My first leap into the world of Kurt Vonnegut was Cat's Cradle. That book left my head spinning with questions and wonThose damned big brains of ours.
My first leap into the world of Kurt Vonnegut was Cat's Cradle. That book left my head spinning with questions and wonder. "What the hell did I just read?" It wasn't until I looked up other reviews and saw that it was a satirical look into religion and science, about the dangers and safety of both. That's when I saw how awesome of an author he is.
Galapagos left me with more questions than answers. That's a great thing.
The story left me in a stupor. Whenever I finished a chapter, I would be in awe of how Vonnegut would describe certain things with some sort of magic. It is impossible to read his work and not have a smirk painted on your face or to audibly laugh out loud in public. There is a certain touch he has, a way with words if you will, that brings events to life.
The theme in Galapagos is humanity, evolution, and heredity. Humans are capable of committing the worst atrocities and at the same time have the ability to be kind and generous. The protagonist of this story is our brains, that lump of meat that lives comfortably in our skulls that makes both good and bad decisions. It can tell us to hurt someone or even hurt ourselves. It can help create a beautiful symphony or paint a gorgeous work of art. It can create weapons that can wipe out whole countries.
The following is taken from my notes when I was about half way through:
"Humans can be dumb and stupid. Humankind has made SO MANY MISTAKES. Genocide. Ecocide. Constant constant war. Pillaging. Gluttony. Greed. Rape of a fellow human and rape of our planet's resources. Racism. However, humankind can be good. Kind. Charitable. Helpful. Nice. Friendly. We are capable of self sacrifice in order to save someone else. We donate to those in need. We can empathize with others."
I will end my review with the quote Vonnegut used to begin this enlightening and witty story:
" In spite of everything, I still believe people are really good at heart." --Anne Frank (1929-1944)...more
I first discovered Calvin and Hobbes when I was 10 years old. I wandered over to the book section of our local Pathmark (a convenience store) and the I first discovered Calvin and Hobbes when I was 10 years old. I wandered over to the book section of our local Pathmark (a convenience store) and the colorful cover caught my eye. I instantly became enamored with the wonderful artwork and hilarious situations that the duo constantly found themselves in.
Re-reading it now at 36 years old and as a parent of two toddlers, I have a new found appreciation for this work. Calvin's parents are constantly yelling and punishing him for his crazy and destructive antics, and who can blame them? Kids will drive you up the wall for sure. But I also found myself asking why not the the kid have some fun? He has one hell of an imagination, and one that should be nurtured, I think.
This thought came to me as a sudden revelation. Let kids be kids. Let them have fun and explore and think and nurture their imagination. I told myself, "Don't become Calvin's parents."
Between all the humor and excitement are moments of philosophical thinking by this six year old kid and his stuffed tiger doll. Calvin and Hobbes sometimes discuss profound questions about life or ponder about death and all its mysteries. I found myself taking a moment to brood over these questions myself. All this from a comic!
A truly wonderful work by the talented Bill Watterson and an absolute joy to devour once again. Maybe I'll wait another decade or so for another reading and will hopefully glean even more knowledge....more
**spoiler alert** Confusion. I don't know where to begin. This was my first time reading Vonnegut and I didn't have the slightest clue as to what to e**spoiler alert** Confusion. I don't know where to begin. This was my first time reading Vonnegut and I didn't have the slightest clue as to what to expect. Reviews that I had read online about Cat's Cradle made the story sound so weird and confusing. And it is.
Bokonism is a fictitious religion in which practically everyone on the small island of San Lorenzo practices. It was started by a man named Bokonon. It is practiced in hiding because the current president of the island, "Papa" Monzano, will kill anyone who claims they are a Bokononist. How are they killed? By being hung onto a giant hook by the stomach until they die.
Except "Papa" Monzano is a Bokononist too. Everyone is. And then there's Ice-Nine, which is a chemical made by a scientist that freezes all the water in the whole wide world. Which was made to stop U.S. Marines from having to trudge through mud. Our narrator John seeks to interview the inventor of the atom bomb Dr. Hoenikker.
There is a message here somewhere. Religion and war. Science. I just haven't figured it out yet. Would I read Vonnegut's other works? I think I will....more
There exists a remarkable book in our universe with the words "Don't Panic" on the front cover printed in large friendlEdit 5.25.23 -- Life is absurd.
There exists a remarkable book in our universe with the words "Don't Panic" on the front cover printed in large friendly letters that was published in one of the corporations in Ursa Minor that no Earthling has ever heard of.
