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Cruising Anglesey and Adjoining Waters: Cruising Anglesey and Adjoining Waters
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Ralph Morris's guide to the island of Anglesey and coast from Liverpool to Pwllheli was first...
Amanda (96 KP) rated The Tattooist of Auschwitz in Books
May 29, 2019
“If you wake up in the morning, it is a good day.”
So I thought about it, and I’ve decided to write my review for this book. I’ve never read books that center around The Holocaust. I never thought I would, because I’ve seen several movies and just the sheer graphics of it alone made me sad. I know this was supposed to be based on a true story, but I went into it with the mindset that it wasn’t true, because most times, some of those stories are fabricated for drama purposes. I’ve read that even Heather Morris added some things to the story for that reason, so again, I saw it as just another story.
The story centers around Lale who is transferred to Auschwitz, but is given the job as a tattooist. From the descriptions, he has to use a really awful needle and has to press down hard enough for the numbers to be seen and never removed – a highly painful process that he has to perform even on children. Then one day, he tattoos a lady that catches his eye, Gita, and from then on he plans to love her and marry her WHEN they get out of Auschwitz.
Off the bat, something about the writing kind of bothered. I couldn’t quite pin point what it was. I read somewhere that this book was originally written as a screen play and I think that was it. To me, the style had a vagueness to it that made it feel like some parts I was reading something from an old story book from when I was in high school. I’m not saying that style was terrible. This particular writing style is not my favorite to read.
I liked the premise of the story. I can’t begin to imagine what it was truly like in those camps. I can’t comment on it either, but like I said, I also didn’t go into this book thinking it was all a true story about these two people. So, there were some bits of the story that I had a hard time believing, but then again, I’m not sure if it was a true part or a fabrication part.
All in all, the story wasn’t bad. I felt so horribly for Lale having to have that job, but he survived, and Gita. The remembering of their families and wondering if they are alive or dead struck me a bit. I know I’ve said this, but I can’t imagine that kind of pain. I feel horrible whenever Lale thought of his mother.
“His mother he can see perfectly. But how do you say goodbye to your mother? The person who gave you breath, who taught you how to live?”
You can’t, that’s the answer.
The book didn’t live up to the hype, in my opinion, but Morris wrote a nice and moving story in the end. I know there are some other stories like this. One of my Twitter friends recommend the Librarian of Auschwitz, so perhaps I will see about that book.
I don’t believe I’ll be seeking out the sequel to this book. I do hope it’s better than the first, but the story is still good.
So I thought about it, and I’ve decided to write my review for this book. I’ve never read books that center around The Holocaust. I never thought I would, because I’ve seen several movies and just the sheer graphics of it alone made me sad. I know this was supposed to be based on a true story, but I went into it with the mindset that it wasn’t true, because most times, some of those stories are fabricated for drama purposes. I’ve read that even Heather Morris added some things to the story for that reason, so again, I saw it as just another story.
The story centers around Lale who is transferred to Auschwitz, but is given the job as a tattooist. From the descriptions, he has to use a really awful needle and has to press down hard enough for the numbers to be seen and never removed – a highly painful process that he has to perform even on children. Then one day, he tattoos a lady that catches his eye, Gita, and from then on he plans to love her and marry her WHEN they get out of Auschwitz.
Off the bat, something about the writing kind of bothered. I couldn’t quite pin point what it was. I read somewhere that this book was originally written as a screen play and I think that was it. To me, the style had a vagueness to it that made it feel like some parts I was reading something from an old story book from when I was in high school. I’m not saying that style was terrible. This particular writing style is not my favorite to read.
I liked the premise of the story. I can’t begin to imagine what it was truly like in those camps. I can’t comment on it either, but like I said, I also didn’t go into this book thinking it was all a true story about these two people. So, there were some bits of the story that I had a hard time believing, but then again, I’m not sure if it was a true part or a fabrication part.
All in all, the story wasn’t bad. I felt so horribly for Lale having to have that job, but he survived, and Gita. The remembering of their families and wondering if they are alive or dead struck me a bit. I know I’ve said this, but I can’t imagine that kind of pain. I feel horrible whenever Lale thought of his mother.
“His mother he can see perfectly. But how do you say goodbye to your mother? The person who gave you breath, who taught you how to live?”
You can’t, that’s the answer.
The book didn’t live up to the hype, in my opinion, but Morris wrote a nice and moving story in the end. I know there are some other stories like this. One of my Twitter friends recommend the Librarian of Auschwitz, so perhaps I will see about that book.
I don’t believe I’ll be seeking out the sequel to this book. I do hope it’s better than the first, but the story is still good.
