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nadia's reviews
565 reviews
The Followers by Bradeigh Godfrey
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A solid, entertaining listen. Nothing special/standout but intriguing enough nonetheless! A little cheesy, far-fetched, and simplistic at times, but that comes with the territory, and there was a little more nuance in this one than expected!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Stalking
Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life & Sudden Death by Laura Cumming
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
My first read off of the Women's Prize Nonfiction shortlist and I'm surprised at how much I got sucked into this world of Dutch art! I would have never picked up this book, let alone a book about art (unless it was something about art prices or the stolen art world...), but this book has got me a lot more intrigued and inspired me to try and get out to more galleries and really look at the paintings.
I did appreciate the mix of personal memoir and art history — including the discussions around (sudden) death, limited time and how you spend it, what art says about the artist, etc., — but the balance between the two felt a little off/random at times . It's like the author wanted to write a book on Fabritius and Dutch art and a book about a her dad. There were definitely ties between the two that enhanced the message in cases, but not sure if fully hit! Perhaps the narrative structure wasn't quite there given the author's intentions? But overall, I enjoyed the book and thought the writing was great. I especially enjoyed learning more about the history of The Goldfinch, especially being a Donna Tartt fan!
Current Women's Prize 2024 Non-Fiction Shortlist rankings:
1. Thunderclap
:-D
I did appreciate the mix of personal memoir and art history — including the discussions around (sudden) death, limited time and how you spend it, what art says about the artist, etc., — but the balance between the two felt a little off/random at times . It's like the author wanted to write a book on Fabritius and Dutch art and a book about a her dad. There were definitely ties between the two that enhanced the message in cases, but not sure if fully hit! Perhaps the narrative structure wasn't quite there given the author's intentions? But overall, I enjoyed the book and thought the writing was great. I especially enjoyed learning more about the history of The Goldfinch, especially being a Donna Tartt fan!
Current Women's Prize 2024 Non-Fiction Shortlist rankings:
1. Thunderclap
:-D
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent
Strong Female Character by Fern Brady
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
This was a brilliant memoir, and I particularly enjoyed listening to Fern narrate her own raw, honest story.
Fascinating insight into life with autism, especially as a woman, and one that gets you thinking about social norms and how you partake, or don’t, in them.
Fascinating insight into life with autism, especially as a woman, and one that gets you thinking about social norms and how you partake, or don’t, in them.
Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A super solid book, with a fresh take on death, grief, identity, living a life worth living, martyrdom, love, and art. I really appreciated all of the facets of it, including the different storytelling devices (normal prose, a book within a book, poetry, etc.), the different perspectives, and the surrealist aspects, even if I didn't always fully grasp their meaning, and there were some real beautiful ideas and writing in the book too. Went into this thinking it'd be a 4.5-5-star read though, and something about it didn't pop in the way I wanted it to. But still a great book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent
Private Equity: A Memoir by Carrie Sun
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Was expecting something a lot juicier and drama-filled and something with new, unique insights into the billionaire lifestyle or behind-the-scenes at a hedge fund, whereas I don't think I learnt anything new here or that there was anything out of the ordinary to really mull on.
I think it's a compelling read/listen if you know nothing about the world of finance or hedge funds!
I think it's a compelling read/listen if you know nothing about the world of finance or hedge funds!
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I surprisingly really liked this! I wasn't sure when I started, but I was intrigued by all of the details. It was an insight into a life and lifestyle that's so very different to mine and I appreciated the raw and honest insights Dolly provided, even if I found myself balking at times. Listening to Dolly narrate the book herself added to the experience.
Long Division by Kiese Laymon
adventurous
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-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
4.5
What a fantastic, unique, funny, clever book!
It has a theme I often struggle with — time travel — but I got it enough to appreciate the quality of what Kiese has put together. I did spend some time trying to piece together exactly what happened when afterwards, and whether I missed something that was meant to make it all click, before realising that that's not really the important part. I got the overall gist and it was a brilliant backdrop for such important conversations.
Probably one I'd wanna reread in a couple years and I'm also excited to read more of Laymon's work.
P.S. I hear a more recent edition of this book has the book in a different structure? I've got an edition from 2013.
P.P.S. This was one of the first ever recommendations Rob's first StoryGraph rec algorithm gave to me! The model has come on a very long way since then but it's very cool to see that it was getting a lot right back then.
It has a theme I often struggle with — time travel — but I got it enough to appreciate the quality of what Kiese has put together. I did spend some time trying to piece together exactly what happened when afterwards, and whether I missed something that was meant to make it all click, before realising that that's not really the important part. I got the overall gist and it was a brilliant backdrop for such important conversations.
Probably one I'd wanna reread in a couple years and I'm also excited to read more of Laymon's work.
P.S. I hear a more recent edition of this book has the book in a different structure? I've got an edition from 2013.
P.P.S. This was one of the first ever recommendations Rob's first StoryGraph rec algorithm gave to me! The model has come on a very long way since then but it's very cool to see that it was getting a lot right back then.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Violence
Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
I went into this with low expectations and I really enjoyed it. A solid novella and I liked the structure!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Murder
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This reread didn't quite hit as much as I thought it would. I'd always said The Picture of Dorian Gray was one of my fave classics, after studying it at school, but maybe it was the English teacher, and more recently the stage adaptation in London featuring Sarah Snook, that made the story really pop.
This was still a great read, with lots of philosophical musings on life to mull on, but a lil' summin' summin' was missing for me. Oh, and I got really bored during one particular section in the latter half. It started off well, and I appreciated the conceit of the segment, but then it felt like it went on for too long.
This was still a great read, with lots of philosophical musings on life to mull on, but a lil' summin' summin' was missing for me. Oh, and I got really bored during one particular section in the latter half. It started off well, and I appreciated the conceit of the segment, but then it felt like it went on for too long.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence
Good Material by Dolly Alderton
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A solid, real, funny, relatable read about relationships and break-ups! Enjoyed reading this from a man's perspective, and I even noted down a couple of passages towards the end as they felt like good bits of advice to reflect back on later!