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The Devil You Know: Stories of Human Cruelty and Compassion
9.5
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Book
A perspective-shattering work into the minds of violent criminals that reveals profound consequences...
Non-Fiction True Crime Psychology Mental Health Crime
iSEQUENCES
Education and Entertainment
App
iSEQUENCES is an educational app for children with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome that enables...
DietaMozzi
Food & Drink and Health & Fitness
App
Are you in a restaurant and you don’t know what to drink or eat? Are you at the supermarket, on...
Aprender Inglês Áudio Curso Vocabulário Gramática
Education and Travel
App
Free Language Learning Audio Phrasebook and Dictionary Offline App for Beginners. The most essential...
Baby Pregnancy Tracker
Education and Medical
App
The Baby Pregnancy Tracker enables you to follow the development of your baby through a detailed...
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Star Trek: First Contact (1996) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
It’s a close run thing with “Wrath of Khan”, but this tops it as my favourite Trek film. There are so many memorable scenes:
The dramatic opening shots of Picard strapped into the Borg ship (and the subsequent jolts x 2!);
The comical drinking scene between Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Cochrane (James Cromwell);
The “Big Sleep” style holodeck sequence;
The spectacular entrance of the Borg Queen (Alice Krige);
The first warp flight;
The first contact scene, framed by Jerry Goldsmith‘s spectacular theme.
We’re up to the Enterprise-E in this one, and even that gets a self-destruct sequence! These movies must be playing havoc with their insurance premiums!
There are some nice touches for Trek fans in here: the first appearance of Robert Picardo‘s holographic doctor (before he became a regular on Star Trek: Voyager); and Dwight Schultz reprising his role from the TNG series as the nerdy fan-boy Lieutenant Barclay. In addition, the whole cast (including Gates McFadden’s Crusher) get a fairer share of the air time under Jonathan Frake’s direction.
Once again, the time travel (particularly the return journey!) is just a bit too trite and convenient. But other than that, this is a top-notch Trek movie. It features (in Alfre Woodard, just BAFTA nominated) a strong role for a female of colour. And it provides a great chance to showcase Stewart’s acting talents, as he wrestles with his own ‘great white whale’.
Given my love for the movie, I was tempted to give this one 5*s. The one thing holding me back is just a single line of dialogue. Do you know the one? Zephram Cochrane’s line…
“So, you’re astronauts? On some kind of a star trek?”.
It is just SO UTTERLY CRASS that I manage to throw up a little in my mouth as that scene happens. WHY WRITERS, WHY???
The dramatic opening shots of Picard strapped into the Borg ship (and the subsequent jolts x 2!);
The comical drinking scene between Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Cochrane (James Cromwell);
The “Big Sleep” style holodeck sequence;
The spectacular entrance of the Borg Queen (Alice Krige);
The first warp flight;
The first contact scene, framed by Jerry Goldsmith‘s spectacular theme.
We’re up to the Enterprise-E in this one, and even that gets a self-destruct sequence! These movies must be playing havoc with their insurance premiums!
There are some nice touches for Trek fans in here: the first appearance of Robert Picardo‘s holographic doctor (before he became a regular on Star Trek: Voyager); and Dwight Schultz reprising his role from the TNG series as the nerdy fan-boy Lieutenant Barclay. In addition, the whole cast (including Gates McFadden’s Crusher) get a fairer share of the air time under Jonathan Frake’s direction.
Once again, the time travel (particularly the return journey!) is just a bit too trite and convenient. But other than that, this is a top-notch Trek movie. It features (in Alfre Woodard, just BAFTA nominated) a strong role for a female of colour. And it provides a great chance to showcase Stewart’s acting talents, as he wrestles with his own ‘great white whale’.
Given my love for the movie, I was tempted to give this one 5*s. The one thing holding me back is just a single line of dialogue. Do you know the one? Zephram Cochrane’s line…
“So, you’re astronauts? On some kind of a star trek?”.
It is just SO UTTERLY CRASS that I manage to throw up a little in my mouth as that scene happens. WHY WRITERS, WHY???
ClareR (5726 KP) rated A Spell of Good Things in Books
Mar 31, 2023
A Spell of Good Things by Ayòbámi Adébáyò is a book that looks unflinchingly at the have’s and have not’s in Nigeria. The two main characters come from two very different backgrounds.
Eniola is a boy who looks like a man. His schoolteacher father loses his job due to a shakeup in the education system, and falls into a deep depression. This leaves Eniola working as an errand boy for the local tailor, collecting newspapers and begging (much against his will). He wants so much more for his life, though…
Wuraola is from a wealthy family. Her parents are proud of her succeeding in her aim to be a doctor - and now they expect her to marry. And Kunle is the son of friends that they favour. But he’s volatile in private (to say the least).
We follow the stories of Eniola and Wuraola and the differences in their lives are stark. Eniola goes to school hungry, he’s beaten by the teachers because his parents pay their school fees late (if at all). And finally, he thinks he has found a way out of his poverty - when in fact it’s something far worse.
Wuraola’s life is difficult in a different way: she has a well-paid, well-respected job, but the Nigerian health system is overstretched, underfunded and doesn’t have enough doctors. But she believes in doing her duty, so she works hard, and says yes when Kunle proposes.
Wuraola’s and Eniola’s lives are on a collision course though.
I inhaled this book. It’s gritty and doesn’t hold back in any way. It’s an insight into lives I’ve never experienced and so powerfully told. The themes of domestic abuse, poverty, access to education and political corruption make for a heartbreaking read.
Recommended.
