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robbie's reviews
257 reviews
Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
This book has a lot of practical advice on how to make it easier to do things you want to do and stop things you don't. It starts off with an explanation of habits and how they form and goes on to explain how you can leverage those very things to make positive habits easier to follow through on.
The strategies that stood out most to me were "define a specific time and place" for your habit, prepare the space for your habit to make it easier to do, and add your habit to something else that you already do. For example, the past week I'be been leaving my phone in the kitchen to charge before going to bed. This not only helps me stay off the phone and get distracted before going to sleep but also ensures I go to the kitchen in the morning, where I can brew some coffee and practice learning a new language while the coffee brews! One thing stacks on top of the next and makes for a nice little routine that I've been missing—hopefully it'll stick with me because it's been pretty nice!
It also inverts its strategies to provide ways to break bad habits by making it harder to do them. Overall, I think it's good to read if for no other reason than to help you look at your own habits and evaluate them. I'm pretty happy to have the practical advice presented within too, and I hope I'll be able to revisit the book later to make sure I can internalize some of the concepts!
The strategies that stood out most to me were "define a specific time and place" for your habit, prepare the space for your habit to make it easier to do, and add your habit to something else that you already do. For example, the past week I'be been leaving my phone in the kitchen to charge before going to bed. This not only helps me stay off the phone and get distracted before going to sleep but also ensures I go to the kitchen in the morning, where I can brew some coffee and practice learning a new language while the coffee brews! One thing stacks on top of the next and makes for a nice little routine that I've been missing—hopefully it'll stick with me because it's been pretty nice!
It also inverts its strategies to provide ways to break bad habits by making it harder to do them. Overall, I think it's good to read if for no other reason than to help you look at your own habits and evaluate them. I'm pretty happy to have the practical advice presented within too, and I hope I'll be able to revisit the book later to make sure I can internalize some of the concepts!
Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship by Robert C. Martin
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
I only read a little bit of this book, but thankfully the core concepts are explained early on. I've already internalized these core concepts as a developer, and I'm not completely sure what else the book can really hold for me!
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin DiAngelo
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Starsight by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A cliffhanger?! Nooo!! I need to find out what happens Next!!!
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Sand and Blood by D. Moonfire
4.0
This story started out very slow, and the main character, Rutejìmo, was an intolerable dumbass who makes every wrong decision possible in every situation he finds himself in. He remains this way for roughly the first half of the book. I've only disliked a handful of main characters in a novel before, but first-half Rutejìmo and his asshole cohorts quickly found their place snugly in that list.
Graciously, there is a turning point where the story and characters noticeably improve and finally begin to grow on you. I want to keep this review spoiler-free, but I will say that the rest of the story after the turning point more than makes up for any negativity that might have sprung up while reading the first half! It's a story of redemption, growing up, and bravery, and I enjoyed it a lot.
The magic in the world is subtle but interesting, and I liked it. I hope it's explained and explored a little further in the next books!
Graciously, there is a turning point where the story and characters noticeably improve and finally begin to grow on you. I want to keep this review spoiler-free, but I will say that the rest of the story after the turning point more than makes up for any negativity that might have sprung up while reading the first half! It's a story of redemption, growing up, and bravery, and I enjoyed it a lot.
The magic in the world is subtle but interesting, and I liked it. I hope it's explained and explored a little further in the next books!