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The Lost Women of Mill Street
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1864: As Sherman’s army marches toward Atlanta, a cotton mill commandeered by the Confederacy lies...
Historical Fiction Women in History American Civil War
Merissa (13778 KP) created a post
Mar 15, 2021
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Dinner At The Happy Skeleton in Books
Sep 24, 2020
For more reviews please visit https://bbookinspector.wordpress.com
When I was approached by the author, I was a little bit unsure, how I am going to react to this book. Before this book, I haven’t read other books about gay guys, but because I like to read different types of books (you will not know whether you like it until you try it), I decided to give this book a go, and I had very educational experience with this novel.
The blurb above described this novel very very accurately. The main character in this novel is Dan, and the whole book was told from Dan’s perspective. I really liked Dan’s personality in this book, I think he is very believable, funny, nice person, and I would like to have a friend like Dan.
The whole narrative of this book felt a lot like a diary. I really enjoyed reading not only Dan’s present life events but also, his memories about his ex-boyfriend, who brought Dan a lot of trust issues. As a person, who knows very little about gay people’s lives, I found this book very educational. I learned about gay guys lifestyle, and it was very interesting to have an insight into how they feel. This book for me felt a lot like reading a Chick lit book, but instead of a girl telling a story, it was a guy. (I hope you get what I mean…) The whole story is flowing very evenly, and I was missing the depth in this book, some deep conflict, which Dan could battle. The whole plot of this book has very close resemblance with author’s bio down below, so I strongly believe, that there are some true facts and stories which author shared in this novel, and it just increased my curiosity, of which parts are true, and which ones are fictional.
The writing style of this book is really pleasant and I really enjoyed how Chris Chalmers portrayed all the little details about London, Dan’s personal feelings and interesting experiences. The chapters used in this novel are pretty short, so it was easy to read and it didn’t leave me bored. I would like to throw in a DISCLAIMER, that there is quite a lot of sex scenes/ talks in this book. The ending of this novel left me satisfied, as it is well deserved and rounds up this book really nicely. So, to conclude, it was a very interesting experience for me, where I got to feed my curiosity, and read some pretty interesting stories, which could’ve been based on true facts, and I do recommend to give it a try, you never know, you might enjoy it. 🙂
Was given this book by the author for an honest review.
When I was approached by the author, I was a little bit unsure, how I am going to react to this book. Before this book, I haven’t read other books about gay guys, but because I like to read different types of books (you will not know whether you like it until you try it), I decided to give this book a go, and I had very educational experience with this novel.
The blurb above described this novel very very accurately. The main character in this novel is Dan, and the whole book was told from Dan’s perspective. I really liked Dan’s personality in this book, I think he is very believable, funny, nice person, and I would like to have a friend like Dan.
The whole narrative of this book felt a lot like a diary. I really enjoyed reading not only Dan’s present life events but also, his memories about his ex-boyfriend, who brought Dan a lot of trust issues. As a person, who knows very little about gay people’s lives, I found this book very educational. I learned about gay guys lifestyle, and it was very interesting to have an insight into how they feel. This book for me felt a lot like reading a Chick lit book, but instead of a girl telling a story, it was a guy. (I hope you get what I mean…) The whole story is flowing very evenly, and I was missing the depth in this book, some deep conflict, which Dan could battle. The whole plot of this book has very close resemblance with author’s bio down below, so I strongly believe, that there are some true facts and stories which author shared in this novel, and it just increased my curiosity, of which parts are true, and which ones are fictional.
The writing style of this book is really pleasant and I really enjoyed how Chris Chalmers portrayed all the little details about London, Dan’s personal feelings and interesting experiences. The chapters used in this novel are pretty short, so it was easy to read and it didn’t leave me bored. I would like to throw in a DISCLAIMER, that there is quite a lot of sex scenes/ talks in this book. The ending of this novel left me satisfied, as it is well deserved and rounds up this book really nicely. So, to conclude, it was a very interesting experience for me, where I got to feed my curiosity, and read some pretty interesting stories, which could’ve been based on true facts, and I do recommend to give it a try, you never know, you might enjoy it. 🙂
Was given this book by the author for an honest review.
