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The Phoenix: An Unnatural Biography of a Mythical Beast
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Arising triumphantly from the ashes of its predecessor, the phoenix has been an enduring symbol of...
Jungle of Stone: The Extraordinary Journey of John L. Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, and the Discovery of the Lost Civilization of the Maya
Book
New York Times Bestseller (Expeditions) "Thrilling...A captivating history of two men who...
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated 100 Speeches that roused the world in Books
Oct 5, 2020
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<b><i>Boy, oh boy, do I have mixed feelings about 100 Speeches That Roused the World by Colin Salter.</i></b>
The reason I picked up this book is because I have always been in love with speeches and orators. I believe that the ability to speak in front of an audience is a very powerful skill, and I admire it as such. Many great leaders and many successful people use this skill to make people listen and act in a way they want them to. That is where the true art is, and I really admire this aspect. The fact that you can listen to two or more people tell you the same thing, and only one being able to convince you to do something or believe in something they say is a true gift.
Which takes us to the second reason I picked this book up. To find out more about the people who had this ability in history and made a difference in one way or another. And for the most part, I was pleased. There are speeches of many great (and not so great) leaders out there, speeches of people that made breakthroughs in their fields, people who fought for their rights.
<b><i>But there was a pattern I noticed in these 100 speeches.</i></b>
Most of these speeches were either from the UK or USA. And most of them were presidents, prime ministers,royalty or leaders in any other way. And all their speeches were speeches during the wars. Telling their people to fight for their nations.
And I have nothing against those speeches. They were perfect for their time and they did their purpose at the time. What I had a problem with is that there were so many more important times in history when a speech was made and it represented a change.
What about all the speeches that philosophers have given in ancient Rome and Greece? For Rome, where is Julius Caesar’s speech to the senate? For Greece, how about the movement for freedom of speech? What about the speeches during humanism and renaissance? What about some of the groundbreaking speeches that scientists have given over the years?
I was a bit disappointed with the format of the book as well, as the speeches were mostly short paragraphs, followed by a full page of the author’s notes, mostly quoting the same speech again. It was very helpful to know the background of how the speech made a difference in the world, but when most of those speeches didn’t really make any difference, and I was involved in a history lesson of the most important wars in history, it wasn’t much of a fun read.
<b><i>To conclude, this book wasn’t what I was looking for, both format and content wise. The 100 Speeches mentioned in this book didn’t do enough justice for me. I believe that title is misleading, but I can also understand that some people can still learn a lot by reading it.</i></b>
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<img src="https://i1.wp.com/diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Book-Review-Banner-86.png?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1"/>;
<b><i>Boy, oh boy, do I have mixed feelings about 100 Speeches That Roused the World by Colin Salter.</i></b>
The reason I picked up this book is because I have always been in love with speeches and orators. I believe that the ability to speak in front of an audience is a very powerful skill, and I admire it as such. Many great leaders and many successful people use this skill to make people listen and act in a way they want them to. That is where the true art is, and I really admire this aspect. The fact that you can listen to two or more people tell you the same thing, and only one being able to convince you to do something or believe in something they say is a true gift.
Which takes us to the second reason I picked this book up. To find out more about the people who had this ability in history and made a difference in one way or another. And for the most part, I was pleased. There are speeches of many great (and not so great) leaders out there, speeches of people that made breakthroughs in their fields, people who fought for their rights.
<b><i>But there was a pattern I noticed in these 100 speeches.</i></b>
Most of these speeches were either from the UK or USA. And most of them were presidents, prime ministers,royalty or leaders in any other way. And all their speeches were speeches during the wars. Telling their people to fight for their nations.
And I have nothing against those speeches. They were perfect for their time and they did their purpose at the time. What I had a problem with is that there were so many more important times in history when a speech was made and it represented a change.
What about all the speeches that philosophers have given in ancient Rome and Greece? For Rome, where is Julius Caesar’s speech to the senate? For Greece, how about the movement for freedom of speech? What about the speeches during humanism and renaissance? What about some of the groundbreaking speeches that scientists have given over the years?
