Commentary: This looks like a comfortable and warm place to read during these cold days. You can even read on the extension of the fireplace for extra warmth: you just need a blanket, perhaps another pillow and, of course, a good book. The orange colour is invigorating and uplifting for the spirit.
Details: Location and artist
unknown, not given in original post.
People have different tastes. This is good.
The world would be a very boring place if we were all alike. This is also true
when it comes to books. Recently, I have been reading reviews and
ratings of the books I read on Goodreads and I noticed that virtually every
book has all the ratings – from one to five stars. Of course some books have
more five-star ratings and almost none one-star rating, and the other way
around.
So far so good. However, what bothered me
was seeing so much hate some one-star raters expressed towards certain books
they did not like. The top of it was a commentary that said a particular book
should be BURNED and the writer of this review says the author of this book was
condemned to hell by writing the book in question.
It is perfectly all right to dislike a
book. It is perfectly fine to say so. But I was and still am appalled by that
comment. Book burning? Such a hateful statement. Are not people entitled to
form their own opinion based on their own reading? I think they are, no matter
which book it concerns.
It made me go over some of my reviews and
see whether I am imposing my opinion on anyone. I think not. I hope not. I try
not to. What do you think? Please do tell me if you think I might be doing this,
because it is the last thing I want as I know how awful it looks like.
I dislike some books too. In my reviews I
say why it is so and I usually add who probably would not like the book. But I
try not to force my opinion on others. The same goes for the books I like. I
realize some of my reviews are very enthusiastic, but I think I make it clear
enough others may think differently. I also state this in my review policy. And
I wholeheartedly mean it.
Anyone can like or dislike any book and
express their opinion. But I think it is necessary to allow other people do the
same. Tolerance and peaceful cohabitation in this world starts with little
things, books included.
What do you think? When it comes to a book
you dislike or that is against your beliefs, do you discourage other people
from reading it? Or, would you condemn people for reading certain kinds of
books?
I must say that judging from the reviews by
you, my fellow book bloggers, this post is preaching to the choir. I have not
seen any hateful reviews on any book blog so far since I started blogging more
than a year ago. I am very happy about it.
Now, I am done with preaching and I
apologise for it. Please, feel free to express your opinion about the questions in this
post or anything related in the comments.
SUMMARY (from Goodreads): A Doll's House is the
story of Nora Helmer who has secretly borrowed a large sum of money to help her
husband recover from a serious illness. Nora who has borrowed this money by
forging her father's signature soon discovers the value of the relationship she
has with her husband, Torvald, when he becomes the director of the bank that
employs the man, Nils Krogstad, who has lent the money to Nora. When it is
discovered that Nils has commited a forgery himself, Nils threatens to reveal
Nora's secret to her husband if she does not convince Torvald to allow Nils to
keep his position at the bank. A Doll's
House is a gripping drama about a failing, loveless marriage.
MY OPINION:
In the
beginning A Doll’s House just seemed
ridiculous. I did not like Nora, who acted as a spoiled, wasteful, silly woman.
I disliked Torvald even more, because he was treating Nora as a toy, a doll who
does not have her own mind but has to do everything as he says, thinking
included.
Although
Nora grows a spine and becomes rather likeable at the end, there is one thing
about what she does that I do not approve of. Also, the story line of other
characters is wrapped up rather quickly and is not entirely convincing.
Nevertheless,
this play is an interesting read; it is fast-paced, and the course of action
and the characters are easily imaginable. The resolution is not predictable at
all; I never expected it to end the way it does.
RECOMMENDATION: A Doll’s House is an enticing read about a failed
relationship and people pushing after a desired social status.
Sing, you sinners! Or dance. Or both! Just
have some fun, as we used to do.
And boy did we know how to have fun during
the 1920s and 1930s! Surely, there were Prohibition and the Great Depression,
all the more reason to get some distraction and have a good time.
This was The Jazz Age, and there was jazz being played everywhere: in
dance halls, roadhouses and speakeasies all over the country. The good would
call it the devil’s music in the beginning, but soon everybody would enjoy it.
Now, the kind of jazz that was immensely
popular with the majority back then is now called “sweet music” and the music
that people consider today as “jazz” was played by minorities and called “hot
music” or “race music.”
