lucibello's reviews
69 reviews

The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected by Nik Ripken, Gregg Lewis

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

5.0

Extremely impactful, and a must read!

Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide by John Cleese

funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

I loved this; I am always struck by his simple humor. He gives insight into his own creative process, and even while repeating old adages, does so with new twists and humor.

Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori Brafman

challenging informative fast-paced

4.0

The book did a very good job by crossing professions in human experience so that with each cognitive distortion discussed, you had a few easily accessible examples.

Start Thinking Rich: 21 Harsh Truths to Take You From Broke to Financial Freedom by

challenging hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

3.5

I got the most from putting pencil to paper with some of the end-of-chapter exercises. I would have rated  this higher had I myself not ever been an online business owner and marketer. But having done that, I felt that the sections of the book that made it sound like something anyone could do grossly misrepresented the hours it takes to do this and the difficulty turning a profit. But the psychological and overall financial advice was sound.

Don’t Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino

funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing sad fast-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

4.5

The only thing keeping me from giving it five stars is that I think there were some missed opportunities with character development. It was, however, a beautifully written book that was humorous and insightful to the human condition. Thoroughly enjoyable! A perfect pick for our book club!

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

emotional mysterious fast-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

4.0

A very good follow-up to the original. Written for an international audience that might need a few things explained culturally for everything to make sense, but that disrupted the story's flow slightly. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death

The Wilderness of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin

adventurous dark mysterious medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Transcending Trauma: Healing Complex Ptsd with Internal Family Systems by Frank G. Anderson

informative medium-paced

2.5

Some good information mixed with a lot of hooie. He is an excellent trauma therapist who spent too much time on every page trying to convince us he has done his own work. There was a lot of spirituality blended I, and it would have been more tolerable if done consistently. On a single page he talked about both free will and incarnation (which are incompatible ideas to both Buddhists and Christians), and fully irrelevant to the subject of the book. I did learn something but had to spit out too many bones.