BSchultz19
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Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
Summary
It was the war to end all wars, the global struggle that would finally make the world safe for democracy--at any cost. But one American soldier has paid a price beyond measure. And within the disfigured flesh that was once a vision of youth lives a spirit that cannot accept what the world has become.
An immediate bestseller upon its original publication in 1939, Dalton Trumbo's stark, profoundly troubling masterpiece about the horrors of World War I brilliantly crystallized the uncompromising brutality of war and became the most influential protest novel of the Vietnam era. With a poignant new foreword by Cindy Sheehan, Johnny Got His Gun--an undisputed classic of antiwar literatureis as timely as ever.
Opinions
I have to say that I honestly didn't like this book a whole lot in the beginning. Mostly because I found the stream of consciousness writing difficult to follow at times.
The last twenty pages or so, though, is some of the most powerful writing I have ever read. I do disagree with extreme pacifism, but I can't deny that this book sells it really well. The end has the reader gripping on every word. It was powerful and emotional, for sure.
Overall, not one of my favorites but it gets a good rating because it's such a necessary novel. It was written with passion and he managed to write something that HAS to be read by everyone whether they agree or disagree.
Rating
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Yay! Another Community fan.
It's so bloomin' wonderful, isn't it? I don't think it gets the attention it deserves. 
I've really missed Troy since he left. I think Abed is one of the greatest TV characters ever created.I also really love The Good Wife.
It's hilarious. I haven't watched the past couple seasons, but I loved the early ones. Abed is one of my favorite TV characters all-time.
I've just recently started watching The Good Wife from the beginning. Before that I had watched it on and off. I love it now!
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This is tough because I'm not that into movies (I have a terribly short attention span when it comes to movies), so I might not even get to 10. But here goes nothing.
1. Captain America: Winter Soldier
2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
3. Talledega Nights
4. Step Brothers
5. Thor
6. The Lucky One
Gosh I don't even know. These are the only movies that I've even seen more than once.
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I'm sure that I'll forget a good one, but off the top of my head:
1. The Office (US)
2. Parks & Recreation
3. M*A*S*H
4. Big Bang Theory
5. One Tree Hill
6. How I Met Your Mother
7. Friends
8. Community
9. The Good Wife
10. Sherlock
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I hadn't noticed this competition until now
But I am pretty amateur at writing anyway and not sure how I would do writing my own fictional piece. Maybe I'll give it a little go and if I don't like where it goes I'll just trash it. -
Two books that I have read and really enjoyed this year,
We Were Liars by E Lockhart
The Guardian newspaper (UK) describes it as cool, bitter and brutal, this compelling short novel casts a dispassionate eye on the insular world of the American oligarchy
You are compelled to read on as the hints and clues to what is going on and was going on are intriguing. It is beautifully written, being both descriptive and refreshing.
No Good Deed By Manda Scott
(From my review) Orla McLeod knows too much about violence for her own good. She knows about pain and how to inflict it, she knows about guilt and she knows about survival. Dark, gritty and tender, Orla makes a great heroine, with her passion and determination and her ability to hear the statements made in between the words being spoken. She is desperately flawed, and all the better for it. A twisty turny read that never lets you lose track.
Good luck finding something that appeals.
Two vastly different suggestions but 2 of my most favorite books I've read in a very long time:
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.
But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.
The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier
Ohio 1850. For a modest English Quaker stranded far from home, life is a trial. Untethered from the moment she leaves England, fleeing personal disappointment, Honor Bright is forced by family tragedy to rely on strangers in an alien, untamed landscape. Drawn into the clandestine activities of the Underground Railroad, a network helping runaway slaves escape to freedom, Honor befriends two exceptional people who embody the startling power of defiance. Eventually she must decide if she too can act on what she believes in, whatever the personal cost.
Thank you for these wonderful suggestions! All of them sound wonderful! They will be a couple of my next holds from the library as long as my library actually has them *fingers crossed*
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Okay, so I'm going to ask again. Most of the earlier suggestions were historical fiction type books, and I still have them saved as books I want to read. However I want to ask once again for some suggestions. What are the good books you have read recently? Any type of fiction or if the non-fiction was outstanding that's good too.
