David McK (3692 KP) rated The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World in Books
May 8, 2022
I have to say, I'm glad I didn't pay full price for it.
I mean no disrespect, but I did find this quite hard to get through, and really not at all what I was expecting from the blurb/description on the link I followed to purchase it - I'm not sure why, but it just didn't gel with me.
Oh, some of the bits actually *about* the dinosaurs were interesting enough, but I did - generally - find them to be wheat amongst the chaff, rather than the 'main course' (which, I felt, was more about the contemporary exploits of the author).
Oh, there's no doubt he knows his stuff; maybe this was simply a case where expectation did not meet reality and maybe, if I had known pre-purchase that this was more about the state of palaeontology today than about the age of the dinosaurs my view may have been different?
Anyway, it's read cover to cover now. Doubt it is one I will be heading back to anytime soon.
Discovery Moon (Gladstone Shifters #5)
10.0
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True Elders. The most powerful and influential wolf shifters in existence. Unfortunately, there...
MM Steamy Romance Paranormal
The Touch (The Cotiere Chronicles, #2)
10.0
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The Nachhaltig have lived among ordinary humans for centuries, but an ancient grudge has driven them...
Paranormal Romance
ClareR (6059 KP) rated The Anniversary in Books
May 15, 2023
It’s a very introspective book, lots of descriptions of places, people, scenes and above all, feelings. JB has a lot of feelings, although she appears to be in a state of shock for a majority of the novel. I mean, her husband falls off the ship they’re celebrating their anniversary on. Not an ideal situation!
And then the truth starts to come out about the reality of their marriage.
The word “marmite” has been bandied around quite a lot regarding this book, and I’ve come down on the “like it” side. It’s certainly a book that gave me a lot to think about - even when I wasn’t reading it!
A Stolen Child
8.0
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Sarah Stewart Taylor is known for her atmospheric portrayal of an American detective in Ireland, and...
KRUYOLOGY, the meaning of Life.
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Love and Fear can be acknowledged once again, thanks to Kruyology, putting the meaning back into...
Non-fiction Psychology
The Nephilim's Fate (War of the Nephilim #1)
8.0
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She will find a way, even if it leads to a war between Heaven and Hell. In the heart of London,...
Fantasy Romance
Same Place, Same Stars
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Twenty-one-year-old Natalia battles a rare parasomnia sleep disorder that propels her to act...
Adult Psychological Drama
David McK (3692 KP) rated Batman the Killing Joke in Books
Jan 28, 2019 (Updated Sep 26, 2025)
Commonly cited as one the best Batman stories (after [b:The Dark Knight Returns|59960|Batman The Dark Knight Returns|Frank Miller|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327892039s/59960.jpg|1104159]), The Killing Joke is, in reality, an origin story.
However, rather than being the origin story of a Superhero, this takes the somewhat unusual idea of being that of a villain instead: in this case, how did the most Notorious (and deadly) of Batman's foes - The Joker - come to be how he is?
This also draws parallels between The Joker and Batman himself, depicting them each as, if you will, two sides of the same coin - both have had a very bad day, but each have reacted to it differently (or have they?).
Personally, I feel that the origins of The Joker would have been better left to mystery rather than detailed as in this story; however, that's not denying that this is a good (if short) read in its own right.