Tag: 4 Star Reviews

All 4 Stars Reviews In One Place

“Mesmeric Revelation” by Edgar Allan Poe Review

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The nineteenth century witnessed an explosion of imagination. After centuries dominated by church religion and the eighteenth century’s age of reason, men and women began exploring new ways of looking at and experiencing the world, including the world of the unseen.

This story is for the most part a story about a dude who is close to death, and he is put in a state of sleep-waking ish. Which isn’t so unique idea for a story.

The narrator in this book isn’t the main character, the main character is the man who is close to death. The narrator and the man in this story are talking about universe, God and other “mysteries” we don’t use a lot of out time on now on days. 

The ending is not what every Edgar Allan Poe fan would expect. Because the ending leaves us more or less with the conclusion that the man is asleep or just talking beyond the grave. Which is very poor work made by Edgar Allan Poe.

The writing style in this story is very on point with Edgar Allan Poe. It’s good, it drags you into the story and makes you imagine what you are reading which not a lots of authors have the ability to do.

It’s important to mention that this story may seem like an earlier version of M. Valdemar to some people. It did at least for me when I read it the first time years ago in junior high.

The whole story takes us into a journey which is involving the fad of the time of writing. However it’s important to mention that this tale starts with making you curious about what will be the next thing which will be said. But after a while it turns into a philosophical discussion story which again not a lot of people likes.

The whole plot about a sick & dying man who is hypnotized in a state that is halfway between life and death. will make some people love it, but when we look at the aspect that there are a lots of stories which involves these elements now on days does take the hype away. 

I give this story 4 / 5

“Thinking, Fast and Slow” By Daniel Kahneman Review

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In the highly anticipated Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Kahneman exposes the extraordinary capabilities—and also the faults and biases—of fast thinking, and reveals the pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and behaviour.

This one is definitely a must read book, because there are a lots of things which you will learn about your brain and yourself. And most of these things are things which you probably didn’t think about before.

This book explains also a lots of psychological reasons behind the decisions and action we take even when we dont think about it. Dont worry this book explains this in a very easy and smooth way and everyone will at least understand 50% of this book.

I need to give this book points for being very quick read at least for me. 

By reading this book you can just skip reading books like “Black Swan”, “Blink”, “Nudge” and very likely hundreds of other Behavioural Economics books because this one really covers what most Behavioural Economics books leak to cover. 

If you are interested in psychology or in why human beings behave the way they behave you should read this book. 

I need to be honest and say that this book is pretty lengthy, self-conscious and a challenging read if it is your first book about psychology. But you will gain a lots out of this book when you only give it a try. 

This book gives you a fascinating and very interesting study of the human mind. But also about how people make decisions together with how the decision-making process can be improved.

This book was written by a Nobel-prize-winning economist which can be trusted that he isn’t feeding us bull shit. 

I give this book 4 / 5

“Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” By Ashlee Vance Review

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Elon Musk, the entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, sold one of his internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius’s life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits. Vance uses Musk’s story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age: can the nation of inventors and creators who led the modern world for a century still compete in an age of fierce global competition? He argues that Musk is an amalgam of legendary inventors and industrialists including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs. More than any other entrepreneur today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as the visionaries of the golden age of science-fiction fantasy.

If you are like me and you are a big fan of Elon Musk and a big geek of Tesla and SpaceX, you will enjoy this book. Because this book provides us with a lots of information about Elon Musk and what kind of a person he is in his comapnies and behind closed doors.

This book is excellent and inspiring. It might also give you motivation about following your dreams and make cool projects no matter the odds against you. If you are afraid of taking action because you think that your business will not make it than remeber that Tesla had very small chances to succeed back in 2003 but look at it now.

This book shows that being reckless like Elon Musk helps. Elon Musk was reckless in two areas: in the risks he took, and the way that he manages his companies.

The attitude which the author took with hounding to Elon Musk and wearing him down till he agreed to cooperate with this biography, was amazing but still there are couple of things which this book could be better.

There are moments in this book which the author is like”Holy crap, Elon Musk is CRAZY”. And thats the thing every genius is in their own way crazy untill everyone sees that they are actually not that crazy after all.

Elon Musk’s comapnies are also the most exciting companies ever. And the fact that you can read about their early struggles at the beggining are amazing, and really brings a light that every company have the change to succeed no matter what.

