Rebecca Crunden's Blog, page 60
September 1, 2020
Currently Listening: an audiobook post
I found a bunch of great audiobooks and audibles this week. A lot of them are free, too, which makes me happy! If you have an Audible account, definitely take advantage of the free offers because I somehow overlooked them until recently and there’s actually some pretty good stuff on offer.
I’m currently listening to The Folding Star (literary fiction, lgbt+), which has been on my list for a bit, and The Rise of the Iron Men With Misha Glenny (politics, free!). The narrator of The Folding ...
August 31, 2020
Book Reviews Elsewhere
My book review for Facing the Rising Sun by Gerald Horne (2018) published in History: The Journal of the Historical Association is available here.
Show Review: 질투의 화신 / Don’t Dare to Dream / Jealousy Incarnate (2016)
Okay, so 질투의 화신 aka Don’t Dare to Dream aka Jealousy Incarnate is so not what I expected. The summary just did not give away many details. A love triangle? Cool? What else? So I didn’t go into it with much context and I’m glad I was willing to give it a try! A much better summary would be: A weather forecaster, Na-ri, works at a news network and is struggling to make it big in the business. She’s thrown for a loop when the reporter she had a crush on three years ago, Hwa-shin, returns to Sou...
August 29, 2020
Show Reviews: Abyss (2019) & Beautiful Gong Shim (2016)
It’s been a little bit since I’ve watched a K-drama, so of course I started two in one week. Abyss (어비스) and Beautiful Gong Shim (미녀 공심이). I haven’t finished either yet, and I’m only about five episodes into each, but so far I’m loving both of them.
Abyss follows two best friends: a man who doesn’t find himself attractive and is often ridiculed, and a woman who believes herself stunning and gets quite a lot of compliments. Both die on the same day. Cha Min decides to kill himself after h...
August 27, 2020
Documentary/Docudrama Reviews: Official Secrets (2019) & The Great Hack (2019)
Official Secrets is a truly important film that focuses on 2003, just before the invasion of Iraq. It’s a docudrama (real news footage is interspersed with the film) that follows Katharine Gun, played by Keira Knightley. (Seriously, when is Keira Knightley not perfection??) An employee at GCHQ, Katharine Gun learned via email that the USA sought to acquire intelligence on other nations who might oppose the war. Horrified of the outcome and the impending death toll, Gun brings the document to...
Film Review: Venom (2018)
I wanted a movie that was going to cheer me up and I’m so glad I picked Venom. It’s honestly the funniest movie I’ve seen in a while and probably one of the best superhero movies I’ve ever seen. I only realised after I watched it that it didn’t get great reviews – well, SILLINESS. IGNORE THE BAD REVIEWS, THIS MOVIE IS AWESOME SAUCE AND A KETTLE OF FUN. Tom Hardy is good in literally everything (Virgin Queen, Peaky Blinders, The Dark Knight Rises, etc.) but as I don’t keep up with movies at a...
August 26, 2020
Review: Ring the Bell (2020)
Ring the Bell by Josie Jaffrey
It’s everyone for themselves in Unterstrom, and despite our efforts to convert them to our way of thinking, our neighbours won’t listen. They argue that the Surge serves a purpose, that the sick and old are a burden on the community, which is exactly what the masters in Overstrom want us to think. They argue this because it’s the accepted truth, but the real truth is more selfish.
Ouch, right in the dystopian feeeeeels. Ring the Bell follows Mia and Ari, ...
August 24, 2020
Book Review: Release (2017)
Release by Patrick Ness
As I was reading this, my mind kept likening it to The Wicker King and The Monsters We Deserve, although neither of those is really similar. Maybe just along the same vibe? Release takes place over the course of the day and tells two stories: one is Adam’s, a gay teenager in an Evangelical home with a family he doesn’t feel loved by; the other is the story of a Queen and her faun. I quite liked both stories, for different reasons. I adored Adam and my heart ached f...
August 19, 2020
Poetry Review: For Our Country by Shahein Farahani
‘For Our Country’ by Shahein Farahani
My greetings to you, women who are concerned
for our country
Women bewildered by all that they have learned
of our country
This is such a powerful poem. Wow.
I’d never heard of Shahein Farahani until I came across this poem. From what I’ve read, she published under the name ‘Shahein Farahani’ (I’ve also seen her name written Shahin Farahani, real name Fatemeh Farahani) and wrote poetry in 19th century Iran, focusing on women’s rights. I really lik...
Indie TBR
Indie books are often where I look for most of my books. Not just because I write indie books myself and want to support fellow writers, but because I find so much diversity and so many hidden gems. So, without further ado, some indie books I’ve added to my list that I can’t wait to sink my teeth into:
Eat the Rich by Andrew Rivas | Jinnik: The Asset by Gideon D. Asche | Goblinprince by Abbigayle Grace | Lord of the Clouds by G.S. Lewis | Annabel Pickering and the Sky Pirates: The Fan...
