I never thought I'd see the day when I would whole-heartedly recommend an audiobook over an actual, real, phsyical book, but here I am.
Though, to be hI never thought I'd see the day when I would whole-heartedly recommend an audiobook over an actual, real, phsyical book, but here I am.
Though, to be honest, this is more of a podcast than an audiobook. There is a little "reading out", but it is so much more. They even go fishing in the audiobook and the noises you hear are so different to what you hear on the television programme: you can hear the reeling, the fight of the fish, the trickling of the water, the blackbirds singing... It's the perfect bridge from the television programme to the book, and it sits in between them so perfectly.
I can't think of many things better than listening to my favourite old white men babbling on about anything and everything, and being genuinely funny and charming. It's such a lovely listen, though I would be wary of calling it a proper audiobook. It is an audiobook full of pure joy....more
I skived off work to read this. Okay, so I'm my own boss and I can afford a day off since I work every day, ten hours every day, but still. Skived offI skived off work to read this. Okay, so I'm my own boss and I can afford a day off since I work every day, ten hours every day, but still. Skived off, ya hear?
I was a little hesitant to keep this at five stars to begin with, straight after I finished it and was basking in the afterglow but also cursing myself for not having done anything productive that day (except some admin, ugh) but I will keep it at five stars. It gave me a feeling which is my criteria for giving a book five stars. It's not always the same feeling and sometimes it is as simple as being the only book to ever make me cry. In this case, the feeling was I do not want to put this book down all of my deadlines be damned. I love that feeling: that's why I read.
Before They Are Hanged is the second book of the First Law Trilogy, and we are still following the same characters but their threads have weaved together nicely and the plot is beginning to thicken. I must confess I didn't recall half as much as what happened, but there were unusual memories that bubbled to the surface every now and then and I kept on guessing where we were heading.
We are also passed between main characters really nicely: sometimes it is one chapter, sometimes it's two, but I never feel lost. Each character has their own way, their style and that really entices me. I am still in love with Sand dan Glokta and know I shouldn't be. We are starting to see each character discover their redeeming features: Luthar is becoming less of an arsehole, Ferro a little less cold, Quai a little less pathetic, Glokta a little less torturer. I like that last one less than the others, because my darling torturer is perfect the way he is, hobbling and tapping about scaring everyone, but we can't have everything.
The political intrigue and the magical undertones are bubbling away nicely, sometimes in the background, sometimes in full view. There are clues being dropped everywhere and I find that exceptional. That is a mystery murder kind of plot device and yet it fits in perfectly here. I still cannot tell where this is going, despite having read it before. Maybe that says more than I can see, but 9 years is a long time and I could not tell you what I had for breakfast two days ago.
And, I would like to express my gratitude and offer my applause to Joe for removing the superfluous exclaimation marks from some characters dialogue. That was the main reason the first book irked me and he has amended it very well here: still, some characters use them too much, but that fits their personality. Maybe there are still a little too many as well, but it is so much better than before that it appeases me.
This grimoire brings together all of the glorious little notes of lore that are scattered across the Destiny video games. It is sleek leather, dark anThis grimoire brings together all of the glorious little notes of lore that are scattered across the Destiny video games. It is sleek leather, dark and black like Oryx's heart and begins at the beginning: where else?
In truth, you can find all of this either in the game or probably online somewhere. There have been many Guardians who have sought to collect the lore of the Traveller and the surrounding worlds in one handy place, but sometimes that isn't enough. Sure, you can read all of this as you play the game, or look it up online, but for me that's not an option.
I started playing Destiny quite late in to the first installment after some girl on Subeta said she was playing it. I liked her (platonically), she seemed fun, so I decided to pick it up. That's the second time I've picked up a video game because a girl I like platonically has mentioned it. The first was Dragon Age. Ask me to tell you about my history with Dragon Age one day.
I never read the lore I pick up. Usually because I never pick it up in order, so having to remember each part and relate it to those parts it relates to is fairly annoying. And the lore system in Destiny 1 was pretty much abysmal: it wasn't accessible via the game at first, only online-except in little chunks called Grimoire cards. I also dislike reading more than 5 words off a screen at any giving moment. I'm a paper gel. And the idea of tracking it down online from a reputable Guardian sounded like hard work.
This is truly glorious, however. The binding (if you bought this in anything other than leatherbound you are no true Guardian of the Light) is stunning-though it can be a little cumbersome to hold when reading-and the illustrations are quite something: they add the atosphere and flavour that the game provides but in smaller, digestible chunks. I do wish there were more illustrations and I can not apologise enough for how I need Cayde-6 on every single page on anything Destiny-related.
And I will confess it now to my fellow Guardians: this is the first time I've actually read the lore. Yes, I know. But reading off a screen is not for me and having to find each individual pieces is also not for me. I am a completionist but only if there's a little ping at the end. But it is wonderful. Written really well: not in a novel style-of course not-but written in digestible chunks that give you so much information yet leave you hanging.
