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Going Solo
10.0
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In Going Solo, the world's favourite storyteller, Roald Dahl, tells of life as a fighter pilot in...
Ross (3284 KP) rated Surprisingly Down to Earth, and Very Funny in Books
Oct 27, 2020
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.
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.
Bethr1986 (305 KP) rated Escape the Choice (The Choice Series #1) in Books
Apr 24, 2022
Ali is at university and has 2 boys that she is friendly with one of them wants it to be more than friends with Ali whilst she wants to be more than Friends with the other she just doesn't know how to make the choice.
This is the first short story of the choices series by Ellie Yarde. I found it really well written, However I was not happy with the ending, not because its bad I just wasn't ready for it to end I wanted more from the story!
I'm glad that Ali was able to wake up and see the situation she was being manipulated into and made the right choice in my opinion, nobody should be made to feel the way that Oliver has made her feel.
Having been in similar situations myself I could feel my gut churning when she was being almost scolded by Oliver for not spending time with him, doing things she wanted to do, I wanted to almost climb into the book and shake her to make her realise that any relationship shouldn't be that hard to have, I do understand sometimes its not that easy to see when your the one in the middle of the situation and you like to see the best in everybody.
I really hope Ellie continues to write these stories as they are really enjoyable, maybe have a go at making them a little longer perhaps if at all possible. they are very easy going stories with some drama but a nice easy read.
I give 4/5 stars and recommend you read it.
This is the first short story of the choices series by Ellie Yarde. I found it really well written, However I was not happy with the ending, not because its bad I just wasn't ready for it to end I wanted more from the story!
I'm glad that Ali was able to wake up and see the situation she was being manipulated into and made the right choice in my opinion, nobody should be made to feel the way that Oliver has made her feel.
Having been in similar situations myself I could feel my gut churning when she was being almost scolded by Oliver for not spending time with him, doing things she wanted to do, I wanted to almost climb into the book and shake her to make her realise that any relationship shouldn't be that hard to have, I do understand sometimes its not that easy to see when your the one in the middle of the situation and you like to see the best in everybody.
I really hope Ellie continues to write these stories as they are really enjoyable, maybe have a go at making them a little longer perhaps if at all possible. they are very easy going stories with some drama but a nice easy read.
I give 4/5 stars and recommend you read it.
Merissa (12055 KP) rated The Bright Side Brigade in Books
Mar 29, 2019
The Bright Side Brigade by Elaine White
The Bright Side Brigade is a set of interconnecting stories, all related to each other, but with different people in the starring roles for each one. What this means is you keep up to date on all of the people here, but not in the way you were expecting.
What was I expecting when I agreed to review this? I'll be honest, not this!!! I read a hard-hitting, emotional, full of impact story that shows you that sometimes, you actually need something you didn't think you did. This school had a Zero Tolerance manifesto in place, and didn't think they needed anything else, but as these stories progress, you see just how much they do!
There is no one couple I loved more than the others, and that is simply amazing. Usually in a box set or anthology, I will ALWAYS have one favourite story/couple. Not here. All of these boys and girls touched my heart. I cheered for their victories, and I wept for their sorrows. Seriously!!! I was astounded by what I read, and I thoroughly enjoyed every word!
Now, onto the technical side. There were no editing or grammatical errors that I noticed. I may have missed one when I was wiping away the tears, but I doubt it. A bunch of short stories, making up an emotional whole. The pacing was perfect for each and every one. I guess if I wanted to nitpick, I would say I'm not entirely sure where it is set. It mentions Glasgow, but then medical bills - which is possible in the UK, but not usual. However, I couldn't care if this was set on Space Planet number 9! I loved this book, and I really, REALLY, hope to see more of The Bright Side Brigade... please?!
In case you haven't realised it yet - I absolutely recommend this book!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
What was I expecting when I agreed to review this? I'll be honest, not this!!! I read a hard-hitting, emotional, full of impact story that shows you that sometimes, you actually need something you didn't think you did. This school had a Zero Tolerance manifesto in place, and didn't think they needed anything else, but as these stories progress, you see just how much they do!
There is no one couple I loved more than the others, and that is simply amazing. Usually in a box set or anthology, I will ALWAYS have one favourite story/couple. Not here. All of these boys and girls touched my heart. I cheered for their victories, and I wept for their sorrows. Seriously!!! I was astounded by what I read, and I thoroughly enjoyed every word!
Now, onto the technical side. There were no editing or grammatical errors that I noticed. I may have missed one when I was wiping away the tears, but I doubt it. A bunch of short stories, making up an emotional whole. The pacing was perfect for each and every one. I guess if I wanted to nitpick, I would say I'm not entirely sure where it is set. It mentions Glasgow, but then medical bills - which is possible in the UK, but not usual. However, I couldn't care if this was set on Space Planet number 9! I loved this book, and I really, REALLY, hope to see more of The Bright Side Brigade... please?!
