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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Good Company in Books
Apr 15, 2021
Well-written albeit slow going look at marriage and motherhood
Flora Mancini has been happily married for twenty years. But that foundation crumbles when she finds her husband's wedding ring--the one he claimed he lost when their daughter was five--in the back of a drawer. Now she wonders what exactly Julian has kept hidden from her all these years. Is their whole marriage, their whole life, based on a lie?
This is such a hard book to review, because I loved Sweeney's THE NEST so very much. And GOOD COMPANY, while a nice book, is just not THE NEST. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book, it just did not move me as much as THE NEST.
GOOD COMPANY offers a thoughtful look into marriage and relationships. It's one of those interesting novels where it feels like not much happens, yet it truly covers the span of an entire relationship--a whole marriage. But there is a lot of ruminating, a lot of speculation, and a lot of angst. It's a very New York sort of book, even if Flora and Julian move to Los Angeles when their daughter, Ruby, is young.
This book is well-written, of course. Sweeney is a wonderful writer. It switches between time periods (the present, and going back in Flora and Julian's relationship) and various points of view, which include Flora, Julian, Ruby, and Flora's best friend, famous actress Margot Ledder. I probably felt the most for Ruby--it's hard to really sympathize much for the adults here. And this is a very "theater" book, with Flora, Julian, and Margot all being in the business. If that's not your thing (it's not mine), it's a little harder to feel engaged in some of the story.
Overall, this is an interesting read, but it can be slow going at times and hard to feel engaged with all the characters. If you like introspective, character-driven reads or you're a theater geek, GOOD COMPANY may be for you. 3 stars.
This is such a hard book to review, because I loved Sweeney's THE NEST so very much. And GOOD COMPANY, while a nice book, is just not THE NEST. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book, it just did not move me as much as THE NEST.
GOOD COMPANY offers a thoughtful look into marriage and relationships. It's one of those interesting novels where it feels like not much happens, yet it truly covers the span of an entire relationship--a whole marriage. But there is a lot of ruminating, a lot of speculation, and a lot of angst. It's a very New York sort of book, even if Flora and Julian move to Los Angeles when their daughter, Ruby, is young.
This book is well-written, of course. Sweeney is a wonderful writer. It switches between time periods (the present, and going back in Flora and Julian's relationship) and various points of view, which include Flora, Julian, Ruby, and Flora's best friend, famous actress Margot Ledder. I probably felt the most for Ruby--it's hard to really sympathize much for the adults here. And this is a very "theater" book, with Flora, Julian, and Margot all being in the business. If that's not your thing (it's not mine), it's a little harder to feel engaged in some of the story.
Overall, this is an interesting read, but it can be slow going at times and hard to feel engaged with all the characters. If you like introspective, character-driven reads or you're a theater geek, GOOD COMPANY may be for you. 3 stars.
Beginning Android 4
Book
Beginning Android 4 is an update to Beginning Android 3, originally written by Mark Murphy. It is...
TR
Testing Regimes, Accountabilities and Education Policy
Bob Lingard, Wayne Martino and Goli Rezai-Rashti
Book
Around the globe, various kinds of testing, including high stakes national census testing, have...
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Captain Underpants (2017) in Movies
Jul 11, 2019
Based off the bestselling kids’ book series by Dav Pilkey, Captain
Underpants tells the story of George Beard (Kevin Hart) and Harold Hutchins
(Thomas Middleditch), a couple of over imaginative elementary school kids
that spend their days trying to make the most out of the daily monotonous
chore that is school by secretly playing pranks to keep themselves and
their fellow schoolmates entertained. And, trying to make sure they don’t
get caught by the school principal, Mr. Krupp (Ed Helm). Outside of
school, they spend countless hours in their treehouse creating comic
books.
Their greatest creation is the underwear sporting, high flying,
overly friendly, and extremely unintelligent superhero Captain Underpants.
Mr. Krupp’s main purpose in life is to make everyone else’s life
miserable. When he threatens to separate the boys, put them in different
classrooms, after being caught playing a prank. The boys decide to
hypnotize their principal into becoming the incredible Captain Underpants.
Ecstatic about seeing their comic book come to life, they suddenly realize
their plan backfires when Mr. Krupp in Capt Underpants persona hires
Professor Poopypants (Nick Kroll) to be the school’s new science teacher.
He’s no ordinary school teacher. Professor Poopypants wants to rid the
world of laughter starting with kids the at George and Harold’s school. Oh
NO!!!!
This film is everything you would expect it to be: outlandish, vibrant, and
full of potty humor. Just enough to keep parents entertained and the
kiddos completely engaged. From what I gather, not having read the books,
but my son has, it follows the storyline pretty closely to the first novel
in the 8 book series. I am not surprised if Dreamworks capitalizes on this
and releases a movie for each book.
Underpants tells the story of George Beard (Kevin Hart) and Harold Hutchins
(Thomas Middleditch), a couple of over imaginative elementary school kids
that spend their days trying to make the most out of the daily monotonous
chore that is school by secretly playing pranks to keep themselves and
their fellow schoolmates entertained. And, trying to make sure they don’t
get caught by the school principal, Mr. Krupp (Ed Helm). Outside of
school, they spend countless hours in their treehouse creating comic
books.
