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Infinite Tanks
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Infinite Tanks features exactly what the name suggests – huge content - never ending lines of...
Can Knockdown 3
Games and Entertainment
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Be accurate! Be smart! Be quick! Challenge your aim, hone your precision, and push your...
This Idea Is Brilliant: Lost, Overlooked, and Underappreciated Scientific Concepts Everyone Should Know
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The latest volume in the bestselling series from Edge.org—dubbed “the world’s smartest...
life sciences
The Island of Missing Trees
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It is 1974 on the island of Cyprus. Two teenagers, from opposite sides of a divided land, meet at a...
Historical Fiction Magical Realism Literary Fiction Cyprus Turkey London
Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) rated The Portrait of Mr W.H. in Books
May 14, 2017
. As a paradox to the realism and ethics of the period, decadent writers, artists, and poets challenged a society that strove for a standard in public discourse.
First published in 1889, Oscar Wilde’s The Portrait of Mr W.H., is a short story about the efforts of three characters trying to discover the identity of Shakespeare’s Mr W.H. ; the dedicatee of his many sonnets. Wilde’s novel is a prime example of decadent literature and aestheticism, which, as a result, challenges the Victorian ideals of moral decency and public rectitude. The author uses paradox in the novel to present a theory that contradicts the conservative critics of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Wilde presents a subjective interpretation of Shakespeare’s sonnets that portrays homoerotic sexual desire as the force for creative inspiration. Foremost, through the character Cyril Graham, the author demonstrates that art is ‘an attempt to realise one’s own personality on some imaginative plane out of reach of the trammelling accidents and limitations of real life’, (Wilde, p.111).
Taking from a hypothesis in the previous century by Edmund Malone and Thomas Tyrwhitt, the character of Cyril forms a theory in which Mr W.H. is a young actor named Willie Hughes, employed by Shakespeare and who is the muse to which the sonnets are devoted. Cyril investigates each poem and pieces together a theory he believes to be true.
On the surface, Cyril’s theory derives from feeling and beauty rather than logic and instruction.
The withholding of facts in Shakespeare’s sonnets energises Cyril. He scours the poems to find a clue that harmonise with his own feelings. Cyril believes that Shakespeare influences his readers by guiding them to Willie Hughes.
Cyril, spurned by the moralistic interpretations of previous critics, becomes enthralled by Shakespeare’s muse.
Wilde presents a subjective interpretation of Shakespeare’s sonnets that portrays homoerotic sexual desire as the force for creative inspiration. Foremost, through the character Cyril Graham, the author demonstrates that art is ‘an attempt to realise one’s own personality on some imaginative plane out of reach of the trammelling accidents and limitations of real life’, (Wilde, p.111).
Taking from a hypothesis in the previous century by Edmund Malone and Thomas Tyrwhitt, the character of Cyril forms a theory in which Mr W.H. is a young actor named Willie Hughes, employed by Shakespeare and who is the muse to which the sonnets are devoted. Cyril investigates each poem and pieces together a theory he believes to be true.
On the surface, Cyril’s theory derives from feeling and beauty rather than logic and instruction.
The withholding of facts in Shakespeare’s sonnets energises Cyril. He scours the poems to find a clue that harmonise with his own feelings. Cyril believes that Shakespeare influences his readers by guiding them to Willie Hughes.
Cyril, spurned by the moralistic interpretations of previous critics, becomes enthralled by Shakespeare’s muse.
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated The Reapers are the Angels (Reapers, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
If you're going into this book thinking you'll find an action-packed, zombie-mauling good-time, you're in for a surprise. THE REAPERS ARE THE ANGELS is literary zombie fiction (yes, you read that right), although it's not too literary it feels pretentious and stuffy, but it's not a totally light read either. There's violence chock full of blood and gore, a semi-solitary road trip, and God. Does it work? Yeah, in a way. The book was serious but there wasn't much depth and it didn't impact me as much as it probably should have. The plot is basically an odyssey, in which many diverse characters appear and we see how the main character, Temple, relates with them. One of these struck me as odd and took me out of the story. Before, the book showed realism and grit, then it came to giant mutants and turned into a sci-fi horror show. Frankly, it was just weird and didn't correlate with the rest of the story. Temple was an interesting character who told the tale well but was a contradiction; she's illiterate but knows words that few people do. Since she's always lived with "meatskins" and has never known the world before, her background doesn't support this and I found it didn't fit with her character at all. I got her but didn't care about her.
Honestly, I don't have much feeling for this book, I liked it but that's all, and while it's a good read, it's not great. If you like a thinking zombie story with philosophy and a stream of Christianity running through it, although it's not too deep, than you just might enjoy this book.
Honestly, I don't have much feeling for this book, I liked it but that's all, and while it's a good read, it's not great. If you like a thinking zombie story with philosophy and a stream of Christianity running through it, although it's not too deep, than you just might enjoy this book.
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated The Highwaymen (2019) in Movies
Apr 5, 2019 (Updated Apr 5, 2019)
Costner & Harrelson (1 more)
Well made
HighwayMeh
The Highwaymen is a recent Netflix movie about two ex Texas Rangers that were brought out of retirement to hunt and kill Bonnie & Clyde. With that premise and Kevin Costner & Woody Harrelson in the lead roles, this could have been incredible. Although the movie is very well made and the entire cast are all pretty great in it, it is just so damn slow.
Not only that but it is 2+ hours long and, my God do you feel it. Like me, you will most likely spend the whole time waiting for the film to pick up until it just sort of fizzles out. I get that they were going for realism over action here, but it is seriously slow. At what I thought was almost the end of the movie, I hit paused to go for a bathroom break, only to discover that I was just shy of halfway into the movie's runtime.
Don't get me wrong, Costner and Harrelson do a great job of carrying this movie and it really does rely on their performance. Also, the movie is technically proficient. The camera work, the lighting, the set design etc is all solid, this is by no means a poorly made movie.
Overall, if you are a huge fan of the Bonnie & Clyde story, or of either of the lead actors, then you should probably check this one out. If not, you can most certainly give it a skip. As I keep reiterating, this is a technically sound movie, it is just so slow and drawn out that it is detrimental to me recommending the film to anyone other than diehard fans of this story.
Not only that but it is 2+ hours long and, my God do you feel it. Like me, you will most likely spend the whole time waiting for the film to pick up until it just sort of fizzles out. I get that they were going for realism over action here, but it is seriously slow. At what I thought was almost the end of the movie, I hit paused to go for a bathroom break, only to discover that I was just shy of halfway into the movie's runtime.
Don't get me wrong, Costner and Harrelson do a great job of carrying this movie and it really does rely on their performance. Also, the movie is technically proficient. The camera work, the lighting, the set design etc is all solid, this is by no means a poorly made movie.
Overall, if you are a huge fan of the Bonnie & Clyde story, or of either of the lead actors, then you should probably check this one out. If not, you can most certainly give it a skip. As I keep reiterating, this is a technically sound movie, it is just so slow and drawn out that it is detrimental to me recommending the film to anyone other than diehard fans of this story.
Hannah May (3 KP) rated Playlist for a Broken Heart in Books
Mar 8, 2018
What I really liked about this novel was the realism and wit of the characters. It presents the real danger of living and working in a recession, and how one mistake can change your whole life. It was also nice to read a story set in England - too many are set in America nowadays! The mystery of which boy made the Cd was well thought out and had me guessing right to the end. By the end, I was happy that it was who it was. The other candidates were appalling or strange in comparison. What fascinated me most about Paige Lord was how much she'd changed. In the beginning, I thought she was snotty and high maintenance. It was both satisfying and sad to see her brought down a few levels, but the end effect was a positive one and she's definitely a better character for it. I like the portrayal of Paiges relationships with cousin Tasmin and Allegra. Knowing how difficult it is to talk to cousins - or extended family in general - I knew things would be difficult between Paige and Tasmin. It made me smile how they came together and had fun. Clover was a nice and refreshing character to read Too. What really got me about Allegra and Paige was their endurance. Despite the distance, they were determined to Skype, visit and talk as much as they Could. I know some friendships don't survive long distance, so it was nice to read different. As you can probably tell, I really liked this novel. It ran true on so many levels - socially and emotionally - and it was different to other teen novels I have read. I would definitely recommend it.
BookblogbyCari (345 KP) rated Not Thomas in Books
Jul 31, 2018
This is such a sad story I often struggled to bring myself to read it. The novel is written as if it were a true story told by the central character, 5-year-old Tomos. Tomos has just moved in with his birth mother, following a long period of foster care which came to an end when the foster parent died.
The language with which it’s written, is very much like that of its protagonist, with common wording, present tense, short sentences, and childlike enthusiasm clearly conveyed. In spite of this, you may argue it’s not necessarily easy to read, as I shall explain.
