nadia's Reviews (587)

I always knew I liked the sound of "interconnected short stories" and this collection proved me correct!

Normally with short stories, I'm left wanting, but I thought this collection was a really great blend of a regular novel and a short story collection, and, by the end of If I Survive You, I found myself satisfied with the range of perspectives Escoffery chose to share with us — I didn't think I would be! I just love the way interconnected stories can provide so many additional layers to the chapters before and after, especially where the stories individually stand strong on their own.

There were a couple of cases, especially in one story, where I was a little confused as to what was meant to have happened, but those were minor frustrations only.

If you love reading about themes of identity, race and racism, familial relationships, especially fatherhood or brotherhood, and classism then this is definitely a collection for you.

This was Escoffery's debut and I'm looking forward to reading whatever he publishes next!

This started off real strong for me! I thought it was going to get at least 4⭐️.

But, somewhere along the way, it fell a little bit flat, some of the spark was lost, and it seemed to drag a little. Some parts felt a little too contrived, especially with regards to trying to create tension. I was rooting for the central relationship, but just didn't end up feeling as emotionally invested or as excited for it as I thought I'd be given the first third of the book.

Still, the cast of characters was super fun, heavy topics are dealt with incredibly well, there's a real clever "meta" nature to this book, and, especially given that, this is definitely one to go for on audio if that's a format you consume books in!

These stories were a lot more accessible than I was expecting, and I was drawn into pretty much each one relatively quickly. I was a fan of the writing for sure!

However, one too many times a story ended and I thought to myself: "Wait, is that it? What was I meant to take away from that story? Hmm, I didn't quite get it. I wanted a little bit more! Just a tad!"

I really enjoyed the interludes between the story. A short horror tale in its own right!

I really liked this book! As someone who avoids reading the blurbs, I had no idea where it was going to take me, but I was drawn in from the opening pages, immediately transported to a 1960s Nigeria.

I struggled a little with the time jumps and what had already happened or not, and I also struggled to keep the politics straight, but I think the latter is on me a little! I've read two books back-to-back, unintentionally (but fortunately!) featuring the Biafran War and I already feel like I've learned a fair amount about it. I also felt like my intrigue dipped a little at some point in the middle, but it picked back up again.

The writing and character depictions were great!

I'm reading Adichie's novels in chronological order, so this is the second, and my current fave, over Purple Hibiscus! 

A solid, and engaging read on insider trading and the quest to bring down Steve Cohen.

I didn't know much about this case and this book is so well researched, but never feels bogged down in the detail.

It was a little tricky keeping track of all of the different characters and organisations involved, especially towards the latter half of the book, but Kolhatkar did a pretty great job.

Perfect read if you're interested in financial fraud and corruption, insider trading, hedge funds, or the history of Wall Street!

For a book about such heavy subject matter, Tomorrow I Become a Woman was incredibly readable! It was so easy to keep turning the pages, but this book did make me frustrated and angry to no end! 

The heaviness was relentless, especially as you come to terms with the fact that the characters and stories in the book are based on true ones and people are living such lives today.

This was a brilliant debut from Odafen — the writing was great, her research was excellent, and she managed to sprinkle in some great moments of humour.

A great read if you're interested in the plight of women in Western Africa, especially Nigeria, and themes of motherhood, manhood and masculinity, patriarchy, family, and identity.

(I'm looking forward to Odafen's next book — I was on a Book Club Zoom meeting with her last night and was very excited to hear about its focus...!)

Such a gripping story, my gosh!

I'd read about Silk Road at the time that everything was unfolding, but I couldn't remember any of the details so I was able to enjoy this fully.

I'm a big fan of narrative non-fiction, and I really enjoyed Hatching Twitter by this author, but I do think some of the narrative elements in this one — suspense, foreboding, cliffhangers, etc. — were a tad overdone and distracted from the story (because I would find myself thinking: "well, just how did you know that? " or "stop hinting at what's to come so much — surprise me more!")

It probably would have been a 5-star book for me if the same story was written by Patrick Radden Keefe, my new fave nonfiction writer.

Also, one of my biggest book pet peeves — there's a big Breaking Bad spoiler in here, so don't read this before you've watched that, if you plan to. Luckily, I'd seen it all.

All in all, definitely one to read if you love narrative nonfiction, especially about startups or true (cyber)crime, or if you enjoy thriller and crime novels and want to learn more about the whole Silk Road case!

A super fun, charming read to end off 2023! I think it pips The Flatshare for me, which is the first book I read a couple years back that got me into reading more Romance!

I got really into the two main storylines and was rooting for the characters and their happiness! On the whole the characters felt believable and I loved the representation of the elderly!

This was a brilliant book! Definitely my favourite Toni Morrison so far out of the three I've read as part of my chronological journey through her fiction.

The writing was excellent and Morrison crafts such unique characters that you're always eager to see how they interact and what they do next. I'm also not normally one for magical realism, but it worked for me in this book. I just went with it and let Toni Morrison lead the way.

There were so many different facets to this book, which you might think could lead to a novel that felt disjointed, but Morrison expertly tied it all together and nothing felt out of place!

There were some parts that I struggled to keep on top of everything — namely names, relationships between people and places — but I didn't find myself getting frustrated by that as I am wont to do in such cases!

This is certainly a must-read/listen for anybody who is caring for someone with dementia, or might soon be. I'm fortunate enough that this isn't my circumstance now but you never know what might happen in the future and I appreciated hearing Schreiber's story and knowing that such a resource existed. 

I know the book is advertised as part practical guide but I think I was hoping for more of the memoir-like elements as opposed to literal bullet points for what to do in various scenarios. I wish that more of the direct practical pointers were in the incredibly valuable appendix and the bulk of the book focused more on the personal stories/anecdotes.

The appendix, mostly featuring Q&As/interviews is super valuable and actionable for caregivers!