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated The Mandore Rose in Books
Jan 9, 2020
The Mandore Rose by Cyril James Morris is set in the early 1950s yet, for the most part, it feels like it could be set in modern-day. It also has a prologue from the 1700s but it takes a while for the connection to be made. This book can easily be read in a day or two.
Just Riley is a young Romany girl who is ordered by her elder to take her caravan and run away. This is not because of anything she has done. She must run in order to protect herself from the man pretending to be her uncle after her mother died just so he can steal from her. Just Riley now has to survive on her own with her horse Pixe and her spirit guide, The Bangled Lady for companions. That is until an accident at the beach puts her in contact with Big Pierre and Rhys.
Rhys teaches her how to hunt for crabs and they quickly become friends. Big Pierre owns and works on a crabbing boat and gives Just Riley some work. When Pierre takes Riley with him one day she meets the Monks and Lady Caldey on their island. The Lady agrees to have an instrument repaired for Just Riley and the two feel a bond right away. After learning to trust one another Just Riley learns that they each have a ring identical to the other. It is with these rings and a little bit of luck that they start on an adventure that may lead them to the truth about who Just Riley really is.
What I liked most was how the main character is called Just Riley. At first, I found this to be annoying and awkward, but after the reason is explained I fund it to be cute, if not a little sad as well. What I did not like was that I wish the book would have explained the difference between Romany and Gypsey. This is because on multiple occasions people in the book confuse the two and Riley seems to be insulted by that. I feel like many people (myself included) do not know the difference and would benefit from the explanation.
People who enjoy historical mysteries would enjoy this book the most. This book is appropriate for just about all readers even those in middle school. It is not too heavily historical that it is not enjoyable. I give this book a 3 out of 4 ratings. While there is not anything wrong with this book I could not give it a perfect score. The book just was not compelling to read. While it is classified as a mystery it really doesn't have a quality that made me curious about what was happening.
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Just Riley is a young Romany girl who is ordered by her elder to take her caravan and run away. This is not because of anything she has done. She must run in order to protect herself from the man pretending to be her uncle after her mother died just so he can steal from her. Just Riley now has to survive on her own with her horse Pixe and her spirit guide, The Bangled Lady for companions. That is until an accident at the beach puts her in contact with Big Pierre and Rhys.
Rhys teaches her how to hunt for crabs and they quickly become friends. Big Pierre owns and works on a crabbing boat and gives Just Riley some work. When Pierre takes Riley with him one day she meets the Monks and Lady Caldey on their island. The Lady agrees to have an instrument repaired for Just Riley and the two feel a bond right away. After learning to trust one another Just Riley learns that they each have a ring identical to the other. It is with these rings and a little bit of luck that they start on an adventure that may lead them to the truth about who Just Riley really is.
What I liked most was how the main character is called Just Riley. At first, I found this to be annoying and awkward, but after the reason is explained I fund it to be cute, if not a little sad as well. What I did not like was that I wish the book would have explained the difference between Romany and Gypsey. This is because on multiple occasions people in the book confuse the two and Riley seems to be insulted by that. I feel like many people (myself included) do not know the difference and would benefit from the explanation.
People who enjoy historical mysteries would enjoy this book the most. This book is appropriate for just about all readers even those in middle school. It is not too heavily historical that it is not enjoyable. I give this book a 3 out of 4 ratings. While there is not anything wrong with this book I could not give it a perfect score. The book just was not compelling to read. While it is classified as a mystery it really doesn't have a quality that made me curious about what was happening.
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews/
https://www.austinmacauley.com/book/mandore-rose
A Traveller's Year: 365 Days of Travel Writing in Diaries, Journals and Letters
Travis Elborough and Nick Rennison
Book
A Traveller's Year is an anthology of extracts from diaries, journals and letters, two or three for...
Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved and Died in the 1940s
Book
What did it feel like to be a woman living in Paris from 1939 to 1949? These were years of fear,...
Checker, the All American Taxi
Ben Merkel and Joe Fay
Book
Nothing portrays the American taxicab like the classic Checker, yet the founder of Checker Motors,...
Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Storm (The Rain, #2) in Books
Dec 17, 2018
My rating: 3.5
This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
What would happen if water became fatally harmful to humans? This is what Virginia Bergin continues to explore in the second novel in the young adult, dystopian series, The Storm. Fifteen year old Ruby Morris has been trying to survive by herself only getting through each day by telling herself "everything is going to be OK." With the belief that her Dad is still alive, she sets off to find him whilst trying to dodge violent people, the British army, and, of course, the rain.
