chrishammer's reviews
71 reviews

Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut

inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

Atlanta Noir by Tayari Jones

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

2.5

I would say the stories are incredibly inconsistent. Some really good highs and some pretty unreadable ones mixed in. 

Call for the Dead: A George Smiley Novel by John le Carré

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

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

3.0

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

2.5

What if everyone made the worst decision at all times?

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

emotional medium-paced

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

2.5

The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

An enjoyable book that is unfortunately bloated with unnecessary and overly contrived religious and metaphorical elements when the necessary and truly interesting philosophical questions were already posed by plot and characters. 

Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis

informative sad fast-paced

3.0

Perhaps this was informative and foundational to prison abolitionism in 2003, but in 2024 its ability to expose new information to anyone familiar with the cause is lacking.