elizlizabeth's reviews
160 reviews

Shug by Jenny Han

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Lovely short romance, a little predictable but not unenjoyable. It deals with heavier topics without being too crass or naïve which is nice to see in books intended for children/teens.
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Roadside Picnic by Boris Strugatsky, Arkady Strugatsky

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adventurous dark reflective

3.0

It was a very vibes no plot book. It was an interesting exploration of a different kind of first-encounters theory. Definitely a product of its time in the treatment of women and the stereotypical scifi MC (always drinking, smoking and depressingly pondering, so I wasn't all that invested in the stakes.
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The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

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slow-paced

2.5

Can't say I'm a fan of Sanderson just by this but I can see the appeal. The characters are compelling and the ecology of this world makes sense for the most part. Battle scenes are plenty and well written, so if you like those here's your book.
I did have some issues with how the races are portrayed. Most of the criticism seems to focus on the light-dark eyes racism which is intentional but I do believe some comments made on the Parshmen/Parshendi were very much unintentional and made me feel a little offput.
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The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

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adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

Beautiful narration, lacking a bit in dialogue and "fleshing out" of some characters. I feel like some plot points resolve conveniently on its own to wash Snow's hands from blame and that took away from some moral dilemmas I would've liked to see explored more in depth.
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Get Your House Right: Architectural Elements to Use & Avoid by Marianne Cusato, Richard Sammons, Ben Pentreath, Léon Krier

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
I don't know who this book is for because if you're an architect I assume you know all of this, and if you're a layman (me) the explanations are confusing, dogmatic and uninteresting. Most of the examples are of Western and particularly XVIII century or ancient greek housing, even though we are repeatedly told that this principles apply to all buildings.
What really put me off tho were Krier's "humorous" drawings which were childish at best and incredibly ignorant and classist at worst. Might give another chance to Krier since a lot of architectural projects that I like were based off his ethos but definitely not this book.
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Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov

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adventurous funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I'm actually glad that I read this after Foundation because it was the perfect mix of raising the stakes while also sort of knowing how it's going to end. The last chapter I felt was a bit awkward and even a tad creepy, but overall I loved the characters and was mind blown by the plot twists. Truly, skull lifted brains exploded.
As The Light Goes Out by Olive J. Kelley

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

It was ok. Won it in a giveaway here for which I'm thankful. I liked the trans (and bi?) main character and the setting.
I know Bruce and Simon got together because Hallmark movie but the way it was framed by the rest of the town as Bruce'll make the foreigner give up on destroying the lighthouse" it's hilarious to me. Imagine there's a beefy guy out by the coast seducing every buyer into not touching the lighthouse, siren behavior.
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Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

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funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.5

Really enjoyed this novel approach about time and it made me rethink a bunch of things that were giving me worry. I felt it was a biit repetitive around the end but nevertheless a great book thar I'm sure will be recommending to friends.
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.0

It was an interesting plot with a novel premise. The characters were likable enough, but I wish their backstories were explored further. 
I feel that it tried to broach too many themes for such a short book and as a result it didn't have enough time to show-not-tell.
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Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

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challenging funny medium-paced

2.0

It was entertaining and made me laugh a lot, except not because of the book but at it. The disconnect between what he's advising and the stories he tells is so big that it has to be a joke. He's a good actor so I won't dispute that but the whole thing is a libertarian manifesto told by someone who I would very much never like to meet in person. The writing is decent but mostly mumbo jumbo I didn't care for.
Also RIP to earphone users because this man will do whatever to that mic to get a dramatic effect.
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