For a novella titled as such, there’s not much about tea mastery or detective-ing going on in the story. As someone who enjoys both tea and detective For a novella titled as such, there’s not much about tea mastery or detective-ing going on in the story. As someone who enjoys both tea and detective stories, this was disappointing. Plus, the more accurate term used for the drink would be a tisane blend instead of tea, but never mind.
The writing style isn’t for me, and neither were the characters. Then again, this merits an extra star for world-building, if nothing else. ...more
Fever is a nice enough character (just too bland), and the book isn't bad writing-wise. In fact I feel bad for giving this just twoRead by the author.
Fever is a nice enough character (just too bland), and the book isn't bad writing-wise. In fact I feel bad for giving this just two stars, but it's exactly that - an 'ok' read.
The characters were very stereotypical and predictable (which I don't necessarily mind) but not in an interesting way sadly. There's just not enough development I guess, barely enough to interest middle grade kids maybe. It's evident that there's further potential, I just won't be staying around for book two....more
Comes across as a one-type fits all solution, and all the while it was waxing lyrical about the author's own institution. Which wasn't a problem to meComes across as a one-type fits all solution, and all the while it was waxing lyrical about the author's own institution. Which wasn't a problem to me, except that I don't see how using a parable to simplify, identify and interact with employee types equals extraordinary management wisdom.
Thankfully the prose is readable/skim-friendly enough, so at least there are no lingering bad feelings....more
I enjoyed the narration more than the stories. Saruman Christopher Lee's narration needed some getting used to, he's got that old-world echo thing goiI enjoyed the narration more than the stories. Saruman Christopher Lee's narration needed some getting used to, he's got that old-world echo thing going on.
Hugh Fraser, on the other hand, was a fantastic rout from the get-go. From accents to impersonations, he injected much entertainment and a joie de vivre throughout.
The stories themselves ranged from patronisingly silly to satisfyingly justified. There's not much mystery here, and these were some of the most snobbish of Christie's stories, and I've never got that feeling from her other stories (and I'm a Christie junkie). Those who came from 'the right lineage' or old money, regardless of how poor they were, remained dignified and were handed their happy endings, while those from lower classes would behave in a less-than-tasteful manner regardless of how rich they were.
But the short stories do bring you to a time when characters behaved like classical fictional characters, and the silly stories (those read by Hugh Fraser) were light-hearted escapism. The stories read by Christopher Lee were either serious or spooky, plus his narration could get boring at times, like listening to a Victorian-age principal (not that I'd know how such a person would sound like).
Worth a listen just for Hugh Fraser's performances, but not much else....more
Breezy concise primer/refresher for ad agency directors.
Good catch about the prevalent reluctance in the ad industry for competitor bashing nowadays.Breezy concise primer/refresher for ad agency directors.
Good catch about the prevalent reluctance in the ad industry for competitor bashing nowadays. Politics of course are all for it: the last US elections have proven that smear campaigns are effective....more
Dashiell Hammett might be the Ernest Hemingway of the detective novel genre.
Stories such as these aren't usually my cup of tea, but the sharp dialogueDashiell Hammett might be the Ernest Hemingway of the detective novel genre.
Stories such as these aren't usually my cup of tea, but the sharp dialogue (ably narrated in the audiobook) and his crisp show, don't tell writing style were nothing short of masterful.
Swag meter: off the charts. Laters, off to watch the film....more
Now that I think of it, Gotham city is a loony zoo in its own right.
There were layers to the artwork here and I liked it a lot, and some of the linesNow that I think of it, Gotham city is a loony zoo in its own right.
There were layers to the artwork here and I liked it a lot, and some of the lines were great, but here's the big but: paneling and dialogue presentation. It's just my personal preference though as I generally prefer the dynamic storyboard style of manga to classic American comics (although there are always exceptions - Lucifer, Vol. 1: Devil in the Gateway being case in point, the format worked well there for the content).
What I liked best here was the colouring and the overall mood of the short story, it was magnificent while leaving room for imagination. I think Alan Moore was doing Impressionism here - the visible tip of the iceberg was just ok to look at, but the viewer could go deeper and gain another level of awe. This reader-viewer is just not that into Bat-Universe and its characters to care more but there are people like Nolan who can work with these kinds of material and turn them into something spectacular to the wider audience, including yours truly.
The section of The Innocent Man was mildly interesting. I've just recently read A Clockwork Orange, and the dichotomy of free will vs good/evil was more eloquently presented there - that experience reduced the wow factor of this innocent man monologue for me somewhat. Still it piqued my curiosity - was his thinking influenced by The Joker's philosophy? Or was it a reaction to Batman's actions? In a way it added another dimension to the original superhero/villain characterisations, and the open-ended way this was drawn was neat....more
My first owned (and lost) Murakami book, bought mainly because the title caught my eye (Hard-boiled Wonderland!).
The audiobook, while delightful, was My first owned (and lost) Murakami book, bought mainly because the title caught my eye (Hard-boiled Wonderland!).
The audiobook, while delightful, was a little disorienting. None of the characters were named, so even as they're supposedly Japanese, because of the narrators' accents, it's just as natural to imagine them as occidentals. The story could just as easily be set in Manhattan or Los Angeles. Plus, the literature and music discussed throughout were all Western ones. In fact, I couldn't picture the Gatekeeper as anything other than some medieval-esque shepherd/woodcutter character not out of place in an HBO drama.
I tried to find the Japanese Audible version but sadly it's not available, I think it'd be just as interesting listening to the Japanese audio and visualising a whole different set of characters.
So, yeah, what's this all about? I don't know how to explain it in specific terms, but in a nutshell, it's about a guy's adventures, one experienced in an anime-like physical world (vibe: Cowboy Bebop) the other in an anime-like (vibe: Kino's World) metaphysical world.
In some ways the story made me think of the concept of Nirvana as well.
The End of the World portion of the book was slow-going until towards the end of the story, and because the protagonist there was a boring prick, I much preferred the Wonderland chapters. Pink ranger chubby girl was amazing! She's awesome.
I'd tell you more but I feel that it's more enjoyable to go into this with as few preconceptions as possible. I jumped into this story knowing next to nothing about it, just like how I impulse-bought the book, and although this one started slow and was at times bewildering, it was fun overall. The title is really all the description you need.
Paraphrasing a sentence from the protagonist himself:
It's not spectacular literature, but it's very readable (and lots of fun!)
Pre-listen I used to own the print version many years ago, but it went missing in the mail along with a small booth's worth of books in a huge cardboard box - I had sent the whole lot from London to Singapore and because my lazy brother hadn't bothered to go to the post office to collect it, they returned the whole thing to the UK, by whence I'd left the country. Sadness!
But anyway, the audio version's available on scribd now, so....more
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