The Radish

     It may seem odd for me too have done to blogs on The Running Dream  twice in a row, however, there is a logical explanation. When the first review was written, I had only read 61 pages, to put that into context the book is three hundred thirty-two pages, I had, at the time of writing, only read a fifth of the story. The second reason, is I have not started a book, and even if I did the blog it would be just as surface level as the previous one. So I decided to do another blog for this book because  I can not really stomach the idea of two fairly undetailed blogs. So, what will this review cover that was not in the previous? Well, it will obviously have a lot more information about the plot and theme of the book. There is also an interesting correlation between the characters and the format of the book. I also highly recommend you read my first review, and also be warned that this will spoil the entire book which really is amazing, so please don't read furth...

        The War of the Worlds  is one of the most well known and iconic works of H. G. Wells. It follows the protagonist as he learns that aliens from Mars have started invading Earth, bringing powerful weapons that terrorize all of the U.K.. He narrowly escapes several encounters with the aliens and goes on a very interesting journey.          One thing I liked about the book is the creativity that Wells uses to describe the Martian invasion. The Martians arrive in cylindrical capsules blasted to Earth from Mars, creating flashes that were detected before they first landed. They use a variety of weapons against humankind, most notably the heat-ray. While describing the Martians, the main character writes  "Many think that in some way they are able to generate intense heat in a chamber of practically absolute non-conductivity. This intense heat they project in a parallel beam against any object they choose by means of a polishe...

       “One night,  we were watching Full House instead of Wheel of Fortune, and I heard myself saying, ‘I just worry that I’m a lot like dad.’ Without turning from the screen, she said, ‘You are.’” Throughout all of Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier, the main character, who is unnamed, struggles with the thought that she might be more similar to her deceased alcoholic father than she would like. She’s an 18 year old pizza delivery girl who, despite being several months pregnant, drinks beer almost every night, and is developing an addiction. She feels suffocated by her supportive and kind boyfriend and mother who are much more excited about the baby than she is. And despite appearing to be witty and sarcastic, she is deeply depressed. That is until she meets Jenny, a middle aged mother who calls the pizza place begging to order a pizza with pickles because it’s the only thing her 8 year old son will eat. The main character quickly becomes obsessed with Jenny, ...

       Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is an extremely good book which follows the story of Bernard Marx and other people that he meets as you the reader are introduced to an interesting and eerily plausible world where people are created in factories. One of the most interesting chapters in Brave New World is the first as you are shown the world that Bernard Marx and many others live in, and all the fascinating things you discover about the world. From the rigid caste system created to the creating of a religion around Henry Ford.     "If one is different, one's bound to be lonely." When people are made in factories they are created alongside up 81 identical twins. These twins are in the same caste and will world the same jobs. Being one of many twins isn't the only way people are the same as those who do not fit within the ideals of the World State, the government in charge of almost the entire planet, they are either sent to an isolated island or suppre...

“Monod’s tie was loose, and he looked tired and worried. After a long silence he told Ullman, ‘I think I have discovered the second secret of life’”(Carrol 69).     These words capture the essence of scientific discovery. What Jaques Monod figured out in his lab was indeed groundbreaking in the realm of biology, but today, what he discovered is a normal part of biology textbooks. When studying science now we sometimes forget that all of these theories and laws were once unknown. We forget that each of these seemingly commonly known concepts such as DNA or food webs were once shocking to people. But this passage also captures part of Monod’s story, which is almost as interesting as what he discovered.      This passage exemplifies one thing that I love about The Serengeti Rules : it doesn’t simply list off scientific theories and concepts but tells stories of discovery. One of these is the story of Charles Elton who, on a trip to the Arctic Circle,...