think that it is not going to be written well because he is an athlete, and what do athletes know about writing?...more
i loved this book so much for so many different reasons. first, i love tennis, and it is about a tennis player, james blake. now, you may think that it is not going to be written well because he is an athlete, and what do athletes know about writing? well, he went to harvard, and he is a good writer; the book is very well written, and it is about an interesting topic. james blake went through so many tragedies that threatened his tennis career in such a short time, yet he was still able to pull through. Despite all the hardships (his broken neck, the death of his father, his development of a strange disase: zoster) he rose in the rankings to become one of the worlds best tennis players. he is truly an inspiration. i like this book because james blake sets such a good example for me, or any one who's reading it. he is always focused on what he wants, and therefore he can achieve it. ...less
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David
gave
to:
An Abundance of Katherines (Hardcover)
by John Green
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my rating:
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David said:
"definitely the best book mr. nourok has recommended to me... it wasnt THAT good though. i liked the character though, colin because he was really cool... i mean he has the exact type of personality that i have, like you know already on the first page...more
definitely the best book mr. nourok has recommended to me... it wasnt THAT good though. i liked the character though, colin because he was really cool... i mean he has the exact type of personality that i have, like you know already on the first page he was saying, "why do something standing up that you can do sitting down?" he is a smart kid, a very smart kid; he is like a prodigy. i find him to be similar to me in other ways to, he feels sort of alone, and like he is getting lost in the crowd, and he wants to stand out. the whole book colin is trying to accomplish something that will make him stand out--> figure out a graph that will predict how every possible relationship can end up. (the kid is sort of a loser, but he's still cool even though he does math on his spare time). he had been dumped by 19 katherines. he goes on a road trip with his best friend hassan to the south where he meets a new girl, suprisingly her name is NOT katherine, its lindsay. and in the end, they end up going out. its a pretty cool book, i like the character development and the voice of the character and the way the author wrote it. it wasnt all sophisticated; it was normal teenagers. good job recommending that one, mr. nourok. :)...less
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June 02
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David
gave
to:
Summer Crossing: A Novel (Modern Library Paperbacks)
by Truman Capote
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my rating:
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read in March, 2008
David said:
"i liked this book a lot because it was short and to the point.
it was about a rich 17 year old girl from manhattan, grady, who spends the summer with her boyfriend in the city with out any parental supervision (her parents are away in europe). w...more
i liked this book a lot because it was short and to the point.
it was about a rich 17 year old girl from manhattan, grady, who spends the summer with her boyfriend in the city with out any parental supervision (her parents are away in europe). who knows what kind of crazy shenanigans a teenage girl and her boyfriend will get in to? well, apparently ALOT! in the few days that this book takes place over, grady and her boyfriend get married, and grady drives off of a bridge with him, and his friend in the car. they all die.
there isnt much happening... how did capote fill up 100-something pages without really writing about much of anything? despite that, i still liked it because of the character development, writing style, and the actual romance... it was also pretty cool how the book had absolutely no point to it; it was just event after event without any real message or theme... not any that i can think of atleast. i recommend it....less
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David
gave
to:
Before I Die (Hardcover)
by Jenny Downham
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my rating:
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read in April, 2008
David said:
"now mr. nourok, you thought i would love this book because of the sex... haha.
i thought this book was decent for other reasons as well. first of all, it was just an interesting plot on an interesting topic. a 16 year old girl, tessa (im assuming...more
now mr. nourok, you thought i would love this book because of the sex... haha.
i thought this book was decent for other reasons as well. first of all, it was just an interesting plot on an interesting topic. a 16 year old girl, tessa (im assuming shes irish from the language used in the book), is diagnosed with leukemia, and she is told that she will die within a few months. she puts a list together of things she wants to do before she dies, (one of those was to have sex). i actually didnt really like reading the book because it was sad, and it put me in a bad mood after the daily reading in advisory. especially when she dies at the end; that was "touching." i think i came away from this book with alot though, and i think the author did a good job in that sense. even though tessa knew she was going to die, she made the best of her time, and set goals for herself so that she could accomplish anything she wants. she got through a lot of hard events leading to her death, ex: the doctor told her that her situation was becoming worse because her cancer spread all across her body, and none of the medications were working. despite the horrible news, tessa continued as if nothing happened, even making a joke about it, asking the doctor "is that bad?" well, i wish i could be that type of person, always looking on the bright side...
bottom line: good plot, interesting characters, good message, yet, still not the funnest read...
