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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) created a post
May 1, 2023
The final novel published in John Wyndham's lifetime is something of a return to form, offering a very different and understated take on the theme of first contact with alien life. The Gores are an utterly ordinary middle-class family until twelve-year-old Matthew acquires what seems to be a very strange imaginary friend - Chocky, who keeps asking all kinds of strange questions about life on Earth. As Chocky's influence over Matthew grows, vested terrestrial interests take an interest in this strange situation...
The thing that makes Chocky work so well - the overwhelming ordinariness of most of the characters and settings, contrasted with the always-at-a-remove alien presence of Chocky - is also the thing that will probably pose the biggest barrier for modern audiences. Wyndham was writing SF that would be acceptable to mainstream sixties readers, and his dry, reserved, conventional narrative voice may have done the job back then, but it feels rather dated now. Nevertheless this is a strong story, very capably told, touching upon some interesting ideas about communication with a truly alien intelligence. Not quite like anything else I've ever read; possibly a minor classic.
The thing that makes Chocky work so well - the overwhelming ordinariness of most of the characters and settings, contrasted with the always-at-a-remove alien presence of Chocky - is also the thing that will probably pose the biggest barrier for modern audiences. Wyndham was writing SF that would be acceptable to mainstream sixties readers, and his dry, reserved, conventional narrative voice may have done the job back then, but it feels rather dated now. Nevertheless this is a strong story, very capably told, touching upon some interesting ideas about communication with a truly alien intelligence. Not quite like anything else I've ever read; possibly a minor classic.
Merissa (11779 KP) rated Exodus (Valen's Pack #2) in Books
Apr 11, 2023
So Valen is happily mated with Aaron and life is good, right? Well, not quite. In this sequel to Run With The Moon, the pack is still integrating and although Valen is doing what he can, it is still a 'them and us' situation. Still, he manages to come up with an idea which will help both sides work together as well as building up their village.
Of course, nothing is quite as straightforward as that and Rivvie and Matthew are the ones we hear most about (as it's their book). They get off to a very rocky start but the attraction quickly flares up. Matthew is feeling very insecure as he used to be the one that all the ladies wanted as they knew he wouldn't make them pregnant. Now, he's surrounded by all the buff bodies of the shifters and he feels like he's not needed anymore. Add to that, he's upset because Rivvie isn't flirting with him anymore and he doesn't quite understand that as he thought he was into females.
So we have all that going on but hey, that's nowhere near enough. Throw in a couple of natural disasters - earthquakes, twisters, floods and storms - plus some rabid humans, a missing shaman and a mother who can't work past her grief. This book is full-on action with a fast pace that will keep you turning the pages. There is more to Rivvie than just being a joker and there is more to Matthew than just being a stud, but it takes the two of them time and patience to learn that.
A brilliant second book in the series and I can't wait to read more. Thoroughly enjoyed it and definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
January 20, 2017
Of course, nothing is quite as straightforward as that and Rivvie and Matthew are the ones we hear most about (as it's their book). They get off to a very rocky start but the attraction quickly flares up. Matthew is feeling very insecure as he used to be the one that all the ladies wanted as they knew he wouldn't make them pregnant. Now, he's surrounded by all the buff bodies of the shifters and he feels like he's not needed anymore. Add to that, he's upset because Rivvie isn't flirting with him anymore and he doesn't quite understand that as he thought he was into females.
So we have all that going on but hey, that's nowhere near enough. Throw in a couple of natural disasters - earthquakes, twisters, floods and storms - plus some rabid humans, a missing shaman and a mother who can't work past her grief. This book is full-on action with a fast pace that will keep you turning the pages. There is more to Rivvie than just being a joker and there is more to Matthew than just being a stud, but it takes the two of them time and patience to learn that.
A brilliant second book in the series and I can't wait to read more. Thoroughly enjoyed it and definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
January 20, 2017
Hazel (1853 KP) rated This Secret We're Keeping in Books
May 25, 2017
Well-Written
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
A pupil and a teacher. Is it ever right to break the rules? This is the dilemma which debut author Rebecca Done basis her novel on. This Secret We’re Keeping is set seventeen years after a maths teacher began an inappropriate relationship with a schoolgirl; but did he really deserve what happened to him, after all he loved her and she loved him?
