Just discovered books on my To- Read shelf on Goodreads hasn't been updating books that I have read or reviewed and still has many, many, many books marked as to-read. Now I have to post the reviews or re-sort the To-Read shelf and remove books that shouldn't be on there.
Serves me right for not paying attention... More stuff to update. Oy.
Original post: kkmalott.booklikes.com/post/1585572/blog-updating-snafu
Review:
When twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world, linguistics professor Louise Banks is tasked with interpreting the language of the apparent alien visitors.
Okay so here's your warning if you haven't watched this movie yet.
This post contains SPOILERS. (Feel free to close the window if you don't want certain details ruined for you)
So far I've seen the Arrival six times. Yes, six. I'll probably watch it again too.
The first time I saw The Arrival I really disliked it. I borderline hated it. Why I really can't explain, I just really didn't like it. But after a few days I couldn't get it out of my mind. Something about it stuck with me and kept sticking with me.
Needing to understand why I didn't care for it I went back to watch it a second time. Then a third, and a forth and so on. I still can't really say why I disliked it so much the first time other than its rather vast vagueness and the open question of what takes place or might take place in three thousand years that triggers the Heptapod's arrival in the first place.
Granted, I haven't read the short story that the movie is based off of which I hear is quite a bit different from the film but I'm rather glad they left certain things I've heard about it out of the movie.
I'm still not sure how I feel about Abbott and Costello. I know they call them Heptapod's and all but come on, they're squid. They're giant squid. Just call them what they are. They're not aliens, they're squid. Heptapod..
Atleast viewers didn't get a giant version of Starship Trooper's drooling vagina. Okay whatever. I can deal with a giant squid.
That aside there's something really cool about how thought out this movie is.
Viewers don't really know where they are in the beginning of the movie because they don't really realize the timeline plot they're about to be drawn into.
Future memories at the beginning setting into motion the journey part way through, the future at the end closing the loop to ensure that the past that has happened and the future that needs to happen actually take place.
Viewers get to see how the paradox and the non linear time affect Louise as she learns the language so that she sees things the way the Heptapod's do but the movie also plays in the non linear sort of way as well so viewers have to piece together where it all ties in the way Louise does.
Its wild to see the flashes where she doesn't even know where/when she is once she has the ability to see the way the Heptapod's do. Personally I don't see how useful could she be if she's stuck in la la land because her view of time is no longer the same.
There are a ton of questions as a viewer of how that kind of thing would affect a person and a society as whole once we see that Louise eventually begins to teach their language to other students and once we know what learning it does to a person. I did feel for her because despite knowing the future she still decided to go through with it even though she knew the loss she would suffer because of it.
I have to admit now the more I watch this movie the more I like it and there's always something more that I discover about it that intrigues me. There are so many things I wish I could mention here but I'd probably be going on for hours. I highly recommend this movie. A very good second in plot development as Interstellar. Very good!
Note: The Arrival - not to be confused with Charlie Sheen's alien movie The Arrival from 1996 came out in 2016.
Original post: kkmalott.booklikes.com/post/1585398/movie-night-the-arrival-2016
Review:
Author: Victoria Laurie
Title: What's a Ghoul to Do?
Series: Ghost Hunter Mystery
Cover Rating:
Book Rating:
Buy This Book:
M.J., her partner Gilley, and their client, the wealthy, de-lish Dr. Steven Sable, are at his family's lodge, where his grandfather allegedly jumped to his death from the roof-although Sable says it was foul play.
But the patriarch's isn't the only ghost around. The place is lousy with souls, all with something to get off their ghoulish chests.
Now M.J. will have to to quell the clamor-and listen for a voice with the answers...
Its taken me a long time to put in the effort to read and write a review for self proclaimed psychic and author Victoria Laurie's book What's a Ghoul to Do because when I bought her books I wound up stumbling onto the whole Amazon/ DAM/ Reader vs. Author / Blog drama when I looked up her social pages since I wanted to know more about her.
I didn't care for what I learned. So I shelved her books and forgot about them for awhile.
I wasn't fully convinced that I was eager to read books with the Zombie/Ghoul themes since I'm not a big fan of the whole zombie movement.
I mean no insult to fans of both. My fault at the time for not knowing that there actually is a difference between the two.
Eventually I found my interest was piqued by someone who turned me onto Diana Rowland's Zombie series. I read the books and was forced to admit that I rather enjoyed them. A lot. So I figured since I still had Laurie's books on my shelves I might as well give those a go now that I was willing to give the undead a turn and now that Laurie's whole I'm out to punish all negative reviewers escapades was over - just in case I didn't like them either.
What's a Ghoul to Do was interesting - not really for me when it came to her portrayal of her characters personalities. MJ kind of felt too childlike/ valley girl for me to feel interested in her. I'm the complete opposite of that so its hard for me as a reader to relate to that kind of character.
Most of Laurie's characters felt like on one hand they were described as this fascinating person but on the other, the moment that character actually did or said something it reversed everything that had been built up about them that made me interested in them to begin with.
I do think that there is potential in this series being really good with some minor changes I just didn't think as the first installment to a series that it was all that great.
It probably would have been better suited as a YA book if Laurie took out the more adult content (its not explicit just adult geared) and kept her characters young since the maturity level of her characters feel more like children/teenagers than an adults.
The biggest reason I wanted to read the books - my wanting to get into the zombie/ ghoul thing... I have to admit I'm a poor candidate to judge the level of ghoulishness of this book. The only thing I have to compare it to is Rowland's books and unfortunately What's a Ghoul to Do doesn't even begin to compare. I hate that because its not fair to Laurie but that's all I have to base it on right now.
In my mind What's a Ghoul to Do just felt more like a clever title than actual ghoulishness in the book.
In the end I think I was the wrong reader at the wrong time for this book and this author.
But I encourage you to give a try. See what you think. Could be maybe you'll enjoy it more than I did. I'd be interested in hearing what your thoughts are if you have read it.
Until next time book lovers...
Krissys Bookshelf Reviews purchased a print copy for personal collection.
All thoughts, comments and ratings are my own.
If any of Krissy's Bookshelf Reviews has been helpful please stop by to like my post or leave a comment to let me know what you think. I love hearing from you!
Original post: kkmalott.booklikes.com/post/1585382/what-s-a-ghoul-to-do-ghost-hunter-mystery-1-by-victoria-laurie
