I made it back to Manitoba safe and sound this weekend. [yay]
There will be a new book review soon but I'm busy lately with driving 2400km back here and this roller derby tournament Toban Tussle which I'm officiating with.
I'm still looking for suggestions for Our Crazy World Series 2 starting later this summer.
-Horace
[anyone in southern Manitoba should come to the PCU Centre in Portage La Prairie and watch some roller derby]
Saturday 12 July 2014
Wednesday 2 July 2014
Updates and a review
Just some news on what's goin on with me right now. The wireless internet in my room is now disconnected because I am leaving to go back to Manitoba in 6 days so I'm making this post in a nearby MacDonalds. Yay me. Also due to matters of convenience I will be doing my uploads on Wednesdays now instead of Mondays as I have been doing.
On Canada Day (Canada's 147th birthday) I read The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom. I found this novel in the discount bin in a local book store outlet and figured it was worth getting for $6.99. I procrastinated about actually getting around to reading it, I didn't think it would be all that good... Wow how wrong was I. The Time Keeper is easily the best fiction novel I have read all year (about 10 so far). I sat down and read all 222 pages of story in 4.5 hours. It is that good. Way better than the John Green books I have read, not that his are bad, but Mitch Albom is just another level above him.
Picture this: try to imagine a world in which we were entirely incapable of measuring time. There is no such thing as time, hours, seconds, minutes, none of that had been thought of. Pretty hard right? But we are the only species on this planet which pays attention to time. Deer, dogs, dolphins, no animal cares what time of day it is except people. Many animals only care if its night or day, if that. What if we had never developed the capability of measuring time? What then?
These questions are wrapped into and absolutely brilliant and powerful story in The Time Keeper. This is a small fiction novel with a big impact and I suggest everyone read it. I've already given my copy of it to my coworker.
Stay awesome!
-Horace
On Canada Day (Canada's 147th birthday) I read The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom. I found this novel in the discount bin in a local book store outlet and figured it was worth getting for $6.99. I procrastinated about actually getting around to reading it, I didn't think it would be all that good... Wow how wrong was I. The Time Keeper is easily the best fiction novel I have read all year (about 10 so far). I sat down and read all 222 pages of story in 4.5 hours. It is that good. Way better than the John Green books I have read, not that his are bad, but Mitch Albom is just another level above him.
Picture this: try to imagine a world in which we were entirely incapable of measuring time. There is no such thing as time, hours, seconds, minutes, none of that had been thought of. Pretty hard right? But we are the only species on this planet which pays attention to time. Deer, dogs, dolphins, no animal cares what time of day it is except people. Many animals only care if its night or day, if that. What if we had never developed the capability of measuring time? What then?
These questions are wrapped into and absolutely brilliant and powerful story in The Time Keeper. This is a small fiction novel with a big impact and I suggest everyone read it. I've already given my copy of it to my coworker.
Stay awesome!
-Horace
Thursday 26 June 2014
Our Crazy World series 2: open
So after an intermission (while I move back to Manitoba mainly), I will be planning a second series of Our Crazy World. I am open to suggestions for what books to do in this one. Expect to see it after July. Also considering a philosophy series and a theology series... Maybe.
Let me know.
-Horace
Let me know.
-Horace
Monday 23 June 2014
Long Walk To Freedom
At midnight 24th of June, 2014, I read the 625th page of Long Walk To Freedom (Nelson Mandela's autobiography)... Well roughly midnight... and I have to be up at six...
Anyways, Long Walk To Freedom (LWTF) chronicles the life of Nelson Mandela as he remembers it. Mandela's life is one of struggle, having come to age in the oppressive, racist apartheid system. From early adulthood Mandela fought for the freedom of not only his fellow Africans but all non-white peoples of South Africa.
Anyways, Long Walk To Freedom (LWTF) chronicles the life of Nelson Mandela as he remembers it. Mandela's life is one of struggle, having come to age in the oppressive, racist apartheid system. From early adulthood Mandela fought for the freedom of not only his fellow Africans but all non-white peoples of South Africa.
The life of Nelson Mandela is an inspiring one. Having studied and become a lawyer he and his longtime friend and fellow freedom fighter Oliver Tambo opened the first black-owned law firm in South Africa. Mandela got into politics via the Africanist National Congress, although the government was white-only. The ANC fought for equality of all races in South Africa, which came with fierce retaliation from the federal government which wound up imprisoning Mandela for 27 years!
Mandela left prison in his seventies in the mid early 1990s, emerging into a different, yet far too similar South Africa than the one he left prior to his incarceration. Mandela's life was filled with struggle and tragedy but he did eventually end apartheid and the white minority's rule of the nation (no spoilers there).
Although at times it does feel like Mandela's memory of his life was rose tinted and favored him, it is not as bad as it could have been in those respects and it is obvious that people had kept this book from sounding too dreamy that in regards to Mandela. Overall the book is great and it would be impossible to shorten it from its 625 page format without omitting valuable details of Mandela's life. The final few pages of the book are also a fantastic, poetic and resonant end to an amazing story. This book is definitely a must read and hopefully you don't have to read it in two weeks like I just did.
This concludes my first mini-series: Our Crazy World. Although I didn't plan on it there is an underlying theme to this whole series and I would encourage you to figure it out, I will reveal the answer next Monday (a holiday for me), after which I will take an intermission to read some of the books I have and travel back to Manitoba where I normally reside before I start any more mini series. There will be a second 'Our Crazy World' and I am open to suggestions for it.
