Bernard Jan's Blog, page 22

Moobala Schmoobala Review

Moobala Schmoobala by M.G. Wells

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I don't deny I have a soft spot for aliens, especially if they are so cute as E.T. or Moobala Schmoobala. And I also have a soft spot for animals. So when Moobala Schmoobala visits Earth with his friend Boobala and encounters our animal kingdom, you get a super-cool picture book for kids!

On their exciting, enjoyable and peaceful journey to our planet they meet an eagle, a spider, fish, the bushbaby, coyotes, a dolphin, elephants, a giraffe, goats, hippos, a kudu, ostriches, a regal lion clan, and servals. Quite a bunch!

Illustrated by adorable images and written in a catchy rhyme by M.G. Wells, Moobala Schmoobala is a children's picture book, but grownups will love it too. Its intention is to teach the youngest ones about our wildlife and the harmony of coexistence on Earth and in the universe.

But there is also one other lesson, or moral, of this educational story meant for us adults. As kids, we dreamed big and believed anything was possible. Our world was beautiful, innocent and perfect, full of all kinds of creatures, wonders and possibilities.

If we only made ourselves to see it with these eyes again, on our return to innocence we would realize how amazing, special and promising it still was. For all of us.

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

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The Forgotten Goddess Review

The Forgotten Goddess by Olivier Delaye

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A strange feeling of relived childhood filled my senses as I read The Forgotten Goddess (Sebasten of Atlantis Book 1) by Olivier Delaye. It brought nice, pleasant memories to my mind, even though the stories I've heard and read as a child were much shorter and not so complex as Delaye's work I read on these pages.

The Forgotten Goddess is the first novel about Sebasten Oryas who lives in the world of Atlantis populated with people with many divine gifts. Of all people Sebasten is the key to the survival of his world and of all people he is the one with the cursed gift. While everyone is proud of their gifts of illusion, transformation, talking to animals or breathing under water, Sebasten must pretend he is ungifted. His gift of prophecy belongs only to the God of Gods and everybody else claiming to be gifted with prophecy will face death.

This great first book is full of many imaginative creatures and characters; from adorable monkey-like roodoo to Aunt Ema who steals our attention and sympathies the moment she appears out of nowhere. It sparkles with magic, adventure and action, and with its pleasantly legible and fluent writing charms us throughout this exciting journey.

With Sebasten of Atlantis Book 1 Olivier Delaye delivered us a YA fantasy marshmallow and justified hope that sweet aftertaste will tickle our palate while reading his next book too. Something to look forward to!

BJ
www.bernardjan.com



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Bernard Jan

Eleanor & Park Review

Eleanor i Park by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I thought I was not a big fan of romance novels, and maybe I am really not, but there is something about Eleanor & Park that makes me question that. I hate to be a spoiler, but I need to say I was almost ready to send a not-so-gentlemanly message to Rainbow Rowell, the author of this amazingly cool YA novel, for holding me in disbelief, expecting and hanging over the cliff for so long!

This heart-warming and heartbreaking story gives us memorable characters in painstakingly real situations, with sixteen-year-old Eleanor and Park in the lead. Eleanor, a red-haired social misfit in totally wrong clothes, and Park, the cutest Asian guy ever coming from a perfect family. They are so different and unlikely to function as a couple, as one, and yet they keep fighting and beating all odds, becoming a perfect match in all their imperfections! There is where lies the true charm of this novel!

I might not make much sense to you (blame it on the excitement which still lingers under my skin) but it will all make sense to you when you grab that book and start reading it. It's great stuff! Don't miss it!

BJ
www.bernardjan.com



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Bernard Jan

India Was One Review

India Was One by An Indian

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


An Indian gave us the book which should encourage us to rethink our viewpoints and attitudes towards ourselves and others, especially now, when the walls grow around the globe like weeds after the heavy rain and the world seems divided more than ever in our lifetime.

With his slow and casual narrative style, An Indian introduces us into the lives of two childhood friends, Khaai and Jai, and guides us through their preparations for marriage and the mutual life as wife and husband. We learn about their everyday life and honeymoon in India, their departure for the United States and challenges and acclimatization to the new culture and customs, their trip through Europe and return to India when their homeland is divided in two countries and their life and the lives of millions of Indians take a face of a never ending nightmare.

An unusual angle of An Indian's prose is its educational character. Throughout the whole narration, even at the most gripping moments, An Indian teaches us about the Indian culture, language, religion, historical background, geography, extending this educational component even to the countries and places Jai and Khaai travel to. Some of the situations and moments he describes at great length and detail, like a cricket match between India and Pakistan, which might be too detailed and a little boring for a reader not into cricket, but is appreciated and entertaining for an Indian who lives for and is passionate about this sport.

