moonwalking with einstein review

Non-fiction is a touchy subject. Not many people seems to ready any books from this genre, and are missing out. In Joshua Foer’s new book, Moonwalking with Einstein, he tells the adventure of becoming a memory champion. When Foer first though of the idea for this book, he was planning on following the best of the memory champions in the world. Then the tables turned. The mnemonists said that they were just average people, and that anyone could become a champion, so Foer decided to volunteer himself. He thought if they could train him to have a better memory, anyone really could do it. So the training began.

                Moonwalking with Einstein is Foer’s first and only book at the moment, and quite impressive. As a non-fiction writer, Foer needs to keep a tight journal of all he is going through, get all the facts, and make sure the story is interesting. Foer excelled in all of these. There is great dialogue throughout the book, as well as many interesting real characters. Foer decides after he meets the people with the best memories in the world, that he should also meet the worst. Foer meets up with a patient who has had serious memory loss from a disease. Parts of his brain have been hollowed out from this disease, and caused his memory to disappear. He cannot remember more than the current conversation. Even though this patient cannot remember his neighbor’s names, he still goes on a walk every day and meets them and greets them as if they are brand new people. This patient is a great resource for medical scientist because it allows them to see what happens to the brain when certain damage is done. It was a great dynamic to add additional people into the book; it helps gain perspective on the whole subject.  

                In terms of writing style, Foer is very straight forward, as he needs to be. In non-fiction, there does not seem to be much creativity, that every book is just listing facts and rambling on and on about a boring science subject. But in Moonwalking with Einstein, that is not the case. Foer has such a life to his writing; it feels like he is talking specifically to you. He seems to write as a friend, giving incite to this great journey that he is going on. It is not the typical non-fiction book. The author is the main character, and he is learning along the way. You can see him mess up, and question his motives. There are scientific facts throughout the book, but it is set up in a way that Foer is sharing his knowledge, rather than listing everything over and over again. If you are looking for a first non-fiction book just for your pleasure, Moonwalking with Einstein is the way to go.

                Moonwalking with Einstein has much strength throughout the whole book. There is a true beginning, middle and end, great language, scientific incite, and creativity. On the other hand, there may be a few turn-offs that may turn readers away. There are times throughout the book where you find yourself away from the main story. You can get lost in all the facts that Foer is trying to tell you. Some people could get lost in the language also. There are many scientific words thrown around as if you should know them, such as neuron, white matter, synaptic cleft, and hippocampus. For the casual reader, they may find it difficult to try and make sense of these words and to fit them into the context of the book. Other than the difference in the language, the casual reader should be able to get along just fine throughout the rest of the book.

                It is quite the task to try and get people to read non-fiction. If you are trying to get more into this genre, Moonwalking with Einstein is the way to go. Foer uses creative language, and also presents interesting facts. This is a book about memory, and you do get a look inside the world of memory champions, and what their secrets are to memorizing two decks of cards in five minutes. This is not a self-help book, but is a tool to gain more knowledge on a scientific subject. Moonwalking with Einstein is great for first time non-fiction readers, and will prove that all non-fiction is not boring. So when you get a chance, add Moonwalking with Einstein to your reading list.

top 5 presentation.

non-fiction.

