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AJaneClark (3975 KP) rated Pucked Up (Pucked #2) in Books
Jan 12, 2020
The second in the Pucked series follows Miller (Buck) Butterson attempting and failing to win over his ice hockey team Captain’s (and future brother in law Alex) sister Sunny Waters. Buck and Sunny would be great together if only things and people would stop interfering!
Buck means well, but he certainly isn’t the smartest, and Sunny is young and sheltered, and everyone around her is over protective. But when the world finally gets a glimpse of the real Buck things start to change for the better!
This isn’t as funny as the first book, but still great writing! The character development is great too!
Follows on great from the first book but can also be read as a stand alone.
Buck means well, but he certainly isn’t the smartest, and Sunny is young and sheltered, and everyone around her is over protective. But when the world finally gets a glimpse of the real Buck things start to change for the better!
This isn’t as funny as the first book, but still great writing! The character development is great too!
Follows on great from the first book but can also be read as a stand alone.
Jacob peers (0 KP) rated Cards Against Humanity in Tabletop Games
Jul 29, 2019
It's eye opening (2 more)
It's ice breaking
It's challenging
It's adult only (1 more)
Can cause arguments
Family Breaking Hilarity
This is honestly one of the best ideas for a game I have ever seen, it is a game that is easy for casuals to play, its competitive or just fun. You can play this with anyone and not change your opinion of them. I have played this with so many different people and groups and every game is different, every game is fun and it honestly does alot to breaking the ice when a serious conversation is needed. Those with social anxiety would do well to look into this game, it puts everyone on a level playing field with the disgusting things your going to say
Disko Bay
Book
The poems in Nancy Campbell's first collection transport the reader to the frozen shores of...
Game of Owns - The Game of Thrones podcast
4.7
Rate It
Podcast
Game of Owns has travelled over 370 episodes through HBO's Game of Thrones and George R.R. Martin's...
The Pod F. Tompkast
Podcast
Award-Worthy Comedian PAUL F. TOMPKINS Presents Sketch, Live Recordings and Conversation, All Whilst...
Twilight Histories
Podcast
Listen to the Twilight Histories in the dark... You are a time splitter sent to a strange and exotic...
Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Ice-Cream Makers in Books
Dec 14, 2018
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</i>
An intriguing blurb promises an incredible story about an Italian ice-cream making family, however the story is nothing like you expect. Ernest van der Kwast’s <i>The Ice-Cream Makers</i> is set between a small village in Italy and the busy summer streets of Rotterdam. The Talamini family has been creating innovative ice-cream flavours for over a century, running a successful and hard-working parlour in the Netherlands. The business is handed down from father to son throughout the years, but now eldest son Giovanni has broken the tradition.
Giovanni Talamini has no interest in making ice-cream and would much rather spend the day reading poetry. After pursuing a literary career, Giovanni is now the director of the World Poetry Festival. Younger brother Luca has been left to pick up the <i>spatula</i> of the family business, but he has a problem of his own. Giovanni faces a dilemma: cut himself of from his family entirely or help his brother out with his peculiar request.
The highly unusual request mentioned in the blurb of <i>The Ice-Cream Makers</i> does not actually surface until the latter stages of the book. For the majority of the narrative there is no clear storyline, however the detail and information van der Kwast provides about ice-cream making, poetry and European culture makes the novel entirely worth reading. The request itself is entirely unexpected and not at all possible to guess, but it is an oddly brilliant way of reuniting two estranged brothers.
It takes a while for the narrative to start flowing as it constantly changes time periods. Giovanni, the narrator, rarely speaks in the present tense and is constantly relating events from his childhood and adulthood interspersed with family history and historical knowledge. On occasion the book takes on the air of an autobiography as Giovanni gives an in depth insight to the life of his family and his break from tradition. There is also the odd chapter that becomes almost a work of non-fiction, providing the reader with highbrow literary references and factual information about the history of ice-cream.
