AUDIO BOOK. our dumb world

an audio book atlas from the guys over at 'the onion'. if you are unfamiliar with 'the onion', its basically a snarky fake news source in the same vein as jon stewart and stephen colbert. in this audio book they give a brief synopsis of every country on the planet, covering 'everything you need to know about' each one. some range from longer entries, such as the entry for america, to just a short sentence about other nations that they say we dont need to know anything about. its a humorous look at each nation and really focuses on the incompetence and apathy most americans feel toward other nations. they report stereotypes and ignorance as fact in such nations as italy where they say everyone is a gangster who just sits around eating their mother's meatballs. over all, the audio book is filled with wit and sardonic insights that are really funny. one warning, the 'book' is covered over three cds, but this type of humor really works best in small doses, so i wouldnt recommend listening to it all in one sitting.

AUDIO BOOK. born standing up

this is an autobiography of steve martin's life as a stand-up comedian. his story takes him to many places and gives a great inside look at this unusual comic. there are some really interesting anecdotes, such as his first job as a young boy working at disney land. he loved magic and performing all his life, and this book chronicles his start in performance theater and follows him all the way through to selling out stadiums with his stand-up routine. the author reflects on the steps that lead him to craft his unique style and some of the career decisions that lead to him being the most popular comic ever at the time. his honesty and candor is surprising as he tells of his home life, his losing touch with family and trying to rebuild the bridges burned, as well has his opinion of what it was like for him at the top. the best part of this memoir is that it is actually read by martin himself, so you get to hear him talk about his life and the events that shaped him. we learn a lot about what he did, but it still feels like he is a bit guarded about himself, glossing over many of the personal aspects of his life, instead focusing on the professional path he took. by the end i better understood and appreciated his comedic voice, even if i didnt feel like i knew the man behind it any better.

BOOKS. congo

i had read this one once when i was in junior high and really loved it. i was going through a stage where i wanted to read everything michael crichton wrote, which isnt a bad goal at all considering most of his stuff is pretty good!
the story follows a scientist who has been taking care of an ape that had been taught to speak using sign language. recently this ape, named amy, has been getting restless and its thought that it might be time to return her to the wild. as he tries to find a way to the congo to release her, he comes across a woman who is trying to go to the same place. she works for a company that recently lost a team in the jungle and must get there and find out what went wrong. eventually, with the help of an african guide, they find the place where the team went missing. they also happen upon the lost ruins of the city of zinj, a once great civilization that disappeared mysteriously. as they uncover the truth they realize that they are in more danger than they realized!
having read the book before and seen the movie (which is about as good as campy fun gets!- check out my review of the movie here), i knew what i was in for as far as the story goes. what i had forgotten since last reading it, was just how good the writing is! the story unravels at a lighting quick speed. crichton does an amazing job of keeping things interesting and the adrenaline racing, he also sprinkles in different tidbits about research and stories of apes and the jungle that enrich the reading so much. how real are these other tidbits and research? well, thats the thing about crichton, he is very good at making up the supposedly 'real' info thats featured alongside the stories he writes. whether any of it is based on fact or just the imagination of crichton does not alter the fact that this book is a page turner that was a blast to read!

GAMES. sequence

i had never played this game growing up, but diana said she really liked it, so we added it to our wedding registry. we ended up getting it. recently we pulled it out and diana taught me how to play- and i've got to admit i really like it!
its a card game and a board game all in one. the cards you have in your hand are on the board and when you lay one down you can put a chip on the spot on the board. once you get 2 five-in-a-rows, then you win! its been fun playing with diana because its pretty different each time you play, and can be enjoyed with just two players, unlike some of the other games we got... oops.

BOOKS. the giver

someone at school was giving away old copies that were falling apart, so i grabbed one. having never read it, i remember english teachers in the past saying how good this book is, so i saw this as my opportunity to give it a try.
the premise is very orwellian, its about a colony that must follow all these rules and regulations to make their civilization a great utopia. this means denying themselves of many freedoms, and following the guidelines for living that the society has deemed acceptable. the children only get one toy, they must wear uniforms and wear their hair a certain way, once they are of age they are put into certain training jobs that are dictated to them, etc. our main character, jonas, is given a very unusual job, he is called to be the 'receiver of memory' for their community. this means that he is training to be the only one who will learn the truth behind all the rules. he is trained by the current receiver of memory, called the giver. as jonas learns these truths about life he is forever changed and must make the choice to accept the truth or try to make things right.
its a pretty good story well told. the author does a good job of conveying the joys of the community in the laws they carry out. as we see jonas begin to question things, the author allows us to ask the same questions and find out some pretty unexpected things about what is so different in this society. because of these differences, there really is no way that this book could be made into a movie- it would give everything away to quickly! the ending of the story is a bit confusing though, i understand what the author was trying to do, but the descriptions and telling of it all gets muddled a bit. over all, its a great introduction for young readers into the sub genre of big government style books like '1984' and 'brave new world'.