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The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children
Book
Selected as a Book of the Year by the Financial Times. "The Gardener and the Carpenter should be...
Marine Mammal Physiology: Requisites for Ocean Living
Michael A. Castellini and Jo-Ann Mellish
Book
Suppose you were designing a marine mammal. What would you need to think about to allow it to live...
Anti-stress Coloring Book
Entertainment and Lifestyle
App
- Lots of different colors, it is easier for you to find the sense of color; - Press a...
The World Until Yesterday: What Can We Learn from Traditional Societies?
Book
Most of us take for granted the features of our modern society, from air travel and...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Dark Matter in Books
May 10, 2024
91 of 220
Book
Dark Matter
By Michelle Paver
⭐️⭐️⭐️
January 1937 Clouds of war are gathering over a fogbound London. Twenty-eight year old Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life. So when he's offered the chance to be the wireless operator on an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. Spirits are high as the ship leaves Norway: five men and eight huskies, crossing the Barents Sea by the light of the midnight sun. At last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year. Gruhuken. But the Arctic summer is brief. As night returns to claim the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are forced to leave. He faces a stark choice. Stay or go. Soon he will see the last of the sun, as the polar night engulfs the camp in months of darkness. Soon he will reach the point of no return - when the sea will freeze, making escape impossible. And Gruhuken is not uninhabited. Jack is not alone. Something walks there in the dark.
This was good I enjoyed the atmospheric feel of it and the version I have has picture of the arctic not sure if they all do. I think I was expecting something chilling and scary but this really wasn’t for me I got caught up in others reviews I think. While it was well we and I did like it I just didn’t find it as good as I was expecting.
Book
Dark Matter
By Michelle Paver
⭐️⭐️⭐️
January 1937 Clouds of war are gathering over a fogbound London. Twenty-eight year old Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life. So when he's offered the chance to be the wireless operator on an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. Spirits are high as the ship leaves Norway: five men and eight huskies, crossing the Barents Sea by the light of the midnight sun. At last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year. Gruhuken. But the Arctic summer is brief. As night returns to claim the land, Jack feels a creeping unease. One by one, his companions are forced to leave. He faces a stark choice. Stay or go. Soon he will see the last of the sun, as the polar night engulfs the camp in months of darkness. Soon he will reach the point of no return - when the sea will freeze, making escape impossible. And Gruhuken is not uninhabited. Jack is not alone. Something walks there in the dark.
This was good I enjoyed the atmospheric feel of it and the version I have has picture of the arctic not sure if they all do. I think I was expecting something chilling and scary but this really wasn’t for me I got caught up in others reviews I think. While it was well we and I did like it I just didn’t find it as good as I was expecting.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Angel Thieves in Books
Sep 8, 2019
I really enjoyed Kathi Appelt's writing style in her children's picture book Max Attacks, so when the chance to read and review her Young Adult novel Angel Thieves presented itself, I decided to give it a read. I'm really glad I did because I fell head over heels in love with this book!
I very much enjoyed the plot of Angel Thieves and found myself immersed in the story from the very first page. It is told from different perspectives including humans, an ocelot, and a bayou which definitely made this book even more interesting! The narrative is told from 1845 through to present time. It all takes place in Houston, Texas. Every perspective is interwoven with each other. We learn about a teenage crush, a father and son duo who steal marble angel statues to make a living, an ocelot who was poached from her home and caught in a hurricane where she's left starving and unable to escape from her cage, a former slave who is trying to help her young daughters escape from being slaves themselves, a bayou who has seen it all, and some other points of view from others throughout Angel Thieves. I was constantly memorized by each chapter, and I was on pins and needles wondering what would happen next. It also helps that the author, Kathi Appelt, is such a fabulous writer who makes all her words come to life with her extraordinary talent! There weren't any major plot twists, but this isn't a book that needs to rely on plot twists to keep it interesting. The writing itself is strong enough to hold its own. There are no cliff hangers, but I would have liked to know a little more about Achsah and her children. There is some mention of them at the end, but I was heavily invested in Achsah's story where I really wanted to know more. However, this doesn't take away from the appeal of the book by no means. Because the prose is so beautifully written, the pacing flows very well. The chapters are mostly all short as well, so it's easy to read this book in one sitting. The world building was done fantastically, and it was obvious that Kathi Appelt had done her research when it came to the plot of her story. In fact, I even learned something when it came to Texas history! I'm also grateful that Kathi Appelt included an author's note at the end of Angel Thieves. It's definitely worth reading even if you don't normally read author's notes. This will give you more of an insight about the real life history that her book is based upon.
