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Debbiereadsbook (1087 KP) rated The Arts of Love: Stories of Sensual Creativity in Books
Dec 10, 2018
a fabulous little collection!
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
16 short stories, written by the same author, based around love and the Arts. Music, acting, writing and everything inbetween.
A 16 book collection was never going to get 16 individual reviews, so here's what I thought about them all, as a whole.
I rather enjoyed it!
It's a great collection of shorts, average about 15 pages each, some a little shorter or longer, but that gives you just enough for each story, I thought, to give you a brief connection, a glimpse into these people's lives.
Some stories are a bit more explicit, some almost clean, in my opinion. Mostly written from one person's view, in the third person.
Each short is well written, and well delivered. I saw no spelling or editing errors to spoil my reading experience.
This is the first I've read of this author, and I'd like to read more. Something much longer than these shorts, just to see what they can do with more pages!
A thoroughly enjoyable Sunday afternoon spent reading, thank you.
4 solid stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
16 short stories, written by the same author, based around love and the Arts. Music, acting, writing and everything inbetween.
A 16 book collection was never going to get 16 individual reviews, so here's what I thought about them all, as a whole.
I rather enjoyed it!
It's a great collection of shorts, average about 15 pages each, some a little shorter or longer, but that gives you just enough for each story, I thought, to give you a brief connection, a glimpse into these people's lives.
Some stories are a bit more explicit, some almost clean, in my opinion. Mostly written from one person's view, in the third person.
Each short is well written, and well delivered. I saw no spelling or editing errors to spoil my reading experience.
This is the first I've read of this author, and I'd like to read more. Something much longer than these shorts, just to see what they can do with more pages!
A thoroughly enjoyable Sunday afternoon spent reading, thank you.
4 solid stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Awix (3310 KP) rated Humanoids from the Deep (1980) in Movies
Apr 10, 2020
Roger Corman-produced mash-up of Jaws and Creature from the Black Lagoon aims for maximum schlock and succeeds; ends up with a vague resemblance to The Shadow Over Innsmouth which it really doesn't deserve. A chemical accident produces a race of fish-men in cheap-ass monster suits who have the hots for anything in a bikini. The disreputable godfather of any number of dodgy Sci-Fi channel movies, and the kind of thing Hannibal used to appear in between episodes of The A-Team.
The odd thing is that credited director Peeters seems to have been trying to make a relatively serious movie; much of the more explicit fem jeop stuff was edited in by Corman having been filmed separately by Jimmy Murakami. The rather primitive production values and slightly stodgy plot means this would never have been a particularly great film, but the brazen tackiness of the fish-want-girls plotline makes it feel that bit more trashy. Doug McClure, to his credit, looks vaguely embarrassed to be participating. These days, much of it leaves an unpleasant aftertaste; certainly less enjoyable than it sounds.
The odd thing is that credited director Peeters seems to have been trying to make a relatively serious movie; much of the more explicit fem jeop stuff was edited in by Corman having been filmed separately by Jimmy Murakami. The rather primitive production values and slightly stodgy plot means this would never have been a particularly great film, but the brazen tackiness of the fish-want-girls plotline makes it feel that bit more trashy. Doug McClure, to his credit, looks vaguely embarrassed to be participating. These days, much of it leaves an unpleasant aftertaste; certainly less enjoyable than it sounds.
Debbiereadsbook (1087 KP) rated Get Away Closer in Books
Jun 26, 2020
a thoroughly delightful read!
I really, REALLY enjoyed this!
It's a delightful read, that kept me fully engaged from start to finish!
I loved Lanie's expletives, they made me chuckle, they really did. I loved that Charlie was quick to try to appease the grumpy neighbour by keeping quiet first thing in the morning, but also that it enabled Charlie to refind his joy at using his grandad's hand tools.
I LOVED the thing with the grandmas! I must admit, I saw that coming at me a mile off, but I didn't quite see it going down like that and Charlie and Lanie finding out in the manner they did.
It's not overly explicit, but then again, Pratt's work never is, but it's not about that. Its about the getting to know someone, and the falling in love with someone. It's about the emotions involved in a new relationship, for Charlie especially here rather than the physical aspect.
And OH!!
That cover is just PERFECT! I love the covers this author uses, I really do.
A thoroughly enjoyable 4 star read.
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
It's a delightful read, that kept me fully engaged from start to finish!
