Search

Search only in certain items:

Witches of Bourbon Street (Jade Calhoun #2)
Witches of Bourbon Street (Jade Calhoun #2)
Deanna Chase | 2020 | Paranormal, Romance
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
129 of 200
Kindle
Witches of Bourbon street ( Jade Calhoun book 2)
By Deanna Chase

Jade Calhoun was never fond of her empath abilities. Now she’s discovered she has another gift she’d rather not unwrap—magic. But when her mentor, Bea, becomes gravely ill and insists Jade’s the only one who can help, she’s forced to embrace her witchy side.

It’s too bad she spent a decade shunning the magical community and never learned to harness her powers. Because time’s run out. A trapped spirit has revealed a clue to Jade’s long-lost mother. The resident angel has gone rogue and disappeared with Jade’s boyfriend, Kane. And if that wasn’t enough, her ex appears to be possessed.

To save any of them, Jade will need to find a way to control her inner white witch—without succumbing to black magic. Otherwise, she’ll lose everything…including her soul.




I think this series is brigand I love the author! I’ve always loved New Orleans and I’d just love to visit and reading good books like this makes me want to go more. We follow Jade facing yet more personal demons quite literally and she finally gets a few answers to others behaviour. Definitely recommended
  
40x40

Andy Bell recommended Amnesia by Mr. Fingers in Music (curated)

 
Amnesia by Mr. Fingers
Amnesia by Mr. Fingers
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"This is a record I discovered long after the fact, but it’s become one of my favorite albums of all time. I love it even more because it comes from that magical late ‘80s period when there was so much amazing music being made. It’s like other records I’ve chosen because it has its own sound that permeates every track on the record. A while back, I treated myself to an original pressing of this. It was one of the few times in my life I have actually bought one of the albums that hang on the wall of a record store rather than in the racks! It was expensive at the time, I think around £30, but when I think about how many rounds of drinks I bought that cost more than that, it feels like money well spent. This is Larry Heard, the bedroom genius; it’s such a distilled version of his talents. And as such, I found it really inspirational when I started to want to make my own electronic music. I record under the name GLOK and Mr. Fingers is one of my main influences. My favorites are ‘Can You Feel It’ and ‘Washing Machine,’ but it’s all excellent."

Source
  
Fanny and Alexander (1982)
Fanny and Alexander (1982)
1982 | Drama, International

"Ingmar Bergman’s masterpiece was an international critical and financial success, winning four Oscars. And that was in its truncated, just-over-three-hour version. Included in this set is Bergman’s full version, made for Swedish television. Presented in four parts, it comes in at over five hours, nearly twice as long as the theatrical cut. It’s truly a marvel to behold, intricately detailing every aspect of the lives of the Ekdahl family in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Sweden. As it brilliantly charts a span of several years through the eyes of children, the film is equally detailed with its adult characters’ points of view. Equal parts joyous and tragic. A marvelous and loving tribute to Bergman’s life in the theater. Full of magical realism and stark, painful reality. A meditation on death and a celebration of life. Dickensian in nature (Dickens is said to have been a major influence on Bergman for this film). Truly unlike anything else he ever did. It recalls the great epics of David Lean, which were massive in scope while also being concerned with intimate details of the human condition and its fragility. A masterwork in either version. Watch them both and never be bored for a moment."

Source
  
Impersonator by Majical Cloudz
Impersonator by Majical Cloudz
2013 | Alternative
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"ARE YOU KIDDING?! Magical Cloudz?! Majical Cloudz is two guys from Montreal and this record is only two years old. I bought it on a whim because I was intrigued by the strange spelling and a friend had seen them live and said that it was one of the most startling experiences of his life. I didn't listen to it immediately, but a couple of days after New Year's, I was feeling crushed, it was raining, I had it on my headphones and there was something so private and discreet about it. It's all to do with the lyrics and the singer; the music is very understated, there's no real progression in the songs. Unobtrusive, discreet backdrops for what it might feel like stumbling across an AA meeting or a domestic argument or reading someone's diary. There's a confessional, disarming honesty about his lyrics, they're poetic - there's some imagery that adds to the strangeness in a way, but when I listen to it, I feel like I have a companion in my head, the same as when you fall in love with a book. Of all the records that have recently come out, it's the only one I feel like I'll be in love with for a long time, it's very special to me."