I felt like the characters in Angel Thieves were well written and fleshed out perfectly. Kathi Appelt even made a bayou feel like a real person which goes to show how much of a talented writer she really is! I felt Soleil's frustrations with trying to get Cade's attention and her hurt when it came to losing someone close to her. I felt her joy when she was happy. Cade was a great character too. I loved his relationship with his dad. It was obvious how close the two were. It was interesting to see Cade's conflicting emotions when it came to stealing marble angels. One one hand, he wanted to make his dad happy, but he also knew that what they were doing wasn't right. I enjoyed reading about how he dealt with his feelings about that. Zorra, I absolutely loved. My heart went out to this lovely little ocelot who was helpless and taken from everything she'd ever known. I was always hoping she'd be rescued when her next chapter was up. Out of all the characters, my favorite to read about was Achsah. As a mother, I could relate to wanting to keep her children safe no matter what. As a former slave, she had her freedom when her master died, but her daughters were to become slaves to her master's friend. Achsah couldn't and wouldn't let this happen, so she risked everything to keep her girls safe. I felt like Achsah had the most interesting story to tell. I was constantly wishing good things for Achsah and her two little girls. Unfortunately, Achsah's story is based in truth on what happened with a lot of slaves during that horrible period in American history.
Trigger warnings for Angel Thieves include slavery, minor profanity, stealing, a mention of child rape (although not graphic), and some violence (nothing too graphic).
All in all, Angel Thieves is highly interesting read that is also partly educational. It definitely taught me things about Texas that I didn't even know, and I grew up in Texas! Angel Thieves also has such strong characters, and Kathi Appelt's love for this story is apparent on each page. I would definitely recommend Angel Thieves by Kathi Appelt to those aged 14 and older who love getting lost in a good book. This is one book that's very easy to get lost in! An easy 5 out of 5 stars for Angel Thieves!
--
(A special thank you to Kathi Appelt for providing me with a hardback of Angel Thieves in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
I very much enjoyed the plot of Angel Thieves and found myself immersed in the story from the very first page. It is told from different perspectives including humans, an ocelot, and a bayou which definitely made this book even more interesting! The narrative is told from 1845 through to present time. It all takes place in Houston, Texas. Every perspective is interwoven with each other. We learn about a teenage crush, a father and son duo who steal marble angel statues to make a living, an ocelot who was poached from her home and caught in a hurricane where she's left starving and unable to escape from her cage, a former slave who is trying to help her young daughters escape from being slaves themselves, a bayou who has seen it all, and some other points of view from others throughout Angel Thieves. I was constantly memorized by each chapter, and I was on pins and needles wondering what would happen next. It also helps that the author, Kathi Appelt, is such a fabulous writer who makes all her words come to life with her extraordinary talent! There weren't any major plot twists, but this isn't a book that needs to rely on plot twists to keep it interesting. The writing itself is strong enough to hold its own. There are no cliff hangers, but I would have liked to know a little more about Achsah and her children. There is some mention of them at the end, but I was heavily invested in Achsah's story where I really wanted to know more. However, this doesn't take away from the appeal of the book by no means. Because the prose is so beautifully written, the pacing flows very well. The chapters are mostly all short as well, so it's easy to read this book in one sitting. The world building was done fantastically, and it was obvious that Kathi Appelt had done her research when it came to the plot of her story. In fact, I even learned something when it came to Texas history! I'm also grateful that Kathi Appelt included an author's note at the end of Angel Thieves. It's definitely worth reading even if you don't normally read author's notes. This will give you more of an insight about the real life history that her book is based upon.
I felt like the characters in Angel Thieves were well written and fleshed out perfectly. Kathi Appelt even made a bayou feel like a real person which goes to show how much of a talented writer she really is! I felt Soleil's frustrations with trying to get Cade's attention and her hurt when it came to losing someone close to her. I felt her joy when she was happy. Cade was a great character too. I loved his relationship with his dad. It was obvious how close the two were. It was interesting to see Cade's conflicting emotions when it came to stealing marble angels. One one hand, he wanted to make his dad happy, but he also knew that what they were doing wasn't right. I enjoyed reading about how he dealt with his feelings about that. Zorra, I absolutely loved. My heart went out to this lovely little ocelot who was helpless and taken from everything she'd ever known. I was always hoping she'd be rescued when her next chapter was up. Out of all the characters, my favorite to read about was Achsah. As a mother, I could relate to wanting to keep her children safe no matter what. As a former slave, she had her freedom when her master died, but her daughters were to become slaves to her master's friend. Achsah couldn't and wouldn't let this happen, so she risked everything to keep her girls safe. I felt like Achsah had the most interesting story to tell. I was constantly wishing good things for Achsah and her two little girls. Unfortunately, Achsah's story is based in truth on what happened with a lot of slaves during that horrible period in American history.
