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Redemption Song: The Definitive Biography of Joe Strummer
Book
The definitive biography of Joe Strummer, released with a new epilogue to mark the 60th anniversary...
Performing to Win: Using the Secrets of the Arts to Unlock Success: 2016
Mark Powell and Jonathan Gifford
Book
This book explores and demonstrates the transformative learning experiences that organizations and...
The Shock of the Fall
8.0
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WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR 2013 WINNER OF THE SPECSAVERS POPULAR FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR...
the shock of the fall nathan filer fiction contemporary mental health
Hannah May (3 KP) rated Spitfire Girl in Books
Mar 8, 2018
What I liked most about this novel is the characterisation. Each character, whether they be good or horrid, was entertaining and inspiring in their own way. I thorough enjoyed reading the story from Susan's perceptive and reading through her struggles and her triumphs. I liked the characters of Tony and Roz in particular. Tony has that tender loving air about him that readers like me enjoy and I was very happy to learn he survived. I had my doubts throughout; thinking it would end sadly. Roz was an interesting character. She is the polar opposite to Susan. She is passionate and opinionated, and she always knows what and who she wants. Qualities like that should always be admired. I was let down slightly by the lack of flying or any mention of flying until page 300+. And despite her desperate desire to fly, Susan seemed quite adamant to stay on the ground and play servant with everyone she meets. I expected her to put up more of a fight, if I'm honest. Much of the actions happens near the end of the novel. While it was good to read, it felt a bit rushed and there wasn't much detailed description about any of the aircraft Susan flew, which I really would have liked to seen and read. Another thing I disliked about this story was the fact that, despite Susan's good intentions, she always always got punished for it. She safely lands a plane, saving both her life and Elspeth's. She's deemed a security risk and is sacked. She rescues Charlie from being put to sleep. She tries to expose Dudley for the creep that he is. Mrs Kemp kicks her out. She's forced out of Daves home, because some cranky old woman doesn't approve of her or her dog. She loses her jobs and her homes over stupid, little things. That just doesn't happen nowadays. You get warnings. You learn from your mistakes. Employers move on. I understand it is under very different and difficult circumstances, being during WWII, but still. Slightly dramatised I think. Overall, a good read but would have benefited by more mention of spitfires!
Darren (1599 KP) rated The Book Of Love (2017) in Movies
Jul 25, 2019
Story: The Book of Love starts when architect Henry Herschel (Sudeikis) loses his pregnant wife Penny (Biel) in a car accident, broken he needs to take time away from work, he notices homeless teenager Millie (Williams) searching for scraps.
When Henry learns what Millie is planning, he decides to jump in and help her with the project to build a raft to sail across the Atlantic, this gives him a new lease for life, to help someone follow their dream.
Thoughts on The Book of Love
Characters – Henry Herschel is an architect on the verge of a big promotion to partner in the company, and a baby, his life however is turned upside down when his wife is killed in an accident. Filled with grief he meets teenager Millie who he helps with her project, taking his mind off his loss. Millie is a homeless teenager, well she is forced to live with her estranged Uncle and she wants to build a raft like in the journal she finds. She believes she is doing the right thing as she is dealing with own problems. Penny is Henry’s wife who even after her death gives him guiding light to help Millie. Julia is the mother-in-law wanting the best for Henry as her own way of dealing with the loss of her daughter.
Performances – Jason Sudeikis continues to show that he is delightful to watch in these drama-comedy roles, he shows enough grief and hope to make you believe that he has been the one to lose his wife. Maisie Williams is good for the most part, but she does struggle to maintain the accent through the film. Jessica Biel and Mary Steenburgen both give us good performances in the supporting roles.
Story – The story follows a grief ridden man that decides to help a teenager with her own problems in an attempt to cure his own problems only to there to help cure her problems. This does have sweet moments as we see how the lives have been turned upside down by their own tragic losses and the moments where they can help support each other, we do however deal with grief in a realistic way, being left empty in need of something to keep us going. The glaring problem is the repeating of the facts about people dying, we just don’t need this on repeat to get the point, as we know the focus on the story is, enjoy life however difficult moments have been.
Settings – The film is set-in small-town America, well the suburbs, which shows us how life can change in an instant in this world no matter who or where you are.
Scene of the Movie – Closing shot.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Maisie Williams accent.
Final Thoughts – This is a charming movie that gets the message across well, we get to see just how grief can be processed by the people suffering from it.
Overall: One of the dreamers to see where people can make it.
When Henry learns what Millie is planning, he decides to jump in and help her with the project to build a raft to sail across the Atlantic, this gives him a new lease for life, to help someone follow their dream.
