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Lonely Planet Pocket Dubai
Lonely Planet and Andrea Schulte-Peevers
Book
Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet Pocket Dubai is your...
Lonely Planet Western USA
Lonely Planet, Amy C. Balfour, Sandra Bao and Sara Benson
Book
Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet Western USA is your passport...
The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan: How to Take Charge, Build or Merge Your Team, and Get Immediate Results
George B. Bradt, Jayme A. Check, John A. Lawler and Jorge E. Pedraza
Book
Entering a new leadership role? Leading a reorganization or integrating teams? Get better results...
VT
Vamping the Stage: Female Voices of Asian Modernities
Andrew N. Weintraub, Bart Barendregt, Christine Reiko Yano and Yifen Tsau Beus
Book
The emergence of modernity has typically focused on Western male actors and privileged politics and...
Maddie (37 KP) rated The Snowman (Harry Hole #7) (Oslo Sequence #5) in Books
Dec 5, 2017
Interesting Villian (1 more)
Chilling Setting
Token Crazy Chick (1 more)
Awkward Writing
Glad I read this before the film came out
I read this to get ready to see the film - which I did not end up going to due to abysmal ratings. So glad I did, because the case in this novel was incredibly compelling. It wasn't an earth-shattering tale, but stood on its own ground. The cold, Nordic settings lent itself to the isolated Harry Hole. Although predictable, I still felt for Harry and thought he was realistic enough.
The only things I would say were not in favor of the book were (1) There is a moment in the book where a female character kind of goes off the deep end...and (2) There is awkward writing where the author tries to slip in pop culture references that seem to come out of nowhere. Number 1 just didn't lend itself that greatly to the plot, and I really felt like it could have done without the incident altogether. And 2 just needed to be ignored.
Other than that, it was a very entertaining read and I'm glad I picked it up before the film ruined my perceptions!
The only things I would say were not in favor of the book were (1) There is a moment in the book where a female character kind of goes off the deep end...and (2) There is awkward writing where the author tries to slip in pop culture references that seem to come out of nowhere. Number 1 just didn't lend itself that greatly to the plot, and I really felt like it could have done without the incident altogether. And 2 just needed to be ignored.
Other than that, it was a very entertaining read and I'm glad I picked it up before the film ruined my perceptions!
BeaconVenom (10 KP) rated Fifty Shades of Grey in Books
Sep 5, 2017
It's difficult to explain this book without being inappropriate towards a younger audience but I'll do my best.
EL James takes a lot of women's fantasies, that they are too afraid to ever ask their partner to try, and normalises them. A lot of people have described this book as "mummy porn" and okay yes maybe to a degree it is. However it is also so much more, it inadvertently investigates how far we are willing to push ourselves and change for someone we believe we are attracted to or even love. I don't know if she meant to but she certainly challenged mindsets with this book and challenges what we consider normal and acceptable behaviour.
It also brought the BDSM culture into the light and helped make it a lot less taboo. Until this book was released BDSM was seen as sex dungeons, dirty old men and scared, low self-esteem girls. This book helped challenge and change this perception and open people's minds to alternative forms of.... enjoyment.
It is certainly worth a read, if nothing else just to give you an alternative perspective of what society should and shouldn't see as acceptable in relationships.
EL James takes a lot of women's fantasies, that they are too afraid to ever ask their partner to try, and normalises them. A lot of people have described this book as "mummy porn" and okay yes maybe to a degree it is. However it is also so much more, it inadvertently investigates how far we are willing to push ourselves and change for someone we believe we are attracted to or even love. I don't know if she meant to but she certainly challenged mindsets with this book and challenges what we consider normal and acceptable behaviour.
It also brought the BDSM culture into the light and helped make it a lot less taboo. Until this book was released BDSM was seen as sex dungeons, dirty old men and scared, low self-esteem girls. This book helped challenge and change this perception and open people's minds to alternative forms of.... enjoyment.
It is certainly worth a read, if nothing else just to give you an alternative perspective of what society should and shouldn't see as acceptable in relationships.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Slave: The Hidden Truth about Your Identity in Christ in Books
Apr 27, 2018
John Macarthur has gone through meticulous study and research to uncover a truth about our relationship with Christ to a degree we have not exhausted as thoroughly as we should. Because of words being translated differently, we have lost a dynamic of that beautiful relationship: Now Macarthur has explained what it truly should look like.
Reading Slave has been truly convicting and enlightening. It gave me a whole new perspective on my relationship with Christ, and a fresh sense of peace. Christ is our Master and we are His slaves, and by explaining the culture and the true definition of the words that were originally written, we see salvation in a new light.
Not only was it engaging and convicting, it was easy to read. I've gotten Christian books that felt like I was reading college text books. And trust me when I say I don't like college text books—I have a bunch of them and I avoid them at all costs. But MacArthur's writing was clear and concise yet thoroughly explained and can be easily understood by a wide range of readers.
Reading Slave has been truly convicting and enlightening. It gave me a whole new perspective on my relationship with Christ, and a fresh sense of peace. Christ is our Master and we are His slaves, and by explaining the culture and the true definition of the words that were originally written, we see salvation in a new light.