As the story develops it is revealed that Ruby may be a key character in ending the global apocalypse, however she does not trust the scientists involved in finding a solution.
Since the first book it appears that Ruby has matured a lot. She is able to take more responsibility and even help other people. Like in the first book, The Rain, Ruby is narrating her experiences to the reader as well as her deceased mother. As her mother disapproved of swearing Ruby blocks out certain words with a symbol. In some ways this makes the story suitable for early teen readers, however it is fairly easy to work out what the missing words are and therefore may not be appropriate for some readers.
The Storm was much more exciting to read than the previous novel. Ruby was less annoying and was much more mature. It is interesting to discover how the situation develops. There is a lot of action to keep the reader on their toes.
One issue with this book is how the ending is written. It almost feels like Bergin tried to end the story quickly. The whole story was carefully planned out and narrated however the end was rushed.
Overall, The Storm is a great continuation of an interesting concept. It is much better than the first part of the story and keeps the reader interested. Although intended for young adults, there is nothing to stop adult readers from enjoying it too.
This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
What would happen if water became fatally harmful to humans? This is what Virginia Bergin continues to explore in the second novel in the young adult, dystopian series, The Storm. Fifteen year old Ruby Morris has been trying to survive by herself only getting through each day by telling herself "everything is going to be OK." With the belief that her Dad is still alive, she sets off to find him whilst trying to dodge violent people, the British army, and, of course, the rain.
As the story develops it is revealed that Ruby may be a key character in ending the global apocalypse, however she does not trust the scientists involved in finding a solution.
Since the first book it appears that Ruby has matured a lot. She is able to take more responsibility and even help other people. Like in the first book, The Rain, Ruby is narrating her experiences to the reader as well as her deceased mother. As her mother disapproved of swearing Ruby blocks out certain words with a symbol. In some ways this makes the story suitable for early teen readers, however it is fairly easy to work out what the missing words are and therefore may not be appropriate for some readers.
The Storm was much more exciting to read than the previous novel. Ruby was less annoying and was much more mature. It is interesting to discover how the situation develops. There is a lot of action to keep the reader on their toes.
One issue with this book is how the ending is written. It almost feels like Bergin tried to end the story quickly. The whole story was carefully planned out and narrated however the end was rushed.
Overall, The Storm is a great continuation of an interesting concept. It is much better than the first part of the story and keeps the reader interested. Although intended for young adults, there is nothing to stop adult readers from enjoying it too.
ClareR (5589 KP) rated The Silence Project in Books
Mar 21, 2023
The Silence Project grabbed me, sucked me in and I raced through it, desperate to know what was going to happen next.
What a fascinating concept. Rachel Morris moves in to a tent at the bottom of her pub garden and never speaks again. Other women are drawn to her cause, and a community is born. One that seems to worship Rachel and her message. It sounded an awful lot like a cult to me. And when Rachel and thousands of her followers burn themselves on the pyres that they built themselves, the cult of The Community is truly born.
This book is written as a memoir by Rachel’s daughter, Emilia. Unsurprisingly, she misses her mother at the same time as resenting her. I thought this was really well done: Emilia loses her mother the day that she pitches her tent.
I think this would make such a good book club book - there’s so much to discuss. The concept of The Community, and the fact that it had clearly become something entirely different to Rachel’s original idea - whatever that really was. But due to her silence, Rachel was never fully able to say exactly what it was that she wanted for the future of her movement. I wondered whether her silence was rational; was she depressed? Her silence meant that others could put words into her mouth, surely?
Was Rachel selfish or selfless? Would we think differently if she had been a man? That’s very much left to the reader to decide. What really disappointed me though, is that a group of women, The Community, after Rachel’s death, becomes corrupted. They convince everyone that they know best and bring in some pretty outrageous policies: enforced contraception, euthanasia that’s geared towards making a profit for The Community. They have their fingers in many pies and many governments.
I’ve got to admit, this disappointed me a little. There was always the hope that women would be different - but it turns out that they’re the same as everyone else.
That said, this is a really hard-hitting book that gave me so much to think about - and I loved it.
What a fascinating concept. Rachel Morris moves in to a tent at the bottom of her pub garden and never speaks again. Other women are drawn to her cause, and a community is born. One that seems to worship Rachel and her message. It sounded an awful lot like a cult to me. And when Rachel and thousands of her followers burn themselves on the pyres that they built themselves, the cult of The Community is truly born.
This book is written as a memoir by Rachel’s daughter, Emilia. Unsurprisingly, she misses her mother at the same time as resenting her. I thought this was really well done: Emilia loses her mother the day that she pitches her tent.
