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The Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide to British Birds
Book
A humorous and very personal guide written by Bill Bailey about his favourite British birds,...
Willkommen! 2 German Intermediate course: Activity Book
Paul Coggle and Heiner Schenke
Book
Willkommen! 2 Intermediate course is a brand new multi-format German adult learning programme for...
The Complete Short Stories: Volume One: Volume one
Book
The Complete Short Stories of Roald Dahl in the first of two unsettling and sinister volumes. 'They...
Girl on a Wire: Walking the Line Between Faith and Freedom in the Westboro Baptist Church
Libby Phelps and Sarah Stewart
Book
It wasn't until Libby Phelps was an adult, a twenty-five year old, that she escaped the Westboro...
Lenard (726 KP) rated Voyagers (2021) in Movies
Apr 18, 2021
Voyagers is the story of an 86-year voyage to a life sustaining planet in another galaxy. How did they stock the ship for the crew? When the 1st generation crew dies, who is going to train the next generation? Will the next generation listen since they are the first crew's children? Next question: you are going to bred a crew from intellectual superior Earthlings and keep them isolated in a facility so they will not miss the Sun or anything on Earth. How will these children develop a circadian rhythm since human circadian rhythms are based on the Sun? How do you settle upon 30 crew members? Could you have 60 crew members and give each a different circadian rhythm so you would have 3 shifts of 20 and someone would always be monitoring the vessel? Would that be more efficient and safer than all 30 being on the same cycle? These are just the science-y questions for this story.
Now, the actual film. The writer decides to quickly dispatch the lone "adult" in this cast of YAs. Slowly the crew descends into Lord of the Flies. At one point, I was wondering which one is the Piggy. Hint: brown and male. There is a little twist where one of the crew turns paranoia into a weapon and launches a leadership campaign. I enjoyed the concept of an alien that was not there, but could attack anyone. It never went far as the movie turned into a battle of arms rather than wits. I prefer not to critique films based on what should have been done. But shouldn't the crew have learned at some point that the pressure outside in outer space on a metal tin can travelling at interstellar speeds creates friction which reverbs inside. Then the film could have focused on a more politically tinted parable.
One scene disturbed me. The acting of Lily-Rose and Fionn is so bad that I thought a porn scene had been edited into the space opera.
Now, the actual film. The writer decides to quickly dispatch the lone "adult" in this cast of YAs. Slowly the crew descends into Lord of the Flies. At one point, I was wondering which one is the Piggy. Hint: brown and male. There is a little twist where one of the crew turns paranoia into a weapon and launches a leadership campaign. I enjoyed the concept of an alien that was not there, but could attack anyone. It never went far as the movie turned into a battle of arms rather than wits. I prefer not to critique films based on what should have been done. But shouldn't the crew have learned at some point that the pressure outside in outer space on a metal tin can travelling at interstellar speeds creates friction which reverbs inside. Then the film could have focused on a more politically tinted parable.
One scene disturbed me. The acting of Lily-Rose and Fionn is so bad that I thought a porn scene had been edited into the space opera.
ClareR (5784 KP) rated Space Hopper in Books
Feb 9, 2021
Space Hopper is a wonderful story about the love of mothers and daughters, loss, reconnection and time travel. Quite a mix there, and that’s exactly what drew me to this book.
Who, in Faye’s position, wouldn’t take the opportunity to visit someone they had loved and lost? What makes it all the more intriguing is the fact that this person is Faye’s mother. Although Faye is happily married with two young children, she feels a gap in her life - and the person she wants to fill that gap is her mother. But she died when Faye was 8 years old. When she accidentally steps inside the Space Hopper box that she has kept since childhood, that strength of feeling transports her back to the 1970’s and her childhood home.
This isn’t a book that you can rationalise, so it’s best not to, after all, it’s the strength of Faye’s feelings, I think, that take her back in time. It’s a very sad book at times, and if I was faced with Faye’s decision - to stay with my family or to see my mum after not seeing her for 30 years - I would be hard pressed to make the right choice. After all, what IS the right choice?
