Meir
I am skeptical
What happens after death is a complicated mystery that weighs on our minds and souls. This book was written fairly well for such an unknown subject. In addition I appreciated how it came from a more unbiased perspective than that of others on this topic. Some aspects made the read less informative and were just simply unnecessary. The author continuously reminding the reader that he is skeptical too was excessive. I got the feeling of “the boy who cried wolf” each time I came across the term 'skeptic'. An author's background in a book is always necessary but for a scientific based approach it should have been dedicated for one chapter. The first few chapters were slow and sprinkled with the author's personal story and thoughts. Be that as it may, more of an enjoyable and informative read than not. With each account whether or not they are factual my perspective on life and death change. Any fear that may have been in me when it comes to the dark mystery of death is gone. This book does not solve that mystery of course..no book ever will. However stories and research like here clears the foggy topic a bit. I can confidently say when I think of death in any situation this book will come to mind. Death was and still to some degree is one of the scary unknowns that haunt my thoughts. Being aware our time is limited is crucial no matter how scary the presence of it is. As Steve Jobs says “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.” As the cliche goes..live life to the fullest. No matter what happens this is one life…(i doubt life is a recurring simulation lol). Another quote I like on this topic is by Dalia Lama - “Death is a part of all our lives. Whether we like it or not, it is bound to happen. Instead of avoiding thinking about it, it is better to understand its meaning.”
Worth a read
WHENS IT MY TURN TO BE A HAWTHORNE
For a book where I'm not the targeted reader it was very well written and entertaining. This and the first are such a good escape. Its just a comforting interesting read. A break from law and serious books that i would normally read for class. Avery genuinely has got no chill. I actually thought she would take it easy with Gray and Jameson…guess not. Im scared to even get the third book because how can there be more!
Either way great book…took that knives out story into a great mystery hunt.
Amazing, amazing and amazing.
This book just pulls you in. The writing is so smooth and easygoing as the drama of the story unfolds. Just as a twist and clue come up the intensity just forces you to stay reading for another page. I felt hungry just to solve the mystery and story, the words were addicting. Wonderful chill easy to read book!
Contains spoilers
The altering of the past, silencing opposition and a leader seen as a god is reminiscent to Orwells 1984. In some respects the two books are completely similar in the plot. This seemed to be a children's book as a read the first chapters. As i went on with the story complex ideas of societies structures and over all “brainwashing” of a nation showed it clearly was not that. Here is a quote i immediately thought of (not from the book)
"He who fights with monsters should be careful not to become a monster himself”
I do not believe Napoleon had the image of him as king from the start of the rebellion. As the power took over him and the push of disagreement from Snowball…he realizes he wanted full control. That one sip of absolute power and control after Snowball “left” left him needing it all. Its so easy to fight a war and decide justifiably that fighting fire with fire is necessary. When you make an enemy seem so bad you may not only become him but become worse just like here. Regardless this book is just amazing and was 1984. I would love to write a lengthy review but class calls. There is so many pieces of this book to break down and analyze. If they create this into a live action film which i believe is in the works that would be great.
Excellent book, I would rate this a 4.5/5. Just a warning my review and thoughts are completely unedited lol. So it's very messy and may just not make sense…sorry not sorry lmao. I would like to say comparing this to 1984…this is more similar to our world.
For a book written in 1931…wow i genuinely felt as if i was in the future. To the extent of the date this was written and published i am lol. As my usual book reviews go, I like putting in quotes from the book. Before however I'd like to say the reason this is not a 5/5 for me. The mid section of this book just was just…uninteresting compared to the beginning and end. Perhaps not interesting, just not as. I like to judge a book based on how many times i put it down to take a “break”. I found myself doing this continuously...although it was still enjoyable and interesting to read. Which is why I still rated it high. “But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.”
In this world there is no religion, no true freedom or danger. How can you be truly free if your thoughts and dreams are locked away by soma or simply inaccessible? When i say inaccessible i mean the delta and lower status of people who can not even from the thoughts they may have otherwise been able due to the modifying in early stages of life. Are they even humans with souls? To be honest for a second I wondered to myself if perhaps a world with no pain, war and even simple distress is worth living in. The people truly wanted to be there..maybe it is the perfect place to be. It was so perfect it got to the point where a god is unnecessary. A question I thought to myself was if God truly gets further away with the development of technology and so on, At one point will God cease to interact with us. Maybe we are at that point already. (Mustapha Mond spoke of this in the book) Also random but the sheer self control that John had when Lenina approached him for sex…undressed. I was surprised when he denied it. I got deja vu of Joseph from the bible. I know Bernard is the main character but I genuinely did not like him. I'm not sure if I was supposed to but in my head he was an attention hungry, disloyal and cowardly man.
I'll stop talking now but I liked the book.
Some other quotes without my ramble. You can understand without my gibberish lol
“Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.”
“Ending is better than mending.”
“If one's different, one's bound to be lonely.”
If i could say one thing about this book it would be this quote. "A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet” - William Butler Yeats
This book was written with so much heart. With each page of twists and connections the story warmly deepens. The perspective shifts were great with each chapter. It made me curiously wonder what would come with each story line. Very well written! Becoming an adult has always been one of my biggest fears. Just like everyone i want to stay young, however it does not happen. I am writing this at just twenty, younger than the characters of the book. Nevertheless i felt for each characters growing pains and joys. The everyday unnoticed by others yet similar struggles was familiar. One day you're in the summer heat eating ice cream after camp with friends and the next struggling to pay rent. How does one just wake up one day with obligations like taxes and groceries needed to be done. If you're alone, that makes it all just dreadful. This book puts us all in one ark to ride the flood together. Bringing the people with these challenges of life to weather it out. Those you believe are nothing but uncommon strangers quickly become a shoulder and friend to lean on.
Happy to have this as my first 2025 and Goodreads log!
1984 instant transfers you to an unfamiliar dystopian world. It started off as an uncomfortable and confusing read, however soon the words make Orwells cold entrapping world all too real. Which I found to be ironic. This society which is a far distant world from our own is yet reminiscent of one that existed. Stalin’s USSR is of course the first that comes to mind. Although the governmental structure and even thick mustache connected to the USSR, my mind went to today.
Although written in 1949, Orwell's book is timeless. Today the idea of “telescreens” watching and monitoring us does not seem impossible. A tv is in almost every home. We are constantly being fed points of views in news, film and even music. We consume ideas we do not even choose to through “doom scrolling” social media. Ideas parents would never allow in their home flood into children's minds though music and videos. Is it really far off for a “Parsons” to exist today. Where his own children call authorities on him for not believing in an idea. In addition, are we really so far from a world where a small group controls the music, film and tv we consume.
At the end of the day I am privileged. Having parents who came from a communist country made me appreciate the world in which I live. Although not perfect, the United States has freedom and liberty. The USSR was certainly not as this book describes Oceania but closer than we are to such a terrible world. God bless big br..i mean America!
Great read:)