Musical notes and characters you can make with common text fonts: Courier, Arial, Times New Roman
Here are the Windows keyboard symbols for Alt Key, Unicode and HTML formats. If you’re using the Alt Key symbols, you’ll need to use your numerical keypad with Numlock on.
It’s easy to make dingbats and arrows with text fonts.
Easily create fun graphics, including hearts and smiley faces… with Arial and Times New Roman.
If you need some cool bullets, arrows and other Dingbat style graphics, but you don’t have the Wingding or Zapf Dingbat fonts installed on your computer, here’s how you can make them using Times New Roman, Arial and other common text fonts.
They don’t, however, usually work with Verdana and other fonts designed for web use.
Alt Key symbols work best in print materials and often on your website, but not in emails. HTML codes will generally show up on web pages.
For Alt Key symbols, hold the Alt Key, then press the numbers in succession, while still holding down the Alt key.
For Unicode symbols, type capital letter U, then the plus sign (+) and next the numbers and letters shown in succession. Then hold down the Alt Key and press lower case letter x. Let up the Alt Key.
For HTML codes, type the Ampersand symbol followed by the Number sign – – and then type the numbers in order – followed by a semi-colon.
List and Instructions for Making French, German and Spanish Accented Letters on Your Computer Keyboard
Hold down the Alt key, then type in 0 (zero), followed by the last three numbers – using the numeric keypad on the right of your keyboard. Then you can let up the Alt key. If you don’t have a numeric keypad, you’ll find two alternate methods here.
¡ – 0161
¿ – 0191
À – 0192
Á – 0193
 – 0194
à – 0195
Ä – 0196
Å – 0197
Æ – 0198
Ç – 0199
È – 0200
É – 0201
Ê – 0202
Ë – 0203
Ì – 0204
Í – 0205
Î – 0206
Ï – 0207
Ð – 0208
Ñ – 0209
Ò – 0210
Ó – 0211
Ô – 0212
Õ – 0213
Ö – 0214
Ø – 0216
Ù – 0217
Ú – 0218
Û – 0219
Ü – 0220
Ý – 0221
Þ – 0222
ß – 0223
à – 0224
á – 0225
â – 0226
ã – 0227
ä – 0228
å – 0229
æ – 0230
ç – 0231
è – 0232
é – 0233
ê – 0234
ë – 0235
ì – 0236
í – 0237
î – 0238
ï – 0239
ð – 0240
ñ – 0241
ò – 0242
ó – 0243
ô – 0244
õ – 0245
ö – 0246
ù – 0249
ú – 0250
û – 0251
ü – 0252
ý – 0253
þ – 0254
ÿ – 0255
Practice your Alt Key symbols on popular French sayings
Place your curser where you want the accented letter and use the Alt Key + numbers as indicated.
bête noir – a person or thing strongly detested or avoided; literally “black beast” (ê – 0234)
chacun à son goût – everyone to his own taste (à – 0224; û – 0251)
coup de grâce – a stroke of mercy, a decisive finishing blow (â – 0226)
coup d’état – a sudden, decisive exercise of force in politics (é – 0233)
pièce de résistance – a showpiece; the chief dish of a meal (è – 0232; é – 0233)
raison d’être – reason for being (ê – 0234)
tête-à-tête – a private conversation between two people (ê – 0234; à – 0224)
How to Make Keyboard Symbols Using Alt Key, HTML and Unicode Characters
Here is a handy list of Alt Key, HTML and Unicode symbols you can make with standard text fonts on your computer keyboard with how-to instructions to make it easy.
It helps if you have a numeric keypad, but if you don’t there are two other methods you can use for making French, Spanish and German accents, copyright symbols, m-dashes, real bullets and oodles more.
Years ago, I started collecting shortcut codes for characters that don’t appear on my computer keyboard. I was publishing print books at the time and really needed to know how to make the copyright sign, a proper ellipsis, bullets, and “n” and “m” dashes.
When I created the first tutorial on my website in 2006, my symbols all used the Alt Key and numeric keypad for Windows computers. I didn’t know much about HTML codes back then.
Over the years, I added to my list of useful shortcuts and eventually had enough to create an extensive tutorial. My tutorial has been on an early version of NewRadiance.com, Squidoo, HubPages, and is now back on my blog.
In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to make cool and useful characters and non-English letters using: (1) the Insert function in Microsoft Word (and Google Docs) and (2) the original Alt Key shortcuts as well as (4) HTML and Unicode signs for the most requested symbols.
Two ways for creating keyboard symbols
1. IN MICROSOFT WORD, YOU CAN USE THE INSERT FUNCTION:
Microsoft Word includes an “insert” function that makes it very easy to add text characters such as copyright, French accents – you name it.
