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Colin Newman recommended Church Of Anthrax by John Cale in Music (curated)
Laetitia Sadier recommended Sea Change by Beck in Music (curated)
Frank Black recommended New Values by Iggy Pop in Music (curated)
Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Adventure Time: v. 1 in Books
Jun 24, 2019
I love the show and just had to read this. Now I'm possibly in love with it.
The story is simple yet great; The Lich is sucking up the world into his bag and Finn and Jake must save everyone. They are accompanied by some fabulous characters - Princess Bubblegum, Marceline, Lumpy Space Princess, Desert Princess, The Ice King - and there are some hilarious pieces of dialogue. All the characters have funny, well-developed personalities that you can't help but fall in love with.
I also like how the fourth wall is often broken - Marceline moans at the readers, and fake "The End" pages are included for humour. It gives the novel a unique feel that I really enjoyed.
The artwork is amazing. Like, absolutely awesome. So much colour! And it's all so clear and beautiful. The only problem with the appearance in this novel is that the text at the bottom of some pages is a strange, pale green that is pretty hard to read against the white background of the pages.
Toward the back of the book, there are also tons of different cover images, all in different art styles. I loved them all! They were a great touch to the novel.
I was very tempted to give this 5 stars, but I don't think it's quite there. But 4.5 stars for sure!
The story is simple yet great; The Lich is sucking up the world into his bag and Finn and Jake must save everyone. They are accompanied by some fabulous characters - Princess Bubblegum, Marceline, Lumpy Space Princess, Desert Princess, The Ice King - and there are some hilarious pieces of dialogue. All the characters have funny, well-developed personalities that you can't help but fall in love with.
I also like how the fourth wall is often broken - Marceline moans at the readers, and fake "The End" pages are included for humour. It gives the novel a unique feel that I really enjoyed.
The artwork is amazing. Like, absolutely awesome. So much colour! And it's all so clear and beautiful. The only problem with the appearance in this novel is that the text at the bottom of some pages is a strange, pale green that is pretty hard to read against the white background of the pages.
Toward the back of the book, there are also tons of different cover images, all in different art styles. I loved them all! They were a great touch to the novel.
I was very tempted to give this 5 stars, but I don't think it's quite there. But 4.5 stars for sure!
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Lindsay (1774 KP) rated Twin Tales: Alike and Different in Books
Oct 24, 2021
Twin Tales is a book about twins that are alike and different. Children all want to feel special. Even twins have their personalities. Parents sometimes dress their children the same and do not allow their children to be themselves.
This book explains it to show that twins can be alike in many ways but also very different. Each person should get to know each one, and then you will be able to tell a twin apart. I have grown up with twins. I could tell them apart, but my mom could not even remember who was who.
I knew what this book was trying to do. It is trying to explain that all identical twins and fraternal twins will like the same things. That's okay. The pictures are lovely. The author did a fantastic job showing that twins can be alike with some things but can be very different. They still will get along. Twins are just like any other children.
Children will enjoy this book and learn about twins. If you are a twin, then this book is made for you. The picture book is suitable for all children. Parents and children can learn and teach each other while reading this book. Children can learn from each other as well and read this book together as well. It's okay to be different from your twin.
This book explains it to show that twins can be alike in many ways but also very different. Each person should get to know each one, and then you will be able to tell a twin apart. I have grown up with twins. I could tell them apart, but my mom could not even remember who was who.
I knew what this book was trying to do. It is trying to explain that all identical twins and fraternal twins will like the same things. That's okay. The pictures are lovely. The author did a fantastic job showing that twins can be alike with some things but can be very different. They still will get along. Twins are just like any other children.
Children will enjoy this book and learn about twins. If you are a twin, then this book is made for you. The picture book is suitable for all children. Parents and children can learn and teach each other while reading this book. Children can learn from each other as well and read this book together as well. It's okay to be different from your twin.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2395 KP) rated The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper in Books
Oct 29, 2024 (Updated Oct 29, 2024)
Beatles Cover Band Member Murdered
It’s 1993, and Sandy Fairfax has fallen from his glory days as a music and TV star in the late 1970’s. He’s hoping to get some of that back, but for now, he’s taking any job he can get, including appearing at a Beatles fan convention in a small Indiana town. He’s just supposed to be there for one panel about the time that Ringo appeared on his show, but when he finds a member of the Beatle’s tribute band dead, Sandy finds himself the prime suspect. Can he clear his name?
