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The Little Shop of Found Things
The Little Shop of Found Things
Paula Brackston | 2018 | Paranormal
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The relationships (0 more)
Plot (1 more)
Writing
A nice story that is a little too obvious
I was looking forward to reading this, the story sounded very interesting and something that is right up my alley. However, I was underwhelmed and dissapointed.

The Main character is like a cardboard cutout, glossy blonde ringlets, Dr Martens, beautiful singing voice, antique expert and a psychic gift, but no real depth till the end. You want to like her, her gist is interesting. You want to feel for her, looking after her sick mother, innocent and sent to jail, she has had a trying time. You want to root for her, but you can't, she's too 2 dimensional. I found Xanthe tinny and annoying, with an impulse to slap her, had she been real.

I wanted to like the story, love it, it was such a good idea. There are so many good elements, that put together right, should've made the book shine. But the whole book just hangs there, hollow. You don't feel anything much for the characters or their plight, it maybe stirs you a little in the second half of the book, but too little too late. The story plods along and doesn't build up intrigue like it should.

I was dissapointed, expecting so much more, it failed to deliver that imaginational jump. it is nothing more than words on a page, with no depth or room for your imagination. I found Blackburns writing too descriptive, she has a tendency to state the obvious to the reader when readers are not stupid, it is annoying and takes something away from the story. From the descriptions it is clear Blackburn has done her historical research and in that respect, she does bring to life the past.

One of the saving graces of the story is the telling of the relationshop between Xanthe and Samuel, it brings an emotional aspect to the book, that up until that point, was lacking.

Overall the story is predicatable, the writing ok, and the only reason you read to end is the optimistic hope that there will be some kind of twist or an unxpected resolution; you are left feeling underwhelmed and frustrated.
  
Warhammer: Age of Sigmar
Warhammer: Age of Sigmar
2015 | Fantasy, Medieval, Miniatures, Wargame
Easy to play (0 more)
Expensive (0 more)
Fantastic
I have been playing AOS for a year now and i love it. The rules are simple and easy to follow and there's an element in the hobby for everyone from minature building, terrain creating, minature painting and then the actual war gaming that comes in many different forms suited to how you would like to play.
The company is great a bringing new things out regularly, listening to and engaging with their customers.
The only downside is that it's quite addictive and you end up sinking a lot of money in it. I have four armies already...oops!
  
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Saoirse Ronan recommended Three Amigos! (1986) in Movies (curated)

 
Three Amigos! (1986)
Three Amigos! (1986)
1986 | Comedy, Western

"And then just, even like comedies of the 1980s, I mean the Three Amigos, I grew up with… It’s such a great movie. I was just talking to someone about it actually and I haven’t seen The Jerk before and we were both saying… she’s a director I just worked with and she grew up watching Three Amigos and loved, obviously, Steve Martin and Martin Short and Chevy Chase. It’s such a simple and ridiculous storyline that it just works. It’s like from the off, you’re just in on this little joke, you know. It’s so great. So I loved that when I was growing up. She was telling me The Jerk, I’d never seen The Jerk before, and I watched it a couple of weeks ago for the first time and it was, again, just really great, kind of like, SNL humor that I really love."

Source
  
TD
The Damnation Game
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
This novel has to be one of, if not THE sickest, goriest horror novels I have ever read. For that reason, I LOVED it! The plot is strong, the characters are entertaining and the scare-factor is off the scale!
It soon becomes clear that the author of this novel is the same guy who wrote and directed the first HELLRAISER film. His ability to 'think outside the box' in his writing is evident with certain tropes in this novel that I wouldn't have even thought existed but are absolutely terrifying. I was blown away.

I love the way that horror and comedy seem to be interchanged in this novel in a way that makes the horror even sicker. As the reader, once you realise that certain scenes are actually making you chuckle, it makes YOU feel like the sick one for daring to laugh at such a grim scene. It takes a great writer to be able to do this and to pull it off without coming across like they are just trying to cash in a cheap gag and Barker has this skill down to a T. Excellent stuff!

Just one thing annoyed me about this and that is the two young Jehovah's Witnesses who make an appearance somewhere like halfway through the novel. I thought their characters were far more 2D than all the rest were, and they could have been written much better. To me, they were just not believable at all.
  