In Word, click on the Insert tab, then click on the symbol icon (at the far right). A small box pops up which shows a few characters and the words “More Symbols.” Click on that and then a bigger box pops up with all kinds of cool characters, depending on which font you have open. Browse the drop-down menu to see what’s available… multiple languages, currency symbols, dingbats… oodles of options.
2. HERE’S HOW TO USE THE NUMERIC KEYPAD, IF YOU HAVE ONE:
If you don’t have a numeric keypad, you’ll need to use the insert function… or try the Unicode characters or HTML numeric codes. A number of these are shown below so you can see what works best for you.
The most frequently requested keyboard symbols
Alt Key shortcuts work best with common text fonts: Arial, Courier New and Times New Roman
(1) Creating Alt Key symbols in Windows Using the numeric keypad on the right side of your keyboard – with NumLock on – press the Alt Key and the numbers shown in succession. After that, let up the Alt Key.
(2) How to insert Unicode characters First type the capital letter U, then the plus sign (+) and next the numbers and letters shown – in succession. Then you hold down the Alt Key and press lower case letter x. Then let up the Alt Key.
(3) Using HTML Numeric Codes Type the Ampersand symbol first, followed by the Number sign – – and then type the numbers in order – followed by a semi-colon.
How Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can help you recession-proof your business
Are you a small or home-based business owner? Then you have a definite edge over the corporate giants when the economy falters. In this tutorial, you’ll learn ways to re-focus your business quickly so you are offering what people want, need – and are willing to pay for – during recessionary times. Prompt action of this type could save your business, in other words.
The idea for a tutorial called Recession-Proof Your Business grew out of an article I wrote for my newsletter a couple of months after 9/11/01. You’ll remember the financial backlash that happened in the months following September 11, when fear was gripping the country and people canceled vacation plans and cut down on all kinds of non-essential spending. Big businesses cut thousands of jobs and the economic talk was generally negative.
It occurred to me that as small and home-based business owners, we could turn our own businesses around more quickly than the multi-nationals could. After all, a committee of one doesn’t get much argument. Since 9/11, we’ve seen economic upsets during the pandemic and again with ultra-high tariff taxation, so I’ve done some updating to make the ideas in this tutorial relevant for today.
Enter Abraham Maslow… and his Hierarchy of Needs
You’ve probably heard of Abraham Maslow. He was a psychologist who suggested that we each have what he called a “needs hierarchy” which essentially tracks our life cycle from birth to maturity.
In my article, I used the example of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a way to find ways we could re-position our home business in order to fill needs people were having RIGHT THEN. When fear and money were big issues. When people stopped spending on discretionary items and stuck with the essentials.
General, philosophic, feel-good topics were not speaking to people’s desperation. Survival and a sense of belonging were more to the point. Perhaps you remember seeing Congress singing “God Bless America” on the steps of the Capitol? THAT’s the kind of belonging we’re talking about. And a back-to-basics, meat and potatoes kind of economy.
When people are struggling with fear and wondering how they’re going to feed their family next month, they’re not in a mindset to be learning new things, especially when what they really want is help with a specific problem they have right now – like the price of gas and food.
In times of economic uncertainty, such as now, and after 9/11, it makes sense to focus on essentials, rather than on the esoteric. On the other hand, people who are not bothered by the economy and do have the luxury of time and cash – may be the ideal clients for what you are offering.
It’s all in how you present your offer.
So here are a few ideas to try on – and see how they could be re-worked for your own business.
In the next section, you’ll find a graphic for the ladder analogy I’ll be using throughout this tutorial. It helps us picture this hierarchy more easily. Also, it’s important to remember that we’re not motivated by the “higher” needs until the basic ones at the bottom of the ladder have been filled. On the other hand, all of the needs keep recurring, so we’re up and down the needs ladder quite a bit.
RUNG 1: Survival (Food, Clothing, Shelter, Water)
Here’s How to Kick a “Survival” Business Up a Notch
The first need Maslow identified, which I’m calling the “bottom rung” are Survival needs… food, water, clothing and shelter. Things you absolutely have to have to function.
So here’s my question:
How could you reposition your business to represent a survival need that people have right now? Without pandering to their fears, I mean.
If you’re in a health-related business, one way is to become an expert on toxin-free, organic foods or clothing. I’m also pretty sure people would come to your workshops and teleclasses on organic gardening, now that the price of food is going through the roof. (Do-it-ourselves food production.) Or you could get on your soapbox about green buildings and building materials. We’re still talking about survival needs, but just kicking them up a notch.
Have you ever seen those community garden plots here and there, where people stake out their little section of vegetables? If you have enough space and parking, you could charge a fee and teach people how to grow their own organic stuff, right on the spot. Or start a local vegan or vegetarian cooking club. Teach what you know, make it easy to learn and sell the videos afterward… or upload them to YouTube to promote your vegetarian recipes e-book.
What about water? There are many opportunities in the water business – selling filtration systems, energized water, ionized water and such.
