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There But for the
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Ali Smith, twice shortlisted for both the Man Booker and the Orange Prizes, is back with the...
Forever Rumpole: The Best of the Rumpole Stories
Book
Forever Rumpole - a hilarious new selection of the very best Rumpole stories by John Mortimer Horace...
Hagia Sophia and the Byzantine Aesthetic Experience
Book
Paramount in the shaping of early Byzantine identity was the construction of the church of Hagia...
Becs (244 KP) rated Animal Farm in Books
Oct 2, 2019
I’ve always been a fan of the literary classics, especially ones that also have an underline meaning to do with the history of the world. George Orwell has always been a favorite of mine, I mean I have a lot of favorites but a true reader usually does! The reason why I finally picked up this book was for a job assignment. I will definitely say, I wasn’t disappointed.
Genre: Classic, Fantasy, Fiction, Science-Fiction, Literature, Dystopia
Audience: High School
Reading level: Advanced Fluent
Interests: Classics, Dystopia, Science-Fiction
Style: Advanced Fluent
Point of view: Third Person
Difficulty reading: It was only difficult in the spots that were lacking plot.
Promise: Promise of history related read, it delivers
Quality: Good.
Insights: Animal Farm is a very well-written book and if you like a history-related book along with any literary classic books, you’ll love this book! I, myself, have never really been a huge history buff so to me Animal Farm was lacking an interesting plot. If I broke the book down into two sections, there would be half of the book as interesting and half being monotonous.
Ah-Ha Moment: When the animals overtook the farm and the pigs started to act like the humans.
Favorite quote: “Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself.” – I really like this because it’s a great representation of humans and earth. How we lack with caring for the planet we live on and that isn’t right.
Aesthetics: The copy that I received had an awesome cartoony cover of the animals which I found quite adorable.
“Four legs good, two legs bad.”
Genre: Classic, Fantasy, Fiction, Science-Fiction, Literature, Dystopia
Audience: High School
Reading level: Advanced Fluent
Interests: Classics, Dystopia, Science-Fiction
Style: Advanced Fluent
Point of view: Third Person
Difficulty reading: It was only difficult in the spots that were lacking plot.
Promise: Promise of history related read, it delivers
Quality: Good.
Insights: Animal Farm is a very well-written book and if you like a history-related book along with any literary classic books, you’ll love this book! I, myself, have never really been a huge history buff so to me Animal Farm was lacking an interesting plot. If I broke the book down into two sections, there would be half of the book as interesting and half being monotonous.
Ah-Ha Moment: When the animals overtook the farm and the pigs started to act like the humans.
Favorite quote: “Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself.” – I really like this because it’s a great representation of humans and earth. How we lack with caring for the planet we live on and that isn’t right.
Aesthetics: The copy that I received had an awesome cartoony cover of the animals which I found quite adorable.
“Four legs good, two legs bad.”
The Poe Shadow
Book
“I present to you . . . the truth about this man’s death and my life.” Baltimore, 1849. The...
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated The Blind Assassin in Books
Mar 4, 2018
Novel within a novel with great twists
Once again, literary maestro Margaret Atwood has produced another creative mega-feat. Her novel in a novel reminds me of her other work Hagseed, also exploring the theme of revenge.
However, there is very little to laugh about in this story in which narrator Iris, at the end of her life, describes the mysterious circumstances that her sister, husband and lover all died in. Younger sibling Laura is said to have been killed after her car edged off a cliff, all the while leaving the world with a controversial novel that describes a racy affair.
Iris reveals the truth about the incidents from her perspective, which means we always see Laura as child-like and naive, while her husband Richard and his sister Winifred are portrayed as cardboard villains. With that in mind, Atwood's characters are realistic because they are all just points of view from one person. Great twists in this book.
However, there is very little to laugh about in this story in which narrator Iris, at the end of her life, describes the mysterious circumstances that her sister, husband and lover all died in. Younger sibling Laura is said to have been killed after her car edged off a cliff, all the while leaving the world with a controversial novel that describes a racy affair.
