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Debbiereadsbook (1313 KP) rated London Tales (Short Stories #2) in Books
Dec 2, 2023
Very enjoyable step out of my comfort zone!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
What this is, right, is a step out of my comfort and I needed this book right now!
It's a wonderful tale of London, through the ages, told in short stories. You could, I suppose, skip ahead a few stories, and you wouldn't miss anything, other than a few years!
Each story is set at key points along London's timeline, right from when the Romans invaded, up to the present day, told by the Londoners who lived then. Ordinary people telling their extraordinary tales.
I found each story complete, and wholly engaging. I found myself fully engrossed in these tales, all of them. I even recognised a few places when they were mentioned. I'm not a Londoner, but have been a time or two.
As I said, a step off my usual book path, and one that led me to fabulous place.
4 very VERY good stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
What this is, right, is a step out of my comfort and I needed this book right now!
It's a wonderful tale of London, through the ages, told in short stories. You could, I suppose, skip ahead a few stories, and you wouldn't miss anything, other than a few years!
Each story is set at key points along London's timeline, right from when the Romans invaded, up to the present day, told by the Londoners who lived then. Ordinary people telling their extraordinary tales.
I found each story complete, and wholly engaging. I found myself fully engrossed in these tales, all of them. I even recognised a few places when they were mentioned. I'm not a Londoner, but have been a time or two.
As I said, a step off my usual book path, and one that led me to fabulous place.
4 very VERY good stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2273 KP) rated Encyclopedia Brown Shows the Way in Books
Jul 15, 2024
Ten More Mysteries with the World’s Smartest Ten-Year-Old
What is Encyclopedia up to this time around? He helps his father prove who stole an electric drill. He helps a kid get his harmonica back from Bugs. When a girl wants to figure out who got her kicked off a baseball team, Encyclopedia Brown takes the case. He figures out who stole a rattlesnake rattle from a display at a museum. And he helps a friend who thinks he saw a ghost.
The ten stories in this book are fairly short, which makes them easy to breeze through. I still find I rarely solve the case before Encyclopedia does, but that’s okay. I have fun with them. There isn’t time for much in the way of twists here, and the characters are fairly thin. I don’t think kids will mind either one. What they might find off putting is the dated elements of the books. Like, what’s an encyclopedia? Still, if they are willing to pick it up, they’ll find these stories fun.
The ten stories in this book are fairly short, which makes them easy to breeze through. I still find I rarely solve the case before Encyclopedia does, but that’s okay. I have fun with them. There isn’t time for much in the way of twists here, and the characters are fairly thin. I don’t think kids will mind either one. What they might find off putting is the dated elements of the books. Like, what’s an encyclopedia? Still, if they are willing to pick it up, they’ll find these stories fun.
ClareR (5784 KP) rated Roar: A Story for Every Woman in Books
Nov 13, 2019
On the whole, I enjoyed this book of short stories. They’re all stories about women who are unhappy about some aspect of their lives, have lost their way and are working out how to get back. They’re all a bit magical realism, and just plain fantasy sometimes (this is not a bad thing for me, by the way!), and ‘Feminist Aesop’s Fables’ kept popping in to my head. It’s definitely a book to dip in to, and I did so whilst reading other books - I could see that reading all of these in one go could be overwhelming.
I think that these stories have a bit of something for everyone. I didn’t enjoy all of them, but I did have my favourites: The Woman Who Grew Wings is about a woman who flees her country with her family to live in the West, and the negative attitudes of the other mothers at the school gates (they’re not nice people) - this brought me to tears actually. The Woman Who Was Swallowed Up by the Floor and Who Met Lots of Other Women Down There Too - because who HASN’T had this happen to them at least once in their lives?! The Woman Who Ate Photographs was another tear jerker about how visual prompts (the photos) can bring back feelings connected to smell, touch, and the memories of our children before they grew into hairy teenagers (this one did for me, I’m afraid!).
I think all of these stories will resonate with someone.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to read and review.
I think that these stories have a bit of something for everyone. I didn’t enjoy all of them, but I did have my favourites: The Woman Who Grew Wings is about a woman who flees her country with her family to live in the West, and the negative attitudes of the other mothers at the school gates (they’re not nice people) - this brought me to tears actually. The Woman Who Was Swallowed Up by the Floor and Who Met Lots of Other Women Down There Too - because who HASN’T had this happen to them at least once in their lives?! The Woman Who Ate Photographs was another tear jerker about how visual prompts (the photos) can bring back feelings connected to smell, touch, and the memories of our children before they grew into hairy teenagers (this one did for me, I’m afraid!).
I think all of these stories will resonate with someone.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to read and review.
Another Morocco: Selected Stories
Abdellah Taia and Rachel Small
Book
Tangier is a possessed city, haunted by spirits of different faiths. When we have literature in our...
The Ghost in the Corner And Other Stories
Lord Dunsany, Joshi Andersson and Martin Andersson
8.0
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The Anglo-Irish fantaisiste Lord Dunsany (1878-1957) was immensely prolific. Author of more than a...
