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nadia's reviews
565 reviews
Salt Slow by Julia Armfield
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A really great collection! I was intrigued by all of the stories and I think this collection wins for the most unique series of concepts that I've encountered out of all of the collections I've read.
I loved the undercurrent of creepiness/eeriness and foreboding throughout. There was just something unsettling — in a good way — about it all. The writing was fab too.
Still, far too often a story ended rather too abruptly for me, especially after such slow, delicious build-up. I was left wanting more. My age-old problem with short stories, frankly!
I loved the undercurrent of creepiness/eeriness and foreboding throughout. There was just something unsettling — in a good way — about it all. The writing was fab too.
Still, far too often a story ended rather too abruptly for me, especially after such slow, delicious build-up. I was left wanting more. My age-old problem with short stories, frankly!
Shoko's Smile by Choi Eunyoung
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A super solid collection. Not a single story bored me though...I did hope for more from some!
I loved the focus on women and also themes of family, motherhood, culture, grief, and politics that were weaved throughout.
A couple of the stories I think didn't have as much emotional impact as I would have thought, or left me a little confused as to what I was meant to leave the story thinking, but I think it's because I read them distractedly/while tired, so I don't want to penalise the book for that! After all, reading reviews of others, it looks like nobody else was confused. 😅
I loved the focus on women and also themes of family, motherhood, culture, grief, and politics that were weaved throughout.
A couple of the stories I think didn't have as much emotional impact as I would have thought, or left me a little confused as to what I was meant to leave the story thinking, but I think it's because I read them distractedly/while tired, so I don't want to penalise the book for that! After all, reading reviews of others, it looks like nobody else was confused. 😅
The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron by Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Very very good account of the Enron scandal. The definitive book on it, I'd say (having not read any others). (I watched the eponymous documentary almost a decade ago but didn't remember anything about it.)
At times, it got a little too slow or confusing (so many people!!), but I'm not sure if I can really blame the authors for this, as it was a complex thing! Given that, they did do so well to break it all down and overall I loved the detail.
Also, just wild what went on! Absolutely wild!
At times, it got a little too slow or confusing (so many people!!), but I'm not sure if I can really blame the authors for this, as it was a complex thing! Given that, they did do so well to break it all down and overall I loved the detail.
Also, just wild what went on! Absolutely wild!
Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe
informative
slow-paced
4.5
PRK is such a good writer. Even though some stories in this collection didn't hit as well, I was never bored! Even the Preface was gripping!
The variety and level of detail — all while remaining accessible and engaging — is so impressive. This was the nonfiction version of short stories and I loved it.
Looking forward to PRK's next book! The topic won't matter!
The variety and level of detail — all while remaining accessible and engaging — is so impressive. This was the nonfiction version of short stories and I loved it.
Looking forward to PRK's next book! The topic won't matter!
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
I loved this book, but it looks like I didn't mark it as 'read'/leave a rating on GR when I read it and I don't remember now to know what to put, but it'd be a 4-5 star read for sure!
Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Overall, a decent end to the trilogy, but I was a teeny bit let down, given just how much I loved Ship of Magic.
I finished The Mad Ship almost a year ago, so maybe I was a little out of touch with it all, so I struggled to piece together the politics and the motivations of all of the characters.
I also felt like some character decisions did not make sense to me or were frustrating, and some character arcs were ended unsatisfactorily, especially those that I feel didn't get their just deserts...
Still, Hobb is an incredible storyteller, creating rich, complex, morally grey leading characters, and the way she weaves everything together is so masterful!
I finished The Mad Ship almost a year ago, so maybe I was a little out of touch with it all, so I struggled to piece together the politics and the motivations of all of the characters.
I also felt like some character decisions did not make sense to me or were frustrating, and some character arcs were ended unsatisfactorily, especially those that I feel didn't get their just deserts...
Still, Hobb is an incredible storyteller, creating rich, complex, morally grey leading characters, and the way she weaves everything together is so masterful!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, War
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting
Minor: Slavery
The One by John Marrs
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book wins points because, despite the clunky, amateur-seeming, writing, and cringe dialogue and asides (which sometimes felt a little sexist), I was curious to see how pretty much all of the different storylines played out. There were a couple of good surprises packed into this. Some things were rather too convenient, but that can be hard to avoid with books of this style!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy
Cujo by Stephen King
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wasn't sure how much I was going to get into a book about a monster dog, or how scared I'd feel while reading it, but I got into it and I did feel scared, tense, and on edge at various points! Again, also fun to see the small advantages to my King chronological read with this one! A solid book, with an unsurprising emotional tug, that goes a lot deeper than the obvious scary parts!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Gore
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Rape
Finding Me by Viola Davis
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I was already a big fan of Viola Davis but this made me even more so! What an incredible woman!
I listened to this on audio and having Viola's voice fill my head as she told her story was something else.
I appreciated her sharing all sides of her story, including her difficult upbringing, the challenges that come with being a dark-skinned black woman in Hollywood, let alone choosing acting as a profession, and her journey in finding love, the latter of which got to me and had me sobbing at one point.
If anything, I was hoping for a lil’ more BTS scoops, especially on her work on HTGAWM, and also some more drama/goss, but I suspect that’s not Viola’s style!
Now I gotta go and watch everything Viola Davis has been in!
I listened to this on audio and having Viola's voice fill my head as she told her story was something else.
I appreciated her sharing all sides of her story, including her difficult upbringing, the challenges that come with being a dark-skinned black woman in Hollywood, let alone choosing acting as a profession, and her journey in finding love, the latter of which got to me and had me sobbing at one point.
If anything, I was hoping for a lil’ more BTS scoops, especially on her work on HTGAWM, and also some more drama/goss, but I suspect that’s not Viola’s style!
Now I gotta go and watch everything Viola Davis has been in!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Death of parent
Moderate: Racism, Abortion
The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks
When I first heard about the concept of this book, I was intrigued!
I like going into books knowing as little as possible and so it didn’t start out how I was expecting and I thought I was in for disappointment, but then everything started to come together, and by the end all of the setup made sense.
I loved getting into the behind-the-scenes nitty-gritty parts to making a movie and the variety of characters and their back stories that were explored.
Some parts felt a little too slow, convenient, overdone, etc., but I guess that’s what happens with some movies. 😆
I also really appreciated the variety of story-telling techniques and forms, and the bonus material! That was fun!
If you like character-driven stories and movies, and are curious as to what goes into making Hollywood motion pictures, or just like behind-the-scenes-style stories in general, you should definitely give this book a go!
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Instead she talked about the great divide between solving problems and causing them and the importance of being on time.
When I first heard about the concept of this book, I was intrigued!
I like going into books knowing as little as possible and so it didn’t start out how I was expecting and I thought I was in for disappointment, but then everything started to come together, and by the end all of the setup made sense.
I loved getting into the behind-the-scenes nitty-gritty parts to making a movie and the variety of characters and their back stories that were explored.
Some parts felt a little too slow, convenient, overdone, etc., but I guess that’s what happens with some movies. 😆
I also really appreciated the variety of story-telling techniques and forms, and the bonus material! That was fun!
If you like character-driven stories and movies, and are curious as to what goes into making Hollywood motion pictures, or just like behind-the-scenes-style stories in general, you should definitely give this book a go!
Content Warnings
Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy