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spectracommunist's reviews
372 reviews
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan, John Green
4.0
“You like someone who can't like you back because unrequited love can be survived in a way that once-requited love cannot. ”
This book is incredibly humourous, gay and touching as well. It's written by two authors with alternative chapters by each of them ... each playing their own Will Grayson in the first person, so it's like a double benefit to read it from two quite different perspectives!
There is this grumpy 'Will Grayson' of John who tries to ignore people and shuts his mouth and this depressed 'will grayson' of David who turns out to be gay (his entire part is written in lowercase which pretty much symbolizing him) ... I think I liked JG's 'Will Grayson' more due to his Schrodinger's Cat analogy (Wow!) and I am like him in many ways. The other 'will grayson' was kinda dark and very reluctant! and one day they met each other, this event leads to change their lives in many ways in many ways :)
I enjoyed it, was quite a funny read (Tiny Copper XD) ... but the ending was kinda okay for me, although I admire this book due to its simplicity and not adding excessive useless drama here.
Recommended! :D
This book is incredibly humourous, gay and touching as well. It's written by two authors with alternative chapters by each of them ... each playing their own Will Grayson in the first person, so it's like a double benefit to read it from two quite different perspectives!
There is this grumpy 'Will Grayson' of John who tries to ignore people and shuts his mouth and this depressed 'will grayson' of David who turns out to be gay (his entire part is written in lowercase which pretty much symbolizing him) ... I think I liked JG's 'Will Grayson' more due to his Schrodinger's Cat analogy (Wow!) and I am like him in many ways. The other 'will grayson' was kinda dark and very reluctant! and one day they met each other, this event leads to change their lives in many ways in many ways :)
I enjoyed it, was quite a funny read (Tiny Copper XD) ... but the ending was kinda okay for me, although I admire this book due to its simplicity and not adding excessive useless drama here.
Recommended! :D
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
4.0
“As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment.”
A touching short story of two drifter farm boys - one being short but wise 'George' and the other being huge but fool 'Lennie' with their dreams of buying their own land working on a ranch ...
The story is very simple but there are quite notable features were the accents which were beautifully delivered, the diversity in characters (that's the best one) and the ending.
The title describes that Men like Mice are slaves of their destiny and are quite vulnerable to it. This allegory itself was symbolized at the starting parts of the story and the ending was made symmetric accordingly.
I enjoyed the book especially the parts in ranch but before that, there were quite redundancies in dialogues which I feel should be avoided in a short story and to make something more fascinating.
A touching short story of two drifter farm boys - one being short but wise 'George' and the other being huge but fool 'Lennie' with their dreams of buying their own land working on a ranch ...
The story is very simple but there are quite notable features were the accents which were beautifully delivered, the diversity in characters (that's the best one) and the ending.
The title describes that Men like Mice are slaves of their destiny and are quite vulnerable to it. This allegory itself was symbolized at the starting parts of the story and the ending was made symmetric accordingly.
I enjoyed the book especially the parts in ranch but before that, there were quite redundancies in dialogues which I feel should be avoided in a short story and to make something more fascinating.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
4.0
“Overcome space, and all we have left is Here. Overcome time, and all we have left is Now.”
It's a beautiful fable with excellent photographs about seeking a higher purpose in life, thinking out of the box and getting one's sleeves up to start working on one's own idea of success which is as unique as a perspective ... And this man knows a lot about Seagulls haha!
It is a transcendentally inspiring simple short (can be easily completed in an hour) story.
It's a beautiful fable with excellent photographs about seeking a higher purpose in life, thinking out of the box and getting one's sleeves up to start working on one's own idea of success which is as unique as a perspective ... And this man knows a lot about Seagulls haha!
It is a transcendentally inspiring simple short (can be easily completed in an hour) story.
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
5.0
The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking, don't settle.
This book is an epic biography of a genius who made various remarkable changes in our world i.e. Made a dent in the universe (from Jobs' perspective) is also a history of the most exciting time in the age of computers, the times when the Silicon Valley was blooming ...
Jobs had quiet a complex personality at times being charming, obsessive, ruthless, lovable, loathsome and maddening. His character was instrumental in shaping some of the greatest technological innovations. He had this OCD towards perfection and love towards simplicity in a design resulting to his intense binary view of the world (hero/shithead)
Making riches was never a goal of Steve Jobs, he insisted on making great products and building an enduring company. He considers himself as an artist and his products as paintings and thus he believed in integration of hardware and software in devices establishing an end-to-end control which was a different Philosophy against other giant companies like Microsoft and Google who promotes open source environment. This end-to-end system restricts the hacking nature which seemed quite ironical in the 1984 Apple commercial which metaphorically described the company as a revolt.
