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michellebookaddict's Reviews (822)
Animal Farm by George Orwell 5★
(Paperback, an old family hand-me-down
Audiobook (from itunes), read by Ralph Cosham)
I was finding this hard to review. I had the paperback and the audiobook on itunes for ages. Untouched.
Well this is a short read for one, so that was a plus. And I listened to the introduction and what not on my audiobook (from itunes). One of the opinions is that this a fairy tale like story. And I love those kinds of stories and so that's why I gave this a go. I was a little turned off by this because my sister had read this in her teens and it profoundly changed her views on the treatment of animals.
So I dug out the paperback so that I can really follow along with the audio. I think without the audio, I wouldn't have enjoyed this as much. Ralph Cosham did a good job reading this. I really liked his singing for "Beasts of England." And his accents were a nice touch.
I think the fairy tale is there, along with it's political statements and that animals do have feelings. Definitely a complex short book. And the ending had left me a curious thought. Had the pigs' physical features transformed to human? And had the humans transformed to look like pigs? I thought it was both. That their true selves had been revealed
(Paperback, an old family hand-me-down
Audiobook (from itunes), read by Ralph Cosham)
I was finding this hard to review. I had the paperback and the audiobook on itunes for ages. Untouched.
Well this is a short read for one, so that was a plus. And I listened to the introduction and what not on my audiobook (from itunes). One of the opinions is that this a fairy tale like story. And I love those kinds of stories and so that's why I gave this a go. I was a little turned off by this because my sister had read this in her teens and it profoundly changed her views on the treatment of animals.
So I dug out the paperback so that I can really follow along with the audio. I think without the audio, I wouldn't have enjoyed this as much. Ralph Cosham did a good job reading this. I really liked his singing for "Beasts of England." And his accents were a nice touch.
I think the fairy tale is there, along with it's political statements and that animals do have feelings. Definitely a complex short book. And the ending had left me a curious thought. Had the pigs' physical features transformed to human? And had the humans transformed to look like pigs? I thought it was both. That their true selves had been revealed
I think it was a good thing that I listened to this instead of reading. If I hadn't then I would never have finished it. I started reading this on St. Patty's weekend in 2012, hoping for a quick Irish listen. But I didn't finish this until the end of March 2012.
I gave it 3 stars for the nice immigration story of Eilis Lacey. I liked hearing about her new adventures and struggles of immigrating from Ireland to Brooklyn. The 1950's description was good, but sometimes I felt it was during the 1940's. Tóibin writes that part of the story nicely. But she was too naive and prejudice towards others. I come from an Irish family. The only thing they were prejudice at that time was when my great great grandmother almost married a non-catholic man. Her brother, a priest, had written to her that she shouldn't marry him. Lucky for me she listened or I wouldn't have been born. And the Irish were well aware of what happened during wars. I come from a long line of generations of men who served in the military. I am the first female to have been in the military in my family.
When the story shifted to Tony and Eilis's relationship, I lost interest. I didn't like Tony. He felt too much like a player to me. The Italian's were too stereotypical for me. My dad's mom (first generation Italian immigrant) isn't like them. She never told me that I was too skinny and I need to eat some 'scettie (spaghetti). She was prejudice towards other races though. And a Dodger fan blue and blue.
The audio was from iTunes. Kirsten Potter was the reader. I had to get over her annoying accents. And maybe it was the way she tried to talk like a man that made me dislike Tony. So the audio I give 2 stars.
I gave it 3 stars for the nice immigration story of Eilis Lacey. I liked hearing about her new adventures and struggles of immigrating from Ireland to Brooklyn. The 1950's description was good, but sometimes I felt it was during the 1940's. Tóibin writes that part of the story nicely. But she was too naive and prejudice towards others. I come from an Irish family. The only thing they were prejudice at that time was when my great great grandmother almost married a non-catholic man. Her brother, a priest, had written to her that she shouldn't marry him. Lucky for me she listened or I wouldn't have been born. And the Irish were well aware of what happened during wars. I come from a long line of generations of men who served in the military. I am the first female to have been in the military in my family.