Trigger warnings for Angel Thieves include slavery, minor profanity, stealing, a mention of child rape (although not graphic), and some violence (nothing too graphic).
All in all, Angel Thieves is highly interesting read that is also partly educational. It definitely taught me things about Texas that I didn't even know, and I grew up in Texas! Angel Thieves also has such strong characters, and Kathi Appelt's love for this story is apparent on each page. I would definitely recommend Angel Thieves by Kathi Appelt to those aged 14 and older who love getting lost in a good book. This is one book that's very easy to get lost in! An easy 5 out of 5 stars for Angel Thieves!
--
(A special thank you to Kathi Appelt for providing me with a hardback of Angel Thieves in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
Deborah (162 KP) rated The Crowland Chronicle Continuations, 1459 1486 in Books
Dec 21, 2018
Anyone who has read about the Wars of the Roses, and about Richard III in particular, has probably come across mention of The Croyland (now known as Crowland) Chronicle, and in particular the Continuation that refers to events in this period.
This volume was produced to mark the 500th anniversary or the writing of the Continuation and is only the second English translation and publication of it.
The book itself is a very scholarly book and the editors seem to assume that a reader will have a working knowledge of Latin as in the introductory section there are numerous quotations in Latin which are not then rendered in English. The introductory section is quite in-depth and indeed takes up more than half of the pages in the volume! A lot of it I will admit to having found rather heavy going, although the information I did glean was interesting and useful. I was not particularly aware of the history of the original manuscript, in that is had been badly damaged in a fire and much of the current text was therefore taken from a copy of the text written as part of the earlier English publication. There are some plates which show some of the surviving pages of the manuscript, but not all pages have survived, so the current editors have used the earlier transcript as a starting point. There is also an interesting and useful consideration of the authorship of the Continuation.
The Continuation itself takes up just under half of the volume and the original Latin text is printed on one side the the English translation on the facing page. I found the translation quite readable, even if it did feel like a bit of a whirlwind tour of events! Oddly, the national political picture breaks off several times and we have inserted a sort of obituary of Abbots of Croyland who happened to die as this point in the main narrative.
What I think I would like to see, and what would be of interest to a general historical reader, would be a publication of the English translation with an introduction and analysis geared more to the general reader than to the academic scholar.
This volume was produced to mark the 500th anniversary or the writing of the Continuation and is only the second English translation and publication of it.
The book itself is a very scholarly book and the editors seem to assume that a reader will have a working knowledge of Latin as in the introductory section there are numerous quotations in Latin which are not then rendered in English. The introductory section is quite in-depth and indeed takes up more than half of the pages in the volume! A lot of it I will admit to having found rather heavy going, although the information I did glean was interesting and useful. I was not particularly aware of the history of the original manuscript, in that is had been badly damaged in a fire and much of the current text was therefore taken from a copy of the text written as part of the earlier English publication. There are some plates which show some of the surviving pages of the manuscript, but not all pages have survived, so the current editors have used the earlier transcript as a starting point. There is also an interesting and useful consideration of the authorship of the Continuation.
The Continuation itself takes up just under half of the volume and the original Latin text is printed on one side the the English translation on the facing page. I found the translation quite readable, even if it did feel like a bit of a whirlwind tour of events! Oddly, the national political picture breaks off several times and we have inserted a sort of obituary of Abbots of Croyland who happened to die as this point in the main narrative.
What I think I would like to see, and what would be of interest to a general historical reader, would be a publication of the English translation with an introduction and analysis geared more to the general reader than to the academic scholar.
Maxwell Leadership Bible
Book and Reference
App
The Leadership expert, John Maxwell, brings an in-depth look at God's laws for leaders and...
No Ordinary Woman: The Life of Edith Penrose
Book
Edith Penrose was a remarkable woman and distinguished scholar who lived through, and witnessed at...
Day Trading and Swing Trading the Currency Market: Technical and Fundamental Strategies to Profit from Market Moves
Book
Play the forex markets to win with this invaluable guide to strategy and analysis Day Trading and...