Jessiealan
xr
Member of the Month, October 2013
Posts: 8,726
|
Post by Jessiealan on Nov 4, 2010 23:28:48 GMT -5
The Gold Coast is my favorite deMille book.
|
|
|
Post by beth on Nov 7, 2010 7:35:56 GMT -5
The Gold Coast is my favorite deMille book. I like that one, too. It's been compared to Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, and, in fact, I liked The Gold Coast better. Fascinating look at the lives of Long Island's estate owners ... with a protagonist not very different from John Corey . DeMille has 3 main characters who own that 'tude. I've long thought it reflected his own personality.
|
|
|
Post by beth on May 7, 2011 20:56:59 GMT -5
Adding this post (also in Movies) as it is an interesting commentary about these books.
Posted by Erasmus May 7th
it's a long time since I read Angela Carter but it's reasonably obvious, that I liked her presentation of women as strong characters operating in their own right and rejection of conservative gender stereotyping compared to so much feminist bilge coming out around the same time depicting women as almost Victorian saintly helpless maidens only able to transfer blind passive obedience from a man to some female Liberator - the author in disguise.
Carter makes a mess of gender stereotypes and in the very complicated The Passion of New Eve sex-switching goes on to show that the stereotypes so often portrayed by feminists of the time are acting out their own fantasies of the other sex, either as actually trans-sexual or transvestite, so that belief is everything, actual born sex nothing. Trans-sexual men and women brutalize and dominate in accordance with their fantasies of the other sex before they changed to it themselves. One could bring Jungian psychology in to say that each is acting out a anima or animus they both feared and envied in their original sex, just as male chauvinists and feminists project their fears onto the other sex, in the latter case, with envy of the social superiority they ascribe to their behaviour.
That is probably her most complicated (and 'anti-social' novel) but all her writing has dark overtones and most overturns the sex stereotyping to be found in a lot of 1980s female literature. I've always thought of her as a kind of antidote to the modern what Wendy McElroy calls Victim Feminism so often whinged and whined on boards like this.
|
|
|
Post by beth on May 13, 2011 8:18:59 GMT -5
Time and Again Jack Finney
This is an illustrated novel, but the illustrations are simple pen drawings and don't take up a lot of space.
Time and Again is pure fantasy, so if you have a problem with that, skip it. If you don't, it may turn out to be the best book you ever read.
It starts with the main character, Si Morley, a graphic illustrator, being invited to meet someone he does not know in a rather suspect part of town. But, he's bored and curious, so off he goes. The person he meets takes him into a large warehouse that has been bought by the government as the site of a grand experiment. Si is asked to e part of it all.
and
It only gets better from there.
I've recommended this book to a lot of people. The only ones who have not loved it are those who disdain fantasy or who need fantasy to come in particular genre.
Time and Again is considered literature to the point it's taught in secondary schools and colleges, but interesting and entertaining enough to be a nearly perfect read.
Highly recommended.
|
|
|
Post by sadie on Jul 23, 2011 15:13:23 GMT -5
Chasing Power (Hidden Talents)
by Genevieve Pearson
(available only thru ebooks) When business student Samantha Gibson finds herself cornered by a euro-trash Darth Vader wannabe in a dark alley, it’s a nightmare end to a terrible week. Of course super powers aren’t real--until someone’s using theirs to bash your head in.
It turns out that a one-in-a-million accident has caused her to catch the attention of the Talents, a group of humans with amazing abilities. And a surprising number would rather have her dead than competing with them. Sam’s happy to tell anyone who’ll listen to her that she doesn’t actually have super powers. The problem is getting anyone to listen to her.
Enter Lane, Al, and Harry, three nerdy (though Lane’s kind of a cute type of nerd) best friends and Talents. While their powers may not be glamorous, or even all that super, they’re determined to do the right thing. They politely kidnap Samantha and hit the road, racing cross-country towards a group offering protection. To independent Sam, each minute of being a damsel in distress is like an iron-spike in her foot. It’s possible that friendship, and love aren’t the liability she thought they were, but it’s also possible that she may not live to find out. Because with stronger and stranger opposition barring their way, safe haven may be just a pipe dream in a world where everyone is chasing power....
***********************************
Ok....I have to admit something here.........this is my new daughter in law's book. I'm very proud so I had to post about it!!! Wish her luck!!
|
|
|
Post by beth on Jul 23, 2011 15:32:54 GMT -5
Chasing Power (Hidden Talents)by Genevieve Pearson (available only thru ebooks) When business student Samantha Gibson finds herself cornered by a euro-trash Darth Vader wannabe in a dark alley, it’s a nightmare end to a terrible week. Of course super powers aren’t real--until someone’s using theirs to bash your head in. It turns out that a one-in-a-million accident has caused her to catch the attention of the Talents, a group of humans with amazing abilities. And a surprising number would rather have her dead than competing with them. Sam’s happy to tell anyone who’ll listen to her that she doesn’t actually have super powers. The problem is getting anyone to listen to her. Enter Lane, Al, and Harry, three nerdy (though Lane’s kind of a cute type of nerd) best friends and Talents. While their powers may not be glamorous, or even all that super, they’re determined to do the right thing. They politely kidnap Samantha and hit the road, racing cross-country towards a group offering protection. To independent Sam, each minute of being a damsel in distress is like an iron-spike in her foot. It’s possible that friendship, and love aren’t the liability she thought they were, but it’s also possible that she may not live to find out. Because with stronger and stranger opposition barring their way, safe haven may be just a pipe dream in a world where everyone is chasing power.... *********************************** Ok....I have to admit something here.........this is my new daughter in law's book. I'm very proud so I had to post about it!!! Wish her luck!! Oh! How very exciting. Does this mean I have to buy a Nook?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 24, 2011 4:17:05 GMT -5
I suppose I ought to put in my bit. The problem is I have so many that I do not know where to begin. But at least, I can confine my citations to those written in English or translated into English: NON-Fiction: 1. Srimat Bhaagbat Gita 2. The Upanishads by Juan Mascaro - the 57-page introduction ALONE is worth the price. 3. Gitanjali - Rabindranath Thakur 4. The four loves - C S Lewis 5. The lonely Sky That's all for now off the top of my head +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Fiction 1. I, Robot and the rest of the robots by Isaac Asimov 2. The original Foundation trilogy - Asimov 3. Rest of the Foundation saga - Asimov. 4. Naked Sun and caves of steel - Asimov 5. Rendezvous with Rama - A C Clarke 6. The Last Theorem - ACC (though it's not his best) 7. Strangers in a strange land - Robert A Heinlein 8. Slan and Voyage of the Space Beagle - A E Van Vogt 9. The chrysalids - John Wyndham 10. 1984 - G Orwell 11. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury 12. The Illustrated Man - Ray Bradbury. That's all for now off the top of my head Prashna
|
|
|
Post by sadie on Jul 28, 2011 22:36:01 GMT -5
Chasing Power (Hidden Talents)by Genevieve Pearson (available only thru ebooks) When business student Samantha Gibson finds herself cornered by a euro-trash Darth Vader wannabe in a dark alley, it’s a nightmare end to a terrible week. Of course super powers aren’t real--until someone’s using theirs to bash your head in. It turns out that a one-in-a-million accident has caused her to catch the attention of the Talents, a group of humans with amazing abilities. And a surprising number would rather have her dead than competing with them. Sam’s happy to tell anyone who’ll listen to her that she doesn’t actually have super powers. The problem is getting anyone to listen to her. Enter Lane, Al, and Harry, three nerdy (though Lane’s kind of a cute type of nerd) best friends and Talents. While their powers may not be glamorous, or even all that super, they’re determined to do the right thing. They politely kidnap Samantha and hit the road, racing cross-country towards a group offering protection. To independent Sam, each minute of being a damsel in distress is like an iron-spike in her foot. It’s possible that friendship, and love aren’t the liability she thought they were, but it’s also possible that she may not live to find out. Because with stronger and stranger opposition barring their way, safe haven may be just a pipe dream in a world where everyone is chasing power.... *********************************** Ok....I have to admit something here.........this is my new daughter in law's book. I'm very proud so I had to post about it!!! Wish her luck!! Oh! How very exciting. Does this mean I have to buy a Nook? Yes.....you do.....or a Kindle or an I-Pad
|
|
|
Post by men an tol on Feb 19, 2013 23:32:07 GMT -5
There are so many books. Both fiction and nonfiction.
Probably everyone has seen the movie “To Kill a Mocking Bird” but have you read the book? The movie was good but the book is better and well worth the read.
Rose Wilder Lane was the only surviving child of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Almanzo Wilder (Yes, that's right, the same Laura Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie). Rose wrote “The Discovery of Freedom” and I strongly suggest that if you haven't read this book, do so.
Born at Steventon, in Hampshire, England in seventeen seventy-five, Jane Austen can easily be considered as one of the great English Novelists, with such works as Mansfield Park; Emma; Northanger Abby; and, of course Pride and Prejudice and it is this last that everyone should read at least once.
One author which has produced many books for the young is Edgar Rice Burroughs (Born September 1, 1875 – Died March 19, 1950). All of his books are far better read than the versions produced in the movies, radio, or television.
