THE WASTELAND and OTHER POEMS by T.S. Eliot

THE WASTELAND and OTHER POEMS
by T.S. Eliot 
(introduction and notes by Randy Malamud) 
(Barnes & Noble Classics 2005; originally published by T.S. Eliot in 1917 - 1922)

Do you enjoy reading poetry? Do you enjoy comparing writers with vastly different approaches writing in the same time period? Or do you wonder sometimes why certain authors are judged to be geniuses?

I typically do not enjoy reading poetry because it is typically difficult to follow. On the other hand, that difficulty also requires one to think through what the writer is trying to say and then ascertain what that message means to one’s own life.

I find the work of T.S. Eliot to be dark and almost unfathomable. When I read these poems, I thought of other writers working in the same time period, before and after World War I,  at Oxford in England, including Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Dobson. All of the latter writers were professors in various schools writing what appeared to be children’s stories, though each has generated a wake of immense treasure, including writing, movies, stories, video games, and so on.

As usual in reading such poetry once I pick up the book and start reading and thinking, I found the process enjoyable. In the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrok, I found what seemed to be a lonely young man (Eliot was then about 27) pining for a love. It felt like someone with a lonely internal soul describing a weird fascination with a potential lover. I found myself comparing this to the characters of  Alice in Wonderland or the Lord of the Rings. 

This edition from Barnes & Noble Classics is a compact edition. The introduction and footnotes by Randy Malamud are excellent. They certainly put the poems into a much clearer light, with an explanation of Eliot’s life and the various references in the work itself which would have no meaning to most of us today. He also provides translation of most of the Italian or other language asides in the poems.

It is a joy to read and think, then apply the learning to your own emotions and life. This is one of those works that certainly facilitates that process.

Warms, Cym

Barnes and Noble

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Winner of Wednesday's Book Review Link-Up!

     *all winners are selected by Random Number Generator *

And the winner of the Amazon Gift Card ($15 value) from Wednesday's Review Party is...

(**Drums Rolling in the Background**)

Congratulations to Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer!!



Be sure to check out Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer and leave a comment!


Email me your email address.

Warms-
CYM

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Book Review Wednesdays, Come Link-Up NOW!

<a href="http://cymlowell.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="CymLowell" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2442/3960797566_f11cfb2f41_o.jpg" /></a>

Welcome to Book Review Party Wednesday.

It is real simple. Link up any (old or new, any genre) book review that you have
written to the below MckLinky.

A couple of things to remember while you're linking.

1. Add a permalink to your specific post, not the main page of your blog (only one review per blog will be included in the giveaway). Permalinks from Amazon & other Book Review Sites are permitted.
2. Add my Book Review Wednesday Badge or a simple link-back to the party at the end of your review post.
3. List the name of your blog, Title of Book or Genre. Be sure to use spaces and limit characters to 50. For example: The Lost Symbol, thriller - or whatever you want to say!

4. Visit the other linked up reviews and leave comments....it's a party, have fun!
5. I will announce the winner in a weekend post. The winner is chosen from the linked up reviewers using Random Number Generator. All included.

I am so excited to be reading all the reviews! This is always so much fun and gives me the opportunity to add new books to my list. Last week's winner will be announced this weekend!

-CYM

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Betrayal of Trust by J.A. Jance @WmMorrowBks #bookreview #novel

Betrayal of Trust 
by J.A. Jance 
(a J.P. Beaumont Novel)
(Wm. Morrow 2011)

It is always fascinating to me to see how skilled writers are able to combine current events with clever plot twists and realistic characters to produce enjoyable reading experience.

When you were in high school do you remember being bullied? Or have your children experienced such victimization? Or were you or your children on the other side of it, bullying others?

Have you ever considered why rich and privileged young people would dream up drug, sex, or other dangerous escapades? Perhaps even murdering a young girl needing money to finance her own dreams?

All of these elements are included in Betrayal of Trust, together with many others. J.P. Beaumont is an experienced criminal investigator teamed with his wife Mel as leaders in the State of Washington Attorney General’s Special Homicide Investigation Team (S.H.I.T.).

J.A. Nance is a wonderful story teller. I read this one in a short period of time because it was interesting, not too heavy and certainly not too light. It was bright not dark like many in this genre, with the denouement surprising and not obvious as is also unfortunately way too common.

The mystery was fun. The interaction of J.P. and Mel offers rich fabric to weave  additional intrigue. 

The story is told in the 1st person from the standpoint of J.P. The author is a woman writing in the voice of a male police officer. I found this engaging. While J.P. feels a bit feminine, it was an enjoyable change from the machoism so common in this genre.

You will enjoy Betrayal of Trust for sure. I look forward to more in the series.

Warms-
Cym Lowell

AMAZON

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Winner of Wednesday's Book Review Link-Up Party

     *all winners are selected by Random Number Generator *

And the winner of the Amazon Gift Card ($15 value) from Wednesday's Review Party is...

(**Drums Rolling in the Background**)

Congratulations to Life and the Next Best Read!!



Be sure to check out Life in the Next Best Read and leave a comment!


Email me your email address.

Warms-
CYM

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Come Link-Up Your Book Review to the Party!

<a href="http://cymlowell.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="CymLowell" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2442/3960797566_f11cfb2f41_o.jpg" /></a>

Welcome to Book Review Party Wednesday.

It is real simple. Link up any (old or new, any genre) book review that you have
written to the below MckLinky.

A couple of things to remember while you're linking.

1. Add a permalink to your specific post, not the main page of your blog (only one review per blog will be included in the giveaway). Permalinks from Amazon & other Book Review Sites are permitted.
2. Add my Book Review Wednesday Badge or a simple link-back to the party at the end of your review post.
3. List the name of your blog, Title of Book or Genre. Be sure to use spaces and limit characters to 50. For example: The Lost Symbol, thriller - or whatever you want to say!

4. Visit the other linked up reviews and leave comments....it's a party, have fun!
5. I will announce the winner in a weekend post. The winner is chosen from the linked up reviewers using Random Number Generator. All included.

I am so excited to be reading all the reviews! This is always so much fun and gives me the opportunity to add new books to my list. Last week's winner will be announced this weekend!

-CYM

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Book Pinspiration!

All kinds of good book inspiration from Pinterest. 

Are you on Pinterest? 

Let's connect...

www.pinterest.com/cymlowell

1. A Tip for Old Smelly Books

2. I love this print. Unfortunately, I am not sure of the source.

3. 1949 Chevy Bookmobile

 

4. Book Post-It Blades of Grass Bookmarks

Have a great week.

CYM

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Winners of Wednesday's Book Review Party Link-Up

     *all winners are selected by Random Number Generator *

And the winner of the Amazon Gift Card ($15 value) from Wednesday's Review Party is...

(**Drums Rolling in the Background**)

Congratulations to Create With Joy and




The Book Barista!!




Be sure to check out Create With Joy and The Book Barista, leave a comment!


Send me your email address for the Amazon eGC.

Warms-
CYM

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Benefits Of E-Readers For The Elderly {Guest Post}

Many times people suggest that older people and technology do not mix well. However, this is not always true, especially in the case of e-readers. There are numerous advantages of e-readers for older people, some that may seem obvious, while others are benefits that you might have never thought of yourself.

Why are e-readers ‘old people’ friendly?

There are a number of different benefits to using an e-reader for someone over the age of 60, for example:

• Scalable font size – Try buying a book that offers you a scalable font size, it is not going to happen. However, the option to increase or decrease the font size according to the surrounding light level and eyesight can provide a real benefit to the elderly. As eyesight decreases, it is a great option to be able to make the font just a little larger.
• Lightness and comfort – Even though it is not ‘standard’, aches and pains are common for many older people. This can make it uncomfortable to hold a book that consists of more than 300 pages or to open and fold a newspaper. Most e-readers practically weigh nothing, making them extremely comfortable to hold.
• Remember the last read page – As short-term memory decreases with age, it may be easy to forget where someone was in a book. You can bend the last page you were reading, but it is doubtful that you would want to do this with borrowed books. Bookmarks tend to shift quite a bit, why not let technology take care of it for you.