I was a bit disappointed with the format of the book as well, as the speeches were mostly short paragraphs, followed by a full page of the author’s notes, mostly quoting the same speech again. It was very helpful to know the background of how the speech made a difference in the world, but when most of those speeches didn’t really make any difference, and I was involved in a history lesson of the most important wars in history, it wasn’t much of a fun read.
<b><i>To conclude, this book wasn’t what I was looking for, both format and content wise. The 100 Speeches mentioned in this book didn’t do enough justice for me. I believe that title is misleading, but I can also understand that some people can still learn a lot by reading it.</i></b>
The New York Times, 36 Hours: Europe: Dream Weekends with Practical Itineraries from Paris to Perm
Book
(Re)discovering Europe. Dream weekends with practical itineraries from Paris to Perm. Culture,...
City Squares: Eighteen Writers on the Spirit and Significance of Squares Around the World
Book
In this important collection, eighteen renowned writers, including David Remnick, Zadie Smith,...
Rachel King (13 KP) rated The Hunger Games in Books
Feb 11, 2019
Right away this book captures my attention with a quick introduction to Katniss's survival skills followed by the District 12 Hunger Games lottery, a grim holiday that nobody wants to celebrate, but is still mandatory. It does not take long for the reader to feel sympathetic towards Katniss and the hardship she struggles with everyday just to survive.
Every detail leading up to the actual event of the Hunger Games has a surreal feel, as Katniss is primped and paraded like a beauty pageant contestant, as if everyone is ignoring the fact that these are children, with all but one facing imminent death. This is reality television meets the ancient gladiator games of Rome, combined with the sick irony of using a nation's most precious commodity -- its children. As a mother of three, I can not even fathom living in a country that tolerated this year after year. These Hunger Games are the country's way of preventing rebellion in its citizens through fear, brainwashing, and desensitization, as it is mandatory for every citizen to watch. In some districts, this is so successful that children are routinely trained specifically for the Hunger Games, volunteering to face murder and death for a chance at fame and fortune.
The love triangle is obvious early on, though the conflict can't come into play until the second book in the series. Peeta is the one in the spotlight, the one that humanizes Katniss for the viewers and makes her likable due to his own romantic feelings for her. Unfortunately, Katniss is too busy staying alive to be certain of her true feelings, even though she can pretend well enough to convince even Peeta. Peeta is self-sacrificing, while Katniss is observant and resourceful. Katniss is able to avoid becoming a cold-hearted murderer only because of Peeta's presence.
Regarding the actual Game, those that run it operate to keep the entertainment value up, adding to the danger of the contestants still alive, handing out gifts to give one an edge over another, forcing contestants into battle to increase bloodshed and drama, and generally treating the twenty-four as actors and actresses in any other fictional television drama. What Katniss keeps returning to is how "normal" these people of the Capitol see of the deaths of these children. It occurred to me while reading this that it would be better to be one of those that died in the Games, rather than live with being the monster responsible for the deaths of twenty-three other children purely for the entertainment of the shallow and self-absorbed.
This book is both shocking and heart-rending, and I look forward to the next installment, Catching Fire.
Every detail leading up to the actual event of the Hunger Games has a surreal feel, as Katniss is primped and paraded like a beauty pageant contestant, as if everyone is ignoring the fact that these are children, with all but one facing imminent death. This is reality television meets the ancient gladiator games of Rome, combined with the sick irony of using a nation's most precious commodity -- its children. As a mother of three, I can not even fathom living in a country that tolerated this year after year. These Hunger Games are the country's way of preventing rebellion in its citizens through fear, brainwashing, and desensitization, as it is mandatory for every citizen to watch. In some districts, this is so successful that children are routinely trained specifically for the Hunger Games, volunteering to face murder and death for a chance at fame and fortune.
The love triangle is obvious early on, though the conflict can't come into play until the second book in the series. Peeta is the one in the spotlight, the one that humanizes Katniss for the viewers and makes her likable due to his own romantic feelings for her. Unfortunately, Katniss is too busy staying alive to be certain of her true feelings, even though she can pretend well enough to convince even Peeta. Peeta is self-sacrificing, while Katniss is observant and resourceful. Katniss is able to avoid becoming a cold-hearted murderer only because of Peeta's presence.
