nadia's Reviews (587)

This is such a unique, creative, intense memoir. Carmen Maria Machado uses a wide range of narrative tropes, concepts, and structures (there's one that if you've not read much about this book you won't see coming — so ingenious and powerful!) to recount her experience of domestic abuse at the hands of an ex-girlfriend, and also explore the neglected topic of abuse in queer relationships. It's a fascinating and informative insight into a heavy topic. Some of the chapters read like short critical essays, exploring works of fiction, film, TV, and other pop culture media, in relation to the subject matter. I wasn't expecting to learn so much outside of Machado's personal story but the book is all the more richer for these extra dimensions. I really recommend In The Dream House to broaden your reading horizons.

A quality second book to this brilliant trilogy!

I enjoyed the dual narrative and seeing how the characters that we met in The Fifth Season developed. While confusing in parts, which was to be expected, I was intrigued the whole way. I did have to look up a plot summary on Wikipedia though to check that I had understood everything. 

I can't wait to see how Jemisin wraps up her Broken Earth series. I have faith that it's going to be excellent.

This was a real fun ride, packed with lots of adventure and humour, and it would have been absolutely brilliant had it not been for the copious detailed footnotes and endnotes, displayed in such a way that made it incredibly difficult to get into a reading flow with this book. Should I read this footnote now? Shall I leave all of the endnotes until I get to them or will I forget the point it's referring to?

This won't be an issue if you're not somebody like me who has to read all of the extra information presented! I also struggled to understand the wonderfully illustrated description of Babbage's Analytical Engine Sidney Padua provides in the appendix. I just couldn't piece together what was supposed to be happening and I really wanted to given I'd just spent so much time with the book!

Still, this is a great graphic novel and I'm so glad it's in my possession. If computer science and its history interest you, or you've heard about Ada Lovelace, Charles Babbage, or the Difference Engine, and you want to know more, this is definitely a book to pick up!

This was such a wonderfully inspiring read. I didn't realise just how much I'd fall in love with these women, their brains, their perseverance, and their resilience.

I loved the mixture of biographical elements with all of the history, especially the extra context of what was happening in the United States around civil rights and international politics from the 1930s to the 1970s. 

The only thing that threw me with the book was that I couldn't quite grasp the narrative structure. It seemed to jump from one thing to another, one character to the next, sometimes from paragraph to paragraph. One minute we're talking about the Cold War and the next about the experience of black men in NASA — at least, that's how it felt to me. It was all super interesting though!

Ultimately, I really appreciated that while racism and discrimination were, of course, key themes in the book, the overriding focus was on the sheer brilliance of these women and the greatness of their contributions to maths and science.

My first ever audiobook and what a great one for me to get started with!

I haven't read a thriller in a really long time, and I loved how this one touches on some very current themes, of race, class, and gentrification, all things that were also rather sad and frustration-inducing, but you're not quite sure where the story is headed — at least I wasn't anyway!

I kept on finding chores to elongate just so that I could keep listening. I'm excited to read whatever thriller Alyssa Cole puts out next.

In Cinderella Is Dead, Kalynn Bayron explores the serious topics of patriarchy and sexism, wrapped up in a fast-paced, tense plot. I really appreciated Bayron's creative use of a well-known fairy-tale to construct the dark, autocratic society the characters of her book live in.

Not only does this story serve as a commentary of many social ills that we sadly still see around us today, it's a book that makes you think about history, and who has control over it. How is it told, and what effect does that have on future generations and and how they behave? And how much can one person change its course?

At times dark and sad, Cinderella Is Dead is an ultimately hopeful tale!

I'm so glad to have finally discovered Becky Chambers's Wayfarers Universe!

What a delightful cast of characters — I really felt like I had left my living room and was aboard a space ship. What I also loved was how Chambers used a range of species and planets to make a comment on a range of society norms and human behaviours. There were some real wise tidbits and reflection points in there.

I went into this hoping to find a new all-time fave, and while I did love it and knew about the type of book I was heading into, I just think I was in the mood for something faster paced and more plot-based.

I'm really excited to read A Closed and Common Orbit, the standalone sequel to this book. I had suspicions about what it would be about and the teaser at the end of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet proved me to be correct. 😌

I was hesitant to go into this book as I wasn't sure I was in the mood for it. I know that Ali Smith's books are more on the experimental end and I didn't think that I had the patience for something that wasn't straightforward.

Turns out this was my favourite of the three I've read so far (including Autumn and Winter; I'm reading them in publication order). Most of the time, I found it surprisingly digestible. I enjoyed the cast of characters and the links between them and I loved the interlude chapters that served as impactful commentary on certain parts of British society and culture today.

This would have been a 4 star read except for the fact that I still was not completely sure what the reader is meant to have understood as having happened come the final scenes. I had to look up a plot summary to double-check and that always takes away a little bit from the experience.

I am looking forward to Summer, though it doesn't seem to be a fave amongst fans of the Seasonal Quartet!

A bit dry and dated at times, and also felt like it focused more on enterprise startups, but there were some useful concepts in here, and it was packed with lots of practical things to do. The extensive endpages —bibliography/reading lists, appendices, and workbook — are fantastic additions! I am glad I've finally read this business classic!

Some interesting stories and some valuable pieces of advice in this one. I wish there were more anecdotes and case studies, especially from the early days of companies that blitzscaled. 

While I do see how blitzscaling can be such an effective strategy to dominance for a company, the concept doesn't 100% sit well with me.