A pointed story with a very pointed moral. 4.5/5 stars. This story does not really need my snarky comments as it stands well on its own, so here it isA pointed story with a very pointed moral. 4.5/5 stars. This story does not really need my snarky comments as it stands well on its own, so here it is.
(Once upon a time a severe plague raged among the animals. Many died, and those who lived were so ill, that they cared for neither food nor drink, and dragged themselves about listlessly. No longer could a fat young hen tempt Master Fox to dinner, nor a tender lamb rouse greedy Sir Wolf's appetite.
At last the Lion decided to call a council. When all the animals were gathered together he arose and said:
"Dear friends, I believe the gods have sent this plague upon us as a punishment for our sins. Therefore, the most guilty one of us must be offered in sacrifice. Perhaps we may thus obtain forgiveness and cure for all.
"I will confess all my sins first. I admit that I have been very greedy and have devoured many sheep. They had done me no harm. I have eaten goats and bulls and stags. To tell the truth, I even ate up a shepherd now and then.
"Now, if I am the most guilty, I am ready to be sacrificed. But I think it best that each one confess his sins as I have done. Then we can decide in all justice who is the most guilty."
"Your majesty," said the Fox, "you are too good. Can it be a crime to eat sheep, such stupid mutton heads? No, no, your majesty. You have done them great honor by eating them up.
"And so far as shepherds are concerned, we all know they belong to that puny race that pretends to be our masters."
All the animals applauded the Fox loudly. Then, though the Tiger, the Bear, the Wolf, and all the savage beasts recited the most wicked deeds, all were excused and made to appear very saint-like and innocent.
It was now the Ass's turn to confess.
"I remember," he said guiltily, "that one day as I was passing a field belonging to some priests, I was so tempted by the tender grass and my hunger, that I could not resist nibbling a bit of it. I had no right to do it, I admit—"
A great uproar among the beasts interrupted him. Here was the culprit who had brought misfortune on all of them! What a horrible crime it was to eat grass that belonged to someone else! It was enough to hang anyone for, much more an Ass.
Immediately they all fell upon him, the Wolf in the lead, and soon had made an end to him, sacrificing him to the gods then and there, and without the formality of an altar.)
Moral - The weak are made to suffer for the misdeeds of the powerful.
I do not doubt that all of us have seen such examples in real life, or heard of such an example in the news, of this moral. Sad but true....more
After reading this book, I am disappointed that I never had the chance to meet the notorious RBG before her death. This book is a bit of biography, asAfter reading this book, I am disappointed that I never had the chance to meet the notorious RBG before her death. This book is a bit of biography, as it shows quite the collection of RBG writings spanning many decades, including several from her childhood that really show her keen sense of justice and civic duty at such a young age.
This book also offers a valuable peek into the workings of the Supreme Court and how its justices work as many of these speeches and essays directly concern SCOTUS rulings, whether she agreed with them or not. Even if you're not an American citizen, this will offer some insight into the legal system of the highest court of the USA.
I do wish more had been included in here because after reading this I wanted to read more of her essays! I really wish we had more people like RBG (regardless of sex) in this world, I can't help but think the planet would be at least a bit nicer that way. (Yes, that is how much reading this book and RBG's essays, speeches, and thoughts has affected me)...more
Ordinarily, for books such as this, I might write a long review stating what I felt were its strong points and why the story wOof. Right in the feels.
Ordinarily, for books such as this, I might write a long review stating what I felt were its strong points and why the story worked well, or whatever. Yada yada.
But after reading this, after the time I have spent around people with physical and intellectual disabilities (sometimes a combination of both) I have such a mixture and clash of feels and emotions and thoughts that it's hard to organize it into a review that won't seem rambling.
All I can say is, it's a good and thought-provoking book and I recommend it to... pretty much anyone. I found the writing style and narrative to be pretty solid and what few complaints I had were merely minor quibbles in the grand scheme of the story and its message....more
Poe's stories are a hit and miss. Now, some of this is undeniably due to my own personal taste, which can not be helped, and if I were to rate all thePoe's stories are a hit and miss. Now, some of this is undeniably due to my own personal taste, which can not be helped, and if I were to rate all the stories individually and then average them together, this book would recieve somewhere between three to four stars, because some of his stories are awesome, others so-and-so, and a few are just pretty meh.
However, as far as a collection on a single author goes, this is an excellent book which collects Poe's poetry and short stories. If you're looking for a definitive collection of a classic author bound into one volume, this is the book for you, but be forewarned, it's a quite thick and heavy book (over 1000 pages) so it's not one of these light mass-market paperbacks that's easy to tote around.
