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The Beatles (White Album) by The Beatles
The Beatles (White Album) by The Beatles
1968 | Pop, Rock
9.0 (14 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"We're keen on the White Album because of the way we're making a lot of this music now. I feel like they had a lot of music, and they weren't that worried about the very nuanced production they had delved into with George Martin. It's one of those records that's kind of sloppy, recorded in strange rooms. It has this weirder, drug-damaged vibe about it. For me, I think that The Beatles could not be any greater of a group without a song like 'Revolution 9'. I wouldn't have embraced them as much. Even though I was very young I always thought 'Revolution 9' was just as valid, just as listenable, just as perfect as 'Strawberry Fields Forever', something that has a lot of structure, melody, lyrics. I didn't realise until later how retarded that was. When we started writing songs and learning how to produce records we started to see what a strange, disturbing collage it is. Luckily, that was what I built my world of creating music on: thinking anything that you wanted to do was possible. They'll have these experimental moments, and even Paul McCartney, who's perhaps not as artistically experimental, there's that thing, [sings] "Can you take me back where I came from" [the fragment that follows 'Cry Baby Cry']. [It's] Thirty seconds of him not really having a song. Listening to that when I was young, somehow, is the cornerstone to me remembering that anything's possible - that you don't have to worry about thinking everything through before you do it."

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A Hundred Veils
A Hundred Veils
Rea Keech | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
7
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Good pacing, wonderful descriptions (0 more)
Pretty good book
So the book is set at the very beginning of the Iranian Revolution – Marco is an American English teacher who’s come to Iran for a year. While there, he falls in love with his roommate’s cousin. The book is really their love story, while surrounded by political and religious unrest.

The writing is excellent. I’m sure I would get more out of the book if I could read Farsi, as each chapter is begun by a few lines of poetry in Farsi, written in both Arabic script and English letters. But the pacing is perfect, the descriptions apt – I really enjoyed this book.

Read my full review at https://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com/2017/08/22/book-review-a-hundred-veils/
  
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Emma Watson recommended The Complete Persepolis in Books (curated)

 
The Complete Persepolis
The Complete Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi | 2003 | Biography, Comics & Graphic Novels
8.8 (5 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"Satrapi grew up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution and its aftermath; Persepolis is the story of her childhood. Through Marji’s youthful (though not-always-innocent) eyes and mind, we see a turbulent moment in history unfold, and we witness the tremendous impact that local and global events and politics can have on even the most intimate moments of personal lives. We experience with Marji her day-to-day dreams and struggles, from family strife to wrestling with religious faith and custom. We’re swept up in her parents’ anxieties and her grandmother’s memories of an utterly different era. And we get a very real sense of what it was like to be a woman in Iran during this intense time of cultural and political transition."

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No More Than Mystic
No More Than Mystic
John Medhurst | 2017 | History & Politics
5
5.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Russian Revolution
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

No Less Than Mystic: A Story of Lenin and the Russian Revolution for a 21st Century Left by John Medhurst is an in-depth historical and political insight to the truth about what really happened in Russia before, during and after the Bolshevik insurrection of October 1917. Beginning with the end of the Tsars rule and ending with Stalinism, Medhurst unearths the fact from the fiction, challenging the information the world has been led to believe.

As mentioned in Medhurst lengthy introduction, previous books on the subject are often biased and inaccurate. Swayed by political beliefs, authors and historians often pass judgement by using the information they have chosen to believe, dismissing anything that goes against their viewpoint. In this book, Medhurst filters through these false histories, preferring to cite from publications written at the time rather than those penned by people who did not witness the events between 1903 and 1921.

Medhurst’s narrative is more political than historical, often going off on tangents. In order to for the reader to obtain some sort of connection with the events described, the author contrasts them with more recent occurrences that readers may have observed or at least understand. These include the British miner’s strike, feminist movements, the Greek economy and a variety of other capitalist struggles.

The Russian revolution is a complex affair that cannot easily be condensed. As a result, No More Than Mystic exceeds 600 pages and covers every event, no matter how big or small, that contributed to the rise of USSR. Russia was a dangerous place to live during the 20th century, particularly when Leninism spiralled into Stalinism. However, Leninism was not all the history books make it out to be.

During GCSE History, one teacher led his class to believe that Lenin was good and Stalin was bad, however, the reality was much more complicated than that. Lenin was not the good guy that many painted him to be. Thousands died as a result of his policies from both execution and starvation. Yet, at the same time, Medhurst tries to point out the reasoning behind the ideas of the communist rulers, refusing to give a personal opinion without laying bare both sides of the argument.

Although this book is accurate and educational, it is not the easiest to sit down and read. Extensive chapters full of mind-numbing information detract from the comprehensive insightfulness of the content. Notwithstanding the fact that the inclusion of contrasting capitalist examples helps the reader to establish some form of familiar ground, the sudden changes in topic, location and time period are often confusing and hard to follow.

No Less Than Mystic is for the intellectual person with a great interest in 20th-century Russian history and communist affairs. Without any prior education on the topic, this book will not mean anything. It attempts to challenge the ingrained beliefs people have about what happened during the Bolshevik insurrection. Those who do not know anything will not benefit from the confronting enlightenment.

In all, No Less Than Mystic is a well-researched academic text that brings a fresh history of Lenin and the Russian Revolution. Those who want an unbiased truth need to read this book and be sceptical about any other on the topic. In order to form opinions, one must know the facts.
  
