joerourke's reviews
26 reviews

Twenty-First Century Socialism by Jeremy Gilbert

hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

a strong list of recommendations for how to implement and portray socialism in the modern world. focus on what people actually care about, not on inconsequential programmes that cost fuck tonnes

Left Out: The Inside Story of Labour Under Corbyn by Patrick Maguire, Gabriel Pogrund

challenging informative mysterious slow-paced

3.25

boring in parts. focuses quite negatively on jeremy corbyn as a leader (fair) and the chaos of the party during his tenure. some parts just dragged too long

Tales from Moominvalley by Tove Jansson

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

a beautiful collection of stories on the moomins and their world. explores some of the lesser known characters. just wish some of them were longer!

Why We Get the Wrong Politicians by Isabel Hardman

funny informative tense medium-paced

4.0

interesting sections on how to become an MP and why people run. feels a bit biased towards the tories at times (the author’s husband is a tory)

The Doors of Perception & Heaven and Hell by Aldous Huxley

challenging dark funny medium-paced

3.75

enjoyable but clearly written by someone on a lot of drugs so a bit hard to follow the ramblings sometimes

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

adventurous challenging dark inspiring fast-paced

4.0

it was an incredible insight into britney’s perspective on everything that has gone down. it’s not a very long book though and i felt a lot of important narrative was rushed over

Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love by Amir Levine

informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

helped me escape an unhappy relationship? lots of good examples! got a bit jumbled and hard to follow towards the end imo

Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents by Ellen Ullman

hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

been a while since i read. but follows a software developer in SF in the earlier days. an interesting look into the life of these early oil tycoons, especially for a woman. feels like journalism in parts. 

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

dark emotional funny tense 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

4.5

my favourite of rooney’s books. this book feels more polished and like her craft has been refined. its the same sort of characters, but i find these lovers to be more interesting and more dimensional. needed more sex?

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

emotional funny medium-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

3.75

hate hate hate the ending. made me quite angry. i find a lot of the characters fairly annoying in the decisions they make. however there is a charm to the sally rooney style which kept me reading