David M. Brown's Blog, page 13
March 12, 2015
Book Review: Hidden – Catherine McKenzie
About Hidden (2014)
While walking home from work one evening, Jeff Manning is struck by a car and killed. Two women fall to pieces at the news: his wife, Claire, and his co-worker Tish. Reeling from her loss, Claire must comfort her grieving son as well as contend with funeral arrangements, well-meaning family members, and the arrival of Jeff’s estranged brother, who was her ex-boyfriend. Tish volunteers to attend the funeral on her company’s behalf, but only she knows the true risk of inserting herself into the wreckage of Jeff’s life. Told through the three voices of Jeff, Tish, and Claire, Hidden explores the complexity of relationships, the repercussions of our personal choices, and the responsibilities we have to the ones we love.
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Review: Hidden
Hidden centres around three people – or rather one man whose world centres around two different women – and how their lives intertwine. It’s Jeff’s tragic and untimely demise that triggers this intertwinement and as the story develops it’s clear there are several very different love stories being played out here.
Jeff and Claire’s marriage seems solid but has not been without drama. Claire dated Jeff’s brother before he left for Australia and let’s just say friction and some unresolved feelings certainly impacted on the relationship. Although Jeff and Claire stay together some of the stitches of their relationship seem to have been unpicked. So when Tish and Jeff strike up a friendship at work and sparks begin to fly, Jeff has to fight hard to keep a lid on his feelings. Tish, meanwhile, has a loving husband but their relationship too is not without its difficulties. Across these many different relationships and interactions falls the shadow Jeff’s death.
The book takes two approaches in telling the story: through Jeff, Tish and Claire we learn about past events, the things that brought them to the point prior to Jeff’s death. Then we learn from Tish and Claire how the death has affected them and whether or not Jeff’s secrets extended beyond his ‘friendship’ with Tish into something much more.
I really liked Hidden. It’s very much an exploration of relationships and how not everything is always as it might seem to outsiders. Claire and Tish are very different in many ways but it’s clear they do share some traits. Often I felt like Jeff and Tish’s relationship developed as a result of them remembering fonder times with their own partners, rather than a determined desire to leave the past behind.
McKenzie does a great job of creating chemistry across the three characters, even when the interactions between them are often quite muted (by necessity). Imagination and assumptions play a big role in the book, particularly after Jeff has died and questions remain unanswered while new questions begin emerging. The dialogue was great and often raised a smile from me and despite the difficult subject matter, I couldn’t help but feel for all of these characters.
Hidden is a great read, quick and easy to enjoy, while at the same time walking just the right line between heartwarming and serious. While not a tearjerker – for me at least – it does have a lot of tender moments. I’d certainly recommend it.
Verdict: 4/5
Source: Netgalley
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March 11, 2015
The Bleaklisted Movies: When Harry Met Sally
Many moons ago a despotic cat named Charlie decided that he wanted to be a book critic. It would fit so nicely with his existing roles as food critic, dog critic and owner critic. Thus The Bleaklisted Books was born.
After fifty books Charlie ran out of the limited ideas and inspiration he had and turned his attention to the world of films. We apologise but this dictatorial little beast will not be contained.
Read at your risk… (And beware… SPOILERS!)
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
What happens?
Harry and Sally first meet and share a drive. They keep meeting over many years, staying friends but in the end they get together. Pass the sick bag please. This one is worse than Sheepless in Sea Cattle.
Reason for bleaklisting?
Orgasms at a dinner table. Must have been one hell of a salad!
What should have happened?
Harry and Sally first meet when leaving university. They share a drive where Harry wields a gun and shoots at mailboxes along the way. One of his shots ricochets off one mailbox and hits Sally in the forehead. Harry was firing blanks but Sally has one hell of a bruise on her head the next day. Over the years Harry and Sally keep meeting and each time Harry keeps firing his gun and every time a bullet bounces off something and hits Sally. Over time Sally is hit on the ear, shoulder, buttocks, mouth and even up the nose (through one nostril and out the other.) In the end they meet at a shooting range which has helped Harry focus his aim a little but Sally arrives wearing a suit of plate armour and a helm with a visor. They declare their undying love for one another and when they get married, Harry fires his gun again but this time the bullet ricochets into the air and takes out a space shuttle which leads to an elaborate firework display for Sally. Beautiful.
Working title?