I think this would make such a good book club book - there’s so much to discuss. The concept of The Community, and the fact that it had clearly become something entirely different to Rachel’s original idea - whatever that really was. But due to her silence, Rachel was never fully able to say exactly what it was that she wanted for the future of her movement. I wondered whether her silence was rational; was she depressed? Her silence meant that others could put words into her mouth, surely?
Was Rachel selfish or selfless? Would we think differently if she had been a man? That’s very much left to the reader to decide. What really disappointed me though, is that a group of women, The Community, after Rachel’s death, becomes corrupted. They convince everyone that they know best and bring in some pretty outrageous policies: enforced contraception, euthanasia that’s geared towards making a profit for The Community. They have their fingers in many pies and many governments.
I’ve got to admit, this disappointed me a little. There was always the hope that women would be different - but it turns out that they’re the same as everyone else.
That said, this is a really hard-hitting book that gave me so much to think about - and I loved it.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Bloodshot (2020) in Movies
Jul 27, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
Man, I expected this to be absolute gutter trash based on some of the reviews I've seen here and there, but honestly, found this to be a pretty passable dumb comic book origin story.
The cast are mostly good (minus a couple of generic jumped-up-alpha-male-arseholes). Vin Diesel just being Vin Diesel (which I used to hate but these days kind of love-hate), Guy Pearce playing a typically shady villain, Eiza González representing the badass female quota nicely, and Lamorne Morris playing the sometimes amusing comic relief. They all gel well for the most part.
It also doesn't take itself to seriously - I was ready to hate Bloodshot within the first ten minutes due to some really on the nose dumbfuckery to do with Toby Kebbell's character, but later on, the movie references said scene and pokes fun at it, thankfully.
There's one particular great action set piece during the first third of the film (the one that made up a fair amount of the trailer) which earns Bloodshot more points than it otherwise would have, and the semi-Groundhog Day plot keeps the movie interesting for the most part.
However, and it's a big however, although Bloodshot is fairly good for a fair portion of the runtime, it absolutely shits the bed in the final third.
Opting for a big CGI blowout (of course), the big final sequence just looks horrible.
The character models used in the fight sequences reminded me of Neo from The Matrix Reloaded, and that looked bad 17 years ago!
It's a loud, ugly mess that unfortunately de-rails any good that came before.
It also doesn't make a lick of sense, but WHO CARES, EXPLOSIONS AND CGI VIN DIESEL, WOOOOAHHH. It sucks.
I get the feeling that the ending (after the shitty fight scene) was supposed to be deep and left open to interpretation, but it just felt thrown on and confusing, and I also, I didn't really care by this point.
Ultimately, I would like to see Bloodshot get a sequel. This first outing is truly an origin film, and it would be interesting to see how further entries could flesh out the story, and borrow more from the comics.
I just hope this crappy Coronavirus pandemic is taken into account by the suits when looking at the poor box office.
The cast are mostly good (minus a couple of generic jumped-up-alpha-male-arseholes). Vin Diesel just being Vin Diesel (which I used to hate but these days kind of love-hate), Guy Pearce playing a typically shady villain, Eiza González representing the badass female quota nicely, and Lamorne Morris playing the sometimes amusing comic relief. They all gel well for the most part.
It also doesn't take itself to seriously - I was ready to hate Bloodshot within the first ten minutes due to some really on the nose dumbfuckery to do with Toby Kebbell's character, but later on, the movie references said scene and pokes fun at it, thankfully.
There's one particular great action set piece during the first third of the film (the one that made up a fair amount of the trailer) which earns Bloodshot more points than it otherwise would have, and the semi-Groundhog Day plot keeps the movie interesting for the most part.
However, and it's a big however, although Bloodshot is fairly good for a fair portion of the runtime, it absolutely shits the bed in the final third.
Opting for a big CGI blowout (of course), the big final sequence just looks horrible.
The character models used in the fight sequences reminded me of Neo from The Matrix Reloaded, and that looked bad 17 years ago!
It's a loud, ugly mess that unfortunately de-rails any good that came before.
It also doesn't make a lick of sense, but WHO CARES, EXPLOSIONS AND CGI VIN DIESEL, WOOOOAHHH. It sucks.
I get the feeling that the ending (after the shitty fight scene) was supposed to be deep and left open to interpretation, but it just felt thrown on and confusing, and I also, I didn't really care by this point.
Ultimately, I would like to see Bloodshot get a sequel. This first outing is truly an origin film, and it would be interesting to see how further entries could flesh out the story, and borrow more from the comics.
I just hope this crappy Coronavirus pandemic is taken into account by the suits when looking at the poor box office.
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