If you have these on a website, you can join Amazon.com’s associate program (it’s free) and offer Dr. Emoto’s books at the same time. It’s kind of a neat tie-in. We need water to survive….. again, we’re kicking it up a notch.
This is how a need gets kicked up a notch. We need water to drink, but here’s a lesson on how to give your water a higher vibration.
If you saw the movie “What the Bleep,” you’ll know how our thoughts and words can influence the molecules in water… both positively and negatively.
Can you teach people to infuse their water with positive energy? How could you improve the water we use to sprinkle on our gardens? Lots of potential here for a very interesting business.
Homesteading… The Ultimate Rung 1 Survival Method
Homesteading has become the new way to live… especially if you want to survive in comfort, with fresh fruits and veggies… not to mention your own eggs and milk. And it doesn’t matter whether you live in city or country anymore, either.
What can you teach folks about organic gardening, selling eggs, making clothes from alpaca yarn?
I bought a book called The Weekend Homesteader for myself because I’m in my late 70s now and not quite up to planting acres of food. But I can learn to implement a project a week and become relatively self-sufficient within a year. (I hope!). Since I wrote this section of the article, I learned about David the Good’s books and gardening methods. I have almost all his books about growing food in the south; his survival gardening book “Grow or Die” is available on Kindle Unlimited.
RUNG 2 Comfort and Security
Okay, let’s take a look at Rung Two on Maslow’s ladder – the need for Comfort and Security.
If you’re a coach who currently offers the more general “life coaching,” you might now want to specialize in something people are more desperate for – and also willing to pay for. Career coaching comes to mind. Or helping people figure out a strong business niche that can take them through troubled times. One area I’m working on myself is creating business “starter kits” complete with business cards and office supplies and resources. Here’s a kit I created for a home baking business, with info about Cottage Food product labeling, too.
Healers are in the comfort and security business.
Reiki Masters can teach ways for parents to keep their kids secure health-wise. Massage therapists are definitely in the comfort business, but to my way of thinking, they’re also in the security business, because they help people maintain good health at a reasonable price, saving potentially thousands of dollars in medical bills. A relaxed body heals faster than a tense body. Relaxation is great preventive medicine. I’m a true believer in this and created a tag line for massage therapist that I display on their business cards: Relax! It’s good for your health.
Let’s look at prosperity coaches, and prosperity teachers and authors. After our basic needs are met, most of us don’t want to be scrambling paycheck to paycheck to replace our food, shelter, water, and clothing. So learning money multiplication skills is a necessity for our security – whether it’s done through savings plans, investing groups, visualization courses, or Law of Attraction lessons. Teachers in these areas will be needed.
Now what about spiritual teachers? They don’t just talk about Universal laws or personal development or some technique or other that they’ve learned. They are teaching people to be secure within themselves so they don’t give way to fear or even to mental enslavement to the status quo, to other people’s ideas, to jobs they hate, or to whatever else isn’t working in their life.
The language you use to market this service at this 2nd rung level of need must speak of “security” and not self-realization, which is a different need altogether. It depends where the person is on the ladder of needs at the particular point in their life.
RUNG 3: Giving and Receiving Love, Community, Making Friends, A Sense of Belonging
Now we’re at the third rung of our needs ladder – giving and receiving love, making friends, community, a sense of belonging.
You know all the social media sites – Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, and so on… these are all catering to third rung needs. You can see how urgent a need this is right now, too, from the immense popularity of these sites.
But, how do you turn this into a repositioned business for yourself? If you have the ways and means of helping people figure out how to become known (famous) in these networking media… or how to gain followers on these sites, you have a business in the making.
If you’re a speaker and workshop presenter, you could also be teaching presentation skills in your class on making YouTube videos. If you’re an energy worker, you could be teaching people how to project their energy in these videos… which chakras to clear and which ones to energize. If you’re a writer, you can help people write their scripts. The whole idea is helping people not feel like a fish out of water – out of their element – insecure – while they’re learning the ropes of the newest must-belong social media. You don’t want them to drop down to rung two while you’re teaching them something related to rung three, in other words.
RUNG 4: Respect, Reputation, Status in the Community
We’re now at the 4th rung where we want respect, and where we’re concerned about our reputation and status in the community.
One of the ways you could help people with this need is to help them create a social networking profile that doesn’t look like your adolescent kid’s or, in my case, like your ancient grandmother’s.
Here’s another 4th rung idea. If you teach folks how to be confident speaking in public, you’ll find people who need your service. And by confident, I mean, so they don’t look and feel stupid or unprepared. One of the best courses I’ve taken is one called “platform decorum.” It’s all about how to project your ideas in front of a group of people. I’m essentially an introvert, a writer, not a speaker. Had I not taken that class, I probably wouldn’t have started teaching teleclasses (they were a thing, back in the pre-Zoom days).