Their greatest creation is the underwear sporting, high flying,
overly friendly, and extremely unintelligent superhero Captain Underpants.
Mr. Krupp’s main purpose in life is to make everyone else’s life
miserable. When he threatens to separate the boys, put them in different
classrooms, after being caught playing a prank. The boys decide to
hypnotize their principal into becoming the incredible Captain Underpants.
Ecstatic about seeing their comic book come to life, they suddenly realize
their plan backfires when Mr. Krupp in Capt Underpants persona hires
Professor Poopypants (Nick Kroll) to be the school’s new science teacher.
He’s no ordinary school teacher. Professor Poopypants wants to rid the
world of laughter starting with kids the at George and Harold’s school. Oh
NO!!!!
This film is everything you would expect it to be: outlandish, vibrant, and
full of potty humor. Just enough to keep parents entertained and the
kiddos completely engaged. From what I gather, not having read the books,
but my son has, it follows the storyline pretty closely to the first novel
in the 8 book series. I am not surprised if Dreamworks capitalizes on this
and releases a movie for each book.
Forex Trading for beginners
Business and Education
App
#1 Forex trading learning application - trading game for beginners. It is a free simple to use forex...
Analytical Methods for Dynamic Modelers
Hazhir Rahmandad, Rogelio Oliva, Nathaniel D. Osgood and George Richardson
Book
Simulation modeling is increasingly integrated into research and policy analysis of complex...
Hazel (2934 KP) rated Child Behind The Wall in Books
Sep 19, 2020
Hard-hitting and gripping
Never having read anything by this author before let alone any of the others in this series, I took a punt based on the blurb and I certainly wasn't disappointed and I was absolutely hooked from page 1.
On his website, Mr Parker describes "My style of writing is hard-hitting, fast-paced, violent and carry moral messages that you might have to dig a bit deeper for. I try not to use more words than is necessary although more than a few of them are of the swearing variety. Hey! People swear. And they swear a ******* lot in my world. I will unashamedly tackle issues where some writers fear to tread." I would say this is a pretty accurate reflection - this book is not for the feint-hearted; it contains bad language and graphic scenes which leave nothing to the imagination so be warned!
This is a fast-paced, action packed read from the first to the last page with twists and turns and shocks along the way. The characters are an interesting and eclectic bunch with the 2 main protagonists of Paterson and Clocks being, what I would describe, an acquired taste - Mr Parker advises that they are based loosely on characters he has known throughout his 20 year career in the Police ... all I can say is that if I knew Clocks in particular, I would have probably disliked him intensely on first impression however, I can see a very loyal friend who would do anything for you plus there is definitely a troubled softie in there. Having said that, I still found him annoying!
The main plot is hard-hitting and totally gripping - there is some humour interspersed throughout which did provide some much needed lighter moments. The sub-plots are intriguing and an interesting insight into the politics within the various echelons within the Police; these, I assume, are linked to previous cases covered in earlier books in the series. Like I said, I haven't read any of the others but didn't find this too confusing but I do think I was missing the backstory somewhat which probably impacted on my overall enjoyment of the story as a whole but this is my fault rather than the fault of the author.
This is a no-holds-barred, gritty thriller that I would recommend to any who enjoy the harsher stories dealing with horrific crimes but, as I have said, it does contain gruesome details of crimes against children so if this isn't your preference, then I wouldn't go there but you will be missing out on a really excellent book.
Many thanks go to Joffe Books via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
On his website, Mr Parker describes "My style of writing is hard-hitting, fast-paced, violent and carry moral messages that you might have to dig a bit deeper for. I try not to use more words than is necessary although more than a few of them are of the swearing variety. Hey! People swear. And they swear a ******* lot in my world. I will unashamedly tackle issues where some writers fear to tread." I would say this is a pretty accurate reflection - this book is not for the feint-hearted; it contains bad language and graphic scenes which leave nothing to the imagination so be warned!
This is a fast-paced, action packed read from the first to the last page with twists and turns and shocks along the way. The characters are an interesting and eclectic bunch with the 2 main protagonists of Paterson and Clocks being, what I would describe, an acquired taste - Mr Parker advises that they are based loosely on characters he has known throughout his 20 year career in the Police ... all I can say is that if I knew Clocks in particular, I would have probably disliked him intensely on first impression however, I can see a very loyal friend who would do anything for you plus there is definitely a troubled softie in there. Having said that, I still found him annoying!
The main plot is hard-hitting and totally gripping - there is some humour interspersed throughout which did provide some much needed lighter moments. The sub-plots are intriguing and an interesting insight into the politics within the various echelons within the Police; these, I assume, are linked to previous cases covered in earlier books in the series. Like I said, I haven't read any of the others but didn't find this too confusing but I do think I was missing the backstory somewhat which probably impacted on my overall enjoyment of the story as a whole but this is my fault rather than the fault of the author.
