mint_renegade's reviews
163 reviews

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

challenging dark informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

in short summary, angela basset did the thing; viola davis, my woman king. 

in longer summary, my opinions on this book are too complicated to articulate. i'd try and say something about the characters and their struggles being so well written that its difficult to accept that the account is fictional, but who has the time?  i hated anna so much that she's become a beloved character...no, i will not explain myself. oblonsky, try as the world might to show him the error of his ways, wound up being the same character on page 900 as he was on 1. and that, the development of a character through stagnation is the kind of non-development i can get behind. he truly gave us nothing. levin's search for a step-by-step guide book on how to live, his sticky melancholy, his fucking farm, his pursuit of lofty scholarship, his existential dread and discovery of goodness, did i mention the fucking farm? i don't know where i'm going with this. 

part 5, chapter 20 was titled DEATH and i drew green hearts around it, just because.

i read it. i may be glad that i did, it's difficult to say either way. on to better and darker books, that do not involve tolstoy.

The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Did not finish book. Stopped at 58%.

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

adventurous challenging dark relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

Poems to Night by Rainer Maria Rilke

challenging reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

3.0

it takes a charming kind of arrogance to write compelling poetry. to heavenly lights, rilke demanded 'have the stars survey me more ardently, for i am fading'. as though they should rejoice, he added 'stars of the night, i have awoken'. of things sacred, he said 'eden is on fire and life devours and joy is madness'

i barely understood it, but the few lines that i did understand, i loved. 

The Devil Rides Out by Dennis Wheatley
Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.

three strikes of flagrant racism and you're out. also, i might die soon. 

Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon

adventurous dark lighthearted fast-paced

The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Barman, what are you doing here?

The Dhammapada by

informative relaxing fast-paced

2.0

meditative, but i'll take my broken heart Gibran or Rilke, thanks.

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

I loved the many references to books and music. I liked the art style, the plot, the pacing, the unfortunate timeless nature of the politics. That being said, i found it difficult differentiating some of the characters, found the ending a bit lacklustre, anticlimactic. 

I enjoyed the movie (in some aspects, more than the book) which may be skewing the rating somewhat. I expected a lot monte cristo references (even had a tab dedicated to it!!) but found very few.