Book Reviews

The seductive power of the novel lies in the charm and charisma of its hero--the idealized prince, "the Shining Genji". Genji's extreme good looks, his poetic sensibility, and the many women he seduces all interest us, but it is the contradiction he seems to have been born with that lends his character even greater mystery. - Lethe Bashar

"“The most important thing you need to know about Saudi Arabia is this: it is full of bizarre contradictions and stark contrasts, it basically lives on paradox.” This is something that I frequently tell to foreigners who come to our country and find it difficult to understand." - Fulaan from Bookmarklet

oyun gibi kitap şerefsizim. hugo ve nebula ödüllerini aynı anda almış bir de.. film yapılması bekleniyor. ilk 5 bilim kurgu şeysine girer o derece.. - Ender Kocyigit from Bookmarklet

Popular perceptions of a state's legitimacy are inextricably bound to its ability to rule. Vast military and material reserves cannot counter the power of a citizen's belief, and the more widespread the crisis of a state's legitimacy, the greater the threat to its stability. Even such established democracies as France and India are losing their moral claims over society, while such highly illiberal states as China and Iran enjoy strong showings of public support. - Mycaptain from Bookmarklet

Hayatın da porno filmlerin de sonu bellidir, tek fark hayat orgazmla başlar. - Ender Kocyigit from Bookmarklet

ne türlü bir bakış açısı olduğunu çok merak ettim.. okuduysanız biraz bilgi isterim, tenks.. - Cenay Bayülgen

medya nın insanlar üzerinde neler yapabileceğinin en iyi göstergesi bi kitap. bir din ve peygamber uydurup bunu halka satması diyelim.. bayağı sarsıcı bi kitap ki çoğu kesim fayt kılabdan daha iyi olduğunu söylüyor.. chuck kitabında sırf amerikan halkını taşlamıyor, tüm dünya insanlarını taşlıyor.. mal geldiniz mal gidiyosunuz diyo her satırda nerdeyse hehe - Ender Kocyigit

sevdiğin kişiyi başkasının dilinden neden söylersin ki.. adamı kangren et sonra ayasofya konuşcak de, olur mu öyle şey..cadının dik alası olduğunu gösteriyor kitabın sonunda - Ender Kocyigit from Bookmarklet

en son geçen gün yazarın zahir kitabını okudum ordaki kahramanına da bi nevi peygamberlik misyonu yüklemişti..yine onda da hayatın anlamının arayışı ws wardı.. - ysmn

çocuklar okusa kafayı fıttırır aga.. haşmetli deniz yılanına saygılarrrr çok karizmaymış harbiden - Ender Kocyigit from Bookmarklet

"Reading a book by Franz Kafka –– or watching a film by director David Lynch –– could make you smarter. According to research by psychologists at UC Santa Barbara and the University of British Columbia, exposure to the surrealism in, say, Kafka's "The Country Doctor" or Lynch's "Blue Velvet" enhances the cognitive mechanisms that oversee implicit learning functions. The researchers' findings appear in an article published in the September issue of the journal Psychological Science." "The idea is that when you're exposed to a meaning threat –– something that fundamentally does not make sense –– your brain is going to respond by looking for some other kind of structure within your environment," said Travis Proulx, a postdoctoral researcher at UCSB and co-author of the article. "And, it turns out, that structure can be completely unrelated to the meaning threat." Meaning, according to Proulx, is an expected association within one's environment. Fire, for example, is associated with... more... - Pilsonia from Bookmarklet

"A team of leading British and American scholars asked 108 sibling pairs in Colorado exactly what they fought about. Parental affection was ranked dead last. Just 9% of the kids said it was to blame for the arguments of competition. The more common reason the kids were fighting was the same one that was the ruin of Regan and Goneril; sharing the castle's toys. Almost 80% of the older children, and 75% of the younger kids, all said sharing physical possessions -- or claiming them as their own -- caused the most fights. Nothing else came close. Although 39% of the younger kids did complain that their fights were about...fights. They claimed, basically, that they started fights to stop their older siblings from hitting them." That is from the new book NurtureShock, by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, which I found interesting at times. "Interesting enough to read" is perhaps its category. I should add that I don't think the cited research settles the matter. Children might fight over toys as credible signals of parental affection, caring more about the signal than about the toy per se. - Gladstone from Bookmarklet

"What Anne Heller recognizes, that few others have, is that Rand was a nineteenth century romantic novelist living in a twentieth century, post-war world; a world fixated on existentialism, abstract expressionism, anti-heroes, atonal music, psychoanalysis, relativism, pragmatism, protest and dogma. Rand provided compelling explanations for all of these phenomena, which stood opposite the world she spoke for and that originated the language in which she spoke." - Gladstone from Bookmarklet

I'm still working my way through Infinite Jest, but his talent is... damn, was obvious after the first dozen pages. R. I. P., Wallace. - John Jarvis

Anyone on Shelfair? - Czar from Bookmarklet

Ouch! When someone hates a book, they really hate it. I agree with some, not with others but it goes to show we are all different. - Nancy Williams from Bookmarklet

For a book lover, this is a depressing thought... - Nancy Williams

Interesting. My goodness, that is a disturbing thought. I would like to read more than that. - Sarah Peterman