Once the scenes caused by the male sexual mind have been glossed over, <i>The Ice-Cream Makers</i> becomes a beautifully written, almost poetical story that compels and engages the reader despite the lack of a clear-cut storyline. The literary references will appeal to the intellectual, scholar, philosopher or culture enthusiast, for this novel teaches and inspires as well as entertains.
The amount of research van der Kwast conducted is phenomenal. The accuracy (or so is presumed) of the historical factors implies the author had thoroughly investigated the subject matter prior to writing. It is almost as though van der Kwast lived the life of Giovanni; it is entirely believable – hence the sense of an autobiography. Although the nature of the novel’s theme suggests a serious tone, van der Kwast has included a great deal of humour in the form of Giovanni and Luca’s father and his questionable mental health.
The lack of a climax prevents <i>The Ice-Cream Makers</i> from being described as an exciting book, however its beautifully poetic prose makes up for this absence. The philosophical insight into poetry will make you think about life and admire Giovanni for insisting on making his own way in the world. Likewise, Luca’s quiet acceptance and perseverance in the family business is also an admirable feat. Readers with a dislike for descriptive sexual scenarios may feel uncomfortable in a few of the resulting scenes, however the general story compensates for these distasteful passages. All in all, a high-quality work of fiction.
An intriguing blurb promises an incredible story about an Italian ice-cream making family, however the story is nothing like you expect. Ernest van der Kwast’s <i>The Ice-Cream Makers</i> is set between a small village in Italy and the busy summer streets of Rotterdam. The Talamini family has been creating innovative ice-cream flavours for over a century, running a successful and hard-working parlour in the Netherlands. The business is handed down from father to son throughout the years, but now eldest son Giovanni has broken the tradition.
Giovanni Talamini has no interest in making ice-cream and would much rather spend the day reading poetry. After pursuing a literary career, Giovanni is now the director of the World Poetry Festival. Younger brother Luca has been left to pick up the <i>spatula</i> of the family business, but he has a problem of his own. Giovanni faces a dilemma: cut himself of from his family entirely or help his brother out with his peculiar request.
The highly unusual request mentioned in the blurb of <i>The Ice-Cream Makers</i> does not actually surface until the latter stages of the book. For the majority of the narrative there is no clear storyline, however the detail and information van der Kwast provides about ice-cream making, poetry and European culture makes the novel entirely worth reading. The request itself is entirely unexpected and not at all possible to guess, but it is an oddly brilliant way of reuniting two estranged brothers.
It takes a while for the narrative to start flowing as it constantly changes time periods. Giovanni, the narrator, rarely speaks in the present tense and is constantly relating events from his childhood and adulthood interspersed with family history and historical knowledge. On occasion the book takes on the air of an autobiography as Giovanni gives an in depth insight to the life of his family and his break from tradition. There is also the odd chapter that becomes almost a work of non-fiction, providing the reader with highbrow literary references and factual information about the history of ice-cream.
Once the scenes caused by the male sexual mind have been glossed over, <i>The Ice-Cream Makers</i> becomes a beautifully written, almost poetical story that compels and engages the reader despite the lack of a clear-cut storyline. The literary references will appeal to the intellectual, scholar, philosopher or culture enthusiast, for this novel teaches and inspires as well as entertains.
The amount of research van der Kwast conducted is phenomenal. The accuracy (or so is presumed) of the historical factors implies the author had thoroughly investigated the subject matter prior to writing. It is almost as though van der Kwast lived the life of Giovanni; it is entirely believable – hence the sense of an autobiography. Although the nature of the novel’s theme suggests a serious tone, van der Kwast has included a great deal of humour in the form of Giovanni and Luca’s father and his questionable mental health.
The lack of a climax prevents <i>The Ice-Cream Makers</i> from being described as an exciting book, however its beautifully poetic prose makes up for this absence. The philosophical insight into poetry will make you think about life and admire Giovanni for insisting on making his own way in the world. Likewise, Luca’s quiet acceptance and perseverance in the family business is also an admirable feat. Readers with a dislike for descriptive sexual scenarios may feel uncomfortable in a few of the resulting scenes, however the general story compensates for these distasteful passages. All in all, a high-quality work of fiction.
