Topher Payne

I loved this with every bone in my body. It took me a second to come around, but I really enjoyed it. It’s bone chillingly erotic, thrilling, and funny as hell. Leans a little bit more on the thriller side of erotic thrillers, but a heck of a joyride.

In my childhood, I had read Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree and I remember having mixed feelings about it. I felt sorry for the tree who didn't get anything in return after doing so much for that ungrateful boy. Of course, you can look at the story as a fable of selfless love but as the years have passed, I have come to believe more and more that selfless love isn't possible without self-love. One must learn to set healthy boundaries even in close relationships if one has to stay mentally show more satisfied and not drained out.

That's where this book comes in. The basic concept is the same as in the original book. But from a particular point , the story transitions into one where the tree speaks for itself and sets a clear limit. This, it does without being rude. it speaks to the boy (now man) in a firm way that one needs to have an empathetic relationship with fellow beings.

If you have had the same issues as I did with the Shel Silverstein book, do give the Topher Payne version a try. In today's selfish world, it is this version that we need to teach our kids to ensure that they don't let everyone else walk over them.

The best part is that Topher Payne himself did a selfless service in writing this alternate version. He has put up the changed copy on his website where it is available to download and print for free. You can check it out here: https://www.topherpayne.com/giving-tree

The minor downside? You need to have a copy of the original over which you can superimpose these new pages.

This parody version gets a full 5 stars from me for its message.

(I've read this ages ago. Just didn't realise that it would be on Goodreads. show less

In my childhood, I had read Shel Silverstein's [b:The Giving Tree|370493|The Giving Tree|Shel Silverstein|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1174210942l/370493._SX50_.jpg|30530] and I remember having mixed feelings about it. I felt sorry for the tree who didn't get anything in return after doing so much for that ungrateful boy. Of course, you can look at the story as a fable of selfless love but as the years have passed, I have come to believe more and more show more that selfless love isn't possible without self-love. One must learn to set healthy boundaries even in close relationships if one has to stay mentally satisfied and not drained out.

That's where this book comes in. The basic concept is the same as in the original book. But from a particular point , the story transitions into one where the tree speaks for itself and sets a clear limit. This, it does without being rude. it speaks to the boy (now man) in a firm way that one needs to have an empathetic relationship with fellow beings.

If you have had the same issues as I did with the Shel Silverstein book, do give the Topher Payne version a try. In today's selfish world, it is this version that we need to teach our kids to ensure that they don't let everyone else walk over them.

The best part is that Topher Payne himself did a selfless service in writing this alternate version. He has put up the changed copy on his website where it is available to download and print for free. You can check it out here: https://www.topherpayne.com/giving-tree

The minor downside? You need to have a copy of the original over which you can superimpose these new pages.

This parody version gets a full 5 stars from me for its message.

(I've read this ages ago. Just didn't realise that it would be on Goodreads. show less

Funny Story has about 40 short stories and is narrated by a full cast. The performances are wonderful. I think this would be really good for people who just aren't sure about audiobooks. It's more a collection of audio performances than a book turned into an audiobook and it works. The stories are funny and poignant and some were kind of heartbreaking and some had me giggling outloud.