oashackelford's reviews
331 reviews

Blue Horses: Poems by Mary Oliver

reflective slow-paced

3.5

I am not really a poetry person, but I read this to fulfill my library's 50 in 50 challenge

Othello by SparkNotes, William Shakespeare

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I never knew how awful Iago was, but he truly is the worst.

The Age of Shakespeare by Frank Kermode
Did not finish book. Stopped at 32%.

There were so many big words that I kept having to stop and google because I was struggling to understand them even in context. This read more like a text book than an interesting book giving context to Shakespeare's time. I am a well read person, and I like non-fiction, but I think if you write your book like only other historians are going to read it, then you are going to lose a huge percentage of a potential audience. Having to stop several times a paragraph to look up words I had never heard before took me out of the book and I kept forgetting what I was supposed to be learning. I wish some of the words had been a little easier because the ideas that I was able to glean from the book were interesting.

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous dark mysterious medium-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

 

I was not expecting to like this as much as I did, and I am only sad now because he left room for a potential sequel, but I don't think he will be writing it any time soon. My main problem is, that while the main storyline has been wrapped up nicely, I still have questions that I want answered and I would like to see these characters happy.

Summer of Blood: The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 by Dan Jones

challenging dark informative slow-paced

3.5

Cole and Laila Are Just Friends by Bethany Turner

slow-paced

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

3.0

dont read again

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous challenging sad medium-paced

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

5.0

 

Wow.....

I don't know what I was expecting when I opened this book. I had read the mistborn trilogy and loved it, but it felt like that one was more about politics and taking down political systems and so I guess I figured the way of kings would be similar. I was not prepared for the in depth discussions about honor, the right way to rule, what makes a good man, or the betrayals that came up in the book. I do feel like this book, while fantastic and still having conflict and a purpose, was mostly exposition to set up the sequels. The level of world building in this book is so high. I feel like in Harry Potter, the fact that Harry is raised by muggles does a lot for helping the audience get into the rules of his world, because we are learning right alongside him. Sanderson does not hold your hand in this series. He gives enough context for you to figure out what is happening but I did feel that I had to pay a lot of attention or risk getting confused.

Seriously a good read though. I have a book hangover now, and while I have other books on my TBR to get to, I am having a hard time getting into them because the stakes are lower.

A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan

challenging informative sad medium-paced

4.5

This book made me so sad. It was incredibly interesting how the Klan used peoples' fear of otherness to their advantage, but so sad that when humans get into large groups that normally logical people will give in to their worst qualities and join in on a mob mentality. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Violence

this is an important book, and it talks about assault in a clinical way, but it is still hard to read.

Chasing Eternity by Alyson Noël

medium-paced

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

2.0

I really did not enjoy this one and I would not recommend it to people who like all of their loose ends tied up at the end of books.

Across the Ages by Gabrielle Meyer

medium-paced

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

3.75