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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2494 KP) rated Stuff Dreams Are Made of in Books
Feb 16, 2023
“There May Have Been a Murder”
Skip Lesser and James Moore have renovated James’s truck to use it to serve food at the revival meetings being help by Reverend Cashdollar. They quickly start to hear rumors of several deaths connected to this ministry, including someone Skip met 10 years ago. Will they figure out what is going on over the course of the weekend?
Obviously, this “reverend” is not preaching anything I would consider Biblical, and I appreciated the fact that I never got the feeling anyone was taking it seriously as such. While this set up might sound like it, this isn’t a cozy, with a liberal amount of foul language and a bit more violence. The pacing was very uneven, with some page turning twists and suspenseful scenes being slowed down by lots of recaps and talking. Still, I do like Skip and James and their struggles with life in general. I don’t think this will be a favorite series, but I’m glad I am finally getting to book two.
Obviously, this “reverend” is not preaching anything I would consider Biblical, and I appreciated the fact that I never got the feeling anyone was taking it seriously as such. While this set up might sound like it, this isn’t a cozy, with a liberal amount of foul language and a bit more violence. The pacing was very uneven, with some page turning twists and suspenseful scenes being slowed down by lots of recaps and talking. Still, I do like Skip and James and their struggles with life in general. I don’t think this will be a favorite series, but I’m glad I am finally getting to book two.
imPerfect Fae (The imPerfect Cathar #3)
Book
Body-jacking a legendary assassin when I’m running on empty. No problem, right? After the last...
Dark Humour Supernatural Mystery
David McK (3721 KP) rated Infernal Devices (Mortal Engines #3) in Books
Dec 12, 2021
Third entry in Philip Reeve 's Mortal Engines quartet, set 16 years after the end of Predator's Gold, and which largely shifts the focus away from Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw onto their daughter Wren, whilst also - at least in the first section - finishing off the story of Freya and Caul (the former Lost Boy).
As before, I found this to be uncertain of its own identity: the language and general style of the prose would lead you to believe it was written for children (or even the so-called tweenage audience), but then you get into the 'meat' of the story, with child slavery, death and mutilation all abounding!
Professor Pennyroyal also makes a return, with Hester Shaw herself coming across more - in this - as a complex anti-villain than she did in the previous entries, and with this also seeing the return of the Stalkers Shrike and Fang, both of whom largely drive the plot.
Worth a read, but maybe not the best 'jumping-on' point.
As before, I found this to be uncertain of its own identity: the language and general style of the prose would lead you to believe it was written for children (or even the so-called tweenage audience), but then you get into the 'meat' of the story, with child slavery, death and mutilation all abounding!
Professor Pennyroyal also makes a return, with Hester Shaw herself coming across more - in this - as a complex anti-villain than she did in the previous entries, and with this also seeing the return of the Stalkers Shrike and Fang, both of whom largely drive the plot.
Worth a read, but maybe not the best 'jumping-on' point.
Hydromancist (7 Forbidden Arts #4)
10.0
Rate It
Book
She's sleeping with him. She lied to him. She loves him. Can she destroy him? Tough and...
Adult Paranormal Romance
In the Meantime
Book
Are you ready for a thrilling adventure in the post-apocalyptic world? Try Cozy Apocalypse Books ...
apocalypse cozy mystery
Lhosae (6 KP) rated Kati Morton in YouTube Channels
Apr 2, 2025 (Updated Apr 2, 2025)
Clear, understandable way of speaking. (3 more)
Easy to understand points - provides context and educates where necessary.
Engages with her viewers.
Provides resources and advice.
Kati Morton - Review.
Kati Morton hosts a channel centered around mental health and psychology, aimed at educating those with mental health problems, their loved ones or simply folks who just want to learn.
Kati has a great grasp of the English language, making it easy to understand and connect with her content. She speaks moderately fast - slow enough to be understandable and fast enough to be engaging. Her voice is very soothing, very pleasing to listen to.
When she presents her points, she educates her audience with short snippets of important information. She provides context on many of her points and patiently explains different aspects of mental health, self-care, and psychology to her viewers.
She answers her viewers' questions and frequently responds to comments.
More often than not she provides advice (fantastic example of that is the "Hoq to help someone" playlist) and resources, for free.
I definitely recommend her channel.
Kati has a great grasp of the English language, making it easy to understand and connect with her content. She speaks moderately fast - slow enough to be understandable and fast enough to be engaging. Her voice is very soothing, very pleasing to listen to.
When she presents her points, she educates her audience with short snippets of important information. She provides context on many of her points and patiently explains different aspects of mental health, self-care, and psychology to her viewers.
She answers her viewers' questions and frequently responds to comments.
More often than not she provides advice (fantastic example of that is the "Hoq to help someone" playlist) and resources, for free.
I definitely recommend her channel.
Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) rated A Portable Shelter in Books
May 13, 2017
‘…there’s no other way to give you the truth except to hide it in a story and let you find your own way inside.’
‘…there’s no other way to give you the truth except to hide it in a story and let you find your own way inside.’
