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Sam (74 KP) rated Notes on a Nervous Planet in Books
Mar 27, 2019
Let’s just start off with the compulsory statement: I would read absolutely anything written by Matt Haig. I’ll link my reviews of his other books at the end of this post.
Notes is a follow-on book to Reasons to Stay Alive, and focuses on her the world is effecting your mental health. It’s in quite small chapters so it’s really easy to get along with and read in short bursts rather than being a book you need a large amount of free time to read.
I really loved Haig’s commentary on the roles of social media towards your mental health. He points out how social media can both help and hinder people’s mental health, and how social media is full of the best parts of people, not every part.
The thing I love about his writing is that he’s straight-talking. He says it as it is throughout the book, and definitely puts a strong point forward about exactly what can make a large difference to your mental health.
I’m happy that in Notes, Haig points out that there is no difference between mental and physical health in their effects, making a brilliant argument on why mental health should be taken more seriously by everyone.
When this book came in the post I told myself I was going to savour it, because I was so excited to get a new book by Matt Haig that I didn’t want to rush it. So in the end I read it in two days instead of one!
Notes on a Nervous Planet is definitely necessary reading for everyone, whether you have mental health struggles or not. It gives many ways to stop letting the world into your head and not wasting your energy worrying. It’s made me glad I read it.
Notes is a follow-on book to Reasons to Stay Alive, and focuses on her the world is effecting your mental health. It’s in quite small chapters so it’s really easy to get along with and read in short bursts rather than being a book you need a large amount of free time to read.
I really loved Haig’s commentary on the roles of social media towards your mental health. He points out how social media can both help and hinder people’s mental health, and how social media is full of the best parts of people, not every part.
The thing I love about his writing is that he’s straight-talking. He says it as it is throughout the book, and definitely puts a strong point forward about exactly what can make a large difference to your mental health.
I’m happy that in Notes, Haig points out that there is no difference between mental and physical health in their effects, making a brilliant argument on why mental health should be taken more seriously by everyone.
When this book came in the post I told myself I was going to savour it, because I was so excited to get a new book by Matt Haig that I didn’t want to rush it. So in the end I read it in two days instead of one!
Notes on a Nervous Planet is definitely necessary reading for everyone, whether you have mental health struggles or not. It gives many ways to stop letting the world into your head and not wasting your energy worrying. It’s made me glad I read it.
Billie Wichkan (118 KP) rated The Hairy Hand in Books
May 22, 2019
A gothic adventure for 8 -12 year olds, full of jokes, magical familiars and a gruesome cast of characters. When Septimus inherits a magical, treasure-finding Hairy Hand from his uncle, life suddenly becomes a lot more exciting - and dangerous!
Septimus feels out-of-place in his village where everyone else his age is called Darg or Smerg or Blaarg. Good, honest names that sound like you are have just swallowed something pointy or are sneezing into custard. Even his parents make him feel like a complete stranger. Especially his parents. Then he inherits something strange and frightening from his uncle. A Hairy Hand. It has the magical ability to find buried treasure which suits his parents (thieves by trade) down to the ground. However, instead of making his life better, it suddenly gets a lot more dangerous.
So, it is up to Sept to find out what else the Hand knows and put things right.
I enjoyed this humorous and moderately gruesome read which, I think, will appeal to its target audience.
Theres an amazing cast of ghastly characters, including Septs parents, Plog the Sneaker and Gertrude!
A fun and adventurous fantasy story of good versus bad, determination and resisting temptation.
The Characters and story line are varied and kept me guessing, laughing my way through the book at the antics and mishaps throughout, with a few cleverly woven in messages for those reading it.
If you are looking to introduce your children to Fantasy Adventure or yourselves or just as gift for someone then this truly would make someone very happy!
I highly recommend this fun book!!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Monster Books and Robin Bennett for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Septimus feels out-of-place in his village where everyone else his age is called Darg or Smerg or Blaarg. Good, honest names that sound like you are have just swallowed something pointy or are sneezing into custard. Even his parents make him feel like a complete stranger. Especially his parents. Then he inherits something strange and frightening from his uncle. A Hairy Hand. It has the magical ability to find buried treasure which suits his parents (thieves by trade) down to the ground. However, instead of making his life better, it suddenly gets a lot more dangerous.
So, it is up to Sept to find out what else the Hand knows and put things right.
I enjoyed this humorous and moderately gruesome read which, I think, will appeal to its target audience.