The writing style itself is pretty good but there are times where the writing could be much better than it actually was. But I think that in this asspect and in this book that doesnt matter that much because of the whole concept of this book and idea behind it.

Even if you are not the biggest fan of Tesla, Space X, Solar City or Elon Musk you will at least have the opinion that this book is pretty decide and worth reading. Because there are always something to learn when it comes to big and important people like the goat himself aka Elon Musk.

Elon Musk is an important innovator of our times, but the author could take different take with this book. Of course the author had many interviews with Elon Musk and it would be very dope if he had mentioned stuff about there interviews and his feelings he got out of these interviews. It would have been also very dope if the author had involved some of these interviews in this book and not just talk about Elon Musk and his dope companies.

Of course this biography isnt the best one which you can find. But still you will learn something from it and most of you will enjoy it.

I give this book 4 / 5

“The Wolf of Wall Street” By Jordan Belfort Review

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By day he made thousands of dollars a minute. By night he spent it as fast as he could, on drugs, sex, and international globe-trotting. From the binge that sank a 170-foot motor yacht and ran up a $700,000 hotel tab, to the wife and kids waiting at home, and the fast-talking, hard-partying young stockbrokers who called him king and did his bidding, here, in his own inimitable words, is the story of the ill-fated genius they called.

This book has a lots of hatters coming after it which should happen. Because this books isnt half bad as many other books which have been reviewed on this blog.

If you are triggered by drugs, violence or lots of sex maybe dont read this book, because this book has a lots of these things and even more.

Two of the central themes of this book are finance and market manipulation, which make a lots of people pissed off. But the central themes which people also forget about when it comes to this book is how money can ruin people, and how being in charge can go south.

The story is told mostly in dialogue which is pretty much a unique way to do it. And it really gets funny and super interesting at many times throughout the book.

The whole book is about Jordan Belfort and how he was able to manipulated the market to his own advantage. There are many describsions of how some of the money was laundered.

For the most part this whole book is a roller-coaster sort of a ride. Because there are a lots of times where you are like “he will get caught really soon”. But all these times you think so, it doesnt happen.

The lifestyle which Jordan Belfort has in this book makes the whole book more interesting to read. But yes some people will not like the book and his lifestyle will make it worse.

It’s a tale of excess and hedonism. And all these hardcore feminists will hate this book because there are times (a lots of times) where women are treated badly.

The writing style was actually good. It was simple, humorous and descriptive.

One of the best parts about this book is that Jordan are calling his life as “rich and dysfunctional”, which could mean that he knows that the shit he have done wasn’t okay.

This book is about his sturggles with various things like drugs, Feds after him and how to laudry more cash. I personally read a lots of nonfiction books and I found this book refreshing because for once a nonfiction book wasnt about how people got into fame. This book starts when Jordan Belfort first day at Wall Street and in the next chapter it goes forward when he is the boss of Stratton Oakmont, Inc.

However there are times while reading this book where you will feel like you are a drug addict yourself. Because of the way how Jordan Belfort describes things and explain things.

I give this book 4 / 5

“Alone” By Edgar Allan Poe Review

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The theme of the poem is that of loneliness. … The poem ends on a harrowing note, that the narrator will always be doomed to see a demon in his view

This poem has uniqueness and isolation from a dark perspective. Which is very typical to Edgar Allan Poe, and thats the reason why people read Edgar Allan Poe’s work.

In this poem you can feel the depth of sadness which Edgar Allan Poe might have and decided to put it in the lines of this poem.

In this poem Edgar Allan Poe outwardly acknowledges that from a very young age he knew that he had been sadly different.

I give this poem 4 / 5

“The Last Question” by Isaac Asimov Review

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The last question was asked for the first time, half in jest, on May 21, 2061, at a time when humanity first stepped into the light. The question came about as a result of a five dollar bet over highballs, and it happened this way 

Another amazing Science Fiction book which really will make you think about the future and what path we as humans are on.

For the most part this story talks about the big enigma about human beings and about the technology which is getting better and better everyday.  However it also touches on the accept of us humans being creator and the creation at the same time.

The whole story deals with the development of a computer system called Multivac and its relationship with humanity through the courses of seven historic settings, beginning in 2061. Which sounds really weird if you haven’t read the book or you just are getting into reading it.

