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Chris Hooker (419 KP) rated Ship Ablaze:The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum in Books
Dec 30, 2017
A Timely Tale
This was a good book about a little known tragedy. The General Slocum was a steamer that traveled on the rivers that surrounded New York City. Often these ships were used by groups for excursions to the shore or picnic areas up river. On June 15, 1904 a German church group had booked passage. It was mainly women and children.
As the book title suggest the worst thing that could happen on a ship did when it caught on fire. The early 1900's were still a time of corruption and profit over safety. This helped lead to the deaths of over 1,000 people.
The story in this book is a timely warning to us as safety laws are rolled back for profits. It was a well written and researched tale. We need to heed the warnings of our past so as not to repeat them with larger tragedies.
As the book title suggest the worst thing that could happen on a ship did when it caught on fire. The early 1900's were still a time of corruption and profit over safety. This helped lead to the deaths of over 1,000 people.
The story in this book is a timely warning to us as safety laws are rolled back for profits. It was a well written and researched tale. We need to heed the warnings of our past so as not to repeat them with larger tragedies.
RachelReads (74 KP) rated A Court of Mist and Fury in Books
May 24, 2017
THE HIGH LORD OF THE NIGHT COURT (2 more)
RHYSAND
JUST THE NIGHT COURT IN GENERAL
LIFE CHANGING
I am obsessed. This book has instantly become my all time favourite book. I don't know how Sarah J Maas does it, but she creates such amazing characters, you have no choice but to fall in love with them. I didn't know I needed this book until after I had read it.
We are introduced to so many new characters, with such complex backgrounds and offer so much to the plot. ACOMAF is a huge step up from ACOTAR, there is so much character development and world building. There were some aspects of the book that weren't flushed out to my liking, but it was only minor details.
Definitely pick up this book if you've already read ACOTAR. I wasn't a huge fan of the series, but this book will make you fall in love with the world and all the characters!
We are introduced to so many new characters, with such complex backgrounds and offer so much to the plot. ACOMAF is a huge step up from ACOTAR, there is so much character development and world building. There were some aspects of the book that weren't flushed out to my liking, but it was only minor details.
Definitely pick up this book if you've already read ACOTAR. I wasn't a huge fan of the series, but this book will make you fall in love with the world and all the characters!
Alison Pink (7 KP) rated Ten Big Ones (Stephanie Plum, #10) in Books
Jan 15, 2018
Another gem by Janet Evanovich. I am SO addicted to this series that it isn't even funny!
In this installment Stephanie finds herself standing next to an armed robber when he takes his mask off making her the only person in Trenton who knows the identity of the "Red Devil." Go figure! Of course the Red Devil turns out to be a member of the Comstock Street Slayers who are in the process of initiating a new general. They decide to make Stephanie the final target of his coronation. Needless to say, hilarity ensues, but this book was pretty suspensful too. Plum is always getting herself into stiky situations, but this one was only the 2nd situation that stressed me out as a reader.
Obviously I knew she would make it out of the book alive since there are 7 more books in the series. That didn't stop me from worrying though. The mark of a great book!
In this installment Stephanie finds herself standing next to an armed robber when he takes his mask off making her the only person in Trenton who knows the identity of the "Red Devil." Go figure! Of course the Red Devil turns out to be a member of the Comstock Street Slayers who are in the process of initiating a new general. They decide to make Stephanie the final target of his coronation. Needless to say, hilarity ensues, but this book was pretty suspensful too. Plum is always getting herself into stiky situations, but this one was only the 2nd situation that stressed me out as a reader.
Obviously I knew she would make it out of the book alive since there are 7 more books in the series. That didn't stop me from worrying though. The mark of a great book!
Paige (428 KP) rated The Art Book in Books
Jul 28, 2017
Great for beginners and fledgling art history buffs.
So this book has artist in alphabetical order, one per page. On each page, there is an example of their work and a small snippet of biography and explanation of the piece.
Simple idea, brilliant entrance to art for someone who doesn't know where to begin.
This helped me study it in a general way as a teen. I got familiar with some of what I liked. It made me comfortable with art in a lot of ways. It expanded my horizons and made me less intimidated by the vastness of all I had to learn.
There is a series of these- The 20th Century Art Book, The Photography Book, and The American Art Book (for some reason they changed the format on this particular one and made it sort of useless)
Simple idea, brilliant entrance to art for someone who doesn't know where to begin.
This helped me study it in a general way as a teen. I got familiar with some of what I liked. It made me comfortable with art in a lot of ways. It expanded my horizons and made me less intimidated by the vastness of all I had to learn.
There is a series of these- The 20th Century Art Book, The Photography Book, and The American Art Book (for some reason they changed the format on this particular one and made it sort of useless)
Mekkin B. (122 KP) rated Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal #1) in Books
Sep 13, 2017
Fabulous Magical Regency Romp
Sorcerer to the Crown is a Regency era fantasy novel packed with romance, mystery, and adventure. Fans of historial fiction and gaslamp fantasy like Jonathan Strange & Mister Norell, the Chrestomanci series, or A Great and Terrible Beauty will enjoy this romantic romp through an alternative London where magic is a gentleman's sport and issues of race, class, and gender are as worrying as the general decline of magic in England.
Zacharias Wythe charms as the stoic Sorcerer Royal and Prunella Gentleman, the snarky orphan with a troubling amount of magical talent, is easily his match. The relationship between the two has a Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet quality that still manages to feel fresh and unique.
Cho has crafted a wonderful fantasy world replete with interesting characters and intriguing mysteries, it's easy to see why this book gained a nomination for 2016's Locus Award for Best First Novel.
Zacharias Wythe charms as the stoic Sorcerer Royal and Prunella Gentleman, the snarky orphan with a troubling amount of magical talent, is easily his match. The relationship between the two has a Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet quality that still manages to feel fresh and unique.
