booksny's reviews
325 reviews

The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I well and truly love the complexity of the worldbuilding and the plot for this novel. Each character is so distinctively brought to life, and I ran through a full gamut of emotions for their arcs

The Magic Snow-Bird and Other Stories by Enid Blyton

3.0

The lost beads And Other Stories by Enid Blyton

3.0

The Little Witch-Dog and Other Stories by Enid Blyton, Georgina Hargreaves

fast-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

3.0

Pretty Star the Pony and Other Stories by Enid Blyton, Sally Gregory

fast-paced

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

3.0

Games in Goblinland by Enid Blyton

adventurous lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An easy, entertaining read with sweet illustrations 

The Tower in Ho-Ho Wood and Other Stories by Enid Blyton, Lesley Blackman

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Some of the lessons and tropes within likely hasn't aged well, but I remember enjoying this read a lot as a child. 

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

dark hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Really enjoyed this read - I loved the wording used (beautifully lyrical), the dystopian worldbuilding which was sometimes quite prescient (and sometimes not), the thought-provoking messages (some of which I agreed with, some of which I didn't e.g. I'm conscious that Bradbury thought that the major threat to authors was minority groups' political correctness; I reckon that take needs a lot more nuance, especially considering that many contemporary book bans aren't done by or on behalf of minorities), and the fascinating male characters (Beatty was a complicated antagonist).

The female characters were more weakly or antagonistically developed - Clarisse felt like a manic pixie dream girl, whereas Mildred and her friends were representative of everything Montag was fighting against. The manic pixie dream girl portrayal was the main aspect I wasn't as keen on, but I feel that the book's other strong aspects did age well and were enjoyably thought provoking, enough that I'd be happy to reread in the future

I Want You to Shut the F#ck Up: How the Audacity of Dopes Is Ruining America by D.L. Hughley, Michael Malice

challenging emotional funny medium-paced

2.0

The writing style is engaging and there's a lot of raw honesty, which I do appreciate. I found the logic and opinions far too bizarre to follow or align with though, so could not gain much meaningful learning from this read

The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down: How to Be Calm in a Busy World by Haemin Sunim

reflective relaxing medium-paced

3.0

A couple of the thoughts resonated but the rest felt too generalized to stick in my head. Loved the artwork though - Youngcheol Lee's illustrations were gorgeous