the circle, by dave eggers
938202
I recommend this to anyone who likes to read about our future in a paranoid, over-teched, controlled society that does away with individual freedom.
617370
I loved Dave Eggers' books from the very first one.
And though I didn't quite get or enjoy as much Hologram King I was very excited about The Circle when it came out. But.
I guess what wanted to be Atlas Shrugged for the digital generation or an update on Orwell's 1984 just ended up being nothing at all. The ideas, philosophy and politics of The Circle's world are half-thoughtthrough. Character's reactions or lack of them is too unbelievable and the whole book turned into a repeated excercise of rolling my eyes at the naivety.
What a pity. Some ideas were intriguing but Dave failed to challenge them with anything more than the logic of a high school junior.
4482935
In Dave Eggers' The Circle, we're ever-so-slightly in the future, and one large umbrella company has taken over most of what happens on the internet: all your social media and e-commerce goes through a TruYou profile, a product of The Circle. When Mae Holland, a recent graduate of an East Coast private liberal arts school who grew up in working class California, is able to get a job at The Circle through her friend Annie, she's thrilled. The sprawling and luxurious Bay Area campus is beyond her wildest dreams and the company is at the forefront of every breaking new development in internet technology. She's increasingly drawn into the world of The Circle as it encroaches further and further into formerly private arenas of life, and can't understand her family and friends who resist the shifting landscape of the world.

Theoretically, this is a really good book, a modern 1984. When you hear about things like the lawsuit in Spain about the right to be forgotten, it really makes you think about how deeply the internet has enmeshed itself in our lives. The Circle illustrates how slippery the slope could be for it to completely invade all aspects of our existence...microchipping and GPS tracking children to prevent kidnapping, very small constantly streaming webcams to open up closed regimes, politicians livestreaming their professional duties to make government transparent. All of these things sound like they're positive developments on the surface, but it creates a culture of constant surveillance.

Where the book fails, though, is the execution. Mae (short for Maebelline, which I thought was a nifty way to communicate what kind of people her parents were without having to spell anything out) is obviously meant to be an audience-insert character, like Twilight's Bella. But it doesn't work here to the extent it works for Twilight...the characteristics Mae is given, ambition and a certain amount of selfishness, render her mostly unpleasant. She needs to be a compelling character to have us follow her down the proverbial rabbit hole, but she has no real personality. She seems close to her family in the beginning, but drafts away from them easily and without apparent regret. She has "relationships" with peers like Annie and her ex-boyfriend Mercer, but we're not given any sense of history or any reason to believe that she's actually emotionally connected to other people. The writing is clunky, with awkward phrasing all over the place. It's extra disappointing because the ideas behind the book are there, and if it had been rendered better it could have been amazing. I understand why it flopped, and I wouldn't recommend it.
3398145
Tweet me, follow me, like me.  Liam Brown's novel Broadcast takes on a very current and relevant topic in our culture - media exposure.  The novel asks the question of what troubles this daily living wrought live brings along with it.

Brown takes us on a tense journey, right up to the book's conclusion, and gives us questions to resolve.  His writing takes us to the point, but pauses to be descriptive and rather lovely at times too.  I recommend this book for readers who enjoy thrillers, science fiction, and readers who want to take a look at a book that gives The Circle by Dave Eggers a little competition.

Interesting concepts inform a plot that will keep you involved
3504747
"The Wings that Fly US Home" is one of John Denver's best Songs.  Philosophical, and spiritual.  The lyrics is as follows:

There are many ways of being in the circle we call life.
A wise man seeks an answer burns his candle through the night.
Is a jewel just a pebble that found a way to shine?
Is a hero's blood more righteous than a hobo's sip of wine?
Did I speak to you one morning on some distant world away?
Did you save me from an arrow? Did you lay me in a grave?
Were we brothers on a journey? Did you teach me how to run?
Were we broken by the waters? Did I lie you in the sun?

I dreamed you were a prophet in a meadow. I dreamed I was a mountain in the wind.
I dreamed you knelt and touched me with a flower. I awoke with this - a flower in my hand.

I know that love is seeing all the infinite in one.
In the brotherhood of creatures through the Father, through the Son.
The vision of your goodness will sustain me through the cold.
Take my hand now to remember when you find yourself alone. You are never alone.

And the spirit fills the darkness of the heavens. It fills the endless yearning of the soul.
It lives within a star too far to dream of. It lives within each part and is the whole.
It's the fire and the wings that fly us home, fly us home, fly us home.