After all, Steve Jobs' life was full of ups and downs. I feel the best parts of the book are - Steve Jobs' journey for spiritual discovery in his coming-of-age and his fall from his own company (that was so emotional)
This book is an odyssey and will remain one of my favourite biographies.
This book is an epic biography of a genius who made various remarkable changes in our world i.e. Made a dent in the universe (from Jobs' perspective) is also a history of the most exciting time in the age of computers, the times when the Silicon Valley was blooming ...
Jobs had quiet a complex personality at times being charming, obsessive, ruthless, lovable, loathsome and maddening. His character was instrumental in shaping some of the greatest technological innovations. He had this OCD towards perfection and love towards simplicity in a design resulting to his intense binary view of the world (hero/shithead)
Making riches was never a goal of Steve Jobs, he insisted on making great products and building an enduring company. He considers himself as an artist and his products as paintings and thus he believed in integration of hardware and software in devices establishing an end-to-end control which was a different Philosophy against other giant companies like Microsoft and Google who promotes open source environment. This end-to-end system restricts the hacking nature which seemed quite ironical in the 1984 Apple commercial which metaphorically described the company as a revolt.
After all, Steve Jobs' life was full of ups and downs. I feel the best parts of the book are - Steve Jobs' journey for spiritual discovery in his coming-of-age and his fall from his own company (that was so emotional)
This book is an odyssey and will remain one of my favourite biographies.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3.0
I was so curious to read this as the adaptation directed by David Fincher is one of my most favourite movies of all time ...
The book usually is written beautifully by F. Scott Fitzgerald is certainly missing the point, I mean it revolves around the social issues with Benjamin - born old and getting younger but it lacks the adventure and romance which is described in the movie, which is so necessary to provoke fascination and emotional connection with the central character in a curious case.
The movie starts with the rejection of Benjamin by his father and he is brought up by a black woman running a charitable institution, this mother-son relationship is described very beautifully in the movie and mainly the romance between Benjamin & Daisy is so notable.
Although ultimately it's a short story to put all these points but I think it could be made better.
The book usually is written beautifully by F. Scott Fitzgerald is certainly missing the point, I mean it revolves around the social issues with Benjamin - born old and getting younger but it lacks the adventure and romance which is described in the movie, which is so necessary to provoke fascination and emotional connection with the central character in a curious case.
The movie starts with the rejection of Benjamin by his father and he is brought up by a black woman running a charitable institution, this mother-son relationship is described very beautifully in the movie and mainly the romance between Benjamin & Daisy is so notable.
Although ultimately it's a short story to put all these points but I think it could be made better.
Persuasion by Jane Austen
4.0
"She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older: the natural sequel of an unnatural beginning.”
4.5 stars I guess..
A subtly subversive story of English literature. This was my first Jane Austen's read. It expresses the times of early-nineteenth-century perfectly without any extravagant drama.
I've only seen the adaptations of Austen's i.e. Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility and Love & Friendship which fascinated me greatly. I would say I enjoyed the initial chapters more than the ending as the other half was too savvy for me to understand and there were times I wasn't getting the plot so I had to take help from SparkNotes, although it was written so beautifully.
With the usual Austenian theme of marriage plots and happy endings, it describes the class system and gender relations with their firm protocols of behaviour sublimely. There's a lot of diversity of characters here. There are lots of things to learn for us in the acts of characters from that lost time.
Highly Recommended! I wish to read more of her works.
4.5 stars I guess..
A subtly subversive story of English literature. This was my first Jane Austen's read. It expresses the times of early-nineteenth-century perfectly without any extravagant drama.
I've only seen the adaptations of Austen's i.e. Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility and Love & Friendship which fascinated me greatly. I would say I enjoyed the initial chapters more than the ending as the other half was too savvy for me to understand and there were times I wasn't getting the plot so I had to take help from SparkNotes, although it was written so beautifully.
With the usual Austenian theme of marriage plots and happy endings, it describes the class system and gender relations with their firm protocols of behaviour sublimely. There's a lot of diversity of characters here. There are lots of things to learn for us in the acts of characters from that lost time.
Highly Recommended! I wish to read more of her works.