Tuesday, July 29, 2008

William Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis


William Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis
Quality: Five out of Ten.
Reason: Random.
Genre: Epic Poetry.
Original Language: English.
Date of Publication: 1593
Fog Index: 10.5/68% are harder.
Flesch Index: 62.6/71% are harder.
Flesch-Kincaid Index: 8/69% are harder.
Complex Words: 12%/59% have more.
Number: First.
Synopsis: It's really about Venus' obbession with Adonis. He then goes on a hunt, which she begs him not to do, and dies. At which point she freaks out and curses love.
Thought: Not really sure. Weird. Why does the goddess of love have no game? I was so confused. Although I did enjoy it when she curses loved.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five


Kurt Vonnegut’s SlaughterHouse-Five
Quality: Six out of Ten.
Reason: Random.
Genre: Science Fiction. Metafiction.
Original Language: English.
Date of Publication: 1969
Fog Index: 8.5/83% are harder.
Flesch Index: 69.8/82% are harder.
Flesch-Kincaid Index: 6.6/83% are harder.
Complex Words: 9%/79% have more.
Number: First.
Synopsis: Well, it’s essentially about a character named Billy Pilgrim who becomes unstuck in time. It is also about war and Kurt Vonnegut,ect.
Thought: I really enjoyed it. I mean, I really wasn’t not expecting it. I had been hearing so many things about this novel for so long that my expectations were pretty high. I thought that it was going to be much better.

That’s not to say that I didn’t really enjoy it. It was really good. I really enjoyed the metafiction aspects as well as just the sheer hilarity of it. I generally tend to enjoy the absurdist stuff….dealing with the angst of life by laughing at its insanity.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Frank Herbert's Dune Messiah



Frank Herbert's Dune Messiah
Quality: Ten out of Ten.
Reason: It's Dune!.
Genre: Science Fiction.
Original Language: English.
Date of Publication: 1969
Fog Index: 8.6/81% are harder.
Flesch Index: 68.5/80% are harder.
Flesch-Kincaid Index: 6.2/83% are harder.
Complex Words: 11%/65% have more.
Number: Sixth?
Synopsis: This is the second book of the Dune Storyline. Paul is now Emperor and this novel follows some of the problems and the plots that occur agaisnt him.
Thought: I think I was in sixth grade the first time that I tried to read this book. I really like it. It's not my favorite of the dune books but it's still really good. I also think that some of the conflicts in the novel are interesting.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Starhawk's Truth or Dare



Starhawk's Truth or Dare
Quality: Two out of Ten.
Reason: Random.
Genre: Women's Studies. Paganism.
Original Language: English.
Date of Publication: 1988
Fog Index: 12.0/56% are harder.
Flesch Index: 58.3/65% are harder.
Flesch-Kincaid Index: 9.3/58% are harder.
Complex Words: 13%/56% have more.
Number: First.
Synopsis: It's an examination of the power relationships.
Thought: I thought it was going to be a lot better. it just annoyed me,really.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie


Tennesse William’s Glass Menagerie
Begin: 2/9/08
End: 2/9/08
Quality: Ten out of Ten.
Reason: Modern Drama.
Genre: Drama. Fiction.
Original Language: English.
Date of Publication: 1945
Fog Index: 6.9/91% are harder.
Flesch Index: 75.6/91% are harder.
Flesch-Kincaid Index: 5.3/91% are harder.
Complex Words: 7%/88% have more.
Number: A Few.
Synopsis: This is about a family living in a tiny apartment. The mother is domineering. The daughter is fragile and shy. The son is unhappy and wants to run away.
Thought: I love this play. I have for a while. Well, I love everything by Tennesse Williams or at least all of the things that I have read. I just think that he creates these remarkable characters and this sharp dialogue. Okay. I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I can’t seem to be able to talk about literature in any sort of intelligent way right now. I liked it! I connected with Tom. I think he’s a big homo. I also really love Amanda. I’m done.

Frank Herbert's Dune



Frank Herbert’s Dune
Begin: 2/1/08
End: 2/8/08
Quality: Ten out of Ten.
Reason: Reading Plan.
Genre: Science Fiction. Fiction. Novel.
Original Language: English.
Date of Publication: 1965
Fog Index: 7.9/85% are harder.
Flesch Index: 72.1/86% are harder.
Flesch-Kincaid Index: 5.9/86% are harder.
Complex Words: 9%/76% have more.
Number: Countless.
Synopsis: This novel takes place far in the future in a vast interstellar empire. The main character, Paul, is the heir designate of House Arteries. His family has just been given stewardship of the fief of Arrakis. Arrakis is the most important planet in the universe because of the spice called Melange. The stewardship is a trap set between the emperor and the House Harkoneen. The Atreides is attacked by forces of both of these and Paul escapes to the desert with his mother and are taken in by the indigenous people of Arrakis, the Fremen. He builds them into an impressive fighting force and becomes a messiah to them eventually taking back Arrakis and becoming Emperor.
Thought: God, I really love this book! I just can’t get enough. I have read it countless times. It’s just so damn smart! The characters are so damned developed and it just brings up so many issues and thoughts that fascinate me. Herbert mixes Politics, Religion, Ecology, Technology, ect. It’s amazing.

Frank Hebert is so political and philosophical. He address so many damn issues here and really makes you think while telling an amazing story and really captivating you.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi and Bernard Glassman's on Zen Practice


Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi and Bernard Glassman's on Zen Practice
Begin: 1/12/08
End: 1/27/08
Quality: Nine out of Ten.
Reason: Random.
Genre: Religion. Buddhism. Zen.
Original Language: English.
Date of Publication: 2002
Fog Index: 11.3/63% are harder.
Flesch Index: 60.5/68% are harder.
Flesch-Kincaid Index: 8.6/66% are harder.
Complex Words: 13%/57% have more.
Number: Second.
Synopsis: I think the title explains it all. This book is just basically about Zen Practices. Meditation, Koans, ect.
Thought: I really liked it. I found it to be informing. I am not sure exactly what I can say about it. I mean it is really is what it is and I did finish it a little while ago.