Not only was it engaging and convicting, it was easy to read. I've gotten Christian books that felt like I was reading college text books. And trust me when I say I don't like college text books—I have a bunch of them and I avoid them at all costs. But MacArthur's writing was clear and concise yet thoroughly explained and can be easily understood by a wide range of readers.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy: Curiouser And Curiouser in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy is a collection of essays by various contributors, many of which have contributed to other books in the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series. Many questions that went unasked are brought forth and argued, and many things that you never thought twice about are exposed.
I am a long-time Alice lover, having read and listened to the stories my whole life and played a part in the Disney-ballet. I love Carroll’s stories for what they are, and I see the beauty in chaos and nonsense. However I did enjoy reading through these essays, and gaining a new perspective on the classic adventure of Wonderland.
Although, to a certain extent, I can’t help but side with the party that it’s just a sweet silly story about a girl who wasn’t quite ready to face reality, until she realized what a mess nonsense can be.
This collection of intriguing essays will leaving you wondering about Wonderland more than you ever have before.
Recommendation: Ages 12+ for Alice lovers who want to think outside the box and deeper than before.
I am a long-time Alice lover, having read and listened to the stories my whole life and played a part in the Disney-ballet. I love Carroll’s stories for what they are, and I see the beauty in chaos and nonsense. However I did enjoy reading through these essays, and gaining a new perspective on the classic adventure of Wonderland.
Although, to a certain extent, I can’t help but side with the party that it’s just a sweet silly story about a girl who wasn’t quite ready to face reality, until she realized what a mess nonsense can be.
This collection of intriguing essays will leaving you wondering about Wonderland more than you ever have before.
Recommendation: Ages 12+ for Alice lovers who want to think outside the box and deeper than before.
Lee (2222 KP) rated The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) in Movies
Feb 12, 2019
Everything is no longer awesome
I liked the first Lego Movie a lot. I liked the Lego Batman movie even more. I should have liked this movie too. Maybe I was just having a grumpy Monday, but unfortunately I didn't like this one very much at all.
The Lego movies thrive on being fast paced - a visual feast for the eyes with rapid fire gags and knowing little nods and references to film and other pop culture. Lego Movie 2 is certainly fast paced, but because I didn't find any of the gags funny, I quickly grew tired and annoyed by it all. Only when we start to see a lot more of the real world - brother and sister fighting, Mum getting involved (Will Ferrell reduced to just shouting something out from another room rather than appearing on screen, weirdly) - that we get a real understanding of the impact on the Lego world and why everything is happening. That brought a real coherency and sentimentality to everything and meant that I enjoyed the final third of the movie a lot more than the rest of it.
The Lego movies thrive on being fast paced - a visual feast for the eyes with rapid fire gags and knowing little nods and references to film and other pop culture. Lego Movie 2 is certainly fast paced, but because I didn't find any of the gags funny, I quickly grew tired and annoyed by it all. Only when we start to see a lot more of the real world - brother and sister fighting, Mum getting involved (Will Ferrell reduced to just shouting something out from another room rather than appearing on screen, weirdly) - that we get a real understanding of the impact on the Lego world and why everything is happening. That brought a real coherency and sentimentality to everything and meant that I enjoyed the final third of the movie a lot more than the rest of it.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Godzilla (1998) in Movies
Mar 24, 2018
Much-reviled and frequently-mocked (especially in subsequent Toho films) American Godzilla is actually not bad as a mega-budget reinvention of the classic American monster B-movie (which the original Japanese Godzilla was inspired by), it's just very disappointing as an actual Godzilla movie. The French irradiate the Pacific, causing humble iguana to grow to ginormous proportions, experience curious gender issues, and then devastate Manhattan.
Some good effects sequences, particularly the two big battles between 'Godzilla' and the US armed forces, and the leads work hard to be likeable, but on the whole the film seems much more interested in American pop culture (there's a pastiche of Jurassic Park, jokes about Elvis, some really unsubtle digs at film critics who didn't like Independence Day) than in the Japanese pop icon it's supposed to be about - the monster is lacking in grandeur and majesty, doesn't have Godzilla's special abilities, and is basically just a big lizard you can kill with conventional weapons. (No wonder the beast is just called 'Zilla' in its subsequent appearances.) Not awful on its own terms, but then it was never going to be judged on those.
Some good effects sequences, particularly the two big battles between 'Godzilla' and the US armed forces, and the leads work hard to be likeable, but on the whole the film seems much more interested in American pop culture (there's a pastiche of Jurassic Park, jokes about Elvis, some really unsubtle digs at film critics who didn't like Independence Day) than in the Japanese pop icon it's supposed to be about - the monster is lacking in grandeur and majesty, doesn't have Godzilla's special abilities, and is basically just a big lizard you can kill with conventional weapons. (No wonder the beast is just called 'Zilla' in its subsequent appearances.) Not awful on its own terms, but then it was never going to be judged on those.