Thoughts on The Book of Love
Characters – Henry Herschel is an architect on the verge of a big promotion to partner in the company, and a baby, his life however is turned upside down when his wife is killed in an accident. Filled with grief he meets teenager Millie who he helps with her project, taking his mind off his loss. Millie is a homeless teenager, well she is forced to live with her estranged Uncle and she wants to build a raft like in the journal she finds. She believes she is doing the right thing as she is dealing with own problems. Penny is Henry’s wife who even after her death gives him guiding light to help Millie. Julia is the mother-in-law wanting the best for Henry as her own way of dealing with the loss of her daughter.
Performances – Jason Sudeikis continues to show that he is delightful to watch in these drama-comedy roles, he shows enough grief and hope to make you believe that he has been the one to lose his wife. Maisie Williams is good for the most part, but she does struggle to maintain the accent through the film. Jessica Biel and Mary Steenburgen both give us good performances in the supporting roles.
Story – The story follows a grief ridden man that decides to help a teenager with her own problems in an attempt to cure his own problems only to there to help cure her problems. This does have sweet moments as we see how the lives have been turned upside down by their own tragic losses and the moments where they can help support each other, we do however deal with grief in a realistic way, being left empty in need of something to keep us going. The glaring problem is the repeating of the facts about people dying, we just don’t need this on repeat to get the point, as we know the focus on the story is, enjoy life however difficult moments have been.
Settings – The film is set-in small-town America, well the suburbs, which shows us how life can change in an instant in this world no matter who or where you are.
Scene of the Movie – Closing shot.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Maisie Williams accent.
Final Thoughts – This is a charming movie that gets the message across well, we get to see just how grief can be processed by the people suffering from it.
Overall: One of the dreamers to see where people can make it.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated All I Ever Wanted in Books
Apr 27, 2018
All I Ever Wanted really made me happy, and got me hooked on Kristan Higgins. This is why:
First, I loved the characters. Some were quirky (Louis the mortician, Noah her one-legged grandfather), some were funny (Her sister Hester! ROFL) Some were just mean. (MOM.) And some had the biggest heart in the world (Our hero, Ian). The relationships and the characters played out in such a real tangible way, and I loved every minute of it. Although I’m glad my family isn’t like Callie’s… it’s fun to sit back and watch.
Second: I was very pleased with the fact that the characters, dialogue, and plot weren’t perfect (happyland syndrome.) Some of you may know that happyland syndrome—everything working out perfectly all the time—will make me close a book in three minutes. All I Ever Wanted had nothing of the sort. It felt like real life, and because of that, it was relatable.
Third: It was a very sweet, very real, very good romance. And it was CLEAN. Yes! No skipping chunks of pages and trying to avoid unnecessary scenes! This pretty much made my day—maybe my week—that I’ve found a good romance author who doesn’t write sex scenes into her novels. Thank you Kristan Higgins, you’ve just made my bookshelf.
So that’s why I loved it. And that’s why I’ll be reading more of Higgins’ work in the future.
Content/recommendation: little language, very few sexual references. Ages 14+
First, I loved the characters. Some were quirky (Louis the mortician, Noah her one-legged grandfather), some were funny (Her sister Hester! ROFL) Some were just mean. (MOM.) And some had the biggest heart in the world (Our hero, Ian). The relationships and the characters played out in such a real tangible way, and I loved every minute of it. Although I’m glad my family isn’t like Callie’s… it’s fun to sit back and watch.
Second: I was very pleased with the fact that the characters, dialogue, and plot weren’t perfect (happyland syndrome.) Some of you may know that happyland syndrome—everything working out perfectly all the time—will make me close a book in three minutes. All I Ever Wanted had nothing of the sort. It felt like real life, and because of that, it was relatable.
Third: It was a very sweet, very real, very good romance. And it was CLEAN. Yes! No skipping chunks of pages and trying to avoid unnecessary scenes! This pretty much made my day—maybe my week—that I’ve found a good romance author who doesn’t write sex scenes into her novels. Thank you Kristan Higgins, you’ve just made my bookshelf.
So that’s why I loved it. And that’s why I’ll be reading more of Higgins’ work in the future.
Content/recommendation: little language, very few sexual references. Ages 14+
Awix (3310 KP) rated Passengers (2016) in Movies
Jan 21, 2019
Who needs moral culpability when you have J-Law in her pants?
Contains spoilers, click to show
Good-looking SF movie that goes to prove that all you need is two good-looking charismatic stars and a very misleading ad campaign and people will flock to see your film, no matter how creepy and rapey the story actually is. Male passenger (Pratt) on a long-haul space flight wakes up early due to an accident, finds himself facing the prospect of living out his life alone on the ship (trip will take nearly a century, everyone else is still in hypersleep). He goes a bit mad from isolation, becomes obsessed with a female corpsicle (Lawrence), and decides to wake her up so he will have company even though he is condemning her to the same fate as him. Naturally he neglects to mention his own culpability in all this, even after they get it on.