I’ve long had this author’s books on my radar, and I wish I’d read her sooner. Sandy is trying to put his life back together, but that made me care for him more, and I didn’t feel like it fell into cliches. The rest of the cast were good for the amount of page time they had. The mystery was strong, and I enjoyed how Beatles trivia was used in the plot. Don’t worry – if, like me, you aren’t that familiar with the Fab Four, everything you need to know is explained to you. I also enjoyed the laughs all the way through the book. I will definitely be back for more in this delightful series.
I’ve long had this author’s books on my radar, and I wish I’d read her sooner. Sandy is trying to put his life back together, but that made me care for him more, and I didn’t feel like it fell into cliches. The rest of the cast were good for the amount of page time they had. The mystery was strong, and I enjoyed how Beatles trivia was used in the plot. Don’t worry – if, like me, you aren’t that familiar with the Fab Four, everything you need to know is explained to you. I also enjoyed the laughs all the way through the book. I will definitely be back for more in this delightful series.
Jamie (131 KP) rated Nasty Women in Books
May 24, 2017
A timely collection of personal and political essays
It was really cool to get to see the world through the eyes of women coming from walks of life entirely removed from my own. There were many whose struggles I couldn’t even begin to imagine dealing with, while others I found comfort that I wasn’t alone in the issues that I have faced. The anthology really does cover a wide range of topics by authors from drastically different backgrounds.
The one essay that stood out the most to me was “Choices” by Rowan C. Clarke, which discussed the author’s difficult relationship with her mother and that never ending struggle to please. While the underlying messages in all of the stories were political and feminist, they were also very personal and down to earth which is what made this collection pretty emotional.
I did have a few issues with the anthology, however, that I need to address. The first was that the quality of each essay varied pretty wildly. The version I read was an ARC so it’s difficult for me to judge the final product, but there were several that weren’t well structured or were rife with grammatical and formatting errors. There were citations (I love citations!) that weren’t formatted all that well for my ebook version (cutting into the middle of paragraphs) that perhaps would’ve been better placed at the end. As for the actual content, most were incredibly well written and heartfelt, a few felt like angry rants that were more alienating than empowering, then there was one that just felt stiff and spent more time with the preface rather than the story.
While on the subject of alienation, despite the rather diverse sets of authors and essays, I feel like there were some missing pieces still. It’s obvious from the title what many of the authors thought about the last election and I didn’t like how black and white things were with barely any room in-between. In cases like this, I’m sure most of the readers would be those looking for confirmation of beliefs that they already share, which is fine except that it closes the door on discussion with the other side which is truly unfortunate.
Don’t get me wrong, I think that what was already here was pretty great. I see what they were going for and I appreciated it. I love to see discussion about politics and social issues, but I worry when the tone leans too far toward one extreme it only invites backlash from the other extreme. It’s a difficult balancing act between maintaining one’s own core beliefs while also trying to open things up to the other side so that perhaps they could engage in the conversation and, ideally, listen and have their own perceptions changed.
But I digress, despite the complaints I had about the book, I found it to be a pretty quick and enjoyable read. It gives a voice to groups of women that aren’t often heard in the greater narrative of the feminist movement. The experiences of these many women enrich that narrative and there’s a lot we can all learn from each other especially in these troubling times.
The one essay that stood out the most to me was “Choices” by Rowan C. Clarke, which discussed the author’s difficult relationship with her mother and that never ending struggle to please. While the underlying messages in all of the stories were political and feminist, they were also very personal and down to earth which is what made this collection pretty emotional.
I did have a few issues with the anthology, however, that I need to address. The first was that the quality of each essay varied pretty wildly. The version I read was an ARC so it’s difficult for me to judge the final product, but there were several that weren’t well structured or were rife with grammatical and formatting errors. There were citations (I love citations!) that weren’t formatted all that well for my ebook version (cutting into the middle of paragraphs) that perhaps would’ve been better placed at the end. As for the actual content, most were incredibly well written and heartfelt, a few felt like angry rants that were more alienating than empowering, then there was one that just felt stiff and spent more time with the preface rather than the story.