Theres an amazing cast of ghastly characters, including Septs parents, Plog the Sneaker and Gertrude!
A fun and adventurous fantasy story of good versus bad, determination and resisting temptation.
The Characters and story line are varied and kept me guessing, laughing my way through the book at the antics and mishaps throughout, with a few cleverly woven in messages for those reading it.
If you are looking to introduce your children to Fantasy Adventure or yourselves or just as gift for someone then this truly would make someone very happy!
I highly recommend this fun book!!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Monster Books and Robin Bennett for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Little Veggie Patch Co. DIY Garden Projects: Easy Activities for Edible Gardening and Backyard Fun
Mat Pember and Dillon Seitchik-Reardon
Book
The Little Veggie Patch Company is a Melbourne based business that specializes in everything that...
Structure and Space: Giles & Pike Architects
Matt Giles, Tom Pike and Dominic Bradbury
Book
Structure and Space traces the 35-year history of London-based practice Giles & Pike Architects,...
Socialize Your Patient Engagement Strategy: How Social Media and Mobile Apps Can Boost Health Outcomes
John Mack and Letizia Affinito
Book
Socialize Your Patient Engagement Strategy makes the case for a fundamentally new approach to...
Ronyell (38 KP) rated Coraline (2009) in Movies
Aug 4, 2020 (Updated Aug 4, 2020)
The Darkside of Wonderland
I remembered reading Neil Gaiman's book on this classic story about a young girl wanting a better life, but finding out the hard way that sometimes it's good to be satisfied with what you have rather than having a life that's not real and I have always loved how this story was set up and how creepy it was! So, when I heard that they were finally making a movie about this novel, I was super excited and my excitement was definitely not misplaced in this movie! I just loved how the animation really fit with the creepy tone of this story as it was jerky in your typical stop motion way and yet gorgeous to gaze at! I also loved the story itself as it was about Coraline learning that not all things are paradise when she visits the other world and I also loved the fact that Coraline took it upon herself to rescue her parents when they were kidnapped as it showed great courage in her character! I also loved Coraline's neighbors in both the real world and the other world, as they were eccentric yet helpful towards Coraline, especially Mr. Bobinsky, who was probably one of the most interesting characters in this movie!
The only problem I had with this movie was that the beginning was sort of slow and I wished that there was more action at the beginning that would have capture my attention of this movie from the beginning.
Overall, "Coraline" is definitely one movie you should check out, especially if you are a huge fan of Neil Gaiman's books or if you are a huge fan of weird and creepy animated films in general!
The only problem I had with this movie was that the beginning was sort of slow and I wished that there was more action at the beginning that would have capture my attention of this movie from the beginning.
Overall, "Coraline" is definitely one movie you should check out, especially if you are a huge fan of Neil Gaiman's books or if you are a huge fan of weird and creepy animated films in general!
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated The Hating Game in Books
Apr 22, 2022
I wasn’t sure what to expect of this book as I had seen some reviews where people had loved it and some where people had hated it. I went into it with an open mind and within 18 pages I was laughing at some of the comments Lucy made about Josh.
The typical chick-lit with a touch of humour, it wasn’t hard to guess the outcome of the book, but it was a joyful and funny ride to get there. There were so many moments where I either laughed out loud or snorted because of a comment, making it a good read in my eyes!
I enjoyed the hatred between Lucy and Josh and all of the little “games” that they played in the office to see who could annoy each other first. I did guess where the story was going to end with them quite early on in the book, but I still needed to find out what some of the things meant (like the marks in Josh’s planner) and the journey was fun to undertake with Lucy and Josh.
At first I found Josh extremely unlikeable, but after the paint balling team building day, I grew to like him more and more with his actions. Although I definitely wouldn’t have come to the conclusion that he was shy and that was the reason for his behaviour like Lucy did.
Sally Thorne’s writing was so easy to get lost in, and I found myself having to make myself put the book down to get some sleep but not being able to wait to be able to pick it back up again. I think this might be a go to book to read again and again. I will have to see if Sally Thorne’s other books are just as good!
The typical chick-lit with a touch of humour, it wasn’t hard to guess the outcome of the book, but it was a joyful and funny ride to get there. There were so many moments where I either laughed out loud or snorted because of a comment, making it a good read in my eyes!
