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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Expatriates in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Lee's latest novel intricately details the lives of three American women living in the expatriate community in Hong Kong. Margaret, who moved to Hong Kong with her husband and three children, is dealing with a horrible loss and how it has affected her entire being. Hilary, wealthy and married, is adrift in life - struggling to have a baby and floundering in her marriage. And Mercy, the youngest, is a Korean American trying to recover from her own recent horrors and figure out where she belongs. Their lives and stories are linked in small and large ways, as they each traverse the difficulties of life and the consequences of their actions.
It sounds trite - the linked stories of three women, but the book is nearly magical. The chapters are compelling and amazing: you truly feel as if you are there, with the characters, getting completely caught up in their lives and stories. It's one of those books where not a lot happens, yet in some ways, everything happens, and it's mesmerizing somehow. Lee has a unique voice for each character and they each become clearer and defined as the book goes on; they are so themselves that you can't ever imagine not knowing them, or how they would react to a given situation. Much of what happens is sad- in fact, there were times where I felt like my heart was physically hurting reading - but there is much redemption in the book as well. I truly found parts of it to be beautiful.
The ending, which I felt like could have been too easy, or conversely, easily ruined, felt perfect somehow. My only complaint with this book? That it ended. After I finished it, I found myself standing at the sink later that evening, washing some dishes, and thinking, "oh at least I get to read my book later tonight" and then feeling nothing but profound disappointment that the book was over, and I was done being a part of these characters' lives. Lovely, poignant book - highly recommend.
I must note that I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley (thanks!), though I wasn't approved until after it was published. The good news for you is that this novel is available now (as of 1/12/16) in all the various publication forms. You can check out a review of this book and many others on my <a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">blog</a>;.
It sounds trite - the linked stories of three women, but the book is nearly magical. The chapters are compelling and amazing: you truly feel as if you are there, with the characters, getting completely caught up in their lives and stories. It's one of those books where not a lot happens, yet in some ways, everything happens, and it's mesmerizing somehow. Lee has a unique voice for each character and they each become clearer and defined as the book goes on; they are so themselves that you can't ever imagine not knowing them, or how they would react to a given situation. Much of what happens is sad- in fact, there were times where I felt like my heart was physically hurting reading - but there is much redemption in the book as well. I truly found parts of it to be beautiful.
The ending, which I felt like could have been too easy, or conversely, easily ruined, felt perfect somehow. My only complaint with this book? That it ended. After I finished it, I found myself standing at the sink later that evening, washing some dishes, and thinking, "oh at least I get to read my book later tonight" and then feeling nothing but profound disappointment that the book was over, and I was done being a part of these characters' lives. Lovely, poignant book - highly recommend.
I must note that I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley (thanks!), though I wasn't approved until after it was published. The good news for you is that this novel is available now (as of 1/12/16) in all the various publication forms. You can check out a review of this book and many others on my <a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">blog</a>;.
Heavy-going treatise on man's reaction to alien interference
*** Disclosure - I received a free advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***
I have been planning on reading Erikson's Malazan series for some time but have yet to take the plunge. Getting approval to read Erikson's new sci-fi book gave me the chance to experience his writing style without such a big commitment.
The book itself feels like a short sci-fi story where Canadian sci-fi author Samantha August is abducted by aliens and is shown how the alien race are helping the human race, in order to keep Earth safe for their future use. The aliens start to implement a number of changes in the planet, and other planets in the solar system, in order to protect the human race, and Earth itself, from their inbuilt self-destructive nature. Despite these improvements (no violence, drugs or alcohol, replenished food stocks and animal populations) the human race do what we do best - look past the surface benefits with suspicion to find the underlying threat and to use it to further our own selfish goals.
This short is then padded out with more in-depth insight from a large cast of characters - the leaders of a large number of countries, Murdoch-esque media oligarchs, and a range of former arms dealers and warlords. Their insights give the book a feel like World War Z, where the same story is told from a number of different viewpoints to give the varying angles and opinions. While this does add to the overall story (where Samantha's chapters focus on the high level changes and reactions, we are treated to some localised insights), most of these characters are pretty throwaway and don't really seem to have a distinct voice.
