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Noel Gallagher recommended Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols by The Sex Pistols in Music (curated)
Vince Clarke recommended Dangerous by Michael Jackson in Music (curated)
ClareR (6225 KP) rated Caledonian Road in Books
Sep 16, 2024
I loved Mayflies, so I was really looking forward to Caledonian Road - and I wasn’t disappointed. There are a variety of characters, from the extremely well-off to those living in council flats and struggling to get by. This is a “State of the Nation” story, and it lays out just what that state is. From the Russian oligarchs and landed gentry, to slavery, inequality and crime. People have far too many secrets, until, that is, the media get hold of them.
Caledonian Road shows the repercussions of Covid and Brexit (none of it positive), and how those with money think they can get away with whatever they want to.
There are characters that you can really get your teeth in to, many of them rather unpleasant. The main character, a university academic called Campbell Flynn, is struggling with his life. He grew up working class in Glasgow, and has married in to minor aristocracy. He likes to think that he hasn’t lost touch with his origins - but has he?
There’s a lot going on in this novel - too much to write here - and you’re really better off reading it for yourself! It’s a chunk of a book, but it sped by. I loved it.
Caledonian Road shows the repercussions of Covid and Brexit (none of it positive), and how those with money think they can get away with whatever they want to.
There are characters that you can really get your teeth in to, many of them rather unpleasant. The main character, a university academic called Campbell Flynn, is struggling with his life. He grew up working class in Glasgow, and has married in to minor aristocracy. He likes to think that he hasn’t lost touch with his origins - but has he?
There’s a lot going on in this novel - too much to write here - and you’re really better off reading it for yourself! It’s a chunk of a book, but it sped by. I loved it.
ClareR (6225 KP) rated The Tarot Reader of Versailles in Books
Jul 8, 2025
This was one of my most anticipated reads this year, and it’s a NetGalley book. But I knew I was never going to be able to read it anytime soon, so I just Xigxagged it! And I’m really glad that I did. When a book is from more than one perspective, it’s good to hear the characters in their “own” voices, I always think. I don’t know if I an even explain the storyline of this one – there’s a lot going on. French Revolution, a tarot card reader (Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand) discovers an Irish woman (Cait) on the streets of Paris who also has extraordinary powers. Lenormand reads futures, Cait sees their pasts. Cait wants to return to Ireland and help free the Irish from the yoke of British rule, and this is how she goes about getting there. There’s a lot of detail about the French Revolution, and Lenormand has a close relationship with those around Marie Antoinette (unfortunately for her). It’s pretty brutal at times, but those were the times in which these people lived. It’s a real adventure story, with magic and sapphic love thrown in to the mix as well. I loved this one – highly recommended!
David McK (3801 KP) rated Blue Moon Rising (Forest Kingdom #1) in Books
Jun 24, 2022
Once upon a time ...
this was my favourite book.
That was back in the early 90s, back when I was in my tweens and back before I had discovered the likes of Terry Pratchett or Bernard Cornwell.
I then lost track of the author for a good two decades or so, only recently re-discovering him when I happened to chance across the 'GraphicAudio' version of the novel on Audible.
I did wonder what a GraphicAudio meant: simply that it was fully dramatized with a full cast, background music, sound effects etc etc - basically, everything but the actual visual aspect! - instead of only one, maybe two, no more than a handful of people reading the story.
As for that story? Firmly in the fantasy genre - Princes, dragons, unicorns, Princesses, magic, royal politics et al - however I do remember when I first read it all those years ago thinking that I had never come across anything quite like it before. That still holds true to this day: yes, it does have all those familiar elements of a classic Good vs Evil story, but the real delight is in the subverting of expectations, and in the story of Rupert and Julia and the DarkWood / Blue Moon.
this was my favourite book.
That was back in the early 90s, back when I was in my tweens and back before I had discovered the likes of Terry Pratchett or Bernard Cornwell.
I then lost track of the author for a good two decades or so, only recently re-discovering him when I happened to chance across the 'GraphicAudio' version of the novel on Audible.
I did wonder what a GraphicAudio meant: simply that it was fully dramatized with a full cast, background music, sound effects etc etc - basically, everything but the actual visual aspect! - instead of only one, maybe two, no more than a handful of people reading the story.
As for that story? Firmly in the fantasy genre - Princes, dragons, unicorns, Princesses, magic, royal politics et al - however I do remember when I first read it all those years ago thinking that I had never come across anything quite like it before. That still holds true to this day: yes, it does have all those familiar elements of a classic Good vs Evil story, but the real delight is in the subverting of expectations, and in the story of Rupert and Julia and the DarkWood / Blue Moon.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Dunkirk (2017) in Movies
Jul 11, 2019
In May 1940, as Germany advanced into France, Allied troops found themselves surrounded at the town of Dunkirk with little time to escape. In the distance, the Germans sought to capture or kill each of the nearly 400,000 men. French and British soldiers began the slow process to evacuate using every naval or civilian ship available. Dunkirk examines the heroism involved by everyone on the land, sea, and air in their attempt to get their countrymen home.
When we discuss, reflect, or are taught about World War II, we often think the turning points of the war as the Battle of the Bulge, Leningrad, Midway, or D-Day. In doing this, we overlook moments like Dunkirk. Christopher Nolan exposes how vital this moment was in determining the fate, not only of the war, but the world in Dunkirk.
It is hard to describe what the film is like just from the visuals. It captures you and surrounds you by making the audience feel as though they are witnessing these events from a third-person perspective, as well as, through the eyes of those involved. The film itself is not limited to just the war or a discussion of the circumstances that led up to the war itself. There are no major battles shown, however, the film demonstrates quite vividly the horrors of war, the confusion, the chaos, the brutality, and the fear that each moment might be your last.
Dunkirk, masterfully tells the story of those involved in the evacuation of those troops that found themselves being pursued by Nazi Germany. Each frame will have audiences fearing for the safety of the men on the screen and hoping that they will somehow make it home despite all indications that their fate is sealed. Nolan gives audiences the opportunity to see the events in a multilayered way so that we can understand all of the moving parts involved in this massive undertaking. It renews the appreciation that many of us have for those who fought in World War II and offers a new sense of appreciation for younger generations who are far removed from those events. Most impressive about the film is its ability to be more historically accurate in displaying the different people who actually were fighting. It is not, like Saving Private Ryan, a film that exaggerates American participation in the war to make it look as though the only people fighting were Americans and Nazis. Dunkirk shows how the French, British, and Belgians, of various colors and backgrounds were fighting well before summer of 1944.
The film also pulls of quite an ambitious task by removing the Nazis from the film. This is not to say that there is no German presence in the film, rather, they minimize the focus on the Nazis in order to keep the focus on those evacuating and those involved in assisting with the efforts. In my viewing, I felt that this strengthened the film in adding to the fear by having a faceless enemy, one that could be lurking around the corner or coming around the corner at any moment. This added to the tension to make audiences feel the fear that so many of these young men must have had as they waited to board their ships to get home.
Dunkirk is impressive, emotional, and full of tension. It raises the bar with respect to how historically-based films should be in the representation of events. It does not rely on one linear story to capture the audience. It is an intelligent and overdue homage to the men and women who did all they could to ensure that these men made it home.
When we discuss, reflect, or are taught about World War II, we often think the turning points of the war as the Battle of the Bulge, Leningrad, Midway, or D-Day. In doing this, we overlook moments like Dunkirk. Christopher Nolan exposes how vital this moment was in determining the fate, not only of the war, but the world in Dunkirk.
It is hard to describe what the film is like just from the visuals. It captures you and surrounds you by making the audience feel as though they are witnessing these events from a third-person perspective, as well as, through the eyes of those involved. The film itself is not limited to just the war or a discussion of the circumstances that led up to the war itself. There are no major battles shown, however, the film demonstrates quite vividly the horrors of war, the confusion, the chaos, the brutality, and the fear that each moment might be your last.