Jess has never got over her love for the teacher she ran away with when she was fifteen. Although she has got her life together: living in Norfolk, freelance catering business, a rich boyfriend; she cannot help but think back to way Mr. Landley, Matthew, made her feel. Suddenly, after a chance encounter, Matthew is back in her life with a new name, Will, and a girlfriend and daughter. Delighted to see each other again, it is not long before they fall back into their illicit affair, however the potential consequences are almost as bad as the previous time.
This Secret We’re Keeping causes the reader to question strong personal beliefs, primarily whether a teacher-student relationship is as wrong as it sounds. If certain events in this novel were to be made public through the media, the majority would instantly hate Matthew, deem him a paedophile, and be satisfied with his punishment. However on reading the situation from his point of view, initial opinions begin to crumble. It appears he genuinely loved Jess, and she him; there were no abusive occurrences, and it was Jess that instigated the relationship in the first place. Did Matthew truly deserve to go to prison for something that would have been legal in a year’s time?
Matthew/Will’s narrative helps to show that it is virtually impossible to pinpoint a single moment that changes a life forever. At which point did he know that he had stepped over the line from right to wrong? In hindsight it is fairly obvious, but at the time the warning signs are not so clear.
Due to the challenging of preset judgments, This Secret We’re Keeping can often be difficult to read. Whilst on the one hand logic will be screaming, “This is wrong!” Done plays with her readers’ sentimentalities to consider the other side of the argument. As the novel progresses it becomes easier to fall in line with Jess and Matthew/Will’s viewpoints, however a brief interaction towards the end forces readers to temporarily reconsider their forgone conclusion. After all, how much can a first person narrative really be trusted?
Having read the blurb I admit I was a bit wary about reading this book. For one, it falls under the genre of Chick Lit, which I am not all that fond of, but secondly the book’s theme appeared rather controversial. On the whole, This Secret We’re Keeping was much better than I was anticipating, however I began to lose interest towards the end as nothing much had changed throughout the present day chapters, and it was already obvious how the past narrative would pan out. The ending is also frustratingly ambiguous, as we never find out whether either of the key characters gets a “happy ever after.”
If you are someone who enjoys Chick Lit, do not let the themes of the book put you off. This Secret We’re Keeping is essentially a romance story, one that is written remarkably well for a first time author. Rebecca Done will be a name to look out for in the world of contemporary literature.
A pupil and a teacher. Is it ever right to break the rules? This is the dilemma which debut author Rebecca Done basis her novel on. This Secret We’re Keeping is set seventeen years after a maths teacher began an inappropriate relationship with a schoolgirl; but did he really deserve what happened to him, after all he loved her and she loved him?
Jess has never got over her love for the teacher she ran away with when she was fifteen. Although she has got her life together: living in Norfolk, freelance catering business, a rich boyfriend; she cannot help but think back to way Mr. Landley, Matthew, made her feel. Suddenly, after a chance encounter, Matthew is back in her life with a new name, Will, and a girlfriend and daughter. Delighted to see each other again, it is not long before they fall back into their illicit affair, however the potential consequences are almost as bad as the previous time.
This Secret We’re Keeping causes the reader to question strong personal beliefs, primarily whether a teacher-student relationship is as wrong as it sounds. If certain events in this novel were to be made public through the media, the majority would instantly hate Matthew, deem him a paedophile, and be satisfied with his punishment. However on reading the situation from his point of view, initial opinions begin to crumble. It appears he genuinely loved Jess, and she him; there were no abusive occurrences, and it was Jess that instigated the relationship in the first place. Did Matthew truly deserve to go to prison for something that would have been legal in a year’s time?
Matthew/Will’s narrative helps to show that it is virtually impossible to pinpoint a single moment that changes a life forever. At which point did he know that he had stepped over the line from right to wrong? In hindsight it is fairly obvious, but at the time the warning signs are not so clear.