In this book we have 6 different scenes. And in each of these 6 scenes we are following different characters who deals with eh same computer system which of course is Multivac. All of these 6 scenes deals with the idea of AI vs humans. 

To be 100 % clear here, this book is a classic science fiction book, which every science fiction fan should read at some point in time. 

The question which is asked in this book is sort of a cosmic question that might not be ever solved which makes this book even more interesting and fun to read. 

However that main question in this book also creates other questions as the story goes on. One of the question which are created from the main question is what will happen when the sun gets burned out? What I’m trying to say is that this book not only asks you the question of AI vs humans but it also asks you a whole bunch of questions which we don’t use so much time on. 

Its important to say that this book is a quick read, and it good when you just want to sit down with cup of tea and a book in the evening and just wonder off into a story which is pretty good.

I give this story 4 / 5

“A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury Review

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A hunter named Eckels pays $10,000 to join a hunting party that will travel back 66 million years to the Late Cretaceous period, on a guided safari to kill a Tyrannosaurus rex.

This story is one of the well known classics about why you shouldn’t play around with time travel and all that. It’s one of the best time travel stories out there. 

This story is very well written, the writing style makes you almost feel like you are a part of the story which is in the end the highest level of brilliant writing style in books.

The whole plot of this story is brilliant. The idea of using a time machine to hunt dinosaurs which will die very soon to avoid changes in time is very brilliant. But of course there are some things which goes down hill on one of the “adventures” and it really shows how actually easy it is to change the future.

This book was written back in 1952, so it means that there are some parts which you may find cringe or cliché. But everything is cringe or cliché. after 80 ish years isn’t it?

This book is one of the best Science Fiction stories out there because it involves all the best parts which a Science Fiction story should have. And these parts are Time travel, Dinosaurs and Democracy / Dictatorship.

This story involves Butterfly Effect, Chaos Theory, time paradoxes or whatever you want to call it. I think that every science person will appreciate it because it really makes you think about time travel and how small pieces which gets changed can effect the bigger picture we have today. 

However the ending could have been better than it was. More descriptions would have helped the ending but of course we didn’t have that much descriptions as we should have.

This book needs to get points for being short and a quick read. Which we all love to read every once in a while. 

Possibly the most anthologise science fiction story of all time, but this is up for the debate.  its interest lies in its early exposure of the public of time travel paradox and the butterfly effect which makes this story even more interesting. 

I give this story 4 / 5

“To Margaret” By Edgar Allan Poe Review

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Edgar Allan Poe wrote this poem for a woman named Margaret, but he is unable to portray the beauty he sees in her with words. He describes a very deep love for her, but in the end, death comes and takes him because he was mixed up in love and ambition for a woman.

This poem is another well written poem from the king of gothic field himself. 

This poem is very short and pretty much a quick read, which can be read in 4 mintes if you are a slow reader.

The theme and prose behind this poem is amazing, it got the gothic mixed with sweet and heard breaking vibe to it. 

The writing style is amazing as of course you expect from Edgar Allan Poe.

I give this poem 4 / 5 

“Serenade” By Edgar Allan Poe Review

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This poem is about the affect nature has over man. The affect nature has over Poe is described can be described as awe strucking. Poe uses allusion towards Greek mythology, giving it a mystical nighttime feel.

Another good poem from the goat of gothic field. This poem was another poem which I truly enjoyed which almost never happens with me when it comes to poetry. 

This poem has an incredible good prose which will be a delight to read if you haven’t read it so far.

The writing style is amazing as you expect from Edgar Allan Poe. You will definitely be able to feel the gothic and sweet vibe which this poem has. 

I give this poem 4 / 5 

“To Miss Louise Olivia Hunter” By Edgar Allan Poe Review

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The poem says the narrator attempts to leave but can not, as he is “spelled” by art. He compares this attraction to a snake beguiling a bird from a tree.

So I need to say that this poem was one of very few poems which I truly enjoyed which almost never happens with me when it comes to poetry. 

This poem was pretty unique which you can expect from Edgar Allan Poe. Because this poem has something to it which for the most part most of you will like.

The writing style was amazing because it was a mix between different geners.  

This poem involves the comparisons with nature and human relationships which I loved.

I give this poem 4 / 5