Take a photo of a barcode or cover
j0s1eg's Reviews (29)
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ok, you know what - this was really good. I'm not a big fan of Dolly Alderton but Good Material is a really great non-rom-com. The main character, Andy, is very likeable, and stupid, and funny. The cast of side characters is great too. I liked the characters' growth. I liked the pace. I liked it all.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Nora Ephron - what a lady! What a legend! It's hard to express quite what a blueprint Nora was/is/will always be for lighthearted, funny, smart women's writing; I now realise that every women's magazine I read in the mid-2000s was imitating her voice.
I Feel Bad About My Neck is a silly collection of short essays about mundane things, and above all, ageing. Nora talks about handbags; cabbage strudel; her beloved New York. She lists tweakments and her over-the-top beauty routine, revelling in how absurd it all is.
This isn't revolutionary now. It's a pretty privileged lens through which to look at one woman's life. But Nora's not exactly coy in sharing her experience as a very successful woman working in the entertainment industry. The final product is like speaking with an old friend; Nora Ephron is my friend.
I will say, the version that I read had an introduction from Dolly Alderton which I found quite irritating. Dolly's "contribution" offers absolutely nothing of value and I skipped most of the intro.
I Feel Bad About My Neck is a silly collection of short essays about mundane things, and above all, ageing. Nora talks about handbags; cabbage strudel; her beloved New York. She lists tweakments and her over-the-top beauty routine, revelling in how absurd it all is.
This isn't revolutionary now. It's a pretty privileged lens through which to look at one woman's life. But Nora's not exactly coy in sharing her experience as a very successful woman working in the entertainment industry. The final product is like speaking with an old friend; Nora Ephron is my friend.
I will say, the version that I read had an introduction from Dolly Alderton which I found quite irritating. Dolly's "contribution" offers absolutely nothing of value and I skipped most of the intro.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A very interesting spine of them. I read this because I know that it is a very famous Cold War thriller, but I will say that I didn't really connect with the characters. Perhaps it's a little bit too old-fashioned for me? At times the plot was a bit confusing; I think I needed to brush up on my history before reading this. As it was, I just looked up the plot on Wikipedia in order to understand what was going on. I enjoyed the writing and the pace felt good. The version that I read on Kindle was riddled with typos. And that's my review.
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
A really nice insight into the process of documentary-making and the decisions Louis Theroux has made over the years in his career. I wouldn't say it had any startling revelations or amazing insight - his "dark side" appears to be an absolutely chronic case of "privileged white boy" (fear of commitment; selfishness; awkwardness; unable to connect with his own emotions when it counts) - and there was a LOT of information about his friendship with Jimmy Savile which wasn't very interesting to me. But I enjoyed it overall and it's got me back into the archives on iPlayer rewatching some genuinely stonking documentaries.
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is a mixed bag. It follows Nina an 18-year-old spending the summer in New York, lonely and on the precipice of leaving for college, desperate to lose her virginity before she goes. She is quiet and reserved and typically doesn't stand up for herself - that's how she's got by in the waspie world of 1980s Manhattan. That's how she's got by in the waspy world of 1980s Manhattan. There's a really nice play between Nina's storyline and the trajectory of her mother who appears to be pulling herself from a depressive state by taking mania inducing medication. But the romantic subplot ends up feeling dissatisfying , and like a distraction - the book rushes to create drama it doesn't really need towards the end with a murder subplot. Overall, I wouldn't strongly recommend it. It has some nice moments about honesty and family, but it's a bit all over the place.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual content
![You Could Do Something Amazing with Your Life [You Are Raoul Moat] by Andrew Hankinson](https://cdn.thestorygraph.com/8gnd4yyajt6ya6xq6n79r6yf3v9o)
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
I've never read literary non-fiction like this and I read it in two hours flat. Hankinson presents the story in second person, present tense, positioning you as Raoul Moat in the days leading up to your eventual capture and death. The overall effect is like a Choose Your Own Adventure text game without the choice. Obviously if you were in the UK in 2010, you know how the book ends. The author's voice gently corrects the unreliable narrator's view on the unfolding events, allowing "Raoul" to contradict himself, untangling and tangling again his story. It's a really interesting book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A really interesting read that dives into identity and self-discovery. The writing's accessible, and the characters feel very real and lovable. There are some challenging themes and taboo topics which I did clutch my pearls about at points (reading about fetishes on my Kindle in my office on lunch break... Oops). It also felt like a real insight into your trans subculture and there was a lot about the politics of sex and identity. It feels like such a privileged position, but a lot of this stuff, I don't even think about at all. Overall, it's thought-provoking and worth checking out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Transphobia
Moderate: Violence, Pregnancy
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate reads less like a novel and more like eavesdropping on a well-off bored woman. Isabel Dalhousie, our protagonist, spends most of the book philosophising about capitalism, empire, and ethics — none of which have much bearing on the wafer-thin plot. It mostly feels like filler - was the author getting paid by the word?
