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Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Erik Larson has done it again. One of our time's finest writers of non-fiction has once more taken a page from our history and turned it into a most compulsively readable book. This time telling the tale of the sinking of the luxury liner Lusitania by the Germans during World War I, the narrative follows everyone from the passengers and crew of the ill-fated ship, to the men on the U-boat that fired the torpedo, to the British and American officials monitoring the situation and making the decisions about how to respond. Mr. Larson provides a stunning amount of detail, enough to make one feel as if they had actually spent time aboard the opulent liner with its travelers, but at no point does it seem as though the details are bogging things down. To the contrary, events move along at a brisk pace as they head towards their tragic end. It is a sad but fascinating tale, handled here with aplomb, in what is sure to wind up on many year-end best lists.
Mitchell Knutzen (16 KP) rated Till We Have Faces in Books
Feb 21, 2018
Best Lewis Novel By Far
More than a simple retelling of the Cupid and Psyche myth, this is a masterwork of storytelling by an author often hobbled by his well known and, in my opinion, laughably ridiculous religious beliefs. Yet unlike so many others that let these beliefs dissolve their efforts of mainstream fiction into so many pieces of nonsense too hamstrung by foolishness to ever assemble something coherent, let alone worth reading, Lewis often managed to rise above it, as with (for the most part) his deservedly beloved Narnia chronicles. Till We Have Faces is nothing short of brilliant, beautiful, at times achingly sad, and very profound. Those of you not fooled by the Jesus parade, but who love a damn good book written by a master of his craft, do yourself a HUGE favor and read this gem of a book. Then do the literary world a favor by passing along the good word (lol, couldn't help myself) that this may be the best book that nobody has heard of.
Bookapotamus (289 KP) rated The Signature of All Things in Books
May 29, 2018
First of all.. this book is loooooooooonnnnng. I feel like I may have read 3 books in 1 binding.
I expected it to be similar to Eat, Pray, Love in style, but boy was I incorrect! Don't get me wrong, the writing is beautiful, the characters are extremely interesting and I loved the first half ... I couldn't get enough of this riveting story, rich historical references and so much beauty in the descriptions of nature and plants and their surroundings. I felt like I was learning so much, as well as being treated to a beautiful story. I was hooked in, and fast....
But then.... I got stuck. Like REALLY stuck. I felt like it just turned into a different writer all together? I couldn't focus, the tone changed, the story faltered as quickly as the characters lives did. It was hard for me to finish this one. I loved the first half of the book. I wish she had stopped it there ... it just went on too long, and I was so sad that it did.
I expected it to be similar to Eat, Pray, Love in style, but boy was I incorrect! Don't get me wrong, the writing is beautiful, the characters are extremely interesting and I loved the first half ... I couldn't get enough of this riveting story, rich historical references and so much beauty in the descriptions of nature and plants and their surroundings. I felt like I was learning so much, as well as being treated to a beautiful story. I was hooked in, and fast....
But then.... I got stuck. Like REALLY stuck. I felt like it just turned into a different writer all together? I couldn't focus, the tone changed, the story faltered as quickly as the characters lives did. It was hard for me to finish this one. I loved the first half of the book. I wish she had stopped it there ... it just went on too long, and I was so sad that it did.
ClareR (5906 KP) rated The Ministry of Utmost Happiness in Books
Jul 11, 2018
This is a novel to take your time over. It wasn't written in a rush, and it really feels like it when you're reading it. I might even have to read it again. There are three or four separate stories which end up weaving their way together by the end of the novel.
We look at how Indians treat Anjum and her fellow Hijra, the political unrest in Kashmir and the atrocities that are committed by those who should know better. The latter is seen through the eyes of Tilo and the men who love her: Musa, Biplab and Naga.
A lot of this isn't comfortable reading at all. It is beautifully told, it's frustrating and it is teaching us a lot about what it is to be Indian, Kashmiri, Hijra, female and of a low caste. Some of it is unimaginably sad and seems hopeless; but we are left with a sliver of hope. And we have Anjum to thank for that, I think.