Horror
Ross (3284 KP) rated Fires of the Dead in Books
Nov 12, 2019 (Updated Nov 12, 2019)
Very short but compelling story
* I received a free advance copy of this book from BookSirens, and would like to thank them, and the author, for the chance to review this book honestly *
This short story (around 90 pages) somehow manages to establish a well-explained magic system, and enough information about the world, and a decent story in a very small number of pages.
The story follows a small group of battle-worn mercenaries sent on a mission through the fire-ravaged wasteland to capture the skull of a dead pyromancer. Along the way they cross paths with other groups on similar missions as well as a stronger foe they had not intended to meet.
Herne has a talent for writing, that much is abundantly clear. His narrative is pithy, concise and very immersive. He changes PoV at a few points of the story, so the reader is given different viewpoints at different times (though sadly they don't change back again).
The characters are all uniquely defined and have their own place in the crew.
His story was well laid out, with some excellent, flowing action sequences. The story is well told and exposed at a good pace. There were a few small background details of the overall plot which I felt should have been outlined earlier, but given the character in question's background I can see why this happened this way.
My only complaint about this book was that it was too short. This could easily be expanded with more backstory and more information about the world without feeling padded out, I think. I would happily read this book again with another 300 pages of the same added in.
I will be reading the author's free short stories from his mailing list with relish.
This short story (around 90 pages) somehow manages to establish a well-explained magic system, and enough information about the world, and a decent story in a very small number of pages.
The story follows a small group of battle-worn mercenaries sent on a mission through the fire-ravaged wasteland to capture the skull of a dead pyromancer. Along the way they cross paths with other groups on similar missions as well as a stronger foe they had not intended to meet.
Herne has a talent for writing, that much is abundantly clear. His narrative is pithy, concise and very immersive. He changes PoV at a few points of the story, so the reader is given different viewpoints at different times (though sadly they don't change back again).
The characters are all uniquely defined and have their own place in the crew.
His story was well laid out, with some excellent, flowing action sequences. The story is well told and exposed at a good pace. There were a few small background details of the overall plot which I felt should have been outlined earlier, but given the character in question's background I can see why this happened this way.
My only complaint about this book was that it was too short. This could easily be expanded with more backstory and more information about the world without feeling padded out, I think. I would happily read this book again with another 300 pages of the same added in.
I will be reading the author's free short stories from his mailing list with relish.
Becs (244 KP) rated Always You in Books
Oct 2, 2019
Always You by Krista Carleson
Genre: Short Story, Novella, Contemporary, Erotica
Synopsis: The army took my first love and left me with a broken heart. That was ten years ago, but fate has a funny sense of humor. Not only is Aidan Dowell my best friend’s older brother, he happens to be my new roommate: the one who chose duty over love- who I thought had left my life forever. Now that I have to live in the same apartment as Aidan, I try to avoid him and guard my heart, but it’s impossible when the person in question is one gorgeous, sexy billionaire. The pull is too strong. The heat between us is going to burn me again. Little did I know that Aidan has a painful secret that threatens to come between us and now I have to make a choice: Fight for him or refuse this second chance at love?
Audience/ Reading Level: High School+
Interests: Erotica, Novella, Short Stories, Best Friends Brother
Point of View: first person
Difficulty Reading: Short, simple, sweet with a lot of hot and steaminess.
Promise: A short yet compelling read that will leave you wanting just a bit more.
Insights: Writing was a bit amateurish but for being the style of book it is, it was a good read. Would recommend to others who like Eroticas.
Ah-Ha Moment: When the boy gets the girl he’s been in love with for the past ten years. And vice versa.
What will you gain: A simple yet refreshing read.
Aesthetics: It was cool to see a billionaire and his brother living together with Cat. But other than that, there was really anything that stood out that’s worth mentioning.
Genre: Short Story, Novella, Contemporary, Erotica
Synopsis: The army took my first love and left me with a broken heart. That was ten years ago, but fate has a funny sense of humor. Not only is Aidan Dowell my best friend’s older brother, he happens to be my new roommate: the one who chose duty over love- who I thought had left my life forever. Now that I have to live in the same apartment as Aidan, I try to avoid him and guard my heart, but it’s impossible when the person in question is one gorgeous, sexy billionaire. The pull is too strong. The heat between us is going to burn me again. Little did I know that Aidan has a painful secret that threatens to come between us and now I have to make a choice: Fight for him or refuse this second chance at love?
Audience/ Reading Level: High School+
Interests: Erotica, Novella, Short Stories, Best Friends Brother
Point of View: first person
Difficulty Reading: Short, simple, sweet with a lot of hot and steaminess.
Promise: A short yet compelling read that will leave you wanting just a bit more.
Insights: Writing was a bit amateurish but for being the style of book it is, it was a good read. Would recommend to others who like Eroticas.
Ah-Ha Moment: When the boy gets the girl he’s been in love with for the past ten years. And vice versa.
What will you gain: A simple yet refreshing read.
Aesthetics: It was cool to see a billionaire and his brother living together with Cat. But other than that, there was really anything that stood out that’s worth mentioning.
There But for the
6.0
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Ali Smith, twice shortlisted for both the Man Booker and the Orange Prizes, is back with the...
Forever Rumpole: The Best of the Rumpole Stories
Book
Forever Rumpole - a hilarious new selection of the very best Rumpole stories by John Mortimer Horace...
