Rachel P (2 KP) rated The Underground Railroad in Books
Jan 4, 2018
It was easy to read and hard to put down, but I also found it very impersonal. There were a lot of "action sentences" and not much reflection or introspection. The book is written in third person, which may be why I found myself reading about rape and mistreatment without flinching. I also considered maybe the author was trying to show the reader that most people born into slavery during that time had become so accustom to seeing other people mistreated that they showed very little reaction. Either way, it's not a novel that will cause you to reflect on it for weeks to come, which is ultimately what I expected.
Sword and Scale
3.8
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Sword and Scale is an internet radio show and website covering the dark underworld of crime and the...
crime true crime documentary
Surfacing Secrets (Elemental Evidence #3)
Bellora Quinn and Sadie Rose Bermingham
8.0
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They’re treading water in an ocean of secrets. When ex-cop Jake Chivis is woken by the police...
M_M Fantasy Romance Suspense
Game of Thrones Phychology: The Mind is Dark and Full of Terrors
Book
This thought-provoking anthology offers a close examination of the psychology behind the intricate...
American Candide
Book
The globe-trotting misadventures of American Candide and his wingnut tutor, Dr. Pangloss, his...
Wizard Bloody Wizard by Electric Wizard
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“21st Century Funeral Boogie” This is ELECTRIC WIZARD’s long anticipated ninth LP, ominously...
Metal
Swallowtail
8.0
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Swallowtail greets trauma with a force, one determined to relearn self love, it bends willfully into...
David McK (3562 KP) rated Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020 (Updated Apr 10, 2023)
For all that, however, this - at least - attempted to deepen and add some context to the Robin Hood legend - I think this may be the first where Robin returns from the Crusades with as Moorish companion? - and has a killer soundtrack by both Michael Kamen (especially the overture) and Bryan Adams (with *that* song in the end credits).
The Class of '79: Three Students Who Risked Their Lives to Destroy Apartheid
Book
Where did this book begin? It's hard to say. This is one version: I was back in South Africa for the...
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated I Have Life: Alison's Journey in Books
May 13, 2021
Reading about Alison's abduction, rape, and attempted murder will definitely leave you with your jaw on the floor. Alison holds nothing back about anything throughout her biography whether it is the horrific events that happened to her or her will to survive emotionally after her wounds have healed. Marianne Thamm, the journalist that Alison told her story to in order to write her biography does a wonderful job of tying everything together for the most part. About halfway through though, I felt like I Have Life stopped being a biography and started becoming a self-help book with Alison writing (speaking to Thamm) about how to become a happier person. Luckily, this only lasts for a few chapters, but I felt like maybe the chapters about being happier and such should be in a self-help book. (Alison gives talks around the world about her ordeal, so perhaps that's why these chapters were included?) Otherwise Marianne Thamm's writing of Alison Botha's biography was flawless. I was immersed the whole time. I felt like I was right besides Alison the whole time. I kept wanting there to be a different outcome when Alison was abducted by Frans even though I knew there wouldn't be. I felt like Alison really wants the stigma for rape survivors to be no more (and she's right as there shouldn't be any stigma attached). I felt like everything I wanted to know about Alison was answered in I Have Life - from what happened to Alison at the point of her abduction, the rape, the brutal attempted to murder, to the trial of her rapists and attacker to how her life was like at the writing of the book. Like I said, Thamm and Alison don't really leave anything to the imagination of which I was grateful.
All in all, I Have Life is a deeply disturbing book to read, but it does have a great outcome. It is well put together, and Alison Botha comes across as such a strong inspirational woman. Alison's story is full of hope and wisdom throughout. I would definitely recommend I Have Life: Alison's Journey as told to Marianne Thamm for those ages 18+ who are into true crime or for those that just want to see how strong the human will is to survive.