Thank you for reading.
-Horace
Tuesday 17 June 2014
Long Walk To Freedom: halfway there
I know it's Tuesday and I normally post on Mondays, but I was super busy last night. So now I am roughly halfway through Long Walk To Freedom (about p.312). Long Walk To Freedom (LWTF) is Nelson Mandela' autobiography.
So far in LWTF, Nelson Mandela has grown up, gotten a law degree, and started fighting the oppressive South African apartheid system. He's been to jail a bit and divorced from his first wife. So far his life has been inspirational, he co-founded with Oliver Tambo the first african-owned law firm in South Africa.
I'm sure this sounds a bit dry as a review, but it's really an update, since I'm only midway in this book. So far it is good, although my hand does get tired from holding it. Something I don't like is that the next chapter begins immediately after the previous one ends, just my own peeves.
If you're a skilled reader I dare you to pick this one up and finish it by monday when I finish off the book and begin my intermission.
-Horace
So far in LWTF, Nelson Mandela has grown up, gotten a law degree, and started fighting the oppressive South African apartheid system. He's been to jail a bit and divorced from his first wife. So far his life has been inspirational, he co-founded with Oliver Tambo the first african-owned law firm in South Africa.
I'm sure this sounds a bit dry as a review, but it's really an update, since I'm only midway in this book. So far it is good, although my hand does get tired from holding it. Something I don't like is that the next chapter begins immediately after the previous one ends, just my own peeves.
If you're a skilled reader I dare you to pick this one up and finish it by monday when I finish off the book and begin my intermission.
-Horace
Monday 9 June 2014
Radio Congo
When someone mentions 'Congo' what do you immediately think? For most of us the first thing that springs to mind is an image of war and child soldiers. In his book Radio Congo, author Ben Rawlence paints a much different picture.
Author Ben Rawlence had heard of a tin mining city in central Belgian-Congo which was a model european city in the heart of a jungle and is compelled to find it on foot starting at Goma on the border to Rwanda. Rawlence's journey brings him into contact with many locals of Congo including Pygmies, Banyamulenge (Congolese Hutus), Muntu (Congomen), various aid workers and armed forces. There is still some conflict in Congo, there are still Rwandan soldiers who have settled in Congo and the Congolese national army which is trying to rout them back to Rwanda. The Muntu and Banyamulenge do not get along and sometimes clash. Aswell there are also militias-turned-warlord called Mai Mai militias which terrorize sections of Congo, but from Rawlence's journey from Goma to Manono he was not once shot at despite being a white Brit in central Africa. He wasn't even mugged or robbed.
Rawlence adequately portrays Congo as a country with an uneasy peace, trying to make the best of the situation they live in. The most surprising face of the people of Congo are their incredible hospitality. Do not get the impression that everything is fine and dandy in the Democratic Republic of Congo, there is still hunger problems, poverty, exploitation and the occasional violent clash. Congo is a nation recovering from devastating wars, but it is recovering and it's people are making the best of a bad situation.
The radio stations in Congo are a valuable asset to the nation's recovery. Entire towns and villages will tune into a broadcast to hear news from their country or from abroad. Television is rare in Congo, Rawlence encountered maybe three in his whole journey. Electricity is scarce but a battery powered radio requires little juice to power. The radio broadcasters, most of which volunteers, spread the news of the world to their people and the people cling to their radios to hear the news.
Radio Congo was an inspiring novel, as I read it I felt a need to participate in assisting in Congo's recovery, even if I don't know how I could. Personally I find most relief efforts short-sighted. Often relief means handing out some food and money, but to me I think a relief effort should set people up to become self sufficient so that no more relief will be needed and the wealthy relievers can move on to help another group in need. To me what is needed in places like Congo is teachers, to teach primary schools, set up education systems and teach new teachers to replace them. I this the natives of a country could protect themselves from exploitation and develop a future free of internal war.
Next up in Our Crazy World is Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela's autobiography. Due to the sheer size of this book, part 1 will be next Monday (16th) and part 2 will be the Monday after that (23rd).
-Horace
Author Ben Rawlence had heard of a tin mining city in central Belgian-Congo which was a model european city in the heart of a jungle and is compelled to find it on foot starting at Goma on the border to Rwanda. Rawlence's journey brings him into contact with many locals of Congo including Pygmies, Banyamulenge (Congolese Hutus), Muntu (Congomen), various aid workers and armed forces. There is still some conflict in Congo, there are still Rwandan soldiers who have settled in Congo and the Congolese national army which is trying to rout them back to Rwanda. The Muntu and Banyamulenge do not get along and sometimes clash. Aswell there are also militias-turned-warlord called Mai Mai militias which terrorize sections of Congo, but from Rawlence's journey from Goma to Manono he was not once shot at despite being a white Brit in central Africa. He wasn't even mugged or robbed.
Rawlence adequately portrays Congo as a country with an uneasy peace, trying to make the best of the situation they live in. The most surprising face of the people of Congo are their incredible hospitality. Do not get the impression that everything is fine and dandy in the Democratic Republic of Congo, there is still hunger problems, poverty, exploitation and the occasional violent clash. Congo is a nation recovering from devastating wars, but it is recovering and it's people are making the best of a bad situation.
