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Melanie Caldicott (6 KP) rated The Casual Vacancy in Books
Apr 29, 2021
Incredibly well written book proving Rowling's giftedness and diversity.
A brutal social commentary illustrating the complex issues surrounding class and problems that society doesn't know how to deal with. It reveals the selfish way humans attempt to shroud themselves protectively in ignorance, clinging to the pleasantries we manufacture in pretence that poverty, suffering and social malaise are not only a stones throw away.
Expect to be taken out of your comfort zone and confronted with stark reality exposing attitudes and prejudices within society and ourselves.
A brutal social commentary illustrating the complex issues surrounding class and problems that society doesn't know how to deal with. It reveals the selfish way humans attempt to shroud themselves protectively in ignorance, clinging to the pleasantries we manufacture in pretence that poverty, suffering and social malaise are not only a stones throw away.
Expect to be taken out of your comfort zone and confronted with stark reality exposing attitudes and prejudices within society and ourselves.
Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated Messenger in Apps
Sep 25, 2018
Reliable and easy to use
In general, messenger delivers the best platform for messaging around on social media. It's intuitive to use and you can send pictures, use gifs, filters etc. Group chat within messenger also works very well. I am occasionally dissatisfied when updates come and usability is changed but I do find that the issues are ironed out in the end.
This album, with its many tracks, has songs with a variety of emotions. Some invoke feelings of nostalgia, while others a sense ofdetermination. Another noteworthy point is that some of the songs here deal with mental and social issues, which doesn't appear often in songs. Overall, it's something worth listening to.
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) rated The West Wing Weekly in Podcasts
Sep 17, 2018 (Updated Sep 17, 2018)
The hosts (7 more)
The guests
The topics
The behind-the-scenes discussion
The humor
The puns
The political history
The social issues
Relive all the best of The West Wing.
Co-hosted by actor Joshua Malina, who played Will Bailey in The West Wing, and Hrishikesh Hirway, host of the podcast Song Exploder. The West Wing Weekly reviews and explores the series episode by episode and shares behind-the-scenes stories with guest stars, writers, producers, and more from The West Wing, along with political figures who discuss the politics and social issues portrayed in the series. The co-hosts are intelligent, brilliant and hilarious. Josh Malina's puns are delightful. They put their own spin on the show and are a delight to listen to. I highly recommend this podcast to all West Wing fans. You won't regret it. Well, maybe. It depends on how much you like or hate puns. LOL
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated On Our Street: Our First Talk about Poverty in Books
Jun 18, 2018
On Our Street: Our First Talk About Poverty by Jillian Roberts; Jaime Casap is a book that talks about poverty, homeless, refugee, and all the difference between people in they basic way of loving. The story is easy to use with kids to show them how they are lucky to live the way of live they have, to make them aware of social issues and to explain to them how we can all play a part to make others lives better.
A direct and clear way to talk about the issues of poverty, I like how it's framed as questions with the answers, nice photographs from around the world illustate the points well.
I received this ARC from Orca Book Publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A direct and clear way to talk about the issues of poverty, I like how it's framed as questions with the answers, nice photographs from around the world illustate the points well.
I received this ARC from Orca Book Publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Eleanor (1463 KP) rated The Passengers in Books
Mar 5, 2020
Now that was a thriller that had me totally hooked. It's fairly relentless from the beginning and with the audiobook, I listened to read between 6 different narrators (all of a high standard) I couldn't put it down.
You do have to be willing to suspend a good level of belief for this one but, with some brilliant writing and plenty of different moving parts, it's easy to let yourself get swept along. Set in the not too distant future 8 driver-less cars are hijacked and it's broadcast around the world for all to chime in on who lives and who dies.
I tend to find books that try to tackle the issues around social media or that use social media heavily in their storyline painful to read; causing much eye-rolling, but this was so well written I didn't have any issues for a change with its use. Although I felt the end let up too much on the earlier pace I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller.
I'll be checking out some more John Marrs ASAP based on this; it was a great ride (pardon the pun.)
