briqhtkit's reviews
233 reviews

Fire Exit by Morgan Talty

emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

How sad and haunting this is. Good writing style and representation of Penobscot culture but also very vague about the history that the main character was so insistent on telling so the story sort of just trailed off when it was told

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

so so good!! ending was a little anticlimactic but still I loved the book and how so many different characters tied into this community it was fascinating to read and even better knowing that this was a tribute to a director of a summer camp for disabled children. Truly special

Just Kids by Patti Smith

emotional

3.0

“It leads to each other. We become ourselves.”

I don’t know who the author is, so much of the references to people and places and the NYC art scene went over my head, but a beautiful memoir/love story/coming of age nonetheless. Patti and robert were what very little people manage to find but most of us spend our lives searching for

Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger

funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“An unexamined life is not worth living.”

Wow. Rieger’s ability to create a story that spans three generations of unique lovable characters is so impressive !! Dialogue was amazing I don’t think there’s any way to describe this book short of snappy and smart it was brutally honest and direct which I LOVED

The Vegetarian by Han Kang

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

2.0

I feel like I’ve missed something like this book was a bit of a confusing uninteresting bore to me

How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future by Daniel Ziblatt, Steven Levitsky

informative

4.0

To do anything else would put democracy at risk, and losing democracy is far worse than losing an election.

Trump was precisely the kind of figure that had haunted Hamilton and other founders when they created the American presidency.

Surely the board knows what democracy is. It is the feeling of privacy in the voting booths, the feeling of communion in the libraries, the feeling of vitality everywhere. Democracy is a letter to the editor. Democracy is the score at the beginning of the ninth. It is an idea which hasn’t been disproved yet, a song the words of which have not gone bad. 

The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green

4.0

Babel by R.F. Kuang

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Ramy, smiling. Ramy, reaching.

‘But that’s what translation is, i think. That’s what speaking is. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands.’

God. This book. Tragic and heart wrenching and a bit trite at times (vague theory abt colonialism and the violence of anti colonialism that, though repeated often, never gets more specific). There was a thread of blunt overkill, especially as the three members of the cohort tried to convince Letty over and over that racism was real and British imperialism was deeply messed up. Kuang browbeats the idea that white = racist (BAD) which, although largely true, has the effect of simplifying a very complicated racial hierarchy to the level of white individuals and labeling them racist and evil. Also, some of the historical minutiae and relevancy got lost in the details of the narrative and the universe. At times Kuang seems to tackle too much, trying to incorporate so much history into the fiction into the characters’ lives, That said, Babel is undoubtedly still a masterclass in writing historical fiction and magical realism. It dwells on political and intellectual resistance through the eyes of college students. It was completely engaging and enjoyable to read.  Kuang has a unique talent for constructing entire universes (I can’t even fathom the amount of time and research that she must’ve put into this book) while also maintaining the verve and emotion of a group of college best friends. Babel is clearly a labor of love, and Kuang is able to aptly convey the sense of nostalgia and affection that permeates all memories of your loved ones, that simplifies everything in life down to them. I love reading about love through Kuang’s voice.  

Heaven and Earth by Paolo Giordano

sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

this was okay… sort of the secret history-esque in the sense that the friend group was awfully codependent and prone to infighting but loved each other so extremely in hindsight that everything was justified (?) i found it boring did not sympathize for or resonate with the characters and could predict “the violent act” it was like watching a train wreck that’s really slow and boring. did not reveal anything abt the complexities of the human character just tells you how obsessive love changes people’s lives

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

adventurous

4.5

I WAS SO FASCINATED AND HOOKED this book was so good. Rare tiktok gem they were all right…. I’m actually obsessed this would be 5 stars if it didn’t get a bit confusing at times but oh wow!! “the day you are not a fire is the day the earth will fall still for me” I Looooove obsessive codependent relationships