Book Review pt 2 - Repost from sometime in 2011

Alright so day two of reviewing books. Side note I did accomplish some homework last night, although not nearly enough and I shall once again need to only do a few of these before getting back to that. It was so boring although the burglary section was quite easy for me, muhahahaha, yeah thats my evil laugh, and I really wish I could do one in real life. But every time I try I just crack myself up and start laughing for real, its a pretty retarded sight that I hope you will never have be a part of.<br /><br />1984 - George Orwell<br /><br />I picked up this book after a number of people had recommended it to me over the years. I often get the impression that this is something I should have read in high school. But to be perfectly honest my high school was rather retarded and we generally watched movies more then read. I even took a Cinema at Literature class that could have counted as an english credit if I so wanted. All I remember from that class is watching movies and drawing pictures afterwards. Not exactly an intellectually challenging place to be, and I sometimes wonder how we all learned to function in society after the fact, or if we really ever did. Anyhow, the point is that I was only required to read like two books in high school, so generally those conversations about classic books that people read in school are pretty awkward for me. I tend to feel like the dumb kid in the room. So if you don't want to be a douche lets avoid this subject until I have taken the time to read all the classic books you read while you were pretty much still a child.<br /><br />Alright, so I am inclined to say that everyone knows what this books is about, but I still have friends from high school and from the above information you may know why they could be in the dark about this. This book is about propaganda and government control of society. The idea of the government is that by controlling information they control their people entirely. The government thus changes history, language, and the expectations of society to fit their needs and make them the ultimate power. So the story is of one of the lower level employees of the government who sometimes struggles to fit into society. He falls in love with a girl, they are caught and captured by the government and tortured for their crimes. It was an interesting book, but I also felt it dragged from time to time. Well more or less the first one hundred pages dragged on and on. But I do feel it was a good choice to bring to jury duty with me. I was prepared to go into a whole spiel about my distrust in big brother and the government workings. Really I was prepared to say or do anything to get me home and to bed. I would say this is a beneficial book to have read as it did change our modern vernacular. But I do not see why so many people regard this as the greatest book they have ever read. So good but overrated is where I land on this read. Rating: ****<br /><br />Books, a Memoir - Larry McMurtry<br /><br />This is a book about books. Which at first may not sound particularly interesting but do not be deterred. McMurty has a way of making the discussion of book collecting and selling quite appealing. Although I may be particularly biased as it is reminiscent of how I feel about collecting records. You may be familiar with McMurty's work already, and most likely are unaware of this fact. He has written numerous screen plays, including Brokeback Mountain (co-author of the film adaptation), Terms of Endearment, and The Last Picture show, amongst others. He is also the owner of one of the largest used book stores in America, located in Archer City, Texas by the name of Booked Up. I hope to one day make out to where ever the hell Archer city is and check out the 400,000 plus used books for sale.<br />The memoir really follows his interest in books, from his start in elementary school, through beginning as a book collector in San Francisco, to a book seller in Georgetown and eventually in Archer City. The way McMurtry writes makes book collecting almost sound romantic, but most definitely fascinating and adventurous. The stories of auctions, eccentric book collectors, and the incredible books he stumbled upon in his journeys make you feel as if you are part of his world or at least like you should be, that you have been missing out with the meager 'collection' you have on your shelf. I can not say that this book is for everyone, but every collector of any sort will enjoy this immensely and be sucked in within the first few chapters. For those with nooks, or kindles this may not be your cup of tea as the guilt for not collecting may seep into your soul and make you put down that electronic device and pick up a real book. Let the wait of it rest in your hands and truly enjoy the wonder you hold. Rating: ****<br /><br />Holes - Louis Sachar<br /><br />Yet another book turned into a movie in which I have seen the movie first. I am starting to feel like I only read things that I have already seen. This is a childrens book, I am aware of the fact that I am well into my twenties and reading it now for the first time. If asked I would be likely to say that I like to try to keep that child-like wonder about me and my life and I'd like to think this can be accomplished by reading childrens stories and partaking in arts and crafts at any opportunity. I suppose this makes me a bit of douche or at the very least a hipster in some regard. But really if a story is good, as I had heard this was, I don't care who the target audience is supposed to be, I'll try to appreciate it anyway.<br /><br />This book is about an unlucky kid, Stanley, who ends in the wrong place at the wrong time. This lands him in trouble and at a camp for troubled kids in the middle of a desert. He works and lives with a small group of other troubled kids who, by force of the camps owner, dig holes in the middle of the desert all day long. Basically drama happens and one of the kids in Stanley's group runs away, Stanley of course goes after him worried he may not survive alone in the desert. They meet up and find a way to survive, but realize that they need to return. Stanley's run of bad luck is broken by saving his friend and upon returning find a large sum of money, gets released from the camp and get the 'evil' camp owner in trouble. Basically the standard predictable ending to every kids story still told in this country. This was a quick and enjoyable read, but to be honest I think I'd rather just watch the movie. It is equally as moving and gets you through the whole story in less then two hours. If you like children's books, or want to keep that child-like wonder about you I would recommend this book, otherwise just watch the movie and pick up say... Clifford Chase's Winkie (my favorite book to date). Rating: ***