Many thanks to NetGalley for my copy of this beautiful book.
We look at how Indians treat Anjum and her fellow Hijra, the political unrest in Kashmir and the atrocities that are committed by those who should know better. The latter is seen through the eyes of Tilo and the men who love her: Musa, Biplab and Naga.
A lot of this isn't comfortable reading at all. It is beautifully told, it's frustrating and it is teaching us a lot about what it is to be Indian, Kashmiri, Hijra, female and of a low caste. Some of it is unimaginably sad and seems hopeless; but we are left with a sliver of hope. And we have Anjum to thank for that, I think.
Many thanks to NetGalley for my copy of this beautiful book.
Lou Grande (148 KP) rated the PC version of Emily Is Away Too in Video Games
Jul 9, 2018
For people of a certain age, Emily Is Away Too will remind them of being a teenager in the early aughts and late nineties. You play as yourself (more or less) as you attempt to woo either of two girls at your high school: Emily, the alternative hipster chick, or Evelyn, the punk rocker. In that way, it's much like many dating sims. You discover their likes and dislikes and play into them.
What makes Emily Is Away unique is the gameplay. It all takes place, so to speak, in a chat client called "EOL," which functions like AIM or Yahoo! Messenger. You can customize your font, profile, and avatar (the angstier the lyrics in your bio the better, of course). And don't forget to make your text as obnoxious as possible.
To compliment the retro look, the soundtrack consists of the sound of your hard drive working and really authentic chat notifications. It was a trip back in time for me, and it actually made me a little sad in a bittersweet way.
What makes Emily Is Away unique is the gameplay. It all takes place, so to speak, in a chat client called "EOL," which functions like AIM or Yahoo! Messenger. You can customize your font, profile, and avatar (the angstier the lyrics in your bio the better, of course). And don't forget to make your text as obnoxious as possible.
To compliment the retro look, the soundtrack consists of the sound of your hard drive working and really authentic chat notifications. It was a trip back in time for me, and it actually made me a little sad in a bittersweet way.
Louise (64 KP) rated The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Stories in Books
Jul 2, 2018
Marina Keegan could definitely write! I loved loved loved this book, whatsmore it is a non-fiction. Marina was obviously a well loved member of the Yale community and always took pride and wanted to be the best at everything she did. Her writing is truly amazing and this book contains a few short stories that Marina wrote and they're excellent. My favourite story from the fiction part of the book has to be 'reading out loud'. The stories were all very different and realistic. The non-fiction part was equally as good and I think this is the part in which she excelled. My favourite was 'why we care about whales' I am a sucker for animals, however this story was very thought provoking and makes you think of things that you probably wouldn't have thought about before.
I definitely recommend this book if you want to start out with a non-fiction book.
It's so sad, this young girl had such a promising career and life ahead of her and then taken so quickly.
I definitely recommend this book if you want to start out with a non-fiction book.
It's so sad, this young girl had such a promising career and life ahead of her and then taken so quickly.
Ross (3284 KP) rated Jigsaw (2017) in Movies
Sep 3, 2018
Contains spoilers, click to show
A sad, desperate attempt to wring one last film (we hope) out of what was once a great movie premise. I admit I didn't quite see the twist coming, but knew there would be one, and found that aspect reasonably clever.
But overall this film was full of plot-holes, the acting was atrocious, the ending made no sense and the games have lost the character of those in the original films.
A number of things just kept annoying me and took me right out of the film (one minute Logan is apologising to his daughter and her babysitter for another late night, the next he is heading to the pub?!, Logan takes the bullet out of Edgar's body - but Edgar had been in a coma for days, why was the bullet not taken out of his body while he was in hospital?!, along with the usual horror movie illogical actions trope).
This film added nothing to the Saw series, if anything it urinates over its corpse, and added nothing to my life.
But overall this film was full of plot-holes, the acting was atrocious, the ending made no sense and the games have lost the character of those in the original films.
A number of things just kept annoying me and took me right out of the film (one minute Logan is apologising to his daughter and her babysitter for another late night, the next he is heading to the pub?!, Logan takes the bullet out of Edgar's body - but Edgar had been in a coma for days, why was the bullet not taken out of his body while he was in hospital?!, along with the usual horror movie illogical actions trope).