A non-fiction book needs to be 100% true. Dictionary.com defines non-fiction as, "the branch of literature comprising works of narrative prose dealing with or offering opinions or conjectures upon facts and reality, including biography, history, and the essay." You cannot just embellish facts to make the story more interesting because it is now creative and fiction work; made up.
Then I was wondering: is a memoir nonfiction? or is it allowed to be flawed?
Barbara Doyen stated, "memories are faulty, so a little leeway is given to authors of memoirs, but they are expected to be honest and to check their facts for accuracy. Creating fiction and passing it off as nonfiction, as apparently was done by James Frey in his controversial A Million Little Pieces, is completely unacceptable."
So a memoir is supposed to be all facts, but a couple of slip ups, say recalling a conversation from when you were six, is okay. I just think that if you don't know all the information, why put it in a book and sell it as the true story of you?
I love non-fiction. I recently read the book Moonwalking With Einstein, which is a non-fiction account of the author, Joshua Foer, going to a memory championship. It included cited facts from other memory books, and Foer also talks about bringing a recorder with him, so you know that the conversations are true. There is nothing made up in that book, therefore it is non-fiction.
If you need half-truths to sell your life story, maybe it shouldn't be written down.
And we do need to label our books between fiction and non-fiction. No one would be able to trust any book on factual information if they don't know if it is fiction or not. There are so many books out there; we need categories to place them in.
If we couldn't label our encyclopedias as non-fiction (100% true), we couldn't use them to prove a point, because someone could have gone in there and changed definition because that's how they felt it should be. WE NEED FACTS.

the importance of literary books.

I understand why people do not like any reading assignments in English class. Everyone feels that there is not enough time to get any of the reading done, let alone all the worksheets involved. But I think it is very important to have the literary books. I may be biased to the masses, I love reading literary books in my spare time, but I don't think that Macbeth can be simply replaced by Twilight.
Then you can get into how difficult Shakespeare is to read, and that nothing he says is relevant anymore, and that trying to translate his meanings are a waste of time. I don't find that true. Shakespeare is difficult, but I think that people need to see just how revolutionary he was. He invented so many common words we use today and is able to take us on journeys through live, love, and tragedy. I think we need to keep Shakespeare.
But enough about that. I think that students are not very accepting of the literary classics because they can't fully process all the intricate parts of the book. My friends often complain about how they don't have the time to read two chapters of The Great Gatsby, and even if they did, they wouldn't know what to highlight or what the importance of the color of Daisy's dress is. I think we need awesome English teachers. I was not always a fan of the classics, or reading any English book in general. I did not finish an English book until this year, my junior year. I think that my English teacher was able to help me appreciate the value of the literary classics, and that the authors do mean each and every word they say. I don't think you can find that in genre fiction. Or at least I don't see it in the same light. I think that anyone who loves to write can become a genre fiction author, but not everyone can become a literary classic author. It's a dying skill.
Do we even have classic authors in our lives today? We read books from centuries ago, and no books from today. I think the youngest of the classics we read in school are from the 50's (taking a guess here, I think that is around the time The Catcher in the Rye was written). I think there is a reason we don't read the books of today in English class. I find so many of the genre fiction to be the same. But there are no other books that compare to To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men, Macbeth, Fahrenheit 451, and Catcher in the Rye. They are unique and perfectly written. I think these novels need to be taught in English class, with a great teacher, and maybe more people can see the true art behind the classic literary books.

trailor

My group's trailor for Catch Me if You Can:

