Just pausing to think

                               Just pausing to THINK

(This will just be a short report. This is not written to offend anyone it's just my own opinion.)

1) Why do humans believe everything the goverment tells them, no matter how improbable?

2) Why does every book that was turned into a movie, labeled as "Now a major motion picture"? Surely not every movie can be a major motion picture!

3) Why does the USA finance all the countries that fight Russia?

4) What is actually the point of life? Surely we aren't here just to chill our whole lives long.

5) Look at our finger prints. There's only one finger print for each finger, and none get repeated again anywhere!

6) Will humanity ever stop war?

7) How will the world look like in 100 years? Will there be corruption and sadness everywhere, or will there be happiness and joy all over the earth?

8) Isn't it true that the goverment calls all people who go against them terrorists and whatever they do is counter-terrorism like David Cromwell says in "Why are We the Good Guys?"
You can buy the book here (Amaon.co.uk):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Guys-Reclaiming-Delusions-Propaganda/dp/178099365X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431350471&sr=8-1&keywords=%22Why+are+We+the+Good+Guys%3F%22 

The Lord of the Rings (Collective review) P1

      The Lord of the Rings (Collective review) P1

                    By J.R.R Tolkien

(Please note that this review is not intended to hurt or offend anyone. All that is written here is my opinion.) 

99% of authors nowadays just write for money and entertainment not because they have a gift or talent for writing, or because they want to put their views and thoughts on paper. 

99% of books nowadays are just written for entertainment or money, not to provoke thought etc.

Tolkien didn't write "The Lord of the Rings" to get money. He did not expect money to come rolling in. He just wanted to write LOTR for his friends and family, and to put his imagination on paper. 

People often complain: 

1) That LOTR is too long. Tolkien said once that with a novel that is as long as LOTR people will find something that they don't like. He wasn't really bothered.

2) That it has got too much description. But that's exactly what made it on of the most influential books of the twentieth century. If it just had action all the time it would be just one of the average fantasy books you get nowadays, and not very educational. LOTR is also seen as one of the most educational books of the twentieth century.

3) Some people even said that Fodo and Sam are gay. Now that is absuloutely ridiculous! Let me just mention that in those days being gay was being happy and not homosexual!

Obviously I have watched the movie like everyone else, and I think some things are better than in the book and some things are not as good as the book.

Improvements on book:
 1) The chapter "The Scouring of the Shire" is pretty anti-climatic so I like the movie in this respect more. 

Improvements on movie:
 1) I don't really like the part where instead of Glorfindel Arwen comes.

The Guns of Navarone (review)

                                     The Guns of Navarone

                                    By Alistair Maclean

Praise for Guns of Navarone:

"Action sustained at high pitch. From the outst the is a feeling of suspense... an insistenly gripping tale" Scotsman

"Its strength comes from the speed of its narrative, its vivid creation of tensions, and its power in handling descriptions of action."  Evening Standard

"Could hardly be bettered" Sunday Times

Twelve hundred British soldiers are isolated and waiting to die on the small isand of Kheros, off the Turkish coast. All these lives could be saved if nly the vigilant, savage and catastrophically accurate guns of Navarone could be silenced.

Navarone itself is a grim iron fortress, manned by a mixed garrison of Germans and Italians. To Captain Keith Mallory, skilled saboteur and trained mountaineer, falls the task of leading the small party to scale the vast, impossibe precipice of Navarone to blow up the guns.

This book is just simply amazing! It's just written like a movie script; the action, the language, 
and the atmosphere is just a dead ringer for a Hollywood Blockbuster. Besides being a war novel it's such a thriller it will make you lose track of the time and just keep turning the pages.

Defenitely recommended for anyone 13 years and up and who have guts for tons of violence and gore!

You can purchase the book here (Amazon UK) :
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Guns-Navarone-Alistair-MacLean/dp/0006172474/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1430562383&sr=8-3&keywords=guns+of+navarone

The Guns of Navarone (Parent guide)

                        The Guns of Navarone

 
                                                            By Alistair Maclean 

Please note that spoilers are marked in red

Positive messages: High

- This is not a case of angelic Allies against evil Germans; it shows that Germans are also humans.  There are both Germans and Allies that are really evil. 

-  The characters (or the team) do not just kill in cold blood, although they can be very ruthless if need be. What I like is that the strongest man in the team hates killing and regrets it every time.

- This also teaches that steady perseverance and mercy can get you to your goal.

Positive role models: High 

All of them are , strong, ambitous, and also have a good sense of humour. But a warning: As I already stated they can be very ruthless and can kill without thinking. An example: Mallory tells Andrea to stab a spy between the shoulder blades. He does not do it after all, but Mallory tells Miller later he would have shot him if need be.

Profanity: Medium: Infrequent

Infrequent use of bloddy, ba***rd, hell, damn, Jesus Christ, e.t.c.

Sex: None
One (I think) implicit reference.

Violence: Near extreme
Nearly all the time people get impaled, shot, stabbed, strangled, tortured, blown up and more.

Gore: High
An grisly description of a young soldier impaled. And a few other graphic descriptions.

