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This is a book I have had on my to read pile for some time, and having a bit of extra free time on my hands have finally got round to. I vaguely remember seeing the film that was made, but luckily the film wasn’t that memorable so I couldn’t remember how it ended. However, I enjoyed the book very much and realise why the film maybe didn’t do as well as was expected. Most of the characters are either hiding their emotions or a secret of some kind throughout the story, this did not portray over well in the film and just made everything pretty confusing.
On the whole this is a book about a father and daughter who love to read and have the ability to make books come to life and this appealed to me greatly. It was a slow starter but built up the characters well and I really wanted to know what happened to them. I am not saying this book was the pinnacle of literary accomplishments, but I enjoyed the fantasy, the adventure and how with some characters, even towards the end you weren’t sure if you should like them or not. For instance the character of Dustfinger who is ripped from his story into a world he despises and he yearns just to return home. You never know whether to trust him, to not trust him, to pity him or to think he is selfish. Not all the characters in Inkheart fall into a black and white category, which is refreshing, especially in a book aimed at slightly younger/teen readers.
Great amounts of cheesy humour, good general read I would definitely read the next two books as the characters are all built up now so I think the next books would pick up quicker. Would have probably enjoyed this book more when I was in my yearly teens.
On the whole this is a book about a father and daughter who love to read and have the ability to make books come to life and this appealed to me greatly. It was a slow starter but built up the characters well and I really wanted to know what happened to them. I am not saying this book was the pinnacle of literary accomplishments, but I enjoyed the fantasy, the adventure and how with some characters, even towards the end you weren’t sure if you should like them or not. For instance the character of Dustfinger who is ripped from his story into a world he despises and he yearns just to return home. You never know whether to trust him, to not trust him, to pity him or to think he is selfish. Not all the characters in Inkheart fall into a black and white category, which is refreshing, especially in a book aimed at slightly younger/teen readers.
Great amounts of cheesy humour, good general read I would definitely read the next two books as the characters are all built up now so I think the next books would pick up quicker. Would have probably enjoyed this book more when I was in my yearly teens.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2177 KP) rated A Simple Murder (Will Rees, #1) in Books
Feb 9, 2020
Simple Time but Complex Murder
It’s 1795, and Will Rees has spent the last few years as a traveling weaver while grieving his wife. He’s left his son and his Maine farm in the care of his sister and her husband, but his most recent trip home leads to the discovery that they’ve been abusing that trust, and his son, David, has run away to a Shaker community over a day’s travel away. Will goes to try to repair their relationship only to find himself involved in a murder. One of the Shaker women has been killed in their community, and the Elders have asked Will to find the killer. His problem, however, is that he is an outsider. Will anyone trust him enough to share the information he needs to solve the case?
I’m always on the lookout for a good historical mystery, so I was quite eager to pick this one up. I’m not familiar with the Shakers, so that was also an interesting aspect of the book. The plot is good with plenty of twists and a logical conclusion, however, I felt like the pacing could have been better. That might have just been me since Will could only talk to a couple of people at a time if he had to travel far to talk to them. This is a historical mystery, after all. That travel time may have helped lead me to feel like things were slow. The characters are strong. I really came to care for Will and several of the others. The characters were just as strong, and I had no trouble keeping them apart. However, as Will begins to find complex family relationships, I had a hard time keeping all of those straight. The everyday details of life in the time period were strong and helped make me feel like I was back in time when I was reading the book. I am definitely planning to visit Will again to find out what happens to him next.
I’m always on the lookout for a good historical mystery, so I was quite eager to pick this one up. I’m not familiar with the Shakers, so that was also an interesting aspect of the book. The plot is good with plenty of twists and a logical conclusion, however, I felt like the pacing could have been better. That might have just been me since Will could only talk to a couple of people at a time if he had to travel far to talk to them. This is a historical mystery, after all. That travel time may have helped lead me to feel like things were slow. The characters are strong. I really came to care for Will and several of the others. The characters were just as strong, and I had no trouble keeping them apart. However, as Will begins to find complex family relationships, I had a hard time keeping all of those straight. The everyday details of life in the time period were strong and helped make me feel like I was back in time when I was reading the book. I am definitely planning to visit Will again to find out what happens to him next.
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John Bradley recommended 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) in Movies (curated)
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) in Movies
May 28, 2021
Paul Walker reprises his role as Brian O'Conner as he's recruited to find out how a drug dealer is getting his ill gotten gains out of the country, using the talent of street racing.
I think that 2 Fast 2 Furious is actually slightly better than the first film (the Fast and the Furious), it has many of the same tropes and ideas of the first film, the street racing, cars and crime and it seems to have a better balance between the main elements. In both films Brian is tasked with infiltrating a criminal organisation with the task of finding out information and, from a narrative prospective 2 Fast seems to make a better job of this.
There is slightly less time given over to actual street racing but this is replaced with car chases which seem to use more police cars than 'The Blues Brothers'.
There is some time given over to character development as we find out more about Brian's past with the introduction of his old friend, Roman Pearce which gives us a bit more information as to his actions at the end of the first film.
Brian's relationship with the polices is surprisingly similar to the first film, even though Brian is now a wanted convict he is still aids and trust him. We also have the agent who doesn't trust Brian, this time in the form of customs Agent Markhan which basically gives us the same police set up the first film.