Due to the challenging of preset judgments, This Secret We’re Keeping can often be difficult to read. Whilst on the one hand logic will be screaming, “This is wrong!” Done plays with her readers’ sentimentalities to consider the other side of the argument. As the novel progresses it becomes easier to fall in line with Jess and Matthew/Will’s viewpoints, however a brief interaction towards the end forces readers to temporarily reconsider their forgone conclusion. After all, how much can a first person narrative really be trusted?
Having read the blurb I admit I was a bit wary about reading this book. For one, it falls under the genre of Chick Lit, which I am not all that fond of, but secondly the book’s theme appeared rather controversial. On the whole, This Secret We’re Keeping was much better than I was anticipating, however I began to lose interest towards the end as nothing much had changed throughout the present day chapters, and it was already obvious how the past narrative would pan out. The ending is also frustratingly ambiguous, as we never find out whether either of the key characters gets a “happy ever after.”
If you are someone who enjoys Chick Lit, do not let the themes of the book put you off. This Secret We’re Keeping is essentially a romance story, one that is written remarkably well for a first time author. Rebecca Done will be a name to look out for in the world of contemporary literature.
The Marinated Meeple (1848 KP) rated Spartan Gold (Fargo Adventure, #1) in Books
Apr 17, 2018
Sam and Remi Fargo (1 more)
Adventure involving Wine, Nazis, Spartans, and much more.
Great Book to satisfy the adventure seeker in your soul.
My mother is a Clive Cussler reader, and has been for years... she's been pitching them to me for a long time. I went to see the Dirk Pitt movie with Matthew McConaughey a while back and thought I had no interest in anything Clive Cussler after that.... Turns out, I was missing out.... I've still yet to try a Dirk Pitt novel, but these Fargos are entirely different, and I kinda love them as people, let alone characters. This is the first of the series, and I don't think you need to start with this one, but I thought it was appropriate. I loved all the different locations they go to, and all the different interesting things they do and the puzzles and riddles they solve. It's a very easy read, prefect for the beach, or in my case: Audiobook on the way to and from work. I've now read a few of the books and I enjoy each of them. I'm sad when I've completed each of them knowing I can never read that one again for the first time. but I'm sure I will re-read them again later in life. When I've forgotten enough of them to be surprised again. Are they Perfect? no, are they Fun? yes....
Spooner (0 KP) rated The Dark Tower (2017) in Movies
Feb 25, 2018
Could have been so good!!!
Omg. If there was a book that could have been a great movie franchise,Dark Tower was that book. What the hell was Stephen King thinking with selling the rights to a no name director. I heard the only reason the director got the job was because the books helped him learn English.
Yeah ok so what? Just because I played a video game all the way through doesen't mean I should direct a movie version of it.
Why the hell was this a sequel to the books also? Not everyone has read the books. Newcomers aren't gonna understand this because they never read the books.
Idris Elba was a great Roland and sadly the only good thing about the movie. Matthew mccoughnahey was ok as the man in black. Honestly I thought Ray liotta would have been better.
This isn't a god awful movie,it's just a very poor take on the books. If Ron Howard had stayed on I know he would have nailed it.
Yeah ok so what? Just because I played a video game all the way through doesen't mean I should direct a movie version of it.
Why the hell was this a sequel to the books also? Not everyone has read the books. Newcomers aren't gonna understand this because they never read the books.
Idris Elba was a great Roland and sadly the only good thing about the movie. Matthew mccoughnahey was ok as the man in black. Honestly I thought Ray liotta would have been better.
This isn't a god awful movie,it's just a very poor take on the books. If Ron Howard had stayed on I know he would have nailed it.
David McK (3233 KP) rated Rebellion (Matthew Hawkwood, #4) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
The fourth book in James McGee's Matthew Hawkwood series of books, and over the course of the last two (in particular), the eponymous Bow Street Runner is getting further and further away from his usual haunts!
In this installment, Hawkwood actually spends the vast majority of it in the heart of Imperial France: in Paris itself, while Napoleon is away on his ill-fated Russian campaign. Again taking real historical facts as its basis, this novel concerns itself primarily with a conspiracy attempt to over-throw the regime: an event which, obviously, did not succeed.
