Ash
1 star for Spock being the true hero, as always, and 1 star for the art.
Retelling some missions from TOS? Ok, not the most original thing in the world, but that's fine.
Changing the OG actors' faces for the reboot crew? Mmmm... ok, fine. I'll accept it (reluctantly).
Spock x Uhura? HELL NO. THIS PAIRING DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. AT ALL.
3 1/2 The Treasury made me think of the [b:The Arden Shakespeare Miscellany 11944463 The Arden Shakespeare Miscellany Jane Armstrong https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1315695071l/11944463.SY75.jpg 16905911] in how it provided tidbits about Shakespeare's life, his plays, and important people that are tied to his legacy (for e.g., famous Shakespearean actors and directors). Overall, it was a very pleasant read that would be most suited to readers who know little about the playwright and who would like to learn more about the history behind the plays. Academics might find this a bit too reductive and not enough in-depth, but it remains nonetheless a good overview of basic information about the Bard.
3½ stars
This didn't age as well as other books on the same topic. The mysogynistic approach in some places really showed that the criticism was embedded in the 60s. However, the collection of stories for the various plays was interesting and offered a look into the deep cultural significance of such works.
My first Verne novel! I can't believe it took me this long to read one of Verne's amazing adventure novels. I'm happy I started with this one, as I think it was a good introduction to this author.
The story was light-hearted and fun throughout, with a cast of characters all quirky and endearing in their own ways. Mr. Fogg, the hero of this tale, was an interesting character with peculiar ways, but his cold, calculated way of thinking was nicely contrasted by his servant, Passepartout. The Frenchman was warm and friendly to compensate for his master, which made them a great fit for one another. The two made a wonderful pair as they worked together to traverse the whole world on a wager.
The narrative itself was interesting too, and the adventures (and misadventures) Fogg and his friends encountered were exciting and at times nerve-wracking. Though you expect Fogg to win his wager, the numerous obstacles he had along the way served to create moments of doubt as to his success.
All in all, I'm very pleased with this story, and I look forward to reading more Verne in the future. The rich descriptions of the places Fogg visited were a pleasure to read, and really gave off the feeling of travelling alongside him to all these wonderful places. Furthermore, I was pleasantly surprised to see how Verne treated foreign lands and peoples with great respect and admiration. Each culture was shown to be fascinating and worthy of discovering (this is a feat rarely accomplished in novels of the 19th century).
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to travel and dreams of going on an adventure of their own.
Mmmmm. I now get why a lot of readers take issue with this book. To me, the whole first-person, fever dream narration was just too much at times, and the MC's unhealthy obsession with Oliver was borderline all sorts of wrong. I draw the line at the MC wanting his love interest to die so that he doesn't have to deal with the emotions he's feeling, or even imagining his own death as being a possible solution to his teenage angst.
No, this line of thinking isn't cute, quirky, nor romantic. That's just plain wrong. Also, the stalking: this isn't cute, quirky, nor romantic either. That's one step away from assault, which the MC actually plans out in great detail (creeping into Oliver's room at night to force him to sleep with him??).
Overall, I'm glad I read it just so that people can stop annoying me and telling me I “have to read it,” but I'm equally unhappy I read it because I'll never get those hours back.
This book was a pleasant surprise! I didn't expect to like it as much as I did, yet here we are. I was surprised to find that this book deals with a lot of different, heavy themes such as race in the 18th century, diseases and mental illnesses, and of course LGBT. It's as though [b:The Picture of Dorian Gray 5297 The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546103428l/5297.SY75.jpg 1858012] and [b:Around the World in Eighty Days 54479 Around the World in Eighty Days Jules Verne https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1308815551l/54479.SY75.jpg 4537271] had a meeting and produced [b:The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue 29283884 The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue (Montague Siblings, #1) Mackenzi Lee https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492601464l/29283884.SY75.jpg 49527118].Percy's position as a non-heteronormative, biracial man in a time where both of those labels could get you killed, was refreshing to read, and added depth to the story. On the other hand, Monty's slow but steady progression of 1) understanding his friend's position and 2) understanding his own place in this society was also wonderful to read about. I loved the slow burn between the two, despite the obviousness of their mutual attraction for one another. Percy was especially endearing, and an angel to deal with Monty's antics (however, saying that, I still really enjoyed Monty's personality).As for Felicity, her treatment in the novel was equally satisfying as she did not adhere to the typical social conventions afforded to women in those days. Naturally, everything in this novel is painted over with a rosy hue to allow for a fictional, almost alternate history and society to take place. Still, it was a nice change of pace to read a historical fiction novel that talked about more than just ballrooms and young lords and ladies, and instead focused on important, underdevelopped themes.
