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Dana (24 KP) rated Glass Sword in Books

Mar 23, 2018  
Glass Sword
Glass Sword
Victoria Aveyard | 2016 | Young Adult (YA)
8
7.7 (31 Ratings)
Book Rating
I give this book a 3.5-4 stars.

I did not like this book as much as I did the first novel, Red Queen. I think this is because it is the second book, and a lot of times, the second book is meh.

I feel like the characters did not develop much from the first book. It may have been because the narrator Mare was skewing the other characters, but it just didn't do it for me I guess. The new characters were cool, but we didn't get to know them enough, in my opinion. I did not feel attached to any of them.

I did like how the plot was moving along. I think it developed very well and has introduced a lot of things that we will get to adventure through in the next book to come. There were some pretty cool moments in battles and some turns that I didn't see coming, so that was really nice. And I especially loved the ending.

There wasn't much of the romance, but it did get very angsty for quite a bit of the story.

I am excited for the next book to come out to see what will happen to the characters! I honestly think the next book will be amazing!
  
Shark Tale (2004)
Shark Tale (2004)
2004 | Action, Animation, Comedy
Ghastly. I mean holy shit these fish are fucking UGLY. I was expecting some sort of ironic enjoyment or overlooked nuance a la something like ๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต!, but instead I just got an in-your-face assault of nauseating animation and the worst sound design DreamWorks has ever shat out - Angelina Jolie is barely even audible in this. I'm a firm believer that the most aesthetically horrible time period was the 2000s - specifically the mid-2000s - and this tried so hard to be 'in the now' when it was released that it feels like looking back at some sort of garish cave drawing that serves as a reminder for how much society has progressed since then. For instance, you know how you can go back to Finding Nemo and not be repelled because it doesn't open with a fucking "MTV Cribs" parody? I've never been a huge fan of Will Smith's shtick but here it grates worse than it ever has before or since - and with such an irredeemable, downright annoying character like this fugly little idiot to boot. In fact the only intrigue in any of these voice performances are from Jack Black and - er - *checks notes* Martin Scorsese. I can't honestly say it was laugh-free but I can still say it sucks hard.
  
The Jacket (2005)
The Jacket (2005)
2005 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
"๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ท๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ... ๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฏ'๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ท๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ, ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ช๐˜ณ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ด? ๐˜ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ, ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ?"
Categorical drivel, nonsense almost solely for the sake of nonsense. Emo time-traveling ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜‰๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜บ + ๐˜›๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜”๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ๐˜ด that feels like a Marcy Playground music video which basically acts as a one hour forty-three minute essay on why dying kind of blows. Sort of awesome, though if there's any supposed underseen masterpiece here as I was led to believe, I haven't found it. Don't get me wrong, there are brilliant concepts here - the whole idea of the titular womblike jacket system is tantalizing, and in numerous instances this portrays a very clever way in which the people in your past manifest into your future and can either help you or haunt you depending on the choices you've once made towards them. But none of it is developed enough, this feels like one of those movies that was really promising until it got whittled away to scraps by the studios - but that wasn't the case? Idk I still liked it - I'm glad this wasn't condescending and purposefully cold like it probably would have been were it made today - but I just wanted it to be longer, man.
  
Debonair in Death
Debonair in Death
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Art Shop Owner Murdered in Cabot Cove
Everyone in town, especially the women, seem captivated by Nelson Penzell, the new co-owner of the art gallery on the water front of Cabot Cove. Jessica Fletcher feels like something is off about him, however. Still, she didnโ€™t expect him to be murdered. Sheriff Metzger is sure that Coreen, the nail tech from the hair salon, is a good suspect since she was seen screaming outside the gallery where Nelson was found covered in his blood. But Jessica thinks something else is going on. Can she prove it?

As much as I enjoyed the Murder, She Wrote books that came out over the last few years, I felt like something was off with the characters we loved from Cabot Cove. This book fixes so much of that. The characters and their relationships to each other feel like a natural extension of the series. The suspects are just as strong. Unfortunately, I did feel the pacing could have been better in the first half, but we get plenty of fun twists in the second half. Any fan of the TV series will be happy they picked up this book for a visit with old friends.
  
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Alex Kapranos recommended Hunky Dory by David Bowie in Music (curated)

 
Hunky Dory by David Bowie
Hunky Dory by David Bowie
1971 | Folk, Rock, Singer-Songwriter
8.6 (19 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"It was really difficult to choose a David Bowie album. I didnโ€™t want to put more than one on. For me, it was a choice between this, Low, โ€œHeroesโ€ and โ€ฆZiggy Stardustโ€ฆ โ€“ all equally magnificent records. This record I like because it was before he became a superstar. Thereโ€™s a lightness and lack of self-awareness on this record, which I think disappears slightly on the later records. Songs like 'Kooks' have this real sense of fresh openness, which maybe he lost on later records, which I really love. Thereโ€™s also some pretty odd moments on there as well, like 'Andy Warhol'. I donโ€™t mean so much the โ€˜sample and holdโ€™ start on the ARP synth โ€“ which is really cool โ€“ but melodically itโ€™s really odd. Itโ€™s more like an Eastern scale than a regular rock & roll scale. It will go from that to something that sounds more like a music hall moment. The songwriting is incredible. I think itโ€™s probably him at his best. Also, when I was going through my choices, I went for records I enjoy from start to finish, even though thereโ€™s a couple of songs that I donโ€™t think are spectacular songs on this album, as a whole itโ€™s a really great record. I remember distinctly buying it from the Oxfam shop around the corner from school when I was a kid, and I think it was the first Bowie album I ever owned. My mum had the compilation Changes Bowie which Iโ€™ve always loved, so when I saw this I was ""ooh, I like David Bowie, I should try this"". I put it on and thought, ""God, thereโ€™s a lot more going on here than just catchy pop songs""."

