Scan barcode
schinko94's reviews
105 reviews
Our Town by Thornton Wilder
5.0
One of my very favorite plays (in which I had the honor of playing Simon Stinson). Thornton Wilder is an expert at showing why one should appreciate the little things.
The Importance of Being Earnest by Aurand Harris
3.0
Love Oscar Wilde, but the Victorian language makes this one a difficult read without guidance.
The Bhagavad Gita by Simon Brodbeck, Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
4.0
Great religious literature, especially if you want to understand the core of a major branch of Hinduism. A short read as well-- It only took me about 4 hours.
Japanese for Dummies by Eriko Sato
5.0
A really comprehensive grammar of the Japanese language. However, it doesn't teach you Hiragana or Katakana, but neither of the writing systems are that useful for learning grammar and speaking anyhow. Might as well learn them from another book once you've got a handle on how to speak the language.
Colloquial Afrikaans: The Complete Course for Beginners by Bruce C. Donaldson
4.0
This is really the only comprehensive grammar of the Afrikaans language that I could find. It offers a lot of brilliant examples, along with understandable explanations of Afrikaans grammar. However, I felt that the pronunciation section was a bit subpar (it bases pronunciation on British English rather than IPA or some other phonetic alphabet), and some grammar points were a bit fuzzy at times. Overall a good reference book though.
The Secrets of Afro-Cuban Divination: How to Cast the Diloggún, the Oracle of the Orishas by Ócha'ni Lele
5.0
This is an absolutely FANTASTIC introduction to the diloggun, and is probably the most comprehensive work on Afro-Cuban divination to exist today. Very thorough, and according to the author, other volumes are in the works which will amplify the intricacies of each reading. The diloggun is an extremely advanced and complicated form of divination, and it's no wonder that students of the diloggun must dedicate their entire lives to the study of it.
Mystics and Messiahs: Cults and New Religions in American History by Philip Jenkins
3.0
Read this for my Cults in America class at Illinois Wesleyan. Good stuff, it goes through the history of the cult booms and busts in the US.
Urban Voodoo: A Beginner's Guide to Afro-Caribbean Magic by
1.0
This book focuses far too much on bashing Christians and white people, even going so far as calling the whole Christian religion "fascist." It also bashes other major religions, some of which are among the largest in the world. Vodou is certainly not a white religion, nor should it be white-washed, but I don't feel like the insulting of nearly every major religion adds to the authors' credibility. Likewise, the authors rage on against dichotomies, yet they frequently dichotomize the world as "Voodoo religion or fascist religion" and "black and white" without recognizing these dichotomies themselves. In addition, the authors make it seem like most voodoo involves blood sacrifice, when the reality (based on everything else that I've read) is the complete opposite. Beyond this, blood sacrifice is impractical and even unethical for many modern readers/practitioners. Sure, blood sacrifice is frequently practiced in Haiti and within various voodoo temples, but for the solitary practitioner, the EXPECTATION of blood sacrifice is quite lofty.