However, if this is not an issue for you and you want a paperback version of the collection rather than the Kindle/e-book collections that can be found out there, then you definitely want to get this particular book, you will not be disappointed....more
This had been in my TBR pile for years, and after having finished it I have to ask myself why the god damn fuck did I not read this sooner.
There's preThis had been in my TBR pile for years, and after having finished it I have to ask myself why the god damn fuck did I not read this sooner.
There's pretty much nothing I can say about this book that hasn't already been said. This is my second Austen book, after Northanger Abbey, and I enjoyed this book. Austen has a writing style I enjoy, and many of her lines and observations are brilliant, it's not hard to see why she is so well-regarded as an author and I say that as someone who is pretty picky about classic literature - I find many works cited as 'classic' to be woefully over-rated (The Great Gatsby, Lord of the Flies, Wuthering Heights, etc)
The one thing I can and will say, is that as much as I enjoyed this book and have come to enjoy Jane Austen as a whole (I have a couple more of her books in my TBR pile that I am now very eager to read) I am certainly glad that I did not live in Austen's time, where a woman did not have a lot of options, but a lot of societal/legal constraints!...more
This is a fantastic book which collects many of Mark Twain's short stories. I own this book and it served as a great immersion into the writings of MaThis is a fantastic book which collects many of Mark Twain's short stories. I own this book and it served as a great immersion into the writings of Mark Twain with a nice variety of over sixty short stories, so it's almost impossible to get bored. Some of the stories are better than others, but altogether, it's a fantastic collection....more
There's not much I can say that hasn't already been said by many, many other reviewers. But I can, and will say, that this shit is absolutely fucking There's not much I can say that hasn't already been said by many, many other reviewers. But I can, and will say, that this shit is absolutely fucking hilarious.
There were moments that had me chuckling out loud, mainly the way Allie would describe something, but some of the illustrations are pretty damn great too....more
This book is oddly compelling. I first came across the pictures on the original site (Tumblr, IIRC) and although the subject in itself is simple - oneThis book is oddly compelling. I first came across the pictures on the original site (Tumblr, IIRC) and although the subject in itself is simple - one man looking at various things - the images are oddly compelling. One of the things that add flavor is the other people in the pictures, standing politely/obediently as Kim Jong Il is looking and pointing at various things.
As one studies the people around the Dear Leader, it becomes a curious study in the various expressions and postures one can see. In many of the pictures, someone is standing and presenting the item/objects for Kim Jong Il's perusal/approval, and many of the people that follow him are in very nice clothing, often military. There is a sparseness to much of the surroundings that the Dear Leader finds himself in. Buildings, people, mundane objects... I know it sounds weird, but there's an odd emptiness to the surroundings regardless of how many people are in the picture. They lack in the atmosphere of photos taken in many other countries, particularly the USA.
The subject itself might be mundane, but Kim Jong Il's notoriety (as well as that of his country) certainly adds another angle to those pictures. The original site might have been satire, but a picture really is worth a thousand words, and there's plenty of story in the Kim Jong Il Looking At Things saga....more
I finished this book a couple of weeks ago but it took me time to think about what to say for this review. I was just blown away by this book. I foundI finished this book a couple of weeks ago but it took me time to think about what to say for this review. I was just blown away by this book. I found the author's writing style easy and engaging tor read, so I did not feel like I was reading some dry textbook.
It is impossible for me to remember all the detail in this book, as there was a LOT to learn. But I absolutely came away with a better understanding of the world and its history, and had several lightbulb moments reading this or that. A lot of science is covered here - evolution, biology, astronomy, geology, plate tectonics and the like.
Many, many scientists are mentioned here and I have forgotten most of the names, but that is on me, not the author, I was more focused on the discoveries and how that would help me understand natural history better.
I am not a science buff, so I feel it is important for me to say that while this book is chock-full of scientific information, terminology, and etc, the author still made all this accessible to the reader, so I would encourage anyone who is interested in natural history/science to give this book a try.
