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Georgia Hubley recommended The Silence of the Lambs (1991) in Movies (curated)
CHILLFILTR (46 KP) rated Upside Down by Matt Shill in Music
Jul 11, 2019
He says his foundation is all rock and soul but we also hear some deep folk roots. Matt Shill is a singer-songwriter from New York, currently based in Miami, Florida. He has a great falsetto, and something about this groove gets me giddy; the 6/8 is so fast you sort of miss it until you are forced to wonder where the snare hits are coming from. It's like an audio version of Where's Waldo, and it's just fun.
This song is a journey through somewhere we've never been. It feels Raphael Saadiq at the same time it feels like Damien Rice; this is modern music at it's best: true synthesis between roots of folk, soul, and rock with a strong voice, good polish, and some elements of surprise.
This song is a journey through somewhere we've never been. It feels Raphael Saadiq at the same time it feels like Damien Rice; this is modern music at it's best: true synthesis between roots of folk, soul, and rock with a strong voice, good polish, and some elements of surprise.
AJaneClark (3962 KP) rated The Girl Beneath the Sea in Books
Apr 24, 2020
Florida diver and police officer Sloan is thrown headlong into a messy case when she emerges from the water to find a the dead body of someone she knew. Alongside disgraced officer Solar, Sloan must learn who to trust, keep herself and her family safe and solve this case.
I struggled when deciding the rating as I have rather mixed views. I struggled to motivate myself to carry on reading after I had put the book down, and then when I was reading it struggled to put it down! The novel itself is well written, however I find that some of the decisions the characters made were, maybe unrealistic or definitely stupid. The main character is very likeable, but over the top. It was overall an enjoyable read, but ended abruptly after a long build up.
I struggled when deciding the rating as I have rather mixed views. I struggled to motivate myself to carry on reading after I had put the book down, and then when I was reading it struggled to put it down! The novel itself is well written, however I find that some of the decisions the characters made were, maybe unrealistic or definitely stupid. The main character is very likeable, but over the top. It was overall an enjoyable read, but ended abruptly after a long build up.
Kevin Murphy recommended Miami Connection (2012) in Movies (curated)
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2067 KP) rated And Then There Were Crumbs in Books
Nov 22, 2019
Unfortunately, the Mystery Got Crumbs
Looking for a fresh start, Kate McGuire packs up and moves from New York City to Coral Cay, Florida, where she lands a job working at The Cookie House. On her first day on the job, Stewart Lord stalks into the bakery. He is a real estate developer who has decided to buy up Coral Cay and turn the entire island into a resort for the rich and famous, and he has The Cookie House in his sites as his first purchase. He makes the owner, Sam, a rock bottom offer, but only leaves with some cinnamon rolls he demanded from Sam. A few hours later, Stewart is dead, and Sam’s cinnamon rolls are the culprit. The police arrest Sam, but Kate doesn’t think her new boss is a killer. Can she prove he didn’t poison Stewart?
Between the fact that this is a culinary cozy and it is set in the Florida Keys, I was ready to sit back and enjoy. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. I was captivated at first. The setting is very real and fun and comes to life. Kate quickly makes a lot of fantastic friends, and I enjoyed hanging out with all of them. The further I went into the book, the more frustrated I became with the pacing of the mystery. We spend significantly more time watching Kate work to save and transform the bakery while Sam is in jail than we do getting clues to who might have killed Stewart. It’s a shame because there is a good mystery here; we just needed more of it. All the baking certainly made me hungry for bread and cookies, but there aren’t any recipes at the end of this book. Plenty of people seem to love this book, so if the premise interests you, I recommend you pick it up and judge the results for yourself.
Between the fact that this is a culinary cozy and it is set in the Florida Keys, I was ready to sit back and enjoy. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations. I was captivated at first. The setting is very real and fun and comes to life. Kate quickly makes a lot of fantastic friends, and I enjoyed hanging out with all of them. The further I went into the book, the more frustrated I became with the pacing of the mystery. We spend significantly more time watching Kate work to save and transform the bakery while Sam is in jail than we do getting clues to who might have killed Stewart. It’s a shame because there is a good mystery here; we just needed more of it. All the baking certainly made me hungry for bread and cookies, but there aren’t any recipes at the end of this book. Plenty of people seem to love this book, so if the premise interests you, I recommend you pick it up and judge the results for yourself.
AT (1676 KP) rated Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther in Books
Feb 15, 2020
I ran across Cat Tale on the New Books shelf at my library. I had no real interest in the subject prior to seeing the cute picture on the cover, along with the bright color scheme. I was also drawn to the word, "Weird," in the title. I flipped the book over, and read the praised reviews on the back, so I decided to give the book a try. I'm so glad that I did! Number one, I live in Florida, but am a transplant from the north. So I see a lot of names on counties, streets, schools, etc., and know them from that, but not from what any of the people or places were involved with in their day. So I did get a little basic name history while reading, which was an added bonus.
The book, itself, reads like a fiction novel. Plus, it's pretty funny throughout, which made it that much more enjoyable! I kept looking names and events up to make sure that they were real when the book seemed too fictional. (They were real.) It's amazing how messed up the whole process got while trying to save the species, and how such a small number of people can end up being so detrimental to any project. There were some unforgettable characters (again, real people!) that assisted Florida during this process. I quickly was drawn to the story and information. To me, it ended up being wildly interesting. Without ruining the details for you, I realize that any non-fiction account needs to be taken with an open mind and a grain of salt at times. However, everything that I questioned was information that could be found easily. I wish more non-fiction books were written for smooth reading like Cat Tale was. Craig Pittman took a potentially dry, possibly boring subject, and made it very engaging all the way through. It's definitely worth reading, if you're even the least bit curious. (Or, if you simply like the cover picture and color scheme!)