This film added nothing to the Saw series, if anything it urinates over its corpse, and added nothing to my life.
LilyLovesIndie (123 KP) rated By the Shores of Silver Lake (Little House, #5) in Books
Nov 5, 2018
I'll keep this short and sweet again as it's hard to review these books without repeating yourself!
This book looks at Pa making more money to finally get the Ingalls family settled on their very own homestead. A sad start to the book which made it quite difficult to get going really, and which changed the dynamic of the family somewhat.
The story and lives of the family progress nicely, with a few scary moments which keep the book moving and flowing and of course some old friends show up again, even if it is just a quick mention! It's lovely how Ingalls Wilder captures the feeling of those bright pioneers who were determined to keep going west and open up America.
Well written, and enjoyable once it finally got going, to the point where it was actually quite difficult to put the book down! The sneak preview of the fact that Royal and Almanzo Wilder have homesteads to the north of the new town is lovely as the mind begins to run away with you, knowing that they are her future family.
This book looks at Pa making more money to finally get the Ingalls family settled on their very own homestead. A sad start to the book which made it quite difficult to get going really, and which changed the dynamic of the family somewhat.
The story and lives of the family progress nicely, with a few scary moments which keep the book moving and flowing and of course some old friends show up again, even if it is just a quick mention! It's lovely how Ingalls Wilder captures the feeling of those bright pioneers who were determined to keep going west and open up America.
Well written, and enjoyable once it finally got going, to the point where it was actually quite difficult to put the book down! The sneak preview of the fact that Royal and Almanzo Wilder have homesteads to the north of the new town is lovely as the mind begins to run away with you, knowing that they are her future family.
Roxanne (13 KP) rated Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster in Books
Nov 14, 2018
Being a part of the Gothic subculture I have followed these events since they happened. I have donated to the charity and I have joined marches through Plymouth in memory of Sophie. This collection of poems truly moved me, it did not matter that the poetry wasn't written in a style I'm more used to, I still very much enjoyed them and believe more people should read them. The subject matter brought tears to my eyes and the last poem made my heart ache. After recently becoming a mum myself I can not even begin to imagine the pain her family felt when she slipped away from them. Even though I did not know Sophie I still feel connected to her and am unbelievably sad that she was taken from this world in such a brutal and disgusting way...just because she and her boyfriend were different.
This is a beautiful collection, handled in a very sensitive way, I hope for this to reach more people as things need to change.
Rest in peace beautiful Sophie.
This is a beautiful collection, handled in a very sensitive way, I hope for this to reach more people as things need to change.
Rest in peace beautiful Sophie.
Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) rated Turning Forty in Books
Jun 21, 2019
Typical Mike Gayle
I loved this book. Written in a first person point of view, the reader counts down the days with Matt, until his 40th birthday. The beginning of the novel see's Matt in his expensive house, admiring his new shed paid for by his high flying job. This false sense of security is short lived and the reader watches as the protagonist's life falls apart.
For me, this novel is all about the character's; Ginny, the back up plan, Gerry, the ex music idol and now charity shop manager, Rosa, the too young and too controlling girlfriend, and many many, more. These characters are believable and cringe worthy at the same time.
I think the most refreshing thing about the novel, however, is the ending. All the way through the story I held out hope for Matt, and the ending, although not exactly a fairytale ending, was realistic.
I love Mike Gayle's work, easy to read, believable, funny and sad, a real look at the idiosyncrasies of people.
For me, this novel is all about the character's; Ginny, the back up plan, Gerry, the ex music idol and now charity shop manager, Rosa, the too young and too controlling girlfriend, and many many, more. These characters are believable and cringe worthy at the same time.
I think the most refreshing thing about the novel, however, is the ending. All the way through the story I held out hope for Matt, and the ending, although not exactly a fairytale ending, was realistic.
I love Mike Gayle's work, easy to read, believable, funny and sad, a real look at the idiosyncrasies of people.