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The Shakespeare Stories: Henry V, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet by Andrew Matthews presents four of William Shakespeare’s famous plays in an easy-to-digest format for kids. Accompanied by Tony Ross’ illustrations, Matthews re-imagines these Shakespearean plays as short stories more akin to classic fairy tales.

Matthews manages to take some of the most plot-heavy and confusing Shakespeare plays and break them down to their most basic elements. The language is easy to follow without lacking intellect or wit, and he stays true to Shakespeare’s concepts and characters. Illustrated short stories for kids are a no-brainer for getting children interested in William Shakespeare, and Matthews was smart to dive into the genre. He isn’t reinventing the wheel, but he is making the wheel accessible to a wide range of audiences.

I like how it has pictures, gives the cast and a quote from the original play. Then it tells the story and finishes up with an explanation of what just happened and some history of Shakespeare and the play.
  
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Roxanne (13 KP) rated Chimera Book One in Books

Nov 14, 2018  
CB
Chimera Book One
Phil Gomm | 2014
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>I received an ARC ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review</i>

____ <b>4 Star Rating</b> ____

This story is about a young boy called Kyp who ends up being drawn into a whole new world where all lost things go to. It is suitable for both adults and children, however, there are some strong horror elements so I would perhaps recommend going through this book to see if it's suitable for your own child, it's personal preference afterall.
I have to say I really enjoyed this story and at only 100 pages long you can jump right into the next one straight after. I found this to be really original and I liked all of the characters. It is absolutely packed full of action, each chapter ending with a BOOM to keep you hooked (which definitely worked for me).
I would say it needs a bit more editing but the mistakes only mildly effected my enjoyment and so it deserves a full 4 stars.
  
Virgil Wander
Virgil Wander
Leif Enger | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Like a warm quilt on a cold day, in "Virgil Wander," Leif Enger wraps up his reader in evocative language that makes them want to pull the book closer and hold tight for this imaginative tale.

Narrated by the well-liked eponymous film projectionist who finds himself still getting his bearings and memory back after his car soars into Lake Superior during a snowfall, as Virgil navigates his small town with new perspective, we get acquainted with the equally affable, unique characters who inhabit the “cursed” town of Greenstone, Minnesota.

A seemingly straightforward journey made all the more enchanting by the author's magnetic prose, “Virgil Wander” is stunning not only in its simplicity but by how masterfully Enger builds a strong foundation of characters you can relate to before seasoning his story with elements of Norwegian myth and fisherman's tall tales, which in his hands become Minnesota magic.

A highly recommended chronicle of small town life with much more on its mind, this gorgeously penned sleeper is one of my favorite novels of 2018.
  
The Karate Kid (1984)
The Karate Kid (1984)
1984 | Adventure, Drama, Family
I wish I had a friend like Mr. Miyagi!
When high schooler Daniel moves to California with his mother, he soon discovers life on the West Coast is more intense then what he is used to back home and starts getting bullied by the local hooligans.

Enter Mr. Miyagi.

Daniel meets a quiet, Japanese man who gives Daniel odd jobs to do when he is supposed to be teaching Daniel to defend himself.

What does it all mean?

I could use so many phrases to describe the perfect elements of this film like coming-of-age, heroes, mentoring, positive role models, underdog story and none of them would do this movie justice.

I'm sure the younger generation would find some of this cheesy now (like the standard 80s montages), but the message is what's important and that has not changed.

It really is one of those films that just makes you feel good while watching and you always get swept up in the drama and want Daniel to succeed.

A triumph!

  
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Cori June (3033 KP) rated Blood Trade (Jane Yellowrock, #6) in Books

Dec 3, 2018 (Updated Nov 8, 2019)  
Blood Trade (Jane Yellowrock, #6)
Blood Trade (Jane Yellowrock, #6)
8
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This one is lower mostly because she gets really emotional (for good reasons) and is more "alone time". One of the things I love about most Jane Yellowrock books is the interactions between her and the other characters especially her and Eli. This seems like a "builder book" a book to set the story up for something else. Although, it has a lot of elements of "placement book" too; as in, let me place this book here to give some background information on a couple of characters. I would have liked more background on Jane although it was fun to see her interact with people from her past. The is still that three way triangle thing with Bruiser and Rick. As well as where Eli fits into the structure of friend/romantic partner/business partner/brother type. The romance parts, well, it's all a little understated when compared to the previous books this one being more of a hack and slash version. And there is very little of the fang head Leo.
  