Regarding the actual Game, those that run it operate to keep the entertainment value up, adding to the danger of the contestants still alive, handing out gifts to give one an edge over another, forcing contestants into battle to increase bloodshed and drama, and generally treating the twenty-four as actors and actresses in any other fictional television drama. What Katniss keeps returning to is how "normal" these people of the Capitol see of the deaths of these children. It occurred to me while reading this that it would be better to be one of those that died in the Games, rather than live with being the monster responsible for the deaths of twenty-three other children purely for the entertainment of the shallow and self-absorbed.
This book is both shocking and heart-rending, and I look forward to the next installment, Catching Fire.
50 Bars to Blow Your Mind
Lonely Planet and Ben Handicott
Book
From the people who have been delivering trustworthy guidebooks to every destination in the world...
HO
History of Dance with Web Resource
Book
History of Dance, Second Edition, offers readers a panoramic view of dance from prehistory to the...
3rd Grade Non-Fiction Reading Comprehension
Education and Games
App
Improve your reading skills! 3rd Grade Non-Fiction Reading Comprehension is the most advanced...
EmersonRose (320 KP) rated The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5) in Books
Nov 20, 2019
Alert! Before I begin this review, I need to let it be known that in the case of this particular book I may be a little biased, well maybe really biased! This is the tenth book I have read by this author and the last in the second series I have read. It is safe to say I love these books or else I would not have read this many.
Alright, now that that is out of the way, let me begin. This book is called Blood of Olympus, it is the fifth and final book in the Heroes of Olympus series (if you should ever desire to read these book, I would recommend starting with the Percy Jackson, and the Olympians series as this series is a sequel series. The author of this book is a writer by the name of Rick Riordan. This book is a young adult fantasy novel. It is the final chapter of the adventure of a group of seven young adults who happen to be demigods, modern day children of the ancient gods of Greece and Rome. This adventure, like many great adventures, is a race to save the world.
For me, the initial draw of the book was that it is a fantasy novel, which is one of my favorite genres, and its focus is on Greek Mythology, something of an obsession of mine. The mythology in these books may not always satisfy all mythology nerds because they do take liberties in how the myths are presented in order to showcase how they might have changed to fit in the modern day world. The way Riordan chooses to represent mythology is often fairly close to original stories, showing that he spends the time researching the myths, and they are clever, funny, and entertaining.
As I read the books, I found myself drawn to the relationships between the characters, not surprising as characters are a key draw for me in literature. By this point in the series, the relationships became especially interesting because you have known some of the characters for ten books now while others are just in their second or third book appearances. The central characters have grown into a substantial group that each have their own unique backgrounds, personalities, and even mythologies that create intriguing tension and bonds. Their bonds grow stronger as they work through new struggles and adventures with the added drama of them being a group of teenagers, which obviously means that there is a fair bit of romance involved as well.
For me personally to get into a story the most important aspect is to be very invested in61w3pqVMCZL._US230_ the characters. This does not mean I have to like them, but I do need to be completely invested in what happens to them. If the storyteller can do this, then I will most likely binge the entire thing whether book, movie, tv show, comic…. regardless whether or not the story is good or my normal cup of tea. This was definitely an initial draw in me reading this second series because I was already very invested in both Percy and Annabeth’s characters, who are among the main characters in this series and the main characters in the previous series. The majority of the characters in this book did capture my emotional investment, which kept me reading all five books, but there were a few I found lacking. Maybe I am the only one who felt this, but I thought that Riordan didn’t spend enough time on some of the new characters to pull me into their plots. Unfortunately, this is common in stories that feature such a large cast of main characters, had the time on each character been even plot points might not have been as successful and honestly, I might have been annoyed to not spend as much time on my favorites.
I would be lying if I were to say this was my favorite book in this series but I still greatly enjoyed it. Besides my problem with not feeling emotionally invested enough in some of the characters, I really do not have any other complaints about the book. It was successful in finishing this series story arc while having plenty of plot of its own. And it ended wrapping just about everything up so that I was satisfied, but open enough to still want more. If this were a regular series, the leftover cliffhangers would be dreadful! But Riordan writes series that capture over-arching plots but that connect to his other book series in this same world, so an ending like this simply promising more books about these characters in another series.
