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ClareR (6250 KP) rated The Husbands in Books

Feb 26, 2024

The Husbands

Chandler Baker | 2021 | Contemporary, Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller

7.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Despite how frustrating I found The Husbands, it was a compelling read - if only for the reasons that I was hoping against hope that the main character, Nora, would grow some lady-balls and tell her husband exactly what she wanted him to do. Instead, she seems to rely on his psychic powers (he doesn’t have any), and he was clearly happy with her “letting” him do bog-all. Honestly, I was RAGING.

Then it became a bit Stepford Husbands. Which, whilst appearing to be the ideal solution, isn’t really, is it. Although, if my husband was like Nora’s, I’d sign him up straight away.

The story takes a very unexpected turn in the second half, and I was as disturbed by it all as Nora. Dynasty Ranch, Nora’s dream housing destination, becomes a bit of a nightmare. Manipulative doesn’t even cover it.

I would’ve loved a bit more about Dynasty Ranch and a bit less Nora: how things got to be the way that they were could have been a fascinating read as well.

This was a real page turner. Very enjoyable indeed, just as long as you can put up with Nora!

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A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding

Amanda Svensson

6.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

LONGLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE Are we free to create our own destinies or are we...

Literary Fiction Mental Health

ClareR (6250 KP) rated The Whistling in Books

Aug 3, 2023

The Whistling

Rebecca Netley | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror, Mystery, Paranormal

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Elspeth Swansome is escaping her past in Edinburgh and taking up a post as a nanny on the remote Scottish island of Skelthsea (it’s fictional, but I would really want to visit it if it was real!).

Elspeth is going to nanny Mary, a child who is clearly suffering from trauma. Her twin, William, is dead and her former nanny has disappeared. Elspeth is told that if she can’t get Mary to talk, she will be institutionalised.

I loved this - it’s the right kind of spooky, and you can’t beat a haunted house: lullabies are sung by someone who isn’t there, poppets keep appearing in random rooms, and whistling can be heard at night. It all added up to a book that sent shivers down my spine!

The characters were sometimes likeable, menacing, disconcerting and some most definitely had something to hide!

I listened to this on Audible, and the narrator, Lois Chimimba, kept me glued to my headphones. Her different accents were all spot on, and helped me to tell the different characters apart. I was never confused as to ‘who’ was speaking.

The tension built and built to the climactic ending - a truly delicious ghost story!

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Rolling Blackouts: Dispatches from Turkey, Syria and Iraq

Sarah Glidden

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Cartoonist Sarah Glidden follows up her acclaimed debut, How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or...

Henry Rollins recommended The Graduate (1967) in Movies (curated)

The Graduate (1967)

1967 | Classics, Comedy, Drama

8.0

(15 Ratings)

Movie Favorite Watch

"The Graduate directed by Mike Nichols. It’s just a perfect film. And it was, I think, the first non-student real film for Dustin Hoffman. It’s just a beautiful, perfectly written… perfectly shot, perfectly acted film, where you have Dustin Hoffman who has bedded both Anne Bancroft and Katharine Ross and he breaks up the marriage. I saw it as a little kid because I lived with my mom and she liked to go to the movies. She couldn’t always get a babysitter and so now and then I would get taken to films that were quite adult. There’s not necessarily nudity, because there doesn’t need to be. The thing is so well written; the adult themes and just how screwed up adults are is on full display in The Graduate. You can tell all these people are just so damn talented, and you look at a young Dustin Hoffman and you go, “Damn, man. Look at the career you’re about to have, dude. You’ve got it.” His talent was just so huge yet so innate in that he’s not gonna fail. He’s one of those people like, “Man, you were born to act.” I’ve tried to get to Buck Henry to get him to tell me stories about The Graduate and I’ve hung out with him a couple of times. And I’m like, “You wrote The Graduate!” And he’s always very funny and kinda belligerent to me, “Ah, shut up… Rwagh, Rwagh.” I’m like, “OK [laughing].”"

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Echo Dot Kids Edition

7.4 (37 Ratings) Rate It

Tech Watch

Now Alexa is a kid-friendly DJ, comedian, and storyteller — and she’s always getting smarter....

Merissa (14046 KP) rated Wolf Hunter (Arctic Brotherhood #5) in Books

Dec 20, 2017

Wolf Hunter (Arctic Brotherhood #5) by Jane Godman

Wolf Hunter is the fifth book in the Arctic Brotherhood series, and we finally have Sebastian and Cindy's story. The hints were there for these two, but we have had to wait until now to read all about them. Cindy has no idea how to tell the people that she regards as family that she was Hendrick's best friend, not lover. They all assume she has taken his bite, become his mate, and is now a werewolf. Even Sebastian, although the thought of that gives him feelings that he is not prepared to deal with. Too soon though, he realises he doesn't have a choice, when a story he is chasing ties up with the Brotherhood once more. Past links come to life, showing the Brotherhood that there has been more to this than meets the eye.

This story is very nicely written, and flows smoothly from one scene to the next. The ties that bind this book to the previous ones are all obvious, once you find them out! The characters all remain as brilliant as ever, completely different to each other, and yet wholly complementary. I can't wait to read the next book as this one has done a grand job of building up to the climax. With steamy scenes as a bonus, this is a wonderful story that will keep you turning the pages. Absolutely recommended by me.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!

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Tom Chaplin recommended Bring It On by Gomez in Music (curated)

Bring It On by Gomez

1998 | Rock

(0 Ratings)

Album Favorite

"That would have come out in 1998 when I was around 17. My record collection at that point was mainly made up of U2, Radiohead, The Beatles, The Smiths. I hadn’t really been an indie kid in that sense of going to see bands and being part of that kind of world, because where we all grew up as a band, there just wasn’t a music scene at all! So we just spent our time making music, we never went to see much. Gomez is one of those total, bonafide, university, indie bands. It’s such an inventive record for a brand new band to burst onto the scene with. I loved the fact there were two singers with such contrasting voices. They’re all great songs, 'Here Comes The Breeze', 'Tijuana Lady'… it chimed in with where I was at the time, just getting out of school, smoking dope for the first time and experimenting with drugs. The album has that sense of youthful abandon. You can tell they were just fearless; maybe that’s what stopped them in the end from going on. I always feel that Gomez should have been a much more important band. I remember being up at University in Edinburgh, I got the National Express down to London one night, it was so uncomfortable, I got off at every stop and was getting smashed on this very strong weed and then going back on, and I had a proper old school Discman, and I was just listening to this Gomez record, up all night. I got to London, full of beans and was like, “We’ve gotta be this inventive!”"

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