The book, itself, reads like a fiction novel. Plus, it's pretty funny throughout, which made it that much more enjoyable! I kept looking names and events up to make sure that they were real when the book seemed too fictional. (They were real.) It's amazing how messed up the whole process got while trying to save the species, and how such a small number of people can end up being so detrimental to any project. There were some unforgettable characters (again, real people!) that assisted Florida during this process. I quickly was drawn to the story and information. To me, it ended up being wildly interesting. Without ruining the details for you, I realize that any non-fiction account needs to be taken with an open mind and a grain of salt at times. However, everything that I questioned was information that could be found easily. I wish more non-fiction books were written for smooth reading like Cat Tale was. Craig Pittman took a potentially dry, possibly boring subject, and made it very engaging all the way through. It's definitely worth reading, if you're even the least bit curious. (Or, if you simply like the cover picture and color scheme!)
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated American War in Books
Oct 3, 2017
Epic novel about the Second American Civil War
Throughout the entire time reading this, all I could think of is the fact that this would look amazing as a TV series. This dystopian novel explores how the north and south of the United States are divided in the latter half of the 21st century after fossil fuels are banned due to extreme flooding in Florida.
It is written in the perspective of a dying historian in the 22nd century, attempting to recollect the role of his aunt, who essentially was leading the insurgency against the north. She was as much a victim as aggressor in this novel, being groomed as a child soldier and being tortured in prison as a young adult. In the background, a rising Pan-Arab empire helps stoke the fires in the US.
It is slow but relentless, and rather fitting for what is currently happening all over the world. A fascinating read indeed.
It is written in the perspective of a dying historian in the 22nd century, attempting to recollect the role of his aunt, who essentially was leading the insurgency against the north. She was as much a victim as aggressor in this novel, being groomed as a child soldier and being tortured in prison as a young adult. In the background, a rising Pan-Arab empire helps stoke the fires in the US.
It is slow but relentless, and rather fitting for what is currently happening all over the world. A fascinating read indeed.
Lindsay (1693 KP) rated The Promise of Palm Grove (Amish Brides of Pinecraft, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2018
The Promise of Palm Grove by Shelley Shepard Gray This book it really a good book. Though I did not finish it completely. I did read most of the book. I liked the fact it somewhat different then other amish book. Edmund is a little bully and wants his own way.Leona has been doubting herself about her marriage or engagement to Edmund. She does not know how to tell her friends about it. On the first day in Florida they meet up with Zachary and his friends Danny. They are trying to catch a cat for his neighbor.The girls follow and see them all laughing. The cat goes over to Leona. She able to pick up the cat. Things start to get some action and friendships. Does Leona break it up with Edmund or does she stay with him? Leona must decide to choose her path for a future she wants or what god wants of her.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2067 KP) rated The Syndrome (Kingdom Keepers, #7.5) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
When Amanda can’t reach any of the Kingdom Keepers for a few days, she travels from California to Florida to try to find them – only when she arrives, she discovers it is worse than she feared. Meanwhile, Jess is having visions again that show Amanda might be in danger. What is going on?
How could this DisNerd not love this series, and the transition book to a new story is filled once again with twists, danger, and lots of fun. The scenes in the parks are exceptionally well done as always, plus I felt that we really got to know Amanda and Jess in this book. The first person narration does alternate between several people, and it works well, although at times I feel like it needlessly repeats scenes. My biggest complaint is sloppy editing, however.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/08/book-review-syndrome-by-ridley-pearson.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
How could this DisNerd not love this series, and the transition book to a new story is filled once again with twists, danger, and lots of fun. The scenes in the parks are exceptionally well done as always, plus I felt that we really got to know Amanda and Jess in this book. The first person narration does alternate between several people, and it works well, although at times I feel like it needlessly repeats scenes. My biggest complaint is sloppy editing, however.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/08/book-review-syndrome-by-ridley-pearson.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
AJaneClark (3962 KP) rated Crawl (2019) in Movies
Jan 2, 2020
Florida, hurricane season! When dad wasn’t answering his phone, Hayley’s sister pleaded for her to go and check on him.
Hayley drove to her old family home to find dad unconscious in the crawl space underneath the building. But he was not alone! Alligators from the local alligator farm (as an English person, I don’t understand this concept) has managed to access this sub level and were causing some trouble!
Water levels were beginning to rise, and their time was running out! What follows is a loop of escape and then more gator run ins.
I expected a little more from this film, but as a fan of shoddy animal related, creature feature horrors, whilst it didn’t wow me, it was not boring! I had issues with how unrealistic they were acting dispute their injuries. The gators were mostly realistic. And the acting wasn’t awful. It was just a very middle of the range film.
Hayley drove to her old family home to find dad unconscious in the crawl space underneath the building. But he was not alone! Alligators from the local alligator farm (as an English person, I don’t understand this concept) has managed to access this sub level and were causing some trouble!
Water levels were beginning to rise, and their time was running out! What follows is a loop of escape and then more gator run ins.
I expected a little more from this film, but as a fan of shoddy animal related, creature feature horrors, whilst it didn’t wow me, it was not boring! I had issues with how unrealistic they were acting dispute their injuries. The gators were mostly realistic. And the acting wasn’t awful. It was just a very middle of the range film.