The book itself is very heavy-going, with very detailed in-depth analysis of the political, religious, ideological, economic and sociological issues being faced by the human race when such an intrusion, though a beneficial one, is experienced.
This is not a book one can pick up for short periods or read when tired, it really does take some effort to concentrate to get the most out of it.
While it was an interesting take on how such a good thing would likely be ruined by human nature, the narrative was quite detrimental to the overall piece.
I have been planning on reading Erikson's Malazan series for some time but have yet to take the plunge. Getting approval to read Erikson's new sci-fi book gave me the chance to experience his writing style without such a big commitment.
The book itself feels like a short sci-fi story where Canadian sci-fi author Samantha August is abducted by aliens and is shown how the alien race are helping the human race, in order to keep Earth safe for their future use. The aliens start to implement a number of changes in the planet, and other planets in the solar system, in order to protect the human race, and Earth itself, from their inbuilt self-destructive nature. Despite these improvements (no violence, drugs or alcohol, replenished food stocks and animal populations) the human race do what we do best - look past the surface benefits with suspicion to find the underlying threat and to use it to further our own selfish goals.
This short is then padded out with more in-depth insight from a large cast of characters - the leaders of a large number of countries, Murdoch-esque media oligarchs, and a range of former arms dealers and warlords. Their insights give the book a feel like World War Z, where the same story is told from a number of different viewpoints to give the varying angles and opinions. While this does add to the overall story (where Samantha's chapters focus on the high level changes and reactions, we are treated to some localised insights), most of these characters are pretty throwaway and don't really seem to have a distinct voice.
The book itself is very heavy-going, with very detailed in-depth analysis of the political, religious, ideological, economic and sociological issues being faced by the human race when such an intrusion, though a beneficial one, is experienced.
This is not a book one can pick up for short periods or read when tired, it really does take some effort to concentrate to get the most out of it.
While it was an interesting take on how such a good thing would likely be ruined by human nature, the narrative was quite detrimental to the overall piece.
Hazel (1853 KP) rated It's About Love in Books
Dec 17, 2018
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
It’s About Love</i> is not a typical love story. The author of Tape, Steven Camden, has written a story from the point of view of a sixteen-year-old boy named Luke. In his first week of college he meets a girl in his film studies class. Her name is Leia and, ignoring the Star Wars connection, their passion for film makes them the perfect partners.
Luke, however, comes from a very troubling background. He has purposefully chosen a college two bus journeys away in order to escape his past. He can try to hide his relation to his brother due to be released from prison, but he cannot cover up the scar on his face. Initially Luke wants as little attention as possible, although once he starts developing feelings for Leia he enjoys being around her and her friends.
Yet everything changes when Luke’s past life and friends collide with the new. Believing he has ruined everything with Leia, Luke needs all the encouragement he can get from his film studies tutor, Noah, to keep on going.
Camden writes the story through first person narrative, film directions and ideas in Luke’s notebooks. This is an interesting method and helps to create a clearer picture of Luke’s personality. He is a teenager with potential and the ability to think for himself. It is his past history that makes him feel like he does not deserve happiness or success.
Although I liked the concept I did not care for any of the characters. Many could be described as thuggish and a lot of violence was involved. I understand that Luke needed to be involved with these types of people for the storyline to work, but it was not for me.
Despite the title, <i>It’s About Love</i> is more suitable for young adult males than it is females due to the nature of the story and the main character. Whether a boy would happily be caught reading a book with ‘love’ written on the cover is another matter. Steven Camden clearly has the young adult audience in mind as he writes and, even though I did not think it anything special, I am sure there will be many readers who will love this book.
It’s About Love</i> is not a typical love story. The author of Tape, Steven Camden, has written a story from the point of view of a sixteen-year-old boy named Luke. In his first week of college he meets a girl in his film studies class. Her name is Leia and, ignoring the Star Wars connection, their passion for film makes them the perfect partners.