The radio stations in Congo are a valuable asset to the nation's recovery. Entire towns and villages will tune into a broadcast to hear news from their country or from abroad. Television is rare in Congo, Rawlence encountered maybe three in his whole journey. Electricity is scarce but a battery powered radio requires little juice to power. The radio broadcasters, most of which volunteers, spread the news of the world to their people and the people cling to their radios to hear the news.
Radio Congo was an inspiring novel, as I read it I felt a need to participate in assisting in Congo's recovery, even if I don't know how I could. Personally I find most relief efforts short-sighted. Often relief means handing out some food and money, but to me I think a relief effort should set people up to become self sufficient so that no more relief will be needed and the wealthy relievers can move on to help another group in need. To me what is needed in places like Congo is teachers, to teach primary schools, set up education systems and teach new teachers to replace them. I this the natives of a country could protect themselves from exploitation and develop a future free of internal war.
Next up in Our Crazy World is Long Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela's autobiography. Due to the sheer size of this book, part 1 will be next Monday (16th) and part 2 will be the Monday after that (23rd).
-Horace
Sunday 8 June 2014
Our Crazy World #2
I've been thinking of doing this mini-series again. This time I intend to focus on leaders of nations/empires. I have a few books in mind but I am still open to suggestions to include if anybody out there has any ideas.
If you know a good book, or one for Africa or South America as I haven't any covering those regions yet please do suggest them in comments
If you know a good book, or one for Africa or South America as I haven't any covering those regions yet please do suggest them in comments
Monday 2 June 2014
Our Crazy World pt2: The story of Che Guevara
Alrighty, part 2 of Our Crazy World is The Story Of Che Guevara. I was actually a little hard pressed to finish this book in time for today's post but at midnight I only had a dozen pages to go and finished it off earlier today.
The Story of Che Guevara is accredited as the most comprehensive biography to date of Che Guevara. It is written by a lady named Lucia Alvarez de Toledo, who was born about the same time as Che and in the same region.
Her book chronicles in depth the life and death of Che Guevara. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, later nicknamed Che in Cuba based on his accent, was born in Argentina and grew up to become a doctor before he wound up becoming a marxist revolutionary. Originially a fan of Ghandi and staunchly against violence he eventually decided the way to throw off USA oppression and exploitation was via armed revolution.
Overall this book is a good read, especially the second half. The first half of the book isn't that great, which caused me to lose interest at first and put it on the back burner until I came up with the idea for this mini series. The first half really focuses on Ernesto growing up in Argentina and living with asthma (yes the man who led armies for Castro had asthma) and then getting his education as a doctor. Once Ernesto starts his travels of Latin America the book starts to get better and once the Cuban revolution starts it is gripping, I never thought a communist bureaucracy could be so exciting!
I'm sure you can see some trends starting in this series, I actually didn't intend most of them but I won't ignore them either. One seeming trend is that of communism, although many would argue that North Korea isnt really as much a communist state as it is a hereditary dictatorship/prison. Another more likely one is oppression: Shin was oppressed because he was born in the worst country in the world, Latin America was/is oppressed by USA imperialism. Both stories occured because of oppression.
The only factor that really underlies this series is these are stories that show us where our world has gotten and where it is now... and how we still ave a long way to go before this place gets anywhere close to normal.
-Horace
The Story of Che Guevara is accredited as the most comprehensive biography to date of Che Guevara. It is written by a lady named Lucia Alvarez de Toledo, who was born about the same time as Che and in the same region.
Her book chronicles in depth the life and death of Che Guevara. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, later nicknamed Che in Cuba based on his accent, was born in Argentina and grew up to become a doctor before he wound up becoming a marxist revolutionary. Originially a fan of Ghandi and staunchly against violence he eventually decided the way to throw off USA oppression and exploitation was via armed revolution.
Overall this book is a good read, especially the second half. The first half of the book isn't that great, which caused me to lose interest at first and put it on the back burner until I came up with the idea for this mini series. The first half really focuses on Ernesto growing up in Argentina and living with asthma (yes the man who led armies for Castro had asthma) and then getting his education as a doctor. Once Ernesto starts his travels of Latin America the book starts to get better and once the Cuban revolution starts it is gripping, I never thought a communist bureaucracy could be so exciting!
I'm sure you can see some trends starting in this series, I actually didn't intend most of them but I won't ignore them either. One seeming trend is that of communism, although many would argue that North Korea isnt really as much a communist state as it is a hereditary dictatorship/prison. Another more likely one is oppression: Shin was oppressed because he was born in the worst country in the world, Latin America was/is oppressed by USA imperialism. Both stories occured because of oppression.
The only factor that really underlies this series is these are stories that show us where our world has gotten and where it is now... and how we still ave a long way to go before this place gets anywhere close to normal.
-Horace
Monday 26 May 2014
Our Crazy World pt1: Escape from Camp 14
Hi there, I realise I said I was going to start this mini series yesterday but the internet and cable in my region was down yesterday so I couldn't get online, also I was hung-over.
So part 1 in this mini series starts with a heavy one. It is the gut wrenching story of this guy named Shin (he changed his name at one point and he's referred to by his first name) who was born in Camp 14, a North Korean prison camp in the mountainous regions. He was born the second son of two adults who were given the "priviledge" of mating. He grew up in a grueling life, surviving on corn mash and cabbage, and the occasional rat. The living conditions of the people within this camp were absolutely horrible and the guards treated the prisoners like dirt that wasn't even human. Executions are a normal thing.