While on the subject of alienation, despite the rather diverse sets of authors and essays, I feel like there were some missing pieces still. It’s obvious from the title what many of the authors thought about the last election and I didn’t like how black and white things were with barely any room in-between. In cases like this, I’m sure most of the readers would be those looking for confirmation of beliefs that they already share, which is fine except that it closes the door on discussion with the other side which is truly unfortunate.
Don’t get me wrong, I think that what was already here was pretty great. I see what they were going for and I appreciated it. I love to see discussion about politics and social issues, but I worry when the tone leans too far toward one extreme it only invites backlash from the other extreme. It’s a difficult balancing act between maintaining one’s own core beliefs while also trying to open things up to the other side so that perhaps they could engage in the conversation and, ideally, listen and have their own perceptions changed.
But I digress, despite the complaints I had about the book, I found it to be a pretty quick and enjoyable read. It gives a voice to groups of women that aren’t often heard in the greater narrative of the feminist movement. The experiences of these many women enrich that narrative and there’s a lot we can all learn from each other especially in these troubling times.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The Revenant (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
The movie The Revenant is a new release starring Leonardo DiCaprio
(playing Hugh Glass), Tom Hardy (playing John Fitzgerald), Will Poulter
(playing Jim Bridger), and Forrest Goodluck (playing Glass’ half Indian
son Hawk). It is directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu and Mark L Smith.
Based on previews and ads I had seen for the film; I was really looking
forward to screening this movie.
I am a huge DiCaprio fan, and I have liked most of the recent roles I
have seen Tom Hardy in as well.
The story is based off of true events and follows a novel by Michael
Punke about an actual 19th-century incident in the days of the Western
fur trade. It involves Indian attacks, animal attacks, the struggle for
survival and vengeance.
The background and scenery in the move are breathtaking. The acting is
believable, mostly. The emotions of the characters definitely come
shining through.
Some of the camera shots that the director chooses to hone in on, are
not to my taste. There are only so many up close and personal tight
angle shots of snot running from someone’s nose in a movie that I really
care to see. One time is plenty. There are far more than one of those
types of shots though, and it sort of turned me off.
One of the major scenes involves a vicious bear attack. It was gruesome
and believable and horrifying… the entire audience gasped and squirmed
in their seats uncomfortably.
As much as I wanted to like the film, it just seemed like it dragged on
and on for me. I kept wondering when it was going to end. I’m not sure
if that was because I didn’t like some of the gorier close up shots, or
some of the bouncy camera footage (it makes me feel sick to my stomach)
or if each individual piece of the story itself was just a bit too long
which just added up throughout the movie, but I feel like I spent more
time wondering whether it was going to be over soon, than really truly
getting into the movie. In many longer movies, I am so into the story
that I don’t even notice the passage of time, but that was definitely
not the case for this film.
DiCaprio did a great job portraying a broken, beaten man trying to
survive and ultimately seeking vengeance upon the man who did him wrong,
and Tom Hardy did a great job portraying a man sucked in by greed, but
the performances couldn’t overcome the amount of time spent on getting
from one pint to the next in the film.
I would personally give this movie 2.5 out of 5 stars, but can see how
others would give it a higher rating. It just didn’t turn out to be my
cup of tea.
(playing Hugh Glass), Tom Hardy (playing John Fitzgerald), Will Poulter
(playing Jim Bridger), and Forrest Goodluck (playing Glass’ half Indian
son Hawk). It is directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu and Mark L Smith.
Based on previews and ads I had seen for the film; I was really looking
forward to screening this movie.
I am a huge DiCaprio fan, and I have liked most of the recent roles I
have seen Tom Hardy in as well.
The story is based off of true events and follows a novel by Michael
Punke about an actual 19th-century incident in the days of the Western
fur trade. It involves Indian attacks, animal attacks, the struggle for
survival and vengeance.
The background and scenery in the move are breathtaking. The acting is
believable, mostly. The emotions of the characters definitely come
shining through.
Some of the camera shots that the director chooses to hone in on, are
not to my taste. There are only so many up close and personal tight
angle shots of snot running from someone’s nose in a movie that I really
care to see. One time is plenty. There are far more than one of those
types of shots though, and it sort of turned me off.
One of the major scenes involves a vicious bear attack. It was gruesome
and believable and horrifying… the entire audience gasped and squirmed
in their seats uncomfortably.
