Are you the sort of person who hears other people discussing books and finding yourself wondering how they can even form opinions on stories? I mean, either you like it or you don't, right? Well, if that's you, then read this book, The Giver, and Siddhartha (if that sounds like too much, substitute Jonathan Livingston Seagull for the latter). Once you've done that, you'll feel all sorts of strange emotions and ideas swirling around inside you and you, too, will be able to talk about how a book made you think.

Then, you should watch Donnie Darko (which will become your favorite movie), and you can talk about how movies make you think, too. Soon, you'll be readin' and thinkin' and talkin' up a storm. It's just like a dog who eats grass so he can understand horses. ( )

The old joke says that the world is divided into two kinds of people, the kind that believes that the world is divided into two kinds of people, and the kind that doesn't believe that. The book that brought that to mind is Daniel Quinn's Ishmael. I am told there are Ishmaelites out there who think this book is the be-all and end-all. On the cover of my edition, a reviewer divides his reading into pre and post Ishmael. I am sorry to say I am not joining the Ishmaelites. The author presents his ideology, moderately interesting, akin to Coelho's The Alchemist. The Socratic figure in the dialogue is a gorilla. How cute. The world, we are told, is divided into Takers and Leavers. Hmmm, O.K. It would be nice, we are urged, if we all turned into Leavers, from our present stance of Takers. Lovely. Thanks. The next act to audition today, ladies and gentlemen, will be singing an original composition entitled "All we are saying is give peace a chance." ( )

Ishmael, a mountain gorilla, advertises for a pupil, and when the pupil arrives, leads him in a philosophical discussion concerning the fate of the world. Ishmael posits that there are two different cultures operating on Earth, Takers and Leavers. "Civilized" humans, those of us with jobs and houses and refrigerators and computers, are Takers. "Primitive" cultures such as the aboriginal peoples of Africa, Australia and the like, and all animals on Earth are Leavers. Takers, much as their name implies, wrest everything they want, indeed what they believe they are entitled to have, from the Earth by force. Leavers, in contrast, take only what they need and leave the rest. The discussion, presented in the form of a Socratic dialogue, centers on how "modern" man turned into a Taker.

The cover of this book quotes a reviewer from The Whole Earth Review, Jim Britell: "From now on I will divide the books I have read into two categories -- the ones I read before ISHMAEL and those read after." I won't go quite that far, but the story is certainly thought-provoking. And although I'm not inclined to abandon my Taker lifestyle and embrace any back-to-the-land movement, nor am I likely to recruit disciples for Quinn/Ishmael's philosophy, I certainly can make small improvements in the way I treat my surroundings. ( )

I love this book. Even if the story itself is not engrossing, it is not meant as anything other than a tool to carry the author's opinions.Be advised, this is an ideology book, and if you find the ideology* disagreeable, you will find the book disagreeable.I liked the way he makes his arguments, I do not know if they will stand to scrutiny right now, but at the time of reading, it worked. The "mentor" character asks the protagonist questions, which are hard to think of answers for (at least within 5 minutes), and the answers he gives are convincing, or seem that way.Even if you dislike the ideology, I find his reading on the origin of the Cain and Abel story simply fascinating.* The ideology is about preserving Earth and mankind's nature and place as an animal. ( )

I really like all of Quinn's books. The main problem is that he asks lots of really good questions and really doesn't provide any answers. Definitely a good read though. ( )