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On Borrowed Time
On Borrowed Time
Jenn McKinlay | 2014 | Mystery
10
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Can Lindsey Find Her Brother Before Time Runs Out?
Lindsey Norris is getting ready for the weekly Crafternoon meeting, but she finds a surprise guest hiding out in their usual meeting room – her brother Jack. She wasn’t expecting to see him for a few more weeks when her entire family arrived for Christmas. He begs her to keep his presence a secret and promises to explain everything after a nap. Lindsey returns after the meeting, but instead of her brother, she finds a dead body on the floor. Who is the dead man? Where is her brother? And how much danger is he in?

I originally picked up this book thinking I’d get a Christmas themed cozy. It was quickly obvious that wasn’t going to be the case, but that is hardly a complaint at all. The story was so strong I didn’t want anything slowing it down. It kept my attention the entire time, from the fast-paced opening until it reached the action-packed climax. The love triangle is still going strongly here, although it seems obvious to me which way Lindsey is leaning. It doesn’t take over from the main mystery, and it provides some fun humor along the way. One of the guys gets some nice character development. All the regulars are here and very strong. The new characters don’t get a whole lot of page time, but they do come alive with what little page time they do have. This is a great book that will please fans of the series.
  
The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (2013)
The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (2013)
2013 | Action, Comedy, Drama
9
7.9 (15 Ratings)
Movie Rating
To say that I was blown away by this movie might be a bit of an understatement. To be honest, this movie snuck under my radar, slid into a Christmas release, and absolutely amazed me.

 

The Secret Life of Walter MItty is about a man who daydreams. But that doesn’t quite cut it. He is constantly thinking out, imagining, scenarios in his head of how things could play out. Often ludicrous, but sometimes realistic, he imagines what things would be like if he were a different man in the situation he’s in. From handling a jerk boss, to the girl he likes, he plays out a scenario in his head that he wishes would happen.

 

Mitty is a negative assets manager for Life magazine. Life is getting ready to close down the physical publication and are about to publish the last issue. Their best reporter, Sean O’Connell (Sean Penn), sent in his final roll of film indicating that frame 25 was his best shot ever and should be used for the final cover. The only problem is that frame 25 is missing. After a frantic search he is unable to find it in the lab, and with some urging from Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig) in Accounts at Life, and Mitty’s love interest, Mitty stops living in his head and sets out on a journey to find the frame, and himself.

 

Directed and starring Ben Stiller, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was a delight every step of the way. The humor in the film was very well blended so as not to distract from this incredible journey, and the visuals were absolutely amazing. I am not sure that I would change much about this movie. Casting was excellent, the score was great, and the cinematography was superb. There was a whole side bit about eHarmony.com was a bit annoying at first, but it paid off in the end.

 

I would definitely recommend seeing this movie to any of my friends. So go check it out on opening day (Christmas Day) if you are looking for something to do that day.
  
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Jean (18 KP) rated One More Light by Linkin Park in Music

Jan 21, 2018  
One More Light by Linkin Park
One More Light by Linkin Park
2017 | Alternative
The last from Linkin Park as we knew them
My other half got me this on CD for Christmas and I'm so glad he did.

For me, it was a very bittersweet listen. There were many times on that first listen that I had a lump in my throat, especially with track titles such as "Talking To Myself", "Invisible" and "Nobody Can Save Me" and it makes it a doubly difficult listen when we remember that the band won't be able to make any new music ever again with Chester (Bennington, frontman of Linkin Park who very sadly died, possibly by his own hand on July 20th 2017). As soon as I'd listened to One More Light Live I recommended it to a friend of mine that is also a Linkin Park fan.

If you're a fan of live recordings, or even just a fan of Linkin Park the band, I think you'll like this. I love it, personally.
  
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ClareR (6054 KP) rated The Wanderer in Books

Nov 21, 2018 (Updated Nov 21, 2018)  
The Wanderer
The Wanderer
Michael Ridpath | 2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
8
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Icelandic not-so noir
Does no one tell the truth to the police anymore? Even if they’re innocent?!
It seems that everyone wants to keep their secrets to themselves in this book, even if they think the information might relate to the murder of an Italian tourist. A camera crew, who are filming a documentary about Gudrid the Wanderer in Iceland, find her body outside a church where they’re filming. Magnus Jonson is in charge of the police investigation.
I really enjoyed the references to the Icelandic Sagas (I’ve now got a book of them on my Christmas list!), and Magnus seems to be a very nice police officer! Everyone else appears to just be looking out for themselves, to the detriment of everyone else.
Great story though! This is the fifth in a series, I haven’t read the others, and I don’t think it actually matters story-wise. I would very much like to read the others though!!
  
Fables: Volume 1: Legends in Exile
Fables: Volume 1: Legends in Exile
Bill Willingham | 2002 | Comics & Graphic Novels
9
7.3 (13 Ratings)
Book Rating
An interesting take on fairy tales!
I kept seeing this series being recommended, and I eventually managed to convince my husband to buy it for me for Christmas. I'm glad he did - I loved it!
The Adversary has forced the Fairy Tales out of their homelands and those who have survived now live in New York. They have their own government, and they are hiding from the general population in plain sight.
We join the Big Bad Wolf (who looks human - of course) as he investigates the murder of Rose Red. Other fairytale characters are featured during the course of Wolf's investigation: Snow White, Prince Charming (who is a sleaze ball!), Jack and loads of other characters. I can see the basis of the other comics emerging in this first one, and I really liked the bits at the end: short cartoons and stories about the battles with the Adversary and the Fairytales' escapes. Really good stuff!!