Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Young Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria—even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that old stone wall, Tristran learns, lies Faerie—where nothing, not even a fallen star, is what he imagined.

Instances of Swearing:

• Damn: 1
• Bitch: 1
• Bastard: 1
• Fuck: 1
• God/Christ: 1
• Genital: 6

We are Back!

Sorry for the longer than holidays break.  We have lost one of our reviewers so we will only be doing one book a week for awhile.  We will also primarily just be focusing on language for the time being.  Our primary writer is working on their thesis and has less time to give us in finding language in books.  We are going to strive to still do one book a week though.

-Gemini

Holidays and Finals

Due to the Holidays and Finals at school we will take a break until after December 25th.  Thanks for your understanding.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

"Community, Identity, Stability" is the motto of Aldous Huxley's utopian World State. Here everyone consumes daily grams of soma, to fight depression, babies are born in laboratories, and the most popular form of entertainment is a "Feelie," a movie that stimulates the senses of sight, hearing, and touch. Though there is no violence and everyone is provided for, Bernard Marx feels something is missing and senses his relationship with a young women has the potential to be much more than the confines of their existence allow. Huxley foreshadowed many of the practices and gadgets we take for granted today--let's hope the sterility and absence of individuality he predicted aren't yet to come.

ALA Reasons:

• Swearing:
• Damn: 5
• God: 19
• Genital Related: 8
• Sexuality
• Suicide
• Drugs/Alcohol/Smoking

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Set in Italy during World War II, this is the story of the incomparable, malingering bombardier, Yossarian, a hero who is furious because thousands of people he has never met are trying to kill him. But his real problem is not the enemy—it is his own army, which keeps increasing the number of missions the men must fly to complete their service. Yet if Yossarian makes any attempt to excuse himself from the perilous missions he’s assigned, he’ll be in violation of Catch-22, a hilariously sinister bureaucratic rule: a man is considered insane if he willingly continues to fly dangerous combat missions, but if he makes a formal request to be removed from duty, he is proven sane and therefore ineligible to be relieved.

ALA Reasons:

• Swearing:
• Hell: 82
• Damn: 12
• Shit: 3
• Ass: 14
• Bitch: 25
• Bastard: 38
• FU: 1
• Genital Related: 50
• Nigger/Negro: 2
• God: 50
• Christ: 15

The Dark Tower Book One: The Gunslinger by Stephen King

In 1978 Stephen King introduced the world to the last Gunslinger, Roland of Gilead.  Nothing has been the same since. Over twenty years later the quest for the Dark Tower continues to take readers on a wildly epic ride. Through parallel worlds and across time, Roland must brave desolate wastelands and endless deserts, drifting into the unimaginable and the familiar as the road to the Dark Tower extends beyond its own pages. A classic tale of colossal scope—crossing over terrain from The Stand, The Eyes of the Dragon, Insomnia, The Talisman, Black House, Hearts in Atlantis, ‘Salem’s Lot and other familiar King haunts—the adventure takes hold with the turn of each page.

And the tower awaits…

Stichley's Rating:
Intriguing idea, I didn't care for it myself.

Experiment 429's Rating: How many thumbs ups can I give?

Instances of Swearing:

• Hell: 15
• Ass: 5
• Damn: 9
• Shit: 5
• Bitch: 3
• Bastard: 1
• Fuck: 6
• Genital Related: 11
• God: 34

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

A controversial tale of friendship and tragedy during the Great Depression

They are an unlikely pair: George is "small and quick and dark of face"; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a "family," clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation.

Laborers in California's dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. For George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own. When they land jobs on a ranch in the Salinas Valley, the fulfillment of their dream seems to be within their grasp. But even George cannot guard Lennie from the provocations of a flirtatious woman, nor predict the consequences of Lennie's unswerving obedience to the things George taught him.

ALA Reasons:

• Swearing:
• Hell: 47
• Damn: 34
• God: 26
• Christ: 30
• Bastard: 17
• Bitch: 13
• Negro/Nigger: 12
• Morbid and depressing themes
• Racial Slurs