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It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy
1988 | Rock
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Of all the records I've chosen here, they all changed my life in some way but the one that had the most profound impact on me was Public Enemy's It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back. This just blew me away because it was one of those moments in my life where I was like 'How do you do this?' Some of the other records I'd listened to at the time, I'd managed to figure out how they'd done stuff, how they made a certain sound. As a musician, when somebody comes along and does something that you never thought of, that you didn't know was humanly possible and it just twists fucking everything you thought was possible up in your brain, that's a big fucking impact. That was the impact of Public Enemy to me. My first thought was: 'I need to figure this shit out. What the fuck is this?' I was just a kid listening to this but I just didn't know what they were doing and I was hungry to know. I was a Public Enemy fan from the very first album. When this album came out in 1988, it revolutionised sound and music: it was like a fucking tsunami of sound coming at you. Everything about them was brand new and different and I just listened to them as a nineteen-year-old kid with my mouth open thinking: 'What the fuck?' Public Enemy were probably the pinnacle of music production and the best band in the world at that time. They were easily one of the best production teams in the world in any genre of music back then. Like so many of the records I'm picking, this was like a genre changing historical landmark piece; it wasn't just a record that was put out – this was a record changing the culture and the way that people explored music. They were always a voice for the dispossessed, but they never ever felt preachy with it, which I liked so much."

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Flight of a Starling
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
* I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

After reading Paper Butterflies by Lisa Heathfield last year I knew that I needed to read her latest book out. Lisa is UKYA author and I don’t think she gets enough credit for her work. This is another book that delivers a believable story with such rawness and emotion.

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Our story follows Rita and Lo, two sisters that are travelers and the trapeze act in their circus that moves around England on a regular basis. Life is how it has always been for the girls, set up their tent, do a few shows and move on to the next village – they haven’t known any other life and don’t really question it. They travel with another family and it’s presumed the girls will marry the boys of the other family and carry on the legacy of the circus. One evening when they explore the local area they start talking to some of the locals and sparks start to ignite between Lo and ‘a flattie'(a term for non traveler folk). With Lo slowly falling in love she starts to question her life,her role and existence in the circus – with wanting her freedom she finds cracks starting to appear and her life crumbling around her.

‘Flight of a Starling’ didn’t fail to deliver, I knew from past works that this was going to be an emotional, gritty and raw read. Heathfield has a great writing style that manages to evoke emotions – even from me who has a heart of stone. The story is told in dual perspective, swapping from Rita to Lo with just the right sized chapters. The first half of this book is rather slow what with it building a picture of what it was like to be in a travelling community and their traditions and beliefs. I loved learning about the performances that the girls were involved in such as the trapeze and their big costumes.

I must admit that I wasn’t too keen on the romance side of the book, It was lacking emotion and connection between the characters, I wanted the warm fuzziness that you get from reading about a couple that first meet, the excitement of it…which didn’t happen and it’s sad as it has such a big part of the story.

The second half of the book takes a change in pace, it was amazing and what really made the story for me. My heart was in my mouth and I could feel the blood pulsing around my body with anxiety. I was scared for the characters,I was hoping for a silver lining but Heathfield never shies away from her writing and sucker punches you in the gut.

I recommend if you want something gritty yet believable.

I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars
  
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    Pizza Vs. Skeletons

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Silver Moon (The Silver #7)
Silver Moon (The Silver #7)
Cheree Alsop | 2013 | Paranormal, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Silver Moon is the final book in the Silver series, and let me tell you, this book has ripped my heart out, thrown it on the floor, stamped all over it, picked it back up again, only to do it all again, before finally leaving me needing a new series!!!

Things come to a head for Jaze and his pack and he has to make decisions no young adult should have to. I really won't say too much as I don't want to give out any spoilers. All I will say is be careful! Your heart will racing, your mouth dry, as you try to figure out just how he gets out of certain situations. And also, for the last quarter of the book (at least) I was sobbing as I read. Not just crying, oh no. We're talking great big f'ugly crying!!!

There's so much I want to say but I can't without giving away spoilers! I want to talk about certain characters and what they went through and how it made me feel. I want to talk about that spectacular ending that just about killed me. I want to talk about the aftermath which made me cry again. But I can't.

What I will say is this series is simply outstanding. I have loved all of the books in this series for one reason or another. They all fit together perfectly. The writing is unsurpassed. The pacing is smooth. The characters are all lifelike and behave just as you think they should, before they turn around and surprise the living daylights out of you.

This book killed me. I love and hate it so it will be kept and re-read, again and again. So sad to see this series end but it does lead me nicely onto the next series, which now I just HAVE to read.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
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