The Wellcome Book Prize celebrates the best new books that engage with an aspect of medicine, health or illness.
Miss Jane
8.0
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Longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction: Astonishing prose brings to life a forgotten...
Biography memoir social issues
A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Stories in Our Genes
8.0
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This is a story about you. It is the history of who you are and how you came to be. It is unique to...
The Essex Serpent
7.1
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Essex Serpent Strange News Out of Essex...'One of the most memorable historical novels of...
Cure: A Journey into the Science of Mind Over Body
Book
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE LONGLISTED FOR...
The Golden Age
Book Watch
The Golden Age is an immensely satisfying and generous-hearted story about displacement, recovery,...
Fiction
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Andy K (10821 KP) created a video about Shakespeare in Love (1998) in Movies
Jun 3, 2019 (Updated Jun 4, 2019)
Lying in Wait
7.7
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Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller! Featured in the Richard and Judy Spring 2017 Book Club 'Gone Girl...
Sharp Objects
8.3
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Some scars never heal ...An addictive thriller from the author of the mega bestseller GONE GIRL....
The Neighbors
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Avg: 8.0
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Abby looks forward to meeting the family who just moved in next door—until she realizes they’re...
Emma in the Night
7.9
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One night three years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared: fifteen-year-old Cass and...
My Name is Lucy Barton
8.6
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LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2016 AND THE BAILEYS WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2016. A #1 NEW...
and 15 other items
Awix (3310 KP) rated War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches in Books
Feb 3, 2020
A bit of a mixed bag, to be honest: some of the stories just restage elements of Wells with a different backdrop, others treat the Martians as a backdrop for more introspective tales, still others indulge in literary pastiche. Unlikely juxtapositions and in-jokes abound - Rudyard Kipling meets Gandhi, Tolstoy meets Stalin, Samuel Clemens (d. 1910) makes reference to John Christopher (b. 1922). The best stories are mostly the ones which recognise the political/satirical subtext powering the Wells novel and attempt to do something similar - so Barbara Hambly's story concerns British imperialism in India, and the effect of the Martians on the situation there, while another looks at the consequences for pre-revolutionary Russia. That said, Connie Willis' Hugo-winning contribution sends the whole conceit of the novel up with a predictable mixture of tongue-in-cheek drollery and sheer absurd silliness, as the unlikely effect of a Martian encounter on the poetry of Emily Dickinson is revealed (especially considering Dickinson died twelve years before the coming of the Martians). The good stories are very good indeed, the less good ones merely a bit tedious. A worthy and worthwhile tribute to the original novel.
I hope Kevin will be all right. He had a heart attack 2/25/2018. Got to meet him in Vegas one time when I worked for Hollywood Video. He's great. Interesting array of films.
Clerks (1994)
User: 9
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Avg: 8.3
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A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss...
Mallrats (1995)
User: 6
Avg: 8.5
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Two losers gets dumped by the their girlfriends and go hang out at the mall for consolation.
Chasing Amy (1997)
User: 8
Avg: 7.8
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Comic book writer Holden falls for fellow comic booker Alyssa not knowing she is a lesbian. He also...
Dogma (1999)
User: 7
Avg: 8.7
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Two fallen angels who were ejected from paradise find themselves banned in Wisconsin. They are now...
View Askewniverse Jay and Silent Bob
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
User: 8
Avg: 8.2
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When Jay and Silent Bob learn that a "Bluntman and Chronic" movie is being made featuring their...
and 10 other items
Books Editor (673 KP) created a video about The Lean Machines: Eat Well, Move Better and Feel Awesome in Books
Oct 1, 2017
Awix (3310 KP) rated War of the Worlds (2005) in Movies
Mar 25, 2018 (Updated Mar 25, 2018)
Still, it's not all bad: looking back on it, this is yet another of those films which attempts to use SF as a device to try and process the September 11th attacks and ends up not being nearly as profound as it thinks it is, and the way it's structured so that, hey, cities are smashed and thousands slaughtered by the Martians (look, they could be Martians, it doesn't say they're not), but at least Cruise gets to become a better dad, so it's not all bad news, is quite fatuous. But it does get closer to Wells' original intent, just about, it looks very good, and there's always Spielberg's casual mastery of the genre to enjoy. A decent stab at a book which probably isn't as easy to adapt as it first appears.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977) in Movies
Jun 16, 2020 (Updated Jun 16, 2020)
The film-makers seem to have noticed the theoretical issues with the plot of the book - the main character has no real agency and is merely an onlooker - and fixed this by introducing a subplot in which Moreau experiments on him, thus setting up a reasonably elegant action-adventury sort of climax complete with happy ending. This does put the film rather at odds with Wells, though, and gets in the way of exploring the book's actual themes - its somewhat problematic subtexts about social control and the different sort of uplift attempted by the British Empire are still there if you look for them, seemingly by accident. Enough of the book's imagery and ideas survive to make this worthwhile viewing and probably the most rewarding adaptation, but really - read the novel as well.
Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) created a video about Is Alive And Well & Living In Buenos Airies: Heavy Frienz The Solo Anthology 2001-2017 by Luke Haines in Music
Nov 12, 2017
Maybe not completely forgotten, but not nearly as well known as some of the directors other work. Check these out.
Kingpin (1996)
User: 8
Avg: 7.3
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Roy Munson (Woody Harrelson) is a young bowler with a promising career ahead of him until a...
A Passage to India (1984)
User: 7
Avg: 6.6
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Set in 1928, this film portrays an indelibly sardonic picture of British life in territorial...
Manhunter (1986)
User: 8
Avg: 7.6
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FBI agent Will Graham who years ago took down famous serial killer Hannibil Lecktor comes out of...
Heavenly Creatures (1994)
User: 9 -
Avg: 8.2
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Two teenage girls become quick best friends. Their relationship becomes so intense they form an...
The Fog (1980)
User: 7 -
Avg: 8.1
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Strange things begin to occurs as a tiny California coastal town prepares to commemorate its...
