Only The Brave (2017)
8.7
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All men are created equal… then, a few become firefighters. Only the Brave, based on the true...
Young Rock
7.0
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As Dwayne Johnson runs for president in 2032, he takes a comedic look back at his extraordinary life...
Hedy's Journey: The True Story of a Hungarian Girl Fleeing the Holocaust
10.0
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It is 1941. Hedy and her family are Jewish, and the Nazi party is rising. Hedy's family is no longer...
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Music at Midnight: The Life and Poetry of George Herbert
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For the first time, John Drury convincingly integrates the life and poetry of George Herbert, giving...
Lottie disney bookworm (1056 KP) rated The Magic of Terry Pratchett in Books
May 27, 2020
As a 32 year old female, mother and accountant you may be forgiven for expecting my book reviews to be based around chick-lit or classical novels and, although it is the case that I own several very well-read copies of Pride & Prejudice, I am wholly a child of the sci-fi/fantasy genre. Terry Pratchett novels sit alongside George RR Martin, Terry Brooks, David Eddings and Ursula Le Guin in my house; I owned and loved Discworld computer games and probably know every word to the film Labyrinth.
It could therefore be said that I would find Marc Burrow’s biography fascinating regardless: however, I am ashamed to say that, before reading this book, I knew very little about the life of the author whose books I admire so much.
Burrows structures his writing predictably enough, running through the life of Terry Pratchett chronologically, from his working-class upbringing; his career in journalism; the progression in popularity of his novels; his knighthood all the way up to his untimely death from Alzheimer’s. However, this is where an affiliation to any standard biography ends.
It is immediately apparent that Marc Burrows is an avid Terry Pratchett fan, even without reading his foreword, due to the inclusion of footnotes: a writing style which is synonymous with Pratchett. This allows Burrows, as it did with Pratchett, to provide little notes and details which cannot be in the main text without limiting the reading experience. It also allows both authors to inject a large amount of humour into their writing.
It should also be mentioned that no book has gripped me from the introduction in a long time, although I am fairly sure no other book would use the word “crotch” before we even reach Chapter One!
‘The Magic of Terry Pratchett’ is a clever, well-informed biography which perfectly encompasses the humour of the Discworld creator whilst educating the reader of his journey to becoming the icon that he is today. I have no doubt that this has been a labour of love for Marc Burrows: when the kindle says you have 20 minutes reading time left and you have reached the bibliography, you know that a whole lot of research has been done!
Sir Terry also had the tendency to embellish his stories and this is a factor Burrows does not try to hide; highlighting when facts don't quite add up and almost analysing the situation to try and discern the truth. This was such a refreshing approach to a biography: the wool is not pulled over the eyes of the reader, nor the subject blindly believed for convenience.
It is important to note that this book transgresses the existence of Discworld and “the business with the elephant” and encompasses all of Sir Terry’s work: from short stories in the local paper to his TV documentary on assisted death.
The reader will also learn of the involvement of Rhianna Pratchett in her father’s work and discover that the “man in the hat” was not always the easiest man to work with.
I am going to need at least 3 copies upon release- can we preorder?
This is a well written and informative study that could be used alone or in a group setting for a women's Bible study.
I liked that each chapter is a different woman of the Bible. I also liked the fact that they chose some of the "unknowns" of the Bible with the in-depth biographies of each one.
Deborah (162 KP) rated The Princes in the Tower in Books
Dec 21, 2018
Each chapter looks at a different suspect of aspect of the mystery. I've given only three stars not because there was anything particularly wrong with what was written, I think I just expected that Wilkinson had uncovered something new or had a stunning new theory to present! The downside with reading non-fiction books on the Kindle can be that you get to about 75% in and it suddenly ends with the rest of the book being footnotes, bibliography etc.
It is a good and lucid look at the facts and the arguments, so not a bad book, just nothing new and didn't meet the expectations I had formed.
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