maddness22's reviews
715 reviews

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing 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

4.25

A quiet and kind Christmas read (that I read on a snowy day in April). The Magdalen laundries are truly the thing of horror in Irish history and this shows the awful nature of these institutions while also providing an incredible amount of empathy and heart. Good little punch of a heartfelt read!

A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine

hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

I very much enjoyed this look at stoic philosophy. I thought it was incredibly comprehensive and easy to digest with excellent examples that are easily accessible to real life. It's already done great work at adjusting my world view and perspective on life while also offering great emotional regulation tips. While I disagreed with the author's repeated sentiment that you can only have a good life if you follow a specific philosophy of life, I did appreciate the testaments of stoic philosophy that he offered as examples of how to lead an improved life. I also appreciated the explanation of the history of stoic philosophy at the beginning of the book to offer further context into its development. 

Even If It Breaks Your Heart by Erin Hahn
Did not finish book. Stopped at 39%.

Gosh these kids have a lot going on and this wasn't the yeehaw read I was hoping it would be. 

Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own by Kate Bolick

challenging informative inspiring reflective relaxing slow-paced

5.0

Gosh it's been so long since a book has rewritten my soul at a molecular level like this book has. I've never felt so seen and understood as a single woman living on my own. It's such an in-depth reflection of the "spinster" lifestyle, treating both the joys and downfalls of being single and on your own with soft candor. It was enjoyable to actually read a book that celebrates the joys of being single rather than criticizing it. 

I loved how the author expressed her own experiences as a modern single woman through the lens of historical spinsters who made a living from their independence. I also loved that it also celebrates partnership and marriage. There are no villains in this story. There are only different lifestyles, a thoughtful reflection of those lifestyles, and a call to allow women to live their lives as they want to rather than requiring them to follow some societal expectation that doesn't match what would bring them joy in life. If that means marriage, great. If that means being single, great. If that means being married for a little bit and then being single or vice versa, great. 

Marriage absolutely doesn't need to be the default, but women don't need to commit to being single for the entirety of their lives either.

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

5.0

I absolutely smashed this book in one day because I loved it so much. I related to Fizzy so much on an emotional level and loved how her connection with Connor developed. I also loved her arc about how she regained her mojo despite the existential crisis. The humor was excellent in this, Connor was a dream, and the ongoing love letter to Romance books and how they're about looking for the joy in life was so well done. Very enjoyable and perfect for Romance fans! You don't need to read Soulmate Equation before this, but it does help with some of the characters context. 

Philomena by Martin Sixsmith
Did not finish book. Stopped at 51%.

Got really slow and boring after they switched focus to the son. I wish it followed the mom more 

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

adventurous funny slow-paced

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

2.75

I really don't understand the hype or how this won a Pulitzer. It's not bad, but it's also not great. I really liked the moments of travelling and the final chapter, but I honestly almost DNF'd like three times. The writing style makes it hard to connect to the characters or even the overall tone of the story. If you want to get bit by the travel bug or enjoy some great imagery, this is a decent read. The theme of connection and how Less connects to the world through his relationships was also very fun to ruminate on. 

If You Tell by Gregg Olsen

dark sad fast-paced

0.25

I do not respect this book in the slightest. It's an attempt to capitalize on one family's horrible tragedy during the height of the true crime fascination. This is poorly written without any substance to the cruelty it outlines. There's no additional psychological insight into the mother's sadistic nature, no actual mention of the "bonds of sisterhood" until the final 10% of the book and even then it's a rather weak grab, and the timeline of events is written in the worst and most confusing manner. This was literally just composed for shock value and really only lists the acts of crimes committed by the narcissistic and sadistic mother and her pathetic husband. 

If it was meant as a warning for Shelly's release or even as a toolkit for others to recognize how severe abuse can be so subtle in its nature to integrate so fully in a victim's life, the message could've been conveyed with about 200 less pages and repetitive drawn out torture scenes. However, these lessons are barely conveyed successfully anyways. The writing is vague, confusing, and the author truly uses the word "niggled" un-ironically at one point. Like? Seriously? That's not even a real word and it sounds childish at best. 

Skip this shock value torture nonsense. Just know their mother was vile and we need to believe in victims. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Build the Life You Want by Arthur C. Brooks

hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

Once it gets past the self-congratulatory intro and you can ignore Oprah's little unnecessary cameos, I actually quite enjoyed the emotional regulation tips and insight into building a happy life with intention. The chapters about friendship and work were especially beneficial for me. 

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I'm absolutely not smart enough for this book. There's just so much heavy science in here and almost all of it went over my head. I really enjoyed the human parts of it, like exploring Ye's complex morality due to the Cultural Revolution and the philosophy of "should we invite an outside force to rescue humanity regardless of how they wish to rescue us", but gosh it was like reading a theoretical physics textbook at times and spends more time ramping up for some really dope sequels if the sequels don't focus on the science bits as much (I'm assuming they do) than not. 

Like very cerebral and interesting to contemplate, but gosh that science was so much lol.