'Shakespeare Saved My Life' by Laura Bates

Shakespeare Saved My Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard by Laura Bates

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Dr. Laura Bates writes about her work with the prisoners of Central Indiana, close to where I currently call home. In particular, she recounts her teacher-pupil relationship with inmate Larry Newton. With little formal education, convicted murderer Newton had a keen, insightful mind and a particular gift for relating Shakespeare to the circumstances of his fellow inmates. He might have become the first inmate to earn his Ph.D. in prison -- if the state of Indiana hadn't ended all funding for education in prison.

It's really stupid to end prison education and Shakespeare programs, by the way. They've been shown time and time again to reduce the amount of violence between inmates. America is horrible to its incarcerated persons anyway, but it's especially boneheaded to make the workplace more dangerous for prison employees as well as more dangerous for inmates themselves.

Bates writes that she is not a prison reformer, but maybe she should be. American prisons are a human rights nightmare, as Orange Is the New Black has recently shown many of us. And we should all care, because not every prisoner is incarcerated for the rest of his or her life. They'll become our neighbors, and it's always better to have an educated neighbor with insight into his or her own character and actions.

I checked this audiobook out of my local library using the Libby app. I was not obligated in any way to review it.

'Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right' by Jane Mayer

Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Is this a well-researched, thoughtful work of journalistic nonfiction? Yes. Is it infuriating? Also yes.

The Supreme Court made a huge mistake when it ruled in the Citizens United decision that money counts as free speech, and now the Republican Party has run with that decision to a disastrous degree. The loser is democracy itself. I wish every American voter would listen to/read this book.

These out-of-touch-to-the-point-of-delusion billionaires push their loony brand of libertarianism out through the "conservative" media and Americans without two nickels to rub together start spouting the wishes of billionaires to their own detriment. Wake up and smell the manipulation, America.

I checked this audiobook out of the library using the Libby app. I was not obligated in any way to review it.

'Children of Blood and Bone' Is a True Must-Read

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of those books that's so good, I have a hard time articulating why I loved it as much as I loved it. The story is compelling, the relationships between the siblings and the various other characters are compelling, the world-building is incredibly detailed, and the writing is full-grown. The ending blew my mind. I doubt I've read anything better in the last 12 months (and keep in mind I really, REALLY liked Philip Pullman's latest.)

"Must-read" is bandied about so much in book marketing that it loses all meaning, but in the truest sense, readers who appreciate good YA fiction must read this book. Tomi Adeyemi has the gift.

I borrowed this e-book from my library using the Libby app. I had to keep returning it and checking it out again because it's really popular and I kept stretching it out because I literally did not want this story to end.

Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History

Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History by Kurt Andersen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Andersen, one of the two co-founders of Spy magazine, spent several years researching this meandering but compelling history. The 500 years in question begin with Martin Luther and the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation, leading to the Puritans, leading eventually to the "alternate facts" that America runs on today. This isn't an indictment of only the contemporary Republican party - we're all guilty of some of these strange, irrational beliefs - but it pulls no punches in calling BS on climate change deniers, flat earthers, and anyone who thinks the Earth is 5,779 years old and/or takes the Bible literally. I'm not sure if I enjoyed this book or if it just made me want to smack all my fellow Americans on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper like naughty puppies.

I borrowed this e-book from my local library using the Libby app and was not obligated in any way to review it.

For your October enjoyment, a little Edgar Allan Poe

The Essential Edgar Allan Poe: Stories, Poems, Biography by Edgar Allan Poe

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Happy October! I'm sorry I haven't been blogging much lately. I've just started a new Corporate Day Job. I'll try to least post about some interesting audio books I listen to in my car on the way to and from work, like this one.

My brother loaned me this audio book. I'd read most of these stories and poems before, but they were still enjoyable. "Tamerlane" is really not a great poem, but it's always fun to hear a dramatic reading of "The Raven."

(A few more of my favorite poems are HERE.)

My favorite of the material that was new to me was the sketch about the man who was hypnotized at the point of death, "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar."

The biography was interesting, too. Here's a fun Poe tidbit: Although he was often a harsh, cruel critic of work he disliked, he genuinely liked the work of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. He wrote positive reviews of her work in his newspapers and was influenced by her when he wrote "The Raven."

This book makes the case that the probably cause - or at least one cause - of Poe's final delirious illness and death may have been the 19th-century practice of cooping, a kind of voter fraud. It explains why he was found wearing someone else's clothes. Unscrupulous electioneers would dress the same intoxicated man up in different outfits so he could vote multiple times.

I believe the rabies theory of E.A. Poe's death came up in that book about rabies. I don't think anyone seriously thinks that Poe died of rabies anymore.

Overall, this audio book is a solid listen if you're a fan of classic American literature.

'Around the Way Girl' by Taraji P. Henson #Memoir #Autobiography

Around the Way Girl by Taraji P. Henson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved Taraji P. Henson anyway (big Person of Interest fan here), but I love her 1000% more after reading how smart, witty, insightful, grounded, and hard-working she is. She's just a really neat person. Yes, she's friends with Mary J. Blige, but she's also really, really real.

This book isn't a literary masterpiece; it's a quick read, organized around several themes such as family and friends rather than a strict chronology. But it's a fun book about a genuinely good person.

I purchased this book with my own funds from Half Price Books (not an affiliate link) and was not obligated in any way to review it.

An Epic Dinosaur Sex Adventure Woodrocket Presents Jurassic Wood: Swollen Dingdong

(Woodland Hills, California - PRESS RELEASE) June 21st, 2018 – Hold onto your butts and prepare yourselves for some Tyrannosaurus Sex! WoodRocket and Pornhub are proud to present the most epic dinosorgy of all time, with the porn parody of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ~ Jurassic Wood: Swollen Dingdong.

Jurassic Wood: Swollen Dingdong premieres Thursday, June 21st for free on WoodRocket.com and Pornhub, with an extra Jurassic Prick Bonus Scene available exclusively on Pornhub Premium.

After scientists turn the Jurassic Park into a Jurassic Brothel by combining the DNA of dinosaurs and porn stars, Owen and Claire must try to get the sexy dino-ladies off of the island before the dildo volcano erupts and they all meet a sticky and gooey end.

Jurassic Wood: Swollen Dingdong is directed by Vuko & Lee Roy Myers (Dick & Morty), written by Lee Roy Myers and Brandon Graham (John Wank), produced by Seth’s Beard (Ten Inch Mutant Ninja Turtles), and stars Lauren Phillips, Robby Echo, Codi Vore, Mercy West, Kyra Rose and Tegan Trex.

If you miss this parody, you will be dino-sorry!

The SFW (safe for work) trailer of Jurassic Wood: Swollen Dingdong is on WoodRocket.com and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_hOlIC7wso

Watch Jurassic Wood: Swollen Dingdong on WoodRocket.com & Pornhub.

The Jurassic Prick Bonus Scene is available exclusively at PornhubPremium.com.

WoodRocket mixes porn and comedy and pop culture, changing the way Adult Entertainment entertains adults. They have created popular original series like Ask A Porn Star, Topless Girls Reading Books, Porn Stars Reading Hate Mail, and porn parodies like Hamiltoe, Dick & Morty, Strokémon, and Bob’s Boners. There is nothing like a WoodRocket thing!

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