petrichorandcoffee's reviews
479 reviews

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories by Tim Burton

dark fast-paced

2.75

Beautifully made book, lovely to look at and hold, and I really really like the concept of unsettling short bedtime stories for adults. I just found the rhythm of the poems to be off (aiming for a Dr. Seuss or Shel Silverstein feel but missing the mark because the singsong feeling was lost at a clearly attempted but unsuccessful rhythm scheme). Truly cool concept and I'm happy to have read it and to own it, I just felt like it missed the mark of what it could have been.

4000 Miles by Amy Herzog

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

After the Revolution by Amy Herzog

challenging reflective medium-paced

5.0

Truly phenomenal. Challenging and excellent work.

The Witches by Roald Dahl

3.5

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

Incredible book. Challenging and lovely and important. The only tiny part that bugged me was there was one place where Kingsolver accidentally said Avengers instead of X-Men and it took me out of the story that was otherwise so tight and well researched. The middle bit was hard to get through because it was heavy and heartbreaking and frustrating, but well written and honest and nuanced and worth getting through. I love the ending even though it is perhaps strange. I learned things reading this about my family and history. I will recommend it to everyone.

The Odyssey by Homer

(Note to self: the translation I read was not this one but the one by Ennis Rees.)

Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

Jazz by Toni Morrison

5.0

The Eden Express: A Memoir of Insanity by Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Vonnegut

4.0

I absolutely would have given this book five stars were it not for issues in editing. Ironically, I found the only irritating errors to be in the sections of the book written about Vonnegut's sane times. I feel badly only giving four stars because I think it is entirely worth reading, but I just couldn't give a book five stars with multiple obvious typos. Please do read it. You'll be glad you did.