So, if you have those types of skills that you can teach, then you’ll want to speak to the needs for status and reputation. Again, for business people who want to gain publicity through YouTube, you could be a valuable resource, to help them with poise and naturalness.
Are you a writer? Can you edit other people’s writing? Article writing is a major way to get known on the internet. But a lot of people balk, because their level of writing may detract somewhat from the expertise of their “real” work. So here’s where a talented editor – or ghostwriter – can make a good living… polishing or actually writing the articles of a business owner who wants to build his or her stature as an expert in their field.
We’ve finally reached the top rung of Maslow’s ladder of needs. Again, the other needs have to be more or less filled before you can tackle this 5th rung. But if you choose a target audience that is financially stable, that has solved their belonging needs and that is pretty secure in their reputation and standing in their field, then you can help them with the bigger picture.
Self-actualization, inner meaning and self-fulfillment.
One caveat… if you try to teach or facilitate this stuff before they’re ready, they’ll say it doesn’t work… or that you’re a lousy teacher – in which case YOUR reputation and standing will be lowered. So use this language and speak to these needs only to an audience that is primed for it.
But when you find that group of people, you help elevate them to the stars.
For example, can you help people picture their soul mission? People who have a need for inner meaning have probably had a good life materially, but may now be at that empty nest stage when they are ready to explore their inner self. They may have had an inkling about it earlier in life, but with jobs, kids, aging parents – what have you – their own self fulfillment always took a back seat. If you teach something they’re looking for and can find these folks in enough numbers, what a glorious business you can make for yourself.
Do you teach self-empowerment that goes farther than survival, security, a sense of belonging and being respected by others? This is spiritual power, a tricky concept, but the ultimate one. Do you help people connect with their Divine Nature? At this level, you’ll find not only people who know what you’re talking about, you’ll also come across others who have reached the 5th rung… but don’t have the metaphysical or spiritual education to understand what you’re talking about, never mind connect with it. They may have just got there naturally. Again, you need to know your audience. Who do you want to work with? These are not people desperate for money. They’ve got that figured out. But they are desperate to feel that their life has meaning.
We all know (maybe we all are) people who “get” the concepts of inner meaning and self-realization, but we haven’t secured our money rung yet. What do you do then, if you want to teach about self-fulfillment? It’s not going to be internalized if we’re worried about putting food on the table or buying gas. Fear, anxiety, and other emotions that lower vibration are going to inhibit that clear sense of God-consciousness that we’re aiming for. So this is one instance where you might have to work on two levels – or rungs – at the same time. I know some teachers – and students – in this situation. Struggling with rung two – security – while trying to live at number 5 – inner meaning. What could you do to solve this dilemma? If you can figure it out… you’ve got a humdinger business solution for recessionary times.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs “Ladder” – On which rung does your business best fit?
Now, to really capitalize on these ideas I’ve mentioned, I feel it’s important to pick one area – or rung – of the needs ladder and get well known for solving a problem or issue associated with it. This can get you word-of-mouth buzz and it will be easier to create a more solid-feeling presence because you’re not all over the map. People will know what you stand for and they can order your products and services when they’re ready for them.
The other thing to remember is that people with desperate needs are the people who are ready to buy your products and services. Until you’re pushed to the wall, especially when finances are tight, you tend to not open your wallet.
Philosophically and practically speaking, getting from rung one to two leads you past rung one and a half, which is where you can establish higher-level food/clothing/shelter and water businesses – such as the vegetarian cooking classes I mentioned. We’re still dealing with survival issues, but on a higher level. Here survival is not so much about finding food, but about staying alive longer by keeping toxins and fats out of our bodies, rather than scrambling for our next meal.
At the other end of the spectrum, people don’t usually begin an intensive search for meaning – or God – until some crisis strikes or they feel so out of sorts – one of my teachers called it divine discontent – that they feel they have no choice but to venture inward for their answers. You probably know tons of people like this. Again, it’s the need that spurred them to take classes, devour books, and so on.
People have built successful businesses helping others move from crisis to inner peace. And it’s not to say anyone is being taken advantage of in a bad – or needy – situation. It’s just that at a certain point in our lives, we have these needs and we look for answers. If you’re Johnny-on-the-spot with an answer for their need, you’re hired!
Chris Guillebeau’s book The Happiness of Pursuit shifted my perspective on aging
The Happiness of Pursuit
Have you ever read a book that set you on a whole new path in life? Or that joggled your sense of passion and purpose into practical action? I did… and I’m on a 30-year quest because of it… from age 70 to 100.
In 2014, I devoured Chris Guillebeau’s book “The Happiness of Pursuit” which documents Chris’s and other people’s “quests” – grand adventures that took them out of humdrum and mainstream and led them to challenge themselves, rediscover themselves and enjoy themselves.