Obviously there is the Tarzan of the Apes series, the John Carter of Mars, which are both well known but he also wrote other series (more than 80 titles), Pellucidar series, Venus series, Caspak series, Moon series, Mucker series, Other science fiction, Jungle adventure novels, Western novels, Historical novels, as well as other works.
Louisa May Alcott (born November 29, 1832 – died March 6, 1888) is another author with many efforts with over 30 books. Certainly Little Women is one of her more famous works and well worth the reading for any youth (girl or boy).
Speaking books for youth, the author and illustrator, Holling C. Holling wrote (and did the art work for) a number of youth books such as; Paddle to the Sea; Minn of the Mississippi; Tree in the Trail; Sea Bird; and a number of others which are excellent for youth.
Recently I've been digging deeper into the evolution of law from the middle ages. There is a good book I've found by John Hudson, “The Formation of the English Common Law: Law and Society in England from the Norman Conquest to Magna Carta.”
I also like older Encyclopedias, say 75 to more than 100 years old as they represent a picture we had of ourselves at the time it was published. Some might remember that when getting a set of encyclopedias each year thereafter there was an annual published to cover the next year. There is a special opportunity here. Buy one as a gift for each of your children for the year they were born and it will described to them what the world was like that year. You could also get one for your spouse for the year you were married so that it described that year.
|
|
|
Post by men an tol on Apr 29, 2013 21:19:42 GMT -5
Dennis Prager has written a major work concerning the challenged face by the nations of today. I believe that this book has such a significant contribution every one should read it. Following here is information from the inside cover of the book.
Randy
In this visionary book, Dennis Prager, one of America's most original thinkers, contends that humanity confronts a monumental choice. The whole world must decide between American values and its two oppositional alternatives: Islamism and European-style democratic socialism.
Prager – a bestselling author, columnist, and nationally syndicated radio talk show host who is read and heard by millions of people in America and abroad – makes the case for the American value system as the most viable program ever devised to produce a good society. Those values are explained here more clearly and persuasively than ever before.
Still the Best Hope deals with three huge themes: The first is perhaps the most persuasive explanation for why Leftism has been and will always be a moral failure, despite its acknowledged appeal to many people of goodwill. The second explains why fundamentalist Islam, despite its historic and growing appeal, cannot make a good society. But Prager holds out hope for an open and tolerant Islam and explains why it will emerge from faithful American Muslims. The third is a singularly persuasive defense and explanation of what Prager calls the “American Trinity”: liberty, values rooted in the creator, and the melting-pot ideal. These values are inscribed on every American coin as “Liberty,” “In God We Trust,” and “E Pluribus Unum,” and they are the reasons for America's greatness. Without them, America will cease to be an exceptional nation, and therefore cease to be America.
Prager shows why these values can and must be adopted by every nation and culture in the world, why Americans must relearn and recommit to these values, and why America must vigorously export them. For if the world does not adopt American values, the result will be chaos and barbarism on an unprecedented Scale.
Dennis Prager is one of the most listened to and respected media personalities in America. He has a nationally syndicated radio talk show, is a bestselling author of four books, writes a syndicated column, and has written for the 'Los Angeles Times' the 'Wall Street Journal,' and 'Commentary.' A true Renaissance man, he has traveled to a hundred countries, lectured in Russian in Russia and Hebrew in Israel, taught Russian and Jewish history at Brooklyn College, conducted orchestras, and created the Internet-based Prager University. He has lectured in forty-five states and on all seven continents.
|
|
|
Post by beth on Apr 30, 2013 23:10:08 GMT -5
|
|
Tempus Fugit
Global Facilitator
Contributing Member
Science - making religion look stupid since the 17th century.
Posts: 7,474
|
Post by Tempus Fugit on May 1, 2013 7:38:49 GMT -5
Randy, have you ever seen, heard of or read any of the Philo Vance mysteries by S.S. Van Dine. You what? I think I've sailed on her!
|
|
|
Post by beth on May 2, 2013 19:07:10 GMT -5
Mea Culpa TF I hit edit when I meant to hit quote.
|
|
|
Post by beth on May 2, 2013 19:10:25 GMT -5
In this visionary book, Dennis Prager, one of America's most original thinkers, contends that humanity confronts a monumental choice. The whole world must decide between American values and its two oppositional alternatives: Islamism and European-style democratic socialism.
Prager is onto something but not all that original. I suppose many people realize those 3 options exist.
It does sound like a good read if it's well and clearly written. My time may not allow taking on a serious book right now but I'll mention it to others.
|
|