arin721

• Rated 1 stars

“i love supernatural horror books and i've absolutely no problem with suspending my disbelief in order to enjoy a good ghost story... HOWEVER, some things need some basis in reality in order to work. it seemed the author needed specific things to happen quickly, so he just *made them fit*.

demons from hell = awesome. psychologist behaving like a crackpot and arson investigator jumping to supernatural explanations = not so much.”

arin721 wrote this review Sunday, December 5, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

1 of 1 members found this review helpful.

• Rated 1 stars

“i *wanted* to like this book, because i'd heard how inspirational and motivational and absolutely marvelous it was, but mostly, i just found it trite, superficial, and overly simplified. it comes off as though the author wanted to say something *deep and meaningful*, but instead said "the wall is white" to which everyone replied "ohhhh" and "ahhh", exclaiming how brilliant he was for saying so.”

arin721 wrote this review Thursday, July 29, 2010. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“he had me from the beginning with his discussion of neitzsche (one of my favorite philosophers) and his writing style, itself, was captivating - a leisurely, meandering stroll through the lives of his characters - i thoroughly enjoyed it. his stopping to discuss the characters he was writing about was intriguing to me, as well - not often do you feel you've met the author while reading their book! along with the quotes below, i found his "short dictionary of misunderstood words" to be particularly interesting - the words we use often evoke entirely different ideas/concepts from person to person.

"...vertigo is something other than the fear of falling. It is the voice of emptiness below us, which tempts and lures us, it is the desire to fall, against which, terrified, we defend ourselves."

"it is much more important to dig a half-buried crow out of the ground than to send petitions to a president."

i had not read anything by kundera before and after reading this, i can't wait to read more!”

arin721 wrote this review Tuesday, May 19, 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 5 stars

“i thoroughly and completely LOVED this book. i enjoy stories of the depression era to begin with. add in a circus and a lovable old man telling the story and it's a winner!”

arin721 wrote this review Saturday, March 28, 2009. ( reply | permalink )

• Rated 4 stars

“while i think the book is a very *good* look at problems within our society, it's very difficult to read a book about all the things that anger/annoy us without finding yourself angered/annoyed. i suggest if you plan to read it, prepare yourself. if you weren't annoyed before, you will be after.”

arin721 wrote this review Saturday, March 28, 2009. ( reply | permalink )