Search

Search only in certain items:

Batman the Killing Joke
Batman the Killing Joke
Brian Bolland, Alan Moore | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.4 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
I really enjoyed reading this comic.

We get the Joker's origin story. He was in a robbery gone wrong and fell into acid because his wife and unborn child died in an electrical fire accident right before the robbery. He was poor, down on his luck, trying to get a job as a comic, and needed some money fast to keep them from losing their apartment. He started off by trying to do an honorable thing and it haunts him for the rest of his life. It is one of the reasons he has gone a bit loony, he cannot face the fact that he is alone in his grief.

We get the reason for Barbara Gordon's paralysis and her origin into becoming the Oracle. (Thanks Joker)

Detective Gordon is attacked by the Joker who is trying to show him how painful it is to lose something he loves. Joker wants to turn Gordon crazy, but doesn't.

Batman does not want his fight with the Joker to end in death, but it will if it has to.

Overall, I really enjoyed this comic and recommend it to anyone who likes the Joker and wants to know more about him.

I love the Joker's last joke, so I'm going to write it out.

Two guys are living in a lunatic asylum and one night they decide they do not like living in an any night they don't like living in an asylum anymore. They decide they're going to escape. So they get up onto the roof and there, just across this narrow gap, they see the roofs of the town, stretching away in the moonlight, stretching away to freedom. The first jumps across with no trouble. The second pauses, he is afraid of falling. The first calls back and says, "I'll turn on this flashlight I've got and you can walk across the beam." The second replies "What do you think I am, crazy? You'll turn the light off once I'm half way across."

I love that joke and the fact that both Batman and the Joker crack up after it.
  
TF
The Food of Love
Amanda Prowse | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
MoMo’s Book Diary recommends this emotional family tale as a 5 star read.
                        
This is the first Amanda Prowse book I have read. My first impression is that Amanda Prowse is an exceptional novelist who has deeply researched this storyline. In this heart-wrenching novel we are introduced to Freya and Lockie and their two daughters, Charlotte and Lexi and taken on an emotional rollercoaster of a journey with them as they are plunged into a nightmare situation.

What starts out as a perfectly ordinary family living a happy domestic life soon is rocked to the core. No-one understands. No-one has the answers. No-one knows what to do. Mistakes are made. The one thing you can feel from the first page to the last is the love the characters have between them.

This is a MUST READ novel which tells the story of how an eating disorder can invade any family. It is about the importance of love and honesty within the family. It is about sticking together to get through whatever crisis is in front of us.

I knew nothing about anorexia before and whilst I understand it may not be factually perfect – everyone’s experience is different - but it is a novel not a self-help book.

Once I started to read this book I couldn’t put it down, even after finishing it a few days ago, I still find myself thinking about the characters and what happens next. I highly recommend this novel to everyone.

Thanks to Amanda Prowse, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel prior to publication.
  
Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)
Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)
2018 | Biography, Documentary
It's always a beautiful day in the neighborhood,
For in the worst of times you always made me see the good.
You would walk in with a smile on your face,
I knew that I was welcome at your place.
And no matter the weather,
You would put on your sweater.
Then you would sit down to put on more comfortable shoes,
Making me comfortable knowing I had a neighbor like you.
Together we would feed the fish,
Sometimes go to the kitchen and make a dish.
It was always my brain and heart that you were feeding,
As a kid you knew exactly what I was needing.
Messages would come from Mr. McFeely,
Who would show up with a speedy delivery.
When I'd hear the bell of the trolley,
I'd get excited and feel jolly.
For I knew we were off to visit our puppetry friends,
On the other side of the tunnel in make believe land.
You taught me what to do with my mad,
And that it was okay to be sad.
You helped in dealing with the bad and serious issues of the world,
But at the end of everyday in me the good you had restored.
In our daily meetings on television with me there is so much that you left,
I am special, amazing the way I am, and in the scary to be the one that helps.
It was in your words that I did find,
The key to success is being kind.
In many ways you were a savior whose love will always be savored,
Mister Rogers I will be forever grateful that you were my neighbor.
  
Rivers of London: Body Work
Rivers of London: Body Work
Ben Aaronovitch, Lee Sullivan, Andrew Cartmel | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
7
5.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great book for urban fantasy lovers
I enjoyed reading this one as it featured a main character who wasn’t your typical anti-hero - which we seem to have a lot lately. I’m glad to see Peter was just your average good guy who’s doing his best to be a policeman until he comes across supernatural things in which his whole life changes.


Peter’s relationship with Nightingale is pretty much a mentor/student one. Nightingale has his own secrets though and a few are revealed but there’s more to him that you think - I hope there’s more information about him in the later books to come. There are other supporting characters; I do like Leslie because she’s got the wit (possible love interest, maybe) and she’s a perfect sidekick to Peter. Molly is another interesting character that I would love to know more about. Again this is the first book in the series so I’m hoping more character development will eventually come forth in later books.

The world building is pretty good and Peter does a good job also explaining how things are in London (I admit I had to google a couple of things as I didn’t know who or what Punch and Judy were) but it gives you information on the city and events that are common there to actually make you feel as if you are following Peter around as he tries to solve the case and becomes an apprentice.

The plot was well done and I liked how the different story arcs come together in the end into one large circle. It may seem confusing at first but once you have everything laid out and you know who is who everything comes to a close and it’s a great closing. It obviously leaves room for more books coming so one can look forward to what is next for Peter.

(The Riot scene though? Holyyyyy sheeeeeee what the……)

It’s a good read, those who are into urban fantasy mysteries will likely like this type of book. Looking forward to book two!
  
    BLW Slow Cook Recipes

    BLW Slow Cook Recipes

    Lifestyle and Book

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Hi, I'm Natalie, owner of Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook! Over the past 12 months I have developed over...

40x40

Connie (244 KP) rated Duolingo in Apps

May 31, 2018 (Updated Jun 8, 2018)  
Duolingo
Duolingo
Education, Social Networking
9
8.4 (60 Ratings)
App Rating
Easy to use (3 more)
Has spoken activities
Gets creative when making sentences
Has a competitive scoreboard
Can reuse sentences multiple times (0 more)
I have been using Duolingo for years, and I find the app to be both fun and informative. I love the way it is set up, though sometimes I have a hard time switching back and forth between languages.

I appreciate the ability to skip sections of content via taking a test--this allowed me to save tremendous time when refreshing my Spanish. I was able to skip a series of lessons quickly and movw on to more challenging content, and even content I have never had the opportunity to learn!

I also appreciate that there is a spoken component with this app. Not only do you need to be able to type what you hear, you need to be able to speak what you see with a reasonable accent. I can't roll my tongue, but I can still pass any of the tests and hear corrections.

I also enjoy the opportunity to "compete" with my friends. We regularly check in with each other and it's a lot of fun to try and stay at the top of the heap. I would love to see the inclusion of challenges, where you could compete directly instead of just in overall points.

One thing I don't care for much is that the sentences, while creative, certainly don't always make sense. A cat eating an elephant or my aunt being faster than a dog doeisn't make much sense to me. Additionally, I sometimes see the same sentence 6 times in a lesson, which means there isn't enough content.

All in all, though, I appreciate Duolingo and plan to keep using it for some time to come!