sammiseah's reviews
293 reviews

Unrooted: Botany, Motherhood, and the Fight to Save an Old Science by Erin Zimmerman

emotional informative medium-paced

3.5

I found the descriptions of botany and the author’s experience in academia very interesting and enlightening. I wasn’t so impressed with the parts on motherhood. I don’t think the change in perspective from not wanting to have children, to having four

and giving up an entire scientific career for it

, was very well explained. I wish she shared more about what changed her perspective and how she came to make that choice, especially since motherhood is in the title!

Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon

informative medium-paced

4.0

Very interesting! I learnt loads. Some parts did feel a bit speculative though - I would take some points with a pinch of salt.

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

Where I Was: A Memoir from the Margins by Constance Singam

emotional informative medium-paced

3.5

The Only Rule Is It Has to Work: Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team by Sam Miller, Ben Lindbergh

informative medium-paced

3.5

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

4.0

The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green

hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.0

The Will of the Many by James Islington

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Surprisingly good???
I was expecting to hate it more (given how cliched many tropes feel) but oooof that went to places that I didn’t expect!

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré

challenging mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

Very complex but really one of the best spy novels I have ever read.

What Mad Pursuit by Francis Crick

informative slow-paced

3.5

I am impressed by how confident (even arrogant) some scientists can be.