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Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Something in the Water in Books
Apr 9, 2019
Erin and Mark are about to get married. Before their wedding day, they have a few things to deal with. Erin has to prepare everything for the documentary she is working on, about how inmates re-enter the real world. And Mark, loses his job as an investment banker, which was their main source of income. This forces them to change some plans of their wedding and honeymoon, but also make the break that much more needed.
While honeymooning in Bora Bora, they go on a scuba diving excursion where they find a bag floating in the water. What's inside will lead them on a journey where they will find out more about each other than they ever expected.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Someting In The Water, gives you the ending of the book first, then goes back three months for us to see what could have possibly happened. The book starts with Erin digging a grave to bury Mark in. If they are newlyweds, what could he have done in such a short time that she is now burying his body in the middle of nowhere.
This book started out really well and it was hard to put down at first. But, as the story went along, the details just became more and more implausible. To me, Erin was an idiot and the fact that she couldn't see what was happening right under her nose, and some of her actions were just ridiculous. The things that occurred in this book did not seem possible for an investment banker and a film maker to pull off (Eg. cutting the lining of their luggage to hide money). It's said this book is supposed to be a psychological thriller, but to me it was just psychotic.
This is debut novel from this author, so I'm willing to give her another chance, if she rights another book. This one reminded me of the movie Into the Blue with Paul Walker and Jessica Alba
While honeymooning in Bora Bora, they go on a scuba diving excursion where they find a bag floating in the water. What's inside will lead them on a journey where they will find out more about each other than they ever expected.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Someting In The Water, gives you the ending of the book first, then goes back three months for us to see what could have possibly happened. The book starts with Erin digging a grave to bury Mark in. If they are newlyweds, what could he have done in such a short time that she is now burying his body in the middle of nowhere.
This book started out really well and it was hard to put down at first. But, as the story went along, the details just became more and more implausible. To me, Erin was an idiot and the fact that she couldn't see what was happening right under her nose, and some of her actions were just ridiculous. The things that occurred in this book did not seem possible for an investment banker and a film maker to pull off (Eg. cutting the lining of their luggage to hide money). It's said this book is supposed to be a psychological thriller, but to me it was just psychotic.
This is debut novel from this author, so I'm willing to give her another chance, if she rights another book. This one reminded me of the movie Into the Blue with Paul Walker and Jessica Alba
The Insider's Guide to Independent Film Distribution
Book
Innovation in technology means that almost anyone can make an independent film these days. Although...
Felipe (17 KP) rated The Name of the Rose in Books
Dec 3, 2020
A labyrinth of mystery with multiple dimensions, pitfalls, dead ends and revelations. (2 more)
The story and structure are brilliant.
The characters are genius and the narrative is written in way that you get sucked into and are part of the narrative.
Brilliant and entertaining introduction to semiotics.
I first read this book in my freshman or sophomore year in college after having seen the Sean Connery film adaptation. Like most novels that movies are based on, the book was far better than the movie. The movie was just a superficial touching on the themes of the book but the book was a multi dimensional journey through art, philosophy, literature and theology while captivating the reader in a very good murder mystery. The tragedy of the book is the revelation to the reader that our tendency to try to form connections between random events as and ideas is futile. The library is an allegory to the house of cards that comes crashing down when we create false narratives on tenuous connections between randomn events and ideas; connections that don't really exist.
Eco takes all of his academic experience that he has absorbed in the years and uses fiction to not only tell a good story but also to challenge us on how we see the world and interpret the signs and symbols we come into contact.
Eco takes all of his academic experience that he has absorbed in the years and uses fiction to not only tell a good story but also to challenge us on how we see the world and interpret the signs and symbols we come into contact.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018) in Movies
Jul 2, 2019
When best friends Sonny (Jeremy Ray Taylor) and Sam (Caleel Harris) find a hidden room, in a spooky old house, they think they have just stumbled upon a treasure. This is exactly they were hoping for when they started a junk removal business. But those hopes are quickly dashed as they discover what they really have found is an unreleased and unfinished R.L. Stine novel. The book is locked so they unlock it hoping to find a treasure map or some money but alas it is just a book by an author they have never heard of. Disappointed they return to the rest of the items they found and is surprised to see a ventriloquist dummy sitting next to the book. In the pocket of the dummy is a card that says its name is Slappy (voiced by Jack Black). Unknowingly these two friends have now unleashed a malicious that is about to unleash a bevy of monsters on their home town. Now they, with the help of Sonny’s older sister Sarah (Madison Iseman), have to try to stop Slappy from destroying their town and maybe even the world, especially before Sonny and Sarah’s mom (Wendy McLendon-Covey) finds out.