This is a no-holds-barred, gritty thriller that I would recommend to any who enjoy the harsher stories dealing with horrific crimes but, as I have said, it does contain gruesome details of crimes against children so if this isn't your preference, then I wouldn't go there but you will be missing out on a really excellent book.
Many thanks go to Joffe Books via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
The Practical Prophet: Bishop Ronald O. Hall of Hong Kong and His Legacies
Book
As the longest serving and the most influential bishop of Hong Kong during one of the most...
NT
Nollywood: The Creation of Nigerian Film Genres
Book
Nigeria's Nollywood has rapidly grown into one of the world's largest film industries, radically...
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Spine Chillers: Krampus in Books
Dec 31, 2018
Just an Okay Read
When I heard about Krampus by Nancy Gray, it sounded like something I would love to read especially since I loved her other novel, Empty Eyes, so much. Unfortunately, Krampus was just an alright read.
The plot for Krampus is based on the central European folklore about a horned half goat, half demon who punishes naughty children during the Christmas season. Nancy Gray does a great job at sticking with the folklore in her book. Although this is a middle grade book, I felt like this would be better for upper middle grade since the subject matter is a bit more scary than Nancy Gray's previous scary novels. There are a few decent plot twists throughout Krampus. The world building is done very well, and at times, I felt like I was right there with Nick, living every moment, both good and bad, with him. Krampus is a short read which is perfect for middle schoolers who may not have the attention span for a longer book.
I had a hard time caring about the characters in Krampus at first, but about halfway through, I found myself worried about what would happen to Nick and wanting everything to turn out alright for him. I especially loved the character of Gretel/Greta. I found her to be the most interesting in the book even if she wasn't in the novel very much. I just loved her no-nonsense, straightforward attitude. I would love to read a Spine Chiller's novel about Greta. That's how much I loved her! The character of the Krampus was done very well, and as I've said before, the Krampus in this novel is very much like the one in folklore.
The pacing is what lets this book down the most in my opinion. During the first half of Krampus, the pacing is a bit all over the place although mostly it's just a bit slow. I found myself growing bored with Krampus and wondering if I should just give up. The action takes a long time to make an appearance, and I kept wondering when something major would happen. Since this is a short novel, I decided to persevere. I'm glad that I kept on reading because the second half is where the pacing picks up, and I found myself immersed in the book. I couldn't wait to learn what Nick's fate would be and what would become of the Krampus. The second half of this book definitely held my attention to the point where I stayed up a little later just to finish it so I could get closure.
Trigger warnings for Krampus include demons, monsters, violence, scary themes, one profanity, bullying, and death. Basically, this is a very dark book.
Overall, Krampus was just an alright read. I felt like it was much darker than the previous Nancy Gray book I had read. The plot is interesting enough, but the pacing during the first half is what makes Krampus just an okay read. However, I would definitely recommend Krampus by Nancy Gray to those aged 13+. The second half of this book makes it worthwhile.
--
(A special thanks to Lola's Blog Tours for providing me with an eBook of Spine Chillers:Krampus by Nancy Gray in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
The plot for Krampus is based on the central European folklore about a horned half goat, half demon who punishes naughty children during the Christmas season. Nancy Gray does a great job at sticking with the folklore in her book. Although this is a middle grade book, I felt like this would be better for upper middle grade since the subject matter is a bit more scary than Nancy Gray's previous scary novels. There are a few decent plot twists throughout Krampus. The world building is done very well, and at times, I felt like I was right there with Nick, living every moment, both good and bad, with him. Krampus is a short read which is perfect for middle schoolers who may not have the attention span for a longer book.
I had a hard time caring about the characters in Krampus at first, but about halfway through, I found myself worried about what would happen to Nick and wanting everything to turn out alright for him. I especially loved the character of Gretel/Greta. I found her to be the most interesting in the book even if she wasn't in the novel very much. I just loved her no-nonsense, straightforward attitude. I would love to read a Spine Chiller's novel about Greta. That's how much I loved her! The character of the Krampus was done very well, and as I've said before, the Krampus in this novel is very much like the one in folklore.
The pacing is what lets this book down the most in my opinion. During the first half of Krampus, the pacing is a bit all over the place although mostly it's just a bit slow. I found myself growing bored with Krampus and wondering if I should just give up. The action takes a long time to make an appearance, and I kept wondering when something major would happen. Since this is a short novel, I decided to persevere. I'm glad that I kept on reading because the second half is where the pacing picks up, and I found myself immersed in the book. I couldn't wait to learn what Nick's fate would be and what would become of the Krampus. The second half of this book definitely held my attention to the point where I stayed up a little later just to finish it so I could get closure.
Trigger warnings for Krampus include demons, monsters, violence, scary themes, one profanity, bullying, and death. Basically, this is a very dark book.
Overall, Krampus was just an alright read. I felt like it was much darker than the previous Nancy Gray book I had read. The plot is interesting enough, but the pacing during the first half is what makes Krampus just an okay read. However, I would definitely recommend Krampus by Nancy Gray to those aged 13+. The second half of this book makes it worthwhile.
--
(A special thanks to Lola's Blog Tours for providing me with an eBook of Spine Chillers:Krampus by Nancy Gray in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)