Book Review: This time around, I highlight the classic work by Herman & Chomsky, “Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media”, new to the SSS Library collection. Being published in 1988 (with updates in 2002), one might imagine this work on use of the propaganda model of communication in western media to massage and manipulate the masses, to be outdated. On the contrary, while the medium of media has changed dramatically in the almost four decades since publication, the methods remain virtually the same. Herman and Chomsky assert that mass media companies… "are effective and powerful ideological institutions that carry out a system-supportive propaganda function, by reliance on market forces, internalized assumptions, and self-censorship , and without overt coercion", by means of the propaganda model of communication. ” Today’s volume and rush of internet content from independent creators comment...
Book Review: This is a hard review for me to write. Libba Bray’s “A Great and Terrible Beauty” (first book in the three-part “ Gemma Doyle” series) gets decent reviews and was picked by the American Library Association as one of the best young adult books of 2004. Students I have talked to about it seem to like it too, so why am I so underwhelmed by this modern Gothic novel? The story begins in India where teen protagonist Gemma Doyle witnesses strange paranormal terrors culminating in the murder of her mother. She is subsequently sent to a girl’s boarding school in London for a fresh start. Here she discovers friendship, belonging, and mysterious connections to her mother’s past which lead to otherworldly experiences of her own. Enough teenage angst, sexual yearning, and petty rivalry here to fill the river Thames. The opening sequence of the book in India was pleasurably tense, featuring a heart pounding chase scene, some shadowy violence with supernatural undertones, a sp...
Book Review: “This is a must have for all those who value a good read with genuine character growth, mystery, unique world building, adventure, unyielding bonds of loyalty, and pirates… A fresh, diverse fantasy.” - SLJ starred review I just finished “The Reader” , a debut novel from American author Traci Chee. What a start to her writing career! The book has adventure, mystery, magic, and romance. Most of all though, it swirls . Times, places, and characters flow in and out of the narrative like waves, leaving one perplexed and curious. As I worked my way through the story, I kept asking myself, “where are we headed and what is happening?”. Then in the last few chapters, the currents and back-eddies flow together, and the water runs clear and quick. After some four-hundred pages of exciting confusion, the resolution is a satisfying relief. Garnering eight Best Book of the Year awards upon its release, “ The Reader ...
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