Luke, however, comes from a very troubling background. He has purposefully chosen a college two bus journeys away in order to escape his past. He can try to hide his relation to his brother due to be released from prison, but he cannot cover up the scar on his face. Initially Luke wants as little attention as possible, although once he starts developing feelings for Leia he enjoys being around her and her friends.
Yet everything changes when Luke’s past life and friends collide with the new. Believing he has ruined everything with Leia, Luke needs all the encouragement he can get from his film studies tutor, Noah, to keep on going.
Camden writes the story through first person narrative, film directions and ideas in Luke’s notebooks. This is an interesting method and helps to create a clearer picture of Luke’s personality. He is a teenager with potential and the ability to think for himself. It is his past history that makes him feel like he does not deserve happiness or success.
Although I liked the concept I did not care for any of the characters. Many could be described as thuggish and a lot of violence was involved. I understand that Luke needed to be involved with these types of people for the storyline to work, but it was not for me.
Despite the title, <i>It’s About Love</i> is more suitable for young adult males than it is females due to the nature of the story and the main character. Whether a boy would happily be caught reading a book with ‘love’ written on the cover is another matter. Steven Camden clearly has the young adult audience in mind as he writes and, even though I did not think it anything special, I am sure there will be many readers who will love this book.
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Oh Yeah, Audrey! in Books
Dec 17, 2018
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</i>
Fans of Audrey Hepburn are bound to love Tucker Shaw’s latest contemporary young adult novel <i>Oh Yeah, Audrey!</i> especially if they admire her as much as sixteen year old Gemma Beasley does. The novel takes place over a time period of twenty-six hours beginning at 5:00am outside <i>Tiffany’s</i> in New York. Through Tumblr Gemma has “met” other Audrey fanatics and has arranged a get together in honour of the twentieth anniversary of the legendary star’s death.
It helps to have watched the film <i>Breakfast at Tiffany’s</i> (I haven’t) or at least have read the book (I have), as the narrative is full of quotes and references to Holly Golightly and scenes from the film. At first it appears no one else will turn up to the meeting but eventually they do and their exciting day gets off to an enjoyable start. Although they have a strict itinerary planned out it is soon forgotten as other options arise. By asking themselves: “what would Holly do?” they end up doing a lot of things they have never done before.
It all seems too good to be true when a rich good-looking guy asks Gemma out for dinner. She accepts despite it meaning she will be ditching her friends but she promises to meet up with them later. However, Gemma soon finds herself out of her depth and feels like she has ruined the evening not just for herself, but for her friends as well.
Initially readers may expect <i>Oh Yeah, Audrey!</i> to be a very girly book but it actually has a strong message behind it. The whole time that Gemma is asking herself “what would Holly do?” she is not discovering the person she is and what she really wants. <i>Breakfast at Tiffany’s</i> may have made running away from home and living independently look like a glamorous adventure, but Gemma discovers that Holly Golightly was most likely a very lonely character.
I enjoyed this book much more than I was expecting to. It is a quick easy read that is very funny and entertaining but also moving at the end. Those who have not yet read/seen <i>Breakfast at Tiffany’s</i> will definitely be thinking about doing so after reading <i>Oh Yeah, Audrey!</i>
Fans of Audrey Hepburn are bound to love Tucker Shaw’s latest contemporary young adult novel <i>Oh Yeah, Audrey!</i> especially if they admire her as much as sixteen year old Gemma Beasley does. The novel takes place over a time period of twenty-six hours beginning at 5:00am outside <i>Tiffany’s</i> in New York. Through Tumblr Gemma has “met” other Audrey fanatics and has arranged a get together in honour of the twentieth anniversary of the legendary star’s death.
It helps to have watched the film <i>Breakfast at Tiffany’s</i> (I haven’t) or at least have read the book (I have), as the narrative is full of quotes and references to Holly Golightly and scenes from the film. At first it appears no one else will turn up to the meeting but eventually they do and their exciting day gets off to an enjoyable start. Although they have a strict itinerary planned out it is soon forgotten as other options arise. By asking themselves: “what would Holly do?” they end up doing a lot of things they have never done before.