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Auburn (57 KP) rated Hello, I Love You in Books

Apr 10, 2019  
HI
Hello, I Love You
8
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
If you are looking for a KDrama mixed with a Hallmark movie and a soap opera then you have stumbled upon the correct book.
While I do warn of a trigger warning for suicide this book is so adorably written. The main characters have such darkness and reflect what you would normally find in a Korean Drama or Soap Opera that you can't help but think what this would look like as one. The love story unfolds just as it would in the show, adorable, awkward, and takes forever.
If you are looking for a sweet read I do not know if this is for you. There are a lot of dark parts and unhappiness but it does end in a HEA.
  
It Could Happen To You by Chet Baker
It Could Happen To You by Chet Baker
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"This record is so special because of first of all as an album it functions so perfectly. It's a really romantic record. When I first heard it it gave me the feelings of what it must be like to be in love, it's like you want to put this record on and lie by the fire with your loved one. It's so smooth and sentimental and his voice is so warm on it. The record is full of songs from the classic American canon that Frank Sinatra would sing, but they are done in a much subtler way. Sinatra is the master, but he is a little bit too good of a singer and always has to let you know he's good. whereas Chet Baker sounds like he's speaking to you. It's warm, super romantic and sentimental in a good way with that cool jazz backdrop. It's very much of a night time record and it's always a satisfying experience to hear it. 'How Long Has This Been Going On' on this record is my favourite version of that particular classic, it brings tears to your eyes."

Source
  
The Deer Hunter (1978)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
1978 | Drama, War

"The Deer Hunter. I think the subject matter was very interesting. The way Michael Cimino works, he just got so much out of his actors, especially De Niro, Walken, and John Cazale, even secondary characters like the French guy in the movie. I’ve probably seen the movie 30 times, and you’re just on the edge of your seat the whole time, you don’t know what’s going to happen next. I think the interesting relationship that Walken and De Niro had with Meryl Streep is very complex. Really great movies are made out of special moments, and there were just so many moments in the movie, like when Chris Walken broke down when they were asking him his family’s name while he’s sitting in the window. I always remember that. The way that Bobby De Niro went back to rescue his friend. I think the movie had a lot of layers and a lot of integrity, and I think the love these men had for one another was so real you could identify with it. It was like going back to get your brother, you know?"

Source
  
Remember This When You're Sad
Remember This When You're Sad
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The publisher kindly sent me a copy of Remember This When You’re Sad to review, and I’m so glad they did. This book is hilarious, helpful, and like a nice hug all in one.

Remember This When You’re Sad is part memoir, part self-help, based on the experiences of former Buzzfeed Social Media Editor and current BBC Social Media Manager Maggy Van Eijk. It focuses on her anxiety, depression, panic attacks and disassociation and how she gets through each day with them.

I really loved reading this. I never really read many self-help books before Matt Haig’s Reasons To Stay Alive, but now I really love them and enjoy that they make you feel like you’re being cuddled while reading them.

This book managed to be absolutely hilarious in places while somehow also remaining serious and to the point. It spoke about anxiety in the same way that I address mine. I wouldn’t have gotten through so much if it hadn’t have been for being able to laugh at it sometimes.

It doesn’t preach a miracle cure to mental illnesses. Instead, Maggy Van Eijk talks through different ways of getting through your worst points, from telling you the best places to have a good cry to explaining how to ‘Club Penguin’ your problems. It’s the perfect mental health book for my generation.

I loved how the book is split into lots of lists, and the chapters are split so you can easily flick to the one you need the most at the time you need it.

Maggy Van Eijk even went into the detail of discussing people’s reactions when you talk about your mental health and it made me think about something that happened when I was at college that I had forgotten about until now. I’ve always been open about my mental health, especially when it was much worse when I was in college. I spoke to a girl I knew about it and she said ‘But why are you so open about it? You don’t talk about things like that.’ People’s reactions in the book were quite similar to that.

It’s sad to see that this is a normal thing that people think, but at the same time, it’s not shocking. There is still a massive stigma around mental health conditions, which is why I love books like this that talk openly about it.

This is definitely one of my favourite mental health books. I’ve already had to buy it for a friend and I’ve got two friends waiting to borrow my copy. I’ve never read a book that has been so much like talking to a friend.