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The Care and Display of Historic Clothing
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Wearable textiles hold their own stories of trade, manufacture and regionalism, just to name a few;...
Pokémon TCG Online
Games and Entertainment
7.0
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**AN INTERNET CONNECTION AND AN iPad WITH RETINA DISPLAY (iPad mini with Retina Display, iPad 3 or...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2377 KP) rated Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible in Books
Jun 11, 2019
Delicious Short Story Collection
This is a collection of 36 short stories originally available at the Malice Domestic conference in 2019. As the title suggests, each story revolves around food in some way. Whether it’s a poisoned tea party or death by airline food, you’ll find plenty of murder and mayhem here. Some of the authors use this to tell a story with their series sleuths. That’s the case with Parnell Hall, who opens the collection with his puzzle lady, Cora Felton. Some authors take you back in time, like Victoria Thompson. Others weave a great tale with characters created for their story here, like Nancy Cole Silverman.
As if often the case with short story collections, a few weren’t to my taste, particularly those stories where the villain managed to get out of the hot water he or she should have been in. Most, however, are purely delectable, with a fun twist or two along the way to the climax and characters that draw you in. Whether the author included their series characters or not, each story can be read on its own. There might be a wink and a nod that series fans will get, but nothing that will distract you as you sample that author’s world. There aren’t any recipes, but with a book that is almost 400 pages long, it’s hard to imagine how large it would have been if they had included some.
As if often the case with short story collections, a few weren’t to my taste, particularly those stories where the villain managed to get out of the hot water he or she should have been in. Most, however, are purely delectable, with a fun twist or two along the way to the climax and characters that draw you in. Whether the author included their series characters or not, each story can be read on its own. There might be a wink and a nod that series fans will get, but nothing that will distract you as you sample that author’s world. There aren’t any recipes, but with a book that is almost 400 pages long, it’s hard to imagine how large it would have been if they had included some.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Single, Carefree, Mellow in Books
Feb 13, 2018
This collection of short stories started off strongly, and I found myself drawn into the web Heiny creates for her characters. The majority of her stories feature women and after the first couple ended, I found myself disappointed that we wouldn't get to know more about the characters. (There is one group of characters that she re-visits throughout a couple of stories in the collection, which does help sate your curiosity a bit.)
Because I devoured this book so quickly - over less than two days - I was a bit fatigued by the end. Most of the stories feature adultery in some form or another, and frankly, that got a bit old in the end. That would really be my only issue with the story set. By the end, you're thinking "really? again!" and wondering if these women have anything else to do to occupy their time.
Otherwise, this collection of stories is vibrant and poignant and at times, made me laugh out loud. I found myself tagging pages where lines were just so hilarious, I wanted to jot them down for safe-keeping: it's rare when that happens. And again, even though the stories were brilliant little nuggets, so many of the characters were so intriguing, I found myself wishing I could read more about them. I just wish they had a little more to do than cheat on each other all the time.
Because I devoured this book so quickly - over less than two days - I was a bit fatigued by the end. Most of the stories feature adultery in some form or another, and frankly, that got a bit old in the end. That would really be my only issue with the story set. By the end, you're thinking "really? again!" and wondering if these women have anything else to do to occupy their time.
Otherwise, this collection of stories is vibrant and poignant and at times, made me laugh out loud. I found myself tagging pages where lines were just so hilarious, I wanted to jot them down for safe-keeping: it's rare when that happens. And again, even though the stories were brilliant little nuggets, so many of the characters were so intriguing, I found myself wishing I could read more about them. I just wish they had a little more to do than cheat on each other all the time.
Christine A. (965 KP) rated Restricted Fantasies in Books
Dec 9, 2018
A Black Mirror-style sci-fi short story collection
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
As I read the description, "A Black Mirror-style sci-fi short story collection about the perils of our virtual reality future - and whether we're already living in it.", I was intrigued. For those that don't know "Black Mirror" is a British TV show that is available on Netflix. "Black Mirror" is a contemporary reworking of "The Twilight Zone" and is described by Netflix as a "sci-fi anthology series explores a twisted, high-tech near-future where humanity's greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide."
Describing "Restricted Fantasies" by Kevin Kneupper as being written in Black Mirror-style is an actuate description. Each stand-alone story in both features its own cast of unique characters. As with "Black Mirror", this is not a collection to sit and read straight through. The stories make you think and mess with your mind. They need to be digested, thought through, and processed.
I do not want to discuss any of the individual stories as I do not want to mention any spoilers. With many of the stories I needed a few hours, if not days, to process. I highly recommend "Restricted Fantasies" to anyone who can read it and process it. I would not recommend reading it in one sitting.
As I read the description, "A Black Mirror-style sci-fi short story collection about the perils of our virtual reality future - and whether we're already living in it.", I was intrigued. For those that don't know "Black Mirror" is a British TV show that is available on Netflix. "Black Mirror" is a contemporary reworking of "The Twilight Zone" and is described by Netflix as a "sci-fi anthology series explores a twisted, high-tech near-future where humanity's greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide."