If I'm honest, and to draw an anology between these books and the Star Wars films (which might seem strange, but bear with me!), the first couple of books in the series are like the original couple of films: full of danger, action and excitement. This one, unfortunately, is more like Episode I: seeming to be setting itself up for a broader story arc, and more concerned with politics than with action and excitement.
Worth a read? Yes, but if this was my introduction to the series as a whole - which can, by and large, be read independently as they only occassionally refer to earlier events - I wouldn't be going out of my way to look for any others in thes series, unlike if I had read any of the others first.
In this installment, Hawkwood actually spends the vast majority of it in the heart of Imperial France: in Paris itself, while Napoleon is away on his ill-fated Russian campaign. Again taking real historical facts as its basis, this novel concerns itself primarily with a conspiracy attempt to over-throw the regime: an event which, obviously, did not succeed.
If I'm honest, and to draw an anology between these books and the Star Wars films (which might seem strange, but bear with me!), the first couple of books in the series are like the original couple of films: full of danger, action and excitement. This one, unfortunately, is more like Episode I: seeming to be setting itself up for a broader story arc, and more concerned with politics than with action and excitement.
Worth a read? Yes, but if this was my introduction to the series as a whole - which can, by and large, be read independently as they only occassionally refer to earlier events - I wouldn't be going out of my way to look for any others in thes series, unlike if I had read any of the others first.
Niten. NR (75 KP) rated Interstellar (2014) in Movies
Jul 14, 2017
Matthew McConaughey (3 more)
Amazing Script
Mind blowing filming and effects
Amazing soundtrack
Mind Blowing Space Adventure
I read somthwhere recently that many amazing films start with a mundane life and then sends the main characters out of the norm and into a great adventure. This is one of those instances on a epic level. Everything about this is amazing. The storyline is huge but focused, it's adventurous in the extreme and in parts it's very imotional. I can't think of many characters like Copper who are so imotionally driven. The filming is superb, the visual effects of outer space and the planets are amazing. Hans Zimmer wows with a killer soundtrack. Don't slag this film off when I'm around or we'll be having words. I love it!
Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018) in Movies
Jan 4, 2019
A little dull and lacking
I didn’t particularly think much of the book for this, it was a little too sickly sweet. The film however appears to ignore most of the sickly sweet fluffiness and at least embraces the serious side of the story about the war. However that doesn’t mean it’s any better. Instead it comes across as rather dull and the plot itself is entirely predictable. It has a great cast, with Lily James, Michiel Huisman and Matthew Goode notably standing out, so at least they make it watchable. It’s just a shame that the story has had most of the detail and heart taken out of it - it seems like a very long film yet isn’t particularly detailed. Another one to add to the ‘read the book instead’ pile.
Hazel (1853 KP) rated This Secret We're Keeping in Books
Dec 7, 2018
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
A pupil and a teacher. Is it ever right to break the rules?</i> This is the dilemma which debut author Rebecca Done basis her novel on. <i>This Secret We’re Keeping</i> is set seventeen years after a maths teacher began an inappropriate relationship with a schoolgirl; but did he really deserve what happened to him, after all he loved her and she loved him?
Jess has never got over her love for the teacher she ran away with when she was fifteen. Although she has got her life together: living in Norfolk, freelance catering business, a rich boyfriend; she cannot help but think back to way Mr. Landley, Matthew, made her feel. Suddenly, after a chance encounter, Matthew is back in her life with a new name, Will, and a girlfriend and daughter. Delighted to see each other again, it is not long before they fall back into their illicit affair, however the potential consequences are almost as bad as the previous time.
<i>This Secret We’re Keeping</i> causes the reader to question strong personal beliefs, primarily whether a teacher-student relationship is as wrong as it sounds. If certain events in this novel were to be made public through the media, the majority would instantly hate Matthew, deem him a paedophile, and be satisfied with his punishment. However on reading the situation from his point of view, initial opinions begin to crumble. It appears he genuinely loved Jess, and she him; there were no abusive occurrences, and it was Jess that instigated the relationship in the first place. Did Matthew truly deserve to go to prison for something that would have been legal in a year’s time?