In case you haven't realised it yet - I absolutely recommend this book!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
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Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Love, Death & Robots in TV
Jul 7, 2020
Unique And Visceral Experience
Love, Death, & Robots is an adult animated anthology tv series on Netflix. The series is produced by Joshua Donen, David Fincher, Jennifer Miller, and Tim Miller. Each of the 18 episodes released on the first season was animated by different crews from a range of countries. It's also a re-imagining of 1981 animated sci-fi film Heavy Metal. Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Topher Grace, Gary Cole, Samira Wiley, and Stefan Kapicic.
Produced by different casts and crews, and consisting of 18 stand-alone episodes, each under 20 minutes, the title of the series refers to the recurring themes of love, death, and robots in each episode. Full of terrifying creatures, wicked surprises and dark comedy, it's a collection of animated short stories spanning several genres like horror, comedy, fantasy, and science fiction. Captivating stories come to life with world-class animation in a plethora of tales unlike anything else.
This series was wicked awesome. Reminded me of some of the other animated anthologies I've seen such as The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight, except quite a bit more NSFW. This series also gave me a Twilight Zone vibe but bit darker. More blood and guts and highly sexual. Even though it's pretty graphic, I really liked a lot of the stories they told and the twists that most had in the end as well. Some are kind of hit or miss or just better than others but I think that there is definitely something for everyone despite the gore and nudity and language. I especially enjoyed the following episodes, 1. Sonnie's Edge, 8. Good Hunting, 10. Shape-Shifters, 13. Lucky 13, and 18. Secret War. The way they went about the story telling and world building in each episode was phenomenal. I really feel that some of these episodes deserve their own individual films or series to do them better justice. I mean some were just so good and less than 20 minutes felt like not enough or that they could have been even better. I give the entire series overall a 9/10.
Produced by different casts and crews, and consisting of 18 stand-alone episodes, each under 20 minutes, the title of the series refers to the recurring themes of love, death, and robots in each episode. Full of terrifying creatures, wicked surprises and dark comedy, it's a collection of animated short stories spanning several genres like horror, comedy, fantasy, and science fiction. Captivating stories come to life with world-class animation in a plethora of tales unlike anything else.
This series was wicked awesome. Reminded me of some of the other animated anthologies I've seen such as The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight, except quite a bit more NSFW. This series also gave me a Twilight Zone vibe but bit darker. More blood and guts and highly sexual. Even though it's pretty graphic, I really liked a lot of the stories they told and the twists that most had in the end as well. Some are kind of hit or miss or just better than others but I think that there is definitely something for everyone despite the gore and nudity and language. I especially enjoyed the following episodes, 1. Sonnie's Edge, 8. Good Hunting, 10. Shape-Shifters, 13. Lucky 13, and 18. Secret War. The way they went about the story telling and world building in each episode was phenomenal. I really feel that some of these episodes deserve their own individual films or series to do them better justice. I mean some were just so good and less than 20 minutes felt like not enough or that they could have been even better. I give the entire series overall a 9/10.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Burning Girls in Books
Jan 26, 2021
The protagonist in this book is Jack, a female vicar, that has been sent to a little village to take over the church that has been vacant. Her daughter Flo is a teenager that had to change her life from Nottingham to Chapel Croft. I really loved the brilliant selection of characters. They are all mysterious, intriguing and different. I thoroughly enjoyed Jacks thoughts about being a priest, the church’s role and religion in general. It was very modern and stigma defining. I really liked Flo as well, she seems like a very smart young lady, full of curiosity and teenage rebellion. 🙂
Like always, the narrative is creepy, mysterious and very well planned out. There are multiple stories running through this book. This book is told from multiple perspectives, and I absolutely adored that. Jack’s perspective investigates a story of two young ladies that disappeared thirty years ago and a mysterious suicide of the previous vicar. And Flo’s perspective shares very creepy encounters with local youth. The whole book is covered in a mysterious shroud, suspense is seeping through the pages, and the story simply had me absorbed. The topics discussed in this book are religion, evil youth, parenting issues, over the top religiousness, church work, vicar’s life, tight community nuances, murder and many more.
The writing style of this book is impeccable. C.J. Tudor’s writing is evolving with every single book. The setting and the mood of this book is perfect for horror, and the mystery just drives suspense through this novel. The chapters are pretty short, so it is a fast and gripping book. The culmination and the ending are brilliant, and I loved how the book was rounded up. I have to warn the reader, that this book has murders, pretty gross stories, burning people and psychopaths.
