You must have heard about abridged and unabridged versions of books. You must have wondered too what the difference is between them. Abridged books are condensed ones. They are shortened forms of original manuscripts. Traditionally condensing is done to make any book that’s biblical in length sound interesting to readers.
Little Brother is essentially about the effects of fear and its unhappy results to one young man, Marcus Yallow, who attempts to ‘fight’ his own government, Homeland Security to be precise. As a young man of about 17 Marcus is a computer guru to many of his peers. Writer Doctorow goes to some lengths to demonstrate Marcus’ ability to thwart the governmental security measures at his high school.
As a child, you absorbed everything you encountered, whether it was for the better or for the worse. The experiences you had were based as much upon your circumstance as they were your character…but of these two potential obstacles, character is something that is built and formed through our own hard work as well as the influence of others. One of the most influential forces in a child’s life, second to only their parents, goes by the simple name of teacher.
We often think great writers just pop up one day out of nowhere: here I am. It doesn’t work that way. Ernest Hemingway had a lot of help with his first four books, to include Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and his PH.D., along with F. Scott Fitzgerald. Had it not been for Sherwood Anderson, he might not have even got his first two books out. His style was not created overnight, it was much like Anderson’s at first, yes, and he copied him somewhat. And he allowed Fitzgerald to help him get to know, his publisher, so then he could throw Anderson’s away, and create a parody in his third book on him. We also like to think of Hemingway as the main character in his books, and he is for much of them, but where he puts the fiction, he would never tell, and there is much of it there; reading between the lines and knowing him, is the secret of course.
Guidelines for Parents into Parenting the Way God Designed It
Today we live in a world in which our children are confronted with opposing philosophies, and are being assailed from all sides. Dr. Rich Rogers offers advice on parenting which focuses on both the physical and spiritual realm in his book “Next Level Parenting.”
While parents are being lulled into complacency, Satan is raging a battle for their children through the media, secular humanist philosophies, the internet, and contemporary music. “Next Level Parenting” is a wake up call to Christian parents of the danger of spiritual warfare. It is crucial for parents to take action steps to win the battle for their children. God is ready to stand with the reader, to protect the souls of their children and to provide the spiritual weapons needed for spiritual combat.
Roger’s introduces a six step pattern for parenting based on scriptural principles revealing God’s approach and His purposes.
Dr. Rich’s writing is practical, and encouraging, calling for a deeper level of commitment. He uses an interactive teaching approach which asks probing questions and uses relevant illustrations which teach fundamental truths. He includes point by point action steps which draw the reader into an interactive learning experience.
Dr. Rich Roger’s message is aimed at parents, is an excellent resource for Christian educators, pastors, and church leaders. Roger writes with clarity, is credible, genuine in his concern, and encouraging in his counsel. “Next Level Parenting” takes parenting to an exciting new level of parenting the way God designed it.
Christian Life, A Strang Company, 978-1599794730
As reviewed for Midwest Book Review
“Street Stoppers: The Martial Arts’ Most Devastating Trips Sweeps and Throws for Real Fighting” by Mark Mireles and Loren W. Christensen is a good book. I applaud the two for writing about a subject that has not been addressed like this, even though it is such a very important subject when it comes to fighting and self-defense.
When reading a book we often form our own ideas about what is said in the text. In fact, we constantly, and always, form our own ideas about what is said. However, sometimes the ideas which we form are expected on the author’s part and sometimes they are not. This is where the debate over authorial intention begins.
In 2001, I graduated college and decided to go teach English in China. I decided that the best way to prepare would be to read some books, both fiction and non-fiction, on China. Here is a list of some of the books I read to prepare for my first visit to China and the books I have read since.
I assume that you have either read the first novel (you big girl), or that your girlfriend forced you to watch the movie with her. Either way, you are now a “Twi-Guy”, welcome to the club.
In the first book, we saw Bella Swan exile herself to the dreary town of Forks expecting the small town to be just as dull as the weather. This is before she meets the local vegetarian-vampire heartthrob Edward Cullen. Falling in love with a vampire obviously has its drawbacks and everything goes to pieces when a group of “normal” vampires decided to visit Forks (Yeah, I’ll admit, I am using the word “normal” rather loosely here). James decides that killing Bella would be good fun and after an elaborate game of cat and mouse, he manages to lure Bella into his clutches. Edward and the rest of the Cullens intervene in the nick of time and manage to save Bella. James isn’t so fortunate and is killed by the Cullens.
New Moon kicks off on Bella’s 18th birthday, much to her dismay. All Bella wants for her birthday is for everyone to pretend that it’s not her birthday. Unfortunately for her, there is a family of vampires that have not been able to celebrate a human birthday in decades. She gets forced into attending a party at the Cullen house and that is where everything goes to pieces.
Bella cuts her finger while opening a gift and Jasper loses control and attempts to attack her. The Cullens decide to leave Forks and Edward tells Bella that he doesn’t want her anymore. He goes so far as to erase all proof of his existence from her life and she spirals into depression.
Despite the hurt it causes her, Bella clings to her memories of Edward and she starts hearing his voice when she does something dangerous. This leads her to buy two broken old motorcycles and she turns to her friend Jacob Black to help her repair them. Jacob slowly starts to fill the gap that Edward left in Bella’s life and all is going well until Jacob suddenly starts avoiding Bella.
