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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Riot Days in Books

Sep 26, 2017  
Riot Days
Riot Days
Maria Alyokhina | 2017 | Gender Studies, History & Politics
8
7.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Brave account of fighting injustice from a Russian prison
Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is an intriguing diary of political activist and Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina. It is heartfelt and almost despairing at times when Alyokhina describes the squalid conditions that she has to be imprisoned in after protesting in a church in Russia. However, her heroic efforts in jail even allowed her to gain some small victories, which makes her an activist through and through. From hunger strikes to taking prison guards to court, her determination should be lauded.

The copy that I received was unformatted making it a little difficult to follow new threads, but reading it as a journal definitely makes more sense as there are small blocks of personal day to day meanderings and quotes.
  
J Is for Judgment
J Is for Judgment
Sue Grafton | 1993 | Mystery
10
8.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
I Judge This to be Another Excellent Book
Kinsey is surprised to be hired once again by California Fidelity. They’ve just paid out a claim on Wendell Jaffe’s life insurance five years after his supposed dead at sea only to hear he’s been spotted down in Mexico. Kinsey locates Jaffe only to have him vanish again. Can she prove he is still alive?

This is another fantastic mystery. The characters are strong and help pull us in. The story itself has plenty of twists and turns before we reach the climax. We have some time for updates from the series regulars, and I love what is happening there. Kinsey also stumbles on a surprise in her personal life. I’m curious to see how this sub-plot plays out in future novels.
  
40x40

Awix (3310 KP) rated A Private War (2018) in Movies

Feb 23, 2019 (Updated Feb 24, 2019)  
A Private War (2018)
A Private War (2018)
2018 | Biography, Drama, War
Solid biopic detailing the last years of the celebrated war correspondent Marie Colvin, including visits to Sri Lanka, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. To some extent it constitutes a catalogue of recent sources of liberal shame, and there are moments when the film threatens to become sanctimonious, trite, and portentous, but the performances from Pike and Dornan are strong and keep it authentic.

Obviously the film is about the role of war correspondents and the role they play in our society, but the film also works on a more personal level, about what exactly it was that drove someone like Colvin to put her life in danger time after time. If it never quite gets to the bottom of this, that's probably excusable as she herself probably couldn't have said. A serious, well-made film.
  
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ArecRain (8 KP) rated Heat Rises in Books

Jan 18, 2018  
HR
Heat Rises
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book is a joke. I read the sample and enjoyed it so went ahead and bought the novella. Had the sample included just a few more pages, I never would have. The writing while so ridiculous and cheesy that I could not take it seriously. When Ethan told Laura that he wanted to "bury himself inside of her", I grimaced a bit. But when Laura calls Ethan's penis his "big beauty", I gagged. It only gets worse from there. Not to mention Gaines references heat rising, or heat in general, on pretty much every single page. After awhile I want to scream at the book "alright, we get it already!!!"

It is a personal rule of mine to finish what I start, but I couldn't muster the strength to finish this one.
  
Deepwater Horizon (2016)
Deepwater Horizon (2016)
2016 | Action, Drama
I enjoyed the acting and special effects. I felt the suspense that was intended while the disaster was building. (0 more)
The plot and personal side of the stories were a bit scattered and hard to follow. I didn't feel deeply connected to most of the characters. (0 more)
Close to Home
Living in Texas all of my life and being surrounded by the oil and gas industry, this movie was close to my heart. Because of the realness of the event, my rating may be a bit biased, but I did enjoy the film. Mark Wahlberg and Kurt Russell, along with a pretty dynamic supporting cast, recreated the event well and made me care about the outcome. Semi-spoiler...I HATED the bad guy by the end of the movie. No sympathy for him what-so-ever.
  
American Graffiti (1973)
American Graffiti (1973)
1973 | Comedy, Drama
The music! The humor! The drama! Young Harrison Ford! (Dreamy?) (0 more)
American awesomeness
The first time I watched this iconic movie, I am pretty sure I wasn't old enough to appreciate more than young Harrison Ford in his sweet ride, the music, and the great representation of souped up hot rods. When I watched it as an adult it was like watching a totally different movie! And even now, when I watch it I realize the depth and development of the characters, and the personal and political reflections of the time. This movie brought Coppola to my attention, and introduced the idea of how a good director can weave so many minute details into characters and themes.


America Graffiti is one of the best 'coming of age' movies I have seen. Well worth watching
  
Dead like you (Roy Grace book 6)
Dead like you (Roy Grace book 6)
Peter James | 2010 | Crime
9
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Another great holiday read
Contains spoilers, click to show
Another great holiday read, this ones even more darker...
I love how this one jumps from present and 1997 a case Roy once worked on but never got solved! The killer is back again..
we also get a personal insight into Roy and Sandy ‘s relationship, I was always under the impression their relationship was perfect but this series shows another side to sandy.

This book is noticeably longer than the other 5 before it, which gives it chance to go in-depth with the past and present, with it making you guess who done it with quite a few suspects.

And last the endings sort of on a cliffhanger with ‘yac’ When will he make and appearance next...

And now onto the next one
  
WO
Wars Of The Roses
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I think the title of the book is rather misleading - it's not really about the Wars of the Roses per se. The blurb on the inside of the dust jacket tells me it's a book looking more at the impact of this civil strife and the political, social and military situation. It does, as it claims, include many primary sources; 'English and European writings, diplomatic correspondence, personal letters and propoganda', but it is the promised 'detailed interpretation based on modern research' that I must have missed while reading this! To me this was a series of unconnected original documents linked with short paragraphs of text by Lander. In many places the book is so bogged down with inumerable footnotes that the flow of the text is completely lost.

Nice idea, but it doesn't work here.
  
Jim Fosse's Expense Claim
Jim Fosse's Expense Claim
John Dolan | 2012 | Humor & Comedy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I had no concept of what to expect from this (very) short story but that made it all the more fun. Told in a series of email exchanges, a letter and a newspaper report, things start innocuously enough with new employee Jim Fosse requesting money to cover his expenses for his recent business trips.

Ramon Ortiz, the hapless HR employee who responds tries to get Fosse to fill in the correct form, provide receipts and follow procedures. Fosse is reluctant to do this and as the emails from Fosse become more and more aggressive and personal it becomes very clear just what he is trying to claim for.

Eventually the situation resolves in a shocking manner which is still very funny.

Rated: Strong and insulting language and sexual references
  
    JD.id - Jual Beli Online

    JD.id - Jual Beli Online

    Shopping and Lifestyle

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    JD.id Your Online Shopping Mall Nikmati pengalaman berbelanja online melalui Aplikasi mobile resmi...