Overall I liked this book, if young adult fantasy is your genre, then I would definitely suggest looking at these books. They do what I require of my urban fantasy stories, mix magic into our real world enough that a part of me can almost believe it could be possible. Characters, world, and plot flowing together into an engaging story that obviously captured my interest enough to read ten and counting of these novels.
*This was a review I found while cleaning that I write a few years ago. I have since read two more Riordan novels and counting! I love the way Riordan writes and appreciate how he seems to continually grow as a writer, always tackling new issues and allowing his characters to have growth. Annabeth and Percy especially, they are two of my all-time favorite characters. I highly recommend reading his books!
Alright, now that that is out of the way, let me begin. This book is called Blood of Olympus, it is the fifth and final book in the Heroes of Olympus series (if you should ever desire to read these book, I would recommend starting with the Percy Jackson, and the Olympians series as this series is a sequel series. The author of this book is a writer by the name of Rick Riordan. This book is a young adult fantasy novel. It is the final chapter of the adventure of a group of seven young adults who happen to be demigods, modern day children of the ancient gods of Greece and Rome. This adventure, like many great adventures, is a race to save the world.
For me, the initial draw of the book was that it is a fantasy novel, which is one of my favorite genres, and its focus is on Greek Mythology, something of an obsession of mine. The mythology in these books may not always satisfy all mythology nerds because they do take liberties in how the myths are presented in order to showcase how they might have changed to fit in the modern day world. The way Riordan chooses to represent mythology is often fairly close to original stories, showing that he spends the time researching the myths, and they are clever, funny, and entertaining.
As I read the books, I found myself drawn to the relationships between the characters, not surprising as characters are a key draw for me in literature. By this point in the series, the relationships became especially interesting because you have known some of the characters for ten books now while others are just in their second or third book appearances. The central characters have grown into a substantial group that each have their own unique backgrounds, personalities, and even mythologies that create intriguing tension and bonds. Their bonds grow stronger as they work through new struggles and adventures with the added drama of them being a group of teenagers, which obviously means that there is a fair bit of romance involved as well.
For me personally to get into a story the most important aspect is to be very invested in61w3pqVMCZL._US230_ the characters. This does not mean I have to like them, but I do need to be completely invested in what happens to them. If the storyteller can do this, then I will most likely binge the entire thing whether book, movie, tv show, comic…. regardless whether or not the story is good or my normal cup of tea. This was definitely an initial draw in me reading this second series because I was already very invested in both Percy and Annabeth’s characters, who are among the main characters in this series and the main characters in the previous series. The majority of the characters in this book did capture my emotional investment, which kept me reading all five books, but there were a few I found lacking. Maybe I am the only one who felt this, but I thought that Riordan didn’t spend enough time on some of the new characters to pull me into their plots. Unfortunately, this is common in stories that feature such a large cast of main characters, had the time on each character been even plot points might not have been as successful and honestly, I might have been annoyed to not spend as much time on my favorites.
I would be lying if I were to say this was my favorite book in this series but I still greatly enjoyed it. Besides my problem with not feeling emotionally invested enough in some of the characters, I really do not have any other complaints about the book. It was successful in finishing this series story arc while having plenty of plot of its own. And it ended wrapping just about everything up so that I was satisfied, but open enough to still want more. If this were a regular series, the leftover cliffhangers would be dreadful! But Riordan writes series that capture over-arching plots but that connect to his other book series in this same world, so an ending like this simply promising more books about these characters in another series.
Overall I liked this book, if young adult fantasy is your genre, then I would definitely suggest looking at these books. They do what I require of my urban fantasy stories, mix magic into our real world enough that a part of me can almost believe it could be possible. Characters, world, and plot flowing together into an engaging story that obviously captured my interest enough to read ten and counting of these novels.
*This was a review I found while cleaning that I write a few years ago. I have since read two more Riordan novels and counting! I love the way Riordan writes and appreciate how he seems to continually grow as a writer, always tackling new issues and allowing his characters to have growth. Annabeth and Percy especially, they are two of my all-time favorite characters. I highly recommend reading his books!