Reviews..books, film, plays

“I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings.” 
― Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

I have to agree with Mozart...I don't like to read reviews of books or movies until after I have read or seen them...I so frequently disagree with reviewers.  So take my reviews with a grain of salt...what  I may or may not like has nothing to do with what anyone else may like!

Since the last time I wrote a review blog, I have read or listened to several books.

A five star book to me

I had read "The Husband's Secret" by Moriarity and thoroughly enjoyed it..so when "Truly Madly Guilty" came up on Amazon on sale I had to get it on my Kindle....really good...one of those that became hard to put down once into it a ways.

Only two stars!

This was an audio book I downloaded...the premises was intriguing...what appears to be a normal size pond is called an "ocean" by one of the characters who turns out to be a wee bit supernatural! Now, I like Sci-Fi and supernatural stories, but this one just never got of first base...it need a lot more character  and plot build up for my tastes.

Another five star!!!!!

I love Jodi Picoult!  I have read several of her novels and have yet to be disappointed.  A contemporary situation...racial tension, hospital and courtroom settings, an awareness created for me of being a privileged white woman....not that I haven't always been very liberal but this made me look at my status in a whole new way.  We read this for our Villas bookclub, but I missed the March meeting to discuss it because I was out to town....it would have been a lively one to hear about!

Four stars

Another audio book...this author is known as " Denmark's premier crime writer".  I really enjoyed listening to this book on a couple of levels....it is a fascinating plot and the reader was really good with the Danish accents!  "The Keeper of Lost Causes" is Adler-Olsen's first in an ongoing series about Department Q,  a newly developed investigative team...cold cases...in the police force of Copenhagen.  I am really taken with several Scandinavian authors...Stieg Larsson (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo),  Jo Nesbo (the Harry Hole detective series),  Henning Mankell (of Wallander fame), and Camilla Lackberg (who also writes in a series of murders in a small Swedish town).

And a couple of plays I have seen in the past few weeks presented by Stage West, Fort Worth, are:

"Stupid F*&#*ing Bird" was on a couple of months ago...it is a modern day adaptation of Chekov's "The Seagull"....If I had ever read Chekov's play, I didn't recall it, so I downloaded it to my Kindle and have now read it.  This adaptation was very close to the original play....without the "blue" language! 

.....and just this afternoon....

Another really dark play with strong language!!

"Deer" had me laughing heartily!!  It is dark...it had a lot of "strong language" but it was full of unexpected twists and turns! It is one of these plays one will either love or hate!  This was the "World Premiere" the play...the writer was going to be available after the play for a discussion but we decided to head on home.

And my last review...a movie!  I haven't been to the movie theater in probably two years, but when my daughter and I were visiting Kathleen in Warrensburg, MO, where she is in college, we decided to go see "Lalaland".  I had seen Stone and Gosling interviewed on Charlie Rose not too long ago and with a couple of clips from the movie, I thought I was in store for a good ol' fashioned musical in the style of "Cabaret", "Westside Story", etc.  But it was not to be...I think my expectations were too high, because I found it to be disappointing....not nearly as much music as I expected..the story line was disjointed and unfulfilling...if I were rating it with "stars" as I do books, I would have to give it no more than two stars! 

Now, keep in mind my first  statement...this is just MY opinion!