Raven
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Posts posted by Raven
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I watched all eight episodes this week, and on the whole enjoyed it. There are some quite major changes from Tolkien's narrative, but I can largely see why the changes have been made. Pity the next series is a year away...
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The Silmarillion and Piranesi are both 99p on the Kindle today.
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I saw this in paperback, in my local Waterstone's, last Saturday.
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19 hours ago, Brian. said:
I polished off the last of my Glengoyle 21 year old at the weekend and that lead to me ordering 3 new to me whiskies. Aberlour A'Bunadh, Kaiyo Mizunara Oak, and Deanston 18 year old. Should keep me warm over the winter 😀
And let's face it, if you aren't warm you won't care!
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On 10/22/2022 at 1:23 PM, nikolah said:
Hello all! I'm having a films marathon with group of friends soon, but unfortunately I'm not the biggest films enthusiast. Everyone is supposed to bring one film title to share so we could all watch it together. I have no idea what to watch with them, but since I am a huge books lover I thought we might watch a film that is a book adaptation. So here's my question: do you have any favourite film adaptation? or what is the best film adaptation of a book in your opinion? I'm obviously going to read it first anyway.
Are there any specific genres you are interested in, or that would be suitable for your marathon?
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If you are enjoying fantasy novels, I can recommend The Witcher series (or, rather, the two books I've read so far!)
Also, Jen Williams is worth checking out. The Copper Cat trilogy is pretty good, and her second trilogy won her at least one British Fantasy author of the year award.
Both are most definitely adult, and not YA.
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1 hour ago, Brian. said:
If you click the year in the calendar it populates a drop down box which allows you to choose the year.
Ah, I didn't see that!
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This is currently available on the Kindle for 99p.
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18 hours ago, Kudz said:
The competition is also available on their website.
That is a dumb-arse way of entering your date of birth! Having to click back over 50 years x 12 months...
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58 minutes ago, Brian. said:
I’m yet to read any of her work but reading the news reports today it’s clear to see how well respected she was and how this has come out of the blue.
Having seen the TV adaptation, I'm interested in the Wolf Hall books, but I suspect I'll never get around to reading them!
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Hilary Mantel
Didn't see that one coming; apparently she died suddenly after suffering a stroke.
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There are unabridged versions read by Stephen Fry available, at least according to Amazon, but they are still super expensive!
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On 9/11/2022 at 9:12 AM, timebug said:
Watched 'Thor: Love and Thunder' and was thouroughly dischuffed by it! The first three 'Thor; films were (IMO) good fun with decent enough stories and comic book action. This one was a CGI Bore-fest from the word go! I am not a reader of the Marvel comics that these were taken from, and have not seen the ten thousand other Marvel films that (apparently) all inter-connect to form a whole; but this on was just tripe.
I've seen all of the Marvel films to date, and the Disney+ series as well, and I'd have to say this is probably one of the weakest MCU offerings so far.
I wasn't a huge fan of Ragnarok, as I didn't like the way it turned Thor into an idiot, and although I've warmed to it a bit on subsequent viewings this film laboured that "joke" far too much (there wasn't a lot new here overall, actually; it was basically the plot from Ragnarok reheated). Also, the Mighty Thor plot line (with Jane Foster) is something I've read some of in comic book form and I was disappointed with the way they handled that (the comic books did it a lot better!)
On 9/12/2022 at 8:29 AM, timebug said:....And then, I watched 'Prey'. Having seen all of the previous 'Predator' films and noted that each one was worse than the one before, I came to this with very low expectations. Which were mostly correct. It had the odd scene that tried to make it rise above 'duh!' level but very few. Basic plot is that the Predator arrives on Earth three hundred years ago. A young girl in the local Cheyenne tribe starts to work out that in the woods, is something unpleasant. Enter a bunch of French Canadian trappers, uncouth and villainous, and prepare for mayhem. Nice idea, badly done, equals dull film.Next!
I really enjoyed Prey! Yes, it's the same ole Predator plot, but it was done well, with some stunning visuals, and I'd personally say it is the best Predator film since the first one.
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Mod note: Moved to the general book discussion thread.
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Just to be clear, I'm not saying anyone who believes in God is a dummy (it's just the name of a range of books that explain things in simple terms - I have several).
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1 hour ago, Madeleine said:
I don't think the Dark Materials could be read as stand alones, especially the last one - I don't think you'd be able to read that without having read the first two.
Agreed, they are not stand alone books, it's one story told over three volumes - like The Lord of the Rings.
It's a pretty predictable list, but I've only read four and one third of the books listed,
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Disney+ keeps reminding me that I should watch the second series, but I keep ignoring it!
I will probably watch it at some point...
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Nuts, forgot to post this:
Just something that makes me smile!
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On 8/31/2022 at 11:50 PM, KEV67 said:
The problem I have with gay marriage in church, and even women priests, is that the Bible, in particular the New Testament prohibits it. How can something be wrong for hundreds of years and then be right? Which parts of the New Testament do you feel free to override and have you informed God? Religion is supposed to be about eternal verities. It is not supposed to follow social mores. Some social mores have only developed since medical or technological innovation, so how can they be eternal?
The problem with the Bible - as I see it - is that it was written by men who had their own idea of what the church/faith should be at the time (I could say they had their own agenda, but that would just make it sound like a Dan Brown conspiracy novel...).
On 8/31/2022 at 11:50 PM, KEV67 said:I first turned religious about twelve years old when I started reading the Gideon Bibles they distributed at schools. My schoolboy conclusions about Christianity:
- Being good is about not doing what you want;
I've read that a few times now and I honestly don't know what you mean by it. You aren't good by denying yourself things you want to do; you are good by having morals and respecting others (amongst other things).
On 8/31/2022 at 11:50 PM, KEV67 said:- God is always right (even if it does not seem that way to you);
I would debate that one as being a cop out reply when people are asked why children die of cancer and there is suffering in the world, etc.
On 8/31/2022 at 11:50 PM, KEV67 said:- Life is only a test for the afterlife.
My understanding from reading the bible was that the worse time you had this life, the better time you had the next, or at least the more likely you were to get there.
Maybe the church I went to, when I did go - many years ago now - was a little more liberal than what you have come into contact with, but I have never heard nor held the belief that the worse this life is the better the next will be, and that suffering helps you get there.
My understanding of Christianity is that you are asking God into your life and asking for his forgiveness for your sins; only then can you get into Heaven.
On 8/31/2022 at 11:50 PM, KEV67 said:God has stiffed a lot of people, not just homosexuals. If you do not actually believe in any sort of afterlife then sure, do what you like, but why bother going to church? What is the point in following a discipline that only prohibits what you do not want to do anyway?
Then again, my understanding was also that you were supposed to give away all your money, live a life of poverty, and spend your time proselytising unbelievers. I never fancied that. I think there has always been a certain amount of hypocrisy in the church right from the beginning, because a lot of Jesus's teaching were too hard for most people to follow and were incompatible with maintaining a stable society long term.
You don't have to be a Christian to be a good person; you can still understand morality and empathy without having read the Bible or having gone to church.
I personally think that the worst thing that has happened to God (should he actually be real, which I don't believe myself) is so called "organised" religion - there are certainly those in the world who have done immeasurable harm in the name of God, and should he exist I doubt he would approve of their conduct (if he does approve, I personally want no part of any religion he's leading...).
My personal take is that if you are going to base your life on a doctrine of any kind, you owe it to yourself to look into the detail of that religion or belief system and to find out how it came about, and why, before committing to it. It's something I didn't do when I got drawn into going to church and it is something I regret that I didn't do to this day.
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39 minutes ago, muggle not said:
Great!! I can hardly wait to watch it, but I will. 🙂
I am leaving on vacation tomorrow morning and will be gone for a while.
Have a good trip!
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I was watching something else on Amazon Prime last night, that I finished past 1am, and turned it off to find the first two episodes of this had dropped (I knew it was out today, but most companies don't post new content until the following morning). I was left with the dilemma of "Do I watch this now and go bed after 3, or not?"
I compromised and watched the first half hour of the first episode, just to see what it was like, and will watch it again tonight, or possibly Sunday.
What I saw looks amazing, though!
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4 hours ago, poppy said:
If something is contrary to a particular religion or denomination's beliefs, I don't think they should be forced into it. People don't need a church to be married.
But many churches ARE performing gay marriages now, so it isn't really a problem.
I wasn't commenting on the rightness or wrongness of a churches stance rather that no-one should be ostracised for whatever reason.
You say people don't need to go to Church to be married, but what about those who do go to church who are gay and want to be married in the sight of God?
Yes, there are sections of the Bible that say homosexuality is wrong, but there are also sections that say owning a slave is fine (and with guidance on how to treat them!). More personally I know people who have gone against Paul's teachings on divorce and remarriage because they have chosen to believe that God wouldn't punish two people who are in love from marrying, even if one of them was before.
All of the Bible's teachings are subjective and reinterpreted from generation to generation; the block on gay marriage is just another outdated stance the CofE will eventually be forced to roll back on, just like they were with divorcees remarrying...
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12 hours ago, Chrissy said:
*mumbling* No! Not all of them, anyway......😐
Chrissy Gums, they called her. Fastest draw in The West...
4 hours ago, Virginia said:I love the feeling of accomplishment when I complete the mental tasks I set for myself!
Agreed. Cleaning is pretty mental!
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Film adaptation of books
in Book Blogs - Discuss your reading!
Posted
The BBC version, with Alec Guinness, is better!