Romance novels, thrillers, mystery, courtroom. Anything. Throw it at me!
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This was such a great story! We definitely need to do more work to help save our libraries. I know I use my library about once a week, and I would be lost without it. And I would spend a lot more money on books
. I know here we have something called Friends of the Library where you can donate money to save Missouri libraries. I'm sure there are similar things throughout the world... -
Finished Of Mice and Men. I think I'm going to start Johnny Got His Gun today.
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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Summary
Of Mice and Men takes us into the lives of George and Lennie, two farm workers set out to find their way to a new life. In true Steinbeck form, this short novel explores both loyalty and the transient nature of mankind.
(from goodreads)
I know this is pretty short, but it's what goodreads had and the book is pretty short. I'm not sure you could sum it up any other way without giving much away.
Opinions
I've heard a lot of great things about this book. I've liked Steinbeck's books in the past, but I think this is one of my new favorites. I'd say it's right up there with Grapes of Wrath for me. I was amazed at the quality of writing the whole way through, but especially the first few paragraphs. Maybe it was because of the stark difference between his writing and the quality of writing that I've been reading recently, but I just thought it was a fantastic setting of the scene.
The characters were great and it is interesting to see the tough decisions that two friends are forced to make. Definitely a timeless novel, but I also liked how it brings the reader into the time it was written. So many poor workers out in California looking for any job they could find. It is part of what makes the story what it is.
Overall a very good book. I enjoyed it and it didn't take all that long to read. Would concur with those that say it is a must read book.
Rating
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It's a shame the Grisham book wasn't as good as his usual works. I haven't read that one, I don't think I own it either. I've never seen Gossip Girl, I'm not even sure what it's about (other than the synopsis you posted above). I'm glad you enjoyed that book though
. It can be nice to read an easy, fun book sometimes, I think.Gossip Girl is basically a bunch of teenage drama. The first few seasons in high school and then in college. The twist is that they're also all super rich and live on the upper east side of New York. It's one of those shows/books that's probably terrible but you enjoy it anyway.
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Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
Summary
Welcome to New York City’s Upper East Side, where my friends and I live, go to school, play, and sleep—sometimes with each other.
S is back from boarding school, and if we aren’t careful, she’s going to win over our teachers, wear that dress we couldn’t fit into, steal our boyfriends’ hearts, and basically ruin our lives in a major way. I’ll be watching closely . . .
You know you love me,
gossip girlOpinions
I've watched the whole TV series, so I thought it would be interesting to check out the books. It was a nice mindless read that took about 3 or 4 hours to read. It's interesting because everything that happens in this book only takes up one episode of the show. Then I looked and saw that there were 13 books. I'm sure each of them covers more too.
I don't have a lot to say about this book, because it was just a goofy little read. It doesn't have a ton of substance, but it was easy and fun.
Rating
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The Confession by John Grisham
Summary
An innocent man is about to be executed.
Only a guilty man can save him.
For every innocent man sent to prison, there is a guilty one left on the outside. He doesn’t understand how the police and prosecutors got the wrong man, and he certainly doesn’t care. He just can’t believe his good luck. Time passes and he realizes that the mistake will not be corrected: the authorities believe in their case and are determined to get a conviction. He may even watch the trial of the person wrongly accused of his crime. He is relieved when the verdict is guilty. He laughs when the police and prosecutors congratulate themselves. He is content to allow an innocent person to go to prison, to serve hard time, even to be executed.
Travis Boyette is such a man. In 1998, in the small East Texas city of Sloan, he abducted, raped, and strangled a popular high school cheerleader. He buried her body so that it would never be found, then watched in amazement as police and prosecutors arrested and convicted Donté Drumm, a local football star, and marched him off to death row.
Now nine years have passed. Travis has just been paroled in Kansas for a different crime; Donté is four days away from his execution. Travis suffers from an inoperable brain tumor. For the first time in his miserable life, he decides to do what’s right and confess.
