Amazing Reviews: Hemingway

This is a series looking at the best worst reviews of popular books on Amazon

Few authors have been able to capture the literally spotlight of an entire generation like Ernest Hemingway. He is one of the greatest writers in literature and one of America’s greatest exports. Since his untimely death, no book has been synonymous with his name like The Old Man and the Sea. It won the Pulitzer Prize and has long held its spot on reading lists across the globe.

Of course, as I have come to learn with this series, not everyone is a fan. There are a few outliers that just disagree with pretty much every other person in the history of the world who happened to read this story. Let’s hear a few thoughts from the detractors.

Hindsight is 20/20 so please don’t waste your money 1 Star on October 1, 2015

Unfortunately I had to give this one star. There was not an option for zero because that’s not a real number. It’s only a placeholder like we all learned in second grade. I digress…The fact that this book won the Pulitzer Prize is appalling. If something as painful as this is capable of winning something of that caliber, then I guarantee my used toilet paper could easily win the Nobel Peace Prize.

First off, zero IS a number. I know because I had to look it up. I’ll give it to this reviewer. Working in “hindsight” and toilet paper into a review and still sound like you were talking about a book is tricky, but you pulled it off. Well done.

boring 1 Star on November 4, 2014

This book is so boring. The only thing I remember about it is that the old man went to the bathroom twice during the whole book. That’s how bad it is.

Another bathroom reference. I’m starting to see a trend here.

Such a stupid book. This guy kills a beautiful creature just…1 Star on August 9, 2015

Such a stupid book. This guy kills a beautiful creature just to see it destroyed before putting it to use. Ugh!!

That’s kind of the reason the book was a classic. Man fought so hard to catch this beautiful creature only to have it totally squandered. Pretty sure that’s why it won a Pulitzer . . .

it was boring 1 Star on March 29, 1999

the book went on and on for 60 pages about the fish and the old man

It’s called THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA. What were your expectations this book? If you were expecting anything other than a story involving an elderly man and a body of water you need to stop reading because you are doing it wrong.

Forget Lullabys… read Hemmingway! 1 Star on October 9, 2001

When I found out I had to read this book for school I was actually pretty happy! It only has about 150 pages! but then before I sarted reading it my friend say the book in my poseesion and siad,”That book is the esence of the devil!” I was like- yea, sure it can’t be THAT bad! Boy, was i wrong!! I (usually) am a super- fast reader! a 400 page novel MAY take me 2 days if its good but Old Man and the Sea took me over a month! I put it on my chair in my bedroom and left it there! I would read it at 12 ot night just to make me tired! At least it was good for something! So- unless you can’t get yourself to sleep at night- DONT READ THIS BORING BOOK!…

 The comment on this review is priceless:

4 years ago: oh…my god…are you twelve?

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Wednesday’s Words: Lewis

This is a series where I’ll post a few of my favorite lines from books.

Not since Miss Frizzle’s class has a school bus had crazier ride.

Anything written by C. S. Lewis is going to be full of wisdom so picking just one quote from him was difficult. I decided to pick one of the lesser known pieces of fiction he wrote and go from there. I picked A Great Divorce and found this quote I highlighted years ago. I thought it was timeless and classic.

On an unrelated note, I’m very proud of that bus I made.

Five From Clark Kent

This is a series where I’ll feature five quotes from a few favorite characters.

In the previous post I shared five of my favorite quotes from Bruce Wayne, in honor of the theatrical release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

To be honest, Batman has always been my favorite. Not because of just how  inherently cool he is, but because the story is so much better. One man who, to overcome his own tragedy,  pushed himself to the limits of his own ability to become something great. Grief turns to drive to obsession to near psychotic-breakdown. I just added The Caped Crusade to my wish list.

With that said, Superman is still the best. Since his inception he has grown to reflect not just what we wish we could be, but what we wish the world could be. He’s driven by an ideology and a moral compass that’s as strong as the power he draws from the yellow sun. I also added his book to my wish list as well.

So here’s five from the big, blue, boy scout:

“There is a right and a wrong in the universe and that distinction is not hard to make.”

“The welfare of Earth and all its people will always be my primary concern. But if there is a solution of hunger, it must be one that comes from the compassionate heart of man and extends outward toward his fellow man. There’s an old saying: ‘Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime.’ That simple message asks humankind to nurture with knowledge, to reach out to those in need and inspire others to do the same. That is life’s greatest necessity and its most precious gift.”

“Dreams save us. Dreams lift us up and transform us. And on my soul, I swear…until my dream of a world where dignity, honor and justice becomes the reality we all share–I’ll never stop fighting. Ever.”

  “I’m here to fight for truth, and justice, and the American way.”

“There will be peace when the people of the world, want it so badly, that their governments will have no choice but to give it to them. I just wish you could all see the Earth the way that I see it. Because when you really look at it, it’s just one world.”

On Simplicity; From ScrapMills

This post is from ScrapMills Signs & More

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“In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity.”  | Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

As our business has grown, so have our tastes and preference for the work we do. There are a ton of websites and online stores where you can purchase reclaimed wood signs. We want our work to be different. We have discovered that when given the option we would most always lean towards the feeling of simplicity in our projects.

