Search

Search only in certain items:

Surprisingly Down to Earth, and Very Funny
Surprisingly Down to Earth, and Very Funny
Brian Limond aka Limmy | 2019 | Biography, Humor & Comedy
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Funny but at times harrowing auto-biography
I wouldn't say I was a huge fan of Limmy's. I've seen a few of his sketches on youtube and have heard him interviewed on a few podcasts. He seems quite strange and a bit of an odd character. I have read his books of short stories and found them to be brilliantly well-written and original.
His auto-biography starts brilliantly, giving a great insight into the childhood that shaped the comedian. There are funny stories of growing up isolated and playing strange games with strange friends. This gets darker as Limmy ages, as he finds himself looking for danger and things to make him feel alive. This inevitably leads to trouble with the police, and on to drink and drugs and more police trouble.
He seems to have always been looking to try and find somewhere to fit in, a niche in the world where he can be himself and be otherwise left alone, though he is his own worst enemy along the way. Battles with depression, suicide and social issues hold him back at almost every stage. He finally finds his niche when he discovers flash programming. This gives him an avenue for his creativity and silliness, and leads to his genius being discovered, eventually leading to a successful podcast and TV shows - though even those weren't plain sailing.
This is the charming, though at times harrowing, story of a man with so many ideas in his head, but so many issues holding him back, and the battle to overcome demons to do what he wants to do, and to do it his way.
  
Detroit (2017)
Detroit (2017)
2017 | Drama, History, Thriller
On July 23, 1967, the Detroit police stage a raid on an unlicensed club during a celebration for returning black veterans. Unable to lead their suspects out quietly through the back, officers are forced to bring them out the front and line them up against the wall while they wait for transport. A mob quickly forms and the police leave the area as they are pelted with rocks. With anger rising, looting begins and fires are started, this is the beginning of the 12th Street Riot.

Full disclosure, I only saw half of this film. It wouldn't have been one that I'd have chosen to see. I'd much rather have read about the incident that watch someone's interpretation of it.

After I had to leave I did consider whether I'd go back and see the film another day. Ultimately though I didn't find the first half interesting enough. It feels wrong to say that about something that hasn't been brought about by something entirely fiction.

Having said that, I saw the second trailer after watching the first half of the film and was confronted with a different side of the film. It intrigued me enough to want to read up about it, but still didn't make me want to watch the rest of the film.

I can't really put my finger on the thing that put me off (I know it didn't help that I wasn't well), but I wasn't entirely convinced about all the acting, and I didn't really feel invested in the characters, which meant I wasn't fussed about finding out what happened to them.
  
40x40

ClareR (6118 KP) rated Rewind in Books

Aug 26, 2019 (Updated Oct 16, 2019)  
Rewind
Rewind
Catherine Ryan Howard | 2019 | Mystery, Thriller
7
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
A murder in reverse
This is a thriller that begins with a murder. We are left with the puzzle of solving why Natalie, an Instagram star, is murdered and by whom. The style can be a little confusing at times, and the title gives some indication as to why: Rewind. The book plays out along the lines of a recording, where chapters are titled ‘Rewind’, ‘Pause’ and ‘Play’. Once I got into the swing of things, it became clearer as to what was going on.

It’s a clever book, actually. I was never quite sure who had committed the murder, even when it seemed obvious. There are some disturbing characters who could all have been responsible- and I liked that we couldn’t be sure. I liked the contrast of Natalie’s seemingly perfect life against that of the other characters, and I did like the very capable Gardaì (Irish Police) - so often, police are portrayed as incompetent. I didn’t really trust myself to guess who had committed the murder, so many of the characters could have - I should say that I’m not really one of those readers who start a thriller thinking they’ll solve the mystery. I just like to read along for the ride - and this is certainly an interestingly twisty, turny ride!

I liked the ending from the journalist very much. It summed everything up really well (and helped to explain everything that I was left questioning at the end). I don’t think I’ve seen this approach before, especially the chapters named Rewind, Pause, Play.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book. I really enjoyed it.
  
    Highway Rider

    Highway Rider

    Games and Entertainment

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Highway Rider is a free and exciting motorcycle racer that lets you dodge traffic with blazing fast...

The Blessing Way (Leaphorn & Chee, #1)
The Blessing Way (Leaphorn & Chee, #1)
Tony Hillerman | 1970 | Mystery
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Interesting Debut
Anthropology professor Bergen McKee is going to spend the summer on the Navajo Reservation working on his book on witches in the Navajo culture. That means reconnecting with his college friend Joe Leaphorn, who is a Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant. Leaphorn is trying to track down a young man who is hiding on the reservation, and he uses taking McKee around to try to learn the man’s location. Then the young man turns up dead miles from here Leaphorn thought he was. Meanwhile, McKee finds danger he never imagined while conducting his research. Is everything connected?

I’d been interested in starting this series for a while, and I’m glad I finally did. It took a bit to get fully immersed in the book, especially since it didn’t unfold like I thought it would. McKee is more of the main character and the better developed of the two, although I did like Leaphorn and want to learn more about him. The plot also seemed a little disjointed at first, although it came into focus before too much time had passed. Once I did get invested, I was truly hooked with plenty of suspense to keep me interested. I enjoyed learning a bit more about Navajo culture. While definitely a cross between a police procedural and a thriller, it still doesn’t have much of the content I would associate with the genres. The book came out in 1970, so keep that in mind when you go to start it. I’m glad I finally started the series, and I’m looking forward to getting to know Leaphorn better as the series goes along.