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ClareR (5906 KP) rated Machines Like Me in Books
May 25, 2019
Androids and an alternate 1980s Britain
I’ve been vacillating between 6 and 7/10 since I’ve finished this. I really liked parts of it - the robot, Adam, learning his way in the world, how he falls in love. Parts of it I found exceptionally frustrating. Why would you spend £84,000 and then ignore the Android for days? Why would you want nothing to do with it once it’s ‘awake’ and learning? Why bother at all!
I thought the alternate 1980s Britain was quite interesting - how we would potentially have reacted to a defeat during the Falklands war and the repercussions. And what would Alan Turing have been like if he hadn’t committed suicide?
The thing is, I didn’t particularly like either Charlie or Miranda (the lead human protagonists). Neither were likeable and treated Adam with contempt and suspicion, which grated on me. I usually like a book where I don’t like the main character, but there was something about Charlie that made me put the book down on several occasions, swearing to myself that I wouldn’t pick it up,again. Bit I did, and I think Adam, and Miranda’s backstory is to blame.
And as for Miranda. Well. I wasn’t convinced about her suddenly needing to foster/ adopt Mark, a small boy who is abandoned on their doorstep. It was just so unlikely.
I don’t know. I’ve read other Ian McEwan books that I’ve loved, but this one really didn’t do it for me on the whole. You can’t love them all, I suppose.
I thought the alternate 1980s Britain was quite interesting - how we would potentially have reacted to a defeat during the Falklands war and the repercussions. And what would Alan Turing have been like if he hadn’t committed suicide?
The thing is, I didn’t particularly like either Charlie or Miranda (the lead human protagonists). Neither were likeable and treated Adam with contempt and suspicion, which grated on me. I usually like a book where I don’t like the main character, but there was something about Charlie that made me put the book down on several occasions, swearing to myself that I wouldn’t pick it up,again. Bit I did, and I think Adam, and Miranda’s backstory is to blame.
And as for Miranda. Well. I wasn’t convinced about her suddenly needing to foster/ adopt Mark, a small boy who is abandoned on their doorstep. It was just so unlikely.
I don’t know. I’ve read other Ian McEwan books that I’ve loved, but this one really didn’t do it for me on the whole. You can’t love them all, I suppose.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Blinded by the Light (2019) in Movies
Apr 26, 2020
Clumsy and unoriginal
Watching this film would never be my choice, as despite my love of musicals I've never been particularly interested in the music of Bruce Springsteen. And I'm afraid to say this film hasn't changed my opinion on this either.
This film is so cheesy and cliched that I spent most of the time watching it cringing in horror. It seems to copy virtually every other type of film that has come before it that looks at coming of age in a Muslim and Pakistani background - it's like a poor version of East is East, with barely any laughs & a bit of Springsteen thrown in. The production values in this too are rather poor. You can tell it's low budget, from the dodgy dance scenes to the cinematography as a whole.
There is a decent cast thrown into this like Hayley Atwell, Rob Brydon and Dean Charles Chapman but I felt like they were sadly underused and letdown by the poor and ridiculously cheesy script. There are some likeable parts in this that makes it a little bit feel good but overall I could've quite happily turned this off and not felt like I was missing out.
This film is so cheesy and cliched that I spent most of the time watching it cringing in horror. It seems to copy virtually every other type of film that has come before it that looks at coming of age in a Muslim and Pakistani background - it's like a poor version of East is East, with barely any laughs & a bit of Springsteen thrown in. The production values in this too are rather poor. You can tell it's low budget, from the dodgy dance scenes to the cinematography as a whole.
There is a decent cast thrown into this like Hayley Atwell, Rob Brydon and Dean Charles Chapman but I felt like they were sadly underused and letdown by the poor and ridiculously cheesy script. There are some likeable parts in this that makes it a little bit feel good but overall I could've quite happily turned this off and not felt like I was missing out.
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The Marinated Meeple (1853 KP) rated Viticulture Essential Edition in Tabletop Games
Mar 9, 2018
Game Design (4 more)
Theme
Elegant
Simple yet with a lot of depth
Great Example of Worker Placement
Wine Making in Tuscany, worker placement mechanics, and so elegantly done, with just enough complexity to make it interesting.
I adore this game, I love wine and this is a nearly perfect game for that theme. You send your workers out to do things, maybe it's planting some vines, upgrading the buildings, picking the grapes, crushing them, or maybe bottling them. But you only have so many of them, unless you hire and train new ones. Also maybe you should give some tours so you can make some money. This is a great game, also good games like this would be Stone Age and Lord of Waterdeep.
BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated A Daring Venture (Empire State, #2) in Books
Jan 2, 2019
When I read my first Elizabeth Camden book, I had no idea what to expect. Now...Five books later...I can say that the characters and the stories you will find on these pages are like nothing you have read before. Unique characters, settings, and plot...You will want to read all day long. And with A Daring Venture...that's exactly what I did. I listened to the audiobook while cleaning my house for 2 days straight...till I finished it. And I am only sad that I didn't get to spend more time with Rosalind and Nick.
Tensions are high when this story begins. Water purification is something that even to this day people argue and fight about. I love, Love, LOVE, all the sciencey* things that are talked about. There is SO.MUCH.HISTORY. and even a few REAL people that show up on the page. Rosalind is a woman "ahead of her time" as a biochemist in the early 1900s. THIS is the kind of history that draws me in and grabs my attention.
I adore watching the romance unfold. They have a bumpy road, but it wouldn't be realistic if it was all sunshine and roses for Rosalind and Nick. Family drama, unforgiveness, revenge, fear, scandal, secrets...Oh.yes...This is a book you must get into your hands with all urgency!
I received a complimentary copy of A Daring Venture from the publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
Tensions are high when this story begins. Water purification is something that even to this day people argue and fight about. I love, Love, LOVE, all the sciencey* things that are talked about. There is SO.MUCH.HISTORY. and even a few REAL people that show up on the page. Rosalind is a woman "ahead of her time" as a biochemist in the early 1900s. THIS is the kind of history that draws me in and grabs my attention.
I adore watching the romance unfold. They have a bumpy road, but it wouldn't be realistic if it was all sunshine and roses for Rosalind and Nick. Family drama, unforgiveness, revenge, fear, scandal, secrets...Oh.yes...This is a book you must get into your hands with all urgency!
I received a complimentary copy of A Daring Venture from the publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
Jay Harris (1 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Fortnite in Video Games
Mar 30, 2018
I've only recently started playing Fortnite (the battle royal version), and I have a very love/hate relationship with it. Fortnite itself is a fairly balanced game, when Epic Games nerf some of the weapons (like the most recent guided missile launcher), and if you have friends to go into a squad or a duo with, then it's totally worth doing. Fortnite has proved it's reputation as it's managed to best PUBG, with the amount of players on it. Generally speaking I think that as long as Epic Games constantly update it, make sure to patch the bugs, and add new features (whether that's new maps, or items) it will stay a pretty popular game.
My personal opinion is that it's good at times and bad other times.
When you are in a game with a squad, and you finally get to the end, and win, it's the best feeling. It's so relieving to know that all your time put into that game has in the end managed to get you to win (especially when you win a solo match). However if you're not willing to dedicate your time learning the mechanics, and playing casually, these wins don't come as often as you'd like.
As I said before, Fortnite is a fairly balanced game, but there are some issues that always need fixing. For example, new weapons introduced often have to be nerfed. Whenever they release a new update, there's often bugs that follow, like building issues, inventory issues and various other problems. And the microtransactions.
In the game you can (optionally) buy the "battle pass", or various skins, or emotes, or pickaxes that the game has to offer.
And the game forcibly encourages you to do this. The battle pass gives you some sense of achievement in the game, by completing the challenges you are awarded with new skins, emotes etc.
But the late players of the game that buy the battle pass are unable to complete the challenges in time, in a ten week season, to be able to unlock everything.
On top of this, it feels almost redundant when you rank up the battle pass week by week, and someone pays like £40/£50, to unlock the last skin in the game.
Although these are totally optional, I feel without the battle pass I probably wouldn't play.
Overall I would say Fortnite will always be a popular game and has quite a large audience for a range of different people.
I do recommend playing it, if you have a spare couple of hours, and it's free to play so you don't have to pay for it.
My personal opinion is that it's good at times and bad other times.
When you are in a game with a squad, and you finally get to the end, and win, it's the best feeling. It's so relieving to know that all your time put into that game has in the end managed to get you to win (especially when you win a solo match). However if you're not willing to dedicate your time learning the mechanics, and playing casually, these wins don't come as often as you'd like.
As I said before, Fortnite is a fairly balanced game, but there are some issues that always need fixing. For example, new weapons introduced often have to be nerfed. Whenever they release a new update, there's often bugs that follow, like building issues, inventory issues and various other problems. And the microtransactions.
In the game you can (optionally) buy the "battle pass", or various skins, or emotes, or pickaxes that the game has to offer.
And the game forcibly encourages you to do this. The battle pass gives you some sense of achievement in the game, by completing the challenges you are awarded with new skins, emotes etc.