2 Fast 2 Furious does a good job of not being a clone of it's predecessor whilst still keeping the cars, the speed, the races and chases. There are a couple of scenes at the start that are similar to the first film but these are to help re introduce Brian and set the tone of the film. If you liked the first one then you should give the sequel a watch. (But you probably already know that as this is an old film 😊 )
I think that 2 Fast 2 Furious is actually slightly better than the first film (the Fast and the Furious), it has many of the same tropes and ideas of the first film, the street racing, cars and crime and it seems to have a better balance between the main elements. In both films Brian is tasked with infiltrating a criminal organisation with the task of finding out information and, from a narrative prospective 2 Fast seems to make a better job of this.
There is slightly less time given over to actual street racing but this is replaced with car chases which seem to use more police cars than 'The Blues Brothers'.
There is some time given over to character development as we find out more about Brian's past with the introduction of his old friend, Roman Pearce which gives us a bit more information as to his actions at the end of the first film.
Brian's relationship with the polices is surprisingly similar to the first film, even though Brian is now a wanted convict he is still aids and trust him. We also have the agent who doesn't trust Brian, this time in the form of customs Agent Markhan which basically gives us the same police set up the first film.
2 Fast 2 Furious does a good job of not being a clone of it's predecessor whilst still keeping the cars, the speed, the races and chases. There are a couple of scenes at the start that are similar to the first film but these are to help re introduce Brian and set the tone of the film. If you liked the first one then you should give the sequel a watch. (But you probably already know that as this is an old film 😊 )
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated The Book Club in Books
Jul 1, 2021
A really good book that kept me guessing throughout.
The story follows Lucy who has moved to a cottage in the Cotswolds after an affair with her boss. She moved for a fresh start and has found her feet with a group of friends who all seem relatively close. That is until a newcomer, Alice, moves in next door to Lucy and turns her world upside down. Lucy always knows there’s something she doesn’t trust about Alice, but she can’t seem to quite put her finger on it. Alice finds out secrets about everyone in the friendship group and, after suggesting a book club for them all, manages to suggest or manipulate other people into suggesting books similar to each of the secrets they have hidden from each other.
Alice is out for revenge, and it took me until the last few chapters, just before it was revealed, to work out what exactly she wanted revenge for.
I found the book quite confusing at times, one chapter was from Lucy’s point of view and then the next was always focused on other character or multiple character’s but always in the third person. Because of this, sometimes I had to reread paragraphs because I was confused who it was about. But once I got used to this style, I really did enjoy the book.
Each of the character’s secrets were interesting, and it was easy to see that they didn’t trust their friends completely as they mostly dealt with the secrets they were keeping by themselves. It was also interesting to see just how easy the odd comment from an outsider caused a rift in the friendships and it made me wonder were they really that close in the first place?
This book really did live up the the hype for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns that were present throughout. I’m looking forward to reading C.J. Cooper’s next book!
Alice is out for revenge, and it took me until the last few chapters, just before it was revealed, to work out what exactly she wanted revenge for.
I found the book quite confusing at times, one chapter was from Lucy’s point of view and then the next was always focused on other character or multiple character’s but always in the third person. Because of this, sometimes I had to reread paragraphs because I was confused who it was about. But once I got used to this style, I really did enjoy the book.
Each of the character’s secrets were interesting, and it was easy to see that they didn’t trust their friends completely as they mostly dealt with the secrets they were keeping by themselves. It was also interesting to see just how easy the odd comment from an outsider caused a rift in the friendships and it made me wonder were they really that close in the first place?
This book really did live up the the hype for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns that were present throughout. I’m looking forward to reading C.J. Cooper’s next book!
Sam (228 KP) rated The Willoughbys (2020) in Movies
May 13, 2020
Character development (or not) (3 more)
Good messages
Cute music
Adorable storyline
Absolutely Adorable
This film takes hard and upsetting topics, addressing them in a light-er tones that can be understood by children. This film is a heartwarming tale about the trust meaning of family and what it really means to choose your family. At the end (no spoilers!) there is a single moment where I began to worry that it would be one of THOSE movies and trust me you'll know it when you see it. I'll give you a hint and say it involves es both the parents and kids but that's all I'm saying!
The reason I enjoyed this film so much definitely has to do with how they chose to address the topics of social services and what it means to put a child into the system. They also do this in such a way that a child can understand and clearly see that there's something not right with how they go about things. However, despite this, they do not make 'orphan services' as it's called in the film, the bad guy. Rather they add a slightly different tone, hinting that they care and that their coldness is a result of trying to be apart of the working system. They're not the 'problem' in the film but simply another aspect within the film pushing the real problem. The system is broken, a system set up to help and keep children safe (they even mention it in film), is instead breaking up families for no other reason than minimal circumstance and (not sure if people caught this one) NO EVIDENCE.
I fear I'm starting to hint around spoilers so I'll say no more but the film is worth a look. Even if you don't necessarily like kid films the ideas in this film on family and 'the system' is truly something to marvel.
The reason I enjoyed this film so much definitely has to do with how they chose to address the topics of social services and what it means to put a child into the system. They also do this in such a way that a child can understand and clearly see that there's something not right with how they go about things. However, despite this, they do not make 'orphan services' as it's called in the film, the bad guy. Rather they add a slightly different tone, hinting that they care and that their coldness is a result of trying to be apart of the working system. They're not the 'problem' in the film but simply another aspect within the film pushing the real problem. The system is broken, a system set up to help and keep children safe (they even mention it in film), is instead breaking up families for no other reason than minimal circumstance and (not sure if people caught this one) NO EVIDENCE.
I fear I'm starting to hint around spoilers so I'll say no more but the film is worth a look. Even if you don't necessarily like kid films the ideas in this film on family and 'the system' is truly something to marvel.