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Sarah (7798 KP) rated Libby, by OverDrive in Apps

Nov 3, 2017 (Updated Nov 3, 2017)  
Libby, by OverDrive
Libby, by OverDrive
Book, Entertainment
6
8.2 (26 Ratings)
App Rating
Good for hard to find books
I'm a real book person. I don't have a kindle and I much prefer to read actual books from my local library or from charity shops.


I get access to the Libby app through my local library card, and after fruitless searches for certain books available in the libraries themselves, I decided to cave in and try the electronic version. I can't complain, as the app actually had was I was looking for and I found the borrowing books and reading functionality very easy to use.

However the catalogue is fairly limited, and there isn't a large amount of new releases or popular books available. I'm not sure if this is down to the library you use, or the app itself, but it's very frustrating when you search for an author like Stephen King and find only 2 titles when he's written so many. This app also advertises that you can download books to a kindle, which almost tempted me into buying one until I found out that functionality is only available in the US. Urgh.
  
Show all 5 comments.
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Sarah (7798 KP) Nov 4, 2017

Yeah ?

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iamsara (130 KP) Nov 19, 2017

The issue isn't with Libby it's with the local library and their purchasing of books through the system.

The grand scale (2 more)
The emotion
It's an earworm
There are some differences from the version used in the movie. (0 more)
I don't have much to say about the album that hasn't been said already. It is amazing. Easily the best part of the movie because each song is full of emotion and energy.

I would like to say that I noticed there was some character swapping going on between the soundtrack version and the movie versions. In "A Million Dreams" I'm pretty sure Charity is supposed to sing one of the verses, and I don't think she does on the album, and in "This is Me" Charlie is supposed to sing the second verse, but Lettie does on the album. It doesn't ruin the soundtrack for me, I just thought it was interesting.

If I had to pick a favorite song, I would have to choose Tightrope because it is very emotional and simple, and I love the subject of the song. It's totally something I would want played at my wedding if I ever got married.
  
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Madbatdan82 (341 KP) rated The Act in TV

May 13, 2019  
The Act
The Act
2019 | Crime, Drama
10
6.9 (15 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Joey King and Patricia Arquette (0 more)
Loving this wont be an Act!
I had heard of the Gypsy Rose Blanchard case so I had an idea of the story heading into this however i didnt know everything and this show was AMAZING!! It tells the story of Gypsy Rose, a wheelchair bound young girl with many different life threatening illnesses and her mum Dee Dee as they move into a new charity built house. By the end of the first episode Dee Dee is dead and Gypsy is missing. The series is the story of what lead to this incident and all is not as it seems. The performances are amazing. Patricia Arquette was almost unrecognisable as Dee Dee - I didnt even realise it was her till ep 3! However the star of the show is Joey King as Gypsy Rose. She completely becomes Gypsy and is simply amazing. After watching this I watched the HBO documentary 'mummy dead and dearest' and its scary how much King looks, sounds and acts like Gypsy. Truly awesome
  
Being a part of the Gothic subculture I have followed these events since they happened. I have donated to the charity and I have joined marches through Plymouth in memory of Sophie. This collection of poems truly moved me, it did not matter that the poetry wasn't written in a style I'm more used to, I still very much enjoyed them and believe more people should read them. The subject matter brought tears to my eyes and the last poem made my heart ache. After recently becoming a mum myself I can not even begin to imagine the pain her family felt when she slipped away from them. Even though I did not know Sophie I still feel connected to her and am unbelievably sad that she was taken from this world in such a brutal and disgusting way...just because she and her boyfriend were different.
This is a beautiful collection, handled in a very sensitive way, I hope for this to reach more people as things need to change.
Rest in peace beautiful Sophie.
  
The Shock of the Fall
The Shock of the Fall
Nathan Filer | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Engaging and emotional. Insightful and personable. Excellent use of formatting and notes/ letters/ images (0 more)
The book I read in one evening
This book sat on my shelf for six months before I picked it up. I must admit, I am guilty of judging a book by its cover occasionally and although it engaged me enough to pick it up in a charity shop haul, there always seemed to be something more appealing for me to pick up ahead of it.

I scanned the front cover and gave it a go and honestly I didn't put it down that evening until I had finished it. I couldn't. I had to continue hearing his story and it broke my heart in the most poignant and beautiful way.

The format is engaging and the letters, images and use of font and type really lend it a verisimilitude like no other, you are sucked into a life you never knew you cared about and he becomes close to your heart almost instantly.

Read this and be changed, be given an insight into mental health like no other.
  
Turning Forty
Turning Forty
Mike Gayle | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Good plot and easy to read (0 more)
Maybe too easy (0 more)
Typical Mike Gayle
I loved this book. Written in a first person point of view, the reader counts down the days with Matt, until his 40th birthday. The beginning of the novel see's Matt in his expensive house, admiring his new shed paid for by his high flying job. This false sense of security is short lived and the reader watches as the protagonist's life falls apart.

For me, this novel is all about the character's; Ginny, the back up plan, Gerry, the ex music idol and now charity shop manager, Rosa, the too young and too controlling girlfriend, and many many, more. These characters are believable and cringe worthy at the same time.
I think the most refreshing thing about the novel, however, is the ending. All the way through the story I held out hope for Matt, and the ending, although not exactly a fairytale ending, was realistic.

I love Mike Gayle's work, easy to read, believable, funny and sad, a real look at the idiosyncrasies of people.
  
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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Just in Books

Nov 18, 2019  
Just
Just
Jenny Morton Potts | 2018 | Mystery, Romance, Thriller
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is a very difficult book to review, only because it covers a lot of ground. The story revolves around Scott Langbrook, a doctor who has volunteered with a charity to help refugees in North Africa. There he falls in love with his team leader but soon discovers that the world she inhabits is very different from his own.

The book delves deep into both their pasts as well as following their stories in the present day. As they get more desperate both their worlds start to unravel and there seems to be no way out.

Covering subjects involving terrorism and people trafficking this is a fairly grim read, and fairly slow at times too. The characters are written well and the plot does take the reader to unexpected places - both good and bad.

However for me the whole didn't quite equal the sum of its parts. Some of the storytelling seemed a little disjointed with jumping between different times without any clear idea of the sequence or timing of events. But that doesn't detract from an intriguing read
  
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Emma (519 KP) rated Pet Sematary in Books

Feb 23, 2020  
Pet Sematary
Pet Sematary
Stephen King | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror
6
8.4 (53 Ratings)
Book Rating
I've wanted to read this book for years, and searched for it in charity shops with no luck. Finally I got a chance to buy a batch of Stephen King books from a lady I knew and this was in them.
I enjoyed the book, and yet again with Stephen King his descriptive use really elevates the sense of suspense youfeel when you're reading his stories. However i did find it a chore to carry on with this one. I'm not sure if it was because I expected too much from it.
When you really cool the book down the excitement and suspense only happens in the last three chaptersif that. And by the time i got to that point i was a bit bored of it. When he finally does get you to that point in the book, it is so rushed you finish it with a kind of 'is that it?!' Feeling.
All in all a good Stephen King book, but I think I maybe hyped it up too much for myself before I read it and therefore was slightly disappointed.