And there’s a reason for that.

Our goal is to allow our work to occupy a space, not take it over.

We enjoy letting our signs be discovered, rather than be something that jumps out for attention as soon as you walk into a room. We hope anything you get from us becomes apart of your home and feels organic, like something you’ve owned for years. We work hard every day to make this evident in each thing we create.

The greatest thing about this work is that we enjoy the process as much as the finished product. Thank you for supporting us along the way!

Wednesday’s Words: Lamott

This is a series where I’ll post a few of my favorite lines.

I had wanted to read an Anne Lamott book for a while and after looking at a few of her worsks Bird by Bird immediately caught my attention. Whether you are already writing, thinking of writing, or are already written, this is a great resource. It’s packed with great advice and it’s amazingly written. It’s incredibly funny and will motivate you to do something right away.

After reading this book I bought a typewriter.

I wish I was kidding.

See more of my highlights from the book on my Kindle profile and pick up a copy of your own on Amazon.

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Verses in Manhood: End of Summer

If Jack Bauer wrote poetry, it would be here | Verses in Manhood

Days are growing shorter and a few leaves have started falling. It’s this time of year that always gives me the itch to get outside as much as I can. To take the kids outside and enjoy the last days of summer.

 

 

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Teaser for Tuesday

Here’s a brief line from my novel, Gather Sticks Along the Way. Like most writers it came out of a love of reading. I set out to write a book I would like to read. Pick up a copy on Amazon.

Gather Sticks Along the Way: A Novel – This is the story of an average man who looses his son. As simple actions by multiple individuals begin to unfold, a tragedy is formed and Charles Lamb is caught in the middle. After several events occur in what appear to be coincidence, he believes he knows what happened. His search for answers causes him to do things he’d never imagine and go against the beliefs that make him who he is.  His faith will either see him through this catastrophe or cause him to lose all he has left.

Wednesday’s Words: Orwell

This is a series where I’ll post a few of my favorite lines from books.

Pick up a copy of Burmese Days on Amazon.

What I Found When I Cut the Grass

Lawn care, Entropy, Robin Thicke, and Faith

I like cutting my grass. Most people do. I’m too cheap for a riding lawn mower so I push mow my yard. It usually takes an hour or two to cut the whole yard. It would probably take a little less time if I bought a bigger push mower, but as I said before, I’m pretty cheap. I live in the South where the summers are brutal so when I cut the grass I usually end up sweating so much you can see it through my jeans . . . seriously, through denim. I’m not talking something like tight skinny jeans, but a baggy pair of Wranglers that were hand-me-downs from my brother-in-law. Sometimes when I cut my backyard I’ll take my shirt off. My backyard is fenced in so I think it’s not a big deal. And I ask my wife if it’s okay so she won’t be ashamed of the redneck she’s married.

When all the work is finished you get a total sense of accomplishment. Where once sat the patchwork of the endless competition of weeds and grass chutes now has been replaced by rows of green carpet. And in admiring my job well done it makes me think why I even like my grass to be cut?

I mean obviously the yard looks nicer when it’s mowed, but why? Why do I have this desire to make nature conform to what I think it should look like. No where else in my world do I see that grass naturally grows in unison at the same length and yet here I am spending hours each month to make my little patch of earth do just that. Why?

It suddenly made me think of a quote I’ve read several times,

“A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.” – C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity 

Then there’s this thing called entropy. It’s the measurement of the disorder in a system of energy. It’s a scientific term used in anything from communication theory to thermodynamics. They best way I’ve heard it described is that it’s the rate at which anything has a propensity to return to a nature state of disorder. Our world is in a state now that it wants to return to a state of disorder, so much so, that we actually have to calculate how quickly it wants to get there.

And yet here we are, despite living in a world where were rarely, if ever, come into contact with naturally occurring uniform conformity, we have a desire to make the things all around us neat and tidy. Sure you can argue there are other, more practical reasons to perform upkeep and maintenance but I know I get actual pleasure of seeing my grass cut that I don’t have when I get my oil changed. It’s not the same.

I believe we were created with the concept of straight lines. Even if we don’t see them popping up everywhere around us, we like to make them ourselves. Grass grows in every way it wants. Tigers and zebras have stripes instead of bars. And we still want things in straight lines, because we like them. (This may also be the reason hate Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines video and I think we can all agree that that guy is pretty much a tool.)

So after I cut my grass and am able to watch my kids play around on my lawn I found that I like the way it looks, not just because it’s crisp and clean, but the fact that I like things looking crisp and clean is an indication that I was created with the idea already in mind. That this innate idea of perfection I have is proof I was created with the intent of living in a place of perfection and even though I don’t see it around me now, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be there.

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Wednesday’s Words: Tower

This is a series where I’ll post a few of my favorite lines from books.

This quote is from the collection Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned: Stories by Wells Tower. I’ve read several books of short stories, but this was the first. Each story is extremely well written and equally depressing, as the title pretty much describes. It’s a quick read but one that will linger.