And people call this a romance?!? A paean to stalking, more like. All the other flaws in Passengers (and there are a few: the premises of the film don't quite hang together, for example) fall away compared to the simple fact that the protagonist does several truly horrible things, for which he is never really held to account. Obligatory shots of Lawrence in a swimsuit/lingerie happen along as well, of course. I'd say it was the usual sort of no-brainer inoffensive tosh, but it really leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.
And people call this a romance?!? A paean to stalking, more like. All the other flaws in Passengers (and there are a few: the premises of the film don't quite hang together, for example) fall away compared to the simple fact that the protagonist does several truly horrible things, for which he is never really held to account. Obligatory shots of Lawrence in a swimsuit/lingerie happen along as well, of course. I'd say it was the usual sort of no-brainer inoffensive tosh, but it really leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated Murder at the Mansion in Books
Nov 15, 2019
Redwood Cove Faces a Second Killer
Kelly Jackson has returned to Redwood Cove, California, ready to take on her new job as manager of one of the B&B’s in town. While it finishes up some renovations, she is helping out at a sister property, Redwood Heights. Redwood Heights has been having issue with jewelry being stolen from guest’s rooms, but things escalate when Kelly finds one of the guests murdered in that guest’s room. With the aid of the local senior citizen community watch, the Silver Sentinels, Kelly starts digging around. Can she figure out what happened?
Having grown up visiting the redwoods, I love this setting. I would love to visit in real life, between murders, of course. This book starts off strongly and never lets up, always giving us some complication or clue until Kelly pieces everything together. I didn’t have any problem remembering the characters, which is good since there are quite a few of them, but I do feel the cast could be a little better developed. I’m hoping that will come as the series continues. I also stumbled over a few editing errors. They were minor overall, fortunately. While there aren’t any recipes, there is more than enough talk about food to make your mouth water as you read the book. Overall, this is a good second in the series, and I hope to visit Kelly again soon.
Having grown up visiting the redwoods, I love this setting. I would love to visit in real life, between murders, of course. This book starts off strongly and never lets up, always giving us some complication or clue until Kelly pieces everything together. I didn’t have any problem remembering the characters, which is good since there are quite a few of them, but I do feel the cast could be a little better developed. I’m hoping that will come as the series continues. I also stumbled over a few editing errors. They were minor overall, fortunately. While there aren’t any recipes, there is more than enough talk about food to make your mouth water as you read the book. Overall, this is a good second in the series, and I hope to visit Kelly again soon.
Verne Sankey: America's First Public Enemy
6.0
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In late January of 1934, as authorities delivered John Dillinger to an Indiana jail, the United...
ClareR (5879 KP) rated The Miseducation of Evie Epworth in Books
Nov 10, 2020
The Miseducation of Evie Epworth came along at just the right time for me. Another lockdown was looming, things weren’t looking wholly optimistic, and along came Evie, hurtling down a country lane in a red MG. Actually, this has to be one of the most laugh-out-loud, followed-by-a-gasp openings I’ve ever read. And it didn’t stop there. Evie is a breath of much needed fresh air. She reminded me of the hope that you have as a young person, embarking on your grown up life as you leave formal education.
The dreaded Christine (soon to be Evie’s stepmother) makes such a good baddie (or a baddie you love to hate!). She’s a pleasure to hate, to be honest - but I’m afraid I did feel sorry for her - she just wanted a way out of the life she’d been given. Mrs Scott-Pam, Evie’s beloved next door neighbour, and her estranged daughter, Caroline, are just the people to help Evie out of her predicament - and the rest of the cast of colourful characters are just perfect.
I’m so glad there will be more of Evie in the future, and I can’t wait to read more.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and to Matson Taylor for reading along, commenting, answering our questions and generally talking with us about all things Evie related. I really did have the best time 😊
The dreaded Christine (soon to be Evie’s stepmother) makes such a good baddie (or a baddie you love to hate!). She’s a pleasure to hate, to be honest - but I’m afraid I did feel sorry for her - she just wanted a way out of the life she’d been given. Mrs Scott-Pam, Evie’s beloved next door neighbour, and her estranged daughter, Caroline, are just the people to help Evie out of her predicament - and the rest of the cast of colourful characters are just perfect.
I’m so glad there will be more of Evie in the future, and I can’t wait to read more.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this book, and to Matson Taylor for reading along, commenting, answering our questions and generally talking with us about all things Evie related. I really did have the best time 😊