You do have to be willing to suspend a good level of belief for this one but, with some brilliant writing and plenty of different moving parts, it's easy to let yourself get swept along. Set in the not too distant future 8 driver-less cars are hijacked and it's broadcast around the world for all to chime in on who lives and who dies.
I tend to find books that try to tackle the issues around social media or that use social media heavily in their storyline painful to read; causing much eye-rolling, but this was so well written I didn't have any issues for a change with its use. Although I felt the end let up too much on the earlier pace I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller.
I'll be checking out some more John Marrs ASAP based on this; it was a great ride (pardon the pun.)
Book Divas (227 KP) rated Waiting for Walker in Books
Dec 12, 2017
This book contains fascinating characters and the story line is both emotional and overwhelming. This author has such a way with words that you immediately find yourself immersed in the story. The author takes social issues and puts them into words that are easy to comprehend and are also enlightening. You will find it hard to put this book down. Make sure to have some tissues at the ready.
{I requested a copy for review purposes and made no guarantee of a favorable review. The opinions expressed here are unbiased and my own.}
{I requested a copy for review purposes and made no guarantee of a favorable review. The opinions expressed here are unbiased and my own.}
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Spree (2020) in Movies
Jan 24, 2021
Different
In a world filled with YouTubers and social media influencers, it was inevitable that eventually we’d get a film shot in the style of a social media stream. We’ve seen similar with films like Unfriended and Searching, taking on the likes of social media whilst shot entirely from a webcam. However Spree is the first that I’ve seen that takes on social media almost entirely from live streaming or go pro recordings, and overall it’s a pretty decent attempt.
Spree is a 2020 comedy horror film starring Joe Keery as Kurt Kunkle, a failing social media influencer who works as a driver for a rideshare app called Spree. Fed up of his lack of viewers, Kurt decides to fit out his car with cameras and livestream “The Lesson”, where he instructs viewers on how to become famous on social media while picking up passengers and murdering them. One of the passengers he lets go is comedian Jessie Adams (Sasheer Zamata), a star and social media success who Kurt becomes obsessed with over the course of his murderous evening.
Spree is definitely a fun film. The comedic horror style works very well, especially in the first half although later on it does make way for a more serious side. There’s a decent amount of blood and gore too and it has a wonderfully cheesy B-movie vibe about it. What makes Spree so fun though is Joe Keery. His performance as an influencer is entirely believable and it’s his charisma and baby-faced innocence that makes this film watchable. He spends the entirety of the film like he’s high and hyped up on energy drinks and while this does make his performance a little over the top, this is exactly what Spree needs. David Arquette as Kurt’s dad also brings a lot of fun although his screen time is sadly lacking.
Despite Spree’s dark comedic feel, there’s a more serious story and commentary underlying this film. It might look as though it’s making light of social media influencers, but actually it’s making a rather serious point of the pressures and negatives of the constant need influencers have to be liked and obtain more followers. Kurt’s story is rather sad, and even the other characters like Jessie are shown to have their own stories but still stuck in the same social media behaviour. The live streams used to shoot most of this film, with the likes and comments from viewers, emphasise the pitfalls and real life issues with social media.
Admittedly this live stream method does get a little thin by the end of the 90 minute run time, and after the initial few murders, it’s only Keery’s performance that holds the film up to the end. It isn’t helped that aside from Kurt, none of his victims are particularly likeable and it makes them very difficult to relate to or care about. And this also goes for Jessie who despite her heroine status, becomes unlikeable due to how she too bows to the pressure of social media.
I’m not a fan of the YouTube and influencer revolution, so for me Spree was an interesting take on this and social media in general. It has a good point to make and a serious message, although this may be overshadowed by the dark comedy and horror. With a great turn from Joe Keery, it’s a fun film but not entirely memorable.