Without a doubt, An Indian builds a climax of his story when Jai finds out about the turmoils in their country and talks over the phone to the operator of the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. Those are the moments when Khaai and Jai give in to their emotions and knowingly risk their personal fate to return home and find out what is happening to their parents, family and friends, in a country that was one but is now divided into two countries which practically cut all the communication with the rest of the world. Jai and Khaai are not the only ones; thousands of Indians from all corners of the world flood the sky in their urgency to return home, because you could take an Indian out of India, but you could never take India out of an Indian.

Khaai's and Jai's return to the two Indias is pumped with so much emotions and hopelessness mixed with irrational faith that it stands as a stark contrast to everything written and said until then. From now on An Indian's narration takes a turn into a passionate, emotional and more gripping one, making us believe any outcome is possible for that young couple, at the same time cleverly avoiding to give us nothing but a guess how their story ends.

The strongest message the novel India Was One sends us is not only about the importance of the unity of the country that has so many differences and divergences recognized under its flag, but the unity of the whole world. No political games or ideological and religious conflicts are worthy of the pain and suffering of a single, even the most insignificant, human being. Every man, woman and child has the right to happiness, and, if for no other reason, India must remain one.

For those intrigued to find out who is behind the pen name An Indian, the note about the author in his book says: The author was born and raised in Mumbai, India. He came to the US in 1989 to New York. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

Nothing more than that. I can add one other detail he told me about himself in his personal correspondence with me, still respecting his wish for anonymity. He likes to write very thought-provoking books while being an entertaining story. And so he does.

BJ
www.bernardjan.com



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Bernard Jan

The Ager of Miracles Review

Doba čuda by Karen Thompson Walker

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I never thought I would see the beauty in the dying of our planet, a slow extinguishing of life on it. First the birds, then the whole flocks of birds, then the grass, plants, trees, whales, other animals.

As days and nights become longer due to the slower rotation of the earth and 24-hour days are more a habit of living than a natural exchange of day and night, people become divided: the great majority returns to the old measuring of time, others opt to follow the extending course of nature and group themselves into new communities.

Gravity and magnetic fields are affected, solar super storms arise, the radiation showers through the damaged ozone layer. Daylight becomes too dangerous, forcing everyone to seek escape and life at nighttime.

People suffer from symptoms, plants can grow only in protected greenhouses, the polar light is painting the Californian sky followed by the first snow. The Sun brings death instead of life, fires are lightening up the horizon, people are moving from their homes or locking themselves in their houses and underground shelters. And the days are still getting longer and the planet is spinning slower and slower.

As the world as we know it is approaching to its catastrophe, there is an unnatural and quiet beauty in the irrevocable changes that are happening all over the planet, witnessed through the—a little too matured—eyes of an 11-year-old girl. Yet, some things don't change despite the omnipresent devastation—the expectations and pain of first love, losing friends, the test of her parents' marriage, all the little aspects of coming of age—as life is slowly extinguished day by day. People seem to be the only living creatures who adjusted and survived on the scorched earth and in an environment-turning-hostile. No one knows for how long though.

Destruction of our planet has never been so gentle, charming, calming and poetic as in The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker.

BJ
www.bernardjan.com



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Bernard Jan

Donate a Smile

I am not a good drawer but when Marek Wysoczynski, founder & CEO at World Smile Archive, asked me to draw a smile for worldsmilearchive.com, a project of Culture promotion office of Poland, I gave it a brief thought and said to myself why not? Even if I embarrass myself, it is for the cause!

So I made this drawing, donated a smile, wrote my message for children and sent it to him.

If you want to support this humane project and help children in hospitals fighting with most deadly diseases and underprivileged children around the world, you can do that by submitting your smiley drawing, selfie and autograph here: worldsmilearchive.com.

Don't be afraid to smile(y) and share your words and acts of kindness with others!

BJ
www.bernardjan.com

The Kill Order Review

The Kill Order by James Dashner

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The best books are not those with happy endings but the ones that make your blood boil and make you silently scream from joy or despair. You sympathize with their characters and relate to them; you cheer for them and want to help them through their trials and hopeless situations because they are real to you; they are your new best friends and you don't want to see them harmed or dead. But not all good stories have a happy ending. Just like in real life, our favorites and darlings are robbed of their choices, and instead of laughing and celebrating their victories with them, we end up with tight throats, moist eyes and swallowing tears.