It all seems too good to be true when a rich good-looking guy asks Gemma out for dinner. She accepts despite it meaning she will be ditching her friends but she promises to meet up with them later. However, Gemma soon finds herself out of her depth and feels like she has ruined the evening not just for herself, but for her friends as well.
Initially readers may expect <i>Oh Yeah, Audrey!</i> to be a very girly book but it actually has a strong message behind it. The whole time that Gemma is asking herself “what would Holly do?” she is not discovering the person she is and what she really wants. <i>Breakfast at Tiffany’s</i> may have made running away from home and living independently look like a glamorous adventure, but Gemma discovers that Holly Golightly was most likely a very lonely character.
I enjoyed this book much more than I was expecting to. It is a quick easy read that is very funny and entertaining but also moving at the end. Those who have not yet read/seen <i>Breakfast at Tiffany’s</i> will definitely be thinking about doing so after reading <i>Oh Yeah, Audrey!</i>
Jessica - Where the Book Ends (15 KP) rated Runes (Runes, #1) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
I received this book through Newgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Runes is the story of a teenage girl who has everything should could possibly want until her father's plane crashes, and a mysterious guy moves in next door. Raine has a great relationship with her parents, she is on the school swimming team, and she has the start of a great relationship with her best friend Eirik. Then, Torin moves in next door and her world starts changing. She sees things no one else can see, and she begins to have feelings for the mysterious new neighbor.
Raine is a character you can easily love. She is a good girl who always tries to do the right thing; especially, when it comes to her friends. She always has a positive outlook, and you can't help but cheer for her. Raine is a very well rounded character, but the rest of the characters seem extremely flat or one dimensional to me. Her best friend Cora seems like she is constantly jumping from guy to guy and is never happy. Eirik is a very vague character, he's around but pretty much only to hang off of Raine. I would like to see more development with these characters in the next book.
The idea of Torin, Andris, Meliina, and Ingrid being Reapers was not something I saw coming. I purposefully didn't read any information about this book because I didn't want the surprise to be ruined, and I'm glad I waited. The idea of reapers is refreshing and not something that is currently popular with currently paranormal romance.
The pacing of the story is just right, there is always something happening and it left me wanting more, more, more! I couldn't put the book down, and I actually read it in 1 day.
The one thing that kept this book from receiving 5 stars from me was the ENORMOUS amount of grammatical errors and missing words I encountered while reading. I think the author needs to have someone else proof read the next book, or hopefully I received an early enough copy that it wasn't finished with the process.
Overall, this book is a wonderful adventure that I was truly lucky to get my hands on. I absolutely can't wait for book 2! You won't want to miss this book!
Runes is the story of a teenage girl who has everything should could possibly want until her father's plane crashes, and a mysterious guy moves in next door. Raine has a great relationship with her parents, she is on the school swimming team, and she has the start of a great relationship with her best friend Eirik. Then, Torin moves in next door and her world starts changing. She sees things no one else can see, and she begins to have feelings for the mysterious new neighbor.
Raine is a character you can easily love. She is a good girl who always tries to do the right thing; especially, when it comes to her friends. She always has a positive outlook, and you can't help but cheer for her. Raine is a very well rounded character, but the rest of the characters seem extremely flat or one dimensional to me. Her best friend Cora seems like she is constantly jumping from guy to guy and is never happy. Eirik is a very vague character, he's around but pretty much only to hang off of Raine. I would like to see more development with these characters in the next book.
The idea of Torin, Andris, Meliina, and Ingrid being Reapers was not something I saw coming. I purposefully didn't read any information about this book because I didn't want the surprise to be ruined, and I'm glad I waited. The idea of reapers is refreshing and not something that is currently popular with currently paranormal romance.
The pacing of the story is just right, there is always something happening and it left me wanting more, more, more! I couldn't put the book down, and I actually read it in 1 day.
The one thing that kept this book from receiving 5 stars from me was the ENORMOUS amount of grammatical errors and missing words I encountered while reading. I think the author needs to have someone else proof read the next book, or hopefully I received an early enough copy that it wasn't finished with the process.