The concept of quest and adventure became so tantalizing to me that ideas kept popping up as I was reading. I took notes and more notes… and then one idea overtook all the others and I knew what my quest was going to be.
People launch quests for a variety of reasons:
They are discontented with some aspect of their life (or the rut they’re in).
They feel a calling to do something, without sometimes knowing why. They just HAVE to do it.
They feel a need to test themselves in a bigger way.
They want to make a difference in the world.
They’re ready to put their money where their mouth is or to start their “bucket list” now.
A life-altering situation such as a job loss, illness or divorce startles them into action.
In my case, the “life-altering” issue was the thought/reality of my 70th birthday in June of 2015. As I read Guillebeau’s book and the stories of the quests begun by people 20, 30, even 50 years younger than me, I recognized that the very long, physical quests were not for me at age 69, when I first read the book.
But I also made a note of the dissatisfaction I felt about the way I was living life… it felt too safe and stale to bring about much personal development. Definitely not much adventure involved. And where was my contribution to the world, I wondered.
I realized that I didn’t want to fall into the rut of “old age.” I also allowed myself to see that what I really enjoy doing is reading and reviewing potentially life-changing books like this, and then posting my thoughts online, with the hope of inspiring others through my words.
Reading a book like The Happiness of Pursuit makes my mind fly. Guillebeau has inspired me to take action. And so I am. And it feels good. As Guillebeau explains, a quest is more than a personal growth project or fitness schedule or get-out-of-debt plan.
Quests have 5 key components:
A clear goal and a specific ending point.
A challenge, something that must be overcome.
A sacrifice of some kind. What are you willing to give up in order to complete your quest?
A sense of calling or mission that keeps you motivated to continue.
A series of steps, with incremental progress toward your goal. (It’s not an overnight sensation.)
Guillebeau emphasizes the importance of planning before starting your quest, to make sure you can handle it financially and emotionally. But he cautions readers to not get stuck at the planning stage. This is an adventure, after all, and the journey doesn’t come with guarantees. When you’re “ready enough,” just start.
That’s what I’m doing.
Reviewing thought-provoking books has now become part of my quest to cease feeling like an old fogey and start living an adventurous life again. Butt-kicking ideas will help me achieve this.
I’m also trying to figure out how to translate my fascination with “tiny houses” into an actual physical community for seniors and others with limited incomes.
My quest starts at age 70
My quest has a 30-year span, with the aim of keeping myself young in body, mind, and outlook from age 70 to 100. Anything past 100 is a bonus.
My larger challenge is to stay open to new ideas, to be willing to shift perspectives, and to learn new ways to keep my mind and body functioning at optimum levels. Oh yes, and to develop the discipline to practice what I preach.
Quests aren’t just for dissatisfied workers in cubicles. Society’s elders have lots to contribute and sometimes just need a way to focus their efforts. I’ve waffled long enough. Now I’m ready to get going.
A quest was just what I needed to launch me off the skinny branch and into the air.
I want to be a healthy, vital, active, interesting, adventuresome woman well into the next three decades of my life. Why not?
This sounds like fun to me, because it IS me to the bone. Playing with ideas, even if they’re other people’s ideas to start with. A book like Guillebeau’s The Happiness of Pursuit recharges – even rejuvenates – me.
And that’s the whole reason behind my questing. Making the years between 70 and 100 the most fun yet. I feel excited for the first time in ages.
As I write the words of this book review, I sip the “Magical Weight Loss Potion” that I energetically created a few minutes earlier, using Pam Grout’s suggestions in Experiment 8. I’m proving that my beliefs are changing my physical body through a harmless placebo (spring water) that I altered simply by using my personal energy and my intentions.
I’ve convinced myself that my magical elixir is the healing tool that will curb my nighttime snacking and cause a drop in weight over a 3-day period. Every time I pick up my glass to take a drink, I thank my magic potion for its good work. It feels right to do and, in fact, I’ll continue this activity for at least a month, to prove my point… and lose weight at the same time.
Grout cites example after example of how the “placebo effect” works in action. She makes me a believer… enough so that I’m telling the world about my magical potion experiment, enough so that I’m sure it will work.
And that’s the point of Pam Grout’s newest book E-Cubed.
A sequel to her highly popular E-Squared, E-Cubed continues to jostle our age-old beliefs about ourselves and the universe we live in. As a student of metaphysical teachings for 25 years, I was already pretty much in alignment with Grout’s ideas in the first book, but she explains things so clearly… and with enough scientific proof to really cement in the new ideas that I pre-ordered E-Cubed before it was released.
Of course, it’s tough to delete or even revise concepts we’ve had for decades, ideas and beliefs we grew up with and “rules” that are reinforced by churches, governments, and parents. Grout acknowledges this at the outset. And then hands over responsibility for belief restructuring to us, by means of 9 experiments that prove what she is saying.