So, to conclude, this was my first book of 2021 and is going straight to my top 10 of this year. I loved everything about this novel, it has very unique and complex characters as well as an amazingly delivered plot full of twists, intriguing stories and mystery. I strongly recommend to anyone who loves Stephen King or a good mystery.
Like always, the narrative is creepy, mysterious and very well planned out. There are multiple stories running through this book. This book is told from multiple perspectives, and I absolutely adored that. Jack’s perspective investigates a story of two young ladies that disappeared thirty years ago and a mysterious suicide of the previous vicar. And Flo’s perspective shares very creepy encounters with local youth. The whole book is covered in a mysterious shroud, suspense is seeping through the pages, and the story simply had me absorbed. The topics discussed in this book are religion, evil youth, parenting issues, over the top religiousness, church work, vicar’s life, tight community nuances, murder and many more.
The writing style of this book is impeccable. C.J. Tudor’s writing is evolving with every single book. The setting and the mood of this book is perfect for horror, and the mystery just drives suspense through this novel. The chapters are pretty short, so it is a fast and gripping book. The culmination and the ending are brilliant, and I loved how the book was rounded up. I have to warn the reader, that this book has murders, pretty gross stories, burning people and psychopaths.
So, to conclude, this was my first book of 2021 and is going straight to my top 10 of this year. I loved everything about this novel, it has very unique and complex characters as well as an amazingly delivered plot full of twists, intriguing stories and mystery. I strongly recommend to anyone who loves Stephen King or a good mystery.
Kiss Me Deadly
6.0
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Book
You never see the claws until you feel them… 5 spine chilling stories where revenge is the only...
Horror Paranormal Romance Short Stories
The Man Who Walked Through Walls
Marcel Ayme, Sophie Lewis and Yann Kebbi
Book
A collection of funny and fantastical short stories, Marcel Ayme's The Man Who Walked through Walls...
Rachel King (13 KP) rated Quatrain in Books
Feb 11, 2019
This book is four short stories that each take place in a different world of Shinn's creation. I am only familiar with two of those worlds, so I read the corresponding stories first, starting with Flight. This story was interesting as it gave me a peek into the corruption that was occurring at Windy Point with the Archangel Raphael, and how the lesser people viewed the angels at this time. The ending was slightly disappointing, but I understand that Shinn could not cause any major drama regarding Raphael since this story is meant to be a prequel to Archangel (Samaria, Book 1).
The second story I read was Flame, which centered around Senneth, the mystic who wields fire, with appearances by several of the other characters that appear in the Twelve Houses series, starting with Mystic and Rider (The Twelve Houses, Book 1). I enjoyed this story because it gave me an idea of what Senneth did when she was a lone nomad, as well as how the people of Gillengaria reacted when a new mystic was discovering her abilities. I can't imagine being in such a situation and not reacting similarly. This story also shows how Senneth and Tayse first meet and her first thoughts at this meeting, which is intriguing enough that I hope she writes more in the Twelve Houses series.
The third story I read was Gold, based in the world from her book, Summers at Castle Auburn, which I have not read. This story centers around a princess living in the land of Alora for a time, which is strikingly similar to the concepts of the world of Fae, and how she fights to resist the allure. I enjoyed this story so much that I intend to read the book it is based on to get more of the tantalizing story between Orlain and Zara. This was my favorite short story of the book.
I read maybe two pages of the story Blood before I lost interest and shut the book. This story is based on her previous work Heart of Gold, which is a science fiction title. I have very little interest in this genre, and I did not feel compelled to read this particular story, which is not to say that the story was bad. It's just not my cup of tea.
The second story I read was Flame, which centered around Senneth, the mystic who wields fire, with appearances by several of the other characters that appear in the Twelve Houses series, starting with Mystic and Rider (The Twelve Houses, Book 1). I enjoyed this story because it gave me an idea of what Senneth did when she was a lone nomad, as well as how the people of Gillengaria reacted when a new mystic was discovering her abilities. I can't imagine being in such a situation and not reacting similarly. This story also shows how Senneth and Tayse first meet and her first thoughts at this meeting, which is intriguing enough that I hope she writes more in the Twelve Houses series.
The third story I read was Gold, based in the world from her book, Summers at Castle Auburn, which I have not read. This story centers around a princess living in the land of Alora for a time, which is strikingly similar to the concepts of the world of Fae, and how she fights to resist the allure. I enjoyed this story so much that I intend to read the book it is based on to get more of the tantalizing story between Orlain and Zara. This was my favorite short story of the book.
I read maybe two pages of the story Blood before I lost interest and shut the book. This story is based on her previous work Heart of Gold, which is a science fiction title. I have very little interest in this genre, and I did not feel compelled to read this particular story, which is not to say that the story was bad. It's just not my cup of tea.