Skin by Joy Crookes
Album
Skin is the debut studio album by British-Irish-Bangladeshi singer-songwriter Joy Crookes, released...
Merissa (13979 KP) created a post
May 28, 2026
What did I think to it? It was okay. It was readable. It had a certain charm. Was it amazing? Unfortunately, for me, it fell a little flat and that's difficult for me to say as I love reading Andy's work.
I don't know whether it's because I'm a woman myself but it was quite clear that she'd been written by a man. There were certain elements about her which were reminiscent of Mark Watney and for me it didn't quite work.
That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the book, but it was slow-paced and didn't really pick up until half way through. It's not likely to be one I'd read again. It had big shoes to fill after The Martian, which remains a steady favorite for me.
I hope Andy isn't too discouraged by my review. I did like reading Artemis, it just wasn't groundbreaking for me. Still, I remain a fan of his work and hope he continues to write more novels.
Update: I read somewhere that Andy said Jazz was more like himself and had more of his personality than Mark did. Andy, if this is true please promise me (if you do this) to stop saying things like "Let's bang." 😛
Andy K (10823 KP) rated The Cotton Club (1984) in Movies
Jul 28, 2019
Director Francis Ford Coppola I'm sure was hoping to recreate the magic of the 1920s/1930s jazz club gangster era as he did with The Godfather in this film and it just didn't work. It seemed I just didn't care about the characters nearly as much and the case just wasn't up to it. Any time you have James Remar is your main bad guy in a film you are in trouble.
The highlight of the film for me was all the great jazz music, large vaudeville song and dance numbers and great tap dancing scenes with the great Gregory Hines. It was cool to see a very young "Larry" Fishburne and lots of other people you know from other movies, but it just wasn't enough. Nicolas Cage overacting (I know what a shocker) and over the top violence just to have over the top violence.
You won't find the caliber of Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall or James Caan here.
I really wanted to love this film as it has been on my "to watch" list for a long time; however, I was ultimately disappointed.
Here and Now!: The Autobiography of Pat Martino
Pat Martino and Bill Milkowski
Book
By age 16, Pat Martino was already working as a member of R and B star Lloyd Price's touring musical...
A Kind of Magic: Art Deco Vanity Cases
Sarah Hue-Williams and Peter Edwards
Book
After 1918, post-war euphoria spread across Europe and America. Technology was changing the pace of...
Dead Man's Blues
1.0
Rate It
Book
Dead Man's Blues is the gripping historical crime novel from Ray Celestin, the author of The...
Backing Tracks - A song in a second
Music and Utilities
App
A song in a second Make a Song in a second and export it to iTunes. It is easy to use, sounds...
Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Music Made New in New York City in the ’70s
Book
Crime was everywhere, the government was broke and the city's infrastructure was collapsing, but...