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1335613
Full disclosure: I am a huge fan of Watershed's music but never have seen the band perform live. After reading this book, I find myself scrambling to try and see them on their upcoming summer tour. I know live out West and the tour won't come anywhere near me, yet I feel the need to see this band after reading this book. That should tell you something. This book is powerful and makes the reader feel as if he has a connection with the author and band. Kind of like the band's music, only this is better. It hurts me to say that as Watershed has made great music over the years (I recommend all four full-length studio releases and the second live CD).

I purchased this book with the hopes of getting the full story of what happened to Watershed and how they quickly went from the next big thing to sort of a rock and roll nobody outside of Columbus, Ohio. I got that but also a whole lot more.

Instead of a chronological blow by blow account, the author brilliantly weaves story lines from the present and past all while thoroughly entertaining the reader. There are times you laughed, and others you cringed and thought of Spinal Tap and Anvil. Most of all, you appreciated the honesty of the author as he let you into his deeply personal feelings as the 20-something-year-old tale unfolds.

The writing, much like Watershed's ridiculously catchy rock/pop songs, is spectacular. The author hooks you with the premise of the book right off the bat and keeps you reading and wanting more. It took me about five hours to read this book, which was good and bad. It was good because I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was bad because I enjoyed so much I could have read another 300 pages. It's no wonder he now teaches creative writing at the university level.

I read a lot of books about musicians, and many of them only are entertaining because the story is good. Many of them are so poorly written that it's like getting a root canal trying to finish them. This isn't one of those books. It belongs on the best-seller list, much the way Watershed's music does.

Kudos to the author for penning a masterpiece. Joe, you're not longer a hitless wonder. This book is a hit.

My only complaint: the footnotes should be on the bottom of each page and not all at the back of the book.
1897687
Dave Eggers: enfant terrible, possible victim of obsessive-compulsive disorder, anger-management issues, paranoia and anti-social personality disorder, to name a few of the many things that are blatantly apparent in this take-no-prisoners memoir, has written a most compelling tale. It is not for everybody, but even if one is shocked by the content and strange rants and riffs, it would be impossible to dispute the quality that is there in abundance. Dave had taken stream-of-consciousness to the next level, nesting memories along side other memories, returning to heartbreaking, visceral, soul shattering vignettes and images. The loss of both parents when Dave was in college is dealt with in a diffuse, non-linear way, has the feeling of jazz, erratic, troubling, hypnotic. He takes his thought trains to distant and shocking destinations, revealing more of an injured psyche and survivor at all costs. It is searingly, darkly funny at times, has the perverse quality of a wreck of some kind, a train, plane, car, or all three, or beyond to some kind of cosmic wreck. There are moments of profound and poetic rapture, which begs to be read out loud, to an audience of lovers of great literature. Within the Eggers family, there is tragedy, tarnished saint-like behavior, fearful dramas that no child should have to suffer, and the children, Dave the second-to-the-youngest, find ways of surviving, and even surviving well in spite of the major pain and adversity that was heaped upon them. Besides Dave himself, awash with noisy and disturbing thoughts, self-revelation, grandiose moments of lucidity, the other characters come to life in an interesting way, especially his mother, a complex person who, at her finest moments invokes the divine feminine, and at her worst, a person who needs industrial-strength anger-management. The bond between the youngest sibling, Tophe, and Dave is touching and at times dangerous, Dave in a personal war against authority, and on a journey for compensation for the tragedies the family has suffered. Placed in a parental role at too tender an age, Dave emerges at times as a puer aeternus, not always up to the challenge, but has not appeared to have harmed his younger brother, at least in a visible way. Of course, Dave is being facetious in the title of his memoir, but he really has a profound, original, at times overwhelming facility of expression, and to this reader is indeed a genius.
1873085
My friend Erica turned me on to this band just by playing one song, "Independently Happy".  Normally it takes more than just one song to turn me on to a group but this is on a list of limited groups that can do that.  Their lyrics are just so moving and powerful.  You just can't help but sway to the music and sing along.  "HRSA" is the perfect break up song.  Where in the world were these guy's when I was a teenager?  Their sound is like Dave Matthews Band, with a twist!  If you like Dave, you'll love this band.  This is by far most #2 on my top 10 list.  PICK IT UP!!!!  Tell your friends!!!  These guy's are AWSOME!
4622293
This is undesputedly the best song the Dave Matthews Band has ever  produced. It combines lively lyrics with upbeat music. The first song ever  put on a recording with 27 snare beats, a pivotal song in the music  industry and now available to you in both the live and the album versions!
2147387
More than a cautionary tale, The Circle is completely engaging and thought-provoking. It's not dystopian fiction per se, but definitely not a feel-good novel either. Eggers effectively creates a Google-like campus and draws the reader into its web  (pun intended) though his protagonist, Mae, a fully formed character with whom you feel empathy and horror. Sometimes simultaneously. Although you could fault The Circle as a polemic--and it is predictable at times--Eggers creates suspense and drama and a great narrative. And I can't stop thinking about it.
3278811
What a great album/CD. All the cuts are absolutely wonderful to hear. The bands really swing and the lead players through out the CD are monsters. The soloing is real on the spot improvising and the interaction between the soloist and the rhythm sections is very very good. They are listening to each other and you can bet that is the influence of the mentoring from The Boss. Been a Maynard listener since 1970 when I first discovered him, and to late as his earlier works are also outstanding. Use to go to Dante's Inferno in Burbank to hear him and his band and it was always a special night there for these events. I heard him there one night and his chops just were not there, during 'Hey Jude' he picked up a soprano sax and wailed on it. I just sat there and laughed because it was so beautiful it made me happy. A truly one of a kind musician and incredible trumpet player. Miss ya' Maynard.
3943191
Well it is almost here!!! The new 36 Crazyfists album, A Snow Capped Romance is due out early 2004, although there is some confusion over the actual release date, but MTV has it slotted for February 24th. I have heard the album through a close friend, and even if it never lives up to the 36's major label debut, it's an amazing sophmore record. Here is my review for Bitterness the Star.
The guitar work, drumming, basslines and vocals all fit perfectly together to reveal a story on this album. You can sense the band's Alaskan roots as the boys pull together a worthy supersonic assault on your senses. Songs like Slit Wrist Theory and Two Months From a Year tear your heart from your chest as they explore the darker side of humanity and social aspects of life. An Agreement Called Forever is just an amazing song, followed in quick pursuit by the heavy eightminutesupsidedown. This is an amazing album. Two thumbs and ten stars. Out.
2061421
This is a truly great Drowning Pool cd for those that miss and can't get enough of Dave, I got this disc from the band when they were still playing bars and played my place for little of nothing, they worked their way up and this shows where they were at, at that time period in their lives.

