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Justin M

Justin M

Hi, I'm a uni student and an avid reader currently situated in Australia. I'm always reading at least one book. Sometimes it's more than ten. If you like my shelf (or not) shoot me a message. I love meeting other readers.

Here are some quotations I liked from books I'm currently reading or recently read:

“The flaw in the... more »
  • Melbourne, Australia
  • member since April 2, 2008

Reviews

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Displaying 1-10 of 41 reviews
  • The Invention of Hugo Cabret
    • Rated 5 stars

    “Hugo Cabret, a boy of twelve, lives in a train station where he fixes the clocks. He has lived by himself since his uncle mysteriously disappeared. Hugo has little money and is forced to steal food to eat. The boy has also stolen a toy mouse from the toy booth at the station. When he is caught by the owner who takes Hugo's notebook (forgive me for using this phrase but the author does as well so I think it's okay) his life is changed forever. His story is told through words and over 150 illustrations.

    I've been planning on seeing Hugo but I usually prefer to read the book first before seeing a movie. I've never read anything like The Invention of Hugo Cabret before. In some parts, while going through the illustrated parts, which were extremely well drawn by the way, it actually felt to me like watching an old film. So now I'm pretty sure the movie adaption will be great too. The book is over 500 pages long but with the amount of illustrations and pages that are light on text it is a quick read.”

    Justin M wrote this review 10 days ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Blindness
    • Rated 5 stars

    “A man suddenly goes blind at a set of traffic lights, a milky whiteness covering his sight. After visiting an eye specialist who hasn't a clue what has gone wrong, it seems like an isolated case without precedent. But then it starts to spread, and oddly enough the eye speciallist is the next victim. It appears this white blindness is contagious and this is only the beginning.

    After only reading two of his books so far I still feel I can say it's no wonder Saramago won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The concepts for his books seem to stem from a 'what if' construct wherein something fundamental thing is lost or gained which completely changes the way society functions. Of course, great ideas aren't always executed by authors perfectly but Saramago isn't one of them. This is all done with little punctuation in that there are no quoation marks, and you can only tell a different person is talking when a comma is followed by a capital letter. This can get a bit confusing at times, and sometimes I had to go back to figure out who was saying what, but most of the time it was fine. If this is something that would annoy you too much then you might want to avoid Saramago's work. However, you would be missing out on some great novels.”

    Justin M wrote this review 10 days ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Three Musketeers
    • Rated 4 stars

    “D'Artagnan, a young Gascon wishing to become one of the king's guards, travels to find M. de Treville with a letter of recommendation. There he meets the three musketeers: Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Together with d'Artagnan they run amok like the hollogans they are. Eventually they meet their match in the Cardinal and the deceitful Milady, curse her. It all adds up to adventure and intrigue from the very first page and even though there are 673 of them it will only feel like 600 at most.

    As I said, adventure and intrigue from the very first page. This was actually my third attempt to read this book. Other times I've borrowed I barely got past 100 pages before returning it. I must say I loved how casually d'Artagnan and his friends entered into duels. "Wah, you bumped into me! You shall die!" "Very well, meet here at one o'clock."* And the parts near the end which prominently featured Milady were gripping. Gripping! That said, other parts could have been cut down without losing much, but I guess lengthy descriptions were all the rage in Dumas' day. If you read this I suggest you read a copy with notes at the back. The history behind the characters and parts of France was quite interesting.

    *Not an actual quotation from the book. But close.”

    Justin M wrote this review 13 days ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • Skippy Dies
    • Rated 5 stars

    “The title of the book gives away the tragedy that happens in the first chapter, a tragedy that, in most other books, would usually be left until at least some of the characters and back story were known. Then the story moves back in time before the tragic event and then after it with each chapter alternating between four or so main characters from Daniel's (Skippy) school and a girl from another school.

    This was such an emotional read for me. If I hadn't just read The Fault in Our Stars I would say that I hadn't read a moving book in a long time. That said, Skippy Dies took it to another level for me. At times I felt like laughing, other times I was angry at the characters, then excited, concerned; at one point (I don't know if this is because I was reading it at two in the morning) I was even wiping tears from my eyes. There's some hype for you. On the other hand, I can see why maybe some people wouldn't have enjoyed as much as I did. At the beginning I wasn't too impressed with the characters, the 'clever' writing, and the changing point of views. However, as I read on I was won over on all counts. I would have thought that knowing Skippy dies makes for less of a tragedy, but I was wrong about that. As I read on I became more attached to his character and asking, like many of the characters, why did he bloody well have to die.