Grout introduces us to Worldview 2.0 which shows us how the energetic world most of us can’t see is the foundation on which everything else rests. Scientists often call this energy “The Field,” and Grout explains in very clear language how we, as humans, can impact the energy around us – our life, in other words – by our thoughts, words and intentions. She points to the “observer effect” in quantum physics which says that it is impossible for us to look at something without impacting whatever it is we are looking at.
My spring water, for example. My conscious belief in its miraculous properties to curb my snack attacks has created a new elixir that is going to work as long as I believe strongly that it will.
I found the chapter on synchronicity to be quite revealing and underlined a few sections so I could find them easily when I needed a reminder that “coincidences are a glimpse into the underlying order of the universe.” We can never feel alone when the connectedness of all things aligns into solutions that help us out when a strong need arises. I’ve also heard it said this way: “The Universe conspires in our favor.”
Each of the 9 experiments is designed to prove a point, whether it’s “finding” money in the chapter on changing money beliefs or understanding that all of nature is sentient and could have messages for us, if we would just notice and listen.
The first 60 pages of E-Cubed present the theories that Pam Grout wants us to prove through her experiments. Like Pam, these are more than theories to me; they are more like a way of life. But for many, they are new (possibly disturbing) ideas that contradict many (most) mainstream teachings.
Who has ever told you that happiness is the big game-changer? Who urges you to start the day with “happy” music? Who claims that the more fun you have, the better your life will work? Well, Pam Grout does, for one.
Fear is such a motivator, one wonders why it’s so prevalent. Is it on the school curriculum? Is it the method through which businesses remain financially secure? Is it how governments maintain such control over people’s lives?
Pam Grout, in her two books, attempts to hand control over our lives back to us. She does this in plain language with convincing examples of how we gave so much of ourselves away. She isn’t into judging, casting blame, or advocacy. She just explains it.
And presents a few ideas of what we can do about it.
As a “senior citizen” in a culture that doesn’t value its elders, I’m all in favor of tapping into as much help as I can get from the field of infinite potentiality. I know it’s there; I’ve had personal evidence of it. But I haven’t got the hang of using it in a consistent way yet.
I’d like to get better at receiving messages from the unseen worlds, for example. Not because I’m preparing to cross over to where they are – not yet! But because I’m semi-retired and have the space in my life where I can do this now. Life is so full of possibilities – and I’m ready to experience and enjoy them.
Books like E3 remind me to expand my life’s options, rather than contract into the stereotype of old age. And, I can honestly say that I feel more fired up than I have in a decade or more.
Generations ago, the world suffered an upheaval of some kind. Everything about the “old world” has been forgotten, the memories obliterated. Your current world in an underground silo is all that exists… as far as you know.
If you were born and lived your whole life in the lower third – the down deep – between floors 97-144, you’re likely a farmer, mechanic or supply employee. You may not ever have made the climb to the top to look outside the very few sensor windows existing above ground.
Workers in the “mids” – levels 49-96 – are in charge of the smaller hydroponic gardens and animal farms. Like the families below here, a trip to the top of the silo might happen once every few years.
The upper levels contain the mayor, the sheriff, medical facilities and the information technology department. IT looms large in the life and lie of the silo.
Because there is no way to safely expand the silo, marriages and births are “won” through a lottery system. The land outside is known to be toxic… and is only seen through the aboveground sensor windows at the very top, on level one.
How a novelette became a trilogy
This silo world came to life in 2011, when Hugh Howey self-published a Kindle novelette that he called “Wool”.
Wool was so popular with Amazon Kindle readers that Howey was urged (by his fans) to write more about the people who inhabited the multi-level silo which encompassed the entirety of their lives. The original 58-page novelette became a 5-part “Wool Omnibus” which is what I’m reviewing here. It’s Part 1 of the “Silo Saga,” and was followed by Shift and Dust to complete the trilogy.
Parallels with Thom Hartmann’s The Crash of 2016?
If you read my review of Thom Hartmann’s book “The Crash of 2016,” you’ll likely see come of the parallels occurring in our own world – right now. And that’s what makes this dystopian fiction book worth drawing to your attention. It’s a great read for sure, but it’s also a brilliant reminder to not take everything we’re fed at face value.
Wool is about political control, worker subjugation, reinventing history, hubris… and courage.
It’s about Sheriff Holston, who finally understood some of the truth – and wanted out… even though he knew it meant forfeiting his life. The powers-that-be decided that he’d become too dangerous and consigned him to certain death outside the silo, “cleaning” the sensors through which they caught glimpses of the outside, toxic world.
Cleaning, of course, was the euphemism for capital punishment, a way to keep the inhabitants fearful of rocking the status quo. There was no jail time, not judge and jury. Just “cleaning.” The tools used for scrubbing the windows were wool pads, hence the name of the novel.