It does seem a little selfish of Faye to choose to go somewhere where she might not be able to return from, but there’s no doubting Faye’s love for her husband and children. But to be able to speak to her mum as an adult after so long - you can imagine how compelling that must have been for Faye.
I really enjoyed this, and I have so many thoughts about it that I could go on and on about it! It would make such a good book club book - there’s so much to discuss.
The writing is quite beautiful, and I cried at the end - I think that says it all, really.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this thought-provoking book.
Who, in Faye’s position, wouldn’t take the opportunity to visit someone they had loved and lost? What makes it all the more intriguing is the fact that this person is Faye’s mother. Although Faye is happily married with two young children, she feels a gap in her life - and the person she wants to fill that gap is her mother. But she died when Faye was 8 years old. When she accidentally steps inside the Space Hopper box that she has kept since childhood, that strength of feeling transports her back to the 1970’s and her childhood home.
This isn’t a book that you can rationalise, so it’s best not to, after all, it’s the strength of Faye’s feelings, I think, that take her back in time. It’s a very sad book at times, and if I was faced with Faye’s decision - to stay with my family or to see my mum after not seeing her for 30 years - I would be hard pressed to make the right choice. After all, what IS the right choice?
It does seem a little selfish of Faye to choose to go somewhere where she might not be able to return from, but there’s no doubting Faye’s love for her husband and children. But to be able to speak to her mum as an adult after so long - you can imagine how compelling that must have been for Faye.
I really enjoyed this, and I have so many thoughts about it that I could go on and on about it! It would make such a good book club book - there’s so much to discuss.
The writing is quite beautiful, and I cried at the end - I think that says it all, really.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this thought-provoking book.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Gardener's Daughter in Books
Sep 24, 2020
Oh Ava, Ava, Ava… Why are you playing an adult, when you are just a child??? Why?
The main lead in this novel is Ava, a nineteen-year-old girl, who finds out that she is adopted. Filled with anger and wish to find out who her real dad is, she runs away from home, getting herself in a lot more trouble than she could dream. This book offers a very wide variety of different characters, who bring intrigue and personality to the whole book. I really liked this selection of characters in this novel, and I think they all played their roles really well. However, Ava really annoyed me sometimes, with her silly and very childish decisions and actions. My favourite would be Theo, I loved his kind nature and heart, and he represented real father figure to me.
I really liked the plot of this novel, it was very well crafted, bringing a compelling and interesting setting and plenty of intrigues. It was really interesting to read all those bits and pieces of camp’s life and what can be hiding behind closed doors. The twists and turns were smartly placed and left me pleasantly surprised.
I think Hitchins is a very talented author, she has a great eye for detail and very creative writing style. I found the chapters quite long for my liking, but overall, the book didn’t drag for me because I was quite keen to find out, what will happen next. I really enjoyed the ending of this novel, and if there will be a continuation, I will be definitely waiting for it. 🙂 So, to conclude, this is a very amusing book, filled with very well developed and engrossing characters and intriguing plot, and I truly believe that Hitchins is incredibly good at what she does. So please give this book a try and hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did. 🙂
The main lead in this novel is Ava, a nineteen-year-old girl, who finds out that she is adopted. Filled with anger and wish to find out who her real dad is, she runs away from home, getting herself in a lot more trouble than she could dream. This book offers a very wide variety of different characters, who bring intrigue and personality to the whole book. I really liked this selection of characters in this novel, and I think they all played their roles really well. However, Ava really annoyed me sometimes, with her silly and very childish decisions and actions. My favourite would be Theo, I loved his kind nature and heart, and he represented real father figure to me.
I really liked the plot of this novel, it was very well crafted, bringing a compelling and interesting setting and plenty of intrigues. It was really interesting to read all those bits and pieces of camp’s life and what can be hiding behind closed doors. The twists and turns were smartly placed and left me pleasantly surprised.