    All up I read this in a month but I read each book (my edition was split into three) in a day or two. It was seriously fast-paced reading and engrossing. It will definitely be another favourite for 2012. Highly recommended.”

    Justin M wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • G.
    • Rated 2 stars

    “This book begins with a short history of his parents affair and her eventual pregnancy with a character who is only ever referred to as 'the boy' or, when he grows up, 'G.'. His childhood is spent living with his mother at a farm with his mother's siblings. When the boy grows up he becomes a Casanova-like character and extramarital affairs abound. This all occurs with the backdrop of England and Italy towardsthe end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth.

    After the first hundred or so pages I was giving this book the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe all of the backstory would lead up to something more interesting. When I saw that wasn't going to happen I quickly lost what little interest I had. I did not care for the protagonist G., nor most of the other characters. This book is listed as philosophical and experimental, and I understand that it would have probably been more bold and controversial when it was released in 1972. However, it doesn't seem like it has aged well. Even a Booker prize couldn't save it from being forgotten. I advise not even trying to remember.”

    Justin M wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Trouble With Physics
    • Rated 4 stars

    “The Trouble With Physics by Lee Smolin
    4 stars

    String theory has long been the most exciting field in not just physics but all of science. It has a certain elegance to it in the way that it could potentially explain how our universe (and indeed maybe multiverses) works. Over the past 30 or so years it has been the dominant field of study for theoretical physicists. By dominant I mean that if you're not serious about studying it then your career in theoretical physics is in peril. Lee Smolin argues that this is an issue in physics we have to overcome if we want another revolutionary period of science that may finally answer those pesky questions that have plagued us for many years. Smolin starts by outlining the five major problems that need to be solved in theoretical physics. He then goes on about past unifications in science. Then he talks about efforts in the past 25 years that haven't been as fruitful as those in years before, most notably the absence of major breakthroughs in string theory. He then outlines why string theory being as dominant as it is is a problem and what should be done in universities to solve it.

    When I first heard of this book I was at first skeptical if it would be reliable. When I started reading it and realised it was written by a theoretical physicist that immediately gave it more credit. It helped that while Smolin is highly critical of the current state of string theory and science in general, he is extremely balanced and often brings up counter arguments for his own points. This is important because, as Smolin states, we are at a stage where there is a rift between string theorists and those who prefer alternative approaches. Friendships can be broken, grants and jobs at universities denied. Smolin also explains the scientific parts of the book really well so that it is easier for laypeople to understand the theories. Even so, some of the science went over my head. This book was published in 2006 so it is beginning to become a little out of date, but that detracts little from its message. A couple of examples are that Smolin talks of upcoming experiments and projects such as GLAST (Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope), LHC (Large Hadron Collider) and the Auger observatory. However, I'm not an expert when it comes to theoretical physics, nor have I been keeping up with the news as much as I should have been, so I am not about advances that have been made since the publication of this book. I do know that scientists may soon (maybe in 2012) know definitively if they have observed the Higgs boson in collisions in the LHC. Whatever happens there is still much to be discovered and if we want to progress in the best way possible we have to be open to diverse views and be more willing to take risks in the academic world. This is a truly valuable message and as possibly a future phyicist myself (I have little idea what I'm going to do with my future!) I will endeavour to uphold and hope that it will be embraced by others. ”

    Justin M wrote this review 4 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Fault in Our Stars
    • Rated 5 stars

    “Hazel, in the seventeenth year of her life, is in many ways lucky to be alive. She has cancer which has devastated her lungs to the point in which she needs an oxygen tank to aid her breathing. She spends a lot of her time at home having left school years ago due to her condition. Thinking she has depression, her mother forces her to go to a support group for kids with cancer. It is there she meets Augustus Waters and...