This review contains spoilers.
Book 2 deals with Xie Lian's past as the Crown Prince of Xianle, as well as his first ascension (and subsequent fall) from heaven. We get to see a young and brave Xie Lian who has strong convictions and is determined to do what's right. However, even though he tries his best to take care of difficult situations, the people revolt against him and blame him for everything that goes wrong. Young Feng Xin and Mu Qing were also interesting to see, and the relationship between the three was well-developed and intriguing. However, the star of the show for me was Hong Hong'er (young Hua Cheng) and his unshakable devotion to Xie Lian. The moment Xie Lian saved his life, Hong'er was eternally grateful and devoted to him. I loved seeing Hong'er's development, but I was sad that Xie Lian didn't recognize him one time from another. Even so, their early relationship was a treat to read, and I look forward to the rest in the next book(s)!
As much as there were interesting moments that dealt with the rich historical time period in the novel, I felt that there was a lot of unnecessary repetition that dragged the narrative. Also, the pacing was at times incredibly slow, and in other moments the author glossed over information or made certain events feel like they were sped up like with Beautiful Moon's death. The whole thing felt so sudden and pointless.
Furthermore, the constant self-deprecation of the narrator (always thinking herself inferior to her laotong, thinking that women are worthless creatures and that sons are the only worthy accomplishment of a woman) was starting to grate on my nerves. Obviously, the historical context of the novel makes it so that this rampant misogyny is acceptable, but the constant reminders and hammering in of the ideology was oftentimes excessive and unnecessary.
The amount of foreshadowing in this novel was insane and really ruined the anticipation of events. I wanted to discover the twists and turns for myself, not have them told to me from the get-go. In any case, the ‘big reveal' around the midway point really wasn't as jaw-dropping as what you'd expect; in fact, it was rather underwhelming.
Overall, I feel that this story had so much potential to be really interesting and unique, but it ended up being lukewarm and too slice-of-life for my taste.
This is one of those rare occasions when the star rating and review do not reflect the content of the book, but rather its historical significance and value. Reviewing the Hic Mulier and Haec Vir is not an easy task, especially the former, but with the mindset of the 1600s, and disregarding modern conventions (as one should when reading a text of this age), things become a little bit clearer.
The Hic Mulier is, essentially, an anti-crossdressing pamphlet targeted at women. The review addresses young women of the time who prefered “broad-brim'd hat[s]” and “French doublet[s]” to long, modest gowns. The author makes a case that women who dress as such go against moral principles set by nature and God, yet praises the virtuous women who follow the normal social conventions:
“... with all honour and reverence do I speak to you: you are Seneca's Graces, women, good women, modest women, true women: ever young because virtuous, ever chaste, ever glorious: when I write of you, I will write with a golden pen, on leaves of golden paper; now, I write with a rough quill and black ink, on iron sheets, the iron deeds of an iron generation.”
Haec Vir
DNF @ 40%
I'm so sad I didn't like this as much as the show. The TV adaptation is so beautiful, and it's one of my favourite shows ever. I wanted to read the book since I love these characters so much, but their personalities are so different here that it's too jarring coming from the pov of loving the show (like how MDZS and Untamed don't quote match up).
I may try to pick it up again some other time, but for now, there are so many more things I'd like to read instead of this.
As much as I respect Bloom's scholarship, and have enjoyed other of his work, this reader's digest of Macbeth falls short of expectations with very little insightful commentary or analyses scattered in between the long quoted passages. I expected this type of book to be a deep character analysis of Macbeth, but it ended up being a beginner's guide to the play.
