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Lou Grande (148 KP) rated Her Body and Other Parties: Stories in Books

Jul 17, 2018

Short fiction is hit or miss for me. I think it's actually a harder genre to write than long, sprawling novels. You have to be concise and hard-hitting, and Machado certainly achieves that in her collection here. Her stories are lush with description, beautifully vague and precise at the same time. These stories hit me on a visceral level. And they really span run the gamut: from a retelling of an urban legend ("The Husband Stitch," which plays off of the story about the little girl with a green ribbon around her neck--you know the one), to the centerpiece of the collection, an offbeat, surreal "parody" of Law & Order: SVU entitled "Especially Heinous: 272 Views of Law & Order: SVU"). Each one had me stopping after I finished, rereading certain passages, and pouring over the text again. I never do that! I'm a speed reader! But these stories demand that you take your time.

At its heart, Her Body and Other Parties is about women--especially queer women. Machado brings something of herself into each of these stories, or so she has said. The storytellers are often unreliable, but never in a degrading or dismissive way. We see stories overlapped with stories, creating intricate layers of narrative. This is not a book for a casual experience. It demands your attention, and it's good enough to deserve it. A masterful blending of prose, horror, comedy, and magic realism, Her Body and Other Parties will be read in universities for years to come. Mark my words!

Kudos

Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Toki Tori in Video Games

Jun 19, 2019

Toki Tori

Platform

7.3

(3 Ratings)

Video Game Rating

The egg collecting puzzle game Toki Tori has arrived for the Nintendo Switch at a very attractive price of $4.99. The side scrolling classics tasks players with navigating a series of tropical themed levels. With over 80 levels and 5 settings players will have plenty to keep them busy.

The title character does possess some challenges as he cannot even jump but must use skills to get about such as Telewarp, Freeze –o-Matic, and InstantRock.

An example of this is using your powers to get a crab to move a box so that you can access an area that you would otherwise jump to if you were able to jump. Or there is using powers to draw in prey for a Frog so you can then enter his burb bubble and use it to float to a higher level.

Players can also freeze time and skip a level if the challenge becomes too great.

The game has bright and engaging graphics and runs at 60FPS and also offers HD Rumble and Video Capture support.

The game does offer some real challenges as aside from puzzle solving, players must think outside the box as a generation raised on jumping from one objective to another will find a bit of a learning curve to navigate. That being said, the game is fun and you cannot beat the price so if you want a nice mix of casual nostalgia and fun gaming for the entire family, then check this game out.

http://sknr.net/2018/03/30/92614/

Kudos

Sam Hill (23 KP) rated Carcassonne in Tabletop Games

Jun 20, 2019

Carcassonne

2000 | City Building, Medieval, Territory Building

8.1

(53 Ratings)

Tabletop Game Rating

Quick, classic game, great to play with people who are more casual boardgamers (0 more)

Not going to satisfy someone looking for a deep strategic challenge (0 more)

Carcassone is one of the classics of board gaming and great for moving people away from the likes of Monopoly into proper board games.

The basic rules, pick a tile at random, place in a legal position and choose to place a needle, is simple enough that people who do not board game regularly are able to get comfortable quickly with the game. Its simplicity also means that a younger audience is able to readily partake in the game, making decisions on their own, and still have a chance of doing reasonably well.

There is little in the way of language in the game, other than being able to read the score chart everything is pictorial, so this also opens it to playing with people who are too young to read, or speak other languages without buying another copy.

If you're looking for an in depth Euro game however this will not help. There is little in the way of long term strategy, and the tile you pick is random - as a major factor of what you do with your turn this constricts long term planning.

To sum up this is a great game if you are putting it in front of the right audience, or want a simple game to chill out with a beer with, but don't expect such a positive reaction from everyone.