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Doctor Sleep
Doctor Sleep
Stephen King | 2013 | Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
9.0 (29 Ratings)
Book Rating
Doctor Sleep is the sequel to ‘The Shining’. Following the life of Dan Torrance (the little boy from The Shining) the book quickly covers what happens after the events at the Overlook Hotel where Dan finds his lifestyle copying that of his alcoholic farther. His life starts to turn around when he arrives at a small town in New Hampshire where the now middle aged Dan finds a number of things; Help with his alcohol problem, A job in a nursing home, good friends and, with the help of his Shinning a child in need of help.
Doctor Sleep Focus’ on the power of the Shinning, what it can do and how it affects not only the people with the power but others around it. Unlike the first book ghost’s do not play a major part in most of the story, there is a bit in the beginning which ties up events at the Overlook but, although ghosts are mentioned they have been (Mostly) replaced by a group called The True Knot, a group of vampire like beings who feed off the Shining instead of blood. As Dan finds himself caught up with The True Knot he finds that he is being pulled back to the site of the Overlook.
A big part of the book is about how you can’t escape your past and that, until you accept your mistakes you will never really be able to move forward. It is also about acceptance and the fact that you are never really alone, that other people have experienced what you are going through and that they can help you get through life if you let them and it is about family, accepting the one you have but also find a new one, finding people who will accept you as you are but it is mostly about psychic Vampires and the power of the Shining.
  
    iOvulation

    iOvulation

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    iOvulation is a companion for any woman who either desires a pregnancy or wishes to prevent one. ...

    My Town : Hospital

    My Town : Hospital

    Education and Games

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    Experience the excitement of a busy hospital in My Town : Hospital! There are endless stories your...

Resist Me Not (Bloody Desires)
Resist Me Not (Bloody Desires)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
RESIST ME NOT is part of the Bloody Desires series, featuring Walker, a doctor, and Trey, a travel writer/serial killer. Trey doesn't target just anyone, but rather those who harm others, especially wives and children. The reasons for this are explained, so don't worry about that.

Now, of course, killing anyone is never supposed to be good, but how it is done here gives an excellent moral debate, and as shown in a group conversation, this same question has been asked many times. It becomes personal for Walker when he knows what Trey is doing. After all, he is a doctor dedicated to saving lives, while Trey is taking them. But is it as clean-cut and concise as that?

While I thoroughly enjoyed this story, there were parts that I didn't feel necessary. Firstly, there was the Daddy part. That was more of a term of endearment than anything else. And did Daddy and good boy really have to be in italics most of the time? I didn't feel any need to emphasise those words in the context they were being used in. They could have been changed for different terms, and it would still read perfectly. And secondly, was how many times First Do No Harm was mentioned. I get that was the question of the moment; I didn't need the repetition to compound on it.

 Trey was an excellently written character, showing depth and thought that you might not expect. Walker was a little more self-righteous, a little more bland, until the end--that part, I loved!

I am loving this series and have no hesitation in recommending it if morally grey stories are your thing.

** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sep 4, 2025
  
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David McK (3663 KP) rated Quantum Leap: Too Close for Comfort in Books

Sep 22, 2024 (Updated Sep 22, 2024)  
Quantum Leap: Too Close for Comfort
Quantum Leap: Too Close for Comfort
Ashley McConnell | 1993 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
"Theorising that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Doctor Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished... He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own, and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al, an observer from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Doctor Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home…”

That's the intro from the original, 1990s, show (as opposed to the more modern 2020 reincarnation).

Why am I posting the above?

Because this novel itself is from the 90s, long before Dr Raymond Song or any of the newer bunch, and so focuses on the original Leaper Sam, and his hologrammatic observer Al.

It was also obviously written whilst the show was still on air (or, at the very least, not long after it ended), and very much could have been a episode of that original show, which was far more episodic in nature than the newer version.

Here, Sam finds himself in the body of a college graduate in what-I-believe-to-be the early 1990s, leasing a room from a college professor who is very much into the whole Men movement of the era, so much so that said professor does not even realize when his family life is falling down around him.

Being the early 1990s, this is far too close to the timeline from which Sam leaps (1999), with Al Calvacci also involved here both as Sam's hologram, and as an actual person who Sam encounters as a member of Dr Wales encounter group. Hence the title 'Too Close for Comfort', which can be construed in multiple different ways!
  
WO
Who on Earth is Tom Baker?
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
WOW... Okay, Tom's life is very... unfortunate. And while I was interested, I realized I wanted more of the stories of his career and less about how he came to be. The first half of the book is his struggles with God in a religious upbringing, the third quarter is his struggles in military service. And while these stories are simultaneously heartbreaking and emotional, they are such a drag to read. It's not that he doesn't tell the story well, he does, injecting his trademark humor onto just about every page. But the tragic nature of the events counters that humor making it more gallows and inappropriate than anything. I SLOGGED through the first half. It does pick up some once he becomes an actor (and like The Doctor, Tom is a bit of a name dropper). Insightful and interesting, but I'm still not sure I have any idea who on Earth is Tom Baker...
  
HO
Heart of the Matter
8
8.0 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Does anyone have the "perfect" marriage? Everyone looking at Tessa and Nick think so.
Nick is a pediatric surgeon and Tessa has recently quit her teaching job to be a stay-at-home mom. They have two children, Frank and Ruby. They are out for their anniversary dinner when Nick get an emergency phone call. A little boy has fallen into a fire.

Valerie, is the mother to that little boy, Charlie. He was at his very first sleep over when this terrible accident happened.

Nick does his best to make sure that Charlie and Valerie are taken care of. He is a wonderful doctor.

You never realize how small your town is until something like this, brings the whole community into your business.

Even though Tessa and Valerie have never met, their worlds collide in more than one way when this accident occurs.

This book makes you examine your relationships and find out how strong your love really is!
  
This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor
This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor
Adam Kay | 2017 | Biography
10
9.0 (44 Ratings)
Book Rating
Humorous, insightful and fascinating
We all know about the NHS and doctors and hospitals, yet I'm sure for the majority of us that don't work in this sector, we don't have the slightest idea what goes on in reality.

Adam Kay's book is a fascinating insight into the NHS and the real working life of a doctor. It's ridiculously funny, emotional, heartwarming and also depressing to think this is the state of our health service. I dare you to read this and not feel anything. You can't say a bad word about the NHS after reading this (not that I ever did). I feel glad that Adam has provided such an insightful and thought provoking view of the NHS. I shed a tear when I reached the end and I would have quite happily read a lot more of his stories and anecdotes, they're fascinating.

A must read for anyone in the UK.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Styx (2018) in Movies

May 1, 2019 (Updated May 1, 2019)  
Styx (2018)
Styx (2018)
2018 | Drama
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
No-frills drama from Germany (not much dialogue, and most of that in English) achieves genuine tension after a slow start. Competent, compassionate doctor seems to be having no trouble sailing the Atlantic until she comes across a ship loaded with refugees in very bad shape: her small boat can't help, and the authorities advise her by radio to leave the area; but they show no sign of doing anything to help. The arrival on board of a young boy only complicates matters further. What is she supposed to do?

Wears its heart very much on its sleeve as a parable about civilised European attitudes to crises in other parts of the world; not exactly subtle and doesn't seem to have many answers to give. The slow start may also put some people off. However, Wolff carries the film impressively, and the moral dilemma at its centre is engrossing and resonant. Director does good work with what's clearly quite a low budget.