Walk With Me by Rotimi
Walk With Me by Rotimi
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Rotimi is a singer and actor from Maplewood, New Jersey. Not too long ago, he released a music video for his tropical R&B single, entitled, “Love Riddim”.

“Wish I could start it over. Baby, I need you over. Wish I could taste, kiss you down by your waist. He treats you wrong. Wish I could show you, love. Wish I could make you know it. Baby, you need to know it” – lyrics

‘Love Riddim’ tells a sensual tale of a young guy who is skilled at touching the right spots on the lower parts of a desirable female’s body.

Apparently, the woman in question has a boyfriend, but he doesn’t make her go “Oh-ooh ooh-oh” as her lover does.

Therefore, she creeps discreetly with her lover during the nighttime hours. Also, her mind travels elsewhere when he touches her down below.

‘Love Riddim’ contains a relatable storyline, ear-welcoming vocals, and vibey instrumentation flavored with tropical, afrobeat, and contemporary R&B elements.

https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/rotimi-love-riddim-video/
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Spectre (2015) in Movies

Jan 2, 2019  
Spectre (2015)
Spectre (2015)
2015 | Action
Sometimes when you make a cake using an unexpected or unusual ingredient and it turns out to be a really good cake, you jump to the wrong conclusion and assume the success is just down to that one thing. So with the next cake you pile the secret ingredient in recklessly and, probably, are very surprised when something rather less palatable is the result. So it is with Skyfall and SPECTRE; a little bit of psychological complexity and gravitas undeniably adds something to the Bond formula. Going overboard on these things just produces a film which feels joyless and slow. This is before we even get to the preposterous revelations about Bond's long-lost adoptive brother.

Some quite good action bits and of course it all looks nice, but all the elements that feel like classic Bond are handled in an oddly perfunctory way and the ending really doesn't work at all. One gets the feeling, not for the first time in recent years, that the makers of this film would rather be working on something other than an actual Bond movie.
  
TO
This One's on Me (The Bandy Papers, #6)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is the 6th entry in Donald Jack's 'Bandy Papers', and is set during the 1920s rather than the Great War period of the earlier entries.

As this start, Bandy is down on his luck, travelling back to England from Canada after the events of [b:Me Too|897972|Me Too (The Bandy Papers, #5)|Donald Jack|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1179282725s/897972.jpg|883159]: a trip that sees him stop in Iceland on the way and meet the next great love-of-his-life.

Travelling on to England, he then saves the life of a downed pilot who later proves to be the son of the second richest man in the world, who hires him to create an airforce for his Indian state.

While this does have its comedic elements, I have to say that I've found these books to run out of steam somewhat the further we move away from the earlier entries: for my money, those set during the era of World War oNe (and slightly after) are actually more laugh-out-loud funny than these later entries.
  
Moonraker (James Bond, #3)
Moonraker (James Bond, #3)
Ian Fleming | 2002 | Thriller
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I know I've seen it, but I don't really remember all the much about the 1979 Moonraker film (incidentally, the year I was born), other than that it starred Roger Moore (in his fourth role as James Bond), and that James Bond went into space.

James Bond does not go into space.

At least, not in the novel on which that film is (very loosely) based - or, more accurately, from which they took the title.

Instead, we have a Cold-War era spy thriller, with the Moonraker of the title really more of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (an IBM) rather than the Space Shuttle of the movie. Nor is there CIA involvement, nor a battle-in-space, nor a madman setting out to wipe out all life on Earth ... you get the picture.

There are, however, elements of the novel that make it into future Bond movies, in particular the facial reconstructive surgery of 'Die Another Day' clearly picking up it's cue from the background given to the central antagonist of Drax, and just what happened to him during the war.
  
LA
Live and Let Die (James Bond, #2)
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
"When you were young, and your heart was an open book,
You used to say live and let live
(you know you did you know you die you know you did)
But in this ever changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry ...
Live and let die ..."

(cue guitar riff)

With that out of the way - Paul McCartney and Wings, later covered by Guns 'N Roses - Live and Let Die is the second James Bond book by Ian Fleming, but the eighth film in the series, and the first to star Roger Moore in the lead role.

And reading it with contemporary eyes, boy has it aged. Quite different than the movie - although the key elements (vodoo, Baron Samedi, Solitaire, American southwest setting) are intact, it can also be quite uncomfortable reading this with modern sensibilities, particularly in how Flemings (and Bond) treats the female characters, and in how the Harlem culture and denizens are portrayed.

Allowances must be made, I suppose, for the time period in which it was written ...