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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated So You Want to Talk About Race in Books
Mar 2, 2018 (Updated Mar 2, 2018)
Excellent, points are absolutely spot on
There has been a spate of incredible literature from African American writers, and this book in particular, stands out because of its instructional, informative guide on tackling racism as a topic.
From discussing how to approach the subject with others, to giving direct instructions for those who are willing to learn to change, there are few books out there that are as useful as Ijeoma Oluo's step by step process.
Most of all, the introduction of intersectionality, micro-aggressions and the myth of the model migrant is absolutely vital. It is one of the only books on racism I've seen in mainstream literature, that tackles issues faced by other races such as the East Asian and South Asian communities, bringing together a more diverse portrayal rather than just black, white and Hispanic.
Her own personal views are wonderful - the chapter on her 8-year-old son's choice to not pledge allegiance is utterly heartfelt, and yet she handles the situation very well. An absolute essential read.
From discussing how to approach the subject with others, to giving direct instructions for those who are willing to learn to change, there are few books out there that are as useful as Ijeoma Oluo's step by step process.
Most of all, the introduction of intersectionality, micro-aggressions and the myth of the model migrant is absolutely vital. It is one of the only books on racism I've seen in mainstream literature, that tackles issues faced by other races such as the East Asian and South Asian communities, bringing together a more diverse portrayal rather than just black, white and Hispanic.
Her own personal views are wonderful - the chapter on her 8-year-old son's choice to not pledge allegiance is utterly heartfelt, and yet she handles the situation very well. An absolute essential read.
Lucy L (0 KP) rated The Essex Serpent in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Intriguing gothic drama
I’d wanted to read this for a while based purely on the glorious cover. It was a very pleasant gothic Victorian novel with the very intriguing mysetery of the Fabled Essex serpent weaving it’s way through. However it’s main focus is the interactions between the main characters and the enormous impact that each has on the others lives over the course of a year, predominantly for the worse.
It is a beautifully written novel and the detail is gorgeous, but at times it felt slow with little to hold my attention. I found myself skimming ahead sometimes. The characters weren’t always relatable and I didn’t feel any great connection to any of them. The promises of the Essex serpent itself is handled well and used expertly to draw out everyone’s heightened fears feeding off their own misdeeds.
I would still recommend this book. Just maybe not for anyone looking for a rousing novel. However a calm afternoon with a pot of tea to yourself it’s worth giving it a go.
It is a beautifully written novel and the detail is gorgeous, but at times it felt slow with little to hold my attention. I found myself skimming ahead sometimes. The characters weren’t always relatable and I didn’t feel any great connection to any of them. The promises of the Essex serpent itself is handled well and used expertly to draw out everyone’s heightened fears feeding off their own misdeeds.
I would still recommend this book. Just maybe not for anyone looking for a rousing novel. However a calm afternoon with a pot of tea to yourself it’s worth giving it a go.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Quatermass and the Pit (1967) in Movies
Feb 13, 2018
The best of the Quatermass films keeps all the unsettling ideas of Nigel Kneale's original TV scripts and adds Hammer's talent for coming up with smart casting and polished production values. Weird projectile turns up buried under London; the authorities initially assume it's an unexploded bomb from the Second World War, but the presence of fossil ape skeletons in and around the object indicates otherwise, as does a history of hauntings in the area going back hundreds of years. Professor Quatermass begins to suspect that this is a relic of a highly unusual alien invasion that happened before man had even evolved...
Pretty much a perfect fusion of horror and science fiction, giving a convincing extraterrestrial rationale for various paranormal and demonic phenomena; thoughtful and disturbing rather than actually scary. Andrew Keir rocks the joint as Professor Q but is well-supported by everyone else. The sequence in which London is transformed in the final reel is also very well done. Sets the standard for intelligent British SF movies; rather influential in its own way, too.
