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Taqueria: New-Style Fun and Friendly Mexican Cooking
Book
Taqueria is an homage to the best of Mexican cuisine. Across four chapters (Flavor Fiestas; Salsas,...
I've seen The Tempest, and so I was interested to see an origin story for Sycorax - the most powerful witch of Algiers. Except she isn't the evil monster that Shakespeare has written about. In this story, she is a child, a girl and a young woman. A young woman who knows too much and is too different to the others in her village, protected by her parents up until the point where they are no longer able to protect her.
I love the way in this is written - it's lyrical with a nod to the style of Shakespeare, Nydia Hetherington gives a reason for Sycorax's differences: her physical difference is due to illness and injury, her witch qualities are due to the fact that she simply knows too much for a woman in a time where women shouldn't have known anything beyond childbirth, motherhood and housework.
And then there's the element of magic that runs throughout the novel - which is always a winner as far as I'm concerned. A really enjoyable novel.
I love the way in this is written - it's lyrical with a nod to the style of Shakespeare, Nydia Hetherington gives a reason for Sycorax's differences: her physical difference is due to illness and injury, her witch qualities are due to the fact that she simply knows too much for a woman in a time where women shouldn't have known anything beyond childbirth, motherhood and housework.
And then there's the element of magic that runs throughout the novel - which is always a winner as far as I'm concerned. A really enjoyable novel.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2464 KP) rated The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! in Books
Aug 14, 2019
Is Pigeon Ready for a New Experience?
Pigeon has just learned that he has to start attending school. Surely, he doesn’t have to do that. After all, he already knows everything. Will there be math? There are too many letters! And Pigeon is not a morning bird. Will anything be able to change his mind?
Author Mo Willems continues to find ways to tell stories using only pictures and dialogue that keep us engaged. This is another fast yet entertaining read. Most kids are excited about getting to go to school, but this book should help those who might be more reluctant and will entertain all kids. While Pigeon presents some reasons to not go to school that kids might not have thought of, by the end he is very excited about the prospect. (Personally, I still understand Pigeon’s concern about not being a morning bird.) I appreciated the nod to one of Pigeon’s earlier books. The stylized illustrations are a delight as always and really do help tell the story. Whether you have a kid starting school soon or not, you and your kid will enjoy this book.
Author Mo Willems continues to find ways to tell stories using only pictures and dialogue that keep us engaged. This is another fast yet entertaining read. Most kids are excited about getting to go to school, but this book should help those who might be more reluctant and will entertain all kids. While Pigeon presents some reasons to not go to school that kids might not have thought of, by the end he is very excited about the prospect. (Personally, I still understand Pigeon’s concern about not being a morning bird.) I appreciated the nod to one of Pigeon’s earlier books. The stylized illustrations are a delight as always and really do help tell the story. Whether you have a kid starting school soon or not, you and your kid will enjoy this book.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Dead Don't Die (2019) in Movies
Jul 20, 2019 (Updated Jul 20, 2019)
Bemusingly inert zombie pastiche/comedy. The good people of Centerville, USA, find themselves besieged when 'polar fracking' shifts the world off its orbit and raises the dead. Is anyone going to make it through the night?
Sounds like a knowing pastiche of B-movie tropes (there indeed appears to be a nod to Plan Nine from Outer Space at one point), and indeed it is, but if this is really a comedy they forgot to add any jokes. There are some amusing moments and the zombie-pocalypse is certainly well staged, but the film seems more concerned with cultivating a baffling, deadpan weirdness than actually telling a coherent story. For instance: Tilda Swinton plays the town's undertaker, a sword-swinging eccentric with a Highland Scots accent. The punchline? Tilda Swinton's character is called Zelda Winston! Oh, my sides. Various other bits of self-aware cleverness also intrude. Characters appear, don't do much, and then exit; Romero is referenced without any new angles being taken on his ideas; there is no conclusion worthy of the name. If the film is trying to send a message about pointlessness and futility, it needn't have taken it quite so much to heart.
