Review Tales
Book Magazine – Publishing – Editing
The Selection Series by Kiera Cass – America’s Tale (Book Review #1)
The Selection series is a 5-novel book about two girls named America & Eadlyn written by Kiera Cass.
I managed to read all five of the books in July and found them very easy to understand and to follow.
“The selection,” “The Elite” and “The one” were all written between 2012- 2014. Without giving too much away for people that have not yet read the book, I would like to give a small description of the whole thing before I comment on my feelings about it.
The tale starts in the future after the world war 4. America has been taken over by a country called Illea. The monarchy running the country pass their daughters to other nations, in the hope of strengthening their allies, and the prince has to choose one girl from a selection of girls picked after each sector of their lands.
People live in a caste system where if you are a “one” you are like royalty, a” two” you are a celebrity, and if you are an “eight,” then you are a nobody. Every caste number has a category of jobs they can only take as a profession. The girls are to be virgins before marrying, and any marriages between higher castes to lower ranks are not received very well.
I have read many reviews and heard many comparisons to the Hunger Games & The Bachelor on this book. However, I was surprised to see that no one mentioned anything close to what I am about to say and review on.
The books almost reminded me of Jane Austen and her famous “Pride & Prejudice.” Jane Austen demonstrated people ranked by their status and their financial position. While in Pride & Prejudice, people were not legally bound by what jobs they had to take or be marked by the public with a number which represented their status; they still suffered between an invisible line of being degraded and treated with prejudice due to their status. They were not able to move any higher in status unless marriage, affiliated them.
While Elizabeth grabbed the attention of Darcy with her gracious behavior and performed with dignity and pride even though she was of a lower status, America’s personality and behavior from the selection was almost the opposite.
I found America to be obscene, almost always confused as to what she was doing. She behaved very immaturely towards many important decisions she had to make and yet Kiera managed to make them sound all appealing to the one Prince of Illea. There was no grace, extreme pride, constant snapping or yelling and almost always insulting the prince. Kiera was excellent in giving us a visual view of the beautiful gowns, scenes and her skill in writing made you almost cry or gasp at certain moments.
America was pursuing another man in the palace who happened to be her ex-boyfriend, Aspen, all at the same time. Most of her dates with the prince would end up half finished due to her temper and attitude, and she was playing with two hearts trying to decide which one she wanted and which one she wanted to break. I kind of was hoping that once she had reached the palace, she would forget about Aspen or at least America would let him go when she saw him at the palace.
Nevertheless, don’t be alarmed and decide not to read this book as it had many enjoyable parts where if you dug deeper into the story you would understand and want to know more. There were politics, history, love, affairs, dramas and many sudden changes to the book that was very refreshing and kept you on your toes wanting to find out what was going to happen next. Love is not perfect and compared to Hollywood stories that seal our minds with images of what we should perceive as romantic and genuine love; the selection series takes you to another level of perception.
Just like anything in life, you start confused or even unwilling to participate. You then realize that it isn’t so bad and start finding your true self, understanding that in fact, it was what you have been looking for the entire time. You pursue it with all you have and hope with your whole heart that you succeed. Subsequently, since you never lose until you give up, America did just that, and she won.
Written by Jeyran Main
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Against All Odds by Danielle Steel (Book Review #290)
Bruce Miller’s Thoughts
Some Personal Thoughts on How I Felt About Writing, “I Came, I Saw, I Coffeed: Online Dating: Why Didn’t He Call Me Back? What Goes Through a Man’s Mind on the First Meet? Impressions from a Man Who Had Over 350 First Meetups.”
One beautiful, intelligent single woman told me many women wonder why they didn’t get a call back after having a very nice first meet with a good man. She asked me to write a book about my impressions when she learned that I had spent three years searching for a woman and met over 350 women for coffee or wine.
She wanted to know how other women dressed on the first meet, how they carried themselves, how they acted, what they talked about, and many other things and my impressions of them. And, most importantly, why did I date some women further, and why didn’t I call others back?
I’m just one man with an opinion and my thoughts, of course, don’t exactly match what other men think. But, I think my background is similar to many divorced men. I hadn’t dated for a long time and was thrown into meeting other women after an unexpected and unwanted divorce. There are lots of men who after an unexpected divorce feel like a floundering and lonely fish who missed a tide change and are flapping away and feeling very lonely on the sand. To avoid a lifetime of loneliness, we are forced to throw ourselves back into the sea, not being sure if we could swim again.
Men are under a lot of pressure to provide and make a good living. I thought I was doing the right thing trying to create a successful business. However, my ex-divorced me because I worked too much and didn’t understand women. The pressures of business followed me home every night and made it difficult for me to understand my ex-wife’s feelings. So, I’m thankful for going through three years of dating and talking very personal to many women and finally learning about them and the importance of a women’s feelings.
I hope the women who read, “I Came, I Saw, I Coffeed,” will find it insightful, entertaining, amusing and useful. And, I hope reading it will guide more women to get a callback and not wonder “Why didn’t he call me back.”
Written by Bruce Miller
Bruce Miller is the Author of “I Came, I Saw, I Coffeed”.
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The Status of Antiques in India and their Demands Abroad by Boring Bug
The Status of Antiques in India and their Demands Abroad
The Indian subcontinent has been known for its historical and cultural context. Despite being home to various artifacts dating back centuries, the same remains ignored, unpreserved and neglected. Antiques which are highly valued by the collectors across the world mostly remain in a state of neglect in India.
The rising demand abroad, the lack of awareness and maintenance in India, and the negligent nature has led various fixtures to disappear from the State and appear at international auctions, to routinely fetch high prices.
Antique dealers generally snap up much of the antique furniture and fixtures in junk for as little as US 1 $ per piece, whereas the same is put up in international auction catalog to be bought by the international dealers and art enthusiasts for thousands of dollars.
Despite having caught the attention of several activists who’ve been trying to lobby the same with the respective Government(s) to regulate the sale of such coveted items abroad and in India, there has been a major reluctance on all part. Privy to instances of Indian government intervening in major auctions of Indian artifacts abroad only to be shown the mirror that the same were purchased legally (at junk prices), or were purchased from negligent customers who had left such precious items in a state of deterioration or neglect.
The situation prima facie is the same for many countries, in and around the Indian subcontinent, due to the lack of awareness and absence of bonafide buyers. People consider such items to be junk, since items dating centuries old are a common phenomenon for the public in India, and under such assumption, they fail to realize the artistic and historical importance of the work. The primary example of the same would be my ancestral house. Built roughly 120 years ago with timely modifications to the same, it is still considered a young development in comparison to its surrounding buildings.
Hopefully someday, somewhere, the people around the globe will be educated and made aware enough about their belongings and the rich heritage to understand their true values.
Until then, signing off, while I eat my food with a silver spoon that actually dates back to a few decades. Another common phenomenon I suppose.
-by boringbug
Boringbug is a blogger. His blog can be reached at- www.boringbug.wordpress.com
Milton the Christmas Moose by Steve & Jean Goodwin (Book Review #284)
Milton’s parents are very kind and teach him to give and to be happy with who he is. I found the story to be very appealing to the younger audience. The subject matter of being kind to everyone no matter how bad they treat you back is something worth teaching the youth.
I believe the author has paid special attention to the illustration and the way the story has come along. The images are spread all over each page and are very colorful, creating interest for the youngsters who have short term attention spans.
I recommend this book to parents who are looking for decent children stories.
Written by Jeyran Main
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