I would give this book 10 out of 5 stars if I could....more
I would give this an A with a million plus after it if I could. As that's not the case, I'll give it an A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I would give this an A with a million plus after it if I could. As that's not the case, I'll give it an A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++! I think that's quite enough pluses to convey my feelings for the book and it's clear I'm not the only one who feels that way. In all seriousness, this is a magnificent book....more
The story itself is fairly good, with the usual cadence and humor that Dr. Seuss was known for, but what really made this book so awesome was the illuThe story itself is fairly good, with the usual cadence and humor that Dr. Seuss was known for, but what really made this book so awesome was the illustrations As the story progresses, the illustrations change a bit at a time, such as paperwork piling up on a desk, and so on. This is one of these books where I recommend that you get this for the illustrations just as much (if not more) than the story itself....more
There's not much that can be said about this that hasn't been said about others. There's a reason this book is a classic - the author had a real gift There's not much that can be said about this that hasn't been said about others. There's a reason this book is a classic - the author had a real gift for coming up with all this funny stuff that he managed to make all work together....more
I remember enjoying this book as a child. It was such a fantastic tale with good lessons in it, and the artwork is absolutely gorgeous. We need more bI remember enjoying this book as a child. It was such a fantastic tale with good lessons in it, and the artwork is absolutely gorgeous. We need more books like this. Thinking about this book makes me so nostalgic that now I want to buy a copy for myself to read again some 20 years later. Absolutely fantastic book, would recommend, A+++...more
There's not much I can say that others haven't already said, this was an original novel back then and still is today, with a nice variety of characterThere's not much I can say that others haven't already said, this was an original novel back then and still is today, with a nice variety of characters and a story that lacks in a big bad guy, but not without reason. It's not hard to see why Asimov is so highly regarded as a sci-fi author, he does a great job with giving the characters in this book depth so that even the more unlikable ones come across as human and flawed....more
Even though this book is somewhat dated (published in 1955) it remains a solid classic and really shows why Asimov is one of the big names in sci-fi, Even though this book is somewhat dated (published in 1955) it remains a solid classic and really shows why Asimov is one of the big names in sci-fi, even more than 60 years later. Like with many old science fiction novels, subsequent scientific discoveries and theories could disprove a technology or innovation a sci-fi author puts in their story, and some of the science in this book does come across as wonky when you compare it to what we know of various scientific fields today (2018)
It's also cliched in that there is a dearth of female characters, but that was pretty typical of sci fi novels in the 40's and 50's, but I tried to not hold that against this book. However, love for a female character is a driving force in this book (also a cliche, but whatever)
Plenty of interesting theories abound in this book, and the span of time in this book really makes one think about how our world might be in the future... the 95th century, the 452nd century, the 2456th century, even the 'Hidden Centuries' (70,000th century and onward)
Even if this book might be somewhat dated, I still feel that it should be part of a serious sci-fi lover's collection. Some books simply don't age well, but this one was still relevant to me, and the ending of this book was actually pretty clever. Definitely worth checking out if you're into sci-fi....more
Wow. This book was very poignant. The story is well-told, and Alex Ross' magnificent illustrations really add punch to the storytelling. It starts outWow. This book was very poignant. The story is well-told, and Alex Ross' magnificent illustrations really add punch to the storytelling. It starts out with Superman helping one homeless girl, and seeing that he can do more, reaches out to the world to help feed the hungry. Of course, he himself volunteers to deliver donated food to needed locations. Many are grateful for his aid, but of course there are these jerks who don't want to see him doing any good, including a dictator who insists that Superman leave the food with him so that he can then distribute the food to his own people. Naturally, Superman knows he is lying.
This is a beautifully-told story, but with some very harsh truths which leave the reader thinking a good while after they have read this book. I applaud the people responsible for this book, it truly was a worthy project....more
There's not much I can say about this delightful book that has not already been said. The Anne of Green Gables books deserves to be in any collection There's not much I can say about this delightful book that has not already been said. The Anne of Green Gables books deserves to be in any collection of quality children's literature, and hell, even adult literature too. I can still enjoy L.M. Montgomery's books even after almost twenty years of being introduced to them. It's hard to not like Anne and her spunk, and the way she deals with situations and problems....more
I was not sure what to expect of this. Now, I will admit I find the backstory a bit hinky - a gorilla gaining human-level consciouMy. Mind. Is. Blown.
I was not sure what to expect of this. Now, I will admit I find the backstory a bit hinky - a gorilla gaining human-level consciousness/sentience, but set that aside and focus on the discussions of history and religion, and this is actually a really brilliant piece of work which will make you think more in depth about history and religion, and how the two often intertwine. I mean, seriously, this book brings one a fresh perspective, and plenty to chew on. If you're the kind of person who likes thinking about old and new ideas, and thinking deeply on religion and history, give this book a try. I don't think you will be disappointed....more
I really enjoyed this book, and I have to admit, I wish something like this would happen in real life, as I'm also sick of the BS our politicians are I really enjoyed this book, and I have to admit, I wish something like this would happen in real life, as I'm also sick of the BS our politicians are putting us through. This is a book that has you cheering for the antagonists (at least, some of them)
My only issue is the ending, I just wish the ending was more satisfying, given the tone of the rest of the book. It wasn't a horrible ending - truly bad people got what they deserved, but I do wish that the goals of the renegade group had been accomplished more. 4.5/5 stars...more
M.M. Strawberry
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