PS- i had cancer too :)...less
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April 01
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David
gave
to:
The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (Hardcover)
by Pete Wentz
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my rating:
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David said:
"this book made me really sad, but i think it can be good sometimes when a book makes you really sad. i feel like when you become really sad, its because you just made an important realization about the world, or your life, most important realizations...more
this book made me really sad, but i think it can be good sometimes when a book makes you really sad. i feel like when you become really sad, its because you just made an important realization about the world, or your life, most important realizations you will make about those two things will be negative, (in my opinion at least). it is a completely fictional book by peter wentz, the bass player of fall out boy. i think it follows a dream he used to have as a child, about "The Boy" (most likely him) who was not happy with himself, and was quite a bit depressed, until he started taking these pills that made the world seem like a nicer place for him... in the end there were no more pills and he had no more satisfaction. there really was no point to this book, no lesson, nothing at all. that may be why i liked it so much, it just made me think. i felt sort of connected to this boy, i really dont know why, maybe its because he felt forgotten or something like that... its a really weird book, but it is really good....less
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March 31
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David
gave
to:
21: Bringing Down the House - Movie Tie-In: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions (Mass Market Paperback)
by Ben Mezrich
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my rating:
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read in March, 2008
David said:
"i really loved this book, i think it is one of my favorites. it was amazing because it had it all. it had a great plot, intriguing characters, and an exciting setting. it focuses on a card counting team that visits casinos and tracks the counts of ca...more
i really loved this book, i think it is one of my favorites. it was amazing because it had it all. it had a great plot, intriguing characters, and an exciting setting. it focuses on a card counting team that visits casinos and tracks the counts of cards to maximize their chance in winning money. and let me tell you, throughout the book, the team makes millions and millions of dollars. the man who wrote it interviewed the characters that he put into it (it is a true story) and wrote the story based on what he heard. the story starts out slow, the main character, kevin lewis, is at MIT his college, when his two roommates, who are dropouts expose him to a large amount of cash, soon they begin taking him on their weekly excursions to vegas and other gambling cities. eventually he becomes a professional card counter, like his roommates, and he joins the team. the team goes through numerous hardships as they win more and more money because the casinos come up with new methods of protecting their money. it is a really cool book, and the suspense builds up so much, it is truly a page turner....less
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David
gave
to:
Fat Kid Rules the World (Paperback)
by K.L. Going
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my rating:
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read in February, 2008
David said:
"i thought this book was pretty good because i really liked the voice the kid had... he seemed kind of real because he wasnt sure of himself (however, sometimes i feel like the author overdid it with the voice, and it got a bit annoying). i also liked...more
i thought this book was pretty good because i really liked the voice the kid had... he seemed kind of real because he wasnt sure of himself (however, sometimes i feel like the author overdid it with the voice, and it got a bit annoying). i also liked the topic because i found it interesting to read about a kid who felt uncomfortable in a place where he was basically forced to be. (troy- main character- was a fat , 300 pound kid, who met a teenage guitar legend, who wants troy to be the drummer of his band, despite the fact that troy does not play drums). it was fun to read about how he got himself into the mess, and how he attempted to get himself out of it through out the book. i think it was an okay book but i have definitely read better books....less
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January 24
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David
gave
to:
I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell (Paperback)
by Tucker Max
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my rating:
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read in January, 2008
David said:
"The name of the book is “I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell” by Tucker Max. This is the blurb on the back, (I really think it says a lot about it, and after reading that I was convinced that I would really like this book). “MY NAME IS TUCKER MAX, A...more
The name of the book is “I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell” by Tucker Max. This is the blurb on the back, (I really think it says a lot about it, and after reading that I was convinced that I would really like this book). “MY NAME IS TUCKER MAX, AND I AM AN ASSHOLE, I GET EXCESSIVELY DRUNK AT INAPPROPRIATE TIMES, DISREGARD SOCIAL NORMS, INDULGE EVERY WHIM, IGNORE THE CONSEQUENCES OF MY ACTIONS, MOCK IDIOTS AND POSERS, SLEEP WITH MORE WOMEN THAN IS SAFE OR REASONABLE, AND JUST GENERALLY ACT LIKE A RAGING DICKHEAD. BUT I DO CONTRIBUTE TO HUMANITY IN ONE VERY IMPORTANT WAY: I SHARE MY ADVENTURES WITH THE WORLD”
I guess I can sort of relate to him; even though it sounds bad that I can relate myself to an alcoholic person who parties and has sex all the time. But really, is that really a bad life? I don’t think it is, why live life doing nothing except studying, that’s stupid. It may sound very cliché but the quote “you only live once” is an idea that runs through my head all the time. And I have come to realize that there are more important things than your job and school; enjoying yourself is more important. He probably feels the same way; he is very smart, he got a full scholarship to Duke Law School, but for the last two years he did not even go, he spent his time in Cancun. He quit law and to do what? He did nothing except go out with his friends and get drunk and in trouble, and have sex with as many girls as possible. Then he became a writer and look at him now. I guess this book is similar to your book in the sense that it shows how unpredictable and unexpected life is. (My book is a true story, by the way, which I think makes it even funner because its hilarious to imagine being there and seeing those scenarios actually take place.) I really recommend this book to anyone because if I like this book then anyone will because I don’t like books.
...less
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January 02
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David
gave
to:
Animal Farm (Paperback)
by George Orwell
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my rating:
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David said:
"i thought this book was really really boring, (except for the ending, the ending was pretty cool). also i didnt really like the ideas that george orwell has about society; its so communist-ic. my parents went through communism, and its not fun (from ...more
i thought this book was really really boring, (except for the ending, the ending was pretty cool). also i didnt really like the ideas that george orwell has about society; its so communist-ic. my parents went through communism, and its not fun (from what i hear)... the system that the animals had after they got rid of the farmer were very similar to the government in communist europe. the pigs would brainwash silly animals by saying that everyone is equal when really the pigs are taking everything away from the animals. the pigs keep telling the animals that everything is getting better when really it isnt. im not sure why i thought the ending was so good, i guess it was just interesting to see how much the pigs changed, they essentially became humans; and the laws of equality were eventually reduced to just "all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others". this statement also seemed interesting to me. its something to think about....less
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