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Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Some books by George Orwell

1984 by George Orwell

Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell

Down and Out in London and Paris by George Orwell

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1984 – 5/5 Stars This is probably only my second or third time reading this book, and well it still is pretty much the one that always gets it right. For example, I had completely forgotten, or failed to connect that “memory hole” as a metaphor in language now is from this book. It’s the literal hole that leads to the incinerator. So what stands out to me now reading this book is a few moments of real brilliance that I particularly enjoyed about the […]

I don’t know if you’ve heard of this one, but this was really good

Animal Farm by George Orwell

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In my continuing quest to read all the books I should’ve read in high school but somehow talked my way out of, I read Animal Farm last week. In 1936, after publishing The Road to Wigan Pier, George Orwell went to Spain to fight against the Fascists being led by Francisco Franco. In 1931, the Spanish King, Alfonso XIII agreed to allow elections to decide the government of Spain. Overwhelmingly, the people of Spain voted to abolish the monarchy and form a liberal republic. Over […]

Animal Farm – George Orwell (1945)

Animal Farm by George Orwell

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This is one of those books that I’ve read about a dozen times. So much so that I’ve listened to this specific audiobook edition (by Ralph Cosham) three or four times. It was also one of the first “adult books” (such as it is for adults — Hint: It is, as far as I’m concerned) I read in whole, and read in one go. The book is also the subject of a lot of limiting criticism about what it’s an allegory for. He calls it […]

Napoleon and Snowball have their own kind of Waterloo

Animal Farm: The Graphic Novel by Odry

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Considering the hype behind the novel, Animal Farm by George Orwell, and my love of graphics novels, I think I put too much pressure on this book, Animal Farm: The Graphic Novel adapted and illustrated by Odry. There is not much I can say about the theme of the book that hasn’t been already said (the animals of Manor Farm, in a coup, take over the farm and makes it Animal Farm. Here all animals are equal. Or are they?) At the time, this must […]

Re-reading a classic: 1984 in 2020

1984 by George Orwell

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Y’all know the broad strokes of 1984: Big Brother, newspeak, telescreens, doublethink, “We have always been at war with EastAsia.” It’s entered the popular consciousness in a profound way; and for some reason thinkpieces about it have proliferated since 2016.  (I wonder why!  Truly it is a mystery.) So our small book club decided to re-read this one as adults, to see how our reactions to it might have changed, or if it was really all that.  The consensus: it’s a classic for a reason. […]

“If there is one man to whom I do feel myself inferior, it is a coal-miner”

The road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell

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George Orwell is not a great writer, but he is an admirable journalist. He does not shy away from difficulty or experiencing hardship on his own body. I admire him a lot for this trait of character. In The road to Wigan Pier he was commissioned by “the left bookclub” to write about the experience of miners in Yorkshire and Lancashire. Orwell has never been anything but clearly socialist and this is a book about socialism and an attempt to argue for its benefits for […]



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