I enjoyed the hatred between Lucy and Josh and all of the little “games” that they played in the office to see who could annoy each other first. I did guess where the story was going to end with them quite early on in the book, but I still needed to find out what some of the things meant (like the marks in Josh’s planner) and the journey was fun to undertake with Lucy and Josh.
At first I found Josh extremely unlikeable, but after the paint balling team building day, I grew to like him more and more with his actions. Although I definitely wouldn’t have come to the conclusion that he was shy and that was the reason for his behaviour like Lucy did.
Sally Thorne’s writing was so easy to get lost in, and I found myself having to make myself put the book down to get some sleep but not being able to wait to be able to pick it back up again. I think this might be a go to book to read again and again. I will have to see if Sally Thorne’s other books are just as good!
David McK (3369 KP) rated The Horse and His Boy (Chronicles of Narnia, #5) in Books
Jan 28, 2019
Firstly, is this the third Narnia book, or is it the fifth?
The answer to that is whether you go by chronological setting (in which case it's the third), or by publication date (it's the fifth).
This is also a story that I didn't remember reading as a child; however, when I was recently re-reading it I was finding plot elements to be a little-bit-more-familiar than I was otherwise expecting: perhaps I did, and had just forgotten.
Unlike [b: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe|100915|The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)|C.S. Lewis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1353029077s/100915.jpg|4790821], this does not follow the Pevensie children, but rather the journey of a young boy named Shasta who discovers he was adopted and is running away to Narnia when his adoptive father is about to sell him into slavery; running away alongside/with the help of the talking horse Bree. Along the way they fall in with a girl named Aravis and her talking horse Hwin, who are also making the same escape.
While I've heard arguments recently that, in this book, CS Lewis is displaying his own racist xenophobia ('fair and white ... accursed but beautiful Barbarians'), personally I think that is reading too much into what is simply intended to be a children's Arabian Nights esque fairytale
The answer to that is whether you go by chronological setting (in which case it's the third), or by publication date (it's the fifth).
This is also a story that I didn't remember reading as a child; however, when I was recently re-reading it I was finding plot elements to be a little-bit-more-familiar than I was otherwise expecting: perhaps I did, and had just forgotten.
Unlike [b: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe|100915|The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)|C.S. Lewis|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1353029077s/100915.jpg|4790821], this does not follow the Pevensie children, but rather the journey of a young boy named Shasta who discovers he was adopted and is running away to Narnia when his adoptive father is about to sell him into slavery; running away alongside/with the help of the talking horse Bree. Along the way they fall in with a girl named Aravis and her talking horse Hwin, who are also making the same escape.
While I've heard arguments recently that, in this book, CS Lewis is displaying his own racist xenophobia ('fair and white ... accursed but beautiful Barbarians'), personally I think that is reading too much into what is simply intended to be a children's Arabian Nights esque fairytale
Merissa (11938 KP) rated Hunter (The Silver #6) in Books
Mar 13, 2020
Hunter is the sixth book in the Silver series and this time, we head out of town, to a small farming community where Dray lives. He is slightly frustrated as he is 'one-of-a-kind' as far as he knows and there are somethings he just can't do if he wants to keep his secret - playing football being one example. That all changes when Gem and her parents move to town.
Yey!!! Gem gets her Happy Ever After! And she really couldn't have chosen a nicer guy. I love Dray, I really do. His commitment to his town, his friends, and his family are wonderful to read about. I love how his relationship with Gem moves quickly and yet also seems perfectly natural.
Things are hotting up for Jaze too though, which is making me long for the last book. I love how Ms. Alsop is able to tie all the different characters and locations together in such a seamless manner.
Although Jet will always be my favourite, there is something about this farm boy that has made him come a close second. Fantastic writing, smooth pacing, perfect characters - so, yep, I highly recommend this book!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Yey!!! Gem gets her Happy Ever After! And she really couldn't have chosen a nicer guy. I love Dray, I really do. His commitment to his town, his friends, and his family are wonderful to read about. I love how his relationship with Gem moves quickly and yet also seems perfectly natural.
Things are hotting up for Jaze too though, which is making me long for the last book. I love how Ms. Alsop is able to tie all the different characters and locations together in such a seamless manner.
Although Jet will always be my favourite, there is something about this farm boy that has made him come a close second. Fantastic writing, smooth pacing, perfect characters - so, yep, I highly recommend this book!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Introduction to Multicopter Design and Control
Book
This book is the first textbook specially on multicopter systems in the world. It provides a...