But the late players of the game that buy the battle pass are unable to complete the challenges in time, in a ten week season, to be able to unlock everything.
On top of this, it feels almost redundant when you rank up the battle pass week by week, and someone pays like £40/£50, to unlock the last skin in the game.
Although these are totally optional, I feel without the battle pass I probably wouldn't play.
Overall I would say Fortnite will always be a popular game and has quite a large audience for a range of different people.
I do recommend playing it, if you have a spare couple of hours, and it's free to play so you don't have to pay for it.
Sophie Wink (11 KP) rated Picture Perfect in Books
Jun 11, 2019
Beautiful. That's it.
A sad story so beautifully told is the key to break my heart. It did exactly that. I say it's sad because it really is but it does have some incredibly romantic scenes too which not only melt your heart but make you fall in love with the book its characters.
The tender theme of abuse was used with the utmost sensitivity, the only way I can describe it, is that it's told in such a sickly sweet way that it just hits you. Hard. I struggled to read the novel just because it genuinely broke my heart to see this perfectly capable beautiful and smart lady, Cassie, just break in half.
I love Cassie's character! So bright, sweet, smart and elegant. She is so very lovable which makes her story so utterly moving. I liked that she was quite quirky and wouldn't usually fall for the Alex Rivers type which made her falling in love wonderfully romantic and charming. I feel bad for saying it but I even liked Alex Rivers, underneath he is just a damaged man with a shattered heart. I liked that he was charming and obviously attractive even if he knew it. While he wasn't necessarily a nice man he was more than appealing and incredibly romantic. He just got it wrong, very wrong and on this occasion it wasn't okay and couldn't be fixed.
I loved the kind of twist to the story and how you remember along with Cassie, it's like a journey. I also really like the unusual nature of the how the story is told, the fact that she can't remember is definitely the hook to find out more. I loved all of the characters as each seemed to have direct impact on Cassie herself, making it just that little bit more compelling.
I know this review kind of skips around the point but I don't want to spoil anything.
Like I said... Beautiful.
A sad story so beautifully told is the key to break my heart. It did exactly that. I say it's sad because it really is but it does have some incredibly romantic scenes too which not only melt your heart but make you fall in love with the book its characters.
The tender theme of abuse was used with the utmost sensitivity, the only way I can describe it, is that it's told in such a sickly sweet way that it just hits you. Hard. I struggled to read the novel just because it genuinely broke my heart to see this perfectly capable beautiful and smart lady, Cassie, just break in half.
I love Cassie's character! So bright, sweet, smart and elegant. She is so very lovable which makes her story so utterly moving. I liked that she was quite quirky and wouldn't usually fall for the Alex Rivers type which made her falling in love wonderfully romantic and charming. I feel bad for saying it but I even liked Alex Rivers, underneath he is just a damaged man with a shattered heart. I liked that he was charming and obviously attractive even if he knew it. While he wasn't necessarily a nice man he was more than appealing and incredibly romantic. He just got it wrong, very wrong and on this occasion it wasn't okay and couldn't be fixed.
I loved the kind of twist to the story and how you remember along with Cassie, it's like a journey. I also really like the unusual nature of the how the story is told, the fact that she can't remember is definitely the hook to find out more. I loved all of the characters as each seemed to have direct impact on Cassie herself, making it just that little bit more compelling.
I know this review kind of skips around the point but I don't want to spoil anything.
Like I said... Beautiful.
Judd Apatow recommended Terms of Endearment (1983) in Movies (curated)
Lindsay (1760 KP) rated Loreena's Gift in Books
Aug 30, 2018 (Updated Apr 9, 2019)
This is a story about a girl with a special talent. She gets into quite a few bad things. She finds out what her brother gets into. If she can ever get him out? She loves her brother so much that she does something to save him.
She's then pulled into a sinner kind of a life. In the process, she may have found her love of her life. Tough to survive, she got to do something that is within her power and a secret.
Can she save her brother and herself or will she die as well? Her life in the afterlife is different than when she's out of the afterlife.
The author does get your attention and pulls you in. Have ever been wondering what it's like in your afterlife? You can see what it's like by reading this. Is it different for each living person? That is still not answered for it really could be.
She's then pulled into a sinner kind of a life. In the process, she may have found her love of her life. Tough to survive, she got to do something that is within her power and a secret.
Can she save her brother and herself or will she die as well? Her life in the afterlife is different than when she's out of the afterlife.
The author does get your attention and pulls you in. Have ever been wondering what it's like in your afterlife? You can see what it's like by reading this. Is it different for each living person? That is still not answered for it really could be.