This book is an eye opener. Everything you thought you knew about North Korea pales in comparison to the reality of the place. The vast majority of the country is starving, not just inmates. The nation is a prison in itself. Roughly 150,000 people are interred within a dozen prison camps, each much larger than anything built by the Nazis in the 1930s-40s. These prison camps were built in the 1970s and still exist today. The majority of people in major cities have electricity for about 4 hours a day. The government for a while encouraged the populace to eat only 2 meals a day to conserve food. The real motivating factor for Shin's breakout was that he heard about the food on the outside and was starvingly hungry.
This book kept me glued to it because of the story of Shin's horrible life. It made me feel sick to my stomach but I couldn't stop reading it and actually made me feel sick to my stomach, I started losing my appetite and couldn't wait for him to get free.
I suggest everyone read Escape From Camp 14, but be warned it is heavy and hard to stomach.
But seriously, read it, then go support the plethora of groups trying to liberate the starving people of this nation.
-Horace
So part 1 in this mini series starts with a heavy one. It is the gut wrenching story of this guy named Shin (he changed his name at one point and he's referred to by his first name) who was born in Camp 14, a North Korean prison camp in the mountainous regions. He was born the second son of two adults who were given the "priviledge" of mating. He grew up in a grueling life, surviving on corn mash and cabbage, and the occasional rat. The living conditions of the people within this camp were absolutely horrible and the guards treated the prisoners like dirt that wasn't even human. Executions are a normal thing.
This book is an eye opener. Everything you thought you knew about North Korea pales in comparison to the reality of the place. The vast majority of the country is starving, not just inmates. The nation is a prison in itself. Roughly 150,000 people are interred within a dozen prison camps, each much larger than anything built by the Nazis in the 1930s-40s. These prison camps were built in the 1970s and still exist today. The majority of people in major cities have electricity for about 4 hours a day. The government for a while encouraged the populace to eat only 2 meals a day to conserve food. The real motivating factor for Shin's breakout was that he heard about the food on the outside and was starvingly hungry.
This book kept me glued to it because of the story of Shin's horrible life. It made me feel sick to my stomach but I couldn't stop reading it and actually made me feel sick to my stomach, I started losing my appetite and couldn't wait for him to get free.
I suggest everyone read Escape From Camp 14, but be warned it is heavy and hard to stomach.
But seriously, read it, then go support the plethora of groups trying to liberate the starving people of this nation.
-Horace
Thursday 22 May 2014
A Mini Series
Good Evening,
I had a good recently. My idea is to have a themed mini-series of reviews. This idea came to me while reading my books recently, I realised they all have a sort of similarity. They're all about different views of our world these days.
So starting this weekend I will be beginning a 4-part mini-series titled "Our Crazy World" in which I will give four points of view from four books reviews, each point being a view of our crazy world, either how we got here or where we have gotten.
The books in order are:
Escape From Camp 14
The Story of Che Guevara
Radio Congo
Long Walk to Freedom
Expect to see Escape From Camp 14 this weekend (most likely Sunday).
Also,
I am nearly finished reading Venice: A New History. I will type up the review of it and post it after we finish this mini-series.
Keep tuned.
-Horace
I had a good recently. My idea is to have a themed mini-series of reviews. This idea came to me while reading my books recently, I realised they all have a sort of similarity. They're all about different views of our world these days.
So starting this weekend I will be beginning a 4-part mini-series titled "Our Crazy World" in which I will give four points of view from four books reviews, each point being a view of our crazy world, either how we got here or where we have gotten.
The books in order are:
Escape From Camp 14
The Story of Che Guevara
Radio Congo
Long Walk to Freedom
Expect to see Escape From Camp 14 this weekend (most likely Sunday).
Also,
I am nearly finished reading Venice: A New History. I will type up the review of it and post it after we finish this mini-series.
Keep tuned.
-Horace
Saturday 10 May 2014
Imperator deponitur
Hey book lovers, how is life?
So I recently finished reading The Emperor by Ryszard Capuscinski (probably butchered that but it's Polish and I am not) which explores accounts of the final decades of imperial rule in Ethiopia (and Eritrea which was Ethiopian at the time) in the 1960s and 1970s and the final collapse and immediate aftermath of the downfall.
In his book Ryszard gets ferried around (or claims to) Addis Ababa, the capitol city of Ethiopia, to speak to people hiding in the city who used to work in the emperor's palace mainly as bureaucrats. Much of the book is made of witness accounts by anonymous sources, since Ethiopia was a very dangerous place at the time. Surprisingly even though the nation was starving and imperial rule was not at all effective or efficient, the vast majority of the interviewees are super nostalgic for their past as palace servants and officials that they think the bad things were good. If that statement makes sense.
Unfortunately for this book it does seem that Ryszard employed his author's discretion to the narratives of his interviews because you find them incredibly articulate almost like practiced speeches that it feels like the author is punping his own artistry into the stories to make them better. Which may not be a bad thing.
On the plus side, the way the book was set up gave a real neat before-and-after perspective to the situation (at the time) in Ethiopia as the interviewees are recounting before and during the fall of emperor Haile Selassie, and then Ryszard is giving his account of his experiences travelling through Addis Ababa following the collapse of the empire. Basically it was bad before, although no tinted by nostalgia, and it was bad after.
This book did give me a great look into a genre of history that I didn't get in my public education and gave me some ideas for electives for when I go back to school in 2015, which means I am going to be so bogged down with classes if I really do take all the classes I want to.