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated The Scholl Case: The Deadly End of a Marriage in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Also read my review here: http://bookbum.weebly.com/book-reviews/the-scholl-case-by-anja-reich-osang
<i><b>He smiles, but he doesnt show what he has in his heart.</i></b>
I really enjoyed this book, but for reasons I cant really pinpoint. It wasnt like any other true crime book Ive read, it was more like a memoir of Heinrich Scholls life. It was certainly a very dry read in parts, in terms of the actual crime, but I just quite liked reading about how well Heinrich succeed in his life. By the time we got the trial, I was actually very excited to see how it all played out, and I was really rushing through the pages (in a good way). The one big downfall with this book was that I dont know enough about the history of Germany - the war and the fall of the Berlin wall etc - so a lot of the relevance to these events and Scholls life were a little lost on me.
Heinrich was abused mentally as a child and by his wife - even after all his successes in life, so it was kind of unstandable for him to fall into these relationships, with the lady from the town hall and with Nani. and call it love. Because he was never loved beforehand. Its sad really. And his desperation to succeed as an older man was also very upsetting. But he was also wrong to string his wife along for years and years, if he was really unhappy, he should have tried harder to leave her.
Heinrichs wife, Gitti, was a horrid woman! I understand the marriage they had was pretty much a complete sham, but she treated her husband like dirt. Another reason its no surprise Heinrich went looking for other relationships. But I also feel sorry for Gitti, not just because she was murdered, She lost all her family in the most depressing of ways and because she obviously had some troubles of wanting and not succeeding to have the perfect life, and this clearly damaged her. She clearly had some mental issues that made her flit between cursing Heinrich, wanting Heinrich back, and killing herself.
The crime of Brigitte Scholls death is certainly a strange one. Everything points to Heinrich as the murderer, but then it also doesnt. Im not sure I believe it was calculated murder. Manslaughter? Maybe. But murder, no. I actually find it hard to believe he did it at all, but maybe thats because I have so much pity for him.
This book just leaves you wondering around with your own thoughts. It comes to a conclusion, the charge of murder, but it doesnt lead you to any final decision. The choice is yours to make; is Heinrich Scholl guilty of murdering his wife and dog?
Thanks to Netgalley and Text Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
<i><b>He smiles, but he doesnt show what he has in his heart.</i></b>
I really enjoyed this book, but for reasons I cant really pinpoint. It wasnt like any other true crime book Ive read, it was more like a memoir of Heinrich Scholls life. It was certainly a very dry read in parts, in terms of the actual crime, but I just quite liked reading about how well Heinrich succeed in his life. By the time we got the trial, I was actually very excited to see how it all played out, and I was really rushing through the pages (in a good way). The one big downfall with this book was that I dont know enough about the history of Germany - the war and the fall of the Berlin wall etc - so a lot of the relevance to these events and Scholls life were a little lost on me.
Heinrich was abused mentally as a child and by his wife - even after all his successes in life, so it was kind of unstandable for him to fall into these relationships, with the lady from the town hall and with Nani. and call it love. Because he was never loved beforehand. Its sad really. And his desperation to succeed as an older man was also very upsetting. But he was also wrong to string his wife along for years and years, if he was really unhappy, he should have tried harder to leave her.
Heinrichs wife, Gitti, was a horrid woman! I understand the marriage they had was pretty much a complete sham, but she treated her husband like dirt. Another reason its no surprise Heinrich went looking for other relationships. But I also feel sorry for Gitti, not just because she was murdered, She lost all her family in the most depressing of ways and because she obviously had some troubles of wanting and not succeeding to have the perfect life, and this clearly damaged her. She clearly had some mental issues that made her flit between cursing Heinrich, wanting Heinrich back, and killing herself.
The crime of Brigitte Scholls death is certainly a strange one. Everything points to Heinrich as the murderer, but then it also doesnt. Im not sure I believe it was calculated murder. Manslaughter? Maybe. But murder, no. I actually find it hard to believe he did it at all, but maybe thats because I have so much pity for him.
This book just leaves you wondering around with your own thoughts. It comes to a conclusion, the charge of murder, but it doesnt lead you to any final decision. The choice is yours to make; is Heinrich Scholl guilty of murdering his wife and dog?