Kirsty Logan’s first collection of short stories, The Rental Heart and Other Fairytales, published by Salt in 2014, won the Polari First Book Prize in 2015. A Portable Shelter is her second collection. Set in a small cottage in the rural north coast of Scotland, Ruth and Liska are expecting their first child. The couple believe that their unborn baby will have a better chance of survival away from the harshness of suburban life. They make a pact with one another, that they will only ever tell their child the truth. Yet while Liska is asleep or Ruth is at work, each whispers secret stories to their unborn child. Delving into fantastical tales about people from their past and re-telling stories that span from generation to generation, the couple unfold the horrors of the real world. Whilst these tales, laced in myth and legend, and fattened with the magic of the imagination, demonstrate the art of oral storytelling, Logan reaches further to show the reader why storytelling is important.
While this book is primarily a collection of short stories, its novel like structure frames each story with a preceding monologue from either Ruth or Liska. The monologues offer delightful morsels of description that bring the harshness of Mother Nature into the safety of the couple’s bedroom, “right now our home is speaking to you. The walls creak their approval in the wind. The rain applauds on the roof. The lighthouse beam swoops, swoops, swoops. The tide breathes loud and slow like a giant. If you listen carefully, perhaps you can even hear the moon hum.” The pace of these sentences, combined with the delicacy of language demonstrates Logan’s skill at describing the sublime spirit of the natural world, which brings the narrative to life.
Most impressive though, is Logan’s poetic language and carefully crafted sentences which create the most beautiful imagery. In ‘Flinch,’ for example – James is a fisherman struggling with his identity, yet his affiliation with the land is locked into his first-person point of view where the reader gets to closely experience what he sees, “The sky is pinkish-grey like the insides of shells. Speckled bonxies wheel overhead. Seals loll on the rocks, fat as kings. The rising mist is cool and milky.” Any of these lines could easily be arranged into a poem and with sentences that are squeezed tight; they create a wonderful poetic rhythm. Logan uses this technique throughout her novel, demonstrating the precision and craft in her work. There are definite similarities in her writing style to fellow Scottish novelist and poet Jenni Fagan. Both authors use rich language, which is well crafted and smattered with vernacular. Furthermore, combining this with the reoccurring theme of identity, the oral storytelling tradition, landscape, folklore, and myth, it is clear to see why these authors contribute to the growing canon in Scottish literature.
This is a book that I will read over and over again because I know that in each reading, I will find something new. A Portable Shelter, I feel, deserves a place on my ‘keep’ book shelf.
A Portable Shelter, Kirsty Logan, London: Vintage, 2015
Kirsty Logan’s first collection of short stories, The Rental Heart and Other Fairytales, published by Salt in 2014, won the Polari First Book Prize in 2015. A Portable Shelter is her second collection. Set in a small cottage in the rural north coast of Scotland, Ruth and Liska are expecting their first child. The couple believe that their unborn baby will have a better chance of survival away from the harshness of suburban life. They make a pact with one another, that they will only ever tell their child the truth. Yet while Liska is asleep or Ruth is at work, each whispers secret stories to their unborn child. Delving into fantastical tales about people from their past and re-telling stories that span from generation to generation, the couple unfold the horrors of the real world. Whilst these tales, laced in myth and legend, and fattened with the magic of the imagination, demonstrate the art of oral storytelling, Logan reaches further to show the reader why storytelling is important.
While this book is primarily a collection of short stories, its novel like structure frames each story with a preceding monologue from either Ruth or Liska. The monologues offer delightful morsels of description that bring the harshness of Mother Nature into the safety of the couple’s bedroom, “right now our home is speaking to you. The walls creak their approval in the wind. The rain applauds on the roof. The lighthouse beam swoops, swoops, swoops. The tide breathes loud and slow like a giant. If you listen carefully, perhaps you can even hear the moon hum.” The pace of these sentences, combined with the delicacy of language demonstrates Logan’s skill at describing the sublime spirit of the natural world, which brings the narrative to life.
Most impressive though, is Logan’s poetic language and carefully crafted sentences which create the most beautiful imagery. In ‘Flinch,’ for example – James is a fisherman struggling with his identity, yet his affiliation with the land is locked into his first-person point of view where the reader gets to closely experience what he sees, “The sky is pinkish-grey like the insides of shells. Speckled bonxies wheel overhead. Seals loll on the rocks, fat as kings. The rising mist is cool and milky.” Any of these lines could easily be arranged into a poem and with sentences that are squeezed tight; they create a wonderful poetic rhythm. Logan uses this technique throughout her novel, demonstrating the precision and craft in her work. There are definite similarities in her writing style to fellow Scottish novelist and poet Jenni Fagan. Both authors use rich language, which is well crafted and smattered with vernacular. Furthermore, combining this with the reoccurring theme of identity, the oral storytelling tradition, landscape, folklore, and myth, it is clear to see why these authors contribute to the growing canon in Scottish literature.
This is a book that I will read over and over again because I know that in each reading, I will find something new. A Portable Shelter, I feel, deserves a place on my ‘keep’ book shelf.
A Portable Shelter, Kirsty Logan, London: Vintage, 2015
Read Me Stories: Learn to Read
Education and Book
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In just 15 minutes a day, teach your child to read with confidence using Read Me Stories. Read Me...