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Still Alice
Still Alice
Lisa Genova | 2007 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.8 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
I just finished reading a novel called Still Alice by Lisa Genova about Alice, who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease in her early fifties. It's written from the point of view of the woman with the disease instead of the usual POV of a caretaker. With every page, as she fell deeper into the grips of the disease, I was convinced that I had early onset Alzheimer's. The phrases, it's a real page-turner or I couldn't put it down, are used so often that we forget that there are books that are actually like that. This one is. I had physical reaction to the book. I gasped in awe and terror. I laughed. I was fascinated by its beauty and terrified of the disease becoming a reality in my life someday. I cried. I got angry. I sighed with relief. I went through a whirlwind of emotion. It took my breath away. It should be required reading for everyone.

The novel is written so well that I become consumed by the author's thoughts and feelings and it really drew me in. After I finished the book, it took maybe a few days for me to realize it was just a book and not me losing my memory and my mind. I highly recommend the book, even if the subject matter may be scary to you, because you get a sense of how Alzheimer's robs a person of their thoughts and abilities and it will give you insight into how to treat loved one's and other victims of dementia and Alzheimer's. It was fascinating to learn how Alzheimer's ravages the different areas of the brain and what effect it has on the person. It explained what I always wondered, how can a person die from Alzheimer's. This IS NOT a spoiler. I am not saying that Alice dies in the book. Just that the mechanics of the disease is explain very well. It isn't just a novel for entertainment and enjoyment. It tells you about Alzheimer's inside out and as both Alice and her husband are scientists and Harvard professors, it doesn't dumb it down to the audience. It is not vague details but explicit facts that you will remember, that will change the way you think of Alzheimer's and aging and, dare I say, will change your life.

The character is a professor of psychology at Harvard (the author is also is a neuropsychologist or neuropsychiatrist. I forget which, oh, the irony! So she knows her stuff) and although at a few points, I thought it was far above my head, but when I really dug in and read the sentences a few times, it started to make sense and I think I learned something from it. I have fibromyalgia and arthritis so I have memory loss and cognitive thought issues and deal with so much pain in my life that it's difficult to understand new concepts, especially in the realm of academia. Other people may not have as much difficulty as I did getting through the scientific aspects of the disease and the vast influx of new information.

Sidenote: I was very happy to discover that the book has been made into a movie being released soon with Julianne Moore as the title character. That is one I will definitely see in the theater.

I'm so glad that the movie is made and will reach more people and expose them to early onset Alzheimer's.

Bravo to the author for taking us down the path, pain and beauty, yes, beauty of Alzheimer's.
  
Three Black Boys: Tomorrow After Supper
Three Black Boys: Tomorrow After Supper
Zangba Thomson | 2014 | Dystopia
8
6.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book not only exposes a disease (Black Fever Disease) that few have even heard of but shows how desperate things can get for those living on a low income or in poverty. (0 more)
. Some of the characters I was not able to fully connect into the story. (0 more)
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
Three Black Boys: Tomorrow After Supper Volume 1 by Zangba Thomson is two books in one or it could be considered two parts of one book. This is one book that you do not want to dismiss out of turn because it just may surprise you.

 Barnes, Demus, and Baker are three young black boys living in Southside Jamaica Queens, New York. The three boys are close friends and spend a lot of time together. They all have dreams of their own but their living situations make it hard for them to realize their dreams. Barnes spends his time spelling drugs and instruments of death to provide for himself and his sick mother. However, things change when Barnes takes his mother to a doctor and discovers that she has Black Fever Disease and will die in a month or less if she doesn't get a liver transplant that will cost a quarter of a million dollars. Branes, wanting to save his mother’s life, convinces his friends to help him get the money in the only way they know how, robbery.

 Tomorrow After Supper is when Barnes, Demus, and Baker have a chance to redeem themselves since their intentions where pure. Ego has stollen the cosmic melatonin tree which provides everyone on Earth with their immune system and released a Death Virus on the planet. It is up to the Three Black Boys to recover the tree before everyone dies and Ego takes over.

 This book not only exposes a disease (Black Fever Disease) that few have even heard of but shows how desperate things can get for those living on a low income or in poverty. The second half of the book is just as interesting and entertaining (also reminded me of Dante's Inferno) as the boys get a chance to redeem themselves. Some of the characters I was not able to fully connect into the story. The detectives and Ten-Ten Winz could have used more backstory as to how they are connected to the Three Black Boys and what they were doing. Also, some of the languages was a bit different for me.


 Adults and young adults alike will enjoy this book, providing they don’t dismiss it out of turn. It would probably be fine for even middle school-aged children to read. It is very little in the lines of rough language and I believe most who read this will be impressed. I rate it 3 out of 4. Overall it had a great plot to it. Unfortunately, since a few of the characters confused me a bit I can not give it full points. This goes for both the original book and Tomorrow After Supper. I will admit I ended up looking up Black Fever Disease after reading this book.

Edited to add: I have read over some other reviews of this book and noticed that the second section seems to get a negative review in favor of the more realistic and serious first section. I enjoyed both sections equally. I feel like the second relies much heavier on symbolism and can understand how some who only read the section at face value could have found it lacking.



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The Fault in Our Stars
The Fault in Our Stars
John Green | 2012 | Children
10
8.2 (185 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was afraid to read this book because I had heard about how it can leave you ugly crying. After reading it (and crying my eyes out) I was so glad that I decided to, it brings you so many emotions whether you're crying or laughing or even angry, the story stays true to real life and how real people affected by disease live the life they're given. John Green is an amazing writer and this might be his best work.
  
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Lumos (380 KP) rated The Oregon Trail Card Game in Tabletop Games

Apr 26, 2018 (Updated Apr 28, 2018)  
The Oregon Trail Card Game
The Oregon Trail Card Game
2016 | American West, Card Game, Civilization
This is fairly true to the video game version. It is a very quick game to play. Mostly because you will die rather quickly from some disease or other.




Ok... I played again and this time, I died within 2 minutes. I then spent another 5 minutes watching the other players die one by one. There was no laughing about it like last time... just frustration all around. A waste of time... at least it was less than ten minutes..
  
Show all 3 comments.
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Lumos (380 KP) Apr 27, 2018

Haha yes, I am going to play it again to give it a fair rating, but it is likely that my rating will be lowered.

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Beetle Rider (341 KP) Apr 30, 2018

That sound right. Unfortunately.

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Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) created a post

Mar 31, 2019  
Caring for Sister Monica Joan can be a difficult but rewarding task. Judy Parfit, who plays Sister Monica Joan, cared for her late husband when he suffered from dementia and she brings the plight of those living with the disease to her role in Call the Midwife, at times childlike, at times sharp as a tack, at times gently manipulative to get her way, and at times philosophical and greatly profound.

Here's a scene from Call the Midwife, Season 8.

     
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Auburn (57 KP) rated The Merciful Crow in Books

May 16, 2019  
The Merciful Crow
The Merciful Crow
Margaret Owen | 2019 | Young Adult (YA)
10
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Lethal Diseases (2 more)
Unorthodox Problem Solving
Weird use of teeth
Representation and a caste system that is broken. Crows are at the bottom but without them the world would die of disease.
Characters are represented subtlety and you almost miss it. It is woven so seamlessly into the plot.

The Princess Bride meets Six of Crows and together they burn the world down.

If you enjoy the As You Wish of Princess Bride than this needs to be on the top of your list.