In the beginning of the book, the neglect endured by Tomos is more commonplace, such as: occasionally having crisps instead of a cooked meal, making do with a removable ladder to on and off his bed, and his mum missing his nativity play. Later a teacher spots there’s an issue and starts bringing food and uniform for him to school.
However, after each let-down, the author must have thought “Right, what’s the worst thing that can happen next?” By the end of the book, there’s a rape, an arrest, and a murder. Eventually the teacher forges a rescue of sorts for Tomos, but things may never be the same again for poor Tomos.
Reading a book where the dialogue is in my own Welsh valley dialect made the story feel all the more real to me. In the first half of the book, the dialogue amongst the adults provides more depth, context and complexity to the story, which would otherwise only be hinted at.
In the end, it’s the realism of the story that makes it such a hard read.
You can check out more of my book reviews on Wordpress or Facebook:
https://bookblogbycari.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bookblogbycari/
The language with which it’s written, is very much like that of its protagonist, with common wording, present tense, short sentences, and childlike enthusiasm clearly conveyed. In spite of this, you may argue it’s not necessarily easy to read, as I shall explain.
In the beginning of the book, the neglect endured by Tomos is more commonplace, such as: occasionally having crisps instead of a cooked meal, making do with a removable ladder to on and off his bed, and his mum missing his nativity play. Later a teacher spots there’s an issue and starts bringing food and uniform for him to school.
However, after each let-down, the author must have thought “Right, what’s the worst thing that can happen next?” By the end of the book, there’s a rape, an arrest, and a murder. Eventually the teacher forges a rescue of sorts for Tomos, but things may never be the same again for poor Tomos.
Reading a book where the dialogue is in my own Welsh valley dialect made the story feel all the more real to me. In the first half of the book, the dialogue amongst the adults provides more depth, context and complexity to the story, which would otherwise only be hinted at.
In the end, it’s the realism of the story that makes it such a hard read.
You can check out more of my book reviews on Wordpress or Facebook:
https://bookblogbycari.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bookblogbycari/
Olivia (102 KP) rated Infinite Blue in Books
Aug 13, 2018
I received an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.
What I expected from Infinite Blue was a story about two teens trying to make love work and last. Instead, what I got was a contemporary, magical-realism book about life, love, passion and just how eternal they are.
Infinite Blue is a mystical read that I highly enjoyed. The relationship between our two main characters, Ash and Clayton, was incredibly sweet, the concept of this book felt highly original, and it was quick and easy to read. So, with all that praise, why have I given it a relatively low rating?
Infinite Blue left me wanting more. Unfortunately, not in the traditional "I loved this book and never want it to end! Give me twenty spin-offs of it!" way. The book is only 178 pages long. In that time a lot happens. But so much of it is skimmed over to an extreme extent where I felt I'd only read a third of a book. Yes, all the details a reader need to know are disclosed on paper, but there is practically no build up toward these events. That alone is why I don't feel I can give it a higher rating. The book feels incomplete.
With that being said, Orca Publishing specializes in publishing books for reluctant readers. This is a book I would recommend to reluctant readers ages 12-15. It's very straight to the point so it leaves little room to get distracted and the concept is extremely interesting.
But ultimately, as an avid reader, I found myself a bit let down by how incomplete the book felt as a whole.
What I expected from Infinite Blue was a story about two teens trying to make love work and last. Instead, what I got was a contemporary, magical-realism book about life, love, passion and just how eternal they are.
Infinite Blue is a mystical read that I highly enjoyed. The relationship between our two main characters, Ash and Clayton, was incredibly sweet, the concept of this book felt highly original, and it was quick and easy to read. So, with all that praise, why have I given it a relatively low rating?
Infinite Blue left me wanting more. Unfortunately, not in the traditional "I loved this book and never want it to end! Give me twenty spin-offs of it!" way. The book is only 178 pages long. In that time a lot happens. But so much of it is skimmed over to an extreme extent where I felt I'd only read a third of a book. Yes, all the details a reader need to know are disclosed on paper, but there is practically no build up toward these events. That alone is why I don't feel I can give it a higher rating. The book feels incomplete.
With that being said, Orca Publishing specializes in publishing books for reluctant readers. This is a book I would recommend to reluctant readers ages 12-15. It's very straight to the point so it leaves little room to get distracted and the concept is extremely interesting.
But ultimately, as an avid reader, I found myself a bit let down by how incomplete the book felt as a whole.