Spree is a 2020 comedy horror film starring Joe Keery as Kurt Kunkle, a failing social media influencer who works as a driver for a rideshare app called Spree. Fed up of his lack of viewers, Kurt decides to fit out his car with cameras and livestream “The Lesson”, where he instructs viewers on how to become famous on social media while picking up passengers and murdering them. One of the passengers he lets go is comedian Jessie Adams (Sasheer Zamata), a star and social media success who Kurt becomes obsessed with over the course of his murderous evening.
Spree is definitely a fun film. The comedic horror style works very well, especially in the first half although later on it does make way for a more serious side. There’s a decent amount of blood and gore too and it has a wonderfully cheesy B-movie vibe about it. What makes Spree so fun though is Joe Keery. His performance as an influencer is entirely believable and it’s his charisma and baby-faced innocence that makes this film watchable. He spends the entirety of the film like he’s high and hyped up on energy drinks and while this does make his performance a little over the top, this is exactly what Spree needs. David Arquette as Kurt’s dad also brings a lot of fun although his screen time is sadly lacking.
Despite Spree’s dark comedic feel, there’s a more serious story and commentary underlying this film. It might look as though it’s making light of social media influencers, but actually it’s making a rather serious point of the pressures and negatives of the constant need influencers have to be liked and obtain more followers. Kurt’s story is rather sad, and even the other characters like Jessie are shown to have their own stories but still stuck in the same social media behaviour. The live streams used to shoot most of this film, with the likes and comments from viewers, emphasise the pitfalls and real life issues with social media.
Admittedly this live stream method does get a little thin by the end of the 90 minute run time, and after the initial few murders, it’s only Keery’s performance that holds the film up to the end. It isn’t helped that aside from Kurt, none of his victims are particularly likeable and it makes them very difficult to relate to or care about. And this also goes for Jessie who despite her heroine status, becomes unlikeable due to how she too bows to the pressure of social media.
I’m not a fan of the YouTube and influencer revolution, so for me Spree was an interesting take on this and social media in general. It has a good point to make and a serious message, although this may be overshadowed by the dark comedy and horror. With a great turn from Joe Keery, it’s a fun film but not entirely memorable.
Carrie (18 KP) rated Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine in Books
Jan 22, 2019
Beautiful, insightful and funny
This was recommended to me by a friend and isn’t something I would usually read, however I am so glad that I did.
Although the back story is dark, the main concept is beautiful, about friendship and love.
It was such an easy read, I struggled to put it down as I just wanted to find out more about he main character, Eleanor.
My interpretation was that it was a fantastic insight into the viewpoint of someone with a behaviour/social issues, a strong message that we shouldn’t judge if someone is different, as we don’t know what they may be dealing with.
Although the back story is dark, the main concept is beautiful, about friendship and love.
It was such an easy read, I struggled to put it down as I just wanted to find out more about he main character, Eleanor.
My interpretation was that it was a fantastic insight into the viewpoint of someone with a behaviour/social issues, a strong message that we shouldn’t judge if someone is different, as we don’t know what they may be dealing with.
Lou Grande (148 KP) rated Gracefully Grayson in Books
May 27, 2018
I have to say, this book was much better than I was expecting. I'm always wary going into a book about trans issues not written by trans people. But Grayson's story was treated thoughtfully and with respect. (Such a stereotypical name, though!) However, I'm disappointed that this story focused so much on violence and social resistance to trans people. While that can often be the reality for some of us, this book is intended for young readers, and I'm concerned that this could be scary for them. On the other hand, cisgendered kids who pick this one up might be more empathetic towards trans people in general. (But would cisgender kids be inspired to pick GRACEFULLY GRAYSON up if they've already formed negative opinions on trans issues? I don't know; I'm thankfully not a parent.)
Another thing: did this story really have to coalesce in a bathroom? It felt lazy. Where we pee is not the only political issue we face, and it's obvious the author knows this. I don't know. This book left me with mixed feelings.
Another thing: did this story really have to coalesce in a bathroom? It felt lazy. Where we pee is not the only political issue we face, and it's obvious the author knows this. I don't know. This book left me with mixed feelings.