As much as I wanted to like the film, it just seemed like it dragged on
and on for me. I kept wondering when it was going to end. I’m not sure
if that was because I didn’t like some of the gorier close up shots, or
some of the bouncy camera footage (it makes me feel sick to my stomach)
or if each individual piece of the story itself was just a bit too long
which just added up throughout the movie, but I feel like I spent more
time wondering whether it was going to be over soon, than really truly
getting into the movie. In many longer movies, I am so into the story
that I don’t even notice the passage of time, but that was definitely
not the case for this film.
DiCaprio did a great job portraying a broken, beaten man trying to
survive and ultimately seeking vengeance upon the man who did him wrong,
and Tom Hardy did a great job portraying a man sucked in by greed, but
the performances couldn’t overcome the amount of time spent on getting
from one pint to the next in the film.
I would personally give this movie 2.5 out of 5 stars, but can see how
others would give it a higher rating. It just didn’t turn out to be my
cup of tea.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Angels Burning in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Dove Carnahan is Chief of Police in a rural Pennsylvania town. Her job is typically more administrative than investigative. So when a girl's body is found beaten and burned in abandoned part of town, Dove must rally her team's limited resources to find out what has happened. In addition, she must work with the state police, including Chief Nolan, with whom she has a past, to solve the crime. In doing so, Dove becomes entwined with a local redneck family. The crime also brings up memories of the murder of Dove's mother many years ago. Will Dove be able to bring justice for this crime, without getting sidetracked by her own past?
I thoroughly enjoyed this book - it took me by complete surprise. Part of it was that I felt that I knew the characters. I've grown up with families like these - gone to school with them, live near them now. O'Dell portrayed the town dynamics flawlessly and she did a magnificent job of bringing each character into full detail.
Dove is an interesting character - flawed in many ways, but you cannot help but root for her and like her. The entire book felt somewhat familiar, like I'd picked up in the middle of series. (Speaking of, when this ended, I thought, oh I hope O'Dell writes another book featuring Dove.) Dove reminded me a little bit of Kate Burkholder, from Linda Castillo's excellent series - another strong female detective fighting for her hometown.
There were a few plot points that seemed a bit unbelievable (at one point, Dove shoots out the tires on a boys' pickup truck, just because he's annoyed her - something that would no doubt get her fired in this crazy media/viral video age we live in), but O'Dell's writing and plot gets you past any missteps. I thought Dove focused a bit too much on worries about her age (she's just turned 50) and her gender -- pointing out how men wouldn't treat her a particular way if she was actually a man. But really, Dove is so excellent at her job that she really just manages to prove that she can do anything - age or gender be damned.
The plot is intriguing and compelling and you find yourself drawn into the deceased girl's family and acquaintances, as well as Dove's own family and past. Honestly, when this one was over, I felt sad, which is a rare quality anymore. 4.5 stars.
(Note: I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.)
I thoroughly enjoyed this book - it took me by complete surprise. Part of it was that I felt that I knew the characters. I've grown up with families like these - gone to school with them, live near them now. O'Dell portrayed the town dynamics flawlessly and she did a magnificent job of bringing each character into full detail.
Dove is an interesting character - flawed in many ways, but you cannot help but root for her and like her. The entire book felt somewhat familiar, like I'd picked up in the middle of series. (Speaking of, when this ended, I thought, oh I hope O'Dell writes another book featuring Dove.) Dove reminded me a little bit of Kate Burkholder, from Linda Castillo's excellent series - another strong female detective fighting for her hometown.
There were a few plot points that seemed a bit unbelievable (at one point, Dove shoots out the tires on a boys' pickup truck, just because he's annoyed her - something that would no doubt get her fired in this crazy media/viral video age we live in), but O'Dell's writing and plot gets you past any missteps. I thought Dove focused a bit too much on worries about her age (she's just turned 50) and her gender -- pointing out how men wouldn't treat her a particular way if she was actually a man. But really, Dove is so excellent at her job that she really just manages to prove that she can do anything - age or gender be damned.
The plot is intriguing and compelling and you find yourself drawn into the deceased girl's family and acquaintances, as well as Dove's own family and past. Honestly, when this one was over, I felt sad, which is a rare quality anymore. 4.5 stars.
(Note: I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.)