Overall The Emperor wasn't my favorite read of the year, not even my favorite history read of the year, had some real drag to it, some grinding, boring stuff to it, but that could be seen as a necessary evil in order to fully portray the situation of imperial Ethiopia. Either way I didn't enjoy that aspect specifically.
As with all books I would recommend it because our history lessons fail to teach us anything about Africa other than Egypt's pharaohs an that slaves came from Africa, it is definitely the neglected continent in history circles.
Coming up soon will be my review of Venice: a new history, which so far is a great interesting account of the history of Venice, and by extension much of Europe.
Please let me know what you are reading and give me ideas of what to read and review next.
Keep reading,
Horace
So I recently finished reading The Emperor by Ryszard Capuscinski (probably butchered that but it's Polish and I am not) which explores accounts of the final decades of imperial rule in Ethiopia (and Eritrea which was Ethiopian at the time) in the 1960s and 1970s and the final collapse and immediate aftermath of the downfall.
In his book Ryszard gets ferried around (or claims to) Addis Ababa, the capitol city of Ethiopia, to speak to people hiding in the city who used to work in the emperor's palace mainly as bureaucrats. Much of the book is made of witness accounts by anonymous sources, since Ethiopia was a very dangerous place at the time. Surprisingly even though the nation was starving and imperial rule was not at all effective or efficient, the vast majority of the interviewees are super nostalgic for their past as palace servants and officials that they think the bad things were good. If that statement makes sense.
Unfortunately for this book it does seem that Ryszard employed his author's discretion to the narratives of his interviews because you find them incredibly articulate almost like practiced speeches that it feels like the author is punping his own artistry into the stories to make them better. Which may not be a bad thing.
On the plus side, the way the book was set up gave a real neat before-and-after perspective to the situation (at the time) in Ethiopia as the interviewees are recounting before and during the fall of emperor Haile Selassie, and then Ryszard is giving his account of his experiences travelling through Addis Ababa following the collapse of the empire. Basically it was bad before, although no tinted by nostalgia, and it was bad after.
This book did give me a great look into a genre of history that I didn't get in my public education and gave me some ideas for electives for when I go back to school in 2015, which means I am going to be so bogged down with classes if I really do take all the classes I want to.
Overall The Emperor wasn't my favorite read of the year, not even my favorite history read of the year, had some real drag to it, some grinding, boring stuff to it, but that could be seen as a necessary evil in order to fully portray the situation of imperial Ethiopia. Either way I didn't enjoy that aspect specifically.
As with all books I would recommend it because our history lessons fail to teach us anything about Africa other than Egypt's pharaohs an that slaves came from Africa, it is definitely the neglected continent in history circles.
Coming up soon will be my review of Venice: a new history, which so far is a great interesting account of the history of Venice, and by extension much of Europe.
Please let me know what you are reading and give me ideas of what to read and review next.
Keep reading,
Horace
Saturday 3 May 2014
New place to buy and new purchases
So today I went to downtown Barrie for a bit, decided to take a gander in a local bookstore down there called Bell, Book & Candle, on Dunlop St E. Found they have a lot of fictionand some philosophy hidden in the back I think I'm going to end up reading from.
After the BB&C I took a trip up to Georgian Mall to the Coles store there and since I already have bookmarks in 7 books here right now, I decided I would have a gander through what is available for the future of the Z13 Book Club. Unfortunately for my visa balance they were having a promotional sale in which they were handing out vouchers where if you bought a card you could win a percentage rebate on your purchase. How could I say no? I always have more books than I could ever hope to read.
I now own 2 new books you can expect to see in the lineup: History's Lost Treasures (Eric Chaline) and Dead Sea Scrolls: their history and myths revealed (John DeSalvo Ph.D.)
I expect to see Dead Sea Scrolls reviewed after The Che Guevara Story
Keep tuned,
Horace
After the BB&C I took a trip up to Georgian Mall to the Coles store there and since I already have bookmarks in 7 books here right now, I decided I would have a gander through what is available for the future of the Z13 Book Club. Unfortunately for my visa balance they were having a promotional sale in which they were handing out vouchers where if you bought a card you could win a percentage rebate on your purchase. How could I say no? I always have more books than I could ever hope to read.
I now own 2 new books you can expect to see in the lineup: History's Lost Treasures (Eric Chaline) and Dead Sea Scrolls: their history and myths revealed (John DeSalvo Ph.D.)
I expect to see Dead Sea Scrolls reviewed after The Che Guevara Story
Keep tuned,
Horace
Thursday 1 May 2014
Un-Think... with a hint of blink
Hi everyone, sorry for the time in between post but I have only just finished reading Unthink by Erik Wahl. Took me a while because I had a few busy nights mixed into my week where I couldn't get much reading done, but here it is now!
So Unthink is about rediscovering your creative genius, as the cover tells it. That is very accurate, more specifically the author argues that when we are children we are very young but as we grow up and get educated to enter the workforce we are made into a gear in a machine, essentially, taking our focus away from our creative side. Erik argues, and I agree, that we must bring out our creative side, our individualism, to get ahead in this world, to stand out against the thousands of other drones who would happily take our place.
In reading Unthink I eventually started to feel, especially in one middle-chapter, that Erik Wahl has been influenced by Malcolm Gladwell, who is one of my favorite authors. This feeling was eventually confirmed by Erik when he directly mentioned the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.