The music isn't like Sinner at all, totally different, but in a good way. The cover rocks, pills everywhere begging to be taken and a hand reaching for them, too freakin' cool.

Basically, if you have the chance to get this disc and are a Drowning Pool fan, then grab it, because you may not see it again.
205410
I ordered this book because I had just read his new book "All In", and he mentioned this book in it.  The circle maker sounded intriguing and so I ordered it.  I just started to read this book and I love how he writes, his story telling, and his personal testimony encourages me to dream big too.  We are to dream dreams we can not accomplish on own, so that God receives the glory for it.  Amen.
1927027
I saw this one while browsing Amazon one day. I know Dave Cousins from his work with Strawbs and his 1970s solo work.

Connie Conrad, Dave Cousins' collaborator on this album, is an artist I'm not familiar with but, according to the liner notes, he's a German producer/composer/performer, based near Stuttgart, who has composed a Beatles tribute called "Pico", leads a German band called "Dark Ocean" and has sold about two million copies of his various albums over the years.

Apparently Dave Cousins and Connie Conrad have admired each other's work so they got together and made this album in 2005.

I like Dave Cousins' music so I took a chance on this one and bought it without having heard it. It turned out to be a really good album.

Whatever the story behind this album and the Dave Cousins - Connie Conrad collaboration, this a very worthwhile CD. Think of it as a very good Strawbs album; it certainly sounds like Strawbs.

If you like Strawbs, you should like this one.
4315821
Them Crooked Vultures:  All star band including Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones (Zep), and Joshua Homme (Queens of the Stone Age).  When I hear of these "Supergroups", I think of a below average album, small tour, and then you never hear from them again.  The future will tell about the longevity of this band, but this supergroup is good!

I wouldn't say it is groundbreaking, but any rock fan can appreciate this album.  On the 4th listen now, and it gets better each time.

Overall, sound is raw, not over produced and includes some cool arrangements backed by a powerful rhythm section.  A little flavor of the Baltics at the tail end of "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" and few other little subtleties make this album special.  Favorite pick is "Scumbag Blues", which is the sum of what would happen if you blended songs by Cream, The Doors, have  a member of Led Zep and Dave Grohl to perform on it.  Wink  Very cool organ riff and little jam session packed into a pretty catchy song.

It actually starts peaking after that song (No. 6).  The next one "Bandoliers" includes a killer instrumental part towards the end which just rocks and leads into another massive sounding track "Interlude with Ludes".

Only 1 track that I was not to crazy about was "Caligulove".  But hey, how many albums do you buy where there is only 1 song you're not nuts about....

Anyone see them live yet?
1591603
Very good book - keeps you interested - easy read - read in a couple of days.  I love THE BAND!!!