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The Theater of Experiment: Staging Natural Philosophy in Eighteenth-Century Britain
Book
The first book-length study of the relationship between science and theater during the long...
ClareR (5854 KP) rated The Women at Hitler’s Table in Books
Dec 3, 2019
Even though The Women at Hitler’s Table doesn’t feature an appearance by Hitler himself, it is very much about Hitler’s Germany and how his paranoia directly affected the women who were forced into becoming his food tasters. 1943 saw a shift in the Second World War, the Allies and Russia began to take the upper hand, and Hitler saw assassination plots around every corner (he wasn’t far wrong, but it was generally instigated by his own side).
Rosa Sauer moves from Berlin to live with her husbands parents in the countryside, to escape the bombs that killed her parents. However, in doing so she draws attention to herself and ends up being ‘enlisted’ by the SS as one of the female food tasters at the Wolfschanze (Wolfs Lair). In some ways this is a privileged position - food is scarce and people are starving. Rosa and her fellow food tasters are guaranteed regular food, but each meal could be their last. They have no choice but to eat: SS guards watch their every mouthful. Some of the women are Hitler loyalists and see it as an honour to do this, whilst others (Rosa included) aren’t as keen. Rosa is beginning to see the cracks in the regime, and in fact has disagreed with the party’s politics for a long time. But she has chosen not to do or say anything - as many people did.
This book looks at what life was like for the ordinary Germans. Their loves, loyalties, secrets and the fear for both their present circumstances and their futures. This isn’t a comfortable read. It looks at some very unsettling subjects, and the fear of the women is palpable. I think the story would have stood up well without the romance element, but I’m sure some would disagree with me and would enjoy that aspect more.
I really liked the links with real historical figures: Claus Von Stauffenberg, some local nobility and a real food taster that the story was based on (Margot Wölk). I also liked the style in which this was written. It was dark, subdued, much like how I imagine the country felt as a whole at this point. I really did enjoy this book - it was an interesting and new angle to look at a period in history which we all feel that we know a lot about. Just when you thought you’d seen it all, Hitler’s female food tasters make their appearance....
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for my copy of this book to read and review.
Rosa Sauer moves from Berlin to live with her husbands parents in the countryside, to escape the bombs that killed her parents. However, in doing so she draws attention to herself and ends up being ‘enlisted’ by the SS as one of the female food tasters at the Wolfschanze (Wolfs Lair). In some ways this is a privileged position - food is scarce and people are starving. Rosa and her fellow food tasters are guaranteed regular food, but each meal could be their last. They have no choice but to eat: SS guards watch their every mouthful. Some of the women are Hitler loyalists and see it as an honour to do this, whilst others (Rosa included) aren’t as keen. Rosa is beginning to see the cracks in the regime, and in fact has disagreed with the party’s politics for a long time. But she has chosen not to do or say anything - as many people did.
This book looks at what life was like for the ordinary Germans. Their loves, loyalties, secrets and the fear for both their present circumstances and their futures. This isn’t a comfortable read. It looks at some very unsettling subjects, and the fear of the women is palpable. I think the story would have stood up well without the romance element, but I’m sure some would disagree with me and would enjoy that aspect more.
I really liked the links with real historical figures: Claus Von Stauffenberg, some local nobility and a real food taster that the story was based on (Margot Wölk). I also liked the style in which this was written. It was dark, subdued, much like how I imagine the country felt as a whole at this point. I really did enjoy this book - it was an interesting and new angle to look at a period in history which we all feel that we know a lot about. Just when you thought you’d seen it all, Hitler’s female food tasters make their appearance....
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for my copy of this book to read and review.
A Tolkien Tapestry: Pictures to Accompany The Lord of the Rings
Book
This brand new full-colour art book reveals in sumptuous detail more than 100 paintings based on The...
Children's Bible Games for Kids, Family and School
Book and Education
App
Engage your kids and family with the Bible with funny and faithful Games & Activities. • 300 Games...
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Dilemma in Books
Jul 2, 2020
Livia became pregnant when she was seventeen and her wealthy but distant parents basically disowned her. As such, she's always dreamed of having a giant party of her own. Now she's turning forty and finally having the lavish party she's always longed for. Her husband Adam and eldest child, Josh, will be there, but her younger daughter Marnie, who is studying in Hong Kong, will miss the celebration. And, secretly, Livia is relieved--something she hasn't even told Adam. Adam, meanwhile, just wants it all to go well for Livia. He has his own surprise planned, until he learns something terrible that will change everything.
"What I hate most is that my need for this party came from my parents. If I'd been able to have the wedding they promised me, I wouldn't have become obsessed with having my own special day."