Overall Unthink is a great book with great insight and some great quotes from some great people. I recommend this book to anybody who's trying to get ahead in this world.
I also recommend Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (which is a note I left on the last page of my copy of Unthink) or any of Malcolm Gladwell's books for that matter.
Enjoy,
Horace
So Unthink is about rediscovering your creative genius, as the cover tells it. That is very accurate, more specifically the author argues that when we are children we are very young but as we grow up and get educated to enter the workforce we are made into a gear in a machine, essentially, taking our focus away from our creative side. Erik argues, and I agree, that we must bring out our creative side, our individualism, to get ahead in this world, to stand out against the thousands of other drones who would happily take our place.
In reading Unthink I eventually started to feel, especially in one middle-chapter, that Erik Wahl has been influenced by Malcolm Gladwell, who is one of my favorite authors. This feeling was eventually confirmed by Erik when he directly mentioned the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.
Overall Unthink is a great book with great insight and some great quotes from some great people. I recommend this book to anybody who's trying to get ahead in this world.
I also recommend Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (which is a note I left on the last page of my copy of Unthink) or any of Malcolm Gladwell's books for that matter.
Enjoy,
Horace
Wednesday 30 April 2014
YAY! NEW BOOKS!
So i got paid today so I went out and bought some new books, An Abundance of Katherines by John Green (as promised) and a book about Ethiopia: The Emperor by Ryszard Kapuscinski
Unthink has only 30 pages left, then onto the story of Che Guevara which is already started.
Expect to see my review of it this weekend before I pass it on to my friend for her to read.
Keep posted.
Horace
Unthink has only 30 pages left, then onto the story of Che Guevara which is already started.
Expect to see my review of it this weekend before I pass it on to my friend for her to read.
Keep posted.
Horace
Monday 21 April 2014
Paper people in the paper towns
Happy Easter Monday,
I just finished reading Paper Towns by John Green, literally about a half hour ago and while it's still fresh in my mind I wanna share it with you while I listen to Eins Zwei Polizei by MO-DO. First I have a little complaint about John Green's novels: I fly through them WAY too fast. I literally bought Paper Towns before lunch on Friday and here I am Monday evening, finished.
Now this is a totally minor complaint because the stories are so interesting that I stay glued and deeply desire to find out what happens. In reviewing this book I'm going spoil a bit but I think it's necessary, so deal.
Paper Towns by John Green is yet another great novel by John Green. It was so interesting I stayed glued to it in such a way that I think I may have discovered an interest in mystery novels, which this novel largely is as Quentin Jacobsen pieces together the hints left behind my Margo Roth Spiegelman. Basically Quentin and Margo have a epic night then she vanishes and he becomes an investigator trying to track her down. Hope that doesn't spoil much.
I had just finished reading Looking For Alaska (also JG) when I had started Paper Towns, and if you've read LFA, you'll understand why the moment she disappeared I thought she was dead. That might spoil a bit too... opinion time.
Overall I think it's the best John Geen novel I've read yet and I'm excited to read An Abundance Of Katherines, but I have to wait until payday (and maybe after I finish other books on my shelf) before I can buy the next novel.
If you read any of John Green's novels, especially if you like mysteries, read Paper Towns.
-Horace
I just finished reading Paper Towns by John Green, literally about a half hour ago and while it's still fresh in my mind I wanna share it with you while I listen to Eins Zwei Polizei by MO-DO. First I have a little complaint about John Green's novels: I fly through them WAY too fast. I literally bought Paper Towns before lunch on Friday and here I am Monday evening, finished.
Now this is a totally minor complaint because the stories are so interesting that I stay glued and deeply desire to find out what happens. In reviewing this book I'm going spoil a bit but I think it's necessary, so deal.
Paper Towns by John Green is yet another great novel by John Green. It was so interesting I stayed glued to it in such a way that I think I may have discovered an interest in mystery novels, which this novel largely is as Quentin Jacobsen pieces together the hints left behind my Margo Roth Spiegelman. Basically Quentin and Margo have a epic night then she vanishes and he becomes an investigator trying to track her down. Hope that doesn't spoil much.
I had just finished reading Looking For Alaska (also JG) when I had started Paper Towns, and if you've read LFA, you'll understand why the moment she disappeared I thought she was dead. That might spoil a bit too... opinion time.
Overall I think it's the best John Geen novel I've read yet and I'm excited to read An Abundance Of Katherines, but I have to wait until payday (and maybe after I finish other books on my shelf) before I can buy the next novel.
If you read any of John Green's novels, especially if you like mysteries, read Paper Towns.
-Horace
Sunday 20 April 2014
Looking For Alaska
So I just finished reading my second John Green book so far, a little jewel called Looking For Alaska. I do mean jewel when I say it, this novel got great at about the second chapter which hasn't happened often to me and it was quite a roller coaster although the last bit seemed to be coasting down off the event at the book's midpoint. I can't really tell you too much about Looking For Alaska without spoiling it for you but that event right in the middle [roughly] of the novel is such a kicker that you can't believe it to be true even when the book ends and it totally was.
The kicker in this novel was so strong that now that I am reading Paper Towns by John Green I'm expecting it to happen again even though it's another story entirely.
John Green bases some of his books on settings in his real life, and Culver Creek is one of those. I know from watching John Green's youtube channel that it is based on the boarding school he went to and the pranking he did. Knowing that it's hard to figure out where reality ends and fiction begins in this book.