Eniola is a boy who looks like a man. His schoolteacher father loses his job due to a shakeup in the education system, and falls into a deep depression. This leaves Eniola working as an errand boy for the local tailor, collecting newspapers and begging (much against his will). He wants so much more for his life, though…
Wuraola is from a wealthy family. Her parents are proud of her succeeding in her aim to be a doctor - and now they expect her to marry. And Kunle is the son of friends that they favour. But he’s volatile in private (to say the least).
We follow the stories of Eniola and Wuraola and the differences in their lives are stark. Eniola goes to school hungry, he’s beaten by the teachers because his parents pay their school fees late (if at all). And finally, he thinks he has found a way out of his poverty - when in fact it’s something far worse.
Wuraola’s life is difficult in a different way: she has a well-paid, well-respected job, but the Nigerian health system is overstretched, underfunded and doesn’t have enough doctors. But she believes in doing her duty, so she works hard, and says yes when Kunle proposes.
Wuraola’s and Eniola’s lives are on a collision course though.
I inhaled this book. It’s gritty and doesn’t hold back in any way. It’s an insight into lives I’ve never experienced and so powerfully told. The themes of domestic abuse, poverty, access to education and political corruption make for a heartbreaking read.
Recommended.
The Polish Wife (The Secret Resistance Series)
8.0
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Book
Germany, 1934. Surrounded by beautiful wedding china, we share our first dinner alone as husband and...
ClareR (5726 KP) rated Learned by Heart in Books
Sep 20, 2023
Learned by Heart is the fictionalised account of two women who really did exist: Eliza Raine and Anne Lister (also known as Gentleman Jack). I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator Shiromi Arserio, really brought the characters, all teenage girls for the most part, to life. Together with Emma Donoghue’s impeccable, compassionate writing, it made for an emotional and heartbreaking novel.
Both girls are outsiders: Eliza is an orphan of an English doctor and an Indian mother. Anne isn’t like any of the other girls, and doesn’t want to conform to expectations. They end up sharing a room and forge a close friendship. They eventually fall in love.
Anne is the person that Eliza is too shy to be. Eliza looks different - she’s darker skinned, and everyone knows that she was Indian. So she tries to avoid too much notice. Anne doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her. Together they are able to make school more bearable.
Interspersed in the story of their time at school are Eliza’s letters written to Anne. Letters that are never sent. Eliza is in an asylum at a point in the future, and she doesn’t want the doctors to know about her relationship with Anne. These were such desperately sad parts - Eliza has lost Anne, perhaps partly due to her illness.
I thought the writing reflected the emotional inner life of teenagers so well. The overwhelming emotions and the fact that these were still children who were being forced to act as adult women in a regimented, emotionless setting.
I loved this. It was meticulously researched, and this enriched the story right up to its heartbreaking end. This really is well worth a read (or a listen!).
Both girls are outsiders: Eliza is an orphan of an English doctor and an Indian mother. Anne isn’t like any of the other girls, and doesn’t want to conform to expectations. They end up sharing a room and forge a close friendship. They eventually fall in love.
Anne is the person that Eliza is too shy to be. Eliza looks different - she’s darker skinned, and everyone knows that she was Indian. So she tries to avoid too much notice. Anne doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her. Together they are able to make school more bearable.
Interspersed in the story of their time at school are Eliza’s letters written to Anne. Letters that are never sent. Eliza is in an asylum at a point in the future, and she doesn’t want the doctors to know about her relationship with Anne. These were such desperately sad parts - Eliza has lost Anne, perhaps partly due to her illness.
I thought the writing reflected the emotional inner life of teenagers so well. The overwhelming emotions and the fact that these were still children who were being forced to act as adult women in a regimented, emotionless setting.
I loved this. It was meticulously researched, and this enriched the story right up to its heartbreaking end. This really is well worth a read (or a listen!).
Merissa (12066 KP) rated His Lordship's Secret (His Lordship’s Mysteries #1) in Books
Apr 11, 2022 (Updated Jun 26, 2023)
HIS LORDSHIP'S SECRET is the first book in the His Lordship's Mysteries and we start off with a bang - quite literally! Alfie is shot and rushes home where his doctor attends him to sew him up. Alfie thinks back to the previous weeks and concludes someone is trying to kill him. But who and why?
What unfolds is a sweet story, full of love and caring amongst the harshness of London's streets in those times. You get a full and rounded description of workhouse conditions, plus what it was like for those not of the upper crust. Along with the bad, you also get the good. The compassion of their peers, the free pie "but don't tell anyone"... It's all here and helps to make this a brilliant, intriguing mystery romance.
The saddest point of all for me was how they had to hide their love due to the consequences if anyone found out. Unfortunately, it's not that far back in the past, and some places still hold the same views. I can't wait for the day when someone reads a story like this and cannot comprehend what it must have been like, simply because it is so widely accepted and normal.
This is the first book by this author I have read and it definitely won't be the last. I love her cadence as she draws you into the story, the lifelike characters, and the situations. Absolutely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Apr 8, 2022
What unfolds is a sweet story, full of love and caring amongst the harshness of London's streets in those times. You get a full and rounded description of workhouse conditions, plus what it was like for those not of the upper crust. Along with the bad, you also get the good. The compassion of their peers, the free pie "but don't tell anyone"... It's all here and helps to make this a brilliant, intriguing mystery romance.
The saddest point of all for me was how they had to hide their love due to the consequences if anyone found out. Unfortunately, it's not that far back in the past, and some places still hold the same views. I can't wait for the day when someone reads a story like this and cannot comprehend what it must have been like, simply because it is so widely accepted and normal.
This is the first book by this author I have read and it definitely won't be the last. I love her cadence as she draws you into the story, the lifelike characters, and the situations. Absolutely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Apr 8, 2022