Dunkirk, masterfully tells the story of those involved in the evacuation of those troops that found themselves being pursued by Nazi Germany. Each frame will have audiences fearing for the safety of the men on the screen and hoping that they will somehow make it home despite all indications that their fate is sealed. Nolan gives audiences the opportunity to see the events in a multilayered way so that we can understand all of the moving parts involved in this massive undertaking. It renews the appreciation that many of us have for those who fought in World War II and offers a new sense of appreciation for younger generations who are far removed from those events. Most impressive about the film is its ability to be more historically accurate in displaying the different people who actually were fighting. It is not, like Saving Private Ryan, a film that exaggerates American participation in the war to make it look as though the only people fighting were Americans and Nazis. Dunkirk shows how the French, British, and Belgians, of various colors and backgrounds were fighting well before summer of 1944.
The film also pulls of quite an ambitious task by removing the Nazis from the film. This is not to say that there is no German presence in the film, rather, they minimize the focus on the Nazis in order to keep the focus on those evacuating and those involved in assisting with the efforts. In my viewing, I felt that this strengthened the film in adding to the fear by having a faceless enemy, one that could be lurking around the corner or coming around the corner at any moment. This added to the tension to make audiences feel the fear that so many of these young men must have had as they waited to board their ships to get home.
Dunkirk is impressive, emotional, and full of tension. It raises the bar with respect to how historically-based films should be in the representation of events. It does not rely on one linear story to capture the audience. It is an intelligent and overdue homage to the men and women who did all they could to ensure that these men made it home.
ChinaP (0 KP) rated The Last Hour of Gann in Books
Jan 24, 2018
World building is epic (1 more)
Addictive as all get out
Ruined me for other authors! (1 more)
Some one dimensionality to some of the other background characters
Epic in every waym
I feel I have to add a disclaimer or two everytime I write a review of this book (which is everywhere I encounter it online, because it deserves as much attention as I can give it!)
One: adult, triggering themes. There is sexual violence, violence in general and themes that will not be for everyone. This is an adult book in all senses of the word.
Two: I am biased. I freaking love this author.
Three: if you're not into long books, you're not gonna make it through. I love love love long books. This is a long book! And I still wanted more when I got the end. If 300 pages or less puts you off, then I doubt you'll manage this behemoth. (which is a crying shame, because it's awesome. I wonder if we could get an audio book of it?)
A general Internet search for this book will bring up a good few nuanced reviews, and I have left a longer one of my own on good reads. Mainly, this is a humans-crashland-on-alien-planet story, and it all goes to pieces for them. It's the story of survival, and what that can do to a person. It's a nuanced view of those with faith and those without. It's also some sexy alien romance. It can be all those and more!
Whenever I mention this book, I end up just telling people to read it. Just read it!
One: adult, triggering themes. There is sexual violence, violence in general and themes that will not be for everyone. This is an adult book in all senses of the word.
Two: I am biased. I freaking love this author.
Three: if you're not into long books, you're not gonna make it through. I love love love long books. This is a long book! And I still wanted more when I got the end. If 300 pages or less puts you off, then I doubt you'll manage this behemoth. (which is a crying shame, because it's awesome. I wonder if we could get an audio book of it?)
A general Internet search for this book will bring up a good few nuanced reviews, and I have left a longer one of my own on good reads. Mainly, this is a humans-crashland-on-alien-planet story, and it all goes to pieces for them. It's the story of survival, and what that can do to a person. It's a nuanced view of those with faith and those without. It's also some sexy alien romance. It can be all those and more!
Whenever I mention this book, I end up just telling people to read it. Just read it!
Bedford Park
Book
An evocative historical thriller based in one of London's original suburbs. Set in 1912, Bedford...