The cleansing of toxic gunk on the window sensors was cause for celebration for those left inside – safe for now – as long as they didn’t think too much. With each cleaning, they were afforded a clearer glimpse of the outside world they had never experienced and would not, unless they actually expressed an interest in doing so. Or broke some other rule.
Verbally longing for freedom meant certain death
As the novel unfolds, the ugly truth behind this certainty stirs something in both the inhabitants of the silo… and in the readers who can’t help rooting for the underdogs underground.
The deaths of a “good” mayor and decent deputy sheriff make waves… a little. The subsequent elevation of Juliette Nichols from the down deeps of Mechanical to Sheriff up-top was not what the unseen powers had in mind and so she earned a quick demotion to “cleaner.” Questioning the rules was not allowed. Too much chance of instigating an uprising.
I’ve glossed over a few key elements, because they are what make the book fascinating reading. Does Juliette stop to clean the sensors, like all the other cleaners before her? Does she make it to safety, unlike all the other cleaners before her? Are there more silos out there? And what the heck is IT’s role in all this?
Characters you can identify with
You’ve got to read the book to know what happens… to get a glimpse of the real villains in the story; to see who step up to become heroes; to watch individuals consider the costs of thinking for themselves, of overturning all they have been taught to believe.
Books like Wool make me wonder when and if I’ll ever step up and take a stand for something that I think is right. If I’ll be able to write about it without concern for the consequences.
It worries me that I identify with people stuck underground in a silo.
I read The Hunger Games trilogy from two perspectives: that of senior citizen… and also a 1960s hippie. I was impressed on both counts.
I may be a senior citizen now, but I’m also a counterculture hippie-type person from the 60s. So I read and then reviewed The Hunger Games trilogy from two perspectives. Old fogey me and rebel hippie me. Quite a head trip, I can tell you. In other words, these aren’t your ordinary cookie cutter-type book reviews.
One viewpoint says, “Why rock the boat? I’m on social security, for heaven’s sake!” The other side of me doesn’t like what I see happening in society today… any more than I did in the sixties.
Did The Hunger Games books awaken that? Or did I choose to read the trilogy because of that?
And another thing… I usually get my books from the library. I actually purchased ALL 3 books in this series, because I couldn’t wait for the library to catch up with my reading.
Something’s afoot.
Reading The Hunger Games
My Review of The Hunger Games – Book 1 of the Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Why this book got me thinking…
The Hunger Games begins a little slowly, actually. So slowly, that I had to ask my son if it picked up some once I got into it. “It’s a good book, Mom,” he assured me so I kept reading. And found my head twisting round and round with the bizarre turns of events that kept showing up.
The books could be classified as Science Fiction or Fantasy, and I wonder if author Suzanne Collins is a bit of a mystic herself. Like J. K. Rowling, whose Harry Potter books books hit a chord with kids and adults alike… Collins portrays circumstances and characters that we all recognize… or that we live within. The controlling, centralized institutions, the hard-scrabbling general population, the very young who recognize injustice when they see it and, thankfully, haven’t yet made themselves “put a lid on it” as their elders have done.
The Game of Thrones series was also heading in the same direction, where the youngsters are the courageous ones who are willing to risk, well… anything… to make things right again, while the adults are hanging on for dear life to whatever they have left.
Okay, three series that have made me think – Potter, Thrones and Hunger Games. The fact that all three of these book series have been made into popular films says something. The fact that all three series were best-sellers for months on end says more. People were resonating with the stories in them.
And maybe taking hope.
A prophetic view of our future?
I wondered if the books were written as reminders not to cave in to lemming mentality… even though it’s easier. When we go along with things – even though they don’t feel right to us – a piece of our integrity gets chewed off. Do young adults have enough experience yet to know this? They are the intended audience for The Hunger Games, after all.
The books also drive home a couple of other points: when we ignore the suffering of others and hide behind our shutters, we lose a bit of our humanity. And when we let ourselves be walked all over by our governments and public institutions, there goes our freedom out the door… in fiction and in real life.
Katniss Everdeen, the young heroine of The Hunger Games hasn’t yet had the training to stifle her sense of what’s right. Luckily, she’s a plucky thing and paid attention when her dad taught her to use a bow and arrow. She’s responsible for feeding her family most of the time, even as a young teenager. She has learned a few survival tricks that serve her well at the Hunger Games, where it’s every person for himself or herself until you’re the last one standing… literally.
The Hunger Games are just that – annual events with untrained, unwilling “gladiators”… who are forced to participate in a cruel tradition meant to keep the general population under control. At the same time the games provide bloodthirsty entertainment for the privileged classes of the Capitol… the seat of power of Panem, a geographic area previously known as North America. Each of the twelve districts of Panem is required to send one male and one female “tribute” to the Games, where they will need to fight tooth, nail, claw and hammer to stay alive. Their ordeals are unimaginable. Their courage unbelievable.