When Harry Shot Sally.
Tagline?
Can men and women be friends or does a gun always get in the way.
Who should direct?
Quentin Tarantino.
Who should star?
Elijah Wood and Jennifer Lawrence.
Mr B compares the stories
Rob Reiner’s romantic comedy is a classic with Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan at their best. Offended by the simple friendship and then romance, Charlie has spiced things up a bit by turning Harry and Sally into a somewhat comical Bonnie and Clyde. Sally certainly sounds patient in the respect that every time she meets Harry he shoots her. Very strange. Frodo Baggins and Katniss Everdeen for the starring roles in this one? It’s not beyond the realms of possibility but unlikely at the moment as Elijah Wood and Jennifer Lawrence both have careers that are doing well.
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March 9, 2015
#RRBC: Haunting Megan Tour – Rebecca Reilly
We’re delighted to once again be hosting a stop on a 4WillsPublishing blog tour for #RRBC member Rebecca Reilly! Rebecca is the author of Haunting Megan and is sharing some great tips on creating characters with depth.
Create Characters With Depth
by Rebecca Reilly
A woman I met at a book signing leaned over and whispered in my ear, “I gotta tell you, I have the hots for Jim.” I don’t think I’ve had a better compliment. Detective Jim Tanger is the sad and sexy romantic lead of my first book, Into Dark Waters. It thrilled me to know that I gave Jim enough depth, flaws, and virtues to draw women into romantic fantasies about him.
Giving readers a protagonist that women desire and men admire is high priority when I write in the romantic suspense genre. I want to deliver a guy from whom readers can’t easily close the book and walk away. The story, the setting, the mystery and suspense are key, but realistic and relatable characters, male and female, make a novel worth reading and thinking about when the novel is done. It’s the characters that draw a reader back to visit a second and third time. My goal is to introduce you to people and make you feel as if you know them like family.
A writer must spend time with her characters before she introduces them to the public. I take long runs and quiet hikes conversing with my heroes and villains. In my imagination, I watch them relate to each other, listen to their back-story, uncover their weaknesses, and learn to know the layers that distinguish them from other people. I need to know if my female lead is the soul mate of the man I have in mind before I begin writing. I had to change my plans for the sequel to Haunting Megan because the two characters I had thought would fall in love didn’t work together; their faults and strengths did not mesh. By the time the story began to unfold in my mind, they were both so real I could not change them to make their love work.
A character’s flaws are more important to understand than his virtues. Everyone is broken in some way, and an author needs to allow the reader to know how her characters struggle, or don’t struggle, with their faults. The character that works to overcome his weaknesses pulls vastly different emotions from the reader than the one who hides his imperfections. Then you have the one who accepts his imperfections unashamedly, even boasting about where he falls short of social norms. How does this character’s quirkiness balance that character’s strengths? How does their relationship make each stronger, or at least, happier?
Personality assessment profiles are another character research tool I use. My favorite is the Meyers & Briggs (expanded here). Reading over the sixteen personality types helps me hone down idiosyncrasies and keep my characters consistent. I prefer to know my characters before I analyze them using this tool, but I know authors who use the assessment descriptions for inspiration, too.
Creative revealing of a character’s back-story helps connect the emotions of the reader to your hero or heroine. How the character responds, develops, matures, or falters because of the events of his or her past makes your character worthy of affection or an object of disdain. For example, sadness is attractive (someone special can cure that); bitterness is not (who wants to spend time with someone acidic?).
Characters morph, fall back and go forward, arc, and fail and succeed in a well thought-out story. Flaws lessen or change. Enlightenment comes and spurs positive action. Interesting characters do not begin a story with the same traits they end it. Static equals boring. Draw a line for each of the major players in your novel. Arrow up when they demonstrate personal growth; arrow down when they display a falling from grace. Evaluate the arc you’ve given your character. Is it enough to keep the reader believing in the reality of your hero or heroine?
When you read several books by the same author, you’ll know what he or she finds admirable and attractive. Though the protagonists may differ (hopefully) in looks, personality type, and back-story, at heart the guys that play the hero have a similar underlying character. For me, honor, self-sacrifice, and courage to do the right thing are paramount. He may be surly, sad, or taciturn, but underneath it all he’ll be a man with integrity.
