One Star a Day

A Passage to India

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:00:05 -0500

This book threatens meaning badly.

DONT BUY THIS BOOK. NOW !!!

(too bad it isnt possible to give less then one star)

Should we open a new tumblr for no star reviews?

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1GDPCT48GJD0B/

To the Lighthouse

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:00:05 -0500

I am an avid reader but couldn’t get into this one - stream of consciousness writing seems a way to avoid the trouble of orderly, focused writing. Back to something solid - like Tolkien, Melville, Trollope, Austen…..

Ah, yes. Tolkien as the example of focus.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2A0I3K92VD0H0/

Star Trek - The Original Series

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 12:00:06 -0500

I am a devout Trekker, I came of age during the time that the original series aired. I found it childish and I had no interest in watching it. However, Gene Roddenberry’s vision inspired me, I had the feeling that better things were on the way. I was right, the Next Generation series was proof that his vision was alive. Further proof was provided by Deep Space Nine and Voyager.
The fetus, the original series, was simply an absurd “William Shatner Show”, the acting was ludicrous and Shatner’s overweight and over acting destroyed the essence Roddenberry intended.

The Star Trek legend was born when Patrick Stewart and company came on TV in 1987. Before TNG, Star Trek was childs play and nothing more. No exploration of characters was possible with Shatner’s vanity, he ruined the original series. Majel Roddenberry said that and I agree with her.

Nothing says “The Internet” like arguing about which Star Trek series is superior.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3VCZT0XNF78DZ

Animal Farm

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:00:05 -0500

Animal Farm is the weirdest book I’ve ever read. In it (in a parody of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution) animals in a UK farm overthrow their master, a Mr. Jones. Now, I fully understand the message the author is conveying, and (keep in mind I had to read it because for Grade 10 English, otherwise I’d rather be reading the latest Tom Clancy or Dale Brown thriller) while some parts were, say, tolerable, the book contained absurdities on EVERY page, such as: animals that can read, write, paint, sew, operate firearms, sing, teach, trade, and form Communist dictatorships. Well, the only way I got myself throgh this extremely (thank God) short novel was to lock myself into a room, read it, and get it over with

Methinks someone has missed the day at school where they discussed allegory.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R3I17PSSS2L8F7

Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:00:06 -0500

I understand that this is a great book, but I just don’t see it. I am just an average reader and I didn’t catch any of the philosophical meanings Joyce had behind his writing, and even if I did, this book would still be terrible. Joyce failed to spark even the smallest bit of interest within me. Similar to Dubliners, I had to put this book down before reading seven or more pages at one time.

You can read seven pages at a time? Wow. I bow to your reading prowess.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2Q3JGH427TL8Z

Highway 61 Revisited

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 12:45:30 -0400

Yawn! Why is this album in such high regard? It’s crap. It’s just a commercial computer manufactured pile of flaming poo. The guy can’t even play guitar! He only knows how to play two chords. I think it’s about time someone showed this hack to write music- Fred Durst, perhaps?

The computers that wrote Highway 61 must have been really amazing. I mean, they existed in 1965 before integrated circuits were really commercially accessible.

http://www.amazon.com/review/RQEJ1HE763OIX

The Federalist Papers

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:07:54 -0400

I have no idea why anyone would waste time and money on a book about the Constitution. The Constitution doesn’t amount to a hill of beans! If you can move the polls, that’s all that counts. Save your money on this one folks and learn how to spin!

James Monroe, is that you again?

http://www.amazon.com/review/R29LVI9O06C5LL

The Beatles (White Album)

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:50:19 -0400

I don’t understand all the fuss about this album. While my Guitar Gently Weeps is the worst song on the album. It shows what little talent they actually had. Mcarthur and Lenin just didn’t write any imaginative songs. I think Matchbox 20 is a lot better than the beetels.

While My Review Gently Weeps.

Seriously. Matchbox 20!?

http://www.amazon.com/review/R6WAG5KW8WIK6

Caddyshack

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:08:05 -0400

i bought this hd video at a game store
picture is grainny looks like a vhs laser disc copy
exchanged it for king kong.

Review haiku is
full of non-movie issues
Give one star to that

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2RKY2GLKJSXKE

The Sun Also Rises

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:53:00 -0400

I think that this book was okay. It sounded like a modern day soap opra off of the television. However, I do find it to be a rather delightful book. I apreciate the title. It’s a nice title. And the cover, talk about nice colors.

I guess they subscribe to the “say something nice” theory of criticism.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R389DOXBFC6XQA

Death Comes for the Archbishop - Willa Cather

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:26:00 -0400

erhem…to all you acedeca “decathaleats” i ask one question.

Y

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2HIVC6Q8IBU5L/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Huh?

Catch 22 - Joseph Heller

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:19:00 -0400

I has read this novel for a English Class in collage and I found it absolutely mortifying. The psycho Yossarian with his flashbacks of memories and women who are protrayed at whores appaled me. I don’t recommend this book to anyone who doesn’t like idiotic scenes about nothing important.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R190JRLRQZ0YTH/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

The Godfather, Part II (movie) - Francis Ford Coppola

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:14:00 -0400

it was a fine well acted film but too slow and boring too many times. I guess that 1 star is a little harsh but when I saw it I wanted a gangster movie, not a family drama.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1QXDOBXHPYBJ7/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Sub-tle-ty

-noun.

The quality or state of being subtle.

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:07:00 -0400

It seems that complaining is the national pastime, and this book is no exception. It would apear that Mr. Fitzgerald was somewhat unhappy, and decided to tell the world, along the way gving the rest of us something else to complain about. The critisisms of the American dream, and of rich people are true certainly, but hey, we already knew that. He seems to veiw love in a distant manner, as if it never works out for anybody. Self pity is such a wonderful thing, isn’t it. So, if your feeling the least bit perky, just pick up a copy, and soon, if it doesn’t put you to sleep, you’ll find yourself in a dreary funk.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1KIZMNS3C1GHO/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Apparently, the reviewer missed the irony of stating that “complaining is the national pastime” while complaining about a book.

In Cold Blood - Truman Capote

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 12:56:00 -0400

This book is not worth the paper on which it is printed. It details the actions of a pair of brutal killers with the implicit view that these killers were not that bad, and that they should not be viewed as the inhuman, mindless brutes that they are. The two murderers are “humanized” to the point of inducing a violent nausea in a despicable attempt to elicit pity from the reader.

I read this book in my English class, and I could not believe how successful Capote’s attempt at pity was. When I was not trying to remind the rest of the class that these two monsters brutally murdered an innocent family, I was sitting with my mouth agape listening to their petty, incoherent, erroneous rationalizations. Please do not be fooled by Capote… these two killers do not deserve your pity — they do not even deserve to be called “human.”

For a book that glorifies man, I suggest the masterpiece by Ayn Rand: Atlas Shrugged. Miss Rand presents man as heroic being who is capable of dealing with reality. Although one may cringe when one looks at Atlas Shrugged (it is almost 1100 pages), one will be wishing for more by the end.

http://www.amazon.com/review/RRBTI7OR8TOUV/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Probably the first and only time that Capote and Ayn Rand will be paired in a discussion of literature.