Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
1932, 2008, Amazon Kindle
0582060168
256p.

A dystopian view of the future where people are genetically engineered and socially conditioned from before birth to fit in to the role which society has ordained for them. Everyone is happy and there is no violence. There's also no art, no truth and no freedom as we define it.

I read this expecting it to be a true dystopia, however, the concerning thing I found was that the society depicted in the novel is very much like the society I find myself in. People are encouraged to not think, to be promiscuous, childhood sexual behaviour is encouraged, entertainment does not tell of truth and beauty but simply tells a story for the sake of itself. Extroverts are thought of as normal and introverts as perverted and weird. If you are feeling unhappy, you must take drugs to fix it, to make the feeling go away. Consumerism is the basis of society (Henry T Ford is God); if something is broken, we replace, we do not mend (the more stitches, the less riches).

So all in all, I found this to be one of the most disturbing dytopias I have ever read.

Dinosaur Wars: Earthfall by Thomas Hopp

Dinosaur Wars: Earthfall
Thomas Hopp
2011, Kindle Edition, Amazon
ASIN: B004IWQXKW
unnumbered

A probe finds an abandoned base on the moon which was not put there by humans. It was put there by ... dinosaurs! And now the dinosaurs are reawoken and want their planet back.

This was just awesome. I mean, space dinosaurs from the moon? What's not to love? And for a Kindle Freebie, you can't go wrong.

Damned by Chuck Palahniuk

Damned
Chuck Palahniuk
2011, Amazon Kindle e-book
unnumbered

Madison is the overweight and spoilt 13 year old daughter of a movie star and producer, the only thing is, she's dead ... and in hell.

This was another awesome book by Palahniuk! He's so good, and so, so bad. I loved the character development in this, Madison is a fantastic character. They all are fantastic characters, the dialogue is witty and situation hilarious. I think this is my first 10 star review of the year!

Growing up Amish by Ira Wagler

Growing up Amish
Ira Wagler
2011, Tyndale, Kindle Edition
1414339364
unnumbered

Ira is born into the Amish church but does not feel at home in that culture. When he is a teenager he leaves one night under the cover of darkness to make his way in the 'world'. Over the next few years he returns and releaves.

This was thoroughly uninspiring. It wasn't a bad book, but it didn't give a real in depth insight into Amish culture, it's more about the author's life which is fair enough seeing as it's a biography. lol. Also, at the end, it turns into a Christian book which was mildly disappointing, I don't like being unexpectedly evangelised to.

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

The Omnivore's Dilemma
Michael Pollan
2006, Kindle Edition
9781594200823
un-numbered

This is the first book I read on my Kindle. Michael Pollan decides to eat three meals from three very different ways of procuring food: the factory farm; the sustainable organic farm; and hunting and gathering.

I read this because it was recommended to me by a vegan so I thought it would be a little more powerful in the anti-meat department, but on the contrary, it gave some very logical reasons why humans should eat meat. He's a very good story teller and I enjoyed the parts of the book where he's discovering how to locate and prepare his own meals from their original sources.

Ironside by Holly Black

Ironside
Holly Black
2007, Simon and Schuster, London
9781847380630
323p.

Third in the Modern Faerie Tale series. This brings characters from the first two together into one story. Kaye is sent on a quest in order to become Roiben's consort, an impossible quest to find a faerie who can tell a lie.

I enjoyed this more than the last book - the characters are a lot more mature. And the story is interesting. I like these faeries, the darkness of the story is offset by the humanness and emotionality of the characters.

Princess by Jean P. Sasson

Princess
Jean P. Sasson
1992. 1993, Bantam, London
0553405705
299p.

Biographical account of "Sultana", a Saudi Arabian princess who lives under the oppressive regime of a patriarchal society. She witnesses many offences against women whilst living in palatial opulence.

I found myself wondering if this book was truth or fiction, not in that I don't believe that this kind of thing could happen, but I guess the 'story' of how the story came about sounds fake. After googling it however, I think it must be a true story, because 20 years later, there've been no revelations about its authenticity.

I am astounded at the opulence of the Saudis' lives. And Sultana is just so casual about her wealth - it's mind-boggling. I guess it just shows that money doesn't buy freedom in all parts of the world.

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