readingrainbill's reviews
477 reviews

I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown

5.0

When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky by Margaret Verble

1.5 stars. It had potential but it's boring that I DNFd 70% in. I realized that there was no possible ending I could possibly care about. Also this book just feels problematic. I know Verble states she's an "enrolled citizen" but it still feels  icky at times.

Zone One by Colson Whitehead

adventurous dark sad slow-paced

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

2.0

It had a lot of potential. Colson Whitehead is a fantastic author and The Nickle Boys and The Underground Railroad were amazing but this one suffered from bad pacing. The story jumped around so much in time that it kept me from forming attachments to any character and it even got confusing. 

2043... a Merman I Should Turn to Be by Nisi Shawl

dark sad medium-paced

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

2.0

This needed to be longer. Maybe a novella. But at its length it was too confusing and the world didn't get fleshed out enough and there so much promise in this short story. Too bad it never comes to fruition. 

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

Here's the whole book in a nutshell.
The boy cried. 
The man says I'm sorry 
The boy says I'm scared. 

You've now read The Road by Cormac McOverrated. 

The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

hopeful lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

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

2.5

It's a bittersweet ending to a unique sci-fi series. I absolutely loved the first two books and these last two have been harder to get through. While I didn't hate this book, I also felt it was too easy to put down. This whole series is character driven and there's no action to speak of and while that's okay, the story has to be pretty compelling or interesting to keep the pages turning and this one had trouble. 

The plot made me feel like Chambers wanted to take Ann Patchett's Bel Canto and mix it with the 80's movie Enemy Mine, because that's exactly the vibe I got. But unfortunately this book wasn't nearly as interesting as the media it reminded me of.

I do love how Becky Chambers is very inclusive and builds a world that's a dream of what our own could be with how everyone gets along and people aren't discriminated against for something like gender or sexual orientation. Pronouns are respected and cultural differences are celebrated and cared about. It's beautiful. For that reason I wanted to love this book, the the previous one, way more than I did. I actively want to love books that are inclusive like this, but this fell flatter than a crepe.

Just a note if you're thinking about the audiobook. One character uses xy/xyr pronouns instead of the more common they/them, and while that's perfectly fine it's a bit jarring listening to it when there's a sentence like "Xy picked up xyr phone and checked xyr messages." While I doubt this was the actual reason, I wondered if xy/xyr was chosen because it sounds more sci-fi than they/them.

Black Nerd Problems by William Evans, Omar Holmon

challenging emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Naruto, Vol. 43: The Man with the Truth by Masashi Kishimoto

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

The Girl, The Shovel, and the Evil Eye, Vol. 1 by Chouchouhassha

adventurous funny 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

 I was delightfully surprised. I was expecting something ecchi but I'm happy to say it stayed away from anything gross. The story is interesting and it gives me dothack or Sword Art Online vibes but with more of a LitRPG flare

Ghostbusters: The Inside Story: Stories from the Cast and Crew of the Beloved Films by Matt McAllister

informative lighthearted slow-paced

4.0