ashwaar's reviews
176 reviews

The Book of Trespass: Crossing the Lines that Divide Us by Nick Hayes

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adventurous informative reflective medium-paced

5.0


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Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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Otherlands by Thomas Halliday

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adventurous challenging informative slow-paced

4.25

10% Happier by Dan Harris

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funny informative inspiring medium-paced

3.75


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Ghost Music by An Yu

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mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I read Ghost Music in less than a week because it’s so short and I had a pretty good time with it. I’d seen it in a few bookstores and was intrigued by the title and cover. I found it pretty interesting and full of symbolism but I don’t think I fully understood a lot of what the author was trying to say. She packed a lot into not very many pages and I felt like there were quite a few loose threads at the end, but it was still engaging and worth the read.

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In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

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adventurous dark informative medium-paced

4.5

This is another book I’ve read from my long list of classics and I really enjoyed it! I hadn’t heard of it before but it has been claimed as the first narrative non-fiction novel and whether that’s true or not, it was done really well. It’s a fascinating look into a seemingly motiveless crime in rural Kansas. Capote keeps the reader engaged throughout as you learn about and even sympathise with those involved in this chilling quadruple homicide.

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Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

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challenging emotional sad 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

4.0

It took me months to finish reading this book! When I began it was very strong and I loved the sharpness of the writing but near the end, I thought it was floundering around. It became a bit over-the-top and dramatic for me but I do think that overall it’s a really strong character story on family, community, trauma, and gentrification.

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The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Survive and Thrive When the World Overwhelms You by Elaine N. Aron

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informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

I think I just went into this book expecting something different and honestly a bit more helpful. I know I'm highly sensitive and I'd heard this book being recommended and I thought it could help me and offer some advice. But it just didn't do enough and I got more information about how I may have been as an infant compared to advice on myself as an adult. I also felt like Aron never really said anything concrete, she'd write along the lines of 'you might want to go out in the evening to push yourself or stay in and listen to what your body needs'. I know that already, and I just needed more from it.


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Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall

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adventurous informative inspiring fast-paced

3.75

Born to Run is a hybrid non-fiction of investigative journalism, a journey to self-discovery and an exploration of the evolution of modern running. I love reading non-fiction about topics I previously knew nothing about and I found the chapters on ultramarathons and the development of the running shoe to be pretty interesting. But I found the writing style to be quite dramatic and exaggerated like McDougall expects everyone else to be as automatically passionate and flabbergasted by these running discoveries as he is.

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Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet by George Monbiot

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challenging informative medium-paced

5.0

Regenesis was a brilliant and necessary read. Covering the systemic and disastrous effects of the modern farming industry, Monbiot excellently picks apart people's staggeringly inaccurate defence of the greatest cause of environmental destruction and offers insights into developing techniques that we'll be forced to use in the future as our food systems become increasingly unstable.

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