nadia's Reviews (587)

I went into this book having no clue about its structure and John Green (whose vlogs with his brother I used to love growing up) ended up making me interested in so many things that I never thought I would be. A few times, while listening to the audiobook, I'd reach for Google/Wikipedia for extra references to the topic of discussion! Sometimes my engagement did dip, but occurrences of that were few and far in between. I really enjoyed the memoir aspects that were weaved into this too, and having John narrate the audio himself was fantastic.

This was a great collection, with such unique concepts. A couple of standouts for me were Light — such a beautifully-written, sad piece, packed with emotion — and the titular story, What It Means When A Man Falls From The Sky. 

I listened to this and enjoyed it, especially given Evaristo narrates it herself! I particularly loved the themes of ambition, perseverance, determination, and manifestation. Very inspiring.

A quick, easy, and interesting read. I really enjoyed all of the anecdotes and practical tips/prompt questions. However, I wanted a little bit more depth and a structure that felt like it had more of a narrative arc, rather than a list of points and stories.

Good fun! Despite some extra ridiculousness in this one compared to the first, I think I found it more entertaining, and I really enjoyed the different styles/structures Kwan used as part of the narrative

I've been saving this up for a year to listen to it during the holidays. I was hoping for something a little bit more exciting, but it was a fun, easy listen! Based on what I read before selecting the audiobook, I also thought there'd be full-length songs weaved in as opposed to short melodies in between chapters.

I've been excited to read this one as it's the first book that my co-founder Rob found via StoryGraph's Browse Books filter menu. He'd been helping out on the product for months at this point, but hadn't needed a new book. And here he was, about to go on a run, and he wanted something fast-paced to listen to. I'll never forget the excited barrage of texts I received from him after he'd returned from the run having started a book he knew nothing about beyond what StoryGraph's book pane said.

I really enjoyed Sanderson's Mistborn series and was looking forward to trying something a bit different from him! 

Given the subject matter combined with the length of the book, I think you'd be hard-pressed not to have some unanswered questions or want a little bit more in certain aspects. However, while a quick read (I could have read it in one sitting but alas time didn't allow), the story and concepts packed in certainly felt like I got more than what you'd think only 100-odd pages could offer.

If you love detective stories and science fiction, and are looking for something quick, while still a little challenging, this is a fantastic option!

What an absolutely chilling read. I liked the range of material in here, from narrative histories, conversation transcripts, and photos, to descriptions of investigative technics and more memoir-style writing from the late Michelle McNamara.

Some of it felt a little dense, too slow-going, or muddled (though I appreciate this was a half-finished book, completed by others) at times but ultimately, a must-read for any true crime fans.

I really struggled to stay focused while reading this book. It features stories of five different women and essentially just relays what they said in interviews, word for word, with bits of prose weaved in. Given it was long and slow-paced, a certain patience and persistence was required to get through it. Still, there were a lot of interesting anecdotes throughout and it's always fascinating learning about a perspective and place you don't know much about, in this case Jamaica and the Windrush generation.

This was a beautifully written and translated novel with such a delightful use of magical realism. As with most of the books I read, I had no clue what to expect going in, but it wasn't long before I was captivated by the story and the storytelling. Normally I'm not one for magical realism (not that I've read many featuring it at all), but at times, this book literally felt like magic was within its pages and I was here for it.

Certain repeated behaviours from some of the main characters, and how they were relayed to the reader, did make for uncomfortable reading now and again, but then Allende's choices in which perspectives the story was told from do leave the reader conflicted about what to really think or feel.

Overall, a wonderfully told story which memorable protagonists!