mkw1lson's reviews
125 reviews

Happy Place by Emily Henry

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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

3.75

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

adventurous emotional funny hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

2.75

The Wisdom of Wolves: Lessons from the Sawtooth Pack by Jamie Dutcher, Jim Dutcher

emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

3.75

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous medium-paced

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

2.25

Digital Mosaic: Media, Power, and Identity in Canada by David Taras

3.25

Sun Tzu: The Art of War by Sun Tzu

informative fast-paced

4.0

Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See by Bianca Bosker

funny informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

3.75

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

When I pulled this book off my shelf and turned to the first page, I described it to my friends as "finally conquering the behemoth that is The Goldfinch", and that is certainly what it felt like.

Don't get me wrong, this wasn't a difficult or unpleasant read, but it was time-consuming. The daunting page count (nearly 800) likely scares away many potential readers, but I would like it to be known that despite the time commitment, there is never a point that this book feels like it's too slow or dragging. Notably, this is despite very little action taking place throughout the novel. I credit this to Donna Tartt and her mastery of the craft. Her prose is eloquent and beautiful, and she embodies the character of Theo through her writing in a way that you cannot help but be drawn in by. The complexity of the character and his experiences, his feelings and faults, are what make this book so good.

It's not just Theo that feels so real as a character. Hobie, Boris, Pippa, Mrs. Barbour all feel so complex and interesting, even if we're only seeing and understanding them through Theo's lens of the world.

It is a beautiful book and I understand why it has earned so many awards and notoriety.

Note: Around 600 pages in, I realized that the book would probably be about 300 pages shorter if Boris didn't ramble and talk so much. But also I would miss Boris rambling and talking so much, so I'll accept those 300 pages.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

This is a book that I really wanted to like because I have heard so much good about it! I think it's a well-written and compelling story, I just couldn't get into it. This is a book where the main character is isolated a lot (particularly in the beginning) and you spend a lot of time in the main character's head, which is fine, but I did not find the main character particularly interesting. Worse, I realized about a quarter of the way into the book that I knew the plot twist, which made the rest of the book feel less mysterious and more... 'okay but can we just figure this out yet'. Furthermore, magical realism has never really been my favourite thing.

So, for me, this book was a bit of a chore, but I don't think that would necessarily be a common experience reading this book!