Overall Looking For Alaska is one of my must reads, great book, better than Will Grayson Will Grayson which was my first review on this page. I highly recommend it.
-Horace
The kicker in this novel was so strong that now that I am reading Paper Towns by John Green I'm expecting it to happen again even though it's another story entirely.
John Green bases some of his books on settings in his real life, and Culver Creek is one of those. I know from watching John Green's youtube channel that it is based on the boarding school he went to and the pranking he did. Knowing that it's hard to figure out where reality ends and fiction begins in this book.
Overall Looking For Alaska is one of my must reads, great book, better than Will Grayson Will Grayson which was my first review on this page. I highly recommend it.
-Horace
Saturday 19 April 2014
New purchases
Hey, so I went out to the mall today because I wanted another John Green novel and also because I wanted some beef pad sew. So I hit up Cole's Bookstore in the mall and bought Paper Towns by John Green and The Story of Che Guevara by Lucia Alvarez de Toledo.
Having just finished reading Looking For Alaska by John Green I was really in the mood for more John Green, even though it's teen fiction and I haven't been a teen for seven years. Anyways I've had Paper Towns for about four hours now and I'm already five chapters into it. At this rate my review of Paper Towns is likely to come out before my review of Looking for Alaska. I think my professional side may prevent that from happening though. :P
Anyways, stay tuned for Looking For Alaska this weekend, and maybe Paper Towns next weekend.
-Horace
Having just finished reading Looking For Alaska by John Green I was really in the mood for more John Green, even though it's teen fiction and I haven't been a teen for seven years. Anyways I've had Paper Towns for about four hours now and I'm already five chapters into it. At this rate my review of Paper Towns is likely to come out before my review of Looking for Alaska. I think my professional side may prevent that from happening though. :P
Anyways, stay tuned for Looking For Alaska this weekend, and maybe Paper Towns next weekend.
-Horace
Sunday 13 April 2014
Wine Bar Theory, a shorty
So I just read David Gilbertson's Wine Bar Theory, a short book on Gilbertson's philosphy of how to
go about business in order to succeed. This book is very easy to read, the words are very large and very bold and there's no complicated thinking in it. There's really not a whole lot of anything in the book itself. There are a lot of cartoon images placed as metaphors of the ideas put forth in the chapters. There are also many quotes from inspirational people within the book's pages, typicaly on red pages. The layout of the book basically just tells you a rule of Wine Bar Theory then goes into a little detail about how to go about following this rule.
Wine Bar Theory is written in such a way that it is specifically talking about businesses, corporations and such. I feel that if you ponder over the rules in its pages you will be able to adapt them to other facets of your life aswell in order to improve yourself.
Overall this book makes for good light literature, I recommend it as bathroom literature so that you can savour it for more than an hour.
---Horace
Wednesday 9 April 2014
The Catcher in the Pie
Hey welcome back to the Z13 book club, this week I just finished reading The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger, a classic of english literature. For the purpose of this post I'm just going to refer to the book as Catcher.
I'm sure many of you out there have already read Catcher, in high school most likely, or seen John Green's videos on it on Youtube, but this is my first time ever reading it. I find it useful to read an old book every so often.
So the novel Catcher follows this teen boy name Holden Caulfield and is narrated from him remembering the events a year later. Holden recounts how at the age of sixteen, just before christmas vacation, he is flunking out of his school and instead of sticking around to the end of the semester, leaves a few days early and goes home to New York. Holden doesn't get along with people too well, and keeps trying to get people to listen to him, but nobody does until the end. In the novel Holden basically bums around new york for a weekend, asking some very peculiar questions, but if you pay attention there is deeper meaning than what lies on the surface.
Catcher reads like a book much bigger than it is. In the edition I read the chapters simply started immediately after the previous one ended and if you're like me that is annoying because when I stop reading I stop before the beginning of the first new paragraph on that page, which not only mean I could stop a paragraph into a chapter, but sometimes a paragraph could span three pages, Salinger wasn't the most artful with the paragraph.
I found Catcher started a bit too slow, it was hard to keep interested in the beginning while he was still at his boarding school or when he had first arrived in New York, but leater, maybe the last 75 pages, kept me glued to the book in a way that I had to finish it before I moved on to something else.
I recommend Catcher to anyone out there who likes fiction. It is a good read but also a good way to see how some of your favorite writers were inspired (like John Green) and the character of Holden Caulfield may even remind you of someone you know.
Enjoy
P.S.
Here is a link to John Green's Crash Course episode on Catcher (1 of 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R66eQLLOins&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtOeEc9ME62zTfqc0h6Pe8vb
-Horace
I'm sure many of you out there have already read Catcher, in high school most likely, or seen John Green's videos on it on Youtube, but this is my first time ever reading it. I find it useful to read an old book every so often.
So the novel Catcher follows this teen boy name Holden Caulfield and is narrated from him remembering the events a year later. Holden recounts how at the age of sixteen, just before christmas vacation, he is flunking out of his school and instead of sticking around to the end of the semester, leaves a few days early and goes home to New York. Holden doesn't get along with people too well, and keeps trying to get people to listen to him, but nobody does until the end. In the novel Holden basically bums around new york for a weekend, asking some very peculiar questions, but if you pay attention there is deeper meaning than what lies on the surface.
Catcher reads like a book much bigger than it is. In the edition I read the chapters simply started immediately after the previous one ended and if you're like me that is annoying because when I stop reading I stop before the beginning of the first new paragraph on that page, which not only mean I could stop a paragraph into a chapter, but sometimes a paragraph could span three pages, Salinger wasn't the most artful with the paragraph.