But how can a guilty man convince lawyers, judges, and politicians that they’re about to execute an innocent man?(from goodreads)
Opinions
The premise behind the novel was good, but for some reason I didn't particularly like this book. Maybe it was because I typically enjoy Grisham's books better when they center around a lawyer and courtroom drama, but the plot was very boring to me at times. Some of the characters seemed rushed in development. For example, a paragraph or two gave the backstory behind the main lawyer in the book. Some of the other characters were more fleshed out, but I didn't feel like he did a great job of developing all of them.
I liked that it seemed very realistic. I don't want to give anything away, but it definitely gave the real possibilities of what might or might not happen when the real killer waits until the last moment to come forward. I liked that it wasn't automatically "Okay let's let the guy we have in custody go free," because that would never happen in real life.
One thing I found interesting was one of the main characters was a Lutheran pastor. From what I gathered he was probably in a different synod than I am in, but I found it interesting because my dad is a Lutheran pastor so I found it easy to relate to the struggles that he had with his conscience throughout the novel.
Overall, it was a good novel but not a great one. If you're into Grisham's works already, I would say to give it a try but otherwise I doubt if it would be that interesting to anyone.
Rating
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Yay for new books
! I just bought Leaving Time too, I hope to get to it sometime not too long from now . I've got a couple of others from your list on my TBR as well (ie. Mercy, The Green Mile and one or two of the John Grisham books. I do believe I also own those classics (I own omnibusses, so I think they'd be in there)).I love buying new books. Actually getting around to reading them is quite a struggle
Right now I'm trying to take advantage of any books that the library has. Have you not read or seen A Midsummer Nights Dream before? If not, you're in for a treat
And if so, an excellent addition to a library... do you read many plays?That's too much John Grisham for me
I have not read or seen it! I've read some other shakespeare for school, but only the tragedies. I thought it would be interesting to read one of his comedies. I don't read them all that often but I've read a few. I also have The Importance of Being Earnest on my TBR.
Grisham is good for me because if I am ever in a funk, I find most of his books pretty interesting. He's not my favorite, but definitely something I'm comfortable with
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I had to go to Barnes & Noble today to find a Physics book so that I don't have to take the most basic physics class this fall and so naturally I looked around. I ended up spending waaayyy too much money
I bought
The Innocent Man - John Grisham
The Rainmaker - John Grisham
The Litigators - John Grisham
Leaving Time - Jodi Picoult
The Green Mile - Stephen King
Promise not to Tell - Jennifer McMahon
Mercy - Jodi Picoult
Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Shakespeare
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
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I've been trying to bite my tongue about Holes, but since you've gone and said what I was thinking...I hated the movie. An ex tried to make me watch it once because he really loved it. I lasted about two minutes before I decided it was one of the worst things I'd ever seen. Perhaps I wasn't being fair though...I came into it somewhere in the middle. I just remember kids digging holes in a desert or something. And bad acting. I will never be able to bring myself to try the book, even despite Frankie's 5/5 rating.
Yeah I just didn't really feel it. I think Shia Lebuff (I spelled that wrong because I have no clue) was the main character but he was really young. But I should never judge a book by its movie
I'm sure the book might be better especially if Frankie gave it 5/5 -
Hmmmmmm. That book doesn't sound like it would be my usual kind of thing at all, but you're really selling it with that review. Might have to stick it on the wishlist!
It's really not my thing either. I don't like being to scared or freaked out while reading a book, because I would rather be relaxed but it was so good that I actually found it hard to avoid reading it at night when I knew that I would have nightmares
One of the great aspects was the switch between past and present. I enjoy books that do that when it is executed well like in this one. Definitely recommend it and hope you like it if you get around to it!
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#39. Holes by Louis Sachar
Amazon: Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnatses. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day, every day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake. But there are an awful lot of holes. [...]
Thoughts: My third Sachar novel. This one is about slightly older kids, and not pre-teens as in the previous two novels. All I'll say is that it was yet another really enjoyable novel by Sachar and I would recommend it
5/5
Have you seen the movie? Is it similar? I saw the movie and didn't really like it that much, although lots of other people did.