I loved Lanie's expletives, they made me chuckle, they really did. I loved that Charlie was quick to try to appease the grumpy neighbour by keeping quiet first thing in the morning, but also that it enabled Charlie to refind his joy at using his grandad's hand tools.
I LOVED the thing with the grandmas! I must admit, I saw that coming at me a mile off, but I didn't quite see it going down like that and Charlie and Lanie finding out in the manner they did.
It's not overly explicit, but then again, Pratt's work never is, but it's not about that. Its about the getting to know someone, and the falling in love with someone. It's about the emotions involved in a new relationship, for Charlie especially here rather than the physical aspect.
And OH!!
That cover is just PERFECT! I love the covers this author uses, I really do.
A thoroughly enjoyable 4 star read.
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated From Blood and Ash (Blood and Ash #1) in Books
Jan 25, 2022
Surprisingly Good *Not The Teen Novel It Is Made Out To Be....Adult Content*
To start out with potential readers need to be aware that this book and in fact the entire series is apparently considered to be teen novels. In fact, I pulled it from the front shelf in the teen section of my local library. While as a teen reading explicit materials was not a problem for me and my parents were ok with it as well I do recognize the fact that there are many parents who would not appreciate their teens reading the kind of content this book contains. The fact that nowhere on the book's cover or on its GoodReads or Amazon profile does it state that this should be for mature readers only is concerning. When I say that this book is explicit I mean that there are quite a few "adult situations" that are described in detail in which that detail is not necessary to carry the plotline along even if the occurrence of the situation does. You have been warned...
Moving on
So the only reason why I read this book is that the third book in the series "The Crown of Guilded Bones" was ranked very high on GoodReads. In fact, I believe it actually ranked in the 2021 books of the year. Anyway, the third book sounded great so I went back and started the series from the beginning.
This book follows the life of Poppy AKA The Maden. Being named the Maiden is supposed to be a huge honor but it comes with a lot of strict rules that make it feel more like a punishment than anything else. Unsurprisingly Poppy comes to find that the world she lives in is not at all what she thinks it to be and must face hard truths as she races to the capital of her land to be protected from the Atlantians but is that really what is happening?
This book offers a surprisingly unique look at some classic fantasy themes, characters, and creatures. There is very little that is as it seems and there are so many twists that it will make the reader pause to process the new direction the story moves in every few chapters. While it isn't exactly a short book this is almost guaranteed to be a quick read because you are not going to want to put it down.
Moving on
So the only reason why I read this book is that the third book in the series "The Crown of Guilded Bones" was ranked very high on GoodReads. In fact, I believe it actually ranked in the 2021 books of the year. Anyway, the third book sounded great so I went back and started the series from the beginning.
This book follows the life of Poppy AKA The Maden. Being named the Maiden is supposed to be a huge honor but it comes with a lot of strict rules that make it feel more like a punishment than anything else. Unsurprisingly Poppy comes to find that the world she lives in is not at all what she thinks it to be and must face hard truths as she races to the capital of her land to be protected from the Atlantians but is that really what is happening?
This book offers a surprisingly unique look at some classic fantasy themes, characters, and creatures. There is very little that is as it seems and there are so many twists that it will make the reader pause to process the new direction the story moves in every few chapters. While it isn't exactly a short book this is almost guaranteed to be a quick read because you are not going to want to put it down.
Sam (74 KP) rated It Started With A Tweet in Books
Mar 27, 2019
Phone addict Daisy will do anything for a like on social media. She shares almost everything from her life and exaggerates about all of it too. It’s a good skill to have when your job is to run the social media of a company, not so good when you accidentally send an explicit tweet through your company’s account rather than your own.
Daisy’s life is turned upside-down. She is sacked from her job after her tweet goes viral, and hopeless that she will find another place willing to take her. A digital detox is just what she needs. She goes to stay at a farm her sister Rosie has bought and helps her renovate it, meeting some interesting people along the way.
It Started With A Tweet reminded me of Cecelia Ahern and Sophie Kinsella, so it was right up my street. It’s lighthearted and laugh-out-loud funny and overall a really entertaining read. Daisy’s constant comments made me giggle and she was such a lifelike character.
It was also interesting to read someone going through a digital detox because I know for sure that I wouldn’t be able to just stop using my phone and my laptop. My life is social media, so I have a real understanding of Daisy’s character.