When the story shifted to Tony and Eilis's relationship, I lost interest. I didn't like Tony. He felt too much like a player to me. The Italian's were too stereotypical for me. My dad's mom (first generation Italian immigrant) isn't like them. She never told me that I was too skinny and I need to eat some 'scettie (spaghetti). She was prejudice towards other races though. And a Dodger fan blue and blue.
The audio was from iTunes. Kirsten Potter was the reader. I had to get over her annoying accents. And maybe it was the way she tried to talk like a man that made me dislike Tony. So the audio I give 2 stars.
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Beezus and Ramona (1955) by Beverly Cleary 5★♥
So… Before I begin my review, I felt that this book was an ode to older sisters (or siblings). I'm the oldest of 3 girls in my family. I have a nickname just like Beezus (for Beatrice). My middle sister couldn't say my name when she was young, so naturally she just called me Shell. And it's stuck. And now her daughter calls me Shell. But my sisters would also always say "Shell-did-it." No matter what happened, my sisters always pointed the finger at me. But that was because I was a bit like both Beezus and Ramona when I was at that young mischief age.
Beezus and Ramona is through Beezus Quimbly's point of view, which is different than all the other books in this series. Beatrice is almost 10 years old and Ramona is 4. I read this book, along with some others, when I was about 10 years old and I remember feeling glad to have found a character like Beatrice.
Now that I've reread this book (and within one day), I could relate a lot to all the various mischief that Ramona got into because of my 3 year old niece... Whenever my niece is doing something and we ask what she's doing, the answer is "Nothiiinng..." which of course, has us curious and hopeful that she isn't doing something she's not supposed to. As far as the book Beezus and Ramona goes, this kindle version has 6 chapters with some nice black/ white pen drawings, along with a chapter sample of the book Ramona The Pest. They're all little short stories of some of Ramona's various mishaps that irritates her older sister, Beezus. Reading six mishaps in one day was actually quite fun. I laughed at a bit of the comedy. And smiled because it made me think of either my sisters or my nieces.
This was a fun reread and a good book series about siblings and Ramona Quimbly and her over imagination. I liked Beatrice "Beezus" when I first read this. Now I just love all the characters.
So… Before I begin my review, I felt that this book was an ode to older sisters (or siblings). I'm the oldest of 3 girls in my family. I have a nickname just like Beezus (for Beatrice). My middle sister couldn't say my name when she was young, so naturally she just called me Shell. And it's stuck. And now her daughter calls me Shell. But my sisters would also always say "Shell-did-it." No matter what happened, my sisters always pointed the finger at me. But that was because I was a bit like both Beezus and Ramona when I was at that young mischief age.
Beezus and Ramona is through Beezus Quimbly's point of view, which is different than all the other books in this series. Beatrice is almost 10 years old and Ramona is 4. I read this book, along with some others, when I was about 10 years old and I remember feeling glad to have found a character like Beatrice.
Now that I've reread this book (and within one day), I could relate a lot to all the various mischief that Ramona got into because of my 3 year old niece... Whenever my niece is doing something and we ask what she's doing, the answer is "Nothiiinng..." which of course, has us curious and hopeful that she isn't doing something she's not supposed to. As far as the book Beezus and Ramona goes, this kindle version has 6 chapters with some nice black/ white pen drawings, along with a chapter sample of the book Ramona The Pest. They're all little short stories of some of Ramona's various mishaps that irritates her older sister, Beezus. Reading six mishaps in one day was actually quite fun. I laughed at a bit of the comedy. And smiled because it made me think of either my sisters or my nieces.
This was a fun reread and a good book series about siblings and Ramona Quimbly and her over imagination. I liked Beatrice "Beezus" when I first read this. Now I just love all the characters.