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I'm surprised by how controversial this book was when originally published. Part comedy, part poetry, the literary prose takes precedence over story structure as Rushdie plays with metaphors, double entendres, and situational comedy.

The social commentary is on point. The corp. meetings where they explain how to make exciting but unprovable (and thus disprovable) claims such as "look younger & feel healthier" in your advertising is perfect. I also enjoy the jokes. They add to the social commentary, are messed up and awkward, so laughing is a knee jerk reaction to relieve the stress.

This is my kind of science fiction! I'm LOVING the social commentary, practical delivery, and character development. 😃

Returning to this gem as an audiobook read my Martin Freeman.

Not my style, but I knew that going in. It's a cute Sherlock-Holmes-esc mystery, minus the historical grime & grit of late 1800's England.

The first 3rd of The Odyssey was slow. Once Odysseus started telling his backstory of how he came to be stranded with Calypso it became more entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the Trojan Horse backstory, where Odysseus had himself whipped and beaten beyond recognition to sneak into Troy pretending to be a Trojan.

Learned when to use "which" or "that", and how to avoid using "of the", "that", "others", "both", and "new" because they are often superfluous.

Finished The Iliad. I LOVE W. H. D. Rouse's translation. Previous versions I have read explained the physical action. It was interesting at moments but did not hold my attention. The action in the Rouse translation is soaked in passion, blood, and poetry. It stuck with me throughout the day. It got existential when Achilles returned to the battle. I loved it. :-)

Lives up to its name. Clear and concise, it offers 12 simple rules for effective writing. The sections on passive voice and split infinitives spoke to me since I'm trying to use them less in my writing.

"The two then rushed at one another with loud cries like eagle-beaked crooked taloned vultures that scream and tear one another in some high mountain fastness"

"The Trojans had gathered round Odysseus like ravenous mountain jackals round the carcass of some horned stag that had been hit with an arrow"

I am loving this visceral poetry.

So far an excellent textbook. It explains how k-12th grade education is implemented, its affects upon different sections of the population depending upon socio-economic, sex, and cultural factors, and how to try to shorten the gap between upper/middle-class America and those living in poverty. The section on gender-bias blew me away.

My friend Tabbi lent me this novel when I lent her The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling's mystery thriller pen name).

So far this is a cute cozy mystery. I like how Maisie informs her client that the safety of everyone involved, including the subjects of her investigation, is one of her main concerns.

Fascinating. Dawkins brings up several concepts that I have studied, rationally critiques them in a new way, and causes "ah-ha" moments.

The most interesting one is how fundamentalists are the few people living closest to their religion's source material, which is what makes them radical.

This translation is so freaking intense. There are many more bashing of brains, spurts of blood, and men realizing they shall be dead in minutes than other translations I've read. Thank god I'm alive in 2017 CE rather than 1200 BCE.

The first 30% of this book reviews many of the same arguments for & against God (as defined in western cultures) that I studied in my Philosophy of Religion course. It's a good review, holding the magnifying glass up to the logic of arguments that are more given but than critiqued.

Better translation than the Samuel Butler translation I own.

For Example:

Butler version: "you drunkard, you dog"

Rouse version: "you drunkard, with eyes of a bitch and a heart of a fawn"

Rouse puts the passion back in the poetry.

This book has brought tears to my eyes. The author does an excellent job explaining sad, terrible things in the most respectful way possible for the victims. So far this novel is a fascinating look into a unique part of American history.

Fascinating. I've read The Autobiography of Malcom X, and watched videos of his speeches, but this novel shares experiences I was previously unaware of. Similarly I'm learning more about Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali. They were both larger than life men breaking out of Jim Crow era US and still serve as amazing role models for those struggling against the effects of institutionalize racism today.