Isabel is defined almost entirely by her part-time gig editing a philosophy journal - despite being financially cushioned by inheritance. Her identity seems more like a belief system than a profession, and it’s hard to relate to someone who genuinely believes her musings are urgent and profound (all the supporting characters also think her philosophising is important and interesting, which is bonkers).
Her constant assumptions about others border on rude, and moments that should reflect depth — like declaring her housekeeper her equal — are delivered with all the insight and class consciousness of a bumper sticker.
Unless you're fond of long, florid detours into self-important thought experiments, this one’s best left on the shelf.
Isabel is defined almost entirely by her part-time gig editing a philosophy journal - despite being financially cushioned by inheritance. Her identity seems more like a belief system than a profession, and it’s hard to relate to someone who genuinely believes her musings are urgent and profound (all the supporting characters also think her philosophising is important and interesting, which is bonkers).
Her constant assumptions about others border on rude, and moments that should reflect depth — like declaring her housekeeper her equal — are delivered with all the insight and class consciousness of a bumper sticker.
Unless you're fond of long, florid detours into self-important thought experiments, this one’s best left on the shelf.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Wow! What an engaging book. This book is a retelling of Charles Dickens' David Copperfield, following the life of Damon Fields - better known as Demon Copperhead for his Melungeon red hair. The kid is born in a single wide trailer to a poor young mother battling active addiction, and it kind of goes downhill from there. The themes of poverty, addiction, and local pride are beautifully woven into Demon's story, and it's heart-wrenching and hopeful. I feel like I'd been to Lee County and held Demon's hand the whole way as he's passed from pillar to post, meeting hundreds of characters who feel authentic and truthful - from Swapout to Emmy to Mr Peg. After a 21-hour audiobook, I'm going to miss that kid!
If I had any notes, it's that there was a moment where I thought, oh god, this is just misery porn and it won't get any better - but then the pressure valve released and the story twisted again. What a book!!
If I had any notes, it's that there was a moment where I thought, oh god, this is just misery porn and it won't get any better - but then the pressure valve released and the story twisted again. What a book!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent
Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abortion
dark
funny
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
Sweetpea is a murder-y romp through the mind of Rhiannon, a serial killer with a fondness for taking out sex offenders, a slob of a boyfriend, and a dead-end job.
The humour is crass, the writing leans heavily on that "lol so unfiltered!!!" vibe that was trendy about a decade ago, and there’s a surprising amount of Bridget Jones-style diet talk for a book written in 2017. Some of the turns of phrase are sharp and funny, but a lot was eyeroll-inducing. Ah, the era when dropping an f-bomb in marketing was peak edginess.
Rhiannon is supposed to be awful, but I found myself cringing more at the writing than her actions. At times, it felt like the author's own views were bleeding through, which made things feel extra icky. The plot itself is solid, but the overall vibe is quite misogynistic, gross, and very much of its time. I won’t be picking up the rest of the series, and I don't think I'll be picking up any more of this writer's work.
I wonder if the TV show that's based on the book fares any better or if it stumbles at the same hurdles.
The humour is crass, the writing leans heavily on that "lol so unfiltered!!!" vibe that was trendy about a decade ago, and there’s a surprising amount of Bridget Jones-style diet talk for a book written in 2017. Some of the turns of phrase are sharp and funny, but a lot was eyeroll-inducing. Ah, the era when dropping an f-bomb in marketing was peak edginess.
Rhiannon is supposed to be awful, but I found myself cringing more at the writing than her actions. At times, it felt like the author's own views were bleeding through, which made things feel extra icky. The plot itself is solid, but the overall vibe is quite misogynistic, gross, and very much of its time. I won’t be picking up the rest of the series, and I don't think I'll be picking up any more of this writer's work.
I wonder if the TV show that's based on the book fares any better or if it stumbles at the same hurdles.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment