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PTL: The Rise and Fall of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's Evangelical Empire
Book
In the early months of 1987 Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker had it all-a popular Christian talk show,...
When Friday Comes: Football, War and Revolution in the Middle East
Book
In January 2011 millions of Egyptians took part in mass protests that ended the iron rule of its...
Sudden Death
4.0
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"Splendid" --New York Times "Mind-bending." --Wall Street Journal "Brilliantly original. The best...
fantasy fiction
Paul Bohm Bauten Und Projekte / Buildings and Projects
Book
Text in English & German. The central Mosque of the Turkish-Islamic Union in Koln-Ehrenfeld has...
A Sense of Direction: Pilgrimage for the Restless and the Hopeful
Gideon Lewis-Kraus and Jon Gray
Book
A young secular writer's journey along ancient religious pilgrimage routes in Spain, Japan and...
Loving Justice, Living Shakespeare
Book
In thinking about Justice, we ignore Love to our peril. Loving Justice, Living Shakespeare asks why...
Lottie disney bookworm (1056 KP) rated Six Tudor Queens: Katharine Parr, The Sixth Wife in Books
Mar 23, 2021
I have been reading Alison Weir books since I was a teenager so imagine how much I fangirled when I was given the opportunity to read an advanced copy of her final book in the Tudor Queens series!
To Netgalley and Headline, thank you, thank you, thank you!
It is my opinion that Katharine Parr is often the most overlooked of Henry VIII's wives: indeed most novels focus only on her life after becoming Queen. That is why this novel from Alison Weir was simply brilliant.
Weir introduces us to Katharine Parr as a girl, constantly surrounded by family and, after losing her father at a young age, being brought up by her uncle, aunt and her mother who was an attendant to Queen Katharine of Aragon.
The reader instantly falls in love with Katharine, an intelligent, caring child who is acutely aware of her eventual duty to her family but desperately wishes to remain in her carefree days with her siblings.
As we know, Tudor girls married young and Weir explores each of Katharine's four marriages in great detail: combining historical fact and storytelling in the way that only she can.
It struck me that, in three of Katharine's four marriages, she was used as a pawn, marrying for rank, power and connections as was the norm at the time.
However, in every one of these marriages Katharine was able to find love; even when marrying an old overweight Henry, already famous for disposing of numerous wives.
The writing during each of these marriages is rarely emotional: Katharine is a very rational and practical character, only showing real passion for religion. She is even super calm when she believes she is being investigated as a heretic!
It isn't until Katharine's fourth and final marriage that she marries for herself and for love. The passionate relationship between Katharine and Tom Seymour seeps into the writing at this point: introducing jealousy and anger where there has previously been merely a stoic resolve.
The fact that this novel spans the lifespan of Henry's marriages is fitting and really allows Weir to paint a picture of Tudor society throughout the religious reforms and upheavals associated with its monarch.
No one who has read Alison Weir's books before will be surprised that this is yet another success. Together with Philippa Gregory, Weir is a Queen of historical fiction and this novel is only the latest jewel in her crown.
To Netgalley and Headline, thank you, thank you, thank you!
It is my opinion that Katharine Parr is often the most overlooked of Henry VIII's wives: indeed most novels focus only on her life after becoming Queen. That is why this novel from Alison Weir was simply brilliant.
Weir introduces us to Katharine Parr as a girl, constantly surrounded by family and, after losing her father at a young age, being brought up by her uncle, aunt and her mother who was an attendant to Queen Katharine of Aragon.
The reader instantly falls in love with Katharine, an intelligent, caring child who is acutely aware of her eventual duty to her family but desperately wishes to remain in her carefree days with her siblings.
As we know, Tudor girls married young and Weir explores each of Katharine's four marriages in great detail: combining historical fact and storytelling in the way that only she can.
It struck me that, in three of Katharine's four marriages, she was used as a pawn, marrying for rank, power and connections as was the norm at the time.
However, in every one of these marriages Katharine was able to find love; even when marrying an old overweight Henry, already famous for disposing of numerous wives.
The writing during each of these marriages is rarely emotional: Katharine is a very rational and practical character, only showing real passion for religion. She is even super calm when she believes she is being investigated as a heretic!
It isn't until Katharine's fourth and final marriage that she marries for herself and for love. The passionate relationship between Katharine and Tom Seymour seeps into the writing at this point: introducing jealousy and anger where there has previously been merely a stoic resolve.
The fact that this novel spans the lifespan of Henry's marriages is fitting and really allows Weir to paint a picture of Tudor society throughout the religious reforms and upheavals associated with its monarch.
No one who has read Alison Weir's books before will be surprised that this is yet another success. Together with Philippa Gregory, Weir is a Queen of historical fiction and this novel is only the latest jewel in her crown.
Gaspar Noe recommended An Andalusian Dog (1929) in Movies (curated)
Lee (2222 KP) rated Saint Maud (2020) in Movies
Oct 6, 2020
Saint Maud is a psychological horror about a young nurse (Morfydd Clark) who, following ‘an incident’ while working for the NHS, something horrific that is alluded to in the opening scene, now finds herself working in palliative care.
Maud is a lonely, isolated, and very religious young woman, and as she sits in her sparse little bedsit, she prays to God in the hopes that he will guide her as she begins her new role. That new role sees her taking over as carer for Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), an ex-dancer whose body is now succumbing to terminal cancer. As Maud feeds, bathes and generally does everything for Amanda, her obsession with her faith and religion begins to send her into a downward spiral, becoming increasingly convinced that her personal mission from God is to save Amanda's soul. Amanda’s lifestyle choices and love-life are often at odds with Maud’s beliefs, eventually resulting in tensions between them.
