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Fast Times, Big City
Book
Like most people, Bud Palmer felt this was just another day. Though the era was drawing to a...
Crime Fiction
Marylegs (44 KP) rated Dark Aemilia (UK Edition) in Books
Aug 14, 2019
So I received Dark Aemilia from a Goodreads give away. All I can say is how lucky I was to receive such a good book, that otherwise I likely would not have taken a second glance at. This is a beautifully written piece of historical fiction. Which at its core, is a love story, between Aemilia Bassano and William Shakespeare. How their love blossomed and through many external factors was pulled apart. The book is laid out in acts and scenes like a play and tells the story from Aemilia point of view. I enjoyed being submerged in the Tudor London at the end of Elizabeth I reign. This book completely grabbed me from the start and had I had more free time I am sure I would have read this book in a day or two.
Unfortunately as I havent ever read historical fiction before I dont really have any point of reference for comparison. But what I will say is that I thoroughly enjoyed how realistic this book felt, but still was able to bring in completely fictitious elements of magic and witchcraft. Sam OReilly has managed to bring in these elements, which appealed to my love of fantasy, without being over the top. I particularly enjoyed the time when London was under the grips of the plague and thought it was just so well written and explained. At no point did I feel lost in descriptions, I was there, with Aemilia and that poor woman just couldnt catch a break.
There is mature content it is an adult story of love, so yes there is sex. I personally have no issue with this and believe it to be an integral addition to this story. It is done well and doesnt feel forced or overdone. I am struggling to put into words how much I enjoyed this book, I will read it again and I would recommend it. I will now even consider reading other historical fiction that I had not thought I would enjoy.
Unfortunately as I havent ever read historical fiction before I dont really have any point of reference for comparison. But what I will say is that I thoroughly enjoyed how realistic this book felt, but still was able to bring in completely fictitious elements of magic and witchcraft. Sam OReilly has managed to bring in these elements, which appealed to my love of fantasy, without being over the top. I particularly enjoyed the time when London was under the grips of the plague and thought it was just so well written and explained. At no point did I feel lost in descriptions, I was there, with Aemilia and that poor woman just couldnt catch a break.
There is mature content it is an adult story of love, so yes there is sex. I personally have no issue with this and believe it to be an integral addition to this story. It is done well and doesnt feel forced or overdone. I am struggling to put into words how much I enjoyed this book, I will read it again and I would recommend it. I will now even consider reading other historical fiction that I had not thought I would enjoy.
AT (1676 KP) rated Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther in Books
Feb 15, 2020
I ran across Cat Tale on the New Books shelf at my library. I had no real interest in the subject prior to seeing the cute picture on the cover, along with the bright color scheme. I was also drawn to the word, "Weird," in the title. I flipped the book over, and read the praised reviews on the back, so I decided to give the book a try. I'm so glad that I did! Number one, I live in Florida, but am a transplant from the north. So I see a lot of names on counties, streets, schools, etc., and know them from that, but not from what any of the people or places were involved with in their day. So I did get a little basic name history while reading, which was an added bonus.
The book, itself, reads like a fiction novel. Plus, it's pretty funny throughout, which made it that much more enjoyable! I kept looking names and events up to make sure that they were real when the book seemed too fictional. (They were real.) It's amazing how messed up the whole process got while trying to save the species, and how such a small number of people can end up being so detrimental to any project. There were some unforgettable characters (again, real people!) that assisted Florida during this process. I quickly was drawn to the story and information. To me, it ended up being wildly interesting. Without ruining the details for you, I realize that any non-fiction account needs to be taken with an open mind and a grain of salt at times. However, everything that I questioned was information that could be found easily. I wish more non-fiction books were written for smooth reading like Cat Tale was. Craig Pittman took a potentially dry, possibly boring subject, and made it very engaging all the way through. It's definitely worth reading, if you're even the least bit curious. (Or, if you simply like the cover picture and color scheme!)
The book, itself, reads like a fiction novel. Plus, it's pretty funny throughout, which made it that much more enjoyable! I kept looking names and events up to make sure that they were real when the book seemed too fictional. (They were real.) It's amazing how messed up the whole process got while trying to save the species, and how such a small number of people can end up being so detrimental to any project. There were some unforgettable characters (again, real people!) that assisted Florida during this process. I quickly was drawn to the story and information. To me, it ended up being wildly interesting. Without ruining the details for you, I realize that any non-fiction account needs to be taken with an open mind and a grain of salt at times. However, everything that I questioned was information that could be found easily. I wish more non-fiction books were written for smooth reading like Cat Tale was. Craig Pittman took a potentially dry, possibly boring subject, and made it very engaging all the way through. It's definitely worth reading, if you're even the least bit curious. (Or, if you simply like the cover picture and color scheme!)
Mysteries and Conspiracies: Detective Stories, Spy Novels and the Making of Modern Societies
Book
The detective story, focused on inquiries, and in its wake the spy novel, built around conspiracies,...
The Refugees
9.3
Rate It
Book
From the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 2016 'A powerful antidote to all the...
Becs (244 KP) rated Animal Farm in Books
Oct 2, 2019
I’ve always been a fan of the literary classics, especially ones that also have an underline meaning to do with the history of the world. George Orwell has always been a favorite of mine, I mean I have a lot of favorites but a true reader usually does! The reason why I finally picked up this book was for a job assignment. I will definitely say, I wasn’t disappointed.
Genre: Classic, Fantasy, Fiction, Science-Fiction, Literature, Dystopia
Audience: High School
Reading level: Advanced Fluent
Interests: Classics, Dystopia, Science-Fiction
Style: Advanced Fluent
Point of view: Third Person
Difficulty reading: It was only difficult in the spots that were lacking plot.
Promise: Promise of history related read, it delivers
Quality: Good.
Insights: Animal Farm is a very well-written book and if you like a history-related book along with any literary classic books, you’ll love this book! I, myself, have never really been a huge history buff so to me Animal Farm was lacking an interesting plot. If I broke the book down into two sections, there would be half of the book as interesting and half being monotonous.
Ah-Ha Moment: When the animals overtook the farm and the pigs started to act like the humans.
Favorite quote: “Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself.” – I really like this because it’s a great representation of humans and earth. How we lack with caring for the planet we live on and that isn’t right.
Aesthetics: The copy that I received had an awesome cartoony cover of the animals which I found quite adorable.
“Four legs good, two legs bad.”
Genre: Classic, Fantasy, Fiction, Science-Fiction, Literature, Dystopia
Audience: High School
Reading level: Advanced Fluent
Interests: Classics, Dystopia, Science-Fiction
Style: Advanced Fluent
Point of view: Third Person
Difficulty reading: It was only difficult in the spots that were lacking plot.
Promise: Promise of history related read, it delivers
Quality: Good.
Insights: Animal Farm is a very well-written book and if you like a history-related book along with any literary classic books, you’ll love this book! I, myself, have never really been a huge history buff so to me Animal Farm was lacking an interesting plot. If I broke the book down into two sections, there would be half of the book as interesting and half being monotonous.
Ah-Ha Moment: When the animals overtook the farm and the pigs started to act like the humans.
Favorite quote: “Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself.” – I really like this because it’s a great representation of humans and earth. How we lack with caring for the planet we live on and that isn’t right.
Aesthetics: The copy that I received had an awesome cartoony cover of the animals which I found quite adorable.
“Four legs good, two legs bad.”
Mists of the Serengeti
Book Watch
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Leylah Attar, comes a compelling, emotionally...
Romance fiction
City of Friends
6.0
Rate It
Book
City of Friends is the twentieth novel from the highly acclaimed number one bestselling author,...
Fiction
Rachel King (13 KP) rated On Writing in Books
Feb 11, 2019
I have not now nor ever been a fan of Stephen King's fiction, nor do I intend to change that pattern. His personal brand of fiction is simply not for me. But since this book is non-fiction, curiosity got the better of me. I am glad that I read this book very much, for both the memoir of his writing life, as well as the writing skills he attempts to impart.
The first half of the book is largely a memoir of King's life, with a focus on his writing career. The reader learns things such as what inspired him, what he liked in fiction, his initial forays into getting published, as well as his many rejections and criticisms. I found it both interesting and ironic that his first big book, Carrie, was accomplished largely thanks to his wife's encouragement, as he never really cared for the main character. He could take the simplest ideas, put two random thoughts together, and make them into these successful stories. All of this is woven into the more mundane aspects of his life, from schooling, to various jobs, to meeting his future wife.