Daisy’s life is turned upside-down. She is sacked from her job after her tweet goes viral, and hopeless that she will find another place willing to take her. A digital detox is just what she needs. She goes to stay at a farm her sister Rosie has bought and helps her renovate it, meeting some interesting people along the way.
It Started With A Tweet reminded me of Cecelia Ahern and Sophie Kinsella, so it was right up my street. It’s lighthearted and laugh-out-loud funny and overall a really entertaining read. Daisy’s constant comments made me giggle and she was such a lifelike character.
It was also interesting to read someone going through a digital detox because I know for sure that I wouldn’t be able to just stop using my phone and my laptop. My life is social media, so I have a real understanding of Daisy’s character.
Debbiereadsbook (1087 KP) rated The Accidental Baker in Books
May 30, 2019
pure sugar!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
A short review for a short book, only 5 chapters, 64 pages, took me about 40 minutes to read.
Some chocolate eggs and bunnies escape and find their way into the lives for four men, who each find love.
This book is PURE sugar! It's so bloody SWEET, your teeth will rot but I LOVED it!
I will usually say that I prefer my books on the more explicit/sexy side, but this particular book is almost clean, just some kissing and some talk about what one character wants to do. CLEAN and I loved that it was!
I've only read another short by London, and loved that too, but now I want to read something longer, more in depth book. I like the way she spins her tales, I really do.
This book landed on my kindle at 9am. It was read by 10am. I hadn't moved out my pit, I'm full of a cold but this book made me feel a little better, about myself and the world.
So, thank you Ms London, this dollop of sugar set me up for the day!
4 solid stars.
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
A short review for a short book, only 5 chapters, 64 pages, took me about 40 minutes to read.
Some chocolate eggs and bunnies escape and find their way into the lives for four men, who each find love.
This book is PURE sugar! It's so bloody SWEET, your teeth will rot but I LOVED it!
I will usually say that I prefer my books on the more explicit/sexy side, but this particular book is almost clean, just some kissing and some talk about what one character wants to do. CLEAN and I loved that it was!
I've only read another short by London, and loved that too, but now I want to read something longer, more in depth book. I like the way she spins her tales, I really do.
This book landed on my kindle at 9am. It was read by 10am. I hadn't moved out my pit, I'm full of a cold but this book made me feel a little better, about myself and the world.
So, thank you Ms London, this dollop of sugar set me up for the day!
4 solid stars.
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Awix (3310 KP) rated Godzilla (1954) in Movies
Mar 24, 2018 (Updated Mar 24, 2018)
The very first Godzilla movie is essentially an unlicensed remake of Eugene Lourie's The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, with a prehistoric monster roused by atomic testing and going on the rampage - but being a bit worried about atom bombs is clearly not the same thing as actually having them used on your country, for this movie has a dark, traumatised quality to it completely absent from American monster movies.
The sequences with the human characters have that slightly melodramatic, soap-opera-ish feel to them common to many B-movies, but the actual monster attacks are astonishingly bleak and explicit about the massive body-count left in Godzilla's wake. You get a strong sense of a country left reeling, struggling to come to terms with why this catastrophe has been visited on them (the movie reflects the widespread Japanese belief that the country was a victim of the second world war, not an aggressor).
It's quite hard to compare this to most of the subsequent films, for this is obviously a much more serious parable. Some of the melodramatic plotting lets it down a bit, and the climax is rather disappointing given the strength of the earlier set pieces. But it's clear why people are still making movies about Godzilla nearly sixty-five years later.
The sequences with the human characters have that slightly melodramatic, soap-opera-ish feel to them common to many B-movies, but the actual monster attacks are astonishingly bleak and explicit about the massive body-count left in Godzilla's wake. You get a strong sense of a country left reeling, struggling to come to terms with why this catastrophe has been visited on them (the movie reflects the widespread Japanese belief that the country was a victim of the second world war, not an aggressor).
It's quite hard to compare this to most of the subsequent films, for this is obviously a much more serious parable. Some of the melodramatic plotting lets it down a bit, and the climax is rather disappointing given the strength of the earlier set pieces. But it's clear why people are still making movies about Godzilla nearly sixty-five years later.