    What can I say? John Green has done it again. As I write this review the book has been out little over a week. I wish John Green every succcess for his latest novel and I know he deserves it. Before The Fault In Our Stars I had read three other of John Green's books: Looking For Alaska, Paper Towns and Will Grayson, Will Grayson. This one is his best yet. It is fair to say that cancer and death are delicate subjects and John Green knows this, but he deals with them head on and with measure of both irreverence and respect. Those who watch his and his brothers videos on YouTube will notice references to the nerdfighter community. I know we're only in the first few weeks of 2012, and I don't know what wild and wacky books I'll be reading, but I can tell this book will end up in my top ten for the year. DFTBA!”

    Justin M wrote this review Tuesday, January 17, 2012. ( reply | permalink )
  • Bonobo Handshake
    • Rated 4 stars

    “While working in Uganda with chimpanzees Woods met the man, Brian Hare, that she would later marry. It was Brian who introduced her to the existence of bonobos. Yes, apparently she didn't even know what they were, which is odd for someone who worked so long with chimpanzees. Later she notes that she only recently found out that North and South Korea were different countires. I felt a little concerned for her. She's Australian and at this moment I want to assure anyone reading this that we have high standards when it comes to education. Anyway, you can hopefully see I was a little worried how the book would pan out. Well, I underestimated her. This book was outstanding.

    Bonobo Handshake is structured perfectly. Woods details the experience of travelling to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the research she has done with chimpanzees and bonobos. Added to that she also describes the political landscape of the country, the effects of the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda, and the rich mineral resources some which are used in the technology we all use. The fact that the bonobos live in a war-torn country (nowhere else in the world) adds to their plight. This was such an emotional read and also a highly enlightening one. I hope to in the future do some further reading on bonobos.”

    Justin M wrote this review Monday, January 16, 2012. ( reply | permalink )
  • The Birth of Tragedy / The Genealogy of Morals
    • Rated 3 stars

    “This edition brings together two of Nietzsche's writings, the former one being his first book and the latter one being one of his last. The Birth of Tragedy mainly focuses and compares Apollonian and Dionysian art, and the reasons for the popularity and eventual 'death' of tragedy. In The Genealogy of Morals Nietzsche deals with the origins of morals and its terminology, such as 'good and evil' and 'good and bad'.

    This was a tough read to start the challenge (PBT Subdue the Shelf Challenge) with. Trying to read it in a day didn't help me to understand a lot of what Nietzsche was arguing. Also, I know I would have been better off if I knew more about ancient Greek history. Even though a lot of his writing his powerful, poetic and commanding, Nietzsche still appeared to have many quaint views, which is understandable since these works were written in the late 1800s.

    In some parts of this book I was just reading without understanding, but there were times I was able to grasp what Nietzsche was arguing even if I didn't always agree with it. For example, in The Birth of Tragedy he mentions Euripides and the Euripidean prologue which would "have a character appear at the beginning of the play, tell us who he is, what preceded the action, what has happened so far, even what is about to happen in the corse of the play." A book I'm reading at the moment, Skippy Dies, partially does this. I was intrigued finding out the origins for such a technique, and the possible reason they were used in this book.”

    Justin M wrote this review Sunday, January 15, 2012. ( reply | permalink )
  • Slaughterhouse-Five
    • Rated 4 stars

    “Billy Pilgrim is an optometrist prisoner of war time traveller. Yes, all of those. All of those at once. Billy is such an odd character that he defies grammar. Slaughterhouse-Five is his manic story, from his time as a POW in Dresden and its bombing in WWII, to his future life with his family, and his time on Tralfamdore. It is all bundled and jumbled into a back-and-forth adventure that isn't showy off-y.

    I have seen this book title and author many many times but never knew what the story was about. I don't know why but I assumed it was some sort of popular book published recently. I didn't know how much of a literary success it was and that it was published over forty years ago. I had avoided it up until a few weeks ago when I saw the cheap Vintage edition.

    At points in the book I thought Vonnegut was being trying to be a little too clever and cute. It reminded me of Forest Gump at those points, which I hated. And those three words (you will know if you've read the book) which appeared on every other page annoyed the hell out of me. However, the oddness of the story was always intriguing, and there were quite a few insightful moments for a book that was less than two hundred pages in length. Vonnegut is now in my good books, and I will definitely attempt to read more of his works soon. ”

    Justin M wrote this review Friday, January 13, 2012. ( reply | permalink )
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Displaying 1-10 of 41 reviews

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