The second part of the book is all about what King considers good writing practices, as well some of the advice that King has received over the years, such as when writing a second draft, subtract 10% from the original. He even goes into the details of good grammar and repeatedly refers to Strunk and White's The Elements of Style. He finishes off this section by showing a section of a first draft he wrote, and then the edited second draft of it to give the reader an idea of how to approach the editing process.
A final section in the book goes into the details of when King was hit and nearly killed by a "blue van" and the effect that it had on his life and his writing. The accident actually occurs before he begins the second part of this book, giving the manuscript the possibility of never being completed. This was probably the most intriguing part of the book for me, as he was able to remember in vivid detail what happened to him, and yet he seemed to be oddly emotionally-detached from its long-term consequences for his life. There is only one short paragraph in which I actually pick up on some emotion, when he discusses how quickly the driver of the blue van will likely be returning to the road. At one point he also made the observation that the driver could have stepped from the pages of one of his novels. What I do love is that his passion for writing helped him to overcome his injuries and regenerate that need to keep putting words to the page.
The first half of the book is largely a memoir of King's life, with a focus on his writing career. The reader learns things such as what inspired him, what he liked in fiction, his initial forays into getting published, as well as his many rejections and criticisms. I found it both interesting and ironic that his first big book, Carrie, was accomplished largely thanks to his wife's encouragement, as he never really cared for the main character. He could take the simplest ideas, put two random thoughts together, and make them into these successful stories. All of this is woven into the more mundane aspects of his life, from schooling, to various jobs, to meeting his future wife.
The second part of the book is all about what King considers good writing practices, as well some of the advice that King has received over the years, such as when writing a second draft, subtract 10% from the original. He even goes into the details of good grammar and repeatedly refers to Strunk and White's The Elements of Style. He finishes off this section by showing a section of a first draft he wrote, and then the edited second draft of it to give the reader an idea of how to approach the editing process.
A final section in the book goes into the details of when King was hit and nearly killed by a "blue van" and the effect that it had on his life and his writing. The accident actually occurs before he begins the second part of this book, giving the manuscript the possibility of never being completed. This was probably the most intriguing part of the book for me, as he was able to remember in vivid detail what happened to him, and yet he seemed to be oddly emotionally-detached from its long-term consequences for his life. There is only one short paragraph in which I actually pick up on some emotion, when he discusses how quickly the driver of the blue van will likely be returning to the road. At one point he also made the observation that the driver could have stepped from the pages of one of his novels. What I do love is that his passion for writing helped him to overcome his injuries and regenerate that need to keep putting words to the page.
HyruleBalverine (16 KP) rated The Gargoyle in Books
Nov 27, 2017 (Updated Nov 27, 2017)
A literary Journey that will have you questioning the reality your characters live in.
I typically read books in the science fiction, science fiction / fantasy, crime Thriller, or horror genres. A friend of mine suggested that I read this book because she really liked it. I will admit to going into with skepticism expect there to be some sort of romance novel. While there is some discussion of a romantic history and potentially some romantic feelings between the characters that is not what this book is about.
As you read through the story someone getting to know the characters and events unfold including the tails that Marianne tells of the past, you start to question whether this woman is telling the truth or she is actually crazy. The book never blatantly tells you one way or the other, but leaves it up to you to decide based on what you read and take from the book. I definitely has a clear opinion as to what was really going on but I won't spoil it for you by telling you what I think or why.
I will tell you after having read this book, I made it a point to recommend it to other friends I have that read because I thought it was that amazing especially given that it is not the type of story I typically read.
As you read through the story someone getting to know the characters and events unfold including the tails that Marianne tells of the past, you start to question whether this woman is telling the truth or she is actually crazy. The book never blatantly tells you one way or the other, but leaves it up to you to decide based on what you read and take from the book. I definitely has a clear opinion as to what was really going on but I won't spoil it for you by telling you what I think or why.
I will tell you after having read this book, I made it a point to recommend it to other friends I have that read because I thought it was that amazing especially given that it is not the type of story I typically read.