I’d like to introduce you to two of my heroes, Deputy Sheriff Jason Belt in Haunting Megan, and Detective Jim Tanger, the sad and sexy protagonist of Into Dark Waters. You can meet them, and the heroines that learn to love them, here.
About Rebecca Reilly
Rebecca has an innate belief that if she dreams about something, she can accomplish it. Prompted by that sense of adventure, Rebecca pursued careers as a pastor, a health coach, a massage therapist, a Zumba instructor, a musical theater director/producer, and a writer – all at the same time.An avid reader, Rebecca begins each morning in the hot tub with a good book. She then wakes her muscles and her creativity with a long trail run, grabs a cup of coffee and gets to work.
Rebecca took on five wildly different genres for her first seven books – a murder mystery at sea (Into Dark Waters), a humorous look at sex and marriage (Diary of a Christian Woman: How I Used 50 Shades of Grey to Spice Up My Marriage), a children’s chapter book on bullying and self-esteem (The Geek Club under the pen name Becky Reilly), and two picture books (Jammers and His Flying Bed Adventure and Heart of a Kitty). She returned to the romantic suspense genre for her sixth book (Haunting Megan). Her current project (summer 2015 release date) is a non-fiction work called Christian Sex and Marriage—It’s Complicated!
Rebecca has been happily married for thirty-one years, is the mother of two, grandmother of one, and lives in Northern California.
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Rebecca’s Links
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Book Buy Links
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Haunting Megan
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Diary of A Christian Woman: How I Used 50 Shades of Grey To Spice Up My Marriage
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4WillsPublishing Links
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Book Review: Twisted – Andrew E. Kaufman
The psychologist with a troubled past…
Dr. Christopher Kellan spends his days at Loveland Psychiatric Hospital, overseeing a unit known as Alpha Twelve, home to the most deranged and psychotic killers imaginable. His newest patient, Donny Ray Smith, is accused of murdering ten young girls and making their bodies disappear. But during his first encounter with Donny, Christopher finds something else unsettling: the man looks familiar.
The killer with a secret…
Donny Ray knows things about Christopher—things he couldn’t have possibly learned at Loveland. As the psychologist delves deeper into the mysterious patient’s case, Christopher’s life whirls out of control. The contours of his mind are rapidly losing shape, and his grasp on reality is slipping even faster. Is he going mad, or is that what Donny Ray wants him to think?
The terror that binds them…
In this taut psychological thriller from Andrew E. Kaufman, bestselling author of The Lion, the Lamb, the Hunted, a tormented man must face his fear and enter the mind of a killer to find the truth…even if it costs him his sanity.
Review: Twisted
One of the problems with reviewing novels with twists is that those twists can really make or break a story but it’s very very difficult to talk about them without dropping spoilers. That’s a tough one and a problem that’s really stymied me here, hence me mulling over this review for a few days.
Christopher Kellan is a committed doctor, a devoted family man and a very likeable character. From the beginning I liked his tone, his dialogue and the way this character was put forward allowed me to be sympathetic to his problems at the same time as questioning some of his actions. So far, so good.
Kellan is assessing a patient, Donny Ray Smith, who is accused of murdering ten young girls. Despite his role as a father and his own general (unrelated) day-to-day fears for his young son, Kellan is able to put any abhorrence to one side and focus on the professional role that lies ahead. Initially.
As Kellan gets to know Donny more there are more and more things that just don’t seem to add up. Kellan begins to find it harder to leave his work at the door and his home life becomes affected. Gradually we being to find out that there are bigger issues that might be affecting Kellan than a troublesome patient.
This is where – I’ll admit – my review is going to fall down a bit. I can’t talk about Kellan’s troubles or the twists that begin to develop without dropping a spoiler (or two). Needless to say, as even the title itself – Twisted - suggests, this story is far from a straight road. There are so many ways this story develops – the events, Kellan’s feelings, the feeling that we are only getting one side of the story – that this becomes a very involved tale, while at the same time keeping a fast pace. That in itself impressed me.
The area that let Twisted down for me was the ending. Once again, I’m struggling to articulate my thoughts without giving major MAJOR spoilers away. What I will say is that for a book that took us on a complex and involving journey, the final events and ‘resolution’ (though that’s quite an ineffectual word, so forgive me) does some to wrap up rather quickly. I can see why: I’m sure the author felt it would impact somewhat on the drama of the story to dwell too long on the ending and the whys and wherefores. I, for one, would have appreciated it, though. With so much tension and drama so brilliantly built up and executed, a little tapering down might have allowed me to appreciate it just that little bit more.
I wavered between a three and a four but in the end the four won out. This book kept me hooked throughout so I can’t deny the impact of the initial 90-95% for the sake of a final few pages that could have been extended a little further. To do that would be to deny how effective, chilling and unnerving this clever thriller is during the vast majority of the book.
Verdict: 4/5
Source: Netgalley
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The Diary of Mr Kain: Week #23
Monday
Crazy day with the weather today. Sunshine, snow, wind, rain and flatulence from Beard Face. It made for a tricky escape from the house to be honest. I had trouble timing my outings when the sun was out and consequently ended up drenched a couple of times. It wasn’t all bad though. Beard Face put some laundry out and was nipping in and out frequently during the afternoon to try and keep it dry. I’d have just left it for another day.
Tuesday
Beard Face was watching Limitless today about a guy who pops a pill and can access 100% of his brain function. If the NHS could prescribe a pill that allows Beard Face to access 1% of his brain function then perhaps he might just improve significantly as a human being. At this moment in time he is a lost cause.
The weather was insane this week but not as insane as Beard Face.
Wednesday
Beard Face’s quest for a new job continues. Frizzy Hair finally snapped today, slapped him round the face and told him to try applying for jobs that he actually has a chance of getting. The old boy was suddenly struck by an epiphany (or a frying pan depending on your point of view) and hit upon the notion of going for the kind of work he’s done before because that’s where he has experience. You think! What a mind numbingly stupid, pathetic, contemptuous imbecile he is.
Thursday
Beard Face received a court order from the local council today. Apparently he’s been caught on CCTV committing multiple crimes including jaywalking, fraud, seducing a traffic light, reading the Daily Mail and even attempting time travel in a built up area. This being Barnsley the old boy can either go to court and risk a prison sentence or pay a substantial fine of three turnips, one bottle of Dr Pepper and a bacon sandwich. Tough choice.
Friday
Beard Face continued his attempts to stop me scratching things today. He put annoying plastic sheeting on the stairs in the hope that it will deter me. He began with the bottom step so I moved up one. Beard Face tackled that one so I moved up another step. We still have at least half a dozen steps to go and not once has he thought of just protecting all the steps. Perhaps it will dawn on him when only one remains. Idiot.
Saturday
Beard Face has been somewhat strange today. He’s started wearing his socks on his ears and his underpants on his head. To add to this bizarre behaviour he’s also taken to singing Tears For Fears’ Pale Shelter repeatedly. Picture this strange attire and imagine him singing, “You give me pale shelter. You give me cold hands. And I can’t operate on this failure, when all I want to be is completely in command.” I think he really needs a job before he drives the rest of us insane with his depraved hobbies.
Sunday
Beard Face was celebrating today. Barnsley FC have made it 5 wins in a row yesterday. Must be something strange in the water at Oakwell. Possibly of the glow in the dark variety. With his team actually doing well for a change the old boy has been pretty unbearable, stomping around the house chanting “You Reds!” and “Sledgehammer” in a very loud voice. I’m not sure what “Sledgehammer” has to do with Barnsley FC or indeed football but I wasn’t going to stick around and ask questions. I made myself scarce and hid outside.
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March 8, 2015
Review: Life, Fork and Spoon by James Martin
Mr B and I first used Life, Fork and Spoon a couple of years ago when we wanted a special meal but wanted the luxury of just the two of us present. I’m a passable cook but at the time had a fairly limited range of dishes and couldn’t have called myself adventurous by any means. Celebrating an anniversary with a burnt main course and a dessert gone wrong didn’t sound like fun so I decided to try Life, Fork and Spoon. That was a good call. We had a lovely meal and always remembered the experience as an enjoyable one.
When our sixth ‘First Date-iversary’ came around (a date we mark with more vigour than our actual wedding anniversary) we had intended to have a meal at the local Italian but a strange sequence of events conspired to keep us at home on the day in question. Determined to still celebrate on the day, we decided Life, Fork and Spoon would be our solution once again.
We opted for the Life, Fork and Spoon ‘Dinner Party for Two‘ option. At £25.00 for three courses, it was good value. We started with Bloody Mary Soup, quick to heat through and very full of flavour. Once that was done it was the work of 15 minutes to prepare the main:
Beef Bordelaise with Pancetta and Red Wine
Creamy Buttery Mashed Potatoes
Carrot and Swede Mash
Petit Pois a la Creme
Dauphinoise Potatoes (bought as an extra for £2.50)
We bought the extra potatoes as I’m not keen on peas and Mr B wasn’t keen on either vegetable accompaniment and also just because I have a soft spot for them. Good choice – they were delicious! The portion was definitely plentiful, so much so that I had to palm some of my main off onto Mr B to make sure I had room for dessert.
Dessert was a thoroughly decadent and rich Chocolate Marquise. It utterly defeated me and I ended up giving around a third to Mr B, who valiantly managed it on top of his own. Where he puts it is beyond me but I guess that’s the joy of being a runner!
We weren’t quite finished. As stuffed as we were, I have a real soft spot for apple tart so we had ordered Apple Tart Tatin with Caramel Sauce for a late supper later on. Yes, yes, indulgent I know. This was the only area where Life, Fork and Spoon let us down. They had forgotten to pack the caramel sauce! I was somewhat frustrated initially, I’ll admit, but in the end the apple tart was so tasty and full of flavour that I struggled to see how it would have been bettered by the caramel sauce. So it was a tiny quibble but in the end not one that affected our enjoyment of the meal one jot.
With the extra dessert and the extra side dish we paid just under £38 in total including delivery. The food was delivered in a very high tech fashion, cooled by dry ice! This caused some consternation with Mr B being convinced he was going to gas us if he didn’t remove the box immediately but we quickly ascertained that putting it in the garden in an open area would allow it to disperse and nobody would die. That would certainly have ruined the day! But all was well, the food remained perfectly fresh and for the second time Life, Fork and Spoon allowed us to have a brilliant meal at home.
I’m a much better cook than I was when I first used Life, Fork and Spoon and certainly more confident about producing multiple courses and more intricate dishes. Even so, there was something very nice and relaxing about being able to have great food at home with little effort and only a few pots to wash up. It certainly made our sixth First Date-iversary very special and I’ve no doubt we’ll be using them again in the future.
Verdict: 5/5
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March 6, 2015
Six Cats and a Black Dog: The Blog for Mental Health Pledge
For some time I’ve been planning on writing more about my own mental health experiences. Thus far, with the exception of a very open post on Terri Giuliano Long’s blog (Notes on Depression: The Darkest Day), I haven’t really followed through. Why? Well, I suppose that mostly it comes down to this: despite gradually becoming more able to talk about my experiences, I still can’t shake the feeling that other people won’t want to hear them. That it’s going to be perceived as wallowing or self-indulgent. That I’m somehow going to be considered to be ‘bringing it on myself’. And, if you’re reading this and you have/have had mental health problems, you probably know exactly why I face these worries because you’ve probably encountered this kind of stigma and these kinds of attitude.
So when I saw the Blog For Mental Health Challenge, it was the kick up the proverbial that I really needed. So I will – as the mood takes me or as I think of something that seems worth sharing – share some of my experiences.
This is the pledge:
“I pledge my commitment to the Blog for Mental Health 2015 Project. I will blog about mental health topics not only for myself, but for others. By displaying this badge, I show my pride, dedication, and acceptance for mental health. I use this to promote mental health education in the struggle to erase stigma.”
Six Cats and a Black Dog has long been a title I’ve had in mind because as much as I owe to my friends and family for their help, understanding and patience during troubled times, I cannot overstate the role my cats have played. Their intuitiveness, their loving natures, the fact that they love you just as much on good days as bad, all of these things have made my furry friends my constant cheering mascots in good times and bad. The black dog is a cunning adversary but my six beautiful beasties fight just as hard as I do to keep it at bay. Therefore, this little set of posts is dedicated to them.
I’ve already far exceeded the ‘brief’ introduction I planned so I won’t embark on a brand new post. Instead, let me share some words from a piece I wrote two years ago. Two years on, much better, much more positive, I don’t look back and feel shame at my words or consider them self-indulgent. Instead, I look back and realise how far I’ve come, how dark the place I’ve come from was and how great the journey. There is a long way to go but I am determined stigma won’t be an added weight on my future travels.
In the 13 years since I was originally diagnosed with clinical depression – hospitalised, medicated and then after two weeks returned home as if nothing had happened – I have never found a way to explain depression that sums it up more completely than the absence of normal feeling. Intense anger will rise up, or intense self-loathing, intense sadness or overwhelming loneliness. Extremes. The feeling of satisfaction from a job well done or vague pleasure after a chat with a neighbour? Gone.
I was honest with my husband, Dave. I told him: I look at you and I feel nothing. I know I love you but I don’t feel it, any more than I can touch gravity or the sky. To his credit, he simply nodded, held my hand, thanked me for my explanation.
Thank you to The Official Blog for Mental Health Project and A Canvas of the Minds for running this incredible challenge and helping spread the word about something so important.
Are you taking part in Blog for Mental Health 2015? Let me know your site link!
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March 5, 2015
Book Review: Poems About Cats (Cat vs Human)
Cats have long been an inspiration to artists and poets. In this heartwarming collection, artist Yasmine Surovec of catversushuman.com presents an illustrated anthology of literary adulation and poetic tributes to the always-alluring, ever-beloved cat.From Shakespeare to Blake to Rosetti to Wordsworth to classic nursery rhymes, cats have been celebrated in poetry for as long as they have been warming laps. Cats are mysterious, adorable, finicky, and cherished; and they have been beloved muses for some of our most renowned poets, writers, and artists. This inspired collection presents treasured poems and nursery rhymes illustrated with the whimsical, irresistible art of Yasmine Surovec.
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Review: Poems About Cats
I like cats (no surprise there) and I like poetry, so it wasn’t a huge gamble to take a chance on Poems About Cats, a Cat vs Human book from Yasmine Surovec.
This is a great volume with a range of well chosen verses accompanied by lovely illustrations. The poems as a whole cover the many facets of cat behaviour and their personalities: from the loving cat we cherish right down to the naughty and mischievous cat who’ll steal your dinner and let the dog take the blame.
Here’s a particular favourite:
But cats consider theft a game
And, howsoever you may blame,
Refuse the slightest sign of shame.
(From A Cat’s Conscience)
I found some old favourites in here (such as Edward Lear’s The Owl and the Pussycat and William Blake’s The Tyger) but I also discovered some new (to me) verses that touched me, made me laugh or made me well up. The Seventy-Five Praises of Ra aptly opens the book and therefore I was smiling the second my eyes found “thou art the Great Cat”.
This is a really nice volume and one that would be a treasured gift for any cat lover I’m sure. I read it as an ebook and still loved the poems and the illustrations but as a physical volume this must be a real treat.
The closing lines to Three Little Kittens will serve as a more than fitting summary of my thoughts:
Purr, purr, purr, purr,
Purr, purr, purr.
Verdict: 4/5
Source: Netgalley
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March 4, 2015
The Bleaklisted Movies: 12 Angry Men
Many moons ago a despotic cat named Charlie decided that he wanted to be a book critic. It would fit so nicely with his existing roles as food critic, dog critic and owner critic. Thus The Bleaklisted Books was born.
After fifty books Charlie ran out of the limited ideas and inspiration he had and turned his attention to the world of films. We apologise but this dictatorial little beast will not be contained.
Read at your risk… (And beware… SPOILERS!)
12 Angry Men (1957)
What happens?
12 jurors debate a murder trial. 11 think guilty. 1 thinks not guilty. They chat. They get angry. They decide not guilty.
Reason for bleaklisting?
I just don’t think they were angry enough.
What should have happened?
12 jurors are called to debate the case of a woman who has strangled her husband with a McDonalds wrapper. All the jurors have the same name except no.8 who is called Nigel. This leads to bitterness and discontent before the case is even debated. Nigel thinks the verdict should be guilty but the other jurors are going for not guilty. They agree to change their verdict but only if Nigel will change his name to theirs by weed pool. Nigel agrees and they condemn the woman to a 20-year sentence working the tills at her nearest McDonalds restaurant.
Working title?
12 Angry Kens.
Tagline?
When 12 Kens go to war.
Who should direct?
Ben Stiller.
Who should star?
Adam Sandler, Robert DeNiro and Anne Hathaway.
Mr B compares the stories
Change your name by “weed pool”? I think Charlie means deed poll. Confusion aside, Sidney Lumet’s classic drama from 1957 has Henry Fonda as Juror no.8, the only one of the 12 who wants to discuss the court case whereas the others are all set on a guilty verdict. Suffice to say, there are a lot of disagreements before the end. While Charlie’s alternative tries to follow the original it only succeeds in amounting to a very weak premise for a comedy and would likely tarnish Adam Sandler’s reputation even further than Jack and Jill did.
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February 28, 2015
This Month’s Books (February 2015)
L.T. Suzuki – A Warrior’s Tale (2010)
“Imago Chronicles: Book One, A Warrior’s Tale” begins at the height of the turmoil that shall determine if indeed there will be a Third Age of Peace. Besieged by the enemy from the east and now immersed in war with soldiers of the Dark Army from the west, Nayla Treeborn and her people are about to engage in the next great war that will decide the fate of all mankind and Elves in Imago. In a desperate attempt to deliver word to the Elf king of Wyndwood and those of the alliance for a call to arms, she is the last surviving messenger sent forth by her people. Now, trapped in a storm at the top of the world, she fights to survive the deadly elements in a strange land.Despised by Elves and shunned by mortals, she must now find the courage to make a place in this world, and the compassion to save those who keep her at arm’s length. This adventure recounts the defining moments in Nayla’s life that had forged her into a deadly warrior, a great captain and a legend amongst the people of Imago.
Verdict: 4/5
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Humble Nations – National Sick Day (2014)
IN ENGLAND, the life of a Human Resources officer suits Melissa just fine that is until a strange, unstamped letter – urging rebellion – arrives one Tuesday morning, setting the wheels in motion for a comedy of catastrophe and office-based high-drama. A deliciously-wicked story recounted in just less than 5000 words.
MAY CONTAIN: Adult Humour and traces of fish.
NOT SUITABLE FOR: Children, ichthyophobics, or those of a serious disposition.
Verdict: 3/5
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William Shakespeare – Titus Andronicus (1589)
Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and possibly George Peele, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare’s first tragedy, and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were extremely popular with audiences throughout the sixteenth century.
The play is set during the latter days of the Roman Empire and tells the fictional story of Titus, a general in the Roman army, who is engaged in a cycle of revenge with Tamora, Queen of the Goths. It is Shakespeare’s bloodiest and most violent work and traditionally was one of his least respected plays. Although it was extremely popular in its day, it fell out of favour during the Victorian era, primarily because of what was considered to be a distasteful use of graphic violence, but from around the middle of the twentieth century its reputation began to improve.
Verdict: 4/5
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William Shakespeare – Julius Caesar (1599)
In this striking tragedy of political conflict, Shakespeare turns to the ancient Roman world and to the famous assassination of Julius Caesar by his republican opponents. The play is one of tumultuous rivalry, of prophetic warnings—“Beware the ides of March”—and of moving public oratory—“Friends, Romans, countrymen!” Ironies abound and most of all for Brutus, whose fate it is to learn that his idealistic motives for joining the conspiracy against a would-be dictator are not enough to sustain the movement once Caesar is dead.
Verdict: 4/5
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William Shakespeare – Hamlet (1603)
Hamlet is the story of the Prince of Denmark who learns of the death of his father at the hands of his uncle, Claudius. Claudius murders Hamlet’s father, his own brother, to take the throne of Denmark and to marry Hamlet’s widowed mother. Hamlet is sunk into a state of great despair as a result of discovering the murder of his father and the infidelity of his mother. Hamlet is torn between his great sadness and his desire for the revenge of his father’s murder.
Verdict: 5/5
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George R.R. Martin – A Game of Thrones (1996)
Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.
As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.
The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.
Verdict: 5/5
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William Shakespeare – Troilus and Cressida (1602)
Shakespeare’s tragic and comic dramatization of the Trojan War endures in one of his most intriguing plays. Shakespeare’s portrayal of the snares of young love set against a backdrop of a senseless and endless war can be fully appreciated for the beauty of its verse and the profundity of its themes.
Verdict: 3/5
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Jack London – The God of His Fathers (1901)
As a young man in the summer of 1897, Jack London joined the Klondike gold rush. From that seminal experience emerged these gripping, inimitable wilderness tales, which have endured as some of London’s best and most defining work. With remarkable insight and unflinching realism, London describes the punishing adversity that awaited men in the brutal, frozen expanses of the Yukon, and the extreme tactics these adventurers and travelers adopted to survive.
Verdict: 3/5
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The post This Month’s Books (February 2015) appeared first on B-Lines and Felines.
