rwalker101's reviews
647 reviews

The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam by Barbara W. Tuchman

challenging informative slow-paced

4.0

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

adventurous emotional hopeful slow-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

"A man, knowing his whole true self, cannot be used or possessed by any power other than himself, and whose life therefore is lived for life's sake and never in the service of ruin, or pain, or hatred, it the dark." 

I'm so glad I took my time with this. It absolutely paid off.

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.5

“Love wasn’t enough and trying wasn’t enough and nothing we did changed anything! It should have mattered. All that love and all that trying should have changed … something…” omg????? 

Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto

adventurous funny lighthearted tense fast-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

4.0

It's maybe a little corny and formulaic but damn do I love a heist movie and this scratched every itch.

Waverider by Kazu Kibuishi

adventurous fast-paced

4.0

Supernova by Kazu Kibuishi

adventurous fast-paced

3.5

H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

emotional hopeful reflective sad

5.0

I recognize the grief MacDonald writes about here. Not a grief of pretty, diamond-shaped tears, nor a grief of cathartic chest-wracking sobs. It's an angry thing, small and caustic, and it lodges in the ribs and leaches lead into the blood stream. It changes you irrevocably, makes you mean, wears you down.

MacDonald clearly sees this part of themself in the young, mercurial goshawk they train. They learn first-hand how other falconers have misunderstood the nature of the goshawk, and while learning patience and love for the hawk, learns patience and love for their own self. In embracing the hawk's nature, they embrace their own nature, and become more whole for it.

It was validating to read. That I am not the only person who gets angry instead of sad when grieving, and that even despite that darker version of my nature that I can still find and make connections. That there is a home waiting for me, that the poison in my system can be shaken off with the proper care. That there can still be love, even after a world-ending loss.

I Moved to Los Angeles to Work in Animation by Natalie Nourigat

informative lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

I mean. I'm probably never going to move to LA, and I'm definitely not going to move to LA to work in animation, so the informative parts of this didn't mean that much to me. But it's still a fascinating look into a culture that has shaped media around the world.

No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-stress, High-velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days by Chris Baty

emotional funny hopeful informative fast-paced

4.0

Under-Earth by Chris Gooch

4.0

Despite my better judgement I find myself charmed by these characters. I guess this isn't surprisingly actually, I am a big fan of hope-and-meaning-in-the-face-of-anarchy narratives, and this turned out to be no exception.