Sign up
Search
Advanced search settings

Search only in certain items:

Search results
All (1944)
Content
People
Apps
Books
Orbs
Movies
Music
Podcasts
Shows
Tabletop Games
Tech
TV
Video Games
YouTube Channels
Videos
40x40

Sarah (7800 KP) rated Cycle of the Werewolf in Books

Jul 4, 2020 (Updated Jul 4, 2020)  
Cycle of the Werewolf
Cycle of the Werewolf
Stephen King | 1985 | Fiction & Poetry, Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
8.1 (14 Ratings)
Book Rating
A little too short
I'm all for a Stephen King short story/novella and as this goes this is a very good story, it's just far too short. The fact that this has been released as a separate book in it's own right is rather astounding. Not because it's not an enjoyable story, as it is, but because it doesn't even reach 130 pages. And these are very large type face, spread out pages with lots of pages of (admittedly beautiful) illustrations.

I'm guessing the illustrations are the reason why this was released on it's own, and these are some stunning illustrations, but I don't necessarily think they justify releasing this as a sole book. Despite this though, it is still a well structured and written and overall entertaining short story.
  
40x40

Nigella Lawson recommended Tonio Kroger in Books (curated)

 
Tonio Kroger
Tonio Kroger
Thomas Mann | 1998 | Fiction & Poetry
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"I know that the novella "Tonio Kroger" is not Thomas Mann’s greatest work. There is some part of me that feels that I should be putting up “Buddenbrooks” or “The Magic Mountain” here. And there’s a strong case for “Death in Venice,” too. But this is the book of his that felled me completely when I read it as a German student in my teens. All Mann’s enduring themes are here: the struggle between duty and love, between the febrile pleasure and teutonic responsibility; and the lethal vulnerability of the lover, set against the wanton cruel power of the beloved. It’s an anguished worldview, which is what spoke so directly to the adolescent reader I was, but no one reads Thomas Mann for woo-woo life-enhancing sentimentality."

Source
  
40x40

Zadie Smith recommended Pnin in Books (curated)

 
Pnin
Pnin
Vladimir Nabokov | 2000 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"This novella is explicitly a book about ridicule and caricature—Professor Pnin is a joke of a man on a college campus. He’s an awkward Russian émigré with bad English, false teeth, a clumsy sense of humor, a tendency to burst into tears or take offense at small slights. Everybody on campus can do an impression of him. He’s a clown. But at the core of the book is the idea that there is a Pnin who is as real as the people who ridicule him. You are invited to laugh at him, and then you are humbled and shamed by your own laughter. It’s a gorgeous, hilarious, humane book that uncovers the reality of a man’s life in sly, piecemeal fashion. I think it’s my favorite novel."

Source
  
40x40

Kristina (502 KP) rated Initium (Nocte Trilogy #2.5) in Books

Dec 7, 2020  
Initium (Nocte Trilogy #2.5)
Initium (Nocte Trilogy #2.5)
Courtney Cole | 2015
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
Thank you! I'm so glad Courtney decided to write a novella from Olivia's point of view. Perhaps I'm the only one who hadn't figured it out, but for the life of me, I couldn't understand the connection between Dare and the Savage family. I mean, I knew Richard was his stepfather, but I didn't know how they all came to be together. It was nice to finally get that all straightened out, even if I do feel just as confused and crazy as I do when reading Nocte and Verum. One thing I am happy about: It's good to know that Olivia kind of went crazy on her own and not that Dare drove her crazy because he killed Richard when she was in the bed next to him.
  
40x40

Sarah (7800 KP) rated In the Tall Grass (2019) in Movies

Oct 5, 2019  
In the Tall Grass (2019)
In the Tall Grass (2019)
2019 | Drama, Horror, Thriller
5
5.4 (30 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Just bizarre
I love a good Stephen King story and while I haven’t read the novella this film is based on, I’m not convinced about this adaptation as it’s just plain old weird.

I won’t say a lot because of spoilers, but there are some aspects of this film that are quite good but for me they were spoilt by the fact that this is just set in tall grass, and that’s not scary or particularly suspenseful. The cast are mostly good but it gets a bit hammy at times and the sheer craziness of some of the scenes just makes it all a bit ridiculous. There are some good ideas in this, it’s just a shame it’s spoilt by a lot of bonkers goings on and a rather lacklustre setting.