I found Catcher started a bit too slow, it was hard to keep interested in the beginning while he was still at his boarding school or when he had first arrived in New York, but leater, maybe the last 75 pages, kept me glued to the book in a way that I had to finish it before I moved on to something else.
I recommend Catcher to anyone out there who likes fiction. It is a good read but also a good way to see how some of your favorite writers were inspired (like John Green) and the character of Holden Caulfield may even remind you of someone you know.
Enjoy
P.S.
Here is a link to John Green's Crash Course episode on Catcher (1 of 2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R66eQLLOins&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtOeEc9ME62zTfqc0h6Pe8vb
-Horace
Saturday 5 April 2014
Coming soon
Hey just wanna give an update of what I'm reading and what you can expect to see on this blog in the future.
Planning to buy Looking for Alaska by John Green and The Book Theif by Markus Zusak, if I do get another John Green book you can expect to see it soon since they're usually easy reading, also there's a new book out by Michael Lewis I may look into.
Here's a list of what I have on the go right now which one could expect to see in a blog here:
-Laurence in Arabia (not solely the story of Laurence of arabia)
-Speeches that changed the world
-Catcher in the rye by JD Salinger
-Field of Dishonor (book 4 of David Weber's Honor Harrington series)
-Social Physics by Alex Pentland
-Happy Cities
That's what's on the horizon right this minute, likely candidates are Catcher or Alaska
Stay Tuned :)
Planning to buy Looking for Alaska by John Green and The Book Theif by Markus Zusak, if I do get another John Green book you can expect to see it soon since they're usually easy reading, also there's a new book out by Michael Lewis I may look into.
Here's a list of what I have on the go right now which one could expect to see in a blog here:
-Laurence in Arabia (not solely the story of Laurence of arabia)
-Speeches that changed the world
-Catcher in the rye by JD Salinger
-Field of Dishonor (book 4 of David Weber's Honor Harrington series)
-Social Physics by Alex Pentland
-Happy Cities
That's what's on the horizon right this minute, likely candidates are Catcher or Alaska
Stay Tuned :)
Thursday 3 April 2014
Will Grayson, Will Grayson, wherefore art thou Will Grayson?
Hey for my first post on my new blog I'm gonna tell you about the novel Will Grayson Will Grayson (or WGWG for short) which I have recently read and will be coming out in a vlog at somepoint done by my friend Rush Softly.
It was a pretty good read, it's 310 pages that I finished in two days, and on the second day I also moved on and started another book. Of course it helps that it's teen fiction so being 26 and an avid reader it wasn't too daunting to get through. Also the way the dialogue is printed it takes up a lot of room on the page without a lot of content. That being said it was still a good read and has inspired me to read more by John Green.
WGWG is unlike many books that I have read because it discusses sexual orientation in teenagers and homosexuality is a common theme throughout, which shocked me a bit in the beginning because a lot of what I read is either fact based or science fiction. Nobody worries about their sexual orientation when three-armed aliens are shooting at you.
To give a little overview without revealing too much about the book, WGWG follows two teen boys, can you guess their names? That's right they're C'thulu--er, I mean Will Grayson. One Will is trying to hide in the shadows and not be noticed, the other is uber emo-goth-ish and not yet openly gay, although he's super open with a boy online who he has never met. The two Wills meet up in chicago one night and their lives intertwine in interesting ways. The writing is noticeably different between the Wills, straight Will has proper grammar with the occasional John Green combi-word such as 'insomuch.' Gay Will's narrative has no capital letters in it at all except once which is in such an insignificat spot I think it was a typo. The novel changes perspective every chapter between the Will Graysons back and forth, which is a neat piece. This alternating view point really makes the book even parts John Green and David Levithan.
Overall the book was an excellent read, kept me into it, and worth the purchase. Tune into youtube this summer for a vlog book-report about it.
It was a pretty good read, it's 310 pages that I finished in two days, and on the second day I also moved on and started another book. Of course it helps that it's teen fiction so being 26 and an avid reader it wasn't too daunting to get through. Also the way the dialogue is printed it takes up a lot of room on the page without a lot of content. That being said it was still a good read and has inspired me to read more by John Green.
WGWG is unlike many books that I have read because it discusses sexual orientation in teenagers and homosexuality is a common theme throughout, which shocked me a bit in the beginning because a lot of what I read is either fact based or science fiction. Nobody worries about their sexual orientation when three-armed aliens are shooting at you.
To give a little overview without revealing too much about the book, WGWG follows two teen boys, can you guess their names? That's right they're C'thulu--er, I mean Will Grayson. One Will is trying to hide in the shadows and not be noticed, the other is uber emo-goth-ish and not yet openly gay, although he's super open with a boy online who he has never met. The two Wills meet up in chicago one night and their lives intertwine in interesting ways. The writing is noticeably different between the Wills, straight Will has proper grammar with the occasional John Green combi-word such as 'insomuch.' Gay Will's narrative has no capital letters in it at all except once which is in such an insignificat spot I think it was a typo. The novel changes perspective every chapter between the Will Graysons back and forth, which is a neat piece. This alternating view point really makes the book even parts John Green and David Levithan.
Overall the book was an excellent read, kept me into it, and worth the purchase. Tune into youtube this summer for a vlog book-report about it.
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