I think Hitchins is a very talented author, she has a great eye for detail and very creative writing style. I found the chapters quite long for my liking, but overall, the book didn’t drag for me because I was quite keen to find out, what will happen next. I really enjoyed the ending of this novel, and if there will be a continuation, I will be definitely waiting for it. 🙂 So, to conclude, this is a very amusing book, filled with very well developed and engrossing characters and intriguing plot, and I truly believe that Hitchins is incredibly good at what she does. So please give this book a try and hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did. 🙂
Tim McGuire (301 KP) rated It: Chapter Two (2019) in Movies
Sep 13, 2019
Robert Gray is back!
355. It Chapter Two. I loved Chapter One, I loved Chapter Two. Picks up 27 years after the events of the original, you know, when the Losers Club defeated Pennywise, had a child orgy and made a promise to come back if Pennywise returned. That's not what happened? And right on schedule Robert Gray appears back on the scene to eat some children. Mike Hanlon, the only member of the Losers Club to stay in Derry and witnesses what's going on, starts making some calls to the other members of the group and asks them all to come home, the issue with that is, people who leave Derry tend to forget Derry, so it takes some begging, and they all all make it home, well, almost. And as they each explore the town, Pennywise comes out to play to welcome them home, cause he's missed them, they're like the ones that got away. Leading up to a showdown to bring an end to Pennywise, once and for all. Pretty sweet creepy effects once again, good casting of the adult losers club!! End Pennywise once and for all.. LOL... Yes the million years old Pennywise was defeated by the Losers Club, which they did 27 years prior as well. How did the defeat him once and for all, by performing a ritual passed down to Mike by a group of Native Americans, who performed the ritual and then were promptly eaten by Pennywise. My guess is, Pennywise likes these games. At the end of the day, Pennywise finished his cycle of eating Derry's precious little bundles of joy, got a kick out of The Loser's Club actually coming back to get their asses kicked once again, losing a few losers along the way, put on a little show for them, and went to sleep, and will come back to suck the marrow from their grandchildren's bones in 27 years. :) All Hail The Crimson King!! Filmbufftim on Fb
Becs (244 KP) rated What a Wicked Web We Weave in Books
Oct 2, 2019
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, New-Adult
Type: Stand-alone
Audience/ Reading Level: 18+
Interests: Murder, Fraud, Law Enforcement, Sexual Assault, Family.
Point of View: Honestly, I’m not sure because the views changed all the time.
Promise: What a Wicked Web We Weave is a novel full of mystery, intrigue, murder, revenge, fraud and betrayal amongst many other things. It has several twists and turns as you get enthralled into each chapter and it will leave the reader in suspense and at the edge of their seat, right up to the end.
Insights: I really was hoping to love this little book. But I just couldn’t get over how much the author blew over certain controversial topics and how he wrote this novel. The story was there, there was background on not only the characters but also the story. But I won’t be reading this book again because it wasn’t as enjoyable as I thought it would be. There was also a massive amount of grammatical errors that took away from the surrounding story. Finally, the plot was not the greatest. Two out of five stars.
Can we talk about how the author thought writing a sexual assault scene and then blowing it off like it meant nothing was okay? Also, can we talk about the fact that the victims brother and his lover thought it was alright to go back to the assailant’s room and assualt him in return? I do not take lightly to sexual assualt and this just really put me off on the rest of the story.
Favorite Quotes: “Tony Lodge eat your heart out.”
“‘It’s going to be a long night,’ Tony thoight. ‘Come to Tony you asshole.'”
What will you gain?: An interesting story that is not the greatest read.
Aesthetics: I was intrigued by the synopsis when I first requested this. But I’m majorly disappointed with the way the author set up this novel.
Type: Stand-alone
Audience/ Reading Level: 18+
Interests: Murder, Fraud, Law Enforcement, Sexual Assault, Family.
Point of View: Honestly, I’m not sure because the views changed all the time.
