halfpastsix's reviews
76 reviews

Angels in America by Tony Kushner

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

5.0

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

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emotional funny slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I see why it's a hit and I appreciate the wit, the plot structure, the virtuosity of some scenes, but I couldn't bring myself to care about those guys. 
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

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

4.25

Beautiful and sad and serene as winter sunlight. I was especially taken by those brief remarks on what is going on far far away from the main plot, that hint that something terrible is happening and has happened to this world. 
Comment parler des livres que l'on n'a pas lus ? by Pierre Bayard

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inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.0

This book is a light-hearted exploration of knowledge and its social aspect. Bayard's cheeky title hides a celebration of reading and not-reading--two activities I spend much of my time on. It's sweet and smart, it's an uplifting read for those who might be self-conscious about a perceived lack of literary knowledge.

It's about creation and imagination and fun. Mostly, it's about remembering that reading books and talking about books are two completely different things. At the end of the day, it's about remembering that reading is all about you. Not your stuffy lit professor, or your judgy father-in-law, or the tinder date you're trying desperately to impress. Or your yearly pages goal. 

I cannot wait to discuss this book with people who have not read it. 
Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski

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

4.0

Probably not the best in the series but still a great read! Ciri's coming of age story begins. 
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The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

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adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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The Maze Runner by James Dashner

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adventurous 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? No

2.5

YA book about a kid who's just Built Different. Business as usual. The writing is very bland. 
No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I took a pretty long break from reading this book at about the halfway point: it made me cringe too hard and too often. Frankly, there was a point, some time before I took that break, where I started simply hate-reading it. In the end, it was maybe the best way to enjoy it, as the burn of all that cringe had somewhat faded away when I started on the second part of the story. In retrospect, I feel that it was perhaps worth it, wading through all that cringe to reach the interesting part. Still, I would have liked to enjoy the author's virtuosity for a whole book, not half a book. 

There are not one but two tropes that I hate in this story: 1) Priviledged person learns that life is hard, thinks they've discovered sliced bread 2) Storyteller tries to pull a "gotchu! I wasn't wasting your time after all!" towards the end. I would honestly have hated this book, had I not bawled my eyes out for like an hour at the end lol.
A Theory of Adaptation by Linda Hutcheon

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informative medium-paced

3.75

An essential read to understand adaptation, with plenty of great examples. However, the 2013 addition already feels dated and in need of an update. The way video games are tackled also feels somewhat obsolete.
The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West

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

3.0

The ways in which it is obvious that it was published in 1939 are what makes its revelance today stand out. 
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