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Coney Island Baby by Lou Reed
Coney Island Baby by Lou Reed
1976 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
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Coney Island Baby by Lou Reed

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"This is from Lou Reed’s sixth solo record Coney Island Baby, which was released in 1975. Whenever this song comes on it has this incredible ability to transport me back to a specific car journey; I was nine years old and I was being driven to Heathrow in the back of my Dad's car. “My parents had recently separated, and I was living with my Mum in France. I had to fly back to the UK for hospital operations, which is why Dad was driving me to the airport, to fly home to France. Nine years old is quite young to fly on your own, and I remember it being a traumatic experience to say goodbye to one parent and then fly across what felt like an entire ocean, especially after surgery. “On this occasion my Dad had Lou Reed playing and “Coney Island Baby” came on. I was too young to understand the lyrics, but I felt them. I received the sentiment of the song even in my tiny child mind. It cut through everything in that moment - I can still smell the leather of the car seats, I can still taste the tears rolling down my cheek and still see the tears on my Dad’s face in the rear-view mirror. I actually usually skip this song when it comes on, because it’s almost too much to be transported back into that sort of pain. “As a lyricist, I really scrutinize lyrics and I always try and follow the story when I listen to music. When I fall in love with an artist, I’m always Googling the lyrics and trying to work out the various meanings and duality behind the words. With a song like this, which I discovered when I was so young, the lyrics are almost unimportant. It’s more about the feeling that they convey. “There probably is a narrative there, but when I listen to the song its lost on me. I’m absorbed by the feeling of being in that car."

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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated One for the Books in Books

Aug 6, 2021 (Updated Aug 6, 2021)  
One for the Books
One for the Books
Jenn McKinlay | 2020 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Lindsey and Sully Face Complications on the Way Down the Aisle
With a week to go before her wedding, Lindsey suddenly realizes her small wedding is going to be larger than she had planned. That necessitates a trip to Bell Island, the island where Sully’s family lives and where the couple is planning to get married. Once there, Lindsey and Sully make a horrific discovery – the body of Steve Briggs, the justice of the peace who is supposed to marry them. Sully has been friends with Steve since they were both kids, so he takes the death hard. For Sully’s sake, they start seeing what they can uncover. Can they solve the crime, find a new officiant, and still get married as planned?

This is a book for the fans. If you are new to the series, I suggest you go back and read the earlier books before picking up this book because you’ll enjoy it more that way. I love spending time with these characters, and watching their relationships grow as the characters themselves evolve, and we get more of that here. Overall, the book could have used a good polish, but it was mostly minor stuff that was bothering me as I read. I was certainly interested in the story as I was reading. I especially appreciate the police chief here – she does her job, but is willing to listen to Lindsey and is up front when she is following the evidence but still open to other possibilities. While the wedding is the focus, the book does take place during December, and I enjoyed the bits of Christmas that slipped into the book as well. As usual, I laughed at some of the scenes as I was reading. I also might have teared up at the wedding itself. Fans will be rewarded with this book. If that isn’t you yet, be sure to check out the entire series.
  
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ClareR (5879 KP) rated Gun Island in Books

May 21, 2021  
Gun Island
Gun Island
Amitav Ghosh | 2019 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Gun Island is a beautifully written story about a rare book dealer Deen Datta, and how his trip to a small island in the Sunderbans sets in motion a series of events that affect him deeply, opening his eyes to the world around him - a world far beyond his own experience. His journey takes in history, folklore, magic, climate change and ecological disasters. We see how climate change has an effect not just on animals, but also on people - causing the refugee crisis and the consequent reaction of Europe - especially those countries who feel they’re most at risk of being overwhelmed by the flood of refugees.

Deen Datta certainly gets around on his journey. From New York where he lives, to the Sunderbans in India, then onto a California on fire and a more flooded than usual Venice. This could have been a book that preached about the perils of climate change, but it didn’t. It did lay the stark reality out for the reader, but this was just as much a part of the story as the relationships Deen has with the people he meets, and his friends. There is a real feeling that Deen doesn’t have a firm identity: he’s detached from his Bengali roots, and he doesn’t fit in to New York either. But I think he does feel a sense of belonging by the end of the book, with the help of his friends. Cinta, a Venetian, is an old friend, and someone who always seems to push him into doing what’s good for him. Then there are his Indian friends, Piya and Tipu who help him to learn new things about himself and the world he lives in.

I loved this book. It ticked a lot of boxes on my favourite themes list: the environment, India, history, folklore, the search for identity. It’s such a thought provoking, magical novel.
  
We Were Liars
We Were Liars
Emily Jenkins, Emily Lockhart | 2014 | Children, Thriller, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.6 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
Read the original review: https://bookmarkedreading.wordpress.com/2015/10/10/book-review-we-were-liars/

I honestly had no idea what to expect with this book. Even part-way through, I wasn't sure. But as the end drew nearer, I began to fall in love with the heartbreak and tragedy within the pages.

It tells the story of the Liars: Cadence, Gat, Johnny and Mirren. Mirren, Gat, Johnny and Cadence.

The Beautiful Sinclair Family spend their summers on Beechwood Island every year. But the aunties are fighting over Granny Tipper's possessions after she passes away, and the family is being torn apart. The Liars want their idyll back; they'll do anything to fix the family.

This is a love story, and it is a tragedy. Cadence begins to remember the horrific events of summer fifteen, when she was involved in a terrible accident. Her memory comes back in pieces, and she has to fit the pieces together like a jigsaw. When the final picture is complete, I was so shocked - it made too much sense, yet no sense at all.

The writing style is simple and to the point, but also full of wonderful metaphors. There are extracts of a fairytale variation every now and then, which I personally think was a very nice touch. It's rather unique in the way it's written, but in a good way. It has several phrases that are repeated throughout the story, or developed upon, which works nicely in this book.

Also, there are a few visual aids for the story; a may of the island and a family tree of the Sinclair family. While that could be seen as childish, I appreciate the diagrams as they help to keep track of the characters, though I did get a little lost and confused at times still.

Overall, I think We Were Liars deserves 4 stars out of 5. It's different, unexpected, and full of emotion. I wasn't sure about it at first, but it really grew on me as I read.

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    Inside Out Thought Bubbles

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    From the creators of Frozen Free Fall and Where’s My Water?, Disney Interactive brings you this...