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Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone
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"True belonging doesn't require us to change who we are. It requires us to be who we are." Social...
Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends - Series 3
7.9
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Documentaries by writer and presenter Louis Theroux which delve into the weirder fringes of American...
Stay Sexy and Don't Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide From the My Favorite Murder Podcast
Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
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The highly anticipated first book by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, the voices behind the #1...
True crime Murder Addiction Depression Anxiety Eating disorders
Death by Leprechaun: A Saint Patrick’s Day Murder in Dublin (Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery #6)
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When an old friend is arrested in Dublin, tour guide Lana Hansen will need the luck of the Irish to...
Cozy Mystery Travel Cozy
Sing, Memory
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A Polish musician, a Jewish conductor, a secret choir, and the rescue of a trove of music from the...
RəX Regent (349 KP) rated Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) in Movies
Feb 19, 2019
“He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.”
It has been over 20 years since I first saw this as teenager, but watching it again with little memory of the specifics, I was both a little disappointed but also very impressed.
With a title like “Judgement at Nuremberg,” you can be forgiven for expecting a film about the trial of the Concentration Camp guards or Hermann Goering, but instead we are given something much more subtle and subversive. This follows a fictionalised account of the “Judges Trial”.
Here, Spencer Tracey’s U.S. Judge leads a panel of three peers as they preside over a trial of four NAZI judges, the focus of their crimes is not of there actions during the war but those in the mid 1930’s and their perversions of justice in aiding Hitler’s NAZI’s to oppress their own people.
The film also asked a myriad of uncomfortable questions, not only taking aim at the long dead National Socialist movement, but the world as a whole, including the U.S.A. Sighting parallels from Allied nations who claim cultural superiority after winning the war yet only being a stone’s throw away from the same attitudes.
But this is not just subverting the perceptions of jurist prudence, it is a drama, a head to head between Tracey and his German counterpart in the doc, Bert Lancaster. It is also a vehicle for a host of Oscar worthy performances from an all star cast, ALL of which excel in their roles, some more subtly than others.
The standouts are Montgomery Cliff and Judy Garland, both of whom would pass away soon after this film was release at relatively young ages. Kramer’s cinematography is impressive too, as it keeps the camera moving around the courtroom through the lengthy cross-examination scenes, keeping the tension high and the interest alive through this three-hour drama.
With a healthy dose of melancholy, jaded and brutalised characters and foreshadowing the impending Cold War, this is a film which understands war and the often forgotten fact that even though Wars have a start and and end date, they take decades to build up and never really end.
With a title like “Judgement at Nuremberg,” you can be forgiven for expecting a film about the trial of the Concentration Camp guards or Hermann Goering, but instead we are given something much more subtle and subversive. This follows a fictionalised account of the “Judges Trial”.
Here, Spencer Tracey’s U.S. Judge leads a panel of three peers as they preside over a trial of four NAZI judges, the focus of their crimes is not of there actions during the war but those in the mid 1930’s and their perversions of justice in aiding Hitler’s NAZI’s to oppress their own people.
The film also asked a myriad of uncomfortable questions, not only taking aim at the long dead National Socialist movement, but the world as a whole, including the U.S.A. Sighting parallels from Allied nations who claim cultural superiority after winning the war yet only being a stone’s throw away from the same attitudes.
But this is not just subverting the perceptions of jurist prudence, it is a drama, a head to head between Tracey and his German counterpart in the doc, Bert Lancaster. It is also a vehicle for a host of Oscar worthy performances from an all star cast, ALL of which excel in their roles, some more subtly than others.
The standouts are Montgomery Cliff and Judy Garland, both of whom would pass away soon after this film was release at relatively young ages. Kramer’s cinematography is impressive too, as it keeps the camera moving around the courtroom through the lengthy cross-examination scenes, keeping the tension high and the interest alive through this three-hour drama.
