laurie_323's reviews
84 reviews

Famished by Anna Vaught
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.

i like the theme about food but the style is not for me

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell

informative medium-paced

3.75

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

It takes tremendous courage to write down what you've been through, coping with trauma in a way. For someone who also has a narcissistic parent, I feel for her. It's encouraging, powerful, and validated. 

Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au

reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

4.0

The Garden God: A Tale of Two Boys by Michael Matthew Kaylor, Forrest Reid

sad medium-paced

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

3.0

Peculiar and otherworldly. But the story is rather anticlimactic and the ending didn’t really resonate with me. Another escapism public-school genre book. And very short (75 pages).

Sandel by Angus Stewart

emotional relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

-“We’re like the Otter and your sea.” 
-“Coming to you is only coming home.”

The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

What a talented writer Danielle Evans is. She writes not only about color, race, and identity but navigating through time and space, through history and a country built on ‘historical corrections’. She writes her characters, especially her women in a way that makes you feel connected, raw, overwhelmed, and later on haunted. They are vulnerable yet powerful.

David Blaize by E.F. Benson

informative relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The Hunter's Moon by O.R. Melling

adventurous slow-paced

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

3.0

Book I read when I was just a kid, borrowed from the local library. 

Sleepytown: A Southern Gothic Childhood, with Codeine by Donna Tartt

funny reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.0

It's fascinating to find so many of her inspirations of The Secret History, The Little Friend (especially this book), and The Goldfinch in the short but charming essay. It reminded me of Su Tong, a writer who also spent a great deal of time sick in bed during their formative years. From Tartt's humorous, reflective, but also emotional writing, we can see how her Southern roots influenced her writing and transformed her perception of the world from a young age. She was so deeply enlightened, touched, and welled by her growing up in the South, surrounded by a big, old, closed family.