I would not recommend this book to fellow scholars who are looking for critical insight into Macbeth. However, this would be a good introductory look at a complex play, and it might make the work more accessible to every day Shakespeare readers and enthusiasts.
"Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt."
Rereading The Art of War for the third time makes me rediscover why I love this book so much. This military treatise by Sun Tzu is strangely applicable to so many other areas of life. It can be read as a guide to self-realization, to success, and to triumph. Sun Tzu's military advice on how to advance and retreat in the face of an enemy is brilliant, yet its reliance on ancient philosophical principles makes it an enlightening read in the same respect as the [b:The Daodejing of Laozi|2691694|The Daodejing of Laozi|Lao Tzu|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1267028689l/2691694.SY75.jpg|100074] or [b:The Analects|27297|The Analects|Confucius|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309201523l/27297.SY75.jpg|3320969]. The Art of War is truly a masterpiece that I keep returning to when in need of guidance.
3 1/2 for wenzhou supremacy and Chengling being the cutest disciple in existence ♥ (I'm biased, don't judge me).
While clearly not one of Priest's best works (looking at you SPL), the story enfolds nicely and the brevity of this tale makes for less talking and more action. I actually like that the story progressed faster than usual. This made for a high-paced reading jammed with information about the pugilistic world. Priest did a splendid job of introducing each character well enough for me to quickly become attached to many of them and, in true Priest fashion, her wit and charm as a writer came through on each page and reminded me of her later works where she really “layed it on thick.” I look forward to volume 2!
My expectations for this world-renowned classic of modern literature was so damn high that the reality of what it truly is was almost devastating. I've been wanting to read The Alchemist ever since I can remember because of everyone's high praises of the book, but I had never gotten around to it until today because I was ostensibly forced to read it for work. This book is continously labelled as “life changing,” but I found it to be nothing but a rehashing of old-fashioned Christian values, clichés, and truisms. Let's dive into a more complete review of this story, shall we?
Part I: In Which a Shepherd Meets Strangers
Our tale begins with our protagonist, a shepherd boy named Santiago but that's not important because we will never refer to him by name ever again after the opening line, and only ever call him “the boy” or “the shepherd” from now on despite the fact that he has stopped being a shepherd for years. He is content with his little life of sheep herding and whatnot, and obsesses over a cute girl in a neighbouring town seriously, he won't shut up about her. He never stops to consider that maybe, just maybe, she has zero interest in him. Fastforward 20-odd pages, he meets a gypsy woman of whom he is terrified because gypsies “steal children and are devil worshippers” (no, I'm not joking. It's in the book) who tells him that he must go on a journey to Egypt as per his twice-occured dream. Cool. Then, he meets some crackpot who thinks he's a king an old man who basically tells him the same thing so nothing really, because the kid already knew this but stealsobtains a tenth of his flock of sheep in exchange for the “"”information.””“
Enter a whole lot of repetitive woke dialogue about the universe wanting the boy to succeed blah blah, the shepherd (who is not a shepherd anymore) gets on a boat and sails 2 hours to Tangier to start his quest for his Personal Legend (a new-age way of saying his fate/destiny). The boy is in Tangier for about 5 minutes before he a) goes into an inner monologue of how scary and evil the Arabs are, and b) his sheep just wanted water and food. 6 minutes in, he gets robbed (to reinforce the idea of the Evil Arab TM) and then wallows in self-pity for a few pages. Our boy then comes to the Major Realization TM that he has to work if he wants to achieve his dream, so he decides to annoy help a merchant by tending to his shop of crystalware.
FASCINATING.