With a healthy dose of melancholy, jaded and brutalised characters and foreshadowing the impending Cold War, this is a film which understands war and the often forgotten fact that even though Wars have a start and and end date, they take decades to build up and never really end.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated It's Not Like It's a Secret in Books
Jun 4, 2019
Sana is a California transplant from Wisconsin; both her parents are immigrants from Japan, so despite feeling like she's a midwesterner, none of her friends think of her as one. There's a cringe-y scene early in the book where she cheers with her friends about being "midwestern farmer's daughters" and they tell her she's cute for thinking that, but she's Japanese, obv. I felt really bad for her. When her family moves to California, suddenly she's not the only Asian girl in a sea of whiteness. It's an interesting mix of having a place with your own people but also fighting the stereotypes of sticking with your own ethnicity. It's assumed she'll be friends with the other Asian kids, which annoys her, but she also finds to be true; having not had the opportunity to have friends like her before, she finds she really likes it. But she also tries to break that mold and be friends with people she's not assumed to like - like Jamie Ramirez and her Hispanic friends, and Caleb and his white goth friends.
The book also explores the way racism hits races differently; the Hispanic kids get hassled by cops while the Asian kids don't - though they also have things expected of them that the Hispanic kids don't. The book gets into cultural expectations as well - PDAs are not really a thing in Sana's world, so she's reluctant to be public about her affections at school, which drives misunderstandings.
It's only in the last few chapters that all the secrets come out, and Sana struggles to put things right.
One thing I really liked about the book is the narrative structure. At the beginning of the school year, Sana's English teacher gives them a project, which is to keep a journal to transcribe poems into and talk about what they mean to you. Chapters from Sana's poetry journal are interspersed with chapters of the narrative, and give some nice insight to how she's feeling. Her love interest, Jamie, also loves poetry, and it plays a large part in their relationship.
I quite enjoyed this book.You can find all my reviews plus more at http://goddessinthestacks.com
The book also explores the way racism hits races differently; the Hispanic kids get hassled by cops while the Asian kids don't - though they also have things expected of them that the Hispanic kids don't. The book gets into cultural expectations as well - PDAs are not really a thing in Sana's world, so she's reluctant to be public about her affections at school, which drives misunderstandings.
It's only in the last few chapters that all the secrets come out, and Sana struggles to put things right.
One thing I really liked about the book is the narrative structure. At the beginning of the school year, Sana's English teacher gives them a project, which is to keep a journal to transcribe poems into and talk about what they mean to you. Chapters from Sana's poetry journal are interspersed with chapters of the narrative, and give some nice insight to how she's feeling. Her love interest, Jamie, also loves poetry, and it plays a large part in their relationship.
I quite enjoyed this book.You can find all my reviews plus more at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Artemis is a fun, fast paced book featuring a charming heroine.
Jazz Bashara is smart, funny, sexy and like many of this generation – although the book takes place in the future – a little lost in her ways.
After a series of what some might call (Jazz included) “bad life decisions”, Jazz splits her time between working a legit porter job and as a smuggler of mostly harmless goods into her town, Artemis.
Artemis is the first lunar town, an earth colony of blue collar laborers, its main economies in are tourism, glass and aluminum production.
Through her pattern of making questionable choices, Jazz finds herself neck deep in some big trouble involving the town’s main big shots, the mayor, the aluminum industry and the Brazilian syndicate mob. I can’t wait to listen to the audiobook version narrated by Rosario Dawson, she will be the perfect voice for Jazz Bashara.
As I Brazilian native I was a little bothered by the lack of research into Brazilian surnames and cultural background. It is a huge pet peeve of mine when Brazilians are characterized too much like other Hispanic peoples. Although many shared similarities, our names and language are quite different and the names “Sanchez” and “Alvarez” are Hispanic names that are practically inexistent in Brazil.
Besides the above mentioned and a few tacky, too predictable, unoriginal sex jokes, the book is extremely charming.
Artemis is fun and the plot is very engaging. The dialogues are quick witted and the brainy problem solving echoes Mr. Weir’s debut “The Martian”.
The characters are well rounded or at least, well thought of, the dialogue is funny and the adventure is endless. There’s enough detailed chemistry and space mechanics to satisfy the inner nerd and the touch of romance is just enough to make you cheer for Jazz’s love conquests without being turned off – I am one of those people that get irritated when romance becomes the story’s main purpose. The gentrified, tight community vibe of Artemis juxtaposes well with the bare, unexciting moonscape.