The Kill Order by James Dashner is a high-paced octane-fueled dystopian science fiction thriller. In the story of survival of the human race on the Earth devastated by solar flares, chances are so slim that they almost equal to zero. Those (not necessarily the lucky ones) who managed to survive the scorching effect of the Sun that melted the glaciers and flooded the East Coast of the United States with a tsunami of boiling waters are yet to face the real trials.

In order to save the humankind, that is, a selected few, a deadly virus—known as the Flare—is released with the purpose of controlling the remaining population. The infection, though, very quickly escalates and is out of control, and the real battle for their lives starts for Mark, Trina, Alec, Lana, Deedee and their friends against the infected.

The Kill Order is the first prequel book of the equally successful three novels in The Maze Runner series: The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure, and the fourth of five installments overall.

Without pretended modesty, I cannot wait to read the last installment, The Fever Code. I look forward to the new opportunity and satisfaction to remind myself of the Glade and the Gladers, the Maze, the Grievers, WICKED, the Flare, the Cranks, the Right Arm, the Immunes, the Bergs, the Post-Flares Coalition, Thomas, Theresa and all their dead and alive friends. For, each of these books in their own way shook me to the core, and this is what a good book should do to its readers.

BJ
www.bernardjan.com



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Bernard Jan

Rethink Your Diet Review

Rethink Your Diet: Be conscious! And learn how to live a healthy lifestyle. by Moein Ghahremani Nejad

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If you never considered it possible to eat (raw) veggies and actually enjoyed it, you might want to reconsider it now.

In the book Rethink Your Diet: Be Conscious! And Learn How To Live A Health Lifestyle. by the young Iranian animal rights activist and healthy diet advocate, Moein Ghahremani Nejad, you will learn about raw veganism and how it can make the world a better place. In his quest to solve personal health problems and share acquired knowledge with others who are concerned about their health, animals and the health and survival of our planet, he offers to us a compilation of his readings, opinions, experiences, but also comments and suggestions from other experts in this field.

In the first and largest part of his book, Moein Ghahremani Nejad focuses on nutrition in order to help people stop making mistakes with their diet. In the rest of Rethink Your Diet: Be conscious! And learn how to live a healthy lifestyle., he shows us why it is important to change our diet on a global scale.

By reading this book, you will increase your chance of a long life by consuming a diet nature has provided us, and by doing so, we will extend our love and compassion to others - people, animals, and our home, Earth. We owe ourselves and the world we are living in to seriously think about starting a raw plant-based or plant-based diet, and this book will show you easily how to make a lifetime commitment.

BJ
www.bernardjan.com



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Bernard Jan

Viral Spark Review

Viral Spark by Martin McConnell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


When relationships among humans just seem not be working the way we want them to, it is the artificial intelligence and things like tablets we have created who are reaching out in an attempt to communicate with us and sing! Even though it is completely surprising and unbelievable for Robert who maintains robots at work, because machines don't have feelings, he quickly adjusts to it and embraces the idea, becoming fond if it. The real question is, though, can such form of relationship exists and survive when a virus has infected the global network in the future world in which humans completely depend on technology?

Viral Spark is an easy read and the science fiction novella that will capture your attention whether you like or not the vision of the “robotized” future of mankind Martin McConnell has presented and offered to us. Make sure not to miss it.

BJ
www.bernardjan.com



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Bernard Jan

The Practical Guide to the World of Compassion and Kindness

The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights: Simple Acts of Kindness to Help Animals in Trouble by Ingrid Newkirk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The review for the book The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights: Simple Acts of Kindness to Help Animals in Trouble by Ingrid Newkirk I first wrote on December 28, 2009 and posted on Animal Friends Croatia web page. But there is never enough exposure for good readings and remarkable people, so I decided to repost it here as well.

When I first opened a copy of the latest book by Ingrid Newkirk, The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights: Simple Acts of Kindness to Help Animals in Trouble, after receiving it by mail, a colleague of mine stood behind me and gazed at it intently. I did not know what he was thinking, I just felt his presence and waited for him to speak his mind or tell me what he needed from me. A few more seconds drifted by before he stated, "I do not know where she finds time to write a book."

I didn't think when I replied to him, "Discipline," like it was self-understanding. But on second thought, I do not think I said something wrong. It takes lots of discipline to be a full-time active advocate for animals and also to find time to do something besides it – like writing a book.

Maybe it won't make much sense to many, but if we are speaking in terms of advocating for animals, discipline for me equals to commitment, dedication, empathy, compassion, kindness, love, perseverance, and patience.

