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Babushka's Journey: The Dark Road to Stalin's Wartime Camps
Book
This is the story of a grandmother, and what happened to her and to Eastern Europe in World War II....
Feckers: 50 People Who Fecked Up Ireland
Book
Which 50 People turned Ireland into the fecked-up country she is today? Bono? Haughey? Louis Walsh?...
Human Remains and Mass Violence: Methodological Approaches
Jean-Marc Dreyfus and Elisabeth Anstett
Book
This book outlines for the first time in a single volume the theoretical and methodological tools...
Paul Morrissey recommended The Leopard (1963) in Movies (curated)
Kelly Reichardt recommended The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978) in Movies (curated)
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Passions Promise in Books
Jul 7, 2021
of 250
Book
Passions Promise (Golden Moments)
By Danielle Steel
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
Smart, beautiful, and very rich, Kezia Saint Martin leads two lives: one as a glamorous socialite jetting between the poshest places in Europe and America; the other, under a false name, as a dicated journalist committed to justice and her profession.
But the two worlds are pulling her apart, leaving her conflicted about her identity and the lies she tells to every man she meets. Then she meets Lucas Johns, a bold, dynamic crusader for social change - and an ex-con. Their attraction is immediate, but their love may be just one step from tragedy at any time.
Honestly I got bored! There were just bits of this book that didn’t need so many words! I think she was trying to push the social divide too hard yes we get how rich and famous she is and how he’s so not! Plus we saw the budding romance coming at the end!
Still with an auth so huge you expect a few bumps in the road!
Book
Passions Promise (Golden Moments)
By Danielle Steel
Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments
Smart, beautiful, and very rich, Kezia Saint Martin leads two lives: one as a glamorous socialite jetting between the poshest places in Europe and America; the other, under a false name, as a dicated journalist committed to justice and her profession.
But the two worlds are pulling her apart, leaving her conflicted about her identity and the lies she tells to every man she meets. Then she meets Lucas Johns, a bold, dynamic crusader for social change - and an ex-con. Their attraction is immediate, but their love may be just one step from tragedy at any time.
Honestly I got bored! There were just bits of this book that didn’t need so many words! I think she was trying to push the social divide too hard yes we get how rich and famous she is and how he’s so not! Plus we saw the budding romance coming at the end!
Still with an auth so huge you expect a few bumps in the road!
Justin Hawkins recommended Jazz by Queen in Music (curated)
Awix (3310 KP) rated Forever And A Day in Books
Oct 20, 2020 (Updated Oct 20, 2020)
Pastiche thriller featuring you-know-who. It's 1950, and agent 007 is killed in action while investigating drug dealing in the south of France. The head of the secret service decides to send in a newly-promoted operative to investigate the death, a young chap by the name of Bond...
Horowitz's novel tries to do the same thing as the movie version of Casino Royale - to show how Bond becomes Bond. At this he is only really marginally successful, as Bond starts the novel as a pretty icy brute and ends only more icy and brutal. That said, the book evokes the Fleming formula rather well: there is the usual mixture of globe-trotting, good living, maniacal snobbery, action, torture, and sex in just about the right proportions. Some may complain that some contemporary politics have snuck into what's essentially an escapist fantasy - one villain is a bouffant-haired American tycoon with wandering hands, who thinks America should put its own interests first, while another gets a big speech about the smallness and insignificance of Britain, and its reliance on a close relationship with Europe if it wants to prosper. Nevertheless, fun, pacy stuff and very readable.
Horowitz's novel tries to do the same thing as the movie version of Casino Royale - to show how Bond becomes Bond. At this he is only really marginally successful, as Bond starts the novel as a pretty icy brute and ends only more icy and brutal. That said, the book evokes the Fleming formula rather well: there is the usual mixture of globe-trotting, good living, maniacal snobbery, action, torture, and sex in just about the right proportions. Some may complain that some contemporary politics have snuck into what's essentially an escapist fantasy - one villain is a bouffant-haired American tycoon with wandering hands, who thinks America should put its own interests first, while another gets a big speech about the smallness and insignificance of Britain, and its reliance on a close relationship with Europe if it wants to prosper. Nevertheless, fun, pacy stuff and very readable.
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated The Diplomat’s Wife in Books
Jan 14, 2021
Mystery throughout (1 more)
Very interesting
Unexpected ending...
I would rate this 9 stars. I was given the opportunity to read an advanced copy, and I was not disappointed.
It kept me guessing right until the very last chapters, which is very unusual.
It follows Emma and her grandson as they travel around Europe to France, Germany and finally Spain to solve a mystery that Emma has been trying to work out for 40 years... what happened to her brother. Throughout the book she tells her grandson but about her life in the 30s before WWII broke out when she met and married her husband - a British diplomat.
I loved that the font changed when it came to the chapters about Emma’s life in the 30s and when she was with Phil in the 70s, it made it so much easier when I’d put the book down (unwillingly!) for a little while to remember, just by looking, the perspective the book was coming from.
I was very sad about the book ending, as it was such a lovely read and one that was very easy to lose yourself in. I would definitely recommend it!
It kept me guessing right until the very last chapters, which is very unusual.
It follows Emma and her grandson as they travel around Europe to France, Germany and finally Spain to solve a mystery that Emma has been trying to work out for 40 years... what happened to her brother. Throughout the book she tells her grandson but about her life in the 30s before WWII broke out when she met and married her husband - a British diplomat.
I loved that the font changed when it came to the chapters about Emma’s life in the 30s and when she was with Phil in the 70s, it made it so much easier when I’d put the book down (unwillingly!) for a little while to remember, just by looking, the perspective the book was coming from.
I was very sad about the book ending, as it was such a lovely read and one that was very easy to lose yourself in. I would definitely recommend it!
Awix (3310 KP) rated The World in Winter in Books
Sep 5, 2019
Christopher's tale of the onset of a new ice age and its consequences is told with his usual clarity and strength of characterisation. The sun dims slightly; northern Europe vanishes under ice and snow, and the wealthy and powerful relocate to closer to the equator.
What makes the book a bit problematic for a modern reader is that some of the attitudes in it feel uncomfortably close to outright racism - it almost feels like a cautionary parable about what would happen if the traditional colonial roles were reversed and Africans were in a position of power over Europeans. That the book is a product of the era when the British Empire was dissolving is obvious, and the racial attitudes do impact on the story - protagonist and antagonist form an alliance at the end, despite a long history of bitter conflict between them, simply because they are both white men and the alternative is to allow Africans to dominate the UK. While the book should be considered in the context of its time, it still leaves a very sour taste in the mouth, quite unlike any of the author's other books.
What makes the book a bit problematic for a modern reader is that some of the attitudes in it feel uncomfortably close to outright racism - it almost feels like a cautionary parable about what would happen if the traditional colonial roles were reversed and Africans were in a position of power over Europeans. That the book is a product of the era when the British Empire was dissolving is obvious, and the racial attitudes do impact on the story - protagonist and antagonist form an alliance at the end, despite a long history of bitter conflict between them, simply because they are both white men and the alternative is to allow Africans to dominate the UK. While the book should be considered in the context of its time, it still leaves a very sour taste in the mouth, quite unlike any of the author's other books.