loiscc's Reviews (313)

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

4.0

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

I'm so glad I read this book! It's so motivating and it compels you to act. I loved the well-thought structure of the book, the visual aids and the short chapters. My enjoyment started to stagnate and then decline towards the end because I think the little lessons bit could've been weaved into the main text but other than that, Atomic Habits is a book that would recommend to everyone.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

Mark Manson

3.0

challenging funny informative reflective fast-paced

The suble art of not giving a f*ck is a quippy, down-to-earth, self-improvement book about developing strong values that help us determine what's truly important in life and therefore what is worthy of our f*cks. It makes some solid points about embracing mediocrity, and changing how we interpret bad moments in our life, but I felt like it lacked a layer of specificity and made lots of broad, blanket statements about how to solve life's problems. The author presents his arguements as one-size-fits-all solutions, which I found irksome. It was an engaging read but it did have me raising my eyebrows on several occasions.

Content Warnings

Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

Francesc Miralles, Héctor García

3.0

informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Ikigai is a self-improvement book with a really inspiring message about finding purpose in life, health and well-being and spirituality. It carries a lot of influence and will definitely leave a lasting impression on your general outlook towards the rest of your life. Unfortunately the compound message of the book didn't always feel cohesive to me but I still really enjoyed it. It's an accessible, user-friendly read that I completed in a day.

My Other Husband

Dorothy Koomson

3.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

An easily accessible and tense thriller

Content Warnings

Glory

NoViolet Bulawayo

5.0

dark funny inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really love and admire this book for its linguistic skill and hopeful message

Content Warnings

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev

Dawnie Walton

3.0

challenging emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The final revival of Opal & Nev is a fictitious biographical novel about the riotous rise to fame of an oddly compelling interracial Afropunk duo. The story imagines the 70s era music industry as it was but with the coupling of Opal & Nev as part of the canon. The narrative has an interesting interview style structure, encompassing several different testimonies from the artists, producers, industry experts, journalists, such as the main narrator and family members. I thought its style and musicality was conceptualised well and it has a loud activist voice, personified through its boldy daring and confident heroine.

Content Warnings

The Rage of Dragons

Evan Winter

3.5

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A vividly imagined warrior type fantasy about two races of people, Omehi and Hedeni, locked in a never-ending war until one of them is completely exterminated. Tau Solarin is a commoner born into the unfalteringly classist Omehi tribe and wants nothing to do with the war. That is until he witnesses his father being killed in front of his very eyes by haughty Nobles and in his effort to seek revenge, Tau is thrown into the thick of battle as he strives to become a stronger fighter. Rage of Dragons is darkly magical, beastly and unrelenting.
I thought for what was supposed to be a matriarchy, the writing did convey some typically male-dominant narratives such as when Tau refers to a woman character he meets towards the end of the book as a "child" and continues to infantalise her despite acknowledging that they are about the same age and height, as well as other bits of dialogue throughout. A high level of reverence is given to women in this fantasy but their representation didn't always hit the right notes.
I was however, pulled into the story and the ending lends itself nicely to the sequel.

Content Warnings

Bi-Furious

Chelsi Robichaud

2.0

emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I was so excited to read this and it ended up being so disappointing. The pacing was all over the place, the plot twist at the end involving the character Melodie didn't work and the book is guilty of the very biphobia it also tries to challenge.

Content Warnings