Jay Shafer's DIY book of backyard sheds & tiny houses: Build your own guest cottage, writing studio, home office, craft workshop, or personal retreat
Book
This book comes from internationally recognized small living expert Jay Shafer. It contains photos,...
Making Magic
Book
With Making Magic, expert teacher Briana Saussy invites you to discover a practice of magic that...
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...
Half Of What You Hear
Book
From well-loved women’s fiction writer Kristyn Kusek Lewis comes a breakout novel about a woman...
Mercedes me
Lifestyle and Navigation
App
Any time and anywhere. With the Mercedes me app on your iPhone or Apple Watch you have your personal...
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated Something Wicked This Way Comes in Books
Jan 4, 2021
Nothing interesting ever happens in small towns. Especially in those so small that most of the residents know each other. In a town that small the murder of a young woman is big news. When this single murder turns into a string of murders that appear to be the work of a serial killer the entire town is put on edge. Everyone, specifically women are encouraged to travel with others and avoid being out at night. Unfortunately not everyone listens.
Amanda is a young woman who has grown up in this small town. She meets her husband at a local bar and they buy a large house in the mountains on the outskirts of town. Too bad a house in the mountains is not an ideal place for a young woman and her child to be living alone. Yet that is exactly what would have happened when Amanda’s husband ends up in the hospital if it wasn’t for Amanda’s best friend. The house my be isolated but that is little comfort to Amanda when the serial killer seams to be showing a special interest in her.
I enjoyed the setting of the book. From the quiet town to the large house up on the mountain. Everything is just so peaceful and lovingly thought out in the town. I was actually able to feel just how unsettling the house on the mountain was for everyone as well. It would have been nice to see dinkus (the there asterisks used to divide chapters into sections) being used. The main negative thing I noticed about this book was it jumping form one person to another without warning. The story became very confusing because of the lack of breaks. Large time jumps also became an issue.
I would not recommend this book for those hoping for horror. Instead this book is better suited for those who enjoy murder mysteries and dramas. Young adults and adults alike should enjoy this book although both should be aware of extremely mild adult content. I rate this book 2 out of 4. Sadly this book did not live up to the promise it seemed to give out. While the book started out moderately creepy it was not able to maintain that feeling. Other than that the book itself was good and had an interesting plot line. The book seems to play more on the human fear of being alone and of close personal tragedies more than anything else.
Stars Beneath Our Feet
Book
A boy tries to steer a safe path through the projects in Harlem in the wake of his brother's death...
children
Rikki Hammond (33 KP) rated Drakon (fourth edition) in Tabletop Games
May 24, 2019
Each player will have 4 tiles in their hand, and on their turn, they can either place a tile (drawing a new one afterwards) or move their character into an adjacent chamber. Each tile has a door or an arrow on each side. You can place a tile door to door or arrow to door, but never arrow to arrow. Once a player moves through a door, you can't go back the eay you came (by the usual means anyway.) The goal of the game is to collect 10 coins through entering a chamber with gold in it, or by stealing them from another player. Each coin will have a value between 1 and 3, and the players keep them secret from the others.
A chamber might have an effect associated with it, which is activated when someone mives into it, such as allowing you to rotate a chamber, removing one from the game entirely, teleporting to another part of the dungeon, or even unleashing Drakon the dragon into the dungeon.
Once Drakon is in the dungeon, whoever next lands on her space can move her up to 3 spaces, ignoring doors and arrows along the way. If she ends on a space with a character, that player must put back a random coin into the stack and return to the entrance chamber.
Once someone collects 10 coins total, they win the game. If the tile stack runs out, the game automatically ends, and the player with the most coins at the end will be the winner.
For the base game, I would say that Drakon is TOO simple, and I highly recommend playing with the alternate methods, which gives each character it's own unique power to use once per game, and whoever collects 10 coins must then either make it back to the entrance chamber, make it to a teleport tile, or use an escape tile. This makes the game a lot more fun in my opinion, and also adds the element of the other players trying to stop you if they suspect you are trying to escape.
Drakon can be a mixed bag. Sometimes the games are really enjoyable, as the chambee effects can really play havoc with other players, esoecially if Drakon comes out. Other times, it can be rather boring, and sometimes a player can build an infinite loop of collecting coins, with no way of stopping them, which isn't really fun for anyone. I also feel that anything over 4 players makes the game a little too chaotic, and it can make the game overstay it's welcome. Generally though, Drakon is a quick, light filler game that can hold up well in anyones collection.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Doctor Strange (2016) in Movies
Feb 3, 2021
Sinister director Scott Derrickson proves to be a smart choice, as he provides us a story that's humourous, full of heart, brimming with new lore, and is visually mind bending. The aesthetic if this movie is what sets it apart from its kin. Sure it doesn't stray too far from the Marvel formula, but it does something different. Many have compared it to Inception, which isn't an unfair note, and it makes for some wonderful looking set pieces.
Benedict Cumberbatch is picture perfect as Stephen Strange himself and is joined by a stellar supporting cast. Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton, Mads Mikkelsen, Benedict Wong, and Rachel McAdams are all great in their respective roles. Mikkelsen gives us a compelling villain in Kaecilius, jaded by an order he's followed for years and turning tail to pursue what he thinks is right (not to dissimilar to Thanos in that respect). We're also introduced briefly to Dormammu, which is certainly exciting to any fans of the comics. With the Infinity Saga all wrapped up, this could prove to be seed planting for a future big bad.
Doctor Strange could have easily just been another run of the mill origin story (which some believe it is, and that's ok!) but for me, it's so much more. It manages to build on Marvel lore, whilst teasing future story lines by flirting with the Multiverse and the Dark Dimension, all while never losing focus on its very human story. It's a fantastic first outing for one of Marvel's more out there characters and one of my favourites of the whole franchise.
At Home with Dogs and Their Designers: Sharing a Stylish Life
Susanna Salk and Stacey Bewkes
Book
America's leading interior designers show readers how to live in the most stylish way with their...
Design photography