Source
  
40x40

ClareR (5667 KP) rated Gingerbread in Books

Apr 17, 2021  
Gingerbread
Gingerbread
Helen Oyeyemi | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
My initial thought on finishing Gingerbread was “what have I just read?”
This is a meandering, imaginative tale with gingerbread at it’s heart. There are a lot of nods to fairytales, from the use of gingerbread, to the name of Harriet’s best friend: Gretel. The rags and riches stories: characters leaving their farm homes to move to the city and make their fortunes.
Magical realism is used throughout, from the way that Harriet and her mother leave their homeland of Druhastrana to move to London, to Perdita’s talking dolls, who are in fact part doll, part plant.
Moving houses, haunted houses, boys who run away just like the Gingerbread Man. This is not a linear, beginning, middle and end kind of story.
At points I wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but decided I didn’t care. It’s a joy to read, and I quite like a book that makes me work for the story, from time to time!
There was a nod to real life: a country cut off from any others (Brexit, anyone?), girls working for pretend/ little money and exploited, and illegal immigration.
There’s a lot to unpick in this, but to be honest, I just enjoyed the ride!
  
40x40

Josh Sadfie recommended Close-Up (1990) in Movies (curated)

 
Close-Up (1990)
Close-Up (1990)
1990 | Biography, Crime, Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Close Up by Abbas Kiarostami. The way that that film blends fiction and reality, it is a north star for me. He made a movie about a contemporary Iranian filmmaker named Mohsen Makhmalbaf, and he read an article in the paper about a person who went around pretending to be this filmmaker in order to scam a family out of money and resources. And he went and cast the guy who was going around pretending to be Makhmalbaf, and he cast the real family that he scammed. And he recreated each scenario as if it was a script. He used real life as a script, and you’re watching the real players re-enact something that happened recently in their life, and the result is magical. The result is something that only film can give you. It makes you question your own self. It makes you question, what is a personality? It makes you question empathy. Because you start to actually see that this guy is actually a great actor, the main guy. And then you have one of the most complicated moments in all movies, when Makhmalbaf himself picks up the guy from the prison and rides on a motorcycle through Tehran. Masterpiece"

Source
  
40x40

Anders Holm recommended Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys in Music (curated)

 
Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys
Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys
1989 | Hip-hop, Rock
8.0 (4 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"That is the album. It’s got all the songs on there that I love. You know, like ‘High Plains Drifter.’ That was an era of Beastie Boys that was between where they were like frat-partying animals and were like, ‘Whoa, hold up. We can really be artists with this rap thing.’ I think they were on the first album, obviously it was a breakthrough. I think this was their statement album—their first statement album of many. I am a huge fan. “To be honest, I could have gone with Check Your Head or Ill Communication since those were more my era of when I was deep in music. I think I stole my brother’s Licensed To Ill tape. The first one I bought on my own was Check Your Head. After I got that I was like, 'Oh, this is the shit.' I went back to go buy Paul's Boutique. And Paul’s Boutique, along with the other few albums I chose, just sounded like it was from another planet. It existed always. There was nothing wrong with it. The voicemail, outgoing message about Paul’s Boutique: 'We are here in Brooklyn.' It was like, this is for real, I could go there. I could call that number. It just seemed, like, magical."

Source
  
Soundtrack to 'La Planete Sauvage' by Alain Goraguer
Soundtrack to 'La Planete Sauvage' by Alain Goraguer
1973 | Soundtrack
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"To say anything is my favourite album is a bit of a lie because I change my mind from hour to hour, but if I had to choose a desert island album it would be this. I have such a personal sentimental attachment to it because I used to watch that film with my dad, and when he died there was a video cassette left and I watched it a lot. It got me into drawing, and the music is the first musical experience I ever had when I wanted to figure out a song. I was only 6 or 7 but I wanted to figure that music out. I think it made me always prefer minor chords and gloomier sounds. Watching that film, I remember feeling like it was almost magical and also terrifying. It's quite a violent film, and sexual, it was quite overwhelming. I was terrified and excited at the same time. It was the start of a burst of creativity for me, it started me drawing and the first drawings I did were always these alien landscapes – like most young boys. I started drawing and playing music all because of that album. It wasn't until years later that I realised that this amazing score was by this guy Alain Goraguer."

Source
  
A Spell for Chameleon
A Spell for Chameleon
Piers Anthony | 1977 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
7.3 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
Magic system (1 more)
Magical creatures
How the women characters are sometimes portrayed (1 more)
Overly logical explanations
It is a good intro into the fantasy genre, however it is a product of its time and how he portrays the female characters is a little lacking. Although you can tell he tries to make them...good? Interesting? More (for lack of a better term) than what most books had in 1977. He tried. It does get a bit dull especially if you've read someone who actually has written good/great female characters.
And I know the main character is 25 but at times he seems younger than that so although he complains a lot about being coddled and treated like a child, I sometimes think dude you're such a child. And how he thinks about women sometimes dismissing them is blah but he not irredeemably idiotic about it just annoying at times.
Anthony likes his "!" for emphasis which maybe the book showing its age! But it was a fun story and has a wonderful magic system so it sorta evens itself out.
It was a fun book and kept you guessing and didn't end exactly the way I thought it would which as good but didn't completely catch me by surprise.