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The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon
Summary
Bestselling author Jennifer McMahon is back with a gut-wrenching mystery about an architect whose troubled mother has been found 25 years after being kidnapped-by a killer who is still on the loose.
The summer of 1985 changed Reggie's life. Thirteen, awkward, and without a father, she finds herself mixed up with her school's outcasts-Charlie, the local detective's son, and Tara, a goth kid who has a mental hold over Reggie and harbors a dark secret. That same summer a serial killer called Neptune begins kidnapping women. He leaves their severed hands on the police department steps and, five days later, displays their bodies around town. Just when Reggie needs her mother Vera-an ex-model with many "boyfriends" and a thirst for gin-the most, Vera's hand is found on the steps. But after five days, there's no body and Neptune disappears.
Now a successful architect who left her hometown behind after that horrific summer, Reggie doesn't trust anyone and lives with few attachments. But when she gets a call from a homeless shelter saying that her mother has been found alive, Reggie must confront the ghosts of her past and find Neptune before he kills again.
With her signature style, Jennifer McMahon portrays the dark side of adolescent friendship and introduces characters who haunt the imagination, along with a disturbing web of secrets, betrayals, and murder.(from goodreads)
Opinions
What I liked best about this book is that it felt so real. I got so lost in the book that I had to take a break and realize that it wasn't real. It was definitely thrilling as well. I'm not a huge fan of scary and horror, so take this with a grain of salt, but I was scared out of my pants at least five different times. I was so afraid that I had to tell myself to not read it at night, because then I didn't want to leave my room to even go to the bathroom.
Anyway, I thought the characters were really great too. The story flips back and forth between the past and the present, which provides great insight into the characters and what motivates them to do what they do in the present.
As for the surprise factor, it was definitely there. I had two original guesses for who the murderer was, but fell into the trap that was laid by the author to get you off track. The actual murderer ended up being one of the two I suspected, so I felt a little silly for falling for the plot twist. I don't think I'm giving too much away by saying this, because everyone will have different original guesses, so I hope nobody is spoiled by this paragraph
I haven't read a book by this author before and I just kind of stumbled upon it at the library. It must be the same publisher as another author that I've read, because I noticed that the cover design looked familiar and picked it up. It wasn't what I expected, but just reading the back cover was enough to make me realize I should read it. It was nice to get a change of pace and a new author. She has two other best selling books, so I might check those out in the future. I would 100% recommend this book.
Rating
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I hope they will be good
! Do tell me what you think of them when you've seen them, if you want 
.I definitely will! I hope they are good, because those are a few of my favorite novels she has written.
I agree with Anna, that cap looks great on top of the shelf!
I hope you enjoy your new books, and I'm happy to hear you now have a lot more time to read! 
Aw thanks
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Currently reading a book by a new author I've never even heard of. The One I Left Behind by Jennifer McMahon. It's really intense and so thrilling that I can't even read it at night because then I'm afraid to go to the bathroom
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I'm glad you enjoyed The Green Mile. I've always wanted to read it and read more Stephen King, non horror. Wonder if it's anything like movie? Have you seen it? I know the movie brought out a lot of the same emotions you mentioned.
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I loved Judy Blume, my friends and I used to chant "I must, I must, I must increase my bust" whilst doing the exercises recommended to the character in Are you there God, it's me Margaret, those were the days eh?!
Is that what that phrase is from?!! My dad says that all the time and I always thought it was super weird
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I copy the image link (using the [ img ] tags), I usually use GoodReads but if they don't have the right cover, then I use Google and find a site that does.
Great review, I'm glad you liked the book
.Yes I do this same thing. I use goodreads, because sometimes on google when you try to post it will say the image source is not permitted or something like that. To copy the image link, just right click or ctrl + click on a mac and then choose copy image url, if you didn't already know how to do that.
Your Top 10 TV Shows!
in Music / TV / Films
Posted
Maybe I'll give them a chance. I stopped because people told me it wasn't good, so I just figured it wasn't going to be worth my time anymore.
Yeah I was the same way. And I was always confused about who was cheating on who and I had seen reruns combined with current ones so I was confused with what happened to her job. It was a mess. I just decided to watch from the beginning.