Well, I can say one thing about this book: it's really readable. I flew through it in one day. Now, did I enjoy it? That's something entirely different. The plot is based on a preposterous web of lies and secrets that I don't think any couple would actually keep from one another. Not to mention that Livia is just ridiculous in her desire for this elaborate party, which we learn she has truly been dreaming about and planning for twenty freaking years. Seriously, lady?
Both Livia and Adam make insane decisions in the name of their secrets, but Livia's "secret"--which is actually just her being crazy yet again and overreacting to life--pales in comparison to Adam's, so it's impossible to take her seriously about anything. Meanwhile, you just want to shake Adam, tell him it's a stupid party, and get it together. Man up, tell your wife, and let's go. None--none of this--is necessary!
Honestly, while I kept turning the pages because a) I hoped someone would grow up and make a smart decision and b) I was wishing things would turn out differently, this book was stressful. It was hard to read, emotional, and tense (and not in a good, thrilling way). The whole story has an "ick" factor to it. While it was a quick read, it's not one I really recommend. 2 stars.
"What I hate most is that my need for this party came from my parents. If I'd been able to have the wedding they promised me, I wouldn't have become obsessed with having my own special day."
Well, I can say one thing about this book: it's really readable. I flew through it in one day. Now, did I enjoy it? That's something entirely different. The plot is based on a preposterous web of lies and secrets that I don't think any couple would actually keep from one another. Not to mention that Livia is just ridiculous in her desire for this elaborate party, which we learn she has truly been dreaming about and planning for twenty freaking years. Seriously, lady?
Both Livia and Adam make insane decisions in the name of their secrets, but Livia's "secret"--which is actually just her being crazy yet again and overreacting to life--pales in comparison to Adam's, so it's impossible to take her seriously about anything. Meanwhile, you just want to shake Adam, tell him it's a stupid party, and get it together. Man up, tell your wife, and let's go. None--none of this--is necessary!
Honestly, while I kept turning the pages because a) I hoped someone would grow up and make a smart decision and b) I was wishing things would turn out differently, this book was stressful. It was hard to read, emotional, and tense (and not in a good, thrilling way). The whole story has an "ick" factor to it. While it was a quick read, it's not one I really recommend. 2 stars.
Tripoto: Itineraries & Trips
Travel and Social Networking
App
Tripoto is the Global Community of Travellers. A single destination for all your travel needs....
Programming Guide for Wearable Computing: End-To-End Algorithms and Infrastructure Design from Wearable-Devices to Data Centers: 2017
Omesh Tickoo, Ravishankar K. Iyer and Yueheng Xu
Book
Make the most of the common architectures used for deriving meaningful data from sensors. This book...
Becs (244 KP) rated A Raisin in the Sun in Books
Oct 2, 2019
They honestly need more books like this. When my husband found out that I was getting A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, he grew excited and he never does that unless it’s a science-related book. That was when I knew I was going to like this beautiful novel. When I started to read it, I rushed through it. Not in a “I just want to finish this book” way, more like “I FREAKING LOVE THIS BOOK AND I DON’T EVER WANT IT TO END” way. That says something, right?
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
Genre: Literary Classic, Play, Drama, Fiction
Synopsis: First produced in 1959, A Raisin in the Sun was awarded the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and hailed as a watershed in American drama. Not only a pioneering work by an African-American playwright – Lorraine Hansberry’s play was also a radically new representation of black life, resolutely authentic, fiercely unsentimental, and unflinching in its vision of what happens to people whose dreams are constantly deferred. In her portrait of an embattled Chicago family, Hansberry anticapted issues that range from generational clashes to the civil rights and women’s movements. She also posed the essential questions – about identity, justice, and moral responsibility – at the heart of those great struggles. The result is an American classic.
Audience/Reading Level: Middle School +
Interests: Plays, dramas, literary classics, racial segregation, women’s movement, 50s era.
Point of View: Third Person Omniscient
Difficulty Reading: Not at all, I rushed through it because I loved it so much! As in some of Shakespeares plays, you don’t get stuck on the general language of the era it was written, as it’s written close to a book you would get from this era.
Promise: “Award-winning drama of the hopes and aspirations of a struggling, working-class family living on the South Side of Chicago connected profoundly with the psyche of black America–and changed American theater forever.” – It did. 🙂
Insights: I love reading plays as it’s a way to step out of a comfort zone of reading Young Adult novels. It gives me a chance to dip into my theater/acting side and use what I’ve learned from theatre classes. A Raisin in the Sun is a well-written American classic that honestly should be read in every school from middle school and up. The lessens that are taught throughout the play are subtle yet obvious which creates a background that we can use in our every day life.
Ah-Ha Moment: The moment that Beneatha came into the picture and was a total feminist. Man, she’s my favorite character besides Mama (Lena Younger) and her little plant.
Favorite Quotes: “Beneatha: Love him? There is nothing left to love. Mama: There is always something left to love. And if you ain’t learned that, you ain’t learned nothing. (Looking at her) Have you cried for that boy today? I don’t mean for yourself and for the family ’cause we lost the money. I mean for him: what he been through and what it done to him. Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most? When they done good and made things easy for everybody? Well then, you ain’t through learning – because that ain’t the time at all. It’s when he’s at his lowest and can’t believe in hisself ’cause the world done whipped him so! when you starts measuring somebody, measure him right, child, measure him right. Make sure you done taken into account what hills and valleys he come through before he got to wherever he is.”
“Mama, you don’t understand. It’s all a matter of ideas, and God is just one idea I don’t acept. It’s not important. I am not going out and commit crimes or be immoral because I don’t believe in God. I don’t even think about it. It’s just that I get so tired of Him getting credit for all the things the human race achieves through its own stubborn effort. There simply is no God! There is only Man, and it’s he who makes miracles!”
What will you gain: A haunting yet revealing play that will be as fresh of a read today, as it was in the 50’s.
Aesthetics: The entire play. The cover. The characters. The underlying meaning beneath it all. The era it was written and is based off of. Just everything about this little book.
“I want to fly! I want to touch the sun!”
“Finish your eggs first.”
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
Genre: Literary Classic, Play, Drama, Fiction
Synopsis: First produced in 1959, A Raisin in the Sun was awarded the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and hailed as a watershed in American drama. Not only a pioneering work by an African-American playwright – Lorraine Hansberry’s play was also a radically new representation of black life, resolutely authentic, fiercely unsentimental, and unflinching in its vision of what happens to people whose dreams are constantly deferred. In her portrait of an embattled Chicago family, Hansberry anticapted issues that range from generational clashes to the civil rights and women’s movements. She also posed the essential questions – about identity, justice, and moral responsibility – at the heart of those great struggles. The result is an American classic.
Audience/Reading Level: Middle School +
Interests: Plays, dramas, literary classics, racial segregation, women’s movement, 50s era.
Point of View: Third Person Omniscient
Difficulty Reading: Not at all, I rushed through it because I loved it so much! As in some of Shakespeares plays, you don’t get stuck on the general language of the era it was written, as it’s written close to a book you would get from this era.
Promise: “Award-winning drama of the hopes and aspirations of a struggling, working-class family living on the South Side of Chicago connected profoundly with the psyche of black America–and changed American theater forever.” – It did. 🙂
Insights: I love reading plays as it’s a way to step out of a comfort zone of reading Young Adult novels. It gives me a chance to dip into my theater/acting side and use what I’ve learned from theatre classes. A Raisin in the Sun is a well-written American classic that honestly should be read in every school from middle school and up. The lessens that are taught throughout the play are subtle yet obvious which creates a background that we can use in our every day life.
Ah-Ha Moment: The moment that Beneatha came into the picture and was a total feminist. Man, she’s my favorite character besides Mama (Lena Younger) and her little plant.
Favorite Quotes: “Beneatha: Love him? There is nothing left to love. Mama: There is always something left to love. And if you ain’t learned that, you ain’t learned nothing. (Looking at her) Have you cried for that boy today? I don’t mean for yourself and for the family ’cause we lost the money. I mean for him: what he been through and what it done to him. Child, when do you think is the time to love somebody the most? When they done good and made things easy for everybody? Well then, you ain’t through learning – because that ain’t the time at all. It’s when he’s at his lowest and can’t believe in hisself ’cause the world done whipped him so! when you starts measuring somebody, measure him right, child, measure him right. Make sure you done taken into account what hills and valleys he come through before he got to wherever he is.”
“Mama, you don’t understand. It’s all a matter of ideas, and God is just one idea I don’t acept. It’s not important. I am not going out and commit crimes or be immoral because I don’t believe in God. I don’t even think about it. It’s just that I get so tired of Him getting credit for all the things the human race achieves through its own stubborn effort. There simply is no God! There is only Man, and it’s he who makes miracles!”
What will you gain: A haunting yet revealing play that will be as fresh of a read today, as it was in the 50’s.
Aesthetics: The entire play. The cover. The characters. The underlying meaning beneath it all. The era it was written and is based off of. Just everything about this little book.
“I want to fly! I want to touch the sun!”
“Finish your eggs first.”
Freemasonry Complete Guide for iPhone
Education and Reference
App
Explore the most complete iPhone application about Freemasonry Freemasonry is the world’s oldest...
Time, Space & Material: The Mechanics of Layering in Architecture
Book
This book examines the application of the principle of layering in architecture, its mechanics,...