This was also the era of Broadway’s prime
years, opening over 50 new musicals a year. Musical comedies gained their
popularity not only through being entertaining, but also for their quality, as
the jazz pieces were composed by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Vincent
Youmans among others.
Paul Whiteman, known as the King of Jazz,
was the most popular bandleader in the 1920s. He was the one who commissioned
Gershwin’s jazz-influenced Rhapsody in
Blue for his orchestra.
This is an abridged version of Rhapsody in Blue, as used in Whiteman’s
talkingpicture called King of Jazz. Click on YouTube description for more information.
One of the most successful singers of the
20th century, Bing Crosby, launched his career being hired for Paul
Whiteman’s orchestra. Soon, Crosby’s songs topped bestselling lists.
Out
of Nowhere was Crosby’s first number one solo hit:
The main centre of developing “hot jazz”
was our good old Chicago, and the leading force of the genre was King Oliver
whose songs are still regularly played, for example Sweet
like This.
You can find more information about King
Oliver here.
King Oliver was a mentor to Louis
Armstrong, whom he greatly influenced. He was the composer of one of
Armstrong’s most famous recordings, West
End Blues:
Louis Armstrong’s band Hot Five popularised
scant singing, that is: improvised singing with wordless vocables, nonsense
syllables or without words at all, which means singers sing improvised melodies
and rhythms, creating the equivalent of an instrumental solo with their voice.
The greatest scant singer in jazz history is considered to be Ella Fitzgerald,
who was highly influenced by The Boswell Sisters, especially Connee Boswell,
immensely popular during the 1930s via recordings and radio. Their #1 hit was The Object of My Affection (find more on
The Boswell Sisters in the description here):
The genre which had a great impact on jazz
prior and during the 1920s and 1930s was blues.
The most famous female blues singer and one of the best singers of her era was
Bessie Smith.
In 1930s, Bessie Smith changed her style
into something fitting the swing era. Swing
evolved from jazz and became a trendy new distinctive style in the second half
of the 1930s. some of the most prominent big band leaders were Harry James,
Benny Goodman, and the Dorsey Brothers, who often helped launch the careers of
vocalists who later became famous as solo artists.
One of the most popular songs of the time
was Stardust, recorded by anyone from
Louis Armstrong and Glenn Miller to our very own (allegedly) Frank Sinatra.
Let me conclude with Sinatra’s recording of
Stardust with Harry James and his
orchestra.
WIN this great multi-title
DVD, which includes four of the best
gangster movies that were
ever made. Host your own 1930s mobster movie
marathon!
About: There are four
vintage films included on this DVD.
The Public Enemy (1931) - A taut, realistic time capsule of the
Prohibition Era, showcasing James Cagney's powerhouse breakthrough as
a streetwise tough guy who rises high in the bootleg racket.
The Roaring Twenties (1939) - Screen legends Humphrey Bogart
and Ida Lupino star in this soulful study of a gangster whose
hard-boiled persona finds itself at war with his compassionate side -
a side that will ultimately be his downfall.
Little Caesar (1930) - Loosely based on the life of real-life
Prohibition-era mobster, the infamous Al Capone. Edward G. Robinson
rocketed to stardom as a pugnacious hoodlum who murderously rises to
the top ranks of the underworld.
Smart Money (1931) - In their only screen teaming, Little
Caesar's Edward G. Robinson leads the way and The Public
Enemy's James Cagney rides shotgun in this brisk tale of barbers
who go from cutting hair to cutting in on the gambling racket.
(Source: Amazon product description)
HOW TO PLAY - there are four steps, but they're all fun and easy
to do:
1. Leave a comment on
this post, giving your take on this question: What was your favorite
music track of the era and why? Feel free to sign it with your own
mobster nickname or syndicate, or Twitter name.
2. Comment on ANY other
second Guys and Molls post. (Browse event schedule)
3. Comment on ANY other
third Guys and Molls post.
4. Share a link to ANY
Guys and Molls post on Twitter.
Note: Please remember to
include email address in entry form so you can be contacted if you win.
Additional info:
International. DVD is region 1/NTSC but should play on multi-region
player.
Winner will be selected
at random using random.org.
SUMMARY (from Goodreads):She is pretty and talented – sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He is
seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have
fallen in love. But... they are brother and sister.
MY OPINION:
Incest is something usually regarded as abominable. However, I could not find one thing
that would be even remotely disgusting in the relationship between Lochan and
Maya. Not one. On the contrary, I felt deep sympathy for these two characters
throughout the book.
The relationship between Maya and Lochan is well-developped and perfectly paced, their feelings pristine; they are extremely likable characters from the start on. Their love is pure and strong, and seems so right. Despite knowing they had virtually no chance for a happy ending, I really hoped they somehow make it through.
In spite of being centred on Lochan and Maya, Forbidden is also a book about kids who are being let down by
their parents as well as by the society in general. The latter is not
surprising – institutions are rigid and unfeeling towards particular
circumstances of an individual. Naturally, I wish it could be different. Even more disturbing to me is the attitude of the
parents in this book.
I know a
little bit of how it feels to have to grow up too early, to take care of
yourself and your parent instead of your parent taking care of you, though, thankfully, my experience was not as bad as described in this book. This is the
reason why I can understand the difficulty of the situation for these kids. I
can relate to their covering up for their mother and their fear of being
separated. In the end, nothing is more important than family staying together,
all the more so if the siblings are the only real family left.
I cannot say how I detest the mother in this book. She is a self-centred, selfish excuse for a mother, a woman who should not have had children, acting towards them the way she is.
Forbidden is not only a well-written, but also a beautifully
written book. Suzuma’s writing brings the characters to life, her clearly
substantiated language enabling the reader to understand the characters
feelings and actions.
Although I
expected Forbidden to end badly, I did not anticipate it to end in such a way.
I cried myself though the last two chapters. The saddest thing of all to me was
how everything fell apart because of one silly unfortunate event.
This is a very valuable lesson from this book: it takes only one little thing to ruin everything. It is the
eternal “what if” question – what if somebody did something differently. Hence,
one of the most important lessons one can learn from Forbidden is to be sensitive to how what we do affects other
people.
SPOILER (highlight if you want to see it): The possibility of how differently could the story end if Kit's teacher had not humiliated him – although probably unintentionally – in front of the entire class makes it all the more sad. It is a good reminder, not only for me as a teacher, but for everyone, that even our tiniest, presumably innocent actions can have a devastating effect on other people. END OF SPOILER.
RECOMMENDATION: All I can say is: read this book. Even if you think it
is not exactly your kind of read. Even if you think you will be disturbed by
some things. It is meant to be this way. Forbidden
gives you a lot to feel, to think about, and to learn.
Kings of the boardwalk
empire – Atlantic City's real-life wise guys
and Reviews
from my First Reads Shelf (Twitter N/A)
Jimmy Blue Eyes and the Wizard of Odds –
Mobster nicknames
SUMMARY: The Vampire Lestat, a rock star, is preparing for
a concert in San Francisco. Across the globe, various individuals, mortal and
immortal, are disturbed by a chilling dream of red-haired twins, which they
cannot explain. The Queen of the Damned is walking. Death is everywhere. The
destiny of both mankind and vampires is at stake.
MY OPINION:
This book
was for the most part a slow read for me, but some things are so good they are
better when savoured slowly, and this was such a case due to mainly two
reasons.
First of
all, the stories of various characters in the beginning seem rather loosely
connected. However the different parts soon come together, forming each on
their own and as a whole a compelling plot.
Secondly, Rice’s
writing tackles many philosophical and ethical themes, which made me pause
frequently, reread a paragraph, and think about the issue it deals with. I like
it how Rice exposes various questions without giving her answers but rather
leaving it to the reader to come to their own conclusions. In this way she deals
with feminism, nature of genders, warfare, poverty, inequality, the potentials
for peace in the world, and how people justify means to an end. There is a lot
of symbolism in The Queen of the Damned,
drawing parallels to history and religion.
The most
surprising theme in The Queen of the
Damned was cannibalism. Although this is an occurrence normally considered
revolting, Rice provides a logical background to the concept, which makes it
virtually consecrated.