Promise: What a Wicked Web We Weave is a novel full of mystery, intrigue, murder, revenge, fraud and betrayal amongst many other things. It has several twists and turns as you get enthralled into each chapter and it will leave the reader in suspense and at the edge of their seat, right up to the end.
Insights: I really was hoping to love this little book. But I just couldn’t get over how much the author blew over certain controversial topics and how he wrote this novel. The story was there, there was background on not only the characters but also the story. But I won’t be reading this book again because it wasn’t as enjoyable as I thought it would be. There was also a massive amount of grammatical errors that took away from the surrounding story. Finally, the plot was not the greatest. Two out of five stars.
Can we talk about how the author thought writing a sexual assault scene and then blowing it off like it meant nothing was okay? Also, can we talk about the fact that the victims brother and his lover thought it was alright to go back to the assailant’s room and assualt him in return? I do not take lightly to sexual assualt and this just really put me off on the rest of the story.
Favorite Quotes: “Tony Lodge eat your heart out.”
“‘It’s going to be a long night,’ Tony thoight. ‘Come to Tony you asshole.'”
What will you gain?: An interesting story that is not the greatest read.
Aesthetics: I was intrigued by the synopsis when I first requested this. But I’m majorly disappointed with the way the author set up this novel.
Sarah (7799 KP) rated It: Chapter Two (2019) in Movies
Sep 18, 2019
Good but overly long
The negative reviews of this film really got me worried that I wouldn't like it, especially as I loved the first part despite it straying in parts from the book. However despite a few negatives, this is still a pretty good film.
This part seemed to keep a long closer and truer to the book than the first part. Yes there were a few odd differences and scares but for me nothing major, other than the tokens idea which just seemed a bit stupid. As silly as it sounds, when a film sticks closely to a book it makes me all happy and warm inside. So I spent a lot of this film feeling quite satisfied, at least from a plot point of view. The adult cast too are fantastic, they've done so well to find a group of actors that fit perfectly with their younger counterparts from the first film.
But sadly there are negatives. The CGI is pretty poor in parts and vastly overused. By the end I got sick to death of seeing horrendous looking CGI creeps and scares. Bring back physical effects! Pennywise too also suffered from being overly CGI, which is a shame as I think he was brilliant the rest of the time and rather creepy, especially with his voice.
And then there's the length. This film is far too long, and the reason for it is because they've stuck in a ridiculous amount of flashbacks. Dont get me wrong, it was nice to see the younger cast again especially as they provided a lot of nostalgic heartwarming moments. But it was just too much. They could've left out a lot of the flashbacks, cut a good half hour off the run time and still had a pretty decent film without impacting the plot.
Despite it's negatives, I still rather enjoyed this film. It's nothing new after having seen the first part and definitely more of the same, but mostly a rather fitting end to IT.
This part seemed to keep a long closer and truer to the book than the first part. Yes there were a few odd differences and scares but for me nothing major, other than the tokens idea which just seemed a bit stupid. As silly as it sounds, when a film sticks closely to a book it makes me all happy and warm inside. So I spent a lot of this film feeling quite satisfied, at least from a plot point of view. The adult cast too are fantastic, they've done so well to find a group of actors that fit perfectly with their younger counterparts from the first film.
But sadly there are negatives. The CGI is pretty poor in parts and vastly overused. By the end I got sick to death of seeing horrendous looking CGI creeps and scares. Bring back physical effects! Pennywise too also suffered from being overly CGI, which is a shame as I think he was brilliant the rest of the time and rather creepy, especially with his voice.
And then there's the length. This film is far too long, and the reason for it is because they've stuck in a ridiculous amount of flashbacks. Dont get me wrong, it was nice to see the younger cast again especially as they provided a lot of nostalgic heartwarming moments. But it was just too much. They could've left out a lot of the flashbacks, cut a good half hour off the run time and still had a pretty decent film without impacting the plot.
Despite it's negatives, I still rather enjoyed this film. It's nothing new after having seen the first part and definitely more of the same, but mostly a rather fitting end to IT.