Describing "Restricted Fantasies" by Kevin Kneupper as being written in Black Mirror-style is an actuate description. Each stand-alone story in both features its own cast of unique characters. As with "Black Mirror", this is not a collection to sit and read straight through. The stories make you think and mess with your mind. They need to be digested, thought through, and processed.
I do not want to discuss any of the individual stories as I do not want to mention any spoilers. With many of the stories I needed a few hours, if not days, to process. I highly recommend "Restricted Fantasies" to anyone who can read it and process it. I would not recommend reading it in one sitting.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales in Books
Apr 2, 2020
Another great collection of stories
I feel like I need to include a preface with all of my Stephen King reviews, or some form of disclaimer, to warn any readers that he is my favourite author so my review may not be as neutral as it could be. Either that or he really is a great writer 😆
Everything’s Eventual is a collection of short stories that I read well over a decade ago, and as short stories require a lot less brain power than a full on novel, I decided to give this a go as I couldn’t recall many of the stories. And overall this is a very good collection of short stories. They’re all well written with developed characters (as you’d expect with King I’m sure), and the stories themselves have all got very good plots and storylines. The stories are all well balanced and there are none in here that are either overly long or too short, they’re very well paced. There are some great stories in here, most notably for me the John Dillinger story ‘The Death of Jack Hamilton’ and the Dark Tower prequel ‘The Little Sisters of Eluria’, but all of the stories are entertaining and very enjoyable. I wouldn’t say there are any amazing standout ‘wow’ stories in this, which is possibly why I’ve marked it down a little from some of King’s other collections of short stories.
Everything’s Eventual is a collection of short stories that I read well over a decade ago, and as short stories require a lot less brain power than a full on novel, I decided to give this a go as I couldn’t recall many of the stories. And overall this is a very good collection of short stories. They’re all well written with developed characters (as you’d expect with King I’m sure), and the stories themselves have all got very good plots and storylines. The stories are all well balanced and there are none in here that are either overly long or too short, they’re very well paced. There are some great stories in here, most notably for me the John Dillinger story ‘The Death of Jack Hamilton’ and the Dark Tower prequel ‘The Little Sisters of Eluria’, but all of the stories are entertaining and very enjoyable. I wouldn’t say there are any amazing standout ‘wow’ stories in this, which is possibly why I’ve marked it down a little from some of King’s other collections of short stories.
Policy Implications of Recent Advances in Evolutionary and Institutional Economics
Claudius Grabner, Torsten Heinrich and Henning Schwardt
Book
This collection is inspired by the coming retirement of Professor Wolfram Elsner. It presents...
Dark Water
Book
A selection of deliciously spooky short stories from the Japanese master of suspense, the acclaimed...
ClareR (5911 KP) rated The Hard Crowd: Essays 2000-2020 in Books
Apr 18, 2021
The Hard Crowd is a collection of essays about culture and politics. I had read Rachel Kushner's novel The Mars Room and loved it (even went on to buy it for a friend), so I was intrigued to read this collection. There really is a mix here - something for everyone.
The opening essay about Kushner’s participation in an illegal motorbike race on the Baja Peninsula was probably my favourite - it sounded terrifying and exciting all at once. She does seem to like anything to do with motors, as a later essay showed. This one wasn’t really for me, but this is a collection where there is something for everyone. The chapter on wild cat strikes was interesting, as were the ones where she describes her formative years in her hometown and the music concerts she went to (loved these too). The last essay in the book played out as though it was on a film in my head.
The essay about prison reform was really thought provoking, as was that of when Kushner visited a Palestinian refugee camp. I could easily have read more of this one - no matter how saddening it ultimately was.
Rachel Kushner really can write. As she did in The Mars Room, each of these essays really evoked a time and place and made this book pretty hard to put down.
Many thanks to Jonathan Cape for inviting me to read this via NetGalley.
The opening essay about Kushner’s participation in an illegal motorbike race on the Baja Peninsula was probably my favourite - it sounded terrifying and exciting all at once. She does seem to like anything to do with motors, as a later essay showed. This one wasn’t really for me, but this is a collection where there is something for everyone. The chapter on wild cat strikes was interesting, as were the ones where she describes her formative years in her hometown and the music concerts she went to (loved these too). The last essay in the book played out as though it was on a film in my head.
The essay about prison reform was really thought provoking, as was that of when Kushner visited a Palestinian refugee camp. I could easily have read more of this one - no matter how saddening it ultimately was.
Rachel Kushner really can write. As she did in The Mars Room, each of these essays really evoked a time and place and made this book pretty hard to put down.
Many thanks to Jonathan Cape for inviting me to read this via NetGalley.
Plascon Visualiser
Lifestyle and Productivity
App
Welcome to the future of colour visualisation, proudly brought to you by Plascon. The app contains...