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Ghetto Klown
Ghetto Klown
2011 | Comedy
Set (1 more)
Content
One of John Leguizamo's one man shows. This one tells the story of his experience growing up in the ghetto and his father's influence on his life. It had humor, nostalgia, and drama.

The set alternated between his front stoop, his apartment, and various stages he performed on in the past.
  
XCOM 2: War of the Chosen
XCOM 2: War of the Chosen
2017 | Strategy
Ultimately, XCOM 2: War of the Chosen buries even the most tactically-sound gamer under a mountain of entertaining challenges and adds not only several hours of content to play through, but well-neigh infinite replayability as well
Critic- John Jacques
Original Score: 90 out of 100

Read Review: https://gamerant.com/xcom-2-war-of-the-chosen-review/
  
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)
1939 | Classics, Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"When asked to name a filmmaker who interested him, John Ford answered, “Renoir.” Pressed to name one film, he growled, “All of it.” Time to return the compliment: “John Ford . . . All of it,” if one wants to tap back into the ethos and the pathos of the republic and understand in the process both that form and content were never separate entities and that figures don’t have to be squarely at the center of the frame for a film to exist—crucial reminders in these times of ours."

Source
  
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Graham Lewis recommended Last Poets by The Last Poets in Music (curated)

 
Last Poets by The Last Poets
Last Poets by The Last Poets
1970 | Rhythm And Blues
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I was a John Peel listener like anyone who had any taste, any lonely soul - there were a lot of us and it was great when we all got together. He played this. I'd never heard anything like it. It was around that period after the Mexico Olympics and the Black Power protest and to this day, surely, this must be the first hip-hop record, not in terms of its music composition but in terms of the content. Everything is there. It is supreme. I wanted to know more about it, so I went out and bought some books - Soul On Ice, Seize The Time, all those things. That's really powerful. John was never quite as bumbling as he liked people to think."

Source
  
What Lies Between Us
What Lies Between Us
John Marrs | 2020 | Thriller
8
7.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Over the past 12 months, John Marrs has shot towards the top of my favorite authors' list, and 'What Lies Between Us' does not fail to deliver.

Featuring the most messed up of family dynamics, the gasp moments keep on coming as we try to decide who is most dysfunctional; daughter Nina or mother Maggie. They both put a big claim to the title.

The writing is so gripping that once you start you just want to keep on going, so despite the disturbing content I didn't want a break.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the copy
  
HG
His Game: The First Time
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
🔞🔞🔞🔞


23 of 220
Kindle
His Game: The First Time
By Tirzah M.M. Hawkins
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Trigger warning and crap content

Rachel's your average teenage girl, fresh out of high school, excited about the secret trip her boyfriend surprised her with. She's been waiting forever for him to pop the question.

However, John isn't your average teenage boy. And his idea of a fun trip is far from a proposal.

John's growing into his tastes. Tastes for things unmentionable in polite society. Read this coming-of-age story about how a violent artist got his start.
Each book in the His Game series is a standalone story and can be read in any order.

So I read His Game: The woods as an arc a while ago and I just needed to read this one too this is how John starts his game and it’s a pretty twisted tale. This is not for everyone it’s graphic and dark. It’s always hard to say I liked these kind of books but when they are well written and provoke a response that the author sets out to achieve then they are worth the read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
  
Loki: God of Mischief
Loki: God of Mischief
John Christian Hopkins | 2014 | Paranormal
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I love reading stories about different gods that is why I really enjoyed [Loki: God of Mischief] by [John Christian Hopkins]. The story telling was wonderful and the way everything flowed kept the plot moving. Some of the action was predictable but that did not take away from the story.

[Hopkins] also had a very tongue in cheek sense of humor that really made me laugh out loud at parts (Herr Ball). He is aware of current culture and beliefs and tests them with his story as well as makes a few jabs at the modern media(Godzilla could be good for the economy).

I would recommend this book to anyone. It was easier to read that [American Gods] with less adult content so I can safely recommend it to my students who love [Rick Riordan]. I will be looking for more from [Hopkins]
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2161 KP) rated Cry Wolf in Books

Nov 16, 2022 (Updated Nov 16, 2022)  
Cry Wolf
Cry Wolf
Annette Dashofy | 2018 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
It’s Not Crying Wolf to Say This is a Great Book
When Zoe goes with her boyfriend, Pete, to visit Pete’s father in the care facility where he is living, they discover that Pete’s old training officer, John, has moved in. Pete’s happy since his father keeps insisting that something strange is going on in the place. When John is murdered a few hours later, it looks like that might be the case. Can Zoe and Pete figure out what happened?

This book started out quickly and never let up. With several sub-plots to keep us engaged, I was racing to find out what was going on, and I was left in awe when I reached the end. Zoe and Pete make a great detecting duo, and we get the story equally from their third person points of view. I do still feel like Pete is too overbearing, and I hope that softens soon. Not all of the regulars get much page time, but those who do show up are critical to the story. And the new characters are strong enough that this is really isn’t an issue. Since this isn’t one of my cozies, there is more content than in the books I typically read, so know that going in. Now, I need to make time to visit Zoe again soon.
  
Looking for Alaska
Looking for Alaska
John Green | 2013 | Children
8
8.1 (49 Ratings)
Book Rating
I just finished reading Looking for Alaska, making it the fifth John Green book I've read, after Will Grayson, Will Grayson, Let It Snow, The Fault In Our Stars, and An Abundance of Katherines. I enjoyed Looking for Alaska immensely, just like I did the other three. (My favorite being Let It Snow, which he wrote with two other authors as a set of three related short stories.) I haven't made a habit out of reading young adult fiction, but for John Green I'll definitely make an exception. I should also pick up some of Maureen Johnson's books; her contribution to Let It Snow was excellent.

