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When the Game Was Ours
When the Game Was Ours
Larry Bird | 2010 | History & Politics, Sport & Leisure
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I am a huge NBA basketball fan, with a special love of the game from the 80s--00s. I also really love journalist Jackie MacMullan, so when I received this book through a bookswap, I was quite excited. Obviously it probably appeals to a particular set of people, but if you love NBA basketball and detailed retellings of events that already occurred, then this book is for you. Larry Bird and Magic Johnson recount events to MacMullan, starting from childhood and going through their multiple NBA championships (and a bit beyond). The focus is on their similarities--and the fact that they rose up in basketball at the same time, became fierce rivals, but also friends.

I'll confess that the bulk of the Magic and Bird rivalry was just a little ahead of my time. I fell hard for the NBA with the Chicago Bulls and MJ (both parents being from the Chicago suburbs), so, of course, I knew Bird and Magic, and saw them play a bit, but I missed most of their true heyday.

Still, I found this book absolutely fascinating. I learned so much I didn't know--especially about Magic and the racism he faced, about Magic and Kareem, and about Larry's background. It was intensely detailed. I loved how similar the two were in some ways--both so basketball-minded--yet so different in their personalities (Magic so open and brash, Larry so private and shy).

I also loved how much the late David Stern appeared in this book. I hadn't realized the depth of how much David came up with Bird and Magic in the league--combining their success with his amazing acumen to build the league into what it is today. MacMullan and Magic's discussion of Magic's HIV diagnosis is amazing (and heartbreaking) and the way Stern reacted is honestly visionary.

Overall, if you don't like basketball, you probably wouldn't gravitate to this book, yet it's so informative and factual, that if you love learning new things, I would still recommend it. It's not a fast read--I usually read one or two chapters a night after finishing whatever fiction read I was reading that evening--but it made up for it in how compelling and factual it was. Certainly worth a read and a huge find for any basketball fan. 4+ stars.
  
Willow (1988)
Willow (1988)
1988 | Action, Adventure, Drama
Fun
A fun look at magic in a different way. I used to love watching this movie when I was younger but, now I was more into the hobbit forms of this type of movie. Val Kilmer gives a great preformance and the underdog hero.
  
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
2018 | Family
A ton of fun (1 more)
Emily Blunt
Very similar story beats to the original (0 more)
Despite not quite ever recapturing the magic of the original, Mary Poppins Returns was the most fun I had watching a movie this year.

Full Review:
https://www.bohanreviews.com/post/mary-poppins-returns
  
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Erika (17788 KP) rated Conversion in Books

Feb 24, 2018  
Conversion
Conversion
Katherine Howe | 2014 | Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I loved this novel. It was nicely paced, and the setting was so perfect for this. I did read up on conversion, and it does happen, which made it slightly creepier. At the end, you're left with the question, was there magic involved after all?
  
The Harry Potter Collection 1-4 (Harry Potter, #1-4)
The Harry Potter Collection 1-4 (Harry Potter, #1-4)
J.K. Rowling | 1999 | Fiction & Poetry
10
9.6 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have always been a huge fan of Harry Potter, I love the world and the magic and the characters. I can't even pick a favourite book/movie. Harry potter is a series you can always come back to and love time and time again
  
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Morgan Sheppard (926 KP) created a post

Jan 6, 2021  
Fire in the Rain finds trouble once more in the island of Wraidd Elfennol. Will the Chosen of Fire and Water succeed? Or are the inhabitants doomed to live forever beneath the shadows of Cysgod?

#Epic, #Fantasy, #Myth, #Magic, #FREE on #KU

https://books2read.com/FireintheRain
     
Soul (2020)
Soul (2020)
2020 | Adventure, Animation, Comedy
Meh. It kind of felt soul-less to me? (haha, pun intended)

It definitely had some incredible moments, moments where I could see the magic, but it didn't hold me and grip me like I wanted it to. Enjoyable, but not up to Disney's standards.