Lenard (726 KP) rated Mank (2020) in Movies
Dec 6, 2020
David Fincher has spent two decades working to adapt his father's screenplay about Herman Mankiewicz. He succeeded in a major triumph. Gary Oldman plays the alcoholic washed up screenwriter hired by New York wunderkind Orson Welles to write the first draft of the screenplay for his first film. The resulting film, Citizen Kane, would change moviemaking for generations even if the battle to get it made, released, and seen lasted two industry cycles.
Mank is a wonder to behold technically. The production design, editing, and cinematography takes you back to an earlier Hollywood era. Its use of flashback, mirroring Kane, fills in the blank as to how Mank was in this world and why he was willing to burn it. The movie even foreshadows events that would.shape the screenplay Mank is writing.
My greatest pleasure was how its relevance continues today, but without the explicit shoutouts or manipulation of events. Do you know the parable of the organ grinder's monkey? If you don't, Mank tells you, but never exposes the reason it resonates. Also, even if you have seen other works about WRH, you still learn more about him. Mank is great and will get many Oscar nominations. Amanda Seyfried gives Marion Davies the star turn she never had in life.
Mank is a wonder to behold technically. The production design, editing, and cinematography takes you back to an earlier Hollywood era. Its use of flashback, mirroring Kane, fills in the blank as to how Mank was in this world and why he was willing to burn it. The movie even foreshadows events that would.shape the screenplay Mank is writing.
My greatest pleasure was how its relevance continues today, but without the explicit shoutouts or manipulation of events. Do you know the parable of the organ grinder's monkey? If you don't, Mank tells you, but never exposes the reason it resonates. Also, even if you have seen other works about WRH, you still learn more about him. Mank is great and will get many Oscar nominations. Amanda Seyfried gives Marion Davies the star turn she never had in life.
Kim Pook (101 KP) rated The Wrong Missy (2020) in Movies
May 20, 2020
Annoyingly awesome
Contains spoilers, click to show
OK so I know it's the whole point of the movie, but the first missy Tim meets is scratch your eyes out annoying and quite frankly I would have climbed through the window to escape her too, as much as she was annoying though I did find her funny. The second missy which he meets at the airport seems perfect for him, neither of them drink, they both have the same bag and read the same book. They exchange numbers and are soon texting each other. To me though it was obvious throughout their texting that he was texting the first missy,especially when she asks for an explicit photo! How did he not realise?? Anyway he invites her along to his work retreat for the weekend, and it's when she turns up on his flight that he then realised he text the wrong missy. Obviously given the title of the movie that's hardly a surprise but he knew he was in for a shocker of a weekend. The movie is full of laughs throughout, and I love that you get to see that even though missy is crazy she is also human. If you love happy madison movies, you won't be disappointed.
Debbiereadsbook (1087 KP) rated Coming Out on the Field: A Lesbian Romance in Books
Dec 15, 2022
short and sweet
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
I'm gonna keep this short and sweet, just like the book.
I liked the tale, for the most part. Given the page count, a lot is packed in, but thought so much more could have been made of Dee's parents and how they are. A longer book could have lend itself to a much deeper insight into them and what they would do to Dee.
I didn't feel much of a connection to either Dee or Sara. And I didn't think it at all explicit. Might have even enjoyed it more had it come out clean, to be honest.
But the thing that I struggled the most with was the changing point of view. There is no gap in some places. You are literally reading from Dee's point of view and the next sentence, it's Sara's, often in the same paragraph. I'm all for everyone having a say, but a clear indication of change is needed, even if it's JUST a paragraph break.
A short and sweet read, but not one that pushed any of my buttons.
3 stars, cos I did finish it.
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
I'm gonna keep this short and sweet, just like the book.
I liked the tale, for the most part. Given the page count, a lot is packed in, but thought so much more could have been made of Dee's parents and how they are. A longer book could have lend itself to a much deeper insight into them and what they would do to Dee.
I didn't feel much of a connection to either Dee or Sara. And I didn't think it at all explicit. Might have even enjoyed it more had it come out clean, to be honest.
But the thing that I struggled the most with was the changing point of view. There is no gap in some places. You are literally reading from Dee's point of view and the next sentence, it's Sara's, often in the same paragraph. I'm all for everyone having a say, but a clear indication of change is needed, even if it's JUST a paragraph break.
A short and sweet read, but not one that pushed any of my buttons.
3 stars, cos I did finish it.
*same worded review will appear elsewhere