I have been working on a translation of this book for the past two months, so I really don't feel like I can give it a fair rating one way or another.I have been working on a translation of this book for the past two months, so I really don't feel like I can give it a fair rating one way or another. I will say it's an impressively written and constructed memoir, even if you're not too interested in Will Smith as a person. He covers topics like the early years of hip-hop, DJ-ing and MC-ing, music production, TV, Hollywood movies and the inner workings thereof — Will Smith had his hand in all of those and his perspective on most things is unique and often quite fascinating. He also delves deep into psychology and psyche, philosophy, his childhood and upbringing in West Philadelphia, and his relationships with parents, family and friends, including many other famous ones. Will Smith fans should definitely check it out, but even if you aren't one of them, the man lived a fascinating life and he tells his story well. Plus, if you're at all interested in any of the topics I mentioned, you'll find heaps of cool insider information here. I enjoyed working on this book very much, and can't wait to see it out in print soon!...more
...nah. I have no trouble believing that this book was the shit in the 90's, because people just didn't know any better. But reading it today, it feel...nah. I have no trouble believing that this book was the shit in the 90's, because people just didn't know any better. But reading it today, it feels more like the prequels than the original trilogy — boring and poorly characterised. I am more than happy with the new Disney movies (The Last Jedi was fucking rad and I don't care if you disagree, internet!) instead of the Thrawn trilogy....more
I'm not big on audiobooks — whenever I hear a person reading a story aloud, I always hear their voice, but I just don't follow the story at all. I almI'm not big on audiobooks — whenever I hear a person reading a story aloud, I always hear their voice, but I just don't follow the story at all. I almost start listening to their voice as a kind of music. But I was feeling really down today (and, like, for the past several weeks already, holy hell), and purely accidentally I stumbled upon this podcast, LeVar Burton Reads. In this podcast, actor LeVar Burton reads various short stories. As it happens, I really like LeVar, and I also just finished watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, so I decided that this is a sign and I should give the podcast a listen.
I picked this short western story by Elmore Leonard, whose books I want to get into more deeply at some point. I did have the same problem of not following the story to a certain extent, but I think I got the main gist of it, and while the story itself wasn't too cheerful, it did help me take my mind off certain things, if only for a little bit, and just in general I really enjoyed listening to LeVar's awesome voice.
Anyway, I just wanted to share this little find with my Goodreads buddies. I know that many of you here would probably be into this kind of format. There are currently twelve short stories available, and more are coming starting next year. And it's all free! You can download the episodes on your phone or computer using any podcast app....more
A story about teenage, pre-New Hope Leia falling in love with a boy and learning to balance her social life and royal duties. Basically, a typical youA story about teenage, pre-New Hope Leia falling in love with a boy and learning to balance her social life and royal duties. Basically, a typical young adult book in the Star Wars setting. Not my thing at all. I was hoping this would somehow tie into the upcoming Episode VIII (for which I am super excited), but the book really doesn’t seem to have anything to do with it, despite saying “Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi” on the cover....more
The Final Dossier is a direct sequel to both Mark Frost's The Secret History of Twin Peaks and to the third season of Twin Peaks. And I'll just get thThe Final Dossier is a direct sequel to both Mark Frost's The Secret History of Twin Peaks and to the third season of Twin Peaks. And I'll just get this right out of the way: if you're a fan of the show, you need to read this book.
Twin Peaks: The Return premiered in May of 2017. David Lynch directed every episode and had complete creative control over every aspect of the new season. You'd think that he would have every opportunity to tell the story he wanted to tell (and you'd be right), but that doesn't mean Lynch was going to do that in a way that would please all of his viewers. His work was always closer to abstraction and ambiguousness, and the finale of The Return was no different: out of so many questions that were left open since the 90's and throughout the new season, he answered almost none. So Mark Frost, the series co-creator, wrote a book that would do just that: answer questions.
Surprisingly, The Final Dossier really answers almost all of them, or at least gives the reader enough information to draw their own conclusions. Written by Tammy Preston, everyone's new favourite FBI agent, we get the dossiers on almost every single character we've grown to know and love over the course of six three seasons and a movie. Want to know what was up with Audrey in The Return? Maybe you were wondering if the little girl at the end of Part 8 was really Sarah Palmer, or what was up with Phillip Jeffries, or what was that glass box in Part 1, or what happened to Major Briggs, or what Evil Coop was up to? Do you want to know how's Annie? Because I am telling you, there are answers to all of those questions right here, in The Final Dossier. It's priceless information.
I don't know if I can call it a downside, but this is a very short book. I mean, I finished it in a day, and I never finish books in a day. There are only about 100 actual pages of text here, excluding the illustrations and the publishing information. On the one hand, you really don't need more than that — add more, and the book would feel bloated and artificially stretched out. On the other hand, it's not a cheap book, but that surely won't stop any Peaks fan, especially considering how valuable the information in this book will be.
So if you're a Peaks fan, what are you waiting for? You don't need me to tell you, just go and read it!...more
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