redheadreading's reviews
2110 reviews

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

challenging reflective 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

Lots of sighing and perhaps a thousand sleeves wettened by tears (and those were just mine as I rustled up the motivation to continue reading), I can appreciate its importance in the history of literature but I found it dull and repetitive. Genji is an absolute pest who somehow manages to be worse than all of the other abhorrent men in this book. 

Reothairt is Contraigh: Taghadh de Dhàin, 1932-72 by Somhairle MacGill-Eain

challenging emotional reflective

4.0

I felt the righteous anger at the clearances, the deep mourning of the loss of a way of life, the anxiety over a fading language - deeply affecting. Although I can't speak Gaelic, I did really value finding some recordings of the poetry being spoken aloud, it really helps you appreciate the sound of the language. My favourite poems were those in An Iomhaigh Bhriste/The Broken Image chapter and those from 1945-72. 

The Book of Difficult Fruit: Arguments for the Tart, Tender, and Unruly (with Recipes) by Kate Lebo

informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

An interesting piece of food writing that somewhat defies categorisation- something that I confess I do love in foodie books! I suspect I shall be dropping details from this into conversation for years to come. The first half felt stronger to me than the latter and I confess the wheat chapter lost me (just make gluten free food if your partner is a coeliac, what on earth is wrong with you!!! Gluten free baking exists!!!)

My Fathers' Daughter by Hannah Azieb Pool

emotional reflective medium-paced

3.5

Bitterthorn by Kat Dunn

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

Very slow paced and atmospheric! I really enjoyed the writing style - lots of gothic imagery, very metaphor-heavy and luscious. People who enjoy fast paced and plot driven books will probably find it deeply annoying because it's extremely slow paced, slow burn and, frankly, not that much actually happens! Personally I really enjoyed swimming in the prose, but I do admit it was slightly too long, particularly for our main character to realise some key information that feels quite obvious as a reader. I suspected we were drawing on some fairytales, initially I wondered if it was Bluebeard but it really ended up as more of a sapphic Sleeping Beauty mixed with Beauty and the Beast mixed with squelchy gothicness - I've had a really fun time. 

Cider Country: In Search of a Forgotten History by James Crowden, James Crowden
Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.

Audiobook narrator is soooo robotic

Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee

lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

Scrummy food descriptions and the mc Dylan is a real sweetie - his character has real drive and purpose which helps him feel very rounded. Theo was less compelling to me - his arc is a bit wishy washy and I don't find it very interesting to just solve all the book's problems with money. The whole fake dating set up doesn't really hold water either. There's no reason you couldn't just be dating!!
 As an aside, it's weird reading this as someone with multiple food allergies when a whole plot aspect revolves around someone being an asshole over their food not being allergy friendly and that being leveraged against Dylan's family. Sorry to say, not keen on how that aspect was handled! 

A Cheesemonger's Tour de France by Ned Palmer

informative medium-paced

4.25

The Modern Art Cookbook by Mary Ann Caws

lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

The mix of artworks, recipes from famous artists and general excerpts and poems about food makes for a fun read, although I don't think I'll make many of the actual recipes!

Knife Edge by Malorie Blackman

dark medium-paced

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

3.25

I liked that the timeframe of this is shorter than Noughts and Crosses so it's quite punchy and means I didn't feel like we skipped character development as we sometimes did in the first. Malorie Blackman does such a good job tackling all the political topics in a thought provoking way that's still very accessible for younger readers and that continues to be one of the strongest aspects of this series. Sometimes things are spelled out a little tooooo explicitly, I feel the points were made fine without spelling it out, and some plotpoints were a bit predictable, but I am reading this as an adult in fairness! It was interesting reading this as both perspective characters are not my fave, but I appreciate the story that Blackman is telling and I'm interested in what the next one has in store.