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Call Me By Your Name
Call Me By Your Name
André Aciman | 2007 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+
9
6.6 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
Very moving
I don’t know what I’d expected from this book, but I hadn’t anticipated liking it as much as I did. And I haven’t seen the film yet either.

This is a beautifully written tale of a kind of love story between a young teenager and his family’s summer house guest. The confusion, frustration and heartbreak of his first gay relationship really comes across throughout the entire novel, and you really feel for him. Elio is an endearing protagonist and I was really invested in the outcome although I feel like the ending and the summary of the 20 years following that summer were a little too short and very sad. I would’ve happily read on for longer for a slightly happier ending. But that said, it’s still a well written book and a very interesting plot.
  
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated Die Last in Books

Apr 22, 2018  
Die Last
Die Last
Tony Parsons | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
7
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Not my favourite but still great
Not my favourite book in the Max Wolfe series but still very enjoyable with a very relevant and disturbing story line with great characters, twists, gritty tension, violence and humanity all written at a great pace that makes you want to continue reading well into the wee small hours of the night. I continue to love getting to know Max and adore his relationship with his daughter, Scout and their dog, Stanley with their moments adding a depth and warmth to Max that can be hidden under his strong policeman persona.

Although not my favourite, I would still highly recommend this series and Tony Parsons as a great British author and would like to thank the publisher, Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for my copy in return for a review.
  
LK
Little Knife (Grisha Verse, #2.6)
Leigh Bardugo | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is one of the companion stories to the Grishaverse novels, and I loved it.

I really respect when authors put together stories that would be in the folklore of the world they built. I can imagine Alina or Nina getting told this story when she was a kid.

I loved how this story was so much about girl power and a woman's rights to her own personhood.

I enjoy any kind of fairy tale, but I especially love one that takes place in a world I adore. The language used was very mysterious and lyrical, much like the Grimm Brothers or Hans Christian Anderson would use in their classic fairy tales.

I loved the twists and spins in the story.

Spoilers ahead. You have been warned.

Don't trust rivers, they may be FREAKING GODS IN DISGUISE!?!?!?!?
  
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Milleen (47 KP) rated How to Stop Time in Books

Nov 14, 2018  
How to Stop Time
How to Stop Time
Matt Haig | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
8
8.0 (21 Ratings)
Book Rating
Matt Haig has written a variety of books for children and adults as well as a memoir that topped the bestseller list for almost a year. Now he has delved back into adult fiction and delivered a delightful novel that will leave you pondering. Tom Hazard may look like an ordinary 41-year-old, but owing to a rare condition, he's been aging slowly over centuries. From Elizabethan England to 1920s Paris and further afield, Tom is forced to change his identity to stay alive. He is forced to abide by one rule, to not fall in love. Tom finally gets the ‘ordinary’ life he craves and finds work as a history teacher in a modern London comprehensive but how much longer can he keep this secret? ‘How to Stop Time’ is a bittersweet story about life, loss and change.
  
Dare (Pixieland Diaries #3)
Dare (Pixieland Diaries #3)
Christina Bauer | 2021 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A daring third installment!

I'll be honest, I've not read the first two books.....I know I've missed a treat having read Dare. It's a nice easy read, perfect for a lazy afternoon in the garden.

It's well written fun with twists and surprises. Although short you still get to know the characters and form your own relationships with them. I love the optimism and closeness of Calla and Dare, the way they think along similar lines and have a bit of a mischievous streak. It was fun seeing each of them grow and discover things about themselves.
    They definitely fit well together.

There are characters that I don't like, with good reason, and ones that I just generally don't care for.

Christina Bauer never disappoints with her writing but always amazes me with her imagination.

 @Merissa
  
400 Years by Bold Forbes
400 Years by Bold Forbes
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Beauty is a strange thing; here one day, gone the next. There is something about this song that feels permanent. Yeah maybe a mix this good shouldn't have such quality lyrics; maybe there shouldn't be violins without a quartet; maybe the lead vocal should be trying harder to sound like something we know already.

Bold Forbes finds a middle ground between Bob Dylan and Violent Femmes. The production is gorgeous. I needed this message. You might need it too.

“And while some swear that river did not used to run
There are others who scoff as they stand in the sun
Getting angry ‘cause anger is fun”
— Bold Forbes
it's not just about those who do wrong, and those who do right; there are also those who do nothing.

The answer? More love, more life. Right now.
  
    SoulPancake

    SoulPancake

    5.0 (2 Ratings) Rate It

    YouTube Channel

    SoulPancake tackles the universality of the human experience. We are the dreamers, misfits, artists,...

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Butch Vig recommended Achtung Baby by U2 in Music (curated)

 
Achtung Baby by U2
Achtung Baby by U2
1991 | Alternative

"I think that when this came out I put it in my car and didn’t take it off for six months. Honestly I think this record, at least for me, was one of the influences on us making that first Garbage record. I loved how they reinvented themselves; how they started flirting with electronics and fuzz and beeps and industrial noise yet made these amazing songs. They stirred it all up, threw it against the wall and spat it all out. They redefined themselves and it resulted in what I think is their finest work. At the time I think a lot of people couldn't quite get their head around it and then they went out and did that massive Zoo TV tour, which was quite a sensory experience. You could see that the band were almost making fun of themselves: there's almost a self-deprecation in there, telling us how they were approaching themselves. There's some gritty humour in the songs, I think. We (Garbage) were thrilled to be asked last year to a do a cover of 'Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses' as all of us absolute love that record. When we tried sounding like U2 it didn't work. We needed it to sound like Garbage so, much like U2, we had to sort of reinvent ourselves and take a different slant on it to give it something that we felt comfortable with, which ended up being a whole heap of fun to do! We stripped the verses down and we're all pretty pleased as to how it turned out as we were honoured to have been asked to have been involved. Bono sent us a note and it was lovely; I can't remember exactly what he said but it was something about the way Shirley sang the verses and the bridge making him feel like a peeping Tom. He obviously listened to the track and he got where we were going with it. It was an awesome note."

Source
  
Scream (2022)
Scream (2022)
2022 | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Creepy telephone calls, a will-they-won't-they romance between Gale Weathers and Deputy Dewey, a killer that falls over a lot, on-the-nose meta dialogue, and copious amounts of stabbing and blood, can only mean one thing - Scream is back and dammit, it feels good.
The key to the quality of the franchises 5th entry is balance. For a start, it tickles that nostalgia button just the right amount. It's certainly a chronological sequel to all of the 4 movies that came before, but it mainly serves as a love letter to the first. Saying too much could be considered as spoilers, so all I'll say is, the obvious call backs to the original don't feel forced, and make sense in a narrative manner. It doesn't feel like a cash grab. It feels like a film made by fans, for the fans.
Another noticeable balance is found in the characters. With a new Ghostface comes a new set of doomed teenagers. They're just about tolerable enough, but are well written, and aren't over reliant on the legacy characters to get by. Seeing Sidney Prescott, Gale, and Dewey all back together again is, of course, a delight, like a warm embrace from an old friend, but they're utilised in a precise manner. They don't stifle the new cast but their presence is unmistakably notable throughout.
The horror is well realised. Scream is a whole bag of fun, but is also suitably tense. The violence on display is quite brutal and unflinching. Ghostface once again feels menacing and threatening, and the mystery of their identity ticks along until the final moments. Like all of these movies, the reveal is a "I knew it!" moment before realising that you could have said that about anyone. Everybody is a suspect after all.

Radio Silence have done a cracking job of bringing a beloved horror series back to the big screen. I've seen plenty of people saying that Wes Craven would be proud, and I completely agree. Long live Scream.