There is
nothing black and white in this book; the characters are not simply good or
evil, but rich in complex personal features. Akasha aka the Mother is a perfect
example of such a character. Thus, one cannot hate her and can certainly see
her reasoning despite knowing she is wrong.
Finally,
the solution of the main conflict in the book is simple, yet unforeseen and
therefore ingenious. Hence, I was satisfied with the ending which at the same
time left me craving for more.
RECOMMENDATION: The Queen of the
Damned is an
amazing book, because it reaches beyond the borders of paranormal into
philosophy and ethics, and I highly recommend it both for its plot and
characters and its power to make you think of several timeless issues. However,
it contains explicit scenes of violence, and if you have a sensitive stomach,
you should probably not read it before meals.
You have
probably noticed that I have not been posting as often lately as I used to. In
case you are wondering what is going on, I think it is only fair to tell you, my readers, why I post fewer reviews and why I hardly participate in memes.
The reason
for this is that I have not been feeling very well lately, both physically and
emotionally. I am dealing with some problems and, as all of you I guess, I have
a lot of real-life things to do, such as tutoring, taking care of my mother, do the errands and the usual household things. I am also trying to continue
with my WIP. So, I just do not have as much time to read as I would like to, hence
the lack of reviews. Additionally, autumn, especially November, is not a
particularly good time for me, as the ever shorter and ever darker days have a
very depressing effect on me.
The lack of
time is also the reason for my infrequent participation in memes, since I do
not have the time to visit other blogs, even if I might find the time to do the
post. It just does not seem fair from my part to just post and not visit around. The
same goes for my lack of commenting. I do still read your blog posts, although
sometimes with a few days of delay, and I try to comment, but sometimes I just
do not have the time to write a quality comment. But I really do enjoy reading
your posts.
I hope you
forgive me for all these things, which will continue in November, I am afraid.
However,
not all is black. I have a few really great books on my to-read pile for this
month and I will try to post at least a review per week. I have finally
finished The Queen of the Damned, so
you can expect the review on Friday or Saturday.
Also, there
is a cool event coming up, which I am going to be part of, but more about that
some other time. And as this year is coming to a close, I am thinking through
some plans for this blog in 2012, which I will let you know about and also ask
for your opinion sometime soon.
Finally, I
thank you for your patience and sticking with me, and I hope you will not get
tired of waiting for some coolness and run away (but no hard feelings if you
do). Things will get better, and I think you will be able to enjoy some things
I am planning for this blog soon. Plus, December is close, my favourite month, so that will surely cheer me up, and consequently my blog.
Oh, and I have just noticed I say that I do not have the time much too often in this post, I am sorry for that, too.
People have different tastes. This is good.
The world would be a very boring place if we were all alike. This is also true
when it comes to books. Recently, I have been reading reviews and
ratings of the books I read on Goodreads and I noticed that virtually every
book has all the ratings – from one to five stars. Of course some books have
more five-star ratings and almost none one-star rating, and the other way
around.
SUMMARY (from Goodreads): A Doll's House is the
story of Nora Helmer who has secretly borrowed a large sum of money to help her
husband recover from a serious illness. Nora who has borrowed this money by
forging her father's signature soon discovers the value of the relationship she
has with her husband, Torvald, when he becomes the director of the bank that
employs the man, Nils Krogstad, who has lent the money to Nora. When it is
discovered that Nils has commited a forgery himself, Nils threatens to reveal
Nora's secret to her husband if she does not convince Torvald to allow Nils to
keep his position at the bank. A Doll's
House is a gripping drama about a failing, loveless marriage.
SUMMARY (from Goodreads): She is pretty and talented – sweet sixteen and never been kissed. He is
seventeen; gorgeous and on the brink of a bright future. And now they have
fallen in love. But... they are brother and sister.
SUMMARY: The Vampire Lestat, a rock star, is preparing for
a concert in San Francisco. Across the globe, various individuals, mortal and
immortal, are disturbed by a chilling dream of red-haired twins, which they
cannot explain. The Queen of the Damned is walking. Death is everywhere. The
destiny of both mankind and vampires is at stake.
