byarielshirley's reviews
81 reviews

When Children Love to Learn: A Practical Application of Charlotte Mason's Philosophy for Today by

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5.0

A. It’s read for parents considering home schooling! A wonderful, insightful, comprehensive read. Very practical, educational, and inspiring. 
Babel by R.F. Kuang

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Modern day Dickens meets enriching lexical prose. A deeply beautiful, insightful, rich, haunting read. Wow. 
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman

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4.5

So much insight and thought. 

… they did not know what they were laughing about and why they had stopped thinking. P163

I would be so curious to read this written in 2024…

A must read for everyone in my opinion. 
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Beautiful writing, so creatively inspiring. I adore sweet Anne-girl. A must read for the hopeless romantic, kindred spirit.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
Great book but rather read the physical version
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.
Not the right book for my current season of life. The first chapter was well written and the story is gripping, I only have a capacity for light hearted content at present.
The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

4.75

101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think by Brianna Wiest

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3.75

Initially, I thought the author offered some great insights that were very well articulated and I really enjoyed the content. I added a lot of quotes to my commonplace book and discussed points with my husband. However, about 60% of the way through there was a lot of repetition of ideas and by the end of the book I felt that effectiveness of the essays diminished as the concepts were reworded but not developed. A lot of the content is great for self awareness but unless you are early 20s and lack life experience, a lot of the second half felt a bit redundant tbh. Overall a good book though I wouldn’t read more than once.