Debbiereadsbook (1194 KP) rated Alaska (Sawyer's Ferry #1) in Books
Jun 17, 2018
I really REALLY enjoyed this, I really did!
Holden is sent by his father to Alaska to fetch Gage back to work with their medical research team. Holden is faced with an impossible task: Bring Gage back, or lose everything. His home, his job, his every last penny. But Gage had left two years before and has no plans to return. Having Holden in his home after being caught in a storm, Gage decides he might as well takes whats offered, since Holden will be gone in a few days, right??
First person, multi point of view is not one of my favourite ways for a book to be written, but I did enjoy it here.
Gage and Holden have instant chemistry, and it's only when Gage makes Holden see he is not leaving Alaska, does Holden make a move. I liked that whatever is going on between them, creeps up on them both, and neither saw it coming, although when it was getting near to Holden making his decision, it was getting tense.
I liked that Gage stuck to his moral grounds over the medical research, and I did not see what happened with Holden's father coming at me, not at all!
It's not overly explicit, nor is it violent. It's a great easy read and I read it in one sitting.
A really easy, GOOD read!
4 stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Lou Grande (148 KP) rated Sorry to Bother You (2018) in Movies
Jul 17, 2018
Brilliantly shot and directed, Sorry to Bother You is a delight to watch. Every actor is on point, and the comedic timing never skips a beat. But it's not without a message, and it won't be hard to decipher. Sorry to Bother You is a satire in the purest of forms--and what is being satirized is us. After it's over, it invites you to take a moment to reflect on your own life, and what part you play in the world. Excellent, relevant film. Highly recommend.
(Also, I have to add that I saw this at a weekday afternoon matinee, and the audience was full of old white people. They looked less than pleased as we were walking out. What did you think this was??)
Awix (3310 KP) rated Peterloo (2018) in Movies
Nov 9, 2018 (Updated Nov 9, 2018)
Not quite as punishingly didactic as it sounds, but this may not have been intentional: what may also have been an accident is how close the film frequently comes to being actually quite funny. There are some spectacular wigs and hats, startling accents, and very broad performances from most of the cast - it almost feels like a parody of a bad costume drama in places. There's a scene where a family of semi-literate mill-workers pause to discuss the economic effects of the Corn Laws in some detail, mostly for the audience's benefit, while another scene arguably recycles a Monty Python gag. Casting someone from Blackadder as the Prince Regent was probably a misstep, too.
Still, it all reeks with conviction and moral outrage, and in the end the Peterloo massacre itself is staged quite well - though I still think it could have been handled slightly more cinematically. This is the movie equivalent of someone who hands out the Socialist Worker in the street: the intentions are so laudable that you kind of feel obliged to indulge the earnest lack of self-awareness. Looks quite good too.
ClareR (5716 KP) rated Slaughter and Forgetting (Josef Slonsky Investigations #2) in Books
Dec 4, 2018
This time, he’s solving a thirty year old murder, after an elderly ex-policeman asks him to reopen the case. This appears unlikely to happen, until Holoubek (the elderly policeman) is killed in a hit and run.
We’re introduced to a new character, Peiperova, a female police officer, who Navratil certainly has a soft spot for. I think she is going to feature a lot in the books that follow!
There’s a lot of humour in this book, especially the darker variety. We are given an insight in to the communist past of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and it isn’t all nice. Some is quite amusing though: a trade deal with Hungary that involved trading Hi-Fi’s for toasters!!
For all Slonsky’s apparent laziness, he is actually very good at what he does. He has a moral code - he hates to see people get hurt, and a lot of thought goes into this case (even if it is done whilst sat in a bar, beer in hand!).
I’m a big fan of Slonsky. I love his fast wit, and the way that he tries to cover up a razor sharp mind - with a camouflage of pastries, beer and sausage!
I’ll be adding the next Slonsky book to my kindle ASAP!
Many thanks to Sapere books for my copy of this great book.
ClareR (5716 KP) rated Do You Dream of Terra-Two? in Books
Jan 30, 2019
The characters fascinated me. There was a lot of character development, and I enjoyed it all. The lead up to getting on the ship was quite long, but I really think it was needed. We could see how controlled these young people were, what such an intense life created in them, and their own reasons for their overwhelming commitment.
The prose is gorgeous though. The descriptions of Earth and Space, the inner lives of the astronauts, all had me aching to be there to be honest. For the record, I did a reading challenge a few years ago, where one of the challenges was 'a book set somewhere you would like to go'. I chose 'The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber. Space, and people's imaginings of it, has ALWAYS fascinated me.
And that ending!!! I just love an open ended book. Whether there will be more (I would read a follow up to be honest), is immaterial to me. I loved this book!!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my copy of this book
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