This is what one needs to be a good animal advocate. These are qualities we must treasure if we want to successfully finish our marathon race. And these are features I find in Ingrid Newkirk.

Unfortunately, I did not have the pleasure of meeting Ingrid personally. Exchanging emails with her from time to time is always such a pleasant and encouraging experience though. Whether they carry a concise message as praise in their subject or explain something in length, I always look forward to them. And if I have to say something about Ingrid's latest book, I cannot do that without saying something about Ingrid, too.

Each book, each story, each line reflects the personality of its author. The same is with Ingrid and her books. During the last couple of years I read three of her books: 250 Things You Can Do to Make Your Cat Adore You, Kids Can Save the Animals: 101 Easy Things to Do and Free the Animals. Meanwhile, I read plenty of other books about animals and animal rights. However, Free the Animals along with Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust by Charles Patterson are probably the two books that left the deepest impact on me.

The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights: Simple Acts of Kindness to Help Animals in Trouble closely follows their footsteps, disarming me with its simplicity, practicality and outstanding message.

I've been an animal advocate for eight years already, after I dropped out of environmental protection. Throughout these years I learned a lot about animals, animal advocacy, and animal rights in general, but also about myself. Most of that knowledge I as a person and my group as a whole owe to PETA and Ingrid Newkirk. Animal Friends Croatia realized many successful campaigns and actions studying PETA's strategy and the way of reasoning, while Ingrid Newkirk proved herself to be more than just a good adviser: she was a real trooper, a helping hand that guided us and brought us into safety when our heads were below the water. Truly, lots of credits for our achievements and victories surely go to Ingrid Newkirk and PETA.

This is why The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights: Simple Acts of Kindness to Help Animals in Trouble is such an important book. It gives the reader an ocean full of practical advice on how to advocate for animals and how to treat them in everyday life, but it also talks to us. It communicates with us, page after page, sharing with us the rich experience of its author in saving animals and fighting for their rights.

On some 300 pages Ingrid guides us as gently as possible through all imaginable aspects of animal exploitation and abuse. Without holding back anything, she teaches us who are animals and why we should respect them and treat them as our equals. Yes, there are moments when she mercilessly tightens her grip around our hearts when she narrates the true stories of animals who suffered through the worst possible ordeals humans bestowed upon them. Remember the story about Makara the rhino; a downer cow at a stockyard in Kentucky; a polar bear named Gus housed in New York's Central Park Zoo; the Berosini orangutans; a seagull tangled up in fishing line in a Virginia park; Billy, a timid little Silver Spring monkey; a stray dog named Aurora; a hound dog named Cindy; and Hannah, the sheep, to name just a few? Yes, this is Ingrid's way: she shakes us out of our boots, she brings tears to our eyes and makes our hearts bleed. But once we compose ourselves again, we realize that we are not so helpless as we thought we were. There is hope for us, which means there is hope for animals, too. In the "What You Can Do" sections, Ingrid takes enormous efforts in going into the tiniest detail in order to show us that we can make a difference – a huge difference with little effort. And maybe here lies the greatest value of this book. "What You Can Do" is simply priceless if we really set our heart in doing something for animals

Yes, we can make a change, even with the smallest thing. We do not have to be in the front lines of animal rights advocacy doing demos, protests, vegan tastings, holding public speeches, lectures, or going nude for the animals' sake. No, we can sit comfortably in the warmth of our home, pick up the phone and dial our favorite radio station, call the TV news and leave a comment about something we just saw, write a letter to the newspaper editor or browse the Internet posting our comments, or maybe even create an animal rights blog or web page.

True, it is easy to be an animal advocate nowadays. The best thing is that whatever we do, each action we take, every bit of information we share with someone else, everything counts. Nothing's in vain. But the easier it is for us to become an animal advocate, the greater the obligation we have to really become one. There is no excuse for being passive, there is no excuse for doing nothing while animals suffer and are killed. There is no excuse for closing our eyes before the truth and ingenuity of Ingrid's advice. There is no excuse for closing our hearts after closing the cover of The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights: Simple Acts of Kindness to Help Animals in Trouble, shutting out and denying the cries of those who seek our help.

It is very simple: compassion and kindness are the keys to both human and animal liberation. When we liberate ourselves from the chains of tradition and old-fashioned views, the light that will shine up within us will liberate others, too. Let us light up our hearts and carry our torches in lighting up the hearts and lives of our fellow creatures.

Please, let this remarkable book written by a remarkable woman touch you with its kind message. Let it guide you into a world where there shall be no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain. For anyone.

BJ
www.bernardjan.com



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Bernard Jan