Iris reveals the truth about the incidents from her perspective, which means we always see Laura as child-like and naive, while her husband Richard and his sister Winifred are portrayed as cardboard villains. With that in mind, Atwood's characters are realistic because they are all just points of view from one person. Great twists in this book.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2340 KP) rated Death in Four Courses (Key West Food Critic Mystery, #2) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Key West's annual literary conference is focusing on food this year, something that excites Hayley since she is now covering food for a local magazine. However, when she finds the keynote speaker floating face down in a reflection pool, her weekend gets crowded with sleuthing as well as food.
I really did enjoy this book. The characters are great and the plot is complex enough I didn't have a clue what was happening until Hayley did. My only complaint is the relationship between Hayley and her mother, who is visiting during the book. It's realistic, but at times the way they interacted drove me crazy. I love how they grew as a result of spending the time around each other, however, so it was a great sub-plot in the end.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/07/book-review-death-in-four-courses-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
I really did enjoy this book. The characters are great and the plot is complex enough I didn't have a clue what was happening until Hayley did. My only complaint is the relationship between Hayley and her mother, who is visiting during the book. It's realistic, but at times the way they interacted drove me crazy. I love how they grew as a result of spending the time around each other, however, so it was a great sub-plot in the end.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/07/book-review-death-in-four-courses-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Masque of the Red Death (1964) in Movies
Mar 26, 2018 (Updated Mar 26, 2018)
Visually lavish Poe adaptation eschews easy shocks and fake gore (mostly) in favour of a more impressionistic and literary flavour of thoughtful horror. Devil-worshipping nobleman (Price) takes refuge from the plague in his castle, but decides to try and corrupt the soul of pious young village girl (Asher) while planning a big party. Will Satan turn up for the shindig, or will it be something worse...?
Classy, well-mounted movie, with a marvellously poetic script ('I have tasted the beauties of terror', and so on) - a bit like a feature-length Twilight Zone episode in glorious technicolour. The various subplots about a vengeful dwarf and Price's jealous mistress could be a bit sharper, but Price absolutely rocks the house in a role you can't imagine anyone else playing nearly as well. If Ingmar Bergman had ever got together with Hammer Films this is the kind of film which would have resulted.
Classy, well-mounted movie, with a marvellously poetic script ('I have tasted the beauties of terror', and so on) - a bit like a feature-length Twilight Zone episode in glorious technicolour. The various subplots about a vengeful dwarf and Price's jealous mistress could be a bit sharper, but Price absolutely rocks the house in a role you can't imagine anyone else playing nearly as well. If Ingmar Bergman had ever got together with Hammer Films this is the kind of film which would have resulted.
Not for me!
Why do I keep doing this to myself? Challenge yourself, Clare! Try something you've never read before!
I really need to stop doing this. It rarely ends well. Tudor authors could really have done with better/ any editors. Fact. Get some paragraphs in there, write some shorter sentences, stop wittering on and on and on.....
On a positive note, I now know where the term 'utopian' comes from, and I can safely say that the meaning has altered somewhat over the last 500 years or so. What was utopian then still seems a bit feudalistic now. At least good old Thomas More got everyone thinking though! As a 21st century reader, I can see how daring this book would have been: Kings without riches, no prisons for criminals, people could worship whoever and however they wanted. Very forward thinking for the 16th century. All the same, not a book for me. It was like wading through literary treacle. Not something I'd recommend!
I really need to stop doing this. It rarely ends well. Tudor authors could really have done with better/ any editors. Fact. Get some paragraphs in there, write some shorter sentences, stop wittering on and on and on.....
On a positive note, I now know where the term 'utopian' comes from, and I can safely say that the meaning has altered somewhat over the last 500 years or so. What was utopian then still seems a bit feudalistic now. At least good old Thomas More got everyone thinking though! As a 21st century reader, I can see how daring this book would have been: Kings without riches, no prisons for criminals, people could worship whoever and however they wanted. Very forward thinking for the 16th century. All the same, not a book for me. It was like wading through literary treacle. Not something I'd recommend!