Thanks to Netgalley and Text Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Night Crossing (1982) in Movies
Jul 2, 2019
Story: Night Crossing starts as we go to East Germany in 1979, The Strelzyk family, Peter (Hurt), Doris (Alexander), Frank (D.McKeon) and Fitscher (K.McKeon) who are getting tired of not being able to go to the west side of Germany, one they see as fairer. The friendship between this family and the Wetzel’s Gunter (Bridges) and Petra (O’Connor) keeps them strong, while they see the friends trying to escape getting killed.
When Peter comes up with up the idea to build a balloon with Gunter to escape, it will mean working in secret because getting caught will only see him killed. When Gunter leaves for family reasons, Peter must keep the idea within the family for the hope for their future.
Characters – Peter is a father that has been living with his family in Eastern Germany, he is getting tired of the lack of change or unity with the Western side and decides he wants to risk his family’s life to escape, he plans to build a balloon which would fly over the borders in place. Doris is the wife of Peter, she is reluctant to help at first, but soon sees this being the only option. Gunter is the friend that wants to help build the balloon, only for his wife to push him into staying behind because of the young age of their children. Petra is Gunter’s wife that doesn’t want to risk their infant children with an escape plan so dangerous.
Performances – John Hurt in the leading role is the strongest member of the cast, he shows that even a common man can have the hope required for his character. Jane Alexander and Glynnis O’Connor are both fitting the wife type of role which doesn’t get much else to do. Beau Bridges completes the cast with a performance that shows just how young men would have been affected in this world.
Story – The story follows two families that work together to find a way to escape East Germany and get into West Germany in the late 70s, they must risk everything for this, which is failing would see them face certain death. this is a story of inspiration that showed us just how much people were willing to risk escaping a land they couldn’t live their natural life without being dictated too, it shows the patience to make it happen and how family can inspire you to risk everything.
Family/History – This might be classed as a family film that is because of the families involved in trying to make this high risk situation happen, the history of their escape is one that could inspire many who were trapped in the land.
Settings – The film is set in the harsh living conditions the families would have been living in and how secretive their plan would have been to make happen.
Scene of the Movie – Are we in the West?
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It could have been a lot darker.
Final Thoughts – This is an inspiration story of two family’s determination to make it out of a life which didn’t offer them a true future.
Overall: True story that shows bravery and inspiration.
When Peter comes up with up the idea to build a balloon with Gunter to escape, it will mean working in secret because getting caught will only see him killed. When Gunter leaves for family reasons, Peter must keep the idea within the family for the hope for their future.
Characters – Peter is a father that has been living with his family in Eastern Germany, he is getting tired of the lack of change or unity with the Western side and decides he wants to risk his family’s life to escape, he plans to build a balloon which would fly over the borders in place. Doris is the wife of Peter, she is reluctant to help at first, but soon sees this being the only option. Gunter is the friend that wants to help build the balloon, only for his wife to push him into staying behind because of the young age of their children. Petra is Gunter’s wife that doesn’t want to risk their infant children with an escape plan so dangerous.
Performances – John Hurt in the leading role is the strongest member of the cast, he shows that even a common man can have the hope required for his character. Jane Alexander and Glynnis O’Connor are both fitting the wife type of role which doesn’t get much else to do. Beau Bridges completes the cast with a performance that shows just how young men would have been affected in this world.
Story – The story follows two families that work together to find a way to escape East Germany and get into West Germany in the late 70s, they must risk everything for this, which is failing would see them face certain death. this is a story of inspiration that showed us just how much people were willing to risk escaping a land they couldn’t live their natural life without being dictated too, it shows the patience to make it happen and how family can inspire you to risk everything.
Family/History – This might be classed as a family film that is because of the families involved in trying to make this high risk situation happen, the history of their escape is one that could inspire many who were trapped in the land.
Settings – The film is set in the harsh living conditions the families would have been living in and how secretive their plan would have been to make happen.
Scene of the Movie – Are we in the West?
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It could have been a lot darker.
Final Thoughts – This is an inspiration story of two family’s determination to make it out of a life which didn’t offer them a true future.
Overall: True story that shows bravery and inspiration.
Moonly
Education, Lifestyle and Reference
10.0
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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Christine (2016) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
If it bleeds, it leads.