I would say, definitely, this book isn't for anyone who doesn't like-perhaps love?-Destiny the video game series. Usually with video game books I will say it appeals to people who enjoy artwork or video games in general, but this is pretty specific and will genuinely only appeal to the Guardians who haven't given up on the Traveller just yet....more
Ridiculously sublime book full of beautiful artwork, varying from basic sketches and WIPs to fully fleshed-out vistas.
Difficult to review, because reaRidiculously sublime book full of beautiful artwork, varying from basic sketches and WIPs to fully fleshed-out vistas.
Difficult to review, because really there are only a few groups of people who will enjoy this book. Those like me, who love Dragon Age (Origins, II and Inquisition) and games, and can appreciate art in all its forms (except modern art: if you enjoy that you're a liar).
And those who only enjoy games and/or artwork and the amount of effort that goes in to it. It's full of pictures but there is no crude dialogue like a comic book, so comic book lovers won't enjoy it. Unless they also enjoy games like this, and art.
So, unlike novels and the like, I can't rightly say "yo, just read the book and figure it out for yourself if you like it" because this is one of the very few books that is specifically aimed at a certain type of person only, and isn't, like novels, marketed at a certain type of person.
Look. I love Dragon Age. I love games. I love art. Actual art not a pair of glasses with a cheerio stuck to it in a glass case. I love this book. It needed to mention Alistair Theirin but that can be forgiven. I love it....more
Read as part of , based on the BBC's Big Read Poll of 2003.
Just wonderful. At times sickening, but also hearteniRead as part of , based on the BBC's Big Read Poll of 2003.
Just wonderful. At times sickening, but also heartening and exactly what one needs in this era, for good and bad. Moreso brilliant for what it stands for rather than how it is written or the plot, but even so the plot is worthy in its own right. Full review to follow.
Read as part of The Infinite Variety Reading Challenge, based on the BBC's Big Read Poll of 2003.
(I'm loath to remove this rant from here because it wRead as part of The Infinite Variety Reading Challenge, based on the BBC's Big Read Poll of 2003.
(I'm loath to remove this rant from here because it was my direct feelings after reading the book, but if you want to read my proper review, head on over to my site. Oh wait, that's just another rant. Oh well.)
Usually I don't give a crap about the circumstances around a book when I rate it: who wrote it, why it was written, what it was written for. I always rate and review the book alone, solitary like an island with nothing on the horizon in any direction. But you can't do that with this book because it is far too important for that kind of bollocks. It is probably the most important book in history because of what it represents. These days you can take any -ism and twist it to agree with your own agenda. Think all women should be prostitutes? Call it Feminism. Think people need to be ruled over by one person whilst letting them believe they're not living in a dictatorship? Call it Communism.
The book itself is shit. Orwell admits that himself pretty much . It's short, it's fairly whimsical. He called it a Fairy Story. But why he wrote it is because we are losing the battle with Freedom of Speech. Don't like someone's opinions? Start an online petition to make sure they never do a talk at a University ever again. Don't like what someone says? Shut them down. Don't listen. It's not right. A sexist boxer is not in the running for a sporting prize because he is our isn't sexist. It's because he's a good boxer.
Everyone else is to blame except you. But, you have the same opinion as everyone else, so why should you take the hit?
This turned in to a rant and I never really meant that. The book was crap in terms of it being a book, it didn't say anything that I didn't already believe in, but the "intro" (left out of the original print and something I doubt most people who didn't like or get the book read) tells you more you need to know in one sentence than anyone had since the Second World War, even before then.
Unfortunately, you cannot read this. Because it is written by An Old White Dude and everyone knows that Old White Dudes cannot write women well. And eUnfortunately, you cannot read this. Because it is written by An Old White Dude and everyone knows that Old White Dudes cannot write women well. And everyone knows that. Everyone.
Everyone knows that men, especially Old White Dudes are out of touch with modern society. This shit was written in the 80s for goodness sake. They also hate all women. Even when they write sparkling monologues for older women and have them having conversations that aren't just about men, you can just feel the hatred seeping in. It's the way they were brought up.
Oh yeah, and massive trigger warning as well. So don't bother. Stay in your comfort zone. It's nice there. Beanbags and terrariums. Mmm, avocado and quinoa.
I'm being facetious but I'm in that mood right now. I'll write a proper review later....more
Available in the books A Blink of the Screen and Legends, volume 3.
This Discworld short story tugged at my heart and my brain so much I could not not Available in the books A Blink of the Screen and Legends, volume 3.
This Discworld short story tugged at my heart and my brain so much I could not not give it the maximum amount of stars; indeed, it already owns the maximum amount of my love. As one would expect from Sir Terry, it is beautifully written but there is such a wonderful, human undertow to the entire story that it cannot be faulted, despite there perhaps being one or two typos and maybe a sentence that didn't really make sense.
It concerns my favourite Discworld characters, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg, which perhaps makes me wholly biased toward it. It was also the second ever printed story that has ever made me cry and that is a very difficult thing to do. I cannot think of any other superlatives to describe it; it is perfect. I dislike short stories and, yet, five stars is not enough.
This book contains information and beautiful illustrations that explain and explore the terminology of British architecture; from the Classical stylesThis book contains information and beautiful illustrations that explain and explore the terminology of British architecture; from the Classical styles of the Romans to the modern and full-of-glass of the 21st Century. The book is illustrated by hand instead of utilising photographs to remove the complication and focus upon what it is Rice is trying to convey to us.
I wish I were an architect. I think I have always been fascinated with buildings, but it was until recently I found myself endeavouring to know what it all meant. What these lines were for, even if only for decoration; why certain aspects of a building seemed to partner certain other things most of the time; what a flying buttress actually was.
I can't actually find words to express my love for this book. I obviously haven't read every single word on the page because that would be too mind-expanding and would overload me with so much architecture lingo I'd probably suffer an aneurysm. This book needs to be delved in to at stages, and perhaps not even from cover to cover but at any page at random. You also need to heed his words at the beginning and commit a few terms at the beginning and take a few days to really immerse yourself in the architectural world, if only to stop yourself from really becoming lost.
[First read: 7th March, 2014 Second read: 22nd August, 2015]
"The best moments in reading are when you come across something � a thought, a feeling,[First read: 7th March, 2014 Second read: 22nd August, 2015]
"The best moments in reading are when you come across something � a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things � that you'd thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it's as if a hand has come out and taken yours."
The BBC did a programme celebrating 50 years of the National Theatre in 2013 and The History Boys was one of them. It was a short scene - the French scene - that was played out and I instantly fell in love. I had not had time for the Theatre before then: my last memory of anything theatre related was seeing something called The Eye of the Storm in Leeds whilst at Primary School and since then I'd hated it. It must have been really bad, but on the other hand, back then I didn't like classical music, poetry, Cricket or classic literature and so what did I know?
It was love at first sight. I can distinctly remember it being The History Boys that did in fact lead me to my love of Theatre, though I'm sure all the others helped a lot, too. From there, it was only natural I read the book and see the film.
The History Boys is set in Sheffield, North Yorkshire, in the 1980s at an all-boys boarding school and follows the education of eight sixth form boys who are either concerned with getting in to Oxbridge or getting their next shag, or both. One of the most important things to remember about this play is the time it is set in: the 1980s. This was the time when entrance exams and essays to Universities were compulsory and very different to how they are now, and also a time when homosexuality was definitely not as welcomed with open arms as it is today by the majority of society.
There are eight pupils, three teachers and one headmaster, all of them vying for the attention of another person and each one has their own agenda, though they do not all realise what theirs is.
It is a play divided in to two acts, though this is of no consequence. It's different reviewing plays to books as I usually talk about world-building, characterisation and the flow of the words, but these are relatively meaningless in a play. Characters speak, and that is it, so the dialogue is the most important thing: fortunately the dialogue is on-point. There are no wasted words and every thing anyone says has meaning. It is poignant and supremely heart-achingly sad, funny, wise and depraved at all angles. There is comic relief but there is also tragic relief, both mingled together as life always throws it so.
Another point to remember is that Hector is not a paedophile, as I seem to recall many people thinking of him as so in other reviews I've read: the History Boys are in fact above legal age, though this does not give Hector the right to molest them. It is characteristically pathetic: a shoddy attempt at feeling that he cannot get right. He has other people's words to use instead of his own - poets and writers - yet his expressions of emotion are harmless and half-hearted. Much in the same way that Posner cannot examine his own feelings - about Dakin or anyone else - without falling in to the words of another person.
I have not read an awful lot of plays, so perhaps my view of this is purely from a novelesque view point, though I cannot say for certain that I would not have been so captivated and ultimately moved by the play had I been a connoisseur of plays in the first place. I am a ruthless reviewer of books and I rarely give out five stars, so you'd forgive my impertinence as I say that obviously anything that completely knocks me sideways like The History Boys has isn't at least some way to being a good story.
I don't know, something about an amazing writer who happens to be a man can write about the stupidity of the way the world reacts to women doing anythI don't know, something about an amazing writer who happens to be a man can write about the stupidity of the way the world reacts to women doing anything just makes me love them that tiny bit more, y'know?
Only on page 11 and find that I can safely and assuredly rate 'The Meaning of Liff' 5 out of 5. Pure humour, pure quintessential Britishness and pure,Only on page 11 and find that I can safely and assuredly rate 'The Meaning of Liff' 5 out of 5. Pure humour, pure quintessential Britishness and pure, unadulterated Douglas Adams....more
I first read this book when I was around 12 or 13, and immediately fell in love with Mister Charles Dickens(To be reviewed thoroughly at a later date)
I first read this book when I was around 12 or 13, and immediately fell in love with Mister Charles Dickens. I can't remember why from that particular time, but there must have been something to spark the imagination of a young girl who had almost given up on reading and had fallen in to the world of virtual pets and friends from different time zones altogether....more
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