Sounds like a knowing pastiche of B-movie tropes (there indeed appears to be a nod to Plan Nine from Outer Space at one point), and indeed it is, but if this is really a comedy they forgot to add any jokes. There are some amusing moments and the zombie-pocalypse is certainly well staged, but the film seems more concerned with cultivating a baffling, deadpan weirdness than actually telling a coherent story. For instance: Tilda Swinton plays the town's undertaker, a sword-swinging eccentric with a Highland Scots accent. The punchline? Tilda Swinton's character is called Zelda Winston! Oh, my sides. Various other bits of self-aware cleverness also intrude. Characters appear, don't do much, and then exit; Romero is referenced without any new angles being taken on his ideas; there is no conclusion worthy of the name. If the film is trying to send a message about pointlessness and futility, it needn't have taken it quite so much to heart.
Peter_mark84 (59 KP) rated Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) in Movies
Jul 2, 2019
Great actors (2 more)
Amazing cinematography
Best sfx in marvel since Dr Strange
Swinging success
No spoilers. Just a quick review this time round. I really enjoyed this film, it works well with the tone of MCU post Endgame.
The cinematography is amazing and very well do. Worth paying extra to watch in IMAX. All the actors perform their characters outstanding and Jake Gyllnhall is amazing as Mysterio. Showing again another Interesting marvel character in a newer MCU light.
There are plenty of laughs as there have always been with spidey on the big screen. There is just something about Holland that makes him the perfect Spider-man, cheeky and awkward, noble and cocky. Just enough broodiness to be relatable. Unlike certain other animal theme super heroes (not Ant-Man).
Marvel however like DC do love a good old nod to the past and fans of the Raimi Trilogy will get a kick of the mid credits scene.
All I can say is bring on phase 4, on and marvel/ Disney give us the pairing we all want. Holland and Reynolds
The cinematography is amazing and very well do. Worth paying extra to watch in IMAX. All the actors perform their characters outstanding and Jake Gyllnhall is amazing as Mysterio. Showing again another Interesting marvel character in a newer MCU light.
There are plenty of laughs as there have always been with spidey on the big screen. There is just something about Holland that makes him the perfect Spider-man, cheeky and awkward, noble and cocky. Just enough broodiness to be relatable. Unlike certain other animal theme super heroes (not Ant-Man).
Marvel however like DC do love a good old nod to the past and fans of the Raimi Trilogy will get a kick of the mid credits scene.
All I can say is bring on phase 4, on and marvel/ Disney give us the pairing we all want. Holland and Reynolds
Sarah (7800 KP) rated A Gate at the Stairs in Books
Feb 9, 2020
Not bad but ultimately forgettable
I read this as part of a local reading group I’ve joined recently, and I was sceptical as some of the Goodreads reviews are scathing to say the least. However fortunately this isn’t as bad as others seem to think.
The problem is that this book is mostly forgettable. The writing is rather good, although does have a tendency to ramble off at rather bizarre tangents. I’m not sure if this is meant to be a nod to the disjointed and random thoughts of the narrator, but for me this didn’t quite work. When it got a little rambling I found my mind began to wander and I ended up skim reading more than I should. I also struggled with the anti-racism group, while they didn’t feature too often when they did their inane ramblings and chat I just couldn’t stand. Despite this the rest of the book isn’t too bad. Tassie is a rather shambolic protagonist and for the most part not very sympathetic or endearing. But the development of her and her friends and family is engaging enough to keep you reading, even if sadly this book is ultimately forgettable.
The problem is that this book is mostly forgettable. The writing is rather good, although does have a tendency to ramble off at rather bizarre tangents. I’m not sure if this is meant to be a nod to the disjointed and random thoughts of the narrator, but for me this didn’t quite work. When it got a little rambling I found my mind began to wander and I ended up skim reading more than I should. I also struggled with the anti-racism group, while they didn’t feature too often when they did their inane ramblings and chat I just couldn’t stand. Despite this the rest of the book isn’t too bad. Tassie is a rather shambolic protagonist and for the most part not very sympathetic or endearing. But the development of her and her friends and family is engaging enough to keep you reading, even if sadly this book is ultimately forgettable.
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