Frightening: None really

Intense: Very high
Throught the book. And as Maclean is known as "The Master of Action and Suspense"  you can guess how intense it will be.

Smoking: Medium-High
Pretty many cases of smoking by Germans and Allies alike.

Drinking: Low
Very infrequent use.

   

The Satan Bug (Review)

                             The Satan Bug

Praise for The Satan Bug:

"Spine-chilling, Throat-clutching!" Books and Bookmen

"Utterly compelling" Punch

Review:

Five strands of high-voltage wire, 200 yards of bare ground patrolled by armed guards with dogs seperated Mordon Research Centre from the outside world. Yet behind the locked doors of E block, a scientist lay dead, and a new toxin of terrifying power had  vanished...

This was the novel that started me off reading Maclean. The action, suspense and not least the dry humour made me love it. The suspense is just unbearable at times, and I could promise you, normally you'd never guess who the villain is and what his game is. It is confusing at times as it has some sub-plots, but overall an amazing book by one of my favorite authors (now).

You can purchase this novel here (Amazon.co.uk) :http://www.amazon.co.uk/Satan-Bug-Alistair-MacLean/dp/0006157505/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1429021920&sr=8-1&keywords=satan+bug+book

About Alistair Maclean

                                         About Alistair Maclean

Alistair Maclean, the son of a Scots minister, was brought up in the Scottish Highlands.In 1941 at the age of eighteen, he joined the Royal Navy; two and a half years spent aboard a cruiser were later to give him the background for HMS Ulysses, his first novel, the outstanding documentary novel on the war at sea. After the war, he gained an English Honours degree at Glasgow University, became a schoolmaster. In 1983, he was awarded a D.Litt. from the same university.

Alistair Maclean is now recognised to be the outstanding writer of our time in his own genre.
All of his novels have been worldwide bestsellers . Many have been filmed- The guns of Navarone, Force 10 from Navarone, Where eagles dare, Bear Island, Fear is the key, and When eight bells toll are among the most famous. He died in 1987.

The Satan Bug (Parent guide)

                                   THE SATAN BUG

                           By Alistair Maclean 
                                     (Fiction)

Parent guide:

 

Positive messages:  small 

No real positive messages except that if you keep going you might get there eventually.

Also around the end it's mainly about revenge.

Positive role models: medium

The lead character (Pierre Cavell) is a kind of enigma: He is not bribable and loves his family more than anything on earth. But  he's also extremy ruthless and does not hestitate to use torture and violence to find out what he needs to know.

Profanity:Infrequent 

Infrequent use of bloddy,bastard,hell damn,jesus christ e.t.c.

Sex: none

Very light romance as he's already married.

One implicit reference.

Violence: Medium (not that much)

People get shot, smashed, stabbed, tortured, hanged, thrown down from very high places.

 People and animals are poisoned.

Gore: High

A woman's head is smashed people are tortured beyond facial recognition. Lots of graphic

descriptions of people dying.

Frightening/intense: Medium high

For frightening see "Gore" above. Very intense novel, lots of despair and sad scenes.

Drinking: Medium-low

People mostly drink because of health. Some normal drinking.

Smoking (drug use): Medium-low

People smoke cigarettes. Not too much smoking.

Mood: Generally dark.

Actually a book for adults but I'll say teens above 13 should normally be able to stomach it.

You can buy the book here:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Satan-Bug-Alistair-MacLean/dp/0006157505/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1428936855&sr=8-3&keywords=satan+bug

Please email me if you see any mistakes and I'll be grateful.

Playstation Nation by Olivia and Kurt Bruner review

                                     Playstation Nation 

                                      Olivia and Kurt Bruner

                                                        Non-Fiction

Praise for Playstation Nation:

"If your child has or wants a video game system,you must read this book.Rarely has a problem among so many gone unchecked for so long.The Bruners have done parents and kids a big favor by writing PLAYSTAION NATION.

    -Dr Kevin Leman, author of Making children mind without losing yours

Are my children spending too much time playing video games?

Why don't my kids want to do anything else anymore?
Is it risky to let my adolecsent play online games?
How do I get my kids to turn off their game box and enjoy real life?

Olivia Bruner was one of the millions of parents asking these questions.
When she saw video games overtaking her young sons` lives she decided to learn the facts behind addiction. What she found was highly disturbing:That most games are designed to be highly addictive and that this fact was not concealed from video games creators.

Now I know this book is largely adressed at parents but as I normally read adult-targeted books I thought it would be fine to read. As I also was addicted to video games,this book gave me courage to face my addiction and to learn why we are addicted. Study shows that 1 in 5 kids are (or were as now they have way more sophisticated games) is addicted to video games.When I had finished this book I vowed not to play ever again. I have held that vow thanks to my my parents and family.

Nowadays it's hard to just not play becuase nearly everyone is playing no matter the age;from 4 year olds to 50 year olds play. But still better to suffer temporarily than permanently. I think everyone should read this book although I recommend that parents first read the book and then (If they think it's okay) let their child/children read it.

You can buy the book here:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Playstation-Nation-Protect-Addiction-Paperback/dp/B00HUC1HLM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1428754679&sr=8-2&keywords=playstation+nation