rcsreads's reviews
686 reviews

Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

emotional reflective sad slow-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

4.0

Ruth was at times a little bit too pious for my tastes but I suppose she had to be super good to highlight the hypocrisy of societies treatment of "fallen women".

We all learned not to be judgy, lest our sons grow up to commit fraud. And while the ending was Old Curiosity Shop levels of saccharine it did make me have a good cry. Not Gaskell's best but still well worth the time.

Ariki and the Giant Shark by Nicola Davies, Nicola Kinnear

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Spring by Ali Smith

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Donut Feed the Squirrels by Mika Song

funny fast-paced

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

4.0

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Mort by Terry Pratchett

adventurous tense slow-paced

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

3.5

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

challenging mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

Magical Boy, Volume 2 by The Kao

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Homophobia

George: A Magpie Memoir by Frieda Hughes

slow-paced

2.0

I'm a big fan of corvids. They're incredibly intelligent and in 2050, if as Fox keeps telling me will happen, the pigeons do rise up and overthrow the humans I imagine they'll employ the corvids as their military strategists. There are however only so many times I can read that a bird jumped on someone's head before things get tedious!

I presume someone told Frieda Hughes that nature memoirs were the current big thing and she was short of cash so quickly edited together some old diary entries. There are several briefly mentioned life events in the background (particularly the deterioration of both her marriage and health) which could have been tied together with George's story to make for an interesting memoir but it's just: bird made mess; bird got wet; bird stole pastrami; oh look he's jumped on someone's head!  Then it descends into and then I bought a motorbike and some ducks and as a reader I got increasingly bored by the fact the fairly dull story of George was over and I was just getting pointless information!

Way too much faecal matter and not a lot else. 

Fear in the Blood: Tales from the Dark Lineages of the Weird by Mike Ashley

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5