Search

Search only in certain items:

When Twilight Breaks
When Twilight Breaks
Sarah Sundin | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Are you looking for a book about German society before America entered World War Two? This book shows that through the eyes of an American reporter and an American student-professor studying languages. We are brought together with these two with Germany and its antisemitic laws.

Hitler is doing something that I genuinely hope the US will not allow happening in today's world. We see what is happening with the Jews in Germany. The book starts to get more interesting when Evelyn finds a false passport and needs to escape Germany.

This book takes the two of them on an adventure through Germany and into France. Will they get home and safe? Who wants Peter and Evelyn dead? Why? We see what happens to the citizens of Germany and how the laws are denoting restricted under Hitler?

Will Peter and Evelyn's friends help them out by hiding them. Why is Evelyn so afraid to be with Peter and possibly be with him. There a surprise how this ends. The story plot is excellent and enjoyable.
  
The Novice (Black Magician Trilogy, #2)
8
8.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was surprised how little tired book suffered from middle book syndrome. The main plot of the bookwas a little weaker than the overall arc of the trilogy, but that didn't matter to me that much. I must admit when the bullying started I felt the bullying tactics didn't match with the age of the perpetrators, but she got it right by the end. I have read other reviewers complaining that the strong character Sonea showed in the first book disappeared in this one, but I think this is unfair. In the first book she was in a territory she understood and had confidence because of that understanding. In this book, she is in a world foreign to get upbringing where society is set against her and it's acting out is prejudices onto her, of course her confidence is going to take a hit! I felt the spark of defiance still shone within her, even if it wasn't as forthright as it one was. I'm guessing this will return on the list installment.
  
40x40

Paul Weller recommended Face to Face by The Kinks in Music (curated)

 
Face to Face by The Kinks
Face to Face by The Kinks
1966 | Rock
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"For me it could be every Kinks A-side from 1964 to 1969. Just an amazing run of the most fantastic pop songs. Village Green Preservation Society is obviously a great record, but Face To Face has some fabulous songs on it. It's almost a concept record. I don't think there's any lyrical theme to it, but it's very complete, which a lot of their records weren't before. What a writer, I can't say how much influence [Ray Davies] has had on me. The artistry of condensing all those ideas into a little three-minute song is just fantastic. I'm always still knocked out by that. When I was a kid and I first went to America, in the record shops you could buy all these old Kinks records, stuff I'd never seen or even heard of. So I came back with shitloads of Kinks records and that had a definite influence on [third Jam album] All Mod Cons. Those little story songs, vignettes of English life and English characters. That was a massive influence on me."

Source
  
40x40

Paige (277 KP) rated The Outsider in Books

Sep 27, 2020  
The Outsider
The Outsider
Stephen King | 2018 | Thriller
10
8.7 (31 Ratings)
Book Rating
Character Development (2 more)
Plot Twist
Depth
The Outsider
The Outsider by Stephen King follows Ralph Anderson as he pursues a murder investigation as a Police Detective. To elaborate further, the investigation leads Ralph Anderson to the murder of a young boy, who was also sexually assaulted by the now, unknown murderer. Terry Maitland, a married man and Coach of Youth Sports, is a highly respected member of society, but he is to become suspected of murder owing to irrefutable Forensic Evidence and Witness Statements.

Despite this, Terry Maitland denies this immediately, and has an alibi which is seemingly irrefutable, just as the Forensic Evidence and Witness Statements against him were. His alibi positions him hours away from the where the murder occurred. Terry Maitland was now a man able to be in two places at once.

An absolutely enthralling book by Stephen King which I was unable to put down, and thoroughly enjoyed reading. Admittedly, The Outsider was one of the first Stephen King books that I read; I have since read multiple of his books.
  
Show all 6 comments.
40x40

AJaneClark (3975 KP) Sep 27, 2020

I have just brought it. Will add to my holiday reading pile

40x40

Paige (277 KP) Sep 27, 2020

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did β˜ΊοΈπŸ“š

40x40

Awix (3310 KP) rated Web in Books

Sep 6, 2019 (Updated Sep 6, 2019)  
Web
Web
John Wyndham | 1979 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
John Wyndham's final novel revisits a number of his themes and has the odd good passage, but you can tell the author has struggled with it. A group of idealists looking to create a perfect society discover they have made a bad choice of site: the location in question, a remote Pacific island, is already overrun by vast swarms of social spiders - possibly the result of nuclear testing in the region (or, failing that, a curse from the original islanders, displaced by the colonial powers).

Sounds like it has promise, but it takes a very long time to properly get going (the spiders don't appear until the second half of the book) and it's a bit unclear what points Wyndham is trying to make. Some of the divergences from the classic Wyndham formula are a little curious; the protagonist is older, and the general tone more fatalistic than in his better-known books. Fairly readable, but it lacks the big ideas and memorable imagery of his best novels.
  
Countdown (2019)
Countdown (2019)
2019 | Horror, Thriller
Poorly executed
I remember seeing the trailer for this and being intrigued, yet didn't get chance to watch it at the cinema. Which is a shame as it might have been better on the big screen.

The plot and idea behind this is a good one. An app that tells you when you die thats actually true? With today's technology reliant society, this is a wonderful idea for a film as it can resonate with most people. The problem is that it has been very poorly executed. I didn't find it particularly scary or horrifying, and the number of deaths in this are surprisingly lacking. They've also tried to give this a proper back story and explanation when really it wasn't necessary. If they had made it a lot creepier and a lot less explainable, this could've actually been a decent film as the acting of a couple of leads was quite good. And i loved the IT guy who definitely brought a few laughs.

Overall not terrible, but not particularly scary for a horror which was a shame.
  
40x40

LeftSideCut (3776 KP) Aug 16, 2020

This is on my (large) list to watch. I always have time for an average horror πŸ‘πŸ˜‚

Tootsie (1982)
Tootsie (1982)
1982 | Comedy, Drama
I have heard raves about this film for what feels like most of my life. I'm not sure why I waited so long to watch it, but I'm damn glad I did. I LOVED this film. Dustin Hoffman is a powerhouse and I love seeing Bill Murray and his quick quips - they never fail to make me laugh. I think this film says a lot about society in the deeper layers. Dustin's character Michael creates a character, Dorothy, to audition for parts because he's been somewhat blackballed by the industry. In his mind, being a woman is the way to work again. The irony is that it seems women are far more competitive in industries like entertainment because of the way we are ridiculed and broken down, piece by piece. I find it interesting the being Dorothy was the way Michael was able to work. It doesn't seem that plausible these days.

Overall, I think this is a must-see, just for the laughs and the rollercoaster ride Dustin Hoffman takes you on. He's brilliant and it shows.