The Hunger Games got me thinking… and remembering. The marches for peace and civil rights. The non-violent methods of Martin Luther King, Jr. The counterculture thinking of the 1960s. And I wondered what happened that so much of it has slipped away in the name of… what? Security? Or maybe lack of energy from the aging process?
Where did our – MY – rebellious spirit go?
Reading The Hunger Games brought some of that back to me.
This old fogey is starting to remember. And so, it seems are a few others. “Occupying” is not a new idea at all. Many of us remember taking part in “Sit-ins” way back when.
On the other hand, maybe the fascination with “young adult rebellion” books is just a cyclical thing, where younger generations have to push against the status quo regardless of the reasons why.
I don’t know… but it seems that the books are hitting home with the older generations, too. Or perhaps Suzanne Collins is just a great adventure writer and once the story’s over, we go on to other things.
We’ll see.
Catching Fire – Book 2 of The Hunger Games Trilogy
Catching Fire starts up where Book 1 left off. Katniss and her Hunger Games partner, Peeta Mellark, are back in their District – Number 12 – thinking to live the good life… for the rest of their lives.
Well, whatever’s left of their lives, at any rate.
Katniss is well aware that she is in disfavor with the powers-that-be in the Capitol and that they will stop at nothing to destroy her. But even she couldn’t have imagined what they had in store for her.
If you have not read the books yet, I ain’t givin’ away the plot, sorry. But your jaw will drop and your heart might flutter some when you see the lengths to which the status quo will go to when threatened.
Catching Fire – even more than The Hunger Games – stirred the rebellious spirit within me, as I witnessed (in my mind) the courage of people with nothing left to lose. There’s always a straw that breaks the camel’s back, whether it’s a tax on tea or making people face the severest horrors imaginable – twice.
So rebellion spreads in the districts, fueled largely by the intransigence of young Katniss, whose actions in Book 1’s Hunger Games have triggered an uprising she hadn’t intended.
The ending of Catching Fire caught me by surprise.
When I reflected back a bit, I remembered little snippets that gave tiny clues as to what was going on beneath the surface, but, because the books are written from Katniss’ perspective and understanding of events, I didn’t figure things out any better than she did.
And Katniss, having been left out of the secret loop on purpose, is ticked, royally.
And on that note, the second book ends. Our young rebel is rebelling against the rebels.
And now it’s on to Book 3 Mockingjay to see where it all leads.
You must read Mockingjay to complete the series… but it hurts
At the time I wrote this review, the book Mockingjay had much lower ratings on Amazon than the first two books in the series. There are a couple of reasons for this. After the long build-up in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, the climax in Mockingjay winds the series downward with outcomes that most of us wish hadn’t happened.
The agonies suffered by Peeta and Kinnick, for example… two stalwarts we’d grown to respect and maybe love. The loss of so much life in the name of revenge. Katniss knew her rebellious actions might cause trouble for a lot of people, including her family, but even she wasn’t prepared for what happened in the final assaults on the Capitol.
The second reason I think the reviews were less enthusiastic for Mockingjay is the many pages devoted to Katniss’ inner anguish and introspection. In the first two books, she is larger than life – the type of heroine you’d see in an action movie. In the third book, Katniss turns inward much more. She second-guesses her motives, loses hope and becomes depressed to the point of stupor.
Spunk gone, guilt rampant
Katniss’s final act of rebellion is one that should have ended her life. It didn’t, but the Katniss we got to know is gone forever. And readers didn’t seem to like that one bit.
The epilogue seemed like a throwaway to most readers, myself included. Those two pages more or less stripped the life out of the story at the end. On the other hand, we didn’t have to live through two sets of Hunger Games and, from Katniss’ perspective, perhaps safe and normal felt more like “life” than facing death minute-to-minute as the girl who kept “catching fire.”
For me, Mockingjay was the most gut-wrenching of the three books in the Hunger Games trilogy. It asserts Suzanne Collins’ anti-tyranny message the strongest. So I’d give Mockingjay higher marks than most readers, because the author reflects my thinking so well in this.
There’s another book that was published after the trilogy… The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes to round out your Hunger Games experience.
A new Hunger Games book – in 2025
In March of 2025, Suzanne Collins released a “prequel” to The Hunger Games. It’s called Sunrise on the Reaping and is worth a look. I recommend NOT reading it before you read the Trilogy. This book fleshed out some of the key familiar characters in Book1 but since it took place before the Katniss Games, it also gives away some of the info that would change how you looked at things in the first book. So read it last.
As an Amazon associate and Clarke Courses affiliate, I earn a fee from qualifying purchases. My Senior Side Hustle is designing for a print on demand site called Zazzle. I receive a royalty on my designs when you click a link to purchase on Zazzle.com. Thanks for visiting… I hope you found the info on my website helpful. –Barbara