Sweet Baby Girl Christmas Fun 2 - No Ads
Games and Education
App
Who are these adorable Santa's helpers? Holiday season is here and Sweet Baby Girl with her best...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated A Parfait Murder in Books
Dec 9, 2019
Can Tally Clear Her Cousin of the Parfait Crime?
The country fair is in fully swing, and Tully Jones is hopping between her ice cream store and the booth she’s set up at the fair. Things get even more complicated when her cousin Bree’s ex-husband Sonny walks back into town after fifteen years. Bree is considering going after him for years of back child support, but before that can happen, he slaps her with a paternity suit, trying to claim that Alice isn’t really his daughter. The next day, Sonny’s lawyer is shot inside the haunted rodeo attraction at the fair, and the only other person in the ride is Bree. Tally can’t believe her cousin would do something like this, and Bree flat out denies it. But who else could it have been?
This is a great third book in the series. I loved the twist on the locked room puzzle presented here. There are several good suspects and clues that kept me reading as Tully worked to match the right suspect with the ability to pull off the crime. I also love the characters. Tully and her family are strong, and their relationships go through quite a bit here. I appreciate the growth it showed us for them. Naturally, the suspects are just as strong. I also appreciated that the characters understood why the police were focusing on Bree. They disagreed, but they worked to change their minds. Naturally, as an ice cream lover, I also enjoyed the ice cream descriptions. The book left me smiling and yearning for ice cream.
This is a great third book in the series. I loved the twist on the locked room puzzle presented here. There are several good suspects and clues that kept me reading as Tully worked to match the right suspect with the ability to pull off the crime. I also love the characters. Tully and her family are strong, and their relationships go through quite a bit here. I appreciate the growth it showed us for them. Naturally, the suspects are just as strong. I also appreciated that the characters understood why the police were focusing on Bree. They disagreed, but they worked to change their minds. Naturally, as an ice cream lover, I also enjoyed the ice cream descriptions. The book left me smiling and yearning for ice cream.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated A Deadly Inside Scoop in Books
Jul 17, 2020
An Opening Scoop of Murder
Bronwyn “Win” Crewse is ready to reopen Crewse Creamery, the ice cream parlor founded by her grandparents in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, after some renovations. Unfortunately, opening day sees an early October snow storm and no customers. However, Win’s day gets even worse when she stumbles upon a dead body after she’s closed the shop for the day. The man turns out to be someone who crossed paths with Win’s family years ago, and not for the better. Before Win knows it, the police are looking at her father as the killer. Now, Win needs to figure out what really happened so she can clear him of a crime she knows he didn’t commit. Can she do that and get customers into the ice cream parlor?
I love ice cream, so that was a draw to this series, and the ice cream descriptions definitely made me drool. The delicious sounding recipes at the end will help with that. The mystery started out a little slowly. It did eventually get going, and we had some good suspects and twists before Win figured everything out. The characters were a mixed bag. I loved Win, and her family is wonderful as well. I especially appreciated the close relationship she has with both her parents and her grandfather. Her friends were more caricatures than fully developed characters, and as a result, they amused me at times and annoyed me at others. I can see them getting more developed as the series goes along, however. This is still a tasty treat, and I can see it developing into a favorite series for many.
I love ice cream, so that was a draw to this series, and the ice cream descriptions definitely made me drool. The delicious sounding recipes at the end will help with that. The mystery started out a little slowly. It did eventually get going, and we had some good suspects and twists before Win figured everything out. The characters were a mixed bag. I loved Win, and her family is wonderful as well. I especially appreciated the close relationship she has with both her parents and her grandfather. Her friends were more caricatures than fully developed characters, and as a result, they amused me at times and annoyed me at others. I can see them getting more developed as the series goes along, however. This is still a tasty treat, and I can see it developing into a favorite series for many.