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Cori June (3033 KP) rated Alanna: The First Adventure in Books
Jun 5, 2022
This middle grade series is one great. It's a fast engaging read. I first read it in the late 90s early 2000s not realizing that it was written in the 80s. If you're new to fantasy it's a good intro into the genre. None of the themes run too deeply but at an age where life is starting to get complicated I appreciated that, and it made me think about a lot of different and deep things.
It holds up. I still enjoyed this book as an adult having just finished before writing this review. There are better grow with you books that I've read (even by this author, her skills keep getting better) , but sometimes you want an easy read. Highly recommend.
It holds up. I still enjoyed this book as an adult having just finished before writing this review. There are better grow with you books that I've read (even by this author, her skills keep getting better) , but sometimes you want an easy read. Highly recommend.
Merissa (11961 KP) rated The Pumpkin Man in Books
Jun 8, 2023
This is a short but steamy coffee break book that tells the story of Gemma, the witch. She doesn't have much of a social life (being a witch) so every year she bespells a pumpkin man to do all the chores she hates. As a perk to herself, she also asks him to make love to her each year. However, one year a wolf shows up and the tale takes on a new twist.
Although this is only a short story, it covers a year of time. Well-written and with enough of a story to make it enjoyable, this has humour, passion and loneliness. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
* Verified Purchase on Amazon - October 2012 *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jun 11, 2016
Although this is only a short story, it covers a year of time. Well-written and with enough of a story to make it enjoyable, this has humour, passion and loneliness. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
* Verified Purchase on Amazon - October 2012 *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jun 11, 2016
Extreme Food - What to Eat When Your Life Depends on it...
Book
"There's no getting away from it; I've eaten some pretty extreme things in my time - live...
Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog
8.6
Rate It
Book
John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect...
Why Grow Up?: Subversive Thoughts for an Infantile Age
Book
In Why Grow Up, the latest volume in the Philosophy in Transit series, world-renowned philosopher...
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Doctor Sleep in Books
Oct 9, 2019
Doctor Sleep is the sequel to ‘The Shining’. Following the life of Dan Torrance (the little boy from The Shining) the book quickly covers what happens after the events at the Overlook Hotel where Dan finds his lifestyle copying that of his alcoholic farther. His life starts to turn around when he arrives at a small town in New Hampshire where the now middle aged Dan finds a number of things; Help with his alcohol problem, A job in a nursing home, good friends and, with the help of his Shinning a child in need of help.
Doctor Sleep Focus’ on the power of the Shinning, what it can do and how it affects not only the people with the power but others around it. Unlike the first book ghost’s do not play a major part in most of the story, there is a bit in the beginning which ties up events at the Overlook but, although ghosts are mentioned they have been (Mostly) replaced by a group called The True Knot, a group of vampire like beings who feed off the Shining instead of blood. As Dan finds himself caught up with The True Knot he finds that he is being pulled back to the site of the Overlook.
A big part of the book is about how you can’t escape your past and that, until you accept your mistakes you will never really be able to move forward. It is also about acceptance and the fact that you are never really alone, that other people have experienced what you are going through and that they can help you get through life if you let them and it is about family, accepting the one you have but also find a new one, finding people who will accept you as you are but it is mostly about psychic Vampires and the power of the Shining.
Doctor Sleep Focus’ on the power of the Shinning, what it can do and how it affects not only the people with the power but others around it. Unlike the first book ghost’s do not play a major part in most of the story, there is a bit in the beginning which ties up events at the Overlook but, although ghosts are mentioned they have been (Mostly) replaced by a group called The True Knot, a group of vampire like beings who feed off the Shining instead of blood. As Dan finds himself caught up with The True Knot he finds that he is being pulled back to the site of the Overlook.
A big part of the book is about how you can’t escape your past and that, until you accept your mistakes you will never really be able to move forward. It is also about acceptance and the fact that you are never really alone, that other people have experienced what you are going through and that they can help you get through life if you let them and it is about family, accepting the one you have but also find a new one, finding people who will accept you as you are but it is mostly about psychic Vampires and the power of the Shining.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Scrappy Little Nobody in Books
Feb 1, 2018
Anna Kendrick has been acting (and singing) since childhood, and her autobiography chronicles her growth as an actress and person, as told in little snippets and essays. Grouped in assorted themes, we hear from various stages of Anna's life, spanning her childhood to present day, and learn how Anna, a tiny scrappy kid, became a famous, Oscar-nominated actress. The book touches on her fame, as well as her personal thoughts and feelings.
I've always enjoyed Kendrick and have seen several of her films (and heard her sing about a million times, thanks to my young children and the popularity of the film, <i>Trolls</i>) but didn't know a lot about her early career. Her autobiography does a good job of filling in some of the gaps of Anna's childhood career (working on Broadway at twelve - who knew?!), but isn't told in any chronological order, so we don't get a sense of any real span of her career from Point A to B. Most of the book is told in short little bits. Many of them are quite funny stories, and there are some truly laugh out loud moments. In many cases, Kendrick is a very relatable person, who seems like the type of friend you'd like to hang out with. At other points, she seemed a bit whiny, and for me, the book spent too much time with her protesting about some of the travails of being in the celebrity industry. I can only take so much "woe is me" from famous people who write books about their lives.
The book is on more solid ground when we're reading about Anna's early life, where you gain a true admiration for her talent, and with her silly and snarky stories about her misanthropic personality (misanthropes unite!). Still, the jumping back and forth in time makes it hard to get a true trace on the arc of her life at times, and beyond some of the complaining and expounding on the travails of award shows, press junkets, and the like, there wasn't as much about her post-fame life as I was interested in.