Overall, one of my favorite books of the year and a huge relief. As a big fan of “The Martian”, I had big expectations for Mr. Weir’s new book. It did not disappoint.
Jazz Bashara is smart, funny, sexy and like many of this generation – although the book takes place in the future – a little lost in her ways.
After a series of what some might call (Jazz included) “bad life decisions”, Jazz splits her time between working a legit porter job and as a smuggler of mostly harmless goods into her town, Artemis.
Artemis is the first lunar town, an earth colony of blue collar laborers, its main economies in are tourism, glass and aluminum production.
Through her pattern of making questionable choices, Jazz finds herself neck deep in some big trouble involving the town’s main big shots, the mayor, the aluminum industry and the Brazilian syndicate mob. I can’t wait to listen to the audiobook version narrated by Rosario Dawson, she will be the perfect voice for Jazz Bashara.
As I Brazilian native I was a little bothered by the lack of research into Brazilian surnames and cultural background. It is a huge pet peeve of mine when Brazilians are characterized too much like other Hispanic peoples. Although many shared similarities, our names and language are quite different and the names “Sanchez” and “Alvarez” are Hispanic names that are practically inexistent in Brazil.
Besides the above mentioned and a few tacky, too predictable, unoriginal sex jokes, the book is extremely charming.
Artemis is fun and the plot is very engaging. The dialogues are quick witted and the brainy problem solving echoes Mr. Weir’s debut “The Martian”.
The characters are well rounded or at least, well thought of, the dialogue is funny and the adventure is endless. There’s enough detailed chemistry and space mechanics to satisfy the inner nerd and the touch of romance is just enough to make you cheer for Jazz’s love conquests without being turned off – I am one of those people that get irritated when romance becomes the story’s main purpose. The gentrified, tight community vibe of Artemis juxtaposes well with the bare, unexciting moonscape.
Overall, one of my favorite books of the year and a huge relief. As a big fan of “The Martian”, I had big expectations for Mr. Weir’s new book. It did not disappoint.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Darius the Great is Not Okay in Books
Dec 25, 2018
This novel got a lot of hype before and after its release - and it deserves it. It has great minority representation, from Persian (and bi-racial!) to Zoroastrian and Baha'i, to clinical depression and male friendship. You could also read gay and/or asexual into it, but that's not explicitly mentioned. Romantic love is just never addressed; perhaps because the story just doesn't involve it, but you could definitely read the main character as ace.
Darius is a great main character. He's funny, self-deprecating, and complex. He has clinical depression, is medicated for it, and can sometimes tell when it's the depression making him think a certain way, but sometimes he can't. He's biracial, visiting Iran and his mother's Persian family for the first time, and adjusting to Persian social norms and traditions while trying not to lose sight of his American life. His connection with his father is tenuous and fraught with miscommunication, and lot of the book is spent wrestling with that relationship. His new friend, Sohrab, is a great foil to that, as his father is completely absent from his life, having been arrested and thrown in jail prior to the start of the story, largely for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and being part of a minority religion.
There are so many small things touched on this book - suspicion at customs when flying through, bullying at school for being Persian, not speaking his family's language because his mother didn't teach it to him (and feeling cut off because of it) - all little things that a lot of immigrant children deal with.
Aside from the cultural things the book addresses, there's also the mental health aspect. Both Darius and his father have clinical depression, and there's stigma attached to having the diagnosis, and to taking pills for it. We see how their mental states affects their relationship with each other and with the rest of their family, and it's quite powerful. The author talks about having clinical depression in an afterword, and includes some resources that helped him. This is an #ownvoices novel in more ways than one, and it really shows. Excellent book.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Darius is a great main character. He's funny, self-deprecating, and complex. He has clinical depression, is medicated for it, and can sometimes tell when it's the depression making him think a certain way, but sometimes he can't. He's biracial, visiting Iran and his mother's Persian family for the first time, and adjusting to Persian social norms and traditions while trying not to lose sight of his American life. His connection with his father is tenuous and fraught with miscommunication, and lot of the book is spent wrestling with that relationship. His new friend, Sohrab, is a great foil to that, as his father is completely absent from his life, having been arrested and thrown in jail prior to the start of the story, largely for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and being part of a minority religion.