'In my head, she's very much this person who has felt really alienated her entire life and has always found it really difficult to connect with other people,' explains British director Rose Glass about the lead character of her feature-length debut. Morfydd Clark fills that role brilliantly, with her calm and innocent voice narrating much of the film through her prayers, and we experience her failed attempts at connecting with others while on a rather heavy and eventful night out on the town. An ominous score also helps to set the tone, along with a rather gloomy colour palette, and there is a general feeling of dread throughout.
Aside from that, it’s fair to say that Saint Maud really didn’t work for me at all. I was fully invested in the character of Maud, how faith was shaping her, and how her relationship with Amanda was affected. But two thirds into this slow-burn character study of a young woman essentially going through a breakdown, I was bored and desperate for something to happen. Considering the runtime is only 84 minutes long, that’s not good.
A last-minute burst of chaos and horror provided a glimmer of hope but was very short-lived. And an attempt to deliver powerfully, memorable imagery only resulted in laughs from my cinema audience the likes of which I haven’t experienced since the ending of Hereditary.
Maud is a lonely, isolated, and very religious young woman, and as she sits in her sparse little bedsit, she prays to God in the hopes that he will guide her as she begins her new role. That new role sees her taking over as carer for Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), an ex-dancer whose body is now succumbing to terminal cancer. As Maud feeds, bathes and generally does everything for Amanda, her obsession with her faith and religion begins to send her into a downward spiral, becoming increasingly convinced that her personal mission from God is to save Amanda's soul. Amanda’s lifestyle choices and love-life are often at odds with Maud’s beliefs, eventually resulting in tensions between them.
'In my head, she's very much this person who has felt really alienated her entire life and has always found it really difficult to connect with other people,' explains British director Rose Glass about the lead character of her feature-length debut. Morfydd Clark fills that role brilliantly, with her calm and innocent voice narrating much of the film through her prayers, and we experience her failed attempts at connecting with others while on a rather heavy and eventful night out on the town. An ominous score also helps to set the tone, along with a rather gloomy colour palette, and there is a general feeling of dread throughout.
Aside from that, it’s fair to say that Saint Maud really didn’t work for me at all. I was fully invested in the character of Maud, how faith was shaping her, and how her relationship with Amanda was affected. But two thirds into this slow-burn character study of a young woman essentially going through a breakdown, I was bored and desperate for something to happen. Considering the runtime is only 84 minutes long, that’s not good.
A last-minute burst of chaos and horror provided a glimmer of hope but was very short-lived. And an attempt to deliver powerfully, memorable imagery only resulted in laughs from my cinema audience the likes of which I haven’t experienced since the ending of Hereditary.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Heidi's Guide to Four Letter Words in Books
Jan 12, 2021
This starts with Heidi trying to find a job and her mum and aunt going through a list of schools they think she should work at and Heidi listening miserably, knowing education isn't something she enjoyed. Instead she's applied to be in a receptionist type role at a local small business, not knowing at the time that they record erotic romances in audiobook form. Heidi is equally embarrassed and curious about what goes on at her place of work and with the help of her colleagues begins a podcast where she talks about her hot neighbour who she'd love to date and becoming more confident in saying those tricky four letter words.
I wasn't sure with this to start with. I found Heidi's almost prudishness too much at the start. I can't quite believe that she doesn't even allow herself to think swear words let alone say them. I don't know if it was her religious upbringing or her parents - who I found really annoying at times. It was nice to see her grow more confident in herself with every podcast she broadcasts and book scene she reads.
This one does have some comedy elements in it but, for me, the speech to text thing was hilarious and the funniest part. I couldn't stop laughing for quite a while with that one.
The romance in this didn't seem to take up as much of the book as I'd have liked. I think it got to around the 35% mark before the romance even started to kick in. They had talked briefly and acknowledged each other in the street but it was only after she'd done a few of her podcasts that she even had the guts to approach him for a date and then it was a slow burn into a cute romance. It was a really nice relationship they'd built up and then "the thing" that split them apart for a little while was blown out of proportion - as they do in romance books - before they sorted it out and were cuter than ever.
One thing I didn't understand was the "uff da" thing. I even had to look it up to figure out what that bit was all about. It still seemed a rather odd exclamation to me so I read it as oomph/oof noise.
If you like romantic comedies then you should give this a go.
I wasn't sure with this to start with. I found Heidi's almost prudishness too much at the start. I can't quite believe that she doesn't even allow herself to think swear words let alone say them. I don't know if it was her religious upbringing or her parents - who I found really annoying at times. It was nice to see her grow more confident in herself with every podcast she broadcasts and book scene she reads.
This one does have some comedy elements in it but, for me, the speech to text thing was hilarious and the funniest part. I couldn't stop laughing for quite a while with that one.
The romance in this didn't seem to take up as much of the book as I'd have liked. I think it got to around the 35% mark before the romance even started to kick in. They had talked briefly and acknowledged each other in the street but it was only after she'd done a few of her podcasts that she even had the guts to approach him for a date and then it was a slow burn into a cute romance. It was a really nice relationship they'd built up and then "the thing" that split them apart for a little while was blown out of proportion - as they do in romance books - before they sorted it out and were cuter than ever.
One thing I didn't understand was the "uff da" thing. I even had to look it up to figure out what that bit was all about. It still seemed a rather odd exclamation to me so I read it as oomph/oof noise.
If you like romantic comedies then you should give this a go.