Pretty much a perfect fusion of horror and science fiction, giving a convincing extraterrestrial rationale for various paranormal and demonic phenomena; thoughtful and disturbing rather than actually scary. Andrew Keir rocks the joint as Professor Q but is well-supported by everyone else. The sequence in which London is transformed in the final reel is also very well done. Sets the standard for intelligent British SF movies; rather influential in its own way, too.
Lindsay (1717 KP) rated The Spectacular World of Waldorf: Mr. Waldorf Travels to the Wild State of Alaska in Books
Feb 15, 2018 (Updated Apr 9, 2019)
This is a great book for young readers. This is good for parents to help struggling readers with this book. It teaches about the places around the USA and the World. This one get you to explore Alaska and it wild life. If your family or children are into animals, this would be a good book for them.
The pictures are done wonderfully. The author will get readers engaged with this set of book. I got the 4 books that's are out for this series. Your children will learn about the state of Alaska. The author does wonderful giving you different things in this book. The way the author has Mr. Waldorf travel in this book makes it quite run and enjoyable.
This is good for adventurous children. The pup in the book whose name is Mr. Waldorf seem to lose this reading glasses. Your children will laugh and learn at the same time. To me the age is good for children as young as age 3 to beginner readers.
The pictures are done wonderfully. The author will get readers engaged with this set of book. I got the 4 books that's are out for this series. Your children will learn about the state of Alaska. The author does wonderful giving you different things in this book. The way the author has Mr. Waldorf travel in this book makes it quite run and enjoyable.
This is good for adventurous children. The pup in the book whose name is Mr. Waldorf seem to lose this reading glasses. Your children will laugh and learn at the same time. To me the age is good for children as young as age 3 to beginner readers.
Lindsay (1717 KP) rated Abigail And The North Pole Adventure in Books
Feb 15, 2018
Abigail and the North Pole Adventure by Tali Carmi This is another quick read. It good for children. Children learn to use their imagination. It teaches your kids or children values and about giving a helping hand. It also teaches your children about making friendships. Each book tell you about a different place and culture. You learn about the animals and the habit of the folk that live in that area.The images are down really well. You can see what the description is talking about. This is good for children ages for young children. Parent can read this to their children. Kids can learn to read with these beginner books. Pictures are quite nice and understandable. This is also a good book for children that enjoy adventure books.I would recommend this book and this series to young readers and children learn to read. If you would like to check out my other review on a book in this series. Here the review to Abigail & Tropical Island adventure.
Dana (24 KP) rated Misguided Angel (Blue Bloods, #5) in Books
Mar 23, 2018
I hate giving out low scores to books. It makes me sad to have yo do this. It could have been that I hadn't read the previous books in a while, but this one just didn't get me interested. I read it because I was on my to read shelf and I wanted it off. Nothing good really happened in this book. I was often left wondering if and when something important would happen. The characters were flat, as was the story line. I was really hoping for this to blow me away, but it just fell flat. I didn't enjoy the fact that the story was split up into three narrators. This led to a short amount of time for any real action to happen with the characters. Instead of making the story lines appeal to the readers, they were quite repetitive in what was going on. Whether it was escaping from Venators or trying to find a killer, it was all the same. I was very disappointed by this novel.
Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated The Goldfinch in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Thanks to the holiday season and all the activity that comes along with it, it took me a bit longer to finish this one than I would have liked, but now that I have I can only say that it deserves all of the accolades it's been receiving. The author's prose is always engaging and often quite poetically beautiful. The characters are memorable and endearing, even with their many, many flaws. While I didn't find Theo's life to be especially relatable, I did relate to much of what he was thinking and feeling growing up over the course of this book, and despite the somewhat extreme circumstances in it, I think many of us will be able to empathize with his thoughts and motivations. Without giving anything away, I can say that while it is ostensibly about an unintentional art heist in the aftermath of a terrorist attack, it is really about so much more. Essentially a meditation on the meanings of love, art, and even life itself; this book should not be missed. A new masterpiece.
Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August in Books
Mar 15, 2018
What an amazing book! I was intrigued by the rather minimal plot synopsis on the jacket and so had to check this book out, and I am very glad I did. I found the principal character of Harry August to be engaging and interesting and quite enjoyed all the ancillary characters as well, but it was the plot that really hooked me on this one. Without giving anything away I'll just say that it involves reincarnation, time travel, quantum physics, espionage, world history, revenge, and in its own weird way, love. It is somewhat unfair to pigeonhole the book into the science fiction category, as it is really somewhat more of a cat-and-mouse suspense story, although seeing as the plot spans several decades, repeatedly, it does seem as though sci-fi could be the best fit. No matter where you would categorize though, this is easily my favorite read of the year so far, and quite possibly one of my favorite books of all time. Absolutely brilliant.
LittleBit (2 KP) rated Ready Player One in Books
Mar 16, 2018
A love letter to the 80s and all things geek!
I love this book more than I can say. I think this is one of my favorite books of all time, to be honest. Ernest Cline did a great job at giving much needed kudos to the 80s and all things geek.
I have the physical, electronic, and audio editions of this book. I can’t get enough.
This book is fantastic for many reasons: the fact that there is something for the techy, the geek, the pop-culture guru, the romantic, or even the adventure seeker.
Set in the future where our world is lived in VR, Ernest Cline takes us on an adventure that teaches many of us to sit and think “Oh, man! Do I spend that much time with technology!?”, “What would I do with more cash than any sane person should have??”, or even “What would you do for love and friendship??”
This is an easy and fun read and I think that almost anyone would get some type of joy from reading(or listening) to Ready Player One.
I have the physical, electronic, and audio editions of this book. I can’t get enough.
This book is fantastic for many reasons: the fact that there is something for the techy, the geek, the pop-culture guru, the romantic, or even the adventure seeker.
Set in the future where our world is lived in VR, Ernest Cline takes us on an adventure that teaches many of us to sit and think “Oh, man! Do I spend that much time with technology!?”, “What would I do with more cash than any sane person should have??”, or even “What would you do for love and friendship??”
This is an easy and fun read and I think that almost anyone would get some type of joy from reading(or listening) to Ready Player One.
Erika (17788 KP) rated Black Panther (2018) in Movies
Feb 18, 2018
I'm only giving this movie a 9, because I've honestly seen the same story line in dozens of movies. AND, I felt like the previews gave way too much away.
But, although the story was predictable, it was still very well done. The afro-futurism was so amazing, the costumes were so good, and I loved that they brought in all sorts of different cultures on the continent to Wakanda.
The cast did a brilliant job, and I loved that the warriors were women.
Now, Killmonger: Micheal B Jordan did a fantastic job with the villain. This villain was one of the better ones in the MCU, in a sea of generic villains (Loki excluded). Killmonger (as well as Loki) was a sympathetic (IMO) villain, there was a reason for his fall into villainy, being a product of his circumstances. You understood where he was coming from, and damn, his last line was intense.
Now: Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis. I had a major Hobbit flashback when Ross went to Klaue, I was half-hoping they were fixin to have a riddle-off.
But, although the story was predictable, it was still very well done. The afro-futurism was so amazing, the costumes were so good, and I loved that they brought in all sorts of different cultures on the continent to Wakanda.
The cast did a brilliant job, and I loved that the warriors were women.
Now, Killmonger: Micheal B Jordan did a fantastic job with the villain. This villain was one of the better ones in the MCU, in a sea of generic villains (Loki excluded). Killmonger (as well as Loki) was a sympathetic (IMO) villain, there was a reason for his fall into villainy, being a product of his circumstances. You understood where he was coming from, and damn, his last line was intense.
Now: Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis. I had a major Hobbit flashback when Ross went to Klaue, I was half-hoping they were fixin to have a riddle-off.