It's called The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and if you're out and about exploring the different planetery systems in the Milky Way you better bring a copy with you along with your handy dandy towel. No hitchhiker should be without the guide and their towel!
We follow Author Dent and his friend Ford Prefect on their adventures around the universe. They eventually meet up with the President of the Galaxy Zaphod Beeblebrox and fly around in the amazing and wierdest ship ever made named the Heart of Gold. Throw in a depressed and near-suicidal robot named Marvin and the good times just keep on rolling in!
This is the 1st book in the trilogy of 5 books and Douglas Adams is the hilariously funny and sarcastic author of this gem. I loved it. It was awesome. So don't be a hoopy frood and make yourself a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, insert the Babel Fish inside your ear, buy this book at your local galactic bookstore and immerse yourself in this quirky sci-fi adventure!...more
Do you like 80's culture? The rockin' music, the awesome movies and most of all, the amazing and classic video games? If so, you will most likely enjoDo you like 80's culture? The rockin' music, the awesome movies and most of all, the amazing and classic video games? If so, you will most likely enjoy this book. Maybe.
I enjoy all of those things, especially video games. I love them. So when I had heard that this book was heavy into video games and everything 80's, I was naturally excited to jump right in. The story is about a virtual reality simulation video game that everyone in the world plays called the OASIS created by a genius named James Halliday. The year is 2044 and the world is in shambles. Global warming has ruined the planet and the economy is in a Great Recession. The only escape from this terrible reality is logging into the OASIS, where you can create a whole new perfect life.
You can jump into many different worlds in the OASIS. You want to buy an X-Wing and fly around in the Star Wars Universe? Go for it. How about playing some games INSIDE Tron? Or play as Mario in Super Mario World? The choices are yours and they are limitless.
However, I have to say that I have a love/hate relationship with the book. I found the constant references to movies and video games a bit redundant and overwhelming after a while to the point where I wanted the story to continue but Cline would dedicate too much time explaining references. I consider myself to be in the demographic that he is aiming for and I still think it was a bit too much at times.
The writing is simplistic (I didn't know until after buying it that the book is categorized as Young Adult reading) and at times cheesy and cringe-worthy. Now granted the main characters are all young, about 18-20 years old, but some of the dialogue between them had my head spinning. There is also a teenage love story that made the hair on my arm crawl and my eyes twitch. It has the stereotypical "I love her but she doesn't love me back and we break up and get back together again" nonsense.
In conclusion, I enjoyed the book for what it was, an homage to 80's nostalgia. RPO has a great plot but it has too many speed-bumps and it kept throwing me off the road. I wanted to stop reading it at times and at the same time I couldn't put it down. Again, a love/hate thing. If you are a self proclaimed nerd then I would recommend giving it a shot....more
Douglas Adams, the witty author of the hilarious series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, joins forces with zoologist Mark Carwardine to travel aroDouglas Adams, the witty author of the hilarious series The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, joins forces with zoologist Mark Carwardine to travel around the world. They visit the darkest parts of Africa to the lush island of Mauritius and some places in between to find and photograph animals that are endangered and close to extinction.
The duo visit the elusive silverback gorillas in Zaire and are astonished at how human-like our distance ancestors are, noting one of the apes contemplating life as it lay on the ground looking at a swaying leaf blowing in the wind. They also visit the creepy looking aye-aye, the dangerous Komodo dragon, the chubby flightless Kakapo parrot and the rare northern white rhino. Their travels allows them to also visit other animals as well.
If you are familiar with Douglas Adams then you should be familiar with his witty, sarcastic and his British dry humor. There were parts where I laughed out loud at the adventures these guys would come across as they made there way around the different countries. Other chapters will make you feel guilty and a bit ashamed of what our fellow humans have done in the past concerning the health and safety of our fellow animal friends.
Adams is very descriptive and you can almost feel as if you are right next to him on this journey. I googled some of the animals and while most of them did manage to thrive thanks to the efforts of the hard working conservationists and other groups however one of the species was sadly listed "functionally extinct" which means that if any are left at all, there isn't enough in the population to sustain them for much longer before they are fully gone.
Global warming and the continuous burning of fossil fuels increases the likely-hood that more species may become lost forever unless we can come together and continue to do our part with maintaining the jungles and forests and oceans of our planet. Let's try to not add any more animals to the endangered list and learn from our mistakes!...more
Loading...
