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A Dirty Job (Grim Reaper, #1)
A Dirty Job (Grim Reaper, #1)
Christopher Moore | 2006 | Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy
7
5.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
MF! (0 more)
lots of cursing (0 more)
Man, the Beta Male has some problems. Charlie Asher suddenly finds himself a widower with a newborn child. If that wasn't enough change in his life, he finds out that he has a new job: Death.
A book about grief, and processing death, Moore's supernatural take on the human soul is unique.
It does drop more F-bombs then I was prepared for; although I'm not sure why since he tends to curse quite often in the other books I've read and I would do the same if I ever found myself in that position.
This book is full of humor and wit, it is also more melancholy as well.
  
Mrs Death Misses Death
Mrs Death Misses Death
Salena Godden | 2021 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is such an original idea: Mrs Death. Death in this book is a black, working class woman. This turns on its head everything we’ve all grown up believing about Death, and I love this. Why shouldn’t Death be a woman? As it says in the book:
“For surely only she who bears it, she who gave you life, can be she who has the power to take it.”
Seems logical to me.
“And there is no human more invisible, more easily talked over, ignored, betrayed and easy to walk past than a woman; than a poor old black woman.”
The thought of walking past death on a daily basis and not realising that’s who you’re passing, is rather a disconcerting thought!
I liked the playful language, starting with the title and moving on through prose mixed with poetry, and parts were written in script form too. This wasn’t reading for the lazy: it kept me on my toes. The historical deaths seen from Death’s point of view were fascinating too.
I did find myself wishing that Mrs Death had found herself another ghost writer, because Wolf Willeford is clearly a vulnerable person with mental health issues - I did wonder if it was written to illustrate a form of psychosis.
Either way, I loved it and read it FAR too quickly. If this is Salena Godden’s first foray into prose, I will be looking out for what she writes next - and looking out for some of her poetry too, when I can get back in to a library!
Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with an e-copy of this book through NetGalley.
  
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KarynKusama recommended Nashville (1975) in Movies (curated)

 
Nashville (1975)
Nashville (1975)
1975 | Classics, Drama, Musical
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Films about the nature of performance, our collective need to watch and be artists, and the heavy cost of leading a public life. Altman’s opus is freewheeling in tone yet dense as a glittering jewel, leading to a conclusion as bleak as any American film I can think of. Bob Fosse’s penultimate film takes the fundamentals of editing and reinvents them afresh, while concluding that there are certainly worse things than death."

Source
  
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KarynKusama recommended All That Jazz (1979) in Movies (curated)

 
All That Jazz (1979)
All That Jazz (1979)
1979 | Drama, Musical, Sci-Fi
8.5 (4 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Films about the nature of performance, our collective need to watch and be artists, and the heavy cost of leading a public life. Altman’s opus is freewheeling in tone yet dense as a glittering jewel, leading to a conclusion as bleak as any American film I can think of. Bob Fosse’s penultimate film takes the fundamentals of editing and reinvents them afresh, while concluding that there are certainly worse things than death."

Source
  
Naming the Bones
Naming the Bones
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Louise Welsh knows how to intrigue her readers and, like any good mystery writer, gives them enough twists and turns to keep them interested to the last page. But instead of using a professional (like investigator or detective) to get to the bottom of this story, she puts the research in the hands of a Professor of Literature on sabbatical, trying to write the story of his favourite poet's brief life for a book. Using this as the basis of the story, the people in his life also get tangled into the strange circumstances of the poet's life and death. For people like myself, who don't care much for the mystery genre, Welsh proves once again that you don't need to be a fan to enjoy her works.
  
Gone but Knot Forgotten
Gone but Knot Forgotten
Mary Marks | 2015 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
What Happen to Martha’s Childhood Friend?
Martha Rose is saddened to learn of the death of her childhood friend, Harriet Oliver, and even more surprised to find that she has been named executor of her estate since she and Harriet haven’t spoken in years. Harriet’s death has been ruled natural causes, but Martha has lots of questions about the circumstances of her death. That only grows when she realizes that several items are missing from Harriet’s collection. Is there more to her death than it appears?

The mystery certainly intrigued me, and it moved forward at a steady pace. I did feel the ending was a bit abrupt, but it was suspenseful and answered all of our questions. The characters are wonderful. Martha’s quilting friends are fun, and her love life gets some interesting developments here. Quilting does factor into the mystery in a unique way, and I really enjoyed that. While the book is set during December, it isn’t a Christmas book. There’s a very good reason for it – Martha is Jewish, and I enjoyed learning a bit more about Jewish culture as I read. It’s easy to see why so many people enjoy this series; I’m glad I finally started it.
  
Adrift (2018)
Adrift (2018)
2018 | Action, Adventure, Drama
A life or death struggle for survival has never been so dull. Adrift (2018) #Review
The lure of a life of freedom on the open ocean is an easy one to understand, at least when the sea is a beautiful blue expanse, stretching out to an endless horizon. But the romantic picture postcard ideal doesn’t last long for Tami Oldham (Shailene Woodley) and Richard Sharp (Sam Claflin) when their trans-Pacific voyage is interrupted by Hurricane Raymond with devastating results.

There’s no doubting how harrowing the ordeal that Tami Oldham Ashcraft went through was, but this bland Instagram melodrama barely manages to scratch the surface...
Full Review: http://bit.ly/CraggusAdrift
  
Show all 4 comments.
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Andy K (10821 KP) May 25, 2019

Watch this movie instead!


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Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) May 25, 2019

@Andy K Thanks, I will.

I am, I am, I am: Seventeen Brushes with Death
I am, I am, I am: Seventeen Brushes with Death
Maggie O'Farrell | 2017 | Biography
7
7.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
For whom the Bell jar tolls
I almost gave this memoir a pass because of its title coming from a quote from the Bell Jar. I am glad that I did not. It is not so heavy handed nor dense as I imagined a work that gleaned its name from Sylvia Plath's work would be.

A life story told in near death experiences, it still manages to be, not macabre but light heartfelt and self effacing. I reccomend this book for anyone who believes that a life is made up of defining moments, and wants to see what those moments can add up to.
  
P.S. I Love You (2007)
P.S. I Love You (2007)
2007 | Comedy, Drama, Romance
7
8.8 (10 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Casting (2 more)
Characters
Plot/story
Not your usual love story...
I'm not usually one for 'love story' movie's but I'm happy to give them a go....

Starring Hillary Swank & Gerrard Butler The story begins with a more realistic take on a couples quarrel regarding their personal life...

Continuing shortly after following the death of the husband from the time of the wake...

Perfectly orchestrated in more ways than one, widow Holly restrains herself from the outside world struggling to cope with her loss before being forced to live her life from love letters from the afterlife.

A beautiful and emotional story of tragedy and acceptance from begging to end.
  
TP
The Prediction
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
[The Prediction] by [Darren Sugrue] was an excellent thriller. The question is, if you could know the date of death would you want to? Daniel did his PhD thesis on a mathematical formula that could predict when someone would die. His thesis was rejected and he gave up his old life to be a crane operator. Twelve years later his old professor approaches him after the death of his son and wants Daniel to take his thesis up again. This decision will change everyone involved.

The characters were well developed and drove the plot. I really liked how you got to see different perspectives throughout the book.I highly recommend this book. I could not put it down once I started reading.