Matthew/Will’s narrative helps to show that it is virtually impossible to pinpoint a single moment that changes a life forever. At which point did he know that he had stepped over the line from right to wrong? In hindsight it is fairly obvious, but at the time the warning signs are not so clear.
Due to the challenging of preset judgments, <i>This Secret We’re Keeping</i> can often be difficult to read. Whilst on the one hand logic will be screaming, “This is wrong!” Done plays with her readers’ sentimentalities to consider the other side of the argument. As the novel progresses it becomes easier to fall in line with Jess and Matthew/Will’s viewpoints, however a brief interaction towards the end forces readers to temporarily reconsider their forgone conclusion. After all, how much can a first person narrative really be trusted?
Having read the blurb I admit I was a bit wary about reading this book. For one, it falls under the genre of Chick Lit, which I am not all that fond of, but secondly the book’s theme appeared rather controversial. On the whole, <i>This Secret We’re Keeping</i> was much better than I was anticipating, however I began to lose interest towards the end as nothing much had changed throughout the present day chapters, and it was already obvious how the past narrative would pan out. The ending is also frustratingly ambiguous, as we never find out whether either of the key characters gets a “happy ever after.”
If you are someone who enjoys Chick Lit, do not let the themes of the book put you off. <i>This Secret We’re Keeping</i> is essentially a romance story, one that is written remarkably well for a first time author. Rebecca Done will be a name to look out for in the world of contemporary literature.
A pupil and a teacher. Is it ever right to break the rules?</i> This is the dilemma which debut author Rebecca Done basis her novel on. <i>This Secret We’re Keeping</i> is set seventeen years after a maths teacher began an inappropriate relationship with a schoolgirl; but did he really deserve what happened to him, after all he loved her and she loved him?
Jess has never got over her love for the teacher she ran away with when she was fifteen. Although she has got her life together: living in Norfolk, freelance catering business, a rich boyfriend; she cannot help but think back to way Mr. Landley, Matthew, made her feel. Suddenly, after a chance encounter, Matthew is back in her life with a new name, Will, and a girlfriend and daughter. Delighted to see each other again, it is not long before they fall back into their illicit affair, however the potential consequences are almost as bad as the previous time.
<i>This Secret We’re Keeping</i> causes the reader to question strong personal beliefs, primarily whether a teacher-student relationship is as wrong as it sounds. If certain events in this novel were to be made public through the media, the majority would instantly hate Matthew, deem him a paedophile, and be satisfied with his punishment. However on reading the situation from his point of view, initial opinions begin to crumble. It appears he genuinely loved Jess, and she him; there were no abusive occurrences, and it was Jess that instigated the relationship in the first place. Did Matthew truly deserve to go to prison for something that would have been legal in a year’s time?
Matthew/Will’s narrative helps to show that it is virtually impossible to pinpoint a single moment that changes a life forever. At which point did he know that he had stepped over the line from right to wrong? In hindsight it is fairly obvious, but at the time the warning signs are not so clear.
Due to the challenging of preset judgments, <i>This Secret We’re Keeping</i> can often be difficult to read. Whilst on the one hand logic will be screaming, “This is wrong!” Done plays with her readers’ sentimentalities to consider the other side of the argument. As the novel progresses it becomes easier to fall in line with Jess and Matthew/Will’s viewpoints, however a brief interaction towards the end forces readers to temporarily reconsider their forgone conclusion. After all, how much can a first person narrative really be trusted?
Having read the blurb I admit I was a bit wary about reading this book. For one, it falls under the genre of Chick Lit, which I am not all that fond of, but secondly the book’s theme appeared rather controversial. On the whole, <i>This Secret We’re Keeping</i> was much better than I was anticipating, however I began to lose interest towards the end as nothing much had changed throughout the present day chapters, and it was already obvious how the past narrative would pan out. The ending is also frustratingly ambiguous, as we never find out whether either of the key characters gets a “happy ever after.”
If you are someone who enjoys Chick Lit, do not let the themes of the book put you off. <i>This Secret We’re Keeping</i> is essentially a romance story, one that is written remarkably well for a first time author. Rebecca Done will be a name to look out for in the world of contemporary literature.