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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Jamie Ford | 2009
8
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
First off the title of this book is entirely fitting!! The end was a bittersweet pill to swallow... it was the perfect ending to the story and yet so frustrating to have it end so abruptly!!
The story itself took me awhile to really get in to, but it is a fascinating story. One that is not touched on much in any WWII fiction.... that of the Japanese internment camps in the US. It focuses on 2 elementary students who are supposedly on opposite sides of the war in the pacific despite being classmates & born in America.
It had all the components of hope and heartbreak, putting you in the story & making you feel like you were there. I just didn't like how slow moving the plot was but what redeemed it was the colorful characters & the fact that it was well written. Being realistic fiction it is hard to make it too fast paced & believable at the same time.
  
Do You Dream of Terra-Two?
Do You Dream of Terra-Two?
Temi Oh | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Do you Dream of Terra-Two wasn't what I expected. I enjoyed the read, though. It was like having a group of friends with very different personalities. Dealing with them during one big project. That being said, Terra-Two was an easy read. It won't frustrate you to the point of losing patience. It was easy to follow, and I loved not knowing which direction the author was going to go with the characters throughout the first half of the novel. She really did a good job with that, especially in the beginning. It's one of those stories that sucks you in, and you're maybe not even sure why after all is said and done. It felt natural. It didn't feel like I was spending time reading a book. Honestly, I'm not sure if I liked the ending, but at least it made sense. Perhaps I just wish more had been added.
  
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Beth Orton recommended The Specials by Specials in Music (curated)

 
The Specials by Specials
The Specials by Specials
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I chose this because it incorporated a period of my life where it was all about ska music and reggae and going out dancing and Studio One. I got this record from my brother, it would have been just played in our house and it was the sort of music that would come on and I'd be like "oh, I like that!" There was this club that we used to go to called The Black Angel in Norwich and it was far too old for me, and I snuck in there when I was 12. They used to play all this dance, reggae, Motown, but The Specials would sneak in there. I think my favourite song out of it is 'A Message To You, Rudy', 'Nightclub' and 'Does It Make It Alright?' It hasn't really influenced my music - as you can probably tell! - but it definitely encapsulated a time of my life."

Source
  
Donovan's Greatest Hits by Donovan
Donovan's Greatest Hits by Donovan
1999 | Folk, Psychedelic, Rock
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"This was from college and Charles had it, and obviously I knew those songs. Jimmy Page and [John] Bonham and John Paul Jones did the arrangements to this song, 'Hurdy Gurdy Man'. Fucking hell man! That's epic! Also, I like the sensibility of basically saying "fuck you", well, not fuck you, but it was the freedom of the 70s - I know 'I Love My Shirt' isn't on that album but I just love that, it was like, "Wow, what kind of freedom can you get talking about your favourite goddamn shirt!" And washing it in the stream! And he'll say, "Know what I mean?" [laughs] There's a song there, 'Sunshine Superman', and I played it for Charles and he went, "Shit!" It's so strange. It took me a while, it's got - [imitates guitar] - it's got all these weird sonic spots, it's more sonic really than the melody, because the melody there, what is that?"

Source
  
3.5 stars.

Once again I was just getting into the story when it ended--rather abruptly, I think.

Well it's been a while since I read book 1 of this series so I was a little confused with how this book started. I remembered a few little bits but as to what was said that she needed to respond to straight away...I had no idea. THEREFORE I RECOMMEND YOU EITHER RE-READ THE FIRST ONE (which I didn't) OR READ THEM ONE AFTER ANOTHER (which I also won't be doing, lol).

I'm not too keen on this being a serial. This is something that should probably have been made into probably 4 or 5 longer books, not 20-odd smaller instalments because I'm refusing to pay the price of them all individually (unless they go to 99p, because I'm tight like that.)

I like it but I'm not in any hurry to carry it on.
  
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Nick Kroll recommended Wayne's World (1992) in Movies (curated)

 
Wayne's World (1992)
Wayne's World (1992)
1992 | Comedy

"I watched [it] just about every day growing up. In like seventh or eighth grade every day after school, my friend Andrew and I would watch Wayne’s World. And I think it’s a great example of a sketch effectively turned into a movie and a story that really works with a good journey. Not easily accomplished but such a good journey. And I’m drawn to it because I watched Saturday Night Live growing up, but also I think the duo of Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, who are both from the same world and yet are such different guys. You know, the sort of confidence and leadership of Wayne and then the understated kind of genius of Garth: very meta and self-aware, which at that time wasn’t all over TV and film yet. It’s like the cross promotion for Pepsi and Advil and all that kind of stuff wasn’t overly present yet, and I think he really nailed it."

Source
  
My Lovely Wife
My Lovely Wife
Samantha Downing | 2019 | Thriller
8
8.2 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
Their family looks like any other family, mother, father, two children, but what their posh friends don’t know is that mommy and daddy like to kill people. This story is told from father’s perspective, and I have no idea what his name is. (If he mentioned it and I missed it, please let me know.) His wife Millicent, runs the family, she makes the rules, she cooks and cleans, she is the main earner in the family, and she likes to plot the murders. I really enjoyed reading this book from a males perspective, it was creepy, sometimes disgusting and unbelievable but interesting. I liked the way the author was unfolding the story, there were these little turns and twists throughout the book, that got me intrigued to find out what will happen next.

Sometimes it did feel that the narrative was quite stretched in places, and was just repeating itself, I would’ve liked a little more action.
  
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Kristina (502 KP) rated Traffick in Books

Dec 7, 2020  
Traffick
Traffick
Ellen Hopkins | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry, Young Adult (YA)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I don't know if there's another book after this with the same characters - I will look that up after this review, but even if there isn't, I feel like the ending was realistic. I couldn't imagine how hard it must be for these kids to heal and gain a sense of self respect or confidence after everything they've been through, so it felt right that Ellen ended their story in the midst of their healing process. I'm aware that not everyone survives what they did and, if they survive physically, too many don't come back in the emotional and mental sense. Though each character did survive their ordeal (main characters, anyway), and that's not always the case, it was eye opening to see just how deeply affected they were by their experiences and how hard it was for them to recover. Traffick, like it's prequel, was all too real and all too heart breaking.