E-readers and libraries

What if you do not want to have to buy all new books yourself? A number of libraries are buying e-books that delete themselves automatically after a few weeks (which is long enough to read them) and come with some form of copy protection. This mean that it works just as you would expect with paper library books, with the added benefit that you do not have to return them at all!

Reading in bed

Many people prefer to read a little before they go to sleep. Have you ever tried getting comfortable on your back and still hold a book close enough to read? You do not have to keep changing positions to change the page either. Once you are comfortable, you can remain that way and click the “advance” or “next page” button as you continue to read.

Light when you travel

You are not going to see many older people who carry around laptops or iPods when they travel. Oftentimes the preferred method of keeping busy while traveling is reading. However, you can run into problems with books causing your baggage or carry-on to be too heavy rather quickly. You can avoid this problem by bringing along one single e-reader. As you can see, while technology may seem a bit intimidating at first, an e-reader is honestly a great purchase for anyone who loves to read but is unwilling or unable to keep lugging books around.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you Jonathan for your guest post today!
{Cym}

Jonathan Rosenfeld is a nursing home attorney and regular is asked to speak to groups who support the rights of the elderly. Read more about his work by visiting his blog www.nursinghomesabuseblog.com

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Book Review Link-up Starts NOW!!

<a href="http://cymlowell.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="CymLowell" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2442/3960797566_f11cfb2f41_o.jpg" /></a>

Welcome to Book Review Party Wednesday.

It is real simple. Link up any (old or new, any genre) book review that you have
written to the below MckLinky.

A couple of things to remember while you're linking.

1. Add a permalink to your specific post, not the main page of your blog (only one review per blog will be included in the giveaway). Permalinks from Amazon & other Book Review Sites are permitted.
2. Add my Book Review Wednesday Badge or a simple link-back to the party at the end of your review post.
3. List the name of your blog, Title of Book or Genre. Be sure to use spaces and limit characters to 50. For example: The Lost Symbol, thriller - or whatever you want to say!

4. Visit the other linked up reviews and leave comments....it's a party, have fun!
5. I will announce the winner in a weekend post. The winner is chosen from the linked up reviewers using Random Number Generator. All included.

I am so excited to be reading all the reviews! This is always so much fun and gives me the opportunity to add new books to my list. Last week's winner will be announced this weekend!

-CYM

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One Night, Two Teams by Steve Travers #bookreview #football

One Night, Two Teams 
by Steve Travers 
(2007 Taylor Trade Publishing)

Are you a football fan? If not, are you interested in the history of racial integration in the U.S. South? How about the relationship between famous Alabama Coach Bear Bryant and the work of Dr. Martin Luther King? And what about the connection of Plato and Socrates to the football rivalry of Southern California (USC) and Alabama?

Finally, have you ever given thought to the relationship between Christianity, capitalism, and sports?

I am not a football, but I am fascinated with each of these other subjects. My son and daughter-in-law are huge football fans, for Oklahoma and USC respectively. My son thought I would enjoy One Night, Two Teams. As always, he was spot on!

It is one of the best books I have read in a long time, and I read a lot. It tells the story of the pivotal contest between USC and Alabama to open the 1970 football season at Legion Field in Birmingham. The game was added by NCAA as an extra 11th game. Bear Bryant and Jim McKay, the coaches and close friends, used the opportunity as a pivot in history. Travers puts a single football game played in September 1970 into a context of then evolving religious (Christianity), historical, economic, political and philosophical, social, and athletic trends. The result is a readable and thought-provoking masterpiece.

