kizzia's reviews
1208 reviews

The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Soul Music by Terry Pratchett

emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

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

4.5

Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

The Dead of Winter: The Witches, Demons and Monsters of Christmas by Sarah Clegg

adventurous dark informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Merry Midwinter: How to Rediscover the Magic of the Christmas Season by Gillian Monks

informative inspiring medium-paced

3.0

Lots of interesting anecdotes and ideas that can certainly be used to make the winter scene more magical. However Gillian presents a lot of neo-pagan concepts as factual history when they very much are not and I noticed several errors in basic things (such as the words to In the Bleak Midwinter, which are not up for debate as they come from Christina Rossetti’s poem) which made me question everything else in the book. Plus the tone of the writing veers wildly between neutral, smug, and preachy which makes it hard going at times.

Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages by Janina Ramírez

challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Deer Island by Neil Ansell

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

The Bone Cave: A Journey Through Myth and Memory by Dougie Strang

hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

The Cailleach has had a grip on my heart and mind for many, many years and this exploration of the Scottish myths and folklore surrounding her was always going to be right up my street. Yet it is so much more than that, the mixing of memoir and nature writing with - very impressively - the creation of a oral storytelling experience of the myths in writing makes for a vivid and powerful reading experience. 

Within the narrative Dougie Strange also asks the reader questions about the land we live on and how the stories told about it shape our understanding of it, and makes us think about the stewardship (or otherwise) of both the land he is walking us through on the page and the land beneath our own feet as we read. 

This is another of those books I would like to press in the hands of everyone I meet and urge them to read it, and then read it again, and then try to answer those questions for themselves.