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spooky_miss) wrote2010-10-08 01:37 pm
spooky_miss) wrote2010-10-08 01:37 pm
Books Seventy Nine to Eighty Two, and Films 52 and 53
So many reviews...and so many yet to go! I now have one gig, and six books to review!
Book 79 – Dark Fire by CJ Sansom
This book is great! It follows Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer, in Tudor England. This is the second book in a series. In the first book he was close to Cromwell and worked for him, and in this second book he is more independent, but is asked by Cromwell to find out the secret of “dark fire”, which he has heard rumours of, apparently it can create whole sheets of flame with no noticeable fuel source. There is also another group of people who don’t want him to find out any information, and so they are killing the people who know about it – the people who found it, those who first showed it to Cromwell etc. It follows Shardlake as he tries to find out what this “dark fire” really is, as well as coping with his other cases, including one of a girl whose family say that she killed her younger brother, but she won’t talk to deny or confirm it, and that ends up having some dark family secret involved. It also introduces Barak, who Cromwell asks to help Shardlake, and it shows how their relationship develops. I thought it was good how they interacted together, and developed their friendship to the extent that by the time that Cromwell falls at the end of the book, Barak has become Shardlake’s assistant and is working for him.
I love historical novels, and I love crime novels, and this is a brilliant combination of both. This one is especially good as all the way through I was trying to work out what the “dark fire” actually was (although its not a true story, the author was obviously thinking of something when he wrote it!) I think its probably either petrol or pure alcohol, or something like that. There are three other Shardlake novels which I still have to read, one of which I have, but I’m trying to keep myself from reading it straight away, so I can then read it if I end up with a really difficult book to read, I can have that to look forward to afterwards! Recommended for anyone who likes crime novels and historical novels. 9 / 10
Book 80 - Social Sciences – The Big Issues by Kath Woodward
This is a book which was recommended to read before I started by OU course, Intro to Social Sciences. It’s actually really interesting, not just a stuffy old textbook like I thought it was going to be! It has chapters clearly laid out on subjects such as identity, ethnicity, the role of the media, and globalization, and it clearly states the issues in each of these subjects. The edition of the book I had was the first edition, from 2003, and I think there’s a new edition out now, but it was interesting to read the bits about how the internet will surely change the way we think about certain things – I’d like to read the new edition and see what’s written about the internet there, as it has definitely changed things now! I’d definitely recommend this to anyone who is going to study any kind of social sciences, as it’s a good introduction and makes you think about certain things! For me it just made me thing how much of a charmed life I (and most of the people I know) lead – we don’t really have to deal with any big issues socially, there’s nothing restricting us in society etc. This book is also a good introduction which covers the main aspects of social science and what it involves. Recommended to anyone studying any kind of social sciences – but I recommend getting the newer edition than this! 7.5 / 10
Book 81 – Brokeback Mountain: Story to Screenplay by Annie Proulx, Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana
Just to start, I’ll say I’ve never seen the film, its never appealed to me, and I would never have read this if it hadn’t have come free with the Times. This book starts with the short story which was later made into the film. It follows two cowboys who fall in love with each other, have a short romance while they are out herding cattle, and then come back down the mountain and get on with their lives, and have wives and children. Then a few years later they meet up again, and occasionally do this for the rest of their lives, until one of them dies (oops sorry just ruined the story for you!) During this, one of their wives finds out what the relationship is between the two men, and it causes difficulties in their relationship. Basically its just a book about four unhappy people who can’t live like they want to live. (can you tell by the style of my review what I think about it??). Then next in the book comes the screen play, and then a couple of essays from Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana about how they managed to film and release the film.
I now know the story of this, but I really don’t see what the fuss is about it. Maybe its because of where I live and the people I associate with, but two men falling in love with each other isn’t “controversial” or anything. From reading the story I can’t see anything which is particularly amazing about it, or which would make the film amazing, there’s nothing particularly deep and meaningful about it, apart from their love for one another. But who cares if they’re gay? Its almost like this film was made from the perspective of an earlier time, when it was controversial to admit to being gay. The story is set in those kind of times, but now there’s nothing about it which I think is particularly amazing. Its just a story about two people falling in love. I don’t really recommend it – it’s a very quick read, but there are much better books, especially about love! 4 / 10
Film 52 – St Trinians
Katie bought this when I went to see her, as we decided to have a quiet night in (for once!) watching films we hadn’t seen before. It follows the students at a girls school, St Trinians, their rivalries with other schools and the arrival of the minister for Education (Colin Firth) who wants to prove that their school is a bad example to other schools. When he gets there he finds that the head”mistress” (Rupert Everett!) is an old flame of his, and goes all gooey eyed at her/him! Added to that the school is highly in debt and they decide to steal a picture (Girl with a Pearl Earring), to get the money back. The girls have to get to the final of a school competition (obviously supposed to be University Challenge!) to be able to be in the National Gallery to steal the picture, and obviously they do this by cheating!
