Archive for March, 2010
Title: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Pages: 214
Time spent on the “to read” shelf: 4 or 5 months I think.
Days spent reading it: 4 days.
Why I read it: The Catcher in the Rye is an American classic and very controversial. I honestly wanted to see what was so controversial. Also, it was one of those “classics” that I did not read while in high school. In researching about it later I read that in 1981 it was the most censored book in US high schools and the second most taught book in high schools. It was one of the 10 most challenged books in 2005, but it came off the list in 2006. Those are some fun facts for you.
Brief review:
This book frankly annoyed me. The writing has very repetitive and had many aggravating sayings in it. The word “really” is used almost as much as the curse words that are prevalent throughout the book (one reason it is often censored–I would guess that gd appears 2-3 times a page at minimum, sometimes significantly more). And I assure you, both appear more than they need to, I really mean it.
Holden Caulfield is the main character. He is the epitome of teenage angst. His world is utterly pessimistic. He sees only the bad in everything except his sister and his deceased younger brother. He is bright, but is failing out of school. He is obsessed with sex, but cannot develop a relationship with a girl. He is active and pursues all the pleasure trappings that a big city have, but has no defining meaning to his life.
The book covers three days between him being kicked out of school and his untimely return home. Holden is depressed, hates everyone, exaggerates EVERYTHING (annoyingly so), and seems to have few people skills. In short, he is the perfect anti-hero and irritating enough that I did not like him one bit while reading this book.
I suppose this book speaks to the hearts of some disaffected youth, but they would have to be interested in drudging through 200 pages of dribble in order to find the voic
Artur Rubinstein in Concert
Hello, I would like to thank Neal for writting these books and saying out loud some of my original thoughts on the true nature of God and our relationship with Him; I am also of Catholic upbringing and his books have resonated in my mind and my soul as confirmation that one’s most deepest thoughts, often the one’s most closely related to goodness, are the one’s we should be following and not just what we “think” we should do from what other people(church, parents, teachers, etc…) tell us or have shown us in our lives. I am going to give away these books as presents to my friends who I feel need to read this book and I don’t care if they cringe at the title and all preconceptions they might have about it, I know they will find them just as interesting and fullfilling as I have. Thank you again for this wonderful experience! Keep up the good work Neal! 
Interfit INT463 Stellar XD
One of the most haunting books that I have read in years.
The main character, Rosie, is complicated, sensitive and heroic. She’s also an elephant. The time is a “depression era” slice of life. Critics have represented this book as ‘riviting’ and ’sheer fun’. It is certainly ‘riviting’. Sometimes, it isn’t fun. It’s a book about a beutiful sensitive animal who endures the most depression era horrific abuse. While Rosie is an elephant, she also personifies a dwarf, a dog called Queenie, a chimp called Bobo, and Marlena. It’s complicated.
I found it hard to read at times because I LOVE Rosie. I love Jacob Jankowski. The second generation, animal Vet that we all hope treats our animal friends.
The reviews written so far haven’t talked about the difficult moments in the book. There are moments that made me think of animal rights. In the depression, they had no rights. Read this book and stand up for animal rights. Stand up for Rosie!
I am very happy with this purchase. It does a great job,is light weight and easy to use.
Clean n Dry Waterproof
The friction mount does exactly what it is supposed to do–it holds the GPS steady on the dashboard without slipping or leaving a mark on the windshield.
Delsey Helium Contour EZ
Easily one of the best products I have bought recently. Easy to use, comes with so many great features, and the battery life is wonderful! I highly recommend this to anyone and only wish I would have bought one sooner!
USA Security Store CCTV
There is no difference between this and the $65 monster cable that they will try to sell you at retail stores! Trust me, I am picky when it comes to my signal and picture quality and there is no difference at all.
Coiled Power Hot Sync
This is really a brilliant product.
I was skeptical if the Kindle could really replace a book , and not only the written text , but the feel of having a paperback in your hand.
The Kindle exceeded all of my expectations. It has a sturdy feel to it , without being heavy and it can be held in nearly every weird position that you would like to read in. Lying on the couch , sitting in a cramped economy seat airplane, trains, etc. It just has many angles to it. You can even hold it one hand if you’d want.
The text display is awesome. It takes about 10 pages to get used to the look&feel of the text on the screen and to get used to the navigation buttons. After that you mince through the words like there has never been another way to read.
Downloading content is almost too easy. The Kindle comes pre-set up to your Amazon account , and by overeagerly pressing buttons you’d have books and content in no time. Luckily the cancel feature sorted out my newbie overeagerness.
I’ve been all around the country (South Africa) and the Kindle has had wireless connection almost everywhere , the worst case having only intermittent access and after a couple of tries I succeeded.
This is an excellent product for any reader or wanna-be reader , and if you can get past the initial cost , it’ll be one of the best investments / gifts you’ll ever get.
Rokinon 650 1300mm Super
There is a major rip-off going on in HDMI A/V world and it’s the cables. “Big Box” stores are making more money selling you HDMI cables than they are selling you a Blu-Ray player! In the world of digital transmission the data is either there or it isn’t. How it gets there (cable) does not affect the quality! So come on all you A/V freaks and get with the program. These cables work perfectly and in no way deteriorate my audio or video signal AND they are anywhere from $26 to$46 cheaper than the stuff you’ll find at “Big Box Audio/Video”. So don’t spend “monster” cash for digital cabling. I’ll bet you have something else you could use that money for. (Like a couple of new Blu-Ray discs?)
Spanish Navy Spanish Armed
I bought this one for my wife for her birthday. I have to say it is the best in every single way. I also bought two similar none brand players for my two kids. those are ok for kids but are nothing like THE iPod. I am simply amazed by its quality and functionality. It is worth every penny. Buy with no second thought. Trust me!!!
I am not an official Apple fan and will buy the new iPad on April 5th. 
Pedro s Beverage Wrench