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The Tuesday Night Survivors’ Club
The Tuesday Night Survivors’ Club
Lynn Cahoon | 2022 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
What Happened to Martha?
After surviving cancer, Rarity Cole moves to Sedona, Arizona, and opens a bookstore. One of her ideas for connecting with the community is to start a book club for other cancer survivors. However, when Martha, one of the members, misses a meeting, Rarity becomes concerned. Can she and the other members figure out what happened to Martha?

I’ve been meaning to read one of Lynn Cahoon’s books for years, and I figured the start of a new series was a great time to do just that. Overall, I did enjoy the book. I did find the characters’ motivation for investigating the crime weak. On the other hand, I really liked the four main characters. The rest of the cast could be stronger, but that will come as the series progresses, right? I did find a few unfortunate errors in the book that should have been caught with good editing – a timeline issue and something setup that was dropped. I did get pulled into the plot. I pegged the killer a little early, but I didn’t have the motive figured out until Rarity put it together. I completely enjoyed the setting and I’m ready to go visit Sedona. The cancer survivor hook was good as well. I’ll definitely be back to visit these characters again.
  
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
2017 | Action, Adventure
New Vibes, New Dopeness
When I first saw that Sony was playing nice with Disney/Marvel, I almost lost it when I saw that Spider-Man would make an appearance in Captain America: Civil War. Nerd Moment: I’ve always thought that all of the Marvel properties belonged together and this was a step in the right direction. It’s been amazing what’s happened since. In this third reboot since the new century, Spider-Man: Homecoming is the story of a young Peter Parker handling his role as a teenager and a webslinging superhero.

Acting: 10

Beginning: 7

Characters: 7
Peter (Tom Holland) is a lovable kid surrounded by a fun cast of friends and foes. They took a different and, in my opinion, smarter route by making Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) younger and more relatable. Not only did it pay off but it helped contribute to side jokes in the story involving Happy (Jon Favreau) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Yes, there are so many characters to love here, both familiar and new…that is until we get to the villain played by one of my favorite actors Michael Keaton. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t horrible, I just couldn’t buy his motivation which made it hard at times to connect to the overall story and conflict.

Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Watching some of these scenes play out seriously made me wish I was Spider-Man. The aerial combat and clever use of webs is such a treat to watch and experience, both at home. and in the theater. Marvel hit another home run here with cinematic perfection that stretches all over the great city of New York.

Conflict: 10
The conflict isn’t just about Spider-Man fighting bad guys. Rather it’s about having to do all of this and be a kid at the same time…and impress Tony Stark…and get used to his new suit…and keep all of this a secret from his caretaker. So many things wrapped into one makes this such a fun ride. Yes, there is plenty of spider fights to enjoy, but there is so much more to love about the movie as a whole.

Entertainment Value: 9

Memorability: 8

Pace: 10

Plot: 9
Really enjoyed the story and how it plays into the Marvel universe as a whole. A few twists here and there keep things interesting. Again there is so much driving conflict here and character growth that it’s easy to miss the complexities of everything involved in the story. Again, not in love with Vulture’s motivation, but it doesn’t diminish things too badly.

Resolution: 10

Overall: 90
The difficulty of Peter trying to get used to his new suit alone was enough to keep me beaming watching this movie. Marvel movies are known for packing a mega punch and Spider-Man: Homecoming definitely stands up there as one of the stronger ones. Great movie.
  
Skinny Me
Skinny Me
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Jennifer is overweight and miserable. She has recently lost her mother and even more recently, her job. After a party at her cousins house, she is feeling even more miserable about her life. She decides to make a chand and finally lose some weight. She joins a gym and when she finds out her trainer is her cousin, Autumn's hot boyfriend, it's all the motivation she needs. If she loses the weight she knows she will be so much happier. She just has to reach that goal weight. But with so many other issues plaguing her life is this really what is going to make her happy? Will lusting after someone she knows is taken make her happy?

I could relate to Jennifer in some ways. There are days when I look in the mirror and am completely unhappy with my reflection. Then there are other days when it is no big deal. There are so many women with body image issues all over the world regardless if they are overweight or not. It's good to see Charlene Carr tackling an issue such as this one. Jennifer's issues were more than just the number on the scale and until she was ready to face those issues and deal with them head on. Along the way she ends and mends relationships and finds the person her family always knew existed, but hadn't seen behind all of the anger.
  
Shazam! (2019)
Shazam! (2019)
2019 | Action, Sci-Fi
Great casting, excellent chemistry, fun action (0 more)
Villain issues (not a really strong motivation) (0 more)
Really good movie that could've done just a little more
After having some busy days of work, I finally had time to catch this movie and I'm really glad I did. With this being an origin story of a character I barely knew about about, it did one thing correctly they Marvel continues to do is make you care about your lead without much hesitation. At first he'll seem so idiotic for his actions (after all he's 15 years old), but considering what he went through, you'll get it.

I loved the acting and chemistry that went on between the entire cast, and one character will truly steal your heart (if you've seen it, you know who I mean). Main issue overall is the villain, unfortunately that's something else that this movie picked up from Marvel (weak villains up until Civil War). The actor did an excellent job from what he's given, but he seemed so one note that all he needed was the classic villain mustache to twirl and tie a damsel onto the train tracks.

Despite that issue, this is a definite recommended movie that you'll enjoy and worth a watch in theaters.

Also, be sure to stick for the first post credits scene, the second one is a silly joke that might not work for most.
  
Kid presidents: True Tales of Childhood from America's Presidents by David Stabler is a book of just that American presidents when they were kids. The book is an excellent source of information about the childhood lives of many American presidents. The book is presents in a way that gets children today interested in history.

The information is presented in a humorous and engaging way. By presenting information this way children will realize that they do not have to be perfect or great at everything they do; they just need to have motivation, interest, and the will to succeed in order to be successful. By reading this book children will learn that they to can have a positive impact on the world they live in.

This story shows that the American Presidents were normal children. Some were outdoorsy. Some were bratty. Some were brainy. Some were a complete mix. I loved the illustrations of the presidents. The illustrations really enhanced the book. The childhood biographies and fun facts helped to make the book interesting for children and adults.

This book could easily be used by parents and teachers to help children become interested in history and to learn about the popular and not so popular American Presidents.

I highly recommend this book. I give this book a 5/5 stars.

I received this book from Quirk Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
  
New Moon (Twilight, #2)
New Moon (Twilight, #2)
Stephenie Meyer | 2006 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
6
6.9 (85 Ratings)
Book Rating
I remember this book being a lot worse. I was actually pleasantly surprised when, on reading it again, I felt some empathy for Bella.

Here's the story:

Bella and Edward are happy, lalala. Jasper freaks out at her birthday and Edward decides this would be a great time to desert Bella and tell her he doesn't love her anymore. The thing here, is...I understand the motivation, and it kinda makes sense, but it was executed so bady, you have to wonder if Edward actually <i>loves</i> Bella or is just toying with her emotions.

Bella ends up transferring her codependence on Jacob and trying dangerous things so she can hear Edward's voice in her head. Now, in my opinion, this book would have been much better if Edward and Bella were presented as mentally unstable and emotionally damaged, because that's how they come across.

As much as I have been unimpressed with Meyer's writing in the past, the scenes depicting Bella's depression were pretty much on target, and in a way almost painful to read.

I still don't get the swooning over Edward thing. I'm just not that impressed with him. He spent the first book alternately growling, sneering, and laughing at Bella. It makes me want to lock him in a room with Stefan Salvatore and see who whines the most.

To recap: this book would be amazing if it had different characters who acted competely differently. As it stands, it's just "okay".