Cho has crafted a wonderful fantasy world replete with interesting characters and intriguing mysteries, it's easy to see why this book gained a nomination for 2016's Locus Award for Best First Novel.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated A Catch in Time in Books
Apr 27, 2018
The thing about a book is that it has to draw you in, then hook you, and make you want to read it. A Catch in Time was the kind that scared you into reading further, twisted your mind, and made you avoid it. Would it make sense to say that for this reason it was both good and bad?
Every time I opened this book, I had trouble putting it down. I liked it a lot--except for the writing and the characters. The writing was full of fragments and, in general, mediocre. I despise the characters. Few of them have any redeeming qualities, and after 100 pages half of them are not developed well enough to know them very well or be individual personalities. But the only character I like is the dog.
Maybe horror isn't my genre? Or maybe it was the fragments. repeated and pointless fragments. that got to me.
Every time I opened this book, I had trouble putting it down. I liked it a lot--except for the writing and the characters. The writing was full of fragments and, in general, mediocre. I despise the characters. Few of them have any redeeming qualities, and after 100 pages half of them are not developed well enough to know them very well or be individual personalities. But the only character I like is the dog.
Maybe horror isn't my genre? Or maybe it was the fragments. repeated and pointless fragments. that got to me.
MissCagey (2652 KP) rated Wonder Woman (2017) in Movies
May 2, 2018
I really don't understand all the great reviews this film is getting. I am not a comic book hero fan in general but this was one I was so excited to watch as I LOVED the Wonder Woman tv show when I was younger. I wanted to be Wonder Woman, I dressed as her for a fancy dress....I thought she was AMAZING! When she spun around into her costume, the primary colours, the excitement....just brilliant. And then we have this shambles of a film to honour her, oh dear.
Her costume is drab, the cinematography is drab (other than Themyscira), the story is boring, Gal Gadot can't pick an accent she wants to use the whole way through, the villain is crap, her morals flip flop- she hates war and cries about it and then brings down a church (which contained one sniper) not caring if there are any civilians around, blah blah blah. So disappointing.
Her costume is drab, the cinematography is drab (other than Themyscira), the story is boring, Gal Gadot can't pick an accent she wants to use the whole way through, the villain is crap, her morals flip flop- she hates war and cries about it and then brings down a church (which contained one sniper) not caring if there are any civilians around, blah blah blah. So disappointing.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated The Death Of Stalin (2017) in Movies
Feb 10, 2019
Needs more Jason Isaacs
This film has one of the best ensemble casts I've seen in a long time. There are some fantastic actors in this from both sides of the pond, and there isn't a single one that I'd criticise. The film itself isn't hilarious, but it is pretty funny and raises quite a few laughs. Its an ingeniously satirical take on the death of Stalin, and I'd love to see similar historical events re-enacted in the same manner, as it'd make them a lot more entertaining. It flits from scene to scene very quickly & it can be a little difficult to follow what's going on, but I don't think that really matters. For me though, the best thing about this film was Jason Isaacs. His general with a Yorkshire accent was absolutely hilarious, and I just wish he'd been in this film a lot more, as I probably would've rated it higher if he was.
Ashley Valencia (5 KP) rated Christopher Robin (2018) in Movies
Mar 31, 2019
Surprisingly Good
I was very pleasantly surprised by this film. Disney's live action remakes have been pretty disappointing to me, in general. But this one was very well made. I think they did a great job incorporating the fantasy characters into the real life world of post war England.
Ewan McGregor plays a grown up Christopher Robin who most people will be able to relate to. He's trying to find balance between his work and home life and finds himself coming up short on both sides. He's stressed and has put aside childish things to focus on trying to be a competent adult.
Then he gets a visit from a few almost forgotten childhood friends and learns to loosen up a little and see things differently. It's a wonderfully told story and I was so glad that the original voice actor was brought back. It just wouldn't have been Winnie the Pooh without Jim Cummings.
Ewan McGregor plays a grown up Christopher Robin who most people will be able to relate to. He's trying to find balance between his work and home life and finds himself coming up short on both sides. He's stressed and has put aside childish things to focus on trying to be a competent adult.
Then he gets a visit from a few almost forgotten childhood friends and learns to loosen up a little and see things differently. It's a wonderfully told story and I was so glad that the original voice actor was brought back. It just wouldn't have been Winnie the Pooh without Jim Cummings.
Glen Banyard (13 KP) rated X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) in Movies
Jun 9, 2019
Action scenes (1 more)
Story
Underwhelming end to the arc
So after X-Men First Class we got Days of Future Past, which led to Apocalypse, and now Dark Phoenix, While the first three were good entertaining movies, and even though Apocalypse wasn't the strongest it still entertained, and the came Darl Phoenix, which is sadly and wholly underwhelming 1 hour 54 minutes.
Sophie Turner should have shined in the film, the performance felt stilted and in place, painful to watch, the knock on effect from this, you feel no empathy for Jean Grey.
One scene is more laughable than tense when Jean/Dark Phoenix with with Erik/Magneto.
As the house of mouse now owns Fox I suspect a reboot may not be as far away with, on general, Disney / Marvel knowing how to do a great superhero movie.
The best bot about this film ? the badges you can get at Frankie and Benny's
Sophie Turner should have shined in the film, the performance felt stilted and in place, painful to watch, the knock on effect from this, you feel no empathy for Jean Grey.
One scene is more laughable than tense when Jean/Dark Phoenix with with Erik/Magneto.
As the house of mouse now owns Fox I suspect a reboot may not be as far away with, on general, Disney / Marvel knowing how to do a great superhero movie.
The best bot about this film ? the badges you can get at Frankie and Benny's