Wednesday, September 29, 2010

America - The Book

America - The Book

Hello America! What are you doing during Banned Book Week? I know I got myself a bonfire going and ready to burn these books! But the question remains, which books should I burn and which ones should I actually read? I wish there was a way to help me decide which is which!

I went to Amazon to look for some books to burn and I found something comical. You see, I learn that despite my previous belief, America has read a book once and a while. Maybe I should take a moment to see what they have to say about them.

FARENHEIT 451

It was one of the most boring books i have ever read in my life.Why everyone in this society is so narrow-minded.Mildred is the most stupid woman i have ever read for and beatty is one of the biggest liar.So i think Bradbury was probably drunk while he was writing this book.

quote:

Confusing, disturbing, and stupid are some of the few words to use when describing this book. Firemen who start fires?? Come on. Burning every book that exists, this isn't a look into the future. It's a look into Bradbury's twisted little mind. Bottom Line.... Don't waste your time.

quote:

I enjoy historical fictions, so I knew "Fahrenheit 451" was not my style, but I thought I would give it a go anyway. Well, I hated it. I did not like Ray Bradbury's style and I think he needs help! Who in their right mind would think of our world becoming so controlling and horrible? There are a lot of unanswered questions and undefined terms in this book, so you better get the Cliff's Notes, because without them, you'll be lost. Do not be surprised if you do not finish this book quickly, either! I did find the subject of book banning and censorship interesting, but I think it could have been told differently. I do not recommend this book!

quote:

This book doesn't deserve one star. It deserves negative 1000 stars. This was the WORST book I have ever read. The book moved to slow, and the characters are stupid. Guy Montag, the main character, is a fireman who sets books on fire, becuase homes are fireproof. Then he meets this crazy girl nmaed Clairese who rambles about dumb stuff of the past that is not important like (Did you know that one time billboards were only 20 feet long, instead of 200) WHO CARES?!?! If there is one book that deserves to be burnt it is this.
There's reviews on amazon from the late 1990's. It in a sense a time capsule of the ideas of the people. Not that that's a good thing.

But lets move on to the next book...

Animal Farm

quote:

This is george orwells take on the russian revolution that tells lies and myths after another. I would suggest that others read historical tracts to reveal Orwells obivious bias and work for the british ruling class. He maligns the great achievements of the working class in the soviet union to animalism, also how human can change and create a better society. Eventhough the SU had its imperections and finally in the 1950s returned to capitalism(which they called socialism).

quote:

i love animals and if you like animals this book is not for you. at first i thought it was going to be great but then it turned into a huge discrace. i would not reckomend this book to anyone that doesn't want to be sad or depressed

Summer reading class!!!

quote:

This book sucks so bad I couldn't even get through it. I quit reading it before chapter three. I would not recommend this book to anyone you will waste your time and in the end or whenever you throw it away you'll be asking yourself who would write a book with talking animals?

quote:

Unlike many reviewers, I was not conned into reading this book for some sort of academic project, but rather for personal enjoyment. I expected nothing more than another great work by George Orwell, whose book 1984 was nothing short of a masterpiece. But let me tell you, Animal Farm is a disgrace. It is nothing more than an ameture application of talking farm animals to characters in the Russian Revolution. Nothing more. Nothing new. Honestly, it is simply that simple: farm animals applied to a historical account of the Russian Revolution; this is the extent of the so-called 'symbolysm'. If i wished to simply apply idiotic and stupid talking pigs, dogs and horses to the Nazis, France and the US in World War II, my 'masterpiece' would be equally as good as this 'symbolic work of art'. I find it tragic that people believe that something so simple and dumbfounded is 'symbolism', and that something so unbearably torturously difficult to read can be considered 'great' only because it integrates lowly 'symbolism'. I mean what I say when I tell you that abssolutely anyone could write this disgusting disgrace to literature. I wanted to like this book.

quote:

This book was terible. I was forced into reading this book in school. Which is no surprise, this is exactly the kind of book our government wants to force people to read, so they hand it to schools, and try to force us to read it. This book was written by a insane man named George Orwell, who hated society, and displayed that by bashing humanity, and making people look like lower lifeforms than animals. He used pigs to potray govermnent officials (which isn't a bad choice if you ask me), horses for hard working people, dogs as SS troops, etc... Throught this entire book, he constantly tries to show that humans are sick people, that will corrupt no matter what happens. To be honest I think this man is crazy and needs to be locked up.