There are so many small things touched on this book - suspicion at customs when flying through, bullying at school for being Persian, not speaking his family's language because his mother didn't teach it to him (and feeling cut off because of it) - all little things that a lot of immigrant children deal with.
Aside from the cultural things the book addresses, there's also the mental health aspect. Both Darius and his father have clinical depression, and there's stigma attached to having the diagnosis, and to taking pills for it. We see how their mental states affects their relationship with each other and with the rest of their family, and it's quite powerful. The author talks about having clinical depression in an afterword, and includes some resources that helped him. This is an #ownvoices novel in more ways than one, and it really shows. Excellent book.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Deborah (162 KP) rated The Jane Austen Guide to Happily Ever After in Books
Dec 21, 2018
Oh dear.
I decided to take this book for review as Austen is by far my favourite novelist and I thought this sounded like an interesting concept - what makes the protagonists' matches so good. And there is always the sticky Charlotte Lucas question to ponder over. This isn't really what I got; I felt that this book couldn't decide if it wanted to be a work of literary criticism/analysis or a self help manual. I'm also not entirely sure who the target audience for this book are supposed to be. I got a very strong impression that it wasn't supposed to be me! References to 'we Americans' can be somewhat alienating to the rest of the world. Although the whole book seems to push Austen as a main selling point, it also seems to be aimed at people who don't really know the novels that well - too much of obvious plot details have to be explained and there is an over use of quotation, beyond what was needed to make the point.
The text of the book is only about 250 pages, but there must be at least another 100 pages of endnotes. This is an area of complete overkill, in my opinion. When a single endnote can go on for a couple of pages, by the time you get back to the main text, you've pretty much lost whatever plot there was. Endnotes; just too many and too long and in many cases just too unnecessary.
I was only reading from a proof copy, but there were textual errors - Maria Crawford, anyone?! Hopefully someone familiar with Austen can pick this up.
At the time of writing I see that only one other amazon.co.uk reviewer has come forth to note that they didn't like it much either, while the amazon.com reviews seem to be positive. Maybe this has something to do with targeting, as the writing style was very informal and slangy and with a number of American cultural references that meant very little to me. Such a narrow focus seems a bad error of judgement as far as the rest of the world is concerned. If you want my recommendation, I wouldn't bother with this one.
I decided to take this book for review as Austen is by far my favourite novelist and I thought this sounded like an interesting concept - what makes the protagonists' matches so good. And there is always the sticky Charlotte Lucas question to ponder over. This isn't really what I got; I felt that this book couldn't decide if it wanted to be a work of literary criticism/analysis or a self help manual. I'm also not entirely sure who the target audience for this book are supposed to be. I got a very strong impression that it wasn't supposed to be me! References to 'we Americans' can be somewhat alienating to the rest of the world. Although the whole book seems to push Austen as a main selling point, it also seems to be aimed at people who don't really know the novels that well - too much of obvious plot details have to be explained and there is an over use of quotation, beyond what was needed to make the point.
The text of the book is only about 250 pages, but there must be at least another 100 pages of endnotes. This is an area of complete overkill, in my opinion. When a single endnote can go on for a couple of pages, by the time you get back to the main text, you've pretty much lost whatever plot there was. Endnotes; just too many and too long and in many cases just too unnecessary.
I was only reading from a proof copy, but there were textual errors - Maria Crawford, anyone?! Hopefully someone familiar with Austen can pick this up.
At the time of writing I see that only one other amazon.co.uk reviewer has come forth to note that they didn't like it much either, while the amazon.com reviews seem to be positive. Maybe this has something to do with targeting, as the writing style was very informal and slangy and with a number of American cultural references that meant very little to me. Such a narrow focus seems a bad error of judgement as far as the rest of the world is concerned. If you want my recommendation, I wouldn't bother with this one.