Part II: In Which the Boy Becomes an Entrepeneur and then Travels to Egypt
After a year or so of working for the Evil (but not really because his employer is super nice and generous) Arab TM, the boy decides he's going to give up on Egypt, buy some sheep, and go back to Spain. But wait! The omens! In reality, the boy chooses to forgo his comfortable life for more palpitating adventures across the desert! Our precious, Very Smart boy then goes to book himself a passage with a caravan and meets a jaded atheist an Englishman who is on a quest to find a real bonafide alchemist somewhere out in Egypt. Nice! The pair (along with a hoard of other travellers and camels) set out to cross the desert and... nothing of consequence happens. The boy and the Englishman have very long and boring conversations that are just cyclical and repetitive as hell, and once in a while, the boy remembers his poor old sheep back in Spain, as well as the “raven-haired Moorish girl” he still obsesses over. sigh
Rince and repeat this formula until the end until you get the Great Revelation TM at the end that, wait for it, his happiness and self-realization was always at home! Travelling all the way out to Egypt was just a means for him to realize that, like any good Bible parable, the good shepherd boy will find comfort and true happiness in amongst the sheep in a sleepy little village.
FANTASTIC!
Now, in case you didn't pick up on my sarcasm throughout, here's a breakdown of problems in this book:
1) Racism! (the boy is full of preconceived ideas about gypsies and Arabs.
2) Bigotry! (the boy mocks and/or likens religions other than his own to devilry.)
3)Mysogyny! (the boy at one point says that the girl he likes doesn't know anything because she can't read, and that she wouldn't understand stuff like him, because he's so damn woke and deep).
4) Animals are dumb! (Seriously, on every other page the boy reiterates in one way or another how his sheep are just mindless creatures who trust him implicitly (do I see an analogy here between God/people??))
How wonderful, a “"”philosophical””” piece that perpetuates 1) Christian values and 2) societal stereotypes and misconceptions. I have been enlightened.
Before anyone jumps at my throat to say that I “didn't get it” or “read to literally” my answer is: no, I did not. I can very clearly “see” the message here; it's just that it's not a very good one (nor is it presented in a stimulating and engaging way). The pseudo-philosophical treaty doesn't tackle any new and fascinating concepts about the self. If you want to be truly enlightened by abstract concepts, go read real philosophers and learn from them instead.
3½ stars for cleverness despite the redundancy.
I really liked this little novella for its take on traitional fairy tales and its reversal of expectations/roles. The princess saves herself instead of waiting around helplessly, which is a nice change of pace. I was a bit on the fence about the random scenes of violence and gore, but I see how they were used to shape (and harden) Floralinda. Cobweb was a cute yet fiesty companion throughout and, even though I'm not too sure about the 'romance' between the two, they did make a formidable pair when faced with all manners of creatures, mythological and otherwise.
I feel that the narrative was repetive in places, and the use of the same ‘trick' to slay the beasts over and over again lacked excitement. The fights could have been more interesting if Floralinda had used different ways for defeating the creatures, but the parade of beasts on each floor was fun to read about, nevertheless. I'm also not so sure about the conclusion; I expected Floralinda to go on her way as a changed woman, not remain in the tower that had kept her prisonner for so long. In a way, it's as though she can never leave her captivity even though she changed tremendously.
Overall, this was a fun, subversive read!
Remember Inception with all of its layers of dreams? Well, this is fairy-ception with layered worlds and dreams too. Fay, the main character, travels through different versions of London on a quest to retrieve her lost daughter in the Land of Death. Starting in our world's London, Fay ends up in a strange jungle-like overgrown place called London Beyond where she meets strange fairy folk who start calling her Queen Orfeia. From there, she moves to London Beneath, to King Alberon's castle for a night of revels, and then finally to Nethermost London where the lands of Dream and Death collide, to meet the Hallowe'en King (Death himself). During her journey, Fay struggles to remember her life in London as the more that she dives deep into Dream, the more she sacrifices her memories. In the end, the only thing that remains is the memory of her daughter, Daisy, and a wavering shadow on the ground. This novella was jam-packed with beautiful writing and poetics, and the careful descriptions of the different world brought vivid images of what fairyland might look like. For anyone who is familiar with the folklore, the characters and world will be familiar/expected, such as the fairy king being Oberon, or the land called Elfhame, but there were fresh elements to the story that added a bit of mystery and wonder. To me, this story is reminiscent of what happens to the fairy queen Titania in Shakespeare's [b:A Midsummer Night's Dream 1622 A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327874534l/1622.SY75.jpg 894834]. I loved reading about Fay's progression through the worlds, and her dealings with the trickster fairies. Overall, the world was beautifully crafted and the narrative itself was very dream-like and magical.Now I have to read more from this author!