This is just a fun, silly film, the plot is obviously not that great, but its funny, its got loads of people you recognise in it, especially all the pupils – it was like they’d got all the 20-something female actresses who work in Britain today and got them to be the school girls! Its even got Russell Brand in it – and he’s not as bad as he normally is in this film! Its just a bit of fun, but I do recommend it. Oh and there’s a great bit where they introduce all the different “groups” of girls, like chavs, geeks, Goths (oh wait they’re not Goths, they’re emo, as they say!) Recommended if you’d like a fun, silly film! 7 / 10
Film 53 – Hello Wembley! – Michael McIntyre
This isn’t strictly speaking a film, but it’s a dvd, so I’ll say that that counts! It’s a recording of his most recent show, at Wembley obviously. Unfortunately I don’t think its quite as good as his previous dvd. It has the “spices” joke, but even that isn’t comparable to the genius of the “man drawer” one. Also, and I know I’ll sound like a prude about this, but there were a few more “rude” jokes than in the stuff he’s done previously, and I don’t think that’s needed. The best comedians are ones which are just funny rather than having to try to be “controversial” or rude to make people laugh, for example Bill Bailey, he’s just great, and he’s not rude at all (I don’t think?). However despite this Michael McIntyre is still funny, and if he played a small venue like St Albans for example I would definitely go! I do recommend this, but it is a bit different from his previous dvd, so if you bought one I’d get the previous one! 7 / 10
Book 82 – Remarkable Creatures by Tracey Chevallier
I read this book months ago, but I think I just forgot to review it, so here is the review. This tells the story of Mary Anning, who found the first complete fossil dinosaur in Lyme Regis. The narrator is Elizabeth Philpot, who moves to Lyme Regis from London, and is also very interested in fossils. Mary comes from a poor family, and finds fossils to sell to supplement her family’s income. Elizabeth also finds fossils, and encourages men from London, ones who come from the Natural History museum and places like that, to come and look at the fossils herself and Mary have found. It tells how one of the fossils gets bought by someone and it goes to London, where it is displayed in a horrible way, and painted! Which is really disappointing for both Elizabeth and Mary. It’s a great book as it shows the attitudes of the time towards the two women doing what was at that time was considered a very unladylike activity (digging fossils!) and gaining recognition for what they found. I really enjoyed this as I’ve been to Lyme Regis loads of times, so I recognised all the places they talked about, and also I like books which take historical characters and build a half true and half fictional story around them. Recommended if you like historical novels or fossils! 9 / 10
Book 79 – Dark Fire by CJ Sansom
This book is great! It follows Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer, in Tudor England. This is the second book in a series. In the first book he was close to Cromwell and worked for him, and in this second book he is more independent, but is asked by Cromwell to find out the secret of “dark fire”, which he has heard rumours of, apparently it can create whole sheets of flame with no noticeable fuel source. There is also another group of people who don’t want him to find out any information, and so they are killing the people who know about it – the people who found it, those who first showed it to Cromwell etc. It follows Shardlake as he tries to find out what this “dark fire” really is, as well as coping with his other cases, including one of a girl whose family say that she killed her younger brother, but she won’t talk to deny or confirm it, and that ends up having some dark family secret involved. It also introduces Barak, who Cromwell asks to help Shardlake, and it shows how their relationship develops. I thought it was good how they interacted together, and developed their friendship to the extent that by the time that Cromwell falls at the end of the book, Barak has become Shardlake’s assistant and is working for him.
I love historical novels, and I love crime novels, and this is a brilliant combination of both. This one is especially good as all the way through I was trying to work out what the “dark fire” actually was (although its not a true story, the author was obviously thinking of something when he wrote it!) I think its probably either petrol or pure alcohol, or something like that. There are three other Shardlake novels which I still have to read, one of which I have, but I’m trying to keep myself from reading it straight away, so I can then read it if I end up with a really difficult book to read, I can have that to look forward to afterwards! Recommended for anyone who likes crime novels and historical novels. 9 / 10
Book 80 - Social Sciences – The Big Issues by Kath Woodward
This is a book which was recommended to read before I started by OU course, Intro to Social Sciences. It’s actually really interesting, not just a stuffy old textbook like I thought it was going to be! It has chapters clearly laid out on subjects such as identity, ethnicity, the role of the media, and globalization, and it clearly states the issues in each of these subjects. The edition of the book I had was the first edition, from 2003, and I think there’s a new edition out now, but it was interesting to read the bits about how the internet will surely change the way we think about certain things – I’d like to read the new edition and see what’s written about the internet there, as it has definitely changed things now! I’d definitely recommend this to anyone who is going to study any kind of social sciences, as it’s a good introduction and makes you think about certain things! For me it just made me thing how much of a charmed life I (and most of the people I know) lead – we don’t really have to deal with any big issues socially, there’s nothing restricting us in society etc. This book is also a good introduction which covers the main aspects of social science and what it involves. Recommended to anyone studying any kind of social sciences – but I recommend getting the newer edition than this! 7.5 / 10
Book 81 – Brokeback Mountain: Story to Screenplay by Annie Proulx, Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana
Just to start, I’ll say I’ve never seen the film, its never appealed to me, and I would never have read this if it hadn’t have come free with the Times. This book starts with the short story which was later made into the film. It follows two cowboys who fall in love with each other, have a short romance while they are out herding cattle, and then come back down the mountain and get on with their lives, and have wives and children. Then a few years later they meet up again, and occasionally do this for the rest of their lives, until one of them dies (oops sorry just ruined the story for you!) During this, one of their wives finds out what the relationship is between the two men, and it causes difficulties in their relationship. Basically its just a book about four unhappy people who can’t live like they want to live. (can you tell by the style of my review what I think about it??). Then next in the book comes the screen play, and then a couple of essays from Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana about how they managed to film and release the film.
I now know the story of this, but I really don’t see what the fuss is about it. Maybe its because of where I live and the people I associate with, but two men falling in love with each other isn’t “controversial” or anything. From reading the story I can’t see anything which is particularly amazing about it, or which would make the film amazing, there’s nothing particularly deep and meaningful about it, apart from their love for one another. But who cares if they’re gay? Its almost like this film was made from the perspective of an earlier time, when it was controversial to admit to being gay. The story is set in those kind of times, but now there’s nothing about it which I think is particularly amazing. Its just a story about two people falling in love. I don’t really recommend it – it’s a very quick read, but there are much better books, especially about love! 4 / 10
Film 52 – St Trinians
Katie bought this when I went to see her, as we decided to have a quiet night in (for once!) watching films we hadn’t seen before. It follows the students at a girls school, St Trinians, their rivalries with other schools and the arrival of the minister for Education (Colin Firth) who wants to prove that their school is a bad example to other schools. When he gets there he finds that the head”mistress” (Rupert Everett!) is an old flame of his, and goes all gooey eyed at her/him! Added to that the school is highly in debt and they decide to steal a picture (Girl with a Pearl Earring), to get the money back. The girls have to get to the final of a school competition (obviously supposed to be University Challenge!) to be able to be in the National Gallery to steal the picture, and obviously they do this by cheating!
This is just a fun, silly film, the plot is obviously not that great, but its funny, its got loads of people you recognise in it, especially all the pupils – it was like they’d got all the 20-something female actresses who work in Britain today and got them to be the school girls! Its even got Russell Brand in it – and he’s not as bad as he normally is in this film! Its just a bit of fun, but I do recommend it. Oh and there’s a great bit where they introduce all the different “groups” of girls, like chavs, geeks, Goths (oh wait they’re not Goths, they’re emo, as they say!) Recommended if you’d like a fun, silly film! 7 / 10
Film 53 – Hello Wembley! – Michael McIntyre
This isn’t strictly speaking a film, but it’s a dvd, so I’ll say that that counts! It’s a recording of his most recent show, at Wembley obviously. Unfortunately I don’t think its quite as good as his previous dvd. It has the “spices” joke, but even that isn’t comparable to the genius of the “man drawer” one. Also, and I know I’ll sound like a prude about this, but there were a few more “rude” jokes than in the stuff he’s done previously, and I don’t think that’s needed. The best comedians are ones which are just funny rather than having to try to be “controversial” or rude to make people laugh, for example Bill Bailey, he’s just great, and he’s not rude at all (I don’t think?). However despite this Michael McIntyre is still funny, and if he played a small venue like St Albans for example I would definitely go! I do recommend this, but it is a bit different from his previous dvd, so if you bought one I’d get the previous one! 7 / 10
Book 82 – Remarkable Creatures by Tracey Chevallier
I read this book months ago, but I think I just forgot to review it, so here is the review. This tells the story of Mary Anning, who found the first complete fossil dinosaur in Lyme Regis. The narrator is Elizabeth Philpot, who moves to Lyme Regis from London, and is also very interested in fossils. Mary comes from a poor family, and finds fossils to sell to supplement her family’s income. Elizabeth also finds fossils, and encourages men from London, ones who come from the Natural History museum and places like that, to come and look at the fossils herself and Mary have found. It tells how one of the fossils gets bought by someone and it goes to London, where it is displayed in a horrible way, and painted! Which is really disappointing for both Elizabeth and Mary. It’s a great book as it shows the attitudes of the time towards the two women doing what was at that time was considered a very unladylike activity (digging fossils!) and gaining recognition for what they found. I really enjoyed this as I’ve been to Lyme Regis loads of times, so I recognised all the places they talked about, and also I like books which take historical characters and build a half true and half fictional story around them. Recommended if you like historical novels or fossils! 9 / 10