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Liz Phair recommended The Catcher in the Rye in Books (curated)
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2099 KP) rated Secret Origins (Story Thieves #3) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
It’s been two months since Bethany last jumped into a book, and she’s started to notice a man sitting in a car across the street. Owen thinks Bethany is overreacting to things, but as the friends follow him to his house, they make a startling discovery. Have they stumbled upon Bethany’s fictional father?
This book overs things to the comic book world, and I found this setting to be lots of fun. The plot twists out in some surprising and fun directions, and the cliffhangers at the end of each chapter kept me turning pages. The characters are strong as well, and we meet some great new ones along the way. Just watch out for the cliffhanger at the end of the book.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/01/book-review-secret-origins-by-james.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
This book overs things to the comic book world, and I found this setting to be lots of fun. The plot twists out in some surprising and fun directions, and the cliffhangers at the end of each chapter kept me turning pages. The characters are strong as well, and we meet some great new ones along the way. Just watch out for the cliffhanger at the end of the book.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/01/book-review-secret-origins-by-james.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
ALilLacey (2 KP) rated The Mortal Instruments 1: City of Bones in Books
Mar 4, 2019
I tried to like City of Bones more after reading many great reviews. It wasn't terrible, I just had a hard time getting into the story line. I felt like Clary only being 15 was my main issue. Decisions she made and the situations she was in were hard for me to place a 15 year old in. I did like the idea of the plot and another world that not all can see. The twist at the end was definitely not something I saw coming and will keep me reading through the rest of the series.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Night of the Comet (1984) in Movies
Mar 22, 2020
Cult mash-up of Day of the Triffids and The Omega Man is engaging enough to make you overlook how brazen it is. Teenage sisters improbably survive the end of the world: time to load up with automatic weapons, hit the shops and argue about boys!
Handles its genre movie conventions with knowing deftness, but after a strong first act the pace slacks off a bit too much and it feels like the movie loses focus - faster and funnier would be better. Recovers somewhat for the climax, though. Ultimately, this is only ever superficial, but it's also undeniably good fun.
Handles its genre movie conventions with knowing deftness, but after a strong first act the pace slacks off a bit too much and it feels like the movie loses focus - faster and funnier would be better. Recovers somewhat for the climax, though. Ultimately, this is only ever superficial, but it's also undeniably good fun.
Tom Turner (388 KP) rated A Darker Shade of Magic in Books
Apr 29, 2021
As has been said by numerous other reviewers I am sure, the world building in this book is exquisite! I don't think I've seen the multiple world's idea done quite as well as I have here. It's certainly the most thought out and crafted, and would be hard to beat.
Both the main characters were will defined and their relationship is one I could definitely believe.
The one draw back is the plot reliance on the mcguffin. By the end it definitely had a feel of the Ring from Lord of the Rings, and ultimately I felt it was this that held the book back from being really great.
I look forward to continuing in this world with this charactera in the future.
Both the main characters were will defined and their relationship is one I could definitely believe.
The one draw back is the plot reliance on the mcguffin. By the end it definitely had a feel of the Ring from Lord of the Rings, and ultimately I felt it was this that held the book back from being really great.
I look forward to continuing in this world with this charactera in the future.
Jessi Bone (48 KP) rated From Auction Block to Glory: The African American Experience in Books
Mar 18, 2019
From the Auction Block to Glory examines the lives and stories of African Americans during the civil war years. Where transplanted and enslaved African Americans were bought and sold as property to the battlefield where two dozen black soldiers won the Congressional Medal of Honor. Beginning with a history of slavery from its European origins to its establishment in the New World. With the succession phases of African American involvement in the World effort. When the North faced a potentially disastrous manpower crisis at the end of 1862, more than 200,000 African Americans rose to the occasion and joined the forces supplementing the Union's dissipating army, salvaging the North's hope of reuniting the nation. The issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation and the repeals of the 1792 militia law transformed the military and political climate in the North. African American's were now free to fight on the side of the North but stereotypes were as such that black soldiers were under pressure to prove their combat capabilities. From the early battles and victories at Milliken's Bend and Port Hudson to the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantries famous attack on Fort Wagner, African American's demonstrated their fighting.
From the Auction Block to Glory by Phillip Thomas Tucker Ph.D. is 128 pages long and looks at the African American experience from slavery to emancipation. I found the book very insightful as it looked at the side of slavery not just from the slave's point of view but from the perspective of the Southern owners and the North's needs end the slavery. The painting, photographs, and stretches bring the past to life and allow additional visual confirmation of what the words were saying and gives you a rare and unique view of the world that they lived in. I found the book very informative and an enjoyable read. Dr. Tucker writing style is in a communicative style similar to a conversation from him to you which makes you want to finish the book in one sitting.
From the Auction Block to Glory by Phillip Thomas Tucker Ph.D. is 128 pages long and looks at the African American experience from slavery to emancipation. I found the book very insightful as it looked at the side of slavery not just from the slave's point of view but from the perspective of the Southern owners and the North's needs end the slavery. The painting, photographs, and stretches bring the past to life and allow additional visual confirmation of what the words were saying and gives you a rare and unique view of the world that they lived in. I found the book very informative and an enjoyable read. Dr. Tucker writing style is in a communicative style similar to a conversation from him to you which makes you want to finish the book in one sitting.
KarynKusama recommended Together (2001) in Movies (curated)
Russ Troutt (291 KP) rated The Best of Enemies (2019) in Movies
Jul 5, 2019
With another 4th of July in the books, I can't help but think about people in today's world still having to fight for different freedoms and rights. One fight, or charette rather, to end school segregation took place in North Carolina in 1971 that brought together the best of enemies and the unlikeliest of friends, a black activist Ann Atwater and a KKK leader C.P. Ellis. Best of Enemies is a really good movie with a wonderful cast that tells this particular story beautifully. Here's to love always triumphing over ignorant hate.
Jonah Hill recommended Dig! (2004) in Movies (curated)
Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Erik Larson has done it again. One of our time's finest writers of non-fiction has once more taken a page from our history and turned it into a most compulsively readable book. This time telling the tale of the sinking of the luxury liner Lusitania by the Germans during World War I, the narrative follows everyone from the passengers and crew of the ill-fated ship, to the men on the U-boat that fired the torpedo, to the British and American officials monitoring the situation and making the decisions about how to respond. Mr. Larson provides a stunning amount of detail, enough to make one feel as if they had actually spent time aboard the opulent liner with its travelers, but at no point does it seem as though the details are bogging things down. To the contrary, events move along at a brisk pace as they head towards their tragic end. It is a sad but fascinating tale, handled here with aplomb, in what is sure to wind up on many year-end best lists.