Audiobook review
To have the ancient Greek myths retold and read to me by Stephen Fry himself is a treat beyond belief. I have always admired Fry's wit and seemingly unending pool of knowledge, and this book really cements that idea further. Fry's humour comes through in unexpected places such as when he takes on different voices to narrate his story, or adds little quips here and there between the gods. Plus, his frequent break with the narration to include encyclopedic-like information about etymology, food, culture, etc. is truly wonderful and adds to the whole experience by showing how the things of old are still very much alive in our modern traditions.
For fans of Greek mythology, I recommend giving this retelling a shot! I'm looking forward to reading (or rather, hearing) Fry's next instalment in this series.
“It's alright, talí”
Well damn, guess I didn't need my heart anymore from the 70% mark and onwards... what a roller coaster of events.
I knew things would go terribly wrong, but I didn't anticipate that all the best characters would go through hell and back. While I can't say that I'm surprised by Nysander's actions, it was still really sad because of what it did to Seregil. As a consolation though, I'm happy that my boy Thero made a glorious comeback, and I can't wait to see what he does next!
As for Micum, I wasn't a huge fan of him in the first book, but he definitely grew on me in this one. His unwavering loyalty and “mother hen” attitude towards Seregil and Alec made him all the more endearing. This time, however, I had a problem with his daughter Beka. I'm not sure why she was made such a prominent character in this book (nor why there were two Vanguards at the same time?? Wasn't there supposed to be just one set of Four at a time?), But maybe she'll grow on me in the next book like her father did in this one.
Now for Alec. Oh my god, I love him so much. He was so brave and selfless during the whole book, and I love how he went to Seregil and initiated rather than the other way around. Even though Seregil realized he was in love with him from early on, he never acted on it, and Alec's slow realization of his own feelings was beautifully crafted. I love them!! I almost wish that Seregil had managed his escape at the end. I think that would have provided a great opening for the third book, but I'm glad that Alec caught up and knocked some sense into him.
In the end, I'm going to be thinking about these two for a long time. Now, onto the third book!
I came for the promise of a high fantasy m/m, and I stayed for the Locke Lamorean thievery. Seriously, I didn't expect to find another gentleman thieves HF like LL (and yes, I'm aware that this one came WAY before LL), but I was pleasantly surprised that the book took that turn! I don't know why I thought it would be high fantasy, but I'm happy that it became a spy/thief thing instead (that's definitely my jam).
Seregil, whom I lovingly compare to Howl from Howl's Moving Castle in my head, was a delight to read and discover across the pages. I adored his quirky personality and his need to take a bath every two minutes, combined with his deep loyalty to his friends and strong emotions. Alec, our second protagonist, was equally charming, albeit slightly annoying with the overly emphasized modesty thing. Still, I really enjoyed seeing his progress as a Watcher under Seregil and Nysander's expert tutelage.
In my opinion, Nysander and Thero were the unsung heroes of this first volume. Thero was especially useful and endearing despite the fact that he and Seregil are mortal nemeses (not really, but they like to think so). As for Micum, well, I don't have much of an opinion really. He seemed to be just ‘there' and didn't really pique my interest all that much.
As for the m/m, the first half of the book had basically nothing in it in terms of romance, but I think that works well in showing how Seregil and Alec's relationship develops over time. I hate instalove stories, so this type of slow progression was much more realistic and believable. In the second half of the book, you can start picking up small clues here and there, especially from Seregil who slowly starts to see Alec in a different light. Ever since the prophecy, Seregil begins to notice small things about his companion, which makes the slow burning romance all the more delicious.
Naturally, the romance here is just a side plot to the bigger, political storyline that takes place. I loved the complex politics of the land, and all the different factions, governments, cities, etc. The fact that the monarch is, and always has been, a queen makes it all the more interesting.
