Pawerful Critiq

I'm a reader, language learner, life-long student. Want to find out more and help you with it. Kick back and relax

[lizziethereader]

Weekly Bookish Question #293 (July 10th - July 16th):

How does being on vacation affect your reading? (e.g. in terms of amount, reading material, or when you read)

[pawerfulcritiq]

I've got a problem: I tend to procrastinate and not do even those things I enjoy doing -_- so dumb. That's why if I don't have a reading plan for vacation, I read nothing. My motto: there always must be a plan.

[pawerfulcritiq]

Mister Slaughter stole my heart

“Mister Slaughter” is the 3rd book in “Matthew Corbett” series by Robert Maccamon.

It’s hard to describe the plot without spoilers for the first books. Still I’d like to give it a go. The main character Matthew Corbett works as a “problem solver” in New York in 1870s. He’s a fairly simple, intelligent, eager to help, not so much of a fighter, but he’s getting there. Basically, Matthew’s personality is being shaped before our eyes. He’s changing, growing and learning on his own mistakes. Well-written character with clear motives. Unfortunately, he’d faced danger before, was on a brink of life and death, solved a few cases and became somewhat a celebrity. This time his task is to escort a cold-bloooded murderer to be transferred to England. How successful that was is for the readers to judge.

All books are connected and entangled with one another. Matthew recalls some of his past adventures, meets people mentioned in the previous books which makes the story much more realistic. No character is left behind, one way ot the other we find out what happened to them. You eventually get used to Matthew’s life, his friends and enemies, to the places he visits. You become a part of his life and it’s hard not to get emotional when the action starts happening. I love that everything is explained, you have a chance to make your own guesses until the truth is revealed and that made me feel like a real detective. Every little thing falls on its place.

The setting of New York is amazing. Although I was reading an e-book, I still could feel the smells of taverns, sounds of the bustling streets, imagine myself in the town soon to be the city everyone would dream to visit. History is mixed with a made up story. I actually had to Google a few things and found out that not everything in this book is fiction.

There’s one thing that differs this book from the first two: violence. Mr Slaughter is truly a villain that made my blood freeze. I didn’t expect some bloody or disgusting scenes there. It’s something to keep in mind before getting to read this book. I sighed and gasped with surprise which I don’t do that often while reading.

Overall, there are first two books to check out before Mister Slaughter comes to stage. And I’m pretty sure that since you get a grasp of the story, it’s going to be hard to let go.

[pawerfulcritiq]

Stranger Things Season 4 thoughts

Long-awaited season 4 Stranger Things is finally here. There was nothing to stop me from binging the last episodes but it took a while to get my thoughts together.

I’d say that the series got darker, creepier and more mature. We were given more of the background on the story which I appreciated so much.  Some of the characters opened up and proved that they are essential; part of the story. I’m impressed with Sadie Sink (I wasn’t a big Max fan before), Caleb McLaughlin (Lukas wasn’t as emotional before and his character is so well-written in this season). I’m totally in love with Joseph Quinn who portrayed Eddie <3 I’m in love. Will seemed a bit weird. It’s clear why, though. Undergoing such a trauma should’ve caused lots of psychological problems. Frankly, I wonder how he's able to sleep at night after everything he’s been through. There is also his connection to Mike, which is definitely more like a crush and to be honest I didn’t see it coming.

Soundtracks are just exactly what they were supposed to be, supporting the atmosphere of the show. Added a few tracks on my playlist while watching.

Although we follow a few storylines, it helps to show the characters in more detail. It did require longer episodes. It was impossible to predict that a teen tv series would grow into an adult epic story. For that, I thank Duffer Brothers.

[estefania-rico91]

Stranger things 4

[pawerfulcritiq]

Probably the most powerful scene for me this season. Maxine has opened up much more and I apprreciated it a lot.

[pawerfulcritiq]

Might as well start with a book list:

July TBR

-  “Mister Slaughter” by  Robert McCammon (halfway through with it, Matthew has been exceptionally good at searching for troubles and Robert McCammon is exceptionally good at writing about those. It’s 3rd book in the series about Matthew Corbett and one of the best detective stories I’ve read so far)

- “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens (I’ve seen this book so much since it came out that I have a feeling I’ve already read it. Supposed to be character-driven, slow, atmospheric read)

- “10% Happier” by Dan Harris (recommended by Anastacia Kay; don’t want my brain to turn completely mushy with +35 C outside. There are so many fears in my head related to failing and tons of anxiety. Avoiding those will not make things better so let’s see whether Dan Harris’s book has some handy tips and tricks)

-  “Cinamon and Gunpowder” by Eli Brown (I know nothing about this one, but one of my students chose it for a reading class, gotta check it out. I expect loads of adventures, pirates, food, sea. Sounds like summer vibe to me)

-  “City of Bones” by Cassandra Clare (picked by my student who is going through a vampire phase, let’s see where this one goes. Definitely want to jump into some teen fantasy novels so why not?)

- “ The Boys, Volume 1: The Name of the Game” by Garth Ennis  (well, if you haven’t checked out the tv series yet, do that. One of the best TV series I’ve seen)

[pawerfulcritiq]

Back on track

It’s been so hard to pull myself together this year. Like the whole world went crazy and there was nothing I could do. So mid-year, huh? Gotta create some motivation for myself. I need to turn this lazy seal into a productive reader, non-stop student and a goal reacher. Hopefully, I go far beyond just planning this time. Has anyone actually managed to do that? Seems like I overestimate myself a bit.