Life is precious. Bad times always get good again eventually. Winter turns to spring and you feel the warmth of the sun on your face again. So what drives someone – anyone – to the point of despair sufficient for them to ignore all of the potential upturns and to take their own life?
Christine tells the tragic tale of Florida TV news reporter Christine Chubbuck who committed suicide live on air in 1974. Yes, this is a spoiler, but since most people have some sense of what a film is about before they go to see it, it’s not really a big one. And I think in this case, knowing the outcome is pretty essential since otherwise you will likely spend 2 hours getting increasingly irritated by the erratic behaviour of the lead character and may possibly turn it off. With this movie, the telling is in the journey – not the destination.
London-born Rebecca Hall (“The Town”) plays the 30 year old virgin Christine; a damaged article with past mental issues, she has been moved by her mother Peg (J Smith-Cameron) from Boston to Florida to make a fresh start. But the station is struggling and Christine’s insistence on pursuing dull but worthy stories, such as zoning disputes, isn’t helping: she is driving her boss (Tracy Letts) to distraction. Despite her spiky demeanour and unapproachable nature, her colleagues including Jean (Maria Dizzia), the show’s anchor (and potential deflowerer) George (Michael C Hall) and weatherman Steve (Timothy Simons from “Veep”) all do their best to support her. It is part of the true tragedy of the piece that her downward spiral continues despite their best efforts.
Hall is outstanding in the role. She portrays the crazily compulsive behaviour of Chubbuck extremely well: perfectionism gone wild as she attempts to edit out 3 seconds off a clip while the film is already in the machine. At times the other-worldliness and creepiness of her character become extremely unsettling; an excruciating scene with a married couple in a bar being a case in point. Overall it’s an extremely thoughtful portrayal that is as quiet and unassuming as Ruth Negga’s in “Loving” (but without the smiles or the charm). I would like to think that after the Oscars team picked the ‘obvious contenders’ of Portman, Stone and Huppert, and with a place ‘reserved’ for Streep, they were left with Negga and Hall and had a “dammit, we can only pick 1 out of 2 here” moment.
Letts as the crotchety station chief also delivers a fine performance, and it’s a shame that the script never gave us the chance to see his post-shooting reactions, since the ‘if only’ ramifications for him in particular must have been huge.
In retrospect, Chubbuck’s actions were bizarre: taking her life in such a public way (and insisting the show be recorded for her “reels”) strikes of narcissism and a bitter revenge. While the film is no doubt based on the true recollections of the real-life participants, the screenplay by Craig Shilowich, in an impressive writing debut, for me never quite closed that loop: why this way rather that a car and a hosepipe?
Directed by Antonio Campos, this is never an easy watch. It’s a bit like watching a car crash in ultra-slow motion, and pretty much mandates that you watch an episode of “Father Ted” afterwards to cheer yourself up! But it’s a fascinating study in mental decline, and it’s a useful reminder that it behoves all of us to pay more attention to others around us and reach out with real help if needed before the worst can happen.
Christine tells the tragic tale of Florida TV news reporter Christine Chubbuck who committed suicide live on air in 1974. Yes, this is a spoiler, but since most people have some sense of what a film is about before they go to see it, it’s not really a big one. And I think in this case, knowing the outcome is pretty essential since otherwise you will likely spend 2 hours getting increasingly irritated by the erratic behaviour of the lead character and may possibly turn it off. With this movie, the telling is in the journey – not the destination.
London-born Rebecca Hall (“The Town”) plays the 30 year old virgin Christine; a damaged article with past mental issues, she has been moved by her mother Peg (J Smith-Cameron) from Boston to Florida to make a fresh start. But the station is struggling and Christine’s insistence on pursuing dull but worthy stories, such as zoning disputes, isn’t helping: she is driving her boss (Tracy Letts) to distraction. Despite her spiky demeanour and unapproachable nature, her colleagues including Jean (Maria Dizzia), the show’s anchor (and potential deflowerer) George (Michael C Hall) and weatherman Steve (Timothy Simons from “Veep”) all do their best to support her. It is part of the true tragedy of the piece that her downward spiral continues despite their best efforts.