Overall, this first book in the Nightrunner series was very enjoyable with lots of twists and turns, and I can't wait to tackle the next one!
Short and sad little story about Philoctetes' fate after Heracles' death. Ah, long live the tragic Greek myths! Miller could very easily expand on this idea and write their whole journey together in a novel-length book, but the short story here echoes nicely with the ephemerity of it all. Poor Philoctetes :'( He deserved better than being abandonned, but this shows how conceitedness and cockiness can have dire consequences.
2 1/2 stars for something that I really wanted to love, but it sadly fell short of my expectations.What happens when you mash together the whimsy of the coming-of-age theme in [b:Peter Pan 34268 Peter Pan J.M. Barrie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1337714526l/34268.SX50.jpg 1358908], the magical world of Narnia in [b:The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 100915 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1) C.S. Lewis https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1353029077l/100915.SY75.jpg 4790821], and the nonsense-filled Wonderland of [b:Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass 24213 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass Lewis Carroll https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327872220l/24213.SY75.jpg 2375385]? Well, you get this diluted, rehashing of beloved classics that don't hit home in quite the same way. The author's strange way of alluding to these classics by bashing them, especially when it comes to C.S. Lewis, was unnerving to say the least, and disappointing. It is a bit of an unspoken rule that one should not refer to a work in the same genre, especially not a defining one, in a negative, satirical way. While the idea of portals to other worlds in the fantasy genre is nothing new, to deny the influence of C.S. Lewis is just downright insulting, regardless if you agree or disagree with this Christian views. That would be like denying the fact that Tolkien is the father of high fantasy... plain ridiculous.I had wanted to read this book for the longest time, but I never seemed to be able to get to it. When I saw that it was finally available at my public library, I jumped on it and read voraciously, but I ended up being disappointed by my earlier high expectations. The premise sounded like a bit of a prequel (or maybe an alternate world) to [b:Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 9460487 Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children, #1) Ransom Riggs https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546430481l/9460487.SY75.jpg 14345371] (which I also wasn't a huge fan of), so maybe I should have expected things to be a bit lackluster. There's no denying that McGuire writes really well and effortlessly paints vivid scenes of faraway worlds, but the narrative itself is where this story suffered for me. I would have liked for Nancy (or any other child) to return to ‘their world' and get a better understanding of how the portals work, but instead I was given a slow slice-of-life story of a handful of jaded teens who complain about clothes or food. Typical. [note: maybe this happens in another book, I have no idea since I haven't read the rest of the series, but it doesn't happen in this one.]The attempt at diversity here was, whilst honourable, token at best. It felt like the characters had labels slapped onto them just for the sake of it without actually diving into what makes them stand apart, their difficulties, etc. This is something that seems to be recurring in lots of post-2010 publications wherein authors attempt to divesify without fully exploring these topics. Perhaps it is due to the current social climate we live in that authors feel the need to prove themselves as open and ‘woke' as possible, but it comes across as fake if the diverse characters are simply used as placeholders for diversity.Overall, while I did enjoy many aspects of the worldbuilding and the writing, this novella had too many pitfalls for my taste that discourage me from reading the next book in the series.
3½ stars for this debut novella!
The premise was interesting, the execution was on point, but the pacing was a bit off considering that it's such a short piece. I felt that apart for Tobias the characters weren't as developed nor properly introduced for me to get attached to them, especially Fabian and Silver. The romance was very light, which is fine, but the downside was that I didn't feel much for the relationship. There wasn't much buildup or tension between the two characters, and the resulting relationship felt a bit out of place (a sad result of the short number of pages and the nature of the novella).
The leading up to the action scene was much too long so that when we got to the climax of the story, it felt rushed. Although not a bad piece by any means, I think this novella could have been expanded into a full-length novel instead since it is clear that the author has wonderful ideas and very good writing skills. The descriptions of the forest were enchanting and really showed the author's strengths.
All things considered, I look forward to reading the second part to this story in the author's other novella “Drowned Country.”