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The Bletchley Riddle
Steve Sheinkin and Ruta Sepetys
8.0
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A stunning collaboration between award-winning and bestselling authors Ruta Sepetys and Steve...
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Silver Orphan in Books
May 10, 2018
I was sent this book in exchange for a review. It took me a long time to read this book. A lot longer than I thought. It was very hard to get through the first half especially. While this book was a great idea, the execution of it was not very good.
Brooke Blake is a young beautiful drug-rep, whose only concern is herself. One day when stopped to avoid an elderly man from stepping into traffic, he steps into her car. Thus begins a very unusual relationship between Brooke and Frank Moretti. As Brooke becomes Frank's personal assistant, Frank becomes Brooke's history teacher. Trips to the grocery store and the bank are what most of their days entail. Talks of Frank's past and Brooke's present dominate the conversation.
When Frank passes away, Brooke is left with the task of claiming his body from the morgue and finding his next of kin.
I think this book may have been better written as a memoir. I did learn a lot from this book about WWII history so in that regard I liked it. Before I started reading this book I recommended it to my mom's senior center book club. After reading, I'm not so sure. The book didn't flow very smoothly, at times it was wordy and the word, extirpate was used too many times. These things may all be corrected in editing and I'd be interested to skim through the finished published product.
Brooke Blake is a young beautiful drug-rep, whose only concern is herself. One day when stopped to avoid an elderly man from stepping into traffic, he steps into her car. Thus begins a very unusual relationship between Brooke and Frank Moretti. As Brooke becomes Frank's personal assistant, Frank becomes Brooke's history teacher. Trips to the grocery store and the bank are what most of their days entail. Talks of Frank's past and Brooke's present dominate the conversation.
When Frank passes away, Brooke is left with the task of claiming his body from the morgue and finding his next of kin.
I think this book may have been better written as a memoir. I did learn a lot from this book about WWII history so in that regard I liked it. Before I started reading this book I recommended it to my mom's senior center book club. After reading, I'm not so sure. The book didn't flow very smoothly, at times it was wordy and the word, extirpate was used too many times. These things may all be corrected in editing and I'd be interested to skim through the finished published product.
Booksnthreads (19 KP) rated Salt to the Sea in Books
Jun 4, 2018
So, I’ve just finished reading all three novels nominated for the YA category of the California Young Reader Medal. The first two I read kind of left me feeling “meh,” so I was all set to be unimpressed with this one as well. I’m so delighted to tell you that I was wrong.
The story is told from the perspectives of four different characters, and I loved how Sepetys begins the narrative by telling of the same opening event from each character’s view point. After that, things unfold a little slowly, but it is completely worth it as you approach the climax…by that time, I was completely invested in each of the characters and was absolutely riveted to what was happening to them.
I’m also terribly impressed that Sepetys tackles telling a story from the “wrong” side (Germans during WWII), painting the characters not as the accepted “evil” caricatures but as real human beings caught up in a horrific war. In doing so, she sheds light on a human tragedy that so few of us know anything about (myself included) because it happened to the Germans as they were losing the war.
I will warn potential readers that the end of this novel does get rather graphic and emotionally wrenching, as you would expect in a novel about war and death. Although writing for a young adult audience, Sepetys does not gloss over the terror, panic, and trauma of the events.
The story is told from the perspectives of four different characters, and I loved how Sepetys begins the narrative by telling of the same opening event from each character’s view point. After that, things unfold a little slowly, but it is completely worth it as you approach the climax…by that time, I was completely invested in each of the characters and was absolutely riveted to what was happening to them.
I’m also terribly impressed that Sepetys tackles telling a story from the “wrong” side (Germans during WWII), painting the characters not as the accepted “evil” caricatures but as real human beings caught up in a horrific war. In doing so, she sheds light on a human tragedy that so few of us know anything about (myself included) because it happened to the Germans as they were losing the war.
I will warn potential readers that the end of this novel does get rather graphic and emotionally wrenching, as you would expect in a novel about war and death. Although writing for a young adult audience, Sepetys does not gloss over the terror, panic, and trauma of the events.
Spike Milligan: Man of Letters
8.5
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Spike Milligan's letters contain some of the best material he ever wrote ...Collected here for the...
Showa 1953-1989: A History of Japan
Shigeru Mizuki and Zack Davidson
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Showa 1953-1989: A History of Japan concludes Shigeru Mizuki's dazzling autobiographical and...
Robert Englund recommended 1900 (Novecento) (1977) in Movies (curated)
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Hank Brodt Holocaust Memoirs: A Candle and a Promise in Books
Sep 24, 2020
For me, it is always incredibly sad to read holocaust memoirs or any memoirs related to concentration camps. The amount of suffering it has brought to the innocent people, it is hard to comprehend.
The description of this book is pretty accurate. This book is a story of a poor polish- Jewish boy called Hank, and how he survived the Holocaust. The story starts with Hank’s childhood to post survival activities. After being taken to the concentration camp, Hank did not stay for long in one place, he was transported many times to different camps, and he shared the events he had to endure and people he met.
The book is accompanied by plenty of photos of different events, different concentration camps which Hank was transported to, and also pictures of Hank’s family. I loved the short chapters, and I finished this memoir in one sitting. For me it was gripping and I really wanted to find out what happened next after each chapter. So, to conclude, I am very happy that Hank had a chance to survive and shared his experiences with all the readers. It was a horrible period in human history, and I believe that it should not be left forgotten. So, if you into WWII books, give this book a go, it is a chilling read, filled with pain and sorrow, but it shows, that even in the worst of times, some people can still keep their kindness.
The description of this book is pretty accurate. This book is a story of a poor polish- Jewish boy called Hank, and how he survived the Holocaust. The story starts with Hank’s childhood to post survival activities. After being taken to the concentration camp, Hank did not stay for long in one place, he was transported many times to different camps, and he shared the events he had to endure and people he met.
The book is accompanied by plenty of photos of different events, different concentration camps which Hank was transported to, and also pictures of Hank’s family. I loved the short chapters, and I finished this memoir in one sitting. For me it was gripping and I really wanted to find out what happened next after each chapter. So, to conclude, I am very happy that Hank had a chance to survive and shared his experiences with all the readers. It was a horrible period in human history, and I believe that it should not be left forgotten. So, if you into WWII books, give this book a go, it is a chilling read, filled with pain and sorrow, but it shows, that even in the worst of times, some people can still keep their kindness.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Ip Man (2010) in Movies
Sep 19, 2020
My undying love for martial arts films relinquishes me my right to justifiably dislike this rather disappointing experience. Don't get me wrong, it's a rock-solid actioner filled with crunchy, brute fight sequences that always left me with a big, dumb grin on my face - choreographed to blissful perfection. But I just can't with the rest of it man, I'd be lying if I said it didn't have its moments but does every one of these mopey WWI/WWII films have to be so lusterless and conventional? I found the melodrama here to be particularly dry, simple, and flat - seemingly inert - at *least* 17 minutes too long. Feels like a clunkier and cheaper riff of Jet Li's 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 but more repetitive and way less exciting, even the fights start to wear as it continues to slug on. Donnie Yen carries it well and almost personally saves it from mediocrity, I'm really sure this means well but I feel like I've seen this film fifty times - thank Lord for the A-class martial arts because the war stuff has the same invasive yet stagnant existence as a much less visually accomplished 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘎𝘦𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢. To me this feels like an inexperienced director's first movie (even though it isn't, apparently) but then Yen comes in and beats the shit out of people with a hilariously long bamboo stick and everything is okay again.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Guest (2014) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
You'd believe this purposefully sidesteps its possible themes or commentary on the adverse effects on war and a government that will sooner do shady things to save a microscopic smidgen of face rather than its own supposed heroes (though it still does a vastly superior job of showcasing them than most autopilot, sleep-inducing, reductive, and recycled WWII movies as of late), hell it hardly even sets up its own backstory let alone the potential depth of it all... but also who *really* cares when the resulting product is a legitimately balls-to-the-wall, terminally fun blast of awesome sauce like this? Wingard is the fucking man, the amount of directors I'd excuse a plot execution as flawed as this for I could probably count on one hand but the sheer lunacy of this unrestrained pulp powerhouse is more than enough evidence of his gift for unforgettable roller coasters of trash. This all - of course - would be next to nothing if not fueled by Dan Stevens in one of my new favorite performances of all time as a re-educated government massacre machine who behaves more like an inherently hostile alien body snatcher than a human being. Pair it with some cerebral editing, point-blank violence, real propaganda era-esque nuclear camerawork, Lance Reddick, and one of the most euphorically implemented soundtracks in all of film and it was impossible for this to ever fail from the get-go. Loved every second of it.
Among the Living and the Dead: A Tale of Exile and Homecoming on the War Roads of Europe
Book
"It's long been assumed of the region where my grandmother was born...that at some point each year...
History Biography Memoir