Scan barcode
dheemaria's reviews
51 reviews
Deception Point by Dan Brown
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
4.5
Please do not judge me on this... This was baby's first political thriller and it blew my mind when I read it as a kid. It still has a special place in my heart.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
fast-paced
3.5
Ashamed to admit that the twist works for me. I have no defense. I just think it's a solid thriller.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
Still one of the most beautiful love stories I've ever read.
Madeline Miller does some bold reinterpretations regarding characterizations and certain details from the original Greek Mythology that may not work for everyone. But boy does it work for me.
Madeline Miller does some bold reinterpretations regarding characterizations and certain details from the original Greek Mythology that may not work for everyone. But boy does it work for me.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
My five stars are usually reserved for books with long, profound proses on top of an engaging narrative, but I can't help giving Project Hail Mary a five star. While not exactly ground-breaking literary-wise -- it is a very light read with snappy, comedic back-and-forth -- the themes brought up and executed by this book still left me reeling even weeks after I first read it. Such a positive, optimistic outlook on humanity. I do hope to find more sci-fi like this -- exposing not the worst of humanity, but the best it could possibly be.
The Egg by Andy Weir
fast-paced
3.75
Not much can be said about this short story. It's an interesting take on the after life and the human condition, and managed to deliver its message succinctly.
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
tense
fast-paced
3.0
It was like watching a well-choreographed car crash. I didn’t enjoy it, but I don’t think it wanted me to.
No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
2.0
A few lines are dizzyingly insightful, but those are few and far in between; the rest of the book is a series of thoughts and conclusions you would've come to yourselves if you are exactly the same amount of online as she is. Which I unfortunately am.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
funny
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
This book is a tried-and-true classic, so I don’t think I could add any praise that has not been said before. I would like, however, to specifically highlight the Audible version read by Rosamund Pike. I strongly recommend this version for the best reading (listening?) experience — Rosamund Pike is so talented at giving little tells and variations to the characters’ speech, noticeable enough to add to the characters’ personalities, but not so exaggerated to the point of distraction. I enjoyed all ten hours of the experience and will be looking forward to all her readings of the other Austen books.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
This book was a short, 170-page read that reading it felt like taking a brisk walk. It took me only one three-hour reading session to go through it, and yet it felt like it overstayed its welcome.
The prose is definitely the book's strong suit; descriptions in Piranesi strike that delicate balance between immersion and poetry; it is enough for you to appreciate the language and the world it visualizes, but not to the point of getting lost or too confused in the words. At its core, this is a book about isolation and loneliness, and the language used is a perfect fit to illustrate it.
Everything else falls short, though, in my opinion. The framing device -- the content of the book being written as a journal in-universe -- isn't entirely consistent, with some parts of the events written like a normal, first-person narrative instead of a journal. Sometimes the author also uses it as a crux for lazy narrative dumps, where readers would get several pages bloated with a wealth of information and context after a hundred of aimless meanderings.
The tone is also another aspect of the book that feels a little bit off to me. As said above, the story tries to tackle isolation and loneliness, with a lot of musings on how we as humans perceive ourselves and our surroundings outside of the confines of social standards. However, some parts of the book also present itself as... a mystery? As if there was a problem to be solved, a plot twist around the corner. These two parts do not gel as well as the author intended it to, and personally, I am left unsatisfied on both fronts.
Ultimately, this book is a meditation that keeps getting interrupted, and a mystery with unsatisfying conclusions.
The prose is definitely the book's strong suit; descriptions in Piranesi strike that delicate balance between immersion and poetry; it is enough for you to appreciate the language and the world it visualizes, but not to the point of getting lost or too confused in the words. At its core, this is a book about isolation and loneliness, and the language used is a perfect fit to illustrate it.
Everything else falls short, though, in my opinion. The framing device -- the content of the book being written as a journal in-universe -- isn't entirely consistent, with some parts of the events written like a normal, first-person narrative instead of a journal. Sometimes the author also uses it as a crux for lazy narrative dumps, where readers would get several pages bloated with a wealth of information and context after a hundred of aimless meanderings.
The tone is also another aspect of the book that feels a little bit off to me. As said above, the story tries to tackle isolation and loneliness, with a lot of musings on how we as humans perceive ourselves and our surroundings outside of the confines of social standards. However, some parts of the book also present itself as... a mystery? As if there was a problem to be solved, a plot twist around the corner. These two parts do not gel as well as the author intended it to, and personally, I am left unsatisfied on both fronts.
Ultimately, this book is a meditation that keeps getting interrupted, and a mystery with unsatisfying conclusions.
The Martian by Andy Weir
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
It's an amazing book, but I think by now in 2022 -- one Ridley Scott movie and 4+ star average rating on Goodreads later -- everyone has known this. So I'll answer the more pressing question: if you've watched the movie, is it still worth taking the time to read this book?
The answer is a resounding Yes.
Reading the book after watching the movie actually made me appreciate both mediums more. A lot of things were cut for the movie, justifiably so for the visual medium, but these cut details are a boon in the written one, enriching the characters in the universe and proving how well thought-out the plots are. Everything that happens in the book is not just a plot convenience; they are all plausible events, explainable through science. And speaking of the science -- Andy Weir is a master at translating hard science for the ignorant layman, i.e me.
The only criticism I have for the book is that the framing device is a little loose at times, if not distracting. Most of the book is Mark Watney's journal entries; and yet, those entries would sometimes be interspersed with omniscient narrator POV, describing events on Earth or aboard the Ares that Watney couldn't have known. The shift can sometimes be jarring, and it made me wonder why the author didn't simply go for a normal first person POV. This is, however, a very minor setback, and overall this book is still a fun, uplifting experience. You'll see me go around recommending Andy Weir's works for the foreseeable future.
The answer is a resounding Yes.
Reading the book after watching the movie actually made me appreciate both mediums more. A lot of things were cut for the movie, justifiably so for the visual medium, but these cut details are a boon in the written one, enriching the characters in the universe and proving how well thought-out the plots are. Everything that happens in the book is not just a plot convenience; they are all plausible events, explainable through science. And speaking of the science -- Andy Weir is a master at translating hard science for the ignorant layman, i.e me.
The only criticism I have for the book is that the framing device is a little loose at times, if not distracting. Most of the book is Mark Watney's journal entries; and yet, those entries would sometimes be interspersed with omniscient narrator POV, describing events on Earth or aboard the Ares that Watney couldn't have known. The shift can sometimes be jarring, and it made me wonder why the author didn't simply go for a normal first person POV. This is, however, a very minor setback, and overall this book is still a fun, uplifting experience. You'll see me go around recommending Andy Weir's works for the foreseeable future.