Bella tries desperately to cling to her friendship with Jacob as it is all that keeps her from falling back into depression. Bella thinks that a cult is responsible for Jacob’s behaviour but she soon learns that the Cullens aren’t the only mythical friends she has as Jacob and his friends have mythical qualities too. Mythical qualities that come in very handy when Victoria and Laurent return to Forks to avenge James by killing Bella.
Amid all the danger and confusion in Bella’s life, Alice unexpectedly appears in Forks and suddenly Bella has to choose between losing Jacob and saving Edward’s life.
Much like Twilight, New Moon starts off at quite a slow pace and the action increases dramatically towards the end. Despite the real action only occuring towards the end of the book, I still struggled to put it down. I couldn’t help getting caught up in Bella’s day to day life. Nothing about it is mundane and I needed to satiate my thirst by barrelling headlong into the book.
In the beginning Bella is so worried about her birthday that you would swear she was turning 30, not 18. As usual, Bella is worrying about trivial things that don’t make sense to us guys and the interaction between her and Edward is highly amusing. However, that is where the fun ends. Remember how I said that one really connects with the characters and their emotions when reading Twilight? Well, unfortunately Stephenie Meyer doesn’t disappoint on that front with New Moon.
If you are wondering why I said “unfortunately”, fast forward to the break up. Oh yes. If you have ever had your heart broken, then reading the next 100 pages or so won’t be fun in the least. It felt like I was having my heart broken as opposed to it happening to Bella.
How could you do this to me Edward Cullen!? After everything we’ve been through!? How!?
As annoying as the whole thing is, deep down you know Edward is only leaving because he thinks it will protect Bella. Which is even more annoying because you feel like smacking him around a bit to make him come to his senses. Either way, you know he’ll be back.
When Bella later turns to Jacob it feels like she is cheating on Edward and that opportunistic little mongrel Jacob jumps at the chance to cosy up to Bella (Yeah, I don’t like Jacob much. If you’re on Team Jacob, then bite me). Needless to say, Stephenie manages to evoke many strong emotions with her writing. While the majority of the book will make you want to put on some Dashboard Confessional and reach for your razor blades, there is a slight reprieve later on when Bella abandons Jacob to run off and save Edward. Yes, unlikely as it may seem, bungling Bella will save the superhuman Edward.
I think over all New Moon is the the book I enjoyed least out of the series. Don’t get me wrong, it is very well written and Stephenie really does convey the emotions of the characters flawlessly, but the first half of the book literally made me depressed for a whole day, whereas the other books did not. The lack of “Cullen-ness” in the book was also definitely evident as it lacks many of the inside jokes I have come to know and love.
Don’t let that deter you though. It is an excellent book and well worth the read. It’s not Stephenie’s fault that she is just a bit too good at her craft. If it’s any consolation, there is a huge fight scene in Eclipse and none of the story will make sense unless you read New Moon first. So get cracking!
“Turtle Dolphin Dreams” is an imaginative, thought-provoking exploration of how humans, turtles, dolphins, and other beings in the animal world might connect and learn from one another. Despite its small size, it is not a children’s book but rather a metaphysical and visionary journey for adults, for those who care about our earth, and those concerned about our relationship with the earth and its creatures.
The premise of the story is that turtles have been invited into the dream world of dolphins, and they have been communicating through their dreams for some time. The dolphins wish to communicate with humans as well, but they have had difficulty in reaching us so they have asked a turtle to speak for them because turtles, being amphibians that can breathe both on land and in water, can better communicate with both earth-bound humans and water-bound dolphins.
The turtle narrator, named Turtledove, spends considerable time explaining the details of how the shared dreaming works and why the dolphins wish to communicate with people. I find this discussion fascinating, for I have long wondered whether it is possible to communicate with other people through dreams-George du Maurier’s much overlooked 1891 classic novel “Peter Ibbetson” explored this possibility, and I have always thought du Maurier visionary in his ideas, so I was elated to see Marian K. Volkman has imagined not only a similar but even more cutting-edge experience because the dream communication is between two different species.
The rest of “Turtle Dolphin Dreams” discusses lessons the dolphin world has to teach us about relationships, enjoying life and its pleasures, and the larger picture of life and the universe, called “the Seam.” The section I found most interesting was about play. The dolphins do not understand why humans forsake play as we grow into adults, feeling guilt and a need to justify playing rather than working, when life is meant to be enjoyed, and the more pleasure we can gain from it, the better. I have come across this message many times in the past, but I thought it was perfectly presented in this narrative; it is a message that bears constant repeating in our fast-paced world.
Is inter-species communication possible? Physically, some progress has been made, but the dream world remains a place needing considerable more exploration as a possible medium for such communication. I believe “Turtle Dolphin Dreams” is more than a fantasy. It is exploring what could be, and what will be if we only learn how to relax and be open to the possibilities of this world rather than narrowly relying solely on logic, science and hard work that limit our imaginations. After all, it was by being open to possibility that the author Marian Volkman received the idea for the book through what she describes as a “telepathic experience” (see www.turtledolphindreams.com for the inspiring story of how the book came to be written).
Imagination is what leads to creativity, invention and ultimately the progress of both human civilization and the soul. So many ideas from science-fiction novels of a century ago have become reality. A century from now, inter-species communication as inspired by “Turtle Dolphin Dreams” might just as likely become reality. I doubt anyone who reads this beautiful little book will be likely to forget the possibilities it opens.