adapting catch me if you can

I saw bits and pieces of this movie back in 8th grade, so I don't remember much from it.
I think some trouble the filmmakers would run into when adapting this book into film would be the lack of characters. The only person that you get to know is Frank, and that is it. There are small people that he comes across the book, but none of great significance. I know from the movie that they did add in the detective that is played by Tom Hanks, so I guess that is one way to solve the problem. I don't have a problem with just following Frank and seeing how he fools all these people, but I can also understand that some people want more dynamic. Other than the character issue, I don't think that there is much to change with the book. The book is fast pace, and very interesting. I think that is something different, and it's also exciting that it is all a true story.
Three main points in the book that NEED to be in the film would have to be:
1) How Frank got into being a con artist. In the beginning of the film I think it should be just like the book. It's fairly short, so they can fit it in. I also think that it is very important to emphasise Frank's age. At the beginning of the book, he is only 16 when he impersonates a pilot. Sometimes through out the book, you lose track of his age, and just how amazing it is that he is doing all of this criminal business when he is 16-20 years old.
2) I don't know if this can count as one point, but... I think that all his "firsts" need to be in the film. The first time Frank is able to get on a plane in his pilot uniform undiscovered. The way he gets into the mess of being a doctor. Also the way he gets into being a lawyer. I am not sure if the movie shows all three, but I think it is important to show that he moved on to different things, he was not pretending to be a pilot the whole time. Frank is very smart and can get through any situation. I think showing all three of these parts will really show that point.
3)(Spoiler... I guess...) I think the movie needs to show how Frank was able to escape the law after being caught and being sent to jail. First he was caught in France and spent time in their prisons, then he went to Sweden for more jail time, then he was to be sent to the US to spend time in their prisons. When he has landed in the US he gets away. He is able to sneak out of the plane's bathroom through the toilet. That is crazy. When I read that part in the book, I was shocked that he was still able to get past people and not be caught. They had no idea that he was able to escape the plane. That was one of my favorite parts in the book, and I would not want to see it left out of the movie.
Two parts of the book that could be left out...
1) When he is first impersonating a pilot, he seems to stay a pilot for a while. I think that it would be okay if they fast forward through the parts where he spends weeks as a pilot cashing checks over the country. I think that you could show the first one, but I don't see much need to show every single event.
2) When Frank is caught in France and sent to their prisons, he has a horrible time in prison. It's a tiny room with no light and he is suppose to live there for a year. The book goes into great detail about what he lives through while he is there. I think that it is important to show what the prison was like in France, but I think the complete details of the event could be left. It is quite graphic and gross, so people can pick up the book and see exactly what happened to him while he was there.

book one project: slaughterhouse-five

ATTENTION! ATTENTION! Are you interested in life beyond our world? Do you want to be involved in an experiment? Did you read Slaughterhouse-Five? Then come right down to the Tralfamadore Observation Center! You have two line choices, and you can only choose one. You may either become one of the human in the experiment, or you may dawn out alien suit and become one of the creatures from Tralfamadore.

Now for some background on the story. This attraction is from the book Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. "Listen: Billy Pilgrim has become unstuck in time" (23) writes Vonnegut at the start of the story. We follow the life of this Billy Pilgrim and what makes him a little different. He fought in WWII, married his wife, and became an optometrist. Then he was in a plane crash. After the plane crash, Billy was not quite the same. Billy is visited by the Tralfamadore creatures and is taken up in their ship. They place him in a human habitat filled with furniture that the Tralfamadorians stole from shops on Earth. They have not captured Billy to harm him, but to find out more about human beings. There is an observation deck above the habitat, where other Tralfamadorians are able to see the live human they captured. But Billy is not alone. He was set up with another earthling, Montana Wildhack, and they lived together in the human zoo.

But the whole book is not about the Tralfamadore creatures. The whole story is based on Vonnegut’s experience in WWII, specifically the bombing of Dresden. So, when Billy is coherent with the WWII part of his life, we find out that he has been taken by the Germans and is now a Prisoner of War. He and hundred of other Americans are sent to the city of Dresden, and are held in a Slaughterhouse. And hence the name of the book, “Their address was this: ‘Schlachthof-funf.’ Schlachtof meant slaughterhouse. Funf was good old five” (153). While they were in that slaughterhouse, the bombing of Dresden happened. The men were safe, but after everything subsided, they saw the destruction and aftermath. The city was completely destroyed, and not another person other than the prisoners to be found. This was the whole point of Vonnegut writing this book. He wanted and needed to tell what he had seen, and did so vividly.

But back to the attraction. A person will need to choose between being a human or a Tralfamadorian. As the human you will be able to follow the path of Billy Pilgrim, and his experience of being abducted by the Tralfamadore creatures into a human zoo. They placed them in a small area that they tried to recreate to look like a human house. People will be able to walk through and see the space where Billy lived in space. As the Tralfamadorian, you will go up to the observation deck, and will be dressed up as a traditional Tralfamadore creature. You will take notes of the human behavior and see the world from the Tralfamadorian point of view.