I have a confession to make before I go any further: I am a Nerdfighter. I was introduced to John and Hank Green about two years ago by one of my best friends, by way of Crash Course. Since then I've (almost!) caught up on their Vlogbrother videos, watched most of the Crash Course videos (sorry Hank, I'm just not into chemistry) and started watching Sci Show. John and Hank are both extremely educated, well spoken, and yet extremely entertaining and fun to watch. Watching the vlogbrothers episodes where John talks about writing the books (as he's writing them!) is what finally made me go pick up his books to read. And he's GOOD.

In Looking for Alaska, Miles Halter goes away to boarding school at Culver Creek, his father's alma mater. He's in search of his "great perhaps," his meaning for life. (The phrase comes from Francois Rabelais' last words "I go to seek a Great Perhaps." Miles doesn't want to wait until he dies to go in search of his.) Culver Creek really marks a turning point in Miles' life - from a friendless outcast in his old school to one of the closest friends of Alaska Young. Alaska is a bit of a bad girl (sneaking cigarettes and alcohol into school constantly and pulling ingenious pranks) but also an enigma. The entire school body loves her, but even to her closest friends she doesn't reveal much about herself.

The book is divided into "before" and "after" and it wasn't until within a few pages till the end of the "before" section that I realized what the event was. "After" deals with the characters of the book coming to terms with their life-altering event.

In The Fault In Our Stars, John Green dealt with the lead up to a life-altering event that the characters knew was coming - a long, drawn-out sort of grief. Looking For Alaska deals with the fallout of an event no one knew was coming, and while the emotions are just as deep, they feel sharper somehow for being so unexpected.

I definitely recommend this book, and all of John Green's books. He's a very talented writer, and isn't afraid to put "adult" themes into his "young adult" books. As if sex and alcohol and death and deep meaning-of-life questions aren't things every teenager deals with? I like that he doesn't pull his emotional punches. His books may be "young adult" but they're not fluffy or "easy to read." Easy in terms of grammar and flow perhaps, but not in content. I teared up reading parts of Looking For Alaska, and outright sobbed for a good portion of The Fault In Our Stars. (Which is now a movie!)

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com (review originally written 4 years ago.)
  
Show all 3 comments.
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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) Jan 28, 2018

Same! I recently finished Turtles All The Way Down, his newest book. I'll be getting the review of that up soon. I also am not a young adult, but I really like his writing regardless. I'm looking forward to his brother's book that should be coming out soon - I don't know the title, but his brother is Hank Green, and he just wrote a book aimed at an adult audience. I'm eager to see if he's as good at writing as his brother is!

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Kaz4ray (17 KP) Jan 28, 2018

Thanks, I’ll keep an eye out for him. Ive got Turtles All the Way Down in my reading pile so I’ll look forward to reading your review.

S(
Seeker (Seeker, #1)
2
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
I was honestly excited to read Arwen Elys Dayton's <i>Seeker</i>, as the idea seemed very promising and the book is set in Scotland and Hong Kong – a rarity in books. Simply put, I thought this would actually go quite well.

Let's face it: Dayton does have talent. The setting of Scotland is richly detailed to the point where it's as though you're there; the book is action-packed, page-turning (in the first part), and intriguing; and the characters seem to be <i>extremely</i> well-developed.

But here's the conclusion: <i>Seeker</i> had a lot of potential to be an amazing book, but somehow, in the execution of the book, something must have exploded and went horribly wrong (because I wouldn't have DNF it if it were THAT good).

The first chapter went pretty well, aside from the hefty load of information about the characters, the setting, and whatnot. Personally I don't mind it that much as long as I don't feel like I'm reading a textbook and reading unnecessary information like a character's weight (unless it pertains to the story).

The second chapter though... I had thoughts of DNFing because throughout the most of the chapter (if not the entire chapter), John wouldn't stop yapping about how he's had a crush on Quin since he first arrived on the Kincaid estate in Scotland, and his desire for her, blah blah blah – all in all, John is quite cringe-cheesy in the romance department. I could have sworn at one point there was going to be a scene that I would feel very awkward reading about and would absolutely hightail out of the book with my tail between my legs as soon it happened.
<blockquote>But she and John had daydreamed about camping trips across the river, or rooms in an inn somewhere, someday, when they would finally be able to give themselves to each other.</blockquote>
And here's the nutshell version of what happens later: John fails, he gets kicked out of training by Briac Kincaid, there's a centuries old power struggle between "houses." As a result, John decides to attack the Kincaid estate just to get an athame and he and Quin aren't even allies when that happens. All of the characters go on their separate ways or died in the process of the attack and we don't hear any of them make a peep aside from the love triangle (Quin, John, and Shinobu) since forever. Then, when Quin gets to Hong Kong, she chooses to lose all of her memories and doesn't remember anything from the last fifteen to sixteen years, Shinobu makes a living by searching for artifacts in Victoria Harbor with a dude named Brian and they spend their money from that on "drug bars" and looking like gangsters. Then John makes an appearance in Hong Kong and makes an attempt to win Quin's heart back after shooting her in the chest and nearly killing her during the attack in Scotland.

Tell me that isn't a bit questionable, because between the end of Part 1, the Interlude and Part 2, my brain got horribly scrambled and I became overly puzzled.

Simply put, <i>Seeker</i> didn't turn out well – it crashed and burned.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/dnf-arc-review-seeker-by-arwen-elys-dayton/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>