chrisr88's reviews
93 reviews

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.5

Room by Emma Donoghue

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

A bit difficult to start but opens up to a great read. 

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson

informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.0

A decent self help book. Very easy to get into but I can’t help most of it will be in one ear and right out the other. That being said, I will most likely reread in the future since it’s pretty short.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

"I know a little bit about trying to do the right thing and fucking up completely." Dark, tense,  and sad, could not put down the last 50 pages. Gillian Flynn knows how to write a book.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

A sped up slow burn.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Enjoyed it for the most part but once it hit the halfway point, it felt colder to me and I couldn't really connect with the characters anymore. Through and through though,  Patroclus is a great character. 

Grant by Ron Chernow

informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

Grant is massive and not just in terms of page number, but also the amount of attention it pays to Grant’s life. Starting with Grant’s childhood, Chernow does a great job of painting Grant’s personality and mentality and how it developed through both wars, his presidency and his short but interesting post-presidency. Even though I found some of the war sections to be tedious, I appreciate the amount of research that went into describing day to day fighting and did find some of the odd details to be funny. For me, the book was at its best when Grant was more human than president, e.g. death of people around him, his struggle against reconstruction, his post-presidency. I especially enjoyed the look into Grant’s psyche through his dealings with his parents and father in law and how it affected him throughout his political career and personal life. I really enjoyed the book and enjoyed most of it, although I will say the alcohol issue gets addressed and that’s fine, but it became annoying when pages were dedicated to whether Grant was really drinking or if was just a blatant lie. It’s nice to dispel the libel that has been spewed mostly by enemies, but we don’t need a mention every 50 pages. 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

3.0

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

4.0