The Shadow Reigns (Witch-Hunter, #2)
The Shadow Reigns (Witch-Hunter, #2)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The second part of the Witch-Hunter series.

The world has been thrown into darkness by the Shadow Witch's revolution. The witch-hunters are scattered, but still strong. The race is now on to gather allies and win the war.
New enemies will arise; loyalties will be pushed to the limit. And an important question will be answered: can a witch-hunter that practices magic ever be trusted, or will he be persecuted?
It is said that 'love conquers all', but this twisted love must stay secret, locked away with the past.

The Shadow Reigns is the sequel to book 1 The Shadow Rises in K.S. Marsden’s the witch hunter trilogy.
In the second instalment of the Witch-Hunter trilogy we find the world dealing with the catastrophic aftermath of the witches’ revolution. The remaining witch-hunters and the army form an alliance to plot the downfall of the powerful Shadow Witch and her followers.
I really like what the author has done with the plot twists in this one.
Hunter is embracing his newly realized anti-magic abilities. Hunter and his companions are searching for MMC survivors.
I found this one witty but also gritty.
The characters are so engaging and can just picture them in my mind.
The story and plot so well done and kept me on the edge of my seat!
Loved also the descriptive imagery of the landscape and also the magic.
Such a wonderful book.
Highly recommend reading!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
  
TH
The Headmaster's Wager
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I won this book awhile back on goodreads. I finally got around to reading it & have to say that I wasn't overly impressed. The book got off to a slow start. It got more interesting but not until I was into the second half of the novel.
The characters are very well written. I had a hard time connecting with Percival the Manu character however. The setting alternated between China & Vietnam in the time period of the Cultural Revolution & the Vietnam War. The story didn't really flow until Percival's son was arrested by the silent police for staging a "protest" in an attempt to impress his father who was headmaster of an American school in Cholon.
The book was well written, don't get me wrong! I just couldn't get into the story itself.
  
Captain Blood (1935)
Captain Blood (1935)
1935 | Action, Classics
10
7.8 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Captain Blood is absolutely, one of my favorite films. I actually own it in HD and it's always on my tablet to watch while I'm traveling.
Captain Blood is based upon the book by Rafael Sabatini. Sabatini has written some great books that have also been made into movies, such as Scaramouche and The Sea Hawk. Errol Flynn plays the main character, Peter Blood, who was a doctor during the English Revolution. Blood is arrested and sent to the colony of Jamaica because he was perceived as a traitor. Blood escapes with other slaves (not a spoiler, seriously, this film was made in 1935), and becomes a pirate. Pirate adventures occur, and once Blood's name is finally cleared, it is a happily ever after. The last scene is probably my favorite in the entire movie.
  
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Beetle Rider (341 KP) May 21, 2018

This is a great book. I’m ready for a modern adaptation.

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Erika (17788 KP) May 22, 2018

Me too!

The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
2021 | Action, Sci-Fi
Love, action and nostalgia (0 more)
Slower than I had hoped (0 more)
Matrix is back
Every one loved the first film. Resurrections reminds us why. While not the revolution we would have loved, Resurrections does offer us fans of the franchise that what we were clamoring for more action after the disasterous duology of Reloaded and Revolutions a second chance. The action is a bit slower but the pacing is really smooth. There's plenty of call backs to the past films and some fun laughs about things people hated in the sequels.
Seeing Neo and Trinity back together is fun and exciting.
The third act is stellar action. While nothing tops the lobby shootout or anything, there's some fun "Whoa!" moments that make you go "Wow, the Matrix has risen up and no longer suck anymore!
  
Sourcery: Discworld: The Unseen University Collection
Sourcery: Discworld: The Unseen University Collection
Terry Pratchett | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
5
8.1 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
One of the earliest Discworld (#5) books by the late, great, Sir Terry Pratchett, and it shows.

At this point the series was still very much in its infancy; very much still a parody of classic 'Sword and Sorcery' (especially where Rincewind is concerned) instead of the exploration of the human character it would later become.

Everybody has their own favourite 'subseries' of Discworld novels - The Witches, Stand-alones, Industrial Revolution, City Guards, Death - for me, personally, the Rincewind series has also fallen towards the bottom of that ranking (although they do get better around about the time of Interesting Times).

Having said that, it's still interesting to see the beginnings of Pratchett's evolution of the Discworld here - like any great symphony, they all need to start somewhere!
  
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Milleen (47 KP) rated Birdcage Walk in Books

Nov 14, 2018 (Updated Nov 14, 2018)  
Birdcage Walk
Birdcage Walk
Helen Dunmore | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This period drama has a dark, gothic uneasiness to it, but the tightly drawn characters, descriptive backdrop and DunmoreÕs powerful prose keep you reading. Lizzie Fawkes has been raised by a feisty mother, Julia an early advocate of women's rights and her stepfather Augustus who writes rousing political pamphlets. Lizzie has chosen to marry a sober, stoic gentleman, John Diner Tredevant, a property developer who has invested heavily in the construction of a terrace in Bristol and the entire household has moved to the Avon gorge to maintain their supportive, close-knit relationship. As the French Revolution rolls across the Channel, the house full of radicals await news from afar and the disruption echoes through their homes. Secrets and suspicions keep you interested in the story but it's the characters that provide the entertainment and emotional pull.