I think that this could bring in more readers because it different and out there. People can come to this attraction and see how it is, and that could spark the interest of reading the book where it came from. This will also attract people who have read the book and are fans, so it offers a way for them to connect even more with the book. They will be able to see our interpretation of the Tralfamadore creatures, and also what the surrounding looked like for Billy. For the new guests who have not read the book, we could have staff around to answer questions and explain what is going on. There will also be a gift shop where you can purchase the book and some small souvenirs.

“The letter said that they were two feet high, and green, and shaped like plumber’s friends. Their suction cups were on the ground, and their shafts, which were extremely flexible, usually pointed to the sky. At the top of each shaft was a little hand with a green eye in its palm” (26).

what is a book?

A book is someone's imagination written down in words.
Whenever I am reading, I always wonder, how did this author think of this? I don't think that I would have the imagination to write a 200 page book. But I sure do love reading them. They help me feed my own imagination. They let my mind wonder from math equations and memorizing bones to places not in the real world.
I have just finished Slaughterhouse-Five, and loved it. That book is fantastic. There is nothing quite like it. I am not sure how Vonnegut was able to think of it, but it was good. If anyone is reading this, I highly recommend this book.
I love holding an actual book in my hands. I love having the stacks of my books in my room. It shows me all the pages I have read. They are a constant reminder. I now have a stack of books that I want to re-read. I don't know if I would have cared enough to make that stack if I didn't have the books. I don't think that I would read as much if I didn't have the physical book. And I feel that like I would lose my kindle a lot...
I am not a fan of ebooks. At all. But that is just me. I still think it is a book, but maybe not to the same effect. I think something comes from holding a book in your hand. Being able to hold and flip through the pages gives something to the reader. With an ebook, you can't just hold it, flip through the pages and examine the cover. I have no idea how people can even decide what they want to read on their kindle. I need to pick up a random book, read the synopsis, and flip through some pages. Then I can decide if I want to read it. I don't just go to a list of recommended books for me.
Ebooks are still books. You can still follow the same story that is written down on paper. It still lets your mind wonder. They are just not my preference.
A book is a book. There are all sorts of different ways you can go with book. You have fiction and non-fiction. Mystery and thrillers. And they all have the capability to take you from your world to a whole different place.
All I want is for the culture to stay. I really don't want books and cds to disappear. I don't want them to just be something of the past. I like the physical object. And now these objects are getting harder to find. I don't want my life to turn into everything being on a computer. I want to be able to leave my house in search of a book or cd. Technology lets people isolate themselves even more.

why i read.

I love reading. There is nothing quite like it. You can pick up a book, whenever and wherever you are. You start reading and you are in a different world from yours.
I have always loved reading. In my family, my siblings are not big readers. I would say that my mom is, but that is about it. It makes things a little different. They would rather watch the same shows over and over on the TV rather than pick up a new book.
One of my favorite parts of the day is going to bed at night. Not just because I can finally get some sleep, but that before I go to sleep, I can catch up on the book that I am reading. Right now I am reading Slaughterhouse-Five (which I highly recommend), and I just love reading it. What I am reading right now changes the scene in my mind. This book has time travel in it, which is nothing that would happen in today's world. That's why I read. It takes me to a new state of mind that I may have not been able to think of myself.
Books are really calming to me. I read when its silent, and it helps me to relax. There is a story that is going on in my head, but it is only me and the book. I love that. I love when you are completely into a book and you have all the scenes mapped out in your head. There is nothing like it. That is what makes reading unique. Everyone can interpret the story in a different way. People picture the characters looking different ways. And this is why movies about books are never any good.
I never liked reading in school. I always found the books boring. Until my junior year. This year we have gotten to read fantastic books. I have read Catcher in the Rye, Of Mice and Men, The Great Gatsby, and The Road. I love these books so much. I love the characters and I love the plots. I love reading books like these.
I read for me. I only read books that I am interested in (I hadn't finished an English book until I read Catcher in the Rye this year). I don't like being forced to read a book that I do not want to read. But I love reading my books. They help me escape and make me happy.