Source
  
The Shining (1980)
The Shining (1980)
1980 | Horror
The atmosphere is perfect. (1 more)
Jack Nicholson gives the performance of a lifetime.
Some of the film is confusing and/or hard to follow (2 more)
Shelly Duvall is underwhelming.
The movie is a tad too slow at times, drawing unwanted attention to how long it is.
Ok, this is the second time I've seen this film. The first time I hated it, even though I really wanted to like it. I found it boring and just pointless, minus Nicholson's truly amazing performance. I decided to give it a second chance because it is considered the greatest horror film of all time, and the current polar vortex just felt like the perfect opportunity to get in the mood. I definitely enjoyed it more this time around. It kept my interest throughout this time around, and there actually is quite a bit to love, but alas, I still find this film highly overrated. There are still so many parts that either don't do it for me or just simply don't make any fucking sense. Maybe I'm just missing something obvious. If that's the case, fair enough, but I don't quite entirely get it. Nicholson is still a god in this film and the film is fantastic at building true tension, but the greatest of all time this film simply is not. Sorry.
  
Leprechaun 2 (1994)
Leprechaun 2 (1994)
1994 | Comedy, Horror
Right, so Leprechaun 2 is basically just a whole set of questions... Is it a sequel? I honestly don't know. It doesn't explain how Lep himself is back after the ending of the first movie, and zero characters return (other than the titular bastard of course)
Is his weakness four leaf clovers as established in the previous film? Nah, it's iron now apparently. Is he still 600 years old as claimed in the first film? Sit down, he's 2000 years old now.
What I'm saying is, Leprechaun 2 just flat out does what the fuck it wants, continuaty be damned, which is kind of annoying, but then again, I hardly care.

It feels like a more ambitious project though, expanding on the origins of the Leprechaun lore, and it feels like it has a bigger budget (honestly not sure if that's true or not). Warwick Davis is once again doing what he does, which is no bad thing, but all of the other characters are just kind of there, although I appreciate the cameos from Clint Howard, Kimmy Robertson, and Michael McDonald.

Leprechaun 2 is alright I guess. It's still run-of-the-mill slasher trash, but I actually had more fun with it than the first one, and am just trying to enjoy the little quality that is there whilst it lasts...
  
All I Ever Wanted
All I Ever Wanted
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
All I Ever Wanted really made me happy, and got me hooked on Kristan Higgins. This is why:

First, I loved the characters. Some were quirky (Louis the mortician, Noah her one-legged grandfather), some were funny (Her sister Hester! ROFL) Some were just mean. (MOM.) And some had the biggest heart in the world (Our hero, Ian). The relationships and the characters played out in such a real tangible way, and I loved every minute of it. Although Iโ€™m glad my family isnโ€™t like Callieโ€™sโ€ฆ itโ€™s fun to sit back and watch.

Second: I was very pleased with the fact that the characters, dialogue, and plot werenโ€™t perfect (happyland syndrome.) Some of you may know that happyland syndromeโ€”everything working out perfectly all the timeโ€”will make me close a book in three minutes. All I Ever Wanted had nothing of the sort. It felt like real life, and because of that, it was relatable.

Third: It was a very sweet, very real, very good romance. And it was CLEAN. Yes! No skipping chunks of pages and trying to avoid unnecessary scenes! This pretty much made my dayโ€”maybe my weekโ€”that Iโ€™ve found a good romance author who doesnโ€™t write sex scenes into her novels. Thank you Kristan Higgins, youโ€™ve just made my bookshelf.

So thatโ€™s why I loved it. And thatโ€™s why Iโ€™ll be reading more of Higginsโ€™ work in the future.

Content/recommendation: little language, very few sexual references. Ages 14+
  
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Sam (74 KP) rated Why Mummy Drinks in Books

Mar 27, 2019  
Why Mummy Drinks
Why Mummy Drinks
Gill Sims | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.1 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Set out to appear as a diary, Why Mummy Drinks follows the day-to-day life of middle-class mummy Ellen. From trying to be the popular Pinterest-worthy parent to aspiring to seem like she has everything together, the life of Ellen is documented in hilarious honesty.

I really enjoyed reading this one. It was so funny and honest, and I can definitely see how it sold so well. I loved the perfect parents in the playground who Ellen aspired to be, and how they fed their kids on quinoa. It was just so funny.

My favourite characters were Bardo and Louisa. Everyone has those embarrassing relatives that youโ€™d rather people didnโ€™t know about, but these took it to another extreme. They lived outside and brought their children up outside, almost like animals. They were so surreal and I would have happily read a book just on their lives.

I wasnโ€™t sure whether to buy this one, mainly because of it being aimed more towards parents than me. But now I can safely say that you donโ€™t have to be a parent to appreciate the humour.

There were a few parts that took the humour a bit too far for me and were past funny, but they didnโ€™t ruin the book. I found the book a bit slow in some places as well, but I read the second half on a sunny day within a few hours and quickly forgot about that.