404th Fighter Group: Dans La Bataille De Normandie
Book
This group was formed on 25 January 1943, it arrived on English soil in March-April 1944 and retook...
Simple Fare: Fall and Winter
Book
The second book in the seasonal cooking series by Karen Mordechai of Sunday Suppers, Simple Fare:...
Encyclopedia of Film Noir
Geoff Mayer and Brian McDonnell
Book
When viewers think of film noir, they often picture actors like Humphrey Bogart playing characters...
Sara Cox (1845 KP) rated The War of the Worlds in TV
Dec 3, 2019
Sacred Architecture in a Secular Age: Anamnesis of Durham Cathedral
Book
Having won more than one recent poll as Britain's best-loved building, the appeal of Durham...
Banksy Bristol Trail
Travel and Navigation
App
Welcome to Bristol: Banksy’s Bristol. This app will guide you on a trail of the remaining Banksy...
The International Business Environment and National Identity
Book
Globalisation influences every aspect of post-modern social reality. However, little empirical...
Uptown Oracle (24 KP) rated The House of Mountfathom in Books
Jun 30, 2017
My favourite aspect was how alive the house felt as it was so full of magic. The House of Mountfathom seemed like another member of the family almost like it had a mind of it's own. There was so much time given to explaining the house, magic and family though, that it reduced the actual plot to the second half of the book.
The House of Mountfathom has a strong focus on family. The Mountfathom family are the protagonists of the book. The Order of Driochta are another kind of family. There's no romance subplot which was a big plus point for me.
Another thing was that the house was in Ireland. I cant think off the top of my head another book I've read based in Ireland. The introduction of both historical aspects and folklore was great. There's also a distinct discussion about class systems. The 'big houses' aka the upper class in Ireland are in trouble, including the Mountfathom house, even though they're trying to keep the peace.
A problem I had was the format seemed odd, I assume it would be best in a printed book. My kindle seemed to push everything together and it was difficult to discern between chapters. The illustrations would have also worked much better within a book. Since this was an e-ARC though, I wouldn't take that into account.
Another problem is the book doesn't seem quite finished. Understandable as Nigel McDowell passed away in February. Although the ambiguous ending does give something towards the mysterious aspect of the book as a whole.
I really enjoyed how McDowell described the hows of magic. The first part of the book follows Luke as he grows up and learns magic. The five principles are distinct in how Luke learns them. I would compare The House of Mountfathom to Lemony Snicket and Neil Gaiman's Coraline. It was a bit dark and creepy in places. Full of intrigue and magic.
Fruit Bat (42 KP) rated My Ripper Hunting Days in Books
Mar 1, 2018
The main character of the book is pathologist Woodrow Riley who manages to get himself mixed up in some very nasty going on's its up to the reader to decide whether you think he ambitious stupid or gullible. Myself I think he is a mixer of all three.
The story is based around Woodrow's dairy writings of 1888 and how he unwittingly become involved in the killings of five unfortunate women killed by the hand, of the man the world would know as Jack the Ripper. Woodrow takes the reader on a journey though a series of meetings and interactions he has with various characters and this where it gets very interesting because after a while you realize that each of these character is not what he first appears to be .
Great read for these cold winter nights so snuggle up and enjoy.
Diabetic Living Eat to Beat Diabetes
Book
So much more than a cookbook, Eat to Beat Diabetes is a lifestyle guide for losing weight, balancing...