Hall is outstanding in the role. She portrays the crazily compulsive behaviour of Chubbuck extremely well: perfectionism gone wild as she attempts to edit out 3 seconds off a clip while the film is already in the machine. At times the other-worldliness and creepiness of her character become extremely unsettling; an excruciating scene with a married couple in a bar being a case in point. Overall it’s an extremely thoughtful portrayal that is as quiet and unassuming as Ruth Negga’s in “Loving” (but without the smiles or the charm). I would like to think that after the Oscars team picked the ‘obvious contenders’ of Portman, Stone and Huppert, and with a place ‘reserved’ for Streep, they were left with Negga and Hall and had a “dammit, we can only pick 1 out of 2 here” moment.
Letts as the crotchety station chief also delivers a fine performance, and it’s a shame that the script never gave us the chance to see his post-shooting reactions, since the ‘if only’ ramifications for him in particular must have been huge.
In retrospect, Chubbuck’s actions were bizarre: taking her life in such a public way (and insisting the show be recorded for her “reels”) strikes of narcissism and a bitter revenge. While the film is no doubt based on the true recollections of the real-life participants, the screenplay by Craig Shilowich, in an impressive writing debut, for me never quite closed that loop: why this way rather that a car and a hosepipe?
Directed by Antonio Campos, this is never an easy watch. It’s a bit like watching a car crash in ultra-slow motion, and pretty much mandates that you watch an episode of “Father Ted” afterwards to cheer yourself up! But it’s a fascinating study in mental decline, and it’s a useful reminder that it behoves all of us to pay more attention to others around us and reach out with real help if needed before the worst can happen.
MaryAnn (14 KP) rated A Promise Forged (Ohio Brides #3) in Books
Mar 5, 2019
Kat transformed in front of him. Her chin came up, her fingers stopped twitching with the fabric of her gown, and a real sparkle bubbled in her eyes. It was like watching Snow White come to life when the prince kissed her. A heartwarming WWII historical from award-winning author Cara Putman: Kat Miller has dreamed of playing baseball her entire life. When she earns a spot on a team in the All-American Girls Professional Softball League, she finds that things aren’t as glamorous as she imagined. She struggles with long road trips, grueling practices, and older teammates who are jealous of her success. And to top it all off, an irritating reporter is constantly getting under Kat’s skin. Events in Jack Raymond’s career have left him cynical and distanced from God. He never wanted to write at a small paper, and he certainly didn’t want to be assigned to something as inconsequential as a women’s softball team. Then Kat walks into his life. The fiery, young softball player somehow climbs the walls around his heart and makes him want to hope again. When lies fly and the league appears to fail, will Kat and Jack’s new love survive?
My Thoughts: Every girl has a dream, and this time it's Kat's turn to have hers come true! A chance to play professional baseball. Cara Putman has weaved history and fiction in an entertaining storyline; s based the all women's league that was formed during the second world war.
Kat is the youngest member on the team and as I read the book, I wanted to take her under my wing and protect her from her jealous teammates. Kat had to suffer being away from her family, the jealousy of some of her teammates, traveling, grueling schedules and falling in love for the first time.
This was a very entertaining novel. I truly enjoyed it and it was a pleasure to read. One of the things I enjoyed about the book, was that Kat wanted to make a difference. She wanted to be a light for the Lord where ever she went. Her actions actually made Jack turn back to the Lord.
Even though I hadn't read the first two books, this was easy to follow on its own. I would love to read more from Cara Putman.
My Thoughts: Every girl has a dream, and this time it's Kat's turn to have hers come true! A chance to play professional baseball. Cara Putman has weaved history and fiction in an entertaining storyline; s based the all women's league that was formed during the second world war.
Kat is the youngest member on the team and as I read the book, I wanted to take her under my wing and protect her from her jealous teammates. Kat had to suffer being away from her family, the jealousy of some of her teammates, traveling, grueling schedules and falling in love for the first time.
This was a very entertaining novel. I truly enjoyed it and it was a pleasure to read. One of the things I enjoyed about the book, was that Kat wanted to make a difference. She wanted to be a light for the Lord where ever she went. Her actions actually made Jack turn back to the Lord.
Even though I hadn't read the first two books, this was easy to follow on its own. I would love to read more from Cara Putman.