Woah woah woah woah woah WOAH! woah. Are you telling me that the animals... represent something other than the animals?! Now that's crazy talk! I have to say it. Orwell had serious pacing issues.

Animal farm is Trotskyite polemic disguised as literature and the fact that it's taught to children is an absolute disgrace. For whatever reason we watched the animated cartoon in high school and it was hilarious to see just how vehemently anti-communist it was. There was no subtlety in the animation.

There was no subtlety in the animation; snowball was bossy and sly, and napoleon was a slobbering monster. Not to mention that they changed the ending to where the animals realize they've been duped and they overthrow their evil pig masters.

Little known fact, but did you know that it was funded by the CIA?

It's really sad that animal farm is literally all most people know about communism and proves exactly how dangerous revisionism is. Then again, the jokes on me if I think most people have actually read animal farm.

What's next for the fire?

For the Win

quote:

You can't sum up For The Win, by comparing it to other books. Instead when you think of it you have to take pieces from many different entertainment icons. For example when I try to describe For The Win, I would compare it to a combination of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, Halo, and the movie The Sting. Only after having considered all of these pieces can you get an inkling of what For The Win is like.

And yet it is more than all of that. For The Win also included important and accurate descriptions of financial definitions and schemes, such as buying futures, economies of scale, and even a ponzi scheme. But these inter-chapters detailing financial issues are critical to understanding the book, and so I was amazed at how well Doctorow is able to convey these issues to the reader.

But as I mentioned For The Win is more than that. It is an enthralling action packed novel that has detailed memorable characters, detailed plot twists, and an engaging story. Because of this I would recommend this book to anyone, teen or adult, as it is an exceptional novel that both teaches and entertains, a rare feat in any book. And so everyone should go out and get it today.

Discussions about books typically always are nauseating, especially around educated people. Maybe this is why I prefer the company of non-readers. Most avid readers are cynical and damp and obsessed with elevating themselves above others through a taste in "eclectic" or "accomplished" books.

When you factor everything, books are no better at illuminating the human condition than the Top 40 pop songs or a drunken bar fight. I have to say that I get really irritated when someone asks me what I'm reading. I usually just default and say that I'm reading the Koran.

Successful candidates in 50 years will be comparing their opponents to Voldemort and Sauron and claiming that Washington is as dysfunctional as "The Office" God save us all.

It would be like me suggesting you pick up Homage to Catalonia so you could see how it's possible to leave your goddamn keyboards and pick up a rifle. Orwell literally went and joined the republican forces in the Spanish civil war and fought in the trenches. Got a lot of stuff about how anarcho syndicalism was actually functional for a bit and how Stalin boned the government basically helped usher in Franco.

Now one more review for the road. But in this one, we're going to play a little game I like to call...

NAME THAT BOOK!

It's very simple. Here's the review, its your job to find out which book it is....

quote:

I personally don't read that many books, but this is one of the worst books I ever read. First, they're are too many characters. This book has too many characters that I can't remember even one of them in my head. They include many minor characters that nobody cares so you get confused about it. Second, it has too many mini-stories. It has lots of short stories that doesn't relate to any of the other stories and they are usually pretty boring.. It's like writing every detail of your every day life. I cannot believe that it saids on the behind that it is one of the greatest American literature and I would definitely not recommend to anyone.

If you said Catch-22, you can pat yourself on the back.

On a final note, Brave New World deserves every negative review it gets.

No comments: