Complete disclosure: I got this book for free in exchange for a review.
This is a well-plotted thriller relating the origin story of David Diegart, who had a loving mother but distant father (because David was the result of an extramarital affair). Though told in the third person, the story is almost entirely told from Diegert's perspective. To escape from his home life, Diegert enlists in the Army. His first overseas billet is to
Afganistan, where the entire unit (officers and enlisted) are involved with illegally shipping heroin to the US. Moreover, one enlisted was already murdered for threatening to spill the beans on this operation. While this is IMHO a highly unrealistic plot point, that's the author's choice. What does he have Diegert do? Diegert solves his moral dilemma by punching out the senior officer! This gets him court-martialed and dishonorably discharged. Back in the US, he ends up as a bouncer at an Austin Texas bar run by the Russian mafia. (Again, I have to take a breath. Are there really any Russian mobsters active in Austin? A little backstory on what they are doing there would help ground this plot point.) Diegert is paid cash to beat up a customer, so he takes him out into an alley and punches him a few times. When tha customer turns up dead Diegert becomes implicated in the murder. He's taken to a safe-house where he meets two Russian assassins living there. They show him a dark website where assassins are hired. Soon Diegert is forced to use his show more Army skills (obviously Diegert is a fast-learner) to kill the assassins in the
safe-house and then hires himself out as an assassin on the dark web to get money to help his poor mom. (All mothers dream of having such a son:-)
For the rest of the book, Diegert bounces from one scenerio to another, sometimes making money by killing people and occasionally having sex with women he hapens to meet. While Diegert seems to have an amoral perspective, he does some self-reflection later in the book. I'd like to see more how this self-reflective exposition gets tied into Diegert's actions.
This book has explicit sex and explicit violence, as one should expect from the title. It also
moves fast (maybe too fast, as a chance to dig into Diegert's character and motivations could be welcomed), and has lots of accurate technical details (eg, when there is a fight,
and there is a lot of violence in the book, the author knows his way around human anatomy), but the dialogue is occasionally unpolished.
If you are looking for a fast-moving thriller where you just turn your brain off and watch the adventure, this could be the book for you. Bill Brewer is a new writer to watch out for and I'm looking forward to seeing what's next. show less
This is a well-plotted thriller relating the origin story of David Diegart, who had a loving mother but distant father (because David was the result of an extramarital affair). Though told in the third person, the story is almost entirely told from Diegert's perspective. To escape from his home life, Diegert enlists in the Army. His first overseas billet is to
Afganistan, where the entire unit (officers and enlisted) are involved with illegally shipping heroin to the US. Moreover, one enlisted was already murdered for threatening to spill the beans on this operation. While this is IMHO a highly unrealistic plot point, that's the author's choice. What does he have Diegert do? Diegert solves his moral dilemma by punching out the senior officer! This gets him court-martialed and dishonorably discharged. Back in the US, he ends up as a bouncer at an Austin Texas bar run by the Russian mafia. (Again, I have to take a breath. Are there really any Russian mobsters active in Austin? A little backstory on what they are doing there would help ground this plot point.) Diegert is paid cash to beat up a customer, so he takes him out into an alley and punches him a few times. When tha customer turns up dead Diegert becomes implicated in the murder. He's taken to a safe-house where he meets two Russian assassins living there. They show him a dark website where assassins are hired. Soon Diegert is forced to use his show more Army skills (obviously Diegert is a fast-learner) to kill the assassins in the
safe-house and then hires himself out as an assassin on the dark web to get money to help his poor mom. (All mothers dream of having such a son:-)
For the rest of the book, Diegert bounces from one scenerio to another, sometimes making money by killing people and occasionally having sex with women he hapens to meet. While Diegert seems to have an amoral perspective, he does some self-reflection later in the book. I'd like to see more how this self-reflective exposition gets tied into Diegert's actions.
This book has explicit sex and explicit violence, as one should expect from the title. It also
moves fast (maybe too fast, as a chance to dig into Diegert's character and motivations could be welcomed), and has lots of accurate technical details (eg, when there is a fight,
and there is a lot of violence in the book, the author knows his way around human anatomy), but the dialogue is occasionally unpolished.
If you are looking for a fast-moving thriller where you just turn your brain off and watch the adventure, this could be the book for you. Bill Brewer is a new writer to watch out for and I'm looking forward to seeing what's next. show less
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.Tired and Hungry No More: Not Your Ordinary Guide to Reclaiming Your Health and Happiness by Phyllis Ginsberg
The title might suggest this is a book on how food nutrients affects your emotions, but that's not quite correct. This not a book on nutrition, but is, more-or-less, a self-help book on de-stressing your life using the psychological technique of "EFT Tapping."
The book starts with some basic information and generic comments on stress, depression, happiness, healthy eating and sleeping. These topics are covered (perhaps better or worse) in lots of other self-help books. What's different about this book is the material on "EFT Tapping." Here is, from what I can tell, the rough idea: EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique. It seems to borrow some ideas from Chinese medicine. The Tapping refers to points on your body that you tap on with two fingers as you think about a topic (eg, stress in your life) and state a script line (eg, "I am under way too much stress"). The list of tapping points is given in chapter 4. A list of tapping scripts (for stress, feeling tired, ...) is given in chapter 5.
The book also has chapters with basic suggestions on exercising, sleeping better, and eating a healthy diet. The book concludes with some simple recipes for some healthy meals. If yo are looking for some basic suggestions on leading a less stressful, healthier life, this book may be rit for you. The author also has a website with further support at phyllisginsberg.com.
The book starts with some basic information and generic comments on stress, depression, happiness, healthy eating and sleeping. These topics are covered (perhaps better or worse) in lots of other self-help books. What's different about this book is the material on "EFT Tapping." Here is, from what I can tell, the rough idea: EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique. It seems to borrow some ideas from Chinese medicine. The Tapping refers to points on your body that you tap on with two fingers as you think about a topic (eg, stress in your life) and state a script line (eg, "I am under way too much stress"). The list of tapping points is given in chapter 4. A list of tapping scripts (for stress, feeling tired, ...) is given in chapter 5.
The book also has chapters with basic suggestions on exercising, sleeping better, and eating a healthy diet. The book concludes with some simple recipes for some healthy meals. If yo are looking for some basic suggestions on leading a less stressful, healthier life, this book may be rit for you. The author also has a website with further support at phyllisginsberg.com.
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
fourth biggest box office bomb in history, adjusted for inflation
Experimental film, improvised acting and the screen is subdivided and shots are shown simultaneously.
In Spanish, it is titled "Nueve Reinas". Adapted to the English-language film Criminal (2004 film).
Really excellent film. Wonderful tone and pacing. In Spanish with English subtitles.
T. C. Frank is Tom Laughlin. This is the first of the "Billy Jack" movies, in the revenge genre.
Strong visual and engaging adventure. Well acted and well directed by the extremely talented Ben Stiller.
Eduardo Sánchez co-wrote/directed the Blair Witch project, Jamie Nash is the screenwriter; both are from Maryland
A silent film about the marriage of Garbo and a man much older than her.
This beautiful film was shot in 1994 by the great Christopher Doyle. Much of the film was lost. This cut was reconstructed from various prints and released in 2008.
Western fantasy, known as Blueberry in France, Renegade in the US.
The dvd has an excellent biography of F Scott Fitzgerald
Beautiful but does not follow a typical cinematic story arc.