If you like Kendrick's films, or her twitter feed, you'll probably enjoy the book and its organization, even if you find yourself wishing for a little more at the end. She's led an interesting life so far, and I'm sure another autobiography down the road would be quite intriguing.
I've always enjoyed Kendrick and have seen several of her films (and heard her sing about a million times, thanks to my young children and the popularity of the film, <i>Trolls</i>) but didn't know a lot about her early career. Her autobiography does a good job of filling in some of the gaps of Anna's childhood career (working on Broadway at twelve - who knew?!), but isn't told in any chronological order, so we don't get a sense of any real span of her career from Point A to B. Most of the book is told in short little bits. Many of them are quite funny stories, and there are some truly laugh out loud moments. In many cases, Kendrick is a very relatable person, who seems like the type of friend you'd like to hang out with. At other points, she seemed a bit whiny, and for me, the book spent too much time with her protesting about some of the travails of being in the celebrity industry. I can only take so much "woe is me" from famous people who write books about their lives.
The book is on more solid ground when we're reading about Anna's early life, where you gain a true admiration for her talent, and with her silly and snarky stories about her misanthropic personality (misanthropes unite!). Still, the jumping back and forth in time makes it hard to get a true trace on the arc of her life at times, and beyond some of the complaining and expounding on the travails of award shows, press junkets, and the like, there wasn't as much about her post-fame life as I was interested in.
If you like Kendrick's films, or her twitter feed, you'll probably enjoy the book and its organization, even if you find yourself wishing for a little more at the end. She's led an interesting life so far, and I'm sure another autobiography down the road would be quite intriguing.
Lenard (726 KP) rated Booksmart (2019) in Movies
May 8, 2019 (Updated May 8, 2019)
My favorite movie of the year so far
Booksmart is the kind of movie I always enjoy immensely. In a way, I was reminded of Sex Drive even though the two films have nothing in common. I just yelled "Rumspringa" as I left, I felt so free. Beanie Feldman who plays her character like brother Jonah Hill's younger sister and Kathlyn Dever play two high achieving high school seniors who spent all their time studying instead of having fun. They are bullied and made fun of due to their academic commitment. In a pivotal bathroom scene, Beanie overhears a conversation where she is the butt of the joke. Exiting falsely confident, she is shocked to learn that the three dopes all are on prestigious paths (Google, Stanford, Yale). She decides that she and her BFF have to crash a trending party. In a series of vignettes of misadventures, the two girls discover there is more to life than getting good grades. Extracurricular activities look good on the CV too.
My main complaint is the actors play the supposed seniors a little too confidently for adolescents. In this "Say Anything"esque world, there are no mean girls/alpha males. Everyone has a secret moral to their character. Except maybe Ryan who steals the boy crush, but she has a nice chin.
My main complaint is the actors play the supposed seniors a little too confidently for adolescents. In this "Say Anything"esque world, there are no mean girls/alpha males. Everyone has a secret moral to their character. Except maybe Ryan who steals the boy crush, but she has a nice chin.
Tommy Wiseau recommended Sonny (2002) in Movies (curated)
Joe Goodhart (27 KP) rated New X-Men: Childhood's End, Volume 3: Nimrod in Books
Nov 30, 2020
If you have not read Volumes 1 and 2, please don't skip them, as they are important to the overall story.
More of the same, not necessarily a bad thing. Fulfills the Daily Minimum Requirement for angst.
Laura Kinney -- oh, my bad, they are still referring to her as "Laura X" -- is written well, with Yost and Kyle succeeding in developing the character as she tries to leave her previous life behind.
Unfortunately, she was not treated so well art-wise. Paco Medina was still the artist, except for the issues where a guest artist stepped up to fill-in: #29 (Duncan Rouleau) and #32 (BATTLE PUG's Mike Norton). The issues that didn't have Medina on the art were okay enough, but the issues he DID draw were an insulting disappointment. Laura was drawn with breasts too big for her, and the outfit she wore made he look she was a regular shopper at Whores R Us!
Overall, it was a good read, just not a great read like the previous two. I found the Nimrod story to be MEH, as I have never been a fan of character. Yeah, he's neat, but trying to include often creates ideas-never-dealt-with of paradoxes and such. But, outside of his appearance as this volume's "Big Bad", it was good, just not great. You may read it and feel differently perhaps.
More of the same, not necessarily a bad thing. Fulfills the Daily Minimum Requirement for angst.
Laura Kinney -- oh, my bad, they are still referring to her as "Laura X" -- is written well, with Yost and Kyle succeeding in developing the character as she tries to leave her previous life behind.
Unfortunately, she was not treated so well art-wise. Paco Medina was still the artist, except for the issues where a guest artist stepped up to fill-in: #29 (Duncan Rouleau) and #32 (BATTLE PUG's Mike Norton). The issues that didn't have Medina on the art were okay enough, but the issues he DID draw were an insulting disappointment. Laura was drawn with breasts too big for her, and the outfit she wore made he look she was a regular shopper at Whores R Us!
Overall, it was a good read, just not a great read like the previous two. I found the Nimrod story to be MEH, as I have never been a fan of character. Yeah, he's neat, but trying to include often creates ideas-never-dealt-with of paradoxes and such. But, outside of his appearance as this volume's "Big Bad", it was good, just not great. You may read it and feel differently perhaps.