Overall, this book is a wonderful adventure that I was truly lucky to get my hands on. I absolutely can't wait for book 2! You won't want to miss this book!
Scott Tostik (389 KP) rated He's Out There (2018) in Movies
Aug 16, 2019
The mask... Wicked (1 more)
One helluva great build up
Slow burn that heats up well
Contains spoilers, click to show
Woman takes kids to weekend home in the woods. Husband to meet up with them later that night. What could possibly go wrong?
Well... Lemme tell you.... Your whole fuckin day just got ruined by some psycho in a mask who starts of small... Banging on windows... Moving things around the yard... Typical teenage prank type stuff...
As the fear builds, his sadistic nature come to the surface... He intercepts the husband on his way through the darkened goat path of a road and proceeds to carve out his eyeballs and leave his corpse on the front step... Like some cat leaving his master a dead rat or bird... Seeking approval
There's a scene near the end of the film that I found kind of brilliant.
The killer hangs three life sized dolls, representing the mother and her children, for the three to find when they try to run... Stopping them in their tracks... Then... As if they were kids playing a game, he begins pelting them with paintballs to drive them back into the house... Giving himself total control over the situation. The killer has made it impossible for the victims to leave... Thinking the car is a good idea... Mommy hides her children in the closet... Telling them how brave they are and giving them a watch to time 20 seconds before they make a break for it to meet their mother at the car... Mom takes the keys from her dead husbands pocket and start a the car. She then grabs the kids from the closet and is immediately trapped in a room by Mr. Madman.
A neighbor comes over and sees the carnage that is the yard, smashed up SUV, deadman on the steps and tries to help... His fate is sealed by an axe to the head...
The killers total control of everything is what makes me like this movie... Reminds me of The Collector in so many ways... Total control...
Its worth a watch or two... When the climax of the film finally comes a long... Its kind of a let down... But the build up was nice and impressive... If you're looking to get blue balled by a movie... Its a great pick :)
Well... Lemme tell you.... Your whole fuckin day just got ruined by some psycho in a mask who starts of small... Banging on windows... Moving things around the yard... Typical teenage prank type stuff...
As the fear builds, his sadistic nature come to the surface... He intercepts the husband on his way through the darkened goat path of a road and proceeds to carve out his eyeballs and leave his corpse on the front step... Like some cat leaving his master a dead rat or bird... Seeking approval
There's a scene near the end of the film that I found kind of brilliant.
The killer hangs three life sized dolls, representing the mother and her children, for the three to find when they try to run... Stopping them in their tracks... Then... As if they were kids playing a game, he begins pelting them with paintballs to drive them back into the house... Giving himself total control over the situation. The killer has made it impossible for the victims to leave... Thinking the car is a good idea... Mommy hides her children in the closet... Telling them how brave they are and giving them a watch to time 20 seconds before they make a break for it to meet their mother at the car... Mom takes the keys from her dead husbands pocket and start a the car. She then grabs the kids from the closet and is immediately trapped in a room by Mr. Madman.
A neighbor comes over and sees the carnage that is the yard, smashed up SUV, deadman on the steps and tries to help... His fate is sealed by an axe to the head...
The killers total control of everything is what makes me like this movie... Reminds me of The Collector in so many ways... Total control...
Its worth a watch or two... When the climax of the film finally comes a long... Its kind of a let down... But the build up was nice and impressive... If you're looking to get blue balled by a movie... Its a great pick :)
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated The Lion King (2019) in Movies
Jul 19, 2019 (Updated Jul 19, 2019)
If this is where the monarchy is headed Count me out!