This film is a follow up to the 2015 Goosebumps, all based on the popular children’s horror fiction novels of the same name by author R.L. Stine. The book series, over 60 novels, and the films are all geared to bring horror to a younger audience.
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is a lighthearted horror film. This will probably do well with a young audience but doesn’t really go beyond that. I thought for the genre the cast did okay. Ken Jeong as the wacky neighbor was very over the top but in a fun way. Even though Jack Black is the voice of Slappy his R.L. Stine character was mostly missing from the film. The story is predictable. The film is full of cheesy one liners, some good, some bad and some so bad they might be good. Also if you are looking for a well put together plot with streamlined scenes this is not the film. At one point the three teens are being helped by Jeong’s character but the scene cuts and the kids are alone with no mention of their neighbor. I thought that the Slappy character was definitely creepy at times and could be nightmare inducing but the rest of the monsters were more cartoon like that really scary.
Of films made for young audiences this I have seen recently this is not one of the better films. I would say that it had a few moments but really lacked a clear message and cohesive story. I think it would be something young audience would enjoy but not go back to as often as other films that have come out recently. Renting or streaming would be the way to go for this film not worth the ticket price for the theaters for me.
This film is a follow up to the 2015 Goosebumps, all based on the popular children’s horror fiction novels of the same name by author R.L. Stine. The book series, over 60 novels, and the films are all geared to bring horror to a younger audience.
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is a lighthearted horror film. This will probably do well with a young audience but doesn’t really go beyond that. I thought for the genre the cast did okay. Ken Jeong as the wacky neighbor was very over the top but in a fun way. Even though Jack Black is the voice of Slappy his R.L. Stine character was mostly missing from the film. The story is predictable. The film is full of cheesy one liners, some good, some bad and some so bad they might be good. Also if you are looking for a well put together plot with streamlined scenes this is not the film. At one point the three teens are being helped by Jeong’s character but the scene cuts and the kids are alone with no mention of their neighbor. I thought that the Slappy character was definitely creepy at times and could be nightmare inducing but the rest of the monsters were more cartoon like that really scary.
Of films made for young audiences this I have seen recently this is not one of the better films. I would say that it had a few moments but really lacked a clear message and cohesive story. I think it would be something young audience would enjoy but not go back to as often as other films that have come out recently. Renting or streaming would be the way to go for this film not worth the ticket price for the theaters for me.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Trainspotting in Books
Mar 28, 2020
Bleak yet ultimately rather good
When I first started this book, I didn't think I'd manage to get all the way through it. The entire book, aside from a few sections, are written completely in Scottish. I have nothing against the Scottish, however trying to read a book that is written and spelt in a Scottish accent is a rather trying experience. Fortunately after a couple of chapters I managed to settle into a decent rhythm and began to enjoy the story for what it really was.
My biggest criticism of this book is the Scottish. It's a great idea and actually works well with the story, but it is a little difficult to decipher at times although it does add to the realism. Once you learn to accept the Scottish, what you get is a rather bleak and depressing story of a group of drug addicts, alcoholics and general all round bad people from Edinburgh. This isn't a happy story and virtually every character featured isn't particularly likeable (and some are downright despicable), but for me this is why I enjoyed the book so much. There is a slight issue with the passage of time, it seems to jump around quite a lot and whilst i think it took place over the period of a few months, it was a little confusing at times. I do think as well that now having read the book, that the film actually stays fairly close to the source material.
This isn't a book to read if you're looking for something happy and upbeat. However if you're looking for a starkly realistic dark story yet is still enjoyable, you can't go wrong with this.
My biggest criticism of this book is the Scottish. It's a great idea and actually works well with the story, but it is a little difficult to decipher at times although it does add to the realism. Once you learn to accept the Scottish, what you get is a rather bleak and depressing story of a group of drug addicts, alcoholics and general all round bad people from Edinburgh. This isn't a happy story and virtually every character featured isn't particularly likeable (and some are downright despicable), but for me this is why I enjoyed the book so much. There is a slight issue with the passage of time, it seems to jump around quite a lot and whilst i think it took place over the period of a few months, it was a little confusing at times. I do think as well that now having read the book, that the film actually stays fairly close to the source material.
This isn't a book to read if you're looking for something happy and upbeat. However if you're looking for a starkly realistic dark story yet is still enjoyable, you can't go wrong with this.
SB
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