One Night, Two Teams is a story of triumph and evolution, love for colleagues and players alike. I found it impossible to read without stopping to think of my own thoughts on the vast range of subjects discussed.

Travers has California roots and connections, but he did a through process of interviewing and obtaining written recollections of the critical events from a broad range of players, coaches, writers, and others on both sidelines.

In its 27 chapters, One Night, Two Teams puts a mere football game into context by addressing the philosophical base of slavery, Christian idealism, the U.S. Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, life in California vs. Alabama in those years (the contrast between California openness and Governor George Wallace standing in the doors of the University of Alabama (underneath Bear Bryant’s office windows) is stunning, even if you did not live through it), and, of course, the game itself and its aftermath of integrating Southern football. 

Ultimately, One Night, Two Teams is about self-determination, integration, and economic progress. It provides a fine blueprint for the immigration debate that continues to rage in Washington. The parallels are interesting. 

I hope I have tickled your interest. This one is a wonderful, thought-provoking, and eye-opening read whether you are a football fan or not. I dare you to read it and not think about your own place in life.

Warms, Cym

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Book Review Party Starts NOW! Come Link-Up.

<a href="http://cymlowell.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="CymLowell" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2442/3960797566_f11cfb2f41_o.jpg" /></a>

Welcome to Book Review Party Wednesday.

It is real simple. Link up any (old or new, any genre) book review that you have
written to the below MckLinky.

A couple of things to remember while you're linking.

1. Add a permalink to your specific post, not the main page of your blog (only one review per blog will be included in the giveaway). Permalinks from Amazon & other Book Review Sites are permitted.
2. Add my Book Review Wednesday Badge or a simple link-back to the party at the end of your review post.
3. List the name of your blog, Title of Book or Genre. Be sure to use spaces and limit characters to 50. For example: The Lost Symbol, Thriller - or whatever you want to say!

4. Visit the other linked up reviews and leave comments....it's a party, have fun!
5. I will announce the winner in a weekend post. The winner is chosen from the linked up reviewers using Random Number Generator. All included.

I am so excited to be reading all the reviews! This is always so much fun and gives me the opportunity to add new books to my list. 

-CYM

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Blood Money by Brian Springer **Book Review**

Blood Money 
by Brian Springer 
(2011 Ann Eagan Publishers)

Every now and then, I pick up a book that is truly a delightful read. Blood Money is one of those, for sure. Brian Springer has a wonderful, engaging way of telling a clever story.

Blood Money is the story of a hired killer engaged to help a woman apparently being stifled from releasing a drug that would have life-saving impact across the world. He uses the name Greg Skelton. He believes that his employer works for the public good.

Jessica is a researcher. She has been kidnapped as the drug is ready for release. Skelton rescues her from a desert hideaway. She goes with him.

They play cat and mouse with relentless security people who seem to have a secret means of following them. As Skelton and Jessica are on the run, it turns out that she was bugged with a transmitter embedded in her arm. He removes it with blunt scissors and a sewing kit.

She is open to being seduced. Skelton stands down at each turn. “What’s wrong with you?” she asks unable to understand his stopping in mid-stream.

There are many mysteries in this easily read, enjoyable story. What is wrong with Skelton? Does he have some deep secret? Who is the bad guy? Who wears the white hat?Will they fall in love? What’s around the next corner?

In the end, like all fine stories, Mr. Springer springs surprises upon us. I closed the back cover wondering about the next step in the lives of these people.

Blood Money is a joy to read. Unpretentious, good reading.

Warms, Cym

AMAZON

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Winner of Wednesday's Book Review Party Link-Up!

     *all winners are selected by Random Number Generator *

And the winner of the Amazon Gift Card ($15 value) from Wednesday's Review Party is...

(**Drums Rolling in the Background**)

Congratulations to The Calico Critic!!



Be sure to check out The Calico Critic and leave a comment!


Your Amazon eGC will be on its way.

Warms-
CYM

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My Day Job: IFA Tax Treaty Evolution Presentation

What's your day job?

-CYM

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