Lion king 2019 is by far the worst of the Disney live action remakes & while newcomers/children will certainly love it many of the people that hold the original close to their hearts will leave wishing they had just stayed home with the far superior predecessor instead. Aladdin & The Lion King are two of the greatest animated feature films of all time & as I experienced them both in cinema on release they are very special to me. Now i loved the Aladdin remake & im not one for comparing these to the animated features but while I was watching this all i could think about was how much better the original is. While it looks absolutely gorgeous (until anything starts to move) the animation at times is so unnatural especially when animals are walking slowly that its constantly distracting & kills the illusion of these creatures being real. Voice work is bland/mediocre & delivered with almost no enthusiasm at all like the cast were more concerned with sounding different to the original than giving the characters charm & personality. Voices also dont feel connected to the characters like your watching a nature documentary thats been dubbed over. While Aladdin did its own thing & changed up the movie Lion King is practically & infuriatingly a scene for scene remake which would be ok if it had the charm, colour, grand scale, imagination, excitement, thrill, humour & emotional impact of the original but it doesnt. Songs are butchered/dull with seemingly no energy or spectacle to them at all feeling significantly toned down/grounded rather than fun & toe tapping (they have also ruined 'Be Prepared'). So whats new? theres new humour & yup you guessed it its really bad with awkward timing & dragged out jokes that just fall flat. I wanted so bad to love this movie but not even a scense of nostalgia kicked in either because the film is just soulless, unenthusiastic, boring, bland, lacking in excitement & magic. Kids will no doubt love it but for me its this years biggest let down. If it were a silent film with an epic score over the top it might of at least been unique/watchable & helped be bearable but as it is I just cant recomend seeing it. A big fat cash grab.
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BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Woman with Wings in Books
Sep 24, 2020
Alison works in the international advertising company as an IT specialist, and she loves bird watching. During one of her trips, she falls off the mountain but survives. I liked Alison as a person, she is a loner, and she is doing what she loves. She is like every other female in London, only she gets wings from somewhere. Alison has a great friend Jed, who likes and supports her, and a rich executive of the company named Doxat that fancies her, so this book could’ve been a great romantic novel, and those wings ruined it for me. The story was told from multiple perspectives, but the transition between those perspectives was quite blurry, I would’ve liked if different thoughts started as a different chapter.
Alison talks a lot about birds and their migration, it is great to know about this, especially because Alison’s true passion is birds, but I was skim-reading them because I don’t like copy-paste material. I am sure, bird enthusiasts will enjoy the information, and I can see the research put into that, but those parts were not for me. Another thing that did not make sense to me were parts about Kurt Godel and his mathematical calculations regarding time traveling. There were pages and pages about the same thing, which was well researched and very philosophical, but at the same time repetitive and felt like pasted there out of Wikipedia. :/ I liked the way Alison was interacting with other characters, and there was an interesting love triangle going on in there, but that’s about it.
I was not a very big fan of the writing style of this novel, it seemed well researched, and poetic, but at the same time, it felt raw and unfinished. The setting of this book was changing between London and remote places of the UK like Skye, and I enjoyed its picturesque views. The chapters were quite long, and the narrative quite jumpy. The culmination of this novel didn’t make any sense to me and left me with million of questions instead of answers. :/
So, to conclude, this book was not for me. It has interesting characters, and I enjoyed their relationships with each other, and this book has great potential, but the plot didn’t really impress me. I think this book might interest a bird-loving community as well as people who enjoy philosophy.
Alison talks a lot about birds and their migration, it is great to know about this, especially because Alison’s true passion is birds, but I was skim-reading them because I don’t like copy-paste material. I am sure, bird enthusiasts will enjoy the information, and I can see the research put into that, but those parts were not for me. Another thing that did not make sense to me were parts about Kurt Godel and his mathematical calculations regarding time traveling. There were pages and pages about the same thing, which was well researched and very philosophical, but at the same time repetitive and felt like pasted there out of Wikipedia. :/ I liked the way Alison was interacting with other characters, and there was an interesting love triangle going on in there, but that’s about it.
I was not a very big fan of the writing style of this novel, it seemed well researched, and poetic, but at the same time, it felt raw and unfinished. The setting of this book was changing between London and remote places of the UK like Skye, and I enjoyed its picturesque views. The chapters were quite long, and the narrative quite jumpy. The culmination of this novel didn’t make any sense to me and left me with million of questions instead of answers. :/
So, to conclude, this book was not for me. It has interesting characters, and I enjoyed their relationships with each other, and this book has great potential, but the plot didn’t really impress me. I think this book might interest a bird-loving community as well as people who enjoy philosophy.